#66. harry/ginny

[hgracieeees]

[wisteria-lodge]

Guys who Cry in the Harry Potter Books (and Why)

Men do 30% of the crying in the Harry Potter books, even though they represent 66% of the characters (and that's pretty much as expected).* I’m interested in why the crying happens though, and what it says about the characters. For the ladies, crying is neutral - they all cry, and for all sorts of reasons (tired, frustrated, stressed, emotionally overwrought...) Bellatrix, Augusta Longbottom, Ginny, Tonks… all cry. *Hermione* cries thirty separate times over the course of the books. 

Male crying though, that's something that gets mocked (usually by Slytherins.) Pansy calls Neville a “fat little cry baby,” and after Rita’s article (falsely) describes Harry crying, Draco comes in with “Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?” Of course there’s also “D’you think [Hagrid]’ll cry when they cut off his hippogriff’s - ” right before Hermione slaps him. So making fun of guys for crying is bad right? 

Let’s get into it. 

1 : Crying because of a death

The most “acceptable” reason for male crying. This happens a lot, we are definitely not supposed to think any less of the guys who do it. Mostly it happens *right* at the moment of death, or maybe at the funeral. The exception is Harry, who cries in Book 3 after talking about hearing his parents dying (although the narrative voice DOES let us know that he’s kind of embarrassed about this...)

“Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn’t see.” 

Then he cries again in Book 7, while visiting his parents' graves. But it’s definitely still crying over a death. Just one that Harry takes a little bit longer to process. 

Crying over a Death: Full Breakdown: 

Amos Diggory: 1 (Cedric’s death) 

Arthur Weasley: 1 (Fred’s death)

Harry Potter: 3 (Hedwig, Lily, James)

Rubeus Hagrid: 4 (Dumbledore, Buckbeak, Aragog, Harry) 

Argus Filtch: 1 (thinks Mrs. Norris is dead) 

Xenophillius Lovegood: 1 (thinks Luna is dead) 

Fillius Flitwick: (thinks Ginny is dead) 

Ron Weasley: 1 (Dumbledore’s funeral) 

Elphias Doge: 1 (Dumbledore’s funeral

2: Crying because of Pain

You’d think this one would also be acceptable. But… it really isn’t? Dudley cries when Vernon hits him (but Harry doesn’t.) Peter Pettigrew cries when he cuts off his own hand, Saw style, but it gets framed as blubbering weakness. Pettigrew framed SO pathetically for the entire resurrection scene - and honestly, for the entire rest of the series.

(Which is strange when you think about it. Like objectively, Pettigrew did GOOD. Sure he only likes Voldemort because he’s powerful, but so do most of the Death Eaters, that’s nothing special. Peter found Voldemort, resurrected him single-handedly (ha.) Found Bertha Jorkins,  i.e. the reason Voldemort was able to plan his comeback. Obviously he has god-tier bluffing and lying abilities, as well as enough willpower to cut off a limb. Being able to turn into a rat would make him a really useful spy. Also his spell, the one that killed thirteen muggles and destroyed a street? Most magic we see does not have a blast radius like that. Peter’s formidable. But somehow his job is to hang out and be Snape’s servant? (Is it because he’s not cute?  Is this JKR’s fatphobia rearing its ugly head? Unclear.)

Our last guy crying in pain is Book 1 Neville, after he breaks his wrist during flying lessons. He also “sniffs,” while walking into the Forbidden Forest for detention, which *might* count as crying? But really, Neville cries surprisingly little. We get a lot of “looked as though he might cry” and “on the verge of tears”... but that's not actually crying. And I think that’s because… early-books Neville, yes we’re supposed to see him as a little pathetic. But definitely not as pathetic as Dudley or Pettigrew. 

3: “Childlike” Crying

Sometimes the people who cry are literally little boys. This is also okay. No one is going to judge infant Harry for crying when Voldemort is in the house, or little Severus for crying when his parents are fighting. Interestingly, when Myrtle is talking about Draco crying in her bathroom, Harry assumes she’s talking about someone much younger: 

“There’s been a boy in here crying?” said Harry curiously. “A young boy?” 

But of course, when an adult is crying in a childlike way, it immediately becomes… pathetic. Again we have Pettigrew, who “burst into tears. It was horrible to watch: He looked like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.” In the Horcrux cave, crying Dumbledore is described “like a child dying of thirst.” Which is also meant to be pathetic, but in more of a ‘Harry has to be the adult now’ sort of way. Also, the potion seems to have made Dumbledore mentally regress back to his youth, so it’s *closer* to a literal “child crying” moment. 

(I considered putting Dumbledore drinking the potion in the ‘pain’ section, but at least in the book I think it’s clear he’s mostly in emotional rather than physical pain.)

Where this gets messy is with the house-elves. House-elves are not children, but they are presented as childlike. They are small and in-your-face, direct even though their problem-solving tends to be very convoluted/not especially logical. I like the present-tense, no pronouns way they speak, but I can’t deny it is kind of baby-talk adjacent. And… house elves are *really* emotional. Dobby, Kreacher (and Winky) cry a LOT. If I had to guess, I would say JKR likes treating house-elves as childlike so it’s more of a surprise when it turns out that one of them was behind everything. But considering that they are slaves, it is gross - considering that one of the main real-world justifications for slavery was ‘slaves are childlike, and unable to take care of themselves.'

There’s also Hagrid. With seventeen separate instances of crying, Hagrid easily cries more than any other guy in the Harry Potter books. And… well… he’s also presented as oddly childlike. He seems much more like Harry and Ron’s contemporary than a peer of the other professors - which is weird, since  if he went to school with Voldemort fifty years ago, he’s in his sixties now. But still, he’s helpless in the face of criticism, he’s comically out of his depth whenever he deals with the Ministry, he’s constantly letting things slip or drastically misjudging danger levels. The first three books all use “Hagrid gets in trouble, the gang has to bail him out” as a plot point, and in Book 4 his sideplot with Madame Maxime gets treated like a schoolboy’s first crush, with all these jokes about him wearing suits that don’t quite fit, and trying and failing to style his hair. Not to mention, we know she’s flattering him because she wants insider info on the Tournament. But he doesn’t know that. 

4. Crying because of Sports

Oliver Wood cries when Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup. That's all.

And that brings us to our stragglers. The only non-childlike guys who cry for reasons other than death, pain, or sports are as follows: 

Harry Potter: 1 instance of crying

Draco Malfoy: 2 instances of crying

Severus Snape: 2 instances of crying

Albus Dumbledore: 4 instances of crying

Horace Slughorn: 1 instance of crying

Let’s see what’s going on here. 

Harry Potter

Dumbledore had weakened himself by drinking that terrible potion for nothing. Harry crumpled the parchment in his hand, and his eyes burned with tears as behind him. Fang began to howl. He clutched the cold locket in his hand so tightly that it hurt, but he could not prevent hot tears spilling from his eyes

There’s a lot going on in this moment: Harry is tired, frustrated, disappointed, overwhelmed. But even though it is a complex moment, probably the main emotion is still Harry’s attempt to process Dumbledore’s death, now that he finally has a second to do so. So this honestly could have gone in the “Crying because of a death” category. It’s just different enough that I want to specially call it out. 

Draco Malfoy

We hear about Draco crying once from Myrtle, and then see it first hand: 

Malfoy was crying — actually crying — tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin.

The narrative takes a second to let us know that he was ACTUALLY CRYING, just to hammer in that this is something unexpected and not-normal. I think I want to attribute Draco’s tendency to cry - and cry because he’s overwhelmed, scared, lonely - to the character’s slight femme coding. What can I say, he cries for ""girly"" reasons. And so does Snape!

Severus Snape 

“Snivellus” is clearly a nickname meant to evoke the idea of “crybaby,” since “sniveling” is a synonym for crying. We also get this: 

Snape was kneeling in Sirius’s old bedroom. Tears were dripping from the end of his hooked nose as he read the old letter from Lily. 

Crying over Lily’s letter could count as crying over a death… but since he’s crying over a letter, not over a grave or her body (like in the movie), I’m going to say that he’s probably crying because of guilt, emotional overload, or love (especially because he rips the ‘love Lily’ off the end of that letter.) Like Draco, Snape might be getting little bit of femme-coding here. He’s the mean-girl type of bully (versus the mean boy) He cries, he threatens to poison people - which is something we only see women (and Draco) actually doing in these books. Idk, he’s an odd one who JKR clearly has very complicated feelings about. 

Albus Dumbledore 

I was actually really surprised that Dumbledore cries as much as he does, and at such unusual times! He cries when he sees Snape’s doe patronus - because of love or just because he’s emotionally overwhelmed. He cries all through the Horcrux cave, primarily because of guilt. He cries twice during the King’s Cross Station vision-quest, once because of his complicated feelings about Harry while he asks for forgiveness, and once over … Grindlewald.

“They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell at Nurmengard. I hope that it is true. I would like to think he did feel the horror and shame of what he had done. Perhaps that lie to Voldemort was his attempt to make amends . . . to prevent Voldemort from taking the Hallow . . .”  “. . . or maybe from breaking into your tomb?” suggested Harry, and Dumbledore dabbed his eyes.

And okay. JKR announced that Dumbledore was gay just a few months after book seven was published, and I think she was folding in deliberate queer-coding as early Book 6. My proof of that is Dumbledore's increased emotionality - as we can see, it’s pretty unusual for men to cry in the Harry Potter books because of “softer” emotions like love, regret, stress etc. It’s something she associates with femininity, and I’m sure she associates gay guys with femininity as well (I mean, that’s a very common thing to do.)

There’s also this interesting passage from Book 6: 

This younger Albus Dumbledore’s long hair and beard were auburn. Having reached their side of the street, he strode off along the pavement, drawing many curious glances due to the flamboyantly cut suit of plum velvet that he was wearing. “Nice suit, sir,” said Harry, before he could stop himself, but Dumbledore merely chuckled.

Now, this is subtle. Wizards out and about in the muggle world often wear unusual colors like purple and emerald green. However. That adjective flamboyantly is only used one other time in the entire series, to describe Fudge’s hand gestures. But here, it is used to describe an outfit, a purple velvet suit which is honestly more than a little bit Oscar Wilde. And “flamboyantly gay” … those are two words often heard together. 

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure this is the only opinion about clothing Harry ever expresses aloud. And, I think @niche-pastiche hit the nail right on the head, saying that Harry's "Nice suit, sir" is "SO the response of a young adhd boy in the early 2000s trying not to say "thats gay." 

Horace Slughorn

Horace Slughorn cries at Aragog’s funeral, not really out of grief for Aragog, but mostly out of a maudlin sense of togetherness, nostalgia, and camaraderie. And… I do think we have one more slightly morally ambiguous femme-coded guy on our hands? Like Dumbledore, Slughorn is very much a flashy dresser, with shiny hair and gold buttons on his waistcoat. He loves treats and candies (hey… so does Dumbledore. They’re the only adults with a sweet tooth like that.) He loves fancy dinner parties, and is well-connected without being ambitious the way Lucius is. He also (like Draco) is aligned with pureblood-supremacy, but hyper avoidant of violence and confrontation. Except for the Harry example, I think I’d be comfortable with calling all of these last few instances “Femme-Coded Crying.” 

* Methodology - My list of 208 Harry Potter characters comes from TV Tropes, which had the most complete list. I am excluding characters from Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts Films. 

In order to find instances of crying, I searched for the words “cried/cry/crying” “tears” “sob” and “sniff.” I counted each crying episode as one, even if crying was brought up multiple times throughout the scene. I made the fairest call I could whenever I hit a “the crying intensified” or the “the tears restarted,” but I mostly judge pretty conservatively when I’m ringing up data.

[naturalbornluvr]

naturalbornluvr hot people list

kinda not really ranked

1. cal gabriel

1. cal robertson in the year 2001

1. my husband

1. my baby daddy

1. daddy

1. the love of my life

1. light of my life fire of my loins

1. the blonde kid from that school shooter movie

2. lana del rey

3. hayden anhedonia

4. andre kreigman

5. christian bale

6. matt dillon

7. lorenzo zurolo

8. jake gyllenhaal

9. liz gillies

10. robbie shapiro

11. robbie hawkins

12. beck from victorious

13. alexander hamilton (the real 1776 one not lin)

14. andre harris

15. eric harris

16. jodi arias

17. ricky kasso

18. peter steele

19. ghostface

20. timothee chalamet (bones and all specifically)

21. weasley twins

22. hermione granger

23. harry potter

24. tom riddle

25. rachel lurie

26. sera promgoer

27. regina george

28. ron weasley

29. robert pattinson

30. mason freeland

31. sodapop curtis

32. everyone from the breakfast club

33. alice cullen

34. rosalie cullen

35. daddylisle cullen

36. dilfy swan

37. the one guy in the hallway in mean girls when cady says i think he’s going to the projection room above the auditorium

38. carl azuz

39. mickey and mallory

40. maya from pll

41. jfk

42. jfk jr

43. jfk jr jr

44. damon albarn

45. ANAKIN SKYWALKER (he should NOT be this low but i don’t wanna change the numbers. takes too long. everyone that should be higher up is going in all caps now)

46. the guy from i believe his unicorns. spencer? i think

47. JESS MARIANO

48. born to die music video boyfriend

49. shades of cool music video boyfriend

50. health ledger

51. chad michael murray

52. a$ap rocky

53. holly would from cool world

54. brad pitt

55. zion from ginny and georgia (young & old)

56. georgia miller

57. tyler the creator

58. KURT COBAIN

59. adam brody

60. megan fox

61. 2000s christina aguilera

62. RODRICK HEFFLEY

63. jeffrey dean morgan

64. charles shaughnessy

65. grown up zack from school of rock (like when he stole the guitars and amp in like 2019)

66. the one guy from school of rock who’s like yo u guys rocked man how old are u guys after the battle of the bands show

67. ned from school of rock

68. jack black

69 mweheheh. both george coopers

70. meemaw

71. meemaws friend played by reba i think

72. alex arnold

73. sid jenkins

74. kurtis conner

75. danny gonzalez

76. drewisgooden

77. kim possible

78. bill scarscard or whatever his last name is

79. GWEN from tdi

80. julia from tdi

81. heather from tdi

82. like all of the girls from tdi. at least half

83. naked guy from gilmore girls

84. taylor momsen

85. the other mother

86. mrs spink

87. coraline’s dad & other dad but not the pumpkin one

88. artyom

89. the babysitter and bones from monster house

90. lightning mcqueen

91. mater

92. angelina jolie

93. evan peters

94. ryan gosling obviously

95. THE DAD FROM INSIDE OUT. more like riley’s dad turn ME inside out. awooooga

96. the 911 operator from zero day when she’s not yapping

97. karina and ronald now from sis vs bro

98. cameron boyce

99. joseph gordon levitt

100. the mom from inside out. same thing i said for her husband

i will be adding on most definitely but 100 is a nice number to stop at 😇🫶

NEVERMIND

101. DADDY oops i mean flynn ryder oops i mean eugene fitzherbert

102. keanu reaves

103. chris mclean

104. playboi carti

105. JOEY SMACK

106. eric from elephant

107. drew starkey

108. that one biker bf from the ride mv

109. my husband’s dad …………..

110. andre’s dad

111. KRISTOFF !!!

112. shang from mulan

113. naveen from princess and the frog

114. MILO JAMES THATCH

115. steve terreberry

116. verryyy cal gabriel coded theatre kid at my school

117. hallway crush 1

118. hallway crush 2

119. hallway crush 3

120. hallway crush 4

121. maxo_xoxo on twitter and his wife lolaloopzy

122. MILA KUNIS

123. melania trump

124. jane fonda

125. fran FOIIINEEEE

126. that one guy who ranks things and uses the high pitched voice filter on tiktok

[hssrarepairs]

🎄 HSS Rare Pairs 2024: FAQ 🎄

Find more info in our Rules!

🎁 What is HSS Rare Pairs? ���

HSS Rare Pairs, or HSS, stands for HP Secret Santa Rare Pairs. We are an anon, multi-ship, multimedia gift exchange focused on HP rare pairs run as a collaboration between the HP Rare Pairs (@hp-rarepairs) and HP Saffics (@hpsaffics) Discord servers. This fest is not self-posting. The mods will post your gifts all through December.

🎁 What is the 2024 Schedule? 🎁

Sign-ups: Aug 13-Sep 3 Gift Submissions Due: Nov 15 Gift Giving: Dec 1-Dec 25 Creator Reveals: Dec 30

🎁 What counts as a HP rare pair? 🎁

Any ships besides these common ships (LITERALLY ANY OTHER SHIP IS OKAY):

Dramione - Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy

Drarry - Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Harmony - Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Harrymort/Tomarry - Harry Potter/Voldemort (Tom Riddle)

Hinny - Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley

Jegulus - Regulus Black/James Potter

Jily - James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

Romione - Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley

Snamione - Hermione Granger/Severus Snape

Snarry - Severus Snape/Harry Potter

Wolfstar - Sirius Black/Remus Lupin

🎁 How is the list of common ships determined? 🎁

Any ship with less than 10K results in an unfiltered AO3 Relationship tag search AND less than 3K results in an “otp: true” filtered Relationship tag AO3 search is considered a rare pair!

🎁 What about polyamorous ships? 🎁

Polyamorous ships (triads, vees, quads, polycules, etc.) are always considered rare and are VERY welcome (ex: Hermione/Harry/Ron is allowed even if Hermione/Harry and Hermione/Ron are on the list of common ships)!

🎁 What about a common ship in the background of a work? 🎁

Yes, background common ships are totally allowed as long as the main focus is a rare pair (ex: A Pansy/Ginny story with background Draco/Harry).

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OCs may appear in the background of a work, but the main ship should involve only established characters from the HP universe.

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Anyone aged 18+ can participate with an AO3 account. We also encourage you to be part of the HP Rare Pairs Discord Server, although it is not required.

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No, we will be sharing gifts on our Discord and Tumblr, but you do not need to be on either platform to participate. What you do need: an active email address and an AO3 account.

🎁 Is there a limit to the number of participants? 🎁

The 2022 round had 66 sign-ups which was quite impressive. We are tentatively setting a limit of 75 sign-ups for the 2024 round.

🎁 What is on the sign-up form? 🎁

The Sign-up Form is long and thorough. Please make sure to fill out all required sections in order for the mods to make the best possible matches and for you to receive the best possible gifts. This year the sign-up form has 5 sections:

Participant Information (required - for mod use only)

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Bonus Questions (optional - for mod use only)

🎁 I don’t like the username I signed up with. Can I change my AO3/Discord/Tumblr username in the middle of the exchange? 🎁

Please don’t. This is confusing for your gifters and makes more work for the mods.

🎁 I messed up on my sign-up form. Can I go back and make changes? 🎁

Yes, you will be able to edit your sign-up form until Sep 3 when sign-ups close. A link to edit should be sent to your email. If you do not see it, please check your spam folder.

🎁 When will I find out my matches? 🎁

We aim to have all participants matched within a week of sign-ups closing. However, it will depend on the mods’ schedules and number of sign-ups.

🎁 What kind of gifts can I create? 🎁

Any type of HP rare pair fanwork that can be uploaded to AO3 are accepted! Here are some examples:

Creative writing (fic, drabble, poetry, epistolary, screenplay, etc.)

Other writing (meta analysis, ship manifesto, recipe, tutorial, stats, etc.)

Art (traditional mediums, digital art, comic, photography, calligraphy, etc.)

Remix art (moodboard, story banner, podfic coverart, gif set, meme fic, etc.)

Craft (origami, bookbinding, embroidery, knitting, papercutting, ice sculpture, etc.)

Audio (podfic, podcast, filk, playlist, etc.)

Multimedia (fanvid, videogame, animation, stop motion, music video, etc.)

Translation

🎁 Is there a word limit for written gifts or gifts based on written works? 🎁

Yes, the minimum is 200 words. There is no maximum. What this means is:

All written works (drabbles, fics, meta analysis, ship manifesto, etc.) must be at least 200 words. If the gift is less than 200 words (a poem, recipe, etc.), the remaining words may be filled by commentary (character analysis, explanation of imagery/themes/word choice, extra description, etc.).

All podfics must be based on a fic that is at least 200 words.

All translations must be at least 200 words when complete.

🎁 What kind of content can my gifts include? 🎁

We accept all content! This includes graphic violence, MCD, rape/noncon, underage, incest, abuse, and dark or triggering themes as long as they are tagged appropriately. The mods will be tag-checking all works. The only restriction is we will not accept NSFW art containing underage characters (which is illegal by US law). If you need help with tagging, you may reference this Comprehensive List of Triggers, Tags & Squicks or ask a mod. 

🎁 Can I recycle fannish works as gifts? 🎁

No, gifts must be new and created exclusively for the exchange and specifically for your giftee.

🎁 Can I submit an AI-generated work? 🎁

No, AI-generated works are not allowed. If we find you have submitted an AI-generated work, you will be kicked from the exchange.

🎁 Does my gift need to be X-mas/winter themed? 🎁

No, it can be any theme as long as it includes a rare pair.

🎁 How many gifts will I get? 🎁

Every participant will receive at least 2 gifts. They may be small gifts and they may not be exactly what you wished for but they will be made with love and enthusiasm <3

🎁 How many gifts do I need to create to be able to participate? 🎁

You must submit at least 1 gift in order for Santa (aka the mods) to deliver your gifts. Participants are implored encouraged to submit more than one gift. If we have enough gifts, we may be able to give everyone 3 gifts instead of 2!

🎁 Can I submit my gifts anonymously? 🎁

Yes, you may choose to submit your gifts anonymously. In this case you will not be named as a giftmaker in the Creator Reveals on Dec 30. Please tell the mods your preference when submitting your gift. We will contact you about any additional steps.

🎁 How do I submit/deliver my gifts? 🎁

Gifts should be uploaded to the AO3 Collection. Then, please complete the Submission Form, one for each gift submitted. The mods will deliver gifts on AO3, Discord, and Tumblr Dec 1-25.

🎁 Can I make treats? 🎁

No, we are not accepting treats (extra gifts made outside of your matched assignment) for this exchange.

🎁 What if I need an extension or need to drop? 🎁

We get it. Life happens. If you need an extension or need to drop, please email us ASAP. It’s okay, we understand. Just, please don’t ghost us!

🎁 How will I get my gifts? 🎁

If you are on Discord or Tumblr, we will tag you when your gifts are delivered. Otherwise, your gifts will be delivered directly through AO3. Please make sure you have "Allow anyone to gift me works" checked in your Preferences. When you receive your gifts, don't forget to leave a comment to thank your gifters. We want to make sure they feel appreciated!

🎁 Can I send/receive physical gifts in the mail? 🎁

We are not doing physical gifts as part of the exchange, but you are welcome to coordinate with your gifter/recipient after the fest ends and send physical gifts granted you are both comfortable sharing your IRL addresses.

🎁 Who are the mods? 🎁

@lumosatnight, @nanneramma, @schmem14, @mischiefmandied, @venom0usbarbie and other wonderful helpers from Discord and Tumblr!

🎁 I still have questions/want to find out more. What should I do? 🎁

Message us through email, Tumblr, or Discord! We are always open to chat, answer questions, or flail about rare pairs 🍐

Email: hssrarepairs@gmail.com

Tumblr: @hssrarepairs

Discord: HP Rare Pairs

[maple-321]

I've just updated my Hermione/Ginny fic that I've been working on since the beginning of the year. It's currently at 89 chapters and 272k words, and still has quite a way to go.

Title: The Veela Chain Reaction

Summary: After being exposed to the Veela mascots at the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, Ginny Weasley realizes she might fancy girls. What does this mean for her new friendship with Hermione Granger, her older brother's best friend who she's always admired from afar?

Notes: This is an AU canon-divergent, multi-POV story that will center around Ginny and Hermione's constantly evolving friendship/relationship. There is no Voldemort, no war, Harry is not "The Chosen One", it's just teenagers attending Hogwarts and maneuvering the best they can through the Wizarding World. This is a WLW-centric story, so if that's not your thing, there's your heads up.

Chapters 1-44: Summer 1994, GoF School Year Chapters 45-66: Summer 1995, OotP School Year Chapters 67-86: Summer 1996, HBP School Year Chapters 87-?: Summer 1997, DH School Year

Rating: Mature

[ginnyrules27]

Hey Ginny, any snippets for CL, HaH and StoF?

Her other hand gently rested itself on her stomach, and now that Mal was aware of her pregnancy she could feel the bump. It wasn’t as big as it had been with the twins but it was still present. 

-Choosing Life (chapter 53, currently 66 words)

“Hold on Mal!” 

“Wait…is that Uma’s voice?” Harry asked, a frown forming as he made his way from behind the counter to see what was going on. “Benny, come on! Uma needs us!” 

-Half and Half (chapter 36, currently 1040 words)

[onceuponaswanqueen]

My 2023 Fanfiction Reading Stats

Happy New Year, everyone!

In this post, I'll be giving some stats over my fanfiction reading last year, and under the cut will be my 15 favorite fics I read last year (10 new ones and five rereads).

But first, some stats!

I read 17 890 498 words, that's 6 million words more than last year! I read 593 fics. 110 fandoms and 322 ships! That's double the amount of ships I read last year.

By number of fics, my most popular fandom was Harry Potter with a total of 89 fics. Second popular fandom was Gossip Girl, with 55 fics, and in third place we have Criminal Minds with 42 ships.

That means that Harry Potter is the only fandom from last year to break the top 3 again. Last year (2022) I read zero Gossip Girls fics, and only a couple Criminal Minds fics, so both those fandoms entered with a force.

When it comes to ships and word count, my three most popular ships were Dan/Blair (Gossip Girl) with 21 fics, and Emma/Regina (Once Upon a time) with 21 fics. Ironically enough, 21 was the highest number of fics read with a single paring last year (2022) as well though the pairings were faberry & swan queen. My third most read ship was Katniss/Peeta (The Hunger Games) with 16. Only one f/f ship in the top three, which i don't think has happened to me since middle school.

In terms of words, my most popular fandom was still Harry Potter (3 927 226 words), followed by the Hunger Games (1 274 229 words), and in third place General Hospital (1 006 643 words). And for pairings that is Emma/Regina (Once Upon a Time) at number one with 947 973 words, followed by Jason/Elizabeth (General Hospital) with 889 029 words, and in third place Ginny/Harry (Harry Potter) with 671 844 words.

I mostly read canon divergence (196 fics), then future!fic (not necessarily canon compliant) with 73 fics, and then post-canon fics with 66 fics.

I read 168 fics with f/f pairings, 161 ficswith f/m pairings (which damn, i haven't read this much het since i was in middle school), 166 gen fics, and 72 fics with a M/M pairing. I also read 20 fics with mulitiple pairingtype (ia both f/f and f/m), 1 fic which was nb/m, and 8 fics with a poly ship.

My avarage rating was 4 stars. My avarage number of words per fic were 30 204 words. I also had 55 fics that I had read last year, which is much lower than last year.

And now, my top fifteen fics I read last year, (in no particular order)

The Victors Project by oisin55

Before Katniss and Peeta, seventy-three children won the Hunger Games. Some were brutal. Some were clever. Some were lucky. A few were almost decent. These are their stories. This is the Victors Project. (Hunger Games, mostly gen)

THIS IS THE BEST FIC I HAVE EVER READ. Like it's so good, and yes it's long. Its 311k, but worth every second. It's no longer canon compatible due to Songbirds, but it's still worth the read. You will not regret it.

2. The Mad World Series by crimsonglass

Set in Summer 2003. One night in June, Ric kidnaps Carly and locks her in a panic room, drugging Elizabeth to cover his tracks. Before long, Port Charles is embroiled in scandal, corruption, and trauma that hits home for everyone. It will be a long time before anyone forgets Ric Lansing’s reign of terror or the evil simmering beneath the surface of the city. (General Hospital, Jason/Elizabeth centric, but with other ships as well)

This is a niche fandom and ship, but this was absolutely brilliant. All the parts are great, tho I really love All of Me and This Is Me, which revisits Elizabeth's rape and puts her center in her own story. Which the show just hasn't done in over a decade. And it's just so good. I've read almost all of crimsonglass's fanfic this year but this stands out to me as one I will proabably reread for years.

3. Truth and Measure by telanu

Andy doesn't leave Miranda in Paris, and learns that a single decision can change your life. But the main thing about decisions? You don't get to stop with one. (The Devil Wears Prada, Andy/Miranda)

This is a classic for a reason. I cannot believe I have never read this before. It left it breathless. It was so good, I just couldn't stop reading it. I finished in like two days and it's 271k long. It's just so addicting.

4. Roads Diverged by freelancerrh

The stick had two lines. Four alternate continuations from "Late." (Dawson's Creek, Pacey/Joey)

THIS IS BRILLIANT. It follows four different timelines from Late if Joey was pregnant, one where she keps the baby and raieses it with pacey, one were she has an abortion and tells pacey, one she raises the baby alone, and one where she has an abortion but never tell pacey. All four timeslines are excellent, and I love this kind of multiple timelines stories. Totally worth a read if you know the fandom and ship the pairing.

5. If You Never Bleed, You're Never Gonna Grow by mp143

For three years, she ignored the way she clung to updates about him from her brother, every little piece of his life he didn’t share with her in the course of a hookup. She disregarded the tightening in her chest and the fluttering in her stomach when they were together, noticing that he never stopped noticing her, anticipating her desires and giving them to her without her having to ask. And she refused to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t only about sex — not for her, and maybe not for him either. And that’s, of course, how she ended up here: huddled over a cauldron in the bathroom of her tiny flat, trying to work up the courage to prick her finger and pinch a drop of blood into the potion.

Best Harry/Ginny fic I read last year, hands down. It was so suprising, deals with why and how Ginny got pregnant so young and in the middle of her career. It also steers away from canon but honestly, it works better that way. Also the romance in this is spot on.

6. To Hold off the Lightning by cinnamonfiglatte

There’s no burst of dust, the way Faith expects. Only blood at her hands and blood at the stranger’s lips and the chilling sound of a death rattle fighting its way from his lungs. Or: Faith kills Allan Finch. The Scoobies offer her the literal crumbs of support she needs in order to not give in to darkness. Yes, this is another “Faith stays (mostly) good” season 3 AU. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Faith/Buffy)

Works perfectly in canon and in character Fuffy fic, yes and thank you. The way the romance develops in this is so natural and organic, and it makes so much sense, and it never puts down on Buffy and Angel and it all just works. It's a slow burn and it so delicious i can't even. Read it!

7. There's a place I call my home by lizwas (Series)

au from 5x21 onward, but takes place years in the future. Jenny comes from London to spend a summer in the Hamptons, and reconnects with her old friend Nate. (Gossip Girl, Jenny/Nate)

I fell into a gossip girl hole this year, no doubt. and my favorite writer for this fandom is lizwas, but this series just stood out to me. i love jenny & nate and they are so underappricated and this series is so good, it treats nate with respect, it treats jenny with respect, it shows how people can grow and how people can grow together, and i just *chefs kiss*, the smut is pretty good too if that's your thing.

8. Who Knows, Who Cares by the_dream_team

Lily Evans liked girls. Well, she liked boys, too. Bisexual. That was the term she’d settled on." After 22 years spent in the closet, Lily is excited to finally start dating girls. In fact, she's quite determined to make up for a lifetime of relationships with mediocre men, and the messy-haired boy who works at the art museum isn't going to change her plans anytime soon. Definitely not. (Harry Potter, James/Lily)

This is a no!magic, coffeeshop au, AND ITS SO CUTE. It's the perfect winter rom com. It has Hallmark Christmas movies vibes but in a good way. It's just such a nice cozy read. And the James/Lily dynamic is spot on and I love it.

9. The Way The World Ends by KidA_666

“Age of Consent” by New Order blares out, loud enough for Jonathan to hear across the room.  He had been there when Steve chose it a few months ago during another war room: “‘Age of Consent’ is good, I guess.”  “It can’t be I guess, dingus!  It has to be enough to save you from a brutal interdimensional death!” Robin snapped.   Steve had rolled his eyes.  “What’s Vecna gonna want with me anyways, Rob?  I’ll do ‘Age of Consent.’”  Jonathan had known, that night, that it might be the wrong choice.  But he didn’t say anything because it had been years and he could be wrong and maybe some selfish, petty part of him didn’t want to give Steve the satisfaction of Jonathan still knowing. Something lifts Steve off of the couch. “It’s not working!” Robin screams.   And Jonathan knows why it isn’t working.  He remembers.  Whatever high school bullshit Steve has put him through doesn’t particularly matter in the face of watching him be destroyed and turned inside out.  So Jonathan, calmer than he feels, says, “It’s Hank Williams.  Do you have Hank Williams?”  (Stranger Things, Steve/Jonathan)

Why does this work so well? I have no clue but it does. It's childhood friends to enemies to lovers and it works so well in canon, like it fits right in and it's so great. I love this. It's not a pairing I usually read, but it took me by such suprise and totally worth giving it a chance.

10. The War is Not Over When The Soldiers Come Home by keepcalmsmile

DeFonda Hepburn had met many parents in her many years as a nanny, but she'd never met parents quite like the Potters. Strangely enough, they have more in common than she thought. (Harry Potter, gen with Harry/Ginny)

Outsider POV of Harry and Ginny as adults and parents. It's so good. It's canon compliant, and it's wonderful. I found a new love of outsider POV this year and this one is the best I read. I just.. wonderful.

Top Five rereads (In no particular order)

- by colormetheworld

No summary available but it's this after Jane's wife dies by Hoyt's hand, Jane transfer to Boston with her kids and moves in with Maura. This is a story about healing. (Rizzoli and Isles, Jane/Maura)

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of fiction I have ever read. This author is my favorite author in this fandom, and this work along with Keys, never fails to make me cry. It's wonderful.

2. I don't know how lovely you are by sungfsongsun

Emily-centric. Set after 1x09. Emily/Alison, implied Emily/Maya.

This fic is super short, 1345 words, but it stuck with me. It stuck with me so much I read it twice last year, and I have read it several times before this. It's just three short scenes with the other liars set after she came out, and an apparence by ali in the end. it's just so simple and so beautiful.

3. Bittersweet and Strange by speakpirate

Emily Fields doesn’t need either of them. But Rosewood is still Rosewood. Their students just might need them both. A story where Paige and Alison discover they have more important things in common than a mutual ex. (Pretty Little Liars, Alison/Paige)

This shouldn't work. I shouldn't love this as much as I do. Like I hate that trope of the bully falling for their victim, but it just works here. Maybe because they're adults, and they've grown, but this just fit so well. Such a treat.

4. Track changes by cairophoenix

Alex is an editor at a New York publishing house, and that means her life is going right. She has her apartment, and the gym, and Kara a subway stop away. So if her apartment’s always empty at the end of the day, that’s just how things are. She spends a lot of time at the office, anyway. She’s making it, and that’s something she can be satisfied with. And then a mysterious book arrives.

This is excellent. The slow burn is wonderful. Alex' journey is wonderful. A lovely little no powers AU with these two falling in love through copy editing. And it's so nice.

5. Game of Stacks by CommaSplice

When the Aegon Targaryen Memorial Library at Crownlands University loses its most recent library director in a tragic accident, President Robert Baratheon turns to his friend and colleague Eddard Stark to turn the library around. (Game of Thrones, Tywin/Olenna, Jaime/Brienne, Sansa/Margaery, Stannis/Asha/Davos/Cercei)

This fic is batshit in the best way. Like it's 100% Game of Thrones set in a university library. It takes turns and twist that you just never see coming. Also the ships are wonderful, the way they handle the Cersei/Jaime thing is so good, the suspense is good still on a third or forth reread. It's such a good story.

[shifting-with-alex]

101 PLACES TO SHIFT TO

These are just a bunch of ideas of places to shift to. If you're a beginner and don't know where to shift to or if your not and just want another place to shift to this is for you.

Also disclaimer I have not seen a lot of the shows/movies mentioned just in case you come across one and you're like "who would want to shift there" yuh know.

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1. MCU

2. DC

3. HARRY POTTER

4. GINNY AND GEORGIA

5. ACTOR/ACTRESS DR

6. MODEL DR

7. GIRL GROUP/BOY GROUP

8. YOUTUBER DR

9. SPORTS PLAYER DR

10. VAMPIRE DIARIES

11. UMBRELLA ACADEMY

12. CRIMINAL MINDS

13. MAZE RUNNER

14. GREYS ANATOMY

15. GILMORE GIRLS

16. STRANGER THINGS

17. BRIDGERTON

18. THE WALKING DEAD

19. ON MY BLOCK

20. GRAND ARMY

21. THE 100

22. NCIS

23. OUTER BANKS

24. TOO HOT TO HANDLE

25. THE CIRCLE

26. TITLETOWN HIGH

27. MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

28. 13 REASONS WHY

29. THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD

30. NEVER HAVE I EVER

31. LUCIFER

32. ANNE WITH AN E

33. SQUID GAME

34. CHEER

35. EVERYTHING SUCKS

36. ALADIN

37. AVATAR

38. HUNGER GAMES

39. BACK TO THE FUTURE

40. CORALINE

41. DESCENDENTS

42. GHOST BUSTERS

43. EUPHORIA

44. MAMMA MIA

45. INTO THE WOODS

46. HIGHSCHOOL MUSICAL

47. ANIMAL CROSSING

48. CLUB PENGUIN

49. THE OFFICE

50. ELF

51. THE SANTA CLAUS

52. THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICALS

53. GTA

54. FREE GUY

55. FAMOUS SINGER DR

56. ATTACK ON TITAN

57. BEASTARS

58. HUNTER X HUNTER

59. HAIKYUU

60. DEMON SLAYER

61. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

62. A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

63. PERCEY JACKSON

64. DIVERGENT

65. IT

66. LITTLE WOMEN

67. LORD OF THE RINGS

68. OUTLANDER

69. SEX EDUCATION

70. KOBRA KIA

71. TOTAL DRAMA

72. AMERICAS NEXT TOP MODEL

73. SURVIOR

74. LOVE ISLAND

75. ZOOTOPIA

76. CRUELLA

77. HOME ALONE

78. LUCA

79. READY PLAYER ONE

80. TEEN TITANS

81. MY HERO ACADEMIA

82. TWILIGHT

83. RIVERDALE

84. SHAMELESS

85. THE GOLDEN GIRLS

86. FULL HOUSE

87. FULLER HOUSE

88. DREAM JOB DR

89. THE SIMS

90. MINECRAFT

91. LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

92. POPTROPICA

93. DEAR EVAN HANSEN

94. HEATHERS

95. ROYALTY DR

96. OLYMPIAN DR

97. PEAKY BLINDERS

98. H20

99. MAKO MERMAIDS

100. VICTORIOUS

101. SHREK

[I].

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I hope this helped and that you found a place to shift to. 🖤🖤🖤🖤

[that-was-a-bit-stupid-of-you]

I posted 1,018 times in 2022

That's 982 more posts than 2021!

222 posts created (22%)

796 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@so-scarlet-it-was-maroon

@harryandginnydeservesbetter

@a-ladys-gotta-kiss

@iwasbored777

@taylorswifff

I tagged 335 of my posts in 2022

#harry potter - 106 posts

#harry potter series - 102 posts

#hp fandom - 97 posts

#harry james potter - 95 posts

#hp - 72 posts

#hp books - 71 posts

#hermione granger - 67 posts

#ron weasley - 67 posts

#ginny weasley - 66 posts

#ginevra weasley - 58 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#but according to the swm alone it is even though i dont support him using a slur against lily but in accordance to the sa it is pro snape

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

In love with her

See the full post

759 notes - Posted September 29, 2022

#4

Okay but marichat is so awesome (not cuz of the fake "true selves" bs that half the fandom believes in) cuz adrien and marinette are already huge chaotic messes, but as as marichat, it increases sm like they are just those unlikely friends who joke together and do dumb stuff and fall down and laugh at themselves and judge random people on the street and whenever someone tells them "awe you guys are so cute together" they just look at each other and burst out laughing until one night they are just venting to each other and they just go "wait... maybe I do like them"

It's just idiots to lovers and I love em so much YOU DONT UNDERSTAND

1,353 notes - Posted July 16, 2022

#3

Alya, teaching marinette how to drive: okay so you're driving and you see chloe and sabrina on the road. Quick, which do you hit?

Marinette: oh without question, chloe

Alya, rubbing her temples: the brakes, marinette, YOU HIT THE BRAKES

1,471 notes - Posted November 17, 2022

#2

"Abortion is killing babies" no. It's not. It's not so simple. The argument doesn't end there. People's lives are at stake. Some of those pregnant people were r*ped. Some of them struggle to afford daily food. Some of them have mental health issues. Some of them are alone. Some of them are kids. Some of them cannot give birth safely. Some of them are in life risking situations where they can get abused if someone else finds out they are pregnant. Some of them just don't want kids and know that they cannot be good parents to them because they are not ready.

It's not about "you didn't have protected sex, so you must now suffer the consequences". Because one action should not determine the rest of their life. They deserve to be happy. They deserve to have a life.

They do not deserve to get punished for one small mistake. The kids they forcefully gave birth to do not deserve to suffer the consequences.

They all deserve to live a life they can be content with, and you, a stranger who will never know them, should not control them or their lives.

2,091 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Kagami: do you know your gay name?

Marinette: my...my gay name?

Kagami: yeah, it's your first name-

Marinette: haha, very funny, kagami-

Kagami: *gets down on one knee* and my last name

Marinette: oh-oh my god-

6,849 notes - Posted July 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[starkidsdraco]

I used this starkid song sorter made by youtiedupmyheart, to find out how I would officially rank the starkid songs. This is just my list of personal favourites. It took a while but it was fun! If you want to have a go, I'd recommend choosing one song or the other as much as you can so you won't get that many ties.

These are the results i got:

1 No Way

2 Those Voices

3 It's Not Over Yet

4 Granger Danger

5 Missing You

6 To Have a Home

7 Not Alone

8 The Coolest Girl

9 Days of Summer

10 Get Back to Hogwarts

11 Guys Like Potter

12 Harry Freakin' Potter

13 Let The Games Begin

14 Big T's Temptation

15 Flight of the Pussies

16 The Council of the Pussies

17 Stutter

18 Voldemort is Going Down

19 Ginny

20 Cho Chang

21 Not Your Seed

22 Into the Night

23 Let It Out

24 Wagon On Fire

25 I Was

26 This School Is Mine

27 The Way I Do

28 Climate Change

29 Do You Want to Play?

30 Join Us (And Die)

31 Twisted

32 What If Tomorrow Comes?

33 Rogues Medley

34 When the World's At Stake

35 Rogues Are We

36 Listen to Your Heart

37 Even Though

38 Ready to Go

39 Dysentary World

40 Gotta Find His Dick

41 Land of the Dicks

42 Take Me Back

43 Speedrun

44 We Got Work to Do

45 Kick It Up A Notch

46 Life

47 Sidekick

48 Everything Ends

49 Inevitable

50 To Dance Again

51 The Dragon Song

52 Harry

53 Finale (MAMD)

54 Cup of Poisoned Coffee

55 Different As Can Be

56 Different As Can Be (Reprise)

57 To Be A Man

58 Kick It Up A Notch (Reprise)

59 Cup of Roasted Coffee

60 I've Seen You Around Here Before

61 Nothin' Like A Dick

62 If I Believed

63 Sands of Time

64 Jemilla's Lament

65 Lost Without You

66 You Gotta Go

67 Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight

68 Get In My Mouth

69 Always Dance

70 A Thousand and One Nights (Reprise)

71 A Thousand and One Nights

72 Hermione Can't Draw

73 When You Have to Go All the Way Home

74 Pigfarts

75 Holy Musical B@man

76 Me and My Dick

77 Super Friends

78 Pays to Be an Animal

79 Sami/Harry

80 Feast or Famine

81 Black Friday

82 Made in America

83 America is Great Again

84 You Tied Up My Heart

85 It's Over Now

86 Sami

87 Chorn

88 The Night Belongs to Snarl

89 Welcome to the Stone Age

90 La Dee Dah Dah Day

91 Golden Rule (Reprise)

92 Fire

93 Naked in a Lake

94 Make the Most of It

95 Dynamic Duet

96 The Grind

97 Senior Year

98 This Is The End

99 Just a Taste

100 Paint Me

101 Wiggle

102 Adore Me

103 The Power In Me

104 Together

105 Everything and More

106 The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

107 If I Fail You

108 Caught in the Lie

109 Show Stoppin Number

110 Let Him Come

111 Boy Toy

112 CaliforM.I.A

113 What Tim Wants

114 Our Doors Are Open

115 Show Me Your Hands

116 Deck the Halls

117 Happy Ending

118 No One Remembers Achmed

119 Dream A Little Harder

120 When the World's At Stake (Reprise)

121 Beauty

122 The American Way

123 Take Off Your Clothes

124 Backfire

125 Ouch My Butt

126 We Are People Now

127 What If?

128 Caulk the Wagon

129 Robin Sucks

130 Independence!

131 Get Back Up

132 Status Quo

133 I Wanna Be

134 Hideous Creatures

135 Gone To Oregon

136 Orphaned at 33

137 Golden Rule

138 Back On Top

139 I Steal Everything

140 Little White Medley

141 Monsters and Men (Reprise)

142 What Do You Want, Paul?

143 Liam's Got A Phone Call

144 Wiggly Jingle

145 What Do You Say?

146 Monsters and Men

147 With My Own Eyes

148 One In A Million

149 The Force (You Got It)

150 Strike Back

151 Haunted By The Kiss

152 Long Ago And Far Away

153 Ani

154 Fancy Machine

[witcheschess]

I posted 174 times in 2022

13 posts created (7%)

161 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@disneyprinceronweasley

@angelhummel

@homosandhomies

@inthetags

I tagged 174 of my posts in 2022

#hp fan art - 40 posts

#harry potter - 33 posts

#hermione granger - 27 posts

#marauders - 23 posts

#ron weasley - 21 posts

#summer says stuff - 16 posts

#hp - 16 posts

#ginny weasley - 13 posts

#my immortal - 10 posts

#remus lupin - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#but as an example i think talking about how to be a jewish ally is more meaningful than 'reblog to punch a nazi!!"

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

character aesthetics | luna lovegood

"my mum always said things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect."

22 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#4

49 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#3

character aesthetics | ebony dark'ness dementia raven way

"I'm good at too many things! WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL? IT'S A FUCKING CURSE!"

66 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#2

290 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

342 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 66: Bond

There was a certain bond that formed between two people when all of your friends were paired off and dating someone. When the two of you were the only single people so you got paired off to share food, and be partners in games, and all other manner of things.

Harry supposed that tonight would be just one more of those nights as he arrived at Ginny and Luna's. And he wasn't complaining (not anymore, at least) it had taken a couple of years but he and Draco had warmed up to each other. They had compatible styles for partner games, Draco always gave Harry any treats with nuts and Harry gave him any treats with mint, and Harry genuinely enjoyed his dry sense of humor.

If he was being honest, he'd started looking forward to all of the time that he got to spend with Draco on Friday nights.

But things felt different the moment he entered the house, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He spotted Ginny first, standing against the counter, pouring a couple glasses of wine, "Hey," he called.

She looked up and bit her lip.

"What?" he asked with no small amount of dread. He knew that look; it was the look she'd given him right before she'd told him she might be gay and in love with Luna, a look that said she was afraid of breaking his heart.

Ginny opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Ginny, what?" he said, taking several steps toward her.

"I don't know how to say thi-"

"Oh, good," he heard Draco say from behind him, "You're here."

His mouth stretched into a grin even before he turned around "He-" he broke off when he saw that Draco was standing with his arm around some bloke who Harry had never met before. "Hey," he finished.

"This is Matt," Draco offered.

And frankly, Harry would rather die (again) than shake his hand but before he could have any say in the matter Matt had stepped forward into his space and was gripping his hand. Hard. "The Harry Potter," he drawled. "My, my."

(Read more below the cut)

Harry glanced over at Draco who looked vaguely uncomfortable.

"Draco has told me so much about you. I could hardly believe that he was telling the truth." He leaned toward Harry conspiratorially, "He's known for embellishing the truth, you know?"

Harry wrenched his hand from Matt's grip, "Actually, I've found Draco to be honest to a fault. Hardly anyone else will tell me when my outfit doesn't match or I've got something stuck in my teeth."

Matt's eyes flashed and Harry's proverbial hackles stood on end he didn't like that look, "I-" Matt started

"Hey," Draco said, taking Matt's hand and drawing his attention, "Let me introduce you to everyone else."

"Nice meeting you, Mark," Harry called.

Draco narrowed his eyes at him, "Matt," he corrected, before mouthing, 'behave' at Harry.

"My mistake," Harry said, maintaining eye contact with the other man until he turned away and followed Draco into the other room.

"Okay," Ginny said, drawing his attention away from them, "First. Men are disgusting; I can't believe I thought I was attracted to them for so long."

"What?" he asked, slumping over to the counter and sliding onto a stool across from where Ginny was still mixing up drinks. He was feeling a little nauseous, fire rushing under his skin.

"That," she said, gesturing to where Harry had been standing talking to Matt and Draco, "The little pissing match to decide who's dominant."

"What?" Harry asked, "that guy is just an asshole."

She rolled her eyes, "Second, you're still an idiot."

"Wow. I'm just going to go home," he said. "Between you and the dude who was trying to break my fingers, I don't think it's going to be a great night."

Ginny leaned across the counter and instinctively Harry leaned toward her, "How long are you going to continue denying you have feelings for Draco?"

His brow furrowed, "I don't. We're just mates," he added.

"I rest my case. You're still an idiot," she said as she leaned back and started mixing drinks again.

Harry slouched on his stool turning that thought over in his mind, "That actually would make sense," he admitted.

"Harry, I love you, you know I do," she said. "But honestly, I can't believe you're just figuring this out. The rest of us have known for ages. We were all shocked when he walked through the door with Matt; he told us he was bringing someone but we thought the two of you were just making a joke."

"Well now what am I supposed to do?" he asked. "Why couldn't anyone have said something sooner?"

"Because we thought it was obvious," she hissed.

"Let's just get through the night," he sighed. "Then we'll deal with the rest. We'll need to come up with a plan."

-----------

He spent the rest of the night calling Matt the wrong name (Miles, Maurice, Mike, Max, Moses, Mitch, Mason) to the point that Ron either caught on and decided to help or got confused enough that he started calling him the wrong name, too. Harry also couldn't help but rub it in Matt's face how much better he knew Draco; telling inside jokes, asking Draco specific questions about his work and his parents, and reminiscing about fond memories.

Draco seemed a bit exasperated by it but Harry couldn't help himself. Once he started, he just couldn't seem to stop.

Eventually as everyone was getting ready to leave and Luna was saying good bye to Matt, Draco cornered him, "Do not move a fucking muscle," he hissed, "I am not done with you."

"Dra-"

"I mean it, Potter. Stay right here," he said, jabbing him in the chest with his finger before he turned and made his way over to his date.

"Hey," Matt said, smiling at him much the way Harry imagined an alligator might smile at his prey.

"Hi," Draco replied softly. "I'll floo you tomorrow, yeah? There are a few things I need to take care of."

Matt frowned, "I thought we were going back to my place."

"No," Draco replied steadily. "I have a five date rule." He stepped back, "I'll floo you," he repeated.

And Matt looked pretty pissed about it, but he seemed to take the hint and disapparated on the spot without so much as a goodbye to anyone.

"You're all the literal worst," Draco fumed. "Except you, Luna," he added. "You're a goddess."

Luna gave a little curtsy.

"Seriously," Draco said, glaring at the room even though none of them looked especially repentant. "And you," he spat, spinning to glare at Harry, "You're the worst of all."

"Does that make me special?" Harry quipped, arms folded across his chest.

Draco groaned, "Bloody fucking Griffyndors. I hope you're all happy," he grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on we are going back to mine to have a chat."

"I thought you had a five date rule," Ginny called.

Draco flipped her the two finger salute before apparating them to his house.

Harry always liked being in Draco's house; it was small and cozy, and it always smelled vaguely like chamomile. Just being here made his soul feel lighter, calmer.

"Alright," Draco growled, "Spill. What the hell was that?"

"What?" Harry asked innocently.

"Potter," he warned.

Harry sighed, "He's an asshole."

"And you know that how? You didn't even give him a chance".

"Draco his handshake was like a vice!"

Draco stared at him, "You've got to be kidding me. Are you that much of a child? He hurt your hand so you thought you should bully him?"

"I didn't bully him!" Harry exclaimed.

"No?" Draco asked. "You didn't use his given name even once." Harry winced, maybe that was overkill. "You spent the entire night trying to make him feel stupid and inferior to you. Which, let's face it, everyone does anyway because you're Harry fucking Potter!" Draco exploded.

"That's not fair," Harry said, betrayal slicing hot through his gut. Draco knew that he hated being famous, hated the preconceived notions attached to his name.

"Yeah well, neither was what you did."

"Draco, I-"

"No," he said, holding out a hand, "That was such bullshit, Harry."

"But he's awful."

"You didn't even give him a cha-"

"I didn't have to!" he exploded. "The first words he said to me were to disrespect you. He's an asshole and I will chase a million of them away from you."

"That's not your job."

Harry threw his hands up in the air, "I'm your best friend! Whose job is it, if it's not mine?"

"You don't just get to decide things for me!" Draco cried.

"Fine," Harry spat. "You want to date that wanker, go ahead. But I have seen his type before. Don't come crying to me when he's beaten you to a bloody pulp for looking at someone the wrong way." He pushed past Draco and made his way to the door, walking out and slamming it behind him.

He started down the sidewalk, debating trying to figure out where Matt lived and have a chat or maybe go over to Ron and Hermione's to get some advice and regroup.

But the further he walked, the more the anger faded from his veins, and the guilt settled in.

There was no choice really, he turned around and headed back to Draco's house once more. When he arrived he knocked on the door even though he normally would have just let himself in.

"Go away!" Draco shouted.

He knocked again, "Draco, please."

"No! Go away. You're the worst."

"I know," he called back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Please."

After a few seconds, during which fear settled heaving in Harry's gut, the door opened and Harry slipped inside, Draco was curled up on the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest.

Seeing him looking so small and sad made Harry ache. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Which part?" Draco asked bitterly.

He sighed and came over to sit on the couch beside Draco, "I'm not sorry for chasing him away. But I will always be here for you, no matter what. You can always come to me."

Draco leaned over and put his head on Harry's shoulder, "I know," he whispered.

"Forgive me?"

He nodded and they sat together in silence for a few minutes, both trying to collect their thoughts. Eventually Harry said, "I really wish you wouldn't date him."

Draco sat up, "Harry look at me."

Harry turned on the couch to look at him and raised his eyebrows.

"I won't ever floo call him, we'll never go on another date, and I'll never see him again." Something eased in Harry's chest. "But it's not because of what you said or did. It's because I, too, have had shitty relationships. I have also lived through trauma and I have had to learn from it just like you."

Harry looked down at his hands.

"And if you have concerns about someone, there is a better way to tell me than what you did tonight."

He nodded, suitably chastised, "You're right."

"I appreciate your concern, though," he added and Harry looked up to see that Draco's mouth was quirked up, he really must be forgiven, apparently. "And I genuinely forgot how petty you can be."

He shook his head and reached out for Draco's hand, "Draco, I want you to be so, so happy," he said. Then he added, "I'm an idiot."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"And everyone knows it, you included, so you can't really hold it against me," he said.

"I'm pretty sure I can."

He huffed, "Just hear me out. I'm an idiot and I didn't realize until tonight that I'm a little bit in love with you. And it's fine if you don't feel the same but you are my best friend and I had high standards for you even before I knew I had feelings for you. It hurt me to see you with someone who treated you so poorly."

"Sorry," Draco said, "I need you to repeat that."

"I said, I'm an idiot," Harry started.

"Not that part."

"It hurt me to see you with someone who treated y-"

"Not that part either," Draco said.

Harry swallowed, "It's fine if you don't fee-"

"Harry," he grumbled. "Say the other part."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm in love with you," he whispered.

Draco blinked at him, a smile blooming at the corner of his mouth, "Say it again."

A grin tipped up the corners of his mouth as well, "I'm in love with you."

Draco launched himself into Harry's arms and covered Harry's lips with his own, "say it again," he mumbled into the kiss.

"I love you," Harry repeated, murmuring the words into Draco's mouth.

Draco pulled back slightly, "I love you, too."

"I hoped that was the case," Harry replied.

After he kissed him again, Draco said, "Alright, fine. Now you get a say in who I date."

Harry grinned, "Is that so?"

He nodded.

"Will you date me, Draco Malfoy?" he asked, brushing his nose along Draco's.

"Yes," he whispered. Then with a smirk he added, "But we'll have to get my best friend's approval and rumor has it that he has very high standards."

---------------

Day 65: Question | Day 67: Soulmate (Take 1)- Your traditional soulmate trope or Day 67: Soulmate (Take 2)- just using the word 'soulmate' as a prompt, not the trope.

[centrumlumina]

As part of the AO3 Ship Stats project, this list shows the 100 most-posted pairing tags on Archive Of Our Own in the period 24 July 2019 - 2 August 2020. This list was created by comparing the current number of fics with data gathered for the 2019 AO3 Ship Stats.

There are 71 M/M pairings on the list, 15 F/M, 3 F/F, 8 Gen and 3 Other. (Please note that on AO3, ‘Name & Name’ indicates platonic or familial ‘Gen’ relationships, while ‘Name/Name’ is used for romantic and sexual pairings.)

Of the 200 names on the list, 23 are women and 3 are characters of ambiguous gender, down from 28 and 3 in the 2019 list. 92 are POC, and 7 are racially ambiguous, compared with 64 and 11 two years ago.

For more information about the AO3 Ship Stats project, please check out the accompanying FAQs. You might also be interested in the All-Time Top 100 Pairings and the Femslash Top 100 list. These stats are also available on AO3.

ETA: Fixed the Change value for Merlin/Arthur Pendragon.

ETA 2: Fixed Race categorisation for Michael Guerin/Alex Manes.

A text-only version of this data is given below the cut.

Rank   Change   Pairing   Fandom   New Works   Total   Type   Race 1   15   Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   20298   28726   M/M   White 2   72   Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   10671   13130   M/M   POC 3   8   Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   9076   21306   F/M   White 4   28   Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   8441   12227   M/M   White 5   N   Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion   The Witcher (TV)   7573   7573   M/M   White 6   1   Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   7239   40312   M/M   White 7   5   Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   7070   16824   M/M   POC 8   0   Peter Parker & Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   6807   17366   Gen   White 9   -7   James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers   Captain America (Movies)   6262   49659   M/M   White 10   4   Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   6141   15375   M/M   POC 11   -5   Steve Rogers/Tony Stark   The Avengers (Marvel Movies)   5613   36264   M/M   White 12   68   Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   5503   7928   Gen   White 13   -8   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V   Bangtan Boys | BTS   5254   23339   M/M   POC 14   5   Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug   Miraculous Ladybug   5183   19631   F/M   Whi/POC 15   5   Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   5001   14073   M/M   POC 16   -13   Castiel/Dean Winchester   Supernatural   4927   84563   M/M   White 17   1   Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   4596   17867   M/M   POC 18   N   Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)   9-1-1 (TV)   3716   3716   M/M   Whi/POC 19   5   Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor   Supergirl (TV 2015)   3614   13048   F/F   White 20   -16   Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood   Shadowhunters (TV)   3599   24787   M/M   Whi/POC 21   2   Pepper Potts/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   3569   17384   F/M   White 22   14   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   3565   7325   M/M   POC 23   N   Adora/Catra (She-Ra)   She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)   3538   4919   F/F   Whi/POC 24   15   Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs)   文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs   3512   8768   M/M   POC 25   N   Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan   陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF   3446   3446   M/M   POC 26   -12   Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski   Teen Wolf (TV)   3249   59286   M/M   White 27   10   Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)   Merlin (TV)   3157   18688   M/M   White 28   -11   Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3155   16682   M/M   POC 29   66   Ayanga/Zhèng Yúnlóng   声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)   3111   5285   M/M   POC 30   -21   Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3026   19851   M/M   POC 31   -3   Sirius Black/Remus Lupin   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2958   17686   M/M   White 32   N   Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist   The Magnus Archives (Podcast)   2917   3367   M/M   Ambig 33   60   Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2672   5023   Gen   POC 34   12   Peter Parker/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   2623   6160   M/M   White 35   N   Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio   Haikyuu!!   2601   10485   M/M   POC 36   22   Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2583   10171   F/M   Whi/Amb 37   -8   Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2507   9891   M/M   POC 38   -37   Keith/Lance (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   2480   30317   M/M   Amb/POC 39   20   Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington   Stranger Things (TV 2016)   2438   5338   M/M   White 40   N   Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou   Haikyuu!!   2387   7629   M/M   POC 41   N   Patrick Brewer/David Rose   Schitt's Creek   2363   3150   M/M   White 42   5   Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee   NCT (Band)   2331   5854   M/M   POC 43   8   Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   2304   6506   Gen   White 44   N   Dabi/Takami Keigo | Hawks   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2294   2930   M/M   POC 45   N   Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru   Haikyuu!!   2272   11155   M/M   POC 46   -24   Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2259   12668   M/M   POC 47   N   Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   2218   2218   M/M   White 48   28   Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth   Game of Thrones (TV)   2186   7063   F/M   White 49   19   Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2169   4991   M/M   POC 50   N   Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   2163   3116   F/M   White 51   3   Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2128   11699   F/M   Whi/Amb 52   -31   Sherlock Holmes/John Watson   Sherlock (TV)   2121   61544   M/M   White 53   -5   James Potter/Lily Evans Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2110   10125   F/M   White 54   -28   Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2074   9498   M/M   POC 55   N   Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   2073   2494   M/M   POC 56   -25   Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter   Hannibal (TV)   2064   17257   M/M   White 57   N   Kakyoin Noriaki/Kujo Jotaro   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1964   3580   M/M   POC 58   N   Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1896   3983   F/M   POC 59   -46   Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov   Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)   1843   24332   M/M   Whi/POC 60   15   Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1838   9269   F/M   White 61   N   Poe Dameron/Finn   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   1806   7238   M/M   POC 62   N   Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1791   2732   M/M   POC 63   -38   Dan Howell/Phil Lester   Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)   1782   17316   M/M   White 64   -54   Keith/Shiro (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   1764   13925   M/M   Amb/POC 65   31   Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1720   3917   M/M   White 66   N   Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow   Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell   1707   4803   M/M   Whi/POC 67=   -33   Kim Taehyung | V/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1651   7176   M/M   POC 67=   N   Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1651   1651   Other   White 69   N   Michelle Jones/Peter Parker   Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)   1639   3692   F/M   Whi/POC 70   N   Michael Guerin/Alex Manes   Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)   1635   2746   M/M   Whi/POC 71   28   Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto   Naruto   1625   7705   M/M   POC 72   N   Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1617   3776   F/M   POC 73   -30   James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1559   7456   M/M   White 74   -39   James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1544   7724   Other   Whi/Amb 75   9   Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed   Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)   1534   3921   M/M   White 76   N   Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1511   6308   M/M   White 77   N   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Namjoon | RM   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1505   3911   M/M   POC 78   N   Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson   Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan   1501   6017   F/M   White 79   N   Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1495   1495   Other   White 80   N   Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1493   8791   Gen   White 81   N   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1487   2200   Gen   POC 82   -37   Tony Stark/Stephen Strange   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1460   4912   M/M   White 83   N   Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist   Persona 5   1447   3285   M/M   POC 84   N   Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou   Haikyuu!!   1444   4932   M/M   POC 85   N   Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know   Stray Kids (Band)   1440   3091   M/M   POC 86   -33   Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol   EXO (Band)   1431   6629   M/M   POC 87   -45   Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1416   27696   M/M   White 88   N   Leone Abbacchio/Bruno Buccellati   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1415   2237   M/M   White 89   N   Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar   Lucifer (TV)   1413   4165   F/M   White 90   N   Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier   IT - Stephen King   1396   2268   Gen   White 91   N   Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard   All For The Game - Nora Sakavic   1392   4681   M/M   White 92   N   Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long   RWBY   1390   4358   F/F   POC 93   N   Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1378   2887   Gen   POC 94   N   Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader   Star Wars - All Media Types   1369   4112   F/M   White 95=   -8   Kim Namjoon | RM/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1365   4728   M/M   POC 95=   N   Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)   Avatar: The Last Airbender   1365   1828   M/M   POC 97   N   Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin   NCT (Band)   1360   3266   M/M   POC 98   N   Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier   X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)   1333   14736   M/M   White 99   -72   Loki/Thor (Marvel)   Thor (Movies)   1330   12863   M/M   White 100   N   Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1327   3132   M/M   White

[secretkeeper13]

Quiet

66.  “That was the last time. I’m serious this time.”

My little ficlet for the Hinny Ficfest organized by the lovely and wonderful @clarensjoy!  Thank you so much for organizing it Clare, I can’t wait to read them all (and I’m already regretting having a busy work day tomorrow). This was inspired by a conversation on the Hinny Discord a few weeks ago- thank you to @katie-with-the-tea for telling me I should write it and to @thedistantdusk for reading it through for me.  Also on Ao3.

“It’s so quiet,” Harry murmured.

They sat on a chaise lounger out in the garden, the pair of them sipping wine, watching the sun as it slipped down under the horizon on the warm June night. Ginny sat between his outstretched legs, her back resting against his chest, her hair gleaming red and gold in the fading light from the setting sun.

“It’s nice isn’t it?”

“Mmmh,” he hummed absently, wrapping his arms around her middle.    

It was a rare peaceful night in the Potter house, James having stayed the night at George and Angelina’s, leaving only Albus and Lily, who were exhausted after a day spent at the beach at Shell Cottage. Both were fast asleep by eight, so he and Ginny opened a bottle of wine and headed out to the garden to enjoy the fading summer day.

But if he was honest, as lovely as the quiet moment was, it was a bit unsettling. He’d grown accustomed to the constant noise and commotion- the usual rows between James and Albus, the hubbub from any number of visiting nieces and nephews or Teddy, and the endless chatter from Lily.

“I suppose we may finally be in for some nights like this, now that they’re getting older,” Ginny commented, setting down her glass on the side table and placing her arms atop his, tracing light patterns on his forearms with her fingers.

She was right, he realized, and he suddenly understood why the quiet house caused him unease. Lily had just turned five. James would be off to Hogwarts in two years. They were growing up.

It seemed like yesterday that he’d held them in his arms as babies- James, always active and wriggling, Albus, soft and snuggly, his warm weight solid on his shoulder, Lily, all smiles, coos, and babbles. And he missed it.

“ You’re quiet,” she said softly, her fingers still ghosting across his forearms. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking how much I enjoy sitting with you like this,” he said, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her cheek and then moving his chin to rest atop her head.

It wasn’t a lie. He loved this, having a moment with Ginny all to himself. And he didn’t want to ruin it.

She scoffed. “Nice try. I can tell there’s something on your mind.”

As always, she’d seen straight through him.

He sighed. “Gin, what would you think about another baby?”

She turned her head and fixed him with an appraising look, her brow raised. “I think you shouldn’t think about having another baby.”

“You said that after Albus, and then we had Lily.”

“That was the last time. I’m serious this time.”

He chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “Are you sure?” he asked, as he kissed down her neck. “Because I really like making babies with you.”  

“Mmmh,” she sighed, her body relaxing back into his as he hit that spot just below her ear that he knew she particularly enjoyed. “Don’t try to distract me.”

“But I like distracting you,” he said, now kissing onto her collarbone, reminded of those golden hours spent by the lake at Hogwarts doing this when Ginny was meant to be revising.

Suddenly, she pulled away and removed his arms from around her middle. She turned to face him, sitting on her knees in between his legs.

“What’s this really about, Harry?” she said, her tone gentle, as she brushed her hand through his hair. “I’ve been on the potion since Lily, and I thought we both agreed that three was it.”

He looked down as he tried to collect his thoughts. She waited patiently, as she always did when she could tell her was on the verge of sharing something.

“Do you ever miss having a baby?” he asked, taking her hand and toying with her fingers. “The way they’d fall asleep all cuddled up and heavy on your shoulder, or smile at you for no reason, like you’re the best thing they’ve ever seen? I suppose I’m realizing that we won’t ever have that again.”

Her face softened. “Of course I miss that,” she said, and he could hear the wistfulness in her tone. “Merlin, don’t even get me started on that new baby smell.”

“But Harry,” she continued, her tone firmer, “I don’t miss being pregnant, or awful nights where they’d wake up every hour, or sore nipples, or dirty nappies, or-“

He chuckled. “All right, I get it.”

He looked past her up to the sky. The sun had set and night had begun to fall, a dusky purple descending on the garden. A metaphor for our childbearing years, he thought forlornly.

But Ginny was right. They’d agreed three was it. Really, even if they hadn’t agreed, it was her decision- it was her body, after all. And yet, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to let this part of their lives go.

He sighed again. “I just… I worry we may regret it later. Not having another. And would four really be that much more difficult than three? It’s already a madhouse here most days.”

Her eyes twinkled in the dying light. “Harry,” she smirked, “You realize that’s exactly what my parents said, and then they got Fred and George.”  

His eyes widened. Fuck, I hadn’t even considered that.  

Four was one thing. Five was an entirely different story. The image in his mind of one baby, cuddly, smiling, and cooing “Daaa” just the way Lily had was suddenly replaced by two squalling, wailing, colicky newborns, each crying on and off during a sleepless night. His mind jumped to the thought of two toddlers, one trying to boost the other up to climb the shelves in the scullery while teetering precariously on the edge. And then to two six year olds, colliding mid air on brooms while throwing fireworks, as he chased after them on the ground, grey haired and exhausted.

She laughed as she took in his horrified expression.

“You’re re-thinking this whole let’s-have-another-baby proposition now, aren’t you?”

He grinned sheepishly. “After further consideration, I think you’re right. We agreed three was it. We’re done, yeah?”

She smiled at him and leaned in closer, until her face was inches from his.

“Yes,” she whispered, her breath warm on his lips. She kissed him deeply, her fingers threading and wrapping into his hair, and he was lost in her, like always.

When she pulled back, he was still slightly dazed. “I think we should go upstairs now,” he murmured.

“I think that’s your best idea tonight,” she replied, standing up and then extending her hand to him.

“And since we don’t have a baby,” she continued, her brown eyes blazing in the low light, “we won’t be interrupted.”

[ginisbetterthanfirewhiskey]

A Secure guy

Written for the Hinny Ficfest 2021. 

Thank you @clarensjoy for organizing this! Really! We're so lucky to have you!!

@thedistantdusk , you're a sweetheart and I love you. Thank you again for everything. That was the sweetest surprise.

Prompts:

#66: “That was the last time. I’m serious this time.”

#85: “She deserves flowers and gifts and a secure guy who isn’t almost murdered by lunatics left and right and I can’t give her that.”

Also available on Ao3.

TW: Rated M just in case. And really angsty.

She deserved flowers and gifts and a secure guy who wasn’t almost murdered by lunatics left and right and he couldn’t give her that.

Harry knew it was a matter of time, he wasn’t that stupid or delusional. 

He just hoped it’d never come and the emotions jostling in his heart hurt like hell, so much more he’d thought it would.

The bed bounced when she retrieved her jumper from the floor of his room and got dressed. 

“That was the last time. I’m serious this time,” Ginny murmured in the night, hooking her bra behind her back, her voice colder than ever before. 

Harry contented himself to nod, unable to come up with a reply anyway. The ball in his throat suffocated him, and yet, to his despair, he wasn’t dying. 

She meant it this time, it was evident. He had to resign himself that it was over, the end of a story, of a story he had himself destroyed. Ginny had turned the page and it wasn’t her fault if he was still stuck in the past.

It was over. Never again would the tips of his fingers graze her hot skin, his palms brush her thighs, his lips skim her face or his nails scratch at her back. 

It would be someone else’s task now, he reckoned. 

She hadn’t looked at him at all this time, keeping her eyes shut, her lips away from his, like it was now forbidden to cross that line. He’d noticed the difference right away, leaving him tight-lipped. His lips had searched hers but she’d turned her head, her long hair colliding with his face. His heart racing, his movements unsteady, he’d tried again, but she’d pulled back completely, increasing the speed of her hips connecting with his, her hands clutching his biceps.

Harry understood at this instant that something had changed in their intimate relationship, that she wasn’t interested to share that part of her with him anymore. He contented himself to observe her while he was trying to pleasure her, her silhouette blurred from his lack of glasses. He cherished every pant and sigh coming from her lips, touching, with a heavy heart, these sections of her body only he knew of.

For now. 

It had killed him to not feel her trembling on him from the intensity of their love-making. Ginny had  jumped from him the second she finished like he’d burned her. Clenching his jaw,  he realized another man would have that chance now, and that he should have relished in it more the last time they had been together. He hadn’t expected it, as stupid as it sounded, and now he was let trying to grasp at every single souvenirs of it he could recover in his memory. 

Thus far, she’d stayed close to him in bed after, her head on his chest, her sweet smelling hair tickling his chin, just like before he decided to fuck it up.

But he prefered to crush his dream life then to live with the possibility of endangering her.

She got off of the bed, the sheet moving from his bare chest at the same time. He couldn’t look at her getting dressed or leaving his room for the last time, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to bear it, that it would be the last image of them sharing something intimate together. 

It was his decision and he couldn’t expect her to act like he hadn’t broken up with her. 

Again. 

His eyes stung, and yet, he did nothing to stop it, too devastated to sooth the pain. He stared at the ceiling of his room, arms crossed over his heart, attempting to protect the last bit of dignity he could gather. 

The door closed behind her, the click reasonating in his ears, and he was left alone to face his intolerable heartache like a big boy. But it hurt more than knowing you were the only one to save the world, more than wishing your mum would rock you at night after a nightmare, realizing your aunt would probably be willing to do that for anyone else but you. Because you were different, you were dangerous.

Because Ginny had been the only one he’d ever trusted enough to be completely vulnerable in her presence, with whom he’d accepted to share the most private parts of him. Their relationship had been a turning point in his life, raw, essential to his survival. Special enough that she could scream to the world the feel of her lips on his was the principal reason they were rid of Voldemort. 

The first threatening sob escaped his lips, the sound breaking the silence of the room, and then another, and another, and he found himself unable to control his shaken body.

Rolling on his side, he brought up his knees to his chest, struggling to breathe, the flow of his tears flooding his pillow. 

He deserved the pain. He deserved it. Because he was different, too dangerous, and Ginny couldn’t be with him. 

He grasped his comforter, bringing it to his nose in hope it was filled with her flowery scent and he could get the impression she was here, close to him. Just one last time. Just once.

Crying convulsively, shedding tear after tear, Harry didn’t even hear when the door creaked again. 

“Sorry I forgot my- Harry?!”

He tried, really tried, to stop the last sob from crossing his lips, in vain. Sealing his lips together, Harry hoped Ginny wouldn’t judge him or take pity on him, or worse, fetch Ron. 

He stayed still, hearing his heart pumping in his ears and feeling dizzy from the sadness and anger at himself consuming his insides. 

The mattress sank under Ginny’s weight and Harry felt her feet against his calves. One of her hands settled on his shoulder, the other one taking residence in his hair, tentatively brushing lock after lock. She pressed against his back, her clothes remembering him she didn’t stay this time. 

“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m here,” she whispered in his ear.

“You-you don’t want to be here,” he managed to reply, shame rousing inside him. Harry was mortified she found him in a ball on his bed after they just had sex. His chagrin  was eating him alive, sending him spiralling in a dark void where he could only feel hatred and disgust for himself, but also heartache and something related to agony, he was sure of it. 

The silence stretched a moment until Harry sniffed, his hand squeezing the comforter tighter against his chest. An owl hooted outside, reviving Harry’s melancholy at not having Hedwig to talk to, with whom he could share without embarrassment his fright of dying without being loved. 

“That’s only because you don’t want me to be here, Harry,” murmured Ginny, her words shattering his heart. Regret burnt in his veins, knowing he’d afflicted Ginny with his deepest terror.

Being dumped, ditched by the person you trusted the most. 

Harry turned on his back, needing her to understand she did nothing wrong, on the contrary, that he never wanted her to feel abandoned or betrayed. But the words died in his throat when he saw her eyes filled with her own tears. 

“I just want to protect you from me,” he pleaded with her to understand. She had to understand.

Ginny closed her eyes, inhaling sharply, the hand that was on his shoulder now playing with the hair on his chest, close to his heart. Harry remembered that time to cherish it, to incrust in his mind the solace her small fingers on his skin brought him, soothing the violent anguish torturing his mind. “You’re hurting me more than anyone else could ever do,” she spat at him.

He sniffed again, her words like a knife twisting his heart. He searched for something to say, for the best way to explain his train of thoughts, but he’d never been the best at formulating his idea. 

“Well, I guess I have nothing else to do here,” said Ginny, and he felt her hand lifting from his chest.

He panicked. “No, no. Stay. Please, Ginny.”

She frowned. “Why? For me to hurt even more when you’ll tell me you didn’t change your mind? That you still don’t want to be with me? Just in case? You can’t, Harry. It can’t continue. You can’t fuck me, kiss me like we were still together, and then expect me to be all good with it when you gently remind me we’re not. It’s destroying me,” Ginny said, her voice cracking. Her hand lifted to her mouth and she closed her eyes before turning her back to him, exactly like she did when he let her alone in her room after their last kiss years ago. 

He let her down so many times.

But all he could think of was that: Was she really thinking he only used her body lately for his own physical needs? How could she have been aware that each time they had touched, it  had been the only times he’d felt alive lately? 

She wasn’t trusting him anymore, just like most people she knew. He was now discarded in the “dangerous category”, the same as Tom.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Swallowing, he pressed his palms to his teary eyes, begging himself to regain control of his emotions. Harry sat up, his hand shaking when he moved it to her back. “Don’t- don’t hide from me.” 

He started caressing her back, feeling more confident with her than he ever felt with any other crying girl. Merlin, he was so messed up, he didn’t even know why Ginny ever wanted him. 

Harry should have realised Ginny's trust was something difficult --maybe impossible-- to regain, and that was why she didn’t turn back, still trying to muffle up her sobs. 

He had to try though, to show her it was real what they ever shared, that he meant it when he told her he loved her. He should have said it more, showed it more.

At this point, Harry didn’t even know what he was doing, his mind confused, his needs, desires, dreams and fears all twirling and colliding in his head. There were still dangers at being with him, to be displayed by his side, to be linked to him, and his anxiety of losing her was strong enough to leave him breathless and choking in fear. Harry was unable to think straight when it happened, ready to do anything to keep her safe.

Yet, he made a mistake. Again. He knew it now. 

“I’m sorry, Gin. I never wanted to hurt you,” he said, laying his forehead on her shoulder. 

The tears started flowing from his eyes again but he didn’t hold them in, knowing it was no use. Not when it came to her being in pain, a pain he caused. 

“I-I don’t,” he tried. “I don’t know what-what to do. I don’t want you to die too.” 

There was a beat, and then Ginny turned, laying her forehead on his, keeping her eyes close. “I understand, I’m terrorized by the idea of you dying too,” she confided to him, her fingers dancing around his wrist. “Just- I’m my own person and it’s my choice who I date. Just act with your heart for once. I’ll deal with your decision, but-”

“Can I kiss you?” whispered Harry, knowing he’d made up his mind. A life without her was meaningless and he was nonfunctional without her love.  His hand went up to her freckled cheek, the skin there so soft compared to his rough palm. 

Taken aback, Ginny swallowed before humming in response. Without opening her eyes, she leaned her mouth to his, her breath warming his chin. The tip of her tongue moisted her lips in the most tantalizing way, causing Harry’s head to spin, and then she crushed her lips to his. 

He kissed her with fervor, with a passion he wasn’t aware he was capable of. She pushed on his chest and he brought her body with his on the mattress. Straddling him, she kissed his neck and he felt himself being consumed with desire, with a powerful lust leaving him panting. Ginny chuckled in his neck  and then lifted her head to look into his eyes, giving him such a sensual smile he groaned in longing. 

Their love-making this time was like he was remembering it: full of intensity and filled with love, little attentions and pure ecstasy. 

"Give me some time," she whispered when they were regaining their breath, her head resting on his chest. “I-I need time.” Harry’s breath hitch and Ginny surely heard it because she lifted her head and moved on him to rest her chin on her hands, which were close to his heart. She kissed his chin tenderly. 

“I love you, I just-”

“I understand,” said Harry, cutting her. Because he did, really did. “I’ll wait. I love you. Forever,” he told her earnestly, caressing her hair and promising himself he’d do all he ever needed to do to get her trust back.

[starlingflight]

I posted 540 times in 2021

80 posts created (15%)

460 posts reblogged (85%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 5.8 posts.

I added 116 tags in 2021

#hp fanfic - 24 posts

#hinny - 19 posts

#ginny weasley - 16 posts

#harry x ginny - 14 posts

#self promo - 11 posts

#harry potter - 8 posts

#ask game - 7 posts

#fic rec - 7 posts

#ttb yule bash - 5 posts

#ginny potter - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 66 characters

#looking for ways to kill time during the last half an hour of work

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Will it be bold of me to ask you to please write a fic based on your latest ask? ( the hinny fight essay)

“Shoes, Ginny!” Harry called, having almost tripped over yet another pair of her trainers at the bottom of the stairs.

“In a minute!” Came Ginny’s loud reply, shouted through the living room door through which she’d just disappeared.

“You always say that!” It was never just a minute. In all likelihood, Harry would trip over the same pair of trainers before bed and then again tomorrow morning before he finally gave up and moved them the five inches to the shoe rack himself.

“Alright, Mum!” Ginny snapped, Harry could hear her thumping footsteps drawing closer as she made her way across the living room.

She appeared in the doorway, still clothed in her Harpy’s training kit with her hair in the long braid she always wore it in for flying. Without breaking eye contact with Harry, Ginny picked up her shoes and moved them to the shoe rack with exaggerated effort.

“Is that better for you, Mr. clean-freak?”

“Better than almost breaking my neck every time I walk down the stairs, yeah,” Harry replied.

Ginny rolled her eyes so hard; Harry was almost surprised that they didn’t fall out of her head. “You’re so dramatic!”

“I’m dramatic?” Harry repeated, his voice rising incredulously. “I’m not the one acting like someone asked me to chop my foot off because I was asked to move a pair of shoes!”

“Well they’re moved now,” Ginny yelled, gesturing wildly at the shoe rack on the floor behind her. “So, get over it!”

“You get over it!” Harry shot back. Admittedly, it wasn’t his finest comeback to date, but then, this was a stupid thing to be arguing about in the first place.

Ginny turned back from the shoe rack to face him, their eyes met and he knew she was thinking the same thing. The corner of her lips twitched for a moment, as though she was fighting back a smile. Harry couldn’t contain the snort of amusement that escaped him. And then they were both laughing loudly.

“How was practice?” Harry asked as their laughter died away.

Ginny took a step towards him, her arms reaching up to encircle his neck. “It was good,” She said softly, her lips only inches from his. “I’ve still got some pent up energy though.”

Her lips brushed softly against his. One of Harry’s arms wrapped around Ginny’s waist, pulling her closer. The other moved to tug her braid free of its ribbon, allowing her long hair to shake loose around her shoulders.

“It’s fortunate that the path to the bedroom’s clear,” Harry murmured between kisses.

Ginny pulled away from him, a smirk upon her face as she took his hand and led him towards the stairs. “Thank Merlin, somebody moved those shoes.”

130 notes • Posted 2021-07-30 22:22:25 GMT

#4

The Way Ahead

A/N: Asked @floreatcastellumposts to give me a prompt to get me out of my writer’s block (If anyone else wants to send me a prompt, then please do!). She gave me ‘McGonagall finds out that Harry is an Auror’ and this was the result: 

Minerva sighed as she fell heavily into the chair behind her new desk. Her bones ached from weariness; she took a sip of her tea in order to suppress the yawn threatening to escape her. There was no time for rest. 

The parchment in front of her was so long the end of it snaked off the edge of the desk and trailed onto the rich carpet, the list of chores upon it stretching across the office. 

Minerva took her quill and began searching down the list, ticking off items which had been dealt with. Hagrid had managed to secure the Thestral herd this morning. Minerva tried not to think about how much longer that particular task may have taken if not for the increased number of volunteers who could now see the winged horses roaming the battle-scarred grounds of Hogwarts. 

She scratched her quill across the parchment, and scanned down the rest of the never ending list. The repairs of the castle were taking longer than expected, due in part, to the ancient magic holding much of the structure up. And creating a definitive list of which students would and would not be returning in the Autumn was proving rather difficult. Nobody, it appeared, was quite ready to think about the future just three short weeks after the fall of Voldemort. 

“I’m getting too old for this,” Minerva whispered, lifting her cup to take another sip. 

“Nonsense,” came a voice from behind her. Minerva jumped slightly, having forgotten once again that her new office came with an audience. “I should think there's still a few decades in you yet.” 

She did not bother responding to Albus’ remark, his portrait, it seemed, would be just as taxing as the man himself had been. 

Never mind that his tenure of the school had not started with the most devastating battle Hogwarts had seen in its long history, never mind that she would have to oversee a cohort of students who would be unable to walk the corridors without replaying scenes from said battle, never mind that a vast number of them were dealing with the loss of loved ones to Voldemort's tyranny. 

Minerva was pulled from her morose thoughts by a soft knock on the door. She bit back another sigh, mentally steeling herself for the next in a long line of problems she was sure was about to walk through her door.

“Enter.” 

The door opened slowly, almost tentatively, and a shock of untidy black hair appeared around it. 

“Good evening, Professor,” Harry Potter said politely. “Do you have a moment for me and Neville?” 

Minerva pressed her lips together, attempting to hold back a smile. She doubted there was a single witch or wizard in the country that couldn’t spare a minute for Harry these days. 

“Come in,” she said at once, gesturing to the two chairs in front of the desk as Harry and Neville entered her office. 

It had only been a week since she'd seen the pair of them last at Remus and Nymphadora’s funeral. Neither of them looked any better than they had then. Both of them had dark circles under their eyes as though they’d had trouble sleeping and a staid expression upon their faces which would look out of place on most teenagers. 

It was not their expressions, however, that caught Minerva’s attention, but the matching robes which the two young men were wearing, scarlet with gold fringe and the Ministry crest embossed upon their chests. 

“Am I to assume you’ve come to tell me you won’t be returning to school in September?” Minerva asked, directing a cup of tea to each of them with her wand. 

“We’ve joined the Aurors,” Neville said, though it was rather unnecessary given his attire. “We wanted to come and tell you ourselves.” 

There was a hint of uncertainty in Neville’s voice, his lip trembled slightly and Minerva was forcefully reminded of the young boy who had tripped on his way up to the sorting hat many years ago. 

“Kingsley asked us,” Harry added. “He said it didn’t matter about our N.E.W.Ts because we have real world experience.” 

Harry did not look uncertain in the way that Neville had. Minerva could not remember the last time Harry had looked unsure of himself, though she was sure it had been years ago at this point.

“A characteristically wise decision by our new Minister for Magic,” Minerva said honestly. “I, for one, will rest easier knowing the Auror department is being replenished with such worthy young men.” 

Neville spluttered slightly on the tea he’d been sipping. He lowered his cup to reveal his face had turned the same colour as his robes. Harry frowned down at his shoes, his expression not unlike the one he wore in her class when dealing with a particularly difficult transfiguration problem. 

“Gran’s quite pleased,” Neville said once he’d regained his composure. “She said my mum and dad would be proud.” 

A lump suddenly rose in Minerva’s throat, her hand trembled slightly where it gripped the delicate, china cup. Her thoughts were cast back almost eighteen years. 

It was an unbearably stifling summer day, the muggy sort of weather which made Minerva want to do little more than retreat to her office with her books and a well-aimed cooling charm. Today, however, she had other plans. 

She knocked softly on the door of the remote house the Longbottom’s called home. Only a moment later, the door was opened by a beaming Frank, he gestured for Minerva to enter with an excited hand, pulling her into a hug the moment she stepped over the threshold. 

In the tiny sitting room she found Alice, looking tired but perfectly at peace with the tiny pink bundle clutched tightly to her chest. 

“Neville,” She said softly. “Meet Minerva, one day she’s going to be your head of house.” 

Minerva moved closer, reaching out a finger to stroke Neville’s soft cheek. “He’s beautiful,” she breathed. 

Alice held the baby out to her and Minerva gladly took him, cradling him close and rocking him slightly. His little eyelids fluttered for a moment as he passed over but Neville did little more than yawn before closing them again. 

“He’s going to make a brilliant Auror one day,” Frank said, resting a loving hand on Alice’s shoulder. 

“No,” Alice said sharply, her expression suddenly turning stern. “He’s going to live a life of peace. He’ll be a magizoologist or a teacher, something good.” 

“Well,” Minerva said matter-of-factly. “I think it’s a safe bet he’ll be a Gryffindor and it will be my responsibility to help him figure out the rest.” 

Alice and Frank both smiled at this, looking adoringly at their brand new son. “There’s no one we’d trust more than you, Minerva,” Alice said. 

“Of course, it’s quite a lot of work,” Neville said, pulling Minerva from her reverie. “Lots of exams and training exercises, but the job’s not done yet, is it?” 

Minerva felt her eyebrows rise at this. “And which job might that be?” 

“The Death Eaters,” said Harry harshly. “We haven’t got them all yet.” 

“Some would say you’ve done quite enough,” Minerva said gently. “That you’ve earned a break.” 

Harry shook his head firmly, finally lifting his gaze from the floor to meet Minerva’s. “I don’t need a break.” 

He had always looked so much like James, but at that moment, the spark of determination in his green eyes reminded her unequivocally of Lily. 

The clouds had broken overnight. Thunder and lightning had rent the air; rain had pelted loudly upon the lead-lined windows of Hogwarts and another new life had been brought into the world. 

Minerva had waited until late afternoon to visit the Potter’s cottage, knowing that Black, Lupin and Pettigrew would be anxious to get there first and wanting to give the new family a small amount of breathing room. 

Her fist had barely left the door before it flew open, revealing James Potter. His hair was untidier than she had ever seen it and there was a look of wild joy on his eyes. He picked Minerva up and spun her into the cottage, laughing joyfully as he did so. 

“He’s perfect,” he said. “Looks just like me, he’s going to be a total heartbreaker!” 

“Put me down, Potter!” Minerva cried, trying to sound stern but unable to contain a light chuckle at his antics. 

“Come and see him!” James said, taking Minerva’s arm and pulling her up the stairs until they reached a nursery, painted sky blue and decorated with snitches and quaffles which fluttered around the walls. 

Lily sat in a rocking chair by the window, she looked just as exhausted as Alice had yesterday though it was hard to tell given how serenely she was gazing down at the baby in her arms. 

“We’ve named him Harry,” James said, his tone finally softening in the presence of his newborn son. 

“A lovely name,” Minerva said, leaning over Lily’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of unruly dark hair, so like James’. 

“He’s ever so well behaved,” Lily said proudly. “He’s slept most of the day so far.” 

“Don’t worry,” James added quickly. “I’ll teach him how to get into mischief before he gets to you, Minerva.” 

“That, I don’t doubt,” Minerva agreed. 

“He won’t,” Lilly said. “He’s going to be a good boy. No trouble for this little one.” 

Minerva and James exchanged sceptical looks, but neither dared argue with Lily who had a glint in her eye which Minerva had learned not to disagree with. 

“You’ll be so good, Harry,” Lily said solemnly, staring down at the baby and giving the impression she’d forgotten there was anyone else in the room. “And so loved.” 

 That same glint shone in Harry’s eyes now, as he looked steadily at Minerva. 

“It looks as though the Aurors have gained two superb new additions,” Minerva said evenly. Though her heart felt heavy in her chest. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed not to have you back next year.” 

“You’ll see us around,” Neville said cheerfully, placing his cup back on the desk. “I’m sure Harry will be trailing after Ginny every weekend.” 

Neville jumped slightly as Harry swung out a foot and kicked him in the shin. 

Minerva placed her cup to her lips in order to hide her smile. “I will remind you that I have rules about non-students visiting the grounds, Mr Potter,” she said sternly.

“Of course, Professor,” Harry agreed, a flush working its way across his cheeks. 

Harry placed his empty cup on the desk and Neville stretched as he stood. “Best be off,” he said. “Early start in the morning, we just wanted to pop in and give you the news.” 

They both stood, quickly saying their goodbyes to Minerva as they moved towards the door. 

She took them in their new scarlet robes and wondered, not for the first time, if this was what Alice, Frank, Lily and James would've wanted. 

That they would've been proud of their sons, Minerva had no doubts whatsoever. That they would be pleased with the role she had played in their growing up, she could not be so sure. 

She had been the one to declare that she would make Harry an Auror if it was the last thing she did but, like so many things recently, this did not feel like victory. 

"Take care of yourselves," Minerva said as Neville reached for the doorknob. 

He turned back and grinned at her. Harry gave her a small smile too. "Don't we always?" Neville asked. 

131 notes • Posted 2021-09-13 10:43:12 GMT

#3

When Harry Decided to Propose to Ginny

A/N: I was forced into a Teams meeting that had nothing to do with me or my department and this was the result: 

*

Night had fallen whilst Harry had been locked in the windowless interrogation room. It had been hours since he’d last seen anything aside from the charmed mirror, reflecting his own face back at him and allowing his colleagues to witness the interview he’d been conducting.

The only other face he’d seen had been that of Tiberius Travers, the final Death Eater still running free - in Harry’s grasp at long last. Harry had taken his time, forced himself to be patient as he’d extracted all of the information required to bring closure to his victim’s families.

It wasn’t done yet. There was still weeks’ worth of interviews, evidence gathering and witness testimonies before they were ready for trial. But the time was coming, the time when the final Death Eater would be behind bars and all would be well at last.

He smiled to himself as he spun on the spot inside the Ministry’s approved apparition zone, his mind filling with the image of a gravelled country lane, lined on either side with thick hedgerows, concealing the welcoming, old cottage which hid just beyond.

A moment later, he stood in that little lane, the moonlight casting a pale glow upon the small pink and blue buds which were just beginning to bloom as winter turned to spring. The gravel crunched under Harry’s feet as he made his way swiftly down the lane and passed through the old wooden gate which marked the entrance to his front yard.

Light glowed rosily from behind the curtains of the bay window that fronted his sitting room. Harry’s smile widened upon seeing the flickering candlelight. It was late, he’d expected Ginny to be in bed already. There would be no respite for her from early morning training sessions at this point in the season.

The front door opened with a creak and Ginny’s voice echoed in Harry’s mind, reminding him for the dozenth time to oil the hinges. He’d grunted noncommittally as he always did, not quite willing to admit that he liked the sound, that it felt like the house welcoming him home.

Harry toed off his boots and hung his cloak on the peg by the doorway before making the short walk down the hall to the living room, the soft drone of the wireless greeting him as he approached the door.

He hadn’t thought it possible but his smile stretched even further upon taking in the sight which awaited him. Ginny was laid out across their cushioned sofa, her vibrant hair spilling over the light fabric. Her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell steadily, her breathing perfectly even as she slumbered.

Harry crossed the room in a moment, crouching down beside Ginny. “Hey,” he said softly, lightly resting a hand on her shoulder to rouse her.

Her eyes blinked open slowly, a small smile creeping across Ginny’s face as she took in the sight of Harry in front of her. “Hi,” she sighed.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Harry asked as Ginny stretched, reminding him forcefully of the tabby cat currently curled happily at Ginny’s feet.

“Was waiting for you,” she said through a yawn. “The bed feels too big without you.”

Warmth spread through Harry’s chest at her words. His heart practically set to burst at the thought that the incredible woman in front of him had refused to go to bed without Harry beside her.

“Come on,” he said happily, arranging one arm beneath the crook of Ginny’s knees and the other behind her back and hoisting her from the sofa.

“I can walk,” Ginny protested, but Harry simply tightened his grip around her and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. Ginny argued no further and her head came to rest securely in the crook of Harry’s neck, her breath tickling his ear as he walked them both out of the living room and up the stairs towards their bedroom.

Ginny, already changed into one of Harry’s old Quidditch jerseys and a pair of pyjama shorts, immediately collapsed into the bed upon reaching the bedroom. Harry removed his clothes swiftly, eager to join her within the warmth of the covers. 

“Did you have a good day at work?” Ginny murmured sleepily, turning, as soon as Harry’s head hit the pillow to rest her head upon his chest, her arm wrapping firmly around him.

“I’ll tell you about it tomorrow,” Harry replied, his eyelids already drooping closed.

He was so blissfully at peace, the idea of spending another moment fixating on Death Eaters suddenly seemed unthinkable. The last of Voldemort’s followers may have only been caught today but Harry had moved on with his life a long time ago.

Ginny was his future, he could happily come home to her waiting on the couch for him for the rest of his life, that much he’d known for a very long time, but perhaps it was time to make it official. 

222 notes • Posted 2021-08-19 13:47:35 GMT

#2

James Sirius’ First Display of Magic

It was a small gathering by Weasley standards. Arthur had been simply delighted by the Muggle barbecue gifted to him by Harry and Ginny as a late birthday present and had immediately sought to try it out. 

Molly, possessing years of experience with Arthur's experiments had insisted on forgoing the invitations to the rest of the family until she could be certain he knew how to work the contraption now taking pride of place in The Burrow's back garden. 

Harry had offered to take the kids home for dinner, but Arthur had been adamant that he, Ginny and the kids stay and appreciate the gift they had given him. 

"I think dinner's going to be a while," Harry muttered to Al as he settled beside him on the picnic blanket Ginny had laid on the ground only a few minutes ago. 

The news didn't seem to concern Al who was much too busy picking up sticks and twigs from the grass beside them and comparing them before throwing away the ones which, Harry assumed, had been deemed unworthy.

A bottle of butterbeer floated across the garden, coming to a stop in front of Harry's face. "Thanks, Molly," he called, plucking the bottle from the air and tilting it in the direction of his mother-in-law who was standing by the back door, holding a cauldron cake just out of James' reach. 

Harry took a long pull from the bottle, closing his eyes for a second and appreciating the crisp spring breeze upon his face and the aroma of newly-bloomed snapdragons drifting to him from the flowerbeds. 

His peaceful reprieve did not last long. The sound of Ginny's exasperated voice drifted to him much as his butterbeer had done. 

"Dad, it'll be so much quicker to use your wand." 

 "It's a Muggle barbecue!" Arthur cried. "We must use matches, Ginny!" 

 Harry grinned to himself, able to imagine, without opening his eyes, the frustrated expression currently adorning Ginny's face. 

 "Wand," said a much closer voice and Harry felt something sharp poke him in the ribs. Albus grinned up at him, waving his latest stick wildly through the air. "Wand," he said once more. 

 "You've got a wand, have you?" Harry asked, smiling proudly at him.

 Al nodded as he continued to wave the stick with abandon. His eyes focussed on the tip of the ‘wand’; his round cheeks turned red from the effort of concentrating.

 Harry continued to watch Al, listening to Ginny and Arthur’s increasingly frustrated conversation until, finally, there was a whoop of joy and he turned to see the two of them hugging. Flames danced upon the coals and the smell of smoke began to drift across the garden.

 It was at that moment that Al, seemingly bored of his stick, threw it carelessly to the side and took off, running as fast his pudgy legs could carry him towards the opposite side of the garden where a particularly grumpy looking group of gnomes had just popped up from a hole in the dirt.

 “They bite, Al!” Harry shouted, hauling himself up from the picnic blanket in order to chase after his son.

 Al shrieked loudly as he ran, obviously too overcome with excitement to listen to his father’s warning. Fortunately, the noise alerted Ginny to his presence. With a speed that had been honed over her years as a professional Quidditch player, she turned and grabbed Al before he could reach the waiting pack of gnomes.

His capture did not seem to bother Albus, who squealed loudly as Ginny proceeded to throw him into the air before catching him securely against her chest.

“Where are you off to?” She asked Al as Harry reached her side. “Was Daddy not paying you enough attention?”

 “Daddy was giving him plenty of attention,” Harry said, reaching over and taking Al from her. “I’m just not as interesting as garden gnomes, apparently.”

 “I’ve been telling you that for years,” Ginny said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Would one of Nanna’s cauldron cakes hold your attention?” Harry asked, ignoring Ginny as he turned his attention to his son who was wriggling in his arms, desperate to get away.

 “You’re going to spoil his dinner,” Ginny warned.

 Harry looked up from Al and smirked at her. “Who’s the boring one now?”

 Ginny rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. “Naughty!” Al declared, pointing a stern finger in Ginny’s direction.

 “Yes,” Harry agreed, already turning away from Ginny and carrying Al towards the table set up near the back door where Molly and James still stood. “Your mummy is very naughty.”

 James was still jumping, though it seemed he had worn Molly down some time ago, judging by the traces of chocolate smeared across his face.

 Harry settled Al into the highchair beside the table, securing him with his wand before reaching over and placing one of the freshly baked cauldron cakes arranged in the centre of the table on the tray before Al.

 It was impressive how quickly Al managed to make a mess. Harry watched as he succeeded in smashing the majority of the cake between his hand and the tray. “See, you won’t ruin your dinner like that,” he muttered.

 His attention wandered from the destruction Al was wreaking upon Molly’s baked goods, to James, who was still hopping like a kangaroo in front of Molly.

 “I can jump higher than Louis!” James declared.

 “Well, Louis is a few months younger than you,” Molly replied fairly, her hands on her hips and a look of amusement on her face.

“I can jump higher than you!” James said, as though he had not heard Molly at all.  

 “Of course you can!” Molly said through a chuckle. “Nanna’s can’t jump!”

 James paused for a moment, as though considering his grandmother’s words. A hand reached up absently to brush through his unruly auburn hair. He turned, fixing Harry with a questioning stare. “Nanna’s can’t jump?”

 “No,” Harry said seriously. “Everyone knows that.”

 The doubt disappeared from James’ face immediately, apparently trusting that if his father said that Nanna’s couldn’t jump it must be true.

 “I’ll show you,” he said decidedly, turning back to Molly and taking her hand.

 “It’s no use, James!” Molly protested. “I simply can’t jump!”

 “It’s easy, Nanna” James said dismissively. He tugged on Molly’s hand until she bent her knees. “Now, jump!” James instructed, launching himself into the air.

 Molly stood up straight once more with an expression of faux concentration. Her feet did not leave the ground. “I told you, Nanna’s can’t jump!”

 “Nanna,” James said, his expression more serious than Harry had ever seen it. “That’s silly.”

 Harry caught Ginny’s eye from across the garden; they grinned at one another before Ginny’s hand moved to her mouth to conceal her laughter.

 “Try again!” James said, pulling on Molly’s hand once more.

 This continued for some time. James, apparently unwilling to accept that his grandmother would never be able to do something as wondrous as jumping, became increasingly erratic in his movements until Harry had to move Al’s highchair further away, lest he fall victim to one of his brother’s flailing legs.

 “Give it up, James,” Harry said eventually. Just watching his son bounce up and down endlessly was beginning to make him feel exhausted. “Nanna’s can’t jump, there’s nothing to be done about it.”

 “One last try,” James said solemnly, widening his eyes and schooling his features into an expression that neither Harry nor Molly had ever been particularly good at saying no to.

 “One last try,” Harry agreed through a sigh.

 James crouched low, his bottom only inches from the ground as he gestured for Molly to follow his example. Molly bent her knees in a rather more dignified manner.

 “One…Two…Three!”

 This time, Molly jumped, her feet leaving the ground by mere inches. James, however, did not have the opportunity to savour his victory. His own jump had been more powerful than anyone would have rightly expected. Harry watched, his heart crawling into his mouth as James soared higher and higher, until he came to land upon the roof of The Burrow.

 “Merlin!” Molly exclaimed, her hands flying to her face. “He hasn’t done magic before has he?”

“James!” Harry yelled, jumping from his seat at the table; barely hearing Molly’s question. “Don’t move! Stay right where you are!”

 James’ laughter was audible even from a distance, his wide smile of delight was easy to see.

 Harry was a fully trained Auror, he had extensive experience in dealing with high pressure situations, but seeing his son balanced so precariously on the roof had made him blind with panic.

 “I’ve got him!” Harry heard Ginny call, though he was unable to tear his eyes away from James to look at her.

 He withdrew his wand from his pocket, willing his hand not to shake as he held it poised, ready to cast a cushioning charm should James slip and fall.

 A moment later, Ginny appeared, hovering in front of James on one of the old broomsticks from the shed. Harry watched intensely as she gripped the broom between her thighs and scooped James off the roof, seating him firmly in front of her.

Ginny landed smoothly on the grass in front of him. Al applauded his mother’s daring rescue attempt enthusiastically and Harry felt his heart begin to retreat back into his chest as James' feet touched the ground once more.

 “Did you see that?” he asked, looking excitedly between Molly and Harry.

 “I did,” Harry said faintly, lowering himself back into his seat before his legs gave out beneath him.

 “Now you know,” Molly said, giving Harry a satisfied look as she patted James lovingly on the head. “What you lot did to me when you were younger.”

 “Burgers are ready!” Arthur called triumphantly, seemingly having missed the commotion owing to the excitement of his new barbecue.

 “Sorry doesn’t quite cut it, does it?” Harry said.  

229 notes • Posted 2021-09-14 14:58:37 GMT

#1

Thanks for the tag @sybill-the-seer <3

Rules: Answer 7 questions and tag 7 people

Relationship status: Married 

Favorite color: This is impossible to answer - colours are the world’s greatest wonder and they should all be appreciated!

Three favorite foods: I’m terribly British and boring so; roast dinner, cottage pie and sausage rolls 

Last thing I googled: “Removing candle wax from glass jars” - New season, new candles! 

Dream trip: California or European tour - I want to see everything!

Anything I really want: Christmas? I like spooky season but I’m ready to get festive! 

Tagging @floreatcastellumposts @lazyweekendmornings @fightfortherightsofhouseelves @somesunlitdays @shes-a-gryffindor @femellerklem @not-steve42

284 notes • Posted 2021-10-16 16:53:40 GMT

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