#cute hinny

[alwayshinny]

Hinny 🍂 🍃- AU where Hinny grew up together and everyone lived

Lily gazed out the window as she took a sip of her tea. It had been over an hour since Harry whispered into his godfather’s ear and dragged him outside to rummaged through the leaves. Every so often Sirius would pick up a leaf and show it to him, and Harry would dramatically slap his forehead before explaining something to him. Sirius rolled his eyes, dropped the leaf, raised his hands in defeat, and continued rummaging through the leaves again.

“What is he looking for?” Marlene asked.

“I have no idea,” she replied, shaking her head.

She opened the back door to let him know the Weasley’s would be over any second and smirked when her son’s ears perked up as he came bolting into the house with a handful of leaves in his hand. He eagerly waited in front of the fireplace and kept glancing back and forth between the clock and fireplace while he hid the leaves behind his back. She gave him a curious look, but before she could question him, a herd of redheads dashed through the floo in pairs.

Once they all greeted each other and the chaos had somewhat settled down, James nudged her and pointed to the corner of the living room where their son was blushing while talking to the youngest Weasley. She too had something hidden behind her back. They counted to three and presented each other with a handful of leaves before breaking into a fit of giggles. The only difference between their piles was that Harry’s was an assortment of reds and browns, while Ginny’s were green.

Harry gently picked up an orangey red leaf from his pile and placed it by Ginny’s hair and said, "See, it’s the same color," before picking up a brown leaf and placing it beside her eyes and saying, “And this one too!” Clearly pleased with himself.

Ginny giggled as she placed her pile of green leaves on the table, tilted Harry’s head down slightly, carefully pushed his glasses into his hair, and tapped her chin as she compared each green leaf to his eyes.

Lily tired not to laugh as Harry’s face got increasingly red and his eyes widened the closer she got to him. “This one!” She squealed and jumped up excitedly.

Ron huffed loudly in frustration, “Can we finally go play Quidditch now?”

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother before returning Harry’s glasses to his nose and smiling sweetly at him as they placed the three leaves on the opposite side of the table. Ginny got a mischievous look in her eyes as she tugged Harry’s hand, sprinting towards the door, and yelled behind her, “Last one outside has to wear Aunt Muriel’s knickers for a whole day!”

��HEY! I'M NOT DOING THAT AGAIN!” Ron yelled as he ran behind them. His legs were longer, but those two were quick on their feet, weaving through everyone and spirting out the door.

Sirius snorted and shook his head as he placed his arm around James’ shoulder. “And I thought you had it bad, Prongs. At least your son has more game than you, and he’s far more handsome. Hmm he must get it from his godfather.”

“OI! I have plenty of game, and the ladies find me plenty handsome, okay. Just the other day, Bathilda Bagshot, Griselda Marchbanks, AND Augusta Longbottom called me a sight for sore eyes. Tell him, Lily!” James argued. Lily chose that moment to quickly slip out into the backyard with Marlene and the rest of the Weasleys, playing Quidditch sounded far more appealing than dealing with those two.

[ginnyw-potter-archive]

Human Harry

Ginny bent down in front of the fluffy tabby cat, she clipped his leash onto the harness. “I know things are still new and scary in this neighbourhood.” She scratched under the cat’s chin. “So we’ll just go to the park before all the mean dogs arrive, hm?”

The cat purred happily, kneading biscuits on her doormat.

“Come on, Harry.” She opened the front door, put her bag on her waist, and grabbed the key off the hook.

Harry walked out hesitantly. She quickly closed the door, keeping an eye on him.

“Let’s go.” She walked to the crosswalk and quickly crossed it. Then it was just one street until the park.

As soon as Harry saw where they were going, he walked a little ahead of her, his tail swishing happily in the air. He turned into the park on his own accord and Ginny followed. She slowly walked down the path as Harry ran on the grass, sniffing the air and the grass and peeing against a trash can whilst looking directly at her.

“Let’s go, you weirdo.”

Harry picked up the pace again and she walked on to the next part with more trees. She had paused and looked up for just a moment when Harry growled.

Her head snapped back and then chaos broke out. A white dog with black spots barked back at Harry. The man holding the dog pulled on the leash.

“Arnold, no! Leave the cat alone,” he scolded.

Harry growled louder, trying to go up to the dog.

Arnold the dog took a step back as Harry approached.

Ginny shook her head. “Harry, stop it!”

The man looked at her in shock. She had had comments before about naming her cat something so human, but this guy looked properly confused.

Full oneshot on AO3

[hinny-canons]

@hinnymicrofic prompt 18: Turn & prompt 19: Asleep

Toss. Turn. Toss. Turn. Toss. Turn.

She had been doing this for a good two hours, trying to get her mind to fall asleep. Fred’s funeral had been a couple days ago and everyone was grieving. Ginny had spent that day taking care of everyone and keeping everyone together that she only got a moment to herself that night.

She finally got up and decided to go downstairs. She just needed a glass of water and then she’d go back upstairs.

When she entered the kitchen, she halted when she saw Harry sitting at the counter. He looked deep in thought and apparently hadn’t noticed Ginny come in.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Ginny asked him. His head snapped up and his eyes met Ginny’s.

He cleared his throat, looking away. “Yeah.”

Ginny went over to cabinet to get a glass. She could feel Harry’s eyes on her, but she tried to ignore it.

She wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t know how to start the conversation. How was she supposed to tell him that she thought of him everyday and every night while he was away? How was she supposed to tell him that she wished he was with her again. How on Earth was she supposed to tell him she loved him?

The last thought made her heart beat faster.

She went to go sit beside and tried not to mark direct eye contact.

“I missed you, Ginny,” Harry whispered. Ginny almost didn’t hear him. He looked up at her and she noticed the way his eyes began to water. “And I’m sorry for the pain I caused you. The pain I caused everyone.” A single tear ran down his cheek and Ginny, without thinking, wiped it away.

“No one blames you, Harry, you don’t have to be sorry.” She meant it truly.

They stared at each other for a while and Ginny didn’t take her hand off his cheek. Harry slightly leaned into her touch.

Ginny couldn’t help herself, she pulled Harry into a hug. She held him tight, trying to put all the things she wanted to say in that embrace. He hugged her back just as tight, like he was also trying to say things to her.

Ginny would be lying if she said it didn’t make her feel better. It made her feel alive.

[liiilyevans]

daffodil for Hinny :)

Hello love! I hope you like this!

daffodil (unequaled love) — “no one will ever come close to you.”

"And the mystery remains," Ginny continued reading. "Who is the mysterious woman? Has Mr. Potter left his wife for good? Can we really blame him? Only time will tell. Until next time, dear readers."

Harry snorted. "Skeeter's really outdone herself this time."

"But, Harry," Ginny said, flashing him the front cover of the Prophet. "What would your wife say? What if they reach out to her for a statement?"

He crossed his arms. "I imagine she'd be pretty upset."

Ginny clicked her tongue. "Or, you know, she might point out that this woman here in the black hoodie, you know, she's kinda the same build as your wife. And, uh, if look at the picture, those sweats are Harpies sweats. This person is definitely married, too, because there's a ring on their left hand." She shook her head. "I think you have a type."

"Oh, I definitely have a type," Harry said, bracing his hands on either arm of the recliner Ginny was sitting in.

"Your poor wife," she sighed.

"Oh, I'm sure she's just miserable over this article," he said.

"I'm sure," she said. "Poor thing."

Harry leaned in to kiss her then, but Ginny slapped his chest with the magazine.

"What do you think you're doing, sir?" she teased.

"Kissing my wife."

He did kiss her then, slow and sweet, his beard tickling her cheeks. Ginny slid her hand up the side of his neck and pressed herself upward.

"You know no one will ever come close to you, right?" he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Good thing cause you're stuck with me for life," she said, dropping the magazine onto the table next to them. "And I may need a favor from the Head Auror when I hex my coworker into a coma."

Harry grinned and leaned down to kiss her again.

"Ew." Harry and Ginny broke apart to see their oldest son standing in the doorway to the living room rubbing his eyes. "Dad."

"Yeah, ew, Dad," Ginny said playfully.

[kait-bait8]

Ohhh wait guys ohhh my gosh I just saw it.

James obviously and shamelessly pined after Lily for YEARS! When he finally grew up and calmed down, Lily realized her feelings for him and then they got together.

Ginny obviously and shamelessly pined after Harry for YEARS! When she finally grew up and calmed down, Harry realized his feelings for her and then they got together.

That’s CUTE, dog. That shits cute.

[votapublica]

Ginny Weasley

[loveeari]

ginny: where is my dumbass husband hermione: probably with mine harry and ron decked out in full drag because they lost a bet to the twins: so who looks best teddy staring at his godfather and uncle in awe: arry!!!! the twins losing it: PFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT ron pissed off: WHAT ABOUT ME

[potterblog]

Drudley (Draco/Dudley) is a Sodium Chloride ship! 🥰 i love it so much!

There's wholesome ships and there's toxic ships, but I'd like to coin 'sodium chloride ships', where the individuals involved are both horrible and dangerous people, but somehow being together renders them surprisingly well-adjusted (if a little salty).

[thenicestthingiveseen]

this is 100% how envision Pig’s …ahem…celebration of life

[alwayshinny]

Harry and Lily Luna✌🏼- Lily noticed that some of her classmates' parents bring their dogs with them when they drop their children off at school, so the next day she persuaded Harry to drop her off with her pet bunny, Pigsy.

[ginnyw-potter-archive]

Musing about muses

Written for @hinnymicrofic, prompt 24: Hobby

(192 words)

“No, I can’t do this!” Harry argued, throwing down his quill. How Ginny had convinced him to enter the Gryffindor poetry contest, he did not know. Poetry was her hobby, not his. “How do you just know what to write about?”

She just shook her head with a chuckle and continued writing. He huffed.

She set down her quill and looked at him, pitying. “You just haven’t found your muse yet.” 

He snorted. “Right, well… who is your muse?” he said, leaning over to read her poem.

She snatched it away and held it out of reach for him.

“Ginny,” he complained. 

She gave in and handed him her piece of parchment. He read over it, two-thirds of an unfinished poem. The words felt strangely reminiscent of their moments by the lake. Suddenly he understood. He imagined writing about her, like an ode to a sun, describing how it shone so bright and warmed his heart. She was his muse, and he was hers. He thought back on the first poem he ever heard from her. “After all this time?” he asked. 

She smiled brightly, her warm eyes focused on him. “Always.”

[clarissaweasley-10]

AHHH THIS IS SOOOO CUTE....

If l don't get a husband like Harry then l am staying single forever

Late night cravings

Summary: Midnights are the ideal time for Ginny to realize she loves brownies. And bananas. And the need for Harry to make her some. Pure fluff.

A/N: A short something I wrote after a highly stressful week. Plotline suggested by the all-wonderful @chef-hagrid.

...

“Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind

Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in.”

...

This was the second night in a row, she couldn’t sleep. Midnights, she decided, were positively more tiresome than the mornings.

Ginny turned around again, careful not to roll over on her belly. She huffed, frowning as she felt the cold absence of her husband beside her on the bed.

She was hungry, she realised. Which was odd. It hadn’t been even three whole hours since she had eaten. 

Ginny wasn’t even really hungry, she realised. She just…she was just hungry for brownies. And bananas. Especially bananas. Ginny groaned, then got up, her back cracking as she sat up on the bed. 

“Fuck it,” she cursed, as she put on her slippers and headed towards the kitchen. She hated it when Harry was off on his night missions, leaving her all alone in the house. Especially now, when she was so satirically lonely.  And hungry.

Come to think of it now, Harry really had been going on quite a few night missions lately. This week alone, he had not been home at all during the nights.

Ginny brought out a pan, turned on the oven, then left everything on the counter and gazed at the clock. Four more hours and he’d be back home. Before he’d have to leave again.

She huffed, then set to work. While she didn’t know, per say, how to make brownies, Ginny figured….it wouldn’t be that hard. Flour, eggs, cocoa, milk, how hard could it really be?

She had never even cracked eggs before though. Something about a glob of slimy things coming out of a cracked shell irked her. She’d seen Harry make eggs before, seen her mum too. Last time she was at Hermione and Ron’s, she’d helped Hermione make dinner, and Hermione had made eggs too. Eggs weren’t hard.

Obviously.

One and a half hours later, Ginny rethought her statement. 

Eggs were hard. So was flour, cocoa, and the weird bitter tasting powder that Ginny had measured up in a small bowl and left aside. 

She stepped back, her clothes lathered in egg whites and flour, frustration clouding all rational thoughts in her head.

“When the hell is he going to come back?” she muttered angrily, throwing her apron aside, as she switched off the now hot oven. In a fit of rage, she scooped up some cocoa into her mouth and then grabbed a banana, biting into it to lighten the bitter feeling in her mouth.

“Brownies can go to hell,” she muttered, stomping back into the bedroom, flinging the banana peel into the bin. 

And as Ginny got back into the bed again, she glanced once again at the clock, noting the time until he’d be back beside her.

It wasn’t even something she tried to hide, but she missed him.

Terribly.

…

…

As luck would have it, as would the sun, when Ginny woke up, she was tucked against his side. 

Even without opening her eyes, his mere scent comforted her, nearly lulling her back to sleep. 

Ginny opened her eyes, looking up to see the sleeping form of her husband. 

His hair lay messily on his forehead, his eyes crinkling once in a while as he slept. Ginny smiled, all her frustration towards him the previous night vanished in a trace. 

“Staring’s considered rude, you know,” Harry said softly, and Ginny smiled, lightly brushing her hand through his hair.

“Well, excuse me for staring at my husband,” she quipped and Harry opened his eyes, gazing down at her with those bright green eyes.

“Three years and I still can’t believe it sometimes,” he softly said.

“Believe what?”

“That you call me husband.”

Ginny laughed, her laugh echoing through the room, the sunlight trickling in through the gap in the curtains. She placed her hand on her belly as if by instinct, then looked up at Harry, a smile on her face.

“So..” Harry smirked, “you want to tell me what happened in the kitchen last night?”

The smile vanished. Ginny made a face, and then frowned up at him. “I was hungry -”

“I figured.”

“- for brownies.” 

Harry lightly chuckled, then grabbed his glasses from the bedside table, putting them on before turning to face his wife.  

“It isn’t even just brownies,” she went on. “Bananas. I have an inhuman, unexplainable craving for bananas, and old me would just be.. borderline revolted, but I can’t stop thinking about banana puddings, and banana chips, and -”

“- bananas in general,” Harry finished. “You know there could be a dozen more interpretations of that,” he smirked, raising an eyebrow suggestively, laughing as Ginny lightly smacked him on the arm.

“Anyway,” Ginny rolled her eyes, “I, yes I, was trying to make banana brownies last night, but as you already saw, that went exactly as I wanted it to.”

Harry laughed, bringing Ginny closer to his face, before kissing her gently on the forehead. Then, as if deep in thought, he buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. 

“You want me to whip up a fresh batch?” he said, his voice muffled by her hair. 

“Really?” Ginny grinned, her eyes lighting up almost immediately, “you up for that?”

“Always, madame,” Harry smiled, rolling out of bed, and bowing gallantly, smiling at Ginny’s laughing figure. 

In the morning, she realised, all was well.

…

...

It clearly wasn’t, she thought, as she waddled over to the kitchen. 

Harry hadn’t left for work. Which was odd. He hadn’t even jumped at the chance of getting in some more sleep, which was even odder. Yes, it was very Harry-like to get up in the morning and get to making brownies at Ginny’s request, but after a long night of work, she’d thought he’d at least get in a few extra hours in the morning.

In fact, she’d be the one to tell him to stay in bed, because even under the smiling face, and bright green eyes, Ginny knew that he was, to an extent, exhausted.

Except, he wasn’t now. Heck, he was even whistling some distinct tune she could swear she’d heard somewhere before.

Unlike her frenzied self last night, Harry held a natural control of the kitchen, whipping batter into bowls, mixing in the eggs, and also, weirdly using the bitter powder she’d left aside last night.

He stopped momentarily, looking up as Ginny entered the kitchen. 

“You want them to be extra chocolatey, or just bananas and plain chocolate?” he asked.

“Umm.. just bananas and chocolate please,” Ginny said as she carefully sat herself beside the counter. She observed Harry manoeuvring swiftly around the kitchen, a little envious about the ease with which he was doing things she was struggling with last night, before she cleared her throat. 

“You don’t have to go to work?” she asked hesitantly. 

“I was wondering when you were going to ask that.” Harry turned around, a wide smile on his face. 

Ginny wondered what was going to come next.

“Well,” Harry kept aside the bowl, wiping his hands on his shirt, “I’m taking a break.” 

“What?” Ginny frowned.

“Not a break, saying, I’ll not go to work, not like that,” he said. “A break meaning, there will be no more night missions, no staying at work too late; I hope, even more days off. At least, until the baby comes.”

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?” she said, voice full of hesitation. “I mean, it’s just been four months and -”

“I know, Gin. But, you might think I haven’t noticed, but I know I’m gone more than I should be.”

And it was true, he was. And she worried about him. Especially nowadays, as he left for his missions, it was as if she held in her breath before he returned again. So, she simply nodded at him, as Harry tucked in a stray lock of hair behind her ear. 

“I mean, you’re pregnant,” he smiled. “In a few months, we’re going to be parents, and I have absolutely no idea how we’ll do that, but we’ll do that together too.”

He put his arms around her chair, pressing his lips on her forehead. “I know I’ve not been home much the last few months, but I will now. I promise.”

“I’m glad,” Ginny said, resting her forehead against Harry’s chest. “I really have been missing you tremendously the past few weeks.”

“I’ll make you banana brownies to cover up for it,” he whispered back. 

“You better.”

Harry chuckled, bending down to kiss her. Then, he lightly placed his hand on her belly, looking up at her as she placed her hand over his. 

Ginny gazed into his eyes, the warmth in them comforting her, in the same way she had always been comforted when she looked at him.

“I’ve been thinking of names,” she said.

“That’s dangerous,” Harry quipped, “the last time you named something, you named it after a pig.”

“I did not,” Ginny said indignantly. 

And it was the little tell-tale signs that made her realise as they argued that everything was really going to be okay, even if she developed an unflinching love for brownies, even if they named their first child after something horrendous, everything was really going to be alright.

[hinny-canons]

@hinnymicrofic prompt 7: Chocolate

“Harry?” Teddy little voice said. Harry turned around to see him standing there, his big eyes looking up at him.

“Yes, Teddy?”

“Can I have some chocolate?”

“Of course, you can, Ted!” Teddy smiled and Harry went to go get it for him from the cabinet. “Here you go.”

Teddy took it happily and and unwrapped it. “Thank you! Chocolate it supposed to make everyone feel better!”

Harry’s look softened. He thought about Remus and how he told him the same thing.

Harry smiled softly at him. “I know.”

[liiilyevans]

19+Hinny for Kiss Meme :)

I really enjoyed writing this one! Thank you!

Kiss Meme

Kisses because I don’t want you to go and maybe I can convince you to stay just a few minutes longer

"Ginny."

"Harry."

Her tone was as teasing as his was exasperated. Currently, Ginny was flopped on top of her husband as they were lying in their bed, and he was trying to convince her to move so he could get up and do paperwork. It was Saturday, but apparently Aurors knew nothing about a healthy work-life balance.

Or maybe it was just her husband.

"Ginny, I really need to finish that report," he said.

Ginny pressed a kiss to his bare chest. "You could have finished it yesterday afternoon."

She could feel his eye roll. Her husband was ever the procrastinator. When he didn't answer her, she continued to plant kisses across his chest, the skin warm under her lips. Harry's fingers threaded through the hair at the back of her neck, his callouses scrapping deliciously against her skin.

Even after years of marriage, Harry still managed to make her toes curl.

His fingers tightened in her hair, and then she was being forced to look up into amused green eyes. Fuck, that shouldn't turn her on as much as it did.

"I really do need to get that work done," Harry said, but there was no conviction in his voice.

Ginny pressed herself up on her elbows until she was hovering just inches from his face.

"Just five minutes?" she said. "I'll make it worth your while."

Harry scoffed, no doubt a smart remark on the tip of his tongue, but then he just shook his head and a grin overtook his face.

"Five minutes," he said. "Just five minutes."

Ginny could do a lot in five minutes, and she was pretty sure by the end of this five, Harry would want another five.

[toorumlk]

Pleaseee do Hinny art soon. I would love to see them in your style.

i’ve drawn hinny before hehe enjoy this doodle i did while listening to the audiobook of hbp:

i find them so cute sometimes

[barnabusthebarmyballetschool]

Accidental hand touching -Hinny!

(This took me far too long.)

Read below or HERE.

Fancying Ginny Weasley was becoming increasingly harder to hide. 

While he should have been far more focused on the team as a whole seeing as it was the last practice before the Quidditch Cup tomorrow, Harry was far too busy being entranced by Ginny, bent over her broomstick with her face set in fierce determination, to do little more than shout a few plays at the Chasers and direct the Beaters to do some swinging exercises. Even the speech he gave at the end of the evening was aimed solely at her.

“I have faith in you all,” he’d said while staring right at her. “You’ll smash it. I know you will.”

Eagerly, he sought her out after the showers, emerging from the girls' changing rooms with glowing skin and hair hanging down her back in wet, scarlet ropes. Even with Ron dutifully at his side and complaining of hunger pains, Harry enjoyed her chatter about the drills he'd had her perform, her voice so vibrant and full of enthusiasm that he could not hold back the large grin that threatened to consume his whole face.

He knew he should feel miserable, but it wasn’t high on his list of priorities when Ginny was giving the jeering Ravenclaw table a two-fingered salute as they entered The Great Hall. She made everything smooth, easy, fun, like he was in a perfect dream, and the guilt that had been clawing at his insides since the fiasco in the bathroom with Draco Malfoy was extinguished by sweet, flower-scented air. 

He didn’t have to think with her, just be.

He mirrored her movements when they settled together at the table, tipping sausages onto his plate after she’d set the platter down, taking the tongs she’d passed him for the Yorkshire pudding, drenching it in onion gravy as soon as she’d set down the silver gravy boat. He was so preoccupied with placing the shades of her hair–he decided on copper-gold and glittering like a summer sunset–that he was too quick, or perhaps she was too slow, and his hand landed over hers on the pumpkin juice pitcher.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers, his brain short-circuiting at the smoothness of her skin. It took him several seconds to pull his hand away.

“Sorry,” he said.

Ginny blinked quickly and looked away. 

“It’s alright,” she said softly. “Here.” 

She poured him a glass, leaning into his side so that the soft fabric of her butter-yellow cardigan grazed his arm. Goosebumps erupted down the entire right side of his body, and Harry tried not to be obvious that he wanted her closer, gripping at the bench so he wouldn’t do something foolish with his hands, his face turned deliberately away from the arch of her pretty neck. 

Before he could thank her, Ginny spoke again, “I know what you’re thinking.”

With a skittering heart, Harry raised his eyebrows at her and said, “I hope not.”

She laughed, tilting her head slightly in question. 

“It’s not, ‘blimey, how can they possibly win tomorrow without me?’.”

Wrong. So wrong.

Still, he humored her.

“Ah, you’ve got me.” He speared a sausage with his fork and sighed. “Even though practice went really well and you’ve been trained by me, the greatest Seeker there ever was–” Ginny snorted, and Harry rejoiced at the crinkle of her nose. “–you all couldn't possibly win without me.”

“Your sarcasm is most impressive.” Ginny’s eyes were twinkling. 

“Thanks.”

“But sarcasm aside,” she continued, “you do know we’ll be okay, right?”

“I wasn’t lying earlier," he said, thinking about the speech and the look of longing he was sure she’d sent him from across the Pitch. "I have faith in you.”

“Just me?”

He pretended to think. “Hmm, no. The rest of the team, too, I guess.”

Another brilliant grin, this time with a flush to her cheeks, and the space between Harry’s lungs grew impossibly warm and soft.

“Anyway,” said Ginny, turning to her food and cutting into her pudding, “I’m glad you won’t be there.”

“Ouch,” he said through a wince, “tell me how you really feel.”

“You know what I mean!” cried Ginny, driving her elbow into his arm.

Harry laughed. “I don’t, actually.”

“I just mean," said Ginny with great emphasis, "that the alternative is much worse.”

"The alternative?" he said. "You mean, actually playing?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but her face went a little bit pink. "No, you git! I'm glad you're safe, not… you know… in hospital, bleeding out."

"Cheers." Harry grinned as she shook her head at him despairingly. "Although, it seems you've absolutely no faith in me."

"What?” said Ginny, giving him a confused look. “How d’you figure that?"

“You think I'd lose in a duel to Malfoy?"

"Right, of course.” Ginny rolled her eyes, but she was laughing through it. “That was so silly of me to suggest."

They ate in companionable silence, listening in to Ron and Hermione’s conversation across the table, about the merits of studying before physical activity versus after. Harry could feel a hard stare from the direction of Dean’s seat further down the table, a gaze he would have met if Ginny had not spoken up again.

"At the end of the day,” she said, “you do know it's just Quidditch, right?"

Harry saw right through her. "That was painful to say, wasn't it?"

Ginny playfully hung her head and groaned, “I’m dying as we speak.”

Harry burst into laughter.