#harry and ginuary

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Pseudonym

New Story! FFN and AO3

Part of the @harryandginuary Big Bang Event!

Huge thank you to @tumbledfreckles for the mood board! It's amazing love!

For @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world who picked the prompt for this story.

And thank you to @tumbledfreckles @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world @midnightelite deadwoodpecker, lilyevansJan30, and HazzaP for beta-ing and really making this story shine! It wouldn't be half as good as it is without you! Love y'all!

James has been writing mystery novels for seven years, under a pseudonym, and for a bit more than a year, he's known he's been living across the hall from his biggest fan, Lily Evans. But Lily has an idea that's going to pull the rug out from under him.

A Jily Muggle AU.

Pseudonym

James looked at the final cut on his screen, reading the ending of his sixth book one more time before the printer would start cutting copies.

A bullet hit Ravi’s vest, leaving him gasping for breath. He tried to push past the jolt being shot gave him and get his head back in the game.

Then he realized the shots had stopped coming at them.

"Clear!" Nick called from over where the gunshots had been coming, frowning at the two lifeless forms on the ground.

Ravi stood and slid another magazine into his .45, not wanting to be caught unarmed having already avoided a close miss.

"Everyone alright?" Nick asked as he found the lights.

"Arora, did you take a hit?" One of the officers approached Ravi.

"I'm alright, hit my vest."

Nick nodded. "Let’s get medical out here and have one look at you. These two aren’t with us anymore."

Ravi looked around the warehouse. It was going to take ages to sort all of this evidence; he'd never seen so much cocaine. He should probably take the break while it was available, even if he didn’t think he needed it.

"On it."

After a quick look over by an EMT, Ravi got confirmation of what he already knew; he was going to have a massive bruise and some sore days ahead, but at least he wasn't dead. He moved to go help with the evidence when his favorite voice called out his name.

"Ravi!"

All his exhaustion and pain seemed to fade as he saw her.

"Sarah." He smiled at the beautiful woman on the other side of the yellow tape and moved closer to her. "Getting your inside scoop for tomorrow's paper?"

"Just happened to be nearby." She winked at him. "And someone showed me how to use a police scanner."

"What a great guy." Ravi looked around before leaning in closer. "A great guy would also like you to know that if you finish that article before sunrise, he'd be happy to point you to a place with the best apple pie."

"I’ll keep that in mind," Sarah laughed. "And let you get back to work." She waved her fingers at him before moving towards the EMTs and Ravi moved back to the crime scene, grinning.

If he'd realized anything after getting shot, it was that soon, he needed to tell Sarah how he felt about her.

But tonight, he'd focus on wrapping up this case and keeping Grandville safe for its citizens.

"Well," James paused, "I think it's ready."

James sent the go-ahead to Sirius for his next Grandville Mystery installment to hit the presses and then shut down his writing laptop, tucking it safely away so no one would find it. That way no part of James' life could get mixed up with that of F. J. Pearson's.

James had been writing as F. J. Pearson for seven years and churned out five fast-paced mystery novels in that time. His speed with finishing the novels had been steadily increasing, having managed a book per year for the last three. He was at the point where he was seriously considering quitting his day job of writing physics textbooks and writing mystery novels full time.

But even if he made that jump, James was determined to keep a good amount of distance between himself and F. J. Pearson. It wasn't exactly a state secret but only Sirius knew that James was a published mystery writer and only because he was James' agent and editor. Sirius' silence on the matter was guaranteed when James threatened to never write a novel again if Sirius let it slip who F. J. Pearson really was.

James chuckled as he remembered the two in the morning phone call that came after he'd sent Sirius his first manuscript asking to know if it was any good.

"Where do you come off?"

"Sirius?" He had groggily tried to register his best friend's phone call.

"Don't BS me, James, did you pay someone to write this?"

"What are you on about?"

"The book, James! Ravi! Grandville! Did you write it or did you pay someone? This is important, James!"

"I wrote it, Sirius," James groaned and sat up in bed. "Every word is mine."

"What in the world are you doing working with Remus on textbooks?! I read books for a living and I could not put this thing down!"

"So, it's ok?" James had felt the embers of hope start to glow in his chest.

"No it's not ok," James could hear Sirius roll his eyes, "It's brilliant! Call in sick to work in the morning and meet me at my office at 9. You're a mystery author, James, not a science textbook bore!"

Sirius had hung up the phone before James could answer. By the next morning, James had received a bunch of instructions from Sirius on how to edit his manuscript as well as a pending agreement with Sirius' main publisher.

Which had started a whole new argument with his brother.

"A pen name?" Sirius laughed and handed James another set of papers to sign. "Why on earth would you want a pen name?"

"I'm not using my given one."

"What? So you'll go by Wilberforce?"

"Sirius-"

"Bathsheba?"

"I was thinking Elvendork, seeing as it's unisex," James smirked at the laughter he pulled from Sirius.

"James, look-"

"No Sirius, I'm not going to let this affect Dad's business. The last thing I want is for Sleekeazy to suffer because this book gets terrible reviews." James stuck a hand in his hair, hoping not to reveal why he was really concerned. In an attempt to keep Sirius from realizing the true reason, James quickly added. "And I absolutely do not want this book to get a lot of attention because I'm the son of Fleamont Potter."

"Get your hand out of your hair.” Sirius huffed.

“Mum’s not here to get upset at me for it. I don’t know why you feel the need to fill in for her.” James lowered his hand.

“You're ridiculous you know that?" Sirius had clicked something on his computer, his eyes unseeing, his tone exasperated. James wasn't sure if Sirius had guessed James' reason for wanting a penname or was just unhappy not getting his way. "But fine, if it brings your genius into the world, what's the pen name you're working under? Because as much as I admire the genius that is Elvendork, this publisher will just assign you something different."

"F. J. Pearson."

Sirius turned to stare at him. "For all the imagination it took for you to write this book, you certainly know how to be boring in your name choice. Fleamont James Pearson?"

"Do you want to put the book out there or not?" James threw his hands up in the air.

"Fine. But I'm putting your real city in the author bio."

James had rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The pen name gave James anonymity, so he would never cause any sort of negative consequences for Sleekeazy. But James had also reasoned it gave him a way out if his book didn't sell; no one but him and Sirius would know he'd published a flop, and it could fade into the background of his life.

But oh, how the book sold.

James had been flabbergasted.

Sirius had been insufferably smug.

James' first book was on the top twenty best sellers list for four weeks straight. James couldn't believe it. He'd written a book and people were buying it - and liking it. James thought he'd done well, scratched the itch to write something more engaging than a textbook, and maybe someday in twenty years he'd fess up to being F. J Pearson and writing the one successful book he'd published.

But then Sirius had told him to write another.

"There's a series here, mate." Sirius had leant back in his office chair and tossed his feet up on his desk.

"It was really just the one book," James had hedged. "I never intended to write more than one."

"James, your publisher wants another. They're getting questions from readers about when your next book is coming out. Your fans want another Grandville Mystery. And when you finish that one, there'll be questions about another."

James shook his head. "I don't even know what will happen next."

"There's always one crime or another in a city." Sirius shrugged. "Pick something other than a jewelry thief and write about that. Oh, and I think you should play up something between Ravi and Sarah. That'll pull in more readers from the romance genre."

"Anything else?" He pulled on his hair.

"The sooner the better." Sirius' phone had rung then and the conversation ended with James feeling rather put upon.

He'd written one book, why should anyone expect him to write another? He'd never intended to write another.

But the more James had thought about writing a series of stories in Grandville with Ravi, the more he was drawn to the idea...

The second book came easier than the first, and the third easier than that. It had taken time, but James slowly got the hang of it and had learned when to recognize he'd taken the story the wrong way and how to course-correct. He'd grown not just as a writer, but he'd grown into a fully-fledged mystery author.

And now the series wasn't so little.

As he had written this, his sixth Granville novel, James felt he was just now hitting his stride; once the idea hit, the story didn't fight so hard to roll from his brain to the keyboard. Now a book a year felt doable. Now he felt ready to quit his day job and write novels full time.

But there was a little complication he hadn't figured out his way around yet though, and that complication was one of his readers.

Lily Evans was potentially F. J. Pearson's biggest fan. She wrote to him to thank him for each and every book. She shared all the promotional social media posts he put up for his books. She'd read his five books at least fifty times each. She knew his characters almost as well as he knew them.

Any author would consider Lily the perfect fan. Their best supporter. The kind of reader they could count on to read and love and support their stories.

There was just one problem.

Lily Evans was also James' next-door neighbor.

She'd moved in a few months after the release of his fourth book, and James had been happy to have a new person across from his flat to share a wall with.  He'd grown tired of the last bloke playing folk music turned up to eleven at one in the morning, long before he'd moved out

When James had first seen Lily, he thought he might have died on his way home from the market without realizing it and was now in heaven.

"Hello." She smiled from her doorway, a folding chair in hand, clearly meant to be brought into her flat. "I'm your new neighbor. Sorry for the noise. I'm just getting a head start on my things before my friends come help with the rest."

James realized a second too late his hand was in his hair. Thankfully his mum was nowhere in sight. "No, it's James, I mean, I'm fine, I mean, the noise, it's fine, I'm James."

She'd laughed and he'd decided it was his new favorite sound.

"I'm Lily."

"Do you want help with your things?" James stuck his hand in his pocket and held his breath.

"Are you up for carrying heavy things?" She smirked at him and James felt his heart do a cartwheel.

"What else are neighbors for?"

She bit her lip and smiled and James was sure his heart was going to burst. Ok, so he probably wasn’t dead if that was any indication.

"I'm sure there are other things but today I'll settle for a lift with the big stuff. These stairs are murder."

By the time they'd pivoted some overly large pieces of furniture up the twisting stairs, a tentative friendship had been born. James barely managed to somehow not make a fool of himself at every turn - or beg her to go out with him. He spent more time outside now, too, because Lily loved to sit on her balcony, and James' balcony just so happened to be right next to hers. If they'd both leant towards the other across the railings he'd be close enough to kiss her - not that he was thinking about kissing her.

Not overtly anyway.

He learned to recognize the sound of Lily's balcony door opening, and there were very few things he wouldn't stop in the middle of to go sit on the balcony with her. The moments shared across their joined fence made him feel close to her, close with her.

Then one day about a month before his fifth book was to be released, James walked out to his balcony and found Lily relaxing in the patio chair he'd hauled up for her, reading a well-worn paperback book.

"Good evening, Lily." He'd sat down in the folding chair he kept outside now. "What book is lucky enough to be read by you?"

"One of my favorites, F. J. Pearson's first Grandville Mystery." Lily held up her copy of his book with a happy sigh and soft smile. "Have you read them? The fifth book comes out next month and I'm going to re-read the first four before I get my copy of the newest one."

James' hand immediately was shoved in his hair and he turned to look away from Lily with his book in her hands. How had he never realized that Lily Evans, his next-door neighbor, was Lily Evans, F. J. Pearson's biggest fan?

But how would he have guessed? There were a few hundred thousand Evans in the UK, and Lily was reasonably common as well. James had just assumed they were different women. Probably because he never let himself be F. J. Pearson outside of writing the books and doing the small amount of advertising he did. So around Lily, he was always just James Fleamont Potter.

"James?"

Right, she'd asked him a question.

"I've, I've actually read them, all of them, several times." He swallowed the bitter taste that accompanied the deliberate half-truth.

"Really?" He could hear the excitement in her voice. "I don't know anyone I can talk to, outside of the internet anyway, who’s read these. Would you ever want to talk about them?"

James still couldn't bring himself to look at her as he answered. "Yeah, that would be pretty grand."

"I see what you did there," Lily laughed, "Grand in Grandville. Do you care if I go on and on about how perfect Ravi and Sarah are for each other? Because I swear if I don't get a story where Ravi finally stops goofing around and tells Sarah how he feels I'm going to hunt down F. J. Pearson and ask why they insist on torturing me."

James pulled hard on his hair. He'd been deliberately dragging that out, mostly because it helped move the mystery plots forward in easy ways. "I think Ravi and Sarah will figure themselves out."

"I'm sure." Lily waved the book around, "I just want it to happen already. We're already four books in! How long do I have to wait for them to get together?"

"I bet it's just a couple of books away, he probably has it planned out." He most certainly did not! "Setting things up and all that."

James swallowed hard. What was he doing?!

"Oh! You think F. J. Pearson is a man?"

James couldn't help but turn to look at her, his bottom jaw by his shoes. "You think he's a woman?"

"Well, no, not really," Lily chuckled, "A woman would have pushed Ravi and Sarah together by now. But the initials don't tell us what their gender is. They could be a woman."

James laughed in spite of himself. "I'd bet my next paycheck F. J. Pearson is a man."

Lily smirked at him from her chair. "If I didn't agree with you I'd take you up on that bet."

James smiled over as she laughed, but internally, his mind was screaming at him.

He was an idiot. He should have told her he'd never heard of F. J. Pearson. He should have told her mystery novels weren't his thing. He should have changed the subject and not come back to it.

But anything that connected him further to Lily was just too tempting. And if they could connect over his books, why not? After all, his own mother didn't know he wrote novels. He could do this, just be another ordinary reader of his own books, he could do that if it meant he got more time with Lily.

Swallowing his guilt, James hardened his resolve. "So, what sort of crime would you want to see Ravi solve?"

That question had started not only six months’ worth of discussions about his books but had also brought him closer to Lily. They had shifted from friendly neighbors to close friends, hanging out away from their balconies, meeting each other’s mates. It made him hopeful that maybe someday they could be more.

James had even picked Lily's brain about what she hoped to see in his next book. This had resulted in the book he'd just sent back to Sirius, his sixth installment, being heavily influenced by Lily and her ideas. James was nervous for Lily to read it and see all of her ideas in the book. But he hoped the book would make her smile, and he could enjoy being the reason she smiled, even if it was through a pen name.

James heard the sound of Lily's balcony door as he tucked away his laptop and grinned. Time to go see a beautiful woman.

"Morning!" Lily smiled at him as she watered her potted flowers.

"Good morning, Lily." He moved to the railing between their balconies. "How's your Saturday?"

"Lovely," she beamed. "I've had an absolute stroke of genius!"

"This is not surprising news."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't you going to ask me what my brilliant idea is?"

"Sure, but I already know it's going to be the best idea I've ever heard."

Lily laughed as she watered her plants. "I'm going to email F. J. Pearson and ask him to do a public signing and maybe a reading when he releases his next book."

James blinked, not realizing that his lower jaw was down on the pavement two stories below him.

"See!" Lily laughed, "You're shocked you didn't think of it first."

"He- he- he's never done any public events before." James stammered as his brain tried to wrap around Lily's genius idea.

There was a very good reason for F. J. Pearson to refrain from public events.

“Just because he hasn’t done any events before now doesn’t mean he won’t. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t think he has the fan base to support it, which now he does. And besides, it never hurts anything to ask.”

"I- I- I- I guess…"

Lily giggled, "I'll let you know what he says. I've got a draft on my phone and I'll probably send it today."

"Great." James realized his hand was in his hair and he pulled on it to try and gain some grip on all the emotions that threatened to bubble over.

"I'll see you later." Lily smiled at him, a smile that made him wonder what he'd done to get her to look at him that way. "I've got to run."

"Yeah, have a good Saturday."

"You too, James." She slipped into her flat with a little wave of her delicate fingers.

James moved back inside as well and shut his door.

Then he swore.

And swore again.

What was he doing???

He should have never led her to believe he was just another reader. The second he realized that Lily Evans, his next-door neighbor, was the same Lily Evans who shared every social media post that F. J. Pearson posted and sent thank you emails for each and every book he put out, he should have faked a phone call and ran away. He should have stopped after one book and told Sirius and his publisher he wouldn't turn this into a series. He should have never shown Sirius the first bloody book at all. He should have burned it instead.

He should go open his laptop back up.

James moved back to his bedroom, pulling his writing laptop from under the blankets in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Maybe he'd get lucky and Lily would send the email before she left for her Saturday to-do list and he could see exactly what she was hoping for. Then he’d have the entire day to think of a plan to get himself out of this mess he’d made.

He opened F. J. Pearson's email and shoved his hand in his hair.

Nothing.

He refreshed the page.

Nothing.

He refreshed the page again.

Nothing.

He swore.

Then his phone rang.

“You can not have read my edits that quickly,” James said as he answered Sirius’ call.

“Tetchy, what’s up?”

James shoved his hand back to untidy locks. “Nothing.”

“So, your hand is not in your hair?” Sirius’ voice was accusing.

“No.” James pulled the offending body part down and sat on it.

“You don’t fool Mum or me you know that right?” Sirius paused. “Really, James, is everything alright?”

James leant back in his desk chair and looked at his computer screen. It would only be a matter of time before he’d have to tell Sirius what he’d done. Might as well get it out of the way now.

“I may have made a mistake.”

“That’s in character.” Sirius snickered.

“Hey!”

“What did you do, James?”

“Lily-”

“Universe, give me strength.”

“She reads my books.”

“Really?” Sirius sounded amused when James wanted him to sound alarmed. “That’s brilliant! So are you going to tell her you’re F. J. Pearson and we can do away with this ridiculous charade along with the two of you dancing around each other?”

James felt his hand creep back up into his hair of its own accord “I’ve actually known she reads my books for almost a year now.”

The line was silent.

“Sirius?”

“I can not believe you right now.”

“I panicked!”

“Is that why this book feels different than the first five?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you been asking Lily what she wants in your books?”

Crap.

“James?”

“Yes.” He dropped his head to his desk.

Sirius swore. “This is why I told Mum about Lily. This right here. You’re gone for her, mate.”

“Is that why Mum suddenly started bringing me food?! I'm not the son that messes with her recipes! I don't need her bringing me enough food to solve world hunger every week!"

“Don’t get off topic, she just wants to meet Lily.” Sirius paused. “And tie your hands to your side.”

“I hate you so much, do you know that?”

“No you don't, but moving back on topic, you lied to Lily, and now we need to find a way for you to tell her you’ve been an idiot, right?”

James went silent, trying to determine how to broach the next problem.

“Why do I think there’s more?”

James could hear Sirius roll his eyes, and he sighed in defeat.

“She’s going to email F. J. Pearson and ask that my next book has an author signing and reading.”

“Well, mate, sounds like you’ve just dug your grave. You’ve fancied this woman for a year and a half and then killed any chance you might have had.”

James swore.

“What were you thinking?”

“I don’t know?!” James lifted his head from his desk. “I thought it would be a way for us to spend more time together. We still weren’t really close when I found out and she was so excited to have someone to talk about my books with, and it worked, we’re, we’re friends now.” James felt his stomach turn at his words. "I should have just pretended not to have known what she was talking about."

“Why didn’t you just tell her you were the author?” Sirius huffed. “Then she could have freaked out that she lived next door to her favorite author.”

“I don’t know if I’m her favorite author.”

“If she gave you ideas for this book then I’m going to wager you are at least top five.”

“Crap.”

“I repeat. What were you thinking?”

James swallowed. He knew exactly why he hadn't told her the truth. He couldn't; not without risking another fiasco. James heard his computer ding and looked up to see an email in his inbox.

From Lily.

“I need to go.”

“She emailed you didn’t she?”

“Yep.”

“Read it to me. I’m your agent and editor and unfortunately, that professional relationship means I need to help get you out of this hole you’ve dug yourself into.”

James shook his head even as his hand moved the mouse to open the email.

“No, I’m not reading a private message to you.”

“Private?” Sirius scoffed. “James, wouldn’t you like help to get out of this one?" Sirius' voice softened. "You’ve certainly had your fair share of pulling me out of my stupid situations."

James swallowed as the mouse hovered over Lily's email.

"Besides," Sirius pushed on. "If you’re agreeing to public events, I need to let your publisher know.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything.”

“You’re so hung up on Lily that you lied to her about being F. J. Pearson. I think that’s a fair indication you might inadvertently agree to a public event.”

James groaned.

Why had he told Sirius?

“James,” the teasing had gone completely out of his brother’s voice. “I get it, alright, I get where you were coming from. But you’ve got to fix it if you want any chance with Lily.”

“I know; I just don’t know how. I’ve lied to her for months.”

“Right, that’s a bugger, but if you come clean, tell her it’s you, then maybe she won’t stay mad at you for too long and you can win her back.”

“Relationship advice? From you?”

“Desperate times, mate. Now let’s hear what the dashing Lily Evans has to say.”

James resigned himself and opened the email.

“Dear F. J. Pearson,

I hope you recognize the name, I'm Lily Evans and I've written you before. I’m so excited for your sixth book to release! My friend and I have been talking about it a lot and I’ve an idea for it that I hope you’ll consider.

I think a signing for this upcoming book and maybe a reading too would be amazing for your fans! I know you've never done a public event before, but I think you've got the fan base to support you. At the least, my friend and I would be sitting in the front row.

Kind regards,

Lily Evans"

James dropped his head back down and groaned.

"I mean, she makes some good points," Sirius chuckled.

James glanced at the screen, hoping a miracle had occurred and the email was gone, and swore when it hadn't.

"Write her back and tell her you'll talk to your publisher. She makes some good points and I think we should discuss you coming clean with the world, especially Mum and Dad." Sirius was back to business. "Then pick a time and tell Lily who F. J. Pearson is."

"Right." James swallowed. "I'll email her back."

"Don't worry, James," Sirius' voice was worryingly reassuring. "I'll be there if it starts to tear at the seams, just like you've been for me."

"Thanks, Sirius." James gave in and let himself mess with his hair, figuring he deserved some slack. "Enjoy your Saturday.'

"You've got this, James." Then the call disconnected.

But he didn't.

James didn't have this.

He stared at the screen, his mouse hovering over the word reply.

Maybe he could wait a day.

No. That was more of the kind of thinking that got him into this mess.

Steeling himself, James set his fingers to his laptop keyboard and took a deep breath.

Dear Lily,

First, thank you for all your support of my books. I do get the thank you emails you send and see that you promote my books as well.

I talked to my editor and he thinks it’s worth talking to my publisher. His exact words were, “She makes some good points.” So we’ll see what happens. I’m flattered that you think I have the fan base to support public events.

I hope you have a wonderful Saturday and thank you again.

F.J. Pearson

James read the email twice more before he closed his eyes and hit send. He shut down his laptop immediately, not ready to see if she would email him back or not.

Then his phone chimed with a text.

Lily: He emailed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crap.

He’d officially trapped himself between himself and Lily.

James stuck his hand in his hair and looked down at the message despairingly.

What was he supposed to do now?

His phone chimed again as a screenshot appeared with the email he'd just sent staring back at him.

Lily: See!!!!!

James smiled in spite of the panic that was bubbling just under the surface. Lily had that effect on him.

James: I never doubted your skills.

He fell onto his bed and watched Lily's typing bubble.

Lily: Want to come scout out location possibilities with me tonight? I don't want to respond until I can give some good ideas for where he could do a signing.

James' heart pounded in his ears.

Every bone in his body screamed yes, he absolutely wanted to go with her. But the guilt he felt kept begging him to say no, to not subject himself to the turmoil that being with Lily while he was actively trying to figure out how to tell her the truth was sure to cause.

But it wasn't begging quite loud enough.

James: I'd love to

Lily: Great! See you at mine at 6?

James: Can't wait ;)

He tossed his phone on the bed next to him and shoved his glasses up his face to rub his eyes.

It wasn't so bad, James tried to reason with himself. He could get Lily's opinion and see the options for himself and have some solid feedback for his publisher when they planned his signing.

If he did a signing…

Crap.

James hated it when Sirius was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James was anxious for the rest of the day, going so far as to consider telling Lily that evening he was F. J. Pearson, though he felt like he needed a better plan than confessing it on her doorstep.

That plan didn't materialize in his brain before six rolled around.

"James!" Lily opened her door. "Can you believe he emailed me back?!"

James laughed and leant against the wall. "Of course, I can. You're brilliant, anyone who can't see that after two seconds of interaction with you is an idiot."

"Why thank you, Potter," Lily chuckled as she closed and locked her door. "I didn't get a chance to eat after I got home. Feel like grabbing something before we go scout out where our favorite author should reserve for his book signing?"

So he was her favorite author.

That thought had James floating for a brief moment.

"James?"

Right, she'd asked him a question.

"Sure, I'm always up for dinner with a beautiful woman."

"Flatterer," Lily rolled her eyes and moved down the stairs, James quickly following after her.

Lily drove them to a Greek restaurant that left James wondering if Greek food would be as easy for him to cook as Indian food and if he could possibly have Lily with him for every meal. She was the source of a lot of his anxiety but in a strange paradox, her presence was soothing his nerves.

It was moments like these, sitting across from her at a restaurant as she chatted about work, about her parents' latest pensioner adventure, and as she teased him for being a rich kid as he paid for their dinner; these moments that made him want this every day, her there with him.

But he knew it wouldn't, couldn't happen. Not until she knew who he was. Not until he stopped hiding something so massive from her.

"Where's our first location then?" James asked as Lily drove them away from the restaurant.

"First I thought we'd look at Flourish and Blotts since they're a big name. Then I want to see if Tomes and Scrolls looks viable. They're smaller but cozier too."

"I like Tomes and Scrolls." James nodded. "Their staff are nicer too, more helpful."

"Exactly." Lily nodded as she turned into the parking lot for Flourish and Blotts. "I'm sure that F. J. Pearson has been to both of these seeing as he lives somewhere in this city, but I thought he'd like a reader's perspective."

James swallowed as his guilt started bubbling near the surface for the millionth time that evening.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

Flourish and Blotts had all the space in the world, but James was put off by the lack of personality the store had. Every Flourish and Blotts location looked just like this one. Every Flourish and Blotts had stuffy salespeople that were offended if you dared to ask them a question. Every Flourish and Blotts smelled like stale coffee and cardboard boxes. Every Flourish and Blotts felt like a charade.

This was not where he wanted his readers. He'd probably end up in the news as the author that chewed out the staff for being rude to a guest.

"I don't like," he said absently as they walked through the store and Lily took notes on her phone.

"What?" Lily looked up at him but James was frowning at the aisles of toys, still caught up in his dislike of the store.

"This isn't what the readers want. I bet they'd actually kick us out if we went over our allotted time. Could you imagine the news stories? And tonight we cover an author who shouted at bookstore associates ." James spun around to head back to the car. "This won't work. Let's go."

"Hold on." Lily snagged his arm and pulled him back. "You think F. J. Pearson would have a shouting match with the associates?"

Her words brought James back to reality and he shoved his hand in his hair.

"I, er, I meant that he'd probably find all of this pretentious." James gestured with the hand that hadn't snuck to his hair. "And, I, er, well, he writes Ravi as the kind of bloke that isn't afraid to put pretentious people in their place… So maybe…?"

Lily burst out laughing.

"I never thought of it, but now the image of F. J. Person channeling Ravi and chewing out these associates might be one of my favorite mental images."

James breathed out in a rush of relief.

"So Tomes and Scrolls?" He made a conscious effort to shove both hands in his pockets.

"Yeah." Lily pulled her keys from her purse. "I figured that would be the best place anyway. I guess we could look at the library as well but I honestly think it better to do this where people can buy his book and not fight over the ten copies the library will get."

James laughed. "Our library has that many copies?"

"Only." Lily shook her head as she unlocked her car. "There are twenty-five copies each of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books and only ten of F. J. Pearson's books. It's criminal."

"Tolkien was a genius, Evans." James jumped to defend one of his favorite authors.

"And F. J. Pearson is just as good, in my opinion." Lily slipped into her seat and left James gawking over the top of the car.

"Did I break you, Potter?" Lily rolled down the passenger window and smirked at him.

James shook himself, trying to get some level of control over his brain. Lily thought he was just as good as Tolkien. Had he died? He pinched himself. Nope, not dead.

Holy crap.

"Yep." He figured honesty was just as good as any response. She had rattled him and he was trying not to faint dead away. "I'm coming to terms with this newfound information about you and your biased opinions." He slipped into the car.

"How on earth is it biased for me to like Pearson more than Tolkien?" Lily's head tipped back and she laughed.

James felt his throat constrict in panic. He didn’t have an answer that he could actually give her without telling her who F. J. Pearson was.

“Er…” He looked around as Lily drove them towards Tomes and Scrolls and spotted an ice cream parlor. “Oh, hey, want to get Fortescue’s after we finish up at Tomes and Scrolls?”

Lily bit her lip and glanced over at him.

“I’d like that.”

For a moment, James forgot why he’d been panicking.

“Me too.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Lily pulled her laptop out of her bag and pushed the power button as she hummed happily to herself.

It hadn’t really been a date, but it had been a wonderful...not-date.

Whatever. Time with James was always something that Lily looked forward to. Maybe someday she’d be brave enough to risk their friendship and ask him on a date. The time they spent together was nearly dating anyway, but it lacked some of the perks that dating usually entailed.

Kissing for instance…

Lily shook the thought of kissing James away and sat down at her computer with her drink.  She needed to get a grip. She had an email to write.

F. J. Pearson probably wasn’t awaiting her email with bated breath, he didn’t even know she was sending it, but Lily wanted to get it out while the experience, and James’ comments, were fresh in her mind. And so she opened her email and set to it.

Dear F. J. Pearson,

I went with my friend I mentioned before, James, to look at a few locations that might work for the event and while Flourish and Blotts had plenty of space, James worried that their high and mighty attitudes might push you to channel Ravi and get into a shouting match with the employees. In the end, we both agree that Tomes and Scrolls would be the ideal place. It could end up with a queue outside the store, but James and I agree that it’s more in line with your fanbase.

I’m attaching some of the pictures I took that show where you could set up and maybe do a reading. I really hope your publisher agrees and public events can become a part of every book release you do. I know James and I wouldn’t be the only fans to block out our calendars for it.

Kind regards,

Lily Evans

There, that sounded normal enough. Lily didn’t want to come off as a stalker to F. J. Pearson, but she also didn’t understand why this author was so insistent on being hidden. His books were bestsellers, he had a solid fandom, there was even fanfiction for Ravi and Sarah for heaven’s sake. He was big. So why hide?

She hit send and then looked at her phone. It was only ten, she could text James and tell him she already emailed Pearson; maybe she could tease him about how she’d included one of the pictures that had James in it. That might buy her an hour or so of conversation with him…

Lily shoved her phone in her pocket.

What was she? Thirteen?

She needed to go to bed, and hope that she didn’t dream about Mister tall, dark, and sexy on the other side of her wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took her two days to manage to reconnect with James. He must have been busy because he didn't come out on the balcony any of the times she went out to water her plants. She finally saw him when they happened to be coming home at the same time. Well, roughly the same time. She didn't really run to catch up to James, but she privately admitted to stepping lively to reach him before he walked into their building.

"Potter." She tapped him on the shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here."

James gave her a brilliant smile as his hand found his hair. He always seemed annoyed when he caught himself doing it, but Lily found it endearing. She had to grip her purse strap to keep the urge to also tangle her hands amongst the soft-looking strands under control.

"Alright, Evans?" He held the door open invitingly.

"Fine, and yourself?"

James' hand brushed the small of her back as he followed her in before dropping back to his side. Her back buzzed with electricity and she resisted the urge to step back into him.

"Good, what are you up to this evening?"

"Just dinner." James followed her up the stairs, the hand that had brushed her back now firmly back gripping his hair.

Was it a nervous habit? Did she make him nervous? Heaven knew he gave her butterflies, maybe she gave them to him too?

Focus, Lily.

"We have that in common, then."

Lily cringed. Could she manage to be any lamer?

James laughed, "We're a right pair, Evans, nothing but dinner to occupy us on a weeknight."

Lily laughed too, trying to figure out if there was any way for their conversation to continue as they approached their respective doors.

"Hey, Lils." James stopped them at the landing. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

Lily felt her heart beating in her ears. "Sure."

James tugged a tangled curl of hair and looked down at his shoes as he let out a long breath.

"Well, you see, er, we both like F. J. Pearson's books-"

"Oh!" Lily suddenly saw her chance to keep them talking. "I sent that email! Pearson hasn't emailed me back yet though."

James looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Then he laughed, a shaky sound compared to the deep laugh he usually had for her.

"What a tosser."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he's just waiting to hear back from his publisher. I sent him the pictures I took.”

"Brilliant." James' eyes fixated back on his shoes. "I'm sure he'll get back to you. Only an idiot wouldn't."

Lily bit her lip as her stomach fluttered at his words.

"He's probably busy."

James responded with a non-committal grunt.

Silence fell between them again and Lily felt the happy flutters in her stomach start to shift into an awkward clinch.

"Well," Lily looked toward her door, "I guess-"

"Would you like to come to mine for dinner?" James blurted out.

Lily felt her heart stop dead in her chest. She glanced back at James, who was playing with his hair again.

"It's, well it won't be anything fancy, but, if, if you weren't looking forward to making yourself something-"

"Yes," Lily cut him off before he could change his mind. "I'd love to join you. Can I bring anything? I've a freezer stocked full of ice cream." She frowned. "No chocolate though; your heathen taste in ice cream isn't accounted for in my selections."

"I'm wounded." James threw both hands over his heart. "You mean to tell me you don't keep an emergency supply of chocolate-chocolate chunk ice cream on hand for me?"

Lily rolled her eyes but bit her lip to try and mediate the smile that she felt blossom across her face. "You'll have to make do with cherry vanilla, pistachio, or chocolate chip cookie dough."

"I suppose I'll live with the chocolate chips in your chocolate chip cookie dough then." His hands fell. "But I warn you, I have no self-control when it comes to ice cream, hence there is never any in my flat."

"I'll only bring what I'm prepared to part with then." Lily let her smile shine through. "I'll just drop my things off and then be right over."

"Brilliant. Great." James dropped his keys and quickly stooped to pick them up, jingling them around in his hand as he stood. "I'll just, er, I'll just get things started. Don't worry about knocking. I don't want to keep you waiting if I'm at the stove."

"Alright." Lily pulled her keys from her bag, hoping she didn't look overly eager. "I'll only be a moment."

"Right." James turned his body to his own door while he still looked at her. Lily heard his key knock around a few times before she heard it slide into the lock. "Right, I'll see you in a moment then."

Lily nodded, not sure how to exit this conversation gracefully. She chose simply not to attempt it at all and stepped into her flat and shut the door.

Then she let the low-level panic and high-level excitement course through her veins as she bit her lip and bounced up and down.

She was having dinner with James.

Dinner with James, in his flat.

James asked her to have dinner with him in his flat.

"Breathe," she reprimanded herself. "Don't dawdle. Move."

Within five minutes, Lily had brushed her hair, changed her shirt, collected the ice cream, and was slowly opening James' door.

“James?”

“In here” He stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Make yourself at home, Evans.”

Lily adjusted her grip on the ice cream cartons in her hands as she moved towards James and the spicy smells coming from his kitchen.

“Am I good to just put these in the freezer?” She gestured toward the refrigerator.

James set down the wooden spoon in his hand and reached for the cartons.

“Here, let me.” His fingers were strong as they wrapped around her hands and held them for just a second longer than necessary before slipping the ice cream from her hands.

Lily forgot to lower her arms as he set them in the freezer.

“Have you ever had rogan josh?” James asked her as he closed the freezer door. “My mum dropped off enough to feed an army on Sunday and I’m trying to get through it all.”

“Nope.” Lily came to stand next to James as he stirred the red stew in the pot. “But it smells amazing.”

James beamed at her. “It is. Mum does it better than anyone I know. It’s basically a spicy lamb stew. I’ve got some plain yogurt if you need to cool it down. I don’t expect you to eat it as hot as my mum makes it.”

“I think I’ll be alright.” Lily smiled. “My dad loves Thai and always asks for it as hot as they’ll make it for him.”

“Well, don’t kill yourself, alright?” James bumped her shoulder with his and gave her a soft smile. “You’ve got nothing to prove to me.”

Lily felt her heart try to flutter out of her chest.

Maybe he was starting to see her the way she saw him. Maybe tonight would be the night she tried to move things out of friends and into something more…

When that sat down for dinner, Lily had to admit that James was right, she did need the extra yogurt, but she still loved his mum's dish.

“I might have to meet your mum,” Lily sighed after her second bowl. “My ice cream in your freezer is the only reason I’m not having thirds.”

James picked up her bowl with a laugh. “She’ll be thrilled to hear it.”

James turned to face her, leaning against the sink counter behind him, and cleared his throat. “Would you like to sit on the sofa while we have ice cream? It’s a fair bit more comfortable than my dining chairs.”

“Sure.” Lily couldn’t help the beaming smile she gave him.

She followed James to his sofa, trying to ignore the sudden wave of shyness she felt as she opened the cherry vanilla ice cream pint in her hand.

“So.” James smiled at her, sitting far enough away on the sofa that he could face her.

Lily giggled around the bite of ice cream in her mouth. “So.”

“Thank you for having dinner with me, if you want to take some of the rogan josh home, I’m happy to share. I might actually manage to get it all eaten before it’s too old with your help.” James dug into his chocolate chip cookie dough.

“I will not argue with taking some of it off your hands,” Lily smirked. “Maybe your mum would be willing to bring me my own batch.”

James’ laugh was loud and his face contorted as he tried to keep the bite of ice cream in his mouth. “Trust me, what she brings just to me is plenty for the two of us.”

“Does she bring food to Sirius too?”

“Oh yes, usually more than she brings me. She knows I can make a lot of it myself, she’s been teaching me since I was about seven.”

“Does Sirius not cook?” Lily took another bite and sighed happily.

James cleared his throat and had another mouthful of his ice cream.

“Sirius cooks well, but he likes to experiment and change things, and Mum thinks it’s hedonistic or something. So obviously, if she brings him heaps of food, he won’t cook her recipes and ruin them.”

“Why does she bring you food then?” Lily smirked. “Do you ruin her recipes too?”

James rolled his eyes. “No, she uses it as an excuse to come see me.”

“Why does she need an excuse?”

James coughed and his cheeks reddened. “She’s just being my mum.”

Lily grinned, sure there was more James wasn’t telling her.

“If I ever meet your mum, I’ll be sure to ask what her motives are in bringing you food.”

James gave her a soft smile, his spoon halfway to his mouth. “Alright.”

Lily felt her whole body react to that soft smile, full of far more than friendly affection. He smiled at her like the thought of her meeting his mum had put him in the clouds.

She cleared her throat and took another spoonful.

“How’s your ice cream?”

Lily looked up at James and couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s lovely. How’s yours?”

“Not chocolate,” James smirked at her.

“You’re welcome to buy your own.”

“We’ve talked about this.” James reached over and poked her arm. “I have zero self-control when it comes to ice cream. If I bought chocolate it wouldn’t make it fifteen minutes in my freezer.”

“That would be a shame.” Lily gave him a playful shove and leant into the sparks that flew up her arm from having a bit more physical contact with James. “Although a slight rounder version of yourself wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

James made a sound that came somewhere from his chest and pushed forward; holding his pint off to the side as his free hand connected with her waist and tickled.

“Hey!” Lily laughed and leant into James’ touch, sliding her ice cream onto the coffee table as she threw both hands into tickling him back.

James’ other hand connected with her wrist and held it away from his underarms. His hazel eyes were alive with laughter and sheer happiness and Lily’s heart filled to bursting.

His fingers stilled suddenly and Lily watched his eyes drop to her lips. She held her breath. Wondering. Hoping.

She moved forward, just a fraction, hoping beyond hope that he’d meet her halfway.

James moved closer, mingling their breaths.

“Lily.” He said her name with a gruff breathless sound and his eyes dropped to her lips again with a heat that made her heart beat in her throat.

“Ja-”

Lily jumped as James’ phone began ringing loudly on the coffee table.

He swore, looking back and forth between her and his phone.

“Go ahead, it must be important.” Lily tried to put a good front on and keep the disappointment from her voice.

James looked at her with what Lily could only call longing in his eyes before pulling away from her entirely.

He frowned at the screen and sighed. “I’ll take this in my bedroom. I’ll be right back.”

Lily watched him disappear down the corridor and blinked.

James had every right to take the call in his room, but she had to admit a part of her hoped he would just silence his phone and ravish her.

Maybe she hadn’t seen the heat in his gaze. Maybe she’d imagined it all. Maybe she’d wanted it so much that she’d nearly made a fool of herself and kissed him.

She was an idiot, and she should count herself lucky that some higher power had just stopped her from doing something that could have ruined her friendship with James for good.

Lily picked up her ice cream and put the lid back on the pint with a sigh. She wasn’t hungry anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily looked at her email and felt a tingle of giddiness.

J. Pearson had responded.

He was doing a reading and a signing! At Tomes and Scrolls!

Lily had woke up still feeling put out by how nothing had happened between her and James the night before, but this email helped her to push that frustration aside for a few minutes.

She was so excited!

She had to tell James!

And then she stopped short.

They’d ended things the night before in what Lily could only call an intensely awkward moment.

James' hand had been planted firmly in his hair and his other hand had gripped his phone when he'd remerged. He'd commented on how late it was, how they both had work in the morning, and that he had a few things his employer needed him to do before he could turn in.

Lily had gawked at him and then managed to mumble her agreement and apologies for staying so late before grabbing her ice cream and fleeing to her flat.

Not the sort of parting that left Lily feeling like he had wanted to kiss her, or instilled confidence in her current desire to text him.

She reread the email and gritted her teeth. Lily needed to show James they were friends, that she was on the same page as he obviously was in regards to their almost kiss; what better way than to push all the awkwardness and hurt that she felt away by texting him with something they could both geek out about?

Before she could change her mind, Lily took a screenshot of the email and texted it to James with a GIF of a teddy bear running in circles with a big smile and confetti falling around it.

He responded within thirty seconds with a happy dance GIF.

Good, he was at least communicating with her.

Lily: Thanks again for dinner last night.

She held her breath as James’ typing bubble popped up on her screen.

James: Anytime. I appreciated the company

Lily bit her lip, wondering if she should give in to the desire to ask him if he’d ever like to come to hers for dinner, but then her “get up now or you’ll be late for work” alarm sounded and Lily settled for texting James that she too appreciated the company and let it go at that. Hoping that now they’d be able to go back to the friendship they had before.

But things were still weird.

Five days later, Lily was at her wit’s end. She was positive that James was doing more than just ignoring her, he was actively avoiding her. And Saturday morning she decided she couldn’t take it.

After a quick email to F. J. Pearson telling him how excited she was that he was doing a reading and signing - she’d been so focused on James ignoring her she’d forgotten to respond to Pearson - Lily went to her balcony to water her flowers and give James one more chance before she threw everything on the line.

If James was going to avoid her and stop their friendship, even when she was doing everything to show him she could keep things as friends, then Lily reasoned she might as well give him a valid reason to do so.

She emptied the watering can and looked at James’ empty balcony.

This was ridiculous.

The least he could have done was tell her that the almost kiss had been too much and he was through being her friend.

Why was he being so difficult?

A considerate person would tell her.

The James she thought she knew would tell her!

Where was the man she’d grown to trust? The man she was realizing she counted on as more than just her neighbor?!

In a rush of frustration, Lily tossed her watering can at James’ balcony door.

One second too late she realized what she was doing, but thankfully, the plastic container missed the door and skidded across the decking instead.

Alright, obviously it was time to have a conversation with James.

Just as soon as she retrieved her watering can.

She left her flat and after taking a few deep breaths she knocked on James’ door.

James opened a moment later, his phone held to his chest, and smiled at her.

“Hey, Lils.”

Lily felt some of her frustration fading under the warm hazel of his stare. “Hi, sorry, but I’ve, well I’ve dropped my watering can on your balcony.”

James chuckled, glancing at the phone pressed firmly against his chest. “You’re welcome to grab it. I need to finish up here.”

“Thanks, I’ll just be a moment.” Lily bared her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile as he let her into his flat.

“Lils,” James called after her as she walked toward his bedroom. Lily turned to see him looking at her with that same heated look he’d had the night they’d almost kissed. “Can you stick around for a bit? I’d like to chat once I’ve wrapped things up.”

Lily bit her lip but nodded. “Sure thing.”

His returning smile had her dipping her chin as she bit her lip. Maybe things weren’t as bad off as she thought they were between them. Maybe she was imagining him being distant. Maybe he just needed some space to see her the way she saw him.

She stepped into his room and smiled as she looked around. James’ bedroom was clean, but not quite tidy. His desk, right next to the sliding door to his balcony, had his laptop open, his inbox still on the screen, and dozens of papers around the machine. She bet that all the problems he was putting into the next physics textbook were worked out on those pages. Smiling, she moved to look at the pages, thinking she’d tease him about them when he finished his call.

But she stopped in her tracks when she got close enough to the laptop screen to see her name.

Lily stared at the laptop, the email she wrote to F. J. Pearson not fifteen minutes ago looking back at her.

“Did you find it alright, Evans?”

James appeared at his bedroom door and froze.

He swore.

“How?” Lily turned to look at him as she pointed at the screen, her watering can long forgotten.

James’ hand was shoved in his hair and his eyes were wide with panic.

“Lily, I can explain.”

“That you’re hacking F. J. Pearson’s emails?”

“Lily,” James’ other hand moved to his hair. “I- I'm sorry. I should- I should have told you ages ago, but I- I'm F. J. Pearson. I’m the author of the Grandville Mysteries. F. J. Pearson is- it's my pen name. I’m sorry!"

Lily gawked at him, opening her mouth and closing it again and again, no sound emerging for several moments. Her mind spun. She couldn’t pull a full breath if her life depended on it.

"You're, you’re F. J. Pearson?" The words tasted metallic on her tongue.

She watched James' Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Surprise?"

Lily blinked as anger and embarrassment pumped through her veins.

“Has this been some sort of joke for you?”

“What? No! Lily-”

“A great laugh this must have been,” Lily crossed her arms, feeling the heat of her embarrassment in her cheeks as it squeezed her chest. “I thought we were friends, James.”

“We are!”

Lily ignored the desperation she heard in James’ voice. “Really?” Lily gave him a humorless laugh in an attempt to push down the tears that were pushing on the back of her eyes. “Because this really doesn’t feel like something a friend would do. Lying to me? For almost a year? I bet you don't even write textbooks!”

“Lily, you don’t understand-”

“I think I understand plenty.” Lily stormed past him, ignoring the pain in his face and heading for the door. “I hope your signing goes well, Mr. Pearson.”

“Lily!” James grabbed her hand but dropped it when she turned to glare at him. “Please! Please, let me explain!”

“What is there to explain? That I’m a moron? You’ve been lying to me for nearly a year James! You led me to believe that you were another reader! You conveniently failed to mention you were the author!” Lily angrily swallowed down the tears that threatened to push through. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. He’d demeaned her enough already. “Just leave me alone, James!” Her voice cracked and Lily spun, running for home.

She could hear James chasing after her but she slammed his door before locking her own and ignoring his pleas as she threw herself onto her bed and gave in to the tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily was pretty sure her heart had been run through a meat grinder.

How could James have been so cruel?

How could she have missed it? Looking back it was so obvious that James was F. J. Pearson. The way he defended the plots and the way he knew the characters inside and out left Lily feeling like an idiot.

She’d been blind.

She felt used.

She felt betrayed.

And she never wanted to see James or read another F. J. Pearson book again.

If she didn’t still have six months left in her lease she would have been looking for a new place to live.

James had called, texted, and knocked on her door multiple times, including leaving her watering can on her front mat. But Lily had taken a page out of his book and was actively avoiding him.

It was going swimmingly until she heard a knock a few days later, yet when she looked through the spyhole, saw no one.

Like a fool, she opened the door.

“Hello, Lily.” Sirius Black stood to the side of the frame with his back against the wall.

“Bye, Sirius.” Lily turned away but Sirius blocked her path.

"I have a gift and some things I need to say."

Lily frowned at the little cardboard box in Sirius' hands.

"I'm busy, Sirius, come back later."

"This will only take a minute, Evans." Sirius smiled his stupid perfect model smile at her. "We can stay out here or you can be polite and invite me in."

"Polite would have involved you calling first."

"I don't have your number, Evans." Sirius rested his free arm against her door frame. "And given the circumstances, I don't think James would be too keen on giving it to me."

Lily felt her face flare. "If you're here for him-"

"Honestly, Lily, just bloody let me in and I'll be off before the kettle's ready." Sirius interrupted her.

His tone surprised her. Lily would have thought Sirius would be frustrated, but his tone was one of pleading more than aggravation.

"Alright," she huffed and let him in.

Sirius made a bee-line for her little kitchen table and sat down, as though he feared she would change her mind and try to throw him out. She tried to not let her amusement show and moved to sit across from him.

"Go ahead, make your case for James." She slumped forward. It stung like a wasp sting on her heart knowing she'd been a joke to him, that all their moments together had been nothing but some twisted game.

They'd felt so real to her.

"Lily, you and I are the only people who know James is F. J. Pearson."

"Sirius, please," Lily shook her head, "I wasn't born yesterday. James is a best-selling author with a following big enough that sooner or later he'll attract Hollywood."

"All true, yes," Sirius waved her off, "but Lily, our own parents don't know that James is a novelist! Remus and Peter don't know! No one knows! Just me, because I'm his agent and editor, and you because he's so wrapped up in how much he loves you he bloody well stops thinking!"

Lily felt her heart skip a beat and she looked up at Sirius. He gripped the little cardboard box in his hands and his eyes locked with hers, pleading for her to believe him.

"Why?"

Sirius' lips twitched up at the ends. "Why does he love you? I could wax poetic if you'd like, but that would ruin my reputation."

Lily felt her face grow hot. "No! I mean why doesn't he tell anyone?"

Sirius hung his head. "Because of me."

Lily blinked, "What?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "Our parents own the company Sleekeazy."

Lily nodded. "Right, James has mentioned that."

"And I'm sure he hasn't mentioned when I caused them the lawsuit of a lifetime."

She gawked at him but Sirius continued.

"When we were kids, I decided to play a prank on a kid in school who was awful to a lot of people. I felt justified picking on him because he picked on other people." Sirius rubbed his temples. "I called him a greasy git because his hair was always so oily from not being cleaned. My idea was to mix some of the Sleekeazy products together and then dump them on his head. But they didn't slide right out of the bucket I was using so I thought that it was a good idea to mix in some solvent." Sirius looked back down at the table. "I chose ammonia, thinking it would add to the humor of him being greasy since ammonia is often used to remove grease."

Lily grimaced. "I'm guessing this doesn't end well."

"The chemical reaction was not a good one. It damaged his hair and rashed his skin." Sirius' chuckle was bitter. "He and his mum sued the company. They settled out of court for a ridiculous amount of money. Would have been worse if not for James. He realized at the last second that the amount of ammonia I used was going to be catastrophically bad and came running with a hose and sprayed him down before it could do significant damage."

Sirius shook himself as if trying to shake off a bad dream. "But, my stupidity made James gun-shy. The news had a field day, painting our parents as corporate monsters out to hurt consumers, specifically children. They dragged me through the mud. Called James' act too little conscience too late. The whole thing was awful. And James has spent every moment from then forward being careful not to do anything that might create bad press for his parents. Why do you think he writes Physics Textbooks? It's safe and quiet and keeps the news away from Dad's company."

Lily looked down at the table, running her finger over the scratches in the Formica top. "So no one knows?"

"No one but me, and now you." Sirius pushed the box to her. "He wrote this one for you. You're everywhere in it."

"Book six?" Lily gingerly touched the box.

Sirius nodded and then stood. "Check the dedication. I'll sneak out before James realizes I'm here."

Lily didn't watch him leave.

She barely heard the door.

Her heart was beating in her ears as her fingers rested on the plain cardboard box.

F. J. Pearson's latest book was in this box.

James' book was in this box.

Days before the release date.

An advanced copy of a book she might have killed for not one week ago sat in this box, right here on her table.

And Lily wasn't sure what she wanted to do.

A small part of her wanted to throw it in the bin and never look at it again.

But a larger part of her, the part that wished for things to be different between her and James, back to how they'd been before, that part wanted to rip the box to shreds and see if Sirius was right.

Sirius thought James loved her.

And after everything Sirius told her, Lily was questioning her initial reaction that she’d been a game to James.

The larger part won as Lily slowly pulled off the lid and looked down at the newest installment of the Grandville Mysteries.

She opened the cover and looked down at the dedication.

Love is like you. Thank you.

And then she turned the next page and it was like coming home.

For as mixed up as she felt about James, the Grandville Mysteries always felt like home.

Somewhere while reading she’d stood and moved to the couch. Somewhere while reading she’d forgotten all about what James had done. Somewhere while reading she had lost herself in the story.

When Lily surfaced from the final page it was two in the morning.

She looked at the book as it sat in her lap, already feeling the familiar “hangover” that James’ books always gave her.

James’ books.

James’ books.

Lily sighed.

She owed him the chance to apologize to her without her running away.

He’d been an idiot, but she hadn’t given him a chance to make it right either.

And for that, she was sorry.

She looked at her phone. The signing was just three days away. It felt a little dramatic, but Lily needed a couple of days to figure out what she wanted to say, and she hoped that the public venue would keep both of them from being overly dramatic.

Lily picked up the book in her lap. She’d fix everything at his signing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was insane.

This felt insane.

What was she thinking?

She should go home. Wait until James got back and have this discussion in the privacy of one of their flats.

But she was already here, looking in the window of Tomes and Scrolls as James and Sirius and one of the staff members finished laying everything out.

“No time like the present, Lily,” she chided herself quietly. “Stop watching him and go talk to him.”

Lily steeled herself and pushed open the door.

James stood near the tables set up for his signing, his hand in his dark hair as he looked around him. Lily was sure he was mentally checking off everything he'd muttered about when she'd been here with him a few weeks ago.

He turned and stopped dead when he spotted her.

"Lily."

Her name on his lips sounded weary and cautious; so different from the way he'd said it before she learned his secret.

"Hi, James." She bit her lip and took a half step forward. "Do you have a moment?"

James looked around like he might put her off but Sirius put his hand on his shoulder. "Thirty minutes till showtime. You're all set, Potter." Then he gave James a push towards Lily.

James glared back at Sirius as he crossed his arms. Sirius grinned and shoved him again. James didn't budge an inch as he sighed and turned back to Lily, putting on a smile as fake as she'd ever seen.

"What can I do for you, Evans?"

Guarded.

Lily hated seeing James guarded against her. But she knew that she deserved it as much as he deserved her initial freak out at him.

"I'm sorry."

The words slipped out and she quickly tried to follow them up.

"About all of this. I'm sorry I assumed that you were deliberately deceiving me. I'm sorry I blocked you out. I'm sorry I made myself miserable by cutting you out of my life. I'm sorry, James."

James blinked and his arms fell to his side. "Lily…"

"You don't owe me an explanation," Lily shook her head. "I just, I needed you to know that if I could go back, I would."

"Lils, stop." James stepped closer and Lily held her breath as he seemed to think through his words. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have lied to you for nearly a year. That was definitely me being an idiot."

"I understand now though. Sirius stopped by. He told me what I wouldn't let you say the other night."

James raised his eyebrows. "What exactly did he tell you?"

Lily bit her lip. "About the lawsuit. How it made you nervous about bad-press for Sleekeazy. And that's why only he knew you're F. J. Pearson. And I'm sorry it had to come from him for me to listen. I should have let you explain when I found my email on your laptop."

"I- I guess it's probably best he told you. I don't know if I would have told you all that." James' hand found his hair as he glanced over at Sirius, talking with an associate. "It doesn't really feel like my story to tell, you know?"

"Yeah." Lily felt her heart warm. "You've other stories to tell." She pulled his book from her bag. "He brought me this too. It's amazing. Your best one yet. I really loved it."

He rewarded her with a smile, a genuine smile that lacked the walls he'd thrown between them.

“Did you see the dedication?”

Lily nodded. “What did it mean? Love is like you?”

James’ cheeks turned red. “It’s your name. L I L Y, Love is like you. I didn’t know how to thank you because I hadn’t come clean, but I wanted to thank you, so I hid it. Like a secret message.” He dropped her gaze. “I just realized how stupid that sounds.”

“No.” Lily reached for his hand. “It’s sweet. Thank you.”

James looked back up at her. “No thank you! This book would be nothing without you.”

"Would you mind?” Lily stepped closer. “If I stayed for the signing?"

James blinked at her like he didn’t understand the question.

"F. J. Pearson is still my favorite author. If it doesn't bother you, I'd like to be here for his first public event."

"Really? After everything I did?"

"Are you alright with me being here? After everything I did?"

"Of- of course! I just, I didn't think-"

"James." Lily closed the little distance left between them and bit her lip as he fell silent. "Maybe we could start over?"

"Start over where, exactly?" His eyes fell to her lips and Lily bit down harder.

"Where I should have told you after we first started talking on our balconies that I really fancied you?"

His whole body shifted towards her and that blessed smirk finally found his lips again. "Nah, we should start over where I should have told you that I fancied you."

"When was that?" Lily rolled her eyes, trying to hide how she suddenly felt like there were butterflies in her stomach.

"The moment I saw you." James' hand reached out slowly and Lily leant into him, allowing his hand to fall on her waist. "But I don't know if it would play out like this if we did that."

"We could just pick up right here." Lily slid her hands up to rest against his chest and looked up at him, her heart beating so loud she was sure he could hear it.

"Right here seems like the best option." He ducked his head to rest his forehead against hers and smirked, "But I'm losing the willpower to not kiss you."

Lily's laugh came out a breathy chuckle. "If you kiss me I'm taking it as your forgiveness."

James' smirk grew. "Only if I can do the same when you kiss me back."

"Cocky aren't you?" Lily narrowed her gaze and tried to glare at him.

"Kiss already!" Sirius called from behind the tables.

Lily tried to turn her glare on Sirius, but gentle lips landed on hers and, suddenly, she couldn't have told you Sirius' last name, or even her own name, as she was finally, finally kissing one James Fleamont Potter.

She'd dreamt of this, imagined it, but nothing prepared her for the tenderness of it.

He pulled her into him, holding her close like he never wanted to be apart from her, his lips sliding, exploring, tasting, savoring her and each reaction she gave him. Lily's hands moved to his hair of their own accord, finally getting the chance to pull the strands through her own fingers as she basked in the warmth of James.

"This was a good place to start," she murmured as he slid kisses from her lips up to her ear.

"This is my favorite beginning." James kissed behind her ear before sliding back towards her lips.

Lily turned to catch his kiss when Sirius called out, again.

"Wrap it up, love birds! People are going to be showing up in the next fifteen minutes!"

James groaned before kissing her once more, slowly, holding her closer, like he just needed one more minute like this.

Lily knew she desperately needed far more than one extended minute.

"We should take our places," James sighed when he finally pulled back.

"Where should I sit?" Lily kept her fingers tangled in his hair for a few lingering seconds.

"Near me?"

"The front row then?" Lily smiled.

James chuckled, "I meant on the other side of the tables, next to me and Sirius."

"Really?" Lily tensed and James tightened his grip around her waist.

"Only if you want to." He kissed her forehead. "But since I wrote the book for you, it seems right that you be on my side of the table."

"I'd love to." Lily bit her lip and giggled at the butterflies in her stomach. "And could I buy you an ice cream after the signing?"

"Only if I can buy you dinner first." James pressed his lips to hers again.

"Sounds perfect." Lily tried to deepen the kiss but James was being pulled back by the awful, terrible, wonderful man he called brother.

"I know you'll hate me now but you'll hate me more later if the reviews of this event focus on your relationship instead of the book."

Lily laughed and James intertwined his fingers with hers.

"We'll lay off." He clasped Sirius on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"You've pulled me out of worse, least I could do." Sirius shrugged and gestured to the tables. "Now, let's get this show on the road."

Lily followed them to the seats, thanking Sirius when he gave her his seat and went to collect another.

"Nervous?" She squeezed James' hand.

"You know, I was, but one of my biggest fans told me that I have the fan base to pull this off, and I think I should probably trust her. I'm dating her after all."

Lily laughed and snuck another peck. "I'm thinking this girlfriend of yours is pretty smart."

James' eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her. "Brightest woman I know."

[thisismegz]

Harry and Ginny🥰🥰

My favourite fairytale😇😇

Hinny moodboard....🥰

My first attempt at creating something for Hinny...

[harryandginuary]

The Harry & Ginuary BINGO Event Calendar

we will update this each day throughout the month as a way for everyone to keep easy track as needed.

July 1: I 29. "Alright, I admit it, this was fun." "I knew you'd love it!"

July 2: O70. “Take a walk with me,” He whispered in her ear. “I have to tell you something.”

July 3: I 23. "Why are there zucchini all over our kitchen?" "Do you not like zucchini?"

July 4: N 41. "We're in a museum together and trying to come up with the craziest back story for the artifacts that we're looking at."

July 5: G 51. “You really don’t want to open that door.”

July 6: B 5. "Unless I screw this up, I'm going to marry you." "Well, you better not mess this up."

July 7: O 63. “I’m having the worst day and you've just handed me an envelope with...”

July 8: B 8. "I have moves you've never heard of." "Yeah, because you're basically a senior citizen."

July 9: O 68. You invited me to your brother’s/sister’s wedding as a plus one because we’re hella best friends but we end up making out at the afterparty and now everyone thinks we’re together so ...you want to go out for a drink sometime? Try this whole couple thing out?

July 10: B 1. "It's just that he has a great reading voice. Who wouldn't want to sit in on storytime?"

July 11: N 32. "Is that flammable?" "We're about to find out."

July 12: G 58. “You are the crown prince of collateral damage."

July 13: O 73. You've dared me to do this as a joke but there's no way I'm backing out now.

July 14: B 10. "The problem is," he said as he leant in, "if I kissed you, I don't think I'd be able to stop."

July 15: O 64. Carrying out a practical joke together.

July 16: B 13. "You know you're my favorite, right?" "I better be."

July 17: N 37. We’re taking shelter during a big storm and you’re really close to me and I’m just going to casually move closer and cuddle with you...

July 18: G 60. I've accidentally confessed that I've dreamt about you…

July 19: I 16. "Awfully confident, aren't you?" "I mean, history says I kind of have the right to be."

July 20: O 75. “I don’t know what made me fall for you.” “My charms, perhaps?”

July 21: I 27. "I vote cake." “That wasn't one of the options…" "Cake is always an option."

July 22: N 42. “I want to go to the beach.” “It’s the middle of winter.” “I don’t care.”

July 23: O 62. “Why are there bubbles everywhere?” “Don’t ask questions.”

July 24: G 55. “Have you ever used a hammer before?” “And why should that stop me?”

July 25: N 33. Fighting side by side, staying up all night chatting about nothing, other friendship things, I’ve fallen in love with you.

@matrixaffiliate gets the BINGO here! From here on out, anyone participating is welcome to play for a full house, just for fun!

July 26: I 17. "Is that my jumper?" "No…?"

July 27: B 15. "Whatever possessed you to do that should possess you more often."

July 28: O 71. “Will you stop flirting with me? You just got seriously injured and I'm trying to tend to your wounds and I don’t care that I look cute when I’m concerned, you’re lucky you’re not dead!”

July 29: B 6. "How do we keep getting into these situations?" "Eleven years of marriage and I still don't know."

July 30: G 47. “Rumor has it, I make you nervous.”

July 31: G 54. You’ve come out ready for an event and I swear I can normally speak but you’ve rendered me momentarily speechless.

August 1: G 46. You’re overdue on this book and I want it so I’m tracking you down!

August 2: I 19. "Too crazy in there for you?" "Honestly, I just wanted the chance to look at the stars with you."

August 3: B 4. "I never said thank you, did I?" "For what?" "Well, for everything I guess."

August 4: N 35. I told my sibling/parent/friend I have a bf/gf so they’d stop trying to set me up with people but now they’re coming to visit and I’m in too deep I need a fake bf/gf ASAP!

August 5: B 12. "You came back." "I promised, didn't I?"

August 6: O 67. We're guests at a wedding that's asked the guests to help take pictures and we're in some weird competition now to get the craziest candid shot.

August 7: I 30. "In my defense, I've learned my lesson."

August 8: G 57. You’ve run into me and knocked me on my back and in your panic you asked if there was anything you could do to help and in my dazed state said “How about a date?”

August 9: O 72. “So I may have made an impulse purchase and we now have a…”

August 10: I 22. "How did you get here?"

August 11: N 36. You’ve caught me checking you out in what I thought was a subtle way too many times and now you’re calling me out on it. What do I do?

August 12: B 7. "Why do you put up with me?" "Because you're fire, and I've been cold my whole life."

August 13: I 26. "Admit it, I'm your trophy spouse."

August 14: I 31. We’re dating but everyone thinks we’re just very affectionate friends...

August 15: O 74. "Dare I ask how you ended up leaving your empty mug in the freezer?"

August 16: N 39. Characters are trying to keep their relationship a secret, but they accidentally kiss as one walks away from their friends, so now they’re kissing everyone else too...

August 17: B 9. "Have you ever really wanted to kiss someone but you can't?" He asked. "Well, what's stopping you?" She turned to him. He didn't have an answer, so he kissed her.

August 18: N 40. "You dared me to try a yoga class and it was buy one get one free so guess who now has a free yoga lesson? We're in this together, sucker."

August 19: I 43. Character A berates character B for putting themselves in danger.

August 20: I 18. "Comfy?" "You are my new pillow, get used to it?" “As long as I'm useful."

August 21: B 4. He sighed and walked up the stairs to his flat, but stopped at his door. A woman was sitting with her back against it. "Took you long enough," she said as she looked up at him.

Our final BINGO call:

August 22: G 59. "Rule books are meant for kindling."

[theresthesnitch]

A Letter from Home

Coming in late on day 2 for this prompt, but I'm happy with how this came out. Another entry for @harryandginuary BINGO event.

O 63: “I’m having the worst day and you've just handed me an envelope with…”

Read it here on AO3!

Rated: Mature

***

The rain is incessant. 

Everything is saturated with it. Weeks and weeks of staking out this post in the neverending rain, hoping that the dark wizards responsible for a string of muggle disappearances would finally, finally make a move and reveal themselves. The intelligence was good. They were sure. This was the right location. All that was left was to wait. 

And wait.

And wait. 

And wait. 

And Harry was so tired of waiting in this fucking rain, and on today of all fucking days, that he was legitimately considering if being an Auror was really worth it. He couldn't just walk away without consequences. He may have saved the wizarding world from the worst dark wizard in a generation (which, the rational part of him that wasn't quite soaked through with rain reminded him was not a card he would ever play), he still didn't have the standing to just walk away from an unfavorable post. He was a junior Auror. He was only just out of his training and had only just achieved Auror status. So he was stuck with no choice but to wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

And what's worse is they just received word from Robards that they would have to keep waiting because the intelligence still suggested this was the place they needed to be and the targets were close and they just had to wait and I swear to Merlin I cannot wait in this fucking rain anymore. 

"Auror Potter!" 

Despite the fact that Harry was younger and had less training, Junior Auror Jeffrey Wilson insisted on referring to Harry in a tone and with an honorific that placed Harry at a higher level of seniority. In fact, several of the Junior Aurors referred to him this way. Harry gritted his teeth at the continued use of the title. 

"It's just Harry." 

"Right, sir. Sorry, sir." 

"No, Jeff. Not sir. Just Harry." 

"Oh. Uh, right, si- Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Did you need something, Jeff?" 

"Oh! Yes, sir." Harry bit back the angry retort at the use of sir again, and took the item Jeff was holding out to him. "A letter came for you." 

"A letter?" Harry looked dubiously at the envelope in his hands. "I thought they were blocking our post." 

"I don't know, sir. It came with our weekly rations from the Ministry, not by owl. Seems to be for you, though." 

Harry looked down at the letter in his hands, and his heart warmed at the familiar script that curled and twisted into his name. “Jeff, you are officially my favorite person here.” 

“Oh, thank you, sir! That’s wonderful!” Harry stifled a groan at the man’s overreaction to his offhand comment. “Uh, sir? What did I do?”

“It’s just Harry, Jeff. Not sir.” Why did he bother correcting him when it seemed like he would never learn. “It’s just that it’s my birthday-”

“Oh, happy birthday, sir!”

“-and we are stuck out here in the rain on this awful stakeout. I’m having the worst day, and you've just handed me an envelope with a letter from the love of my life. It’s just about the best present you could have given me.” 

“Oh, well you’re welcome, sir.” Harry shot him a glare that caused him to stagger a step under its weight. “Uh, Harry. You’re welcome Harry.” He scurried away swiftly after that. 

Harry flipped the letter over and broke the seal. He was immediately surrounded with the comforting scent of warm treacle tart, the earthy scent of a broomstick handle, and the flowery scent that had him momentarily transported back home to his bed and wrapped in Ginny’s arms again. He didn’t know how she managed to package everything he loved into this little paper box, but he was nearly overcome with longing, desire, and gratitude before even opening the letter inside. 

He removed the letter from the envelope, fingers trembling slightly. He unfolded it, and began to read: 

My love, 

I miss you so much that I don’t even know where to start. Remember to thank Robards for allowing me to include it in the supplies. I may or may not have yelled at him that the man who saved the whole wizarding world, including Robard’s own useless ass, deserved to receive at least a letter on his birthday. I’m not even a little sorry for doing it either. 

Mum wants to have a party for you as soon as you’re back, so she’s requiring everyone to keep Saturday evenings free until you get back. That resulted in a (not so) small amount of muttering about wasted weekends, but you know mum who shut them all up quickly. I only hope that she does not preemptively prepare a feast every Saturday just in case you turn up at the last minute. I don’t know if I have the heart to tell her that if you do show up without warning on a Saturday that we will not be making an appearance at a party that same night. Honestly, she may have birthed seven kids, but I am not prepared to discuss sex plans with my mother. 

Hermione helped me charm this letter so that it smells like Amortentia to whoever holds it. I hope you like it, and I hope it reminds you of that weekend we spent at Grimmauld Place during Christmas of my seventh year. If it didn’t, I hope that’s what you’re thinking of now.

Did I ever tell you my Amortentia smelled like? I don’t think I got a chance, since that was during my sixth year and you were away. I smell yeast dough and cinnamon, like the cinnamon buns that mum makes on Christmas morning. I smell the crisp, clean scent of new clothes and new shoes. And finally, I smell you, which is vaguely spicy and and dark, with earthy tones to it, like your Auror robes smell like when you return from long trips. I can still remember walking into Slughorn’s classroom and nearly being thrown backwards by the smell of it. It smelled of you so strongly that I searched for you in that room before I realized that it was a potion and not the real thing.

Writing this letter to you is bringing up all kinds of memories of my seventh year, while I was at Hogwarts and you were always just an owl away. I know it was only a few years ago, but I feel like we were such different people then. In that first year after the war, we were so broken down and struggling to come to terms with the post-war world. I’m proud of us for figuring out together how to navigate this new world. After the summer we spent barely apart, I thought we could never deal with just letters and a few Hogsmede trips, but it was leagues better than the year prior. 

I cannot wait for you to be home again. I’ve thought extensively on what that first day would be like when you finally return. I would feed you first, of course, because I know that you always come home from missions hungry. Something light, I think. Sandwiches, maybe, full of crisp green lettuce and juicy tomatoes. Then, I would take you upstairs, peel all of your clothes off and draw us a warm bath.

Do you remember the bath we took together after the Quidditch game against the Tornados my first year on the Harpies? We lost so miserably, and I was so worn down from the match. You took me in the bath, filled with rose oil and petals, and rubbed down all of my sore and tired muscles until I was putty in your lap. Then you made love to me slowly while the water cooled around us, and I swear that I have never orgasmed as hard as I did that night. I’ve been revisiting that memory a lot these last few weeks while you’ve been away, particularly when I’m alone in that great big bathtub, and my hand slips underneath the water and between my legs… 

Did I mention I miss you? Because I do. Touching myself never feels as good as when you touch me. 

I hope you come home again soon. I've been keeping busy with my training schedule during the day, but my nights are empty without you. I've been spending some nights with mum and dad or Ron and Hermione because I hate being here when you are so far away. 

I miss you, and I'll be here planning for the night you come home until I see you again. 

Yours eternally, 

Ginny

Harry reread the letter twice more, then held the paper to his chest and breathed in deeply the scents of Ginny and home. The letter was wonderful, but it also left him feeling empty. Reading her words wasn't half as good as having her in his arms. 

Harry looked up and caught movement at the house they've been watching for weeks. He waited another minute and, sure enough, it's what they've been carefully waiting and watching and hoping to find. 

Wait for me, Gin, he thought as he foldrd the letter and sounded the silent alarm. I'll be home tonight.

[fancybehaviour]

Strangers at the Bar

Written for @harryandginuary extravaganza.

Prompt 29: "Alright, I admit it, this was fun." 

"I knew you'd love it!”

Read here on Ao3!

Thanks too @nuninho2000 for very kindly beta reading this at the shortest of notice! So sorry for crediting it so late!

Snow crunched under his boots as he navigated the London streets, all buzzing with a festive spirit. The twinkling lights adorning the establishments looked dazzling but Harry spared no glance for them and walked ahead with purpose, dodging the crowds and soon reached his destination.

He was greeted by much needed warmth as he stepped into the bar. Eagerly making his way in, Harry thought about how he could do with a drink or two after the day he'd had. He found himself a good spot in the corner and after giving the bartender his order, he settled himself on one of the barstools and exhaled.

It had been a tough day at work. The approaching holiday meant that they were understaffed as people were on leave and the ones that were available were too distracted by the festive spirit to be productive.

He loved his job, but it sure did stress him out. A drink or two was just what he needed to help him de-stress. His good friend Hermione always frowned upon this method of relaxation but it was his favourite. Well, to be fair, second favourite. The most favourite being one that would require a companion...

Taking a swig of his drink, Harry scanned the bar for the first time since he entered it. He could see raucous groups of friends who were no doubt having a roaring time, suit clad men, who like him, were blowing off some steam after work, groups of tipsy giggling girls and over at the farthest corner, he spied a flaming head of ginger hair and a dainty neck, bent over a drink…..alone. Interesting.

He made his way towards her, wracking his brain for good lines (it had been a while since he had done this) but as he approached close enough to see her properly his brain abandoned the search in favour of appreciating the pencil skirt clad pert bum of the woman as she perched on the uncomfortable bar stool with her legs crossed at the ankles.

"Uncomfortable chairs aren't they?" he quipped, as the beautiful woman in his line of view merely raised an eyebrow, giving him an assessing glance, as she continued to stir her drink.

"Your point?"

"I could suggest other places for you to sit that would be much more comfortable."                         

This gets her to raise both her eyebrows. "And what would those be?" she enquires tilting her head to fully look at him and bloody hell, she's beautiful, all freckled features and blindingly bright ginger strands. He takes another sip of his drink before replying with a poorly thought  "Me. My lap I mean."

She looks amused as she volleys back with "Very smooth.At Least give me a name first. "

"Right.Yes. Sorry. Erm, I'm Harry"

"Harry ..?"

"Harry James. And you?"

"Ginny."

"Nice to meet you, Ginny." Harry replies with a crooked grin.

She hums noncomitally and says, "So come here often, Harry?"

"Not really. Usually quite busy."

"With what?"

"Mostly work. I'm in uh..Law enforcement and we work crazy hours."

"Must be difficult for your girlfriend."

He gives her a look that he hopes conveys his exasperation but replies with "I don't have a girlfriend. What about you?"

Ginny blinks at him. "Do I have a girlfriend? No."

Harry snorts in response and says "So..what's a girl like you doing here all alone?" Giving him a rather impish smile, she says, "Just..looking for some company."

"Like anyone you see so far?"

Rolling her eyes, she says, "Uh-huh. This one guy caught my eye."

"Oh Yeah? Who?" he asks, looking around in mock interest.

"This one guy with sleazy pickup lines and terrible flirting skills."

"Sounds kinda terrible. You sure this is the one you want?"

"Well you see, he's kind of a looker, so that's working in his favour" she says, throwing him a seductive glance that seems to set him aflame. "He's got these nice, big biceps" she drawls, dragging her fingers on his biceps "that are tempting me to get my hands on him."

"Go for it." he tells her, dragging her close to him, so she almost falls off her barstool and placing her hands on his biceps. "I'm pretty sure he has a thing for you too." Harry whispers into her ear.

Leaning back he meets her eyes, that seem to be giving him a blazing look that made him feel more drunk than the whiskey he had been drinking. Ginny shifts one of her hand to his shoulders and the other settles itself in his hair as she pulls him down to meet her lips to give him a hot, searing kiss that makes his toes curl.

Breathlessly, they pull away, and stare into each other's eyes, the chemistry between them crackling like fire.Ginny leans towards him, the neckline of her blouse dipping enough to afford him a glance of her gorgeous, plentiful cleavage as she asks him,"What do you say, we take it somewhere private?"

His response is to give her a wide grin and get down on his feet, helping her put on her coat as he settles the tab.

"Alright, I admit it, this was fun." Harry said, as they walked hand in hand making their way towards their home after a well spent hour in a hotel room.

"I knew you'd love it!”said Ginny, laughing. "Who knew Witch Weekly had actual working tips? Maybe roleplaying as strangers was what we needed to get us back on track, after the dry spell we recently had. It's not easy being parents of three active kids while handling our careers.I feel like our sex life has been adequately spiced up."

"Just adequate? After that amazing hour we had? You sure know how to hurt a man Mrs.Potter," chuckled Harry.

Just when Ginny was about to open the door to their home, where his three children were inside being babysat by his godson, Harry stopped her with a hand on her arm.

He snaked his arms around her waist and turned her towards him."We should do this more often," he said.

"Yeah? Pop down to the bar after work once a while, hit on each other like we were strangers and shag before we come home?"

"Yes. Not all the time, just...once in a blue moon maybe. Just you and me.I love the life we have now, three beautiful kids and dream jobs and all, I really do but Gin, I miss us. The us with no responsibilities, nothing on our minds except each other. Wouldn't hurt to act silly once in a while."

"Alright, we can make it our New Year's Resolution" she agrees, grinning up at him. 

Life was good.

[sweeethinny]

Skin

Harry wanted to be able to show Ginny, through his eyes, how beautiful she is, and how all this insecurity with her body after giving birth to James is not necessary.

Since he cannot do this, he tries in other ways.

this fic is part of The Harry and Ginuary Extravanganza :) I'm sorry for any mistake

* all of this was written while I was listening to Mac Miller album The Divine Feminine, if anyone wants to get in the mood :)

read bellow the cut or in AO3 :)

Harry had been away from home for almost a month, which seemed more like a painful and torturous eternity than anything else. He missed Ginny and little James, it was much worse than the whole situation that he, Ron, and Theo got into, camping close to a pack of werewolves, and chasing a killer who seemed almost as good at hiding which even made them doubt their abilities as Aurors.

Harry was tired, with some bruises, hungry, missing his son who had not even turned a year yet and probably had grown a lot, and his wife. Harry wanted more than ever to hug Ginny and feel her against him.

He also really wanted to take a decent shower and lie on a bed that wasn’t a camp mattress, because Harry was no longer so young to be able to sleep in a bed like that.

It was worth it, he told himself when he could finally apparate to his home, in peace that he could be with his family again, Robards is looking to retire, he will end up choosing me . Harry didn't quite believe it, but Ginny repeated it a lot every time he complained about the boss; 'One day you will be the boss and you will not need to work like that.'

It was what he expected.

Since he had been a father, Harry was always trying to escape these suicide missions, but he was not always able, and he just hoped that when he was promoted, he would be able to spend more time at home. He never wanted so much to work with the Auror bureaucracy and leave the field.

He still enjoyed the excitement, the chase, the adrenaline, but he was no longer willing to risk his life so much.

In addition to Ginny, there was now someone else who encouraged him, even more, to return home alive.

When Harry opened the door, the smell of home entered his nostrils, a smell he never really stopped to notice, but after a month away, he managed to recognize it.

The hallway light on the second floor was on, probably for James to wake up. Harry took off his boots, cloak, and most of his clothes, and walked around the house, smiling for the first time in a month, seeing James's toys on the living room floor, and some scattered around the dining room, and a divine smell from the room that looked like a turkey, came from the kitchen. Hoping that Ginny was already asleep, as well as James since it was past one in the morning, Harry stopped for a snack.

He didn't even bother to heat the food, eating as if he hadn't seen food for more than days, devouring the deliciously seasoned turkey leg, and alternating with the remaining farofa and baked potatoes. It was a little rude and disgusting, he knew, but Harry felt his stomach echo with hunger, forcing him to forget the etiquette.

After less than ten minutes, he was fed, tiptoeing up to the second floor, James's bedroom door was open, as usual, and Harry couldn't help wanting to see his son and entered the room, taking be careful not to wake him up, seeing him resting deeply in bed, wearing adorable dinosaur pajamas, which put him on completely and prevented him from being cold at night. He looked bigger, Harry noticed, and with more hair, he wanted to hold his son in his arms, hug him but was content to just kiss his slightly sweaty forehead. Harry checked that the window was locked, closed the curtains tightly, covered his son, and left the room.

A part of him was satisfied, James was safe, well, and tomorrow would probably jump on Harry as soon as he realized his father was back. James always went to their bed in the morning, just asked to sleep with them and slept for a few more hours, but whenever Harry spent a few days outside, the next morning when the little one realized that his father was back, it was as if sleep disappeared.

After a month away from James' warm hugs during the mornings when they slept together, Harry was not complaining.

But he was not yet complete, not when he had not yet seen Ginny.

She was probably asleep, he thought, it was late and the days must have been tiring now that she was back to training, and without him at home to help with James, things should have been going smoothly. But the light in their room was on, which Harry found strange.

Still trying not to make any noise, because maybe she just fell asleep without even realizing it, Harry approached, opening the door a little more and sticking his head into their room, looking around.

Harry had already seen Ginny in many ways, they had a son together, however, he was not prepared for that.

She was standing in front of her dressing table, evaluating herself in front of the mirror on the wall, taking small turns to try to see her back, and then turning and facing the mirror. Ginny did not seem to feel the cold that Harry was feeling, since she wore one of the smallest lingerie he had ever seen, still seeming to assess whether the piece was beautiful or not.

The light blue lace made her look even more beautiful, contrasting with the freckles that spread over her skin and the light tan she was getting now that she was back in training. The bra barely hid her nipples, temptingly drawing her breasts, and not having the same common cut as the others she wore, and instead, this one had a few more buttons and went down to the beginning of her ribs, already in translucent fabric. The lace itself was only on the straps and the front of the breasts, descending in a V to the middle of the other fabric, something that made it look even more beautiful.

Ginny kept her hands in front of her belly, the same way she did a month ago when they were going to have sex, or she ended up undressing next to him, and automatically hid her belly. Harry would always comment that she didn't need to hide from him, but Ginny insisted that she still didn't feel safe with her body.

‘Pregnancy changed me,’ She always said. 'You don't know what it's like to see your body change dramatically in a matter of months... Now I have stretch marks where I never thought I would.'

Harry thought it was silly, Ginny was beautiful anyway, and he was still a fool in love, with or without stretch marks.

The panties also had that translucent fabric with a light blue background, it was one of those that had a high waistband and that he knew Ginny preferred to wear recently, but this one he could still see her belly, and the lace only appeared again from the front, covering only what was necessary, while at the back, it was just a small piece of the other fabric, not making much of a point of hiding anything from it, which made Harry salivate.

His imagination would never live up to the perfection that she was, how beautiful her ass made him a little too obsessed, or how her breasts had also changed after pregnancy, and all of James's breastfeeding.

'Hmmm… maybe?' He heard her murmur to the reflection, again turning around in a way that she could still look at her back, running her hands behind her thighs as if she wanted to lift her ass a little further. What Harry thought was unnecessary.

'I thought it was more than perfect.' He finally manifested himself, leaning on the doorframe and feeling his erection grow and cause that pressure against his pants.

Ginny jumped up and pulled her robe in front of her, startled and looking at him with wide eyes, pink cheeks and looking like she had managed to hold back the scream in time. ���Harry!’

'Yea, it's me.’ He smiled.

'Harry .' Ginny finally seemed to realize it was him there, after a month, and dropped the robe back, running towards him and throwing herself at him in much the same way as the sunny days of 1996, but this time, he picked her up and kissed her with much more hunger and passion than he did at the age of 16, carefully closing the door behind them and taking her to bed, numb with longing and lust.

It was so good to kiss her again, to get lost in the warmth and softness of her lips, her small, slightly callused hands touching him as if to make sure it was him there, going from hair to shoulders, to cheeks, chest. It was as if she also checked that he was okay, whole, without any damage.

'I missed you so much,' he murmured between her kiss, falling on the bed with Ginny on top of him, his hands roaming everywhere he reached, feeling entirely at peace.

'I thought it would take you longer.' She cried, holding his face in her hands and parting their lips so they could look at each other. The brown eyes that Harry thought about daily were staring at him as if they hadn't seen him in years, shining on the sides as if Ginny tried to hold on to her emotions, struggling to hold herself in front of him.

Harry recognized the effort, but he didn't think it was necessary. It was just the two of them there, Ginny didn't have to hide.

He ran his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the one tear that ran. 'I was so scared,' she whispered, like a secret she had been keeping for days.

'Me too,' Harry admitted, failing to divert his attention from her caramel eyes. 'I just wanted to go back to home and be with you.'

'James missed you, he wasn't so happy and today was the first day he agreed to sleep in his bed.' Ginny smiled and lifted her shoulders, her cheeks turning slightly pink. 'Maybe he knew that Daddy would be back.'

'I'm glad he predicted that I would come back,' Harry let his eyes roam over her body, and now more closely he was able to see how the bra fabric barely made an effort to cover her skin. It was too much of a temptation to bear, and Harry barely contained himself before touching them, feeling heaviness in his hands and the heat radiating through the lace, making his stomach drop and his mouth water. Harry had missed it so much.

'You liked it? I went out with the girls after a workout, and Genevieve made me buy it, but I still don't know if it looked good.' Ginny said, her voice a little shaky as if she were that 11-year-old girl who couldn't look at him without blushing, which made him look up from those breasts he was in love with, and look at her. Ginny was really blushing, the red that covered her cheeks was also running down her neck and bust. ‘The bra doesn’t have much support and I don’t know if it looked so beautiful, I mean, it’s a beautiful piece, but I don’t think it looked beautiful on me .’

'Ginny,' Harry interrupted, holding her chin, forcing her to look at him, the other hand coming down her side and holding her in place, already sensing that she was trying to extricate herself from him. ‘You look hot,’ he said. ‘I’m feeling like a teenager, about to come in my pants.’

She laughed, that laugh he loved to hear. 'I would be really upset if even after all this time it was still happening.'

'I have learned to hold on,' He smiled, still caressing her cheek, smiling lovingly at Ginny. 'You and beautiful. In all moments.'

'Even when I was all sweaty, giving birth to James?' Ginny asked, laughing sheepishly as she laced her fingers through his, her auburn hair falling like lava on either side of her face.

'Of course.' Harry didn't take his eyes off hers, wanting her to understand that he was being more than real there. He wanted her to be seen through his eyes, and then she would understand how beautiful she is. 'I think I came to love you even more, if that is possible, that day.'

'Awn Harry, don't be so dramatic, you spend only a month away and when you come back you are declaring yourself as a passionate poet.' She laughed, but he did not fail to notice how Ginny's cheeks got even more flushed and she turned her attention to the wall behind the headboard, as if she tried not to let him realize that it affected her.

'I really missed you, that's why.' Harry shrugged, caressing her cheek and bringing her amber eyes back down to his, laying her head against his hand. 'I hate to be away from you for a long time... my romantic mind comes up and I have a lot of time to think about how to declare myself to you.'

'I hate it too when you stay away,' Ginny smiled, allowing him to see her without all those walls she put up for protection.

'Did something happen while I was gone?' He stared at her, noticing how her shoulders tensed and then relaxed when Ginny sighed and lay on his chest, hugging him as she could, as she usually liked to do during the cold nights.

'Nothing too urgent...'

'Ginny…' Harry whispered, running his hands down her back, feeling the skin prickle.

'Rita made a very pertinent comment about me.' Harry felt her tense under his arms again, and kept silent waiting for Ginny to continue talking. Somehow they got a picture of me training only in a crop top, and apparently I should wear t-shirts like the other girls... something to do with my belly and stretch marks.. ' She sighed.

Harry wanted to go to the Prophet and shout some truths that had been stuck for years, in Rita's face. But he just preferred to tighten his grip around Ginny, and kiss the top of her head.

'You look beautiful in any outfit.' He said, trying to be as clear as possible. 'Rita and everyone else are just assholes who are too self-centered to look at their navel for a minute... You are the hottest woman, Ginny, and I don't say that just because we are married.'

'My body has changed a lot in the last year.' She lifted her face, resting her chin on his chest and looking at him, her brown eyes flashed. 'I don't think I'll ever have that body again and-'

'-And you are still beautiful.' The two faced each other. 'You gave birth to a child, Gin, this is incredible. Your body being able to do that is incredible. I will never get tired of saying that. ’Harry smiled. 'I wanted you to see yourself through my eyes, and see how beautiful you are, even with all those things that you insist on saying are defects and that you hate them.'

'Don't make me cry,' She sat on his lap again, fanning her eyes and looking up at the ceiling, her cheeks flushed and a lovely smile on her face, Harry couldn't help but laugh too, feeling incredibly lighter than hours ago, as if now all that tension had been reduced to dust and there was only peace left in his chest.

'About this lingerie... do you have any plans, or are you just experimenting...?' He went back to browsing Ginny's sculptural body, almost drooling over how her breasts looked in that piece, and the transparency of her panties, which ended up exactly where it started getting more interesting. Harry groaned when she moved and stood on top of his cock, closing his eyes with the sensation of the gods it caused.

'I would surprise you when you came back, I thought it would take another week, then I would buy some candles, and cut my hair... But you ruined my plans.' Ginny smiled, biting her bottom lip as if she knew it was driving him crazy. ‘I believe you want to take a shower?’

'I might want some company,' Harry said, holding Ginny firmly in his lap, getting up from the bed and listening to her scream in fright as he walked to the bathroom in their suite, no longer feeling the fatigue from before. 'You know how needy I am after returning from missions.’

'It's a valid request.' Ginny hugged his neck, hands clinging to his hair, as if he were the life jacket that prevented her from sinking. He felt that way about her too. 'I missed having someone in the bath with me… Someone who doesn't want to mess up the bathroom with water and foam.' Harry laughed, placing her sitting on the white marble countertop, watching her body shiver as she made contact with the cold stone, waving with the wand for the hot water to start filling the bathtub.

'I might want to make a bit of a mess,' he said, approaching and feeling her warm breath against his face, before Harry narrowed the distance and kissed her, hungry but still keeping control, leaving his hands on her thighs, keeping them far enough away for him to stay in the middle.

'I like this mess,' Ginny whispered, her eyes closed and her forehead against his, breathing hard, the sound of water being the only one to fill the room. 'I am happy that you came back. I missed you a lot.’

Harry nodded, closing his eyes to make sure it wasn't just a dream, opening them again then just to see Ginny there. 'I felt it too. I am miserable without you.’

[...]

Harry woke up much later with small hands pulling the blanket off them, and the unfortunate murmurs of a child who tried his best to climb up on the bed. He sighed, feeling happy to get back to that routine, but he didn't move, wanting James to find out for himself that Harry had come back. It was a good time.

One more sigh from a boy who seemed very irritated by his young age, and then he finally succeeded, almost removing all the cover from Ginny, crawling up a little sleepily, still holding that light yellow cloth he always carried, and scratching his eyes.

The sun hadn't even risen, leaving the room in that gloom of the few hours before finally dawn, but Harry could see when James opened his brown eyes and threw himself on top of him.

‘Daddy!’ James shouted, hugging his father as he managed, cold hands making the man shiver.

'Hi my love,' Harry murmured, happy, tired, and a little too sentimental, feeling his eyes prickle. 'Speak low, it is still very early and mummy is sleeping.' He put James under the covers, stroking his son's slightly sweaty head, kissing the boy's forehead. 'We are going to sleep some more, okay? The sun hasn't even appeared yet.’

'Daddy…' James murmured, and Harry waited to see what meaningless phrase his son would try to murmur now, but the boy just kept his icy hands touching his father's face, as if to make sure he was really there.

He could not wait to be able to do fewer and fewer missions that required him to stay away from home for a long time.

'Sleep honey, daddy is here,' Harry assured him, snuggling the boy into his embrace, feeling finally complete, watching Ginny turn towards them, sleeping soundly, and then James, who was preparing for it, little hands clutched the shirt that Harry was wearing, as if it were his cloth.

Harry felt like the happiest man in the world.

[gins-potter]

Of Crushes and Coffee

(Coffeeshop AU / Hinny / Non-magical AU / Modern AU / Written for the @harryandginuary Gift Exchange / Cross-posted to Ao3 and FF.net)

Ginny’s so absorbed in the football match playing out on her phone that the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop around her is little more than a distant hum.  So much so that she almost doesn’t notice at first when someone stops by her table and deposits a fresh mug of coffee on the table in front of her.  The hand responsible hovers for a moment, before nudging it closer like they’re waiting for it to be acknowledged.  Ginny glances at it and notices that the coffee is adorned with a familiar foam heart.

“I didn’t order that,” she mumbles, rewinding a section of the video to watch over again, frown furrowing her brow.

“Is that how the kids say thank you these days?”

The slow amused voice of her flatmate - not to mention her brother’s best friend - has Ginny sighing and pausing the video with her thumb, before glancing up at him.

“You’re barely a year older than me,” she reminds Harry, pushing the mug back towards him.  “And seriously, I didn’t order this.”

He just gestures for her to take it, and slides into the seat opposite, smiling a bit.  “I know, but it looked like you needed it.  On me.”

Ginny tries to pretend like her heart doesn’t swoop at both the sight of the dimples brought forth by his smile, and the kindness of the gesture and busies herself reaching for the mug.  Her tongue protests vehemently as it comes into contact with the still steaming liquid but she forces herself to swallow anyway.  Harry’s smile deepens as he leans back in his chair and watches her every movement, like he knows exactly what just happened, but Ginny jumps in before he can tease her about it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“I’m on my break, and besides…” Harry trails off and gestures lazily at the other tables.

Surprised, Ginny turns to see that the place has all but cleared out in the last few minutes that she’s been distracted by her phone.  Besides the two of them, there’s only her brother left, where he’s leaning against the counter and flirting with Hermione, who, uncharacteristic for her, is blushing and playing with a stray curl that’s escaped her bun.

“So Ron sent you over here to check on me?  Or has he completely forgotten he was the one who dragged me here in the first place?”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest and Ginny tries her best not to notice the way it makes his tattoos flex and move.  He’s spent enough time at her house, a great deal of it playing shirts and skins football matches in the yard with her brothers, that she knows each of them intimately.  An artistic rendering of a stag’s head on his left forearm, a swirling, raging lightning storm on the other shoulder, raining down on a single lily blossom, an entwined silver wolf and black dog on his ribs, snapping and snarling at each other playfully.

“First of all,” Harry says, snapping her out of her thoughts.  “I don’t need Ron to tell me when you need a pick-me-up.”

Ginny feels herself blush at the implication that not only had he noticed her bad mood but also that he’d come over to cheer her up of his own volition.

“Second of all,” he continues obliviously.  “You needed to be dragged out, Gin.  You’ve been hiding in the flat for a week now.”

Her giddiness fading a bit, Ginny scowls at her coffee.

“It’s only a loss.”

“Two in a row.  And that’s rich of the uni footy legend who sulks for a month every time he misses a goal to say.”

“Hey, that’s Mister uni-footy-legend-who-sulks-for-a-month-every-time-he-misses-a-goal to you.”

Ginny rolls her eyes but despite herself, feels a smile tug at her mouth.  Harry’s eyes, which had been scanning her face, drop to her lips for a split second before flicking away.  Thrown by the movement, Ginny feels her face heat further, and she resists the urge to curse her fair skin soundly for no doubt giving her feelings away.  She turns her head, hiding her face in her shoulder, eyes catching on her brother and his girlfriend.

“Why is Ron harassing Hermione with a football jersey?”

Harry allows the blatant subject change graciously, and follows her gaze over to where Ron is indeed enthusiastically brandishing a jersey in the university’s red and gold at Hermione, who’s looking distinctly unsure about it all.

“Ah,” Harry says, nodding in understanding.  “Well, Ron wants Hermione to come to our next match wearing a ‘Weasley’ jersey.”

“Wow,” Ginny says, watching as Hermione takes the jersey and holds it up against her chest.  “Isn’t that kind of…”

“Cheesy?”

Ginny snorts, something that would make her mother cluck her tongue in disapproval if she was here, and says, “Well yeah.  But I was going to say couple-y.”

“I know, it didn’t take long for that to happen, did it?”  Despite the sarcasm in his voice, there’s a faint smile on his face as he watches that tells Ginny he’s happy, truly happy for them.

“Speaking of couples,” Ginny says, before she can stop herself.  “Romilda Vane’s planning on asking you out.”

She watches carefully as his eyes slide back to her, and she hates the triumphant stab in her chest when his expression remains blank, clearly having no idea who she’s talking about.

Finally an eyebrow arches from behind his glasses as he asks, “Who?”

“Romilda on my football team.  Studying psychology, thick dark hair, more confidence than you can poke a stick at.”

Harry looks torn between laughing at her description and grimacing as memories of the girl surface.  “Oh,” he says finally.  “Her.”

“Yeah.”  Ginny grins openly at his discomfort and he rolls his eyes at her.  “You’re a lucky guy.  But if she’s not to your fancy, Lavender Brown likes to tell me every chance she gets how she’s single and looking for a fit footy lad.  I think she’s hoping I’ll pass it on to you.”

“That explains why she tried to corner me at the twin’s party last month.”  A noise of vague protest emerges from Ginny’s throat before she has a chance to stop it, and Harry cocks his head and regards her curiously as he continues, “She seemed very put out when I declined to join her in the broom cupboard.”

“Oh.”  Ginny hides her smile in her coffee as she takes another sip.  “Well, if not them, you should ask someone out.  It’s been ages since you dated anyone and you’re turning into quite the sad little git.”

Harry pulls a face before squinting at her across the table.  “Have you been talking to Hermione?  Anyway, I don’t want to date Lavender or Romilda.  Maybe,” he continues, face growing thoughtful.  “I just need someone to come to a game wearing my jersey and they’ll back off.”

His gaze sharpens on her, something familiar and mischievous in his eyes, and she barks out a startled laugh.

“Absolutely not.”

“Awww, come on, Gin.  You said yourself that it’s a very couple-y thing to do.”

Ginny scoffs and blusters for a moment before finally getting out, “Because it is.  But we- ” She gestures between them.  “-are not a couple.”

Harry doesn’t answer immediately, but he doesn’t look away either.  There’s still a slight smile on his face, but the amusement has faded, replaced with something deep and intense that has Ginny’s heart thudding in her chest.  Something heavy hangs in the air between them as they gaze at each other, and Harry’s mouth opens, to say what Ginny isn’t sure, because in that moment they’re interrupted by a clatter and a laugh.

Ginny’s arm jerks, jostling her coffee and spilling dark liquid all over the table, while Harry leans back in his chair, ruffling his hair subconsciously.  They both glance over to see Ron swinging Hermione, now wearing the jersey thrown over her work shirt, around the counter, tucking her under his arm.

“Hey, Harry, mind if I head out early?” she asks through a laugh as Ron grins and presses a kiss to her temple.  “There’s only an hour late and it’s pretty dead.”

Harry nods, smiling wryly and tossing her a salute, while Ginny ducks her head and busies herself by mopping up the spilt coffee with a serviette.

“No worries.”

“I’ll see you at training tomorrow, mate?”

“You got it.”

“See you, guys.”

“Bye Ginny.”

They go, giggling and chattering with their heads close, and Harry glances back at Ginny.  But whatever easiness that had been between them has vanished and whatever he’d been about to say has been lost to the moment.

“You hungry?” Harry asks, standing from the table and scratching the back of his neck.  “I think I’ve got a few buns left.  Or maybe a pasty.”

She tries to tell him she’s fine, but he’s already stepping away, distracted by the couple who’s wandering in through the door.  Ginny sighs and reaches for her phone, figuring she can either torture herself thinking about the opportunity she just missed, or torture herself rewatching the football match she lost the weekend before.  Neither are particularly desirable, but at least she has a chance to redeem her footy skills in the next few days.

With the person technically responsible for her own presence in the coffee shop gone, Ginny is surprised that she doesn’t feel like slinking back to her flat and crawling back into bed.  Instead she finds herself barely moving for the next hour, alternating between rewinding the clip of herself missing a goal in the second half, and watching Harry over the rim of her mug as he keeps himself busy by wiping down the already spotless counters.

Her feelings for Harry have been growing for almost the entire year that they’ve lived together; transforming from a largely innocent and ignorable crush into something deeper and more intense than she’s ever felt for any of her past boyfriends.  So she doesn’t know why she thought that tonight was going to be the night she and Harry finally talked about this thing between them, whatever it is.  Something that she knows he must feel as well.  The thing that makes her heart flutter every time he hands her a coffee decorated with a heart.  The thing that has her blood running hot when she runs into him coming out of the shower in their flat, chest wet, and only a towel slung around his waist.  The thing where he’s the only one who can make her feel better on her worst days.

So Ginny sits and she waits and she thinks maybe it’s time for her to make her own opportunities.

They’re near silent as Harry closes up, the shop dark and quiet as he locks the front door, Ginny shivering beside him in the night’s breeze.

“I might drop by the pub, some of the guys were talking about getting a drink tonight.  Do you want me to drop you home first-?”

Ginny isn’t sure what makes her say it, but she doesn’t want him to go off to the pub, where some girl will doubtlessly walk up to him with a smile, putting a hand on his arm while tossing her hair.  She doesn’t want that to happen without her finally saying how she feels first, so she opens her mouth, and what comes out is, “So are you going to get me a ‘Potter’ jersey or what?”

Harry’s eyes go wide behind his glasses.  “Gin?” he says uncertainly, not sure if she’s being serious, or if this is just more of their usual banter falling somewhere between flirtatious and teasing.  If she’s just agreeing to the idea he’d jokingly proposed to her before.

“To be clear, I don’t do the whole pretend girlfriend thing.  Not with a guy I actually like.  So tonight can count as our first date, you did buy me coffee after all.  But I’m telling you now, Potter, I expect a little more effort next time.”

Harry must be able to tell how absolutely terrified she is under all her brazenness, because some of his surprise melts away, and satisfaction curves his mouth into a grin.

“Is that right?”

Ginny swallows, her mouth dry and her heart hopeful.  “That’s right.  Emboldened, she takes a step closer, catching either side of Harry's open jacket in her hands and pulling him close.

Eyes bright, Harry cups her face, fingers achingly gently against her skin.  “Noted,” he says quietly, and they’re both smiling as he ducks his head and brings his mouth down to hers.

[constancezin]

Quiddich Passion, In love with an Holyhead Harpies

It as love at first flight

"She's the star chaser of her team

He's an Auror rookie

She's Britain little fiancée

He saved the wizarding world"

"Will they find love, them that everything separates?"

(This would be a stunning rom com!)

For the Ginuary bing bang!

@harryandginuary

[whathefawkes]

A reblog to tell you that I added another chapter, now to fill prompt #O68, “You invited me to your brother’s/sister’s wedding as a plus one because we’re hella best friends but we end up making out at the afterparty and now everyone thinks we’re together so ...you want to go out for a drink sometime? Try this whole couple thing out?”

My first entry for the Harry and Ginuary Bingo Event hosted by @harryandginuary trying to fill the prompt: "I have moves you've never heard of." "Yeah, because you're basically a senior citizen."

(All drabbles added to this collection are unrelated and born out of fun to write something silly and self-indulgent).

[celtics534]

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a Sharing Sunday but I need more people to read this incredible fic! 

@matrixaffiliate has created such a perfect niche for the pirate trope that it needs more attention! Let’s start of with the simple fact... who doesn’t love a pirate’s tale?! Especially one where we get to see hinny in such perfect characterization, in such a great world. Not only do we get to see their feisty tempers but watch them fall in love. We also get one of my favorite tropes, fighting the falling in love only to fail. 

This story has it all. Great plot, funny lines, adorable moments that just make you fall in love with everyone. Such a great read and everyone should give it a chance!

[matrixaffiliate]

Divagate

FFN and AO3

@harryandginuary BINGO drabble event!

Prompt 51

“You really don’t want to open that door.”

Immobile

Ginny walked up the stairs to where Ron and Hermione were standing by Ron's room. Their heads were close as they spoke in hushed tones, Ron's arm wrapped protectively around Hermione's waist as her good hand absently slid along her bandaged arm.

It wasn't until the top step squeaked under her weight that the couple turned toward her.

Ron looked back at the door and then to her.

“You really don’t want to open that door.”

"Trust me, I do."

"He's not doing well at the moment," Hermione's voice was just a touch sullen, but all of their demeanors had been off in the last few days.

"I know," Ginny moved to the door and put her hand on the handle. She didn't hesitate, turning her back on the couple at the top of the stairs and opening the door.

Harry sat on the floor, back against one of the beds, head thrown back on the mattress. He didn't even turn to look at her, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, unseeing, like they had been when she thought him dead.

Ginny shut that thought out as she shut the door and joined him on the floor. He didn't move, didn't acknowledge her. She picked up his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

It was then that he pulled her into him.

"I hate myself."

"No, you hate that for a moment your emotions got the better of you."

"I don't want to yell at anyone."

"I know."

He fell silent again and Ginny pulled his bent up leg into her chest in a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Harry pulled her closer, both arms cinching her to his chest.

"Thank you."

[harryandginuary]

The day has finally come!

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[hpfangal]

😍😍😍

Problems

Bingo #4: "The problem is," he said as he leant in, "if I kissed you, I don't think I'd be able to stop."

Also on Ao3 for kudos and reviews. This didn’t go the way I thought, lol

Ginny sighed as she moved between the gawkers, the stander-by, and the all-around just in the way people as she moved through the Ministry event. Every year, the Remembrance Ball got just more and more tedious, and this year seemed to be in a competition with itself for the dullest night ever.

She spied her brother and Hermione talking with Neville and Hannah but didn't head in that direction. All she really wanted was some fresh air and a moment alone to think. Apparently, that was too much to ask as a drunken Cormac McLaggen appeared out of nowhere. He put a hand out to stop her as she moved sideways through the crowd.

The event had hardly begun, but Mclaggen was deep into his cups already. Ginny made a face of distaste as he breathed his whiskey-laden breath into her face and waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

“Weasley! Bloody hell, look fine tonight. Cor, that's a tight-fitting dress. Quidditch has definitely made you fit. Well, fitter, eh, Weasley?"

“Shove off, Cormac,” Ginny said, pushing his head away and not delicately. She did not have the patience for this tonight. Or any night. A woman to the right of her gave her a sympathetic look of commiseration.

But McLaggen was not deterred and followed Ginny as she continued to try and escape.

"You know what your problem is, Weasley?" Cormac was saying behind her, and rather loudly, too. Ginny sighed and forced herself to stop, hoping he might lower his voice if he wasn’t trying to keep up with her.

“What?” Ginny said, eyeing him warily.

"Well, it's not really a problem, not really," Cormac said, leering again. Merlin, grant her patience.

Ginny folded her arms and gave him her scariest glare – the ones her brothers knew meant business – but it was all to no effect because the imbecile continued on anyway. Ginny decided it was hard to be menacing when the person you were trying to menace was utterly pissed and half off his nut. Of course, self-preservation had never been a strong Cormac-trait, according to Hermione.

Mclaggen put an arm around Ginny's shoulder and gave her what she assumed he thought was a dashing grin – to her, it just looked as though he were constipated and about to say something entirely stupid.

“The problem is,” he said as he leaned in, “is if I kissed you, I don’t think I’d be able to stop.”

Before Ginny could even respond to such a preposterous declaration (on what planet did he think they lived that she would ever allow his lips that close to her own?), a hand landed on McLaggen's shoulder with a loud slap of authority. A moment later, Ginny was trying hard to hide her grin.

“Cormac,” Harry said. He did not look amused.

For his part, Mclaggen seemed to understand that he was now in trouble and his mouth opened and closed rather rapidly. Like a drunk fish.

"Potter," he said, face turning crimson. "Er, Weasley and I were er, uh, just…."

"Yeah, I saw. Just," Harry said pointedly. "Now, if you'd please keep your arms, hands, and any future ideas of your lips away from my fiancé, I'd gladly appreciate it."

Cormac held up his hands and backed away. He glanced at Ginny and winked at her before he sauntered off. Ginny shook her head. The nerve! The cheek! She looked up at Harry to thank him for his timely arrival, but he was scowling and looking around as though he was furious. A moment later and his hand was on her elbow, jerking her through the crowd at a quick pace.

If it had been anyone other than Harry, Ginny was sure she would have hexed them into next week for manhandling her in such a manner. But she allowed it only on the condition that he was sure to make it up to her. A moment later, and Harry had them out in the hallway, and then with a slight whoosh of air, he'd Apparated them away. Into a broom cupboard of all things.

“Nice,” Ginny said, looking around.

“First place I could think of,” Harry said.

“Do you often spend time in the broom cupboard of…where are we again?”

“Level 6, to the side of Floo regulation. And no, but it’s one of the few places I can Apparate into,” Harry said, touching her cheek. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her briefly. Ginny felt her bad mood start to take flight.

“Well, thank you for rescuing me, just the same,” she said when they broke apart.

“I saw him get an eye on you as soon as you started moving his way. I knew what he was about,” Harry said grumpily.

Ginny shook her head at him. “Always the Auror on Duty. Did it not occur to you to just come and get me before I reached him?”

“I was trying,” Harry said, sounding petulant. “But Rita Skeeter had me cornered on one side, and Slughorn was talking about me on the other.”

“I could have handled him, you know,” Ginny said, shifting closer to Harry. Merlin, he smelled delicious. Like pine and the outdoors and treacle tart. All lovely scents by themselves, but on Harry, they became even headier. And dangerous because they made Ginny want to forget all sense of propriety in the most ridiculous ways.

"I know," Harry said, voice low. "I just didn't want bloodshed at the Remembrance Ball. For once. It might defeat the meaning of what we’re remembering, after all.”

Ginny saw him smile, the light of mischief filling his eyes, and he looked more like Harry suddenly, not angry or grumpy. She put her arms around his shoulders. “Wanna get up to things in this broom cupboard then?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he said, shifting against her until their bodies met, and Ginny shivered, but not from being cold.

It was several minutes later (and several new ways of learning how to move in such a confined space) that Harry suddenly chuckled in her ear. She paused in what she was doing and looked at him in question. Harry blushed and shook his head.

“I was just thinking it was a shame that Mclaggen used such a great line on you in such a non-charming manner.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Harry pulled her closer still and moved his lips along the side of her face, causing Ginny’s heart to beat even faster.“Because I’ve never ever been able to stop kissing you. Not since I started when I was sixteen.”

“Ah,” Ginny said, letting her eyes flutter closed, enjoying the warmth of his breath along her skin.

“That’s not a problem, is it, Ginny?” Harry asked, the octave of his voice doing insane things to her lower body. Bloody cheek, he had, getting her this hot in a broom cupboard of all places.

“No, Harry, it isn’t and never has been. Now give us another and stop thinking of Cormac Mclaggen while we snog.”

“Yes, love.”

Ginny had a feeling the rest of the evening was going to be looking very up indeed.

o-o-o-o-o

[theresthesnitch]

Silence

A/N: This entry puts me 1 away from Bingo! Thanks @harryandginuary for the prompt!

TW: discussion of magical injury and recovery. No blood or gore or description.

Prompt: N 42: “I want to go to the beach.” “It’s the middle of winter.” “I don’t care.”

Read it here on AO3.

***

She saw the moment it happened.

The flat was quiet. Not a comfortable silence, but a heavy quiet that left Ginny feeling like she needed to fill it with noise or music or her voice or something, anything to end the silence. It hung around them like a bad smell that wouldn't go away. An overwhelming, penetrating, endless silence that made the hours of each day feel like they lasted weeks.

Harry had never been a good patient, even when the injury was something minor and easily solved by a wave of Madam Pomphrey’s wand. But being laid up for six to eight months with an injury to his magical core, an injury that has him holed up at home instead of even being able to go into the office, had left Harry feeling useless and broken. Ginny has done everything she can think of to make him feel better, but she’s matched up against his internal demons and she’s not even sure she knows the rules of the game.

So it’s been difficult. They were five and a half months into his medical leave, which was starting to look like it would be closer to eight months than six, and Ginny found herself glad that she could at least escape every day to head to practice with the Harpies. She felt incredibly guilty for that, and for leaving Harry in the first place when he can’t even cast a simple spell to heat water for tea, but she is so, so grateful that she gets a break. Which she could never and would never tell Harry. Or anyone else, really. Yet she made sure to come home and give him every smile and positive vibe she could muster. Sometimes, he would manage to force a smile back.

She saw the moment it happened.

“I want to go to the beach.”

His words took her off guard. She had been staring out the window, chewing on her thumb nail, and trying to think of what she could do to relieve the tension. “It’s winter.” She said it without thinking. It was winter, but if he was actually expressing some interest in an activity, she would take him anywhere. She’d find a way to fly him to Mars or to Australia or back in time, if that’s what he wanted.

“I don’t care. I just want-” he paused “-need to get out of here.”

“Let’s go to the beach.”

She grabbed his hand and, with a twist, they were off. She took him to a beach as far south as she could think of, hoping that it would be warmer than their northern home. It wasn’t, but Harry didn’t seem to care. He slipped off his shoes, rolled his pants legs up to the middle of his calves, and walked into the water.

You’ll freeze, she wanted to say. Or you should come out of there before you catch a cold. She didn’t. Instead, she watched Harry move, gliding effortlessly through the low tide playing around his ankles. And because she didn’t stop him or say anything-

She saw the moment it happened.

They were told by Dr. Prowder at St. Mungos that Harry would have to wait for his magical core to make a connection again. The damage from the curse was severe, but they were confident that Harry would be able to return in six to eight months. Harry took that as a challenge, but Ginny heard something different. They didn’t know it would be better in six to eight months. They hoped it would. Ginny hoped so too, because she already felt like she was losing the essence of Harry.

There were no exercises to do. He couldn’t stretch or flex his magical core. No amount of therapy or intervention would piece him back together. The only remedy was time, and all he could do was wait.

Waiting was hard for the man who spent his childhood as the unwilling soldier in a war against evil. He was so drawn to move and work that waiting made him feel weak and helpless. He was a man of action living a life of inaction.

She saw the moment it happened.

She stood on the beach and watched him kick the water up. It splashed around him a bit, the drops hitting back down in their own little ripple. Then more drops were landing around him, and she realized that the new drops were coming from Harry and tears poured from his eyes. The sky had opened up and added to the downfall, but Harry’s face was already wet.

Ginny stood there watching, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes. She felt like she was watching all the stress and concern over the last several months roll off him in waves. His tears released the tension that has been building around them and Ginny felt the acceptance seep in. Finally. As the tears fell, Harry let out a loud yell, and Ginny heard his frustration forced out in the sound.

And then, it happened.

She saw the moment it happened.

This moment. His hands dropped to his side and Ginny could feel something like static roll off of him. He was glowing without any light. He was humming without any sound. He was throbbing without any pulse. There was something electrifying about him, as though he could light up the world. He was… well, he was magic.

She saw the moment it happened.

Harry stumbled a few feet back and landed on the sand. He sat with his hand between his knees, as though staving off a bout of nausea. When he looked up at her, she knew. It was back. Harry was back.

Ginny sat down on the sand next to him. Harry wrapped his arm around her, and Ginny leaned into his shoulder. They didn’t speak, just listened to the waves coming in and out. The silence was peaceful, an easy quiet. Finally.

[fancybehaviour]

Daddy Woes

Summary:

Harry is a good husband; so he sends his wife out on a much needed girls day. James Sirius is a naughty boy; so he sends his father down an anxiety spiral.

Notes:

Written for @harryandginuary BINGO!

Prompt I 23: “Why are there zucchini all over our kitchen?” “Do you not like zucchini?”

The sun had sunk low on the horizon, and in a few minutes would dissapear for the night. About dinner time, thought Ginny, as she made her way home after a long enjoyable day, her heels clicking rhythmically against the cobble. As she walked, she rewinded the highlights of her girls day out with Hermione and Luna in her head. Ginny had had an absolute hoot meeting her friends.She was sure she would continue to reminisce until the next time she could have such a day; after all being the mother of a seven month old meant that such trips were a rarity and she cherished them a lot.

Her legs ached from all the walking around she did while she helped Luna shop for her trip and she was looking forward to taking the nice long bath her husband had promised to draw her. She let out a sigh as she thought of sinking her aching legs in a hot bath, her husband perched at the edge of her bathtub as she gave him an exaggerated recount of the day's events peppered with silly nonsensical jokes, him guffawing at them all even though he had already heard them all. He did that a lot these days, laughing. Especially since the birth of their beautiful boy.

She felt a swell of love rise in her as she thought of her family; her seven month old baby son who could scream the house down and her loving husband who tried his best to give her respite from the said infant. 

"Harry?" she called, pushing the front door to close and locking it. "James darling? I'm back home. Did you boys have fun?". She continued heading towards the kitchen where she could hear noises, taking care not to trip over the many toys that were strewn about their living room. Courtesy of their many relatives and friends, James seemed to have an amount of toys that seemed absolutely ridiculous to Ginny who couldn't remember seeing so many toys even at the Burrow, that had been the residence of seven children. Making the matter even more ridiculous was the fact that James's favourite toys were actually the copper pots and pans that he liked to bang about making noise.

It was only when she reached the kitchen and took in the desecration that it was  that she realised that perhaps today, she might be the only one in the Potter household who might have had any semblance of fun.

Eyes darting from her slightly whimpering son in his high chair, to the trail of food spills surrounding him to the multicoloured stains adorning her husband's apron and his miserable face, she decided to address a whole other issue: “Why are there zucchini all over our kitchen?” 

“Do you not like zucchini?”, asked Harry, in a tone that might have been wry if it weren't for the long suffering expression on his face.

"Absolutely not. Can't believe you thought I did, the honor of questionable taste will forever be Hermione's ."

He gave a laugh that seemed more for her benefit (making Ginny wonder if parenthood had done a number on her humour too) and set about cleaning up. Ginny walked into the kitchen and lifted the whimpering toddler into her arms. She pressed a loud smacking kiss on both of his chubby, chubby cheeks, and rocked him gently, seemingly this was all that was needed for his whimpers seemed to slowly subside. She could feel Harry's eyes on them as he continued to clean up the mess; she remained silent, waiting for him to tell her what was weighing on his mind.

Instead he said, "He missed you," so she turns around to see him, looking at them softly with a look on his face that Ginny could only describe as melancholy. It reminded Ginny of her fifth year, when he looked at her like that, like she was everything he wanted but was unattainable.

It seems she was going to have to demand answers after all. Very well.

"Alright Potter, spill. Whatever happened today that has got you relapsing into your teenage angst?"

He laughed, and this time it was a genuine one; BINGO!

Pulling a chair at their kitchen table and settling himself down he said " James kept crying after you left. A lot." 

"Uh-huh. Nothing he hasn't done before. "

"Yeah. Sure. But today I just realised.."

"Yeah?" She asked, settling down into the chair opposite him, shifting James into her lap who seemed very fascinated with playing with her hair.

Harry watched him for a moment and then continued, "I know James crying is nothing new. Yet for some reason, it just bothered me today, you know."

"Uh-huh."

"It made me feel like a bad parent." he confesses, looking a bit surprised himself, perhaps at that he had spoken it out loud, yet continued with "I have been feeling like it a lot these days."

There.The dam had finally broken. Ginny had long since suspected that Harry was having troubles with parenting. She had caught him brooding about with a tea mug in his hands instead of going back to bed after whatever ungodly hour James Sirius had decided to wake them up. 

She tried many times,to get him to talk, but between her own exhaustion, an infant with a strong pair of lungs and Harry's stubborn refusal to burden Ginny with anymore than she was already dealing with nothing had come out of it. But now that he seemed to want to talk, Ginny did not stop him.

"I just… "he paused, and swallowed, something he did when he was overcome with emotion but wanted to bite it down.

"I want to do this right. I have never wanted so badly to do something right in my whole life. Family..it means everything to me and I want to be a good father but I'm afraid I am failing."

"You are an amazing father, Harry."

He shook his head. 

"Am I?"

"Yes" Ginny agreed furiously.

Harry looked into her eyes at that and she hoped he could read her, that he could see himself from her eyes, how she fell in love with him more and more everyday as she saw more and more of dad Harry.

Looking away he continued, "I sure don't feel like it. Today, while you were away, all Jamie wanted was his Mum. I tried everything, feeding him your milk, his favourite toys - yes the pans and pots, we are lucky we have no neighbours- feeding him all sorts of baby food and yet nothing seemed to work for long before he started wailing again. "

Ginny replied, "I don't want to sound like I'm being condescending, but this is the only way I can seem to put it- he's a toddler Harry. No one knows why toddlers do what they do. If he was fussy with you today and missed me I doubt it's because he has decided you were a bad parent."

"I know that - rationally.But the part of me - the same part of me that gets jealous of blokes trying to chat you up or worries that Ron is going to make a new best friend  - that part of me makes me think I have been a bad father."

"Today when Jamie kept crying for you, and I wasn't able to calm him down or feed him any of the amalgamation of baby foods I made- it just felt like I was in over my head, without a clue about what was doing. I might as well have been one of those dads who say they are 'babysitting' their kids and leave them up to their mothers and that's not- I never want to be that."

"I don't just want to do this right, I want be good at this. Like I am at Quidditch or catching dark wizards. I know I can catch a snitch, I know how to find a criminal on the run from law. Just like that, I want to be good at taking care of my son...but today, everything I did kept failing and that made me think.."

"James dented your confidence, didn't he," she said softly.

"He did," Harry agrees looking over at the boy who was happily sucking on his toes, completely ignorant of the spiral he had sent his father through.

Lacing her fingers with his, she said,"My mum told me, with parenting, there's bad days and good days, but you've got to understand that having bad days is not equivalent to being a bad parent."

"I imagine she had a lot of those, with seven of you," replied Harry wryly.

"Two of them Fred and George", Ginny reminded him.

They sat for a moment in silence both lost in thought.

"Gin-"

 "Harry" ,they both started at the same time, and Harry motioned for her to go on.

"I was just thinking - I had help with this. My mum, Fleur, Angelina, my teammates - I had people to talk this with. To reassure me that I wasn't doing things wrong. But you don't have that."

"No. But I've got you."

"You do," she agrees. "But also, maybe you should talk to people too. Maybe my dad or Bill or George"

He snorts at that. "If anyone had told me ten years ago that I'd be talking parenting with George.." he trails off as Ginny gives a light chuckle.

"Seriously though," she says again,       "Give it a try. I'm always here though. To listen. Or if you wanna get competitive over who is the worse parent".

Grinning, he says "I fed him courgettes Gin. He hated it. I'm winning this game." and she smiles at him, simply happy to see him happy.

"Oh and what is it?", she asks, and at his quizzical raise of eyebrows she elaborates, "that you wanted to say? You wanted to say something but you let me go first."

At that he gives her a wide smile and says, 

"Just that I love you."

[sweeethinny]

Red Lipstick

one more - delayed - prompt for BINGO! I love writing about Hinny's kids, hope you like it too <3

AO3

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

'What are you doing down here, Albus?' Ginny asked, surprised when she saw him sitting alone on the living room sofa.

She had gone out for a few minutes to buy some medicine for Harry, who was ill, leaving James - aged 10 - in charge of keeping the whole house and everyone alive. It would be quick minutes, it didn't last more than twenty, but suddenly it felt like an eternity and from the look of Albus something had gone wrong.

'Nothing.' He got up from the couch, but his green eyes didn't lie, he looked scared.

'Where is your brother?' Ginny dusted Floo's shoulders off her shoulders, then headed for the stairs, but Albus stepped in front of her.

'He…hm…grandma called.'

'I'll call her later. Was it urgent?' She knew he was lying, because aside from his cheeks being extremely flushed and his eyes wide open, Molly was with George and Bill shopping at the mall, so she had no way of calling Ginny.

'Yes. She needs you to call now.” Albus despaired when Ginny didn't go downstairs and go to the fireplace, but continued up the stairs. 'Mum!'

"Albus, your dad really needs this medicine, please." She continued to walk, even though Albus tried to interfere with her steps. ‘What did you and your brothers do, huh? I'm starting to get more worried. Your dad is missing?’

"It was Lily!" Albus blurted, as she knew he would as soon as she pressed a little.

"What Lily did?" Ginny stopped when they reached the second floor, sighing and thinking that the girl was only six but already managing to be worse than ten-year-old James. Although she was learning a lot from him, so…

"I told her you'd be mad and-" Albus jumped in front of her again, his small body coming to a stop in front of her and Harry's bedroom door, as if that would keep her from opening it. "You really don’t want to open that door."

'Whatever it is, I'm not going to fight with you, now let me see your dad and give him his medicine.' Ginny tried to open the door, but, she assumed, there were two kids sitting on the other side, making the work not so simple. "James, Lily, let me into the room."

"Promise you won't freak out," James said, his voice low probably so as not to wake Harry. Well, at least they were worried about their dad.

"I'm not going to freak out." Ginny wanted to laugh but remained serious, looking at Albus who now looked more terrified.

"Al, didn't I tell you not to let her up?!" Lily's bossy voice sounded louder, and soon a 'shhhh' from James was heard as well. 'Didn't I tell you not to let her up?' She whispered now.

"I couldn't," Albus whispered against the door, looking over his shoulder at his mother who still had her hand on the door. Ginny didn't believe this was happening.

"Get out of there or you might get hurt, I'll open the door." She warned, and this time the door opened easily, and her two kids were standing there, looking much more suspicious than Albus.

James was better at lying, he was older and had more time to learn from Teddy about how to do it, so his cheeks were less flushed and his eyes weren't as bulging. Lily, however, seemed to have been born with the gift, because she smiled docilely at her mother, clutching the hem of her dress as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

"What did you guys do?" Ginny looked at the two of them, and then looked at the bed at the end of the room, where Harry was still sleeping.

"Nothing." They both shrugged, and Albus rushed to stand beside them, letting Ginny into the room.

The three walked with her to the bed, all very suspicious, their hands behind their backs and their eyes locked on Ginny. The room was tidy - the best it could be with three kids in the house - and there was nothing broken except that a drawer in her dresser was ajar, but Ginny was pretty sure she hadn't opened before leaving the house... It was her makeup drawer, and she hadn't done makeup today.

When she got close to the bed, she had to choke down the laugh that rose in her throat, looking at a Harry who was now painted all over, with red lipstick, eye glitter, and much darker, thicker eyebrows now that they were painted with black pencil.

Jesus fucking Christ.” Harry was a mess of makeup and accessories on his head, the sheet he was covered with was also smeared with eyeshadow and lipstick, and what shocked the most was that he was still sleeping. Probably because of the sleeping potion she had given him before leaving.

She looked at her children, who were still at her side with their hands behind their backs, trying their best to look innocent.

"He woke up and did it himself," Lily shrugged.

"Yeah, it was scary." Albus nodded, his cheeks flushing even more.

'I think Dad is sleepwalking.' James said, and the other two nodded.

Ginny couldn't believe it, she wasn't even angry, just shocked. She wanted to laugh too.

"He's the one who's going to freak out when he wakes up," she warned them, taking the medicine out of her bag and laughing as she looked at her husband lying on the bed, looking like he'd dressed up as a clown. 'Get the camera, let's make this moment eternal.'