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corneliaavenue-ao3 · 2 years

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Prompt! (because i love your exploding snap fic!)

The first exploding snap match after the war is over?

Anon, you inspired another chapter of Love's a Game, Wanna Play

Read Chapter 1 here | Read Chapter 2 here or below

It all became too much.

Going to Hogwarts run by Death Eaters in the midst of a war was hard. Coming home from Hogwarts without a brother was so much worse.

Her family sought comfort from their grief in a variety of ways.

Her dad spent hours at the Ministry, working with Kingsley and a variety of important names that Ginny recognized, but never met. One night when sleep would not overcome her; her mind too loud, her room too warm, her body too tired, she crept down the stairs only to overhear her father and mother’s whispers. Her dad admitted he felt as though it was his fault that all of the muggleborns who entered the Ministry this year were never seen again. That he could have done more to protect them.

It was one of the two times Ginny had seen her father sob. The other was her brother’s funeral.

Her mum went into “Molly Weasley” hyperdrive. Constantly working in the kitchen. The oven was turned on more often than not, fresh breads and treats constantly being pulled out. Charlie and Ginny often were assigned to drop off fresh baked goods at random households because even with all of the Weasley mouths to feed, there still was too much food.

Ginny wished she could say no to her mother when she was asked to deliver more food to another parent who lost their kid in the Battle of Hogwarts. The parents of another dead classmate of hers.

Families would be grateful, invite her in for tea, and share stories of their kids. Ginny choked on her own tears telling Sophie’s family that she held her hand as she died underneath the rubble of the castle, pleading that she just wanted to go home.

Sophie’s last words crept into Ginny’s nightmares most nights and stayed heavy in her heart throughout the day.

Where Percy was loud in his grief, trying to make up for 3 years lost of being a prat, George was somber, staying hidden alone in his room or away at the shop working endlessly to keep his mind numb.

Bill and Charlie were hardly home. Bill and Fleur went back to Shell Cottage at night and would visit throughout the day, and Charlie hated the house more than Ginny did. Always running errands. Counting down the days until he could run back to Romania.

Ron was quiet for the first time in his life. Wordlessly helping everyone with whatever they needed, somehow knowing what a person was going to need before they could ask for it themselves.

Hermione was staying at the Burrow since she could not go home to an empty house without her parents there. Only the first night, Hermione slept in the same room as her. Screams of terror woke Ginny up in the middle of the night coming from the cot on the floor. Ever since then, Hermione snuck upstairs to Ron’s room to sleep.

Ginny never asked what Bellatrix did to her to warrant those screams.

Harry would come into her bedroom at night after Hermione left. His arms wrapped around her tightly, drawing her into his chest. The sound of his heart beating comforted her knowing that he was alive and well. Having Harry close soothed her senses, giving her the peace she craved.

When she didn’t have Harry, she had the sky.

When everything became too much - her thoughts too loud, her skin itching from anxiety, her pulse rapidly increasing, her breath shallow from the suffocating feeling of grief - flying was the thing that could calm her.

Physiologically, it did not make sense. The adrenaline of quick turns and steep dives should have fired her up more, but it made her think straight.

And Merlin, she needed the sky now.

A late-May thunderstorm had brought all of the Weasley’s indoors. The drip of the rain water through a hole in the ceiling that had yet been repaired reminded her all too well of the drip inside a Hogwarts dungeon. Flashbacks of the last year crept out from the mental cage Ginny tried to keep them locked behind.

The kitchen was overwhelming with loud bangs of pots and pans of her mum cooking another feast for too many. Charlie was forced to be home today because they canceled Hogwarts clean up, so he was sulking down in the living room. Not even her own room was free as Hermione had set up all of her Australia research.

She was going to crawl out of her own skin if she could not get space soon.

Fuck it. Ginny thought. Quidditch is flown in shitty weather all the time.

Tightening her hair in a ponytail and grabbing a pair of joggers, she headed to the backdoor.

“You’re going out in this?” A voice from behind her asked.

Ginny whipped around to see Harry sitting on the back porch, dry despite the weather. A small jar of flames sat next to him.

“And you aren’t even of age to cast a warming charm on yourself.”

“Don’t remind me,” Ginny replied.

Harry canted his head to the side, inviting her to join the empty spot next to him on the swinging bench. Ginny sat down next to him, legs pressed against his thigh. Letting Harry take over her already overwhelmed senses.

“Since you can’t play Quidditch right now, do you want to play a different game?” Harry asked.

Ginny gave a slight smile, “I would love that.”

“Accio Exploding Snap cards,” cast Harry.

“Stupid of age wizards,” Ginny scoffed, “Always showing off.”

“The Ministry owes me, I could talk them into letting a certain witch the ability to perform underage magic,” Harry said, catching the deck of cards flying towards them from the back door.

“I am sure Romilda Vane would love that,” Ginny retorted.

Harry snorted but didn’t say anything more. He dealt out the cards from the mixed deck of their respective Christmas presents a year and a half ago. They never got back around to splitting their decks after their game in the Burrow kitchen. Ginny smiled at the memory of them being two carefree teenagers. A memory that felt like a lifetime ago.

“No cheating,” Ginny threatened.

“I would never,” Harry replied.

Ginny gave him a pointed look.

“Again.” Harry corrected, “I would never cheat again.”

Smiling at him, Ginny grabbed her dealt cards and started to organize them by pair. She hadn’t played in over a year, the free time she had at Hogwarts was spent organizing a revolution and trying to survive.

Ginny was pulled away from her thoughts of the days in the Hogwarts castle when Harry pointed his wand at the deck to start the game.

Cards shuffled between them. Ginny laid down the first pair, but Harry quickly responded with his own matching set. Alternating turns, the game was close. Ginny would collect a pair only to be beaten by Harry laying down a set of four.

Frowning at her hand, Ginny drew a card from the deck. The face of a massive black spider stared up at her.

Harry continued laying cards down in front of him, but Ginny could not move. She just stared down at the Acromantula card in her hand.

Memories of detentions in the Forbidden Forest flooded back to the forefront of her mind, her senses overwhelmed with memories. The darkness of the night under a new moon. The sound of the clicks of the spiders chasing her and Neville. Tripping over a root, scuffing her hands and her knees. The fear she felt.

The explosion of her cards in her hand pulled her out of the dark thoughts bouncing around her head.

The feeling of her skin crawling slowly started, traveling up her arms, squeezing around her heart, tightening her throat, and blurring her vision. Unable to stop it, tears began to pool out of her eyes.

“Shit, Ginny.”

Harry shoved the deck of cards on the ground, pulling her into his arms. Sobs wracked her body, shoulders uncontrollably shaking, and her throat burning with tears. Harry pulled the tie out of her hair, letting the red strands cascade down her back. His fingers stroked her scalp as she continued to cry.

“How do you do it?” Ginny choked out between sobs, “How do you keep going on when everything becomes all too much.”

His lips pressed against her hair, breathing in her scent. “It’s not easy,” Harry replied slowly, “But I’ve learned time makes the pain lessen, and having Ron and Hermione, your family,” Harry paused, looking right into her wet eyes, “You. You all helped.”

Ginny gave a watery smile up at him, “You do help me too, you know.”

“I know,” Harry said before leaning in to capture his lips with hers.

Ginny pulled back slightly. “You don’t want to kiss right now, I am sure I have snot and tears all over my face,” She said, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her sweater.

Harry chuckled, “It’s very hot.”

“Oh shut up.”

Harry laughed as he pulled Ginny back to him, murmuring against her lips, “I don’t care.”

At that moment Ginny didn’t care either. Not about the snotty kiss or about the fact that she now had a losing record against Harry in Exploding Snap. She was just content that after all the magic and madness, she had Harry to help her through.

(2-3)

#hinny #ginny weasley #harry potter #harry poter x ginny weasley #harry x ginny

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