Ficlet: "Now You're Mine"
Title: Now You're Mine
Author: tosca1390
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~700 words
Summary: Percy and Audrey married in the early fall, leaves just beginning to turn, the grass still rich and green, the breezes warm.
Notes: Advent fic #2 for almond_joyz, who requested Harry Potter, Harry/Ginny, Raise Your Glass. Feedback always lovely.
*
Percy and Audrey married in the early fall, leaves just beginning to turn, the grass still rich and green, the breezes warm. Two years after the Second War had ended, and the smoke had finally cleared; Harry sat alone on the main stairs of the Burrow, a cool slippery glass of butterbeer clutched in his hand. The reception out in the yard was loud and boisterous, without any of the dark haunting surrounding Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
The Weasleys were a large brood, and Audrey’s family, while not quite as numbered, still filled the tents and the yard. Even as much of a part of the Weasley family he felt and knew he was, he still liked to recede to quiet corners during their gatherings. He didn’t mind the crowds or the company; it was more to gather his own thoughts, to find space to breathe. Having never mastered the art of small talk, events like this still unnerved him, so he retreated to the familiar, the cool steps, with deep fall sunlight slipping through the windows and the cracks in the doorways.
From here, he could hear Ron and George laughing, Victoire crying faintly for her mother, drifting over the band’s slow song. He sipped his butterbeer and rested his elbows on his knees, mindful of his new dress robes (black, of course, but Ginny had insisted on a green trim, because she hadn’t wanted him walking around like he was at work the whole time). There was something intrinsically comforting about sitting on the stairs of the Burrow, listening to all the people who had puzzled together to create his family, and he breathed deeply in relaxation and relief.
The floorboards creaked at the base of the stairs, and he smiled slightly. “Only took you ten minutes to find me.”
Sunned and lean from a summer of Quidditch training and practice, Ginny rested her free hand on the banister, tilting her head to the side. Her hair fell long and smooth at her shoulders, shining red-gold in the spots of sunlight. In her other hand, she held a half-full glass of pumpkin ale. “Correction. It took me five minutes to figure out where you were, and then I was waylaid by Audrey’s cousin Benjamin for the other five,” she retorted lightly.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Cousin Ben, huh? What did he want?”
“The usual. An autograph and a date,” she said, picking up the skirt of her indigo robes and making her way up the stairs.
“Brave bloke,” he said as she settled next to him. “Can’t reckon trying to ask you out on a date now.”
Laughing, she leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth lightly. “Lucky you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist, smoothing his fingertips along the silky fabric of her robes. Obligingly, she scooted close, her bare arm resting on his thigh. “Thankfully, I caught you before you were famous. I’d never stand a chance now.”
Her face softened, but her smile remained sharp and bright. “You can’t be sure. It would absolutely depend on presentation and comparison from the other suitors,” she said, voice tinged with affection.
He kissed her then, soft and airy on her mouth, breathing in the soapy lavender of her skin and hair. She curved her fingers over his thigh, squeezing gently. “Oh, I reckon you’d stand a great chance of snagging me, the catch that I am,” she murmured against his mouth.
“I’ll drink to that,” he said, grinning sheepishly.
They clinked the bases of their glasses together and drank. The air was cool and dry around them, dust floating in and out of the slats of golden afternoon light. She kissed his cheek and leaned her head against his. Her skin, pink from all the sun, was very warm against his, but her even breaths were cool on his neck. It felt like home.
“I don’t have to worry about this Ben bloke though, yeah?” he asked after a quiet moment, his lips near her hair.
Her laughter and following elbow to the ribs was a glad enough answer for him.
*
Author: tosca1390
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~700 words
Summary: Percy and Audrey married in the early fall, leaves just beginning to turn, the grass still rich and green, the breezes warm.
Notes: Advent fic #2 for almond_joyz, who requested Harry Potter, Harry/Ginny, Raise Your Glass. Feedback always lovely.
*
Percy and Audrey married in the early fall, leaves just beginning to turn, the grass still rich and green, the breezes warm. Two years after the Second War had ended, and the smoke had finally cleared; Harry sat alone on the main stairs of the Burrow, a cool slippery glass of butterbeer clutched in his hand. The reception out in the yard was loud and boisterous, without any of the dark haunting surrounding Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
The Weasleys were a large brood, and Audrey’s family, while not quite as numbered, still filled the tents and the yard. Even as much of a part of the Weasley family he felt and knew he was, he still liked to recede to quiet corners during their gatherings. He didn’t mind the crowds or the company; it was more to gather his own thoughts, to find space to breathe. Having never mastered the art of small talk, events like this still unnerved him, so he retreated to the familiar, the cool steps, with deep fall sunlight slipping through the windows and the cracks in the doorways.
From here, he could hear Ron and George laughing, Victoire crying faintly for her mother, drifting over the band’s slow song. He sipped his butterbeer and rested his elbows on his knees, mindful of his new dress robes (black, of course, but Ginny had insisted on a green trim, because she hadn’t wanted him walking around like he was at work the whole time). There was something intrinsically comforting about sitting on the stairs of the Burrow, listening to all the people who had puzzled together to create his family, and he breathed deeply in relaxation and relief.
The floorboards creaked at the base of the stairs, and he smiled slightly. “Only took you ten minutes to find me.”
Sunned and lean from a summer of Quidditch training and practice, Ginny rested her free hand on the banister, tilting her head to the side. Her hair fell long and smooth at her shoulders, shining red-gold in the spots of sunlight. In her other hand, she held a half-full glass of pumpkin ale. “Correction. It took me five minutes to figure out where you were, and then I was waylaid by Audrey’s cousin Benjamin for the other five,” she retorted lightly.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Cousin Ben, huh? What did he want?”
“The usual. An autograph and a date,” she said, picking up the skirt of her indigo robes and making her way up the stairs.
“Brave bloke,” he said as she settled next to him. “Can’t reckon trying to ask you out on a date now.”
Laughing, she leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth lightly. “Lucky you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist, smoothing his fingertips along the silky fabric of her robes. Obligingly, she scooted close, her bare arm resting on his thigh. “Thankfully, I caught you before you were famous. I’d never stand a chance now.”
Her face softened, but her smile remained sharp and bright. “You can’t be sure. It would absolutely depend on presentation and comparison from the other suitors,” she said, voice tinged with affection.
He kissed her then, soft and airy on her mouth, breathing in the soapy lavender of her skin and hair. She curved her fingers over his thigh, squeezing gently. “Oh, I reckon you’d stand a great chance of snagging me, the catch that I am,” she murmured against his mouth.
“I’ll drink to that,” he said, grinning sheepishly.
They clinked the bases of their glasses together and drank. The air was cool and dry around them, dust floating in and out of the slats of golden afternoon light. She kissed his cheek and leaned her head against his. Her skin, pink from all the sun, was very warm against his, but her even breaths were cool on his neck. It felt like home.
“I don’t have to worry about this Ben bloke though, yeah?” he asked after a quiet moment, his lips near her hair.
Her laughter and following elbow to the ribs was a glad enough answer for him.
*