A/N: This is in response to a prompt by a rather demanding reviewer, who wanted "lazy, early morning sex when Harry and Ginny's kids were old enough to be at Hogwarts". While my kids are not entirely gone from the nest, I know how weird it feels when even one of them leaves, and I can see Harry having a rather difficult time with all three of them gone. Deadwoodpecker, this is for you. :)

September 22, 2019

Three weeks. That was how long it took for Harry to start to get used to the quiet at home. All the jokes they'd made that summer - about turning bedrooms into home gyms and long vacations with no forwarding information - didn't seem quite as funny when he walked by those bedrooms, now unnaturally neat and quiet. Even the whispered plans he and Ginny had made to spend entire days naked or to finally master the positions at the very back of the magical kama sutra they'd never gotten to try didn't feel quite as pressing when they didn't need to sneak those moments alone or set copious silencing charms. Just the week before, Harry had jumped up from the sofa - inadvertently knocking away the hand Ginny had been moving on him - because he'd thought he'd heard one of the school owls tapping at the window.

Ginny had given him a fondly annoyed look when Harry came back fro the kitchen to report that it had been a branch, and then warned him that her "libido was only going to be patient for so long." Two days later Harry had caught her standing in front of the dinner table which she'd set for five, wiping tears as she levitated the extra plates back to the cabinet. So maybe they both needed some time.

That's not to say they'd been celibate; they were empty nesters, not dead. But Harry had been busy at work and then Ginny had been busy at work, neither of them having to rush home at any particular time to manage dinner or play referee for anyone, and getting used to the newness of it all took more effort than Harry had expected. The sex they'd had had been good - sometimes very good - but it hadn't been . . . quite them. Not yet, anyway.

But now it was three weeks since they'd put Lily and her brothers on the train to Hogwarts with promises from the boys that "yes, they'd watch out for their little sister." Harry and Ginny had privately agreed that Lily probably did not need much watching, but they didn't want to let James and Albus off that easily. The letters they'd received were all positive - James had reported that the History of Magic curriculum had finally been updated to include modern history, and Harry was going to figure prominently for the Fourth Years starting around November. Harry had swiftly written back that no, that didn't mean James was excused from completing his homework on the subject, and he'd immediately owled Professor Praeteria and offered himself up as a guest lecturer. That he'd neglected to tell his oldest son the plan was not out of any sort of fear, he'd assured Ginny, but merely the desire to surprise his children with a visit from their father. Ginny had wisely nodded and said nothing else.

It was September 22nd, a Sunday. For the first time in three weeks, the quiet of the morning didn't remind Harry of who wasn't at home right now. For the first time, he watched Ginny, hair tousled across her pillow while she slept, and realized their home wasn't empty but merely filled in a different way. Their children were still present; just not, Harry grinned to himself, in your face present. And as he slithered out of his t-shirt, he thought that was a very good thing.

It was grey outside; Harry heard thunder rolling in the distance. He and Ginny had nowhere to be and the bed was warm and comfortable. Ginny sighed in her sleep and rolled away from him, the sheet falling down to reveal the creamy smoothness of her back. She'd removed her t-shirt at some point in the night, a habit she'd stopped when the boys had grown old enough care but not old enough to knock. And now there was no one but Harry to see.

Harry shuffled closer so he could spoon Ginny from behind and discovered that she'd removed her knickers as well. Normally, this would be a signal for him to press his erection into her bum until she rolled over to face him. Normally they'd fumble for a wand to set privacy wards before one of the kids came in and interrupted them.

But now, the only wards they needed were already set, preventing their well-meaning family from stopping by unannounced. They were completely alone and would be until they - just the two of them - decided otherwise.

The rain began in earnest outside just as Harry was jolted with that realization. They. Were. Alone. He couldn't even remember the last time they'd truly had such an indulgence. Their weekend away to the south of France the previous year had been interrupted by an owl that James was in the Hospital Wing after sneaking out of the castle for a late night fly on a dare from his friends. Harry had sworn up and down to Ginny that he hadn't given their eldest the Marauder's Map to take with him to school; he suspected the involvement of the twins. And the summer before that, with all three packed off to Molly and Arthur's for a couple of days, of course there would be rumblings that spells used to create Inferi had been detected in the Cotswolds. He'd slept at the office more than at home.

Thoughts of interruptions past melted away as the sheet slipped a little further down on Ginny's back. Instead of pushing himself against her, Harry backed up, running his hand down her side until it rested on her hip. Ginny mumbled in her sleep and Harry leaned close to her ear. "What part of you would you like me to touch next?" he murmured. He slid his hand down to her stomach.

As Harry had suspected, Ginny wasn't as asleep as she'd seemed. She laid her hand on top of his and moved it lower. "I want you to touch me here," she said. She was still faced away from him.

Harry propped himself up on his elbow so he had better access. He tickled the tips of his fingers against the sensitive skin of Ginny's folds, pushing his erection against her bum when she groaned and backed into him. He dipped his head down and kissed her shoulder.

Ginny rolled onto her back and looked up at him, eyes wide. "We can do whatever we want, take as long as we want, can't we?"

Harry nodded. "I want to explore every part of you," he said solemnly, liking the sound Ginny made in response. He lifted his hand away from between her legs, thinking. Before he could move the way he'd intended, to cover Ginny's body with his and begin kissing, she sat up. There was a wicked gleam in her eye.

"It's pretty warm outside, isn't it?"

Harry stared at her. "Umm, it's raining." Indeed, the distant thunder had gotten considerably closer in the last minutes and the view of their garden outside the bedroom window was blurry and wet.

Ginny ignored him and slid off the bed. Halfway to the door leading to their patio she stopped and looked back at him. She didn't say anything, just raised her eyebrows and then turned back around and kept walking.

Thoughts of the warm bed flew out of Harry's head. He stumbled slightly as he pulled off his pajama bottoms; by the time he straightened up, Ginny was outside.

The private patio off their bedroom was one of those things he hadn't realized he needed in a home until he had one. He and Ginny had coffee there on Sunday mornings and wine together some Friday nights. They could watch the children play in the garden from the patio's cushioned seats and Harry had even put his feet up for a nap or two.

They'd never made love there, though. He and Ginny had christened nearly every other room in the house over the years, but the patio had been added more recently when they'd landscaped their back yard. Their back garden neighbors weren't terribly close, but close enough to wave hello over the low fence and meet to share conversations or a cup of sugar on a regular basis. They were older than Harry and Ginny by about a decade, their children all graduated from Hogwarts, and as Harry slipped out after Ginny he decided to believe they were choosing to sleep late on this rainy Sunday.

Ginny was right; it was warm out. The morning felt more like muggy August than late September, and when Harry shivered, it had nothing to do with the temperature. Ginny was lounging on the sofa that took up one entire side of the small patio, leaning back on cushions covered in "outdoor" fabric that had been further made imperturbable to weather by magic. The rain was soft on her face, its passage hindered by the tree branches that criss-crossed above, and the lazy smile she gave Harry would have aroused him immediately if he hadn't already been hard. Ginny dropped her gaze to Harry's erection for a moment before finding his eyes again, and her smile got a little bigger.

"I knew this was a good idea," she said in a satisfied voice.

Ginny was taking up nearly the entire length of the sofa, but instead of lying on top of her, Harry lifted her legs and sat properly underneath, letting the underside of her knee rest on top of his erection. He grinned. "I can reach all your important parts this way," he said. Without waiting for a response he casually slipped two fingers between Ginny's legs, teasing around her opening for only a moment before entering. She gasped in surprise and lifted her hips.

"Rain not bothering you anymore, I guess?" she asked. She lifted her hips again and Harry obligingly pushed his fingers in further, curling them up in the way he knew she loved. He found her clit with his thumb and Ginny swore.

"The rain is perfect," agreed Harry. The air smelled fresh and clean and watching rivulets of water stream across Ginny's body reminded him forcibly of how much he loved pleasuring her in the shower. Harry moved his other hand up to play with Ginny's breasts, also easily accessible from where he sat. "It feels very private out here," he said. Ginny's nipples were already wrinkled and taut and Harry knew how sensitive they'd be, so he tickled his fingers across them with the barest pressure. Ginny groaned.

"But not . . . not so private that someone couldn't see." Ginny opened her eyes to look at him, her voice thick with arousal. "If Ara and Ori decided to step outside."

Harry's eyes flew to the back of their garden and then beyond to where he could just make out the outlines of the house on the other side of the fence. He'd not bothered with his glasses and so even if their neighbors decided to take a walk in the rain he wasn't sure he could have seen them. He moved his eyes back to Ginny. She was smirking, but her wide eyes gave everything away.

"I think I might see movement over there," Harry said quietly. He lifted Ginny's legs off his lap and moved to kneel between them. "They'll hear you if you scream." He slid lower and moved so that his tongue replaced his fingers.

"Ohh . . . yes," Ginny said, and it was louder than a mumble. Harry grinned in satisfaction; he loved all the different sounds Ginny made during sex.

Ginny moved her hands in his hair, tugging. "Get up here," she said breathlessly. "I want you now."

Harry responded immediately. In one practiced, fluid motion, he was up on top of Ginny and slipping inside her, pushing hard. Sometimes he teased around her entrance first, sometimes she pushed him backwards before he entered, sitting forward to take him in her mouth. But this time, this first time outside, in the rain, when they had the entire day ahead of them for whatever they wanted, the first thing they wanted was to fuck.

Harry pulled back and then plunged, grunting as he did.

"They . . . could hear that," Ginny said breathlessly, and Harry almost came right there. He moved a hand between them.

"They'll hear both of us," he said, and in his mind, their neighbors actually were outside, and could hear them, and knew exactly what was going on. He slid his hand under Ginny's back to pull her closer against him. The rough fabric of the sofa rubbed against his knees as he moved and he focused on that for a moment, trying to gain control.

"See us too," gasped Ginny. She put her hands on his backside and held him in place. "Don't more."

Harry forced himself to stay still. For a long moment, everything seemed to freeze. He watched Ginny's face, saw her biting her lip as she tried as hard as he was to draw everything out a little longer. The rain was gentle on his back and he could barely tell the difference between it and Ginny's hands moving on his skin. He leaned down and kissed away drops of water on her eyelashes and cheeks. "Can I move?" he groaned.

"Please," Ginny said, and the need was as strong in her voice as his. Their movements were erratic, but matched; they met each other at the top of every thrust and when Harry pulled back he could still feel Ginny against him in a dozen places along his skin.

Harry didn't give warning before he climaxed; he knew Ginny'd recognize that he was there. She tightened her legs around him and followed seconds later, making soft sounds of pleasure that meant she was nearly too overcome to speak.

Harry let himself rest his full weight on top of Ginny. Her lips found his first and she kissed him deeply; the first time they had that morning, he realized. He felt heavy and sated and could have lay there kissing his wife indefinitely, he thought lazily. They should always make love outside, from now on.

A crack of thunder and flash of lightning almost immediately overhead dispelled that notion and Harry startled so hard he almost fell off the sofa. As he was still inside Ginny, she might have tumbled with him, had her Chaser's reflexes not pulled them both back at the last minute. The thunder cracked again and Harry stood up and scooped Ginny into his arms. "Round two in the shower?" he asked, kicking open the door back into their bedroom. "I'm not done with you in the water yet."