"Let's get drunk."

Ginny looked at Harry, amused. "What?" They were out of bed again, this time eating pancakes and eggs they'd made together.

Harry gave her an earnest look. "You've snogged Dam drunk. I've snogged . . . well, you know, drunk. But every time you and I've been at a pub together, we had a reason to stay mostly sober." He shrugged. "I want to get drunk and snog my girlfriend in her flat."

Ginny could find only a little fault with Harry's logic. "You mean, you want to get drunk and shag your girlfriend," she corrected.

Harry didn't even blush. "Well, yeah," he said. "But only if you do too," he added quickly.

Ginny grinned. "It's probably the only way we can make sure we won't make fools of ourselves and end up in the Prophet," she said.

"I already made a fool of myself today," said Harry dryly. "I'm still not convinced your brothers aren't going to name their new sleepwear line 'Potter Pajamas'".

Ginny laughed. "Or Ginny's Jammies?" She got up from the table and went to sit in Harry's lap. "For witches."

"I think your brothers are trying very hard to pretend you're still a virgin, all evidence to the contrary," said Harry. He kissed her neck and his hands wandered lower. "So, are you in? I'll go out and get some really good Firewhiskey if you want to make sure we have enough hangover potion - not that I think we'll drink nearly as much as we did our last times."

"I think I'll need to go to the Apothecary then," said Ginny. "The shopkeeper is going to wonder what I've been getting up to; this is the fourth time I've bought hangover potion in as many months."

Harry snorted. "He probably sees people buying that much in a couple of weeks," he said. He kissed her lightly on the nose. "Meet back here in about 20?"

It took them a few extra minutes to leave; it took Harry two tries to transfigure his sexy pajamas back into a respectable shirt and trousers, and then both him and Ginny working together to get the wrinkles out of them.

"I'm never ignoring my mum again when she offers to teach me household spells," Ginny grumbled. "Even though I know she'll say she told me so."

"She's told us all so," laughed Harry. "And I'm not sure anyone has listened yet."

"It would make her happy to know I wanted to learn," said Ginny. "As long as all my brothers don't expect me to become their flat cleaner or wash witch."

Harry put his arms around her. "Actually, I seem to remember that I was your wash wizard."

Ginny swatted at him. "Prat. You had to remind me of that, didn't you?"

Harry nodded against her hair. "Yep," he said in a self-satisfied voice. "And I'll keep reminding you, because it amuses me."

Ginny turned in his arms. "I can think of a couple of other things that would amuse you that won't be happening if you keep teasing me." She lifted up on her toes as if to kiss him, but as soon as Harry leaned in, she slipped out of his arms and backed away, laughing.

"You're punishing yourself as much as me that way, you know," said Harry.

Ginny sighed. "Good point," she said. She held out her hand "Truce?"

Harry took her hand and pulled her to him for a kiss. "Always."

HPHPHP

But when Harry returned from Lucky Libations with a bottle of expensive Firewhiskey, it was to find an owl waiting for him. How Kingsley Shacklebolt had known where Harry had been and where he'd be returning was something he'd have to investigate further at some point. For now, he read the note attached to the owl's leg with a sigh. The Fireplace flared green.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, stepping neatly out. How she didn't end up dizzy and covered with soot like Harry did every time he used the Floo was another talent he would have to investigate.

He pointed to the owl. "We've been summoned to the Ministry," he said.

Ginny looked at him critically. "You'll need to put some cleaner clothes on then. Even transfigured back, those trousers just scream sex."

Ten minutes later, both of them were in properly prudish clothing and headed for the lift when the door to Dam's flat opened.

"Oho, Harry, I was looking for you," he said, jogging catch up. "What have you and Ginny been up to?"

"Oh, umm . . ." stammered Harry. He realized he didn't know exactly what Dam had been told about the events of the past week, other than that he'd not been told about Harry's memory loss. He shuffled against Ginny, hoping she'd be able to shed some light on the situation - despite having been unconscious longer - when Dam barked a laugh.

"You don't have to answer that, I can imagine for myself, can't I? Nursing each other back to health from that Doxy flu." Dam somehow managed to make an illness that Harry had heard was quite retched sound positively sexy. The man raised his eyebrows. "And then when you were both feeling better . . . ?"

"Yeah, something like that," said Harry with a laugh. "I'm just glad we're both back to full health now." He paused again.

Dam didn't notice. He nodded. "And that the Dark Wizard who infected you both with the potion to get you sick has been caught." He shuddered and looked at Ginny. "They're sure they caught him and no one else was helping him?" They'd reached the lobby and Dam looked nervously towards the front entrance through which a couple of folding chairs could be seen on the sidewalk.

Ginny nodded. "Definitely," she said. "He was a nasty piece of work and we're sure - the Aurors are - that he acted alone." She glanced where Dam was looking. "And umm, not related to those fan-witches who've been trying to break into the building. That was all just a lark. I think they uhh, had a competition to see who could get mentioned in the paper the most."

Harry had to hand it to Ginny for coming up with that story. He knew Dam really enjoyed being able to flirt with his fans and that the events of the past months had made him a lot warier about it.

Dam's face relaxed more. "That's good to know," he said. He looked outside again. "Actually, that's very good to know." He looked at Harry. "Will you show me how to set a good warming charm later? Some of those fan witches must be getting cold, sitting out there for so long."

Harry grinned. "I will," he promised. "But right now Ginny I are on our way to the Ministry to answer a few more questions about that Dark Wizard." Of course, strictly speaking, Shepard Kane wasn't "Dark", but that was really a distinction without a difference at this point. Grindelwald had acted for what he thought was 'The Greater Good' too.

Dam nodded knowingly. "Good job then," he said. "And you'll be back at the stadium tomorrow for training? What did the Healer say? Will you be up to play in our last run of matches before Christmas?"

Harry nodded. "I'm cleared for full training and will be ready for the first game." He looked at Ginny. "Umm, how many of them are away?"

Dam laughed. "Two out of the four," he said, cuffing Harry on the arm. "But I'll make sure you get a single room, as long as the Aurors don't keep Ginny here working too late."

"I'll make sure they don't, if you're saying what I think you are," said Ginny.

Dam held up his hands. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. "A player's hotel room is off limits to anyone not connected to the team, and there are wards to make sure no one unapproved gets inside." He gave the each a significant look. "Of course, these wards weren't set by anyone nearly as good as Bill Weasley. I'm sure a decent Auror could break through if needed. For Auror business, I mean."

Ginny nodded seriously. "Especially if that Auror is somehow connectedto the team, you said. Or at least connected to one of the players." Harry groaned under his breath.

Dam gave Ginny a high-five. "Connected . . . to another player," he said with a smirk. "That's right. But you didn't hear it from me."

Harry and Ginny left Dam to examine the witches camping out in the cold while they Apparated from the back of the building to the Ministry. As they walked inside, Ginny took Harry's hand and he looked at her.

"I don't care who knows," she said firmly. And then, in a quieter voice, "Do you think Kane is here?"

Harry realized Ginny's hand was shaking in his, her bravado wavering. She looked towards the lifts and took a deep breath. He stopped them both, turning her so she was facing him. "You haven't been here since everything happened," he realized.

"But you haven't either," she pointed out. "And you're much calmer." She shook her head. "It shouldn't bother me."

Harry shook his head. "But it should," he said. "This was someone you worked with, someone you trusted. And he hurt you." He put both hands on Ginny's shoulders. "I felt the same way, when I first realized what Kane wanted to do. So betrayed. If he hadn't taken my memories, if he'd left me to just quit the Aurors and try to figure things out for myself, I don't know what I would have done."

Ginny moved closer to Harry and put her arms around his waist, giving him a fierce look that said she didn't care that they were standing in the middle of the Ministry's Atrium. He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You'd have gone straight to Kingsley," she said. "And Kane would be in Azkeban already. You would have made sure of that."

"Just like you did," Harry pointed out. "Just like you still are." He tightened his arms around Ginny. "That's why we're here, to help finish this, and we're going to. And I promise, if we see Kane, I'll race you to see who gets the chance to hex him first."

Ginny chuckled in his arms and Harry could tell that some of the tension had left her body. "And then we can go back home and open up the Firewhiskey," she said decisively. "And you'll transfigure some more pajamas." Her voice grew a little sly. "I was thinking about some with Quaffles all over them, and one Snitch, and you'd have to figure out how to catch it."

Harry breathed out. "That sounds brilliant," he agreed.

HPHPHPHP

In the end, the meeting with the Aurors was rather more anti-climatic than they'd expected. Kingsley and Robards and Camilla Stalk were there, but Kane was not; he was already locked away, having confessed to enough that a trial would not be necessary. Instead, a diminutive Ministry recording witch took down their answers to a number of questions that would be used for sentencing later on. Reliving what he remembered and what he'd forgotten wasn't as bad as Harry had thought. Next to him, Ginny was calm and focused as she answered her questions, and the indisputable evidence that she was okay was all Harry really needed to know.

Afterwards, Robards made a point to tell Ginny that she could take as much time off from training as she needed, and that she was welcome back whenever she was ready. He'd make sure that no one gave her a hard time about her experiences. Ginny thanked the head Auror and shook his hand.

"I'd like to come back as soon as possible, and I think I should tell the other trainees about what happened. There are a lot of important lessons to be learned."

"I'd like to speak to everyone too," Harry broke in. "If you want me, of course. I'll just have to work around my game schedule." Ginny gave him a smile.

"Ron and Hermione too," she agreed. "They were quite brilliant themselves."

Robards nodded solemnly. "It's probably something we should share with the entire Auror corps," he said. Not just the trainees," he said. "Camilla and I will work out a plan for that."

Harry and Ginny left the Ministry soon afterwards. His mind was already on what they were going to do when they got back to Ginny's flat, and by the way her steps quickened as they approached the Apparition point, he knew Ginny was thinking about it too. He tugged on her hand, pulling her in through the back door of their building, and she giggled and slipped her hand up the back of his shirt, brushing her fingers across his skin.

"Eager there, are we?" she teased.

Harry stopped and gave her a serious look. "Not at all," he said calmly. He dramatically slowed his pace. "I am perfectly happy to take my time. We could even finish cleaning my flat, if you wanted, since I never quite got that done."

Ginny nodded back. "Maybe you should finish cleaning," she said. "And I'll just pop over to my mum and dad's for a visit. I haven't seen them in a few days, you know." Her eyes twinkled.

It occurred to Harry that in fact, they did need to visit Ginny's parents at some point soon; he assumed they already knew about the developments with Harry's memory - he could only hope it had been Bill or Ron who'd told them and not the twins - but he knew they'd want to hear it again from Harry and Ginny in person. He'd suggest that, after . . . other things.

No sooner were they in the lift that Ginny wrapped herself around Harry, kissing him so thoroughly that he was forced to take several steps backwards. His back met the wall, which gave him enough leverage to slip his hands under Ginny's bum and raise her up the few inches he needed for maximum contact. She made a low groan of pleasure in her throat and Harry wondered briefly if they dared just stay in the lift.

His lips were still on Ginny's neck when the doors slid open.

"Bloody hell, couldn't you two wait another two minutes?" Ron sounded equally amused and annoyed.

Harry finished kissing Ginny before looking at his friend. "Apparently not," he said cheekily. Ginny laughed as Harry lowered her to the ground and he suspected it wasn't an accident when she stumbled against his chest.

Ron shrugged, nonplussed. "Doesn't matter anyway," he said. "You're both coming to the Burrow, right?"

"That's today?" Harry didn't think he was imagining the slight disappointment in Ginny's voice. He looked at her. "We're expected at the Burrow?"

Ginny nodded. "My mum sent a Patronus; you must have been in the loo?" It was a good assumption, the two of them hadn't been apart for any other reason. "I completely forgot."

"Probably a good idea to see them anyway," Harry said. He looked at Ron and Hermione "Can you wait just a minute? I have some good Firewhiskey in Ginny's flat I think everyone will enjoy." Next to him, Ginny snorted quietly.

"Need liquid courage to see my family, Potter?" she asked.

Harry kissed her. "Probably, if they're all there," he said. "Depending on what sort of model sexual organs the twins decide to unveil over pudding."

"In that case, bring two bottles," said Ron.

HPHPHPHP

In truth, Ginny was rather excited to be back at the Burrow with Harry. Last time they'd been there they'd been sneaking around and had had sex on the ladder up to the attic. This time, she suspected that the relief everyone felt would result in rather more leniency than usual if she and Harry tried to slip away.

As they walked down the lane to the Burrow, Ginny contemplated the fact that she just felt happy.The past few days had been marked by relief, amazement, guilt, anger, more relief, all coalescing into the physical need they'd both been desperate to slake. There had been no doubt in Ginny's mind that Harry had come back as completely hers as he was before Kane's potion, but until this moment, heading towards her childhood home and her family, there had been too many emotions to focus on the simple joy of it all. She squeezed Harry's hand.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked. "Besides the obvious, I mean."

"That's it," said Ginny. "Just that we have the obvious."

Harry looked unaccountably pleased. "Good," he said.

The Burrow itself seemed imbued with good cheer, even before Harry's bottles of Firewhiskey were joined on the table with several others. No one said much about Kane, or St. Mungo's or memory loss, or even that they were happy to see Ginny and Harry back to normal. Ginny was at first surprised and grateful at the normalcy, and then realized that she shouldn't have been so surprised at all. The one thing she'd learned - painful as though the lesson may have been at times - was that her family was Harry's too, and that sometimes no explanations were necessary. This was one of those times, and everyone understood. It was just easy to be there.

Molly left the dishes to wash themselves and the leftovers to arrange themselves in baskets to send home with various children before joining them all back at the table, toting a bottle of her own. There were cheers all around when she plopped it on the table in front of her.

"I knew you had one hidden somewhere," said Ron indignantly.

"We all knew she had one hidden," laughed Bill. "But even I was never able to figure out where."

"Your mother knew it would have been gone in a trice," said Arthur. "It's what we always used to drink when we finally had a moment alone when you lot were younger, so not very often." His eyes twinkled. "Remember our rule about hangover potion before you get started now."

Everyone groaned. Ginny turned to explain to Harry that her parents kept no hangover potion in the house - it had been their way to keep the children from drinking when they were younger - and realized she didn't have to. He'd heard the lecture as much as Ron and the others over the years. He leaned in close to her.

"Try to stick with what I brought," he said. "It's a lot smoother than Ogden's." Harry's eyes were bright and Ginny felt a thrill of anticipation. They'd already agreed to get drunk together; now it looked as though they'd be getting drunk together at the Burrow with her entire family instead of alone in her flat. Somehow that thought was even more arousing.

HPHPHP

An hour later Ginny was more than a little buzzed. Everyone had moved to the sitting room after dinner, and now she was draped over Harry in the big comfy chair that was the twin to the one at her flat. It had the advantage of being pushed back in a corner of the room, so she didn't think it was quite so obvious to everyone else that Harry had one hand up her shirt. Or maybe it was obvious, but she just didn't really care. Ron and Hermione were practically snogging on the sofa and Bill had conjured some sort of mist around him and Fleur so no one could see exactly what they were doing, which was probably a very good thing. The twins, Angelina, Katie, Percy, and his new girlfriend Audrey were all still sitting on the floor in a circle, passing around the second of Harry's bottles. Her parents had disappeared, which made Ginny both happy for them and rather horrified. She grabbed her glass out of the air where it was floating gently, thanks to Harry's levitation spell.

"Cheers," she said in a loud whisper. "Here's to snogging." She leaned over and gave Harry a kiss.

He laughed and grabbed his own glass. "You already toasted snogging, pick something else we can do." His hand moved lower. "How about . . . stroking?" His fingers moved against the waistband of her jeans. He took a big drink and smoke came out of his ears.

Ginny lost her train of thought for a moment. "Uhh, stroking . . . stroking's good," she managed. Her entire body felt warm and tingly. "And . . . grasping, that's good too." Without thinking too much about it, she unzipped Harry's trousers and slipped her hand inside.

He gave a start of surprise. "Ohh, that feels . . . oh." Ginny saw Harry's eyes dart around the room and then land back the place her hand disappeared into his trousers. "That feels really good," he mumbled. He touched her jaw and turned her to face him. "I want to touch you too," he said quietly. "I want to . . . I mean, I need you. Just you."

Ginny got lost in Harry's voice, and feel of his breath against her cheek. They stared at each other for a long moment. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, or his nearness, or the absolute comfort of being at the Burrow together, but suddenly she didn't care at all who else was in the room; she was barely aware of them as she leaned forward and kissed Harry deeply, her hand still moving slowly against him. He made a low sound in his throat.

"I could try to make one of Bill's foggy things," he said when they finally broke apart. He looked across the room to where the couple was still completely obscured by heavy mist. His hand was slowly stroking up and down her back and Ginny knew Harry didn't want to fumble with figuring out the proper spell and how to maneuver on the chair any more than she did. Hermione and Ron were still on the sofa and the couples on the floor seemed to have paired off and scattered, only Percy and his girlfriend were still sitting there, holding hands and talking quietly. Ginny thought about warming charms in the orchard or garden, or even of simply Apparating back to her flat. Instead, she gave Harry a final soft squeeze and withdrew her hand, zipping him back up.

"I want to go to my room," she said. She hadn't underestimated the effect those words would have; Harry blinked at her for a moment, and then she could feel the physical reaction of his body as her meaning penetrated. His hands tensed on her and he shivered before giving her a jerky nod. "Yes please," he said thickly.

They took their whiskey with them. Harry waved his wand at one of the bottles as they walked past and their cups filled with the amber-colored liquid. Of course it didn't spill, which made Ginny giggle. "You still need to teach me how you do that that spell so well," she said. Harry just chuckled, putting his hand on the small of her back. At the staircase, he stopped, looking suddenly shy.

"Uhh, after you," he said.

She gave him a teasing smile. "Don't you know where my room is?" For some reason, Harry blushed.

"Well, yeah, of course I do," he said. Still he waited for her to start up the stairs first.

Ginny looked at him curiously but started to walk. "Then what?" she asked, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following. "Do you have to stop at the loo or something?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that." He stopped. "Actually yeah, I do have to go to the loo, but that's not the reason." They'd reached the landing. The door to Ginny's childhood bedroom was right in front of them, closed. "I've never been inside before," said Harry. "In your room I mean."

Ginny nodded. "I know. But you've been in my flat, in my bed. This is more or less the same thing." Harry seemed sweetly nervous, and Ginny suspected she knew the reason. She touched his arm. "But it's not exactly the same, is it?"

Harry shook his head. "I always wondered what it looked like inside," he said softly. "Before. When I didn't . . . or when I had . . . when I fancied you, all those years." He gave her a sheepish smile. "And every time I'd walk up the stairs to Ron's or to the loo, and I'd pass your room, I'd think about . . . things. About you inside, and what you might be wearing, or doing, or thinking." He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping even further. "And sometimes I'd imagine . . . if I were to knock on your door, you'd let me in. And we wouldn't be . . . I mean, we might . . . do things. Even though in real life we didn't . . . you know."

Ginny shivered. "I do know," she said. She turned and opened her door then reached up and took the cups of Firewhiskey out of the air. "Go up and use the loo," she ordered. "And when you're done, come back down here. And knock."

Harry blew out a breath. "Okay," he said. He shuffled for a moment, and adjusted himself. "Yeah. I'll umm, I'll knock." He leaned forward as if to give Ginny a kiss and then pulled back. "I don't know if I should, umm . . ." He shook his head and rocked back and forth on his feet. Ginny gave him a slight push towards the stairs.

"Go, Harry," she said, trying to let a bit of her old irritation creep back into her voice. "Or I'll have to hex you."

Harry gave her his old cheeky grin. "Right. Don't want that." He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Ginny." For a moment when he touched her, his character wavered; he rested his hand against her hair a beat longer than necessary. Then he nodded to himself and the gleam returned to his eye. "I'll try not to be too loud coming back down the stairs; I wouldn't want bother you." Without waiting for a reply, he spun around towards the stairs.

Ginny watched him go. "Prat," she called after him. He chuckled softly but did not look back. Ginny quickly walked into her room and closed the door.

HPHPHPHP

Harry used the loo quickly and tried to control his breathing; usually when he'd gotten this aroused at the Burrow, he'd take the time in this very room for a wank. Now he just had to figure out how to get back downstairs and into the safety of Ginny's bedroom without anyone else seeing the bulge in his trousers. He suddenly felt 16 again, waiting for one of the twins or whomever to get out of the shower so that he could get in and take care of the fact that Ginny had knocked against his hip or leaned over him at the table or rolled her eyes before chasing him out to the broomshed, or any of another dozen interactions that caused heat to rise in his face and elsewhere. He didn't think any of the Weasleys had realized it at the time; there was no way he'd have been able to avoid the joking or jabs if they had. But now he just hoped that the rest of the family was distracted enough with both alcohol and another warm body to be busily engaged somewhere other than on the stairway between the bathroom and Ginny's bedroom. For good measure, Harry sent a detection spell in that direction, and only when it came up empty did he dare leave the loo.

A single glass of whiskey was floating outside Ginny's door. He took a deep breath and then a large sip, letting the steam dissipate before knocking. "Oi, Ginny, are you in there?" he called.

The door jerked open and Harry's breath hitched. Ginny's hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing an old, stretched-out Harpies t-shirt that reached nearly to her knees. He remembered it from earlier visits to the Burrow, and he also remembered when she'd stopped wearing it, after he'd accidentally walked in on Molly telling her daughter that "maybe that particular top should be reserved for more private moments." He still remembered the horrified look on Ginny's face when she realized Harry had overheard the lecture; she hadn't spoken to him the rest of the day. For his part, Harry'd had to escape to the Burrow's loo not once but twice to try to get the image of Ginny's barely-covered breasts out of his mind.

Indeed, this time Harry didn't need to use his imagination to know exactly what GInny's nipples were doing behind the thin fabric. But before he could consider it any more, she gave a huff of annoyance.

"What do you want, Harry? I was getting ready for bed when you interrupted me." Ginny's voice was so familiarly irritated that Harry almost took a step back. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared. "Well?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Can't a bloke come say goodnight?" he asked, the annoyance in his tone matching hers. "Honestly, you complain all the time that Ron and I don't include you enough, and now I try to do something nice and you act like you're ready to hex off my bits." He crossed his arms, copying her stance.

Ginny appraised him cooly, her gaze sliding down below his waist. "As if I could even find your bits," she muttered. She took a step back. "Fine, come say goodnight, if you must. Just . . . close the door behind you. I don't want Ron barging in to interrupt and dragging you up to his room for a secret meeting or something." Her voice wavered for a moment.

Harry grabbed the floating glass and followed Ginny into her room, carefully shutting the door behind him but making no move to either seal or silence it. "If the thought of having me here is so repugnant, maybe you should keep drinking," he said roughly. His eyes darted around the small space, taking in the posters on the walls, the small desk tucked under a window overlooking the garden, the wardrobe. He didn't dare look at the bed.

Ginny took a long drink and then let the cup float away again. "Not repugnant," she said, her voice quite steady despite the gulp of whiskey. "More like . . . aggravating." She took a step closer.

He raised his eyebrows. "If I'm aggravating, then you're exasperating," he said, taking his own step forward. "I mean really," he continued, keeping his voice measured and conversational. "Didn't your mum tell you not to wear that shirt except for . . . private activities?" He couldn't quite keep the stutter out of his voice. Ginny licked her lips.

"You're infuriating, Potter," she said. "I didn't ask you down here. But here you are anyway, and now you're telling me that my clothing is not appropriate?" She put her hands on her hips. "What if I was about to engage in a private activity of my own, and you just interrupted me? That's certainly not my fault." She huffed and sat down on her bed, immediately scooting back to lean against the pillows. Her shirt rode up past her thighs and Harry could see that she wasn't wearing any knickers. Ginny gave him a smirk.

"Well, you've said your goodnight," she said. Her hand drifted down between her legs. "Are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going up to bed?"

In response, Harry shot several spells at the door. "Oh, I'm watching," he said. He pulled over Ginny's desk chair and sat down, stretching and threading his hands together behind his head. "Don't let me interrupt anything."

"Well . . . fine. Watch then," Ginny said heavily. Her fingers swirled and dipped. "I don't care." She wiggled her bum into the mattress and closed her eyes. "Just don't bother me." She bent her knees and let them fall open a little wider. Harry could see everything she was doing; hell, she'd even taught him what she liked best and now he could identify every touch, dip, and thrust of her fingers against her skin. He even recognized which movement caused her to make certain sounds. He swallowed and shuffled on the chair.

"Taking notes there, Harry?" Ginny sounded a little breathless, but managed to maintain the snark in her tone. "Maybe one day you'll be lucky enough to find a witch who'll agree to let you do this to her."

"And maybe you'll find yourself a wizard," Harry shot back easily, pleased with the steadiness in his voice. It was no good, though; one more dip of Ginny's fingers, one more groan, and he was no longer able to keep his hands resting casually behind his head. He gripped himself through his clothing at first but by the time Ginny bucked her hips Harry was already undoing his trousers and pushing them off onto the floor. His shirt and pants followed and he grasped himself, stroking in time to the movements of Ginny's fingers. Her breathing sped up and she lifted her hips off the bed as she thrust, making a soft sound as she did.

Harry tried to keep from making any noise of his own, but when Ginny mumbled something that sounded a lot like his name he couldn't stop himself from speaking up.

"What was that Ginny? Did you just say my name? Why would you be thinking of me right now?" Harry forced his voice to tease but he knew Ginny could hear how breathless he was.

Her eyes flew open. "Didn't I tell you not to . . . ohhh." Ginny's admonition died in her throat as she took Harry in from head to toe, stopping for the longest time at the place where his hands held his erection, jutting out at her. She took a deep breath.

"I bet you aren't having trouble finding my bits now, are you?" Harry continued. He stood up from the chair and walked to stand over Ginny. "Do you still want to hex them?"

Ginny stared at him a long moment and then abruptly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed so her face was at his waist. "I suppose I'll have to do something else to get you to shut up, won't I?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer she leaned forward and took him in her mouth, putting her hands on his bum to pull him closer.

Harry tried to respond in kind. "Seems like that's actually how I get you to stop . . . oh fuck, right there." His hips bucked and he put his hands on Ginny's head. She sucked harder, pushing her tongue against the underside of his penis and Harry' s knees almost buckled. "Ginny . . ." he groaned. This time, there was no irritation at all in his tone. Ginny pulled her mouth away and looked up at him. The silence stretched.

"I need you, Harry." She grabbed his hands and pulled him down to the bed. Harry stared at her a long moment, feeling as the atmosphere in the room changed. The quilt on Ginny's bed was embroidered with yellow and white flowers and it looked exactly like Harry had imagined it would when he used to fantasize about being here. He smelled Ginny's shampoo and Firewhiskey and the muskiness of her sex and for a moment Harry was so overcome that he had to close his eyes.

"I love you so much," he whispered. Wordlessly, Ginny lay back down and Harry balanced himself above her on his elbows. He entered slowly and deliberately, sliding his body along hers until they were lying pressed together, face to face. Harry ignored the urge to thrust, instead dipping his head down for a kiss. It started softly but then Ginny hummed and opened her mouth and he let himself get lost. His tongue tangled with hers and then drifted along her jaw, up to her temple, and back to her lips. He'd started moving, he realized several minutes later, or maybe it had been longer, but time didn't matter. Ginny raised her hips to meet him and moved her hands restlessly on his back. She was mumbling again, and he heard her say his name with so much love and desire that he almost came undone right then. Instead he dropped his head down to Ginny's shoulder, his breath ragged against her skin.

"Come for me," he gasped, moving his hand down between them. "Let yourself go."

"Only if . . . you come with me," Ginny responded. Her eyes found his.

"Anywhere," he agreed. He felt pressure building. "I'll come anywhere with you."

HPHPHPHP

Epilogue

Mrs. Weasley had outdone herself with the cake, a masterpiece of pink and silver flowers and hearts and stars that twinkled and spun. One-year-old Victoire sat in her mother's lap, entranced with the attention while around her the family ooh'ed and ahh'ed and clapped. Harry slung an arm around Ginny's shoulder and pulled her chair closer to his so that he could kiss the side of her face. She leaned against him and threaded her fingers through his. He could feel her contentment.

"All right, then?" he asked her in an undertone.

She nodded against his chest. "I'm sure," she said. "As sure as you were."

Harry kissed her again. "I know. I think it's absolutely right."

"Oi, Harry, you're on the cover again? When is this story going to be old news already?"

Fred was waving the latest cover of Witch Weekly, the front of which was adorned with Harry's image, grinning rather sheepishly as his Arrow's uniform morphed into a set of Auror's robes and then back again. It's Official! screamed the headline.

Harry shrugged. "Hopefully this is the last one, now that it's all done," he said. He took a drink of pumpkin juice. "But Zoya Bellows did a good job with the article; she was really able to capture the reasons it was time for me to leave professional Quidditch and go back to the Aurors. I love to fly, but I love chasing Dark Wizards even more." He squeezed the arm around Ginny. "Time to leave the League to newer and better players, I think. And don't worry, I suspect that by next week, Dam'll be on the cover. He's finally dating our publicist exclusively, you know."

As the assembled guests devolved into discussion about this development, Molly gave Harry a fond smile. "I've never seen you happier," she said. "But I'll admit, I will miss seeing your poster in the kitchen. It was nice having a familiar face flying back and forth."

Harry looked at Ginny, his eyes searching. After a moment, she nodded.

"Actually mum, I think that another familiar Quidditch face can be arranged." Ginny had raised her voice above the general din, and everyone slowly quieted.

"What's that, dear?" asked Molly. She pulled her eyes fully away from her granddaughter and the mess she was making with the frosting and looked at Ginny.

Ginny took a deep breath. "I'm umm, I wanted to let you all know that I'm . . . I'm leaving the Aurors. Well, partly leaving." Harry moved his hand down to squeeze her thigh in support. "I'm going to play for the Holyhead Harpies. As a Chaser."

Voices around the table exploded. Ginny let them wash over her and didn't even try to respond until Harry shot his wand into the air. Instantly, there was silence. "Why don't we let Ginny explain?" he said. His voice made it obvious that he already knew what was going on.

Ginny nodded. "I don't know if you know it, but I had a tryout with the Harpies over two years ago. She wanted me to come play Chaser for her then." She looked around the table at her family. "But I wanted to be an Auror."

"And they hired that Adoria Box instead," broke in Ron. He shook his head. "And look how that turned out?"

George smirked. "I heard the only team looking at her now is the Canons," he said. "Wonder what she'll look like in Orange?"

While Ron sent his spoon flying across the table at his brother, Bill leaned forward. "Continue, Ginny," he said, "because I'm not sure how much longer mum will be able to keep her mouth shut."

Ginny chanced a look at her mother. Molly didn't look upset or on the verge of lecturing and her calm expression was all Ginny really needed to see. She smiled. "I wanted to be an Auror," she said. "It was really important to me, after everything I'd been through. And I liked it a lot."

"And you were brilliant at it," broke in Harry. Ginny rolled her eyes and he gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just really proud."

Ginny kissed him. "Me too," she said quietly before turning back to her story. "I've been doing some work with the Quidditch League," she said. "They've had some trouble with what at first seemed to be over-enthusiastic fans, but some their behaviors have gotten more concerning. I was flying with the Harpies, helping make sure none of their equipment had been hexed, and when I landed, Gwenog asked me if I was interested in another try-out. She said she particularly wanted me not only for my flying ability, but my Auror training. I got the offer three days ago and I decided . . . " she looked at Harry. "Actually, we decided, that I should take it." She smiled. "I'm a Harpy."

A/N: And, there you go. I can't believe this is done and that it ended up as long as it did. I never thought I'd have another story like In Case of Emergency in me to write, and although this one felt very different in plot and characterization, my affection for the RC Harry and Ginny is pretty close to how about feel about them in ICE. I so, so appreciate all the support I received, whether in the form of reviews, discussion in the Discord, likes and favorites, and of course, my cheerleader Deadwoodpecker. It feels very good to click the "complete" box. Now back to Servant of Death, which definitely needs some love. And I have another story mapped out in my head. It's a departure for me, so we'll see where it goes. Take care, everyone.