READY TO RUN
Harry+Ginny=whirlwind of emotion.
CHAPTER FOUR: WEASLEY FAMILY PICNIC
Saturday dawned sunny and warm. Ginny woke early, opened every window in her flat, and spent the morning coveting the fresh summer air.
Around eleven, she Apparated to the Burrow. When she appeared in the driveway, she spent a moment or two looking up at her home. It was a place she'd always loved, the simple, rustic charm. Some would think it a dump, she knew, but to her, it was paradise. Draco had never understood that. She'd always known so deep down, but refused to think consciously on it. He thought it was cruddy property and a worthless heap of garbage. She supposed that was one of the things that she'd overlooked about him when they were married.
She didn't bother to knock, just opened the door and called, "I'm home!" She'd meant to say "here" instead of "home", but the latter was just what she felt in her heart.
Torrents of children plowed into the kitchen at the sound of her voice. Shawnie led the barrage, followed by his sisters, then Hannah and Adam, then Charlie's son Carson, Bill's two daughters, Winnie and Jill, and finally Percy's two sons and daughter, who were walking quietly in the rear. Phillip, Paul, and Priscilla were mild mannered and polite if they were anything. Penny and Percy had raised them almost to perfection.
Ginny spread her arms wide to embrace them all. She loved children, and if she had her way, she'd have two or three by now…Stop it, she ordered herself. No use brooding over things she couldn't change.
"Grandpa is outside!" Adam announced. His boyish grin and cow-licked red hair made for an adorable picture. He was the spitting image of his father, with a touch of Katie thrown in for good measure.
"Well, why don't you kids lead me to him?" Ginny extended one hand to Adam, and the other to little Priscilla, the youngest.
Outside, her mother was bustling around the wooden picnic tables, double checking that they were all equipped with plenty of napkins, for the kids and the twins. Bill and Charlie were hovering around the grill with Arthur, their wives a few feet away shaking their heads at the obvious "male bonding" moment. The twins and Ron stood by an old crooked tree, most certainly talking about Quiddich, judging from the animated hand motions that accompanied every breath. And next to them, leaning against the tree, was Harry.
Ginny's breath caught in her throat. He was sipping a pumpkin juice and chuckling at whatever Ron had said. His hair was just as unruly as ever, and she could see his emerald eyes sparkling even from the other side of the yard. She knew the second he spotted her. There was this look that flooded into his eyes, and it stopped her heart. It scared her half to death. She felt the wind blow through her hair, and knew she should be ready to love again, and for a second she thought she could. But this feeling of dread, this heavy knot in her stomach told her otherwise. She wasn't ready to love, she was ready to run.
Since running away was not quite an option, she decided taking a detour over to where her father was attempting to use a Muggle grill.
"Dad, you're going to make the burgers briquettes. You need to take them off now," Bill said, sipping his beer.
Charlie shook his head. "What do you know? I think they need some more time. Damned Muggle piece of garbage," he muttered. "Why didn't we do it the normal way?" His voice was more amused than annoyed.
"Because this is half the fun," Ginny said.
Arthur looked up from the offending grill and beamed. "That's my girl." He stepped over and gave her a hug. "How are you, darling?"
She gave a small smile. "I'm fine, Daddy. Just fine."
He frowned a little, looked her up and down, but didn't say anything. His Ginny was nothing if not resilient.
"Do me a favor and ask Harry and Hermione to come over here for a minute. I need their input with this grill."
"Sure Dad." Swallowing hard, she made her way over to the old tree near the gardens where Harry stood. She sucked in a breath and reminded herself that she never said she loved him…Jeez, had it progressed to that in such a short time? All those feelings that she had for him when she was a girl came tumbling back yesterday, and she suddenly remembered how good falling in love felt.
But with those beautiful feelings and pleasures came pain and broken hearts. She was terribly afraid to love him, but she was more afraid to lose and have her heart shattered again.
"Gin? You look a little pale," Ron said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm? No—no I'm fine. Harry, Dad, er, wants to ask you about Muggle grills," she said distractedly. "And Hermione too. Have you seen her?"
Harry frowned a little at the way Ginny was talking. "I think she went in the house. I'll just go see what your dad needs." He gave her a gentle smile and then crossed the yard.
Why did that sweet, innocent little smile send sparks of heat coursing through her body? Why did she feel so painfully aware of him?
"I need a drink," she announced. Ron frowned at his sister as she poured a generous amount of beer into a glass and drank it down.
"That was excellent, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, patting his stomach. "I couldn't eat another bite."
She chuckled. "Harry dear, how many times must I tell you to call me Molly? You're practically a member of the family." She patted his hand and smiled.
"Why don't we help your mother with the dishes, Ron?" Hermione asked, stacking a few plates.
"Don't even think about it. I won't have my guests clean up. It will only take a minute with my wand." Molly's smile brightened. "Why don't you go for a walk?"
"Great idea, Mum," Ron said, grabbing Hermione's hand. "We'll be back in a bit."
The rest of the family watched in amusement as Ron dragged his wife through the gate amid protests of "We really should give her a hand" and a few seconds later "Oh, Ron…"
Bill threw back his head and laughed. "Those two are hysterical together."
Ginny giggled, and she felt Harry put his hand on hers. Bolts of electricity shot up her arm, and she gave a little shiver.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" His glasses slid down his nose a little, and he reached up with his free hand to push them back into place. She couldn't help but notice those gorgeous green eyes…
"Yes," she breathed. Fortunately, everyone else was avidly engaged in the cleanup and chasing the children around for them to notice how Ginny was behaving.
Harry's smile reached his eyes this time. "Good." He pulled out her chair for her and led the way out of the garden gate.
They walked in silence for a bite, and then came to a path that led into a patch of trees.
"Here," Ginny said suddenly. "There's a clearing and a river a little ways down."
Harry said nothing, but rather nodded and took her hand.
She couldn't help but think that she'd never had these simple moments with Draco. Everything had to be meticulously planned and thought out.
"Let's go on a trip, Draco. I was reading this pamphlet I got at work about some lovely getaways in Ireland. There's this bed and breakfast in Kerry run by and elderly wizarding couple. Don't you think that would be fun?"
Draco barely spared her a glance over his paper. "I doubt it."
She was slightly taken aback by his rudeness. "Excuse me?"
He slowly folded his paper and laid it on the table, taking a sip of coffee before responding to her. "I don't like spur of the moment vacations, elderly couples, bed and breakfasts, or Ireland. Aside from obvious fringe benefits," his eyes traveled down her body, "I would be bored to death. And why travel to do something we could enjoy in our own home?"
"That's a huge turnoff, Draco," she spat. She pushed back from the table and retreated to her—their—room.
He shrugged. "Damn it, Ginny," he muttered. "You make it hard to love you," he yelled after her.
She appeared in the doorway. "What?"
"You make it hard to care about you because you're a damned saint. No one can love a saint. Saints are boring."
Tears glistened in her eyes. How could the man she love hurt her so much?
"Is this it?" Harry asked as he stepped out of the brush. "It's gorgeous out here."
She just nodded. It truly was. The forest gave way to a lush, circular clearing through which ran a sparking brook that tumbled over stray rocks and pebbles.
"When I was a girl, I used to come down here all the time. It would get really hot in the summers, and I'd be so bored. All the boys had someone to play with, another boy to mess around with, but not me. So I'd bring a book and a swimsuit and camp out here all day. Although I hardly ever used the suit," she added as an afterthought.
Harry swallowed hard. The images that that simple sentence conjured up were far from appropriate. She continued, saving him from having to comment.
"I always sat on the same rock." She led him a few more steps. "This rock. I swear it must have an imprint on it from my butt." She laughed, then stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?"
Harry was too busy listening to the blood rush through his head to hear anything else. "What?"
"Shh." She stood still, her hand still in his. This time he actually did hear it—voices. And they sounded like…Ron's and Hermione's.
"C'mon," Ginny whispered.
He wasn't sure Ron would appreciate it if he and Gin barged in on a private moment, but he didn't have a chance to stop her. They reached the side of the clearing, and a few yards away, Ron and Hermione were sitting on a rock on the side of the brook. Ron's back was to them, and Hermione was turned to the side. Ginny dragged him behind a particularly thick tree. They were holding hands and Hermione had a bright smile on her face.
"What—"
"Shh," Ginny warned.
"I could hardly tell you in front of everyone, Ron. I thought you should be the first to know—"
"What is it?" Ron's voice was full of concern. "Are you all right?"
"I'm more than all right. Ron, we're going to have a baby."
Ginny gasped, and cupped her hand over her mouth. Ron and Hermione began kissing, and Harry and Ginny took the opportunity to escape and give them a moment alone. They tried to be quiet as they retreated, but Ginny doubted either of them would notice, as they seemed very…engaged in what they were up to.
They made it out to the dirt road without so much as a peep. Ginny turned to Harry, beaming. "A baby! Isn't it wonderful?"
He smiled at her. She seemed more alive now than she had since he'd come home. She seemed more like the Ginny he'd left behind.
They stopped in the middle of the street. Harry looked down at her. Her curly red hair sparkled in the fading light, and her eyes were full of…love? Happiness? He couldn't tell. But it was so beautiful, and he could hardly stop himself when he leaned down to kiss her.
Her lips met his in a gentle union of heat and tenderness. His hands gripped her waist, and her arms wrapped possessively around his shoulders, deepening the kiss. She hadn't felt so alive, so free for the longest time. She was faintly aware, in the back of her mind that this was the moment she'd dreamed of so often in her youth. She imagined kissing Harry in the Gryffindor common room, the crowd cheering at their long awaited union. But it never happened, until now. Here, on the dirt road a few minutes from her house, where she'd walked a million times, it was finally happening. And it was well worth the wait.
When they finally pulled away, Harry didn't sputter, nor did he apologize. She would have hated it if he did. He simply breathed, "Wow."
"Yeah." It was the biggest response she could muster.
"Ginny—"
"Harry—" she said at the same time.
"That was…nice. Good. Great. Wonderful. I can't think of any more words." He smiled in apology.
"I think that covers it. Maybe if we tried it again, we'd be able to find some better words."
"Agreed."
They started with more fire, more passion this time. Though her lips were swollen from kisses, Ginny continued with power. Harry responded, and through the rubbing of teeth and the mixture of tongue, he finally discovered the part of Ginny he'd missed out on all those years. As a kid he'd been too scared, too stupid to do anything about his less than platonic feelings, and then when he'd graduated and decided he finally would see if Ginny was interested in him, she was already engaged to Draco. So he'd left. The Ministry had offered him a job that would require extensive travel, and he took it, hoping to mend his broken heart on the way.
Suddenly, she pulled away. "Harry—I…"
"Shh." He pressed a finger to her lips. "I understand."
But she knew he didn't. There were so many complications, so many vices still confining her heart. She'd have to explain things to him, and the thought hardly appealed to her. But once she'd felt the weight of his lips on hers, she knew it was time to tell him all the things that she hadn't spoken of for three years.
Hehe. Long chap, for me. Sorry about all the cliffies, but that's what keeps y'all coming back.