A/N: So, the ending isn't perfect and there are things I'd like to tie up better and make clearer at some point but I had to get this out there and out of the forefront of my mind so I can hopefully continue on with my chapter fic… which I am working on, it's just slow going and I've been playing phone tag with someone from HR regarding a prospective job for the last week.

I have all sorts of reasons why I haven't written anything in nearly a year, but this is breaking that streak and hopefully in the time it takes to download the new version of iTunes and sync my new iPod I will have half a chapter down and will be able to update more soon. =)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a computer that fights every time I try to use the letter "V" and an ipod that was my Thanksgiving present to myself.

For the second time that night, the twenty-year old redhead rocked her niece to sleep in the chair that had been in her family for generations and she wondered at the way her life was turning out. It wasn't that she didn't love the two-year-old, for the little girl in her arms was the most precious thing in Ginny's world, but she had never thought that she would be feeding her motherly instincts so young in life. Young women her age were supposed to go out dancing and drinking and getting laid by random men, Ginny knew this from her many girlfriends (that she was not really sorry to admit she was drifting away from the more time passed). There was a problem in that scenario for Ginny- well, several actually, not the least of which being her overly protective older brothers. Ginny could take care of them easily enough if she wanted to, though. The simple fact of the matter was that she simply wasn't interested in that sort of life.
Ever since her niece had made a surprise appearance in the world a few years ago, Ginny found herself loving the little girl more than she thought any one person had the capacity to love. Her priorities shifted to what would be best for Kayla rather than herself, even if that included putting her own life off for a bit while the girl's parents worked their asses off to support the child they were entirely unprepared for and needed her to take care of the little girl.
Kay was, quite simply, her aunt's little girl. Not only did she look remarkably like her aunt (more than one person commented on the fact that she looked more like Ginny than her own parents, which led to some interesting encounters when strangers saw the two together), but she shared the same firecracker personality and angelic smile Ginny herself had used on more than one occasion when she landed herself in trouble. The two shared a bond stronger even than that of Hermione and her daughter, though Ginny would never say it aloud to her sister-in-law because she knew it would break her heart (not that Hermione was unaware of the fact- she was a brilliant woman). Though the words were never spoken, the entire family (and beyond) knew of Kayla's affinity for her aunt. It was not uncommon for the little girl to bury herself into Ginny's shoulder when the boisterous lot got together, or for Ginny to be the one to change the girl's nappy and she certainly could get her to sleep easier than anyone else could. The only problem Ginny saw with the entire situation was that her little princess wasn't actually hers.
As the girl's breathing regulated and she heard soft snores coming from the little body, Ginny carefully stood up and walked over to the little girl's bed, and being careful not to trip over the many stuffed animals surrounding it, set her down and pulled the covers up just an inch or two shy of her neck. She kissed the little girl's forehead, and as she always did, whispered "Good night Princess. I love you always and forever and I will always be here whenever you need me." When she turned around to begin walking to the door, she grabbed her chest and let out a short gasp.
"Harry, you scared me." She said quietly upon reaching the hall and shutting the bedroom door most of the way.
"Sorry," he replied sheepishly, "I just wanted to see your magic touch in action. Did you know that girl will stay awake playing with me until midnight when I watch her?"
"I'd heard something along those lines, yes." Ginny replied with a smile as she began heading back to the living room.
"So why does she sleep for you? What do you do differently?" Harry voiced the question the entire family had been asking themselves for some time now. Ginny paused briefly to consider how to answer him as she continued down the stairs.
"Harry, she spends almost all of her waking hours with me, and quite a few of her sleeping ones as well. She is the most precious thing in my world and she knows it. It feels safe and natural for her to fall asleep on my chest." She said as they were just outside the living room.
"Hmm…" Harry said, pondering what she just said, "I can see your point. I wouldn't have any objections to falling asleep on your chest either." He said, waggling his eyebrows at her in a joking manner.
"Harry!" several voices exclaimed at his announcement. The man in question turned beet red as he turned to Ginny.
"Did I really say that that loudly?" He asked her in a whisper.
"Apparently." She whispered back. "Be careful where you choose to sit." She advised, looking around the room at the various faces her family members were wearing. Harry laughed, and then quickly sobered as he too looked at all the male Weasleys in the room.
"Shit, Gin, when did you get so many brothers?"
She just laughed at him as she plopped down on the sofa next to Bill, who glared at Harry for suggesting, even in a joking manner, something inappropriate about his baby sister. As he scanned the room, Harry took Ginny's words of advice even more seriously. The twins were in a corner, presumably plotting a joke and Harry would gladly have joined them if he didn't notice a covert glance or two in his direction from that corner. Ron was playing chess with Fred's girlfriend, Angelina Johnson, though he seemed more than willing to take a break to glare at his best friend. There were brothers all around the room, it seemed, and the safest place for the time being seemed to be right next to Ginny herself. She could protect him from them all. He mentally laughed at himself as he made his way over to the sofa- Here he was, savior of the entire damn Wizarding world and he needed protection from a group of people he considered family by a girl- woman- a year younger than himself.
Harry stretched an arm out on the back of the old sofa and surreptitiously leaned forward and whispered "diffuse please" in her ear before seemingly relaxing back like nothing was out of the ordinary. He watched through anxious half-lidded eyes to see what she would do. Much to his surprise, she leaned back, resting her head at the juncture between his shoulder and neck as she continued her conversation with Bill, which was, unsurprisingly, about Harry himself- or rather, her relationship with him.
"Yeah, we've been shagging for a few years. What's it been love, three or four years now?" she asked moving her head to look at Harry, her eyes telling him to play along. He didn't trust that this would turn out at all in his favor, but did what she asked anyway.

"Uh, three I think. Just after your seventeenth birthday, remember?"

"Right." She said agreeing with him before turning back to her brother, well aware that all eyes and ears in the room were focused on her and the nonchalant way she was talking about sleeping with Harry Potter. "It was sweet, really, the way he insisted on waiting until after I was a legal adult. Said he didn't feel right about having relations with a minor, even if I am only a few months younger than he is. He took me to France and we ate at some ridiculously expensive restaurant that had a gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower and when I mentioned I'd like to see the view from there, he pointed out how convenient that was, since he had made arrangements with one of the workers to get us up there alone after dinner. It was wonderful." She said, sighing blissfully in supposed remembrance.

"Uh, Gin, isn't there something else about that night you'd like to mention?" Harry asked, as he received death glares from her brothers for taking her innocence and wistful looks from their wives and girlfriends, wishing their first times had been that romantic.

"You mean the part where you proposed and we ran off to get married and have been keeping it under wraps since then?" She asked innocently.

"No, no the other part." He said in an unnaturally high voice, wondering if she were trying to get him murdered.

"Oh! You mean the part where that was the plot of one of mum's romance novels I nicked and we aren't actually sleeping together, let alone married?"

"Yeah," he said, breathing a heavy sigh of relief, "that would be the part I was referring to."

"Why," a new voice suddenly asked, "didn't you just say that in the first place instead of making us all think we had to beat Harry to a bloody pulp?"

"Well, for one, Ronald, that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun. For another, I was trying and apparently failing to tell you that if I want to bloody shag someone, that's what I'm going to do and you don't have any say about it. I know for a fact that each and every one of you were shagging well before you were twenty." When Ron opened his mouth to protest, Ginny opened hers again, "No, you don't get to say anything to me about sex because, in case you don't remember, you have a two-year-old sleeping upstairs and you're only a year older than I am." Ginny, evidently fed up with the entire discussion and the absurd notion her brothers had that she needed their protection, got up from her (extremely comfortable, if she did say so herself) position at Harry's side and stalked into the kitchen, making sure the swinging door shut behind her and wasn't propped open as her mother usually left it, to get a drink and hopefully let the conversations get somewhere near normal again.

"Sorry, Ginny," a voice startled her out of her thoughts, "I wouldn't have said anything if I knew everyone would hear and make a big deal of it."

"It's not your fault Harry. We've been joking with each other since we were kids still in Hogwarts. Besides, this was a long time coming. They have to learn that I'm not a little girl anymore. Hell, I watch Kay like she bloody well is my own little girl. I know the consequences of unprotected sex and I'm not nearly stupid enough to shag someone I don't care for and don't know will be there in case something does happen, Merlin forbid." Despite her words, Ginny wasn't actually sure she wouldn't welcome having her own child… at least, not if the right man realized he was actually the right man for her and didn't keep shying away when the conversation started getting serious.

"Right, that's good. Well, I better get back before they start thinking I'm trying anything with you and murder me despite your brilliant speech just a minute ago."

"Ok," she said, smiling weakly at him and his discomfort with her brothers- really, they were pussy cats, "thanks for checking up on me."

"What are friends for?" he asked, flashing a grin at her as he stepped back into the once again active room.

Right. Friends. All they ever would be, considering he completely lost his balls when any of her brothers were around them and she certainly wasn't man enough to bring up the fact that she'd known she was going to end up with him since she was fifteen years old and had loved him longer than that. Ginny sighed, took another swig from her glass of water, and walked back into the living room before announcing she was retiring for the night.

"Gin, look, I'm sorry-" one of her brothers started before she stopped him.

"Not tonight. I can't deal with you lot right now. Just, please, realize that I am a grown woman and can take care of myself. You can come groveling for my forgiveness tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to take a nice long bubble bath and go to bed." Ginny turned and took a few steps out of the room before retracing her steps to the quiet room. "Harry, you coming?" she asked saucily.

"No thanks love, another time perhaps." he replied, winking at her, glad they were back to normal at least.

"Shame. Your loss then," she replied, sauntering back out of the room, "but you know where to find me if you change your mind." Ginny called back to him, leaving her brothers in shock.

I'm sure it is my loss, Harry thought to himself, but I'd rather like to keep my bits where they are, thanks. Speaking of my bits…

"Harry, what exactly, is your relationship with Ginny?" Bill asked him, looming dangerously close.

"We're friends. Good friends, yes, but friends without any sort of fringe benefits." He said, making sure it was clear he was not having a physical relationship with Ginny.

"So, you would say, under pain of death that you and our baby sister are just friends?" Bill asked.

"Absolutely not." At the looks he was receiving, Harry hurried to clarify. "For one thing, Ginny said she doesn't want you looking on her as your baby sister, but as an adult. For another, I don't think there's anything 'just' about having a friend like Ginny- someone who's had my back since we were teenagers and has always supported me in everything, even to the front lines of battle, facing death together. Now, if you're done belittling your sister by continuing to treat her as a child that needs protecting, which she quite obviously does not, I'm going to go. It seems my evening isn't turning out nearly as pleasant as I had hoped. Good night boys, ladies. Hermione, tell Ginny I'll stop by tomorrow."

"Good night Harry." Hermione called out to the man stalking out the door as she wondered how the entire situation escalated so quickly that two of her best friends felt the need to leave the party early.

Ginny woke up the next morning and wondered immediately why she was awake. The sun had hardly even begun rising outside her window yet. At the soft patter of little feet nearing her bed, she immediately knew what had woken her.

"Hello princess, how are you this morning?" she asked as she lifted the tiny pajama clad girl along with the pink fuzzy blanket that was clutched to the girl's chest up into the twin sized bed she currently occupied. Once the girl had gotten settled (sprawled entirely over her aunt and making it slightly difficult for the woman to breathe), the two drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, Ginny again wondered what had woken her up, as the toddler was still sleeping snugly against her side. As she blearily opened her eyes, she held in the shriek that would be sure to wake her slumbering niece.

"Harry!" she whispered harshly, though not harsh enough to wake Kayla, "What are you doing in my bedroom at-"she glanced at her bedside clock, "eight in the morning?"

"Come downstairs with me," he whispered back, pleading with his eyes.

"Fine," she sighed, "but there had better be coffee. And know that if it were up to me, I'd be in bed for the next few hours, but your damn puppy eyes won't let me."

"Ginny, love," he said quietly, helping to reposition Kay so she wouldn't wake up at Ginny's absence, "if it were up to me and you truly couldn't resist my eyes, I can assure you that you would be in bed for the next several hours, and you damn sure wouldn't be sleeping."

"Big words, little action, Potter," she said as she stood, smiling down at the child on her bed. "Let's go." She grabbed a hair tie from on top of her dresser and walked out the door, leaving it open to listen for her niece.

The two walked downstairs and sat at Molly's kitchen table in silence. Ginny looked expectantly at Harry and he quickly got up and poured her demanded cup of coffee, adding a bit of milk before handing it to her. Ginny sipped her coffee, wondering what Harry was up to.

Harry, meanwhile had a million thoughts buzzing around his head, though they all went along the same lines. She sure is beautiful when she's sleeping. She's beautiful awake, too. She's great with kids. I bet she'd be good at making them. I wonder what she'd do if she knew I was thinking about her like this. Would she be angry? Happy? Would she reject me?

"Harry?" she asked, evidently tired of waiting on the man who woke her up to decide what he wanted to say.

"You're beautiful." He said, his thoughts spilling out of his mouth as he was jarred from them. "Um, what I mean is, well, what I said, actually." He stuttered, without glancing at Ginny, who had the nerve to be laughing at him.

"I never believed the rumors, but they must have had some merit. You've lost your mind, Potter," Ginny said, wondering what had gotten into her friend, "My hair's a frizzy, knotted mess, there's sleep in my eyes and I'm wearing ratty old pajamas I've had for years."

Harry could not understand how his friend saw herself this way. She was the essence of beauty that morning as he looked upon her. Sure, her hair wasn't as controlled as she usually had it, but it's frizzy, knotted mess as she said was a shining example that she was comfortable with herself around him without putting on the airs she did for other people. Her sleep-ridden eyes showed that she had dreams and life, even when dead to the world. Her old pajamas were the essence of the warmth and comfort of growing up in a home where love is treasured above clothing and possessions. Simply put, Ginny radiated beauty to Harry.

"Come on Gin, seriously-"

"I am serious. I look a mess."

"You know you look amazing no matter what, stop trying to deny it. Besides, it's not just how you look. When I saw you last night, you were telling off your six older brothers about how you were a grown woman and could take care of yourself- and you know nothing's sexier than a woman with gumption- and I got to see you wake up this morning with one of the most beautiful children in the world in your arms. You don't know what it's like to have grown up without someone you could feel safe climbing in bed with when you woke up in the middle of the night. That the little girl I adore more than anyone else can do that with you, one of my oldest and dearest friends- it's a beautiful sight, Gin."

To say Ginny was speechless by the end of his speech would be an understatement. She looked at Harry, wondering if he really saw all that in her as she numbly sipped her coffee cup.

For his part, Harry was wondering what, in the name of Merlin's underpants, had caused him to blurt those thoughts out to her.

"So… did you wake me up for that or is there something else you wanted to talk about?" Ginny asked, once the silence got uncomfortable.

"Well, both really." Harry said vaguely before continuing on. "I had a little chat with Bill last night after you went upstairs."
"Oh sweet Merlin." Ginny muttered. Harry ignored her.

"It really got me thinking about what a great friend you are and how much shit I've put you through just by being close to me- not to mention all the times I've come to you, waking you up wanting to talk." Ginny quirked an eyebrow as that example of 'shit he'd put her through' was what he was doing at the moment. "Yeah, yeah," he said, correctly interpreting her facial expression, "but the point I was trying to get to is why you've done all that. I'm not exactly the model friend someone would want to deal with that for in order to get a great friend back. I'm just… me."

"Are you suggesting you think I've gone through the past decade the way I have because I was only interested in the famous Harry Potter and not, as you say, just you?"

"No, no, not at all. I just… I want to know why you would."

"Well Harry," Ginny said slowly, gathering her out-of-control thoughts to her, "We're friends and I love you. The day you saved my life, you became much more personal than 'the great Harry Potter' and in the time since then, we've shared enough difficult experiences that I couldn't imagine not having you in my life now. Even if you do wake me up in the middle of the night or early in the morning to talk."

"But why get to that place? What made you decide to stay?"

"Besides the fact that my family reached out and decided you belong with us and I was stuck with you?" she asked, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work and she quickly continued on. "Well, I could see that you needed me, and I needed you. I was still a child, as you were, but we had both faced a darkness that few others our age could fathom. I needed you to help me overcome the darkness, and I could see that you needed me to remind you to be young- so many burdens had already been placed on you at that time. You just needed someone to love you and I knew somehow that I was that person, even if you wouldn't recognize me as such right away."

"You are too amazing, Ginny." Harry said, grasping her hand across the table. The two sat like that for some moments before Ginny turned the cards on him.

"Why did you decide to continue putting up with me, even after all was said and done?"

"Besides the fact that your family reached out and decided I belong and I was stuck with you?" he asked, echoing her words from a few minutes earlier, suddenly finding the humor in them. "You were right. I needed you and you needed me. We're good together. Besides, it's like you said earlier. You're my friend and I love you." Ginny heart constricted at his kind words, knowing he meant them, but not in the same way she did, which made all the difference. Despite her heart twisting about, Ginny smiled brightly at him and his declaration of true friendship. She squeezed his hand tightly before letting go and holding her coffee mug with both hands.

"What's on your mind?" Harry asked, suddenly aware that his friend, despite answering the questions that had burning at the forefront of his mind, wasn't nearly as Ginny as she should have been.

"What makes you think there's something on my mind?" Ginny asked evasively.

"Your eyes." He said, really looking at her for the first time in a while. He didn't say anything else. He knew she would tell him what it was when she got her thoughts gathered coherently. Several minutes later, he was shocked by the honesty of the question she asked.

"Have you ever thought about the two of us in a romantic sense?" She gazed at him, searching his face for an answer while waiting on the words to come.

"Do you want the one-hundred percent honest answer or what I've tried to convince myself the answer is?" he asked, knowing what her response would be before he even asked.

"One hundred percent honest." She said, fearing yet looking forward to the answer to the question that had been plaguing her for years.

"Nearly every day of my life since I realized you were more than just my best friend's little sister."

"Why didn't you ever do or say anything?" she asked, hope fueled while thinking of all the wasted time they had spent.

"Why do you think I started joking with you about a physical relationship? That was more a gauge of your attitude towards me than it was about humor. Why did I never take things further than that? I thought about it and it was never worth the risk of something tearing us apart." Harry paused before a thought occurred to him. "What about you? Did you ever…" he trailed off, knowing she knew what he was saying anyway.

"I- yeah, of course I did. I'm a girl. Every girl at least thinks about her good male friends that way once in her life, even if she does discard the notion. I never did. Discard it, that is. Really, it's always been you." Both sat in silence, digesting what had been said.

"What now?" Neither Harry nor Ginny were actually certain who spoke the words that were on both their minds, but Harry answered nonetheless.

"I'm still not sure if what we could have is worth what could happen if it doesn't work out."

"I thought you were a Gryffindor. Aren't you supposed to be brave?"

"Isn't it brave to let go of what I've dreamt of to keep sacred something that is better than almost anything else I could imagine?"

"Isn't it brave to follow your heart when you know it could bring you untold happiness?"

"Ginny…" he sighed.

"Harry."

"I just don't know."

"Well, know this: If we move on today, deciding to remain friends and that nothing else will come of our relationship, I will put this conversation, and the dogged belief I've held that you are the only one for me out of my mind and I will move on. I promise you that. I'm not trying to give you an ultimatum. I just want you to know what you risk losing in the future, should you decide that today."

"You really are beautiful, you know." Harry said reveling in the utter sincerity and emotion she put forth, that she had for their entire friendship. She was always completely herself and it was always precious, even if he didn't fully appreciate it until that moment.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm in love with you and I can't pass the opportunity to be with you up just because I'm afraid of something that might never happen."

"Good." She said, a giant smile making its way across her face.

"That's all you can say? Good?" Harry asked joking.

"Yeah, well, I can think of something else I'd rather be doing with my mouth instead, so 'good' is the best I can come up with at the moment."

Before she was entirely sure of what was happening, Harry made his way around the table and was lifting her up to her feet. "I sincerely hope what you're thinking and what I'm thinking is the same thing." He said, drawing her close and letting his lips hover ever so slightly above hers. Ginny quickly closed the gap between their mouths and kissed him until she was grinning again and pulled away slightly.

"Was that what you had in mind?" she asked, reveling in the sheer rightness she felt in that moment of being held in his arms, knowing that he was hers and she was his.

"Something along those lines, yes." He said, dotting gentle kisses all over her face and neck before finding a particularly sensitive spot and focusing his attentions there. Ginny reveled in the feeling of Harry's lips on her neck and the knowledge that he felt about her the way she felt for him.

"You really are beautiful, you know." He said against her skin, causing her to giggle at the tickle of his breath.

"So you've said." She replied, pulling his mouth back up to hers. So wrapped up in the kiss was she that she almost didn't notice when something was different. She sighed and pulled back away. "Kayla's up."

"I didn't hear anything."

"She's looking around my room for me. She'll be downstairs in a minute and I'd rather she gets dressed first or there'll be no getting her back upstairs when she sees her Uncle Harry." Ginny said, reluctantly pulling away.

"I still don't hear anything." Harry said, keeping her rooted at his side.

"That is because you don't listen for her all the time. I know what to listen for." Ginny said, loving the contact with Harry, but knowing that with each passing moment her niece was getting closer to coming downstairs. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She said, kissing him quickly then breaking away to get Kay ready for the day. As she reached the stairs, she saw that she was right and the girl was slowly making her way down the staircase.

"Come on baby, turn around. We have to get dressed and brush our hair." At her command, the girl turned and headed back up the stairs she had been working to get down.

Ginny changed her niece's nappy then let the girl play in her dresser drawers while she decided what she was going to wear for the day- something nice but not dressy she thought, deciding upon a pair of fitted jeans and a light green pullover. Kay, upon seeing her aunt's outfit of the day, pulled out a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans to wear.

"Excellent choice love," Ginny said, pulling the shirt over the girl's head. After making sure her niece was dressed, including socks and a pair of play shoes, Ginny looked at her reflection. She made a face when it told her she should put a bit more effort into her appearance, and then proceeded to do exactly that. She took Kayla into the bathroom and set the girl in front of her on the counter. She sprayed the girl's hair with a detangling spray Hermione bought then handed her a small comb to play with while she set about working on her own hair. Unable to decide on a hairstyle she felt would look absolutely perfect, Ginny pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and decided that if Harry couldn't handle her hair as it usually was, he wasn't cut out to be her boyfriend anyway. Boyfriend. Ginny giggled at the thought, then giggled some more at the thought of a boy making her giggle.

When she was satisfied that there were no stray bumps in her hair, Ginny took the comb from her niece and began sorting through the curly locks that the girl had unfortunately inherited from her mother. Once all the knots were out of the girl's hair (which took a lot of patience and quite a bit of gentle coaxing), she separated it into two sections on the top of her head and gave the girl pigtails. Once both girls were ready, Ginny pulled her niece from the counter then told the girl that there was a surprise waiting for her downstairs. The toddler took off toward the stairs and Ginny followed close behind, wanting to see both her niece's reaction to her 'Uncle Harry' and Harry's reaction to herself.

At hearing the footsteps on the stairs, Harry turned to see the two most important females in his life coming down them and he walked towards them, lifting up Kayla when she ran at him and giving her a smacking kiss on the cheek. Ginny paused on the steps to observe Harry with her niece and decided she quite liked the picture the two of them made and mentally inserted herself in it. Deciding she liked that picture even more, Ginny quickly walked over to where Kay was babbling at Harry from her perch on his waist and wrapped her own arms around both of them, kissing Harry soundly on the mouth before pulling away slightly.

"I love that I can do that." She said softly, burrowing into his chest.

"Mmm, me too, but there's something you should know." He replied just as softly.

"What's that?" she asked, looking up at him in a way that made his heart nearly burst with joy.

"Your brother Bill popped in just a few minutes ago and has been sitting at the kitchen table waiting for you to come down. I'd wager a guess that he's looking at me like I should be running right now." At Harry's first sentence, Ginny blushed scarlet, and when he finished she groaned, attempting to bury herself in him even further.

"But it was so nice with just us." She said before turning so she could see her brother. "Good morning Bill. How are you today?"

"I'd be better if I didn't have the feeling my little sister and her boyfriend had been lying to me last night and guilted me into coming over to apologize for jumping to conclusions that are actually correct." He said gruffly. Despite not wanting to face Bill at the moment, neither Harry nor Ginny could help the smiles that rose to their faces at the word 'boyfriend.'

"Come on Bill," Ginny said in a tone that told him she clearly wasn't happy with him- again- "let's go talk in the living room. It's more comfortable." Bill looked like he wanted to argue, but Ginny was already leading Harry into the living room, with Kayla still firmly attached to his hip.

"We didn't lie to you, Bill." Ginny started, knowing the best way to get it over with was to start talking. Sensing the tension in the room as her "Unca Bull" sat stiffly in the armchair near the couch her "Aunt Gee" and "Unca Arry" were perched on, having moved her to Harry's lap rather than his hip, Kayla scooted so she was lying across her aunt, knowing nothing bad would happen with the red-haired woman's protection.

"We haven't slept together- not that it would be any of your business if we had- and this-" she said, gesturing between herself and Harry, "has only recently been fleshed out."

"How 'fleshed out' has it become?" Bill asked, narrowing his eyes at Harry.

"That's none of your damn business." Harry answered, narrowing his eyes back at him. Ginny picked up what she was saying the night before: "Harry and I are both adults and can make our own decisions in regard to our relationship. If you don't want to accept that fact, that's fine, but I don't have to listen to it."

"What's gotten into you, Ginny? You used to listen when I had advice for you, not tell me you wouldn't speak to me if it wasn't what you wanted." He said, listening between the lines to what Ginny was saying.

"You used to offer advice and not tell me how to run my life- or how not to run it. Advice is fine for someone still figuring out who they are and what they want from life and how to get it. What's not fine is telling a fully grown witch that she can't be with the person she's in love with because you're more comfortable seeing her as a child. In case you haven't noticed, Bill, I'm not a child anymore. I look after a child because her parents made a decision neither one was really ready for. I know what I'm doing when I decide something in regard to my life." As if she somehow knew she was being talked about, Kayla looked up at her aunt and squished the woman's cheeks together and kissed the puckered lips.

"Oh, thank you, Princess," Ginny said, smiling down at the precious little girl.

"Hungee!" Kayla proclaimed, earning a laugh or chuckle from all in the room.

"Ok, let's go get you something to eat." She said, standing up. Directing her attention back at her brother, she said, "We'll finish this in a few minutes." Both men had a clear view into the kitchen and watched Ginny settle her niece into the high chair in the corner before setting about getting breakfast ready. She poured a bowl of cereal and set that with a small spoon in front of her niece. She poured her own bowl and ate it while Kayla played around with what she was given. When Ginny was finished with her cereal, she drank the last of the milk from the bowl and put her bowl in the sink. She then grabbed a banana from the bowl on the table that her mother always kept stocked with fresh fruit, just in case someone needed a quick snack as they were passing through. She peeled it, then broke it in two, eating one half and setting the other in front of her niece just as the little girl was tipping the bowl up to drink the last remaining milk, which Ginny swore up and down to Hermione that she didn't know where the girl learned it from.

Both Harry and Bill were struck with the routine of the morning, and the comfort the two girls seemed to get from each others' presence. Bill's heart constricted as he clearly saw his baby sister acting as an adult and realized that his niece really did see her as a mother figure and that Ginny filled that role wonderfully. Harry, coming to the same realization, was filled with warmth at the vision of many more mornings such as this one and the thought that maybe it would be their own children in that picture with her and he would finally have a real, loving family of his own.

"Are you done eating, Princess?" Ginny asked her niece. As the girl raised her arms for her aunt to pick her up, Ginny laughed. "You know we have to clean up first, silly girl."

At these words, Harry and Bill both got panicked looks on their faces, having had to wash the girl up after a meal before and endure her screaming and writhing around until the job was finished. Instead of the screams that they were expecting, however, their ears were met with shrieks of laughter. Harry cautiously opened his eyes to see how in the world Ginny was evoking such a response at washing up. He was met with a picture of Ginny holding a washcloth in one hand and shaking Kayla's hand vigorously with it until her tiny hand slipped out of Ginny's larger one. Ginny was, of course, shaking her body vigorously and making the requisite funny noises. This continued with both hands and as she washed the girl's face, though there really wasn't anything on it, until Kayla grabbed the cloth to clean up by herself. Ginny let go and watched as the girl smeared the remains of her breakfast all around the tray of her high chair.

"Good job helping!" Ginny exclaimed and gently took the washcloth away from her niece, setting it down on the tray. "Ok, ready to get down?" This time, when Kayla lifted her arms, Ginny obliged by picking her up and setting her on the floor, quickly wiping the mess on the tray while the little girl got adjusted to being on her feet again.

Ginny walked back into the living room where her brother and Harry were sitting, looking at her as though they were seeing her through fresh eyes. As she sat down and Kayla climbed into her lap, Bill quietly spoke up.

"You're not a little kid anymore, Gin."

"I know that, Bill." She said, trying to figure out why he was telling her what she had been trying to get through his head just minutes before.

"You can take care of yourself and a baby and you do it well. You- you don't need me to help you anymore."

"No, Bill, I don't." Ginny said gently, beginning to understand where he was coming from, "but you will always be my big brother and I'll love you for it. And it's not like I'll never need your help with anything, but I can make my own decisions regarding my relationships and I need you to let me."

"I think I can do that." He agreed, and then turned to Harry, "but I better not hear of you doing anything to hurt my little sister."

"I won't." Harry promised, looking from Bill to Ginny and smiling softly down at her.

When he saw the look Harry was giving his sister, part of Bill wanted to tear the two apart and keep the girl he helped raise from ever seeing the man who looked at her so seriously again. Lust was one thing- he could understand twenty-one-year-olds lusting after each other, but the level of commitment and devotion in Harry's eyes was something Bill was completely unprepared to see directed at the girl whose nappies he had changed and who he had taught to read and ride a broom.

"I can take Kay for a few hours, if you want me to." He said, allowing the mental picture of his sister to grow up a little bit and be in a real relationship with someone who wanted only the best for her.

"Thanks Bill." Ginny beamed at him, standing up, "I'll just go get a bag ready for you to take with you." As she hurried upstairs, Ginny reflected on what her brother thought he saw to change his mind about her. Deciding the reason wasn't important, just that he came to the realization she was an adult, Ginny grabbed a bag from her niece's closet and filled it with plenty of diapers, wipes, and two changes of clothes, just in case. She raced back downstairs and grabbed a spill-proof cup and filled it with juice before casting a perpetual cooling charm on it.

"Here you go. You've got everything you need there for whatever you two are going to do, but if there's something else you need, don't hesitate to stop in and get it or ask me for it... what have you three been doing? I've only been out of the room a few minutes." Ginny asked, getting a good look at the scene before her. Bill and Harry were on their hands and knees with blankets on their backs and stuffed animals riding on top. Kayla seemed to be pulling them around with some sort of string. There were animals spread across the floor that had seemingly fallen off of the boys' backs.

"Hosey!" Kayla cried happily in answer to her aunt's question.

"Are you having fun playing horsey with your uncles?" Ginny asked, silently summoning a camera from the cabinet and taking several pictures of the boys as horses being led around by a two-year-old. "Come on, kids," she said a few minutes later, "It's time to clean up."

"No! Don' wanna!" came the cries from the little girl as she continued pulling the strings connected to her 'horses'. The horses, however, reared up and looked at Ginny to see what she would do at the blatant disobedience.

"Kayla, it is time to clean up your animals. Your Uncle Bill was going to take you away from the house to play today, but he's not going to do that if you have to sit in time-out for not listening."

After thinking about her options, Kayla slowly began picking up the animals scattered around the floor while Bill and Harry put the blankets that were on their backs back onto the backs of the furniture.

"How did you do that?" Bill asked her in awe.

"That? It's easy. I just gave her two options: she could clean up and play with you or she could refuse to clean up and sit in time out and not play with you. I just had to make cleaning up the more appealing option." She answered, keeping an eye on the child's efforts.

"You make it sound so easy." He laughed.

"It is easy. Most of the time, anyway. Sometimes she just wants to be a stinker and make life miserable, but she's usually pretty easy to take care of. What is that?" she asked, peeling the string off Harry before her eyes got wide.

"Kayla Danielle Weasley! You do not play with grandmum's knitting supplies. And you two," she said, turning to the shame-faced boys, "what were you thinking? It's not as if the yarn just fell into her hands and she tied it to the two of you. Why would you let her play with mum's yarn?"

"It wasn't that high up in the cupboard." Harry said weakly. "We figured if we weren't supposed to use it, it would be away with the other yarn and pokey-sticks up top."

"Needles, Harry. They are knitting needles. They weren't up high because mum keeps her current or next project on a shelf she doesn't have to reach to get to." She sighed heavily. "Just collect it all up and I'll set it right again." She didn't forget learning 'the lesson of the yarn' as she had dubbed it, the hard way herself not too long ago, and her mum's patient but stern reaction.

After not too long, the living room was set to rights again and Bill and Kayla were out the door, promising to be back around lunch time. Ginny and Harry sat down on the couch, relaxing in each others' presence. Harry sat with his back against one of the arms and one leg stretched across the sofa with the other dangling off the edge. Ginny was pulled into his embrace with her back against his chest and mimicking his position.

"So," Ginny started after a luxuriously wonderful moment of resting in Harry's arms, "Bill called you my boyfriend."

"Yeah, he did." Harry agreed.

"I realized that we hadn't exactly talked about that part. Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Do you want me to be your boyfriend?" Harry asked, trying to dodge answering directly and showing again exactly how smitten he was with the witch.

"I want to know if you want to be my boyfriend." She answered, beginning to get impatient.

"I want to be your boyfriend." He said softly into her hair and pulling her tighter against his chest. And so much more, he added silently.

"Good, because I want to be your girlfriend." She replied, nestling into his embrace.

"Good." He said simply.

"Good, that's all you can come up with?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, I can think of something else I'd rather be doing with my mouth instead, so 'good' is the best I can come up with at the moment." He said, reiterating her words from earlier in the morning. Ginny turned in his arms so she was facing him.

"Is that right?" she asked, her lips hovering centimeters away from his.

"That's right." He answered, brushing his lips over hers before backing away. "Eating, for one thing," he said, pushing Ginny gently out of his arms. "I haven't eaten yet this morning and I'm starving." Ginny stared incredulously as Harry's form retreated into the kitchen and rooted around in the ice box for something to eat.

"If you're just going to stand in my kitchen and eat, I'm going back to bed." She said, turning and heading back upstairs.

"Gin, come on," she heard around a mouthful of something, "Don't be like that."

"I'm tired Harry. Someone came in my room and woke me up nearly an hour before I would have gotten up otherwise. I'm going back to bed. You can come get me when you're done." She said, knowing how much he could eat and that she could at least get a short nap before he followed her upstairs.

Harry didn't know if this was some sort of trick girls played, seeing if he would follow her… He would, but he was so hungry. Just a few bites and he'd head upstairs.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry trod up the stairs of the Burrow to find his girlfriend's room and wake her up for the second time that morning. When he opened the door, he couldn't help but noticing how cute she was all curled up. He gently walked over to the bed and bent down to her level and ran a hand over her arm.

"Mmmm…" she mumbled sleepily. "Issat you Harry?"

"Yeah it's me. Are you going to wake up now?" he asked softly.

"No… come nap with me." She said blearily.

"Miss Weasley, are you trying to get me in bed with you?" Harry asked, mocking being affronted while toeing his shoes off.

"Mmmhmm… hurry up." She said, pulling him onto the mattress and burrowing back into her comforter. He quickly lay down next to the sleepy witch and draped an arm around her while the other propped his head up. He watched Ginny sleep for a few minutes before he drifted off himself.

Ginny woke up some time later with the distinct feeling that something just wasn't right. She stretched and turned and saw something she hadn't been expecting. There was a boy in her bed! Not just any boy either, Harry Potter, her longtime secret love and one of her best friends in the world. She ran over the events of the morning and realized that it wasn't all a dream as she had been thinking it might have been, but was in fact real. Harry had admitted he loved her as well, and evidently decided to take a nap with her.

Gently, trying not to wake him up, but unable to resist, Ginny ran her fingers along the smooth plains of his face. This is what he's supposed to be like, she thought to herself. Not all stressed with worry lines running across his face. He needs to relax and just be Harry. Hopefully I can help him with that. Her fingers strayed and ran across his lips, feeling the softness of them. She was surprised to feel him place a gentle kiss against her fingers.

"Good morning sunshine." She heard him say softly.

"Good morning yourself," she replied in the same tone, removing her hand from his face until he grabbed it with his own and entwined their fingers, resting their joined hands near his chest.

"Tell me I didn't dream this all up." He said, letting go of her hand to draw her closer to himself.

"If you did, I did too, and I don't want to wake up." She replied, snuggling into his warm body. Harry took the opportunity and bent his head fractionally to kiss her gently on the lips. As he pulled away, Ginny snaked her hand up from its spot next to his heart and around his neck to hold him in place. The kiss quickly escalated until Harry pulled back, groaning.

"Oh Gin, we should stop."
"You don't want to kiss me?" She asked, pouting, wondering what she was doing wrong to elicit such a reaction.

"No, I want to kiss you." Harry was quick to assuage her fears. "I just don't think kissing you like this, in your bed, is the best idea. I want to take things slow and do this right, which is why I think we should stop for now." He accentuated the statement by gently pressing his hips into hers, letting her feel how worked up he was getting just by kissing her.

"Oh." She said, pulling back slightly, unprepared for the revelation of the depth of his desire for her.

"Did I completely freak you out?" Harry asked a moment later as he absorbed the shock still written across her face.

"No. Not completely." Ginny replied, heavily enunciating the last word. "Come on, we should be getting up, though. Bill and Kayla will be coming back any time now and we should at least be working on having something ready for lunch." With that said, Ginny shoved Harry out of her bed; this wasn't really hard to do in her tiny bed. As she looked at him lying helplessly on her floor staring up at her, she felt a strange feeling flow through her. Ginny did the only thing she could think to do and threw a pillow on his face. "Come on, get up already you bum! The day is wasting away on us!"

Ginny stepped over him and headed downstairs, knowing he would follow her in a moment or two. As she heard his steps coming downstairs as she entered the kitchen, Ginny mentally patted herself on the back for knowing so well what he would do.

"You know I'll have to pay you back for that." He whispered into her ear as he came up behind her.

"Oh? And what will you do? Make me eat my own cooking for lunch?" she asked sarcastically, knowing that Harry would never condemn her to such a fate. Her mother's skills did not transfer to her only daughter, something that plagued Molly terribly until she found Harry more than apt in a kitchen and merely needing a bit of direction on how to run a wizarding kitchen as opposed to a muggle one. Since then, Harry has cooked for Ginny whenever he was over and Molly wasn't home.

"I just might do that." He said, recalling the burned chocolate chip biscuits she had made for the previous Christmas which were somehow raw inside. "Or maybe I'll do something much worse." He said ominously, while flexing his fingers in front of her, wrapping his upper arms around her body, proving he could keep her in place if he wanted.

"You wouldn't." she said, slowly stepping out of his embrace as he loosened his hold. Of course he let her go. What fun was a tickle war without the build-up of anticipation? Kind of like sex, he mused, though the thought only excited him further. Ginny mistook the low growl emanating from his throat as one of intimidation and took off, squealing through the house. Unconsciously adopting a somewhat feral grin, Harry began his pursuit.

He hadn't heard her go upstairs, so the first place he looked was in the living room. Sure enough, she was crouched down between two chairs hoping he wouldn't see her and would make his way upstairs allowing her to double back behind him and get him… again. Unfortunately for her master plan, Harry could easily see the grown woman hiding between the chairs.

"There's really not enough there to cover your hiding spot, Gin." He said, slowly advancing toward her, both drawing out the game and making sure he could see all her movements.

Just as he anticipated, she vaulted from a crouch out of her makeshift hiding spot and tried darting around him. Harry grabbed for her, but only caught her arm, twisting her body around toward him. Giggling, Ginny pulled out of his grasp. The force of his abrupt change of direction sent Harry sprawling onto the couch but he just leapt right back to his feet and chased Ginny up the stairs, grinning.

****

Hermione was thankful for the girls who agreed to cover the rest of her shift at St. Mungo's so she could head home at lunch and try to make peace between the Weasley siblings before things got too out of hand. Wondering at the crazy family she had married into entirely too early, she walked in the door and heard… nothing. Unsure if Ginny and her daughter were napping or out somewhere, Hermione walked upstairs to check if anyone was there. As she neared Ginny's room, she heard something entirely unexpected.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed breathlessly. "Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Harry!"

Eyes widening, Hermione quickly backed away from the door and made her way downstairs with her hand clapped over her mouth. Bill walked in with Kayla on his hip moments after Hermione found her way downstairs. Noticing Hermione's shocked expression, he asked what was the matter as he placed the toddler on the floor.

"Ginny… Harry… upstairs" she muttered waving her hand in the general direction of the stairs. A few seconds passed before she realized that wasn't the right thing to say as he barreled past her and quickly made his way upstairs. Hermione apparated in front of Ginny's door and tried to stop her brother-in-law from entering his sister's room.

"Whoa!" they heard Harry exclaim, "You know, you really need a bigger bed if you're gonna switch positions on me like that." Hearing that, Bill pushed his way past Hermione and threw open the door. Quickly covering her eyes, Hermione tried to pull him back but to no avail. At first everything was quiet, then she heard the… laughter?

"Hermione, why are you covering your eyes?" Ginny asked, giggling.

"So I don't see anything I'd have to erase from my memory." She replied succinctly.

"What exactly did you think you'd walk in on?" Ginny asked, a mischievous tone mingling with the laughter.

Cautiously opening her eyes, Hermione saw Ginny straddling Harry and pinning his arms down to the bed. They were both fully clothed, which was a twist Hermione wasn't expecting.

"Um, well… that… only with slightly less… clothing." She muttered. Suddenly aware of their position and how it looked, Ginny quickly crawled off of Harry and they both sat up, unconsciously straightening their attire, with Harry trying valiantly to hide the erection that had grown a bit with Ginny's sudden dominance over him.

"What was going on in here?" Bill asked, finally finding his voice.

"Tickle war." Harry said clearing his throat.

All the pieces started clicking together in Hermione's brain and she couldn't help it. She started giggling. Ginny soon followed, still wound up from all the tickling she had received. Harry and Bill started chuckling along with them.

Kayla made her way into the room and started squealing with laughter along with the grownups, which only served to fuel them more.

Rememer: Reviews are love!