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SIYE Time:17:25 on 28th March 2024
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Summer time picnic
By luckyHarry

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Category: Post-OotP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 9
Summary: Ginny Weasley had a need to save Harry Potter. Now that it has worked, she is being rewarded with what she has wanted for a long time.
Hitcount: Story Total: 4593





Author's Notes:
I am reposting this because my wonderful beta cwarbeck made it much better. Hope you like it.




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Ginny Weasley woke suddenly as the smell of bacon and eggs reached her nostrils; she wasn’t related to Ron for nothing. The first sign of food and she forgot everything.

She quickly got dressed and headed downstairs, expecting to find her mother busy at the stove. However, as she reached the last step what she saw dumbfounded her. There at the stove, working diligently, was none other than Harry Potter.

It wasn’t a surprise that he was at the Burrow, for he had been there for about two weeks. The surprise was that he was cooking breakfast for what seemed like an army.

How does Harry know how to cook she thought to herself. Then she realized that he must have been forced to cook for the evil muggles he grew up with.

Oh, how she hated them! It was because of them that Harry was more withdrawn when he arrived at the Burrow than he should have been. If they had been decent folk, Harry would have been on his way to recovering after the loss of Sirius. Instead, when he arrived, it seemed as though a dementor had kissed him.

****Flashback*******

There was no expression on his face and when Mrs. Weasly had given him a motherly hug, he just stood there as though he hadn’t felt a thing. Even when Ron and Hermione greeted him enthusiastically, all he afforded them was a slight nod. It was as though he wanted to be dead, but something was holding him here.

Maybe he thought that it was his duty to survive so that none of his friends would have to suffer the way he was suffering. That would be something Harry would do.

Seeing him in this state caused Ginny to vow then and there to that no matter what, she would help Harry in some way. And help she did.
Two days had passed since Harry’s arrival and all he had done was walk about in a daze. He stopped for nothing, and as far as Ginny knew, he hadn’t said a word. But all that ended when he witnessed her degnoming the garden.

*


She was hurling the gnomes so hard that it would take them weeks rather than hours to get back to the garden. Harry was amazed that someone so little could possess such strength, but on closer inspection he could see that her strength was being caused by negative feelings.

Even though he was in a bad mood and detached from everyone, he couldn’t help but notice Ginny for some reason. However, every time he saw her, she either looked sad or very sullen which wasn’t like her. He had to find out what was wrong. Maybe it was somehow his fault. If it was he had to know so that he could remedy it, for he did not like to see her so down.

Plucking up his so-called Gryffindor courage, he slowly approached Ginny.

“Umm, Ginny,” he tentatively threw out.

Startled by the sudden sound, Ginny quickly turned around to stare at the boy she had crushed on for so long. Plastering a smile onto her face, she softly responded, “What is it, Harry?”

“Umm, I was just wondering if anything was wrong.”

“What makes you think anything is wrong?” Ginny responded, feigning ignorance.

“Well, the past couple of days you’ve been looking kind of down and the way you were throwing those gnomes, it seemed as though you had some frustrations that you were trying to get rid of. I’m just worried about you.”

As the words came out of his mouth, Harry couldn’t help but think about how rich it was that he of all people was telling someone else that they were looking down.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” Harry tentatively asked.

“Why, Harry?” It was a simple question, but at the same time it was so complex.

“I was just worried because it seems that since I arrived, you’ve been down, so I am starting to think that maybe it’s my presence that’s causing these feelings. I could leave if you want. Maybe I should. It would be much safer for all of you and…”

“NO!” Ginny exclaimed a little too loudly. “No. I’m not feeling bad because you’re here. In fact, you being here is actually good because I think you are the only person who can help me.”

“But all of you would be safer if I wasn’t around. Look at my track record. I need to leave. Coming here was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“Harry, please don’t leave, because if you leave, then no one will be able to help me.” Ginny let out a sigh as she continued. “The reason I’ve been so down is because ever since I found out that Voldemort was at the Ministry that night, I’ve been reliving everything that went on in my first year. Sometimes I find myself thinking - what if he had possessed me at the ministry and used me to hurt all of you? I was too weak to stop him my first year when he was only a memory. What chance would I have against the real him? When I have those thoughts, I become sad that I was so weak and helpless and then I get frustrated because I thought I had gotten over all of this. But now that I think about it, all I did was run from the memories instead of facing them head on. The only way that I can do that and overcome them is with your help, because you were the only one who saw the destruction of the memory of Tom Riddle. Please Harry, I need your help.”

She said the last words in such a pleading tone that there was nothing for Harry to do but agree to help her.

“What can I do to help you Ginny. Name it and I’ll do it. I just hate seeing you like this.”

“I just need someone to talk to. Someone who will listen and understand what I went through and am going through. Harry you’re the only one I can trust with this. Everyone else will just – I don’t know. They’ll get all weird, and I know you won’t.”

“I understand Ginny. Tell me what you want. Maybe I can even tell you about my side of what happened down there.”

“Thank you Harry.”

They sat there talking for hours about everything involving the chamber. Actually, it was mostly Ginny letting everything she had bottled up out. The whole time Ginny sat there pouring out her soul, Harry had unconsciously wrapped his arm around her protectively and pulled her close. As she continued her tale of her first year, the walls around Harry’s soul started crumbling. How could he not feel for this wonderful person who had gone through such an ordeal?

The whole time they talked, everything bad that had happened to Harry seemed to disappear in his mind. The only thing that mattered at that moment was that he had to help Ginny no matter what.

What amazed and puzzled him the most though was that Ginny, a fiercely independent and strong young woman, was asking for help and letting all her demons out.

In the days to come, this would prove vital to Harry’s recovery, for it showed him that not only was it acceptable for him to ask for help, but it was alright for him to talk about everything (well, almost everything) that he kept inside of him.

At some point in the conversation, tears started to fall from Ginny’s eyes. She tried so hard not to let them out for she was afraid that it would scare Harry away. However, when she looked up at Harry, she saw that there were unshed tears in his eyes as well. As amazed as Ginny was that Harry hadn’t bolted once he saw her tears, Harry was even more astounded at how he didn’t mind her crying in his arms.

When Cho had cried, it was very uncomfortable, probably because he wasn’t relaxed enough with a non-crying Cho as it was. Ginny was different though. He didn’t mind her crying on him. In fact, it touched him that she trusted him enough to cry in front of him.

Eventually the subject of the final battle between memory Riddle and young Harry came up. Harry told the story of how the battle unfolded, but he knew that it wouldn’t be enough, so he made a mental note to ask professor Dumbledor for his pensieve so that Ginny could actually see the death of memory Riddle.

After the retelling of the final battle in the Chamber, they sat there with Harry firmly holding onto Ginny, whispering to her that everything would be all right and that he would protect her at all costs.
*****End Flashback******


Thinking back on the days that followed that meeting in the garden, Ginny could not help but smile. Her plan had worked perfectly. The whole helpless girl routine was just an act. She was playing into Harry’s love of saving people in order to help him. Once he was comfortable with her, then maybe he would let her help him with his own problems.

Her plan also had an added bonus for she was truly able to get over the Chamber incident. Harry had surprised her one morning by bringing her to a secluded spot in the woods near the Burrow and showed her his memory of the Chamber. When she saw the death of memory Tom, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Now, however, she couldn’t help but wonder where she stood with Harry, now that he was on his way to recovering. They had become very close while they healed, but now that the healing was over, all of her insecurities about Harry came back. Would he still talk to her, or would he just go back to Ron and Hermione and forget all about her?

I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it she thought to herself as she made her presence known to Harry by stepping into the kitchen.

Hearing her enter, Harry turned around and the instant he saw who had just entered, a huge smile lit his face.

“Hey Ginny,” Harry greeted from the stove. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Harry, why are you cooking breakfast?” Ginny responded. “Where’s Mum?”

“Oh, well, I got up early and your mum said that she had some errands to run so I told her to get to them and that I would do breakfast. Of course, she told me not to worry, but I told her that it was no problem.”

“Oh, that was nice of you,” Ginny replied, although that statement was mild to what she was thinking. It was more than just nice. None of her brothers would ever do something like that and it made her love him even more.

“So, what would you like? I made pancakes, French toast, waffles, bacon, eggs, sausages, and some toast.”

“How long have you been cooking Harry?” Ginny asked, completely stunned.

“Only about 15 minutes or so. Let me guess, the bacon was what woke you up.”

All Ginny could do was nod. How could he make all that food in just 15 minutes?

“Here’s a plate. You might want to get started though ‘cause once Ron is up, who knows how much we’ll get to eat.”

Snapping out of her shock-induced trance, Ginny quickly went over to the food and started piling her plate with eggs, bacon and pancakes. She sat down quickly and took a bite of the eggs. She really wanted to know how good a cook Harry was. After the first bite, Ginny couldn’t get enough. It was amazing. Of course, nothing could compare to Mrs. Weasleys cooking, but Ginny thought Harry’s cooking was a close second.

Once again, Harry’s voice interrupted her shock. “I was thinking that maybe later on we could go for a picnic. Me, you, Ron, and Hermione. It would be fun.”

Ginny thought that would be a great idea, especially if Harry made the food.
As if he read her thoughts, Harry said, “I would be more than happy to make us some food. Whatever you want, I’ll make.”

Just then Ron and Hermione walked in sniffing the air. “Smells good, Mrs. Weas… Harry?” Hermione exclaimed, clearly shocked to see Harry at the stove and not Mrs. Weasley

“Harry, why are you cooking? Where’s Mum?”

“Oh, she went out to do some errands, so I volunteered to cook breakfast.”

“But, do you know how to cook?”

“Ask Ginny. She seems to like it.”

”It’s amazing.” Ginny said through a mouthful of bacon. “I could eat this forever.”

This brought a huge smile to Harry’s face. No one had ever complimented him on his cooking, although that wasn’t a surprise since he only cooked for the Dursley’s. He was so happy that Ginny liked his food.

Ron and Hermione were still skeptical until they took bites of the food.
As Ron and Hermione ate, Harry told them of his idea for a picnic. However, they both declined, Hermione saying that she wanted to get some reading done and Ron saying that he had stuff to do as a blush crept up his neck.

“Well, I guess it’s just you and me, Ginny” Harry said as Ron and Hermione left the kitchen after finishing their breakfasts. “That is, if you still want to.”

“Sure. I would love to, especially if it means I get to have some more of your food.”

At noon, Harry and Ginny left the kitchen, a blanket tucked under Harry’s left arm, a picnic basket in his left hand. To Ginny’s surprise, Harry took hold of her hand with his right one.

For his part, Harry had wanted to do that for the past week, but couldn’t find the courage to do so until now.. His feelings for Ginny had grown in the past couple of weeks. Before the garden meeting, she was mainly Ron’s little sister, even though he could still call her a friend.

But in the last week, their relationship had escalated into something that Harry couldn’t quite name. She was still his friend, but the way he felt about her wasn’t even close to the way he felt about Ron and Hermione. They were more like a brother and sister to him. Ginny was different. Try as he might, he just couldn’t figure out what it was he was feeling towards Ginny. There was just something about her that kept drawing him to her.
Earlier in the morning, he finally decided that he was done trying to figure out what was going on and just let things happen. Which is why he was finally able to take a hold of her hand.

After finding a suitable spot in the yard, they sat down on the blanket and dove into the food Harry had prepared.

After about half an hour of eating and idle chitchat, Ginny finally decided it was time for her to confess everything to Harry. Scooting closer to Harry, she raised herself to her knees and slowly began to speak.

“Harry, I need to confess something to you.” A little scared, Ginny didn’t know how to continue.

Realizing that this seemed to be very important, Harry urged her on. “Okay,” he said softly.

Bolstered by his tone, Ginny continued. “Well, you remember how I was acting all down and in the dumps when you got here and then you found me in the garden and we talked? Well, it was all part of a plan I came up with to get you to open up. When you first came two weeks ago, you looked dead to the world. I knew that there was no direct way to get to you, so I had to do the only thing I could think of which was to play the damsel in distress. I knew that if you realized someone else needed help that you would break out of your shell, and once you were out then I would at least have a chance at saving you.”

Tears were streaking down her bowed face for she was so scared that he would hate her for what she had done. However, she would never regret what she did. Harry needed rescuing and if he ever needed anything, she would try her best to make sure he got it.

“You can hate me all you want now, but just know that if I had to do it over again, I would. Even if it meant that you would never talk to me again. I don’t regret anything I did.”

There was silence for what seemed like an eternity to Ginny, though it was really only for a few moments. Coming to the conclusion that Harry was so angry with her that he couldn’t even say anything, Ginny let out a sad sigh. They had become so close, but she couldn’t hide this from him. She would just have to accept the fact that she had lost Harry, but at least she saved him for everyone else.

As she was about to get up to beat a hasty retreat back to the burrow, Ginny heard something that she probably would never forget the rest of her life.
A whisper that had there been any other noise, she probably would have missed it: a whisper that made her heart soar.

“Thank you.”

Ginny’s head shot up in an instant, her eyes meeting Harry’s that were shimmering with unshed tears.

“You’re not mad? I thought you would be furious with me for deceiving you.”

“Of course I’m not mad. In fact I am so happy that you cared about me so much that you were willing to face all of your own demons to help me. You showed me that I have people who care about me so much that they would go through anything to help me. Thank you. I will always be grateful to you for this.”

And with that he leaned forward and pulled her in for a much needed hug. But as they clung, to each other tears flowing from their eyes, Harry couldn’t help but feel that their hug wasn’t enough. No matter how close he hugged Ginny, it wasn’t close enough.

Pulling back slightly so as to look at Ginny, Harry was so amazed at how beautiful Ginny was. Even when she was crying, there was an aura about her that Harry couldn’t believe he never saw before. As they sat there looking into each other’s eyes, Harry decided to follow his earlier resolve that had led him to hold Ginny’s hand.

Leaning in slowly, Harry pressed his lips to Ginny’s, finally filling the void that he had felt for so long. It was a brief first kiss, but the kisses that followed were progressively longer and more heated. Both teens feeling things that were very foreign to them. For Harry it was the feeling of belonging and completeness. It felt that Ginny was made specifically for him, the way she fit perfectly in his arms. Cho had never made him feel the same way that Ginny was making him feel now.

For Ginny, it was finally obtaining something that she had been dreaming of for so long. When she was younger, she had been infatuated with Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived; but now that she knew who the real Harry was, she appreciated the young man that he had become. She relished in the feel of his Quidditch-strengthened arms.

Soon the need for air became too overwhelming, so they had to break apart. They sat in the circle of each other’s arms, catching their breath, and stared deep into each other’s eyes. Chocolate brown searched emerald green for confirmation that this was all real and not just a dream. In response, Harry gave a slight nod and a huge smile. Happiness was bubbling up inside of him and in that moment he decided that he wasn’t just going to fulfill the prophecy, he was going to make sure he lived while doing it for now he had a reason to live.

“What does this mean, Harry?” Ginny finally asked. She knew his answer from the nod that he had given her, but she needed to hear it from him.

“I think what it means is that we have become more than friends. There has been a big hole inside of me for a very long time, but now I think that it is finally filling up. You make me feel things that I have never felt before, and it’s both exciting and scary at the same time.”

“I feel the same.” Ginny responded. “For so long I had a silly crush on you because you were the Boy Who Lived. But then a few months after the Yule ball, I got over that crush and was able to get to know you better. When that happened, it was all over for I had fallen again. But this time it wasn’t just a crush based on hero worship. I have fallen in love with you Harry.”

Upon hearing those words, Harry took a sharp breath. No one had ever said those words to him in his life, at least not that he remembered, and hearing Ginny say that both confused him, but mostly lifted his spirits even higher.

“Thank you for saying that to me Ginny. No one has ever told me they loved me before and it means even more coming from you.” He leaned in and gave her another kiss in which he tried to convey how much it meant to him. But when he pulled back he knew that what he had to say next had to be said carefully. “As much as I want to say it, I cannot tell you that I love you because I don’t know what love is. I know that I have deep feelings for you, but I don’t want there to be any doubt when I tell you that I love you. I hope you understand that I do want to tell you I love you, but I want it to be special when I tell you. It wouldn’t be right for me to say it if I don’t know what it means.”

When he first said that he couldn’t say he loved her, Ginny’s heart sank. But as Harry continued, Ginny realized that he spoke the truth and knew that it would mean so much more when he did say it than it would if he said it now.
Trying to make it up to her, Harry began again, “I mean I think I lo…” but that was all he was allowed to get out for Ginny placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

“I know Harry, and I agree. It would be much better hearing you say that when you truly mean it. But don’t you ever say you think you love me. Got it?” she finished mischievously and the leaned in for another kiss.

“Can I at least say that I fancy you then?” asked Harry after the kiss ended.

After sitting for a moment in mock contemplation, Ginny finally said “I guess that would be alright, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked interestedly.

“That you hurry up and figure out what love is so that you can tell me you love me.” Ginny stated with a flirtatious smile.

“Deal, but only if you help me. I think the best bet would be to find a nice secluded place where we could work on it without interruption. Maybe the Room of Requirement, or maybe a broom closet?”

“Harry James Potter, how dare you!” Ginny huffed in mock indignation. But she couldn’t help the giggle that burst from her a moment later. This was probably the happiest she had ever been in her life and she wished the day would last forever. Unfortunately it wouldn’t, but at least she could enjoy it while it lasted.

Grabbing the front of Harry’s shirt, she lay down, bringing him directly on top of her.

Stunned, all Harry could do was look into her amazing eyes. Finally, Ginny leaned up to kiss Harry.

When the kiss ended, Harry rolled off Ginny to lie beside her. Entwining his arms around her waist he pulled her closer to him. They just lay there looking at each other until the summons of Mrs. Weasley were heard.
Harry now had two missions. The first was to defeat Voldemort. The second and more enjoyable one was to find out what love was, and then tell Ginny that he loved her, for he truly loved her - whatever that meant.
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