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A New Normal | ||||||
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Category: Post-DH/AB Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: General, Romance Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 129 Summary: Harry has spent much of his life being hunted by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Now the Dark Lord is dead, it is time for Harry to live the life he has always wanted. It it time for Harry to create for himself a new normal. Hitcount: Story Total: 70908; Chapter Total: 4962 Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Life has got in the way for both me and my beta. Anyway, this is the chapter I am most nervous about posting as it turned out completely differently to how I expected. |
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Chapter 4: The Five Brothers A soft tapping came from the bedroom door. “Harry, Ginny, time to get up dears,” a voice called softly. Harry groaned. He attempted to shift positions so he could go back to sleep, but he found his space was restricted. As his senses became more aware of his surroundings, he realised that the additional weight was on his shoulder and chest and he became aware of that flowery smell he loved so much. In that moment, the painful memories of the day before came rushing back to him and he remembered he had fallen asleep snuggled up to Ginny in her bedroom. Harry’s eyes snapped open fully as he suddenly realised that it had been Mrs Weasley at the door and it dawned on him that she must have known that they had slept together in the same bed. However, he also realised that she had only called for them to get up and had not come in to have a moan at them. A thought crossed his mind that perhaps just maybe that after the events of yesterday, she had not had a problem with them sleeping in the same bed. Either way, that was an answer that could wait until they both went downstairs. As for now, he wanted to enjoy a few minutes’ peace with Ginny. “Mmm, this is definitely something I could get used to,” a beautiful voice from next to Harry said. “I know. I could get used to this too,” Harry grinned as he pulled Ginny up towards his face to kiss her. As he did, he pulled her closer to him, placing one hand on the small of her back, with the other becoming tangled within her hair, as she placed her arms around his neck, both quickly becoming lost within each other and their kiss. “Now that is definitely the way I want to wake up every morning,” Ginny said as she reluctantly pulled away. “Was that my mum’s voice I heard?” “Yeah, she said it was time to get up. Though I do have to say I was amazed she did not come in and moan about us being in bed together.” “Well, being that my dad told me to stay with you after we got home yesterday, I suspect that neither of them had a problem with us falling asleep in the same bed after the day we had. Which reminds me, how are you feeling this morning?” “I feel a little better. I know I slept better. I feel lighter, if that makes any sense? I mean it still hurts, the pain and the grief are still there, but it doesn’t hurt as bad as it did yesterday.” “No, it makes sense, especially with the amount of unresolved grief you had,” Ginny said as she stroked her fingers through his hair to soothe him. “But at least it is a step in the right direction. I mean the pain will probably never fully go away, but at least it will become more bearable for you as time passes.” Harry had no words with which to reply. He just looked at Ginny in awe and thought about just how lucky he was to be with such an amazing and understanding woman, with whom he was deeply in love with. All he could do was kiss, putting every ounce of love he had for her into it. Within seconds, their bodies had become entwined, both completely lost within their kiss yet again. Another soft tapping came from outside the bedroom door. “Harry, Ginny, can I come in please?” a voice said. Harry groaned at the interruption. Ginny gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before untangling herself from him. “Come on in, mum,” Ginny called out. The door opened to reveal Mrs Weasley and the noise of raised voices came from somewhere downstairs. Mrs Weasley came in and quickly closed the door. “We have a little problem in regards to the fact that you two slept in the same bed last night. Before you ask, your father and I have no issue with it. We trust you two and after the day you both had yesterday, we knew that you both needed each other, just the same way you did after the battle,” Mrs Weasley began. “However, as you can probably tell from the noise, it would appear that your brothers do have an issue with it.” Harry and Ginny both looked at her in confusion. Harry, however, could also see that Ginny was beginning to get angry at this piece of news about her brothers. He went to say something, but Mrs Weasley continued talking. “Ron realised that Harry had not slept in his bed last night, so he came in to check in here and saw you together in bed. Luckily, your father managed to get him downstairs before Ron woke you. Well, Ron let slip to your brothers about it and now your father is trying to deal with their reaction, but as you can tell, he is not having much success in calming them down, despite us having no issues with it. So I would suggest you do down and face them. Whatever happens, we will support you.” Mrs Weasley came over to the bed and pulled them both into a bone crushing hug. “Your father and I are both so happy that you have found each other,” she said as she pulled away. “Now get showered and changed, and then come downstairs.” Half an hour later, Harry and Ginny were descending the stairs. Holding hands tightly, they slowly walked down towards the arguing that was still continuing. Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, they both stopped and looked at each other. “Are you ready for this?” Ginny whispered. “No. I think I would much rather face Voldemort again than face your brothers,” Harry replied, terrified of what her brothers might do to him. “We will do this together,” Ginny replied as she leaned up and gently kissed Harry. She led him down the remaining steps and into the chaos, ready to confront the five brothers. “Which one of you idiots would like to explain to us why it is a problem that I am in a relationship with Harry?” Ginny shouted above all the noise. Silence fell immediately at her words, as everyone’s heads snapped round to look at the couple. “Well?” she continued, one hand still grasping Harry’s hand tightly, the other now holding her wand. “Does someone want to answer me? As I am really in the mood to hex someone right now!” The brothers all begun to talk at the same time. Their words all became jumbled together with the odd phrase, such as “too young,” “highly inappropriate,” “too fast” and “protect you,” being clear to the couple every now and then. Harry could feel his anger boiling up inside of him quickly. He could also see it within Ginny and knew if he did nothing, she would end up hexing her brothers, with no care for the consequences. “THAT IS ENOUGH!” he yelled. Silence fell within the room yet again. Everyone was now staring at him, shocked at his outburst. “I love your sister! I am IN love with her! And I know with all of my heart that I have been for the last couple of years. I think perhaps I may have been for even longer than that but I was just too blind to realise it at the time,” Harry said with a raised voice. As he said it, he could see Ginny’s parents had beaming smiles on their faces, while all of her brothers just stood there in shock with their jaws dropped. Before he could continue, Ginny threw her arms around his neck and started covering his face in kisses. “In all honesty, neither Ginny or I, should have to justify or defend our relationship in any way to anyone,” he continued as Ginny pulled away. “I shouldn’t even have to stand here and prove to her own family just how much I love her. I am actually really disappointed in all five of you, as it seems to me that you are treating her like the 11 year old she was when she was hoodwinked by Tom Riddle.” Harry immediately regretted what he had said as he knew that year was still a sore point for Ginny. So he was even more surprised by who spoke next. “Harry’s right!” Ginny piped up. “All of you still treat me like that scared little girl I was at the end of my first year. But I am not her anymore, I haven’t been that girl for a very long time, because it forced me to grow up. And in the last year, I have grown up even more, as I had no choice but to. So, NO, you don’t get to question any aspect of my relationship with Harry. I know he loves me, he has already proven to me that he does. And for you information, I am IN love with him too!” She stood there glaring at each of her brothers, daring them to say something in response. After a couple of minutes, Bill nervously spoke up, “Erm, exactly how has Harry proven to you that he loves you? You two haven’t…..” Ginny cut across him, “No, we haven’t, not that it is is any of your business. Even so, what Harry did or said to prove to me he loves is not important. I mean it is for me, but it is not for me to say either way.” She turned and looked to Harry for support, fearing she had screwed up what she was trying to say. Harry pulled her into his arms and held her as he took over from her talking to her brothers. “What Ginny is trying to say is that over the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about my life, everything from my childhood to what has happened over the past year. I have told her everything, which includes things I have never even told Ron and Hermione. Some of it was and is very personal for me and I only felt comfortable telling Gin. And I know which part to which she is referring that proved to her just how much I love and it is something we both want to keep between us” he finished. “Hang on, Harry,” Ron spoke up, with a confused look on his face. “You always tell me and Hermione everything. I mean, you even filled us in about Snape and his memories. You also told us what happened in the forest that night. So what could you have possibly told Ginny that you haven’t told us?” Harry could see Ron trying to figure out what he had left out, where the gaps were in the story, However, Ron’s comments had only served to confuse the family even more, while making Harry feel uncomfortable, something which Ginny picked up on. “Oh for goodness sake! Ron, you should know full well by now that Harry does not tell you everything! I mean you didn’t even know he had feelings for me until he kissed me in the common room in front of everyone. Trust me when I say, it is personal and something he only wants me to know!” Ginny snapped back. Harry’s heart swelled with love for Ginny as she defended his decision not to reveal everything to Ron and Hermione. He pulled her closer to him and whispered into her ear, “Thank you,” before kissing her lightly on her lips. “Anyway, Ginny also shared with me everything that has happened to her this past year, among other things, which also happened to include personal things that she has not told anyone else,” Harry continued as he turned back to face Ginny’s brothers. “But based on the way you five are behaving right now, I am going to guess she has chosen not to tell you and to be honest, I can’t say I blame her!” Harry could see the sheepish looks that were now on their faces as they realised just how little they knew about this past year. However, he did not want to be the cause of yet another rift in the family, knowing how bad it had been when Percy was estranged from the family. “Look, I don’t want to be the cause of another rift in the family,” he continued, “so I am willing to give you some answers about me and Ginny. And I will eventually tell you about this past year, but just not everything. To be honest, I am actually surprised that Ron didn’t tell you about us dating last year.” “Well I didn’t see the point after you broke her heart last summer!” Ron noted, causing more raised voices over this revelation. “Seriously, that is ENOUGH, boys!” Mrs Weasley screamed, resulting in more silence and cowering faces. “Let them finish talking or I will allow Ginny to hex each and every one of you!” “Thank you mum,” Ginny smirked, delighted by her mother’s threats. “Yes, Harry broke my heart, but you know full well Ron that it broke his heart too.” Ron nodded, knowing she was right. “Anyway, Harry and I dated for a couple of months last year. He kissed me unexpectedly after we won the Quidditch Cup and it was one of the best moments of my life. It was definitely the best couple of months of my life getting to be with Harry. But then, Professor Dumbledore died and I knew immediately what that would mean for us. After the funeral, Harry told me he had to end it, because he did not want Voldemort to use me to get to him and I understood his need to protect me. I knew he didn’t want to do it and I knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care; he did it because he cared about me more than anything. It broke my heart but I accepted it, because I knew Harry needed to do what he needed to do as he would not be happy unless he could finish Voldemort for good. I knew though, that if he did so, we could have the chance to be together as I knew we both wanted to be.” “Those couple of months with Ginny were the happiest of my life. She gave me something to fight for, she gave me a reason to survive a war I was convinced I would not live through. It tore me apart to end it with her, I didn’t want to but I needed to. I never stopped caring about her and I most definitely never stopped loving her.” Harry’s words finally begun to soften the shocked faces in the room. “And as for last night, all we did was fall asleep in my bed. Best I have slept in a long time and definitely the best I have slept since the first night after the battle. Last night, we needed each other as we were both struggling with our grief, Harry even more so than me,” Ginny explained. “And yes, I know you think we are too young, moving too fast or whatever else it is you may think about our relationship, but we get each other, we understand each other and after everything we have been through, neither of us can imagine being with anyone else now.” Harry, touched by her words, pulled her back into his arms as close to him as they could possibly be, resting his forehead on hers, both staring into each other’s eyes. Neither caring that her family were there in the room with them, yet at that moment, both felt like it was only them two in the room. Ginny whispered, “I love you, Harry. I always have and I always will.” “I love you too, Gin. I always have and I always will.” Smiling at each other, blissfully unaware of her family, they kissed with all the love they had for each other. And as they pulled away, they continued to smile at each other, completely unaware of how their words and their kiss had now affected those around them. The next thing they knew, they were pulled back to reality as they were swept up into one of Mrs Weasley’s famous bone crushing hugs. “Oh how Arthur and I had hoped you two would find each other!” Mrs Weasley cried as she let go of them. “I also know Sirius had hoped you would as well, especially as he thought Ginny was so like Lily! He said that you both reminded him of Harry’s parents!” The revelation startled both of them. Ginny knew that this would shock Harry and she could see him struggle with what her mother had just said about his parents and godfather. She moved back into Harry’s arms, rubbed his back to help calm him and looked to her mother for answers. “We know Hermione and Ron were with you, but we are not stupid. We know it was you, Ginny, who managed to get through to Harry and out of his self-imposed isolation the Christmas your father was attacked. Sirius was quite impressed with how you handled the situation, but he was even more impressed with how Harry responded to you. All three of us knew you two would be perfect for each other, but we didn’t intervene as we felt it was important for you to find your own way to each other. And from the sound of it, you came together when you needed each other the most.” Harry could feel tears beginning to stream down his face as he listened to Mrs Weasley talk about Sirius and the day Ginny had talked sense to him over being possessed by Voldemort. He remembered that day well and just how quickly he had responded to Ginny’s words. He realised that this must have been when he had started to fall for her, though he had been blinded by what he thought he felt for Cho at the time, not realising it till many months later. How he wished he had realised how good she was for him then, rather than taking so much longer to come to his senses. Harry pulled Ginny into another tight embrace, burying his face into her hair, as he came to this realisation. “That’s when you started to fall for me, isn’t it? Even if you didn’t realise it at the time,” Ginny whispered into his ear as she held him tightly. “Yeah, but I am only just realising it now. I feel like an idiot for wasting so much time, when we could have had so much longer together,” he whispered back. “You….no…..we got there in the end and that is all that matters. We are together now and we have all the time in the world for us,” she replied smiling. As they pulled apart, though still remaining in each other's arms, they saw Mrs Weasley turn slightly so she could address the entire family. “To be honest, none of us had any idea you two had been in a relationship last year. We suspected there was something between you last summer, but with everything that was going on, we chose not to ask you about it. But then during the battle, the way Ginny reacted when we thought Harry was dead, well that just confirmed our suspicions. Anyway, Arthur and I followed you two out of the hall that morning after seeing you two share a hug. We found you up in the common room, curled up asleep together on the sofa. It warmed our hearts to see you two together like that, especially as you both looked so peaceful and content. We didn’t want to disturb you but we both felt that you would be much more comfortable if we moved you into a bed up in the dormitories instead. The only problem was that when we went to separate you so we could move you, both of you were reluctant to let go of each other. Instead, you would both just tighten your grip on the other. We understand it now, as it had been so long since you had seen each other and obviously you didn’t want to be separated. And we could tell that you were drawing comfort from each other after everything you have both through this year. So when we finally managed to separate you long enough to move you, we decided to just put in the same bed……..” “WHAT?” all five brothers cried out at the same time, but Mrs Weasley chose to ignore them and continued talking. “The moment we got you two into the same bed, Harry immediately wrapped his arms around you Ginny and you moved in closer. It was quite a sight to see. It was obvious that you two would sleep better as a result of being with each other, and you did, just as you slept much better last night. You both needed each other so we both decided it was best to leave you alone on both of those nights. However, we have noticed that neither of you have been sleeping well during night since the battle and have been taking naps together during the day. So after much discussion, we have decided that Harry can move into Ginny’s room and that you two can share a bed from now on.” “WHAT?” the brothers cried out again. Harry and Ginny could only look at each other in confusion and excitement. However, this time Mrs Weasley turned round and addressed her sons. “I know we have our ground rules in this house about who sleeps where, but after everything they have been through, we feel it is only fair to show them trust and respect when it comes to their relationship. And as far as we are concerned, if this helps them to continue to heal, then who are we to stand in their way?” Mrs Weasley finished, making it clear that this was the end of the discussion. Harry and Ginny grinned at each other and promptly rushed forward to hug Mrs Weasley. “Thank you, mum!” “Yes, thank you, Mrs Weasley!” “Oh Harry dear, there’ll be none of that anymore. I think it is about time you called us Molly and Arthur. Or perhaps if you feel comfortable, especially as you are part of the family, Mum and Dad.” “Ok Molly,” he replied, knowing he needed time to work up to calling her mum. Molly smiled at this and pulled him into another hug. “Right then, Fleur and Hermione should have finished making breakfast by now, so once you five have apologised, we can go and eat. After breakfast, we can arrange Ginny’s room for the both of them and move Harry’s belongings in,” Mrs Weasley said with a stern look on her face pointed at her sons. “Oh, erm, Molly?” Harry cut in nervously. “Ginny and I already have plans for today. Actually we have a few plans for the week.” “We do?” Ginny asked in surprise. “Yes, I asked you last night. Remember?” “Oh yeah, of course. You didn’t say what those plans were though. So where are we going today?” “Today is a surprise,” Harry answered with a big grin on his face. “Though, I better inform the aurors, who I am guessing will be tagging along with us at a distance.” “Oh well, don’t you worry about the room. You two go and enjoy yourselves. Merlin knows you could do with having some fun. I can get Ron to gather up your belongings and I can get Hermione to help me with the bedroom,” Molly said before turning to address the brothers once again. “As for you five, I want you to apologise to Harry and Ginny, or I swear I will let them BOTH hex you, consequence free!” “Sorry,” all five mumbled under their breaths. “Do you call that an apology?” Ginny snapped, holding her wand dangerously as Harry attempted to stifle a laugh. Ron, realising someone needed to make an actual effort to apologise, nervously stepped forward. “Look, I am sorry, I really am. I think it was just a shock to see you two asleep in the same bed. And I do know that you both care for each other and I can see how happy you two make each other, it was blindingly obvious to everyone who saw you together last year and considering how miserable you both were after things ended. But the problem is I just don’t want to see either of you have your hearts broken again.” With that, one by one, Ginny’s brothers stepped forward to apologise, all admitting that they had overreacted and that they were, in fact, very happy to see them as a couple finally. “You know Harry, it is not going to be easy to tease you after that speech? But then again, I don’t think I am going to want to cross you. You know, you being the boy who lived and saviour of the wizarding world! Only a madman would think to cross you!” George noted after he had apologised. “Well if you need someone to tease, Ron and Hermione decided that the middle of the battle was the best time to make their feelings clear to each other by kissing, instead of helping to fight!” Harry replied, knowing full well that Ron would make him pay for the comment later on. |
| Reviews 129 |
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