Okay, you lot. We've finally arrived at the end of this crazy journey. Thanks for sticking with me for this long. I have to warn you, this chapter's every bit as fluffy as the last one. Get your insulin ready!
Oh, and there's a line from the movie Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me in there somewhere...
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Getting Over Harry Potter | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP, Alternate Universe, Buried Gems Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley Genres: General, Humor Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 515 Summary: When Ginny realises that she is firmly entrenched as Harry’s friend in the strictest, most platonic sense of the word, she is determined to banish any of her own definitely non-platonic sentiments once and for all. She comes up with a plan – an ingenious, infallible, perfect, foolproof plan – but how was it supposed to work if Harry seemed to be everywhere she looked? Hitcount: Story Total: 131248; Chapter Total: 17082 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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Gi nny watched as Harry irritably crossed out a sentence from the essay that he had been working on. For the better part of the evening, he had been battling a particularly horrible piece of Defence Against the Dark Arts homework and had been making mistakes left and right. Finally, Harry threw down his quill and let out a frustrated breath. Ginny thought the way he scrunched up his nose and ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair was quite fascinating. The perpetually messy hair that she was now allowed to touch any time she wanted. Ginny sighed blissfully. It was good to be Harry’s girlfriend. Harry looked up at her. “Hey. What are you looking so happy about?” “Oh, nothing.” Ginny glanced down at her essay about the properties of Amortentia for Professor Slughorn and absently chewed on the end of her long red hair. She was actually a bit embarrassed by the fact that her face kept spontaneously breaking into idiotic grins at any given time of the day. In fact, she had been docked ten house points by Snape when he had caught her smiling dreamily into space when she was supposed to be learning vampire defence stratagems (chewing raw garlic and breathing heavily on them — no; beheading them with any sharp implement that happened to be conveniently within reach — yes). Her brother kept teasing her mercilessly about it, but it was hard to be annoyed when she caught Harry wearing the same goofy expression whenever she saw him. “Hey, didn’t I tell you not to do that?” He reached out and pulled Ginny’s ponytail from her mouth, playfully tickling her chin with it. He squeezed her hand, running his thumb over her palm. Ginny smiled back at him, thrilled by the fact that Harry seemed to have become even more affectionate now that they were officially together. “Sorry.” He tugged at her hand. “Come here,” he said in a low voice, those green eyes of his gleaming wickedly at her. Circe’s scandalous salacious salamander! She willingly went around the table. “Yes? Did you want something?” she whispered coyly. Harry raised a dark eyebrow at her and chuckled appreciatively at her seductive tone. Ha! Two can play this flirting game. Harry looked carefully around their secluded corner of the library to check if Madam Pince was hovering anywhere nearby, then he leaned over and nibbled gently on her bottom lip before teasing her mouth open with his tongue. Or maybe not. He kissed her slowly, as if he were savouring every second that their mouths were in contact with each other. Harry’s hands wandered up and down her waist before finally settling to cup the back of her neck. One hand pulled at the elastic binding her hair, and his fingers immediately tangled themselves in the mass of curls that tumbled onto her shoulders. After a few more seconds, they pulled away from each other, both of them panting a little. Ginny felt herself trembling with pleasure. Harry really was an incredible kisser. “Oh yeah. I needed that,” Harry sighed contentedly, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her close. He turned his head and buried his face in her hair. “Mmm. You smell wonderful, Ginny.” Ginny snuggled into his shoulder until her heartbeat slowed down and she could think clearly once more. What else was there to say? He dropped a small kiss on her temple before reluctantly letting her go. He tucked her hair behind her ears. “I suppose we should go back to our homework. Snape would just love it if I didn’t turn anything in.” He frowned at his ink-stained and mistake-filled essay in disgust. “Ginny, do you have any spare parchment? I should probably rewrite this.” “That’s the third one you’ve ruined, you know,” Ginny scolded him. She rummaged in her bag and handed him a handful of parchment. “Here, try not to make any more mistakes, okay? I don’t have any left.” “Yes, my lady,” Harry said solemnly then kissed her on the nose. Ginny smiled fondly at him before turning back to her homework. Harry reached down into his rucksack to get a fresh ink bottle, and, in doing so, he knocked the pile of parchment he had stacked on the table to the floor. He cursed and bent over to collect them. One had floated out of reach, and he had to stand up to retrieve it. When he walked back to the table, Ginny was surprised to find him chuckling. “What’s so funny?” Ginny asked curiously. Harry sat down, grinning widely at her. He cleared his throat before saying in a loud voice, “‘How to Get Over—’” Great Godric Gryffindor’s gimpy gonads! Ginny jumped up and tried to snatch the paper away from him. “Harry!” she hissed furiously, her face a becoming shade of crimson. “Give me that!” “Uh-uh,” Harry shook his head. He stood up again and held the paper high above her head. “I want to read it. So this is the famous ‘Getting Over Harry Potter’ list Hermione told me about, yeah?” “Harry!” She hopped up and down, the paper just out of her reach, glaring irately at him. “Hand it over, Harry!” she said, her voice shrill in the quiet library. “Shhh!” Harry chastised, seeming to enjoy her indignation. “Madam Pince will hear you and throw us out!” Sure enough, the sound of the librarian’s clicking heels could be heard rapidly approaching their location. Harry swiftly sat down again and quickly yanked Ginny down with him, just in time to see Madam Pince emerge from behind a shelf of Transfiguration books to glower at them suspiciously. Harry offered the woman a small smile which turned into a grimace of pain when Ginny kicked him hard on the shin. The librarian narrowed her eyes but apparently could not find anything amiss, so she just sniffed delicately and turned her back on them. “Ouch!” Harry rubbed his leg when Madam Pince had disappeared from sight. “You didn’t have to kick me so hard, you know.” “Hmpf.” Ginny glared and folded her arms across her chest. “Serves you right, you wanker.” “You know you’re absolutely gorgeous when you’re angry, right?” He attempted to take her hand but she pushed him away irritably. “That little wrinkle between your brows when you give me your Patented Death Scowl is absolutely charming.” “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Harry. Now hand that over.” “Come on, Ginny,” he cajoled, placing an arm around her shoulders and carefully angling his legs away from the vicinity of her feet. “Don’t be mad, yeah? I just want to read it. Hermione never actually revealed what you had written down, even though I begged her. It’s not important any more, is it?” He gave her a pleading gaze. “All right?” Dammit. Again with the twinkling! She sighed resignedly. “Oh, all right. But this is so embarrassing.” “Great!” Harry pecked her on the cheek and eagerly turned to the paper as Ginny covered her face with her hands. He made a great production of coughing several times before reading out loud, “‘How to Get Over Harry Potter in Seven Days’.” Harry looked over at her, pretending to be hurt. “Aw Ginny, you were really going to get over me that quickly? I’m offended. Really, I am.” Ginny dropped her hands and pinched him on the arm. “Git. Obviously, I was giving myself a deadline, so I would actually follow the plan.” He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss into it. “Well, I’m happy you didn’t succeed.” Ginny snorted but kept her hand entwined in his as he continued to read. “‘Convince Yourself He’s Just Another One of Your Brothers.’” Harry laughed softly. “It’s a good thing that you never treated me like one of your brothers. Since last summer, I definitely haven’t been thinking of you as a little sister. In fact—” Harry abruptly stopped speaking, and the tips of his ears reddened. Ginny looked at him speculatively. “Oh really? Just what have you been thinking about, Harry?” “Let’s just say that it’s a good thing your real brothers never knew just how often their baby sister featured in all of my more — um — shall we say — memorable dreams?” He grinned naughtily. Ginny patted her cheeks and fanned her face with her homework. The temperature in the library seemed to have risen by several degrees all of a sudden. Harry seemed to be enjoying her discomfiture, and he winked before bending his head to read again. His head snapped back up right away. “‘Imagine Him Wearing Really Manky Old Y-Fronts All the Time’?” he asked incredulously. “Hey! I don’t wear Y-fronts!” he protested hotly. “Manky or otherwise!” “I know that, silly. Who do you think helped Mum embroider your name on your precious boxers?” It was Ginny’s turn to laugh at Harry’s stunned face. “I almost nicked a pair of them once, you know, so I could use them to sleep in.” “You did? What stopped you?” he asked in amazement, before adding in an undertone, “Thank Merlin for that.” Ginny pretended not to hear him. “Well, the ones I wanted were the pair I knew you liked best. You know, those mauve ones with the dancing teddy bears?” Harry looked mortified, and mumbled something inarticulate. “Yeah, I thought you might miss them,” Ginny giggled. “Hands off those boxers, you,” he growled playfully. “I love those teddy bears.” “That’s quite all right,” she said, patting his hand. “I don’t really need those boxers. I’ve got enough of your shirts to sleep in, thank you very much.” “I knew it! You’re the reason I keep running out of shirts! You nicked my Seeker shirt and my Captain shirt, didn’t you?” he accused. “Well, yeah. I filched your Seeker shirt from the wash when you were at the Burrow last summer, and I sneaked back into the changing rooms after last Friday’s practice to get your Captain shirt,” she said proudly. Harry shook his head. “Ginny, why don’t you just ask me for them?” “What? Where’s the fun in that? I like the thrill of acquiring your shirts illegally.” “But why not get Ron’s shirts? Why do you like stealing my shirts?” Ginny rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly the reason why, you daft boy. They’re your shirts. Just knowing that they used to belong to you keeps me warm and toasty at night when I’m feeling — um — shall we say — lonesome in my big, cold, empty bed.” She gave him an arch look and leaned forward to speak softly in his ear. “Besides, I love how the material feels against my skin, Harry. It’s quite. . . delicious.” Ginny had to muffle her laughter behind her hand at the thunderstruck expression that suddenly appeared on Harry’s face. He swallowed convulsively several times and tugged at the collar of his shirt. Madam Pince clomped past them, eyeing them beadily as she patrolled the library, bringing Harry out of his stupor. He blinked and looked bemusedly at Ginny. “You are possibly the most evil girl in the universe,” he finally managed to croak out. “You don’t say things like that to a bloke and not expect to get a — erm — a reaction from him!” “Only telling you the truth, my dear.” She smiled sweetly at him. He shook his head ruefully and still looking a bit gobsmacked, lowered his gaze to examine the next item on the parchment. It took him a few seconds before he actually said anything again. “Oi! What’s this one? ‘Avoid Staring Into Those Impossibly Sexy Green Eyes’?” Harry made a face. “So, my eyes are impossibly sexy, eh? Sounds like one of those heroes in Hermione’s trashy romance novels.” “Well, it’s true you know. I do love your eyes, Harry. They’re just so. . . so. . . beautiful. I wish my eyes were a different colour. Brown is just so boring.” She exhaled deeply then frowned at him. “Hang on, why do you know what’s written in Hermione’s novels? You don’t actually read them, do you?” she asked in incredulous delight. “What? Of course not!” Harry said firmly. “Ron and I just read the description on the back cover of one that Hermione left lying around. Hermione was so horrified when she saw us reading it. She wouldn’t speak to us for an hour.” He sniggered at the memory for a while then he turned to her, his green eyes serious behind his glasses. “And your eyes are beautiful, Ginny. Just like the rest of you.” Ginny coloured prettily at Harry’s compliment. “Thanks, Harry.” She leaned forward and gave him a lingering kiss on the lips. “You’re such a sweetheart.” “Wow. I didn’t know I’d get a response like that every time I said something nice about you. I should do it more often,” he said in wonder, rubbing his thumb lightly over her mouth. “Yes, you should,” she answered cheekily. “All right, I will. But first, what’s this about finding other blokes?” Harry waved the parchment indignantly. “Number four - ‘Start Noticing That There Are Other Boys Aside from Harry Bloody Potter’?” Ginny rolled her eyes again. “Well, as you know, I never did manage to find any boy good enough.” She shook her head despairingly. “I probably set my standards too high. Look who I ended up with!” She sighed melodramatically and broke into giggles when Harry looked offended. “Oh yeah, right,” he said sarcastically. “If I remember correctly, Ginny, you all but admitted that when you were describing the qualities you found attractive in boys, you were thinking of only one person.” He smiled smugly. “Me.” “Ha! You are such an arrogant berk, Harry,” Ginny declared huffily. “I’ll have you know that there are loads of boys who fit that description.” “Oh yeah?” Harry narrowed his eyes. “Name one.” He seized her hand again and held it tight. Ginny racked her brain for a name, but it was hard to focus on anything tangible when Harry was rubbing his thumb in slow circles against her palm. Blast. He’s not playing fair, she groaned to herself. He knows I love it when he— Merlin’s long wooden staff with a knob on one end! “Harry,” she gasped, when he lifted her hand and started pressing little kisses into it, his mouth travelling slowly up her arm. “That’s not playing fair!” He lifted his head and grinned triumphantly. “See? I’m the only one who fits the bill.” “Oh, shut up and kiss me, you git.” Harry willingly stopped talking and bowed his head to capture her lips. Ginny placed her hands on his back and pushed herself nearer to him, opening her mouth eagerly to deepen the kiss. His hands were at her waist, but they were soon creeping down her hips, sending heat flooding through every cell of her body. The sudden sound of Madam Pince’s loud, irate voice startled them, and they broke apart hurriedly, looking around guiltily to see whether or not the librarian had caught them. Ginny let out a relieved breath when she realised that the woman was haranguing a group of terrified first year Ravenclaws in another corner of the library. She turned to see Harry’s cheeks flushed with colour, probably mirroring her own flaming face. “I suppose we should find a safer place to snog, yeah?” he asked, smiling his crooked grin at her. “Oh, yeah,” she agreed fervently. She shakily started to gather their books and other stuff. “Hey Ginny, wait,” Harry said, dipping his quill in his ink pot. She looked at him in puzzlement as he took the parchment he had been reading and scribbled something on it. “There. That ends all this ‘Getting Over Harry Potter’ rubbish once and for all, I reckon.” He handed it solemnly to her, his green eyes shining with emotion. “I love everything about you, Ginny. Your hair, your nose, your freckles.” He chuckled when she made a face. “But most of all,” Harry took a deep breath before continuing softly, “I love you.” For once in her life, Ginny had nothing to say. Even her normally loquacious brain seemed to have been struck dumb, which was a feat bordering on the miraculous, since it never seemed to shut up. She closed her eyes, feeling faint. “Ginny?” Harry peered at her uncertainly. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?” Her eyes snapped open at his apprehensive tone. He looked so adorable, the way he was chewing nervously on his lip. “No, Harry. You said exactly the right thing.” She reached out, brushed his fringe out of his eyes, and cupped his cheek affectionately. “I love you, too.” Harry sighed in relief, and his entire face lit up with an enormous smile. “Fantastic,” he murmured, before bending his head again to touch her lips with his own. This kiss was tender and gentle, almost reverent, and Ginny was overwhelmed by the love she could feel emanating from Harry. She in turn poured all her emotions into her kiss, willing him to feel just how much she loved him too. “Oh Harry,” Ginny whispered, leaning her forehead against his when they separated at last. “I do love you so.” “I love you right back, Ginny,” Harry replied quietly, and he slowly traced the outline of her cheek with a finger. When his finger reached the corner of her mouth, she turned her head and playfully nipped at it. “Hmm, feeling frisky, are we?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Maybe.” Ginny fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly. “Are you going to do something about it?” she challenged him. A naughty smile on his lips, Harry stood up and reached for her. “Come on, you wanton woman.” “Where are we going?” she asked, rising to her feet and gladly taking his hand. “I seem to remember that we were supposed to be finding a safer place to snog, yeah?” He winked at her. “I suppose we can find an empty broom closet somewhere.” “How unoriginal,” Ginny teased him. “I would have thought my dashing, noble, and handsome hero would have some place better for the love of his life.” Harry eyed her thoughtfully. “Well, there is a rather nice secluded spot down by the lake. We can spend a happy hour or two there, if you want.” He smirked suggestively. “Oh really, now?” Ginny arched her eyebrows and threw him a decidedly wicked gaze of her own. “I hope you and I have the same definition of ‘happy hour’, Mr.Potter.” Harry grinned. “I’d be very willing to compare notes with you.” Ginny laughed out loud. “Lead the way then, Harry,” she commanded playfully. He bowed with a flourish and kissed the back of her hand. “Your wish is my command, Ginny.” < /hr> A/N: Well, that's that. A big thank you with wet sloppy kisses to Chreechree, my lovely beta who threatened me with bodily harm when I told her that I was going to abandon this story back around chapter 5 or so. You really know how to motivate a girl, Christine. :) This story is dedicated to you. Circe’s scandalous salacious salamander! came from Chreechree, while Great Godric Gryffindor’s gimpy gonads! came from Enchanted. Merlin’s long wooden staff with a knob on one end! is an homage to the writer Terry Pratchett; this phrase is actually the title of a song from his amazing Discworld series. I must also mention Louise Rennison's hilarious Confessions of Georgia Nicholson since I modelled my Ginny after her main character. Go read these books! To everyone who's left reviews, especially those who were such regular reviewers, I cannot express my gratitude enough. And to everyone who nominated and voted for this story for the October DSTA, all I can say is: Merlin's pointy purple hat! Thank you. Holy Mother of Merlin! I can't believe this story won Best Comedy three times. *bounces around room giggling madly* Thank you thank you thank you! |
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