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Happy Wednesday to me!

I just wanted to submit a little Tobias appreciation message. He's honestly one of my favourite characters I've read in a series. His development throughout (with Smita, his double agent role, and how Mags was part of his motivations) was wonderful, and I totally didn't see it coming. His interaction with Harry in the pub after Ginnys trial was just the icing on top of the cake

So thank you for that!

Thank you so much! He started just as me going, "huh, what does a not completely awful Slytherin guy look like?" Not to mention, I have a 'let men and women have platonic loving relationships' agenda. Plus, I love me a sarcastic little shit with a very hidden heart of gold. And like, someone who does have a sense of self-preservation, and that being okay! So many of the protagonists in these hero books are celebrated for their willingness to just sacrifice themselves over and over again, often recklessly with a giant lack of self-worth or understanding of consequence. But, like, it's okay to protect yourself, you can still be able to make moral and just choices! And the strength of Slytherin really can be the ability to weigh impact and consequences. I guess I wanted another chance to show how a Slytherin might bring strengths to a fight that benefits from a variety of skills/approaches.

And you loved his interaction with Harry? Hmmmmmm...

How about a tiny snippet of Armistice #4?

**

They end up at the Leaky Cauldron and it’s packed with people, every single one seeming to be staring at them, whispering behind their hands. This is exactly why Harry doesn’t come to places like this.

“You can, of course, scowl at me the entire time,” Tobias says. “Or even punch me. But that’s going to give everyone the wrong impression after this weekend’s little photo op.”

Harry focuses on Tobias, the staring crowd suddenly secondary. “So this lunch is me showing the world that I’m fine with you and in no way suspect you’re sleeping with my girlfriend.”

Tobias looks at him. “Do you think I’m sleeping with your girlfriend?”

Harry lets go of his fork and it falls to his plate with a clang. “I’m actually going to have to punch you, aren’t I?”

Tobias regards him with one eyebrow raised. “It’s a rather straightforward question, Potter.”

“No,” Harry bites out. “I happen to trust Ginny.”

Tobias leans back in his seat. “Interesting answer. It leaves me to ask whether or not you trust me. No chance you think I harbor feelings for her?”

But Harry refuses to be stuck on defense any longer. “What does it matter if you do or not?”

Tobias blinks, a begrudging smile appearing on his face. “Watch it, Potter, or you’re going to make me like you.”

“Are you always this much of a buffoon?” Harry asks.

Tobias looks at him, something frighteningly flinty in his eyes. “Only when it’s useful.”

Harry imagines that’s more often than not.

“Okay,” Tobias says, turning his attention back to his plate. “Explain to me again why Quidditch isn’t a huge bore.”

Harry jabs a chip in Tobias’s direction. “That right there is why Ginny would never sleep with you.”

Tobias nearly chokes on his food, he’s laughing so hard.

**

(I hadn't even opened this file since last May. Eesh.)

[runningtwiceasfast]

Happy new year to me!!!

@floreatcastellumposts and i said we’d start 2022 with a bang, and wrote this

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cosy december, part 2

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I love them

Harry does not enjoy work dinners. thankfully, Ginny doesn’t like them either.

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All the Hinny kisses

Ginny’s making her coffee when Harry turns her around and without any words he just kisses her deeply.

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Beautiful!

A/N: Evening babes! I’ve had an extremely normal day and to cope with that I’ve decided to sift through some more of those Hinny ficlets I usually only write for my own entertainment and polish up another one, so. You get another little guy taking place in the summer of 1998, and I get some distraction. And ideally some ibuprofen. Featuring nosy brothers and precisely one bed (purposefully).

Translations

Of course, the instant they finally decide to move Harry’s camp bed from Ron’s room to Ginny’s, half the Weasley family finds themselves in their path down the various wonky staircases and narrow hallways inside the Burrow, gawking like there’s no tomorrow.

“Not a word”, Ginny tells them, while Harry’s eyes remain purposefully fixated on the task at hand, the camp bed floating in mid-air at the bidding of their combined Hovering Charms. “I’ll hex your toes off one by one.”

She’s answered with much snorting and giggling from several of her brothers, while Ron stands in his doorframe and watches them with an expression that unfailingly calls to mind Molly, watching the train depart Platform 9 ¾.

By the time they’ve made it to Ginny’s room, her brothers have pulled so many audacious jokes out of their arses she doesn’t think the colour of Harry’s face is ever going to return to normal again. Then it’s only her parents, whose half-hearted protest about a boy – a boy! – staying in her room falters when Ginny points out that this isn’t any boy, thank you very much, this is Harry (“You know Harry! You love Harry!”), who they personally talked into into staying at the Burrow for as long as he pleased only a few weeks ago.

When Molly finally lets her bedroom door fall into its lock at bedtime – a miracle in its own right – Ginny has threatened every single one of her brothers with the loss of some sort of limb, except Ron; and she did cost Ron his roommate, so maybe that makes them even.

Lying there in the dark of her bedroom, listening to her mother’s receding footsteps on the other side of the door, Ginny allows for five whole seconds of prudence before she folds back her quilt and grins brightly in Harry’s direction.

“She’ll kill us”, he mutters, but pushes himself up from his camp bed and climbs onto Ginny’s mattress all the same, like he reckons that’s a price he’s willing to pay.

Ginny snorts.

“This is new”, she says as they’re settling in, their limbs rearranging themselves under her quilt. “No one else has ever slept in my bed before.”

“You can always kick me out again.”

She makes a show of taking this into serious consideration.

“No, I don’t think I will”, she grins. “You’re a nice enough pillow.”

As though to demonstrate this, she scoots closer, her arm draped loosely over his stomach, her cheek pressed to his chest, Harry’s heartbeat steady through his t-shirt.

Her bed is kind of comically small for two grown people. And what luck that is, she thinks, feeling his arm around her shoulders.

“You fit nicely”, she says, wholly unprompted.

You fit nicely, which is to say, you fit almost like you used to. Thank fuck you still fit like you used to.

Then: “You’re warm.”

You’re warm, which is to say, you are alive. You are alive and I can feel the heartbeat that proves it, steady and dependable through your t-shirt.

“Sorry if I wake you up”, he mutters, his voice not quite revealing if all that quiet weight in Ginny’s words made it through to him, the way they’re tip-toeing through the dark. “Won’t be on purpose.”

Her brows knit themselves together. “No, you should.”

When he makes noises of protest, she only doubles down. “Really, if you can’t sleep, just give me a good shake. I won’t mind”, she adds after a pause.

I won’t mind, which is to say, you don’t have to do it all alone. Don’t do it alone.

Harry eventually relents, albeit huffing slightly.

“I apologise if I end up hogging the blanket”, Ginny offers, and he vibrates with quiet laughter. She feels it more than she hears it, the way it rumbles through him. “Or if I wake you, for that matter.”

“You’re a blanket hogger?”

“Only one way to find out.”

She feels his hand squeeze her shoulder and has just about enough time to start wondering if the weight of her head is hindering the blood circulation in his arm when he says: “Have all the blanket you want.”

While he speaks, she listens for an undercurrent, something small and sincere tucked away in more unassuming words, like maybe she’ll be able to translate it all back if she pays close enough attention. Maybe he’s trying to say as much as she is. Maybe not.

Either way, she understands.

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Brilliant

Hinny au: a world without Voldemort

This is very long, and I want to say sorry but then I DON’T

She was 5. He was 6. 

Harry met Ginny when they were kids, barely old enough to run without falling over. Their parents are friends; Lily met Arthur at the Ministry, after he sought her out, hearing about a muggleborn fresh out of Hogwarts with great potential. Lily knew of his last name, knew about his long line of pure blood. Lily had invited the Weasley clan over for dinner. 

It became an annual thing. 

Harry saw Ginny cry actual tears one night, after Ron had refused to let her play with them, again. She had fallen over earlier, tripping on something in the yard. There was a scrape on her knee, and her brother being mean to her had opened the flood gates. When Lily heard, she scolded the boys, but then Harry had stepped in, told Ron they could really play tag. 

James elbowed his wife, leaned down to whisper in her ear that Harry was rather sweet with Ginny. Lily just smiled.

Keep reading

[runningtwiceasfast]

This is adorable

Hinny professor/student au?😘

A/N: lets see what you think 😏

“I have another class.”

He hears her step closer, trainers a low squeak on the marble floor. “I know.”

Harry refuses to turn from his needless pper shuffling. “I do keep office hours.”

Professional. Professional. Professional.

There’s a laugh in her voice when she says again, “I know.”

“So I can see you then regarding whatever question you have.”

“My first question is whether you’re physically incapable of turning to face me.”

He can’t help the chuckle that leaves his throat. “More like emotionally.”

Now she lets out a long sigh, they’ve discussed and discussed and it’s one of the few things they can’t seem to agree on. Or at least understand one another. “Harry - ”

He grunts.

“Really?” Another sigh “Fine, Auror Potter - I know you’re my instructor.”

Harry hums in agreement. Only flinches slightly when her hand finds the crook of his elbow.

He can’t help but comply when she guides him to face her. He can also hear students milling in the corridor.

Ginny squares her shoulders and gives him that blazing look like she’s going to snog him or whip out her wand. “I know you’re my instructor but you’re also my bloody husband and I think we’re allowed to acknowledge that.”

“But Kingsley said- ”

“Kingsley can shove it,” Ginny shoots back, “Now give me a kiss. I’m off to practice.”

“Remember the protective- ”

She leans in and presses a kiss to his lips. “See you later sir.”

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before dating Ginny felt like something out of someone else’s life

- now it feels truly like his own.

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This is so incredibly special

tipsy and smitten 

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I love this

The road home

Summary: Lily watches Harry and Ginny finding their way back to each other following the end of the war.

Note: For @madhulika18, who asked for more Hinny moments as seen by James and Lily. I could never decide if this is really part of Eyes Glistening (because Harry and Ginny have drama really, and I don't like them having drama), but it works either way, so I hope you enjoy these moments (also, I have a soft spot for Lily and Harry talking, so...)

_______

It’s all about the words that aren’t being said.

Once, a long time ago, Lily lived that with James. But it was different and, though, of course, it didn’t seem like that at the time, it was easier too. Her problems were unknowing her feelings, not understanding why she enjoyed his company and why she craved his smile, his light. She had fancied him for a long time before she understood what it was what she really felt for him — and until then it was only her heart beating faster when they would touch each other without meaning too (a brush of hands, sitting together closer than necessary), enjoying the perfume he’d left on his trace, finding excuses to be with him.

But after she had understood what she felt for him, somehow it had been easy. Awkward, sure, that first date when she was feeling stupid near him — until she remembered this was James, and being with him was good and blissful and then kissing him had felt as natural as breathing —, but there was never a question about how they felt about each other, never doubts that they would be together.

They had fought over many things, until they perfected the art of compromising, of understanding each other’s view, but there was never a breakup, never something that really kept them apart.

They are lucky on this, she knows.

Especially when she sees the look on Harry’s face, the way his eyes can’t help but follow Ginny as she walks around between the tables of the Great Hall, stopping to share words with her friends.

They haven’t talked yet. Lily knows this because Harry was gone with Ron and Hermione after the battle and then he slept for a full day. When he woke up, he called his parents and they talked then — the most difficult conversation Lily had ever had in her life and the one she knew she needed most. She and James. They needed to understand what had happened, why it had cost Harry’s life and what it had meant, but nothing had really prepared her to know her son had died.

Only the thought of it sends shivers through her body.

Harry is fine now, having come down to the Great Hall to lunch; there are fewer people at Hogwarts two days after the Battle, so they manage to find a place for them to sit quietly. It’s almost peaceful.

Except Harry is clearly not at peace.

‘Go talk to her,’ she whispers to him, and Harry turns to her with those eyes that are full of ghosts lately — he has seen and lived and died too much.

‘She doesn’t want me,’ he answers, breathing heavily as if the words are physically hurting him.

‘How do you know?’ James asks, exchanging a confused look with Lily.

‘Because she hasn’t come to talk to me.’

Lily thinks Harry didn’t go to her either, so maybe this is just a case of miscommunication. But she doesn’t say anything, because she believes things have to happen at the right time. And she has been watching Ginny too; every time Harry looks the other way, she glances in his direction, an expression on her face that Lily cannot understand exactly.

It seems to be ablaze.

_______

Later, Lily will define it as a dance where the dancers aren’t supposed to touch each other but still they synchronize their steps perfectly.

It’s unnerving, really, and she doesn’t know how they are really managing it, but if there is a quality she could attribute to both Harry and Ginny is stubbornness.

They can’t ignore each other, not really, not with how much they encounter each other — funerals and homages and dinners over the Burrow and rebuilding Hogwarts —, so instead they adopt a sort of relationship that’s just a shadow of how much they got along together.

Lily saw them before they even dated or had acknowledged their feelings for each other, and Harry and Ginny had shined together with chemistry as if they were two ingredients in a potion that demanded to be together. It was only friendship but there was sparkle and understanding and compassion and brightness. Lily remembers thinking that even if they didn’t develop romantic feelings for each other, they were truly soulmates.

And this is just one of the reasons why their current formal courtesy with each other bothers her so much. If they wanted to be only friends, there wasn’t much she could do. But they are not even friends lately, just two people who had gone through so much and hadn’t been able to share anything with each other despite wanting very much.

That’s the other thing that annoys her. They want more. Both of them.

She knows Harry, of course — he shares the same expressions and he wears his feelings on the same sleeve Lily does, so it’s easy —, and Lily likes to think she knows Ginny too, for the times they met, for all they’ve talked and for the fact that Ginny is usually blatant on her feelings when they are at the edge.

Usually. This time, it seems their stubbornness is getting the better of both of them.

They are alone most of the days of May. Hermione has gone to Australia to find her parents and Ron went with her, and Lily thinks this would be perfect for them to get together again – to have time to talk and to truly live their relationship without the threat of a storm above their heads.

But they don’t go to each other. They stay apart, even though Lily sees the cracks in their stubbornness when Harry breaks a glass after hearing Ginny talking about exchanging letters with an ex-boyfriend, and when Ginny suddenly leaves the room after Harry mentions Kingsley’s proposal to start the Aurors course.

James sees it too. He is always frowning when they are in the same room, and Lily knows no one rooted more for that relationship than James. So she is not surprised that he approaches her one morning when they are cleaning the mess the Death Eaters made in her office.

‘Do you remember when you forbade me from intervening in Harry’s love life?’ he asks in a nonchalant voice, cleaning a stain that looks a lot like blood on the carpet.

Lily nods with her head.

‘Maybe it’s time to change that rule?’ James asks then, now sounding hopeful.

Lily throws him the briefest of the looks, without turning away her attention from the cauldrons she is supposed to check if anything is worth saving.

‘Harry would hate it if we did anything.’

‘Harry would hate it if he knew we were doing anything.’

‘And James Potter can be discreet? How many detentions did you get just because you couldn’t help but flaunt your work?’

He raises his eyebrows challengingly.

‘That Slug Club dinner on my birthday. I was so discreet no one ever found out what we were doing.’

Lily blushes. He was absurdly quiet that night, indeed, despite her attempts otherwise.

‘Fine, you’ve got a point. Go on, but I’m warning you, if Ginny realizes what you are trying to do, she will hex you and I won’t stop.’

‘As long as she hexes me on their wedding day, I won’t complain,’ James says unabashedly, and Lily has to grin.

She is not feeling much confident — James’ love plans took him three years to her agree to date him, after all, and even then she had fallen in love with him when he had given up on any plan at all —, but she can’t deny James is creative and it’s better trying anything than watching Harry sigh all over the place, heartbroken and unhappy.

During the year they were out, their house has been searched over and over; their furniture is broken and there are spots of red ink — or blood — in every room, with curses or slurs written on every wall. They could just easily destroy the house and build a new one, but it feels good to clean the place; it feels like a new beginning.

Maybe this is what James is hoping to give Harry and Ginny because he asks for her help in rebuilding their house. Ginny accepts surprisingly quickly, probably guessing that Harry will still be occupied with the work at Hogwarts.

‘Thanks for the help,’ Lily says after she and Ginny manage to clean the debris away from the stairs, so now the first floor is available for them to start cleaning up the rooms.

‘No problem, it’s good to be out of the house,’ Ginny notes, drying the sweat on her face. ‘Sometimes it feels… too claustrophobic there.’

Lily raises her eyebrows, indicating around the hall, where the number of things still to be organized makes the corridor seem a lot smaller than it is. Ginny gives a small chuckle.

‘It’s just — Mom is trying to compensate, I think. Ron is not here and I am the youngest and she needs to take care of something, after — after everything that happened. So, yeah, I need some time to myself.’

‘Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to do?’ Lily asks, concerned now. Ginny just shrugs.

‘Since I can’t fly, this seems like the best available option,’ she says. ‘And it feels good to be doing something — and there is so much to do here. The Death Eaters made a mess.’

‘That could be said for everywhere.’

‘And everyone,’ Ginny adds softly, and she returns to the cabinet she is trying to fix without saying anything further, but Lily doesn’t think she needs to. She saw Neville’s bruises, she saw Luna’s scars and she has a pretty good idea of how it was at Hogwarts under Voldemort’s regime.

But Ginny keeps her marks quietly, and Lily knows there is only one person she will be able to talk to.

The next day, James comes home earlier from Hogwarts with Harry. There is an awkward moment when Harry and Ginny meet in the kitchen and James mentions that now the main work over Hogwarts is done, Harry volunteered to help get his home back again.

‘Any problem?’ James asks genially, making both Harry and Ginny jump.

‘No,’ they say at the same time, and it doesn’t convince anyone.

Lily never noticed how big their house was until she realizes Harry and Ginny still manage to avoid each other except during mealtimes, so she decides they can get past subtlety. She and James start to ask them for help for the same rooms until they eventually are paired in the same tasks.

She doesn’t hear them talking, but it seems to work, albeit at the slowest pace ever.

‘You won’t believe who asked Sirius for an interview,’ James says one night after they settled for the day and they are having dinner before Ginny returns to her house. ‘Rita Skeeter.’

‘What scoop does she want now?’ Harry asks, rolling his eyes. ‘I am still awaiting her biography about me.’

‘What will be called?’, Ginny asks, and Harry turns to her with his eyes already shining with the joke.

‘Easy. Harry Potter, chosen or undesirable one?’

She laughs – it’s a short tentative laugh, but it’s there, and Harry smiles too. James exchanges a look with Lily, but she shakes her head warningly to him.

‘What Skeeter wanted with Sirius?’ she asks, putting the conversation back into place. It was just a shared joke. There is still a long road ahead.

‘Oh, gossip on you and me, actually, which unfortunately is something Sirius thinks it’s too funny to pass – and also he has a soft spot for Skeeter.’

Harry chokes on his drink.

‘Soft spot?’

‘Oh, please, don’t tell me –‘ Ginny raises her eyebrows, exchanging a bewildered look with Harry. ‘Sirius and Rita Skeeter?’

James chuckles.

‘No, he just likes her because of the animagus stuff. He says he can’t fault her for being one.’

‘Oh, much better,’ Ginny sighs. Then she bits her lip before looking back at Harry. ‘Can you imagine them together? Rita Skeeter as your godmother?’

‘I would have to quit Sirius from his job as godfather,’ Harry says, pretending to gag. ‘He would clearly be underqualified.’

There is another small giggle and that’s it for the night.

They are talking again at least, even if it is still not like it used to be. There are no whispered words during their time together during the day and they don’t seem to be secretly snogging. But they talk sometimes, and once or twice Lily hears a laugh when she passes the room they are in.

But it’s only two weeks later that something seems to happen.

Lily is in her room, finishing to set up the bed so she and James will finally be able to sleep there, when the voices catch her up on her window.

‘You are bleeding.’

‘It’s just a cut, Harry, no big deal.’

‘It was a splinter, there can still be something there.’

‘I told you, I took everything off. I will just press it, it will stop bleeding in a minute.’

‘I can help you, I – I know a lot of healing spells.’

There is a pause.

‘Me too, but I also know that the bleeding will stop. It’s not deep.’

‘How do you –‘

‘Same way you know, Harry.’ There is a note of tension in Ginny’s voice. ‘I had to learn.’

‘Ginny –‘

‘What? Do you think you were the only one who had a hard time?’

And she storms inside, giving him no time to answer.

Harry is subdued that night, even more reserved than natural, and when she passes his room late at night, she sees the light is on. For a second Lily wonders if she should call James, but then she sighs and knocks on his door.

‘Harry?’

In answer, the door opens quietly. Lily enters his room to see Harry fully clothed on his bed; he is holding something and, with a start, she realizes it’s the Marauder’s Map. That’s a weird thing for Harry to be consulting in the middle of the night.

‘Can’t sleep?’ she asks, sitting on the edge of his bed and running her hand through his hair comfortingly. He shrugs. ‘Anything to do with that fight with Ginny?’

He raises his eyebrows.

‘Hearing behind doors, Mum?’

‘No need, you were talking under my window.’

‘Next fight I will make sure we are far,’ he says with a grimace.

‘There will be a next fight?’

‘I don’t know,’ he admits, and this prospect doesn’t seem to make him better. ‘If I asked you something, would you be honest with me?’

‘Wasn’t I always, Harry?’

He smiles for a second before his expression is grave and uncertain.

‘Do you think I am self-centred?’

Lily blinks.

‘No one would accuse you of being selfish, Harry, I mean –’

She doesn’t know where to begin, considering all the sacrifices she had seen Harry make over the years — he gave his life —, but Harry shakes his head.

‘Not selfish, I mean – the summer after my fourth year, when Voldemort was back, I said plenty of things –’

‘You were under a lot of stress, no one –’

‘I know, but I was complaining about how everything happened to me and now I am thinking that maybe, somehow, I never stopped to think that things happen to other people too.’

Lily squeezes his hand.

‘It is not a suffering competition, Harry.’

‘I don’t know if I see it that way. I mean, when I saw Neville for the first time, with all his bruises and looking so hurt, I still wished it could be me, staying at Hogwarts and fighting because it seemed easier and it never occurred to me that she could – they could – have had a difficult time too. It still seemed… just school.’

He pauses to pick up the Marauder’s Map, opening it even if there is no map showing there.

‘I used to take the Map last year to watch over her,’ he whispers, his face flushing. ‘And I saw her dot and I never thought that she could be in trouble. I knew they were rebelling, but… it didn’t feel like it was something real.’

‘Well, that’s why you should talk to each other. None of you will understand if you keep avoiding each other.’

‘She is mad at me.’

‘Of course she is. You are avoiding her.’

He doesn’t answer.

‘You need to talk, Harry. Go there. Try it.’

He blinks, a hint of a smile on his lips.

‘Are you suggesting that I go visit my ex-girlfriend in the middle of the night?’

‘I’m pretty sure you will just talk if she doesn’t hex you first,’ Lily says brightly. Then she smiles softly. ‘You could wait until tomorrow, Harry, but I have the feeling you both have been waiting too long. And this isn’t any of your styles. You are both people of action.’

Harry grins now, standing up.

‘I will go then. Thanks for the tip, Mum.’

Lily accepts the soft kiss he gives her on the cheek.

‘Just be safe, Harry.’

_______

Harry seems to be in a better mood the next morning, despite the fact that he slept a few hours that night — Lily knows he returned by five, just as the sun was rising.

But she doesn’t say anything, just smiling to herself when Harry’s face lights up when the fireplace erupts into emerald flames and Ginny appears, dusting her clothes. They exchange a look that it’s still not there yet, but it’s soft and promising. James looks in her direction, surprised, and she promises to explain later.

It’s not Summer yet, but the days of May and then June get warmer and then Harry and Ginny are spending more time outside, though there isn’t much to fix there.

At least, not material things.

James keeps an eye on them — he wouldn’t resist not doing so —, telling her that most of the time they just seem to be taking long strolls and talking.

One day they return from their walk holding hands, and Lily has to lock James inside the room so he doesn’t say anything. Harry and Ginny are still not there.

The road home takes time.

On the second weekend of June they have the hottest day yet and they take some time off; James transfigures a pool in the backyard that neither Harry nor Ginny seems to enjoy other than to sit at the edge of the pool and take off their shoes to wet their feet. Instead of helping to ease any tension, the pool seems to create some weight over them, making them more silent than usual, so James suggests they go flying instead.

‘My Firebolt is gone,’ Harry remembers, wincing, and Lily knows it’s not the broomstick he is really missing right now. Harry lost a friend that day.

‘Mine was burnt by the Carrows last year,’ Ginny adds, her voice casual as if it’s nothing important.

They don’t end up doing anything after that.

In the afternoon, James gets a call from Sirius and Lily decides to just stay home, finishing the Wolfsbane Potions she will need to deliver to Remus by the end of the week. She is quietly lost in her favourite potion world when she hears the voices, and it’s just because they are whispering, rather than talking normally, that it draws her attention.

‘Are you sure?’ Ginny is asking, her voice unusually hesitant.

‘Only if you are,’ he whispers, sounding just as unstable.

Lily approaches the window and withdraws the curtains as little as she needs. Harry and Ginny are still by the pool, standing facing each other, and without looking away from Harry, she takes off her shirt, to reveal her bikini under it.

Harry gasps, but Lily knows that what is taking his breath away are the marks on Ginny’s torso — faint scars of cuts and small yellowed bruises that remained from the battle, over a month ago.

Ginny bits her lip, her arms trembling as if she wants to cover herself. Harry finally takes a step in her direction, looking her in the eyes now.

'Thank you for showing me,’ he whispers and then he sighs. 'My turn'.

His hands are shaking as he goes to unbutton his shirt, until Ginny raises her hands.

'May I?'

Harry nods slowly.

Ginny keeps her head high, not looking away from Harry's eyes, until she finishes opening all the buttons from his shirt and taking it off.

Then her eyes fall to his chest and Ginny freezes.

Lily knows what she is seeing, even though Lily can't see it from her angle: Harry's new lightning scar, across his chest, over his heart, where the Killing Curse hit him for the second time in his life.

'Harry,’ Ginny sighs, pain evident in her voice. She raises her hand, looking at him, questioning him silently. Harry nods once more.

Then Ginny takes a step closer to him, touching his chest, and Lily knows that she must be feeling his heart over it.

She lets the curtain fall and returns to her potion.

She is not surprised when they return home holding hands and she only tells James later (so he doesn't say anything during dinner because she knows her husband) that Ginny kissed Harry softly on the lips when she thought no one was seeing them.

[runningtwiceasfast]

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.

[runningtwiceasfast]

Hinny fluff in a Jily lives world is all I want forever and ever. This is so lovely

Can you write 15 on the fluff prompt list for Hinny?

Of course I can! ❤

Please enjoy some nice and short Hinny moment set in a Jily Lives AU because it's a happier world (also, leaving your parents house would have an important meaning to Harry).

Harry is just leaving his bathroom when there is a loud pop in the room.

He goes for his wand in the nightstand, all reflexes at ready as his mind tries to understand how the protective enchantments have been broken, but her voice eases him.

'Sorry, it’s me! Didn't mean to scare you!'

He smiles at once, relaxing.

'You didn't scare me. I just would be a poor Auror if I got caught in my pyjamas.'

She laughs, a little nervous. Harry takes in the sight of Ginny, wearing her flannel pyjamas, hair tied into a loose braid, looking just the same as thirty minutes ago when they finished their night pillow talk through the enchanted mirror and wished each other good night.

Ginny said she was going to sleep, but judging by her sudden appearance, he supposes she wasn't very sleepy.

'Yeah, about that—nice set.'

He flushes, looking down at his shirt. It's a Bambi pyjama, one that Sirius gave him for his twentieth birthday thinking it was the best joke. As far as Harry knows, the joke's on Sirius because these pyjamas are really comfy, even if Harry never intended for Ginny to see him using them.

'I can take them off if you want.'

She just smirks. 'Aren't your parents home?'

'If we stay very quiet…' she lifts one eyebrow in a quiet challenge, and Harry grins. 'Fine, Silence Charm then.'

'I'd rather not get caught by your parents again. I think they are finally close to looking me in the eye again.'

'Nobody remembers that day,' he assures her, sitting in the bed, though he knows he would be worried if the situation was reversed and it had been her parents that caught them… busy.

Ginny gets closer, and Harry hugs her by the waist while she runs her hand softly through his wet hair. 'Are you ok?'

'Yeah, I just… I was tossing in bed in that flat, and—don't laugh—I missed your arms around me, so I came here to cuddle.'

He raises his head to look into her warm brown eyes. There is a tiny nervousness there.

'I would never laugh.' He entwines their hands, kissing the back of hers. 'I miss you too, Gin.'

She smiles calmer now, accepting when Harry pulls her closer so they can lie down together in bed, her back against his chest. He undoes her braid, enjoying the familiar flower scent of her hair.

'Thank you,' she whispers, pressing herself more against him. 'I just sleep so much better when you are with me.'

'Nervous about tomorrow's game?'

'Yeah, but it's not just it.' She turns to look him in the eye, face soft. 'You are so warm and… relaxing.'

He kisses her tenderly, thinking she's just describing how he feels about her.

'This is so much better than talking through the mirror,' he declares, making her wink.

'Yeah, no snog through the mirror.'

Harry grins, but as he combs her hair slowly, enjoying her warmth and all that peace that being with Ginny brings him, he thinks they might be solving their problem for tonight, but the next night they will still be in the same situation.

Apart.

'Ginny? What if—what if we could do this every night?'

She tenses, turning once more to him.

'What do you mean?'

'Us. Together. We could move in together.'

She bits her lip. 'You want to leave your parent's house?'

'Not wanting, it's not about this, I just thought… it would be nice to have a place of our own. Where we could cuddle every night.'

'I… it's not that I don't want it, but you know how my routine is, half-the-year I am off training and—'

'And I have my crazy days as an Auror too. Missions, paperwork, trials. We've survived so far.'

'Do you think we are ready for it?'

'You are already living alone, so… and I am a great cook, you know. You wouldn't need to live on take-away anymore.'

'Hey! I do enjoy my take-away,' she replies, but there is a smile on her face that tells Harry she is really considering it. 'Let me think for a while. You just surprised me.'

He nods, kissing her forehead and pulling her closer into his arms.

'Think of all the benefits,' he whispers charmingly. 'Cuddles anytime you want.'

'Long showers in the morning?'

'And no Silence Charm', he adds in a heavy whisper in her ear, making her shiver. 'Walking around naked in the house.'

'Nah,' Ginny winks at him. 'I wouldn't miss your fluffy pyjamas.'

'See? Another benefit!'

Ginny laughs, and Harry lets this sound lullaby him into a sleep full of dreams for their future.

[runningtwiceasfast]

I feel everything about this 🥺 just brilliant

“I swear I heard…”

“It was nothing, go back to sleep, Harry”

[runningtwiceasfast]

Happy birthday @velvethopewrites !!! This is so lovely 🥺

Sunlit days

@velvethopewrites asked, and I took longer than I thought it would, but I wrote a Hinny kissing under the cloak.

it's not exactly smut, it's just warm kisses, but anyway, i hope you like it <3

AO3

-----

"Where are you taking me?" Ginny asked, a huge smile on her face as she let Harry - her boyfriend - guide her to who knows where, the two of them hiding under his cloak, making her even more excited.

The adrenaline of the forbidden always made her much more excited to do something. And if Harry was with her, everything was perfect.

"Can't I want to have a moment alone with you?" He asked, not even seeming to care how he sounded, he also had a huge smile on his face. Harry had seemed so much looser and freer these past few days, and Ginny loved to think it was because of her.

Of course it could be for a million other reasons, but that thought made her go to sleep smiling like an idiot.

"You're going to be late for class." They were in a hallway Ginny thought she'd never seen, but Harry seemed to recognize the place with eerie familiarity, only occasionally picking up the Map to make sure everything was empty.

“Are you worried about my grades?” He glanced over his shoulder, smiling in a way that made her blush and smile even more. Her cheeks would crack if she kept this up. 'No need to worry, I can say I was with Dumbledore, or just miss this class, it's History anyway' Harry and she reached the end of the corridor, there was nowhere else to go, there were no doors or anything nearby , and it was quiet enough for them to be comfortable. Nobody would come here.

Harry leaned against the wall, pulling Ginny close, legs spread wide enough for her to be comfortable in the middle, and she didn’t wait for him to say anything and kissed him like it had been days since they'd seen each other. And that was how she felt, at least in parts. Snape didn't take a break, and every night Harry looked tired or she was tired, and they just sat together in the common room for a few minutes before going to sleep. Hermione also didn't let her forget about the exams, just as Demelza seemed to make a point of reminding her whenever she and Harry started to get too distracted in some empty hallway in the library.

"I missed you," she said, grabbing his face and attacking his lips again, almost melting at the feel of his hands on her hips, keeping her where he wanted her, and for once Ginny didn't care.

Michael and she weren't all that evolved to exchange more than quick kisses, and as much as Dean sometimes did like Harry too - his hands on her hips - it never felt comfortable enough or hot, it was always weird, like they didn't fit right. But not with Harry, with him it was nice, comfortable, and she loved when he did that.

“Thought I saw you for breakfast?” He bit her lip, then began that trail of kisses that made her feel hot and forced her to clench her thighs together. His soft mouth moved down her chin, then under her ear, over her neck, over her collarbone… Ginny gasped.

She tightened her hands on his shoulders, just because she needed some support so her limp legs wouldn't make her fall like jelly. Ginny didn't even remember anymore what she had said and what Harry had replied, all so confused in her cloud of heat that she was almost blind to anything but her amazing boyfriend.

'Aren't you going to take your cloak off?'She managed to ask, starting to feel warm from the lack of air circulation, but it was also a good excuse to let Harry unbutton the top buttons of her shirt, and she did the same with his.

'Let me live my fantasy, I've dreamed of it.' Harry mumbled against her skin, his mouth that had been so close to her breasts began to rise again, and Ginny needed a second to deal with the frustration that she felt, soon being filled with desire as she felt him moving one of his hands up inside her shirt.

"Don't say you dreamed with me if you don't want me to attack you right here," Ginny said, her hands inside his shirt, scratching at his abdomen only to feel him shiver and take a deep breath down her neck.

"I'm not telling you not to do this, feel free." He bit into the sensitive skin that made Ginny whimper and try to pull her body away more by instinct than will, that heat building between her legs.

Harry made her land in the clouds, much lighter than when she flew as high as she could, while making her feel that delicious drop that left her heart pounding and her legs limp. He made her feel so many things that Ginny wondered how she had lived so long without knowing she was capable of feeling it.

Like when he saves her a piece of cake for breakfast, or a piece of meat pie for dinner, just because he knows Ginny likes it, and it makes her stomach churn and her throat feel tender as if suddenly, she was going to cry with joy, because she never got to tell him that, Harry just realized, and Ginny comes from a family with too many siblings for someone to notice little details about her.

“As much as I like the cloak idea,” she says, kissing him as if her life depended on it, his thigh between her legs and his left hand cupping her breast. “I'm getting too hot to be pleasant.” Ginny moves her hips just enough to gain that necessary friction that makes her go limp again.

Harry laughs, seeming to notice that she has started to sweat and now for other reasons, so he takes the cloak off them, and the icy wind hits Ginny at once and makes her shiver and lean closer to Harry, like a way to protect herself from the temperature difference. The movement made her feel him on her thigh, and Harry seemed to feel the simple touch as well, because he gasped and pulled his mouth away from hers.

They shouldn't be making out like that in a hallway, now that she was ready to assess the situation. Before at least they were invisible, and now anyone can see Harry groping her breasts and Ginny using his thigh for self-relief. She should feel embarrassed, or at least worry and tell them to find a room, or stop it before someone misses them both and puts the puzzle together to understand why they're gone. Ginny knows that people love to talk about Harry's life, and her love life, and that everyone thinks it's absurd that she dated two boys, so being seen in a hallway like that isn't the best option for her.

But Harry squeezes her hip with his free hand and pulls her forward again, and they're so close to each other, and his hand is warm and soft, and he managed to get his hand inside her bra, and the feeling of having Harry touching her nipples is otherworldly, and the feeling of his thigh creating friction where she needs it most feels so good, and the noises he makes… Ginny can't really think.

The sun is streaming in through a nearby window, and soon that sudden cold is gone and Ginny feels warm again, and she is on a mission to kiss Harry with all the will she has inside, and he seems to be on the same mission that she..

He even makes her forget all the reasons that should keep her from doing what she's doing now, and forget that the last time she made out with a boy in a hallway her brother caught them.

Harry took her to a dimension that is theirs alone and no one can touch or interrupt them, and Ginny thinks that even if she came to her senses now and walked away from him, she wouldn't be able to think for a few more hours, numb at how good it felt the combination of everything he was doing.

For a few seconds she even thought about taking his hand off her hip and putting it between her legs, just because Ginny wants to know what it would be like to have his fingers there, and because she's dreamed about it enough times now and her imagination is no longer enough and neither are her fingers themselves. She's very close to realizing this fantasy, she even puts her hand on top of his, but they hear voices and footsteps and Ginny jumps back in alarm, feeling her heart racing and her bleary eyes barely focusing on Harry's face.

He has rosy cheeks, crooked glasses and her lipstick is smeared across his face, it's a lovely sight indeed, but by the time the voices fade away and the hallway is silent again, Ginny still keeps a little distance, looking at him and taking a deep breath, trying to get back to Earth, as much as the paradise he takes her to is much, much, more inviting.

"Wow," Harry is the first to say, seeming to notice the mess she is in, shirt unbuttoned to her navel, bra bared, skirt crooked and cheeks on fire.

"Yeah." Ginny blinks, still dizzy. Harry isn't all that different from her, and maybe she should apply some less red lipstick next time because Harry looks like a clown with his mouth all smeared like that. She doesn't usually wear lipstick, but she wanted to impress Harry, and he seemed to have liked the choice when he found her coming out of the bathroom.

'Do you think we still have some time before they realize we're gone?'She asks, straightening her shirt and skirt, trying to draw Harry's attention away, as Ginny feels a bit suffocated the more she looks into his green eyes, the more dark now and with that mischievous glow she loves knowing it's her fault.

'I'm sure so,' Harry starts to adjust himself as well, and when the two of them look presentable again - although his lips are still a little smudged - Ginny reaches for him and pulls him close, and starts doing the way back, however much she has nowhere in mind.

'I need some fresh air,' she says, feeling her skin heat up even more, not because she feels embarrassed but because the memory makes her feel cloudy again, and Ginny doesn't want any girl to realize she's like this for something that did with Harry, she doesn't want them to imagine what he is like at these times. It's something so silly and irrational, but it lives in the back of her mind.

“You will be my cause of death, I'm serious.” He mutters, his cheeks also rosy, seeming to be far away.

“Me?” Ginny uses her best voice, wanting to make him laugh and deny it – and she succeeds.

'Yes you.' Harry puts his arm around her waist keeping her close to him, and the two head towards the gardens, there aren't many students around at least, and they don't need to walk to the farthest part to be able to stay in peace together. Harry lies down on her legs, Ginny leaning against a tree, the fresh air soothes the heat off her skin and makes her think rationally.

She smiles at him. "Should I be sad about it?"

"No." Harry smiles, that carefree smile that makes her feel so good knowing he's happy.

''Great, because you're going to be my cause.'' She closes her eyes, laying her head back and listening to him laugh. Ginny thinks she has never been happier.

[runningtwiceasfast]

😍

Prompt #69 for @clarensjoy‘s Hinny FicFest 2021: “His pickup line wasn’t as good as mine. Just saying”

Ao3 // FFnet

hey, tis us, last kids joining the party. hopefully it’s still alright!

.

It’s a Tuesday, so the din of the pub is a bit muted in comparison. Loud and full enough that nobody will get ideas about getting to know their table neighbours, but quiet enough that you don’t have to shout to be heard. Harry’s boot sticks to the floor as he steps inside and for a moment he’s about to let loose some colourful swears about arseholes who don’t understand that spent gum belongs in a bin, but his attention is quickly pulled away by another arsehole at the bar trying to flex his flirtation muscles.

If Harry reads the bloke’s mark’s facial expression correctly, said flex has been wholly unsuccessful so far. And Harry’s made his own study of the current focus of said bloke, since Sixth Year in fact, so Harry’s comfortable saying he’s something of an expert on Ginny Weasley.

Slowly - with a slight drag on his gummed left heel - Harry picks his way through the shadowy bits of the pub towards Ginny as she continues her valiant attempt to scan the menu. Soon, Harry’s close enough to join Ginny’s ‘enjoyment’ of her current companion.

The bloke is mid-build, just shy of Harry’s height, and almost as into his boy band hair as he is to excessive use of perfume. Things he apparently is not into include reading body language, accepting personal space boundaries, and wearing hats correctly. Harry winces - half for Ginny’s nose and half for whatever this stranger is about to have done to him - when Perfume Lover leans in closer to Ginny. “Hello, beautiful! No need to check that out, I already know what’s on the menu - me ‘n’ you.”

Keep reading

[runningtwiceasfast]

Jily lives is maybe my favorite AU. I want everything in this universe...everything. This is so good

Hi please start writing hinny getting together au's again i love your writing so much

A/N: mmmm maybe you will like this? I'm planning to do a casual series of one shots fresh pickled toad style except AU! Hinny isn't together here yet but it'll get there yes?

My favorite line in this fic is a direct quote of @inakindofdaydream

FF and Ao3

---

“So what do you and Ginny talk about?”

James shoots Harry a sidelong glance that goes unnoticed and smiles. Apparently Aurors aren’t necessarily perceptive in all areas of life. Or gifted in translating investigative techniques to familial scenarios.

“Not much,” James finally answers, light and breezy. “Quidditch, family, how you fancy her to the moon and back.”

“Shit!” Harry’s rhythmic chops end with a fumbled thunk against the cutting-board.

Perhaps teasing should be saved for times when his son isn’t wielding a 7-inch blade.

Harry’s already grabbed a nearby tea towel and wrapped it around his finger. “The hell Dad?”

“Give me your hand.”

“I think part of it is on the counter can you grab it?” Harry deadpans while James pulls at his wrist.

“Aurors used to be tougher in my day,” James teases with a grin. Though his eyes immediately focus in on Harry’s hand once it’s revealed, healing spells on his lips to cleanse and knit the skin back together.

“You mean Mum’s day?” Harry shoots back. “Mr May.”

“I played quidditch,” James corrects with a sigh.

“Played quidditch and did topless calendar photoshoots,” Harry says, wriggling his newly healed fingers.

“One calendar - and I was in uniform,” James adds, “Mostly.”

“I’ve seen the photo. Half in uniform at best.”

“Well I had to get your Mum’s attention somehow,” James says as he begins heating the wok.

Harry lets out a long sigh as he pushes up onto the countertop, heels thudding against the cabinet doors. “I’m not much for photoshoots.”

“But you do have the Potter physique that has been known to drive women to matrimony.”

“That is a lie,” Lily says, lingering in the doorway. “The bit about what it’s known to do anyway. You do look like quite your Dad.”

She steps into the kitchen and toward Harry, running her hand down his shoulder before grasping his hand. “Dad learned that little spell from me.”

“I do it better - the principles that make it work are more like transfiguration than charms. It’s really misclassed.”

Lily shares a glance with Harry and rolls her eyes. “Nerd.”

“Jealous,” James shoots back.

“Of what exactly?”

“Dunno,” James answers, tone light with faux thoughtfulness. “Maybe my O in Transfiguration 7th year?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response,” Lily mutters, snatching a few sliced carrots from the towering veggie pile.

She crunches down on a few and gives Harry a lingering look. “So what’s up?”

Harry and James’s responses are a conflicting cacophony, with the latter firmly in the ‘nothing’ camp.

James sets the veggies sizzling and gives them a preliminary toss. “We were talking about Ginny Weasley, contrary to what my son the liar says.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, is what I mean.”

“Lies.”

“I heard you held hands.”

Harry jolts. “From whom? I think I would remember that.”

“Fleur,” Lily answers easily, watching Harry. “At Dominique’s christening.”

“Wow,” Harry grumbles. “You all need a life.”

James scoffs. “More like you need some game.”

Lily stifles a laugh and shoves James’s shoulder. “Leave him be.”

“Besides,” Harry says, focusing intently on the hole wearing through the knee of his jeans, “We held hands for the prayer. That’s like - “

“Congrats,” James says with a grin, “You’ve made it to Shakespearean first base.”

“I - what?”

“Palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss,” James quotes as he gives the veggies another toss.

Whatever follow up Harry might have formed dies when he spots the utterly nauseating look his mother is currently giving his father. “Really?”

She startles but doesn’t look the least bit guilty. “Yes?”

“That - gross.”

“Don’t be jealous your Dad wooed,” Lily says finally, patting Harry’s shoulder. “You may be older but he was a bloody mess. It took quite a bit of meddling.”

“Please don’t.”

James frowns. “I want grandbabies.”