#i almost wrote burrowed time goddamnit-

[silverorchideon]

Okay, so I finally got around to reading "Cotton Tails and Borrowed Time" by @skellebonez, and I needed to draw Bunny Tang.

Not necessarily a particular scene, I just wanted to draw him. I like how he touches his ears a lot.

Also, I'm not that good at drawing anthropomorphic characters, so Tang does not look too good here.

[booksforevermore13]

Nine days (at long last)

Summary: Harry wants to propose to Ginny, but it turns out to be a lot harder than he thought. In the end, it takes nine days.

A/N: Huge, huge thanks to my awesome teammates Autumn, Ashleigh and Hannah for looking through the fic! I had a lot of fun writing this (after ditching another one I wrote) but in the end, I'm glad it turned out okay! Read it on Fanfiction or AO3 if you prefer!

...

"Mate, if you're waiting for the right moment, this is it."

"I know."

"Like, now."

"I know."

"She's looking at you, mate."

"I know."

"It's now or never."

"I know," Harry hissed, glaring at Ron. Consciously, he glanced at her again, standing between Bill and George and laughing as George spoke, and, if he hadn't chosen today as the day he proposed, he'd have been laughing along with her. But her eyes were on him, and then not, as her gaze turned to George and she laughed and Harry found himself immediately missing her gaze.

"I know what the problem is," Ron announced and Harry looked at him, arching an eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"You," Ron pointed at him, "are going to propose to her," and then pointed at Ginny, "my sister. My only sister."

"I know who I am going to propose to, Ron. Get to the point."

"The point is that I," he declared, "am her brother. It doesn't fundamentally work for me to tell you, my best mate, to marry my only sister. That… that's like violating the brother's code."

Harry rubbed his forehead, glancing warily at the glass of whisky in Ron's hand. In the short span in which Hermione had gone to help Mrs. Weasley with the cooking, he'd downed more than he would have with her around.

"How much have you had to drink, Ron?"

"Enough to be disgusted by the two of you simply looking at each other. You act as if you've never seen her before, Merlin."

"Oh, god, Ron, she's looking at me again."

The last time he'd been this nervous was back in his sixth year and that was when he and Ron had been dolts of the highest calibre. When he looked at Ron again, he was shaking his head in exasperation.

"Yeah, why is that, Harry? Did she find out you've been staring at her for the last ten minutes?" Ron hissed and Harry glared at him.

He clearly wasn't expecting Ron to give him a sharp nudge to his ribs, and when he did, Harry found himself a lot closer to Ginny than he was before. This time, when he turned, Ron nodded excitedly at him and when he looked at Ginny again, this time, her eyes were already on him.

"Hey," he found himself saying as he walked near her. George leaned over to say something to Bill but stepped away as Ginny turned on them, and they put their hands in the air, grinning.

"Hey back," Ginny said as he neared, and if he hadn't been so secretive these last few days, he'd have thought she'd figured it out.

For a second, he wished he hadn't chosen the Burrow to be where he proposed. nine days before Christmas, too. It was a time when everyone in the family was there, and the extended family too, and the Burrow became so crammed up that they slept on the couches and conjured tents outside. Harry loved it, but given the time, it might not have been his ideal choice for a proposal.

But the Burrow was and had remained the place where he had the most good memories, the best ones, with the people he loved and who loved him back, and in the end, he'd figured this to be the right place. The best one.

"You want to say something to me, Harry?" Ginny asked, and Harry realised with a jerk that he'd been staring.

"I do." He coughed and patted his coat pocket, searching for the box. "It's uh… very important."

"Yeah?" Ginny smiled and stepped forward, putting her hands around his neck. Consciously, he could feel eyes on them, but focused on Ginny, the slight smile on her face, her flaming red hair falling in waves down her shoulder and when he looked closer, the tiny flecks of golden brown in her eyes.

Where in the bloody hell was that box?

"You look beautiful," he stammered, searching his jeans for the box. He'd told her that before, but in the heat of the moment, complimenting her was the only thing coming to mind. He checked his coat pocket again. He was sure he'd had it while talking to Ron. He'd felt it.

"Harry." He heard Ginny say his name and looked up at her to see her chuckling."What is it you want to say?"

"I… uh…"

It wasn't there. The bloody box wasn't there. Harry brought out his hands from his pocket and with one hand, brushed back some of her hair behind her ear. "It's nothing," he found himself saying. "Just uh… want you to know how much I love you."

And that if I could find that ring, I'd get down on one knee right now.

Ginny laughed and if Harry could have bottled that sound and got drunk on it every day, he would have. "Where's this coming from?"

"Nowhere," he said hurriedly. Goddamnit.

Harry could see she was trying not to laugh. "What's going on, Harry?" Ginny asked, and Harry stilled.

Should he tell her? Without the ring? Harry looked at her, taking note of every small detail, even though he'd done it a thousand times before. The sprinkle of freckles around her nose, the golden brown flecks in her eyes. Her face was so close to him that he could smell the sweet fragrance of the sherry she'd been drinking and Harry knew that if anything, she deserved a perfect proposal. So, he shook his head and waited a moment longer. Then he kissed her.

If there were any groans from the audience, he didn't notice, nor did he care about the fact that he was kissing her in front of her brothers, who'd threatened him more than once for the mere feat that was dating her. No, instead, he cupped her cheek to bring her closer, one hand lost in her hair.

When they finally broke for air, and she looked at him with that knowing smirk on her face, Harry couldn't help but kiss her again.

"Have I ever told you," he said breathlessly, "that your hair is really soft after you wash it?"

And she laughed, and Harry felt a surge of disappointment because after all the talk of right moments, he knew that if he could do it, he'd do it now.

When they finally turned, the crowd around them had left, all except for Ron looking disapprovingly at him, Hermione who'd come back during the commotion and who was now shaking her head at him in earnest, and George with a rather bored look on his face.

"I thought it was going to be interesting," he said, and then shuddered. "Instead, all we got was a very public display of affection. Merlin."

And as Ginny laughed beside him, Harry couldn't help but blush.

Try another day, it was.

…

Harry shivered as he stepped inside the Burrow. It was two in the night and the silence he entered was almost jarring. Pots clanging, Victoire crying, Teddy's excited voice from the living room, George and Ron laughing in the backyard, Ginny screaming at her brothers; it had become a comfort to hear it. Now, however, silence.

He welcomed the warm gust of air as he closed the door behind him, shrugging off his coat and jacket, keeping his boots on the mat. He'd not expected a call from the Ministry that night. Two nights before Christmas, and they'd spotted Mulciber in a Muggle village, and he'd had to go in. They'd not anticipated anyone else, but when they Apparated there Mulciber had not been alone.

"Hey," he heard a voice and turned around, a smile on his face before he even saw who it was.

Ginny was sitting on the couch, a tub of ice-cream in her hand.

"What are you doing up?"

She shrugged. "I had a very strong craving for blueberry ice-cream," Ginny said and Harry laughed.

This was not the first time he'd come back home to see her up. Harry'd never said it, but it was comforting, coming back home at three in the morning to see her licking off ice-cream right from the tub. He'd sit beside her and she'd open up a tub of chocolate and they'd eat it until it melted.

Harry sat beside her on the couch.

"How'd the mission go?"

"Rough," he replied, not bothering to lie. Ginny knew him well enough to catch his bluff.

"What happened?" she asked, and he could hear the distinct concern in her voice, the fear in her eyes.

"Nothing major. Avery was hoping for a tussle when we went in. There were a dozen of them, five of us. Took us by surprise."

He felt her still beside him and looked at her, smiling reassuringly.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No. Bruises, stuns, splinches, nothing that'll stay."

"And you?"

"I'm fine."

She sighed, and Harry leaned against her, too awake to feel sleepy, yet completely worn out. He felt Ginny move under him and then her thumb rubbing circles on the juncture between his thumb and his index. He smiled absently, closing his eyes in comfort.

"You know," Ginny said softly, "George and I, we scrounged up a T.V today, televelly something."

"Television." Harry smiled absently. She was offering a distraction, and Harry was glad she was. He needed one.

"That," Ginny chuckled. "We fixed it. Well, Hermione did and then we found this… this… some moony…. moovyon it."

"You mean, a movie?"

"Yes, that," Ginny said indignantly and Harry laughed and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Anyway," she waved around her hands, "I found a movie on it, and it's the same as a book I read when I was young. Frankenstein."

"You've read that?"

Ginny nodded, and then got up, squeezing his hand as she did and then rummaged under the table for something. She walked behind the sofa, and hauled up a large cube like thing, covered by the black cloth. Harry watched her in confusion as she took out her wand and charmed a table mat into a socket, and then took off the black cloth.

"Wait, you really found a T.V?"

She looked at him, an eyebrow arched. "You thought I was joking?"

"No," he said, and Ginny smiled.

She rummaged around a few more minutes, conjuring up things, fixing wires into sockets and then sat down beside him, a remote in hand.

"Don't look so surprised, this is all Hermione," Ginny said and pointed to the screen "I thought this was a mirror."

Harry had to hold back a laugh before she peered at the remote and pressed a button and he whistled as the screen came to life. Ginny wiggled her eyebrows at him and then pressed a few more buttons, and as fast as the screen had lit up, a black and white series of images appeared on the screen.

"I know, I'm brilliant," Ginny said, smirking at him.

"Damn right.'

She turned her gaze to the screen and he followed her. Frankenstein. He knew the movie. He didn't like it. Harry had seen it last at the Dursleys, and he, quite frankly, hadn't been big on a movie which showed someone creating a monster and then dying at the hands of the said monster he created. It was terrifying for him.

He didn't say anything, seeing Ginny's face. She was excited and happy, and seeing her like this made it a little more bearable for him, but he was positively miffed when he saw the monster being created and right on the edge of covering his face when it killed its first victim.

It was all well and good until he saw the man talk to the creature, and that was when he knew he was done.

"Ginny," he said breathlessly, "hey, Gin?" and as Ginny turned to him, he didn't know if he should have laughed or jumped around the living room thrice.

He turned his face in embarrassment, as Ginny looked at him and promptly started laughing, her laughter echoing in the room before Harry pressed his palm on her mouth and her voice was muffled. She quieted down, but he could see her glinting in the dimming light of the fire.

"Merlin, sorry," Ginny chuckled, "I shouldn't laugh."

He tensed again as the monster in question roared.

"Gin, this movie, it's really scary, seriously," he said quickly, "but you're enjoying it so I'm trying not to cover my face the whole time, but- WHAT IS THAT?"

"It's a classic!" Ginny laughed. "Merlin, Harry, take a chance. What harm can it do?"

"Oh, I took a chance. Fifteen years ago. I don't see how people find this," he pointed at the screen, "this scary, murderous movie where everyone dies as a cinematic masterpiece."

Ginny was still laughing and Harry's ears were now a bright red, and he couldn't have been more embarrassed.

When Ginny finally switched the T.V off, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"How," Ginny said and he shook his head, knowing what was to come, "can a person like you, who fights Death-Eaters on a daily basis, be scared of a movie?"

Harry tapped his forehead in exasperation and Ginny laughed.

"God, you're adorable."

She leaned forward, kissing him and then moving away, but Harry held onto her waist, bringing her close to him. Perhaps now was the right time to do it, he thought. Maybe he should take out the ring now.

There were only them here, she was in his arms, he could just take out the ring and ask.

But what if it was too early? What if she said no?

Harry looked at her, and Ginny leaned forward, her hands around her neck as she kissed him and Harry wondered how long it'd take for him to gather the courage he so direly needed. In a way, this was more daunting than the monster Frankenstein had created.

But then he heard a noise, a clicking noise, and a smell of something burning, and they broke off, Harry still holding Ginny close to him, alert for any signs of danger, when they saw it.

The socket was smoking. Bloody smoking.

"Shit!" Ginny cursed, and scrambled up, Harry behind her, and before Ginny could touch anything, Harry wrenched out the socket.

"Oh, shit," Ginny repeated, seeing the blackened metal. "Oh, Merlin, no."

"There goes our Frankenstein," Harry mumbled. And my proposal.

Ginny glared at him.

…

Christmas was every bit as wonderful as he had imagined it. As he had imagined it every year. No, the right word wasn't wonderful. It was happy.

Harry, by now, was convinced that Christmas was meant for the Weasley family.

A strong gust of wind blew and he smiled as he heard Ron's voice and then a cracker burst and then Mrs. Weasley yelling.

"Hey." He heard Ginny behind him and turned.

"Hey back."

"A change of colours, I see?" Ginny asked, looking at his sweater. Consciously, he tugged at it, then looked at her.

"I think Mrs. Weasley ran out of red yarn." He smiled, brushing the golden yellow snitch on the hem of his sweater. It was blue this year, and Harry had been surprised when he'd opened the package, but it had essentially been one of the best gifts he'd got.

Ginny walked near him, slipping her hands in his. They were hands which knew how to hold on and yet simultaneously set you free.

He was going to do it.

"Gin," he started, the weight of the ring in his pocket reassuring. "I have to ask you something."

She nodded and Harry continued. "I… I love you. It's no secret. I… you are… I love you so much. It was and has always been… you." He waited, out of breath, but he wasn't going to stop.

"You love me like I'm the person who actually deserves your love."

"But you are the only one who does," Ginny said, and Harry, for a moment, couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to deserve her.

Momentarily, he looked down, taking out the box, but when he looked up again, his eyes widened. This time, Ginny was holding a box too, identical to his, and her eyes were shining.

"What… h-how?" he stammered and Ginny laughed.

"How do you think?" she said, "Didn't think I'd know you were trying to propose to me for the last nine days now, Harry, did you?"

"It was supposed to be a secret!"

Ginny laughed, and Harry laughed too, though he was a bit disgruntled by the fact that she'd known the whole time. Maybe he wasn't as smooth as he thought he was but it was a mystery to him how she had known.

"Where did you find the ring the first time you lost it, Harry?"

Harry gaped at her, and chuckled unbelievably. "How?" he said, then chuckled again. "With Teddy."

"Yes, well, he showed it to me before he gave it to you. Clearly, he knew the ring was meant for me."

This time, Harry laughed out loud, and her hand still in his, he brought her closer to him.

"And if that wasn't enough, my hair being soft essentially gave it away," she said with a smirk.

Harry kissed her on the forehead, and then on the lips. He frowned as Ginny drew away, but it turned into a smile, as he saw her opening the box.

The ring inside was identical to his, the only difference being the vines running along its length. He took out his ring from the box, holding it beside hers, flowers and vines side by side.

When he looked up, Ginny's eyes were shining with tears. He knew his were, too.

"So," she said, "will you marry me?"

Harry laughed, and then gently put the ring on her middle finger.

"Only if you marry me, too."

And Ginny laughed, and cried, and he thought he did too and in the end when her lips collided with his, he knew it had been worth it.

In the end, he was glad he'd waited nine days.

...