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Author: Aggiebell Story: Everything Rating: Teens Setting: Post-DH Status: Completed Reviews: 15 Words: 1,857 Written for the hg_silverlining livejournal community's song lyrics challenge, where I was given the following lyrics as my prompt: You calm the storms, and you give me rest. "Everything" - Lifehouse All recognizable characters, song lyrics, setting, and ideas not associated with the world of Harry Potter remain the property of their respective owners and all original characters, situations, places and ideas are the sole property of their creators. Original content viewed here may not be used without their permission. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. oOo "Breathe, Harry!" Ron's urgent whisper was filled with laughter, and I jumped when he poked me in the back. It's a good thing he did it, though - I'd completely forgotten how. How to breathe. How to think. How to... How to do anything other than stare at Ginny as she walked down the aisle towards me. It's a miracle I was still standing, to tell the truth. "My God. She's beautiful," I said to myself. Or maybe not entirely to myself, if the titters from the congregated guests were any indication. Ron chuckled behind me. It's interesting, because I hadn't been nervous at all. Not when I asked her to marry me. Not when we set the date or picked the florist (Neville, of course, was the only one either of us even considered) or food (Molly and Hannah more than outdid themselves). Even last night, when we kissed goodnight before haring off to our respective beds for the last time as "single" people - Ginny to The Burrow and me to our flat (our flat!) - it had never even occurred to me to be nervous. And I wasn't nervous now, either. This was, without a doubt, the absolute rightest thing I've ever done. All I wanted was for the ceremony to be over and for Ginny to finally be my wife. You calm the storms, and you give me rest. We've travelled a hard road, she and I, and it took a long time for us to get to this point. Sometimes I wish I hadn't been so thick, that I'd noticed her earlier, but then I realise we wouldn't be who we are now without the things that happened to us then, without the time we took to grow and become who we are. She's amazingly strong, and I don't just mean physically or magically. Not only did she fight off the memory of one of the most evil wizards ever to walk the earth, she did it when she was just eleven years old - just a child, still. I should've known then that she was perfect for me, but... Well, I've always been a bit thick when it comes to girls. I came around eventually, though. I'm a lucky bastard; I know I am. I never expected her to wait, not when I ended our relationship at Dumbledore's funeral, or when I left her to go "camping" (I can't believe we call it that as if it were all fun and games) with Ron and Hermione. I knew she'd understand, of course - it's one of the things I love best about her. But I had to do it, or I'd have gone mad worrying about her. It was the single-hardest thing I'd ever done, to leave her behind like that. I hate that I left her to keep her safe but ended up sending her straight into the line of fire. We've talked about that time, what would've been my seventh year. We've yelled and screamed and cried and come out the other side leaning on each other for strength again. She's always been my best source of comfort. You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall. It was only natural for us to become a couple again, but we decided to do it right this time - before we even started back together, we agreed to really open up to each other, to learn the other's secrets, to really be the best of friends before we became serious. Not long after, I asked Ginny to marry me, and she said yes. We had to bow to Molly's wishes and postpone the wedding from our originally planned date in March to August - Molly didn't think six weeks gave her enough time to put a wedding together. We would've gone to the Ministry right then and there, if we'd had the chance. We didn't care so much about the wedding itself. We cared about the after. oOo I was a little surprised by the sound of someone clearing his throat and the feel of another sharp poke to my back - I'd been so caught up in reliving the memories of our relationship and the look on Ginny's face that I failed to realise how close she was to me until she was right in front of me. Ron snickered again, and I flushed and gave Ginny a sheepish look. She smiled at me and shook her head slightly, chuckling. She knows me so well, and I'm certain she realised I was lost in our memories. I looked down and took her hand as we turned toward the official and began the service. The fragrance of her perfume weaved around us, and I knew she was there with me...and would be for the rest of our lives. If you were to ask me what happened in the ceremony, what we said and did, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I'm assuming we said our vows, but honestly, all I remember is Ginny. Ginny's smile. Ginny's voice. Ginny's hand in mine. And the kiss that sealed our vows as husband and wife. You steal my heart, and you take my breath away. My God. I thought I'd learned plenty about kissing Ginny, but I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong. I could always lose myself in Ginny's kisses - that was obvious from the very first one, in front of the whole of Gryffindor House. I never even noticed what was going on around me once our lips met. Not that I regret it. Her kisses - the Quidditch Kiss and my Birthday Kiss (both of which I think about with capital letters), especially - were what kept me going during the hunt for the Horcruxes. Those memories are what kept me sane all that time and gave me a reason to live through the war. The memory of her kiss was the last thing I thought of when I went to face Voldemort in the Forest; her kiss after it was all over is what convinced me I was really alive. Of course, there have been many more since the one she gave me at the end of the war. But as kisses go, this one put all the rest to shame. It was so...so...Ginny. It drew me in, into the deepest core of her - I felt like we didn't have anything hidden from each other. Yes, all right. I know. It's sappy as hell for me to say that, but it's the truth. We pulled apart to the cheers and whoops of our family and friends; her hands were twined tightly in my hair, and mine rested at the small of her back, pulling her closer. Her eyes shone brightly and she gave me a cheeky smile. I knew then that she was thinking the same thing I was: "When can we go?" The reception went by in a blur, too. I kept reaching for her hand, rubbing my thumb across the ring I'd just placed on her third finger, just to reassure myself that it was really there and we were really married. My own ring felt heavy on my hand, and I found myself purposely catching it with my thumbnail to remind myself that this was real, this was forever. We danced; we ate (I think...I'm a bit fuzzy on the details); we talked with our guests. And finally, it was time for us to go. oOo We'd kept our destination a secret from her family - only Kreacher knew how to contact us, and he'd been instructed to do so only in the face of an extreme emergency. We didn't want any sort of interruptions from anyone, and this seemed to be the best way to keep them all away. We arrived at the Apparition point of our resort, checked in, and were escorted to our room. I remember thinking that I hoped the bellboy left soon - Ginny and I weren't going to be deterred from our goal, and that goal was being as close as physically possible, as soon as possible. We'd waited until we were married to become intimate. It didn't start out as a conscious decision on either of our parts; it just kind of evolved into an agreement to remain celibate. It was, by far, one of the hardest things I'd ever done. The temptation of her body when we were alone, when she was kissing along my jaw and under my ear, her hands running up under my shirt, almost did me in, and more than once. But we made it to our wedding night. And I was glad we did. Making love to her... If I thought her kisses were amazing, they had nothing on being with her in the most intimate way possible. I had to remind myself again to breathe as I watched her, our bodies together, our souls joined. Would you take me in? Take me deeper now? Afterwards, I lay there, watching her sleep, her red hair fanned out over the pillow, and I couldn't help but be amazed. She was perfect for me, and she was with me, and I was undeserving. She'd never agree with that sentiment, but I know the truth. When I was a child, trapped at the Dursleys', wondering why nobody loved me, I used to dream of having someone like her in my life. I didn't know it at the time, but even then I'd been yearning for her. And somehow, some way, she'd been brought into my life. It took me much too long to figure it out, but I got there, eventually. And I learned something along the way. Miracles do happen. We're living proof. ~fin~ A/N: This was due...um...a long time ago. But this challenge gave me fits. This is, literally, my fifth attempt to write something that fit the lyrics. Yes, I suck. (On the bright side, I now have four other H/G fics in various stages of completion.) Many, many thanks to sherylyn and ohginnyfan for their hand-holding and poking while I was writing this, and for the numerous tweaks and copious amounts of red ink they used the numerous times they edited this fic. If it hadn't been for these two wonderful ladies, I'd still be working on this silly story. |