Life and Love After Voldemort

A thousand years or so later, Harry and Ginny broke apart, though they still brimmed with energy and excitement. Ginny was burning to tell anyone and everyone the news. "I'm just dying to show this to Hermione and George and Ron tonight! Then we need to tell Mum and Dad, and they can tell everyone else in the family while we tell the rest of our friends here."

Harry concurred; for once he wasn't reluctant to be in the center of attention because it was going to be shared with Ginny and focused around their love for each other. "There's no time like the present!"

Ginny squeezed through the portrait hole, and Harry followed her close behind, goosing his intended onward when she stopped to admire her ring before they reached the other side. Once through, Harry turned back to the portrait and said: "Show the nice lady your sparkly new toy, Miss Weasley!"

"That's 'Mrs. Potter' to you, buddy!" Ginny snapped as she held out her left hand for closer examination.

The Fat Lady let out a euphoric yelp, then leaned towards the edge of her frame and yowled: "She said yes, Violet! I knew she would, I just KNEW she would! Sound the gong and break out the elderberry wine!"

Soon afterwards, cheers were echoing from distant corridors, followed by a whooshing sound that was produced by a magic carpet ridden by a red-feathered canary-headed gentleman. The figure popped something in its beak and soon transformed into the proprietor of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. "Do my eyes deceive me, or has our Mister Potter made an honest woman of me sister?"

"George!!!" shrieked Ginny as she tackled her brother. "Look, look, look! He did it!"

George eyed the ring and gave Harry a wry grin. "Reckon I owe Ron fifty Galleons; I could've sworn it would've gone the other way given my inside information."

Harry stepped back with surprise. What the - 'inside information?' And what were they doing taking bets on this 'going the other way?'

Before Harry could say anything, he was blindsided by Hermione hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. "I'm so happy for both of you, Harry. You deserve nothing but the best from now on."

"You do too, Hermione. I couldn't ask for a better or more loyal friend than what you've been to me. And hopefully soon, you'll be my favorite sister-in-law," added Harry quietly with a knowing wink.

Hermione blushed. "What can I say -- Weasley is my king! Just don't tell anyone I put it like that," she whispered, which made Harry double over with laughter.

Ron, who had been congratulating Ginny and asking her questions about the ring and the proposal, slapped Harry on the back. "Welcome to the family, mate! Mum's going to scream louder than a Mandrake when she hears, and Dad'll be dead chuffed too. And you just made me 50 Galleons richer thanks to George's lack of faith!"

Harry held up his hands for silence. "Everybody just hold it for a second. Will someone tell me why you all were betting on my proposal and what inside information convinced one of you that it was gonna go 'the other way?'"

George threw back his head and laughed. "Don't get the wrong idea, Harry; I thought you two would get engaged tonight if you had any sense in your noggins. But the bet was over who'd be doing the actual proposing, wasn't it! As far as my insider info, Angelina was grabbing the store's lunch order from a sandwich shop in Diagon Alley the other day and saw our Ginny through the window of a jewelry shop looking at rings. Angie saw her leave with a package, so I thought it more than reasonable that Ginny might beat Captain Oblivious - that's what she used to call you, Harry - to the punch. I even kept the bet going after you asked me to help arrange your special dinner with Ginny because you didn't say anything about a proposal, but I knew one of you would pop the question soon enough."

Harry turned to Ginny, who had a sheepish grin on her face as she produced from her purse a box containing an identical ring to the one on her finger. "We went to the same jeweler, didn't we! I wondered why the salesperson couldn't keep a straight face."

Harry was deeply touched by her gesture. "So... you were going to propose to me?"

"Don't be silly, Harry. You were going to do the asking, but I wasn't leaving anything to chance on the timing. The ring was just meant to be a... conversation starter if you needed some prodding." Ginny glided up to Harry and put her arms around his neck. "If you think you were leaving school without putting a ring on my finger, you're nuttier than Barnabas the Barmy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scene at the Burrow the weekend after Harry took his N.E.W.T.s and the first semester ended at Hogwarts was pandemonium. Harry was soon wishing he could pop in on Madame Pomfrey one last time. His cheeks were red and sore, not just from grinning but from being constantly tweaked by his mother-in-law-to-be. His ribs and back were no better from all of the celebratory hugs and slaps, and his right hand felt like it could drop off his wrist at any moment with the never-ending handshakes from the Weasley men. Harry made dozens of promises to do right by their dear little Ginny, and he dutifully affirmed that he would receive a horrible and painful death if he ever hurt her. Nevertheless, Harry wouldn't have had it any other way. It felt great to be welcomed into his adoptive family on another special level. Underscoring that point in anything but a subtle way was Mrs. Weasley. "I can't wait to bounce another tiny redhead on my knee!"

"Mother!" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Now now, Ginevra. It's not to say I wouldn't welcome a little dark-haired tyke, but your children will have three of four grandparents with red hair going for them, and the world needs more fiery locks if you ask me."

"We were going to get to work on the matter tonight, but there's this whole wedding thing and that pesky nine-month math problem to consider," Ginny deadpanned.

Mrs. Weasley's brow instantly furrowed. "That'll do, young lady. Oh, here comes another one!" She pointed at another owl carrying congratulations on the engagement, this one from Andromeda Tonks. "She gives her best to both of you and will bring Teddy here tomorrow night for Sunday dinner."

Harry looked forward to having Andromeda and Teddy over to Grimmauld Place and had made sure to carve out time to see them during the rest of the Cannons season. Harry excused himself and asked Ginny to come with him. Unlike their previous attempts to find alone time in the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley had been quite helpful, this time directing them to a shady spot in a field over the hill that she and Arthur had always found picturesque.

"Take your time about getting back, you two," she called after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Don't mind Mum," Ginny said to Harry as they walked down the hill. "She thinks everyone should be settled down with half a dozen kids by the time they're 25."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I haven't really been thinking about everything involved in raising a family and how we want to approach it."

"Good! Let's at least wait until we set the wedding date," chided Ginny.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Seriously though, I'm glad your mum brought it up so we can at least talk about it and not have me starring as 'Captain Oblivious' when the subject comes up again!"

"But you're so good at it!" Ginny mocked. "No, Harry, I agree that this is as a good a time as any to talk about it. I've thought about this for a long time, actually. I do want to start a family with you, but I want to start a life with you first. We don't have a prophecy hanging over our heads anymore, so I want to live accordingly and just let some things happen naturally and not plan down to the last detail. We can leave that to Hermione..."

"That makes sense, honey. As much as I love the warmth of a large family, I didn't want you to think I'd be disappointed if we didn't start down the same road as your parents to start. I personally want to see what Gryffindor's top-scoring Chaser can do in her prime!"

Ginny nodded emphatically. "Me too. Even if a little Quaffle or Quafflette comes along sooner rather than later, I know we'll have a willing babysitter, especially if it's a redhead! In the meantime, Teddy Tonks can serve as a ready-made baby starter kit! We'll test him out and see if kids are worth the hassle."

"Exactly," agreed Harry. "We'll rent with an option to buy!" The couple collapsed on the hill, riddled with giggles.

"Honestly, Harry, with Teddy and all the nieces and nephews I anticipate will be milling around the Burrow long before we're thinking up baby names, I think Mum will survive if we wait a while."

Harry pulled Ginny up and led her to the base of the hill. "Then let's forget about babies and get over to that shady spot so we can start the weekend off right."

"I thought you'd never ask," Ginny murmured seductively.