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[fics_by_maple]

Within You, Without You
Chapter 5 - For You Blue
Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6   Chapter 7   Chapter 8   Chapter 9   Chapter 10

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The pre-dawn sky had already turned from dark indigo to gray when Harry crossed his arms under his robes, shivering against the slight chill in the air.

He was leaning against a tree near the chicken coop, waiting for the front door of the Burrow to open.

He could hear the chickens beginning to scratch and cluck in their pen, and he was certain he saw two tiny gnomes climb over the far garden gate.

That was when the aging door creaked open and Ginny came into view.

She shuffled out past the inner garden. Harry’s heart soared at the adorable sight. Her eyes were barely open as she dragged her feet, and her hair was all tangled.

Ginny yawned and rubbed her eyes as she waved her wand. A burlap bag of chicken feed levitated out of the coop and scattered seeds around while the fowl scrambled after it.

Harry made his way slowly towards her. When she was only a short distance ahead of him, he froze; he saw her flinch and grip her wand, in reaction to his presence.

“Harry?” she asked, looking over her shoulder in his direction.

She smiled upon seeing him, just as he slipped his hands around her waist.

“’Morning,” he murmured, nuzzling his cheek against her temple, getting a nose full of her unkempt hair. It had a faint smell of strawberry.

“Good morning,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. Their lips met for only a moment, but she felt flushed by the time they parted.

“Missed you.” Harry shrugged, pulling her closer, letting his hands find their place on her lower back. “Didn’t want to wait anymore. I wondered how you’d slept?”

“I slept fine, thank you.” Ginny bit her lip, biting back a giggle as she stroked her fingers through his hair.

“And I wondered what you dreamt about.”

“Oh. I dreamt about you, if I recall correctly.” She smirked before an ungraceful yawn overtook her.

“Yeah?” He grinned at her, squeezing her tight while she nodded, her eyes watering from her yawn. “Hey, I actually wanted to show you something this morning.”

“Really? What is it?” Ginny asked, looking at him as though expecting him to pull something from his pocket.

“Well, we need to take a bit of a ride actually,” Harry said, as he held out his hand and Accioed his broomstick, which was leaning against the tree that he had been resting on. As the Firebolt flew into his grip, he asked with a tilt of his head, “Wanna come with me?”

“Yes! Aw, I’d love to,” she said, her eyes lighting up, “but I’m not dressed, and it’s a bit chilly for flying yet.” Ginny crossed her hands and rubbed her arms for warmth.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Harry said, straddling the hovering broom. “Come with me; there’s not much time.” He beckoned her with his open hand.

Here was a tall, handsome wizard, with his dark robes billowing slightly in the morning breeze, and he wanted to whisk her away. This was impossible to refuse.

She sighed in defeat. “You can take me anywhere.”

Ginny walked forward, side sitting on the broom in front of him, shivering as she did so.

“Here, lemme keep you warm.” Harry unclasped the front of his robe and he pulled her tight against his chest, wrapping her inside his robe with him.

“Hmm,” Ginny purred as she settled against his hard chest, his free arm wrapped firmly around her middle.

Harry pulled on the lead of the broom handle, which quivered under the power of two riders.

“Aw, come on, Gin, let me fly,” he coaxed, realizing she also had a hold on the handle.

She giggled, but released the broom. “Fine, but I fly back.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed, kissed her behind her ear, and he held her tight against him as he kicked off the ground. “I’ve got you,” his voice rasped in her ear as they slowly rose higher. She clutched his thighs for support, feeling the strength in them as he gripped the broom.

She turned to look up at him, and his eyes sparkled at hers in return. Whether the fluttering Snitch sensation in her belly was caused by their ascent into the air or from Harry himself, she didn’t know.

She was excited by the commanding way he held her. But he didn’t presume control over her like the other men in her life, her brothers, and ex-boyfriends. She trusted Harry: he made her feel respected and protected all at once.

The wind rushed passed them as they soared higher, sending her hair into his face.

“Sorry,” she offered, sniggering and trying to capture it with one hand. “I usually tie my hair back when I fly.”

“Leave it. I like having your hair in my face.” He nuzzled her hair once more before kissing her.

“So, where are we going, anyway?” she asked, looking ahead.

“We’re just about there now, actually,” Harry answered, looking around them. They were hovering above the tree line of the wood behind the Burrow. “Yeah, this’ll do. Now watch…”

Ginny cast a quizzical look at him before scanning the scenery ahead of her, not knowing what she was supposed to be looking for. The landscape that she had explored as a child was still shrouded in short dark shadows below them.

“You know, I just realized that whenever I’m on a broom, I’m playing Quidditch. And, well,” she huffed at herself, “I’m usually trying to be faster or better than whomever I’m up against, aren’t I? Haven’t just sat and looked around much before.”

“Yeah, I was the same way for a long time,” Harry agreed quietly. “Look, here it comes,” he whispered giving her a nudge and peering over her shoulder.

The sun broke the horizon, just above the wall of trees ahead of them.
The misty white clouds shined bright silver, as though they were melting while the sky behind them blazed a bright pink and orange. The whole world came to life in a split second.

In the next moment, the brilliant colors in the sky were gone. The clouds parted, and Harry and Ginny were squinting in golden sunlight. The Earth beneath them was illuminated in all its summer green beauty.

Ginny looked up at Harry, who had an almost reverent expression on his face, a faint smile playing on his lips. His eyes slowly lowered to her.

“Harry, love, you wanted to show me the sunrise?”

He nodded, saying nothing, with visible emotion on his face.

“It was beautiful. Thank you,” she said, trailing a finger along his jaw line and over his full bottom lip.

He kissed her fingertips and then leaned forward to kiss her gently, careful not to jar their broom.

“Did you like it?” he asked. “It’s been a while since I came out here to look at it, but I really wanted to show you.”

“Really? Why? Honestly, I always try to avoid morning as long as possible, but someone has to feed the bloody chickens.”

Harry chuckled.

“Well...” He looked out around them as he considered his answer. “Guess it started right after the war, when we still lived here, before Ron and Hermione bought the house and we all moved. I couldn’t sleep much back then.” Harry bit the inside of his cheek and shrugged. “Things were so hard to sort out…. Nightmares. Lupin told me to just appreciate every new day. He was right: it helped, for a while.”

“For a while? Are you saying that you don’t appreciate every day anymore?”

“Oh no, I do. But see –I used to think that maybe I’m not supposed to want things in life, since I haven’t had much to celebrate, aside from just living to see the next day. But now, I can’t help it, Ginny; I want more.” He almost looked ashamed at this admission.

Ginny felt her insides drop into her feet.

“You’re allowed to want things in life, Harry. What more do you want? Tell me,” Ginny asked, knowing what her answer to the question would be.

Harry swallowed. It was so hard for him to dare to wish for anything.

“I just know that I wanted to share this sunrise with you. I want to share every day with you. I can’t stand being apart, even just during the night.”

“I think I know how you feel,” she said, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

“Do you?” he asked. “How about you, Ginny? Tell me what you want; I want to know.”

She quickly sat upright.

“Here, let me fly,” she instructed with a smile.

He sniggered. “Yeah, okay.”

Harry still held one arm tight around her middle and put the other on the broom behind him. She leaned forward and took the lead.

Ginny took them in a wide circle over the pasture of strawberry fields and over the line of trees before she let the broom descend. They slowed when the third story of the Burrow was at eye level, centered in front of them.

“There,” she said, looking straight ahead. “That’s what I want, Harry. Just a simple home. Perhaps, one that isn’t quite so lopsided and ratty. One without a ghoul, and for the love of giants, no chickens.”

They both laughed and Harry leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder as they looked on.

“So, just you and your big, empty, not-lopsided house?” Harry asked.

She poked Harry in the ribs and pursed her lips at him. “Actually, I was thinking that I’d like to share my not-lopsided house with someone. Maybe somebody who’d like to show me the sunrise once in a while...”

Harry felt a stupid grin cover his face. He was certain he bore the same ridiculous expression on his face that he had ribbed Ron about so many times.

Her hair was still blowing about in their faces as they kissed. Harry barely slid his tongue against hers, marveling that her warm taste was already so familiar to him. Lacing their hands together, they led the broomstick together as they flew towards the ground.

Harry’s feet found the ground as they landed behind the broom shed, out of sight of the main house.

He cradled Ginny’s upper body in his arm, so that her legs hung over the still hovering broomstick. She put one hand behind Harry’s neck as he kissed her, while the other began to roam under his open robe, over his shoulder and the flexing bicep that was holding her weight.

His kisses left her swollen lips, and he nibbled and tasted all the freckled skin between her ear and her collarbone. Her blue dressing gown, now disheveled, hung open and off her shoulder, while the white linen nightgown revealed the swell of her cleavage.

This was as close to ‘lingerie’ as Harry had ever seen on her. He liked what he saw.

Harry’s fingertips trailed behind his kisses, past her collarbone until he reached the straining buttons.

Now surrounded by the warm glow of the morning sun he met her eyes, seeking permission, and then ran his fingers under the scalloped edge of her gown.

Ginny smiled and her cheeks colored the slightest hue of pink when she reached up and began unbuttoning the thin barrier between him and the breasts he had dreamt about for years. Harry felt his chest expand, along with other parts of himself, as he watched her undress for him.

Freeing the last button from its delicate cotton anchor with the most trusting and beautiful face he could imagine, Ginny let the fabric fall open and revealed herself to him. The air in Harry’s lungs felt thick as he drew breath.

Now Harry finally knew the answers to the questions that had kept him awake at night. The multitude of freckles thinned toward the peak of her breast, until there was nothing but a halo of creamy, unblemished skin around full nipples that were the same kissable shade of pink as her lips.

It took his breath away.

“Ginny, do you know how beautiful you are? …” Harry’s voice was hushed and awed as he cupped the outer curve of one breast in his palm. He tenderly lifted the soft weight in his hands. Generations of male instinct drove him to put his mouth over the delicate pink peak.

Harry’s dreams had never been this perfect. His heart was light and his cock was growing heavy against the broom handle and every magical cell in his body felt at home as he gently sucked.

Releasing it from his mouth for only a moment once the peak tightened under his tongue, Harry couldn’t resist the temptation to see how the texture had changed. The fine lines of the delicate, puckered skin shone wet as he continued to lick over the top, playing with the firmness.

A contented sigh escaped her lips, and he kissed the valley between her breasts.

“I hope you like this as much as I do,” Harry gasped against her skin, making his way across her chest and claiming the neglected peak with his mouth. He swirled his tongue around and around, while his thumb mirrored the action on the other side.

Ginny ran her hand into his hair, arching into him.

“I do, Harry, I love it. …I love-” And though Ginny didn’t finish the sentence she started, letting it turn into another quiet moan, Harry let the unspoken phrase and sentiment ring in his ear. She loved him. He could feel it.

I love you. A life lived without ever hearing or saying the words was a difficult thing for him to overcome.

Another breeze rushed passed them, and when he felt the goose flesh rise on her skin, he pulled her close to his chest.

“I’m sorry. You must be freezing.” He carefully lifted her legs off of the broom and held her in his arms, enjoying a long kiss before settling her on the ground.

“I’m glad you came this morning,” she said, rearranging her clothes.

Harry bent and kissed her chest just below the notch between her collarbones, taking a peek at her bosom once before it was hidden from his view.

“I could do that all morning, you know?” Harry said. Although Ginny’s dressing gown was properly closed again, he felt himself becoming absurdly shy. Harry could only imagine the jokes the blokes would make at his expense if they knew that all he wanted to do was to spend the rest of the day lying in Ginny’s lap, suckling at her breasts.

“And I would let you do it all morning, too,” Ginny said, taking his face in her hands. “You stupid git, are you blushing? I liked that; there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“I know,” he responded, turning pinker still. “It’s just that - Gin, I’m not just having fun with you. You know that, right? I would never just do that, not with you. I really …feel… about you. Really.” He unconsciously gripped at his pounding heart while he spoke, the words sticking in his throat.

“I know, Harry,” Ginny said, quieting him with a kiss, holding his cheek in her palm. “I know. We’ve got time for that.”

Harry nodded, still looking disappointed with himself. He had managed to tell Ron and Hermione that he loved them, but that was only in dire circumstances and after years of close friendship. It didn’t make it any easier to say the words again.

“Come on, we’d better get inside,” Ginny said, taking Harry’s hand and leading them around the broom shed.

As they walked towards the Burrow, they saw a light flicker on upstairs.

“Harry, I told you that I want a home, but that’s not all I want, you know? It’s not like I want to bake pies all day. There’s big world out there, and I want to see it. I’ve hardly seen any of England, let alone anyplace else.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. There are lots of places I’d like to see, too. Let’s see them together, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Hey, I’ll take you into work this morning.”

“No, Harry, you won’t.”

“What?” he asked, not sure if he understood. “You? You don’t want me to go with you?”

Ginny stopped and faced him.

“Now listen, you. Don’t get emotional about this, okay? You need to understand something.” Harry was frowning, and she rubbed the wrinkle between his eyebrows with her thumb as she continued. “I’ve been escorted every day of my life: to and from school, during every holiday, every trip to Diagon Alley, every trip to Hogsmeade, every place I have ever been. We lived through a war, so I didn’t complain –much- about it, because I understood the need for security. I was victimized the moment I left for school, so I can understand people looking after me. But I need to accomplish things on my own now. Can you understand that?”

Harry frowned again, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles, considering her position.

“Harry, I have enough brothers in my life. I don’t need that sort of protection from you. Whatever, this is, happening between us? I have to know you respect that.”

A slow smile crept over Harry’s lips.

“I am so not one of your brothers,” he said with a smirk, grabbing her arse and pulling her into a kiss. He rolled his tongue against hers, sucking with quick desperation as though proving a point. He released her mouth and pressed his cheek against hers and whispered, “I do respect you.”

As they approached the front door, Ginny observed Harry out of the corner of her eye. He was gorgeous with his windswept hair and cheeks still rosy from the cool air. She was accustomed to admiring his handsome face over the years, but he didn’t much resemble the boy that had once made her speechless. He was a man now, one she wanted to spend all of her mornings with.

The sound of sizzling and the smell of sausage frying greeted them as they entered the kitchen, but it was the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley having a passionate snog in front of the stove that stopped them short.

“Oh,” Harry stammered, looking at the floor.

“Urgh,” Ginny scolded.

Mr. Weasley moved away quickly, removing his hands from Mrs. Weasley’s backside and reaching for a mug on the counter behind her.

“Morning,” he squeaked, his face on fire, holding up the mug. “Just getting some coffee.” He sat down at the table and quickly dived behind the morning Prophet.

“Harry! What a nice surprise,” Mrs. Weasley said, turning to stir the eggs. “Sit down, you two. Breakfast is almost ready. Have you been out?” she asked, not making eye contact and wiping her mouth.

To Harry’s relief, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were flustered enough themselves, and he truly couldn’t think of what to say to them about what he had just been doing with their daughter. He was once a fantastic liar, but at the moment he could only remember what her breast felt like in his mouth.

“Mum,” Ginny stated, without any of Harry’s reluctance, “Harry took me flying, and we watched the sunrise.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Weasley said, looking at Harry with admiration. “How romantic.”

“It really was,” Ginny whispered with excitement.

Harry took a seat next to Mr. Weasley, wishing he had a newspaper to hide behind.

“Quidditch section, Harry?” Mr. Weasley offered, holding out the paper without meeting Harry’s eyes.

“Yes. Thank you, sir.”

~^~   Continue to Chapter Six


A/N: I want to thank BelovedRanger for the super quick and deeply thoughtful beta work and MrsPadfoot for always helping me clean my messes.

I really appreciate the comments and thoughts readers share with me. There are filthy mouthed Weasley boys on the horizon!