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It was much too nice a day to be stuck inside a lecture hall. It was one of those glorious sunlit fall days where the sun was high in the sky but not one of those sticky, sweaty days of summer. A perfect day for football.
Yet here she was, one of the two hundred unlucky souls stuck inside listening to a physics lecture.
The only thing that made it somewhat bearable was the lecturer himself. On Thursdays, in Introduction to Physics, Professor Flitwick let his teaching assistant lead the discussion and if anyone could make physics interesting it was doctoral student Harry Potter.
The words from his gorgeous lips were foreign and gibberish but still she was drawn to them and him.
Maybe it was his eyes. Even in the back where Ginny and her fellow footballers sat she could still feel their piercing emerald smolder through his glasses.
Or maybe it was the hair. It was so black it was almost blue under the lecture hall’s fluorescent lighting. Whenever he was thinking he would run a hand through the thick mane, eliciting a sigh from many of the class’s female contingent.
Whatever it was, Ginny had herself a bit of a crush. Which made what she had to do next so much harder.
Ginny waited until most of the class had filed out, exchanging sympathetic looks with her teammates as they headed out to lunch.
Taking a deep breath, Ginny approached the front of the hall where Harry was erasing his chalk notes from the large blackboard. He was dressed in fitted khakis and a navy sweater that fit him perfectly and she lingered a bit, watching as he stood on his toes in order to reach a particularly high marking.
Shaking her head slightly as if to shake those distracting thoughts from her brain she cleared her throat. “Uh…Mister Potter? Do you have a moment?” She asked. ‘Stop being nervous! It is literally his job to help you.’ A tiny voice said in the back of her head.
Harry turned to her and gave her a smile. “How can I help you? And please, call me Harry.” He smiled at her again and she almost forgot why she initially approached.
“Alright Mister…er…Harry.” He gave her an encouraging nod, propping himself up against the desk behind him. “I was wondering if you offered tutoring outside normal office hours? I’ve attended every class and just none of it makes any sense.” She paused, taking another breath. “If I fail this class I won’t be allowed to play in the spring and then I can’t get a scholarship and won’t make the national team and I will have to move in with my parents and I CANNOT let that happen,” she rushed out hurriedly in one breath, blushing nervously.
He nodded in understanding, reaching once again to ruffle his hair in the same gesture she knew to mean that he was thinking. She waited patiently for his answer although her heart was racing. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he said no.
Finally he chuckled softly. “Alright Miss Weasley, far be it from me to not help the starting striker of the varsity women’s football team from leading our school to glory once more.”
Unable to control herself she let out a happy squeal, clapping her hands in delight. “Thank you so much Harry! You won’t regret this.”
She pulled her bag further up her shoulder and turned to leave. Right before she left though she turned around and delivered what she hoped was a dazzling smile.
“And Harry?” She called out to him causing him to turn and look back at her. “Call me Ginny.”
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A bead of sweat trickled down Ginny’s back and she wiped at her brow again as she competed another lap around the pitch.
Normally she didn’t mind conditioning days but the sun was particularly oppressive that day and Gwenog had decided that if they lost a game it would not be because they were out of shape. Accordingly, their conditioning practices had become longer and longer.
Ginny was unable to get the events of the other day out of her head. Harry had been just as patient and genteel as he was during class but she was just not getting physics. The numbers and symbols and concepts jumbled in her head and no amount of repetition and understanding from Harry could make her understand.
It was also getting harder and harder, as she grew to know Harry not only as the hot teaching assistant but as her hot tutor and friend, to not be distracted by her feelings for him.
Not only did he smell bloody fantastic but when he got excited about a topic, his beautiful green eyes would shine and sparkle as he got lost in the language of physics. He would get animated, speaking with his hands, his words coming faster and faster and it reminded her of the way her youngest brother Ron would talk about his favorite footballer.
They had met a few times and each time Ginny would find herself trying to make him stay later and later even after they had finished with the topic of a particular lecture. He was so smart and intoxicating and funny and Ginny sometimes found herself drowning in the comfort and decadence of just being in his presence.
But she really did need to pass physics and it just wasn’t going to happen if she wanted to jump across the small study table to ravish her tutor every time the words “energy” and “mass” came up in conversation.
Gwenog’s whistle blast jerked her from her thoughts and signaled their last lap. Ginny gratefully slowed down to a walk, stripping off her work out shirt and using it to mop up her sweaty forehead.
“Winded Weasley? That couldn’t have been more than 10km.” Demelza shouted, throwing her a water bottle. Demelza had transferred to their team late last year but they had grown to be fast friends and roommates. But their friendship didn’t mean Ginny would let her snarky comment pass without some sort of retribution.
Not wanting to waste her energy Ginny caught the water bottle and took a large sip, using her free hand to flip the younger girl the bird causing Demelza to burst into a hearty laugh.
After a rousing pep talk, Gwenog let the team break for the day and Ginny followed her teammates back to their rooms, picturing the very hot shower she planned to take. A sharp elbow into her ribs caused her to double over in surprise.
“Demelza, what the fu-“
“Harry!” Demezla called, causing Ginny to suddenly forget how tired she was. “What a coincidence running into you here.” Demelza was practically purring in delight and Ginny summoned up all the courage she had left as she turned to face her physics tutor in a sports bra and dripping in sweat.
He of course looked fresh as a daisy, his eyes crinkled in amusement at her obvious embarrassment. “Well if it isn’t my two favorite physics students slash football stars.” He sauntered up to them slowly, one of his hands in his pocket, the other gripping the leather strap of his satchel.
Ginny felt her already red face heat up in response, hoping it would pass as exertion from exercise and not discomfort from being in the same place as her crush.
Demelza, on the other hand, was chattering away to him without a care in the world seemingly unfazed by being in his presence. Ginny found herself uncharacteristically tongue tied, enjoying instead to watch the way his face lit up as he spoke and how his adam’s apple moved up and down when he spoke.
“Oh and Ginny, I have an idea for our next tutoring session if you are up for it.” He turned his stunning green eyes to her and she finally managed to squeak out some sort of verbal response that wasn’t completely embarrassing.
He hefted his bag over his shoulder and shifted his feet a bit for the first time almost seeming shy. “Why don’t you meet me tomorrow in the quad at 2.”
Ginny was slightly confused. “But-“ He cut her off quickly anticipating her response.
“Trust me.” He winked at her…actually winked! And with a small goodbye hand gesture sauntered away with the same energy he had approached them.
All the way back to their room Demelza delighted in infuriating Ginny by humming Abba’s “When I Kissed the Teacher.”
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It was another beautiful sunny fall day when Ginny arrived to the quad for her and Harry’s designated meeting time.
She wasn’t sure why he had requested they meet outside today instead of the usual dusty library study room but she wasn’t complaining.
Days like this made her appreciate how stunningly beautiful the campus was. The leaves had just started changing and the bright foliage juxtaposed beautifully with the old stately stone buildings that made up the quad.
Blinking into the sunlight, Ginny shielded her eyes with her hand as Harry approached. She was surprised to see him carrying a football.
She felt warm inside as she noticed his brilliant green eyes lighting up as he came closer.
“What is this? A little quid pro quo? You tutor me in physics and I show you how to properly kick a football?” She teased once he came close enough.
He gave her a mischievous smile that caused her heart to speed up.
“I’ll have you know, Miss Weasley, I was quite the footballer in my day. Could really bend it like Beckham.” She snorted with laughter in response, her hands coming to her mouth to try to hold it inside.
He dropped the football in front of her.
“Today I thought I would try to make physics a little more…accessible.” Harry gave the ball a nudge with his foot until it stopped in front of her. She looked up at him with a furrowed brow, still not understanding.
“While it is important to sit in a stuffy lecture hall and listen intently as the attractive teaching assistant teaches you physics concepts, it is also important to see how they apply in the real world. “ His eyes lit up as he talked, growing increasingly animated. His enthusiasm was infectious and Ginny smiled in spite of herself.
Harry jogged a few yards away from her. “Ok Ginny, kick me the ball.” He split his feet wide in an exaggerated stance and did a weird taunting dance that caused her to break into the giggles once again.
Once she had calmed down, she wound up a bit before executing a perfect arced kick that came to a stop right in front of Harry.
He clapped in excitement. “Yes! Newton’s first law! Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it. When you kicked the football it will keep going forward until friction or in his case, me, stops it. When it is resting like this on the ground it will stay like that until another force acts on it.”
Harry kicked the ball back to her and she stopped it with her foot.
She grinned back at him, all windswept hair and carefree expression. He was so passionate about physics of all things. And he wanted her to be passionate about it too.
“The second law affects the speed of the ball and the player.” He jogged back towards her and kicked the ball out from under foot, drilling It back up their makeshift field.
“The more weight the ball has, the slower it goes. The more weight the player has, the slower they can run.”
Ginny began to catch on and tussled with Harry for the ball thrilling slightly as his shoulder grazed hers.
“Force equals mass times acceleration,” he breathed heavily. She laughed, letting him have the ball. He smiled at her, slightly out of breath still.
“Not much time to go to the gym while you are trying to get your PhD,” he wheezed at her mocking expression. She gave him a pat on the back until he swatted her hand away, finally standing upright. His glasses had fallen adorably askew and she resisted the urge to reach up and straighten them.
“Ok” he said, wiping some sweat off his forehead with a corner of his shirt, giving her a quick glance at his flat stomach. “Third law. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Harry kicked his foot under the ball so it went airborne and Ginny had no choice but to catch it to prevent it from hitting her in the head.
“The action is me kicking the ball and it going forward. You caught it as the goalie — stopping it from moving. That is how the third law affects football.” He put his hands on his hips and looked so proud of himself.
Dropping the ball, Ginny kicked it forcefully at him again. “Alright old man. You wanna play?” She arched an eyebrow haltingly and was delighted when he tackled the ball with the same enthusiasm he had talked about physics.
They played football for another hour and she entertained herself trying to make him laugh. They finally decided to call it after her sixth goal.
“I’m no match for you Ginny Weasley,” he said as she handed him a water bottle. She looked at him again, his face flushed from the exercise, eyes sparkling. Impulsively she reached out and hugged him, heedless of the sweat that had soaked through his cotton shirt.
“Thank you so much for this Harry. I’ll never be able to thank you enough,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
She felt his arms come around her tightly as he reciprocated the hug.
“Of course,” he answered, his voice rough.
Reluctantly, she let go but as she walked back to her room the heady smell of sweat and sandalwood lingered in her nose.
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There were only two weeks before the final and while Ginny felt she had definitely hit a turning point in her studies, she still felt hopelessly behind and dramatic about the entire thing.
Harry and her had met twice more since they played football in the quad and their meetings were far and away too conventional for Ginny’s taste. Harry was a complete gentleman and patient as always, walking her through the topics and never pushing over their study table to ravish her on the floor of the library. In Ginny’s humble opinion, anything short of that was just not enough.
It was their last meeting before the test and Ginny was feeling jittery and out of sorts. She had two other finals that week and while she felt like she had more of a handle on those classes than physics the end of term was bringing with it stress dreams involving too much naked Harry and not enough deep restful sleep.
Currently Harry was holding two erasers at different distances from Ginny’s face and trying to explain to her Kepler and planets and rotation and he was speaking so fast she had to hold up her hands to get him to go more slowly, something she had to do with increasing frequency in their meetings as he got more and more into a particular topic.
“Harry! You need to slow down. I’m not one of your fancy doctoral students. I am but a humble footballer trying extremely hard to not get kicked off the team. Can you please show it to me again?” She begged him, coaxing a blush from his cheeks. He obliged her request and leaned over her textbook, his fingers tracing an ellipses marked on the page.
He was so close to her now she could smell his shampoo and she resisted the urge to take a large sniff reasoning that she was better than that and so what if he smelled like sunlight and grass and…it was FINE SHE WAS FINE.
All too quickly he seemed to notice their proximity and froze, his sentence half finished out of his mouth, hanging in the stale air of their study room. She felt the change in the room as well, almost like static electricity, she was drawn to him like an object in motion. She was going to collide with him unless someone stopped her. Unless he stopped her.
They were looking at each other now, faces so close together she could see his eyelashes through his glasses. They were so thick and curled she thought one moment how unfair it was that he should achieve that look naturally while she spent way too long with an eyelash curler. His glorious green eyes began to drift downwards to her lips. He wanted to kiss her! She could feel it. The feelings of surprise and relief and desperation filled up in her so heady she thought they would burst out of her.
They were drifting towards each other like magnets and if felt terrifying and inevitable in the same way it had felt when she kicked a football for the first time.
“Harry?” She whispered, the sound breaking into the headiness of the moment like a crack in the ice. He jerked away suddenly and she felt the loss immediately.
He looked stunned for a moment before letting out a small groan, his hands coming up under his glasses to rub his eyes tiredly and when she saw his green eyes again she felt pain in her heart as it clenched in preparation.
“Harry?” She said again, this time feeling that desperation come through, her voice hoarse and her confidence fading.
Her head drooped forward, her eyes tingling uncomfortably. She thought for one horrible moment that she was going to cry and jerked her head up to look at the lighting, willing the tears not to come. Gods this was embarrassing.
A cool hand gripping hers jerked her from her self pity. Harry was looking at her intensely, a stormy expression behind his eyes that she had never seen before.
“I’m your teacher Ginny.” He said in a soft tone that felt like a bucket of cold water. She nodded jerkily and his calloused hand was on her chin, moving it towards him so she would be looking at him in his eyes.
“You will study hard. You will take this test. You will pass. And then I won’t be your teacher anymore.” His tone was still the same soft voice from seconds earlier but the words were hopeful and she met his gaze this time confidently.
“Thank you Harry. Thank you for everything.” She whispered, taking his hand from where it was still on her face, now cupping her cheek. She brought his hand to her mouth and, unable to help herself, left a small kiss there before gathering her belongings and heading out.
A sense of calm confidence and clarity passed over her suddenly and in that moment it was all laid out before her. Something had clicked in place and she found she was no longer scared of taking the test. Just like every challenge that she had come across she had recognized the problem and taken the steps necessary to conquer. She had done it when she wanted to pass physics and she had done it when she had first set eyes on Harry. Ginny Weasley took what she wanted and right now she wanted to pass this bloody test.
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She saw him at the end of the hallway and couldn’t help herself.
“Harry!” she yelled, ignoring the confused and irritated looks from the others in the hallway.
She watched as he turned slowly to look at her and she was unable to tell if her in her impatience he was moving slower than normal or if he was actually moving that slowly.
“I passed!” She practically yelled, brandishing the paper in front of her like a toy flag, before launching herself down the hallway.
And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Ginny kissed him.
He responded immediately, lifting her up enthusiastically and smiling broadly under her lips. He set her down moments later, breathing heavily and she smiled up at him, eyes blazing.
“I’m so proud of you,” he told her softly, placing a stray hair behind her ear.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” she said intently, her face inches away from his. In response he leaned down and kissed her again and it was even better the second time.
Later, when they were huddled in his room, curled up on his bed, she found herself getting playful.
“When did you know you liked me more than your average stressed out student?” she teased. He gave her an indulgent smile, using his index finger to trace down from her forehead to her nose.
She laughed in response. “Would you say that you were drawn to me?”
He arched an eyebrow and leaned over so that his lips were so close to hers she could practically feel them on her already.
“I think I would call it more like falling for you,” he said, kissing the corner of her mouth and then following the curve of her jaw down to her collarbone.
She arched up in response but tried her best to stay on topic. “So you wanted to be with me because of physics?” She tried to be coy but was too distracted by where his mouth was going and her voice came out in breathy and terribly embarrassing pants.
“I guess you could say it was gravity.” He smiled at her again, his hand moving in teasing circles on her stomach which caused her breath to hitch and for almost all rational thought to leave her brain.
“Well, what comes up…must…oh God yes…right there…must come down.”
As Harry trailed his mouth downwards, Ginny fell back against his pillows and smiled, wondering if Sir Isaac Newton knew of the broader applications of his laws of physics.