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Harry fixed his tie for the twentieth time that evening, swallowing the large lump that had formed in his throat. A thick mane of dark red hair and bright green eyes appeared behind him. His mother kissed him on the cheek and attempted to flatten his hair just a tad.
"Don't be nervous sweetheart, I'm sure we'll love Ginny."
He shot her an appreciative smile and mumbled a thanks, but that's not why he was nervous. His dad and his friends were great, really. They were brilliant pranksters, but they sometimes had trouble knowing when to stop with the jokes and the last thing Harry wanted was his own dad embarrassing him in front of the girl he love.
Maybe it was a superpower all mum's had or maybe it was just a Lily-thing, but she had a knack of knowing what was going through his head. One look at his expression and her smile softened, almost resembling a pity smile.
"You know Sirius and Remus and Peter embarrassed your dad quite a bit in front of me. And your father should be thankful for that, do you know why?" she confided.
Harry shook his head.
"Well for one I have a great sense of humor," she smirked at this and Harry did too. "But they tended to bring out a different side to your father I hadn't yet seen. A side that I fell in love with, along with the rest of him."
Lily reached out to brush away the hair that was dangerously close to swinging in front of his eyes, admiring her son.
"Every part of you is wonderful, Harry. No matter what side of you your dad decides to show tonight." she said softly.
Harry smiled, his cheeks growing red. "Thanks, mum."
Lily kissed him on the head and went to exit his room, but paused in the doorway. "Besides, it's our job to embarrass you."
And with a wink she was gone.
Sirius was pulling out the bottles of firewhiskey he had brought while Lily sighed in exasperation. "We don't even need that much, Sirius!"
"Oh come on Lily! It's a Saturday night, we haven't got work tomorrow!" he feign-pleaded, grasping his hands dramatically together in front of his chest.
The red head rolled her eyes as she pulled dinner out of the oven. "We're going to have an underage in the house tonight."
"Don't be so responsible all the time." Sirius joked, throwing his arm over James' shoulder.
Harry couldn't help but laugh as he stood in the dining room with the five of them. Peter had accidentally dropped a glass and as Lily went to help clean up the mess, the doorbell chimed.
"I'll get it!" shouted both Harry and James.
Their elbows prodded and poked one another as Harry raced to beat his father to the door. Sirius and Remus were cheering them on.
"Willing to let your own son beat you, James?" Sirius chided playfully.
"Come on Harry, use those knobbly knees of yours!" Remus shouted of Sirius' howling laughter.
In the end, they both reached the door at the same time, sweating and panting. Ginny looked alarmed as she stared at the pair of them, standing their in a dark green summer dress with her hair in loose curls.
"You must be Ginny!" James said happily while catching his breath. "Come on in."
"Happy Birthday, Harry." Ginny whispered in his ear as she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek.
He returned the kiss and a round of "oooohs" and "get a room" exploded from James and Sirius.
"I could say the same to the pair of you." Ginny shot back with a laugh, as James and Sirius stood with their arms around one another and standing rather closely.
This time it was an impressed round of "oooohs" that circled around the room, while Sirius doubled over in laughter.
Forks and glasses clattered as the seven of them ate their shepherd's pie, Harry's favorite. Well, Lily's shepherd's pie was his favorite.
"So James, I think Ginny here might rob your reputation as Gryffindor's best chaser." Remus said with a smile as he dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin.
James cocked an eyebrow, eyeing Ginny with curiosity. "Is that so?"
Ginny swallowed her pie and was now as red as her hair. "Well, there have been a few recruiters who have come to watch a few matches, including the Holyhead Harpies."
"Merlin's beard, really?" James gasped.
Ginny nodded proudly. "I'm thinking of playing for the Holyhead Harpies. Once I've finished school of course."
"An excellent choice." Remus commented.
Ginny howled with laughter as James reenacted Harry's first swimming lesson. To which she countered with the time he had asked Cho to the Yule Ball and had strung the entire sentence together.
Harry mumbled grumpily that he had been extremely nervous. Lily and Remus made him feel slightly better when they started sharing embarrassing moments of James. Peter had a few good ones, too.
After cake and presents, Harry walked Ginny outside. His skin prickled in the cool summer night breeze. Arthur had insisted on picking her up using his bewitched car.
Ginny sighed, staring back in to the house. "They're great. I love them all."
Harry rolled his eyes, though he was secretly relieved.
"And I love you." she murmured before pressing her lips against his.
His eyes widened slowly and Ginny turned red again as the realization of what she just said sunk in. They had never said that before. "Oh God...Harry, I'm so sorry. You don't have to-"
"I love you too." he replied with an ear-to-ear grin.
He pulled her in for a hug and once again her lips were on his, this kiss more passionate than the last. Her hands were around his neck, her body pressed against his. Harry's hands tangled themselves in her luscious hair. She tasted of cherries and butterbeer. Ginny let out a small moan into his mouth.
"Oi! Love birds!" shouted a familiar voice.
The pair broke apart to find Ron sitting behind the steering wheel.
"Where's dad?" Ginny asked.
"Fell asleep." Ron answered with a laugh.
Ginny shrugged and gave Harry a quick kiss before getting into the car.
"Bye Harry, see you tomorrow for your party!" Ron called before pulling away.
When Harry returned inside, he found Sirius snoring away on the couch. Remus and Peter were doing the dishes and his parents were sipping on glasses of wine.
His mother looked over at his arrival and rose to hug him.
"Ginny's absolutely wonderful, dear." she said.
"I couldn't agree more, son. She's perfect." James said before kissing the top of his head.
Harry smiled proudly before thanking them both. Having Ginny over for the first time had gone much better than he expected.