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rarepair_shorts2008-12-21 04:06 pm
rarepairs_mod) wrote in rarepair_shorts2008-12-21 04:06 pm
Entry tags:
Fic for EVERYONE
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
myownmuggle
Recipient: EVERYONE!
Title: In the Sweetness of Friendship
Pairing: Dean/Ginny
Rating: First Years
Word Count: 1299
Summary: Too much family drives Ginny into the arms of some old friends where she discovers something she had almost forgotten.
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoy this as we detour to a familiar corner of Ireland. And sometimes the past coming back to haunt us is really a good thing. Happy holidays!
In the sweetness of friendship; let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
~ Kahlil Gibran
Ginny pushed her pint glass back and forth, leaving damp rings on the wooden bar top. She had come to Kilrush, ostensibly to visit Seamus and Luna who were running a small pub in the village. At least, that was what she had told her family. What she had told herself was something completely different.
Simply put, Ginny Weasley wanted to get away from her family. More than a year later, Fred’s death was still a devastating and lingering pall over the Burrow. There were brighter and happier spots, to be sure, but the cloying togetherness had one day just become too much.
At Ron and Hermione’s hastily arranged wedding, Ginny chatted with Luna who spun tales of the creatures she’d been searching for while living in the Irish seaside village with Seamus. Ginny was surprised to hear that the pair was living together. She’d known, of course, that they were friends and had spent time together at Shell Cottage after the battle at Hogwarts. But living together?
“He’s quite funny, you know,” Luna had said as they sipped their Fizzing Firewhisky cocktails at the reception.
“Who?” Ginny asked, dragging her eyes away from watching her brother dancing frantically around Hermione on the crowded floor.
Luna smiled and patted Ginny’s hand. “Seamus. And he’s kind. He’s mostly busy running the pub in Kilrush, but that leaves me time to work on the sketches of magical creatures for the book Daddy and I are publishing. Seamus and I come and go as we please, but he’s there when you need him at the end of the day.”
Ginny sighed. Fred had been like that for her. He’d been there with a joke or a new product to test after a particularly hard day in Professor Snape’s class. They’d flown together and played garbled versions of Quidditch over the gardens of the Burrow when Molly’s mothering became smothering.
“I wish I had still someone like that, Luna. You’re lucky.”
Seamus walked up behind Luna and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m the lucky one, yeah? She tolerates me and me stories.”
Luna laughed and took Seamus’ hand as she stood. “When you’re tired of all this, Ginny, come for a visit. I’ve made some progress in locating the Cathach. We’ll explore Slattery Island together and find its lair.”
Seamus and Ginny both chuckled as they parted with hugs and promises to send owls and see each other again soon.
Soon came much earlier than Ginny had planned. If she had told herself she’d be running off to Ireland to spend time crawling through the woods at the foot of a mountain she’d never heard of, she’d have laughed until she cried. When she was tired of crying and tired of pretending to laugh, she decided it was time for a change and sent an owl to Luna. The return response was swift and advised Ginny to brush up on her warming and drying spells as Kilrush was in the midst of the wet.
And wet it was. Sitting at the bar, pushing her half empty glass around, Ginny was grateful for the fire that was blazing in the hearth nearby. Seamus was in the kitchen, attempting to assemble a midday meal for the few patrons that had braved the weather. The occasional bang followed by a slew of what had to be incredibly colorful words in Gaelic didn’t seem to alarm anyone, though it did remind Ginny of a story Ron had told about Seamus from their first year at Hogwarts when a spell went awry as he was trying to change a glass of water into rum in the Great Hall.
Luna was apparently out on the shore of Doolough Lake, where it was rumored that the Cathach lived. The Cathach, Ginny had learned, was a creature rumored to inhabit nearby Scattery Island. Its eyes flashed flames; it had fiery breath and spit venom from fearsome jaws. The creature reportedly had a spiked back, scales, the tail of a fish, clawed feet and a nose that curled up in a spiral. When Ginny mentioned it sounded like some kind of dragon and might be right up Charlie’s alley, Luna dashed off an owl to the older Weasley brother. They’d been corresponding enthusiastically ever since. The latest owl from Charlie had brought news of a rare dragon egg that had the staff of the entire reserve in a frenzy.
Once again, Ginny found herself in a position and a place where everyone had someone or some thing. She had a half empty glass in a nearly empty pub.
“And I thought family togetherness was lonely,” she mumbled into the dregs of her Guinness. “This is just-”
“Just what?”
Ginny jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. Her eyes grew wide as she registered who had settled onto the stool next to her. He waved a hand at Seamus who nodded and began building two pints of Guinness.
The last person Ginny expected to see in Finnigan’s was Dean Thomas. She supposed she ought not to have been entirely surprised since Dean and Seamus had always been close mates.
“No sense letting good beer go to waste, Ginny. This round is on me.” Dean tipped the glass Seamus set in front of him and clinked it against the newly filled pint that appeared in front of Ginny.
“What brings you to Kilrush?” she asked.
“Ah, the same thing as you, I suppose. The fine food and sparkling wit of our publican here.” Dean chuckled as another stream of Gaelic came pouring out of the kitchen and he heard pots banging about. “It’s good to see you, Ginny. It’s been a long time.”
Ginny blushed. The last time she’d spent any amount of time alone with Dean was while they had been dating at Hogwarts. They had fumbled about and fooled around in that exasperating and exciting way of being a teenager. Not quite sure where to put hands – or where you could put hands – sloppy, but fervent kisses behind tapestries and in broomsheds. They had parted at the end of the term but remained friendly. But now, Dean seemed different. More himself – more something, anyway.
They talked, long into the night until the fire burned down to embers. For the first time, in what seemed like an eternity, Ginny laughed. Genuine laughter as Dean recounted a story about an exploding cauldron and the gooey mess that ended up all over Professor Snape in Potions class.
She kissed Dean good night as the sun rose, and meant it sincerely as she touched his lips with hers. “I’m glad you wanted to escape your family as much as I did mine.”
“You know, Seamus says there are some pretty incredible sites from wizard history around here. Want to take a walk with me some time?”
Ginny nodded and climbed the stairs, finally collapsing into bed and sleeping the restful sleep that had eluded her for months. She didn’t feel anything romantic for Dean, and she was quite certain he felt the same, but she felt connected to him.
That afternoon, they walked. Sometimes hand in hand, sometimes apart. Sometimes there was booming laughter, and sometimes there was quiet whispering.
What there was, Ginny realized as they walked up the rise of a low hill and approached St. Senan’s Well, was the sweetness of a rediscovered friendship. Not the fiery passion of a hurried and torrid physical entanglement. Just the honest, sweet satisfaction of sharing something with a partner.
Like the sacred waters in front of them, it was refreshing.
myownmuggleRecipient: EVERYONE!
Title: In the Sweetness of Friendship
Pairing: Dean/Ginny
Rating: First Years
Word Count: 1299
Summary: Too much family drives Ginny into the arms of some old friends where she discovers something she had almost forgotten.
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoy this as we detour to a familiar corner of Ireland. And sometimes the past coming back to haunt us is really a good thing. Happy holidays!
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
~ Kahlil Gibran
Ginny pushed her pint glass back and forth, leaving damp rings on the wooden bar top. She had come to Kilrush, ostensibly to visit Seamus and Luna who were running a small pub in the village. At least, that was what she had told her family. What she had told herself was something completely different.
Simply put, Ginny Weasley wanted to get away from her family. More than a year later, Fred’s death was still a devastating and lingering pall over the Burrow. There were brighter and happier spots, to be sure, but the cloying togetherness had one day just become too much.
At Ron and Hermione’s hastily arranged wedding, Ginny chatted with Luna who spun tales of the creatures she’d been searching for while living in the Irish seaside village with Seamus. Ginny was surprised to hear that the pair was living together. She’d known, of course, that they were friends and had spent time together at Shell Cottage after the battle at Hogwarts. But living together?
“He’s quite funny, you know,” Luna had said as they sipped their Fizzing Firewhisky cocktails at the reception.
“Who?” Ginny asked, dragging her eyes away from watching her brother dancing frantically around Hermione on the crowded floor.
Luna smiled and patted Ginny’s hand. “Seamus. And he’s kind. He’s mostly busy running the pub in Kilrush, but that leaves me time to work on the sketches of magical creatures for the book Daddy and I are publishing. Seamus and I come and go as we please, but he’s there when you need him at the end of the day.”
Ginny sighed. Fred had been like that for her. He’d been there with a joke or a new product to test after a particularly hard day in Professor Snape’s class. They’d flown together and played garbled versions of Quidditch over the gardens of the Burrow when Molly’s mothering became smothering.
“I wish I had still someone like that, Luna. You’re lucky.”
Seamus walked up behind Luna and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m the lucky one, yeah? She tolerates me and me stories.”
Luna laughed and took Seamus’ hand as she stood. “When you’re tired of all this, Ginny, come for a visit. I’ve made some progress in locating the Cathach. We’ll explore Slattery Island together and find its lair.”
Seamus and Ginny both chuckled as they parted with hugs and promises to send owls and see each other again soon.
Soon came much earlier than Ginny had planned. If she had told herself she’d be running off to Ireland to spend time crawling through the woods at the foot of a mountain she’d never heard of, she’d have laughed until she cried. When she was tired of crying and tired of pretending to laugh, she decided it was time for a change and sent an owl to Luna. The return response was swift and advised Ginny to brush up on her warming and drying spells as Kilrush was in the midst of the wet.
And wet it was. Sitting at the bar, pushing her half empty glass around, Ginny was grateful for the fire that was blazing in the hearth nearby. Seamus was in the kitchen, attempting to assemble a midday meal for the few patrons that had braved the weather. The occasional bang followed by a slew of what had to be incredibly colorful words in Gaelic didn’t seem to alarm anyone, though it did remind Ginny of a story Ron had told about Seamus from their first year at Hogwarts when a spell went awry as he was trying to change a glass of water into rum in the Great Hall.
Luna was apparently out on the shore of Doolough Lake, where it was rumored that the Cathach lived. The Cathach, Ginny had learned, was a creature rumored to inhabit nearby Scattery Island. Its eyes flashed flames; it had fiery breath and spit venom from fearsome jaws. The creature reportedly had a spiked back, scales, the tail of a fish, clawed feet and a nose that curled up in a spiral. When Ginny mentioned it sounded like some kind of dragon and might be right up Charlie’s alley, Luna dashed off an owl to the older Weasley brother. They’d been corresponding enthusiastically ever since. The latest owl from Charlie had brought news of a rare dragon egg that had the staff of the entire reserve in a frenzy.
Once again, Ginny found herself in a position and a place where everyone had someone or some thing. She had a half empty glass in a nearly empty pub.
“And I thought family togetherness was lonely,” she mumbled into the dregs of her Guinness. “This is just-”
“Just what?”
Ginny jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. Her eyes grew wide as she registered who had settled onto the stool next to her. He waved a hand at Seamus who nodded and began building two pints of Guinness.
The last person Ginny expected to see in Finnigan’s was Dean Thomas. She supposed she ought not to have been entirely surprised since Dean and Seamus had always been close mates.
“No sense letting good beer go to waste, Ginny. This round is on me.” Dean tipped the glass Seamus set in front of him and clinked it against the newly filled pint that appeared in front of Ginny.
“What brings you to Kilrush?” she asked.
“Ah, the same thing as you, I suppose. The fine food and sparkling wit of our publican here.” Dean chuckled as another stream of Gaelic came pouring out of the kitchen and he heard pots banging about. “It’s good to see you, Ginny. It’s been a long time.”
Ginny blushed. The last time she’d spent any amount of time alone with Dean was while they had been dating at Hogwarts. They had fumbled about and fooled around in that exasperating and exciting way of being a teenager. Not quite sure where to put hands – or where you could put hands – sloppy, but fervent kisses behind tapestries and in broomsheds. They had parted at the end of the term but remained friendly. But now, Dean seemed different. More himself – more something, anyway.
They talked, long into the night until the fire burned down to embers. For the first time, in what seemed like an eternity, Ginny laughed. Genuine laughter as Dean recounted a story about an exploding cauldron and the gooey mess that ended up all over Professor Snape in Potions class.
She kissed Dean good night as the sun rose, and meant it sincerely as she touched his lips with hers. “I’m glad you wanted to escape your family as much as I did mine.”
“You know, Seamus says there are some pretty incredible sites from wizard history around here. Want to take a walk with me some time?”
Ginny nodded and climbed the stairs, finally collapsing into bed and sleeping the restful sleep that had eluded her for months. She didn’t feel anything romantic for Dean, and she was quite certain he felt the same, but she felt connected to him.
That afternoon, they walked. Sometimes hand in hand, sometimes apart. Sometimes there was booming laughter, and sometimes there was quiet whispering.
What there was, Ginny realized as they walked up the rise of a low hill and approached St. Senan’s Well, was the sweetness of a rediscovered friendship. Not the fiery passion of a hurried and torrid physical entanglement. Just the honest, sweet satisfaction of sharing something with a partner.
Like the sacred waters in front of them, it was refreshing.