"Harry?"

Harry looked up from the runes he was enchanting to see Ginny enter their little flat. Her hair was windblown and there was a brightness to her cheeks and eyes. She set her broom in the corner of the room, tucked behind their cloaks and various things that hung on pegs near the door.

"I'm here," he answered. She came close and he abandoned his work, turning to gather her into his arms. She was sun-warmed and smelled of fresh air, salty and pungent, and a little spicy.

"Still working on that?" she asked when she spied what he had spread all over the table.

"Just finishing up, actually. Anwar should be happy. He's been after me to get this done before we leave."

Ginny hummed and grabbed the glass of pumpkin juice he'd left on the table, drinking it down completely. "It's getting hot out there. I'll be glad to be back in England where the weather is cooler."

"I'll get you some more," he said.

"No, I'm okay. I'll make us something for dinner soon. I want to get the last of the boxes packed today and labeled for shipping."

Harry watched her move through the narrow hallway toward the kitchen and mentally checked the list of things they needed to accomplish before they could return home in a few days' time. They'd been gone much longer this time-nearly a year-and it would be good to get home.

Sirius had been owling weekly, giving them updates on the renovations to Grimmauld Place before their return. He'd been enthused about Harry's suggestions to make the place more livable, but it turned out that he was pants at DIY, even with Ron pitching in to help. In the end, Harry'd suggested using a reputable wizard that Seamus Finnigan knew to get the work done. It was almost completed, and Harry couldn't wait to surprise Ginny with a few little changes he'd made to their plans. Even Neville had done his part and filled the house with plants that he promised were perfectly harmless.

"I ran into that witch who Bill used to date here-"

"The tall, exotic one?" Harry asked.

"Right. Rumbidzai," Ginny said from the other room. He could hear the whoosh of her summoning things from the cupboards and occasionally see a flash of her as she walked back and forth through the hallway. "She sent me a few things to take back to Bill for his classes-just some little Egyptian and African scrolls to show the kids."

Harry turned back to his work, tidying up the magic surrounding the runes. "They'll like that."

"She was pretty surprised how settled down he was," Ginny said with a little laugh. "Apparently, my brother was quite the man-about-town down here."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, well, that's over now." Ginny laughed and must have gotten distracted because her chatter stopped.

Bill Weasley was indeed settled. He and Fleur were doing wonderfully at Hogwarts and their two children were growing up, happy to be scarpering over the sand hills surrounding Shell Cottage. Bill, who showed no signs of lycanthropy other than a fondness for undercooked meat, had taken the post as Charms Professor after Filius Flitwick had been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts. The students thought his scars were wicked and more than one young witch had written him anonymous love letters.

He and Fleur had invited Harry and Ginny to stay with them during the months after the Battle and it had been what both couples needed. Bill and Harry would stay up late talking about curses, runes, and wards. Ginny found a sort of sisterly affection in Fleur, whom she'd always discounted as flighty and rather vain before. Shell Cottage gave them both the chance to get away without having to worry about anything for a bit.

And Harry'd decided what he wanted to do for a career there, with Bill's guidance. He'd been offered the chance to return to finish Auror Training from Kingsley Shacklebolt, the interim Minister for Magic, but Harry'd turned it down. It wasn't what he wanted at all; not anymore, anyway.

Bill had used his contacts in Egypt to get Harry established as a cursebreaker with a specialty in wards, and he and Ginny had been on the move ever since, bouncing from job to job, city to city, and even country to country. Ginny was happy to deal with the business end of things while leaving Harry free to poke around dark old caves, tombs, and cellars for wizards who needed particular warding work done.

And for a while, it had been enough, but the calling of home grew stronger and stronger. Every time they traveled back to England for a visit, it became harder to leave. Letters, although frequently exchanged, were not enough to quench the need for interaction and familiarity.

They'd decided just a few months ago that moving back to England, where they could start over again, would be the best idea.

"You'll never finish if you keep getting distracted like that," Ginny murmured as she set a plate of food down in front of him, nudging his work to the side.

Harry pulled her to him again and laid his head against her. "Just thinking about going home."

Ginny smiled and rested her arms on his shoulders. "It will be good to be back."

"You'll have less stories to tell your nieces and nephew."

She hummed. "And you'll have less stories to tell Ron."

Harry chuckled. "He does like a good story."

"That's because his job as an Auror is boring; even he admits it."

Harry smiled when he imagined Ron, partnered with Tonks, milling about the Ministry. "There's still plenty to do, you know. Just because we defeated Voldemort-"

"I know," said Ginny. "Did you hear that Tonks is dating again?"

Harry took a bite of food as she asked and nodded his response.

"I hope she can find someone that makes her happy again," Ginny said. She picked at the edges of his plate and Harry didn't protest. He was used to it; she always claimed she wasn't hungry, but then would eat half of whatever she made for him.

"Sirius went out with Josephine again." The way she said the name told Harry everything Ginny thought about the woman.

He chuckled. "I know. He told me all about it."

Ginny nudged him. "He always tells you the gross stuff."

Harry snorted and gave a nod at the same time. Sirius was rather prone to overshare in his letters, but Harry was glad that his godfather was fully functional after spending weeks in hospital and months convalescing at the Burrow.

"Do you think it will be weird to be back there?" There was a hint of...something in Ginny's voice. "We've been gone for years."

"But not so out of touch," Harry pointed out. Ginny's family and their friends kept the Owl Post in business writing to the couple. It was almost every other day when Reseph, the little dark-haired, black-eyed son of the postmaster would run up the street toward their house with an envelope or two marked to Harry and Ginny Potter on the front. Harry would slip him a knut and a little piece of candy, loving the grin with missing teeth that would split the boy's face before he ran away again down the narrow street.

"I suppose," Ginny mused. Her fingers buried in his hair and Harry tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "We've been rather self-reliant, it'll be strange to have people dropping in, wanting to get together-"

"Having someplace we can unpack boxes," Harry said with a smile.

"We unpacked here," she said, a little defensively. Harry recognized her shift in mood and wrapped his hands around her legs, pulling her to him.

"I know," he said. "I love this place, but…"

"But it's not home."

They shared a smile and Harry let his hand drift upward, rubbing along the swell of Ginny's belly that was just beginning to show.

"No, it's not home," he said. "And we need a good place for this one to play and learn to ride a broom."

"Which you've already bought," Ginny accused. "Reseph spilled the news of your purchase, Harry. He was delighted to be able to drag that little package up the street the other day, going on and on about Harry Potter teaching him how to fly, too."

Harry felt his cheeks heat and he pressed a kiss to her belly. "I couldn't help it. Ron sent me the latest Which Broomstick and I couldn't resist when I saw those small ones. I paid Reseph an extra knut to keep quiet."

Ginny chuckled. "I slip him an extra chocolate frog now and again to tell me all the good things you purchase behind my back. It pays to keep my informants loyal. Plus, he got a Harry Potter trading card last time, so he was over the moon."

Harry chuckled. "I'm going to miss that kid."

"Maybe we'll have one just like him."

"With Sirius around, no doubt that he or she will be spoiled rotten-"

"And completely corrupted," Ginny agreed.

They looked at each other and sighed. "Happy?" Harry asked.

"Unbelievably," Ginny said. "Now finish your work. There are more boxes to be packed and then I'll let you rub my feet."

"Lucky me."

The End

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story.