The Way Things Are Supposed to Be

A/N Other warnings: Obviously EWE, majorly fluffy, felching. The character death is only briefly mentioned and is not one of the main characters.

Beta: As ever, the wonderful Sexy Tigger who tears apart my rambling and puts it into a sensible order.

Word Count: 14, 085

Reviews are *more* than welcome, with con/crit as usual.

THE WAY THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE


Harry was disturbed at how easily Ginny accepted the fact that he was gay.

He’d dreaded breaking the news to her, expecting her to rant and rave and possibly give him a good punch that might break his nose. He *hadn’t* expected her to already know.

For the past eighteen months, Harry had had a plan. It had gone something along the lines of:

1. Find and destroy Horcruxes.
2. Kill Voldemort and hopefully don’t die.
3. If you survive, marry Ginny, have a family and live happily ever after.

Finding out that girls really just didn’t do it for him definitely wasn’t anywhere in the plan. And frankly, happily ever after was starting to look distinctly unlikely. In fact, it was beginning to occur to Harry that happily ever after really *was* only a fairy tale thing, because nowhere in his happily ever after did people die of stupid things after Voldemort was vanquished.

For example, George wasn’t supposed to decide to follow his twin. And Fleur certainly wasn’t supposed to have Apparated into the shop just as George was letting loose every single WWW firework that he and Fred had ever made together. Andromeda wasn’t supposed to pointlessly die of cancer, Luna wasn’t meant to get caught in the crossfire of a pointless duel in a pub and Hermione and Ron weren’t supposed to break up. Ever. Fairy tales, he decided, were complete bullshit.


********


When Harry had told Ginny that he was gay she had smiled gently and told him that she had thought as much, and that it was OK, they would still be friends. That wasn’t in his happily ever after plan either.

"How’d you know though?" Harry asked in bemusement; *he* hadn’t even known until recently!

"Well," Ginny said, appearing to consider the question for a moment. "I think the moment I really knew was when I found that we were checking out the same guys while we were shopping in Diagon alley." She smiled that little nose-crinkling smiled that Harry had once found so attractive, and he felt grief coil in his belly as he realised that it really didn’t do anything for him anymore.

"You saw me checking out guys?"

"Yes, Harry, you were." Her lips trembled as though she were valiantly holding back laughter. "Quite obviously so actually. Even Ron mentioned that you seemed to be looking at Oliver Wood’s back end quite intently."

Harry flushed uncomfortably. "You might’ve mentioned it to me," Harry said, quite put out. "Would’ve saved a hell of a lot of soul searching!"

Ginny smiled sweetly and laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder. "It was something you needed to discover for yourself." She said simply.

Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead. "God, why does my life always have to be so complicated?" he asked.

"Life always is," Ginny remarked. "Listen, we’re OK Harry. We’re still friends, and I’ll be here if you ever want to talk. I’ll keep it a secret until you want to come out, and I promise to smack you a good one if I catch you ogling guys butts again. That help?"

Harry grinned and sniggered. "Bit." He put an arm around Ginny’s shoulder and gave her an affectionate hug. "Thanks Gin. No idea what I would’ve done if you’d’ve been mad at me."

She hugged him back. "No problem Harry." She said, her breath tickling Harry’s neck. "No problem."


********


Andromeda’s death was the next huge mar in his happily ever after plan. He liked Tonks’ mum, and finding out after the fact that she had been terribly sick and had just died, naming him Teddy’s guardian… Needless to say, it was quite a shock.

Teddy was still a baby really, and so when Harry picked the little boy up he had no idea that his life was about to change. Harry had some idea of how to look after him, after all he had spent many an afternoon around Andromeda’s looking after Teddy and getting to know his Godson. But looking after a child for one afternoon here and there was nothing at all like looking after one all day every day.

Teddy was exhausting.

With Andromeda’s well ordered routine out of the window and the fact that Teddy’s life had been disrupted, he didn’t sleep the night, often waking and screaming so much that Harry considered moving his duvet to the floor by Teddy’s crib to try to get at least some sleep.

Shopping for baby things in Diagon had been a nightmare, what with the press hounding him for an interview about his new ward and Teddy’s howling when the flashbulbs frightened him, Harry was feeling frazzled by the time that he reached the Leaky Cauldron for lunch with Ron.

"All right there mate?" Ron asked through a mouthful of what looked like steak and kidney pie.

"I’m knackered," Harry complained as he slouched into his seat and reached to the pushchair to get Teddy out. "Those bloody bastards are following me everywhere, and poor Ted’s been frightened out of his wits too many times to count by their sodding flashbulbs! Not to mention that I was up and down all night getting him settled again."

Ron patted his shoulder solicitously. "’s hard word bein’ a single parent," he said sagely. "Bill says the same thing."

Harry sighed. "Yeah. How is Bill?"

Ron shrugged and took another bite of his pie before answering. "’s all right, I s’pose. I mean, he wears black a lot and him and Victoire are a bit… reclusive. Mum always invites them to Sunday dinner, but they don’t come all that often."

Harry nodded slowly and turned his attention to the butterbeer that Ron had ordered in anticipation of his arrival. Teddy cuddled in to his chest and finally, comforted by Harry’s presence, went to sleep. Though Harry wanted Teddy to have something to eat, it was such a relief to see the little boy sleeping that he didn’t bother to wake him up or put him into the pushchair, instead just holding him and feeling ridiculously thankful all of a sudden for the comfort of the warm solid little body in his arms.

Dinner with Ron got him thinking about Bill, and Harry found himself wondering if Bill was as lonely as he was, in Grimmauld all alone with a small child. Of course he had conversations with the parents at the park that he took Teddy to, but it wasn’t the same as having a friend who knew what he was going through. He wondered if Bill might want a friend too.


********


Christmas came and Teddy still seemed unsettled, though he exercised his metamorphmagus skills eagerly on Christmas day by turning his hair into a replica of the green and red Christmas wrapping paper that Harry had wrapped his gifts in. The Weasleys laughed when they saw this, and at the fact that Teddy seemed more interested in playing with the wrapping paper than the toys that came inside.

"It’s always the way, Harry," Molly reassured him, smiling. "But he’s having a whale of a time, isn’t he?"

Harry chuckled as Teddy threw shards of the shiny paper into the air and chortled. "Yeah. He really is, isn’t he?"

They were interrupted then by the kitchen door opening and Bill struggling inside with Victoire in his arms. "Bill!" Molly exclaimed, beaming and scurrying over to embrace her firstborn and to whip the baby from his arms. "Oh my *dear* it’s so good to see you both! I had thought that you weren’t going to come!"

Bill shook snow off of his scarf as he unravelled it from his neck and smiled at his mother. "Couldn’t miss Christmas at the Burrow, could I?" he asked quietly, kissing his mother on the cheek gently.

Arthur let Molly fuss over Bill for a moment, and then when she stepped aside with Victoire in her arms, he strode forwards and took his son’s hand, shaking it firmly and then wrapping an arm around it. "Merry Christmas Bill," he said quietly.

As though that were a signal Ginny flew across the room into her big brother’s arms, and the other remaining Weasleys followed suit, welcoming Bill back into the fold.

Harry stayed put with Teddy, watching the scene but not joining in as the little boy on the floor continued throwing wrapping paper around and chattering on in a mixture of real words and babbling.

Bill, when he took a seat, took the one nearest to Harry and smiled at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Hullo Harry," he said softly.

Harry smiled back shyly; he’d always felt shy when he was around Bill, because the man was just so cool and good looking and Harry always felt like a skinny little prat next to him. "Hullo Bill."

"How’re you getting along with Teddy?"

Harry looked down at the little boy and felt a small smile tugging his lips. "It’s not easy," he said as he watched Teddy screw his small face up and then change his hair to red and long, just like Bill’s. "But it *is* worth it."

When he looked back at Bill, the other man had a similar smile curving his lips, though his held sadness too. "Yeah," he said, looking across the room to where Victoire was being rocked and sang to sleep. "It is."

Bill spent quite a bit of time talking to Harry that day, and though he took Victoire back to Shell Cottage rather than remaining at the Burrow overnight, he did promise to return the following day.

As good as his word he did appear, and this time Victoire and Teddy sat together, though Victoire was only seven months old to Teddy’s twenty months. He looked up at Harry with big green eyes that he had started assuming upon waking to see Harry, and smiled. "Ba-ba?" he asked.

Harry smiled. "Yes Ted, baby. Victoire."

"’twa?"

"Yep," Harry looked up at Bill, smiling. Bill was smiling too, and this time there was no hint of sadness, though the smile wasn’t as sparkling as it had used to be. "I think he likes her," he said.

"I think you’re right. She seems to like him too," Bill said, watching as Victoire goggled at Teddy and then grabbed the rattle that Harry had bought for her as a Christmas gift and began gnawing on it, drooling and still watching Teddy intently. "I think we may be forced into playdates."

Harry grinned and chuckled. "Well I certainly wouldn’t mind. Be nice to have someone to talk to who understands what it’s like."

Bill’s smile faded and for a minute Harry thought he had put his foot in it big time. His own grin faded and he was about to apologise when Bill nodded, his face oddly blank. "Yeah. It would be nice, I guess."

Harry smiled tentatively again, and then changed the subject. He was a bit surprised when Bill invited him to come out to Shell Cottage in a few weeks time, but he smiled, thanked him and said that he would be there.

When he and Teddy got home to Grimmauld place, Harry felt a little less lonely, despite the fact that he was alone.


********


The playdates became a regular thing as winter thawed into spring, and Harry found himself spending more and more time at the seaside cottage, watching as Victoire learned how to walk and Teddy helped the little girl, chattering to her all the while and occasionally changing his hair to either vivid red or the lovely silvery blond that Victoire’s hair was. When Victoire started babbling back Bill smiled at his daughter for the first time without looking sad, and Harry felt a warm glow set up camp in his stomach at seeing that happy smile again.

Spring turned into summer and Bill invited Harry and Teddy down for a holiday. They played on the beach with the two children, and Harry taught them how to build sandcastles while Bill watched. And then in a fit of mischievousness Harry showed the kids how to bury Bill in the sand, and was rewarded with a hearty laugh that Harry hadn’t heard in months. It made that little glow come back and bring friends, and he grinned widely and then shrieked with laughter as Bill got loose and soaked Harry with a well placed Aguamenti charm, leaving him dripping, but smiling.

Staying with Bill those two weeks was the most settled Teddy had been since Andromeda had died, and after the warmth and company of Shell Cottage, Grimmauld place felt even more cold and unwelcoming.

Teddy woke with a screech that first night, and Harry wearily carried the little boy back to his room, rocking him back to sleep and staring at the wall with bleary eyes, wishing that they were back at the coast with Bill and Victoire, rather that alone in the huge and forbidding prison of a house.


********


"Haven’t seen much of you lately," Ginny said to him as Harry settled Teddy down in a seat next to him with his small chocolate ice cream cone.

"We’ve been spending a lot of time with Bill and Victoire." Harry said, smiling. "Teddy seems to get on really well with her, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to." Ginny raised an eyebrow at him and Harry grinned. "Not that it’s not nice to talk to you Gin," he said, sitting down himself and raking a hand through his already messy hair. "But it’s just nice to be around someone who knows how hard it is. Y’know, bringing up a kid alone."

Ginny smiled and reached across to pat his hand. "Well nobody ever said you had to do it alone, Harry. You just decided that you were going to." Harry frowned and she shook her head, her smile becoming rueful. "Everyone wanted to help. But you were so damned determined that you were going to do it alone, and now look at you! You’re the best dad that Ted could have ever hoped for. Certainly the best substitute for Remus."

Harry flushed. "I’m not his dad, y’know. He calls me Ha’y. I don’t want him to forget about Remus."

Ginny smiled sadly. "He never really knew Remus." Harry felt sadness clench in his gut, but Ginny kept going. "But I know you’ll tell him everything that he would want to know about him and Tonks. If he wants to call you dad, though, I don’t think you should stop him."

Harry shook his head but didn’t say anything in return; in some ways he thought that maybe Ginny was right.

"Anyway, I’m glad that you and Bill are friends. It’s good that he’s not holed up there all alone anymore, and it’s good that you’re not doing the same in the dingy old dump." Her impish smile was infectious and Harry smiled back.

"Speaking of that dump," he said, reaching for his pumpkin juice with one hand and deftly wiping Teddy’s chin with a napkin with the other. "I was thinking I might buy another house. Somewhere with a huge garden, in a nicer area…"


********


"I heard that you’ve been house hunting with Gin." Bill remarked as they sat in Bill’s garden watching the two kids toddling around.

Harry took a long swallow of butterbeer and nodded. "Yeah. Decided that the dump isn’t really the best environment to bring up Ted in, so I thought I should start looking at houses."

"Found anywhere yet?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. There are a few places, but they’re in Muggle areas, and what with Ted’s abilities…" Harry trailed off, grinning as Teddy changed his hair to bright turquoise and Victoire chortled.

"Yeah, I can imagine it makes finding a place difficult," Bill said, grinning and taking a slug of his drink. When he spoke again Harry was hard pressed not to choke on his butterbeer. "You know, you could always come stay with us until somewhere suitable comes on the market."

He stared at Bill with wide eyes, eyebrows attempting to migrate off of his forehead entirely. "You… What?"

Bill smiled a little sheepishly and shrugged. "Well, Victoire adores Teddy, and you and I get along well enough. And it’d be nice to have some company around." Harry couldn’t find words to respond to that, so surprised was he. "It doesn’t have to be permanent or anything, just until you can find somewhere right for you and Ted."

Harry looked away from Bill to where Teddy was now teaching Victoire how to make ribbit noises like a frog. And then he looked back to Bill, who was looking faintly hopeful. And then he smiled. "OK."


********


Teddy’s stuff fit nicely in the room that Bill had assigned him, and Harry’s things… well, he’d never really had much of it, so what little he had took up hardly any of the space in the bedroom that Bill had told him was his.

In fact, it wasn’t just their possessions that fit well at Shell Cottage. After only a week of staying with Bill, it seemed as though Harry and Teddy had always been there.

They slipped into a comfortable routine effortlessly; at half six Harry would claim the shower, followed by Bill at around six forty-five. At around seven the kids would be woken, dressed and given breakfast. By eight the kids were playing outside in the garden with either Bill or Harry watching them. The other would be doing what little housework there was to do.

Lunch was at half twelve and then the kids were put down for an afternoon nap at around two. Harry and Bill usually spent the hour or so free in their respective bedrooms, and then by unspoken agreement they would have the kids awake by three. They would play all afternoon, sometimes visiting the beach, until one of them would go in and cook dinner which would be ready for six at the latest. Bath time at seven, and bed by half past. Then Bill and Harry would sit in the living room, sometimes chatting, sometimes reading, sometimes listening to the radio. And then Harry would head up to bed at around half ten, and usually fall into a deeply satisfying sleep.

If he ever noticed that Bill looked particularly delicious first thing in the morning, fresh from his shower, then well, he just told himself it was because he had so little time for wanking or dating.


********


By October their routine had altered little, bar the trips to the seaside and the amount of time spent in the garden. Mostly the kids played indoors now, and Harry was enjoying watching them both grow up.

Victoire was talking well now, and Teddy had progressed to sentences, which Harry thought at two and a half years old was pretty good!

With all of the bad weather and the fact that they were pretty much confined to the garden -- or more often than not, the house -- Harry was beginning to get a touch of cabin fever, and so started going into the nearby seaside town for the weekly shop that had always been delivered to them via floo before.

It was in the little supermarket there that he bumped into Andrew. Literally. He'd been examining the different chocolate cereals, since he was getting damned sick of porridge, when he'd been bowled over by a man scurrying along carrying a basket. With a yell of surprise, both Harry and the man had hit the floor and the contents of the basket followed, clanging, crashing and in one case, squishing to the floor loudly.

Harry'd groaned and rolled onto his side, rubbing his sore arse which had taken the brunt of the fall. "Oh my God I'm so sorry!" The man who'd ploughed him down had said. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and oh my god I've covered you in egg!"

Harry had looked down at his jeans in dismay to see that the man was quite right; he was caked in egg, which had obviously been the item that had made the 'squishing' noise. "Oh great," He'd muttered, glaring down at the mess on his trousers and pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"I am so sorry. I… Erm… I can pay for them to be dry cleaned?" The man had offered, and that was when Harry had turned to him. His face had been caught in a look that was half amused disbelief (at the very idea that his old, tatty jeans should deserve to be dry cleaned just to get egg off) and awe, because the man, or Andrew, as he learned later, was absolutely bloody gorgeous.

"I, er…" He'd stuttered intelligently, before licking his lips and grimacing as he tasted some kind of floury substance that had apparently burst near to him.

The man had taken one look at his face, and then cracked a lovely smile that had lit up his handsome face. "I'm Andrew." He'd said, offering one flour-covered hand.

Harry had looked him up and down and grinned in return, following suit and taking the hand offered. "Harry."

He'd left the supermarket with the weekly shop and an invitation to go for a drink with Andrew, and had been unable to keep the daft smile off of his face when asking Bill if he'd mind babysitting for an evening while Harry went out.

That had been six weeks before, and in that month and a half Harry and Andrew had been on roughly fifteen dates and snogged about double that amount of times. Harry'd been given his first blow job and had wanked Andrew off twice and sucked him once, though he had drooled most of the other man's come down his chin rather than swallowing it.

His current predicament was that he still hadn't told Bill that it wasn't actually a girl that he was meeting. Or, dating, actually, since that was really what he and Andrew were doing. He paused in the action of buttering bread for their lunchtime sandwiches to ponder whether or not he should start thinking of Andrew as his boyfriend.

"Knut for your thought?" Bill asked, nudging him out of his reverie and smirking as Harry started to blush.

"It's not worth that much," He said awkwardly, going back to spreading the butter evenly on the white bread, crusts cut off for Teddy.

"Don’t let her hear you say that," Bill teased, grinning at Harry's discomfort. "You'll never get any at all if she does."

Harry's blush went from crimson to puce, and he ducked his head as Bill laughed, avoiding his house mate's eyes.

"You haven't even told me her name yet, Harry." Bill said, and Harry started as he realised that the redhead was stood at his shoulder, his head bent so that his eyes were on level with Harry's.

Harry swallowed hard as he looked into Bill's lovely sky-blue eyes, so like Ron's and yet so different. He was struck again by just how gorgeous Bill was, and how dangerous the dragon fang earring made him look. He licked his lips wordlessly and blinked, and then his eyes widened as his cock started to twitch and swell as he was pinned by Bill's questioning gaze.

He gave a mortified squeak and dropped the butter knife onto the counter with a 'clang'. "Harry?" Bill asked as Harry edged away from him. "What's wrong?"

"Er… Not feeling well," Harry mumbled, licking his lips again and then wiping his sweaty hands on the legs of his jeans. "Going to go lay down." And then he turned on his heel and fled.


********


He locked himself in his bedroom and leaned back against the hard wood of the door, panting as he slid down to rest on the floor. His cock was hard and throbbing by now, and he whimpered as he realised that just being looked at like that by Bill had gotten him harder than having Andrew flirt not-so subtly with him all evening.

"This is bad, so very bad," He whispered, raking his hands through his already messy hair.

It was one thing to be gay, he'd come to terms with *that* already. But getting hard over his best mate's older, very straight, brother who he happened to be sharing a house with?

"I'm doomed," He moaned overdramatically, banging his head back against the door.

********

"What the hell is the matter with you this evening?" Andrew demanded as he tried to remove the red wine stain from the front of his grey t-shirt.

"Sorry." Harry muttered again, twiddling his thumbs guiltily.

"I didn't ask for another apology Harry, I want to know what the hell has you so damned jumpy!"

Harry sighed and sat back down, making the air whoosh out of the cushions of the sofa with a 'poooof' noise. "Just, some stuff at home." He mumbled reluctantly, not looking at Andrew.

"Is it Teddy?" Andrew asked kindly then. "It can't be easy bringing up a kid when you're gay, especially when it's not even your family."

Harry frowned and shrugged. "It's not Teddy. He's fine. It's," Harry paused and then sighed again. "Other stuff."

He didn't look up when Andrew sat on the sofa next to him, and bit his lip hard when he felt the other man's hand come to rest on his shoulder, the fingers kneading the tight muscles there after a moment's pause.

"Well let's just see if I can't distract you for a while, shall we?" Andrew murmured seductively, and Harry shuddered as the blond licked the shell of his ear and then bit down on the lobe.

He firmly put thoughts of Bill out of his mind and focussed on the pleasure that Andrew offered.


********


"You must've been out late last night," Bill said casually the next day at the lunch table. "I didn't hear you come in."

Harry shrugged and handed Teddy the piece of banana that he had broken off for the little boy. "I got back in around midnight." He said carefully. "I was just really quiet. Didn't want to wake you or the kids up."

He glanced up from beneath his eyelashes to see Bill regarding him curiously. "OK," The eldest Weasley said after a moment. "Are you in tonight? I thought we might have a game of chess if you are. I'm not as good as Ron, but it could still be fun."

Harry felt panic rise up within him at the thought of spending time with the object of his affection, and then squashed it back down, smiling evenly at Bill. "I'm in tonight, but I want to finish that book I've been reading. Maybe another night though," He said levelly, before grimacing as a half-chewed piece of toast flew his way and landed on his cheek. "Thanks Vic," He said dryly, rolling his eyes and chuckling reluctantly as Bill and the kids laughed at him.

The rest of lunch went well enough, but the atmosphere between he and Bill seemed a bit strained, so he was glad to escape to his room that night. He went to sleep with visions of Bill dancing behind his eyelids and woke up with the birds to a mess in his boxers.

He sighed and rolled onto his side to grab his wand and perform a cleaning charm to get rid of his spunk, resolutely not thinking about his dream where he had dropped to his knees before Bill and sucked his gorgeous house mate's cock until it had exploded in his mouth and flooded his throat with come.


********


He took Teddy to Diagon that weekend, meeting Ginny in the Leaky for lunch. "Harry!" She greeted him gleefully when she spotted them, throwing her arms around him and squeezing him so tight that for a moment he thought he might actually pop.

"Hullo Gin," He said once she'd let go enough to allow him oxygen. He grinned and then faltered as he saw that the table she'd left had another occupant. He turned to her with his eyebrows pulled together slightly. "What -?"

She beamed at him. "I want you to meet somebody," She said, taking his hand and dragging him and Teddy to the table. "Harry, you remember Blaise Zabini, I'm sure,"

Harry looked down at the vaguely familiar boy, frowning as he tried to recall just where he knew him from.

"Potter," The dark haired man greeted him with an easy smile.

The Italian accent made it click at once and Harry's eyebrows rose. "You're dating a Slytherin, Gin?" He asked in surprise.

Zabini grinned at the tone of Harry's voice and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Not all of us are stupid enough to bear grudges against the Slytherins because of the house they were sorted into y'know," She said with a grin.

Harry blinked and then nodded. "Fair enough. Hullo Zabini," He said, shifting Teddy into his left arm and shaking the other man's hand.

"I wanted you to meet Blaise, because," Ginny paused here, licking her lips and glancing at the dark haired Italian. "Well, the thing is, I want to introduce him to my family."

Harry blinked stupidly, and frowned. "Er…"

"They still think I'm dating you," Ginny said quietly.

Harry's mouth formed an 'o' shape and he nodded. "Right, I gotcha! So, when d'you want to tell them that we're not together anymore? Or," He paused here as an unappealing thought occurred. "D'you want me to tell them?"

Both Ginny and Zabini laughed at the dubious look on his face, and after a moment of feeling affronted, Harry joined in too. "Oh Gods, you should've seen the look on your face Harry," Ginny giggled, pushing her fringe out of her eyes. "No, I don't want you to tell them alone," She confirmed. "I just wanted to make sure that you're ok with them knowing. I think maybe it'd be a good idea to tell them about, *the other*, while we're talking to them."

Harry nodded and bounced Teddy on his knee. "Yeah, s'pose." He said, frowning and nibbling his lower lip then. "All of them?"

"D'you… Do you not *want* all of them to know?" Ginny asked after a moment's silence, her brow furrowed in concern.

He most certainly didn't want Bill knowing, but he figured that once Mr and Mrs Weasley knew it wouldn't be long before his house mate found out anyway. "Er… No, it's fine." He said in resignation. "So, when d'you want to do it?"

They arranged to meet at the Burrow the following weekend to tell the Weasley's, and then settled into amiable conversation for the rest of the meal, until Ginny and Zabini headed off to dinner with his mother. Ginny gently kissed his cheek before leaving, hugging him reassuringly. "Everything'll be fine, Harry. You'll see." She whispered, before smiling widely at him and letting go.

Harry wandered Diagon for a little while with Teddy in his stroller, worrying about what the already strained atmosphere would be like once Bill knew that he was queer, and that he wasn't dating a girl at all.

He loved his life at Shell Cottage, but, he thought ruefully as he passed the Quidditch store, he'd never meant it to be more than a pit stop between Grimmauld and a new place.

With a deep sigh, Harry turned on his heel and headed back towards Gringotts, to the little estate agents that Ginny had taken him to when he'd been house hunting before.


********


"So when are you moving then?" Andrew asked him that evening as they sat watching tv in the other man's flat.

Harry shrugged irritably, not really wanting to think about it. "Dunno. Soon, I s'pose."

"Will you…" Andrew trailed off and Harry looked over at him to see the blond looking steadfastly at the tv.

"Will I what?"

Andrew shook his head. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

Harry sighed and barely restrained the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, Andrew could be as bad as a girl sometimes, when it came to things like this. "What is it, Andy?"

The blond man shrugged and kept his eyes focussed on the tv. "I was… Just wondering if you'd be getting somewhere in the area or not." He asked, his voice too light.

*Ah*, Harry thought. *Bugger. Should have thought about that.*

"I suppose it doesn't matter that much," Andrew said, his voice still far too light and easy. "I mean, it's not as though we're exactly serious about one another or anything."

*Fuck.*

"I mean, nothing's been said," Andrew went on. "We haven't even had sex yet."

"Andy," Harry began, before stopping because really, he hadn't the faintest bloody clue what the hell he was going to say.

"Will you keep in touch?" Andrew asked then, actually turning to look at Harry.

Harry drew in his breath to say that of course they'd stay in touch, they were going to be together still, but stopped himself, looking in Andy's brown eyes and realising what Andy had already come to understand. He smiled gently at the blond and nodded. "'Course I will. You can come visit us sometime. And I'll write you my floo address."

Andy smiled, only a slightest hint of pain in his eyes betraying his upset. "Good." He said. "Now shut up, we're missing Eastenders."

Harry grinned and shut up, turning his attention to the tv programme and focussing on it as much as he could.


********


Of course, the owl was fated to arrive with the information from the estate agents while Harry was at the supermarket with Teddy. He returned laden with bags, to find the pages from the agent rolled neatly on the kitchen table, a brief note from Bill, saying that he had taken Victoire to the Burrow, and that Harry shouldn't expect them, back for dinner.

Harry sighed and crumpled the note, going to toss it into the bin and then changing his mind abruptly, carefully smoothing the parchment out and folding it neatly before slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans.

He and Teddy ate beans on toast for tea that night and once the little boy was in bed, Harry sat down at the kitchen table with the paperwork from the agents laid out before him, looking at each house that had been earmarked as suitable for he and Teddy.


********


He jerked upright several hours later when the tip of his nose was scalded, yelping and rubbing the sore spot as he blinked himself awake owlishly. Coffee was sinking into one of the sheets of parchment that he had put into the 'maybe' pile, and it was that hot liquid sloshing over that had scalded his nose.

He looked up to see Bill sat in the chair opposite him, his face blank and unreadable. "Hi," Harry sad in a sleep-husked voice, blinking again before raising his hand to rub at the bridge of his noise. "Didn't hear you guys get back."

"You were sleeping." Bill said shortly.

Harry sighed and nodded, scratching his head sleepily. "Yeah, guess so. Sorry, I'll clean this up before I head up to bed."

Bill didn't answer and Harry frowned, taking in the tiny dint between the redhead's eyebrows and the way that his face was set into a forbidding caste, the still-vivid scars making him look almost sinister.

"Everything go OK at the Burrow?" He asked, reaching out to move the coffee cup before drying the parchment with a flick of his wand and then picking them up, shuffling them into a neat pile.

"Fine, thanks."

Harry looked up at the cool tone of voice, tilting his head slightly to one side and frowning. "You sure? You sound a bit…" He paused and nibbled on his lower lip before going on. "Have I done something to piss you off?"

"What would you have done?" Bill asked blandly, taking a long swallow of his coffee, making his Adams apple bob in a way that made Harry's previously sleepy body suddenly perk up.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the table top, reaching out for his 'no way in hell' pile. "Dunno. Just thought I'd ask, since you seem a bit naffed off."

"No."

Harry nodded and knocked the two piles into one larger one, before reaching for the admittedly slim 'suppose they'll do' pile and adding those papers to the stack.

"When are you planning to move out then?"

The question made him jump and dislodged a couple of pieces of parchment, which Harry stooped to retrieve before answering in as neutral tone of voice as possible. "Well, I'm still looking at the moment, but I suppose it'll be in about a month, maybe two." He looked up into Bill's stern-looking face and forced a tight smile. "Not long at all, really, and then we'll be out of your hair."

Bill nodded silently, and then drained his coffee cup before putting it carefully down on the table and leaving the table.

"Night then," Harry called, frowning when all he got in return was a grunt. He sighed and took a sip of his coffee, spitting it out again as it burned the top three layers of skin from his mouth. "Holy fuck!" He exclaimed, though with his tongue stuck out of his mouth in a bid to cool it down it sounded more like 'hory puck'. He put the cup down on the table top again and stared at it. He wondered just how the hell Bill'd managed to drink his so easily when it was this hot.

He stood on an impulse and crossed to the kettle, tentatively putting the tip of his forefinger onto the surface and the jerking it back, frowning then and putting the whole of his palm against it when he wasn't instantly burned. It was cold.

He walked slowly back across to the table and sat down, staring at the wooden surface but not really seeing it. Just how long had Bill been back, and how long had he sat there at the table while Harry slept?


********


The weekend came around all too quickly.

Harry had carefully and -- in his opinion -- craftily booked several appointments to view the houses from his 'not Shell Cottage but better that fuck all' pile for the Saturday afternoon, and he had already told them all that he had to leave at half twelve exactly for the first one.

The entire family was at the Burrow for lunch that day, including Percy and his new girlfriend Audrey and Charlie, home for the weekend from the dragon reserve.

They all took their time greeting one another, and by the time that they were hugged and kissed out, Harry was fidgeting nervously in his seat, his bottom lip raw from being chewed.

His stomach dropped alarmingly to the soles of his feet as Ginny cleared her throat and stood up, drawing the attention of the assembled Weasleys. "All right you lot, there's a reason that Harry and I asked you to be here today."

Mrs Weasley drew her breath in sharply and looked from Ginny to Harry and back again, a hopeful expression making Harry feel distinctly uneasy. "Ginny dear?" She asked, looking earnestly at her daughter.

Ginny looked uncomfortable now too, and glanced at Harry, who made a face that he hoped looked comforting, but he was afraid looked more like a grimace. "Er… No. Mum, it's not that. Not at all," Ginny said, licking her lips nervously now. "Er… I'm sure you've all noticed that Harry and I haven't really been spending much time together recently," She said.

"Well yes, but -"

Mr Weasley placed a hand on top of Mrs Weasley's, silencing her. "Let them speak, Mol." He said quietly.

Ginny flashed her father a quick, thankful smile and Harry swallowed hard on the urge to throw up. "The thing is, Harry and I…" She trailed off, as if trying to figure out a way to tell them all.

Harry bit down hard on his lip and then stood up, drawing attention to himself. "What Gin's trying to tell you all, is that we broke up about eight months ago. She's agreed not to tell anyone until now, because I wasn't ready to tell you all why." He looked across at Ginny, who was shooting him an encouraging glance. "Um… I'm… Er… I'm gay." He blurted, the strength in his legs giving out abruptly. "Oh God."

The silence in the room was deafening, and Harry cringed as he waited for the inevitable explosion.

"What's he mean, gay?" Mrs Weasley asked quietly.

"He means he likes men, mum." Bill said just as quietly.

"Oh! Oh, well, that's all right then! I thought it was something serious for a minute." Harry's head jerked up so fast that his neck cricked, and he stared at Mrs Weasley. She was smiling gently at him, looking at him with a fond expression. "Honestly, dear, it's not as though you're the only one of my sons who likes other men." Harry's gaze darted across the table to where Charlie was sat alone, but he said nothing.

"Harry, did you really think that we would be angry with you over that?" Mr Weasley chuckled fatly, making Harry look his way then. "As long as both you and Ginny are happy, we don't mind who you like to, er… *be*, with." He finished delicately, smiling.

Harry's eyebrows did a good impression of trying to crawl off of his forehead and he gaped. "You… You're not mad?" He asked. "That I… Er… Dumped Ginny?"

"Well she certainly doesn't seem to be that upset about it," Ron said then, his brow crinkled in bemusement. "So I s'pose it'd be a bit off if we were pissed off with you over it."

Ron yelped when his mother slapped his hand hard. "Language, Ronald!" She scolded, making Harry snigger despite his shock.

"Sorry mum," Ron muttered, before shooting Harry a quick grin.

"Well then!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, smiling around the table at them all. "If that's everything, we should get started on lunch!"

Harry blinked and then stood. "Er, thanks ever so," He said weakly, picking Teddy up then. "But I think I'm just going to head off now. Lots of appointments to keep this afternoon."

"Surely you've time for a quick sandwich, at least, Harry love!"

He smiled and shook his head. "I really ought to be going. But I'll pop round a bit later, maybe, if I get done in time."

He was engulfed in a hug from several of the Weasleys, and then he said his goodbyes, trying very hard not to look at Bill as his housemate sat quietly at the table.

He Disapparated, blinking tears out of his eyes, not sure whether they were from relief at how the Weasley's had taken the news, or desolation from Bill's utter and damning silence.


********


He sighed as he followed the estate agent into yet another generic looking house, whittering on about house prices, standard wards and muggle appliances. He was knackered, his feet were killing him and Teddy was grizzling in his ear. He had hated every house that he had seen with a passion and all he wanted was to go home, but this was the last house on the list and he'd rejected all the others.

"… And if you'll look out of this window, Mr Potter, you'll see that there's a lovely horticultural charm on the garden which keeps the weather at the ideal temperature and precipitation levels for optimum plant growth."

Harry obligingly looked out of the window at the neat garden, jiggling Teddy up and down. "Is it available at once?" He asked tiredly.

"Why, yes, pending the paperwork and payment of course," the agent said with a wide, too-white smile.

Sighing again he shushed Teddy. "How soon would we be able to move in?"

"If everything goes through smoothly, about two weeks time."

"OK bud, not long now." Harry murmured soothingly to the grizzling toddler. He looked at the agent and nodded. "I'll sign the paperwork now."

She beamed at him and drew out parchment from within her briefcase.


********


The house was quiet when he went in, carrying Teddy carefully. The little boy had fallen asleep as Harry'd walked back towards the cottage, and Harry's bloody arm was about to drop off if he didn't put him down soon.

He headed straight up the stairs and into Teddy's room, lying the boy down on the changing dresser and efficiently undressing him, changing his nappy before slipping the somnambulant limbs into a romper suit.

Teddy sighed deeply when Harry laid him down, his thumb finding his mouth unerringly as the tiny sucking noises filled the room. Harry watched him sleep for a while, wondering how the little boy would adjust to no longer having his partner in crime around all the time.

He sighed sadly and left the room, heading to his own and stripping off before heading down to the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stepped wearily under the shower and rest his head against the tiled wall, too tired to even cry though he wanted to dearly.

He'd signed the damned papers, and had the letter to Gringotts authorising the transferral of galleons in his coat pocket, just waiting to be sent in the morning. He should be happily anticipating the purchase of his own, brand new house, but he was utterly miserable. Because that was all it was; a house. It would never feel like home, because it didn't have Bill and Vicky there.

His eyes opened of their own volition as he remembered the way Bill had looked at him earlier that day, and he quickly moved to wash himself, finishing his shower quickly after that.

Dried off and wrapped in his slightly too short towelling dressing gown, he abandoned his towel in his room and padded downstairs to get a cup of cocoa in the hopes that it might help him get to sleep.

The kitchen was empty and he sighed as he realised that Bill and Victoire were probably still at the Burrow, avoiding him. "Good thing you've signed for that house then," He muttered to himself, going through the methodical motions of filling the kettle and tapping it with his wand to heat the water through.

The cocoa powder puffed up when he dumped it into the cup and he snorted it away from his nose half heartedly, pouring the water and milk into the mug and stirring it slowly.

"You're back then."

He yelped and sloshed the hot liquid all over his hand as Bill spoke, cursing luridly and extracting his wand from his deep pocket to clean up the mess and cast a mild healing charm on his scarlet-red hand.

"Bloody hell!" He swore when he finally looked at Bill, glaring. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Bill didn't answer and instead walked across to the tap, where poured a little into the tumbler and then cast a nonverbal spell on it to turn it into ice cubes. Harry was impressed, but then, he found most of the things that Bill did impressive. He always had, he realised, and he wondered if he had subconsciously been attracted to the oldest Weasley as far back as fourth year, when he'd first met Bill and thought how entirely cool and good looking he was.

"Did you buy one then?"

Harry blinked, roused from his slightly lustful thoughts. "Huh?"

Blue eyes that were a bit bleary met his own, and Bill gestured to the sideboard, where the stack of papers from the agents still lay. "A house. Did you buy one?"

Harry frowned as Bill turned back to the cupboard and tugged out a bottle of firewhisky and poured a generous helping into his tumbler. "Er... I signed the initial paperwork. It’s for a place in Exeter."

Bill nodded and took a long swallow from the drink he held. "Good for you," He said, his words just the tiniest bit slurred.

"Are you drunk?" Harry demanded bluntly then, taking a step towards Bill and stopping as the other man laughed.

"Ab-so-lutely rat arsed." Bill confirmed with a tight smile. "Cost a bit to get here too, I don' mind tellin' you."

"You'll regret it when Vicky gets you up in the morning." Harry said after a moment, swallowing down everything else that he wanted to say.

Bill snorted. "You c'n look after her. Least you can do after all the times I looked after Teddy while you were shaggin' your boyfrien'."

Harry's heart shrivelled in his chest, and he looked down at the floor. "So you're pissed because of that, then." He said quietly when he could trust himself to speak in a steady voice.

"No, I'm pissed 'cause of the booze. Pay attention." Bill corrected.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked back up again. "I meant you're angry about it." He said.

Bill sighed and strolled a little unsteadily across to the table, slumping in one of the chairs, looking at the surface for a long time; so long in fact that when he spoke Harry jumped. "Why didn't you tell me?" Bill asked plaintively, sounding so upset that it almost broke Harry's heart. "I thought we were mates."

Harry had crossed the room before the thought had even processed, and he sat down opposite Bill. "I -"

"Didn't you trust me?" Bill interrupted, sounding both forlorn and cross. "I wouldn't have told anyone, if you didn't want them to know."

"I know," Harry said soothingly, shoving his hand through his damp hair agitatedly. "I just… I wasn't really ready for anyone to know." He said helplessly.

"You told Ginny!" Bill pointed out.

"Actually, she already knew," Harry said wryly. Bill looked confused and Harry sighed. "She'd already figured it out before I told her."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Harry leaned his elbows on the table edge and sighed again.

They didn't speak for a long time, and so when Bill piped up again Harry was startled enough to look at him. "Is that why you're moving out?"

Harry looked at Bill for a long time, not sure how to answer that question truthfully without giving away the fact that he was almost head over heels in love with the other man. "That's part of it," He said slowly at last. He continued when Bill frowned. "I didn't think you'd really like me bringing blokes home, what with Victoire living here. And the other… Well, this was only ever supposed to be a temporary arrangement. I just got," Harry paused and sighed sadly. "Comfortable."

"Is your boyfriend going to move in with you?" Bill asked then.

"I don't have one," Harry answered quickly, smiling when Bill looked confused again. "We broke up last week."

"How come?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm moving away. Plus it was never really serious anyway." He smiled. "We never really… Well, never mind." He said, realising that telling Bill that he and Andrew had never actually gotten much further than heavy petting was probably a really bad idea. Talking about gay sex with a straight man was just asking for trouble.

"Sorry." Bill muttered, not sounding as though he was very sorry at all.

"It's OK. Doesn't matter."

"When're you moving out then?"

"Couple of weeks." Harry said with a wan smile. "Just in time for Christmas."

Bill smiled faintly, pushing his still half full tumbled away from him. "We'll miss you both," He said softly.

Harry sighed. "We'll miss you too," He said, equally softly. He smiled faintly and then stood up. "Night." He walked towards the kitchen door, pausing before he could stop himself and blurting, "And just so you know, Andy and me never got round to actually shagging."

Mortified by the fact that he'd actually been stupid enough to say that, Harry fled.


********


He made coffee first thing the next morning, and took some up to Bill along with a hangover potion, leaving both at his bedside, the coffee under a warming charm.

He got Vicky and Teddy up and gave them breakfast, and then settled them down to play in the sitting room while he filled in the rest of the Gringotts paperwork while sipping his first cup of coffee.

It was mid morning when Bill came into the kitchen, looking tired but clear of eye at least. "Morning," Harry mumbled, turning his attention back to the paperwork that the estate agents had owled him earlier.

"Morning. Thanks for the coffee and potion."

Harry shrugged, not looking at Bill as an embarrassed flush started to warm his cheeks. "Welcome."

"Are you going to look at me, or are you going to pretend to be absorbed in that parchment?" Bill asked after a minute, making Harry's flush deepen as he forced himself to look up.

Bill looked somewhat amused, making a particularly deep scar on his cheek pucker, and Harry blinked as he realised that his hand was twitching with the urge to run his fingers along that ridged scar. He smiled tightly. "Sorry." He murmured softly.

Bill's smile faded and he sighed. "Thanks for getting Victoire up." He said after a while.

"No problem," Harry said tightly, nodding. "Least I can do. Like you said."

"Harry, I -"

"I'm gonna go grab a few things from town. You OK to keep an eye on Ted for me?" Harry interrupted, shoving his chair back and standing abruptly.

"Yes." Bill said. "Sure."

Harry smiled faintly. "Want anything while I'm there?"

"No. Thanks." Harry nodded and headed for the door, pausing when Bill called out to him. "Fancy that game of chess one night this week? Since you're going to be leaving soon."

He wracked his brains to try to come up with some excuse, but couldn't think out any, so sighed and nodded. "OK."


********


"Want to be black or white?"

Harry shrugged. "White, I guess." He said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

Bill nodded and started setting the pieces out onto the board and Harry fidgeted. He'd managed to avoid the game for three days -- in fact he'd managed to avoid talking to Bill pretty much at all over those days -- but had finally conceded defeat and agreed to play that night.

He started the game eagerly, wanting to get it finished as soon as possible, and before too long had lost four pawns, a bishop and a castle, and the rest of his pieces had taken to jeering and cursing at him.

"For Merlin's sakes, Harry," Bill exclaimed, shaking his head angrily. "What the hell is that matter with you? You've been squirming in your seat since we started the game!"

Harry licked his lips and shrugged. "Just, a bit uncomfortable." He confessed at last, not looking at Bill.

"What the hell for?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe 'cause I went and blurted out private stuff that no straight bloke in his mind would want to hear." Harry shot back crossly, slumping back in his chair and tugging on his already wild hair. "God. Sorry." He said tiredly after a moment. "I dunno why I told you that the other night."

"What, about you and… Andy, was it?" Harry nodded, flushing uncomfortably. "Andy then. Why'd you think I'd be upset about that? You *did* hear what mum said yesterday didn't you?"

Harry frowned. "Which part?" He asked after a minute.

Bill rolled his eyes heavenward. "About you not being her only queer son, of course."

Harry's blush deepened even further, if that was at all possible, and he looked at his lap uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. But just 'cause you're OK with Charlie and me being bent, doesn't mean you want to hear about it."

To Harry's immense surprise Bill laughed; not just the quiet chuckles, bitter laughs or Victoire-driven chortles of the past months, but a full out belly laugh. Harry blinked in amazement, staring at Bill in surprise. "You bloody prat, she was talking about *me*!" Bill managed to say between laughs, shaking his head and then snorting. "Charlie's as straight as they come, I'm afraid."

"*You*?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

Bill smiled in amusement and nodded. "Well," He corrected then. "Not exactly bent, but I like men as well as women."

"You *do*?"

"Yeah," Bill said, shaking his head. "I can't believe that you didn't know. I thought you'd have figured it out. I thought that you *had* figured it out, and that was why you were leaving." He added quietly after a short silence.

Harry frowned. "Why would that bother me into leaving?" Harry asked bemusedly.

Bill rolled his eyes and then looked sadly at Harry. "I thought you'd figured out that I… That I'm attracted to you, and that you were leaving because of it."

Harry gaped in astonishment.

"And yeah, I know you said last night that you were leaving mostly because you're gay and…" Bill shook his head then. "I just thought that you'd figured it out and were trying to spare my feelings."

"You…" Harry shook his head, trying to dispel the whooshing sound that was echoing in his ears. "You *fancy* me?" He asked in a tiny voice.

Bill laughed again, a bitter little chuckle this time. "I've fancied you like mad for months."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Harry burst out indignantly, hardly able to wrap his brain around the fact that Bill -- gorgeous, brilliant, clever, amazing *Bill* -- fancied *him*.

"Why'd you think?" Bill asked coldly. "At first I thought you were with Ginny, then I thought you were straight, then I just… Well I just figured that you wouldn't be interested in… Me. Not with all *this*," He said, gesturing to his scarred face.

Harry gaped again, shaking his head speechlessly.

"Fleur was one of a kind," Bill said sadly, reaching up with one hand to run a finger along the scar that Harry had wanted to touch the other morning. "These didn't worry her at all. Not many people would put up with it."

"Are you bonkers?" Harry burst out then, shoving his chair backwards and stumbling around the table to kneel at Bill's side, tugging a battered hand away from that scar to replace it with his own, feeling his heart simultaneously soar and sink. "These don't make a damn bit of difference to anyone who matters, Bill," He said softly, swallowing the lump in his throat as Bill looked down at him sadly. "You're brilliant and gorgeous and cool and… God they don't matter at all. They're just… You."

Bill gave a choked laugh and placed his hand over Harry's removing it from his cheek and holding it tightly. "So," He said, his voice very low. "Does that mean you don't mind that I fancy you?"

Harry gave a choked little laugh of his own and shook his head, swiping away tears that had fallen from his cheeks. "Mind? I'm bloody *thrilled* to hear that you fancy me, idiot." He said, sniffing.

Bill's generous lips curved upwards slowly into a beautiful smile that Harry had never dared to hope would be aimed his way. "Why'd you dump Andy, Harry?"

Harry swallowed hard and smiled up at Bill, who was still smiling down at him, making him feel as though the summer sun had suddenly burst through the December clouds. He seized his Gryffindor courage, gave it a good shake and drew in a deep, steadying breath. "Because… I fell in love with you."

He didn't even really register Bill moving; one second he was sat on the chair looking down at Harry, and then next he was on his knees, his mouth ravaging Harry's own and his scarred hands buried in Harry's messy hair, his tongue parting Harry's lips and -

Harry moaned and Bill drank the sound up, twining his hands in Harry's hair and tilting his head just so, to the perfect angle to allow his tongue to slip into Harry's mouth and - *oh Gods* - stroke against Harry's own tongue.

Kissing Andy had never been like this; so frantic and utterly all-consuming. Bill was just a little bit feral, and made Andy's kisses look positively tame in comparison to this dominating, forceful oscillation.

His cock was already hard enough to pound nails with and he moaned again as his hips started to rock forwards and back, trying to find some friction. Bill swallowed the sound and slid a hand down from Harry's hair to grab his arse and pull them flush together.

"Fuck!" Harry swore into Bill's mouth as his cock met Bill's thigh and he felt the redhead's erection against his stomach, rigid and seemingly huge.

"Is that why you never fucked him, Harry?" Bill whispered between biting kisses across Harry's jaw. "Because you were too busy wanting me to fuck you? Because you were lusting after my cock?"

Harry whined piteously and tried to rub his prick against Bill's hard thigh, but the bigger man held him still easily while biting and sucking a huge bruise onto his throat just over his pulse point.

"Did you dream about this, Harry?" Harry whimpered as Bill's hand tightened in his hair. "Did you come in your pyjama trousers thinking about my hands, my mouth, my *prick*?"

"Yes!" The brunette gasped, his hands finding Bill's shoulders and clutching them desperately. "Oh *fuck* yes!"

"I used to walk past your room and be able to *smell* your arousal at night, Harry," Bill growled, pulling back just a little and wrenching Harry's t-shirt off, tossing the material to one side before pushing Harry to the floor and covering him, kissing and biting down his chest until he reached the younger man's already pebbled nipples. "You've no idea how often I wanked off just imagining you in there, your hand on your gorgeous prick, jerking off until you covered your hand in spunk."

Harry moaned incoherently as Bill used the tip of his tongue to circle his hard little nipple, before sucking it into his mouth and making the brunette's hands rise to burrow into long red hair, wrapping the luscious tresses around his fingers.

"*Merlin* I want you," Bill groaned, his words muffled against Harry's chest.

"Please," Harry begged breathlessly.

"Not here," Bill said gutturally, shifting off of Harry then and getting to his feet, before tugging Harry up too. "I want you here too, over the table, on the sofa, on the rug before the fire," He growled, biting Harry's earlobe gently. "But the first time I *fuck* you," He said, emphasising the word 'fuck' with great relish and sniggering as Harry's hips jerked at hearing the it. "I want you in my bed."

"Now then!" Harry demanded stridently, yelping when Bill took him quite literally and Apparated them up to his bedroom. "We could've walked, y'know," Harry laughed, pleased when Bill joined in briefly before bending to kiss him once again, stealing any further laughter, along with his speech and breath.

The redhead walked him backwards across the room, until Harry's knees met the edge of the bed and they fell backwards, bouncing a little on the highly sprung mattress.

Dextrous hands found Harry's belt and went to unbuckling it while their mouths remained joined, muffled moans and wet, slick kissing noises filling the room.

Once he'd succeeded in unfastening Harry's belt, Bill wrenched open the fly of the smaller man's jeans, smirking as the brunette gasped at the feel of Bill's hand slipping into the denim trousers and seeking out the slit of his boxers, where the head of his cock was already pushing through, as though seeking the heated skin of the redhead's palm.

Harry swore as Bill wrapped a hand around his aching cock, his hips jerking upwards and driving his erection through the eldest Weasley's fist.

"Patience, Harry," Bill murmured into Harry's mouth, chuckling as Harry whimpered and tried to fuck the rough, calloused hand, crying out piteously as the older man tightened his grip, making it impossibly for Harry to move at all.

"Bill, please," Harry begged, pulling back from their kiss and breathing hard. "Please!"

"Please what?"

"Fuck me!" Harry shouted crossly, gasping again as the other man yanked his hand out of Harry's trousers, only to seize the ankles of the blue denim and tug them off so quickly that Harry was sure the rough material was going to have left a friction burn.

"Say it again," Bill growled, licking and then biting around Harry's naval, before plunging the tip of his tongue into that delightful little dip in the landscape of Harry's body.

"Please, fuck me, please," Harry whispered obligingly, opening his legs wide despite a lingering nervousness about the imminent loss of his virginity.

"You've no idea how many times I've imagined you saying that to me," The red head said huskily, before sliding up Harry's body and sealing their lips together again as his hands reached for one of the pillows and lifted Harry's arse easily, shoving the soft pillow beneath his hips.

"Fuck me," Harry murmured into his mouth. "Fuck me, Bill. Love me, fuck me, make love to me…"

Bill gave a growling moan at hearing the words that Harry was whispering and slipped his hands down the back of the younger man's boxers, stroking the soft skin of his arse.

Harry hummed approvingly into Bill's mouth and arched back into the touch, before pushing forwards to rub his still-covered cock against Bill's hip.

"I'm going to fuck you Harry," Bill murmured, drawing back from the kiss and trailing his lips down the younger man's throat, licking down his chest and over his hard, sensitive nipples. "I'm going to finger you open and fill you with my cock until you can't tell where you end and I begin." The redhead's tongue slid down across Harry's abdomen, making him arch against that brilliant mouth with a gasp. "But first," Bill whispered, nuzzling Harry's thatch of curls with the tip of his nose. "I want to taste you."

Andy had sucked Harry before, and it had been great; the hot wetness, the pressure of languid suckling. It seemed, though, that being in love with the person sucking you made it all the better. Bill's technique wasn't that different from Andy's, he did the same things, with the same level of skill, but it felt to Harry as though it was a hundred times better. His breath caught at the first touch of Bill's tongue, and he let loose a loud moan as the tip of the older man's tongue probed his slit, lapping up his pre-come.

When Bill opened his mouth and sucked the head of Harry's cock in, the brunette couldn't help but give a shout of shocked pleasure, bucking up into that warm sucking wetness as his hands found Bill's hair and tangled in it, unsure whether he wanted to force that *fucking glorious* mouth down further or wrench it off entirely, so intense was the bliss that roiled through him.

Bill's mouth slid off and his tongue licked the head of Harry's cock again, and the redhead grinned up at Harry. "Your first?" He asked, one vivid red eyebrow cocked.

Harry shook his head, eyes wide. "No," He managed to utter, before his head flopped back as Bill lowered his head and suckled the bitter and copious pre-ejaculate from his glans.

"Hmm," Bill hummed. "Well, if I'm not the first then am I at least the best?" He asked with a teasing smirk.

Harry gurgled incoherently as Bill's head bent and that mouth took his balls in, sucking on them gently, and then less gently.

A wicked chuckle sounded and Bill returned to his cock, hands restraining Harry's jerking hips easily. "I'll take that as a yes," He murmured between slurps as he went at Harry's cock like it was the tastiest of lollipops.

The young Gryffindor wanted to tell Bill that yes, he was the best mouth Harry'd ever had surrounding his cock, but as Bill sucked his cock deeper into his mouth Harry lost the ability to form words and instead was reduced to panting moans and tiny one syllable exclamations that to his ears sounding something like 'guh' and 'ungh'.

He barely noticed when the tip of Bill's forefinger started circling the tight little furl of his arsehole, only recognising that slight pressure when Bill's wonderful mouth drew back and went down to his balls again, sucking and licking at them as his fingers started gently probing at his virgin entrance.

He almost swallowed his tongue when he felt the other man's tongue slip down over his perineum to prod at the same place his finger was prodding, and *fucking Merlin* Andy had never done *that* before! Gods, surely it wasn't sanitary but oh!

He felt the breath whoosh against that sensitive skin as Bill chuckled and then gave another tiny shocked cry as his soon-to-be lover removed his finger and starting licking in circles around his pucker, laving the tight little rosebud and then pushing *inside* of it and wiggling. Shocked and aroused beyond belief he was unable to stop himself from pushing down against Bill's tongue, practically humping the redhead's face in his desperation to get more of the spongy muscle into his suddenly hungry arse.

His pleasure shot up another notch when Bill sealed his mouth around Harry's anus and sucked, his tongue still in the brunette, laving the delicate skin just inside. And then that finger returned, pushing in alongside Bill's tongue and sliding right inside, stretching just the tiniest bit and drawing more desperate sounds from Harry's throat as he pushed down onto Bill's hand and tongue.

Bill's other hand found Harry's cock again and the younger man jerked into the enclosing circle of Bill's fist as that finger crooked and touched what he presumed must be his prostate while Bill's mouth went back to his balls and sucked and laved them.

He didn't know what felt best, and it was with alarm that he realised, as Bill started firmly jerking his dick, that he was about to come, before Bill had even finished getting him ready! He tried to warn Bill, to get him to stop, but the redhead resisted Harry's hands, tugging at his hair, and simply sucked his balls harder and tightened his grip on Harry's cock, and rubbed against that magic spot inside again and *oh fuck*…

Harry wailed as his seed pulsed all over his belly and Bill's hand, his hips jerking spasmodically as his arse clamped down on the finger inside of him. The edges of his vision went black and he figured that he must have passed out for a while, because when he finally became aware again Bill's mouth had left his bollocks and was now lapping up his come, finger still buried inside of Harry and another prodding at his almost dry hole now.

Harry groaned and half-heartedly tried to pull away from that finger, sighing in relief when Bill drew back from him and rolled over the bed towards the bedside cabinet, rummaging in the top drawer.

He closed his eyes and listened to his heart beat starting to slow down again, and the sounds of something -- presumably lubricant -- being squirted out of a tube and, he supposed, onto Bill's fingers.

He was proved right when Bill's forefinger slipped into him again, slick and firm this time, swiftly followed by a second finger tip wiggling in beside the first. Harry stirred and his eyes opened to allow him to look down at where Bill was lying between his legs, eyes focussed and concentrating on what he was doing to Harry's arse.

The second finger slowly worked inside of him until it was lodged completely in his arse, and Harry gave a faint moan as it burned a little when Bill made a scissoring motion with the two fingers. Blue eyes met green and Bill smiled at him, the expression looking faintly wolfish when combined with the lustful look in Bill's eyes and the somewhat menacing-looking scars. It made Harry's breath leave his body in a sharp hiss, and he licked his too-dry lips as Bill turned his attention back to stretching Harry out.

When Bill brushed against his prostate again Harry gasped and felt his cock start to stiffen again, beginning to straighten from where it had been curled quiescent in his nest of curls.

He hummed his approval as Bill started to slowly thrust his two fingers in and out of Harry's arse, fingers angled so that the tips clipped that oh-so sensitive bundle of nerves every time they were pushed back in again, and Harry's cock continued to harden, flushing with blood once again as Bill avidly watched.

He heard more lubricant being piffed from the tube and then heard the slick sounds of it being spread onto a flesh before Bill's two fingers withdrew and then returned with a friend, wriggling all three into Harry's tight little channel and making him gasp at the more intense burn as he was stretched further than he'd been stretched before.

He'd had fingers up his arse before; while wanking he'd used one, sometimes two, just to help his imagination along. But Bill's fingers were much thicker than his own, and now there were three of them up there and good *lord* was it supposed to feel so damned interesting, this burning and stretching?

He shifted restlessly, his fully-hard cock slapping against his taut stomach as he moved and making Bill glance up at him again, smiling that feral smile that made Harry's heart thump loudly in his chest. *Gods* Bill was gorgeous.

"You're nearly ready for me, Harry," Bill growled, curling his three fingers to rub lightly at Harry's prostate and chuckling as the younger man's eyes flew closed and his hips jerked down, forcing those fingers deeper.

"Yes," Harry whispered, giving a strangled moan as Bill withdrew his fingers and then pushed them back in repeatedly, giving Harry the faintest taster of what it was going to be like when Bill finally fucked him.

"Do you want this?"

Harry nodded wordlessly, mouth hanging open as he gasped and panted his pleasure.

"I want to hear you say it again, Harry. Do you want this? Do you want *me* inside you; my cock."

Harry's own prick jerked merrily as Bill said the word 'cock' with such relish, and he moaned loudly again, nodding frantically. "Yes! Yes, I want you, please Bill, *please*!"

The fingers withdrew and before he had even really registered that fact, there was a much larger, blunt object resting against his loosened hole. "Ready?"

"Yes!" Harry gasped, trembling with need and nervousness. "Yes, please!"

Bill growled and then started to push forwards, the domed head of his erection popping through the guardian ring of muscles and drawing a strangled cry, half pleasure half pain, from Harry's lips. "Bear down on me, love," Bill urged huskily as his prick pushed a little further in, and Harry gave a tiny sobbing moan and did as he was told, trying to relax and open himself to this desperately wanted invasion.

It hurt more than he'd though it would as Bill slowly and steadily rocked his hips, pushing a little more into Harry with every tiny thrust. It wasn't just his arsehole that hurt either, but sharp pains stabbing his lower back and echoing all the way up his spine, making him whimper.

"Almost there," Bill whispered reassuringly, and Harry gritted his teeth and tried to force himself to relax, his hands finding Bill's lower back and gripping the sweat-sheened skin as he was stretched wide open around Bill's cock.

He was almost ready to tell Bill to stop when the forward slide finally finished and he felt Bill's bollocks nudging against the cheeks of his arse. Bill was completely sheathed inside of him. "Oh God!" He gasped, overwhelmed by that thought as his muscles clenched spasmodically around the length within him, trying to get used to being so stretched.

"Fuck," Bill whispered, resting his forehead against Harry's for a moment. "Gods Harry."

"Bill," Harry whispered in return, the throbbing of his arse slowly fading even as his heart swelled with emotion at having Bill *inside* of him.

"Can I move?" Bill asked after a moment, rising up to look down at Harry, before peppering his cheeks and forehead with tiny kisses. "Are you… Can I?"

The brunette bit his lip and nodded, wincing as Bill started to withdraw and the throbbing kicked up a notch. It still hurt, but it was fading into a manageable pain now, more like a background ache. Bill pushed back in and then slowly pulled back again, little movements of barely an inch.

Harry licked his lips and stroked his fingers lightly over the skin of Bill's back where his hands lay. His cock was not-quite soft between them, firming up again now that the worst of the pain was over, and he made a tiny approving noise as Bill pulled out a little further that time, the slick slide feeling more interesting than painful now.

That slight burn was back, making his cock twitch and work its way back towards being completely hard again, and Harry gave a louder hum of approval as Bill started to pull back a little further with each thrust now, his cock in Harry's arse making little slick noises.

Bill was breathing shallowly as he bent to lick at the line of Harry's lips before coaxing them apart so that he could kiss Harry properly again. Harry moaned into Bill's mouth as the older man started to thrust with a little more force, his eyelids fluttering closed and his tongue darting out daringly into Bill's mouth, making the other man groan faintly.

Feeling more bold now that most of the pain had disappeared, Harry slid his hands down to Bill's arse and gripped the cheeks momentarily, before sliding his palms back up to Bill's shoulders, fingers learning the broad expanse covered in silken, freckled skin.

Bill chuckled into Harry's mouth, his tongue sliding languorously against Harry's own as he started with withdraw until only the head of his cock remained inside of Harry before thrusting back in.

Harry moaned into the kiss and on a whim raised his legs to wrap them around Bill's hips, his eyes flying open an a startled cry emerging from his parted lips as this move tilted his hips and sent Bill's cock skittering across his prostate with the next thrust in. "Oh *God*!" He exclaimed sharply, his short fingernails digging into Bill's shoulders unknowingly.

Bill hissed and thrust a little more firmly on the next push, his cock rasping over that spot again and making Harry's hips jerk up against Bill and his back arch at how good it felt.

Harry's cock was back to throbbing between them now, and he found himself pushing up into every thrust that Bill made, crying out when Bill managed to angle himself so that Harry's prostate was hit and making tiny, desperate noises as his fingernails scored lines down Bill's back unintentionally.

Bill started to fuck Harry faster and harder now, his balls slapping audibly against Harry's arse as punctuation to each inward plunge and driving increasingly loud cries of pleasure from Harry's lips.

The younger man's cock, trapped as it was between them, was sliding easier now, gliding in the pool of pre-come that had welled from the tip. Thanking God that he had thought to raise a silencing charm around the room, Bill gritted his teeth and gamely held back the orgasm that had been threatening from the second that his cock had slipped into the smaller man beneath him and concentrated on coaxing more of those deliciously debauched cries from Harry's kiss-swollen lips, his heart contracting at how bloody *beautiful* the brunette was, and how much more beautiful he looked writhing on Bill's cock.

"Oh, oh!" Harry gasped breathlessly, his arse muscles clamping around Bill's cock so tight he was sure that it was going to be pinched off. "*Bill*!" And that was all that Bill needed. With a guttural moan that seemed to come from the very soles of his feet, he lodged inside of Harry one more time and trembled as his orgasm swept over him, through him, in wave after wave of overwhelming pleasure.

It seemed to last forever, and by the time that he was coherent enough to pry open his eyes and focus on anything else, Harry was twitching beneath him, cock still rigid between them as tiny whining sounds spilled from his throat at losing the thrusting of the older man's prick.

"I'm sorry," Bill whispered, leaning in to rest his forehead against Harry's collarbone. "So sorry," He added, kissing the soft skin there and then moaning as the clench and release of Harry's anal muscles made his oversensitive cock twitch in an almost painful move.

"Bill," Harry whined, twining hands in the long red hair of his lover. "*Please*,"

Swallowing to ease his dry throat, Bill slowly withdrew his spent prick, shushing Harry as the brunette cried out piteously at the loss. He slid down until his mouth was level with Harry's arsehole, admiring the loosened, pretty pink hole for just a moment.

And then he extended his tongue and with just the tip he circled the rim, the taste of Harry mingling with that of his own come. Harry wailed and his whole body jerked downwards, trying to get Bill's tongue to do more than just lick teasingly, and Bill chuckled tiredly.

He reached up and wrapped his hand around Harry's bobbing length and then set to licking and sucking his come from the sensitive little pucker with a will, drawing evermore desperate sounds from the younger man's throat as he kept his encircling hand still, too tight around Harry to allow thrusting, just squeezing every now and again as counterpoint to the felching that he was hoping would send Harry over the edge.

It was just so deliciously dirty, having Bill eat his own come from Harry's arse, and his cock was aching so bad, he needed to come; God he needed it! He writhed and begged, hips arching off of the bed to try to get a little friction on his erection, but the redhead's grip was merciless and he couldn't get that hand to slide at all along his length.

The litany of sucking and slurping noises were a dirty backtrack for the sobbing cries that spilled from Harry's own lips as he was teased closer and closer to his second orgasm of the evening. As Bill's tongue pushed inside his channel once again, he finally moved his encompassing hand, sliding slowly from root to tip and back again as he laved the wall's of Harry's arse.

One of Harry's hands shot down to fist in Bill's locks and he screeched as his cock twitched violently and began spewing pearly come over Bill's hand and Harry's stomach.

Bill kept licking gently around Harry's anus as the younger man came, easing him through his orgasm and then drawing back when he lay spent on the bed, still twitching occasionally from the intensity of his climax.

The older man crawled up the bed and flopped next to Harry, chuckling when the brunette rolled against him and snuggled into his arms, trembling faintly. "OK?" He asked hoarsely.

"OK," Harry confirmed in a rasping voice. "Very OK."

Bill sniggered and pressed a gentle kiss to Harry's sweaty forehead, allowing the conversation to lapse into silence then.

As his eyelids fought the urge to slide shut, he realised that he still needed to ask Harry something. "Does this mean you're not moving out then?" He asked sleepily.

Harry gave a tiny snuffle of laughter and rubbed his lightly stubbled cheek against Bill's shoulder. "Yup. Stuck with me now," He murmured, half asleep already.

Bill grinned and gently squeezed Harry. "Oh good," He sighed, before slipping seamlessly into sleep, the comforting weight of Harry's head on his chest.


********


Dear Harry, Bill, Teddy and Vicky,

Merry Christmas! Told ya so Harry!

Love Ginny

P.S. Be Good to one another, or I'll knock your heads together!