Short Stories and Oneshots

Shooting Stars

Author: Severitus812

Platform: AO3

Type: Harry Potter

Post War AU

~

Harry loved holidays with the Weasley family. He loved helping Mrs. Weasley ("call me Molly, dear") bake treats. And helping Hermione explain Muggle concepts like fast food chains to Mr. Weasley.

Watching Charlie and his fiancé Fleur dance happily in the living room made Harry feel wistful – happy to see their obvious love, but anxious for the day he'd find that kind of happiness with someone else.

Listening to Hermione and Ron bicker even felt homey to him. Was it even a holiday together if they weren't arguing over something silly?

It was his last Christmas as a student, but he hoped it wouldn't be the last holiday that he was invited to the Burrow. Even living with Sirius, Christmas would just never be the same to him without the Weasley family.

~

Harry wandered out to the back garden, looking to see what Ginny and the twins were up to since they had went out earlier and never returned to sip eggnog around the fire with the others.

Harry laughed when he saw Ginny playing a two-on-one quidditch game, quaffle only, against Fred and George.

They seemed oblivious to the snow falling around them as they viciously tried to steal the quaffle from one another.

"That girl's got no fear," Bill laughed, sneaking up on Harry.

Harry huffed out his own laugh at the comment.

"She's a force of nature," he agreed.

Bill gave him an odd look before turning back to the match going on in the sky.

"You and Ginny aren't...?" Bill asked causally, his hands in his jacket pockets.

Harry stared at him for a moment trying to work out the non-question before bursting out in laughter when he'd figured out what he meant.

"Me and Gin? Merlin, no." He laughed until he felt tears nearly forming in his eyes. "I – I thought you all knew, I'm...I'm gay."

He suddenly felt his previous mirth at the idea of him and Ginny being together disappearing as he glanced nervously at Bill.

"Er, I hope that's okay with you?"

Bill looked back over at him and grinned, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he did.

"Course," Bill said easily. "Be a bit hypocritical if it wasn't, since I prefer blokes to birds, myself."

"You – you do?"

Harry eyed him critically. Nothing about Bill's aesthetic screamed, or even whispered, gay to him. He had on his black leather jacket paired with black jeans with a hole in the knee. His long red hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, and the whole look was topped off with his single fang earring.

No, Bill Weasley was way too cool to have even one thing in common with scrawny, shy, awkward Harry Potter.

Bill caught Harry checking him out, which triggered a furious blush on Harry's face, and gave a deep laugh.

"What's wrong Harry? Do I not look gay enough for you?" he teased.

Harry stuttered out a denial, even though that's literally what he had been thinking.

"Don't worry about it," Bill waved his hand airily, refocusing on the match going on. "Nobody really knows much outside of my family. 'Spose that's why Fleur asked me out."