Harry sat alone at one of the tables that had been set up for Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Though the hour was late, many of the guests were still making use of the dance floor that had been magically put into the Burrow’s garden for the occasion. The music from the garden mixed with the sounds of laughter from the house to create an air of celebration the likes of which Harry had not felt since Lord Voldemort’s return over two years ago. Everyone else was enjoying the brief respite from fear, but Harry couldn’t bring himself to join in. The impending journey to find Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes weighed too heavily on his mind. He had tried to at least pretend to be enjoying himself for a few hours, but had quickly tired of the stares he received from Ron’s extended family members. Most of the guests were strangers to Harry and therefore stared at the scar on his forehead constantly.

So now here he was, tucked away in one of the darkest corners of the garden, out of the center of things. He would have liked to have had Ron and Hermione sitting with him, but they had mysteriously disappeared from the party a few hours before. Much as he wanted to have them keeping him company, he couldn’t in good conscience begrudge them their time alone together. No one had been able to have much time alone lately, with the Burrow full of wedding guests. Though Ron and Hermione had finally gotten together at the beginning of the summer, they were trying to keep things low-key to avoid the inevitable teasing from Ron’s brothers.

If only Ginny and I had the same problem, Harry thought wistfully.

Looking toward the dance floor, he spotted her easily because of the gold dress robes Fleur had insisted on for the bridesmaids. Ginny was dancing with her brother Charlie with a smile on her face. Watching her, Harry felt a smile slide onto his own face.

“Hey, Harry!�

Harry jumped as someone spoke behind him. He turned in his chair and found himself facing Fred and George, each carrying large boxes of their Wildfire Whiz-bangs, emerge from the bushes.

“Hi guys. When is the fireworks show?�

“Whenever people start to get tired of dancing,� Fred answered.

“But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen soon,� added George.

The twins set the boxes on the table and sat down next to Harry.

“So, Harry, how come you aren’t out there?� Fred asked, gesturing toward the dance floor.

Harry shrugged. His eyes again found the flash of gold that was Ginny. “Just didn’t feel like it.�

“Why didn’t you feel like it?�

Harry merely rolled his eyes at Fred.

George leaned across Fred to grin mischievously at Harry. “You know, we’re not going to leave you alone until you give us an answer-“

“-so you might as well tell us,� Fred finished.

Harry sighed. “Look, that’s all the answer there is, right?�

George snorted.

“I don’t think he wants to tell us why,� Fred mused. And why would that be, I wonder?�

“It must be something really embarrassing,� George opined.

“Something genuinely awful,� Fred agreed cheerfully.

“A deep, dark secret,� George added, grinning at Harry, who could feel his face starting to turn red.

“So, George, what do you suppose it could be?� Fred said conversationally.

George considered for a moment as he watched Harry’s face turn even redder. “I can only think of one thing that could make him act this oddly,� he said with a straight face.

Fred nodded, and then the twins said in unison, “He’s got a girlfriend.�

Harry felt his face turn, if possible, even redder. “No, I don’t!� he said crossly.

“Methinks he doth protest too much,� said George with a grin.

“Who is she, Harry?� asked Fred with great interest.

Harry crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, glaring at the twins.

“What’s going on?�

Harry jumped again; he hadn’t noticed Ginny come over to stand beside the twins. If anything could make this situation more awkward, this was it.

The twins smirked at each other, and then sang, “Harry’s got a girlfriend!�

A mischievous smile matching those of the twins appeared on Ginny’s face.

“Who is she, Harry?� Ginny teased.

Sometimes the only possible response was to say nothing. Harry frowned, wondering whether Ginny was about to let her brothers in on their secret. He knew, of course, that none of the Weasleys would ever do anything to put Ginny in danger, but anyone could be put under the Imperius curse. The more people who knew that Harry loved Ginny, the more likely it became for one of them to let the secret out.

Ginny’s smile widened as she sensed Harry’s consternation. However, as much as she appeared to be enjoying Harry’s discomfort, she still gave him a reassurance that the twins were sure to misunderstand.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell.�

Harry thanked her with his eyes as Fred chimed in. “Yeah, Harry, we won’t tell!�

Harry doubted this very much. “Just like you didn’t say anything to Percy about Penelope after you told Ginny you wouldn’t?� He indicated the aforementioned couple by waving his hand in the general direction of the dance floor, where Percy and his longtime girlfriend, Penelope, could be seen talking with Fleur. Percy had finally come home a few weeks before the wedding. After about a fortnight, even Fred and George had forgiven him – or perhaps they simply felt that they’d punished him enough. Percy hadn’t had a prank-free day for over a week after he’d apologized.

“You’ve just admitted it!� George crowed.

“You really do have a girlfriend?� Fred sounded surprised. “You know, mate, we were just grasping at straws.� Fred looked extremely smug.

Harry scowled again, more angry with himself this time than with Fred and George.

Ginny, no longer smiling, pulled out a chair and sat down directly across from Harry. Leaning forward, she said seriously, “I don’t really understand why you won’t tell anyone. I mean, everyone at school knew.�

“What!� Fred exclaimed.

“Are we the only ones who didn’t know about this?� George asked indignantly.

Ignoring the twins, Harry replied, “You know why I can’t tell anyone.�

Ginny shrugged. “Well, certain people, sure.� Harry blinked in surprise at the ease with which she referred to Voldemort’s followers. “Why won’t you at least let her family in on the secret?�

Harry sat for a moment in silence, pondering his answer to her question. He had given this quite a lot of thought, but at that moment, looking at her, he was finding it difficult to remember the reasons behind his decision.

When he had finally found his answer, he worded it carefully so as not to give anything away to the twins. “I know her family are trustworthy.� Ginny smiled a little. “But . . .� Harry hesitated, loath to erase the smile from Ginny’s face. “So was Madam Rosmerta,� he finished at last.

“Oh, come on, Harry� Ginny said impatiently. “It’s awfully unlikely that one of those particular people would be put under the Imperius curse.�

Harry shook his head stubbornly. “The more people who know, the more likely it is for something like that to happen. And it’s more likely to happen to her family than to most people since so many of them are fighting Voldemort.�

The twins shuddered to hear that name, but Ginny only slumped back in her chair in defeat, her arms folded in annoyance.

George leaned forward looking uncharacteristically serious. “Harry, if everyone at school knew, surely Malfoy and Snape did. You-know-who probably already found out from them, so there’s no reason to make yourself miserable.

Fred grinned wickedly. “Besides,� he said, “it’s not half as much fun to give you a hard time when we don’t even know who your girlfriend is.�

“Definitely makes it had to think of something original,� George concurred, nodding.

Harry thought about what George had said. He supposed it had been stupid of him not to realize that, of course, the two Death Eaters at Hogwarts would have long since informed Voldemort about Harry Potter’s girlfriend. It was exactly the sort of information Voldemort would find useful, Harry knew, and if he knew it surely Snape did as well. The thought of the former Potions instructor make his blood boil. Not only had Snape killed Dumbledore, but he had probably also put Ginny in danger.

With an effort, Harry bottled his anger back up. It couldn’t do him any good right now.

He looked at Ginny, still seated across the table from him. On her face was one of the strangest expressions he had ever seen: a mixture of sadness, anger, wistfulness, and hope. Harry smiled at her, and she, realizing that he had finally seen her point, smiled right back. The twins watched this exchange with puzzlement. Their obvious confusion nearly made Harry laugh out loud.

I’d better clear things up for them, he thought.

With a glint in his eyes as mischievous as any the twins had ever sported, Harry stood and began to make his way around the table to Ginny. Comprehending his intentions, she stood and met him partway. They each took one last look at the twins’ bewildered faces before leaning into each other for a kiss almost long enough to make up for the weeks they’d been apart.

When the two at last broke apart, it was to find Fred and George Weasley wearing identical dumbfounded expressions. Never before, to Harry’s recollection, had the Weasley twins been shocked into speechlessness. Ginny began to laugh, and soon, Harry joined in. It wasn’t often that anyone was able to pull a joke on those two pranksters. However, as amusing as it was to see Fred inadvertently imitating a fish, that wasn’t what was making Harry laugh hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. Harry laughed for joy, because the person who made him happiest had come back into his life. As he laughed with Ginny, Harry thought he had never felt luckier to be alive.