Ginny stayed in her room for most of the day. Harry had knocked once only to hear; ”If that’s you Harry Potter, I said I don’t care to speak to you!” Later he slipped a note under the door that simply read: I’m sorry, Ginny -- Harry.
Harry and Ron were helping Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen when Hermione arrived that night. Her parents brought her to meet Mr. Weasley after work outside the Ministry and the two had flooed to Number 12.
Harry greeted Hermione with a big hug. “It’s great to see you, Hermione.” They both looked at Ron who looked sheepishly back at Hermione. She immediately turned to Mrs. Weasley. “Mrs. Weasley, thank you for having me.“
“Oh Hermione dear, we are so glad you could be here.” Molly Weasley exclaimed. “We will have dinner ready shortly. Ron, why don’t you help Hermione with her trunk.”
Hermione turned to Harry, ignoring Ron. “Harry will you help me with my trunk? I have your birthday present in there and I want to give it to you.”
Harry picked up the trunk and they proceeded up to the room she would be sharing with Ginny. Hermione started to open the door, but Harry stopped her. “I’m not welcome in there. You‘ll have to take it from here.” He sat down her trunk.
“What on earth are you talking about, Harry?” Hermione was puzzled.
“Let’s just say I’m not Ginny’s favorite person right now. I’m sure she will fill you in on the details.”
Hermione looked puzzled. She hadn’t known Harry and Ginny to argue. She couldn’t imagine what they were up to. “Well wait, let me get your present.” Hermione opened her trunk. She pulled out a small package. Harry opened it to find a small book.
”Sonnets From the Portuguese, what’s it about?” Harry was not familiar with the book.
“It’s a book of love poems. They are really quite beautiful.” Hermione smiled sweetly at him.
Harry looked a little alarmed. “Hermione…do you fancy me?”
“Oh, of course not!” Hermione laughed. “I just thought you might need some help the next time you fancy someone. It may help give you the words to express your feelings.”
“Feelings? What feelings?” He pulled a face.
Hermione just shook her head and turned to enter the bedroom.
“Thanks, Hermione. It may take a lot more than this to help me talk to girls.” He started down the stairs and looked back at her, “By the way, Ron really feels badly about that phone call. You should at least hear him out.”
As he continued down the stairs, Hermione entered the room to the sound of Ginny squealing at the sight of her best girl friend. Harry loved that squeal. Too bad she wouldn’t be squealing at the sight of him ever. What am I thinking? Harry scolded himself. She’s just a friend…was just a friend. Now she was an ex-friend. He thought sadly.
Dinner was a bit strained that evening between the fighting foursome, but with all the commotion of the Weasley family, no one noticed except for Mrs. Weasley.
Since Ginny wouldn’t look at Harry, he had several opportunities to stare at her without being noticed. She really had become pretty. Her long shiny red hair moved when she laughed a Fred’s latest joke. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled at her dad. Her skin was milky white with tiny freckles on her nose. Stop! Stop! Stop! You can’t think of Ginny that way. She hates you now anyway.
Harry recalled a scene from the pensieve where another raven-haired boy had angered the object of his affection. He had been upset with his father when he saw this memory. Now he understood that sixteen-year-old boys seem to just have moments where their lack of maturity comes out.
Ron hardly looked up from his plate. He picked at his food which made everyone think he was ill…or lovesick. “What’s wrong, Ickle Ronnikins? Can’t eat in front of your girlfriend?” George smiled.
“Shut it George!” Ron continued to look down.
The girls excused themselves early and went to their room to avoid further contact with Ron and Harry.
The next a day, Molly Weasley had had all she could take. It was hard enough to deal with the stress she was feeling over the impending war. She wasn’t going to have her children fighting with their friends. She asked each one of them separately what was wrong, but none of them gave her an honest answer.
“I’m just worried about my long distance relationship with Dean.”
“No, nothing’s wrong, Mrs. Weasley, I guess I’ve just been a little worried about my homework.”
“Nothing mum, girls are just always cranky. It’s them…not us.”
“I’m still just overwhelmed at being back here in his house” (This was the truth, but not the real answer to her question.)
Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard’s Chess when Mrs. Weasley approached them, “OK boys, what is going on between you and the girls? I’ve never seen so much tension between you.” She sat down a couple of pumpkin juices for them.
“It’s nothing, Mum. They are just cranky. Maybe it’s their time of the month.” Ron took a large gulp of juice without looking up from his game.
Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow. “You will tell me what’s going on. And you will tell me right now!”
Harry drank his juice, hoping that he could avoid talking if his mouth was otherwise engaged.
“Mum, I don’t think we can discuss this with you. You wouldn’t understand. It has to do with…you know…s.e.x.” He spelled the word sex in a whisper. He was suddenly horrified that he had even spelled the word sex in front of his mother.
“I wouldn’t understand? Ronald Weasley, I can assure you that I know something about sex! I do have seven children for goodness sake!” Ron cringed at her words. The thought of his mum having sex made him sick.
“Your father and I never sat you down and talked to you about this. We just figured with five older brothers that you would hear it from them before we could tell you anything. Now, do you and Harry have any there specific questions you want to ask or would it be easier if each of you told me what you did to upset the girls?”
“I guess so.” Ron mumbled.
Ron took a deep breath and started. After a few minutes Harry realized that Ron was telling the whole story. Everything that had happened was just flowing out of his mouth like he couldn’t control it. Veritaserum. She must have given us veritaserum. He thought as Ron continued to spill his guts about the pub, the drinking, the muggle girls and the phone call. He finished the tale with his final drunken plop onto his bed.
Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to Harry. It was now his turn. He suddenly felt ill. He was about to tell Mrs. Weasley that he, Harry, had molested her only daughter. Ginny was her precious daughter. And it wasn’t like they were dating and things got out of hand. She might be able to understand that. But he had just attacked Ginny for no reason.
Harry looked down at the chessboard. He couldn’t look Mrs. Weasley in the eye. He focused on his remaining chessmen and started. “It’s pretty much like Ron said, but he left out one of our topics of conversation at the pub.” He proceeded to tell her about the spell that Fred and George had cast on Ginny. How he was curious about it and wanted to test it out for himself. It was as if someone else was speaking, Harry couldn’t control what he was saying. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth kept spilling forth. He tried to hold back comments about how sexy Ginny had looked in her short nightgown, but he couldn’t. He finally heard himself saying “…and that’s when she slapped me.” He still hadn’t looked at Mrs. Weasley.
Ron stood up, knocking the chessboard over. Chessmen flew everywhere. He grabbed Harry by the neck. “You didn’t tell me everything! I’m going to kill you!” Mrs. Weasley quickly pointed her wand at them and said “pertificous partus.” They were frozen in their positions so that they could only move from the neck up.
“Well,” she took a deep breath, “that is quite a story.”
“First of all, going to the muggle pub was a very stupid and dangerous thing to do, not to mention underage drinking. But we will deal with that issue later.” Molly already knew that they had slipped out that night. The adults at Number 12 had suspected the boys would try to go out for Harry’s birthday and decided to let them think they had gotten away with it. They had been followed by a guard and were perfectly safe. A special charm had now been put on the door to prevent any further outings. Now that they had confessed to the crime, she would have to punish them.
“Secondly, Ron, I’m not surprised at your behavior towards Hermione. It’s perfectly normal for young men to become aroused at the sight of a pretty girl.” Ron moaned. He couldn’t stand to hear his own mum talk like this. “Especially if he fancies her.” She added. “You have learned the hard way about how alcohol can affect you. I’m sure you would have said something different to Hermione if you had been sober.” Ron was blushing. How did his mother know that he fancied Hermione?
“Thirdly, Fred and George will be severely punished. The spell they put on Ginny was outlawed in the ‘1969 Witch’s Liberation Movement’. Although I am quite impressed that they were able to research it and perform the spell.” Molly looked away with a satisfied smile on her face. Fred and George had learned something at Hogwarts.
She then turned to Harry, who was still looking down. “And fourth and finally, to you Mr. Harry Potter. I am very disappointed in you.” Harry felt his heart breaking. Mrs. Weasley had always treated him like a son, and now he had disappointed her. “I would have never thought you would take advantage of any young lady, let alone our Ginny! Harry, look at me.”
Harry turned his head he had tears in his eyes, “I’m really sorry.” He said softly.
“I know you are dear.” She pulled him into a hug. He was unable to respond because of the spell she had put on them earlier. He just stood there being hugged by the only woman he had ever considered a mother figure.
“Why are you hugging him? After what he did?” Ron yelled.
“Ron, I have forgiven you and Harry. She turned to Ron. “I love you both and nothing can change that.”
“But, Mum. He hurt Ginny!” Ron scowled.
“Ron, I expect that you should forgive Harry, too. After all he will probably be your brother-in-law someday.”
Harry looked stunned. Could she read his mind? Did she know that he was starting to have feelings for Ginny?
“What? Mum, what are you talking about!”
Molly removed the petrifying spell from the boys after Ron swore he wouldn’t attack Harry again. They sat down and she then explained the intricacies of the Chastity Spell that Fred and George had apparently used on Ginny. She finished with, “So you see, if the spell never allows the witch to become intimate with any man, she could never marry…never have children.”
“So I was right, “ said Harry, “the spell wore off so Ginny could…well…you know…do stuff.”
“Not exactly,” Molly smiled looking fondly at Harry, “the spell doesn’t wear off. When the right man comes along, the spell will simply have no effect on him.”
It took a few seconds for this information to sink in for Harry and Ron. “Does that mean that Harry and Ginny are destined to be together?” Ron asked. Molly nodded with a smile.
Harry was dumb struck. His jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. We’re destined? Ginny and me. Is that why I can’t stop thinking about her? I’m the right man?
Molly interrupted his thoughts, “Now, the three of us are the only ones who know this and I think we should keep it that way.” Molly pleaded. “If Ginny knew what her brothers did she might hurt them badly. Harry I don’t have to tell you how difficult it can be to have the burden of knowledge about your future.” She looked at him knowingly.
She must know about the Prophesy. Harry thought. “I think it would be better if she didn’t know. At least not any time soon.” Harry said.
“Harry, I do hope that if you become involved with Ginny any time soon, you will show her a bit more respect than you did the other night. You two are certainly too young to be having…that sort of relationship.” Molly hoped she had made her point.
Ron grunted in agreement with his mother. “As for you, Ronald, I see the way you look at Hermione. You remind me of a lion stalking a gazelle! It’s as if you are going to pounce at any minute! You need to get control of yourself before you start any kind physical relationship with her. You are so eager, she wouldn’t have a chance.”
“Mum! I’m not…eager. We’re just friends.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Your father needs to speak with both of you.” She said as she left the room.
They both hoped that conversation would be later, much later or never.
They began to clean up the chessmen. Ron looked at Harry, his best friend who was to become his sister’s boyfriend, her lover and her husband. He tried to take it all in. He shook his head. “Umph! I still can’t believe you did that to Ginny. What a prat!”