Chapter 8 Ten Seconds Back In Time
As expected, Mrs. Weasley baked a stunning horse-shaped birthday cake for Ginny in the evening after dinner. To enhance the festive mood, Fred and George turned up the music and brought back their latest line of inventory from the joke shop, what they called inventions, and booby-trapped the entire house, much to Mrs. Weasley’s dismay. The one they were especially proud of was something they called the “magic motion detector.” According to them, the detector would emit a shrieking ringing sound at random intervals throughout the evening, and everyone must remain still for ten full seconds no matter what he or she was doing. The detector would presumably punish anyone that did not obey the ten-second rule.
No one bothered to ask them what the punishment was but everyone automatically assumed it had to be something nasty and humiliating; they wouldn’t expect anything less from the twins, so everyone including Mrs. Weasley, who had tried unsuccessfully to locate the device, unwillingly agreed to obey. So far this evening, everyone had to annoyingly freeze what they were doing three times already. At one point, Mrs. Weasley had to helplessly watch her pot of soup boil over, and it ended up spilling all over the countertop.
Everyone including Harry sang happy birthday to Ginny. Strangely, his voice was the clearest of them all tonight. At one point, Ginny pondered astonishingly, it even overpowered her mother’s, much to her amusement.
What a difference a year made. Even though she promised herself to forget, tonight’s gathering reminded her so much of last year’s, which was the best birthday she had ever had. During the birthday song that memorable evening, she recalled Harry winking at her daringly every time she caught his eyes, with both of them trying childishly to stay out of Mrs. Weasley’s radar and keeping their relationship a secret.
Those furtive eyes of theirs that evening were to confirm their planned special get-together in her room after the party, where they would finally be alone to have their own private birthday celebrations, while sipping a bottle of champagne he sneaked in from London. He was well aware champagne would always make her feel sleepy. Not surprisingly, she would eventually doze off on his chest as he held her in his arms. She still remembered colorfully how it started to rain that night; the sounds of raindrops would wake her soon after, and she would look up dizzyingly to discover a pair of bright green stars sparkling and watching over her, to make sure she was safe.
”Happy birthday, Ginny… I love you…” he whispered devilishly that night, his voice in harmony with the raindrops as he planted a kiss on her nose.
She realized that all it took to make her happy was to be with Harry; she was as content as she could ever be last year. A heartfelt embrace from him, a goodnight kiss, a timeless gaze, occasional strings of “I love you… You’re beautiful…” they were simple little things that most people took for granted, but they were all she needed; those were the best times of her life.
That year his idea of a birthday present was extremely corny, but she fell for it nonetheless. It was an empty box with only a note inside, saying that he was the present, that Harry was hers, and whether she liked it or not, she was stuck with it, because the gift couldn’t be returned or exchanged.
She jokingly complained she didn’t like the packaging of his gift, and she threatened nastily to strip off all the wrappings before the night was over. Seeing his panic expressions as he ran for his life was priceless…
“Make a wish, Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley interrupted her thoughts as she smiled and closed her eyes. She still remembered cynically her wishes for her and Harry last year, the usual foolish things like everlasting love, never-ending fantasies, forever, eternal… Sadly, she would need separate wishes this year: one for him, one for her, different goals, decoupling paths.
”I wish Harry all the best in the world… that he be safe… and happy… and for me… I guess… to move on… and… maybe… perhaps… if I can… if it’s even possible… to… find… someone… else… to… love and__"
Oliver sneezed, interrupting her indecisive wishes and startling her. She opened her eyes and noticed everyone was now staring at her impatiently.
“Come on, Gin! What did you wish for? The entire star galaxy? We don’t have all day! Blow them out now while you’re still young!” protested George.
Ginny blew out the candles, methodically sliced the cake, and passed each of them a piece. Fred and George were busy fooling around with their new gadgets, while Ron and Hermione shared a slice together. Harry’s eyes inadvertently fell on Ginny as she paced to the window with her plate, wanting to see the entire star galaxy as George said. However, it was a rainy night, and the clouds blanketed all the stars.
Standing by the staircase, Harry wanted to approach Ginny; for some reason he found himself really enjoying being with her and talking to her, especially that first night when he received Dumbledore’s letter about him selected as mentor. But he still remembered her slamming the door in his face yesterday, almost smashing his nose. He didn’t understand why she was upset, crying, and acting so peculiar when all he wanted was to give her back her broom. Clearly, something he did was bothering her; he could hear his name echoing from her room this morning. He couldn’t make out what she said because of Ron’s snoring at all the wrong timing intervals, but her tone was very resentful and argumentative. She must be complaining to Hermione about him. Not wanting to upset her again, especially on her birthday, he decided to keep his distance. Instead, he resorted to just observe her from afar, searching for the reasons as to what he did that angered her. But his eyes rolled depressingly when he saw Oliver approaching her.
“Ginny, did you like my present?”
“Eh… yes. Thanks, Oliver,” she smiled, noticing the ring hanging around his neck. “You didn’t have to. It’s an interesting gift… The picture of Angeline’s Café definitely looks very enchanting at night, with her glass walls and that. I should have it complete in no time... without the help of magic of course!”
“Remember to show me when it’s complete. I truly didn’t know what to give you. It was between that and a log for your fireplace__”
Ginny sneered and jabbed Oliver’s arm as Harry appeared more and more uncomfortable, quietly studying them from afar, enjoying themselves. He could hear the two of them laughing heartily. If only he had extendable ears, he thought miserably, because he was now trying to listen in to their conversation. He was wondering painfully why he always made Ginny upset, and yet it took Oliver merely seconds to make her laugh.
“Anyway… I’m glad you like it. Listen… I’ll make a deal with you. Show me the completed masterpiece and I’ll bring you there at night for coffee… and see the view in person.”
“What? Just you and me? Like you’re asking me out on a date?”
“Don’t get too excited, Furball! Get your mind out of the gutter! I know you fancy me but… just remember to keep reminding yourself I’m too old for you… so try to not let your sweet little heart fall for me! I’m hard to resist but I know you can do it!” he winked nastily, casually twirling the ring around his neck with his finger.
“Oh, please spare me! Don’t make me puke on my birthday!” she gagged him and pinched his arm, unaware that Harry’s eyes were buttered thickly with jealousy.
”RINGGGG…”
Hearing the annoying motion detector and the muffled sounds of laughter from the twins, everyone sighed helplessly. Ginny rolled her eyes and had no choice but to keep pinching Oliver’s arm for ten seconds…
”9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0…”
…before letting go.
“I DEMAND YOU TWO TO DISABLE THAT BLASTED TOY OF YOURS IMMEDIATELY!” Mrs. Weasley shrieked from the kitchen.
“Listen… Ginny,” he groaned, giving the twins a dirty look as he rubbed his pained arm. “Seriously, I want to let you know. I mean what I said about your flying. Your skills are amazing!”
“Now you believe me when I say I was Seeker last year?”
“I never said I didn’t believe you! But… the reason I’m bringing this up is because I have an idea for the upcoming school year and I think you might be interested. I haven’t ironed out the specifics but it’s basically a competition… teams of two… a guy and a girl, and they’ll perform fancy flying movements and stunts… competing to see which team has the best moves…
“It’s the perfect way to motivate students to practice… I owled Hooch right after that game of ours and she replied almost immediately, saying Dumbledore loves the idea… as long as there’s a safety net on the bottom. He said it’s a perfect distraction from all the gloom and doom…” he continued, with Ginny smiling eagerly at him because she too agreed it was a great idea.
“Anyway, I think you should definitely team up with…” he glanced over at Harry, who immediately looked away, “because the two of you will be unbeatable! I want Gryffindor to win!”
Ginny’s smile and eagerness immediately faded, but Oliver was too excited to notice.
“This idea was actually inspired by you two… seeing the two of you when we played Quidditch, and how he caught you when you fell off the broom… as if he somehow knew instinctively where you were in the air… and then you floated and swirled in the air before landing…I thought you guys were awesome! A perfect match!”
Oliver raised his eyebrow smugly, trying to hide what looked like a smirk, “It also appeared you two have had a lot of practice… flying on the same broom I see__”
“All right! Silence everyone! Shouldn’t the birthday girl get some birthday kisses?” Mrs. Weasley suddenly emerged from the kitchen and wedged between Oliver and Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley smothered Ginny before she could object, “Here’s mine! Happy birthday, angel!”
She slurped her animatedly in the cheeks and dragged her to the staircase where Harry was standing.
“Eeeww, that’s gross!” Fred fretted and chose instead to blow one at her.
“I’ll do the same too!” said George, followed by Ron, laughing and blowing kisses at Ginny.
Mr. Weasley and Hermione elected to give her lighter pecks at the cheeks instead of Mrs. Weasley’s messy version.
Without realizing Oliver had sneaked up behind her, he darted to the front and kissed her on the cheeks, surprising her.
“May all your wishes come true, Ginny.”
At the sight of this, Harry’s windpipe suddenly felt very constricted for some reason. He swore he saw Oliver was about to kiss her on the lips right in front of his very eyes, only to suddenly change direction at the end. He could see Ginny was blushing.
“Harry, it’s your turn,” said Mrs. Weasley eagerly as she shoved him closer to Ginny and bumped Oliver away from the staircase in the process.
“Come on! I want to see a big DEEP__”
“MOTHER!!” Ginny barked furiously, gaping at her madly. It was too obvious what her mother was trying to do with this birthday kiss thing.
Harry could feel all the eyes in the room roasting him as he awkwardly leaned towards her, blushing immensely, thanks to Mrs. Weasley’s dramatic introduction that drew everyone’s attention to him. Just as he gently tilted her head up and planted his lips on her forehead…
”RINGGGG…”
The entire room of people were forced to stare at them as Harry and Ginny had to freeze their positions by the staircase, with his lips on her forehead, her arms pressed to his belly, and their hearts pounding crazily as each second passed them by.
”9…8…7…6…5…”
Harry found himself taken in by the flowery scent of her red hair. A strand was tickling his chin, sending electrifying sensations down his spine. He was immersed by her warmth and softness all around him. Oddly, the feeling was all too familiar to him as a deep sense of affection and fondness bathed his heart.
”…4…3…2.5…2.3…”
He could not explain it, but he felt like he had been with her like this before. He found himself not wanting to let go. He didn’t want it to end.
”…2.2…2.1…”
All he could see was her right now; all he could feel were her skin and her warmth as everything else became a blur with everyone seemingly having vanished from the room. Nothing mattered anymore except her.
”1.9…1.8…1.7…”
Unbeknownst to him, she didn’t want it to end too. But the ten-second window to the past was slowing drawing to a close, despite all their efforts to keep it open.
”1.3…1.2…”
”We’ve known each other before…”
”1.2…1.2…1.3…1.4…”
Both had lost count of the ten-second window that was now sealed as the seconds finally passed them by.
“………”
“Harry…
“Ginny…
“Hellooooo…
“Guys, you can move now… It’s okay…
“You can let go of Gin now…”
Harry, to the surprise of everyone, gently pulled away from Ginny lingeringly instead of the quick awkward snapping back reaction that was expected. Standing by the staircase, Ginny looked up timidly as her eyes inadvertently met his igniting gaze, which was solidly locked onto hers. He had stopped looking at her with that kind of fire ever since he lost his memory, but his eyes were now shining on her intensely, and they were just like the pair of bright green stars she remembered that used to guard over her and made her feel safe and loved.
The Boy Next Door by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: Just when she says she is to move on, a birthday gift falls from the skies and lands on her forehead… ten full seconds for her, “10…9… 8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…” to relive what was once hers… to see the pair of bright green stars that had stopped watching over her since last year re-ignite, sparkling for her once again…