CHAPTER 4
Ron and Hermione walked down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door into the yard. They walked to the back of the yard, and sat next to the green frog pond. Little frogs hopped merrily in and out of the water and lily pads.
Ron suddenly remembered a bit of his anger. “What’s Harry playing at?” he looked at Hermione. “Does he fancy Ginny?”
Hermione gave Ron a patronizing look. She thought about the best way to phrase the information she knew she had to share with Ron, but, in the early afternoon sunshine, she was a bit distracted by how adorably helpless her best friend looked. She sighed inwardly, knocking away the thoughts of Ron and his adorableness.
“Ginny fancies Harry. She always has. And Harry has finally realized this. Please don’t bite my head off over this. Or Harry’s. Or Ginny’s,” she added. “Let them be happy. Harry has had a hard few months, and Ginny might be just what he needs to keep him in balance.” She surveyed Ron’s face. He looked like he didn’t know whether to beat the pulp out of Harry or take a nap.
“Ron, are you feeling alright?” she looked at him a bit more intently, and took his hand. “Ron?”
Ron shook his shaggy red hair out of his eyes. He looked at Hermione. Her pretty face was full of concern. Her hair was glowing in the sunlight and… Ron looked away quickly. What was his mind playing at? She was his best friend.
“Er… I’m fine. I think I’ll… er… get a head start on those Charms essays…” he stood up stiffly, and headed back for the house.
Hermione stood and followed him. Boys were strange, she thought.
Harry and Ginny sat in her room, her head resting on his shoulder, as he read aloud to her out of a Muggle book he found in a rubbish bin. It was rather good, and very sad. Ginny sighed and snuggled closer to Harry. He was very good at doing all the voices and being dramatic at the suspenseful parts. He came to the end of a chapter, and stuck a bit of spare parchment between the pages. Kissing her on the cheek, he stood up and stretched.
“Let’s go see what Hermione and Ron are doing. We don’t want them to think the worst of us.” He grinned and held a hand out to Ginny. She took it, and they went down the stairs.
Hermione and Ron were nearly exactly as they left them, sitting at the table, discussing the Charms homework. Except that they weren’t fighting. They were being oddly formal and whenever Hermione would reach over to point something out, Ron would blush and Hermione would look at him and giggle.
Ginny and Harry looked at each other. They stepped into the kitchen. Abruptly, Hermione stopped giggling, and she turned the same shade of red that Ron was.
“Err… we were just on our way out…” Ginny pulled Harry’s arm out the back door to the garden. They could see one shining blond head, and one curly red head sticking up between rows in the garden. Fleur was wearing a big brimmed straw hat that flopped off and sat on the back of her shoulders and Muggle gloves. Gerty was lazily magiking the weeds into the rubbish bin as she sat with her back against a tree, Wolf gently snoozing in her lap. Happily, Harry and Ginny went to sit and enjoy the sunshine.
Evening came sooner than Harry expected. The sun was making long shadows on the grass and everything was turning a deep summer gold. Ginny’s hair shone like brilliant copper as they made their way inside. Gerty had retired into the house sometime earlier, only to turn around and come right back out.
Ginny looked at her and said, “Is everything all right?”
Gerty looked from Ginny to Harry to Fleur. “Harry, I hate to tell you this, but your two best friends are snogging in the kitchen. I don’t believe it’s my place to make them stop…” her voice trailed off with a sunny grin.
They all agreed not to mention anything to Ron or Hermione until they decided to tell, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the weather.
Fleur and Gerty were busy preparing food. Fred and George came back and ushered Harry upstairs where he found Ron and Hermione sitting on opposite sides of Ron’s room, reading, their faces a very telltale shade of red. Harry noticed that Hermione’s book was upside-down.
“Er… I’m going to wash up for dinner…” he said.
“Jolly good… er… we’ll be down, I mean I… Hermione and I will be downstairs soon…” Ron said.
Harry smiled and went to wash his hands.
Later, Harry trooped downstairs to find many Order members, all the Weasleys (even Percy”he had apologized profusely the first week of holiday and was immediately accepted back with a bone-crushing hug from Molly), and Hermione and even Neville and his gran.
Harry grinned. He’d never had a proper birthday party before. There was a big banner hung above the table saying “Happy Birthday, Harry!” The table was piled high with food, and Gerty, Ginny, Hermione, Molly, Fleur, Bill, and Charlie were all merrily putting more food on the table and singing along with the wireless. Everyone smiled at Harry when he entered. Tonks and Lupin grabbed either arm, and steered him to a chair. Harry noticed they were grinning at each other. He barely had time to wonder before Molly started heaping food on his plate and everyone sat down. There was flutter of conversation and food, and Harry sort of lost himself in the laughter and the merriment. Ginny was sitting just to his left, and kept smiling at him. He snuck his hand around her shoulders and kissed her cheek when he thought no one was looking. Moody’s magical eye saw, though, and Ginny blushed. Harry could have sworn he gave them a small wink before turning his magical blue eye over to Bill and Fleur, who were not being quite as chaste in their pursuits.
After all the food had been magicked into the kitchen by the surprisingly adeptly domestic Weasley males (excluding Ron, who was being chastised by Hermione for eating half the roast) Mrs. Weasley came out bearing a huge cake with many candles. Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and Harry looked around and made a wish. The second all the candles were extinguished, Fred and George (or at least it was assumed) let off a great amount of fireworks that fizzed and whizzed around the merry partiers.
Everyone ate their fill of cake. As the dishes were sent lazily to the sink to be washed, Gerty cranked up the wireless, and began to dance. She pulled George out of his seat, and he began to twirl and waltz her around the kitchen. Bill and Fleur were engaged in a fascinating tango. Harry, who hated dancing, was surprised when Ginny grabbed his hands and pulled him up. He blushed and muttered that he was clumsy.
“Nonsense,” the smallest Weasley intoned, and began to move him in a fast rock and roll dance.
Everyone was up, dancing and talking. The Aurors disappeared before midnight, with the exception of Remus and Tonks. They were standing outside, and when Harry looked out the window, he could see them standing exceptionally close to each other.
Ginny was rocking back and forth with him. He looked down into her pretty eyes; her aurora of shining copper hair framed her lovely face. He leaned in, and kissed her gently. He could feel her warm cheek against his. He smiled. Suddenly, she pulled away.
“I have your present upstairs! Come on!” She grabbed his arm, and pulled him past Ron and Hermione who were snuggled close to each other, and nearly knocked over George and Gerty in the hallway. They bounded up the stairs into Ginny’s room. She shut the door slyly behind her. She opened her dresser, and pulled out a small box. Harry opened it with a bit of trepidation. It contained a small phoenix charm on a long chain. The phoenix shone with an eeiry red and silver glow that was a bit reminiscent of Fawks, Dumbledore’s own phoenix.
“Wow, Gin, this is amazing. I love it.” Harry looked at her with gratitude in his eyes.
Her face was shining. “I’m so glad!” She ran into his arms. Her presence was warm and comforting, and for the first time in his life, Harry felt like this was truly his home, where he was meant to be. All the worry, shame, and guilt he had been carrying with him melted away into the perfect moment… a perfect girl… a perfect kiss.