As dusk set over the horizon of the shanty window in Ron’s room a strong feeling of nostalgia assaulted his emotions. He could almost hear the tumultuous laughter drifting with the breeze. His minds eye was fixed on the precious, few stolen moments he’d had with Ginny before coming to the Burrow. Ever since his run in with Hermione he could no longer deny that his feelings for Ginny were starting to shift. The sunset took on the deep red of Ginny’s hair and he thought that if he just reached out he could feel those long red tresses running through his fingers.
Harry.
There it was again, how Hermione’s voice had managed to wrangle into his mind he’d never know.
I expected more from you.
What had she meant by that? Every time he had tried to get a private moment with her to ask for an explanation they had been accosted by one Weasley or another. She had sounded so disappointed in him, but wasn’t she Ginny’s friend? Shouldn’t she be happy that he was beginning to view Ginny in a different light?
Crashing sounds brought him out of his stupor and he finished packing his things and ensured that his trunk was securely fastened. His mind drifted to the day before when they had cleared out the wedding presents now coming in droves from Bill’s room to make space for Charlie. It was one of the rare excursions that Harry had managed to join. Bill had taken them to his new home to drop off the presents and offered to give them a quick tour. With the amount of Galleons that Bill had shelled out for the house Harry expected to find a decadent, highly ostentatious abode. He was surprised by the quaint, humble dwelling they had ended up at. It was undoubtedly the most modest home in the entire community of Flushing Meadows yet every one seemed in awe of it.
Ginny alone had realized Harry’s confusion. She leaned in close enough to explain the exceptional location of the house. He had only caught snippets of her explanation while inhaling her intoxicating fragrance. Apparently Flushing Meadows was the only entirely wizarding community in all of London. They were the only community able to resist and push back Voldemort’s forces when they came under attack. Many of England’s most powerful wizards lived in that community. Ron was highly excited because the Chudley Cannons captain lived across the street from Bill. He had kept his eye firmly fixed on the neighbor’s home the entire time.
The sounds of Fred’s yelps ended his reminisce and ushered in the realization that the Delacour’s had arrived. Unlike the tranquil day they spent in Bill’s new home today the atmosphere of the Burrow was highly charged. Without a doubt this was due to the arrival of the rest of the Weasley clan, namely Percy. Mrs. Weasley had been in a varying state of agitation throughout the entire day. She had even caused Ginny to go into a fit of tears. Harry had comforted her under the scrutiny of Hermione’s ever watchful eyes.
He had no sooner left the room when Mrs. Weasley’s call to dinner came. Earlier that day a very hesitant Mrs. Weasley had asked him for a quick word. She had informed him that Tonks and Fleur would be coming to stay for a few days and than gone silent. Without guessing Harry had understood her meaning. He offered use of Grimmauld Place right away. She had looked so relieved that he had not given it another thought. Now, however, the idea of several days in Grimmauld Place was disheartening. At least he’d have Ron for company, he thought to himself as he walked downstairs to dinner.
Dinner was a very strained affair that had no sooner started than it was over. Every one had silently filed into the family room where the fireplace stood crackling in the center. The occasional cough was the only thing to break the stifling silence. A few minutes passed before the flames of the fire shot up and Tonks extracted herself from the fireplace disregarding the melancholy mood and cheerfully greeting the waiting crowd. Seconds later the flames shot up again revealing Lupin within their midst and Harry’s spirits lightened marginally. He seemed to sense the severity of the mood and offered only a nod of the head in greeting.
Another few minutes passed while Fleur and Tonks chatted animatedly about Tonks’ school day antics with her best friend Charlie. It took a moment before Harry was hit with the realization that Tonks was referring to the second Weasley boy. He went back over their conversations in his mind and realized that she and Charlie both had been in the same year at Hogwarts. Both of them were also in Gryffindor. He looked over at Hermione and saw she was looking over at him and Ron. He took her smile to mean that she too hoped they too would be as close after leaving Hogwarts and gave her a wink. Ron seemed disconcerted by Harry and Hermione’s display of affection and for the first time in weeks looked at Hermione without a scowl.
The rustling in the fireplace caught their attention once more as Charlie emerged with a wide-toothed smile. Tonks had leapt from her chair sending it tumbling to the ground and thrown herself into Charlie’s arms. From one look at his face Harry was able to discern that Lupin found Tonks’ over-exuberant greeting of Charlie highly inappropriate. Charlie however seemed just as excited to see her planting a raspberry kiss on her cheek that broke the tense mood and had every one laughing. After Charlie had greeted them and been introduced to Fleur who he gave a long whistle causing Bill to cheerfully punch him they settled down once more.
Harry was the first to spot the arrival of the next guest, a regal-looking elderly woman. Despite her age he found her to be alarmingly attractive. Looking around he confirmed that he was not the only one with that reaction. Pépère had dropped his walking stick in mid-swing and George had fallen off his stool. Only Bill seemed immune as he walked up to her and introduced them all. Pépère quickly recovered from his initial awe of the obvious Veela who Harry was certain was Fleur’s grandmother returning to his regular brooding demeanor. Harry had no doubt that Pépère was not at all fond of this woman.
The regal lady proceeded to kiss both cheeks of every female in the room while issuing commands for each one to sit up straight, put on some makeup or fix their hair. Irregardless of the men’s reaction, the women were clearly out of sorts over her arrival. Upon viewing Gabrielle’s outfit she sat herself next to Mrs. Delacour and proceeded in a tirade about how children should be dressed for the harsh English weather. Mrs. Weasley in a gesture of unity with Mrs. Delacour offered aide against the paragon earning her an appreciative nod from Mrs. Delacour. The clock chimed signaling that the time was now nine on the dot.
“Two minutes,” came the terse pronouncement from Mr. Weasley.
The silence engulfed them once more. Even the new additions seemed to realize that some thing was coming. In precisely two minutes the flames burst forth once more and every one took a collective breath in, Percy had arrived. Confusion descended upon them once more. A young lady appeared where Percy should have stood. She had taken a deep breath in the fireplace and was now coughing profusely. Mrs. Weasley hurried to her grabbing a paper fan along the way. With quick flicks of her wrist she had fanned the smoke away from the girls face and proceeded to help her out of the fireplace. Only the youngest of the Weasley clan recognized the girl.
“Penelope?” Ginny inquired, wiping the shocked look from her face.
“Hello there,” Penelope greeted them in general good spirits disregarding the surprised looks she was attracting and gazing to her wristwatch, “Percy should be here in one minute.”
Before they could ask why she was there Percy had arrived and stepped out of the fireplace meticulously dusting off in the process.
“Mother,” he greeted Mrs. Weasley with a kiss on the cheek, “Father,” he nodded towards Mr. Weasley extending his hand by way of greeting.
For a tense moment it seemed that Mr. Weasley would not take his son’s hand, but seeing the anxious look on Percy’s face seemed to sway him and he formally shook Percy’s hand. Mrs. Weasley let out a cry of joy and engulfed her son in hugs and kisses. A much reassured Percy turned to the rest of his family. Seeing the mutinous looks on their faces shook his confidence, nevertheless he took the very teary eyed Penelope to his parents for a formal introduction. The question of what she was doing here was finally going to be answered.
“I would like to present to you my wife.”
*************************************************
The chaos that had erupted at Percy’s pronouncement still reverberated in Harry’s head as he lay down in his bed that night. Only Gabrielle who had taken an instant liking to Penelope was thrilled by the news. Mrs. Weasley had spent the rest of the night suspiciously eyeing Penelope. Ron had been disconcerted by the amount of tears that Penelope had cried and her obvious joy at joining the family. Even Ginny was taken aback by Penelope’s bizarre behavior. Hermione alone was the paradigm of civility offering congratulations on their nuptials and showing them to their room.
Harry heartily agreed with the twins that Percy had shown extreme disloyalty to the family. Not only had he not been to see Mr. Weasley at the hospital, but he had married without informing them. Later that night he had overheard the twins in the kitchen with Pépère and Gabrielle who was quickly translating between French and English to both parties. They were on the verge of making a deal in which Pépère would concentrate all his unpleasantness onto Percy.
What they would do on their part Harry didn’t find out. He spotted Ginny out on the porch sitting in the cold evening wind and went out to join her.
“Is this seat taken?” he had teased her tapping the space next to her with his foot. She offered him a tired smile and slowly shook her head. He caught her as she ran her hands up and down her arms to ward off the cold. He took off his jacket despite her protests and wrapped her up in it.
“Better?”
“Much.”
They had let the silence wash over them as the song of the crickets soothed their minds. Ginny had leaned her head on his shoulders and he’d held her. He had felt the anxiety ebb away slowly from her. She relaxed into his arms and turned to face him. She was so close he could count the very few childhood freckles remaining on her face. Her eyes were pools of satin brown and her hair was spread out over his shoulder like deep red silk tresses. Her perfume was having the usual effect of intoxicating him. Her lips were moist and full, he felt himself move in before he could think better of it.
With a thud and a screeching meow Crookshanks landed hard on a lawn gnome that was hiding in the bush beside them. As Ginny shooed him away the voice of his owner came crashing through Harry’s head.
I expected more from you.
He cursed Hermione in his mind and stood up. Ginny followed suit. He walked her into the Burrow and went directly to Grimmauld Place.
I expected more from you.
He finally understood. Hermione didn’t trust him not to break Ginny’s heart. How could he blame her? For all these years, when it had come to Ginny, he didn’t trust himself. He turned in his bed and beat his pillow soundly. Ginny was off limits. How could he have forgotten that Ginny was strictly off limits?
I expected more from you.
“So did I,” he whispered into the darkness.
A sleepy Ron snorted, “Say somethin ‘Arry?”
He didn’t respond and fought instead for the sleep that eluded him for the rest of the night.