Chapter 5 “ Reunited
Meanwhile downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were having a private conversation.
“Ginny has been very quiet lately, like the first time she met Harry, remember?” Mr. Weasley said, his brow furrowed.
“I do remember,” Mrs. Weasley replied slowly, “But I doubt it has anything to do with Harry. Should we ask Hermione if she knows if anything is wrong?”
“I suppose we could. Should I call her?” Mrs. Weasley nodded and Mr. Weasley called up the stairs.
Hermione came cautiously down the stairs, and Mrs. Weasley hurried toward her.
“Do you know if Ginny’s alright? She hasn’t been herself lately!” Mrs. Weasley said without preamble.
“Why do you think so?” Hermione said hesitantly. She didn’t want to betray Ginny’s trust.
“She’s been very quiet, and every once in a while, I hear her crying… did she have a fight with that boyfriend of hers? That Dean boy?” Mrs. Weasley pressed.
“No, they broke up…”
“When?”
“Last year.” Hermione’s inner debate told her that Ginny wouldn’t want her parents to worry.
“She’s upset because of Harry. They dated and broke up a while ago.”
“What! They broke up? Oh, it must be so awkward for them to be living here together! Oh, Arthur, what should we do?”
“It was on good terms, but I think they should be together.”
“But she’s hurt isn’t she?” She looked at her husband as though expecting him to answer her question.
“What about Ginny’s safety?” Mr. Weasley asked, ignoring Mrs. Weasley’s pleading eyes, “You-Know-Who could use this somehow.”
“Lupin said that if those two get back together, they should keep it quiet. She should be safe, shouldn’t she?”
“I suppose so. We could put an ancient protective charm on them to keep them safe no matter where they are,” Mr. Weasley said, racking his brain for protective spells.
“I’ve always hoped that they would get together,” Mrs. Weasley said with a weak smile, “I can’t think of a better boy for my little Ginny.”
~*~*~
Harry knocked three times on the door, and heard footsteps on the other side. The door opened and Ginny peered around it at Harry. She looked surprised o see him, but allowed him to enter.
“Hi Ginny,” Harry said with a sheepish smile, “Can I talk to you?”
Glancing around the room, Harry saw that it was very well decorated. It was painted light pink, and there were posters all along the walls of her favourite wizarding bands, mostly of the Weird Sisters. Her bedspread was pink too, and covered in flower-shaped pillows. She had a small white desk in the corner that had all her schoolbooks piled on it, and spare bits of parchment littered the surface.
The room, Harry noticed, was very clean. There was no stray clothing lying on the floor, the bed was made, and her school trunk was almost completely full.
“So,” she said interrupting his thoughts, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Harry just stared at her, at a complete loss for words. He watched a shimmer of light dancing on her long hair. Figuring he should say something soon, he spluttered, “I just wanted to talk about…” he paused. How was he supposed to say this? It was so much easier last time when he had just kissed her, and all feelings were made clear.
“About… what I said before,” he said slowly, rising to his feet, “I’ve been talking with Hermione, and she reckons, assuming of course if you want to, that we, that is to say, you and I could…” Harry let his voice trail off as he looked up into Ginny’s eyes.
“Get back together,” she finished for him in a soft voice looking right back into Harry’s eyes. Her expression was blank; Harry couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“Lupin agrees, as long as I take Occlumency, and we don’t tell anyone, aside from family, and, well, Lupin I suppose,” Harry said quickly, averting his gaze to the floor again. “I’m sure we could even have some sort of protective spell put on you and “”
The rest of Harry’s sentence was cut off as Ginny kissed him. This was what he had hoped her reply would be.
Ron suddenly burst into the room grinning, but his smile faded as he saw his best friend kissing his sister.
Harry, unsure how long the kiss had lasted, broke away from her to glance nervously at Ron.
“Hermione was just talking to mum and dad,” he said slowly, “they reckon it would be ok if you two went out again, but I guess you already made the decision.
Harry looked at Ginny, who was watching Ron uncertainly. Oddly, she didn’t seem upset with this private conversation concerning her love life. Ron’s face seemed to have hardened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Ginny cut him off.
“Well, I guess it’s alright then,” she said. There was a challenging note in her voice.
“I just don’t want to walk into rooms to see you two doing that, it’s just weird,” he said with the same tone as Ginny.
“Then I’d better not walk into rooms to see you and Hermione snogging,” she said.
Ron seemed to be thinking this over as his ears reddened.
“Just don’t let me see you.”
Harry grinned. Did this mean that Ron and Hermione were officially a couple? When he asked, Ron flushed darker and told them to pack.
“Mum says that we’re leaving as soon as we can.” Still scarlet, Ron hurried upstairs to finish gathering up his belongings.
Harry was still smiling as he turned to face his renewed girlfriend.
“I knew you’d come around,” Ginny’s smile was even bigger than Harry’s as she threw her arms around him in a hug.
Harry helped her pack up the remainder of her things as they talked, catching up with each other.
“Come on, everybody, let’s go quickly!” Mrs. Weasley’s voice called up the stairs.
Taking advantage of being allowed to perform magic outside of school, Harry levitated Ginny’s and his trunks and Hedwig’s cage. Ginny took his hand in hers and they made their way to the kitchen, their trunks clunking together in front of them.
When they arrived beside the kitchen fireplace, Mrs. Weasley glanced absentmindedly at their hands. She broke into a smile.
“Oh, that’s great, dears! Ron told you then?” she squealed.
“No, they decided for themselves, I walked in on them,” Ron said, dragging his trunk down the stairs.
Harry felt himself blushing. He wished Ron had left out the last part. Ginny’s face was bright pink, but Mrs. Weasley beamed.
“I’ll call Arthur, he can put the charm on you two. Arthur! Are you ready yet?”
Mr. Weasley came down the stairs distractedly trying to fasten his cloak, but gave up when he realized it was on backwards.
“Yes, Molly?” He said, finally putting his cloak back on the right way. He suddenly noticed Harry and Ginny standing close together holding hands, and his expression was the same a his wife’s.
“Oh, you two are… well then, should I put the charm on them?” He asked looking uncomfortably around at Mrs. Weasley.
She nodded, and Mr. Weasley tapped Harry and Ginny’s entwined hands, muttering a complicated spell. Harry felt a floating sensation course through his body. He let out a small gasp of shock when he realized that he and Ginny were glowing brilliantly white. The next second, he had returned to normal.
“That,” Mrs. Weasley said, “will act as a shield, but it will wear out in time. Alright, is everybody ready to go?”
Mr. Weasley went to call the rest of his children and Hermione as Mrs. Weasley lit a fire.
“Why don’t you to go first,” she said looking nervous, “I want to leave as soon as possible.
Ginny grabbed a fistful of Floo powder, threw it in the fire and, clutching her trunk, said “Number 12 Grimmauld Place,” and was gone.
“You go next, Harry.”
He took the Floo powder in his hand and stepped into the grate.
“Number 12 Grimmauld Place.”