A/N Thank you for your patience. I'm not JKR, obviously. Props to her!
"Children! Your father is going to meet us at Grimmauld Place. We need to leave now!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen. There was a great racket as people appeared from all over the house.
"How are we getting there?" asked Ron coming in last. "Grimmauld Place isn't connected to the Floo Network."
"Portkey," his mother replied. "Come and take hold of it." She held out a tea kettle and they crowded around it, each with a finger touching it.
"Three, two, one," counted Mrs. Weasley. Harry could feel a familiar jerk in his stomach as they were lifted up and borne away, then appeared on a dingy London street. Mrs. Weasley ushered them in to the house as quickly as possible.
Once inside, Harry could see a big difference from the last time he had been there. They had finally removed the painting of Sirius' crazy mother. The troll leg umbrella stand was gone as well. Harry noticed though, that although the musty smell was gone, it was still dark. As they entered the kitchen, they saw Hestia Jones standing at the counter with her wand out, directing food to the tables. She smiled as they entered. Kingsley, Lupin, Tonks, and Mr. Weasley were setting the table. Lupin was whispering into Tonks ear while she giggled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other and smiled.
Early that summer, they had been told that Lupin and Tonks had gotten engaged, despite the differences in their ages. Everyone had been surprised but much pleased when they heard the news. As Dumbledore had told them, "In this time of darkness, happiness must be found in order for our world to survive."
Dumbledore was right, Harry thought, looking around the warm kitchen. Despite our grief, we must move on. We cannot accomplish our tasks if we do not learn to put the past behind us. Hearing his name, he looked up to see Mrs. Weasley beckoning him to the table. With a smile, he settled himself between Ron and Hermione. Throughout supper, they bickered back and forth. Ignoring their banter, Harry's mind kept drifting back to Ginny.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When dinner had been eaten, Harry went off in search of a quiet place to sort out his thoughts. He longed to be downstairs with the Order, being inducted, but as Mr. Weasley pointed out, it was for overage wizards.
He stopped outside a room with a warm fire in it. The light flickered off the walls merrily. With a sigh of satisfaction at finally being alone, he shut the door behind him not noticing the red head girl curled up in the corner with a book.
He sat in an armchair facing the flames. "I don't want to regret my life," he said to the fire. "Sirius said love was the answer. I don't know if I'm ready for it or not. I mean I like Ginny, I want to be more than a friend to her but I’m not good enough for her."
Ginny was surprised to hear these words and a little frightened. The intensity of his voice scared her. He didn't hear her as she crept behind him. He buried his face in his hands.
"What am I going to do?" he asked aloud.
"Suppose you tell her how you really feel."
"Yes, I'll just-" then realizing who it was, he jumped up. “Ginny when did you get here?”
“I’ve been here the entire time,” she said gazing intently into his green eyes.
“You didn’t hear what I-well…did you?”
“I heard quite a lot,” she replied, stepping closer.
“About that, I-“ he was cut off when she put her finger on his lips and drawing his face down, she kissed him gently on the cheek. He looked at her shocked.
“I guess that was a first step,” she said smiling a little. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears as he leaned forward.
“And this is the second,” he said softly kissing her back while the fire before them danced merrily on.
This is an awfully short chapter and I apologize for that. I hope you enjoy it!
Spoiler? Well, alright.
"...and therefore," said Dumbledore," since the, ahem, much beloved Deloros Umbridge had to leave us at the end of last year, we've hired on a new teacher.
Read on and review! It's a disgustingly easy thing to do!
(Wow, that is a ridiculous rhyme.)