Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and the associated characters are not mine, but J.K. Rowling's and the companies that represent her. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Many thanks goes to my beta readers: Grimmrook from SIYE and Melandry from Checkmated. They helped to polish this story and allowed me to take it to the next level.
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Chapter 1: "Simple Gifts"
Anything and everything in the entire world was disposable according to Dudley Dursley. If his television broke because his foot just happened to find its way into the screen when his favorite program was pre-empted for a sporting event, his mother would simply coo about how her Dinky Duddydums had grown so strong and would he like a 27-inch color TV to replace the measly 24-inch that was now broken?
This perception of the world enabled Dudley to realize that he didn't need that so-called magic his git of a cousin used. No, he had the power of Mum and Dad's credit card and the privilege of being the apple of their eye. Anything Dudley wanted, Dudley got.
And if Dudley just happened to not want his things any longer, they would be stored in the spare bedroom where his cousin just happened to sleep during his summer holidays away from that strange wizarding school of his. Once it was out of sight, it was no longer Dudley's problem.
But when a world-weary Harry Potter opened the door to the second bedroom the summer after his sixth year at Hogwarts, he realized that what had once been Dudley's problem was now very much his own.
The television Dudley had broken years ago still sat in the corner, collecting dust along with a few other boxes of stuff that Harry had stacked there in summers past. But now, it looked like an entire Muggle department store had exploded over the room. Harry hadn't seen it looking this way since the summer he turned 11 and this particular room had been cleaned out for his use. He was quite sure that it hadn't looked this bad, even way back then.
It won't be your problem much longer, Harry sternly told himself as he dragged his trunk inside and pushed the door closed behind him. This is the last time you're ever staying here. Ron and Hermione will be here later today and soon, you'll all be going to Bill and Fleur's wedding, then Godric's Hollow.
Scanning the room, Harry was very glad indeed that Ron and Hermione had decided to go out to dinner with their combined families rather than follow Harry to Privet Drive right away. It would give him time to do something about the awful mess. It wasn't even fit for him to live in, much less Ron and Hermione.
Wishing not for the first time that he was already of age, Harry started to sort through Dudley's castoffs. There was an entire bag of yo-yos that represented the brief obsession Dudley had had with them when they were eight. Aunt Petunia had thought Dudley was being clever. Harry knew Dudley was really using them to throw at people, as he was Dudley's favorite target. A small box contained the remains of Dudley's fifth birthday party. Harry picked up one of the elaborately decorated cardboard horns and turned it in his hands as he remembered how he sat in his cupboard and listened to the happy shrieks of celebration going on a few feet away. For his own birthday that year, Harry had gotten a slice of lime Jell-o that Dudley knocked to the floor during a tantrum.
Harry repacked boxes that had items haphazardly thrown in them and stacked them neatly in the corner. He then moved to the closet, which had a chair propped against the door knob and a few boxes of Dudley's old clothes stacked on top of it to keep it in place. He quickly discovered the reason why. Left on the floor underneath some rusty hangers that had been Christmas gifts when he was younger was a single package of Chocolate Frogs. Harry grabbed the treat and for the first time in days, began to laugh. It was absurd. The Dursleys were terrified of something as silly as a Chocolate Frog.
He tossed the package on top of his trunk and started to put the other boxes into the closet. There was one distinct advantage to going through Dudley's used things. It enabled Harry to see what sort of new Muggle technology had been developed while he was away at school. There were various computer games, a racing car with a smashed remote control lying next to it and a broken PlayStation that Harry initially had seen Dudley playing in the summer before his fifth year.
Harry considered the PlayStation for a moment, then before he could change his mind, opened his trunk and shoved it underneath his school robes. Once he turned 17, he could repair it and see if Hermione could figure out a way to get it and a TV to run without using electricity. Ron would love it, if he managed to fix it. Then again, repairing it could be a task that Hermione would enjoy. He found a couple of game discs that had cracked cases and added them to his stash.
The next item he found was a radio-cassette player. Harry hefted the item in his hands and turned it over. Nothing appeared to be wrong with it. There was even a cassette still in it. He thought for a moment and remembered that the Dursleys had bought Dudley a new portable CD player as a welcome home present. That would explain the older player being tossed in his room.
Harry glared at the player with a bit of disgust, and then he scowled at the other discarded items. Useless, all of it. If he didn't find the Horcruxes and get rid of Voldemort once and for all, there was a bloody good chance that Dudley wouldn't live to see many more gifts heaped upon him. His cousin had his life handed to him on a silver platter and he was too pig-headed, spoiled and selfish to realize how lucky he was.
He glanced back down at the player and thought of one person in particular who would enjoy the player more than anyone else in the world. Without a bit of remorse, Harry stuffed the radio-cassette player at the bottom of his trunk.
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There were times that Harry was very thankful he had met Hermione Granger. Sure, she could be an annoying know-it-all at times, but she was his best friend and most likely the smartest witch of their age. Not only had Hermione made the PlayStation work, but she had shrunk the television set and stowed it in her trunk. Once they had returned from Privet Drive to the comfort of the Burrow, After extensive research on her end, along with some input from Harry - who had done some minor electrical work for Uncle Vernon - Hermione had repaired the TV and got it and the PlayStation to work together without electricity.
There had been a slight drawback to it. Harry was right, Ron did love the PlayStation - to the point where he was addicted. He reclined on his bed in Ron's room and listened to the latest fight coming from downstairs between his two best friends over Ron's new gaming habit.
The two were yelling so loudly that Harry almost didn't hear the knock on the door. When it opened, he was startled as Ginny slipped into the room, one of his robes and an item in her hand. He paled slightly, but willed himself - and the beast in his chest - not to overreact. In the three days since they'd been back at the Burrow, he and Ginny had managed to get along surprisingly well.
Before Ginny could say anything, Ron's shout punctuated the air again.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Ron yelled.
"Yes, I saw it," Hermione's exasperated voice floated up the stairs. "I saw it the last three times you did it as well. Ron, would you put that thing down?"
"In a minute!"
"Ron!"
"But, Hermione, I was about to beat the uhh...what did Harry call it again? Whatever the final bad guy of this game is!"
"Ronald Weasley, you put that down now!"
"Shhh! What the... Bloody hell! See what you made me do, Hermione?"
Ginny promptly rolled her eyes and Harry grinned.
"I should hex you for bringing that thing back here," she said lightly, crossing over to the bed. He immediately sat up as she settled herself on Ron's bed. "But, I can't wait until Fred and George lay their eyes on that thing. There's going to be a huge row, just you watch. I wager he won't walk the same after that, and his head will probably swell from all the boils."
"When will they be here?" Harry asked, raising his voice as the noise from the game grew louder again. "Before your mum gets back?"
"I hope so!" Ginny's eyes sparkled with mischief. "If Mum gets back and hears how loud Ron's got that thing, it won't even survive until tonight."
"As Hermione has been pointing out...," Harry started to say.
"...every five minutes for the past hour," Ginny finished.
They exchanged amused looks and laughed, feeling more at ease by the moment. Harry felt his control starting to slip as he allowed himself to enjoy the relaxed, happy expression on Ginny's face. To tell the truth, he had no idea how she would react to him being around her. His main experiences with distraught females were Hermione and Cho. Hermione had fought with Ron every chance she got while Cho simply sobbed and did her best to substitute Harry for Cedric.
Despite Ginny's admonishment, he knew she accepted his decision because she had expected this to happen. Even so, he couldn't help but feel regret at what he did and wanted with every bit of his heart to go back. If it was tearing him up inside, surely it was doing the same thing to her. Yet, as far as he knew, she hadn't shed a tear or said a word.
It only made his admiration and respect for her grow.
At times, he caught her giving him the same hard, blazing look she'd given him right before they kissed in the Common Room and again during their discussion after Dumbledore's funeral, and knew that a confrontation would eventually occur. For now, at least, they could be friends. And it meant the world to him.
"I found this while helping Mum with the laundry," Ginny suddenly said, startling Harry from his thoughts. She folded back the shirt and revealed the radio-cassette player that he'd taken from Dudley's box of used things a few weeks earlier. "I figured it was yours since it was in your things. What is it?"
She passed the player to Harry and he explained how it worked, adding in a brief history behind Dudley's tendency to dispose of anything that he didn't want. He grinned at the flash of interest in Ginny's eyes, reminding him of her father. The annoyance that followed as he explained Dudley's tendency to waste, especially since her own family didn't have a lot, reminded him of Mrs. Weasley.
"So, wanted a souvenir of your cousin?" she teased, knowing how much he disliked Dudley.
Harry rolled his eyes, once again grateful to be rid of Privet Drive once and for all. "I decided there was someone else who would appreciate it more than Dudley ever would."
"It better not be Ron. Hermione will hex you cross-eyed if you even try."
He laughed. "No, not Ron."
Ginny's teasing grin melted into a true smile that sorely tempted the creature in his chest. She glanced out the window at the darkness outside, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. She seemed to be looking for something, and then suddenly her smile grew brighter. Before his hormones could take over, she sprang off Ron's bed, grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out of the room.
n a half-daze, Harry allowed Ginny to lead him outside toward the shed, where he could see that candles had been lit since the sun set an hour earlier. He stared at her in amazement as she rapped on the door before nudging it open. It wasn't the first time that she'd done this - known what he was thinking without him even hinting at it. Of course, with an object such as this, there would be little doubt as to who it was for. Even so, he hadn't said a thing. She simply understood.
Arthur Weasley glanced up from a worktable as the two entered, their hands still joined. If he noticed, he didn't say anything aloud. Yet, he managed to turn away long enough to allow a small smile. "Harry! Ginny! Is Ron still playing with that Play-thing? Toy Station?"
"I think it's PlayStation, Dad," Ginny said with a fond smile.
"Right, right," Mr. Weasley replied absently. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "PlayStation and that Double Dance...Dance, Dance..."
"Final Fantasy?" Harry questioned, suppressing a grin.
"Yes, I knew it began with two letters." Mr. Weasley pushed his glasses back into place.
Mr. Weasley's love for Muggle items had been the only reason that the Playstation had stayed around as long as it had. He played it himself every night before going to bed, and he only retired after Mrs. Weasley threatened to hex both it and him if he didn't stop.
"He is," Ginny replied, as she nudged Harry forward.
He held out the cassette player. "This was Dudley's," he explained. "He didn't want it anymore, like the PlayStation. I figured you'd like it."
Mr. Weasley's tired eyes lit up with surprise as he accepted the gift. He started at it as if it were a bag full of Galleons as Harry explained how it work. He grabbed Harry's hand, pumping it enthusiastically as he thanked him from the bottom of his heart for the gift before turning his attention to seeing how it worked. Harry glanced down and saw that what Mr. Weasley had been poring over wasn't some Muggle-related item, but a series of reports.
Mr. Weasley jabbed the buttons of the player, fascinated at seeing the gears turn around slowly. He nearly cackled with joy when he realized that the different buttons could make the gears go various speeds. Snatching up one of the cassettes, he yanked out a good bit of the tape ribbon to study it.
Harry felt cool air on the back of his neck as the door opened once again. "Arthur, are you in here?" Mrs. Weasley called out.
"Mum!" Ginny hissed, waving at her.
Mrs. Weasley frowned at her, annoyed that she'd been cut off. "Ginny, why are you and Harry out here? Your father is busy..."
"You say this has music on it?" Mr. Weasley said, astonished. He used his fingers to try and cram the tape back into the cassette. Harry grabbed Mr. Weasley's abandoned quill, and showed him how to insert it into one of the holes on the cassette and twist it so it would return to its proper place. Mr. Weasley dropped the slightly damaged cassette on his reports and picked up another to insert into the player.
"What is that thing?" Mrs. Weasley whispered to Ginny.
"It's a present Harry got for him," Ginny explained.
Mrs. Weasley started, then stared at Harry and Mr. Weasley in astonishment. She opened her mouth to say something, then immediately snapped it shut as Mr. Weasley fumbled with the headphones.
"How do they go on again? Like this?" Mr. Weasley asked, positioning the felt pads high upon his head.
"No, like this." Harry reached forward and pulled the headphones down until they covered his ears. "They're like ear muffs."
"They feel very different. Molly! Do you see this Kat-Set ToyStation that Harry gave me?" Seeing his wife for the first time, Mr. Weasley waved the cassette player at them.
Harry turned back to not only see Ginny smiling at him, but Mrs. Weasley giving them both an odd look.
"Yes, I see that, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley replied in a hesitant voice. "But maybe you should finish those reports..."
"In a minute, Molly." Mr. Weasley fumbled with the buttons until he got the player turned on. Music that Harry recognized as being from the Beatles poured out of the headset.
Mr. Weasley froze, not quite believing what he was hearing at first. Then he laughed for the first time in a very long time. "Molly! Listen to this! It's like having a personal wireless!"
Mrs. Weasley pressed her hand to her mouth as Mr. Weasley joyfully played with the volume dial on the cassette player.
Ginny laid a hand on her mother's arm. "Mum?"
Mrs. Weasley ignored her. She crossed the room in two steps and crushed Harry to her chest in a bear hug. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and wiped a tear away before ushering both him and Ginny from the room, all the while reminding Mr. Weasley not to stay out too late.
When they reached the house, Mrs. Weasley placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, stopping him from going inside. He turned back and saw tears shining in Mrs. Weasley's eyes again. "You have no idea how bad things have been, both here and at the ministry, since...since Albus' passing," she said, her voice starting to crack. The tears began to spill over and Harry felt his own throat tighten in response. When Ginny's hand slipped into his, he squeezed back.
"Arthur's enjoyed the present you gave Ron, but...thank you, thank you so much for thinking of him. You have no idea how happy you've made him." Mrs. Weasley wiped away some of the tears. When she spoke next, she sounded more like herself. "I would have given anything just to get Arthur to smile a little again, and to even mess with those Muggle toys of his. You've done that for him, Harry."
She gave both him and Ginny one last hug before making her way into the house just as two large cracks and a shout signaled Fred and George's arrival. Harry glanced back at the shed and gauged Dudley's reaction to receiving the player a year earlier to how Mr. Weasley had reacted just a few minutes ago. He knew he'd made the right decision.
It was then that Harry realized that he and Ginny were still holding hands. He smiled down at her and she returned the smile. Then, without breaking apart, they entered the chaotic household.
The Power of Love and Friendship by DQBunny
Chapter Notes: I wanted to try a different sort of seventh-year fic. Many stories focus on Harry's search for the horcruxes, which has spawned some absolutely lovely stories that have kept me awake many nights trying to get through them all. This story emerged when I managed to grab the Harry/Ginny claim over at the LiveJournal themed community, "30_kisses." For those not familiar with the concept, it's a community where 30 different themes are given and you need to do one story for each theme, though some themes are combined into one story. Each of these stories must have a kiss in them in some form. I wanted to take these themes and explore Harry and Ginny's relationship - not just with each other, but with their family and friends as Harry prepares for the final showdown against Voldemort. Each story will stand alone, but they will also be a complete fic when all 30 parts are done. The theme used for this chapter was #14: radio-cassette player.