Harry’s birthday party was held in the garden of the Burrow that afternoon, and it was fabulous. He had, of course, already met most of the people who were present, but there were a few new faces as well. Bill and Percy Weasley (both of whom Harry had only seen before in pictures) were there, as well as a round-faced boy named Neville Longbottom, but for the most part, the guests were people he was well acquainted with. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, along with Ron, Hermione, Tyler, Fred, George, and Ginny. Even Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, and Hagrid showed up to join in the festivities.
Harry enjoyed himself, of course, even though he didn’t know most of his guests half as well as they knew him. The only thing putting a damper on his mood was the way Ginny seemed to be avoiding him. He tried to shake it off, telling himself that he would have the entire rest of the summer to try and figure things out with her, but he was never entirely successful.
“So Harry, how does it feel to finally be of age?” Fred called out shortly after the party officially began.
Harry scrunched up his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? I won’t be of age for another year.” The guests’ chatter died away almost instantly as every eye turned toward him. “What?” he demanded, his tone a little more defensive than he would have liked.
“Aren’t you the same age as Ron?” Fred asked in a confused voice.
“Yeah,” Harry answered. “Seventeen.”
The confused atmosphere was suddenly broken by Hermione’s laughter. “I’m sorry, Harry; I completely forgot to tell you. Wizards come of age at seventeen.”
Harry gaped at her uncomprehendingly as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle her giggles. “You mean I’m an adult now?” he asked, astonished.
“That’s ri-” began Lupin.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mrs. Weasley said loudly, cutting him off. “But you are allowed to use magic outside of school now.”
Harry grinned. “I can live with that.”
Lupin stepped closer to Harry and whispered, “You are an adult now, Harry, and don’t let Molly convince you otherwise,” before shooting him a conspiratorial wink and returning to where he had been standing before.
“Well, now that’s out of the way, how ‘bout you open your presents?” Ron called out. He practically dragged Harry over to a table full of brightly-colored packages that had been set up near the kitchen door. Feeling a little bit awkward, since he had never even had a birthday party before, let alone a pile of presents, Harry began tearing into the paper. The only things he recognized were the sweets, which he had seen at various times around the Burrow, but he didn’t think it polite to ask what everything was right now. He decided he would ask Ron later.
“So, what’s your favorite present, Harry?” George asked after everything had been opened. Harry didn’t even have to think about it. He glanced quickly at Ginny while brushing the front of his shirt right over where the small locket was hidden.
“Sorry; not telling,” he told George.
George, however, wasn’t about to give up. “Come on, Harry; it’s tradition. You have to have a favorite.”
“Oh, I have a favorite,” Harry answered. “I just don’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you it’s not the one I got from you.” He threw his hands over his mouth in mock-embarrassment. “Oh, no! Now I’ve crushed your already-low self-esteem.”
To Harry’s satisfaction, George laughed along with everyone else and forgot to keep pressing for an answer. He chanced another glance at Ginny, and was pleased to find her blushing slightly and trying to bite back a smile. His spirits lifted, and he somehow knew that she would eventually come around.
A week later, however, he wasn’t nearly so sure. Ginny had barely spoken to him since running away from him on the morning of his birthday, and it was becoming increasingly annoying. He sat at the kitchen table, pushing his eggs around his plate, while Ron and Hermione argued about whether or not he should take the morning off from studying to practice Quidditch. Tyler simply ate in silence, not wanting to interrupt Harry’s musings or Ron and Hermione’s argument.
Deciding that enough was enough, Harry looked up from his uneaten breakfast and stared openly at the redheaded girl across from him. As they gradually took notice, Ron and Hermione’s argument seemed to melt away, and they both began watching him intently. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Ginny looked up and met his gaze.
“What?” she demanded through clenched teeth.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Harry asked, trying very hard to keep the frustration out of his voice.
“Why won’t you leave me alone?” Ginny snapped back at him.
“Ginny, this is stupid! Why did you run away?” He didn’t need to clarify; they both knew exactly what he was talking about.
“That’s none of your business,” she ground out. “I realized something that day, and I decided not to set myself up for heartache again.”
Harry slammed his hands down hard on the tabletop, making the dishes and silverware jump, and shouted, “I’m not him, Ginny!”
If possible, Ginny’s expression hardened even more. “Not who?” she growled menacingly.
Harry swallowed hard. This was it; there would be no turning back. “I’m not Tom Riddle,” he said quietly.
Ginny rounded on Hermione. “You told him!” she shouted accusingly.
“No she didn’t,” Harry said before Hermione had a chance to defend herself. “If you want to be angry with somebody, be angry with me. I wanted so badly to know what was wrong that I listened at your door when you told Hermione what had happened. I’m sorry for invading your privacy like that, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What do you know about Tom, then?” Ginny asked, her voice still cold and harsh.
“I know that he hurt you, and I know that I killed him for it,” Harry answered evenly. Next to him, Tyler nearly choked on the bite of food he was chewing.
“How could you know that? I didn’t mention anything about you killing him to Hermione.”
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but forced himself to keep looking her in the eye. “I sort of forced Ron to tell me the whole story,” he said quietly as he felt his hatred for Tom Riddle boiling in his very skin. “And just so you know, it doesn’t change the way I feel about you in the slightest.” Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. “I told Ron I wanted to kill Riddle for what he did to you, and he told me I already had. But you know what? Right now, I wish I could bring the sorry sod back to life just so I could kill him again!”
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all flinched slightly, and looked away. “He didn’t mean that,” Hermione said after a moment of awkward silence.
“Yes I-” Harry began.
“No you didn’t!” Hermione shouted, springing to her feet and slamming her hands down on the table for emphasis. “Ron, you didn’t tell him the whole story, did you?”
Ron didn’t answer; he just glared at the floor.
Hermione took a slow, calming breath, and looked back across the table at Harry. “I’m sorry, Harry; we shouldn’t have reacted like that. It’s just- well, you sort of did help bring Tom Riddle back... from the dead.”
Harry’s head started to spin as his anger dissolved into confusion. “What?” he managed to choke out.
“Harry,” Hermione said gently, “Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort’s real name. So you see, in a way, you did help bring him back to life when your blood was used in his Rebirthing Potion.”
“Blimey,” Tyler whispered.
Harry was suffocating. He needed air, fast. Ginny’s mind and soul hadn’t been violated by just anybody; it had been his own archenemy. It had been entirely his fault - Voldemort had gone after her in order to get to him. He stood up shakily and staggered out into the garden, stumbling blindly along the path toward the apple orchard. He was almost there when he tripped over a small fence and fell forward onto his face. After lying there for a long moment, he looked up and saw, to his surprise, a flat stone with a picture of a grinning serpent engraved into its surface.
“What am I going to do, Hassseth?” he moaned. “I was already putting her in danger before I even started to notice her.”
He lay there motionless for several minutes before he suddenly heard Hassseth’s hissing voice in his mind. “So she’s in no more danger now than she was before.” Looking back on the experience later, he would have to admit that this should have startled him, but at the moment it seemed the most natural thing in the world.
“But what if something else happens to her?” he asked the stone after a moment.
There was another long pause, and Harry was about to give up hope of receiving an answer when he heard the snake’s voice in his mind again. “You can’t keep her safe if you’re not around.”
Harry thought about this. Could he have prevented Ginny’s whole ordeal with the Chamber of Secrets if he had been closer to her then? He wasn’t certain, especially since all he knew about it was the distorted story his friends had told him, but there was definitely a possibility. Besides, even if he did think she would be safer without him around, would he really be able to just walk away from her now? The answer was an emphatic No. Giving up on Ginny simply wasn’t an option.
“Thank you, Hassseth,” Harry whispered. He wasn’t sure whether her words had come from his own mind or if they had somehow actually come from his dead friend, but as he thought about it, he realized that it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that Hassseth’s voice had once again set him straight. He shook his head and smiled sadly. “Even when you’re not really here, you still give me good advice.”
“Harry?” Ginny’s tentative voice pulled him from his thoughts. He stood up quickly and looked around.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
“Talking to your friend?” she asked, gesturing toward the headstone.
Harry nodded. “How could you tell?” It was a stupid question, and he knew she probably wouldn’t answer, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Hmmm...” Ginny began, pretending to think very hard. “I guess it’s because I heard you.”
Harry suddenly realized that he had no idea how much of the one-sided conversation she had overheard. He wasn’t even sure how much of it he had said out loud. “How much did you hear?” he asked tentatively.
Ginny shrugged. “I think I heard all of it; not that it matters.”
“Why wouldn’t it matter?” Harry asked, genuinely curious.
Ginny rolled her eyes, and Harry’s heart leapt at the sight of her doing something other than glaring. “Because I don’t speak Parseltongue.”
“Oh,” Harry said. “Right.” In reality, he’d had no idea that he was speaking in Parseltongue, but he didn’t really want to admit it. It made sense, though, given who he had been talking to. “So, why the sudden change of heart? I mean, you’ve been avoiding me like the plague since my birthday, and now you suddenly seek me out?”
Ginny scowled. “Actually, this is Hermione’s doing. She said, and I quote, ‘You made this mess, you clean it up.’ Then she forced me out the door and threatened to make me look like Marietta Edgecombe if I came back without talking things over with you.”
Harry quirked an eyebrow at her. “And that scared you enough to get you to come talk to me? What exactly does this Marietta look like?”
Ginny stifled a giggle. “She’s the one who ratted out the D.A. to Umbridge.”
“Ah,” Harry said, understanding dawning. “So she’s the one with SNEAK written across her face?”
Ginny nodded. “It’s been over a year, and still no Healer has been able to get rid of it.”
“No wonder you took the threat seriously,” Harry replied, marveling at Hermione’s jinxing ability.
“That’s right,” said Ginny. “So come on; let’s go sit under one of the apple trees.” Harry followed her, and they were soon seated under a large tree at the edge of the orchard.
“So...” said Harry. He had been wishing for this opportunity all week, and now that it was here, he had no idea what to say.
“So...” Ginny repeated. “I’m sorry for running off the way I did.” She wasn’t looking at him, but Harry could tell by her tone of voice that the apology was sincere. The fact that she was staring intently at the ground had more to do with her embarrassment than anything else.
“I’m sorry for eavesdropping on you,” Harry said quietly.
Ginny snorted. “I ought to be used to it after living with Fred and George and their Extendable Ears.”
“Ron told me that Hermione said you wanted to keep Riddle a secret because you thought I’d see you as weak if I knew,” Harry said hesitantly. Is that true?”
Ginny sighed and buried her fingers in her hair. “I don’t know. I guess maybe, but it’s not like I sat there and said, ‘I don’t want Harry to think I’m weak, so I’m not telling him.’ It’s just embarrassing, you know?”
Harry nodded. “Yeah, I know a thing or two about being embarrassed. I really did mean what I said that day, though. When I said I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“I know,” Ginny whispered. She finally looked up at him. “Can you do me a favor, Harry?”
“Sure,” Harry answered, hoping that she wasn’t going to ask him to stay away from her.
“Take off your glasses.”
“Are you sure?” he asked nervously.
Ginny nodded. “I’ve been hiding from Tom Riddle for years,” she explained. “I’ll never get over my fear of him if I don’t face it at some point.”
Harry nodded slowly and, fervently hoping that Ginny knew what she was doing, removed his glasses.
She stared at him for a long time before finally whispering, “Your eyes are green.”
“I know,” Harry said, somewhat taken aback by her statement.
Ginny gave a small laugh, but there was no amusement behind it. “Tom’s eyes were dark, almost black. Yours are bright green. You don’t look that much like him after all.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of something she didn’t really believe.
Harry made to put his glasses back on, but she laid a hand on his arm to stop him. “Can you do one more thing for me?” she asked. Her voice was strained, and Harry knew that she was dreading whatever it was she was about to ask him to do. He nodded warily, and Ginny took a deep breath. “Can you say something in Parseltongue?”
“Why?” Harry asked.
Ginny closed her eyes. “Tom was a Parselmouth, too. That’s how he controlled the Basilisk. If I’m ever going to get past this, I have to see you as you, even when you’re looking as much like Tom as you possibly can.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Does that make sense?”
“Not really,” Harry answered truthfully. “But I’ll do it anyway, if I can. I’ve never really spoken in Parseltongue except when I was talking to a snake.”
“Please try,” said Ginny. Her voice was quiet, and just listening to it soothed Harry’s nerves.
He concentrated on speaking Parseltongue, and asked, “Am I doing it?”
Ginny just stared at him and whispered, “More. Say something longer.”
Harry shrugged, deciding that her answer meant he had indeed been speaking in Parseltongue. He took a deep breath, looked directly into her eyes, and said, “Ginny Weasley, I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. You mean the world to me, and I hope someday you can learn to trust me. You’re an amazing person, Ginny, and I- I think I’m falling hard for you.” If only he could say those sorts of things to her in English.
Ginny just nodded without saying anything. After putting his glasses back on, Harry could see tears running down her cheeks.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“I’m fine,” she said as she brushed the tears away. Her voice softened when she added, “Thank you. What did you say, anyway?”
“Why?” Harry asked, attempting to get out of answering.
“Just curious,” Ginny answered. “I’ve never heard Parseltongue sound like that before.”
“Like what?”
“Like.... I don’t know, like something really meaningful was being said. It usually just sounds like a bunch of evil hissing and spitting, but-” She stopped abruptly.
“But...” Harry prompted.
Ginny took a deep breath and spoke very quietly. “This time it made me shiver, but in a good way. Especially the very end.” Harry’s heart soared. Even though she hadn’t understood the words, their meaning had somehow managed to get across anyway. “So, are you going to tell me?” she asked.
“Of course,” Harry answered, smirking at her. “I said-” he switched to Parseltongue, “-I’m falling for you.” This time he was actually able to see the shiver run down Ginny’s spine.
“Prat,” she laughed, playfully swatting his arm. In a more serious voice, she added, “In case you want to know, though, you can say whatever that was to me any time.”
“I’ll remember that,” Harry said, still smirking. He finally adopted a more serious expression as he asked, “Are we okay?”
Ginny nodded. “I think so,” she said quietly. “Anyway, now you know what happened the last time I really trusted somebody. I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone that way again.”
Harry gently laid his hand over the top of hers. “Can I try to help you?” he asked.
“You already are,” she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before standing up and walking back to the house.
After his birthday, Harry’s lessons with Hermione became considerably easier to handle, since he was now allowed to practice magic instead of just reading about it. By the time Ginny’s birthday came around on the eleventh of August, he was over halfway through the theory for fourth-years, and his spellwork and potion making had already progressed to third-year level.
As the family and guests prepared for Ginny’s birthday party, Harry quietly brought his present for her downstairs and placed it with the growing pile of gifts on the table out in the garden.
“Ah, the mysterious birthday present,” Tyler said from behind him as he eyed the gold-wrapped box. “What is it?”
Harry laughed as he turned around. “Like I’d tell you.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Tyler asked indignantly.
Harry shrugged. “No real reason. But I’m still not telling. You’ve just got to wait until Ginny opens it.”
“Fine,” Tyler huffed dramatically, rolling his eyes as he followed Harry back inside to help with the final party preparations.
When the birthday party actually began, Harry had to admit that it was at least as good as his own party had been. Of course, that was at least partially because Ginny was speaking to him again, but even laying that aside, the party was amazing. There was loud music, plenty of food, and several entertaining party games - in short, everything a birthday party ought to have.
Harry’s favorite game turned out to be a variation of Quidditch that the Weasleys had played when they were younger, and which consisted of half of the participants being the Quidditch players and the other half being their brooms. The Chasers and Keepers (there were no Beaters or Seekers in this version of the game) sat on their ‘brooms’’ shoulders and shouted instructions about where to ‘fly’ as they played.
Ginny, as the birthday girl, was the captain of her team, and she immediately chose Hermione to be the opposing captain. Apparently, once the captains had been selected, the first order of business was for the captains to choose their opponents’ ‘brooms.’
“I choose Ron,” Ginny called out. “That way he can’t play Keeper, but he can’t complain either, since he’ll have Hermione on his shoulders.” This earned a laugh from everyone involved, except for Ron who just ducked his head and tried not to blush as he moved to stand next to Hermione.
“That’s fine,” Hermione said sweetly. “I choose Harry, since we all know you only made me the other captain because you knew your brothers wouldn’t choose him for you.” This comment was met with plenty of teasing from Ginny’s brothers, and now it was her turn to blush as Harry moved to stand next to her.
“Okay, I want Fred,” said Ginny, her face still burning.
“Is that really why you made Hermione the other captain?” Harry asked out of the corner of his mouth. Ginny didn’t answer.
“George,” called Hermione.
“Okay, Percy, you’re George’s broom.” Percy looked slightly disgruntled at his little sister’s decision, but made his way over to George without comment while Hermione chose Neville Longbottom to be Fred’s ‘broom.’
Ginny’s final selection was Tyler, while Hermione picked Bill. That left Luna Lovegood and Bill’s girlfriend, Fleur Delacour. Taking pity on Luna, Ginny chose Fleur to be Bill’s ‘broom,’ as he was much heavier than Tyler.
Luna moved to stand next to Tyler as Ginny shouted, “Mount your brooms!”
Harry had to struggle not to laugh as he watched Bill trying to climb onto his beautiful girlfriend’s shoulders without hurting her. Surprisingly, though, she didn’t seem to have any trouble holding him up, despite the fact that he was probably twice as heavy as she was.
“She’s part Veela,” Ginny said, following Harry’s gaze. “They’re annoying, but much stronger than they look. Are you going to help me up?”
“What? Oh, right. Sorry.” Harry crouched down, and Ginny leaped onto his back and climbed up onto his shoulders. He grasped her ankles to help her balance as he tried unsuccessfully to ignore the fact that his face was nestled snugly between her thighs.
“Ready, set, GO!” Ginny shouted, and tossed the Quaffle to Tyler. Luckily for Luna, he was rather light, and she didn’t have much difficulty carrying him as they sprinted toward the goal, which was being guarded by Hermione. Just before they reached her, Tyler faked to his left and flipped the Quaffle over his shoulder to Ginny, who scored easily.
“Look at that, Hermione,” Ginny taunted. “The boy’s never been on a broomstick in his life, and already he’s better at Quidditch than you.”
George immediately took the Quaffle, and Percy took off at a sprint, carrying him toward the goal.
“George, look out!” shouted Bill. George looked up just in time to see Harry and Ginny barreling toward him. Just before they crashed into each other, he was able to pass the Quaffle off to Bill, who scored easily after tricking Neville into carrying Fred the wrong way.
“All tied up now, little sis,” George said with a smirk as he and Ginny climbed back onto their ‘brooms.’ “Maybe you should try playing a little defense instead of just making Harry tackle people.”
The good-natured ribbing continued to fly back and forth almost as often as the Quaffle, and by the time the game was over, nobody could even remember the score. It didn’t really matter, though; the important thing was that they were all grinning and exhausted.
When they arrived back at the Burrow, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were waiting in the garden with a large birthday cake and a stack of presents.
“I think I know what time it is,” Ron said in a singsong voice as he elbowed Ginny in the ribs. She gave him a playful shove as she walked directly to the cake and blew out all the candles in one breath.
“Mum!” Fred complained at once. “I can’t believe you. Regular, non-exploding candles?”
George nodded in agreement. “What is the world coming to?”
“Why do you think I didn’t let you two help with the cake?” Mrs. Weasley asked with a smile as she began cutting the cake and handing out slices to everyone.
“Go on, Ginny; open your presents,” Ron called out as soon as he had a plate of cake in his hands. Taking this as her cue, Ginny picked up the first package.
“Chocolate frogs, right Ron?” she asked. Ron gaped at her, and she laughed as she tore off the paper to reveal a large pack of chocolate frogs.
“How’d you know?” Ron asked indignantly.
“Because that’s what you always get everybody for their birthdays,” George called out. “Did you really think no one noticed?”
Ron shrugged as his ears turned a light shade of pink, and everyone enjoyed a laugh at his expense.
Ginny continued opening her presents, but she seemed to be avoiding the one from Harry. He wasn’t sure if that was really the case or not, but every time she came to it, she just pushed it further down the table and opened something else. She received a large spellbook from Hermione, a very handsome set of eagle feather quills from Percy, and an assortment of something called ‘Skiving Snackboxes’ from the twins, a gift which earned them disapproving looks from Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Percy. Harry didn’t recognize most of the other presents Ginny received, but he didn’t really care; he just wanted her to hurry up and open the present he had gotten her.
Finally, after everything else had been opened, Ginny picked up the flat box containing Harry’s present. “Are you sure about this, Harry?” she teased. “This looks like the sort of box new robes come in. You didn’t go and buy me clothes, did you?”
Harry laughed; she couldn’t be further from the truth. “You’ll just have to open it and see.”
She tore off the paper, but stopped short just before opening the box because Ron cried out, “Wait! Harry, this is something she can open in front of her family, right? Because if it’s not, you know we won’t hesitate to pound you.”
This only made Harry laugh harder. “I promise, Ron, the only reason you’ll want to pound me after seeing what’s in that box will be because you’re jealous that I didn’t get you one, too.”
Her curiosity piqued, Ginny lifted the lid to the box and gasped before slamming the lid back down. “Harry, a word?” she called out in a strained voice.
“Watch for flying bogies,” George snickered as Harry followed her toward the apple orchard.
“What’s the matter?” he asked as he hurried to catch up with her. “I thought you’d like it.”
Ginny reached the trees and wheeled around abruptly, almost causing him to run into her. “This is too much, Harry,” she whispered fiercely. “I can’t accept something this expensive.”
“It wasn’t expensive,” Harry protested. “In fact, it was practically free.”
Ginny narrowed her eyes. “Explain,” she said in the same fierce tone.
“I sort of... inherited it, you might say. And it wasn’t in the best condition, but I managed to fix it up for you.”
Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. “You mean this is.... You really fixed it up just for me?” Harry nodded and she threw her arms around his neck while still clutching the box in one hand. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“No problem,” Harry whispered back before adding in Parseltongue, “I’m still falling for you.” He felt Ginny shiver against him before pulling back.
“One of these days you’re going to tell me what that means,” she said as she began leading him back to her family.
“One of these days,” Harry repeated with a smirk. “But not today.” He took off for the Burrow at a run, with Ginny hot on his heels.
When they arrived, laughing good-naturedly, a moment later, Ron asked, “What was that all about?”
Harry looked at Ginny, who smiled and said, “We just had to clear something up.”
“So, are you going to show us what he got you?” asked George. “Personally, I think it’s one of those lacy nightgowns - you know, the kind you can almost see through-”
“Silencio!” Much to Harry’s relief, Mrs. Weasley hit her son with a Silencing Charm. “That’s quite enough out of you,” she scolded. Her eyes narrowed as she added, “And besides, how do you even know about those sorts of things, anyway?”
George’s mouth began moving very rapidly as he tried to defend himself, but still no sound escaped his lips.
Ginny laughed at her brother and said, “Okay, fine. Here it is.” She took the lid off of the box and reached inside. It was immediately apparent that the inside of the box had been magically expanded, as it was only about two inches deep on the outside, but she had reached in past her elbow. With a flourish, she dropped the box and pulled her arm upward to reveal a highly polished broomstick with NIMBUS 2001 embossed on the side of the handle.
Ron’s jaw dropped.
Fred turned to Harry and shouted, “Hey! You said that was for a friend!”
“Ginny’s my friend,” Harry replied. Turning to her, he asked, “Care to take it for a test drive?”
“Mum, can I?” she pleaded, suddenly looking very much like a little girl.
“Just for a little while, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said indulgently.
Laughing with delight, Ginny threw herself astride her new broomstick and circled the house once before starting to dive-bomb her brothers. This, of course, prompted them to retrieve their own broomsticks in order to chase her, and soon there was an all-out air war going on.
A few hours later, as they helped clean up after the party, Harry noticed that Ginny kept giving him strange looks. As soon as everyone else was either inside the Burrow or distracted by whatever they were doing, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her around to the side of the house.
“Harry, what’s going on?” she asked as he released her arm.
“I was going to ask you the same question,” he replied. “You’ve been giving me funny looks all evening.”
Ginny laughed. “Oh, that. I was just thinking how backwards things are right now. I mean, I gave you jewelry and you gave me a Quidditch broomstick. That isn’t exactly normal, is it?”
Harry began chuckling along with her. “Yeah, I see what you mean. I wouldn’t trade my present for anything, though,” he added, fingering the locket through his shirt. “And I remembered what you said about not having a decent broom, so I figured I’d do something about that.”
“I really do appreciate it, Harry,” she said sincerely. “Especially since I know it’s something you put a lot of time and effort into, not just something you went out and bought.”
“I’m really glad you like it,” Harry said as he began leading her back toward her family. The setting sun played upon her hair, making it look even redder than usual, and Harry was once again mesmerized by the sight of her. “You’re so beautiful,” he said in Parseltongue.
“When are you going to tell me what that means?” Ginny laughed.
Harry shrugged. “When you’re ready to know.”