Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione emerged from the Ministry of Magic and decided they would have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron before enjoying their freedom for one day. Hermione prattled on about the library and Ron smiled genuinely, taking her hand in his and listening with some attentive qualities, while also keeping an eye on his best mate and sister. Ginny had gripped Harry’s hand tightly when they left the Ministry and had not relinquished her hold on him. Harry had noticed people looking in their direction, but Ginny seemed happily impervious to the attention they were both receiving.

When they had finally made their way to the Leaky Cauldron and found a table in the far back corner, Hermione looked seriously at everyone. ‘Well, I guess this answers why your mother has been keeping us occupied all this time.’

Ron nodded. ‘Yeah, and here I thought she was just being eccentric!’

Ginny looked nervously across the table. ‘I don’t think I ever expected to be in more danger now than before!’

Harry leaned over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. ‘Oh come on, Ginny, you’re one of the most powerful witches I know. I don’t think you have to worry about anything.’ He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. ‘Besides, I’m always here to protect you.’

She smiled up at him. ‘You can’t always be around, Harry.’ She squeezed his hand and continued, ‘especially if you plan to work in London and I plan to go back to Hogwarts.’

He looked away. ‘I know. I…’

He left the sentence unfinished and Hermione chimed in, ‘I’m sure we can find a way to make sure you’re safe if none of us are around.’

Ginny bristled a little. ‘You lot need to worry about yourselves too. We’re all in the same danger, save Harry, who is,’ she smiled, ‘in more danger than usual.’

Harry replied, ‘Well, it sounded like Kingsley was insinuating that if we worked at the Ministry, we’d be privy to extra protection.’

Ginny shook her head. ‘Harry, that still leaves a lot of room for error �“ human error. Just one Imperius curse and you’re in for it!’

Ron laughed. ‘You think the Ministry of Magic hasn’t thought about that already?’

Ginny didn’t laugh. ‘No,’ she shot back, ‘I don’t know what they might have planned for him, but based on previous experiences, I’m not going to take things so lightly when it concerns people I care about.’

Ron looked away and sighed. Hermione stated matter-of-factly, ‘I know their past…track record has not been the best, but with Kingsley in charge, I’m feeling more confident about it.’

Harry put his hands up. ‘Look, I think we all know that our safety is of concern, so we need to think of the best way to make sure we all feel confident about it.’

Ginny and Ron weren’t looking at each other and Harry exchanged a nervous glance with Hermione. She said quietly, ‘Harry and I have been researching this a bit.’

Ginny gave Harry a quizzical look while Ron commented, ‘You two been finding time to yourselves, then?’

The look on Hermione’s face froze both Harry and Ginny, while Ron seemed unaware of his comment’s effect. Hermione punched him hard in the arm. ‘What are you trying to say?’

Ron looked confused and rubbed his arm. ‘Nothing! I mean, I’m just surprised you’d found time to yourselves.’

He tried to make it sound nonchalant, but Hermione wasn’t buying it in the least. She gave him a hard glare and said, ‘I don’t care for what you’re insinuating, Ronald.’

Ginny looked nervously at Harry. Obviously she was not concerned about his faithfulness. Ron sighed apologetically. ‘I didn’t mean anything!’

He tried to lean over and snog his way out of trouble, but Hermione would have none of that. She sat up rigidly and sipped her drink, looking no one in the eye.

Ginny shook her head at Ron and asked, ‘So, what did you two discover?’

Harry looked nervously at Hermione. ‘Well, we know that you can put protective charms on objects, like the one’s at the shop, but those will only hold for a short period of time, and won’t repel everything. But after some research, Hermione found that if you use an item that is already magically strong, then it will enhance the protection of that item.’

The topic of research perked Hermione’s interest and she chimed in, ‘The only thing is we’d need to find magical items that would be strong enough to repel what I can only imagine would be rather strong curses.’

Ron had given up trying to console Hermione and said, ‘Yeah, and I expect that sort of thing won’t be easy to come by either!’

Harry shook his head. ‘No, but I am sure we can figure something out. If nothing else, we can use those coins from the DA to pass messages along about how we’re all doing.’

Hermione nodded. ‘That should be easy enough. I did get some great ideas while we were in the library at the Ministry of Magic �“ we just need to test them. How does someone feel about being cursed to test them?’

Ron, in an effort to redeem himself, said quietly, ‘You can curse me �“ I’m not afraid.’

Ginny rolled her eyes and giggled into her hand as Harry grinned back at her. Hermione still seemed upset and said, ‘I wouldn’t be so fearless if I were you.’

Hermione looked past him as their food was served and they all stopped talking, having not eaten anything all day since breakfast. As they ate, Harry noticed more and more eyes staring, whispered conversations and pointing in their direction. Harry wasn’t certain if anyone else had noticed, but the rest of them seemed oblivious to the attention they were receiving.

When the plates had been cleared and everyone had had their fill, Harry took a tentative glance towards the door and said, ‘So, think it’s about time to get going?’

Hermione nodded. ‘I wouldn’t mind spending a little more time out here, but I think you might be right.’

She seemed to be implying something, but Harry wasn’t sure what. Ginny spoke up, ‘I guess we have to decide soon �“ about everything. I’m not sure how much better I feel about all of this. Is it better to know or not know?’

Harry got up and pulled Ginny’s chair out so she could get out more comfortably. He smiled. ‘As long as you’re going back to Hogwarts, I know I feel better.’

Hermione had gotten up in a hurry and Ron looked sheepishly at Harry, realising he should have shown some level of chivalry as he was already in trouble. Hermione gestured towards the door. The room seemed to quiet down as they got up and Harry wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. He had an unsettling feeling and was sure being outdoors would ease his worry. He took Ginny’s hand in his and led her quickly out of the Leaky Cauldron. Chairs could be heard scrapping across the floor and Harry felt his pace quicken until they were out in the open. He stopped in the still sunlight street, with Ginny breathing quickly beside him and giving him a curious look.

Hermione burst through the door a few seconds later. ‘Was there any reason we were racing towards the door?’

Harry leaned close to her. ‘I just had this feeling, like someone was watching us.’

Ron sauntered out of the Leaky Cauldron. ‘Harry, everyone was watching us, but you looked a bit mental back there.’

Harry gave him an exasperated look before catching sight of a red head bobbing towards them. He hoped it was Percy, but knowing their luck, he knew it would be George.

Ginny followed Harry’s gaze and turned to him. ‘I think you’re worrying too much, Harry.’ He shook his head and she continued, ‘I mean, yes, we should be careful, but not to the point where we’re putting ourselves in more danger.’

‘Well, hello you lot!’ came the voice of George Weasley. He didn’t sound all that pleased to see any of them out of the Burrow.

Harry grimaced, waiting for some strange awkwardness to fall upon them. Ron stepped forward, in front of Hermione and Ginny. He smiled at his older brother. ‘How goes the business today, George?’

George ruffled Ron’s hair. ‘Fantastic! I’m glad ickle Ginny helped out when she could, but I feel better being back here!’

Ginny gave him a dirty look for saying ‘ickle,’ but did not say anything otherwise. Ron continued, ‘That’s brilliant! I mean, things going well is always good, right?’

George nodded, ‘You lot want to come by and check things out?’

Harry had no intentions of going, but knew he had little choice in the matter. Hermione spoke up, ‘Sure, we haven’t been by in a long time; it might be nice to see what new products you’ve developed…that’ll be banned from Hogwarts.’ She said the last part in an undertone and Harry and Ginny caught her comment and laughed.

George led the way down the street, Ron keeping pace with George’s long strides. Hermione, Ginny and Harry stayed a few paces behind, Harry having a firm hold on Ginny’s hand.

Hermione said in a hushed tone, ‘You had better keep your eyes open, Harry.’

He nodded while Ginny looked between the two of them. ‘What are you two talking about?’

Harry exchanged another strained look with Hermione before inclining his head towards George, saying nothing else. Ginny shook her head. ‘Oh you two �“ we’re in public. I doubt he’d be foolish enough to try something with so many eyes watching and following us!’

Hermione waved her hand and said, ‘Of all of us, Ginny, I would think you’d be the most wary!’

Harry nodded and chimed in, ‘He hurt you, Ginny.’ She scoffed and shook her head but Harry stopped in the middle of the street saying rather forcefully, ‘Even if you don’t care, I do.’

She leaned up towards him and whispered, ‘You’re sweet, Harry, but he’s still my brother.’

She brushed her lips against his before pulling him forward, Hermione watched, smiling at how quickly Harry fell into step with Ginny.

Hermione whispered, ‘Wow, Harry, she really has you under…control.’

Harry gave her a dirty look but Ginny just laughed. ‘Oh come on Hermione, like Ron �“’

But she didn’t dare finish the sentence, Hermione’s expression looking wrathful. She said in an even tone, ‘I don’t want to hear about dear Ronald anytime soon, thank you.’

Harry grimaced and squeezed Ginny’s hand. Ginny sighed. ‘Have it your own way. I still think you two won’t be happy unless you’re at each others’ throats!’

The short walk had finally ceased and they stood in front of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Ron held the door open for them, not daring to look Hermione in the face.

They followed George in, Harry trying to seem innocuous. There were far fewer customers in the store than the last time Harry had been there and the lighting was limited, as if there were darkness pervading from within the store. George walked around the counter and started pulling various boxes out. Harry didn’t pay much attention, pulling Ginny back, away from George and Ron, who was very interested in the new wares George had created.

Percy emerged from the back room, giving Harry and Ginny a strange, restrained look before standing next to George and listening to the explanation of some new item. Hermione looked around the store briefly before standing next to Ginny. Harry was leaning against the wall while Ginny watched Percy with great concentration. She turned abruptly. ‘Harry, Hermione, does something seem out of place here?’

Before they responded she put her hand up. ‘I mean, something more than the usual that we already know.’

Hermione laughed. ‘I figured that’s what you meant! And yes, Percy is acting…strangely.’ She added quickly, ‘Not that I know him well, but from what I’ve seen. Well, but we haven’t seen him in a while, and he never really talks to us.’

Ginny nodded absently. ‘I don’t know, he’s my big brother, he’s never…’

She shook her head and turned to Harry, who said quietly, ‘Well, dealing with George alone can’t be easy. All of us agree, he’s been difficult.’

Ginny nodded and replied quietly, ‘Yeah, but Percy has always treated me a certain way…well, I guess he knows I’m not a kid anymore.’ She looked away exasperated. ‘I don’t know.’

Harry leaned over taking Ginny’s hand in his. ‘If you’re worried, why don’t you talk to him?’

She furrowed her brow and looked at Percy for a few moments before turning back to Harry. ‘You’re probably right.’ She sighed. ‘I just don’t know what to say.’

Harry kissed her softly on the side of the head. ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something.’

Hermione sighed. ‘I was hoping to visit Flourish and Blotts today, do you think we can get out of here and do that quickly?’

Harry looked nervously at Ginny, but she just shrugged. ‘I don’t see why not.’

She let go of Harry’s hand and took a few steps forward calling out, ‘Hey, we’re going to pop into Flourish and Blotts �“ we’ll be right back.’

George hardly acknowledged the comment and Ron gave Hermione a nervous look, but she turned away from him and headed towards the door. Ginny smiled at Harry, one of those radiant smiles she had. Harry found himself drawn to her more quickly than usual, reaching his hand out to take hers and follow Hermione out the door. Hermione was waiting for them outside and didn’t say anything, but headed down the street towards the book shop, taking little note of Harry and Ginny.

Harry wondered at the latest row between Hermione and Ron, but having Ginny beside him, with him, made many other things in his world fall away. He didn’t know if they had sorted everything that needed sorting, but things seemed easy between them. Unspoken words bridging what might normally have been a gap.

He couldn’t help but notice the attention they were receiving as they followed Hermione; more so because Ginny seemed to be holding his hand more tightly, and the crowd seemed to be closing in around them. Hermione had stopped in front of them, unaware of the crowd or ignoring it, and waited for them to catch up.

She waved her hand. ‘If you two would walk a bit faster, then we might be able to make more progress!’

Ginny laughed. ‘Hermione, I swear you have all the books in the world already! Do you really need more?’

Hermione gave her a sly smile. ‘You can never have too many books.’

They approached the book shop and Harry noticed Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour had re-opened. He’d frequented it some years ago. He wasn’t inclined to read any more books and turned to Ginny. ‘Why don’t we wait for Hermione out here?’

Hermione had already entered Flourish and Blotts and had taken no notice of Harry nor Ginny following her. Ginny followed Harry’s gaze and said, ‘Well, I’m not really hungry, but something sweet might be nice.’

They walked towards the outdoor seating; Ginny picked a table close to the edge of the seating area so they could see Hermione more easily when she emerged with her many books. Harry smiled and said, ‘What kind of ice cream do you want me to get?’

She smiled and laughed. ‘You’re going to get it then?’

He replied, ‘Of course! This could be construed as our first official ‘date’ since…, so I want to do it right!’

She laughed again. ‘I’m really not that hungry, Harry. I can share with you, if you don’t mind.’

He smiled. ‘Of course I don’t mind!’

He gave her one last look before hurrying inside. He felt the crowd part in front of him and the owner recognised him at once. He smiled and offered Harry ‘the usual,’ which Harry gladly took, thanking him profusely for his generosity.

He came back outside with a rather sizable sundae in his hands and a pair of spoons sticking out of the centre. Ginny looked at him wide-eyed. ‘Merlin’s beard! I didn’t realise you were so hungry!’

Harry laughed. ‘Oh come on, ice cream is good for you.’

Ginny looked at him incredulously. ‘How do you figure?’

Harry fidgeted with his spoon for a second, waiting for her to take the first bite. ‘Well, it certainly tastes good.’

She gave him a half-smile and replied, ‘That was never in question.’ She took a small helping, leaving the spoon in her mouth for a few seconds. ‘It is very good, though.’

Harry pulled his chair closer to hers and said, ‘Always. Ice cream is always good.’ He smiled, watching the crowd pass. ‘Back in my third year, back when everyone was afraid Sirius was after me, I spent a lot of time here. I’m just glad there’s a better view now.’

He gave her a sly look and she blushed to her roots. ‘This is certainly much more pleasant company than where we were,’ said Ginny.

Harry nodded and helped himself to more ice cream, saying quietly. ‘I’m glad to hear you say that. I was getting worried about George and Percy. I’m really surprised to see Percy so friendly with George.’

He left his thought unfinished and she nodded. ‘It is a bit strange. I mean, they have been spending a lot of time together, but never this much before. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Percy is almost following George around.’

Harry said quietly, ‘As if he has no will of his own.’

Ginny almost dropped her spoon. ‘You don’t think…?’

He reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘I don’t know what to think.’

She leaned close to him and shut her eyes tightly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She said breathlessly, ‘Its like something out of my nightmares. Everything has turned upside down.’

Harry rubbed her back gently. ‘It’s going to be ok. You know that, right?’

She didn’t look at him and he leaned in, turning her face to his and kissing her softly. ‘It is going to be ok. You’ll see. This trouble will be just a memory in no time.’

She sighed and plunged her spoon into the ice cream, giving him a sceptical look and whispering, ‘How can you be so bloody optimistic?’

He couldn’t help himself and laughed. ‘Do you kiss your boyfriend with that mouth?’

Her frown disappeared and she laughed. ‘Harry!’

But he stopped her from continuing, dropping his spoon into the dish and kissing her fully on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, almost having him fall off of his chair. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into his lap, to the clear astonishment of the crowd around them.

Harry hadn’t noticed the eyes, but Ginny must have, she turned her head and buried her face into his shoulder laughing softly. ‘Harry, you’ve really become quite…affectionate.’

He smiled into her hair. ‘Can you blame me? I have the most gorgeous witch in my arms and I’m supposed to act properly?’

She pulled away from him, sitting back in her chair, putting her hands on his face. ‘You’re really making me miss you when you haven’t been around.’

He gave her a curious look. ‘But I’m right here.’

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said �“ ’

He gave her a sad look and said quietly, ‘Don’t.’

Ginny put her hand over his. ‘I just know I’m not going to see you for a while. And I’m already missing you!’

He laughed quietly and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Well, you do have the option to spend more time with me.’

She shook her head. ‘Harry! You know I don’t know enough to start working. I really need to go back. Even though I’m going to miss you terribly, I need to go back. Are you sure you don’t want to come back?’

She smiled innocently and he smiled back at her. ‘It is really, really hard to say ‘no’ to that smile. I just don’t think I can, no matter how much I want to be with you.’

She sighed and turned back to the ice cream. ‘Well, I do believe someone told me recently that ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’.’

He laughed and drew nearer to her. ‘I knew I should never have told you that!’

He dipped his spoon into the dish and smiled at Ginny. ‘You’re not going to have me eat this entire dish, are you?’

He tried to feed Ginny, but she drew away quickly. ‘Harry �“ what are you doing?’

He smiled sheepishly. ‘Trying to be romantic…’

She placed her hands on the table and he sat closer to her, slowly placing the spoon into her mouth and watching her take the ice cream off of it. She gave him a wicked smile and took the spoon from him. She shivered slightly. ‘Did you really need to put that much ice cream in it?’

She reached for the napkin but he leaned in and kissed her around the lips, licking the excess ice cream off of her face. He could feel her shift her weight to return the kiss, but he found himself happily amused with her lips and would not let her do so.

She finally grabbed his face and pulled him into a deep kiss, stopping him from teasing her further. Harry didn’t realise how distracting their public displays of affection were until a voice called out sternly, ‘If you must keep doing that, you might as well just find a room.’

Ginny pulled herself away from Harry’s lips, though he continued nuzzling her neck. Ginny exclaimed, ‘Hermione! We didn’t think you’d be done so quickly!’

Hermione shook her head. ‘You two �“ I mean really �“ have you even been apart that long?’

Harry finally pulled himself away from Ginny and gave Hermione a tired look. ‘I just know I’m not going to see my girl for a while once she goes back to Hogwarts. And I didn’t see her all year �“ I need to make up on lost time!’

Hermione laughed. ‘Looks like you’re doing it all in the same hour �“ be careful not to go too far.’

She said the words slowly and Harry looked nervously at Ginny. ‘Hermione, we would never…I mean…’

He was getting increasingly anxious as he spoke and Ginny put a consoling hand on Harry’s arm and smiled. ‘Harry and I are not ready for something that serious, Hermione.’

Hermione hefted a large bag onto the table and took a stout book out, pushing it across the table towards Harry. ‘You might find this of particular interest.’

He looked at the cover and knew she was right. The book read ‘Protective Charms and Protective Objects.’ He opened the book and began to scan the table of contents.

Ginny looked questioningly at Hermione. ‘You two act as if you have at least one magical item to put a protective charm on.’

Hermione didn’t say anything and Harry turned to look at Ginny. ‘Well, we’re trying to figure out if anything we have will work.’

Ginny raised her eyebrows. ‘So, you do have something?’

Harry put the book down and turned his body completely to face her. ‘Yes, I do. And I want to make sure it’ll work.’

She didn’t look appeased. ‘You keep a stash of magical items, do you?’

He felt slightly nettled and replied, ‘No, I don’t �“ but I saw something that I thought would be perfect and I got it.’

Ginny looked taken aback. ‘Perfect?’

She looked at Hermione, but Hermione did not look up, clearly wanting no part of this argument. Ginny turned to Harry. ‘I’m not trying to argue with you, but you seem overly secretive.

Harry smiled softly at her. ‘Ginny, if it works then you’ll be the first to know. Even if it doesn’t work…’ He leaned in close and kissed her softly. ‘Please don’t worry �“ the only magical objects I plan on buying are for you.’

She smiled at him and put her hand on his. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry, Harry.’

He shook his head. ‘Nothing to apologise for, love.’

Hermione’s eyes shot open but she went back to her book quickly. Ginny looked at him sharply and leaned in whispering, ‘Are we at ‘terms of endearment?”

He shook his head for a second, not realising what he’d said and then nodded. ‘I’d have been doing it sooner, but I didn’t know if you had a preference.’

She gave him a nervous smile. ‘I’ve never had any one call me ‘love’ other than one of my aunts, so this is all new territory for me.’

She kissed him on the cheek, lingering for a second before whispering, ‘But it is music to my ears coming off of those lips.’

And then she was kissing him, like she had kissed him in her room for his birthday the previous year; her one hand pulling his face towards her, the other hand grasping his shirt for balance. He wrapped one arm around her waist and ran his free hand into her luxurious hair.

Hermione cleared her throat loudly after what seemed to Harry like hours wrapped in Ginny’s arms. Ginny laughed into Harry’s neck as he turned to face Hermione. She shook her head and said, ‘Are you two finally through? We promised Mr. Weasley we’d be home before dark.’

Ginny held onto Harry for a bit longer, enjoying being close to him. He kept his grip on her waist and whispered, ‘We’d better enjoy this while we can. But I don’t think Hermione will stand for much more.’

Ginny pulled away from Harry and looked over at Hermione. ‘Sorry about that, Hermione. I’ve been missing my boyfriend a lot lately.’

Hermione rolled her eyes. ‘Well, if you two have had your fill, we’d best go get Ronald and head back to the Burrow.’

Ginny nudged Harry at Hermione’s tone and they both got up. Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny’s shoulders and took Ginny’s hand in his, intertwining their fingers. Hermione collected her books and lead the way back towards George’s shop.

Harry couldn’t believe the day had started out so strained, but seemed to be ending on an amazing high note. Even though he knew his days with Ginny were now numbered, that didn’t mean they weren’t going to enjoy each others’ company, or be able to spend more time together. And with Hermione’s help, he would be able to give Ginny something to show her how much he cared about her.

As they neared the store, Hermione slowed to a stop and Ginny had to grab Harry to stop him from running into her. It appeared as if some sort of commotion was breaking out and Harry let go of Ginny to investigate.

Ginny grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards them, a worried look crossing her face. Harry stopped and looked at her before standing in front of her and Hermione, watching the situation escalate.

Percy was shouting at Ron, ‘Why do you even come around here! You and Ginny are so busy being happy you don’t see anything at all, do you?

Ginny shifted her weight but Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly. Ron shot back, ‘You’re mental you are! You’ve hardly been around and you’re going to give me lessons on how to be a member of our family! Sod off!’

Ron turned to walk away but Percy, despite being shorter than Ron, grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. Harry, Ginny and Hermione had seen enough and walked forward. Ron didn’t seem at all intimidated and pushed Percy back roughly, throwing him to the ground. ‘Percy, you sodding prat �“ nobody cares what you think. Say what you like, but I know I do more good for our family than you ever will!’

Ron walked straight towards Harry, Ginny and Hermione and said curtly, ‘Let’s go.’

Hermione started to say something but Ron shook his head. ‘Not here �“ let’s just go home.’

Harry could see Percy getting up quickly and shooting all of them a nasty look before heading back into the store. Ginny stopped for a second and Harry lingered behind her. She shook her head and followed Ron and Hermione. With a crack both Ron and Hermione were gone. Harry reached his arm out to Ginny, smiled consolingly, and Apparated them both back to the Burrow.