Much to everyone’s relief, George did not make an appearance during supper, although Mrs. Weasley frequently checked the family clock. It only displayed George and Percy being at work and nothing more. The meal passed in relative silence. Ginny and Ron seemed reluctant to say anything in front of their mother after the morning’s argument, while Hermione and Harry exchanged nervous glances but said very little.
Harry wasn’t used to having such strained meals at the Burrow, but wasn’t overly surprised. The meal ended with a hot cup of tea and the four retired back to the sitting room, all being sufficiently contented from the meal.
The silence that had permeated supper continued into the sitting room. Hermione shifted in her chair, breaking the silence. ‘I guess this means we won’t be having any more company tonight.’
Her words fell flat and Ron reached out, squeezing her hand before slumping further down into his chair.
Ginny and Harry sat opposite them, but were not sitting as closely as they had been earlier. Harry kept thinking about the apprehension he felt coming from Ginny, as if she expected something to happen. He felt like he was on edge, trying to not upset her by being there.
He looked at her sadly, but her eyes were vacant. She must have felt his gaze, because she turned towards him. ‘I’m afraid that doesn’t mean more company won’t be coming at another time.’
Hermione turned slightly, realising that Ginny was acknowledging her statement and continued, ‘That is true “ perhaps we should find something to occupy our time that isn’t in plain sight of the entire house.’
Ron chimed in, ‘I think its still pretty nice out “ the wind has died down and I don’t think we have to worry about rain or anything.’
Ginny got up. ‘Let me go fetch a couple of blankets and then we can head out.’
Hermione got up and said, ‘I’ll help you; we can leave the boys to find something to entertain us with.’
Both girls giggled as they hurried out of the room. Harry got the distinct feeling he should be worried, but his attention was diverted by Ron. He seemed to be focused on a point in the kitchen and Harry followed his gaze to the family clock. Percy’s and George’s settings were now on ‘Home.’
He was glad Ginny had not seen it. He braced himself, trying to listen to any noise that might tell where George had arrived. From the sitting room, Harry could see into the kitchen, but couldn’t quite make out the back door. He caught Ron’s eye, Ron smiled at him and said, ‘Better than waiting, huh?’
Harry nodded mutely and stared at the clock once more. Ron gestured towards the door. ‘Maybe we should wait for them outside?’
Harry shook his head. ‘No, I think we should stay.’
Ron looked apprehensively at the door but nodded. ‘Probably best to have this taken care of head on.’
It wasn’t really a question, but a statement. Harry knew there was no running; he would have to be comfortable with George. Mrs. Weasley came bustling down the stairs, muttering something about getting supper back on, passing Ron and Harry virtually unnoticed.
Ginny and Hermione weren’t far behind, each carrying a blanket. Hermione headed towards the door, though Ron cut her off and opened the door for her. Voices could be heard outside and Harry caught Ginny’s eye for a second before taking her hand in his and following Ron and Hermione outside.
The voices came closer and Harry knew they were from George and Percy. The conversation sounded light-hearted. Harry gripped Ginny’s hand more firmly. She responded, squeezing his hand reassuringly and walking briskly forward, towards the voices.
Percy was taller than George, and his red hair, despite the darkness of the evening, could be seen from afar. George strode forward, Percy following close behind. George called out, ‘Good Evening all “ couldn’t wait for us could you?’
Hermione looked nervous again, but Ron didn’t miss a beat. ‘We wanted to eat dinner today, so we thought waiting wasn’t the answer.’
George laughed loudly; Harry thought too loudly. George slapped Ron on the back. ‘That’s alright little brother, we’ll catch up again another time. Where are you lot off to?’
Harry felt Ginny step forward, and tried to pull her back, closer towards him. She replied sweetly, ‘Just enjoying the weather “ Mum is waiting for you.’
George nodded. ‘I’ll catch you later then “ enjoy!’
With that he waved them off and headed towards the door. Percy gave Harry a distasteful look and hurried after George.
Harry froze, but Ginny pulled him forward, saying quietly, ‘Come on.’
Ron led them to place where there were a few trees and he and Ron spread the blankets out for both couples to sit comfortably on the ground. Harry sat down heavily, leaning against a tree trunk. Ginny sat down next to him, just out of arm’s length, but Harry reached out and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
Hermione and Ron had no pretensions, Ron sitting down first and Hermione making herself comfortable in his arms. The group sat quietly for the rest of the evening and were thankful that there were no incidents involving George.
The next few days passed in the same manner, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione spending their time around the Burrow; Mr. Weasley, George and Percy not being home much and Mrs. Weasley keeping everyone occupied when they were around.
No one broached the topic of George, nor the incident involving Ginny getting hurt. Harry knew that she had healed, having taken a few potions to quicken the process, but anytime George was around, Harry could feel Ginny become tense and apprehensive. Ron seemed to fall back into a state of acceptance about George’s behaviour. Harry would have labelled it as complacency, save for knowing his friend so well, and therefore knowing Ron was really just waiting for the next incident to occur.
After another week of staying in the Burrow, Harry felt he wouldn’t mind a change of venue and wanted to broach the subject with Ginny. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be up for it, so he approached Hermione in her hopes of helping him. In one of the rare instances when Mrs. Weasley had Ron and Ginny occupied elsewhere, Harry found himself alone with Hermione. She was scanning the Daily Prophet as Harry spoke up, ‘Er, Hermione, can I ask you something?’
She looked up distractedly. ‘Sure, Harry.’
He replied, ‘We’ve been hanging out here a lot.’
She replied, ‘Yeah, we have.’
Her matter-of-fact tone caught him off guard. ‘Do you think anyone would be interested in going out and doing something?’
She put the paper down and turned to look at him. ‘Harry, I really don’t know if that’s a good idea.’
He looked at her dejectedly. ‘I just feel like we’re not doing anything here. Not that I need to do stuff all the time, but…’
She shook her head. ‘Harry, we’re just being supportive of Ron and Ginny. We shouldn’t be doing anything else!’
He leaned back. ‘I just feel like if we did something different, it would get everyone feeling better, you know?’
She picked the paper back up. ‘Harry, you said you’d stay, you can’t just get bored and leave.’
He shot back, ‘I’m not bored “ I just don’t like that I’m being such a burden.’
She had gone back to reading the paper. ‘Stop thinking like that Harry. Let’s just both focus on who we’re here for.’ She continued then more quietly, ‘Though I should be back home soon “ Mum and Dad sent me a letter, the old-fashioned, Muggle way. They send the letters to Mr. Weasley at the Ministry and he brings them home. I think they expect me to come back soon. I just hope we don’t have another row.’
She looked nervous and Harry didn’t feel like arguing with her nor could he think of anything consoling to say, but leaned back dejectedly against the sofa. They never talked about it again, nor brought it up in front of Ron or Ginny.
After Harry’s third week at the Burrow had elapsed, George’s pleasantness had deteriorated and his back-handed comments could be heard on a daily basis, mostly with his exchanges with Ginny and Harry. Harry had taken it good-naturedly, but was offended on Ginny’s behalf. Ginny gave her mother pointed looks whenever she was around, but George was untouchable in Molly’s eyes.
Mrs. Weasley had found various chores for the group to do. She made a point to not allow them to use magic, as Ginny was still not of age and should not be using magic. It wouldn’t be fair to let the others use magic and not her. Ron had made repeated protests about the chores being done more quickly with magic, but his logic fell on deaf ears.
Hermione had worked hard trying to create a combination spell or charm of protection, but had only determined that it would have to be linked to an object and be strong, magically speaking. During one of their many days of chores in the garden, Hermione situated herself closer to Harry.
She whispered, in hopes of not being heard by Mrs. Weasley, who was at the time instructing Ron how to properly pull the weeds out of the ground, ‘Harry, I think I’ve come up with something that might work.’
He turned towards her quickly, closing the distance between them and situating himself on the ground near her, so as to look like he was busy with a particularly tough weed. He said quietly, ‘I knew you’d come through!’
She continued working. ‘Don’t get too excited, like I said before, we need something really ‘magically’ strong “ finding something like that won’t be easy, or cheap. But with a few combination charms, anything could be used as a protective shield. Though, with dark magic in mind, I don’t know the extent of the protection.’
He looked away from her distractedly. ‘How do we know if something is ‘magically strong?”
She bent down, reaching for a nearby weed. ‘That could prove hard. I mean, sometimes you can feel something is magically strong. Well, like the Time-Turner, I mean, it wasn’t just a necklace, it had a feeling to it. I don’t think I’m explaining this well…’
Harry pulled a weed out and fell over. Ginny was sitting on the other side of the garden and Harry could see her laughing at him before her mother descended on her for not paying more attention to her work. Harry said quietly, ‘I think that makes sense, I mean, we’ve all been around things like that at Hogwarts.’
She seemed to be thinking about it and Harry continued more quietly, ‘What if I said I knew about something like that, what kind of charm would we use? And how difficult would it be?’
Hermione gave Harry a curious side-long glance. ‘I imagine we’d have to do a bit more research. Depending on the object, it could require a different sort of charm on it. What is it you have?’
Harry knew he couldn’t side-step an inquisitive Hermione. ‘I found something, and it just sort of drew me towards it, you know?’
Hermione looked worried. ‘Harry, things like that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Do you have it?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, in my bag upstairs.’
She didn’t seem appeased. ‘You’ve had it all this time? Has it affected you in any way?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think so. I mean, it just made me feel warm, sort of.’
She looked at him sceptically. ‘Well, I’m sure we should all have a good look at it before “’
He cut her off, ‘No, I bought it for…’ He looked across the garden and could see Ginny fighting with a particularly difficult gnome.
He was about to get up and help her when Hermione said rather loudly, ‘Oh.’ Then more quietly, ‘In that case I guess I’ll be looking at it.’
He sighed and sat back down, watching Ginny give the gnome a solid kick before returning to her work. ‘Would you? You know I’m not that great with research.’
Hermione shook her head. ‘If you’re going to work for the Ministry, you might want to brush up on those skills.’
They stared at each other for a moment before Hermione looked away. He said quietly, ‘I don’t think I can go back to Hogwarts.’
She replied, ‘I know “ I think that last year taught us a lot. We still have to sit for our NEWT’s or equivalent, though. Kingsley can’t just let us waltz in.’
Harry sighed and went back to weeding. ‘He made it sound like that when I spoke to him. For all three of us.’
Hermione shook her head. ‘I think I’d like to talk to him directly before making that assumption.’ She continued more quietly, ‘I didn’t realise you and Ginny were at the point of buying what I can only imagine is jewellery.’
Harry was certain he was turning red and looked down quickly, trying to appear like he was busy with his shoe. ‘Er…you know…’
He stuttered and stammered for a bit while Hermione roared with laughter. ‘Oh Harry! I hope Ginny knows she has her hands full!’
Harry looked up to see Ginny and Ron looking at both him and Hermione quizzically, but neither coming closer, knowing Mrs. Weasley was most likely watching the whole group. Hermione covered her mouth quickly, but her laughter could be heard from clear across the garden. Ron finally yelled out, ‘Either share it with us or stop laughing so loud!’
This only made Hermione laugh harder, tears spilling down her cheeks. She finally got a hold of herself and grabbed Harry’s arm for support. Her laughing slowed down and she gasped for breath. ‘And you make fun of Ron and I! Harry “ you shouldn’t hold onto something like that and not give it to a girl!’
Harry looked at her confused. ‘Why?’
She replied tartly, ‘Think about it “ if Ron bought me a ring or necklace, but didn’t give it to me, and I found it, what do you think I’d think?’
Harry replied matter-of-factly, ‘That he bought it for you and hadn’t given it to you yet.’
Hermione shook her head, giggling. ‘Harry! No! If you don’t give a girl a gift, she might wonder who you’re saving it for!’
Harry gave her a tired look. ‘You two exhaust me sometimes. How can you even think like that!’
Hermione sighed, getting hold of herself entirely. ‘Just think about it “ don’t ask Ginny, but just think about it. It does make sense.’
He replied, ‘Oh come on, are you saying she’d question my intentions? I know Ginny and I are on firmer ground than that!’
She shook her head. ‘Harry, you’re missing the point entirely! You don’t want to give her any reason to doubt you!’
Harry laughed. ‘Yeah, I’ll keep all my other girlfriends at bay then!’
Hermione replied, ‘Well, you might want to give it to me when we’re not all together. I don’t want Ron to get any crazy ideas either.’
Harry and Hermione spent the rest of their time outside discussing various charms and spells they’d used in the past and trying to figure out which ones might or might not work. Hermione had a wealth of knowledge and Harry was always astounded she could keep so much information in her head, for which he was also very thankful. By the end of the day Hermione had narrowed her search down to a handful of spells and charms and said she could easily work them out.
Ron and Ginny had been pulled away from the garden early which left Harry and Hermione to finish up and then head back inside. After both of them had taken warm baths, Harry brought the ring and locket to Hermione.
Hermione exclaimed, ‘Wow, Harry, you are really serious.’
She had a look of awe on her face and Harry felt pride welling up for himself and his actions towards Ginny. ‘I am “ very serious. And when I saw it at Diagon Alley, I thought it would be perfect.’
They had sat down in the sitting room, listening intently for any sign of Ron or Ginny. Hermione sat on the edge of the sofa with a pair of books open nearby. Harry sat next to her, his eyes shut and leaned back heavily against the sofa. He had forgotten how hard manual labour could be. Hermione busied herself looking at the locket before finally shutting the books and handing the locket and ring back to Harry.
She gave him a very knowing look. ‘And you have no idea what drew you to this locket?’
He opened his eyes quickly and looked at her curiously. ‘No, I just felt drawn to it “ you know, like the sword of Gryffindor. I felt like it belonged to me.’
She smirked. ‘You’re not far off “ it is something of Godric Gryffindor’s, but something you may not expect. It was a family heirloom, and its said that it holds great magical power for people that possess Gryffindor qualities.’
She continued more quietly, ‘And apparently it has quite a few romantic implications surrounding it. I read quickly, but something about there being great love between the bearer and receiver.’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, the witch at the curio shop said something similar to me “ but I didn’t think she was serious.’
She nudged Harry. ‘You should probably go put that away. I’ll try to think of the right charm or spell to enhance the power of the locket, but I think you should be the one to actually empower it, since it is your feelings for Ginny that are really fuelling all of this.’
He nodded absently and headed upstairs quickly as he heard the front door open behind him. He wasn’t ready to let anyone else know about the locket. He took one last look at the coat of arms that now seemed to be more familiar, before stowing both the ring and locket in his bag. He could hear Ron’s voice heading up the stairs and emerged from the room just as Ron had reached the landing below his room.
Ron was speaking quietly to Ginny, ‘I’m not disagreeing with you, but there really isn’t anything we can do about it.’
She sighed loudly. ‘Don’t you get tired of being helpless?’
Ron must have made some sort of gesture because Ginny continued more quickly, ‘You don’t have to always have that defeatist attitude! We could do something to change things, ever thought of that?’
Ron replied, ‘Of course, but if it does more harm then good? Why don’t you just leave it alone. He’ll come around.’
Harry wasn’t certain who ‘he’ could be, but hoped it wasn’t him. Ginny continued more quietly, ‘He has to “ but I can’t…we just need to figure something out.’
He could hear Ron’s footsteps coming up the stairs. ‘Why don’t you just let things happen and stop thinking so much about them?’
Harry suddenly realised his predicament and retreated back to Ron’s room, thinking maybe he could pretend he’d fallen asleep. He didn’t want Ron to think he’d been eavesdropping. He turned the lights off with a flick of his wand and lay face down on his bed. The door opened quickly and Ron called out, ‘Oi! You’re not allowed to sleep if the rest of us have to be awake!’
Harry tried to feign drowsiness and shook his head. ‘I’m tired! Your mum really worked us hard today!’
Ron nodded, grabbing some clean clothes. ‘Yeah, I thought she’d calm down, but with George around less, it seems she wants to get more out of us.’
He gestured towards the bathroom and headed out the door, leaving Harry to think about what he’d heard. Harry got up and headed back down the stairs, giving Hermione a questioning look. She shook her head and went back to scanning the charms books near her. Harry looked over and saw the kitchen well-lit and figured this meant someone was there that shouldn’t hear their conversation. He sat down at the other end of the sofa and waited patiently for Ginny and Ron to come downstairs.
Ginny came down first, smelling positively enchanting. Harry felt himself having a hard time not grabbing her and snogging her senseless. With the kitchen so close he knew he couldn’t do anything that wouldn’t be frowned upon. He also wasn’t hoping to encourage George into anymore cheap shots at Ginny.
She sat down next to him and he leaned over, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and nuzzled her neck with his face. She giggled and leaned over towards him. ‘I’ve missed you, too.’
She took his face in her hands and kissed him softly before letting go. She sat up straight but Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She laughed and turned his head away from her face. He laughed but didn’t say anything.
Ron joined them shortly thereafter and sat down across from Hermione. ‘You two really lucked out! Mum had us running circles almost!’
Ginny laughed. ‘It wasn’t that bad, just busy work, really. I mean, nothing we couldn’t have done more quickly!’
Ron replied, ‘Yeah, but if we did it faster she’d just find something else for us to do!’
Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen, ‘Ginny, Hermione! Come set the table for supper!’
Hermione got up quickly, Ron getting up also, giving her a quick hug before watching her go into the kitchen. Ginny had to wrench herself out of Harry’s grasp, but gave him a sweet smile before following Hermione.
Ron and Harry compared stories for the day’s activities, with Ron alluding to hoping they’d have some more time to do less over the next few days. Harry didn’t think that was likely, but he did wonder if they’d ever have any time to themselves.
Ron said in a hushed voice, ‘So, were you able to convince Hermione to come to the Ministry next year?’
Harry looked at him. ‘She sounds firm about going back. I think I’ve had my fill.’
Ron laughed. ‘No, I’m with you! I don’t really want to go back either! But Hermione isn’t sure about Kingsley’s offer. Neither am I, but I’m thinking about helping George out. Percy can’t be around forever, right?’
Ron sounded worried about Percy’s meddling, but Harry just smiled. ‘I just don’t know what more we’d learn sitting in classes? I mean, yeah, we probably will have to take our NEWT’s, but after the last year, I just don’t feel like I’m in the school ‘mode,’ you know?’
Ron nodded. ‘We just have to convince Hermione not to go back “ though honestly, I can’t imagine her not wanting to study!’
Harry laughed. ‘All we have to do is show her the wealth of knowledge at the Ministry that she’ll have access to and she’ll probably jump at the chance to be there!’
Hermione poked her head into the sitting room. ‘Supper’s almost ready; you both better get in here.’
She sounded nervous. Ron and Harry exchanged confused looks, but as they walked in they could see why. George was sitting on the counter with a devilish smirk on his face. He looked pointedly at Harry. ‘Ah, and the guest of honour.’
Ginny walked around the table towards Harry, but Harry nudged Ron between them and said, ‘Hello George.’
Ron blocked Ginny’s progress by pulling a chair out for her to sit in. She gave both Ron and Harry an exasperated look before sitting down heavily watching the exchange nervously.
Mrs. Weasley broke in, ‘Let’s all sit down “ your father should be home soon, and then we can have a proper meal!’
Ron and Harry exchanged places so Harry could sit down next to Ginny and Ron could sit next to Hermione. Hermione moved across the table, forcing Ron to follow her. George sat just opposite Harry and Ginny and never took his eyes off of Harry. Harry didn’t flinch, but looked right back at him, unabashed.
Ginny reached over and put her hand over Harry’s, breaking his concentration. She gave him a nervous, warning look and he smiled, trying to reassure her. The meal was spent in relative silence, Harry didn’t want to say or do anything that might encourage George’s erratic behaviour. He also wanted to spare Ginny needless worrying. That did not work out as planned, as Ginny hardly touched her food until Harry nudged her several times.
Mr. Weasley had arrived as Hermione and Ginny set the table and told them all about the latest happenings at the Ministry of Magic. He also told Ron, Hermione and Harry that Kingsley needed to speak with each of them in turns. George openly scoffed at this, but no one paid any mind to his outburst.
Mrs. Weasley commented that they should all get that done as soon as possible. All of them exchanged restrained, excited looks, but Ginny did not share their enthusiasm. Her mother hadn’t said whether Ginny would be joining them or not. Harry couldn’t imagine her not going with them, but knew if he had to, he’d let Ron and Hermione go without him and he’d take Ginny another day.
Harry and Ron helped clean the table and George feigned to help, but did his best to get in Harry’s way. This forced Harry to resort to using magic to move dishes and plates while steering clear of George. George gave Harry one solid shove before bidding everyone good night and leaving for London.
There was a collective sigh of relief. Neither Ron nor Ginny said anything as Mrs. Weasley gushed over George’s visit. Mr. Weasley was not as docile.
He said quietly, though everyone could hear him, ‘Molly “ you can’t honestly tell me you didn’t see any of that?’
She waved him off. ‘He’s just having a bit of fun, I’m sure no one took offence.’
Ginny muttered under her breath, ‘I know I did.’
Thankfully Mrs. Weasley did not hear her. She continued, ‘Its so nice to see him and he appears to be doing better now that he’s at the shop more.’
Mr. Weasley let out a frustrated sigh. ‘Molly, you agreed we’d talk about this again and here we are again. I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with you. He’s only fallen back into his dismissive, cruel attitude. The same one he exhibited right after Fred’s death.’
Saying Fred’s name seemed to catch Mrs. Weasley off-guard. ‘He just misses Fred, that’s all.’
Mr. Weasley said, ‘Molly, I think you need to take George on a brief holiday, maybe see someone that can help him deal with what he’s feeling.’
She shook her head but he continued more firmly, ‘I’m quite through discussing this. We are one catastrophe away from putting George in Azkaban!’
Everyone was watching the exchange closely, but at the mention of Azkaban, Ron dropped the utensils he was carrying and the room turned towards him. Mrs. Weasley looked dejected. ‘He does deserve a break from working so hard.’
Mr. Weasley sighed. ‘Good, think of someplace nice to take him and you can both help each other.’ He turned to the others. ‘You four should all come to the Ministry tomorrow or the day after. Get that talk with Kingsley out of the way and then you can know what your plans will be this fall.’
Ginny looked at her father questioningly. ‘I don’t think I need to go, Dad. He’s not going to have anything to tell me!’
Mr. Weasley smiled. ‘No, dear, you need to get out of the house “ all of you do. You’ve been cooped up here too long. Just enjoy yourselves; the chores will be here when you get back.’
Ginny looked nervously at Harry but he just smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders. ‘We deserve a bit of a break, you included.’
Mrs. Weasley seemed pleased with this new arrangement and bustled out of the room to pack, though she didn’t know where she was packing for. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat down at the table after Mr. Weasley left.
Ron smiled. ‘Finally! A break “ something to do besides cleaning up! Really, how can this house need so much work “ I feel like we’ve cleaned it 10 times over!’
Hermione laughed. ‘There was a point where I was convinced your mother was creating messes when we weren’t looking!’
They all laughed and Ginny said quietly, ‘Sounds like all of you have a lot of choices in front of you.’
‘You too “ after the war, everyone isn’t expected to do what is normal,’ Harry replied.
She shook her head. ‘I think I really need another year at Hogwarts. No matter what you lot decide, I think I’ll be back next fall.’ She reached across the table and squeezed Harry’s hand. ‘I don’t expect you to come back to school with me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have you there, but I don’t know if you really want to be there.’
Harry sighed, relieved. ‘Thanks. I mean, I never thought you’d tell me I had to go “ but I don’t want to disappoint you either.’
She smiled softly and Ron coughed loudly. ‘I really don’t want to hear this “ I mean really.’
But Hermione just beamed. ‘Aw, Ron, they have been apart for so long “ you should just be happy they’re happy!’
Ron laughed. ‘Hey, I’m happy “ but one wrong step Potter!’ He waved his fist jovially and they all laughed.
Harry smiled. ‘I know, I know “ but I told you, I’m not messing around!’
Ginny laughed, ‘He knows! I don’t know why you’re always giving Harry such a hard time; he’s your best mate!’
Ron laughed. ‘I think I’m your older brother first! And since none of our brothers are here now, its up to me to keep Harry in line!’
Ginny’s patience was clearly wearing thin, she gave Ron a cold stare. ‘If they were here, something tells me you’d still be at it.’
Harry chimed in, hoping to break Ginny’s glare, ‘Its okay “ I mean, it isn’t, but I can take it. Besides, I can always give him a hard time on Hermione’s behalf.’
Hermione blushed. ‘Harry! I don’t think we need that.’
Harry laughed. ‘Its only fair!’
Ginny smiled. ‘That would be interesting to see.’
Ron sighed. ‘Fine, I don’t want any trouble, or interference. But remember, I’m keeping an eye on you!’
Harry laughed and Ginny rolled her eyes. Hermione said, ‘Either way I think we should plan what time we want to leave tomorrow.’
Ron and Harry exchanged amused glances, if not for Hermione, there would never be any well laid plans. And Hermione continued, ‘If we leave here by eight tomorrow morning that should give us more than enough “’
Ron put his hands up stopping her. ‘Woman, are you mad? That early? We’re supposed to be taking it easy “ not driving ourselves harder!’
Hermione looked to Harry for the tie-breaking vote, but he turned to Ginny and smiled. Ginny laughed. ‘Don’t look at me “ I don’t want or need to get involved. Just tell me when I need to be ready.’
Harry laughed. ‘Fine “ but don’t say no one asked you! Look Ron, Hermione has a point. I mean, the sooner we go the sooner we can enjoy ourselves, right?’
Ron grumbled something as Hermione leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Oh come on “ getting up early will be worth it!’
Hermione smiled coquettishly. ‘I wonder what he’ll have to say.’ She pondered for a second then looked at Harry. ‘What did he tell you?’
Harry sighed. ‘He said even though we hadn’t taken our NEWT’s, we could still come and work for the Ministry. I told him I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Peace and quiet have been awfully nice.’
He glanced over at Ginny, who smiled reassuringly and added, ‘It has been nice,’
Harry frowned; Ginny seemed despondent about the whole trip. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be left behind again. But in this case it was truly her choice; Fred and George left during their final years as well and were successful. Hermione had started to go on about the best route to the Ministry and then towards Diagon Alley and Harry felt himself tuning her out.
Harry Potter and the Next Great Battle by pokecharm
Chapter Notes: thank you to those of you that are still reading and commenting - it is much appreciated :)