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Chocolate Frog by L A Moody

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Disclaimer: With humble gratitude to J. K. Rowling for allowing me to build castles in her sandbox once more.




Thirty - Six
Harry: Two, Not Seven




His lungs were no longer accustomed to the briskness of the country air. Too many months of trudging through the London fog had taken care of that. The tang of diesel had become just as much a balm to his nostrils as the soft scent of honeysuckle outside his dormitory window had been in his youth.

–Don't just stand there in a daze, mate,” Ron hissed. The nervous squeal was unmistakable.

–Sorry,” Harry mumbled. –Just feeling a little out of my comfort zone.”

–Bollocks! I'm the one who's out on a limb here. What was I thinking? What if she says 'no'?”

–She won't. Hermione loves you. She has since we were in second year.”

–Right. When I was too thick-headed to notice.” Ron nodded mechanically at the words he’d repeated to himself a thousand times that morning alone. –What if she's finally decided to move on?”

–Then she won't be waiting for us,” Harry replied pragmatically. –How many times does this make, Ron? How many times have you gotten cold feet?”

Ron screwed up his face and thought back carefully. –A half-dozen, at least. Lucky seven, heh?”

–That's why I'm here. To back you up if you lose your nerve.”

–Right.” Ron bobbed his head like a puppet on a string, a clear indication that panic was already setting in. –If I try to turn tail, you'll turn me about.”

–With a Stinging Hex to bring you back to your senses.”

This seemed to satisfy Ron as the roofline of Ottery St. Catchpole beckoned through a break in the trees. The sunlight on the emerald foliage had an intensity sadly lacking among the prosaic grays of Harry's familiar cityscape. How could he have mistaken the anonymous roar of whizzing motorbikes for vibrancy? Harry considered to himself. Here in the drab countryside, as it was often described, the spring air tingled with life and possibilities.

–Bloody Hell!” Ron stopped in his tracks. –I forgot the effing ring!”

Harry chuckled as his best mate blindly patted his pockets with an anguished look on his face. It was comical, really. Or would have been if a marriage proposal wasn't deadly serious business.

–Deep breaths,” Harry advised as he removed the small box from his own jacket. –I have it right here. Part of my best man duties.”

Ron heaved a great sigh of relief as a sloppy grin broke over his features. –Where would I be without you, mate?”

–Ringless. And consequently, speechless as well. Remember all those other times?”

–Remind me again why the ring is so important? That's a Muggle custom, you know.”

With the patience one accords small children, Harry intoned lowly, –It completes the engagement transaction. If you stumble over the words, all you have to do is open the little box and Hermione will understand completely.”

–Should we spell the diamond somehow... ”

–What if someone else is looking on?” Harry countered before Ron managed to totally muck things up. –Any love spell will attach itself to the first respondent. Surely, I don't need to remind you of that?”

Ron's sheepish look indicated that he recalled the incident with the chocolate cauldrons only too well. –Right. And Hermione's Muggle-born. She won't have forgotten this custom, will she?”

–Absolutely not,” Harry guaranteed. –What time did you say we'd meet up with her?”

–Eleven.” Ron's fringe swung like a red curtain as he searched out a clock tower on the outskirts of town.

–Plenty of time,” Harry soothed as he held out his wristwatch showing a quarter ‘til.

–Hermione gets all put out if I'm late.”

–We can Apparate from here if you like, but the pub's just on the other side of the main square.”

–I'll splinch myself for certain!” Ron moaned.

–Then pick up your trainers. It's only a five minute hike, at most.”

–Now you sound just like Mum.”

–If that's what it takes. Should I nip into one of these shops and find a flowered pinny to tie around my waist?” Harry teased.

–Aren't you afraid they'll think you a cross-dresser?” Ron shot back, noticeably relaxing.

–It's not that kind of a pub.” Harry pulled a stricken face as he twisted his neck around wildly. –It isn't, is it?”

Ron threw back his head and laughed uproariously. –You've spent too much time in the city!”

Not always by choice, Harry's traitorous mind interjected, but he left the words unsaid. Today was all about Ron, and hopefully, Hermione. He was more than willing to take a back seat. He’d vowed to leave his own problems behind in his lonely flat -- for the time being at least.

–Will it be crowded?” Harry tendered as they drew near the half-timbered building.

The Floppy Otter, the signage read, reminding them that this was essentially a Muggle village and they would need to watch themselves.

–Hard to say,” Ron considered. –There's a lot of little alcoves so you never feel overwhelmed.”

The heavy door creaked on its hinges but the low buzz of conversation continued unabated. Harry rubbed his glasses on his sleeve as his eyes accustomed themselves to the dim interior. Before he’d fully slammed them back onto his face, Ron was tugging him anxiously towards a booth just beyond a wide stucco column.

Hermione looked up from her mug, her hair backlit into a chestnut halo. She flashed a radiant smile as she indicated the bench across from her. –So nice you could make it too, Harry. We don't see enough of you these days.”

Too late, Harry noticed that she was not alone. As he drew nearer, the back of her companion's head shone a bright copper.

Noticing his reluctance, Ron urged in his ear, –What's the big deal, right? Lots of girls have ginger hair, mate.”

–Perhaps in your family,” Harry grumbled under his breath. His own experience had been entirely different. Since leaving school, he’d dated exactly two women with red hair. The latest, not two months ago, had been the cause of one of the most embarrassing moments in his life.

And the other one was sitting across from Hermione.

Damn my blasted luck! his mind screamed at Ron's complacent back. After I confided in that berk not last week. But no, Ron had assured him that Ginny was training with the Holyhead Harpies in Wales. Hardly ever got away to visit her family. Was he really that clueless? Or had it all been blatant lies?

It was impossible to tell with Ron, Harry decided. So donning a brave face, he pulled up an empty chair from the next table instead of squirming into the bench next to Ginny. Merlin knows what his subconscious would make of that!

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile and provided, –Ran into Ginny on the hill overlooking the village. Right next to my favorite Apparition spot.”

–Just like old times, heh?” Ron gushed guilelessly. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Ginny fidget uncomfortably.

–If you'd made other plans, Hermione, I would've understood,” she protested.

–Don't be silly,” Hermione insisted. –Ron's right. We're all friends here, aren't we?” Harry found himself nodding mutely at the pointed look she leveled all around. –We don't see enough of Ginny, either.”

–Although we read about her in the Prophet on a regular basis!” Ron quipped, unnerving Harry who’d been thinking the exact same thing.

Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically. –And I don't have to remind you not to believe everything you read. Those blighters have to sell papers somehow.”

–Harry can attest to that,” Hermione chimed in a little too enthusiastically.

–Seems I'm the new pet goldfish,” Ginny remarked sardonically.

–A parakeet with brightly colored feathers,” Harry supplied without thinking. He shrank as all eyes swiveled in his direction. –Seeing as how you fly on a regular basis,” he amended lowly.

–Fishbowl, gilded cage, it's all the same,” Ginny echoed.

–Why don't I get us something to drink?” Harry suggested, practically jumping to his feet. –Butterbeers? Or something a little stronger?” His jangled nerves could use a belt; that was certain.

–It's a Muggle establishment,” Hermione breathed. –Ginger beer and shandies would be more appropriate.”

–Bloody Mary for me,” Ginny piped up. –If it's not too much trouble.”

Harry nodded as he woodenly walked up to the bar. He ordered a second Bloody Mary for himself and downed half of it before it registered that he detested the taste of tomato juice. Whiskey tumbler firmly in hand, he delivered the last of the drinks to the table.

Hermione eyed the deep amber in his glass with a suspicious squint, but didn't comment. She gamely took a sip of her lemony concoction and declared it acceptable.

–Shall we toast?” Ginny proposed.

–Not yet,” Ron cautioned with a nervous wave of his hand.

–Fine,” Hermione allowed. –Tell me why you were so anxious to meet here today then.”

Ron gulped as if he'd just swallowed the Quaffle. –You like otters,” he issued lamely then looked to Harry for assistance.

Hermione laughed easily. –I doubt they allow pets in here, Ronald. Is it in a cage outside?”

–It's more symbolic,” Harry explained. –Your Patronus, the village, the name of the pub itself.”

–A regular trifecta,” Ron affirmed after a healthy swallow of gin and tonic.

–Confluence,” Hermione corrected. –A fateful reckoning.”

–You could say that,” Harry hinted as Ron looked more and more like a drowning man.

Checking that he was unobserved, Harry wordlessly Levitated the small box into Ron's pocket where it would nudge him to action. The half-hidden smirk on Ginny's face betrayed that she had witnessed everything.

–For a long time now...” Ron began, then looked wildly about for someone to hold up some cue cards. –We've been through so much together, see...”

Coming to his assistance, Hermione suggested, –Harry, too.”

–Yeah...well, no. Not in this instance,” Ron stammered. –This is just about us...you and me, that is...You see, I've been thinking...and it seemed like a good idea... if you agreed, that is...”

A half-mumbled incantation and Harry caused the box to poke Ron in the thigh.

Ron's eyes widened in surprise; then with a shaky grin he opened the black velvet lid and slid the box before Hermione. Her gasp of surprise drew looks from all around.

–Surely, you don't mean...” Then with a flash of her dark eyes, she fretted, –You're not just asking my opinion about your choice before you present this to someone else, are you? Because if you --”

Thankfully, the last of her words were drowned out by the onlookers’ chants of: –Do it right, man! On your knees!”

Only too aware of the attention they had aroused, Harry hastily scooted his chair out of the way.

Never taking his eyes from Hermione's flushed face, Ron dropped down on one knee and managed, –Will you do me the honor...?”

He never got any further as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Clearly overcome, Hermione could only nod her head emphatically.

–Speak up, lass,” the bartender cried. –Don't want any misunderstandings about this sort of thing.”

Coming to her senses, Hermione pronounced, –Yes, Ronald Weasley, I do believe I will.”

Before the last syllable had fallen from her lips, Ron caught her up in a monstrous embrace that almost lifted her off the floor. When they broke apart minutes later, red-faced and breathless, the crowd gave them another round of applause.

In view of the level of pandemonium, Harry was glad he'd had the presence of mind to ring the proprietor ahead and make preparations. As the cork flew towards the rafters, he couldn't help recalling Ron's last and only attempt to use the 'felly-tone'. Laughingly, Harry leapt out of the way as the bartender sloshed the foaming champagne as much over the floor and table as into their narrow goblets.

Taking the lead, Harry stood on a chair so he could be seen above everyone's heads. –To Ron and Hermione,” he toasted as he raised the glass high.

–Ron and Hermione,” the pub patrons returned as glasses of all configurations were held aloft.

Sweeping his eyes over the upturned faces, Harry took the first sip and then smiled down at the happy couple. –You were fabulous, mate,” he whispered as he sat down properly.

Hands darted from all sides to pat Hermione on the back or pump Ron's hand in congratulations.

After a few overwhelming minutes, the bartender took pity on them and interceded, –All right, folks. Give 'em some breathing room. You don't want ‘em to faint before they even tell their families.”

The minute things calmed down, Hermione insisted, –Oh, Ron, he's sooo right. We have to go tell my parents!”

–Now?” Ron implored as he barely managed to gulp down his champagne before she tugged on his hand.

–Of course. We'll have to tell your folks as well. Your Dad's not at work on a Saturday, is he?” Breathlessly, she urged him towards the door as she waved a giddy goodbye to everyone in general.

–Mum will no doubt want to Floo Charlie and Bill,” Ginny commented. –So no, I'd just as soon stay here.”

–Fine by me,” Harry added as he slid into the bench opposite. –I was just about to suggest we order some lunch before I was bowled over.”

–Hermione's going to make herself dizzy if she doesn't stop to breathe every six or seven sentences.”

–Ron will be there to catch her,” Harry supplied.

–He'd better be!” Ginny insisted. –Or she might change her mind!”

Somehow, Harry doubted that, but he laughed along with Ginny all the same.







–So my gormless brother actually pulled it off, didn’t he?” Ginny posed as she chased the last of the shepherd's pie around her plate with a fork.

Harry was still congratulating himself on overcoming his aversion to being singled out in public. Likely, it had been the presence of Muggles who took him for nothing but an ordinary bloke, his fabled scar a mere souvenir of a playground injury. Not wishing to burden Ginny with his phobias, he simply replied, –The visual exhibit helped.”

–No doubt a suggestion from you.”

–Hermione understood. That's all that matters. Ron's heart is in the right place -- even if he periodically misplaces his ability for coherent speech.”

That laughter like a glistening waterfall. Harry dropped his eyes to the dregs of his stewed chicken as he felt his heart clench.

–At least he managed to find his way without the Deluminator this time,” Ginny chided playfully.

Harry settled the bill with the pound notes he'd procured for the occasion. He waited until they were outside, then joked, –You could've helped him out, you know. You've more experience with engagements than the three of us combined.”

–If you're choosing sides, need I remind you that there are three of you versus one of me.”

–And you've been engaged three times. Another case of synchronicity.”

She gave him an icy glare. –Seems to me the winner is the one whose engagement actually ends in marriage. At least that's how I'd score the game.”

–So all you need is one to win?”

–By all accounts, you should be the leader. I've never proposed to anyone.”

–Neither have I.”

–But as a man, you'd be more likely to.”

–That's just plain sexism -- and you know it!”

–So you've never asked anyone to marry you?” she tendered somewhat shyly as she gestured to a worn track that wove among a meadow overgrown with wildflowers.

–No.”

–Certainly not for lack of candidates.”

What was that supposed to mean? –You yourself warned us not to believe everything we read in the Daily Prophet. That goes double for me.”

–What about the photographs then? Are they magically cobbled together?”

–Wouldn't put it past them!”

–That wasn't the issue. I fully well know they'll print just about anything to sell papers. The truth is only a secondary consideration.”

–Secondary? You give them way too much credit, Gin. The truth is totally superfluous to their way of thinking.”

–No promising candidates then?”

Unsure where she was heading, he allowed, –Not really. It's incredibly banal, but I still believe in falling in love.”

–And you don't think I do?”

–You tell me. Three fiancés in less than two years...”

–You keep a bloody scorecard? It's none of your damn business, Harry Potter. You've no right to judge me!”

–I don't. I just wish I knew how you did it. Happiness is elusive.”

–Then you can't blame me for trying to track it down!”

–Have you succeeded?”

He didn’t expect her to react as passionately as she did. –Do you see a ring on my hand?”

He nearly stumbled on the uneven path as she thrust both of them before him. Only the pinky ring with the tiny garnet her parents had bought her when she'd been sorted into Gryffindor so many years ago. He recalled those hands so well...

Harry jerked his mind away from those memories. With the double whiskey he'd had on top of the vodka and champagne, the last thing he needed was to get maudlin. With a wry chuckle that sounded thin even to his own ears, he noted, –I read that the rock from your last beau caught the sun so much it was a hazard on the Quidditch pitch.”

–Rubbish! Since when does anyone wear jewelry for Quidditch? Not even for practice. That's just asking for things to be smashed to pieces. Besides, as you no doubt pointed out to my brother, engagement rings aren't the custom among wizards.”

Feeling rakish all of a sudden, Harry dared, –Then what is? Do you swear an Unforgivable Vow to seal the deal?”

–If we did, I'd likely be dead by now.”

–Not your fiancés?”

Ginny shook her hair vehemently. –I was the one to call it off. All three times, if you must know. And as long as we're setting the record straight, it was a diamond bracelet that supposedly blinded everyone in sight.” Focusing on the distant wall of trees, she added, –I returned it. Didn't want to be labeled as a gold-digger.”

–I would never think that of you,” Harry insisted. –But you're right: none of this is any of my business. I don't know why I didn't restrict the conversation to the weather. I should probably just return to London; Ron won't --”

–Oh yes, he will!” she cut across. –Everyone will. Mum's having a celebratory dinner tonight. Why do you think she kicked me out of the kitchen first thing?”

Momentarily stunned, Harry stammered, –She knew?”

–Ron confided in her weeks ago. She was very supportive of your involvement. Suggested it as the extension of your best man duties, as a matter of fact.”

–Then you knew, too.”

–Only at the last minute,” she dismissed airily. –Training schedule had a bit of a reshuffle. New Seeker doesn't arrive until Monday so we got an unexpected day off.”

–You're not playing Seeker anymore?”

She concentrated on navigating between the overgrown tree roots at her feet. –Didn't work out. I'm back to being a Chaser.”

–Ron could've warned me you'd be here,” Harry grumbled more to himself than anyone else.

–I didn't expect you to be as surprised as you were.”

–Flummoxed,” he corrected. –We haven't really seen each other in ages.”

She took a moment to gather her thoughts as she sat down on a flat rock. –You didn't send this then?” Timidly, she pulled out a dog-eared chocolate frog card from her pocket.

The gilded frame above Dumbledore’s name was empty, Harry noted, but it was very similar to the one he'd left behind on his dresser mirror. Except for the burned out patch in the center and the words: Empty and hollow like my life. The spidery hand was not his.

–Sorry. It's not my writing.”

–That I knew, but it was delivered by a snowy owl. With a note asking to wait by this very rock at half past ten.”

He suddenly recognized the spot. The prime Apparition point was in a copse of trees to his left. They'd used it since they were old enough to Apparate into the village outskirts on their own.

–Is that how you 'accidentally' bumped into Hermione? By design?”

–Apparently so. But if not you, who?”

–No idea. Ron was too jittery to risk Apparating. He arranged for a Portkey to the lane on the other side of the village. Wanted to make his approach unnoticed.” Curiosity piqued, he prompted, –Did you keep the note by any chance?”

–It dissolved into ashes not long after I'd read it. But the writing was the same.”

–A rudimentary spell; Hermione would know it.”

–But who would go to so much trouble to make me think it was you? The owl really did look like Hedwig.”

Harry nodded wordlessly, recalling the senseless death of his owl at the hands of the Death Eaters. It had been a birthday gift from Hagrid; the first gift he'd ever received from his first-ever friend. –I could never replace Hedwig,” he confided through a tight throat.

–People hire post owls all the time,” Ginny speculated.

–I always insist on an ordinary brown. But clearly someone wanted to give the appearance that it had come from me. The question is: who knew me well enough to do that?”

–Anyone who went to school with us was familiar with Hedwig.”

–I was referring to the words themselves.”

She gave him a surprisingly compassionate look. –Is that the sort of thing you would say?”

–Not aloud,” he clarified.

–But you'd think it? To yourself, that is?”

–Sometimes.”

–Hardly the image one gets from your publicity machine.”

–Publicity machine? Are you barking? When have I ever given a flip what the world thinks of me? I'm tired of being the crown prince in a society where royalty supposedly doesn’t exist!” Or so he’d learned when he'd been intent on discovering the identity of the Half-Blood Prince years before.

–You have a publicist on your payroll,” she remarked with authority.

–A personal assistant,” he corrected. –One whom I hired on the advice of your brother, Percy. Not a bad recommendation when you consider how much mail I still get from admirers and detractors alike. I'd just as soon not have to deal with any of it.”

–How do your friends keep in touch then?” she countered. –I'd hate to think my words were being censured by some flunky who likely fancies you for herself!”

Harry gave a derisive snort. –She's as old as Mrs. Figg and fond of canaries instead of cats. And she always recognizes the names of my friends. Those letters are left unopened. Something that you'd know if you'd ever bothered to write. Would it have killed you to acknowledge any of my letters?”

–This is not the time to get into that,” she answered flatly as she took to the trail once more.

Harry had to struggle to keep up but somehow managed to grab her by the arm, –When then? Should I schedule you for a personal appearance via the team manager?”

She rounded on him like an enraged chimera. –That's rich coming from someone who shows up at every Ministry function with a different girl on his arm!”

–An indication that I don't very much care to see any of them for a second time.”

–Mrs. Canary just sends them on their merry way the next morning, does she?”

–THAT'S UNFAIR!” As the nearby birds took to the sky in protest, he growled lowly, –And none of your ruddy business. I don't profess to be a saint -- and neither do you!”

–Not much of an answer, is it?”

–How about this then: I loathe all those Ministry functions. I'd skip the lot of them if I could.”

–So why don't you?”

–Kingsley asks it as a favor and I haven't the words to refuse. Even though I feel like the proverbial mascot most of the time.”

She took a moment to consider his predicament. –Why not show up alone then?”

–And start a virtual stampede?”

–Don't make it sound like you'd be crushed in the process,” she decried. –Not even Gilderoy Lockhart in his prime was that vain!”

–I'd rather go through the empty ritual than have Witch Weekly speculate on how I've become mysterious and reclusive. That's a calling card for every deranged misfit in the wizarding world.”

–So you'd rather the world think you an irredeemable playboy.”

–I told you before: the world can bugger off! I keep the vultures at bay as best I can.”

–Doesn't sound like a very happy existence.”

–It isn't always. But whose life is perfect when you get down to it? I still have Teddy and friends like Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna to keep me on an even keel. Mrs. Figg and even Minerva McGonagall send owls when they can. My cousin, Dudley, prefers Muggle post. Do you realize he's been involved with Hestia Jones' niece for a number of years now? It wouldn't surprise me to get a wedding invitation any day now.” He dreaded the prospect of all the memories that returning to Greece would likely dredge up, but it was unavoidable. He wouldn't disappoint Dudley by sending his regrets.

–Is your cousin still living the simple life on that Greek island?” A slight dip at the corner of Ginny's lips hinted that she was uncomfortable with those recollections as well.

–As far as I know.”

–The look on your aunt's and uncle's faces when you show up should be priceless,” she noted dryly.

If only he had the courage to ask her to be his date, he considered inwardly. But he couldn't expect to be that lucky twice in his life.

They walked companionably side by side for a few minutes before Harry broke the silence. –Enough about me. I'm as boring as plain toast and rubbish with women. Nothing's changed on that front. What about you? How do you deal with all your adoring fans?”

–Signing autographed pictures is a yawn, too.”

–Do it with a magic quill.”

–I do. But I refuse to add the lipstick mark no matter how much Gwenog insists. I don't need to encourage any more suitors.”

–So your datebook is full?”

–Quidditch is big business, Harry. Don't think for one minute that it isn't. Image is everything and can be just as onerous a duty as you describe. Unlike you, however, these obligations are written into my contract.”

–So why'd you really relinquish your position as Seeker? It can't have been because you weren't any good. You wowed them from the start. Just like you did for the Gryffindor team.”

She stared off into the distance for a long time before she answered, –Because of Gryffindor. Too many memories got stirred up that didn't need to be. My performance during the next matches suffered as a result.”

–But the crowd --”

–Is a fickle bitch!” she cried. –They would've turned their backs on me if they'd seen me at practice.”

Harry gave her a reassuring smile even though he was uncertain what she meant. Vividly, he recalled how he'd managed to wrangle a ticket to the Harpies' match and then had to switch duties with a number of colleagues in order to have the afternoon free. Ginny had been truly amazing in the air, catching the Snitch to come from behind as the fans went wild. It was everything Harry imagined she had done to bring Gryffindor to victory when he'd been locked up in detention with Snape. It had been so satisfying to see the action firsthand instead of just hearing about it afterwards.

It was not without its bittersweet moments, though, as he'd watched from afar as the crowd erupted onto the pitch to congratulate Ginny in person. Only an effort of will had stopped him from envisioning the post-match celebration with her ecstatic teammates. The memory of their first kiss in the Common Room was so vibrant that he'd simply bowed his head and worked his way out of the stadium as quickly as possible.

He caught Ginny looking at him curiously and turned away in embarrassment.

In a voice barely above a whisper, she confided, –I was certain I saw you in the crowd that day, Harry. But of course it must have just been the persistence of memory. Lots of men have black hair -- and in a windy stadium, it's bound to get ruffled. I couldn't image you not coming to congratulate me afterwards...and then I could…and then it was all so mixed up that I could barely stand to be around anyone else. I almost quit the team that night...” She drifted off as her voice broke.

He allowed her a quiet moment to compose herself. The soft sunlight reminded him of those seemingly endless days in Greece when the future was a vista of opportunity. How had their love ended so abruptly? There had been a sense of permanence between them, even though he'd never voiced it aloud. It was only months later as he sloughed through the bitter winter rains in London that he finally accepted that it had been nothing but a holiday fling.

–Memories can sideswipe you out of the blue.” When she didn't say anything in return, he gathered his nerve to continue, –Not too long ago, I dated a young woman named Roxanne. The details aren't important; suffice it to say that she was more appealing than anyone else I'd met in a long time. For one thing, she had long copper waves not too much darker than yours.”

–Is that your type?” Ginny asked without rancor.

–Not necessarily, but it was unusual. Many girls color their hair, but very few are natural redheads. The Weasley family notwithstanding.”

–How can you tell?” she posed impishly. –Should I assume...”

Harry felt the warmth in his cheeks at her innuendo, but didn't let that dissuade him. –By their eyelashes. Most don't have chocolate eyes like yours.”

He found himself smiling into those very eyes as her lips curled in appreciation of his roundabout compliment.

–I'm not certain how this ties in with unwitting memories,” she urged, her eyebrows pinching together in a gesture that stirred his very soul.

–I'm getting there,” he promised. –It's rather embarrassing and I have to work up my courage. It's not something I've confessed to anyone else.”

–Not Ron?”

–Especially not Ron. He's always had a rather unrealistic view of his little sister and I wasn't about to burst his bubble. My continued good health depended on it.”

–Now you really have me curious.”

–Well, it's like you said: a person's subconscious is treacherous. And when you're least expecting it, the present gets all mixed up with the past. Here I was enjoying the company of someone else for the first time in ages and I got the ruddy names mixed up.”

Ginny giggled. –You called her by my name?”

–Not to mention that my timing was the absolute worst...”

–Surely not?” Her eyes grew wide at his meaning.

–When else does a person let down his shields so completely?” he acknowledged weakly. –I don't think I've ever been so mortified.”

–Did she forgive you?”

–I couldn't forgive myself,” he stressed. –She brushed it off politely but I wasn't surprised when things fizzled out after that. She knew who you were, it seems.”

Truth be told, it had been like a bucket of ice sloshing over his head. Here he was relaxing into his true self and his brain reminded him forcibly of what he'd lost. What he'd been so clumsy to allow to slip through his very fingers. In so many ways, it was like staring into the Mirror of Erised all over again. Only this time in addition to his parents, he was flanked by all those Order members who had been lost along the way, down to the image of Dobby in the foreground. But in his arms was the biggest prize of all -- and despite her nearness, he wasn't certain he'd ever be able to tell her.

He jerked his head up as she blindsided him with, –Mum always said we were too much alike.”

–You talked with her about us?” This rattled him to no end.

–It was more like she volunteered the information of her own accord. You know how Mum is.”

He nodded wordlessly.

–She said both of us had the Prewett temper. Said she recognized it immediately since she has it, too.”

Having seen Molly in a full rampage, Harry felt certain a charging erumpent would be the one to back down.

–On the other hand, Ron and Dad both have that easy-going Weasley demeanor.”

–Ying and yang,” Harry ventured as he caught the gist of Molly’s observation. –She thought you’d be better served with someone…different.”

–Little she knows!” Ginny harrumphed. –I’d never forgive Ron for that stunt with the Deluminator.”

–So you told me. Did you ever tell your mother?”

–What would’ve been the point? She would’ve just accused me of trying to steal Ron’s thunder. As if I were intent on robbing him of his birthright, not just get the ruddy job done!”

–She’s bound to defend all her children,” Harry put forth diplomatically.

–Besides, it’s not as if you’d bowl me over with your anger. I’m fully able to hold my own!”

–Never doubted it,” he agreed with a grin. –Did you --”

–Losing battle,” she enjoined.

–Tactical retreat,” he concurred. –Very wise.” Feeling like they were finally speaking as friends, he dared, –Why didn’t you answer any of my letters, though? I sent you at least three or four a month and it was as if Wales was on the far side of the moon.”

–No dead owls from lack of oxygen,” she supplied with a nervous titter. –I just didn’t know what to say. I was off in my world and you were in yours. Why did you stop writing?”

–Auror training moved into confidential areas so I became an honorary Unspeakable of sorts.”

She nodded solemnly. –I would’ve thought you’d lost hope.”

–That came much later,” Harry affirmed. He’d flapped his wings against the glass much longer than he was willing to admit aloud. –Molly kept me abreast of things when she helped me prepare for my Potions N.E.W.T.”

–Right. She made of point of catching me up when I was able to come for supper.” With a wry twist to her mouth, Ginny noted, –Mum’s never been one for subtlety. If she had been, she’d never have gotten through to Ron and the twins.”

It was the first time he’d heard her mention Fred, even obliquely. It was a good sign that she had finally moved on about that at least.

–At the risk of sounding like Hermione, I disagree with Molly. I don’t really think you and I are that much alike except in a very broad sense.”

–You’re not preparing to argue this before her tribunal are you?”

–Hell, no!” Harry laughed. –Throw me in front of the Knight Bus; it would be more merciful.”

–Tell me in private then.” The mischief danced in her eyes in a manner that Harry found intoxicating.

–You’re much more assertive and confident about your own abilities,” he began. –A true career woman, rather like Tonks.”

–I’ll take that as a compliment. But even Tonks reworked her priorities when she met Remus.”

–Remember how she grabbed him by the lapels in the Hospital Wing? Onlookers be damned.”

Ginny giggled. –The entire room became deathly silent.”

–You did the same to me in the Common Room after the Quidditch victory.”

She screwed her nose up in thought. –Remus shied away, you didn’t.”

–Submitting to the juggernaut seemed the better alternative. Remus had other issues.”

–Fine. Then you pushed me away after Dumbledore’s burial. Bloody, effing hero mode.”

–Only to have you drag me into your bedroom at the Burrow. Ron pushed us apart then.”

–But you drew me back after the memorial service. When you hung up your hero's robes for good.”

–And you saved me from my nighttime demons.”

–So, it’s your turn now,” Ginny insisted.

Not wishing to be so easily out-maneuvered, Harry shot back, –I wrote you while we were separated.”

With alacrity, Ginny’s wand issued flaming letters in the air before them: Dear Harry, you’re a senseless prat who doesn't know a good thing…

He reached out and stopped her arm before she could finish the sentence. –That’s not true,” he issued lowly. –I just didn’t know how to find a compromise. It takes two to work that out.”

–Perhaps there was no compromise,” she argued.

–There’s always a compromise. You just have to think outside the box as Remus used to say.”

–I remember you said as much in that story you were writing. Did you ever finish it?”

Harry quickly regrouped as she had turned the tables on him again. –No. Got about halfway through and then it stopped being therapeutic.”

–Couldn’t get a handle on the love interest, eh?”

–Actually, I worked that one out early on. The hapless hero would actually listen to what the girl was saying and then devise how he would satisfy her expectations of him.”

–Did you actually put that part down on paper? Women the world over would flock to your door.”

–Yet another reason to keep it bottled up in the back of my mind then.”

She flashed him an unreadable look before returning, –Couldn’t work out the climatic scenes to bring it down for a landing?”

–Now you sound like Hermione. I assured her that she would be the one to save the day with her book-learning and she’s still peeved that I haven’t written that part yet.”

–Why then?” Ginny pressed. –It’s your turn to answer the difficult questions.”

Why indeed? Harry chided himself as he delved for a suitable answer that wouldn’t make him look like a worthless tosser.

–Did it cease to have relevance in your life?” she pressed.

Quite the contrary, he admitted to himself. And with that he had the answer. –Did I ever tell you about the Mirror of Erised?”

–Dumbledore and his obsession with socks.”

–That manuscript became the very incarnation of the mirror for me.”

–Now you’re speaking in riddles just as much as he did.”

–If I got myself lost in it, I’d never find my way back. It’s so easy to manipulate reality in a story, see. The bumbling hero finds the key and everything conforms to his wishes. In real life, people are rather like magnets: repelling and attracting each other by turns.”

–In other words,” she emphasized carefully, –the only way to live your life was to turn your back on your idealized version of it.”

Harry nodded. –You can’t make others conform to you. That’s the lesson that Dumbledore wanted so desperately to convey to a lowly first year when he locked the mirror away.”

Ginny ran her hand along the narrow fence that bordered the trail for the next hundred yards or so. With a deep breath, she finally spoke, –Would it surprise you to learn that McGonagall unearthed that accursed mirror not long after she took over?”

–What did she do with it?”

–Treated it as the dangerous oracle that it was. Ron couldn’t wait to show me how he no longer saw himself as Head Boy holding the Quidditch Cup in one arm and the House Trophy in the other.”

–Only he can see that. You would only see your own reflection.”

–A minor detail that my brainless brother forgot to warm me about. All he could do was prattle on about how he saw himself at the Joke Shop with Hermione in his arms instead.”

–I always wondered what gave him the courage to admit to her that he no longer wanted to be an Auror,” Harry mused. Why hadn’t Ron said anything about the mirror? I helped him with his marriage proposal, for Godric’s sake! Then it hit him: it had to do with Ginny. Gingerly, he asked, –What did you see?”

–Enough to know that Dumbledore’s lesson was that you had to be true to your deepest desires.”

–How could it be? I saw my dead parents. How does anyone integrate that into their lives?”

–Very simply. You made Hogwarts your home and your friends your second family.”

And the deaths of Sirius and then Remus had left gaping holes in his heart for that very reason. Harry turned a stricken face in Ginny’s direction. –What did you see?” he implored lowly, hoping fervently that she wouldn’t throw him into the abyss without a rope.

–Myself as a first year,” she answered succinctly. The silence stretched out so long that Harry had practically despaired of her elaborating when she took a shuddering breath. –Remember that was the year the Chamber of Secrets was breached. I was such an introvert, pouring my heart into that worthless diary and being too tongue-tied to speak to you in person.”

–The diary was bewitched to enslave you, don’t forget. And as for the other, you managed to thank me for saving you quite coherently. I’d say that killing the evil in the diary released your spirit.”

–Don’t you see? I’m still that tongue-tied little girl is so many ways,” she moaned.

–Not on your life! If you run out of words, a illustrative hex will do.”

–This isn’t about the Bat-Bogey Hex!” she decried. –I was so intent to prove myself as an independent athlete while my true dreams lay elsewhere. Mum would’ve been so inordinately pleased.”

–Children at the hip?” he teased.

She hung her head in defeat. Through tight lips, she admitted, –Sooner on the horizon than I’d anticipated…But that wasn’t the worst…the worst…”

–If it’s that bad you don’t have to share it with me.”

Ginny gulped huge mouthfuls of air before continuing, –The worst was that I knew that effing mirror was telling the truth. Just like my parents found each other while still at school…” She left the rest unfinished as she wiped her sleeve roughly across her eyes.

Dare he dream she saw the same thing that he would?

Fearing the moment would dissolve before his eyes, Harry held his breath as he waited for her to elaborate. When she didn’t, he risked a gentle touch to her shoulder. –Ginny?” he whispered even though they were alone.

–Leave it!” she stressed as she swallowed a rather loud sob. –It’s unimportant.”

–Nothing that upsets you so is unimportant,” he insisted.

–It’s irrelevant, then,” she hissed lowly. –That’s why I didn’t write back. It scared me to know you had such a choke-hold on me.”

–So you essentially ran away.”

–Only I didn’t have a stinking Deluminator to help me find my way back! Happy?”

–Do you want to find your way back?” Wetting his suddenly dry lips, he stepped into thin air. –Because that’s what would make me happy.”

–It’s too late for that,” she mumbled wetly.

–Just think about it for a while then. Turn the idea over in your head a bit,” he coaxed. –Nothing says you have to decide right this minute.”

She nodded mutely, but she let him take her hand and tuck it into the crook of his arm nevertheless. Her closeness was enough of a distraction that he struggled to keep his own thoughts in check.

–What happened to the mirror?” he posed.

–McGonagall went in for a closer look herself and then stopped abruptly with her mouth hanging open. Then mumbling something about fallen colleagues, she called for a trio of house-elves to drop a cloth over the glass once more.”

–No one else had a stark moment of revelation?”

–No, but Hermione was right miffed when she didn't get a turn.”

–Why?” Harry chortled. –She's known exactly what she wanted --”

–-- since second year,” Ginny finished with a sharp laugh.

–Remember that little dance they did in the Great Hall after she'd been un-Petrified?”

–Do I ever! I've been doing that two-step to gales of laughter from the rest of the family.” She shook her head in disbelief. –Ron never got it, did he?”

–My personal favorite was your rendition of Percy's reunion with Penelope Clearwater in the Hospital Wing,” Harry admitted with a deep chuckle.

–I had a front row seat thanks to Dumbledore’s insistence that Madam Pomfrey check me over.”

–What was it that Madam Pomfrey said again?”

Drawing herself up ramrod straight, Ginny assumed an officious tone, –Mr. Weasley! I assure you Miss Clearwater has not swallowed your Head Boy badge!”

Percy might have shrugged off the matron’s starched recriminations, but not when he caught his little sister absorbing the details from the corner of the privacy screen. Harry clutched his aching side; it had been too long since he’d laughed with such abandon. He found he missed it more than he could say.

–It's the one sure thing that makes Percy turn as red as the Hogwarts Express,” she smirked wickedly. –I swear you can see the steam pouring out his ears!”

Harry mimicked a bit of her sinuous wiggle just to watch her smile again.

–You have to admit Percy had a better grasp on things than Ron,” she sniggered.

–It took Hermione planting one on him in the thick of the Last Battle for him to finally come around.”

Ginny gave a playful pout. –Sorry I missed that. Can't quite parody the gob-smacked expression without something to go on.”

–Imagine a pelican that just swallowed a Fanged Frisbee.”

She doubled over with laughter. –His eyes bulged that much?”

–I practically had to pick them up off the floor.” Two years ago it would've been inconceivable that he'd ever find himself joking about the Battle of Hogwarts, yet here he was.

Ginny froze in her tracks just as the woods fell behind.

–How did we get this far afield?” she sputtered. –We've been walking in the opposite direction from the Burrow.”

–So we'll just Apparate back. We're not totally lost, are we?”

–No, I've been here before,” she muttered self-consciously. –With Hermione.”

It was only then that Harry took a good look at their surroundings. Amid a patchwork of verdant pastures perched a small, whitewashed cottage, its overgrown garden a riot of colors. Were it not for the bed sheets flapping on the clothesline, Harry would've thought it nothing but a storybook illustration.

–Surely this isn't?” he began as his eyes searched Ginny's face.

She nodded with a faraway look in her eyes.

–I didn't realize it was so close to the Burrow.”

–It isn't,” she clarified. –We've managed to wander into the next county.”

So this was the quaint cottage that had so captivated her. –Looks like they managed to get the chimney working again,” he noted as the aroma of burning wood tickled his nose.

–Well, it's occupied now anyway,” she commented as she resolutely turned down the dusty lane leading west. –The Burrow’s this way.”

–Aren't you curious?” Harry pondered aloud.

–I've seen it before, remember? Inside and out.”

As they crested a slight rise in the road, the putter of a motorcar pulled up alongside them. The motorist rolled down the glass and offered them a lift into town. –Just going to post a letter myself,” he explained.

–Thanks, mate, but it's closer if we just cut across the fields,” Harry demurred.

–There's a sheep track that ends not far from my parents’ house,” Ginny supplied.

–Cheerio, then,” the chap offered as he accelerated.

With sudden inspiration, Harry took a few running steps to catch up, –Say, you don't happen to be from that cottage we just passed? This is Litchgate Lane, isn’t it?” His mind recalled the particulars as if it had just been yesterday.

There was a sharp squeal of brakes as the Muggle allowed them both to come abreast again. –Yes to both counts, as a matter of fact.”

–What a coincidence! Ginny here remembers touring that very place with a friend a few years back. Seems you unblocked the fireplace.”

–That we did. My wife insists on a wood fire, even if it's nigh on Easter. She's from the north and old habits die hard, I suppose.”

–Nice job with the garden,” Ginny remarked as she drew closer. –It was nothing but a mat of weeds when I saw it.”

–Janie has a regular green thumb, she does. Say, didn't I see you two peering wistfully at the place?”

Ginny colored self-consciously. –My girlfriend liked it a lot but the kitchen was just too rustic for her needs.”

–It is at that,” he agreed. –Had to add a microwave oven and a hot plate; but that’s all we've got. Of course, there's always the outdoor hearth. Brings back memories of my wife's humble beginnings in the Aryan Isles. Said if it was good enough for her mum, it was good enough for her children. I wasn't daft enough to argue with a pregnant lady, now was I?”

Feeling a need to draw the man out, Harry posed, –Son or daughter?”

–A daughter,” he answered proudly. –We named her Tessie. We're hoping for a son this time. Janie's due again in November. But I'm determined she'll have modern conveniences this time ‘round. Two's too much to look after and still keep to the simple ways.”

–Are you planning to remodel?” Ginny asked genially.

–Not on someone else's property,” he huffed. –I'm off to see the new listings at the agent's as well. The lease is up in September, see. Well, I'd best be off. Nice meeting you folks.” With a tip of his cap, he slowly drove off.

They watched the cloud of dust as it disappeared around the next bend. As the sound of his engine died away, the chirping of the birds could be heard once more.

–What a coincidence,” Ginny marveled almost as if she were totally alone.

–Serendipity, I'd say,” Harry supplied. –Tell you what, Gin: that gives you four or five months to decide.”

He watched the wonderment slowly spread across her face as he took both her hands in his.

–Didn't you say there was a small room already equipped with a writing desk?” he considered.

–Ideally suited to working on your story, although that's not an issue anymore. I suppose you could use it for your pub --” He held up a stern finger in warning and she amended, –Your personal assistant.”

–Excellent. I recall you said it had a window, too; she insists her old eyes do best with a bit of natural light.” Giving her a smirk reminiscent of the Marauders, he asked, –Now what was it you called her?”

Ginny giggled self-consciously as she confessed, –Mrs. Canary.”

–Brilliant! I've been racking my brain to come up with a nickname for Mrs. Cornwallis and everything I considered was, well, corny.”

She moaned at his abysmal pun. –Consider it a Weasley gift. One Mum would rather we didn't have. She forbade us to use any nicknames around the house.”

–So you coined them behind her back.” He recalled how much the twins had ribbed Percy when their mother wasn't looking.

–So much material,” Ginny intoned fondly. –Perfect Percy the Prefect. Humongous Blowhard in honor of his Head Boy badge. Charlie admitted he'd once taunted Bill by calling him Horny Bastard in light of his popularity with women; Mum grounded him for a month when she overheard.”

–How is Charlie these days? Still taming dragons?”

–Claims they’re much easier than women,” Ginny quipped. –Likes to remind me that the dragons themselves have a saying: the early bird makes the best fried chicken.”

Harry burst out laughing. –And what exactly is a person to make of that? Even if I ignore the fact that dragons don’t speak!”

–That opportunity and disaster are often intertwined.”

–I'll bear that in mind.”

They strolled hand in hand for a few more moments before Ginny ventured, –Just one more question: did Ron loan you the use of his Deluminator?”

–Hardly!” he chuckled unabashedly. –As addled as Ron was today, he probably needed the ruddy thing just to find his way back to the Burrow. Seriously though, I'm not like your brother. I don't need a gadget to light my way in the dark.”

–How many times did it take him to get it right with Hermione?”

–Can't say I actually kept track. Seemed rather cruel to tick off his failures. He seems to think it was six and that lucky seven would lead to success.”

–He actually believes in that superstitious tripe?” she scoffed. –It's just a bloody number! Ask Tom Riddle how the number seven worked out for him in the end?”

Harry stared at her, slack-jawed. Had Ginny actually made a joke at the expense of their most fearsome enemy? If that wasn't a sign that things were finally on the mend, he didn't know what was.

–I just want you to know, Harry James Potter, that I'm not like Hermione, either,” she cautioned sternly. –I'm not counting down the debacles until you finally get it right.”

–You won't have to,” he promised. –All I need is a second chance. Two, not seven.” Technically, it was three times if you counted their break-up at Dumbledore's funeral…

It seemed Ginny was more than willing to overlook the technicalities, though. The heat of her lips felt like an Unbreakable Vow as they sealed their covenant.








The windows of the Burrow glowed with yellow light as they Apparated together near the abandoned orchard. With a hasty glance to check they were unobserved by the silhouettes flitting through the glass, they stole one last lingering kiss.

–Say nothing,” Ginny warned as she laid her finger tenderly across Harry's lips. –Remember what we decided: tonight is about Ron and Hermione.”

–Just as long as we say something before September,” Harry whispered as he kissed the tip of her nose.

With studied casualness, they each wiped their hands on their clothing and proceeded nonchalantly towards the back stoop.

Once they were out of earshot, a patch of greenery near the fence shook its leaves in the still air.

–Don't catch the fabric on any twigs,” Ron's voice warned lowly. –Harry will never forgive me if I tear his Invisibility Cloak.”

–I heard you gasp when they snogged,” Hermione tittered as she folded the thin, iridescent fabric into a small bundle. –Having second thoughts?”

–Not a one, love,” he crooned as he kissed the edge of her jaw. –I'm just glad I was able to return the favor.”

–And catch me unawares as well,” she marveled as the light caught the square-cut diamond on her finger. –Very crafty to nick the cloak from Harry’s closet while he was intent on the ring.”

–He was so sure I'd forget it that it made for a perfect distraction,” Ron chortled. –Have to give you credit for planting the card, though. That was brilliant! Do you think Harry recognized the handwriting?”

–I tried to make it look like Dumbledore's spidery hand. But all I had was a few scribbles in his old copy of Beedle the Bard.”

–A message from the beyond. Don't you think that was a bit...well, creepy? Macabre, as you would put it.”

Her smile widened at his choice of words. –Dumbledore would be right proud! Harry always said he was an interfering old sod.”

Ron flashed her a crooked smile as he dug his collector card out of his pocket. –The frame's still empty.”

–Well, of course it is, dear,” she affirmed, lacing her hand with his. –Why would the cunning, old wizard hang around with us when he could be in the thick of it? He's just hiding behind the blackened patch in the other card so Harry and Ginny won't see him chuckling into his beard.”

































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