"And then he moved his hair and showed me his sc-"
"What color was his hair again? Was it black black, or more dark brown?"
"Merlin, Ginny. . ."
"Let him finish, would you?"
"Let him start, is more like it."
It was a hot summer day at the Burrow, the sun shining down on the garden and warming it so it felt like a furnace. The grass was yellowing from the lack of water, and the flowers wilted and lost their petals to the heat. Ron, Fred and George Weasley had been playing Quidditch in the paddock since early that morning, hoping to get a good game in before it got too hot to tolerate. They were now sitting under a tree drinking the ice cold pumpkin juice Ginny had brought them. She had heard Ron telling the twins about his best friend, Harry Potter, and sat down to join them. This was the fifth time she had interrupted.
"It was black, Ginny," Ron said, exasperated. "Just black."
"Well," Ginny justified her question. "You should have said that the first time."
Ron sighed and rolled his eyes. Sometimes his little sister was just too much. He had no idea how Bill had done it, having all of them to deal with. He was probably questioned like this all day, every day! "Would you just. . . I don't know, hold it in?"
Ginny pretended to think seriously about Ron's question before answering, "Fine, but you have to answer all my questions later."
"Deal." Ron drank the rest of his pumpkin juice and cleared his throat before continuing. "As I was saying, he showed me his scar, and I knew it was really him."
It was George's turn to interrupt now. "And he hasn't answered any of your letters?"
"Sounds like a waste of time to me," Fred put in.
"He hasn't," Ron said, hesitating before adding, "But he's probably busy, right?"
"How come they get to talk, but I can't?" Ginny asked, frustrated with her brothers for ignoring her.
"Quiet, Ginny," George asserted.
Fred paused before replying to Ron, deep in thought. "You know," he said, a mischievous look on his face. "We could go get him. . ."
A grin broke out on George's face, but Ron looked more reluctant. He knew how dangerous his brothers' plans could be, especially the ones that involved travel. "And how exactly would we be getting to Surrey?"
"Dad's car of course," George explained before Fred could answer.
"You can't!" Ginny exclaimed. "Mum will kill you!"
"The flying car?" Ron asked, his voice rising with his worry. What if they did get caught? Ginny was right, their mum would murder them.
"What other car is there?" Fred replied, his grin growing broader. "It's brilliant!"
"We can leave tonight," George planned, setting down his pumpkin juice. "Get back before morning, and Mum and Dad'll never know!"
"You can't!" Ginny repeated, standing up with the hope that her brothers would notice her if she was taller.
"You really think it'll work?" Ron asked, ignoring Ginny. She sat down again with a grunt and crossed her arms.
"For sure," Fred assured him.
"No doubt," said George. "But will Ginny squeal?" He looked over at his sister, an accusing look in his eyes. Fred and Ron joined him in staring her down, making her squirm uncomfortably.
Ginny inched away from her brothers, hoping to ease the pressure of their stare. They just moved in closer to her, though. "Promise?" Fred asked maliciously.
"Fine!" She exclaimed, cracking under the strain of her brothers' gaze.
"Thank you," George said, backing away.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Fred added, joining his brother.
"Yeah," Ron said lamely, sitting back against the tree. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to go against the rules to Fred and George proportions. "Tonight, then?"
"Tonight."
***
Ginny went through the rest of the day wondering what she would do if one of her parents or Percy asked her something about Fred, George and Ron's plan for the night. She briefly considered ignoring them, but she knew they would be able to tell something was up if she did. She also thought about telling them that her brothers were playing Quidditch in the paddock that night, but she knew they would immediately go look for them.
She finally decided on telling them the truth and hoping nobody would ask. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all she had.
When the time finally came to go to bed, she cast one last look at her misbehaving brothers and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She threw on a nightdress and got her diary out from under her mattress. The bright green leather cover was soft and worn with use, and some of the pages were ripping away from the binding. She had written in the diary for as long as she could remember, and Bill had put a charm on it that made it magically expand whenever she ran out of pages. It was filled with all of her thoughts since she was a very little girl.
In the diary, she wrote of her brothers' plan to get Harry and how she was worried for them, yet excited that she would finally get to see and talk to Harry Potter:
4 August 1992
Dear Diary,
Today, Fred, George and Ron went to get Harry Potter. Yes, Harry Potter! I couldn't believe it when Ron told us his best friend was Harry Potter in the beginning of the summer, but he insisted, and now he's coming to stay here! I can't wait! I just hope I'll be able to talk to him. Fred and George tell me I'm obsessed, but I don't think so. Do you, diary? I'm sure you don't.
Fred and George thought of the idea to take dad's flying car to Surrey to get Harry, and I think it's crazy, but brilliant at the same time. Does that make sense, diary? I mean, it's crazy because there's no way they're going to get away with it. But it's brilliant because if they do get away with it, they'll have Harry really fast without having to use magic and get expelled from Hogwarts.
Did you see how I was able to just say Harry? Maybe I'll be able to talk to him!
Anyway, they're leaving after mum and dad go to bed and they're going to bring him here before morning! I hope mum doesn't get mad when she finds out. They'd better get to Harry's house and back before her and dad wake up, or they'll be in huge trouble!
I promise I'll tell you all about Harry tomorrow, diary!
Ginny
When she had written a good page about her mixed feelings, she decided it would be best to try and figure out what she would say to Harry when he arrived in the morning.
"Hi, I'm Ginny," she told her mirror, smiling broadly. "No, that's too cheery. . ."
"I'm Ginny Weasley," she tried next, looking more passive and moody. "Not that either; it's too old for me."
"Ginevra," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Ugh, still no. . ."
This went on for a good hour, and by the time she finally gave up, it was pitch black outside. She stuck her head out the door and was met with silence, which was very unusual for the Burrow. Her parents must have gone to bed by now.
She closed the door again and went over to her window. She looked towards the garage, wondering if her brothers had left yet. There was a light on in the garage, and she could see the silhouettes of the tall boys through the windows. They must be almost ready to leave, she thought.
Sure enough, the light went out in the garage. She watched as the car was driven into the yard, the headlights illuminating the yellow grass. She could just barely see her brothers' faces in the car. Fred, driving, looking excited and rebellious. George, next to him, looked the same, but slightly less carefree. Ron, his head poking in between his brothers' from the backseat, seemed frightened and pale by comparison.
The car inched forward for a few meters before gaining speed and taking off into the air. Ginny thought this must be what it was like watching an airplane take off, except for the fact that it was actually a car, of course.
Ginny watched as the car disappeared shortly before the edge of the yard. She knew her father had added an invisibility booster so the Muggles wouldn't see a car flying and think they were losing their minds.
She kept watching, even though she was sure the car and her brothers were gone, until she started dozing off. At this point, she climbed into her bed and turned out the light. When she woke up tomorrow, Harry Potter would be at her house in the flesh.
***
Ginny's first thought when she woke up in the morning was, Harry Potter!
Then she heard the yelling.
She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Looking out, she saw her mother shouting at four figures standing clumped together: her three brothers. . . And Harry Potter!
She gasped and stared at Harry, taking him in. He honestly wasn't as magnificent as she was expecting; he was just a normal boy of twelve. Average height and skinny, he didn't look as healthy as her mum probably wanted him too. Ginny was sure she would fill him up with food the first chance she got. His hair - black black, Ginny thought - stuck up in the back and his glasses were black circles around his shiny green eyes. She could see his fear in his eyes, and could tell he was nervous and slightly scared of her mother.
Her mother turned around then, and started walking back towards the house. With a look at Ron, who ushered him forward, Harry followed. Ginny's brothers were right behind him, knowing breakfast wasn't far away.
Ginny moved away from the window and towards her mirror. She fixed her hair so it didn't look like she had just got out of bed and practiced talking a few more times. Percy walked by on his way to the bathroom and said through the door, "You okay in there, Ginny?"
"Fine," she replied, knowing he had heard her talking to herself.
"Okay. . ." He trailed off and continued in the direction of the bathroom.
"Now that he's gone," Ginny said to her mirror. "Ginny Weasley, sister of Ron. No, I'm not proud to be his sister. . ."
***
Finally, Ginny felt she was ready to meet the famous Harry Potter. She walked slowly down the stairs, rehearsing her speech in her head. She reached the bottom stair and stepped into the kitchen, where Harry and her brothers were eating breakfast.
She took one look at Harry, who had turned toward her, apparently waiting for an introduction, and squealed. Shocked and angry with herself, she immediately turned and ran back up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
That was the most humiliating moment of my life, she thought.
She got out her diary and wrote about her embarrassment in it:
5 August 1992
Dear Diary,
Oh, diary, I was wrong! I can't talk to Harry Potter! He arrived this morning, and I went down to talk to him, and it was like someone put a Tongue-Tying curse on me! I didn't say anything at all! I might have made a . . . squeaky noise . . . but that was it! I'm so mortified, diary! What in the world should I do? I need to talk to Harry!
Ginny
When she had finished, she heard voices on the stairs, and went to her door to watch and see who it was. She opened it a crack and saw Ron and Harry walking up to Ron's room. She gasped as they went by, and Harry looked at her through the crack in the door. She quickly closed it and leaned against it, breathless. She couldn't believe Harry Potter had just looked at her, Ginny Weasley!
When she was sure her brother had taken his friend upstairs, she sneaked down to the kitchen to eat. Her mother didn't question her too awfully about her unusual shyness, but Ginny could tell by the look on her face that she was worried. Ginny herself knew that it was odd for her to be this quiet, but she couldn't help it; Harry just made her speechless.
Spellbound by ravenclaw1997
Story Notes:
The Alternate Universe warning is for later chapters. I added the DH Spoilers warning for mention of Horcruxes, but really, who hasn't read it by now?
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. I know, I had you all fooled. But seriously, I'm not.
Chapter Notes:Thanks to my mom for beta'ing this! Love you! :)
***
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! The next two chapters are written and ready to submit after this one gets validated. If you like making people happy, leave a review. They make me positively giddy!