The days had passed quickly since Harry had arrived at the Burrow. It was just another week of a fairly normal summer for the Weasleys - most of them. For Ginny, though, the week had been one embarrassing mishap after another. She had dropped countless things throughout the week, most of them being dropped whenever Harry entered a room.
Some of the less embarrassing moments had been when she had dropped a sweater she was folding, when she had jerked her fork at dinnertime and a carrot had slid off it, and when she had spilled the afternoon's tea over the edge of a mug. The more humiliating things were ones she would rather not mention, such as accidentally dropping her toothbrush into the toilet and adding one tablespoon of salt to the biscuits instead of one teaspoon.
Needless to say, it had been a bad week for Ginny Weasley.
On the day before her birthday, Ginny had gone down to breakfast early with the hope that she would be able to eat and get back to her room before Harry and Ron woke up. Unfortunately, her wish didn't come true, for soon after her mother handed her a bowl of porridge and sat down, Ron and Harry walked into the kitchen. She promptly knocked over her bowl and leaped under the table to recover it.
Upon rising, she saw Harry looking at her, probably trying to act as though he hadn't noticed her escapade. She blushed furiously and tried to smile, failing miserably. He almost certainly thought she was insane.
She took her Hogwarts letter from her father, opening it with less exhilaration than she had assumed when she had pictured this day in her mind. She had thought it would be a joyous day with her family, with much laughter and many tears from her mother.
Instead, she got the silence that came with many people reading at the same time. She saw that she would need an abundance of books for her first year at school, including all the usual first-year books and seven written by Gilderoy Lockhart. She realized that the books would be very expensive, and George voiced her concerns.
"That lot won't come cheap,"* he said. "Lockhart's books are really expensive. . . ."*
Ginny's mother mentioned that they would be able to get some of her things secondhand, and Harry asked her if she would be starting at Hogwarts that year. She nodded self-consciously, and her elbow slipped into the butter dish. She pulled it out quickly and rubbed her elbow with her other hand, pretending she had hit it on the table.
Just then, Percy walked in, saving Ginny from further humiliation. He accidentally sat on Errol, who was carrying a letter from Hermione Granger, Ron and Harry's other best friend. It was decided from the letter that they would be going to Diagon Alley on Wednesday, in two days' time.
After Harry, Ron, Fred and George went to play Quidditch, Ginny helped her mother with housework before retiring to her bedroom to write in her diary and reread her Hogwarts letter. She wrote:
10 August 1992
Dear Diary,
Guess what? We got our Hogwarts letters today! All of us; even Harry and I! Dumbledore must have known he was here. I finally get to go to Hogwarts with my brothers! I'm so excited, diary! We're going shopping in Diagon Alley on Wednesday, and tomorrow's my birthday! This must be the most thrilling week ever!
There were all these Lockhart books on our list, though, diary. Every book but one on everyone's list but mine. I need all of the books for every subject, too. I'm worried about it. The Lockhart books are expensive, and I know more than mum and dad think about our money. I hope we have enough, diary. I really do.
Ginny
It was easier for her to be excited about finally going to school when Harry Potter wasn't in the room with her, making her nervous.
That night, Ginny fell asleep easily, knowing that the next day was her birthday, a day she had always loved and always would, no matter how embarrassing it was to be around Harry constantly.
***
The sun was bright when Ginny woke up on her birthday, shining through her window onto her eyelids to awaken her. She turned over and buried her head in her pillow, trying to dim the light. "Augh," she said, not wanting to get out of her bed quite yet.
This was before she remembered the date.
Ginny shot out of the bed like a weed in a garden, throwing the blankets off onto the floor. She quickly picked them up and put them back on the bed in a pile. She put her hair up into a ponytail and got dressed faster than she had previously thought possible. She was ready for her eleventh birthday.
Upon arriving in the kitchen, Ginny was presented with a plate of all of her favorite breakfast foods: eggs, bacon, toast and marmalade. "Here you are dear," said her mother, handing her the plate. "Eat up! It's a big day!"
Ginny sat down at the table in between Fred and George. This proved to be a mistake. "Oh, is that for me?" Fred asked when she sat down, pointing at her plate. "You know how I love toast and marmalade."
"Indeed, Fred, indeed," added George, looking at the perfectly crisp toast.
"Shove off," said Ginny, covering her plate with her arms.
"Feisty," stated Fred, backing away with his hands above his head in surrender.
George leaned so close to her she could feel his breath on her ear as he said, "I'll bet Harry loves that."
"Shut up," said Ginny, looking down at her plate, concentrating on not blushing and giving herself away.
With perfect timing as always, Ron and Harry walked in. "Happy birthday, Ginny," said Harry as he sat down, taking a piece of toast from Mrs. Weasley.
"Thanks," she mumbled back, not looking at him. She heard Ron mutter something to him about her acting oddly. She ignored it, silently agreeing with him. She was never this quiet, especially not on her birthday.
"Now that we're all here," said Fred, standing up and looking important, "we can give Ginny her present."
"We aren't all here," George pointed out. "What about Percy?"
"Oh yeah." Fred plopped back down into his seat, sounding defeated. He whispered under his breath to Ginny, "But he's a right git; we don't need him, do we?"
Ginny laughed into her breakfast. Thankfully she hadn't had anything in her mouth when Fred commented. With Harry sitting across from her, anything sprayed across the table would have hit him directly, making it a new early-morning record for Ginny's embarrassment level.
Sparing Ginny from doing anything else, Percy walked in, head high as usual, wearing his prefect badge on his chest. "Good morning, everybody," he said, sitting down at the table. "Happy birthday, Ginny."
"'Morning, Percy," Fred said quickly, before standing up once more. "Now can we give Ginny her present?"
"Yes," Ginny's mother said, setting a plate of food in front of Percy, "you may give her her present now."
Fred cleared his throat and walked over to a cabinet. He pulled the door open slowly, building the suspense. George hummed a song that she had never heard before. She assumed it was a Muggle song. As the door opened, Ginny saw what was inside, and gasped. Fred finished opening the door and George reached the climax of his humming at the same moment, and Ginny saw more sweets than she had ever seen before, all in one place: the cabinet.
There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Fudge Flies, and Licorice Wands, along with Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Fizzing Whizbees, and Pumpkin Pasties. Any sweet Ginny could imagine was there. She gasped and ran over to the cabinet, gazing in awe at the candy.
"How in the world," she asked, shocked, "did you get all of this? It's not stolen, is it?"
Fred laughed and messed up her hair. "Now why would we steal this?"
"We bought it," amended George, glancing in Harry's direction, "with a little help from each other."
Ginny looked over at Harry, who grinned at her. "You all bought this?" She asked, looking at all of them in turn. "Even Percy?"
"Yes," said Percy, gesturing to the room at large, "we all chipped in."
"It was all the boys' idea," Ginny's father said, smiling broadly. "Your mother and I didn't help at all. Which is why," he added, looking at his wife, "we have this for you."
Ginny's mother rummaged in another cabinet for a moment before producing a beautiful charm bracelet. It was shining gold and had a single red charm hanging from it: a lion. A Gryffindor lion. "It was mine when I was a girl," explained her mother. "It already has my old Gryffindor charm on it. Since you'll be going to school next month, I thought it was time to pass it on to you."
She took Ginny's hand in her own and hooked the bracelet on, being careful to have the lion facing up. "Thanks, mum," said Ginny, before she was pulled into a hug.
"How touching," interrupted George, his hand on his heart sarcastically. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can go play Quidditch."
Ginny's mother glared at her son, breaking off the hug. "You are most certainly not playing Quidditch today, young man! It's your sister's birthday, and you are going to spend time with her!"
"Well that's why we're playing with her, isn't it?" asked Fred, saving his brother from his mother's wrath.
"Yeah," added Ron, "we were going to let her be a Chaser."
Ginny's mother looked shocked, and she looked at her husband questioningly. He nodded, and she turned back to her sons. "Well, alright then," she said, "but you must let her play as much as she wants, and stop when she gets tired!"
"Thanks, mum!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging her again.
"Yeah, thanks mum!" said Fred, grabbing a piece of toast and heading to the door. "Let's go!"
George, Harry, Ron and Ginny followed him out, each taking some bacon or toast with them. Ginny had taken Percy's arm before leaving and dragged him out with her as well. "Come on Percy," she pleaded, "you can be a Chaser too!" He came reluctantly, knowing that his mother would make him go no matter what.
They played for hours, right up until lunch time, when Ginny's mother lured them inside with promises of cake and ice cream. The cake was in the shape of a lion, just like the charm on Ginny's bracelet, and was chocolate flavored, her favorite. They ate ravenously, only leaving a few slices for later. When they were finished, they were feeling too full for more Quidditch, so settled on the floor for games of Exploding Snap. Ginny won four out of five with Percy, three out of five each with Ron, Fred and George, and all five games she played with Harry, though she suspected he had let her win some.
Finally it was time for dinner and bed. Ginny said goodnight to her family and Harry before walking up the three flights of stairs to her room. She put on her pajamas and got out her diary to write about what she considered to be the best birthday she had ever had:
11 August 1992
Dear Diary,
Today was my birthday, and it was amazing! It was one of the best I've ever had! My brothers and Harry all chipped in to get me candy from Honeydukes. I have enough Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to last until my next birthday!
Mum and dad gave me a Gryffindor charm bracelet. It's beautiful, and I'm going to wear it every day. I think it makes mum sad that I'll be going to school next month. I hope she's okay.
We did lots of fun things, and I was even allowed to play Quidditch. I played Chaser, and I scored on Ron five times! He wasn't very happy about it.
This was the best birthday ever, diary!
Ginny
After putting it away under her mattress, she got into her bed, thinking about the day. She remembered her past birthdays, and was able to confirm this had been the best yet. And the best part?
She had talked to Harry Potter.
Spellbound by ravenclaw1997
Chapter Notes:Thanks again to my mom for beta'ing, and for being clumsy enough to give me ideas for things Ginny could drop/knock over/otherwise do to embarrass herself.
***
Chapter Endnotes:*From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, U.S. Paperback Edition page 44
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