Harry opened his eyes, expecting to see the Burrow. He was left astounded when he saw that he and Remus were standing in an empty field. It was nightfall and he could barely see anything around him. He wondered whether Remus had brought him to the wrong place but then realized the surrounding areas still looked familiar when Remus lit his wand. They were definitely standing before the Burrow, they just couldn’t see it.

‘We’ve placed a Fedilius Charm on the house for better protection,’ said Remus. ‘Here, read this.’

Harry took the scrap of parchment and read the message in the light from Remus’s wand.

You’re allowed to enter our wonderful and chaotic house.

‘So who’s the Secret Keeper?’ asked Harry curiously, looking down at the extremely untidy handwriting.

‘Well, its Fred for today,’ replied Remus. ‘We keep changing every day to make it impossible for Voldemort to know who the Secret Keeper is. Minerva suggested this and I must admit it was a brilliant idea.’

He waved his wand in the air and made the scrap of parchment disappear.

The Burrow finally appeared before them. The ramshackle house might not have impressed many people but for Harry, it was the most welcoming place in the whole world. This was the place where the people who were like his family lived, where he felt loved.

He could just see some gnomes scampering around in the garden but the darkness made it difficult to see anything else. There was a delicious smell wafting out the kitchen window, and he knew that Mrs. Weasley was probably making food for his arrival.

He’d been apprehensive about coming to the Burrow in the morning, not knowing how Ginny would react when she would see him but now that he was here he desperately wanted to see her. He followed Remus towards the backdoor, wanting to get into the house as quickly as possible. Harry thought he could hear Mrs. Weasley shouting at one of her many children. Remus knocked on the door.

‘Who is it?’ asked Hermione.

‘It’s me, Hermione,’ replied Harry, grinning.

The door swung open and Hermione threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

‘You’re finally here, Harry,’ she said when she finally pulled back. ‘We’ve been waiting for you all day. It’s great to see you.’

‘It’s great to see you too, Hermione,’ said Harry. ‘So will you allow me to come inside now?’

‘Oh, sorry about that,’ she said sheepishly, moving away from the doorway.

Harry entered the house, his mouth watering at the smell of treacle tart. He caught sight of Mad-Eye and Tonks sitting on the table before Mrs. Weasley rounded on him.

‘Oh Harry, you’re finally here!’ she said, pulling him into a bone-crunching hug.

‘Are you two gonna let the lad breathe?’ asked Mad-Eye.

Mrs. Weasley pulled back and examined Harry with a critical eye. ‘You’re definitely skinnier than the last time I saw you, Harry. You need some feeding.’

‘It wasn’t that bad,’ said Harry, glancing at the delicious food placed all over the table. He suddenly felt warm inside, Mrs. Weasley always treated him as if he were one of her sons.

‘Wotcher, Harry,’ grinned Tonks, her hair her favorite shade of bubblegum pink. ‘I hope the Death Eaters didn’t give you any trouble.’

‘No trouble,’ said Mad-Eye. ‘You-Know-Who sent a pair of idiots to keep watch there.’

‘Hi Tonks,’ said Harry.

Harry was just starting to wonder where the rest of the Weasleys were when Ron, Bill, Fred, George and Fleur piled in. Fleur glided over as soon as she saw Harry and pulled him into a hug. She gave him her customary kisses on both cheeks and Harry felt his face burn when she pulled back.

‘Hey mate,’ said Ron, patting Harry on the shoulder. ‘Glad to see you made it. Something sure smells delicious.’

‘Hi Ron,’ grinned Harry.

Hermione looked disapprovingly at Ron as he sat down on the table and began piling his plate with food.

‘Hello Harry,’ said Bill, shaking Harry’s hand.

Harry tried not to stare at Bill’s scars but he couldn’t help it. There were nasty-looking scars all over his face but he was definitely looking better than the last time Harry had seen him. He thought the scars made Bill look even cooler.

‘Hello,’ said Harry, pulling his eyes away from Bill’s face.

‘Hey Harry, good to see you again,’ said Charlie, shaking hands with Harry. ‘I’ve been in Romania far too long.’

Charlie looked even more muscled than the last time Harry had seen him. There were several burns running along the length of his arms, which he’d definitely received from the dragons he worked with.

‘The man has finally arrived,’ said Fred, grinning and clapping Harry on the shoulder.

‘Mum’s been worrying far too much about you,’ said George, clapping Harry’s other shoulder. ‘I hope she didn’t crack one of your ribs.’

‘She didn’t,’ said Harry, shaking his head.

‘Hey, where are the Dursleys?’ demanded Fred, looking around the kitchen.

‘They aren’t here,’ said Harry.

‘Oh, bugger,’ said George, looking disappointed. ‘We made such wonderful plans for them! Don’t tell me it was all for nothing!’

‘Yeah, we were looking forward to scare them to death,’ said Fred, sitting down next to Ron. ‘Even Mum didn’t think it would be wrong to punish them.’

Harry couldn’t help noticing the absence of one particular person. Dismay was rapidly building up inside him. It was just as he’d feared. It seemed like Ginny didn’t want to see him. She hates me.

‘Harry, dear, start eating already,’ said Mrs. Weasley, who had resumed working on the stove.

Harry was just about to sit down but stopped when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The monster in his chest sniffed the air hopefully.

Ginny entered the kitchen and she froze as soon as she saw him. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. Her lustrous waist-length hair looked so soft that he longed to run his fingers through it, and her brown eyes were as warm as ever. He was staring at her before he could stop himself. Her eyes met his and she’d that blazing look on her face which he liked so much. His heart felt like it would burst at the mere sight of her.

‘Hi Harry,’ she said brightly, walking towards him and pulling him into a hug. Harry inhaled her flowery scent and rubbed his cheek against her silken hair. She pulled away far too soon for his liking.

‘H-Hi Ginny,’ he managed to say.

He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. Maybe Ginny had wanted to see him after all. She smiled back at him, making his heart throb even faster. How on earth could he stay away from her if she could make him feel like this?

He suddenly noticed Bill’s raised eyebrows and Fred and George’s smirks as he sat down on the table. Harry ended up sitting next to her, which did nothing to ease his heart’s frantic beating.

‘You came just in time, dear sister,’ smirked Fred. ‘Harry was starting to miss you.’

Harry choked on the water he’d just sipped while a pretty blush crept up Ginny’s cheeks.

‘Shut it,’ said Ginny, quickly regaining her composure.

‘Yeah, no need to embarrass the poor kid,’ said Tonks. ‘He has just arrived.’

Harry was immensely surprised by Ginny’s reaction at seeing him. He’d thought she would be angry with him and he’d never expected a hug. She was acting like there was nothing amiss between them.

‘Harry, eat already,’ Mrs. Weasley called from the stove. ‘The food’s getting cold.’

Harry realized that he’d completely forgotten about the food ever since Ginny had arrived in the kitchen. He ignored Fred and George’s sniggering and started to eat.

‘What made you change your mind about bringing the Dursleys here?’ Hermione asked Remus.

‘His uncle was afraid of living in a wizarding house,’ replied Remus. ‘We decided that it was probably better if one of us stayed in their house instead. I decided that we could each go in turn to their house.’

‘Dad would love to go to a Muggle house,’ said Ginny, piling food on her plate.

‘Maybe our plans won’t go to waste after all, George,’ said Fred.

‘Yes, I was thinking the same thing, brother mine,’ said George, smirking dangerously.

‘We’ll make them pay for what they did to you all those years, Harry,’ said Fred, his eyes glinting mischievously. ‘Our products will come in quite handy. At least Mum won’t stop us from making their lives miserable.’

‘You could get in trouble for using magic on Muggles,’ admonished Mrs. Weasley. ‘It’s against wizarding law.’

‘Since when have we ever cared about law?’ George pointed out.

‘Point taken,’ muttered Mrs. Weasley.

‘Fred and George are right,’ said Remus, clenching his fists furiously. ‘They were horrible with Harry. They used to -’

‘Remus, it’s all right,’ interrupted Harry, certain Remus was about to mention the cupboard under the stairs. ‘I’m not going there, anyway.’

He suspected that the Weasleys would’ve set out to curse the Dursleys if they’d found out about the cupboard. It was all part of the past now, he didn’t want them to feel sorry for him.

‘Well, enough about the Dursleys,’ said Tonks brightly. ‘Let’s tell Harry the happy news.’

‘Happy news?’ repeated Harry.

‘Yeah, Remus and I got married!’ grinned Tonks, showing him the ring on her finger.

‘That’s brilliant,’ said Harry, surprised. ‘Congratulations.’

Harry felt incredibly happy for Remus; he didn’t know anyone who deserved more happiness than his father’s best friend.

‘Yeah, Remus finally pushed away his stupid, noble feelings and asked me to marry him about a month ago,’ said Tonks, a wide grin on her face.

Ginny looked sharply at Harry and he pretended not to notice, remembering that Ginny had also called his reasons for breaking up with her stupid and noble.

‘Sorry you couldn’t be there,’ said Remus apologetically. ‘It was a very secretive wedding and only Tonks’s parents and Molly and Arthur were there.’

‘We could’ve had a grand marriage,’ said Mrs. Weasley regretfully.

‘Glad we didn’t,’ said George. ‘Bill and Fleur’s wedding is going to be enough of a nightmare.’

They heard a knock on the backdoor and Mrs. Weasley quickly hurried to open it.

‘Arthur, is that you?’ she asked eagerly.

‘Yes, dear, it’s me,’ replied Mr. Weasley in his familiar voice.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door, looking relieved. Mr. Weasley walked in, looking thoroughly exhausted. His robes were extremely rumpled and the bald patch on his head was gleaming with sweat. It looked like Mr. Weasley had had a busy day at the Ministry of Magic.

‘Hello everyone,’ he said, dropping his briefcase on the floor and stumbling towards the table. ‘Good to see you, Harry. Glad you made it here safely.’

‘Good to see you too, Mr. Weasley,’ replied Harry.

‘Hmm … do I detect a trace of steak and kidney pie in the air?’ said Mr. Weasley, sniffing the air hopefully, reminding Harry of Ron.

‘Yes, Arthur, I made it especially for you,’ said Mrs. Weasley, rolling her eyes.

‘Things as bad as ever at the Ministry I assume?’ growled Mad-Eye, who was busy biting meat off the chicken leg in his hand.

‘They are, unfortunately,’ sighed Mr. Weasley. ‘There were more Dementor attacks and another collapsed bridge near Southampton. Scrimgeour keeps insisting that the Ministry’s in control. Death Eaters seem to be outnumbering the Aurors but he remains confident. He’s making no effort to round up the Dementors. All he does is stay shut up in his office.

‘So Voldemort’s trying to take over the Ministry?’ asked Harry, forgetting about his food once more.

‘We’re afraid he’ll do it quite soon,’ replied Remus. ‘If he does, only we will be left to fight against the Death Eaters.’

‘And our numbers are nothing compared to them,’ growled Mad-Eye.

‘We can discuss this some other time,’ snapped Mrs. Weasley as grim silence began to spread amongst them. ‘Harry has just arrived and he won’t feel any better if we discuss the war. Eat now, Harry. I made your favorite treacle tarts.’

Harry wanted to know more about what the Order was doing but he nodded and started to eat. Fred and George amused everyone by sharing some of their plans to make the Dursleys miserable. Harry had to admit it would be highly hilarious if Fred and George used some of their products on Dudley, he still hadn’t forgotten about the Ton Tongue toffee. Mr. Weasley appeared rather disappointed about the Dursleys’ absence as he’d wanted to ask Uncle Vernon about the latest Muggle inventions.

Harry ate slower than usual, owing to the fact that Ginny was sitting next to him and it was incredibly difficult to focus on the food. He ate nearly everything Mrs. Weasley had made for him and he was forced to refuse a fourth helping of treacle tart as he was too full. He suddenly felt sleepy as he moved out the kitchen even though it was only eight in the night. Mrs. Weasley seemed to notice the tiredness on his face and told him to go straight to bed. He could feel Ginny’s eyes on him as he forced himself up the stairs.

A smile crossed his face as he lay down on the camp bed in Ron’s bedroom. He was never going back to Privet Drive.

The Burrow was even more crowded the next morning as the Order members had arrived for a meeting. Mr. Weasley told Harry that the Burrow was the new headquarters since it was too dangerous to use Grimmauld Place. The Burrow had been provided all kinds of security and according to Mr. Weasley it was now one of the safest places in Britain. He seemed to be proud of his house.

Harry wanted to discuss his plans about Horcruxes with Ron and Hermione but talking privately with them was almost impossible because of the presence of so many people. The opportunity provided itself when the Order members went to the sitting room for the meeting and they quickly hurried up to Ron’s room. Harry saw Ginny glaring at them out of the corner of his eye as they climbed the stairs.

‘So what are we doing about the Horcruxes?’ asked Ron as soon as he had closed the door.

‘Be quiet, Ron!’ hissed Hermione, slapping him on the arm. ‘You can’t just mention the Horcruxes like that - the others could hear us! Let me put an Imperturbable Charm on the door.’

‘Sorry,’ mumbled Ron, rubbing his arm.

‘Hermione, just do that Muffliato spell,’ said Harry, sitting down on his camp bed. ‘It’s much easier.’

‘Harry, you know perfectly well that the Half-Blood Prince turned out to be Severus Snape,’ said Hermione crossly. ‘I don’t want to use any of his spells!’

Harry felt hatred course through his veins at the mere mention of the traitor.

‘It would make him really furious if he knew one of his spells was actually helping us,’ he said grimly.

‘Yeah, definitely,’ smirked Ron, plopping down on his bed.

Hermione didn’t look particularly pleased as she cast the spell.

‘Can we talk about the Horcruxes now?’ asked Ron.

‘You seem to be very excited about them,’ snapped Hermione, joining Harry on the camp bed.

‘We’re not going to have any time to talk about them later,’ explained Ron, taking out a chocolate frog from his pocket. ‘Mum’s planning to start the wedding preparations real soon and we’ll be really busy when that happens.’

‘The wedding’s not going to be as bad as you and your brothers are making it,’ said Hermione, frowning. ‘I think it’ll be wonderful to have something so normal in the midst of a war.’

‘You’ll agree with us when the wedding preparations start,’ said Ron, biting off the chocolate frog’s head. ‘Mum and Fleur are completely obsessed about it.’

‘I believe we were about to talk about the Horcruxes,’ said Harry exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. Some things never changed.

‘Oh, right!’ said Hermione. ‘So have you made any plans?’

‘Yeah, what else could I do at Privet Drive, anyway?’ said Harry dryly. ‘The first thing I decided was that I’m not going to stay here or at Hogwarts.’

‘Yeah, I guessed that much,’ said Hermione, nodding.

‘But are you sure about this?’ asked Ron skeptically, sitting up straighter. ‘Do you know of any place where we’ll stay?’

‘I just want to get away from here,’ confessed Harry. ‘Everyone here is in danger because of me. They’ll be safer if I stayed away from here.’

‘Well, I’ve been worrying about our safety as well,’ said Ron.

‘Ron, I told you it won’t be easy to find us,’ said Hermione irritably. ‘I can cast nearly every safety spell - I can even make wards. Well, they’re not as powerful as the ones on this house but they’ll get stronger over time. You-Know-Who won’t expect us to be wandering around on our own, anyway.’

‘Mad-Eye says you can never guess what You-Know-Who might do,’ said Ron.

‘You should really use his name,’ said Harry. ‘Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself, remember?’

A lump rose in this throat as he spoke Dumbledore’s words. His death still hurt him.

‘I wasn’t using his name because Ron always cringes whenever I say it,’ said Hermione defensively.

‘Don’t start bickering again,’ he said as Ron opened his mouth to retort. ‘So I’ve been thinking that maybe you two can stay out of this -’

‘Don’t you dare say another word, Harry Potter!’ interrupted Hermione, her eyes blazing. ‘Dumbledore wanted Ron and I to be involved because he knew you can’t do this alone. You need us, Harry. Besides, you don’t even know any of the safety spells. Voldemort will find you in seconds!’

It was worth a try thought Harry, grimacing. He knew it was impossible to stop Ron and Hermione from going with him.

‘Yeah, you’re right, Hermione,’ said Ron, grinning. ‘We’re hopeless without you.’

Hermione blushed furiously, taken aback by Ron’s comment. ‘Er, thanks Ron.’

‘Good one, Ron,’ said Harry, smirking as Ron’s ears turned scarlet. ‘Hermione never suspected you would have the nerve to compliment her.’

‘Shut it,’ growled Ron, throwing his pillow at Harry’s head. Harry dodged it and the pillow landed on the floor.

‘Let’s continue talking about the Horcruxes,’ said Hermione, clearing her throat. She’d a self-satisfied look on her face.

‘Right, so where are we gonna stay?’ asked Ron, his ears still red.

‘Inside a tent,’ replied Hermione. ‘I’ll cast safety spells around it and we would be perfectly safe. Mr. Weasley has given me the tent we used at the Quidditch World Cup.’

‘That could work,’ said Harry.

‘I hope so,’ muttered Ron, not looking entirely convinced. ‘Do either of you know where we’re going to search for the Horcruxes?’

‘Yeah, there are plenty of places,’ said Harry. ‘We’re going to look in Riddle’s old orphanage, Hepzibah Smith’s house, Albania -’

‘Albania?’ scoffed Ron. ‘Are we supposed to search the whole bloody country?’

‘Professor Dumbledore told me that’s where Voldemort stayed when he lost his body,’ replied Harry, shrugging. ‘It’s possible he might have hidden one there.’

‘And don’t forget Borgin and Burke’s and Hogwarts,’ said Hermione excitedly, as if she were answering a question in class.

‘Borgin and Burke’s?’ frowned Ron.

‘Honestly, Ron, have you forgotten everything Harry’s told us?’ asked Hermione exasperatedly.

‘I only forgot about Borgin and Burke’s,’ grumbled Ron, searching for another chocolate frog in his pocket. He immediately stopped doing it when Hermione glared at him.

‘Hermione, I don’t think he would’ve hidden one there,’ said Harry, shaking his head.

‘It’s worth a try, Harry,’ said Hermione, clearly not pleased that Harry didn’t agree with her suggestion. She always wanted to believe she was right about everything.

‘I suppose,’ said Harry, not wanting to get into an argument.

‘We’ll have to search all of these places,’ said Hermione. ‘We can start by finding out about R.A.B.’

‘Maybe R.A.B managed to destroy the Horcrux,’ said Ron hopefully. ‘We would’ve one less Horcrux to find.’

‘I’ve told you countless times that we can’t leave it to chance,’ said Hermione irritably. ‘R.A.B’s life was in danger - we’ve to find the locket, as well.’

Harry pondered about R.A.B while Ron and Hermione continued bickering. He couldn’t think of anyone who knew about the Horcruxes apart from the three of them, Slughorn, Dumbledore and Voldemort. Maybe Dumbledore would’ve known who it was … he’d always known everything …

‘So when do we start?’ he asked Hermione. Hermione seemed to have planned out everything already.

‘After the wedding, of course,’ she replied.

‘The wedding?’ frowned Harry. ‘When is it, anyway?’

‘In a week’s time,’ said Ron promptly, grimacing. ‘Mum has reminded me far too many times.’

‘I really don’t want to wait for a whole week,’ said Harry. ‘I want to start as soon as possible - who cares about a stupid wedding, anyway?’

‘Just don’t say that in front of Fleur,’ Ron cautioned.

‘A week is nothing, Harry,’ said Hermione. ‘You’re not going to think about Horcruxes and Voldemort until the wedding is over. Enjoy this week as much as you can. It’ll be all about finding the Horcruxes after the wedding. It would do you no harm to experience something so normal.’

‘Yeah, well, I’ve never had a normal life,’ said Harry dryly.

‘So will we tell the others that we’re leaving after the wedding?’ asked Ron.

‘Yes,’ said Hermione. ‘We’ll tell them right after the wedding.’

‘It’s going to be horrible,’ said Ron, shuddering. ‘Mum will go bonkers when she’ll get the news. She’ll get that really scary look in her eyes, which always scares the life out of us. I don’t think she’ll ever agree.’

‘She’ll have to in the end,’ said Hermione. ‘We’re of age now - we can make our own decisions.’

‘Mum doesn’t think that,’ said Ron morosely. ‘She barely allowed Fred and George to join the Order and they’re almost nineteen now.’

‘We can convince her together, Ron,’ said Hermione confidently.

They jumped as they heard someone tap on the window. They all turned and saw Fred hovering outside on his broom, grinning wildly.

’What do you want?’ asked Ron, opening the window and frowning at his brother.

‘I was just inviting you three to a little game of Quidditch,’ replied Fred. ‘We won’t have much time for flying once the wedding preparations get underway.’

‘I’m coming,’ said Ron eagerly, jumping up from his bed.

‘Me, too,’ grinned Harry, also getting up.

‘I’m not playing,’ said Hermione, looking disapprovingly at Harry and Ron. ‘I’ve to go somewhere soon.’

‘Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that,’ said Fred apologetically. ‘You two can come join us.’

He zoomed out of sight. Ron hurried out the room immediately while Harry stayed behind, wanting to know where Hermione was going.

‘Hey Hermione, where are you going?’ he asked curiously.

‘To my parents’ house,’ replied Hermione, looking agitated. ‘I’ve been trying to convince them to come here for protection. There was a Dementor attack near their area about a week ago and they’re supposed to come here today. I’m always so worried about them – Death Eaters are killing Muggles daily.’

Tears appeared in Hermione’s eyes and Harry immediately hurried over to comfort her. He sat down next to her and patted her shoulder awkwardly. He’d never been great with crying girls.

‘It’s really horrible for them, Harry,’ said Hermione, turning her head and sniffling into his shoulder. ‘They’ve to leave their jobs and everything and come here! Mum’s not pleased and Dad’s pretending he’s ok with it but I knew he’s just doing that for my sake.’

‘Er - it’s better for them to come here, Hermione,’ said Harry, continuing to pat Hermione’s shoulder. ‘Their lives are much more important than anything else.’

‘Enough talking about me,’ said Hermione, wiping her eyes. ‘How’re you been doing?’

‘I’ve been all right,’ said Harry, shrugging. He didn’t want Hermione to start asking for his feelings about Professor Dumbledore’s death.

‘Ginny told me everything, Harry,’ said Hermione, watching him intently.

‘S-She did?’ stuttered Harry, his stomach fluttering at the mere mention of Ginny’s name. He stared down at his clasped hands, determinedly avoiding Hermione’s eyes.

‘Yes, everything,’ said Hermione quietly. ‘You shouldn’t have done it, Harry.’

‘It was the right thing to do, Hermione,’ said Harry grimly. ‘Her protection is more important than anything else.’

Harry thought he would have preferred talking about Dumbledore. Thinking about pushing Ginny away hurt him terribly.

‘She made you really happy, Harry,’ said Hermione gently.

‘Don’t I know it?’ said Harry, trying to keep his voice from shaking. ‘I’m never going to have happiness as long as Voldemort’s alive.’

‘Ginny was really upset,’ said Hermione testily. ‘Even Ron noticed something was wrong and he never understands other people’s feelings. She was far from her usual self. She used to talk nearly all the time but not this summer. She refused to play Quidditch and you know she loves flying. She’d this deadened look in her eyes and she hasn’t even been eating properly.’

Harry shifted uncomfortably, guilt rapidly building up inside him but Hermione kept talking.

‘I was not overly surprised when she told me - I suspected you would do something like this. I’d hoped you wouldn’t do it since she made you so happy but you always have been extremely noble.’

Harry wanted to hex himself for hurting Ginny but he resisted the impulse. The monster in his chest had lowered its head in shame. He wished he hadn’t stayed back to talk with Hermione.

‘Hermione, I never wanted to hurt her,’ he said, his voice cracking. ‘I hate myself for doing it. Breaking up with her was like the toughest thing I ever did but I’d to do it. I don’t want to lose her as well.’

‘Ginny doesn’t want protection, Harry,’ said Hermione. ‘She’s not the sort of girl who would sit happily in the background while you went to save the wizarding world.’

‘But she understood when I told her,’ Harry pointed out, still avoiding Hermione’s eyes.

‘Maybe she thought she could live with it,’ said Hermione, ‘but that obviously didn’t happen.’

‘Yeah, I can understand that,’ said Harry glumly. ‘It’s been harder than I thought it would be.’

‘Then don’t make yourself go through this agony,’ said Hermione, laying a gentle hand on Harry’s shoulder. ‘Professor Dumbledore wouldn’t want you to push her away.’

‘Hermione, please, I don’t want to talk about this,’ said Harry roughly, getting up from the bed.

‘Harry -’

Harry ignored her and fled from the room. He was feeling the familiar gaping hole in his chest, which had been there ever since Dumbledore had died, and had grown even bigger when he’d broken up with Ginny. Maybe some flying would make him feel better…

He was so immersed in his agonizing thoughts that he ended up bumping into someone in the small entrance hallway. He froze when he saw just who he’d run into.

‘Hey, watch it!’ said Ginny as she stumbled backwards. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was Harry.

‘S-Sorry about t-that,’ he stuttered, realizing that they were alone in the hallway.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, absently twirling her hair. She’d a frown on her face and her eyes were blazing. He knew her well enough to know she was furious about something.

‘Er - are you all right?’ he asked guiltily, shifting uncomfortably. He hoped she wasn’t angry with him. It was certainly possible; Hermione had made it sound like she was extremely upset, and Ginny always got angry when she was upset.

‘Oh, I’m feeling just great,’ she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘It’s wonderful being left out of everything.’

Harry was tongue-tied, unable to think of something to say to make her feel better. It was probably best if he stayed quiet as he would only end up making things much worse. He simply looked into her warm brown eyes, which were sparking with fury. They softened as she looked back into his emerald eyes. She took a deep breath and the frown slowly disappeared from her face.

‘This is not the best time to talk with me, you know,’ she said, breaking the silence after what seemed like ages. ‘I always get like this whenever I’m left out of something.’

Now that he came to think of it, Harry realized that Ginny had been left alone while the Order members had their meeting and the three of them had hurried up to Ron’s room for their discussion.

‘It’s all right,’ he said, smiling slightly. ‘It’s good to see you, Ginny.’

I can’t really tell you just how much thought Harry.

‘Oh, really?’ she asked coldly, an unreadable expression on her face.

‘Yeah, it is,’ said Harry, nettled. ‘You can’t even imagine how happy I’m to see you.’

The last trace of anger disappeared from Ginny’s eyes at his words. The emotions in them were quite different now. Ginny stepped towards him and Harry was unable to back away. He was just too mesmerized by her eyes and the flowery scent was overwhelming him. She suddenly appeared to be very close to him and he couldn’t help but glance down at her lips.

Both of them jumped as the front door suddenly burst open and George entered. A smirk appeared on his face when he saw that Harry and Ginny were alone. They quickly stepped away from each other. Harry felt heat suffusing his face and he refused to look at Ginny’s brother.

‘I hope I’m not interrupting anything,’ he said teasingly.

‘You aren’t,’ snapped Ginny, glaring furiously at her brother. ‘I hope you weren’t spying on us, though.’

‘I just came here to ask you both to come join us,’ said George, holding out his hands.

‘Let’s go, then,’ said Ginny, hurrying out the front door at once.

‘Is something wrong between you two?’ asked George suspiciously, rounding on Harry. ‘We’ve all been noticing certain things.’

‘No, nothing’s wrong,’ replied Harry at once. He definitely didn’t want to get into trouble with one of Ginny’s brothers. He hoped desperately that Hermione hadn’t told Ron about what he’d done.

‘I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Potter,’ said George warningly. ‘Let’s play some Quidditch before Mum decides to get started on the wedding preparations.’

‘Right,’ said Harry. ‘Let’s go.’

Harry followed George outside, mulling over Ginny’s behavior. Ginny had been about to kiss him and he’d been unable to stop her from doing so. He needed to keep himself under control if he wanted to protect her. It wouldn’t happen again.

‘Come into the air already!’ George shouted, snapping Harry out of his reverie. ‘You can daydream about our sister later!’

Harry looked up and saw Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Charlie hovering above him. The four Weasley brothers were smirking while Ginny was blushing. Harry frowned at the brothers and retrieved his Firebolt from the broom shed.

They played Quidditch for the next few hours and were forced to head inside when Ron started moaning about food. Ginny told Ron off for ending their Quidditch game because of his hunger. Harry was feeling better than he had for a long time, flying always made him feel better. They found Bill and Fleur eating lunch while Mrs. Weasley talked to them from her stove.

‘Ginny, you mustn’t go flying like zis,’ said Fleur, frowning at Ginny. ‘You’re ze bridesmaid and I don’t want you zo be injured.’

‘I don’t crash that often, Fleur,’ said Ginny, looking annoyed. ‘You don’t have to worry for me.’

Harry thought Bill looked rather disgruntled. Fleur had probably stopped Bill from playing Quidditch with them; obviously she didn’t want the groom to be injured.

‘Tomorrow, you won’t have time for Quidditch,’ said Mrs. Weasley. ‘We’re starting the wedding preparations!’

‘Oh no!’ cried Fred in despair while Ron looked up from his food in dismay.

‘It’s Harry’s birthday tomorrow, Mum,’ said Ginny. ‘Surely you don’t want us to be busy with the wedding preparations all day?’

‘Yeah, Mum, you can delay them for another day,’ pleaded George.

‘Yes, I suppose we should postpone the preparations,’ said Mrs. Weasley.

‘We’re ever so grateful to you, Harry!’ said Fred gratefully. ‘We shall never forget this as long as we live!’

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes.

Harry had almost forgotten that it was his seventeenth birthday the next day. He’d completely lost track of time at Privet Drive.

‘Mrs. Weasley, there’s really no need to do anything tomorrow,’ said Harry humbly.

‘Oh, don’t be silly, dear,’ said Mrs. Weasley, smiling at him. ‘It’s your seventeenth birthday tomorrow - it’s a big day in a wizard’s life. We’ve to celebrate it.’

Harry nodded, knowing it was impossible to change Mrs. Weasley’s mind.

‘When is Hermione coming?’ asked Ron.

‘She said she’d be back for lunch,’ replied Mrs. Weasley.

‘Are you missing Hermione already, Ronald?’ asked Ginny, smirking.

‘Shut it,’ said Ron, his ears turning red.

Harry couldn’t help the grin from spreading across his face and Ron smacked him on the arm because of it.

They were halfway through lunch when they heard a knock on the door.

‘That must be Hermione,’ said Mrs. Weasley, hurrying to open the door at once.

‘She’s here, ickle Ronniekins,’ said Fred, sniggering.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door and Hermione stepped inside, looking incredibly nervous. She was followed by her parents, who were glancing around warily. Mr. Granger had bronze hair with streaks of gray, sparkling blue eyes, a well-trimmed moustache and large front teeth like the ones Hermione had had before Madam Pomfrey had shrunk them. Mrs. Granger looked like a grown up Hermione as she’d the same bushy brown hair and the brown shade of her eyes was also the same. She was clutching her husband’s hand tightly and glancing nervously at her daughter.

‘Oh, welcome,’ said Mrs. Weasley brightly while the rest of them looked on uncertainly. ‘We’ve been expecting you!’

‘Mum, Dad, it’s all right,’ said Hermione, unconsciously pulling at a strand of her hair. ‘You met the Weasleys at Diagon Alley about five years ago, remember?’

‘Ah yes, I remember,’ said Mr. Granger, both he and his wife looked disorientated by the presence of so many redheads on the table.

‘Let me introduce you to everyone,’ said Hermione, smiling encouragingly at her parents. ‘This is Mrs. Weasley - she’s always very nice to me.’

‘Hermione speaks very highly of you,’ Mrs. Granger said to Mrs. Weasley. Hermione’s parents seemed to have calmed down.

‘You’ve a wonderful daughter,’ responded Mrs. Weasley, looking pleased. ‘You’ve raised her very well.’

Both women seemed to have warmed to each other already.

‘This is Fred and that’s George,’ said Hermione, pointing at the twins, who grinned identically. Hermione’s parents stepped back automatically; Hermione seemed to have told them about the twins’ reputation for mischief.

‘Hermione has told me some very amusing tales about you two,’ said Mr. Granger.

‘Always knew you appreciated our talents deep down inside, Hermione,’ said Fred, grinning.

‘This is Charlie,’ Hermione continued. ‘He works in Romania, remember? That’s Ron.’

‘Oh, so you’re the boy Hermione’s so taken with,’ said Mrs. Granger, looking interestedly at Ron.

Ron accidentally dripped water down his chin and his ears turned a deep shade of red. Harry and the Weasleys sniggered into their food. Even Mrs. Weasley looked amused.

‘Mum, you weren’t supposed to say that!’ said Hermione, blushing furiously.

‘Oops, sorry,’ said her mum.

‘That’s Bill and Fleur,’ said Hermione, pointing. ‘They’re getting married, remember?’

‘Congratulations,’ said Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

‘It will be an honor zo have you at ze wedding,’ said Fleur brightly. Like most men, Mr. Granger was mesmerized by the part Veela.

‘That’s Ginny,’ said Hermione, Ginny smiled brilliantly, ‘and last but not least, Harry.’

Mr. and Mrs. Granger stared at Harry with a mixture of awe and sympathy on their faces. Harry shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

‘Well, it’s wonderful to meet all of you,’ said Mr. Granger, continuing to look at Harry. ‘I believe we haven’t introduced ourselves properly? I’m Hector and my wife’s Irene.’

‘Please sit down,’ said Mrs. Weasley, bustling over to the stove. ‘Let me serve you some food. My husband, Arthur, will arrive in the evening - he was most eager to meet you.’

‘That’s an understatement,’ muttered Ginny and Harry barely stopped himself from laughing out loud.

Harry and the Weasley siblings spent most of the time after lunch playing Quidditch. They were forced inside when it started raining unexpectedly. Fleur appeared highly relieved when she saw that her bridesmaid was still in one piece. They settled down in the sitting room after that and spent the evening talking about things which had nothing to do with the war and playing Wizard’s Chess and Exploding Snap. Harry didn’t see much of Hermione as she was with her parents in Percy’s old room. It felt good to be back amongst his friends.

Ginny sighed as lay down in her bed for sleep later in the night. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remove the image of the boy with the tousled black hair and green eyes from her mind.

The last month had been difficult for her to say the least. She’d been feeling emptiness inside her ever since Harry had broken up with her. She’d expected it to happen but it had still been too painful. She’d wanted to be with him for almost seven years and their relationship had only lasted a few weeks. Just a few weeks…

Those few weeks had been wonderful, the caresses, the holding hands, the kissing, everything they’d done together. The thing which had made her the happiest was the true joy in Harry’s eyes. She thought he’d smiled more in those few weeks than in his entire life. The tension which always hung around Harry had disappeared in those days. She was glad she’d been the one to provide him that happiness. Doing it meant a lot to her.

She wished he hadn’t broken up with her, though. Her heart had shattered into a million pieces when he’d said those words. She hadn’t taken it well at all, like he’d hoped. She’d raced up to her dormitory when he’d walked away and broken down completely. She hadn’t been able to stop her tears from flowing. She’d always prided herself on being tough but whenever Harry was involved, all that toughness always disappeared. Hermione had really helped her to cope. She could still feel the big hole in her heart but now she managed to hold back her tears. She hoped Harry never found out she’d cried; he didn’t want to think of her as weak.

Why did he have to be such a noble prat? Why was he denying himself a chance at happiness? It’d broken her heart when Harry had said that the time he’d spent with her had been like something from someone else’s life. Harry thought he didn’t deserve happiness. He was so wrong about that, he deserved happiness more than anyone else.

She’d wanted to be angry with him and tell him he was being a noble prat when he’d arrived but her heart had seemed to melt as soon as she’d looked into those beautiful emerald eyes. He’d stared at her with such intensity and passion that she couldn’t doubt that he still had feelings for her. She’d sometimes got the dreadful feeling that Harry had just been looking for an excuse to break up with her, but now she didn’t have any doubts. She hadn’t planned on hugging him due to the state of things between them, but it had just happened. Well, there was nothing wrong with that, Hermione had also hugged him.

‘Can’t sleep?’

She jumped as she heard Hermione’s voice in the darkness.

‘Yeah, unfortunately,’ said Ginny, sighing. She’d had trouble sleeping ever since the day Professor Dumbledore had died. His death had greatly troubled her; perhaps it was because he’d been Harry’s mentor and protector, and because she’d always thought all of them would be safe as long as he was alive.

‘Thinking about Harry?’

‘I’m trying not to,’ she replied. She’d been sharing her feelings with Hermione for about three years now, and Hermione was like an elder sister to her. She’d lived amongst six boys nearly all her life and she’d always wanted to have a sister.

‘He seemed very happy to see you,’ commented Hermione.

‘Yeah, I know,’ said Ginny, trying not to sound too pleased. She felt a smile cross her face as she remembered the look on his face.

‘I need light,’ said Hermione. ‘I can’t talk without looking at your face. Lumos Maxima!’

Light flooded the room and Ginny saw Hermione peering at her face. There were three beds barely squeezed inside the small room. There wasn’t much space left for anything else in the room, and Ginny was eagerly waiting for the day when Bill and Fleur would move to their own place.

‘I told you he still had feelings for you,’ said Hermione, an annoying knowing look on her face. ‘I hope you believe me now.’

‘I never thought that,’ lied Ginny, avoiding Hermione’s eyes.

‘Yes, you did,’ said Hermione. ‘I’m glad he managed to convince you by just looking at you.’

‘His eyes always tell me everything about his feelings,’ said Ginny, sighing dreamily. ‘They’re always so … intense.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ said Hermione, nodding in agreement. ‘So anyways, I saw Harry and you talking when I was leaving today. What happened? What did Harry say?’

‘We actually bumped into each other,’ said Ginny, feeling her anger rise at George’s interruption. ‘I was pretty angry - I was left out of everything once again - and I think I scared him a bit.’

Hermione giggled. ‘What?’ she said, noticing Ginny’s raised eyebrows. ‘It’s kind of amusing that Harry has battled a Dark Lord and yet he’s scared of you.’

‘He said it was really good to see me again,’ continued Ginny, ignoring Hermione’s comment. ‘I asked him whether he was saying the truth, and he said I couldn’t imagine how happy he really was. I nearly kissed him - he didn’t try to stop me - but then we were interrupted by one of my dear, overprotective brothers.’

She loved her brothers, even though she wouldn’t admit it, but they really drove her crazy sometimes. If George hadn’t showed up, they would’ve kissed and things could’ve possibly returned back to normal.

‘It must be hard to live with six brothers,’ said Hermione sympathetically.

‘Five brothers,’ Ginny corrected her coldly. The fact that Percy was her brother was like a slap to her face. She’d never forgiven him for abandoning them. Pompous git.

‘So what’re you going to do about Harry?’ asked Hermione, looking surprised by her reaction.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ sighed Ginny, her anger at Percy quickly replaced by her heartache.

‘You must’ve thought of something.’

‘Hermione, I really don’t know,’ snapped Ginny, feeling slightly annoyed by her pestering. Hermione always had valuable advice to give but sometimes her questioning could be downright annoying.

’I suppose we’d better go to sleep, then,’ said Hermione, looking hurt.

’Hey, wait,’ said Ginny. ‘What was your Mum saying about you being taken by my prat of a brother?’

’It’s getting late,’ said Hermione, blushing furiously and pulling the covers over her head. ‘We’ll talk in the morning.’

She turned off the lamp with a flick of her wand and Ginny smirked in the darkness for some moments before her thoughts returned to Harry. She didn’t really know what she was going to do about him, but the way he’d looked at her had given her hope that he would come back to her, if she tried hard enough.

‘Your birthday really saved us, mate,’ said Ron as he and Harry got ready to sleep.

Harry was about to reply when he felt a searing pain in his scar. He groaned, clutching his scar. The pain disappeared after a few moments but Ron had noticed everything.

‘You ok?’ he asked, looking concerned.

‘I-I’m fine,’ mumbled Harry, feeling worried. His scar hadn’t hurt at all the previous year so why was it hurting now?

‘It was your scar, wasn’t it?’ inquired Ron. ‘I thought it’d stopped hurting.’

‘Yeah, I thought so too,’ said Harry. ‘Dumbledore said Voldemort was using Occlumency against me. Maybe he’s furious I got away from Privet Drive.’

‘Yeah, probably,’ agreed Ron.

‘Do me a favor and don’t tell Hermione,’ said Harry, leaning back into his pillows. ‘She’ll want me to learn Occlumency and we all know that I’m hopeless at it.’

‘Right,’ said Ron reluctantly.

‘Good night,’ said Harry, pulling the covers over himself.

‘Wait, I wanted to talk about something,’ said Ron.

‘Er - about what?’ asked Harry warily, turning over so that he faced Ron’s bed. He had a nasty feeling about Ron’s reply.

‘Ginny.’

Oh damn! I knew it!

‘Hermione told you?’

‘Yeah,’ said Ron. ‘She was actually expecting you to do it after the funeral.’

‘Am I really that transparent?’ asked Harry wryly.

‘Sort of,’ said Ron, shrugging.

Harry scrutinized Ron’s expression, trying to decipher what he was going to do next.

‘You must be angry about it,’ he said slowly, cringing at the pathetic nervousness in his voice. ‘Are you going to beat me into a pulp?’

‘No, I’m not,’ said Ron, grinning at the look on Harry’s face. ‘You can’t imagine how angry I got but then Hermione made me see sense. You’re just trying to protect Ginny and you obviously care about her. I would’ve really beaten you into a pulp if you had dumped her for some stupid reason.’

‘Lucky me,’ muttered Harry, feeling immensely relieved.

‘I think you’re trying to do the right thing, mate,’ said Ron seriously. ‘She’d insisted on going with us if you two were still together. I want her to be safe just like you and I think this could keep her away from danger. Don’t tell her I’m supporting you with this.’

‘It could slip out of my mouth,’ said Harry, chuckling at Ron’s fear of his little sister.

‘I would really beat you into a pulp if that happened,’ said Ron threateningly.

‘I want to see the Bat Bogey Hex,’ said Harry, smirking. ‘I’ve never really seen it and I’m really curious about its effects. I’m just kidding,’ he added as Ron prepared to toss a pillow into his face.

‘I’m not as kind as her other four brothers, though,’ said Ron, a smirk appearing on his face. ‘They’re never gonna forgive you so easily. Fred and George are especially protective of her and I wouldn’t be surprised if they beat you into a pulp for this.’

‘Maybe they’ll also think that I still care about her if I explained things to them,’ said Harry hopefully.

‘It’s good to hope,’ said Ron.

‘So you just wanted to scare me?’ asked Harry.

‘You’re scared?’ said Ron, laughing.

‘It would be pretty scary if you all ganged up on me,’ said Harry defensively.

‘I also wanted to give you another warning,’ said Ron once his laughter had died down.

‘Oh great! There’s another warning!’ groaned Harry, wishing it’d nothing to do with Ginny’s mother.

‘Don’t worry about Mum,’ said Ron, seeming to know what Harry was thinking. ‘She’ll never get angry with you. It’s about Ginny. I wanted to tell you that she can get mad when she’s angry and she’s downright scary when that happens. If she insists on getting back together with you, it would be better if you did. Otherwise, she’ll make you experience just how painful the Bat Bogey Hex really is.’

’Thanks for the warning,’ said Harry, rolling his eyes, he already knew about Ginny’s temper. Ginny wasn’t as scary as Ron thought, anyway. ‘I will protect her no matter what - I won’t change my mind even if she hexes me for it.’

‘That doesn’t seem likely,’ said Ron teasingly, ‘judging by the way you stared at her when you first saw her.’

‘Shut it,’ said Harry, lobbing his pillow at Ron. ‘You must be very happy – you never liked us together.’

‘I was just against the public displays of snogging,’ said Ron, looking uncomfortable.

‘Ha! You’re one to talk,’ said Harry, shuddering at the horrific memories of Ron and Lavender. ‘Ginny and I were never like you and Lavender - we preferred to do it in secluded parts of the school grounds.’

‘I’m going to have nightmares about that,’ scowled Ron, looking disgusted. His ears had turned red once more.

‘So Hermione seems to be very taken with you,’ he smirked, suddenly remembering the words which had slipped out of Mrs. Granger’s mouth.

‘Shut it,’ said Ron, his face also turning red. ‘I’m going to sleep.’

‘Coward,’ laughed Harry as Ron switched the lamp off. He continued chuckling in the darkness until Ron threw a pillow at him.

‘You’re a git, Harry.’

‘Thanks for that immense praise,’ smiled Harry as he closed his eyes.