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Category: Animagus Challenge (2013-1), Animagus Challenge (2013-1) Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other Genres: Fluff, Humor, Romance Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 21 Summary: Harry is holed up in his bedroom in the middle of the night waiting for sleep to claim, and right now, it looks like boredom will kill him before Voldemort will. He's already attempted to flatten his hair, snuck out to steal food from the refrigerator, and done a million push-ups on his bedroom floor. Now he's resorted to daydreaming about a certain pretty redhead and making it into his Animagus form. Still dying from the lack of anything interesting to do, he runs the steps through his head. What he didn't know was that he was actually going through the steps for transformation. Then poof! He's two feet tall and covered in red feathers. His last words as a human: "Whoops." Hitcount: Story Total: 7343; Chapter Total: 3061 |
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RED Harry let go of his snitch, let zoom around his room once more, then snatched it out of the air. Sighing, he turned his head to his alarm clock to check the time again. Five minutes past the last time he checked. 1:54 am. Groaning, he flopped onto the bed and threw the snitch across the room. It hit the wall, swayed in the air drunkenly, and then fluttered around the other side of the room. Harry ignored it. He hung his head of the end of the bed, and stared at the opposite wall. He glared at it. It took no notice. "Damn wall," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked upward, from the wall to his dresser to the empty cage sitting on his desk. "She's been gone two days. I wonder what's taking her so long." Sighing, he turned his mind to a more interesting subject. Specifically, to a certain pretty witch with the most beautiful red hair and the scariest temper. Daydreaming of Ginny Weasley was his favorite way to pass the time in the Dursley's house. He glanced around, rolled over, and pulled one of Fred and George's daydream charms. Glancing over the instructions, he pulled out his wand, and muttered "Luci adlucinor." His vision blurred, and he shut his eyes. There was a spinning sensation, and then giggles reached his ears. He opened his eyes, and looked around. The sun dipped beneath a forest to his left, casting long shadows over the ground. On his right, a glistening lake reflected the moon's light as it pushed the sun out of its way. He was lying on the soft grass, with the sweet smell of strawberries and sunflowers drifting lazily past him. A grin split his face, and he looked down at the mop of red hair on his chest. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. She stirred, and lifted her head. "Hey handsome," she whispered, smiling at him. "You flatter me," he murmured, running a hand through her hair, "I'm nowhere near as good looking as you." "I know; I just like to pretend you are." He laughed, and she placed a finger on his lips. "Now shut up and kiss me." "Your wish is my command," he said, and kissed her. They lay there for a while, enjoying the sensation of each kiss. Then Ginny spoke. "How's your Animagus training going?" He groaned. "Don't remind me." "Come on, Harry, it can't be that bad." "It is that bad." "Why?" "I can't get all the way into an animal form. The worse thing is that my Animagus form is really stupid." "What is it?" "You don't want to know." "Come on, you can tell me," she said, propping herself up on her elbow and smiling seductively. His eyes moved without permission to her chest. He shook his head, tucked his hands beneath his head and looked up into the sky. "Harry..." "Fine, it's this little red bird. Professor Dumbledore thinks it's a cardinal." "What's bad about that?" "It's a tiny little bird! Could it be any more pathetic?" "It could be a dodo bird." "Wow, Gin, way to lift my spirits." "I know what, how about you show me." "Show you what?" he raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "Your Animagus form. Maybe you can't get all the way into it because you've got too much pressure on you to make it." Harry thought about, and then shrugged. It was a daydream, if he tried, he'd probably get it. Standing up, Harry drew a deep breath. In and out. He cleared his mind and willed his body to change. He felt himself growing smaller, warmer, and felt a pleasant tickling sensation running down his back. He opened his eyes. "What the heck?" He looked around. The grassy lake-shore had disappeared, and so had Ginny. He was back in his room, sitting on the floor. But, something wasn't right; the room looked strangely redder than normal, like he was looking through a rose-colored camera lens. And everything looked bigger, rounder. He stood up, and looked around. The top of his head barely reached the top of the bed. He stepped forward gingerly, towards his nightstand. He stood on tip-toes, looking at the lighted screen of his alarm clock. "Holy shit!" he gasped. He shook his head, and looked back at the clock. Half past five in the morning. When he activated the daydream charm it had barely been two o'clock. Surely he had not been daydreaming for three and half hours? He stepped back, and leaned up against the bed. He rubbed his eyes, and froze. He looked down at his hands. But, they weren't his hands. They were feathery and… and long. He looked down at his feet. They weren't feet, but scaly talons. He reached up to touch his face. Was it just his imagination, or did he have a beak? He hurried across his room to the wardrobe. He fumbled with the door, flung it open, turned to the mirror and gaped at his reflection. He was a bird. A two foot tall bird with wings and tail feathers and a beak and talons. He didn't have arms, no fingers; he was covered in red and gold feathers. "I- I made it," he muttered. "I'm a real bird. I'm a real bird!" He jumped into the air, whooped with happiness, and crashed to the ground. "Ow," he mumbled, now sitting on his head looking out from in between his tiny legs. He rolled onto his side, stood up, and shook himself. "Guess I can jump higher now that I'm a bird. Oh, hey, I'm a bird. I have wings. I'm such an idiot!" he smacked himself in the face with a wing, and jumped back into the air. Flapping his arms wildly, he hovered in the air for two blessed seconds before falling hard on his ass again. Groaning, he stumbled to his feet, and staggered around the room to his bed. He jumped again, flapped his hopeless wings, and landed on the bed. At least this time, falling didn't hurt. "How is it that I can fly on a broomstick, but not with my own wings?" he grumbled, after falling from the air for the millionth time. He stood, rubbed his tail feathers, and jumped again. He flapped half-heartedly, and winced, ready for the fall. He kept wincing, and flapping. He glanced around. He was at eye level with the rest of the room. "I'm human again, aren't I?" He sighed, and stopped flapping his arms; glad there was no one around to see him flapping his arms like an idiot. Then his room got taller, and he collided with the bed. He blinked, looked down, and saw feathers. He was still a bird. "Weird," he whispered. "Wait, if I didn't change back, then how come I was staying put?" "You are so incredibly stupid." "Who- what- where-" he jumped, looking around for the source of the voice. There was no one there but him and Hedwig. "Oh, there you are, Hedwig, I didn't see you there." "No, you were too busy trying and failing to fly." He froze, staring at his owl. "What? Never heard an owl speak before?" "But- but- you're a bird!" "Oh, really? I hadn't noticed," she said, cocking her head, and rolling her eyes. "Birds don’t talk," he insisted. "What do you mean, we don’t talk? You're talking." "Yeah, that's because I'm human." "Oh, then I'm a horse. I've always wanted to be a horse." "No, I'm a wizard, an Animagus." "Animagus?" "A human that can turn themselves into an animal at will." "You look like some sort of parrot to me." "I'm Harry Potter." "Harry?" Hedwig gasped, fluttering her wings. "Now I've seen everything." "So how are you talking to me?" "How do humans talk to each other?" "I dunno; we make noises at each other?" "Exactly," Hedwig said, "just because humans cannot speak Bird does not mean we can't." "Oh," he muttered, looking down. "By the way," he looked back up," if you want to fly, don't just wave your wings helplessly. Actually move them. Like so." She launched her self upward, beating her wings gracefully. She flew around the room once before returning to the dresser. He nodded, jumped, and flapped his wings. "I'm flying!" he gasped. "Good, now don't forget to keep flapping, otherwise you'll crash again." He flew around the room as she did, then settled on the bed once more. "So, Harry, now that you are a bird, are you going to stay that way?" "What? Oh, no. I guess should change back," he said. He inhaled, let out his breath, cleared his mind, and willed himself to be human again. "There." "There what?" Hedwig cocked her head. He opened his mouth, stopped, and looked down. "Aw, crap." "What?" "I'm still a bird." "So?" "I just tried to go back to being human." "Ah, I see." He tried again. "Not good." "What?" "I can't change back." "So you're a bird for the rest of your life?" "No, I'll find a way to change back somehow." "In the meantime, why don't we go do something fun?" "Fun?" "Yeah," Hedwig chirped. "Just because you are not naturally a bird does not mean you cannot have fun being a bird." He pondered this for a moment, and then nodded. "Wonderful! Come on." In a flutter of wings, Hedwig soared through the open window into the night. "Hey!" he called after her, launching himself up into the air. "Follow me!" "Where are we going?" he asked, not really noticing himself flying through the open window. "You'll see." Harry looked around, and his mouth fell open. "Yipes!" he almost stopped flapping. "Harry, come on, don’t tell me you're afraid of heights." "No, of course not. I'm not afraid of anything." "If you say so." "I'm not!" "Hey, take it easy, flyboy, I was just teasing." He opened his beak, but shut it again, deciding not to turn himself into a complete fool, instead stared around him in awe. The sun was just beginning its rounds across the sky; and was currently painting the clouds with soft corals, red and yellows. Fog blurred the headlights of the cars inching through the morning rush hour. Above him, the stars struggled to shine just as bright as the sun and the moon was hid behind the mountains to his left. "Humans can never fully appreciate the beauty of dawn like we birds can." "No kidding," he muttered, looking down at the suburbs beneath him, at the minuscule people walking the streets on their way to work. A momentary pang to be down there with them, laughing and feeling care-free hit him. He quickly shook it off, and fixed his attention on Hedwig. "Of all the species, the birds are the most majestic of them all," Hedwig called, her voice resonating across the sky. "While the cats call themselves royalty, the strongest of their breed roll in the dirt and fight better than any animal on Earth. And the dogs are here to protect mankind, and to love them. The horses may be the only ones who are truly free on this Earth, but the birds are the proudest, the oldest- besides the fish, but I don't count them seeing as we eat them more often than any other animal besides the cows. Birds are best." "If you say so," Harry said, "but why tell me?" "To convince you to remain a bird." "Oh, no, I'm human at heart, and always will be." "Very well," Hedwig sighed. "Our destination is far off, we will arrive there be the time the sun chases away the stars." "You mean about eight o'clock?" "I do not know much of the human sense of time. Don't bother explaining it." "Fine." They fell silent, and Harry simply watched the sun rise. It really was beautiful. It reminded him of Ginny. It was fiery, yet gorgeous at the same time, just like her. "So, um, Harry?" "Huh?" "Tell me, what's it like being human?" "Uhh," Harry said, racking his brains. "I don't think I can describe it." "You don't have to tell me much; I'm just interested in the human emotions." "Okay…" "What's rage like?" "I can't really tell you, I've never really felt it." "Love?" "Same answer." "You've never felt love?" "Well, it's not like the Dursley's are willing to show me that. And I don’t remember my parents very well." "What about grief?" He couldn't find the words. "Harry?" "Grief is a really complex emotion. I guess I don't really know how to tell you how it feels." "I see. Can you explain anything?" "Depends." "Tell me about Hogwarts. And that girl you keep sighing about." "What girl? There's no girl. I don't have a girl." "Harry, I can understand some Human-talk, you know. Plus, you babble a lot in your sleep." Harry sighed deeply, mumbled "Note to self: tape mouth shut before bed." "I'm sure that will help. So, are you really in love with Ginny Weasley?" "Shhh!" He flew closer. "I'm not in love with anyone!" "Errol says that her mother believes denial to be the first sign of love." "I'm not!" "If you say so," Hedwig said, her voice betraying skepticism. "I just like her a lot, all right? Now don't tell anyone, got it?" "Fine with me. I'm just a curious old owl." Harry glared at her, and refused to answer another question. About an hour later, Hedwig dipped beneath the clouds. The fog was thicker here, preventing him from seeing where they were. Hedwig stopped about fifteen feet from him, watching him. He drew level with her, and she landed on a windowsill. He stopped just a few feet in front of the window, staring inside. The room behind the glass was small, and dark. The walls were a shade of light yellow, with fall leaves painted on the lower half. A cream low dresser was pushed up against the wall directly in front of him. He could see the end of a bed near the window. The quilt matched the walls, and the frame matched the wood of the dresser. "Why are we here?" "The sleeping human in here should be able to help you transform back to human." "Who is it?" Hedwig raised a talon and scratched the wood frame, slipping a claw inside, and pulled. The window creaked open, and she flew in. Harry, reluctantly, followed, landing on the edge of the bed frame. Now that he was inside the room, he could tell that it belonged to a Hogwarts student. A red and gold banner hung on the wall by the window, and the top book on a stack of spell books beneath him read The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Five. Moving photographs were attached to the mirror above the dresser, and he could see what looked like the whole of Fred and George's magical make-up section lying haphazard on the dresser top. "I can see she's a fan of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," he grumbled, turning to look at Hedwig. "How is a fifth year Gryffindor supposed to help me with my problem?" In answer Hedwig fluttered from her perch on the dresser to the head of the bed. She gripped the edge of the quilt with a talon, lifted, and moved it off the head of the occupant. She returned to the dresser. Harry flew over to the head of the bed, confused, then his beak fell open. "Eeek!" he shrieked, nearly falling off the bed. The girl sat up, blinking and pushing red hair out of her eyes. "Who- oh, a bird," she mumbled. "Go away, I'm trying to sleep." "Ginny!" "Oh, I'm evil, aren't I?" Hedwig crooned. "Have fun! I'm sure I'll see you soon." "Hedwig, come back!" A gust of wind blew through the room, slamming the window shut. Harry gulped and turned to Ginny. Was it just this morning that he dreamed of being with her? Right now, he was nowhere near to being the suave man he thought he was. He was scared to death. "Hello, are you deaf? I'm trying to sleep," Ginny yawned. "Sorry!" he squeaked, backing up. His foot hit the edge of the bed, and he tumbled down. "Oh, poor dear, I'm so sorry," Ginny gasped, throwing the quilt off her and getting out of bed, she knelt down by him. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just really cranky when I haven't had my coffee. Here, let me look at you." Harry scrambled to his feet staring at her. He was speechless. She scooped him up, and placed him on the bed. It was still warm. She stared speaking, but he wasn't listening. He couldn't help himself. It wasn't every day he saw Ginny Weasley in her pajamas. Especially such small pajamas… He jerked his head from side to side, shaking the image from his mind. "Look north of the equator," he mumbled, and looked back at her, making sure his eyes did not stray past her face. "What's the matter, birdie?" she said, leaning down and placing her hands on her knees. "Does your head hurt?" He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Ginny gasped. "Can you understand me?" He nodded, peeking from beneath his eyelids. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?" He shook his head. "Uh, Ginny, it's me, Harry." "I'm sorry, love, I don’t speak Bird," she chuckled. "But how do you understand me?" "I'm Harry friggin' Potter! I'm an Animagus." "I have no idea how to understand you." "This is hopeless," he groaned. "How did you get in here?" "Through the window," he said, jerking his head toward the window. Ginny glanced at it, crossed the room, and fastened the latch. "That's funny, I'm sure I latched last night," she whispered. "Ah, well, no use crying over spilled potion." She turned back to him, frowning. "I wonder what kind of bird you are," she whispered, looking at him. "I'll ask Mum later." She yawned again, and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh, Merlin, is it already eight thirty? Mum will want breakfast." "Breakfast? Why would you have to make breakfast?" he said. "Usually she makes it, but she's come down with a really bad cold, and Dad took Ron camping for the weekend, so it's just me and Mum. Oh, Ron's my older brother. I've got six of them," she added, moving to the dresser and opening the drawers. "The oldest is Bill, he works for Gringotts, he's a curse-breaker. He's really cool. Then there's Charlie; he's in Romania studying dragons. Then there's Percy who's a complete git; and then the twins Fred and George: they own Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They gave me these," she gestured to the products covering her dresser top. "After them is Ron; he's just finished his sixth year at Hogwarts. I'm going into my sixth year there. It's really great, having all these people in one house, but does mean that I've got little to no privacy and that boys have to jump through a lot of hoops to get anywhere near me. Having six brothers can be a pain sometimes, but they can be really sweet. Know what I mean?" Harry didn't say anything, he was too startled by the fact that she was telling him all this. "We have an owl already, but he's ancient, so I'm going to ask Mum if I can keep you. I'd love to have my own bird." "You want to keep me?" he gasped, staring at her. "Oh, don’t' be scared, birdie, you'll love it here. Guess I should name you something," she said, pulling something from the drawer and moving back to the bed. "I can't keep calling you birdie. How about Scarlet?' For your red feathers. That's a pretty name." He shook his head wildly. "I'm not a bird! I'm Harry!" "No? What, are you a boy bird?" "Yes!" he said, nodding quickly. "Oh! I see. All right, a boy bird… hmm… I suppose I could call you Harry…" He froze. "I am Harry!" "Harry's Ron's best friend. He's also the best looking guy at Hogwarts." He puffed out his chest, jumping for joy inside. "I used to have a crush on him, because he pretty famous. He's Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. I used worship him." He's spirits sank. He knew she was over him, but had hoped she kept a small spark of that crush alive. He guessed she did not. "No, I won't name you Harry. That's too obvious, and I don’t want him to think I still fancy him." His heart fell farther. "It's not like I don’t like him anymore, I just don't want to fall head over heels again. I'd like to keep some sense when I'm around him. I used to do nothing but blush and sputter. I even stuck my elbow in the butter dish once! It was humiliating." "I thought it was cute," he insisted. "The point is, I'm not the same little girl I was and I don’t want to regress. So I'll name you Red. It's the male version of Scarlet." "But I'm- oh forget it," he muttered. "I'd better get dressed," she said. "I'd rather not wear my pajamas in the kitchen." Harry looked up, confused, then his eyes went from open to wide open when she tugged her tank top off. He fell over. "Red? Are you okay?" Ginny leaned over him, a concerned expression on her face. He shut his eyes quickly, and started reciting the steps for making a Forgetfulness potion in his head. It didn't banish the image of Ginny removing her shirt right in front of him. Yes, she had a bra on underneath, but it was all lacey, and sexy, and small, and intoxicating. No one would ever know about this, he could look; he could drink it in if he wanted. No! This was Ron's little sister! He could not look. He peeked one eye open. She hadn't put a shirt on yet, and what was worse, she had tossed the shorts she was wearing onto the floor and had replaced them with the shortest pair of cut-off jeans he had ever seen. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Hey Red, are you all right?" He nodded. "You sure? You look a little shaky." He nodded. "Aw, hell, did you have to change in front of me?" "I still don't know what you're saying." He peeked. She had put on an old, worn button-up shirt and tied it just below her breasts, showing off her stomach. "Come on, Red," Ginny said, holding out her arm. He jumped, and flew to her shoulder. "Wonderful. Come on, after I make breakfast I'll give you a tour of the Burrow." Harry nodded, wondering what the hell was Hedwig thinking, taking him here. It was obvious that Ginny couldn't exactly help him back to being human. In the kitchen, she chatted nonstop about the Burrow while frying eggs and bacon. After that she made him stay in the kitchen while she took a tray to Mrs. Weasley. When she came back she was smiling. "Mum said I could keep you, Red," she beamed. "Now come on, I want to show one of my favorite places here." She ran out the door, and he flew after her. He was beginning to enjoy being Ginny's pet. Outside, she sprinted across the yard to the pond. He let out a chuckle-like squawk and landed on a post just as Ginny skidded to a halt by him. She was panting, but smiling hard. "All right, who said we were racing?" "No one, I just like being fast." "You are the strangest bird I've ever met, Red. I'm glad you're here." She grinned wider, smiling at him. "What I love most about this pond is there's no one around to bother me. I like to go for swims really early. One day I want to sneak out at midnight to meet my sweetheart for a swim. I've heard that skinny-dipping at midnight is one of the most romantic things ever." Harry nodded, trying hard not to snarl at the thought of Ginny skinny-dipping with another man and trying to ignore his wish that he ended up as that man. Ginny stared out at the water. The sun had burned off the fog and now was superheating them. Ginny smiled, stepped back, and then started to run. She ran to the end of the pier, and jumped into the water. The splash covered the end of the pier in water, and flecked him with droplets. Her head broke the surface, and she laughed. Harry shook his feathers, watching her. She swam laps from the pier, to the other bank, and back. The sun quickly dried his feather, but he felt an irresistible urge to join her in the water. He sighed, and wished he was human again. Was it just him, or did it get warmer in here? And was there something on his back? He shook himself and ignored the feeling. He fixed his attention on Ginny. She finished her fifth lap, and pulled herself up onto the dock. She looked up smiling, screamed, and fell back into the water. "What?" he said, looking around for the source of her fright. When he looked back, she had propped herself up on the edge of the dock, and was staring at him. "What the hell are you doing there, Potter?" He frowned, looked down, expecting to see feathers but instead saw his shirt. "Hey, I'm human!" "Whoa, you are? Gee, I hadn't noticed. Where's Red?" she pulled herself up, and he couldn't help but notice how hot she looked soaking wet. "Uhh…" "Harry Potter, what are you doing on my dock?" "You brought me here." he said, shrugging. "Don't talk nonsense. Why are you here and where is my bird?" "I'm here because you wanted to show me the pond." "I'm confused, I brought you out here?" "Yep. Though, at the time, you thought I was a bird-" "You're Red?" she gasped, stepping back. Her foot slipped on the edge. He lunged out, and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She blushed, and pushed him off. "Wait, if you're Red, then-" she gasped, and blushed even redder. "I shut my eyes," he insisted, his own cheeks getting warm. "You had better," she growled. "So how did you end up a bird?" "Uh, well, Dumbledore has been training me to be an Animagus. I kind of got stuck as a bird, and Hedwig decided to bring me here. I didn't know where we were going, I swear. I didn't even know I was in your bedroom until you woke up. I'm really sorry. I tried to explain-" "Shut up, Harry, I understand." "You do?" he sighed in relief. "Yes, I understand the Animagus part, but I don’t see how Hedwig figures into all this." "It's a long story," he chuckled. "Oh, boy," Ginny sighed, watching him. "Look, about what I said about not fancying you anymore-" "No, no, I get it. You tired of waiting for me to realize that you were a girl. I understand," he sighed. "You don't have to explain." "But-" "I'm sorry I didn't notice until now. I wish I had back then. You were really cute as a kid." "Were?" she repeated, crossing her arms. "You were cute, but you're not anymore." "Oh, I see," she said, her confused expression turning to a frown. "You're more than cute, you're beautiful. Even when your hair is a mess and you're drenched, I still think you're beautiful." He froze, staring at the expression of complete bewilderment on Ginny's face. Her arms uncrossed and she blinked rapidly at him. "You think I'm beautiful? Me?" "Well, yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and dropping his eyes to the ground. "Harry?" He looked up. She was smiling now. "Thank you for that." "I mean it," he insisted. "I believe you." Harry bit his lip, trying to think of something else to say. His mind had betrayed him and gone blank. He'd dreamed of this moment all summer. Now he was facing it and he couldn’t say anything. "Harry, I don't think you understood exactly what I meant when I said I didn't have a crush on you anymore. I still like you, a lot, but it doesn't occupy my mind like it used to. I still like you, as a friend." His shoulders sagged, and he looked back at his feet. He turned around, and started to walk away. Then he stopped, turned around, grabbed Ginny's hand, and kissed her cheek. He shut his eyes, enjoying the sweet smell of her hair, before backing up again. "Just in case you change your mind," he murmured. Then he turned around, cleared his mind, and transformed back to Red, and he flew off. He circled high above her head, watching her blush, the headed for home. HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~ HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG Two weeks later, Ron sent him a letter, telling him that his father would be coming on his birthday to get him. Harry was looking forward to Quidditch in the orchard and Mrs. Weasley's cooking, but not to Ginny. Not to 'Let's just be friends.' Why did everything have to go wrong with him? Why? So he packed. And on the 31st, he told the Dursley's he'd be leaving that afternoon. They all sighed with relief and Uncle Vernon warned him that if Mr. Weasley blew up the living room again, he'd shoot him. Harry assured them that Mr. Weasley was Apparating in. They were all very confused, but then, there was a loud CRACK and a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Harry said, and went to the door. "Harry, m'boy, how are you?" Mr. Weasley beamed the moment Harry opened the door. "Fine, thanks, you?" "In perfect health," he replied. "Now, grab your things. Molly's eager for you to come." Harry smiled, turned, and grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage. She hooted at him, and he smiled at her. "You'll be fine," he promised her. "Grab my arm, and hold tight," Mr. Weasley warned. Harry did as he was told, Mr. Weasley gripped his trunk, and turned on the spot. A second later they were standing at the gate to the Burrow. Harry let go, took his trunk, and followed Mr. Weasley to the house. They entered through the kitchen door, where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were cooking. Ron was leaning up against the doorway to the sitting room. "Harry!" Ron called. "Welcome back, mate." "Happy birthday, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling him into a hug. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he said. "Something smells good." "That'll be the roast," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. "Go have a seat dear, dinner will be ready soon." "Yes, ma'am." He took a step toward the dinning room, but Ginny flung out an arm, stopping him in his tracks. He raised an eyebrow. "Before you go," she said; her eyes dark; she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him. She let go, smiling. "I changed my mind." Harry gaped at her. Then a grin spilt his face, and he threw an arm around her shoulders. He gave a mock salute to the stunned Weasley's and led Ginny into the dinning room. Fred and George were sitting at the table, discussing their joke shop. "Oh, hey Harry," said one twin. "Happy birthday, mate," said the other. "Fred, George," he acknowledged. "How's the joke shop?" "Great," Fred replied (or maybe it was George). "You?" Harry smiled down at Ginny, and said "Perfect." The twins raised their eyebrows at each other. "Damn," muttered George. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a few galleons. "Oh, no, this is perfect," Fred laughed, snatching the coins from his brother's hand. "I win the pot!" "What pot?" Harry said, looking between the two. Fred, laughing, counted his coins, and George scowled. "I bet you'd get together after Christmas," George growled. "I bet Halloween," Fred whooped. "Actually, boys," Ginny said, darting forward and pulling the coins from Fred's hand, "I win." The two stopped, dumbfounded, then they both started to laugh. Fred pulled more coins from his pocket and handed them to her. She turned back to Harry, who was more confused than ever. "You bet on us getting together?" "Oh, come on, Red," she purred, slipping her arms around his waist. "Did you really think that after that little display you gave me, I'd let my brothers determine when we'd get together? I bet your birthday because that's when I planned it." Harry let out a chuckle. "You know, technically, we aren't together yet." "Oh, hush," she said, waving a hand. "You belong to me now, Red." She grinned, tucking the gold coins into the pocket of her jeans. "Got it?" "Yes ma'am," he said, leaning in for a kiss. Vaguely, he heard Fred say, "'Red'? Why's she calling him 'Red'?" Ginny smiled at him, and then pushed him into a chair. She sat down on his lap, turned to Fred, and said "It's a long story." HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG ~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG~HG |
| Reviews 21 |
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