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The Legacy of Regulus Black, the Story Continues | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-OotP, Pre-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black Genres: Action/Adventure, Humor, Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 64 Summary: What happened to Harry and Ginny after their mysterious Portkey journey and how did the legacy of Regulus Black change their lives, up to the defeat of Tom Riddle? Becomes more and more AU during the story. Sequel to The Legacy of Regulus Black Hitcount: Story Total: 60117; Chapter Total: 5152 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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Still Wednesday, August 9th, 1995 Harry and Ron had picked up their plates with roasted chicken, potatoes and steamed carrots in the kitchen. They sat silently at the small table in their room and devoted themselves to their food. Harry wanted to tell Ron about the Horcruxes but he wasn't sure how to start, so he waited for a chance to bring the topic up. He got the impression that Ron had something on his mind as well. The way he silently shovelled his food, sending Harry short glances out of the corner of his eye, made it obvious. Harry was about to break the silence when Ron looked up, "Harry?" "Ron?" He returned his friend's gaze. "Tell me, how come that I've got the impression that you and my sister were hiding something when you told us about your time on the island." "What?" Harry asked, taken aback. Ron raised an eyebrow. "I want to know what happened on the bloody island." “Oh.” Harry stared at Ron, wondering if he should be worried that even Ron had noticed that they hadn't told them everything? Maybe Hermione had ordered Ron to hear him out? On the other hand, he wanted to tell Ron what they knew about the Horcruxes anyway, so it didn't matter if he was suspicious. "Well," Harry started, "there is something we wanted to tell you. Ginny is probably telling Hermione about the same things right now." "Ha, I knew there was something wrong with you," Ron replied, slightly annoyed. "What do you mean with wrong with me?" Harry asked, visibly perplexed by his friend's attitude. "I've already told you that there're things we need to talk to you about. But first, you must promise not to tell anyone else. It must be kept an absolute secret." "You don't want us to tell Mum about it," Ron said bewildered. "But why?" "Do you promise to keep it a secret, or not?" Harry asked, matching his friend’s annoyance. "Okay, okay, mate. Of course, I'll keep it a secret," Ron replied. "Although I'm not sure if I like it if it concerns my sister." "Your sister?” Harry looked at his friend in surprise. "What about your sister?" "Just wait a minute." Ron gestured towards his plate. "I’ll just head down to the kitchen to fetch a second helping, then you can tell me everything about your little secret." With that, Ron grabbed his plate and made his way down to the kitchen, leaving a suddenly very puzzled Harry behind. Shaking his head, Harry was pondering Ron’s weird behaviour. He was relieved when he heard Ron's footsteps on the stairs a few minutes later, announcing his friends return. Carrying a fully loaded plate in one hand and two bottles of Butterbeer in the other, Ron slipped through the door. "I tell you, it was a pretty good idea to fetch something to eat now," Ron rattled on. "The kitchen is packed with lots of people, mostly people I don't even know, and the way they're tucking in, there'll be nothing left when they're gone tonight." He sat down at the table and handed Harry a bottle of Butterbeer. "Here you are, mate, and now you're going to tell me about the secrets of yours." "Okay." Harry cleared his throat to collect his thoughts. "Did you ever hear the term Horcrux?" "Hor-what?" Ron asked in surprise. "I have no idea what it is. And what did you do to my sister with those hortuxes, Potter? I hope you didn't take advantage of her!" Harry almost choked his Butterbeer. "Ron, shut up now and listen, or I'll go to bed." "Oh, forget I said anything. Just keep on talking," Ron muttered, turning his attention back to his plate. For the next half hour, Harry told Ron everything he knew about Horcruxes, and that they were pretty sure Voldemort had created a couple of those items. Harry insisted on using the name Voldemort, though Ron had repeatedly asked him to call him You-Know-Who, as all wizards are supposed to do. At the end of the conversation, Ron needed a few minutes to process everything he'd heard. Visibly moved, he cursed, "Bastard. It's good Sirius is going to tell Dumbledore about it. After all, he's the only one who can defeat You-Know-Who." "Yeah, he’ll talk to Dumbledore tonight." Harry nodded. Ron gave Harry a searching look. "Your tale about the Horcruxes is all well and good, but actually, I wanted to know something completely different from you." "And what did you want to know?" Harry replied with interest. "What is it with you and my little sister?" Ron gave him a stern look. "What's biting you? I’ve no clue what you’re talking about." Harry stared back in confusion. "Harry, I know I'm as thick as a brick, but if even I notice something, then there must be something. She’s been hanging around you all day. You even helped her doing her chores in the kitchen." "We wanted to show Sirius what we found on the island of his brother," Harry explained patiently, "and so that your mother would let Ginny come to Sirius with me, I promised to help her in the kitchen. What exactly is your problem?" "I already told you." Ron shrugged. Harry rolled his eyes. After a moment of watching Ron defeating his dinner, he went on, "We had a lot of time to talk and listen in the past few days, and we talked and listened quite a lot." Harry looked Ron straight in the eye. "To be honest, it was great to have someone to talk to." "Oh, then you're sure happy that you're back, so you can talk to me again." Ron grinned at Harry. "Ron, believe me, there are things you don't want to talk about." Harry grinned back. "We can talk about everything, Harry. I'm your best mate," Ron replied unperturbedly. "Do you want to talk with me about nightmares?" Harry asked skeptically. "You two talked about nightmares?" Ron gave him a disbelieving look. "You never talk about your nightmares, Harry. But of course, if you want, you can talk to me about that stuff any time you want." "Ron, you can't even say Voldemort's name, and you wince every time I say his name. Of course, we're best friends, but do you really think you could talk to me about my nightmares?" A mischievous smile crossed Harry's face. "And don’t forget that you must tell me about your dreams as well, especially about the dreams you’re moaning Fleur’s and Hermione’s names." "Hermione?" Ron blushed. "Why should I dream of Hermione?" "That's interesting." Harry grinned. "Does it mean you're awake when you're groaning her name at night?" "Hey, listen, Harry," Ron replied a bit tattered. "A man sometimes needs his privacy." "Ah, finally!" Harry grinned. "That's exactly what I mean, Ron. So, let's talk about Quidditch, or why Snape is such a git. After all, that's what best friends do." "But wait." Ron hesitated. "You said Ginny has nightmares. She hasn't had any nightmares for more than a year." "You seem to be quite sure," Harry chuckled. "What does she dream about in her nightmares?" Ron demanded to know. "You’d better ask her yourself if you dare," Harry snorted amused. " But do me a favour, Ron. Don’t ask her when I’m around." "What do you mean," Ron asked dumbfounded. "On the other hand," Harry grinned impishly, "why should I miss all the fun. Let me know when you're going to ask her. It'll certainly be fun." He got up, scanning the room for a fresh towel. "I'm off to take a shower and then I’ll go to bed. It’s been a long day. In the morning I was still on the island while you slept in until lunch." "Okay, mate,” Ron nodded understandingly. “I'll head to the drawing room, maybe I can find someone who wants to play a game of chess with me." "G'night, Ron." "G'night, Harry." Thursday, August 10th, 1995 When Harry woke up the next morning, he wasn't sure if the August rain lashing against the window had wakened him, or Ron's snoring. In the end, it didn't matter. He knew he wouldn't go back to sleep. Mechanically, he reached for his glasses, lying on the nightstand. He pushed them on his nose and ventured a look at his wristwatch. It was half past six in the morning. With any luck, there was already breakfast. Maybe Ginny was even up. Ginny. Confused, he shook his head. How did he come up with Ginny now? He pushed his legs over the edge of the bed and trudged to his wardrobe in search of fresh clothes for the day. Ten minutes, a hot shower and a tooth brushing later, he headed down the stairs to the kitchen. To his astonishment, Sirius already sat at the kitchen table, a pot of tea and a cup in front of him. He gave Harry a big grin. "Hey Kiddo, did you sleep well? Take a cup out of the cupboard, tea is ready, but there's still no breakfast." "I'll fix us some breakfast, Sirius," Harry suggested. "What do you want?" "Where did you learn to cook, Harry?" Sirius raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Aunt Petunia taught me, I've always been allowed to cook for the whole family ever since I was six,” Harry explained. "It was about the only way to be sure of getting anything to eat at all." "Damn Muggles," Sirius swore. "It’s okay. I'm here now." Harry tried to calm his godfather. "Do you want fried eggs, bacon, and baked beans with toast. Is it okay for you? I can also add a few mushrooms." "Thank you, Harry. But you don’t have to do that." "I enjoy making breakfast, and I'm hungry, too. So why not?" Harry turned to the stove and started preparing breakfast. "Sirius?" Harry hesitantly asked after a while, without taking his eyes off the stove. "Yeah, that’s me," Sirius sniggered. "I need to ask you something," Harry continued, unimpressed by Sirius' joke. "What's got your knickers in a twist?" Harry placed two plates loaded with fried eggs, baked beans and fried bacon on the table and sat down opposite of Sirius. Concentrating on his fried eggs, he began hesitantly, "Tomorrow is Ginny's birthday, and I've no clue what I could give her." Sirius raised his eye brow. "Why, do you think she's expecting a birthday present from you?" "That's not what it is about.” Harry shook his head. "I want to give her something for her birthday." "Well, then I need to know what's up with the two of you. Did something happen on the island that I should know about?" Sirius looked thoughtfully at his godson. "No, it’s not what you think, we are ... friends, that’s all, we talked a lot and ... she's ... I don't know,” Harry stammered. "I want to give her something for her birthday, something useful. But where can I get something when I need it tomorrow?" "Hmm, let me think about it." Sirius frowned thoughtfully. "Something useful, you said. How about a mirror?" "A mirror?" Harry asked flabbergasted. "I'm pretty sure she already has a mirror." "No, that’s not what I meant," Sirius rectified his answer. "I thought of a special mirror. A mirror you can use to talk to each other, a communication mirror." "I didn’t know there was any such thing. Where should I get such a mirror so quickly?" "I have two of those mirrors, the one once belonged to your father and the other one to me. We used the mirrors to talk to each other when we were in detention," Sirius said with a pensive gaze. "I like the idea,” Harry replied thoughtfully. "We have different classes. If we had such mirrors, I could call her when we found something new about the Horcruxes." "Well, I'll look for the mirrors after breakfast. They're probably still in my old school trunk. With some luck I even still have the matching wooden boxes. But I won't help you with the wrapping. You have to wrap them nicely all by yourself." "That's no problem, I can do it," Harry answered, relieved that the problem was solved. He really liked the idea of having a means to communicate with Ginny. "What can you do?" Came a voice from the direction of the door. Startled, Harry turned around, just in time to see Ginny entering the kitchen with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Good morning you two." "Good morning, Ginny," Harry replied, returning her smile. "What I can do? I’m about to whip up some breakfast. What do you want? Eggs, bacon, and beans? If you want cereals or scones, I'll have to look for the ingredients. It might take a minute." "Eggs, bacon and some toast sound like a good idea," Ginny replied. "Where is Mum?" "I wouldn't be surprised if your mother is running a bit late today," Sirius interjected. "The Order meeting last night took quite a while, until the wee hours of the morning, actually." "Oh, what was it about?" Harry gave Sirius an inquiring look. "Did you talk to Dumbledore?" The thought of a birthday present for Ginny obviously had pushed Sirius's conversation with Dumbledore out of Harry's mind. "I did," Sirius replied. "It was very ... let's say interesting. But we'll talk about it later, not here in the kitchen, anyway. Let's meet in my room? In half an hour?" The two teenagers had barely nodded their agreement when they heard footsteps in the stairwell. When they turned to the kitchen door, they were facing an astonished Molly Weasley. "How come you're so up so early?" "Good morning to you too, Mum," giggled Ginny. "Good morning, Dad," she added when Mr Weasley made his way over to his chair at the kitchen table, greeting everyone present. "Good Morning, Mr Weasley," Harry replied. "I'm glad to see you again." Indeed, he’d last seen Ginny's father at King's Cross Station when they’d arrived with the Hogwarts Express. "Harry, I'm glad to see you, too. I wanted to talk to you about your hearing. As you surely know, the hearing will take place on Saturday at 9 o'clock. I'll take you to the Ministry when I get to work, which will be at seven o'clock sharp. I'll pick you up here in the kitchen. Ok?" "All right, Mr Weasley." "Don't worry, Harry," Mr Weasley tried to cheer him up. "Everything will be fine. Professor Dumbledore will be there too. He'll take care of your business. " The news that Dumbledore would be present at the hearing soothed Harry, indeed. Half an hour later, Harry and Ginny met in front of her room to head up to see Sirius together. He followed Ginny up in the stairwell. A silly grin spread over Harry's face as he stared at Ginny's bum floating up the stairs at exactly his eye level. He blushed slightly when he realized what he was doing. Almost missing a step, he felt his unmistakable reaction to Ginny's anatomy. Ginny turned around, her lips curved into a grin that made his heart stop. "Hey, watch your step, Harry." Her grin disappeared as she looked at him attentively. "What's wrong with you?" "Oh, nothing," Harry assured her quickly, muttering, "I...um, distracted for a moment." Ginny looked at him. "Distracted?" When a knowing smirk crossed her face, she suggested, "Maybe you should walk ahead next time." "Oh, no," Harry muttered. "It's okay." He nodded his head up the stairs. "Go on, Sirius is waiting for us." Shaking her head in amusement, Ginny turned and headed up the rest of the stairs. When they reached the landing, Harry caught up with her and they walked side by side to Sirius's room and knocked at the door. Sirius opened the door and let them in. The room had changed a lot compared to the previous day. The dirty laundry was gone, the bed was made, and the table cleared. "Sit down." Sirius pointed to the two chairs at the desk and sat down in the armchair next to the bookshelf. "I talked to Dumbledore about your little excursion and what you two found out about Horcruxes," Sirius started summarizing his meeting with Dumbledore. "He was quite interested in the information you found about Horcruxes. Oddly enough, he wasn't interested in talking to you directly, Harry. He even suggested hiding everything we'll find out in the future from you. He's afraid that your scar is a kind of a connection to Voldemort, and he's worried Voldemort might spy on us using this link." "What does he mean…a connection?" Harry asked horrified. "I don’t know, he was a bit tight-lipped about it. Maybe he has a point here, but to be honest, Harry, I don't care. Your safety is the most important thing to me, and that means that you need to know what is happening around you. Of course, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful. We need to take a possible connection between you and Voldemort into consideration. But more on that later. It was quite a surprise for Dumbledore that I knew about Horcruxes, and he was quite interested in the information we have. However, I had the impression that he already knew most of it. It was quite apparent to me that Dumbledore already suspected for some time that Voldemort created Horcruxes. I can't say exactly where the suspicion comes from, but Dumbledore seemed to be far more concerned that I knew what a Horcrux is than the fact that Voldemort created Horcruxes. "When I asked Dumbledore if he thought the diary was a Horcrux, he gave me a strange gaze. I had the feeling that the idea that the diary was a Horcrux bothered him less than the question how I came up with that idea. As a precaution, I didn't mention that the idea about the diary Horcrux came from the two of you. I had the feeling Dumbledore knew that the diary was a Horcrux, the moment he saw it for the first time. When I asked him about it, he confirmed it. "However, Dumbledore became really tight-lipped when I asked him why Voldemort has been after you all this time, and why he was after James and Lily in the first place. He vaguely mentioned that he'd received the clue that Voldemort wanted to punish the Potters and the Longbottom’s for opposing him. I'm quite sure he didn't tell the whole truth here. "That was the moment I was glad I‘d decided not to mention the Family Journal, and especially not the possibility to merge the soul pieces. Since we don't know why Voldemort is stalking you, we need ways to protect you, Harry. The knowledge about merging soul pieces, and how to destroy them, could be the key knowledge for your survival. I don't want to limit your protection by relying on other people. As soon as I get the impression Dumbledore is honest with us, I will tell him everything we know. However, as long as I've the feeling he's keeping secrets from us, we'll take our own precautions. Once you two have returned to Hogwarts, I'll travel to this island for a few days to study the books on soul magic." "Sirius, do you think we should ask anyone else for help?” Ginny chipped in with a thoughtful gaze. "Either with the soul merging ritual or in general, with the research of these soul magic books? I can ask my brother Bill. He's a curse breaker, and he knows a lot about such things." "Sounds like a good idea." Sirius nodded his head in agreement. "I could ask him after the next Order meeting to stay a few minutes longer, so I could talk to him." "Sirius, how well do you know Bill?" Ginny asked hesitantly. "Only by sight, and from saying Hello,” Sirius admitted with a sad smile. “Most Order members don't talk much to me. They don't trust a wanted murderer." "Okay, then I'll talk to Bill first," Ginny said in a determined voice. "Then you're welcome to take over. He'll trust you, Sirius." "Okay, one last thing for now," Harry added. "We should talk to Kreacher. Your brother mentioned Kreacher in his letter. Maybe Kreacher knows what happened to your brother. Maybe he even knows what happened to the Horcrux your brother wanted to destroy." "I don't like the idea at all, I don't trust that house-elf." Sirius raised his hand to prevent Harry from interrupting him. "But I think you're right." "So, let's get it over with." Harry looked about, seeking for consent. "Why don’t we call Kreacher right away? "Yeah, why not." Sirius nodded in agreement, shouting, "Kreacher!" The aged house-elf appeared out of nowhere with a pop. "You called Kreacher, treacherous son. Oh, how my poor mistress hates that I must serve him." "Kreacher, can you tell me what my brother Regulus did before he disappeared?" Sirius asked his house-elf, stony-faced. "Oh. The brave Master Regulus. He was a nice wizard, always treated poor Kreacher well," the elf muttered under his breathe. "Here I have a letter from Regulus in which he tells me that you helped him to do something very important. He tells me that, if anything happens to him, that I should talk to you. He asked me to continue what he started. But I need your help to do that. That's why you need to tell me what Regulus did, Kreacher." "Master Sirius would help Kreacher to do what Master Regulus told him to do? Bad Kreacher, weak Kreacher, he failed his Master Regulus." "What did Regulus want you to do for him, Kreacher?" "Master Regulus asked Kreacher to destroy the evil he has stolen from the Dark Lord. Poor Master Regulus died in this evil, evil cave, and the weak Kreacher couldn't fulfil his last wish." "What was Regulus' last wish, Kreacher. It's very important, " Sirius said forcefully. "Kreacher was supposed to destroy that evil something, but he just couldn't do it." "Where is this evil something, Kreacher?" Sirius bent down to look the elf in the eye. "Kreacher still has the evil," the house-elf muttered sheepishly. "Can you bring it to me, Kreacher? We can destroy it together." Sirius pushed further. "Master Sirius would help Kreacher to destroy the evil for Master Regulus?" The house-elf looked flabbergasted. "We’ll try to help," Sirius promised. Kreacher disappeared with a pop sound, just to reappear a few seconds later, holding a silver locket in his trembling hands. "Here's the evil Master Regulus died for." "Thank you, Kreacher. We will try to find a way to destroy it. I promise," Harry declared with a resolute face. "Kreacher? Do you know the cottage on the small island where Regulus used to live sometimes?" Ginny asked the house-elf. "Oh yes. Kreacher knows the island and the little house. When Master Regulus died, he didn't find the way back there." "Thank you, Kreacher. If we need your help to destroy the evil, we will call you," Harry promised. "Kreacher would be glad to be of help. Kreacher is happy when he is being called." With a pop, the old house-elf was gone again. "Well, that wasn't so hard, Sirius, was it?" Harry grinned at his godfather. "Just give it a try and be nice to him, and you'll see, one day, Kreacher will love you." "What are we going to do with the locket now?" Sirius asked thoughtfully, completely ignoring Harry's teasing. "If the text in the family journal is correct, we could use it to summon the other Horcruxes." "But we'd have to be sure that the locket is really a Horcrux," Ginny interjected. "It’s just another reason to ask my brother for help. He could easily find out if it's really a Horcrux." "I'll ask him for help as soon as I see him," Sirius agreed. "I'll hide the locket in Buckbeak’s room, and I'll try to bring it to the island as soon as possible, so no one can find it. " "Buckbeak’s here?" Harry called out in surprise. "Of course, he lives in my mother's room." "Gin, let's visit him!" Exclaimed Harry excitedly. "I'd love to," she agreed, "if you're going to introduce me to him." The two excited teens left a speechless Sirius Black alone in his room. Friday, August 11th, 1995 Harry had thought long and hard what would be the best time to give Ginny her birthday present. He'd snuck into Sirius's room the night before to fetch the mirrors. The wrapping of the gift was more difficult than he'd thought. Where was he supposed to find wrapping paper in that house? At Sirius' advice, he had finally searched the sideboard in the library and actually found some sheets of paper large enough to wrap the wooden box with the mirror in it. The paper sheets were black, not necessarily the colour Harry had been looking for, but in the end, he had no choice. If he'd asked Hermione if she'd had wrapping paper it would only raise questions he didn't want to answer right now. In the end, the black wrapping paper looked even better than Harry had expected. But when should he hand over the gift to Ginny? Harry would prefer if, for the time being, no one would know about the mirrors. After all, he had only two mirrors, and Ron would probably be angry that he hadn't given the mirror to him because he was his best friend ... and Hermione ... she would probably ask him many questions he wasn't sure he knew the answers to. No, the mirror was meant to be a personal gift. He would give Ginny the mirror when no one else was around, and it needed to be in the morning. He didn't want Ginny to think he'd forgotten her birthday. After much deliberation, he decided to take his chance when Hermione was in the kitchen having breakfast. Usually, she was the first of the girls, it would fit perfectly. As a precaution, Harry had wrapped a couple of chocolate frogs he would give Ginny in the kitchen. This way, no one would know about their mirrors. So, here he stood in front of the door to Ginny's room. Hermione's footsteps had just faded away on the first floor. He hesitated for a moment. What if she was still asleep...or getting dressed. On the other hand...he had seen her in bed a few days ago, in the cottage on the island. He'd even been in bed with her. He blushed slightly at the thought. Luckily, nobody else knew about it. He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and knocked softly on the door. Nothing happened. He knocked a second time, this time a bit louder. "Yeah? What is it?" he heard a dozy voice. Opening the door carefully, he peered through the crack of the door. Facing the wall, Ginny was still lying in her bed, the blanket pulled up to her ears. Harry was wondering if he should better retreat and wait for a better opportunity when Ginny slowly turned around. She blinked at him with sleepy eyes. "Oh, hi Harry, what are you doing here?" She smiled sheepishly at him. "I...Happy Birthday, Ginny," Harry stammered. "Birthday? ... Oh, you remembered?" She straightened up and tapped the mattress next to her. "Come, sit down." "I have something for you," Harry smiled shyly. "It's just a silly something. Sirius helped me." "That wouldn't have been necessary," Ginny mumbled, blushing slightly as Harry handed her the black box. "Sirius even gave me the Black family wrapping paper, all in black," Harry tried to joke and was grateful when Ginny smiled. "What is it?" Ginny asked shyly as she removed the wrapping and held a small mahogany box in her hand. "Just open it," chuckled Harry, as excited as Ginny. Ginny opened the lid of the box. "Oh, a mirror," Ginny said, visibly surprised, "so I can look around the corners when I sneak around Hogwarts at night," she chuckled. "The mirror can do even more," Harry smiled at her. "Take your wand. Don't worry, there's no magic needed. The magic is in the mirror, it is enchanted. You just need to take your wand and tap the mirror, saying 'Harry'." Ginny did as Harry said. There was a faint hum and Harry revealed another wooden box, hidden in his other hand. He opened the lid, took out the slightly vibrating mirror and tapped it with his wand. "Oh," Ginny exclaimed, when suddenly Harry's reflection appeared in her mirror. "That's ... that's fantastic," she said, dumbfounded. "Whenever you have bad dreams again, you just call me," Harry explained. "Or if you don't know the right answers in your homework." "Oh, so you can ask Hermione for the right answers?" Ginny giggled mischievously. "Who else can I call with the mirror?" "For the moment, it's only me. Sirius had two mirrors only. I have the other one," Harry explained regretfully. "We could ask Sirius for instructions how to make such mirrors, so we can link more mirrors to ours." "We should ask Sirius," Ginny agreed. "But for now, it would be nice if only the two of us have a mirror. It's a nice little secret. But please don't tell Ron about it. He would always ask you to borrow your mirror to ask me what I'm doing right now," Ginny giggled. "Thank you, Harry. I really like your present. Are you going to say Goodnight to me every night now?" "As long as I don't have to sing you a lullaby, I might consider it." Harry grinned at her. "But I'd better go for breakfast now. Hermione will be back soon." "Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen then. I'd better get up now, too." When Harry entered the kitchen, Mrs Weasley was already busy bringing breakfast to the table. Sirius, Hermione, and oddly enough, the twins were already sitting in their usual places at the kitchen table. Sipping her cup of tea, Hermione already had an empty bowl of porridge in front of her. "Good morning, everyone." Harry smiled cheerfully, only to get a many-voiced murmur in response, as everyone was busy filling their plates. Only Hermione gave him a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Harry." Harry placed the chocolate frogs wrapped in the black paper on Ginny's usual seat next to Hermione and sat down on the chair next to it. Hermione looked up in surprise, "Whom is this for?" "It's for Ginny," he said, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Ginny's having her birthday today," he added, just as Mrs Weasley placed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of him. "Oh, right," Mrs Weasley cried out, visibly startled, "Ginny is having her birthday today. Merlin, I need to arrange a little party for her, and Arthur has to get her a birthday present." Sirius nodded pleased to Harry, raised his thumb and mouthed silently. "Well done!" Harry was astonished. He was used to the Dursleys forgetting his birthday. However, he’d never thought the Weasleys could forget the birthday of one of their children. At least they'd noticed their mistake in time and were willing to correct it. Harry was about to devour his breakfast when noises in the stairwell announced the next starving Weasley in search of something to eat. With a big smile on her face, Ginny entered the kitchen and marched to her seat at the kitchen table. "Good morning." Just before she could sit down, Ginny was captured by her mother in a bone-crushing hug. "Happy Birthday, Ginny," she smiled at her daughter. "Of course, you can choose your favourite dishes for dinner today. Just tell me what you want. I'm so sorry, but birthday guests are not allowed this year, thanks to the restricted access to this house and everything." "Thank you, Mum," Ginny replied with a grateful smile. "You know what I like to eat. If I could get a delicious chocolate ice cream sundae, I'd be happy." "Of course, you can have a chocolate ice cream sundae, my dear." Mrs Weasley beamed at her daughter. After those present had congratulated Ginny for her birthday with a lot of noise and a lot of giggling, she finally sat down in her chair at the kitchen table. With a careful look, she eyed the black box in front of her. Recognizing the black wrapping, she opened the package, giving Harry an astonished look. Harry smiled at her, "Happy Birthday, Ginny. I've heard that you're collecting the chocolate frogs trading cards. Oh, and if you don't like the chocolate, you can give it back to me." He grinned cheekily at Ginny. "Oh, Potter. What are you dreaming of at night?" She smiled at him. "Thanks, if you are nice to me, you can have a bite." Suddenly, Ginny began to search the wrapping paper. "What are you looking for?" Harry asked intrigued. "Oh," Ginny smirked. "I was hoping the noble donor would have added a singing birthday card, as an eternal reminder of the delicious gift." "No, unfortunately not," Harry said in an apologetic voice. "But I know an expert for singing greeting cards. I could ask her if she’d show me how to make one." "Advice from an expert can be expensive." Ginny gave him a cheeky look. "Oh, I'll come up with something." Harry grinned back. Unnoticed by the two of them, Hermione watched their exchange with growing interest and a mischievous smile. "Good morning, what's all the ruckus about so early in the morning?" The voice sounded from the kitchen door as a sleepy Ron entered the kitchen. He sat down in the empty seat next to Hermione. "Mum, are there any eggs and bacon left? I'm starving." Ron looked about the table. "Oh, chocolate frogs." His eyes lit up. "Don’t you dare." Ginny gave her brother a challenging look. "It's a birthday present, Ron." Hermione shot Ron a reproachful look. "Birthday present? Who's having birthday?" Ron looked about in astonishment. "Oh, sorry, Ginny. Congratulations," he stuttered when he saw his sister's scowl. Ginny's birthday dinner was almost over. Ginny's mother had outdone herself and made a delicious feast with nearly all of Ginny's favourite dishes. "Watch out, the sundaes are coming," Mrs Weasley called out with a warning voice as she levitated a long row of goblets filled with a variety of different sorts of ice cream to the kitchen table. Ginny smiled broadly at her extra-large chocolate ice cream sundae. She reached for her spoon and scraped a large piece of ice cream from the top of her sundae. "Hmmm, that's delicious." she beamed satisfied and began to devour the sundae. Taking this as a starting signal, everyone else began to devour their sundaes with much vigour. "Harry." Mr Weasley glanced at Harry over the table. "I need to talk to you after dinner. Please wait a moment when you're done with your ice cream." "Yeah, sure, Mr Weasley.” Harry nodded in agreement. A while later, the birthday guests one by one slowly stood up to adjourn to the drawing room to let the evening fade away with a few games of Exploding Snap. Ginny started collecting her birthday presents to take them to her room. Mrs Weasley flicked her wand casually at the sink and muttered a spell. The dishes slowly floated over to the sink and began to wash-up themselves. As soon as Harry was alone in the kitchen with Ginny's parents, Mr Weasley began, "Harry, your hearing will take place tomorrow morning at 9, in the office of the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones. "I'll take you to the Ministry tomorrow morning when I get to work. You can wait for the beginning of your hearing in my office. I'll show you the way to Mrs Bone's office. Please, be prepared to leave Grimmauld Place at 7 a.m. sharp. Try to have some breakfast before we're leaving, it will be a long day for you.” "Should I wear formal robes or my Hogwarts robes?" Harry asked. "You're not expelled, Harry, so you should wear your Hogwarts robes. Dumbledore will be there, he'll be your official defender," Mr Weasley informed him. "Don't worry, everything will be fine." "Thank you, Mr Weasley." Harry smiled at the older man. "I'll head up to the drawing room for a bit, and then I'll try to get to sleep early." "That's a good idea, Harry." Mr Weasley smiled at him, nodding in agreement. After three games of Exploding Snap with the twins and Ginny, while Ron was playing chess with Hermione, Harry excused himself to go to bed. The twins still wanted to play a few more rounds of Exploding Snap and had persuaded Ron and Hermione to join the game. Ginny had already yawned several times during the game and informed the others that she'd call it a day soon. She'd headed to her room even before Harry left. Harry had just changed into his sleeping clothes and crawled under the covers when he noticed a humming noise. It took a moment for him to remember his mirror. He quickly reached under his pillow and took out the wooden box with his mirror. He tapped the slightly vibrating mirror with his wand just to find himself face to face with a grinning Ginny. "Hi, Harry," she smiled at him. "I just wanted to wish you luck for your hearing." "I'm sure I'll need it," Harry answered grinning. "And thanks again for the nice gift." Ginny mirrored the grin. "It's a great way to say Good Night every night." Her eyes got a mischievous glint. "I take it the Good Nights are included in the gift." "Oh, I'll try, but what if I can't call you because Ron is nagging me all night, or if you’re gossiping all night with Hermione about only Merlin knows, and don't answer?" Harry asked teasingly. "Oh, Potter, I never gossip." Ginny grinned mischievously. "Well, maybe sometimes." She giggled when Harry frowned disbelievingly. Suddenly Harry couldn’t suppress a yawn. He grinned wistfully. "Thanks for calling me, Ginny. As much as I'd like to talk to you all night, I think I'd better try to get some sleep now." "Okay, Harry. Goodnight, and don’t forget that it's your turn to call me tomorrow." "Yeah, I’ll try to remember you." Harry grinned cheekily. "Goodnight, Gin. Sleep well." Giving her a wistful smile, Harry waited for Ginny to break the connection. He put the mirror back into the wooden box and hid it under his pillow. Yawning, he turned his back to the room and fell asleep within seconds, a happy smile on his lips. |
| Reviews 64 |
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