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HB Prince: Year of Love | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:All, All Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, Humor Warnings: None Rating: PG Reviews: 309 Summary: *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated in over 2 years *** This story starts at the end of Order Of The Phoenix. Although this story starts as the usual Harry/Ginny romance, I believe after several chapters, you will find that Ancient Dark Magic takes on a whole new meaning to our Harry and Ginny. Will Harry discover the key to the Half-Blood Prince?* * * *American Edition *** * * * Hitcount: Story Total: 196445; Chapter Total: 3135 Author's Notes: Beta by Wolfs_Scream - - THANKIE!
SUMMARY: Ginny sleeps late -- What is Hermione doing in
Harry’s room? -- A ticklish situation -- Harry has chicks on his
mind
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Chapter Fifty-five - Photographic Memory Harry awoke early. Knowing that Ginny was safe here, he slept very well. He hoped, she slept well too. “Winky!” said Harry. Crack! “Yes sir, Harry Potter,” said Winky. “When Mrs. Weasley wakes, please send her to my room before she wakes anyone else,” instructed Harry. “Yes sir, Harry Potter,” said Winky, then she disappeared with a crack. Harry was dressed when Mrs. Weasley knocked lightly on his door. Harry invited her in and offered her a chair at the corner table. “What is it, Harry?” she asked. “I should have thought of this last night, before we all went to bed,” he started. “When you go to wake Hermione, if Ginny is still sleeping, I want you both to be very quiet and not wake her. Have Hermione dress in my room, so that she doesn’t disturb Ginny.” “Why? She will want to be there when Hermione leaves this morning,” said Molly. “We know she hasn’t been sleeping well. I want Ginny to get as much rest as possible. She doesn’t have to worry about someone grabbing her in her sleep here. We will just tell Hermione that Ginny is finally getting some rest and she needs to sleep in, she will understand.” “Oh Harry, you’re right. My poor baby,” said Molly, tears welling. Harry led her to the door, then went on downstairs to the kitchen. Winky and Dobby had started breakfast. Harry began helping them, when Arthur showed up. Harry filled two cups of coffee and gestured for him to follow. They went up to the Defense Room and sat at the table. Harry put up a Silencing Charm. “I wanted to have a quick word before you left for The Burrow this morning. Ginny is still sleeping. I asked Mrs. Weasley to let her sleep in this morning. I want her to wake up naturally.” “She would want to say good-bye to Hermione before she leaves, and Ron will wonder,” said Arthur. “No, they will understand. They both think that Ginny is ill, so it won’t bother them. Ginny’s health is more important than saying good-bye. I will do that for her. Ginny will be fine with it,” said Harry. “What about being seen this morning at The Burrow? She should be around this morning. Ron and I plan to work on the chicken coop. It would be a good excuse for her to be out there,” said Arthur. “Ginny will be there AFTER she wakes naturally and AFTER she has had breakfast,” said Harry, firmly. “But she has had a routine of going out early, then again later in the afternoon,” said Arthur. “She told me that its been very hot lately. Today she can go out for a short time later this morning, unless she really sleeps late, then it will be later this evening when it has cooled off for the day. I don’t think it’s natural to go out at the same times every day, anyway. Normal people don’t do the same thing every day. They do things and go places. The girls are going to want to go shopping before my birthday. I will be expecting presents,” he said, seriously. “Did she tell you that she wasn’t sleeping?” asked Arthur. “No. She wouldn’t tell me anything like that. She doesn’t want me to worry about her. But she hasn’t been sleeping and it will only get worse,” said Harry. “Worse?” “Of course. Each day it is only going to get harder. He is taking his sweet time with the spell. We don’t have a clue when this will be over. I never thought it would take this long. I thought it would be easier at home, but it was actually easier at school. Anyway, every day she will be thinking that ‘today’s the day’. Her nerves are going to get worse,” said Harry. “Did she tell you this last night?” “No. We didn’t talk about anything that had to do with THAT last night. Last night was a ‘date’. She needs time to think of other things, it will become too much if she doesn’t.” Arthur nodded. “Ginny will become ill if she doesn’t get proper rest. I know she doesn’t sleep well at The Burrow. If she doesn’t get sleep, then she needs to come here. She could take naps here in the afternoon, if need be. I don’t want her to wait until she can’t stand it any more. When she gets frightened, I want her to come here to me. I don’t want her to wait until she gets as bad as she did the other day.” “What if he comes for her and she’s not there?” “That’s his problem. He will have to come back, won’t he? We don’t have to make it easy for him.” “She wants this to be over as soon as possible,” said Arthur. “I know, but he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. This could go on for years. She has to live a normal life or as normal as possible.” “Years?” “It won’t. I will put a stop to it all if I have to.” “But what about...” started Arthur. “I don’t care.” “Do you have some other plan?” asked Arthur. Harry paused, thinking about THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE, then lied. “No.” Arthur nodded, but knew Harry was lying. They both looked directly into each other’s eyes. Neither saying a word, but they both understood each other perfectly. * * * * After Hermione went to the loo, she entered Harry’s master bedroom. She hadn’t seen it yet. It was beautiful. It was a sharp contrast to Ron’s room at The Burrow. The beautiful plush green carpet and the velvet bedspread, along with the drapes, gave it a formal look. The two oil paintings added color, richness and class. On each of the dressers and tables were gold framed photos, which gave the room a homey feeling. Winky kept the room very neat and clean. She smiled to herself. She knew that Harry had nothing to do with the cleanliness, Winky would have made sure it was clean without his asking. She quickly changed for her return home. As she brushed her hair before the mirror above the dresser, she couldn’t help but look at all the framed photos. There was one of Hagrid sitting on Sirius’ restored motorcycle and all of them surrounding him. There was one of Harry, Ginny and Luna proudly displaying the Snape toilet seat. Another one was of her and Ron dancing together at the Christmas ball. She hadn’t realized that their picture was being taken at the time. She looked a little nervous, but Ron actually looked natural, very handsome. She shuffled the photos around to see others. Lee and Nancy, Ron and Sylvia, Luna with Fred and George. There was one of her and Neville. She studied it for a moment. It was from the Harvest Ball. Neville had his hand over hers and was looking at her fondly. She sat it down and picked up another of her and Neville from the Christmas Ball. Neville was leaning into the frame with his arm on the back of her chair, smiling at the camera. She walked over to another dresser that had framed photos. There was another photo of her and Neville. It was from the Valentines Ball. Neville had leaned toward her for the picture, but he was looking off towards something off camera. They were both smiling, but not at each other. Her thoughts ran to the differences in Neville in each picture, how his feelings about her had changed over the months. She noticed that she was smiling in all of them, but no other clue to show how she felt about Neville. There was one of Ron in the middle of one of the Quidditch games. He had just stopped a goal and was flying around looking triumphant. Another of Ron when he won his award, being kissed by Madam Rosmerta, she had a copy of that one. She walked over to the large round corner table. Centered towards the back was a beautiful large vase, that captured the colors from the rest of the room. Before it were three gold framed photos. They were of Harry and Ginny from each of the balls. In each one, Harry would look up towards the camera, smile, then would turn and look towards Ginny tenderly. Ginny smiled in each one, then her eyes would always look down at Harry’s hand that was resting on the table. The only difference in each, was the color of the tablecloth and what they were wearing. On each side of his bed was a night table with a lamp and two gold frames. She picked up a frame from the far side table, a close-up of Ginny crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue then laughing with glee. The other was of Ginny pointing her finger at Ron and laughing. Ron was wearing his ‘stripes’ from the Harvest ball. He looked angry and gave the camera a rude hand gesture. “What an ugly picture to wake up to,” she thought, but she could not help but giggle. She walked back around the bed and sat on the edge. She picked up a framed close-up of Ginny. She looked very pretty with her soft smile. The last remaining photo was of Harry and Ginny from the Christmas Ball. She knew because Ginny was wearing the red gown. They were dancing to a slower song. Harry had just released her to twirl, then she whirled back into his arms. There was no mistaking the look of love on his face. It was something of a shock to see his expression. Colin was either very lucky or a fine photographer. She reflected back to the balls. Did she know that they were in love then? Yes. If asked, she would have said they were in love. She remembered that she thought it was cute that Harry finally noticed Ginny. Yes, she thought he was in love, but a school age crush kind of love, nothing more than that. This was something different. He had that same look last night right before he kissed Ginny. There was no mistaking it, seeing was believing. Now that she knew their relationship was real, she would never try to come between them. She would have been a better choice for him, being that she was so intelligent and gifted. Ginny would not be an asset. Since it had already gone too far, he had fallen in love with Ginny, she would just have to help him protect her. She sat the frame back, reflecting. The few dates she had with other boys this year, were a total waste of time. Groping sessions is what she called them. All the boys seemed to have one thing on their mind, they were all the same. If she talked to one who seemed to have some intelligence, once he found a private spot to be alone, he became mindless. They wouldn’t have cared if she spoke English, with further thought, they would probably have preferred that she didn’t. Not one of them was in any way romantic. Neville was different. He respected her as a person. Although he did kiss her, he didn’t grope. He had an interest in her other than mindless snogging. The problem with Neville was that there just wasn’t any “spark” between them. They both slowly lost interest. She still liked him but not as a love interest. She shouldn’t have let Ron kiss her. That was a mistake. She had a weak moment. She wanted to know if his kiss would be as she imagined it would be like, would there be any “spark” between them. Well, she found out, there was not only “spark” but “flames”. She didn’t let it stop with only one kiss, either. She let him kiss her several times this weekend. Each one better than the last. She could feel her face heating up, just thinking about it. He hurt her too many times over the years. Last fall was the worst. She thought that he finally would ask her to be his girlfriend after the party last fall. He had treated her like a real date; he even held her chair at dinner. He gave her attention between songs that he sang, and made her feel special. She thought he would kiss her that night, but he rushed away, leaving her at the door. After they started back to school, he just treated her the same old way. There didn’t seem to be any difference, except for a few times she thought he was looking at her fondly. She waited patiently for him to ask her out to Hogsmeade. When it was mentioned, she thought he was looking at her in a way that meant he would ask her, but he didn’t ask. She cried every night. When Neville asked, she decided that she would not wait any longer. It would be nice to go with Neville to Hogsmeade. He was attentive and probably would be fun. Ron had followed them around, which was amusing. She hoped it was because he cared about her. Then the attack changed the whole situation. She still had hope when the Harvest Ball was announced, but again, he didn’t ask. More tears... When Neville asked, she decided she would not stay up in her dorm, secretly crying over Ron any more. Even Harry thought that Ron wanted to date her. He told her that Ron was upset. But then, he started dating other girls. When Ron showed up with another date, she knew. Obviously, he wasn’t interested. She would give up on him. The Christmas Ball was like a slap in the face. Bringing those two “scarlet women”, as Ron would have called them a few years back, was an insult to her, Nancy, Luna and Ginny. She kept all her feelings inside, appearing to everyone that nothing was bothering her. That night, she again, cried herself to sleep. That was the last straw. She promised herself she would never cry over Ron again. School was her life. There was little time for anything but studies and D.A. this year. Harry and Ron were her best friends, they were her whole world. She had always centered her life around them. Without them, she was alone. Since Harry and Ron were her best friends, she didn’t have anyone to talk to about this problem. She couldn’t talk about it to Ron, obviously. Harry, being Ron’s best friend, would be no help. Harry had always tried to keep himself out of the arguments between her and Ron. Also, they didn’t really talk about romances. When Harry started going with Cho, they didn’t talk about it very much, that was a relationship outside of their circle. She didn’t have any close girl friends. She used to talk to Ginny about things, but she couldn’t talk to Ginny about this, he was her brother. Luna... she was just “weird”. She didn’t feel that either of them would understand what it was like to be in love with someone who didn’t seem to care. She didn’t have talks with the other girls, everyone was just too busy and the other girls her age were just silly. Their solution to boy problems was either changing their hair style or a new outfit. She attempted to talk to her mother about it once, but that only led to a lecture about boys being a distraction from her studies. So, she faced her problem alone. She shouldn’t have let Ron kiss her... She was frightened. She had already been hurt by Ron too many times. Her heart was very tender at the moment. Ron had always hurt her more than anyone else had ever hurt her. If she were to give her heart to him and he crushed it, she didn’t think she could stand it. Things had changed this year. Ron was dating. He was used to dating pretty girls. He had always had a weakness for pretty girls. Since there weren’t any other girls around for him to date now, he might just be using her until another one was available. The first pretty girl to show any interest would have him dropping her, like she didn’t exist. She sighed. He had plenty of offers. Lisa, for one. She noticed at the ball, that Lisa was the center of some kind of secret. She may have had a crush on Harry. Harry seemed uneasy around her. Lisa and Ginny had strange conversations. Ginny didn’t like her. Ron seemed oblivious to the whole situation, but there was some kind of undercurrent. Ron seemed to like her, but she didn’t think he was in love with Lisa. From that letter, Lisa was obviously still interested. Was Ron? She had only read a few of his letters. The stack was large. There could be mail from other girls that he could be interested in. On the good side, she knew that he probably would not be going to that party that Seamus and Dean were going to. George’s boils made her realize that that would put a damper on his dating loose girls. She grinned. What was she going to do? She had promised herself that she was over him. She couldn’t trust him. She trusted him with her life, but not her heart. He DID ask her to Justin’s party. Was he really interested? His kisses were so good. He knew what to do with his lips, but did he know what to do with her heart? Tears began streaming down her face. She promised she wouldn’t do that again. A tap on the door brought her back to the present. She stood and quickly wiped her tears, as the door opened. “Hermione?” asked Ron, entering the room. “What’s the matter? Have you been crying?” he asked, walking up to her. “Nothing. I’m fine,” she said, with a faltering smile. “Hermione?” He cupped her cheek, looking into her eyes. She tried to turn away. “Hermione?” he repeated, turning her face back to his. “Let me kiss you,” he said, softly She tried to turn her face again. He turned it back and gently kissed her lips. He paused, then again, kissed her gently. Tears fell from Hermione’s eyes. He kissed her again, a deeper, more passionate kiss. She melted into the kiss pouring all her emotions into it. Ron knew he had her. He grinned as he responded by pouring in all his pent-up love. The kiss went on and on... Each casting their doubts and fears away. Harry stood in the doorway watching his two best friends in a deep, passionate kiss, in the middle of his bedroom. He felt uncomfortable, but knew it was for the best. He waited another moment, believing that they were winding down, before he loudly cleared his throat. They startled, then separated. “Breakfast is ready. Your dad is looking for you. I told him that I would find you,” Harry told Ron, grinning. “I’ll just take your bag. Is this everything?” he asked Hermione. “Eh... yeah... thank you Harry,” said Hermione. Harry followed Ron and Hermione across the landing and down the stairs. He thought he would give them another minute alone, but decided against it, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley might walk in on them. As they walked to the kitchen, Ron thought it was time for them to talk about their relationship. He knew that if they didn’t talk, he could easily loose the ground that he had made with her. He should have talked to her about it last night, instead of doing all that kissing. It was too late now. His parents would not understand that he needed to talk seriously with Hermione this morning. What he didn’t know, was that Molly would have gladly given them a few minutes to talk seriously about their relationship. Molly’s concern at the moment, was to get Hermione back to her parents, so they would be more apt to let her return. What SHE didn’t know, was that the Grangers could care less what time Hermione came back today, if it was at a reasonable hour. Molly assumed that all mothers who had children who went off to school for most of the year, would want them to be with them as much as possible during the holidays. She didn’t want to intrude. She did not know, that Mr. and Mrs. Granger were more concerned with each other and their careers, than with Hermione. It was not that they did not love her, she was just a bother to their schedules. They simply didn’t know what to do with her. That is why they always let her spend holidays with the Weasleys when she was invited. Harry and Luna were not the only motherless children under Molly’s care. She did not know that the times they went shopping with Mrs. Granger last year, were the only times that Hermione actually spent with her mother last summer. Hermione ate at the dinner table with her parents each night that they were not out together, but that was the extent of their time spent with her. Hermione spent most of her time, in her room reading. The time spent on the cruise this year, was an excuse for the family to be together. But all they shared was the idea that they were on a ship together and dinner each night. That was the extent of time shared. Hermione spent most all her time alone, filling in her day as she pleased. Ron held Hermione’s chair for her, then sat down beside her at the breakfast table. Although he was unusually polite to Hermione, he started dishing out his breakfast in his usual manner. Hermione was unusually quiet at the table. Harry wondered if it was because she was embarrassed by him seeing them kiss, or if she had other things on her mind. “Hermione, what are you planning on doing, when you get home?” asked Luna. “Eh... I’ll probably just catch up on some reading.” “Me too,” said Luna, referring to her old Quibbler issues. “Hermione, Ginny is going to be real upset that she wasn’t up to send you off. We wanted her to sleep this morning. You understand, don’t you?” asked Harry. “Of course. It did take her quite a while to get to sleep last night. Tell her that I’ll miss her. I’ll write.” said Hermione. After they finished off breakfast, there was an awkward moment. Harry rose and gave Hermione a big hug. “You be very careful. If you get ANY feelings about things not being ‘right’, you come here or go to The Burrow, you understand?” Hermione gave him a strong hug. “I promise.” Luna, Molly and Arthur all hugged her and wished her well. Ron waited for last, then hugged her hard. “Be careful, Hermione. We have to talk. Write me, OK?” he whispered. She nodded, then reached up and kissed his cheek. It was silent for a moment, then Ron remembered Crookshanks. He called the cat, who came briskly into the room. Molly held her bag and Ron handed her the cat before they Flooed back to the Grangers. A moment later, Ron and Arthur Flooed back to The Burrow. * * * * Harry silently entered Ginny’s room. She was sleeping soundly. Before entering, he had thought that he would crawl in bed with her and hold her as she slept, but she was not sleeping in the position he was used to seeing her sleep. She usually slept on the sofa on her side with her knees curled. This morning she was lying on her back with one arm above her head and the other stretched out hanging over the edge of the bed. No room for him; he would have to move her, which would wake her. It eased his mind to see her sleeping soundly. He decided to sit quietly on Hermione’s bed until she woke naturally. He was fascinated just watching her, but after several minutes, he started getting sleepy. Ginny rolled over, mumbling; “Harry.” Her eyes flickered. “Harry?” “Good morning, Love” “Harry, what are you doing in Hermione’s bed?” “Waiting for you to open your beautiful eyes.” Harry stepped across the room and knelt at Ginny’s bed. “Hold that thought,” said Ginny. She scrambled out of the bed and left the room. She went to the loo, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and ran a brush through her hair, then scrambled back. She climbed onto her bed from the end, then quickly got between the sheets. She adjusted herself, then pulled the covers up to her chin, turned her head towards Harry and closed her eyes. “Ginny, what are you doing?” “Shhhhhh. I’m pretending to sleep, so you can kiss me awake,” whispered Ginny. “Move over,” said Harry, as he shoved her over and lay on the bed next to her. He faced her then closed his eyes. “Harry, what are you doing?” “Shhhhhh. I’m pretending to be asleep, so you can kiss me awake.” “We can’t both be asleep for this to work. One of us has to be awake,” said Ginny, reasonably. “Shhhhhh,” said Harry. Ginny was not going to let him get away with this. It was her idea first. It seemed that he was not going to give in. Her only other option, was to tickle him. She started on his ribs and worked her way to his arm pits. He began giggling and squirming. At first, this was fun, but he didn’t seem to be trying to defend himself. She would pause a little, then begin again. He was tossing side to side giggling. After several minutes, she stopped. “Harry, aren’t you going to defend yourself?” “I don’t know what to do,” he said, after catching his breath. “You’re supposed to try and tickle me back, while keeping your tickle spots covered,” said Ginny. “Tickle spots?” asked Harry. “The places on your body that are ticklish.” “Like this?” asked Harry, as he went for her ribs. “Yes!” squealed Ginny. She began running around the room, jumping from one bed to the other to escape him. They played the tickle game until neither had enough strength to continue. “I better get dressed. I’m getting hungry,” she said. “I have to kiss you first. It will be the first time to kiss you in your pajamas,” said Harry, grinning. Ginny grinned back. After dressing, Harry caught her arm as she started to leave the room. “Ginny, have you been touching your ring?” Ginny blushed. “Eh, yeah. I confess I do sometimes when I’m thinking about you. Why do you ask?” “Er... I caught myself doing it. I wondered if you did it too. We have to be careful about that. It’s a dead give-a-way.” “You’re right. Only in bed at night or in the loo,” she told him. He gave her another quick kiss. “Oh! And Ginny, if you ever feel as bad as you did the other day, don’t wait that long. You come to me. OK?” “Yes, Love. Beat you down to the kitchen!” she said, as she flung the door open and headed down. Harry followed. They both arrived in the kitchen out of breath. “What have you two been doing? I could hear you all the way down here!” asked Molly. “Ginny was teaching me how to play tickle,” said Harry. “You mean, ‘tickle tickle tickle’?” asked Luna, as she crunched her fist three times. “Yeah,” said Harry, laughing with Ginny joining in. “Harry has to make my breakfast. I beat him down,” said Ginny. Breakfast was already made, so all Harry had to do was fill her plate. Harry chomped on a piece of bacon, as he watched her eat. Right before Ginny left for The Burrow, Harry summoned her rosebud from her room. “Later, Love,” he whispered, handing her the rose. * * * * Harry and Luna left Molly in the kitchen. Luna started to head upstairs, when Harry caught her arm and led her to the Defense Room. He locked the door and put up a Silencing Charm. “Will you have some time to spend with me today?” asked Harry. “Of course. I don’t have anything that is important scheduled for today.” Harry grinned. “Harry, you didn’t tell Ginny, did you?” Luna stated. “How did you know?” he asked. “I can tell. She didn’t look at me real funny. I think you should tell Lupin though. I might be able to help you sometimes. If he knew about me, it could make things easier,” she said, seriously. “I’ll think about it. I have another secret that I wanted to share,” he said, as he summoned a daisy from the Dining Room, and handing it to her. “Thank you, Harry. I knew you were summoning things without your wand. Did you unzip Malfoy’s pants that day?” “Yeah, how’d you guess?” “I thought it was either you or Dumbledore. I didn’t think it would be Dumbledore,” she said, grinning. “Dumbledore has a sense of humor, you know,” he said. “Do you think Dumbledore would be protecting Ginny’s strapless?” asked Luna, grinning. “Strapless?” Luna giggled. “Anyway, I don’t want anyone but you and Ginny to know about it, for now,” said Harry. “I want to teach you some simple wandless spells, if you would like to learn.” “Of course. Harry, you are the best brother,” she said. “I thought I would be,” said Harry, grinning. Harry proceeded to teach Luna a simple wandless spell. * * * * Later that early evening, Arthur went to Harry’s, using the time to catch up on some reading. Molly returned to The Burrow. She and Ginny went out into the garden and began weeding around the herbs. “What was all that about teaching Harry to tickle?” asked Molly. “He didn’t know how, Mum, honest,” said Ginny. “How do you know?” “Because I started tickling him and he just squirmed around. He didn’t try to defend himself or anything. He told me he didn’t know what to do. I had to show him.” “That poor boy. Ohhh, if I EVER see that woman on the street. Ohhh, I’d like to show her a trick or two. I know that Harry isn’t blood related to that man... but her own flesh and blood! She could have shown him some affection, while her husband was at work. There is no excuse! I don’t think I would be sent to Azkaban, if I only scratched her eyes out,” said Molly, as she jabbed her hand trowel forcefully into the ground. “He’s probably starved for affection!” “He is,” said Ginny, softly. “I don’t mean THAT,” said Molly. “I didn’t mean THAT either, but now that you mention it...” started Ginny, giggling. “I get your meaning. Something happened between Ron and Hermione,” said Molly, changing the subject. “Like what?” “I’m not sure. Ron was treating her very gallantly, this morning. He actually held her chair. But Hermione... her eyes were red. I think she’d been crying earlier. She was unusually quiet. Thoughtful, I think.” “You don’t think he screwed it up, do you?” asked Ginny. Molly hesitated; “I don’t think... no, I don’t think Ron did anything wrong, for a change. He’s so much like your father.” “Ron? Like Dad?” asked Ginny, astonished. “At that age, yes. Your father was a bit thick, until I straightened him out. Ginny raised her eyebrows. “What about Harry? Do you think Hermione may have been confused about which one she wants?” “No, I don’t think so. She didn’t look at him the way she has been lately. No, I think she finally got the message about you and Harry. I think her thoughts were about Ron,” said Molly, thoughtfully. “Mum, what if she decides she doesn’t love Ron? I think he really cares about her,” asked Ginny, worriedly. “It will all sort itself out,” said Molly. * * * * Harry and Luna spent the morning working on wandless magic. After lunch they discussed THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE, although they didn’t get anywhere with it. Luna decided to re-read it. She started by trying to read it upside down. It was a good idea, but she got nowhere with it, so went back to reading it normally. Harry summoned some of his old Transfiguration books and studied theory to use on more wandless magic. It was early evening, not long before dinner, when there was a knock on the Defense Room door. Harry released the charm on the door, then Lupin stuck his head in. “We’re back, “ announced Lupin. Luna leaped from her seat and ran to his arms. “We missed you! Did you have fun?” Lupin blushed. “We had a blast,” chimed in Tonks. “We went to this really pretty island in the Pacific, with white sands and blue water. ‘Course we didn’t see much of that,” added Tonks, with a wink. Harry grinned at Lupin. He thought he knew exactly where they went. “We plan to go back in the near future,” said Lupin. “Can’t wait ‘til next weekend!” said Tonks, excitedly. “Mr. Weasley is reading, napping more like, in the Living Room. Does Winky and Dobby know you’re back?” asked Harry. “I’ll pop in and let them know. It’s getting close to dinner time, isn’t it?” said Lupin, leaving. Luna went upstairs to get ready for dinner. As Harry and Tonks left the room, they paused outside the door. “Harry, I want to thank you for everything. Remus told me all about his wanting to break up and you talking him out of it. Harry, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” said Tonks, seriously. “I think he would have changed his mind in the long run,” said Harry, modestly. “And... Harry, your giving me away so formally; that was inspired. You couldn’t have done it any better. It really made me feel better, knowing that sometime in the future, I can tell my family that they were represented at the wedding. Thank you so much,” said Tonks, grabbing him for a bone crushing hug. Harry blushed, but was pleased. Tonks went up to change for dinner. He watched her climbing the stairs. No sign of clumsiness today. She was really part of his family now, actually from two sources; Sirius and Lupin. His family was growing indeed. Tonks had always been a very open person, always saying what was on her mind. He remembered when he first met her, she was complaining to Mad-Eye about the cold while they flew their brooms that night. Most people feared Mad-Eye but she treated him like he was just anybody else. She was curious and not afraid to ask personal questions. The night of her wedding, she was complaining about her new body shape. It was amusing, but more than that, it was they way she treated him. She talked to him as though he was an adult. She didn’t talk down to him. He could see why Ginny could be best friends with her, although there was a large age difference, Tonks would talk to Ginny on the same level. He wondered what they talked about. Arthur joined them for dinner. Winky and Dobby had outdid themselves making all of Lupin’s favorites. They were almost done, when Ron Flooed in. “Mum and Ginny will be here in a couple of hours. I got bored. Do you have enough for me?” asked Ron, looking at all the food. “No, nobody has enough food for you,” teased Harry. “You weren’t bored, you just thought you could squeeze in another meal. Winky do we have enough for another plate?” “Yes sir, Harry Potter. With Weezy around, we keep plenty extra.” After dinner, Ron and Harry went to the Living Room and played a few games of Wizard’s Chess. As Ron’s bishop was chopping off Harry’s knight’s head, Ginny appeared, holding a shoe box. Harry rose and embraced her. “Sit down, Harry. I’m not through slaughtering you yet,” said Ron. “I’m going to go talk to Tonks for a bit. You continue with your game. Harry, that knight is in bad shape,” she said, grinning. After they finished this last game of Wizard’s Chess, Harry suggested Aggravation. He had lost so pitifully to Ron this time that he thought a change of pace could only improve his spirits. He invited Luna to join them. She seemed to be amusing Ron with her tactics, but was ahead of both of them throughout the game. When Ginny arrived back, Harry excused himself from the game. He told them that he would be spending some time alone with her. Ron raised an eyebrow, but shrugged his shoulders and didn’t make a comment. Ginny led Harry to his bedroom. “I think we can risk a few minutes in here without comment. Look what I brought,” she said, opening the shoe box. Inside was a baby chick. She removed it from the box, holding in her open hand. She held the chick up to Harry’s cheek. “It is sweet,” said Harry, enjoying the feel of the fluff on his cheek. “How many of these did you say you have?” “Eleven, I think. They won’t hold still, so I’m not exactly sure. I’ve counted up to fifteen, but knew I was recounting some of the first ones. After three tries, eleven came up twice, so that’s the official count for now,” she said. The chick pooped in her hand. She gently put it back into the shoe box, set it on the bed, then cleaned her hand off. “Ewww,” said Harry. “It’s just chick poop. That’s what babies do best, poop. But they are worth it, when they are sweet.” “Just like you,” teased Harry. “I beg your pardon. I don’t poop,” said Ginny. “I beg your pardon. If you didn’t, you would explode.” “I meant, I don’t poop around you,” she said. “You could if you wanted to. I’d still love you.” “Harry, you are gross.” “Not as gross as that chick poop,” said Harry. “Aw Harry, look at it,” she said, then added; “Not the poop, the chick.” Harry grinned. “Ok, I admit that it’s very cute and sweet.” He watched her eyes shining as she watched the chick. “Ginny, do you want to have chicks?” “Raise chickens or have babies?” asked Ginny. “Both,” he said, grinning. “If we live here, there would have to be some altering to the house to raise chickens.” “And babies?” “Not so much, if we have babies. Depends on how many we have. How many do you want?” asked Ginny. “Eleven,” he said, with a straight face. “Hmmm... that could be arranged, I guess. So you want a large family?” “Do you?” he asked. “As many as my body and mind will allow,” said Ginny, thoughtfully. “What if we had some like Fred and George? Maybe we wouldn’t want any more after that,” said Harry, teasing. “Oh we won’t have any babies as bad as Fred and George, ours are going to be worse. We can terrorize everyone when we come to visit. ‘Hide the breakables! The Potters are coming!’ “ teased Ginny. “Yeah! We should give them outrageous names too. So that people will have a hard time pronouncing their names to correct them. In the meantime, they could be getting into all kinds of mischief,” he said, laughing. “We could teach them to be very good at home, but when we visit, they can go wild,” she said. “That sounds like a very good plan. I think we should start working on those names though. That’s a lot of names to think of. Eleven or fifteen names. Just in case you loose track counting. They will be running around, ya know,” said Harry. “I’ll work on it. I don’t want to have babies too soon. I want to have time for just you and me to spend together,” said Ginny, seriously. “I agree. We need time to finish growing up, ourselves,” said Harry. He pulled her close to him and began kissing her neck. “Hmmm... when are we going to get our honeymoon?” she cooed. “I’m going to give Lupin at least one day, before I approach the subject,” he said into her hair. “OK. He gets until tomorrow, then he has to work on it,” said Ginny. That night, before he went to sleep, Harry reflected on his conversation with Ginny. He knew she would want to have children, probably from their conversation last summer. But they needed to talk about the subject. They didn’t have any time before their marriage to actually talk about things like that. He pictured having lots of children. They would all look up to him and call him “Dad”. He would cuddle and tickle them. He found it amusing to be thinking about children. He was still a kid, himself. No, he would be an adult in a short time. They would definitely have to wait a while. They both needed time to grow up... if they survived. He decided that they would survive. He never thought about it as being that important before, at least not for himself. He was the last of the Potters, he did not want to be the last of the Potters, he wanted to be the beginning of the next generation of Potters. He felt a strong feeling of determination. He knew they would survive, because he had never had a stronger will to live. * * * * Beta by Wolfs_Scream |
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