Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (Page 74-81)

"Is that so?" Harry asked, enjoying the banter. He opened his eyes wide as memories of the night crashed down upon him.
He sat up suddenly, glancing around the room and feeling slightly panicked. He felt his heart rate increase as he recognized his surroundings. He was back in the one place that he’d sworn he never wanted to see again. He was back at Grimmauld Place…at Sirius’s house.
He was lying on a couch in one of the small sitting rooms off the main hallway, and his head had been resting on Ginny’s lap. She rubbed his back soothingly, apparently understanding his dismay.
"Why are we here?" he asked tightly, struggling to do anything but look around at his surroundings.
Ginny moved closer and wrapped her arm around his stiff shoulders. "We sent a lot of refugees from the wedding here, remember? Mum was too uptight to leave anyone at the Burrow until the wards are thoroughly checked, so we’ve moved in for the night. Bill and Fleur absolutely refused to allow Voldemort to spoil their special day. They’ve continued the party right in the ballroom; the band set up their equipment and are down there playing right now."
Harry could hear the grudging respect for what Fleur had done in Ginny’s voice.
"Bill’s all right?" he asked. If he felt as bad as he did, certainly Bill couldn’t be dancing. He cracked his neck from side to side, trying to judge if had the strength to dance. He felt as if he could sleep for a week, and it galled him to think Bill was in much better shape.
"Oh, he’s just sort of propped up in a corner, watching Fleur dance. He can barely keep his eyes open, but she wasn’t about to let him use up all his remaining energy dancing. I’m certain she has other plans for him this evening," Ginny replied, her eyes twinkling.
It took a moment for the full impact of what Ginny said to sink in, and when it did Harry blushed crimson. "Ginny!"
Her words stirred images about what Bill and Fleur might get up to that he really didn’t want to think about. Having Ginny pressed so nicely against him caused his train of his thought to switch tracks to images of her that none of her brothers would want him thinking about, and his anatomy began to respond. He shifted uncomfortably, the collar of his shirt suddenly becoming unbearably tight.
"That caught your attention," Ginny said, smirking as if she knew exactly what she’d done.
She was right, too; he had been preoccupied with the idea of being back at Grimmauld Place until she’d moved his thoughts to other things.
"Ron and Hermione," he said suddenly, staring into her eyes with alarm. "I saw Ron’s Patronus, so I know he did turn up eventually, but-"
"Nothing to worry about," Ginny said soothingly, shaking her head and placing her soft hand on his lips. "Hermione did get cursed with
something, but she’d already been tended to by Mum when I saw her. I haven’t got the full story out of anyone yet, as I’ve been rather preoccupied with you, but I believe it had something to do with an altercation between Ron and Viktor Krum."
Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Ron, what did you do?
"All three of them are here somewhere. Ron’s been by several times to check on you, along with Fred, George, Charlie and Mum. Every ten minutes or so one of them pops their head in. I think it’s a conspiracy," Ginny whispered dramatically. Soft wisps of hair had broken free from the intricate knot on her head and tickled his face as she leaned near him. He longed to free the rest of her hair and let it fall loose.
"Don’t they trust us?" he asked, grinning.
"Should they?" she asked, arching her brow.
"Well, we’d best live up to our as yet unearned reputation, shouldn’t we?" he asked, quickly rolling over and twisting so that she was now resting back on the couch, and he was leaning over her. More pieces of her hair came undone as he pressed his lips to hers and lost himself in the sweetness of the kiss.
It felt like only an instant later when there was a sharp clearing of a throat from the entranceway to the room. Harry pulled back reluctantly, to find Ron standing in the doorway, glowering, his lower lip swollen to twice its natural size.
"Do you have to do that?" he asked, his speech oddly distorted from his fat lip.
"Most definitely," Harry replied cheekily and quickly planted another kiss on Ginny’s lips. "What happened to you?"
Harry and Ginny sat up and moved apart slightly on the couch, as Ron entered the room and took a seat across from them.
"Well, if you hadn’t noticed because of all your snogging with my sister…there was a battle with Death Eaters at my house a bit ago, Harry," Ron said, disgruntled.
"You don’t say? That would explain why I’m flat on my back then, wouldn’t it? Funny, I don’t remember seeing you during the battle," Harry said, cocking his eyebrow.
"You told him," Ron said, scowling at Ginny.
"Of course I did," Ginny replied, smirking and snuggling closer to Harry again. He wrapped his arm around her and ignored Ron’s glare.
"What happened to Hermione?" he asked, torn between enjoying seeing Ginny spar with Ron and wanting the details before it erupted into all-out sibling warfare.
"Vicky tried to get me with a Reducto spell that ricocheted off Mum’s hutch and hit Hermione. Mum patched her up, but she’s not talking to me. As if it’s my fault," Ron said, crossing his arms across his chest and scowling at the room in general.
"Why did he try to curse you?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling very tired again.
"He could have been provoked," Ron admitted grudgingly. "That’s not the point, though. He curses her, and she won’t talk to me. How am I supposed to ever figure that one out?"
Harry groaned. "What did you do, Ron? Why were you hexing each other? I thought you’d told me earlier that you knew Hermione went to the wedding as your date. I thought everything was okay between you."
"It was okay until that git tried to make his move on my girl," Ron said angrily, and Harry suspected he didn’t even realize how he’d referred to Hermione. "After you went off with Ginny, I knew you’d end up snogging, and I didn’t want to see it, so I went to look for Hermione. I found her cozied up with Vicky back inside the Burrow."
"But Ron, I thought we’d talked about this. She went to the wedding with you, as your date. I thought you were okay with her and Viktor," Harry said wearily.
"I was okay with it when he was just an old boyfriend on the dance floor, but I wasn’t okay with finding him chatting her up while she was wearing that dress and looking like that and sitting in my house at my kitchen table. No bloke would be okay with that, Harry," Ron finished with a shout, his ears as bright as his hair.
He had a point. Harry hadn’t liked seeing Jean-Luc with Ginny, and there wasn’t even a past between them. For the first time, Harry understood and sympathized with Ron’s feelings about Viktor.
"So, what happened? And what do you mean you knew we’d end up snogging?" Harry asked, suddenly realizing what Ron had said.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Come off it, Harry. You haven’t been able to keep your eyes off of her all week, and Merlin knows she wanted to snog you. She can’t seem to control herself."
"Hey!" Ginny cried indignantly.
"Neither of you were very discreet," Ron said, sounding remarkably like Percy at that moment
"Obviously not, if you noticed," Ginny replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, obviously I was right if what I just walked in on was any indication. Good thing I wasn’t Mum," Ron said, narrowing his eyes.
"Mum is so grateful to Harry right now that we could have been shagging, and she would have allowed it," Ginny replied dismissively.
"Ginny!" Harry yelped, glancing quickly at Ron to gauge his reaction. He sat stone still and gaped like a fish.
"Well, she is. You saved the Burrow, Harry. She’d look the other way for just about anything right now. You really should use that to your advantage and let her know that you’re not coming back to our house. Get that out of the way," Ginny said, biting her lip in thought.
That’s not a bad idea, Harry thought, wondering how Ginny already knew he wasn’t going back. They hadn’t yet discussed anything about the future. He only knew that he wanted her in his.
"I can’t let her know my plans when I’m not even certain what they are yet. Besides, I would have helped Bill no matter what," Harry said sincerely.
"About that, Harry…I’m really sorry," Ron said, staring intently at the carpet.
"Sorry for what?" Harry asked.
"Sorry for not being there when the fighting started. I promised you that I’d be at your side through this whole thing, and I let stupid Vicky distract me at the first hint of trouble. I didn’t even know about the Dementors because I was so busy rowing. Then, when Hermione got hurt, I lost it. I couldn’t think of anything else but getting her sorted. It wasn’t until you were already up on that hill helping Bill that I got my arse into gear. I should have been right there with you the whole time," Ron said, his shoulders slumping.
"We both should have done, Harry," Hermione said from the doorway. She was very pale, and her eyes were shining bright with unshed tears as she gazed intently at Ron.
"Hermione!" Harry said, relieved to see her up and walking.
"Are you all right?" she asked, her eyes darting to him for a moment to do a cursory inspection.
"I’m fine. You’re the one who got hurt, from what I’m hearing," Harry replied.
"Oh, it’s nothing. I need to take it easy for a few days and take a potion for a few cracked ribs. Nothing too serious. You’ve been out of it completely, and Ginny wouldn’t let anyone near you," Hermione said with a disapproving sniff.
Ginny blushed, abashed. "He was sleeping."
"It looks like things are okay between you two. I’m happy for you. You really were being silly, Harry," Hermione said, smiling fondly at both him and Ginny.
Harry ignored her slight rebuff. "Speaking of being silly…" he said, staring pointedly at her and Ron.
Hermione raised her nose slightly in the air. "As usual, Ron overreacted."
"Overreacted, did I? When I walked into the kitchen he had his hands all over you. What was I supposed to think?" Ron demanded angrily.
"All over me? He most certainly did not, Ronald Weasley. He asked if I was happy, and I assured him that I was. We embraced and would have ended the conversation there if you hadn’t stormed into the room as if the hounds of hell were on your tail," Hermione said waspishly.
"He had his hands…wait…what? You told him you were happy? With me?" Ron asked, suddenly sounding very insecure.
Hermione’s eyes softened. "Did it really worry you when you thought I was hurt?" she asked in a small voice.
Harry immediately wished he were somewhere else. Anywhere else. Ron and Hermione were his best friends in the world, but he really didn’t want to be a witness to this side of their relationship.
"So, is Mum still hanging all over Percy?" Ginny asked. Obviously, she was uncomfortable with Ron and Hermione’s conversation, as well.
"Percy? Percy is still here?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. He was still talking with Mum and Dad when the attack began, and Mum just insisted we all stay together," Ginny replied.
"The git was shocked that Death Eaters would actually attack the Burrow. It was as if he couldn’t believe they would ever actually take notice of it…or us. I know Mum is happy to have him here and talking to her, but I don’t trust him. I don’t think he should be here," Ron said darkly.
"I was wondering about that, Harry," Hermione ventured tentatively. "I mean, there are a lot of new people here learning about headquarters. Do you really think it was such a good idea to use this place as a sanctuary?"
"Yes," Harry replied shortly.
"I mean, obviously it was imperative to get everyone to safety, but the Ministry has safe houses and checkpoints for just such occasions," Hermione said.
"I think using this house as a sanctuary for anyone running from the Death Eaters, or from the Ministry, is exactly what Sirius would have wanted," Harry replied quietly. "Besides, I’m certain Mad Eye is performing Memory Charms on anyone who leaves, and with the Fidelius Charm in place, no one can reveal the location, anyway."
"They can’t reveal the location, but they can reveal who is here and who they think is in charge," Hermione insisted.
"How come the Fidelius still works if Dumbledore is d…" Ron asked, trailing off with a sharp glance in Harry’s direction.
"The Fidelius doesn’t end when the Secret Keeper dies, or else all anyone would have to do is kill the Secret Keeper. It’s a slow, gradual fade of the magic, and it leaves time to reapply the charm with a new Secret Keeper. Professor McGonagall is ours, I believe," Hermione said.
"She is," Ginny said, nodding. "Percy isn’t the only potential security risk here. There are several of Fleur’s extended family here that we know nothing about."
"And I’d say Jean-Lucifer is too stupid to be a Death Eater, but they took Scabbers, so you can never tell," Ron said, grimacing.
Harry had forgotten about Jean-Luc with all the chaos after the attack. He glanced quickly at Ginny to see her reaction.
She simply rolled her eyes. "You weren’t very nice to him," she said to the room at large, although she didn’t appear concerned over it.
"Harry hates him," Ron replied, as if that settled everything.
"None of us liked Jean-Luc," Harry said indignantly. "I think Fred and George were planning to prank him, although I don’t know if they ever did."
"They didn’t," Ginny said, picking a piece of lint off the skirt of her robes.
"How do you know?" Ron asked.
"Because Bill warned them off doing it. Jean-Luc was making Harry jealous, and Bill thought it was the best thing to push him past his nobility complex. Fleur put him up to it, actually," Ginny replied, futilely trying to control her grin.
"So it was a conspiracy?" Harry asked, dumbfounded at the lengths all the Weasleys would go in order to set him up.
"Of sorts," Ginny replied, shrugging. "Don’t mess with us Weasleys."
"What’s this I hear of Weasleys being messed with? That just can’t be allowed," Fred said as he entered room.
His robes were torn and dirty, and he’d magically stuck flowers in odd locations to mask the destruction. Of course, the plan had failed miserably and only enhanced the ruin. Somehow, Harry suspected that was exactly what Fred had intended.
"It’s wrong on so many levels," George replied in that odd way of sharing the same thought with his twin.
"What are you gits doing here? I thought you were busy groping all of Fleur's friends," Ron asked, sounding both disgusted and proud of his elder brothers.
A wave of exhaustion flowed over Harry once again, and he leaned back against the couch and shut his eyes as he listened to his friends banter.
Fred sighed dramatically. "So many women…
"…so little time," said George.
"Why didn’t the two of you get your own dates for this wedding, anyway?" Ginny asked. "I’m certain there must be some witches somewhere who haven’t been warned off yet."
"Dates?" asked Fred in mock horror. "Why would we want to bring dates to an event where there would be many beautiful French women…"
"French Veela women," George added.
"…who hadn’t yet had the pleasure of being introduced to us. We were willing to sacrifice ourselves for their greater benefit," Fred said.
"Good grief," Ginny said, rolling her eyes and elbowing Harry in the ribs. He’d started to drift off again. He opened his eyes owlishly wide and tried to focus on the conversation.
"What about Angelina?" Hermione asked. "I’d thought that you two were seeing each other."
"Angelina?" Fred asked, blinking. "We went to Yule Ball together back in sixth year, but as far as I know it wasn’t a lifetime commitment. If it were, technically you should be sitting on that couch with Viktor Krum."
Ron’s expression soured instantly, and Hermione’s cheeks pinkened.
"Oh, let’s not do this again," Ginny said with a tired sigh. "What are you two up to, anyway? You had extremely guilty expressions on your faces when you came in here."
"Us? Guilty expressions?" Fred asked in mock horror.
"We’ll have you know, sister dear, that we’ve perfected the art of covering our guilt with expressions of nonchalance," George replied, scowling.
"We did not appear the least built guilty," said Fred.
"Uh, huh," Ginny replied drolly.
"We were merely avoiding Mum’s wrath. She’s quite put out at the moment, because it appears the nightingales from the wedding ceremony have not only followed us here, but have also taken an odd liking to Percy’s head," George replied with a mischievous grin.
"They’re fluttering about in a most unattractive way," said Fred.
"And you know nothing about that?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I suppose it could have something to do with the reproducing bird feed we sprinkled in his hair when he wasn’t looking," George said, scratching his head thoughtfully
"With a disillusionment charm on it, of course," said Fred.
Harry, Ginny and Ron all sniggered, while Hermione tut-tutted her disapproval. Harry’s eyes were itchy, and he tried unsuccessfully to cover another yawn.
"Mum is over the moon that he’s here, but Moody is insisting he can’t leave without a Memory Charm. They’re battling it out now. Moody is handing out Memory Charms like Honeydukes chocolate," George said.
"Well, then, let’s go and get our last dances in before the party is over completely," Ginny said brightly.
"I don’t think Harry looks up for much dancing, Ginny," Hermione said, glancing at Harry. He forced himself to sit up straighter.
Ginny looked Harry over for a moment before nodding resolutely. "He’ll be fine. We need one good night before we decide on what happens tomorrow."
Harry knew she was right. They hadn’t really discussed much of anything. They’d spent most of the time since reuniting snogging each other senseless. Not that that was a bad thing, mind, but he would have to make some hard decisions on the morrow. For tonight, he wanted this one last chance at glittering fairy lights and pretending the future didn’t appear so bleak.
Leaning on Ginny and Ron, he followed the others from the room to have that one last dance.
The next morning, Harry sat in Sirius’s old spot at the worn kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. He sipped a steaming cup of coffee and tried to figure out his next move, as he fingered the tiara that Fleur had worn yesterday, which he’d found on the table this morning. He’d planned on leaving for Godric’s Hollow today with Ron and Hermione, but that was before Hermione got hurt, and Ron had had to abandon his home. Now, he didn’t know what he was going to do.
And then there was the complication of Ginny.
Harry knew she suspected they had planned on leaving, but she was still trying to piece together what they were going to do. He knew now that he couldn’t cut her out of things entirely — he needed her. He found he was far more focused now that he wasn’t worried about where she was and what she was doing.
Still, he’d promised Dumbledore only to reveal the information about the Horcruxes to Ron and Hermione. He hadn’t even told Professor McGonagall when she’d asked what they’d been doing. He couldn’t break that promise, and he hoped Ginny would see it that way. He did have to tell her about the prophecy, however. He owed her that much. But the Horcruxes…