AN: I don't own anything JKR owns it all. MUHHAHHHAAAA!
ahem.
Gnomes
by Quickquill2000
It was the evening, and even though it was still light, St Ottery Catchpole had fallen into slumber. Only the birds could be heard, singing in the trees above. The old church bells struck eight and the sound could be heard all the way from The Burrow where the Weasley family were having tea accompanied by Harry and Hermione, who were staying there for the remainder of the summer.
They were sitting outside as the room was limited in the Weasley's tiny kitchen. It was cool, but not uncomfortably so. Harry took in a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. Since he had been at the burrow Mrs Weasley had made sure he was always fed properly. Her first words to him when he had arrived at the burrow only a few days ago were "Harry, darling, you're so skinny! Do they not feed you at that wretched place!" This always made Harry feel slightly uncomfortable but he said nothing.
He glanced around the table and noticed Ginny, then again when these days did he not notice Ginny? She was taking carrots and bread and slipping them under the table. Harry speculated as to what she could be doing. Every now and then she would look up to see if anyone was watching her, and when she was sure they weren't she'd take another item of food off the table. She so was skilful and quick that no one except Harry seemed to notice anything.
After the meal, everyone rose from the table and began to clear up. When he had finished helping, Harry went to look for Ginny. He found in the kitchen drying her hands off with a towel. He walked over to her and said quietly, so Mrs Weasley wouldn't hear,
"Not hungry at dinner, Ginny?"
She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Eh!" she whispered.
Harry grinned. "If you were then why were you hiding all that food in your napkin?" he challenged.
Ginny put down the cloth and sighed. "Come with me," she said, heading for the back door.
The evening air had grown crisper and Ginny suddenly wished she had a jumper. Harry must have been cold too, as he folded his arms across his chest and looked around the garden as if trying to find the source of the breeze which was floating down the garden. Harry followed Ginny to the row of bushes where he and Ron had de-gnomed the garden with Fred and George on his first visit to The Burrow. He recalled how young they had all been and how much they'd all changed. The person in the Weasley family who had changed the most, in Harry's opinion, was Ginny. They had become good friends and she seemed to have got over her crush on him, whereas Harry's love for her had developed, although he realised he had missed his chance with her and would now have to settle for 'close friends'.
Ginny knelt down, pulled the napkin out of her pocket and gave a soft whistle. Curious, Harry knelt down beside her but she shook her head and signalled for him to take a few steps back. Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes and two gnomes appeared. Both were just under a foot tall. Then the most bizarre thing happened, the gnomes walked over to Ginny! Both were making happy noises and one greeted her by hugging her leg. They both stepped back and began jumping up and down.
"Oh, alright!" Ginny said smiling and she unravelled the napkin, took out a carrot and a potato and carefully gave them to the gnomes. The gnomes ran back into the bush, carrying the food.
Ginny turned to Harry and said quietly, "They'll be back in a minute and there will probably be more of them. You can come back down here now they know you're safe."
Harry quietly padded over and knelt down beside her, taking care not to tread on her hands or the napkin. "Ginny," he asked, looking slightly perplexed, "why are we feeding garden gnomes!"
At this Ginny's ears went pink. "Well," she said, "don't laugh but ever since I was little I thought it was cruel to de-gnome the garden. So as soon as I could get about I stole them food and came here to give it to them. Over time they have learnt to trust me and now they treat me like a friend."
Harry replied not being able to help himself, "You really are amazing, Ginerva Weasley."
Ginny's ears turned from pink to a deep red and she muttered something like "I'm only feeding gnomes."
Harry laughed, "You're not just amazing because you feed gnomes, Ginny," he looked at her and could feel his cheeks going as red as her ears, "you're pretty and-". He was cut off by no less than seven gnomes, who all came charging out the bush, but upon seeing Harry turned and ran back in again.
"No," Ginny said laughing, "it's ok, it's just Harry."
She ruffled Harry's hair. The gnomes cautiously began to walk towards him as if he were a bomb set to explode. Ginny laughed again and emptied the napkin. Although the gnomes wouldn't take the food from Harry, he still watched as Ginny passed around the leftovers. The last of the gnomes disappeared back into the bush with a rustle and then everything went quiet. Ginny and Harry stood up. Harry looked at Ginny and she returned his gaze. He tried to think of something to say instead of just staring at her like an idiot but no words came. His mouth had gone dry and he could feel his heart beating in his chest. He took a step towards her and she did the same. Next thing he knew, their lips had collided and Ginny's arms were round his neck and his round her waist.
Their kiss was broken only by an angry gnome who must have thought Harry was hurting Ginny. He kicked Harry's leg. Hard. Harry let out a yelp, and broke away from Ginny, who had burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. She didn't think Harry would be visiting the gnomes with her again any time soon.