"James? James, sweetie, where are you? Mummy and Daddy have to leave soon. I would like to give my boy a goodbye kiss," Ginny yelled, while traipsing around the small grove of old fireoak trees behind the Burrow.
It wasn't until she heard giggling coming from a few meters up—as in up above her head—that Ginny realized where she was. On the other side of the tree in front of her was a rickety old ladder, clearly held together by ancient Spell-O-Tape.
"Jamie! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Ginny crept slowly up the ladder, praying it would support the weight of a fully-grown witch. It had quite clearly withstood the rigors of an over enthusiastic five year-old ball of energy, so the odds were in her favor.
Peeking her head through the trap door, she looked around until she saw little trainers peeking out of the bottom of the ice blue shimmering drapery that hung over the big front window. Wand in hand, the floorboards creaking under her feet after years of neglect, she made her way to her eldest boy.
"Boo!" she yelled out, snaking a hand behind the drapery to tickle the spot that was most likely to result in peals of laughter. She pushed the drapery away and the boy folded over; curling into his mother, laughter filled up the dusty space for the first time in forever.
"Mum was right," Ginny snickered as she looked around the little treehouse with nooks and crannies full of the remnants of her early childhood. "It's like a beehive in here."
It was Bill's last summer at the Burrow. Somehow, while he had been away at school and sleepover camp and quidditch practice, his baby sister Ginny had grown into quite the precocious eight year old. Walking up the path from the apparition point after his latest interview at Gringotts, he spotted the lone female child, who was eight going on eighteen, sitting in the crook of the old gnarly apple tree on the path. That was pretty normal; as the youngest, and only girl in a house full of boys, she was always either scrapping in the middle of a ruckus or off by herself exploring.
"Hey, Gin! Whatcha doing up there?" he yelled up to her.
"Nothing, just getting away from stupid Percy. He's such a jerk! Just because he is a few years older than me, he thinks he can boss me around!" Laughing, because it was not like she was wrong, he noticed how her mouth got all screwed up into the most adorable sneer. Her arms were folded across her chest which made her look unerringly like a young Molly Weasley.
"He should know better, it's your job to boss us around, huh kiddo?" he reached out and tugged on her shoe that was swinging. "Hop on, I've gotta get up to the house and Mum would kill me if she knew I left you out here by yourself."
"Bill, I'm not a baby!" she yelled down to him. Completely disregarding her, he pulled her down and threw her easily on his back for a piggy-back up to the house.
"Ugh!" both Weasleys exclaimed. Charlie must not have seen little Ginny clinging to her brother's back, because as soon as they walked through the door an ice cold bucket of water dumped over their heads.
"Bloody hell, Charles!" Bill charged his younger brother. Ginny cheering him on, squealing in delight as Charlie plucked her off the eldest's back, and put her up on his own shoulders.
"The rules are we can't go after anyone if they have Gin, so as you can see, I am off limits!"
The fun ended, however, when Molly walked into the living room, "I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't swear." Looking both wizards in the eye, she leveled her wooden spoon at both of them, "You lot are almost as bad as the twins! It's a wonder I have any hair left at all. Go on and clean up, dinner is ready."
"Mum, what is this place? It is so cool!" Ginny watched as the boy spun around in awe at the treehouse she had built with her brothers what felt like a million years ago. Reverting to magic to open the few windows in the small space she attempted to air it out, while casting a couple scourgify spells and took a seat in something that had been an oversized chair to her eight year-old self. Now, however, it was just a normal sized armchair.
James needed no further invitation and crawled up into her lap and snuggled in to hear all about this magnificent place he found. "Well, Jamie, one of my most favorite summers of all time, was when your uncles, Bill and Charlie, actually built this treehouse with me."
He seemed to melt into her body, the way all little boys do with their mums, and listened to her melodic voice as she told him the story of Ginny's No Boys Allowed (except Bill and Charlie) Treehouse.
"She did that on purpose!" Charlie exclaimed, looking for the light grey paint he brought out earlier to paint the inside of the treehouse they were building for their little sister.
"Obviously." Bill chuckled. Ever since the wizards had decided to build her this girly sanctuary she had been interjecting her whims into the project. The most recent: the ongoing argument regarding what color it should be. Ginny wanted it to be: red, orange, purple, blue, and green—something about a bright rainbow. Bill needed it to be grey—he wanted to surprise her with something special and multi-colored walls would not work.
Just then, the aforementioned little witch walked up to the base of the tree carrying a jug of something condensing in the summer heat and a basket from the kitchen. "Sorry, no butterbeer. The only thing mum would give me was lemonade," Ginny yelled up to her brothers, shrugging her shoulders.
One of the boys leaned out the window and levitated the refreshments up to the treehouse they were building. Clambering up the ladder leaning against the tree, Ginny made it to the platform in no time and was looking around in awe.
"This place is so cool! I can't believe mum let you do this!"
"Yeah, but it was only after years of paperwork, and piles of approvals. Oh, also, I had to make an Unbreakable Vow with her that no harm would come to her little pumpkin wumpkin or else she will make me eat a hippogriff whole!" Charlie winked over at his little sister who couldn't help the giggle that escaped, picturing her big brother chasing one of those beasts around.
Bill shook his head, obviously unamused, "Be quiet. You're starting to annoy me."
Transfiguring an old cracked cauldron into a table for them, Bill mumbled under his breath, "Good thing this family understands sarcasm."
Charlie did not miss a beat, "Meat and sarcasm. That's all I've got. Pretty much my whole identity." Diving into the basket of goodies Molly had packed them, the siblings set about having a picnic in the little treehouse. Bill shook his head, deciding it was best to not encourage his brother's snarky behavior, and instead filled a glass for each of them.
"Cheers, to a summer of fun, and to Ginny telling us where she hid that light grey paint!" Charlie raised a glass, to which the other two raised their own, the soft tinkling of the glasses touching rang around them. The interior of the treehouse had been enlarged to allow for a reading nook, mini kitchen with a sink and ice box, a daybed that magically adjusted its size to the number of people on it, and a small WC in the back corner. Their father had come out one day and installed a spiral staircase that led up to a turret and crows nest. It was every girl's vision of a paradise on earth.
Which is why they had been arguing for the last week about what the best color for the walls would be. Ginny insisted on bright, vibrant patterns and colors. The boys wanted her to have something special, as a surprise, and she just wouldn't let it go.
"I don't want you to paint the walls boring grey! I want pretty colors, so when my friends come over, they will know this place is just for me!" Her adorable pout was melting both boys hearts. Being one of many, they both understood what it meant to have something that was just for them. Charlie had finally gotten his very own broom that year, instead of using the hand-me-downs that the Weasley children were used to. Being the oldest, Bill did not have to worry about the hand-me downs; he did, however, get his ears boxed more than a few times for not taking better care of his belongings so that they could be passed down to his younger siblings.
"Listen, Gin. I promise you, you will love it once I am done." Looking down, he tweaked her chin so he could peer into her eyes, doing what he could to convince her that he wasn't joking around; he really did have plans that would make her happy.
"All right; but if I hate it—"
He interrupted her line of thought, "If you hate it, I promise I will transform it before your eyes to the bright colors you want."
"How's that going to work?" She searched his eyes for any hint of deception.
"Just trust me." And she did. So, without further hesitation she let her oldest brothers know where they could find the offending paint.
"Wow, Mum. So, Uncle Bill painted that?" James picked his head up from where it had snuggled itself under her chin. His eyes looked like they were going to pop right out of his head. Clearly he had no idea what a talented artist his uncle was.
"How do you know that isn't what I made him change it to?" She looked down into eyes, exactly like his Father's. She took a moment to remind herself again how lucky she was to have him, and how much it meant to Harry that they were able to share these lovely memories of her childhood with their son.
"Well, the background is grey, and it is not the bright colors you told him you wanted." The child was going to be trouble. Only five and already so aware of the world around him. Once he found out just how smart he was, they were all in for trouble.
"Okay, you got me. Yupper, this is what I walked into when I got to see it completed for the first time." She smiled while taking in the grandeur of the floor to ceiling painting on the facing wall. It took her breath away that day, and still had a similar effect on her.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Ginny strained her ears, hoping to hear someone tell her to come on up. The whole family came out to see the big reveal of her treehouse. Ron and the twins were chasing each other around the small grove of fireoak trees behind the Burrow. Percy was sitting at the base of one of the other trees, looking bored—or annoyed. Those seem to be the teenager's range of emotions. Her mum and dad were up in the treehouse with Charlie and Bill, making sure everything was up to their safety standards.
So far, the only thing she had been able to pick out, other than random "ooohs" and "ahhhhs" was her mum's exasperated, "It's like a beehive in here."
"Okay, Ginny. We're ready for you." get mother's head peaked out the window, and smiled down to her only daughter. "Boys!" she yelled out into the trees all around her. "Get up here and see what your brothers did for your sister! It's amazing what someone can do when they use their talents for good, instead of doing everything in their power with the only intention of vexing me to my wit's end!"
Looking back down, her face rosy from yelling at her boys, Molly had another grin for Ginny. "Come on up, dear heart. Just wait until you see what your brothers did for you." Her eyes were sparkling, and Ginny needed no further encouragement. She tore up the ladder, two at a time where she could, to get into her very own treehouse.
As soon as her eyes rose above the threshold, she was completely breathless. The walls were the lightest grey and, just like Bill promised, they were perfect. The light was pouring in from the window on the back wall, causing what looked like tiny diamonds to glow from behind the centerpiece on the wall in front of her.
The entire wall was painted to look like a meadow. There were soft, silvery grasses growing all around, and throughout, it was sprinkled with wildflowers of all colors of the rainbow; their heads were bowing and silently shifting in the breeze that blew across the magical painting. Along the edge were trees that shaded part of the area, the dappled light that filtered down and highlighted a few woodland creatures scurrying along the bottom. A couple white and brown fluffy bunnies were hopping in and out of the frame. One was nibbling on the grasses, while the other looked at her from its hind legs. Head cocked to one side - one ear perked up, while the other laid comically over its eye. The whole scene was beautiful.
What was the most spectacular of all: the magnificent unicorn standing in the middle of the field. It stood taller than Ginny, and was the purest thing she had ever seen. The light that reflected off its body seemed to be shimmering like it had been painted with diamonds. Her eyes were faceted ice blue crystals, and they matched the curtains her mother must have put up this morning with her brothers. The hooves were gold, polished to a mirror shine and glinting in the light. The single horn, the crowning glory on the strikingly beautiful creature, was pure white and twisted up from the base. It was veined in rose gold and had worn down to a bright gold on the tip.
It was the most beautiful thing Ginny had ever seen.
Words caught in her throat, and it was more than her eight year-old range of emotions was prepared to handle. Turning around to her brothers, her bright glassy eyes full of emotion that couldn't be expressed in words, she ran to her oldest brother and threw herself into his arms.
"Thank you, Bill. I never thought I would see anything that beautiful, but this is mine; isn't it?"
He hugged her back hard, "It's all yours pumpkin wumpkin. You needed a place to just be a girl, away from the prying eyes of those prats that Mum and Dad claim are our brothers."
"Clearly, he is not referring to us. We are the good brothers, Mum even said so!" She threw her arms around Charlie when he came up behind her. He was always one to shy away from actual emotion, relying on sarcasm to show his love and devotion.
She just giggled back into his ear, "I don't believe it either. Their hair is much redder than ours!"
Standing there, they almost missed the commotion coming from the base of the tree.
"Hey, what's the big idea? Mum said we need to go up there and fawn all over the frilly girly pad, but we can't even get up there!"
"Oh, that's the best part," Bill whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "You have to invite those four up here if you want them. That way they can't come in here and take over your special space."
Looking down at James, Ginny smiled again. She had always known magic existed, but that was the day she believed it. Seeing what her brothers did for her, just for her, was a feeling that never dissipated with time. She used the treehouse as the place her imagination grew larger than the world around her when she was younger. As she got older, it truly became a haven for her. Greta, the handsome unicorn, became a confidant when she was having spats with her girlfriends and boyfriends over the years.
"So, buddy, that is what this place is. I'm so glad you found it, but don't tell Grammy. She will want to inspect it, and make Mummy make an Unbreakable Vow that it is safe for her babies." Kissing the top of his head, she ruffled his hair before putting him on the ground.
Heading down the ladder first, she gave a little wave to Greta when her head bowed to her old friend. "Let's go back to the Burrow and see what Grammy is up to. Bet she has some of her famous chocolate cookies and lemonade for you."
Ginny took her time leading James back to the Burrow. Knowing it won't be long until her little boy stopped reaching automatically for her hand when he walked next to her. She was leaving shortly with Harry to attend Luna and Rolf's wedding. The summer evening was shaping up to be a magical one.
QLFC - Falcons - Chaser 3
Main Prompt - Ginny
Optional: (setting) - Treehouse /(scenario) an argument over what the best color is / (dialogue) "It's like a beehive in here."
WC (minus AN) 2891
Hogwarts - Ravenclaw - Women's History: Influential Queer Women
Task Five: Write about someone with artistic talent.
Character Appreciation - H#2 - Trait - Bossy
Disney - D#2 - "She did that on purpose!" "Obviously."
Dark Lady #7 - shimmering
Book Club Marty (relationship) brothers / (dialogue) "I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't swear." (word) handsome
Showtime #7 - (season) Summer
Lyric Alley #23 - You get excited
Angels Arcade #14 - Silver the Hedgehog - (Color) Light Grey, (trait) eager, (dialogue) "How's that going to work?" "Just trust me."
Lo's Lowdown - Dialogue #4 - "Meat and sarcasm. That's all I've got. Pretty much my whole identity."
Film Festival (up to 2) - #14 - Siblings fighting #21 Dialogue "Be quiet. You're starting to annoy me."