It was 9 AM when Harry woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. At first, he was confused as to why he could smell bacon and eggs, he was normally the one that made breakfast at the Dursleys. That's when he realised he was no longer at the Dursleys, all thanks to the swift rescue by Fred and George. He also remembered Dobby's words very clearly; 'Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year'. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Looking around, he spotted Ron was not in his bed, meaning he was probably downstairs. He hopped out of bed and quickly got changed.
He walked down the stairs and sat next to Ron at the scrubbed wooden table. 'M-morning' he said, stifling a yawn. He looked around the table to see he was last to arrive. As he looked at Ginny, she averted her gaze and started blushing. It was common knowledge in the Weasley household that Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. But what they didn't know is that Harry reflected the same feelings. Both Harry and Ginny spent the rest of their breakfast in silence, each trying not to catch the other's eye.
When it was clear everyone had finished breakfast, Mrs. Weasley announced 'Right then, school is starting again soon, I think it's about high time we go to Diagon Alley!'. Harry was getting ready to go and was confused when nobody headed for the door to get in the car, but instead gathered around the fireplace. 'What're you doing?' Harry asked. For a moment, Mrs. Weasley looked confused before it dawned on her. 'Oh Harry, dear, you've never used the floo before, have you?' she asked in a kind voice. 'Well, it's very simple. Just grab the powder and speak very, very clearly.' Harry tried but his nerves got the best of him 'Diagonelly!' he stuttered to an ecstatic burst of vibrant green flames. Suddenly, his feet left the ground and he was being tugged about forcefully in many different directions.
Harry felt very nauseous when he finally reached solid ground. He decided this definitely was not his favourite way of traveling. After taking several minutes to recover, he started to take in his surroundings. He was inside a building filled with strange artifacts he didn't recognise. His first impulse was to look around the shop, as he saw a skeletal hand he definitely wanted to inspect but left it untouched as he knew he needed to get back to the Weasleys. He rushed out of the shop to find he was not in a Diagon Alley shop, but rather one on a street he didn't recognise. He immediately started walking to the left, convinced he would find the exit if he just kept walking. As he walked, he encountered a number of strange people, all of whom asked Harry if he was lost in falsely sweet voices. He was suddenly swarmed by a group of people who wanted to 'help' him when a strong, booming voice asked 'Arry? What're you doin' down 'ere?' At the sound of Hagrid's voice, the crowd around him scattered. Thankful for the timing of Hagrid, Harry ran up to him.
Harry tried to answer the question 'Well, t-the floo powder, it-it sent me to the wrong place…'
At this, Hagrid let out a booming laugh 'Firs' time usin' floo powder eh?' Harry then questioned
'Erm, Hagrid, how do I get back to Diagon Alley?' Hagrid answered 'Don' worry 'Arry, follow me'
With that, Hagrid turned and started walking back in Harry's original direction. With Hagrid's huge strides, Harry had to run to keep up, and even though he valued the exercise, he was glad when they reached Diagon Alley. He saw Mrs. Weasley and quickly thanked Hagrid before joining her. She pulled him into a tight embrace when he was close enough and it took her a long time to let go. When she finally did, Harry noticed Ginny was on tears, her eyes red and puffy, though Harry still thought she looked beautiful. He had already guessed why Ginny was in that condition and was strangely touched that she cared so much. They started walking towards a very crowded flourish and blotts where they would be buying their books for school.
Mrs. Weasley also announced excitedly that Gilderoy Lockhart would be at a book signing there. They walked into the shop to get six sets of books. Though Harry insisted on paying, Mrs. Weasley refused to take his money. So when they rejoined the queue, Harry quietly slipped 25 galleons (roughly £120) into her purse.
It took half an hour at least, but they were finally at the front of the queue and Lockhart's eyes immediately traveled to Harry's scar. Before Harry knew it, he was pushed around the table and Lockhart had his arm round Harry. He said 'We're going to make the front page, Harry. Now smile'. He knew what was going to happen so ducked as the blinding flash of a camera snapped a picture of a rather miffed Gilderoy Lockhart with a confused look on his face and his arm where it was gripping Harry's shoulder just seconds before. Harry, crawled under the table and rejoined the Weasleys. Harry was now quite angry. 'As far as I recall, I Did not ask to have my picture taken, Lockhart' He said coldly. He started to storm out of the store when the one person he wanted to see least blocked his exit. Malfoy. He was in the middle of hurling an insult at Harry when he received a kick to his genitals. Though it wasn't Harry that gave it. He looked behind him in surprise to see an angry Ginny. Even in a state of severe pain, Malfoy still managed to insult them through a pained whisper 'At least you've got your blood traitor girlfriend to stick up for you when your parents can't, Potter.' Ginny looked like she was about to beat him to a pulp. Though she looked fired up, she had a light blush, the last comment obviously embarrassed her but even though she was blushing, it didn't make her look any less fearsome. One thing was for sure, Harry wouldn't want to take on this Ginny in a fight. Harry just told her 'He's not worth it' and led her out of the shop.
By the time the rest of the Weasleys were out of the shop, Ginny had cooled down. She was obviously embarrassed at Harry seeing her flared up like that but neither mentioned it. As they were walking towards Madam Malkin's, Harry noticed a book jutting out of Ginny's pocket that definitely wasn't there a few minutes ago. He didn't remember her buying it either. It was then he realised where she'd got it from. The short confrontation with Malfoy had allowed him to slip it into her pocket. He knew that anything Malfoy would give to a Weasley would definitely not be a pleasant surprise. So with surprising stealth, he managed to tug the book out of Ginny's pocket and conceal it better in his own. After Ginny had her new robes fitted, she got her wand, which she felt very proud of, and now they were heading off back to the Burrow. When they got to the fireplace that would take them back to the Burrow, Harry started to feel nervous again. Ginny seemed to sense this and stayed back with Harry until everyone else was gone. She slipped her hand into his and said 'don't worry' as she guided him forward into the fireplace. The second she did, all his worries about floo travel escaped his mind as he focused on Ginny's soft, small hand in his. He finally came out of his daze to see a shocked looking Ron and a stern looking Mrs. Weasley. She quickly let go of his hand and started blushing a deep shade of crimson.
Mrs. Weasley suddenly changed her expression and went back to unloading the shopping, she would deal with this later instead of making a fuss about it. Ron, however, was content gawping at both Ginny and Harry as if they were snogging right in front of him. Harry knew he should've let go of Ginny's hand earlier but also didn't want to.
He walked out of the almost empty kitchen and started up the stairs. 'Oh God,' He said to himself as he realised how much teasing he would have to endure from both Fred and George. He wasn't sure whether Ron would tease him, but rather be moody and try to avoid Harry. He thought that would be the probable treatment from Ron. He walked into the room and sat down, still deep in thought. He wasn't sure how Mrs. Weasley would treat Harry as she probably thought they were in a relationship. Sure, Harry wanted to be but was too embarrassed to confess his feelings for Ginny. He knew for a fact that the twins would take it lightly as they did with any situation, but would tease him to no end.
He sat in the same position for hours without interruption and would easily have sat there all night when Mrs. Weasley called him for tea. He was dreading facing the Weasleys as he was sure they would all react differently. He was right. He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. The twins were grinning like maniacs and staring back and forth at each other and then at Harry. Ron was throwing him occasional dirty glances before going back to his food. Surprisingly, Mrs. Weasley seemed to react in a normal manner and continued as though the incident didn't happen earlier that day. Arthur had just got home, and was clueless to the situation. The dinner was uneventful, with Harry trying not to catch anyone's eye and instead focusing on his food. When dinner was over, he politely excused himself from the table and made his way out the door, heading for a tree far from the house. What he didn't notice was Fred and George following suit.
He sat down under a large oak tree and heaved a sigh as he laid his head back on the large trunk. He had had about 10 seconds of peace before he saw Fred and George walking towards him. 'Snogged Ginny in the broom shed yet, Harry?' Fred asked jokingly. Harry let out another sigh 'Shurrup Fred' he muttered. 'Come on Harry, can't take a joke?' Said George.
'I can' said Harry. 'Tease me all you want. Just leave Ginny alone, alright?' He pleaded
With that, they both burst out laughing, and it took them a whole minute to calm down.
'A-alright, Harry. We'll leave her alone. You, really do have feelings for her, don't you?'
'Yeah, I do' He confessed before he could stop himself. 'B-but please don't tell anyone. Please.'
Neither twin answered him, instead, they just walked back inside in renewed fits of laughter.
This tied a knot in Harry's stomach. They didn't say whether they would tell anyone his secret or not. At this point, he didn't want to go back inside as he might be greeted by laughing and pointing or angry faces. He decided eventually, though, he had to go back inside as the sun had set and it was starting to get chilly out. He headed inside and thankfully didn't see anyone on his way to the stairs. He started climbing them when he heard Mrs. Weasley in Ginny's room as well as a snippet of what she was talking about. '-far too young to have a boyfriend, dear. So is Harry' This stopped Harry dead in his tracks. He stood outside, wanting to hear more. He knew it was wrong, but he was curious. He heard Mrs. Weasley speak again 'Ginny, I don't want you getting hurt over a silly crush, dear. Especially so young' 'This isn't some stupid crush, Mum. I really love Harry, I just don't know how to tell him' After those words, Harry was ecstatic.
'Ginny actually likes me' He thought to himself. Though he was ecstatic, the next few words baffled him and left him more curious than before. 'Ginny, dear, what about your little problem? Asked . 'Mum, if Harry loved me back, he wouldn't care about my problem'. She said. Harry could tell that Ginny's problem, whatever it was, obviously was embarrassing. Moments later, Harry had to swiftly tiptoe up the stairs and around the corner as he heard Mrs. Weasley walking towards the door. He walked into his and Ron's room to find it thankfully empty. He got undressed and slipped on his pyjamas before getting into bed. He replayed the parts of their conversation he remembered over again in his head. 'Ginny, dear, what about your little problem?' He played in his head. 'What could her problem be?' he thought. Though he didn't know what her problem was, he decided he wasn't going to judge her on it, nor would it affect anything between them. That was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up the next morning, he felt refreshed as he wasn't woken up, rather left to doze. Once again, Ron's bed was empty. He had the distinct impression Ron was avoiding him. As usual, he went down for breakfast but as he was the last one up, he was alone as he ate his toast. For the next four days, Harry's time at the Burrow was uneventful as he tried to isolate himself from other people until the situation died down. His favourite spot was an oak tree with a thick trunk. He would just sit under it for hours on end with the occasional stare from Ginny out of the kitchen window. On his last day before dinner, it seemed everyone had gone back to normal apart from Ron. He was still angry about Harry holding hands with Ginny, while Harry himself just wanted it to happen again. He briefly wondered how long Ron would keep this up as he really wanted his best friend back. He wanted Ginny more though. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he got up and headed for the house. He decided he was going to pack the rest of his bag while Ron was playing Quidditch with Fred and George in the orchard.
He decided this was the worst, yet best stay at The Burrow ever.