*Arthur*

The first few weeks of summer went by quickly. Harry was taking his time to get comfortable in his new home, but he was slowly allowing himself to act as family and not a guest or the help or a house elf.

I was busier at work as the other member of my department had won a sweepstakes while I was out dealing with Harry's legal issues. He was on Safari in Kenya.

On the afternoon of July second an owl delivered a letter from Gringotts that was a warning things were going to change.

It read:

To Mr. Arthur Weasley

Upon our quarterly balancing of the books on the Potter estate, it was discovered that you and Mrs. Weasley are the legal magical guardians of Mr. Harry Potter.

Per the terms of his parents' wills, he is allowed a stipend of one hundred galleons per month to be withdrawn with your consent, not including necessary schooling expenses.

This is cumulative so his available balance is approximately 14,400. His current liquid assets are approximately one hundred thousand galleons along with his real estate holdings and paper assets. A more detailed report may be discussed at Gringotts at your convenience.

Regards,

Griphook

Potter Account Manager

I was shocked. I knew the Potters had been wealthy; they were an old but small family that had created some widely-selling products. But this… I'd have to think about what to tell Harry. What I definitely didn't want was him trying to pay us for room and board. We didn't need it and I didn't want people to whisper that was why we took him in. There would be enough gossip regardless.

I should have been prepared for what happened next. I was home the afternoon of the third. It was raining quite heavily, so Ron, Harry, and Ginny were in Ron's room looking through a stack of Quidditch magazines that Ron had kept. Some of them were several years old and they thought the uniforms from my time were a bit of a lark. The twins were doing something in their room that was making an awful lot of racket and some strong odd odors.

Molly said, "Those two will be the death of me. Or the ruin of this house. Arthur, you need to at least make sure they are being careful."

"I can set them up in my shed."

"Oh, no. The last thing I need is a flying car that shoots out fireworks or some such foolishness."

I gave her a quick kiss and said, "You love my foolishness, Mollywobbles…"

"Sometimes, dear. It's sweet." She smiled and nuzzled into my neck. "I have… twenty minutes if you want to practice some silencing charms."

I grinned and kissed her softly on the lips. "I never have to be asked twice."

She cast a spell to sound an alarm if anything caught on fire and we were halfway up the first flight of stairs when there was a loud persistent knocking on the door.

I sighed. Molly smiled and said, "Later, Arthur. It sounds important."

I looked through the keyhole and saw Albus Dumbledore standing there, with a look that was none too cheerful. I quietly said a few words that Molly didn't approve of me saying in front of the children and opened the door.

"Arthur, may I come in?"

"Certainly."

He walked through the door and Molly offered him a seat in the living room. He didn't waste time on pleasantries. "I don't know what to say. I tried warning you but you acted anyway and the wards around Privet Drive are down. Harry is in danger. He's unprotected."

I tried to not get too upset before speaking. "Albus, please listen this time. Harry was not safe there, not really. I can't imagine he was better off alone there than here with us.

"He was protected from Voldemort. He's trying to come back."

I lost my temper. "Don't you think I know that? I'm the one with the daughter who still screams in the night. There is no safety. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe but Voldemort almost killed two of the kids in this house at school over the last two years. You know the only safe place is? Azkaban." I paused for a minute, thinking of what to say. "You don't get to trade Harry's happiness for his safety. He'll get neither."

Molly spoke up. "You've said love is the greatest magic of all. Yet Harry has known so very little. Only indifference. Which can be worse than hate."

Dumbledore sighed in resignation. "I didn't want to think it was that bad. I may have been blinded. There was a prophecy. It explains more, when Harry is older."

"What is it?" He hesitated and said, "As his guardian, I'll just take him tomorrow to the ministry and hear it ourselves."

Dumbledore softly chanted a spell and I saw an image of the twins' divination professor. She spoke with an unearthly voice and foretold Harry's doom, to be marked by Voldemort and either kill or be killed.

Molly was speechless. I said, "It always seemed strange for him to be obsessed with a small boy. At least we know why now... we will tell him when we think he needs to know. I'd like him to be able to be just a boy for just a little longer. Merlin knows he hasn't had much of a chance so far."

Dumbledore said, "Thank you. This of course needs to be in the strictest confidence. And if I could impose upon you, I'd like to perform the Fidelius charm on your house. I'd feel better about all this with the added protection."

I had heard of it. I looked at Molly and she nodded. "Thank you we'd appreciate that. Could you act as secret keeper?" Bill and Charlie were not around and I didn't really have any friends I trusted with our lives.

He nodded, "I'd be honored. Preparation will take some time. It will probably be close to beginning of next term before I'm ready."

Molly said, "As long as you are here, could we convince you to stay for tea?"

He nodded. "Thanks. I wouldn't mind seeing how they are doing after this last spring."

*Ginny*

I was walking back to Ron's room after using the loo. He had been trying quite hard but unsuccessfully to turn Harry into a Chudley Cannons fan. I thought he had enough heartbreak already in his life to put that on him. But I stayed out of it and read an interview of my favorite professional Quidditch player, Gwenog Jones. I liked the Harpies not just because they were an all-witch team, but because of that, they had to try twice as hard to get half the respect. Something I could see in my own life sometimes.

I heard a heated conversation downstairs and a voice I hadn't expected to hear for a few more months. I opened Ron's door to find Harry glancing at the article I was reading. "You can't be a Harpies fan," bemoaned Ron.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because they are…" He shut up before he knew what was good for him.

Harry said, "I'm just reading an article… She seems to know her stuff. And a witch on a broom can be pretty cute too."

I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or put-down to my gender. Before I had time to answer back, Fred and George came from behind me. Fred said, "Either way, I don't want to imagine Wood as a girl."

Harry chuckled at that. George said, "Speaking of our magnificent captain, he said he was going to try to put a reserve team. Seems a certain Seeker not staying out of the hospital wing has made him a tad nervous. Do you think any of the blokes in your year might be interested?"

Harry said, "I'm not sure. Neville, I couldn't see that. Seamus likes muggle football much more and Dean's more of an artist than athlete. That just leaves Ron."

Ron said, "I've thought Keeper might be fun, but I can't imagine Wood ever needing a substitute."

"Hey!" I said. "You're forgetting about half the students. I've always wanted to play Chaser."

George said, "You've never flown before."

"You know how all the brooms are in the shed outside?"

"Yeah…." Fred replied.

"You two aren't the only ones who can sneak around." I grinned. "I love flying at night."

"Ok, well, there's Ginny then."

George then said, "What about Peter?"

"Who?" Harry asked.

"There's a boy in your class, Peter Pettigrew, right? Would he try out?"

"No there's no one else. Where did you get that idea?"

Fred glanced at George. "Go ahead, show them."

George went scampering off to his room. Meanwhile, Ron's rat Scabbers was going crazy, squealing and banging against his cage. Ron shushed him but it didn't help.

Fred said, "We found a map of Hogwarts, written by some group called the Marauders. But it's special. It shows locations of secret passages and…"

George came in and shut the door. He tapped a blank piece of parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Suddenly, an outline of the castle appeared and names throughout the building. We saw Filch in the hallways, probably sweeping as he moved back and forth. Professor McGonagall was having tea with Hagrid in her office.

Fred said, "We've seen a person named Peter Pettigrew right next to Ron's bed, on his left side. At the end of the year, we started to keep an eye on your room and Ginny's. If we had done that sooner, we may have saved you a lot of problems, Ginny."

I nodded. "I'm happy you did look out for me end of the year."

George said, "That's when we noticed this Peter fellow, although we never met."

Ron said, "Harry was on my left. There's a spot between us, but the only thing there is Hedwig and Scabbers."

This was really odd, and I didn't need anything new to worry about at school. "Well, Dumbledore's here, let's go ask him about it." It seemed like a pretty obvious plan.

The five of us trampled downstairs. The adults weren't yelling anymore, which was good. Dumbledore smiled at us. "Harry, I'm happy to see you safe and well. Were your ears burning?"

"Sir?"

Fred interrupted. "Professor, we have an odd situation." He waited before Dumbledore motioned for him to continue. "We have… we may have a map that shows the locations of people inside Hogwarts. It's always seemed to be accurate, but it is showing an extra person in Harry and Ron's dorm."

Mum was about to scold them for having something like that, but Dumbledore raised his hand. "Very interesting and if I were here on headmaster duties I'd likely have to confiscate it. However, the situation is different at the moment. May I ask the name of this mystery student?"

George responded, "Peter Pettigrew."

If I had ever seen Dumbledore shocked, that would have been the time. "Peter Pettigrew, you say…. He's dead. Killed by…." I saw the wheels in his head spin like a top. He paused for several minutes. "I always suspected that James and his friends…"

Harry interrupted . "James! My dad?"

"Yes, Harry, your father had three best mates in Hogwarts, they called themselves the Marauders, namely Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black."

Dad said, "Sirius Black, the murderer?"

Dumbledore said, "Yes, Sirius is in Azkaban for aiding Voldemort in going after Harry's parents . And then Peter confronted him and was killed... or so the ministry says. If Peter is alive, the entire account may be incorrect."

Harry looked like he was going to be sick.

Dumbledore finally added, "I always suspected that the Marauders learned to be animagi… wizards who can change into an animal," he added for our benefit. "James called Peter a rat in jest more than once…"

"Scabbers!" Ron yelled and he ran upstairs before anyone could stop him. Harry was right behind him.

From across the room, Dad yelled "Boys!" and got up after them.

I heard some muffled yelling and then an explosion that almost knocked my small frame to the ground. I screamed "Harry!" and chased after Dad.

My room was missing the outer wall. All my clothes were strewn about and Ron lay face down on the floor. Harry was at the window, about to jump. When he saw Dad and me, he stepped back.

"Dad…" I couldn't deal with someone else being hurt now.

He said, "It's ok pumpkin, he's just stunned."

Dad pointed his wand at Ron's forehead, muttered a spell, and he slowly began to wake up. Dad slowly helped him get up. "You all right, son?"

"Yeah, thanks, Dad. There was a man here… a bit taller than me, fat… kind of ugly."

Dumbledore finally entered and said, "That might be him." From his wand, a an image appeared, floating next to him.

There were four boys in a hallway in Hogwarts. One looked incredibly like Harry, down to the tousled hair, just not the eyes. One lanky boy who didn't look completely well was keeping an eye on them while another one with mischievous eyes looked like he was ready to get into trouble. The fourth seemed a bit out of place. "Ron, does the short boy look familiar?"

"Maybe… could be the same as the man in here, as a kid. It happened so fast."

Harry had come back from the hole in the wall and stared at the image until Dumbledore banished it. A single tear went down his cheek. Dad put an arm around him. "It's ok to miss them, you know."

He nodded.

Dumbledore asked, "Harry, did you see the man?"

"Just barely. Ron got a better look."

"Still… two accounts would be better than one." He looked at Ron and then Harry and said, "May I record your memories of the event to show the ministry?" They both nodded. "Think hard about what the intruder looked like… there we are."

Using his wand Dumbledore pulled a silvery wisp from Ron's temple and placed it in a small bottle, then stoppered it. He then did the same thing with Harry. "I can't promise anything, but I will do my best to help Sirius if he really is innocent."

I gasped as I realized why my room was turned out. I reached into my top dresser drawer. "Harry, where's your wand?"

He reached into his back pocket. "I could never keep it out at the Dursley's, so I have kind of been wearing it most days." He added, "I know I'm not allowed to use it."

"Mine's gone." It hasn't been anything special, a hand-me-down, but I still felt a little violated. Plus the fact that the man had overheard private conversations and seen me in a nightgown. Probably less.

Merlin… he could have… done anything. I started to feel myself breathe and then the room began to spin and then everything was dark.

I found myself on the couch in the living room. Harry was the first person I saw. "Hey, Gin…"

"How long was I out?" I immediately asked.

"Just a couple minutes or so. Your mother is making sure Ron is ok and the twins are moving your things up to Charlie's old room. They figured you'd want a place that had four walls." I tried to smile.

"Percy is home and he, your dad, and Dumbledore are checking the yard, but chances of them finding that rat… Percy feels responsible since it was his pet first." He paused for a moment. "Can I get you something?"

I shook my head and sat up. "No, just stay here… I feel dirty. Peter going through my things… Tom taking my memories…"

He awkwardly put an arm around me. Part of me wanted to push it away but I was too tired to protest. I finally leaned back into his arm. "I'm never going to forget it."

"Scars can be on the inside too," he said. I nodded and we stayed like that for several minutes.

Eventually, Dad and Percy came back, though without Peter. Dumbledore had gone back to Hogwarts but promised to look into everything. Mum fed Ron a sandwich and he felt better.

The twins came down and insisted on showing me my new room. This room was a little smaller and only had a single window. There was a green curtain in front of it. My bed was under the window and they had even moved my dresser and refolded my clothes.

"Sorry about your Harpies poster," said George. "Most of it was blown to bits and the rest wasn't worth hanging."

I gave both of my brothers hugs. "We'll be right below you if you need anything tonight," said Fred. "Oh, we figure you should have this."

He handed a piece of paper. "It's the map. Touch it and say 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.' And say 'Mischief Managed' to hide it."

George added, "We thought it might help you feel safe next year. Make sure you make good use of it."

"Thanks again."

Sometimes having older brothers could be nice.

*Arthur*

During the third week of July, Dumbledore surprised me at work. He looked rather off and I insisted he sit down. "Thank you, Arthur. I just got back from Azkaban. It took a while and having to get permission from one of the aurors, Kingsley, but I interviewed Sirius under veritaserum and got some memories from him."

"My sakes… how did it go?"

"Well, he looked better than most prisoners do after eleven years with those horrid creatures. Most are dead or insane by that point. And I believe my initial thoughts were correct. Sirius and Peter switched being secretkeeper and then Peter gave the Potter's over to Voldemort. When Sirius confronted him, Peter took the opportunity to frame him and fake his own death."

He paused to catch his breath. I handed him a bit of chocolate I had stored. "Thank you. Anyway, I should have enough to get Sirius the trial he never had."

"That would be wonderful. Sirius is the closest thing to his parents that Harry has."

"Other than you. You and Molly truly have done a good thing, taking him in. Even if this works and Sirius can be involved in Harry's life, he will be better having you as parental figures."

"Thanks. We've only done what's right."

"It's been much more than that." He got up. "Well, I should get back. I will let you know as this develops."

Dumbledore's unexpected statement of confidence did encourage me to have a conversation I had been putting off but needed to do. After another excellent meal from my bride, I asked Harry to join me in the study. Ron and Ginny went up to their rooms. The three of them had been pretty inseparable, but I realized they were both spending time with Harry and the other person just happened to be around. I was concerned about what school would bring, especially with Ginny advancing an extra grade. However, I did trust that the boys would heed the talk we had at the beginning of the school year.

Harry walked in a bit timidly. "You're not in trouble." I still had to reassure him. He sat down. "I've been working with Gringotts to get a proper record of your inheritance. Your vault has about a hundred thousand galleons, of which you get a hundred galleon stipend each month. You've barely spent any of it."

I then handed him a stack of papers."You also own several properties throughout Britain and France — farms, business locations, mainly. As well as some investments in magical and muggle stocks and loans. The money they've made has been reinvested and is worth around a million galleons."

Harry shuddered a bit. "Wow… you should get something for taking care of me."

I gently but firmly placed a hand on him. "Harry, we will have none of that sort of talk. We asked you to live here because we care for you, not because we wanted something. Now, you can use your money to buy your school supplies and the occasional treat or gift, but part of being your guardian is teaching you life lessons that school doesn't teach."

He nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I just want to do my part. You're done so much for me."

"It's what families do." I paused for a moment, preparing myself for a bit of awkwardness. "And I'm not going to try to replace your dad, but I want you to be able to talk about anything you need to."

"K, I'll remember that."

I guessed I wasn't going to get him to bring this up on his own… "Harry, have you ever had anyone talk to you about men and women and babies and such?"

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "My uncle never did, of course. I heard some stuff from older guys at school before Hogwarts. Professor Flitwick had an extra class for the boys last year that I went to. He explained most of it and growing up stuff."

"Probably not a lot about how to court a witch you like though."

"No, sir."

"Well, you are pretty young still, so if you aren't interested in any girls yet, that's ok. If you do have any questions, I'll do my best. I was once your age too. I know girls can be quite confusing."

"Yeah, I've figured that out. Sometimes, I feel funny and nervous and happy…" he stopped himself suddenly. He was a little red.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. If there is someone special that's not a bad thing."

He didn't want to look at me. I said, "There is someone you fancy, isn't there."

He nodded. "I don't want you to get mad at me."

"Why would I…." I stopped myself and realized the issue and realized things were going to get complicated. "Does this girl happen to live in this house?"

He nodded again. "I'm sorry."

"Harry, there's nothing to be sorry about."

"I can still stay?" He perked up.

"I told you that no matter what you do, we will never send you away."

"I know, but it's hard. I thought you would be cross with me."

I shook my head. "Harry, it's ok. You can talk to me."

"I'll try… Ginny means a lot to me, ever since the chamber. She gets some of the stuff I've been through and she's fun and pretty… she is one of my best friends but I feel a bit different when she's around. Not like when I'm with Ron."

I sat back for a moment. "Well, you are both still young but I won't say you can't like someone. You both have had a rough time of it you, so I would want you to take things really slow... But if you want to tell her how you feel at some time, I won't be cross."

He smiled. "I'm a bit too scared to do that now."

"As you probably should be. You'll know when you are both ready. Be prepared to say something first, even with a strong girl like my daughter. I'd ask you strictly follow two rules."

He listened intently. "Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"First, please be very careful, for both your sakes. If one of you breaks the other's heart, it'll be very difficult for everyone living here. That is the only reason I'm worried about this. Secondly, and this is more for quite some time in the future… Ginny's my princess and I expect anyone dating her treat her as such."

"Yes, sir." When I didn't say anything further, he said, "Can I go now? We were going to play some exploding snap."

"Sure, go ahead." As he got up, I said "One thing… make sure to keep the door open, ok?"

A few minutes later, I heard him laughing and my daughter giggling. After a little bit, there was some deeper laughter as the twins found their way up. Kids… for a bit more, but probably not as long as I hoped.

As I lay next to Molly that night, she asked me, "How did things go with Harry?"

"Pretty good. I think he may need some better advice than I can give regarding wealth management when he grows up, but he wasn't that impressed by it."

"Probably a good thing."

"The other part of the talk I was going to have… was a bit more interesting. Harry said he knew the basics but seemed a bit nervous to ask anything."

"Because he likes Ginny."

I was more than perplexed. "Did he tell you?"

"No, just a witch's intuition. And Ginny isn't speechless in front of the poor boy anymore, but she still has a crush on him."

"That I guessed. I told him not to worry about it, but to take things slow but we wouldn't stop them when they were older."

"You know older may be sooner rather than later."

I was trying to not consider that. "He's only going to be thirteen."

Molly kissed my lips softly. "And I remember a fifteen year old that was mooning over me for at least a couple years before he finally gave me a proper kiss. The kids are older than you want them to be. Ginny's grown up much more, between last year and just having so many older brothers. And she ended up being an earlier bloomer than I was."

That had been the source of some excitement for my wife a few weeks ago. I was just thankful that Molly was around to take care of her and I was glad that we had so many boys.

She continued, "You did good, dear. They will be all right."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Arthur. Always."

*Ginny*

Ron, Harry, and the twins were outside degnoming while I was stuck in the kitchen sweeping after supper. I didn't mind it so much this time though. I made sure Mum and I were alone. "I started again, this morning."

Mum nodded. "It may be irregular for a while. There's nothing to worry about. Do you need to lie down?"

"Maybe in a bit." I paused. "Harry's birthday is tomorrow. I know his past ones have been rubbish and want to make it special."

"We will. I was going to have you help with a cake later, if you feel up to the task."

"I just… I want to get him something but I'm not sure and I don't have any money. And he has more than he could spend so why would he want something from me?"

"Ginny, dear… try not to get too upset." I didn't even realize I was crying. "He cares about your friendship, not anything you can it can't buy for him. I'm sure you will think of something."

I thought about it for a few minutes and then an idea popped in my head. I felt like a girl inspired. After supper, I asked Dad to meet me in his shed. He was surprised; us kids hardly ever volunteered to go out there.

"What did you want, princess?"

I rolled my eyes. I thought that we were passed that. "I wanted to make something for Harry's birthday tomorrow." I explained to him what I wanted.

He went to a pile of wood in the back and fished out a piece. "Here's a slab of white oak that I had saved from a project, I think it will work well." He handed me a piece of wood and a scrap of sandpaper. "You'll want to make it smooth first."

I nodded and got to work. After a few minutes, the front side was almost silky to the touch. "Done, Dad."

"Ok… now, you aren't technically supposed to do this but I'm right here, so it's ok. And you can use my wand. We'll have to get you a new one before school starts."

He showed me the incantation and has me practice on few scraps until I was ready. I took a deep breath, steadied my hand, and burned into the piece of oak.

Finally, I was finished. "Do you think he will like this?"

"I'm sure he will, dear. You can keep it out here until tomorrow. You ought to get ready for bed now dear."

"Yes, Dad." I gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for helping," I said and ran up to my room.

The next day, Harry's birthday, was a Saturday, so Dad and Percy were home the entire day. It was a scorcher, so after breakfast all the boys went out for a swim after my mum put on the charm to protect against sunburn. Sometimes I wished I could have a nice tan, but with my skin, no luck. It was either cream with auburn freckles or burned bright lobster red, which Mum warned would give me wrinkles as an adult. So, I lived with the strongest charm she could perform. It made sunbathing rather pointless, but I said I would come down before realizing I couldn't swim today. Instead, I spread out on a blanket in a pair of shorts and a lime string tank top that my parents didn't know I had.

At one point, Harry looked like he was going to ask me something, but Fred whispered something in his ear, which made him shy for a minute. After a while, he got over it and glanced back at me every so often.

We were all too excited to wait, so after we got back home and we ate the sandwiches Mum made for lunch, we convinced Harry to open up his gifts. He grinned and said, "This is probably the best birthday I've had in… well, since my first one."

He opened Dad and Mum's gift first. To anyone outside our family, it would have seemed to be an odd gift, a clock hand that had his name in fancy script next to a painted snitch. But he knew instantly what it meant.

"Here, Harry," Dad said. "Allow me." Dad got out his wand and levitated the hand into place on the giant clock overlooking the table. He flicked his wrist and it stuck firm on the clock, the hand turning green as it activated. It whirled for a moment and then pointed dead-center at "home" along with all our red clock hands but my two oldest brothers.

"Thanks… that's really…" He gave both my parents a hug.

Ron handed him a box wrapped in brown paper, tied with some twine. "Here you go, Harry. The four of us chipped in together on this."

He untied the knot and then ripped off the paper. It was a professional-grade broom servicing kit for his Nimbus 2000. "Thanks, guys."

Fred said, "We want to make sure our star seeker looks good up there."

"And with any luck, the sun'll catch the handle just perfectly and blind that arse Malfoy."

"Boys!" Mum scolded.

Harry laughed and said, "Well, thanks. We will do what we can. Oliver's going to be unbearable this year."

Ron said, "Well, at least, he won't be able to get on you for your broom not being tip-top."

I was jealous. I looked at the box and remembered seeing Harry darting across the sky. I really did hope to be a reserve chaser but the house brooms were several years old. As beaters, it didn't seem to hurt Fred and George much, but they had a lot more practice than me too.

Dad coughed, bringing me back to reality. "Ginny, how about you give Harry your gift."

"Oh, right." I could feel the blood go to my face instantly. I thought I had gotten over being embarrassed around him. "It's outside still… be right back." I scampered off to Dad's shed and realized I hadn't wrapped the gift yet. Too late now.

"I hope you like this."

I handed him the plank I had tried shaping it into an oval, about eighteen inches long and eight inches high. The writing with the wand wasn't perfect, but I had burned into it simply "Harry's Room."

"I couldn't decide what to get you, so I thought something handmade might be nice. Plus, this way if Luna or Hermione come over they'll know which room at the top of the stairs is yours and mine. Dad helped me with the wand work. It's not charmed or anything special." You can shut up now, Ginny. When did I start blabbering?

Harry had a huge smile on his face and hugged me tightly. "It's perfect, thanks." He let me go a little sooner than I want. "I feel… really special. All of you, thanks again."

"And now you're going to feel full, Harry!" Mum called out from the kitchen. She brought out the enormous cake that we had worked on yesterday. Chocolate with some of the year's first strawberries on top.

Mum cut into it and served out huge pieces to everyone, starting with Harry, who looked like he had never seen a bigger piece of cake in his life.

"This is really good, Mrs. Weasley."

"Thanks. I do my best. Ginny helped a lot too." She looked over and I swore she winked.

"Then thanks to you too, Ginny."

I grinned and dug into my own piece, trying to get out a "You're welcome" between bites. One thing about going through my "flowering time" as my mother put it — I really wanted chocolate.

In the afternoon, we took turns flying. Harry even let me on his broom for a while. It was almost as good as swimming as a way to keep cool. Before bed, Dad had used a sticking charm to put the sign I made for Harry on his door.

I had just finished my bath and was walking up to my room in my bathrobe. Harry ran a finger along the top of his sign and then turned as he heard me coming up the creaky stairs. "Going to bed?"

"Yeah… I'm a bit tired with… well, you probably figured it out."

"Oh… well, good-night Gin."

"Good-night, Harry."

For the next ten days, Harry got to be two years older than me on paper instead of one. I was just ready to put year eleven into the books, as Bill would have said. But first, we got our Hogwarts letters, a little earlier than last year.

Percy made Head Boy, to the delight of Mum and Dad and the horror of the twins. "We'll have to work twice as hard to balance you out!" Fred and George said. I half-believed them.

On the morning of Friday, August sixth, Harry, Ron, and I got identical lists. I didn't have much of an opinion on electives, so I decided to take the same classes as they did. That way, we could help each other study. We didn't have rubbish books from Lockhart this year, but the book for Magical Care of Creatures looked… interesting. We didn't have anything planned for the weekend, so we decided to all go to Diagon Alley on Saturday to go shopping. Mum didn't want to try to handle all six of us by herself.

After breakfast, we all got dressed in clothes that were nicer than we normally wore around the house on a Saturday at my mother's insistence. Dad told Harry, "I went to Gringotts after work yesterday and I got some coin out for you as well as some cheques in case you need to use them while at school. Do you want me to hold onto them?"

He said, "Thanks, but I think I need to learn how to handle them." Dad nodded and handed him a coin purse and a small packet of paper.

After that, we all took turns using the floo to travel. First job for both Ron and I was getting new wands. Ollivander could be quite a while if we proved to be interesting, so Mum took us while Dad split off with Harry and the twins. Percy was of-age and insisted that he could be off by himself.

A new wand, ash with a griffin feather, found its way to Ron in under two minutes. After ten, I was beginning to get impatient.

Finally, Ollivander found one way in the back, and said, "This wand is, well, old. I made it twenty years ago but never found someone it liked." He placed it in my hand and I felt a warmth that started in my palm and journeyed to my core. Nothing like my hand-me-down that now belonged to a murdering dirty man. "I think it was waiting for someone special."

He looked at me and smiled gently. "Dragon heartstring, for a fiercely strong young lady, and holly, from the same tree as belongs to a young gentlemen that I believe you know. His wand, I would not wish that fate on anyone. I fear for what it will need to do for its master."

I was half-puzzled by his comment. I kind of knew what he meant, but I didn't want to think too much about it. I worried enough about this next year already… who else would almost die this year?

We bumped into the rest of my family on our way out of the shop. Dad looked like he wanted to be happy but was trying not to be and the twins were grinning. Harry had a confident look on his face. Mum demanded, "Where have you been?"

"Dear, it's a bit of a secret. Nothing to worry about." She wasn't happy with that answer and I thought dad was going to have to make up for that later.

"Well, if you lot can take Ron and go get everyone's books, I need to take Ginny clothes shopping…" That made them scatter pretty quickly.

My mother found a couple decent used robes for me. I hadn't grown much over the last year, but I had ruined a couple with feathers and rooster blood. I was glad she didn't try to repair those, the memories would have been too much. She then swung over to another part of the store I hadn't been in yet. "You should get used to wearing these, dear," she said as she handed me a set of underclothes that were not quite what I was used to.

"Mum…"

"These should work for this next year. But if you take after me at all, you may need the real thing sooner than expected. When you come home at Christmas, we'll see how things are going." She put six sets into her basket. "You know to be careful around boys… I'm still not sure about you going up a grade. Thirteen and fourteen year old boys are going to start being interested in… well, just be careful and make sure that they keep their hands to themselves."

This wasn't exactly the place I wanted to have this conversation, but I had been around Harry and Ron so much, I couldn't blame her for not finding a better time. "Yes, Mum. I can take care of myself."

"Tell your brothers if you need help."

"Ok." I leaned into her to let her know I wasn't upset, but it was a bit of awkward silence on the way back. Luckily, no one asked me what I had gotten.

A few days later, it was finally my birthday!

Good-bye horrible eleventh year… well, mostly horrible at least. Hello being twelve. It was a Wednesday, so we were saving the celebration for tonight when Dad was home. So it was a normal summer day, except that I think the boys all let me off easy in our epic game of hide and seek.

Mum made spag bol, my favorite. I did get some teasing about still being the youngest, but then I told Dad I was only a couple years from when he and Mum started dating, which quieted everyone up a bit. We had ice cream for dessert (I never cared for cake that much) and then it was time for presents.

My parents went first, especially since I knew what it was. It was a small container with pink paper that I ripped through. Mum said, "I remembered what I promised." It was a small compact that also came with some eyeshadow and lip gloss. I had asked to wear some last summer to an event at the ministry we all had to go to, and was told I had to wait until twelve. She continued, "Just for special occasions."

"Yes, Mum. Thank you!" I had only planned on doing that anyway. I didn't really want to be that girly — I was too active that sweat would ruin it after a few hours anyway. It was more about being grown up. And I was so ready to not be a little girl anymore.

Fred handed me a slightly larger box. Harry spoke up, "She should do mine first, it'll ruin the surprise."

George shook his head. "Harry, you and Ron both need to learn the art of cultivating anticipation."

He finally nodded and I was handed my gift after being a bit confused. "Ginny, this is from the four of us."

Ron looked at him. "It is?"

I heard a whisper that sounded like, "You owe us a galleon."

I opened it curiously. It was a broom servicing kit. That was a little weird, unless. Did Harry actually get me my own used broom? "Thanks, guys. I… I guess I'll need to open Harry's gift before this makes sense." Was it a Cleansweep like the school brooms or maybe even a Nimbus from last year?

Harry sheepishly smiled and said, "I thought you could use this." He handed me a package that was obviously a broom.

I slowly unwrapped my gift from the tail end. I didn't recognize the design at first, but it was more stylized than even a Nimbus. I thought I recognized it from a magazine, but he couldn't have….

"A Firebolt! Harry, thank you, thank you." I almost ripped his shoulder off grabbing him for a hug.

"Blimey," Ron said, "that's the new model, it must have cost..." but I shut him up with a glare.

Mum spoke up, "Harry, I know you mean well, but that really is too much."

My heart sank, but Harry was prepared. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley, it was an expensive gift. But Ginny wants to be a reserve Chaser and I'm sure she'll make the regular squad year after next. The beaters they have for Slytherin are a set of goons and Malfoy's father bought the entire team new brooms last year. This way, she can outrun them."

Dad said, "He did ask me beforehand, dear and I said it was ok, just this once."

Mum gave Dad a look that said volumes, but she finally said, "All right. Just make sure you don't go too fast Ginny."

I nodded… her definition of too fast and mine were likely different though. "We still have some daytime left. Can I go try this out?"

She nodded. "Race around the paddock?" anyone. All the boys but Percy were up for the challenge. It was a good day.