Ginny Weasley could affirm honestly she had always had a happy childhood growing up at the Burrow. Though money had always been stretched to the limit, the Weasleys were a tight-knit family who always looked out for one another. The rolling hills, the abundance of fresh clean air and Molly Weasley's sumptuous banquets were the ideal ingredients for contentment. This family was a perfect example of the fact that you didn't need money to make you happy. Afterall, Ginny surmised prudently, you could be rich and be as dysfunctional as the Malfoys with their greed and lust for power and influence. Perhaps Ginny's impressions as she remembered them were far too idyllic as her parents trudged through many hardships, but she loved them all the more for not letting it show and impinge upon the bliss of her childhood. Then, as if to complete this panorama of joy, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger showed up just before her first year at Hogwarts. Even though their family was arguably already large enough, these two seemed to fit seamlessly within the group. Both were strangers to the wizarding world, who knew of nobody magical but, through Ron, they had found a home and a place to belong. In Hermione, Ginny found a sister she had often craved. In Harry arrived the hero of her mother's stories. Looking back, Ginny wondered if this may have been the Weasleys' finest hour.
Now, however, there came the critical test for their home at the Burrow. The Order of the Phoenix had suffered a devastating loss – the death of their leader, their chairman and their founder Albus Dumbledore at the hands of one who they thought of as a friend – and they needed a new base of operations to regain the initiative. Following Dumbledore's death, each member of the organization had in turn become the secretkeeper of Grimmauld Place (which included Severus Snape). This greatly diluted the protection of the Fidelius Charm. So, naturally Ginny's dad Arthur Weasley offered the Burrow as the next best alternative. Afterall, if Harry Potter was going to stay with the family, the house was going to be afforded the best possible protection and it made sense to take advantage of that. It meant some mild inconvenience to the inhabitants of the house, but nothing that bothered Ginevra Weasley too much. It merely invoked that she couldn't venture out alone any more or fly on her broomstick around the gardens and she had to be careful not to walk in upon an impromptu meeting (or Mrs. Weasley would shoo her away). Yet perhaps the greatest aggravation caused by the arrival of the Order of the Phoenix was that it heightened her sense of isolation and estrangement from everything that was going on. She tried determinedly not to let it show, but the frustration of not being included was tiresome. Fred, George and Ron did their best to keep her informed but she could sometimes tell if they were holding something back. Tonks and later Hermione would do their best to make sure she wasn't forgotten either. Tonks would often greet Ginny with a different-shaped nose every time they met each other. However, with all that said, life at the Burrow had never been more interesting. People were coming and going at all hours; flocks of owls kept arriving; whispered discussions taking place…it was impossible to remain ignorant of everything.
Then, after a number of days, Ginny started hearing Harry's name crop up with increasing regularity. Obviously he was never far from anyone's thoughts, but Ginny rather guessed that they were all planning something which involved him. She grabbed the extendable ears regularly and she tried to make out what they were saying. The concentration and tension welling inside her stomach had never been so acute.
"Potter…relatives…apparition…Thicknesse…disguises," the muffled excerpts of truncated discussions.
For several days Ginny Weasley tip-toed round the Burrow in a heightened state of alertness with one thing etched on her mind, or rather, one person: Harry Potter. The edginess and angst of the situation was corrosive. Eventually, Ginny could stand it no longer and had to corner Hermione one afternoon as she was coming out of a meeting.
"Hermione," she whispered uncertainly, "can I talk to you a minute?"
"Sure." There was a knowing look in her eye as she answered.
The two of them walked together up to Ginny's bedroom, which both of them were sharing until the wedding.
"Can you fill me in on what's going on? What you're planning? It involves Harry, doesn't it? And it's killing me not knowing," she started the line of questioning.
"How much do you already know?" Hermione enquired directly.
This immediately surprised Ginny. She had anticipated evasion, caution and outright reluctance.
"Well, I know you've got a plan to take Harry somewhere and it involves disguises. Am I getting warm?" Ginny wondered furtively.
"That's about the gist of it!" Hermione replied shortly. "We have to find a way to get Harry here safely, and it's proving desperately tricky too. You see, the ministry has gone over and they've made it illegal to connect that house to the Floo Network, apparate to and from Privet Drive and generally use magic anywhere in the vicinity without detection. The charm protecting Harry at his aunt and uncle's will break when he either turns seventeen or when he can no longer call that house 'home'. The Death Eaters will be expected to try and take advantage and get at Harry at the earliest opportunity. The one advantage we have is the element of surprise: they don't exactly know when we'll be collecting Harry to bring him here. We reckon they would assume 31 July…"
"Harry's birthday," Ginny interrupted briefly.
"…so we have to make sure we catch them off-guard." Hermione concluded breathlessly because discussing the plan had proved unsettling to her as each revelation produced another apparent flaw where something could so easily go wrong. Ginny was wide-eyed at the fraught nature of the plan too.
"So, how are you going to do it? How are you going to fetch him?" Ginny submitted this enquiry with some trepidation as though she realized what was at stake.
"Well, they're still trying to figure out the finer details. But the most popular suggestion has actually come from Mundungus Fletcher involving seven decoy Harry Potters, each flying through the air. Each of us will have a different safe-house to target as a destination where a Portkey will ferry us back here. Poor Harry must feel like a sitting duck!" Hermione ended on a rueful note.
"Do you think it will work?" Ginny wanted an opinion as to the viability of the plan.
"It's got too really. It all hinges on them not knowing when we will be transferring Harry, but still I can't say I'm not worried. It's a big gamble to take to put all our eggs in one basket, but one worth taking if Harry gets here safely."
Hermione was struggling to sound positive, but Ginny just put this down to nerves.
"I suppose it will all boil down to surprising them that they won't know when we are transferring Harry. It will be extraordinary misfortune should they find out!" She must have understood the uncertainty in her voice, and sought to finish on a reassuring and almost confident note.
When the day of Harry's departure from his aunt and uncle's dawned, the frisson of nervous energy and excitement was palpable throughout the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley nearly burned the bacon at breakfast. Mad-Eye was taking charge as he double checked everything on his inventory – including quantifiable amounts of Polyjuice Potion – whilst constantly making sure Mundungus didn't run out on them. Hagrid roared up on his motorcycle with a couple of thestrals for transport. Mr. Weasley gathered up spare clothing for the decoy Harrys. The plan looked watertight in Ginny's opinion, just (as Hermione had warned) as long as the Death Eaters didn't know the timing of the plan. Fortunately the day was bright and flying conditions looked good, that was something to be grateful for at least. In Dumbledore's absence, Mad-Eye had assumed leadership responsibilities and he was clarifying all the details of their flight, including who to expect back and when with Mrs. Weasley. The anticipation hung thickly in the air.
If Ginny could remember sitting through a longer day, she could not really verify. Well, okay, that's not strictly true. The situation was eerily similar to the terror and angst of those few hours spent in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place when the Weasley siblings awaited news of how their father was recovering from St. Mungo's. A feeling compounded by the helplessness she felt. She had been willing to travel with them, but she couldn't be sure how much of a hindrance it would be not being able to perform magic even if both her parents had not over-ridden her decision. Her role was therefore confined to easing the tension her mother felt as they waited and convincing each other that the plan would not fail. Nevertheless, in the absence of so many crucial members of the Order and most of the Weasley family, there was no alternative but to trust to hope. Neither of them could help glancing at the yard every couple of minutes for the pulsing blue light of the Portkey that would signify the riders' safe return. However, when the expected arrivals did not appear with their Portkeys, it was the first sign that something was wrong. The two Weasley women exchanged nervous looks. Ginny raked the surrounding bushes for a glint of red hair every couple of minutes, a comforting sign that one of her brothers had returned. Ron and Tonks should have been back first (they didn't have so far to travel), but as Ginny continued to peer frantically through the kitchen window at the darkening yard, the third of the Portkeys came back and this time with travelers. The girl's heart leapt with relief to see Harry with Hagrid. She knew instantly that it was the real Harry, because nobody could replicate that unique emerald green gaze. That, and the fact she knew him to be traveling with Hagrid. Yet they brought with them the tiding of ill news, which only seemed to deepen Mrs. Weasley's anxiety comparable only to Harry's squirming uneasiness. Ginny could tell he felt it was his entire fault for consenting to the plan, which of course was madness. He desperately wanted to reach out and apologize to her mum, to make her understand he was sorry for causing her such duress. Ginny knew he felt responsible for putting them all in danger, and was desperate to comfort him now. Words were not needed. There simply passed a look of grim understanding between the two when they gazed distractedly in to each other's eyes. Ginny tried to put a lot of unsaid things in to her gaze, but did not want to linger too long in case Harry inadvertently struggled to hold his resolution. She felt it was despicable to see the anguish Voldemort was causing all the people Ginny Weasley loved, but most especially the wretched guilt her beloved clearly showed for putting them all at risk as the primary target of the Dark Lord Voldemort. All reactions were made so much more acute by the death of Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the consummate survivor and the hardiest of all Aurors. Mad-Eye's passing made them all feel decidedly less safe and increasingly vulnerable, especially coming so soon after the loss of the imperious Albus Dumbledore. No-one felt the loss more jarringly than Harry because it merely compounded to the burden of responsibility he felt for putting them all in danger. He knew that they of all people would reproach him if he tried to lay any portion of blame at his door, but Harry still felt the need to apologize. Ginny's heart weighed heavily that night.
The ensuing couple of weeks at the Burrow fore-shadowed the wedding of Ginny's oldest brother, Bill, to his fiancée, Fleur Delacour. Ginny's mum kept them all so busy with preparations that they hardly had any time to themselves. Even Ron, Harry and Hermione had to make do with snatched moments hither and dither. Ginny took it all in her stride for it kept her distracted from other things. It was no small feat exhibiting these kinds of resilient patience with the whole affair because - between her mum's constant fretting about the whole occasion and the bride's incessant lofty demands – nerves were starting to fray and resentment enveloping the household. She found it quite easy to be perfectly cordial and conversational though with her ex-boyfriend, but had no desire to make his decision any harder than she knew it already had been. She could never have forgiven herself and, more importantly, neither should Harry. It would have been both selfish and unfair! Afterall, everyone had been forced to make sacrifices for the war and why should she be any different. In any case, if all went accordingly, their time would come and Harry Potter was definitely worth the wait. A positive attitude was the best way to cope with the unfulfilled promise of a loving relationship. Yet Ginny dared to make an exception to her own disciplined rule upon the blessed date of his birthday: 31 July. It was the first time she had purposefully beckoned Harry to come and meet her privately since he had arrived at the Burrow for the summer. She would not have done so, but as the day dawned Ginny had made up her mind to give him something special; a token of her appreciation and esteem for him to remember her by as he departed wherever he was going. She wanted him to realize that she was always thinking about him and furthermore was willing to wait for him. In short, she was still his girl!
From the moment they locked their lips together, all conscious thought ceased. Harry was the only person who mattered in her room, in her world. The sun blazed even brighter and even hotter. Ginny was transported back to the previous school year when she had spent secluded afternoons in isolated moments of pure unadulterated happiness with her hero. It could have lasted hours as far as she was concerned, but lamentably it did not. The moment was lost as quickly as it had come. The light of the sun dimmed and the heat in the room leaked out. Ron had burst abruptly into their shared joy. Hermione couldn't restrain him this time. He tried to pass it off as an accident, but Ginny could see right through the pretense. Ginny thought she knew why Ron had interrupted: he didn't want Harry to further toy with her feelings for him. But it had been her who initiated their meeting, and Ginny was certain that she had been in complete control of the situation. Ron's intervention under the guise of being protective was not necessary here! Nevertheless, despite how bitter and angry she may have felt towards Ron Weasley at that instant, she had no real desire to argue with him. Not after how agreeable and understanding he had been to her previously.
That night, two girls lay awake in bed. Hermione Granger whispered through the darkness,
"I'm sorry about Ron, Ginny!" She gestured furtively.
"Oh it's not your fault, Hermione. I only wish Ron would have more faith in Harry's intentions. I knew what I was doing, and Harry has never messed me about. He's been remarkably honest and open with me."
"I know." Hermione replied sympathetically. "Harry mentioned you understood."
"I do. You've all helped to soften the blow of my disappointment, but I always realized it would come down to this." Ginny motioned sadly.
"You know you have a very wise head upon those young shoulders of yours." Hermione soothed.
Smiling weakly, Ginny turned over in her bed. She had conveyed her message to the boy of her dreams, and she drifted slowly off to sleep willfully hoping that he took it with him along his lonely road.
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