The Sweetest Thing
Chapter 3
The next week passed without any incident and Harry found that he was enjoying his summer immensely, despite the impending journey he had ahead of him at the end of his summer. He'd spoken to Ron and Hermione about their quest to find the remaining Horcruxes and between the three of them they'd decided that they'd use their summer to research into the matter at hand as much as they could, they'd attend Bill and Fleur's wedding and spend their time with their friends and family before they set off on what could possibly be Harry's last battle with Voldemort.
Harry knew Ron and Hermione had been shocked when he'd said that he wanted to stick around all summer, but they were grateful for they too, wanted to spend time with their loved ones. Hermione had spent the first few weeks of the holiday with her parents, declining to tell them what she was to embark on when she should have been attending Hogwarts the following year.
Another surprising fact that had found its way to the trio at the Burrow was that Hogwarts was going to open again on September the first, for sixth and seventh year students to attend, as the Ministry, much to Harry's chagrin, thought it would be most beneficial for Hogwarts to open and to teach only those few students. Harry had voiced his opinions regarding the fact that he didn't think parents would even send their children back there. Ginny had decided, however that she would be attending the school no matter what her mother and father said.
"It would be an insult to Dumbledore's memory to abandon the school," she'd said one night at the dinner table, her chin set stubbornly. No one had argued with her. Little did she know that Harry, Ron and Hermione would not be going back. In Harry's opinion, it would be an insult not to continue on with the quest Dumbledore had started.
Harry found that he'd been making regular visits to see Ginny each day in Hogsmeade and had built up a small stock of sweets in Ron's bedroom in consequence. He didn't want to look as though he were only going to see Ginny, though he knew it were true. They were getting along famously, almost as well as they had before that fateful day that he'd kissed her and the rest had become history.
He found he could make her laugh, and he liked that. She was always making him laugh. Sometimes he could almost forget what he was facing, and he knew it was because of her. She bought about the best in him, he wished he could tell her but he didn't want to make things awkward between them.
It was bad enough if she caught him looking at her for too long when they were in the shop together. Jokingly the other day, Mrs. Honeyduke had come up behind him and placed an apron over his head, knocking his glasses askew.
"You're here so often, we might as well hire you too!" she'd said, beaming at him. He'd caught her once or twice, winking at Ginny when she thought he wasn't looking.
On this particular day he'd decided that he was going to ask Ginny to have lunch with him at the Three Broomsticks, he'd like to say hello to Rosmerta as he hadn't seen her since the last term. Just as he was about to voice this to Ginny however, the tell tale jingle above the door chimed and the last person Harry expected to see walked in.
"You! What are you doing here?" he asked, pulling his wand so fast, the person smirked.
"Potter, put it away. There's no need for that here is there? Weasley? How quaint," Draco Malfoy stood inside the shop door, looking Ginny up and down. She glared him and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Explain yourself Malfoy," Harry said, keeping his wand pointed at the person standing in front of him.
"My son does not have to explain himself to anyone, least of all you, Potter," Narcissa Malfoy said, stepping out from behind her son, and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You killed Dumbledore!" Harry said, barely containing his rage.
"I did not Potter, you know very well it was Snape --"
"Only because you were too much of a coward to do it, I saw you. I was there,"
"Under that stupid cloak of yours I presume? Then you do know it was Snape,"
"You were just as guilty. You should be in Azkban."
"The Ministry doesn't think so. They've given me an official pardon. Said it wasn't my fault, that I was hoodwinked. There's an article in the Evening Prophet I believe,"
"So what are you doing here, of all places?" Ginny spoke for the first time, leaning on the front counter of the shop.
"We've come to speak to the ah...the Honeydukes," Malfoy said, striding up to the counter and tapping his finger on the customer service bell, smirking at Ginny the whole time. She glared at him and spun around to find the owners of the shop standing behind her.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy," Mr. Honeyduke said, bowing to the two darkly clad wizards standing in his shop, in stark contrast to all their colourful surroundings.
"What can we do for you?" Mrs. Honeyduke asked, wringing her hands and trying to smile at the two Malfoy's in her shop, but failing and only managing a grimace instead.
"We're here to tell you that we will be buying your shop to knock the pitiful pile down to build one of the finest Wizard dwellings in London,"
"What?" Ginny asked, the anger in her voice unmistakable. "You can't do that! This is Honeydukes, you just can't knock this place down," she said, ropeable.
"Oh but we can," Draco said, smirking at her. "The lease runs out on this place the night of the Hogsmeade Fair, as far as I believe and we, the Malfoys," he said, puffing out his chest as he said so, "are going to buy it because we know you two," he aid indicating the husband and wife, now holding one another "are not able to keep the lease up. We shall see you in due time," Malfoy said as he turned and left the shop with his mother in tow.
"Oh the nerve of him!" Ginny said, letting her hands drop from where they'd been on her hips. "He's not telling the truth is he?" she asked, suddenly looking fearful.
"I'm afraid Ginny, that he is--"
"No! The Malfoy's can't ruin Honeydukes. There's got to be a way to...a way to stop them, surely?"
"Unless we can find a way to further the lease on the shop, there's not. And we don't have the money to cover the lease. It's alright Ginny; we've been expecting this for the last few years. The Malfoy's have wanted to buy the shop for the last few years, but we've been able to scrape through with paying the lease."
"But you told me there was nothing to worry about with the lack of customers," Ginny said, looking at a loss.
"We didn't want to worry you dear, you've had such high praise for this place, we just didn't want too ruin your summer. You're such a lovely girl Ginny, we love having you around, we didn't want to lose you any sooner than we had too. We've been a bit selfish."
"Oh," Ginny said before she flung herself at Mrs. Honeyduke who enveloped her in a tight hug.
"There, there Ginny, it's not the end of the world. We can stay open until the Fair at the end of the Summer."
"That's only a few more weeks though! That's not very long," she said, a sad look upon her face.
"It's long enough. We've been doing this for a great many years, and since Hogsmeade visits were cancelled due to poor Katie Bell being injured whilst here, we've been expecting this day. We've had a good run. Now why don't you and Harry go have lunch. I'm sure he's been dying to take you down to Rosmerta's."
"I-Oh, alright, if you're sure,"
"We're sure! We'll survive for an hour or so without you dear,"
Ginny slammed her Butterbeer down, half of it sloshing onto the table between her and Harry. "How could he just waltz in there like that? Why would he even be interested in something like that? I mean, he's a -- a...well. He's pretty much a Junior Death Eater, what would he want with a building for Merlin's sake? Urgh!" she took a sip of her drink and so did Harry, to spare himself from having to answer.
A mistake he soon noticed as Ginny swallowed her drink and continued on. "He just has to spoil everything. Why can't he stick to himself and impose his presence upon his mother. She's the only one that seems to like the prat. Oh and Parkinson. She seems to like kissing his ars--"
"Ron! Hermione!" Harry interrupted her, waving his friends over.
"You owled? What's this about Malfoy?" Ron asked as he sat down at the table, shoving Ginny over in the booth, though she didn't notice, she just continued muttering curses under her breath.
"He's here. Well he was. He came into Honeyduke's announcing that he's going to demolish it,"
"He can't do that can he Hermione?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione with desperation in her eyes.
"I don't know Ginny, I don't think there's much that we can do to stop him though, I'm sorry," she said, placing a hand on Ginny's hoping to comfort her.
"I'll stop him, I have too. I can't let the Honeyduke's lose what they've worked so hard for,"
"It's just a shop, Ginny, and besides, you don't want to anger Malfoy," Ron said, taking a swig of his sister's Butterbeer.
"Oh that's rich, coming from you who was always looking to fight him at school," she said, snatching her drink back, only to find it empty.
"That was different. The worst that could have happened to either of us was Detention. We're not at school anymore Ginny, things are different, Malfoy's dangerous," Ron said, frowning.
She sighed. "I know, I just want to be able to do something. To stop him. Humiliate him, anything," she said, swirling the dregs of her Butterbeer around in its bottle.
"He said the Ministry had given him a pardon?" Hermione said, frowning at Harry. He nodded.
"Yeah, and he's walking around like nothing's even happened, high and mighty as ever," Harry said, clenching his fists.
"Well that much hasn't changed then I see," she said, smiling weakly.
"There's nothing we can do about him either," Ron said, sitting back in his seat next to Ginny.
"Is there anything we can do about anything?" Ginny asked, clearly annoyed.
"There is something, but you're not going to like it," Ron said, glancing at Hermione who nodded.
"Fleur wants you to have your Bridesmaid dress fitted this evening," she said, looking at Ginny carefully.
"Oh how wonderful," Ginny said sarcastically. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to get back to my job at soon to be Honey-rubble," she said, leaving the three friends sitting alone, staring after her.
"You must stand still!" Fleur said later that evening as Ginny stood in the middle of the Weasley's living room, fidgeting in the dress that Fleur had insisted she wear.
"I am standing still," she said, though she knew she wasn't. She really wasn't in the mood for this.
"Tuck in your stomach," Fleur ordered, and Ginny sucked in her stomach comically and rolled her eyes at Harry who was half reading Quidditch Through the Ages and half sharing looks with Ginny.
Harry thought Ginny looked very nice in her dress, even with her hair tied up in a messy bun, several pieces of hair falling out of it and framing her face. He'd previously asked if this was how she'd planned on wearing it for the wedding. She'd laughed and tugged at a piece of it.
"Of course not. D'you really think Fleur'd let me?" she asked, shaking her head, making more of her hair come lose.
"So it's 'Fleur' now is it?" Harry asked, grinning.
Ginny shrugged. "She treats Bill well. I didn't know her before. It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind Harry," she'd said, twirling around on the spot, watching the skirt of her dress flow out around her. She giggled. "Oh, I remember dressing up when I was little, and pretending I was getting married. It's so weird to be actually dressed like this for real," she said, smoothing her hands over the smooth material of the dress.
"It suits you," Harry had said, training his eyes on her face and nowhere else.
"Yeah, I s'pose it does. I had nightmares that Fleur was going to stick me in some puffy pink thing," she said shuddering. Harry laughed.
"She's really not that bad is she? I always thought she was a bit...stuffy,"
Ginny laughed. "Ron doesn't think so. He's irritating Hermione quite a bit, what with his vacant expressions around her."
"Y'know, sometimes I think he just does it to annoy her on purpose."
"Oh I don't doubt that. It works rather well though, doesn't it?" Ginny said, looking over at Hermione who was reading through the book she'd gotten from Remus and scowling over the top of it at Ron who was now trying to teach Fleur how to play Chess.
"Oh I do not get it. Zis ess a very clever game Ronald, and you are very good at it." she said, flashing him a brilliant smile, one of which he returned and glanced at Hermione out the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, it works well alright," Harry said laughing as Hermione huffed and hitched her book up in front of her face.
"How are you feeling Ginny?" Hermione asked later that night when the two girls were in Ginny's room, Hermione reading in bed and Ginny brushing her hair.
"I'm fine, though, I can still feel where Mum stuck me with that pin," she said, feeling her backside but grinning.
"You seem in better spirits than you were this afternoon when we saw you," Hermione said tentatively.
"I know. I thought about it, and there's nothing much I can do, just like everyone said. I just wish Malfoy would keep his nose out of other people's business, that's all."
"Don't we all. I'm sorry he's back, but it's best if we just ignore him,"
"What, and he'll go away? You know as well as I do Hermione, that that has never worked."
"Yes, well. I was always taught to ignore people who treated me badly."
"That's why you slapped him in your third year, then?" Ginny asked, snorting none too delicately.
"I--who told you that?"
"Harry, who else? Though actually, Ron did mention it too. Should have heard him, "That Hermione, she's bloody scary sometimes, but she just keeps getting more brilliant," Quite annoying really, the way he goes on about you," Ginny said, squealing when Hermione threw a pillow at her.
"How are things with you and Harry?" Hermione asked pointedly, hoping to get the topic of conversation away from herself.
"Things are...great actually. He's helping out at the shop too which halves my workload. It's nice."
"Just nice?"
"Yes, just nice," Ginny said, determined not to let Hermione know what she was really feeling.
"Hmm. I'm sure. Night Ginny,"
"'G'night Hermione,"
"Ginny lift your head up! No looking at your feet, we can't have that." Fleur said, wringing her hands, as she stood in the middle of the Burrow's garden. "Oh zees es impossible!"
Fleur had decided that possibly the hottest day of the summer would be the perfect time for a dress rehearsal. Ginny was standing in her dress and trainers, as they hadn't quite gotten around to finding her shoes yet. She couldn't say she was terribly upset at this prospect.
"Oh Ginny please, keep still,"
"I -can't. This - dress - is - ITCHY!" she said, hitching up the large skirt of it and attempting to scratch her leg. "Fleur, it's the heat. Why can't we practice at night or something? This is nuts--"
"Ginny! You are ze greatest sister in law I could hope for!" Fleur came running at her and Ginny, quite terrified, shielded her face, only to discover Fleur hugging her, then kissing each of her cheeks. "Zis is perfect! A twilight wedding. Ohh I must tell Bill!"
Ginny stood in the middle of the garden, and gaped. Harry walked over to her and she shook her head. "Help me with this, will you?" she said indicating the zip on the back of her dress, moving her ponytail out of his way.
"Er. Sure. So you managed to waylay the bride to be, I see,"
"Apparently I did," she said as she slipped the dress off her shoulders, Harry turning away. She laughed. "It's ok Harry, I've got clothes on underneath, I wanted to be able to take the crazy thing off as soon as possible."
"Oh. Right," did she sense disappointment as Harry turned back to see her dressed in a small Chudley Cannon's shirt and cut-off shorts. Clearly the shirt had been one of her brother's when they'd been young, it was very small. And short, he noted as he tried to fight down a blush.
"Eet is official!" Fleur said, appearing at Ginny's side again, "Bill and I are to be wed at twilight, Ginny! It was all your doing. For that, I think we will have to redesign your dress, would you like that?"
Ginny laughed, amused by her brother's fiancée's excitement. "Whatever you'd like, Fleur," she said, draping her dress over her arm and following her inside, looking back at Harry over her shoulder and shrugging.
Harry shook his head, bemused by all the excitement of the upcoming wedding and made his way over to where Ron and Hermione were talking quietly.
"--then this big, bright light joins the rings together, and well...that's it really. Then you're married."
"The way you describe such beauty Ron, and make it sound no more exciting than Flobberworms, astounds me," Hermione said, laughing as Ron shoved her playfully.
"I astound you do I?" he said, grinning and she nodded, laughing still.
"Ron was just detailing Wizarding Wedding traditions to me," she said as Harry sat down with them, nodding.
"So I see. Should be a new experience for us then," Harry said looking around the garden that was beginning to take shape for the wedding ceremony, that now, according to Fleur, was to be held at night instead. That was something different too, Harry thought.
He was most looking forward to the guests that would be attending. He knew quite a few of the Order members would be attending, due to the fact that half of the Weasley's were in the Order, anyway, and it was an excuse to forget the troubling times ahead, those in the near future, and those in the not too distant future, such as the destruction of Honeyduke's sweet shop.
Ginny was doing her best to stay positive for the Wedding preparations, and sometimes managed to forget about the impending demolition and enjoyed herself as she sat amongst Fleur and her Mother discussing desserts and menu choices. Now that she'd been the one to bring about the idea of a twilight wedding, she felt even more included, and found herself looking forward to it.
It certainly took her mind off things. Such as how it was only mere weeks now before the Hogsmeade Fair. She'd been 'spring' cleaning the shop to make it presentable for the night in August that 'Hogsmeade comes to life!' Or at least, that's what the six feet tall posters had been proclaiming. She should know, she'd hung enough of them, and had to stare at them in every shop window she passed on her way to and from the sweet shop.
"Well that's it I think, for the time being, Ginny. You've excelled yourself today," Mr. Honeyduke said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. "Oh come now, cheer up, it's not the end of the world!" he said, as she looked up at him, a sad look on her face.
"I know, it's just that I love working here, I always knew I would, and soon that's going to end. It just seems a horrible way to go, doesn't it? To have your hard work knocked to the ground - literally," she added as an afterthought.
"That's business for you," he said, shrugging slightly as he counted the day's earnings. They weren't much - they fit into the palm of his hand. He flipped a coin or two and handed them to Ginny. "You worked hard today, you should have this,"
"Oh no - I couldn't,"
"You can and you will my dear."
"Well - thankyou."
"Treat yourself to a Butterbeer or two. You look like you might need them. You look rather tired,"
Ginny smiled. It's my brother's wedding in a few days and we've been preparing for it, that's all," Ginny said, choosing not to mention the real reason she had bags under her eyes.
Truth be told, she'd ransacked Hermione's book collection looking for something - anything that might have helped her find a solution to the Honeyduke's problem. Trust Hermione to have books on the Wizarding world's history. So far she hadn't found anything, but she was determined that she would. She supposed it was quite odd for someone of her age to care so much about a mere sweet shop, but it was the Honeyduke's themselves that she wanted to save. She'd asked them what they would do once they didn't the shop and they'd told her whilst smiling warmly at one another that they'd take a trip to Hawaii.
"The Muggle's always look so happy in the pictures; we thought we'd give it a try. A second honeymoon if you wish," Mr. Honeyduke had said, hugging his wife to him. Ginny had smiled at this. They had each other, perhaps they would be alright without their shop, despite it having been a part of their lives for so long.
"Off you go, Ginny. Be sure to take plenty of pictures at the Wedding, we'd love to see you in your bridesmaid dress!" Mrs. Honeyduke said as she ushered the young girl out of the door.
"I will! Goodbye," Ginny called as she waved over her shoulder and walked down the main street and nearly walked straight into Harry.
"Er, hey," he said as he smiled at the look of surprise on her face.
"Hey you, what are you doing here?"
"Thought I'd accompany you home since you worked late tonight,"
"How lovely of you, I was going for a drink at the Pub though, care to join me?"
"Sure," he said, opening the door to the Three Broomsticks for her as they neared it.
"Good, I think I'm going to need all the sweetness I can get, I have to get everything right tomorrow, should be interesting," Ginny said, pulling a strained smile as she sat down across from Harry.
"Should we make it a double Butterbeer then?" Harry asked, wondering if he should place his hand on hers to comfort her.
"Definitely," she said, putting her face in her hands, effectively rendering this not possible.
A/N: Again, thank you to those who are reviewing, I know a lot more of you are reading...I have stats on my author page, you know. I know you're all out there. Reviews make my day...
