Harry and Ginny: A Love Story
Chapter 4: Settling In
Harry awoke and for one minute panicked, thinking that his moving into the Burrow had been nothing but a dream, but then suddenly he was shaken out of his stupor by someone jumping on his bed.
"Come on Harry, Get up!" Ginny cried exuberantly. "Mum has breakfast just about ready!"
Harry couldn't help but smile as Ginny's pure unadulterated joy washed over him. Scrambling to find his glasses, he put them on and watched as Ginny jumped up away from him and ran to the door. She paused, looked back at him, smiled and said, 'Come on, breakfast!" and then she was gone.
Harry hurried out of bed, put on his dressing gown and slippers and quickly followed Ginny out the door. He found her waiting for him several steps down. She smiled and extended her hand to him, which he took with a smile that matched hers,
Ginny drug Harry into the kitchen and pushed him into a seat before going to grab a couple of plates from where Molly was filling them next to the stove. She brought them over and set one down in front of Harry as she sat down next to him with her own.
"Juice?" she asked him with a smile.
"Please," Harry answered with a silly grin on his face.
Never before had he received such treatment, especially during the summer holiday.
Molly watched the two youngsters in awe. Seemingly with out words they helped, passed items and ate, all without speaking.
Harry was taking a bite of his eggs and glanced at his toast, wondering if there was any jam. With his mouth full he asked Ginny, "Hey Ginny, is there any jam?"
As she was taking a bite of her bacon, she stood up and headed for the pantry. She grabbed two jars of jam and stood in the doorway, "Peach or Strawberry?" she asked as she chewed her bacon.
"Strawberry," Harry answered.
All Molly saw was Ginny go to the pantry, come partway back out, stare at the two jars, put one back and come back to the table, setting it down in front of Harry.
"Thanks Ginny?" Harry replied.
"No problem Harry," Ginny replied.
As Ginny went back to her breakfast, she drained her glass of juice, setting it down and picking up her fork, began to eat. Without missing a beat Harry reached for the flagon and turned to fill Ginny's glass, though he had been looking the other way the whole time.
And so breakfast went, whether it was food or drinks or something else, they moved like a well oiled machine, each seeming to know exactly what the other needed or wanted.
Molly watched, smiling wanly, knowing that whatever this Bond was it seemed to make Ginny and Harry perfectly in tune and if you ignored their ages they acted like a couple who had been married for many years.
Molly's observation was interrupted by the arrival of Ron, who came down the stairs groggily like he always did in the morning. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning mightily as he entered the kitchen, flopping down into a chair and resting his head on his arms that were crossed on the table.
"Is he always like that here at home?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, it's really amazing. Once he's home from Hogwarts it's like he's drained of any energy," Ginny replied with a giggle.
Ron lifted his head to glare at his sister but when he saw her sitting with Harry he sat up like he'd been jabbed with a hatpin. He looked from one to the other, but just gritted his teeth.
When he looked around for breakfast he saw the platters on the sideboard and looked at his mother expectantly. Molly shot him a piercing gaze, brow furrowed, and said "Ginny and Harry served themselves, you can do the same," and went back to eating hers.
Ron mumbled under his breath in a very sarcastic voice, "Ginny and Harry served themselves. Well la de da,"
Unfortunately he wasn't quite quiet enough and Molly heard him. "Ronald Weasley! That will be enough of that! After breakfast I want you to degnome the garden, and I expect it to be Gnome free when I come check on it," she said hotly.
Ron just glared at Harry, who just couldn't understand Ron's continued hostility.
"Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked Ginny, with a perplexed look on his face.
"Only in Ron's eyes, I'm afraid," Ginny replied sadly. "I just don't understand this continued dislike of our relationship and unfortunately it looks like you're going to bear the brunt of it."
Harry and Ginny finished eating and as they got up Ginny reached for her dirty dishes.
"I'll get them Ginny," Harry sent with a smile as he reached and added hers with his.
"Why Thank you Harry," Ginny sent with a smile.
While Ginny headed off upstairs to get dressed, Harry took the dirty dishes and set them in the sink. He turned around and looked and felt uneasy. He didn't know what he was expected to do.
Molly saw the distress on his face and asked, "Is there something wrong Harry?"
Harry just shrugged his shoulders, "I was just wondering what you wanted me to do," he said softly.
Molly looked at him perplexed, "What do you mean Harry?"
Harry had a hard time meeting her eyes and played with the end of the belt of his dressing gown absent-mindedly. "Well it was just that at my relatives I was expected to do the chores," he said off-handedly.
"Well what did they have you do?" Molly asked pleasntly.
"Well most everything," Harry replied without thinking, "I cooked and cleaned, did the yard-work, mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, painting the house and shed. Stuff like that."
"My goodness Harry, you had to help with all that?" she asked with a chuckle.
Harry's face darkened some, and he looked back down at the floor. "Helped?" he asked. "No I was expected to do them all by myself. The only thing my Aunt ever did was the kitchen after I had done it, saying that I never got it clean."
Molly couldn't believe her ears, if she was hearing Harry right it looked like he was the Dursley's personal servant, if not out and out slave. Just to make sure she understood him right Molly asked him, "What chores did your cousin have to do?"
Harry almost choked, "Dudley? Chores? That's a laugh. Dudley never did anything around the house at all except try to get me in trouble," Harry replied lowly.
Molly was usually a pretty patient person, especially when it came to children, but here was a twelve year old who had just told her that he did all the cooking, cleaning, and maintenance inside and out of a whole household. The news shocked her and struck her speechless for a moment.
Ron had been listening and the more he heard the bigger the look of disbelief he had on his face. Finally hearing enough he got up, leaving his dishes on the table and headed upstairs to get changed.
Harry looked at her very uneasy, wondering if he had done something wrong, within moments, Ginny came flying down the stairs, one trainer still in her hand.
"What's wrong Harry?" she asked panicking slightly at the strong feeling of unease she was getting through the Bond.
Harry gave her a brief summary of what he had just told Molly and her eyes widened in wonder. "Harry that's awful," she said out loud.
Molly was shaken out of her thoughts by Ginny's voice, what surprised her was that she didn't think that Ginny had been close enough to hear Harry's story.
"Harry, why don't you just go get changed for now," Molly said kindly. "Then come on back down here, OK?
Harry nodded his head but before he left, he gathered Ron's dishes and added them to the pile already in the sink.
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Minerva McGonagall sat in her usual spot at the head table, right next to Albus Dumbledore. There would be about one week of getting things tied up from the just completed school year before most of the staff left on the holidays.
She glanced a Albus, smiling to herself with the knowledge that the Great Dumbledore as at this moment totally ignorant of the where-abouts of one Harry James Potter.
She was woken from her revery by Albus asking her a question. She turn to him and asked, "I'm sorry. What was that Albus?"
Albus chuckled, "I just said I was surprised that you didn't make a fuss this year about Harry returning to his relatives," he said with a smile.
Minerva had to stifle her smile, "Well I thought you made it perfectly clear about where you were sending him," she said evenly.
"Yes, but it seems a little out of character for you to give up so easily," Albus retorted.
"I must be getting older," Minerva said softly.
Albus looked at her for a moment before saying, "Aren't we all Minerva, aren't we all."
Minerva almost lost it at that point but was able to pass it off as something in her throat, allowing her to cover the smile that crept onto her face with her napkin. She knew soon enough that Albus would find out that Harry wasn't where he thought he was and hopefully she would be ensconce in her ancestral home when that happened. Even Albus had to tread lightly at the McGonagall Castle.
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Ron seethed while getting dressed, he couldn't believe the way everyone was fawning over the "Great" Harry Potter. First it was with his sister and now it was happening with his Mum too.
Plus the story he was telling, how could he expect them to believe that, no one could possibly be treated like Harry had said that he was. Did he think that his family would really buy that load of Dragon Dung that he seemed to be selling.
Ron finished putting on some of his rattier clothes, since he was going to be spending most of the day de-gnoming the garden, he didn't want to wear anything that good that could get damaged or soiled.
Trying his trainers as he finished getting dressed, he started to run down the stairs. He saw Harry entering his room and he looked alone. Ron figured he'd take the opportunity to let Harry know that he wasn't fooled and he'd be keeping an eye on him.
Harry's door was slightly ajar, so Ron kind of pushed it open as he knocked on it. Harry looked up with a start, as Ron came into the room. His surprised look quickly changed to one of guarded, distrust as he watched Ron carefully.
"Ginny, Ron just came into my room," Harry sent, as he continued to get his stuff together.
"I'll be right there," Ginny said, worried a little at what Ron might do.
"OK, but don't hurry unless you hear something , I want to hear what he has to say," Harry sent.
"Listen Harry," Ron said lowly, "I'm going to be watching you, I don't know what your game is here but I'm not fooled by this martyr image you're trying to sell. The others may be buying it but I'm not and stay away from my sister."
Harry couldn't believe his ears, his supposed best mate retained this hostile attitude that Harry couldn't understand where it came from. "I'll be friends with whomever I feel like it and if your parents don't have a problem with it, I don't see where it's your place to get involved."
Ron just glared at him for a minute before turning abruptly and storm out of the room.
He hadn't been gone a full minute before Ginny came into his room. "Are you OK Harry?" she asked softly. "I want you to know I heard every word that he said."
Harry looked up into Ginny's beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and saw her concern for him shining forth. He felt a warmth come over him, though he didn't understand the Bond yet, he sure liked what he felt because of it.
Standing up he went over and hugged Ginny, "Thanks for being there for me," he sent tenderly. "Now how about letting me get dressed."
Ginny returned Harry's hug and giggled when he asked about getting dressed. "OK, but if you're not downstairs in ten minutes, I'm coming back up here to get you."
"Fine," Harry sent with a chuckle. Though he wasn't sure where he fit in here yet, he knew that Ginny would be there to help him find out.
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Ginny descended back into the kitchen and Molly knew right away that something was the matter. "What's up, sweetheart?"
Ginny took a deep breath, "Ron stopped in and talked to Harry on his way down, I happened to hear what he said and it wasn't pretty. I think he resents Harry's being here."
Molly nodded, "Thanks for telling me. Your Father and I know that Ron is having difficulties with the events of this past year."
"But why does he resent Harry and me becoming friends so much?" Ginny asked. "I know he, Harry and Hermione were friends last year. Can't he see that something happened between us down in the Chamber? It's not like I'm telling Harry to drop Ron because of me. Why can't he just accept me being with them too?"
Molly blanched at Ginny's mention of the Chamber and she felt a small shudder run trough her. She thought back to how close they had actually come to losing Ginny and it still scared her.
The fact that Harry and Ginny had become friends because of it and had formed the Soul-Bond, still made her mind spin. Molly took a deep calming breath just like Ginny had.
"Unfortunately I don't think your brother realizes just how much that effected you and Harry. He just isn't mature enough yet to know how much of a life changing experience something like that truly is," she said sadly.
Ginny sat down at the table glumly, "Mum, do you think Harry has told us all that happened at his relatives?"
Molly sighed again, "I'm not sure darling. I hope he has but I'm a little leery that maybe he hasn't. If you keep getting closer to him, maybe you can find out."
Ginny nodded thoughtfully. She had the feeling that Harry was trying to keep some of his past from them and if what he had said already was any indication, it had to be pretty bad.
"How can somebody treat someone like that?" she said, looking at her mother plaintively.
"I don't know Ginny, I just don't know."
Harry was just finishing getting dressed when he felt Ginny becoming sad. He wondered what was the cause and thought that maybe she was talking to her Mum about Ron and his attitude.
He bounded down the stairs, making enough noise so that Ginny and Molly would know that he was on his way. He popped into the kitchen, smiling at Ginny, hoping that she would let him in on what her Mum had said about Ron.
"So what can I help with?" he asked brightly.
Molly couldn't help but smile at Harry's exuberance. "Well first off, why not go clean out your trunk and bring down anything that needs to be washed, you too Ginny."
Ginny smiled, "OK Mum," she said happily as she got up and taking Harry's hand began to haul him up the stairs. As they neared Harry's room they were surprised to see the Twins just coming down the stairs, obviously having just woken up.
They groggily passed Harry and Ginny mumbling their good mornings as they made their way down to the kitchen, wearing just their pajamas. Ginny couldn't help but giggle at the way they looked, their hair all messy from sleeping.
Ginny followed Harry into his room and flopped down on his bed while he hauled his trunk out of the closet. He eyed her and couldn't help but chuckle as she watched him closely.
In the past he hardly had time to get his clothes out before his uncle locked it up in the cupboard under the stairs, so he had not cleaned it out until it was time to go back to school.
Harry popped the lid opened and looked at the mess that was the interior of his trunk. Things were mainly just thrown in haphazardly without thought to any sort of organization.
Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Boys!" she sent exasperatedly. She got up and came down and kneeled next to Harry, giving him a stern look.
"Not very pretty is it?" Harry said ruefully.
"No it's not," Ginny said succinctly. "Let's see if we can't get this a little better organized. She carefully began to take things out of the trunk and sort them into piles.
As she took out any books she found, she handed them to Harry, instructing him to put them on his bookshelves.
Harry was happy to comply, feeling elated that he would actually have access to his books over the summer.
Ginny quickly sorted out the things in Harry's trunk, and surprisingly it took very little time leaving Harry very shocked.
"Here Harry," Ginny said, piling a big stack of clothes into Harry's arms. "Take these down now and then come on back up to my room," Ginny directed.
Harry just smiled and headed downstairs where Molly thanked him for his dirty clothes before sending him back up to help Ginny. He noticed the Twins eyeing him but unlike Ron, he felt their acceptance, though he did kind of feel like a mouse between two hawks.
Ginny had warned him about the Twins perchance for pranking, especially here at the Burrow. Anything that they did at Hogwarts had been thoroughly tested and perfected beforehand.
Harry had the feeling that he'd really need to be on his toes around them. At Hogwarts they had usually pulled their pranks on the other houses unless someone in Gryffindor did something that upset them or if they tried to prank them. He figured that wasn't going to be the way things were here at the Burrow.
By the time Harry got back up to Ginny she had carefully organized his cauldron, telescope and the miscellaneous left overs in his trunk. She had put several quills, his ink bottle and remaining parchment in the small desk.
She was just finishing when Harry came back into the room. He took one look at his trunk and said, "Wow Ginny, that's fantastic!"
Ginny blushed at Harry's praise. "I just thought it might be easier to keep things organized," she said a bit shyly.
"Ginny, I love it. I never had the chance to do this before. I wasn't allowed to keep my trunk and things in my room and wasn't allowed to even get it till a couple days before I was to go to Hogwarts this year," Harry said in awe
Ginny just giggled, "Well that won't be a problem here," she said laying her hand on Harry's arm.
Harry felt like he was being touched by an electric wire. There was a tingling and a warmth spreading from where they were in contact. Harry looked at her hand and he couldn't help himself, he found himself looking up into Ginny's eyes and without knowing why he found himself blushing deeply.
Ginny was having the same reaction, from her hand up her arm there was a deep comforting warmth that filled her with a sense of contentment. She felt the same feeling of safety and security that she had found in his hug when he had found her in the Chamber after he had destroyed Riddle.
Slowly they came together, drawn by some invisible force, their arms wrapping around each other. They both sighed deeply, feeling like they had never before. Somehow they knew that they had found their other half, the one that made them whole.
Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder as he slowly backed them towards the bed. Harry twisted them so he could sit on the bed and as he did so he pulled Ginny down into his lap. He then turned and laid Ginny down, his body following hers so that they ended up laying on the bed, still in a loving embrace.
Ginny snuggled closer into Harry, allowing the wonderful feelings she was experiencing to fill her and through the Bond she knew that Harry was experiencing the same thing she was.
Now words were necessary, not even mind-speaking. They just stared into one another's eyes, smiling at the other. Ginny finally laid her head back on Harry's shoulder and he pulled her tightly into himself. As he inhaled deeply he felt Ginny's bewitching fragrance fill his senses with the essence of her and even though it was only mid morning, they both drifted off to sleep.
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Molly wondered what had become of Harry and Ginny. After Harry had brought down his laundry from his trunk, she expected that Ginny would follow suit in a little while.
When she was caught up she headed upstairs to find out what they were up to. She spied Fred and George lounging in the parlour, not even bothering to get dressed yet. Rolling her eyes she gave a chuckle and said, "Going to laze about all day in your Pjs?"
Fred looked up and said casually, "No Mum, just till fashionably late in the afternoon."
George added with a cheeky grin, "Yeah Mum, it's only the first day of the holiday."
"And us men of leisure never get dressed before noon," added Fred.
"Get you lazy carcases up stairs his minute and get changed or they'll be no lunch for you two," she said sternly.
"Aw, Mum!" they both said, protesting but getting up at the same time.
They followed Molly up the stairs, pausing when she glanced into Ginny's room and finding it empty, she frowned and crossed the hall to check Harry's room.
She was surprised to find them both there, arms and legs intertwined as they slept peacefully, unaware that they were being watched.
The Twins glanced over Molly's shoulder and then looked at their mother, wondering why she wasn't screaming and yelling at the two youngsters before them.
"Ah, Mum?" George asked.
"Is there some reason why your not having one of your epic fits?" Fred added.
Molly glanced at the Twins and sighed. With one last glance at Harry and Ginny she quietly withdrew from Harry's room and softly shut the door.
Fred and George's eyes widened at their mothers action.
"Get changed boys and then come down to the parlour," she said a bit sadly and then with one last glance at the door she headed back downstairs while the Twins went and got changed.
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Nymphadora Tonks kept looking at the small all too perfect house across the street from her hiding place. She found it odd that she hadn't had one glimpse of the one she was supposed to be checking on.
Though she knew from Dumbledore that Harry was sometimes secluded in his room, it was somewhat disquieting that she hadn't seen anything of him. In fact she hadn't even seen him arrive, not that he couldn't have gotten there before she did. It was hard to judge when Harry would get there from King's Cross Station.
She'd seen the other residents of number 4 Privet Drive but not one hint of Harry Potter. She didn't like it one bit but at this point there wasn't a lot to be done about it, other than report it after her shift was done.
Sighing she tried to find a more comfortable position as she settled into her watch. She just hoped that Mad-Eye was due to relieve her, if he was she'd have him check out the room where Harry was supposed to be staying in with his magical eye.
Even though this wasn't officially Auror business, she found this aspect of the job the most draining. The endless hours on stake out had to be the worst thing that an Auror had to do.
Adjusting her light cloak and recasting the concealment charms on herself she settled in for what looked like was going to be another long boring shift.
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Hermione sat in her room contemplating everything that had happened during the end of the year. She cursed the Fates that she had been petrified and missed the events of Harry finding out where the Chamber was and his rescue of Ginny.
He certainly changed his behaviour after that, paying much more attention to Ginny than before. She just couldn't decide if it was just because he had saved her or if something more was involved.
The more Hermione thought about it the more she was certain that something more was up than just Harry paying more attention to Ginny because he had saved her. What that could be she had no idea and she cursed the fact that she didn't have access to Hogwarts' Library over the summer.
The muggle world had libraries virtually everywhere, but as far as she knew there wasn't anything like that in the Magical world.
Sighing in frustration, she made she that the books she had unpacked the previous day were in the correct order. Well if she couldn't research about what was happening with her friends she figured she'd revise last year's text books just for something to do.
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Molly called Ron in from out back and told him to wait in the parlour. He looked at her with a frown but did as he was told. Anything was better than being out back alone in the hot sun, degnoming the garden, as far as he was concerned.
Molly went and made some lemonade while waiting for the Twins to make their way back down. She was dreading this talk with the boys because she really had scant information to give them.
Ron's attitude continued to worry her. He and Harry had been such good friends and now it seemed Ron was carrying some kind of grudge against Harry. That and the way he was treating Ginny, someone who he had been very close to growing up, just didn't add up as far as she was concerned.
Just when she was finishing up the pitcher of lemonade, she heard the Twins making their descent from their room. Steeling herself, she placed the pitcher and some glasses on the tray and headed into the parlour.
She set the tray down on the table between the couch where the Twins were ensconced and the chair where Ron had sat. Ron Immediately reached for the pitcher and poured himself a drink while the Twins looked on expectantly.
"So Mum?" asked George, "What's going on?
"Why are you being so lenient to Ginny and Harry?" continued Fred.
Molly saw Ron sit forward a little, his eyes focusing on her, eager to hear what she had to say.
Sighing, she squared her shoulders and said, "There are extenuating circumstances that make how your father and I have decided to treat them a little differently than we might otherwise."
The Twins looked puzzled, but she noticed that Ron's face took on a darker look.
"I'm sure you all know that something happened to Ginny this past year and while you haven't been told everything, you've been told enough to understand that she has suffered a terrible ordeal that has changed many things." Molly then paused to collect her thoughts.
She noted that the Twins were waiting patiently, but that Ron's scowl continued to deepen.
"One of the outcomes of Harry's rescue of Ginny is, well,. . . They have formed some kind of a Bond," she said hesitantly.
"A Bond?" asked Fred.
"You mean they have become really close?" asked George.
"Well yes, but there is more to it than that," Molly tried to explain.
"What Mum?" inquired Fred.
Molly sighed exasperatedly, "That's what's hard to explain," she said. "We're still trying to determine what all the implications are."
"What did Dumbledore say?" Ron asked.
Molly had expected that question from one of them, "Very little, we're still waiting to hear what is going on," she said vaguely.
"Typical Dumbledore," said George with a smile.
"So what do we do in the mean time? asked Fred.
"Yeah?" Ron said a little forcefully.
"We let them be for now. Please don't pressure them in any way trying to find out what happened down in the Chamber, it may just make everything worse.
Molly was happy that the Twins seemed very receptive to what she had told them, but Ron still had a look on his face that she didn't like.
"Fred, George, why don't you two go clean out the chicken coop," Molly said to her twin trouble makers.
"OK Mum," Fred replied.
"Can we play some Quidditch this afternoon?" George added.
"If the coop is cleaned thoroughly, I think that will be an acceptable reward for a job well done," Molly replied with a smile.
"OK," the Twins said as they got up and headed out.
"Is that all Mum?" Ron asked, as he stood up also.
"Not quite Ronald," Molly said a bit sternly.
"Your father and I have noticed that you seem a bit upset with your sister and best friend," his mother said with a frown.
"What we can't understand is why you persist with that attitude," she added as she looked at Ron appraisingly.
"Tell me why are you harbouring such thought's about them?" she pressed.
Ron looked very uncomfortable but refused to meet his Mum's eyes and he remained quiet.
"You really need to understand that what Harry and Ginny experienced together has changed them. In some ways they are no longer children, just how much they have changed, is something that we still have to work out.
"Please just remember that we love you Ron and only want what is best for you along with Harry and Ginny," she said with a slight pleading tone to her voice.
Ron nodded dully, still refusing to meet his mother's eyes. "Can I go now?" he asked sullenly.
"Yes Ron, return to de-gnoming the garden," Molly said sadly. She hoped that she had given her youngest son some things to think about and that he'd eventually come around. If not, well they'd just have to handle that when it happened.
She watched him leave as she returned to the kitchen and with a flick of her wand, started the dishes cleaning while she took what laundry she had and went to start it too.
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A/N: Well they are at the Burrow and Ginny and Harry seem to be getting along really well. The Twins seem very receptive as do Molly and Arthur. Only Ron continues to have a problem with the events that have transpired so far.
As always, please review.
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