Chapter 9 Charlie's Final Move
As it was Charlie made his final move the following morning. Ginny and her parents were enjoying a quiet breakfast and waiting for the rest of the family to come downstairs, when their peace was suddenly shattered.
"GET OUT" Screamed a voice that was barely recognisable as Harry's "GET OUT I SAID"
Ginny and her parents barely had a few seconds to glance up and see Harry and Charlie in a confused mass of rage and anger.
Harry had Charlie by the scruff of his neck in his left hand, in his right was his wand, his aim of which was varying, almost as if he was aiming wherever the latest curse or hex his anger fuelled brain was thinking of at the time. Afterwards it was often commented on that the only thing saving Charlie at that point was Harry's self-control.
Harry forced Charlie backwards down the stairs, through the living room and though the kitchen, when they reached the back-door Harry removed the door from its hinges with a blasting hex, just before thrusting Charlie through the door way and screaming,
"GET OUT AND LEAVE, DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU'VE GROWN A BRAIN AND ARE WILLING TO APOLOGISE"
Charlie stumbled and finally fell backwards into the dirt, "What the hell Potter, you can't throw me out of this house"
"Oh, I can't can I?" said Harry turning back to the house. He saw that Ginny, Molly and Arthur were stood in the broken doorway. Marching back towards the door grasped Ginny by the arm and pulled her forwards "I'm sorry Ginny but Charlie has something he would like to share with you"
Charlie looked at Ginny with fear in his eyes, before twisting and apparating away without saying a word. Molly, Arthur and Ginny all looked at Harry with looks of bewilderment mixed with a trace of fear, none of them had ever seen Harry show such a display of anger.
"Harry your hurting my arm" said Ginny
Harry who had been stood rigid staring at the spot that Charlie had apparated from, turned to look at Ginny as if seeing her stood there for the first time. Suddenly he let go of her arm with a look of horror on his face. Seeing the look on his face Ginny pulled Harry into a hug and whispered soothing words to help him calm down.
"I'm sorry Gin I never want to hurt you, Charlie got me so wound up I didn't know what I was doing" said Harry
"We know you wouldn't intentionally hurt Ginny son" said Arthur coming up behind them "But would you mind telling us what that was all about?"
Ginny who still had her arms around Harry could feel him instantly tense up.
"I think it was Charlie's latest attempt at a wind up" started Harry "Only this time he changed tactics and approached me instead of Ginny. I wouldn't have lost my temper but he went too far"
"Harry what did Charlie do?" asked Ginny
At Ginny's question Harry looked at her and froze, clearly not wanting to tell her what had happened.
"Err Gin I think I'd better discuss this with your dad first" said Harry
"Dad why?" asked Ginny confused "If it involves me I want to know Harry"
"I know you do. Although part of me doesn't want to tell you, I don't want to keep it from you, but I think it would be best if I got your dads advice on how to approach it first"
Before she had a chance to protest Harry stepped away from her and beckoned Arthur to follow him. They stood about twelve feet from Ginny and Molly and spoke in whispers and hushed tones. The only thing Ginny heard was her fathers shocked exclamation of "I don't believe Charlie would say such a thing"
"Dad it's true" said a voice behind Ginny making her jump. Turning around she saw George was stood with her and her mum, while Ron and Hermione were stood in the kitchen doorway. Turning to George she saw he was looking across the yard at Harry and her dad. When he spoke again.
"Dad what Harry is telling you is true I heard every word. Charlie is lucky Harry just threw him out"
Ginny turned on George "George what did Charlie say to Harry?"
George looked to his father who shook his head slowly, before walking back across the yard with Harry.
"For Merlin's sake, will someone tell me what's happened" screamed Ginny
Arthur pulled his daughter into a hug, "I'm sorry Ginny, I know this isn't fair considering it concerns you, but I think it best just for now that you don't know" he released her from the hug so Harry could put his arm around her to comfort her.
"Right now, the best thing we can do is finish breakfast and when we find out where Charlie has gone to I will go and speak to him" said Arthur "err sorry to bring this up but did anyone happen to see where the door landed?"
"Door? Landed?" said Harry with a confused look on his face
Ginny looked up at Harry with concern "Harry you blasted the back door of its hinges. Don't you remember?"
Harry froze and his eyes went wide with concern "err no I don't, Charlie's comments put me in such a rage I mustn't have known what I was doing, I didn't hurt anyone did I?"
"Don't worry Harry no one got hurt, we've all been provoked at some time" said Arthur putting a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.
They found the door some twenty feet away from the house, Harry who was feeling guilty for blasting the door of its hinges and feeling ashamed for losing his temper so badly, insisted on helping Arthur in repairing the door and the door frame. Molly meanwhile bustled everyone else back into the kitchen and started serving breakfast to those who had come down late.
Harry after helping to fix the door, sat down next to Ginny and promptly had a large plate of bacon and eggs placed in front of him by Molly with orders to eat up. To begin with Harry picked at his food, the worry about the current situation was weighing heavy on him. "You had better eat that or mum won't leave you alone" whispered Ginny leaning into him so she could steal a piece of his bacon. "Thief" said Harry as he helped himself to her toast.
"I'm a bit surprised you haven't complained more and demanded to know what Charlie said" said Harry
"I was going to" started Ginny "but I saw the look in dad's eyes, I've only seen it once or twice before, it's the look he gets before he starts to yell, you know you've done something wrong when dad starts shouting with real anger, it's worse than mum shouting, dads so laid back he hardly ever shouts and lets mum tell us off normally, I realised that whatever Charlie said it must be really bad and I didn't want to upset dad any more than he already is"
Somehow this explanation made Harry feel worse, sensing this Ginny turned to face Harry, placing her hand on his cheek "Harry you didn't do anything wrong, Charlie provoked you and you defended me. Do you know how happy and safe it makes me feel to know you're always there for me, being my protector?"
Harry reached up and held her hand in his but didn't remove her hand from his face, shaking his head he said "Gin, I lost my temper and flew into a rage so bad I don't remember blasting the kitchen door twenty feet across the yard, someone could have been hurt"
"If someone had been hurt it wouldn't have been your fault, you are not someone who goes around blasting doors off their hinges for the fun of it, if someone had been hurt it would have been Charlie's fault for provoking you in the first place. I won't let you blame yourself for this, now eat up I have a feeling we are going to need our strength later whenever Charlie turns up"
Somehow Ginny's words made Harry feel better about what had happened, perhaps it was simply the fact that Ginny wasn't letting him blame himself. Suddenly feeling hungry Harry dug into his breakfast with gusto, while having to defend his bacon from a giggling Ginny.
The young couple had been completely unaware that their conversation had been observed by everyone in the kitchen, though no one had paid more attention to what was being said than Ron. When Charlie had approached him with the idea to prank Ginny he had eagerly agreed and participated at first. He had dropped out of the pranking the day they had resized Ginny's shoes and Harry had come downstairs with sparks emitting out of his wand. He had seen the warning signs and backed off but he hadn't noticed how the pranking had been affecting Ginny and had never realised they were going too far. He had heard about the incident with Bill and how Ginny had declared Harry as her protector, he had dismissed her statement as a heat of the moment thing and not given it any more thought. Ginny's refusing to let Harry blame himself along with calling him her protector again was making Ron feel uncomfortable and guilty. As one of her brothers he had always seen himself as one of her protectors, he was starting to realise how Ginny must have felt when five of her protectors turned on her. Ironically where Ginny's words had given Harry his appetite back, they had caused Ron to lose his. Pushing his half full plate away from himself and standing he turned to address Ginny.
"Ginny, I want to say I'm really sorry for what we have done to you over the last two weeks, it was meant to be a bit of fun but we got carried away and went miles too far, I regret my part in it and I hope you can forgive me" at that he turned and stumbled out of the kitchen, heading towards the stairs
Ginny was stunned, whenever her brothers had apologised in the past, the apologies had always felt more forced than voluntary, though this may have something to do with their more than formidable mother standing over them when they apologised. Ron's apology was a shock because he hadn't been forced to give it. It took Harry giving her a nudge to bring her out of the frozen state Ron's apology had put her in.
"What" she said with the stunned look still on her face
"For Merlin's sake go after him, he's obviously regretting what he's done to you" said Harry
One look at Harry mad her realise he was right and Ron really did feel guilty, suddenly standing she ran out of the kitchen and followed Ron up the stairs. Harry in the meantime smiled while helping himself to the rest of Ginny breakfast. Seeing the reproachful look Hermione gave him he shrugged before saying "I'll make her some fresh breakfast when she gets back"
Ginny returned to the kitchen feeling happier than she had done in days, the chat with Ron had helped her to forgive him. Similarly, to Harry earlier her chat with Ron had caused some of her appetite to return, wanting to finish her breakfast she was at first shocked then mildly angry to find her plate empty except for one half eaten slice of toast. Harry meanwhile was sitting with a cup of tea and the newspaper and was clearly failing to keep a grin off his face. Standing next to the table with her hands on her hips, in a near perfect imitation of her mother, she faked a look of annoyance on her face stared down at Harry and spoke loudly "HARRY JAMES POTTER would you kindly explain what has happened to my breakfast?"
Jumping slightly Harry looked up at Ginny, grinning widely "I'm afraid some inconsiderate person helped themselves to it, I tried to stop them but failed, they did leave you some though" he said indicating the half-eaten slice on her plate.
Ginny at this point was struggling to keep her own face straight and just raised her eyebrows in mock anger.
"I suppose" continued Harry "as you've had your breakfast stolen I could make you a new one"
Grinning while she sat down she said "that would be lovely thank you"
"So, toast and jam it is then" said Harry standing up
"Actually, I'd like sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs thank you"
"Are you sure? Toast and jam would be quicker" teased Harry
"Don't push your luck Harry"
Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek Harry dived to the cooker before Molly could take over.
When Ginny was finished with breakfast she had settled in the living room cuddling with Harry, she was so comfortable and content she had started to forget that mornings troubles when they heard a crack from outside, followed by the sounds of a struggle and a bellowed shout from the kitchen.
"Mum, Dad, Ginny, Harry" bellowed a voice that was clearly Bill's
Bills shout caused every occupant of the house to come running to the kitchen, being in the living room Harry and Ginny got there first with Arthur and Molly close behind. Similar to earlier that morning Bill was stood in the kitchen clutching Charlie by the scruff of his neck clearly in a state of barely controlled rage, but whereas Harry had thrown Charlie out of the house Bill had clearly just thrown him into it. Charlie for his part stood there with a mixture of fear and shame on his face, he kept glancing between Bill and the floor but never once looked at Ginny or her parents.
The first thing Harry noticed about Charlie was a livid black eye he had surrounding his left eye. A feeling of intense worry washed over Harry, a quick glance at Bill, who had let go of Charlie for the moment and was rubbing his right hand. Clearly Bill hadn't been able to control himself quite as well as Harry had and had punched his own brother in defence of Ginny. At first no one spoke, Harry for one had no idea what to do in a situation like this, he wanted someone to speak or failing that to start shouting if for no other reason than to break the mounting tension.
"What happened to your eye Charlie?" asked Arthur, his voice sounded unnatural. There was none of his usual casual cheerfulness, instead his words were cold and hard.
"I fell over when I apparated to Shell Cottage and bumped into something" replied Charlie
"What happened to your hand Bill" asked Arthur
"When I heard what, this prat had done I lost my temper and hit him" said Bill
"So, you're now lying as well as handing out disgusting insults" stated Arthur
A look of panic crossed Charlie's face "I... I … I didn't want Bill to get into trouble for something I deserved" he stammered
"What did you say to Harry?" asked Ginny in a firm but quiet voice. She was radiating anger and was glaring at Charlie like she wanted to kill him.
"You don't know? Didn't harry tell you?" asked Charlie
"No what you said was so bad Harry spoke to me first and I thought it best not to tell her straight away" answered Arthur
At this Charlie seemed to panic, he clearly had expected Ginny to already know what he had said, he hadn't expected to have to say it to her face, his eyes seemed to be darting between Arthur, Harry and Ginny.
"Well I'm waiting" stated Ginny she had her arms crossed and was doing another good impression of her mother, though Harry didn't think right now would be a good time to point this out.
"Well I … err I … I might have…" stammered Charlie
"YOU MIGHT HAVE?" shouted Harry making everyone jump. He had been keeping calm up until that point but Charlie's use of the word might had angered him.
"Sorry Harry I shouldn't have said might as I defiantly did" said Charlie turning to Ginny he took a deep breath "Ginny I said you were only interested in Harry because of his money and implied he might be paying…"
Charlie never finished his sentence, not because he didn't want to though, Ginny in a brief flurry of movement had taken two steps forward and had slapped Charlie across his face with all the force she could muster. Charlie was left standing with his head hanging with shame and a livid red hand print just below his black eye. Ginny for a few moments stood in front of Charlie breathing heavily, with her eyes bulging with anger, before she turned on her heels and stormed from the kitchen. Everyone hurried to get out of her way. The only thing she said as she left the kitchen was "HARRY!" realising he was meant to follow her, he hurried out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs to Ginny's bedroom.
When he got there the door was still open and stepping into the room he found Ginny in a frenzy, she had her school locker open and was currently throwing clothes into it like mad.
"Gin what are you doing" asked Harry
"Were leaving go pack your trunk" was the worrying reply
"Excuse me"
"I said we are leaving we are not staying here to be treated like this. Two weeks of hell followed by that … that … insult! Go pack your trunk"
"Gin where are we going to go"
"Your place"
For once Harry was glad he hadn't returned to Grimmauld place, he had meant to, but it hadn't been high on list of priorities, and he had ended up putting it off.
"Gin I haven't been back to Grimmauld place since we were forced to flee and the death eaters got in, I don't know if it is safe to enter the building as there are probably booby traps and Merlin knows what else"
Ginny however wasn't going to be stopped that easily.
"Well take a tent, if anything that will be better, you can put some wards up and they won't be able to find us, well finally be left alone"
Harry knew at this point he had to choose his words carefully, he didn't want to end up living in a tent, he had spent the better part of nine months living in a tent and had no desire to repeat the experience so soon. But he was fully aware he couldn't or possibly shouldn't use that as an excuse.
Stepping forward he took hold of Ginny and pulled her into strong hug and held her there while saying "Ginny I love you and I would do anything that would make you happy, but this isn't it, running away from home isn't going to solve anything, Charlie has a lot to answer for and I'll do whatever I can to make sure he does, but I can't do that if we are dodging booby traps at Grimmauld place or hiding behind wards in the middle of nowhere"
As he finished speaking Ginny broke down completely, burying her face in Harry's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Harry held her tight and only when the sobs had started to slow down did he attempt to move her to the bed so they could sit down. Ginny once again seemed to have another death grip on his t-shirt, reminding him of the day they had the debriefing. While keeping hold of Ginny, Harry leant back so he was leaning against the head board. Ginny almost automatically changed position so she was lying on the bed with her head-on Harry's chest, the only thing that didn't change was her grip on his t-shirt. Before long she had dozed off and was asleep, seemingly exhausted. Harry found himself reflecting that Ginny had been right about them needing to keep their strength up that morning.
Harry, found that he himself couldn't sleep, but found the current situation surprisingly relaxing, he kept his arms around Ginny and despite her being asleep kept rubbing his hands up and down her back. Eventually there was a soft knock at the door, worried about who it might be, while hoping it was one of her parents he called out "come in quietly".
The door opened softly to reveal Molly, she looked at her daughter asleep on Harry's chest and was relieved she could find some calming comfort after what had happened. Pulling over a chair she sat down next to the bed and spoke to Harry in hushed tones so not to disturb Ginny.
"I'm so sorry about this Harry, I don't know what's got into Charlie, I probably wouldn't believe it if he hadn't admitted it himself, two weeks of stupidity followed by that insult and not just an insult at Ginny but you too. You should be proud of the way you handled today Harry, most people would have understandably acted far worse"
"Molly I blasted the door twenty feet across the yard"
"True" said molly chuckling quietly "But you chose to blast the door instead of Charlie, unlike Bill who punched his own brother"
"I still, feel guilty about blasting the door someone could have been hurt"
"Maybe, but Ginny was right this morning, you wouldn't have done that if Charlie hadn't provoked you, this is all Charlie's fault not yours. You and Ginny are the only ones who have acted properly throughout all this, don't ever forget that. How was she after you left the kitchen?"
Harry pointed at Ginny's nearly full trunk, there couldn't have been many of Ginny clothes that weren't in it.
"Oh, I see" said Molly
"At first, she wanted to go to Grimmauld place till I pointed out it probably isn't safe, then she was all for taking a tent and sleeping Merlin knows where surrounded by wards so we couldn't be found" said Harry "What happened to Charlie after we left?"
"I'm not too sure to be honest, Arthur dragged him over to his shed and I haven't heard anything from them since. Between you and me Harry it's a bit disconcerting, as you've probably realised Arthur rarely gets angry. If he's shouts you know you've done wrong"
"Yes, I had noticed and Ginny commentated on it this morning"
"What's worrying me a bit is Arthur seems to have skipped his shouting phase and reached some new level of calm anger I've never seen before"
"Well we can only hope Charlie picks up on that" said Harry
Molly found herself simply nodding in agreement. "I came up to see if either of you wanted something to eat, its past two already"
"I'm OK at the moment, well see how we feel when Ginny wakes up" Harry paused briefly tying to consider the best way to phrase his next question "Molly I suspect Ginny won't want to be alone tonight, I know you have a house rule of no unmarried couples sleeping together, but I was hoping I could have your permission to stay with her tonight?"
Molly appeared to be thinking for a moment "Under the circumstances I think we can allow it for tonight, considering the way you have handled recent events I think you have earned our trust enough to give Ginny some comfort when she needs it"
"Thank you"
Ginny eventually woke up around three in the afternoon, but even then, she seemed more lost and afraid than anything else, at first when Harry spoke to her she replied with just nods and shakes of her head while still holding onto his t-shirt and keeping her head buried in his chest.
"Are you OK?" resulted in a shake
"Are you feeling better than before?" a small nod
"Are you hungry" resulted in a most definite nod
"Shall I go down and fetch some food" a firm shake
"Do you want to go down a fetch some food" an even firmer shake
"How about I pop downstairs and ask your mum to bring some up?" a shrug of her shoulders
Harry forced them both into sitting positions so he could look Ginny in her eyes. "Ginny what have I told you before about eating?"
"Eat, you'll feel better" she whispered
"So how about I nip downstairs and ask your mum to bring some sandwiches and tea up? Plus, while I'm at it I can put on a dry t-shirt" said Harry smiling
"OK" was all she said quietly
Standing up Harry looked at Ginny with concern, she wasn't acting like the vibrant, independent girl he had fallen in love with, he hated seeing her like this, it was understandable after everything that had happened, but it just wasn't her normal reaction to things and Harry was feeling lost as what to say or do.
Suddenly Harry was struck with an idea, it was either brilliance or madness he decided, but as he had no other ideas presenting themselves he decided to run with it.
"Right you have ten seconds to give me a genuine smile if not I'm going to tickle you until you do"
"Harry what?"
"Ten"
"Harry I'm not…"
"Nine"
"…in the mood"
"Eight"
"Harry, you…"
"Seven"
"Wouldn't dare"
"Six" with each count he was gradually moving closer to Ginny who was starting to smile
"I'm warning …"
"Five"
"You Harry"
"Four"
"Don't you…" try as she might the grin was getting larger
"Three"
"Dare you …"
"Two"
"Git"
"Last chance one"
"Don't you ahh you git"
Harry taking some encouragement from Ginny's reaction put his hands on her hips and started tickling her up and down the side of her torso, once he had her writhing on her back laughing with his tickling he moved his hands down to her thighs which he knew were sensitive to being tickled. Once he had her full attention from tickling her thighs, he learnt in and started kissing her shoulders and throat. Putting her arms around Harry's neck she pulled him across so she could kiss him on the lips.
Pulling away from her so he could catch his breath, Harry was relieved to see her smiling back at him. "See was that so difficult?"
"Git, you don't play fair" said Ginny while playfully punching him on the arm.
"Well I had to try something" replied Harry
Suddenly both their stomachs growled with hunger, laughing at the duel reminded of their need to eat Harry sat up and turned to Ginny. "I don't think we can put of eating much longer, do you want me to go fetch something or are you coming down with me"
"I'll come down with you" replied Ginny "can't hide in here forever"
As he stood Harry saw Ginny's wand on her bedside cabinet and instinctively picked it up and put it in his pocket with his own.
"Harry what are you doing with my wand?"
"Hopefully I'm being over cautious. I just thought it might be best if I protected you from yourself, I don't want you to walk downstairs and start flinging curses at Charlie, I really don't want to have to visit Azkaban in order to see my girlfriend"
Ginny smiled before giving him a quick kiss "You know me too well, now come on I'm hungry"
After quickly changing his t-shirt for one that wasn't damp with tears, they went downstairs. When they got to the living room Charlie was sat in the middle of the sofa with his head in his hands, hearing them come into the room he looked up and started to stand.
"Ginny I'm sorry I don't know why I said what I did" said Charlie
Ginny didn't acknowledge Charlie, she grabbed Harry's hand and stormed into the kitchen, practically dragging Harry with her.
Upon entering the kitchen Molly and Arthur looked up from their drinks.
"How are you both?" asked Arthur
"Hungry" they replied in unison
"I thought you might be" said Molly "I've kept some soup warm for you" and she busied herself serving out two bowls of soup with bread.
As she picked up her spoon Ginny suddenly realised how much her right hand was hurting and that she couldn't hold her spoon steady before eventually dropping it and crying put in pain. Molly without being asked came to Ginny side and using her wand quickly examined her daughters arm and wrist. "I'm afraid you sprained your wrist when you slapped the idiot" said Molly she quickly put a balm on Ginny wrist and wrapped it in bandages for support "It'll be fine in the morning but you won't be able to use it till then"
Ginny switched to her left hand but continued to struggle, with not being used to using her left hand, Harry who had finished his own lunch, couldn't bare to see her struggle, reached over and took the spoon out of her hand.
"What are you doing Harry"
"Trying to help" said Harry "So far you appear to have ended up wearing more of the soup than you have actually eaten"
Looking down she saw he was right but she still protested "I'm not a child Harry"
"Are you sure, you certainly look like you need a bib" he teased
"Don't make me hex you Harry"
"And don't forget you can't at the moment"
As Ginny finally gave in and allowed Harry to help her, Molly and Arthur shared a puzzled look, confused over Harry's last comment.
As Ginny was finishing her lunch, no one noticed as Charlie came into the kitchen, he paused briefly seeing Harry feeding soup to Ginny. Walking up behind her he put his hand on her shoulder "Ginny can we talk please"
Harry saw Ginny instantly stiffen, the cheerful look she'd had on her face was replaced with one of rage "Don't. Touch. Me." she said in firm clipped tones. Breathing heavily, she slowly turned to Charlie, who upon seeing the look on her face removed his hand quickly and stepped back away from Ginny.
"Don't. Touch. Me. Ever. Again. Don't even talk to me, just stay away and you just might live. You are lucky I don't have my wand right now because I doubt you would be leaving this room alive after what you said this morning"
Charlie appeared to be frozen, his mouth was hanging open, while he looked at Ginny.
"Ginny what do you mean you haven't got your wand" asked Arthur
Ginny turned to her parents "Harry was concerned I wouldn't be able to control myself in front of Charlie so he confiscated my wand for the time being and if I'm honest I'm glad he did as I don't particularly fancy going to Azkaban for killing someone as worthless as him" she pointed at Charlie
"And I thought I was over reacting" muttered Harry
"What was that Harry" asked Ginny with faked sweetness
"Absolutely nothing" replied Harry rather quickly
"Well I feel the need for some fresh air, shall we go for a walk?"
"Good idea" said Harry who was more interested in getting her out of the kitchen.
"Ginny please I'm your brother" cried Charlie in desperation
"Not any more you're not, although I am curious about one thing, which one do you think I am?" asked Ginny
"What do you mean?" asked Charlie nervously
"Well based on your comment earlier its clear to me you think I'm either a gold digger or a prostitute, so which is it? As you were accusing Harry of paying me I'm going to go with prostitute"
For the second-time Charlie stood frozen to the spot. There was no way he could answer that question without making the situation worse. If he said Gold digger, he'd insult Ginny and be accused of outright lying, if he said prostitute he wouldn't be accused of lying but the insult would be far worse. Harry was thankful he chose to say nothing. Wand or no wand he didn't think Ginny would let him leave the kitchen alive if he actually answered.
"Well at least you're not denying it I suppose" said Ginny
At that she used her left hand to grab Harry's hand and for the second time in an hour practically dragged Harry out of the room and into the yard.
The last thing Harry saw of the kitchen was a fleeting glance of Charlie sitting at the table with his head in his hands while Arthur stood over him saying "You've only got yourself to blame"
Harry and Ginny found a path next to the stream and walked along it till they found a scenic spot under a tree where they sat with Harry leaning against the tree with Ginny in front of Harry leaning back against Harry. Neither of them said much with both of them appreciating the calming atmosphere the spot provided. Which was a welcome break from the day they'd had so far.
Deciding not to worry her parents they headed back in time for dinner, which was its usual lively affair, everyone currently staying at the Burrow was there except for Charlie. Neither Harry or Ginny asked where he was and no one volunteered the information. After dinner Harry saw that Ginny was getting tired. He wasn't surprised considering the day she'd had. Suggesting they go to bed early, they headed upstairs to Ginny's room. When they got there Ginny seemed nervous at first until she explained she didn't want to be alone. Harry realising he hadn't told her earlier, explained about having Molly's permission to stay with her that night. Ginny's eyes lit up and while hugging Harry she looked up at him and suggested they could have some fun that night with a cheeky grin on her face.
Harry though seriously tempted decided to put a quick end to that idea.
"Well maybe a bit of fun" he said "Your mum gave me permission to stay with you if you needed some comfort after what's happened today. As she's letting us break a house rule I'd rather not abuse her trust, because if we did, there's no way she'd let us break it again"
"Spoilsport" said Ginny grinning though she knew he was right. Pushing him to the door she sent him into his room to get changed, while she got changed in hers.
Out on the landing Harry bumped into Molly, he checked Ginny's door was closed, before quickly handing her Ginny's wand along with both of his wand's and whispered "Just in case". Thankfully Molly just nodded her understanding and quickly pocketed them, before heading downstairs. Harry felt a bit strange being without a wand, he also felt a bit guilty for handing over their wands to Molly without telling Ginny, but her earlier admission had him worried and he had realised he couldn't stop Ginny from retrieving a wand and doing something drastic if he was asleep.
Once back in Ginny's room they both got into bed, having never shared a bed before it took them some time to find a position they were both comfortable with. When they settled with Harry on his back and with Ginny on her side with her head on his chest they both soon fell into a deep sleep.
Harry had dropped off to sleep hoping the next day would prove to be calmer than the last, unfortunately the day started almost as bad as the last.
