Harry's next free day was a Saturday. Hermione and Ron had gone to her parent's house the day before in preparation for bringing them home, while Harry had spent the day attending another handful of funerals. Most of them were finally over, and he was looking forward to having more free time to spend with Ginny at the Burrow. His biggest problem with that was he still wasn't sleeping well and Mrs. Weasley had started to notice.
"You still look a bit peaky this morning Harry," she told him when he came down to find Ron and Hermione deep in conversation about an upcoming trip to Australia in the kitchen. "It's still early. Would you like to have a bit of a lie in and get some extra rest this morning?"
"No thanks Mrs. Weasley. I'm awake. I might as well stay up now."
"Well how about some breakfast then. What would you like, bacon and eggs? Pancakes perhaps? Waffles maybe?"
"Hey," Ron protested, "you didn't offer me waffles."
"You're getting plenty to eat and sleep," Mrs. Weasley admonished.
"Not bloody likely with him in my room. Sorry Harry," Ron looked at him slightly abashed, "but you've been worse than usual mate."
Harry rolled his shoulders pretending he hadn't heard.
"Still having bad dreams?" Hermione asked.
Harry glared at her but didn't directly answer.
"Having bad dreams are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked with some concern. "Are they night mares Harry?"
"Yeah, a bit," Harry mumbled rather wishing she wouldn't hear him.
"Just a bit?" Ron said loudly. "You fell out of bed twice last night and rolled around quite a lot after that."
"Sorry I kept you awake Ron," Harry said earnestly. He had been throwing himself out of bed quite often at night and had the bruises to prove it. "Well maybe you'll sleep better down in Australia."
"You are not going," Mrs. Weasley declared.
"Yeah Mum, I am," Ron told her. "I can't make Hermione do this alone."
"Ronald, you know I don't approve," she said sternly.
"He's going to help me find my parents," Hermione explained. "I don't know anyone in Australia Mrs. Weasley and I really could use the help down there."
"Dad's asked for the clearance for both of us from the International Wizarding transport office," Ron told his Mum. "He thinks I should go."
"I just got this family back together," Mrs. Weasley answered in a stern tone, "and here you all are, wanting to go traipsing off again. With Charlie in Romania and you off to Australia, how do I know when I'll have you all together with me again?"
"It's not forever Mum, just for a few weeks. Just until we can find them and bring them home," Ron explained. "And then I'm coming home this time, I promise."
"I am holding you to that," Mrs. Weasley said.
And Harry knew from her tone that Ron's battle was won. By the end of the week he would be the only one left of Mrs. Weasley's boys living at the Burrow. For the moment at least, he didn't much mind. At least until she tried to fatten him up again.
"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked. "I didn't see her when I came down."
"Out in the orchard I think, flying on one of the brooms."
Harry grabbed some toast and headed towards the back door. "I think I'll join her," he said.
"You will do no such thing. You sit here and eat a proper breakfast."
Mrs. Weasley forced him back down on the bench and stood over him until he'd eaten seconds on eggs and toast at least. Harry privately wondered if eating so much on a stomach that didn't want it might make him sick, but he did his best to keep it down long enough to reach the orchard. Once he was out of sight of the kitchen he bent double and leaned up against one of the apple trees.
"Harry, are you alright?" Ginny asked as she landed on her broom next to him.
Harry groaned. "Your mum just tried to feed me. She thinks I'm looking a bit peaky."
Ginny pulled a face. "She thinks that a good hearty meal will cure nearly everything."
"I've noticed," Harry said.
"You want to fly?" she asked.
Harry straightened slightly. Actually he'd been longing to fly, it had been so long since he'd been on a broom. Trying not to think about breakfast he tried to concentrate on the broom in Ginny's hand.
"Isn't this yours?" Harry asked.
"Na, its Fred's. Mine's in the broom shed. I'll race you," she said and she took off on foot in the direction of the shed.
"You're on!" Harry cried and leapt on the broom trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.
Ginny had such a head start that she had reached the shed and pulled open the door before Harry had managed to mount the broom and come up behind her.
"Got ya!" he cried, as he leaned to the side to tickle her along the ribs as he flew by.
"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed as grabbed her broom from the shed mounted it and went after him. "You're going to get it Potter!" she yelled and she took off after him skimming the tree tops below.
Harry turned his broom sharply so that she nearly flew into him and grabbed her again to tickle her before she dipped her broom and flew out of his path. This time she turned on him flying up from behind, she poked him in the back with her fingertips as she flew by. They chased each other round in round laughing hardily as they caught and released and played with one another, zooming around the orchard with a freedom that Harry hadn't felt in a very long time. Ginny would look at him with that hard fiery expression of hers as she flew by, hair flying in the sun looking like polished copper causing him to grin like a crazy man. Their game of tickle turned into a game of tag as they ducked in and around the trees. Finally Harry caught Ginny in a clearing just above the trees. He held out an arm as she flew close intending to ram him, catching her by the waist so that her momentum carried the two of them into a side by side spiral, slowly downward. She grabbed him by the shoulders to keep her balance as they started to spin, and both were laughing so hard by the time they reached the ground they nearly fell off their brooms. Laying there in the tall grass beneath the apple trees, with Ginny's hands on his shoulders and his on her waist Harry thought he'd never seen her looking so beautiful. Gazing intently into her soft brown eyes he slowly pulled her towards him. Their lips met in the softest kiss imaginable as they lay there panting side by side.
"Did you enjoy that Potter?" Ginny teased as they pulled apart again.
"You know it!" Harry told her enthusiastically.
"Then let's see if you can catch me again!" and she was off on her broom, flying low amongst the trees.
Their game was interrupted after Harry had caught her for the third time and was being kissed as his reward.
"Oi, mate, how about you let go of my sister and let's play some Quidditch?" Ron suggested as he and Hermione joined them in the orchard.
"Two against two?" Harry asked.
"You and Hermione against me and Ginny," Ron suggested.
"And the scorers get to kiss the defenders?" Harry asked.
Ron grinned self-consciously towards Hermione.
"Okay. You're on!"
The racing match became a round of Quidditch, where instead of celebrating the winners of the game, each goal was rewarded by a kiss from the appropriate member of scored against team. Hardly surprising to anyone it was a very high scoring game, leaving them all breathless and winded as was typical for Quidditich but for very different reasons.
Mrs. Weasley was watching from the kitchen window as they played, relieved just a bit to see them acting like young people again. She was still there when Mr. Weasley came in from his study as lunch time approached.
"What are you looking at so intently Molly?" he asked wrapping his arms around his wife from behind.
"Look at them," Mrs. Weasley said as brooms dashed across the top of the orchard and descended again. Another goal was scored, this time by Harry who was promptly reward by Ginny before the game went on.
"It looks like they're having fun," Mr. Weasley said.
"And it's about time too. I've hated seeing them all acting like they are thirty years older than they are. They've grown up much too fast," Mrs. Weasley said.
"War does that to people dear, if you remember. When youngsters have to take on the responsibilities of an adult, they tend to mature very young," Mr. Weasley said. "We did."
"Yes, but it was different with us," Mrs. Weasley remembered.
"How so?"
"We were in love!" Mrs. Weasley declared.
Mr. Weasley watched the two couples playing in the orchard together a bit more. Two more goals were scored along with the resulting rewards.
"What makes you think that they're not?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Who?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a frown. "Hermione and Ron?"
"Maybe. I was thinking of Harry and Ginny though," Mr. Weasley said. "Just look at them."
Mrs. Weasley frowned. "I'm trying not to Arthur," she said.
"Why not?"
"Because that is our daughter out there."
"And?" Mr. Weasley demanded.
"Harry is a seventeen year old boy!"
"I repeat, and?"
"He's seventeen!" Mrs. Weasley repeated herself too. "You know what boys are like at seventeen. What ours sons have been like… what you were like. I mean we were hardly any older."
"Ah. But as I remember it, that worked out alright. Besides Molly, Harry's not so young." His wife started to protest, but Mr. Weasley ignored her continuing on. "He's seventeen yes, but he's a man Molly. He's more than proven himself, don't you agree?"
"Well yes, but…"
"He's only just saved the wizarding world, not just you and me, but Ginny too. Twice I believe, don't you agree?" her husband asked.
"Well yes, but…"
"And he has the complete faith of his friends from what I hear. He's never been anything other than a gentleman according to every person his age we've ever talked to," Mr. Weasley continued.
"Well, yes but…"
"And I trust him Molly. I think you should too."
Molly looked towards the orchard again with a worried frown as Harry caught Ginny in mid air, and planted a kiss so passionately on her that they both momentarily forgot the game and drifted back down towards the ground.
"But Arthur…" she said, her voice still filled with concern as she watched them.
"They are having fun," Mr. Weasley said again more firmly this time. "I only wish that when I was seventeen and still playing Quidditch with you, I'd thought of playing it like that."
Molly sighed. Smiling up at her husband she said. "You know, I do too."
She turned from the window and started to gather some things together to make lunch, leaving her husband standing watching the Quidditch match progress.
"You know Molly," he said after a time. "Maybe we should make this a picnic. See if we can cool things off a bit down there."
"Arthur?" she said looking at him with an arched brow.
"It wouldn't hurt," Mr. Weasley added with a shrug.
"I think that is a very good idea."
Quidditch followed by lunch in the orchard became an almost daily routine, at least for the rest of that week whenever Harry was home. Occasionally the trio attended the funerals together, but as of late Hermione had found it all too depressing and so she and Ron had started to stay home. Harry attended the very last of the funerals of those who'd fallen at the Battle of Hogwarts on the second Thursday after it ended, two days after his visit to Privet Drive.
Like most of the funerals Harry had attended, this one had been sad and depressing. It was over by mid-day though and Harry felt strangely light hearted at the thought this was the end of them as he apparated back to the Burrow. He entered the kitchen fully expecting lunch and a game of Quidditch down in the orchard, only to find Hermione with books spread all over the kitchen table, head down and furiously taking notes on a role of parchment that was well over two feet long. Ron sat across from her reading aloud in a low tone while Mrs. Weasley stood over them. Ginny however was no place in sight.
"What's going on?" Harry asked incredulously. His two best friends looked to be studying as if they were taking their NEWTS exams the very next day.
"I'm taking notes," Hermione told him with a wave of her hand.
"I can see that. What for?" Harry asked straddling the bench to sit beside her, taking a better look at the books spread on the table.
At first glance it looked like a very strange assortment of publications to be collected there. There were books on the plant life and animals of Australia, muggle tour guides also for Australia, a copy of Lockhart's Guide to Common Kitchen Transfiguration Problems, a potions text book, several wizarding cookbooks, a conversion chart for several foreign types of wizard and muggle money, and a hand written list of the things they would take. At the top of the list was the tent they'd borrowed from Bill.
"Is all this for your trip to Australia?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "I'm going prepared this time," she said absently as she drew her fingers down the column of a table in the book on Kitchen Transfigurations. "Oh look Ron, we'll need two people to do this."
Harry looked over to see what she was reading.
"Recipes for kangaroo?" he asked.
"No silly, not for kangaroos," Hermione told him. "This transfigures one into a meal of Sheppard's pie and mango juice."
Harry's brow arched appreciately. "Sounds like you'll eat alright provided you can catch one. I hear they're fast."
"No problem mate, I've got that covered. I'm taking my broom," Ron informed him.
"Yeah, but Ron, catching a kangaroo? They're a bit more difficult than the quaffle. You know, they kick?"
"Yeah, I read that," Ron agreed thoughtfully his nose still in the book. "I should be able to manage a wombat though."
"A wombat?" Hermione asked with a hint of exasperation. "What can we do with that?" she asked in a near panic.
"Now don't worry dear. A good many wizards live in Australia and they don't starve. I'm sure we can find something you can do with them," Mrs. Weasley said, and she sat down beside Hermione looking thoughtfully through another of the cookbooks on the pile.
Harry just stared at them shaking his head. After their experience with finding food for themselves that previous winter his two friends were going out of their way to be prepared. Though he'd promised to go with her, Ron apparently was not willing to starve again to do it.
"Where's Ginny?" he asked from over their heads standing up again.
"Out in back I think," Mrs. Weasley said absently.
Harry left them to it and went back out doors. He headed down towards the orchard and as he'd hoped Ginny was there waiting for him.
"Hi," she greeted him, taking his hands to pull him down to sit on a spot of fresh green grass in the dappled shade beneath an apple tree.
"Hi, yourself." He leaned in for a kiss as he sat down.
"Are they still at it?" she asked and Harry assumed she meant the preparations for Australia
"Yep. Looks like they will be for a while."
Ginny leaned back squinting at the sun coming through the branches and hitting her in the eye. "You're not sorry about that though, are you?" she asked with a flirtatious smile.
"Not in the least," Harry assured her.
He lay back on the grass, pulling her into his arms for a very enjoyable snogging session. After what felt like hours, they broke apart as Harry's stomach rumbled a bit. They probably had been at it for quite a while Harry reasoned as the sun had moved and was now in his eyes instead of Ginny's.
"You hungry?" she asked.
"A bit," Harry admitted.
Just then they heard the back door slam and Mrs. Weasley's voice call "Time for lunch!"
Ginny pulled Harry up to a sitting position and kissed him again smiling.
"Some times her timing is good."
"Every once in a while," Harry agreed grinning broadly as they got up to go in. He couldn't help it, being with Ginny made him happier than anything else he could remember.
They made their way back up to the house and entered the kitchen door with a slam. Harry was still grinning when Ron and Hermione looked up at them. They were moving their books and papers to one end of the table so the five of them had room to eat.
"What are you so happy about?" Ron demanded. "I thought you went to a funeral today."
"I did," Harry said. "It was the last one." He'd meant it sincerely, but had said it with a bit more relief and relish that it was over with than he had meant.
"Still, it seems rather harsh to be ginning about it," Ron said.
"Oh Ronald," Hermione said sitting down beside him again. "I'm sure that's not why Harry is smiling so much. I expect it is something else."
At this Harry glanced towards Ginny and saw her blush bright red from the neckline of her T-shirt right up to her equally red hair. Mrs. Weasley looked at the two of them with something of the air of an inquisitor about her.
"Is there something I should know about?" she asked pointedly.
"No Mrs. Weasley."
"No Mum."
Harry and Ginny had both spoken very emphatically and very nearly at the same time.
"Humm," Mrs. Weasley said, remembering her conversation with her husband only a few days prior. Harry might be a wizarding hero, but his face was flushed with that adolescent glow, his eyes were brighter than they usually were, and there was that smile he was trying frantically to hide, a combination of guilt and delight from whatever had been happening earlier. Mrs. Weasley had not already raised five boys to adulthood without being entirely cognizant of what that particular look might mean. But she had promised Arthur to give them the benefit of the doubt and not to intervene, so all she said was,
"I see. Well sit down won't you, it's time to eat."
Hermione sat down eagerly across from Harry as they began their meal. "You can't believe all the good things I'm learning!" she told him enthusiastically. "I don't know why they don't teach these things at school."
"Well most people just don't need to know how to transfigure kangaroos into an orange, Hermione," Ron said reasonably, his mouth half full.
"No but the principles are the same as the ones for pike fish and squirrel," Hermione said.
"Well like I said, nobody but us has ever had to eat those, so it's not really all that important it know is it?" Ron asked.
Harry pulled over the parchment of notes that lay on the table beside her looking at them.
"This looks like standard transfiguration Hermione," Harry said. "Pretty basic really. I mean we were doing the tea cup to rat thing second year."
"Yes but this is between two organic objects Harry," Hermione pointed out.
"Well okay then, mice into kittens. Fourth year. Same thing," Harry said.
Hermione put her hand on her hip and frowned looking very annoyed at him.
"Well if it's so bloody simple why didn't you figure out how to transfigure that squirrel to make it fit to eat?" she demanded.
Harry had the decency to look a bit abashed.
"He was starving, Hermione. It's hard to think straight when you're hungry," Ron came to his friend's aide.
"No that's okay Ron, she's right. We knew the basics, but not how to adapt it to our particular situation. That is what we were missing."
"That is what you learn in your last NEWT year," Mrs. Weasley said.
Ron scowled and Harry knew Mrs. Weasley had been putting pressure on him to go back to Hogwarts in the fall to finish school.
"Well if we just learn this so we won't starve, we'll be alright then won't we?" Ron asked looking directly at Harry pointedly avoiding looking in his mother's direction.
"It should help," Harry agreed.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?' Hermione asked tentatively.
Harry looked again at the transfigured items Hermione anticipated being on their menu. "No, I don't think I will. Thanks." The menu didn't look all that bad really, but Harry strongly suspected that Ron was trying to find an opportunity to get Hermione and himself away from his family and off on their own. It was a predicament Harry was beginning to appreciate just a bit.
"So what are you going to do all summer if you stay here?" Hermione asked.
"Well there's my birthday in July," Harry said vaguely.
"We'll be back for that," Ron promised.
"You will?" Harry said in surprise. His birthday was still more than two and a half months away but he'd expected Ron and Hermione's adventure to take most of the summer.
"We plan to be," Ron assured him.
Harry nodded. "Then, I thought I might ask Mr. Weasley if he could set up a private apparition test."
"What for?" Ron asked. "You've been apparating everywhere you go for nearly a year."
"Well yes, but Kingsley's been after me to accept a position with the Ministry this fall," Harry began.
"Doing what?" Ron demanded.
"Beginning training for the Auror department I think," Harry explained. "But anyway even if I don't do that, I thought it probably would be good to have a license so I can do it legally. I mean the Magical Law Enforcement office is going to finish prosecuting Death Eaters one of these days, so they're going to get back to enforcing the regular laws eventually."
Mrs. Weasley smiled at him, obviously approving of this particular plan.
"Okay yeah," Ron said. "I should probably do that too. But that's not going to take all summer."
"No," Harry said slowly. He'd actually been giving this quite a lot of thought, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, but the only thing he'd come up with so far was to make sure Ginny was a part of it. Of course that wasn't something he was ready to make a public announcement about, though he thought he might tell Ron in private before he left.
"What about your family Harry?" Hermione asked. "Are you going to see them?'
"They'd probably be happier if I didn't," Harry said. "I thought I might try to see Dudley though, and maybe Aunt Petunia if I can figure it out."
"Figure what out?" Ginny asked curiously.
Harry hesitated. None of them knew about this yet, but during his daily excursions from the Burrow presumably for funerals, he'd been dropping by the public offices at the ministry to look at old muggle obliviate records. He'd been trying to follow up on his idea that there was more behind his Aunt's resentment of him than the simple fact that he was a wizard. He wasn't quite finished with his research yet but he had found instances of muggle memory modification relating to Petunia going back nearly thirty years, long before Lily had even begun her wizarding education as a student at Hogwarts. After researching the cases and reading all the documentation, some of it Harry realized had been quite justified, but here and there he'd found evidence of memories that had been erased or modified that in his opinion, his aunt had a right to keep. He was now looking for a way in which he might be able to restore them, and this is what he'd hoped to do in the event he ever managed to visit her again.
"Well," Harry began hesitantly. He had no intention of telling them all that though, so he made up something on the spot.
"It's Dudley's birthday next month, he turns eighteen which means for a muggle he becomes an adult." Harry shrugged. "It's rather a big deal, so I thought I should get him something." He invented wildly. In reality he'd had no intension of doing any such thing, but there it was and Hermione immediately grabbed hold of it like no one else could.
"Oh Harry, that is a wonderful idea! It would be a great way to try to patch things up with your family," she gushed excitedly. "I expect they'll have a party. My muggle cousins did."
Harry shrugged. "I guess."
"Are you going to take Ginny with you?" Ron asked obviously not realizing what he was saying.
"To a muggle party?" Ginny asked curiously wondering what that might be like.
"Don't get too excited Gin," Harry told her. "I probably won't be invited. I just thought I'd drop in un-announced and hope for the best." He shrugged. It was as good of a plan as any and as he'd thought of it on the spur of the moment he actually didn't think it was half bad.
"What are you going to get him?" Ron asked thinking of the abundance of electrical items he'd seen in Dudley's room.
"I dun know. I thought I'd just go shopping and see what grabs me," Harry said.
"Well you should take Dad with you," Ron said. "He'd love that."
"Yeah I should. He probably would," Harry agreed.
"And, you'll have to visit Gringotts first," Hermione said reasonably, thinking out loud.
Harry blanched at the reference. "I doubt they'd let me back in Hermione," he said uncomfortably. "In fact, that was something I've been meaning to talk over with Bill."
Ron squinted at him. "What? Why?" he asked.
"Well," Harry began. "We did do rather a lot of damage last time we were there."
"Not us mate, it was that dragon," Ron said firmly.
"No Harry is right Ron, we did help it out quite a bit," Hermione said. She sighed. "I hope it got away. I hate to think of a creature like that being forced back down there."
"You sound like Hagrid Hermione," Harry grinned. "Think we should have given it to him as a pet do you?"
"Well, no," Hermione said seriously. "I mean it would have done a lot of damage to the grounds, and it's fairly dangerous to have around students."
"But when has that ever stopped Hagrid?" Harry asked trying to maintain an innocent expression on his face while exchanging conspiratorial looks with Ron.
"Well a dragon is hardly better than a skrewt," Hermione began.
Ron nearly choked on his lunch. "How do you work that out?" he demanded. "Those skrewts were foul."
"Well yes they were," Hermione conceded, "but the dragon was blind. I mean you have to feel sorry for it a bit."
Harry and Ron exchanged an incredulous look and started laughing. It was so infectious a sound that soon Ginny and Hermione were laughing with them. Mrs. Weasley just looked on with amusement wondering what it was about a blind dragon and Hagrid's illegal skrewts that they found so funny. She watched with a smile on her face as the four young people struggled to catch their breath as they stopped.
"As you were saying Harry?" Ginny said. "Do you think there will be a problem for you at Gringotts?"
"Well, I was wondering if I might have to pay a fine or something to, you know help pay for the damages?" Harry suggested.
"Don't even suggest that mate," Ron told him. "If those goblins hear you say that they'll take every last knut you have in your vault."
"I would encourage caution it that area Harry," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.
"Well I do feel a bit responsible," Harry told them.
"No more than us mate," Ron assured him.
"But it was my idea to go there," Harry pointed out.
"We had to," Hermione reminded him. "It wasn't like we could just go to the Lestrange's house, knock on the door and say 'Excuse me, but do you think you could get that horocrux out of your vault and give it to us? Oh and by the way we're going to destroy it so we can eliminate your master while we're at it.' I don't think that approach would have worked out all that well, do you?"
"Well no," Harry conceded. "We couldn't have done that. But still it was my idea."
"You knew where it was!" Hermione objected.
"Yeah, you're the one who figured that out," Ron agreed. "We didn't. If we had, of course…"
"Of course you'd have known that we had to break into the securest wizarding establishment there is, break into someone's vault, grab the thing and get out again in one piece?" Harry finished for him.
"Well yeah, something like that," Ron agreed.
Ginny watched the trio with rapt attention as she watched them remembering. Every now and then something like this happened to bring out details of the events that had been part of the story she'd heard Harry tell nearly three weeks ago. She glanced at her mother who had noticed that too.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley asked when they'd fallen silent for a time. "Is there anything else you'd like to do this summer?"
"Visit Teddy," Harry said immediately once he'd swallowed his mouth full. "And at some point I need to look into the house situation I suppose."
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Weasley asked suspiciously. "You don't need to leave. You know you are welcome to stay here."
Harry smiled at her. Right now this was great. It was just the right place to be while the wizarding world picked up the pieces and prepared to move forward again. But Harry could see a day not far off on the horizon when he'd have out grown more than the need for an occasional visit to the Burrow. Not this summer perhaps, maybe not even this year, but soon. Definitely before Ginny finished school. Which reminded him; there was one more thing he wanted to do, and this thing he was fairly certain Mrs. Weasley would approve of.
"I got a notice from the Ministry yesterday asking me for the status for Grimmauld Place. They are trying to set the tax rate against it and needed to know if I planned for it to be occupied," Harry explained. "Then there's my mum and dad's place. It's got monument status at the moment, but I never took care of having the title transferred to me after I came of age last summer, so I need to take care of that. I'll probably keep it that way though, so it shouldn't be too hard."
"I see," Mrs. Weasley said a bit sadly.
She still tended to think of Harry as that little lost boy she'd first encountered him as at the train station. But clearly he was grown now, had taken on and was comfortably wearing an adult's responsibilities. He did have a house to go to, if not a home. In the post-Voldemort world, once Ron was gone back to school, there was absolutely no reason for him to stay here, except perhaps for Ginny. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Harry reached over and patted her hand where it lay on the table.
"If it's alright with you though, I thought I'd like to stay here for the summer. I need to study for my NEWT exams in the fall, and take care of all that."
"You're taking them in the Fall?" Hermione exclaimed. "Without taking the classes?"
And Harry knew from experience that in Hermione's opinion this just wasn't the proper way to do it at all.
"Well yeah, I mean Professor McGonagall talked to me before we left. She said she'd arrange it if I wanted. I've thought about, and I think I do feel that would be best."
"Why?" Hermione demanded.
Harry looked at his two best friends wondering how he could explain. "Because first of all I've already got my NEWT in Defense Against the Dark Arts," he began.
"You do?" Ron asked in surprise.
"Yes. Professor McGonagall questioned me after our meeting a couple of weeks ago and decided that the mission I was given by Professor Dumbledore last year qualified as a special school assignment. She's arranged it with the school governors to accept my performance in lieu of sitting for the formal exam. They decided that figuring out the riddle Dumbledore left us qualified for an Acceptable. Destroying all the horocruxes gives us all an Exceeds Expectations. Finding a way to survive all of it – and defeating Voldemort too I guess, well she's given me an Outstanding mark in that subject," Harry explained. He frowned slightly. "I though she'd talked to you about this too."
"Well she did," Ron told him. "About the horocruxes anyway. I'm good with an E, but Hermione thinks she wants to take the classes anyway."
"Hermione," Harry said in disbelief. "I know you like school but isn't that bit …well …excessive? When you've already qualified in the subject?"
"But Harry, there is so much more to learn," she said pleadingly as if hoping he might agree with her.
"Hermione, you need to think of the other students," Ron scolded. "With you in the class you'll just mess up the curve."
"Yeah, that's really not fair," Ginny put in. "I mean I hope they don't put you in any of my classes."
Hermione frowned looking distinctly put out.
"Cheer up Hermione," Harry told her. "That's the only subject we all qualified for an NEWT in. Professor Flitwick is going to tutor me this summer in Charms and I've asked if I can do potions more or less on my own."
"How?" Hermione said.
"Well if Professor Slughorn could assign potions to me by owl. I could do them and send back my samples the same way. It'll take a bit longer than the charms but I should be ready for the exam sometime this fall."
"Can I do it with you Harry?" Ron asked. "I hate the idea of going back to school."
"You do?" Hermione asked looking at him sadly.
"Hermione, you know I do," Ron told her seriously. "I'm not like you. I'm no good at school."
"You could be if you applied yourself Ron," Hermione told him earnestly.
Ron stared at her incredulously. "You know I only got through sixth year because you were helping me. I'm rubbish at school, so who knows? Maybe I'm good at something else? I thought maybe it's time to try something different to find out."
"Like what?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.
"I dun know yet Mum. I'm still trying to work that out," Ron explained.
"I want my children finishing school," Mrs. Weasley insisted.
"Well yeah, I'd like to get my NEWTs, but like Harry said it'd just be weird trying to go back to Hogwarts after all of this."
"You know, people might stare at you Ron," Harry said with a smirk. He was quite unsympathic to this really given that he'd been stared at all six years he'd been there. Ron just shrugged. "Send an owl to Slughorn," Harry advised. "If he agrees then I'm okay with you doing them with me."
"You've not brewing potions in my kitchen," Mrs. Weasley warned them.
"No ma'm," Harry said. "I thought perhaps we could use Grimmauld Place. I mean we could hardly do anything to make that house worse than it is."
Hermione was counting on her fingers now. "That still leaves Transfiguration if you want to qualify for Auror training,"
"I'm tutoring with McGonagall," Harry told her. "She's meeting me on weekends in the fall I think."
"I thought Auror training began in the middle of September," Hermione said.
"It does, but the first six weeks are basic review. I can do it at the same time, Kingsley said."
Hermione frowned. "I still don't understand why she didn't just tell you to come back to school."
"She told me could if I wanted," Harry said. "But to be fair Hermione, after all that's happened, I actually doubt I could get it done at school. I mean it was bad enough being the Chosen One, but now, after Voldemort… well it would be worse than it was when I was The Boy That Lived."
And to Harry's surprise Mrs. Weasley patted his arm as though in agreement. "You've captured the public eye Harry," she said. "Everyone will be watching you. And it is hard enough doing your exams without being under a microscope while you do it. I'm pleased to see that Minerva understands that and has found a way for you to work around it."
Everyone fell silent after that. Ron and Hermione went back to talking about Australia after lunch. Harry and Ginny thought about going flying, but settled for a walk on the grounds instead.
The two young people stepped out through the back door hand in hand, but after everything Harry had said over lunch they were finding it much more difficult talk together than they had. So instead they just walked, silently. Once they were a bit away from the house, Harry slipped his arm around Ginny's waist pulling her closer and she leaned against him slightly as they made their way down the gentle hill towards the orchard where they had kissed that morning. Harry paused slightly when they reached the place but Ginny pulled away and shook her head.
"Not here," she said.
Harry frowned. "Really? Ginny, are you mad at me?"
"No Harry. I guess I was just hoping you'd be going back to school with me this fall," she said.
Harry sighed. He should have expected this. "I did consider it seriously," he said. "And you are the reason why I did, but Ginny I think my being there and being you boyfriend would probably make things more difficult for you."
"And you think my being away from you for another year is going to be easier do you?" she snapped.
"No, of course not, but it doesn't have to be like it was last year. I can write to you, see you on weekends. I'll be at Hogwarts for my exams and to do parts of my tutoring. Professor McGonagall says they're planning a Yule Ball this year and students will be allowed to invite non-students as guests. I'd really like if you asked me to go to it with you," he said. "And we'll be together lots on holidays. Besides, it's not like I won't be in school Ginny. The Auror training is going to be hard. I expect it will take a lot of my time, which is good because I'll be finished with a lot of it by a year from next June, and then you'll be out of school too."
Ginny was still frowning, but her expression had softened just a little bit. "And when were you planning to tell me all of this?" she asked.
"Well I'm still trying to work out bits," Harry admitted. "I mean I made it sound all solid in front of your mum, but I actually need you help in figuring out some of it."
"Like which bit?" she asked.
"The potions bit," he said with a grimace. "I hear you're really good at potions."
"I do okay," she said. "But to hear Professor Slughorn talk about it, it sounds like you are too."
"I had a bit of help with all of that actually," Harry confessed. "Hermione thought I was cheating."
"The Prince's book?" Ginny asked.
"How'd you know about that?" Harry asked.
"Ron told me." Ginny's frown now told Harry that she was concentrating. "Come on," she said pulling on his hand. "Let's walk."
"Where?"
"Down by the pond. It's easier to think down there."
"So what kind of help are you looking for with potions?" she asked after a bit.
"Well I meant it when I suggested we'd be using Grimmauld Place. But the thing is, that house was full of dark magic just from the time Sirius lived there. And, since Ron, Hermione and I left, I heard the Death Eaters got in so I expect that most of it is cursed," Harry explained.
"How am I supposed to help with that?" Ginny asked.
"You could help me clean it out this summer," Harry suggested.
Ginny frowned. "You mean by magic," she concluded.
"Well yes," Harry admitted. "I could cover for you. I doubt we could do much with it the muggle way."
Ginny's expression lightened just a little. "I wonder if that's true," she mused. "Harry, do you suppose if you managed to fix your aunts memory she'd be willing to help you? I mean she is really good at cleaning and things."
At that Harry openly laughed. "Ginny, my aunt doesn't like me. In fact she can barely stand the sight of me. I was only hoping that if I restored her memories to her, she might at least be willing to talk to me."
"Well what about your cousin?" Ginny asked.
"Who, Dudley?" Harry said.
Ginny nodded.
Harry shook his head. "Some how I just can't see him at Grimmauld Place Gin. Besides, can you imagine what Mrs. Black would say?"
Ginny's face brightened with a giggle. "She probably would scream just a bit."
"Just a bit," Harry agreed. "You know what though," Harry said thoughtfully. "He is really strong though, and a demolition project is probably something he'd quite enjoy. I wonder if him and his gang could tear down that wall her portrait is on."
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"Not really. I'm sure it was a really dumb idea," Harry said, but try as he might the idea wouldn't quite leave him for the rest of the day.
