It was Friday morning, and I was a nervous wreck. Because we were missing the entire next week of school, both Ginny and I were attending classes today, but it didn't stop me from worrying about tonight. Hermione had pouted when I put my foot down about the silly tradition of the groom not seeing the bride the day of the wedding. But really, we weren't getting married until tonight; there was no way I could go nearly an entire day without contact with Ginny. Plus, it would certainly cause suspicion among the students if we suddenly were avoiding each other. I knew that we wouldn't be able to keep our marriage a secret once it happened, but I was hoping no one found out about it until after the fact. There was always the fear that something could go wrong, and I didn't want the added worry of an attack, or, even worse, the press. Ginny, Hermione, and Luna were instructed to arrive at the Burrow immediately after their last class so that they could get ready. I, along with the rest of my friends, wouldn't be arriving until just before the regular dinner time.
It was just my luck that I had Potions today, which meant Slytherins. Not looking forward to it at all, I made my way reluctantly into the Potions lab. Knowing I would be absolutely rubbish at everything today, I let Hermione and Ron work together and worked on my potion on my own.
I wonder what Ginny's dress is going to look like? I know that Muggle brides traditionally get married in white, but Ginny despises white, and she had promised me there would be some red on her gown. My mind drifted as I imagined her in a fire red dress walking down an aisle towards me.
"Harry! You need to add the nettle needles before the spider legs!" Hermione hissed at me.
I looked down, startled, to see that I was indeed about to mess up my entire potion. With a grateful nod to her, I added the correct ingredients.
I hadn't told Ginny where we were going on our honeymoon, despite her relentless questions, nor had I mentioned that it was going to be longer than she expected. Last night I had told her that I had already packed her bag. That had caused quite a scene. She had shrieked at me for going through her personal belongings without permission and told me I couldn't possibly know what to pack. I smiled at the memory of her arms breaking out in angry flames. After she had calmed down a bit, I had explained that I hadn't really packed for her. I told her that Remus and I had went shopping and let the sales lady pick out things for her, and then said that I had Hermione check to make sure everything was right. Hermione had even handed me a small bag earlier that day to add to Ginny's things. Ginny had stared at me in confusion, processing this, while I had wondered about her reaction. She wasn't usually possessive about her things with me. Did she have something special she didn't want me to see? I assumed this was the case, as this morning she had handed me a small bag, told me to pack it and not open it under penalty of bat bogies.
I was scared to death of those bogies and had packed it without another word.
"Harry! Did you forget to stir three times after adding the green fluxweed?"
I looked down at my potion in confusion, noting that it was a strange violet colour instead of the pale blue it was supposed to be. I looked up at Hermione and shrugged. She rolled her eyes at me before returning to her own potion. Ron laughed and mouthed "whipped" at me. He had been remarkably nicer to me since the fight in Diagon Alley. I hoped this continued.
I wondered how things would change after Ginny and I got married. I don't remember there ever being a married couple at school while I had been here, though Dumbledore had assured me that we wouldn't be the first, or even the youngest. I hoped people wouldn't treat Ginny badly. For the past month she had gotten evil looks from many of the girls in school, and Ginny had told me that this was because they were jealous of her. I didn't really understand why. If people were jealous of anyone it should be of me. Ginny had patted my hand and told me I just didn't understand. Hopefully, once word got out that we were married, all those annoying people would leave us alone. I scowled as I thought of Dean Thomas. While he hadn't approached the two of us since Ginny set him in his place, he still stared at her hungrily every night. I really wished that he would leave us alone after this. It's not like he had a hope of getting her after tonight. Hermione had explained to me how, unlike in the Muggle world, there was no divorce among wizards. Some wizards chose to separate, but they could never dissolve their marriages. I thought this was odd, but it didn't bother me. I had no intention of ever giving Ginny up.
"Harry! NO!"
I looked up, confused, only to have my cauldron explode in my face. I blinked past the smoke and acrid smell. Without conscious thought, a steady stream of air cleaned the air around me and drove the foul smell out the door. When I looked up, Slughorn was staring at me in shock (probably because I had never messed up so badly in his class before), Hermione was shaking her head in pity (because she undoubtedly knew what I was thinking about), and half the class—Ron included—was on the floor laughing.
"Mr. Potter," Slughorn began after shaking himself slightly. "I think it is probably best if you get yourself cleaned up."
I nodded and trudged out of the classroom. I didn't want to be there anyway. I wind travelled back to our room, not wanting anyone else to see me looking as I did, and immediately headed into the shower to get cleaned up. I hope the rest of the day went by easier.
Things didn't get better. I screwed up the practical in every one of my classes today, and couldn't remember learning a thing. My last class of the day was Transfiguration, and Professor McGonagall took pity on me and told me to just sit and read in the back of the classroom. Of course, she was the only one of my teachers who knew what was going on. After class was over, Hermione bid me a hasty goodbye and ran off. Neville and Ron each took one of my arms and guided me back to the Common Room. They sat me down in a seat and left me to my own devices as they played a game of chess together.
So now I'm sitting here, staring into the fire, desperately missing Ginny and trying not to have a mild panic attack. What if something goes wrong tonight? What if the Minister finds another way to prevent our marriage? What if Rita Skeeter finds out and is able to sneak in? What if Voldemort learns of it and sends Death Eaters to attack? It would be the perfect target: Ginny, me, and Dumbledore all in one location and distracted with other things.
"Harry! Stop freaking out over there. Everything will be fine."
I look up and meet Neville's eyes, slightly shocked that my shy and quiet friend is reassuring me. "I can't help it. I'm a nervous wreck."
He smiled slightly. "We know. Our pieces keep on getting knocked over in the wind."
I looked around, startled, to discover that there was indeed a fairly brisk wind blowing around the common room. It seemed oddly empty, and the few people who remained glared at me as they struggled to hold their books open to the correct page. "Oh."
"Why don't you go relieve some of your nerves, mate." Ron was smirking at me.
I nodded dumbly. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea."
I walked stiffly towards the window that overlooked the grounds, climbed up onto the ledge, and jumped out. There were several shrieks behind me, but the wind caught me almost immediately. A bit worried that I didn't presently have enough control to not damage the castle, I waited until I was over the centre of the lake, several hundred feet in the air, before letting go.
The wind swirled tightly around me, and the air was charged with electricity. The storm around me was magnificent, and the longer I let it go on the calmer I felt. I experimented with water spouts from the lake, creating patterns out of them and probably scaring the occupants of the lake. Eventually, the storm had calmed to a light rain and the sun was beginning to peak back through the clouds. With a deep sigh, I was back in the centre of the Common Room, dripping wet and with torn robes.
Ron broke out laughing at the sight of me, but I just glared at him and made my way up to my room to take a shower. It was almost time to head to the Burrow.
I was in Ron's room at the Burrow, pacing nervously. I had my robes on, and Molly had given up on my hair. Twenty minutes ago she had bustled out of the room to help Ginny, giving me strict instructions not to leave until someone came for me. A knock came at the door and I looked up as Tonks stuck her head in.
"Mind if we come in, Harry?"
I shook my head, and she stepped into the room, followed by Remus.
"How are you holding up?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I'm a wreck."
He chuckled at me. "Your dad was the same way on the day he married your mother. He kept on sending me to check to make sure that she hadn't come to her senses and run off." He came up and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure about this, Harry?"
"Oh, come on, Remus!" Tonks elbowed him out of the way. "Can't you see the boy is arse over elbow in love with her?" She turned to me and waggled her eyebrows. "You ready for tonight, Harry?"
I blushed and looked at the floor. "Of course, being with Ginny is amazing." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I realised what I had admitted to and I looked back up with large eyes to see Tonks bent over laughing and Remus staring at me in shock. "I mean… I'm sure it will be amazing… not that I would know, of course…"
Tonks straightened up and threw an arm around my shoulder. "No way out of it now, ducky. We both heard you. Seems you've already been getting your groove on."
Remus seemed to have recovered from his shock and shook his head at me. "And here I was all prepared to offer manly advice about tonight."
I flushed again. "That won't be necessary."
He laughed at me, and I scowled. Tonks hit us both across the back of our heads. "If you two are done being all awkward, it's time to go get Harry married."
My breathing started to pick up, and I could feel the wind around me. Tonks looked at me with sparkling eyes. She hooked her arm through my mine and started to lead me down the stairs. As we made our way outside, I looked around at the decorations that Molly and the girls had put up. The entire back garden was illuminated with twinkling lights. There were about twenty seats where our friends and family where already seated. Down the centre of the seats was a walkway that was scattered with rose petals leading to a large arch that was covered in flowers and vines. Standing under the arch was Professor Dumbledore. Tonks and Remus walked up with me to the front. Remus gave me a firm handshake, and then pulled me into a hug; Tonks patted my cheek and leaned up to place a kiss on it, then the two of them went and sat in the first row opposite Molly and the seat reserved for Arthur.
I took my place and tried my hardest to wait patiently. I could hear some kind of delicate music playing, but couldn't bring myself to pay enough attention to it to determine what it was or where it was coming from. All my attention was focused on the back door of the Burrow, waiting for the moment when Ginny would come out. My nerves were killing me, and so it came as no surprise when Professor Dumbledore leaned over to whisper to me. "Try and calm yourself, Harry, the wind is getting a bit high and she hasn't even come out yet."
I nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to force my emotions down. This proved impossible to do given the circumstances, so I settled for asking the wind to move a bit farther away. Figuring I needed an outlet for my nerves I set it to traversing around the edge of the Burrow, looking for any sign of an intruder.
I pulled my attention back to the door, and sucked in a deep breath as Luna stepped out of the door on Neville's arm. She was wearing her golden robes that matched the threading of Neville's vest. She beamed at me, and Neville gave me a wink as they walked down the aisle and took their places. I returned my attention back to the door and smiled as Hermione stepped through on Ron's arm. Ron was looking down at her in awe, and I had to suppress a chuckle. Hermione looked wonderful; her hair smoothed out and pulled back to fall in curls down her back. When she reached the front, Hermione went up on her toes and planted a kiss on my cheek, then took her place. Ron stood in front of me and offered his hand, a strange smile on his face. Then he moved to stand by my side.
Knowing that it was my Ginny's turn, my hands clenched at my sides, and I closed my eyes briefly to try and centre myself. I opened them back up in just enough time to see the door open for the third time. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Ginny was standing there, smiling happily on her father's arm. Her dress was cream coloured with gold and red accents. There was a gold band that crossed just above her chest, leaving her shoulders and arms bare. It was tight down to her stomach, where it flared out into a large skirt. All along the skirt were intricate red and gold flowers, and the bottom of the dress had a thick red band around it. I looked back up and met her shining eyes. She had left her hair free, and the wild curls fell around her shoulders, flames dancing in their depths.
I heard the music change, and around me the audience gasped as two small rivers of flames danced up either side of the aisle until they reached me. They wrapped around my body, infusing me with the feeling of Ginny, and I shut my eyes briefly in pure joy. I opened them back up to see Ginny and her dad start to walk down the aisle. I beamed at her as she got closer to me, and needing to release some of my excitement, I tried something new. Ginny was staring right at me, but she looked up as her mother let out an audible gasp. Framing our arch in the sky was a rainbow. Ginny returned her eyes to mine and smiled.
It seemed to take her ages to reach me, but when she finally did, Arthur turned to me. He held out his hand and shook mine. "Take care of my little girl, Harry."
I thought it was odd that so many people seemed to be touching me today. I knew I was still shocking them, and yet they didn't seem to mind. Huh. "Yes, sir."
He turned to Ginny, placed a kiss on her cheek, and took her hand to place it into mine before stepping back to sit next to his wife.
The moment Ginny's hand was placed into mine it felt like my entire body came alive. I always felt complete when I touched her for the first time after we had been separated awhile, but this was so much more. We stared at each other for I don't know how long until Professor Dumbledore gently cleared his throat, reminding us we needed to turn towards him.
He smiled brightly at the two of us, and started speaking. I didn't pay attention to his words. I was aware enough to say my part when he asked for it, and I was thrilled when Ginny whispered her quiet "I do," but most of the time during the ceremony was spent staring down into her eyes. She was so beautiful. When he pronounced us man and wife, and told me I could kiss my bride, I could feel something building inside of me. I pulled her to me and slipped my arms around her small waist, and lifted her up to kiss her.
Some small part of me knew that we must be completely encased in flames, as I could feel their wonderful heat around me, and I was fairly certain we were floating some distance above the ground, but none of this truly mattered. The only thing that mattered was the small slip of a girl in my arms and the glorious feelings that were coursing through me as we kissed.
Ron Weasley didn't know how he felt about his best mate marrying his fifteen year-old sister. He was perfectly aware that they were in love with each other; it was hard not to be. The way that Harry looked at Ginny left no doubt in anyone's mind that his entire existence was tied up in her. In fact, Ron had been shocked by the changes in Harry since this summer. It seemed like everything that used to be important to him took a backseat to Ginny. The boy who until this summer shied away from any type of physical contact now craved it as absolutely necessary. But that was nothing compared to how Ginny had changed. It was subtle at first, and Ron hadn't noticed for a few days, but when he did it had shocked him completely.
Ginny had always been a very independent person. He remembered when they were kids and he had always been tasked with taking care of her; Ginny had never liked that. If she thought you were trying to baby her she would make your life hell—he knew this from personal experience. She wouldn't let anyone take care of her, and adamantly maintained that she was perfectly capable of doing so herself. Ron was convinced that this was why her first year was so hard on her. To have someone forcibly take control of you would be hard on anyone, but it was much worse on the fiercely independent Ginny. It had taken nearly two years for her fire to return, but it had, and Ron had been happy to see it.
Ron knew that Ginny had been in love with Harry for years. Or, at least, he knew she had a crush on him. It didn't really ever dawn on him that maybe she really did love Harry, instead of the Boy-Who-Lived. But he had been fairly confident that Harry hadn't felt the same way about her, until he saw the way things changed this summer, and then he began to doubt his assumption. He supposed it was possible that it was all as a result of their mysterious bond, but it didn't seem that way.
Ron had never been as shocked as when Harry appeared at the Burrow, completely helpless, over his baby sister. And then, to make matters even more unusual, the fiercely independent Ginny had given up nearly all of her privacy and freedom to take care of Harry, and done so without complaint. Ron put it down to the newness of their situation, and moved on. But when school started it was just the same. He knew that Harry would get sick if he didn't touch Ginny fairly regularly, but what amazed him was that Ginny was so accommodating of that fact. She went out of her way to make sure that Harry was never in pain.
Ron soon came to realise that while Harry may have a strong physical need to be near Ginny, Ginny seemed to have an equally strong emotional need to help him and support him. Coming from a girl that had often loudly proclaimed her distaste for women who gave up their careers and ambitions for their husbands, this new attitude was astounding.
And so it was that he found himself standing as best man at their wedding. At first he had been suspicious of their need to marry so soon, but Hermione had sat down with him and talked things through, and it was starting to make more sense. They needed each other in ways he couldn't even begin to understand. Of course, that didn't stop him from being upset whenever he thought about the two of them engaging in… marital relations. But it had only taken one look at his sister's radiant face this evening for him to understand just how happy she was, and so he had taken Hermione's arm and walked her down the aisle so they could witness as two of the most important people in his life were joined together.
Ron had to fight not to chuckle during the ceremony. He honestly didn't think Harry had heard a word that Dumbledore had said. Instead, his best mate had spent the entire time staring down at Ginny in awe. Ron had grumbled to himself as Dumbledore gave Harry permission to kiss her. He never did like seeing them kiss. But when Harry reached for her and wrapped her in his arms, he took a step back in awe. This was much more than a kiss.
It wasn't unusual for Harry and Ginny to float when they kissed, or for small streams of fire to run around them. Ron had seen this happen enough in the past few months that it no longer shocked him. Much. This was completely different. Ron couldn't even see them anymore, as they were spiralling up into the air surrounded by a twisting whirlwind of fire. As Ron stared up at them, he came to realise that maybe some things were just meant to be, no matter how uncomfortable they made him.
I don't know how long I kissed my new wife before I became aware that there were a lot of people waiting for us and we should probably get down there and celebrate with them. Not that I wanted to, mind you. I pulled back from Ginny's mouth and cupped her face in my hands. She looked radiant.
"I think we got a bit carried away, love."
She giggled. "But it was so much fun!"
"I know, but we probably need to get back down there."
She pouted at me. "If you insist." Her hand fisted in the collar of my vest and pulled me down to her again. "Just one last kiss to tide me over until tonight."
I was all too happy to oblige, but I managed to keep my head about me so that we didn't get lost in each other again. With great reluctance, I slowly brought us back to the ground as Ginny restrained her fire. Neither of us could completely contain our joy, however, and there was still a healthy breeze playing around us and fire dancing in her hair as we turned to look at our friends and family. They all had rather amused looks on their faces, and I shrugged. I couldn't help it. I caught Remus' eye first, and he was struggling to contain his laughter; Tonks didn't have the same success at his side.
An amused chuckle came from behind us, and Dumbledore announced, "May I present Mr. and Mrs. Harry James Potter."
The small audience cheered, and I swore the twins were catcalling. I beamed down at Ginny and offered her my arm. "Shall we, love."
Her tiny hand snaked into the crook of my arm as she smiled. "Yes, Harry."
I led her down the aisle, meeting the eyes of my new family as we passed. Ron was shaking his head and rolling his eyes. The twins were still pretending to catcall and cheer us on. Molly and Arthur were looking at us with strange expressions: Arthur looked like he couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad and Molly had tears running down her face as she beamed at us. Charlie was smiling at us softly, and when he caught my eye he waggled his eyebrows up and down, causing me to blush. Bill was staring at Ginny, and I couldn't really blame him; she was beautiful today. I imagine it was hard for him to see his baby sister grow up. Just before we reached the house I was shocked to lock eyes with Percy. I hadn't realised he had even consented to come; truthfully, I hadn't even known he had been invited. His mouth was pursued tightly, and his eyes were narrowed at us, but he gave me a curt nod in greeting; I figured that was as good as it was going to get.
The next two hours passed in a strange blur that made me very glad Ginny and I had requested a simple wedding; this was crazy enough for me. Molly had cooked a feast, and despite the fact that both Ginny and I only picked at it, it tasted marvellous. Dinner was a loud and raucous affair, and nearly everyone took the opportunity to stand up and embarrass us in some way before toasting our happiness. That seemed a strange tradition to me. The bizarre little photographer we hired was constantly hovering around, and he frequently demanded that Ginny and I come with him for a seemingly endless series of pictures. I knew they were important to Ginny, so I smiled and nodded and didn't say a thing. There was a table off to the side that was piled high with presents, and I lost count of how many times Molly had caught Ron and the twins trying to open or do something to them. More music had been piped in for a handful of dances, and Tonks took great joy in pretending to act the part of the mother of the groom.
I knew this night was important to our family, but the longer I sat there the more impatient I got. All I wanted to do was get out of here. I kept pulling Ginny closer and closer to me, and as we sat at the table my hand that had started on her knee was moving dangerously high the longer we sat there. At about 11 at night, I had had enough. Leaning down to Ginny, I whispered, "Please, can we get out of here?"
She looked up at me and smiled gently. "Yes, love. Let me just say goodbye to my parents and then we can leave."
I smiled gratefully at her and stood up, offering her my hand. We made our way over to Molly and Arthur, who were sitting with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid, and chatting away. To my great amusement, I saw that Molly looked slightly tipsy.
"Mum, Dad, Harry and I are going to head out now."
Molly looked up at us. "Oh! Are you sure dear?"
Ginny nodded. "I think we're both a little tired and needing to get away."
Molly's smile took on a knowing quality that made me slightly nervous. "Alright, dear." She stood up and gave me a bone-crushing hug. "Take care of my baby, Harry."
"I will, Molly."
She patted my cheek. "I know you will. You're a good lad." She let me go and turned to her daughter. They hugged for an inordinately long amount of time, and Molly whispered something that I couldn't hear in Ginny's ear, causing her to burst out into giggles and nod her head.
"Harry." I turned to Arthur and shook his offered hand. "All the arrangements are made for you two?"
"Yes, sir. Remus knows how to get a hold of us if you need anything."
He nodded. "Take good care of my princess."
"Yes, sir."
Molly finally released Ginny, and Ginny turned to hug her father. Then she stepped back and took my hand. "We'll be back on…"
I interrupted her. "We'll be back." Arthur gave me a knowing look and Molly winked at me. Ginny turned her head and looked at me curiously, but I just smiled at her. "Let me go get our things and then we'll leave."
I left her side and walked quickly to the house. Our bag was packed and already shrunk and hidden in my pocket, but I didn't want anyone to know that. Knowing Fred and George, I had conjured a dummy bag which was currently sitting in the kitchen. I didn't trust them not to try anything. As I walked into the kitchen, I was met with the sight of all six Weasley brothers waiting for me.
"Gentlemen."
"Harry." Bill seemed to be the spokesperson; Percy was hiding in the corner and Ron was looking at me with a slightly amused expression as if he was only here because he had to be. "We'd like a quick word with you before you leave."
"Yes?"
"Ron assures us that your intentions towards Ginny are honourable, and we believe him." He shot a glare towards Percy. "Mostly. But she's still our baby sister, our fifteen year-old baby sister, so we just want to make some things clear." I looked at him calmly, waiting for him to go on. "You ever hurt her, and, I don't care how much power you have, we will kill you."
I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "Of course."
Charlie stepped up to stand by Bill. "And you had better treat her like the princess she is, Potter. She deserves the best."
I met his eyes head on. "Always."
I turned to see if Percy had anything to say, but he was still sulking in the corner, so I moved my gaze to the twins. They were grinning at me, and Fred handed over the bag I had left in the kitchen. "We may have… added a few surprises for the two of you."
George grinned evilly. "Yes, some of the things you had packed for our baby sister to wear seemed highly inappropriate, so we may have stepped in to insure her modesty."
I smirked at them, took the bag, and threw it directly into the fire, where it burst into flames and quickly vanished.
"Oi!" Fred yelled.
"What did you do that for?" George asked.
"Did you really think I would leave our luggage where you two miscreants could get to it?"
They stared at me for several seconds then burst into identical grins. "Good one, Harry!" They said together.
I turned my head to look at Ron. "Did you have something to say as well?"
He grinned at me. "Nah, I'm good. Just make sure to get back on time. Hermione will have your head if you miss any classes."
I grinned. "Actually, we won't be back for a week, but Hermione already knows. She helped me pack." Ron's jaw dropped open. "This had been lovely, gentlemen, but I have a bride to get back to."
I turned and headed out the door, leaving six Weasleys staring at my back. Still smirking, I walked over to Ginny's side. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist and leaned down to plant a kiss on her neck before asking, "Are you ready to go?"
She turned her head slightly to meet my eyes. "Always."
I took off my robe, as it would look out of place in the Muggle world, pulled my cloak out of my pocket and wrapped it around both of us, and with a whisper of wind we were gone.
It was a good thing we had worn the cloak. We arrived in a busy lobby, surrounded by Muggles. I pulled her quickly over to a dark corner and hastily folded the cloak up before pulling out our luggage, which Remus had charmed to expand back to its original size once I removed it from my pocket. Then I took her hand and led her back out to the large desk where we could check in.
"Hello!" The exotic looking girl behind the counter greeted us. Her eyes grew large as she looked at me, and her smile grew. "May I help you, sir?"
"Yes. We're here to check in. My name is Harry Potter."
She beamed at me before turning her attention to the computer screen in front of her. She clicked on it a few times. "Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Potter for one of our private villas, here through the 20th of October."
"Harry!"
I turned and grinned down at Ginny. "Surprise!"
"But… how…"
"Dumbledore's wedding gift."
She beamed happily, and threaded her hands in my hair to pull me down for a kiss. I rather reluctantly pulled back when I heard the girl in front of us clear her throat.
"If you would just sign here, Mr. Potter, everything else has already been taken care of."
She slid a sheet of paper and a pen over to me, which I quickly signed. Remus had arranged for a Muggle credit card for me for our trip, and I had already charged the room. She took the paper back and handed me two small electronic key cards and a map.
"Here are your keys. The resort is quite large, and we offer many different activities that you might be interested in. There is an information booklet in your room." She opened the map and pointed to it. "Your villa is right here. The beach attached is private, and as it is enclosed in a private cove you should be undisturbed there. It is not visible from the open sea." Ginny giggled by my side, and the girl winked at her. "Please let us know if there is anything at all we can do to make your stay here more enjoyable." She smiled at us. "I understand you are here on your honeymoon?"
"Yes."
"We offer our congratulations. We have provided a few complimentary details in your villa this evening to help you enjoy your stay."
I thanked her and picked our bag back up, leading Ginny out of the room. Once we were outside, she snuggled into my side. "Harry, this is marvellous. Thank you."
I grinned down at her. "It was Remus' idea. He knew we would want to be somewhere where no one would recognize us. This is an all Muggle island, and far enough away that we should be fine. Our villa has everything we should need for the next nine days, but there are also several things to do around the island if you want. Hermione made sure I had things packed to cover whatever you would like to do."
Ginny giggled softly. "You'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow. Tonight, I have plans for you, Mr. Potter."
"As you wish, Mrs. Potter."
Our villa was a small building painted a light green. I could hear the ocean, but the view was blocked by a large hedge; I smiled to myself at this as it meant we might be able to act out some of my best fantasies on our private beach. I opened the door and set the bag down in the hall inside, then turned and scooped Ginny up into my arms. "Muggles have a tradition where the groom carries the bride across the threshold."
She giggled again. "As long as you're carrying me to the bedroom."
"Don't you want the grand tour?"
"Tomorrow."
"Yes, dear."
Ginny had declared that clothes were highly overrated, and had burned them off of me whenever I tried to put them on in the last two days. I had laughed but indulged her, as I highly enjoyed the sight of her in a similar state of undress. We hadn't left the villa since we got here on Friday night, but we had by no means been lacking in things to entertain ourselves with. When I opened my eyes this morning, Monday, I decided we should probably get out and do something. While Ginny was asleep, I examined the book outlining all the various things to do on the island; I picked up the phone and spoke with the woman at the hotel front desk, and she said she would have everything arranged for me in an hour. Grinning, I headed over to our largely ignored suitcase and dug through it. Ginny was probably going to kill me for this, but I picked out her skimpiest bikini—a lovely red number—and a white sundress to go with it, then I headed over to the bed and sat by her side.
My fingers trailed along her neck as I whispered, "Ginny, wake up, love." She let out an exasperated noise and turned away from me, revealing the glorious curve of her spine. "We have to leave soon, love."
"I don't want to. Get back in bed."
I chuckled. "While that is a tempting prospect, I want to take you out today."
She groaned and turned back over so she could see me. "And why do you want to do something like that?"
"Because we are in a beautiful place and I want you to be able to experience it." I leaned down and kissed her for several long minutes before pulling back and standing up. With a grin, I held out her clothes; she eyed them and then turned her questioning gaze on me. "Put these on, then we'll grab breakfast before heading out."
She groaned, but sat up. Mumbling under her breath, she crawled out of bed and sauntered over to the loo, throwing me a look over her shoulder. "You should be so grateful I love you right now, Potter."
I smiled at her teasing, and then turned to find my own clothes and pull them on. The hostess had told me to wear a swim suit and light shirt, so I threw on a pair of green board shorts and a thin, button-up beige shirt. I dug out sandals for Ginny and I, and sat to wait for her.
She emerged from the loo ten minutes later, looking radiant in her light dress, which was see-through enough for me to make out the shape of the red bikini underneath. Her hair was flowing freely down her back in glorious curls. Smiling at her, I rose and went to her side. "You look marvellous."
She grinned up at me. "Is there a particular reason you wanted me to wear this today?"
I smirked. "I like you in red."
She laughed. "Yes, but you realize we are going out and so others will see me in it as well?"
I frowned at this. "Maybe you should keep your dress on all day."
"Not a chance."
I groaned. "Fine. Let them look; I get to take you home with me."
Her hands crept up my chest to my shoulders and she pulled herself up to whisper against my lips, "Yes, you do." She closed the small distance between us and kissed me.
With supreme effort, I pulled her away from me. "We're going to be late." She pouted at me. "I promise to make it up to you later. I held out my hand and produced a small vial of bright blue liquid.
"What's this?"
"The sun is really strong here, and both of us are fair-skinned. Since we can't legally use magic yet to perform a sun block charm, Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion instead. It should last all day."
She nodded and downed it quickly. "So what are we up to today?"
"We're going on a small day cruise around the island."
She beamed. "That sounds marvellous."
I grinned and offered her my hand. "Let's go. We have just enough time to eat something quick at the hotel before the trip leaves."
The walk up to the main hotel didn't take long, and we grabbed a quick breakfast in their main dining room, and then headed out to the dock where a small boat was waiting for us. The cruise I had booked for us was relatively small; there were only twenty guests and the crew on board. Soon we were out in the open water, and I was standing behind Ginny, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as she leaned against the rail and oohed and ahhed over the beautiful scenery. The morning was spent in this manner, simply enjoying the beauty around us.
Lunch was served on deck, and Ginny and I talked with an elderly couple who were on holiday here from some town in America called Madison. They told us how they had got sick of the cold weather in their home town and so were enjoying a short vacation. Lunch was over and I was laughing at one of their stories when I glanced over and noticed that Ginny's hair was starting to spark. Alarmed, I leaned over to her.
"You're starting to flame. Is everything all right, love?"
Her eyes closed briefly until the small flames died out, then she met my eyes. "Sorry, Harry. I'm just getting a little annoyed with some of the girls on this ship."
I frowned, confused. "Why?"
She raised one delicate eyebrow. "You haven't noticed the three giggling girls over there that have been ogling you all day?"
"No, love, just like you didn't notice the man behind you who has been trying to stare a hole in your dress."
She giggled. "Maybe it's time we show them just how in love we are?"
I grinned. "I like this idea. What did you have in mind?"
She turned and thanked the American couple, then took my hand and led me over to a lounge chair that was facing out over the open water. Her small hands went to the buttons of my shirt and undid them one by one before pushing it off my shoulders. She pointed to the chair and told me to sit, and then my mouth dropped open as she slowly pulled the dress over her head.
I nearly swallowed my tongue. "Gin…" I groaned. The bikini that had made me blush in the store looked sinfully delicious on her body, and I wanted nothing more than to tear it off of her.
She smirked down at me, then sauntered over and arranged herself across my lap. "You haven't kissed me in hours, Mr. Potter."
My fingers dug into her long hair and I pulled her closer. "What a horrible oversight. I'll rectify that immediately, Mrs. Potter."
I kissed her until I heard a quiet giggle next to me, and grudgingly pulled back. I turned to see the youngest member of our trip, a small girl that looked about ten, smiling widely at us and trying to hide her giggles behind her hand. I smiled at her. "Hello, there. I'm Harry and this is my wife, Ginny; what's your name?"
She giggled again. "I'm Emily." Her eyes darted between the two of us. "Did you just get married?"
Ginny smiled at her. "Yes, Emily, we did. Would you like to see my ring?" Emily nodded excitedly, and Ginny held out her left hand to showcase her trio of rings.
"Why do you have three?" Emily asked as she examined them closely.
"Because two just wasn't enough," I said. "I love her too much to be like everybody else."
"Oh!" Her eyes went wide as she looked at us. "Are you from England?"
"Yes. Where are you from, Emily?" Ginny asked.
"I'm from California."
"Well it's very nice to meet you, Emily."
Emily giggled and turned to run back to her parents; I watched her go. I turned back to see Ginny looking at me with a tender expression on her face.
"She was very cute."
I grinned. "Yes." I leaned in and nuzzled her neck. "But our little girls will be much cuter."
"And just how many little girls are you expecting me to produce?"
"As many as you'll give me."
"You do realize I'm probably doomed to only have boys. I am a Weasley, after all."
"No, you're a Potter. And that just means we'll have to keep trying."
Ginny's response was lost as a shout went up from the other side of the ship. "Dolphins!" Ginny's eyes went wide and she hopped off of me, pulling me along behind her as she hurried over to see.
We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the dolphins play around the boat. Ginny was fascinated by them, and I was fascinated by watching her; as far as I was concerned it was an ideal situation. When the boat docked back at the hotel, Ginny and I said goodbye to the other travellers; I was done sharing her for the day.
It was a beautiful evening, so I suggested a swim in the ocean. She smiled at me and agreed, but I was sure she knew I had ulterior motives. Those motives showed up about twenty minutes after we had gotten in the water, when I pulled her roughly to me and attacked her mouth with mine.
It was early Tuesday morning, and until thirty seconds ago I had been blissfully asleep. Instead, I was now blinking groggily up at a large silver wolf that reminded me distinctly of Moony the one time I had seen him transformed, and the wolf was shouting at me in Tonks' voice. Something about a hurricane? Before I was even fully awake, the wolf had dissipated and I was left staring up at the place it had been in shock. What in the world was going on? Tonks wouldn't have tried to contact us here if it wasn't an emergency, that much I knew, but I had missed whatever it was she was trying to tell me. Groaning in frustration, I began to shake Ginny awake.
"Harry? What is it?"
"Something's wrong, Ginny."
Her large brown eyes blinked in shock for a few seconds, and then she sat up. "What's wrong?"
"Tonks sent me a Patronus message, but I was half asleep and didn't understand what she was trying to tell me." I pulled my hand through my hair in frustration. "You know she wouldn't have contacted us unless it was important, I think I'm going to have to go see what she needs."
Ginny stared at me for several moments, and then her expression hardened. "No. If you go back, they're just going to end up keeping you there to fix whatever the hell is going on. It's our honeymoon, and they can leave us be."
"But what if it is important?"
She growled in frustration and anger, and her hair sparked to life. "Are you sure we can't use magic here?"
"Yes. The location based tracker probably won't work, but there is still a tracker active on both of our wands, Remus said. It would be sending a message directly to the Ministry telling them where we are."
"So a Patronus is out. Is there any other way we can contact them? Do you think there are any wild owls here?"
"I doubt it, and that would probably take too long, anyway. I really should just go myself. You know I can come right back."
Her eyes flashed at me, and the flames in her hair leapt higher. "No! We're just going to have to find some other way to communicate with them."
A small flame materialized in the air in front of her, and I gasped in shock when it died down. Sitting there was a small, red salamander. Ginny and I both stared at it as it bowed its small head to Ginny.
"What does Mistress wish to say?"
My mouth was hanging open in shock, and Ginny didn't look much better. "What?" She asked.
"Mistress wishes to send a message to Tonks. What does Mistress wish me to say?"
"You can… you can go to her with a message?"
"Yes, Mistress, 'tis the job of an elemental."
"Um… could you ask her what is wrong, please? We missed her earlier message."
The small salamander bowed its head once more and disappeared in a flash of flames, leaving both of us staring at the space it had occupied. Finally, I managed to get my voice to work. "Um… did I just see what I think I did?"
"You mean the small salamander that appeared and is taking a message to Tonks for me?" I nodded dumbly. "Then yes, you did."
"Just checking."
"Do you think you have one, as well?"
I shrugged. "Worth a try." I pulled up the familiar calm in my mind and politely asked the wind if I could be able to send a message as well. The small figure that appeared in front of me made Ginny gasp in shock. It was hard to see, as it seemed to be made of condensed wind that kept on flowing in different directions, but it most closely resembled a small blue fairy.
"Master." A feminine voice echoed slightly as it bowed its small head.
"Um… hello. What exactly are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
Its laugh seemed to ring and reverberate around the room. "I am a sylph, a wind elemental."
"Oh, thanks."
A small flame appeared in front of Ginny once more and the salamander returned. "Tonks wishes to warn you that a large tropical storm is heading your way this week, and that it is possibly you are going to be hit by a hurricane." With a final nod, the salamander disappeared in a flash of fire.
My eyes went wide. A hurricane, on our honeymoon. This was just my luck.
"Harry?" Ginny's voice sounded tentative. "A hurricane is just a really big storm, right?"
"Yeah."
"Could you… do you think you could…" her voice trailed off, but I caught the direction of her thoughts.
"I don't know… it's possible." I considered this idea for several minutes. I had seen television coverage of hurricanes before; they were huge. I didn't know if I would be capable of stopping it completely. I probably could, but I was fairly sure it would exhaust me. I knew it was fairly selfish, but I was on my honeymoon and didn't want that disturbed. "I think I might be able to redirect it around us, maybe even calm it down some." I turned to the sylph once more. "Can you please ask Tonks where the centre is currently located?"
She bowed her head and disappeared. I turned back to Ginny. "Are you sure?" she asked tentatively.
"No. But I will not cut our honeymoon short because of a storm."
She nodded before crawling into my lap, wrapping her arms around my waist. We waited for the sylph, who returned some minutes later.
"Tonks says it is currently off the coast of Central America, near Belize. It is expected to head this way in the next day or two."
"Thank you." She bowed and disappeared. "Right. Let's get dressed and deal with this thing."
"You want me to come with you?"
"Of course. I'm stronger with you there."
We dressed quickly, and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. I knew this would probably be draining. Wrapping my arms tightly around Ginny, I shut my eyes and asked to be taken to the centre of the storm.
The noise was deafening. I couldn't see a thing, just feel the wind beating around us at such high speeds it was truly frightening. Since this summer, I had never once been frightened by the wind, but this was different. Ginny's small arms held me tight, and she looked up at me with love in her eyes. Gathering as much strength as I could, I threw out my hands and slowly started to reach out into the storm.
I tried pulling as much of it as I could into myself and calming it down. That stopped working eventually and some part of my brain was aware that I had been at it for hours. My next step was trying to reach for it all and condense it down so it wouldn't cause as much damage. Again, I was vaguely aware of the passage of time, but I continued to fight it. It was when the sky started to darken around me that I became aware of the fact that I was nearing complete exhaustion. I had no doubt that I could control this storm, eventually, but I knew that to do so it would take everything I had. And I, somewhat selfishly, was not willing to do that right now. It was my honeymoon, dammit, and I would not spend the rest of it recovering from this.
With a growl, the wind took Ginny and I away, and we reappeared on the southern edge of the storm. Ginny was confused, but when I didn't answer her questions she simply held on to me and let me be. I pulled up as much wind as I could, trying to steal some from the storm before me, and with an almighty effort I shoved with everything I had. Slowly, the storm began to move off its current course. I was unwilling to put forth the effort to completely calm the storm, but there was no question that I was willing to move it away from its collision course with Ginny and mine's little island get away. Steeling myself, I pushed harder.
A/N: The storm was real, though I slightly modified the location. I wanted to show that Harry is not all powerful. There are things that are beyond him.
I have had several comments about elementals vs. Elementalists. Whether or not this is the way most people do it, I use both to mean something very different. Harry and Ginny are the latter because they can manipulate the elements. As we learn in this chapter, in my story elementals are the creatures they can summon to do their bidding.
This chapter hopefully answers the question as to what Ginny's need is. To clarify, Harry has a strong physical need to be in contact with Ginny and protect her and claim her. Ginny has a strong emotional need to support him and help him. This is what helped her accept his rather strenuous demands on her and such. It is much subtler, but equally as strong.
Next chapter we get back to trying and win the war. We do have these nasty Horcruxes to deal with.
Now, a sad opinion question: A war is not a war unless someone dies. So now I have to decide who it is in this story. Any suggestions?
