Chapter Ten

The next morning, Ginny woke up feeling very aroused, it was hard for her to focus on anything due to the sensations that were washing over her with intensity. It didn't take long for her to realize what has happening and she just relaxed and allowed it to continue.

'Happy Birthday, beautiful,' Harry said whilst continuing what he was doing.

'Good morning, Harry,' Ginny struggled to say in response even through the bond.

'I wanted to give you a birthday present to match the one you gave me,' Harry told her as he poured his love and passion into the bond. This increased the feelings for Ginny such that she soon collapsed from exhaustion having been well and truly satisfied.

'Bloody hell, Harry,' Ginny finally said as she recovered.

Harry continued to pour his love for her into the bond and she soon realized that it filled his heart with joy that he could do that for her. They both knew that they would never be able to go back to what they had before Harry's birthday, and both of them were perfectly comfortable with that. They still were not ready to consummate the marriage but could enjoy their time together and satisfy their own growing needs.

They relaxed on the bed for a while before heading into the bathroom for a nice long bath. At least the others had the decency to leave them alone so they didn't have to worry about anyone walking in on them, not that they would have a hope of getting past the locking charms that Harry had placed on the room.

They finally made their way down to the kitchen to find something for a mid-morning snack as they had missed breakfast by several hours. As with Harry's birthday, the morning session had been cancelled so they were in no hurry, and it seemed the other occupants of the castle had taken the opportunity to sleep in too as they had not seen anyone around yet.

Slowly as Harry and Ginny ate at the table in the Kitchen the others started to appear, Ginny could tell everyone was excited. She thought it was a little odd to be that excited but didn't linger on it. She had already had a better birthday present than she could have hoped for and was happy just being with Harry.

After breakfast Harry took Ginny's hand and headed out the back door and started walking towards the stables; he had placed Silencing Charms around them so Ginny would not hear anything until she actually walked in.

"Where are we going?" asked Ginny.

"I wanted to show you something," Harry told her honestly.

"Hmm, is this part of the secret you have been keeping from me?" she asked while trying to sense what he was thinking.

"Ah, you will have to wait and see," replied Harry before swatting her backside and running off.

"Oh, get back here, Potter," she called after him before breaking into a run.

"Slow coach," yelled Harry as he raced towards the stables.

All of a sudden Harry came to a stop and flew backwards into the arms of a laughing Ginny, causing them both to collapse to the ground.

"What the bloody hell," said Harry when he recovered from the shock. "That was amazing, Gin."

"I didn't quite expect that to happen," replied Ginny while giggling.

"I could sense what you were trying to do but also didn't expect it to work that well," replied Harry.

"So, Mr. Potter, I believe you were taking me somewhere before you fell gracefully into my arms," mocked Ginny while placing small kisses on his cheek and neck.

"I can't remember, someone seems to be distracting me," replied Harry as they snuggled together on the ground, Harry happily returning the kisses.

Several minutes later they finally got up and continued to walk in silence to the stables; Ginny's excitement was growing as they got closer. Harry told her to close her eyes when they were just outside the main stable entrance and he gently guided her inside.

Once she was in position, he made sure all of the horses were ready and then told her to open her eyes while he removed the Silencing Charm.

"Happy Birthday," Harry said while watching the look of complete shock on her face.

She just stood there speechless, almost pinching herself to believe that it could be true. She finally looked around and spotted her friends and family all standing around the stables watching her.

"Oh, Harry, thank you so much," she said as she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"I am so glad you like them; when I saw how excited you were when we discovered the stables, I knew what I wanted to get you. You cannot believe how hard it has been to hide it from you," replied Harry when they finally broke for air.

"It's perfect, Harry."

Harry told her about each of the horses and explained why he had chosen them; she could tell that he had put a lot of effort into it. She listened carefully as he explained that they would be ready to breed next year if they wanted to, and that Maxim had arranged for some of the elves to help them care for them.

She walked up to each of the horses and petted them; they responded well to her. Ginny told Harry that she would pick names for each of them later and was looking forward to riding them.

Once they had finished meeting the horses, the others gathered round and started handing over more presents. Most of them related to the horses anyway so it made sense to open them outside. Arthur and Molly had brought her riding clothes. The twins and their girlfriends got together to get her a saddle. Neville and Luna got her several books on caring for horses and a large grooming kit. Remus and Tonks created a map of the forest that highlighted the trails that would be safe for horse riding. Professor Dumbledore got her several books on breeding horses and taking care of them as they grew. Sirius was the only one not to get her something for the horses, he instead got her a Firebolt to match Harry's.

"Thank you, guys," Ginny told them after opening her presents.

She spent the rest of the morning with Harry in the stables; Harry had brought himself a saddle and all the equipment too so that they could go riding together. Ginny decided that the medium sized mare would be the best for her to ride; she named it Sandy because of its colour.

"Great, at least we won't get them confused," Harry joked when she name the horse.

"I should hope not," responded Ginny playfully. "I may have to question your sanity if you cannot tell the difference between a horse and an elf."

"Ah, well your beauty blinds me so it is hard to see," replied Harry.

"Smooth, Potter," joked Ginny as she gently kissed him.

"I love you so much, Ginny," Harry told her again as he gently caressed her check.

"I love you too, Harry."

After lunch, Harry and Ginny returned to the stables and put the saddles on their horses. Ginny suggested that Harry ride the stallion which she had named Shadow because of his dark black coat.

Harry wasn't that comfortable riding Shadow, at first, but the nervousness soon disappeared once they set off. They slowly trotted towards one of the trails on the map getting used to the horses. As they approached the edge of the forest, Harry was completely comfortable with riding which he attributed to Ginny's knowledge from when she was younger. They followed the trail for almost an hour before coming to an opening that overlooked the lake.

"Wow, it's beautiful up here," Ginny said as they dismounted and looked out upon the lake and the valley behind it.

Harry just stopped there looking out; it still struck him sometimes just how amazing his life was now. Seeing his beautiful wife looking out at the scene before him was something he could never put into words. He took a moment to memorize it, adding it to the growing pile of happy memories that fueled his Patronus.

Ginny sensing what he was doing, slowly turned towards him and waited for him to finish. She wanted the moment to be perfect for him. Harry conjured a blanket for them and they sat on the ledge and just looked out not caring how long they had sat there.

Several hours later they realized that they would have to head back soon as they still had Ginny's birthday meal.

"Thank you for today," Ginny told him softly as they started to get up.

"Anything for you, baby," responded Harry before kissing her gently.

"I don't think I will forget this day for a long time," she replied honestly.

"I know I won't," Harry told her as he banished the blanket and mounted Shadow.

They trotted slowly back to the castle enjoying the time together as they talked about their plans for the rest of the summer. It was dinner time when they finally arrived back at the castle having taken the time to groom the horses when they returned to the stables.

They arrived back at the patio to find all the others watching Arthur and Sirius cooking again on the barbeque, they had become quite the team as they worked together and everyone was amazed at just how good the food was. Long gone were the cremated disasters which none of them missed; now everyone actually looked forward to the food.

They had become adventurous with the food also; there were many different meats cooking, corn, beans, and potatoes. Molly was in her element providing salad and of course desert or cake in this case.

"It's just as well we go running every morning," joked Harry as they walked in. The table was groaning under the weight of all the food that was on it and they had not even finished cooking.

"Well, mum, always complains that you are too skinny when you get to our house in the summer. She won't be able to this year," replied Fred as they started digging into the food.

"Hey, I am not complaining," replied Harry. "It is nice to be able to decide what I want to eat and when. Not having to do chores unless I want to, being able to spend time with my friends. I wouldn't trade this for anything," Harry told them.

"I am glad you are not at the Dursley's too," Molly told him. "You have grown into such a wonderful young man. It fills our hearts with joy to see how much you cherish Ginny and just how much she means to you. And we know for certain that she feels exactly the same way about you."

For the first time since the bonding, Harry truly felt accepted by the Weasley family. He knew they had accepted that neither of them had control over what happened but that didn't mean that really accepted it.

They continued to eat late into the evening; there was no rush to finish as they had already opened the presents earlier in the day. Molly brought out the horse shaped cake that she had created with Happy Birthday written on the side.

Just before Ginny blew out the candles, she made a wish, one that she didn't realize at the time would be answered beyond her imagination.

The New Marauders returned to their normal schedule for the next few days. Katie had the Quidditch team working so well that they were worried about what would happen when they got back to school and had include a new Chaser. Neville was doing so well as Keeper, that she had all but guaranteed him a spot on the team. Katie had to run try out's for all the position she just hoped that a good Chaser appeared that would work well with them.

With only two weeks left to the summer, they were all preparing to go to Diagon Alley; they knew their letters would arrive soon. They decided to forego the normal contingent of Order Members for their visit, opting instead to carry emergency Portkeys should there be any problems. Harry created Portkeys that would return them to the safety of Potter Castle. He also added several charms that would make them impossible to remove by force, just like his and Ginny's pendants. Harry and Ginny also presented Katie with a wrist holster for her wand and demonstrated it for her.

"That explains how you can always produce your wands so quickly," replied Katie after Harry explained how they worked.

"Yes, we realized earlier this year just how useful it would be. We added the charms to prevent anyone from taking the wands by force, and giving us a better advantage," Harry told her as she put it on.

"Now, you will need to practice for a while to get used to it. You will soon see how natural it becomes," continued Harry.

It didn't take Katie long to become proficient using the holster, much to the annoyance of George who had upset her several times and been hexed somewhere unpleasant, he soon learned not to say that again. They were last seen heading up to their rooms with George grovelling for forgiveness as Katie had told him that he wasn't welcome in her room, much to the amusement of the others.

Later that day, Harry and Ginny travelled to Hogwarts to meet with Professor Dumbledore again. They realized that it had been a while since the last public Order meeting and wanted to avoid any suspicion that the trace had been found.

"Good afternoon," Dumbledore said as they arrived.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Harry replied.

"Professor, we need to prepare the information we want to plant and determine what happens with it," explained Harry.

"What do you have in mind, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"I was thinking we should plant some information about the Prophecy. We know that Voldemort is planning to get it and we want to determine how desperate he is," replied Harry.

"Are you sure about this? We cannot risk Voldemort getting the Prophecy," replied Dumbledore looking concerned.

"Actually, Professor, I have a suggestion about that," Ginny added.

"I think we should record a fake Prophecy and replace the real one. That way we can let him think that all the effort has been worth it, but control what he finds out. It should start with what he already knows but then we can add whatever we like after that," continued Ginny.

"That is a very good idea," replied Dumbledore the twinkle quickly returning to his eye.

"Harry and I will work on that before the new term starts," Ginny offered.

"Thank you," replied Dumbledore.

"Once we have the prophecy we can flash into Department of Mysteries and replace it without anyone knowing. We will then have an Order meeting to discuss the arrangements for protecting it, making sure to note when we are not able to fully protect it," added Harry.

"What are we going to do for the next meeting? If we don't have one soon Fudge will start to get suspicious," Dumbledore asked.

"We are planning to go to Diagon Alley once our letters arrive. I suggest that you discuss this and highlight that due to the lack of activity by Voldemort over the summer, only minimal protection will be provided. We will monitor Voldemort to determine what information he gets.

"We are certain that he will want to attack us if he thinks that we are unprotected, and that the information came from the meeting. Once we have determined what his plan of action is, we will set an ambush to capture as many of the death eaters as possible. We will also need to make sure that Severus stays with Voldemort from the time of the meeting until after the attack so that Voldemort will know he didn't tell anyone. This most likely will cause Voldemort to suspect one of his other Death Eaters," Harry explained.

"Perfect, Harry, we will have a meeting tomorrow. I have your Hogwarts letters here and was going to send them with Fawkes later today, but as you are already here you can take them back," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you, Sir. I think we will plan to go to Diagon Alley on Friday. That will mean we only have four days to monitor Voldemort and will give him less time to plan an attack," Harry said as he got up and took the letters.

Moments later Xavier flashed them both back to Potter Castle.

As soon as they returned to Potter Castle, Harry and Ginny sent messages to the others to meet them by the pool. It didn't take long for them to all arrive; as soon as they had Harry handed out the letters to each of them.

They quickly opened them and starting reading, suddenly Luna shrieked.

"What's wrong," asked Neville looking concerned at his girlfriend.

"Nothing, Neville," she replied while passing her letter to him.

"That's brilliant, love," Neville said as he pulled her into a kiss.

Ginny grabbed the letter and told the others that she had also been moved up a year because of her high scores in the exams. All the others congratulated Luna and were excited for her.

Fred and George were completely shocked by their letters, they knew that the extra training had really helped them, but were still only expecting to get a couple of OWLs as they had not made any effort to study for the exams.

Hermione took Fred's letter whilst he was standing there and read it out to the group.

Astronomy - O
Care of Magical Creatures - EE
Charms - O
DADA - O
Herbology - A
History of Magic - D
Potions - EE
Transfiguration - O

Everyone quickly congratulated him for his scores; he was still speechless. Hermione then grabbed George's letter and told them that he had exactly the same scores.

"Seven OWLs each is brilliant," Remus told them when she had finished.

"I can't believe we did so well," Fred finally responded.

"You shouldn't be so surprised; you are both very smart. The problem was you spent all your time designing pranks rather than focusing on your lessons," replied Ginny with a laugh.

They all turned to Katie to see how she had done; she told them her scores.

Ancient Runes - O
Arithmancy - EE
Astronomy - O
Care of Magical Creatures - O
Charms - O
DADA - O
Herbology - EE
History of Magic - A
Muggle Studies - EE
Potions - EE
Transfiguration - O

Everyone congratulated her on doing so well. George pulled Katie into a very passionate kiss and then whisper to her that they would celebrate in private later. They decided to throw an impromptu party to celebrate the results, Maxim produce a range of drinks and snacks for them.

As they were celebrating, Molly and Arthur walked out to the patio. Ron had received his letter that morning so they concluded that all of them would also have theirs too.

Molly didn't waste any time, "Fred, George, give me the bad news now."

"Actually, Molly, I think you should sit down," said Sirius in a serious voice.

Molly suddenly looked very uneasy, surely it wasn't that bad. She reluctantly sat down bracing herself for the news.

"Well you see, mum..." Fred started.

"...it's like this. We really did..." George added.

"...try our hardest, but unfortunately..." continued Fred

"...we got a D..." said George sadly.

"YOU GOT ONE D IS THAT IT," screamed Molly.

Arthur happened to look up just as Molly screamed and noticed the rather fixed expressions on the faces of all those around him. He suddenly realized what was happening and just looked down so that he would not start laughing.

At this point, Bill and Fleur had also arrived at the castle to see how everyone had done. They, unfortunately, walked in just as Molly started to scream again.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TWO, AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE FOR YOU..." continued Molly.

"We are sorry, Mum..." Fred said quietly.

"...I guess you don't want to know about the..." added George.

"...OWLs that we did get," finished George.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY..." Molly started to scream then it hit her. "Give me the bloody letter."

"Language, Mum," each of the Weasley's children said with a laugh.

She quickly read the letter and instead of getting up and congratulating them pulled out her wand. The twins suddenly looked very scared and made a quick exit from the patio with Molly chasing after them.

A while later, Molly returned with the twins who looked very happy, it appeared that once Molly caught up with them she laughed and then hugged them. She never intended to hex them but wanted to see their reaction. After all they had to get their pranking abilities from someone, and it was definitely not Arthur.

The rest of the afternoon was spent celebrating and preparing for the new term; they planned out the trip to Diagon Alley, rather than have everyone go to the same shops they were going to split up and go. This would allow them to complete the necessary shopping quickly and send the items back to Potter Castle. They would then spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Molly was not happy with the plan but agreed to let them continue as anyway once she had assurances from each of them that they would return to Potter Castle if they were in trouble.

Later that evening the members of the Order of the Phoenix gathered at Hogwarts to discuss the trip to Diagon Alley. None of those from Potter Castle attended as they already knew the details and wanted to continue celebrating.

Before they started, Kingsley and Arthur made sure that there badges were activated so the meeting could be recorded.

"Good evening," Professor Dumbledore said once everyone had gathered.

"We are here to discuss the arrangements for Harry's trip to Diagon Alley on Friday. I have spoken to Harry today and he insists that he be allowed to go, as there has been very minimal activity from Voldemort so far this summer. I have discussed this with Sirius, Remus and the Weasley's and they all agreed that between them there should be no need for additional coverage.

"At first, I was reluctant to agree to this, however after due consideration, I believe that the danger is minimal at the moment, and our time would be better spent searching for Voldemort," Dumbledore explained.

They continued the fake meeting for close to an hour, going over old information that would not make any difference. Dumbledore quickly thanked them all for there continued commitment to the cause and closed the meeting.

They all waited for a few minutes to allow Arthur and Kingsley to deactivate the badges before they discussed the real plan for Friday.

"Okay, we strongly suspect that Voldemort will attempt an attack on Friday. We should have a better idea soon what he is planning to do. Until then, we need to be prepared. Each member of Harry's group will have an emergency Portkey which will take them to safety should anything happen. However, I strongly suspect that they will stay to fight, if that happens; please be sure to work with them. Kingsley and I have seen them training this summer and we both agree that they can easily take care of themselves. Therefore, our role will be to assist them should the need arise. Don't reveal your location unless it is absolutely necessary as we will have the element of surprise," Dumbledore told them.

They continued to discuss the plan late into the evening, making sure that everyone was aware of where they should be during the day.

As they were about to leave, Xavier flashed into the room with a message.

Professor,

Half an hour ago Ginny and I felt called to enter Voldemort's mind. The information had already been delivered to him. He called a Death Eater meeting immediately and told them to prepare to attack on Friday.

Unfortunately, we didn't see who delivered the message but were able to determine that they plan to use Dementors and at least ten Death Eaters during the attack. They have not set a time for the attack so I suspect they will leave that until the last moment.

We did learn this evening that when Voldemort summons the Death Eaters, we will feel pulled to his mind; we have not determined why it is happening.

Harry Potter

After Dumbledore relayed the information, they finalized the plan for Friday and most returned to their business.

"Severus, Harry suggested that you should return to Voldemort and remain until after Friday," Dumbledore told him as walked down towards the dungeons.

"I agreed, Albus," replied Snape deep in thought.

"I am worried that he will want me involved in the attack," Snape added a moment later.

"If you can avoid it, then I suggest you do. If not, keep out of the way when things get messy which I am sure they will," Dumbledore told him. "I have to warn you, Severus, not to underestimate Harry or Ginny; they are both already stronger than I am, and still growing. I can guarantee that you don't want to be on the wrong end of a curse from either of them."

"I will keep that in mind," replied Snape as they arrived at his quarters.

"I will, hopefully, see you on Saturday," Dumbledore said as he continued on towards his office.

Severus Snape gathered a few items he would need and headed out of the castle to meet with Voldemort.

A/N: Before anyone asks I am not going to tell you what Harry and Ginny did on their respective birthday's I will leave that completely to your imagination.

And no Ginny's birthday wish was not a repeat of what had happened that morning, it was something far more powerful and NO I am not going to reveal it.

Harry and Ginny have not quite reached their full power, but they are very close. They will need to be strong for what faces them in the future, which is why I have them so strong.