Chapter 11
Hello readers. I need to give you a quick explanation as to why I have abandoned this fanfic - I feel I owe you. Basically, I have been writing my own book for the past several months. It has been all time consuming, and I have had so much fun with it. I hope you understand.
My writing style has changed during this period. I write in present tense because it allows for more thought, and I know I've written this whole fanfic in past tense, but I've gotten into a habit that I don't want to break, because my personal writing means a lot to me.
Over the holidays, I watched the Harry Potters for the first time. (I'm more of a book fan), and seeming how close I am to Ginny's character, it hurt so much to see that I've been pronouncing her name wrong! It's Ginny, as in Jinny! :O I was hearbroken when I found out, and I know you all probably know her as how everyone says it is, but I'd love to know if you know someone like me, who said Ginny with a 'g' as in 'goat'. Haha, and Proffesor McGonagall is pronounced every syllable, not mg-nog-all, like I so thought. Don't call me stupid, I'd really like to know if you, or someone you know, made a mistake like that.
This is the last chapter of Ginny's fanfic (I will forever pronounce her name the way I want to), and afterwards I will be making another one, whenever I have the time on my hands. It's going to be a surprise, but I will tell you that after that I'll be doing a Hermione&Ron one, and a Ted&Victoire one. The first three will work together, but the last one is just one I'll enjoy. (I might come up with something else that I can weave in before doing my Ted&Victoire one).
Please review, but best of all, enjoy!
Time works in this mysterious, and frustrating way. It's 31st of July, a day which will forever be celebrated, not only by me, but of all witches and wizards in the wizarding world. Today, 18 years ago, Harry Potter was born. About a year later, both his parents died, and well, you all know the story. The point is, that I find that today is definitely worth celebrating. The love of my life was born today, a long time ago, when Lord Voldemort was alive and thriving. Today, he's gone, and he brought down as many people as he could, with him.
The survivors are all here, at The Burrow, talking to each other with smiles on their faces, celebrating for The Boy Who Lived. This place hasn't been this crowded since the wedding. All the surviving teachers from Hogwarts are here, Hermione's parents even, and a huge flock of students, all Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, including one of the Creevey brothers, and Cho Chang. This guest is who made my stomach twirl angrily, but she's surprisingly well behaved. I don't know what to think of it. Angelina Johnson is here, and she's been acting very strange, her hands holding both elbows across her stomach, and when she saw Mum, she quickly hit. Dunno what to think of that, either. The long brown-haired girl with fair skin and splendid fisique has always struck me as a strong person.
Harry and I go through the crowds of people, holding each others hands. His other hand is being constantly shaken, and some people throw their arms around him and thank him. Harry looks overwhelmed by all this, and especially when he met the surviving Creevey brother, who held onto him for a suspsicious amount of time, crying. I don't think he's taken his brother's death too well.
"Sit down, Harry." I say when he's finally let go by fussy Auntie Muriel who's blabbered for about fifteen minutes about who-knows-what.
He lets go of my hand and I kiss his head before going inside to help Mum. She's a little flustered... She invited Hagrid, all the Weasleys, and the Tonkses, and got back all these RSVPs. How does that work? She's busy toying around with a batch of croissants Fleur made, so I go over and take over for her. She dashes to the fridge and does the last minute details on the cake with her wand, glancing behind every now and then as if afraid Harry's gonna turn up. Once finished arrranging the croissants onto a plate that I magick bigger, I hurry outside, afraid of being caught. The Ministry, who we haven't heard from for ages, won't know it's me performing magic when there's so many Weasleys. This fact makes me want to laugh, because all that time Ron fussed about not being able to use magic until 17 in the house...
My mind feels free. I feel free. It's this weird thing, being locked up in your own head with nothing but murderous thoughts to share, then being let into this world where you know everything's alright, that your loved one who's gone, is up there somewhere, entertaining the rest of the bunch.
The table is full of food, but it's dissapearing before our eyes. So many guests means so much more work, and as I hurry back to the kitchen, I see Hermione hurrying back with three plates of different sweet and savoury breads majicked to hover in front of her.
"Still no sign of the Tonkses." I hear her say behind me.
I frown. This is starting to get a little nerve-wracking. I can't wait to see little Teddy Tonks for the first time, and the fact that they're over an hour late is terrifying after being through a war where just 5 minutes means bad news.
It's another twenty minutes before things are running smoothly. The table is full of drinks and food that will last the night, and Fleur surprises everyone by having who else but the Weird Sisters turn up for entertainment. It's been forever since I've seen Mum have so much fun, and I lose myself with a huge smile on my face as I watch her twirl around the garden in the arms of Dad. Almost everyone is on the grass, dancing. I feel like I'm not even at The Burrow anymore. Ron and Hermione are dancing in a corner, to their own little beat, revolving in slow circles, talking in low voices every now and then. Hagrid's with Madame Maxime, towering over everyone else; Bill and Fleur are taking turns dancing like lunatics with everyone, something I would have never guessed from her, even after a huge bottle of Firewhisky; Neville's dancing with Cho, who looks pretty mortified, especially when he trods on her toes. I smile, remembering the time I danced with him in my third year at Hogwarts. It's so different now...
I remember seeing Harry dance with one of the Parvati twins, and feeling my insides squirm when I remembered Ron suggesting that I go with Harry. That could be me, I'd thought. And now, it is me.
I stand up from the chair. My feet are itching for a dance as everyone twirls around there.
"Dance with me, Harry." I say.
"Er... I don't dance." He mutters, looking at me uncertainly.
"It's your birthday, which is definitely something worth dancing about."
And so we spend the next half hour dancing, and it's like there's no one in the world but us, and I feel alive and young. Bill takes me off once, twirling me until we're both extremely dizzy, then he passes me over to Ron who's finally broke apart from Hermione. I crane my neck up at him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before being twirled off to a bunch of girls including a couple of Hufflepuffs, Hermione, and... Luna!
"What - How? When?" I splutter, as she takes my hands and does funky movements with her body. I laugh, and so does she and the three other girls. I don't even know who they are but I don't care. I dunno if Harry knows, either, and it's truly touching to see how many people worship him.
It's a while before Luna answers.
"George and Neville." She says.
This explains everything.
"He's taking me to his joke shop as soon as you guys aboard the Hogwarts Express. I'm hiding out here, until."
My insides lift excitedly. "What about the Slytherins?" I ask, but there's another important question so I forget about the first one and move on to the next. "How were the Malfoys there?"
"Oh, that was a one-off." She says dreamily. "It was for one day, all of us were in Diagon Alley. He was with her." She jerks her head to the left and I see Cho dancing with her eyes closed with four Ravenclaws. "He was thrilled I was there, said he hadn't made fun of someone for so long."
"Little git." I mutter.
But we have no more time to chat - I'm back with Harry, who expertedly twirls me safely into his arms and away from the crowd.
"Suave." I say. "I thought you were a bad dancer...?"
"An hour with the Weasleys and a bunch of randoms, and I think I've got it down packed."
I smile up at him.
"So..." He says, and we start dancing to a slower beat. Once again, he's worked this charm on me where the rest of the world flows away. It's just us, dancing slowly together. His emerald eyes seem to sparkle more than ever. "Have you thought about my idea for the House of Black...?"
I smile. "Of course I have. And I can't wait... But, Harry. Don't look like that, ofcourse I want to live with you. It's just... Mum. You know how she'll act. I think it'll be too much for her if her baby goes away. Give us the year at Hogwarts, and when we get back... I dunno. Spend another year with me here, and you can do whatever you'd like - you can go for the Auror thing, I know you still want to. You'd be amazing at it. Just one year after Hogwarts, Harry. I think I'm going to do the Auror thing, too. We can still be together, but Harry... Voldemort, has gone forever. My gut tells me that we have our whole lives ahead of us. I want Mum to be happy, like she is now."
He looks at me understandingly.
"I knew it would be something noble." He murmurs. "Don't look so shocked. Of course I remember your words to me at Dumbledore's funeral."
"It's like you read my mind sometimes... What did Snape teach you in his Occlumency lessons?"
He laughs. We stay like that forever. Then -
"Ted! Finally!" It's Mum.
Harry and I stop dancing, as do most of the other dancers. He lets go of me except for my hand, and I feel him standing rigid beside me. Ted Tonks and his wife are standing not a hundred metres away from us, a bundle in her hands.
"That's your little Godson." I murmur quietly so only he can hear.
He nods slowly, and I know what he's thinking. That kid is the only other child the Marouders left. I look up and see something in his eyes that I've never seen before. It's this protective love, something that he's looked at me with before, but somehow different, it's... freakeshly fatherly. I swallow, and there's an emotional bomb inside of me waiting to explode. All this happens in under five seconds, and then we're walking over to them slowly.
"Happy birthday, Harry." Ted Tonks says.
"Thanks." Harry says, but he's looking at the little bundle.
"He's asleep." Andromeda Tonks says. "He's never in the blankets, but he's got a nasty flu. That's why we're late. It took him hours to calm down... He misses them." She chokes the last words and gives the baby to her husband before hurrying off, and everyone knows she's crying. Mum follows her. She knows how it feels to lose a child.
The happiness seems long gone. I feel like crying, myself. The music is distant, and soon, Ron and Hermione are beside us. I take the hand on my right and turn to see Ron. I see bushy hair on the other side of him, and then I look back at the baby. He sneezes, sending purple sparks out of his nose at the same time his hair turns a darker shade of green.
"He's beautiful." I say. "Can I hold him?"
Harry looks at me and swallows loudly, and I let go of his and Ron's hands, offering them to Ted Tonks, who hands me Teddy. He's lighter than I expected, though very big. Orange bogies are coming out of his nose, but it gives him a character. He's so colourful, and I can see him growing up to be the clumsy person his mum was, and the brave fighter both his parents were. Happiness comes back to me. There's this passion that I feel, and it's so strange, like this child is actually worth the price was paid... Kind of like Harry, who's parents died for him. Teddy's parents died for this baby, and although he was a hundred miles away from them at the time, it was for him. I know it. This baby is worth everything. He's a boy who's going to grow up and have a life, and one day, I'll die for my child if I have to. The sadness for Lupin and Tonks fades away as I look at this boy's pale face. It could have been seconds, hours, or days that I stand there, looking at Teddy. Then I look up at Harry, and a tear goes down my cheek.
"Here." I mutter. I hand Teddy to Harry, and he holds him, and I see the same thoughts running through his head that ran through mine.
Once again, time is meaningless. He hands Teddy over to Hermione, who gives him to Ron after a while. He seems to hold him for the longest, his mouth open a little. Then he does it - he cries. I put a hand to my mouth at the same time Hermione hugs him. She pulls away soon, tears on her face.
"Can he call me Uncle Ron?" Ron asks, a stupid grin on his face.
We all laugh, including Ted.
I'd be surprised if there isn't a person at this party who hasn't held Teddy. He's in George's arms when he hear him yell out that Teddy's awake. We all whip our heads around and see a green-haired boy sitting in George's arms, a look of wonder on his face. Luna's looking over his shoulder, on her tip-toes, with Hagrid on the other side. Teddy's hair changed to orange before quickly changing to yellow, and he laughs. All of us - Harry, Hermione, Ron, George, Luna, Neville, and I - play with Teddy for what seems like forever. Then Mum brings out a cake in the shape of a broom, and there's many gasps as another cake comes out behind her, of a snitch. She's already done that one before for Harry, but it still has a dazzling affect.
We're all crowded around the longest table that's ever been out here, two cakes on the table, a knife held in Harry's hand.
"Touch the bottom and you have to kiss the closest girl!" Ron yells out, pushing me over Harry's shoulder. I almost knock my head into Teddy's, who's sitting up in Harry's arms, his hair blue.
"No, no, no!" George calls over the noise of all the jeers and hoots of laughter. "Every guy has to kiss the closest girl if Harry touches the bottom!"
There's many laughs at this. Harry takes a deep breath, and then stabs the knife into the cake.
"HE TOUCHED THE BOTTOM!" Charlie yells, and then Harry's got his head turned backwards and he smooches me on the lips. I break away, my cheeks flaming red, and see George's body tangled with Luna's; I see Charlie kissing a girl I don't even know; Hagrid's as red as a tomato, having just broken away from Madame Maxime; Ron and Hermione break away from each other, their eyes wide, and then there's Bill and Fleur, Mum and Dad, and so many kisses that it's all I can do but laugh. I'm pretty sure the only one not kissing someone is Angelina, but she's laughing all the smae. No one but Harry could make a crowd of people all kiss the closest boy or girl. I throw my arms around him, feeling nothing but bliss.
Soon, everyone's laughing and cheering, and nothing, not even Draco Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange or any other Death Eater, dead or alive, could take away this feeling.
"This is my best birthday ever." Harry says, and he's got a huge smile on his face, too, so wide that I've never seen it on him before.
"No," I correct him. "Harry, this is the best night ever."
And so it is. Witches and wizards of Britain have all come together, and there's this happiness hanging in the air, that no one could ever believe that we've just gotten out of the world's biggest war.
There's a bunch of spelling mistakes, but I would really love to know what you thought. I'm just in such a great rush to end this fanfic that I have no time to check it or anything, so I would like any creative criticism, because it's all amazing. Please, please, please review and tell me everything - what you thought of this last Ginny fanfic, whether you like my story ideas, and whether you've gotten a name horribly wrong and have been crushed by it. I love your reviews, and don't worry - my book'll be much better than my fanfics :D
One last thing I'd love you to mention in your review is whether or not I covered everything. Is there something here that hasn't been answered in my whole fanfic? I tried my best, I really did. Thanks, Bluee.