As panicked as Ginny had been about Harry's birthday, Harry was feeling no such apprehension about hers. He was fairly confident he'd arranged the best birthday present she could ever ask for, but it certainly had taken a few extra trips to "visit Teddy" in order to make it happen.

As a point of fact, most of the times Harry said he was visiting Teddy, he was, in fact, visiting Teddy. There had been a few select times, however, when a little misdirection had been necessary in order to achieve his goals.

This was one such time.

He'd left the Burrow early that day, telling everyone he'd gone to help Andromeda take Teddy to a local swimming pool, and that he would likely be back in the early afternoon. After arriving at Andromeda's however, he whisked away again to his secret location, a wink from Andromeda assuring him that she would, once again, cover for him if anyone should call.

His secret location was, in fact, the Minister's private conference room. And it was not empty. Seated at the large, oval table was a dark skinned woman, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, her chin resting casually on a well-muscled arm propped up on the table.

Upon hearing Harry tumble gracelessly from the floo, her head whipped around and she regarded him momentarily with an icy brown stare. Her countenance brightened as Harry straightened himself up and dusted the soot off his clothes.

"Harry Potter!" the woman exclaimed as she crossed the room to greet him. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Jones," Harry replied as his arm was pumped vigorously, and a bit painfully, by the Beater.

"Please, Harry, it's just Gwenog."

"Of course. Gwenog. Should we sit?"

"Might as well! I admit, Harry," she continued as they seated them selves at one end of the long table, "when I got your letter asking for a meeting, and in the Minister's private conference room, no less, I was a bit shocked. It's not every day one meets, well…you."

"I'm really nothing special."

"Certainly you are! Can't keep on denying that. I tried that tactic for a while and it doesn't work. People who accomplish great things will always be lauded for them, whether they feel it is deserved or not. Of course, being a talented Quidditch player isn't quite on the same level as saving the entire wizarding world, to be sure, but it does give me a bit of understanding about these things."

"Then I'm sure you also understand how I feel about fame and The Prophet. We're meeting here because it's one of the only places I'm certain Rita Skeeter can't get to."

Gwenog laughed a hearty laugh.

"Merlin, I hate that woman. I feel your pain, Harry. Trust me, everything we say here will stay strictly between the two of us. And I'll try my best to contain my hero worship," she said with a sarcastic wink.

Harry smiled shyly.

"Thanks," he said.

She waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't worry about it. So, what's the meaning of this meeting anyway?"

"Right, well, I mentioned in my letter that my girlfriend is quite a fan of the Harpies. I've also recently learned that she won't be going back to Hogwarts this year. She, er, well…she had a rough time of it last year, partly because of me, and she's decided she's quite finished with her education."

"Understandably so. But what does this have to do with me? Do you need me to sign a poster or something?"

"Er, well, that would probably be nice, but I was actually thinking of something a little…bigger. See, what Ginny really wants to do is play Quidditch…for the Harpies."

Gwenog sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"You're asking a lot of me, Harry. I've never even seen her fly."

"I know! I know. But, well, with her not going to Hogwarts this year, it'll be difficult for her to get scouted, and I was informed that most teams weren't having tryouts this year, except for positions that had been left empty because of the war, and she hasn't been able to go to any because she won't be of-age until Tuesday."

"The Harpies don't have any available positions. We were playing a tournament in Spain when the Ministry was taken, so we stayed out of the country until it was safe to come back. All our girls are still in fine playing condition."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end even more than it usually did. Suddenly he looked at her, his eyes determined.

"What about reserves? You always need more reserves, right?"

Gwenog thought for a moment.

"I suppose I could use one more Chaser reserve. Kelly's been married a few years now and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to lose her to motherhood sooner rather than later. You understand I can't just give over the spot, though. She'll have to try out."

"Of course! No, Ginny would never feel right if she made the team just because I am who I am. Neither would I, actually. She just needs a chance to show you how she flies."

"I can probably give her that. It would be silly to hold an open invitation for one position, though. Every witch in England wants to play for us, and it would be a circus, but I can probably do an invitational tryout. Would that be acceptable to you?"

"Yes! Anything."

Gwenog smiled.

"Ok. I'll arrange it with the higher ups. It would need to be quite soon, as soon as we can manage it logistically. Training season has already begun and I can't have a new player come in completely green, even a reserve. You said her birthday is Tuesday?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright then. I'll see if we can't arrange it for the following Saturday. I'll owl her the invitation as soon as I can, after her birthday, that is."

Harry stood with a bright smile and stretched his hand across the table to shake Gwenog's as she rose to her feet.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how happy she'll be."

"I'm glad I could help. It's a small favor considering what you've done for all of us. But Harry," her expression grew serious as she leaned across the table towards him, "she'd better be a bloody fantastic flyer."

Harry smiled again.

"Don't worry. She is."

And with a final handshake and a wave, he disappeared back into the green flames of the fireplace. It seems he'd have just enough time to take Teddy to the pool after all.

Ginny was awoken on her birthday to the gentle creak of her bedroom door opening. With reflexes honed by living with Fred and George, as well as some rather less cheerful experiences over the past year, she grabbed her wand and pointed it to the door in less time than it took her to blink.

"Easy, love," Harry whispered with a chuckle as he slid into her room and closed the door quietly behind him. "Wouldn't want to hex your handsome boyfriend, would you? Especially not when he comes bearing such lovely flowers."

Ginny sighed and put her wand back on her bedside table as a smile spread over her face.

"Merlin, Harry. You should know better than to sneak up on people."

"I thought you'd know it was me."

"Well I realized it fairly quickly, didn't I? But my reflexes are even quicker than my brain these days."

"I know the feeling," Harry muttered with a smile. "Well, anyway. Here. These are for you."

He handed the bouquet gently to Ginny, who took them with a smile.

"They're lovely. Let me just go get a vase from the kitchen," Ginny said as she began to extricate herself from the bed.

"No! No. Nobody else is awake yet. Just us. I wanted to spend a little time with you this morning before everyone else got up. If you go down there, your mum will hear you and then it'll all be for nothing."

"Okay then. What do you suggest?"

Harry smiled again.

"Well if I were a witch who'd just gotten the most beautiful flowers in the world on the morning I turned seventeen, I suppose I'd just transfigure a beautiful vase to keep them in for the time being."

"Oh! Oh, I forgot!" she said as she grabbed her wand off the table. along with an old mug she'd brought up from the kitchen and never returned. In a second, she'd transformed the battered crockery into a beautiful, but simple, white vase. Harry plucked the flowers out of her hand and dropped them in, before turning back to her with a grin.

"Budge over," he said, gesturing with his hand for her to scoot further towards the wall. Obligingly, she shifted over, raising the covers for Harry to climb in next to her.

He smiled gently as he lowered the covers back down and instead lay down on top of them. Ginny looked at him strangely as he reached a hand out to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"I want to spend the morning with you, but I'm sure your mum knows more than we think she does. I don't fancy her barging in here and finding me under the covers with you."

"Right," Ginny said as she blushed.

"That doesn't mean we can't still enjoy ourselves," Harry said as he ran his fingers over Ginny's hair.

"Right. Good," Ginny replied, rather incoherently as Harry leaned forward to close the gap and she reached her hand up behind his head.

"Happy birthday, Ginny," he whispered against her lips as he pulled her into a searing kiss. Ginny responded enthusiastically, her still-sleepy brain having no problem processing the actions. Her desire for Harry was fairly straightforward.

She shuddered as the first bolt of electricity raced down her back, followed by the warmth and affection she knew Harry was pouring into her. She opened up to him, sending her own love right back into him. She felt his ragged intake of breath as her affections reached him and he pulled her tighter against himself as he deepened their kiss.

Ginny gasped as a fire she'd never felt before raced through her, blocking out everything but her and Harry. He pulled away and stared at her, his eyes a darker emerald than she'd ever seen. She felt their hearts beat together once, twice, three times, before she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

Something had changed. Something had shifted, and now Harry wasn't nearly close enough, wasn't kissing her fast enough. Their tongues fought for dominance as they drew themselves ever closer, cursing the covers that kept them from tangling themselves together. Without a second thought, Ginny pushed her hand under the hem of his nightshirt, eliciting a quiet groan from Harry.

She ran both hands over his back as Harry ripped his mouth away from hers and began kissing the tender spot on her neck, nipping gently with his teeth. Ginny moaned low in her throat and freed one of her legs from the covers to wrap around Harry's. Frustrated with the restriction of his shirt, she tugged on it until he sat up and ripped it over his head, stopping only long enough to toss it on the floor before he brought his lips back to hers.

He did not, in fact, have a Hungarian Horntail tattooed on his chest, a fact that Ginny noted in the deepest recesses of her mind, as her focus was rather more devoted to rubbing her hands over his shoulders and down his back, instead.

What she did notice, however, was that they were both now on fire. Somehow, she could feel that whatever flame had caught her had caught him, too. She could sense his pleasure as her hands roamed over his bare flesh, and it made her want to feel more of him.

Harry's hands fisted in her hair as they snogged each other to within an inch of their lives. So wrapped up in each other were they, that neither of them heard the creaking of the first stair. Or the second. They didn't part when someone knocked gently on Ginny's door, either. Or when the creak of the hinges indicated that it had been opened.

In fact, it wasn't until a rather angry shout disturbed the otherwise peaceful silence of the Burrow that either of them noticed anything but each other.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

They pulled away from each other, staring into each other's shocked faces before Harry hastily scrambled off Ginny's bed, tripping over Hermione's cot, and landing in a heap in the corner of Ginny's room.

Ginny's face was the color of her thoroughly mussed hair and her lips were pink and swollen. Her eyes were closed, but Harry knew they would still be the deepest shade of brown. He could still feel how much she wanted him, even now, burning across every nerve in his body.

He let his eyes flutter shut as he attempted to regain control of his emotions. It was more difficult than it had ever been to separate his feelings from hers and he only partially managed, turning the raging inferno down to a slightly more manageable blaze.

In the seconds it had taken them to regain at least a modicum of control, Arthur had arrived at Ginny's door, drawn by the sound of his wife's shocked cry. He looked wide-eyed from Ginny to Harry, taking in Harry's missing shirt, which was lying incriminatingly on the floor next to Ginny's bed, their flushed faces and swollen lips, and the rumpled covers, before his face hardened as he realized what exactly his wife had interrupted.

"Right. Harry, I think you'd best come with me," Arthur said with a disapproving glare on his face.

"No, Arthur, they got into this together. Harry should stay," Molly rebutted sternly.

Arthur grudgingly nodded his approval and stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. He gestured for Harry to pick himself up off the floor, and the dark haired boy nervously made his way over to sit on the foot of Ginny's bed, careful not to make any contact with any part of her body. Arthur and Molly stood over them, looking disappointedly down at both Harry and Ginny.

"Ginevra Weasley," Molly began, "I know your father and I raised you better than this. I don't care if you're fully of-age now, you should have more decency than to get up to such irresponsible acts in your childhood bedroom! And seventeen is hardly old enough to be engaging in such behavior in the first place!" she continued.

The two teens blushed crimson at her words.

"And Harry, I've raised enough boys to know what tends to happen around your age, but we were trusting the two of you to be more responsible than this!"

"We're sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry responded timidly, eyes downcast.

"Sorry you got caught, perhaps!" she exclaimed. "Who knows where this would have led if I'd slept in a bit longer!"

Ginny sat up and boldly took Harry's hand in hers.

"No, Mum. We're sorry. Honestly, it wasn't supposed to happen. It was…it was just different. I told you how Harry and I are when we're around each other, but today it was…" she fumbled for a word.

"Out of control. Like some kind of wildfire," Harry supplied. Ginny nodded.

"Truthfully, this wasn't supposed to happen. And…well…we didn't actually do anything, so at least there's that," Ginny said.

"But what would have happened if I hadn't come in?"

"I don't know," Ginny whispered as her chin began to quiver. "It's terrifying to be that out of control. It's never happened that way before."

Harry squeezed her hand and sent some reassurance through their bond, along with a taste of his own fear. Looking back now, he was glad Mrs. Weasley had barged in like she had. He would like to think he wouldn't have let things get too far, but arguably they had gone too far already, and he wasn't certain that he would have been able to stop. Even now, with her parents in the room, he still wanted to kiss her, and definitely not just to comfort her. They'd dimmed the flame, but it was unquestionably still burning.

Molly sat on the cot facing her daughter and took Ginny's free hand into her own and looked into her eyes.

"Oh, Ginny. I know, dear. Sometimes we aren't as in control as we'd like to be."

"Mum, you don't understand. I wasn't in control at all. It was like the thinking part of me had been completely erased. I never, we never would have done anything like that. Harry even keeps his shirt on when we're swimming together in the pond."

"I…Mum, I promise I'm not trying to get out of this, but…I think it was the bond," Ginny said. "We can push emotions through to each other. Right now, Harry is sending me something that feels like calm and comfort and support, but this morning…he was being so sweet. He brought me flowers and told me he wanted to be the first to wish me a happy birthday. He was so gentlemanly that even when I invited him to snuggle under the covers with me, he insisted on lying on top of them instead. He gave me the sweetest kiss and, and I just wanted him to know how much I love him so I pushed all my love through. And—"

"That was love?" Harry interrupted as his eyes bore into Ginny's. "You…you love me?"

Ginny blushed and smiled. "Yes, Harry," she nearly whispered, "I've loved you for a very long while."

"Can you…can you send it through again?"

"I'm not sure that would be wise, Harry," Arthur said, but Ginny just nodded and smiled.

A smile grew on Harry's face as his eyes darkened again. It was a feeling he'd felt before, many times before, and he realized now that it was that unidentifiably wonderful feeling he'd been getting from Ginny since the very beginning. He found the matching emotion inside himself and sent it back at her.

"Is it like this?" he asked, shyly.

Ginny gasped as she felt his love, pure and true and certain, flow through their bond. Mutely, with a tear in the corner of her eye, she nodded.

"Then I love you, too," he said gently as he captured her in a kiss.

When their lips met, the fire inside them burned hotly and fiercely for a moment, and then centered over their hearts before fading into a warm hearth fire that was still sizeable, but seemed much easier to control. Harry opened his eyes as they separated to see the dark brown of Ginny's eyes fade into the depths as her normal, honey-brown color returned. They slowly pulled away from each other, her left hand still clasped tightly in his right as contented grins spread over both their faces. As they turned back towards Ginny's parents, Molly let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand.

Harry and Ginny's smiles slipped off.

"Mum! We're sorry, we got caught up in the moment and—"

"What is that on your chest, Harry?" Arthur interrupted.

Puzzled, Harry looked down at his still-bare chest and let out a gasp of his own. Just over his heart, where the scar from the locket Horcrux used to be, there was now a strange pattern of lines in what appeared to be black ink. It was circular in the middle, with two pointed ovals on both sides, and a strange sort of curved diamond in the center of the circle.

"The Serch Bythol," Molly whispered. She looked at her daughter. "Do you have one, too?"

Ginny pulled at the collar of her shirt and glanced down. Her hand flew to her mouth as she, too, gasped and nodded. Molly looked between the two of them, noting the confused and awed look on both their faces. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was certainly not what she expected her daughter to receive on her birthday.

"It's a Serch Bythol," Molly said, surprising them all again with her unexpected knowledge. "It's an ancient and lesser-known Celtic symbol of everlasting love. It's made of two triskeles back to back, representing two people coming together in body, mind, and soul. As the lines in the triskeles intersect, they form a perfect circle in the center, representing the eternal nature of the love these people share. The Serch Bythol was used in Druidic marriage ceremonies to symbolize a love that will never fade. The hem of my wedding dress was embroidered with dozens of them."

"And now Harry and I each have one over our hearts."

"It seems that you do."

"Is it permanent?" Harry asked.

"I would imagine so."

"If it's used in marriage rituals, does that mean we're…married?" Ginny asked uncertainly.

Molly sighed. "I don't know, Ginny. In the traditional sense, no, I shouldn't think so. As far as the bond is concerned, then perhaps you are. I don't know what that means for you both legally. Arthur will have to check the records at the ministry to see if anything has changed, but whatever the case, it's ultimately up to you two to decide how you think of yourselves. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Ginny and Harry looked at each other and a thought seemed to pass between them.

"I think, for now, maybe we should just carry on as if nothing has really changed. At least until we know if anything really has."

Molly smiled. "I had hoped that's what you would say. I'm not quite ready to lose my little girl just yet, not even to Harry Potter."

Both women smiled before Ginny let out a very girly giggle.

"Stop it, Harry! That tickles!" Ginny squealed.

Harry looked up in shock.

"But I'm not even touching you!"

"What were you doing then?" she asked.

"I was tracing this mark. Do you know it goes on forever? There's no beginning or end."

Molly laughed, "Yes Harry. I believe that's the point."

"Er, right. So, anyway, I didn't tickle you, Gin."

"But you did! Right over my heart! Trace the line again," Ginny commanded.

Harry did as he was told, and Ginny let out another girly giggle.

"Whoa," Harry said. "That's crazy! Does it work both ways?"

Ginny brushed a hand over the mark on her heart, and Harry's eyebrows shot up.

"I felt that!" He exclaimed. "Does it work anywhere else?"

Ginny rubbed her hand over her arm and looked at Harry questioningly. He shook his head.

"Nothing."

Ginny smiled. "That's probably for the best. I wasn't keen on learning what it felt like to shave," she quipped as she rubbed her jawline with a look of relief on her face.

Harry laughed as he thought of how strange it would be to feel Ginny brushing her hair or putting on makeup, not that Ginny wore makeup much, but he, too, felt rather relieved that he only seemed to be able to feel when she touched the Serch Bythol. It would make life much less complicated than it could have been.

Arthur cleared his throat and called the teens' attention back to the adults.

"We still haven't fully addressed the matter we were originally discussing. It's my turn to have a say," Arthur stated, bringing Harry and Ginny back to the original problem at hand and dropping the gleeful smiles from their faces.

"As I've told all my boys," Arthur continued, "I trust that I raised them to make good decisions and to be respectful. I expect no less of you, Harry, and you, too, Ginny. I know that Bill and Fleur didn't wait until they were married, and I rather suspect the rest of my boys haven't either. I know what Ron and Hermione were up to before they left, and now they're halfway across the world, by themselves, in one hotel room, despite what they would like us to believe. I'm not naïve. I also can't hold you to a different standard just because you're my daughter, Ginny. And besides that, if this Serch Bythol really does mean you're married, then it's all moot, anyway."

"What I can ask, though, is that you wait until you're both ready. If the bond really does control you that much, then don't let yourselves get into situations where things could get out of hand. You're both still so young, and based on your reactions this morning, neither of you is ready for this, yet. Married or not, this isn't something you should rush into. You have plenty of years ahead of you for all of that."

"Your mother and I won't bother you about this again, as long as we are confident that you're being responsible, but we also don't want it flaunted in our faces. Be respectful with each other and respectful of our home and our boundaries. That's all we ask."

Ginny and Harry both nodded mutely, their faces, once again, an alarming shade of red.

"Now," Arthur continued with a smile and a wink, "I think it's time for both of you to get dressed and come downstairs. After all, we do have a birthday to celebrate."

"Oh! My last baby is so grown up! I can't believe it!" Molly wailed as she buried her face in Arthur's chest.

"I know, dear, I know, come on, let's go get the breakfast going."

Molly immediately popped up and dashed to the kitchen, suddenly reinvigorated now that she had a task to complete. Arthur shook his head with a chuckle as he followed her down the stairs, leaving Harry and Ginny alone again in her room.

Harry turned to Ginny and opened his arms to her. She snuggled herself against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We got out of that much more easily than I expected," Harry said.

"I agree. This bond is coming in handy."

"Well, it's certainly opened my eyes to some pretty wonderful things."

They were quiet for a few moments before Harry broke the silence.

"So you love me, huh?" he asked her.

He felt, rather than saw Ginny's smile.

"Mmmmm," she replied. "I've loved you for absolute ages."

"Ages?" Harry questioned.

"Eons," she replied.

"Mmmmm," Harry echoed her earlier sentiment. "Tell me again."

Ginny turned around in his arms so she could look into his shining emerald eyes.

"I love you, Harry Potter," she said, reverently.

"I love you, too, Ginny Weasley," he replied.

He pushed his love through the bond and Ginny replied in kind as Harry bent his head down for a long, tender kiss. The hearth fire roared to life, but stayed contained, simply warming them, but not attempting to consume them.

The intentional clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen separated them with a laugh. Ginny hooked Harry's shirt off the floor with her toes and flung it at his face, his Seeker reflexes catching the garment before it could impact.

Ginny sighed as he pulled his shirt back down over his head and Harry smirked at her.

"Admiring my body, Weasley?"

"No. Registering my disappointment at the lack of a Hungarian Horntail tattoo. Shame. I guess you aren't the perfect man for me, after all."

"Hmmm. No Hungarian Horntail. I do have this wicked Serch Bythol, though, but you're not allowed to see it because, apparently, my chest isn't good enough for you."

Ginny sighed dramatically, "Oh well. At least I got my one good look. It'll have to be enough, I suppose."

Harry leaned in with a smirk and kissed her quickly on the lips before placing his mouth next to her ear.

"Maybe someday you'll return the favor," he whispered, before straightening up and sauntering out of her room, leaving a gobsmacked Ginny to pick her jaw up off the floor and get ready for the day.

It was only 8:57 in the morning, and already it was the best birthday she'd ever had.