Chapter Thirty-Six – A Different Birthday
All throughout the week, tension between Harry and Ginny escalated. Ginny continued to badger him about what she was going to be getting for her birthday, and Harry refused to give in to her pleas. The practice duels between them became fiercer and fiercer as the week wore on.
Wednesday brought a significant change to their routine with the advent of Viktor Krum at the breakfast table. Sirius greeted him with enthusiasm and informed everyone that Viktor would be training Harry and Ginny in the use of the staff, with their first lesson scheduled for later that morning.
With much enthusiasm, Harry and Ginny sped through their morning routine. When the time to work with Viktor arrived, he took them outside to a small clearing near the house. The ground was littered with pine needles and provided a soft cover for when they fell, which he assured them they would. He began by showing them how to hold the staff and some basic moves. It was almost like learning the steps of an elaborately choreographed dance.
Both Harry and Ginny were beginning to see how their lessons complemented and built upon each other. The time spent in physical training and in formal dance class made learning staff wielding that much easier. Viktor indicated a rack to the side of the clearing on which rested several staves. He encouraged them to take their time choosing their staff. He stressed the importance of choosing the correct one as a connection would be forged between the user and the staff. He further challenged them with the eventuality of crafting their own staves, imprinting them with their particular individual magic and life forces.
Harry looked at Ginny with an excited gleam in his eye. She could tell he was impatient for that time to come. Harry loved a challenge, and the thought of wielding something he himself had created fuelled his fancy. She had to admit to herself she also found the concept quite a heady one.
Once they had chosen their staves, Viktor had them practice the basic moves. He had them repeat the steps over and over again. When he saw they were becoming frustrated, he encouraged them by reminding them it was necessary for the moves to become second nature. They needed to be able to act and react without having to think about it. Until that time came, they would be handicapped if they were forced to use their skills in battle.
Harry reminded himself this was just like any other type of physical training. His body had to learn the motions until everything became automatic. That point would mark the beginning of true mastery.
Once they grasped the basic moves, Viktor had them practice the moves against each other. By the time they had finished sparring, their bodies were bruised from shoulders to shins. As they walked back towards the villa, they could barely walk, and had to rely on each other's support to make it to the foot of the steps where they collapsed onto the ground.
When they didn't appear for their next class, Sirius sent out a search party. Bill exited the villa and almost tripped over the pair at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oy, you two. Get your lazy arses up. Fleur is waiting for you inside," declared Bill.
"But Bill, we can't move," whined Ginny.
Harry wisely kept his mouth shut, and attempted to manoeuvre his body into a a standing position.
Ginny gave him a dark look, and mouthed, "Traitor!", but she too struggled to her feet. It was obvious they would be getting no sympathy from their instructors.
Fleur took pity on them and used their time together to teach them some NEWT level healing Charms and told them to practice them on each other. Harry and Ginny diligently followed her instructions and were thrilled to have success their first time around. Obviously, practical applications were a great motivator. The rest of their teachers made note of this and planned on making good use of that knowledge in the future.
By Friday, Harry and Ginny were more than ready for a break. It had been an intense week of training and learning, and they felt themselves pushed almost to their limits. On top of everything, they had yet to decide where they were going to celebrate Ginny's birthday.
They had been debating the advantages and disadvantages of staying at the villa for her birthday celebration versus travelling to Grimmauld Place. They still hadn't made a definite decision before they headed off for bed on Thursday evening - despite the fact her birthday was the following day.
As they lay cuddled together in Harry's bed, Harry stroked her hair gazing intently into her face which was eerily lit by the pale moonlight. His other hand drew lazy circles about her waist as he thought about kissing her again. After a bit of an internal debate, Harry decided they needed to settle the issue of where to celebrate her birthday before he would allow himself to indulge in her sweet kisses.
"Ginny, are you afraid of going back and seeing your family?" he asked quietly, hoping they would be able to talk this through and not end up rowing about it, as they had every other time the topic had come up.
Ginny curled her hand into a tight fist into the front of his pyjama shirt. She was silent for a long moment, and then, as if finally finding courage in the dark, actually answered his question.
"I...I...think I am," she replied softly. "I've read the letters my mother has sent, and the ones Dad has sent also, but I'm still not certain. Everything will be different. My Mum was just so awful the last time I saw her. I want a happy birthday. Not one filled with tension. I'm just afraid that if we go, it will be dreadful."
She buried her head in his chest, unwilling to meet his eyes any longer. "Does this make me a horrid daughter?"
Filled with relief that they were finally addressing the heart of what had been bothering her, Harry just pulled her close and rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her.
"Ssh, ssh. It doesn't make you horrid at all. Why don't we make a point of going to visit your family before the summer is over, and spend tomorrow here, with our family?" he suggested.
Ginny raised her head looking at him searchingly. Reassured by what she saw in his eyes, she nodded.
"That sounds wonderful, Harry. I do want see them, but I'd rather avoid the potential for drama right now. It still hurts so much - the way they treated you and Sirius. My head understands Mum wasn't thinking straight, but I hate that she wouldn't even listen."
Ginny blinked back the tears which were threatening. "It sounds so dreadful, but if I had to choose between my family and you, Harry, I...I would choose you," she finished in a rush, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
"Oh, Ginny. I hope you never have to do that," Harry murmured into her hair, holding her even more tightly against his body. "It means so much to me to hear you say that," he whispered, his voice cracking.
Ginny simply reached up and pulled his head down, pressing her lips firmly against his. There was so much hurt still inside Harry. She could feel it beating at him at odd times. He had suffered so much rejection over the course of his life, it was still hard for him to accept people actually cared about him. That he even had a family.
The people here on this island had become Harry's family. He was fiercely protective of them, and he would be devastated if any of them were harmed. Ginny knew it was these feelings motivating him to train harder and longer, to master all that was set before him as swiftly as he could. She was almost beside herself attempting to keep up with him, but her devotion to him and her Weasley pride refused to allow her to be left behind.
After a few more heated kisses, the pair parted and allowed themselves to drift off into a contented sleep, the anxiety about the following day's plans having finally been put to rest. As had become their custom, in the pale light of early dawn, Ginny crept off to her own bed and fell back asleep.
The sun was well into the sky when she was roused by Harry bouncing on the end of her bed, chanting "Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! C'mon, sleepyhead, time to wake up! Everyone is downstairs waiting for you. We're all hungry, and we can't start until you come down."
Ginny pushed him off the bed, muttering something rude under her breath, and Harry landed in a heap on the floor as she reached for her wand. Seeing the dangerous glint in her eyes, Harry scrambled to his feet and made for the door, wanting nothing more than to avoid being on the wrong end of his girlfriend's wand.
Ginny stalked after him, twirling her wand between her fingers, face still puffy from sleep.
"Next time, Potter, there will be no second chances."
Before he could protest, she leaped forward and shoved him through the opening. With an evil smirk, she shut the door firmly in his face.
"Prat!'
To Harry's immense surprise, not ten minutes later Ginny appeared in the kitchen, a broad smile on her face. Everyone called out, "Happy Birthday!" and showered her with hugs and well wishes.
Breakfast was rather noisy and chaotic affair. Between bites of bangers and eggs, Ginny announced she would rather open her gifts after supper. In honour of her birthday, it had already been decided they would only put in a partial day of work.
Once breakfast was finished, Harry and Ginny headed outside for their physical training. Unfortunately, their instructors must have been of the opinion they should be worked twice as hard, in an effort to make up for lost time. By the time the noon meal rolled around, both teens were exhausted.
"I can't wait to collapse on the beach. If this is how birthdays are celebrated here, I'm not certain I'll be around next year," Ginny quipped.
"I'm right behind you," Harry grumbled. "Was it this hard on my birthday?"
"I think so. My brain is so foggy, I'm having a hard time remembering my name, let alone what happened almost two weeks ago."
"Fat lot of slave drivers they are."
Hurrying their steps, Harry and Ginny caught up to Remus and Tonks, who had already headed up toward the villa, and began ribbing them for having lost two out of three of their duelling matches. They had almost reached the steps, when they heard the faint pops of apparation. Immediately four wands were drawn and trained on the apparition point. Harry almost let loose a stunner before he recognised his godmother and her son.
"Sirius Orion Black!" yelled Harry. "Get your mangy arse out here!"
Sirius exited the villa at a dead run, wand drawn, an anxious expression on his face. Looking around, he attempted to pinpoint the source of the commotion. Espying Carina and Procyon, a huge grin crossed his visage, and he holstered his wand and started to descend the stairs, only to be halted by a furious Harry Potter.
"Sirius, if you ever invite someone here without letting us know first, I will personally hang you upside down and leave you dangling!" snarled a completely brassed off Harry. "I almost stunned my godmother!"
Raising his hands in mock surrender, Sirius protested, "But I wanted this to be a surprise for Ginny's birthday. It's not my fault you're a little trigger happy."
"You try having a Dark Lord after you," retorted Harry, thoroughly disgusted with his godfather's insensitivity.
Ginny leaned over and and whispered quietly in his ear, and Harry drew a couple of deep breaths, and continued. "I'm sorry, Sirius, for yelling at you. I guess I over reacted a tad."
Sirius walked up to his godson and gave him a hug. "No problem, pup. I guess I should have warned you. There is no such thing as being overly cautious these days." Gesturing towards Carina and Procyon, who still hadn't moved, he suggested, "Why don't we greet our guests, and then we can go in and eat?"
Harry went over and greeted Carina and Procyon, Sirius and Ginny following close behind. Carina angled herself away from them slightly, and kept one hand draped casually behind her back. Harry noticed, but he was fairly certain that, in the confusion of greetings, Ginny did not. He was dreadfully curious as to what Carina was hiding behind her back.
The group made their way into the villa, laughing and chattering. Greetings were further exchanged when they reached the dining room and everyone sat down for the noon meal. The elves brought baskets of crusty bread and bowls of Greek salad, liberally sprinkled with olives and feta. A dish of sautéed fish followed accompanied by a bottle of white wine.
Throughout the meal, Remus's eyes kept sliding over to Carina and Procyon, a slight frown marring his features. Every attempt to catch Sirius' gaze met with failure. It was almost as if his old friend was deliberately avoiding him. Although Sirius was the leader of their group, almost all of the decisions had been made as a team. That Sirius had neglected to even inform anyone of the Contis pending visit, let alone discuss the appropriateness of the situation, grated.
When the meal was over, everyone scattered to change for the beach. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazily lying in the sun and swimming in the sea. One of Ginny's best parts of the afternoon was lazily snorkelling through the crystal clear waters enjoying the awe-inspiring underwater views. The only drawback was the need to keep reapplying the sunblock charm. The last thing she wanted was to spend the rest of the day suffering from sunburn.
As the afternoon wore on, people began straggling back towards to the villa to ready themselves for the evening's festivities. Supper was a raucous affair. Sirius and Remus regaled everyone with tales of the Marauders, whilst Carina kept commenting with asides about the true nature of the stories.
Finally Sirius broke. "Woman, would you stop ruining our stories?" he roared. "We have a reputation to uphold, and it seems as if you are doing your best to destroy it."
"Nice of you to finally figure that out," tartly remarked Carina.
"Stuff it!" exclaimed Sirius.
Carina's eyes widened at his words, and she opened her mouth to retort, when Sirius bent down and kissed her quite thoroughly, to the whoops and cheers of the rest of the table.
Eventually, Harry decided it was time for presents, so, with a wave of his hand, he cleared the table, then summoned a large stack of presents from their hiding place. The gifts piled up in front of Ginny, who wore a dazed expression. Even amongst her large family, she had never before received such a substantial number of gifts.
The boxes were opened with much laughter and fanfare, and the gifts passed around so everyone could admire them. Ginny was rather overwhelmed at the generosity of her new family.
Carina insisted that she open the box from Procyon and herself first. When a ball of grey fluff popped out of the box and started miaowing loudly, she understood why.
Bill and Fleur had pooled together and given her a pair of dragon hide boots in a deep green colour. Sirius bought her a gorgeous dragon hide duster to match the boots. Tonks had purchased a wand holster for her, which thrilled her to no end. Now she had a safe place to stow her wand, and didn't need to bother with where to store it when changing outfits.
Remus had given her several books, amongst them books on becoming an Animagus and one on Fire Magic. Upon opening the box from Fleur and Tonks, Ginny turned bright red. She hastily shut the box, refusing to pass it around, but rather stuffed it under her seat and applied a sticking charm to it.
There was also a small pile of gifts from her rest of her family. Hermione had sent her the traditional gift of books, whilst Ron had provided her with a stash of chocolate frogs.
Fred's and George's gift was a box full of pranks accompanied by a note explaining what everything did. They had also included a parchment to Harry requesting him to take special note of several of the pranks, as they were working on a line of products which could be potentially useful in the upcoming war and welcomed his input and advice.
Charlie had sent her dragon hide gloves to match the boots and duster, and a miniature of a Chinese Fireball, which actually breathed fire. Ginny decided she had better be quite careful where she placed it, lest she set the house on fire.
Her parents had sent a letter along with a a picture album. When Ginny finished looking through it, she had tears in her eyes. She was immensely grateful for Harry's hand on her back as she attempted to regain her equilibrium. Surreptitiously wiping away her tears, she turned her attention back to the final two gifts yet to be opened.
Ginny had deliberately saved Harry's presents for last. The first box, which was rather small, contained an exquisite enamelled pendant of a phoenix in flight. She had never seen anything so lovely in her life. Awed at its beauty and sense of power, words failed her. Once again, tears welled in her eyes, this time of happiness. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek in silent thanks, hoping he would understand what words could not express.
Finally, she turned her attention to the larger box. Tearing off the wrappings, she opened it up and sat in stunned disbelief. There in the box, lay the broom of her dreams. She raised eyes to Harry's, her face glowing with excitement and happiness.
"How did you manage this?" Ginny breathed. "I was there the whole time we were in the shop. I thought the gentleman said the broom had yet to go into production."
Harry looked somewhat embarrassed. "Well, erm, it hasn't actually. This is, erm, the test broom. I'm sorry it's not new, but I didn't have much of a choice, really, if I wanted to give it to you today." He looked down at the table top and then back up at her. "I hope you don't mind it being used."
Ginny stood up, dislodging the kitten who had been curled up in her lap, and threw her arms around Harry and hugged tighter than he'd ever been hugged before. "Harry, you prat! It's perfect. It's more than perfect. It's amazing. I never dreamed of owning a broom, let alone this broom. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Harry's blush almost matched the colour of Ginny's hair. "Gin, it was nothing. I just wanted to do something nice for you." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You've done so much for me, given me so much, I just wanted to do something for you." Lowering his voice even more, he continued. "I have something else for you, but I want to give it to you when we're alone. Maybe we can take a stroll a little later on? Eh?"
"Of course we can, Harry," Ginny replied in a similarly low voice, bestowing upon him a radiant smile. "I'd love to go for a stroll with you."
