"I hate my hair!" yelled Hermione. She was standing in the washroom with her bushy mess and a brush. My friend went back to attacking it as if it was her mortal enemy.
Parvati sighed and turned around. Hermione had been very moody, especially for her usual calm appearance. "Hermione, stop, you're just going to make it worse… here, I may have something that'll help." She produced a bottle. "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, I use it all the time."
Hermione looked at the bottle suspiciously, read the back and smiled. "Thanks, I'll try some."
I went back to finishing my own hair. I didn't want to tie it up too tightly but wanted to keep it under control for any fast dancing, so I worked on two small braids on either side, just to keep stray strands for interfering.
Hermione's hair was already starting to settle into an elaborate up-do and she handed the bottle back. Parvati asked if I wanted some.
"No thanks, never used it. Mum said there's a warning about redheads so I've never had anything to do with it."
Hermione laughed. "That's what you think." I looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Never read the fine print? The potion's recipe remains a closely guarded secret, owned by the same family of the original inventor, Fleamont Potter."
Lavender said, "You're giving us the mickey."
Parvati said, "No she's not."
I said, "That's Harry's granddad."
Hermione said, "Another company makes it now, but the recipe was licensed and not sold… he must get a few sickles from each sale."
"Well, at least his money comes from something decent."
"It's odd that he's never used it himself, with his unruly hair."
"I like it just the way it is, Hermione. A little unruliness can be fun." I stood up and straightened out my dress. "Zip me up?"
Parvati gave me a hand. My dress was simple but elegant. It was dark black like midnight, with a few very subtle lines of deep green woven in, just to give a hint of color. It went down to just above my knees. I packed my wand so I could cast a warming charm if we decided to get some air. The dress had very thin straps but they were steady enough that I could move without worrying. No shoulders and the cut was fairly modest but definitely showed I wasn't eleven.
I waited for the rest of my roommates and we walked down the stairs to the Common Area together. Hermione and Parvati went on to meet up with their dates. Seamus took Lavender's hand and they walked out.
Ron was nowhere to be seen. He and Neville were both on their own. Maybe they'd find a group to hang with… and I decided to not worry about him right now.
I took a step down the stairs and saw my love's eyes locked on me. I hurried to him.
Harry took several seconds before he was able to start thinking again. "Gin… you look… wow."
I blushed and smiled. "I'd snog you but I think the lipstick needs to stay on me and not you. But later…" I gave him a soft hug and then gasped quietly as I felt his hands on my bare back.
He was looking quite dashing himself. His robes must have been custom-made and had a bright red lining, a bit brighter than Gryffindor colors. He had put on a dash of some cologne — I could smell just a hint of woodsy evergreen.
"If you don't mind," he said, "I have your Christmas gift early. It sort of fits tonight."
He didn't need to ask twice. "Sure, if you want."
Harry pulled out a sparkling necklace made of gold with two stones, an emerald and a ruby. It looked beautiful, especially at Christmas. I grinned. "Thank you, dear. I never was much for jewelry but you are doing a brilliant job of changing my mind." It had a small bit of tarnish, just enough for me to know this was another piece of his mother's and not new. "Help me put it on?"
I lifted the back of my hair and he slipped on the necklace. His hands rested on my neck as he fumbled with the clasp. The stones sat right above the top of my dress, nestled in my center. I caught Harry staring there and a bit lower for a moment before he stopped himself.
"I actually have your gift ready, too. Do we have time?"
"Uh, yes, that's fine, Gin."
I hurried back up to my room (as fast as I could in dress shoes), and grabbed the small box I had wrapped with some paper I had decorated. I presented him with the box. "It's homemade, of course," I said with a little humility.
He smiled and said, "I love those." Harry slowly opened the box and he was presented with a bracelet woven from a several locks of my hair. "Wow… thank you."
"I charmed it best I could so it should last a couple years if I did it right. I thought… it might help when you have any doubt." He gave it to me and I secured it around his left wrist. "You can look at it and remember how much I love you."
Despite my earlier warning, he kissed me softly but soundly. Then I added, "Plus, it doesn't seem fair that I'm the only one wearing something that shows we're together."
"I think you scared all the other girls off anyway."
"Prat," I said, though he was probably right.
He grinned at me and took my hand. "Shall we?" I nodded and we walked towards the anteroom where the champions were meeting.
As I had guessed, Hermione was there with Krum. The Ravenclaw Seeker Cho Chang was escorting Cedric and Fleur was with a French boy who seemed distracted. Harry was a bit surprised, but we kept our eyes on each other as we stepped on to the floor for the opening dance.
The Hall was magnificent. The ceiling showed the clear night sky, but it was a bit out of focus, making it look like it stretched to eternity. There was snow that fell from the ceiling and then faded before it reached us. The chandeliers all had mistletoe hung on them. And I was with the only person I'd ever want.
After dinner, we began with a traditional waltz. Mum had taught me a bit of how to dance when I was younger, but we hadn't been able to afford professional lessons like was usually common for daughters of pure-blood houses. Harry surprised me with his style. He twirled me for a moment and then drew me in close. I did remind myself to let him lead.
He was a little nervous, but he was surprisingly good. "You're done this before."
"A little… I didn't want to be stepping on your toes, so I wanted some practice beforehand."
"It better not have been Lavender."
Harry grinned. "No, Gin. When I was cleaning for one of my detentions, I noticed someone that had won the Quidditch cup and a ballroom competition the same year and thought to ask for help."
"Madam Hooch?" I guessed.
"No… Professor McGonagall."
"Really? I guess I can't see her as a student, riding on a broom or tearing up a dance floor."
He smirked. "She was young once too. And she's nice enough outside of class. She practiced with me a few times."
We passed the next few songs in silent swaying. After that, I needed some refreshments and a minute off my shoes. Harry was getting some biscuits and punch while I sat down next to Fleur.
"Geeny, enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, thanks." I realized while talking to her that I was probably the youngest person here. I saw Luna, who had been quite forward and asked Neville, and a couple other third-years, but I had even barely made the year I was in. "And how are you and your date?"
She shook her head. "Jacques just asked me to make Michelle jealous. Zey are dancing now."
When Harry returned, I said to him, "How about you give Fleur the next dance? Inter-school unity and all that."
"Sure, if you don't mind." Fleur smiled and took Harry by the hand.
Shortly after the next song started, Michael Connor came by. "Ginny, do you want to dance for a bit?"
"Ok, that's fine." We had been good enough acquaintances the year before last, even if I hadn't gone to classes with him recently.
He wasn't nearly as good as Harry, but it was nice catching up with him. Until the song ended. Then he grabbed me around the small of my back and pushed his lips on mine.
Enraged, I pushed him away and slapped him hard across the face with my right hand. I hoped my promise ring would leave a mark. "What the hell! You normally kiss girls that are having a friendly dance with you? I've dating Harry!"
"He's dancing with that bombshell Veela over there. You let her get her claws into him, he's gone. You might as well stay with me."
And I realized why Fleur was so lonely.
I was about to give him a fresh one, but I didn't want to hurt my hand on his rock-hard head. "You're an arse. Go away, now."
He rolled his eyes and walked away. I stood there for a moment until Harry found me. "Fleur says thanks but she could feel you needed me."
I felt dirty after what Michael had tried, and wanted to get him out of his mind. I closed my eyes and squeezed Harry as hard as I could and we shuffled off to a dark corner off the dance floor. Once we were not center stage, I calmed down enough and snogged him good and proper. "Can we get some air, luv?" I asked.
He was still a bit foggy from the kiss, I thought. He did manage to nod and we walked outside. We found a moss-covered statue of a centaur and hid behind it. "Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Michael Connor kissed me. I made sure he won't try again." My boyfriend looked very angry with reason. I firmly informed him, "I took care of it, Harry. If he bothers me again, I'll let you know."
He nodded. "If you dealt with him, I don't think that'll be a problem. I'm sorry I wasn't there. But why would he ever think…"
"He thought you dancing with Fleur meant we were over. He said something about her being a Veela."
Harry shuffled his feet a little. "Yeah, she is. Her wand has a hair of her grandmum's; she mentioned it when they were checking out our wands. She tries to not advertise it much. Fleur was curious why I wasn't being affected by her."
I restarted the kiss from earlier but was quickly interrupted by a row between Hermione and Ron. "He's the enemy! Krum's just trying to get you to spy on Harry. You ought to support your school and your friends."
Bloody hypocrite.
Hermione shouted, "Viktor's a friend and he knows a girl when he sees one and what to do with one. If you wanted something, you could have asked and not think of me as a last resort!"
Krum added, "Ronald, let us be."
I would never hear Ron's retort. I was about to tell them to hush because some of us were trying to get in a good snog, but then Hermione gasped and pointed to the sky toward Hogsmeade.
I whipped around and my blood went to ice. I saw a snake and a skull above the village, the Dark Mark.
Harry started to run towards the village. I tried catching up to him, but it wasn't happening in my shoes. Thankful, Ron did and got him to stop. "I know you want to help, mate, but chances are they did that to lure you out. We need to get back inside."
We walked back to the door, Ron still giving glares to Hermione. I soon heard Fleur's voice, calling for me. "Geeny, 'arry, zey are about to…" We all heard a loud slam followed by a shimmer around the Hogwarts' walls. "Close ze castle," she finished.
We stepped back onto the main oath. Harry looked at me and said, "Wands."
He and Viktor pulled theirs from their robes. I knelt and whispered the charm and soon my mine was in my hand. I looked over and saw Fleur doing the same. "Garter holster with a shrinking charm?"
"Of course, my maman insists, whenever I'm with a boy." Sirius had included mine as an accessory to the dress. It was a good thing too, definitely nowhere else to put it.
I had to laugh at that. "Dating Harry, you learn to expect the unexpected."
I was sure Harry wanted to run to the village, but Ron and Hermione both were defenseless. They finally shut up and we tightened our circle, waiting…
*Arthur*
Christmas Eve without any children for the first time in twenty-four years found me with my wife doing something under the Christmas tree that last time had led to the birth of our daughter. That had been early December, and Ginny was early by a couple weeks, even then she had been in a hurry to grow up.
As we were getting dressed for bed (at my age, sleeping on the floor would have led to regrets), Sirius' patronus appeared. "Attack at Hogsmeade in progress, need help. Apparition wards up, use Aberforth's floo."
I looked at Molly, and she nodded. We quickly put on more useful clothes and hurried over.
Albus' brother was on guard. "Glad to have your help. Sirius, Tonks, Bill, and Remus are here near Honeydukes."
"Thanks. Moody?"
"Albus insists we have someone at the Ministry at all times."
We met up with the rest of the Order that was there, the fight already in progress. The opposition was using stunners and cutting curses and had wild aim. Within a few minutes, some of them were down and the rest of the group had disappeared like a mist. There was no further resistance from the street. Sirius had taken charge. He said, "Pair off and search the area."
Molly and I went towards the unconscious body of one person she had hit. He was wearing a Death Eater mask which I ripped off to reveal an unrecognized face. I broke his wand, bound him using the incarcerous charm, and then levitated him over to the middle of the road for the aurors.
All told, we had six captures, all of whom seemed to be new, inexperienced recruits. And no one recognizable from any of the sacred twenty-eight pure-blood families. Suddenly, I heard a yell that I knew had to be my son's.
I ran over towards his screams. Finally, I saw him pinned to the ground, being mauled by some sort of… well, it must have been a man but it didn't look like one. "Stupefy!"
My stunner went wide left due to my running. Before I could repeat, the attacker grabbed a charm on a necklace and portkeyed away.
I hurried towards Bill and the rest of the group was soon there. His face was shredded and oozing blood and he was moaning. It was hard to see how badly he was hurt in the dark and I dared not risk a light. Tonks handed me a pain potion. I immediately slipped it to Bill and he calmed down and fell asleep.
I then noticed Sirius lying a few yards away. He was bleeding profusely from the head. Tonks waved her wand to stop the bleeding and immobilize him.
Suddenly, I heard the pop of an apparition. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt had arrived. "Tonks, status?"
"Two serious injuries. Sirius took a brick to the back of the head. Bill Weasley was bitten repeatedly."
Remus said, "It was Greyback. It's a week passed the full moon, but he wanted to bite anyway." Remus had a look of disgust.
Tonks added, "I think we should take them up to Hogwarts, better privacy than St. Mungo's. We have six new Death Eaters trussed up over there."
Kingsley nodded. "You all take care of Bill and Sirius. I'll get reinforcements to take that lot back to the Ministry and check for civilian casualties."
We had them levitated and gently floating towards the castle. Molly was openly weeping as I held her hand, not knowing what to say. Memories of her brothers came back and I knew this would happen be the last hurt.
Remus sent a patronus to Dumbledore to let us in. The gates opened when we reached them and we headed to the closest door to Poppy.
We almost were ran over by Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and two students, one each from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. "Mum, Dad," Ginny said.
"What are you doing out?" Molly demanded.
Harry explained, "We were all outside when the castle was locked down…. Merlin, what happened to Bill and Sirius? Are they ok?"
"We're taking them to Poppy."
"We're coming too," Ginny insisted, meaning her and Harry. Ron spoke up as well.
I didn't argue. The French girl said, "I may be of zome help as well."
Hermione and the Durmstrang boy parted from the rest of us. We soon had each of them in a hospital bed.
"Hmm… sharp blow to the head, some blood loss. He may have a concussion and being unconscious is no good. I need to stop any brain swelling soon."
"What creature did this?" she asked about our son.
"An untransformed werewolf," said Remus. "I have never…" he turned around and walked towards the far side of the room. Tonks followed him.
"Let me try to help."
"I was told you had Veela blood?" Poppy asked.
"A quarter."
"All right. I'll start working on Sirius."
Molly and I were each holding one of Bill's hands. Harry had his arms around Ginny and Ron had collapsed in a corner. The strange girl approached. "My name's Fleur Delacour. My grandmuzzer would be able to heal a newly-bitten werewolf if she could treat him within the hour. A Veela charm is the only known cure. His name?"
"Bill," I choked out.
"Geeny's brother?" The family resemblance was still there. She said, "He won't be turned since it wasn't a full moon, but these scarz will not heal properly and there may be other damage. I'll try to help Beel."
Fleur stood at the head of the bed and put her hands on his wounds. A soft trilling sound came from her and her hands began to glow. She stood perfectly still until the glowing subsided fifteen minutes later.
Most of the wounds had closed. There was still noticeable scarring, but he wouldn't need to worry about blood poisoning and his left eye, which I had been worried about, looked saved.
"I'm sorry, but that is the best I can do."
"Miss Delacour, thank you… he looks worlds better," I said.
Bill sputtered and coughed. He looked up and then around. "Dad, Mum?"
Molly smiled and almost squeezed him too tightly. "You'll be ok." He tried sitting up, but I forced him to lie down.
"You're in a bed at Hogwarts. Miss Delacour is part Veela and healed your bite wounds."
"Please, just call me Fleur."
Bill looked up at her. "Thanks, Fleur. For a moment, I thought I was dead and seeing an angel."
She blushed. He must have been a bit punchy from whatever potion I had given him. Probably too much of it.
Poppy finally returned. "I don't envy the headache Sirius will have, but he should be ok in the morning."
Harry looked very relieved.
"And you, Bill… marvelous job, miss. Thank you for helping. I should keep him overnight but I think there's nothing additional for me to do. She turned to us. "Arthur, Molly, I can set you up here for the night if you wish."
"Please, thank you," Molly said. I knew she wasn't going anywhere after what had happened.
Then I heard Tonks practically yelling at Remus. "Damn it, you are nothing like that monster so stop it!"
We all turned to look. Remus was downright embarrassed. He said quietly, "Nevertheless, you deserve someone younger and whole."
I sighed and interrupted. "Sirius and I both think you're being an idiot, Remus. Too young or too old… not so important." I glanced over at my daughter and then Harry and my eldest for a second. "And how many young people have already have been scarred in this war?"
Molly smiled at Harry and then at Tonks and Remus. "We need all the true love we can get."
Tonks held onto him and although he didn't say anything, I knew he had surrendered. It was about time.
Dumbledore arrived a few minutes after midnight. He approached Kingsley and me and said, "My apologies for not coming sooner. I had to get all the students safely to their dorms and almost had a riot stopping the Ball early. I couldn't tell them the truth quite yet. Minister Bones wasn't happy to be woken up, but she needed to know before the Prophet reported the news."
I nodded in resignation. "Sirius and Bill should stay asleep but will be awake tomorrow morning, so we were going to stay until then to make sure." I paused. No one was at the Burrow so it seemed the ideal time… "Dumbledore, with how busy you are, I think it might be best to make me secret keeper for the Burrow. Is that possible and can you make that change?"
"Yes, I suppose, if you're sure. The nature of the charm is that everyone who has been told will still know, but I'll be unable to tell anyone else. That responsibility will be yours."
"I understand." Unfortunately, I no longer felt comfortable being beholden to him.
"If you insist, then hold out your hands." I did and Dumbledore drew his wand. A small blue orb appeared leaving his abdomen and then it floated to my hands and then disappeared. "It's been done. Now, I can take the students back to their dorms; I sealed the doors for the evening. You're welcome to visit your old Common Room tomorrow to see them if you want. Password is 'garland'"
"Thank you." I nudged my daughter who had drifted off while leaning against Harry. Her mouth was half open and she looked like quite the state with her formal outfit. Harry was awake and had a smile despite everything. His eyes betrayed his worry though. I nudged her awake.
"Dad?
"Hey, Professor Dumbledore will help you lot to your rooms. We will be by tomorrow morning."
Fleur hadn't left Bill's side. I promised we'd see her tomorrow as well.
I usually didn't sleep well in a hospital bed, not that I had nearly the opportunities that most of my children had. But I was so drained, it didn't matter.
The next morning, Molly was already up and tending to Bill by the time I was awake. Sirius still hadn't woken up. Once the initial fuzziness after waking had worn off, I stood next to him. "Hey Dad," he croaked.
"How do you feel?"
"A bit sore, somewhat of a headache, but glad to be feeling anything, I think."
"You want to try to get up and use the loo?"
"Yes, please. I never cared for hospital gowns." I grabbed onto his right hand slowly helped him sit up and then put some weight on his feet. I was worried about dizzy spells. Bill took one step in front of the other until he was confident enough on his own. I went back and put an arm on my wife.
"He'll be ok."
"For now… I'm afraid this is far from the end, dear. I couldn't bear losing you or any of the kids after what happened with my brothers." They had both been killed in the first round of the war.
Once Bill reemerged, I asked, "Feel good enough to walk over to Gryffindor Tower?" He nodded.
I made sure we went slow — probably started frustrating Bill a bit, but I didn't want to take chances. When we reached the door, I gave the password and we went inside.
The Common Room was a bit more crowded than normal for Christmas Day, but most of the students must have gone to the Hall for breakfast. Ron was the first one to see us and waved us over to an area they had staked out.
Harry and Ginny had been stretched out on a couch. They got up and gave us a four-way hug. It looked like all the kids had put on the jumpers that Molly made them each year. At one point, giving them was a necessity with the income we had. By now, it was tradition and we usually got them all a little something extra when shopping for school.
Harry's was red with an "H" and a lightning bolt. Ginny's had the same symbol next to her "G". Ginny hugged her mum a little longer and I think she got the message.
Even so, I pulled my daughter away when I had the opportunity, just to check. "Yes, Dad?" she said, trying a bit hard trying to look innocent.
"I wanted to ask how you and Harry were getting along."
"Brilliant," she said with a grin.
"He's not trying anything he shouldn't?"
"Dad…." she groaned, a bit annoyed, "it's Harry. He's almost being too good."
"You don't deserve anything less, and I didn't expect anything less from him, but girls can make blokes lose their heads."
"Yes, sir." She paused and then said, "Look what he got me for Christmas!" She held her necklace softly in her hand. "It's not too fancy so I can wear it everyday."
I looked at it and struggled to keep my composure. "Make sure you take good care of it." It had to have been worth a thousand galleons, if not more.
"I will. It was his mum's, it's really special."
"And I assume that was a hair bracelet I saw on Harry?"
"Yes. I'm not as good as knitting as Mum, and Harry has everything store-bought he ever needed."
I smiled at her. "I understand, but do you really understand what that usually means?" The hair usually was tantamount to the witch promising the rest of herself.
"I do. And I mean it. I don't expect he'll ask for many years, but I mean it. I really love him, Dad."
I kissed her forehead and thoughts of the prophecy almost broke my heart. Trying to stop her would break hers, though.
Harry interrupted us with a silver tray. "Carrot cake? Dobby made it this morning. He says it's technically a quick bread, so it's ok for breakfast," he said with a smile. "He also brought some fudge and some homemade socks."
"I didn't see him," Ginny said as she took a bite of Harry's piece and turned her attention towards him.
"It was about six-thirty. He had to get back to cooking breakfast and I figured you weren't up." The couple started drifting away with their conversation.
Ron found me a few minutes later. "Dad…"
"Yes?"
"Happy Christmas."
"You too. So is everything worked out with you lot?"
He looked a tad stunned. "Maybe… I hope so. I'd been on pins and needles waiting for a Howler from you or Mum. I started to think you hadn't heard."
I shook my head. "No, I did. George and Fred actually wrote about how things were after Harry was picked for the tournament. They were worried about all three of you," I hastily added before he got upset. "We didn't say anything because I figured you needed to work things out."
"Thanks…"
"But did you ever really not believe Harry? He's been almost a broom to you." And better than at least one of his brothers had been acting
He paused. "I suppose not. Things are just… difficult. It was easier to be mad at him."
"Ron, it's called growing up. You're almost fifteen and time to be your own man, not a copy of Bill or Percy or Harry. Time to figure out what you want. Before an international Quidditch star asks her to another Ball."
He had a sheepish grin. "That was on me. I hope I have another chance."
"I think you will. If not, it wasn't meant to be. But don't be wasting the next opportunity."
"I wish things were easier, like Harry and Ginny."
"No, son, you don't wish things were like what they've been dealt … First, Harry's made his shares of cock-ups, he just is a bit more discreet… between the two of them, Hedwig's been getting plenty of exercise mailing me and your mum. Probably Sirius too. And, Ron, be thankful you are dealing with growing up now. Think about what he had to deal with. Harry never had the chance to be a kid and your sister had to grow up far too early."
He nodded. "Mum's jumper our first year was his first gift that wasn't rubbish… actual rubbish, I mean. I forget."
"He wants you to forget, I think. Things will come to you in time. Your sister… well, she's been blessed with what she's found at her age. Try to be both their friend. They are a bit of a package deal now and I don't see that changing."
As long as they both survived.
*Ginny*
I was polishing off my piece of carrot cake, Harry was smiling at me but I could see some hesitation. "Sirius?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'd like to go check on him."
"Sure, let's go."
Bill must have been eavesdropping. "Would you mind if you help me to wherever the Beauxbatons students are? I'd like to thank your friend but Mum and Poppy will have my neck if I try walking it myself."
Harry nodded, "That's fine. It's on the way."
While we were walking, Harry asked Bill plenty of questions about his employers. It figured he would have plenty of dealings with them once he was an adult and had to manage all his holdings. His hand never left mine, even though Bill glanced more than once.
Harry knocked on a door that normally wasn't there most years. An annoyed, half-asleep girl answered., "Yes…?"
Bill took over. "I was hoping to see Miss Delacour, if she's available?"
"One minute."
Fleur came out a in a bit. "Hello, Geeny. Joyeux Noel."
"Happy Christmas." We exchanged kisses on the cheek. "My brother Bill wanted to be properly introduced."
She presented her hand and my brother gently shook it. Bill said, "Miss Delacour, it's a pleasure to meet you while awake. Thank you for healing me yesterday.
"Please, call me Fleur. And I was happy to help."
Harry was unusually quiet. I said, "We were going to check on Harry's godfather. He's still in a hospital bed."
"Sure, I could use ze walk."
Harry and I walked hand-in-hand with Bill and Fleur behind us. I heard her ask, "So, Beel, what do you do when not being fighting hand to hand with a werewolf?"
That earned chuckle from him. "Hopefully that won't be a habit. I'm officially a cursebreaker for Gringott's. I lived in Egypt for a few years, but I decided to come back home last year. Not as much call for cursebreaking her, so I also liaison for some of the bank's bigger clients like Harry here, or whatever else they ask me to do."
Harry glanced back and smiled at him. "All for your sister," he said cheekily.
I turned my head and Fleur had a small grin. "I've alwayz wanted to visit Egypt. I've traveled some on ze continent, but not Africa."
"It was really amazing."
"So, 'arry, what's your godfather'z name?"
"Sirius Black." I heard a stutter in her usual dainty steps. He quickly explained, "Yes, he was sent to Azkaban for murder… he had been accused of leading Voldemort to my parents. But it was actually another friend of theirs. He's been out for the last year."
We were finally in Poppy's domain. Sirius was sitting up and eating some porridge. I said, "Bill, I think we will be here a few minutes."
"Ok. I feel much stronger now. Fleur, would you care to continue our stroll for a little longer?"
"Oui, I'd enjoy zat."
Harry and I slowly walked towards Sirius. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Like I've gotten ran over by the Hogwarts Express… twice… pounding headache still. But luckily it was the back of my head, so the ladies won't be sad." He stopped for a second. "Oh, I'm sorry Ginny. Bill looks a lot better than he did yesterday. That little French number doesn't seem to mind."
I smiled at him. "Remus said James was the charming one, anyway."
"Too right. I was always a bit more direct."
Harry asked, "I thought you were going to be out of country still?"
"Well, I had some opportunities that presented themselves. I can't talk about it here and it's not all certain, but it should be some help in the war. How about you both come over for Easter, by then it should be done."
"I'd love to, if Mum can be persuaded."
"Yeah, I'll come but I'd rather have Gin with me."
That was pretty much a constant state with him. I hadn't yet felt smothered by him, so I didn't mind.
"I'll see what I can do," he said. "Did you like the threads for the Ball? Tonks helped with Ginny's of course."
"Yes, thanks. The Ball was wonderful," I said, "though a bit short.'
Sirius looked over and said, "I'm sure there will be plenty more."