"Harry!"
Harry's saw a red blur and then he was being wrapped in a big hug by Ginny. Harry had never been particularly good at hugs, but something about hugging Ginny just felt right. Her small frame fit perfectly against him and her hair smelled like wildflowers and sunshine. Harry felt his heart start to beat faster and he shook himself out of his musings.
"Hi, Ginny," he said as he took a step back.
"Harry, thank God you showed up! Mum's been barking mad for four days, scrubbing the floors, dusting the shelves and the tops of picture frames...I mean, who sees the top of the frame anyway?"
Harry smiled at his best friend. The tall, red-haired boy had always thought the prep work for house guests was a bit odd, considering everything was just going to get messed up again.
"Ron, don't start with me, I'm still angry with you about earlier. Harry, dear! It's so wonderful to see you! How have you been? Has that family of yours been treating you alright?"
Mrs. Weasley had swept Harry into a bone-crushing hug while she talked and then stepped back waiting for his response.
"Yeah, it was fine. No different than it usually is, but…."
"Harry," Ginny interrupted him, "why are you so sweaty?"
Harry wiped his hand across his forehead and realized for the first time that there was a slight sheen of sweat covering his face. Of course, it made sense to him, since he'd just walked a mile to the Burrow and it was July after all.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing, I just got a little warm while I was walking here. What?" He'd stopped talking when he realized all four of the Weasleys were staring at him with looks ranging from Ron's confused look to Ginny's dawning outrage.
"What do you mean you walked?" Ginny asked. "Did those people make you walk all the way from their house to here?"
"No, uh, Uncle Vernon drove me, he just dropped me off about a mile down the road and I walked from there. It wasn't so bad, I swear!" Harry said as he saw the anger written on the Weasley's faces.
Mrs. Weasley started the onslaught of responses by fussing over him and making him sit in a chair near an open window, "Making a child walk a mile in this heat...I have half a mind to go over there and…" She made sure Harry was comfortable before turning to the boys.
"Ron, Fred, George, please bring Harry's things up to Ron's room. Harry, don't even think about moving," she said when she saw Harry start to stand up to help. Harry knew better than to argue with her when she made a fuss over someone. He threw an apologetic look at Ron, who just shrugged and waved it off. Ron knew that it was impossible to go against his Mum when she was angry. Well, her and Ginny...and Hermione. All three of them were highly intimidating when they were angry.
Ron grabbed Hedwig's cage and started up the twisting staircase to his room, followed closely by Fred and George, who had each taken a hold of Harry's trunk to lift it up the stairs, "I told you we should have gone and gotten him. Would've been easy" George said to his twin.
"You don't have to tell me, I was ready to go, but Mum locked us in our room to prevent us from going, remember?" Fred said.
Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Mum locked you two in your room because you wanted to try one of your experimental candies on Harry to shrink him so he'd fit in your pocket…"
Harry had been following the three boys' progress up the stairs and raised an eyebrow at Ron mentioning what the twins had planned for him, maybe walking a mile in the heat wasn't my worst option…
As Harry sat next to the window trying to cool down with the warm breeze that was filtering in, he felt something cool being pushed into his hand. He looked to his left where Ginny was putting a cup of cold water in his hand.
"Here, drink this" she said. Her forehead was slightly wrinkled with concern and she sat in a chair she'd pulled up next to Harry's.
"Thanks," Harry took the cup thankfully, he really was quite thirsty. While he was taking a sip, Ginny had dipped a cloth into a bowl of water that sat on a small table near her elbow. He hadn't even seen her bring it over with her. She wrung out the cloth and brought it to Harry's face.
"This should help cool you down a bit. Imagine making you walk a mile, it's ridiculous! Of all the awful things to do to someone…" Ginny continued to berate the Dursley's for their general awfullness, but Harry's attention had been caught by the girl who was carefully sweeping the cool cloth across his face.
Ginny's thick, fiery red hair reached her shoulder blades, with small pieces being blown around by the light breeze blowing in from the window. Her pale skin was smooth with a dusting of light freckles across her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose. Her full lips were still forming words about the Dursley's, but Harry couldn't make himself pay attention. Harry felt his face grow warm at his thoughts. Ginny's beautiful brown eyes were focused on Harry's face, but they widened slightly as they took in Harry's rising color.
"Harry? Harry, are you sure you're alright?" Ginny looked at him, her face full of concern.
Harry felt his face go ever redder and prayed Ginny wouldn't notice, "Yeah, um, I'm fine. Guess I'm just a little tired, is all." He tried to smile at her, but he found that he couldn't do anything except get those few words out.
Ginny's face changed to understanding and she gently took Harry's hand and tugged on it, "Come on, Harry, let's get you settled in Ron's room. Dinner's not for a couple of hours, so you can get some sleep."
Harry just nodded gratefully, he didn't think he was capable of much else. Ginny brought Harry to Ron's door and gave him another quick hug, "I'm glad you're here, Harry."
Her words filled Harry with an unexplainable amount of happiness. She started to go back down the stairs but he stopped her, "Ginny?"
She turned around again, "Yes?" she looked at him curiously.
"Um, thanks...for the water and the, uh, towel" Harry felt like an idiot, what was wrong with him?
Ginny smiled at him, "You're welcome, Harry. Sleep tight," and with that she turned and walked back down the stairs.
Harry scrunched his brow and opened the door to Ron's room. He chuckled a little at the sight of Ron sound asleep on his bed. Harry had wondered what had happened to him. Harry moved to his bed situated diagonally from Ron's and layed down on top of the blankets.
Harry couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He'd been fine on the way there even though he'd walked for so long in the heat. Then as soon as he'd seen Ginny, it was like his brain had stopped functioning. It must just be the heat, Harry thought. That's it, I'll just get some sleep and then I'll be fine. Harry had barely gotten this thought out before he fell asleep.
