Ron looks at them in anticipation, "Well, what does Harry write?"
"We're all invited to The Potter Mansion for Holly and Harry's birthday on July 31st, and Harry wants to know if she can spend the rest of the summer with George and me," Fred tells his little brother.
"Why didn't Harry write to me?"
The twins look at each other, but it was Ginny who answered him, "Isn't it obvious, Ron? The way you behaved last year, I doubt that Harry or Holly feels very comfortable with you anymore."
"How did I behave?" Ron asked, not understanding what his little sister meant.
Ron's three siblings give him an incredulous look, "You're joking. You behaved horribly towards Harry and Holly last year," Ginny said, "You didn't believe them when they told you that they didn't enter the tournament."
"I apologized!"
"Yeah, mate, but only after the twins almost got killed," George said.
"Then you tried to use their fame to your advantage." Fred reminded him.
"I did not!"
Fred and George deadpan, "Colin." They say at the same time.
Ron turns bright red from guilt.
"And on top of all that, you insult Holly, and expected Harry to take your side over his sister, you git," Ginny told Ron, "Did you honestly think Harry would choose you over his twin?"
"Well, I-"
"It would never have happened," Fred and George said in unison.
"So, what do I do? How do I prove to Holly and Harry that I can be trusted again?"
"You're going to have to let your actions speak for you, Ronnikins," Fred said.
"You need to stop acting like a Prat and show them you know how to be a true friend," George said.
"I can do that; I can show Holly and Harry that I can be a true friend," Ron said
"It's going to be harder to convince Holly, though, since she's going to Bulgaria until the new term starts," Ginny reminds Ron.
Ron deflates slightly. He knows that of the two of them, Holly will be harder to convince since he insulted her relationship with Viktor. Ron wasn't sure if he would ever regain Holly's trust, but he had to try.
"Oh, and Ginny, Holly wants to know if you and Luna want to spend a week before their birthday with her and Hermione."
"I do but, Luna is on holiday with her dad until August," Ginny told Fred, "Let me go ask Mum before you send a response."
Ginny goes running into the kitchen to inform her mother that they were invited to the Potter twin's birthday and to ask for permission to spend a week with Holly and Hermione before Holly and Harry's birthday, "We need to ask your father, Ginny, but I'm sure he'll say yes."
Ginny squeals and kisses her mother. She knew her dad would say yes, so Ginny goes upstairs to pack. Sure enough, when Arthur gets home from the Ministry, Molly asks him if Ginny can spend a week with Holly and Hermione; he said yes. Ginny sends Pig to the Potter Mansion to let Holly know that she'll be over on Monday.
As Ginny is packing for the week, there's a knock on her door. She answers the door and Ron is standing there, "Is it true that you're going to stay with the Potters?"
"Yes."
"Why do you get to go, and I don't?"
"Because Holly invited me, not you, Ronald."
"Why didn't Harry invite me?"
"Do we have to go over this again, Ron? He doesn't want to see you. It's that simple."
"But, I'm Harry's best mate!"
"Maybe not anymore."
Ron looked at Ginny, alarmed. He knew that the Potter twins were still angry with him, especially Holly. Fred and George made him realize his mistakes last year, but he didn't think that it was enough to cost him his friendship with Harry.
Ginny noticed the stunned looked Ron's face and rolled her eyes, "I don't have time for this, Ron, I have to pack. Tomorrow I'm going to the Potter mansion," Ginny said to her brother and shoved him out of her bedroom.
The next day, Ginny arrived bright and early at the Potter mansion through the floo network. When she arrived, Holly was waiting for her. After Ginny stepped out of the fireplace, Holly hugged the younger girl, "Ginny, it's so great to see you. How have you been?"
"Good, how have you and Harry been?"
"We've been okay, having a little trouble dealing with what happened with Cedric, more Harry than me."
Ginny gave Holly a sympathetic look, "I can imagine it's been hard on both of you."
"Yes, it has, but I think with time we'll get better."
Ginny nods, "Has Hermione arrived yet?"
"No, she should be here any minute."
At that moment, the fireplace roared to life, and Hermione stepped out. Holly and Ginny hugged Hermione then helped her pull her luggage out of the fire. After that, Holly called a house-elf and asked her to take Ginny and Hermione's luggage to their rooms. The little house-elf bowed and snapped her finger, making their bags disappear.
After that, Harry came downstairs and greeted the girls, "Hey, Ginny, Hey Hermione, how are you?"
"We're good, Harry, how are you."
"Good, how has your summer been? How was France, Hermione?"
"It was good; I had a lot of fun with my parents."
"And yours, Ginny?"
"Good, I spent most of my time with Neville at Longbottom Manor. I got to know his grandmother very well. She's a tough lady, but I like her. And I finally convinced Neville to play Quidditch with my brothers and me. He turned out to be a good keeper."
"That's great, maybe we can play later when Neville arrives," Harry said.
Ginny's face lights up, "Neville's coming over too?"
"Yes, since Neville's birthday is the day before ours, we decided to celebrate them at the same time," Harry said to Ginny.
"That's wonderful, is he staying the week also," Ginny asked.
"Yeah, Neville should be here this afternoon," Harry informed the girls.
"Brilliant, in the meantime, why don't we have breakfast," Holly said to her friends and brother.
They head into the kitchen where breakfast is being served, and Remus and Sirius are waiting for them. The girls greet the twin's parents then sit down for breakfast. They sit down to a lovely English breakfast and have a friendly conversation with Remus and Sirius. They talk about the girl's plans for the week, and Remus asks Hermione if she's looking forward to going to Bulgaria as well.
"Oh, yes, Remus, I can't wait to see, Aleksandur," Hermione informed Remus, "When will we be leaving?"
"I have a portkey set up for ten in the morning on August first. Viktor and Aleksandur will meet us, and from there, we'll go to Viktor's house first then to Aleksandur's so that I might meet his parents. After that, I'll come back and tell your parents that you've settled in at Aleksandur's house."
Hermione nods, "Thank you, Remus."
"My pleasure, Hermione."
When breakfast was over, the girls walked down to the village to explore and do a little shopping. Harry decided to work on his summer homework while he waited for Neville to show up. While this was going on, Remus and Sirius were making the last minute arrangements for Neville and the twin's birthday party.
The girls came back to the Manor at noon for lunch; they found Harry waiting in the living room for Neville to arrive. Ginny was so excited to see her boyfriend even though it had only been a week since Ginny had seen Neville. The fire roars to life, and Neville steps through with his suitcase. He brushes the soot off of his shirt then steps out of the fireplace. Neville spots Ginny and smiles brightly. Ginny squeals and runs into Neville's harms, the couple hug and kiss each other sweetly.
"Ginny, I didn't know you were going to be here."
"Yeah, Holly asked me to come to spend the week with her and Hermione before they go to Bulgaria."
Neville smiled, "I'm glad you're here, love," Neville said.
"Me too."
Neville then greeted Harry, Holly, and Hermione. After that, a house-elf came and took Neville's bags to his room, and the friends went to the garden to have lunch with Remus and Sirius. They had roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, pumpkin juice, and treacle tarts for lunch. An hour after lunch, Harry, Holly, and the others went to their rooms to change into their bathing suits to go swimming in the indoor pool that Remus and Sirius had installed. They swim and play around for a few hours then head up to their rooms to shower and change for the evening meal.
The next day, Remus took the kids to London to show Ginny and Neville Muggle London and take them shopping. He let Hermione take the lead as to what to show Neville and Ginny. She took them to all the famous tourist spots. They rode the London Eye; they saw Buckingham Palace and Parliament. After lunch, they continued shopping then later that evening took in a show. Ginny and Neville had the time of their lives riding around in the cabs and taking in all the sights that London had to offer. After the show, they met up with members of the Order of the Phoenix who escorted them back to the Potter Mansion.
For the rest of the week, the quintet hung out at the Potter home. Hermione, Ginny, and Holly were sometimes found in Holly's room talking about their boyfriends and the girls' trip to Bulgaria, while Harry and Neville played Wizard's Chess. Two days before Neville and the twin's birthday, Fred and George arrived, and they were now able to play a decent game of Quidditch with Neville as the Keeper for both teams. They were finally able to convince Hermione to play Quidditch with them, so they took it easy on her so as not to scare her.
On July 31st, Remus and Sirius were up early decorating the house for the trio's birthday. They had streamers and balloons in red and gold everywhere. The first thing they had was a birthday breakfast with the family and Neville's grandmother and great uncle. The house-elves had outdone themselves with breakfast, making everyone their favorite foods. After breakfast, everyone went upstairs to get ready for the party.
Around noon the guests started to arrive. Mrs. Weasley came over first with a birthday cake and food for the party. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Dumbledore showed up as well, along with Members of the Order of the Phoenix showed up for the party as well as many of Holly and Harry's friends from school. Ron showed up a little later with his dad and brothers. He felt terrible that he wasn't invited to stay with the twins earlier in the week, but Ron finally understood that he screwed up.
When Neville and twins came down, they were wished happy birthday by everyone that was there. Mrs. Weasley crushed the twins and Neville in a bear hug and kissed each of them on the cheek much to Harry and Neville's embarrassment. From there, they were passed around to everyone else and were hugged and told happy birthday. At that time, Holly, Harry, and Neville met the two oldest of the Weasley clan, Bill and Charlie.
Bill was tall, thin, handsome, and had red hair like the rest of the Weasley family. He wore it long and in a ponytail, and he had an earring with a fang dangling from it. While Charlie was short and stocky, and he had muscled arms. His face was weather-beaten from working outdoors and was so freckled that he looked tanned. His fingers were usually covered in calluses and blisters, and he had a sizeable shiny burn on one of his arms. Like all the Weasley family, Charlie had red hair.
Bill shook Harry's hand, "It's nice to meet you, Harry," Then he kissed Holly's hand, making her blush, "And you, Holly."
"It's nice to meet you too, Bill. We're glad that you were able to make it to our birthday party," Holly said.
Bill smiled, "Thank you, Holly."
After that, Charlie introduced himself to the twins, patting Harry on the back, nearly knocking Harry over. He smiled at Harry and Holly. "It's nice to meet both of you. Thank you for inviting me to your party."
"You're welcome, Charlie, thank you for coming."
After that, the two brothers turned to Neville, "So you're the one dating our baby sister, Neville Longbottom." Bill said.
Neville squared his shoulders and looked bill straight in the eyes, "Yes, I am." Then he took Bill's hand in a firm grip and shook it.
Bill smiled, "A firm handshake, I like that. Charlie, he seems like a good kid," Bill tells his brother.
Charlie shakes Neville's hand, watching to see if Neville was frightened of him. Neville wasn't scared, he was nervous, but he wasn't afraid of Ginny's older brothers. Ginny had told him all about her brothers, so Neville was prepared to meet them. When Charlie saw that Neville wasn't afraid of him, he nods his head in approval. Charlie slaps Neville on the back.
"Happy birthday, Mate."
"Thank you, Charlie."
After their introductions, Holly suggests that they all play Quidditch until lunch was ready. As they walk to the pitch, Ron grabs Harry by the arm to stop him. Harry looks at Ron curiously, "Is there something that you need, Ron?"
Ron looks at the ground and shuffles his feet, the Ron looks up at Harry, "I only wanted to apologize to you, Harry, for the way I acted last year. I should have known that you and Holly would never have entered the Tournament on your own. I shouldn't have been jealous, and I shouldn't have said that Viktor was using Holly. I had no right to ask you to choose between your sister and me. And I shouldn't have used your fame to my advantage."
"No, you shouldn't have, Ron. And I think you should apologize to Holly about Viktor, though, according to Moony, she's like my Mum and can hold a grudge so it may be more difficult for you to get her to forgive you."
"Do you think she will forgive me?" Ron asked.
"I don't know, Ron. Give her some time, and she might. I can tell you one thing; Holly will never be as close to you as she once was. And frankly, neither will I. I'm sorry." Harry told Ron.
Ron nodded, he hadn't realized how much damage he had done, but Ron had no other choice but to accept it. Harry patted Ron on the back. "Why don't we play Quidditch and get your mind off things for a while?"
Ron gave Harry a sad smile but nodded; the two friends walked towards the Quidditch Pitch, where everyone else was waiting for them.
After they played Quidditch for a while, Everyone goes inside so they could have lunch and later open presents. They had a birthday feast provided by Molly and the house-elves. The twins and Neville were served all their favorite foods, and everyone was having a grand time. when they finished with lunch, Sirius clapped his hands, "It's present time!"
Everyone gathered in the living room where there were a ton of presents for the birthday trio. Remus and Sirius started to hand out the gifts; the trio got a variety of gifts from candies from Honeydukes to books and broom care kits. The big surprise was that Neville got a Firebolt given to him by his grandmother so that he could try out for Keeper the following year.
"I expect you to make the team, Neville," Augusta tells her grandson.
"Don't worry, Lady Longbottom, Neville is the best Keeper now that Wood is gone, he'll make the team easy," Ginny assures her.
Augusta smiles at Ginny's confidence.
The next gift that Holly and Neville got was their Quidditch from Remus and Sirius. Holly and Harry got wand holsters from their parents and new robes from Professor McGonagall. Neville received new plants for his garden and a book on Muggle and magical plants. After all the presents where opened, they had chocolate cake and ice cream. A few hours later, the party finally wound down, and everyone started going home. Remus, Sirius, and the twins thanked everyone for coming and bid them goodnight.
Holly and Hermione hugged Ginny, "We'll write you and let you know how things are going in Bulgaria," Holly told Ginny.
"You better, I expect a letter every day," Ginny said with a grin.
Holly and Hermione looked at each, "Okay, once a week will work," Ginny said. The girls laugh and hug Ginny again.
"Take care of Harry for me, Ginny. He's still angry about Cedric. and he needs the distraction."
"Don't worry, Hol, the twins, and I will keep him busy. And Neville is spending the rest of the summer with us as well. So that will help."
"Thank you."
With that, they say goodbye to the Weasley, and they floo back to the Burrow. Once they've gone, Holly and Hermione head upstairs to go to bed, they need to get up early to have breakfast and portkey to Bulgaria with Remus. And once they leave, Harry would head over to the Burrow for the rest of the summer.