AS STRONG AS WE ARE UNITED A Harry Potter fanfic by Winky
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this I would be married to Bill, living at the Burrow and raising my own little redheaded boys. Characters, chapter titles, and other brilliance belong to JKR.
Special thanks to Arabella for her thoughtful comments, and to Dobby for her unique methods of encouragement.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BEGINNING
When Harry woke the next day the house was still and quiet. Even the ghoul in the attic was silent. Harry lay watching the Chudley Cannons swooping across Ron's ceiling, thinking about his conversation with Ginny and wondering how long it would be before Mrs. Weasley came in to wake them up. But after several minutes the silence was broken by a loud rumble from Harry's stomach, and he decided to go make himself a spot of toast. He was careful not to wake Ron as he pulled on his clothes and tiptoed into the hall, where he could hear muffled snores coming from the twins' room. He picked his way down the stairs, avoiding the creaky step at the bottom, and headed for the kitchen.
Halfway across the living room Harry stopped, his eyes fixed on the couch. Ginny was curled up in one corner, fast asleep, a half-finished mug of cocoa on the table in front of her. Harry moved closer, but she looked so peaceful, with the morning light shining on her face and her lips parted in a soft smile, that he decided against waking her. Absently he bent to brush a coppery lock off her forehead, and Ginny's breath tickled his cheek. Harry froze, his fingers still resting amidst the fine curls at her temple. If he leaned forward just the tiniest bit-
He felt her stir a second before she opened her eyes and abruptly withdrew his hand. "Morning, Ginny," Harry stammered hastily. "I was just about to wake you." He managed a weak smile as Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes, but his heart was beating wildly against his ribs. Where in the name of Godric Gryffindor had IthatI come from? She was IGinny WeasleyI, after all, his best friend's little sister, even if she had grown rather pretty. Not that he thought so, of course. Yet-
Ginny's voice snapped Harry away from his very confusing thoughts. "What? Oh-yeah, sure," he shrugged. "I'll make tea. No problem." Ginny gave him an odd look as she passed by to go upstairs, and Harry fled to the kitchen with his head in his hands. He was sure his face must be redder than his Quidditch robes. IWhatI had he been thinking?
Luckily Harry was distracted when Ron and the twins came stumbling bleary-eyed into the kitchen a moment later, their shirts only half tucked in, and the rest of the family quickly followed. Hermione and Ginny came down soon after, and there was a great deal of bustle trying to get everyone fed and packed on time. Mr. Weasley and Percy had gotten leave to see their family off, and the Ministry had even provided a couple of cars as a special reward for all their hard work over the past few months. Somehow they managed to squeeze six trunks, two owls, a cat, four broomsticks, and seven people into said cars for the journey to King's Cross Station, which fortunately was much shorter than Harry remembered. He had quite a time getting out of the car while balancing Hedwig's cage, a broom case, and his trunk all at once, and he could see Hermione and the Weasleys struggling as well.
"Hermione!" shrieked Ron, pitching suddenly towards the pavement when Crookshanks streaked between his feet as he stepped out of the car. "Can't you keep that animal out of the way?"
"Sorry, Ron," Hermione gasped breathlessly, catching his arm before he landed in the dirt. "You know Crookshanks hates car trips-I just lost hold of him." She helped Ron straighten up and smoothed the front of his shirt. "Are you all right?"
Ron made an odd, strangled sort of noise. "Fine." He gave a stiff nod and looked away from Hermione's gaze. "Here, let's get your trunk," he said hastily, ducking back into the car.
Harry turned to Ginny, who was smiling broadly at Hermione and her brother as they disappeared together through the magical barrier to platform nine and three-quarters. "Maybe he'll figure things out sooner than we thought," said Harry with a grin.
Ginny shook her head laughingly. "I hope so. It's getting harder not to point out the obvious." She pushed her trolley up next to his and gestured towards the barrier. "Are you ready?"
Harry looked at the metal gate for a moment, thinking of what awaited him on the other side. He took a deep breath and turned back to Ginny with a nod. "Yes," said Harry.
THE END
Author's Note: Well, that was it (no sequels except Book 5, folks!). However, Dobby has written a companion Ginny POV piece to this, called Let Me In, that you will enjoy if you liked this one. I highly recommend that you all check it out. Also, if you review, please let me know if I'm way off or anywhere near your ideas of what will happen in Book 5-it's fun to see all the different theories that are out there.
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this I would be married to Bill, living at the Burrow and raising my own little redheaded boys. Characters, chapter titles, and other brilliance belong to JKR.
Special thanks to Arabella for her thoughtful comments, and to Dobby for her unique methods of encouragement.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BEGINNING
When Harry woke the next day the house was still and quiet. Even the ghoul in the attic was silent. Harry lay watching the Chudley Cannons swooping across Ron's ceiling, thinking about his conversation with Ginny and wondering how long it would be before Mrs. Weasley came in to wake them up. But after several minutes the silence was broken by a loud rumble from Harry's stomach, and he decided to go make himself a spot of toast. He was careful not to wake Ron as he pulled on his clothes and tiptoed into the hall, where he could hear muffled snores coming from the twins' room. He picked his way down the stairs, avoiding the creaky step at the bottom, and headed for the kitchen.
Halfway across the living room Harry stopped, his eyes fixed on the couch. Ginny was curled up in one corner, fast asleep, a half-finished mug of cocoa on the table in front of her. Harry moved closer, but she looked so peaceful, with the morning light shining on her face and her lips parted in a soft smile, that he decided against waking her. Absently he bent to brush a coppery lock off her forehead, and Ginny's breath tickled his cheek. Harry froze, his fingers still resting amidst the fine curls at her temple. If he leaned forward just the tiniest bit-
He felt her stir a second before she opened her eyes and abruptly withdrew his hand. "Morning, Ginny," Harry stammered hastily. "I was just about to wake you." He managed a weak smile as Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes, but his heart was beating wildly against his ribs. Where in the name of Godric Gryffindor had IthatI come from? She was IGinny WeasleyI, after all, his best friend's little sister, even if she had grown rather pretty. Not that he thought so, of course. Yet-
Ginny's voice snapped Harry away from his very confusing thoughts. "What? Oh-yeah, sure," he shrugged. "I'll make tea. No problem." Ginny gave him an odd look as she passed by to go upstairs, and Harry fled to the kitchen with his head in his hands. He was sure his face must be redder than his Quidditch robes. IWhatI had he been thinking?
Luckily Harry was distracted when Ron and the twins came stumbling bleary-eyed into the kitchen a moment later, their shirts only half tucked in, and the rest of the family quickly followed. Hermione and Ginny came down soon after, and there was a great deal of bustle trying to get everyone fed and packed on time. Mr. Weasley and Percy had gotten leave to see their family off, and the Ministry had even provided a couple of cars as a special reward for all their hard work over the past few months. Somehow they managed to squeeze six trunks, two owls, a cat, four broomsticks, and seven people into said cars for the journey to King's Cross Station, which fortunately was much shorter than Harry remembered. He had quite a time getting out of the car while balancing Hedwig's cage, a broom case, and his trunk all at once, and he could see Hermione and the Weasleys struggling as well.
"Hermione!" shrieked Ron, pitching suddenly towards the pavement when Crookshanks streaked between his feet as he stepped out of the car. "Can't you keep that animal out of the way?"
"Sorry, Ron," Hermione gasped breathlessly, catching his arm before he landed in the dirt. "You know Crookshanks hates car trips-I just lost hold of him." She helped Ron straighten up and smoothed the front of his shirt. "Are you all right?"
Ron made an odd, strangled sort of noise. "Fine." He gave a stiff nod and looked away from Hermione's gaze. "Here, let's get your trunk," he said hastily, ducking back into the car.
Harry turned to Ginny, who was smiling broadly at Hermione and her brother as they disappeared together through the magical barrier to platform nine and three-quarters. "Maybe he'll figure things out sooner than we thought," said Harry with a grin.
Ginny shook her head laughingly. "I hope so. It's getting harder not to point out the obvious." She pushed her trolley up next to his and gestured towards the barrier. "Are you ready?"
Harry looked at the metal gate for a moment, thinking of what awaited him on the other side. He took a deep breath and turned back to Ginny with a nod. "Yes," said Harry.
THE END
Author's Note: Well, that was it (no sequels except Book 5, folks!). However, Dobby has written a companion Ginny POV piece to this, called Let Me In, that you will enjoy if you liked this one. I highly recommend that you all check it out. Also, if you review, please let me know if I'm way off or anywhere near your ideas of what will happen in Book 5-it's fun to see all the different theories that are out there.