"Oh, don't eat that one!" Ginny exclaimed as Harry was just going to pop a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth.
Harry looked at her questioningly, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I suppose you could eat it, if you like the taste of Petrol. I don't care for it much," she teased. Harry threw the bean down and held up a light pink one for her to inspect.
"What about this one?"
"Strawberry margarita." The bean instantly disappeared.
"Is this another one of your hidden talents?" he asked her, watching amusedly as she started separating the beans into two piles.
She nodded. "If my brothers ever start speaking to you again, you'll have to get them to tell you about the time I gave them each a bag of these for Christmas, and picked out all the edible ones so only the really nasty were left," she grinned evilly. "Fred still says he can sometimes taste the Bubotuber Pus flavored one."
Harry winced in sympathy. Who knew
that she could be this much fun...when she's not kissing me senseless or driving
me out of my mind, that is. You certainly didn't, did you? It'll take eighty years before you have her
completely figured out. It'll
take longer than that.
Ginny scraped a pile of beans into the bag, cinching it shut. She turned a pair of twinkling brown eyes to him. "Wanna give these to Ron? He won't eat them if I gave them to him," she said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Harry laughed. "Sure, since he's not talking to me and all."
"I'm sorry about that," Ginny grew serious. "If they weren't such—"
Harry gently squeezed her hand. "It's not your fault. They just have to realize that you can't be their baby sister forever." Harry knew that Ron was just…well, being Ron, and although Harry never had had a little sister, he tried to put himself in Ron's shoes and be a bit understanding. He knew that Ron and the twins would eventually come to terms with it, at least they had stopped giving him murderous glares every five seconds. He'd make sure of it one way or another since their treatment of Harry upset Ginny, which was not acceptable.
Ginny's eyes twinkled as she leaned in closer to Harry, "Apparently they weren't the only ones suffering under that impression, were they?" she teased.
"I think you brought me around," he replied with a wink.
He smiled secretly as he noticed a slight pink appearing in her cheeks. "Of course I did," she said smugly. "I'm a really good Chaser," she winked back.
"But I'm an even better Seeker, and I know when I've caught a Golden Snitch. Or in this case, a crimson Snitch," he amended, giving a quick tug on her hair.
Ginny's face flushed as she took a sip of her butterbeer settling back against the chair at the small table they were sitting at in The Three Broomsticks. This was not a normal Saturday, as they had both been awake since five am because of an early morning Quidditch practice. Fred and George, despite their carefree natures, could be as strict as McGonagall about Quidditch, making even Oliver Wood pale in comparison. It was their idea that the team needed to be prepared to play under all conditions, including thick fog and pounding rain, as was the weather this morning. They were all very tired and so no one hardly said a word as they practiced new moves and worked on their strategy. After Fred and George had declared themselves satisfied, Harry and Ginny left for Hogsmead, wanting to spend the entire day together.
With every hour Harry spent with Ginny, he learned something new and exciting about her. She was incredibly funny and several times, he had caught the attentions of the other patrons in the pub from where he was laughing quite loudly at something she said. He had experienced first hand that Ginny had a very strong mischievous streak in her, apparently inherited from her older twin brothers, when she gave him a piece of candy which immediately turned him a bright green for several minutes. She had apologized profusely, saying that she had forgotten what it was, which Harry doubted as she then explained that she had been working on them with Fred and George for the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They were called Ginny Gems, and were simply pieces of brightly colored hard candy, that would turn the victim into the color of the candy. Ginny told him that the green one she made was supposed to match Harry's eyes and she needed to test it out. It worked splendidly.
"I can't believe you just did that," he said as they left the pub, Ginny holding onto him as she was laughing.
"I'm so sorry, I just thought it would be nice to immortalize your best feature," she gasped. "I really am sorry!" she added, standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Hmmf." They strolled through the village, stopping here and there to gawk at the many window displays along the High Street, as they headed back towards the castle.
Harry was surprised when Ginny coaxed him into going into the Forbidden Forest.
"Ginny! We can't go in there!" He told her, trying to pull out of her grip. She's freakishly strong for such a tiny thing.
"Oh, please! You sound like Percy. There's something I want to show you, it's not far." She pulled him along, red hair speckled with the fading sunlight breaking through the thick cluster of trees.
"Remind me to tell you about the times I've been in here someday," he said, shivering at the memories past.
"Don't be such a baby!" she scolded.
Harry was affronted, "I'm no baby!"
"Shhhh! You'll scare them away. Now come!" Harry suddenly pictured her as a Muggle War General, ordering troops across enemy territory, which made him chuckle.
She stopped dead in her tracks, causing him to smash into her. "Watch where you're going!" she hissed.
"Sorry!" he hissed back. She looked around for a moment, then led him over to what looked like the entrance to a cave. "Ginny, is this safe?"
She turned to whisper at him, "I found this place in my first year here. I asked Hagrid about it and he said it was protected, nothing bad could touch it. She took out her wand and whispered "Lumos," and entered the cave, Harry immediately behind her.
For about a minute, the cave appeared as Harry imagined any cave would look, dark, damp, musty, the floor covered with leaves and moss. Ginny stopped again, and put her wand away. "We don't need this anymore," she explained.
Harry couldn't see a thing. It was pitch black inside. He could make out the sound of water trickling down the walls. Then Ginny whispered some strange words:
Over hill, over dale
Through bush,
through brier,
Over park, over pale,
Through flood,
through fire,
I do wander
everywhere,
Swifter than the
moon's sphere;
And I serve the
fairy queen,
To dew her orbs
upon the green.
The cowslips tall
her pensioners be:
In their gold
coats spots you see;
Those be rubies,
fairy favours,
In those freckles
live their savours:
I must go seek
some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
Harry's mouth fell open. When her words ended, the cave suddenly lit up in a glow of brightly colored lights, as a small pool and waterfall appeared right before him. This was no ordinary waterfall, for the water in it was not clear, it was a brilliant silver, making the pool a constantly flowing mirror, which reflected Harry's face as he gazed in astonishment down at the water. The walls of the cave were no longer a deep gray stone, it was shining gold, embedded with millions upon millions of jewels of every color and size imaginable.
"Don't touch the water," Ginny whispered, her voice echoing in the small chamber.
"What is this place?" Harry wondered.
"This is where unicorns are born. Their mothers come here to foal, that's why this place is so protected. Unicorns have to be born among beauty. The water is the only water they are allowed to drink while they are young."
"You bring a stranger, Ginny Weasley."
Harry couldn't help the small gasp at the new voice. He turned around to see a centaur, but unlike any centaur he'd ever seen. Like everything else in the cave, the centaur seemed to be made of gold and silver. His body hair was a rich gold, the hair on his head a gleaming silver. His eyes were blue sapphires, set into a face the color of ivory.
"Hello, Balthasar," Ginny greeted the centaur.
Balthasar walked closer, staring intently at Harry. "This is the Potter boy. I have heard much of him."
"Yes. Harry this is Balthasar. He watches over here." Balthasar's nose was almost touching Harry's as he studied him. Shivers ran up and down Harry's spine.
"He has a good soul," Balthasar pronounced. "You are welcome here, Harry Potter."
"Thanks," Harry replied, not too sure what was going on. Ginny was beaming at him, like he'd just been declared King of the World, which pretty much described what he felt like at the moment, for some strange reason.
"I was just showing him this place for a few seconds," Ginny explained to Balthasar. "We won't stay long."
"You are both protected here, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter. May the light keep you safe from the darkness of the forest." The centaur disappeared into thin air.
"Wow!" Harry whispered. "I didn't know centaurs could Apperate, and especially on Hogwarts' grounds. Won't Hermione be surprised to know this?" he grinned at her.
"You can't tell anyone about this place, Harry. It's secret."
"Don't worry, I won't."
"We have to be going. We're only safe as long as it's light outside, but I really needed to show you this." Harry had never seen her more beautiful with the glow of the pool illuminating her skin, while her eyes took on a glassy look, like bright stars. Ginny appeared as if she had sprung from the caves depths.
Harry could not contain the words that sprung from his lips. "I love you."
Ginny smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "I know. I love you too."