Disclaimer: I own the plot, Jeannette Lawrenceson, Nicole Pearson,
Michelle, Mark & their two kids, Charlie Johnson, and Jeramy Ludwigon.
A/N: Here's the Sequel to 'Order of the Phoenix' Harry's sixth year. Hope you all like it, there's another story to come out here soon as well that's a Sequel to this one.
Harry Potter and the Year of Changes
Chapter Five: Rude Awakenings and Birthday Celebrations
The next morning Harry and Ginny woke up to Sirius's voice screaming at someone from downstairs, "WHAT!?! HOW?!?"
They could hear someone crying, and they must've said something because Sirius was screaming back again, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!?!"
Harry and Ginny got up and ran down the stairs to see what was going on, Harry completely forgetting he was only in his boxers and Ginny forgetting she was only wearing a little night shirt that barely covered her. They ran down just in time to see Lily sobbing, Molly running over to comfort her and Sirius standing in front of Lily looking like someone had just told him Voldemort was in the house and about to kill them all. Everyone stopped arguing the moment they got into the room, because they realized how unclothed Ginny and Harry were. Sirius wasted no time roaring at the two of them, "GO BACK UPSTAIRS, AND PUT YOUR ROBES ON! YOU'LL BE SLEEPING IN SEPARATE ROOMS NOW, WE'RE NOT ABOUT TO GET STUCK WITH ANOTHER!"
Lily sobbed at Sirius's words and Ginny and Harry made a run for Ginny's room. They could hear Lily yelling back at Sirius, "DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON THEM! THEY'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHY THEY'RE IN THE SAME ROOM! AND YOU KNOW MOLLY AND ARTHUR WOULD'VE MOVED THEM TO SEPARATE ROOMS WEEKS AGO, YOU'RE NOT THEIR PARENTS SIRIUS! THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT DID THINGS A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER, WE ARE! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN STUCK WITH ANOTHER? WE'RE NOT STUCK THINGS JUST HAPPENED SOONER THAN WE WANTED!"
Sirius just screamed back at her, "THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE WERE GOING TO WAIT FOR THIS LILY! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER AGREEING TO WAIT FOR HARRY TO FINISH HOGWARTS FIRST? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO. AND NOW THAT WE'RE FACED WITH THIS, I'M SUDDENLY EXPECTED TO JUST BUTT OUT OF HARRY'S LIFE?!"
Molly yelled this time, "WILL YOU TWO STOP ALREADY! GINNY AND HARRY DON'T NEED TO FIND OUT THIS WAY! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE THIS SHOULD BE A HAPPY EVENT!"
Ginny was trembling at her mum's words, she already knew what they were yelling about. She couldn't handle this, they were ruining Harry's birthday the way they were acting over it. They should be happy, not yelling at each other over this, Ginny couldn't help but pray that Harry wouldn't act like that one day. Harry looked at Ginny, "You already know don't you?"
Ginny looked at him, she was changing into her robes so they could go back down there so that Harry could finally find out, "Harry I just can't be the one that tells you. Your mum and Sirius need to tell you. I overheard my mum and your mum talking in the hall yesterday after I went to the bathroom. That's why I took so long in there, I didn't want them to know I'd heard. Well that and I had to get your present out of the cupboard after I changed."
They were both done changing at this point, Harry could tell how upset she was about whatever it was that was going on, he just pulled Ginny to him and kissed her gently. "Well than, can you at least tell me if it's good or bad?"
"Harry that depends on how you feel about it. I think it's a good thing. It wouldn't be good if it was us, which is impossible because we haven't done anything for it to be us, but they're married and doing just fine I don't see why it's such a bad thing that they didn't wait for you to finish Hogwarts first. I think they think you'll be really upset over this."
Ginny had said too much, Harry knew exactly what was going on. "My mum's having a baby, isn't she Ginny?"
Ginny gasped realizing how much she'd babbled out, "I don't think they wanted you to find out like this Harry."
Harry was smiling, "Well than they'll be surprised when I'm happy to finally have a brother or sister won't they?"
Ginny smiled back, "I'm glad you're happy about it sweetums," she stopped to give him a little kiss and then continued, "We should really get back down there though."
Ginny and Harry walked back down into the room Sirius, Lily and Molly were in. The three of them were whispering back and forth, Sirius looked much calmer and Lily had stopped crying. Harry couldn't seem to stop smiling, neither could Ginny. Sirius was the first to say anything, "Harry, Ginny, I want to apologize for yelling at you the way I did earlier. We're not separating you, we know you haven't done anything wrong."
Harry's response was short, "It's okay Sirius, we understand" Harry looked at his mum, "So when will the baby be here?"
Ginny elbowed him, "You should've let them tell you Harry."
"OW!! Ginny! That hurt! They should know that we know, for crying out loud we're not stupid."
Sirius, Lily and Molly couldn't contain their laughter at the two of them. Ginny and Harry looked at them, "What's so funny?"
Lily smiled at Harry, "We should've known you would figure it out if we didn't tell you. Harry are you okay with all of this?"
Ginny chuckled and thought to herself, 'Of course he is, he's waited and wished for a family that didn't hate him for the past 14 years, he and I get together, he gets his mum back, his godfather's names cleared, they get married, he gets engaged, and now a sibling on top of it? I think we're all doing a pretty good job at making up for the bad years he's had. But then again I didn't think he would be either until he told me he was okay with it.'
Harry didn't take long to respond at all, "Of course I'm okay with it. Why wouldn't I be? I've never had a brother or a sister. I'm just curious as to why you two wanted to wait for me to finish at Hogwarts before you had a baby?"
Sirius answered this one, "We didn't want you to feel like we didn't care about you, or your dad. Because both of us love and miss James very much. And neither of us wants you to feel like we don't care about you, because we do very much. And we figured that since you and Ginny would most likely be starting your own family after you're both done at Hogwarts, we figured it would be easier for you to understand if you two had a baby close to the time that we did. But we want to make it crystal clear that this is not an invitation for the two of you to go ahead."
Harry cut him off, "We're not doing anything that would lead to that happening to us in the near future, and we have no intention of doing so until we can handle it on our own."
Ginny nodded in agreement, "Absolutely what he said, besides we're too young, and this is far too dangerous of a time for Harry to have a family Voldemort could use against him."
Ginny had no clue how right on target she was with her comment, fortunately neither did anyone else. Lily nodded, "Well it's good that you both feel that way, and you're right he would use that against Harry. Which is why you have to be careful too Ginny, Voldemort could very well use you as well."
Harry put a very protective arm around Ginny to reassure her, "No mum, he won't. I'd kill him with my bare hands if he even tried to hurt her."
There was a very long and awkward silence after Harry said that, since no one really knew what to say. Finally Molly spoke up and smiled at Harry, "Well, I've got breakfast ready in the kitchen. And Harry, your birthday presents are on the table waiting for you. Happy Birthday dear."
Ginny pulled him behind her into the kitchen for breakfast, everyone else came in shortly behind them. After breakfast they all sang Happy Birthday to him before he opened up their presents. He opened one from Fred and George that contained a wide assortment of their new products so that Harry could test out the merchandise a bit this year at Hogwarts. The rest of the Weasley family had given him a new kit to take care of his broom and Quidditch set.
Hagrid sent Harry some candy from Honeydukes and a book about Quidditch seekers. Lily and Sirius's present to Harry was a trip to Greece for two weeks over the next summer. The added bonus of the trip was that Ginny was coming with them. After breakfast Ginny and Harry went out into the garden for a while so that everyone else could talk about the baby and plans for going to Diagon Alley in a little while. Just then Lisa's owl flew right to Harry dropping an odd looking envelope in his hands. Ginny smiled, "They got you a singer! Harry open it!"
Harry went along with what Ginny told him to do, and opened it. The next thing he knew he heard Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette singing "Happy Birthday" to him, sounding like they were singing into a megaphone. Harry couldn't help but laugh, at the end of the song Jeanette said as loud as she could, "Don't forget to say hello to Ginny for us!"
He smiled and kissed Ginny, "Should I send a howler back?"
Ginny laughed, "Let's."
They both spoke into the howler at the same time, "Hello Owen, Jeanette, Lisa and Nicole! We miss you guys!"
Ginny added quickly, "Harry's mum's having a baby!"
Harry yelled "Owen, for Merlin's sake kiss the girl already!"
Than they both yelled, "See you soon!"
Ginny closed the howler and sent the owl on it's way, just as Hermione's Phoenix, Ruby arrived. Harry went to open the letter, but quickly pulled Ginny in his lap and kissed her. They read the letter together, with Harry's arms wrapped around her tightly.
"Harry & Ginny, We just thought we'd write you quickly. Meet us in Diagon Alley in front of the wand store. We have a little birthday surprise for both of you. Hope to see you both soon. Love, Hermione & Jeramy"
Ginny smiled and looked at Harry, "She's finally done it Harry, she's moved on."
Harry chuckled before writing back to them, "I hope so, I can't take another year of her being so depressed."
"Hermione & Jeramy, We'll be there. See you soon. Love, Harry & Ginny"
He tied it to Ruby's leg and off she went. They went inside where their parents were just coming to get them to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Molly bought Ginny a new dress robe, while Lily and Sirius went and bought their new books. Ginny and Harry went to the wand shop to meet Hermione and Jeramy. Harry and Ginny were surprised upon reaching Hermione and Jeramy to find them not just smiling, but in one another's arms unable to keep their eyes off one another. Ginny smiled at Harry, "I told you Harry."
Harry smiled back and kissed Ginny before they walked over to say hello. The birthday surprise was a night out before they went back to Hogwarts. And not just with Hermione and Jeramy. Neville and Parvati were going to meet them later, along with Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette. Dean Thomas would be meeting them as well with his new girlfriend, Padma, but they would meet them later on for dinner.
Hermione organized it especially for Harry's birthday. They would be going to a Muggle restaurant, and than out to a Muggle dance club. Lavender Brown would be meeting them at the Muggle dance club with her new boyfriend, Charlie Johnson, who would be transferring from Durmstrang this year with Jeramy.
Everyone was instructed to bring their wands just in case something happened, and Hermione had arranged a permission slip from Dumbledore allowing them to use their wands to protect one another if necessary. He'd even cleared it with the Ministry of Magic, provided they did nothing unless for protection, the Ministry would only be involved to ensure the Muggles didn't remember.
Harry hugged Hermione and nearly kissed her he was so happy with his present. An entire night with Ginny and all of his friends from Hogwarts with out being watched over by professors was the second best gift he'd gotten that day. The first of course being exactly what he'd asked Ginny for, her to still be in his arms at midnight.
The four of them went shopping and then met Neville, Parvati, Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette for lunch at Three Cauldrons. Jeanette gave Harry a huge hug and thanked him for the extra push. The entire bar ended up singing "Happy Birthday" to Harry. Shortly after which Parvati noticed the ring on Ginny's finger, and didn't bother asking quietly while pointing at it, "GINNY! WHAT IS THAT!?!?"
Ginny smiled as she put her other hand on Harry's knee, "My engagement ring."
Harry smiled at Parvati and wrapped an arm around Ginny, "She said yes."
Neville looked up to see it and Ginny held her hand to their side of the table so they could see it more closely, Harry couldn't help but notice how Ginny's eyes lit up whenever someone asked her about the ring, their wedding or Harry. She'd always answer and them smile at him, which usually ended up with them kissing and explaining the entire story of how he proposed. He liked having someone to share the attention with instead of everyone focusing just on him. Neither Neville nor Parvati had heard the story yet, so of course they would ask. Parvati was giggling away, "So, Ginny, tell us how he asked!"
Ginny was just beaming, smiling away as she told Parvati all about it. She didn't realize the entire bar was listening to her talk, staring at her and Harry, and whispering about whom the famous Harry Potter had chose to marry. Harry didn't notice either, but that was because he was much too busy not being able to take his eyes off of Ginny.
Hermione noticed though, she didn't understand at first and then realized that they were all looking at Harry as the boy that lived, and now they were looking at Ginny as the girl the boy that lived loved. She however realized how much danger this might be putting Ginny into, she remembered what happened when Rita Skeeter wrote about her and Harry, at first she got fan mail, and then came all the howlers. She made a mental note to talk to Ginny later about it.
Jeramy and Hermione paid for lunch as their present to Harry. After that everyone made their way over to Hermione's house to wait a bit before going out to dinner. Hermione put in some Muggle music, some group that called themselves 'Uncle Cracker', singing 'Follow Me'. Hermione had to explain just what it was called and why the band was called what they were.
Parvati and Jeanette seemed to be fascinated by this thing Hermione was explaining to be a 'boom box'. This fortunately entertained the young wizards and witches long enough for Hermione not to have to find something for them to do. Finally it was time to leave for dinner, so they all piled into a car that her parents borrowed from the Weasley's, who had borrowed it from the ministry.
Hermione's mum and dad both drove them to the restaurant, and told them they would be back with the Weasley's and Dumbledore to get Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Jeramy, Owen, Jeanette, Lisa and Nicole. The rest of their friends had parents picking them up at the end of the night as well.
So they all ran into the restaurant, finding Dean and Padma already at the table waiting for them. Everyone sat down and ordered their drinks and dinner. Ginny was busy telling Dean and Padma all about Harry proposing, so Harry ordered for Ginny. Which of course caused Owen, Dean and Neville to say, laughing the entire time "And the marriage starts with Harry getting whipped into shape."
Harry blushed, "Just wait until some girl gets the three of you! She'll have her work cut out for her!"
Ginny leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Thanks for ordering for me sweetums," she looked at the three boys, "I'm not whipping him into shape, he's perfect the way he is."
Harry put an arm around Ginny while she continued to tell Padma about everything Harry and her had been doing. She finally finished telling them every last detail when dinner was served. Everyone munched down, talking about how their summers had been and all the exciting things they'd done.
Padma and Parvati had gone to Italy for a week with their parents and younger brother Paul who would be enrolling this year at Hogwarts. Neville's parents were finally starting to make progress recovering, this summer they remembered him for the first time. Dean had gone to the United States for most of the summer visiting his cousins there, all Muggles.
After dinner they all walked down the street to the Muggle dance club. Lavender Brown was waiting with her boyfriend Charlie Johnson right outside the door for them. Ginny told them both quickly about the engagement and how Harry asked before Harry grabbed her and pulled her on the dance floor. They were dancing to the same song they'd heard at Hermione's house earlier that night, completely lost in one another's eyes.
Hermione and Jeramy soon followed. Dean asked Padma to dance. Parvati didn't wait for Neville to ask, she dragged him on the dance floor. Owen and Jeanette got up to dance at the same time as Nicole and Lisa. Lavender and Charlie sat talking for a while before they joined in. After about an hour of dancing Hermione and Jeramy sat down with Dean, Padma, Parvati and Neville.
They were all talking about going on the train the next day and their plans for the first Hogsmeade visit. Lavender and Charlie sat down with them, shortly followed by Nicole and Lisa. The conversation quickly turned to Ginny and Harry, and how happy the two had looked all night. Owen and Jeanette finally sat down as Parvati, Padma, Dean and Neville were leaving. Parvati & Padma's parents were picking them up.
Dumbledore showed up a couple minutes later to take Nicole, Lisa, Owen and Jeanette back to Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny were still dancing when Dumbledore came in, they hadn't noticed that people were starting to leave since no one wanted to bother them while they were dancing. Lisa, however, went over to them to point out that Dumbledore was there to pick up Owen, Jeanette, Nicole and her to take them to Hogwarts.
So Harry and Ginny went over to say hello to Dumbledore, who wished Harry a Happy Birthday before leaving with Lisa, Owen, Nicole and Jeanette. Harry and Ginny stopped over at the table where Hermione, Jeramy, Charlie and Lavender were sitting before going back to dancing. Charlie and Lavender left when Hermione and Jeramy went back to dancing. After a little while longer Hermione's mum and dad came to pick them up, so Hermione, Jeramy, Ginny and Harry climbed into the car from the ministry.
Hermione's mum dropped off Hermione's dad, Hermione and Jeramy first so that she could just apparate from the Weasley's house. She drove over to the Weasley's with Harry and Ginny, came in with them and talked to Molly and Lily for a little while and then apparated home.
Harry and Ginny told their parents all about their night before running off to bed. No one objected to them sleeping in the same room again. They changed quickly before climbing into bed, Harry into his boxers and Ginny into one of her many short nightshirts. They cuddled and kissed for a while and then passed out in one another's arms for the last time before they left for Hogwarts.
A/N: Here's the Sequel to 'Order of the Phoenix' Harry's sixth year. Hope you all like it, there's another story to come out here soon as well that's a Sequel to this one.
Harry Potter and the Year of Changes
Chapter Five: Rude Awakenings and Birthday Celebrations
The next morning Harry and Ginny woke up to Sirius's voice screaming at someone from downstairs, "WHAT!?! HOW?!?"
They could hear someone crying, and they must've said something because Sirius was screaming back again, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!?!"
Harry and Ginny got up and ran down the stairs to see what was going on, Harry completely forgetting he was only in his boxers and Ginny forgetting she was only wearing a little night shirt that barely covered her. They ran down just in time to see Lily sobbing, Molly running over to comfort her and Sirius standing in front of Lily looking like someone had just told him Voldemort was in the house and about to kill them all. Everyone stopped arguing the moment they got into the room, because they realized how unclothed Ginny and Harry were. Sirius wasted no time roaring at the two of them, "GO BACK UPSTAIRS, AND PUT YOUR ROBES ON! YOU'LL BE SLEEPING IN SEPARATE ROOMS NOW, WE'RE NOT ABOUT TO GET STUCK WITH ANOTHER!"
Lily sobbed at Sirius's words and Ginny and Harry made a run for Ginny's room. They could hear Lily yelling back at Sirius, "DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON THEM! THEY'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHY THEY'RE IN THE SAME ROOM! AND YOU KNOW MOLLY AND ARTHUR WOULD'VE MOVED THEM TO SEPARATE ROOMS WEEKS AGO, YOU'RE NOT THEIR PARENTS SIRIUS! THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT DID THINGS A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER, WE ARE! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN STUCK WITH ANOTHER? WE'RE NOT STUCK THINGS JUST HAPPENED SOONER THAN WE WANTED!"
Sirius just screamed back at her, "THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE WERE GOING TO WAIT FOR THIS LILY! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER AGREEING TO WAIT FOR HARRY TO FINISH HOGWARTS FIRST? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO. AND NOW THAT WE'RE FACED WITH THIS, I'M SUDDENLY EXPECTED TO JUST BUTT OUT OF HARRY'S LIFE?!"
Molly yelled this time, "WILL YOU TWO STOP ALREADY! GINNY AND HARRY DON'T NEED TO FIND OUT THIS WAY! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE THIS SHOULD BE A HAPPY EVENT!"
Ginny was trembling at her mum's words, she already knew what they were yelling about. She couldn't handle this, they were ruining Harry's birthday the way they were acting over it. They should be happy, not yelling at each other over this, Ginny couldn't help but pray that Harry wouldn't act like that one day. Harry looked at Ginny, "You already know don't you?"
Ginny looked at him, she was changing into her robes so they could go back down there so that Harry could finally find out, "Harry I just can't be the one that tells you. Your mum and Sirius need to tell you. I overheard my mum and your mum talking in the hall yesterday after I went to the bathroom. That's why I took so long in there, I didn't want them to know I'd heard. Well that and I had to get your present out of the cupboard after I changed."
They were both done changing at this point, Harry could tell how upset she was about whatever it was that was going on, he just pulled Ginny to him and kissed her gently. "Well than, can you at least tell me if it's good or bad?"
"Harry that depends on how you feel about it. I think it's a good thing. It wouldn't be good if it was us, which is impossible because we haven't done anything for it to be us, but they're married and doing just fine I don't see why it's such a bad thing that they didn't wait for you to finish Hogwarts first. I think they think you'll be really upset over this."
Ginny had said too much, Harry knew exactly what was going on. "My mum's having a baby, isn't she Ginny?"
Ginny gasped realizing how much she'd babbled out, "I don't think they wanted you to find out like this Harry."
Harry was smiling, "Well than they'll be surprised when I'm happy to finally have a brother or sister won't they?"
Ginny smiled back, "I'm glad you're happy about it sweetums," she stopped to give him a little kiss and then continued, "We should really get back down there though."
Ginny and Harry walked back down into the room Sirius, Lily and Molly were in. The three of them were whispering back and forth, Sirius looked much calmer and Lily had stopped crying. Harry couldn't seem to stop smiling, neither could Ginny. Sirius was the first to say anything, "Harry, Ginny, I want to apologize for yelling at you the way I did earlier. We're not separating you, we know you haven't done anything wrong."
Harry's response was short, "It's okay Sirius, we understand" Harry looked at his mum, "So when will the baby be here?"
Ginny elbowed him, "You should've let them tell you Harry."
"OW!! Ginny! That hurt! They should know that we know, for crying out loud we're not stupid."
Sirius, Lily and Molly couldn't contain their laughter at the two of them. Ginny and Harry looked at them, "What's so funny?"
Lily smiled at Harry, "We should've known you would figure it out if we didn't tell you. Harry are you okay with all of this?"
Ginny chuckled and thought to herself, 'Of course he is, he's waited and wished for a family that didn't hate him for the past 14 years, he and I get together, he gets his mum back, his godfather's names cleared, they get married, he gets engaged, and now a sibling on top of it? I think we're all doing a pretty good job at making up for the bad years he's had. But then again I didn't think he would be either until he told me he was okay with it.'
Harry didn't take long to respond at all, "Of course I'm okay with it. Why wouldn't I be? I've never had a brother or a sister. I'm just curious as to why you two wanted to wait for me to finish at Hogwarts before you had a baby?"
Sirius answered this one, "We didn't want you to feel like we didn't care about you, or your dad. Because both of us love and miss James very much. And neither of us wants you to feel like we don't care about you, because we do very much. And we figured that since you and Ginny would most likely be starting your own family after you're both done at Hogwarts, we figured it would be easier for you to understand if you two had a baby close to the time that we did. But we want to make it crystal clear that this is not an invitation for the two of you to go ahead."
Harry cut him off, "We're not doing anything that would lead to that happening to us in the near future, and we have no intention of doing so until we can handle it on our own."
Ginny nodded in agreement, "Absolutely what he said, besides we're too young, and this is far too dangerous of a time for Harry to have a family Voldemort could use against him."
Ginny had no clue how right on target she was with her comment, fortunately neither did anyone else. Lily nodded, "Well it's good that you both feel that way, and you're right he would use that against Harry. Which is why you have to be careful too Ginny, Voldemort could very well use you as well."
Harry put a very protective arm around Ginny to reassure her, "No mum, he won't. I'd kill him with my bare hands if he even tried to hurt her."
There was a very long and awkward silence after Harry said that, since no one really knew what to say. Finally Molly spoke up and smiled at Harry, "Well, I've got breakfast ready in the kitchen. And Harry, your birthday presents are on the table waiting for you. Happy Birthday dear."
Ginny pulled him behind her into the kitchen for breakfast, everyone else came in shortly behind them. After breakfast they all sang Happy Birthday to him before he opened up their presents. He opened one from Fred and George that contained a wide assortment of their new products so that Harry could test out the merchandise a bit this year at Hogwarts. The rest of the Weasley family had given him a new kit to take care of his broom and Quidditch set.
Hagrid sent Harry some candy from Honeydukes and a book about Quidditch seekers. Lily and Sirius's present to Harry was a trip to Greece for two weeks over the next summer. The added bonus of the trip was that Ginny was coming with them. After breakfast Ginny and Harry went out into the garden for a while so that everyone else could talk about the baby and plans for going to Diagon Alley in a little while. Just then Lisa's owl flew right to Harry dropping an odd looking envelope in his hands. Ginny smiled, "They got you a singer! Harry open it!"
Harry went along with what Ginny told him to do, and opened it. The next thing he knew he heard Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette singing "Happy Birthday" to him, sounding like they were singing into a megaphone. Harry couldn't help but laugh, at the end of the song Jeanette said as loud as she could, "Don't forget to say hello to Ginny for us!"
He smiled and kissed Ginny, "Should I send a howler back?"
Ginny laughed, "Let's."
They both spoke into the howler at the same time, "Hello Owen, Jeanette, Lisa and Nicole! We miss you guys!"
Ginny added quickly, "Harry's mum's having a baby!"
Harry yelled "Owen, for Merlin's sake kiss the girl already!"
Than they both yelled, "See you soon!"
Ginny closed the howler and sent the owl on it's way, just as Hermione's Phoenix, Ruby arrived. Harry went to open the letter, but quickly pulled Ginny in his lap and kissed her. They read the letter together, with Harry's arms wrapped around her tightly.
"Harry & Ginny, We just thought we'd write you quickly. Meet us in Diagon Alley in front of the wand store. We have a little birthday surprise for both of you. Hope to see you both soon. Love, Hermione & Jeramy"
Ginny smiled and looked at Harry, "She's finally done it Harry, she's moved on."
Harry chuckled before writing back to them, "I hope so, I can't take another year of her being so depressed."
"Hermione & Jeramy, We'll be there. See you soon. Love, Harry & Ginny"
He tied it to Ruby's leg and off she went. They went inside where their parents were just coming to get them to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Molly bought Ginny a new dress robe, while Lily and Sirius went and bought their new books. Ginny and Harry went to the wand shop to meet Hermione and Jeramy. Harry and Ginny were surprised upon reaching Hermione and Jeramy to find them not just smiling, but in one another's arms unable to keep their eyes off one another. Ginny smiled at Harry, "I told you Harry."
Harry smiled back and kissed Ginny before they walked over to say hello. The birthday surprise was a night out before they went back to Hogwarts. And not just with Hermione and Jeramy. Neville and Parvati were going to meet them later, along with Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette. Dean Thomas would be meeting them as well with his new girlfriend, Padma, but they would meet them later on for dinner.
Hermione organized it especially for Harry's birthday. They would be going to a Muggle restaurant, and than out to a Muggle dance club. Lavender Brown would be meeting them at the Muggle dance club with her new boyfriend, Charlie Johnson, who would be transferring from Durmstrang this year with Jeramy.
Everyone was instructed to bring their wands just in case something happened, and Hermione had arranged a permission slip from Dumbledore allowing them to use their wands to protect one another if necessary. He'd even cleared it with the Ministry of Magic, provided they did nothing unless for protection, the Ministry would only be involved to ensure the Muggles didn't remember.
Harry hugged Hermione and nearly kissed her he was so happy with his present. An entire night with Ginny and all of his friends from Hogwarts with out being watched over by professors was the second best gift he'd gotten that day. The first of course being exactly what he'd asked Ginny for, her to still be in his arms at midnight.
The four of them went shopping and then met Neville, Parvati, Lisa, Nicole, Owen and Jeanette for lunch at Three Cauldrons. Jeanette gave Harry a huge hug and thanked him for the extra push. The entire bar ended up singing "Happy Birthday" to Harry. Shortly after which Parvati noticed the ring on Ginny's finger, and didn't bother asking quietly while pointing at it, "GINNY! WHAT IS THAT!?!?"
Ginny smiled as she put her other hand on Harry's knee, "My engagement ring."
Harry smiled at Parvati and wrapped an arm around Ginny, "She said yes."
Neville looked up to see it and Ginny held her hand to their side of the table so they could see it more closely, Harry couldn't help but notice how Ginny's eyes lit up whenever someone asked her about the ring, their wedding or Harry. She'd always answer and them smile at him, which usually ended up with them kissing and explaining the entire story of how he proposed. He liked having someone to share the attention with instead of everyone focusing just on him. Neither Neville nor Parvati had heard the story yet, so of course they would ask. Parvati was giggling away, "So, Ginny, tell us how he asked!"
Ginny was just beaming, smiling away as she told Parvati all about it. She didn't realize the entire bar was listening to her talk, staring at her and Harry, and whispering about whom the famous Harry Potter had chose to marry. Harry didn't notice either, but that was because he was much too busy not being able to take his eyes off of Ginny.
Hermione noticed though, she didn't understand at first and then realized that they were all looking at Harry as the boy that lived, and now they were looking at Ginny as the girl the boy that lived loved. She however realized how much danger this might be putting Ginny into, she remembered what happened when Rita Skeeter wrote about her and Harry, at first she got fan mail, and then came all the howlers. She made a mental note to talk to Ginny later about it.
Jeramy and Hermione paid for lunch as their present to Harry. After that everyone made their way over to Hermione's house to wait a bit before going out to dinner. Hermione put in some Muggle music, some group that called themselves 'Uncle Cracker', singing 'Follow Me'. Hermione had to explain just what it was called and why the band was called what they were.
Parvati and Jeanette seemed to be fascinated by this thing Hermione was explaining to be a 'boom box'. This fortunately entertained the young wizards and witches long enough for Hermione not to have to find something for them to do. Finally it was time to leave for dinner, so they all piled into a car that her parents borrowed from the Weasley's, who had borrowed it from the ministry.
Hermione's mum and dad both drove them to the restaurant, and told them they would be back with the Weasley's and Dumbledore to get Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Jeramy, Owen, Jeanette, Lisa and Nicole. The rest of their friends had parents picking them up at the end of the night as well.
So they all ran into the restaurant, finding Dean and Padma already at the table waiting for them. Everyone sat down and ordered their drinks and dinner. Ginny was busy telling Dean and Padma all about Harry proposing, so Harry ordered for Ginny. Which of course caused Owen, Dean and Neville to say, laughing the entire time "And the marriage starts with Harry getting whipped into shape."
Harry blushed, "Just wait until some girl gets the three of you! She'll have her work cut out for her!"
Ginny leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Thanks for ordering for me sweetums," she looked at the three boys, "I'm not whipping him into shape, he's perfect the way he is."
Harry put an arm around Ginny while she continued to tell Padma about everything Harry and her had been doing. She finally finished telling them every last detail when dinner was served. Everyone munched down, talking about how their summers had been and all the exciting things they'd done.
Padma and Parvati had gone to Italy for a week with their parents and younger brother Paul who would be enrolling this year at Hogwarts. Neville's parents were finally starting to make progress recovering, this summer they remembered him for the first time. Dean had gone to the United States for most of the summer visiting his cousins there, all Muggles.
After dinner they all walked down the street to the Muggle dance club. Lavender Brown was waiting with her boyfriend Charlie Johnson right outside the door for them. Ginny told them both quickly about the engagement and how Harry asked before Harry grabbed her and pulled her on the dance floor. They were dancing to the same song they'd heard at Hermione's house earlier that night, completely lost in one another's eyes.
Hermione and Jeramy soon followed. Dean asked Padma to dance. Parvati didn't wait for Neville to ask, she dragged him on the dance floor. Owen and Jeanette got up to dance at the same time as Nicole and Lisa. Lavender and Charlie sat talking for a while before they joined in. After about an hour of dancing Hermione and Jeramy sat down with Dean, Padma, Parvati and Neville.
They were all talking about going on the train the next day and their plans for the first Hogsmeade visit. Lavender and Charlie sat down with them, shortly followed by Nicole and Lisa. The conversation quickly turned to Ginny and Harry, and how happy the two had looked all night. Owen and Jeanette finally sat down as Parvati, Padma, Dean and Neville were leaving. Parvati & Padma's parents were picking them up.
Dumbledore showed up a couple minutes later to take Nicole, Lisa, Owen and Jeanette back to Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny were still dancing when Dumbledore came in, they hadn't noticed that people were starting to leave since no one wanted to bother them while they were dancing. Lisa, however, went over to them to point out that Dumbledore was there to pick up Owen, Jeanette, Nicole and her to take them to Hogwarts.
So Harry and Ginny went over to say hello to Dumbledore, who wished Harry a Happy Birthday before leaving with Lisa, Owen, Nicole and Jeanette. Harry and Ginny stopped over at the table where Hermione, Jeramy, Charlie and Lavender were sitting before going back to dancing. Charlie and Lavender left when Hermione and Jeramy went back to dancing. After a little while longer Hermione's mum and dad came to pick them up, so Hermione, Jeramy, Ginny and Harry climbed into the car from the ministry.
Hermione's mum dropped off Hermione's dad, Hermione and Jeramy first so that she could just apparate from the Weasley's house. She drove over to the Weasley's with Harry and Ginny, came in with them and talked to Molly and Lily for a little while and then apparated home.
Harry and Ginny told their parents all about their night before running off to bed. No one objected to them sleeping in the same room again. They changed quickly before climbing into bed, Harry into his boxers and Ginny into one of her many short nightshirts. They cuddled and kissed for a while and then passed out in one another's arms for the last time before they left for Hogwarts.