CHAPTER THREE – Brides, Birds and Baiting

He was nervous.

That fact, in and of itself, made him feel stupid.  After all he had faced, after all he had done, the mere anticipation of looking at Ginny Weasley made him sweat.  A lot.

Remembering the reason for his visit, he steeled himself.  It had to be done.

His resolve wavered, however, when she opened the door and he realized how much he hated Ron and Hermione at that very moment.  If not for their stubbornness, he would not have to be here, face to face with regret and missed opportunities.  In a delicate white dress, his angel stood before him.  Red hair falling in soft curls down her back, freckles dappled along the ridge of her nose like kisses from the sun.  And that smile.  That wicked Weasley smile.  Hermione was not immune to it and apparently, neither was Harry.

"Hi Ginny." Words came out tinged with melancholy.

"Harry!" She threw her arms around his neck and let out a laugh.  "How are you?  I wasn't expecting you today.  Come in, come in, come in.  Have a seat.  Can I get you some tea?  You like blackberry, right?  I'll be right back."

The tornado that was Ginny Weasley flew in the kitchen and flew back next to Harry in what seemed like seconds.

Harry was wondering if he would be allowed to speak yet.

"I have just been making last minute plans for the wedding."  Apparently not.

"I had no idea how much work this would entail.  Did you?  Well, that was silly, how could you, being single.  Oh, sorry. That was stupid of me.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, being single,  that is.  It's wonderful.  Not wonderful, like, I wish I was unattached.  I mean wonderful for you."

"Ginny….."

"Colin has been such a dear, trying to help and all but I find men really just aren't good with these things and besides I think that he is really just trying to make a good impression.  I really don't think he cares very much about the during as much as the after."

"Ginny….."

"Not that you are interested in all that..."

"GINNY!"

Realization dawned on her face, followed by the infamous Weasley blush.

"Oh Harry, I am so sorry.  I have been a wreck lately."  As if everything came to a head at that very moment, Ginny collapsed on the couch next to Harry.

Repressing every instinct that shouted for him to put his arms around her, he spoke, "Is everything all right?"

She sat up startled. "Yes, of course.  Why wouldn't it be?  What have you heard?"

In an attempt to keep the conversation down to the legal speed limit, Harry jumped in.  "I haven't heard anything.  You just seem very tired and very…..anxious."

She relaxed slightly. "I guess I am.  A girl only gets married once, right? Well, once for the first time anyway, and I want this to be perfect.  It's really a lot of work."

"You're doing it all alone?"

She nodded wearily.  "Mostly.  Mum has tried to help, but we seem to get into disagreements all the time.  Angelina and Katie have also tried but dealing with the likes of Fred and George is already too much for anyone to bear.  Penny is pregnant and about to burst, so Percy won't even let her out of the house.  And, well, Hermione is just no good at this kind of stuff.  Though, don't tell her that.  She'll probably try to prove me wrong by sending me more books on the subject, and I haven't had time to go through the seven she already sent over."

Hermione…. "That's why I came over…..to talk to you about Hermione."

"Is she all right?"

"Well, I'm not really sure.  Ginny, I need your help with something." 

He stared at her for a moment.  Was he out of his mind?  Who was he to interfere with the lives of others?  They were adults, after all. And what was the real purpose of going to Ginny Weasley, of all people, to help him? Ginny Weasley, indeed.  Come to think of it -- who better?

A deep breath.  Here goes nothing.

"I am in desperate need of a way to make Hermione and Ron realize that they are meant to be together.  It's been four years of waiting for them to wake up and it's not happening.  In the meanwhile Hermione just waits for something to pop out at her from whatever book she is either reading or writing, and Ron goes out with the most un-Hermione-like girls he can find, trying to get over something that never was.  It was fine while we were in school.  We were all too preoccupied with not dying to worry about dating.  And yes, I will admit that I did nothing to foster any kind of relationship.  It was complete selfishness on my part, but I need to fix it now or I will watch the two most important people in my life lose a great chance at happiness, and damn it, they deserve that.  We all deserve that."  Apparently, Ginny's case of 'runaway mouth' was contagious.

To say that Ginny was surprised would be an understatement-- sort of like saying Voldemort had some intimacy issues , or Remus Lupin got a little testy once a month. She was not surprised at what he was saying - Ron and Hermione belonged together.  Any idiot with half a brain cell could see how they felt about each other.  No, what surprised her was who was saying it and the genuine passion with which he was saying it. He had not had a flicker of any emotion since the 'Final Battle' many thought he never would again. Today, she saw a glimmer of the boy she thought she would never see again, one she missed very much.

Something must have happened.  "What's going on?"

"Hermione met Marie Elena."

"Oh….."

A small smile found its way to Harry' mouth. "Yeah, I know.  She fell to pieces, again.  And I picked her up and put her back together, again.  It's killing her.  No one should be that unhappy."

"Did she ask you to help her?"

"No, she wouldn't do that, but I have to."  He saw the look of hesitation in Ginny's eyes.  "You didn't see her, Ginny.  She's miserable.  One way or another, I have to make them admit their feelings.  They have to give it a chance.  If it doesn't work out at least then they can move on."

Whatever it was that sprung Harry into action was obviously important enough to him to make him seek her out, and Ginny would be damned if she passed up the opportunity to help him.  For the sake of her brother, as well as her Maid of Honor, and for the sake of the boy whose green eyes had not been so bright for a long, long time. "Do you have a plan?"

"I was hoping you could help me come up with one since you are the only one who it seems can make a relationship work."  He almost choked on the words.

Suddenly, she could not bear to look into those green eyes.  "Yes….I …suppose….I suppose we could come up with something together."

Harry felt relief at her words.  Relief?  No, that was not right.  He was feeling something else, but he could not think of that right now.  "I've been thinking we need to get them alone.  Preferably someplace romantic.  If we can get them out of here and in a place where they would have to spend time together things might work themselves out.  Maybe we could just steer them in the right direction."

Ginny thought in silence for a moment. "I know just the place. Dad's cousin has a place in the country.   Charlie and Amalia honeymooned there for a bit before going back to Romania.  It was private and beautiful.  Charlie said he thought there was a lake nearby.  He wasn't sure because they never really did venture outside of the cottage.  I'll see when we can use it."

"Perfect.  Now for the hard part.  How do we get them up there?"

The words were still lingering in the air when they heard the sound of pecking at the window.

"It's Ansel, Colin's owl."

"Probably a love note."  Harry said aloud, while he briefly wondered what the penalty was for killing an owl.  Well, at least plucking it bald.

Ginny pulled the note out of the bird's talon and read it.  She stood silently for a while, reading and rereading the note.  Then, without warning, she started to laugh.  A soft chuckle at first, it grew into a hearty chortle which, in turn, wheel barreled  straight into an all-out guffaw. She could hardly catch her breath as she clutched her sides.

Harry couldn't help but smile; she seemed so amused by the note.  "What does it say?"

She tried to speak but as soon as she got her bearings, she started to laugh all over again.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Tears streamed down her face.   Harry was beginning to worry.  Her eyes were wild, and her manner, disconcerting.  She looked like she was going mad.  He knew that look all to well.  He and Hermione had been friends for over eleven years, after all.

Finally able to get control of herself, Ginny spoke.   "It's from Colin.  He's called off the wedding."

Harry was dumbfounded.  She was joking.  She had to be joking. Please, don't let her be joking.  "You're joking."

"No. The bastard has run off with Amanda Lyncase, a girl from our year.  She worked with Colin the Daily Prophet, and they became friends.  Well, that's an understatement if I ever heard one."  The laughing fit began again.

"But….but… but I don't understand.  Why are you laughing?"

Pausing to wipe a tear from her eyes, she looked right into his eyes, "Oh Harry, you don't understand.  I am free. I am finally free."

When this did not illuminate Harry as she hoped it would, she continued.  "We dated for so long people expected us to marry.  I don't think either one of us really loved each other enough for a lifetime commitment, but it was what we thought we were supposed to do.  I threw myself into the wedding plans hoping to get excited about the whole thing, but it wasn't working.  I didn't have the heart to break it off with Colin.  I thought he would be crushed.  So much for female intuition."

"So you're happy it's off?"

"Deliriously happy, yes."

Harry stopped and then, started again.  "No.  No, you're not."  A plan formed in his head.

"Pardon?"

"No, you're not happy.  You're miserable."

"Who are you talking to?" Ginny turned around half expecting to see someone else standing behind her. 

Harry gave a mischievous grin.  "You are inconsolably miserable and you want to go away for a few days.  Out to the country.  And you need your good friends and your loving brother to go with you."