"C'mon, Ron, it's your turn!" screamed Harry from across the meadow.
"I'm thinking about my strategy, alright?" replied Ron with equal gusto.
Harry and Ron were standing on either end of the meadow inside the small forest behind the Burrow, playing a game that they called "Jungle Ball". In the game, the first player starts off by dodging obstacles across the playing field. Once they've reached the halfway marker (in this case, a dead stump) the player crumples up a sheet of paper, lights it on fire and sprints across the field, trying to retain the flaming ball without getting burned. Not only that, but if a penalty occurs (such as dropping the paper or tripping) the player must restart his journey from the halfway marker, all the while holding the still burning paper. After about ten minutes of playing the game, Harry and Ron decided that it was far too easy and safe, and decided that the player must sing the Finnish national anthem during the entire ordeal, and if they mispronounce a word or forget a line, the other player is free to either tackle the first player or replace the first player's fire ball with a second one that was pre-doused with oil.
"Come ON!" cried Harry, growing impatient.
"Okay fine, I'm ready!" yelled Ron. He stood very still for several seconds, then bounced once on his heels like a gymnast and took off running. "Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa!" he sang as he began the obstacle course. "Soi sana kultainen!" Tossing himself through an old tire and skipping backwards past a curious chipmunk, he muttered, "Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa, ei vettä rantaa rakkaampaa kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen-" he paused briefly for concentration as he back-flipped over a rotting gravestone, "Maa kallis isien," Finally he made it to dead stump. Crumpling up a sheet of paper as fast as he could, he tentatively lit it on fire with a sprinkling of mysterious yellow powder and dashed across the rest of the field, rattling off the second half of the anthem while keeping his mind on the quickly burning object in his freckled hands. "Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan, kerrankin puhkeaa; viel' lempemme saa nousemaan, sun toivos, riemus loistossaan, ja kerran laulus, synnyinmaa kor-" Suddenly Ron cut himself off; he forgot the last few words of the song! "What goes next?" he shrieked as the paper began to produce 5-inch high flames.
"You forgot it! You forgot the ending!" screamed Harry with a bright grin, pointing at Ron like a child who caught his brother breaking a household rule. "I get to kill you now!" Harry sprinted towards Ron and threw all of his weight against him, knocking his friend to the ground and in effect setting his own shirt aflame. He cursed and tore his shirt off, standing up and stomping out the clothing viciously. "Okay," said Harry, standing topless over Ron and regarding the issue of the game as if it were important government business, "Since I tackled you, your turn is over. You get two points for making it across the obstacle course, but one point for only making it part of the way across the sprint. That makes your total sixteen."
"Fine," said Ron, standing up next to Harry, "Get over there and start." He pointed towards the opposite end of the meadow, and Harry jogged enthusiastically towards it. "Ready?" he called, and received an affirmative answer. "Go!"
Harry easily overcame the obstacle course, and because he secretly wrote several easily forgettable Finnish words on his arm, he was able to complete the sprint with no injury or mistake. He and Ron laughed and tumbled through seven more rounds of Jungle Ball as the sun rose higher and higher up the searing blue summer sky. By the time Mrs. Weasley had Ginny bring a picnic out to the boys, they were both breathless and dripping with sweat. Ginny was wearing a thin white sundress and a white visor as she carried a basket of food and a platter of drinks to the small table that Ron and Harry had set up in the middle of the meadow to hold the stack of paper and the yellow powder. "I'm so thirsty," she heard Harry say as a sweaty hand reached under her to grab a cup of lemonade from the table. Looking up towards the direction of the voice, Ginny almost choked on her gum to see him standing shirtless and sweaty under the midday sun in all his messy-haired, green-eyed, lean-muscled glory.
"Thanks, Ginny," he said with a grateful smile as he quickly drained the glass of its contents. "What's in the basket?"
"Erm...," she began, finding it hard to concentrate on anything but his developed abdomen, "There's...there's...some sandwiches...and fresh strawberries...and...erm...I...napkins."
"What?" squawked Ron through his lemonade, "What are eye napkins? What are you talking about, Ginny?" He ruffled through the picnic basket until he produced a handful of plain, white napkins. "Why are these called eye napkins? What makes them different?" He pulled a single napkin out of the tumultuous pile in his other hand and started wiping his eyes with it. "Is this what I'm supposed to do?" Ginny sputtered and began giggling madly, and Harry, seeing her laugh, chuckled with her as Ron, growing more and more frustrated, commenced wiping his eyes more and more furiously. "What? Am I doing it wrong? WHAT?" asked Ron as he nearly rubbed his eyes right out of his skull.
"No, Ron," gasped Harry through spasms of laughter, "They're not "eye napkins", they're just regular napkins." That was about all Harry could say before he rolled across the grass and burst into giggles once more.
"You're so...stupid!" cried Ginny as she, also having had collapsed onto the grass, flopped her body on top of Harry's through the sheer force of her laughter.
"What? Stupid!" yelled Ron, deeply offended, "I'll have you know, I'm the undisputed Gryffindor chess champion! My mind could take on your mind ANY DAY!"
About fifty yards away, the back screen door banged shut and Hermione walked into the bright noonday sun, squinting as she slid on a pair of dark sunglasses. Ron had invited her to stay with them after she dropped off Harry's black bag, and, thinking to get to the bottom of Harry's situation, she consented. The more time she had to talk with Harry, the better. She hopped down the shallow steps and walked across the grass until she reached the small forest, where she stumbled her way through the tall trees and tangled underbrush until she came to the meadow where her friends were eating. She was surprised to see Harry without a shirt on, since he was usually rather conservative when it came to apparel. However, that small shock was nothing compared to the startle she received when she saw Ginny lying on top of him, giggling and blushing.
"Hey...guys..." trailed Hermione. She glanced towards Ron and noticed his bloodshot eyes. "Ron, what happened to your eyes?" she asked, venturing towards him and peering closely into his irritated blue eyes.
"Nothing," answered Ron curtly. "My sister was being stupid and mixed up her words." Ginny shot up from her warm spot next to Harry to protest, but Ron shoved her back onto the grass. She gasped, and her breathing quickened and grew increasingly shallow until finally she let out a teary-eyed whimper.
"You made me fall on something sharp," whined Ginny, starting to cry. Ron rolled his eyes apathetically; Harry seemed to be the only person who actually cared about the youngest Weasley's well-being.
"Are you alright? What did you fall on?" asked Harry, sitting up and gently lifting Ginny's back so that he could view the imposing object. "Oh no," he said, his bright face shifting into a dark expression of worry, "You REALLY fell on something sharp. Hermione, come here and look at this."
Hermione walked over towards Harry and kneeled next to him. She withdrew disgustedly when she looked at the state of Ginny's back. "That doesn't look good."
Ginny, whose curiosity had been growing this entire time, cried out in frustration. "What happened? What did I fall on?" She tried to twist and contort her body so that she could view her backside, but failed in her attempts. "Somebody tell me!"
"Hold on, love," said Harry, his British upbringing exposing itself, "I'm just going to try and pry something out of your skin, then you can look at it all you want."
"WHAT?" screeched Ginny, squeezing Harry's arm and staring at him, wide- eyed in anxiety. "What do you mean, 'pry something out of my skin'? What the HELL is down there, you'd better tell me!"
Ron, whose prior aggression had slowly faded into guilt and fear, knelt in front of Ginny and looked across her towards Harry. "It's going to be nothing, mate, she's just overreacting," he said, hiding his brotherly compassion for Ginny in a façade of aloof indifference.
Harry returned Ron's gaze. "Just don't hit girls, alright?" The recipient of this comment sputtered in offense and disbelief.
"I DON'T hit girls, Harry."
"You just pushed her, and you hurt her," responded Harry condescendingly. "I'm just saying that for future reference, that might not have been such a good idea."
Ginny tried her best to mollify the growing tension between her brother and his best friend. She really didn't want to cause any strife between them. "It's okay Harry, I'm used to it. Now, let's just...pull this thing out of my back and finish our picnic."
"Alright," said Hermione, rolling Ginny over onto her stomach so that she could have uninhibited access to the injured area, "This might hurt a bit, so I'll pull it out all in one go. One...," Ginny held her breath, "Two...," Harry felt her squeeze his hand, "Three!" At that point, Hermione yanked out a long, jagged piece of glass, and Ginny screamed like a wild animal. "Glass?" muttered Hermione, closely scanning the gleaming object, "What's something like this doing in the meadow?"
Harry took the glass from his friend and inspected it himself. Hermione noticed his eyes darken once more as he held the jagged piece in his hands; suddenly he stood up and strode quickly into the forest. Ron watched him disappear into the trees, followed shortly after by a curious Hermione. He was left alone with his sister, who was sniffling pathetically and clutching a shaking hand to her slightly torn, slightly bloodstained dress.
"I'm thinking about my strategy, alright?" replied Ron with equal gusto.
Harry and Ron were standing on either end of the meadow inside the small forest behind the Burrow, playing a game that they called "Jungle Ball". In the game, the first player starts off by dodging obstacles across the playing field. Once they've reached the halfway marker (in this case, a dead stump) the player crumples up a sheet of paper, lights it on fire and sprints across the field, trying to retain the flaming ball without getting burned. Not only that, but if a penalty occurs (such as dropping the paper or tripping) the player must restart his journey from the halfway marker, all the while holding the still burning paper. After about ten minutes of playing the game, Harry and Ron decided that it was far too easy and safe, and decided that the player must sing the Finnish national anthem during the entire ordeal, and if they mispronounce a word or forget a line, the other player is free to either tackle the first player or replace the first player's fire ball with a second one that was pre-doused with oil.
"Come ON!" cried Harry, growing impatient.
"Okay fine, I'm ready!" yelled Ron. He stood very still for several seconds, then bounced once on his heels like a gymnast and took off running. "Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa!" he sang as he began the obstacle course. "Soi sana kultainen!" Tossing himself through an old tire and skipping backwards past a curious chipmunk, he muttered, "Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa, ei vettä rantaa rakkaampaa kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen-" he paused briefly for concentration as he back-flipped over a rotting gravestone, "Maa kallis isien," Finally he made it to dead stump. Crumpling up a sheet of paper as fast as he could, he tentatively lit it on fire with a sprinkling of mysterious yellow powder and dashed across the rest of the field, rattling off the second half of the anthem while keeping his mind on the quickly burning object in his freckled hands. "Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan, kerrankin puhkeaa; viel' lempemme saa nousemaan, sun toivos, riemus loistossaan, ja kerran laulus, synnyinmaa kor-" Suddenly Ron cut himself off; he forgot the last few words of the song! "What goes next?" he shrieked as the paper began to produce 5-inch high flames.
"You forgot it! You forgot the ending!" screamed Harry with a bright grin, pointing at Ron like a child who caught his brother breaking a household rule. "I get to kill you now!" Harry sprinted towards Ron and threw all of his weight against him, knocking his friend to the ground and in effect setting his own shirt aflame. He cursed and tore his shirt off, standing up and stomping out the clothing viciously. "Okay," said Harry, standing topless over Ron and regarding the issue of the game as if it were important government business, "Since I tackled you, your turn is over. You get two points for making it across the obstacle course, but one point for only making it part of the way across the sprint. That makes your total sixteen."
"Fine," said Ron, standing up next to Harry, "Get over there and start." He pointed towards the opposite end of the meadow, and Harry jogged enthusiastically towards it. "Ready?" he called, and received an affirmative answer. "Go!"
Harry easily overcame the obstacle course, and because he secretly wrote several easily forgettable Finnish words on his arm, he was able to complete the sprint with no injury or mistake. He and Ron laughed and tumbled through seven more rounds of Jungle Ball as the sun rose higher and higher up the searing blue summer sky. By the time Mrs. Weasley had Ginny bring a picnic out to the boys, they were both breathless and dripping with sweat. Ginny was wearing a thin white sundress and a white visor as she carried a basket of food and a platter of drinks to the small table that Ron and Harry had set up in the middle of the meadow to hold the stack of paper and the yellow powder. "I'm so thirsty," she heard Harry say as a sweaty hand reached under her to grab a cup of lemonade from the table. Looking up towards the direction of the voice, Ginny almost choked on her gum to see him standing shirtless and sweaty under the midday sun in all his messy-haired, green-eyed, lean-muscled glory.
"Thanks, Ginny," he said with a grateful smile as he quickly drained the glass of its contents. "What's in the basket?"
"Erm...," she began, finding it hard to concentrate on anything but his developed abdomen, "There's...there's...some sandwiches...and fresh strawberries...and...erm...I...napkins."
"What?" squawked Ron through his lemonade, "What are eye napkins? What are you talking about, Ginny?" He ruffled through the picnic basket until he produced a handful of plain, white napkins. "Why are these called eye napkins? What makes them different?" He pulled a single napkin out of the tumultuous pile in his other hand and started wiping his eyes with it. "Is this what I'm supposed to do?" Ginny sputtered and began giggling madly, and Harry, seeing her laugh, chuckled with her as Ron, growing more and more frustrated, commenced wiping his eyes more and more furiously. "What? Am I doing it wrong? WHAT?" asked Ron as he nearly rubbed his eyes right out of his skull.
"No, Ron," gasped Harry through spasms of laughter, "They're not "eye napkins", they're just regular napkins." That was about all Harry could say before he rolled across the grass and burst into giggles once more.
"You're so...stupid!" cried Ginny as she, also having had collapsed onto the grass, flopped her body on top of Harry's through the sheer force of her laughter.
"What? Stupid!" yelled Ron, deeply offended, "I'll have you know, I'm the undisputed Gryffindor chess champion! My mind could take on your mind ANY DAY!"
About fifty yards away, the back screen door banged shut and Hermione walked into the bright noonday sun, squinting as she slid on a pair of dark sunglasses. Ron had invited her to stay with them after she dropped off Harry's black bag, and, thinking to get to the bottom of Harry's situation, she consented. The more time she had to talk with Harry, the better. She hopped down the shallow steps and walked across the grass until she reached the small forest, where she stumbled her way through the tall trees and tangled underbrush until she came to the meadow where her friends were eating. She was surprised to see Harry without a shirt on, since he was usually rather conservative when it came to apparel. However, that small shock was nothing compared to the startle she received when she saw Ginny lying on top of him, giggling and blushing.
"Hey...guys..." trailed Hermione. She glanced towards Ron and noticed his bloodshot eyes. "Ron, what happened to your eyes?" she asked, venturing towards him and peering closely into his irritated blue eyes.
"Nothing," answered Ron curtly. "My sister was being stupid and mixed up her words." Ginny shot up from her warm spot next to Harry to protest, but Ron shoved her back onto the grass. She gasped, and her breathing quickened and grew increasingly shallow until finally she let out a teary-eyed whimper.
"You made me fall on something sharp," whined Ginny, starting to cry. Ron rolled his eyes apathetically; Harry seemed to be the only person who actually cared about the youngest Weasley's well-being.
"Are you alright? What did you fall on?" asked Harry, sitting up and gently lifting Ginny's back so that he could view the imposing object. "Oh no," he said, his bright face shifting into a dark expression of worry, "You REALLY fell on something sharp. Hermione, come here and look at this."
Hermione walked over towards Harry and kneeled next to him. She withdrew disgustedly when she looked at the state of Ginny's back. "That doesn't look good."
Ginny, whose curiosity had been growing this entire time, cried out in frustration. "What happened? What did I fall on?" She tried to twist and contort her body so that she could view her backside, but failed in her attempts. "Somebody tell me!"
"Hold on, love," said Harry, his British upbringing exposing itself, "I'm just going to try and pry something out of your skin, then you can look at it all you want."
"WHAT?" screeched Ginny, squeezing Harry's arm and staring at him, wide- eyed in anxiety. "What do you mean, 'pry something out of my skin'? What the HELL is down there, you'd better tell me!"
Ron, whose prior aggression had slowly faded into guilt and fear, knelt in front of Ginny and looked across her towards Harry. "It's going to be nothing, mate, she's just overreacting," he said, hiding his brotherly compassion for Ginny in a façade of aloof indifference.
Harry returned Ron's gaze. "Just don't hit girls, alright?" The recipient of this comment sputtered in offense and disbelief.
"I DON'T hit girls, Harry."
"You just pushed her, and you hurt her," responded Harry condescendingly. "I'm just saying that for future reference, that might not have been such a good idea."
Ginny tried her best to mollify the growing tension between her brother and his best friend. She really didn't want to cause any strife between them. "It's okay Harry, I'm used to it. Now, let's just...pull this thing out of my back and finish our picnic."
"Alright," said Hermione, rolling Ginny over onto her stomach so that she could have uninhibited access to the injured area, "This might hurt a bit, so I'll pull it out all in one go. One...," Ginny held her breath, "Two...," Harry felt her squeeze his hand, "Three!" At that point, Hermione yanked out a long, jagged piece of glass, and Ginny screamed like a wild animal. "Glass?" muttered Hermione, closely scanning the gleaming object, "What's something like this doing in the meadow?"
Harry took the glass from his friend and inspected it himself. Hermione noticed his eyes darken once more as he held the jagged piece in his hands; suddenly he stood up and strode quickly into the forest. Ron watched him disappear into the trees, followed shortly after by a curious Hermione. He was left alone with his sister, who was sniffling pathetically and clutching a shaking hand to her slightly torn, slightly bloodstained dress.