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Chapter 22
"Ginny, I need to show you something!" he said and she nodded awkwardly.
"Um, okay," she said and Harry pulled her out of her seat and led her to the door to go outside onto the garden.
"It's here somewhere," he said, pulling her right and left.
"Where exactly are you taking me?" she asked not too sternly as she enjoyed being alone with Harry.
"You'll see," he merely responded and then pointed to an area blocked by a tree, "Oh there it is!" He led her over to a bush of huge blooming flowers. They were shimmering with a golden color and had translucent petals. The leaves in the bush looked as if they were made out of crystal.
"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed in astonishment and she didn't mind that Harry let go of her hand because she was so enamored by the breathtaking sight in front of her.
"Auralilies," Harry said with a bold whisper.
"But these haven't been in season in--"
"Five years, I know," Harry finished her sentence.
"How did you know I--"
Harry cut her off again. "I heard you talking about them last year after a D.A. meeting. All you girls were talking about them, and Sprout said they would be blooming around the end of July this year."
"Oh, I see," Ginny said softly and gazed at the Auralilies. "It's a pity that they only bloom for a few days."
"Well, I'm glad I spotted them this morning, or you might have missed them."
"At least we have the photographs," she sighed. Ginny was very grateful for Harry. The flowers always brought her joy whenever they were in bloom the first three times she saw them. She didn't remember, but Mrs. Weasley told her that when she was a newborn, the sight of the Auralilies made her stop crying. She was five years old until the next time she saw them, and again at 10.
"Ron didn't care so much, though." Harry stated.
"That's because he tried to eat one when he was little and his tongue got swollen," Ginny explained, still gazing at bush of flowers.
"Oh I'm not surprised," he said and smiled.
Why did he wait till everyone left before he could show it to me? Hermione would have liked to see them too, she thought. She looked at him at the corner of her eye, and he sat down against the tree. Her eyes were twinkling as she wondered about Harry actually thinking about her enough to do something like this. She sat down a few feet away from him.
"Well, thanks," was all that could comes out, but she wanted to let him know that she really did appreciate it. "I liked it," she added. That wasn't enough for her. Could she say anything else? Could she do anything else? Without thinking, she leaned over and gave him a hug. Ginny pulled back when she realized what she was doing, but Harry hugged her back and she noticed how inept it must have been for him.
"Um," he said, and got up, "Are you thirsty? I am." He left before she responded.
She felt sincerely dim for hugging him. Why did I do that?, she thought. I ruined everything! She didn't expect for Harry to be coming back, but she looked at the Auralilies, and they put her to the least bit of ease. She sighed and put her face in her palms.
"Are you okay?" said Harry's voice. Ginny looked up in surprise.
"Yeah, there was something in my eyes," she lied. "But yeah, I'm okay!"
"Good," he said, and handed her a butterbeer, and sat down a lot closer to her than she did before.
"Thanks, I haven't had any of this stuff in awhile," she said taking his offer. I guess I didn't ruin everything after all, she thought.
"I'm trying to cut down," he merely said. They didn't talk for about ten seconds, but to Ginny, it felt like a History of Magic lesson.
"Harry?" she asked tenderly, and he looked at her, waiting for her to finish. "I don't think you'd want to talk about it, but some of us have been wondering how you are going with dealing with--"
"Sirius's death?" he continued for her again.
"Er, yeah," she replied.
"Why do you think I don't want to talk about it?"
"Well, you never brought it up, and you seem like you've been in a good mood as if you've been trying to forget about him."
"Oh, okay," he said, and there was a slight pause, but he added, "the truth is that I think about it all the time. That scene just goes through my mind so many times each day. I'm not trying to forget about it, but I'm just looking for a way to deal with it. I was waiting for maybe one of you bring it up."
"It also hurt me, but I know it must be so much harder for you!"
"I know, but I haven't given up yet."
"How do you mean?"
"It did break me down. I've never been so broken down in my life, but I've been through so many tough spots, and I've learned to move on."
"I see," said Ginny, staring down at her bottle. "I don't think you're ready to just move on, though."
"I'm not, but another thing is about Luna Lovegood. She said something that--"
Harry was cut off by Ron shouting at them as he came around the tree. He was followed closely by Hermione. "There you guys are! Mum made us go look for you!"
"We've already finished de-gnoming!" said Hermione, "But you can help us clean out the—are those Auralilies?!"
"Yeah," said Harry and Ginny nodded with a grin.
"I've seen them in real life before. It was right after I was accepted at Hogwarts, but they were droopy and wilted. I also read about them in Neville's Herbology Today magazine."
"I don't know what you find in some stupid flowers," said Ron.
Ginny and Harry exchanged glances and laughed, as Hermione was looking into the bush for a closer view.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked.
"Hungry, Ron?" Harry teased.
Ron was confused, but he responded, "I think we should head over to the shed now, and clean it out. I'm scared of going in there alone, especially with all those extellical cords."
"Extension cords," Hermione corrected.
"Right, right, whatever," said Ron and Ginny stood up and realized she was still in her bathrobe.
"I think I should change and then meet you all down there," she said, and left the garden. Ginny didn't think any of what happened with Harry would occur. He did something very considerate for her and he even opened up for the first time about Sirius to her.
"Hello, Lola!" she said cheerfully as she found her kitten in the hallway outside her bedroom. She picked her up and petted her. Ginny sighed as she entered her room and thought, this day can't get any better! "The cat's in the bag!" she said out loud and Lola purred. "Oh, not you, Lola!"