Disclaimer: I forgot one last time, but I'm assuming you know how it goes, right? JKR, WB, blah blah blah... you're smart people, you can fill in the blanks.

Take Me Away

Ginny Weasley sat by the brook behind her house, guitar and journal both lay forgotten next to her. She leaned against the tree she was sitting under and closed her eyes, trying to capture a few moments of rest. This was why she loved summer: the calm. She loved it. Everything slowed down, everyone paced themselves. Some would call it sluggish, but Ginny thought it was just fine. She enjoyed the peacefulness of The Burrow during summer. And now that school was over, she could enjoy the peacefulness of the Burrow all year long.

"Ginevra!" called Mrs. Weasley, shattering the peace that Ginny was soaking up. She opened one eye and turned her head enough to see her mother standing at the open window, looking angry. "This is the fifth time I've called you, Ginny. Get in here and help. Dinner's almost ready."

Ginny sighed and got to her feet. She picked up her journal and her guitar and proceeded to head to the house, guitar bouncing merrily behind her. "Pick up that guitar!" she heard her mother shriek from the kitchen. Grumbling, she picked up the guitar and carried it to the house.

"Are we eating outside?" Ginny asked her mother, putting her guitar on a chair in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley nodded, checking on the roast.

"The boys are putting the tables and chairs outside," she said. On that note, a chair flew past the two and zoomed out the back door. Mrs. Weasley slammed her wand down onto the counter and stood in the door. "Will you please not use magic to collect the chairs? It's dangerous!" Ginny stood behind her mother, grinning. The boys, who consisted of the twins, Ron, and Harry (who was now living with them), mumbled sheepishly and retreated into the house to collect the rest of the needed chairs. Mrs. Weasley returned to the kitchen, rich smells permeating from the tiny room.

"Gin!" Ron called from the dining room. "Will you please move your guitar before I use it for kindling?" Ginny rolled her eyes and went to retrieve her beloved acoustic.

"You're getting pretty good at that thing," Harry said when Ginny came in to the dining room. "I could hear you earlier today."

"Er, thanks, Harry," Ginny said, blushing. It wasn't that she still had some sort of mad crush on Harry—that died a long time ago—it just was that she could never take compliments well. She tucked her journal, a small navy book with unlined pages, under her arm and put her guitar on the sofa in the living room. The fire shot upwards, burning a bright green. She set the guitar on the sofa. It leaned left, threatening to fall. Ginny caught it and ordered it in a frantic whisper, "Don't fall. Please, don't fall."

"Why don't you just put it up in your room where it belongs?" Ginny heard her father ask as he stepped out of the fireplace. He shook the ash off of his robes as he stepped further away. Ginny looked up, smiling.

"I don't feel like walking," she answered with a shrug. Hermione appeared behind Mr. Weasley.

"You'd rather walk all over creation simply to avoid walking up some stairs?" Hermione asked, shaking out her robes. "Honestly, Ginny, you'd think you'd have more energy."

"Yeah, I'm not old like you," the redhead joked. "Mum says dinner's ready." She kissed her father on the cheek as she headed outside.

Ginny sat down at the table, taking a seat at the very end of the table. Hermione sat next to her, and Ron across from Hermione. The two had been dating since their seventh year, but the relationship had been a tumultuous one due to their incessant arguing. Right now, the waters were calm, but only heaven knew when the next front would roll in.

Harry, on the other hand, hadn't really been in a relationship, not a serious one at least. Dating hadn't really been his forte, choosing instead to be alone most of the time. He said he didn't know what to say around girls, but the underlying reason was a fear of Voldemort using them to get to him. It was dangerous, knowing Harry Potter, but Harry seemed to be the only one afraid of it. He sat down across from Ginny, looking distracted.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked. She always felt odd, asking if he was all right. She didn't know him that well. They hadn't really become friends. He always remained her older brother's best friend, and that always made Ginny feel distanced from Harry. Some progress was made around her third year at Hogwarts, but it halted after her fourth. Sirius, Harry's godfather, had died, and quite suddenly. After that, he shut himself away from the rest of the world. He didn't come to the Burrow at all that summer, instead spending the last week or so of summer holiday at the Leaky Cauldron. He was a wreck when school began. He didn't sleep or eat properly. He just went from one thing to the next, probably replaying that single moment in his head over and over. You could see it play across his face: the confusion, the realization, the horror. At first, denial made a brief appearance, but that faded quickly away. Harry slowly came back to the present, but he never the same.

Harry looked up and gave Ginny a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Ginny shrugged. She followed everyone's lead and helped herself to some food. "You just seem... off."

Harry looked slightly confused. "Off?"

"Distracted," Ginny amended. "You looked distracted. That was what I meant to say."

"Oh," Harry said, looking as though he understood. "Just thinking about Auror training and the like. Bit nervous."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Harry said. "I'm glad somebody has one."

Dinner continued on, small talk playing a key role. As the afternoon light dwindled and dusk crept across the sky, Ginny listening to her older brother and his best friend argue animatedly about Quidditch while Hermione talked with Ginny's father about work. A half-smile of contentment playing across her lips, Ginny closed her eyes. Shoes abandoned under the table, she enjoyed the feeling of blades of grass tickling her feet.

This, thought Ginny, was all perfection really was.

A/N: Hi again! How am I doing so far? I'm trying to make this more interesting, but set-ups are always boring. Remember to review! And be nice!