The moon was high in the sky, shining on the houses of Privet Drive. The street seemed deserted, as were all the houses, but one. A single window had a weak light shining from it. There, in the room of Number 4 Privet Drive, stood Harry Potter, crossing out another day from his calendar on the wall. He then, lied on the bed, not closing his eyes though. Sleep had been no friend of his, the past two weeks he had stayed in his uncle's house.
Every night, he would just lie down, and gaze at the ceiling, trying to empty his mind. Also trying to reflect, on the events that occurred in the Department of Mysteries. Sirius dying, the prophecy, the "rescue mission". It was a hard thing, trying to empty your mind, while having all those painful, horrible memories.
His hand moved, and opened his bedside table drawer. He took out the letters he had received so far from his friends. Going through them, he saw Ron, Hermione's and even Neville's handwriting. His eyes stopped in the last one. He had received it yesterday. It was Ginny, telling him, among other things, that Order members were to pick him up from Privet Drive, to take him to the Burrow today.
At first, he felt happy -so to say-, but then curiosity got the best of him. Why would Ginny write to tell him that, and not Ron? This morning, packing his stuff, he tried not to think that, maybe something had happened to his best friend. But then, if something had happened wouldn't Ginny tell him? It kept bothering him until now.
He put away his letters in his trunk, and checked if he had forgotten anything. Hedwig was glaring at him, safely locked in her cage. As Harry walked to the window, he glanced at the luminous alarm clock. It was half past ten. Why weren't they here already? Do they plan on coming in the middle of the night, and make uncle Vernon have a fit again, like four years ago...
Suddenly, a blue and white light flashed in the room, and Harry's body got stuck to the window.
"Hi ya Harry!" Tonks greeted him.
"Will you get off my foot please? Thank you," growled Mad-Eye Moody at her.
Except them, Mr. Weasley, along with Bill and Charlie, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt were now standing in the room, beaming at him.
"Hello," Harry said, looking at everyone, and walking towards Lupin.
"How have you been Harry?" the man asked, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I've been better…Ok. I'm ready to go, just let me tell my uncle," Harry opened the door, jerked his head out, and shouted, "Oy, I'm leaving. See you next summer," he closed the door, and looked at Mr. Weasley, " We're using a portkey, right?"
"Yes Harry. Oh, someone grab the trunk and Hedwig," Mr. Weasley replied, putting an old kettle on Harry's bed. Tapping it with his wand, while murmuring Portus , he pushed Harry near it, "Don't worry, we have authorization for it," he smiled, as everyone gathered round the kettle, "1…2…3".
He felt the familiar sensation, of a hook being jerked behind his navel. Flying through a sea of color, he landed on the kitchen floor, in the Burrow. He saw everyone landing next to him, but the next moment they all seemed in a hurry. Charlie put Harry's trunk beside the stairs, Bill put Hedwig on the table, and one by one, all of the Order members that had escorted him, Disapparated. Before they left; Mr. Weasley and Lupin addressed him.
"Don't worry Harry, nothing's wrong," Mr. Weasley assured him.
" We just have to go to Grimmauld Place for the Order's meeting. Ginny will fill you in," Lupin added, before disappearing.
Harry looked around. The Burrow was just as he remembered it. Warm, colorful, but it was quiet. He walked to the living room, and found a cheerful fire burning in the fireplace. On the sofa, opposite sat Ginny, silently watching him.
"Hi Harry," she said, standing up, and walking calmly up to him, and closing her arms around him in a hug.
Harry felt surprised. Ginny and himself were never on such close terms, to casually hug each other. But it felt different now. They had been through the nightmare in the Department of Mysteries together. He put his arms around her too, and thought that, the peace he felt right now, hugging Ginny in the silent Burrow, was the best feeling he had those past two weeks. She pulled away, and led him to sit down.
A thought crossed Harry's mind, "Ginny, is everyone ok? I mean, there's no one hurt, is there?" he was now staring intensely in her eyes.
"No Harry, it's ok. Everyone's fine. I just felt the need to do that, all this time. I've been thinking a lot…about him. So I needed to do that. For you, and for me. Do you understand?" she hadn't broken off their gaze, as she spoke.
"Yes, I understand," he looked away, feeling his eyes stinging, "So where's everyone?" he continued, looking around the room, waiting for someone to come bursting in through a door.
"They're all in Grimmauld Place. Ron and Hermione, too. Dumbledore said, that tonight you had to stay here," she stood up, and walked to a window, "he thought that it would be hard, going there straight away, so he said, you'd have to stay here tonight, for the thought of going back to sink in. He put spells all around the house, to alarm the Order if something's wrong. Lupin and Tonks will come here later, to spend the night, so they can keep an eye on us," she kept staring at a fixed point out of the window, and Harry had the distinct feeling she was holding something back.
"Ginny, why did we have to be here tonight, before going to Grimmauld Place. Is something wrong? Honestly!" he asked, walking up to her, and turning her around, so he could look at her.
She raised her head defiantly, and as she looked into his eyes, Harry saw a spark, he had never seen before, "If you don't want to be here, you can help yourself to some Floo powder, and be off, but first I must tell you a few things. Firstly, everything Sirius owned, including the Headquarters, is now yours. Secondly, I thought that you could use some peace and quiet, before going to that place, where you probably will have to deal with all the memories you have of him, and thirdly, I was a fool enough to believe, that I could make you trust me, so you could feel better. Obviously, I was wrong," she stopped shouting, and stared back at him with a challenging look.
Harry was caught off guard. All the information she'd given him, danced around in his mind. He didn't know what to make of them. One thing was clear though, Ginny was furious and hurt, and it was his fault. He looked in her eyes, trying to find something he could say, to make her relax. Her eyes are so beautiful when she's mad! Deep brown, like chocolate! Huh? He shook his head lightly; trying to make those thoughts go away. He had to focus. It was just Ginny after all.
"You weren't wrong. I'm sorry, I just…you were right. I need to relax for a bit. To think…tonight, before going back," he mumbled, walking across the room, and sitting on the sofa. He stared at the fire, absentmindedly, thinking about what Ginny had said. He now owned Grimmauld Place… He felt Ginny sitting beside him.
Her anger had vanished. As she looked at Harry's profile, all she could think was that the boy had become a man, in just a few weeks' time. This little while, since the events of the Department of Mysteries up 'till then, they all had grown a bit wiser. Each in their own way. She could see tears shining in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. She knew it. Ginny would give anything to take away his pain. But she couldn't.
Harry turned to look at her. Her face was glowing, from the dim light the fire shed in the room. He remembered the feeling he had, when she was in his arms earlier, and realized that he missed it. Not thinking it twice, he asked, "Ginny? Can…I…erm…hold you?"
The question surprised her, but not hesitating, she lied back on him, and wrapped her hands around him, as he did the same.
Harry felt relieved, like the void, which all this time was situated in the place of his heart, got a bit smaller that very moment. They sat there for quite a while, without speaking, looking at the fire. It wasn't an awkward silence though. It felt like it was the most natural and peaceful thing in the world.