He was walking towards her. She was wearing a white dress, her fiery-red hair let down, covering her shoulders. She held out her arms, calling him to her. When he reached her, he wrapped her in his arms. He looked at her face; he could see all the tiny freckles on her cheeks.
And then he kissed her. Her lips so soft, so wonderful, but he wanted more…
A loud crack woke him up, and Harry instantly reached for his glasses and wand. Before he could react though, a yellow dragon flew in front of him, circling in the room. Soon a few other cracks were heard, and Fred and George appeared in the doorway, grinning, and setting more fireworks off. Harry swore under his breath, but Fred heard him.
"Tut, tut Harry. You shouldn't talk like that on your birthday!"
"Happy birthday, mate," George added, watching a toad hopping in the air.
Harry's look changed at once. He had forgotten about it, but obviously the Weasleys hadn't, "Thanks guys!" he said, smiling. He looked over at Ron's bed and found it empty. As the fireworks continued roaming through the house, causing Mrs. Weasley's shouts to be heard upstairs, Harry washed himself, and headed to the kitchen. He gaped when he entered the room. A banner stood above the fireplace, reading 'Happy Birthday Harry'.
The table was bending from all the things Mrs. Weasley had prepared. Ron and Hermione beamed at him, while walking up to hug him, and wish him in turns. Mr. and Mrs.Weasley did the same. Fred and George tried to hug him, but he backed away, seeing the bottle of Dung Spray behind their backs. Ginny was the last who walked to him. Their embrace was longer and tighter than the others had been, but still, Harry felt disappointed when she pulled back. They all sat around the table and started eating, but Harry felt like he was missing something. It didn't take long to figure out what it was. Sirius.
All of this didn't feel right. He was happy- well as happy as he could be under the circumstances- but a part of him was crying. Crying for Sirius' absence. He tried his best to smile during breakfast, but it wasn't so difficult when they all gave him his presents. Mr. And Mrs. Weasley got him a black sweater with a moving Firebolt in front. Ron gave him a large box of Honeydukes sweets, which probably was brought by Fred and George, since Ron couldn't leave the house. Harry made a mental note to be careful when eating those. The twins themselves gave him an enormous bag full of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which Harry couldn't wait to try. When he saw the parcel Hermione gave to him, he thought it was a book, but unwrapping it, he found out it was a diary. A common, black, Muggle diary. He didn't think he'd use it, but thought that of course Hermione had noticed he had a lot on his mind, and believed he might need it. Hagrid had sent him a box of cookies, and a thin silver frame inside of which was a photograph of Harry's parents, one he had never seen before. He felt his eyes stinging, as everybody was looking at him now. Mr. Weasley placed another parcel on Harry's lap.
"It's from Dumbledore," he said simply.
Harry opened it. He picked up a very pretty scarlet quill. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen. He looked at the rest, but his eyes stopped at Hermione. She was in awe.
"Harry, that's a phoenix feather quill," she exclaimed. Everyone now were looking fascinated at it. Hermione approached him and continued, " They're extremely rare. Usually phoenix feathers can't be used for quills, due to their magical powers."
Harry wasn't sure he could share their excitement, as he didn't know what to make of the quill, but he smiled nonetheless. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.
The rest of the day flew by quickly. Harry found himself genuinely smiling at Fred and George's jokes, but always the next minute, Sirius' image invaded his mind, and he felt depressed again. After dinner that night, Harry went to his bedroom desperately seeking some privacy. Sitting on his bed, he started thinking of Sirius again, and how this day would be so much different if he was alive. Someone knocked, and Harry wiping his face with his sleeve answered. Lupin entered the room.
"May I come in Harry?" he asked. Harry nodded, and Lupin sat opposite him, on Ron's bed. He was holding, an old wooden box. "I didn't have the chance to wish you Happy Birthday. Order business you see," he said looking straight at Harry.
"It's ok. I understand," he replied, looking away.
"Harry I wanted to give you something, but not in front of the others. It's a…erm…personal sort of gift."
"Thanks but you shouldn't have…" answered Harry.
Lupin raised his hand to cut him off, "It belonged to Sirius. It's something Dumbledore agreed I should give you. Just use it well, and try not to lose it," he put the box in Harry's hands, "Oh, and inside there is a book that might interest you. I'll leave you to it then."
"Thank you," was all that Harry could utter. He looked at the box, thinking about opening it. After a few minutes, taking a deep breath, he removed the lid. Inside was a shiny, black sphere, much like the ones he had used in Divination. He could see his reflection looking at him, from the smooth surface. He had no idea what it was, but then noticed the book beside it. "Advanced Transfiguration," he read. Is this the book from where they learned about Animagi?
His question was answered, as soon as Harry opened it. In the first page were written four words: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. A wave of emotion rushed through his body. He put the book aside, deciding he would read it later, and focused his stare at the sphere. He held it carefully with both his hands, and picked it up to look at it closer. Does it be work like the ones in Divination?
Suddenly, the reflection of himself on the sphere altered. Two green eyes were staring back at him, but they weren't Harry's. They belonged to an animal. A panther, a jet-black panther, was staring back at Harry from the depths of the ball. Shocked, he hurriedly put it back inside the box. What was that? Before he could think about it, someone knocked again. Hastily, he put the box and book away, and answered.
Ginny entered the room, holding something. Harry remembered. She had said she'd give him his present later.
"I hope I'm not interrupting you from anything," she said, looking at Harry timidly.
"No, Gin, it's alright," he replied, patting the bed beside him.
"I just wanted to give you this," she muttered, looking at the floor, " I hope you like it, I made it…and…it's silly actually, but I thought…never mind. Just look at it," she shoved a roll of parchment in his hand, still not looking at him.
He unrolled it, and stared at the picture. It was a drawing. It portrayed a dog, a werewolf and a stag standing in a forest clearing. It was really good, and Harry was surprised; he didn't know Ginny was this talented. He felt moved, that she could take the time to make something like this for him.
"If you tap it with your wand, it moves," he heard her say.
He took out his wand, and tapped the center of the parchment. The animal figures changed, until they became men. His father, Sirius and Remus Lupin were staring back at him, smiling. The picture was so vivid; it could have been a wizard photograph.
Harry looked up at Ginny. She was still not looking at him.
He had never thought this would happen. He was in love with her. She wasn't Ron's baby sister anymore. She was a woman, who had held him close weeks before, as if wanting to share his pain. She was the one who knew what he needed, and offering it without waiting for him to ask. Whether it was solitude, or company. She had cared enough, to take the time to make this gift for him, a gift meaning to him more than she could ever know. She had silently tried to ease his pain. And he loved her for it.
He could see it now, sitting there, mesmerized by her beautiful features. Her eyes, her smile, and the way she pushed her hair behind her ears when she was nervous. Like she did now. His heart began racing. His fingers tingled from the longing to touch her. Yes, he was in love with her. Very in love with her.
"Ginny," he mouthed, making her head rise, but she didn't look in his eyes.
"I asked Lupin to give me a picture of your dad…Well don't worry, it's a silly little thing really. Happy birthday again," she stood up, and headed for the door.
"Ginny, it's the best present I got today," he said simply.
She froze with her hand on the doorknob, "Huh?" she asked disbelievingly, finally turning to look at him.
"It's beautiful," he smiled warmly, and looking straight in her eyes, stood up and walked to her.
"It is? Oh…well…I hoped you liked it," she muttered, not breaking their eye contact.
He couldn't stand it any longer. He wrapped his hands around her waist, and pulled her to a hug. She melted in his arms after a moment. Burying his face in her hair, smelling that sweet scent he had connected with Ginny in his mind, everything was perfect. Well, not perfect. He had to be sure.
"Ginny, what are you feeling? Right now? He whispered in her ear, still holding her.
"Feel? I…feel…calm and…alive," she muttered somewhere bellow his ear, making Harry shiver, "How about you?" she slowly asked, still in his arms.
I feel alive…and…mad… about you," he said in her ear, and instantly felt her trying to push him back and look at him. He tightened his arms around her, so she couldn't.
"I mean it. But you're free to go if you want to," he loosened his arms, but didn't break the embrace. She didn't move. He smiled slightly feeling relieved, and lowered his forehead to rest on her shoulder.
"I don't want to," she replied in his ear, and Harry not able to resist, placed a soft kiss on the skin of her neck. She shivered in his arms, and they finally pulled back to look at each other.
In a split second they were kissing deeply, exploring each other's taste for the first time. That kiss…So different than the one he had experienced before. His mind went numb, but the last thing that had registered was that his body and heart had taken over. It felt…natural and all he could do was...feel. Instinctively his hands lowered from her waist, and pushed her closer to him. He felt her surprised for a second, but then her hands slipped under his sweater, and rested on his chest. Blindly, and not breaking their kiss, he led her towards the bed, and sat down, pulling her on his lap. He started kissing her neck, and felt chills running down her spine, as his hands were caressing her back.
"Harry…" she breathed.
"Mmm," he kept kissing her, feeling slightly dizzy himself.
"HARRY," a different voice bellowed in the room. He froze and opened his eyes. Light shed all over the room, coming from the doorway. He hadn't realized when Ginny had stood up, but he still sat there, staring at Ron's face.