Chapter 2: Coming Home
Ginny walked up the front porch stairs and into the house. "Ginny! Where have you been?" came the shrill screech of Mrs. Weasley as she ran into the front room to see her daughter.
"I was in the village looking at the birds. Ian is going to give me one when they hatch," said Ginny, ignoring her mother's obvious irritation.
"Well, you were gone all day, and we had no idea when you'd be home. It's just not safe out there, dear," said Mrs. Weasley in a much calmer voice. "Your father will be home any minute, and then we're going to eat. Go get cleaned up for dinner. Be careful not to wake Harry."
Ginny started towards the stairs and saw Ron leaning against the kitchen counter, trying not to laugh. "Shut it, you!" she snapped, and stomped up the stairs.
Ginny went into the bathroom and washed her hands. She ran her wet hands through her hair and looked in the mirror. Her freckles were a bit darker than usual because of the sun, but she was pleased with what she saw. She took a handful of cold water and ran it over her face. With a loud sigh, she grabbed a towel and dried off.
She went back to her room, grabbed a book off of the shelf, and began to read. She had been reading for a few minutes when she heard a loud crack outside her window. Dad's home, she thought as she jumped up to look. Sure enough, Mr. Weasley was walking towards the house. He was dressed in his black work robes, and his pointed hat was still on his head. He did look a little weird, she thought as she looked at him. A warm smile crossed her face and she said aloud, "But he's my dad." Ginny watched him for another second before running down the stairs to greet him.
Ginny flew out the door, wrapped her arms around her father, and said gleefully, "Hi Dad. I missed you today."
"I missed you too," he said as he returned her embrace. "How's your mother doing? I know things have been hard on her lately."
"She's fine," Ginny assured him as they linked arms walked towards the house.
As they walked into the kitchen Mrs. Weasley said, "Hello, Arthur. How was your day?"
"Good, Molly." With a sigh he added, "Just good."
"That's good dear," said Mrs. Weasley absentmindedly. "Ginny, your letter is still on the counter," she added, looking over at Ginny and pointing to the counter.
"Oh, right," said Ginny as she remembered the letter from earlier. "Thanks." She grabbed the letter, then went up the stairs to her room.
When Ginny got to her room, she threw herself onto her bed and opened the letter. It was from Neville. She read it quickly, then went over to her desk, pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing. She felt awful for not writing him before now. He had sent her a couple of owls earlier in the summer, but she had never gotten around to replying.
"Ginny!" came Ron's voice from downstairs.
Ginny put her quill down, stood up and walked down the stairs. As she entered the kitchen, Ron was moving towards the stairs as he said, "I'll go get Harry for dinner."
"No, Ron. Let him sleep. He's had a really hard time lately--the poor thing--and he probably doesn't want to be around a lot of people right now." said Mrs. Weasley in a wistful voice. "You just let him be. Go wash up." she added as she turned and left the kitchen while Ron went upstairs.
Ginny watched as they left the room. Slowly, quietly, she tiptoed over to the doorway that Mrs. Weasley had disappeared through and peered around the corner. Seeing that the coast was clear, she went back over to the table where all of the food they were going to eat for dinner was laid out. She grabbed a plate and began to fill it with Harry's favorite foods. When the plate was full, she put a knife, fork, and spoon into her back pocket and headed up the stairs towards Harry's room.
"Fine, but you'll be hungry later!" she heard Ron saying just before he started stomping down the stairs.
"He just wants to be left alone in his misery," said Ron crossly as he passed Ginny without looking up. "Oh, and he's throwing things too."
Ginny paused on the stairs. She began thinking about the night at the Department of Mysteries. Harry had fought so bravely to save them all. She knew he was carrying an immense guilt for nearly getting them all killed. Ever since that night, Harry had been withdrawn, and didn't really talk to any one, even his friends.
Ginny had written to Hermione a few times, and it was clear the she was worried about him too. Hermione had said that Harry would just need to brood until he worked things out for himself. He would eventually come around if he wasn't pushed. Ginny wasn't sure she agreed with that. It was true, she thought, that Harry brooded and pushed his friends away, but he had never shut her out before, and she would not let him start now.
She shook the thoughts from her head and started back up the stairs. When she got to Harry and Ron's room, the door was still open and Harry's pillow was on the floor in the doorway. She smiled to herself as she pictured Harry throwing the pillow at Ron. Ginny bent over and picked it up, being careful not to spill the plate of food she was still carrying. After pausing for a second, her grin became very mischievous and she threw the pillow at Harry. It landed with a soft thud squarely on his head.
She stood there in the doorway as Harry gave a loud grunt. She watched as he slowly sat up. She could tell that he was still very tired and worn, and hated to seem him look like this. There was so little left of him that was the same as when she first laid eyes on him. She felt her heart ache as she watched her friend reach unsteadily for his glasses, but couldn't help but smile at the look of surprise on his face when he finally put them on.
Trying to hide her smile at the sight before her, she said softly, "Hey, you. We told Ron not to wake you up. Mum didn't think you would want to come down for dinner, so I brought some up for you."
"Thanks. I'll come down in a minute," said Harry cheerfully. "Your Mum didn't make pumpkin pie, did she?" he asked, making a sour face.
Ginny laughed at the look on Harry's face. "No. No one here can stand it," she said as she put the plate of food down on Ron's desk. "Especially Ron, ever since Fred and George charmed that one to taste like dead fish," she said with a shudder. She ran across the room to Harry, grabbed both his hands, and pulled him up off of the bed. "Come on," she said with a flip of her hair, and with that she headed down the stairs.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Mrs. Weasley was standing with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. "I thought I told you not to wake him up," she said.
"But Mum, he needs to eat. Besides, Ron was up there first," whined Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley turned to Ron and glared at him. Ron, who was sitting at the table putting food onto his plate, shrugged sheepishly, pointed at Ginny and said, "Er…what she said."
"Well, you'll all feel just awful if he gets really sick just because you couldn't let him be," Mrs. Weasley said as she let out a sigh.
A moment later, Harry came down the stairs and sat down at the table. He loaded his plate with food and began to eat. Ginny couldn't help but notice that he looked almost happy. She ate her dinner while trying to catch Harry's eye. Once or twice their eyes met and a knowing look passed between them. It made her very happy to see him looking content, even if it was only for a moment.
Ginny thought again about what Hermione had said. While Hermione was Harry's best friend, there were things that Ginny and Harry had shared that Hermione could never understand. She knew that when Harry retreated into himself, he didn't really want to be alone. What he needed was someone to listen, but not answer.
As soon as dinner was over, Ron, Harry and Ginny helped Mrs. Weasley clear up. When they were done, Ginny followed Ron into the living room leaving Harry and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.
"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked softly.
"Yes, dear?" replied Mrs. Weasley as she hung up a towel.
"You know that picture of the family you took when you were in Egypt?" Harry began tentatively. "I was wondering. . .if you have an extra copy of it, I'd like one very much."
Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears. "Of course, Harry, of course. I wish you could have been there with us. It would have been so much fun having the whole family there. I'll go get it for you as soon as I'm done in here. Now, you run along in there with Ginny and Ron," she said, pushing Harry towards the door.
Ginny sat down in her favorite chair and picked up a book. She curled her legs up and, just as she started to read, she heard Ron ask, "How did you get him to come down?"
Without looking up from her book she replied, "He was just hungry, I guess."
"Well, I asked him to come down, and he just chucked his pillow at me," said Ron.
Slowly Ginny lowered her book and looked right into Ron's eyes. "You shouldn't have woken him up," she said with a cheeky look in her eye.
"But you went up there too," he replied, his voice rising.
"But he was already awake when I got there," she said with a grin just as Harry walked into the room.
Ginny picked up her book and continued reading. Every so often she would look over at Harry and Ron. They were talking about Quidditch as they played a game of wizard chess, and as usual Ron was winning. Harry did not seem to mind, though. There were a couple of times that Ginny caught Harry's eye, and they lingered on each other for just a moment before Harry turned back to the game. She smiled to herself each time their eyes met.
She wanted desperately to talk about Quidditch with them. Ron seemed to think that the Chudley Cannons and their new Seeker had a chance of winning the cup this year, and she had to agree. They might be able to pull it off, but she loved teasing Ron, telling him that they did not stand a chance. She knew Ron was still irritated about the fact that Oliver Wood had opted to go to Puddlmere United as keeper, rather than go to Cannons. Just as she was about to jump into the conversation she stopped.
Ron and Harry looked so happy off in their own little world that she did not want to disturb them. So, with a forced yawn and a stretch, she closed her book, stood up and said, "Well, you two, it's late. I'm going to bed. I need my beauty sleep, you know," She smiled warmly at Harry as she slowly made her way over to the stairs.
By the time Ginny reached her bedroom, fatigue had set in. She tossed the book onto her desk, and went to her closet to find a night shirt. She stood there staring blankly for a moment, then finally found what she was looking for and changed into it. With a huge yawn, she made her way over to the window and looked out. She saw the faint glow of the sleeping Ottery St. Catchpole in the distance. Everything seemed so peaceful to her right now. With a slight grunt, she lifted the window open. She shivered involuntarily as she felt a rush of warm air. Putting her elbows on the windowsill, Ginny stuck her head out the window and looked up at the stars.
Her thoughts began to wander back to Harry. She knew he had nightmares, they had talked about them before. Night time was his least favourite time of the day because it meant that he had to fall asleep. She did not mind the night however. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, and the nightmares would stop eventually, she always told herself. The only way she would know that they had gone was to face them, and one day she would sleep peacefully. She just hoped that her friend would find the same peace.
Ginny heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and she finally decided it was time to go to sleep. A beetle began to buzz around her face, and as she waved it off, she closed the window. Taking one last look at the village glow, she closed her blinds and walked towards her bed. She swung her arms and jumped high into the air and spun around and fell back first onto it. She let out a slight giggle as she pulled her covers out from under herself. Once she was comfortably under the blankets, she smiled at the cool comforting feeling that overcame her. With a small sigh, she drifted off to sleep.
Harry watched Ginny leave, and then turned to Ron and began, "You know…" but his voice trailed off as he sank into thought.
Ron waited for him to continue. When he didn't say anything Ron looked at him with a questioning look and said, "Er…what?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just tired. I think I need to get to bed too." And with that, Harry stood up, leaving a puzzled Ron sitting on the floor.
Harry was about halfway up to his room when he heard Mrs. Weasley call his name. He turned to see her on the landing holding something. "Harry, here is the picture you wanted."
He came down to meet her. She handed him the picture. His hand was trembling slightly as he took it. Once he had it, Mrs. Weasley took him into her arms and held him for a second, and then said in a very concerned voice "Try and get some sleep, okay? You look awful."
Harry went up to his bedroom and placed the picture Mrs. Weasley had given him between the other two. As he looked at all of the faces that were smiling and waving at him, he began to think again of the prophecy. His eyes soon became heavy with tears and fatigue, and he drifted off into a tormented sleep.
A few days later, Fred and George came home. They greeted Harry enthusiastically, and, at Mrs. Weasley's request, went outside and cleared the gnomes out of the garden.
"I'll bet she saved this just for us," said Fred.
"Yeah she did," said Ron with a smile "I heard her telling Dad to make sure that there were plenty of gnomes to keep you two out of trouble."
"Us? Cause trouble?" replied George with a mischievous grin.
Fred was struggling to keep a straight face as he said, "Never," in the most sarcastic voice he could muster.
As Ginny walked out the back door, she saw her brothers and Harry laughing hysterically. She started jogging over to them trying not to laugh herself She stopped, put her hands on her hips and with a very serious face said, "And just what is so funny?"
"Nothing, dear sister." said Fred through laughter.
"We weren't saying a word about you," laughed George.
Harry and Ron just shrugged as Ginny looked over at them. They were both shaking as they tried to hold in their laughter. Finally Ron could not hold it in any longer and he burst out laughing so hard that he fell over. Harry looked down at Ron and said, "You all right there, mate?"
Ron was gasping for breath as he kept laughing. Ginny looked at Harry, and when he looked up at her she smiled and flirtatiously stuck out her tongue at him. He smiled back and they picked Ron up off the ground.
After a few minutes, they finally managed to stop laughing. Fred and George started telling them all about their shop, and their new inventions, but before long, the conversation had turned to Quidditch. Predictably, Ron started talking about the Cannons. "I reckon they'll have a chance to win it this year. They have that new Seeker and all. I know it's only his first year, but he's supposed to be really good."
Thinking back to the other night, Ginny smiled and said, "Not a chance, Ron. The Puddlemere United team is too good. Nobody can beat them."
"Are you mental? Too good? Their Chasers?" said Ron as his face went red. "They finished dead last in points last year. The only reason they won so many games was because of their Seeker, and he's on injured reserve right now. Win the cup? No way!"
Ginny just smiled even wider. She knew exactly what buttons to push. "No he's not! He's going to be ready for the first game," she said.
"What? Where did you hear that rubbish?" asked Ron indignantly.
"Read it just yesterday in Quidditch Weekly. And besides that, United has the best Keeper in the league." said Ginny with a nod.
Ron sounded incredulous as he replied, "WHAT? You really are mental! Wood, the best Keeper in the league? Arrghhh!"
All eyes were on Ron as his face went even redder and became contorted in disbelief. Harry, Fred and George were trying desperately not to laugh. Ginny was shaking with suppressed laughter as she watched Ron staring at them with his mouth open and a look of total disbelief on his face. Unable to speak, he just huffed and started walking towards the house.
Ginny was unable to hold in her laughter as she called out to Ron. "Ron, I was only joking!" Seeing Ginny start to laugh was enough to break the others' resolve, and they all burst out laughing.
"Yeah, well, you're still mental." said Ron as he turned around to face the others. "The whole lot of you!" he added before he started laughing himself.
A little while later, Mrs. Weasley called them in to wash up for dinner. As they made their way up to the house the boys were still talking and making jokes and Ginny began to think about how happy she was when Harry was happy. The past few days had been hard for them, and it made her happy to see Harry laughing, and forgetting, even for a moment, all the problems they faced. By the time they reached the house, Ginny was smiling inside and out.
As soon as they were inside, Mrs. Weasley said, "Ron, Harry, Ginny, hurry and get washed up. I need some help getting this all on the table."
With innocent looks on their faces, Fred and George asked in unison, "Aw, can't we help, Mum?"
"I hate it when they do that," mumbled Ron, almost inaudibly.
Mrs. Weasley just looked at them. The smirk on her face told them all they needed to know.
Fred and George grinned as they said "All right, Mum. We get the hint. We'll just go wash up now." And with that, they turned and left.
As usual, the dinner was delicious. Ginny ate a lot, and she noticed that Harry was eating well too. When they had finished eating, Fred and George disappeared. Ginny, Harry and Ron eventually got up and helped Mrs. Weasley clean up. Ginny left the kitchen before anyone else.
She walked through the house and out onto the front porch. Her shirt slid up as she lifted her arms into a tall stretch. The air was cool on her stomach, and she shivered slightly. Taking a deep breath, she jumped off the porch and began to walk. She had always liked to take walks in the evening. The sunsets were beautiful, and she loved the sounds of nature as nighttime fell.
Ginny thought about Hermione's latest owl. She was coming to the Burrow in a couple of days. Ginny was excited. It would be nice to have a girl friend here.
As she turned around and headed home, he thoughts changed from Hermione to Harry. She was glad he could show some happiness at times, but she could tell he was still troubled by the things that had happened at the Department of Mysteries. Hermione had said that Harry was shutting her out, and from what little he had confided in Ginny, she didn't know much more than Hermione. Maybe Ron knew something she thought as she headed up the steps to the house to look for Ron.
"Ron!" Ginny shouted up the stairs. She waited for a second, and when no answer came, she yelled again. "RON!"
With a heavy sigh, Ginny walked up the stairs towards her youngest brother's room. She heard voices inside as she approached. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door opened, and a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her inside.
"Fred!" exclaimed a startled Ginny. Quickly surveying the room, her eyes came to rest on the other twin. "George, what are you two doing?" whispered Ginny as Fred released her and shut the door behind them.
George was crouched in front of an open trunk. "That's Harry's trunk," pointed out Ginny in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, it is," replied George with a mischievous grin and chuckle.
"What are you doing?" asked Ginny again as she crossed the room and squatted beside George.
"Oh…nothing," said Fred, looking up at the ceiling with an innocent look on his face.
"George? What are you two doing?" demanded Ginny with obvious irritation and a hint of amusement as she turned back towards the open trunk.
"Well…er…we'll all get a good laugh," sniggered George in an innocent way that told Ginny the 'all' he was referring to probably didn't include Harry.
"Yeah, he'll think it was funny." chimed in Fred with the same innocent look plastered on his face.
"When he looks back on it in about ten years," finished George with a laugh, finally unable to hold it in any longer.
"Hey, Fred," said George with an amazed sound in his voice. "Would you look at this!"
"What is it?" asked Fred as he bent down beside George and Ginny.
"Looks like a list of all the ways Harry is going to die," replied George as his eyes scanned the parchment he was holding.
"Hey!" exclaimed Ginny. "That's Harry and Ron's old Divination homework for Trelawney. Put it back!"
Fred moved in closer and began reading. "Or kill people. Look at that one." He pointed to the middle of the parchment. "Or THAT one!"
"Put that down." threatened Ginny.
Fred looked up at Ginny. Ginny had stood up and was staring at him with a threatening glare. He slowly put the parchment down. "Come on, George. I think our job here is done." he said shifting his gaze from Ginny to George.
"Don't worry Ginny, he'll think it was funny. Honest," said George with a grin, and together Fred and George got to their feet and left the room.
Ginny just stood there for a second. She soaked in the silence of the room. It was getting late, and soon everyone would be going to bed. She let out a long slow sigh. Nearly every night since Harry had arrived at The Burrow she and Harry had ended up downstairs together. They would simply sit on opposite ends of the couch and not say much of anything. Harry did not need to say much for Ginny to know exactly what he was going through. She had a feeling Harry understood her too. Eventually they would make it back to their beds for a few hours of restless sleep.
She felt her eyes start to burn as the tears welled up in them. She walked over to Harry's bed and sat down on the corner by his pillow, being careful not to disturb anything. Harry had become so hollow since the night at the Department of Mysteries. She was concerned for her friend. She had seen him withdraw into himself before, but this time was different. She was not sure what it was, but she had a hunch that it went far deeper than Sirius' death. Ginny had talked to Hermione about it, hoping Harry had at least confided something in her, but knew before she asked that Harry hadn't.
Ginny noticed that Harry had unpacked very little since he had come home. This really was his home, she thought, even if he didn't know it. He had a few pictures placed on the head of his bed. One showed his parents dancing. She had seen that picture before. Harry's parents waved at her. She sighed as she lifted her hand slightly and waved meekly back. There was a picture of his parents at their wedding with Sirius. Harry had proudly and excitedly shown her that picture shortly after she learned that Sirius was alive and one of the good guys. She reached out and brushed Sirius' face with the tips of her fingers, lingering for a moment as she thought of what he had meant to Harry.
Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the last picture. She had never known he had kept this one. It was the old newspaper clipping of the Weasleys in Egypt. Maybe he was closer to coming home than she realized, she thought as the tears began to fall silently down her cheeks.
As soon as they had finished helping Mrs. Weasley clean up, Ron and Harry walked out into the garden. It was a quiet clear night. As they walked, they could hear the hum of the insects, and the slight breeze was a cool relief from the heat of the day. They could hear the trees rustling slightly as they neared the woods in the lower garden.
"Hey, Harry, tomorrow's your birthday!" Ron suddenly exclaimed. Harry's face went slack as he looked up at the stars. Ron quickly added, "I know something's been going on with you, mate. I know how you are, so I won't even ask what it is, but it was good to see you laughing today. That was the Harry I know." With that, Ron turned and gave Harry an awkwardly manly hug.
They stood in silence for a few minutes, looking at the stars. Harry finally sat down in the grass, and Ron sat down too. They looked up at the stars. Harry laid down on his back with his hands behind his head and began thinking. Tomorrow was the day he had always wanted someone, anyone to remember his birthday, but now all he wanted was to forget.
"Hey, Ron," Harry said. "I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to head in and try to get some sleep."
Ron stood beside Harry, and together they walked back to the house in silence. Harry let out a slow sigh as he thought about the nights he had spent at The Burrow. They were always restless. He usually ended up downstairs with her. They never said much, but then again they didn't need to. He knew what she had been through. He knew about the nightmares. Ginny seemed to be able to understand him without him having to say a word. They would sit on opposite ends of the couch, and after a while, they would go back to bed for a few precious hours of tortured sleep.
When Harry and Ron reached the house, Ron turned to Harry and said "Oh, hey I forgot. I got you a birthday present. Well, I didn't buy it or anything, but I got it for you from Grimmauld Place."
At the mention of Grimmauld Place, Harry felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. His mind immediately went to Sirius, and the event of the night at the Department of Mysteries. Waves of despair flooded over Harry as he thought about how so many people close to him had died at the hand of Voldemort. How could he ever win this?
"Harry?" said Ron, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "It's in Dad's shed. Come on."
Harry followed closely behind, and when they got there, Ron opened the door, and they stepped inside. It was quite dark except for a couple of things that Harry had could not identify that were glowing pale blue. This was enough light for Ron to find what he was looking for. Ron handed Harry an old wooden box. Harry opened it carefully, and looked inside. There was a bottle of Gin. He stared in stunned silence at Ron.
When he found his voice, he asked in disbelief, "How did you get this? Your mum will kill us if she finds this."
"Like I said, I got it from Grimmauld Place. Well, no I didn't," Ron said. "But I asked a set of unnamed twins to get me something of Sirius' to give you for your birthday. This is what they brought back. And yeah, she'll kill us. That was probably what Fred and George were thinking too." He paused for a moment, then looked at Harry and said, "Well, happy birthday, mate." They walked back to the house for the second time, and headed straight for the stairs.
Ginny jumped at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. She jumped up off the bed, wiped the tears from her eyes, and ran her sleeve across her nose. She took a couple of deep breaths and started towards the door. Just as she reached up to open it, it opened from the outside. Ron came through the door and stopped suddenly when he saw Ginny.
"Hey, Ginny. What're you doing in here?" Ron asked suspiciously as he glanced around the room. When Harry heard Ron talking to Ginny, he quickly put the box down in the shadowed corner by their door.
"I was looking for you. I wanted to talk about…" She stopped in mid- sentence as Harry stepped up next to Ron.
"Hi Ginny," he said. His eyes lingered on her face as if he was searching for something. They finally rested on her eyes. For just a moment, their eyes locked. In that instant, Ginny saw the depth of his pain as a knowing glance passed between them. She had to look away.
"What?" asked Ron.
Ginny looked up at him. "It's…it's nothing. Good night then." she said softly. She started to leave the room when Harry caught her gaze again. Their eyes did not leave each other's this time as she turned and walked backwards out of the room. The pain she felt in her chest was almost unbearable as she raised her arm slightly and her hand bent into a soft wave.
She stood outside the door for a moment after it closed. The tears began to fall again as she heard Ron ask Harry what that was all about. It's nothing, Harry answered, and then he asked Ron about the new Seeker that had recently joined the Cannons. "Good night, Harry," she whispered to herself as she exhaled a deep breath. She ran her hands through her hair and headed down the stairs to her own room.