Ginny arrived via muggle car in front of Grimmauld Place later that afternoon and as she thought carefully of the address, number twelve appeared in front of her and Harry opened the door to her. She ran up to him and gave him a warm hug, glad to see him. She pulled back to look at him and was shocked by how much he had changed. His hair was messier than ever, and he was shockingly thin. A tired and haunted look filled his eyes, although he smiled at her.

"Hey Gin. We've missed you." A few moments later, her red-headed older brother appeared and gave her just as big of a hug. Years of sibling rivalry seemed to have vanished away in the light of recent events. All of them had grown up far beyond the normal maturity of sixteen and seventeen year olds. Hermione stood behind Ron, also smiling at Ginny but looking rather tired herself. Ginny wondered to herself what they had been doing to look so haggard, but decided to ask them about it later as they headed inside with her bags. Once in the front hall, she looked around. It was so different than when she'd first seen it: dark and dirty with the screaming portrait of Mrs. Black. The walls were now a nice neutral cream color, and the portrait was gone. A tapestry of the four founders of Hogwarts hung in its place. From the direction of the kitchen, she heard a soft melody. Harry saw her start at the sound, and said quietly, "Fawkes." She nodded, somehow not surprised that Dumbledore's phoenix had chosen Harry as his new companion.

Hermione led Ginny upstairs to where she would be sleeping, and Ginny was surprised to find that she would not be sharing a room with Hermione as she had so often done in the past. Hermione blushed when Ginny asked where she was sleeping and didn't answer, but Ginny thought she knew and gave a silent cheer that her two friends had at last figured things out. She wondered if it would be difficult to live with Harry.

Ginny unpacked and then went downstairs to join the others for dinner, prepared by Hermione in muggle-fashion. At Ginny's surprise, Hermione explained that she had always found cooking comforting, with its simple formulas. Like reading, it all made sense and had a logical ending. It was a simple meal of shepherd's pie, but it filled them up with warmth as they talked about recent events. Harry had become increasingly silent over the past several months, and it frightened Ginny how serious he had become. Then she chided herself for her fears, for he had lost so many people in this war. She still had her family, at least, even if they were spread to the four ends of the earth. She would always be a Weasley. She looked over at Ron and smiled at him, and he smiled back. Finally, Harry pushed back his chair and said,

"Tomorrow is enough time to start practicing again. Tonight, let's play a game of exploding snap." So they did, and Ginny won soundly. Exhausted from a day of muggle travel, she headed up to bed and collapsed, falling asleep almost immediately.