(A/N- - R&R!)

Disclaimer:- I wish I owned Harry Potter… but I don't

Chapter 3- The End of Innocence

Two weeks into Ginny's summer holidays she was feeling decidedly miserable. The day after the party her married brothers (and Fred and Bill) had gone to their respective homes. Harry and Ron had started their Auror Training and Hermione her Healer Training; her mother was busy knitting not only the famous Weasley jumpers for the new babies, but also bootees and socks.

Her father was working all hours in the ministry, all wizards having been put on the case to try and find out Voldemort's position and trying to keep his presence from the muggle community; once again hiding the deaths of muggles, explaining them as food poisoning, gas explosions and new viruses. Arthur's office was still the same small one he had when Harry visited it although after the ministry realised that he was right in believing Dumbledore about Voldemort's return they had given him not only a raise but a window in his office which made him happy.

Her brothers were either working, or spending time with their partners, which was so important now Voldemort had returned and nobody knew when there was going to be an attack on their loved ones. Although he was at work for most of the day, when George was at home he was almost as miserable as Ginny. He was still trying to work through the hurt that had been inflicted upon him, therefore he was no company for anyone, preferring to be on his own.

Ron and Harry were enjoying their Auror training immensely, they had so much experience in fighting against the Dark Arts that it was deemed not necessary for them to study the first year basics and they were allowed to skip straight into level two, where they met with Cho Chang, the first girl to receive admission since Tonks. They worked long hours and often returned home tired and sore from practicing hexes on each other, but they were happy.

Hermione's training was going pretty much how she expected it to be, long hours and hard work, but it was paying off. As well as having to study for and go to the Mediwitch Institution for Healers, (M.I.H) she had to also get 'hands on experience' and was a trainee under Healer Tomikins at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

All in all this left Ginny with nothing to do but Holiday homework, and that was done after the first week so she was MAJORILY bored! Today was different though; she remembered as she jumped out of bed and saw it was a beautiful day, today Ron and Harry had a day off and Hermione too, only she was keeping it a surprise for Ron.

When she left the confines of her bedroom to head towards the kitchen she met Hermione (who had Percy's old room) and they headed to breakfast, chatting about their plans for the day ahead.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked Mrs Weasley as she helped herself to a pancake from the delicious pile sitting in front of her.

"He said he was going to the meadow for a walk my dear" Mrs Weasley called, "Why don't I make you up a nice picnic basket and you can go and join him later, you're looking a bit pale, the nice summer's sun will do you the world of good!"

Hermione laughed, but agreed with Mrs Weasley, a day in the sun spent with Ron did sound like a good idea.

"I'm glad Harry and Ron are off today!" Ginny said contently buttering a slice of toast, "I haven't spent quality time with my boyfriend in ages, it seems as though he wouldn't recognise me from across the street! I miss him so much!"

"Imagine what it's going to be like when you're back at Hogwarts!" Hermione said with a laugh.

"It'll be awful" Ginny replied with such a doleful expression on her face that Molly and Hermione couldn't help but burst into laughter.

At that moment Harry appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's narrow waist and kissed her hair. "Umm…" he sighed contently, "Strawberry Shampoo- My favourite!"

Ginny laughed before kissing him lightly on the lips "C'mon" she said as she took his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen after he grabbed a slice of toast and stuffed it in his mouth "We're going shopping today!"

"We are?" Harry question raising his eyebrows at Ginny and noting the rather scary expression on her face he informed Hermione "We're going shopping today!"

Hermione quickly walked down the path towards the meadow wearing a cotton lemon muggle sundress with a pink floral pattern. Her curly hair was loose and cascaded down her back, the chestnut locks shimmering brown and blonde in the sun. She looked the epiphany of innocence as, quickly looking around to see if she was being watched by anyone she became like a child again and skipped along the path, gently swinging the picnic basket she carried which was filled with Ron's favourite foods.

When she reached the meadow a 'recklessness' came over her, which she later decided was due to too much sun, as the summer rays massaged her body with warmth and light she dropped the picnic basket and reverted totally back into childhood. She became the 10 year old Hermione who hadn't a care in the world, who hadn't heard of Voldemort, or Death Eaters, who didn't know about Hogwarts or the entire wizarding population, whose only experience of pain was falling down the stairs and only sense of loss was when her pet frog tried to cross the road and was squished by a car. As she became that Hermione she began to spin around and around, quicker and quicker until she lost her balance and collapsed in a dizzy stupor. She lay giggling at her own silliness in the long lush green grass, surrounded by daisies, bluebells, buttercups, and the sound of the bees buzzing and the sweet summer song of the birds in the trees.

After regaining her balance Hermione stood, closed her eyes and focusing her mind on the image of her sexy boyfriend imagined herself there. With a loud crack she apparated; appearing at the opposite side of the meadow, saying "Surprise!" in a giddy tone as she opened her eyes before abruptly stopping and choking on her words. A few seconds later she was in her bedroom, lying on her bed with tears pouring out of her eyes, her whole innocent demeanour had ended in the meadow when she saw her 'boyfriend'.

"'Mione?" he heard a voice questioning her, looking up she saw Georges figure standing above her, almost like a protector. "What's wrong?" he asked in a more gentle tone as he sat beside her and awkwardly gave her a hug to try and calm her down a bit.

"Ron… Cho…" she said sobbing into George's shirt "they… I saw… together…" she wailed incoherently as George's heart broke for the girl he had always considered a sister. He began patting her back and stroking her hair, knowing only too well the heart ache she was suffering, surprised to find his own had disappeared when he had taken the girl before him in his arms.

Harry and Ginny sat in silence in Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, sharing a large sundae, looking into each others eyes, holding hands and whispering endearments to one another; in the way that lovers behave during the first stretch of a relationship, when everything is perfect and everyone happy.

"Ginny I need to get you something!" Harry said when they had finished their ice-cream, "Well two things actually!" he clarified.

Ginny's face turned red, making her look even more adorable in Harry's opinion, as the Weasley pride kicked in. "Harry you really don't have too," she said.

"I know I don't have to" he countered "but you are my girlfriend and I love you, if I can't spoil you then who can I spend my Galleons on- eh?"

Ginny smiled up at her boyfriend who was now standing, "I guess it better be me!" she exclaimed, "What were you thinking of getting me?"

"C'mon" he said, taking her slender, white hand in his larger one, leading her to a small shop with no sign outside "Harry… What?" Ginny began as she stepped into the doorway but stopped with a gasp "Wow…" was all she could say.

The shop she had entered was, beautiful, there was no other way to describe it; magically enlarged it contained cabinets and cabinets of expensive jewels and jewellery. Harry stepped up to the pretty witch behind the counter and asked for a moodstone for his girlfriend. The witch smiled and in a instant there was a necklace with a charm in her hand. Shaped like a heart the silver pendant contained a Wizarding moodstone, which, unlike muggle moodstone were 100 accurate, charmed to read the mood of the wearer.

"It's so when I know you're really mad, and when you are joking!" Harry laughed as he put the necklace around Ginny's neck before giving the witch a lot of gold.

Ginny kept putting her hand up to play with the moodstone which was a deep blue, and the tiny writing on the silver heart read 'ecstatic' as they walked down Diagon Alley, stopping at the Owlery.

"What are we doing here?" Ginny asked as Harry steered her into the shop, screwing up her nose in disgust at the smell and walking gingerly over the floor to avoid stepping on the droppings which littered the ground.

"Pick one!" he said gesturing toward the owls which lined the walls.

"Oh Harry! I can't!" Ginny said, "You've already spent too much on me!"

"Ginny," Harry said seriously, "You need an owl, I insist upon you getting one, it will mean once you go back to Hogwarts it will be far easier to stay in touch, instead of using the slower school owls, and Hedwig will not always be available."

Convinced by his arguments, Ginny picked out a medium sized black owl, with bright yellow eyes and a blue-ish tinge to its feathers, "Midnight!" she declared his name to be, as they apparated back to the burrow, Ginny having passed her test in the first week of the summer.

"At least it's better than 'Pigwidgeon'!" Harry laughed, standing in the living room of the Burrow and remembering Ginny had named Ron's owl.

"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed, pushing Harry with her hip "Pigwidgeon is a cute name!"