Disclaimer: Most of the characters mentioned in the following story are borrowed from JK Rowling and are not of my own imagination. Any characters in this story that are not mentioned in any of the Harry Potter books are my own.

Chapter 6

Later that evening, Harry ate his dinner alone in the Leaky Cauldron. Ron had owled him back already. In exactly a week the Weasley's would meet him in the Leaky Cauldron to buy their Hogwarts things (for those who were returning) and then Harry would return with them to the Burrow until he either went back to Hogwarts or to his own place. Harry had written a long letter to Hermione, telling her basically what she had wanted to hear… that he was thinking of going back to Hogwarts. He hadn't mentioned the letter to McGonagall as he wanted to receive a reply first. To Ginny he had sent only a short note saying thanks for the book and that he did want to still be friends with her. He didn't really though. He wanted to be more then friends with her.

After he finished his dinner, he returned to his room. A large grey owl was waiting for him, carrying a letter with the Hogwarts seal on the back. Harry opened it quickly, his heart racing and his palms sweating.

Mr Potter,

I have very carefully considered your request and I have decided to allow you to return to your house on weekends but under these conditions:

You must use my office for all floo travelling. You may meet me there every Friday evening at 7pm to use the fireplace. You must return by 5pm on Sunday.

All homework you are given for the weekend must be completed. No excuses. If your grades slip, you may not continue to return home on the weekends.

For safety reasons you may take Miss Granger and Mr Weasley with you, as I assume you would have eventually asked permission for them to accompany you anyway. They also must have all their homework completed and must not let their grades slip.

If you wish for anyone other then Miss Granger and Mr Weasley to accompany you, you must let me know at least three days beforehand.

You must not tell any other students apart from those accompanying you that I have allowed this.

You may not leave your house unless you are accompanied and I know exactly where you are going.

If you have a problem with any of these conditions, please let me know before the beginning of the new school term.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

Harry gave a sigh of relief, his heart suddenly lightened somewhat.

The next few days passed very quickly. Harry bought his school supplies and a few other items. More then once he had to refill the bag of money he carried with him. He had spent more then one day searching muggle real estate agents for houses in Godric's Hollow. Finally, two days before meeting the Weasleys in Diagon Alley, he found what he was looking for… a small 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom cottage that was located right across the road from where his parent's house had once stood. It was quite reasonable priced, and most important of all, it contained a fireplace. Harry gave a small laugh, remembering the look on the agents face when Harry had asked that. It was clear that he thought Harry was absolutely mental.

Fortunately it was an instant exchange and Harry was handed the key practically right away. The previous occupants had long moved out and were quite eager to sell it. During the last two days Harry had ordered furniture and appliances for his house and made an attempt at settling in. It all looked so bare, as Harry didn't have many possessions. The last thing he did was have the house connected to the floo network and surround the house with various protective spells and barriers.

Finally it was finished. He looked around the small lounge, wondering what to do next. Taking advantage of the connection to the floo networked, he flooed back to the Leaky Cauldron and returned to the room he still held there. After making sure he had everything he needed until his next trip back to his house, he ate one last dinner in the Leaky Cauldron and retired to bed.

The next morning he awoke fairly late. As he jumped out of bed, he realised he only had half an hour before the Weasley's and Hermione arrived. It seemed like forever since he had sat in his bedroom at Privet Drive writing a reply to the letter Ron had sent with his birthday gift. He showered quickly and was just finishing a breakfast of pancakes at the bar when the flames in the fireplace a few metres away turned emerald and Ron stepped out. Harry swallowed his last mouthful and pushed the plate across the counter while standing up to greet Ron.

" Hi Ron," he said, grinning widely.

"Hi Harry," Ron answered, grinning back, but with a bit of a strange look on his face. Behind him, Hermione stepped out the fireplace, closely followed by Ginny and Mrs Weasley. He was immediately caught up in a hug from Mrs Weasley, who started fussing over how skinny he looked. Harry smiled and greeted her politely, then gave Hermione a hug. He turned to Ginny and stopped, not sure whether or not to hug her. She gave him a small smile, then moved towards him to hug him. Harry looked down at Ginny in his arms, wondering yet again why he gave this up. After a moment they realised everyone was watching them and pulled apart, both of them reddening slightly. To break the silence Harry asked "so where to?"

"Gringotts," Mrs Weasley stated, turning to leave, Ron and Hermione close behind.

As he and Ginny followed, Harry tried to keep his eyes straight ahead. Every time he looked at Ginny that familiar creature in his chest started purring again and he felt his cheeks tinge pink. Had he been looking at Ginny, he would've realised she was doing the same.

In front of them, Ron and Hermione were talking quietly, their tones getting louder and louder as it became obvious that they were arguing again.

"Some things never change," Harry whispered, laughing. He heard Ginny giggle next to him.

Finally they made it to Gringotts, where Mrs Weasley withdrew a few galleons from their vault. Harry was pleased to see that it contained more gold then in previous years, probably due to Mr Weasley's promotion, he thought to himself. After Hermione had also withdrawn some gold, they went to a small café for a butterbeer and to catch up. Before long (as expected) Harry found the attention on himself as Hermione asked "So Harry… have you decided what you are going to do yet?"

"Yeah, I have," Harry answered. "I've bought a house across from where my parents used to live." At the look on Hermione's face, he said quickly "Don't say anything yet until you find out the whole plan." At this he pulled the letter from Professor McGonagall out of his pocket and handed it to Hermione, who read it quickly, all eyes on her. When she finished it, she handed it to Ron, beaming at Harry.

"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you can do both!"

Harry smiled and the note was passed around the table.

"I don't know if it is such a good idea, Harry dear," Mrs Weasley commented, a worried look on her face, "your house won't be as secure as Hogwarts or the burrow and-"

"I will be fine Mrs Weasley," Harry said, cutting her off. "I have protective wards around the house and with your permission and Hermione's parents, both of them will be with me."

Mrs Weasley still looked worried. "Ron is an adult, I suppose he can decide for himself, but I hate to think of all three of you alone in that big house with no older people and no decent meals. Perhaps I could floo over everyday with some good meals."

"Mum! We will be fine!" Ron almost yelled. "Honestly, you'd think we were three, the way you're going on. We can take care of ourselves."

"Oh I know you can, dear," Mrs Weasley said quickly, "but it's a mother's job to worry."

"I'm sure my parents will agree," Hermione said, adding her input. "They trust my decisions."

Harry nodded silently, his face grave. They gathered their things to go to Madame Malkin's. Harry risked a glance at Ginny, who was being much more quiet then usual. She saw him looking at her and smiled quickly, before looking away. He gave a small sigh, and continued walking, looking at the shop fronts instead.

The rest of their trip to Diagon Alley was rather uneventful. As Harry had already bought his Hogwarts things, he got bored rather quickly and spent most of his time stealing glances at Ginny, who in turn stole glances of him when she though he wasn't looking. The amused look on Hermione's face was almost too much for Harry to bear. When it was time to leave Harry was glad. He was looking forward to returning to the Burrow.

They flooed back and Harry levitated his trunk to the twin's old room, just as there was a pop in the kitchen next to him and Bill appeared, grinning. His face was slightly disfigured by a few pink scars, but he was still the same old Bill. Before he could even greet Harry there was a loud squeal and Fleur rushed by like a gust of wind and practically threw herself at Bill. Harry exchanged a glance with Ginny, who was looking murderous.

"So how far away is your wedding now?" Fleur was busy stroking Bill's face, her mind a long way away. She snapped back into reality at Harry's question.

"Vell, ve have actually postponed ze vedding until around chreestmas. Zat way Bill will have time to fully recover and you can all attend in your school holidays," Fleur said rather joyfully.

Harry could not think of anything to say except "Oh."

"Ve vould love for you to attend too," Fleur said, smiling and still stroking Bill's face rather absently. Harry could've sworn he heard Ginny giggling quietly behind him.

"Err… I'd love to," Harry answered wondering if weddings in the wizarding world were much different from muggle weddings. He couldn't picture Bill in a tuxedo and Fleur in a wedding dress.

He was saved from starting up more conversation by Mrs Weasley, who was pressing a plate of food and a drink in his hands. She shooed him into the lounge to eat the sandwich she had made him. The only other person in there was Ginny, who stood up to leave as he came into the room.

"No… stay," he told her quickly, putting the plate and drink onto a table and sitting on the couch next to Ginny. She looked at him but didn't say anything.

There was an uncomfortable silence while Harry took a bite of the sandwich. He swallowed and asked "so… have you ahh… had a good holiday?"

"It hasn't been too bad," Ginny said very quietly, refusing to look him in the eye. After another silence she stood up and left.

Why do I have to be such a git? Harry thought to himself. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn't know how. He gave a sigh, just as Ron entered the room and sat down next to him.

"Something up?" he asked Harry, eyebrows raised.

"Ginny," he muttered, looking at his shoes.

"Oh… is she still being all quiet? I thought she would've stopped that when you got here."

"Wha… what?" Harry asked, his mouth full of the sandwich he had only half eaten.

"She's been quiet all summer," Ron said, eyeing the sandwich. "She's kept to her room a lot too. She's not taking your break-up very well but she won't show it." He got up and left, seeking out a sandwich for himself. Harry continued munching, thinking about Ginny's silence. He knew he wouldn't be able to take it… he had to talk to her. He sighed and looked out the window, wishing he didn't have to face her.