Chapter 5

()()()

With only a few days left of her summer holidays Ginny was invited over to the Potter Manor for a visit. Harry had sent her an owl saying that it was only fair that he show her around his home since she'd done the same for him.

There was a part of her that hoped he'd really sent the invite because he missed seeing her in person though. They hadn't seen each other since the day of her Apparation test, but they had been owling back and forth regularly still.

She was glad now that Ron had thought to voice his opinion about the whole betrothal contract because knowing that someone else had come to the same conclusion she had, that there were much worse circumstances she could have been stuck in, it had given her piece of mind. She was still choosing to remain hopeful that there would be something the solicitors found though. And she agreed with her brother; she would absolutely choose to marry Harry over losing her magic and even if they didn't wind up working out romantically, she thought that they would at least be able to make it through their life in a friendship capacity, raise a child together as friends too if they had to. They'd gotten along thus far anyhow.

She wasn't going to tell Harry that though, nor anyone else.

Apparating to the coordinates that Harry had given her, she knew that Potter Manor must have been right in front of her, but she wasn't able to see it due to the wards. Harry had mentioned that he would come and greet her at ten to guide her through them and it was just before ten now.

The village they lived just outside of looked to be quite larger than the one the Burrow was closest to. It had a few tall buildings and what sounded like a lot of vehicle traffic. From where she was standing it wasn't too bad, there was a little forest area between the laneway she was standing on up a hill and the nearest houses.

"Hey!" Harry called from right behind her. "You made it, and all in one piece." He was grinning at her and wearing a t-shirt, flip-flops and swim trunks.

She didn't know that they were going to go swimming!

Harry caught sight of her surprise and followed the direction of her eyes.

"What?" he asked. "Is the color not flattering?" he teased.

She chuckled at that. "No, it's not that. I didn't bring a swimsuit," she told him, pointing to his trunks.

"Oh!" he laughed. "I just wear them out of habit! They're comfortable and most Muggle guys wear them in lieu of shorts in the last few places I've lived, so," he gave a shrug.

"Alright," Ginny nodded feeling a bit of relief. She knew that Muggle's had different fashion than wizards when it came to a lot of clothing articles but usually it was the wizards that stood out. If she walked around wearing a one-piece swimsuit and called it exercise clothes then she would assume Muggle's would find that curious, but he knew more about them than she did.

"Okay, are you ready for this?" he asked and held out his hand. His expression she read as bashful.

"What is with the look?" Ginny wondered aloud, taking his hand.

"It's just, well." He gave a swallow. "Please keep in mind that my family have had this home for centuries, alright?"

That threw her for a moment. He was worried what she would think of his home? He's seen hers; it was a farmhouse with sheds piled on top of it for additional rooms. He was nice enough not to say anything bad about it, why would she make fun of him for whatever he lived in? It was a Manor that he'd called it. A century's old home that had been occupied by several affluent generations of his family.

His being bashful about his home though was better than him being bashful about having to hold her hand to get her through the wards. He had nice hands. Ginny really didn't mind having to hold it, it felt quite comfortable. Natural even.

Harry started them forward the opposite way from the village and it was only after a few steps that she felt the ward. It was like a pulse or a wave passing through her. It made her feel tingly all over and slightly warm. She closed her eyes at the sensation of it accepting her into its protection. It was much stronger than the one at The Burrow, but The Burrow's wards were more about repelling Muggles. If the Potter one required a Potter to lead you into it or be keyed to it, it would be stronger.

"Here we are," Harry announced.

Ginny opened her eyes to see a beautiful grey stone mansion that was three stories high above the ground and one turret at the forefront of the property.

"Wow!" she let out loudly in a single breath.

Once her shock at seeing the beautiful home wore off, she understood what he had meant before. He wasn't ashamed of his home; he was embarrassed about the obvious difference of wealth between the Potter's and the Weasley's.

It was night and day.

All this space for the only four people that lived there and she had no doubt the entirety of the Burrow could have fit inside the foyer.

"Yeah," Harry said awkwardly and rubbed his hand at the back of his neck, that patch of skin having grown rather red.

"Well, are you going to show me around?" she encouraged. There was no reason that he should be uncomfortable about this. And she was really curious to see what the inside of the Manor looked like.

Harry gave her weak smile and relaxed slightly. Then he looked down and that was when they both realized he was still holding her hand.

At the same time, they both released their hands and Harry led the way to the front door, telling her what he knew about how old the Manor was and how many of his ancestors had lived in it.

Ginny had to chuckle. From what she knew, the Burrow had been rebuilt several times over the many decades of Weasleys that had occupied the land due to them accidentally drunkenly burning their wooden home down or something similar.

He led her in through the front door and sure enough, the amount of space in the foyer would have been enough for all the rooms at the Burrow to fit with some reorganization of lay out. There were two staircases up to the second level and balconies on the third to overlook the area. A circular skylight above the center of the room allowed for natural light to fill the area. She was surprised to see how much wood was used in the space instead of marble and she said as much.

"It's because of how heavy marble is in comparison," Harry explained to her when she mentioned it. "We've got a full-sized basement that holds a… sort of recreational area."

"What does that mean?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Erm. Well, it's probably best if I just show you," he said and strode across the foyer and to a door at the other side of the right-side staircase. She followed him down the steps and it opened up into a pub. An actual pub! There was a fully stocked bar with high-top chairs at the counter and two booths across from it. The liquor wall was even backlit with mirrors.

Ginny's jaw dropped at the sight of it. "What. The. Fu-"

"Hello, you two!" a loud voice said from behind them.

They both turned around and there stood Sirius with a pool cue in hand. Ginny peaked behind him and saw that there was a billiards table.

"Hello," Ginny said to him in nearly a whisper as she kept looking around. "This. This place is-" She didn't have the words.

"I know, isn't it?" Sirius grinned, not needing her to say anymore. "Had the same reaction the first time I saw it. And when Flea and Mia offered to let me move in, I was more than happy to hang out in the bar room until they switched out the spirits for water." He had a good chuckle at that memory.

"Flea and Mia?" Ginny asked, looking to Harry for explanation. Those didn't sound like any kind of nicknames for James and Lily.

"My grandparents," Harry explained. "Fleamont and Euphemia."

She couldn't help but give a snort. "I thought I had it bad with Ginevra."

"Are you kidding? D'you know how annoying the Sirius/serious bit is? I mean, I lean into it, but still," Sirius told her.

"Right, well, I'm just giving her the tour," Harry told Sirius. "Figured we may as well go from the ground up."

"On you go then," Sirius waved them off and went back to lining up his shot at the billiards table.

Harry walked her back through the pub and there was an area that looked like it had once been used for a dance area from the smooth, uncarpeted floor, but was currently used as storage, and past that was a door to a workshop where there was some kind of potions lab set up in one corner and the other held tools and wood and supplies that she wasn't quite sure the purpose of.

"What was this set up for?" she had to ask Harry.

"Wood shop," he told her. "We've had wand makers and broomstick makers in my family."

"Is that unicorn hair?" Ginny gasped. She'd seen some before in Hagrid's hut but never anywhere else save for behind the counter at a shop.

"Decade's old, yes. It was retrieved for the purpose of wand making but will probably wind up being for a potion or something."

"Like Felix Felicis!" Ginny grinned.

"So, you do know your potions," Harry grinned right back at her.

"I remember the one's worth remembering," she told him as her gaze continued to wander around the room at the bottles and containers on the shelves, trying to see if she could make out what anything was.

"That is definitely up there as a worthwhile potion." He nodded his head back at the door to indicate they continue with the tour.

She was reluctant to leave, but didn't want to seem like a snoop.

After the grand tour Ginny counted seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. There were two wings of the house, one that Harry and Sirius occupied and the other for James and Lily. They were connected through the second-floor stairs and again on the third floor through the library.

Library. They had an entire library!

The main floor had a proper ballroom that didn't look to have been used in a long time, there were sheets overtop of all the furniture, and a formal dining room that was in the same state. The kitchen was lovely and had a ton of light coming in through all the windows. Ginny could tell that this part of the house got a lot of use, and it had a much more 'homey' feel to it.

Harry led her outside and they found his parents sitting on the patio furniture cuddled up to each other and reading.

"Oh, Ginny! So good to see you," Lily beamed and got up to greet her with a hug. "Harry's given you the tour, has he?"

"He has, and it is immense and impressive."

"I remember the first time I saw the place," Lily said with an amused shake of her head. "I thought it was quite the overkill. In the twenty years since I've first seen it there are half the rooms that haven't even been used."

"They got some use when I was growing up," James said. "My parents used to have big Gala's here to promote charities and the like. They'd have overnight guests and host dignitaries and such. But then I went off to school and they said they were too old to play host anymore."

"Did you not even have your wedding here?" Ginny asked them.

The two of them grew slightly flustered, exchanging sheepish looks with each other, and Harry answered for them.

"They eloped," he told her with a smirk.

"What?" Ginny couldn't imagine that.

"It's true," James admitted. "We got carried away after we finished up at Hogwarts and there was drinking and a chapel, and not much later there was this guy," he said as he got up and gave a pinch to Harry's cheek.

Ginny chuckled at Harry's obvious discomfort with his father's patronizing.

"And neither of your parents insisted on a reception?" Ginny wondered.

"Mine had passed away while I was in school," Lily told her. Ginny mentally gave herself a kick because Harry had mentioned that to her already. "They were Muggles, and it was a car accident."

"Mine said what was done was done and just welcomed Lily in with open arms," James said with a big smile. Lily came to stand beside her husband, and he wrapped his arms around her.

It was lovely to see a couple that was still so in love with each other after so many years and she was struck by just how similar looking a couple she and Harry would look to his parents. Lily had a lot less freckles than she did, and her eye color was that brilliant green that Harry had, not a muddy brown. But their height and overall body type was the same, Ginny's hair was just a little more of a vibrant red where Lily's was lighter. Ginny also had an athletic frame compared to Lily's slight figure.

"Alright, I'm going to take her around the property now," Harry said hastily, wanting to get away from his affectionate parents.

He took her hand again and led her gently down off the patio and towards the flowerbeds.

"They were a moment away from talking mushy to each other and snogging," Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's nice that they are still like that after so long together."

Harry gave a snort of laughter. "It took my dad six years to win her over while they were at school together. I doubt he'll ever stop thinking that she is something to brag about. Whenever she gets mad at her he starts in on all the stories of his attempted wooing."

"Really?" Ginny said wistfully. That was so sweet.

Harry gave her a curious sideways look that made her scoff and roll her eyes. "Alright, you got me. I'm a closeted romantic. I was raised around only boys so most of the time I'm all Quidditch and dirt, but stories like that make me remind everyone I have ovaries. Get over it."

Harry only laughed at that and kept leading her towards where the mowed lawn ended, and a forest area began.

"How much land are you on here?" she wondered.

"We've got about five acres inside the wards."

"Can animals pass through it?"

"Yes, it's just people that it keeps out."

Ginny nodded her head, unable to think of something else to say. The grounds were beautifully manicured and the forest that surrounded them seemed dense, but not so overgrown with weeds that one couldn't go for a walk between the trees. Maybe they had a trail done? If not, they should, it would be a nice walking path.

"So, we had a letter from the solicitor," Harry started after they were both silently wandering side by side for a full two minutes.

"And?" she asked eagerly. It was the Potter's that had hired the solicitor, so it would make sense that they would be the one's reached out to. Plus, they were the ones that would appear on paper as 'having something to lose'.

"And… nothing," he said with a frown, looking like he regretted even bringing it up. "He's still working on it, researching the history and magic behind these contracts and seeing if there is some way of breaking them, or even delaying them until there is a way of breaking them."

"Right," she nodded sadly, the hopefulness going out of her tone. She hoped he didn't take offense to how she reacted to that. He looked disappointed too from what she could see looking at him out the corner of her eye. Though, he could have just been squinting at the sun.

"Looking forward to starting at E.L.M?" she asked, desperate now for a change of topic.

"I am. And a bit nervous," he admitted. "I know it's the family company, so I have a feeling that even if I was terrible they would still keep me on, but hey," he shrugged, "at least I'm going to be doing something I like."

"You said in your letter that you had applied under a pseudonym, doesn't that mean that you were fully qualified? No nepotism involved?" she prompted. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"You feel you have to say that," he rolled his eyes.

"No. I really don't," she smirked. "You're stuck with me regardless, so why would I bother attempting to placate you?"

Now he narrowed his eyes at her. "Alright, enough about me. What are your plans for after Hogwarts? You've told me what courses you're taking, but not what they are supposed to be leading up to."

"Oh," she looked down at the bright green grass and tried to think of some way to evade the question. "Well…"

"Yes?" he pried.

"I wanted to play Quidditch. Professionally."

"Oh?" he sounded intrigued, not skeptical.

"Er… yeah," she blushed.

"You might want to try saying it with more conviction then," he prompted with a grin.

Ginny found herself grinning back at him. "I want to play Quidditch professionally. And join the Holyhead Harpies as a starting Chaser." This time she said it with confidence. Then she backpedaled on the confidence part. "You don't think that's crazy?"

Harry seemed baffled by that. "Why would I think that's crazy? You were plenty good when we played the other week. And Victor Krum was still in school when he started flying for Bulgaria. If you have the talent, then you should attempt to make a go of it."

She felt a warmth roll over her then and found herself adoring him just a little bit more than she already had.

()()()

"Don't they look cute," Sirius started as he looked over to where Harry and Ginny had wandered off to as he joined James and Lily out on the patio.

"I don't think they realize they're holding hands," Lily smirked, not needing to raise her eyes from her book to double check, she'd been sneaking glances at them since they walked away.

James simply hummed in response and kept reading his own book while Sirius stretched and then tried to make himself comfortable in his chair.

"I'm bored," Sirius announced.

"The bar and billiards not keeping you entertained enough?" James asked him distractedly as he turned a page.

"It's not as fun when there isn't anyone to play with."

"Invite Remus over to play with you."

"He's got a job."

"Go get a job."

"But then I wouldn't have any time to play billiards."

Lily looked up from her book in exasperation, "Sirius, go to your room."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at her. "Honestly though, I know we all said we'd take the summer off and it isn't like I'm lacking for funds, but I'm itching to do something new."

"Thinking of finding a new project to invest in or something?" James asked as he sat up properly and closed his book.

"Yeah, but it's somehow harder here. I know the magical community around here; they all know someone who knows someone who knows me. It's got to be the most gossipy place, and I haven't heard any interesting gossip about anyone that's come up with an interesting idea that needs funding."

"Meaning you've been spending some unproductive time at the Hogs Head," Lily surmised. "I don't think I can help you, I'm about to be teaching a bunch of pubescent students, I need to store up my empathy to deal with that."

"You could try doing the Muggle thing again, like when you did the boat tours," James suggested.

Sirius waved off that suggestion. "We're in England, the water around here is cold with no colourful fishes or reefs. I don't think that's going to work."

"Then come up with something on your own," James scoffed and opened his book up again.

Sirius looked back over at Harry and Ginny who were just about out of sight as they headed around the side of the property. "Maybe I should just find a woman."

"Yes, find a woman and exhaust her with your aimlessness," Lily suggested wearily before rubbing her eye and giving a yawn. "Or you could figure out my lesson plans for me. You're basically a twelve-year-old, I bet you could help make my classes fun."

Sirius perked up with interest. "I could do that! Oh, I could do something with bubbles!" He then got up and headed into the house.

"Your lesson plans are going to be a big mess now," James warned her.

"I've got a copy stashed away, and he just might have an idea worth using." She snuggled closer against his side. "It got him to leave us in peace, didn't it?"

James responded by simply giving her a kiss to her forehead. He then looked over to where the kids had disappeared around to the other side of the house. "Should we invite her and Arthur to come over for dinner one night before you and she are expected at Hogwarts?"

"I think that would be a great idea," she said and patted his leg.

()()()

His lips were so soft and so sure against her own. She'd been kissed before, but it had never felt like this, there had always been that voice in her head telling her to pull back, not to let things get too far. That voice wasn't there right now. All she could focus on was how lovely it felt to have his lips against her own.

There was the gentle caress of his fingers down the side of her face and neck as well. That felt nice. His fingers moved into her hair and she moaned at the feeling. She loved having her hair played with or her scalp massaged.

He smiled against her lips at the sound she made and pulled back. Her eyes opened and she saw he was gazing at her adoringly.

Merlin, she loved those eyes of his.

Ginny gave another soft moan as he scratched his fingers gently in her hair and she tilted her head back.

Then she promptly fell backwards and toppled out of bed.

For a moment Ginny was completely disoriented. It took several seconds to shake off the memory of what she'd just dreamed about and get herself situated into reality.

She'd just had a dream about Harry! It wasn't a completely innocent dream either! They'd been kissing. More than that she'd been thoroughly enjoying the simple act of kissing as well. And she'd been feeling things.

She couldn't feel things like that for him.

That's…

That would be…

Ginny couldn't even find the right path for her mind to take.

It had been a few days ago that he'd taken her for a tour of Potter Manor and every night since she'd had a dream similar to that one, but they were more about the build-up. That had been the first time she remembered them kissing in her dream.

She blinked again and in her mind she saw those eyes of his again, one second they were the deep green and filled with desire ones from her dream, next they were the bright and laughing ones that she'd seen over dinner yesterday evening when she and her father went to Potter Manor.

She blinked a few more times and focused on the sight before her of the sunlight coming in through the windows.

Today was her last first day at Hogwarts, she was starting her seventh year!

Forgetting all about her emotionally complex dream now she grinned and went to the window to see what the world was doing today. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and it looked like a beautiful day to be taking her last ride on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade.

She hurried off to the bathroom and smelled the scent of bacon wafting up from downstairs. Ten minutes later she was clean, dry, and had an armload full of toiletries to add to her trunk.

"Nearly ready?" Ron asked her from the doorway of her room.

"Nearly," she said with a shiver of excitement.

"It's going to be brutal, you know that right?" he told her, questioning her excitement.

"Don't you try and bring me down. It's my final year! I only have five courses; it won't be that bad." She was sure it wouldn't be as bad as everyone always said it was. She'd made it through her OWL year and that had been three extra courses than she had right now.

"Yeah, word to the wise, don't procrastinate."

"Something you learned the hard way?" she teased.

"Damn right, and near the end Hermione almost didn't let me borrow her notes." He gave her a pointed look with an unfortunately easy to read glimmer in his eye, "almost."

"Urgh, gross," she said and tossed her sweater at him.

Ron and his girlfriend had gotten together at the end of their sixth year and Hermione was easily the brightest witch there had been at Hogwarts in a long time. Him getting all saucy and seductive with his girlfriend in order to get better marks was not something Ginny wanted to hear about.

Lugging her trunk down the stairs she paused in the entryway between the sitting room and the kitchen and wondered just how in disarray the Burrow was going to look the next time she saw it.

There was a chance that the twins were going to be moving out by the time she was done her school year, then it would just be Ron and her Dad, neither of which were particularly good at cleaning up after themselves, because that would require noticing that there was a mess in the first place.

They would be fine though. No doubt they would remember to feed themselves. Ron needed five feedings a day usually, there was no way he wouldn't have the kitchen stocked.

Dad and the twins had got on for the two years between the twins finishing school and Ron finishing school.

She didn't need to be worrying about them today though!

This year it wasn't her Dad that was going to be escorting her to the station in London either, instead she was going to Floo with her trunk over to Luna's and they were going to Apparate together over to Kings Cross. Sort of like a single step forward into adulthood and managing to take care of themselves.

She and Luna were of age after all.

After hugging all her family goodbye, she set off to Luna's and only ten minutes later they were standing on Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross.

It was as hectic as always with the mums and dads doing their send off and Ginny couldn't help remembering what it had been like to be a little girl watching her brothers get onto this train for what was their first time, one by one leaving her with less playmates as the years dragged on until it was finally her turn. The next time she was going to be standing on this platform to see the train off would probably be when it was time to send her children off to school.

That thought instantly sent a chill through her body and she actively tried to push past it and think of something else.

She and Luna found a compartment for themselves and Ginny turned to her friend, realizing she hadn't quite thought through if she was going to tell anyone about her betrothal contract. "Erm, so Luna, listen. About… you know. Me and the Potter's."

"You want to keep it to yourself," Luna said with no further prompting required. "You don't have to worry about me telling anyone. They probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

Ginny was loathe to admit it, but Luna had a point. If she did accidentally mention it, for whatever reason, there was very little chance that anyone would take her seriously, she was always going on about yet undiscovered creatures as though they were real. Luna's imagination was something that Ginny found endearing though, she believed in the unbelievable.

After the train started its journey Ginny did a wander up and down the carriages, stopping in to say hello to a few of her friends and teammates, tracking down the trolley lady as well and congratulating her dormmate on becoming Head Girl before spending the rest of the ride trying to have a nap in her compartment, knowing that as it was the last first night in the dorm, and that starting the next day they would be getting their first round of assignments given to them for their NEWT year, thus there would be a bit of drinking going on in her dorm tonight and very little sleep.

She no longer felt it was on her shoulders to worry about the betrothal contract. She was going to be at school. The solicitor was on it.

And surely while she was at school, she wouldn't be having any more confusing dreams or feelings about the man she was being forced to marry. There were other things for her brain to worry about there.

She'd seen Harry a few more times since her initial visit to Potter Manor and each time she felt they were becoming better and closer friends.

Just friends.

One's that don't have racy dreams about each other.

A silencing charm around her bed, just in case, wouldn't be a bad idea though.

()()()