Ron had lumbered back toward Ginny and Harry at the broom shed as they were pulling out the Cleansweeps.
"Hey, that's mine!" Ron said.
"I know, doxie dung, that's why I'm getting it out. Geesh!" Ginny mumbled.
"How do you know it is mine? Did you look?" Ron asked.
"I can tell by how sticky the handle is—it's like you were eating cauldron cakes right off it. Do you ever polish it?" Ginny retorted.
"Yes, I polish it!" Ron snapped and Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Shut it, Harry. Here's yours, Ginny."
"I'll just leave mine here for now. Maybe I'll try out Harry's," Ginny said. "Are Fred and George going to fly, too?"
"Naw, maybe later. Mum had to heal their burns and now they are working on putting their room back together. She is not happy. I didn't tell her about her cake, either. I think we should stay away for a while. Let her cool down. Good thing we did our chores," Ron said. "Percy won't come and Charlie's helping mum and the twins with the repairs. They both burned off their eyebrows and their fringe! Mum's not going to help them with regrowth charms until they have everything else put back together. Are they a sight! You should see them!"
Harry laughed imagining the twins with no eyebrows and burned fringe. He was glad they were all right.
"So Harry, you can really fly?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I can. It's different from before, but I'm getting the hang of it." He summoned his broom out of his staff.
"Ophff!"
"Oh, sorry, Ginny—didn't think you were so close," Harry said as he poked her with his broom.
"It's okay. It's just surprising, you know?"
"Yeah, I think that might be one of the hardest things to get used to—not seeing things coming before they touch you—whatever they are. I'm getting better, though, at hearing and feeling them."
"Come on, you two, let's go!" Ron zoomed off on his broom, but Harry walked with Ginny over to the orchard where they flew. He remembered how at the end of last summer the ground was littered with apples that had fallen from the trees and that distinctive smell of the sweet, rotting fruit. He was glad that it was earlier in the summer and they didn't have to worry about stepping in that gooey mess.
"So, Ginny, my staff goes in this compartment in my broom—Figora helped me make it. I make sure my staff is vibrating instructions instead of speaking because I really just need to know how fast something is coming at me and how big it is," Harry explained.
"How can you tell what things are if it just vibrating? That sounds confusing," Ginny said.
"Well, when you're flying there are fewer things—so the vibrating works. It gets more intense the bigger something is… and it has different levels—so you start to feeling everything around you—it's almost like they are beneath your fingertips. I dunno. You'll have to just try it. It is kind of hard to explain."
Harry placed the staff inside his broom.
"Hey, wait a sec. Hold onto my broom. Can you feel that? That's Ron flying toward us. I think he's trying to buzz us. Git. When I say three, crouch down—one, two, three," Harry whispered and they dropped down while Ron zoomed over their heads then came back to land by them.
"Hey, how did you know I was going to buzz you?" Ron laughed.
"We could smell you coming," Ginny said as they stood back up.
"No seriously, how'd you know?"
"Did you eat onions?" Harry laughed.
"Fine. Are you coming or not?" Ron said, his voice trailing behind him as he sped by.
"Ginny, what do you want to do? We could fly together—but I'm still pretty new to this… you know… flying blind… and I haven't flown here since I lost my sight. Maybe I should take a few laps and get used to the orchard again and then I could take you up? What do you think? Does that sound all right?"
"Yes, I'll just wait down here and listen. Don't leave me for long, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll do a few laps—first low and then gradually higher and I'll come by each time and check on you," Harry said. "Oh, here comes Ron again. One, two, three, duck!"
"Onions, I tell you! Onions!"
Harry took off and started low, with his feet trailing over the undergrowth. It was wilder here than at the manicured park at Old Ellerby and so Harry was getting more feedback from his staff about the terrain.
Ron zoomed up behind him, "Finally, I thought you'd never get on your broom. Why are you flying low? Come on—let's go higher."
"Hey, Ron. I need to map this out first—get the lay of the land—and I told Ginny I'd check in with her and then take her up."
"Oh, come on mate! Let's just fly! Ginny will be fine."
"In a bit, but let me do this first, okay?" Harry said, trying to be patient. "And don't you dare buzz Ginny again!" This he shouted to Ron's back as he took off again. He wondered if he would have been such a tormenting older brother had he been given a chance.
He heard Ginny yelp and guessed that Ron had not been able to resist.
Prat.
The trees in the orchard made it a lot more challenging to navigate—they weren't neatly trimmed as the ones in the park and the undergrowth created an undulating pattern of vibrations that made him rise and fall as he progressed around the orchard.
"Hey, Ginny," he called as he approached her. "Are you okay? That prat buzz you again?"
"Yeah—don't worry. I'll get him back. He won't know what hit him," Ginny said, sounding more like herself than she had in a while.
Like the Ginny at the beginning of term last year…
But there was something new in her voice that hadn't been there before… an edge.
"I'm going up a little higher. Hey, do you want me to cast the bell charm on my broom so that you can hear me?" he asked, stopping by her.
"Yeah, and on Ron's, too," she said.
"Campanis minima," Harry muttered while tapping his broom with his wand and it made a little tinkling noise that sped up as he moved. "Well, I'll have to catch him to cast that spell. We'll see if I can manage that!"
He took off a little faster than before, no longer tracing his feet over the undergrowth. There were more branches wanting to whip across his face and he learned to discern the minute differences conveyed in the vibrations from his broom. He sped up as he traveled around the orchard, tracking Ron's moving form through the vibrations and gaining on him until he was right behind him.
"What's that bell noise?" Ron asked slowing so that they were flying in tandem.
Harry leaned over, moving his wand through the air as he felt the thrumming through his broom so that he could touch his wand to Ron's broom.
"Whatcha doin' mate?"
As soon as his wand made contact with the broom he uttered the incantation. The bells on Ron's broom had a different timber and Harry wondered how he'd done that—if it was in his intention or something innate in the object he was enchanting.
I'll have to ask Hermione.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Ron sputtered.
"So you can't buzz your sister anymore. Puts us on more even footing, doesn't it?" Harry said as he sped up moving out of Ron's range and then dipping down toward the ground as he neared Ginny.
"Can you hear the bells on Ron's broom?" he asked as he went by her.
"Yes, that's brilliant Harry—I can tell the difference between your broom and his," she called up to him.
"One more time around and I'll come get you," Harry said.
"Come on, Harry, these bells are driving me crazy. Finite it already," Ron yelled from across the orchard.
Harry shook his head as he angled his broom to do a higher lap around the orchard—weaving around the trees that were planted haphazardly on the edge of the open space. Harry was gaining on Ron.
He went up a bit higher—the sun had broken through the clouds and was beating down on him and he felt a bead of sweat skate down his back and then soak into his T-shirt. He ran his hand through his hair and the sweat made it stand on end, even in the breeze. He'd had his eyes closed tight against the brightness for a while. He breathed in deeply.
Merlin, I love this!
The vibrations of his staff inside his broom zinged through him in a way that he was beginning to understand the branches of the tree that he was approaching and simultaneously distinguish Ron's moving form on the bobbing broom in front of him. It was like an orchestra of vibrations with each component expressed by a different instrument—blending together at times but also still distinct and creating a harmony of haptic shapes. As he passed the elements of the orchard they'd fade in intensity, but were still present so that he had a sense of everything around him. He felt was as if he were enclosed in a bubble with the objects he was moving toward laid out in the most vivid detail.
He marveled at the magic that translated the world around him into a language that he could understand through touch and wondered if he could use his staff this same way when he was walking through the cluttered rooms of the Burrow or if it would be too much information to be able to distinguish all the books, knick-knacks, pots, pans, and odd pieces of furniture.
He came up behind Ron and then zoomed over him, reaching down to bonk him gently on the back of the head as he passed. Ron swerved and dove as he momentarily lost control of his broom in his surprise.
"Hey! Git!" Ron roared in protest and then tried to speed after Harry in pursuit. But Ron's old Cleansweep was no match for Harry's Nimbus 2000 and Harry was soon out of reach. He angled down for his descent toward Ginny who seemed to be hopping around.
"What's wrong, Ginny?"
"The bugs are eating me alive!"
"Are you ready to fly?"
"Yes, take me away from these little bloodsuckers, please!"
"Okay, I'm going to get off the broom and stand next to you, so you can get on, then I'll get on behind you. Okay?" Harry reached out and was able to find her shoulder and follow her arm down to her hand because, he realized, he could better understand the information he was getting from his staff—he had a better sense of her form from the vibrations than from the audio descriptions he'd been mostly relying on from his staff. It was just too much information to convey in words.
He paused after he placed her hand on the broom.
"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked as she swung her leg over. Harry, still holding on the broom, got on behind her, his arms around her. Her small frame pressed against him—warm and comfortable. He pushed off gently from the ground and they started a circuit around the orchard with their feet dragging over the grasses and scraggly bushes. At one point, Harry was pretty sure that he had accidentally kicked a garden gnome in the back of the head. He heard it muttering curses as they floated away.
"I just figured out how to use my staff in a new way that I hadn't known before—and it is kind of amazing. I'll show you—it's the vibrations in the broom—it's like a language that translates the objects around me into a pattern that I feel, like with my whole body—so that I know where we are and what we're approaching. Godric tried to explain it to me, but I really just now am beginning to understand what it means," Harry said.
"Oh, that's really amazing, Harry," Ginny said.
"It's going to take me a while to really learn how to use it, but yeah, it's really useful magic. Are you doing okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I see what you mean about the vibrations. They are weird. Ticklish and different. I really don't know what they mean, though," she asked as he took them a little higher.
"Are you two coming up here or not!" Ron bellowed from up above the trees.
"Better watch out, Ronald Weasley!" Harry yelled over his shoulder as he sped up a little and Ginny whooped.
oO0OooO0OooO0OooO0Oo
Harry had given Ginny the staff and the aftí again as they made their way through the maze of garden gnome burrows after returning Ron's Cleansweep to the broom shed. She had restored the magical voice rather than try to interpret the vibrations as she said it was like listening to Gobbledygook. Harry was missing the vivid detail that the vibrations had provided of the world around him. He felt as if his world was suddenly silent and unmoving. It was a weird sensation.
Ginny was moving slowly around the gnome burrows—really trying to be a mindful guide to Harry. Ron had run on ahead—too hungry to wait for them in their slow progress across the field. Harry heard it first.
"Who's that?" Harry asked.
"Who's who?" Ginny questioned.
"I hear someone talking," Harry said as he stopped to listen more carefully.
"Oh. I don't hear anyone. Oh, wait. Oh. That might be our neighbor, Loony Luna. I mean, Luna. She's got a thing for our garden gnomes. She's always coming over here and trying to talk them into moving up to her yard. Mum would love it if they would! I don't know why they don't go with her!"
Harry heard a trilling sound—like a bird, but not as high pitched as a birdsong.
"Loony Luna? Is that really her name?" Harry asked.
"No, I suppose not, but that's what everyone calls her," Ginny said, tugging on his arm.
But Harry had turned. The voice was approaching them and he was curious.
"Does she go to Hogwarts?" he whispered.
"Yeah—she's in Ravenclaw—same year as me."
"Greetings neighbors!" a light voice rang out across the field.
Harry lifted his hand in greeting and then let it falter—he wasn't really the neighbor after all—maybe it was presumptuous of him to wave.
"Hi, Luna," Ginny said grudgingly.
"Are you communing with the Gernumblies then? Is that why you're shielding your eyes from them?" Luna asked, her feet barely making noise as she approached them on the uneven tundra.
"Gernumblies?" asked Harry.
"The garden gnomes. I always thought the Weasley family didn't welcome them, but respecting their mating rituals by averting your eyes—well, I'm sure you can tell—they are impressed," Luna said in a wisping voice that had a sing-song quality to it—as if she were narrating a fairytale.
"Mating rituals!?" Harry said.
"Harry, this is our neighbor, Luna Lovegood," Ginny said briskly. "Luna, this is our friend, Harry Potter." At this formal introduction, Harry stuck out his hand and waited. After a long minute, he felt a small, wiry hand grasp his in a vice-like grip. He had expected a soft and plump hand from the quality of her voice.
"It's nice to meet you, Luna," Harry said.
"Oh, you are Harry Potter."
"Yes," Harry said as warmth snaked up his neck. "I am."
"Well, don't let me stop you—weren't you about to offer them your finger?"
"What?"
"They are waiting, you shouldn't keep them waiting. They want to bestow their gift on you," Luna said.
"Luna, we're not offering our fingers to the Garden Gnomes. We rather need them," Ginny said with a hint of exasperation.
"Oh, well, they'll give them back, you know," Luna said and it sounded like she had turned her back on them and was kneeling near the ground.
"It's rude to keep them waiting," she said grabbing Harry by the arm and pulling him down to the ground next to her. He yelped in surprise.
She pushed his hand toward the ground where he could feel the cool air and before he was able to yank it back, a garden gnome (he guessed) had sunk its teeth into his finger and wasn't letting go. Harry fell back onto the ground, the gnome latched onto his finger, grinding down onto it painfully.
"Ow!"
"Harry! What's happening!" Ginny yelled.
"Come on, Ginny, you, too. I think they'll bestow their gift on you as well," Luna said as she jumped up and Harry could hear her dragging Ginny down.
Harry was still trying to get the gnome off his finger and flailing his hand around while the creature had wrapped its arms and legs around his forearm.
"No, Luna—stop. I don't want it," Ginny said forcefully.
"But it could help you get rid of the Wrackspurts," Luna said in her lilting voice.
"I don't have Wrackspurts!"
"But your mum said you've been spending all your time in the dark under your covers ever since you were abducted."
"Gah!" Harry grunted as the toothy creature was finally flung from his arm and he could hear its little body thud on the ground not far from where they are. He went to stick his finger in his mouth, but Luna grabbed it.
"No, wait. You want the saliva to seep in—otherwise, it'll just be a nasty cut with nothing to show for it," Luna said and Harry realized that he didn't want the gnome saliva in his mouth either.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well, the Gernumbli gardensi saliva will give you great powers of creativity—Pa says that's why I'm such a talented artist. I don't know how your creativity will manifest, but I'm sure it'll be great," she said with such intensity of belief that the anger that had flared in his chest when she had grabbed him and forced his hand into the gnome burrow was abating.
"Okay—but next time warn a guy, please? That was … very alarming," Harry said, gripping his throbbing finger.
"Oh, do you think there will be a next time?" Luna asked innocently. "Are you going to come visit again?"
"There better not be, Luna. That was not okay," Ginny said so fiercely that Harry imagined that her hair was whipping around her face like flames.
"So you weren't out here with the blindfolds and the dark glasses trying to get bitten?" Luna asked perplexed.
"No, we were just going back to the Burrow. Harry has been showing me what it is like for him… to be blind," Ginny said.
"Oh, are you blind then?" Luna asked.
"Er, yes," Harry said.
"Did you do that so that you could see more clearly?" Luna asked.
"What? No, I didn't want it to happen. And no, I can't see more clearly. I can't see at all," Harry said confused.
"Hey, Luna, we've got to go inside and get something for Harry's bite… Do you want to come in and have lunch with us?" Ginny asked, hesitating slightly before she issued the invitation.
"Oh, yes, I would like that very much. Thank you, Ginny. You are always so kind to me… even when your brother is not. He does say some very funny things, though," she said in her droll way.
Harry knew she was talking about Ron and sighed. And he felt a pang of kinship with her, reminded of all the times he had hung around the playground waiting to be invited to play with children who never invited him because they were afraid of Dudley.
Harry summoned his staff and handed it back to Ginny who led him through the maze of gnome burrows. Harry did hear odd noises coming from the burrows. He grimaced. He'd always just thought they were odd little pests and never really thought about them having their own magic and traditions and definitely didn't want to think about them mating.
Luna followed behind them—she seemed to be skipping from gnome burrow to gnome burrow and dropping something in the holes.
"What are you giving them?" Harry finally asked.
"Oh, just fertility charms… so that they are fruitful," Luna said dreamily.
"Don't tell mum," Ginny whispered to Harry as if he needed that warning.
Harry smelled the mint by the back door and breathed in deeply as they walked up the steps and into the kitchen.
"Mum," Ginny announced to the room, "Luna is going to join us for lunch."
"Oh, that's very nice dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "Hello, Luna, love, I'm so glad you're here. Oh, Harry, Ron told me what you said about the frying pan."
Harry shifted uncomfortably and she swooped down, enclosing him in a tight hug. When she stepped back, holding him at arm's length and no doubt peering into his face, her voice had tears in it.
"Listen, Harry. We are going to do whatever we can to make sure you are not harmed ever again. Do you understand?" The tears had evaporated from her voice, burned off by an ember of intensity.
"Yes, ma'am," was all Harry could think to say in response. He didn't doubt it, though he had no idea how she'd do it.
She embraced him again, tight against her heaving chest.
"Mum, Harry was bitten by a garden gnome, I'm going to help him get it sorted out, okay?" Ginny said tugging Harry out of her arms.
"Oh, yes, dear. You know what to do. The dittany is in the cupboard in the toilet, on the right side. You'd better take off your blindfold for that, though. Don't want to mix up potions," Mrs. Weasley advised.
Harry heard other people in the kitchen and wanted his staff so that he could find out who was sitting at the table and who was paging through a book by the fireplace.
"Ron, are you here?" he asked.
"I thought you could smell me," Ron said grumpily.
"Don't mind, Ron, he's just hungry," Charlie said as he set something heavy on the table. "Wash up, Ron, like mum asked and then fetch the plates."
"Why do I have to everything?" Ron groused, to which his mother snorted.
"We're here, too, Harry and Ginny," said Fred and George almost in unison though Fred's voice came from near the fire while George was at the table by Ron.
"Counting on boosting your creativity, then, were you, Harry?" George said. "Someday we're going to figure out how to harvest gnome saliva without getting bitten."
"Well, pa says that it is the mixture in your bloodstream that makes it effective as well as the angle of the sun, position of the moon, and direction of the wind," Luna said blithely sitting down at the table across from George. "The conditions today were perfect. That's why I came down to visit your colony. Ohh! Were you also honoring the Gernumblies when you burned off your eyebrows?"
Harry heard George and Fred grilling Luna on the finer points of gnome magic as he and Ginny headed down the narrow hallway to the toilet behind the fireplace, underneath the stairs. Mrs. Weasley bellowed up the stairs, telling Percy that lunch was ready.
"Ginny, I can summon the essence of dittany out of my staff if you don't want to take the blindfold off just yet," Harry offered. "But I could use a clean bandage."
"That'd be nice, Harry. I'm getting used to the blindfold. Though I almost took it off when I heard you yelling," she said as she pushed the staff back into his hands.
He felt relief as he felt the smooth surface of the staff again under his fingers as he felt for the dots that indicated the opening for the storage.