Postings will speed up, maybe one a day. Only a few chapters left until a big day for the four.
The Sign
Chapter 15
Break Away
June 11
Luna told Ginny before they went down to breakfast that the project was coming along nicely. "Would you like to see it?"
"Oh yes, please." Ginny sat on her bed, excited to see the drawing.
"All right, we will have to go to the shed. It didn't fit in here." Luna beamed. "It's turning out quite lovely. I talked with Dean Thomas and he's helped me."
"When did you talk with Dean?" Ginny was shocked.
"Oh, he came over while you had your bon fire. Seamus suggested it."
"Oh, okay." Not what she was expecting, "Shall we go look now?" Ginny stood and opened the door, only to face Harry leaving his room. "Hi!" She exclaimed, startled.
"Hi, yourself." He kissed her and gestured for them to head down first.
"Luna wants to show me something in the shed, we'll just be a moment." Ginny tried to explain on their way down.
"Okay. Should I wait?"
"No go ahead. Mum is fixing porridge and I know you hate it cold." Ginny slipped out the door, following Luna.
The blond girl propped the shed door open in a way that blocked the view from the house. She wrestled out a large plank of dark wood just smaller than a door and propped it up against the siding. "What do you think?"
Ginny could only stare. She knew it was only partway finished, but it was beautiful. A mountainside dominated the right foreground, with a large, shaggy dog glaring at her from near the bottom. Halfway up the mountain, were two deer, a stag standing behind a doe, both looking out. At the top of the mountain, was a wolf, howling at the full moon that stood over it all.
On the left foreground was a valley that had a tiny rail track winding towards a distant mountain. Towards the lower left corner was a two-inch-tall Burrow. In the center of the valley, if looked at closely, you could see a tiny train billowing out steam. That steam divided into two larger forms, a horse running and another stag chasing. Near the top of the scene, at the top of the smaller mountain, stood a tiny rendition of Hogwarts. Flying high above it all was an owl swooping.
"I'm nearly finished. Do you like it?" Luna looked apprehensive.
"Oh…Oh…Luna. It's gorgeous. I don't have words." Ginny swiped a tear from her cheek. "I didn't expect you to do the carving, also." Her fingers couldn't be held back from touching, tracing the shapes and figures. "The Marauders, Hedwig, Harry and me. It's perfect. But it's not even been three days!"
"Yes, I know. I had nothing else planned. Dean will help me some more if Harry wasn't around. I couldn't make it into a door. Mr. Kelly said it would be too heavy. But he suggested we hang it on a wall. Dean did a lot of the carving." Luna caressed the carving. "It's to say thank you." She touched Ginny's arm, "Thank you for letting me be your friend."
"Ginny, Luna! Breakfast is getting cold!" Her mother's voice startled them. The two girls laughed and ran back inside.
"What's up for today? Do we get a break yet?" Ron scraped the bottom of his bowl for the third time. Then he whispered, "Did you send the note?"
"Hm mm, everything is done." She nodded with a smile then took out her papers and shuffled through them. "It's eight am on Thursday. The house will be done tomorrow afternoon and we start unpacking that night. So nope, nothing today!" She smiled and slapped the sheaf of papers on the table.
"I say we run away!" Ginny announced out of the blue, thinking to give Luna more time.
"Run away?" Hermione intrigued.
"Yes, run away! Away from the Burrow, the House, the lists and chores. A whole day to not answer to anyone. What do you say?" She looked at Harry with a huge smile.
"Well, if you put it that way, Let's run!" He turned to the other two, "Do you have any ideas?"
Hermione thought hard, then a wicked smile spread across her face. "I know just the place."
They all stared at her, waiting for her to continue, "The beach."
"Like Shell Cottage? I thought we wanted to go away." Ron asked, trying to get what she was saying.
"Kind of, but a bit farther south. I was thinking of a beach in the Mediterranean." She smirked, waiting for the reactions.
"But that's so far away!" Ron was astonished.
"Not really, it's just as far as that one side trip we made in Australia. It was only a long apparition." She explained, "Besides, I know where to go. Mum and dad took me there a few years ago for a week. It was lovely. It's a tiny private beach and house that belongs to their patient, Mr. Butterfield. They're old people who don't really travel anymore. We can go for the day and just be us. No one to bother us. What do you say?"
"I say, let's go pack!" Ginny stood up and raced to the stairs and stopped at the bottom step. "What should we need?"
"Towels, of course. Also, maybe something chic to wear for dinner. There are some lovely bistro's in the village. Men? Your muggle suits would do. Ties, the whole bit." She ordered.
"And our swim suits?" Ron reminded her.
"Unless you want to go au natural." She replied with raised eyebrows.
He smirked, "Not if they're about. But we'll try it another time." He promised.
Ginny rolled her eyes and started back up the stairs only to stop when Hermione gasped. "It's Pig! Back so soon!"
They all gathered around to read the reply. But they had to quickly hide it when Molly came back into the kitchen with a basket of laundry just off the line.
"Uh, Mum? We're going to be out all day. Probably 'til very late. Just so you know. Would it be alright if we pack a picnic lunch?"
Molly smiled, having heard most of what they were talking about while standing in the scullery. "I'll have one ready for you. Have fun. Please be home sometime before breakfast." She lifted a towel from the basket and started to fold it.
With knowing looks, the four turned and raced up the stairs to pack and change.
They found themselves in a small wood, with a glimpse of blue water peeking through the leaves. Hermione led them around a large rock and down a path. A small cottage sat on a little hill, overlooking the water. Jetties of rocky land bracketed the sandy beach on either side. There were no cars or any sign of life.
Hermine cast a spell with no response. "No one's home." She confirmed. She waved for the others to follow as she skirted around the house and down to the white beach. "Just to be safe, I'm going to set up a ward. No surprises." She raised her wand and faced the house.
Ginny couldn't hold herself back, she ran fast, stopping only when the water was at her knees. She didn't care that her shorts became very wet. She laughed when a wave splashed high and caused her to go underwater. "The water's so warm!"
"Shouldn't you change?" Harry was looking forward to seeing her in a bikini.
"I guess I should. Hey, Hermione, where should I change?"
"Hold on," Hermione reached in her bag and brought out a small tent. "Here you go." She waved her wand and it set itself up.
Ginny kissed Harry and ran to change. When she came out, he nearly fell in the water. Of course, he had seen pictures of girls in bikinis, but never Ginny. Sunday couldn't come fast enough. He sat in the water, wishing it were a little bit colder.
They swam, nibbled on the picnic lunch, sunbathed, and swam some more. When the sun sank low to the horizon, they changed to their evening clothes. When it was Hermione's and Ron's turn in the tent, Hermione screamed. "We forgot! The message!"
They gathered around as she read aloud, "Dear Hermione. Charlie reminded me that I must keep these secrets. I am not allowed to tell them. I cannot tell you about the handfasting on Sunday. Nor can I talk about you being awoken Sunday morning and taken for the whole day. In no way can we discuss hand-fasting. Fleur and I will be at the Burrow until after 10 but if you want to stop by Shell Cottage later, we can talk about anything other than how we have made promises and can't say anything."
"Ten? It's only seven now. Let's eat and go from there." Harry felt relieved. At least they had an idea what was going on.
They did a check to wipe away any trace of their trespass. Hermine held their hands and apparated them to a small alley near the center of a village. She led them to an outdoor restaurant down the road.
Harry wasn't sure if he was jealous of the attentions Ginny's short form-fitting black dress received, or pride. He stuck with pride. Pride that she had chosen him. They took time over the different foods France had to offer. By agreement, they did not talk about the message. This was a time to live in the moment, not the future.
It wasn't until eleven when the four were able to meet at Shell Cottage. They showed up wearing their evening wear but carrying their shoes. Bill met them at the door, waving them in.
"Sorry about the time, Mum wanted to go through all the plans. Now, I promised I won't tell you anything, which I think is a pile of bull, but it was a solemn promise. Mum would know and I'd have hell to pay. So, I will discuss the situation with my wife. I can't help that you are sitting nearby and can hear the conversation. Talk amongst yourself and I just might, uh, not hear you too. Understand?"
Ron grinned, "Yeah. Understood. Shall we just, um, sit over here?" He pointed to the table, within hearing of the sitting room.
Bill nodded. He and Fleur had positioned their furniture so that their chairs faced the doorway. Technically, they were in another room but only a few feet away. "Fleur, let me tell you what a hand-fasting is." He started, in a jilted, stiff way.
"Yes, why is it so traditional? Could not any ceremony work as well?" Fleur couldn't stop grinning. It was the silliest pantomime she could think of.
"There are certain rituals and spells cast in the ceremony that seals the soul bonds. Without these spells, the bonds will fail, and they will part soon after filled with animosity." Bill was getting in a pattern of speech, as if he were lecturing to a bunch of bored students. Professor Binns would have been proud.
"We know all this." Ginny complained softly.
Bill coughed dramatically and motioned for Fleur to continue.
"Why all the secrecy?" She read.
"I could say that it's a secret to know about the secret," Fleur glared at Bill until he laughed, "Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe so the couple won't run away, raving mad."
"But why all day?" Fleur read off a card.
"There are steps they must make, each with its own spells and charms."
"But what are zese steps?"
"I don't know the exact order, but first they will be woken by a lot of noise and chaos. Then there is a ritual bath, some anointing, ritual feast and drink, and it finishes with the bride getting dressed in blue by the other ladies in the party."
"So that's why you made us buy blue dresses?" Hermione laughed.
Fleur just nodded, not daring to look at the group. "Zat is for zee women. What about zee men?" Fleur couldn't stop laughing. The whole conversation was such a farce.
"The men have the same thing, but it is not so ritualized. Most end up drunk by the time they get to the main ceremony." Bill sighed. What a joke. In order to give them the information, he had to go through such a ridiculous effort.
"What happens zen?" Fleur had to drink some wine to calm her giggles.
The bride and groom meet for the first time that day. The fathers will stand with the grooms in front of the witnesses and the mothers will walk the brides to them.
Bill nodded, saying wordlessly he had heard, "There are some questions and replies and I don't know what else. But there will be another spell and that seals the handfasting.
"What happens next?" Hermione had a tough time, not being able to take notes.
"Then all present will raise their wands and final spell is cast over the couples. There will be fire that surrounds them and when that is over, the real party begins."
"So zat is all a hand-fasting is?" Fleur had stopped laughing, as this really was an interesting part.
"That is all the hand-fasting is." Bill laughed again as he finally looked at his siblings and their fiancés. "Hello! I hope you have not heard our conversation. Might I interest you in some wine?" He said in a very fake posh accent.
Fleur jumped out of her seat and hugged her husband. "Beel, you are not an actor. You weel never make it on zee stage."
"So long as I can honestly say I didn't tell them what is happening, I have not broken my promise." Bill grinned slyly at the four. "It's a good thing I'm a curse breaker."
Harry held out his hand, "Thanks Bill, for not telling us a thing. You have been most, er, unhelpful."
Ginny hugged her brother and Fleur, "Love ya. Thanks."
After shaking hands with Bill and kissing Fleur's cheek, Ron carefully pocketed the bottle of champagne that was sitting on the table. "Yeah, Thanks. Well, it's after midnight, we'll let you get some sleep. Night all." He took Hermione's hand and walked out of the cottage.
"Bonne nuit." Hermione called out.
Harry and Ginny followed soon after, and the four laughed as they left the security perimeter
"There's a place, just down there. Let's talk." Ginny held out the four glasses that were so conveniently sitting on the table. She had grabbed them after Fleur silently pointed them out.
It was after four in the morning before they arrived at the Burrow. They felt a little fuzzy from the champagne and too much sun.