I'm posting for Ella to say I'm so damn happy to see this chapter. It's been a long time coming and it's all awesome. Now, leave her some amazing reviews! Love, Mhersheybar
Fred and George had poked their heads out of the little yellow caravan. Harry's eyes bulged. Time seemed to slow. He forgot he was cold.
"He came and shined a light through my window, and then started crying," said Fred. He sounded bewildered.
Ginny moaned, and sank to the ground. She was quieter about it, but she sobbed just as hard as Ron. Harry tried to hold it together, for them, but all he could do was stare at them, his own eyes growing wet.
"Oh God, it's them," sobbed Ginny. Her entire body shook with emotion. Harry felt like joining her — could not quite believe the evidence of his own eyes—
"They're all nutters," said George.
"Ginny — Ginny, it's okay," whispered Harry. They had to do something, quickly. They needed to—
"Did you say Ginny?" Fred asked in a sharp voice.
Ginny lifted her head. "It's me, I'm Ginny. Do you remember—"
"We've been getting your letters!" George said with an air of great excitement.
Ron lurched to his feet, bringing Hermione with him.
"You've been getting my letters," Ginny said in a high, thin voice. "Then you must know I'm your sister. This is Ron, our brother. Hermione, his fiancé."
"And that must be Harry," Fred pointed at him, leering.
Harry did not let his discomfort show on his face. "That's right. And we're here to take you home—"
"Or to St. Mungo's—"
"NOT ST. MUNGO'S!" The twins roared as one.
"Shell Cottage, then?" Ron asked. Harry eyed him; he still looked like a mess. He was shaky, and his face was all puffy.
Harry nodded. "Can you, er, make it there?"
Ron jerked his head. "Yeah, I just..." But he could not seem to finish. Harry put his hand on his shoulder.
"I understand," said Harry.
"Are we giving Bill a warning?" Hermione murmured.
"Nah," said Ron and Ginny together.
"It'll be good for him," grinned Ginny. "He needs to get better at surprises."
Harry felt a momentary pang of sympathy for Bill, but shoved it aside. Ginny moved over to the twins, and began speaking to them quietly. Harry went into the little caravan; it was surprisingly tidy, despite the two unmade beds, one at each end. There was a thick stack of parchment on the table — Ginny's letters, Harry supposed — but very little else in the way of personal belongings. He thumbed through them, smiling a little, and then choked. No wonder Fred had leered! Ginny hadn't shied away from describing anything! His eyes popped, and he removed his glasses, rubbing them on his robes. She had quite a way with words...
Muttering to himself, Harry shoved the letters into his robes, and left the caravan. "Is this everything?" He asked the twins. "Is all your stuff in there?"
"Er — yeah," said George.
Harry waved his wand, whispered the charm, and the caravan shrunk down in size. Harry grabbed it, and put it in his pockets.
The twins were gaping at him.
"She told you I was good with my wand," Harry said smugly. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny turn bright red. "Among many other things," he said. "Many, many other things."
Ginny spluttered. "Oh God!"
Harry shook his head. They'd figure out what to do about that later... for now, they needed to get the twins home and healed. They could worry about how much they knew about their sex life later...
Harry took Fred firmly by the elbow. "Meet you there," he said to Ginny, as she grabbed George.
They Disapparated with a pop. Fred fought him, and Harry had to pull with all his strength, keeping them together. It seemed a long time in the tube before they emerged beside Shell Cottage.
"What was that?" Fred moaned.
"Apparition," Harry said sympathetically.
The lights flickered on, and Bill stamped out in his dressing robe. "Where the hell have you four been — do you have ANY IDEA WHAT—"
Harry was beaming at him. He stepped aside with a flourish, and shoved Fred forward.
"Oh my God," said Bill.
"George is here, too," Ginny said, pushing George forward. "They don't remember anything — they were caught in the Web at St. Mungo's."
Bill just stared.
"Percy mentioned it when he woke up while you were at Gringotts," said Harry. "It was the first thing he said: 'The twins are alive'. Then there was something about a carnival... Hermione went and found out — somehow, which carnivals..." his voice trailed away.
Bill just stared.
"Hermione knew immediately how to look," Ron popped out of his hiding place, dragging Hermione with him.
"I was able to search city records for any carnivals that were in town the week they died — I mean, the week they disappeared, and we went searching... Ron found them..."
Bill swallowed. Hard.
"Oi," said Fred. He looked rather uncertain in the dim light. "They mentioned they could... unscramble us?" There was rather more vulnerability in his voice than Harry was accustomed to hearing. Both twins were shuffling their feet, and looked rather ill, and confused. Harry's stomach convulsed.
"Yes," said Bill. "Yes, we can unscramble you." He did not make any gesture toward his two long lost brothers. Instead, he moved backward, making soothing gestures. "We will help the two of you — sort out —"
But he seemed unable to continue. Harry had seen Bill ride valiantly in the effort to help Percy. It was only now, faced with two brothers he long thought dead, that Bill lost his composure.
Luckily, Fleur was there.
"ROWAN KHANNA!" she shouted. "WE NEED YOU!"
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
July 30, 2000
The night sky was cold enough that it felt like a constant slap to Harry's face. It was nearly midnight, but they were only just now arriving at their destination. Then they had to turn around and go all the way back home.
"Why'd it have to be us?" Harry grumbled, his teeth chattering. He and Ron were on brooms, and in harnesses that were attached to the twins's caravan. They were pulling it through the night sky all the way to Romania.
It had seemed like a fun idea at the time, until Harry realized he and Ron were expected to be the human steeds. "But Percy needs the bed, he needs to stay comfortable," said Fred, sounding oh-so-reasonable for someone who had not known his own name five hours previously. "Yeah, and Fred and I are still a bit shaky, we just came back from the dead, you know..." Bill'd just smiled his Cheshire's grin, and Harry knew he'd lost.
"You're pulling it because you're sleeping with Ginny, and they have to punish you somehow," said Ron. "And I'm pulling it because I'm the youngest."
This was not the first time they had had this conversation. Luckily, he and Ron had had the presence of mind to lighten the caravan (and the people inside) before taking off.
In all honesty, Harry did not mind the chance to speed through the air at top speeds. It gave him a chance to take a break from the events of the last week or so. It had been a trying time: learning about the blood curse, rescuing Percy, letting the sort of intimidating Slytherin Curse-Breakers take the lead, finding out about the twins, FINDING the twins... it was a little much, even for him. So Harry allowed himself to relish the quiet.
"Why'd it have to be us?" Ron muttered.
"Because you're the youngest brother," Harry said patiently. "And I'm sleeping with Ginny. They've got to punish me somehow."
It was another hour before they landed just outside the dragon enclosure, a vast space protected by an impermeable shield. Harry'd only been here once before. Now that they'd landed, he could hear the raucous laughter coming from the inside. Despite the fact his face was frozen, Harry grinned. The twins... alive again...
They came out the door, and Harry's grin sagged into a look of disbelief. The twins had performed a series of transfigurations to make themselves look like Inferi. Harry took an involuntary step backward as they staggered toward him, groaning.
"You two are sick," Ron said.
With horror, Harry realized what the twins were planning to do. He looked at Bill, accusation burning in his eyes. "They're going to make Charlie think they're Inferi?!"
"Yes," Ginny stepped out of the caravan. "We're hoping they get it out of their system with Charlie, and won't do it to Mum and Dad." She walked forward and kissed Harry.
Bill was summoning his Patronus. "Charlie! We're at the gate to the dragon enclosure! Something terrible has happened!"
Harry shook his head, unable to believe Bill was playing along.
Charlie arrived within moments, wearing leather robes that had been cut from knee to shoulder. He also wore heavy vambraces, had scorch marks on his face, and looked rather... medieval. "What is it? I'm kind of—"
But then the twins started moaning and staggering toward him.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" Charlie shouted.
"Draaaaagons," moaned George.
"Chaaaaaaarliiiiie loooooooves draaaaagons," Fred groaned, and started to laugh. "Oh Charlie. Oh Charlie. You should see your face."
Charlie just gaped at them. Then — he flung off his vambraces, and flung himself at his brothers. Harry could not tell if he was hitting them or hugging them, or a bit of both.
"What in the actual fuck, though," Charlie said finally. "What the fuck."
"Get in the caravan," Ginny gestured. "We'll explain on the way."
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
July 31, 2000
Ginny stared up at the crooked little house. She winced in remembered pain, rubbed her shoulder, and fidgeted nervously. This was it. This was the moment. She was so excited and nervous she felt ill.
"Did you still want to go first?" asked Percy. He had just finished removing a charm, and Ginny's eyes widened when she remembered — really remembered — what he held in his hand.
"The clock!" Tears sprang to her eyes for what Ginny knew would not be the last time today.
"It's time for Mother to have it back," said Percy. They were both lingering in the lane, stalling. Ginny's heart was so full...
She took several deep breaths, squared her shoulders, and forced herself to march to the back door of the Burrow. Ginny very nearly knocked on the door of her childhood home, but stopped herself at the last instant. "Mum? Dad?"
Bill, Charlie, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were already in the sitting room. Her mother came around the corner, drying her hands on a tea towel, and staring at Ginny with stunned disbelief.
"Ginny?!" said her mum. "Arthur! ARTHUR! Ginny's home!"
Ginny walked forward and wrapped her arms around her mother. She closed her eyes for a second, leaning her head on her mother's shoulder. After a second, her mum's arms came around her, squeezing tightly.
Her father clattered down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Ginny took a deep breath, and pulled herself out of her mother's arms. If she stayed there, she'd just start crying and ruining everything. "Can I talk to you? I have some things to tell you."
"Of course, Ginny," her father said gently.
Ginny led them to the sitting room, where everyone else waited with varying degrees of patience.
"Charlie! Did you see who is here?"
"I saw him this morning, Mum," said Ginny. She gestured toward a loveseat, and when they sat, she knelt at their feet. "We all went to get him... because we have some things to tell you, and the whole family needs to be here for it."
She stole a glance at Harry. He smiled at her.
"It all started when I turned seventeen, and joined the Order of the Phoenix..."
Ginny told them everything again. She poured out her whole story to her parents, patiently, lovingly. "But the thing is... the thing is... I've already told you this before. You were there when Bill broke the curse off of me..."
"What? No," said her father, shaking his head. "That's impossible... how could we possibly forget something like that?"
"Moody's little charm was no charm at all, but a blood curse," said Bill. "Moody didn't want anyone distracted by Ginny being in the Order... did not want us to lose focus. So he cursed us to ignore what was in front of our faces, cursed us not to look for Ginny..."
Molly covered her face with her hands.
"I was so... hurt that none of you tried to find me," Ginny admitted. Her voice choked up. "It was so painful being stuck in that bed, trapped by Moody's curse, and you — my family — you never came looking for me. But I should have known something had happened... it wasn't like you to just... accept that I'd gone off to South America. Mum, Dad... if you hadn't been cursed, you would have found me. I'm sorry I didn't question it. It wasn't until Tonks said you'd forgotten what happened at Hermione's fake birthday party... I'm so sorry."
"Oh, Ginny," said Molly. Tears were dripping down her face.
"We would have looked for you," said Arthur, reaching out to stroke her hair. "It's inconceivable that we didn't. How could we not look for you?"
"The curse," Bill supplied. "It's been broken."
"Moody cursed us not to be there for our daughter when she needed us," Arthur said in a hard, flat voice.
"It gets worse," said Ron.
"How could it — ah. It was a blood curse. Who was the focus?"
Ginny rubbed her trembling fingers on her robes. Her turn was nearly over...
"It was me," said Percy. He stood in the arch, looking awkward and terrified and hopeful all at once. Her mother gave a little scream of surprise.
Her father's mouth fell open. "Puh—"
"I joined the Order just before Ginny did, when Moody was growing ever more paranoid," said Percy. "He said — he said it was the way for me to help you, help fight against Voldemort."
"Oh Percy," her mother whispered.
This was a reunion that had been a longer time coming than Ginny's. Warmth curled in her stomach as she watched first her mother, then her father hug their wayward son. Ginny sat on Harry's lap, and he wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her shoulder.
The best was still yet to come.
"I brought you a present," said Percy, after he had finished explaining how the blood curse worked, how ill it had made him, and how tirelessly Bill and his Slytherin friends had worked to save him and break the curse forever. His voice was husky at the end.
He held out the clock to his mother. Molly's hands were shaking so badly, she nearly dropped it. "My clock..." she whispered. "You came one night and took it... Moody wanted it?" she ran her fingers lovingly over the hands.
Ginny sent the agreed upon signal to the twins.
"Moody didn't want you figuring out what Ginny was up to," Percy confirmed. "Mum. Look at the twins's hands."
They all looked, and in that second, the hands switched from "away" to "traveling" and finally landed on "Home".
"What?" Molly said blankly. "How can..."
Ginny was crying now, tears dripping down her cheeks. Hermione had her head in her hands. Everyone was crying, even Bill, who had tried to be so stoic these last few days.
"What, are you lot having a party without us?" asked Fred.
Ginny watched as her father's face crumpled, nodded several times, and then rushed forward to hug his twins. Then her mother joined, and all four of them held each other for long minutes.
"I... can't," sobbed Molly. "I'm so happy it hurts. It hurts."
Ginny looked around at her family, unable to believe how broken they'd been a month ago, and now... everything had been put back together. Her family had been put back together.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
July 31, 2000
The excited atmosphere had not changed in the slightest, and had gotten even more intense as the afternoon waned. The twins were in their element, as the two bright centers of attention; as they should be. It was not every day people came back from the dead. Harry knew this, as he had done that before. At some point, Ron and Hermione left and returned with what looked like everything in the kitchen at the Leaky Cauldron.
It was when dusk was settling that the first owl arrived. Harry'd just finished helping set three tables together, and Ron and Hermione were putting out the food. Harry was watching everyone, taking in the moment, when something dropped on his head. A light, somewhat lumpy, package fell to his feet. Harry picked it up, bemused.
It sang when he picked it up. "Happy birthday, Harry!"
"Blimey," said Harry. "I forgot!"
"I didn't," teased Ginny, bumping him with her hip. She set down a platter of silverware, and squeezed him tight around the middle.
"You got me this?" said Harry.
"Oh no, not me," said Ginny. "I sent an owl to the Prophet and Witch Weekly. I think they ran a special edition."
Harry looked at her, exasperated.
She feigned an innocent look, one that did not fool Harry for an instant. "You said you wanted them."
Three more packages pelted him. He ripped them all open and found exactly what he suspected: socks. Five more arrived, then ten, and suddenly there were hundreds of packages. The Weasleys had forgotten about dinner, and were gleefully ripping open envelopes. They were, Harry noted approvingly, also helping themselves to his presents.
"Look!" crowed Ginny. She wiggled her toes at him. The socks she'd pulled on were knee high, striped, and reminded Harry of a Muggle movie he'd watched long ago.
"Those are perfect for you," Harry told his wicked little witch.
It eventually got old, and Ron got hungry. He put up an Imperturbable Shield so that the packages and packages of socks fell harmlessly to the sides. Molly and Arthur did not let the twins stray too far, Arthur especially had a look on his face that suggested the twins may have to live at the Burrow for the next several days, or months, or perhaps even years.
The pile of socks outside the shield grew steadily higher. Harry ate with the rest of the family, recounted the last several years for the twins, and most of all, watched Ginny. Her face was alight with happiness.
She was still beaming later — much later — when they'd finally retired to her little room that overlooked the Quidditch pitch. They nestled together like spoons, and Harry was rather lazily rocking back and forth into her. She was warm and wet and had her hand down where their two bodies were joined. Ginny had got quite brilliant at playing. But Harry still moved slowly... back and forth... not moving with purpose so much as just fun.
"So," said Ginny, a few minutes later. They were both sweatier, and panting for breath. Harry's hand squeezed her breast in time with his thrusts, and her busy little fingers had left off playing with his balls, and were now rubbing her clit.
"So," said Harry.
"What would you see if you looked in the Mirror of Erised right now?" she asked.
Harry growled. He was not doing his job right if she could speak so coherently. He rolled them over until he was on top of her, and pressed her into the mattress. "Besides doing this forever?" he asked. She didn't answer with anything more than a whimper.
Ginny came first, but Harry was (quite literally) right behind her. He made three more mighty thrusts, and came. And came. And came. It was absolutely the best sex of his life, and Ginny's continued writhing and gasps told Harry she probably felt the same way.
"I don't think I'd see anything different," Harry confessed minutes later. Their bodies were still pressed against each other, but Ginny was now tucked under his arm.
"In the Mirror?" Ginny asked sleepily.
"In the Mirror. I think I have everything I ever wanted. And more."
"Me too, Harry. Me too."
THE (ACTUAL) END
(Seriously, it would have been a dick move for me to end it where I pretended to a few weeks ago! LOL)
Author's Note:
Oh Socks. You have had so many names: Sex in a Closet, SIAC, Socks, Memory and Sorrow, The Webs We Weave. Under any name, this story has haunted me. I've been posting on three different sites, and they each have different names. My favorite, however, is Socks. I knew from the beginning that that was going to be the trigger, and I thought it fitting, but I am notoriously bad at naming stuff.
I can't really remember where the idea came from. I was rereading Accusatrix's The Pact, and she had a funny little scene where Harry and Ginny mentioned they'd had sex in every room in the house. "Not every room," Harry protests. "We haven't gone in the closet yet." "Who would have sex in a closet?" Ginny asks. And honestly, I don't know if I saw that sentence as a challenge, and decided I needed to build this giant, complicated AU around them having sex in a closet. Or if I'd already started writing that, and Accusatrix put that in as a little nod to my crazy story.
All I know is that the story initially revolved entirely around sex, but then became so much more. Too much more, actually. It grew complicated and unwieldy (it still is). I feel like I've learned a lot about writing in the process of writing Socks. Like, I need a plan before I even start, otherwise I write myself into corners (like I had to drop poor Neville from the story, but honestly, I love him, but he bores me a little. He is much happier that I left him in his greenhouse. He'll connect with Harry and Ginny and the others before too much time has passed, and they'll all be great friends). I didn't know what I was doing when I jumped in to writing Socks, and I am a writer who needs to know what the hell is going on. I... may have control issues. I don't really remember how I started Yellow Submarine — I just knew I had to heal those characters after I broke them horribly. My best stories come to me fully formed, I think, and Socks... is not my best.
Anyway, I know now that I need to have a plan before I start writing all willy nilly. This bodes well for my next fic, which already has chapter titles and everything! I'm going to plan the shit out of that.
I think another thing I did wrong with Socks (sorry, I hope it isn't too confusing to you that I keep using the working title, but Memory and Sorrow is kind of a mouthful) is it changes tonally. I mean... I wrote about half of it nine years ago, and considering some of the stuff I came up with... like the ear thing last chapter, they were actually going to do, lol... thank God for Percy, the voice of reason. I might have been in a dark place.
Now, not so much. Now I am ecstatic to be writing again. Elated to rediscover Harry and Ginny. And excited to look forward to future writing projects, whether it's Harry and Ginny (next one is, for sure, and they do have a lot of fun *chortles*), or eventual originals. I think a lot of that came out in my writing, and I just couldn't maintain that heavy tone.
Anyway. I hope you have enjoyed Socks as much as I have DEEPLY enjoyed finishing it. I can't even believe I made it here, to this finale, to have the Weasleys find each other at last. Guh.
Despite all of its problems, and despite the fact it is probably the worst thing I've finished, I am proud to finish it. I couldn't have done it without Mel, for whom much of this was written, without cacata, who was an excellent cheerleader, for Daron, who was a sounding-board, and for lanedelton, who asked me to finish this years ago, and to whom I can finally say, "Hey, it's done!" Love you guys.
Thanks to Sprad, who left the BEST review; it was so good that I had to screenshot it and brag about it on Facebook. (I'm Ella Sparky, come find me).
Let me know what you think, and be on the look out for my next work, Music of the Night!
Love,
Me
P.S. I'd appreciate the reviews — this fic is neck and neck with my compilation of sexy one shots, and don't you think this one deserves more reviews?!
