Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Queen Rowling. Everything else is mine. This is also my first fic so please be nice if you review. Thanks!

Chapter 2

Ginny felt the gloom that hung over the house over the next few days. She really felt sorry for Bill and Fleur. Their wedding could not have come at a worse time. On the plus side, Phlegm (ahem, Fleur), was growing on her. Ginny could see how much Fleur loved her brother. It was nice to see love enduring in such hard times. It was a massive 'Fuck You' to Voldemort. Ginny liked that. She liked that very much.

Amidst all the laborious wedding preparations, Ginny could tell that Harry, Ron and Hermione were finding time to get together and discuss their plans. Ginny knew that her mother was against the idea of them leaving to do whatever the hell they were going off to do. Molly was trying to keep them separated so they couldn't talk. If it wasn't so serious, it would be hilarious. Ginny also knew that other Order members had tried to offer help and guidance and to get information out of them. Again, the idea was laughable, have the adults learned NOTHING about the trio over the last few years? Harry accepts help from no one if he can help it – Ginny suspected that he was only allowing Ron and Hermione to come along because he wouldn't be able to stop them. He also knows he would definitely not get very far without them. Harry is hot-headed, a man of action, Hermione is the brains of the operation, whereas Ron is loyal, provides comic relief (let's face it, Harry needs some laughter in his life) and supplies quality advice such as: "just punch him in the nose" and "we'll just have to wing it mate". That's a direct Ronald Weasley quote ladies and gents.

According to her mother, they must have misunderstood Dumbledore's instructions. Come on…Talk about denial. Harry had been receiving private lessons all year. Harry also let slip one evening a comment about killing off Voldemort whilst Molly was holding them hostage, making vol-au-vents. He tried to pass it off as a joke but he basically just confirmed what Ginny had already suspected. How does Ginny know all this? Please. She grew up with Fred and George. She knows ways to access information (extendable ears anyone?). Also, the whole family is in the Order, so Hermione and Ron and Fred and George (who don't seem to treat her like a child) have been keeping her more or less updated.

Talking of weddings, Molly Weasley was driving everyone insane. Ginny understood why things needed to be clean and tidy, (seriously, the house was a state, this should have been done like ten years ago), but couldn't understand why her room had to be tidy. Or the napkin rings needed to be polished…What is even the point of napkin rings? Can't they just transfigure the napkins into the shape of swans or something? Therefore, the younger Weasleys were all feeling particularly resentful towards the Delacours by the time they arrived.

The next day was Harry's birthday. Ginny couldn't decide what to get him, nothing too big because he wouldn't be able to take it with him when he goes gallivanting. Ok so Ginny knew it was way more serious than that, but making it seem like they are just going camping made her feel better. Ginny concocted a plan whilst lying in bed that night but she would need Hermione's help...

After breakfast, Ginny heard the threesome coming up the stairs so she invited Harry into her room. Hermione, like the amazing friend she was, dragged Ron up the stairs. Ginny, took a deep breath, steeling herself to look into his electric eyes, potentially for the last time. Harry made some pathetic comment about the view and how Ginny didn't have to get him anything for his birthday. Ginny made an attempt at a joke, which fell on flat ears. "Fuck it. Just do it." She thought to herself. Ginny took a step closer to him and then she just kissed him. She poured everything she had into that kiss. Harry started to kiss her back almost immediately. Her feelings clashed painfully with his own. He felt her hurt, her worry, her grief. He also felt her understanding. He knew she understood why he had to do this. There was no doubt in either of their minds that this was a goodbye kiss. Whether temporary or permanent, neither of them knew. They could only hope for the former. Then Ron happened. Fucking Ron. He burst the bubble. Ginny had to turn away. She was not usually a weepy girl; growing up with six brothers and being possessed when you were 11 years old tends to toughen a girl up. But when the boy she loved was going off to war? Yeah, Ginny thought, she was allowed a weak moment.

As usual Harry didn't want a fuss for his birthday (insert eye-roll here) but Ginny decided she wanted to help her mum with his cake, plus Mrs. Weasley always seemed happy to spend time with her daughter before she left for Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley instructed Ginny to get various ingredients out of the pantry and as they were mixing they discussed flavours and shapes.

"I think we should do it in the shape of a Snitch. Do you think we could do that Mum? We could do gold icing and have the next layer chocolate, then have some sponge and some honeycomb or some treacle or something in the middle. OH! Do you think you could do the center like Treacle Tart or something? You know how he much he loves your treacle tart."

"That sounds doable." Mrs. Weasley replied, chuckling at her daughter's enthusiasm. She conjured a tin in the shape of a sphere, looked at it carefully for a moment and with her wand, slowly cut the tin in half right down the center. She then poured the mixture into the tins and popped both of them into the oven, making sure to cast a hover charm, a revolving charm, a temperature maintenance charm to make sure it baked evenly (the oven had long since broken). Finally, she set a Muggle egg timer.

"I think we will create the wings out of treacle. They can dry in the pantry whilst we wait for the sponge to cook. Can you get the treacle and ingredients to make the icing?" Ginny nodded her agreement and went to the pantry to get the ingredients. One hour and a lot of mess later sat a delicious snitch-shaped treacle tart.

"You should probably hover that up high, and put a shield charm around it," Ginny suggested.

"Good idea," Molly followed her daughter's advice. "Do you think he will like it? Do you think he liked his gift? It was only second-hand, it wasn't new like Ron's."

"Mum, what are you fretting about? Of course he will, of course he did! Ron wanted something new, something to call his own because everything he has once belonged to his brothers. The fact that Harry's watch was second-hand meant more to him! He can afford to buy a new watch for himself, but you giving him Uncle Fabian's has made him a part of this family."

"But…he is a member of this family," said Mrs. Weasley incredulously, as though the fact that Harry might feel he wasn't, was something she had never even considered. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I know that, everybody else knows that, hell even bloody Pigwideon knows that. I'm just trying to tell you how he feels. He will cherish that watch, just as he cherishes his place in this family." She walked out the door into the garden, leaving her mother slightly blindsided in the kitchen.

In the garden she crashed straight into a tall column of leather. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I… CHARLIE!" She took a leap and jumped into his arms.

"Hey squirt, how's my little fireball doing?" Charlie said, pinching her nose lightly.

"I'm good. Uh-oh, Mum's gonna be on the war-path…" She commented, running her fingers through his hair.

"I know! Don't remind me! Do you think she'll at least let me say hello to everyone first?!"

"Only if you're quick about it and leave her for last." She winked and jumped down, leaving him to greet the rest of the family. Sometime later, as Ginny was setting the table, Harry wandered over to help.

"They're being nice to each other, it's freaking me out." He smirked, and tilted his head in the direction of Ron and Hermione. "I blame you and your book." He added to The Twins who were opposite, creating table decorations. Ginny giggled.

"Glad to be of service." Fred did a two-fingered salute.

"Just trying to kick start Ronnikins into action" George commented as a gold "17" erupted out of his wand.

"Yes but did you have to do it now? They are going to be an absolute NIGHTMARE! Close quarters, night after night, in a tent…they will either hex each other or have sex, and I will have nowhere to run – I do NOT want to see that shit. At least at Hogwarts I could tell them to bugger off to the Room of Requirement or something." Harry replied.

"Yes, The Room is rather useful…" Ginny commented innocently. Harry smirked, luckily The Twins didn't catch him, other wise he would have been hexed until next Wednesday.

"Oi! We'll have none of that behaviour from our sister thank you very much!" Fred scolded.

"What behaviour?" interjected Bill, joining the conversation with Fleur.

"Running off to the Room of Requirement with boys" George supplied.

"Not boyS, and who I date is none of your business!" Ginny said, angrily. Bill turned to Harry.

"You were at Hogwarts last year, do you know? As an honorary Weasley, you are honor-bound to punch him in the face."

"Um…Who Ginny dates is her business, Bill." Harry said awkwardly, his hand running through his hair to rub the back of his neck. He cleared his throat. "So Ron and Hermione then, shall we take a bet? How long until they get together? My bet is that Ron will do something monumentally stupid, because it's Ron, Hermione will hex him, He will spend the next few weeks trying to get back into her good books and then will do something nice and she will jump him." Fleur was looking at him strangely, as though she was on to them.

"No that's not fair – you are going to be with them, you could just lie and say they got together already." Ginny argued, gladly accepting Harry's change of topic.

(GASP) "Gin! How could you suggest such a thing? These are my best friends!" Harry joked, hand on his heart, pretending to be offended. Ginny cocked one eyebrow at him and eyed him skeptically. He grinned down at her and took a sip of Butterbeer.

"So we take a leaf out of Granger's book and write it down and put a jinx on the paper. We take bets seriously around here." Fred suggested. "I bet some other people will want to get in on this as well, I will take that bet Potter. And don't think we don't recognize that change in subject."

"Is it someone really bad?" George asked, continuing the earlier intrusion. "Urgh Merlin, It wasn't a Slytherin was it? We taught you better than that Ginervra" He shuddered.

"No, I've got it!" Fred snapped his fingers "She said 'not BOYS' but she never said anything about girls…was it a girl Ginny? Don't be so worried, we love you anyway."

"Geeny eez entitled to 'er preevacy. She probably 'as not told you about 'im becauz you weel 'ex 'im or punch 'im, non?"

"Thanks Fleur! If it helps, Ron already threatened him several times." Ginny added, shrugging. Placated and mumbling, the Weasley brothers wandered off to help bring out dinner, or, more likely, to interrogate Ron.

"Thanks Fleur." Said Harry "It's not that we're keeping it a secret particularly, but we're not together anymore, and she's safer this way. Also, I'm not scared of her brothers…well maybe a little, but Ginny can take care of herself – I'm more scared she'll jinx me." He joked. He looked down at her, "You know your mum knitted that jumper for ME right? Any chance I'm going to get it back any time soon?" Harry gestured to the emerald green jumper with a Snitch on it, that Ginny was currently wearing.

"Nope, you let me borrow this a few weeks ago…you clearly cannot take proper care of your possessions. I should keep it." Harry chuckled.

"Aww, Mes Chèris…" Fleur sniffed and wrapped her arms around both of them. Then walked away, wiping her eyes. Harry looked at Ginny, bewildered. Their attention was then stolen by the arrival of Hagrid, followed by Lupin and Tonks and they stood just shooting the breeze with Ron, Hermione and Charlie, who dropped his voice and said, "Wish Dad would hurry up and get here. Mum's getting edgy."

They all looked over at Mrs. Weasley. She was trying to talk to Madame Delacour while glancing repeatedly at the gate.

"I think we'd better start without Arthur," she called to the garden at large after a moment or two. "He must have been held up at – oh!"

They all saw it at the same time: a streak of light that came flying across the yard and on to the table, where it resolved itself into a bright silver weasel, which stood on its hind legs and spoke with Mr. Weasley's voice.

"Minister for Magic coming with me."

There was no time to discuss the matter; a second later, Mr. Weasley had appeared out of thin air at the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, instantly recognizable by his main of grizzled hair. The two newcomers marched across the yard towards the garden and the lantern-lit table, where everybody sat in silence, watching them draw closer.

"Sorry to intrude," said Scrimgeour, as he limped to a halt before the table. "Especially as I can see that I am gatecrashing a party. Many happy returns."

"Thanks" Said Harry. Ginny caught the sarcasm, but she wasn't sure Scrimgeour did. Ginny saw her parents exchange a worried look as Harry, Ron and Hermione led Scrimgeour inside.

"I wonder what he wanted to chat to them about. Do you think he knows about their plans this year?" Ginny asked. Her parents just looked at her, worriedly. After nearly an hour, they heard raised voices coming from inside the house. Running into the house, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny caught the tail end of their conversation – it looked intense.

"I don't like your methods, Minister," Said Harry, "Remember?" For the second time He raised his right fist, and displayed to Scrimgeour the scars that still showed white on the back of it, spelling 'I must not tell lies'. Scrimgeour grit his teeth, spun on his heel and limped out the door, down the path, through the gate and apparated away. Ginny clenched her fists in anger at the memory of That Woman. She shook her head, turned on her heel, flicked her hair over her shoulder, and said, "Screw this, this is supposed to be a party – let's eat!"

The morning of the wedding was…chaotic to say the least. Fred and George were keeping everyone amused (or annoyed, depending on the recipient) with their catalogue of ear-related jokes. Ginny, not usually concerned with makeup, was attacked by Fleur. Although Ginny had to admit that her bridesmaid dress was beautiful. There was a horrific moment when Ginny had thought she would be forced into a pink fluffy monstrosity. Thankfully, Fleur had decided that the colour clashed with Ginny's hair and so instead chose this gorgeous gold, floor length dress. Ok, so Ginny may have asked Hermione to use a severing charm up to her knee. She also may have worn a push up bra, and pulled the neckline down a little bit. What? It may be the last time Harry gets to see them, so stun her... She did feel the need to turn around and wink at him when Muriel pointed out the cut of her neckline. His returning smirk told her that he figured it was intentional.

As predicted, the wedding was beautiful. Fleur was even more glamorous than she normally was. Ginny swore Fleur actually sparkled (like the vampires in those muggle books Hermione reads but pretends she doesn't). Even Bill, with all his scars, looked more handsome for the huge smile on his face and the love radiating out of every pore. Ginny may have, ahem, got something in her eye which made them water profusely. As the night wore on, people danced, food was served, champagne flowed (Molly continued to find Ginny and remove the glass from her hand. Ginny quickly learned to pour the champagne into a non-descript cup). Ginny suspected that, since the kiss and the conversation with Ron, Harry was deliberately staying away from her. To be honest, this was probably a good thing. Ginny would look over at him occasionally, see him chatting with guests or else staring at her with a funny expression on his face. Then Kingsley's lynx Patronus leaped gracefully in through the canopy over the dance floor.

The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.

*Quotes are from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows