Author's Note: I own nothing. All belongs to J.K. Rowling. Please keep reviewing, they make me happy :)
Chapter Five
The next few days passed by in a blur. Harry occasionally stopped by the Burrow to check on Ginny and the other Weasleys, and spent the night when he stayed up late talking. Fred's funeral passed without incident. There were plenty of tears, and many former Hogwarts students came to pay their respects. George gave a tearful eulogy, but managed to crack a few jokes that made the audience smile.
Harry spent a great deal of time cleaning up Grimmauld Place, and even took Kreacher to Diagon Alley to buy some new things for the house. The shopping district had taken on new life after the battle—many of the old stores had reopened, and even though there was still an air of distress, it seemed that things were slowly getting back to normal.
Everywhere Harry went, people shook his hand and thanked him for what he did. This made him a little guilty that he hadn't kept his promise to Professor McGonagall and explained the whole story yet. He'd have to head to Hogwarts soon to chat with her and help with the cleanup.
While on Diagon Alley, Harry withdrew quite the load of gold out of his parents' vault and decided to splurge. He eagerly walked into Quality Quidditch Supplies and proceeded to spend a great deal of money on something that he knew would make him very happy.
Every night, Harry would take Sirius' motorbike to the Burrow and spend a few hours of the evening with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He tried talking to George, but George stayed secluded in his room most of the time, only emerging for meals where he sat for hours looking comatose at the table. Other members of the family informed Harry that during the day they could hear minor explosions coming from the twins' old room, followed by prolonged periods of hearing George sobbing in despair. No one knew what to say, so they left him to himself for the most part.
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione usually locked themselves in either Ginny or Ron's bedroom and chatted for hours in the evening. Between the three of them, they had filled Ginny in on most of the events of the past year, and she seemed to take it pretty well. She told them of the horrors of Hogwarts, but tried to play it off as if nothing too terrible had happened while they were away. Harry knew better, but didn't pry because he doubted she wanted to dwell on the past.
On one such evening, Harry had been playing a game of wizard's chess with a distracted Ron while Hermione and Ginny looked on. Ron had been awfully quiet since the battle, and Hermione had tried everything to get him to open up.
"What we need is a fun night out." Harry said nonchalantly. He'd been thinking about this idea for a week, but hadn't actually believed he'd put it into words.
"What kind of fun night out?" Ginny asked curiously, sliding onto his lap and looping her arms around his neck. Ron looked away pointedly.
"I have a few ideas. Just something to distract us for a little while. We haven't had proper fun in months." He looked pointedly at Hermione, knowing that she would be able to back him up on this.
"It's not the right time to be having fun, mate. We've just had a funeral." Ron scowled.
"Ronald…I think Harry has a point. That's exactly WHY we should have some fun. Do you think Fred would want us to sit around and mope?" Hermione didn't wait for Ron to answer. "Of course he wouldn't. He'd want us out there living our lives like young and carefree teenagers."
"When have you ever been a young and carefree teenager, Hermione?" Ginny teased, and Hermione stuck her tongue out in response.
"What do you think?" Harry asked Ginny, tightening his grip around her waist.
"I'll go anywhere, as long as it's with you." She said softly, gazing into his piercing green eyes.
"Oh gag me." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Come on Ron, what can it hurt to have a little fun? Hermione's right, Fred wouldn't want this. I say we go." Ginny stated simply.
"Alright, fine. But you lot better not make me regret this decision."
"Right. We'll go tonight then. Wear something nice." Harry gave Ginny's stomach a playful squeeze and stood them both up. "Come to Grimmauld Place and meet me—I have a surprise there anyway."
An hour later, Ginny, Ron and Hermione apparated onto the doorstep of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Ginny tapped the large, snake shaped knocker and Harry immediately opened the door. He had clearly showered, as his hair was still dripping a bit, and had on a pale grey button down shirt and nice, new jeans. His eyes sparkled as he took in Ginny's appearance—she had opted to go simple in a pair of dark skinny jeans and boots and a halter neck red shirt that matched her fiery hair.
"You look lovely." Harry smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "Well, lovely isn't exactly the word I would use, but I can't say what I really think with your brother standing right there." He whispered into her hair. She giggled and pulled away, though still keeping a firm grip on his hand.
"So, Harry, do we get a grand tour?" Ron asked, leading Hermione across the threshold.
Just as Ron asked the question, Kreacher came bounding into the room. "Master Ron! Mistress Hermione! Kreacher is most pleased to welcome you back! Perhaps you would like me to take your coats?"
"We'll actually be leaving soon, Kreacher, but we may be back later." Harry said politely. "But would you show Ron and Hermione what we've done upstairs? I need to speak with Ginny."
"Ah, yes of course, Mistress Ginny, what a wonderful surprise awaits you!" Kreacher nodded enthusiastically. "Come, come, Master Ron, Mistress Hermione, Kreacher and Master Harry have been most hard working this week and have made much improvement to the house…" Hermione turned and looked curiously at Harry as she was led away by the old house elf, but he shrugged noncommittally and waited until they were out of sight before leading Ginny quickly down the stairs.
"Harry, where are we going?" Ginny laughed as he practically dragged her after him. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she gasped. The once dingy basement had been completely renovated into a den complete with a pool table, mini-bar, couches, and a muggle television. Atop the pool table lay Ginny's present—a shiny new Firebolt.
She screamed.
"Do you like it? I know it's no way to make up for all the time we lost, but I thought I could start with a 'I'm sorry I was gone for a year' present…" Harry smiled.
"Harry! It's amazing! I can't believe you spent all of this money…"
"Well, I bought a new one for myself too. I must admit, I went a little overboard, but I think I—we—deserve it. Besides, you have to brush up on Quidditch if you want to win the cup this year."
"Who says I'll be playing Quidditch, huh? Maybe I'm not going back to Hogwarts." The smile faded from her lips.
"Either way, you'll have a speedy new broom to play with." He smiled. "Don't worry—there's plenty of time to figure all of that out later. In the meantime, maybe we can take them out for a test drive in the next few days." He snaked his arms around her waist while she admired her broom.
After a moment, Ginny noticed what the new brooms were laying on. "Harry, what is this?" She gingerly touched the green felt and turned around to eye him suspiciously.
"It's a pool table. Muggle game. Would you like to learn how to play?" She shrugged and nodded, and he grabbed a pool cue from the rack that was hanging on the wall. Harry slid the cue between her fingers and leaned over her, his lips brushing against her neck. Ginny shivered. "So you use this white ball to knock the other balls into the pocket." He gently tugged on her wrists to pull the cue back from the cueball. "You have to hit it at just the right spot—"
"Whoa, mate, nice man cave!" Ron said, impressed. He and Hermione rounded the corner just in time to see Harry and Ginny leaning over the pool table. Ginny burst into a fit of giggles and even Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the term.
"Really, Ronald?" Hermione gave him a sharp look, then softened once she took in her surroundings. "Wow, Harry, when did you do all this?"
"It's been a work in progress all week. I figured I would try and make it a cross between the Gryffindor common room—" he motioned to the red couches and cozy fireplace "and the Dursley's muggle living room." He pointed to the television. "It was something they had but I was never allowed to watch. So now it's mine. Anyone care for a butterbeer?"
"Well, shouldn't we get going? I mean, you told us to dress up, so I hope you don't expect us to just sit around your house all night." Hermione pointed down at her black dress and denim jacket.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Let's go then. We'll have plenty of time to learn about muggle games later." Harry grinned down at Ginny and eagerly took her hand, awaiting the night ahead of them.