Aftermath Chapter - 15 - Ginny's Birthday Party
Ginny's plans to spend the night alone with Harry were almost scuppered as soon as they decided to make them. Ginny's birthday was on the coming Thursday. The next morning after Hermione's return, Sunday morning, as they ate breakfast Mrs. Weasley announced that she was planning a party for Ginny's birthday on Thursday evening. Even Charlie would be attending as he had sent word that he would be back from Norway this week with the new dragon for Gringotts. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in the kitchen when this announcement was made. George was still sleeping and Percy had spent the night in London again. Mrs. Wesley was cleaning up a bit while her husband was reading the Weekend Prophet with his morning tea.
"Then we'll just have to do it on Saturday," Ginny said very loudly, looking at Harry, who was in the process of drinking some pumpkin juice and sputtered a bit.
"Do what?" asked Mrs. Weasley, a little suspiciously, as she waved her wand toward the sink and the breakfast dishes began to be scrubbed.
"Harry's asked me on a date," replied Ginny. "For my birthday. And I've said yes."
"A date?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Where were you planning on going?" This last was directed at Harry and the last thing he wanted to say was to spend the night at Grimmauld Place.
"Ah…to dinner…and maybe…dancing?" he said, the last part a question to Ginny.
"Sounds grand," she replied. "I might need a new dress." That was a hint to her mother and father for a birthday gift.
"Dancing? Harry?" Ron said as he smirked while buttering a piece of toast, eating breakfast late as he had gotten up late. "Last time wasn't so brilliant, was it?" Of course, he was referring to the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament.
"At least he tried to dance," Ginny said, shooting her brother a dirty look. "All you did was sit there and mope over Hermione and give dirty looks to Viktor Krum."
Ron didn't get mad at her, but just grinned a little. "Yeah, guess that was me. Didn't know it, but I guess I had it bad for her even then."
"She really wanted you to ask her to the ball, you know," Ginny said.
"She told me," Ron replied, as he chewed toast. Then a strange look came over his face. "Is Krum still writing to her?"
"Ah,…don't know,"' said Ginny as Harry shrugged his shoulders. "What does it matter?" Ginny continued. "They are friends, after all."
"He wanted to be more than friends," said Ron in a huff, biting his toast hard like it was one of Hagrid's rock cookies.
"That's enough of that talk, Ronald Weasley," said his mother sharply and then her face softened and she spoke in a gentle tone. "You're here, he's in Bulgaria, she wants to be your girlfriend and not his, so just forget about him, okay, dear?"
Ron grinned. "Yeah. Thanks, Mum."
"The best man has won the arm of the lovely lady," said his father from behind his paper and Ron now blushed a little. Then Mr. Weasley put down his paper and turned to Harry. "So, a Saturday night date. Where to?"
"London," Ginny said right away and Mrs. Weasley glared at her daughter.
"London?" she said in a suspicious tone. "What's wrong with the town? They have a few nice restaurants, so I've heard, and there is a dance club for young people."
Ginny didn't answer and looked at Harry and he knew he had to convince them if Ginny and he were ever going to be alone. "Ah, London. Well…seeing as it's Ginny's 17th birthday…I wanted to make it something special."
Mrs. Weasley just looked at the two of them, her eyes narrowing.
"Sounds great," said Mr. Weasley as he started looking at his paper again. "I'm sure Ron and Hermione would love to join you."
"What?' said Ginny, getting angry. "No, no double dates! This is my birthday and Harry asked me."
"No, I think it's a great idea," said Mrs. Weasley, relaxing a bit. "Remember what happened last time you two were alone?"
"Yeah, that's true," Ron said. "But most of the Death Eaters have been captured. I'm sure it's safe now."
"Thank you, Ron,' Ginny said.
"No," said Mrs. Weasley, growing more agitated. "You will go with your brother and Hermione or not at all!"
Now Ginny was really mad. "I'm going to be 17! When will you stop treating me like a child!?!"
"You almost got killed! The both of you! I'm not going to lose another child if I can help it!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked and then just burst into tears and ran from the room to her bedroom.
Ginny turned pale, all her anger gone, and then immediately followed her mother, closing the door to the bedroom as she entered.
Harry felt terrible, not wanting to cause a scene. "Sorry," he said to Ron and Mr. Weasley.
"Not your fault, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, his voice a bit strained. "It's only been a few weeks. And we did almost lose you two."
"Yeah," said Harry quietly, still feeling that was his fault, too. He looked at Ron. "Come with us?"
Ron nodded. "Sure. I'll send Hermione an owl and see if she can stay a few extra days. Maybe she can finally give that lecture about Horcruxes to the Aurors."
A long hour later Ginny and Mrs. Weasley came out of the bedroom and both had red eyes but seemed much better. Ginny agreed to the double date and no more was said about it. Later Ginny told Harry her and her mother had a good cry and a long heart to heart and aired out a lot of things, even talked about Harry, and from then on things were much better between them.
The next few days were spent in birthday preparations. Owls with invitations were sent and many answers received, a lot of Ginny's Hogwarts friends coming and of course Luna and Neville and Seamus were invited. Ginny even invited her old boyfriend Dean Thomas, but he was about to take a trip with his family so politely replied he wouldn't be coming. A lot of Weasley relatives were invited also and before long Mrs. Weasley had her hands full with preparations. Hermione came up from Gosport the day before and started to help, while also preparing for her lecture at the Ministry which would be given on the morning of Ginny's birthday.
Fleur came each evening after work at Gringotts to help and to Harry's discomfort Ginny and Fleur were often seen huddled together, whispering and giggling and giving knowing looks to Harry. As the week progressed and the Saturday night date loomed closer, Harry's worries mounted. He wanted to spend time alone with Ginny too, but he had no idea how he would manage it with Ron and Hermione tagging along. He couldn't just say to Ron "listen, mate, bugger off, I want to sneak your sister off to my home for the rest of the night." That was the first obstacle. The second was a bit more worrisome. Harry had no idea what he would do once he had Ginny alone in his home. He couldn't very well ask George or Percy or the other Weasley men. In fact, he had no one to ask at all. In the end he just hoped things turned out for the best and he took comfort from the fact that he knew Ginny would love him no matter how badly things turned out.
Then Harry realized he wasn't even sure if his house was safe yet. He found Mr. Weasley in his office at the Ministry Tuesday morning when he had a break from his studies when Charlie George had been called to the lower court room and cells after a large group of prisoners had been brought in from Azkaban.
"I was just wondering about my house at Grimmauld Place," Harry asked after some small talk.
"Ah, yes, I think its ready," said Mrs. Weasley to Harry's delight. "Few traps were a bit troublesome, but I suggested that Bill have a look, what with his loads of experience breaking curses, and sure enough he managed to solve the trouble."
"Brilliant," Harry said with a smile.
"Still needs to be cleaned up a bit, Bill said," Mr. Weasley replied. "And there is the problem of making it Unplottable again."
"Maybe we don't have to," Harry suggested.
Mr. Weasley adjusted his glasses and pondered for a moment. "I think it is better if it is Unplottable if you plan to make it your permanent home. Sorry to say Harry, but you are like those Muggle superstars in our world. You can't walk down Diagon Alley without attracting a gaggle of admirers. And that letter from the writer the other day, that's just the beginning. There will be others. I think you should try to find at least one place where you can relax and have some peace."
Harry saw the wisdom of his words. "Yeah, some peace and quiet would be nice. So…how can I make it Unplottable and how can I do the Fidelius Charm?"
"Professor Flitwick is the man to ask," said Mr. Weasley. "I believe he is up at Hogwarts helping with the reconstruction. Why don't you send him an owl?"
Harry quickly wrote a letter asking for Professor Flitwick's help and then went off to the Ministry owlery. It was located in the uppermost level of the Ministry for easy access to the outside world, its external entrance protected by magical enhancements. As Harry got there he met an old witch at a desk outside the owlery.
"Letter, dear?' she asked, seeming to not even recognize Harry, for which he was grateful.
"Yes, for Hogwarts." Harry handed over the letter.
"Domestic mail," she said, writing something on a piece of parchment. "Ministry business or personal?"
"Ah…personal," Harry said since it was for himself, not the Ministry.
"That will be one Sickle, please."
"Oh, right," Harry said, but he had left his money bag back at his cubicle. "Sorry, forgot my money."
"Name and department?" she asked him.
Now she would know who he was. "Harry Potter, Auror office."
She looked at him more closely, then wrote more on the parchment. "Mr. Potter, the cost of this owl post shall be deducted from your salary." She then handed Harry what he guessed was a receipt. Harry took it and just stood there, his letter now added to a pile of letters on her desk, some in a tray marked 'domestic', others in a tray marked 'international'. She looked at him again.
"Was there anything else?"
"When does the post go out?"
"At night of course," she said as if it was natural. "We couldn't have hundreds of owls flying in and out in broad daylight, now could we?. Might make the Muggles nervous."
Harry grinned. "Yeah, suppose it would…well, goodbye." But he hesitated as if to ask her something else. "Ah…
She smiled for the first time. "Yes, I know who you are. But I suspect you are tired of everyone making a fuss over you, yes?"
Harry nodded. "Does get tiresome."
"I'm sure it does," she said. "Not to worry, your letter will make it tonight, early morning at the latest. Have a good day."
"You, too," Harry said walking away and feeling good because he had meet someone who understood what he was experiencing.
At lunchtime that day Harry managed to dash off to Diagon Alley and pick up Ginny's present, which was of course the necklace with the pearl pendant. Charlie arrived at the Burrow on Wednesday morning after delivering a brand new baby dragon to Gringotts in the dead of night and he slept most of the day. That evening Harry got a reply from Professor Flitwick who said he could meet Harry on Saturday morning at Grimmauld Place and they would do the charms necessary to conceal the house and make Harry the Secret Keeper.
Hermione had arrived Wednesday afternoon while the Weasley men were at work. That evening, while Hermione was preparing for her Horcrux lecture, Mrs. Weasley sent Ron, Harry, and Ginny into the village to get some food for the party. Ron said there was a wizard food market in the village, but Harry had never been there before. As they walked through the doors he spotted an elderly woman at a cash register and she looked like a Muggle as far as Harry knew. There were also several Muggle looking people in there shopping, The place looked like a regular Muggle food shop, but Harry had never been in a wizard one before so he had nothing to compare it to. But as soon as the woman at the cash register saw Harry she let out a gasp.
"Harry Potter!" she said. "I've heard you were at the Burrow. I am so very pleased to meet you! Welcome to my shop!"
Harry greeted her warmly and then knew she was a witch, but still all seemed Muggle like. Then they took a cart and began to shop, Ginny pulling out a list of things her mother asked them to get. All the food seemed normal and of course food was food, and no wizard could conjure food out of thin air that had not been prepared from real food somewhere else. They got mostly fresh produce and meat and fish. The Weasley's had a vegetable garden but as it was spring, nothing would be grown for several months. They also had an ice box to keep food fresh. Ice was easy to make if you were a wizard or witch, since all you needed was water and a freezing charm. Harry eyed the crisps and sodas and other things he had once liked whenever he had managed to sneak some from Dudley's supply when he was growing up, but now he found he didn't miss them at all. Ron and Ginny took no interest in them at all, either. However, there was a large chocolate section and as Harry was about to grab some, Ron just shook his head.
"Ours is in the back."
"What?" Harry asked in surprise.
"You'll see," was all Ron said. "That's all we need out here?" he asked Ginny.
She looked at her list and looked at the cart which had mostly fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and bread, with some tea, coffee, and sugar. "Yes," she said and then looked around. "No Muggles about?"
Harry and Ron craned their necks and could just see one elderly gentleman at the cash register buying some tobacco for his pipe.
"Coast clear," Ron said and then Ginny started walking toward a wall with a bulletin board with some adverts on it for local things and she didn't stop but went right through it. Ron grinned at Harry's surprised look and then pushed the cart right through and Harry followed him.
It was a little like the barrier at King's Cross Station. On the other side was a whole new shop, but there were no windows and just a single door in the back. There was an elderly man at the cash register and he also looked in surprise at Harry. A few other people were there, workers and customers, and as they heard the name Harry Potter they came over. After the usual hand shaking and stuff they began to shop.
"It's all hidden from the Muggles, even from outside," Ron explained. "See, the Muggles shop out front and pay in Muggle money. And then we get what we need out there and come here and get other stuff, you know, from our world, and pay for everything in wizard money here. Then we just grab our bags, and well, go home. Used to walk, but I guess now we can Apparate home."
The shop had all the wizard things Harry had come to enjoy. There was a whole section full of all the things Harry always got from the cart on the Hogwarts express. It wasn't like Honeydukes in Hogsmeade, but there was a wide selection. They filled the shopping cart with Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs and many other sweets. Then they got some butterbeer, mead, wine and fire whiskey, and pumpkin juice, from another aisle. Ginny looked at them in admonishment as Ron got a second cart and put in a large keg of butterbeer.
"Wait a minute," she said. "Mum didn't give me this much money."
"I got paid yesterday," Ron said. "It should be enough."
Harry knew immediately what he had to do. "I'm paying," he said and he knew they were about to argue with him, the Weasley pride they got from their mother and father very evident. "No arguments. I've lived off your parent's generosity for the last few weeks and many summers. It's my turn to pay."
"But you got them a gift," Ginny protested.
"Doesn't matter," Harry replied. "I want you and everyone else to have a great party."
Ron and Ginny looked at each other and then Ron nodded. Then Ginny looked at Harry. "Not a word to Mum and Dad about this. Or no special present for you!"
Harry stammered an agreement while Ron looked puzzled.
"Present for Harry?" he wondered. "It's your birthday, not his."
Ginny just smiled at Harry and Harry quickly averted his eyes from Ron's puzzled look and didn't answer. He quickly pushed the cart to the next aisle where they found snacks for the owls. The last thing they picked up was a big bag of Bertha Brandon's fast rising flour.
"For the cake Mum's making," said Ginny, adding that Bertha Brandon was a famous witch who had a cooking show on the Wizard Radio Network (WRN).
Soon they had gotten everything they needed. They went up to the counter where the elderly man took out his wand, waved it over the two carts, and then a piece of parchment with the total amount appeared in mid air. Ron grabbed it and his eyes bulged as he saw the price and then just handed it to Harry.
"No worries," Harry said and took out his money bag he had filled at Gringotts when he had picked up Ginny's present. He counted out a bunch of Galleons and a few Sickles and paid. The wizard gave him his change and then he waved his wand again and several large brown bags appeared in the air. With a few flicks of the wand all the items expect the keg were stacked neatly into the bags. Then he frowned.
"I don't think you'll be able to Apparate with that lot," said the wizard, indicating the keg and many bags. "Just a sec."
He waved his wand again and the words "The Burrow" appeared on the side of each bag. "Kitchen?" he asked Ron.
"Back door is better," Ron replied. "Don't want to frighten anyone." Then the wizard muttered something and in a flash all the bags had disappeared.
"Thanks," Harry said and then he had to shake hands again with the wizard and then in a few more moments, with Ron clutching the keg, and Ginny holding Harry's arm, they Apparated and were back at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley looked at them suspiciously after she saw how much they had bought. When she asked Ginny if there was any change, Ginny said no while Harry and Ron pretended to be interested in the decorations Fleur was making with waves of her wand so they wouldn't have to look Ron's mother in the eye.
The next morning they all got up early and said happy birthday to Ginny and she got many hugs and kisses and then it was time for work. Hermione was dressed in her best robes and went with Harry, Percy and Mr. Weasley to the Ministry. She was all nervous about her lecture, but it went off without too many hitches. There were only about twenty some people in the room since many Aurors were still on duty. At first she fumbled about a bit, but then got in her stride and was fine. Even Harry got up to explain how it felt to be near the Horcruxes and how they could sense some evil force in them. They explained how Dumbledore and they had located them, some by chance and some by good deduction, and then how each was destroyed. Of course, they did not mention how they managed to get into and get away from Gringotts and the story about the Hufflepuff cup was brief and thankfully no one pressed the point. Harry suspected Charlie George had warned them about this sensitive issue before hand. One Auror asked how a Horcrux could be made, but Hermione said she didn't know exactly and had no wish to find out. Charlie George ended the lecture by saying they should all take a page out of Hermione's book and start studying more of the obscure aspects of dark magic.
"But You-Know-Who is dead!" said one Auror.
"Yes," said Charlie George, glaring at the Auror. "But there were dark wizards before him and there will be more in the future, you can bet your broomstick on that!"
Ginny's birthday party that night was one long remembered in the Burrow. She was the last Weasley child to come of age and as such the Weasley family put on a grand show. The house was decorated with many streamers and tables were piled high with food and drink. Everyone dressed their best and Ginny was stunning in a red dress, black tights and heels, her hair done up in a bun and her new gold necklace with pearl pendant on her neck. Harry had given it to her before she came downstairs and she squealed with delight and gave him a long kiss after he helped her put it on. As Harry caught sight of her coming downstairs dressed to the nines his breath caught in his throat and wondered not for the first time why he had been so stupid all that time he was ignoring Ginny when she was obviously the girl for him. For the rest of the night Ginny showed off the necklace and told everyone it was from Harry.
The guests began to arrive and soon the house and front yard were overflowing with people eating and drinking and dancing to music. Hagrid had come of course and so did Luna and Seamus and Neville and many others. Ginny was piled with gifts, including a new watch like all her brothers had received from their parents, hers of more feminine style. They also bought her a new dress made of shimmering green silk. Ginny wondered how they could afford such things, felt guilty for keeping the money from the shopping yesterday, but said nothing except to thank them profusely. She told Harry that later when she had a chance she took the money to her parent's bedroom and tipped in all back into the secret jar all the Weasley children knew about where her mother kept money for special things. It was empty but Ginny just dropped the money in anyway, hoping her mother wouldn't ask questions later.
She received many other gifts from friends and relatives and of course from her brothers and Hermione. Percy, to no one's surprise, gave her all the books he thought she would need for her last year at Hogwarts, plus a set of quills, ink, and parchment. Charlie gave her a fur lined jacket he had picked up in Norway, Hermione gave her a nice set of earrings, made from Australian opals, and Ron and George had bought her a new set of robes for her last year at Hogwarts, plus a nice large box of Weasley Wizard Wheezes products, which she just handed to Seamus and Neville. Soon the front yard was filled with the noise of firecrackers and many jokes were being played on the unsuspecting. Then Bill and Fleur pulled out their gift and it was in a long package and everyone knew what it was right away. But when she pulled off the wrappings Ginny got a shock and everyone looked on in awe.
"A Firebolt?" she said in amazement to Bill and Fleur. "Oh, it's lovely, but it's too much!"
"Not to worry," Bill said.
"It is from us and my family," said Fleur. "'arry and Bill say you are the best Quidditch player in Hogwarts, oui? So the best player needs the best broom."
Ginny hugged them both and even shed a tear. Then Mrs. Weasley brought out a big cake and all sang happy birthday and got glorious stuffed and had the time of their lives, forgetting all the worries and cares of the last year. Mrs. Weasley cried a bit, her last child now an adult, but she pulled herself together and was a charming hostess to all. There was music and dancing and towards the end of the night, as people began to make their goodbyes and head home, Harry took Ginny in his arms and danced a slow dance with her, Harry feeling awkward, but managing to do well, and she hugged him tight, kissed him, put her head on his shoulder and said it was the best birthday she had ever had.