Ron's eyes bulged as his jaw flapped but no words came out.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
When Harry woke, he was torn between going downstairs to start helping with preparations for the day and staying in bed because… how could he resist that? Looking down at the sleeping angel next to him, he decided he could afford to stay in bed a little while longer. As usual, her hair was splayed around her head like a fiery halo, and it took a lot of effort for Harry to not take some of it into his fingers since he wanted to let her sleep longer. She wasn't smiling in her sleep– she just looked completely at peace, perfect to him.
He watched the rise and fall of her chest, hearing small breaths puffing out of her nose. This was a much better spot than he'd been in a year ago, not that he really wanted to think much about it. That did remind him that he really did need to get up, especially since he suspected that he'd been watching Ginny longer than he'd realised. Harry slowly crawled out of bed, noticing that she shifted slightly towards his spot on the bed, as if she was subconsciously trying to stay connected to him in her sleep. He wished he could've stayed with her, but he settled for brushing his lips on her forehead, which made her breath deeply, as if she really enjoyed that.
Harry stared down at her for another minute or two before remembering that he had other things to do since it was the eleventh of August. He quickly changed into jeans and a red t-shirt. He was about to walk out the door when he remembered one more thing. He stopped at the pile of his things in the corner of his room that he'd never really gotten around to tidying up and picked up his mokeskin pouch, withdrawing something he'd forgotten he had until recently. Taking one last look at her, he closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs, smiling at the smell of breakfast wafting out of the kitchen.
"Morning, Molly," Harry said when he walked in, seeing her trying to manage five different things in the kitchen.
"Good morning, dear," she responded, smiling at him for a brief second before returning to cooking.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I've got it all under control," she answered quickly, but Harry wasn't going to be so easily deterred.
"I'd really like to do something to help with getting things ready," Harry offered earnestly, and Molly seemed to understand why he was asking.
She looked up at him and smiled. "You know, if you wouldn't mind finishing the sausage and bacon, I could focus on the pancakes."
Harry nodded and immediately began tending to the meat on the stove. He knew Molly usually used magic to cook, but he didn't know how and didn't mind cooking it normally like he had all summer. Next to him, Molly was also surprisingly working without magic, pouring batter into the pan to make the thin pancakes that Ginny loved to eat on her birthday.
Arthur came downstairs a few moments later and set the table for everyone– they were expecting a full house since everyone had taken off from work to be with Ginny on her seventeenth birthday. After the war and everything else, it seemed like everyone was trying to do their best to be there for the family as much as possible, and Harry knew Ginny appreciated it as much as he did.
"Harry, I don't think I've ever asked how you learned to cook," Arthur said after the table was set and Bill and Fleur had arrived.
Harry could almost feel his expression darken as he remembered the painful answer to that question. "My aunt taught me," he responded quietly, not looking up from the pan.
He thought Arthur may have been about to say something else, but he was cut off by Bill, who asked, "Did you get Ginny a good present?"
He smiled and looked gratefully at Bill, perfectly happy to forget about the parts of his childhood he'd rather not be thinking about, especially on a day like this. "I think so. Guess we'll find out soon though. What about you?'
Bill nodded. "Yeah, we feel pretty good about our gift," he responded, and Fleur added confidently, "She will love it."
Within the next thirty minutes, everyone but Ginny was downstairs in the kitchen, growing hungrier by the second, even though Harry and Molly had just finished cooking.
"Go wake her up, Harry," Ron practically ordered, staring intently at the pancakes stacked in front of him. Harry halfway glanced at Molly and Arthur, who both nodded, apparently willing to let him be the one to wake Ginny up on this important day, and he didn't need any further invitation, quietly walking up the stairs and slowly opening the door, more than a little surprised to see Ginny standing in her room, looking at the door like she'd been waiting on him to open it.
"Well it's about time," she said, smiling widely at him.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
The day hadn't been that different from the rest of the days they'd all spent together this summer. Her mum had made pancakes– Ginny's favourite– but other than that, her fifteenth birthday was spent like most other days. She played Quidditch with Ron, Hermione, and Harry until Hermione gave up and returned to the house, with Ron chasing after her because he fancied her but was too blind to see it.
She and Harry flew around a while longer, tossing a Quaffle between the two of them before they finally landed. "Wanna go down to the stream?" she asked, feeling very hopeful that he'd agree for some reason she couldn't fully explain.
Harry nodded and then hesitated. "I'll meet you down there. Just give me a sec," he said, and without any further explanation, he ran up towards the house. Ginny frowned, a little confused, but he did say that he'd meet her down there, so she walked alone to the stream. She took her shoes off and sat next to it, letting the cool water rush over her bare feet. Maybe a minute later, Harry ran up, slightly out of breath and clearly holding something behind his back.
Had he gotten a present for her? Surely he couldn't have, but it did look a little suspicious. "What have you got there?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. She wondered if it was as soft as it looked before remembering that people weren't really supposed to think stuff like that about their friends. He sat next to her and handed her a small box that wasn't wrapped.
"It's not much, but I wanted to get you a birthday present. So– uh, happy birthday," he said in the most adorable voice.
Ginny smiled, about to say that he didn't need to get her anything, when she opened the box. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Harry with surprise. He immediately looked concerned. "Are those not the right ones? You mentioned a couple weeks ago that Exploding Bonbons were your favourite, but I didn't know what flavour to get, so I just… got them all," he explained, still looking a little apologetic.
Ginny lay her hand on top of his "Harry, this is amazing! I can't believe you remembered that!" He was quickly turning red, and Ginny suddenly remembered where her hand was. She quickly removed it, feeling herself turn a little red as well.
Trying to diffuse the awkwardness, she took a bonbon out of the box and offered it to Harry. "Wanna share? I can't eat all these by myself," she said, grinning at him. He took it and bit half of it off.
"Mmm, cherry."
"Harry, no!" Ginny exclaimed just before the rest of the bonbon that was in his hand exploded, throwing powder and red filling all over his face. Ginny's jaw dropped at the same time that Harry's did. But then they locked eyes and collapsed into a fit of laughter.
"Merlin, that was hilarious!" she wheezed, wiping her eyes, having shed a tear or two from laughing so hard.
Harry was still chuckling as he wiped his glasses off. "You could've told me to eat the whole thing at once."
"I didn't know that you'd never eaten one before," she countered. "Oh, you've got something still on your cheek," she added, pointing to the spot on her own cheek. Harry rubbed his cheek but missed, and Ginny giggled.
"Here, let me," she offered, resting her hand against his jaw as her thumb swiped the bit of cherry filling off his cheek. They locked eyes once again, and Harry inhaled sharply. It took more than a couple seconds for Ginny to remember who she was, having lost herself in Harry's bright green eyes. It wasn't until he blinked that she finally broke away, washing the filling off in the stream.
"So– uh, anyways… you put the whole thing in your mouth and then it explodes. A lot cleaner," she added, smiling when Harry snorted.
She took a chocolate one out of the box and put it in her mouth. Harry was watching her carefully, and she remembered how curious it was that he'd given her this for her birthday. They'd never exchanged birthday gifts before. Maybe Hermione was on to something when she told Ginny that she thought Harry had feelings for her. Ginny wasn't so sure about that, but even on her birthday, she couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be, sitting with him by the stream sharing Exploding Bonbons.
Ginny stretched as she got out of bed, smiling at the memory of the first gift Harry had ever given her. They'd both been so oblivious back then, but it didn't make the gift or the memory any less perfect. He'd have more gifts for her today, but that first one would always be special.
Then it hit her that he'd have more gifts for her today because it was her birthday. It was her seventeenth birthday. Even though she'd been doing magic in private for months, she couldn't help but summon the clothes she was planning on wearing– a pale yellow shirt and jeans– out of her wardrobe. She quickly dressed and brushed her hair, ready to fling open the door and go down to the festivities that surely awaited, but then she paused. Before all the birthday festivities started, she wanted a moment alone with Harry, and she was sure he'd be up soon.
She passed some time by looking at the pictures hanging on her wall before leafing through their photo album. There weren't a lot of pictures in it, yet Ginny couldn't help but feel the promise of the future that all the empty pages of the album offered. They'd fill it up one day, and that would just be the start. She jumped off the bed when she faintly heard someone coming up the stairs, very pleased that her hunch had been correct when Harry slowly opened the door, looking adorable as he poked his head in. He grinned like he always did when he saw her– the grin that made her feel like the most important person in the world.
"Well it's about time," she said, smiling widely at him.
"Happy Birthday, Gin," he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug that she easily fell into. They stood like that for a while, her head tucked against his chest while he protectively held his arms around her, kissing the top of her head periodically.
"You ready to go downstairs?" he asked after a few minutes.
She leaned back and smiled at him. "In a minute. But I've gotta do my first thing as an adult first."
Harry chuckled. "And what's that?"
Ginny answered by jumping up, letting him reflexively catch her as she wrapped her legs around him before pulling him into a deep kiss that ended with him falling backwards on her bed and them both laughing about it.
"Perfect way to start today," she commented. He nodded, looking at her longingly still.
Suddenly, he sat up, and she followed. "I wanted to give you something."
"A birthday present already? Aren't I lucky," she joked, and he smiled slightly even though his expression seemed slightly guarded.
"I promise you have more. I wasn't sure if I should even give this to you but… I decided you'd probably want me to." Ginny watched as he pulled something out of his pocket, hesitating for a second before putting it in her open hand. She looked down at the gift, a simple woven leather bracelet with a gold loop on one end and a small, red jewel on the other.
"It's wonderful," she said truthfully, and she saw relief wash over his face. "Did you make this?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, er… so–" he tried before sighing. "We were gone for your birthday last year. I was gone. We were at Grimmauld Place, and I found leather laces on some old shoes. I didn't know if I'd ever get to give you a birthday gift, but I at least wanted to make you something, so…"
Ginny felt her breath hitch slightly, looking down at the bracelet that suddenly held so much more meaning than she could've possibly imagined. "I added the ruby a couple days ago. It was a button and string before," he added, still looking a little embarrassed for some reason.
"You were thinking about that even when you were on the run?" she asked, more than a little surprised that he'd made something like this for her during that time.
He shrugged. "I was always thinking about you. And we had plenty of free time at Grimmauld. I just– I guess I thought that I had to live long enough to give you that present at least."
Even though the past few months had been emotionally challenging, they'd also been incredibly peaceful, and sometimes, Ginny almost forgot that they'd both spent a year waking up every day, wondering if it would be their last. And he'd still been motivated by her.
She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him close to her. "I fucking love you, Harry Potter," she whispered before pulling him into another explosive kiss that must've lasted several minutes.
"I love you more, Ginny Weasley," he answered, smiling at her just inches away from her face. She grinned, kissing him quickly before jumping off the bed. "Is it time to go downstairs now?" Harry asked.
"In just one second," she said, wrapping the bracelet around her wrist and threading the jewel through the hoop. "Now it's time to go downstairs," she confirmed, taking his hand and walking out the door and down the stairs with him.
"Happy Birthday!" her family shouted in unison when she came downstairs.
"About bloody time," Ron added, staring hungrily at the pancakes that someone had cruelly stacked right in front of him.
"Silencio," Ginny cast, making Ron's eyes bulge as his jaw flapped but no words came out. Her family stared for a moment before Harry, Charlie, George, and, surprisingly, Hermione erupted in laughter, followed shortly by the rest of the family. Percy lifted the charm on Ron, who was wise enough to not say anything more.
Ginny grinned as she sat down, with Harry taking the spot next to her. She filled her plate with pancakes, whipped cream, bacon, and sausage. As soon as she was done, the table turned into a battlefield with all of her brothers fighting to get food first. She glanced to her side and saw both Harry and Hermione staring wide-eyed at the carnage that Ginny had become accustomed to in her childhood. It was nice to see that some things never changed.
After polishing off two helpings of pancakes, Ginny was ready to open presents, which her dad stacked in front of her, levitating them in from the living room. She may have been grown up, but she couldn't help but get excited at the large pile of presents on the table before her, and she eagerly ripped the wrapping off the first one.
Seeing the title of the book in front of her– Planning Your Future: A Magical Journey– she immediately knew it came from Percy, who proudly nodded at her. "Whenever you're ready, I also know someone in the Ministry who can meet with you for some career counselling," he added.
Ginny smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Perce," she said, even though she was pretty sure she wouldn't need to see a counsellor about becoming a professional Quidditch player. The next gift she opened was a fairly large box. She laughed when she opened it, seeing the magenta robes of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She lifted the robes out, eyes widening slightly when she saw the massive haul of Wheezes merchandise in the box– Fanged Frisbees, Dungbombs, and Extendable Ears were some of the highlights that she was excited to use when she got back to Hogwarts.
"I was thinking I could get a couple photo for the store since you're both on the front page of the Prophet all the time now," George suggested, and everyone laughed at that.
"Deal," Ginny agreed, thanking her brother for the gift. The next box she opened was very thin, and she raised her eyebrows, seeing a dagger with a curved golden blade laying in a velvet case. She looked around the table curiously before seeing Bill and Fleur's expectant looks.
"It's goblin-made. It was found in Wales a while ago and had been sitting up at work. Still wasn't the easiest to get, but I know a few people," Bill said, smiling proudly.
"Eet eez a work of art, and eet will also come in 'andy if you don't have a wand," Fleur added. Ginny was impressed, lifting the dagger out of the case so everyone could see it. Aside from her mother, pretty much everyone looked very impressed by the dagger as well. She spun it around in her hand, to her mother's concern, and saw a crown on one side of the pommel and a lion on the other. The nod to Gryffindor was perfect.
"We know you like more… girly stuff, I guess. But coming of age and all, we thought this sort of fit you pretty well," Bill finished.
Ginny grinned. "You were right. This is wicked," she said, gently laying the dagger back in its case and noticing an ornate 'G' carved into the base of the blade. Bill must've had a goblin add that. It was a great touch. She saw Bill and Fleur exchange a triumphant look. They deserved it. This wasn't a gift Ginny ever would've asked for, but it was pretty damn awesome.
The next gift she opened was a very small box. She opened it up and found something that looked a lot like Harry's mokeskin pouch, but much smaller. Hermione immediately began explaining the gift from her and Ron. "It's a mokeskin pouch, like Harry's, but I added some extra charms to it. It'll take on any form you want, and it has an undetectable extension charm on it as well. All you have to do to change its form is tap it with your wand and say Muta."
Ginny did just that, and, instantly, she was holding an oversized cloth sack. She repeated it, transforming it back to the small, Galleon-sized piece of leather. "Wow, that's awesome. Thanks, you two," she said gratefully, and they both smiled proudly at her and each other. Hermione especially looked very proud of the spellwork she'd done on the bag, and with good reason. That would definitely come in handy.
There were now just a few gifts left on the table. The next one she opened was Charlie's gift– she could tell from the shoddy wrapping. She grinned, seeing red Chaser's gloves with gold trim and 'Weasley' embroidered above the cuffs. They were identical to Harry's, other than having fingers attached to them.
"It was easy to shop for you both this year," Charlie commented, shrugging like he hadn't put any thought into the gifts.
Ginny grinned and kissed him on the cheek, and he smiled slightly, losing a little bit of his typical burly air.
The next gift Ginny opened made her laugh out loud. It was a box of Exploding Bonbons. "At least I know how to eat them now," Harry commented, obviously remembering her birthday two years ago.
"I can't believe you remembered," she said, and he chuckled.
"I know now that I definitely fancied you then. I'd be more surprised if I didn't remember."
She smiled and kissed him on his cheek. That was a perfect gift, in her opinion. The last gift on the table had to be from her parents. It was a small box, and when she opened it, she gasped, seeing a pair of earrings. She looked up at her parents, and her mum smiled, nodding towards Harry.
Ginny turned to Harry, who was smiling bashfully. He glanced back down at the box in her hand, and she followed, turning her attention back to the earrings. She picked one up to examine it. It was beautiful– a golden drop earring with a small orb at the end. Looking even closer, she saw small wings on the orb. It was a Snitch.
Feeling heat rushing into her cheeks, she looked back at Harry once again. He was still smiling bashfully, and he was blushing a little too, probably more aware than she was of her family watching them.
"I thought the gold would look good with your hair," he offered.
"It's a Snitch," she said simply, still staring at him, completely transfixed.
Harry reactively rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I know you're not a Seeker, but–"
"But you are," she interrupted.
Harry blushed a little more and nodded. "Yeah. I dunno, I just thought–"
Ginny wasn't sure what he thought because she couldn't keep herself from kissing him any longer. She controlled herself enough to not completely embarrass them in front of her family, but she just had to kiss him, even for a second. He was so amazingly romantic even when he had no idea. It was both baffling and completely endearing.
"It's like a part of you," she said once they broke apart. Harry's brow furrowed as if he hadn't really considered what it meant that he wanted her to wear something like that.
"I– yeah, I guess so. I mean you're the most important thing to me, but I guess it– it is like a part of me. I dunno, I just always want to be with you," he answered, totally focused on her and ignoring all the prying eyes around them.
Ginny started to lean in to kiss him again for that absolutely perfect remark, but she was interrupted by her tactless older brother. "Bloody hell, do you really have to kiss him again?"
She turned and stuck her tongue out at Ron, who actually was almost smiling, making almost everyone else laugh, although she suspected Charlie wasn't laughing because he agreed. She didn't really care though because she really did have to kiss him again. It's not like either kiss was anything too inappropriate– certainly nothing like what they'd been doing in her bedroom earlier in the morning or what they'd likely do tonight. Ginny forced herself not to continue kissing him, contenting herself for the moment by imagining the possibilities of the night ahead.
"I love them," she told Harry, as if that wasn't already obvious, and she immediately put them in her ears.
"I was right. They do look great on you," Harry said. But he wasn't really looking at her earrings. He was just staring into her eyes, and Ginny felt herself blushing again. It wasn't like they'd been dating for a long time or anything.
Her mum chimed in now. "Your father and I are going to pay for your Apparition test and licence, like we did for everyone on their seventeenth birthday, and I have another gift for you too. I just wanted to give it to you in private before everyone else saw."
Immediately curious, Ginny followed her mum when she stood and walked out of the kitchen, feeling nine pairs of curious eyes on them. Her mum led her to her parents' bedroom, a place Ginny hadn't been very often since she stopped coming to them for her nightmares. Granted, that had only been a few years ago, but her parents understood how difficult her nightmares had been after her first year.
"Sit on the bed," her mum instructed, and Ginny obeyed, watching as her mum pulled a large, flat box out from under the bed. Then her mum sat next to her on the bed, setting the box next to her. Ginny saw that she was tearing up slightly, but she waited for her mum to say whatever she'd brought her up here to say, not wanting to interrupt any of the emotions her mum was going through.
Finally, she spoke. "Sorry, it's just– I love all of my children equally. Harry and Hermione too… and Fleur. But when I was much younger, I knew I wanted to have a girl. And for the longest time, I was convinced that I wouldn't have one. Until you came along– my little angel."
Ginny was hit with a considerable wave of nostalgia. It'd been years since her mother had called her that.
"I am so proud of you, Ginny. You've been through so much, and you've only become kinder, stronger, braver, and more good than I could've ever hoped my daughter would be. I'm amazed every day at the woman you've become, and I cannot wait to see what life holds in store for you– next year at Hogwarts and beyond that. I know that, no matter what you want to do, you'll succeed and thrive because that's who you are. You're a kindhearted warrior, my baby girl, my little angel."
Her mum was crying now, and Ginny couldn't blame her because tears were leaking out of her own eyes. She hugged her mum, and they sat together for a moment or two before her mum sniffled and began talking again.
"There's a tradition in my side of the family. A mother passes an object down to her eldest daughter, who adds something to it and passes it to her eldest daughter when she comes of age. So since today is your seventeenth birthday, it's time for me to give you the– well, I call it the Prewett Quilt."
She pulled the lid off the box, revealing a massive quilt that had loads of different patches on it. Ginny stood with her mother and spread the quilt across the bed to see the whole thing. There were dozens of patches, all with stitched designs on them. She saw dragons, broomsticks, hearts, and so many more designs. Her attention was drawn to a patch near the top of the quilt. There was a tall, crooked, mostly brown and grey building with a bright blue sky behind it. Ginny immediately recognised her home.
"That was my addition," her mum commented, seeing Ginny looking at the patch with The Burrow on it.
"This is incredible," Ginny breathed out, turning to her mother, whose eyes were shining with tears once again. She immediately hugged her, and her mum broke down into tears once again.
"Thanks, Mum. I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, angel," Molly replied through her sniffles.
After a moment or two, they were both more composed. "You can add your patch at any time. And all you have to do is give it to your eldest daughter when she turns seventeen," her mum instructed.
Ginny nodded. "I will," she promised her mum before putting the quilt back in the box to carry downstairs and show the rest of the family. Predictably, they were all enamoured with it as well, wondering what the meaning behind some of the patches was, especially one of an upside down troll.
Once everyone had thoroughly examined the quilt and Ginny had taken it back up to her room, she asked, "So what now?"
"A little demanding, aren't we?" George asked, snorting slightly.
Ginny put her hands on her hips defiantly, and her dad chuckled. "How do you feel about a party?" he asked seriously.
Ginny rubbed her chin as if she was deep in thought before exclaiming, "Uh, yes!"
"And how do you feel about a beach party at Shell Cottage?" her mum asked, smiling widely.
"Seriously?" Ginny asked, and her parents and Bill and Fleur nodded. "That's awesome!" she exclaimed.
"Be there in thirty minutes. We're going ahead to set up," Bill said, leading everyone out the door but Harry and Hermione. Well, Harry kissed her quickly and said he loved her before following everyone else.
"Are you my babysitter?" Ginny asked, and Hermione shrugged.
"I prefer to think of it as an escort, but babysitter works too."
Ginny laughed. "Not a bad start to a birthday," she commented, walking up the stairs with Hermione right behind.
"Really? I couldn't tell from the way you tried to choke Harry with your tongue at the table," Hermione responded wryly, and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Believe me, that was nothing. You should've seen us this morning if you thought that was a real kiss," she replied happily, and now it was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "Hey, you come at the queen, you best not miss," Ginny taunted, earning a laugh from Hermione.
"Did Harry pick those earrings out by himself?" she asked curiously as she began looking through her drawers for something to wear to the beach.
"Apparently. Ron said he'd already picked them out at the jewellery store when they went to pick them up," Hermione answered.
"He did a good job," Ginny commented, and Hermione nodded.
"I have to say, I didn't know Harry had this romantic side to him, so it still surprises me a little when he does stuff like that."
"Guess I bring out the best in him," Ginny replied.
"Obviously," Hermione said sincerely, making Ginny smile even though her head was almost stuck in a drawer trying to find something at the back.
After a few more moments of searching, she pulled out a few different options. She held up a green two-piece, a yellow two-piece, and a red one-piece in succession. "Which one do you think?" she asked Hermione, who raised an eyebrow.
"Are you asking me as your friend or me as a part of your family?" Hermione asked.
"Both?" Ginny answered tentatively, not sure why that would make a difference.
"As your friend, I'd say that you'd look great in that green one, and Harry would probably stop functioning if you wore that, based on how he usually acts around you." Ginny blushed scarlet "But as a part of the family, I'd say that the red one is probably best, considering your parents and a lot of other people are gonna be there. You can wear the others next– well, I'm sure you'll get to wear the other ones at some point without such a large crowd. It's not like Harry won't think you look like a million Galleons wearing that one instead."
Ginny smiled through her blush. "You're probably right," she agreed, putting the two-piece outfits back and folding the one-piece up to take with her in the blue beach bag that she'd transformed her mokeskin pouch into.
"Maybe I'll model the others for Harry later," Ginny suggested, and Hermione rolled her eyes once more.
"Maybe I'll knock you out and keep you from going to your party," Hermione remarked contemplatively.
Ginny laughed, making Hermione drop the act and laugh too, and the two walked out the door and through the wards together. Ginny didn't really like Side-Alonging with anybody other than Harry, but she supposed it was for the best considering her parents had made a point to mention that she didn't have her Apparition licence yet. So she took Hermione's arm, feeling herself compressing and expanding quickly before her feet hit the sandy beach outside of Shell Cottage.
"Happy Birthday!" a chorus of voices rang out, and Ginny's jaw dropped seeing what must've been a hundred people gathered on the beach. Honestly, it was a miracle Hermione hadn't landed on any of them accidentally.
Ginny had known for a while that she was popular– it didn't really start until around her third year, but as she became more herself and stopped letting her crush on Harry and the Chamber stuff affect so much of how she acted, people started liking her. Despite that, she felt like it would've sounded prideful or arrogant if she said that she hadn't realised that she was this popular.
It was like half of Hogwarts had shown up for the party. There were people from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, along with a bunch of people Ginny knew who'd graduated, like Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Lee. Truthfully, she would've been happy with a quiet day at home, but she wasn't afraid to admit that she enjoyed people paying attention to her. She shined when people were watching.
So even though she'd had a small reunion with a lot of these people at Harry's birthday less than two weeks earlier, she still found herself in the midst of a massive throng of people. It wasn't a crush like what happened to Harry when he'd get mobbed occasionally; instead, it was just that a lot of people had come to Shell Cottage to see her and wanted to talk to her. Ginny took it all in stride, easily falling back into the rhythm she'd had in the years at Hogwarts before last year where she could chat with several different people in rapid succession, remembering details about previous conversations and still making everyone feel like they were involved. It was a curious talent, but she had to admit that it was pretty handy.
She did notice that Hermione had slipped out of the way when people started talking to Ginny. After a few minutes of talking to people, she realised that none of her family or, more importantly, Harry was in the crowd. She started scanning the area surrounding the crowd as best as she could– she was shorter than most of the people there so it wasn't easy. She finally spotted Harry while she was talking to Susan Bones. He was leaning against a large rock some fifty or one hundred feet away, talking about something apparently serious with George and Ron. They were both nodding along with whatever he was saying, but he kept glancing towards her, as if to make sure she was still there. It was rather cute.
She lost track of time talking to so many people, but she did keep looking at Harry, who was now talking to Bill and her dad on a dune a little closer than the rock had been. She looked back at the thinning crowd around her– people had started breaking off into smaller groups and getting into the water.
"Hey, Demelza!" Ginny said, grinning at the girl who was a year younger than her and an excellent Chaser.
"Hey, Ginny! Happy Birthday!" Demelza responded, giving Ginny a fist bump instead of a hug.
"Thanks! Are you excited for Quidditch to start back up?" she asked, not surprised at all with the appalled expression on Demelza's face.
"Duh! What other reason is there for even going to school?" she responded seriously, and Ginny almost laughed, but she knew that Demelza was actually completely serious. The girl hadn't tried out for the team until two years ago, but she'd been a brilliant player and clearly lived for Quidditch now.
"Good point. I heard the captain will be good this year," Ginny commented.
"Oh yeah, Harry's coming back! It'll be great to have him as captain again," Demelza agreed.
"Oh… Harry's coming back, but he's not the captain," Ginny responded, trying to hold back the grin on her face as Demelza's expression became puzzled.
"Then who–" Ginny lost control of her expression, immediately giving herself away. "No way! You're the captain?" Demelza half-shouted, and Ginny nodded ecstatically.
"Fuck yes! That's awesome!" Demelza exclaimed, pounding Ginny enthusiastically on the back, almost knocking the wind out of her.
Ginny smiled and tried to take in a deep breath. "I know! I can't wait," she said.
"So you'll be Harry's captain," Demelza said, crossing her arms with a knowing look.
"He's looking forward to it too," Ginny responded, laughing at Demelza's wolf-whistle.
After speaking to a few other people, Ginny finally darted up to the cottage to change into her swimsuit. She wasn't surprised in the slightest to find Harry in the kitchen, trying unsuccessfully to help her mum and Fleur with making snacks and a cake. They weren't exactly fighting with each other, but there was a clear tension in the room that Harry was awkwardly trying to navigate, putting sandwiches together while they talked about cake decorations.
He didn't notice her entering the house, probably because he was keeping his head down, focussed on the sandwiches and avoiding direct eye contact with either of the women in the kitchen. She shook her head, smiling at her adorable boyfriend who so clearly wanted to help with anything he could, before going upstairs and changing in one of the spare bedrooms. Coming back down the stairs, she ran into her dad, who was walking outside, carrying a glass of something she doubted was juice.
"Do you like your party, sweetheart?" he asked, smiling happily at her. Ginny nodded, giving her dad a quick hug.
"It's perfect," she responded thankfully, and he nodded proudly before walking out the door, whistling some song she didn't know. Ginny stopped to poke her head into the kitchen again and was grateful to see that her mum and Fleur had apparently come to some sort of compromise on the cake, and Harry looked much less tense now as he continued making sandwiches.
"Harry," Ginny called in a singsong voice. He looked up and smiled when he saw her, and she beckoned him forward with a single finger. He immediately responded, wiping his hands on his jeans in a very hygienic manner, and she backed away from the door to let him through.
"Hey, Gin–" his grin faded into a dumbfounded look as he admired her red swimsuit. It wasn't anything too fancy, but she had to admit that she liked the way she looked in this one, and she really liked the way Harry was looking at her right now.
"My eyes are up here," she joked, and Harry nodded.
"Yeah, I know," he answered, stealing one last look at everything else before looking back into her eyes.
"Wow," he added simply.
Ginny grinned, blushing tremendously. "Are you gonna come down and swim with me?" she asked, gently pulling the bottom of his shirt up. He smiled for a moment before his expression fell and he pulled his shirt back down, surprising Ginny a little.
"I– I can't," he responded.
"Huh? Why not?" she asked, taken aback.
He swallowed. "The scars," he whispered even though everyone who was currently in the house knew about them.
"Oh. Oh– okay then," she replied, more than a little disappointed. She hadn't forgotten that he had the scars– she saw him shirtless pretty much every night– but she did think that he wouldn't be too bothered by them now that everyone pretty much knew about what happened in the forest.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"It's alright," she assured him, kissing his cheek. Honestly, she just wanted to be with him, but she figured it'd be really rude to ignore everyone that was outside. "I'll see you in a little bit," she added, squeezing his hand before walking alone outside.
She almost turned back before she got to the beach, worried that Harry felt that he'd upset her, but she decided that she'd talk to him later. He didn't need to be coddled by her, and she could understand why he wanted to hide his scars, even though she didn't see what the problem was. To her, the scars were just another part of Harry, and she loved every part of him.
"Ginny, get down here!" Demelza shouted, and Ginny ran down to join her friends on the beach, not wanting to let that moment with Harry make things weird at her party.
She was aware that several boys on the beach were looking at her a little closer than usual. She was used to boys being interested– she'd been asked out plenty of times at Hogwarts in the past few years– but it did feel a little odd to know they were looking at her like that while she was wearing a swimsuit. Especially considering the only person she wanted looking at her like that was inside the cottage right now.
So she went pretty willingly with her friends to the water even though Demelza was pulling her anyway. The water felt incredibly refreshing in contrast to the hot summer's day, and she immediately put her head under the water, swimming around a little bit to get the feel of being in the ocean. When she emerged, standing in water that came up to her chest, she shook her hair and ran her hands through her hair, and she felt eyes on her again.
Mercifully, Demelza, Hannah, and several other girls she knew began splashing around in the water with her, throwing Ginny into the middle of a full-fledged water fight. Completely surrounded, she started splashing in every direction, even though she couldn't see anything because of all the water being thrown onto her. She tripped and reached out, catching herself on the only thing she could find.
Wiping the water out of her eyes, she saw that it wasn't a thing she'd caught herself on. She was currently very close to a shirtless Dean Thomas, who was laughing at her. "I thought Quidditch players were supposed to be coordinated."
She felt herself blushing at the uncomfortable position she was in and took a step back. "I'm perfectly coordinated in the air. The water's a different story," she responded casually, noticing that Dean had stopped laughing and was looking at her more like he had back when they'd been dating. It had been flattering then, but it certainly didn't feel the same now.
Suddenly, she felt water being splashed at her from behind and turned, smiling gratefully at the friends she expected had tried to pull her back into the water fight. She was wrong, staring, completely stunned, at the person who'd splashed her.
Harry was grinning at her, obviously not feeling guilty about splashing her. She wasn't shocked about that. She was much more surprised to see him standing with the water coming up to just above his navel, not wearing a shirt, with his scars very visible to everyone. The attention certainly wasn't on her anymore, with people much more interested in Harry's chest than hers now.
He acted like he didn't notice, even though she was sure he did. He splashed her once more, and she spat some water out of her mouth. "Oh, it's on," she taunted, accepting the challenge and launching several waves of water at Harry, who crouched and put his hands in front of his face, trying to protect himself. She slowly approached, and he surprised her with another huge splash, making her laugh as she fell forward onto him.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and her hands around his neck, and he remained crouched in the water, keeping just their heads above the surface. "You didn't have to do this," she said quietly, tracing his lightning bolt scar under the water.
He shook his head. "I know. But I decided I'd rather spend as much time with my girlfriend as I could on her birthday instead of worrying about what other people thought about me."
"They can all go to blazes, right?" she joked, smiling widely now.
"Damn right," he answered, and she pulled him into a tight hug, letting him carry her around for a moment before she unwrapped her legs from him and pulled him under the water with her before he knew what was happening.
He spat water out of his mouth and laughed, shaking the water out of his long hair. He quickly picked her up out of the water and threw her over his shoulder. She started laughing too, knowing she probably wouldn't like the punishment he was about to dish out, but Merlin, it was really hot that he'd pick her up like that. He wasn't holding her for long though before he flipped her off his shoulder and let her fall back into the water. When she surfaced, they were both laughing, but they were almost immediately put on the defensive when Demelza led a charge against them.
"Death to romance!" was Demelza's war cry. So of course, Ginny did the most sensible thing she could do in that position. She pulled Harry down into a waterlogged kiss before trying to fight off their attackers. This sort of fighting was much more fun than the kind they were both used to. Plus they could always stop in the middle to steal another kiss, which they did on more than one occasion.
An hour or two later, everyone eventually made their way out of the water to the tables her family had set up on the beach. She ate her fill of the sandwiches Harry had made before her mum levitated the cake that she'd made with Fleur to the beach. Ginny stared as a two-foot wide Quaffle floated in front of her, landing with a thud on her table. Everyone at the table with her– Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Demelza had similar expressions on their faces.
"That's bigger than a usual Quabble," Luna commented. Ginny nodded, not even bothering to correct her when possibly the loudest singing of Happy Birthday that she'd ever heard commenced. She grinned at everyone around, particularly at her own table. Even Harry, who usually made a point to not sing, was singing as loudly as he could.
There were a lot of people here for her birthday. She usually didn't care at all about being popular, but it felt really good to see how many people cared enough to spend the day celebrating with her. But at the end of the day, she was most grateful for her family, who'd gone to all this trouble to make sure she had a perfect seventeenth birthday and were even passing out cake to everyone now. Ginny took the first bite of her chocolate cake, closing her eyes in near-ecstasy at the flavour. Seventeen sure did taste sweet to her.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
It had taken Harry about two seconds after Ginny left to start wondering if he'd made the right decision. It wasn't that he didn't want to be out there with her and all their friends, and she'd be seeing plenty of him shirtless at a beach sooner than she realised, but he hated seeing that look on her face. She wasn't upset at him, he knew. But he could tell that she wished things were a little different, probably more for his sake than hers.
Bill walked into the house from the beach a moment later, raising an eyebrow when he saw Harry. "Are you planning on going down there with Ginny?" he asked.
Harry shrugged and thought for a moment before asking a question of the man he trusted for advice more than almost anyone else. "Bill… do you think people will look differently at me because of my scars?'
Bill's eyes widened slightly and then he started laughing out loud. Harry furrowed his brow, unsure what he'd said that was so funny. Finally, Bill stopped wheezing and chuckled at him. "I'm the wrong person to be asking about scars, Harry," Bill finally said, still grinning wryly.
"Why?" Harry asked, and Bill narrowed his eyes, as if in disbelief at what Harry apparently didn't understand. A second later, it hit him. "Oh," he said.
Bill chuckled again. "Yeah, oh. No wonder you weren't put in Ravenclaw,"
Harry raised a hand defensively. "I'm not stupid, Bill. It's just– I don't really see your scars when I look at you. You're just Bill."
"I know. Don't you think that's how we all feel about your scars?" Bill responded.
Harry paused. "I mean… I guess so. But… that's not the scar I'm talking about."
Bill shook his head. "It's all the same, Harry. Your new scars are a part of you, just like your old one and just like mine. And it's not like anybody will ever be seeing much of those scars anyways, so how much does it really matter?"
Harry sighed. "It doesn't bother Ginny."
"Of course it doesn't! And it won't bother anyone else who cares about you either."
Harry nodded, knowing what he wanted to do. "Thanks, Bill," he said, running up the stairs to change into his trunks before heading outside and down to the beach. He saw Ginny immediately and knew he'd made the right decision. She was in a crowd of people, splashing around, and she stumbled into Dean, who helped her to her feet and was starting to give her a look Harry didn't love as he waded into the water, even though Dean had said before that he was glad Harry and Ginny were together.
But he knew he made the right decision, and not because he was jealous or didn't trust Ginny. The reason he knew was because he could read Ginny's body language enough to know that she wasn't comfortable at the moment. So he did what any good boyfriend would do and splashed a lot of water at her. He knew people were looking at him, but he found that he didn't care that much when she was looking at him like that. And it earned him some pretty great kisses, so things turned out much better than he'd expected, overall.
By the time people started leaving, after they'd had cake and the sun had begun setting, he was very eager to return to the Burrow. Of course, he was very glad that Ginny had enjoyed her party, and he'd done as much as he could to help things be as fun as possible for her, but he also had a few things planned at home that he was excited about. He just really hoped she loved the fireworks he had planned for the end of her birthday as much as he'd liked the ones she'd had for his.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
After saying goodbye to the last of her friends to leave– Luna, Neville, Hannah, and Demelza– Ginny was ready to return home with her family. She thanked Bill and Fleur for hosting her party and again for her wicked dagger before leaving the cottage and seeing Harry, who was kneeling next to Dobby's grave. Ron and Hermione were watching him from a distance, and she joined them.
"He still gets emotional about it," Hermione commented quietly.
"He still feels responsible for it," Ginny responded. Neither Ron nor Hermione had an answer for that. After a couple moments, Ginny told them to go ahead. They gave Harry a last, slightly concerned glance, before walking away. She slowly approached him, kneeling next to him and putting an arm around his back.
"The last thing he said… was my name," he said quietly, and Ginny watched a tear fall from his cheek to the mostly covered dirt of Dobby's grave.
"He loved you," she responded, and he nodded, unable to form any more words. Instead, in a remarkably raw show of emotion, he turned into her, letting her hold him while he cried onto her shoulder. He hadn't cried like this in weeks, not that she'd ever blame him for being emotional about their losses. She was just grateful that he was sharing it with her instead of internalising it.
He gradually calmed down, wiping his eyes and standing, reaching down to help her up. "Sorry… I know the last thing you're wanting to do on your birthday is–"
Ginny interrupted him. "The only thing I want to do on my birthday is be with my boyfriend."
He smiled at her, and she wiped a tear from his cheek. "I don't deserve you," he said adoringly.
"Funny, I feel the same way about you," she replied, taking his hand and pulling it around her shoulders so they were close together as they walked to the beach. "Will you come with me to see Fred when we get back?" she asked before they disapparated.
Harry nodded immediately. "Definitely," he answered. Then she pressed herself against him, feeling much more comfortable Side-Alonging with him than she had with Hermione, and they arrived at the Burrow a second later.
Everyone else was already inside, and the sun had almost completely set when they walked around the shed to the garden. The two of them had spent hours here, by themselves and together. Ginny still smiled at the epitaph on Fred's gravestone– I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
They sat together on the ground next to his grave, and she touched Fred's O.M. that George had attached with a Permanent Sticking Charm last week. "I turned seventeen today, Fred," she started. "I wish you were there. You would've loved the cake Mum made."
She saw Harry smiling out of the corner of her eye. "George gave me and Harry matching magenta robes for our birthdays. He thinks he's real funny or something. He wants a picture of us for the store, and we'll probably do it for you because we definitely wouldn't be doing it for him."
Harry nodded, and she rubbed the stone. "I miss you, Fred," she whispered in a broken voice, and now it was her turn to cry into Harry's shoulder. Luckily for her, he wasn't going anywhere, wrapping a comforting arm around her while she sobbed like she hadn't since the funerals. It didn't matter how much time passed. It didn't become less unfair that he wasn't with them. She didn't suddenly feel like she was meant to only have five brothers. She was supposed to have six. And they were all supposed to be there today. She hated that this was the best that Fred could do now.
She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that before she stood up and pressed a kiss to the cool marble gravestone of her older brother. Harry wiped his eyes and took her hand. "Wanna go for a walk?" he asked, and she nodded without hesitation, thinking that a walk with Harry sounded like the perfect way to spend the last couple hours of her birthday, especially after the emotional whirlwind that the day had turned out to be.
They walked away in silence, and Ginny took a cleansing breath, trying her best to calm herself down. She was helped by that when she saw where they were going. Harry led her down to the stream behind the house, and she smiled, thinking about the memory of her fifteenth birthday. "I loved the bonbons you gave me here," she commented.
He chuckled. "I'm glad. You know, I thought you were gonna kiss me that day," he responded, looking at her curiously.
Ginny gaped. "I thought you were gonna kiss me!" she replied, and they both laughed at that.
"You wish," he finally said, grinning at her.
"I definitely did wish," she acknowledged, squeezing his hand. "Good thing I don't have to anymore," she added, putting a hand on the back of his head and pulling him down to kiss her.
"See, that's the perfect present," she said when they began walking again.
Harry smiled. "Funny you mention that. I'm not quite done with presents yet."
Her eyes widened in anticipation. She wasn't ashamed to still be excited to get presents, especially if they were coming from Harry.
"Oh really?" she asked.
He nodded. "Well, they're not really… conventional presents, I suppose."
Ginny raised an eyebrow, and he snorted. "I guess I should explain. I haven't actually bought the next gift yet because Ron convinced me to talk to you about it before I got it."
She frowned, unable to imagine what he would've needed her permission to get, until Harry said, "I want to get you a Firebolt."
Immediately, she stopped walking and protested. "Harry, that's way too much for me."
He shook his head. "First of all, to me, nothing is ever going to be too much for you." Ginny tried not to blush at that "Second, I'm wanting to buy one for myself too, so it's not even like it's really a birthday present for you. And third, you need the best broom possible if you're serious about going for Quidditch after Hogwarts. You're already the best Chaser at Hogwarts, and you'll look even better when you're on a broom like that."
Bloody hell, he was so sweet. But this was insane. "Harry, I appreciate the thought, but that's still so much money. I mean a Firebolt is what– a thousand Galleons? You can't possibly spend that much money on me."
"Gin… I'd literally give everything in my vaults at Gringotts if it made you happy. You're all I care about. Besides… if you're gonna let me marry you one day, you'll get to share everything I own then, so… why not start now?'
Now she was really torn because this was one of the kindest and sweetest things anyone had ever offered her before, but she still felt like it was dangerous. "I– I just don't want anyone to think that the reason I'm with you is because of your money. And I– well you know I didn't grow up with a lot, and it– it feels weird thinking about having money just at my disposal. And a thousand Galleons is still a lot of money."
He smiled at her and ran a hand through her hair, giving Ginny chills even though it was a warm night. "I believe it was you who told me that everyone else can go to blazes because our opinions are the only ones that matter. And I know you're not with me for the money."
Ginny reluctantly nodded and Harry continued. "I know you didn't grow up with a lot. I didn't have anything that was my own when I was growing up at the– my Aunt and Uncle's. I'd give all my money to your family if they'd take it, but since they won't, I at least want you to be able to use whatever you want. I trust you and… well you're– you're everything to me, Gin. I just want you to have everything you want."
"You're everything I want," she replied earnestly, and he smiled again, kissing the top of her head.
"I want you to have a Firebolt because it'll make you happy. And I want you to be able to use my money whenever you want to make yourself happy because I know you won't ever do anything crazy with it all. I do intend on marrying you one day, and I want to start sharing everything I have with you now."
She felt herself melting a little inside at Harry's open discussion of marriage. "I want that too," she admitted, not finding it in her to put up any more resistance to his idea. She was a little concerned about his financial sense though. "Are you sure though? About the Firebolt, I mean. It's probably not a good idea for us to blow all of our savings on a couple broomsticks."
Harry chuckled. "Wow, you started calling it our savings real fast."
Ginny rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Isn't that what you want?" she asked, unable to keep a smile off her face seeing the way he was looking at her.
"That's definitely what I want. It's yours and mine together. I'll even get Bill to have a key made for you. And no, I'm not worried at all about us running out of money even if we both buy Firebolts."
Ginny's eyes widened slightly. She'd known for a while that Harry had a lot of money, but she couldn't have fathomed that it would be enough that buying two Firebolts wouldn't stretch things at all.
Harry chuckled at her expression. "Do you want me to tell you how much money we have?"
She nodded tentatively, unsure she wanted to know the exact amount. "Okay, but just remember, you already agreed to share the money with me, and you're not with me because of the money." She nodded once again, even more hesitant now.
Harry sighed. "Bill told me that, between my vault and Sirius' vault, I have close to five hundred thousand Galleons."
Ginny went slack jawed. Her mind couldn't even process that much money. Harry nodded solemnly and pressed his lips together. "So yeah… I'm not super concerned about spending a couple thousand on our Firebolts."
Ginny nodded dumbly. "You okay?" he asked while she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Harry had essentially just given her more money than she could probably ever spend.
"You must really love me," she said quietly, still slightly in shock.
He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to him. "I'm so crazy in love with you," he answered before kissing her, making her brain go even more numb. It took several seconds for her to regather herself and smile at Harry.
"I really love you. I– I can't believe you want to share that with me," she confessed, and Harry took her hand, continuing to walk with her to the orchard.
"I want to share everything with you. My money, my life… everything."
As if by magic, the orchard was suddenly lit up with fairy lights, transporting Ginny back to the surprise dinner she'd had for Harry for their anniversary. She turned to him with wide eyes, and he grinned.
"I'm still full from the party, so no dinner, but… I was thinking we could dance?" he suggested, waving his wand at a wireless that was sitting at the base of a tree. Almost immediately, music filled the air. Even though it was Celestina Warbeck, Ginny thought she could deal with it if it meant she got to dance with Harry.
She slipped her shoes off, and he followed suit. He put his arms around her waist, and she laced her fingers together behind his neck as they swayed to the music.
"I promise I'll learn how to actually dance one day," Harry said, and she laughed.
"I'm pretty happy with this, to be honest."
He nodded. "Me too."
They danced in silence through another song or two, just happy to be holding each other, before Harry looked at her like he remembered something. "Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot. I've got one more present for you."
She grinned and shook her head. "Harry, this is really getting to be too much."
He laughed. "I promise, Gin– nothing is ever enough for you. And you did such a great job planning my whole birthday anyways. But this isn't really a birthday present either. It's a gift for both of us before we start back at Hogwarts."
Ginny peered at him curiously, and he looked like he was about to burst with excitement. "So I got an idea after Ron and Hermione decided they were gonna go to Australia. They seem really excited about it, and I thought it sounded cool, but we can't go to Australia right before the term starts. So I was thinking we could go spend a week at a house I… rented on the beach?"
"You rented a house?" she asked, wanting to make sure she understood correctly.
He nodded.
"For just the two of us?"
He nodded again.
"For a whole week?"
He grinned and nodded once more. "And your parents are okay with it."
Ginny threw herself at him, kissing every inch of him that she could. "How the hell are you this good at being a boyfriend?" she asked in between kisses.
He chuckled. "It's easy when I'm doing it all for the love of my life."
She looked up at him, probably with wider eyes than she intended. "The love of your life?" Ginny asked.
He nodded like that was obvious. "You've never said that before," she whispered, pressing a hand to his chest and feeling his heart pounding rapidly for her.
"I've thought it for a long time. That's what forever means to me," he responded. She felt tears welling up as she kissed him passionately, tangling her tongue with his, feeling fireworks exploding in her head. She was used to fireworks going off when she kissed Harry, but these seemed particularly loud. She reluctantly pulled away from him and looked up, gasping at the colourful spectacle lighting up the night sky. Fireworks of all different colours were dancing, making shapes like a Snitch or a broom from time to time.
Finally, the last one exploded– a large red heart. She looked back at Harry, who appeared to have never taken his eyes off her. "Happy Birthday, Gin," he said, staring at her like she was more spectacular than all the fireworks in the sky.
She hugged him tightly. "I love you so much."
He kissed her head. "I love you more."
She didn't think that was possible, but she'd let him have that one for tonight. He'd earned it after all this. She heard the strains of music coming out of the wireless again, and they began swaying together once more. They must've spent hours dancing together, and she treasured every moment of it. Every moment spent with him was the best gift she could've hoped for. And if this night was a preview of what being an adult would be like, her only regret was that it hadn't gotten here sooner. Because she was so in love with him and the life they were already building together.
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A/N: Happy Birthday to Ginny! Harry definitely wasn't going to be able to match her ability to plan an incredible party, but he did his absolute best with everything else, and I personally think he should be proud of himself. It was a pretty great set of presents to give his girlfriend on her seventeenth birthday, to say the least, and I'll come back to those in a sec.
I should start out by making one of the most important clarifications I've ever had to make– I'm aware that there is a difference between the typical American and British pancakes. Honestly, the amount of Google searches I've made over the past year that start: 'do British people eat…' or 'do British people say…' is kind of remarkable. Anyways, Ginny's pancakes are intended to be the traditional British style, which isn't too far from a French crepe, based on my research. But if you're American like me and prefer thinking of Ginny eating a stack of our pancakes, I'm not going to disagree!
Just for clarity, the spell Ginny uses to change her bag, Muta, is a shortening of the Latin word mutare, which means 'to change'.
I really love the quilt Molly gives Ginny, but I admittedly struggled with trying to name it. For the longest time, Molly said it was the Prewett Quilt, which I really liked, except for the fact that when Molly's mother would've been given it, her last name would not have been Prewett. Recently, I was doing some research on why women take the names of their husbands so often in a modern age, and it occurred to me that there's a sad lack of history when it comes to women in lineage. People have paternal and maternal lineage, but that maternal lineage is often just traced up to the maternal grandfather and then following his line. Or at least, that's what my experience has been. The women Molly and Ginny are descended from didn't want that to happen to them, and even though the names get lost to time, they record their family's history in the quilt. And the idea, at least right now, is that when Ginny eventually gives it to her daughter, it'll be the Weasley quilt, like Molly calls it the Prewett quilt.
Because I thought of it, there's a sentence when Ginny's talking to everyone on the beach where she sees Harry talking seriously to George and Ron. That's him planning the final details of the fireworks in the orchard with them, and they were both very happy to help!
Wizarding money is stupidly difficult to figure out, so I took some liberties with it in this story. JKR has said before that a Galleon was approximately equal to £5 which just doesn't make much sense, based on the costs of things within the world. Just as an example, that would make the lottery that the Weasleys won at the start of PoA that paid for their trip to Egypt only worth £3500. It also puts the prize money that Harry won in the Triwizard Tournament, which paid for WWW to get started up, at around £5000. That's just unrealistic to me. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say that a Galleon makes more sense at somewhere between £50-£100. This puts the cost of a Firebolt (which I made up because it wasn't in the books) around the price of high-level sports cars in the 1990s, which is actually pretty consistent with the purpose it serves. It also puts Harry's net worth (something else I made up) between £25-£50M. The Blacks are supposed to be crazy wealthy, which is where he got most of the money. Honestly though, these numbers don't really matter and won't be really relevant again anyways, but I figured I'd mention it at least once.
So I have three more things to briefly mention. First, it is so funny how things parallel in my writing. Last week, I wrote Ginny's eighteenth birthday in Book 3, and now this chapter is entirely focussed on her seventeenth. There's a lot that's different between the two birthdays, but the one thing that I promise stays the same is they are both incredibly happy days! Second, I'm going to just put it out there, without any expectation that anyone will guess it at all, that there is something insignificant that happens in this chapter that becomes hugely important later. Last time I did this, it took about 5 chapters for it to become relevant. Right now, it's going to take about 5 books for it to become relevant. I'm mainly making this note so one day in the future I can point back to it and say I planned it from the start, but it won't matter until Book 5 or 6, so this is more just for me! And finally, I don't know how necessary it is given the rating on the book, but things get rather adult, in a couple ways, next chapter, so I just wanted to let you all know ahead of time because I don't plan on including any other warning. And with that, I suppose it's time to tease it! (I am irrationally pleased that I know the significance of this tease when it seems so random right now haha!)
Coming Tuesday: Navigating New Waters- "I remembered that when I was little, I wanted to be a sailor."
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Zjy: I'm glad you liked everything in the last chapter! I'm not gonna lie to you though, I was really, really hoping nobody would ask about Crookshanks. There's an actual answer and an in-universe answer. The in-universe answer is that Crookshanks disappeared from the Burrow shortly after the trio left, and that along with missing her parents is why she's been so emotional over the past several weeks. The actual answer is Crookshanks is probably the one thing I actually forgot about. I remembered him sometime around the middle of writing Book 2, and by that point, I felt like he wasn't really something I could easily insert into the story, especially since there are some impracticalities around who would've taken care of Crookshanks during the past year. I can't imagine the Carrows would've let Ginny bring a cat and not killed it, and I also am not sure that they'd remember to bring Crookshanks when they fled the Burrow after the trio was caught by the Snatchers. Since you asked though, I'm going to say that Crookshanks will not be gone forever, but it will be a while, admittedly through my failure to remember, before he shows up again. And good luck on your final exam!
Finnspa23: I love the idea of them making their own Room of Requirement, and I totally love Arthur being a bit of a jokester with Harry! The rest of the family had to get it from somewhere!