The moment of connection passed, and Harry felt the world settle back to normal. He felt himself smile as she accepted the seat across from the girl. He saw a woman with red hair looking back and forth at them and then turning away with a grin on her face. The girl was also looking at her mother like she was about to throw something at the woman.
"Thank you for letting me join you. My name is Harry." The Dursley's hated when he gave his surname so he usually avoided doing so. The girl's attention was drawn back to him, and for once Harry found he wanted to be the center of her attention instead of avoiding it.
"I'm Ginny. You're wise not to give your full name to a stranger."
The merriment in those brown eyes made Harry's heart do a small flip in his chest.
"Funny thing, I don't feel like we're strangers already, Ginny."
The girl nodded and took another bite of her ice cream. Harry remembered his own scoops and took a bite of his as well. He would hate to let the ice cream Florian slipped him go to waste.
"I feel the same way, Harry. Like I've known you for years, but I know nothing about you. Do you live around here?"
"I live on Privet Drive in Little Whinging. You?"
"Oh, I live outside town with my family. We don't really get mail, so I don't know my address exactly."
"No post? Do you have a postal box then?"
Ginny licked her spoon and seemed to consider this. "I guess we must. I never spoke to Mum or Dad about it before. Maybe I should. Do you go to school near here?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, I'll be starting at Stonewall High when term starts."
Ginny brightened up. "Hey, I'll be starting there too! It will be nice to know someone else there. Have you ever been there before?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I think my Aunt and Uncle have." He looked over and saw his Uncle was not sitting down. He saw his Aunt was paying attention, a very small smile on her face. She nodded once as if confirming Harry's last statement. "But I know very little about it. Most of my old classmates are going to other schools."
Ginny grinned and Harry would have gladly given up his ice cream just to see that grin again. "Well, we will both be starting there together. We'll have to meet up on the first day."
Harry should have been surprised. Ginny was making plans for both of them like they were old friends, and this was not a first meeting but just a usual gathering of two friends. He had mixed feelings though when Ginny and her mother got up to leave. He was sad she was going, but also glad Uncle had seemed to miss this exchange.
Ginny whispered something to her mother who smiled and wrote two things on a napkin and slipped it to Harry.
"Here, in case you want to reach us. I suspect we'll meet again, Harry dear."
Her voice was so kind and gentle Harry had to resist the urge to not start crying and beg her to take her away from the Durselys. He couldn't though. He was learning magic, and it was easy to hide his lessons from the distant eyes of his kin, but if this woman seemed like she noticed things. He had to swallow the words as to not speak to them.
"See you at school, Harry!" Ginny waved and he thought he saw some pink in her cheeks as she and her mother departed.
He waved until she was gone and quickly lowered his hand as the bathroom door slammed open. Uncle came storming out, as furious as the walrus he resembled.
"Petunia! That bathroom is a mess. We are going at once and not coming back."
Harry wished he could say the response that came to his mind. It sounded suspiciously like Ginny's voice. 'It likely wasn't a mess until you walked in, tubby.'
The Durselys and Harry left as well, with Harry's mind traveling back to those freckled cheeks and those bright brown eyes. He desperately wanted to see Ginny again.
*Summer-Breeze*
Sirius sighed as they had to take shelter under a bridge. The skies had opened and poured rain down on the three friends before they could make shelter. He turned to his pals.
"Wish Lils was here. She could have at least given us a moment reprise to get under cover and not get soaked."
The other two nodded in agreement as they did their best to wring out their sopping garments. Sirius wished the van had not broken down, but it had gone out three years ago. None of them had wanted to take the time to get it fixed so they had abandoned it and continued their search on the heel-toe express.
"We'll find her." Remus said after a long moment, ever the one to try and raise morale. "We'll find her, defeat the Man in the Black Cloak, and get Lily back to Harry. We swore it, over Prongs' grave. Harry would have his mother back, no matter the cost."
Sirius nodded and saw Peter do the same. "I feel like we made a mistake though. Ten years it's been since he took Lily. Petunia was so sure she could take Harry in though and we al wanted to get Lily back. I just have had been feeling all these years about that Vernon."
"We've been over this several times, Padfoot. I met the man, and he was pleasant enough. I'm sure we'll get back and Harry will be a healthy and respectable young man, ready to come into his powers. Speaking of powers though, they should be coming in any day now so going back to make sure he gets the lessons the Dursely's cannot provide is important."
Peter was looking at his hands. "Padfoot isn't the only one who has been uneasy. Petunia promised to write us, and she hasn't since Harry was five. People can change, Moony. What if Vernon changed since then?"
It was the one thing they had all dreaded. They had almost gone back to Britain that moment she had stopped sending them letters. But they had been so sure they were close to uncovering Lily's whereabouts that that preserved. Six years had passed since then. Sirius could see Remus looking away at the horizon. In the direction of where Harry would be.
"A boy needs his mother," Remus said. It was an old line all three of them had used to keep the search alive. To keep going that next mile. "We swore to James, we would see her returned to him." The fact he said James instead of Prongs spoke volumes to Sirius.
They keep repeating this, so they did not have to face the facts. They had run off to find Harry's real parent because they were too scared to try and raise him themselves. Or at least, that is what each of them feared in their hearts. Oh, they adored Lily, and knowing she was alive was like a thorn in their sides, keeping them from truly resting until their friend was safe. But did all three of them really need to go off to look for her? The nagging always came back again.
"We should hurry back." Peter spoke, "We've been very silly men, haven't we?"
All he could do was put his head in his hands and pray that James would forgive them for running off and leaving his son behind. He prayed to every elemental that might be listening that Harry was safe and happy.
*Hinny-Elemental-Masters*
Harry lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling with Hedwig dosing on his chest. He had managed to pull his focus together just long enough to finish Breezy's magic lesson and had even managed to conjure his first shield that evening. He still had the swirling blue sphere around himself even now, tucked down into the wards that made his magic invisible. But now his thoughts were back on the redheaded girl in the ice cream parlor. He stroked the downy feathers of the owl chick as he recalled every detail he had gleaned or heard about her, as little as the latter was. He smiled, he had never looked forward to school before, but he would this time.
*Hinny-Elemental-Masters*
Ginny sat by the tree overlooking the pond at the edge of the garden. Her mind was swimming with the image of those lovely green eyes.
"As green as a fresh pickled toad." She breathed to herself. "I wish I didn't know what that looked like."
A cough came from behind her, and she saw her dad standing there. "Permission to join you, my little spark?"
Ginny scooted over so her father could sit down next to her under the tree.
"You might want to make sure Fred and George don't hear you making comparisons like that. You know how those two get."
She chuckled. "I will avoid saying such things in their company."
"I heard you met someone today. Someone that made the world stand still?"
Ginny nodded. "Yes. I sense sadness in him, Dad. I don't think he's had a happy childhood like I have. I'm going to become his friend and make him wear that smile more often."
Her dad sighed as if resigned to something. "I understand, darling. Well, if you two get close enough, bring him by the house. I would love to meet him. Your mother said he was a very polite boy."
She nodded, eager. "I will, Dad. Thank you for understanding." She lay her head on his shoulder.
Her father smiled. "Oh, I understand. Now, time for getting ready for bed. You will need to get used to going to sleep earlier if you're going to school."
She groaned and got up. "Part of me hopes this assignment is fast so I can go back to sleeping in."
Her father stood and raised an eyebrow. "And the other?"
"Well, I would very much like to see Harry every day, if I can."
A/N: We approach the end of summer and the start of term. There will be more Hinny interactions and things will come to a head with the Durselys as well. I hope you're looking forward to the June chapter! As always, consider checking out my other works. Also consider checking out my original works, linked below. See you next month!
fiction/55565/song-of-phoenix-ordeal-part-1
fiction/82316/song-of-phoenix-aquatic-currents
