Chapter 10: The Rest of the Summer

Harry's new attitude continued mostly unabated throughout the rest of the summer. He arose early every morning and did his exercises. Granted, most of the inhabitants of the Burrow, the sole exception being Molly, weren't aware of everything he did each morning. He would dress in his exercise clothes, slip out of Ron's room and down the stairs, taking care to miss the squeaky ones, and pass through the kitchen with a hug for Molly, who was beginning breakfast. Then he would head outside to enjoy the warm weather and solitude.

By the time Harry returned each morning, hot and sweaty, breakfast was on the table and he had barely enough time to take a quick shower and dress before the smells wafting throughout the house woke Ron and Ginny. In such a way, he was always able to eat breakfast with the other teens, which was usually enjoyable.

Even the chores that he was assigned were fun for him, as he was doing them for a family he loved. Degnoming the garden gave him another way of gauging how his exercises were helping him, as he was starting to approach the Weasley boys' records for gnome-tossing. He'd already passed Percy's, which wasn't that hard. He'd managed to outthrow the twins, much to their chagrin, and was closing in on Ron's record by the time his birthday came around.

His birthday was one of the highlights of the summer, he found. He hadn't expected much, although he had hoped that maybe the Weasleys would perhaps sing him a song. But when he got up that morning to go exercise, Molly had given him an extra big hug and asked him what he wanted for dinner that night. He was caught flat-footed, not having expected anything of the sort.

"Umm, I don't know, Mrs. Weasley. I like anything you cook." He thought for a bit. "Maybe you could surprise me?"

Molly smiled, "That will be fun, Harry, I'll try to come up with something wonderful for you. Now, go have fun with your running, and don't worry about any chores today. All my kids get the day off when it's their birthday."

Harry grinned back at Mrs. Weasley, happy at her words and the unconditional acceptance that he felt at The Burrow.

oooooooooo

The day passed in a spectacular manner for Harry. He, Ron and Ginny played Quidditch, and were joined part way through by the twins, who had, somehow, found out about the special day. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that their mother had informed them that they would be there or else. . . But whatever brought them, he was happy to have them.

He was a little sad that Hermione hadn't been able to come, but her parents had taken her on a trip and she was rather caught up in the sheer amount of museums that she'd been able to visit. Her letter was quite effusive, Harry had thought, about ancient stellae and their supposed relationship to the rise of witchcraft and wizardry through the years, but then, that was Hermione.

Dinner that night was truly a surprise. Harry hadn't thought Molly had any idea what pizza was, never having encountered it in the Wizarding world before. But someone had clued her in on the deliciousness that it was, and she truly outshone herself. Judging by the reactions of her family, they had never seen it before either, and watching them each take their first bite was priceless. Eventually even Percy deigned to eat with his hands and thus avoided having the pizza run out before his appetite.

Harry was blown away too. The only pizza he'd ever had was the cold remnants of cheese pizza that he managed to sneak out of the refrigerator after one of Dudley's feasts. And, while edible, it certainly wasn't the best example of the art. Molly's was loaded with gobs of cheese, sausage, peppers, onions and things Harry hadn't ever tried before.

"I thought about putting pineapple on it, Harry dear, but that seemed a little too much like a prank when Alice told me about it," Molly commented, as he was working his way through his fourth slice.

Harry swallowed hard, then took a quick drink. "Yeah, that doesn't seem like it would go very well, does it?" he responded, and a quick glance around the table showed him that he was most definitely not in the minority there. Ginny especially seemed put off by the idea, but the twins' looked somewhat intrigued by it, and Harry caught a whisper from them as they discussed what other abominations they could try.

Suffice it to say, from the chatter around the table, pizza was destined to be an oft-requested treat, now that they knew what it was and now that Molly had demonstrated her bona fide pizza-making skills.

Pudding was, of course, a chocolate cake. The first birthday cake Harry could remember having, aside from the rather squashed one that Hagrid had brought him. This one looked much better, although Harry definitely remembered Hagrid's with a great deal of fondness.

The party that followed was legendary, at least in Harry's mind. As the Weasleys watched Harry open his presents with joy shining in his eyes, they each resolved to try to put that smile on his face more often. It was obvious that he'd never had that kind of a birthday party before. Even though the presents were not expensive, and the wrapping paper wasn't flashy and bright, the thought that went into each present was more than evident, and Harry knew deep within his soul, that here, even more than Hogwarts, was where he belonged.

oooooooooo

August 11th also proved to be a rather interesting day for all the residents of the Burrow. Harry had known ahead of time that it was Ginny's birthday, and had stewed and pondered for quite some time to figure out what to give her. He was tempted to give her a broom, after all, she was a natural at Quidditch, and could make use of a new model broom better than just about anyone there. But he'd heard Fred and George whispering about the present they were getting for their sister, and the word FireStryke came up, which Harry knew, courtesy of Ron's Which Broomstick? magazine, was one of the top of the line Chaser brooms, put out by the Firebolt company. He also figured that with the Quidditch team getting a gift from Sirius, those bases were already covered.

He thought quite hard about something girly, like a music box, or jewelry, but remembered the enchanted music box at Grimmauld Place last year, and shuddered. After some more consideration he decided that jewelry would be a little bit presumptuous, as he hadn't quite succeeded in making Ginny his girlfriend, and that was more of a boyfriend type gift.

After more and more pondering, he finally decided on what he thought was the perfect gift. He spent a couple of hours preparing it, then found himself just about going crazy with anticipation until the time came for opening her presents. Then, of course, his was among the last to be opened.

Ginny was seated, as befitted her status as the only girl in the family, in the nice armchair, surrounded by redheads and Harry. Hermione had also Flooed over for the evening, which was, in itself, cause for much hilarity as the twins, Harry, and Ginny watched the heated interplay between Ron and the brunette. Harry was struck at times by the weirdness of the relationship that his two best friends, or rather, two of his three best friends, shared. Sometimes it looked as if they only put up with each other because of their shared friendship with Harry. But other times they seemed to really like each other and that their fighting was more flirting than anything. Harry just shook his head and put aside the situation for later contemplation, as Ginny was nearing the end of the presents. In fact, there were only two left; the one from the twins, and the one from Harry himself.

Ginny looked at the two presents that were still on the floor in front of her. One was rather longish, and the other was tiny, maybe an envelope, or a card from some well-meaning relative. She was somewhat puzzled; she had expected, perhaps prematurely, that Harry would have at least gotten her something. After all, they had become pretty good friends throughout the last three weeks. But maybe she was expecting too much. He hadn't had a lot of practice with giving presents, after all, so she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

It was a hard choice, but finally she decided to open the bigger present next. It said that it was from Gred and Forge, which was somewhat scary.

"Dad, would you please check this for charms?" she asked with a pleading look to her father.

"Of course, Princess," he said, and Ginny masterfully hid the grimace that the nickname caused to flash across her face. One of these days she'd have to explain why she didn't like that. She'd already had that discussion with Harry, and, although she blushed to think about it, he'd readily agreed to never calling her "Princess" again, and instead had started calling her his Queen. She didn't rightly know how to take that, although it seemed to be a good sign, and he didn't sound like he was making fun of her when he did so.

"There's nothing there, sweetheart, no unexpected magical residue." Arthur handed the package back to his daughter.

"Hey Fred," whispered George loudly. "She's just about ready to open the package! Got the camera ready?"

"Of course, old bean. I wouldn't want to miss this moment!" and, true to his word, Fred positioned himself nearby, ready to snap a picture.

Ginny was beyond nervous now. She couldn't think of any reason why they'd want a picture other than that there would be an incredibly embarrassing and highly colorful prank involved. She had just about convinced herself to save that present until later, much later, perhaps on Fred's wedding day, when her mother finally had pity on her.

"Ginny, dear, I promise you that if your present is pranked, I'll take it out of their hides, okay?"

That promise, in and of itself, was almost enough to convince Ginny, but the crowning touch was watching the blood rush out of George's face.

"Um, Ginny, maybe you better let me look at that before-"

RIP! Ginny tore off the wrapping paper, certain that, whatever happened, she was going to come out on top.

Silence.

Continued silence.

Then the Burrow was filled with a wordless scream. Molly immediately went for her wand, Fred was snapping pictures like crazy, Arthur was drawing breath, ready to yell at the twins, Ron was sitting, stock still, staring, and Hermione and Harry were laughing fit to burst. And Ginny? Ginny was jumping up and down, screaming in delight, clutching her new broom.

The pandemonium finally subsided, although poor George and Fred were lying on the floor in Full Body Binds due to Molly's quick reflexes. When everything got sorted out, Ginny got her mother to unfreeze the twins, and then hugged the stuffing out of them in gratitude. After hugging the twins, she went around the circle and hugged everyone, just out of sheer exuberance. Not too much attention was paid to the fact that the hug that Ginny gave Harry was reciprocated with a lot more warmth than normal, and lasted a wee bit longer than the others, although Hermione's face indicated that she, for one, had seen it.

The look on Ginny's face was enough to fuel a thousand Patroni for Harry. He couldn't remember having ever seen her happier, and he felt a brief surge of envy, wishing that he'd been the one to put that look there. But, rethinking, he decided that he could be happy for her, and not sully it with petty jealousy. If she was happy, he was happy, and there were no two ways about it.

Eventually the furor died down, and the broom was lovingly placed in the back corner of the room, ready for Ginny to try it out the next morning, although Harry had a sneaking suspicion that it would be more than the fiery redhead could bear to wait that long. Thinking about that, he made a small bet with himself, then turned his attention back to the girl in question.

In all the fuss, the little envelope almost got thrown away, but Ginny remembered in time and snatched it away from the pile of trash that was moving towards the rubbish bin. "Hold on, I haven't opened this one!" she yelled, and flung herself back into her seat.

The front of the envelope just said, "Ginny", in block letters, which she didn't recognize. They had a slight resemblance to Harry's, but she had never known him to write that neatly. Setting aside the question of provenance, she opened the flap and drew out a card.

She took a moment to admire the front of it, which was a hand-drawn picture of a girl with red hair, flying through the air on a broomstick, quaffle in her hand and a huge smile on her face. The picture wasn't perfect, but it spoke of quite a lot of work, to make it look as good as the artist could. Opening it up and quickly glancing down at the bottom, Ginny smiled and bit her lip. It looked as though Harry hadn't really forgotten her birthday after all.

Knowing who had given it to her gave her the fortitude to read the rest of the card.

Dear Ginny,
It's your birthday today, and I want you to know,
There's nothing I like better than to see your smile glow.
Making you happy is something that I
would like to do, and so that is why
my present to you is my service complete,
whatever you want, you won't have to compete
a full day of me, doing whatever you want
I'm yours for the commanding, I'll be your servant.
Yours,
Harry

She looked up at Harry, a question in her eyes. Did he really mean what the card seemed to say? He nodded slightly at her, and she smiled back at him. As the idea percolated around in her brain, all sorts of suggestions about what she could have him do appeared, fully fleshed out and ready for the implementing. There was always her normal chores, that would be fun. And, of course, helping her with her summer homework; she was already done, naturally, but he didn't know that. He could play Keeper while she practiced her Quidditch moves; she'd only ever seen him Seek, so that should be good for a laugh. And then there was the chocolate sauce- wait! Where did that come from? The blush was spectacular, and the rest of the family's clamoring finally made itself known.

"Ginny! What does the card say?" That was Ron, impatient as always.

"Yes, dear, we would like to know what this mysterious person gave you?" her mum asked, worried that there was something inappropriate in the writing.

Hermione, being who she was, shot a look at Harry, and saw his smile, and instantly guessed, if not what it said, at least whom it was from. She slowly leaned over to him, and said, "So, did you offer to let her fly your broom?"

Harry squeaked slightly, then whispered, "No, I knew she was getting one from Fred and George."

Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. "Fine, then, what did you say in the card?"

"I told her I'd be her servant for a day."

Hermione squeaked in turn. "Really? Oh, what a wonderful gift! I bet she can think of a million things to do. Oh!" she gasped, "I hope she won't take advantage of you too much."

Harry mumbled, almost too low for Hermione to hear, "I wouldn't mind." Then he seemed to realize what he had said. "I mean- I mean-" but his protestations died at seeing the look in her eyes. "Fine! I said what I said. It would be okay whatever she chose to do-I'll just be happy to spend the day with her."

Hermione looked even more intently at him. When his eyes finally met hers, she smiled and tilted her head a bit toward the redhead in question.

Harry frowned and looked at Ginny, then back at Hermione. He raised his eyebrows a bit.

Hermione nodded and raised her eyebrows back.

Harry huffed and then leaned in closer. Whispering, he said, "Fine. Yes, I fancy her. But don't tell anyone, okay?"

Hermione giggled, smiled at him, and crossed her heart. "I promise, Harry, I'm just so happy for you."

"Yeah, but, she's writing to Dean, and I don't know if I have the guts to say anything."

Hermione smiled again. "Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure it'll work out. Now, heads up- the birthday girl is coming over here."

Harry looked up in panic. Ginny was about a foot away, and looking like she wanted to say something. Harry smiled up at her. "Yes, Gin?"

Momentarily taken aback by the unfamiliar nickname, Ginny shook her head, and said, "Well, Harry, I really don't think you realize what you've gotten yourself into, but I accept your gift. I look forward to having your complete services for a whole day. Oh, and I mean to take advantage of it!"

Everyone, except Hermione, wondered why Harry blushed at this, but that wonder was quickly replaced by shouted cries asking Ginny to explain what she was talking about.

Ginny yelled, "Quiet!" After everyone finally subsided, she announced, "I hold in my hand a promise from the famous Harry Potter, that he will be my complete servant for a day. So, I intend to hold him to that, and will think up a day's worth of activities that will prove to the world that I really do reign supreme!"

Molly was the first to laugh, followed quickly by Arthur. Ron started to turn a bit red, but Hermione kicked him in the shins and he kept his opinions to himself. The twins proceeded to shout embarrassing suggestions for her, which she pretended to write down. Harry just sank back into his seat, hoping like anything that Molly would announce time for the birthday cake.

oooooooooo

It had been one of the best summers of Ginny's life. Harry's presence, far from being a burden on them all as they tried to bring him out of depression, had been quite a boon. They had had more fun that summer than ever before. With Harry there, there was no quibbling about letting Ginny play Quidditch, or join in the other games that were played. Harry himself seemed to be taking extra pains to make sure she was included in all their activities. When Hermione came over, and Ginny had prepared herself to be, once again, relegated to the sidelines, it was Harry who would always interrupt their conversations to make sure Ginny knew the background for whatever story was being told. It was in this way that she found out the whole story of the Philosopher's Stone, which just served to boost her admiration of Harry to unprecedented heights. It also impressed upon her how brave both her brother and Hermione were, something she hadn't really taken note of before.

One of the crowning achievements of the summer was that Ginny was able to teach Harry how to swim. She had noticed that he was uncomfortable around water, and resolved one day to find out why. She did so, and, acting on a whim, offered to teach him. It was an interesting afternoon, and they came away better friends for the shared experience. Ginny was happy that he had called her 'Gin' again, and that he had emphatically declared that he didn't think of her as a sister. That put to rest the idea that he was just trying to be the best big brother to her that he could. She had also caught him staring at her in her black swimsuit, as if he were hungry or something. That made her insides heat up, an activity that owed nothing to the brilliant sun, and much to do with the desirous look in his eyes. Any idea that he might not find her very attractive went straight out the window after that.

oooooooooo

The summer hadn't been without its down times, of course, when Harry would start thinking of sad things, maybe the loss of his godfather, or the lack of his parents. Molly had been rather good at passing out hugs whenever Harry needed them, though. In fact, she reveled in the ability to hug him anytime she wanted to, without fear of him shrinking away. Molly Weasley hugs were legendary, and they seemed to work somewhat well for Harry. But the real cure for his depressions found itself in Ginny.

The day after Harry had arrived found him somewhat saddened by the realization that he had probably had the last conversation he ever would have with Sirius, at least until he died. While it had provided a wonderful sense of closure, he still felt the loss keenly, and didn't know what to do. Seeing Ginny reading a book in her favorite chair by the fireplace, he wandered over to her and sat down. Hoping he hadn't bothered her by sitting by her, he touched her on the arm to get her attention. But when she looked up,with those sparkling brown eyes, so full of good humor and mischief, he found himself bereft of the ability to speak.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to put her off. She looked at him for a bit, smiled, and said, "I'm sorry you're feeling sad, Harry. But I think Sirius would want you to be happy." Then she gently put her hand on his shoulder.

Shocked at how well she knew him, Harry froze for a second. Then he noticed the heat spreading through his shoulder and towards his heart. When it reached the center of his being, he found that he really wasn't sad anymore; the combination of her words, and her actions, had served to drive away the imps of discouragement that had attacked him.

"Thanks, Gin," he whispered. She smiled again, and he got up and found Ron for a quick game of gobstones.

From that moment on, when Harry realized he was sinking into another morass of grief, or despair, he would look to see if could find Ginny. If he was successful, he'd go over to where she was, and gently touch her on the arm, as if to say, "I'm sad, can you help me?" She'd gently lay her hand on his shoulder, and soon he'd be able to forget the momentary lapse in good humor, and continue on with his day.

One day, Ginny decided that she'd try an experiment. She'd been noticing Harry's actions, of course; it was second nature to her to catalog his moods and activities, even though she'd tried, somewhat successfully, to divorce her own life from revolving around his. But this new habit of his, of touching her when he was down, bore investigation. Observing him, and his reaction to her, she made her decision. The next time he came over and touched her, with the attendant sadness on his face, she put down her book, got to her feet, and put her arms around him. Holding him close, and rubbing one hand up and down his back, she tried her best to put all her feelings into the embrace.

Harry, for his part, was shocked. But the shock wasn't enough to stop him from taking advantage of this unexpected opportunity to hold the girl he fancied. The hug didn't last nearly long enough for him, or for her, for that matter, but by the end of it Harry's mood had skyrocketed. "Thank you, my Queen," he whispered softly, and went off to challenge Ron to a fast, furious, and ultimately disastrously ill-fated game of chess.

Ginny smiled to herself, blushed a bit about his nickname for her, made a mark in her mental book of Things to Know About Harry Potter, next to the item Harry likes Ginny's touch, added very much and resumed reading.

Further observation showed that after that, Harry sought her out more assiduously to receive a hug when he was upset. Previously, he would find someone else if Ginny weren't there; Molly would give him one of her patented hugs, Arthur would lay a hand on his shoulder. Even Ron would gently punch him on the shoulder and tell him a bad joke-usually the one about a penguin, a nun, and the Carupula charm. But after Ginny's hug experiment, Harry would look for her, only settling for one of the others if she were not physically present at the Burrow, or if she were in the loo.

Ginny was quite proud of the results of her experiment, and came to look forward to his down times-not that the idea of having Sad Harry back was enjoyable, but the remedy was as meaningful for her as it seemed to be for him. And she always felt a special thrill run through her at his gently whispered, "Thank you, my Queen."

All in all, she felt that this had been one of the better summers, and even if nothing happened to deepen her relationship with Harry, they'd at least become much closer friends, such that she could now hope that there were four members of the (again hopefully) incorrectly named Gryffindor Trio.