Part 14

That morning, at the Burrow.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sat at the breakfast table while Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen. "Mum!" Ron called from the dining room. "Where's Ginny?" It was already 8 AM and Ginny almost always was the first to wake up. "Uh-um..." Mrs. Weasley stuttered. "She's fine!"

Ron shared confused looks with his friends. "But where is she?" He called again. Mrs. Weasley arrived in the dining room with plates of eggs, sausages, toast, and other breakfast foods all floating in the air behind her. "She's fine." Mrs. Weasley repeated, firmly. The trio took this as a cue to stop inquiring, and Mrs. Weasley returned to her bright self, hugging Harry, Hermione, and Ron in turn as the plates floated to the table, and kissing them each on the cheek before leaving.

"Alright, so where d'you think she went?" Ron said once Mrs. Weasley had left, with scrambled eggs in his mouth. "That's disgusting, Ronald. But I do think that something weird is going on... Mrs. Weasley obviously knows where she is, so why wouldn't she tell us?" The three sat quietly, racking their brains as to what Ginny might be doing, and why she wouldn't want them to know. "You don't think..." Harry finally started. "That this has anything to do with Ron asking me not to speak to her, do you?" Ron scoffed and Hermione swallowed quickly. "That would make sense. She's been so upset lately." Hermione frowned. "Not herself at all." Then Harry sat up sharply.

"So what's the solution?" He said eagerly, a realization lighting up in his brain. He looked at Hermione expectantly, and she gasped. "Tell Mrs. Weasley she's staying someplace else, and make sure we don't go looking for her!"

"This is codswollop." Ron said shaking his head. "Oh c'mon, Ronald. You must admit that she's been different lately. I don't blame her." Hermione said, guilt spreading in her face. "Harry's been ignoring her, I've barely had the chance to talk to her, and Ron you've just been awful to her."

"How so?"

"Like when you snapped at her when she came into your room? Or said she looked bad in the kitchen that morning? That was kind of rude." Ron finally set down his fork. "Yeah... I suppose." He mumbled. "So where is she then?" Harry said. Hermione shook her head. Both the boys slumped in their chairs. She could be anywhere, and if Hermione didn't have a theory, it might be a very long time until they saw Ginny again.

One week later.

Harry, Ron, Hermione had continued to bother Mrs. Weasley about where Ginny might be, but to no avail. The three were beginning to get slightly worried about her, there being not too many days until they left for Hogwarts. But they still needed supplies.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were all lined up in front of the fireplace, to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. "Alright..." Said Mrs. Weasley, nervously. "How about the three of you try squeezing in together... I'm a bit low on Floo powder." So they entered the fireplace, Harry and Ron on either side of Hermione pushed up against her and both holding her hands tightly. Ron grabbed a fistful of the powder and released it onto the floor of the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!"

Later, in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

The trio had split off from Mrs. Weasley earlier in the day, to pick up books, quidditch supplies, potions ingredients, etc. Once they had bought all of their things, they met up in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ron and Hermione were looking at something further up the store, while Harry was loitering near the back, pretending to look at Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

Really, he was doing his best to look inconspicuous while eavesdropping on Mrs. Weasley speaking in a hushed voice to Fred and George. He caught small bits of their conversation. Like, she's eating, right? From Mrs. Weasley, and vigorous nods from both the boys. And, she's got all her school supplies? Nodding again. Harry was just putting together pieces of the puzzle when he saw her.

Ginny hopped off of a ladder that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Harry's breath hitched. Ginny no longer looked tired. She was drastically changed from the last time he had seen her. Her face and skin radiated a happy glow that wasn't present when she was staying at the Burrow. She looked peaceful and beautiful, walking over to Mrs. Weasley.  She wore Chudley Cannons hoodie, and a pair of shorts that were barely visible, since the hoodie was so oversized. Her hair was tossed into that messy bun that Harry only just realized he loved so much, and in his mind, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the thought down. Ginny Weasley was hot.

He couldn't peel his eyes away from her. She hugged her mum, and they talked. He only caught parts of their conversation, one tidbit being, you'll come back tonight, won't you? With a nod from Ginny. Harry kept watching as the four Weasley's conversed, and a grin spread across his face when Mrs. Weasley said something that made her three children laugh. God, he loved Ginny's laugh.

When the conversation ended, Harry quickly turned his attention back to the Darkness Powder that he had just been staring at. He saw out of the corner of his eye as Ginny walked over to a Skiving Snackbox moved it, fiddling with something underneath. Then she walked over to Harry. His breathing got heavier as she came closer to him and he tried not to look.

Without a word, Ginny came up behind him, and stood on the tiptoes of her bare feet. She moved a clump of the powder, her arm reaching over his shoulder, and revealed a tiny hole, in which she slipped her wand. She looked directly at Harry as she slipped it out and he savored her flowery smell and the bliss he felt looking into her chocolate brown eyes. But as quick as she came, she left, leaving Harry breathless, watching her climb the ladder. What was wrong with him?

Then, Hermione came over. "Come on, Harry. Let's Go. Ron's a bit upset with Fred and George... And Lavender Brown is here... I'd rather not keep watching her slobber all over him." Harry nodded and glanced at the empty space where the ladder had been, then back at Hermione. "What are you looking at?" She asked him. He shook his head. "Nothing."