A/N: Wow you guys. Thanks for the overwhelming response to chapter 1!! I'm really hoping I don't disappoint you as the story goes on. I don't see this one going on as long as DD, which is 21 chapters altogether. I'm projecting that this will hit between 8 -12 chapters.
Also, you all might be surprised- Ginny's not evil in this story! Yay for no evil Ginny! ;) hahahaha just kidding. She's got her own issues but she's not evil. You will find out everything that happened to her in a later chapter of the story!
Thanks again to all of you who read/reviewed. I responded to as many reviews as I could with the feature portkey has now… I hope I can keep up with that every chapter but forgive me if they lessen- I figure you guys would rather have me writing this than spending all the time on responses. I promise to always address the really important ones!!
Anyways…enough of me blabbing. On with the story!!
*** *** ***
"What's your problem mate?" Harry asked as he closed the door behind him and Ron.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"You need to lay off Ginny," Harry replied. "She knows what she did was wrong all right?"
"Hey, you're not related to her, all right?" Ron snapped.
"I may as well be," Harry shot back. "Your parents have all but formally adopted me and you know I think of her as a sister. The way she thinks of me as another brother." He knit his eyebrows together. "Another thing… perhaps you could lay off Hermione a bit? We're adults now, hasn't the bickering gone on long enough?"
Ron glared at him. "I'm going to bed," he said stiffly. He opened his trunk and grabbed his pyjamas, and headed for the loo to change. When he came back a few minutes later Harry was already in bed, facing the wall.
It wasn't how Ron wanted to start their stay at Crossways… fighting with both Harry and Hermione. Ginny was another story, and Ron was determined that until she explained her actions of the previous school year, that he would only talk to her when necessary.
"I'm sorry," he said aloud, knowing Harry wasn't asleep yet. "I'll apologise to Hermione tomorrow all right?"
Harry turned over. "Just be nice to her. I think it hurts when you insult her. And if you're going to stay mad at Ginny, then at least be cordial to her. It's not your life, it's hers." He paused. "Besides… I think Luna Lovegood fancies you." He grinned at Ron, who looked stricken.
"That's just bloody wrong," Ron replied. "Why would I even… look at her?"
"Why not?" Harry replied. "It's not as if she's ugly or stupid. She was a Ravenclaw remember?"
"She's so odd though," Ron said, sliding under the thick comforter. "Always staring at me or whoever with those weird eyes; always got a copy of the Quibbler under her arm…" he yawned.
"I think if you took a moment to get to know her you'd discover she's a very nice person- there's a lot more to her than you or anyone has given her credit for." Harry replied.
Ron simply snored in reply.
*** The Next Morning***
"How did you boys sleep?" Harry and Ron went into the dining room and were confronted by a beaming Charlotte.
"Just fine," Harry replied. "Good morning," he said to Hermione, Ginny and Luna, who were already seated around the large dining room table.
"Morning Harry," Hermione smiled. Ginny nodded and Luna raised her eyes from the newspaper she was reading to stare past him at Ron.
"Good morning Ronald," she said in her misty voice.
"Hi," Ron muttered. He quickly took a seat at the opposite end of the blonde, who continued to watch him. "What's for breakfast?"
"Eggs, toast, sausage…" Charlotte replied. "I've got some kippers here, some bacon…"
"I feel like I'm at a restaurant," Harry said quietly to Hermione, who chuckled.
"Like I said, she lives to cook." She whispered as her aunt came back in the room bearing a large platter stacked with toast.
"Come now, eat!" Charlotte said. "I'll be putting you to work today so make sure you pack it away!" she laughed and everyone else smiled and dug in.
After a very full breakfast, Charlotte began handing out orders. "Harry and Ron… I thought I might put you two to work in the boathouse. It needs a fresh coat of paint on the outside and some reinforcement on the inside. I'd also appreciate it if you could scrub down the boats and perhaps test them in the water, see if they'll hold."
"Sure," Ron said as Harry nodded. They headed outside and down by the lake.
"What do you want us to do?" Hermione asked.
"I'm hoping you girls won't mind some heavy duty attic work," Charlotte smiled at them. "There are so many things that need to be sorted out up there… furniture, old boxes of clothes and photos…" she shook her head. "It'll take the three of you a good couple of weeks to get through it all."
"Well… we'd better get to it then," Hermione said with a quick look at Ginny and Luna. "Are you girls with me?" she joked.
Ginny smiled faintly and nodded while Luna actually looked excited at the prospect of slogging through antiques. Charlotte thanked them and headed for her office.
"Just let me know if there's anything you need. I'll call you down when it's time for lunch." She said.
Hermione, Ginny and Luna headed up the circular staircase; on the top level of the house they found an open door with another stairwell leading up. Hermione climbed it first, Luna following her while Ginny brought up the rear.
"Wow," the redhead uttered. "This place is amazing!"
Hermione's eyes gleamed as they roamed over the expansive room. "I wonder how many books are buried around here?" she said aloud and made Ginny laugh.
"That's the Hermione I know," she said.
Hermione smiled at her. "It's not likely I'll ever change," she teased, happy to see a smile on her friend's face again. "Come on… let's get started."
The three girls started by uncovering the large pieces of furniture, sending dust into the air as the dingy sheets were yanked off.
"Does your aunt want us to throw these away?" Luna asked, tying her long blonde hair back out of her face.
"I'm not sure," Hermione picked up the edge. "Maybe if we put them through the laundry they'd be quite nice?"
"I think they were white at one point," Ginny said. "Why don't' we pile them up over there by the stairwell and we can take them down when we go have lunch."
"Sounds good to me," Hermione replied. They worked hard for the next several hours and had uncovered all the furniture as well as started sifting through several boxes of clothing. They set those aside in one section and put the photo albums and books in another corner.
"I think I need a shower already," Hermione pulled at her white t-shirt, coughing as the dust flew from it. She had several grey streaks across her chest, as did Ginny and Luna. "Come on, we'd best change before having lunch."
"I agree," Ginny picked a cobweb out of her hair. "It's a good thing Ron isn't up here… you know how he hates spiders." She scowled. "I should find a few and put them in his bed."
Hermione and Luna laughed as they each took part of the pile of sheets. They brought them downstairs to the laundry and then set back to their bedroom to take quick showers.
The three girls arrived to lunch at the same time as Harry and Ron. Charlotte was busy setting the table as Hermione ran to the kitchen to retrieve the platter of sandwiches her aunt had made.
"I'm sorry that lunch isn't quite the affair that dinner and breakfast were," Charlotte said. "I've got quite the amount of paperwork to do today and-"
"It's all right Aunt Charlotte," Harry said. "We appreciate it… we don't need the fancy meals if you've got other things to do."
"I promise a good dinner for you all tonight," Charlotte said. "I've got to run, do you kids mind cleaning up after yourselves?"
"Of course not," Ginny replied. "Thank you Aunt Charlotte."
Charlotte smiled at the redhead on her way out. She had a meeting with the construction foreman in her office. Her thoughts lingered on Ginny…wondering about the sad, haunted look in the girl's eyes that she kept noticing.
She was almost to her office when she noticed a young man standing at the door. "Can I help you son?" she asked.
"Hi," the boy said. "I'm Neville Longbottom? My Gran said you needed help so she sent me up here."
"Oh I've been expecting you dear!" Charlotte said. "You can call me Aunt Charlotte… I've known your Gran for a long time. We were friends as young girls."
Neville nodded politely. "I'm sorry to have arrived so late, but the bus I was on broke down."
"Quite all right dear," Charlotte waved a hand. "The other kids are in the dining room having lunch, please feel free to go in and join them. Afterwards come find me and I'll tell you where I need you to go."
"All right," Neville nodded, dropping his bags by the staircase and heading back in the direction she pointed. He wasn't looking forward to meeting a bunch of strangers, and no one was more surprised than he to see his Hogwarts chums sitting around the table, laughing and talking.
"Neville?" Ron was the first to notice. "What are you doing here?"
"My Gran sent me up because she knows Aunt Charlotte." Neville replied. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Charlotte is my great aunt," Hermione explained. "We're here… for the same reason you are apparently." She smiled. "Come and have some lunch with us. It's good to see you Neville."
Neville smiled. 'Perhaps this summer wouldn't be as bad as I thought.' He thought. He sat down next to Ginny Weasley, and as she smiled a warm feeling washed over him.
A good summer indeed.
*** *** ***
Harry wiped his forehead. It wasn't especially hot that day but he and Ron were working hard in the boathouse. They'd already done one coat of paint and were waiting for it to dry before doing another. During that time they'd tested out most of the boats and made some shelves.
He hoped they'd hold. Neither he nor Ron were carpenters but they'd asked one of the workers for some help and he'd gladly obliged. Now the boats were stored neatly and they'd scrubbed the floors until they shone.
"Nice job mate," Ron wiped his face with his discarded t-shirt. "This place looks a sight better than it did this morning."
Harry nodded, proud of their work. "I wonder how the girls have got on. And Neville… he disappeared after lunch."
"Probably got him doing something else around here." Ron took a last look around. "Well… let's head back and see what else we can do."
Harry nodded, grabbing his own shirt from where he'd tossed it near the door. "Hey Ron… what say we take a dip in the lake before we go back."
"I like the way your mind works mate," Ron grinned. They shed all their clothes but their boxer shorts and dove off the dock into the cool water.
Hermione had opened all the windows in the attic after lunch and she heard the splashing and laughing. "What the…" she stuck her head out and smiled.
It was the first time she'd seen Harry be so carefree since before his showdown with Voldemort. His smiles since his return were so few and far between and laughter was even rarer.
"What are you looking at?" Ginny asked from the floor, where she was sifting through articles of clothing.
"Harry and Ron are in the lake," Hermione laughed.
"They are?" Luna asked interestedly. "Are they naked?"
"Luna!" Hermione started laughing harder. "Come and see for yourself."
Luna grinned very un-Luna-like and got up from her spot next to Ginny. "I think Ronald definitely is," she said in her dreamy tone, which made Hermione clutch her sides in laughter.
"Luna, that's gross. Ron's my brother. I don't want to think of him being naked." Ginny shuddered.
The blonde only smiled. "We should go down there."
"Not if they're naked!" Ginny exclaimed. "Harry is LIKE a brother to me. I've no desire to see him in the buff either!" Hermione and Luna turned to look at her. "Well not now. If you'd asked me about five years ago I'd have said yes."
Harry splashed more water at Ron. "This feels really good," he said.
"Aye it does." Ron agreed. "Think we should get the girls down here? We could see them in their knickers!" he grinned.
Harry laughed. "Right, like Hermione would let us see her naked, or almost naked." The thought of their mutual best friend in nothing but her knickers was actually quite arousing, Harry had to admit. He turned his head to look up at the inn and he saw Hermione and Luna watching them from the attic window.
Hermione yelped as Harry looked straight at them and she pulled Luna back inside. "Harry just saw us!" she began to laugh again. Luna smiled at her before peeking back outside.
"Hey Hermione!" Ron's voice floated up to them. "Why don't you come on in? The water's great!"
"No thank you!" Hermione shouted back.
"Oh come on!" Ron called. "We promise not to look!"
"Bugger you," Hermione replied. "I know the both of you would look! You're only seventeen after all! The male mind is a scary place!"
Harry laughed at him. "She's got you there Ron. I swear I caught you looking at me when I was taking my trousers off."
Hermione and Luna began laughing again. "Thanks but no thanks!" Hermione called back and they disappeared from the window.
"Thanks a lot mate," Ron frowned at him. "Now we'll have them thinking I'm gay."
Harry snorted. "They don't think you're gay any more than they think I'm gay."
"Whatever," Ron said. "I'm going in." he shook his red hair off as Harry got out as well.
*** *** ***
Dinner that night was even more fun than the one before. Charlotte had made chicken and beef kebabs, along with some superior chips and a vegetable stew.
"You're almost a better cook than my mum," Ron said after his third kebab. "Don't tell her I said that though."
"Your secret is safe with me," Charlotte smiled. She was pleased to see that Neville already knew the group of teens- she'd found out right before dinner that they all had gone to school with one another. He seemed to be quite enamoured by Ginny, who was staring off into space again, twirling a lock of her almost shoulder length hair around one of her fingers.
Hermione was chatting rather animatedly with Luna Lovegood about some professor at their school whom they both clearly seemed to dislike.
Amidst eating, Harry and Ron were talking about some sports team, Charlotte never really managed to catch the team names… she assumed it was football and David Beckham they were so excited over, as most people their age loved the superstar.
After a dessert of strawberry shortcake and blueberry pie, Hermione helped her aunt clean up the kitchen.
"Aunt Charlotte, you don't have to cook for us like this every night. We're going to go home with more than a few stones put on," Hermione said as she hand washed her aunt's good dishes.
"Oh dear, I'm happy to do it," Charlotte replied. "Your friends are such a help and a delight to be around."
"Try almost living with them for seven years," Hermione said dryly.
"You're close though, I can tell." Charlotte brought another stack of plates to the sink.
"As close as friends can be," Hermione confirmed. "We've all been through a lot together."
"I see," Charlotte smiled.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"I can tell the three of you are close," Charlotte said.
"That's what I said," Hermione replied.
"I think Ron fancies you Hermione," Charlotte said gently. "I've caught him looking at you quite often."
"What?" Hermione said again. "That's… that's just silly. Ron doesn't fancy me. We're all just friends is all."
"I may not be in my teens anymore, but I can still remember the look of someone who fancies another." Charlotte smiled.
"Aunt Charlotte," Hermione said, turning off the faucet. "Trust me when I say Ron doesn't fancy me. I certainly don't think of him that way. We're honestly just all best friends. That's all it ever has been."
Charlotte smiled and simply nodded in reply.
*** *** ***
Hermione climbed the stairs after she said goodnight to her aunt, walking slowly down the corridor. She felt strange about what her aunt had said about Ron fancying her. She shrugged, letting the thought fall to the back of her mind as she reached the bedroom she was sharing with Ginny and Luna.
"And I don't care if he's my brother; I should think he'd show me a little respect." Ginny was saying loudly. "Yes, I made a mistake, a rather BIG mistake, I've admitted to it. I apologised for it. What does he want me to do, fall down on my knees and say I'll never look at Malfoy again?"
"You just need to let him cool off," Hermione said, knowing exactly what Ginny was referring to. "You know how Ron is."
"Only too well," Ginny flopped back on her bed. "It's just that he seems to think he's better than the rest of us sometimes, especially when he's holding a grudge about something."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I have two words for you. Yule and Ball. Do you remember how angry he was with me for going with Krum? He still talks about that and it was over three years ago."
Ginny shook her head. "I don't know what else to do! It seems like he'll never forgive me until…" her voice trailed off as she sighed. "I just don't know anymore you guys."
Hermione sat down next to her. "It's all right Ginny. We were all surprised but you know what? You're only human. We all make mistakes." She hugged her friend. "I don't think any less of you for it though. Neither does Harry. And I think deep down, Ron doesn't either. It just takes him a bit longer to face up to what his feelings are."
"I think you were very brave," Luna sat down on Ginny's other side. "Not many girls could keep their wits about them while facing a firing squad like the Slytherin girls." She squeezed the redhead's hand. "You still have lots of friends who care about you."
Ginny felt unexpected tears well in her eyes. "Thanks you guys," she hugged both of them to her. "You're my two closest friends you guys know that?"
"Don't get all mushy on us now," Hermione teased. Luna laughed as Ginny grabbed her pillow and hit Hermione square in the face. Moments later, feathers started flying.
*** *** ***
Harry woke a bit earlier than Ron the next morning and used the time to head into the loo. He liked beating Ron inside; otherwise he'd have to wait until at least lunch to have a shower.
He scrubbed shampoo into his inky black hair while letting the hot water beat down on his back. His shoulders were a bit red and he was sore from the manual labour of the day before.
"Guess I'm not as in shape as I thought," he said ruefully. He stepped out into the now steamy room and dried himself off, pulling on a clean pair of jeans and an old shirt of Dudley's, most likely from when he was about four years old, for it fit Harry perfectly.
"Good morning," he said as he entered the kitchen a few minutes later. Aunt Charlotte and Hermione were fixing a breakfast that looked like it would feed a small village.
"Morning Harry," Hermione beamed at him.
"Good morning dear," Aunt Charlotte sent him a warm smile. "Grab a plate and help yourself."
"I'm still full from dinner last night, but this looks great." Harry did has he was told, and soon his plate was full of sausages and pancakes. "How long have you been up Hermione?"
"About an hour," Hermione sat down next to him and passed a glass of orange juice his way.
"Thanks," Harry said. They ate in silence a few moments before he spoke up again. "This is nice." He said.
"What is?" Hermione asked.
"The quiet," Harry replied. "Sometimes… I can really sit and appreciate life a bit more when it's quiet. I feel as if my existence has been noisy from the very beginning sometimes."
Hermione smiled and laid a hand on his, squeezing gently. "You're right," she said. "It is nice."
"What's nice?" Ron asked, his plate piled twice as high as theirs. His eyes moved momentarily to their joined hands before Hermione pulled hers away.
"Nothing," she said, feeling a bit ill at ease with his expression. "We were just talking."
"Oh," Ron sat down and dug into his breakfast.
Harry and Hermione shared a look as Aunt Charlotte joined them, followed by Neville, Luna and Ginny.
"You boys did a wonderful job on the boathouse," Charlotte said happily. "There are some stables near the forest, on the edge of the property. There aren't any horses left of course, I'd like to get some when we open this place back up. The stalls need cleaning out, the windows in the front need to be scrubbed, and the doors need to be reinforced. Are you three up for that?" she looked at Harry, Ron and Neville.
"Sure," Neville answered with nods from his two friends.
"Girls, I'd like you to continue on the attic," Charlotte said. "You've done a marvellous job so far… those sheets you brought down will be lovely once they've gone through the laundry and I'd like you to start boxing up some of the photo albums and such. I'm thinking I might use some of them to hang around here."
"That's a good idea," Ginny said. Hermione nodded in agreement.
"It'll increase the historic factor around here, especially once this place opens up for guests." She added.
Charlotte smiled. "And I've got yet another fascinating day of paperwork ahead of me. This is why I needed you six here." She got up. "You know where to find me if you kids need me," she nodded and left them.
"We should get out by the stables," Neville finished his last mouthful of sausage. "I saw them yesterday when I went out walking. They're a right mess."
"Great," Ron replied. "I'm still sore from yesterday."
"Oh from your dip in the lake?" Hermione asked innocently. "Where you were checking Harry out?"
Neville grinned. "What is this you two? Have you become lovers? Stay out of my bed at night will you?" the room broke up in laughter except for Harry and Ron.
"See what you've started Harry?" Ron snapped.
"Oh relax Ron, we're just teasing." Hermione was still smirking.