A/N: It's been a long time since I have written anything. I guess I wasn't feeling HP all that much, especially after HBP. But after reading some brilliant fanfics and having time to stew over the events in HBP (but I have yet to re-read the book, heh), perhaps I got my groove back. I don't know. Please don't be afraid to offer me some good, ol' healthy concrit. I dare say I may need it after this long :)
[part one]
Ginny bit her lip as she eyed the clock in the living room, the ticking pounding away in her head. All the hands on the Weasley clock were pointing to home except for Ron's, which was pointing to traveling.
That meant they were almost here.
The Burrow was pulsing with excitement and anxiety. Preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding had to be perfect. Everyone made sure it all went according to plan because things were already quite high-strung without Fleur or Mrs. Weasley blowing a gasket. Even the twins seemed behaved... which can only mean that something big was going to happen at the ceremony itself, Ginny couldn't help thinking.
A loud Pop! disrupted Ginny's thoughts and she whirled around to find her brother there, looking tired and worn. Harry and Hermione stood behind him, looking just as drained.
"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed, engulfing her brother into a hug. It had been different this summer. Ron hadn't come home right away but instead he, Harry and Hermione had gone off somewhere... no one really knew where or why.
"Hermione! Glad you could make it!" Ginny hugged her too. When she pulled away, her eyes landed on Harry, who had his hands shoved deep into his pockets and was staring intently at the ground.
"And you, Harry-"
"Ron! You're here!" Mrs. Weasley shouted in greeting, immediately assaulting her son and interrupting Ginny talking to Harry.
"Ah! Mom, get off me, I'm fine!" Ron said, fighting desperately to escape his mother's clutches. She pulled away, still fussing over him.
"Oh, you look starved, dear. There's food in the kitchen. Harry! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley hugged them fiercely as well. "My, my, you three don't look well at all. Run along now, go help yourselves to the food in the kitchen. Ginny!" Ginny's head snapped up as her mother called her. "Go show them where everything is, and after, come help me and Fleur out in the garden."
"Sure, Mum." Mrs. Weasley scurried off. "Er... well come on to the kitchen, guys. I think you know where it is by now." She forced out a little laugh, which Hermione returned hesitantly. Harry said nothing at all.
When they got into the kitchen, Ron was already loading up his plate. Ginny pulled out plates and glasses for Harry and Hermione and joined them at the table where they ate in silence.
"So, er, what you lot been up to?" Ginny asked, the silence driving her insane.
There was a brief moment where the sound of clinking knives and forks stopped and the three of them exchanged nervous glances. Their nervous glances unnerved Ginny.
Ron cleared his throat. "Oh, we were just doing, you know... this and that..."
Ginny looked at him dubiously. Ron hurriedly took a drink from his pumpkin juice.
"This and that?" Ginny repeated, skepticism laced in every word. "What exactly is this and that?"
"Really, Gin, it's none of your business-" Ron began to say. Ginny huffed loudly crossing her arms over her chest and abruptly standing up.
"Right. Fine. It's none of my business. Well, I'm off to help Mum. You enjoy doing this and that, alright?" She stormed off.
Ron turned to look at Harry and Hermione who were quietly looking down at their plates. "I-I don't know what to tell them," he said. "We can't tell them what we're really up to! And even if we did, Mum would go mental!"
"We need a story to tell everyone," Hermione said. "Sooner or later they're going to start to wonder..."
"But what do we tell them?" Ron asked.
"Well we're still not sure whether Hogwarts is reopening," Hermione pointed out. "If it does reopen, that might be a disadvantage to us because someone will notice that we won't be there... for our seventh year."
A gloom descended on all three of them. Suddenly, they didn't feel so hungry.
"We-we're really doing this, aren't we?" Hermione said, her voice shaky. "We're not going back to Hogwarts. We won't write our NEWT's. We're off to find pieces of Voldemort's soul!"
Harry looked up helplessly at his friends. "Listen, you two don't have to come. You could stay, you could-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Harry," Hermione said shrilly.
"Yeah," Ron put in. "We won't be abandoning you, so stop trying to make us. It won't work."
"But it was like you were saying..." Harry said. "All that stuff Hermione said. If you come with me, you won't be able to do all that! Hermione, you won't be able to be Head Girl, and we all know that you would've been the one!"
Hermione scoffed. "Do you really think being Head Girl is that important to me? Harry, you're safety and beating Voldemort is a thousand times more important to me. Besides, Hogwarts might not even reopen. I'm staying, Harry."
"So am I," Ron said determinedly.
*
The Burrow was extravagantly decorated for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Every detail was paid attention to. From the script on the place cards, to the enormous ice sculptures, it was made sure that there was no mistake and there wouldn't be any mistakes.
"Now, you two, I don't want anything funny happening," Mrs. Weasley told the twins, a death glare present in her eyes.
"Wouldn't even think about it, Mum!" Fred said, putting up his hands.
"Yeah, we actually like Bill," George put in.
"Now if it were Percy's wedding, that'd be a different story-"
"You two, don't you start anything with Percy. It's enough that he's actually showing up to his brother's wedding without you two chasing him away."
"We won't start anything with Percy, don't you worry about that," George said gravely.
"We won't even talk to him, nonetheless look at him," Fred said.
"Well..." Mrs. Weasley faltered, trying to determine if this was a good thing or not. "Well, alright. I guess."
Ron stood awkwardly nearby, tugging at the collar of his dress robes. At least they were nothing like the ones he wore in fourth year. These were newer and much more sophisticated looking, the only price was it made him feel itchy every five minutes. The twins sauntered over to him.
"Well, well, looks like ickle Ronniekins gets to stand up at our big bro's wedding!" Fred exclaimed, clapping him on the back.
"You would think with all the brothers he had he would've made a better choice," George remarked, picking lint off of Ron's robes. Ron swatted his hand away.
"Oh, sod off, you two! You're just bitter because you two aren't standing up in the wedding..."
"Frankly, we could care less, Ronnie."
"Those dress robes that Fleur picked out for the men to wear are nightmares!"
Ron silently fumed as the twins walked away laughing. He hated that they were right.
"Looking good, Ron!"
Ron turned around. Ginny was approaching him, wearing a bridesmaid dress and her hair in soft curls. She beamed at him.
"Thanks, Gin. You look good, too." He scratched at his neck. "I hate these dress robes though."
"Ron, Ginny, you two look gorgeous!" Hermione exclaimed as she drew near to them. Harry followed. Ginny noticed that he still would not look at her. "Oh, Ron, stop messing up your collar!" Hermione attempted to smooth it down but Ron just messed it right back up.
"I can't help it!" he explained feebly.
"Hi, Harry," Ginny said softly as Ron and Hermione continued bickering. "You, er, you look nice." She told the truth too.
"Thanks," he replied just as softly. "You too."
"Ron! Ginny! You're needed upstairs!" Charlie said to them as she dashed by. "Wedding party business. Tell Mum that I'll be right there. I just got wind of an ice sculpture emergency... but don't tell her that!" Charlie winked. "See you lot later!"
"Look, you two go to your wedding party business. Harry and me will go sit down." Hermione rushed off, Harry trailing close beside her. Ginny stared after them, upset that her progress to actually conversing with Harry had been cut short.
"C'mon, Gin," Ron said. The two left to join the other members of the wedding party upstairs.
*
Hermione sighed happily as she took in the atmosphere of the place. The night was peaceful for once. There was unabashed happiness in the air and the sound of laughter and clinking wine glasses met everyone's ears. Hermione even thought that the stars were twinkling merrily down at them, a small tribute to a certain Headmaster's eyes. Harry and Ron approached her, Butterbeer bottles in hand. Harry handed her one.
"It was a beautiful wedding," she said dreamily. "Bill and Fleur look really happy together." The three of them stared off to where the couple was standing, talking to friends with extra glows in their smiles.
"Well, that's good for them," Ron said. "But these dress robes are still murdering me..."
"But I'm proud of you, Ron. You managed to get through the entire ceremony without scratching your crotch," Harry said, smiling as he took a sip of Butterbeer. Ron scowled while Hermione chuckled. It felt nice for all three of them to laugh. It was just sad that these moments were usually cut short, for reality usually settled in and the things they had pushed into the back of their heads fiercely came rearing to the front.
"Are we leaving tomorrow?"
The three of them avoided each other's gazes. It was Hermione that broke the silence.
"We should leave quite early. Get a head start," she said.
"A head start on what, exactly?" Ron asked. "We don't know where to start! Nobody knows what we're doing!"
"Professor McGonagall, remember? We wrote to her. We didn't tell her everything, but I think Hogwarts is our first stop."
"And then what?"
Hermione didn't have an answer to that.
"It's just... it's just scary that we're pretty much doing this all alone. I think maybe it's time we tell someone. They may be able to help us!" Ron suggested desperately.
"But Dumbledore told Harry to tell no one, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. Their conversation had dropped into hurried whispers.
"Dumbledore isn't exactly here now, is he?"
"Ron! How could you? How-"
"Ron, let's tell your family."
Ron and Hermione looked up, startled, when Harry spoke. He gazed at the pair of them. "I mean it. We'll tell the Weasleys. Tomorrow. Maybe after Bill and Fleur leave though."
"Harry, are you sure?" Hermione asked, biting her lip doubtfully.
"Mum might not let me go if she knows, Harry! She's like that, you know..."
"Who's like that?"
The three of them whirled around in surprise, shocked to see Ginny standing close by, a drink clutched in her hand.
"Gin! How long have you been standing there?" Ron asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Calm down, I didn't hear anything."
Ron continued looking at her strangely.
"I didn't!" she exclaimed angrily. "I'm not some type of eavesdropper!"
Ron coughed into his hand what remarkably sounded like "Extendable ears!"
"Oh, like I'm the only one that used them." She waved her hand dismissively. "Fine. I'll leave you three alone, again. All you do is whisper with each other, about this and that no doubt. I know when I'm not-"
"Ginny. We have to tell you something," Harry said.
Ginny slowly turned around. Her eyes passed over the shocked looks on Ron and Hermione's faces to the resolute expression on Harry's.
"Harry, what are you doing?!" Hermione asked frantically. Harry ignored her.
"Gin, do you know what a horcrux is?"