Disclaimer: JKR's garden, I'm just replanting it.
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Under ordinary circumstances, the Order would have taken Harry and the teens to the safety of Grimmauld Place. Due to Dumbledore's death, the safe house was no longer safe. The Fidelius Charm had been broken moments after he had been murdered by Snape; leaving the former Potions professor free to tell the Dark Lord the location of the house. The Order's prior meeting there had been fairly risky, but the kitchen at Grimmauld Place was much larger than the Burrow, and there had been a large number of people in attendance.
Molly Weasley had felt that it would be in the best interest of the teenagers to keep them safe in her own home. Having experienced first hand how easily they could be found in London, Harry and Hermione didn't argue when Molly ushered them home.
Three tense days passed at the Burrow after Hermione had been discharged from St. Mungo's. Though Ron had come to terms with Harry and Hermione's relationship, he was still having trouble seeing it in front of his face every day.
Ginny was taking it worst of all. Despite Hermione's near-death experience, she was still determined that Harry would come back to his senses and proclaim his love for her. Any normal person would have learned from Hermione's unfortunate experience, realizing that it was dangerous to be with Harry, but Ginny had convinced herself that somehow Hermione had brought the situation upon herself. While she was polite to the couple when they spent time together, she had spent hours locked in her room, trying to discover a way to turn Harry's heart in her favour again. She couldn't believe that his feelings had dissipated so quickly, and was determined to win him back.
Mrs. Weasley, in an attempt to shield her children from any further emotional distraught, had given Harry and Hermione permission to stay in each other's rooms with the door closed. She remembered what she and Arthur had been like at their age, and would rather have them behind closed doors than flaunting their relationship in the faces of their children. Also, Molly knew about the nightmares that Hermione had been having, and understood that she needed Harry to give her some Dreamless Sleep potion when she had one. Occasionally Hermione didn't make it back to her own room before falling asleep again, so there were nights where Harry had gently lifted her from the floor, where she'd fallen asleep, placed her in his own bed and taken her place on the floor. Mrs. Weasley didn't mind this, as she was still thankful (in a morbid sense) that it had been Hermione, and not Ginny, in that alleyway. Of course, Molly had overlooked the fact that both Ron and Ginny were bright children, and they were quickly able to figure out what was going on.
It was this allowance that Mrs. Weasley had made that led to possibly the best 'Happy Birthday' Harry had ever received.
Still in the wee hours of the morning, Harry was fast asleep. He had been concerned at first about Hermione not being able to wake him if she needed any of the potion Healer Danby had given them, but he discovered that he was a lighter sleeper than he realized. He was now able to fall asleep easily, knowing that Hermione would come to him if she needed him. He would have preferred to share a room with her at least, so that she didn't have to wake up from her nightmares alone, but he knew that Mrs. Weasley would never tolerate that. Instead, Harry always fell asleep with his door cracked open, so that if he heard anything coming from Hermione's room, he would wake up and go to her immediately. That night was a different one. Hermione had not woken him up for any reason, and Harry had been asleep long enough to begin floating through a dream.
A soft, floral fragrance began to drift through Harry's room. He could smell it even in his sleeping state, and it began to gently coax him into waking up. Rolling over and rubbing his eyes, Harry looked around his room, searching for the source of the pleasant smell. He found nothing. As he was about to turn back over and go back to sleep, an ethereal figure entered his room. She was dressed in a long white silk gown, and she reminded Harry of when he and Hermione began to glow together. This figure was brighter than they had ever been, lighting up his entire room.
"Hello, Harry," she whispered.
He stared, unsure of what to say.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," she said, smiling at him. "You're seventeen today; today you are going to become a man."
Silently the beautiful figure slipped across the room, closing the door behind her. Clearly she was a witch since she was carrying a wand, but to Harry, she looked like an angel. She flicked her wand about, casting silently.
Harry looked at her, confused. "What did you do?" he asked. He tried to sit up, to face the witch-angel, but found that he couldn't. His wrists were magically bonded to the bed.
"Just a few charms," she winked. "You won't be able to move until I let you, and I cast another charm so that no one can hear what's going on or get through that door."
Harry couldn't help but feel a little worried, for reasons he could not comprehend. A beautiful angel had entered his room, confined him to his bed, and locked the door. He couldn't see anything wrong with this, but was still a touch apprehensive. "What's going on?" he asked, unable to do anything but stare at the beautiful woman.
She let out a giggle, and came closer to him. She lifted herself onto the bed with Harry, straddling his waist. "Now you really can't move," she winked.
Before Harry could protest-though what sane man would?-she had dipped her head to his, and covered his mouth with kisses. They were gentle at first, but the witch-angel began to kiss him more passionately, her tongue darting in and out of his mouth.
Harry's head was spinning, his temperature rising by the second.
The witch-angel sat back, a sly grin on her face. Her motions had caused the front of her silk gown to slide open at the front, giving Harry a generous view of what she wasn't wearing underneath.
"Let's Apparate somewhere else," she suggested, flicking her wand to undo his magical bonds.
Harry seized his opportunity to grab his angel by the waist and flip her over onto her back. Before she could react he had her hands pinned, and was straddling her as she had done to him. Her breath caught in her throat.
"You were saying?" he murmured, kissing her thoroughly before she had the chance to respond. He pressed his body against hers, acting just as wickedly as she had moments earlier. Harry realized at that point that she was more exposed than she had been before, probably due to his moving on top of her. His mouth went dry.
"I was saying," she said coyly, "that we should Apparate somewhere else."
"Have somewhere in mind?" he said, grinning at her.
She slipped out of his hold to stand in front of him, readjusting what he now realized was a robe and not a gown. She held out her hand to him and he gladly took it, sweeping her into his arms.
The angel nodded in response to his question and held tightly to his waist. She concentrated, and they Apparated elsewhere without a sound.
"Where are we?" Harry asked, looking around as he still held onto his angel.
She looked up at him, smiling. "I created this place."
"How did you…?" he was confused. Harry took a closer look at his angel. "'Mione?"
"Well, who else, silly?" she grinned.
"Am I still dreaming?" he asked, looking around.
She shook her head. "You were pretty asleep when I came in, but you started to wake up when I suggested Apparating."
Harry was surprised. Hermione was still dressed in the white silk robe he'd pictured her in, but she wasn't glowing as brightly as she had been in his dream. She looked beautiful, and Harry could barely take his eyes off of her.
"Harry, look around," she prompted.
He did as he was told, and was amazed. Hermione had taken his idea from the hotel balcony and recreated something similar for him. They were in another room entirely, but it looked as though they were on a beach somewhere. There were palm trees, beautiful flowers, and the ocean looked so inviting. Right in the centre of the white sand was a hut of some sort. From where Harry was standing, it looked like it had four posts made of thick bamboo stalks, and there was a white canopy over it, billowing in the gentle breeze.
Hermione took his hand and led him towards the canopy, and parted the folds so that they could enter. Inside it was similar to the tent that Mr. Weasley had brought to the Quidditch World Cup in their fourth year. There was a huge pillow the size of a mattress lying on the floor, surrounded by smaller pillows. The canopy appeared to be bewitched so that from the outside you couldn't see in, but from the inside you could see out. Harry had a wonderful view of the water, among other things.
Leaning back on the giant pillow, Harry looked up at his girlfriend. "What are we doing here?"
She smiled, toying with the edge of your robe. "It's your birthday, Harry," she said, "don't you want to open your present?"
Harry was more than tempted, but he was still hesitant. The most beautiful woman he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing was offering herself to him, and all he could think about was days earlier, when she had been in the alley. "Are you ready for something like this, 'Mione?"
"What do you mean, Harry?"
"Doesn't it feel too soon? After everything that just happened?"
Hermione sat down next to him, and he pulled her close. "Harry, we love each other. How can anything be too soon? If you really think about it, we've waited six years for this." she pointed out.
"I don't mean that, 'Mione. I mean after… after Malfoy," he said quietly.
"Oh… that." she whispered. Facing Harry, Hermione let a few tears slip down her cheeks. "That's why I need you, Harry," she grasped his hand. "I don't want to think about that anymore."
Harry held her close as they lay back on the enormous pillow, softly stroking her hair and placing soft kisses on her temple. "Then don't," he said, kissing her.
"Harry, please," she begged softly, "I need to get the memories out of my mind, and I can't take Dreamless Sleep Potion forever. We need to create new memories. We don't have to do anything more than we did in London, unless you want to, I just need to be with you."
Harry wanted nothing more than to do exactly what she was asking of him, but he wanted it to be for the right reasons. "We can't just jump into this. Last time we were completely smashed, which may not be an excuse, but otherwise we wouldn't have done it. We can't do this if we're not ready. I don't want to hurt you," he looked at her, holding her tenderly.
"You won't," she promised. "You need kisses to make you feel better, right? Well, I need a lot more than kisses to get past this. Just let me touch you. You can help me get past this, Harry, please-"
Before she could continue, Harry had kissed her. He pulled her closer, entangling a hand in her hair and sliding the other one around her waist. He spent several enjoyable minutes thoroughly exploring the depths of Hermione's mouth; the hand on her waist was sliding inexplicably lower. Moving around to the front of her robe he parted it and gently slipped it from her shoulders. As he nibbled on her neck his hand moved even lower until his fingers found that little nub that had caused Hermione to moan loudly the night they'd come back from Paris. Harry may have been extremely trashed that night, but after a few days to reflect on the evening's occurrences he had managed to remember the events properly, and more importantly, what little and not-so-little things pleased Hermione.
She gasped with a sharp intake of breath and her hips bucked, pushing herself against Harry's hand. As his thumb moved in little circles, Hermione's world exploded. Her back arched as she called out his name, and she fell back on the pillow, breathing heavily.
"No fair," she panted, with a languid smile spreading across her face. "It's your birthday, you should be the one on the receiving end of all of this."
Harry quirked an eyebrow at her, but was quickly pushed onto his back before he could question her. Hermione began to return the favour, nipping at his neck and placing heated kisses along his collarbone. She kissed a line from his neck to his hips, gently licking along the crease where his upper thighs met his pelvis. With one steamy glance up into Harry's eyes, she took him into her mouth, swirling her tongue around him.
As Harry laid back and enjoyed Hermione's ministrations, gripping fiercely at the oversized pillow, he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest wizard alive.
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"Morning Harry!" Ron said brightly, pushing his way into Harry's room.
Harry groaned as Ron pulled up the blinds, letting the sunlight into his room. "Happy birthday, mate!" he said cheerfully, plopping himself on Harry's bed. "Mum says we're going to the Ministry today so that you can do your Apparition test. She and Dad are there now, arranging the cars."
Harry was listening to Ron, but he wasn't paying attention to the words. His mind was still on Hermione, and how she had begged him to help her heal her emotional wounds. Furthermore, he was still revelling in the afterglow of her tongue on his…erm…more intimate parts.
"-and Ginny's downstairs making a huge birthday breakfast, and… Harry, have you been listening to a word I said?!" Ron said, staring at his best friend.
"Um… Apparition and breakfast?" Harry guessed.
Ron laughed. "Close enough. Come on, would you? We'll go get Hermione up and go downstairs. Ginny's been cooking for the last forty-five minutes."
"What time is it?" Harry asked, still fairly sleepy.
"Nearly eleven," said Ron, dragging Harry out of bed.
Harry dressed quickly and had Ron go on downstairs without him, claiming he wanted to see if Hermione slept okay. Ron headed down the stairs, knowing that Hermione's nightmares were a touchy subject with Harry.
Carefully opening the door to Hermione's room, Harry slipped inside. His girlfriend was sleeping peacefully, looking much like the angel she'd been in his dream. "Good morning, beautiful," he whispered, gently kissing her cheek.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Harry, "Hi," she whispered back, almost shyly.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I just wanted to make sure," he said, "I was worried I might've hurt you earlier."
"You didn't hurt me in London, Harry, why would you have this morning?" she asked quizzically.
Harry seemed like he didn't want to bring up the subject, but he knew he'd have to. "I thought that maybe you might be more… sensitive? I don't know the word I'm looking for, but I wanted to make sure I was gentle enough."
Hermione chucked softly, reaching out to hug her boyfriend. "Oh, Harry," she sighed, her breath tickling his ear, "you never have to worry about hurting me. I can take a lot more than this morning, you know. You won't always have to be so careful. In fact, I'm really hoping that one day soon, you'll quit being careful altogether."
Harry's mind began to wander at this, but he was quickly brought back by Hermione's kiss. She'd leaned over towards the edge of the bed, kissing him passionately, hungrily.
Harry broke away. "Promise?" he said tentatively. He didn't want to hurt her, but it was hard holding back.
She nodded. "Now get out! I have to get dressed for breakfast, and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't want you in here watching me change!" she smiled.
"Please, it's not like I haven't already see-" Harry was rewarded with a pillow in the face for his cheek. He ducked the next one and dodged out of the room, going down the stairs two at a time for breakfast.
At the bottom of the stairs he was rewarded with the delicious smells of a home cooked breakfast. There were plates filled with crisp bacon, mountains of fluffy, scrambled eggs, and golden brown toast. Ginny was standing at the stove, making pancakes. Harry could see that she had gone to a lot of trouble to make all of this, and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. It was clear she still had feelings for him, and here he was staying in her home with his girlfriend.
"Morning, Gin," he greeted her.
She turned around, smiling. "Morning, Harry. Happy birthday!" she quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I hope you like bacon and eggs. It's all I'm really good at, I'm not making any promises that these pancakes will turn out right." She had been cooking the Muggle way. Ginny liked to do things more hands on than her mother, who was a master at making meals with her wand.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. Do I smell coffee?" he asked.
Ginny nodded. "I know you like it first thing in the morning, so I started brewing some when Ron went upstairs to wake you up." She pointed at a seat at the table, which was surrounded by packages. "There's a fresh cup there for you, and some birthday gifts came by owl while you were in bed. Is Hermione coming down soon?"
"Should be," Harry said, surveying the gifts, "she was going to get dressed when I left her."
Ginny nodded, turning back to the pancakes. Harry sat down, glancing at Ron across the table. He was already shovelling eggs into his mouth, pausing to take gulps of pumpkin juice and munch on a few pieces of bacon.
Doing his best not to laugh at Ron's eating habits, Harry took a few sips of his coffee. He relaxed in his chair, mulling over which package to open first.
"Pancake, Harry?" Ginny asked, holding the pan out to him. "They actually didn't turn out that bad."
"Thanks, Gin," he said, holding up his plate. He looked up at her, with a devious grin on his face. "So do I get a birthday kiss, or is a hug the best I get from the prettiest girl I've ever seen?" He knocked the pan from her hand and pulled her down to sit in his lap.
Ginny squealed in delight, thoroughly kissing Harry. His hand slipped from her waist to her bum just as Hermione came down the stairs.
"Harry James Potter, what in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?" she yelled.
"Kissing Ginny," he replied, capturing the redheaded witch's mouth again.
Hermione just stared at her boyfriend in shock. Ron looked up from the forkful of eggs he was about to inhale. He had been too absorbed in his breakfast to listen to what his best friend and his sister had been saying until he heard 'kissing' and 'Ginny' in the same sentence. "What the bloody hell?" he asked, staring. When he realized what was happening, he looked at Hermione hopefully.
"Don't even think about it," she threatened, still glaring at Harry and Ginny, who seemed oblivious to everyone else in the kitchen.
Hermione stood glaring at Ginny and Harry, her hair practically crackling with electricity. Watching her boyfriend snog someone else first thing in the morning wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind to start off the day, but apparently she had no choice.
Stomping across the kitchen floor of the Burrow, Hermione tried her best to push the two of them apart, but they held fast. She tried everything she could think of to separate them but they just continued on like there was no one else in the room.
Ron still stared at his sister and best friend, confused by Harry's actions. "Blimey, you'd think he was me last year when I ate those chocolates Romilda Vane gave him!"
"That's it!" Hermione exclaimed. "She slipped him a love potion! Merlin, I'm an idiot for not thinking of it sooner." She had been so caught up in the emotions she was feeling watching Harry kiss another girl, that girl being Ginny no less, that she'd completely forgotten that there was such a thing as a love potion. "Why that little…"
She stormed off to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder, and clearly pronounced "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!"
Seconds later she was tumbling out of the fireplace in the back of Fred and George's Diagon Alley shop, leaving Ron to make sure that nothing more serious happened while she was gone.
Fred popped his head around the curtain. "'Ello, Hermione! We weren't expecting you!"
George followed his twin. "What brings you to our premises?"
Hermione was clearly exasperated. "Your sister gave my boyfriend a love potion and now he's snogging her six ways from Sunday at your kitchen table!"
"What?" Fred was in disbelief.
"Our Ginny?" George was equally confused.
"Kissing Ron?!" Fred was disgusted, realizing the implications of Hermione's words.
She made a face. "No, Harry! She's snogging Harry, and I know she wouldn't be able to brew Amortentia as I can barely do it, so she must've gotten her potion from your shop!"
Fred and George looked at Hermione sheepishly. "Apologies about that," George began.
"When we gave it to her last year-"
"She said she was getting it for another girl-"
"Whose parents wouldn't let her buy it while she was in the shop." Fred finished.
Hermione looked from one twin to the other. "Tell me there's an antidote. Or that it wears off."
"It wears off," said Fred, contemplating something.
"But we gave Ginny that potion last year," George reminded his twin.
"So?" asked Hermione.
"We heard about Ron and the chocolate cauldrons meant for Harry," George said.
"And they'd been stronger because Harry had left them sit for a while!" Hermione realized what George was getting at.
"Of course!" said Fred, "The potion we gave Ginny usually lasts about a week, but she'd left it sit all year and if she hadn't used it until now, well…" his face screwed up in concentration. "She got it almost a year ago, and every four months you can increase the time it lasts by a week so now it'd last nearly three weeks."
Hermione's mind began running through the calculations, and something dawned on her. "Thanks, guys, I've got to run," she said, heading back to the fireplace.
"Don't tell mum she got it from us!" the twins exclaimed, heading back to the front of their shop.
Moments later Hermione was back at the Burrow.
"Your parents are still at the Ministry, aren't they, Ron?" she asked. He nodded. Having realized that he couldn't separate Harry and Ginny, he went back to shoving food down his throat. "Fantastic. Ron, you might want to take your breakfast and eat elsewhere. This is going to get ugly."
Hermione used Wingardium Leviosa to levitate all of the plates for Ron, and hovered them into the living room. She turned back to see Ginny still sitting on Harry's lap, the two of them still kissing.
Doing her best to contain her fury, Hermione gripped the younger redhead by the hair and dragged her off of Harry. "You sneaky little bitch!" Hermione dragged the girl up to face her. "I know exactly what you did end of last term, and don't you dare think you're going to get away with it again."
Ginny tried to fight off Hermione's strong grip, but was too afraid to have all of her hair ripped out. "What are you talking about? Have you gone mad?" Ginny was tempted to slap Hermione as she had in the lobby of St. Mungo's, but knew that would make her look guilty.
"Hermione, what are you doing to my Ginny?" Harry asked deploringly, remaining in his chair with a confused look on his face.
Instead of answering Harry's question, Hermione shifted her grip on Ginny's hair so that she could use her wand with her other hand. "Harry, I'm sorry that I have to do this. Immobulus," she cast her spell, disabling any movement in Harry's body.
"Now, where were we?" she turned back to Ginny. "Ah, yes. Your little love potion trick."
"I have no idea what you're on about, Hermione, but if you'd let go of my hair-"
Hermione flung Ginny away from her, releasing her grip. Ginny crashed into the table, having to brace herself to keep from falling.
"Oh do shut up, Ginny; wouldn't you rather be thought of as an idiot than open your mouth and leave no doubt?" Hermione smirked. "The more you deny it, the guiltier you look. I know exactly what you did. I had a quick chat with Fred and George about that love potion they sold to you before last year started. For some other girl, whose parents wouldn't let her get it?" Hermione reminded her, watching Ginny's eyes widen in surprise. "Funny, I can think of a certain girl whose parents would never let her use a love potion, and only get a Pygmy Puff instead."
"You-you don't know what you're talking about!" Ginny spluttered.
"Oh, but I do. Are you forgetting who I am, Ginny? Bookworm Hermione, as you so eloquently put it. I do my research; I just never would've thought you'd stoop so low as to slip Harry a love potion."
"He had feelings for me before we kissed in the common room! He'll tell you that himself!" Ginny defended herself.
"No, Ginny, he said he felt like there was a scaly monster living in his chest. You know as well as I do that Voldemort is connected to Harry, and that he has placed visions in his mind before. Not to mention Nagini, his snake. What's a snake, Ginny?" Hermione mocked her, knowing the girl would remember her experience with the basilisk.
"A-a scaly monster," she stammered.
"Precisely. Did you really think that Draco and Snape were able to sneak away from the school to get orders from Voldemort? No. He must have sent Nagini, which would explain why Harry could feel his presence. What he thought was a desire to smash Dean Thomas's face in was really Voldemort's desire to eliminate any wizard who isn't a pureblood. Dean's a half-blood, which is what made Nagini want to attack him. Do you see my point yet, Ginny? Or do I need to go on?"
Seeing that the younger girl was truly terrified of her now, Hermione decided to continue. "You slipped Harry some of Fred and George's love potion. I'm not sure yet how you did it, I don't keep a twenty-four hour watch on Harry, but I know you did. By your brothers' own admission, leaving the potion to ferment increases its longevity by a week for every four months it sits. Now, call me crazy, but yours and Harry's relationship lasted two weeks. And it began almost eight months after you bought the potion, did it not?"
Ginny was shaking now, her legs barely able to support her.
Hermione was positively steaming. To think that she had tried to help Ginny win Harry's heart when she thought that he'd never see her as more than his best friend, and she went and tricked the poor boy with a love potion. And to have done it again, to try to steal him away!
"I only have one question for you, Ginny. Why try it again? I'd've never noticed if you hadn't slipped him some this morning. Why did you risk it?" Hermione's voice was low and angry; she was more than ready to fight Ginny if she had to.
"I love him," came Ginny's voice, small and meek.
"No, Ginny, you don't. You love the idea of him. You love the fame and the fortune, the fact that he's one of the most well known wizards in the world, and that he's Harry Potter, the Chosen One and the Boy-Who-Lived. You love what he represents, not who he is." Hermione sighed, realizing the younger girl would never get over her hero worship.
"No, you're wrong, Hermione. I love him! I've been head over heels in love with him ever since I heard of him! I couldn't even speak around him when I first met him! I've been deeply in love with Harry Potter for the last five years, and you accuse me of slipping him a love potion?"
Hermione was exasperated. "Ginny, I know you did it, stop wasting your time denying it. Merlin, I should just hex you into oblivion for even trying such a stunt, but…"
"But what?" Ginny dared Hermione to finish, now feeling a little stronger. She'd reminded herself why she loved Harry, and knew that their love would stand up to Hermione.
"But I feel sorry for you," she said quietly. "You can't see what's in front of your face, and you can't give up on Harry. He and I are going to be together, Ginny. You need to accept that."
Ginny shook her head. "As long as we're both alive, there's still a chance."
Hermione made a quick decision. "Then Harry and I are leaving," she said. "He'll do his Apparition test, and then we're going to go somewhere else. We'll remain in contact with the Order, but you're going to have to stay away from him, Ginny. We won't involve you in the fight."
Before Ginny could reply, Molly and Arthur Weasley returned from the Ministry.
"Car's waiting outside to take you for your test," Arthur said, looking at Harry. "Why aren't you moving?"
"I used Immobulus on him," Hermione explained.
"For Merlin's sake, why?" Molly asked.
Rather than explain, Hermione chose the easy explanation. "Rather than impose on your home and bring danger to your family, Harry and I have decided that we are going to stay elsewhere. Our presence here is just bringing more danger upon your family, and I don't think that Ginny and Ron are being treated fairly in that they have to see Harry and I together every day."
Mrs. Weasley was shocked, but her husband could see that Hermione was right. Judging by the fact that Ron was eating breakfast in the living room and Ginny was cowering by the table, he knew his children deserved better. "Alright then, pack your things. We'll take you two to the Ministry for Harry's test, and then you can Apparate wherever it is you're going. But you are expected to make contact with the Order once every three days, so that we know you're all right. We'll send you an owl when we're coming by to let you know ahead of time. I'll make sure it's okay with the others."
Molly opened her mouth to protest, but she received a stern look from Arthur. He wasn't budging on this one.
"All right then, off you go," he said, ushering Hermione upstairs. He quickly removed the Immobulus charm from Harry and sent him after her.
"But I want to stay here with Ginny!" he whined.
Arthur gave him a strange look and sent him upstairs anyway. "What was that about?" he asked his daughter.
"She gave him one of Fred and George's love potions," Ron said between mouthfuls, returning from the living room. Apparently he had still not consumed everything Ginny had cooked for breakfast.
"You what?!" Molly screeched. She grabbed Ginny by the arm and led her into the living room to give her a thorough lecture, leaving her youngest son and husband in the kitchen.
Arthur looked at his son, hoping for an explanation.
Ron shrugged. "I 'unno what happened. I was eating breakfast and next thing I knew Harry had some coffee in one hand and Ginny on his lap. Hermione freaked, Floo'd to Diagon Alley to see the twins, came back, and kicked me out of the kitchen. I only caught a bit of what she was saying."
Letting out a sigh, Arthur threw an arm around his son's shoulder. "Ron, I think it's high time we do something about restraining your sister's magic. That Bat Bogey Hex of hers is getting out of control, and for her to just up and give Harry a love potion to get him back? It's not like her."
Ron shook his head. "She didn't do it just to get him back, Dad. That's how she got him in the first place. I heard that much."
"Well then," was all Mr. Weasley was able to muster. He had never been so disappointed in his daughter.
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After Harry had passed his Apparition test, despite a load of babble about Ginny and her fiery red hair, he and Hermione Apparated back to their London hotel to pick up his car. Hermione slid into the driver's seat, throwing their shrunken trunks in the back. "Now where, Harry?" she asked.
"I want to go wherever Ginny is." He said stubbornly.
Rather than argue with Harry, Hermione just started the car and began driving. She had a rough idea of where Godric's Hollow was; when she'd found out that was where Harry's parents lived, she'd done all the research she could as to its location. Something inside of her had told her that its location would be important one day.
Hours of driving didn't bother Hermione, but her boyfriend's constant jabbering about Ginny was beginning to get on her nerves. Half an hour into the drive she pointed her wand at his throat and muttered 'Silencio', effectively rendering his gibberish into silence for the remainder of the trip. She was still wondering how she was going to get through the next two and a half weeks with Harry constantly looking for Ginny.
"'Mione?" Harry mouthed when he caught her eye. He looked sad, like he was regretting everything he had just said.
She looked at him and removed the charm.
"Where's Ginny?"
Glaring, Hermione renewed the charm and ignored him for the rest of the drive.