A/N: Okay, this is just a quickie chapter to set up the next one. Soon your patience will be paid off. I would like to thank all the people who have taken the time to leave a quick review for my story. I really appreciate it! Thanks to my Beta for keeping me on the straight and narrow!
I don't own these characters, but I have become emotionally attached to them. Does that count? (*sigh!* The lawyers say no….. )
Chapter 6
Beginnings…
Dumbledore was standing on the tower, his hair and his beard being whipped around by the wind. Harry was standing in front of him, his wand out. "Harry, please," Dumbledore begged as Harry raised his wand…
Harry tossed and turned in his sleep, beads of sweat on his forehead.
"No, no," he moaned.
Hermione woke up and saw him thrashing in his bed. She quickly went over and slid next to him. She put her arms around him, trying to console him.
"Shh, it's okay, Harry, it's just a dream," she murmured, wishing she had more sleeping draught.
Harry turned to her and put his arms around her waist, hugging her close without fully waking up. Hermione folded herself around him, stroking his back. Harry became quiet, and relaxed back into a deep sleep. Hermione continued to hold him, willing the bad dreams to go away.
Ron woke up at the noise, rolled over, and watched from his sleeping mat. He saw the tenderness of Hermione's actions and felt a mixture of jealousy and sympathy for Harry. He wouldn't want any of those nightmares that Harry had, but wasn't that his girlfriend? He closed his eyes and sighed. Would he ever be that close to Hermione? He knew that she cared for both of them, and he really wanted to find out how much she cared for him. He drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Hermione hugging him instead of Harry.
Harry was dreaming. He dreamed he could feel a warm body snuggled up to him. He dreamed he could smell a light fragrance of vanilla and jasmine, and he dreamed he had his arms around someone soft. He lay there breathing in that wonderful scent and sleepily ran his hand up and down the soft back. He could feel warmth radiating out from his heart, and making him tingle. It was a wonderful dream…
Hermione was dreaming. She could feel strong arms around her, protectively, and a hand stroking her back. She snuggled closer to the warmth that seemed to radiate from the body beside her. She slowly ran a hand down a muscular back and then back up again. It felt nice just holding Harry…
Hermione woke with a start as she realized where she was. She looked down at Harry's smiling face, as he slowly opened his sleep-filled eyes. When their eyes made contact, he jumped in shock and moved away, his cheeks going hot from the thoughts going through his mind. Hermione blushed at being caught enjoying Harry's company, and sat up.
"How…what…" stammered Harry.
"I'm sorry, Harry. You were having nightmares again last night. I…I guess I fell asleep," she concluded, trying to explain her actions.
Hermione was so embarrassed by being caught, no matter how honorable her intentions were. She knew deep down how much she had enjoyed just lying next to Harry, and she couldn't meet his eyes. She got up and busied herself with gathering up her belongings. Harry watched her for a while, unsure what to say. He finally got up without a word, and left, which hurt Hermione more than she was willing to admit, although she didn't know why.
Ron had watched the whole scene play out before his eyes. It hurt to watch Hermione consoling Harry. How could she love him when she showed such tenderness towards Harry, his best friend? He cared so much for Hermione, but he knew from past experience that challenging her about this would only end in argument. He wasn't too sure how to deal with this.
"All right there, Hermione?" he asked quietly.
"Fine, Ron," Hermione said sharply as she continued to stuff her belongings in her bag.
Ron sighed. He could see she was upset by what had happened. He was annoyed by the thought that he might be losing his chance with her before he even got that first kiss…
Harry let the water run down over his head as he stood in the shower. It had felt so good lying there in Hermione's arms, but she was his best friend!
She was supposed to be going out with Ron!
He shouldn't be having feelings like that for her!
Yes, he knew she was a girl, and a beautiful one at that. He had known that since the Triwizard Ball so many years ago, but to enjoy her embrace? He shouldn't be doing that. He ran his hands over his face trying to erase the images in his mind. He decided that he would pretend that it didn't happen. He didn't need his life to be any more complicated than it already was. With that thought firmly in his mind, he finished his shower, dressed and headed back to his room. Ron was already digging into the food Dobby had brought, and Hermione was staring out the window.
"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby was hoping to see you today, the most important of days!"
"Today?" asked Harry.
"Oh yes, sir! Dobby was hoping to wish Harry Potter a Happy Birthday sir!"
Harry suddenly grinned. He was officially seventeen. He pulled out his wand and looked at it, wondering which spell to do first. Ron came over and slapped him on the back. All things considered, he was still his best friend.
"Happy Birthday, mate! Go ahead, what are you going to try first?"
Hermione turned and looked at the boys, `correction,' she thought, `men. So much has changed in the past six years…'
Harry seemed to have forgotten about the incident this morning, and she relaxed. She was afraid of ruining their friendship.
Harry was looking around the room when his eyes fell on Hedwig's cage. He walked over to it.
"Scourgify," he said, pointing his wand at her cage. Instantly, it was clean.
"That's going to make life a lot easier," he laughed.
Ron laughed too. "For my first time, I made my breakfast come to me in bed. That was a riot. Mum nearly bit my head off!"
Harry turned to Hermione. "What did you do first?"
Hermione smiled. "I made a list of the books on my bookshelf, in alphabetical order of course, and correlated it to the list of which books I have read more than once, making sure to cross-reference it to-"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Should have known," he chortled.
Their laughter broke the tension and the three enjoyed their last picnic in Harry's room. Dobby made his farewells and disappeared while Harry checked for any last belongings. He took Hedwig to the window to let her fly free.
"We're going to the Burrow, okay?" he told her. She gently nipped his finger and took flight.
Harry pointed his wand at her cage and then his trunk. He shrunk each of them to fit in his backpack. He looked around the room that was his personal hell for the past six years and sighed. He would not miss this room. He headed downstairs; Ron and Hermione followed. His Aunt and Uncle were still in the kitchen.
"Well," said Harry, "I'm off."
"That's it then," said Uncle Vernon as he looked up from reading his paper. "Just like that? I hope you left that room clean. Don't want to have to spend a lot of time cleaning up after the likes of you."
Harry sighed. He thought that maybe they would be sad to see him go, since he was family, but apparently not.
"Where's Dudley?" he asked.
"Poor Dudders is upstairs still. He has had such a hard time recovering from that mugging," Aunt Petunia sighed.
"Yeah, I guess he's afraid he might come face to face with those muggers," Ron smirked.
Hermione poked him in the ribs and Harry had to work hard at keeping a straight face. He figured Dudley would go into hiding, knowing that Harry could do magic now.
"Well…Goodbye," he said and turned to follow Ron and Hermione to the front door. They had just got outside when he heard footsteps behind him. Harry turned to see his Aunt coming towards him. She gave him a small smile and cupped the side of his face with her hand.
"You have her eyes," she whispered as her tears threatened to fall. Then she turned and was gone. Harry put his hand to his face and stared after her, surprised by that one touching gesture after so many years.
"Coming, Harry?" Ron yelled.
Harry turned and walked away, leaving Privet Drive for the last time. They went around the corner to a deserted alley and Ron Apparated out first. Hermione took Harry's hand and shyly looked up at him.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," she said with a smile.
Harry smiled at her, glad that everything seemed back to normal. He focused on the Burrow, and glanced over to see if Hermione was ready. He felt that familiar feeling of being squeezed through a tube, and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again he was standing just outside the boundaries of the yard leading to the Burrow.
"Didn't want to be blasted for Apparating too close," grinned Hermione. She pulled Harry by the hand as they ran towards the house. As they reached the kitchen they could hear laughter and talking, and to Harry, this felt like home.
They entered the kitchen to find Mrs. Weasley bustling around, Ron eating a second breakfast, and Ginny listening to Ron's story of Dudley's demise. Ginny glanced up as Hermione and Harry came in and saw them still holding hands. She frowned at Hermione, who saw this and quickly let go of Harry's hand. Hermione moved around to give Mrs. Weasley a hug as Harry went to sit down beside Ron.
"So, mate, we didn't feed you enough?" he said with a grin. Ron just shrugged happily and kept eating.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said as she gave him a hug. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Would you like some breakfast?"
`Feeling better?' Thought Harry, `I didn't know I was sick.' Harry looked at Ron quizzically and Ron gave a miniscule shake of his head.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I already ate," he replied, watching Ron polish off his pancakes.
"Well, we have a wonderful day planned for you, special day you know!" She said with a wink as she bustled around the kitchen.
"Oh, really, Mrs. Weasley, you don't have to do anything," said Harry.
"Harry Potter!" Mrs. Weasley said, putting her hands on her hips. "You have just come of age! There is no way we would let that happen without some kind of celebration."
"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said a bit embarrassed, "No one's really cared before."
"Well, we are going to change that now aren't we?" she said as she went back to work. "Now head upstairs and put your things in Ron's room. Hermione, you'll share with Ginny."
Harry headed upstairs, followed by Hermione and Ginny. Harry headed straight for Ron's room, and Ginny followed him, closing the door behind her. Harry turned and saw that she had followed him in.
"Hi Ginny…Mmmmph!" he said as she grabbed his face and kissed him. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, looking for that tingle that Tonks had told him about. It felt good kissing her again, but he didn't feel the same way that he did several months ago. He very gently pushed her away from him.
"Ginny-" he began.
"I thought I should give you a proper greeting, since it's your birthday," she said coyly as she ran her finger down his chest.
Harry turned away from her and ran a hand through his hair.
"Ginny, I thought we discussed this in June."
"Yes, well I'm a big girl, Harry, and I've been thinking about it. I can take care of myself. I know you said that just to protect me."
Harry sighed. He didn't really want to have to deal with this right now. Not with what had happened earlier with Hermione. He still wasn't sure what to think about that. He turned and smiled at her.
"It is good to see you. I just… I have a lot on my mind right now. With Dumbledore's funeral and all…"
"I can make you forget all that, Harry," Ginny purred as she moved closer to Harry, causing him to back up and bump into the bed.
Ron chose that point to burst in. Ginny jumped back startled, and Harry let out a little sigh of relief. Ron looked between Harry and Ginny and raised an eyebrow.
"Oi!" he said, "no sisters allowed! Get out!"
Ginny stuck her tongue out at him and flounced out of the room, blowing a kiss at Harry as she left. Harry busied himself with enlarging his trunk and setting up Hedwig's cage, purposefully avoiding Ron's scrutiny. Ron watched him for a moment, and then came over and sat on Harry's bed.
"Sooo," he said. "You and Ginny back together?"
After a moment's hesitation, Harry shrugged and sat down on Ron's bed. "I don't know how I feel about Ginny," he said. "Last spring, and before Dumbledore's death, we had some good times. I needed her. The time we spent together was great and I enjoyed every moment I spent with her. But now…" he shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ron. "I don't want to hurt her, but I'm not the same person. I still have feelings for her, but I don't think I love her, I don't know. I just feel that it's not fair to make her wait until this whole thing is over. I know that your mom would like us to be one big happy family, but I don't know if I can do that. I'm sorry."
"Is there someone else?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head. "No, why do you ask?"
Ron shrugged, feeling a sense of relief. "Just wondering."
"I just don't want anyone else in danger. It's bad enough that he knows about you and Hermione. I don't want to add her to the list," Harry said.
"You need to talk to her then," Ron said.
"You're not mad?" Harry asked.
"Nah, mate," Ron said as he shrugged again, "It would be great if you were together, but if its not meant to be, then you shouldn't let her keep thinking that she has a chance."
"That's very grown-up of you, Ron," Harry said with a laugh, "When did you become so all knowing about women?"
Ron grinned. "Sounded good didn't it? I heard my Mum talking to Charlie one night. I thought it was good advice."
Harry shook his head and smiled sadly. "Sometimes I feel that she fell in love with `Harry Potter the hero', not me. I don't know. What if she gets to know the real me, the one with the nightmares and fears, and she doesn't like who I really am? How would I know if she liked the real me?"
Ron didn't say anything for a moment. He secretly thought that maybe Harry was right. Ginny didn't really know who the real Harry was.
"Come on," said Ron. "Let's go play a game of Wizard's chess. That's something I can understand."
They spent the rest of the day playing chess and Exploding Snap while the girls helped Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. Harry tried to go and help several times, but he was chased away by the three ladies. It was late afternoon when Fred and George arrived; looking splendid, as always, in their dragon hide suits.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" they said in unison as they came into the living room.
Harry shook hands with them, and they steered him into one of the corners.
"Listen, mate," said George, "We need to talk a little business with you."
"Don't tell me that you need another loan?" Harry teased.
"Oh no," said Fred. "In fact, business is booming, another deposit was put into your vault the other day. We don't want to discuss it here though. You need to come by the shop in Diagon Alley or the new shop in Hogsmeade," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "We have a few things you might need."
Harry looked at him in surprise. What were these two up to now?
"Mum! You look lovely today! Have you done something new with your hair?" George said as he intercepted his mother coming out of the kitchen, Fred winked at Harry and following behind.
It was almost time for dinner, and as Harry found out, there were going to be several guests. He decided to go up and change into some clean clothes. Soon he was back downstairs, and being welcomed by the first of the guests, Tonks and Lupin. Today Tonks was sporting red and gold hair, "in honor of the Gryffindor House", she told Harry.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Lupin said, "I am glad that I am able to be here to see you come of age."
Harry sobered at that thought. Lupin was the last of the Marauders. The only tie that he had with his parents, and the only one he completely trusted. Suddenly, he had an idea.
"Professor, could I talk to you later? It's something important." Harry asked quietly.
Lupin looked at him a little worried.
"Are you okay? Do you need something?
"No, no," assured Harry, "it's just an idea I had."
He didn't elaborate any further as Ginny grabbed his arm and dragged him outside towards some of the other waiting guests. He greeted his friends from Hogwarts, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, Padma and Parvati. He was glad to see some of the DA members there as well, including Luna, Susan Bones and even Cho. He was amazed at how many people were there. As he was greeting everyone, Ginny hung off of his arm, as though she was showing off her latest prize. Harry tried to dislodge her several times, to no avail.
"Oi! Ginny! Mum's looking for you!" said Ron appearing at Harry's shoulder.
"Oh! The cake must be here!" Ginny said as she released Harry. "You stay here, I want it to be a surprise!"
"Thanks," Harry muttered as she disappeared from view.
"No problem," Ron smirked. "I figure you might be able to breath now."
Ron looked around at the ever-growing crowd and frowned.
"I hope you don't mind, Harry," Ron said. "Mum and Ginny ran into Neville and his grandmother at Diagon Alley a few weeks ago, and Neville's grandmother was trying to plan a party for Neville. You know how Neville gets; he didn't want any fuss, and Neville's grandmother was having a hard time organizing anything. Mum, being her generous self, suggested a double party, so we're going to celebrate Neville's birthday as well."
"I think it's brilliant," Harry grinned, relieved that now not all of the attention would be on him. He felt grateful to Mrs. Weasley for her generous spirit.
He continued to greet people as they came and congratulated him. He was feeling like it was turning into some huge, important function, as he met more and more of the ministry people. He was polite, but refused to have any lengthy conversations with any of them, especially Scrimgeour. He caught Ron's eye, and Ron shrugged.
"Some of these people have been invited by Neville's grandmother. I think she is trying to show that her grandson's birthday is just as important as yours."
Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be important. He just wanted to be Harry, celebrating a birthday with a few close friends. He kept his comments to a minimum as he met with the dignitaries, and escaped as soon as he could.
They had dinner in the backyard of the Burrow, under the warm summer sky. Harry was sitting at one end of the long table, and Neville was way down at the other end. Ginny was sitting on his right with Luna sitting next to her, and Ron and Hermione were on his left. Throughout the dinner, he could feel Ginny sliding her foot up and down his leg suggestively. He thought that he should have enjoyed it, but it only annoyed him, so he purposefully ignored her, trying to keep his legs out of reach. After dinner the table, plates, and leftovers were whisked away and a dance floor appeared. The older adults took this as their cue to retire to the house, as Fred and George were now conjuring up a stereo with large speakers. The music started blaring and couples headed to the dance floor. Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and followed them. Harry didn't want to dance, but since he and Neville were the guests of honor, and Neville was already out there, he figured he should put in a show. After a while, he found he was enjoying himself, much to his surprise. He danced with a few different girls before begging off for a break. He flopped down in a chair as George arrived with two drinks in his hands. He handed one to Harry who eyed it warily, knowing of George's prankster personality.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Firewhiskey, bottoms up!" replied George and downed his in one shot.
Harry sniffed his glass and made a face.
"Come on, Harry! What are you, a man or a mouse?"
Harry took a deep breath and drank his firewhiskey in two gulps. It burned his throat on the way down, and he coughed and sputtered as his eyes watered. George laughed and slapped him on the back, causing him to cough even more. He could feel the slow, lazy warmth spreading through his stomach where the fiery liquor now sat. He was amazed at how relaxed his arms and legs felt all of a sudden, and how heavy they felt. Ron flopped down beside him and handed him another glass.
"I choked the first time too, mate," he grinned, as he clinked glasses with him and downed it in one gulp. He made a face, but then grinned as he looked expectantly at Harry. Harry raised his glass and downed it in one gulp. He didn't gag this time, and the warmth in his stomach spread even further, all the way to the tips of his toes.
"Happy Birthday, Mate," Ron said as he produced a bottle from somewhere and poured Harry and George another one.
"Where did you get that?" George asked.
"Seamus," grinned Ron, "I didn't ask where he got it from."
"Well, free firewhiskey is much better than paying for the stuff I always say. Bottoms up!" George said as he clinked glasses with Harry.
Harry could feel the affects of the third glass going to his head. When Ginny came to get him for a slow dance, he readily agreed, feeling a little reckless.
`Maybe I should give this relationship thing another go,' he thought to himself. `The benefits are rather nice…'
They moved around the floor slowly; Harry pressed himself snuggly up against Ginny. He brazenly ran his hands up and down her back as she nestled under his chin. Harry looked around and saw other couples dancing, closed his eyes, and sighed. He was really enjoying himself. He opened his eyes as Ron and Hermione danced past. He felt a sudden lurch in his stomach as he watched them swaying close together. He felt angry with them; his alcohol-induced brain couldn't figure out what it meant, but it did kill the mood he was in. He was really having a hard time keeping up with his ever-changing frame of mind.
"A sickle for your thoughts, Harry?" Ginny murmured from under his chin, as she felt him tense.
"Huh? Oh…" Harry thought quickly, "Um, I was just thinking about how nice it was of your mum to go to all this trouble for Neville and me."
"Well," she said silkily, "It was my idea to throw you a party."
`Not according to Ron…' Harry thought
"If Mum and I hadn't run into Neville and his grandmother, you wouldn't have to share your party with him. Of course, we all know who really is the most important person here," she said as she hugged him closer to herself.
Harry just rolled his eyes. Maybe it was time for him and Ginny to have a talk, but not tonight, and not with the way his head was buzzing. Who knows what he might say, given how his mood seemed to be changing faster than Tonk's ever-changing hair.
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