A Visit From the Family

Grimmauld Place, London, England

The next morning it was a sunny day outside; finally dispelling what seemed to be a month of endless fog. Hedwig had come back from her hunt and was resting happily in the sunlight.
Harry was the first to wake up when the sun came through the blinds and hit him in the eyes; he smiled, allowing the sun to warm his face. Ginny was still asleep, lying gently on his shoulder. Harry marvelled at how in just one night so many things could change. What was the most shocking part was that although over the past few weeks Harry had just started to notice he was beginning to think of Ginny as something more than Ron’s sister, this morning waking up next to her seemed to be the most normal thing in the world. He knew that it was partially the bond’s work, but he also knew that there really was something between them.
“Morning sleepy,” Harry said after looking at Ginny for a while longer.
“Mmmhmmm,” She groaned and pulled the blankets higher up and hid her face under the pillow.
“Come on get up, Lupin will be up here soon, and we probably will want to make sure we’re not in the same bed when he gets here.” Harry said, gently pulling the pillow out of her grasp.
“Can I just stay in this bed; it’s so comfortable, much better than mine.” She mumbled looking up at Harry in just his briefs sitting so close to her. She had to shake certain thoughts out of her head that she was certain would make both Ron and her mom shriek in horror. Something about this didn’t feel uncomfortable though, she wasn’t embarrassed, far from it. In fact, she’d never been this comfortable before with anyone. She looked back up at Harry and smiled as she begrudgingly crawled out of bed.
“That’a girl,” Harry teased as he too got out of bed and headed to his trunk. He searched around for a while and pulled out the best pair of jeans and tossed them to Ginny, along with tattered white shirt. “Here you go, I know it doesn’t look too good, but we still need to get your stuff from Lupin so I figure that’ll do for now.”
“Thanks, I don’t really feel like showing of this piece of rubbish nightgown to everyone,” Ginny said looking down at her pyjamas with disgust.
Harry knew that just like her brother Ginny had a bit of a hard time when it came to the subject of money. The Weasley’s did not have much in the terms of finances, but they made up for it in sheer generosity and compassion. “Gin’ no one cares what you’re wearing, especially me. Look at what I’m wearing right now, I think we’re far past caring.” Harry said pointing to himself standing in a tee shirt and briefs.
Ginny laughed, she was surprised at how easy it was to stop caring when she was around Harry, “I guess you’re right. Well you can head down, I’ll just clean up really quick before breakfast.”

Down at the table Harry and Lupin were chatting about what he’d done to the master bedroom while they worked on breakfast for everyone.
“Well we didn’t change much overall but we did repaint it, tried to make it a little more liveable. It looked as if a vampire was living in it when we first started. I think you’ll like it, and there’s enough room for another bed for Ginny to stay in.”
“It sounds brilliant, I can’t wait to see it. I hope we can do the same thing to the rest of the house now that you own it. It needs some work, especially with all the filth that Kreacher’s left around.” Harry stopped and looked up at Lupin, “Moony, what happened to Kreacher? I’ve been here for nearly a month and haven’t seen him.”
Lupin set down the teapot, “Well after the rest of the Order set off to the Ministry of Magic that night and Sirius was killed his bond to the house was broken and he was unfortunately placed under the command of the next in line which is Bellatrix Lestrange. Thankfully the additional wards Albus placed on the building prevents him from betraying us but there is still some liability that I am sure will have to be dealt with eventually.”
Harry just nodded silently, unsure of what to say. He knew that the house elf had betrayed them; not just Harry, but Sirius too. He now was fairly certain that he knew what Lupin and Sirius felt when they were about to kill Pettigrew. And if Harry did come upon Kreacher again he was unsure whether or not he’d want anyone around to see what happened.
“Morning Professor,” Ginny said as she worked her way down the stairs. The jeans were easily twice her size so she had to make sure not to step of the cuffs to avoid tripping.
“Good morning Ginny, but first we need to clear up the professor business. Seeing as it is summer and I haven’t been you’re professor in several years I think it’s okay if you call me by my first name.”
“Great, well good morning Remus, what’s for breakfast?” Ginny said happily as she sat down next to Harry in her baggy clothes.
“Well Harry knows my lack of skill in the kitchen but I did manage to make some eggs and toast so hopefully that’s okay with you?” He set the plate down in front of her, “also I managed to grab some of your clothes last night after talking with your parents briefly. Dumbledore is heading over today to talk with them about the bond and what it means. They’re hoping to stop by later tonight to see both of you. And don’t worry Harry; they’re not mad at you. In fact when I told you mom Ginny, she started crying she was so happy. Kept talking about how she knew that this was going to happen.” Lupin added looking at Harry.
“Well I’m glad Dumbledore’s going to tell them about it, I doubt they’d believe me if I tried. A lot of things have changed really quickly and I honestly I think I’m still trying to sort them out myself. None of us really even know what this bond does,” Ginny said as she poked at the nearly burned eggs with her fork.
“Just wait until Hermione figures out what’s happened, I’m sure she’ll be sending us piles of books on it….Oh no!” Harry said all of a sudden hitting his head with his hands, “Ron doesn’t know yet. He’s going to kill me! If he was protective of you when you were going out with Dean imagine what he’s going to be like when he finds out about this.”
Ginny grimaced as she too remembered how Ron reacted when she told her family she was going out with Dean. “Don’t worry Harry, I know how to keep Ron in place. Plus, what’s he going to argue about, we’ve been bonded, it’s not like he can change anything. I’d be more worried of the twins if I were you.” She added trying to joke with him, this proved to only make things worse, as Harry let out another moan of anguish at the thought of going up against the twins and their arsenal of pranks.
“I’d rather fight Tom again than fight those two. I’m sure I’d end up looking so disfigured they’d have trouble finding out who it was.” Harry said his arms wrapped around his head on the table.
“Don’t forget who you have on your side Harry, you do remember my infamous Bat Bogey hex, right?” Ginny said with a wicked look on her face.
“Now I remember why all your brothers are afraid of you. That face even scares me Gin, it looks like you’re up to something.” Harry said smiling at the red headed girl.
“Well while we have breakfast why don’t we talk about what we might want to do for the next few weeks?” Lupin asked as he too poked unhappily at the overcooked eggs. “From what Dumbledore has told me this bond will soon start to manifest itself in many ways, both physically and magically. He related it closest to a rather rapid and larger form of puberty, which seeing as you’re both still in it, should makes things even more interesting. I think that the best thing to do is to work on various forms of magical control, along with working with new spells that might come in handy.
Many of the Order members were impressed by the way you fought in the Ministry and were quick to offer up a list of some of their most effective spells for you to learn.” Their old professor, now back in his teaching mode, withdrew a large scroll and placed it on the table, “I believe that you and Ginny can do many of these spells with enough practice, and maybe even some you will learn to do wandlessly. There are very few people who can do so, but if you master it, it will give a massive leg up against whomever you are fighting. We won’t have any trouble with being detected by the Ministry for underage magic because this whole place is invisible to everyone, except for Emma I suppose. I know this is summer so we don’t have to have classes but I do think that because of our rather limited list of activities working on spells would not be a bad idea.”
“That sounds like a good idea Moony, if we could copy this list I’m sure Hermione and Ron would like to look over it too. Could we possibly run a few errands sometime before we start?” Harry asked.
“What sort of errands?”
“Well it’s my clothes, they’re rubbish. I’ve always bought new robes for school but never really got around to buying normal stuff. You know, jeans, shirts… briefs; it’s all just leftover stuff from Dudley that’s never really fit. Dumbledore said that Sirius left me some money so I was hoping that we might be able to go pick out some clothes for me to wear around the house.”
Lupin thought about it for a minute and nodded, “well now that you mention it I’ve been meaning to get some clothes myself. In his will, Sirius told me to get some clothes that matched my new wealth. I guess we could use a little trip to the store.”
“Also we could pick up some stuff for Ginny. If we’re all going to be living together we might as well be doing it comfortably, and I can’t tell you that wearing Dudley’s jeans is not comfortable.” Harry smiled at Ginny.
“Well I would have to agree with that, you’re clothes do look a bit worse for the wear.” Lupin paused as if he were thinking something over, “well, now I can’t make promises, but there may be a chance that we could go shopping. Merlin knows we need it. I’ll send Albus a letter and hopefully he’ll let us stop by Gringotts and then a Muggle store to pick up some everyday clothes.”
“Where are we going to go to get Muggle clothes? It’s not like any of us go shopping around Muggle London at all. Plus it’s probably not the safest thing to just be wandering around London looking for a shop. I bet that Dumbledore’ll only let us go if the place really is secure,” Ginny said.
“Harrods,” Harry said, almost questioningly to himself.
“Bless you,” Lupin offered.
“No, no, Harrods, or Harolds or something like that,” Harry said waving him off, “the Dursley’s would go on special outings to go there when they needed to buy something very nice. They say ‘they’re going shopping at Harrods, don’t break or blow anything up,’ yeah it’s Harrods, I’m sure of it. I’d see their ads sometimes in newspapers and on the television. I know it’s in London too so it shouldn’t be too hard to get to, tell Dumbledore that we want to go to Gringotts and then Harrods.”
“Cool, my first Muggle store, I can’t wait to see what’s there. I’ll have to owl mum to see if I can borrow some money though,” She said half-heartedly, knowing that she would most likely only get a few knuts to spend.
“Don’t worry about that Gin, I’ll take you for a little shopping spree. I think it’s the least I can do to try and apologize for ruining you beauty sleep by apparating you to my bed every night.” Harry said, eager to finally put his wealth to some good by helping someone he cared about.
“A girl does need her beauty sleep you know,” Ginny teased.
“Not when she looks like you,” Harry whispered when Lupin had turned to get some more toast. When he turned back around he saw the two teens looking at each other completely smitten and blushing slightly.
“Ah well, I suppose that we’ve enjoyed this breakfast thoroughly,” he said dryly and disappeared the barely touched mush that was trying to resemble eggs. “Why don’t I send a message to Albus to tell him of our plans. Meanwhile you two should move your stuff into the new room, your parents should be here in a few hours Ginny.”

Harry helped carry the small chest containing Ginny’s clothes up the stair with her to the third floor where the master bedroom was. Harry had never been inside but knew that it was the room with the intricately carved wood doors, and stopped in front of them when they reached the top.
“Well here we are,” Ginny said out of breath, “you wouldn’t think that going up three sets of stairs would be hard but it felt like I just ran a kilometre.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna have to be in better shape than this if we’re going to beat Slytherin next year for the Quidditch Cup. Come on let’s take a look inside, I want to see what Moony and Tonks have done to it.” He grabbed hold of Ginny’ hand and pushed the doors open.
As they stepped inside a sudden feeling of déjà vu hit Harry. The room looked almost exactly like that of the Gryffindor commons room. It was a large, study with a big couch and all the walls were covered in various books and antiquities, directly across from where they were standing was a set of double doors. They looked at each other smiling and headed for the doors.
Inside was a small but comfortable looking room with a large, ancient looking, bed and a smaller one that seemed to be added at the last minute. Everything about this reminded Harry of his dorm room at Hogwarts.
“This is brilliant, they did a great job on the room. I would never guess that this was in headquarters. It’s not…”
“Evil looking?” Harry offered as he fell spread eagle onto the bed. “Wow, the bed is awesome, definitely more comfortable than the one downstairs.”
Ginny jumped onto the bed too, “you’re right. I wish that the beds at school were this comfortable. Only problem is that I probably would miss all my morning classes.”
For a while they sat in the bed in silence enjoying each other’s newfound company. Taking advantage of the relative calm Ginny decided to ask Harry something that had been on her mind since last night. “Harry?” she started, rolling onto her stomach to face him, “I know that we’ve been bonded, and that it’s supposedly very important for both of us to have this, but I just want you to know that you shouldn’t feel obligated or anything.”
Harry looked over at her confused, “obligated to what?”
“Well, you know. We’ve been bonded so apparently we’re instantly a couple. I don’t want you to have to be with me just because some weird thing happened to us. I know that you don’t like me that way.” She said, trying to get it out quickly to avoid making herself feel worse about saying it. She really did like him but she wanted to make sure that Harry was not just going along with the relationship because he had to.
“Gin, what are you talking about. Just because it took this stupid bond to get me to realize that I really do fancy you doesn’t mean I don’t like you. What it does mean is that you’re now bonded to someone who’s too dim to realize who he likes.” Harry paused and sat upright. “Listen, you’ve already done more for me than I could have ever imagined. I’ve never been as happy as I was last night when I woke up kissing you. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think that Dumbledore was right about us being fated to be together. This is the first time I’m happy about a prophecy coming true, I’ll tell you that.”
Ginny had tears in her eyes from listening to Harry, her greatest fear had been ameliorated, he really did like her. Without warning she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I am too. And hopefully we’ll be able to beat the next prophecy too.” She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek. For the next several hours they just lay there in their new room, discussing the war, the prophecy, and even the obvious crush that her brother had on Hermione.
At around five o’clock they heard a commotion from downstairs that they knew had to be Ginny’s parents. All of sudden Harry’s stomach knotted up. Ginny saw his anxiety and did her best to calm him. “Don’t worry Harry, mum has always wanted to have you be part of this family. She’s known about my crush on you for ages so it hopefully won’t be too much of a shock. Come on, let’s go.” She grabbed his hand and gently tugged him downstairs.

In the kitchen Molly and Arthur were already sitting at the table with Tonks and Lupin when Ginny and Harry came in. The instant Molly saw them she jumped up and wrapped both of them in a bone-crushing hug.
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, how are you?” Harry asked awkwardly, unsure of what to do in this situation.
“Harry, how are you? When we heard about the attack on your house…” Molly paused, “We’re glad you’re alright. Not that you don’t have some new things to sort out now.” A moment of silence fell across the room, thankfully Lupin stepped in.
“Why don’t we get some food on the table and we can talk about the plans Albus has made?”
What surprised Harry was that the entire discussion focused on the various parts of the bond and what exactly it did, never once did Arthur or Molly question why it had happened to their daughter. From what he could tell not only were they not angry, they seemed to be enthusiastic about the whole thing. Harry could have sworn he’d even seen Arthur give him a wink.
As the conversation wound down the conversation turned to more practical matters. “So if they have to be in close proximity to each other does that mean that they’ll have to share a room at Hogwarts?”
“We’re not entirely sure to be honest. From what happened last night it seems that the bond is very strong, strong enough to break through some of the strongest wards around. The headmaster is making arrangements in the event that they will have to share a room. It is imperative that they do remain in the same vicinity however, for the sake of the growth that will occur in the following months.” Lupin answered.
“Well I can’t say this isn’t a shock, but when I look back at you two I’m not overly surprised I suppose. If this bond really is as important as the headmaster makes it out to be then you have been granted something extremely valuable.” Molly said as she stood up, “we’ll be at the Burrow whenever you need us, just floo or send us an owl and we’ll be here in an instant. We were discussing it earlier with Remus and we will most likely be spending the last week of summer break here, it being closer to Hogwart’s Express and all.”
As they made for the living room fireplace where the Weasley’s would depart Arthur tapped Harry on the shoulder. “Harry, a word please? It will just be a minute.”
He nodded, having a feeling he knew what was coming next. “What is it Mr. Weasley?”
Arthur looked just as uncomfortable as Harry was, “well Harry. Now that you and my daughter have been bonded I know things will be close quarters for a while at least. I also know what it was like to be a young man at your age, nearly anything can set you off....” Harry nearly groaned outloud, “Anyhow, while you may just see this as just an inconvenient charm of some sort…”
Harry felt his face flush brighter and brighter as the conversation continued, “Mr. Weasley, I really don’t see this as just an inconvenient curse. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I was bonded to Ginny. I’m certain that I would have eventually come around but this has made me realize I really do care for her.”
Arthur smiled down at the young man who he had a feeling he would soon be calling his son-in-law. “Well Harry, I am glad to know that you feel the same way Ginny feels about it. I must ask one thing though, if you do pursue this further I just ask that you practice some restraint; it is my daughter after all.”
Harry somehow managed to blush even brighter, he couldn’t believe that he was having this discussion right now with Ginny’s dad of all people. “Err… right. I promise you I won’t do anything Mr. Weasley, I care about her too much. ”
Arthur smiled broadly and clapped his hands together, “Excellent! We’ll I won’t want to hold up Molly and more. I hope to see you soon Harry.” He put on his cloak and went to the living room leaving Harry sitting there thinking over the conversation he’d just had.

Later that night in the master bedroom study, Harry told Ginny about the conversation he’d had with her father. “Mum had the same sort of thing with me. She told me that I was becoming a woman now, and that I may experience urges that should not be followed through with. It was like “the talk” all over again.”
As the two laughed off their nerves as they recounted more of their conversations, Lupin received a letter from Dumbledore and went upstairs to share it with Harry and Ginny.
“Well you two, it would seem that Dumbledore is okay with our little outing. He wants Tonks to accompany us however which she’s already agreed to. So tomorrow morning we’ll set off bright and early, stop by Gringotts and then go to this Harrods that you were talking about Harry. It’s already fairly late so I think it wouldn’t hurt to call it a night so you two can actually function in the morning.”
“Hey Moony thanks for actually doing this.”
“What did I tell you, I said I would try to be the best guardian I could be, this is just my first little attempt.” The old werewolf smiled and headed out to his own room.
When he’d left Harry and Ginny headed over to the bed room, “So which be do you want? I think you get the big one this time.” Harry offered.
“Why thank you,” she replied as she headed to the bathroom to change, “but do you honestly think that the whole two bed thing is going to work? Last night it seemed like it wasn’t.”
“Most likely not, but it can’t hurt to try.” Harry said as he pulled his pants and shirt off and pulled on his pyjamas he’d decided to start wearing.
“I guess you’re right, it could be a problem at school. But you know what, I bet you that it doesn’t work.” Ginny said coming out of the bathroom in her nightgown.
“Okay, it’s a deal. I bet you a chocolate frog that you don’t apparate in my bed tonight.”
“Done. Well I’m going to bed, I feel like winning a chocolate frog.” She teased and crawled into the big master bed.
“You just wait, you’re going to have to buy me one tomorrow.” Harry took off his glasses and turned off the lamp.
“Night Harry.”
“Night Gin.”

The green field was blowing in the breeze as the Harry and Ginny sat atop the hill eating another amazing picnic. The air was filled with laughter and a sweet smell of grass and strawberries. The two teens smiled at each other, laughing at some joke that Ginny had made. It didn’t really matter what the joke was to them, just being there together was enough.
As their laughter died down the two teens drew closer to each other. Harry ran a hand through her hair, brushing away a loose strand from in front of her face. Ginny closed her eyes and felt Harry’s own eyelashes on her face.
The second their lips touched there was a snap and the image disappeared only to be replace by confusion.
Harry was sitting in the dark, face-to-face, eyelash-to-eyelash with Ginny. He pulled back only to see her grinning. “You owe me a chocolate frog Mr. Potter,” She said pulling the covers back to let Harry crawl in.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Beginners luck, it’s just because I liked this bed that I came over here.”
Ginny laughed as she snuggled up close again, once again having no hesitation about being so close to him even though they’d only been together for a little more than a day.
Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny, surprised at how normal this came to him. It felt as if he’d been doing this his entire life. “Night Gin,” he said kissing her on the forehead lightly.
“Good night Harry.” She said softly drifting off to sleep in Harry’s arms.