| What did you get him?" she added to Ron, who seemed not to hear her
"Come on, then, open Hermione's!" said Ron
She had bought him a new SneakoscopeThe other packages contained an enchanted razor from Bill and Fleur ("Ah yes, zis will give you ze smoothest shave you will ever 'ave," Monsieur Delacour assured him, "but you must tell it clearly what you wantzzerwise you might find you 'ave a leetle less hair zan you would like), chocolates from the Delacours, and an enormous box of the latest Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes merchandise from Fred and George
Harry, Ron, and Hermione did not linger at the table, as the arrival of Madame Delacour, Fleur, and Gabrielle made the kitchen uncomfortably crowded
"I'll pack these for you," Hermione said brightly, taking Harry's presents out of his arms as the three of them headed back upstairs"I'm nearly done, I'm just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron\a150\a150"
Ron's splutter was interrupted black chanel handbag by the opening of a door on the first-floor landing
"Harry, will you come in here a moment?"
It was GinnyRon came to an abrupt halt, but Hermione took him by the elbow and tugged him on up the stairsFeeling nervous, Harry followed Ginny into her room
He had never been inside it beforeIt was small, but brightThere was a large poster of the Wizarding band the Weird Sisters on one wall, and a picture of Gwenog Jones, Captain of the all-witch Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies, on the otherA desk stood facing the open window, which looked out over the orchard where he and Ginny had once played a two-a-side Quidditch with Ron and Hermione, and which now housed a large, pearly white marqueeThe golden flag on top was level with Ginny's window
Ginny looked up into Harry's face, took a deep breath, and said, "Happy seventeenth
She was looking at him steadily; he however, found it difficult to look back at her; it was like gazing into a brilliant light
"Nice view," deville watch he said feebly, pointing toward with windowHe could not blame her
"I couldn't think what to get you," she said
"You didn't have to get me anything
She disregarded this too
"I didn't know what would be usefulNothing too big, because you wouldn't be able to take it with you
He chanced a glance at herShe was not tearful; that was one of the many wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepyHe had sometimes thought that having six brothers must have toughened her up
She took a step closer to him
"So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by, you know, if you meet some veela when you're off doing whatever you're doing
"I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be honest
"There's the silver lining I've been looking for," she whispered, and then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, and it was blissful oblivion better than firewhisky; she was the only chanel j 12 real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair\a150\a150
The door banged open behind them and they jumped apart
"Oh," said Ron pointedly
"Ron!" Hermione was just behind him, slight out of breathThere was a strained silence, then Ginny had said in a flat little voice,
"Well, happy birthday anyway, Harry
Ron's ears were scarlet; Hermione looked nervousHarry wanted to slam the door in their faces, but it felt as though a cold draft had entered the room when the door opened, and his shining moment had popped like a soap bubbleAll the reasons for ending his relationship with Ginny, for staying well away from her, seemed to have slunk inside the room with Ron, and all happy forgetfulness was gone
He looked at Ginny, wanting to say something, though he hardly knew what, but she had turned her back on himHe thought that she might have succumbed, for once, to tearsHe could not do anything to comfort her omega constellation price in front of Ron
"I'll see you later," he said, and followed the other two out of the bedroom
Ron marched downstairs, though the still-crowded kitchen and into the yard, and Harry kept pace with him all the way, Hermione trotting along behind them looking scared
Once he reached the seclusion of the freshly mown lawn, Ron rounded on HarryWhat are you doing now, messing her around?"
"I'm not messing her around," said Harry, as Hermione caught up with them
"Ron\a150\a150"
But Ron held up a hand to silence her
"She was really cut up when you ended it\a150\a150"
"So was IYou know why I stopped it, and it wasn't because I wanted to
"Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she's just going to get her hopes up again\a150\a150"
"She's not an idiot, she knows it can't happen, she's not expecting us to\a150\a150to end up married, or\a150\a150"
As he said it, a vivid picture formed in Harry's mind of Ginny in a white dress, marrying a tall, faceless, and unpleasant authentic hermes stran |
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