Seeking Ginny

~~Chapter Nine

Though she didn't have a real job, Ginny felt as though she had even less time to herself than she'd had when she'd been living in Paris. She reckoned that Brian had a lot to do with it since their time together could no longer be spent just sitting around the flat and having dinner or studying--catching up now meant making the effort to get together. Between Brian, Hermione's recent need for wedding help, spending time with Sarah and working at the joke shop, Ginny felt she had more to do than anyone. Not to mention the new development.

Ginny had been the one with the big idea and she had to admit that it had turned out to be extremely successful, though Fred and George would probably take credit for it until the end of time. In reality, however, it was Sarah who had made it all possible - though Sarah, being ever so modest, would credit Ginny. In any event, unlikely group that they were, Ginny, Sarah, Fred and George combined their creativity in a small business venture that had surprised all of them with it's immediate success.

The idea had come to Ginny while working a busy day at the Hogsmeade joke shop, assisting in providing young boys with tools that would eventually wreak havoc on the lives of their families, when she noticed something about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' patrons for the second time. Very few customers of the female variety actually bought anything, but there were many young girls in there, waiting for their male friends or brothers. They huddled around the doors or roamed the shop carefully, constantly looking over their shoulders in case something were to explode, occasionally being brave enough to pick up a product with the very tips of their fingers.

Ginny decided to target the girls and see if there were any products they might be interested in. She quickly found that, though she'd always been fascinated with Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs and Portable Swamps, most of the young girls today were not. They were more interested in the sorts of things advertised in Teen Witch, the magazine that Ginny remembered from her Hogwarts days, which promoted the latest styles in robes, cosmetic charms, potions for the hair and... skin products.

Ginny had immediately thought of Sarah's "lab" and mentioned the idea of featuring her stuff in the joke shop up to the twins. It hadn't been something that she'd necessarily thought out, and when she brought it up to the twins, she hadn't expected them to downright refuse. Perhaps it had been a good thing that they did because it brought out the old defensiveness in her.

"Lotion? Are you mad?" George had said, while Fred threw back his head and laughed.

"No, I'm not mad," she'd said, feeling a bit furious that they weren't taking her seriously. "You have no products that target girls. It's all about turning humans into animals and playing with fire and girls are just not interested in that sort of thing."

"You were."

Ginny waved her hand. "Only because I wanted to impress you lot, don't ask me why. Look, I think it would be a very smart business move for you."

"We're a joke shop, Ginny, not a salon," Fred had said, finally coming up for air from his laughing bout. "I mean, lotion...?" He'd looked like he was about to start up again but Ginny opened her mouth to protest. Before she could respond however, Charlie, who'd stopped by after work, had said,

"Hang on a minute... she does have a point. Have you even tried that lotion?"

Fred had sent him a suspicious look. "Have you tried that lotion?"

"Bloody have... it's brilliant. Emma has some."

Ginny looked surprised. "Where did Emma get hold of a bottle?"

"Her mum - she's friends with Angelina Johnson's mum and -"

"Is everyone friends with Angelina Johnson's mum?" Ginny had mused.

It had taken more than Charlie's endorsement to convince the twins. The final verdict had remained a huge 'no' until a few days later, when Ginny went in for an afternoon shift and, out of the blue, Fred had pointed to her. "Fine. Tell Sarah she's on."

Ginny hadn't needed telling twice--she'd had no idea who or what had changed their minds, but that wasn't important. The only problem left had been to break it to Sarah.

Sarah had not been as firm as the twins, but she was just as unsure about it. Her main concern, however, had been that the lotion would be a huge failure and Fred and George would hate her forever. Ginny had assured Sarah that if the lotion did become a huge failure, they wouldn't blame Sarah at all. It would only be added to the long list of things they already held over Ginny's head, none of which Ginny cared about in the least. And anyway, it wouldn't be a failure - it was already an enormous success just from word of mouth, and Ginny could only imagine what would happen once it was properly marketed. Sarah, unable to provide a valid reason that Ginny hadn't had an argument for, had reluctantly, hesitantly, worriedly agreed.

And so, after a brief discussion about financing and one week of Sarah frantically making enough to fill the display Fred and George had ordered, the product hit the shelves--and the jars flew off of them as if people were summoning them from their houses. The fact that Ginny was on hand to direct loitering girls towards the product resulted in their selling more than any one of Fred and George's products in that same timeframe.

Not that the display was exactly a success - in fact, Ginny had accused the twins of sabotage the moment she'd seen it. The huge photograph of Sarah that they'd chosen to market the product was probably the worst one that they could find, and it wasn't even recent - it was probably taken in third or fourth year. Poor Sarah was staring straight at the camera, her eyes wide and her mouth open in dumb shock...and she'd apparently been suffering from a breakout of acne at the time.

Ginny had been outraged. Sarah had been close to tears. Fred and George didn't understand the problem. In the end, it was too late to change it and the product sold anyway. Ginny supposed that she had to hand it to Fred and George - they certainly knew how to get people's attention.

Whatever the reason, people seemed to really like the products. This caused Sarah to go into full-blown creative-mode, spending hours in her lab brewing products and inventing new things.

"I always wanted to try out my new ideas but I always felt guilty for indulging so much time in a hobby," she explained from behind a cloud of orange smoke one afternoon when Ginny stopped by to see how she was doing. "But if it's benefiting others, then I don't feel guilty at all!" This was punctuated by a loud explosion; the orange smoke turned green and they threw their arms over their heads for cover.

After several weeks of Sarah's little experimental hand lotion selling like mad, Ginny sat at her kitchen table sporting wrinkled nightclothes and a messy knot of hair, carefully magicking hand lotion into bottles for Fred's afternoon pickup. Since her charm work had been suffering lately due to her impatience to get things done quickly, (evident by the none-too-successful waking charm that had caused her to sleep late this morning) Ginny took careful time to make sure the jars were filled properly. It was a rather time-consuming process so when a knock on the door revealed Brian in rather spiffy navy business robes and vest, her eyes lit up.

"You've come to help! Grab a jar and fill!"

Brian stared at the huge mess on the kitchen table, which included four bubbling cauldrons and a large carton of jars with Sarah's acne-covered face staring up from each of them.

"Never mind, I'll go to a restaurant for lunch."

"Don't even think about it!" she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "Fred is going to be here any minute and I'm not even close to being done. Here, have a seat... take a carton... thank you," she smiled brilliantly at him as she sat down again.

Reluctantly, Brian complied. Before starting, he sniffed a jar full of lavender lotion and made a face. "Right, so I've been meaning to ask you," he said, setting the jar back down and reached for an empty one. "When the are we going to start looking for apartments?"

Ginny nearly choked as she sipped her tea. "Brian," she said, her eyes watering, "Shall I paint the picture of my life for you?"

He rolled his eyes and took advantage of Ginny's small break to sit back in his chair. "You don't have to paint anything. I understand that you want to have a proper job first. But Ginny, I can pay for your half of the rent until you find something."

"I don't want you to pay for anything. I'm not... going to move in with you and make you support me."

"You're doing it to your parents."

She laughed. "That's different. My parents are used to children who never leave home. Look at Ron."

"Yes, but Ron's getting married and moving out."

"I don't plan to live here forever!" she exclaimed, laughing. "It's just... my finances are a bit... non-existent right now. Look, can't you just find some nice girl to settle down with and leave me alone?"

Brian leaned across the table and pointed a finger at her. "If you ever think that I'm heading in that direction, I want you to snap me out of it. Do we understand each other?"

"If you ever think of heading in that direction, I'll start planning the wedding myself."

"You only say that because you know it's safe."

She sighed. "I wish it weren't. You'd make some girl very... miserable," she decided.

"I know. That's why I'm not doing it--out of the goodness of my heart."

Ginny stood and walked towards the pantry to get another tea bag. "You never do anything out of the goodness of your heart."

"Ginny, that's a horrible thing to say," said Ginny's mum, stepping into the kitchen, holding a basket of gardening tools. "Hello, Brian."

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. Do you need help with that?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you. I'm off to try my hand at this tree-growing business. Anyway, mind you talk in low voices, Julian is napping upstairs." With that, she went off to garden.

"Anyway, just hurry up with that, won't you?" Brian said. "You're my only prospect for a flat mate right now and besides, I miss finding your bras and things in my washing."

Ginny had just shaken her head at that when the back door closed again. Thinking that her mother had forgotten something and that she'd overheard Brian's comment, she whirled around. However, it wasn't her mother who had come inside. Standing in the doorway were Fred, Ron and Bill, brows lifted, looking like some sort of guard. Ginny realized that they must have overheard Brian and bit her lip trying not to laugh as she asked, "What are you lot doing home?"

"You know why I'm here, Ginny," Fred said menacingly. "And it doesn't look like you're finished."

The others trailed in and Bill stopped to introduce himself to Brian.

"Just about, look!" Ginny exclaimed. "Most are filled. Here, you can take what's finished and--"

"No, you can take them back with me. I've got a lot to do, Ginny, I can't be stocking shelves; we're in development for the Rooster Eggs. Also, I forgot to tell you, we're getting requests at the Diagon Alley shop for the lotion, so let Sarah know she'll have to make double."

"Double! But she can't, she's--"

"She has to, Ginny, we can't sell them at one shop and not the other."

"But Fred, this wasn't supposed to be--I mean, I thought they would be just for the girls in Hogsmeade--"

"There are girls in Diagon Alley too, Ginny!"

"Yes, but--"

"We need the product. Sarah should have thought of this before. If she wasn't going to have the time--"

"It's not Sarah's fault," Ginny insisted. "Don't blame her for being successful."

Fred looked as though he wanted to say something else but Ginny shook her head. "Look, forget it, alright? You'll get your supply for Diagon Alley. You just have to give us a little time."

"Okay, but let's go. We have to be there before the after-lunch rush, it's almost one o'clock--"

"One o'clock!?" Ginny shrieked. "I have to meet Hermione for wedding stuff--oh, damn," she exclaimed to which her mother replied, "Ginny," as she stepped back inside the house.

"I have to meet her in five minutes, Mum, and I'm not even dressed!"

"I'm going to go," Brian said, standing. "My break is almost over - I'll see you tonight?" he asked Ginny, who stared at him distractedly until he said, "Dinner with my mum? She owled you yesterday?"

"Oh, yes, yes," Ginny remembered. "Six o'clock - I'll be there. I wanted to show her some of Sarah's new foot cream."

Brian nodded, then bade farewell to everyone. Ginny dashed upstairs, feeling badly that she hadn't been able to settle things with Brian. She vowed to spend the entire evening with him and his mum tonight. She dressed in record speed and when she thudded down the stairs, saw that Fred was still waiting.

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly, "Hermione's waiting, Fred, I'll have to stock the shelves later."

"Ginny, you made a commitment to us--"

"I know, I know, and I promise to be there as soon as Hermione and I are finished."

"Never mind," Fred sighed, "I'll do it this time, but next time it's on you."

"Agreed," Ginny said then yanked out her wand to Disapparate.

She went straight to Hogsmeade, Apparating right on a small street called Wellington Avenue where Hermione had seen the boutique where she wanted to look for bridal robes. Ginny followed the numbers along the row of trendy pubs and small stores, all completely new to her. There was nothing to do with wedding robes at all, however, and nothing even close to the name Hermione had given her. She stepped inside a clothing shop and asked the girl at the counter if she knew where the place was with no luck. Ginny tried another shop and then another, but nobody had even heard of the name of this place and Ginny had the distinct feeling that something in Hermione's directions had been wrong.

She groaned when she looked at her watch and saw that it was half past one - half of Hermione's lunch hour was gone and Ginny hadn't even found her. She Apparated back into her bedroom and began to anxiously leaf through the papers on her desk, trying to find Hermione's letter. When she couldn't, Ginny whistled for Maurice to send a fast note of apology off to her, but remembered that he was out delivering letters to Christian and Aurelie.

"Pig!" she called, racing up the stairs into Ron's room. But Pig's cage was empty. "Damn!" she cried, then shook her head.

She wasn't mistaken. That address had said Wellington. Ginny remembered this because Wellington Avenue in Hogsmeade had become quite famous over the last few years for it's fashionable little shops and fun pubs, but Ginny had just missed the start of it when she'd left for Paris. Now, every time she admired somebody's jumper or cloak, they all pointed her in the direction of one place: Wellington Avenue. Ginny had remembered thinking that they would most definitely find suitable wedding robes there.

She Apparated to the very start of the street and began slowly walking down, looking at all the shop names carefully. She'd been in such a hurry that she'd probably walked right past it, Ginny reckoned, though that didn't explain why none of the shop owners knew anything about it. By the time Ginny had gone halfway down Wellington Avenue, a glance at her watch told her that it was no use--Hermione would have to be heading back to work in a few minutes anyway. Feeling terrible that she hadn't given herself more time, Ginny looked up and down the row of shops that lined the street in two vibrant strips, each structure a different shape and color.

Her attention was drawn to the one in front of which she happened to be standing. It was a tall building made of bright sapphire bricks and looking to be almost three floors, complete with a small balcony overflowing with potted plants. What was mostly different about it from all the others was that it had an outdoor tiled patio of sorts, which was fenced off with a pretty wooden fence. Ginny glanced at the lopsided sign over the doors reading "Sarah's Sews - For all your sewing and knitting needs."

Ginny decided that she would try one last shop to see if they knew anything about the boutique she was searching for and then she would stop at the post office and write to Hermione.

The inside of the sewing shop was just as intriguing as the outside, with a round tiled fountain directly in the middle of the floor and baskets and baskets of brightly colored sewing supplies. Ginny wanted to take up sewing just so she could frequent this shop.

"What can I do for you?" asked a voice from behind a counter; Ginny noticed that the countertop was tiled with the same blue patterned tiles that the made up the fountain.

"Sorry," Ginny said to the woman. She had piles and piles of white hair which were pulled and twisted into several knots on top of her head and was smiling despite a fatigued look in her eyes. Ginny inquired about Hermione's wedding robe shop, knowing that it was hopeless and sure enough the lady looked confused.

"I've never heard of that before. But then, if it's new I've probably not heard of it."

"Oh, well, thank you. You have a beautiful shop," Ginny said.

Her smile disappeared. "Thank you. It's... not mine anymore, though."

Ginny looked at her interestedly. "It's been sold?" She was suddenly excited that this adorable place may become something else, something she might enjoy.

"No, not yet. I've got to sell, though, sales are down. Nobody sews properly anymore, no time - new charms are always being discovered for that sort of thing. But there's no art in that, that's what I say. Learning the art by hand, it's so much more rewarding!"

Ginny nodded, feeling rather sorry for her, but still anxious to know what sort of company would buy the place. She made a mental note to stop by in a few weeks to inquire about it as she headed toward the exit and smiled at a young girl in her teens standing at the doorway. She had her arms crossed and looked rather inpatient as her mother shopped in the fabric aisle. The site made Ginny think of all the impatient girls at the joke shop, waiting for the boys to finish indulging in creating mischief.

Ginny paused, her hand frozen on the door handle. A very tiny thought entered her head and suddenly all the blood in her body rushed to her face. It was a heady feeling that made her dizzy, and it was all due to one tiny, passing thought. Going with instinct, Ginny whirled around, unaware that of the impatient looks being thrown at her by the teen in the doorway, marched straight up the white haired woman behind the counter and said, "How much gold are you selling this place for?"

~*~

For as long as she lived, Ginny would remember the week following her discovery of the pretty sewing shop on Wellington Avenue as a complete blur of numbers, questions, prayers and a permanent feeling of anxiety. She would remember rushing home after talking to the white haired lady for nearly an hour and not knowing what to do first or whom to ask for advice. She would remember owling Bill with a shaking hand, asking him to meet her after work and that her anxiety only increased when they talked because he couldn't answer any of her questions. She would also remember that her excitement on the matter tripled because he told her that if anyone could pull it off, she could and what was she doing talking to him of all people when her other two brothers would have all the answers she needed? She would remember dreading that she would have to plead with Gringotts for them to lend her piles of gold and anxiously brushing up on her Gobbledygook to impress the goblins. And finally, she would remember the day that it all came together when the twin brothers that she'd cursed and fought with and idolized her entire life became her heroes and that she'd vowed to spend the rest of her life indebted to them for so much more than the piles of gold they basically gave her on good faith.

"Invested," they called it - to be paid back in time along with a small percentage of profit which Ginny knew was more than fair since there wouldn't be a great deal of profit for awhile. She suddenly didn't care about galleon amounts or her pride or anything that would prevent her from taking what Fred and George offered, which she would always deem a gift no matter what terms they used. Ginny was prepared to put it all aside and be grateful to the point of worship for the rest of her life.

It didn't matter that Ginny and Sarah were just two girls, one with a university degree in linguistics of all things, one with basic bookkeeping skills, neither with any shop owning experience at all. It didn't matter that they would probably have to put their blood and sweat into this for many years to come to make it work and that the chances of it failing were big no matter how good a feeling Ginny had about it. Nothing mattered. Ginny had never felt this inspired before about anything. Those feelings of restlessness had suddenly come alive inside her and she was actually excited, rather than unsure, about the months to come.

Sarah, on the other hand, was completely terrified. It had taken Ginny, Fred, and George to convince her that this was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. Ginny has laid everything out very clearly for her. She, Ginny, would take complete control of remodeling the shop. Fred and George, as the investors, would provide the funds. Ginny would hire one or two or as many assistants as Sarah needed to actually brew the products. The only thing Sarah had to worry about was inventing formulas and since she already had two basic products and a horde of others in the works, there would be no reason for her to have to quit her job.

It had taken four hours, three pots of tea, and basically shooting down every "but" Sarah could muster before Sarah finally said, "Okay... what do we do first?"

Fred and George grinned. Chills raced down Ginny's spine and she leapt from the table and threw her arms around her friend. "I promise I'm going make this as easy on you as I can!"

"Now, wait, don't say that," Sarah said, pulling back and Ginny was happy to see an excited sparkle in her eyes. "I'm prepared to do my share of the work. If we're to be partners then I'll make the commitment, same as you."

It wasn't until three days later, when Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table of the Burrow with the title to the shop laying on the surface in front of her that she began to feel afraid.

All the paper work had been completed; she and Sarah officially owned the little shop on Wellington Avenue. Well, technically, Fred and George owned it since they had provided them with the money, but they became so furious when Ginny had offhandedly mentioned this earlier that they were going to draw up their own contract, stating that it this was a loan and nothing more. When Ginny and Sarah signed, there would be no question as to who the owners were.

Nevertheless, it was quite scary seeing her name on an official document. Business Owner, it said. She was the owner of a business. A thrill raced down her spine. She thought of the little shop, of Sarah's Sew, that was now taking shape in her mind as the place that was going to sell lotions and hand creams and things that Ginny had never particularly cared too much about. It was the place that she was going to actually own, along with Sarah, her oldest friend in the world, now linked together in business as well as friendship.

Suddenly, a host of "what if's" began to seep their way into her mind. Just as she was starting to panic, there was a tiny knock at the back door and Sarah stepped in cautiously.

"Ginny?"

"Oh, come on in, Sarah," Ginny said brightly, aware that she couldn't vent to Sarah about this because it was all she needed for Sarah to start panicking as well.

"I quit my job," Sarah said as she pulled up a chair.

It took Ginny several seconds to comprehend what she had said. "You... you what?!"

Sarah shook her head as if it were obvious. "It's not going to work, Ginny. I'm never going to be able to give the shop my full attention if I have to constantly be worrying about my other job--"

"But, Sarah... it's your job!"

"Yes, and my parents completely support me in the decision - they think I have a great talent and they're really excited. They encouraged me to quit!"

"But... money, Sarah, how will you manage?"

To Ginny's surprise, Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't spend any gold, Ginny. I never have. That's why I have plenty saved - enough to even pay for some of the supplies that I'll need to start."

"Sarah, we don't know how long it will be before we actually earn any gold--"

"I'm willing to take the risk, just like you," Sarah insisted, leaning across the table in earnest. "The truth is, I should have had this idea. Only I would never have had an idea like this. I'm never willing to take any chances because I'm always so worried about things going wrong. But this time, it's not going to go wrong. I feel it, Ginny. Especially with the two of us as partners."

Ginny looked at Sarah's brilliant, eager smile, knowing that her friend was speaking from her heart. Above anything Ginny would remember later as she looked back on the whole thing, she knew that she would remember this as the moment she felt the most fear and the most excitement. The two seemed somehow intertwined.

~*~

Sarah of Sarah's Sew and her business were scheduled to move out two weeks after they had signed all the papers, which meant that Ginny and Sarah had two weeks to plan everything before they were actually able to move in. They agreed to keep the fountain in the middle of the shop and Sarah had the idea to make the water scented with a different scent every day.

Sarah's creativity seemed to flourish, as did the lab in her attic which would eventually move to the basement of the shop. She had thought up several new products and now their inventory consisted of an array of lotions and creams in many different scents and functions, as well as specialty items such as self-massaging foot cream and easy-styling hair solution. Sarah was also credited with the idea of the "Feel-Good Bar" which was a tentative title that Ginny loved and Sarah, Fred and George hated. It would be a counter in the shop where Sarah would offer an array of botanical oils, bottled charms and many, many scents for the customers to create their own personalized lotion or cream. The scents ranged from eucalyptus to chocolate cake to Mrs. Scower's Magical Mess Remover and the charms and effects were endless.

The only decision that remained was the name of the shop. It was a point of conversation every hour of the day. No matter where Ginny was, someone would look up and blurt things from out of the blue. "The Essential Body?" or "Sea of Skin?" Ginny was completely uninspired by all of them. Soon they would have to start printing the labels for the products and then what would they do?

The title they used for practice had been a nickname that Fred and George had taken to calling Sarah. Every time Sarah walked into the Burrow, one of them would shout out, "It's the Lotion Lady!" In order to put something on a label or sign, they used "Lotion Lady" for the time being. It had been funny at first, but soon became a huge source of pressure every time they saw it. Ginny decided not to think about it and trusted that inspiration would hit randomly, just as it had for virtually every other decision so far.

As autumn arrived, plans for the shop began to finalize. The first Hogsmeade weekend for Hogwarts students occurred during the second week of October and Ginny watched hoards of young girls gather round the front of the shop, talking excitedly and pointing to the "Coming Soon" signs which listed some of the products. Ginny then had the idea to advertise by offering a sampling of the products, so Sarah forced her cousin Rosemary to stand outside the shop giving out samples of Idea Inspiring Body Cream, designed to inspire intelligence and sharpen the senses. Sarah thought it would be the perfect thing for students having a difficult time getting back into the swing of school again. Ginny suggested she and Sarah use it to help inspire them with a name for the shop.

Their goal was to open the doors for the next Hogsmeade visit, during November, which would require a great deal of haste. However, they already had several faithful customers who'd returned all weekend to pick up more free samples for their friends, so it seemed a reasonable goal.

On Saturday morning, Ginny shopped for supplies while Sarah had locked herself in the attic, brewing products. By lunchtime, however, Ginny was due elsewhere and she had just enough time to drop off the supplies she'd purchased at the shop before Apparating to a little restaurant where Hermione had chosen to meet to discuss the wedding.

When she entered the restaurant, Ginny did a scan of the crowd for Ron's red hair, but all she found was a table of hags in the corner and a blonde woman at the bar. Marveling that she was the first to arrive when Hermione was always early for everything, Ginny found a table with four chairs and sat down to wait. It never entered her mind that she would be sitting for more than twenty minutes before anyone arrived, and when she finally saw Hermione wave to her from across the bar, Ginny waved back, feeling only slightly put out. Hermione also had a lot to do these days, what with the wedding and the big projects at St. Mungos.

"Is everything okay?" Ginny asked when Hermione stared at the table in confusion.

"Where's Harry?" she demanded.

Startled, Ginny looked at the clock over the bar. "Late, I suppose. Why?"

"I told him one o'clock," she said impatiently.

Ginny quirked a brow and smirked. "Yes...well, you only just arrived yourself and it's twenty past."

Hermione heaved a huge sigh. "Well..."

"Where's Ron?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, he couldn't make it - he had something to do for work."

Ginny lifted a brow. She had work to do as well, but she'd made time to be here. "Shouldn't Ron hear what you've got to say?"

Hermione waved a hand. "He insisted that we go ahead. Thanks for being here, by the way, I know that you're really busy with the shop--how is that going?"

"Hi," came a male voice and they both turned in surprise to see that Harry had arrived and was whipping off his cloak. "I know, I'm late. Sorry."

"So was Hermione," Ginny piped up before Hermione could scold him.

Harry looked completely baffled. "You were?" he asked, as if the idea of Hermione being late was utterly ludicrous.

Hermione replied impatiently, "It doesn't matter. Let's just get started."

"What about Ron?"

"Ron's not coming, we'll do just fine without him."

"Why do I have to be here, then?" Harry asked with a bit of a whine in his voice.

"Because I need you to help me figure out which day is best to have the wedding since your job is the biggest obstacle we have."

Ginny could have cursed Hermione for saying that--Harry hadn't seemed at all annoyed when he'd sat down and that comment was just the thing to put him in one of his moods. Sure enough, when she chanced a glance at him, he was sending a very narrowed look at the bar. However, there was something else that was confusing Ginny.

"Hang on," she said, looking at Hermione, "You're wanting to set the date for the wedding, and the groom's not even here? That's a bit of a big decision, isn't it?"

"Ron doesn't care. This sort of decision doesn't matter to him. His job will give him the time off when he needs it. Your dad is his boss, for heavens sake!"

Ginny nodded, deciding to bite her tongue. Harry himself was sitting back in his chair, arms crossed, seemingly not paying much attention. Ginny didn't want to add fuel to the fire by insisting that Ron should be here, even though she firmly believed that he should.

"Now I really wanted to clear it up with you, as well, Ginny, since you'll be having your shop and everything and I'll need to know when a good time would be for you to take a few days off. Because we'll have a lot going on during the days beforehand - having fittings for our dresses, that sort of thing."

"Well, I'm not really sure how it's going to go," Ginny said slowly. "I mean, we haven't even opened yet, but I'll just do what's necessary on the days you'll need me."

This was not the answer Hermione seemed to want. Rather than say more to Ginny, however, she turned to Harry. "What about you?"

"What about me?" he asked with a bit of temper in his voice.

Hermione, ignoring his tone, continued, "When would be a good time for you to take some days off?"

Harry shook his head as if all of this was too much information. "How many days off?"

"Two or three... perhaps?"

Harry stared at the table, still shaking his head as if Hermione was asking him to fly all the way to Egypt on his broomstick. Ginny remained silent, her eyes moving back and forth between the two of them. Hermione looked as though she was waiting for a bomb to explode and, though Ginny thought that she'd brought much of this stress on herself, she didn't want Hermione to have to feel so strained about her wedding.

Harry raised a brow, lifted a hand off the table and replied, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" she demanded in a deadly voice.

"Okay," Ginny interrupted. "Harry, is there a certain time of year when aurors perhaps aren't as busy as usual?"

"No," Harry said bluntly, looking at Hermione, "I have no idea when I'll have a case or when I'll get called away. You know this, Hermione."

"So that's it then. You just won't be there if you happen to be working on a case."

Harry lifted his hand in a gesture that plainly said that he couldn't deny it. Ginny closed her eyes, feeling Hermione's frustration and wanting to kick Harry. Before anyone could do anything, however, a forth voice said,

"Mr. Potter?"

They all jumped in surprise. A barman stood in front of them, offering Harry a letter; the Ministry of Magic seal glimmered in the candlelight.

"This came for you by Express Owl," said the barman importantly before walking off.

Harry looked at the envelope and shook his head with a humorless smile. "I have to go," he announced, yanking the cloak from the back of his chair, obviously aware of the irony as he declared, "I'm needed somewhere."

With that, he was gone. Ginny bit her lip and glanced at Hermione, who looked positively miserable. Though her heart went out to Hermione, Ginny felt like she was overreacting just a bit to Harry's temper tantrum, when it had been Hermione's comment about his job that started it all. Come to think of it, Ginny couldn't help but wonder how Hermione of all people could get angry that Harry was so devoted to his work. Ginny reckoned that Hermione ought to be proud that he'd become serious about his job.

"Hermione, don't... let it upset you," Ginny said, wanting to voice her opinions, but deciding against it. She didn't want to hurt Hermione's feelings anymore than they already were. "Harry's not going to miss your wedding."

Hermione laughed somewhat sadly. "He'll miss it just to prove a point."

"Hermione, Harry would not--"

"Yes, he would," Hermione said rashly. "You haven't been around lately, Ginny. He's different."

Ginny paused before saying, "He wouldn't miss your wedding, though, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head and began to gather her handbag and cloak. "You don't understand. Anyway, you're right. I should wait for Ron to do this," she said, rapidly pulling her things towards her. "But waiting for Ron to do anything is like waiting for a--"

"Hermione." Ginny placed a hand on her arm to stop her. "Stop for a just a minute. You need to take a deep breath and relax. You're going to drive yourself mad."

"I can't help it," she cried, letting go of everything so that it slumped in her lap. "Everything is on my shoulders, Ginny. Ron doesn't know anything about this and, let's face it, he doesn't care what sort of flowers I hold or about the color of the ribbons on the champagne goblets or whether the guests throw moon dust or unicorn powder at us after the ceremony. It's all up to me, and I thought with you and Harry involved, we could make it a group project--just like the old days-- and it would make Ron want to be involved, but Harry... bloody Harry--" Ginny's eyes popped open. "--He can never come through anymore. It's like he's not capable. Who was I kidding, thinking things could be like the old days? It just can't, it just can't--"

"Deep breath!" Ginny exclaimed, interrupting Hermione's rant and grabbing her hand.

At last Hermione stopped talking. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, after a minute of silence. "I'm very stressed."

"I can see that," Ginny laughed and squeezed her hand. Ginny herself took a deep breath and thought for a minute about what she could say to Hermione to make her feel better. "Hermione... Ron's a bit stupid."

Hermione looked at Ginny in surprise. Then they both started to laugh--Ginny hadn't meant to be funny, but it was a rather amusing way to change the subject.

"Not with everything," Hermione said, giggling a much-needed giggle, "Just...at this sort of thing. And other things too, but--"

"Yes, and that's the reason I don't understand why you had any expectations at all about him! You knew he would be useless at this, didn't you?"

Hermione sighed again. "Well, I sort of... had a bit of hope."

Ginny lifted a brow. "Well...when you're married, hope is all you'll have to cling to."

"Hey," Hermione said, visibly trying not to laugh. "Don't talk like that about him. I like him."

"At least you finally admit it. Seriously, Hermione, you can't let yourself go mad over this wedding!"

"It's not just the wedding," Hermione admitted, "It's this project at work that takes so much of my concentration, and then--" she hesitated, then broke off.

"What?" Ginny prompted.

Hermione looked up at her. "It's Harry, too. I don't know what to do anymore. Ron's no help, he's told me not to stick my nose in Harry's business, that he'll snap out of whatever's bothering him--" Hermione shook her head and Ginny could tell that this was really and sincerely hurting her. "Ron thinks he knows Harry better and that I'm just trying to create a problem for him because I want to nag or something, but... I'm really, really worried and I don't know what to do. There's something really wrong, I know it, and nobody believes me."

Ginny felt wary talking about Harry like this, but it was clear that this was making Hermione miserable. "Have you brought this up to Harry?"

"Of course. But it's complicated. You know how he is, if he doesn't think that someone can relate to him he thinks he can't talk to them, he thinks they won't understand and... actually...well..." She looked at Ginny nervously for a moment and Ginny felt something like lead in her stomach.

"What?" she asked.

"I...I was actually thinking that...well, perhaps, you could..."

Hermione trailed off, Ginny leaned forward. "I could...what?"

"Well... talk to him. You two used to be so close..."

Ginny sat back in her chair. "Hermione... we're not anymore."

"But at Hogwarts--"

"At Hogwarts," Ginny interrupted, then shook her head, not even knowing what she'd been about to say. "I...that was a long time ago. We grew apart, Hermione. I moved away and...I just don't think Harry would respond to anything I have to say anyway."

"You won't know unless you try," Hermione said quietly.

Ginny opened her mouth several times before finally saying, "I don't even know him anymore. How can I help him?"

"Because ... you've helped him before and it made all the difference. Don't you remember?"

Ginny shook her head. She was trying to ignore the feelings that were building up inside of her, familiar feelings, bitter feelings and she didn't think it was fair to have to feel them again...now.

"Look, just... think about it, okay?" Hermione said after they both sat in a few seconds' silence.

Ginny nodded, just to appease Hermione, but something told her that she was going to have to do more than just that to convince her.

~*~

October rolled to a close with a bit of "bang" and though Ginny had technically been responsible for what Fred and George called the best Halloween bash since the 1967 poltergeist revolt, (though they hadn't been alive to experience the revolt, so they couldn't actually compare) the thing had taken on a life of it's own.

The sulking and the huffing of late had caused Ginny to think how unbelievably uptight everyone was acting lately. A very quick, jumbled idea had formed in Ginny's head and, before she knew it, the idea had been born. Halloween was only few days away, on Friday - why not get together that night and have a bit of a party? They could use the shop, it was coming along quite well and was more spacious than Ginny had initially realized. Ron had agreed instantly; Hermione had warmed to the idea. Later, she'd mentioned it to the rest of her brothers, Sarah, and Brian. They all seemed to think it was a good idea, and that had been the extent of the official invitations from Ginny herself.

A day later, Ron told Ginny that he'd run into Seamus Finnegan and mentioned that he should come to the party with Lavender. She thought it would be good to see them again, so she agreed. Sarah then mentioned that she'd spotted Dennis Creevey one morning and he'd yelled that he would see her on Friday, and that Colin couldn't wait either. Sarah had spilled her tea in her haste to relay the message to Ginny. It wasn't until Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks commented on the big Halloween bash that she was hearing so much about did Ginny throw up her arms in defeat. She was already going to be spending the entire day before the party making refreshments with her mother. Now she simply had to seek out help from Sarah's mum as well.

Though she hadn't planned on it, Ginny was excited about seeing all of her old friends in one place again. It would be like the old days Hermione kept talking about... well, sort of.

"The place looks fantastic!" exclaimed Hermione on Friday evening when she and Ron arrived, a few minutes early.

"Doesn't it?" Ginny said, doing a little twirl in the middle of the room. The entire place was covered in cobwebs, eerie lights, and every trick from the new Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Halloween Collection. This included Pearly-white Dancing Ghosts waltzing through tables, Sweet Spitting Jack-O-Lanterns that spit some of the most popular WWW sweets and The Bat Chase that, earlier, had found Sarah running around the room screaming as a fake bat pursued her.

"And you look fantastic as well," Hermione grinned and played with the sleeve of Ginny's dress. Ginny had gone all out for her appearance. She reckoned that since she was the hostess, she should fit in with the theme. Her dress was long and black, looking like some sort of old-fashioned widow's dress with a high neck and long sleeves.

"Well, hello!" called a cheery voice from the doorway. Ginny was glad to see that she wasn't the only one to dress up a bit as Lavender Brown stepped inside the room, clad in a black dress that was similar to Ginny's. However, Ginny's eyes bulged slightly when she saw the drooped neckline on Lavender's and realized that the two dresses were quite different.

"Where's Seamus, Lavender?" Hermione asked, smoothly shouldering Ron to the side when his eyes took the same tour Ginny's had but for quite different reasons.

Lavender shrugged vaguely. "Oooh, free stuff?" she exclaimed and walked off towards the basket of lotion and cream samples Sarah had put together.

Ginny saw Hermione and Ron exchange a look and before Ginny could wonder about it, the door opened and Fred and George sauntered in, wearing bright orange robes with matching top hats.

"You two look ridiculous," Hermione said, choking on a laugh.

Ginny giggled. "Where did you get the hats? They're wild."

Fred and George exchanged a grin and before anyone knew it, they had whipped out their wands, tapped the rim of their hats and a gush of green goo poured from the inside, covering their faces. Hermione shrieked and jumped out of the way, Ron grinned and muttered "you're mad" and Ginny burst into laughter.

"That reminds me of my bogey hexing days," she said with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

"It should," Fred commented from under the goo, tapping the hat once more so that the green slime vanished into a puff of purple smoke. "We used a good portion of your hex."

"Then I should get a good portion of the profit," Ginny said sarcastically.

"You are, you are," George assured her, "It's still in the testing stage. Once it hits the shelves, we'll talk."

"Good, because I can use it towards my debt. This way I'll be able to pay you back faster--"

"Oh, please," groaned Ron. "Can we not talk about bloody work and gold and product testing? I'm going to eat." With that, he walked off.

Ginny and the group had been so interested in the bogey hats that they hadn't noticed more guests arriving, but sure enough the place was slowly filling up with people. Most of the faces were familiar, so Ginny took her time mingling with everyone. There were people she hadn't seen since before she'd gone to Paris, people that she had run into once or twice since coming back, and ones that she saw often. It was fun to actually see them all in one place for a change.

She chatted with Brian and his date (whose outfit made Lavender's dress look modest), and laughed at Dean Thomas who had come alone and was pursuing Katie Bell for a dance. ("...if it's the last thing I do, Ginny, honestly, I've been in love with her since THIRD YEAR!"). Ginny herself accepted a dance with Dennis Creevey, who blushed furiously and told her he liked her dress. She giggled at Neville who watched Luna Lovegood with a perplexed look on his face as she flicked the cherries off her slice of cake onto the floor. She listened with half an ear as Bill and Brian became engaged in a rather deep discussion on the political structure of the Ministry and saw that Brian's date was none too thrilled that he was ignoring her. She spotted Lavender standing in a corner and began to move closer so that she could ask her if she was having a good time, but froze once she actually saw her face.

If looks could kill, whomever Lavender was gracing with narrowed eyes and deep frown would be as dead as the imitation ghost that waltzed near her.

"The turnout is pretty good!" Hermione exclaimed to Ginny, appearing from inside the crowd.

"Yeah... hey, Hermione, what's wrong with Lavender?" Ginny asked, pointing to him. "If looks could kill..."

"Oh, dear," Hermione said, peering over the heads of some people, trying to follow Lavender's gaze. "Oh, not again."

"What?"

"Look," she said, guiding Ginny's gaze to where Seamus Finnegan was standing with some witch Ginny didn't know.

"Who is that?"

"Who knows?" Hermione asked impatiently. "The two of them must be at it, I tell you, every gathering we have, if they're not trying to get the other jealous, they're all over each other. Look, see?"

Ginny looked. Seamus had a huge grin on his face and leaned closer to the girl he was talking to, who suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, clutching his shoulder. When Ginny looked back at Lavender, she saw her stalk off towards the refreshments table and grabbed a bottle of something or other to pour herself a drink.

"Now she'll get pissed and snog someone and there will be a huge row between Seamus and whichever poor sod she decides to single out," Hermione said matter-of-factly, sipping her butterbeer daintily. "This is really good butterbeer! Is it a new brand?"

Ginny tried to get her mind around the fact that Hermione was telling her there would be a huge row at her Halloween party, when something about Hermione's butterbeer statement made her freeze. "Wait a minute. The butterbeer tastes different?"

Hermione's eyes widened as they met Ginny's and they both had the same thought at the same time. "Don't drink any more of it," Ginny said automatically, grabbing the bottle from her and stalking off.

"What did you do to the butterbeer?" she demanded of Fred, walking up to him as he danced a slow, sloppy dance with Angelina.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at Ginny with glazed eyes.

"Try to focus, Fred, what did you do to the butterbeer? What's in it?"

To Ginny's surprise, he didn't try to deny it, but buried his wickedly grinning face on Angelina's shoulder and said nothing.

"Oh, this is just great, Fred, it's the only non-alcoholic drink out there!"

"I don't bloody believe it," Angelina snapped, lifting her shoulder so that it jammed into his face.

"OW!" he exclaimed, clutching his jaw. "What the--"

"Fred, WHAT is in it?" Ginny demanded.

"It's not even real alcohol, it's a product that we're testing, a feel-good type thing, gives the effects of being pissed, without actually--"

"A product you're testing?" Ginny said, through her teeth. "TESTING?!"

"He knows it's dangerous, Ginny, he's just too much of a bloody child to actually act responsibly," Angelina said, pushing past him and storming away.

"Wait!" Fred called out to her. "Thanks a LOT, Ginny!"

"Oh, shut up," Ginny spat, dragging him by the arm to the back room where they were keeping the extra food and drink. "Is all of this tainted?" she asked, pointing to the crates of bottles.

"No, just the bottles that we put out. I'm not lying!" he exclaimed from the look on her face.

"People want to know what they're drinking, Fred, there are plenty of real drinks out there for the ones who want to--"

"I'M NOT LYING!" he shouted.

"What did you do to Angelina now?" asked George, poking his head through.

"She's still here?" Fred asked, pushing Ginny out of the way to get out.

Nearly knocked over, Ginny looked to George. "You--get all the spoiled bottles of butterbeer off the table out there and then put these out. I have to go round to everyone who has a bottle and tell them it's been tainted. And if you don't do it, so help me, George, I'll sue you for using my bogey hex on your product and you'll be in debt to ME for the rest of your life."

"All right, all right," George said, looking thoroughly harassed that Ginny was taking away his fun.

They both emerged from the back room and just as Ginny was about to scan the crowd for people drinking butterbeer, Sarah hurried up to her looking panicked. "Ginny, your friend is about to get into a fight."

"My friend?" Ginny asked in alarm.

"Yeah, Brian, he's...well look--"

Through the sea of heads and faces, Ginny could see Brian standing very close to a blonde witch, whispering something in her ear--Ginny couldn't see the girl's face because Brian's was blocking it from view, but she had on a black dress with a plunging neckline.

Ginny gasped. "Oh, no. Where's Seamus?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Sarah moaned, turning Ginny in the direction of Seamus, who was watching Brian and Lavender with a clenched jaw. Sure enough, Seamus drained his goblet, smacked it on the nearest table and began stalking across the room towards them. Sarah gasped weakly.

"Oh, no," Ginny cried. "I'll handle it. Take away everyone's butterbeer, Sarah."

"What? Why?" Sarah asked in confusion but Ginny didn't have time to answer. She shoved her way through the crowd and when she reached Brian, she took his arm. "Brian, I need you."

Brian took his time tearing his gaze from Lavender's face and Ginny's heart sank when he fixed her with a lopsided grin and bloodshot eyes. He was as far gone as the twins. "Gin," he whispered, glancing at Lavender as if he was embarrassed that Ginny interrupted them. "I'm busy."

Ginny could see Seamus from the corner of his eye trying to get past a very talkative Hermione, who must have noticed the problem as well and was trying to distract him. "I know, but it's very important. Please. Now."

"Okay, okay," Brian said and turned to Lavender. "I'll be right back, love, don't--" He didn't have the time to finish his sentence because Ginny yanked him away just as Seamus managed to shrug off Hermione.

"What is so important that you had to interrupt me when--" Ginny tugged Brian into the back room with her and a light appeared in his eyes as Ginny slammed the door closed so that it was just the two of them. "Well, it's about time we got things started!"

"Brian, compose yourself," Ginny said sharply. "That witch you were flirting with is off limits, okay?"

"Ginny," Brian said, shaking his head and trying to look at her fondly with his glazed eyes. "Nobody can take your place, especially not some blonde floozy."

Ginny sighed. "She's not a floozy, Brian, she's just ... taken. She's taken, okay? Anyway, what happen to that other witch you were with?"

Brian looked confused. "Who? Oh, her. She liked your brother Bill instead. She was a floozy, that one."

Ginny's lips quirked. "Really? I couldn't tell."

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head as if it was such a shame. "So you didn't bring me in here to snog?"

Ginny couldn't help but giggle. "No, sorry," she patted his arm. "I'm sure you can find some nice girl out there to snog."

Ginny had barely finished her sentence before they were suddenly bathed in light from the door opening. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!" exclaimed a girl from Hogwarts that Ginny couldn't quite place. "They wanted me to tell you that there's no butterbeer left, I'm so sorry, though--"

"No, you didn't interrupt anything--" Ginny started to say but the girl sauntered off and the door swung closed behind her.

Brian started to snicker. "She thought we were snogging."

Ginny sent him a narrow look. "Yes, I know what she thought and it's all because of you and--hang on." Ginny whirled around; there, on the floor, were the crates of butterbeer that she'd told George to swap for the tainted ones. "That's it. I'm owling my solicitor first thing in the morning and taking them for everything they have."

"Solicitor?" Brian asked in alarm.

Ginny ignored him. "Help me with this, won't you?"

After a frantic few minutes of refilling the table with butterbeer and the rest of the sweets, Ginny turned to Brian to ask him something, but instead found a confused Sarah holding two bottles of butterbeer.

"I've managed to get them away from Colin and Dean, but nobody else wanted to give them up."

Ginny stared at Sarah and felt the insane urge to hug her. "You're the only one who takes me seriously, Sarah, and that's why I love you."

"Ginny," said a very dramatic voice, by someone who grabbed her arm. Ginny found herself looking at Parvati Patil for the first time since her sixth year of Hogwarts. "Lavender wanted me to tell you how sorry she is--she didn't know that you and that ... gorgeous wizard were together otherwise she never would have carried on like that. And I have to tell you that I am very impressed! Well done!"

"Parvati, Brian and I aren't--"

"Oh, Ginny, don't worry, I wont tell any of your brothers what you two were doing in the back room! Imagine what they would do!" she exclaimed with wide eyes and before Ginny could say anything, Parvati disappeared into the dancing crowd.

Ginny stared after her in complete misery before turning to Sarah who was trying not to smile. "Think this is funny?" Ginny growled. "Try living with it for five years and now everyone here thinks-- oh, no," she buried her face in her hands. "If any of my brothers think I was... oh, they'll kill Brian..."

Sarah patted Ginny's arm. "Don't worry. Anyone who really knows you won't believe that, Ginny."

Ginny sighed. "I suppose. You know, I've had to use the loo for an hour now, can you keep an eye on things while I'm gone?"

"Okay," Sarah said nervously. "I think I'll ask Hermione to help me."

Ginny had to bite her lip on a smile. Sarah had been perpetually worried since the first day Ginny had met her and remained so to this day. But she couldn't say that she blamed the girl for acting so just now.

The bathroom was situated at the top of a dark stairway that lead to an attic, which was not accessible due to heavy boards and large crates that blocked the entrance. The entrance to the loo was perfect accessible though. Ginny had thought about putting some candles out for the guests but instead left it dark and had the idea to put some crackling spider webs in the stairway to give it a spooky feeling. She regretted it, however, when she started climbing the stairs in utter blackness, clinging to the railing for dear life. She had just cursed herself for sending her party guests into a deathtrap just to use the loo when her shins came into contact with what was unmistakably a very solid human being. The scream caught in her throat and all she could do was stand there gripping the railing as if it would save her from whoever was there.

The person she'd almost tripped over swore in a voice that Ginny recognized and she felt such a wave of relief hit her so that she remained in the same position, catching the breath that had been frozen in her throat moments before. "Who's there?" he asked.

"It's me," she gasped, clutching her heart. "Harry, you scared me."

"Oh... sorry, Ginny."

"What ... are you doing in here...?" she panted.

"I'm waiting for the loo."

"Oh... " She wanted to ask him why he was sitting on a dark, rickety staircase rather than out in the party where there was light, but she was still catching her breath and besides, it didn't seem strange, really, for Harry to be alone in a dark stairway while there was a party going on. Perhaps it was something about his character.

Two fake dancing ghosts floated through the wall, lighting things up a little and for a moment, Ginny and Harry looked up and watched them twirl together near the ceiling.

Ginny didn't know what made her sit down. She was well aware that she could wait for the loo outside in the party but it seemed oddly peaceful in here where there were no people smashing into her and no party problems coming up every few minutes.

"Aren't you having a good time?" she asked him, sinking down onto a step and adjusting the hem of her dress.

"Oh... yeah, it's great. That's not why I'm in here," he rushed to say.

Ginny smiled. "I know. I never expected things to get out of hand like that--well, not that they're out of hand, but you know. I thought it would be just us."

By the light of the ghosts, Ginny saw Harry shrug a shoulder. "It's good to see everyone."

"Yeah, it is." She heard a creak coming from upstairs and she straightened, thinking that someone was going to come out. When nobody did, she twisted around to look at Harry and inquire who was up there, but the smirk on his face made her smile. "What's funny?"

He shook his head. Another sound came from upstairs, this one sounding a bit like a crash.

Ginny twisted further around to try and see up the staircase. "Do you think whoever's up there is all right?"

"Yeah," he said quickly.

She looked at him. "Who's in there, do you know?"

His smirk became a grin, but he said nothing and the ghosts floated out of the room so that they were submersed in darkness again.

"Well, who is it?" Ginny asked, wanting to laugh at his secrecy.

He cleared his throat. "There's ... two people in there..." he said with much difficulty.

"Two..." Ginny trailed off, and the light came on in her head. "Oh... oh."

Yet another noise punctuated Harry and Ginny's silence then and Ginny felt a bout of hilarity build up inside of her. "How...how do you know?" she asked in a hushed voice, trying to keep from laughing.

"I heard their voices."

"Who is it?" she demanded, feeling a bit of a wicked thrill at the scandal.

She could feel Harry hesitate. "Er...well..."

While he stuttered it out, Ginny thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Not Ron and Hermione, is it?" she blurted.

"Urgh, no!" he exclaimed, sounding disgusted.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry won't get the vision out of my head." Harry shuddered and Ginny had to admit that she was having the same vision herself and it wasn't pretty.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... well, who is it then? Oh, don't tell me... it's Brian isn't it?"

"Brian?" he asked in confusion. "Who--oh, your friend? No, it's not him."

"Mmm..." she tried to think of the other couples. "Is it one of my brothers?" she asked cautiously.

This seemed to amuse him. "You'd think it would be, wouldn't you?"

"It's not?"

"No. It's Seamus and Lavender."

"Oh," Ginny said, oddly disappointed. "They were just fighting, though, are you sure?"

"Yeah... it's pretty common for them."

"That's what Hermione said. Yuck."

Harry snickered.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait?" Ginny asked him.

"Not ...too much longer," Harry said. "It's been a few years already."

Ginny made a face. "Yuck," she said again. "Well... shouldn't we do something? What if someone else needs to use the loo?"

"Do you want to interrupt?" he asked dryly.

"Good point," Ginny said gravely. "Well, what I mean to say is, they have to know there are people waiting, it's a shock nobody else is."

"Everyone knows they're up there, Ginny," Harry said in a laughing voice. "People are just Apparating home and back if they need to use the loo."

Ginny frowned. "I feel horrible then! This is my party, I should... do something about it."

"Go on then," Harry said prompted.

Ginny suddenly twisted around to look at him again but she could barely see his outline in the darkness. "You're very amused by this aren't you?"

Harry said nothing, but Ginny could tell he was grinning. Laughing inwardly, she turned back so that she could lean against the wooden rail and it occurred to her rather abruptly that Harry didn't seem at all distant right now. The conversation that she'd had with Hermione the other day played in her head for a bit and Ginny couldn't help but wonder whether Ron was right and Hermione herself was Harry's problem.

Ginny didn't have time to reflect on it because at that moment, the door to the party opened and heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs heading straight for the two of them.

"Wait!" Ginny cried, just as Harry, blinking in the sudden light, said, "Who's there?"

"What the--Ginny? Harry?" growled a familiar voice and Ginny shook her head in annoyance.

"Ron, do you always climb the stairs like you're in a stampede?"

"What are you two doing in here? Don't tell me you're waiting for the loo."

"What else?" Harry grumbled.

"Well, bloody hell!" Ron exploded. "How long does it take to--"

"Seamus and Lavender are up there, Ron," Ginny told him meaningfully.

"And?" Ron asked impatiently.

Ginny could actually feel Harry roll his eyes. "Well, they're... well..." she said vaguely.

"Oh," Ron said, finally getting the drift. And with that he stomped up the stairs, shoving past Ginny and from Harry's yelp, stepping on Harry's foot as he went.

"Ron, don't!" Ginny exclaimed, but before anything could be done, Ron pounded on the door to the loo with such gusto that Ginny was sure the party guests would hear it over the music. The same could be said for Lavender's shrieks a moment later.

"Take it somewhere else, will you?" Ron shouted. "There are people waiting like bloody gits out here."

"How rude, Ron!" snapped Lavender as the door opened. Ginny and Harry barely had enough time to leap to their feet and smash themselves against the wall as a sulking Lavender and a silent Seamus, tripping over his feet, piled down the stairs and out into the party.

Upstairs, they heard the lock click which mean that Ron had disregarded the fact that Ginny and Harry had been waiting before him, and went in to use it first. This seemed to be the last straw for Harry.

"I'm tired of waiting. See you, Ginny." And to Ginny's surprise, she heard the unmistakable Apparition crack and was very much alone in the stairway. A ghost couple floated in, this one doing a hearty rendition of the jitterbug. Heaving a huge sigh, Ginny leaned back against the railing and watched them dance, wishing she could stay there for the rest of the night.

The door leading to the party opened yet again, and Ginny had to squint her eyes at the light, now that they were getting adjusted to the dark.

"Ginny?" called Hermione.

"I'm up here, Hermione. I'm waiting for the loo--is anything wrong out there?"

"No, Sarah said you came in here a while ago so I wanted to check on you."

"Everything's fine. Ron's in there now." Ginny explained.

"Oh, all right," Hermione said, taking a seat on the stair herself. "This has been a fun evening! I'm glad you had the idea, it was a great way to lighten things up, you know? We've all been so stressed lately."

"Yeah," Ginny said, though the only place she'd really felt relaxed was inside this staircase, "Thanks for trying to distract Seamus - it would have been ugly."

"Brian doesn't seem like the type that would turn the other cheek."

Ginny laughed and shook her head. "No, he certainly would not. It's the Irish temper in him."

"Well, Seamus' Irish temper is enough for one party."

Ginny gasped. "I didn't even think of that! They would have killed each other. Oh, thank goodness it all got sorted out."

"Yeah... well, it's been quite an eventful evening. I wish Harry had come," she said, her voice taking on a bit of a distant tone, "But I didn't expect him to anyway."

"He was here," Ginny said, looking at Hermione in surprise. "He was in here waiting for the loo with me. He left when Ron budged in front of us."

Though it was dark, there was just enough light from the ghosts that still twirled on the ceiling to see Hermione frown. "Why didn't he say hello?"

Ginny hesitated. "Hermione... are you two... I mean, well... it just seems like the two of you just don't... see eye to eye lately."

"Lately," Hermione said on a dry laugh. "Have we ever? That's not the problem, Ginny. Look, I know what you're thinking," Hermione twisted around to look at Ginny. "You're thinking that I should lay off him. I know it must look as though I'm just... causing problems with my constantly nagging him, but ... you weren't here to see this begin and you have no idea how long it's been progressing like this."

Ginny bit her lip. It was the third time Hermione had remarked about Ginny not being home to see Harry's troubles and though Hermione was probably only saying it to stress her point, Ginny felt as though she was indirectly accusing Ginny of something. Saying nothing, Ginny tried to think of a polite way to close the subject.

"It's only that I won't stand back and watch his depression and do nothing about it," Hermione said matter-of-factly, as if defending herself from Ginny's silence. "Ron thinks that doing nothing is what Harry needs, but it's not."

Constant nagging isn't what he needs either, Ginny found herself thinking.

"And when I tell him my expectations from him, I always assume he'll come around just because he feels obligated to, but it's doing just the opposite, it's driving him away and..." Hermione broke off.

Ginny remained silent. She was aware that Hermione expected her to respond to all of this, but Ginny did not think that she should be discussing Harry like this - it wasn't her place.

"That's why I wanted you to talk to him, Ginny," Hermione continued eagerly as if she was reading Ginny's thoughts. "You used to know how to get through to him. If you talked to him, or just... I don't know, spent time with him...perhaps you could help him out of this. Perhaps..."

She went on listing reasons why Ginny should do this and what she might accomplish, giving example after example of all the times Ginny had made a difference in Harry's life in the past. Ginny had the feeling that Hermione was waiting for Ginny to interrupt her with some brilliant argument why she shouldn't and wasn't about to give her the opportunity.

"...because you always did seem to know what he needed so much better than any of us. It used to surprise me, Ginny, how you could get through to him with just a comment or something--you always knew what to say and--"

"Hermione," Ginny finally interrupted. She tried not to let her anger at the situation be evident in her voice. "I can't do that," she said firmly. "I'm not going to talk to Harry because it's not the same as it used to be. Things have changed."

"But it could be," Hermione insisted. "If you make the effort--"

"I'm not going to make the effort," Ginny said and winced at her sharp tone. She hated acting like this, but it was angering her far more than she was letting on that Hermione could play with her life like this, having all of these expectations for her and not even hearing what Ginny was trying to say. "Things changed between Harry and I long ago, Hermione. It wasn't anything either of us did wrong, but it's never going to go back to the way things were."

"But if you just--"

"I can't do anything, Hermione. I told you how it was in Paris. There would be nothing I could do for him now."

"But--"

"No, Hermione," she said quietly. "I'm sorry." She didn't add that she thought it was incredibly unfair that she was asking this considering Ginny's history with Harry. Though Hermione didn't know everything, she had to know enough to realize that this would be awkward for Ginny.

There was silence in the staircase then and Ginny, in between feeling guilty and resentful about this entire thing, wondered what in hell Ron was doing up there in the loo and couldn't he ever barge in at the right times? She had just mentally cursed him when the door up there creaked open and Ron stumbled out, missing a step.

"I bloody fell asleep!" he barked at them. "Didn't you worry that I'd been up there so long?"

Ginny didn't respond. She stood and climbed the stairs towards the loo with a very heavy feeling in her stomach.

Eventually she made her way back to the party. As she descended the steps, she wondered what more could possibly go wrong. Nothing would have prepared her for what did meet her when she opened the door. She didn't see it at first, but the minute she stepped back into the party, she went hurling forward and smashed her hip into the refreshment table. She looked down and saw that the floor was covered in a green, goopy substance that looked suspiciously like--

"They're not real bogey's, Sarah," George was assuring her as Sarah clutched the table, her feet sliding under her as if she was trying to walk on a slippery sheet of ice.

"I don't care if it's real, just make it go away!" Sarah cried. The chaos that Ginny hadn't noticed at first came suddenly into focus. People were falling all over the place, some covered in the goo from head to toe, some trying desperately to get up from the floor, some still trying to dance and converse, albeit with difficulty. Everyone, however, shrieked with laughter as if their life depended on it.

"What happened?" Ginny yelled, trying to glide over to George and Sarah.

George opened his mouth to explain, but Sarah cut him off. "Their hats exploded, that's what happened! Trying to show off and look at it!" She tried to get closer to Ginny, still clinging to the table, "And the counter curse isn't working!"

Ginny reached out when Sarah got near enough and the two grasped at each other's arms, trying not to slip.

"What do you mean the counter curse isn't working?" Ginny asked in a deadly voice as Colin Creevey went careening past them, slamming into the brick wall on the other side of the room.

"No charms are working, nothing can clean it, it has to be--"

"GEORGE WEASLEY IF YOU'VE DAMAGED MY SHOP IN ANY WAY--!" Ginny yelled.

"I'm going, love," Brian said, appearing at her side, wrapping his arms around her in a sloppy hug, almost knocking Sarah onto her arse. He reeked of liquor and, regardless of the fact that he was on a goo-covered floor, he could barely stand. Ginny managed to keep her balance as an overwhelmed Sarah tried to disentangle the arm that was smashed between Ginny and Brian, whimpering as she tried to avoid Brian's shoulder from hitting her in the face.

"Okay, Brian," Ginny said loudly patting him on the back, trying to push him away, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Brian pulled back and Ginny was just about to release Sarah's twisted arm before everything fell apart. She felt someone collide against her back. If Sarah hadn't been yanking her arm away and Brian hadn't gripped her shoulder for support things might have been different. But the impact of everything had Ginny tumbling forward on the slippery tile, taking Sarah and a red-faced Colin Creevey to the floor with her in one great heap.

"Hey, everyone-- on the FLOOR!" shouted Fred from nowhere. He grabbed the two people who were closest to him and before anyone knew what was happening, the entire party was on the floor, laughing, screaming and swimming in the bogey-like goo that still gushed from two orange top hats, floating along the stream.