PhoenixSong.net :: A Harry/Ginny Fanfic and Fanart Archive

Author: Grandma Kate

Story: Ginny's Fourth Year at Hogwarts

Part: 11:August Adventures-August 1996

Rating: Everyone

Setting: Pre-HBP

Status: Completed

Reviews: 8

Words: 2,855

Updated: July 4, 2008, 1:20pm

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11:August Adventures-August 1996

The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. I’m just borrowing the characters for a while. This is for pleasure only, no profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Bold Face Type indicates a direct quote from Chapter Five, An Excess of Phlegm, or Chapter Six, Draco’s Detour, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

A/N This story is told from Molly’s Weasley’s point of view and parallels Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the summer after it.

A quartet of school owls arrived at The Burrow on August first. When Molly opened the kitchen window, they flew in and landed on the kitchen table — standing in a row waiting for their Hogwarts letters to be taken.

Everyone was happy for Harry that he received an extra letter telling him that he was Quidditch Captain. Hermione pointed out that Harry could now use the Prefects’ special bathroom.

Molly examined Ron’s and Ginny’s booklists with some concern. Arthur had more responsibility with many people reporting to him but did not bring home very much more salary. Hogwarts books were becoming increasingly dear.

‘Well, I don’t suppose we can put off a trip to Diagon Alley much longer now you’ve got these,’ sighed Molly, looking down Ron’s booklist. ‘We’ll go on Saturday just as long as your father doesn’t have to go into work again. I’m not going there without him.’

‘Mum, d’you honestly think You-Know-Who is going to be hiding behind a bookshelf at Flourish and Blotts?’ sniggered Ron.

‘Fortescue and Ollivander went on holiday, did they?’ said Molly, firing up at once. ‘If you think security’s a laughing matter, you can stay behind and I’ll get your things myself—’

‘No, I wanna come. I want to see Fred and George’s shop!’ said Ron hastily.

‘Then you just back up your ideas, young man, before I decide you’re too immature to come with us!’ said Molly angrily, snatching up her clock, all nine hands of which were still pointing at ‘mortal peril’, and balancing it on top of a pile of just laundered towels. ‘And that goes for returning to Hogwarts as well.’

Arthur arranged for a Ministry car to transport them to Diagon Alley on Saturday morning. Bill brought Harry a bag of gold from Gringotts, saying that the goblins were nervous about all the terrible things that were happening and therefore, were making it difficult to withdraw money quickly. He and Fleur were going to stay at The Burrow while the rest of them got school supplies and made a visit to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

Molly had not had occasion to come into Diagon Alley for some time so she noticed immediately that there were very few people in The Leaky Cauldron or on the streets. Since Harry, Ron, and Hermione needed new robes, they went to Madame Malkin’s with Hagrid standing guard. She and Arthur and Ginny took all of their book lists and went to Flourish and Blotts.

Molly picked out all new books for Harry and Hermione, including Hermione’s N.E.W.T.-level Potions book. Then she looked through the used books for her two youngest and found what she needed. Thank Merlin; three of the books on Ron’s list were the same as those the twins had used two years earlier. Ginny could use two of Ron’s old books so they only had to buy new books for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

After they settled up at Flourish and Blotts, she and Arthur and Ginny hurried to the front of Madame Malkin’s and joined Hagrid talking with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

‘Everything all right?’ said Molly. ‘Got your robes? Right then, we can pop in at the Apothecary and Eeylops on the way to Fred and George’s—stick close, now…’

Neither Harry nor Ron bought any ingredients at the Apothecary, seeing that they were no longer studying Potions, but both bought large boxes of owl nuts for Hedwig and Pigwidgeon at Eeylops Owl Emporium. Then, with Molly checking her watch every minute or so, they headed farther along the street in search of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop run by Fred and George.

‘We really haven’t got too long,’ Molly said. ‘So we’ll just have a quick look around and then back to the car. We must be close, that’s number ninety-two… ninety- four…’

‘Whoa’ said Ron, stopping in his tracks.

Set against the dull, poster-muffled shop fronts around them, Fred and George’s windows hit the eye like a fireworks display…

Molly read the sign in the window and began to worry that the twins would be ‘murdered in their beds’ for making fun of You-Know-Who by selling ‘U-No-Poo’. While she was looking around their shop in amazement, the children and Arthur scattered to look at various items. She heard Fred and George offer Hermione some thick yellow bruise remover for her black eye but could not keep her eye on all four of the Hogwarts students he had brought to Diagon Alley. Arthur had wandered off in search of some Muggle magic tricks and she could not see either Ron or Harry, so she headed toward Hermione and Ginny looking at the extremely violently pink section of the store.

Ginny and Fred were arguing about something when Ron approached loaded with boxes. Fred immediately asked him for money and Ron said, ‘But I haven’t got three Galleons, nine Sickles.’

‘You’d better put it back then, and mind you put it on the right shelves.’

Ron dropped several boxes, swore, and made a rude hand gesture at Fred.

Molly hurried over. ‘If I see you do that again I’ll jinx your fingers together…’

‘Mum, can I have a Pygmy Puff?’ said Ginny at once.

Molly went off with Ginny to look at the round balls of fluff in shades of pink and purple, all rolling around the bottom of a cage and emitting high-pitched squeaks. It took a while for Ginny to chose the perfect purple Pygmy Puff and take it to show the twins and her father. Arthur was much taken with some Muggle playing cards and wanted to show them to Molly, so it was quite a few minutes before Molly missed Ron, Harry, and Hermione. She asked Fred and George if they had seen them. They were busy with customers but said that they might have gone in the back.

She and Arthur both went toward the back of the store where the Muggle tricks were but he insisted on demonstrating a few of them before they finally went behind the curtain into a rather dark storeroom. They both called out the missing children’s names but got no answer, so Molly went out in front to ask Hagrid if he had see the three friends. He assured her that he had kept his eye on the door the whole time and that they had not come through it.

Now Molly was worried enough that she asked Fred and George to make a thorough search of their store and both back rooms. When they came back. They said that the missing trio must be in the store somewhere since they were not in either storeroom. Fred even went upstairs and looked in their flat in case they had gone to find a loo. He said that there was no sign that anyone had been up there so they must be in one of the storerooms.

Ginny was cooing at her Pygmy Puff and trying to decide what to call him but followed her mother back into each of the storerooms again. When they came out, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were standing in plain sight. They all swore that they had been in the store all along and that people must have missed them as they went from the store into one or the other of the back rooms. Molly had the feeling that the children were hiding something from her but was glad to get them into the Ministry car and back to The Burrow again safe.

The rest of August went by quickly for everyone at The Burrow. The four children were always together, playing two-on-two Quidditch or inside games. They did their share of chores but most of the work of meal preparation and tending the garden was done by Molly. She also had to get all of their uniforms washed and ironed, along with cleaning and darning the rest of their clothes. She became a bit of a nag, being sure that Ron and Harry finished their summer assignments.

Ginny and Hermione had finished their homework months ago but seemed to want to spend most of their free time in Ginny’s room playing with Ginny’s Pygmy Puff, who had been named Arnold. Crookshanks was a bit too interested in the fur ball so he was usually outside chasing Garden Gnomes or sleeping in the sun. Molly wanted the girls to spend some time with her while the boys were supposedly doing what they needed to do to get ready for Hogwarts to start. Therefore, she continued to teach them simple healing Potions and they always managed to listen to Days of Destiny and Bedside at St Brigid’s. Fleur did not like either program so usually went for a long walk during the hour they were broadcast. She was very disapproving of them drinking tea and eating biscuits while they listened and discussed the plot permutations.

Both Hermione and Ginny thought that Lyla was going to somehow discover that she had a twin sister. They worried about the kindly nursemaid who had concealed Smyla from her evil parents and raised her as her own. She was getting old and senile. They hoped that Lyla and her evil mother would not go to Ireland to St Brigid’s for treatment of their intense headaches. Fleur always returned from her walk before they could discuss this crisis in the depth that it deserved. She was always ready to talk about something else that she was interested in. As soon as she started talking, Ginny and Hermione would mumble something that sounded suspiciously like the name they had been forbidden to call Fleur, ‘Phlegm’, and claim that they had last-minute tasks to attend to.

In addition, Ginny was exchanging letters with another Gryffindor. She and Hermione would giggle and run up the stairs to read the letters that were delivered by a big owl with brown feathers. Sometimes they did not even come down for lunch so Molly would take them sandwiches and pumpkin juice on a tray. Frequently, all four children were in the room the boys shared, playing Wizard Chess or some other game. Molly felt like she deserved a nap most afternoons rather than having to return to the kitchen and be alone with Fleur.

Molly tried not to complain to Arthur about Fleur’s prolonged stay. He obviously thought it was a good idea for the two most important women in Bill’s life to bond before the wedding. He told Molly that Bill was wise to send her to The Burrow since the area around Diagon Alley was increasingly becoming not safe. Death Eaters were attacking Muggle-born witches and wizards, as well as those with one Muggle parent. He was horrified to think what would happen to Fleur with her Veela blood. Molly shuddered as well, and tried to put a good face on the extended visit of her future daughter-in-law. At least they saw more of Bill since he came to dinner almost every night.

Fleur had nothing to do all day so stayed in the kitchen with Molly, waiting for Bill to come and entertain her after he finished at Gringotts. She went into work only a couple of days a week, so it fell to Molly to attempt to keep her from driving everyone crazy with her complaints and the one topic she discussed at length every chance she got. She could and did go on and on for hours about every aspect of the wedding ceremony that she and Bill were planning for next summer.

Arthur had to go into the Ministry on the Saturday before the children were to return to Hogwarts but he reminded Molly that the Ministry cars would be early to allow ample time to get to Kings Cross. He said that he would be home in time for the end of summer dinner and celebration.

That afternoon, Molly was listening to what she had begun to think of as Fleur’s ‘Whom shall we allow the honor of being our bridesmaids’ discussion so was delighted to have Harry come down the stairs and interrupt the monologue, even if he was bringing her a load of dirty clothes to wash at the last minute.

‘…Bill and I ‘ave almost decided on only two bridesmaids, Ginny and Gabriele will look very sweet togezzer. I am thinking of dressing them in pale gold—pink would of course be ‘orrible with Ginny’s ‘air—‘

‘Ah. Harry!’ said Molly loudly, cutting across Fleur’s monologue. ‘Good. I wanted to explain about security arrangements for the journey to Hogwarts tomorrow. We’ve got Ministry cars again and there will be Aurors waiting at the station—‘

‘Is Tonks going to be there?’ asked Harry, handing over his Quidditch things.

‘No, I don’t think so. She’s stationed somewhere else from what Arthur said.

‘She ‘as let ‘erself go, zat Tonks,’ Fleur mused, admiring her own stunning reflection in the back of a teaspoon. ‘A big mistake if you ask—‘

‘Yes, thank you,’ said Molly tartly, cutting across Fleur again. ‘You’d better get on, Harry. I want the trunks ready tonight, if possible, so we don’t have the usual last-minute scramble.’

Molly levitated Harry’s filthy Quidditch robes into the laundry cauldron and set it to wash on extra dirty. She then began to prepare the back-to-Hogwarts feast, making knives peel sprouts and potatoes, while ingredients for the roast beef and dinner rolls flew out of the cupboards and arrayed themselves on the table between herself and Fleur. Fleur suddenly felt the need for ‘ze beauty sleep’ and left Molly to her cooking.

Molly thought that Ginny and Hermione must keep close track of Fleur’s whereabouts because they came down the stairs in just a few minutes, offering to help with dinner. Molly set them to work on a chocolate cake for dessert. They also hung Harry’s laundry on the clothesline in the garden and picked greens and tomatoes for a salad. Molly was glad to have their company and told them how much she would miss them when they were back at school.

Bill arrived around four in the afternoon and he took Fleur off for a walk before dinner since she was complaining that she had been forced to eat too much meat and bread all month. Arthur and the twins Apparated into the garden and asked Molly what needed to be done. Fred and George went to get Ron and Harry to help set up tables in the garden while Molly finished ironing Harry’s Quidditch robes.

‘Arthur, I am so glad you’re home early enough to supervise getting the garden ready,’ Molly said, kissing him and sending the robes up the stairs toward Ron’s room at the same time. ‘Please don’t let the twins duel with the tables. They’ve broken so many legs that I worry about dinner being knocked into the dirt,’ Molly seemed unusually firm on the subject to Arthur and he wondered about what kind of day she had had.

Dinner was lively and delightful. Molly noticed that Harry and Hermione and Ron had some whispered conversation but thought it must have something to do with their new classes. Ginny and Hermione helped Molly clear the tables for dessert and blushed at the praise for their delicious chocolate cake. Molly was effusive in her praise about how many desserts and healing Potions the girls had mastered during the summer. Ron and Harry immediately said that both Ginny and Hermione had also become much better at Quidditch. Fleur began to talk about her wedding plans. Fred and George immediately set off fireworks.

After the dishes had washed themselves and the kitchen was tidy, Molly and Arthur climbed the stairs to bed. As they cuddled, Molly thought of all the things that had happened during the summer. She hoped that Ginny’s fifth year and Ron’s sixth one at Hogwarts would be peaceful. Her last thought before she snuggled next to Arthur and fell asleep was a hope that they would all survive the wedding.

A/N- Thus ends Ginny’s Fourth Year. Thanks must be given to my incredible Beta, Trelawney 2213, for catching my over use of commas and incorrect copying of direct quotes from JKR. My flist at Live Journal remains supportive through all of the stories. I think Crumplehornki has read and reviewed every one. My dear Oatmeal encourages me to ‘go and write’ when he thinks I have been working in the garden too long. I owe a special thanks to those who read, with extra credit for leaving a review. Ginny’s Fifth Year should begin to be posted in August.

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