Author's Note: Finally it's ready. This chapter has taken a bit longer than I thought it would. That being said, I never intend to release something before it's ready. This particular chapter ends one person's major story line, covers the last summer birthday, and does just a little prep work for the next.

I'd like to thank the following for their assistance while I was working on this chapter: Jonas, Brad Coleman, farrellr04, Alysson deMerel, drwho13, MoKR, Yamaban, Wolfkin, and the indispensable Jim Trigg.

Chapter Seven: Three

It was the middle of the night, and Lavender and her uncle were sneaking across the naval base South of Vlore. As magicals, they had a few advantages over the security, the of admittedly not very secure Naval Base Pasha Liman. Lavender had been on a Royal Navy Base in England, and it had been a lot harder to get on. Here, they probably could have gotten by without the invisibility cloaks.

They were heading for a small clearing in a wooded ravine above the base that sported a particular Roman Era ritual circle, dedicated to Glycon. It had taken them a week to narrow down the likely location of Voldemort to this particular circle. They had snuck across the naval base a few times before, mostly heading past it towards the end of the peninsula. Last night they'd found the remains of a couple of possessed snakes. Lavender had cast the charm to identify the possessor, her personal experience of the shade of Voldemort passing through her allowing her to confirm exactly who it was that had taken control of those snakes.

She stepped to the edge of the clearing, not quite clear of the trees and scrub, looking at the paving stones surrounding the statue of Glycon. There were not many of those statues. Laying on the stones was a large snake, vipera berus. It was pure gray with some black incomplete dorsal crossbars. Like most possessed snakes, it was a bit larger when possessed, a unique factor in snakes. It was probably more venomous than normal, but Lavender didn't intend to find out if it was.

She nodded to her uncle. She watched as her uncle carefully circled the circle touching six stones. Only once was she able to hear her uncle's whispered incantation, "lapis enim arcendos." After the last stone was touched, the six stones rose to become pillars, a good meter high. Her uncle said something else, out of her hearing, and a bright flash filled the clearing, quickly dimming to a light crimson plane between each of the pillars. It was enough to wake the snake.

"Who dares disturb the sleep of the Lord Voldemort!" the snake slurred. It focused not on her uncle, but on Lavender.

Lavender stepped into the clearing, staying clear of the caged snake. "A servant of Her Majesty, the Queen," she said. "Your sentence in rebelling against her just rule has been determined."

"The muggle Queen has no power over me, and neither do you," the snake said, before dropping to the ground, a black mist rising from its body. The specter formed from the mist, his noseless face, as Harry had described, clearly visible in the insubstantial form. "What is this?"

"It is judgement," the twelve-year-old witch said. And then she began to cast the spell that Professor Flitwick had taught her the day after the confrontation over the Philosopher's Stone. "Perempta est spiritus in carcerum."

Suddenly the crimson planes became scarlet, and began to shrink inwards. They seemed to harden and become less transparent. Voldemort's shade tried to escape, his black mist trying to find a way around the sharp scarlet planes, and finding there were no gaps, as they briefly flared violet with his impacts against them. The snake caught fire, as the scarlet planes rose above him, shrinking down to the size of a plum.

The ruby dropped into the charred remains of the snake, as the pillars flared once again. "Latet conditum crystallum," Lavender said, imagining the appropriate container for the jewel that now contained Voldemort's spectre. Once the spell was over, she walked into the circle, reached down, and picked up the crystal cage that held the ruby that contained the Dark Lord. She opened the heavily warded handbag that Q had given her, and dropped it in.

"Ready to go, Uncle Charlie?" Lavender asked, putting the hand bag into her back pack. She was sure that in just a few minutes, the fact of who she'd just managed to face was going to hit her, and she was going to break down, and wanted to be as far as possible away from this place as

possible.

"Just one more word," her uncles said, "Fidelis." The clearing suddenly was empty, and he came and took Lavender's arm. "Now, I think we'll head Northeast, to the other coast, rather than going back to the naval base."

As they hiked away, now just a uncle and his niece in the ravine scrub, the concentration and the mission she'd focused on since landing in Albania receded. Suddenly Lavender felt a cold shiver up her spine, and she began to tremble.

"Are you okay, Lavender?" her uncle asked, as his arm supported her as she stumbled.

"I have a dark lord in my pack," she mumbled, right before she lost her last meal along side the trail.

"Dad, I want to get Ginny a broom for her birthday, a good one," Ron said, as he helped his father assemble some sort of muggle model in his shed. "I know you want me to put aside most of my advance for editing the book, but I think Ginny deserves a good broom of her own." He had no idea what the model was supposed to do, but when the model was properly assembled and a pair of double A batteries inserted, it would apparently light up and look just like it did in New York Harbor. It said so on the box.

"Your sister is just turning eleven, and hasn't taken flying yet," Arthur Weasley said.

"My sister flies better than anyone but Harry does in my year, and she might be able to beat him," Ron replied. "You should have seen her on Neville's new broom a couple weeks ago. She really put it through its paces."

"So, you weren't insinuating that your sister was after the Longbottom heir?" Arthur said. "Hand me that plaque. I think it goes in the arm. You know it almost caused your mother not to let him come for Ginny's birthday party."

"Well, not entirely," Ron admitted. "She was the primary source of the teasing when I helped at Neville's Rite."

"Well, that's expected," Arthur admitted. "Have you considered going in with your brothers on a broom?"

"Bill has already got something, and I know better than to go in with the twins," Ron said. "It's too late to coordinate with Charlie. I could ask Percy, but he's got his own twins, and I don't think he's got a lot to spare. I want Ginny to get a good broom."

"Let me think on it tonight, and talk with your mother," Arthur said. "Now, I believe the instructions say to insert the batteries into the back of the base. It seems that they're not included, though."

Ron found himself looking out the door, and discovered that somehow his sister had managed to for once get on a broom, his, in the middle of the day instead of her midnight broom rides. "Dad, look at her flying now."

Arthur came to stand next to Ron. Together they watched Ginny dive, spin, flying above the Burrow. It was obvious that the girl was pushing the broom she was riding to its limits. They saw her dive sharply, and the pull up nearly as close to the ground as Harry would, then she spun, threading her way around the trees at the edge of the orchard. "Ron, you're right, she does deserve a really good broom."

Parvati looked at the fire place. Her twin sister had just disappeared into it, going to see one of her friends in her year in Ravenclaw. Until she'd been grounded for an excessively long phone call to Ireland, she would have been departing minutes before her twin, to go to Ginny's birthday party.

Not that Ginny was one of her classmates, but she was a closer friend thatN Mandy Brocklehurst was to Padma. Parvati slumped back into an overstuffed chair opposite the fire place. This was so unfair. Her sister was spending a day with the girls from her year in her house, and she couldn't spend a day with the girls from her house in her year. True, Lavender wasn't going to be there, but everyone else was, even Hermione, who had a baby to take care of!

Briefly, Parvati wondered what was happening to Lavender. Last she'd heard, Lavender was doing a tour of nude beaches, and enjoying the way her father reacted to boys near her. That letter, however, had arrived by royal mail ten days after term, and she hadn't received anything since.

"Parvati! I need your help in the kitchen," her mother called out. "We need to have everything ready for Kaamilee when she comes over."

It seemed that her new sister-in-law couldn't cook, and that meant there was about to be the biggest disaster in the kitchen since her mother tried to teach Padma and her how to bake ... Parvati couldn't even remember what her mother was trying to teach. She just knew that the red stain directly above the stove was Padma's fault, and she was sticking to that story.

Neville Longbottom had seen Ginny Weasley a few times, since he first met her back on Valentine's day. She'd been his date, but back then she'd been just Ron's little sister. Not that she'd been a bad date. Neville had never been on a date, before or since, so he had little to compare with. She'd been nice to talk to, and he'd really had a good time having dinner with her.

Then she'd left for home, and Neville had quite frankly forgotten her. That had changed when he visited the Grangers for Jimmy's Baptism. That was the first time he'd ever seen a girl in a bikini, and most of the girls in his year in Gryffindor had been in them. It was Ginny in her deep green one with yellow pin stripes that had caught his attention, though. She just seemed to be so happy, and he just couldn't look away. He had no idea why, at least until his father had given him the talk. Even weeks later, he still found his cheeks warming at the thought of that conversation.

How he'd managed to join Harry against Ginny and Hermione in badminton without making a fool of himself he didn't know. The feelings of attraction were new to him. His father said it was because he was growing up, and he could have done worse than Ginny for a first crush and relationship. Neville had been offended at the faint praise for the Weasley girl. He'd also denied that he had a crush.

Then his father had somehow managed to snap a picture of him the moment that Ginny had come out of the floo. It was evidence that he couldn't deny, especially after what all the innuendo had done to him during the rite. He was determined not to bumble and hem and haw in her presence, though. It had been hard, especially after she borrowed his broom.

He'd been told that Ginny was talkative, and a tomboy. That was certainly true, on her eleventh birthday. The moment he'd stepped out of the floo at the Burrow, he'd been dragged outside, and down to the pond. It was a good thing that Ron had forewarned him to bring his swimming trunks. He was undecided if it was a good thing that Ginny had been forced to wear her bikini, instead of her usual swimming attire at home, nothing. Fred and George had swum that way, as had her oldest brother Bill, who had apparently just barely managed to get time to attend his sister's birthday party. Harry had his swimming trunks, though, and Hermione along with Sally-Anne was actually doing laps in her yellow polka dot bikini while a house elf watched their baby Jimmy.

Neville was wearing a new pair of swimming trunks that his mother had taken him shopping for. Going shopping with his mother was not something he intended to do again any time soon. He couldn't say he hadn't been warned by his father that his mother seem to have more fun making her men try things on than letting them purchase any outfit. He also couldn't find a way to say no, not after spending a decade without his mother, and still couldn't think of one, so it was probably going to happen again.

Neville mounted the diving board, deciding on his dive. Fred and George were just in the right position. He ran to the end of the board, bounced and shot into the air, crying out, "cannonball!" He was sure he'd made a great big splash, and from the way that Fred and George were heading towards him, he'd been right on target. He swam away, but soon found the two closing on him from two directions, near the shore. Neville stopped, and started to tread water, waiting for their response.

"You got us good," Fred said, or at least he thought it was Fred, as it was hard to tell them apart clothed, though he had managed to catch onto a subtle cue in the way Fred seemed to always end up with his left sleeve turned upwards. "Of course you know this means war."

Neville ducked under the water, making the return splash quite moot, instead he propelled himself towards the Weasley twin, who appeared to be standing on a rocky underwater outcropping. A quick push, and down into the depths behind him, Fred went. Neville surfaced a good couple meters behind him, crying out, "Lay on McDuff! A watery revenge is not an offering to give to a Longbottom!"

"Oh really," came a feminine response just to his right. Moments later Neville found himself being pushed under water by Ginny.

Neville twisted underwater, and his right hand somehow found a piece of cloth. Revenge was his, as he used it to pull the birthday girl under water. Her feet hit rock bottom, and the Longbottom let go of the cloth, and finding purchase on her shoulders as she crouched underwater, he shot up, just as she executed her own push off the bottom. Into the air he went, arching over the approaching other Weasley twin.

As soon as he cleared the water he heard the call from Mrs. Weasley. "Food's on the table, come on in."

"Better luck next time," Neville cried out as he reached the dock, and climbed up onto it. He began to walk towards the Burrow, only to hear the cry of his doom behind him.

"Longbottom, where are my bottoms?" Ginny Weasley growled.

A glance backwards revealed to Neville that Ginny was stalking out of the pond, and though still in the waters, was further enough out of it, to reveal that the bottoms of her swimming suit were missing. "Probably on the bottom of the pond," Neville said, increasing his pace away from the pond and trying not to look like he was. "I let go once you were underwater." Then he looked away, just as the girl fully exited the pond.

"Accio Ginny's bikini bottoms," the oldest Weasley brother cast. Neville looked over gratefully at Bill, as the bikini bottoms shot out of the water into Bill's free hand. He stopped, and looked back. Ginny was heading towards Bill now, obviously believing that Bill was just going to hand it over. "Accio Ginny's bikini top!"

The next thing Neville knew, the now naked Ginny was chasing her oldest brother back to the Burrow. Neville joined the chase, somehow ending up alongside Ginny. Bill was not easy to catch for the twelve and eleven year olds.

"And I thought you were my favorite brother," Ginny cried out, as they sped by the door to the Burrow. Bill apparently knew better than to go into the Burrow naked holding his sister's bikini.

"Ginny, you know you love me," Bill said over his shoulder as he continued to run. Then there was a crack of apparition, and the oldest Weasley tripped, falling flat on his face. Neville jumped on top of him, so he couldn't get up and Ginny could get her bikini back.

"Actually, she loves me best," the stout boy said, bending down.

"Thank you Charlie," Ginny said, snatching her bikini from Bill's hand.

Neville got up off of Bill as Ginny put her bikini. Bill got up as well, and summoned his pants and shirt. He politely kept his glaze away from Ginny while she dressed, instead turning to the stout man who was obviously Ginny's second oldest brother. Charlie's gaze was a bit stronger than Bill's had been.

"So, you'd be Neville Longbottom, the boy that replaced the Boy-Who-Lived in my sister's letters," Charlie said.

Neville found himself gulping. He was well aware that Ginny had once had a crush on Harry. Not that was anything different than a lot of girls had. Neville was pretty sure that at least a third of the young girls around Harry's age had a crush on Harry as the Boy-Who-Lived, or at least had one, until Hermione had gotten pregnant with Harry's baby. He'd thought that would have ended all of the crushes, but Lavender and Parvati had informed him that he was wrong about that.

"I don't just write about Neville," Ginny said. "And I write about Harry more than anyone else still. He answers my letters, unlike some older brothers, who apparently can't be bothered to give something to return with an international owl, nine and five times each."

"Sorry Ginny," both Charlie and Bill chorused.

"Come on, time for Lunch," Charlie said. Neville found Charlie's arm going around his shoulders. "Say, Neville, have you ever side-along apparated?"

Hermione had forgone playing Quidditch at the Burrow for Ginny's birthday after lunch. She'd been a bit surprised that she and Harry had been invited to Ginny's birthday party. She was more friends with Ron than his little sister. Still, it was nice to get out of the house. At the moment, she was sitting on a bench overlooking the Weasley kitchen garden, her blouse open just enough for Jimmy to nurse from her breasts. At the moment it was the left one, since she'd managed to swap just a few minutes before.

"If there is one thing I miss about having babies, it is the nursing," Molly Weasley said, sitting down beside Hermione. "It's when you have the most connection with them. It helps that it's also one of the times when you can count on them being quiet. Did you enjoy swimming at the pond earlier?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "The pond fit nicely in Jimmy's current radius. I'm still learning to trust Mimsy to watch him a bit, but I'm going to have to learn to let go a little before I return to Hogwarts if I'm going to be able to go to class at all."

"It is hard to let go," Molly said. "Only gets harder, I'm afraid. Ginny's going to Hogwarts this year, and I still want to keep her in my arms, no matter how much she's grown. Has the house elf been a good one for you? I understand that the Headmaster had to send several to each of the young mothers that he's lent elves to. Penny took six before she found one that she could work with."

"The Headmaster brought three of them, and I chose from them a couple days ago," Hermione said. "I still think they're sort of slaves, but there is nothing that can be done about their binding, yet, and I really need the help."

"You know, Percy thought I'd object to a house elf helping Penny," Molly mused. "Apparently he was too young to remember the trouble I went through with Fred and George the first few months. I swear those two never slept at the same time, and knew just how to take turns in waking me up as soon as I laid down. I don't think I got two hours together the entire first six months after their birth, and no more than five on a given day."

"Five hours?" Hermione groused. "Jimmy decided I wasn't going to have three last Monday. And yesterday he decided that I couldn't put him down for three hours, and Lord help me if I take too long to bare my breasts for him to nurse. He's got this I want you now cry that just seems to say NOW MUMMY! Sometimes he doesn't even seem to want to let me go to the loo. I don't know how you had seven children and lived."

"Oh, you get used it it, and sometimes you just have to learn to let him cry a bit, especially with those get attention cries," Molly said. "And don't be afraid to pass him off to someone you trust like his grandparents or Harry. I saw how that boy looked when you handed him off when you got here so you could take off that rain slicker. If you let him, and Jimmy didn't need nursing, I'd wager that Harry would hold his son all day."

"Oh, he would," Hermione said as Jimmy unlatched from her breast, done nursing for now. "Yesterday it was raining, and Jimmy did one of those want attention cries when I was taking a bath. When I got out, Harry was sitting on his bed, holding Jimmy gently, reading Quidditch Through the Ages to him, from memory. Of all the things to have memorized!"

"Oh, most wizard boys are Quidditch mad," Molly said. "Not that there are not a few young witches, as well. I wanted a little princess and I got another boy for a girl. If she doesn't sneak that Nimbus 1701 that Ron and her father bought her to Hogwarts ... well I've got rather good at searching Fred and George's trunk, so that shouldn't happen. At least she's chosen the Harpies instead of Ron's favorite."

"I think Neville said they were the lovable bottom of the league," Hermione said. "That being said, that orange is awful."

"It is," Molly said. "I blame his Grandmother Weasley. She took him to a Cannons game against the Harpies, when he was six. The Owner of the Harpies at the time, Edwina Hood, was apparently her eternal rival, and every time they played the Cannons she'd show up with one of her grandchildren. Most of them played along. Ron really got into it, and she bought him a full kit. Ginny, on the other hand, rooted for the Harpies."

"Every time I see Harry up on that broom in the game I want to drag him off it and off the pitch," Hermione said, burping Jimmy. Hermione remembered that first game she'd watched Harry play. "He scares me so much when he feints, especially. It's going to be a lot worse when Jimmy starts flying."

"You have some years, though," Molly said. "As long as they don't get him a toddler's broom."

"They have brooms for toddlers?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Oh yes, they say they're perfectly safe, and they aught to be for the price," Molly said. "Never thought it was worthwhile though, given how quickly babies grow. One moment they're in nursing, then next crawling, walking, and going off to Hogwarts. Then they're having babies of their own. I am not ready to be a grandmother."

"I think the rest of our children will wait a bit longer," Arthur Weasley said, approaching his wife from behind, and kissing his wife's left cheek. "Shall I call our Quidditch mad children in so Ginny can open her presents."

"Better let Ginny decide that," Molly said. "The Longbottom boy let Ginny use his broom, and she's bound and determine to prove that she's the best Chaser in the family. Somehow it seems that only Ron and maybe the twins knew she knew how to fly, and our older boys have been greatly surprised by her flying."

"Keeping a weather eye on her still?" Arthur said.

"Since the first night she snuck out to try Charlie's broom."

If there was one thing Parvati had grown to hate more than helping her sister-in-law Kaamilee learn how to cook, it was helping her learn the differences between British and Hindi spell casting systems. It wasn't because of the subject, Parvati actually found that fascinating. It was because Kaamilee liked to play games with her studying. It was not right to have prizes for successful answers.

This day was turning out to be even worse than Parvati had expected. She could still smell the disaster that Kaamilee had managed to create in the kitchen. And now she was supposed to play against her sister-in-law in some sort of quiz game. Okay, her questions would be from Kaamilee's first year quizzing deck, but who knew if that matched up with first year at Hogwarts at all?

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Kaamilee asked.

Parvati knew this one, it has been the third question in her potions class after all. "No difference, it's also called aconite." She then picked up a card from Kaamilee's stack. "What would you get if you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" That was the first question form her class. If this was a fifth year question, Parvati had serious questions about Hindi magical education.

"A sleeping potion," Kaamilee said, which was indeed the short answer.

Parvati tossed the card down. "Not just any sleeping potion, it's known as the Draught of Living Death. I really hope this isn't the measure of your review."

"Why Parv?" Kaamilee said, using the nickname that she only let her older brother and Padma use.

"I learned that in my first potions class," Parvati said. "If your next question is where you find a bezoar, I'm crying foul."

"Why? What is a bezoar?" Kaamilee asked.

"That was the second question that Professor Snape quizzed Harry on the first day of potions my first day of class at Hogwarts," Parvati said. "And for your information, a bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat and can cure most poisons."

"Parviz told me that Hogwarts was different. Maybe I should have you quiz me on your first year. I may have gotten an Outstanding on my SDJPs, international standard fifth year tests, you call them OWLs, but I never knew what that potion was called."

"This is going to be a long day," Parvati said. "I'll go get Hermione's notes, with the review questions. I don' think much of your Potions Master, but then again, I had both Professor Snape and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore this year."

"You had Albus Dumbledore teaching you Potions? He's a legend!"

Harry had been quite surprised when he'd been invited to Ginny's birthday party. He only really knew her from her letters. He was much more of a friend to her brother Ron. Then again, he had written to her two, three, sometimes even five times a week for the last five months. Even once the last letter of the school year had been sent out, ending the collection that would go on sale next week, he still managed to write her twice a week.

He was almost certain that those letters revealed more than he had ever considered revealing about himself in the beginning. Actually he was certain, as he'd read them all as they would be published. None of them had been really edited much, aside from spelling. Apparently he'd been misspelling transfiguration in practically every letter he'd used it. He hoped McGonagall never found out.

The Burrow was a magical place to Harry, in some ways even more magical than Hogwarts was. It was not because of the structure that seemed to require magic to hold it up, expanded haphazardly as the family grew. No, it was something entirely different. Harry had grown up in rather a sterile post war development, in a house where everything had to be proper and sterile.

The only thing that seemed to ever change at Number Four was the Parlor's wall paper, which Harry had assisted in changing three times. Every single house on Privet Drive seemed to be the same. And it was the same on Magnolia Crescent, Wisteria Walk, and Morning Glory Lane. Well, on Morning Glory Lane they were Laing Easiform construction, instead of brick. Someone had the less than brilliant idea to paint the concrete in shades of pink, blue, and purple, which had pretty much universally faded to much more sensible pastels. Or at least that was what Harry's Uncle Vernon had said. Harry had contrarily decided he liked the houses on MGL, in their original bright hues.

Everything on Privet Drive had been to the eye of being normal, perfectly normal, and Harry's magic had been an offense to that normality. The Burrow was the first time that Harry had seen a magical home. It was comfortable, and seemed to hum with magic and life. The Weasleys were not trying to keep up with the neighbors, not that he could see the neighbors, save during the Quidditch game. The family members seemed to genuinely like each other, and were quite affectionate. No one escaped Molly Weasley's hugs.

Harry had no idea what his life would have been like if his parents hadn't been killed by You-Know-Who, but as he sat in the Kitchen of the Burrow, waiting for Ginny come back down, he imagined that he might have been a part of a much larger family. He'd been told to be very careful with Hermione, as her bond would make it very easy for her to get pregnant again, though fortunately he'd have to do the act this time. Mr. Granger had already given Harry the talk, shortly after Jimmy had been born.

He was holding Jimmy at the moment. He liked holding his son. Harry bent down and kissed the baby's forehead. Jimmy responded by raising the arm not against Harry's body, nearly snaring Harry's glasses. Twice he'd managed to knock Harry's glasses off. Across the room Penny and Percy were holding their own babies. Harry was glad Hermione hadn't had twins.

Speaking of twins, Fred and George were up to something, and he was fairly certain that the target was the birthday girl. There was no other reason that they would both be looking towards the spiral staircase with those evil grins of theirs. He was also fairly certain that Ginny knew that she was the target, and had something planned. He was also fairly certain that Ron was her ally in this particular case. The Burrow was a very happy place, with jokes going back and forth.

He heard Ginny's steps coming back down from her room, and soon her bare feet came into view. Harry could see the twin's expressions changed to puzzled ones. As she came down the stairs, he could tell that Ginny had changed out of the jeans and t-shirt that she had been wearing to the more formal looking dress that she'd worn to Neville's birthday party, though it seemed to have undergone a color change to blue from the green that it had been then.

It was only when Ginny had reached the floor, and stepped clear of the stairs, that Ron launched one of the little rubber balls he'd obtained in Crawley, making two rather artful bounces before hitting the third stair up in a glancing bounce from the direction that the twins were seated in. Suddenly a gush of water emitted from the stair, hitting Fred and George.

Molly Weasley looked like she was about to say something, and loudly, taking in a deep breath, but before she could, Fred, or at least Harry thought it was Fred, said, "Okay, how did you figure it out?"

"That's our secret, George," Ginny said. "Not your secret, though. Ron and I have been waiting for the soaking stair for a month."

"There better not be any other stair treads with that prank on it," Molly Weasley told her sons.

"At least not as long as we have guests over," Arthur said. Harry caught the glance between the Weasley parents, and wasn't quite sure what it meant. "Now, Ginny, whose present are you going to open first."

"Hmmm, well, I usually go for Bill, my favorite brother, who lost that title to Charlie, who then lost it when he decided to take Neville up onto the roof, so Percy?"

"It seems I was too busy to get on Ginny's bad side today," Percy said, handing over an oblong box. "This is from both me and Penny."

Ginny opened it, and reached inside to draw out a gold chain with an assortment of charms. Harry wasn't close enough to see them all, but he could tell that there was a four leaf clover, and a pair of hearts at least.

Harry sat back, Jimmy a warmth against his chest, and watched Ginny open present after present. Most of them were simple, and obviously well thought out. He'd gotten her a lap desk after hearing from Ron how Ginny liked to write her letters curled up on the window seat in her room with a thick book for a table. Hermione had actually made a woven friendship bracelet, and seeing the light in Ginny's eyes when Hermione explained the meanings behind the bracelet and the colors. Bill got her a diary.

The big present was apparently Ron's and his father's. Somehow Ron had contrived to make sure his present was the last one to be opened. Harry watched as Ginny removed the wrapped cloth from around the object to reveal a broom.

"A Nimbus Seventeen oh One," Ginny gushed. "These are what the Harpies use." She turned the broom in her hands. "Gwenog Jones was flying one of these when Grandmother Weasley took me to watch last time. Do you think there is enough time for a game before it gets too dark, tonight?"

Sally-Anne Perks was really glad that she'd been invited to Ginny Weasley's eleventh birthday party, and not just because it was a day away from the mad house that she lived in. A couple new girls had recently arrived, and they were not fitting in, probably because of some issues that Sally-Anne knew of but would never repeat.

When your parents were foster parents, you learnt that there were some things you should never repeat about the new girls. She just made sure that Ellory and Dorine got choice seats when came time to relate another story about Hogwarts.

No, Sally-Anne was glad she had been invited because when she was with her housemates and Ginny she didn't have any responsibilities and could just have fun. She'd swum in the pond, managed to get caught in a girls vs boys Quidditch match, which the girls had barely won, probably due to the no one who had been on a school team rule that Ginny had made on the spot, and even participated in a gnome tossing contest. The food was really good too.

She hadn't really believed Ron when he had said how good of a cook his mother was, but Mrs. Weasley could cook. Sally-Anne wasn't surprised that she could cook, having seven children, six of them hungry boys, made that a given. What she was surprised was how good it was. The chocolate cake alone was to die for.

But now it was time to go, as the sun was already disappearing behind the Devonshire hills. They'd spent way too long playing that last game of Quidditch. She'd already seen Hermione putting little Jimmy in his car seat, asleep, before crawling in beside him for the three hour drive back to Crawley. It was going to be a really long day for the Grangers and Harry Potter. Sally-Anne was flooing home, though.

"Thank you for the invitation, Ginny," Sally-Anne said. "I really enjoyed your birthday."

"I'm glad you came, especially since you managed to get Hermione and Mum up on brooms," Ginny said. "I just wished the other girls could have come."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to find out what got Parvati grounded for two weeks," Sally-Anne replied.

"I know, her mother called to apologize," Ginny said. "Apparently she's not allowed to go around kissing boys, yet, and then made a too costly call to Seamus. I didn't really understand what she meant by a fifteen pound call."

"She was on the phone that long with Seamus ... Lavender and I are really going to have some fun teasing Parvati about that," Sally-Anne said. "Too bad Lavender isn't coming back to England until the week before we go back to Hogwarts."

"Yes, she's going to miss the fun of the signing next week," Ginny said, suddenly blushing and unsure again, as soon as she completed the sentence.

"Don't worry, Ginny, most of us will be there with you, and you know all the attention is going to be on Harry anyway. What, is something wrong?"

"I never should have written to him. He doesn't want the fame, and I'm probably making it worse."

"Oh, no, I'm pretty sure that this time at least, Harry knows what he's getting into. He's rather big on jumping into the unknown. We're Gryffindors, we charge!" Sally-Anne punctuated her sentence with a jab upwards, before picking up a pinch of floo powder and putting it in the fireplace.

Ginny giggled. "See you next week."

Sally-Anne stepped into the green flames, and cried out "The Cloister!"

Parvati rubbed her temples in a vain attempt to get rid of the headache that had been caused by hours of studying on top of the totally ruined lunch that her sister-in-law had burnt to a crisp. She'd been put all off lunch, and dinner had been late, mostly because her mother had to clean up from Kaamilee's mess.

Parvati just wanted to go back to bed and pretend that the day had never happened. That wasn't happening though. Padma had just come back from the Ravenclaw party, reminding Parvati that she'd missed Ginny's party. Okay, the Ravenclaw party didn't seem like a lot of fun, but still, it had to have been better than Parvati's day with Kaamilee.

"Just don't, Pad, just don't," Parvati said. "I just spent a day trying to help Kaamilee. I've got a terrific headache, cramps, and if I hear one word about any fun today, I'm going to blow the roof off the house."

"Okay, okay, Parvati," her twin replied. "Hot showdf, warm bed, and maybe some hot chocolate?"

"Padma, you're a demigoddess."

"Son, we need to talk," Seamus's father said, sitting down next to Seamus on the couch.

"Yes, Father?" Seamus said, putting down his well worn copy of The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot. That line was never a good one.

"I understand you are getting close to Miss Patel, and as your father there are certain things I'm expected to tell you about girls," his father continued.

Seamus looked at his father with dawning horror. He sat through the next two hours as his father first discussed how to properly treat girls, from how to talk to kissing to more. The worst part was that his father was using his relationship with his mother as examples, and he had no wish to even think about his parents.

It was just the little things left for the picture he'd been painting for his sister above her bed. Some fluffy little clouds, and some happy little trees were left. He'd just finished putting the last bit of details on the hero, the little highlights that Dean knew would make the character appear real. It was too bad that this was a muggle house and he wasn't allowed to do magic in the summertime. The animating charm was so tempting to cast. He promised himself that one day he'd do it, even if he would have to hide it even from family.

The last few clouds hit the sky, then the last bit of tree branches reached out. It wasn't long at all before he found himself standing back to make sure the painting had turned out the way he wanted it to. He picked up a small brush, loaded up just a little gold paint, and carefully signed it "Dean Thomas August 13, 1992"

He then pushed his sister's bed back up against the wall, so she wouldn't fall into the ruelle again, something that Sandra had managed to do most every night since he'd started working on the painting. She never fell off the other side, just the side next to the wall. He carefully put up his paints, cleaning out his brushes before leaving for the sink in the conservatory that his mother made him use to clean his equipment after he'd stained her porcelain sink.

Only after his paint brushes had been cleaned, palette washed until it was clear again, and everything had found it's proper place in his painting box did he step back into the house. There he greeted his mother and father, in the front room. "Sandra's painting is done," he said. He was actually a bit surprised that both parents were there, as Dad had taken Sandra to her ballet class.

"Well, hopefully that will cheer your sister up," his father said. "There was an incident at ballet, and she left early."

"Why?" Dean asked as his father and mother got up, heading towards the stairs.

"We had to call the reversal squad," his mother said. "She accidentally turned the dance floor into a trampoline. Her best friend Krista ended up in the rafters. It seems we have a witch in the family as well as a wizard."

Dean was pretty sure that his sister had never done magic before. She was his half sister, so it wasn't as likely that she'd end as a witch. That being said, she hadn't been shocked when she picked up his wand like Ollivander had warned might happen. His parents stepped into Sandra's room ahead of him, to look at the painting, but Dean didn't look at the painting. Instead he looked for his sister.

She wasn't easy to find. He'd actually expected her to be laying on the bed, but she wasn't. Instead she was at the foot of her bed, in a fetal position. Dean moved to squat down beside her. His hand reached under his sister's chin, gently bringing her tear-stained face up to look at him. "What's wrong, Sandra," he asked.

"I did magic, I hurt people," Sandra said. "Krista, and Donna, and Marsha, and Rachel ... they all got hurt when I was trying to jump higher and changed the floor. Krista ended up in the rafters. Donna and Marsha knocked each other out when they collided. And ... and ... and ... Rachel broke her leg."

"And did the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad come and fix everything?" Dean asked.

Sandra nodded.

"Bet they told you that everthing would be back to normal, and no one would remember," Dean said. Sandra nodded. "Bet you don't believe that. In fact, I bet that you feel really guilty, even though it was an accident."

Sandra nodded again, before burying her head between her legs again.

"Oh no you don't," Dean said, reaching under Sandra's chin again to prevent her from looking away. "It's okay to feel guilty a little. Magic takes a bit before you learn to control it, and even with a wand, sometimes it can still surprise you a bit. In fact, I should show you the book of Seamus Finnigan's magical disasters, with the appendix of error by yours truly."

"Really?" Sandra asked.

"Yes, really, and you really should see what Hermione's pregnancy did to her magical control," Dean said. "I think I still have a copy of 'Fire the Professors' that Hermione didn't burn up. Come on, Sandra. Why don't you take a good long look at the painting I just finished and I'll go get the book of Seamus Finnigan's Eyebrows."

"Okay."

Ginny Weasley flopped down on her bed, too exhausted to do much more. This had been the best birthday ever. For once she'd been treated not like the baby sister, but like a young lady about to go off to school. She had real gifts, including a broom, that unfortunately she wouldn't be allowed to take to school, but it was her broom, not a hand me down. No one had told her that she couldn't fly it.

No one had objected to her going off to swim in her bikini, though she was sure that her Mum still had problem with the said bikini. Of course her mother had more trouble with the fact that her eldest brother had accioed her bikini, leaving Ginny to chase after him with Neville at her side. She'd been a bit embarrassed by the fact that he'd seen everything, but then again, he'd also been willing to go after her oldest brother at her side.

Ginny found the idea of someone going at her side, not taking over, not considering her incapable, to be very refreshing. For all of her life she'd been coddled, having been told she couldn't do something. She'd refused to believe it all, especially all the girls can't do what boys do stuff. Her urinary handwriting was much better than Percy's.

And now she was going to be going away to Hogwarts. After today, Ginny knew that she could spread her wings there. She wasn't going to be that little girl hiding off in the corner. She wasn't going to accept coddling from her older brothers. Ron wasn't going to be one anymore, and he certainly wasn't going to object to her planned breakfast with Neville. Both her and Neville were morning people, and Ron was not.

Ginny smiled as she reflected on Neville. It was hard to believe Ron's early impressions of Neville in his scant letters. She wasn't exactly sure what had caused the change, but Neville was to Ginny's eyes smart, brave, and outgoing. She liked Neville, and she was sure he liked her back.

Ginny turned over and reached for the diary that Bill had got her. She needed to start recording her year, and she wouldn't be writing Harry any more, so this diary would keep up what she'd started. She pulled out one of the pens that Hermione had gotten her, and started to write in dark black ink.

"I am Ginny Weasley. I'm eleven-years-old and about to start Hogwarts in twenty days. This is my diary for my first year."

"Hello Ginny."