Chapter Two

It had been a week since Harry had arrived at Wandsworth Manor. He had seen Order members come and go and watched as Hermione, Ron, and Ginny would disappear at times in a pair, leaving one behind to keep Harry company. If he was honest, it was starting to grate on his nerves, but instead he pretended not to notice. It was more than obvious to him now that they were up to something that they didn't want Harry included in. He started a gradual withdrawal from his friends that lasted until the day of his birthday. He and Ron were sitting in the living room, playing a game of wizard chess when Hermione and Ginny walked into the room with identical smiles on their faces. It was that very moment that confirmed it for Harry – they had been up to something! Hermione took the seat next to Harry and faced him as she spoke.

"I know we haven't been around too much lately, and I know you would have had to have noticed by now that something is going on..." Hermione stopped speaking as she, Ron, and Ginny stood up. She grabbed Harry's hands and tugged him up out of the chair, leading him towards the kitchen. "We just wanted you to know that, well... we weren't trying to exclude you from anything... Not really... It's just that –" As Hermione spoke, she pushed the kitchen door open.

"SURPRISE!" The shout came as soon as Harry caught a glimpse of the room. It was decorated with streamers, balloons and a large banner that sparkled, spelling out the words 'Happy Birthday Harry'. Harry glanced around at everyone standing in the kitchen. Among those who were staying at the manor, he saw many faces he recognised including Mad-Eye Moody, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Professor McGonagall.

"Surprise, Harry," Hermione said as she smiled at him coyly. "We've been planning your birthday party. We figured you probably had never really had one before, and we wanted to arrange a really good one for you. We even got special permission to invite the Gryffindors from our year, and Luna."

"It was Ginny's idea." Harry glanced back at Ron's words and smiled at Ginny as Luna Lovegood was pulling her away. Hermione and Ron led Harry into the room as a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' sprung up around him, being led by Mrs. Weasley. Harry was speechless and slightly dumbfounded. He certainly hadn't been expecting this. He was so touched that his friends would do something like this for him. There was a small pile of presents stacked on a dresser off to the side of the room and a large birthday cake was situated in the centre of the kitchen table. Mrs. Weasley had cooked many delicious dishes, which had been placed on the table around the delicious-looking cake.

"Excuse me, Harry, may I have a word with you?" Harry looked up to see Dumbledore standing beside him. He nodded slowly and followed the Headmaster into the sitting room. They sat down on two of the couches before Dumbledore spoke again.

"Marvellous place, isn't it? Emmeline Vance has been gracious enough to lend us her home until we have sorted out Grimmauld Place. As you may know, Harry, Sirius has left his fortune and Grimmauld Place to you. We did not ask you this past year if we could use it for the Order because I knew how deeply Sirius's death had affected you. I did not want to put you into a position to make such a decision until I was sure that you were ready. Since that time, so much has happened that I haven't yet had the opportunity to speak with you about it."

"Professor, I... You can keep using it as Headquarters," said Harry. "It's what Sirius would have wanted. I don't... I don't care." Harry's last statement didn't sound very convincing to anyone. Professor Dumbledore just smiled at him and patted his knee.

"Well, now that that matter is out of the way, I think it is time to return to your splendid party."

Harry and Dumbledore walked back towards the kitchen to re-join the guests accumulated there. Mrs. Weasley immediately carted Harry off towards the kitchen table, where the candles on the birthday cake seemed to light of their own accord as she sat him down at the table.

"Make a wish, Harry." Hermione smiled at him as he half stood a bit in order to reach all the candles. He took a deep breath and blew out as many of them as he could after wishing for the one thing he wasn't sure he could ever have: a normal life.

Near the end of the party, Harry felt like he had talked to everyone in attendance, and it was more than likely that he had. His most interesting conversation, not surprisingly, had to have been with Luna. She was always full of interesting tales about imaginary creatures and events. She had described her latest trip with her father in search of something called a Chubblewump. It was good to know that some things just didn't change while he was away at his Aunt and Uncle's.

"Oh dear... It looks like Ginny and Dean are at it again..." Luna's misty voice interrupted Harry's thoughts, and he glanced over to where Ginny and Dean were standing. Sure enough, it looked as though they were in the middle of a row. In hopes of breaking it up, Harry stepped closer until he could hear the words coming from each of them. He paused once he heard his name, curious as to what they were arguing about.

"Honestly! Have you no consideration? This is Harry's birthday, and here you are, starting up again about all that nonsense. I am not incapable of taking care of myself, and you'd do well to remember that," Ginny argued as quietly as she could while still getting her point across.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm not going to let you go off and do something dangerous again." Dean didn't look as though he was going to back off any time soon.

"Not going to let me!" It was at this point that Harry knew Dean was in trouble. He had seen that look in Ginny's eyes before, and if it weren't for the fact that they were not allowed to do magic outside of school, Dean may very well have ended up on the receiving end of Ginny's famous Bat-Bogie Hex. Though, in all honesty, Harry wasn't sure Ginny wouldn't do it anyway. "Dean, if you don't stop trying to control me, I will take measures into my own hands."

"And do what? Run off with Harry again? Try to get yourself killed?"

"Maybe I will." There was a dangerous flash in Ginny's eyes that was daring Dean to say something in return. It was obvious he was on the verge of crossing the line. And that line was getting thinner and finer every time Dean opened his mouth.

"Something you always like doing, isn't it? Run off with Harry."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that every time I turn around, you're running off with him somewhere."

"I am not. Don't exaggerate. He's my brother's best friend." Ginny let out a frustrated huff. "You know what, perhaps after you wish Harry a 'Happy Birthday', you'd better leave. I don't like these accusations you're throwing about. If there's anyone who should be throwing accusations around, it should be me. Don't think I haven't noticed the way Parvati's been hanging around you this whole time. There is nothing going on between Harry and myself. In case you haven't noticed, he's not interested in me in that way, so knock it off."

This time, Ginny didn't bother waiting for an answer before she stormed out of the room. Harry hadn't realised things were so bad between the couple. In fact, he wasn't really aware they had been dating until the end of his fifth year on the train ride home, though he was surprised they'd lasted as long as they had. He'd heard rumours circulating the Gryffindor common room all through the previous year of their on-off tumultuous relationship. He had even been witness to one of their rows just before the summer break.

Harry was just about to go after Ginny when Hermione came up and looped her arm with his, directing him towards Ron, Lavender, and Seamus. As he was pulled into their conversation, he slowly forgot about the seething Ginny sitting up in her room.

"We're really glad to see you, Harry. I mean, outside of school. We just don't get a chance to get together. It's always you, Ron and Hermione." Lavender batted her eyelashes at Ron as she continued. "We should get together more often if we can."

It was obvious to Harry that Lavender was talking to Ron, rather than everyone at that moment. Harry's sideways glance saw Hermione scowling slightly at Lavender. He felt Hermione's arm tighten slightly around his as Lavender continued her blatant flirting with an oblivious Ron.

"Harry, Parvati and I need to be going." Harry glanced back once he heard his name and saw Dean and Parvati standing off to the side. Parvati was smiling at Harry, while Dean still looked a bit put out as he wished him "Happy Birthday".

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Parvati exclaimed as she waved on her way out of the door; however, she looked as though she really didn't want to leave.

The party finally started winding down after all of Harry's friends had gone home, leaving a few mingling adults, including a couple who had engaged an unwilling Ron. Ginny had come back and was helping her mother clean up the kitchen, so Hermione and Harry decided to take a walk out into the garden. They continued their walk in virtual silence until they came to the edge of the woods, where they stopped. Hermione turned to Harry.

"It doesn't get any easier, does it? Every year, more bad things happen. I'm scared for you, Harry. I'm scared for all of us, but especially you. I have this horrible feeling that not all of us are going to make it through. I don't even want to think of who it will be. I don't want it to happen, of course, but the war is coming. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I care about you, Harry. You're one of my best friends and I love you." Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and hugged him tightly. As they pulled away, a rather pink-cheeked Hermione said rather quietly, "I don't want you to ever forget that," before placing a kiss on Harry's cheek.

"I won't. I promise." Harry wasn't sure what made him do it, but in the next moment, he had pressed his lips to Hermione's. He found that the kiss was rather nice, and vastly different from the one with Cho, though it did help that Hermione wasn't crying.

The kiss broke off only a moment later when the sound of a twig snapping brought them both back to reality. Harry glanced at Hermione's face and noticed that she was looking rather distressed, but she wasn't looking at him. Harry turned towards the direction of her gaze and immediately knew what was wrong. Ron was standing only yards away with a dark expression on his face before he turned around and headed back to the house. Unsure of what to do, Harry looked to Hermione for guidance. They locked eyes for a moment, then Hermione went running after Ron, leaving Harry to stare after the both of them. He watched silently as they argued before Ron continued to storm off, leaving Hermione behind. Harry slowly walked to Hermione. He could see tears glistening in her eyes.

"He... he's angry with us. Of course, being Ron, he won't say why..." Hermione blinked away the tears before they fell.

"He'll get over it. You know he will."

"I know..." sighed Hermione as they walked back towards the house. "I just hate the three of us being torn apart by stupid little things or misunderstandings. We should be sticking together. A war is starting. We need each other."

"Hermione, I promise it will be fine. We just need to give Ron a couple of days." Harry hoped that he was right because if he was completely honest, he had no idea why Ron was so upset.

When they arrived back inside, Harry looked over at Ron, who was talking quietly to his sister. She glanced over Ron's shoulder at them with an unreadable expression on her face. Ron glanced back at them as well before whispering to Ginny again. With a nod, the two of them walked out of the kitchen and disappeared somewhere else in the house. Harry got the sudden feeling that it was going to be a long summer.

The weeks following the kiss seemed to drag on for a lifetime, and there wasn't a single moment that passed that didn't include either Ron and Hermione bickering, or complete silence between the young quartet. Ever since his birthday party, Ron had been acting oddly, and Harry had hardly seen Ginny or Ron at all. They always seemed to disappear together, and neither Harry nor Hermione could explain their odd behaviour. Hermione was almost certain that it was to do with the fact that she and Harry had become a couple, but Harry couldn't see why that would bother Ron in the least.

On the day Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had taken the four to Diagon Alley, Hermione had brought up the subject once again after Ginny and Ron had gone off with Mr. Weasley in tow.

"Hermione, I just don't understand why it would upset Ron if we were together. I would have thought he would be happy for us. It's not as if we would abandon him as a friend."

"Well, Harry, maybe that is what he thinks. He sort of became the third wheel without wanting to. We really didn't even ask him how he'd feel about it, not that we really had to... We didn't consider his feelings about this before we jumped right in," Hermione sighed softly as they walked towards Flourish and Blotts to purchase their schoolbooks.

"What about Ginny? She's not really, you know, part of our group. Why would she be angry with us about it?"

"Harry," Hermione interrupted. "It's sibling loyalty. I'm sure if we had any siblings, they would do the same for us."

Harry hadn't thought about it that way. He didn't have any siblings, and Dudley had always treated him more like the gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe rather than a brother. In fact, Harry had always been Dudley's favourite punching bag. Harry had no idea what it was like to have someone like a brother or sister, and he realized that as much as he could try, he would never truly understand the bond between Ron and Ginny. The Weasleys were the closest thing he had ever had to a real family, and Ron was almost like a brother. It was as close as he would ever get.

"Oy! Harry!" Harry turned at the sound of his name and saw Seamus and Dean waving and walking towards him.

"Sorry I couldn't stay long at your party," said Dean. "Ginny was in a right foul mood, and I didn't want to end up on the receiving end of one of her curses. I think she was already angry with me for... well, I'm not sure what, but when I left with Parvati, it looked as if she was ready to spit fire."

"I honestly don't know how you two are going to manage to stay together if you keep that up," Hermione interjected.

"Actually, we split up just a few minutes ago. I kept getting the feeling from her that she would rather be unattached. That, and we were fighting like cats and dogs near the end." Dean admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

"She's one gorgeous lass, if I do say so myself," Seamus remarked. "Been thinking about asking her to Hogsmeade when we get back to school. From the looks of it though, there's going to be lots of competition." Seamus nodded towards the front of Quality Quidditch Supplies, where Ginny was standing outside talking to a small handful of boys, one of whom Harry recognized as Zacharias Smith. He didn't really know Smith all that well and barely remembered him from Dumbledore's Army.

"I didn't realise she was so popular..."

"Blimey Harry, where have you been? Surely you've noticed. You practically spend the entire summer with her and her family every year." Seamus was looking at Harry with wide eyes.

Harry looked to Hermione for help, but it was apparent that he wasn't going to get any. "She's just Ron's little sister..." When it looked as if Dean and Seamus were about to argue with his statement, Harry cut them off before they said a word. "Hermione and I had better get going. We still have loads of supplies to get. We'll see you on the train."

Harry and Hermione turned away as Dean and Seamus headed towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, whilst they walked into Flourish and Blotts. Once they had purchased their textbooks, Mrs. Weasley ushered them back out into the street again to finish up their lists. A tense silence had developed between Harry and Hermione, and Harry had no idea where it had come from. As he was trying to figure out what could be wrong, Mrs. Weasley guided the pair into another store. It took a moment for Harry to figure out where he was when he looked around at the brightly coloured shop he had never seen.

"Harry!" The sound of two almost identical voices shouted over the rather large crowd that had accumulated in the small store. Harry looked over the heads of the other patrons to see Fred and George Weasley heading straight for him.

"Harry, so glad you could make it." Fred, or perhaps it was George, shook Harry's hand rather enthusiastically before he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and started to lead him towards the back of the store. "Since you are the very reason we are here today, besides George and my incredibly brilliant ideas of course, we figured that you should be the first to see some of our brand new products. They really are quite brilliant. Of course, you're free to have anything you fancy, since it was your winnings that helped us open our store."

Harry glanced back to discover that Hermione had somehow managed to find Ron in the dense crowd and was now bickering with him once again. Harry sighed as he was led away. He wasn't sure he'd be able to take any more of it. Ron and Hermione were his best friends, and he hated how they were fighting with no end in sight. As the twins showed him product after product, Harry's mind was going over everything that could possibly be done or said to make things go back to how they were before, without having to give up what he had with Hermione. It wasn't an easy task and Harry wasn't sure there was a solution.

"Oy! Ginny, get away from there. No sister of mine is going to buy that stuff." George (or was it Fred's voice) cut through Harry's thoughts.

"Knock it off, George. I was only looking. I don't need this stuff to get a date, unlike, perhaps, you." Ginny stuck out her tongue at her brothers before she flounced away with a couple of Gryffindor girls in her year.

"Uhh... what just happened?" Harry looked confused by the scene.

"Oh, they're one of our latest projects. Love potions. They're a bit on the weak side, but we figured we may get into a lot of hot water with anything stronger, not that we haven't tried it... but you never know. We're waiting to see how well these ones sell." Harry now understood what the big deal was. He supposed that any older brother didn't want their little sister getting involved with anyone. It made a bit of sense in a way. By the time Harry had shaken himself out of his own thoughts and looked up, the twins were gone.

"Ron! Ginny! Harry! It's time to go." Mrs. Weasley called over the crowd as she tried to drag Mr. Weasley away from the display of Muggle magic tricks. Hermione was already waiting at the door when Harry caught up to her.

"He is utterly impossible," Hermione muttered darkly. "He just won't give it up, and he can't be bothered to tell me what's wrong. All he says is 'you know bloody well what'. It's infuriating."

Harry glanced back at Ron, and he couldn't help agreeing with Hermione. Ron did have the tendency not to tell anyone what was wrong; making everyone assume what was bothering him, which sometimes wasn't even close to the real reason he was upset. Harry sighed a bit as he and Hermione stepped out of the shop. If things were going to keep up the way they were, this would be one of the worst years at Hogwarts yet.