Harry Potter: Chosen's Angel

Chapter 7: Butter Me Impressed

"Wonder where she ran off too…" Harry said, looking around the Burrow for Ginny while walking past the family rat, not noticing the strange look it was giving him.

He did not have to go far to find her. Inside her room, he found the Weasley girl scrubbing furiously with a washcloth. Yet, try as she might, no matter how much she scrubbed, it seemed never enough. So distracted by the slippery dairy condiment was she that Harry had to walk in the doorway and knock on the door to get her to notice. When she did, she nearly jumped out of her own skin.

"H-H-Harry!? What are you doing here!? Oh, by the Muggle queen, this is all going wrong!" Ginny squealed in a panic, forcing Harry to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know how to get butter off. I had to deal with situations like this all the time because of my cousin Dudley." He told her.

"Y-You do?" Ginny asked in shock, trembling a bit to the touch.

"First, you'll need to get that shirt off so that we can get it off your elbow." Harry told her.

This hit Ginny as if the car were slammed into her. Her face went redder than a cherry, and if steam could shoot out of one's head, though there was a charm for that, it would. This immediately caught Harry's attention, and after thinking for a few seconds, he realized just how catastrophically he worded that.

Blushing as red as Ginny was, Harry turned and looked away. "I-I didn't mean like that! H-honestly, I didn't! I-I'll look away and tell you what to do with my back turned!" He stammered out.

With the boy having mercifully given her some dignity, Ginny rapidly changed. Yet, even as she put on a new shirt, it was… surreal. And she hoped to everything holy that none of her family walked in on them. Once she finally had her shirt on, she finally spoke up.

"O-Okay… I'm changed." Ginny said, putting her twiddling hands behind her in nervousness.

Turning to look, Harry took a deep breath. "O-okay. F-First, we need to blot or scrape off any excess butter and rub dish soap gently into the fabric." He told her.

Ginny eased her eyebrow a bit. "How do you know that?" She asked.

"Dudley… had a tendency to smush my face into the butter at breakfast when we were younger." The-Boy-Who-Left admitted.

"Is that the fat one or the dumb one?" Ginny asked, before she covered her mouth, realizing what she said.

"... You're going to have to be a little more specific than that." Harry told her.

"I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have opened my mouth." She nervously said, turning her head away.

"I'm not offended. Both of my cousins are stupid. Do you mean the one I like or the one I tolerate?" Harry replied, genuinely confused.

"You like one of your family?" Ginny asked, surprised considering what Ron had told her about his family.

"Sure. Damien's never done anything to me. In fact, he always seemed to like me more than his own brother. Which may be part of why Dudley doesn't like me, now that I think about it…" Harry admitted nonchalantly.

"Then why didn't you tell Ron about him? He was ranting and raving about how horrid your family was and why he and the twins went off to go get you." She explained, which got a further confusing response from Potter.

"I did. He just didn't pay attention because of how bad the others are." He replied in a deadpan tone.

"Typical Ron. Two brain cells fighting for fourth place." Ginny said with a sigh.

"What happened to third place?" Harry asked in confusion.

"They killed him and ate him over tea." Ginny answered in her own deadpan tone.

Harry chuckled. "Good one. Now let's get started. I'll grab some soap; you grab something to blot or scrape the excess butter off." He told her.

"Why don't we go get dish soap from the kitchen?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow.

Harry gave her a deadpan look. "Ginny… do you want me to die?" He asked her.

"Oh, they're not that bad… oh god, it would be that bad…" Ginny said, before looking away in horror after thinking about it.

"Exactly. Now start looking for something to scrape or blot off the excess butter while I find the soap." Harry told her.

"I think I got a razor in here somewhere…" Ginny said before rummaging through her toiletries.

As she began throwing things out of what appeared to be an impossibly deep bag, Harry was simply astonished. Never before had he seen, even at Hogwarts, a bag this deep. And with the sheer number of things she was pulling out, he swore she had more things in there than his family did back home. However, as soon as Ginny found the razor, she turned to find Harry awkwardly staring at her, which immediately got her face blushing deep red again.

"How did you fit all of that in there?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Um… enchanted holding bag…" Ginny nervously said, though thankful he was not staring at her for… other reasons.

Harry grinned a bit. "I love magic." He said as he went to the bathroom to search for soap.

Ginny sighed and put the razor next to the bed. Why, of all things, did her family have to fight and leave her alone with Harry. Not to say she was complaining too hard… but she was not ready for this. As Harry rounded the corner back into the room, he saw Ginny yawning very loudly, as if she had been possessed by a lion.

"Tired, Ginny?" Harry asked, a bit worried.

"I just… didn't get my builder's tea this morning…" Ginny nervously said, trying to brush off his concern.

"If something is wrong, you can tell me. Maybe I can help." He offered.

"It's nothing, just… I had a nightmare last night." Ginny said, nervously letting out the truth before looking away.

"I know a thing or two about that. Getting sleep when having those is… almost impossible…" Harry nervously admitted.

This surprised the redhead greatly. "Y-You get nightmares too?" Ginny asked in shock.

Harry nodded. "Hermione, Ron, and I… went through a lot last year…" He reluctantly admitted.

"Ron told us a lot about it. I… I have a feeling he didn't tell everything about what happened." Ginny said, causing Harry to sigh at hearing that.

"How much did he tell you all…?" He asked, dreading the answer.

Ginny then began to tell him. As she rattled on and on, Harry's heart sank further and further into the pit of his stomach. It took Ginny nearly ten whole minutes to finish explaining, and by the end of it, Harry looked about as pale as a ghost, impressive considering his usual complexion.

"Um… Harry… are you okay?" Ginny asked, noticing his change in complexion and his nervous aura leaking off him.

Harry sighed. "Damn it, Ron…" He muttered.

"Did he say something he wasn't supposed to? That's not surprising but…" Ginny said before she was cut off by Harry.

"No… but that means I'll have to explain more to give you the full context about my nightmares…" He told her.

Granger Household

"Dang it, dang it, dang it…" Hermione grumbled as she stressed about her room, all under the ever-observant eye of her little sister.

"What's wrong, Hermy?" Alice asked her older sister.

"Call me that one more time and I'll put a frog in your throat." Hermione scolded, not in the mood with the news she had just received.

"That bad, sis?" Alice asked her.

"Do you realize how late it is in the season to get you ready for Hogwarts!? That delivery owl is almost as bad as Ron's!" Hermione snapped as she started collecting leftover supplies and making a list.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Relax, sis. Don't get your knickers in a bunch." She said, trying to calm the older Granger girl down.

"I'll put yours in a bunch if you keep up this back talk. We are going to have to get you to Diagon Alley asap!" Hermione screeched as she frantically wrote down supplies.

"Hermione. Take a deep breath and calm down. Getting stressed and freaking out won't solve anything." Alice said, trying to calm down her big sister.

Hermione sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her bushy hair. Despite how annoying and energetic her little sister could be, she did at least have some level of wisdom. Even if not much intelligence. Composing herself, the soon-to-be second year turned on her heels to face her.

"Right. I'll get a list made and we will work to get you properly set up for your first year. I refuse to let my baby sister go to Hogwarts unprepared." She said sternly, but confidently.

Alice smiled at her big sis at that. "Love you too, Hermy-Wormy." She told her, hugging her sister.

"You get away with that one just this once." Her big sister said, wagging a finger against her. "But you keep that between the two of us, got it. Especially if we are in the same house."

Alice grinned. "Understood, sis. "She replied, saluting her sister with a twinkle in her eye.

"You need to be prepared. It's not as simple as saying some funny words or waving a stick about. Magic is serious business that can alter people's lives. And don't correct people unless you ask if they need help. That's an easy way to get off on the wrong foot with someone." Hermione explained to her sister, trying to impart her wisdom as a soon-to-be second year onto her sister.

"... You corrected one of your friends without asking if they needed help, didn't you?" Alice asked her playfully.

"We are getting off topic." Hermione simply said, going back to writing things down.

"So yes, then…?" Alice teasingly asked.

"What would you want as a wizard pet?" Hermione asked, ignoring the question outright.

"I'm just gonna wing it and see what I feel like when I get there." Alice explained.

"You and Ron will get on like a house on fire." Hermione grumbled. "Right, I think I got everything on the list. Once we have a free day, we will head out and get all your things in one go."

"Right behind you, Hermy." Alice told her as the two sisters headed out the door to meet with their parents.

Back at the Burrow

"You're serious? You didn't get eaten by Fluffy? I always heard he was the meanest guard dog around." Ginny said, now talking to Harry while sitting on the bed, the shirt long having been cleaned.

"Oh, he was. But, if you play a little music, he apparently falls right asleep. I guess music really does soothe the savage beast…" Harry explained.

"It makes you wonder just how good Hagrid is. It's like he could tame anything." Ginny said, her words tinged with amazement.

Harry smiled. "I'd believe it. But don't tell him that or he might actually try it." He playfully told her.

"And he brought you to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Yes, he did. And I'm happy he did because I wouldn't have known what to do in Diagon Alley without him. Hagrid even got me Hedwig as a present." Harry told her, recalling with joy his trip with the gentle giant.

"Do you have any plans for this second year?" Ginny asked him, which caused Harry to scratch his head a bit.

"Not really. I just want to go through my classes, play Quidditch, and not have to worry about potentially almost dying. Again." Harry admitted.

"Well, you were taken here by my family, so anything is possible this year I guess already." Ginny said with a shrug.

"Please don't jinx it. I want my second year to be at least somewhat normal." Harry replied with a sigh.

"'Normal' is a relative term in the wizarding world, Harry. At least, compared to the one you're from." Ginny warned the scarred boy.

Harry shrugged. "Fair enough. So, what do you have planned for your first year?" He asked her.

"Not letting my brother embarrass me." Ginny flatly said, as if looking at Ron directly through the walls as she said that.

"I've never had siblings, so I don't know what that's like." Harry admitted.

"Take some of mine. They're on sale and I have plenty to spare." Ginny said to which Harry could not tell if she was joking or not.

"Ginny! Harry! It's safe to come down now, the food fight is finally over! Isn't that right, boys!?" The distinctive voice of Mrs. Weasley rang through the massive house.

"Yes, dear/mum…!" Arthur and the boys' voices all rang out sheepishly in unison.

"We are coming, Mum!" Ginny called back to cover for them. "We should probably get back down there."

"Be careful. Someone might be using a spell to mimic your mum's voice to lure us back down in a false sense of security." Harry cautiously told her.

"If they tried, my mum would chew them up and make a casserole out of them. Now come on." Ginny said before springing to her feet.

"Right behind you." Harry replied, following behind the fiery redhead with little to no fear at all in his step.