The Sunrise of My Heart

About a week later, Ginny sent me a letter, asking me if my mom had agreed to let me stay with her family for the summer. I ran down stairs to find my mom and ask her, hoping she'd say yes.

"Hey, mom," I said when I found her in her study. "I have a question."

"Okay."

"Well, Ginny and I were hoping I could stay with Ginny and her family this summer. Hermione will be there too, and we were gonna have fun with us three just hanging out and stuff. Plus, Fred and George will be seventh years next year, so I won't get to see them quite as often, especially once they graduate and all. So can I?" I gave her big, innocent, doe-like eyes.

"What about Minny, Acer, and Jaime? You know they'll miss you if you leave." She had her reading glasses on, and as she looked at me, I realized for the first time that there were lines around her eyes, as if she'd been particularly tired lately.

"I know, but Ginny was really hoping that I could, and I'd really like to go. Please?"

She rubbed her eyes tiredly and nodded. "Alright. But you know Acer's not going to like this. Not one bit."

I grinned and hugged her. "Thanks! And I know, but he'll be okay. He's a tough old boy." After a moment, I decided to ask her about the worry wrinkles. "Mom, have you been stressed out more often than usual? You just look a little worn or something."

She smiled at me, somewhat tiredly. "I'm fine. It's just... Sometimes it's hard to be here, alone. When the house is empty, it's like..." She trailed off, looking sad.

"It's like dad's spirit is wandering around the hallways," I said softly. "Like he's here, but not quite really here."

She nodded. "Exactly."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't go, then. You'll be all alone, and it'll be hard on you."

She smiled and shook her head. "Nonsense. You should go. I've got Minny and Acer, and besides, now I've got Jaime too. Anyways... Sometimes, it's not so bad, feeling him near again. It has it's good parts. Now, go get ready. I imagine you want to be there before nightfall, yes?"

I kissed her forehead, hugging her softly, and then ran upstairs to my room to pack. While I was packing, Hedwig flew through my open window and landed on my desk, a letter clutched in her claws.

"Hey, Hedwig. What's Harry got to say?" I grabbed the letter and opened it, reading it as quickly as I could because Hedwig looked impatient.

Riley,
If you're still home and not already at the Burrow, please come over. The Dursleys are acting like monsters and I can't stand being alone here much longer.

Harry

I folded the note and stuck it in my pocket, then ran downstairs, grabbed my dad's old wand, came back upstairs, and used it to put all the stuff I would need into my luggage. It was harder than it sounds, because his wand would occasionally shoot things across the room. Then, I ran back downstairs, gasping for breath a bit, and went into my mom's study.

"Harry needs some moral support before he leaves for Ron's, so I'm going over there until I leave. Is that okay? My stuffs' all packed by now, and you'll have to ship it without me."

She nodded, kissing my cheek and hugging me, then letting me go.

When I got to Harry's house, I looked down, making sure I was wearing 'normal' clothes. Yep, white tank-top, nice pair of jeans, black sneakers. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and then rang the bell. A walrus of a man answered, looking confused when he saw me.

"Hello, Mr. Dursley. Is Harry here?" I smiled at him, trying to charm him over.

"How do you know him?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I live just a few blocks away, and I've run into him quite a few times before, and we talk when we do, so we've become fairly good friends," I lied easily.

He nodded and walked inside, leaving the door open so I could come in too. "Boy!" he barked. "You have a visitor."

"Who'd wanna visit Harry?" someone sneered, and I could guess from the voice that it was his cousin Dudley. "Some demented person, no doubt," he said, laughing at his own wit. When he saw me, he spluttered, looking shocked. "Who are you? Have you come to see me?"

"Actually, I'm here to see Harry. Can you show me where he is?" I asked sweetly.

He came over and put his arm around my shoulders, winking at me. "Why would you want so see him? I can show you to my room, and you can forget all about Harry."

Before I could puke or punch him, Harry was behind me, lightly grabbing my elbow and pulling me away.

"Sorry," I called over my shoulder. "Maybe some other time." I smiled at him, then turned away. "Like, you know, if I happen to lose my mind, go crazy, and find large cow-pig-whale creatures attractive," I muttered under my breath. "Ugh. Ew. You have impeccable timing, Harry."

"Sorry about that," he muttered. "Dudley's not used to seeing many girls, and a pretty girl being in his house must have been the highlight of his week, which is saying something."

"I think I have grease stains on my shirt. But oh well, I'll live. Maybe I should burn this, though. Just to be on the safe side."

Harry chuckled and nodded. We were now in a small room, his bedroom, I realized as I looked around. It was pretty cluttered, and it didn't look like he'd done much cleaning since moving in here.

"Aren't you leaving in a few hours? You should really get packing as soon as you can."

"I haven't received a letter from Ron yet, so I guess I'll be leaving sometime later," he said, looking a bit glum about it.

"Well... I'm sure Ron is just lazy and hasn't gotten around to sending you a letter yet."

"Ginny must have sent you an owl days ago, unlike Ron, who is neglecting to send me one."

"Oh no, I got mine just a couple hours ago too. Except, I was able to use my dad's wand to do all my packing. Got me around the underage-magic thing, and got it done fast. Now feed me."

"What?" He blinked in surprise, trying to catch up with my random change of topic. Poor boy, he had no idea what he was getting into, spending time with me alone for the first time. My random subject changes would probably have his head spinning before long.

"Feed me. Find me food. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten yet today." I smiled sweetly at him and he rolled his eyes, shaking his head softly.

"Alright, let's go downstairs and see if there's anything to eat." He looked a bit worried, so I stopped him.

"Let me do it. I have a gift at getting my way. Even with cranky mean people. You stay up here."
I went downstairs, giving Vernon an adorable, innocent little girl look. Almost every grown man melts under the Little Girl Look. Because deep down, almost every man wants a pretty little girl.
"Hello, Mr. Vernon. Um, I was wondering if... Well, you see, Harry has no food in his room, and I was just wondering if you had anything to eat here. Harry said it was pointless to ask you because you'd never give me any, but I told him you weren't really that mean, that he's just got a prejudice against you, and that you really aren't cruel like he seems to think." The entire time I was (intentionally) babbling like a nervous child, I was giving him the Little Girl Look, trying to melt his heart. And it worked.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered when he opened his door for me since I couldn't get it myself. "How did you get all that?" My arms were stuffed full of food, from sweets to cakes to fruits, and I was grinning at him.

"The Little Girl Look. I can melt even the toughest man's heart with it. Just one of the many benefits of being a girl. Now, let's eat!"

So we ate the food, throwing his things into his trunk as we did, playing a game to see who could get more stuff in. After the food was all gone and his trunk was (uselessly) packed, I realized I should be leaving for the Burrow. So, with a last smile and wave to Harry, I left, eager about the fun summer coming up.