DESPERATEMEASURES

By Damkina

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling; I just own the plot and the clothes on my back.

Rating: PG-13 (Possibly R for language)

Acknowledgements: Thanks go to Mad Martha and Sue Brideshead for reading this through for me.

A/N: Harry has finally noticed Ginny, and Ron just wants to help his friend. But after following her from the Gryffindor Common Room and through numerous corridors of Hogwarts, there's just one problem: Ginny desperately wants both of them to leave her alone. How far will she go to make her point?

"Ginny!"

"Ron, I've already told him, no!" snarled Ginny over her shoulder. "Are you deaf as well?"

Still presuming that she had a crush on Harry and oblivious to his sister's true feelings, the elder Weasley caught her arm and pulled her round to face him, pointing out insensitively, "Look, your boyfriend's dumped you and…"

The rotten bastard! Ginny was now livid and running on adrenaline. "If you're that bloody worried about him being on his own, you be his date to Hogsmeade!" she shouted.

Ron looked rather alarmed and Harry's horrified eyes were like plates behind his glasses as he shook his head in denial whilst whispering, "No! No!"

With a satisfied smirk that she had managed to shock them both, Ginny yanked her arm out of her brother's grasp and carried on marching down the empty corridor.

Ron's eyes narrowed angrily at his sister for thwarting his plans for the coming weekend. He demanded loudly, "Just give me one good reason why you can't go on a date to Hogsmeade tomorrow with Harry."

Don't they realise that I don't like Harry like that anymore? Making an immediate about-turn, Ginny answered in exasperation, "Because I… I'm going with someone else. So shut up and sod off!"

Surprised, Ron and Harry glanced at each other then back at their housemate.

After a moment of shocked silence, Ron demanded "Who?" and Harry stood frowning at her in disbelief.

Trapped by her own big mouth, Ginny turned her back on them and came face-to-face with a cluster of Slytherin boys who had sidled out from the shadowed recess beside a nearby suit of armour and now stood watching and sniggering at the entertainment. Oh no! What have I said? Her face burned with embarrassment and she bit her lip, trying to think of a way out of the dilemma. "Oh shit!"

Highly amused by the littlest Weasley's spectacle and seeing a perfect chance to have a lark and annoy her brother and Potter, one of the boys muttered something to his comrades then stepped out in front of a startled Ginny and smiled down at her. He had seen her about school before and had already surmised that she wasn't the typical Gryffindor, so he wouldn't really mind being seen with her in public. "Hello, pet. I'd been wondering where you were," his smooth, deep voice rumbled as he lifted an eyebrow slightly.

Trembling when the tall, dark-haired figure sidled up to her, Ginny's throat went dry and every coherent thought shattered into a confused muddle as he stared at her like she was his next meal. She was unable to make sense of what he was up to, and couldn't break her gaze from the penetrating eyes of Blaise Zabini, the sexiest Slytherin that had ever graced Hogwarts. "I… um," she stammered in confusion.

"What's the matter, pet? Cat got your tongue?" he asked whilst gently drifting a finger along her jaw and then began twirling one of her vibrant red curls around the same finger.

"Get your hands off my sister!" came Ron's horrified voice.

With an almost imperceptible glance to where her brother stood opening and shutting his mouth like a fish out of water, Blaise then stepped even closer to the youngest Weasley and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. When she stood frozen to the spot and didn't even make an attempt to stop him, he slowly and seductively drifted his hands down her back to rest them on her waist and asked her teasingly, "Were you going to your virgin bed without kissing me goodnight, my little Gryffindor?"

Suddenly catching on and seeing the perfect way to get Ron to stop pestering her about Harry and Hogsmeade, and have a lovely time in the process, Ginny willingly played along. Although she was a nervous wreck and hardly able to breathe in such close proximity to the Slytherin, she gave him a tentative smile and answered loud enough for Ron to hear, "I would have been here sooner if my brother hadn't waylaid me with such stupid requests."

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" demanded Harry. "He's a Slytherin!

Blaise almost laughed at the identical looks of bewildered, goggle-eyed shock on their faces and commanded them both to take a hike. "She's my date for Hogsmeade, Weasley," he told Ron arrogantly, then glanced at Harry and added with a threat, "And I don't share, Potter."

"You wouldn't?" Ron gasped in distaste.

Ginny gave an exaggerated sigh as she snaked her arms up Blaise's chest and tangled her fingers in the dark hair at the nape of his neck and said, "Ron, you're an idiot and I'm busy, so just go away!"

"How could you!" protested Ron pitifully, rushing to her side and lifting his hands towards her pleadingly. But when it looked as though it was going to happen anyway, he added, "I don't believe this… I can't watch!"

Blaise glared balefully at him for a moment. "I should hope you don't watch your sister, you dirty pervert! Now sod off!"

Groaning loudly, Ron buried his head in his hands.

With a deep chuckle, the tall Slytherin took that as permission and bent his head to settle his mouth softly against those smiling Gryffindor lips.

A sudden flush of excited desire made Ginny's heart race. Her eyes fluttered shut and she opened her mouth slightly to catch her breath as Blaise continued to gently kiss her and trace his tongue over her lips.

As soon as the pair locked lips, a furious Ron backed away and blindly hurried down the corridor towards the Gryffindor tower. "I want to kill that bastard!" he muttered dangerously.

"And I'm sure that he already knows it," murmured Harry, then suggested, "Hermione might be able to get through to her; make her see sense."

"If she doesn't, Mother will."

Blaise suspected that the little Gryffindor fire-sprite wasn't very experienced and had already decided that he wouldn't demand or force her; this was as far as it was to go… or so he thought. At first the kiss was soft and undemanding, but he was quickly overcome by waves of intoxicating heat tingling through his body and was unable to think straight when she whimpered and pulled him closer, silently demanding more.

"Oh, God!" groaned Blaise into her mouth as his body reacted immediately to what she was doing. His initial intentions were thrown out of the window as the needs of a healthy young man pounded through his body. Feeling like he was being kissed into mindless submission and not caring that he had suddenly become extremely aroused, he pulled her into the nearby crevice and pushed her against the wall as he moulded his hard body against hers.

They didn't even notice that after gawking at them in surprise for a moment, all but one of the Slytherin students decided to make a strategic retreat and headed for their own common room.

"Blaise! Snape's coming down the corridor," came a sudden warning from the one Slytherin still milling nearby. "Blaise!" repeated the young man urgently when he was ignored the first time. "It's getting near curfew! I'm going. Bye!"

Ginny and Blaise opened their eyes, reluctantly pulled away from each other and quickly stepped back onto the corridor in the shadow of the armour. Still trying desperately to control his raging hormones and body, Blaise muttered a curse and had to pull his robe closer together at the front. He then stood breathing heavily and watching the young Gryffindor lick her lips and continue to undress him with her eyes.

Professor Snape reached them in a billowing swirl of black robes and glanced warily from one student to the other.

"Good evening Professor Snape," said the Blaise pleasantly.

"Good evening, Mr. Zabini… Miss. Weasley," answered Snape, still looking rather suspicious at them both. "Thirty minutes to curfew," he reminded them, then stared at Ginny and added, "Should you be elsewhere, Miss. Weasley."

"Not at the moment, Professor," said Ginny, refusing to be intimidated by his looming presence in front of the tall Slytherin.

"I have better things to do with my time than finding a young Gryffindor wandering through the castle at gone midnight on a school night. Don't let me have to give you another detention, Miss Weasley."

"Um… you won't, Sir."

"Mr. Zabini, please make sure that Miss. Weasley is in the Gryffindor Common Room before curfew."

Suppressing a smirk, Blaise agreed. "Of course, Professor."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Professor," they chorused together as the professor strode away.

Ginny slowly exhaled the breath she didn't know she had been holding. If she had been on her own or with other Gryffindors, she was sure that the greasy-haired git would have found an excuse to give her another detention or take some points for loitering in the halls.

"So, how often do you sneak about after curfew and break the rules?" asked Blaise, casually leaning his shoulder on the wall and folding his arms across his chest.

Ginny shrugged. "Often enough, though he's only caught me the one time."

"Not very Gryffindor; breaking the rules."

"Not very Slytherin; snogging the face off a Gryffindor."

Blaise narrowed his eyes and stared at the redhead for a moment. "No, it isn't," he murmured eventually.

Rather disappointed that her bit of fun was obviously over and wishing that it could have lasted longer, she smiled at Blaise and rested her hand on his arm. "Thanks for helping me out. I'll see you around… Goodnight." Not even expecting a muttered reply from him, Ginny gasped as he lifted his hands and cupped her face.

"Not trying to get away from me, are you, pet?" he murmured softly.

Ginny blinked owlishly in surprise. "Um… No… I'm heading back to Gryffindor," she explained timidly. "To my virgin bed."

"And what about our date tomorrow?" he interrupted with a smile at the light-hearted warning, and then sent shivers of excitement down her spine as he gave her tender, butterfly-soft kisses on her lips.

"Our date?" Ginny's heartbeat was racing. Thank you, thank you, God! "I thought that…"

Blaise wrapped her in his arms and covered her mouth with his, groaning contentedly when she responded immediately.

When the loud announcement throughout the school reminded the students that there were just fifteen minutes to curfew, he took her hand and hurried with her through several corridors to the Gryffindor common room.

"Yes, our date, little Gryffindor," he said when they came to a breathless stop in the hallway near the portrait of the fat lady, as though there had been no interruption. "Don't you think it'll be fun to torment your brother and Potter some more?"

Absolutely delighted with the idea and deciding that a more pleasant way to go about it couldn't have ever been planned beforehand, Ginny happily agreed. "And do you have anything planned for our date?" she enquired, suddenly finding herself backed up against the wall and looking up into his eyes as he moved a bare step closer.

"Oh, I'm sure that I can think of something," he murmured seductively. He rested a hand on the wall at each side of her head and leaned in against her for another kiss. "The question is, pet, I'm willing, but can you keep this irresistible torment up indefinitely?"

Of course I can!

Ginny finally stepped through the portrait to face the music, smiling to Blaise as he backed away from her down the corridor. "See you at breakfast," he reminded her. "Good night and sweet dreams about me, my little Gryffindor."

With just minutes to get down the to Slytherin common room, Blaise Zabini had been hurrying through corridors and down numerous stairs when he stopped abruptly on realising one thing. "What's her bloody name, anyhow?"