**To my dear readers! Here is the tantalizing beginning of the third tale in my twisted little world of Harry Potter. This is the tale of Harry and Ginny, with perhaps some Ron and Hermione thrown in for extra good measure.
This story may be a bit more angsty than the previous two… although we shall see. I'm always open to constructive criticism. *grinning significantly at that little 'review' button*
ALSO – I have chosen to rate this fic "R" as there will most likely be violence and at least the suggesting/implication of 'adult' relationships. Better safe than sorry, right?
And without any more rambling – Rising Depths
Prologue – Setting the SceneHarry Potter glared at the figure in front of him. He hissed the words of the cutting curse, and watched with deep satisfaction as a deep gash opened straight down the center of his opponent's body.
"Finite," he finally said, lowering his palms. "Reparo." The dummy had slumped against the wall on the other side of the room and now sprang back onto its stand, as good as new.
Sighing deeply, Harry walked over to the window, shoving a hand through his sweaty hair. He got a whiff of his own sweat, and grimaced. He needed a shower. He propped a shoulder against the window frame and gazed down at the spring landscape.
There were only a few more weeks of school, he thought. A precious few weeks left for him to practice and hone his skills. He glanced at the dummy again. He couldn't use magic at the Dursley's until his seventeenth birthday, and that would mean going far too long while being vulnerable.
Harry snorted. Voldemort wouldn't come looking for him at the Dursley's, he was fairly sure. For one, there were all those wards and things around it, that blood magic Dumbledore had told him about a year ago. Plus, Voldemort was a bit of a show-off, he'd decided. He liked drama, making a statement, scaring or hurting as many people as possible. Frankly, Harry's money was on the two of them going at it either in Hogsmead or here at Hogwarts.
He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. He couldn't keep practicing his magic over the summer, at least, not for most of it. The corners of his mouth curled up as he contemplated what he could do to Dudley after July 31st. In the meantime, he would have to find some other way to prepare. Something he could read, or maybe push-ups or something. He'd have to think about it some more.
He sighed again, and glanced around the blossoming grounds outside. And that was why he was in the Room of Requirement on this gorgeous spring day, while all his friends were out lying by the lake. He spotted Ron's tall, lanky figure chasing Seamus about the grass, and had to grin. At least they were having fun. Behind them, Hermione was sitting, probably scolding the two of them all the while grinning like an idiot. And next to her…
Ginny. Harry's eyes lingered on the fiery haired girl. She was a big, big reason why he'd recently decided his life truly sucked. Of all the people Voldemort would most like to use against him, to destroy and ruin, a lover would be number one. And so here he was, sixteen going on seventeen, scrupulously avoiding all dates and any possible hint of a relationship. His lips twisted.
And then he took a deep breath and let it out again. He glanced at his watch, and swore silently. He had a detention with McGonnagal in fifteen minutes, and she would kill him if he walked in smelling the way he did. Not to mention, she'd probably demand to know how he got that way. Grabbing his bag, he broke in to a spring as he left the Room, already calculating just how fast he could run.
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Ginny Weasley sat outside and snickered as Ron hollered in annoyance as yet again, he fell victim to Seamus and Dean's 'practice'. They claimed to be working on their homework, yet a surprising number of charms seemed to be finding their way toward Ron. Her brother had been muttering and getting redder and redder until it seemed he'd finally snapped.
"Oi! Quit, you gits, or I'll string your boxers up top Gryffindor Tower!" he finally bellowed when a Hair-Lengthening charm hit him upside the head. Hermione was giggling like an idiot as she attempted to reverse this latest mishap, but her wand was wobbling a little alarmingly.
Ginny just laughed as she watched the two of them. Lordy, were there ever two people more meant for each other than Hermione and Ron? She was the only one who could both wind him up and calm him down, and he was the only one who knew how to make her laugh and cry. She watched Ron submit to Hermione's slightly calmer spell-work, and sighed a little. Frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd let the boys get away with their little pranks because it had made Hermione laugh.
Glancing around, she spotted her best friend Cara under a tree a little ways away. She was looking down at the boy who currently was lying with his head in her lap, and was smiling about something. Ginny watched those two, feeling a wistful emotion steal through her. Cara had gotten her man and she was holding onto him with both hands. She and Draco had been through a lot together; Cara had almost died. And yet now Draco Malfoy, the school's scariest student and one that first years still cowered in fear from as he strode down the hall, was lying outside in the shade on a warm spring day, his head in his girlfriend's lap.
Looking around her, Ginny saw that a lot of people were taking advantage of the warm weather to partner up. Flirting was in the air as boys and girls laughed and teased and chased each other about the wide lawns.
She shook her head and reached for her bookbag. There was only one boy she wanted to do that with, and he was still disappearing for long stretches and refusing to tell them why. She had her suspicions, of course, but so far, she hadn't been able to pry anything out of him.
She flipped open the thick book she'd checked out of the library and started to read. Harry was determined to protect them all from something, that much she'd gotten straight. She and Hermione had put their heads together and come up with that, and more. But what they were both unsure of was what he wasn't telling them. There was something, something he was keeping very close to himself, that Harry was refusing to share. And that something was driving him to spend time on his own, always returning with a grim look in his eyes that would take an hour for Ron to drive away with cheerful, aimless chatter.
She flipped the page and kept reading. But she was a Weasley, and damn it all, that boy wasn't going to get away that easily. She'd help him, whether he wanted it or not. Ginny settled more comfortably in the grass. She just had to figure out how.
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