Author's note:

As always, it all belongs to JKR. I own nothing.


HPHPHP


Children of the Flame Saga

Book II: Blessed Summer of Horrors

Chapter IV

They Haven't Touched


Harry was sitting contentedly on the couch in the parlor with Ginny curled into his side as they, her brothers, Hermione and Fleur quietly conversed after dinner when his mood suddenly darkened. "Seriously, you can't respect a bit of privacy?"

Ginny sat up. "You want privacy?" she demanded, bringing a sudden halt to all other conversation in the room.

"I told you I'd tell you when I was ready," Harry retorted.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing you need to know about!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

Ginny pushed off the couch and ran up the stairs. "THERE'S YOUR BLOODY PRIVACY!"

"FINE WITH ME!"

"SHUT UP, HARRY!"

"AS SOON AS YOU DO!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"I'M NOT SPEAKING TO YOU, HARRY!"

"YOU"RE NOT DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF IT!"

"ARRRGH!" Ginny screamed and slammed the door to her room.

Harry closed his eyes and rubbed them painfully. "Bugger," he muttered.

"What the hell was all that?" Charlie said in a low voice. Harry stiffened, he'd completely blocked out that there had been an audience to his and Ginny's fight. And of course it included Charlie. The one member of her family who didn't seem to be adjusting to the fact he was married to her; quite the opposite in fact. Frankly, Harry was rather concerned things between them were going to turn ugly. "I asked you a question, Potter."

That did it. No time like the present, Harry growled to himself. He stood and moved to go after Ginny. "And if it was any of your business I might answer it," he said. "As it isn't, I'm not going to." Charlie was out of his chair intercepting him only slightly faster than the rest of the Weasley boys were in getting between them.

"I think maybe you ought to leave her alone," Charlie warned.

"I think maybe you ought to mind your own business," Harry retorted.

"I think maybe everyone should just calm –" Bill began only to be interrupted by Ginny rushing back down the stairs. She shoved Harry aside and hauled off and kicked Charlie in the bits. He went down in a heap. Hard.

"Ohhh," Bill, the twins and Ron cringed, unconsciously shielding their privates.

"I warned you not to mess with my husband!" she screamed at him. She looked up and found Harry smirking at her. "Git," she snapped before sticking her nose in the air and calmly walking back up the stairs to her room.

Harry followed her, stepping over Charlie in the process. "That's my girl," he said proudly.

In the silence that followed, Ron stared at Charlie sprawled on the floor for some time before quietly saying, "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"That morning with the Wraiths and Umbridge and all that, where you ran and tattled on me to Ginny."

"Yes?"

"I'd just like to say thanks."

"Ditto," the twins agreed weakly.

"You're welcome, Ron."

A few seconds later they were still standing there when Molly, Arthur, and Hermione's parents came in from the kitchen. Molly took one look at the lot of them staring down at Charlie, noted who was missing and asked, "Ginny?"

"Ginny," everyone but Charlie answered.


HPHPHP


Harry and Ginny sat cross-legged, facing each other in the clearing. His hand, engulfed in flame, hovered between them. Every so often the flames would shoot up his wrist and forearm before he could force them back. "That's it," Ginny encouraged, her voice little more than a whisper. "You're getting it," she began excitedly when suddenly the flames leapt up his arm.

"Gah!" Harry cried banishing them entirely as he batted at his shirtsleeve. He crushed out the last embers in disgust. "How the hell are we supposed to control this?"

Ginny flopped back on the grass. "I have no idea," she muttered.

Yesterday, after five days of confessions and fallout from events of the last year and Narcissa Malfoy's attempt to kill them Harry and Ginny had finally gotten a true day of summer hols. They had gleefully basked in the glory of doing nothing but lazing about with Ron and Hermione. Even better, Neville and Luna had even been able to join them for the afternoon. Today though, with the added burden of learning just what being Phoenix meant to the projects of bringing Harry up to speed in the subjects of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, they were determined to make a start. Harry was stalling on the last two, distracting Ginny with what he thought would be the more fun task of controlling their Flame. Needless to say it wasn't going particularly well. Ginny raised her hand in the air. With nary a thought flames engulfed it. This part they could manage. She let the flames travel up, or in this case rather, down, her wrist and forearm then forced them back to a single flame in the palm of her hand. They could both call the flames at will. And with concerted effort they could control them, but the act was akin to keeping hold of a greased weasel. And the instant the flames touched something other than their flesh, FWOOOSH! no control whatsoever.

Harry grabbed her still flaming hand and pulled her upright. "Do your hair again," he urged.

She smirked at him. "Like that do you?"

It's bloody amazing!" he said in a voice that matched his smoldering eyes. Ginny shivered and closed her eyes. Pleased as she was with the ability to create that reaction from him, it wouldn't do to focus on it for particularly long.

Not.

At.

All.

She took a breath and forced her mind to calm. If she didn't keep tight control the flames would travel too far down her back and she'd set her tank ablaze. Inward and down she went, delving into the raging inferno burning in her core, trying to let only the barest of those flames free. She didn't want big flames, just little flickers, like the ones that danced so easily across her feathers when she took her phoenix form. She knew she'd gotten it when Harry huskily growled, "Mine." and crushed his lips to hers.

Oh yes, she thought triumphantly, I think I've found my version of, Ginevra.

"Bloody damn right you have."

"That Was Private!"

"Not my fault you weren't thinking silently."

"I'm not sure if I'm particularly fond of your growing ability to block me," she complained.

"So it's alright that you can block me but not the other way around?"

"Exactly!"

Harry paused in the exploration of her chin with his lips to stare into her eyes. "Gin."

"Hmm?"

"You're looking in the wrong spot."

"Harrrry!"

He silenced her with his lips on hers and over the ensuing few minutes managed to drive any thought but, "MORE!" from her , Ginny rolled off him to her back by his side. "You are seriously distracting," she grumbled. Well pleased with himself, Harry just smirked. "And wipe that smirk off your face, Potter."

"Whatever you say, Potter," he retorted. He rolled to his side and propped his head on his hand. Ginny turned to him and he reached to caress her cheek. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" She blushed but kept her eyes locked with his for some time before gently pushing him to his back and laying her head on his chest. Harry pressed a kiss to her crown. "Thank you again for trusting me to love you," he said.

She found his hand and wove their fingers together. "I love you, Harry." He sighed contentedly and with the warm sun shining through the trees above they soon drifted off to the blissful state of not quite sleeping but not really being awake either.

Sometime later Harry asked, "Love?"

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk to Dumbledore. You know that, right?"

"I'm trying not to think about it."

"I know we've had our issues, but I can't believe he just expected me to die."

"I don't want to think about it right now."

"I suppose it doesn't really matter though does it?"

"Harry, please, I've had too much for right now. I need some time just being as normal a teenager as I can before I go back to real life."

"Right, sorry."

"It's alright."

They fell silent again, though the ability to communicate silently meant they hadn't spoken aloud in well over an hour, before Harry ventured. "So is tutoring me in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes considered normal teenage activities?"

"Is normal defined as Hermione normal or Ron normal?"

"How about in the middle with maybe a slight lean towards Hermione?"

"You're really becoming an over-achiever, Harry."

"Actually, I'm thinking about the fact that if I don't test into those classes we are going to be in for a world of hurt when the door closes with you in the class and me still in the hall."

"Good point."

"So should we get started? Because even with you teaching me I have no idea how I'm going to manage this."

"Relax, Harry, I'm pretty sure this is going to be far easier than even I anticipated."

"Why do I get the feeling you know something I don't?"

Ginny giggled. "Probably because I do?"

"Care to enlighten me?"

"I'm sure if you think about it for a bit you'll get it."

Harry frowned. "You're as bad as Dumbledore and the Wraiths with your riddles you know."

"Mmm," Ginny answered. Harry sighed and tried to reason it out. Beside him, though he couldn't see it, he could certainly feel Ginny smiling. Saying that was taking a bit to get used to would of course be an understatement. Mind, he wasn't complaining; not really. He rather enjoyed being so closely connected to her. But even though, over the last six months, he'd shared everything about his life with Ginny. It had been done in his own time. He'd been able to confront aspects of what he shared with her in his own mind before doing so. Now, unless he actively withheld from her she knew the instant something was up. Maybe not exactly what it was, but there was never a moment for mulling something over by himself before going to her. And that wasn't easy, because raw emotions were just that, raw. They could hurt and cut before you knew it and you might not have the full story when you had them. And, as it had two nights ago, something as simple as trying to keep plans for someone's birthday from them could lead to a fight between them that left Charlie in a heap on the floor.

Adding in the constant need to touch had not helped things at all either. Not when that need had made itself known while they were both still livid with each other. Worse, was the fact that fighting as they had been seemed to have exacerbated the pain they felt when they didn't touch. Add to it that the pain didn't truly cease till they had begun talking and eventually let go of the hurt and anger they'd been feeling towards each other and a few more of the downsides to being Soul-Bonded had become apparent. No, they had both rather uncomfortably been brought to the understanding there would be little room for angry words or misunderstood grudges between them.

Sure, they were going to share the good, the joy, the love and compassion, hopes and dreams. But they were also going to get the bad. The fear, sorrow, confusion, hurt and jealousy, they were going to feel that from each other as well. Nothing would ever truly belong to either of them alone again. They were Soul-Bonded. In many ways a single being inhabiting two bodies. Everything about them really and truly was theirs.

"Our Time," Ginny said. "Our pain. Our joy..."

"Our knowledge?" Harry asked.

"I'm pretty sure."

"But how?"

"I think, like this."

Harry felt something he would describe as a mental tug and the next thing he knew he was in the familiar confines of Ginny's dreamscape. He gave his head a shake before focusing on her. "You are bloody brilliant, you know that, don't you?"

She smirked. "I'm a bloody cheat is what I am." She took his hand and pulled him along, leading him down a row of doors. "Here we go, Ancient Runes."

Harry eyed the two doors. "Yours first?" he asked.

Ginny considered. "I think maybe Tom's."

"Oh?"

"Well all my class experiences were colored by what I already knew from him. It might be hard to keep up if you don't have that base first."

Harry shrugged. "You're the teacher."

"That must make you Teacher's Pet then?" she teased.

Harry smirked. "I wonder what kind of detention you serve when you're Teacher's Pet?"

Ginny stepped close and pressed her lips to his. "That depends on how naughty you've been."

"How naughty would you like me to be, Professor Potter?"

"Now, not at all." She pushed him back. "Later, as wicked as you dare."

Harry gave himself a shake, trying to put her smoldering eyes out of his mind before he turned to the door again. "Later can't come soon enough."

"No, it can't," Ginny agreed before forcing her mind to the memory Tom had left of his very first class on Arithmancy. She opened the door and asked, "Shall we?"

"Hermione is going to hate me," Harry said and stepped through.

A short while later, Harry's eyes blinked open. "Can I just say, 'Ouch.'."

"Tell me about it," Ginny retorted.

"Maybe next time we stop after ten lessons instead of a full term?"

Ginny gently massaged her temples. "No objections here."

"We'll just figure how many we have to do each day to get through it before school starts again, yeah?"

"Harry."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Right, sorry."


HPHPHP


"Word is you're the best Seeker in Hogwarts' since … me."

Harry snapped out of his contemplation of the distant horizon to focus warily on the hulking beast of a human who had joined him. Charlie'd not said anything since the night Ginny kicked him in the bits, but his displeasure with those events as well as his continued displeasure regarding Harry and Ginny's sleeping arrangements had been readily apparent. The rest of the family assured him it was nothing to be concerned about but Harry wasn't so sure. He wasn't going to go looking for a fight, but just like that night, he wasn't going to back down if one came either. Magically, Harry was quite confident in his chances against Charlie. But physically, he was all but certain if Charlie were to put him in a headlock he could pop his head like an overlarge zit. Let's just say, it gave a person cause for concern. And some of the looks Charlie had given him the past week; Harry was convinced the second eldest of the Weasley boys was trying to decide if he could get away with it. He stared at Charlie for a few moments, but, as Harry had been a few moments ago, Charlie just floated on his broom staring off into the distance. Harry returned his gaze to the horizon. "I'm not sure the best Seeker in Hogwarts' isn't still back in the loo just yet." He felt Charlie glance at him.

"She that good?"

"Can't beat her if she's on the better broom."

Charlie grunted. "Never did like beating someone who had a worse broom than me. Course, that wasn't very often the case."

Harry glanced at Charlie's broom, surprised to see it, like his, was a Firebolt. "Does seem a bit unfair sometimes," he agreed.

Charlie must have noticed him checking the broom out. "Perk of the job," he said. "Can't very well tell the world you did everything you could to protect your Dragon Handlers when one of them gets eaten if he wasn't on the best broom available."

Harry stared at him for a few seconds before replying, "Well you certainly meet the criteria for being a Seeker."

"Oh?" Charlie asked.

"You're certifiable."

Charlie smirked. "Says the bloke married to my sister."

Harry cocked his head. Was this an attempt to make nice? "Well, ya know, she did bring me back from the dead and all. What bloke could say no to that?"

Charlie chuckled and pulled a snitch from his pocket. "Fancy a go?"

That was it; a week of cold shoulders, death glares, nearly coming to blows and suddenly it was all over? Harry gave his head a little shake, his look of disbelief slowly changing to what could possibly be described as lust as he focused on the little golden winged ball. Apparently Charlie was a bigger, scarier version of Ron. Even the language of reconciliation was the same. You just needed a good fly. Better yet, some quidditch. He locked eyes with Charlie. "Rules?"

Charlie's grin tuned predatory. "Get the snitch or die trying?"

Harry returned the look. "Perfect."


Ginny grabbed her jumper from the bed and stilled. The steady feeling of contentment coming from Harry had suddenly spiked into a very heightened feeling of wariness. "Harry," she asked, "are you ok?"

"For the moment."

"For the moment? What's going on?" She climbed out her window and mounted her broom.

"Charlie's here."

It was a half second of considering that news before she leaned low on her broom and demanded, "Let me hear!" She made it to the edge of the pitch just as Charlie pulled the snitch from his pocket and asked Harry if he wanted a game. If Ginny'd been plummeting to the earth it would have appeared an admirable Wronskie Feint as she slammed on the brakes and reversed course for the house. Racing up she leapt off her broom into a dead run up the steps and burst through the door to the parlour. "Harry and Charlie are gonna seek!" she blurted. When everyone just stared at her she shouted, "WELL COME ON!" And that's all it took as everyone surged to their feet. Well, nearly everyone that is.

"Seek?" Hermione's mum asked as Ginny was remounting her broom.

Hermione gave a long-suffering sigh. "It's just quidditch mum."

Ginny laughed as she heard Ron's retort. "Hermione, nothing is just quidditch!"

"Hurry!" Fred said.

"Between the two of them –" George said.

"– it might be over before we get there," Bill finished.


Harry skewed sideways and righted himself. Charlie had kicked the tail end of his broom as he overtook him, nearly sending him into the support pole of the makeshift hoop. He flattened down on his broom and quickly caught up to his adversary. "Big boys, Potter," Charlie taunted. "Before I decided I was gonna go to the reserves I spent a month in camp with the Falcons; learned more than I did in six years of seeking at school." Harry rolled to his left, driving his broom down and around, coming up inside of Charlie as he followed the snitch around to the right. "Bloody Hell!" Charlie exclaimed as Harry flew through his hand to prevent him snagging the snitch.

"Bet the Falcons didn't teach you that one," Harry shouted as he left Charlie behind. Back and forth it went as each combatant gained and lost the upper hand.

Sometime, bruised ribs, loose tooth and what he was fairly certain was a broken nose, later Harry was having more fun on the pitch than he'd had in, well, probably ever. Rough play was part of the game. He accepted it and dished as well as anyone he'd ever flown against. He'd given Ginny a black eye during practice once. He'd do it again if needed to beat her. But he was a bloke. And if being reluctant to play rough against a female opponent made him a chauvinistic pig, then that's what he was. But against another bloke, one as good as Charlie, who was twice his size to boot, well let it rain bludgers and hand him a Beater's bat, he had no qualms about knocking a tooth or two out while beating him to the snitch. The blood Charlie was regularly spitting indicated Harry probably had.

Harry let out a loud WHOOP as the snitch plunged to the ground and he plummeted after it. Charlie was a half tick slower in following and Harry was certain it was going to be enough to give him the snitch this time. He was just stretching for the golden winged ball when it hit; a tsunami of pain suddenly overwhelming the adrenalin that had been holding it at bay.


Lucky for Harry, and one would ssurmise Ginny too, Hermione was not a quidditch fanatic. She enjoyed the game well enough, and loved the passion Ron held for it. But fanatic, she wasn't and because of that, as the match between Harry and Charlie had gone on, she'd become increasingly concerned. At first she wasn't certain why, but once she'd twigged to her sense of unease the reason had come to her quick enough. They'd been at it for near an hour at least; an hour that Harry and Ginny had gone without touching. Of course being the ever-curious observer she was, it then became a rather intriguing question. They were both distracted, highly invested in something outside of their Bond for probably the first time since the Bond had formed. For how long would the distraction be enough and when it no longer was, what would it look like? Probably, it wouldn't look good, she decided.

"Bill," she nudged him.

"S'up?" he asked, not taking his eyes off that aerial battle above.

"They haven't touched," she hissed. Bill frowned, something tickling at the back of his mind. He glanced at Hermione. "Harry and Ginny," she said. "It's been at least an hour since they touched."

Bill's head snapped to Ginny just as she crumpled to the ground. In one motion his wand was out. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" he thundered. His knees buckled as the force of stopping Harry's plunge to the ground backwashed against the spell but he held it enough that Harry only impacted with the force of having fallen out of bed. It had all happened so quickly and Harry had been in the midst of a dive to begin with, that no one realized he'd passed out till he actually hit the ground and didn't move.

Charlie landed next to Harry. "What the hell?" he asked.

Bill stalked to Charlie. "YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" he bellowed. Hermione summoned Harry and deposited him next to Ginny, placing his hand on hers. Bill reached Charlie and flat out jacked him across the jaw. "Did you think they were just making it up?"

"BILL!" Molly, Arthur and Fleur shouted.

Charlie spun half way around, his knees nearly buckling before he caught himself bent over double with his hands braced on his knees. He shook his head a couple times to clear it before straightening and turning to face Bill again. "Bro, you better hope you got a real good reason for that, cause you aint as big as you were the last time we went at it."

Bill stepped right up into his face. "That aint even half what I've got arsehole." Charlie shoved him and ducked under the punch Bill threw.

The spells came fast and furious, ricocheting in a dozen different directions as the pairs' wards deflected them. "Shite!" Fred exclaimed. He, George and Ron bolted forward and grabbed Bill by the arms, hauling him back while Remus, Arthur and Sirius grabbed Charlie.

"LET ME GO!" Bill bellowed.

"Not a chance," Fred said as George, Ron and Hermione's dad joined in wrestling him to the ground.

Sirius wrenched Charlie's arm behind his back. "Knock it off right now, son," Arthur warned.

"I Didn't Do Anything!"

"You bloody near killed them trying to prove they don't need to sleep together!" Bill shouted.

"Da Fuck'r you on about?"

"ENOUGH!" Molly shrieked. Dead silence filled the air. "You," she pointed at Charlie, "Sit your butt down. Now!"

Funnily enough, he did so almost instantly. "Yes, mum."

She turned to Bill and the others. "Let him up." Just as quickly as Charlie had complied Ron, Fred and George let Bill go and backed away as he pushed himself to his knees.

Hermione's father stayed between him and Charlie. "The two of you'd better stay where you are," he said in a low voice, "because I promise you, when it comes to hand to hand combat I can whip both your arses with one hand tied behind my back."

"Thank you, David," Molly said. "But I think things are under control again … Aren't they boys."

"Ask him," Charlie retorted, waving his hand at Bill.

"Depends on whether I'm right or wrong," Bill growled.

"About what you arse?"

"Charles!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Sorry mum."

She glowered at him and Bill in turn. "Well go on then," Bill waved his hand disgustedly.

Molly pursed her lips angrily before turning to Charlie. "Were you trying to prove Harry and Ginny were faking their need to touch by creating something that would distract them from keeping their act up?" Charlie stared at her for a few seconds before his head snapped to Harry and Ginny.

"Please tell me you didn't," Ginny said, her voice trembling.

It was about two seconds before he was on his feet and hauling her clean off the ground. "God no," he gasped as he crushed her against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, cradling her head under his chin with his hand. "I could never … There's just no …" he faltered. Setting her down he held her by the shoulders at arm's length. "I watched you die." He shook her. "Do you understand that …? You died, Ginny." He pulled her tight cradling her head under his chin again. "All I could do was watch while you were murdered," he whispered. Tears slid down his cheeks as he kissed her crown again. "And mum … I held mum when she thought you were dead," he nearly whimpered.

It was a minute of subdued silence before Ginny gently pushed back from him. She reached up and wiped the tears from his face. "You were trying to make nice," she said tremulously.

He nodded, shooting a look at Harry. "Look, I like you, Potter. Always have. It's just, I'm only getting to the point I don't wanna kill those three idiots," he waved his hand in the direction of Ron and the twins, "for not seeing something was wrong her first year. Then that shit happened at the station and I couldn't do shit about it. So I've been mad about a lot of things and been a right git about some of it. But it's Ginny, yeah? And she's special and it just takes a bit to get used to, ya know? So here's the deal. You and me, I get it now. Unless Ginny tells me different, we're good." He held his hand out. "Fair enough?"

Harry took his hand. "Fair enough, Weasley."

Ginny was having none of it though and grabbed them both in her arms. "I told you he just needed to be an idiot for a while then he'd come around."

Harry chuckled. "Well sorry if the thought that he could pop my head like a zit was a bit concerning to me."

Charlie laughed. "Believe me, I considered it."

"SEE!" Harry exclaimed.

Ginny rolled her eyes and let them go, settling into Harry's loose embrace as they turned to the rest of the group.

Bill stuck his hand out to Charlie. "Sorry, bro. But it's Ginny, yeah?"

Charlie laughed and lopped his arm around Bill's shoulder. "Mate, if I'd thought you did that to her on purpose I wouldn't have stopped hitting you till you were unconscious."


HPHPHP


Author's note:

Conclusion: She really is a bit of a Cheat.

As always, thank you to all my readers. And a special thank you to those who have reviewed. I do appreciate hearing from you.

Sorcerer's Muse