Chapter 10: First Date
The next day, Madam Pomfrey managed to track down Harry. She lectured him for a whole fifteen minutes about why students shouldn't leave the Hospital Wing without the matron's permission. She was so angry and annoyed at Harry that she forgot to ask him what had caused his injuries in the first place, not that Harry was complaining. He was just glad that he didn't have to spout some lie to her.
For the next month, nothing but a wide smile could be seen on Harry's face, which was quite a change from last year. He and Ginny had decided to keep their relationship a secret because Harry didn't want anyone bothering them, and he wasn't sure how Ron would react. They had managed to keep their relationship a secret for a whole five days before they were caught kissing in a dark alcove. Neither Harry nor Ginny minded too much about their secret being revealed and actually ended up thanking the person who had caught them in the act and revealed their secret, which turned out to be Colin Creevey, as it had taken a huge burden off of them. Colin had also taken a beautiful picture of Harry and Ginny kissing, which Ginny had stolen from Colin. Harry was especially glad that he and Ginny could now cuddle up together in the Common Room instead of having to find someplace secret. They were still using the Room of Requirement a lot as a place to snog and talk but it was nice to know that they didn't have to hide their relationship from everyone anymore. The couple were pretty much inseparable these days and Harry began to wonder how he had ever lived without her.
Ron had taken the news of Harry and Ginny's relationship surprisingly well, which pleased Harry a lot. Ron and Hermione had then told Harry that they were together, which he already pretty much knew. Harry supposed this was the reason why Ron had not said a bad word him being Ginny's new boyfriend. Nevertheless, he congratulated them while teasing them every so often. Ron and Hermione gradually spent more and more time with Harry after their confession and it was almost back to normal for the trio.
There had also been two more Death Eater attacks; however they had been relatively small in comparison to the one in Hogsmeade. Harry had managed to help stop both of the attacks and only suffered some minor cuts in the process, which Ginny had been able to heal quickly. Remus informed Harry that the Order believed Voldemort would take longer to plan before attacking next time. Remus had also told him that Dumbledore was trying to find out the identity of the Order's new 'helper' and then proceeded to warn him to take extra care in covering his tracks to prevent Dumbledore from finding out.
Speaking of Dumbledore, the Headmaster had recently requested that Harry attend weekly lessons in his office. At first Harry had thought that Dumbledore would be teaching him some advanced defensive magic that might help him defeat Voldemort. Oh, how wrong he was. It seemed that the old man would rather teach him about Voldemort's past than train him. Harry was slightly angry about this but went along with Dumbledore's little plan anyway.
As the month of December came around, two big announcements were posted in each common room. The first was received badly by the students of Hogwarts. Students in 5th year and above would have to take exams before the Christmas holidays. If any students gained a grade lower than 'Acceptable' in any of their exams, they would be forced to attend support sessions for that subject. Apparently the professors were worried that the upper years were not taking their studies seriously enough. However, the second announcement was much better. The exams would finish on Friday 18th December and students would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade on the two days after the end of their exams. The train journey to go back home for Christmas would be on Monday 21st December. When Harry saw this announcement he immediately began to make plans for what he and Ginny would do during the Hogsmeade visits. He formed an idea and spent the next few days trying to set up everything he would need to execute his plan. Harry even had to fly to Gringotts in his Animagus form on one day to exchange some of his galleons into Muggle pounds as this was necessary for his plan.
On the morning of Saturday 19th December, Harry woke up feeling excited for the day ahead. He had been planning this day for a long time. Harry showered and changed into his best casual outfit before spraying himself with a touch of cologne. He then proceeded to walk down to the Common Room to wait for his girlfriend. The Common Room was an absolute mess. Last night, some of the older students in Gryffindor had taken it upon themselves to throw a massive party to celebrate the end of their Christmas exams. Harry and Ginny had snuck off for some alone time in the Room of Requirement and had only got back to the Common Room by the time the party was winding down. Broken butterbeer and firewhiskey bottles littered the floor and Harry presumed that the House-Elves hadn't had the chance to clean up yet. Shaking his head at the mess before him, Harry decided to sit down on one of the cleaner armchairs while he waited for Ginny to come down.
A few minutes later, Harry heard footsteps coming down the girls' staircase and he somehow just knew that it was his girl. As she came into sight, Harry literally stopped breathing. Ginny was wearing an incredibly sexy blue woollen jumper that left her shoulders bare. Her luscious hair looked as perfect as ever, flowing down her back. She also wore a pair of black denim jeans, which seemed innocent enough but they perfectly outlined her amazing figure. Even her unique intoxicating flowery scent seemed to have become stronger. 'She's absolutely perfect,' thought Harry as he continued to stare at her. It was only a greeting kiss from Ginny that shook Harry out of his stupor.
"Good morning love," said Ginny with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Gin, you look utterly fantastic." Ginny blushed in response to this comment and suddenly Harry couldn't control himself any longer. He began kissing her bare shoulders before moving up to her neck, which elicited moans of pleasure from Ginny. The red-haired girl then dragged Harry's head up, meeting his lips with her own. They stayed that way for a few minutes, lost in each other, before Harry remembered his plans for today and reluctantly pulled away. He was mildly surprised to see that his hands were in a rather intimate position underneath Ginny's jumper, while her hands were under his shirt, running up and down his muscular chest. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and dragged her down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast before they made their way to the front gates.
As Harry walked to Hogsmeade with his girlfriend, he couldn't help but notice the differences between his current relationship and his former relationship with Cho. The walk down to Hogsmeade with Cho last year had been awkward and boring, while whenever Harry was with Ginny he felt comfortable and there was certainly never a boring moment with her. 'She's just perfect for me.' Harry smiled at this thought and began to pick up the pace of his walking, wanting to get into Hogsmeade quickly.
When the couple finally reached Hogsmeade, Ginny turned to her boyfriend. She took a moment to admire how perfect he looked in that tight shirt. His green eyes turned towards her and her legs suddenly felt like jelly. Those eyes always had that effect on her.
"So what are we doing today?" asked Ginny after she recollected herself. She noticed Harry nervously gulping which intrigued her.
"Let's walk to the Shrieking Shack and I'll tell you there," responded Harry. Ginny nodded, her curiosity piqued, and set off after her boyfriend.
Harry and Ginny reached the Shrieking Shack within minutes and Ginny turned to Harry expectantly. At this point, Harry started to doubt himself. 'What if she doesn't like my plans? Only one way to find out,' Harry thought grimly. He gathered all his Gryffindor courage and faced Ginny.
"Well Gin this is pretty much our first date so I wanted to make it special. I want to take you shopping in Muggle London," said Harry nervously. Ginny started to smile, which calmed Harry's nerves considerably.
"That's a great idea Harry but how are we going to get there?" In response, Harry pulled out one of his old socks from his back pocket. Ginny looked confused for a moment before realisation dawned on her face.
"You didn't? That's illegal. How do you even know how to make a Portkey?"
"That's for me to know and you to wonder about." Harry threw a cheeky wink at Ginny, who scowled in return. He had of course learned how to make a Portkey from Sirius' journal.
"Portus," whispered Harry while pointing his wand at the sock and thinking hard about his destination. The sock glowed faint blue for a moment before returning to normal. Harry urged Ginny to hold on to the sock before grabbing on himself. Within ten seconds, Harry and Ginny were inside the Leaky Cauldron, which was empty. Harry led Ginny out into Muggle London and made his way to the nearest Underground station, which was Leicester Square Station. Harry briefly knew how the Tube worked from his time with his relatives but he was no expert and it took him a while to figure everything out. Ginny was amazed with how the Underground station worked and took an interest when Harry ordered their tickets. The young couple boarded the Tube train hand in hand and Harry was pleased with how much Ginny enjoyed the ride. Harry had specifically selected the Tube as transport as he knew it would be the most fun for his girlfriend. Harry had to check the map several times to make sure he got off at the right stop. At last, the right stop arrived and Harry left, still holding hands with Ginny. He consulted a map in the station for a few minutes before leading Ginny to their destination: Westfield Shopping Centre. Harry only knew about this shopping centre because his Aunt Petunia had taken him and Dudley here once when they were younger. Of course she hadn't actually brought anything for Harry, but he still remembered being awed by the sheer size of the shopping centre.
When Harry led Ginny into the shopping centre, he had to try incredibly hard to hold his laughter in. Ginny was trying to look at all the different shops at once and she ended up pirouetting several times. Her normally calm demeanour was nowhere to be seen and she was incredibly excited to go to all the shops. When Ginny caught sight of Harry trying not to laugh she playfully glared at him.
"Sorry love," whispered Harry with a wink. He then took her hand and dragged her to the shops. At first Ginny was reluctant to spend Harry's money, but he managed to persuade her to buy anything she wanted and soon Harry was spending his pounds left, right and centre. Ginny picked up new clothes and makeup as well as a set of stunning earrings. She also brought many Muggle sweets, which she had really taken a liking to. Ginny even selected loads of clothes for Harry and made him model them for her. They ate burgers and chips for lunch before Harry dragged Ginny into a cinema where he let Ginny choose a film for them to watch. She wasn't sure what a film was but chose a romantic one, much to Harry's disgust. However, Harry actually enjoyed the film, although not nearly as much as Ginny, who was positively gushing about the film by the end.
By the time the couple left the cinema, it was close to four o'clock and Harry knew that they had to get back to Hogsmeade. He made another Portkey that took them back to the Shrieking Shack and they reached the Hogwarts gates at exactly quarter past four. Ginny then dragged Harry off to the Room of Requirement to intimately thank him for what she described as "the best first date ever."