Told you guys that it would start picking back up for a little bit!
Disclaimer: Most certainly not mine. Talk to Joanne if you have questions. I've just.borrowed her characters for a little while!
Chapter Ten
The school was nearly silent, for it was as silent as Hogwarts would ever be. Owls hooted softly into the night, Peeves roamed the halls, and Mrs. Norris let out a few small mews, but other than that, it was perfectly silent to the ear. Students were peacefully at rest before their first day of classes.
Except for one girl in Gryffindor's sixth year dormitory.
Ginny Weasley had gone to sleep rather early, her friend Dakota had noted before she herself had turned in, and to say that her sleep was peaceful would be saying exactly the opposite of what it actually was. The young woman was in bed, yes, but she slept restlessly and tossed and turned.
The long red hair stretched across the pillow, moving only when she turned her head, which was currently every few moments. Her face carried a pained look, and a small murmer escaped her lips.
She was dressed up in gorgeous robes for the ball. She could that her hair was exquisitely done on top of her head in an up-do that let a few curls fall loose around her face and neck. She felt rather than saw the robes that she was wearing, because the satin and silk was soft against her skin. She smoothed out the skirt of the robes as she stood from the chair, and she looked around for a mirror. Seeing one across the room, she picked up the skirt of her robes so it wouldn't brush along the ground behind her. Suddenly she felt the weight of a ring on her left hand as the rich material brushed against it, but she didn't have the chance to look at it.
Tom Riddle had suddenly appeared before her. The teenaged Tom Riddle, not Voldemort, although this one scared her just as much as the other would have. Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar dark haired boy smiled evilly at her.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" her voice sounded different. It was frantic, almost, and it was obvious that she was scared.
Tom didn't answer. Instead, he began to walk around her in a circle, muttering to himself a few times. She could only make out a few words. "Seventh year .broke.gone.here."
She was starting to become more angry than scared. Seeing Tom in a daze like this.something wasn't right. She couldn't quite place it exactly, and it took her a moment to figure it out.
He was holding a wand, but his hands were bloody. Red drops fell from his fingertips and were absorbed into the carpet of the dormitory as he walked, and she could see that he was in some kind of shock about something. A shudder ran up and down her spine as more and more blood fell from his hands, and her eyes spied his wand sticking out of the back pocket of his trousers. It, too, for some reason, was bloody and dripping.
Tom suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her, a menacing look in his eyes, already slanted as if an advance on what he would become later on in his life. She met his gaze almost defiantly, though she was still scared of why he was bloody. A wizard had no reason to be bloody.
"What happened?" Her voice was softer now, almost as if she was hesitant to ask. And she was, but she had to.
His eyes narrowed even more, if that was actually possible, and he sneered. "Let's just say that the seventh year boys dorm is no longer."
She couldn't move after she heard those words. Was no longer? That meant.that meant that.No. No, it couldn't be. Her legs were seemingly glued to the floor, and though she willed them to move with all of her strength, she couldn't. She let out a frustrated cry minutes later when it was obvious that something was impeding her movement. She looked up from her feet to see a wand aimed at her, and though she didn't hear the words, she did see the green flash of light.
Ginny's eyes popped open at that, and she gasped for air. Sitting up, the freezing air hit her from all sides. A small hand went to wipe her hair out of her face, and she found sweat on her forehead and damp hair. Regardless, she was freezing, and the only thing that she could think of was to get near the fire in the Common Room to warm up. She slid out of bed, shivering, and found her slippers. Slipping them on, she grabbed her light dressing gown and slid it on over her shorts and camisole. It added some warmth, but not much. She silently made her way down the stairs to the Common Room, and was relieved to find the fire still blazing upon her entrance. She shivered again, her teeth almost chattering now. The visions from her dream were starting to come back to her now, and those were at fault for the shivering just as much as was the fact that she was cold. She slid around an armchair, and stopped abruptly when she saw someone else sitting on the couch.
It was undoubtedly Harry. His now strong physique was so easy for her to distinguish, and she couldn't help but stop in her tracks at the sight of him, though she still shivered. Still wearing the clothing from the day, it was obvious that he hadn't been up to bed yet. His robes were now lying next to him on the sofa, and his strong arms showed through the short sleeved shirt that he wore. He looked pensively at the fire, his brow furrowed in deep concentration, and it wasn't until Ginny moved to slip a strand of hair behind her ears that he even noticed her there at all.
His head turned towards her in surprise, and once he saw the state that she was in, he shot up to his feet. "Merlin, Gin, you're shaking," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement, but she nodded anyways, still not moving. He moved closer to her and noticed that her teeth were chattering also, and saw the look in her eyes. She looked as if she was in a daze, almost, as if she was somewhere else and not aware what her body was doing. He led her to the couch and she automatically sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. She buried her face in her hands that were resting on her legs, and she felt Harry's robes come around her shoulders. Instant warmth flowed through her back where it touched, and the scent that she identified as strictly Harry filled her nose. She lifted her head and looked at the fire silently.
"It was another one, wasn't it," he said. Like before, it wasn't a question, but rather a statement. He knew what it felt like to have nightmares; what he didn't understand was why Ginny was having them now, and not him.
Ginny nodded an answer, and Harry sighed and closed his own eyes when he saw hers begin to well up with tears as more memories of the dream came back to her. He hated seeing anyone in this state, and the fact that it was Ginny just made it worse for him. It was someone that he actually cared about.
He slid closer to her on the couch and slipped his arm around her back. She instantly leaned into him, and he brought her closer. More tears escaped her eyes, but he somehow made it better, almost. Just his presence was healing to her.
"It was Tom this time," she said, almost in a whisper. "There was a girl, I think it was me, who was ready for a ball.he appeared, out of nowhere, just like first year." She had to stop there, because the memories came back full force now. Though it hadn't been that awful of a dream compared to some that she had had before, she was in shock from seeing Tom up close and personal again.
Harry didn't quite know what to do, so instead he did what came naturally. He ran his hand up and down her arm in somewhat of a calming fashion, and leaned the side of his head against hers silently, waiting for her to go on. She continued. "He was all bloody for some reason, Harry. His hands were dripping blood, and he said something about having destroyed the seventh year dorm."
She was no longer crying, just leaning into Harry's side for comfort now. "Damnit, Harry, why am I having these dreams?" she whispered to him. "Why me?"
She felt him shake his head. "I don't know, Gin."
They sat in silence for a few minutes longer, and Ginny was just starting to get comfortable with where she was sitting when a rather loud bang interrupted it.
There was the book that they had received at Flourish and Blotts, the day that they had picked up their school supplies.
* *
Prophecies Within Legacies: The Predictions was sitting on the coffee table, having somehow come down the stairs. Harry and Ginny sat for a moment in silence, then they turned and looked at one another, and then they turned and looked back at the book again in disbelief. The faded cover was dark even in the light of the fire, and Harry hesitantly reached out and picked it up. He brought it closer to inspect, and he flipped it open.
There were many pages, but the strangest thing was that they were blank. Harry flipped quickly through the book, and then went back to the beginning to see if he was sure. He was flipping the pages quickly again, but one by one now.
Ginny stopped him at one of the pages. "I think I saw something, go back a little," she said softly. Harry complied, and went back a few pages. There were faint outlines of words on the page, and they both squinted to see the words. Harry stood up abruptly and walked closer to the firelight, Ginny following him quickly.
The words only covered part of the page, and they were very faint, as if someone had tried to go back and erase the ink. Ginny, having the better eyesight of the two, saw the words first. She reached out and stilled Harry's hands as he was trying to situate the book so he himself could read it.
She cleared her throat a little bit before she spoke the words on the page.
"The boy who survives a trial as a child Will learn of his family legacy The year that he gains his full power. He will know of his strength only when He finds she of whom his heart desires. The two are destined to be lovers; One created for the other. Innocent will they both be Until in the arms of one another."
She spoke the words quietly and quickly, and their meanings didn't come into play until after she had already spoken them. Realization struck her, and suddenly her hands that were holding Harry's started to tingle. She raised her head and looked into his eyes.
His expression mirrored hers; it was one of shock and realization. His breathing deepened a little, and he was letting out a slow breath when she looked up at him. The firelight made his glasses gleam, and she saw him close his eyes beneath them. She felt his hands grip the book harder, and she suddenly realized how very close they were standing.
Once again, it was Harry who spoke first while he opened his eyes to look back into hers. "What do you suppose this means?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I.I don't know," she answered, taking the book from his hands and looking closer at the letters. They had somehow gotten darker. She lowered her eyebrows in question and looked up at Harry, who had noticed it also. "And it looks like there is an outline of more," she murmured. It was true. She could see something like a shadow on the page, making it look as if there was more to the stanza. They stared at the book for a few moments longer before Ginny snapped it shut and leaned down to set it on the table.
"I am so confused," she said softly. Harry couldn't help but agree.something didn't make sense, and what confused him most of all at the moment were the words that Ginny had seen on the page and read aloud. It was plainly obvious that it was about him.about the boy who survives as a child.who else could it really be about? It was what Ginny's involvement meant in all of this that confused him, too.
It took a moment for Ginny to realize that they were still standing closely together, her hands over his. The meaning of the words were starting to repeat in her mind, and she couldn't help but think, 'Am I the one it was talking about?'. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Harry's cologne, and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. It had been an odd night, that much was for sure.
Harry's hands slipped away from her own and wrapped around her back. She felt him lock his arms protectively around her, and they stood in silence after she wrapped her own arms behind his back. Her eyes had fluttered open awhile ago, but still they stood in the light from the fire. Both of them were running the almost poem through their minds as they tried to figure out what it meant, and it took Ginny a moment to realize that Harry had started to pull his head away. She instinctively lifted her head and turned it up towards him to see if he would say something.
She didn't expect him to slightly tilt his head and lower his lips to her forehead. He kissed her temple and she smiled gently. She turned her face up even more, and he leaned his forehead against hers. The look in his eyes was unmistakable; even Ginny, at sixteen, had been around guys enough to know that that kind of look came from a man who wanted to be thoroughly kissed. Knowing that her own eyes were most likely mirroring the gesture, Ginny's nose slid to the side of his, and her face tilted at the lightest of angles. She began to lean into him, and he into her. His arms tightened around her back, and Ginny could just feel the warmth radiating off of his face as it slowly neared hers. One of her hands slid into his hair in preparation to bring his lips down to hers sooner rather than later, at the rate they were going at.
But a voice coming from the boys' staircase stopped them dead in their tracks. "Harry? That you, mate?"
Ginny instantly pulled away from Harry, her mind frazzled, as her older brother walked into the room. Ron looked around the room to see who was there, and surprise showed on his face when he registered it was his only sister. "Is everything alright?" he asked.
Ginny opened her mouth to answer, but Harry beat her to it. "Nothing's wrong, Ron. Neither of us could sleep, and we were just keeping each other company," he said, sitting back down on the couch. Ron curiously eyed Ginny and she felt her cheeks darken as she realized that she still had Harry's robes over her dressing gown. Ron overlooked it, however, probably in sleepiness, and turned back to the staircase with a yawn.
"Well, I'm off to bed again then. Thought I heard a loud bang.like a book being dropped or something," he said on his way up the staircase. "G'night." A loud yawn resounded throughout the Common Room as his footsteps became fainter, and they heard the curtain to the boys' dormitory open and shut as he went back to bed.
Not knowing what to do, Ginny turned and looked at Harry. He was still standing by the fireplace in the place where they had both been just moments ago, and Ginny felt her face flush when she realized exactly what had been going on and what was going to happen. 'Damnit, Ron, you have impeccable timing,' she thought wryly as she neared the stairway to the girls' dormitories.
She stopped abruptly and turned around. She didn't want to just.leave Harry after what they were about to do before. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized that Harry was right behind her. He wasted no time in drawing her close to him this time; his arms went around her and held her there protectively, one arm above the other. Her own arms wrapped around him, and once again he rested his forehead against hers. She saw his eyes close slowly as he just stood there, holding her. "I don't know what this means, Gin," he said hoarsely. The rumble of his deeper voice made something in Ginny's stomach flutter, and she nodded slowly. Somehow, she understood the underlying meaning of his words.
Harry was just as clueless about the situation as she was. Not just about the.whatever it was, the poem, but about them. She'd known for awhile that her feelings had evolved for him, but she hadn't been sure about his. Given the events of the day, though, she now had a pretty good feeling about what he felt towards her.
They stood there for a moment in silence, before neither one of them could take it anymore. Ginny was breathing heavier than usual in anticipation of what she knew was to come, and then she didn't have to wait any longer. Harry Potter leaned down to her just as she leaned into him, and his lips caught hers in an exquisite embrace that neither one of them thought would be quite so electric.
* *
If the fire was warm, then the kiss that was occurring between the two Gryffindors was sizzling. No thoughts except for those that had to do with Harry crossed through Ginny's mind. The nightmare, the book, everything else that had happened left her mind, and all of her senses were attuned to him. Once her eyes had fluttered shut, one of her hands had found its way to his hair again, and he pulled her to him as much as he could. The kiss progressed quickly, a sign of what the two of them were feeling, and Ginny quivered when Harry tilted his head at more of an angle to deepen the contact. A moan escaped lips, and Ginny honestly wasn't sure if it was her or Harry that made the throaty growl.
Ginny gasped when she felt her back hit the stone wall of the stairway, and it brought a new feeling altogether when Harry pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the wall with his muscular body. Ginny's other hand crept its way up to the back of Harry's neck, and his hands found their way to her hips. Holding her in place against the wall, Harry pressed even more against her. This time, Ginny knew it was her that moaned when she felt the full body contact.
Gradually, the kiss lessoned until they slowly pulled apart. When she opened her eyes, she was met with a flash of deep, swirling green, and his lips pressed against her lips again quickly. "Good night, Gin," he said against her lips, and he pulled away from her completely. His arms pulled his robe close to her as he removed them from her hips, and Ginny fought back a moan at the loss of contact with him.
"Good night, Harry," she whispered to him as he continued to hold her gaze. She watched as he backed away towards the boys' staircase, and went up the stairs before turning and going up to her own dormitory.
The mirror in her room made a knowing "Mmm hmm," when Ginny looked into it as she passed by it on her way to her bed. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were still dark pink from the deep contact they had held with Harry's just moments before. Turning, she climbed back into her bed and settled into the pillows, pulling Harry's robes close around her instead of the covers. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent that was just.Harry. She fell asleep quickly, her mind on the events of moments before instead of the nightmares that had woken her up before.
Disclaimer: Most certainly not mine. Talk to Joanne if you have questions. I've just.borrowed her characters for a little while!
Chapter Ten
The school was nearly silent, for it was as silent as Hogwarts would ever be. Owls hooted softly into the night, Peeves roamed the halls, and Mrs. Norris let out a few small mews, but other than that, it was perfectly silent to the ear. Students were peacefully at rest before their first day of classes.
Except for one girl in Gryffindor's sixth year dormitory.
Ginny Weasley had gone to sleep rather early, her friend Dakota had noted before she herself had turned in, and to say that her sleep was peaceful would be saying exactly the opposite of what it actually was. The young woman was in bed, yes, but she slept restlessly and tossed and turned.
The long red hair stretched across the pillow, moving only when she turned her head, which was currently every few moments. Her face carried a pained look, and a small murmer escaped her lips.
She was dressed up in gorgeous robes for the ball. She could that her hair was exquisitely done on top of her head in an up-do that let a few curls fall loose around her face and neck. She felt rather than saw the robes that she was wearing, because the satin and silk was soft against her skin. She smoothed out the skirt of the robes as she stood from the chair, and she looked around for a mirror. Seeing one across the room, she picked up the skirt of her robes so it wouldn't brush along the ground behind her. Suddenly she felt the weight of a ring on her left hand as the rich material brushed against it, but she didn't have the chance to look at it.
Tom Riddle had suddenly appeared before her. The teenaged Tom Riddle, not Voldemort, although this one scared her just as much as the other would have. Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar dark haired boy smiled evilly at her.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" her voice sounded different. It was frantic, almost, and it was obvious that she was scared.
Tom didn't answer. Instead, he began to walk around her in a circle, muttering to himself a few times. She could only make out a few words. "Seventh year .broke.gone.here."
She was starting to become more angry than scared. Seeing Tom in a daze like this.something wasn't right. She couldn't quite place it exactly, and it took her a moment to figure it out.
He was holding a wand, but his hands were bloody. Red drops fell from his fingertips and were absorbed into the carpet of the dormitory as he walked, and she could see that he was in some kind of shock about something. A shudder ran up and down her spine as more and more blood fell from his hands, and her eyes spied his wand sticking out of the back pocket of his trousers. It, too, for some reason, was bloody and dripping.
Tom suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her, a menacing look in his eyes, already slanted as if an advance on what he would become later on in his life. She met his gaze almost defiantly, though she was still scared of why he was bloody. A wizard had no reason to be bloody.
"What happened?" Her voice was softer now, almost as if she was hesitant to ask. And she was, but she had to.
His eyes narrowed even more, if that was actually possible, and he sneered. "Let's just say that the seventh year boys dorm is no longer."
She couldn't move after she heard those words. Was no longer? That meant.that meant that.No. No, it couldn't be. Her legs were seemingly glued to the floor, and though she willed them to move with all of her strength, she couldn't. She let out a frustrated cry minutes later when it was obvious that something was impeding her movement. She looked up from her feet to see a wand aimed at her, and though she didn't hear the words, she did see the green flash of light.
Ginny's eyes popped open at that, and she gasped for air. Sitting up, the freezing air hit her from all sides. A small hand went to wipe her hair out of her face, and she found sweat on her forehead and damp hair. Regardless, she was freezing, and the only thing that she could think of was to get near the fire in the Common Room to warm up. She slid out of bed, shivering, and found her slippers. Slipping them on, she grabbed her light dressing gown and slid it on over her shorts and camisole. It added some warmth, but not much. She silently made her way down the stairs to the Common Room, and was relieved to find the fire still blazing upon her entrance. She shivered again, her teeth almost chattering now. The visions from her dream were starting to come back to her now, and those were at fault for the shivering just as much as was the fact that she was cold. She slid around an armchair, and stopped abruptly when she saw someone else sitting on the couch.
It was undoubtedly Harry. His now strong physique was so easy for her to distinguish, and she couldn't help but stop in her tracks at the sight of him, though she still shivered. Still wearing the clothing from the day, it was obvious that he hadn't been up to bed yet. His robes were now lying next to him on the sofa, and his strong arms showed through the short sleeved shirt that he wore. He looked pensively at the fire, his brow furrowed in deep concentration, and it wasn't until Ginny moved to slip a strand of hair behind her ears that he even noticed her there at all.
His head turned towards her in surprise, and once he saw the state that she was in, he shot up to his feet. "Merlin, Gin, you're shaking," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement, but she nodded anyways, still not moving. He moved closer to her and noticed that her teeth were chattering also, and saw the look in her eyes. She looked as if she was in a daze, almost, as if she was somewhere else and not aware what her body was doing. He led her to the couch and she automatically sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. She buried her face in her hands that were resting on her legs, and she felt Harry's robes come around her shoulders. Instant warmth flowed through her back where it touched, and the scent that she identified as strictly Harry filled her nose. She lifted her head and looked at the fire silently.
"It was another one, wasn't it," he said. Like before, it wasn't a question, but rather a statement. He knew what it felt like to have nightmares; what he didn't understand was why Ginny was having them now, and not him.
Ginny nodded an answer, and Harry sighed and closed his own eyes when he saw hers begin to well up with tears as more memories of the dream came back to her. He hated seeing anyone in this state, and the fact that it was Ginny just made it worse for him. It was someone that he actually cared about.
He slid closer to her on the couch and slipped his arm around her back. She instantly leaned into him, and he brought her closer. More tears escaped her eyes, but he somehow made it better, almost. Just his presence was healing to her.
"It was Tom this time," she said, almost in a whisper. "There was a girl, I think it was me, who was ready for a ball.he appeared, out of nowhere, just like first year." She had to stop there, because the memories came back full force now. Though it hadn't been that awful of a dream compared to some that she had had before, she was in shock from seeing Tom up close and personal again.
Harry didn't quite know what to do, so instead he did what came naturally. He ran his hand up and down her arm in somewhat of a calming fashion, and leaned the side of his head against hers silently, waiting for her to go on. She continued. "He was all bloody for some reason, Harry. His hands were dripping blood, and he said something about having destroyed the seventh year dorm."
She was no longer crying, just leaning into Harry's side for comfort now. "Damnit, Harry, why am I having these dreams?" she whispered to him. "Why me?"
She felt him shake his head. "I don't know, Gin."
They sat in silence for a few minutes longer, and Ginny was just starting to get comfortable with where she was sitting when a rather loud bang interrupted it.
There was the book that they had received at Flourish and Blotts, the day that they had picked up their school supplies.
* *
Prophecies Within Legacies: The Predictions was sitting on the coffee table, having somehow come down the stairs. Harry and Ginny sat for a moment in silence, then they turned and looked at one another, and then they turned and looked back at the book again in disbelief. The faded cover was dark even in the light of the fire, and Harry hesitantly reached out and picked it up. He brought it closer to inspect, and he flipped it open.
There were many pages, but the strangest thing was that they were blank. Harry flipped quickly through the book, and then went back to the beginning to see if he was sure. He was flipping the pages quickly again, but one by one now.
Ginny stopped him at one of the pages. "I think I saw something, go back a little," she said softly. Harry complied, and went back a few pages. There were faint outlines of words on the page, and they both squinted to see the words. Harry stood up abruptly and walked closer to the firelight, Ginny following him quickly.
The words only covered part of the page, and they were very faint, as if someone had tried to go back and erase the ink. Ginny, having the better eyesight of the two, saw the words first. She reached out and stilled Harry's hands as he was trying to situate the book so he himself could read it.
She cleared her throat a little bit before she spoke the words on the page.
"The boy who survives a trial as a child Will learn of his family legacy The year that he gains his full power. He will know of his strength only when He finds she of whom his heart desires. The two are destined to be lovers; One created for the other. Innocent will they both be Until in the arms of one another."
She spoke the words quietly and quickly, and their meanings didn't come into play until after she had already spoken them. Realization struck her, and suddenly her hands that were holding Harry's started to tingle. She raised her head and looked into his eyes.
His expression mirrored hers; it was one of shock and realization. His breathing deepened a little, and he was letting out a slow breath when she looked up at him. The firelight made his glasses gleam, and she saw him close his eyes beneath them. She felt his hands grip the book harder, and she suddenly realized how very close they were standing.
Once again, it was Harry who spoke first while he opened his eyes to look back into hers. "What do you suppose this means?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I.I don't know," she answered, taking the book from his hands and looking closer at the letters. They had somehow gotten darker. She lowered her eyebrows in question and looked up at Harry, who had noticed it also. "And it looks like there is an outline of more," she murmured. It was true. She could see something like a shadow on the page, making it look as if there was more to the stanza. They stared at the book for a few moments longer before Ginny snapped it shut and leaned down to set it on the table.
"I am so confused," she said softly. Harry couldn't help but agree.something didn't make sense, and what confused him most of all at the moment were the words that Ginny had seen on the page and read aloud. It was plainly obvious that it was about him.about the boy who survives as a child.who else could it really be about? It was what Ginny's involvement meant in all of this that confused him, too.
It took a moment for Ginny to realize that they were still standing closely together, her hands over his. The meaning of the words were starting to repeat in her mind, and she couldn't help but think, 'Am I the one it was talking about?'. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Harry's cologne, and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. It had been an odd night, that much was for sure.
Harry's hands slipped away from her own and wrapped around her back. She felt him lock his arms protectively around her, and they stood in silence after she wrapped her own arms behind his back. Her eyes had fluttered open awhile ago, but still they stood in the light from the fire. Both of them were running the almost poem through their minds as they tried to figure out what it meant, and it took Ginny a moment to realize that Harry had started to pull his head away. She instinctively lifted her head and turned it up towards him to see if he would say something.
She didn't expect him to slightly tilt his head and lower his lips to her forehead. He kissed her temple and she smiled gently. She turned her face up even more, and he leaned his forehead against hers. The look in his eyes was unmistakable; even Ginny, at sixteen, had been around guys enough to know that that kind of look came from a man who wanted to be thoroughly kissed. Knowing that her own eyes were most likely mirroring the gesture, Ginny's nose slid to the side of his, and her face tilted at the lightest of angles. She began to lean into him, and he into her. His arms tightened around her back, and Ginny could just feel the warmth radiating off of his face as it slowly neared hers. One of her hands slid into his hair in preparation to bring his lips down to hers sooner rather than later, at the rate they were going at.
But a voice coming from the boys' staircase stopped them dead in their tracks. "Harry? That you, mate?"
Ginny instantly pulled away from Harry, her mind frazzled, as her older brother walked into the room. Ron looked around the room to see who was there, and surprise showed on his face when he registered it was his only sister. "Is everything alright?" he asked.
Ginny opened her mouth to answer, but Harry beat her to it. "Nothing's wrong, Ron. Neither of us could sleep, and we were just keeping each other company," he said, sitting back down on the couch. Ron curiously eyed Ginny and she felt her cheeks darken as she realized that she still had Harry's robes over her dressing gown. Ron overlooked it, however, probably in sleepiness, and turned back to the staircase with a yawn.
"Well, I'm off to bed again then. Thought I heard a loud bang.like a book being dropped or something," he said on his way up the staircase. "G'night." A loud yawn resounded throughout the Common Room as his footsteps became fainter, and they heard the curtain to the boys' dormitory open and shut as he went back to bed.
Not knowing what to do, Ginny turned and looked at Harry. He was still standing by the fireplace in the place where they had both been just moments ago, and Ginny felt her face flush when she realized exactly what had been going on and what was going to happen. 'Damnit, Ron, you have impeccable timing,' she thought wryly as she neared the stairway to the girls' dormitories.
She stopped abruptly and turned around. She didn't want to just.leave Harry after what they were about to do before. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized that Harry was right behind her. He wasted no time in drawing her close to him this time; his arms went around her and held her there protectively, one arm above the other. Her own arms wrapped around him, and once again he rested his forehead against hers. She saw his eyes close slowly as he just stood there, holding her. "I don't know what this means, Gin," he said hoarsely. The rumble of his deeper voice made something in Ginny's stomach flutter, and she nodded slowly. Somehow, she understood the underlying meaning of his words.
Harry was just as clueless about the situation as she was. Not just about the.whatever it was, the poem, but about them. She'd known for awhile that her feelings had evolved for him, but she hadn't been sure about his. Given the events of the day, though, she now had a pretty good feeling about what he felt towards her.
They stood there for a moment in silence, before neither one of them could take it anymore. Ginny was breathing heavier than usual in anticipation of what she knew was to come, and then she didn't have to wait any longer. Harry Potter leaned down to her just as she leaned into him, and his lips caught hers in an exquisite embrace that neither one of them thought would be quite so electric.
* *
If the fire was warm, then the kiss that was occurring between the two Gryffindors was sizzling. No thoughts except for those that had to do with Harry crossed through Ginny's mind. The nightmare, the book, everything else that had happened left her mind, and all of her senses were attuned to him. Once her eyes had fluttered shut, one of her hands had found its way to his hair again, and he pulled her to him as much as he could. The kiss progressed quickly, a sign of what the two of them were feeling, and Ginny quivered when Harry tilted his head at more of an angle to deepen the contact. A moan escaped lips, and Ginny honestly wasn't sure if it was her or Harry that made the throaty growl.
Ginny gasped when she felt her back hit the stone wall of the stairway, and it brought a new feeling altogether when Harry pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the wall with his muscular body. Ginny's other hand crept its way up to the back of Harry's neck, and his hands found their way to her hips. Holding her in place against the wall, Harry pressed even more against her. This time, Ginny knew it was her that moaned when she felt the full body contact.
Gradually, the kiss lessoned until they slowly pulled apart. When she opened her eyes, she was met with a flash of deep, swirling green, and his lips pressed against her lips again quickly. "Good night, Gin," he said against her lips, and he pulled away from her completely. His arms pulled his robe close to her as he removed them from her hips, and Ginny fought back a moan at the loss of contact with him.
"Good night, Harry," she whispered to him as he continued to hold her gaze. She watched as he backed away towards the boys' staircase, and went up the stairs before turning and going up to her own dormitory.
The mirror in her room made a knowing "Mmm hmm," when Ginny looked into it as she passed by it on her way to her bed. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were still dark pink from the deep contact they had held with Harry's just moments before. Turning, she climbed back into her bed and settled into the pillows, pulling Harry's robes close around her instead of the covers. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent that was just.Harry. She fell asleep quickly, her mind on the events of moments before instead of the nightmares that had woken her up before.