Chapter 20

Die Hard

Everything Ginny was doing felt so right, and yet so wrong at the same time. Harry had seen the twinge of guilt in her eyes and asked her if she was okay, she nodded and kissed him full on the mouth. She had never cheated before, Jack was perfect – but Harry was Harry… and no matter how much she denied it to herself – she always had, and always will love him.

Harry's hands ran under her shirt and rested on her naked back as she entwined her legs around his waist. He pushed her against a tree, their kisses long and powerful. Ginny couldn't get over how familiar he felt under her hands as she clasped the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. She could feel all the scars running over her hands, bumps and bruises that must hurt so badly and yet Harry never complained about. She kissed his chest and he lowered her off the tree. Ginny's hand trailed down his front to his belt, he stopped her, clasping her forearm – staring at her intently.

"Are you sure?" He asked, voice a soft whisper. She fidgeted out of his grip and nodded – Ginny was sure, but her mind kept flashing back to Jack, his suspicions, his accusations… But then Harry kissed her again, and all these worries just seem to disappear into him. They lowered to the ground and Harry placed his arms either side of her torso. His pale face stared deep into hers before he kissed her neck; his hands undoing buttons and zips with polished ease.

"I love you," Ginny whispered. Harry stopped kissing her, and looked at her in silence for a moment.

"I love you too," he replied, tracing a hand down her cheek, "forever." Ginny flipped him, the dirt now coating both their backs and removed any articles of clothing that didn't already sit on the ground just meters from them. It was freezing cold, the owls hooted defiantly, the trees hissed, but all the lovers could do was stay in their embrace. Harry moved on her, in her, with her, they were one. Heat radiated off their skin, warming the other, as Ginny hooked her legs around his waist, pulling him as close as possible. Until, after what seemed like forever, they stopped in a panting mess, collapsed on each other, still relishing the night, enjoying their company, loving each other.

Ginny and Harry were awoken by a concerned voice which sounded like George, calling their name.

"Harry! Ginny! Are you okay?"

It was then they realised how long they had been gone for, possibly hours. Harry thanked the night for being their cover as they dressed as fast as they could.

"Harry! Call out!" George's voice came. Harry swore under his breath and continued dressing. Once he was dressed he turned to Ginny, smoothing down folds and making her appear presentable.

"We're over here!" Harry called out. George heard him,

"Oh thank God! Do you have any idea how long you've been out here for? What have you been doing?! I know I sound like mum, but I was worried sick!" His voice came closer and closer. Harry and Ginny looked at each other,

"What are we going to do?" He asked her,

"We'll tell him we had an argument, we dueled," she whispered.

"That's not what I mean."

"I know," she replied, and pulled him into a passionate kiss before casting a glance in the direction George's voice was coming. "We'll work something out, we have to." Ginny rested her forehead on his for a moment, Harry nodded and they broke apart, walking towards George's voice. George saw them, a perfect display of concern set across his face; he looked at both of them, up and down.

"What'd you do to each other?" He queried, his worry turning to amusement.

"Uh, fight." Harry muttered, "Ginny was being a git so we dueled," Ginny shot him a glare and he smirked.

"Looks more like you had a wrestling match," George said. "Haven't you ever heard of the expression 'make love, not war'?"

"We'll keep that in mind for next time," Ginny answered, Harry could see the shadow of a smile pass her lips for a moment.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill each other," George muttered. "Back into your old constant dueling ways huh? …" he looked Ginny up and down then glanced at Harry, his expression turning serious. Harry felt his pulse beginning to rise, surely he suspected something, "but you know Potter," George was saying, "if you hurt my baby sister…"

"Oh! No – no I won't," Harry promised. "She was doing most of the hurting anyway," he could feel Ginny stiffen slightly beside him and he smiled to himself.

George nodded slowly, "good," his hands were clasped on the opposite forearm, he was shuddering slightly, "can we go inside now please? I'm freezing, and exhausted, and we were all worried as hell… get inside."

"Wow, you do sound like mum," replied Ginny.

"Don't think you've gotten out of being grounded," George said, a smile erupting on his face, he set off at a strong walk that almost resembled a run, back to the tents. Harry yawned and followed, his eyes glazing over their surroundings, half expecting a Death Eater to jump out. Because, for once, things seemed to be going his way… surely something horrible was about to happen.

When they entered the tent, Jack was sitting on a chair by the table. He stood when they entered the tent – he too looked them up and down, as George had, but Harry could see accusation getting stuck in Jack's throat. The very sight of him made Harry's skin crawl as Jack looked over Ginny possessively.

"They had a fight," George explained, "but it's all good now, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, sighing. Jack walked over to her,

"Look at you," he said, running his hands up and down her arms, Harry clenched his fists behind his back. Don't, he thought to himself, don't do anything stupid. "You're freezing,"

"I'm fine," Ginny replied with a forced smile.

"I was worried," he continued, pulling her into an embrace. Harry wondered if Jack would be able to smell him on her, to know that something wasn't right. However, as the embrace continued it seemed that even if Jack did suspect something, he didn't show it. Ginny placed her arms around Jack for a moment, but then caught Harry's eye. She looked at him apologetically, and he nodded, understanding and yet unable to silence the feelings inside him. Harry settled himself down on his bed, not tearing his eyes away from them as he took off his jacket.

Jack kissed Ginny on the lips for a prolonged moment of time before saying goodnight and muttering something softly into her ear, Ginny smiled when he finished and nodded. Jack left Ginny standing and crawled into bed, Ginny walked over to Harry, solid wood between the beds the only divider between them and the others. Ginny ran her fingers through Harry's hair then rested it on his cheek,

"Goodnight," she said, eyes full of the words unsaid between them. Harry clasped her hand with his, kissing her palm.

"Goodnight," he responded. He wondered if through her hand she could feel his pulse beating under his skin. Jealousy. Desire.

With a quick smile Ginny disappeared, and Harry lay down on his bed – head full of swarming thoughts, but too tired to consider any of them. He shut his eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep.

"Oi Potter, wake up." Harry felt the side of his bed lurch as someone kicked it. He rubbed his eyes and sat up,

"Are we being attacked?" He asked, going to reach for his sword.

"No," said Charlie's voice, "we're trying to pack up the tent, thought it would be a good idea to get you out of it first." Harry sat up and swung his legs over the bed, bringing a hand up to ruffle his hair.

"How long has everyone been awake for?" Harry asked, noticing the sun streaming through the door.

"A while, sun came up about an hour ago."

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" Harry asked, annoyed. Precious time once again wasted. It was George who answered as he walked through the tent, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair.

"Because you look so cute when you sleep."

"Hilarious, thankyou."

"Happy to help," George said as he left the tent just as quickly as he came with a salute.

"We thought you could do with the rest," Charlie explained, "after that argument with the Aurors and the fight with Ginny –,"

"Where is she?" He asked quickly. Charlie frowned for a moment,

"Outside, there's a lake about a minutes walk from here," It was only then that Harry realised that Charlie's hair was saturated, dripping onto the carpet. Harry stood slowly, his back ached in pain and he grabbed it with a small wince,

"You okay?" Charlie asked, putting his hand out as if Harry were about to fall. Harry nodded and grit his teeth,

"It's always worse in the mornings." He muttered, grabbing his jacket, he proceeded towards the door. Charlie followed close behind him, still prepared as if Harry was going to collapse. When he stepped outside, Harry was blinded for a moment by the sun; he squinted and blinked, looking up at the sky. It was a pale blue, with only a thin layer of cloud. The sky promised warmth, and yet it was severely cold – the kind of cold that bit into his flesh. Harry pulled his jacket close around him. The campsite was empty, but he could hear movement and distant talking immediately to their right – so he set off towards it.

The path he was taking had this horrible air of familiarity to it. As if he was suffering déjà vu. The trees were thin and tall, casting a dappled light across the floor in front of him. He stopped suddenly remembering,

Harry had fallen against a tree, his breathes staggered and uneven. The storm was bursting open with lightning and deafening the world with thunder – muffling Harry's breathing, although he could see no rain. He fell to the ground, throat feeling as if he had just swallowed razorblades, body feeling as if he had run a marathon. He touched his side gently and looked at his hand, now stained with blood. He had to keep moving, he had to. Harry looked up, and it was like a mirage had appeared before him. A narrow lake stretched in front of him, full of murky water. He half expected it to disappear as he stumbled over to it, but it didn't. He collapsed at the edge, plunging his hands into the water; he cupped them and drank heavily. Unsure if the water was contaminated, but too thirsty to care. He splashed some water over his open wound before standing again – although his legs almost traitorously fell underneath him. He sighed and tried to steady his breathing, before turning back to the path, still sure that they would be following him.

"Harry, what's up?" Charlie was asking. Harry was tracing his fingers down a trees trunk, frowning as he remembered.

"We're closer than I thought," Harry muttered.

"…How close?" Charlie asked.

"Around a day," he said. Harry looked up and saw Aurors all by the lake, washing their clothes or their bodies, enjoying the stream. Ginny caught his eye and grinned, she was waist-deep in water, holding her shirt up to avoid getting it wet, he smirked back.

"A day?" Asked Dylan, so suddenly that Harry jumped slightly, Dylan ran his hands through his dripping locks, "woe, a bit on edge there?"

"Can you blame me?"

"You make a fine point… so anyway, a day? Are you sure?" Harry looked around and nodded,

"Quite sure, yes." Dylan nodded,

"Well! Better round up the troupes," he said, smiling. "Good news is… good,"

"Wow Dylan," George muttered, "really have a way with words don't you?"

"It's a gift." He wandered back over to the lake, "ladies, up out of the water, Vereor Nex may be closer than expected."

"Until we get lost again," muttered one of the Aurors. Harry cringed slightly at the thought of that happening. They heaved themselves out of the water – re-dressing and walking back over to the campsite. Harry saw Jack cast him a reproachful look as he passed. Ginny trailed at the end of the group. She watched the others go, then swiftly placed a kiss on Harry's cheek,

"Morning," she said, smiling.

"Everyone is so happy today," Harry observed.

"Aren't you?"

"About some things," he said, cupping her cheek in his palm, "not so much about others. They're still out there." Ginny's face turned serious,

"I know, but we're almost there," she said, but then caught Harry's expression, "Harry, stop feeling guilty about leaving them… it's because of you that they will be able to return home safely." Ginny half-smiled and took a step to leave, Harry placed a hand on her waist to stop her,

"This Jack thing," he muttered, "there's only so long I can last." Ginny's smile once again disappeared,

"I know," she clasped his hand firmly for a moment, then disappeared, leaving Harry to ponder his thoughts.

Hey! Thankyou so much for all the reviews last chapter – it seems everyone was quite relieved that they finally got together.

I'll be updating faster and faster towards the end because I'm on holidays soon. Plus I've already written some of it.

So yep! Let me know what you thought of this installment :D

Pheonixxsong