Authors Notes
I'm very sorry that this took so long to write.Its been hectic with Christmas and everything, and add to that a dose of writers block, and you've got yourself quite a nice little delay. Anyways, here it is.. the next installment. Focusing a lot more on Ginny/Draco.. so I apologize to those of you who are not fans of the pairing. ANd once again all of my careful formatting vanished when I loaded the chapter up here, and even a manual change to the HTML did nothing.. grrr.. so once again I apologise that there are no breaks.
Where we left off
"Well.." she thought for a moment and then sighed, when she came up with nothing "You know, I could use another explanation on that Organic Chemistry we did at the Summer school.. since I'm coming to school with you now.. I really should take every opportunity I can get to catch up with everyone else"
At his familiar chuckle, and with his arms tightening around her waist, Hermione felt like after the horrendous day she'd had, that everything had turned out exactly as it was supposed to.
Hermione stumbled blearily into Breakfast on Tuesday morning. She hadn't made it to bed until almost 2 o'clock this morning and she was now paying the price for it. She slumped into the seat next to Leigh who also looked similarly sandy-eyed and gratefully accepted a cup of coffee.
"You two look like you didn't get much sleep. Did you spend all night 'Talking'?" mused Draco looking suspiciously at them both.
"Shhh" hissed Hermione looking towards the other end of the table where her parents were seated.
"Just saying" he defended.
"Harry!" came Ginny's giggling cry from the stairs as the Weasley's and Harry made their way down to breakfast "Stop tickling me!"
"Not until you admit it" came his reply as they entered the room Harry walking behind Ginny tickling her mercilessly.
"Make him stop! Make him stop!" gasped Ginny as Ron looked on with approval. It was clear from his expression that he liked this playing between Harry and his sister, it was equally clear from Draco's expression that he did not.
"Potter" spat Malfoy venomously "She said Stop"
"Oh she always says that" defended Ron with a wave of his hand.
"Does that give you the right to ignore her?" asked Draco standing from the table and slipping his wand into his hand.
"We'd never hurt her" said Ron defensively.
"Nevertheless, She said STOP" he exclaimed. Harry stood frozen with his fingers to Ginny's ribs at Draco's yell.
"What's it matter to youMalfoy?" Asked Harry in a surprised tone of voice.
Draco suddenly looked less sure of himself. His face flushed pink and his eyes lost their steely resolve. With a noticeable exhalation, he slumped back into his seat and stated nonchalantly "Nothing at all. Continue playing with the Weasel to your hearts content Pothead"
Harry looked startled by Draco's proclamation, Ginny however, sent a speculative look towards the boy before she once again lost control of her reflexes due to Harry's tickling.
"Stop! Stop!" she gasped as he continued to tickle her. Draco rolled his eyes heavenward and then resolutely turned his attention to his plate, pointedly ignoring the tickling and giggling come from the otherside of the table.
"You OK?" asked Leigh after a second, directing the question towards Draco.
"Yes. Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" He bit out.
"You looked like you were going to Hex Harry into next week" added Hermione watching Draco nervously "Why?"
"He's... He's.." Draco blubbered and then with a sigh he turned his head towards the two of them "He's all over her.. Yesterday they were yelling at each other at the tops of their voices and now.."
"Now you can't deal with the Ex?" asked Leigh. Hermione nudged him in the ribs pointedly but Draco just sighed.
"There's no use in denying it is there?" he asked quietly "Not after how I've behaved this morning"
"Its Natural" agreed Leigh with a smirk "You know it might be to your advantage"
"How?" asked Draco and Hermione at the same time.
With a smile he took Hermione's hand in his and placed them on the top of the table "Well, It wasn't THAT long ago that Jen and Sandy staged something similar on me. Had some magazine article with Hermione's ex-boyfriend in it.. made me Jealous as Hell"
"Granger's ex-boyfriend? She doesn't have one!" stated Draco in surprise.
"Maybe not, but there was someone in that magazine.. Victor?" said Leigh, biting off the name with dislike.
"Oh. Viktor Krum. I'd forgotten about him" said Draco with a rueful laugh "Did you actually date him?"
"Yes and No" said Hermione hesitantly, after having 'dated' Leigh it seemed silly to claim that she'd dated Viktor, even though he had at times called her his girlfriend.
"More no than yes" said Leigh with a smirk and a wink. Draco just looked startled at that, though he didn't comment.
"Anyway, as I was saying, the Girls staged their little experiment, and all it did for Honey was confirm to her that I liked her. It could work in your favour as well" continued Leigh.
The three of them turned to face Ginny who had finally stopped being tormented, to find that she was watching Draco thoughtfully.
"Told you so" said Leigh with a smug smile.
"Oh lord" muttered Hermione as she rubbed circles on her temples. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to go over very well with Harry or Ron.
After breakfast was completed, Georgina cornered Hermione and Ginny on their way out of the room.
"I thought we might head in to London today" she stated "I have some arrangements to make for your party on Saturday and I thought it might be nice to get you a new Dress"
Hermione stood undecided for a few moments and her mother continued "I've already spoken to Sadie and Carol and they have confirmed that Jen and Sandy are free to come with us if you want them to"
"London!" exclaimed Ginny in excitement "Come on Hermione? Please?"
"I don't really need a new Dress, though" said Hermione not really wanting to go clothes shopping today. She had a list of books she wanted to look through to help them with the case they were investigating, and then of course it meant a whole day of not seeing Leigh.. and leaving the four boys in the house all by themselves? What a disaster that could turn into..
"Yes you do!" exclaimed her mother in surprise "Every girl needs a new dress for her 18th Birthday party!"
"Please Hermione?" pleaded Ginny.
"Oh.." she started to cave and Ginny clasped her hands in front of her and begged "Alright then.." she finally conceded.
"Yes!" exclaimed Gin with excitement.
"We'll get you something nice as well Ginny" Said Georgina as an afterthought.
"Oh no. I don't need anything new" said Ginny her eyes wide in shock.
"Nonsense" replied Georgina, waving aside the continuing protests 'I'll ring Sadie and Carol and organise to pick up Sandy and Jen on our way into London. We'll leave at 9?"
At the girls nods Georgina turned and left the room in the opposite direction.
"London!" Exclaimed Ginny.
Hermione just rolled her eyes and led the way up the stairs to get ready. As they neared Hermione's sitting room they could hear the boys voices raised in argument.
"You stay away from her!" came Ron's indignant outburst.
"Why should he?" came Leigh's heated reply
"She's my sister!" Ron cried
"So?" replied Leigh
"He's.. He's a MALFOY!" spat Ron, using the Malfoy name as an insult.
"Not this again" grumbled Leigh angrily. Ginny made as if to enter the room and Hermione held her back slightly, indicating she wanted the boys to sort this out on their own.
"Its GRANGER, and I don't see that it has anything to do with you Weasley" stated Draco coldly
"It has everything to do with me! She's my younger sister!" he argued.
"How does that make it your business?" asked Draco
"You wouldn't understand, you don't have a sister" spat Ron
"No, But I do.. and if I'd tried to tell any of them who they could and couldn't date, they'd have told me where to go" replied Leigh "Would you let her decide who you could see?"
"Its different" spat Ron angrily.
"Why? Because your older and know better?" asked Draco venomously.
"Or because your male and she's not?" asked Leigh.
"Thankfully" said Draco with what sounded like a smirk.
"This is serious" Said Ron angrily after a second.
"Is it?" asked Draco with a smirk in his voice "I can't see that she'd have listened to you if you'd had this conversation with her, so why do you expect me to?"
"Just bloody stay away from her!" cried Ron.
"Its a moot point anyway" came Harry's voice "She's never going to like him back Ron"
"I know that " Replied Ron in disgust "But I just don't like the thought of him..."
"What?" Asked Draco sarcastically "The thought that I might actually like a Weasley?"
"We aren't beneath you Malfoy" replied Ron coldly
"It might surprise you, but I Do know that" replied Draco arrogantly "You are the one who hasn't gotten over age old prejudices. I've changed Weasley. But YOU Haven't"
Ron spluttered indignantly for a few seconds before Leigh returned them to the original topic of conversation "I don't see how you can tell him to stay away from her. If SHE wants to spend time with him, then she will"
"Its.. Its just so.. WRONG" said Ron, they could hear him stomping up the room and Hermione could imagine him running his hands angrily through his hair.
"I don't think so" argued Leigh "No one has yet told me what is so wrong about it all"
"He's a Malfoy!" exclaimed Ron "And we're Weasleys. Different worlds"
"So?" asked Leigh "It happens all the time in the muggle world"
"We hate each other" argued Ron.
"I don't hate you" said Draco "Dislike, yes, Hate no"
"How does that impact on Ginny if you and Draco don't get along?" asked Leigh.
"Its not just us.. its out entire families" replied Ron
"Well since my family have no problems with it, Its not both of our families" replied Draco.
"Ha! I can't imagine your Dad ever agreeing to let you see Ginny!" said Ron sounding as if he'd finally won a point.
"I think you're confused Weasley. I no longer consider Lucius my father. And I believe that David and Georgina and especially Hermione wouldn't object to Ginny" Draco replied.
There was silence for a second, then the sound of someone flopping into a chair.
"What?" came Draco's voice again.
"You called her Ginny" said Ron sounding astounded.
"So?" asked Draco sounding incredibly embarrassed.
"You don't even call Hermione by her first name.." began Ron
"You do like her" agreed Harry stonily.
"Its not like you hadn't already worked that out" sighed Draco in resignation.
"Its even worse than I'd anticipated" said Ron depressingly.
There was silence for a full tense minute in the other room and then Draco's voice broke the silence sound tired and resigned "But you are right about one thing, she'll never like me back. So as loathe as I am to agree with Potter, the point is moot. Can we move on, and ... just forget that this conversation ever happened?"
"Fine" came Ron and Harry's considered replies after a lengthy pause.
"Now about the Order..."
The boys took a few moments to get settled, and then as they began talking, Hermione indicated to Ginny that they could go in. They opened the door to the sitting room and stepped in. The boys were sitting around the table under the window, heads bent towards the map that was laying there.
"Where have you pair been?" asked Draco looking up at them suspiciously.
"Mum stopped us to tell us she wants to go into London today to get some things organised for the party" At the mention of London, the boys eyes Lit up, but seconds later they lost all interest as they heard the words 'Dress Shopping'. With almost identical disgusted frowns, the four of them returned their attention to their map.
Hermione observed them for a few minutes before joining Ginny in her room. Harry and Ron sat on one side of the table, deep frowns on their faces whenever Leigh or Draco talked, while Draco and Leigh sat at either end of the table, casting suspicious looks at Ron and Harry whenever they weren't looking. The boys looked for all the world like they were about to break out and hex each other.
After a minute or so of contemplation, Hermione came to the conclusion that they would be alright for a day together. As it was Tonks would probably be in at some stage during the day in response to Leigh and Draco's note of last night, surely she'd be able to set them all straight if they'd stopped playing nice by then.
The girls rushed through a quick splash of lipgloss and changed their tops for nicer ones and before 9am they were awaiting Georgina in the foyer. The three of them climbed into the back of the Limo with Ginny exclaiming once again over everything, then picked up Jen and Sandy from Sandy's place. The five of them had an enjoyable trip into London and before they knew it, they were being dropped off in Oxford Street.
"Where to first?" asked Hermione looking up and down her Mother's favourite shopping precinct.
"I have to see the caterers and I'd like you to select a cake. We can do those things first and then focus on the dresses" Georgina announced, to excited noises from the three other girls.
"The caterer is just down here" she announced leading the four girls into a small alcove and up a flight of stairs.
They came into a very luxurious reception area, carpeted in thick cream carpet with tasteful glass and stainless steel reception desks. They were directed into a neat little meeting room by an immaculately dressed receptionist and assured that someone would be with them shortly.
A tall darkly handsome man in a suit strode purposefully into the room and set a leather folder on the desk in front of him before reaching to take Georgina's hand, and then after introductions, Hermione as well.
"Welcome to L.S Richards Catering" he stated formally "We're delighted to be helping you with your Birthday Party Miss Granger"
Hermione nodded to the man and marvelled at the smooth quality to his voice and his bearing. He reminded her all too much of a cross between Leigh's dark good looks and her abominable Potions master from Hogwarts, Professor Snape's voice and carriage. Altogether a rather daunting and disconcerting combination.
"I believe that all we need to accomplish today is for you to select a small number of dishes to be served"
Hermione nodded again and the Caterer reached into his folder and pulled out a form that he placed in front of Hermione.
"Your Mother has indicated that you wish to have a buffet table, so aside from the normal breads, seafood and salad platters and Fruit, we'd like you to select the meats you wish to have as well as any additional dishes".
Hermione looked down at the list in front of her and her mind boggled at the selections offered. Ginny, Jen and Sandy crowded around close to her as they read over her shoulders.
"You must have Greek Salad" Said Jen scanning the salads column "And pasta salad, thats my favourite"
Hermione dutifully ticked the boxes next to the suggestions, which emboldened the other two. After a few moments the sheet was satisfactorily full, and Hermione had found that she needn't make a decision for herself. Perhaps having the girls along on this expedition was a better idea than even she had anticipated.
The next stop was a well known and well respected cake shop. Upon hearing Georgina's voice the proprietor came out of the back office and embraced Georgina talking a mile a minute. After a few minutes had passed Georgina interrupted to introduce Hermione's friends and state that their reason for visiting wasn't entirely social. In short order the girls were seated around a table with a folder of suggested cake designs between them. Hermione and her friends flicked through the cakes exclaiming over designs that intrigued or startled them. After firmly dissuading Jen from an incredibly naughty design, and talking Ginny out of a witch themed cake, they eventually settled on a cake in the shape of an 18. Hermione turned to find the owner of the shop returning to the workroom bearing a tray of slices of cake.
"Samples" he said with a smile, setting the tray down and allowing the girls free access with a wave of his hand. Minutes later it was a unanimous decision that the cake had to be Carmel Mud. With a delighted laugh and a quick scribble on an order pad, the formalities were complete and the small group found themselves back in the street again.
"I think thats it" said Georgina scanning through her PDA quickly "Decorations have been ordered, Catering is complete, Cake is done, Your father is in charge of drinks, and I think that only leaves us with the dresses"
The girls followed Georgina down the street a few hundred metres and followed her into an expensive looking dress shop.
"Choose anything you want dear" she said heading straight to a comfortable seat outside of the change rooms and sitting down.
Jen and Ginny grabbed an arm each and dragged Hermione towards the Cocktail dresses at the back of the shop.
"Ooh Here's one!" Said Jen pulling out a Purple dress
"No, What about this one?" argued Sandy lifting a light pink chiffon dress up, to which Hermione screwed up her nose.
"I like this one" said Ginny pulling out a black kneelength dress and holding it against Hermione.
"No, not black, she's the birthday girl " Said Sandy once again picking up a pink dress that Hermione forestalled with one hand in the air in a stop sign
"No Pink" she stated.
"You're no fun" Grumbled Sandy going to put the dress back, however after a seconds hesitation she held it up in front of herself instead.
"I really like it" she mumbled and then with a little bit of persuasion she headed into the change rooms to try it on.
Hermione and Ginny rifled through the dress rack by themselves after Jen came up with a pretty silver dress and vanished towards the change rooms with it.
"So.. about this morning" said Ginny flicking past a navy dress nervously.
"What about this morning?" asked Hermione.
"Draco?" asked Ginny disbelievingly.
"Oh Right. Would you like to talk about it?" asked Hermione, running her fingers through a series of Dark Green dresses quickly, moving over the pinks and starting again in the blues.
"He likes me" she said with a note of wonder in her voice.
"So it would seem" agreed Hermione.
"He really does?" she asked astonished, as if she hadn't been sure before.
"You heard it for yourself" Hermione responded thoughtfully picking up a turquoise dress and holding it to herself.
"I know. I still.. can't really believe it" she stated.
"I'm still against this you know" said Hermione looking at Ginny seriously.
"Why?" she asked.
"We've only known Draco for a few months Gin, i just don't want you to get hurt or anything.. "
"I don't think he'd hurt me" she argued.
"She's right, you know" stated Sandy coming up behind them "He wouldn't hurt her"
"How would you know?" asked Ginny eying sandy suspiciously.
"Lets just say that I've gotten to know him" she stated.
"Sandy and Draco were together for.. a week?" qualified Hermione.
"Almost two" replied Sandy defensively.
"He's the sweetest boy I've ever met" Said Sandy to which Hermione burst out laughing.
"Are you talking about the same DRACO?" she asked in disbelief.
"Of course I am" stated Sandy calmly "He's very insecure underneath all that bravado"
"I don't know about that" argued Hermione mirthfully.
"What do I do?" asked Ginny looking between the two of them uncertainly.
"It depends" said Sandy "On what you want to do"
"I..." Ginny stopped and he face flushed the color red that the Weasleys are famous for "I don't know what I want to do"
"Do you want to see if it will work with him? Or do you want to walk away?" asked Sandy diplomatically.
"I.. I want to try" she whispered, her eyes finding Hermione's worriedly. Hermione sighed and turned back to the rack.
"I'm not going to stop you Gin, But I hope to God you know what you're doing"
"He's going to be your brother" said Ginny.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can ignore his womanising ways for the past two years. I just don't want to see you hurt"
"I doubt he ever hurt anyone" said Sandy conciliatorily "We parted amiably, I expect that most of his other relationships ended similarly. He's out to have a bit of fun, but when the right person comes along he'll settle down"
Ginny laughed at that "I'm only 16" she said with small laugh "I doubt that I'll be the one to tame Draco Malf-Granger"
"Anyway, My advice would be to give it a shot" said Sandy picking up another dress and heading back towards the Change rooms.
"How?" called Ginny.
"The Party" Replied Sandy with a smirk "Just make sure you dance with him.. It'll happen from there". The changeroom door shut soundly behind Sandy and Ginny turned back to Hermione with bright eyes. Hermione just sighed in defeat. She'd tried. She really had, but it seemed that some things were just inevitable.
An hour, and a lot of protests on behalf of Ginny, later they left the dress shop each carrying a bag with a beautiful dress wrapped carefully inside. Ginny was still intermittently arguing about the purchase of her dress until Georgina decided to put a stop to it.
"It is too late now Ginny, Please accept the dress, as it is too small for me and entirely the wrong colour as well". After that, Ginny's arguments died off rather suddenly and eventually she even joined in the conversation about the dresses and proudly described the detail at the bottom of her knee length Green dress.
The five of them ventured into one of the many restaurants for a late lunch, before calling George and heading back to Cheltenham. They arrived home just before 7pm and the girls headed straight upstairs to find the boys. They were sitting on the couches in Hermione's sitting room watching TV.As they entered the four boys stood immediately.
"Honey!" cried Leigh swooping in to claim her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head and held her extra tight to convey how much he had missed her. He led her to an armchair and folded himself into it before pulling her into his lap. Draco and Harry both rolled their eyes at them. Hermione wondered for an instant if she should point out how similar the two of them could be.. but decided after such a long day she really didn't want to begin an argument like That .
"Tonks came by!" exclaimed Draco after a second, Harry and Ron settled back into their couch, leaving the only spare seat next to Draco. The rest of the room watched with varying expressions as Ginny hesitantly took the seat next to Draco and sat with her back rigidly straight and looking very uncomfortable.
"What did she say?" asked Hermione as Leigh lazily traced designs on her bare forearm, causing tingles to run up and down her spine.
"They're working on it. They think we might be on to something and want ALL of us to go to a special Order meeting on Thursday at their headquarters. They'll send someone to get us" he said with a glint of pride in his eyes.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Hermione in relief.
"Mum came by too" said Ron watching Ginny closely. Ginny turned her head and looked towards her brother, but didn't move any other part of her body. She appeared scared of touching Draco and he was looking entirely confused by her sudden reaction to him.
"She said that almost all of the injured from Saturday night are healed and leaving Grimmauld place and that we can probably return there to stay with the rest of the family after the meeting on Thursday"
"Did she say anything about the Burrow?" asked Ginny looking happy and sad at the same time.
"Not a lot, they believe that it will be able to be fixed up, but probably not before Christmas. They bought some of our clothes and things by, Yours are in your room"
Ginny nodded "And the Order? What was the result from Saturday night?"
"They didn't tell us much. I think we can safely assume that no one was critically injured or killed, else they would have told us.. wouldn't they?" he queried. At Ginny's shrug, he shrugged himself and continued on "It seems that everyone in our family came out unscathed at least"
He paused and then took a deep breath "Mum also mentioned that Snape is back working for the Order"
Ron was obviously watching Hermione as he said this, because when she didn't react he leapt to his feet "You knew!" he accused.
"So?" she asked.
"He was here on Saturday night wasn't he?" asked Ron "I thought I imagined him. But he was wasn't he?"
Hermione sat up straight and looked around the room. Ginny was fiddling with a piece of cotton attached to her shirt, Draco had buried his head in his hands and Harry, eyes blazing was watching her closely.
She was at a loss as to what she could do. She could no longer deny that Snape had been in her house on Saturday night, but how could she explain that without explaining how or why he'd come to be there. Snape had expressly asked for them not to tell Harry due to the connection that he shared with Voldemort. In hindsight, Hermione saw that it was more of an attempt to protect Draco from the Dark wizard than himself.
Then almost as an afterthought, Hermione realised the very real danger they'd bought upon themselves unwittingly. Harry shared a connection with Voldemort.. which meant that even now Voldemort might know where Draco was.. all of the shields in England wouldn't keep them safe if the Dark lord knew where to look for them.
"Oh no" she cried quietly staring at Harry as if she'd just seen a ghost.
"What is it?" asked Draco looking worriedly between Harry and Hermione "What?"
"I only just realised... " she stated unhappily, then paused as the others turned to face her from their seats.
Taking a deep breath and feeling tears of fear grow within her "I only just realised that we've all but handed Voldemort Everything"
"What do you mean everything?"
"That we know about the pattern of deaths, that we know where the last one will take place.. and most importanty where you are hiding" she finishing turning her attention to Draco.
"What?!" he cried standing and looking more ferociously between Harry and Hermione "What do you mean?"
Harry's face had paled as Hermione had continued talking "He hasn't.. " he began and Draco rounded on him so suddenly that Harry flinched as if he'd been hit.
"Who hasn't what Potter?" Said Draco very seriously.
"Voldemort" Stated Harry, face pale and hands shaking "Can sometimes read my thoughts.. but he hasn't.. not since.. Friday last.. Before I got here"
"Are you 100 sure of that?" asked Draco " Would you stake your life on it?"
At Harry's apprehensive nod, Draco whirled again "Well, would you stake Granger's life on it?"
Harry swallowed and sat utterly still for a second before dropping his head into his hands.
"Why did no one tell me about this?" Draco demanded of the rest of them.
"I'd completely forgotten until Ron asked about Snape. So much happened on Saturday night, I'd completely forgotten that Snape mentioned the connection"
"What can we do now?" asked Ron, his features worried and his face an unwholesomely pale green.
"You do try to Occlude him I imagine" said Draco to Harry off handedly as if expecting that would be a normal reaction.
"Uh, actually..." began Harry.
"Oh don't tell me!" exclaimed Draco in Frustration "You don't know Occulmency?"
"Ahh.. I know a little" said Harry shifting nervously in his seat.
"And I don't suppose you know it?" asked Draco turning to Hermione.
"Only the little I've seen you use. I've read about it of course" said Hermione, earning her a flash of exasperation from Draco.
"You?" asked Draco turning to face Ginny. She almost visibly flinched back from his anger and he stopped his tirade for a second and said a little softer "Do you know Occulmency Ginny?"
She nodded slightly "I know how to keep Tom out of my head, if thats what you mean"
"Tom?" asked Draco
"Tom Riddle" spat Ginny "Voldemort"
"Oh" said Draco, drawing back in surprise. After a second of watching the fiery witch he turned to the rest of them "Well, Thats the only solution. Weasley and I are going to have to teach Potter Occulmency. Right Now"
After a second of them all sitting there looking at him he raised an eyebrow "Clear out" he commanded.
The three of unneeded teenagers left in a hurry.
"I'm going to head off to bed" said Ron thoughtfully as they stood in the hallway awkwardly "Mum bought me one of my quidditch books and I thought I'd read for a bit. G'night"
"Good night Ron" replied Hermione and he nodded as he wandered in the direction of his room, preoccupied with his own thoughts.
"Well, its just you and me" said Leigh after a moment "With nothing to do"
"Lets go and sit by the pool" said Hermione after a moment "Its a lovely night outside"
The two of them made their way through the house and out into the dimly lit pool area, taking a seat side by side on the edge of the pool with their feet dangling in.
Hermione felt Leigh pull her hand into his and the delicious tingles started up again, Then he leant and placed a kiss just below her ear. She shivered despite the warm air.
"You know... " Began Hermione trying to start a conversation, however he slid a hand under her top and rubbed at the bare skin on her back.
"Leigh.." she said in protest.
"What?" he asked kissing her on the nose and then on the lobe of her ear.
"We shouldn't.." she tried, but he was busily picking her up and putting her on his lap.
"We're not going to do anything wrong" he said quietly as he captured her lips gently.
After a few moments of resistance, Hermione felt her body melt against his and enjoyed the sensation of his tongue against her own.
The kissing grew increasingly more incessant as time went by until Hermione felt light headed and completely unable to think straight. With a supreme effort she broke away from a kiss to regain her breath.
"Leigh" she breathed and he groaned bringing her closer to him and burying his head in her hair.
"We should head in" she said. He nodded against her and a mumbled "I know" could be heard.
Silently they disentangled themselves and rearranged mussed up clothing before re-entering the house. A glance at the wall clock showed that they'd left the others almost an hour ago, Hermione surmised it should be fine to return to her sitting room.
At the top of the stairs Hermione and Leigh stopped, each preparing to go their separate directions to their bedrooms. "I.." began Leigh as he placed one hand against her face and ran his fingers down her cheek gently.
"I'm sorry" he said quietly as made eye contact with her. Hermione looked into the blue depths of his eyes and felt her heart contract with fondness.. surely not love.. but attraction and fondness..
"Whatever for?" she asked bemusedly "You've done nothing wrong"
"No. But if you hadn't have stopped me.." he left it hanging and Hermione felt her cheeks begin to burn red.
"Oh" she said quietly
"Don't underestimate how much I like you" he said, his voice gravelly and his face heating lightly in embarrassment.
"Well.." said Hermione, Trying to gather he wits together.. "Well.. definitely not tonight.. but someday I think.. that.. " she paused and he looked up hopefully.
"Someday we'll.. do something 'wrong' together.." and with that she quickly kissed him and fled to her bedroom.
Closing the door quickly behind her she slid down it in mortification. Had she really just said that? And to Leigh no less? Were her wits deserting her completely?
She looked up to see Ginny and Draco looking at her in surprise. Harry appeared to be in some kind of sleep on the floor in front of them.
"Trouble?" asked Draco seemingly concerned.
"No. Quite the opposite actually" replied Hermione, Her face flaming again. What had gotten into her tongue recently? "How is Harry coming along?"
"He's got a certain amount of resistance to learning occulmency" stated Draco "It seems to stem from some failed lessons from Severus. Add to that the fact that he doesn't trust me in the slightest and we're struggling somewhat" replied Draco "Ginny is getting through to him to a degree, but her version of Occulmency is.. different"
"Different?" asked Hermione.
"She taught herself, so its slightly different to the formal way of doing it.. It almost seems.. easier" he said quietly looking with pride upon the youngest weasley "The only problem is that I can't teach him my way because he doesn't trust me, and Ginny can't teach him her way because she doesn't know how she learnt it"
Hermione sat for a second on the arm of the nearest chair and eyed the unlikely trio seriously.
"Why don't you teach Ginny the way you do it? So that she can teach Harry?" asked Hermione.
"I've tried to explain it.. " began Draco.
"But I just can't seem to understand the way he does it" finished Ginny.
Hermione pondered them again for some moments before answering "Why don't you perform the charm on each other? Then you'll both be able to pick up the differences in each others shields?"
They sat in silence for a moment before Draco smiled "Brilliant. I don't know why we didn't think of that".
Hermione moved into the chair and made herself comfortable as the two of them moved back from the floor to the couch where they'd been sitting earlier in the night. Hermione noticed that Ginny was still trying very hard not to touch Draco, but the enforced activity with him had softened her rigidity somewhat.
"legilmens" said Draco immediately after they had made themselves comfortable.
Ginny automatically went rigid and then the room was silent for a few minutes as Hermione watched the pair as they sat, eyes locked together. A flinch every now and then from one or the other of them showed that they were battling within their minds, in an effort to lean the shield.
Eventually with a great exhalation of breath Ginny came back to herself.
"Wow" stated Draco a second later as he sat staring at Ginny "Its that simple?"
Ginny nodded self consciously and then after a moment she raised her wand. At Draco's nod she cast the charm and once again the pair were locked eye to eye unmoving.
This time however there were significantly more flinches, spread equally among the two and Hermione could see that both of their faces were heating to a vibrant shade of pink. After a significantly longer period of time than before they broke eye contact and thereafter refused to look at each other.
"Sorry" muttered Draco.
"Its ok" replied Ginny quickly.. Her face flaming even redder.
"No.. I only wanted to show you the difference between the shield... " he said quietly.
"It doesn't matter" she replied.
"It does. I'm sorry" he said again.
"Ok" she agreed again, though her face was still red.
"So the difference?" asked Hermione and both of them Jumped, obviously having forgotten that she was there.
Draco wiped a hand down his face and turned to his soon-to-be-sister "The difference is in how they are constructed. A trained occulmens tries to build barriers.. kind of like a brick walls to stop someone from getting further into their mind than they want them too and then once someone hits that brick wall, its almost a physical fight, mind against mind to throw them out.. Ginny's way" he stopped again and blushed "is very easy and very complex at the same time.. she whites everything out"
"It doesn't have to be white.. I've made it green or red.. or black"
"Anyway, she makes everything in her mind the same colour so even if someone stumbles upon something they want, they cannot see it.. Then as they try and force their way through, she allows them through...
"Passages" she said
"Passages, until they end up back out of her mind"
"You blindfold people?" asked Hermione.
Ginny's face lit up as Hermione described it "Yes! Exactly".
"Bloody Brilliant" said Draco with a bright grin at Ginny. She went an even deeper shade of red under his regard and he suddenly dropped his eyes.
"Ok, Lets teach Potter, so we can all get to bed.. Er.. sleep" said Draco and Hermione didn't miss the glance that Draco cast at Ginny as he fixed his slip.
Hermione didn't need to wonder what Ginny might have seen in Draco's mind after that. An hour and a half later, Harry successfully repelled Draco's legilmens and the three of them called it a night, Harry watching Ginny and Draco suspiciously the whole time.
Authors notes II:
I'd like to say a special Thankyou to all the wonderful people who took the time to review the last chapter. I'm actually surprised that anyone still wants to continue reading this story! There is about hlf a dozen chapters left, in case you couldn't tell that it was coming to an end, although that could change.. Lets all hope that I get more time to write in the next few weeks so that I can get the next chapter up faster than this one!
