Halloween slowly dawned on the group, bringing with it an odd sense of calm, thing were for once going swimmingly. Harry and Aimee had found their balance in the relationship, physically and emotionally. Ginny was happier then ever, and seeming to almost daily receive a new owl, from who she would never state, but Hermione noted the handwriting seemed to flicker between two types. Hermione herself was working tirelessly, owling Fred whenever she got the chance between duties. Ron however was not doing as well, Lavender had taken ill and gotten more needing, he was meeting his needs as best as possible, but she was proving quite demanding.

"A party? But I've not been well, I don't think I should go, Ron, you'll stay with me, won't you?" Lavenders voice sounded across the room, Ron looked at her, and nodded his head unhappy with the decision, but he had to, right?

Harry and Aimee were standing near the portrait hole, lips together, as they waited for the friends, and that was how Ron found them as he trudged down the stairs, Ginny was perched on the arm of the chair looking bored, Parvati and Padma near by with Seamus and Dean.

"Er, yeah, I'm not up for it guys, I'll see ya later," Ron said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster – not much at all. Harry and Aimee pulled apart and looked at each other then Ron, confused, he'd been banging on about heading out for a party for a while now, they both knew he wanted to go. "Lavender isn't well; think she's given it to me."

"Oh, ok," Harry murmured, he said nothing more on the subject, but simply took Aimee by the hand and leaving the common room. Ron watched as his friends left, and realised something potentially painful, he wanted his friends more then he had ever wanted Lavender, and she seemed to hold him back.

He walked back to the room where Lavender was sitting looking miserable; she glared at him as he walked in the room, almost as if to blame him for her inability to go to the party. He had little idea why, yea it was Halloween, and neither of them wanted to be inside when everyone else was out partying, but it was hardly his fault.

"Er, so what do you want to do?" Ron asked, feeling useless and deflated as he did so.

Lavender looked at him there was contempt in her face as she did so.

"I'm pregnant you idiot."

Harry laughed out loud as he and Aimee stumbled into the common room, Aimee managing to fall flat on her face in the effort to get through the entrance way. Harry turned and picked her up, his efforts were clumsy and he nearly trod on her fingers. Eventually he had her up and leaning against him heavily, they looked around the room, hoping that no one was there to witness their drunken antics.

However that was not the case, sitting silently on the sofa watching them was Ron, his face was ashen and his hair ruffled as if he had been pulling at it. It was almost as if someone had thrown water over the pair they sobered up so quickly, it was instant, and Aimee knew why.

"Now?" Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke, she looked upset as she spoke, her eyes almost fearful as she spoke. "I thought it would be later… Not now."

"You knew it would happen didn't you?" Ron voice was shockingly hard, in a way neither of them had heard before. He looked at her, it wasn't anger of sadness, but something else, emptiness neither of them and seen form him before. It was one of the most distressing things Harry had seen yet.

"What's going on?" Harry asked finally, the unknown aspects of what was going on right now were frustrating him, he had no idea what Aimee and Ron were talking about. He looked between the two, before Ron sighed heavily and rested his head into his hands, looking tired. "Ron, mate what's going on?"

"It's Lavender-"

"Have you two broken up?" Harry asked without thinking, cutting across his best mate as he spoke.

"No, Harry, she's pregnant."

As ever within Hogwarts, rumour spread like wildfire, but the news that Ginny Weasley had snogged Thomas Harper, a tall, burly Slytherin boy, he played beater on the Slytherin team, he was dark haired, with a clearly broken nose, had spread faster then anything else. A far stretch from the lads that Ginny had found herself attracted to, usually into the slimmer lads, Harry when she had been younger, Draco for a moment of insanity, Oliver more recently, Thomas was certainly nothing like any of them. His arms were bigger than her thighs. If anyone was to comment, she'd laugh and say she was the best snog he'd ever had… She was playing it up, creating more rumours.

For one single reason. Her brother had done something incredibly stupid, and she'd rather keep the attention on herself rather then him, because his girlfriend was pregnant. The bloody idiot.

That was why as she sat with Aimee and Luna either side of her, she was cackling loudly about her adventures, it had been fun, though Aimee had pointed out that Ginny advertising the unlikely hookup between her and a Slytherin was by no means better, however, Ginny argued that it was certainly less life changing.

The beat of the music was flowing through her as she was up on the dance floor, a bottle of firewhiskey in her hand, her hips moving in time to the tune, losing herself to the sounds that swirled around her.

She took a drink, raising the bottle to her mouth, before catching the eye of one of the lads around her, he grinned, she smiled. She was wearing a floaty dress made of wisps of leopard print material, her hair was backcombed, she looked wild, and then and there she felt it.

The lad neared her, moving between the crowds, and placed his hands against her hips. She knew him well, enough at least, he'd tried to have her off her broom a number of times during quidditch matches, but that didn't seem quite so important in the moment. Her arms snaked around his neck and she pulled herself closer to him, biting her lips and looking at him from under her lashes.

He bowed his head to her ear, she could feel his breath against her neck, already she could feel the thrill of excitement.

"Would you come with me if I asked nicely?" he whispered, she could barely hear it but she raised her eyebrow, not expecting this. She nodded and he took her hand leading her form the crowded dance floor towards a dark corner, she was against the wall before she could blink, breathing heavily with the ecstasy of it all.

"You're not usually so nice to me," Ginny told him breathlessly, feeling brazen as she stood there.

"Usually you're beating me at quidditch, I tend to forget my manners," He told her, pushing back a stray, frazzled lock of her and leaning down, capturing her lips within his own. There was no rush in his movements, his kisses did not make her blood run faster, but she was certainly breathless. It was fun to be wanted.

Everything fell away as she put her all into the moment, and yet it was never hurried, she also noted he was a good kisser.

She pulled away with a sudden movement and looked him in the eye.

"If it came to it, would you kill me?" It was a shocking moment of clarity, she was not just snogging some random guy, but a Slytherin who was potentionally going to end up fighting her one day. She was an idiot. But he seemed to know exactly what she was referring to it.

"Perhaps, but not today," He answered with a shrug, looking her directly in the eye. "But you already knew that."

And he kissed her again as if nothing had been said… And it was amazing, the thrill and rush, the excitement. The enemy.

"Gin," Ginny looked around at mentioned of her name and saw Thomas standing behind her in the queue to get to her potions class, she looked at him, he looked much the same as he had the night before, he was still grinning, Ginny returned the smile. "How was the head yesterday?"

"Pounding, that's the thing about having a Halloween party on a Wednesday I guess," Ginny replied with ease, finding the fact that their conversation was not at all strained a little odd, but she went with it. "How are you?"

"Good, apparently I've recently had the best I'll ever have, so I have much to be happy about," Thomas replied with ease as Ginny grinned in an attempt to hide her blush. She had said a lot, because the more she said, the more attention was on her then anyone else. "She was pretty good."

"I'll let her know," Ginny replied with ease, smiling as she turned her back on the lad. Aimee raised an eyebrow at him over Ginny's shoulder when he did not leave, but the he only shrugged in response before finally turning on his heel and moving away.

"So apparently the only time you're allowed to be a slut is when you're protecting your brother form being… A slut?" Aimee asked sarcastically, frowning at her cousin and friend, she was no happier at the situation. Since they had found out it had kept being thrown at Aimee that she should have told the that Ron would knock up Lavender, but it hadn't been that easy, she knew it was a possibility, there were times when Lavender was and times when she wasn't, and once it had happened what could she do? Dropping that bomb was not her responsibility.

"He's not a slut, he's an idiot. There's a difference."

"Still… Has he told your mum?" Aimee asked tentatively, Ginny looked at her with amusement.

"Yeah, cos he wants that howler."