In a matter of hours Ginny Weasley had become a social pariah, word spreading like wildfire about her futile and some stated pathetic attempts to win Harry's affections. Students who had great admiration for their favourite flying instructor, expressed their displeasure to the ginger haired witch, warning her to stay away from him, what friends she had slowly distanced themselves, gravitating towards those who were happy to go about their everyday lives without the added drama. Molly was still making noise about Ginny being thrown off the Quidditch team, screaming at Minerva and Severus that it was unjust and shouldn't regular detention be more than enough punishment.
Horace Slughorn stood up the front of the classroom waiting as the older students poured into the potions room and took their seats. One the workbench in front of him was a black cauldron containing a potion that only one student to date had been able to perfect, he was now the flying instructor for Hogwarts.
'Ok Ladies and Gents, today we will be brewing the Draught of Living death, now as many of you know only one person had been able to create this potion flawlessly, you will break into pairs and get started, the ingredients are in your potions books' Horace explained
Everyone found himself or herself a partner bar for Ginny, in the end Zacharias Smith kindly offered to be her partner for the lesson. Ginny gave him a tight smile and set about preparing the ingredients. The Hufflepuff was thoroughly enjoying himself working along side the pretty redhead. He tried to engage her in casual conversation sticking to the task at hand for topics to discuss, she wasn't as forthcoming, maybe because of all the flack she had been getting lately, Zacharias had heard from one of his friends about Ginny's antics, while he internally thought it was going a bit too far, decided to keep that particular opinion to himself.
Ginny's mind wandered as Horace prattled on at the front of the room, and the others in the class talked happily amongst themselves. She was currently trying to come up with another way to win Harry's heart; she may have lost the battle, but was more than willing to fight the war. Casting a glance over her potions book, a thought pooped into her head, perhaps a way to finally make everyone including Harry see that they were meant to be. It was the potion they were currently brewing that had given her the idea, that and her father. Maybe there was some method to his obsession with muggles after all.
Before she had started Hogwarts, Arthur had worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office at the Ministry, he and the team he worked with went on nightly raids of homes that had procured charmed or cursed Muggle artefacts, such as teapots, phones, televisions and the like. One of those raids had seen Arthur coming home with a bundle of muggle fairytales, stories of princesses, and knights in shining armour, dragons and evil witches.
Arthur had tried to encourage Ginny to read them, but found she wasn't interested, although she had quickly skimmed through one, it was about an evil queen who poisoned her step daughter because she was jealous of her beauty. The Princess could only be awakened by true loves first kiss. It was the perfect grand gesture to get Harry. She was sure that the books were lying around somewhere at the burrow, if not she could get one from the library.
When class was finished she hurried from the dungeons and up to Gryffindor tower, scribbling a letter to her mother, she raced to the owlery and sent one of the school owls off with the letter. Thankfully it was morning break and she wouldn't be late for any classes. She didn't want to run the risk of getting more detention added on to what she already had.
Molly was sitting down to a hot cup of tea and the Daily Prophet when an owl tapped at the kitchen window, she went over, unlatching the window to let the bird in. holding out its leg, the owl waited patiently while Molly removed the letter and handed the bird a treat, it hooted in thanks and flew out the open window. Back at the table Molly unfolded the letter, noting it was from Ginny, her daughter was asking if the Muggle fairytales her father had kept from one of his raids were still around, a muggle born was interested in them and Ginny had offered to lend them the copies she had.
How kind, Molly smiled, always trying to help people make them feel good, such a kind heart did her Ginny have. Abandoning her tea for the moment, Molly went out into the backyard and over to Arthurs shed, it was where he kept all his muggle paraphernalia, the books Ginny wanted were surely to be in there. Ducking as something made a hasty escape when she opened the door, Molly turned on the light and looked around the array of muggle items her husband was fascinated with.
Towards the back of the shed was a cupboard; she waved her wand at the lock and the door sprung open. In a small cardboard box on a low shelf, were the books Ginny had asked for. Molly picked up the box and carried it back into the kitchen. There were six books in all, so after she had given them a clean, shrunk them down and packed them, she scribbled a note to her daughter and sent the package off with the family owl. Sitting down again she went back to her tea and the paper, all thoughts of what she had just armed her daughter with going from her mind.
The three broomsticks hummed with conversation mingled and indistinct as the patrons moved about, Draco and Seamus huddled in the corner of the pub nearest the fire, sipping hot Butterbeer, simply watching the world go by. The Hogsmeade weekends had resumed and the young wizards had taken the opportunity to get out of the castle for a time. Hermione, Neville and the others would be joining them after they had finished some shopping in the village.
'Wonder how Harry is?' Draco pondered
'Feeling better I hope' Seamus replied 'can't stand to see him so upset'
'Ron said he was in a right state' Draco countered 'Bitch goes near him again and I'll have her head'
'Calm Drake' Seamus rubbed his thigh
Hermione was coming out of the quill supply shop, when she saw Ginny exiting from the owl post office a package clutched tightly in her hand, she watched as the ginger haired witch tucked it into the folds of her school robes and kept moving. Not thinking a whole lot of it, Hermione kept walking, heading to the three broomsticks. Neville met up with her near the Herbology shop and they walked together.
She told her boyfriend about Ginny acting strangely outside the owl post office, Neville mused it was probably some mail order thing she'd purchased in an attempt to get Harry, but now that she wasn't allowed near him, it was of no use to her. Agreeing with that logic, the pair stepped into the three broomsticks, looking around for the others.
In the safety of Madame Puddifoots, Ginny carefully opened the package her mother had sent; gleaming when she saw what she needed sitting on top of the pile. Taking it out, she set the box aside and began reading, she was so engrossed in the tale, that she failed to see Luna and Vincent walk past her, Luna muttered something under her breath, but the time Ginny realised someone had spoken they were gone from the shop.
'Weasel has taken up reading kiddie books' Vincent Crabbe announced to the table, taking a seat beside Luna
'What sort of kiddie books?' Draco asked
'Muggle one's I think' Luna replied 'she had a box of them beside her on the seat'
'Must have been what she collected from the owl post office' Hermione mused
Ginny was fascinated with the tale she was reading, she had always fancied herself a princess, her father having referred to her as that when she was a young child, a damsel in distress if you will awaiting to be rescued by her knight in shining armour, her prince charming.
It was risky move, but then again the occasion called for it, so it was what she would have to do. Harry being who he was would do the right thing, the honourable thing and save her as she was supposed to be saved. He'd saved the ferret and his crew during the war, among others that weren't worth the time of day; he wouldn't stand by and watch her suffer. There was a slight hitch in her plan, the ingredients for the spell she needed weren't listed in this particular version of the fairytale, and however it could be found in the original German folktale version. She would go to the library and ask Madame Pince for some help. Reading on she sipped at her hot chocolate, excitement settling in her bones.
'That concludes the staff meeting, if no one else has any matters to discuss I will bid you all good evening' Severus addressed the staff, he collected the folders from the table and moved towards the door of the staff lounge. It had been a long day of meetings and all he wanted to do was go home to Harry, but alas he was going home to an empty quarters, his husband was in London for an overnight stay, his cousin Dudley was visiting and had asked Harry he if would come into the city.
Dudley had changed in recent years, having come to realise that his magical cousin wasn't the freak his family had conceived him to be, the muggle man had reached out after the final battle ended wanting to make amends for past mistakes. Harry had been naturally dubious at first, unsure of his cousins motives, but it became evident that Dudley only wanted to repair their fragile and damaged relationship. He had enrolled in a community college course in London, to study mechanics. He travelled by train from Surrey three times a week, for the classes.
He didn't like it when his Harry was away, especially lately, with the persistent redhead lurking about; he liked it better when Harry was close by. Standing under the shower, he rubbed his hand over the mark above his heart, it was his connection to Harry, a symbol of just how much he loved and cherished his husband. Dressing in pants and a shirt, Severus went into their sitting room and poured himself a glass of Scotch, before sitting down and reading a book by the fire.
'Funny name for a pub' Dudley chuckled, as Harry walked into the leaky cauldron
'Suppose it is' Harry laughed finding a seat near the back of the room, he and his cousin sat down and looked over the menu, deciding what they would eat for dinner
'Is this a magic pub?' Dudley whispered looking around furtively
'Yes it is' Harry replied smirking
He had slowly been exposing his cousin to the world of magic over the last months; he was still amazed at Dudley's reaction every time. Harry was grateful that his cousin was now accepting of his magical ability and the world that was Harry's home. His only regret was that it couldn't have always been like this, he and his cousin getting along, being friends as well as relations. He remembered the first time they had visited a magical shop and something had floated past Dudley's head, Harry wasn't sure if the boy was going to faint or scream, his jaw hit the ground.
'What will you have D?' Harry asked using his cousin's nickname
'Think I might try the pizza' Dudley answered 'The really hot one'
Harry looked at the menu 'The fire breather?'
'Yeah that's the one' Dudley smiled
'I'll go and order, what would you like to drink?' Harry asked
'Whatever you have cousin' Dudley grinned
Harry walked to the bar and gave his order to the bartender, as he was carrying the drinks back to the table, he debated whether to tell Dudley that his pizza was actually cooked by a fire breathing Dragon? Perhaps not, might leave that surprise for another time, he didn't want to traumatize his cousin.
'Excuse me Madame Pince?' Ginny spoke politely
'Yes Miss Weasley, how can I help?' Irma Pince asked the witch
'I was looking for fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, I am thinking of going as one a character from there for Halloween' Ginny lied
'Certainly, you will find them over in the far corner, under German Folktales, by the door to the restricted section' Irma directed her
'Thank you Madame Pince' Ginny said sweetly
'You're welcome dear' the librarian smiled
Ginny hurried over to the isle of books Madame Pince had pointed out and began to scour the shelves in search of the coveted fairytale. The ginger haired witch gave a small shriek of delight five minutes later when she found the book, it was quite thick, flicking through the pages she came to the right story and scanned the page, staring out at her was the spell, ingredients and all. Snapping the book shut, she went to the front of the library and checked the book out. Back in her dorm room with the curtains locked tight, Ginerva Weasley went through the spell and what was required.
She remembered after the war, when the castle had been in ruins, the clean up just beginning, she helped Professor Slughorn move some of the more volatile potions ingredients from the dungeons to the storeroom on the fourth floor, something not wanting them to fall into the wrong hands, Ginny was sure that every ingredient she required was in the storeroom. The object that needed to absorb the potion so to speak would be easy.
Severus woke to a warm wet feeling between his legs, must have been dreaming of Harry he mused, slowly opening his eyes, to find he hadn't been dreaming at all, Harry was indeed between his legs, his hard cock in his mouth, sucking slowly.
'God Harry' Severus mumbled burying his hands in the raven locks
'Morning my love' Harry greeted around his husbands member
'Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing home so early?' Severus asked
Harry pulled away and fisted his husbands prick 'Dudley was meeting some friends, so I thought I would come home and surprise my husband, but if you would rather just get up I can…
'Don't even finish that sentence Imp, back to it' Severus growled
'Yes Sir' Harry giggled taking his husband in his mouth and sucking vigorously
'Mmm so good' Severus moaned writhing on the bed
Harry massaged his balls with is hand, eliciting whimpers from Severus, finding the puckered hole Harry deftly inserted a finger into the tight channel, rubbing over the bundle of nerves that had his husband screaming in bliss. Continuously rubbing his husbands prostate soon had Severus shooting his load down Harry's throat.
Licking his dick clean, Harry lay beside his husband and kissed him gently 'Morning Sev, I missed you' Harry smiled
'Maybe you should go away more often, if that's the good morning I get' Severus panted
'Hey' Harry said indignantly, snuggling into his husband's side.
List in hand, Ginny Weasley searched the shelves of the fourth floor storeroom for all she would need to make the potion, so far luck had been on her side, and no one had come by or noticed that someone was where they shouldn't be, maybe that was because she was currently in the form of Horace Slughorn, polyjuice really was a godsend.
Finding the last ingredient on a high shelf, Ginny hurried from the storeroom and back to the safety of Gryffindor Tower, the polyjuice was beginning to wear off and she didn't want to run the risk of being caught.
Later that evening would be crunch time, she was going to use the chamber of Secrets to brew the poison, it was out of the way and no one would be able to smell anything suspicious coming from somewhere else.
Everything was placed into her cauldron, and as soon as the last student went to bed, she would sneak out and down to the chamber. From her robes she took the apple she'd swiped from the kitchens, while most people were still in Hogsmeade.
Ginny had it planned down to the finest detail, she would brew the poison, let it soak into the apple, sneak down to the ground floor, outside Harry's classroom, take a bite and let the magic work from there. Come morning he would find her lifeless on the floor, rushing her straight to Madame Pomfrey.
It wouldn't take them long to figure out what had happened, when it did Harry would see his mistake in marrying the overgrown bat and administer the antidote to wake her from her slumber. Nothing could go wrong; she had planned for every contingency.
Hermione stepped through the portrait and stopped in her tracks, she thought she felt something brush past her, but when she looked around saw nothing so continued on her way.
Even though she was teaching assistant to Minerva this year she had opted to stay in the dorms, she had her own room away from most of the other girls, but it was nice to be surrounded by other people.
It was past curfew but she'd had Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Snape's permission to be late, Hermione had spent the evening with Harry, she'd been worried about him and wanted to check he was ok. It wasn't often they got to catch up anymore now that he was teaching, but Severus had been very accommodating in letting his friends visit often.
The apple glowed a vibrant red as Ginny removed it from the cauldron; it glimmered in the dull lights she had created so she was able to see.
Setting it down on a cloth to absorb, Ginny set about cleaning up her mess and discarding the poison in the drains that ran underneath the chamber and the school.
By the time she cast a strong cleaning charm over the iron pot, the apple was ready to go. Exiting the chamber, Ginny went down to the ground floor, keeping an eye out for any teachers still wandering around or Filch and his cat. It helped that she knew Harry's class schedule by heart and by doing this outside his classroom, would be certain that her Prince Charming would be the one to find her.
Laying down on the cold stone floor just outside the entrance to Harry's classroom, Ginny took a bite of the apple, swallowing quickly, she felt the poison start to take effect, her breath caught in her throat, the world in front of her started to spin, the last thoughts that flittered through her mind as sleep began to take her, were of Harry rescuing her, of them riding off into the sunset together, and then there was blackness, the apple rolling from her lifeless hand and into the alcove.
A lone mouse trolling the quiet hallways looking for a morsel of food came across the unconscious witch, giving her a tentative sniff and coming up empty, the rodent scurried into the alcove, happening upon the crunchy apple, thinking it had hit the jackpot, the small fury creature took a tiny nibble, before it fell sideways on the cold ground.