A/N: I know, this has taken a lot longer than planned. I swear I'm writing as quickly as I can!
Enjoy the awkwardness . . .
A day later, Harry had to admit he was feeling bothered. At first, everything had gone as he and Ginny planned. Rita Skeeter had written the promised article crowing over her correct prediction and even including several photos of Harry and Ginny holding hands that looked less awkward than Harry had remembered it feeling. He'd gamely endured the good-natured teasing from friends and classmates - and at times acquaintances who didn't know him as well as they thought - and assumed that would be the worst of it.
And then Molly invited them all to dinner. On Saturday night.
Harry didn't know what to think about that; Weasley dinners were always on Sunday evenings unless it was a holiday. But Christmas was more than a month away and he and Sirius had already been invited to a Sunday dinner two weeks hence to celebrate Bill's birthday at the end of November. There was absolutely no reason for all of the Weasley children and their significant others - and Lee Jordan? - to be called to the Burrow on an ordinary Saturday, a fact that more than one of them grumbled about as they took their seats around the dinner table. George and Fred were muttering to each other something out missing game night with the witches, something Harry had no interest in questioning them about. But Bill spoke right up.
"What's all this about, mum? Fleur and I had plans to stay in . . . to see a show, I mean. At the theater." He turned to his wife. "What was it called?"
"I don't remember but it was supposed to be excellente. Only one actor and one actresse, non?" Fleur raised her eyebrows.
"No is right," muttered Bill. "I guess we'll have to wait to try . . ." he seemed to remember his audience and stopped, shaking his head. "Nothing."
Sirius hadn't been home all day; Harry assumed he was off somewhere with Giselle, and so was surprised to find him talking with Mrs. Weasley in the Burrow's kitchen when he arrived. He glanced at Ginny. They'd had a quick Floo call earlier that day to decide if it was necessary for them to arrive at the dinner together - it was - and Harry had felt comfortable enough to make a joking bet about exactly how long it would take Mrs. Weasley to start gushing over them. Apparently his godfather had come to gush too, or to crow over being right, more likely.
"Maybe we need to change the bet," Ginny said in a low voice. She took the seat next to him at the table. "Who congratulates us first, Sirius or my mum?" She leaned over and casually plucked at the collar of his shirt. "It was crooked," she said by way of explanation.
"Thanks," Harry said. He supposed he was going to have to get used to doing those little things for Ginny, but right now his mind was blank. He certainly wasn't going to act like Bill and Fleur, practically looking ready to shag each other in the sitting room half the time. And Ron and Hermione - Harry remembered them holding hands, but he and Ginny had done that already. He'd have to start paying more attention.
Sirius sat down across from them. He was already holding a glass of Firewhiskey and Harry looked around for the bottle, wondering if he was planning to make a toast. "You may need some of this," he said, rather tersely, Harry thought. A wave of his wand and another glass appeared on the table, and then another. "Ginny too." Sirius nodded towards the head of the table. "Need any help there, Molly?"
Harry wondered if Sirius was hinting that he shouldn't let Mrs. Weasley do all the work. He jumped to his feet. "I can help, what do you need?" he asked quickly.
"Nothing at all, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. Despite the endearment, Harry thought she sounded rather cross. "You've had such a busy week, just sit down and rest."
Next to him, Ginny startled in her seat and Harry thought he heard her groan. He looked at her. "What?"
Ginny didn't meet his eye but gave a slight shake of her head. "Not sure yet," she muttered, so quietly he wasn't sure he'd heard right. Despite her warning Harry started to say something anyway but a quick squeeze of his thigh stopped him. Ginny didn't touch him purposefully very often - Harry tried to remember if she ever had at all - although he supposed it was appropriate now, given their ruse. He closed his mouth, and opened it again when a large chicken pie floated down the table and landed in front of his plate. "It looks delicious, Mrs. Weasley," he said.
"It's Ginny's favorite. But I imagine you know that already." Mrs. Weasley spooned some peas onto her plate with enough force that several went skittering across the table. "Bill, would pass Ginny the bread when you're finished with it? I suspect she's worked up an appetite as well."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny's voice was low in Harry's ear but he could plainly hear the ire in it. He was actually surprised she hadn't just asked her mother out loud what she meant; he'd never known Ginny to hold back when something upset her. Quite the opposite, actually.
"I don't know," he mumbled, just as quietly. "I was wondering myself."
Harry was now pretty sure no one was about to toast his and Ginny's new relationship, but he still didn't know exactly why Mrs. Weasley was upset. With a sinking feeling, he wondered if they'd misread the situation that badly; did no one want them together after all? It would have been nice for someone to tell them, before he and Ginny held hands all over the damn Ministry. He looked at his godfather in the hopes he might get a clue about what was going on, not that Harry was about to ask him in front of everyone. For lack of another idea he drained his FIrewhiskey and pushed his glass back in Sirius' direction before the steam had even stopped shooting out of his ears.
"Can I have a bit more, please?" he asked, wheezing. He normally sipped his Firewhiskey. Next to him, Ginny held out her empty glass too. "I need a refill too," she said.
"So, you're drinking together now? I assume Rita Skeeter already knows, doesn't she? Anything else I can expect to read in the Prophet tonight?" Mrs. Weasley was still standing at the head of the table even though everyone else had sat down and begun taking food from the many platters that floated up and down the table. But at her words, most everyone put down spoons and forks. Ron alone seemed not to have recognized the tension, he was intent on picking the largest piece of roast beef and transferring it to his plate without dropping it. Hermione elbowed him and his hand jerked, the slice of meat falling neatly into his lap. He yelped.
"What's that for, I offered you some first! Now look at it!" Ron turned indignantly to his girlfriend and swiped ineffectively at his trousers. She shushed him and nodded down the table. "Later, Ron," she said, banishing the spilled roast beef. "I think your mum has something to say."
"Indeed I do, and Sirius as well. Isn't that right? About just what my only daughter and his godson have been getting up to so that we had to Read It In the Newspaper!" Her voice rose. "As if we were ordinary folk and not . . . not . . . related to the happy couple!" She sat down heavily and gave Harry and Ginny a plaintive look. "I first heard about it at the Apothecary!"
Shit. Harry looked across the table and braced himself for more yelling but Sirius simply looked, well, serious. "You should have warned us first," he said gently, and somehow it was almost worst than Mrs. Weasley. Then his eyes twinkled. "Unless you mean to say that the two of you just got . . . swept away last night?"
"Ummm," Harry felt the pressure of Ginny's knee against his. His mind went blank. Was that supposed to be their story? There was more to it, he thought, but suddenly he wondered if it would smooth things over if they both just confessed to getting smacked over the head with lust at the party the night before. He was about to say something to that effect when he heard Ginny mutter something under her breath. He bit back his comment.
"It's . . . been building." Ginny spoke hesitantly and a flush climbed her cheeks. She looked so thoroughly self conscious that Harry would have felt sorry for her if he didn't know it was all manufactured with magic. The pressure against his knee increased.
"We've had lunches," he burst out. "And we talked at them." Brilliant Potter; what else would you do at a lunch? And . . . we've talked at night, through the Floo." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginny give a tiny nod. "So, yeah. And then last night . . ." he broke off again, certain he'd get the story wrong at this point and ruin it.
". . . we were joking around, trying to avoid Skeeter. . ." Ginny grimaced and Harry saw nods of agreement around the table. He picked up the tale.
"and the next thing we knew, we'd been talking for an hour and by then it just made sense to leave and . . ." He looked at Ginny, feeling a very real blush come over him. What were they supposed to have done?
". . . and be alone," said Ginny. "To talk and . . . well, you know." She gave an embarrassed shrug and Harry was impressed at how genuine it looked. She took Harry's hand and turned to him with a soft smile. "It just kind of happened."
Harry was so taken with Ginny's acting skills that for a moment he thought she was squeezing his hand as part of the performance. Then he realized she was telling him it was his turn to talk. "Yeah," he said, relieved that they'd at least figured out the proper way to hold hands. "I don't think either of us were expecting it." He chanced a look at Mrs. Weasley and thought she looked rather less cross than before. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you right away," he said sincerely. "I guess we . . . just wanted some time to ourselves first."
It was the right thing to say; Ginny made a satisfied sound under her breath and any last traces of disappointment slid off Mrs. Weasley's face. The rest of the table was chattering too but Harry was too relieved to have dodged that Bludger of a conversation to pay much attention until Ron's voice rose above the rest. "So did you snog her? Did you snog my sister?"
Silence fell like a curtain. Even Mrs. Weasley was waiting expectantly; if Harry thought she might scold Ron for being nosy he was sadly mistaken. Sirius was giving him and Ginny a knowing look even though Harry had no idea what it was he was supposed to know. He didn't dare look at Ginny, lest everyone else wonder why Harry couldn't answer the question himself. And he had to answer the question himself; they'd been quiet much too long already.
"Not yet," he answered firmly, just as Ginny said "Not your business, Ron!"
Harry gulped; Ginny's answer was much better, although he supposed it was a good thing that he hadn't said no while she revealed that yes, she and Harry had already kissed. That would have been a debacle that would have required Obliviation. But Ron was unperturbed.
"Well what are you waiting for? You can't really say you're together until you've kissed, isn't that right?" He turned to his girlfriend for confirmation. "When Hermione and I kissed, that made it official, and we knew we had feelings for each other." He nodded knowingly. "The snog's the thing."
Harry decided not to point out that Ron and Hermione's first kiss had been in the middle of the Final Battle, after they'd danced around the fact of liking each other for months. Years, even. Their kiss had merely confirmed what everyone else already knew. He looked at Ginny. "We'll kiss when we're ready," he said.
"And not when my entire family is sitting here watching us," added Ginny. She looked around the table. "What's romantic about that?"
"Actually, Lily and James' first kiss was in front of all of us. All of our friends, I mean." Sirius grinned at Harry. "Haven't I told you this story?"
Harry shook his head. He'd always been more curious about how his parents had gone from his father being a toe rag and his mum being completely annoyed to them falling in love; he'd never considered exactly what they did after that happened.
"Well I'd love to 'ear that story." Fleur looked at Sirius with interest. "Especially if eet is romantic." There were murmurs of agreement from all the other witches around the table. Except for Ginny, Harry thought, glad that he wasn't the only one who wasn't eager to hear about his parents first kiss. Not right now at least.
"I'm not sure I'd call it romantic, but it was definitely public." Sirius's eyes twinkled and he took another sip of Firewhiskey. "It was the beginning of Seventh Year, right after Gryffindor won its first match of the season. James and Lily were Head Boy and Girl, you know, and when the party in the common room started, Lily was torn between whether to join in and ignore the fact that I'd spiked the punch and marching up to her room so she could pretend she had no idea what was happening." Sirius smiled in remembrance.
"At least she didn't threaten to write your mum, right Hermione?" George said affably. There were snorts of laughter around the table, Ron loudest of all. Hermione appeared not to have heard, though, and when George's chair crashed suddenly to the ground moments later followed almost immediately by Ron's, Hermione merely raised her eyebrows for a moment and then turned to Sirius.
"Most people don't understand the pressure put on people in positions of authority," she said primly while Ron climbed back in to his seat, a look of something close to awe on his face. "So Lily stayed?" she asked.
"She did," nodded Sirius. "And I think even agreed to have a cup of punch or two." He looked at Harry. "Neither of them were drunk, not by a long shot, but Lily and James were definitely feeling relaxed. I don't know what he said to her, but one minute they were sitting on the sofa talking and the next minute they had . . . stopped talking. After that they were dating and never looked back. James told me it took him by surprise as much as anyone, when Lily agreed." He spread his arms wide. "So that actually sounds a bit like you and Ginny, eh? Took you both by surprise?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "Something like that." He hoped that would be the end of it and they could finish the meal while talking about other topics. Ron leaned forward.
"Finish up that drink, Harry. And then give my sister a kiss." He smirked. "I can tell you want to."
Harry wondered what had happened to the Ron who'd gone nearly spare when he'd overheard their roommate Dean talking about wanting to kiss Ginny. He'd rather like to have that Ron back, right about now. But Fred and George started a chance of "kiss, kiss, kiss!" and Angelina shot puffs of red smoke in the shape of lips out of her wand and even Bill was clapping and cheering instead of being the overprotective older brother Harry would have expected. Next to him, Ginny raised her glass.
"Liquid courage, I guess," she before draining it. Harry quickly followed suit; if Ginny had decided there was no way out of this, he certainly wasn't going to contradict her.
The whiskey infused its characteristic warmth and smoke, but Harry suspected he would have needed several more shots before he'd truly be able to relax. He still wasn't exactly sure how he'd gotten himself - themselves - into this situation. Kissing Ginny at all certainly hadn't been part of his plan, and in front of her entire family and Sirius? That was so unlikely that Harry would have laughed out loud if it hadn't been about to actually happen. He looked at Ginny. There wasn't even any way they could talk it through first; everyone thought they really had feelings for each other. Kissing should be easy.
Her eyes were very wide and he suspected she was trying to tell him something with them. Fuck, he wished he was better at Legilimency. Then again, did Ginny even know Legilimency? That might be something they should consider working on. That, along with how to better tell her family that they needed to be alone. Wasn't that the purpose of this ruse in the first place? Ten minutes in and they'd already bungled it up. Fuck. Harry wasn't sure whose fault it was but he suspected it might be his. He was going to have to figure out how to apologize . . .
Someone cleared their throat.
Harry was pulled out of his racing thoughts to the sight of Ginny still looking at him; he suspected she'd been the one to get his attention. This was supposed to be something they wanted to do - couldn't wait to do - he reminded himself again. And the longer he hesitated the more questions there would be.
He leaned in quickly.
Too late, he realized he probably should have put his hands somewhere - on Ginny's shoulder, or arm, or waist - not her waist. Her shoulder then, or even the back of her chair, something that would have helped him balance. Instead, he kind of fell against Ginny's face with his. Their mouths crashed into each other with enough force that Harry felt pain. Ginny grunted in surprise and put her hands on his chest to brace him away from her body even while their lips were still pressed together. It felt wet, and a little slimy. He pulled back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he thought about how that must look.
"Sorry," he mumbled, not sure if he was apologizing for the kiss or how he reacted afterwards. "I umm . . . sorry." Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Ron shaking his head and Fleur lean in to whisper in Bill's ear. He didn't even want to think what Sirius would say - it must be completely obvious now that Harry and Ginny weren't really together. He forced himself to meet her gaze. To his surprise, she didn't look angry.
"Well," she said, her voice louder than if she was just talking to him. "I think that could have gone better, if we'd only been able to do it in private." Ginny looked slowly around the table, catching the eye of every single person with her gaze.
Harry couldn't believe how brilliant it was; even Mrs. Weasley looked a bit abashed. Ron mumbled sorry while Hermione admonished him for being pushy and Fleur gave them both a rather knowing smile. The twins seemed unperturbed but Harry wouldn't have expected less from them. He finally looked at Sirius, who was watching him thoughtfully. Harry froze.
After a moment, Sirius nodded to himself. Lily and James looked foolish too," he proclaimed. "At first." He smirked. "But they figured it out pretty quickly and then they couldn't keep their hands off each other."
Harry groaned. "I do not need to know that," he said. "And anyway, don't you have a date to go on?"
His attempt at deflection failed; Sirius shrugged. "I told Giselle I might be late tonight because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get my godson and his new girlfriend sorted. She understood completely."
Next to him, Ginny jumped at the word 'girlfriend' and Harry didn't blame her; it sounded jarring to his ears too. But they were saved from having to respond by Mrs. Weasley's tut of impatience.
"I've told you how many times now? Just bring her here for dinner next time."
"I think that's a brilliant idea," said Harry. "Won't it be easiest to introduce Giselle to all of us at once?" While he actually didn't know how he felt about meeting Giselle, he would have said anything to keep attention off his and Ginny's disastrous kiss at that point. But Sirius just grinned and shook his head.
"Oh ho, not any time soon." He shook his finger in the direction of Fred and George. "I like this witch and I'd rather keep her around a bit before dropping her in the middle of this lot. You and Arthur excepted of course, Molly."
"Of course," said Mrs. Weasley easily. Ginny leaned in towards Harry.
"My mum gave in too quickly; she's got something planned," she said, low in his ear. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's figured out how to find Giselle herself and invite her to dinner."
"Whatever it takes," Harry muttered back. "I wasn't expecting . . ."
"Awww, what are you whispering to my sister, Harry?" Fred gave him a devilish grin.
"Trying to plan your getaway so you can try to improve your snogging skills?" added George.
"Actually . . . yes," answered Harry. After a moment he put his hand hesitantly on Ginny's shoulder. "I think maybe some time . . . alone for Ginny and me would be a good idea." He pushed his chair back. "We still have a lot to talk about, you know."
Fortunately, Ginny took the hint. "Yes," she said. "I think maybe we should . . . um, go back to Grimmauld Place?" She winced and Harry was about to ask her what was wrong when a shout of laughter - and several cat-calls - broke out around the table.
"Ahhh, you two really do want to be alone!" Sirius looked extremely pleased. "Don't mind me, I'll be home late, if at all."
"But you haven't even eaten yet!" Mrs. Weasley looked torn between wanting Harry and Ginny to have time alone and concern for the state of their stomachs. She stood up. "Let me pack up a basket," she said briskly. She waved her wand and food from the various platters and bowls began flying through the air. One potato actually soared off the serving fork Ron was holding.
"Hey, I was about to eat that!" he said indignantly. Ginny huffed.
"Then maybe next time you'll think before urging me and Harry to interrupt dinner with a snog!" She jumped out of her seat. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."
Ginny wasn't even looking at him. Harry took the basket Mrs. Weasley held out and muttered "yeah, lets go," in her direction.
Yet another problem immediately presented itself; were they to leave through the back door and Apparate away or take the Floo, one after the other? If they took the Floo, they'd actually both have to go to Grimmauld Place, at least at first. If they walked out to the Apparition point, no one would know where they went, of if they were together or not. Although, Harry realized, Ginny didn't really have any place else to go anyway. So, Grimmauld Place it was, but he still didn't know how to get there, once again flummoxed by what was expected behavior for real couples. At the moment, Harry didn't particularly fancy the idea of standing awkwardly by the Weasley's fireplace waiting for his turn to leave, but neither did he want to go first. Who knew what her family might do or say in those few seconds after he left?
He was being ridiculous, he knew, and now his hesitation was probably making things worse.
"I'll umm, I'll Apparate first, and fix the wards," he said. He realized he still hadn't looked at Ginny and now he forced his eyes to her. She gave him a small nod. Behind him, Sirius laughed.
"Better change the to recognize Ginny permanently; since I expect she'll be around quite a bit, right Harry?" The suggestion in his voice was unmistakable.
Harry hoped his blush didn't show. "That's right," he said, relieved to hear how normal his voice sounded. "Good idea." He pushed open the door and held it for Ginny, which of course led to more cat-calls. He ignored them. "Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Weasley," he managed in much the same tone. She waved him off, and the smile on her face looked rather knowing.
"It's nothing. Enjoy it. Both of you."
His attempts to act casual exhausted, Harry bent his head and followed Ginny outside. The snow had picked up quite a bit and the wind took his breath away. Ginny fell in step beside him as they walked to the Apparititon point, obviously as eager to get out of the cold as he was.
"Maybe the Floo would have been a better idea after all," he chattered. The Weasley's Apparaition spot was really an inconveniently far distance from the house. Ginny gave him an amused look.
"Is that what all your hesitating and shuffling around was about? Whether we should take the Floo or Apparate? Why does it matter?" She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I guess it doesn't," Harry admitted. "I was just overthinking it." He pulled off his traveling cloak and handed it to Ginny. "Do you want this? Where's yours?" He noticed for the first time that she was only wearing trousers and a jumper. She grimaced.
"In my room at the Burrow," she said. "I guess I didn't think all this through either." She took the cloak and wrapped it around herself. "Thank you, but aren't you going to be cold?"
Harry shrugged. "I wore it half the way."
Ginny gave him a quick smile. "I appreciate it."
They didn't speak again until they were both at Grimmauld Place, sitting in front of the fire drinking tea and finally eating the dinner Mrs. Weasley had packed for them. Harry snorted to look at it all. "Is there anything left at home? Ron was already upset about the potato."
"Ron will be fine," said Ginny. "My mum's brilliant at doubling charms; they'll not miss anything." Her mouth quirked. "And anyway, they're probably too busy talking about us to eat much."
Harry groaned and leaned back against the sofa. "I can't believe they didn't figure it out," he said. He rubbed absently at his upper lip, which still felt a bit bruised. Ginny watched him.
"You really don't know how to kiss, do you?"
Harry glanced up at her but she didn't seem to be taking the mickey. He gave a sheepish shrug. "Do you?"
"Probably enough not to fall against my partner teeth first." She blushed. "I'm sorry; that's not fair."
"Actually it probably is," Harry said. "It was pretty awful, wasn't it?" He took a bite of pie and groaned with pleasure. "I love treacle."
"I know," said Ginny. "And yes, it was awful, but I think that's going to end up being a good thing. Makes our need to be alone without interference more believable." Harry must have given her a confused look because she continued to explain. "We can tell everyone the feelings are there between us, but we're so . . . inexperienced we don't quite know what to do with them yet. And so we need to be alone to figure it out."
"The twins are going to think we mean we're figuring out how to have sex," he pointed out. "Actually, everyone is going to think we're trying to be alone to have sex." He grimaced. "I hadn't thought of that - they're going to think we're just trying to find new places to shag in private, aren't they?"
"Maybe," said Ginny. She sounded rather unconcerned, Harry thought.
"And that doesn't bother you?"
Ginny shrugged. "We're already telling everyone we're dating; I assumed they'd think that at some point, we'd be having sex. Assuming we're convincing enough, of course." She smirked. "After today's display, maybe they'll think the sex is going to take a while."
Harry had to laugh. "Hopefully they won't expect more public displays any time soon. We can blame it on my - what did the Prophet say once? - My almost fanatical need for privacy."
Ginny laughed. "That could come in handy, although we're going to have to do more than just hold hands some of the time."
Harry sighed. "I know. Just, no more . . ."
The fireplace flared blue and he had his wand out and was putting up wards before the flames were fully formed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Ginny had her wand out too.
"Why are the flames blue?" she muttered out of the side of her mouth. Harry appreciated that she instinctively knew not to make any loud noises. A robed figure was unfolding itself from the fireplace and looking curiously at the shimmering ward that prevented her from moving any further into the room. She peered serenely at them from behind the barrier.
"It's one of the Unspeakables," Ginny said just as Harry realized he recognized the woman as well. "What was her name, Trippe?"
He nodded and took down the ward. Unspeakable Trippe looked first at Ginny and then rested her gaze on Harry. "No more what?" she asked.
Harry stared. "Excuse me?" He wasn't unused to being confused around the Unspeakables but this had to be a record for how quickly it happened. The Unspeakable perched on the edge of a chair while Harry and Ginny sat on the sofa.
"As I was coming through, you were telling Miss Weasley that you wanted 'no more' of something, and I was wondering what it was."
Harry put aside the thought that the woman had somehow been able to hear his discussion with Ginny from inside the Floo before it was even connected - that would be something to talk to Sirius about later. Now he scrambled for an answer.
"No more, uhh, letting anyone force us to . . . do things," he finished lamely. "Physical things." He nodded. "Especially in public." It wasn't exactly what he'd intended to say - he'd rather have extracted a promise from Ginny that they not kiss at all - but he knew better than to admit that now. Not surprisingly, Unspeakable Trippe nodded as if she knew exactly what had transpired at the Burrow. Because, Harry considered, she probably did.
"Of course not," she said briskly. "And good of you to recognize it too. The magic is quite remarkable, but still tenuous, you know."
Harry didn't know, and by the questioning look on Ginny's face he suspected she had no idea what Trippe meant either. She gave him a quick glance and he nodded. Maybe she'd have a better idea of what to say next.
"Very . . . tenuous," she said carefully. "We don't want to damage . . . uhh . . ." She drew out the sentence and amazingly, the Unspeakable took the bait.
"Your love! said Trippe in a delighted voice. "We didn't think you'd be able to accomplish it so easily; the Dark Magic is quite strong." Her voice dropped conspiratorially. "Rast was even concerned that it would overcome the inevitability altogether. But you beat it back, didn't you? Together!" She smiled widely and leaned back against the sofa. "We'll need to have you back to the Department of Mysteries, of course. There is much interest in how the two of you managed to fall in love as quickly as you did, despite the forces working against you." She waved her wand and all the lights in the room lowered. "And now I'm sure you'd both like to continue to build on what's begun? This is quite a romantic room, you know." She peered at them through her glasses.
Ginny looked so horrified Harry would have laughed if he hadn't felt the same dread himself. Hadn't he just said they did not want to kiss in front of an audience? But there was a more pressing question. Saying a spell of his own, he raised the lights again.
"What are the Dark Forces that are working against us?" he asked bluntly. "And how? I thought all that was done." He vaguely remembered something about a Dark ritual, but he'd assumed that referred to what Crouch Jr. had done to get Harry into the contest and select Ginny as the one he'd need save from the lake. Now Trippe looked sympathetic.
"We've been studying your blood - your combined blood - as promised," she said. "And it turns out that whatever Crouch did to confund the Goblet and select Ginny as the thing you'd miss the most damaged the inevitable path of your relationship."
Harry kept quiet and hoped Ginny would do the same; this was the most coherent information they'd yet to get from the Unspeakables. After a moment of silence, Trippe continued. "It was made much worse than if you'd never known about Ginny's connection to you at all. Ron was supposed to be at the bottom of the lake, you know. And if he had been, we don't think it would have harmed your friendship the way the magic destroyed your pathway with Ginny." She smiled broadly. "But it doesn't matter, you've beaten back the Dark anyway!"
"Wait." Ginny sat forward. "You're saying that the reason Harry and I have been having . . . I mean . . . that we had so much trouble with each other was because Dark Magic caused it?" Her voice rose. "It's been controlling us?"
Harry knew exactly what was going through Ginny's mind. Without thinking about it he scooted closer to her and hesitantly put an arm around her shoulder. "It's not the same thing," he said under his breath.
The Unspeakable gave no indication she'd understood the exchange. "It made you confused, and angry," she said, looking at Ginny. "And apathetic." She nodded at Harry. The inevitability had to fight against quite a bit of Dark Magic, and as I said, we at the Department of Mysteries calculated that it would take quite a longer bit of time. But I am delighted to realize we were wrong." Her smile got even wider. "We are all delighted."
For a brief moment Harry wondered what would happen if he just blurted out that he and Ginny were faking it and if it would cause the entire department to come crashing down or something. But the moment past and Trippe stood up and lowered the lights again before walking over to the fireplace.
"Expect a message from us shortly," she said. "We are all just itching to understand more about what's transpired between the two of you. Maybe next week?" She lifted her wand and the fireplace flared blue again.
"I think we need some time," Harry blurted out. "Like you said, what's going on between me and Ginny is tenuous. I'd hate for it to . . . falter because of too much attention, too soon."
"That's right," Ginny agreed quickly. "My feelings for Harry, while strong are still . . . fledgling. I don't want to give the Dark Magic we've overcome an opening."
Trippe looked thoughtful. "That is quite right," she agreed. "I guess we'll have to wait. But it will certainly be worth it, right?" She stepped into the fireplace. "There will be plenty of time to capture understanding of the demi-promise path to love. The mer-queen understands that well."
She was back to talking in circles again and Harry knew he was not the only one relieved when the Unspeakable stepped into the Floo and disappeared. He let out a breath and then waited to speak until the flames were completely gone. Then he put up the wards again, and added a silencing charm. Only then did he turn to Ginny. "Well, that was interesting."
Ginny gave a small nod. "You really think it's not the same as before?"
Her mind was still on the diary, and the first time she'd been controlled by Dark Magic, Harry realized. The mere fact that there had been a first time for her and now there was a second had to be upsetting. Harry knew how he'd felt every time he'd been given hints about what he was and how he was connected to Voldemort. He squeezed her shoulder.
"I'm sure," he said firmly. "This isn't anything inside of us. It was an external spell." Ginny didn't look convinced though.
"But it was designed to target us." Her voice wavered at the end.
Harry thought for a moment. "So is a tracking spell," he said. "And the Aurors use them all the time. Or even Fred and George's love charms are designed to focus on one person. Obviously they don't last as long, but the principle's the same. It's totally different than a Horcrux."
Ginny finally nodded. "I still don't like it, though."
Harry chuckled. "I think we established that the first day we learned about the spell."
Ginny snorted back. "We do seem to keep circling back to that, don't we?" She turned on the sofa and looked at him full in the face. "Thank you."
Harry shrugged. "That's what a fake boyfriend is for, right?"
Ginny gave a proper laugh. "I can't believe we pulled it off - I was sure someone was going to figure it out." She poked him on the arm. "That bit about not wanting to ruin things by going to the Department of Mysteries was brilliant. I have a feeling that with all of them there analyzing us they'd be able to figure it out."
"We'll just have to keep feeding them the same line we told your family and Sirius then." Harry yawned. "Sorry."
Ginny yawned too. "Don't be; it's been a long day." She looked around "I know Sirius said he was going to stay out tonight but do you really think my parents aren't expecting me to come home?" She bit her lip.
"I have no idea," Harry admitted. "I'm realizing I don't know anything about how real relationships work." He looked towards the stairway, not sure how he felt about Ginny sleeping at Grimmauld Place, even if she would be (of course) in a separate room. "Maybe . . ." he began.
"Maybe we tell them we don't want to rush," Ginny finished. "And that there won't be any sleepovers for a while." She stood up. "They have to respect that, right?" Her smile grew a little wicked. "After all, they saw you try to kiss me."
Harry groaned. "Don't remind me." He stood up too. "But yeah, I agree you should go back to the Burrow. Hopefully everyone else is gone by now."
Ginny took some Floo Powder. "I'm sure they are; after all once we left what else would they have to talk about?"
"Us," said Harry dryly. "Only without us there to know it."
Ginny grimaced. "Good point; hopefully they've run out of steam by now." She threw the powder into the fireplace and Harry was glad to see the ordinary green flames this time. "Goodnight, Harry," she said before calling out "The Burrow!" and disappearing. Too late Harry responded.
"Good night, Ginny." Only then did he realize that they hadn't made a plan for the following day. He really should send her an owl now, but truth be told, he'd had enough fake dating and attention and now he only wanted to sleep. Promising himself that he'd figure things out in the morning, Harry turned and headed up to bed.