Sexyharry- Requesting a fic where Hinny gets stuck to gather in somehow, like in a burrow closet, and they both have crushes on each other.
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Class Shadowing
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"It's getting out of hand, Albus," Minerva said in exasperation to the Headmaster. "The sixth year students and their animosity is at a level I just don't remember seeing before and it is worst from the two that are coddled the most."
"I would hardly call it coddling," Severus interjected.
Minerva quieted him of any further objection to her terminology with a single glare. "Malfoy and Potter are both the worst perpetrators here. You," she pointed at Snape, "allow the Malfoy brat to get away with too much of his snarky remarks. And you," she pointed at Albus, "have been letting it continue and for Harry Potter and his friends to continue thinking that Slytherin's and Gryffindor's can never get along. They may only have two years left but I would like to still have my sanity by that point. Five years of this have been enough. It is only the beginning of the year!"
Detentions had already been handed out and House Points removed and it was only the first week. It had all come from the sixth years. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff students in those years were generally kept out of it, but with the way things were going it wouldn't be that much longer before they were pulled into it as well.
A war was starting and sides were being chosen.
The other years seemed to know that just because you are a Slytherin didn't automatically put you in camp with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. What they needed was for this one set of students to have that same understanding.
"What is it you are proposing then?" Albus asked her.
"The sixth years need to see that the students in the year above them get along just fine regardless of house. I think they need to shadow them, observe them getting along."
"Do they not interact outside of their classes? Must we invent more reasons to spend time with them?" Severus asked.
"Severus," Albus said his name warningly then turned to Minerva. "I think having the sixth years observe the younger students might be more beneficial. The NEWT students are much more focused on their studies than interacting with their peers. Seeing the younger students getting along and mixing with other house mates would be a good idea."
"Wonderful," Minerva said in relief. "I propose during their Charms class. If Fillius has the students in the first two rows, then we can have the sixth year students behind a shield charm and obscured from sight or sound of the fifth years."
"Would this mean that they would be missing other classes?" Severus asked. "Can they afford to do that? They aren't… the brightest."
Minerva steeled herself to not treat him like she might have if he were a student.
"I don't think that missing one class will hurt them," Albus told him. "It will give you a bit of a break as it is Defense that falls at the same time as one of the Fifth year Charms classes."
There in lay a problem with it being the fifth years that were observed; The Slytherin's had Charms with the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors with the Ravenclaws. That meant they wouldn't be watching the Slytherin's interact with the Gryffindors. Charms was really the only class that would be able to have the students interact and allow for observation though.
"Is that the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs?" Minerva asked. She couldn't remember which class was in Charms at the dame time as the sixth year Defense.
"Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," Albus told her.
For a moment her shoulders slumped and she tried to search for another solution. But then she remembered exactly who was in fifth year Gryffindor and their unique approach to problems. Also someone that had been giving that particular student several glib remarks that was in the Ravenclaw house.
"Perhaps…" she started, unsure if this would be crossing lines.
"Perhaps?" Severus indulged her to carry on.
"Perhaps we could encourage a bit of adversity in that particular class and have the sixth years see how the younger class deals with that? The Ravenclaws have Potions before Charms. We could... loosen one of their tongues."
Severus looked to be completely shocked and on board with that decision. Albus on the other hand looked to be holding back a humorous smile at the scene unfolding in his mind should they do that. They knew which students Minerva had in mind for setting an example of how to handle situations too.
()()()
"Not that I'm not happy to be missing out on an hour being stuck with Snape, but I don't know what we're supposed to learn here," Ron stated in his boredom as he leaned back in his chair.
Harry wasn't sure exactly what they were doing either. He and the other students who should have been getting glared at by Snape as he ridiculed their last DADA Professors were in the back row of the Charms classroom with some kind of impenetrable shield up in front of them, waiting for the next class to come in.
"I'm sure there is an important reason," Hermione said. "They wouldn't require us to be here if it weren't. Sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts is to prepare us for our NEWTS. Every class is important."
Harry just yawned. He knew that the Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws were on the other side of the room protected by their own shield while his fellow Gryffindors and two Hufflepuffs were sat over here. He wondered for a moment if the guys on the other side might be able to see them somehow.
He looked down at the tabletop and began absently tracing the grooves in the wood, then the fifth-year students finally started filing in and he looked up. Professor Flitwick wasn't there yet, which was a bit odd, he was always in the classroom ready to go every time Harry had showed up for Charms.
He was sure the sixth years were supposed to make some kind of observations about this class, but he couldn't see anything out of order yet, besides the Professor not being there. He also could only name two or three of the students in this class and they were lining up to sit on the other side of the room from him. Ginny and Luna were sitting close to each other in different rows.
He saw that the Ravenclaw students got their books out right away while the Gryffindors looked to be playing more with their wands. Their year was a bit rowdier than the sixth years were. There was more pushing and teasing.
Luna looked to be in just as much a daze as always. Ginny seemed to be in bright spirits.
"Anyone seen Flitwick?" one of the Ravenclaws asked.
"Probably still climbing the stairs or something," someone snorted a laugh.
"He might have run into some Keiblers," Luna said. "They could be giving him some important information he could share with us."
"Keiblers? Like Keibler Elves?" someone else who was likely a Muggleborn asked.
"Ignore her. It's just Loony being Loony," a guy in front of Harry said.
Harry fought the urge to hit the back of the guys chair.
A spell felt across the room and hit the guy in the face, he tipped over in his chair from it and scrambled to get back properly in his seat.
Harry hadn't noticed where the spell had come from, there were several students on the other side of the room with their wands out, but none pointing directly at him. None of them were looking towards anyone in particular either to call them out.
"Ginny shouldn't have done that," Hermione scolded under her breath.
"That was Ginny? Brilliant," Ron grinned.
"You didn't notice?" she asked, as though it had been obvious.
"No, we didn't," Dean answered for Ron. "And you're the only person that called her out for it."
"Someone over there must have known it was her," Hermione stated incredulously. "I'm not the only person who knew she did it."
"No, you're just the only person saying it aloud. Chastising her for it," Dean pointed out, not nicely either.
It was then that Harry remembered that Dean and Ginny were dating. Good on him for standing up for her then. Harry looked over at Ginny with appreciation. Good on her for standing up for her friend. Luna was a good person and shouldn't be getting teased like that.
The guy who was back in his chair now didn't seem to want to simply let it slide though. He was leaning forward and resting his palms flat on the desk. "Alright, who's the coward that can't call me out to my face? If someone has a problem with me, tell me. Don't just hit me with a spell."
"Wasn't like it was a dangerous spell," a girl across the room shrugged. "You got off lightly really."
"What? For calling her Loony?" he asked, pointing at Luna. "Everyone does it!"
"Makes you feel like a big man, does it?" Ginny asked him with a tilt of her head. There was a glint of something in her eye. It was anger, but a defiant kind.
"It was you, wasn't it?" the guy asked.
"And if it was?" she challenged. "What are you going to do about it? Maybe I'll continue to do it too, every time you say and do something that irritates me. Then you'll just find yourself tripping all over the place. Every time you're a prat, which is a lot."
"You're just still pissed because you weren't invited to our last hang out," he scoffed.
Harry exchanged a look with Ron, both expressions saying the same thing, 'who was this guy?'
Ginny snorted a laugh. "Yes, that's it exactly. Rather than snogging my boyfriend in a broom cupboard I wanted to be in the library with you, and I'm pissed about it."
Most of the class gave a laugh at that as well. Harry and Hermione shifted uncomfortably and cast a look over towards Dean, then to Ron. Dean looked to be fighting a laugh but Ron was going a bit red in the face.
"Yeah right. You're only dating him because you're so desperate to fit in with your brother and Potter."
"Yes, that is all one needs to qualify for me to stick my tongue in their mouth. I'll go for Hermione next," she gave him a saucy wink then and Hermione made an 'eep' sound.
Even the guy instigating that had to pause and gain his composure over that joke. "You know, you might act like you're hot shit, but none of us have forgotten what you did in first year."
Everyone was silent after that. The air seemed to be sucked out of the room as they were all frozen and waiting to see what Ginny would do next.
Slowly she rose from her seat and walked around the room and strode down the row the guy was in. The others in that row were pulling their chairs in to allow her space to pass while douche guy was still sitting there and watching her make her way towards him. She leaned down, placing her one hand on the back of his chair and the other on the desk.
"What of it?" she asked in a dangerous voice.
"Where is Professor Flitwick?" Hermione whispered sounding panicked.
Harry didn't care. He wanted to see what was going to happen next. Why hadn't he noticed before how captivating Ginny was? She had this presence around her that clearly everyone else in her year noticed, and Dean.
"Well… I just…" the guy stammered under her gaze.
"Did you know," Ginny started asking in a quiet voice, "that there is an Acromantula Lair not three miles from here?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" he swallowed.
"Just thought you might like to know that the Chamber of Secrets isn't the only location I know of to dispose of a body."
Harry's jaw dropped. If he thought it was quiet in there before it was nothing to how silent it was now.
She looked so dangerous.
The guy fell backwards out of his seat because he was leaning back to put some space between them, then scrambled to grab his bag and left.
"That wasn't very nice," Luna said to Ginny as she was returning to her seat.
"I started that conversation off being nice. It was Kennedy's own fault he just wet himself," she defended.
That broke the tension in the room and the other students started snickering. There was even a Ravenclaw that gave a high-five to Colin Creevey over that.
"She did not just threaten to kill another student!" Hermione was still gaping.
"She also threatened to snog you," Seamus pointed out to her.
Now that Harry felt like he was seeing Ginny, the real Ginny, for the first time he wondered if he might be a little jealous of Hermione on that front.
Finally, Professor Flitwick toddled into the room and all the fifth-year students went silent.
Throughout the lesson Harry tried to figure out exactly what it was he was supposed to be paying attention to and what it could possibly have to do with the DADA class he was missing right then. The only interesting thing he saw though was what went on before Flitwick arrived and seeing the Ravenclaw kid come back in and take his seat with apologies to the professor. Then once the class was finished it was Flitwick that was the first to leave.
In all Harry's Charms classes over the years he'd never seen Flitwick not be present in the classroom from start to finish. The students were still packing up their things when the half-goblin left as fast as his little legs could take him.
"Think he might be having some kind of bathroom trouble?" Ron commented.
Harry tried hard not to laugh for Hermione's sake, he knew she would scold the both of them for snickering over a Professor.
They had all been instructed to stay until McGonagall came to retrieve them, so he sat back and watched the students trickle out.
Ravenclaw boy in front of him wasn't moving though. All his friends around him left, but he was still sitting there, and it looked like he was glaring at Ginny for embarrassing him.
Then Ginny walked across the room and sat facing the boy with her bum on the desk in the row below him.
"What's your problem with me then?" she asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," he scoffed.
There was confusion written across her face at his response. Harry was confused then too; it had clearly been the Ravenclaw that instigated and aggravated the situation. Ginny was totally justified in scaring the piss out of him as she had.
Some kind of clarity washed over her then though. "Oh. Oh, you… you heard about… that. I thought it was just something from your parents," she said and bit her lip, looking down.
"You knew about it, why wouldn't I know about it?" he asked sharply.
Ginny rolled her eyes at him, her momentary bashfulness gone. "They don't tell me when they get those letters. I only came across them by chance."
"Them?" he asked in confusion.
Ginny gave a snort, "yes, them. You really think your parents were the only one's to ask?"
Harry was totally confused about what they were talking about. He looked over to Ron to see if he had any idea, but Ron was looking just as confused about what was going on. Hermione was listening intently as well.
"Oh," the Ravenclaw kid deflated a bit. "Oh, so it wasn't anything you said that made them turn it down?"
She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "No, it wasn't. Although I would have fought tooth and nail against it. Luckily my parents aren't monetarily motivated, so it really doesn't matter what yours or anyone else's family offers for my hand. I'm not for sale."
Harry's jaw fell open and he heard the sounds of a few hands falling to the wood of the desk on either side of him.
Ginny was getting requests for her hand in marriage? She's fifteen!
"And by the way," Ginny grinned at him. "Low ball offer. Some of the letters I've found had offers of three times that amount."
"Are you shitting me?" he asked. "That was a lot of money my father was willing to give."
"Yeah well, what can I say," she shrugged. "Clearly Pure-Blood supremacy has deep pockets. Or maybe I'm just worth it," she gave him an exaggerated wink.
Pure-blood supremacy? Harry wondered.
"How long has Ginny been getting betrothal contract requests?" Hermione asked Ron sounding scandalized.
"I've no idea," he muttered through grit teeth.
"What the fuck," Dean whispered, also entranced by what was going on.
"Yeah, I've noticed you think a lot of yourself," Ravenclaw guy snickered.
Ginny grinned at him. "So, they're forcing you to marry, are they?" she bit her lip.
"And yours aren't?"
"Nope. At least, not that I know of."
"What a waste," he shook his head. "And you're dating a Muggleborn," he muttered.
"Oh, stop being a twat waffle. Dean's a good guy and I like him," she defended. "Way nicer than Michael ever was. If he's anything to go by I've no problem staying far away from Ravenclaw Purebloods. Judging from the way you've been acting, the yardstick by which I measured Michael is entirely accurate."
"Twat waffle?" Kennedy repeated.
She grinned and gave a laugh. "Yeah, I think you need to derive the meaning from context on that one. It just slipped out," she admitted. "Is that really why you've been such a prat lately? Because you thought I was behind the rejection letter my parents sent?" Ginny asked him.
He shrugged. "I mean. I had thought we'd gotten on alright last year."
"I'm friendly, that doesn't mean I want to shackle myself to you," she stated.
"I know," he assured her. "I've just got a lot of pressure from them to find someone suitable."
Ginny nodded in understanding. "They're expecting full Pureblood too? Because if that's the case-"
"I know," he said morosely. "It leaves only you and one other in the right age range and making sure that there are enough generations before we share an aunt or something."
"Yep," Ginny nodded again. "And Tracey Davis might have a nice set of knockers on her and is reasonably smart. But she's also, how do I put this nicely?"
A huge cunt? Harry supplied in his mind.
"A huge cunt," Ginny told him with a laugh.
Hermione inhaled a sharp breath at that, but Dean and Seamus had no problem snickering.
"Yeah, she's hot. But her family wasn't interested either. So, I figured I'd work at trying to get your notice instead. Maybe change your mind," he admitted.
Ginny snorted a laugh at that. "And how has acting like a dick been working out for you? Think I'm about ready to drop my knickers yet?"
"Ease up, alright?" Harry could hear the smile on the guys face as he leaned back in his chair. "Guess I could expand my search a bit, look somewhere over on the continent."
Ginny batted her eyelashes at him and pulled a French accent, "I am sure zere are plenty of bashful Beaubaton women pour voux. In fact," she returned to her normal voice, "my brother is marrying Fleur Delacour and she's got a younger sister. Remember the little blond girl Harry pulled out of the lake? Part Veela, but still technically a Pureblood."
"And a child," he pointed out.
"Part. Veela," she repeated with emphasis.
He laughed. "Yeah, yeah. So, you're just against arranged marriages?"
"I'm against having my life planned out already."
"Oh? But I thought you were going to marry Harry Potter and have a hoard of children," he teased.
Harry felt his face grow hot and pointedly did not look to his left where Ron was, nor his right where Dean was.
"Shut up," she laughed. "I was hardly the only girl in the school with those bedtime stories warping my mind. I was just under peer pressure when I sent that bloody valentine and now I'm stuck with it haunting me forever." She gave her head a shake. "Did you know that Muggle's have completely different fairytales than we do?" she asked him brightly. "They're all about these pauper girls meeting 'Prince Charming' and the two of them falling madly in love in the face of adversity. But in one of them the prince spends an entire evening with her and the next day he can't remember what she looks like. Then he has to take some special 'one-size-doesn't-fit-all' shoe and check every girl in the country to figure out if the shoe fits. In another, the girl lives with a bunch of dwarfs and gets petrified or something, then the prince decides to snog her corpse and she comes miraculously back to life. Mental," she shook her head.
Hermione scoffed. "She just does not get those stories."
"At least my bedtime stories about Harry Potter were of someone who did something useful," Ginny finished.
"Muggles are so weird," Ravenclaw boy said.
"Not the point I was trying to make, but okay," Ginny rolled her eyes at them.
The two fifth years looked over towards the door of the classroom to see the Professor McGonagall had just arrived in the doorway.
"Professor," Ginny greeted.
"Oh, Miss Weasley, Mister Grenier. What are you still doing here?" she asked in surprise.
"Just having a private chat," Ginny told her and got up. "Professor Flitwick left a few minutes ago."
"Oh. Oh, my dear, I'm sorry, but your chat may not have been as private as you believe," McGonagall told her apologetically and removed the shield wards surrounding the back rows on either side of the classroom.
Ginny and Grenier jumped when they saw all of the sixth-year students there.
"What?!" Grenier started and whirled around to see the Gryffindors that had only been a few feet from him. "How long have they all been here?" he asked the Professor.
"Since before you started class," McGonagall told him briskly.
Harry looked over to the Slytherin's and saw that Tracey Davis was rather red in the face with anger at what they had called her. Malfoy was looking quite calculatingly at Ginny though and that was hitting a nerve with Harry. It must have been the blood purity bits they talked about that had put that expression on his face.
Now Harry had to wonder if Malfoy had a betrothal contract himself, or if the Malfoy's had ever put a bid in for Ginny's hand. He remembered hearing that she was the first female Weasley born in seven generations, that probably would have made her a hot commodity in a few Death Eaters minds.
His eyes went back to Ginny and he saw she was looking at Ron. Harry turned over to look at his best mate as well and saw that Ron was going very red in the face.
"People have been asking for betrothal contracts with you?" Ron ground out the question between clenched teeth.
Hermione was shaking her head and mouthing 'I'm sorry' at Ginny apologetically.
Ginny looked stuck. She was frozen in her spot.
"Perhaps the two of you should continue on your way out," McGonagall suggested abruptly.
Grenier was the one to put his hand on Ginny's arm and tug her along helping her take her first few steps to the door, then she picked up her pace and walked around Professor McGonagall without saying a word.
Professor McGonagall looked around the room at the sixth year Slytherin's and Gryffindors, taking in their mixed expressions of confusion and awkward shifting.
"Did any of the lot of you notice any animosity between the two houses that were sitting here in this class today?" she asked them.
What? Harry asked to himself. Animosity? Is that what he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for?
Hermione, never one to leave a question unanswered, rose her hand into the air right away.
"Miss Granger?"
"Kennedy Grenier was openly rude and slightly hostile toward his housemates and toward… a Gryffindor," she told her. "But they worked it out," she added hastily.
"And did any of these rude or hostile remarks or behaviors interrupt the class while it was in progress?" McGonagall asked.
"No, but it did cause Grenier there to run out and come back after class had started," Seamus told her. A few of the Slytherin's snickered at that.
McGonagall pursed her lips. "I think it might surprise you to know that it is only your year that we have had ongoing issues with in regards to this. The students from different houses in the other years are not nearly as disruptive and openly hostile as those in this room. It is only a handful of you and there are clear events that have led to this behavior, but I would like it to stop, particularly during your lessons.
"The other professors and I agreed to have you sit in and observe this class because they too have issues with members in the other house, however as you have just seen, their problems do not continue during lessons. You are in your NEWT years of study and it is high time that you grow up."
Harry could see Hermione biting her lip hard, likely stopping herself from giving pointed looks to those that McGonagall was talking about; he, Ron and Malfoy.
"From now on we will not tolerate so much as a snide remark before docking points and simply asking one of you to leave the classroom. Keep that in mind before you decide to retaliate," this she said while looking directly at Ron who was still looking furious about what he'd just discovered.
With no more she whirled around and strode out.
"That was the whole reason for this?" Seamus asked incredulously. "To tell Malfoy and Harry to stop barking at each other and pissing us all off?"
"It isn't just Draco and Potter," Pansy Parkinson piped up at him. "I could do without hearing all your running commentary while I'm trying to get my classwork done."
"Oh, no one wants to hear you opening your bitch mouth either," Seamus waved her off.
"Don't talk to her like that," Malfoy told him.
"Then maybe you want to work at keeping her mouth occupied more. It'll be easier for me to ignore her face if yours is blocking it."
Harry didn't know whether it would be appropriate to laugh at that comment. He could definitely do with seeing less of Parkinson's haughty face though. And if her mouth was busy with Draco's tongue in it that would mean less of hearing her high pitched giggling.
From Seamus' comment though everyone started joining in on the fight and comments were flying back and forth. He hadn't realized just how many problems there were between the Gryffindors and Slytherins in their year. Honestly, he'd thought Seamus' first comment about he and Malfoy were it.
Hermione was even trading insults with Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis too, and Ron was jumping in to defend Hermione.
He felt awkward sitting there. Most of what was being said back and forth were caddy things. Harry exchanged a look with Malfoy and saw he looked about as surprised as Harry felt. There was a moment of understanding that passed through them as well; at least they disliked each other for a real reason.
Harry was the first one to collect his bag and stand up. Dean got up and followed him out of the classroom while the rest of their classmates still sat there pelting insults at one another.
"I don't think that had the desired effect that McGonagall was going for," Dean said as he fell in step beside Harry.
"No, I think things might be worse now than ever." He could only imagine how many people would be left by the end of their next few classes if the Professors really did start kicking them out one by one for every snide remark made.
"Er, listen. You're a Pureblood, right?" Dean asked him.
That had Harry stopping in his tracks. "What?" It was the only thing he could manage to say.
"Well, you are, aren't you?"
"Um. No, not… not technically, I guess. Because my mother was a Muggleborn," Harry pointed out. "And I was raised by Muggles."
"Right, yeah. But you know, you're a Potter and that's an old wizarding family."
"Dean, what are you trying to ask me?" Harry had a sneaking suspicion of where this was going and he'd prefer to just stop the conversation right then and there, but was positive Dean wouldn't let up until he had an answer.
"Do you think your family might have been one of the ones to ask for… you know?" Dean shifted from one foot to the next.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I don't know what my mum and dad were like really. From all the stories I've heard I don't think they gave a damn who I would wind up marrying, even if they weren't solely concerned for their safety after I was born. And anyways, what does it matter? You heard Ginny, she could have had hundreds of requests but her parents would never sell her." He knew Mr. and Mrs. Weasley really well now and knew there was no way they would force Ginny to marry someone.
"Right," Dean nodded solemnly, still seeming unconvinced. "It's just, well. I didn't realize just how much competition I had there."
Harry could do no more than stare at Dean then.
Ginny is a pretty girl, she's a great Quidditch player, she's smart and brave. How on earth did her own boyfriend not realize that other guys would want a shot with her?
He couldn't say this out loud though. Mostly because he had only just come to this realization himself.
And why was Dean getting worked up about it when he was the one snogging her in broom closets when she was supposed to be in study groups?
Although, if Dean was having doubts, then maybe Ginny would pick up on that and realize he wasn't worth it. Then Harry could lend her a shoulder to cry on or something. He hadn't liked it when Cho cried on him, but she was a human watering can. Ginny would cry a reasonable amount and then get it all out of her system in one go before carrying on with her life.
"I think you need to talk to her about it," Harry told him. "I'm the wrong person to talk to. I didn't have any idea her parents were getting offers and apparently Ron didn't either. If you have a problem with it, talk to her about it." Because she'd probably get pissed off about it, he thought happily in his mind.
Later that evening the scene that had unfolded with Ginny and Grenier kept playing over in his mind. It had taken his fellow classmates a while to give up on their arguing and leave the Charms classroom. Hermione had filled him in on what he missed to the point of it sounding like she was Lavender and Parvati with a juicy bit of gossip.
Harry didn't care about all the little disputes beyond learning that he and Malfoy weren't the only one's that were having issues like this.
All he cared about was trying to figure out when it was that Ginny had become this woman, and how in the hell he hadn't seen it sooner.
She'd had a crush on him for ages, hadn't she?
That probably ended around the time he admitted he'd forgotten she'd been possessed by Voldemort. That had to have been a slap in the face for her.
Ron was still fuming over learning about all the offers that had been made for his sisters hand, and about the fact he didn't know about them already. Apparently he thought he 'should have been informed'. Even though Ginny had pointed out she had stumbled across the letters, not been shown them by her parents.
Thankfully both Ron and Hermione were off on Prefects rounds now and weren't going on about it to him anymore.
The portrait hole opened and Ginny herself came through it with a thoroughly frustrated look on her face and Dean Thomas right beside her. They were talking in hushed tones as they moved through the room getting closer to Harry's table and Ginny's scowl was becoming more pronounced the closer they moved.
"What about that guy Emerson? The seventh-Year Hufflepuff," Dean said.
Ginny slammed her bag down in the seat she intended to occupy at the next table and rounded on Dean having had enough. "Even if he was one of them I wouldn't tell you. And do you want to know why? BECAUSE IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" she shouted.
They already had the attention of the entire room, but now everyone in the room quieted down so they could properly hear them. Harry caught the expression of the sixth and fifth year girls on the couch in front of the fireplace, they reminded him of Rita Skeeter, and Harry didn't like that at all.
"We have been going out for five minutes, Dean," Ginny exaggerated. "And now, because you and all your classmates sat in listening on a private conversation you think you have the right to know about this? Well you don't! Ron didn't even know about it and he's my brother! For fuck's sake, I wasn't even told about it, I stumbled across it. So you can just take all your questions you have and BURY THEM."
"I can't do that!" Dean looked affronted at the suggestion.
"Then we're done because I am not talking about it or giving you names," she told him plainly.
"WHAT? You're breaking up with me over this?"
"Yes," she stated simply. "Sorry for the show, but you brought that part on yourself," she gestured to the room full of other Gryffindors that were all gawking.
Dean's cheeks colored as he followed her gesture and realized their audience. His whole stature straightened up and he stomped off to their dorm.
Harry watched him go and felt a bubble of happiness about what had just happened.
Ginny was single again.
Then he immediately chastised himself for feeling so happy about it. She looked entirely too frustrated for company so it wasn't like he could just go over there and ask her out. The only other person he had asked out was Cho and she meant nothing to him. Well, nothing now, at the time he was just a jumble full of nerves and awkwardness.
This was Ginny.
He couldn't just ask her out and think everything would be all sunshine and daisies. There was Ron to consider, and Dean was two beds over from him in the dorm room. And he'd realized his fancy for Ginny today.
It didn't matter than she and he would be perfect together, he had to give this some real thought and time, and…
Oh shit, those girls on the couches were about to go over to Ginny and start talking to her. He could see them essentially marking her as prey for more juicy gossip.
Without any further thought he swept his books and parchment off the table and slipped into the seat directly across from Ginny at her table. She looked up at him in shock, like his appearance there was the last thing she expected.
"Sorry." It was the first thing that slipped out of his mouth. Why was he apologizing? He was doing her a favor. "Er, it looked like you were about to have company you didn't want," he said, inclining his head towards the fireplace. Sure enough his presence had deterred the girls from coming over, but they still reminded him of Rita Skeeter discovering a secret romance. "Oh shit, I've just gone and made this worse, haven't I?"
He said the last bit under his breath, the blaring picture of he and Hermione in the Daily Prophet at the first task when she had hugged him shot to his mind.
The sound of Ginny's muffled laughter brought his attention back to her. "You really don't think much before charging in, do you?" she asked. Her eyes were a light brown now, just a moment ago he could have sworn they were a dark chocolate brown.
They must change with her mood, he thought.
Her comment didn't stop a grin from coming to his own face. "I really don't. That's what Hermione is for," he shrugged nonchalantly.
Her smile faltered a bit then. "Where are she and Ron?"
"Rounds," he assured her. "And yes, they were talking about it."
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him sharply.
"I wasn't going to ask. I'm just going to sit here and work on my assignments. Hopefully keep acting as some kind of deterrent."
Ginny's shoulders relaxed and she gave him a soft smile. "Thanks, Harry."
"Anytime."
True to his promise to himself, he gave his newfound attraction to Ginny some time to properly manifest itself, which in turn resulted in several progressively naughty dreams over the following weeks; One time they were flying around the pitch in the middle of a game and then suddenly they were alone and their uniforms were no longer anywhere near regulation. She had on short shorts and a tank top. The day after having that dream he really noticed how well Ginny's chest had developed. In another dream they were back at the Burrow, down by the pond. She was wearing a bathing suit, as was he, and they were just talking like they normally do, but this time they were touching too; a simple hand on his forearm, a finger trailing down the side of his face.
The next time he dreamed about them down by the pond she jumped in the water and took off her swim top.
Sufficed to say; he was very grateful to have learned the silencing spells for his bed hangings.
He kept finding reasons to sit with her in the Common Room, particularly when Ron and Hermione were gone. He would gravitate towards her at the Gryffindor Table as well, and he noticed a few other boys taking an intrigued look over of her, and he didn't like it.
His whole year had been a big jumble thus far, much better than the previous with no Umbridge, but still. He was supposed to be getting closer to Slughorn and learning things from the lessons with Dumbledore, but all he wanted to do was find excuses to get closer to Ginny.
Hermione had noticed, Ron seemed oblivious.
That must be a Weasley trait, because Ginny seemed oblivious as well.
It was probably for the best that she didn't notice because he was a bloody moron when it came to girls. And it was glaringly obvious that this was well more than a crush he had on her. He knew Ginny. They had been through things together. It was like there really had been a Nargle floating around him that day in the Charms classroom, just tapping away on his forehead and pointing out how misguided he had been in the love department until now.
Now it was Halloween, and that meant the Halloween feast.
Traditionally this feast did not have the best track record and though there would be excessive amounts of food, like Ron kept pointing out, that wasn't quite enough to get Harry excited about it. Instead he opted to take advantage of the empty pitch and go for a fly.
It was chilly out, but not unbearably so. No one else was using the pitch right now either.
He had decided to do this rather than attend the feast while he was on his way to the Great Hall, so he didn't have his broom with him. Instead, he would grab one of the school brooms and see how well he could make one of those terrible brooms submit to him.
He went to the shed and, though it was dark, went straight into it to reach for one of the brooms, knowing exactly how many steps it should have been to their cupboard spot on the other side of the small room.
The door was already swinging shut behind him when a voice from the other corner of the room called out. "Hold the door!"
He didn't though. The door swung shut as he gave a jump over the sudden sound of someone speaking close by and reached for his wand, which he didn't have on him.
How in the hell had he left his wand?
"Damn," the voice said. It was a familiar voice.
"Ginny?" Harry asked incredulously. "What's going on?"
"I've been stuck in here for a half hour at least. The door is spelled shut or something. We're stuck in here."
Not because he didn't believe her or anything, but he immediately went to the door and tried to push it back open, but it wouldn't give.
"Do you have your wand?" she asked.
"No," he groaned.
"Why did you come down here? Why aren't you at the feast?"
"I just felt like going for a fly and having the pitch to myself. Why're you here?"
"Same. I came in to grab a broom and the door simply stuck. I thought I'd be stuck in here by myself all night." She gave a scoff of laughter, "of course you're the one to find me."
It was said quietly, more to herself. But she said it. And he knew what she was referring to.
"This place is a little nicer than a Chamber at least." It was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Merlin, how he'd like to go back in time and stop that from having left his lips.
There was silence hanging between them now. It was too dark in here for him to make out her expression.
"Does anyone know you're down here?" Ginny asked after what felt like forever.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed, glad to have something else to say that wasn't quite so stupid. "Ron thought I was crazy for missing the feast but given my history with Halloween feasts I wasn't keen on finding out if this one was going to go sideways."
"And yet here you are, in a pickle of a situation with me."
"I think I can deal with this one just fine," he chuckled.
"I am a pleasure to be in the company of, yes. Unfortunately, I haven't a Troll to smash open the door or a Goblet of Fire to give us some light." He could hear her smile behind her words.
"Where are you exactly?" He hadn't noticed her when he came in and there wasn't that much space in there that someone standing there wouldn't be seen right away.
"Laying on the mats," she told him.
She sounded so nonchalant about it. That was as much proof as he needed that she wasn't still interested in him. She just told him she was laying down in the dark while they were alone together and sounded so blaze about it.
"Are there two stacks?" he asked.
"No. Just the one. I can scooch over."
She may as well have been yawning while she said it.
He had criticized himself several times over the past few weeks for never having noticed her properly before that class shadowing. Before she stopped blushing in his presence actually.
Him realizing that Ginny Weasley was the ideal person for him and he should have been pining for her well before then, it had been the only thing to come from that 'lesson'. How McGonagall thought seeing the other class behaving would make them all get along better, or at least keep it out of the classroom, she'd been mad to think that would work. It was well too late into their school careers to try and change their attitudes towards each other at this point.
It hadn't just been him that started taking a proper notice of Ginny because of that day. He'd seen several other guys giving her a looking over too. It made his mental hawk go up and he felt like he had to go and sit by her to scare them off.
The opportunity to lay down beside her wasn't one he was going to pass on though.
"Thanks," he said and held his hands out in front of him. There was a bit of light coming in from around the wood of the door but not enough that he could properly make out his surroundings yet.
Slowly he waved his hands back and forth, anticipating hitting something, until his fingers brushed along something. Then Ginny's hand met his and she tugged him towards her, helping him get up on the mat.
"Oh," he exclaimed as he lay down beside her.
"What?"
"It's just… these aren't quite as big as they were a few years ago." It wasn't the proper way to phrase that, but he also wasn't thinking quite clearly right now.
Ginny snorted a laugh. "That's right, Harry. You're a big boy now."
He chuckled as well. "I've only seen them used during flying lessons, and I don't see why they even bother. Couldn't Madame Hooch just use a cushioning charm?"
"Well now, if you'd read Hogwarts: A History," Ginny started in her most Hermione-esque voice, making his smile even wider. "Then you would know that these mats were donated along with the school brooms by Joscelind Wadcock when he got the record for most goals in the 20th century thus far. It was a great day for Hogwarts students and Puddlemere United fans alike."
"Oh really? And when did this all go down? The 1950's? I'd reckon those brooms are about that old."
"1930's actually," she corrected.
"Those brooms are near seventy years old?!" he exclaimed. "No wonder their crap. Do the charms on them even last that long?"
He could feel her shrug, "they're good enough for the first years and their flying lessons. The basic charms still work."
"You still fly decently on them too," he said as he thought back to watching her give one of them a try after one of the Gryffindor practices.
"I'm pretty good with stubborn brooms. And people," she added.
"Yeah, you're really good with handling people. Lot's of practice with Ron and the Twins I expect. They should have made you captain this year."
"So glad you noticed. Now you know who you're to tell McGonagall will be your successor," she said cheekily.
"Pretty sure she is well aware. You're a force to be reckoned with." After the words left his mouth he wanted to take them back somehow. Describing her that way felt like it wasn't his right to do.
She was though; Ginny Weasley is a force to be reckoned with, and she wears it so naturally that he had managed to see right past her for five years. Her battle with Tom Riddle in her first year had made her grow up entirely too fast and made it so she didn't give a fuck what anyone thought of her, because she knew it was only what she thought of herself that mattered.
"I guess I just take after my mum then," she said softly.
"No. You take after yourself. I can't really picture you just running a house with a hoard of children when you grow up. I'm expecting you'll be making a name for yourself doing something great." Where the hell was his mouth filter?
It had to be because it was dark in here. If he could see her face he'd be able to gauge her expression and simply keep his mouth shut. Because he couldn't see her he just kept shoving his foot farther and farther into his mouth instead.
"Been planning my future for me, have you?" she asked. "We'll move right past that and I'll ask you not to put any great expectations on my plate. I've already got all my brothers out there making names for themselves. It's a lot to live up to when you're the last sibling of a Curse Breaker, Dragon Handler, Ministry Lapdog and the Twins. Let's not forget my other brother, best friend and willing cohort in all dangerous situations that What's-His-Name gets into every year. You know, that guy everyone is always chasing after," she joked.
"Hey! You were there for that last dangerous situation too!" he pointed out.
"Yes well, I chased after him once too, so what do I know."
What was this? The final nail in that coffin?
He had hoped that it wasn't truly said and done, her crush on him. He had hoped that there was still a bit of that left, enough to find him more appealing based on their interactions over the years and not because of her bedtime stories.
"You never really chased after me though. You just squeaked and ran away." Oh yeah, great call Harry, he chastised himself, bring up all the times she embarrassed herself why don't you. How about mentioning the butter dish and her elbow that first summer?
"Yeah," she laughed. "I was so awe struck."
She laughed!
She didn't sound embarrassed.
"I didn't know how to act around you either, if that helps," he grinned into the darkness. This was going much better than he thought it would. None of his stupid words-forming-into-sentences was getting in the way thus far. "I grew up in a cupboard under the stairs with people who didn't want to look at me. Being around people who couldn't stop staring at me because of something I didn't know I did," he shrugged. "It took some getting used to."
"You have been dealing with it a lot better," she remarked.
"I think most everyone has gotten used to the sight of my face."
He felt her moving around and getting more comfortable. "I think it's because you've managed so well with everything you've been dealing with."
No. This was going down a path he didn't want to think about. He knew so little about her, he'd realized over the last two months. Everyone and his uncle knew everything that he had dealt with over the last six years.
"Looking forward to the next Hogsmeade visit?" he skillfully changed the subject.
"Smooth, Potter."
Okay, maybe not so skillfully.
"Think I'm actually going to stay at the castle and enjoy the quiet. Not like I'm all that concerned about when I'd get down to the village next," she said slyly and gave him a bit of a nudge.
"The twins shared a few of their secrets, did they?"
"Yes. They told me about your map too. I was super jealous, and a bit angry they didn't give it to me. I certainly could have used it in my second year. But no, it had to go to you."
He opened his mouth, maybe to apologize, maybe to defend, he wasn't quite sure.
"Don't worry. Sirius wound up telling me about how it was actually made by him and his friends, including your dad. You have more right to it than I do." He felt her shift around a bit more and felt her breath on his cheek, she was on her side.
He turned on his side too and there was just enough light in there now that he could make out her form.
"I was amazed when I found out. But Ron had pretty much the same reaction as you," he admitted.
"I can imagine."
Harry knew he was crap with girls, his only foray into dating with Cho last year had been disastrous but laying here with Ginny felt so natural.
She let out a snicker under her breath.
"What?" he asked.
"I couldn't help a stray thought from coming to mind. Just, what would my eleven-year-old self think if she knew I'd be laying here like this with you one day," she let out another laugh and he felt her exhale against his chin.
Harry was more wondering how her fifteen-year-old self was thinking about it. They were trapped in a dark place for who knows how long. She was such pleasant company too. There must have been something that happened that made her feel more comfortable around him, and he was grateful for that, but now he had no idea how she might feel about him and if she was at all interested anymore.
And his brain was acting like a little girl.
"How did you and Dean wind up together?"
If he could have back pedaled on any question thus far, it would have been that one. He really needed to listen to Hermione more and Ron less. Blurting out things without thinking about it, that was a Ron thing.
To his surprise Ginny gave a groan at that one and rolled onto her back. "I figured he'd be a nice change after Michael. I liked his drawings and he was nice," he could tell she gave a shrug from the subtle sound of shifting near her shoulders. "I just didn't think he'd be so… never mind. He's your dormmate, I won't get into it."
He could feel it, admission time. "He followed me out of Flitwick's class, you know, that day. Asked if I knew. I could tell he was as surprised about it… but I many have guided him towards talking to you about it."
"Intentionally?" she asked slowly.
Harry gave pause before answering. "Yes."
He felt her raise up on her elbows. "You thought I'd be cool with chatting about it with him?"
She couldn't see him grinning, but apparently she could hear it somehow.
"Harry! That was such a shit thing to do! I know you don't know me that well, but I was sure you would have known by now that Weasley's don't just walk around talking about their feelings. They just bury them and hug it out when shit gets too intense," she huffed and he couldn't resist letting a chuckle out. "You broke me and Dean up, I hope you're proud."
"If that was all it took then I did you a favor."
"Yeah, ending it right when the snogging was getting good. Thanks a lot," she lay back down.
This time he knew what he was saying before he said it. He'd let a lot of stupid things slip out tonight, but this one, he purposefully didn't stop himself from saying this one. "You know, if you need more practice, word is you liked me at one point."
In the next stretch of silence he was so nervous waiting for her reaction. For some reason his hands felt twice the size they should be.
"We could be stuck here for a while," she said softly as though she was considering the offer.
His heart leapt into his chest.
That meant yes! She was okay with snogging him!
"Really?" he asked, his excitement over that very apparent in his tone.
"You… you want to snog me?" she asked in surprise.
"Oh, well. I, uh. I mean, if you don't want to… I just," he stuttered.
"Harry, do you like me?"
His heart was pounding in his chest. "Yes," he admitted.
Harry hadn't realized just how quiet it was in the dark room until then. It didn't even sound like she was breathing. He couldn't hear wind or animals, branches or leaves rustling, nothing. Just his blood pounding in his ears.
Then her hand came to the side of his face, missing her mark a bit and catching his ear, but that touch as her fingers came to rest on his cheek sent a lovely shiver down his back.
"You like me?" she whispered.
He wasn't the best at reading girls, but he could recognize a hopeful tone when he heard it. That meant that she still held some feelings for him!
"Yes," he told her again.
Her hand was still pressed against the side of his face but she wasn't making any movement to come forward and kiss him or anything. He'd admitted he fancied her, doesn't that mean it was her job to come and kiss him now? There was relief flooding through his veins now, but this not being a life or death situation meant that his bravery wasn't coming out in full force. He couldn't find it in him to move just then. All he could do was lay here and revel in the feel of her hand against his cheek. It was so rare that someone would touch him too, even just this felt nice.
"Since when?" she asked. "Would you ever have admitted that if we weren't trapped in here together?"
Now he didn't understand her tone. Shouldn't she have come forward and started snogging him? Ginny wasn't exactly one to prefer talk over action. She was a Weasley after all. Even Percy, bastard that he was, preferred to work rather than talk about it.
Honesty time though. It was easier to get this out when they were in the dark.
"I've always liked you. I just realized it was a little more than friendly… since..."
He heard and felt the huff of breath that meant she knew exactly when it started. The class shadowing day. "Hold on. Does that mean that when you gave Dean that 'advice' you were hoping it would turn out the way it did rather than just to get me cheesed off at him?"
Harry couldn't help it. A tremble of laughter went through him. "See, I do know you a bit. And he should have known you better by that point too." Now he was sure that if he could see her he'd be looking at wide eyes and her lovely mouth hanging open.
"You're diabolical," she started.
He didn't want to wait any longer though. He leaned over towards her and wound up bumping his forehead against what was possibly her eyebrow.
"Ow!" they both cried out softly.
"Sorry! I was, erm, trying." But words were failing him.
"Let me then," she said. Then she did them both the favor of coming forward and kissing him.
He responded immediately once her lips met his, he instantly felt like he'd just sucked in a breath of fresh air the way his chest expanded from her touch. Her hand slipped down to his neck as her soft lips pressed more firmly against his own. It was slow and tentative. Two sets of lips dancing against each other, first this way, and then that. Then he started to gain more confidence in it, enough to take the lead and have her being the one laying back properly against the mat.
Firmer and deeper their kisses grew. He half expected that she would stop him, or at least slow him down. Instead, she hooked her leg behind his and pulled him closer. They both felt the rumble of each other's appreciative groans at their bodies being pressed together like this. Her tongue licked at his bottom lip. He'd never gotten tongues involved before, he didn't know what his was supposed to do. It always looked so gross when he'd seen actors doing this.
Tentatively he started opening his mouth.
It didn't feel anything like how he'd expected. Instead, it made the lower half of him react. See, she wasn't sticking her tongue in his mouth, no, she was giving these small, teasing licks to just the inside of his lips. They were teasing in the sense that he could picture her doing just that, but with them shedding clothes and her working her way down.
Tongues, Harry decided, were very good.
He wanted to get his involved as well, but not just against her lips. Her lips were fantastic, but there was so much more to her. He kissed down the line of her jaw and found his face buried at the dip in her collar.
She arched against him, enough for him to slip his hand under her back.
So good, this feels so good, that was just repeating over and over in his head. Other than that his mind was a blank, it was just the sensations. He'd never known before just how good touching someone else like this could feel.
Then her hand found its way into his hair and he had no control over the groan that came out of his mouth.
Ginny gave a small hum of pleasure over his reaction. "Like that, do you?"
"I've never felt that before. It's amazing," he groaned basically having gone limp in her arms.
She shivered, or possibly vibrated with silent laughter, but ran her hand through his hair again, then pulled on it slightly to help pull him up and let their lips lock once more.
Being here with her like this was akin to slipping into a warm bath. He felt amazing and had no regret missing the holiday feast now.
"Ginny," he murmured against her lips. "Do you. I mean, I know you used to be interested in me, but."
He felt her lips curve up into a smile. "I never stopped liking you Harry, or hoping that you might be interested in me too one day."
Before hearing that he hadn't realized that he was bracing for her answer, now his body relaxed. "Really? So, you'll. I mean, does that mean that you'd like to be my… girlfriend?"
"Yes," she replied softly. "Now will you keep kissing me? We can only have so much longer before our friends notice us missing."
It was properly dark outside by the time they registered the sound of someone calling her name somewhere on the pitch.
Harry nearly fell off the side of the mat attempting to detangle himself from Ginny when they finally separated due to Ginny registering the calls. It had been the most blissful half hour of his life simply losing himself in her kisses and touches. He was also rock hard and thoroughly appreciated how she hadn't said anything about it, nor pulled away from him, because she definitely felt it.
"You okay?" Ginny asked, hearing him shuffling around.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He was thankful for the darkness now because it gave him time to adjust himself, then he found his way to the door and started banging on it. Ginny had found her way to stand beside him when the door opened and her dormmate Talia Stevens was the one who opened it.
Talia gave them both one good looking over and let out a laugh. "I guess you were fine then?" she snickered.
It was getting dark out, but with the door open he and Ginny turned to look at each other and he saw that not only was their hair a mess but he had made a few marks on her neck! Her lips had that 'just snogged' plumpness to them as well. No doubt something reflected on his own face as well. Although, his hair always looked like he'd been caught in a windstorm.
Ginny just gave her friend a chuckle and a shrug before grinning up at him. "What else were we supposed to do to pass the time?"
()()()
