Chapter 6: The Plot
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sat once again next to Severus at the staff table, wishing away the tears that were welling up.
She looked up at Professor Dumbledore's grave face as he addressed the school.
"... Hagrid was a well respected, and well loved, member of our school." He said.
A quiet sob from the Gryffindor table, no doubt from Hermione, broke the silence.
"Many of you knew Hagrid not only as a teacher, but as a friend, and I would ask you to join me in a
minute's silence in the memory of a dear friend." Professor Dumbledore finished, his eyes glistening.
He bowed his head and the rest of the hall fell completely silent, with the exception of Hermione's
crying and Proffessor McGonagall blowing her nose.
Ginny bit her lip and raised her eyes to the bewitched ceiling, praying that she wouldn't break down.
She found unexpected comfort in Severus's hand, which covered hers discreetly under the table.
At the end of one minute, Professor Dumbledore spoke again, making everyone jump.
"On an even more serious note, I believe you will all be wondering what killed Hagrid. I cannot lie to
you and tell you that he was ill or was the victim of a terrible accident. The truth is that Hagrid was killed
by Voldemort."
A horrified gasp came from three quarters of the hall. Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table and
her eyes narrowed as she saw Malfoy and co. laughing quietly.
"I do not wish to alarm you, however I believe that you deserve to know the truth." Dumbledore
continued. "Do not be afraid to walk the corridors of this school, I assure you that while I am here
I shall do everything within my power to protect you. But do not take any unneccesary risks. Do not
walk out of the school building after dark. Do not visit the Forbidden Forest." He sighed, "You may
continue with your breakfast."
He resumed his seat.
Ginny looked around the hall. The first thing she noticed was Hermione, being held by Ron, and being
consoled by the rest of a devasted Gryffindor table. With the exception of Harry. Ginny was both
suprised and disturbed when she saw him sitting, as though he had not heard Dumbledore's words,
completely still and silent, focussing on a patch of wall opposite him.
//Oh God,// She thought, //Maybe he's reacted to this worse than I thought he would. After all, Hagrid's
the closest thing Harry had to a father.//
Seeing Harry's unfeeling face, Ginny decided to go down and talk to him. Before Severus could stop
her, she was walking towards the Gryffindor table. Unfortunately, to get there she had to pass Malfoy
and the Slytherins. Severus predicted trouble and stood up, ready to prevent any curses or
bewitchments.
As Ginny walked past the Slytherin table, she heard a loud drawling voice say,
"Well, that's one less mudblood in the world. It's a start."
Turning bright red, she span round and stormed towards him, her vision clouding over in a sea of red.
The other Slytherins, seeing her stride towards them, scurried out of her way.
"What did you say?" She hissed at Malfoy.
"What, Weasley?" He asked lazily.
"What did you just say?" She repeated in a dangerously quiet tone.
"I said -" He began.
" - I know what you said." She interupted. She pulled her hand back and saw his eyes widen with
shock just before she slapped him across the cheek as hard and as stingingly as she could.
She looked satisfied at the red hand print visible on his cheek and smiled grimly.
"Never insult my friends again." She growled. "You call Hagrid a mudblood," She scoffed, "He's
a hundred times a better person than you are."
Malfoy seemed to get over the shock of being slapped and his eyes narrowed,
"Whatever, Weasley. Just remember one thing," He sneered, "He was just the first to go. He was just
used as a test for Voldemort's powers. It was a shame to waste such good power on a thing like him.
But don't worry, you and your boyfriend'll be next."
Ginny felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She felt tears spring to her eyes and angrily tried
to will them away, but it was no use. Malfoy laughed coldly and began to walk away. However, at
the moment Ginny had slapped Malfoy, Severus had stepped forward, and had heard all of what
Malfoy said.
He stepped forward once again and grabbed Malfoy by the scruff of the neck.
"Don't dare speak to Miss Weasley, or any teacher, like that again, mister Malfoy." He warned.
"Sorry, sir." Malfoy sneered.
"I mean it, Malfoy." Severus whispered, "I'm just about through with you and your father. A family of
evil, all of you." He was about to go on, but Professor Dumbledore called to him from the staff table,
"Severus! Miss Weasley! Please come to my office!"
Severus grudgingly let go of Malfoy's robes and dropped him. He turned and stalked angrily out,
followed by Ginny who kept her head down and tried to ingnore the silence and the hundreds of eyes
that followed them, still stinging from the remarks Malfoy had made.
Proffessor Dumbledore's office
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Severus, Ginny." Dumbledore said gravely, sitting calmly behind his desk as Severus trode around the room
and Ginny sat demurely on a chair, her eyes still red from crying, "I'm sorry for the loss of Hagrid, Ginny."
"I know." She replied, "Thank you, sir."
"It's quite alright. Now," Dumbledore clasped his hands and leant his elbows on the table, "Severus please sit
down, you're making me dizzy walking in circles."
"Sorry, Professor." He said quietly and sat down next to Ginny.
"As you know," Dumbledore began, "I have spies in every corner of the magical world. One of them recently
brought me some news." He paused, "Peter Pettigrew will be making a trip to a muggle hotel to complete a
deal with one of Voldemort's informers. I want you two to go there and 'bug' I believe the expression is, his
conversation."
"And how do we do that, Professor?" Severus asked.
"I have devised a plan." Dumbledore stood up and began to pace around the room, "You will travel to the muggle
hotel in the disguise of a newly married couple." He looked hard at Ginny and Severus and saw the look he
expected on their faces. "Where you will stay in the room opposite Pettigrews. I will perform a charm making
you able to hear their conversation, and you will report back to me with the details."
"I suspect this is one of those 'easier said than done' plans, Professor." Severus said.
"Exactly, Severus. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will go fine."
The Next Day, A Muggle Hotel Somewhere
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny and Severus stood in the lobby of the rather impressive hotel and gazed about them. The carpet was
royal blue and the walls were sparkling marble.
"Wow!" Ginny whispered to Severus, "Talk about expensive taste!"
Severus, to heighten the illusion, had one arm wrapped around Ginny's waist, something which neither of them
were complaining about.
"Hmm." Severus said suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.
"We'd better get up to the room, we've got to set everything up before they get here." She said.
Severus nodded unsmilingly and was about to turn round when Ginny's eyes widened and she gasped loudly.
She grabbed Severus' arm to stop him from turning round and he placed his other hand on her waist. Now he had
both his arms round Ginny's waist and couldn't see anything behind him.
"What?" Severus whispered.
"Okay, don't look now, but our friends have shown up early." She whispered back.
"Who is it?" Severus asked.
"Pettigrew and a three people I don't know." She answered. "Oh my God!" She whispered, "They're coming
over! They're coming over! What'll we do?"
"What?!" Severus hissed.
"I think they've seen us!" Ginny hissed back, "Do something!"
"If you insist." Severus whispered and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He felt her stiffen in his arms in suprise,
then relax and return the kiss, wrapping her arms round his neck.
//Okay,// He thought, //I should probably stop now... I will do... In a minute... Maybe...//
Slowly, cautiously, Ginny drew away from him and gave him a look of complete and utter shock.
"Have they gone?" Severus whispered hoarsely.
"I think so... Yes, they have." Ginny said.
"Good. We need to get to the room. And quickly."
They walked over to the reception desk and Ginny smiled at the girl behind it. Severus stood stonily and gazed
around in an unimpressed way.
"Hi, we've booked the honeymoon suite." Ginny said.
"Name?" Asked the girl, who stopped filing her nails to flick through the bookings list.
"Smith." Ginny said, "Mr and Mrs Smith." She flashed Severus a look and stepped on his toe discreetly to make
pay attention as the girl was giving him a strange look.
"Yeah." The girl stood up and walked lazily to the hooks at the back of the reception. "Here." She threw the key
to Ginny. "Top o'the stairs. Ye canna miss it."
"Thank you." Severus smiled icily at her, but she had gone back to her nails.
Severus held the door open for Ginny and they began to climb the wide, impressive staircase.
"At least we're somewhere decent." Ginny said quietly. "It's better than the Leaky Cauldron."
Severus nodded absent mindedly, eyes narrowed as he watched for anyone following them.
It was a long climb up to the top of three flights of stairs, especially carrying bags, as they were. They reached
the end of a long landing and Severus unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal the most beautiful room
Ginny had ever seen.
"Wow!" She said again.
Severus remained silent.
Ginny immeadiately ran through one of the doors. She came back a minute later, squealing,
"The bed's squishy!" Then she blushed as she realised that there was only one bed.
//Well it's a Honeymoon Suite, what did you expect?// She scolded herself.
"I'll take the couch." Severus said, turning away to dump the bags. She blushed and turned away.
"Let's get this set up then." She said, indicating the large window, which looked directly into the room opposite.
Severus took out his wand and muttered a few words. Why was he always so damn secretive? Ginny never
heard any of the spells he said.
"There." He said. "All done."
"What did you do?" She asked.
"Now we can hear everything that's said in that room." Severus told her. "All we have to do now is wait."
"Ooh, what fun." Ginny said, sarcastically.
"I know I'm not very interesting company," Severus said, "But you don't have to rub it in."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Ginny rubbed her eyes, "It's just been a long day. And these muggle
clothes make me uncomfortable." She tugged at the jeans she was wearing.
"Go and put some robes on if you want." Severus said, "I suspect that being in a honeymoon suite, they'll leave
us alone." He said dryly.
"Yeah, I suppose. I won't be long." She told him.
"I'll have a look round." He said, wandering over to the fridge to see what was in there. He raised an eyebrow.
Champagne.
He hunted around for two glasses. If they provided champagne, he wasn't going to miss out.
//God, why does this feel so right?// He thought. //It feels like I should really be married to her. I've not been this
happy for a long time. I may as well have some fun. Fun. That word sounds very strange. God, what am I thinking?
I'm miserable. That's what I do. And no Weasley is going to change that.//
Ginny came out of the bedroom, interupting Severus's thoughts.
She was dressed in a simple deep green robe that was fitted around the bust and waist. It was quite low cut and
Severus felt that averting his eyes politely was the onlt thing he could do.
"You look nice." He said, feeling as stupid as he sounded.
"Thanks." Ginny grinned, "I'm afraid this is years old." She said, "I think my grandma used to wear it."
"It suits you."
"Thanks." Ginny said again.
They sank into an uneasy silence, not knowing what to do or say.
"Oh, by the way. I found this in the fridge."
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"It's called champagne." He explained, "It's a muggle drink. Would you like some?"
"Are you sure?" She asked, "Aren't we meant to be watching the room?"
"We have to do something while we wait." Severus said.
//And getting drunk sounds pretty appealing.// He thought.
"Okay!" Ginny laughed, "You've twisted my arm!"
Severus half-smiled and concentrated on pouring two glasses of champagne.
Ginny watched him and was suprised by the change that had overcome him since they left the school. Gone was
cold, sad, weary face, and it was replaced by a slightly happy smiling one that Ginny thought suited him much
better. He looked as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He still hadn't actually gotten round to laughing,
though.
Severus handing her a glass interupted her reverie.
"Here." He said, handing her the glass. "Here's to getting drunk." He said dryly.
//And here's to us// He thought silently, not knowing that the same thought crossed Ginny's mind.
They held each other's gaze over the top of the glasses as they sipped the champagne.
Ginny knew that the atmosphere was getting closer in the room and that it was dangerous to flirt like this. She
could see that something that shouldn't was going to happen, but she did nothing about it. As Severus had said,
'Here's to getting drunk.'
//He's so different// Ginny mused once more, regarding Severus silently over the rim of her glass, //He's so
witty. Not intentionally so, just sarcastic. I wish he's laugh.//
Severus stood up and pulled himself onto the couch, one arm outstretched over the back of the piece of furniture.
He took another sip of champagne and Ginny watched him from her place on the floor. Suddenly, she too stood
up and sat at the opposite end of the couch.
"Do you want to watch T.V. or something?" Severus asked awkwardly, not knowing what 'young people' did.
"T.V.?" Ginny wondered out loud, then remembered her Muggle Studdies lessons, "Oh! Television!"
Severus smiled inwardly and reached for the remote control. The first channel he came across featured wrestling.
"Urgh." Ginny said, "No thanks."
Severus flicked channels again, then landed on Sky Movie Premiere. 'Titanic' it seemed, had just started.
"Ah, I've heard about this." Severus said, "Most expensive film ever made." He told her.
"I've never seen a muggle film before." Ginny said, "Can we watch this?"
"Of course." Severus said, settling back against the couch, deciding that watching soppy films wouldn't be too
bad. It's not as if they had anything else to do...
//Well, actually....// His brain began, //No, stop it!// He commanded himself.
Nearly Three hours Later
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sniffed and wiped her eyes at the scene showing on the T.V. screen. It was just up to the bit where
they're both in the water and Rose is telling Jack she'll never let him go.
Severus glanced across at Ginny and was alarmed to see her crying.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yes," She sniffed, "This is just so sad."
"Yes." Severus replied for lack of anything else to say.
Suddenly, the air became filled with a static sound.
Ginny jumped.
"What's that?" She squeaked.
Severus jumped up and peered around the curtains.
"They're in there." Severus hissed.
"Who...?" Ginny asked... "Oh!"
She too stood up and peered around the curtain. She gasped at what she saw.
"It can't be!" She gasped. "Not him!"
Severus just stared at who he saw standing doing business with Peter Pettigrew.
"Damn you..." He growled.
To Be Continued....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sat once again next to Severus at the staff table, wishing away the tears that were welling up.
She looked up at Professor Dumbledore's grave face as he addressed the school.
"... Hagrid was a well respected, and well loved, member of our school." He said.
A quiet sob from the Gryffindor table, no doubt from Hermione, broke the silence.
"Many of you knew Hagrid not only as a teacher, but as a friend, and I would ask you to join me in a
minute's silence in the memory of a dear friend." Professor Dumbledore finished, his eyes glistening.
He bowed his head and the rest of the hall fell completely silent, with the exception of Hermione's
crying and Proffessor McGonagall blowing her nose.
Ginny bit her lip and raised her eyes to the bewitched ceiling, praying that she wouldn't break down.
She found unexpected comfort in Severus's hand, which covered hers discreetly under the table.
At the end of one minute, Professor Dumbledore spoke again, making everyone jump.
"On an even more serious note, I believe you will all be wondering what killed Hagrid. I cannot lie to
you and tell you that he was ill or was the victim of a terrible accident. The truth is that Hagrid was killed
by Voldemort."
A horrified gasp came from three quarters of the hall. Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table and
her eyes narrowed as she saw Malfoy and co. laughing quietly.
"I do not wish to alarm you, however I believe that you deserve to know the truth." Dumbledore
continued. "Do not be afraid to walk the corridors of this school, I assure you that while I am here
I shall do everything within my power to protect you. But do not take any unneccesary risks. Do not
walk out of the school building after dark. Do not visit the Forbidden Forest." He sighed, "You may
continue with your breakfast."
He resumed his seat.
Ginny looked around the hall. The first thing she noticed was Hermione, being held by Ron, and being
consoled by the rest of a devasted Gryffindor table. With the exception of Harry. Ginny was both
suprised and disturbed when she saw him sitting, as though he had not heard Dumbledore's words,
completely still and silent, focussing on a patch of wall opposite him.
//Oh God,// She thought, //Maybe he's reacted to this worse than I thought he would. After all, Hagrid's
the closest thing Harry had to a father.//
Seeing Harry's unfeeling face, Ginny decided to go down and talk to him. Before Severus could stop
her, she was walking towards the Gryffindor table. Unfortunately, to get there she had to pass Malfoy
and the Slytherins. Severus predicted trouble and stood up, ready to prevent any curses or
bewitchments.
As Ginny walked past the Slytherin table, she heard a loud drawling voice say,
"Well, that's one less mudblood in the world. It's a start."
Turning bright red, she span round and stormed towards him, her vision clouding over in a sea of red.
The other Slytherins, seeing her stride towards them, scurried out of her way.
"What did you say?" She hissed at Malfoy.
"What, Weasley?" He asked lazily.
"What did you just say?" She repeated in a dangerously quiet tone.
"I said -" He began.
" - I know what you said." She interupted. She pulled her hand back and saw his eyes widen with
shock just before she slapped him across the cheek as hard and as stingingly as she could.
She looked satisfied at the red hand print visible on his cheek and smiled grimly.
"Never insult my friends again." She growled. "You call Hagrid a mudblood," She scoffed, "He's
a hundred times a better person than you are."
Malfoy seemed to get over the shock of being slapped and his eyes narrowed,
"Whatever, Weasley. Just remember one thing," He sneered, "He was just the first to go. He was just
used as a test for Voldemort's powers. It was a shame to waste such good power on a thing like him.
But don't worry, you and your boyfriend'll be next."
Ginny felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She felt tears spring to her eyes and angrily tried
to will them away, but it was no use. Malfoy laughed coldly and began to walk away. However, at
the moment Ginny had slapped Malfoy, Severus had stepped forward, and had heard all of what
Malfoy said.
He stepped forward once again and grabbed Malfoy by the scruff of the neck.
"Don't dare speak to Miss Weasley, or any teacher, like that again, mister Malfoy." He warned.
"Sorry, sir." Malfoy sneered.
"I mean it, Malfoy." Severus whispered, "I'm just about through with you and your father. A family of
evil, all of you." He was about to go on, but Professor Dumbledore called to him from the staff table,
"Severus! Miss Weasley! Please come to my office!"
Severus grudgingly let go of Malfoy's robes and dropped him. He turned and stalked angrily out,
followed by Ginny who kept her head down and tried to ingnore the silence and the hundreds of eyes
that followed them, still stinging from the remarks Malfoy had made.
Proffessor Dumbledore's office
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Severus, Ginny." Dumbledore said gravely, sitting calmly behind his desk as Severus trode around the room
and Ginny sat demurely on a chair, her eyes still red from crying, "I'm sorry for the loss of Hagrid, Ginny."
"I know." She replied, "Thank you, sir."
"It's quite alright. Now," Dumbledore clasped his hands and leant his elbows on the table, "Severus please sit
down, you're making me dizzy walking in circles."
"Sorry, Professor." He said quietly and sat down next to Ginny.
"As you know," Dumbledore began, "I have spies in every corner of the magical world. One of them recently
brought me some news." He paused, "Peter Pettigrew will be making a trip to a muggle hotel to complete a
deal with one of Voldemort's informers. I want you two to go there and 'bug' I believe the expression is, his
conversation."
"And how do we do that, Professor?" Severus asked.
"I have devised a plan." Dumbledore stood up and began to pace around the room, "You will travel to the muggle
hotel in the disguise of a newly married couple." He looked hard at Ginny and Severus and saw the look he
expected on their faces. "Where you will stay in the room opposite Pettigrews. I will perform a charm making
you able to hear their conversation, and you will report back to me with the details."
"I suspect this is one of those 'easier said than done' plans, Professor." Severus said.
"Exactly, Severus. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will go fine."
The Next Day, A Muggle Hotel Somewhere
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny and Severus stood in the lobby of the rather impressive hotel and gazed about them. The carpet was
royal blue and the walls were sparkling marble.
"Wow!" Ginny whispered to Severus, "Talk about expensive taste!"
Severus, to heighten the illusion, had one arm wrapped around Ginny's waist, something which neither of them
were complaining about.
"Hmm." Severus said suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.
"We'd better get up to the room, we've got to set everything up before they get here." She said.
Severus nodded unsmilingly and was about to turn round when Ginny's eyes widened and she gasped loudly.
She grabbed Severus' arm to stop him from turning round and he placed his other hand on her waist. Now he had
both his arms round Ginny's waist and couldn't see anything behind him.
"What?" Severus whispered.
"Okay, don't look now, but our friends have shown up early." She whispered back.
"Who is it?" Severus asked.
"Pettigrew and a three people I don't know." She answered. "Oh my God!" She whispered, "They're coming
over! They're coming over! What'll we do?"
"What?!" Severus hissed.
"I think they've seen us!" Ginny hissed back, "Do something!"
"If you insist." Severus whispered and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He felt her stiffen in his arms in suprise,
then relax and return the kiss, wrapping her arms round his neck.
//Okay,// He thought, //I should probably stop now... I will do... In a minute... Maybe...//
Slowly, cautiously, Ginny drew away from him and gave him a look of complete and utter shock.
"Have they gone?" Severus whispered hoarsely.
"I think so... Yes, they have." Ginny said.
"Good. We need to get to the room. And quickly."
They walked over to the reception desk and Ginny smiled at the girl behind it. Severus stood stonily and gazed
around in an unimpressed way.
"Hi, we've booked the honeymoon suite." Ginny said.
"Name?" Asked the girl, who stopped filing her nails to flick through the bookings list.
"Smith." Ginny said, "Mr and Mrs Smith." She flashed Severus a look and stepped on his toe discreetly to make
pay attention as the girl was giving him a strange look.
"Yeah." The girl stood up and walked lazily to the hooks at the back of the reception. "Here." She threw the key
to Ginny. "Top o'the stairs. Ye canna miss it."
"Thank you." Severus smiled icily at her, but she had gone back to her nails.
Severus held the door open for Ginny and they began to climb the wide, impressive staircase.
"At least we're somewhere decent." Ginny said quietly. "It's better than the Leaky Cauldron."
Severus nodded absent mindedly, eyes narrowed as he watched for anyone following them.
It was a long climb up to the top of three flights of stairs, especially carrying bags, as they were. They reached
the end of a long landing and Severus unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal the most beautiful room
Ginny had ever seen.
"Wow!" She said again.
Severus remained silent.
Ginny immeadiately ran through one of the doors. She came back a minute later, squealing,
"The bed's squishy!" Then she blushed as she realised that there was only one bed.
//Well it's a Honeymoon Suite, what did you expect?// She scolded herself.
"I'll take the couch." Severus said, turning away to dump the bags. She blushed and turned away.
"Let's get this set up then." She said, indicating the large window, which looked directly into the room opposite.
Severus took out his wand and muttered a few words. Why was he always so damn secretive? Ginny never
heard any of the spells he said.
"There." He said. "All done."
"What did you do?" She asked.
"Now we can hear everything that's said in that room." Severus told her. "All we have to do now is wait."
"Ooh, what fun." Ginny said, sarcastically.
"I know I'm not very interesting company," Severus said, "But you don't have to rub it in."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Ginny rubbed her eyes, "It's just been a long day. And these muggle
clothes make me uncomfortable." She tugged at the jeans she was wearing.
"Go and put some robes on if you want." Severus said, "I suspect that being in a honeymoon suite, they'll leave
us alone." He said dryly.
"Yeah, I suppose. I won't be long." She told him.
"I'll have a look round." He said, wandering over to the fridge to see what was in there. He raised an eyebrow.
Champagne.
He hunted around for two glasses. If they provided champagne, he wasn't going to miss out.
//God, why does this feel so right?// He thought. //It feels like I should really be married to her. I've not been this
happy for a long time. I may as well have some fun. Fun. That word sounds very strange. God, what am I thinking?
I'm miserable. That's what I do. And no Weasley is going to change that.//
Ginny came out of the bedroom, interupting Severus's thoughts.
She was dressed in a simple deep green robe that was fitted around the bust and waist. It was quite low cut and
Severus felt that averting his eyes politely was the onlt thing he could do.
"You look nice." He said, feeling as stupid as he sounded.
"Thanks." Ginny grinned, "I'm afraid this is years old." She said, "I think my grandma used to wear it."
"It suits you."
"Thanks." Ginny said again.
They sank into an uneasy silence, not knowing what to do or say.
"Oh, by the way. I found this in the fridge."
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"It's called champagne." He explained, "It's a muggle drink. Would you like some?"
"Are you sure?" She asked, "Aren't we meant to be watching the room?"
"We have to do something while we wait." Severus said.
//And getting drunk sounds pretty appealing.// He thought.
"Okay!" Ginny laughed, "You've twisted my arm!"
Severus half-smiled and concentrated on pouring two glasses of champagne.
Ginny watched him and was suprised by the change that had overcome him since they left the school. Gone was
cold, sad, weary face, and it was replaced by a slightly happy smiling one that Ginny thought suited him much
better. He looked as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He still hadn't actually gotten round to laughing,
though.
Severus handing her a glass interupted her reverie.
"Here." He said, handing her the glass. "Here's to getting drunk." He said dryly.
//And here's to us// He thought silently, not knowing that the same thought crossed Ginny's mind.
They held each other's gaze over the top of the glasses as they sipped the champagne.
Ginny knew that the atmosphere was getting closer in the room and that it was dangerous to flirt like this. She
could see that something that shouldn't was going to happen, but she did nothing about it. As Severus had said,
'Here's to getting drunk.'
//He's so different// Ginny mused once more, regarding Severus silently over the rim of her glass, //He's so
witty. Not intentionally so, just sarcastic. I wish he's laugh.//
Severus stood up and pulled himself onto the couch, one arm outstretched over the back of the piece of furniture.
He took another sip of champagne and Ginny watched him from her place on the floor. Suddenly, she too stood
up and sat at the opposite end of the couch.
"Do you want to watch T.V. or something?" Severus asked awkwardly, not knowing what 'young people' did.
"T.V.?" Ginny wondered out loud, then remembered her Muggle Studdies lessons, "Oh! Television!"
Severus smiled inwardly and reached for the remote control. The first channel he came across featured wrestling.
"Urgh." Ginny said, "No thanks."
Severus flicked channels again, then landed on Sky Movie Premiere. 'Titanic' it seemed, had just started.
"Ah, I've heard about this." Severus said, "Most expensive film ever made." He told her.
"I've never seen a muggle film before." Ginny said, "Can we watch this?"
"Of course." Severus said, settling back against the couch, deciding that watching soppy films wouldn't be too
bad. It's not as if they had anything else to do...
//Well, actually....// His brain began, //No, stop it!// He commanded himself.
Nearly Three hours Later
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny sniffed and wiped her eyes at the scene showing on the T.V. screen. It was just up to the bit where
they're both in the water and Rose is telling Jack she'll never let him go.
Severus glanced across at Ginny and was alarmed to see her crying.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yes," She sniffed, "This is just so sad."
"Yes." Severus replied for lack of anything else to say.
Suddenly, the air became filled with a static sound.
Ginny jumped.
"What's that?" She squeaked.
Severus jumped up and peered around the curtains.
"They're in there." Severus hissed.
"Who...?" Ginny asked... "Oh!"
She too stood up and peered around the curtain. She gasped at what she saw.
"It can't be!" She gasped. "Not him!"
Severus just stared at who he saw standing doing business with Peter Pettigrew.
"Damn you..." He growled.
To Be Continued....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~