Part Eleven by Imogen and Ashwinder

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all gazed at each other with horrified expressions, as the sound of many pairs of feet grew nearer and nearer. Four sets of eyes turned as one towards the entrance to the Great Hall, each expecting to see masked figures make their appearance. Harry tightened his grip on his wand, preparing himself to fight to the last if need be.

Suddenly, the door of the Great Hall burst open to admit several imposing figures in black robes. Harry's wand dropped from his grasp as his mind registered just who had entered the hall. It was not a group of rampaging Death Eaters; it was the Hogwarts staff led by Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. On their faces were expressions far more murderous than anything ever seen on the face of one of Voldemort's minions. The entire room fell deathly silent.

"What is the meaning of, of…" Professor McGonagall was obviously too beside herself with shock at the scene before her eyes to formulate the words to properly describe it. "Get out of the potatoes!" she screeched at Blaise Zabini, whom Pansy Parkinson had managed to pin down.

Harry had to bite back his laughter as he noted the utter embarrassment on Professor Snape's face. It was all too evident that the students of his own House had been engaging in an orgy on the dinner table. Appropriate action would have to be taken, resulting in the loss of a great many House Points, thus dashing the Slytherins' hopes of winning the House Cup this year. Harry could see Snape glancing wildly around, desperately searching for a way to cast the blame for this fiasco anywhere else, but his efforts were fruitless. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Ginny shaking with suppressed laughter. She must have noticed Snape's discomfiture, as well.

Hermione, on the other hand, had her mind elsewhere. "But Professor McGonagall," she blurted. "The Death Eaters. They were supposed to attack…"

Professor McGonagall turned shrewd eyes onto the Head Girl. "And just what do you know about it?"

"I, I heard a rumour. As Head Girl, it's my job to keep abreast of these things," Hermione answered, blushing. Meanwhile, Ron sniggered beside her, no doubt misinterpreting what Hermione had meant by the word "abreast". He really needs to broaden his vocabulary, thought Harry, making a mental note to buy him a thesaurus for his birthday.

Professor McGonagall was staring piercingly at Hermione. She must have decided to let the Head Girl's slip of the tongue go by for the moment, however, for she addressed the entire school. "The rumoured Death Eater attack was just that. A rumour. The staff have searched the  castle thoroughly, and have found no sign of Death Eater activity. As a precautionary measure, Professor Dumbledore is casting extra security wards over the school, but we expect nothing in the way of an attack either tonight or in the near future. And now I would like to express my complete and utter disappointment with the behaviour of the seventh year Slytherins. Never in all my years at Hogwarts have I witnessed such a…"she paused, still to shocked to find an appropriate word, before settling on, "display." She cast a baleful glare in the direction of the Slytherin table. "I will leave this matter for your Head of House to deal with. And since the Great Hall has been reduced to such a state, I'll ask the Prefects to lead you all up to finish your meal in your House Common Rooms. Dismissed."

With a loud scraping of benches on the flagged floor, the Hogwarts student body rose as one and began to file off towards their respective Common Rooms. In the general confusion of so many people dispersing at one time, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her towards the broom closet in the entrance hall. They managed to slip inside unnoticed. Harry closed the closet door behind them, and pulled Ginny into a passionate kiss. When they broke apart at last, he said, "I'm not really hungry. Are you?"

Ginny giggled and looked at him seductively. "Actually, I am hungry… but not for potatoes." Her tone of voice made Harry's mouth go dry. "But you don't mean here, do you?"

Harry cleared his throat. At the moment, here was just as good as anywhere, as far as he was concerned, but upon reflection, he realised they weren't in an ideal spot for any sort of extra-curricular activities. The matter was decided for them when a high-pitched squeak was heard in the broom closet.

"What was that?" asked Ginny. At the same time, Harry muttered, "Lumos." The narrow beam emanating from his wand tip showed that Ginny had stepped on the tail of a familiar-looking white ferret. Outside they could hear the sound of small claws scratching at the door.

"Looks as if Malfoy's girlfriend is looking for him. Shall we let her in?"

Ginny opened the door to the broom closet to admit a lumbering brown ferret. The white ferret emitted another squeal, and attempted to escape, but it was in vain. Ginny was still standing on his tail. "I reckon we'd better leave them to it, and find our own spot," she said, laughing.

Harry exited the broom closet first, and Ginny followed, closing the door quickly behind her, trapping the besotted Millicent Bulstrode inside with her furry companion. The entrance hall was now mercifully empty, the other students having made their way to their respective Common Rooms.

"Where to, then?" Harry asked, taking Ginny's hand.

She paused to consider. "Let me think now. Prefect's Bathroom is definitely out of the question," she said with a blush. Harry was secretly relieved. "Anything outside is out, too, with Professor Dumbledore puttering around. Hmmmm, you'd think with a castle this size, it would be easy to find a place to be alone."

"I've got it!" cried Harry, and he leaned close to whisper something in Ginny's ear, noting with a certain satisfaction the way she shivered as he did so.

He led her up to the third floor, to the Charms corridor, where he knew there was a deserted corridor with a certain trap door. As far as he knew, it had remained unused since his first year. He drew Ginny inside, and put a Locking Charm on the door. "I don't know why I never thought of this place sooner. It's nice and roomy, and with that Cushioning Charm you showed me, we should be all right."

Ginny was smiling at him. "It looks as if we've finally found a spot where we're not likely to be interrupted."

Harry reached for her, but was surprised when she held back. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

"I just thought of something… Who is it that sleeps in the bed across from yours?"

"Neville. Why do you ask?"

Ginny blushed bright red but let out a peal of laughter. "Last night when I went to get the Invisibility Cloak, I, er, walked in on something… Luckily the hangings on the bed were drawn shut."

Harry was fairly certain he knew what she was talking about. He had a sudden, horrifying thought. "You don't suppose he was with… No, it couldn't have been. Not in our dorm!"

Ginny looked slightly ill for a moment, and Harry knew she was thinking along the same lines that he had. "If not…" She couldn't even bring herself to say the name. "Then who?"

"No idea. Who would have thought of Neville as such a Casanova, though?"

Ginny giggled at such an outlandish idea. "Speaking of Casanova…" She trailed off, as she drew him close. Neville was quickly banished from their minds, as their thoughts turned to more pleasant things. It seemed they'd finally found a place where they could spend some uninterrupted moments together at last, and they were determined to take full advantage of the situation.

The End