Chapter Five

Yeah, I know it took a while but it's here now and it's all good. J Anyway… it's disclaimer time!! *drumroll*

Disclaimer: Since there's too many things to mention that don't belong to me, everything is © J.K. Rowling (lucky her!), and several things © Me. These include Alex Kohl, Carlina Tyrsorg(because, yes, she will be back… she will be back), Professor Sinistra's first name, Thomas Orenn and Tomas Pasege, Pansy's nose, Alex's "powers of persuasion"(which I doubt is a real, or legal spell - sort of like a lesser version of the Imperious Curse), the "Engorgimulti!" spell(although parts of it are J.K.'s), and the existence of Jarvey's in the Forbidden Forest. Oh, and the little song at the beginning belongs (I think) to Sonique.

Just a little warning - PG-13 for coarse language in this chapter. If you can't handle, or aren't allowed to handle references to homosexuality, female dogs or the W word, I've warned you all the same. Please don't sue me, either way - they're not that bad, really.

I hope you enjoy your trip into my warped reality that is the fifth installment of twenty-five (sheesh! We're 1/5 there already?) - the wonderful, the shortly-written…. "Playground Love".

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Chapter Five

"First Kiss"

it's not the way you walk

it ain't the way you talk

it ain't the job you got

that keeps me satisfied.

Since the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the school had been acting strangely towards Alex. One part (namely the Ravenclaw's and several of the Gryffindor's) had congratulated him on every possible occasion. Others, such as Hufflepuff, their pride bruised, and the rest of the Gryffindor's, who had not been faced with such a formidable enemy in Quidditch since the arrival of Harry Potter, were rather shaken and somewhat anxious about the outcome of the February match between the two houses. However, it was the Slytherin's, in their sly, sneaky sense of house pride who had begun to despise Alexander Kohl, and those surrounding him, all the more. A vicious rivalry sprung up between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, who had previously been the closest to the hated house.

It was an icy day in December when, in the even colder depths of the dungeons, Alexander Kohl received his first detention at Hogwarts.

***

It all began with an innocent glance across the dungeons. Alex had been passing Snape's classroom during his second period on that crisp December morning, when, noticing that the class being held within was none other than the same class in which Hermione was enrolled, his interest had been decidedly piqued.

Grinning, Alex peered inside the classroom through the glass pane in the door, dragging his gaze from one side of the room to the other, searching for the tell-tale mop of wavy brown hair bent over a textbook. Finally, in the middle row, to the left of the room he found her. This time, however, she was half-listening to a vehement Ron Weasley who appeared to be complaining about something again. Alex narrowed his eyes at the redhead. Honestly, he's got to get over himself, he thought, I mean, it's quite obvious that Hermione simply isn't interested, yet he keeps putting her through all his emotional blackmail. It isn't fair on her… maybe I should ask Ginny about speaking to her brother about his behaviour.

He kept staring at Hermione for another minute before detaching himself from the window, and continuing to trudge down the hallway to Professor Sinistra's office, where he was expected for a catch-up lesson in Astronomy, which had not been taught at Durmstrang. When he arrived, an agitated Selana Sinistra pressed a note into his hand, a letter request addressed to Professor Severus Snape, and told him to deliver the message to the Potions Master immediately. Alex, an idea already forming in his mind, agreed and began the trek back up the passage towards the Potions classroom.

***

Everything after this happened at an alarming rate. All who witnessed it later confessed that even they had not been able to recall every single event which occurred in the brief ten minutes before the end of class. Firstly, Alex Kohl, the famous Ravenclaw Seeker, had entered the room with a note for Professor Snape. The Professor had taken the note with slight sneer on his face at the sight of the now loathed member of Ravenclaw House, and had read the note slowly, allowing his fellow Slytherin's to also make the connection. Several of them began to whisper amongst themselves, and Draco Malfoy rumouredly mouthed the word 'Fag' to him from his seat at the back of the classroom.

Alex smiled indulgently around the room as Snape seated himself at his desk and composed a reply. He grinned at Hermione, and for this received a fierce scowl from Ron, who was glaring at him, intense jealousy flooding through his veins. Alex, however, was oblivious and instead rested his eyes on a cluster of Slytherin girls seated near Draco Malfoy, one of whom was fluttering her eyelashes at him in an attempt to look becoming. Since she was cursed with having a face which closely resembled that of a bulldog, Alex simply raised his eyebrows to the girl, who took this for encouragement.

It was at this moment that Draco Malfoy realised exactly who Alex was looking at, a girl by the name of Pansy Parkinson, who was also a girl whom he had been invited by his parents to both associate with and, should she take his fancy, woo and wed; Alex fingered the wand inside his left pocket, pointing it in the direction he was facing, and began to murmur softly to himself a word which sounded similar to "Engorgimulti!"; and that Snape signed his name at the bottom of his note with a flourish.

Suddenly, a flash of blue smoke filled the room and several girls – plus Neville – squealed in fright. Others began to cough, and Snape jumped to his feet, peering through the smoke in an attempt to discover the cause of this disruption. As the smoke cleared, a gasp escaped the lips of every person in the classroom – that is, excluding Alex Kohl and Pansy Parkinson. The former smiled softly at the chaos unfolding around him, whereas the latter simply screamed in fear at the darkness which surrounded her, a sound that was muffled by the gigantic nose which now covered her entire face. Her friends backed away from her, and Malfoy stared at her in disgust before raising his eyes and locking onto the grey depths of the only possible culprit.

Professor Snape glared around the dungeon, his face full of deadly venom. "Well, well, well," he murmured insidiously, a sneer beginning to form on his face as he approached Alexander Kohl, who was still standing with the same satisfied smile crossing his lips. He stood as close to Alex as possible, then looked down on him, his sneer widening. "Well, well, well."

Alex suddenly grinned up at the Professor, before replying, "I'm sorry, Professor, but I thought that I had given Ms. Parkinson four new holes in her now even larger nose, not three."

"Don't be smart with me, boy," the Professor hissed, his voice as smooth as a snake. "I'll make you wish you'd never been born. Don't you dare try to harm one of my students, Mr. Kohl – " at this he raised his voice so the entire classroom could hear, " – I'm sure that Dumbledore wouldn't appreciate your attempts to suffocate my wards."

Smirking, the boy replied: "But, sir – that is precisely what I was trying to prevent. I mean, you can't say that she wasn't able to breathe underneath that hideous nose – any less than you can say that she can't breathe after my subtle alterations." Anticipating the Professor's next move, Alex reached a hand back into his wand pocket, and began to concentrate his thoughts on the power of persuasion.

Snape was alarmed by his response, and his face began to bubble with uncontrollable fury. "For that, Mr. Kohl, I'll deduct fifty points from…" the entire room looked on, mouths gaping as Snape stuttered over the words. Alex smirked at the Professor as he rubbed the wand concealed inside his left pocket. "…R-Ra-Sa-Slytherin!"

The entire room launched into a cacophony of smothered laughs, excited whispers and shocked gasps – all from the Slytherin side of the dungeon – but the person whose face was the most changed was Snape's. He looked confused, but it was obvious his bewilderment was quickly turning to blind rage. Alex spoke before the Potions Master could explode.

"Hey, that's great, since I'm not in Slytherin." He grinned at Professor Snape. "Oh, no… you've just taken points away from yourself, only to discover that I'm not only wearing this—" he gestured towards the navy hat atop his head "—because I've been told that I look positively ravishing in blue." He grinned at Hermione, who blushed. "Speaking of being ravaged…"

"That's quite enough, Mr. Kohl!" Snape's pale features were now more resemblant to a darkening shade of blue. "Please," he stressed the word, an edge of fear to his voice, for he had now realised exactly why this boy had seemed so familiar to him since his arrival at Hogwarts, "for the love of Merlin, get out of my class before I put your name down for the next nighttime expedition into the Forbidden Forest!"

"Mother did tell me that the woods were particularly beautiful at night… but, I guess you'd know better than I would, Professor?" His voice hinted at something that the others in the class could not understand, and Snape winced at his meaning. Luckily, however, for both parties, at that very moment the bell rang, signalling an end to class. Snape rushed from the room and into his private office, slamming the door behind him.

Pansy Parkinson wailed miserably from the back of the classroom. "B-but, Professor, my head – " she whined, and Alex compared her voice to the noise one makes scratching their fingernails down a blackboard. Due to the enormity of her new nose, and its abundance of nostrils, the sound was considerably more nasal than usual.

In unison, the entire body of students turned and stared at Pansy in disdain. Even the Slytherin's rolled their eyes before exiting the classroom, the Gryffindor's closely behind them. Angered, Pansy sighed loudly and stormed from the room, heading in the direction of the hospital wing.

***

At lunch that day, Alex received word that he was to meet Professor Snape in the Great Hall at midnight on December 7th, which was three days hence. He laughed as he read the notice in his hand, and waved it around at those sitting nearby, yet the note shook slightly as he did so… Forbidden Forest? Was he being serious? He thought, bewildered. As soon as the gong was rung signalling the end of lunchtime, he raced over and grabbed Hermione and shoved the note in front of her face. "Does anything on this seem strange to you?" he questioned, his eyes serious.

Hermione laughed. "Is this for what happened in Potions? If so, I wouldn't worry – Most likely, you'll simply have to wash out a few beakers and…" The words died on her lips as she continued to read. "Oh, I see." She sighed and smiled weakly at Alex. "Well, it shouldn't be too bad. The Forbidden Forest probably isn't like it was when I last visited."

Alex raised his eyebrows at Hermione. "When you last visited? What are you talking about?"

"In first year, Harry, Neville… Draco," she visibly shuddered, "and I had a detention there. Of course, that was when all of the strange things were going on with Professor Quirrell, so that was different." Noticing Alex's confused expression, Hermione shook her head. "It's a long story, so I wouldn't worry about it now. I'm sure it'll be just like any old detention… dull." She glanced down at her watch and gasped. "Oh, I've got Charms now! I'll talk to you more later, Alex!" Hermione raced down the hallway, and Alex watched her until she disappeared from sight.

Sighing, he turned and headed towards the dungeons for the second time that day. Oh, Snape'll have a field day with this… another thing to insult me with for two periods. I can't wait.

***

The detention loomed ever closer. When Alex attended his Potions lessons – something which was a rather rare occurrence under usual circumstances – Snape treated him as if he was of no consequence, and did not exist. While Alex enjoyed not being the butt of Snape's vicious remarks, since he had heard all that Hermione had to say on the subject of his trip into the Forbidden Forest, a small ounce of fear had crept into his heart. He was, however, lucky enough not to notice the venomous looks Snape sent his way – looks which were also filled with something that was undeniably similar to longing.

December 7th dawned a bright, happy day, and passed by as quickly as time often does when you are anticipating something horrible. Alex studied with Hermione in the library until eleven, when she had the race to prepare for an Astronomy quiz that night and Mrs. Pince ushered them both out of the library. Instead of returning to his common room, Alex decided to wait in the Great Hall for Snape. "Just hope the wanker is as punctual as usual," he muttered to himself. I just want to get this stupid detention over and done with.

In the ensuing forty minutes, Alex thought later that he must have stared at the clock on the wall above the double doors for at least half of the time. The other half was spent worrying about Hermione. She had become different in the past week to the girl he had met and fallen for… was it only over a month ago? Alex sighed. I think it definitely has something to do with Ron, he thought, I keep forgetting to have that talk with Ginny… if only that dratted Carlina would leave her alone for a moment! He knew that Carlina disliked him, probably even hated him. And I understand why, but she's got to understand that I'm a different person now – I've changed from the silly fourteen year old at Rydenfeld. I think that I've… matured. I take responsibility for my actions, past and present, just not… that one.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Both hoping for and dreading the appearance of Snape, Alex glanced up and instead saw two twelve year old boys who he recognised as being from Hufflepuff House peeking in the doorway. What the hell are they doing here? Alex wondered. They stared at him warily, remembering him as the boy who had defeated their house in the record-breaking time at the Quidditch match the previous week. Alex smiled at them in an attempt to be friendly, and they approached him slowly.

"Hello," Alex greeted them. "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be in your dorms right now?"

They glanced at each other, as if carrying on silent communication, deciding whether or not they would answer Alex's questions. One of them snorted and crossed his arms, the other rolled his eyes and shrugged. The latter began to speak, his voice changing pitch slightly as he spoke. "Well… we're here for the detention, actually." He lowered his voice and started to whisper. "H-have you ever been into the Forbidden Forest before, because me and my friend are rather… well, frightened at the prospect."

His friend snorted again before speaking in a deep, sonorous voice. "Nevermind my friend Thomas. He oversensitises things."

"You mean, overexaggerates, don't you?"

The boy waved his hands. "Whatever. Either way, we're here for the detention."

"Yes, and I'm Thomas – "

"Orenn."

"And he is Tomas – "

"Pasege."

Alex smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Thomas and Tomas. I'm Alex Kohl – "

"Oh, we know who you are!" Thomas exclaimed. "In fact, for the very reason that we know who you are we Aren't even supposed to be talking to you…" he trailed off as he realised what he had just said.

Tomas grimaced. "Which is exactly why we won't be speaking to you much again, Alex." They both retreated into the furthermost corner, where they sank to the floor and began to whisper amongst themselves, and Alex occasionally heard the booming of Tomas' voice float across the room towards him.

The clock on the wall began to chime twelve, and punctual as usual, as the twelfth chime faded, the sound of sharp, deliberate footsteps could be heard clicking towards the Great Hall. Alex gave a sigh of relief and of lethargy, and stood to stretch his legs as Severus Snape entered the Hall. His hair was slick with grease, swept back from his forehead and he beckoned all three prisoners to him with one long, pale finger. Thomas, Tomas and Alex all wandered over to the Professor, who sneered at the two young boys but avoided looking at Alex at all.

"You all know why you are here. Unfortunately, your detention will not commence for another half hour, due to the fact that another student serving a detention has a test which must be completed tonight and also because Hagrid has some more pressing business to attend to. You may sit and wait until I return, but you may not leave this room. Understood?" Not waiting for an answer, Snape turned and walked from the Hall, and Alex returned to his seat.

The next thirty minutes crawled by only slightly faster than a snail race. By the time the clicking of Snape's shoes, and the soft pitter-patter of someone else's had permeated the silence of the hall, Alex was drowning in boredom. Perhaps this was what made the appearance of Ginny Weasley at Snape's side all the more surprising.

He didn't have a moment to ask her the story behind her detention, the cause of her tardiness, or, anything at all. Sooner than he knew it, Alex was standing on the end of a line formed by Ginny, Thomas, Tomas and Himself, listening to Hagrid's spiel about surviving the Forest.

"Lumos. Everybody light their wands, since it's not exactly goin' ter be bright in there. First o'all, yeh'll need to be careful. Two of yeh can come with me, the other two can take Fang and go on alone." He motioned towards Alex and Ginny. "Since yer the oldest here, Mr. Kohl, you an' Ginny can take Fang an' the Thomas twins 'ere – " Hagrid grinned at the smaller boys, who were rather alarmed by the giant of a man, " – can come with me. Righ'?"

Eager to ask Ginny about the cause of her detention, and also feeling rather curious about the dark forest which lay before him and stretched on towards the horizon, Alex nodded.

Hagrid continued. "Yeh see, fer my class I've been needin' ter catch some Jarveys – yeh know, the talkin' ones. Plus, Snape asked me ter take yeh all in since yeh've all been makin' trouble in his class or summat…" The half-giant grinned again. "Not tha' there's anythin' wrong with that. So, Thomas', yeh'll be learnin' all abou' Jarvey's fer next year, and Mr. Kohl and Ginny ken learn all abou' the Forest."

Hagrid beckoned them, and they descended into the Forest. He showed them a small trail into the wood, and they walked into the blackness together, and the four students crowded closer when the noises started coming from all directions, squeaks and sighs, cracks and creaks, hisses and howls… until, finally, they reached a crossroads. Hagrid turned back to them, and showed them to shoot blue sparks into the air should they find themselves a Jarvey hollow, and red sparks should they find themselves in trouble. After this, Alex was handed Fang, a rather fierce-looking boarhound, and he and Ginny started to walk down the left path into the Forest, noticing that Hagrid chose the right path, but ignored the path that continued straight entirely.

They walked in silence for several minutes, Alex stealing glances at Ginny every now and again. She looks worried, he thought, but, strangely, she doesn't seem like she's frightened about the Forest at all. Alex nudged her, and she looked up at him quickly before returning her eyes to the ground. He frowned slightly, then decided to leave her alone for now. Finally, they reached another fork in the road, and Ginny looked at Alex expectantly.

"Which way?" He asked her.

"I dunno."

Alex raised his eyebrows. "So make a decision."

"No, you."

"Why me? How about you take this one, I take the next one?"

"No."

They stood there for a moment before Alex spoke again. "Why not?"

"Because."

"Yeah… Because why?"

Angrily, Ginny lifted her head and stared at him, eyes blazing. "Look, it doesn't matter, so don't worry, okay?"

"But…"

"OKAY?!"

"Fine." Alex started down the left path, and Ginny followed him sullenly. Fang glanced up at Alex questioningly, and the boy shrugged. The boarhound snorted and continued to walk, and Alex felt a smile cross his face. His lips twitched as he tried to control it, but it was hopeless. He began to laugh uncontrollably, causing both Fang and Ginny to look at him strangely. When he saw the looks on their faces, just as he was quieting down, he started all over again. They stood there, waiting for him to control himself, and once his laughter had subsided, Ginny spoke:

"What was that all about?" Ginny looked at him, annoyance flickering in her brown eyes.

Alex smothered a grin. "Well, Gin… even the dog knows you're being an idiot!"

Fang snorted again and Alex fought to control his giggles. Ginny, at the sound of Alex's laugh, began to giggle also and soon both of them had collapsed on the ground, convulsing with laughter.

Finally, Ginny sobered herself up and managed to choke out a single sentence. "Alex, I'm sorry for before. It hasn't been a good week at all, and since I'm fairly sure that I just failed my astronomy test, I wasn't in the greatest mood. Plus," she gestured to the surrounding trees and the cacophony of sounds emanating from the darkness, "being in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night, searching for talking ferrets isn't exactly the greatest way to kill time." Ginny sighed. "I'll probably fall asleep in my pumpkin juice in the morning and get woken up by a Howler from Mum."

Alex smiled at her. "Don't worry about it – think of it this way. If this is the worst life can get, we're not doing too badly. Sure, we're stuck in the middle of a dark forest, the life-threatening creatures are closing in on us… but at least we've got magic to protect us." He sighed. "Some things in life are the same, magic or no magic. No matter what, you get hurt."

"I believe that. Definitely…" Ginny stared at him as if she was trying to decipher the workings of his mind. "Alex, are you a pureblood?"

He shook his head. "Definitely not. Another reason for the Slytherin's to hate me… I'm half-blood. My dad's a Muggle."

"I thought so."

Alex was puzzled. "Why did you think so?"

Shrugging, Ginny replied, "dunno. Just something… different about you. You remind me a lot of Harry, you know – there's something about you that just clicks. It's weird to think that you're not friends."

"Maybe it's true when they say that opposites attract…" Alex looked at the ground. "Even though I can't see the connection – other than the Quidditch part, of course."

Ginny smiled weakly. "Guess it's just one of those things… only someone on the outside notices it." And, no, Alex – not just the Quidditch part. Also the part where the same girl, the same dull, plain, inconspicuous girl who is always around, yet never long enough for you to notice her.

Alex didn't notice the long silence, or if he did, he never alluded to it. He leaned closer to her – closer than Ginny preferred – and whispered in her ear: "So, Virginia… what are you in for?"

She breathed deeply, trying to savour the moment, before replying, "why, Mr. Kohl – wouldn't you like to know?"

He smiled at her indulgently. "Come on, Gin – you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

Ginny laughed. "I believe the entire school is aware of the cause of your detention – unless, of course, the enlargement of Pansy Parkinson's nose from a near-respectable size to something closer to a beach ball was accidental."

"What can I say? Hmm… sugar-induced growth spurt?" He laughed at his own joke, and Ginny hid a grin. Alex raised his eyebrows at her. "What? What's wrong"

"It's just…" Ginny giggled again. "… well, Alex – you laugh like a pig would."

"You bitch!" Alex slapped her on the arm and Ginny stopped laughing… just long enough to hit him back, this time on his thigh. Soon they were both beating each other senseless in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, Fang the boarhound looking on, thinking them the worst students he'd been stuck with in all his years of service to Hagrid. They rolled around, squealing and laughing and groaning, until they came to rest up against a clump of trees. Breathing heavily, they looked at each other, and Ginny felt as strange feeling enter her stomach. His face was mere millimetres from her own, and she knew this was it. The moment which made the rest of her life worth living. If I don't do this now, I'll never do it.

Alex, lying on top of her, was still catching his breath, not noticing the change in Ginny's face, the determination that set in her jaw, or the fact that she was moving ever closer to him, her cheek brushing his own, her arm curling up and snaking across his back, moments away from touching his neck…

And, in a moment, her lips were on his. His mind flooded with questions: What? How? …Why?! He felt the passion behind her mouth, the passion that was obviously coming from deep within her soul. Why is she giving this to me? He questioned, not really knowing the answer, only knowing that when these sensations stopped, when the kiss subsided, that nothing would ever be the same again.

Would his body ever stop tingling? Would he ever stop wondering how it had come to this – kissing Ginny Weasley, his best friend at Hogwarts, in the middle of the Forbidden Forest? Would she accept that he was falling in love with Hermione…?

Alex felt her lips release, and he knew something had changed between them. But I love Hermione! I'm sure of that…

So why did this single kiss feel so good?

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P.S. Just before you review asking me why both Hermione and Ginny had an astronomy test when they're in different years - and why the heck these kids never seem to do any work! - Ginny, in my universe, is incredibly smart with reference to the stars and thus does Advanced Astronomy - with the 7th years. Just another time to brush shoulders with Harry, I guess. Oh, and Alex doesn't. Obviously. J