Hi everyone! Yes, it's a new chapter!! YAY!!! - or not, if you aren't a fan and are here to flame me to oblivion. But, either way, all suggestions are welcome, and all comments are ADORED!! So review and I'll love you forever.

Disclaimer: Everything is © J.K. Rowling, except for a couple of things © Me. These include Alex Kohl, Carlina Tyrsorg(who isn't exactly my favourite person either as you'll find at the end of this chapter!!), Rydenfeld School of Rhetoric Reasoning, Tannenwurtz College and that's about it. If you find anything else, tell me in the review - I'm tired right now!! In this chapter there's some references to a famous movie (mainly in the "Clear as an azure sky…" part), so tell me the movie in your review and I'll mention you specifically in my next chapter!! The chapter title comes from a Radiohead Song, (duh! Called "Knives Out") and the little songy at the beginning belongs to Placebo. It's called "Flesh Mechanic". It's good.

This chapter is rated PG-13 for the use of the "A" and "B" words… which aren't anywhere NEAR as bad as the "C" word so, please, sue me not!!

I hope you all enjoy episode six of "Playground Love"…. 'Knives Out'!

***

Chapter Six

"Knives Out"

Blatant search for stoned affection

Fights the rust that breeds infection

Meet me at the intersection -

Don't forget your fuel injection.

My head swam.

I kicked and dove deeper, hoping to get lost in all this perfection. I felt the water flood my ears and such sweet music sighed inside them. I was unaware of everything, even the movement of his lips on mine, caressing requiems of heated passions long denied. The cellos whispered through my mouth and I only hoped that he was as entranced as I.

He broke away violently, and my rapture dimmed. I opened my eyes and gazed into his, the blue depths now filled with torturous guilt. Attempting a smile, I knew exactly what he was about to say the moment before he said it. In fact, I had known exactly what he would say the moment before I had kissed him and begun this horrific chain-reaction of decadent affection.

And I had done it anyway.

He smiled weakly back at me, then opened his mouth to speak. "Ginny… I…"

I held up my finger. "You don't have to say anything, Alex. I know."

Nodding silently, he sighed heavily and I rolled over, allowing him to stand. He walked to where Fang sat, staring at us questioningly. I felt like snarling at him, as the anger welled up inside of me. Why does it have to be this way?! I asked myself, and the Alex of my mind. Why did he kiss me back with such emotion that I thought my stomach would burst if only to reject me once more? The cellos were screaming now, and I held the sides of my head, trying to dull the pain they were causing deep inside my brain. I felt the world spin as my euphoria was replaced by dizziness, then fear. What's happening to me? What's going on?!

I gasped as I crumpled to the ground, and I saw Alex's shocked face above me as the world slowly faded away. "Gin! Gin, what's wrong?" I heard him question as red tinged with black replaced all the blue and white of his gorgeous face.

***

"Just exhaustion, I believe." Madam Pomfrey shook her head disapprovingly. "Children today choose their fun in strange ways - maybe it's because there's simply so many more things to choose from. Still, a few days in bed should set her right, so she'll be well rested for the holidays and able to go home and visit her family."

Professor McGonagall smiled down at Ginny's sleeping form. "You're right, Poppy - but sometimes I wonder exactly where all the energy goes. If it goes into something worthwhile or something less desirable."

Voices were raised in the hallway outside the Hospital Wing, and Professor McGonagall looked up at Madam Pomfrey. "Probably her friends come to see how she is… should we let them in?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "She's resting, but anything'll be better than having to discourage those four. I've had Mr. Kohl sitting outside the door all night waiting for me to let him in."

The professor raised her eyebrows. "Alexander Kohl? Is he a friend of Virginia Weasley's?"

Shrugging, the nurse walked over towards the door. "Not sure. He was the one who was with her in the Forest when it happened, and he brought her in with Hagrid." She smiled knowingly. "Seemed to give him quite a scare, I believe."

Professor McGonagall ignored the inferred meaning, and walked over to the door. "I'd best be leaving - Dumbledore wished me to visit him with news of Miss. Weasley's condition as soon as possible. She's quite a favourite of the headmaster, you know… ever since the shock we had in her second year."

"This girl… sometimes, I wonder if Harry Potter's luck doesn't rub off onto her." A laugh escaped her mouth. "Let's just hope the two of them never decide to settle down and start a family - I don't know if I could cope!"

She opened the door and allowed Professor McGonagall to exit before ushering in the four students who stood outside, wide awake and anxious to see if their friend was recovered or not. Alex was first to rush in, and he went straight to Ginny's side, his face full of relief at the sight of her peaceful sleep. Hermione and Ron followed, with Carlina in tow, and looked expectantly at Madam Pomfrey. Their scared looks were soon replaced by grateful words to the school nurse, who happily received them and modestly shushed them away.

"You can all stay for another ten minutes, but after that I'm afraid you'll have to go down and eat some breakfast. You can visit again this afternoon, if you like." With this, Madam Pomfrey left them alone.

As they sat around Ginny's bed, a sudden thought occurred to Hermione. "Why isn't Harry here?" Ron looked sheepishly at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Ronald Weasley, why didn't you tell him?!"

Ron shrugged. "It was sort of in the heat of the moment. McGonagall came into the dorm and told me and I rushed off… to tell you and Carlina. Harry won't mind, plus I doubt Pomfrey would've let more than four of us in this tiny room anyway."

Hermione pursed her lips at Ron disapprovingly. "Well, you haven't really considered Harry's feelings on the situation, since I'm sure that he would have at least liked to have been informed of Ginny's whereabouts - not to mention yours and mine!"

"Why?" Ron wrinkled his forehead in bewilderment. "I mean, he'll understand and I'm sure he'll just think we went down to breakfast early anyway!"

"Ron, how can you be such a twit?!" Hermione's brown eyes flashed with frustration. "You're his best friend, and you can't even tell how he feels about your own sister!" Alex raised his head at these words, his interest now piqued. This was turning into more than a typical quarrel between Hermione and Ron.

Ron let out a dangerously low laugh. "Hermione… if you're trying to tell me that Harry has overly - well, friendly, feelings towards Ginny, I think you're barking up the wrong - "

Hermione groaned in exasperation. "Fine. Believe what you want to believe - but I've seen the way he looks at her. And it's not just 'this is my best friend's sister'. I see 'this is the girl I want to kiss for the rest of my life'. And there's a big difference between the two.

Ron's face was pink with anger, and Alex looked down again at the sleeping form of Ginny. A strange feeling crept into his stomach and latched onto him, tugging him from side to side. Green blood began to course through his calm, blue veins and he felt sick at the thought of Harry Potter kissing Ginny - the girl whose lips he had touched only hours earlier. He sat there, his body cold and limp, and he thought about how the situation had suddenly changed. Alex saw once more the sideways glances Ron would constantly shoot at Hermione, and felt no jealousy. He realised that he had never felt this before because, well, who in their right mind would not prefer to kiss Alex Kohl than any other person on the planet? My arrogance clouds my view, ever and always.

In his mind's eye, he imagined the same glances shooting from Harry's deep green eyes, hitting the beautiful, gorgeous Ginny with her auburn hair and innocent face. He felt the little green monster tug his stomach once more, and green blood this time left him exhilarated and full of adrenaline. He was ready to jump up, run out of the room and challenge Harry Potter to a knight's duel for the hand of the Lady Virginia when he saw Hermione once more.

He heard her laugh, as if under water yet as for the first time. His heart warmed once again to her and he knew that he could not leave her just yet. She needed him to help her realise exactly what she wanted… and what was easily within her reach. She caught his eye and smiled, and he grinned back, with all the power of a thousand flames, and he knew that he melted her heart in a moment.

However, when he glanced suddenly at the person seated to her left - one just as beautiful as all the rest - his grin subsided and as he saw her cool hatred dull his fire he winced and looked away. Carlina Tyrsorg held his destruction in the palm of her outstretched hand…

He just hoped that no one would be fool enough to reach for it.

***

The Great Hall was crowded as Harry entered it that morning, and searched the room for his missing friends. Not seeing them, he wondered at their absence but shook off the feeling of slight fear that had begun to creep over his body. Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down in his usual chair, grabbing a piece of toast as he did so, even though he simply placed it on the plate before him and stared at the double doors of the Hall, jumping every time the doors opened, hoping it would reveal his friends.

Eventually, they were the ones to come through the doorway, and as Ron spotted Harry watching them enter, he sighed. "And I thought he wouldn't notice," he muttered to himself as he pulled Hermione away from Alex and towards the Gryffindor table.

Harry smiled up at them expectantly, and Hermione, who was still whining about being separated from Alex by Ron went silent. She turned to Ron and raised her eyebrows. "Go."

Ron felt trapped. Harry's face now looked worried and he looked around the table, trying to find… "Ron, where's Ginny?"

"Uhh…" Ron stumbled over the words, "well, she's in the hospital wing. Me and Hermione were just there with her."

"Is… is she alright?"

Ron nodded nervously. "Yeah, she is… sorry I didn't let you know, but it was sort of a rush. I ran out into the common room and Hermione was still there studying and I completely forgot about everything except to get to Ginny."

Harry looked relieved, but his eyes drifted over to the Ravenclaw table. Alex Kohl was staring at him, a small smile on his face. Harry looked up again at Ron and Hermione, confused. "Did you walk in here with Alex Kohl?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, he was up there with us."

Harry looked angry. "Oh, and I suppose he was just wandering along the hallway when you got the news about Ginny… waiting for you to tell him. I can't believe you told him that something was up with Ginny and not me!"

"Harry, it wasn't like that. He was with her when it happened - he took her to the hospital wing with Hagrid."

Picking up the now-cold piece of toast from his plate, Harry stood and shook his head. "Whatever, Ron. I don't really care anymore. I'm going to see Ginny." He walked away from the Gryffindor table and over to the double doors, slamming them behind him so hard that the entire hall jumped.

Ron sat down at the table with his head in his hands. "What've I done? I really didn't think he'd care…"

"Well, Ron," Hermione began matter-of-factly, "I don't like to say this but…"

"I know, I know. You told me so. And I'm a stupid git. Anything else you'd like to insult me with today?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "Well, actually, you said 'Me and Hermione' before instead of 'Hermione and I', so that was rather - "

Ron's look was fatal and Hermione went silent. "It wasn't open for discussion, Hermione. And I was being ratoric or whatever the heck that word is."

She sighed and sat down next to him. "Nevermind, Ron… Harry'll get over it. It's not as if this was a bad row or anything - just a little argument. You and I have fights like that all the time."

Ron felt a smile creep up over his face. "Well, you know how long it takes you to recover from one of those… luckily, Harry isn't quite as touchy as you, Herm."

Hermione slapped him on the wrist. "One of these days, Ron… one of these days."

Yeah… one of these days you might realise something that's more obvious than all the mistakes I make. Either that or I'll just get over myself and kiss you. But he said none of this, and they sat there in silence until the bell rang for the first class, both mulling over their feelings inside their heads, and wondering exactly how long it would take for the other to understand just what those little fights meant.

***

"If it's not too much trouble, Alex, I'd like to have a quiet word."

Puzzled, Alex turned to face the speaker, whose green eyes were glinting angrily. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Harry? What's up?"

Harry grabbed Alex's arm and quickly dragged him into a nearby classroom. Surprised by the force in Harry's grip Alex yelped in pain when he saw the red fingermarks which appeared on his lower arm. "Hey, Harry, you don't have to get so rough!" Alex was alarmed by the fierce look on Harry's face. He nursed his arm as he asked apprehensively: "What's wrong with you anyway?"

A hoarse laugh escaped Harry's lips. "Ah… what's wrong with me? Hmm… I'll have to ponder that one for a little while, Herr Kohl – wherever the heck it is you come from anyway. Or, let me guess, you're just one of those wanderers who never is able to stay in one place for very long… a person without a family, without a home, without roots." Alex looked up to see Harry's face emblazoned with fury before the boy continued on. "You stay just long enough to make your mark on everything around you; to irrevocably change other people's lives."

Alex smiled bitterly. "Oh, and I thought that was a good thing. It's not as if I gain anything from being expelled from every single school in the known universe."

"Oh, but you gain everything. Each little remark someone smiles about, each little person who respects you for all the wrong reasons makes the world a little more yours and a little less…"

"Yours?" He rolled his eyes. "You've seriously got something stuck so far up your arse its coming out of your mouth, Potter. I don't ask for people to like me, and I especially don't want people to respect me. That's why I do half the things I do… for me. And I'm not going to change that for anybody, especially not some moralistic Prefect like you who's just all sore 'cause he didn't get Head Boy like everyone expected. You're Quidditch Captain, isn't that enough?"

Harry snarled. "As if you would know anything about this school. How long've you been here for anyway? All of five minutes?" The two boys sat staring at each other angrily for a moment before Harry spoke again. "I don't want to get into this. There's a point to my bringing you in here – and it isn't in reference to any of your aforementioned crimes."

"What, couldn't dig up enough dirt to get me expelled yet? Well, I guess I'll hold my applause for your encore, eh Potter?"

"Just shut up and listen, alright?" He took a deep breath. "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't like people who go around and screw with other people's lives – especially when they're my friends."

"And exactly who are we talking about? If this has anything to do with me and Hermione…"

Harry grimaced. "As much as I disapprove of her personal choice in that matter, I'm afraid that's not what I'm talking about. Your relationship with Hermione is not being questioned – I'm more concerned about Ginny."

Alex's eyes widened. "Ginny? What about her?"

"You know, I hate it when people who are dumb like you pretend to act smart." He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. "I would have thought her infatuation was obvious enough, even for you."

Ignoring the insult, Alex narrowed his eyes. "I think you're barking up the wrong tree, Harry."

"Strange, Carlina didn't seem to think so."

The other boy paled. Harry smirked as he stumbled over the words. "Carl-Carlina? What w-would she know?"

"Quite a lot, if your exploits at Rydenfeld aren't pure fiction…"

"Harry, I'll explain…"

"…which, she assured me, they were not."

Alex sighed. "What do you want from me?"

He paused, and scratched his neck in thought. "Hmm… how about you keep away from Ginny, not give her any false hope – and I'll keep quiet about your past."

Angered, Alex jumped to his feet. "Are you trying to blackmail me? Because, if you are, then I'd at least like it to be for something I'm embarrassed of."

"What?" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs, "and you're not embarrassed of having a relationship with a teacher at Tannenwürtz College?!"

Alex rushed to clamp a hand over his mouth. "How the hell did you ever find out about that?!"

"Easy." Harry grinned menacingly. "Carlina has many friends, Herr Kohl. In fact… she probably knows more about you than your own parents do."

"You know, you're probably right, Mr. Potter, since my father is dead and my mother is as close as you can possibly get whilst still being alive."

Harry bowed his head respectfully. "I'm sorry, Alex." He raised his head again and stared straight into Alex's storm-blue eyes. "But, really, I'm sure it's better off this way… so they don't have to see what a loser they have for an only son."

Alex bristled under Harry's gaze. "Say anything you like about me, but if you dare say one more word about my parents, I swear I'll kill you. I have my wand, and I'll Cruciatus you right into the next millenia."

He laughed condescendingly at Alex's anger. "Just what I always thought – there's a bit of a man struggling underneath all those big romantic words and ideas."

Alex looked at the ground. "All I ever remember hearing about you when I was younger was how you were saving our world and helping people. I wondered if I could ever be like you. And now all I'm wondering is if you even remember the exact point in your life when you became such a bastard."

Harry's laughter stopped. "Probably about the same time you became a murderer, Alex."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Harry. I'm tired of fighting with you. I just want to go to bed and sleep for a few weeks."

"Then tell me what I want to hear, Alex, and I'll let you go." Before Alex could agree, he continued on. "I know about you, Alex. You know I know a great deal of things that could be decidedly… detrimental to your future at Hogwarts. Am I making myself clear?"

Defeatedly, Alex nodded. "Yes, as clear as crystal. As clear as an azure sky of deepest summer."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Don't even think about mocking me, Alex – just keep away from Ginny and make me happy. I don't want her running off after someone like you – she has obligations to her brother, and to her family. Not to you."

Alex sighed. "Look, Harry, I don't know what you're talking about. Ginny is my friend, and Hermione is my girlfriend. And that's the way it's going to stay. You have nothing to worry about from my quarter."

Harry's anger subdued as he looked at the beaten man who stood before him. He turned to leave, but as he walked away he stopped and glanced back. Alex stared at him, eyes entreating. Harry smirked and kept walking until he reached the middle of the Great Hall, where he smiled to himself and muttered one lonely, victorious word:

"Good."

***

Please review this story because, if you don't, I might stop writing and then you'll find out NOTHING ELSE about Alex, or Ginny, or Harry's weird jealously, or if Hermione and Ron will EVER GET IT TOGETHER AND GET TOGETHER!!!!! and If Carlina is as big a bitch as I'm making her out to be. So review or…. Be bored less??