A/N: Thank you to everyone who keeps giving me reviews. I am still a little nervous about this story, so encouragement is appreciated. I know this is a short chapter, but I need confirmation before I can keep going. I will soon actually reveal what is going on.

Third Degree

After a while the tears stopped coming. By that time my pillow was kind of a mess, and my nose was sort of stuffed up. I leaned my head on my hands and let him continue massaging. Which, in hindsight, was a rather dumb idea on my part, but I have a major weakness for back rubs. Finally I gathered up the courage to speak again.

"Why are you here?" Ugh. My voice is a mess. It was a sort of deep stuffy croaking, but quiet.

He stopped, startled. "I thought you had fallen asleep."

"Well, no, but I really want to know. Why are you here?" I arched my back like a cat, indicating that I wanted him to go back to it. He didn't notice.

"Which here? The sort of all purpose 'Why are we here?', 'Why am I here behind you?', or the other one?"

"Why are you here in my house, I suppose."

"Mind turning around? I really prefer talking to your face."

"I guess not." I pushed myself around so my back was against the wall. He was still sitting there on my bed, and his nearness startled me. It's a lot easier to let people get close behind you. "I don't suppose you'd have a tissue."

He reached into the pocket of his robes. "Would a handkerchief do?" He pulled out a clean white one and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I proceeded to wipe my face and then blow my nose rather loudly. When I finished, I eyed it in my hands with mild confusion. He plucked it from my fingers and tossed it into the hamper.

"Don't worry about it, I've got more downstairs."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's okay that you made a snotty mess of that handkerchief, because I can just use one of the other ones in my luggage until it comes back from the wash."

"I could figure that much. It was the implication of luggage that confused me."

"What, you think I came here with nothing but my wand and the robes on my back?"

"Well, actually, I was left in the dark as to the whole 'you coming here' bit, which is why I attacked when you snuck up behind me in the kitchen."

"Yeah, well, I was left in the dark as to the whole 'you being here' bit, which is why I was going into the kitchen in the first place, to figure out who you were. And I was not sneaking up on you."

"Quick-what do you call it when someone is coming closer to a person from behind in attempts to spy on or surprise them without them noticing their presence?"

"Snea- fine. Okay, maybe I was sneaking up on you, but for good purpose."

"Which would be what?"

"Figuring out who you were, and what you were doing, so I would know if I needed to hide myself. But it was sort of obvious I should have, because if you had known someone else was here you wouldn't have been sitting there with your back to the entrance, in only your pajamas."

I looked down, suddenly aware of how little I was actually wearing. My shorts had pulled themselves far up my thighs, and about two inches of my stomach were exposed. I quickly adjusted them, blushing lightly.

He covered his eyes and forehead with one open-fingered hand. "Merlin, don't worry about it, Ginevra! I'm a thirty-five year old male who's been through Auror training. I've seen worse."

"Yeah, and I'm a fourteen year old girl who's grown up in a flock of boys. But I still like to be wearing a little more than this around grown men."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just meant that the way you were at the table downstairs was leaving yourself in a rather vulnerable position."

"My wand was in my hand, pointing over my shoulder, ready to hex you in a minute if you tried anything."

"Ah, but despite that, had I wanted to, I could have had you bound and gagged or frozen before you would have had the chance to say a word. Or I could have just disarmed you."

"Not if I did first."

"First thing you're going to have to learn. I say this with the greatest respect, and it really isn't meant to be as insulting as it's going to come out. You're a little girl."

"No I'm not. I am fourteen, and I'm really not that short."

"Ginevra, do you want to learn self-defense?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean I've been trained well and you appear to think you need to be on your guard enough that you could benefit from real defense training, Auror style."

"Well, sure, I mean, that sounds fabulous if you're really willing. The thing in my first year kind of messed up any chances of a normal school experience, then having a year worth of Mad-Eye Moody teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, and then what happened at the end of the year, I think I could use all the help I can get."

"Ah, Alistor Moody. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"That's the one," I chuckled.

"Picture waking up to that at three-thirty in the morning every day for a week."

"Oh joy."

"That's Auror Basic Training for you. But really, you'd like to learn?"

"Absolutely."

"All right. First thing I am going to tell you-do not get offended when I say this. You are a small girl. I don't mean that as an insult, just that it is a lot different for you learning to protect yourself than me because your experience has trained you to let other people fight physical battles for you and mine trained me to pounce on people before they became a dangerous threat. I was a rather large boy, and you are a rather small girl, with older brothers."

"All right. I don't like hearing it, but okay."

"Do you ever get into scuffles with your brothers? I mean, not arguments or play duels, but real rough-and-tumble rolling on the floor wrestling?"

"Not really. I'm enough smaller that I was never any match, and besides, Mum would kill them."

"Whew. Six older brothers and an over-protective mother. I suppose you really don't have any experience with hand-to-hand combat."

"I'm just not strong enough to do much."

"How are you for speed?"

"Decent, not that great."

"All right, I guess we'll work physical first. Let me go figure out the area, I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes?" He stood up and was heading for the door.

"What do I wear?"

He stopped and looked her over. "Not pajamas, I'd hope."

"Well, I know, but what did the witches that were training with you wear?"

"Jogging pants, and sneakers. And something comfortable on top, so they don't…bounce about too much," he ended awkwardly.

"Right. See you in a minute then."

He unlocked the door and let himself out, shutting it behind him. Now what do I do? Do I actually go down there in a sports bra? What if Mum or Dad comes home? Or worse, one of the boys? I mean, I know I go swimming in a two piece, but it's a little weirder around a grown-up guy. Whoa-calm down, Gin. Remember what he said, he's seen worse. I mean, he's in his thirties, he doesn't go around looking at little teenage girls like that. I changed into some loose pants and a jog bra, old socks, and slipped on a pair of sneakers. I was just heading out the door when I realized that he still had my wand, and I still didn't know what he was doing at my house.

A/N: What did everybody else think of that? I liked it, but I sort of have to. Anyways, I am slowly advancing upon the plot, and hope to have caught up to it sometime soon. Tell me what you think, please!