All right, I've been sitting on this for two days.  I may as well, just post it and get things over with.  I'm incredibly nervous about this chapter.  Hopefully it isn't too horrendous.  Apologies if it is.

~*~*~*~

Chapter 28 – The Invitation

Their impromptu snow war continued for over an hour until Ginny raced headfirst into the lake in a botched attempt to escape one of Harry's snowballs.  She came up sputtering and shivering and glared at Harry, who immediately raced over to pull her out and apologise.  Ginny blushed at his attention and insisted she was fine, though her teeth chattered and her lips were turning blue from the cold.  Harry bundled his own cloak around her shoulders and pulled her close, trying to keep her somewhat warm and move her toward the castle at the same time.  Rowan appeared at his side only moments later and smoothly took over, drying out Ginny's clothes magically and conjuring blankets to wrap her in.

"Do stop hovering, Harry, she's going to be fine!"

Ginny's lips faded back to their normal rose colour and her teeth stopped chattering after a few moments and she thanked Rowan before insisting she was quite warm again.

"Yes, dear, but it's still back to the common room and a goblet of Pepper-Up potion for now," Rowan informed her briskly, sounding remarkably like Madam Pomfrey.

"I don't need any Pepper-Up!"  Ginny protested immediately, blushing at the idea.  Pepper-Up potion was excellent at preventing colds and flu, but always made one smoke at the ears after drinking it.  With her bright red hair, Ginny always looked like a small volcano after a dose of it.

"The common room or the Hospital Wing, and we'll ask Madam Pomfrey for her opinion if you wish," Rowan stated firmly and Ginny sighed in submission before agreeing to the common room.  Apparently Ginny knew how futile arguing with determined mediwitches was.

~*~

Rowan, Ginny, Hermione and Morgaine looked up as the boys climbed through the portal just before dinner.  The girls had all left for the common room soon after Ginny's impromptu bath - a novel experience for Morgaine, who had been a Ravenclaw while at school – and now settled comfortably in various armchairs and couches.  Rowan had even exchanged her customary white robes for a woolly black sweater and trousers and curled up in a large armchair with a very large book and Orion in her lap. Hermione held an even larger book but no cat, and Morgaine sat curled up primly in an armchair with a small bit of needlework in her hands.  Aslan - Morgaine's pure white cat - looked up from his spot on the mantle and yawned.  Ginny absently pulled her quill away from Crookshanks, who was attempting to dismember it, and waved at them, pulling the too-long sleeve of her emerald green sweater away from her hand.

"What, you're branching out into sweaters now?"  Ron asked Ginny, pinching a bit of the green wool between his fingers.

"No.  I nicked those."  Rowan commented from behind her book.  "Ginny just stole the socks."  Sure enough, very thick, slightly too large, and definitely not female-style, socks adorned the feet of each of the girls.

"Ginny!  You're corrupting her!"  Ron cried.

Sirius rolled his eyes.  "No she isn't, Ron.  It's probably the other way around."  He walked up and leaned over the back of the chair.  "So, we're back to 'Rowan Myfanwy, sweater snatcher extraordinaire'?"

"Your sweaters are warmer than mine," she stated simply, snuggling further into the dark fabric.  "But the socks were still Ginny's idea and a very good idea, too."

Sirius glanced over at Ginny and raised an eyebrow.  "And Ginny is wearing Harry's sweater because . . ."

"Hermione had dibs on Ron's, Morgaine snatched Professor Lupin's, and the twins are wearing theirs."  Ginny supplied, blushing scarlet and burrowing deeper into the emerald green sweater in an attempt to disappear.  Harry had to admit she looked prettily festive in his over-large sweater.

"That's it, Harry, you are officially a Weasley," Ron declared, rolling his eyes.

"Or officially claimed by one," Sirius sniggered under his breath.  "Cute prank, Rowan."

"I thought you'd like it."  Rowan reached up and pulled him closer for a quick kiss.

"That is still extremely weird," Harry commented.

"Trust me, Harry, you'll get used to it pretty fast," Lupin remarked casually.  Then he shot a knowing look at Ron and Hermione.  "Though I'd avoid the library if you can.  Rowan and Hermione are both bookworms."

Remus found himself skewered by glares from both Rowan and Hermione.

A sharp tapping at the window interrupted them and one of the twins crossed to the window to admit a handsome eagle owl with an expensive scroll of parchment tied to its leg.

"Who's it for, George?"  Ron asked.  Everyone watched curiously as George untied the golden thread the held the parchment and released the owl to the Owlery.  It obviously hadn't been instructed to wait for a response.

"It's for Professor Myfanwy," he reported.  Rowan frowned in confusion and set her book aside to accept the scroll.  The others were so still the light crackle of the delicate parchment was clearly audible.  Rowan read quickly over the brief message and palled slightly.  Sirius seized her hand immediately in a gesture of comfort and extracted the scroll from her fingers.

"You're not going," he informed her flatly after glancing through the note.  Rowan roused herself from her momentary shock.

"I'm not a child, Sirius," she warned, glaring slightly at his presumption and retrieving the scroll.  "What do you expect me to do, walk straight into a painfully obvious trap to set up a heroic rescue by my true love?  That only happens in bad romance novels, Sirius."

"Trap?  What trap?"  Remus perked up in concern.

"What does the letter say?"  Harry asked at the same time.

"It seems the Malfoys have invited me over for tea," Rowan answered.

~*~*~*~