Disclaimer:  Yeah, I wish it was mine, but you know it's not.  You do know that, right?  'Cause if you don't, you really have no business being here.

A/N: Sorry about the long delay, to anyone who was waiting for this.  I'm on the verge of a breakdown right now.  Causes?  Too much work and not enough sleep.  Sleep?  What's that?  Anyway, I'm sure you don't care about my personal problems.  You just want to get to the story…right?  Well, here it is.

Chapter 15 ~ Sleeping Arrangements

            When Harry awoke the next morning, an empty bed met his bleary eyes.  Ginny was nowhere to be found.  He sighed with a strange mixture of elation and melancholy as he looked at the undisturbed blankets beside him.  Her insubstantial body had left no impression beside his own.  'One day,' he promised himself. 

            With a groan, he pulled himself out of the warm haven of his bed, his forehead crinkling against the light assailing his eyelids.  His stomach rumbled loudly enough to wake the rest of the school and he decided that filling it should definitely be the first priority of the day.

            Two of the crimson-draped beds stood rumpled and empty, but the third was still tightly curtained.  Glancing at the time, Harry decided that the occupant needed a wake-up call, or he would miss not only breakfast but likely his first class as well.  Harry knew Ron's sleeping pattern—continue until something interfered.  Harry smiled mischievously.  Fingernails could feel an awful lot like spider's legs when one was sleeping. 

            Harry showered and got dressed, just in case Ron, in a fit of pique, chased him all the way down to the dining hall.  He snickered at the thought of the school gawking at the famous Harry Potter being chased around the Great Hall by his best friend, both of them wearing pajamas. 

            He stood in front of Ron's bed, trying not to chuckle.  He'd have to apologize eventually, of course, but by then, Ron would hopefully have seen the humor of it and forgiven him anyway.  Harry slowly drew open the curtains so that he wouldn't disturb the sleeping occupant and stopped in shock.  Instead of one body sleeping inside, there were two.

            Hermione curled up next to Ron, her head resting on his chest and his arms around her.  They both continued to sleep, expressions of peace and contentment on their faces, oblivious to any observer.  Harry, after one incredulous stare, began to chuckle, then to laugh uproariously, clutching his sides.  He collapsed backward onto his own bed, still wheezing with laughter, as Ron and Hermione's eyes popped open. 

            Ron hurriedly sat up and Hermione scrambled out of bed, her eyes darting around to make sure there was no one else in the room.  All of their faces were red, but Ron and Hermione's were from embarrassment while Harry's was from laughter.  He couldn't seem to halt his merriment, and Ron looked as if he might hit Harry at any second.  Hermione just looked mortified.  She still wore her school robes from the day before and was hurriedly running her fingers through her unruly hair in an attempt to make it more presentable. 

            "There is such a thing as privacy, y'know," Ron said sullenly, then had to repeat himself more loudly in order to be heard over Harry's chortles. 

            "Well, considering that this is the boy's dorm, I wasn't really expecting to find Hermione in here.  In fact, I think it's safe to say that it's the last thing I expected," Harry gasped.  "I guess I shouldn't ask you two how you slept last night--" Harry dissolved into laughter again, wondering idly why he was laughing so hard—and then remembered his own sleeping arrangements last night.

            "Harry Potter!" Hermione said severely.  "I know what you're thinking, and you can get your mind out of the gutter right now!  Ron and I didn't sleep together, we just—slept together..." Hermione's voice trailed off and then she sat down heavily on the bed, put her head in her hands, and began to laugh.

            "I see, so you slept together, but you didn't sleep together," Harry said, an expression of wise understanding on his face.

            "Oh, you're impossible!  You know what I meant!" Hermione said through her giggles and Harry started chuckling again, while Ron simply watched them, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

            "You two have gone batty," he said, shaking his head. 

            "Absolutely," Harry replied.  "You should join us, it's great fun."  Ron just shook his head, grinning.

            "Was something wrong with your bed last night, Hermione?" Harry asked mischievously.  "Too cold, perhaps?"

            "It's not my fault," Hermione said between giggles.  "I just came up to say goodnight and that monster grabbed me and held me hostage."

            "I'm sure you fought very hard," Harry said sanctimoniously. 

            "Fought like a tigress, she did," Ron put in, and then grabbed Hermione and started tickling her mercilessly.  She squirmed away from him, breathless with laughter, her eyes sparkling.  "Of course," Ron continued, "you wouldn't know, now would you Harry?  You weren't even here last night.  Out after hours, tsk, tsk, tsk.  And if you'd been here you could have protected 'Mione from her horrible kidnapping."

            "Oh, yes, I could have," Harry replied, smirking, "and then I could have gotten brained for my troubles.  Better, I think, that I wasn't here!"

            "Where were you, anyway?" Hermione put in curiously.

            "Oh, I was--" Harry thought back to the past evening.  What could he tell his friends about that?

            "Busy," Ginny supplied from behind him, having just floated up through the floor in company with Liandra.  "Very busy."  She floated over and brushed an insubstantial kiss across Harry's cheek.  Harry sighed; he could feel the warmth of her love if not the warmth of her body.  Their eyes locked for a timeless moment and Harry basked in Ginny's smile.

            "Hey, break it up, you two," Ron interjected, smirking.  "I'm about to be smothered in sweetness."

            "As if I couldn't say the same thing about you and Hermione," Harry shot back.  "All snuggled up and cozy in bed…"

            "What?!" Ginny exclaimed and then dissolved into helpless laughter.

            "What on earth is the matter with you two?" Ron asked in amazement as Harry again joined Ginny in merriment.  "I didn't think that we were that funny," he muttered under his breath.  Harry made a frantic negating gesture while he tried to get his breath back.

            "That's not it; we're not laughing at you," Harry gasped. 

            "Well, it certainly looks that way," Hermione said, looking a bit peeved.

            "Not everything is as it appears," Ginny said solemnly and then dissolved into more giggles.  Hermione looked back and forth between the two of them, and then shook her head sadly.

            "You two are just too much alike," she said despairingly.

            "Anyway," Ginny said, catching her breath and turning to Hermione, "I thought we should fill in the boys on what happened at the meeting last night.  I didn't get a chance to tell Harry and I have a strange feeling that you didn't tell Ron either."  Hermione blushed and shook her head.

            "I have a better suggestion," Harry put in.  "How about you fill us in later.  If we don't get to breakfast soon, we're going to miss it."

            "Heaven forbid!" Ron said fervently.  "I'm starving!"

            "You're always starving," Hermione said, poking his stomach with her forefinger.  It gurgled in response.  Ron shrugged, unremorseful. 

            "So let's go to breakfast," Ron said.

            "I don't know about you," Hermione said severely, "but I'm going to clean up a bit."  Her tone implied that he had better follow her example.  He sighed as she flounced out of the room.

            "I'll meet you in the Great Hall, then?" Harry said.  It was less a question than a statement.  Ron sighed again.

            "I suppose she won't sit by me if I don't shower," he said resignedly.

            "Welcome to the world of girlfriends," Harry replied.

            "Hey!" Ginny exclaimed and punched Harry's shoulder.  Her fist went right through his shoulder, and he laughed.  She mock-glared at him for a moment before joining in.

            "See you there, Ron," Harry said as he exited the dorm in the company of the two ghosts.

            "So how are you liking your new position, Liandra?" Harry asked as they made their way down the hall.

            "It's, well…" she hesitated, biting her lip.

            "Boring?" Ginny supplied cheekily.  Liandra hunched her shoulders and nodded slightly.  "Yes, it seems like it might be.  I never saw Nick doing anything but randomly floating around.  Sure, he was always helpful when we needed it, but there were a lot of times when we didn't need help."

            "I feel cheated," Liandra confessed.  "Gryffindor is supposed to be the most daring of the Houses.  I guess I expected to be whisked up in some kind of grand adventure, especially with him around." She gestured to Harry.  He grimaced.

            "Trouble does seem to follow me around, doesn't it?" he replied and she nodded with a wry smile.

            "Speaking of trouble," Ginny interjected, "one of these nights, you're going to have to give us an account of your own.  I'm about to die of curiosity.  For one thing, I've never even heard of an avian-humanoid race.  Where do you come from?"

            Liandra laughed at her friend's eagerness.  "All part of the story—just let me know when you want to hear it, and I'll be glad to tell it.  It's the least I can do," she said with a sidelong glance at Ginny.  Harry surmised that Liandra still felt indebted to Ginny.  Ginny waived her hands dismissively, looking embarrassed. 

            "Sure, sure.  How about tonight in the Common Room?  Unless you don't want the whole school to know your history," Ginny amended.  Liandra shook her head.

            "It's really not anything cataclysmic and I wouldn't care if they knew, but you might not want to spread about my role in guarding the sword.  Then you'd have to explain to everyone what it is and it would get back to Voldemort and…"

            "And that would be extremely bad," Ginny finished for her when her voice trailed off.  Liandra, Harry noted, had no problem about calling the Dark Lord by name.  But then again, she hadn't been in any position to develop a fear of him.  Demons, on the other hand, she knew. 

            "Agreed," Harry put in.  "So how about tonight someplace else?  I don't know if I can wait any longer.  Curiosity killed the cat and all that, but I think lack of information is more likely to kill me," he said, and then sighed as two looks of blank incomprehension met his joke.  "Muggle saying."  He kept forgetting how little they knew.  He'd have to get Ginny to mingle with the muggles a little once she was alive again.  It would be an interesting experience for her.

            "Sure," Liandra said, still eyeing him oddly.  He shrugged and grinned, as if to say, "I can't help my heritage," and she smiled back.

            When they reached the Great Hall, Harry sat down and hurriedly began shoveling food into his mouth.  Ginny and Liandra looked at him, looked at each other, and laughed.  Harry rolled his eyes at them.  "I'm hungry," he mumbled through a mouthful of pancake. 

            "I've almost forgotten what it's like to eat," Ginny said sadly, her face undergoing an abrupt change of mood. 

            Liandra patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.  "Don't worry, you'll get to eat again.  And it could be worse.  You've only almost forgotten – I've forgotten completely.  Of course," Liandra continued, a smile quirking her lips, "since I've forgotten, I don't remember what I'm missing and I don't miss it anymore."  This brought a slight smile to Ginny's lips, and then a larger one as Harry nodded in agreement, his mouth full of strawberries.  There was whipped cream on his upper lip. 

            "'Ere um 'On an' Umiee," Harry said through his full mouth.  Liandra looked perplexed, her brow crinkling charmingly, but Ginny only laughed. 

            "He said, 'Here come Ron and Hermione,'" Ginny told her blank-faced friend. 

            "And you understood that?  You two must really be meant for each other, because understanding that had to take telepathy," Liandra said, only half joking. 

            "No," said Ginny negligently.  "Just looooong experience with six brothers.  I swear, there isn't a boy in the universe who knows how to eat his good at a reasonable rate.  And yes, Ron," she said to the brother standing behind her and chuckling, "I do know that I sound just like Mum."

            "You said it, I didn't," Ron said, taking his seat by moving forward through his little sister to the table.  Hermione rolled her eyes and went around the two ghosts. 

            "Boys," she muttered.  Ginny shot her a sympathetic look and a shrug to say that she really didn't care.  As long as she was insubstantial, people might as well take advantage of it…but Ron didn't know she felt like that.

            "Ron!" Ginny shrilled.  "How could you do something like that!  That was horrible.  Don't you have any feelings at all?  Here I am, dead, and you think it's funny to walk through me as if I wasn't there, but it isn't, not at all!  I am here, even if I'm dead, and it'd be nice if you acknowledged that fact once in a while!"

            Ron looked stricken and waived his hands at her to stop her tirade.  He looked so guilty she was tempted to stop, but she was having too much fun.

            "What next?  Soon I'll be like Moaning Myrtle and you'll be making fun of me and I'll be reduced to crying in a girl's toilet just because my brother thinks it's funny to walk through his late sister without even a please or thank you!"

            Ron was starting to get red in the face – a sure sign that he was going to blow up soon.  She fell silent and stared at him, trying with all her considerable acting skills to look hurt.  His face got more red – and more red – and more red.  This was her favorite part of making him angry.  He ended up looking like a beet with a sunburn.

            "Why, you--" he began but he was interrupted by her laughter.  His mouth opened wide but no sound came out and he abruptly snapped it shut, turning back to his breakfast, beginning to eat in stony silence.

            "You should have seen your face," Ginny giggled.  "Bright red!  You looked like you'd been thrown into a vat of red paint.  You could have blended in with a rose bush.  Come on, you know it's funny…"  she prodded at him.  She saw the corner of his mouth quirk up even though he went on eating and refused to look at her.  "Red is such a fitting color, too…the color of love…do you turn red around Hermione?" Ginny teased.  Ron glanced at Hermione and blushed, bathing his still red face in even more brilliant crimson.  "Well, I guess that answers that question!" Ginny giggled.  Ron's lips twitched a little more  and he finally gave in and smiled. 

            "Wretch.  I don't know why I put up with you.  She delights in making me angry or embarrassed just so she can see the color of my face," he said to Harry and Hermione.  Ron shook his head hopelessly.  "She's been doing it since she was a week old, I swear."

            "And he falls for it every time," Ginny added, laughing.

            "Yeah, yeah.  But you're impossible."

            "Ahem," Hermione interjected.  "Can we talk business for a minute?  We're going to have to go to class soon and I want all of you to hear this.  We set up another meeting for tomorrow night so that we can discuss strategy."

            "Tomorrow night?  Rats!" Harry said.  After meeting Peter Pettigrew, that was the foulest curse he knew.

            "What's wrong with tomorrow?" Ginny asked worriedly.

            "I ran into Snape going back to the dorm last night and he wouldn't believe me when I told him I had permission from Madam Pince to stay in the library.  He gave me detention for tomorrow."

            "Well, you can get out of it, right?" Ron said anxiously.

            "I doubt it.  You know Snape.  Maybe I could if I went to Dumbledore, but…would I ordinarily make such a fuss over one detention?  We don't want him suspicious of anything."

            "Dumbledore finds out everything," Liandra said quietly.  "I'd bet he already knows what you're doing…whatever it is."  Harry realized that Liandra had not been let in on the plan, but yet they'd been talking about it in front of her as if she had been.  That had been negligent, but…on the other hand, she already knew that he was planning on resurrecting Ginny. 

            "You wanted excitement…why don't you go with them tomorrow night?  You can stand in my stead as the voice of reason," Harry said lightly. 

            "I do want to know what's going on…" Liandra said. 

            "Consider this your first adventure as Gryffindor's ghost," Ginny said as Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement to the idea.

            "Alright, if that's all settled, then I suggest that we get to class.  If we wait much longer, we'll be late and we'll all have detention tomorrow," Hermione said worriedly.

            "That'd make everything easier, though," Ron protested.  "Then we could just have the meeting during our detention!"

~*~

A/N: I know this took a long time to get out, but hey, it wasn't as long as my last break…I think that was somewhere between six months and a year.  I don't remember exactly anymore.  Anyway, expect long waits from now until the end of the school year.  Or at least until midway through May.  I think the load should be lightening up around then.  That's not to say that I won't update this at all until May.  I'm just saying that it'll probably be several weeks between chapters and don't expect them to be extremely long.  I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.  I'm definitely sorry – I would much rather be writing this than an essay on Billy Budd or an essay on anything, for that matter.  Essay writing really isn't my thing.  But I'm rambling…I do that when I'm tired.  Anyway, if you want an email note whenever I update, since it's going to be so rare, send me an email saying so.  I'll be happy to do it.  Once again, sorry.  And thank you to all my reviewers!

Mei Queen: Thank you!  That means so much to me.  One of my original complaints against fanfiction was that I couldn't get inside another author's characters well enough to work with them.  I guess I've gotten over that, eh? 

Angelus: What a great review!  I've always though the most important thing about writing was to convey emotion.  Thank you.  Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with your story.  I haven't even been on ff.net since the last time I posted.  I'll try to get to it soon!

DaBear: At the risk of giving away part of the plot, no.  That's not what's happening.  I understand that it's a bit confusing right now, but all will be revealed in time.  Wow, that sounded pompous.  But true.  Thanks for the review.

Enialedam:  Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

Silver Witch:  Thanks!  Wow, reading that made me feel so good.  And sometimes, I wish I knew what was going to happen too!

Zaz: Have no fear, the author's here!  Oh my, I can't believe I just wrote that.  Please forgive me.  I'm not usually given to bad poetry.  But no, I haven't abandoned this fic and I don't plan to, especially not when I'm getting all this support from my reviewers! 

Kaeros:  I'm sorry you're confused.  Sometimes I try to maintain an air of mystery and I take it too far.  I'm really curious though…where did you get the idea that I'd sacrificed Harry?  Heaven forbid!  I think I'd much rather have both of them alive.  It makes things much more interesting.  Please review again or email me or something so that I can avoid making the same mistake again.  And thank you for the review!

LizhowHP: I'm glad you luv this story!  As for the updating, see above if you haven't already read my author's note.  I'm sorry!  Very, very sorry!  I hope you'll keep reading anyway…

Storyweaver: Thanks!  Yes, he is in his sixth year and I probably won't write a prequel.  First of all, I have no idea what I'd put in it, and second of all…I've got my hands quite full with this story and my original over on fictionpress.net.  But this one will be going on for a rather long time, so don't worry about running out of wonderful H/G goodness!