Vanilla Whispers: chapter-Ten
Whispers -
Ginny forced herself to slow down before entering the main hall. She was so nervous that she had ractically run the entire way there. Stopping outside the entrance for a moment, she caught her breath. Students walked by and glanced curiously at her. Squaring her shoulders, Ginny entered the Great Hall and looked down the length of the Gryffindor tables. Half way down, on the opposite side, she found Harry eating his dinner, across the table sat Hermione and Ron. Ginny walked over and dropped down at the end of the Gryffindor tables near several first years, sneaking glances at Harry out of the corner of her eye. Good, she thought, He didn't see me.
Ginny spooned food onto her plate. The first years glanced at her but continued eating without saying anything about a sixth year choosing to sit with them. Ginny pushed the contents of her plate around with her fork and she waited until the first years around her leave. When the last straggling student gathered her belongings and walked away, Ginny put her elbow on the table before her and rested her chin in her hand. She bent her fingers to obscure her lips to prevent anyone from seeing her speak. Looking around to make sure no one was close; she said a silent prayer and took a deep breath.
"Harry. . ."
Ginny felt the echo effect of the spell course though her as soon as the whisper passed her lips. A warm tingle ran up her back, spreading throughout her limbs. She shivered and bit her lip, blinking rapidly to fight the whimper that almost slipped out. If that was a mere echo of the spell, she could only imagine the full effect it would have on him.
Harry was in the process of raising a fork of potatoes to his mouth when a strange sensation overtook him. He gasped as warmth wash over him, his entire being pulsed and his heart jumped in his chest. Tiny shivers raced up his spine, and his skin flush across his chest, making its way up over his neck and face. His breath caught in his throat and he clenched his jaw, blinking to clear his hazy vision. It took Harry several seconds to gather his wits once it slowly subsided. Looking up, Harry realized Hermione and Ron were staring at him with. Harry picked up the fork he had dropped and cleared his throat.
"All right there, Harry?" asked Ron.
"I -- um, I. . ." Harry stammered and cleared his throat again, "Yeah," he finally answered.
Ron gave him a look that said: You're off your bloody rocker, and went back to eating his food. Hermione, on the other hand, gave Harry a calculating stare before scanning the room. Seeming not to find anyone looking suspicious, she frowned and went back to her meal.
Ginny ducked her head, grinning widely. The potion was a success! She debated if she wanted to try it again while she toyed with the edge of a napkin. Before she had the chance to decide Seamus and Neville arrived and sat down on either side of her.
"How's sweet sixteen doing?" asked Seamus, gently nudging her with his shoulder.
Ginny sat up straight and smiled. "Never better. You?"
"Still recovering from the party," said Neville, pouring himself a glass of juice.
Dean sat down on the bench across from Ginny and immediately loaded his plate with food. "Would have been even better if you would have modeled all the lovely items you received," Dean said with a wink.
"Yes, I heard we missed out on exactly how well those thongs fit," said Seamus mournfully.
"Think you're privy to seeing my knickers now are you, Finnigan?" Ginny asked playfully.
"A man can dream, can't he?" answered Seamus.
"Let's not delve into your twisted fantasies," muttered Neville.
"Oy!" Seamus reached behind Ginny to swat at Neville.
Ginny grinned, pushing her forgotten food around on her plate. Ginny glanced up in time to see Harry stride past their end of the table with a scowl firmly fixed on his face, almost knocking into Dean. The group grew quiet as Harry strode out of the Great Hall.
"Gosh Ginny, we're really sorry," said Neville.
Ginny stared at the empty entrance. "Don't be," she said hotly, "Nothing to be sorry for."
The boys exchanged glances and busied themselves with their dinner.
Ginny looked around at the three of them. "Really guys, don't be."
Seamus glanced over, halfheartedly smiling as he chewed before looking down at his plate with a frown. Ginny felt a warm hand gently rub her back. Glancing up, she saw Hermione smile reassuringly and walk on behind Ron.
Rolling over onto her back, Ginny kicked at the thick covers of her canopy bed and huffed. She raised her head and looked over at her alarm clock - 1:30 in the morning the magical red numbers read, below it glowed the phrase: Now is the time to sleep, not play. Groaning, Ginny dropped her head back against the pillow and flopped her arm above her head, feeling her fingers graze against soft fur. She stroked Clark, thinking over the past few months. Half the time she felt like she was on the verge of going insane. It had finally come to the point where she didn't know if she wanted to kiss Harry or choke him. With her other hand Ginny reached up and fingered the pendant hanging from the chain on her neck. 'I guess,' Ginny thought to herself, 'I'll have to extract my revenge a little more often. . . To make myself feel better, of course.' She nodded her head and suppressed a giggle.
In a seventh year, individual dorm, Harry sat bolt straight in his bed, ripped out of sleep. The same sensation he felt during dinner coursed through him, causing him to pant. Glancing around his empty dorm he worked to gain control of himself again and glanced over the alarm clock. 1:31 in the morning – You should be sleeping. Harry groaned, falling back on to his bed heavily. It was going to be impossible for him to get back to sleep.
In the next weeks that followed, Harry found he was becoming increasingly paranoid. At any point in the day, it didn't matter what he was doing or where he was, he would suddenly be taken over by the mysterious wave. He would be left in its wake, quiet flustered and embarrassed. Ron seemed to grow more concerned, trying repeatedly to get Harry to go to see Madam Pomfrey for Harry seemed to be taking ill at the strangest of moments. Of course Harry flat out refused, how in the world would he explain that to the school nurse? Hermione didn't tell the guys, but she was secretly trying to research what was going on with Harry and came to dead ends at each turn. For all her knowledge she seemed completely stumped.
One evening, the trio sat around a table in the common room. Hermione sat in an arm chair reading from a book titled, Mystical Ailments and Oddities by Upton Chuckworthy. Harry and Ron were in the middle of a fierce game of wizard's chess, bantering back and forth over the prize if the other lost. Harry reached for a pawn when Ron and Hermione heard him gasp. Blinking rapidly, Harry cleared his throat and resumed his move after a moment. Ron gave Harry a worried look but said nothing. Hermione's eye searched the room.
Ginny wasn't quick enough to avert her eyes back to the book in her hands and found her eyes lock with Hermione's. Clark stretched lazily in Ginny's lap before tucking his head back down. The firelight from the hearth cast a slight shadow on Ginny's face. Hermione's stare trailed to Harry before returning to Ginny's once again. A new understanding dawned in Hermione's eyes and Ginny felt her heart skip for a fleeting moment. The corners of Hermione's mouth twitched as she slowly closed the book in her hands and placed it on her lap.
Ginny almost sighed with relief. She knew her secret was safe. Hermione gave a conspiratorial wink and suppressed a giggle. Ginny quickly looked down at her book once more when Harry glanced up from the chess board to look at Hermione and then over to herself. She turned the unread page of her book and scratched behind Clark's ear. She knew George and Fred would be beaming with pride if they could their baby sister now.
Ron cleared his throat twice to get Harry's attention back to the game. He knew Harry was staring at Ginny. He also noticed what had just gone on between his sister and his girlfriend. Despite what people thought of him, he was not completely oblivious to his surroundings. Ron had suspected for a while that it was his sister behind Harry's little episodes. By the looks of things, Hermione had finally caught on. Not all answers can be found in books, something he had trying to teach her over the years. As for the little torturing Ginny was giving Harry, Ron was going to remain out of it. In his opinion the ruddy git deserved it. He had a few serious talks about his sister with Harry. One becoming an all out argument after Quidditch practice one evening. He knew Harry was afraid to allow anyone to become too close to him and become a target for Death Eaters. Ron had tried every possible angle to convince Harry that no one was safe where Voldemort was concerned. He had tried talking to Harry even going so far as yelling at him. Finally, Ron decided to take a back seat and watch the ride for a while. He knew his little sister's heart and he was pretty sure he knew Harry's. What the two of them didn't know was that he and Hermione were brewing up their own little scheme. He just hoped it would work. Ron chuckled to himself. Ginny - one, Harry - zero.A week before Christmas vacation Ron and Hermione's plan was finally put into action. Ginny sat in the Great Hall having breakfast with Colin and Ginger when the clouded magical ceiling became filled with delivery owls carrying the morning mail. Errol arrived in his classic crash and burn fashion, knocking over a bowl of fruit in the process. Ginny jumped up off of the bench and gently picked up the ancient owl. She set him on the table while Colin and Ginger picked up the escaped fruit.
"I can't believe he's still able to fly across the room much less deliver the mail," grumbled Ginger.
Ginny paid no mind as she broke off a bite of her toast and fed it to the owl. She unlaced the strip of leather from Errol's leg and removed two letters. Flipping the envelopes over, she saw that one was addressed to Ron and the second to herself.
"You should go to the owlery and rest Errol," Ginny said, stroking his feathers. Errol gave a tired hoot and took off towards the open window to get some much deserved rest.
Ginny looked down the table to find Ron and Hermione in the middle of their breakfast, Harry was nowhere to be found.
"Ron, mail," Ginny called, leaning back on the bench to look behind the students between her and her brother. Ron glanced down the table at Ginny and took a large bite of bacon before getting.
"Thanks," said Ron, wiping his hands on his robe before accepting the letter. He turned and made his way back down the tables to sit with Hermione once more.
Ginny turned her attention to the envelope in her hand, missing Ron bending his head and whispering into Hermione's ear or the other girl glance down at Ginny before nodding. Ginny recognized the penmanship right away and wondered what her mother could be writing to her about. Ginny grinned, more than likely her mother wrote to inform her that the twins had finally gone and blown up their shop. Breaking the wax seal on the envelope, Ginny pulled out the folded parchment and began to read. Ginny skimmed over the letter, breaking off bits of a muffin and chewing on them as she read. The further into the letter, Ginny read, the slower she chewed. Finally she came to the end of the page, hand held a few inches from her mouth still holding a bit of muffin as she flipped over the letter to make sure there was nothing on the back. She turned the parchment back over and began to reread the letter once more. Her eyebrows rose higher and higher as her eyes flew across the words on the page.
Colin and Ginger sat quietly from across the table watching Ginny closely.
Once finished with her second read Ginny finally put the bite of muffin into her mouth and grinned. She reached for her glass, for an instant she thought that she had been watched but when she look up at her friends they were both concentrating on their plates. Ginny leaned forward and looked down the table. She caught Ron's eye and raised her letter up slightly. She watched as Ron and Hermione stood and made their way to her section of the Gryffindor tables.
"I take it you knew about this?" Ginny asked once Ron and Hermione had seated themselves.
"Yeah, you don't mind do you?" asked Ron, trying not to look too hopeful.
Molly had written of how Arthur had been given accommodations for four people to travel to Egypt with his next business trip. Molly had given Ginny the decision to either stay at Hogwarts over the holidays or travel to Egypt. In the letter Molly had mentioned if Ginny chose to remain at Hogwarts that she would open the invitation to Hermione to accompany them. Ginny got the distinct impression that Molly was hoping to further seal the new relationship with her son and his girlfriend by giving them some quality bonding time together on the trip, that and to probably keep a bit of an eye on them. This of course made Ginny have to fight back a smile least Ron and Hermione wonder what she was thinking.
"Well?" Ron asked, appearing to try and not sound as eager as he looked. Hermione, though better at keeping her features schooled still looked anxious as she watched Ginny closely.
"I think it sounds fun," said Ginny, watching Ron's shoulder's slump, "but I think I'm going to stay back and try to catch up on some of my work. I have to review for Potions otherwise I'm going to end up with a T."
Ron broke out into a huge grin, glancing at Hermione and back to Ginny. "Thanks Ginny," he said, giving her a quick huge.
"You're welcome. Bring me back something nice, and no Sneakoscopes," said Ginny, patting Ron's back. She missed the meaningful look that passed between Hermione, Colin, and Ginger.
