Dancing

Chapter 5

In which Ginny attempts to shock Harry into silence, and succeeds.

I'm not really going to try all that hard to excuse my long absence from this story, but I think I along with everyone else deserves closure, so here we go.  BTW, if I haven't said so already, this story has now passed entirely into the realm of fiction instead of having a slight and really rather pathetic link to my real life.  Yay!  Anyway…R/R, kk?

Disclaimer: It's not mine.  Except Jason, who barely features in this chapter, and the plot, which is so scarce I dare you to find it, much less copy it. ;)

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Unfortunately, but predictably, when the four arguing Gryffindors were finished what butterbeer they had, Ginny was swept off of her bar stool and out the door with them into the dusky evening.  The now-fivesome wandered down the main street of Hogsmeade towards Zonko's and the train station, still talking loudly.  Ginny forced herself to be an active participant in their conversation, which had now switched mercifully away from the subject of Quidditch.  In fact, Hermione had, in making an offhand comment about the dismal quality of wizard rock music, quite successfully changed the topic of conversation to differences and discrepancies between Muggle and wizard music.  Jason, being wizard-born but casually French, had a rather –unique- view on the matter.

"No, no, you've got it completely wrong.  The first rock was made by wizards- who else do you think would dare try to sell such awful noise?"  Jason shook his head in mock bewilderment.

Too bad he speaks perfect English, pondered Ginny wistfully.  Half of her brain was kicking itself –hard- while the other half barged on with the train of thought.  'Cause French accents are dead sexy..maybe even more so than those adorable Aussie blokes…  She shook her head violently, trying to dispel the sneaky, obsessive part of her that just wouldn't let anything –not even a handsome, older Quidditch captain- go without a fight.

Noticing the curious glance she was getting from Hermione, Ginny realized she had to cover, and fast.  "Rock music isn't just noise…" she commented, willing it desperately to sound connected to the conversation.  Then, seeing her friend's curiosity turn to full-blown skepticism, she amended, "Not good rock music, anyways.  Some of the wizard stuff they try to force into our ears is atrocious, but Muggles seem to be pretty good at the whole venting-your-anger thing."

Harry, who had probably heard more Muggle music in his years at the Dursleys than anyone present, Hermione included, commented, almost to himself, "It's the lack of ability to blow things up…forces them to find something besides vases…"

"and aunts…"

"…to release the pressure, so to speak" He finished, glaring daggers at Ron.

"Aunts?  That's a story I want to hear," laughed Jason.

"No you don't." This decisive chorus from Ginny, Hermione and Harry only served to make Ron snort into the high collar of his cloak, and say in a low voice to Jason something that sounded suspiciously like "Tell you later".

Ginny looked over at Harry, who was giving her an annoyed look, and fought hard to keep her face straight and unemotional.  She raised an eyebrow at him, and was a little surprised when he looked away, shaking his shoulders as if there was something nasty on them.  She shrugged, unconcerned, and turned back to the conversation, which had turned to the school's professors.

Hermione and Jason both turned out to have hidden talent for impressions, and they kept Ginny and Ron in stitches all the way back to school, though Harry grew even more sullen and stony-faced as they laughed.

***

At dinner, Ginny was seated between Harry and a burly, anonymous seventh year from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team whom Ginny didn't know.  Feeling bold, and encouraged by Harry's confiding in her that afternoon, no matter how misguided, she swiveled towards him in the middle of the soup course and asked conversationally, "Really, Harry, why is it that you dislike Jason so much?"

He dropped his spoon unceremoniously back into him bowl and looked at her, expressionless, but his eyes were awkward as they met hers. "On a first name basis, are we?" he said, midway between cynicism and forced levity.  She merely cocked her head to the side and continued to stare at him, forcing a response.  "I don't, really…" He trailed off as Ginny raised her eyebrow.  "OK, OK….it's just…every girl in this whole school seems to think he's this big saint, sent from above, to save us all from…from…ugly people, or something."

Ginny's lip twitched, but she kept a rather unemotional visage.  "Really."

"Really!  I swear; He's all swagger and no substance.  If you had classes with him, and actually listened to what he says – or tries to say – instead of staring at him as if he were a Greek god like all the girls do now…"

"Jealous!  You're jealous, aren't you, Harry Potter?"

"What! No, I'm not jealous!  Why would I be jealous of that big heap of rotten…" His (amusingly defensive) rant threatened to turn into something louder and more public than Ginny could handle, so she cut him off in the most effective way she knew.

Smoothing her hair back with one hand, she placed the other on Harry's knee, inching closer to him and leaned forward.  He stopped mid-phrase, mouth still open and hand frozen mid gesture.  With half of her brain screaming bloody murder, moved forward until their knees were almost touching. "He's right behind you…" She whispered, lips two inches from his ear.  Quickly, taking advantage of Harry's frantic search for his captain, who was not present in the Great Hall at all, she grabbed her bag and swept away from the table, oblivious to the fact that her rather uncharacteristic actions towards Harry had garnered the attention of at least one observant professor, and ran back the Gryffindor common room, barely reaching her dorm before collapsing in laughter on her bed.  Several minutes later, panting and holding a stitch in her side, she rolled onto her back and contemplated the ceiling.

                So…Harry Potter is jealous.  Of a boy!  A man?  Does it matter? She sighed, rubbing her ribs where they still ached from her laugh attack, and sat up. This could make for some interesting Quidditch...maybe I should develop and interest in how their practices are run.  Hermione could use some company- she's always out there watching Ron anyways…

                Having thus decided to…observe human nature in action, Ginny smiled once more to herself and, humming something she had once heard on the Wizarding Wireless but could never quite remember the words to, pulled out her copy of the Potions text, and some parchment, and trotted down the stairs to the Common Room to study.

***

                The room was deserted, although an orange, dancing fire was built in the hearth, and Ginny sat with a sigh on an overstuffed loveseat in front of the flames.  She opened her textbook over her knees and unrolled a bit of parchment to write on, but couldn't concentrate.  After writing the title for her essay, "Uses for Niffler fur in Potions for Detecting Worth", she stared into the flames, doodling on the top of her parchment, and pondering how the flames weren't really orange, but yellow, with hints of red, blue, and even black in their bases…

                She woke up to amber eyes staring fixedly into hers.  She stared back blearily for a few moments, the jumped when she realized she must have fallen asleep.  Vainly scrabbling to keep her Potions text on her lap, she was casually aware of numerous others lounging around the Common Room, all much too interested in what she was doing.  As Ginny gathered her scattered belongings and tried to flatten her hair, which was staticky from the couch, Ron rose from his crouched position, laughing, and looked at his watch.

                "Alright, who had 11:45?"

                "Ron!!" Ginny exclaimed, "What have you been doing?"

                "What have I been doing?  Nothing! A small bet on how long you would sleep isn't anything, is it?  Don't tell me that counts as something!...Don't look at me like that, Hermione, I don't care if I am a prefect.  Gambling isn't illegal at Hogwarts, and besides…I think you've won!"

                Hermione's expression changed swiftly from admonition to surprise as Ron cut off her impending lecture, and then to badly-suppressed glee as she was handed a small bag of clinking Sickles and Knuts by a grinning Harry.  The room filled with groans from the losers, and Hermione, seeing Ginny's decidedly displeased expression, guiltily fled the room with her winnings. 

                More than a little embarrassed, Ginny closed her eyes again and let her head fall back onto the couch's back.  She felt the cushion beside her sink as someone else sat down.  Cautiously, Ginny opened one eye to see Harry beside her, shifting ever so slightly.  He's certainly looking awkward…I wonder why that…Oh, yeah…  Ginny allowed herself a smile as she remembered the little act she had put on a dinner.  She felt the couch sag on her other side, and sat up, still smiling, to see Ron lounging on her other side, hands behind his head, the picture of satisfaction.

                "I knew you wouldn't be mad, Gin," he said, sighing contentedly.  "After all, what little sister could be mad when her brother tries to make a profit off her unfortunate circumstance?"  Needless to say, he had to move pretty fast to avoid the cuff Ginny aimed at his head.

                Laughing, she leaned back into the comfort of the couch, the fact that Harry's arm rested nonchalantly inched behind her head going blissfully unnoticed.

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Well, it's been a while to say the least, but here I am, on the unexpected but emphatic request of… someone… for closure.  I don't know how many people ever followed this story, or still held onto the hope I would update, but I thank every one of you, and suggest I just MAY be able to figure out how to end this.  Eventually.  Anyway, if you like, review, and if you don't please review anyway as long as it's constructive, I have to learn to take criticism, which is my problem that I must deal with. (Breath) Besides, I'm pretty sure this chapter makes no sense to begin with, but I'll post it anyway.

By the way, I have no wish or intention to rework the previous chapters to include revelations made in OotP, although I did (or will) change around the Quidditch positions a little so that Ron is Keeper, etc.  I don't think I've mentioned The Character Who Dies, and personality quirks that were expanded on are largely ignored.  Deal with it. ;)

Long story short, yeah, it's AU.

Bye for now!