Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it?
OMG! I'm so psyched about all the reviews I've gotten! Thank you sooooo much, they really made my day(= I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter, and it should be up within three days. I know what I want to happen, I'm just having a little trouble figuring out how I want to get there. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!
~~~~~
Ginny sat alone in the dining room, staring off into space, her chin resting in her left hand as she lazily twirled her fork in her pasta with her right. The other three had gone down to the lake for a swim, seeing as how the weather was so nice. Ginny looked up at the cloudless ceiling. She wished now that she had gone. Harry had asked her. But though she was more comfortable around Harry then she had been just a few days ago, she was still too shy to don a swimsuit in front of him, and she had declined. She had decided that she needed time alone with her thoughts anyway, and had gone to eat.
For the first time, she actually felt as if she was a part of their group. Though Harry had given no indication that he might be interested in her romantically since the morning four days ago, he had never paid more attention to her. He went out of his way to make sure that she felt included. She found herself letting down her guard with him more and more, and was often surprised by how much he seemed to be opening up to her. They laughed a lot together. They were great friends.
It was complete and utter torture.
The thing was, Ginny didn't want to be "just a friend" to Harry. When she had been younger, she had made her feelings blatantly obvious to him, and it had been awful knowing that he didn't feel even remotely the same way. But being around him, seeing how wonderful he was, and having to hide her feelings for fear of ruining what closeness they had developed, was a thousand times worse.
She started when two large hands covered her eyes suddenly from behind. "Guess who?"
Ginny smiled. "It's Brad Pitt, isn't it?" she said in a breathless voice. "Oh, Brad, I knew you would come for me one day."
"Ha, ha, very funny," Harry said, flopping down on the bench next to her. His hair was still wet from his recent swim, and he was dressed in muggle clothes. The worn t-shirt was a bit big on him, and Ginny suspected it had once belonged to his overweight cousin. Her attention was drawn to the sinewy muscles of his arms as he reached over her to grab a dinner roll, and she gasped when his elbow accidentally brushed her breast. She looked at his face, but he didn't seem to notice that he had disturbed her, for he was now concentrating on buttering his bread.
"Yes, I am quite funny, don't you think?" she said in an over-bright voice, though smiling at him engagingly.
Harry was momentarily speechless at the sight of her breathtaking smile. "Yeah, sure, funny looking," he grinned teasingly, all the while thinking 'Yes, you're funny, and smart, and beautiful, and I can't get you out of my head.'
"Oh, original, Harry. Really witty," she said, rolling her eyes. She turned her head toward the doors leading into the Hall. "So, where are Ron and Hermione?"
Harry sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "I left them at the lake, but I don't even think they noticed I had gone, they were yelling at each other so loudly. If I have to listen to their bickering for one more minute, I'm going to set a fully grown blast-ended skrewt loose on them, because I really don't think I can take any more."
"I know what you mean. I wish they would just admit they have feelings for each other and put the rest of us out of our misery."
"Hmm." Harry said, brow furrowed. Then a mischievous grin lit up his eyes. "Maybe we should help them along."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Ginny asked cautiously.
"Well," he said, lowering his voice to a near whisper and leaning in close, "I've been thinking about it, and we could, I don't know, get them to be alone together. And we could drop hints to each about how great the other is, or" and now Harry looked as if he had been truly inspired, "I could make Ron jealous."
"How?" Ginny asked slowly, growing suspicious.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. All I'd do is. . . make Ron think that I was interested."
"But you wouldn't actually do anything, would you?" Ginny asked accusingly.
"What!?" Harry said incredulously. "Hermione and me? Are you mad?" Ginny relaxed and felt herself smile when she saw how impossible the idea was to him. "No, I'd just sort of make Ron believe that I might make a move. Bring him to his senses."
"Yes, it would," Ginny couldn't help but agree. She narrowed her eyes in concentration. Then she smiled. "You know, if we plan this right, I think it could work."
"Of course it will. I'm a genius." Harry said with a false air of superiority, smiling at her. She felt her insides start to melt, but was distracted by angry voices coming from the doors leading into the hall. Harry looked up and said, lowering his voice, "That will be Ron and Hermione. I think we should meet tonight and discuss strategy, somewhere we won't be overheard. Any ideas?"
"Nowhere in Gryffindor is safe, they could walk in on us," Ginny said glancing over her shoulder again at the approaching figures of Ron and Hermione and lowering her own voice even more. "But almost anywhere else Filch might catch us. The only place I can think of is the Room of Requirement. Sound good to you?"
"Perfect." Harry said. "I'll meet you in the commons, say nine thirty, and we'll get there under the invisibility cloak, just to make sure they don't know we're going off together alone, avoid any awkward questions."
Ginny stared at him for a second. They would be going off together. Alone. To a room where no one would find them. "Okay," Ginny got out from around the lump in her throat. Harry nodded and then they both looked up as Ron and Hermione sat down, glaring furiously at one another.
"Not again," Harry muttered to Ginny as they lit into each other.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At precisely 9:29 that night Ginny went running down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, and was surprised to see that Harry had not yet arrived. Then she jumped when Harry appeared suddenly, having removed his invisibility cloak right in front of her.
"Come on," he urged, casting his eyes toward the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories and reaching for her hand. Once they were out in the hall, he pulled the invisibility cloak around them both, and Ginny's back was pressed close to Harry's front as they made their way through the halls and passageways to the seventh floor. Ginny's hair was up, and she could feel Harry's breath on the back of her neck. Their close proximity was doing serious damage to her nerves. Little did she know that she was having the same effect on Harry.
When they got to the tapestry opposite where the door should be, Ginny felt Harry shift behind her. He had pulled something from his pocket, and Ginny got a quick glance at an aged piece of paper that looked like a map with a few tiny dots moving around on it, before he said, "Look's clear" and put it back in his pocket as he removed the cloak from around them. He then walked back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, concentrating hard, and a door suddenly appeared on the opposite wall.
Harry opened the door and beckoned for Ginny to follow him. She walked into the room and looked around. She was amazed at how different the room looked compared to when it had held their DA meetings. It was much smaller then before, and it looked less like a classroom and more like a living area. There was a plush love seat flanked by two overlarge armchairs sitting in front of the fire, which provided a sufficient amount of light but no heat. There was a window through which a soft breeze was blowing in on the warm August night. In front of the love seat was a coffee table, on which lay a scattered assortment of pens, paper notebooks, and two steaming mugs of what Ginny assumed was tea.
"Ah, excellent! I didn't actually ask for tea but I was really craving it when I was thinking of this room." Harry smiled at her and offered her the second mug as he sipped from his own. She took a great gulp, and felt her eyes water as it burned her throat, but stopped herself from coughing as she sat down on the loveseat next to him thinking, 'Right then, smaller sips. Calm down, Gin, it's not like you haven't been alone with him before.'
"All right, then. Where do we start?" She asked in an attempt to hide her awkwardness.
"Well, I think for the next few days we should just concentrate on doing little things. We have to try to distract them when they start arguing. I'll start saying how wonderful Hermione is and pointing out all the great things about her to Ron. You should do the same with Hermione. But try not to be too obvious, because if anyone could catch on to what we're up to, it would be Hermione."
"Right," Ginny said, "I should probably start making a list because, don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but I don't know if I could just come up with great things to say about him when put on the spot."
"Whatever helps," Harry grinned. "So after a little while I'll start really laying it on to Ron about how much I like Hermione. Just enough to get him riled up. And maybe you should go to Ron and say you're worried that I might be interested in Hermione, to confirm his suspicions."
"But why would I be worried about that?" Ginny asked.
"Well, because you still like me, of course."
"No I don't!" Ginny said, a little too quickly, and Harry looked at her oddly.
"I know that, Gin, calm down. But you could make Ron think you're taken with me, which will make Ron even more pissed about me chasing after Hermione."
"Oh, okay," Ginny said, relieved. She would have just died if Harry knew that she was still interested in him. Well, more then interested.
"After that, we need to get them alone together." Harry sat scratching his head for several minutes before turning to her, "How does this sound. . ."
For a long time they sat plotting, and Ginny finally relaxed enough to add some suggestions of her own. She looked at her watch sometime later, and was surprised to see that they had been talking for almost an hour.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, seeing the startled look on her face.
"Well, nothing really, it's just that it's almost ten thirty. Do you think we should head back?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Harry said, standing up. They walked through the door and out into the hall, and Harry once again enveloped them in the invisibility cloak. She sucked in her stomach when Harry placed a hand on her waist, guiding her forward, but he didn't seem to notice that she had stopped breathing.
They were only halfway to the common room when Ginny gave a small yell, and tripped over the front of the cloak. Harry tried to stop her from going down, but instead felt himself being pulled down with her. He cursed and quickly maneuvered himself so that he would bear the brunt of the fall, landing on his back with Ginny cradled on top of him. He gave a grunt when his shoulder dug into the stone floor, and Ginny looked down at him, concerned.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Ginny asked, a little breathless from the fall. She looked into his eyes searchingly.
"Um, yeah," Harry said. The pain in his shoulder was forgotten as he looked up at Ginny. Amazingly, the cloak had stayed in place, and it surrounded them, wrapping them tightly together. Some of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and it gently framed her face, softening her features. Though her face was cast in shadows by the torchlight, he could see the concern pouring from her genuine eyes. She lay completely covering him, and her breasts were pressed up against his chest, her hands gripping his shoulders as she leaned up to look at him. Not daring to tell her what was really bothering him, and hoping that she wouldn't feel it against the top of her leg, he got out, "just my shoulder."
"Oh," Ginny said, and she began to gently rub his shoulders. Harry gulped. "That better?" She asked smiling down at him, and was caught off-guard by the look in his eyes. As inexperienced as she was, she could not mistake the desire there.
They lay there for a few seconds, looking into each others eyes, neither knowing what to do. Harry raised his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, and before he could stop himself he was leaning up to kiss her. He felt Ginny tense up over him, and then slowly start to relax, raising her hands to cradle his head. Her lips were soft, but she kept them closed, and Harry got the impression that was the only way she knew how to kiss.
Ginny felt a shock go through her when Harry's tongue touched her lips, gently seeking entrance to her mouth. She hesitated slightly before opening her mouth to him, and moaned at the feel of his tongue sliding smoothly against hers. She savored the new, exciting sensations for a few seconds, and then she became more enthusiastic. Tilting her head, she imitated him, pushing her tongue between his lips and rubbing it up against his tongue, brushing it up against the roof of his mouth before gliding it over his bottom teeth. He tasted good, sweetness and spice mixed with a flavor that had to be uniquely Harry. He had one hand wrapped in her hair, guiding her head as he kissed her. The other had found its way inside her shirt, and it was sliding up her back, pressing her more firmly against him. His hand felt good on her smooth, bare skin, and she shivered when he reached the clasp of her bra. He continued to kiss her, playing with the clasp but not daring to open it.
She pulled away from him slightly and looked into his eyes. She could see the question there and nodded, bending her head down to kiss his neck as he clumsily fumbled with the back of her bra. She felt it pop open, and quickly moved up to kiss him on the lips again. He got distracted by her playful tongue darting in and out of his mouth, and she slid one of her hands down his firm chest, amazed at how muscular it was. She gasped in anticipation when she felt his hand moving toward her front underneath her shirt, and leaned up to give him easier access. His fingers were just inches away from her breast. . . one inch. . . almost there. . .
Suddenly he was withdrawing his hand and pulling her head away from his mouth. She started to ask him what was wrong, but he pushed her face against his chest, covering her mouth and stifling any noise she would have made. She could hear his heart beating a mile a minute, and yet he was struggling to control his labored breathing. As Ginny lay against his chest, it took her only a few seconds to figure out why he was trying to be so quiet, and her eyes widened in terror over the edge of Harry's hand.
". . .I know someone's there, I could heard you," Filch was saying, and Ginny looked up to see that he was standing not five feet from where they lay, lantern held high as he looked around the hallway. His cat sat at his feet, its great eyes staring at Harry and Ginny in disdain. Ginny nearly fainted when Filch walked passed them, placing his foot not inches from her head. She held herself as still as possible, and Filch continued down the hall, calling, "If that's you Peeves, I swear. . ." before turning to go down the steps leading to the fifth floor. They listened as his footsteps faded, and it was several moments before either of them moved.
Harry removed his hand from Ginny's mouth and let go of her head. He helped her stand clumsily, encumbered by the invisibility cloak twisting annoyingly around them. Once they were up they stared silently into each other's eyes, neither being able to read the other's thoughts there. Harry cleared his throat and looked away nervously. "I think we should get back to Gryffindor in case he comes back up here again," he said, unable to look her in the eye again. Ginny nodded, a blank expression on her face, and within a few very awkward minutes they had made it to the commons.
They removed the invisibility cloak, and Harry looked at Ginny, searching for something to say. Ginny spoke first, looking at the floor and blushing, "Harry, could you turn around a sec, I need to-" she stopped there, and gestured feebly toward her breasts.
Harry realized that her bra was still undone. "Oh," he said, and quickly turned to face the other way, feeling the heat rise to his own cheeks. When she cleared her throat he assumed she was done and turned back to her.
They both glanced at each other before looking away quickly, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Harry could not stand the silence any longer and he started to ramble. "Listen, Gin, I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Well, that's not true, I know exactly what I was thinking, I mean, you're a beautiful girl and we were laying there like that and I guess I just sort of got caught up in the moment." Ginny looked up when he said this. "I mean, you're my friend, Gin, and I went way over the line, and I just can't say how sorry I am for taking advantage of the situation like that." Here Harry paused, scratching his head. Ginny stared at him mutely.
"It was a huge mistake." He said.
No it wasn't.
"It'll never happen again."
He sure as hell hoped it would.
'Tell me I'm wrong,' Harry thought imploringly, waiting for Ginny to say something. 'Tell me I'm wrong, and that nothing that had felt so perfect could ever be a mistake.'
Ginny felt close to tears. A mistake. Harry thought their kiss had been a mistake. "You're right," she said, and didn't notice his stricken look, because she had returned her gaze to the floor. "I just don't want something like a little.mistake to ruin our friendship. I really care about you Harry." Here she choked, but forced it out so that she would clear any doubt in Harry's mind that she might still be infatuated with him. "You're like a brother to me."
This could not possibly get any worse. "Well, should we agree to just forget about it, then?" Harry asked, and Ginny nodded, forcing a smile. He went over to her and hugged her, savoring the feel of her soft body against his, and pressed his lips into her hair. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Friends?" he asked huskily.
Ginny forced a smile as she looked up at his handsome face. "Always," she said, kissed him on the cheek, and turned to walk up the stairs. Harry watched her go, and then sat down on the sofa, his head in his hands.
That night, Ginny cried herself to sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tehehe^_^ well, I thought it was pretty good(=
Review Review Review Review Review!!!! Please review! Make me feel like I'm not blowing off my Anthropology homework for no reason! (=
Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it?
OMG! I'm so psyched about all the reviews I've gotten! Thank you sooooo much, they really made my day(= I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter, and it should be up within three days. I know what I want to happen, I'm just having a little trouble figuring out how I want to get there. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!
~~~~~
Ginny sat alone in the dining room, staring off into space, her chin resting in her left hand as she lazily twirled her fork in her pasta with her right. The other three had gone down to the lake for a swim, seeing as how the weather was so nice. Ginny looked up at the cloudless ceiling. She wished now that she had gone. Harry had asked her. But though she was more comfortable around Harry then she had been just a few days ago, she was still too shy to don a swimsuit in front of him, and she had declined. She had decided that she needed time alone with her thoughts anyway, and had gone to eat.
For the first time, she actually felt as if she was a part of their group. Though Harry had given no indication that he might be interested in her romantically since the morning four days ago, he had never paid more attention to her. He went out of his way to make sure that she felt included. She found herself letting down her guard with him more and more, and was often surprised by how much he seemed to be opening up to her. They laughed a lot together. They were great friends.
It was complete and utter torture.
The thing was, Ginny didn't want to be "just a friend" to Harry. When she had been younger, she had made her feelings blatantly obvious to him, and it had been awful knowing that he didn't feel even remotely the same way. But being around him, seeing how wonderful he was, and having to hide her feelings for fear of ruining what closeness they had developed, was a thousand times worse.
She started when two large hands covered her eyes suddenly from behind. "Guess who?"
Ginny smiled. "It's Brad Pitt, isn't it?" she said in a breathless voice. "Oh, Brad, I knew you would come for me one day."
"Ha, ha, very funny," Harry said, flopping down on the bench next to her. His hair was still wet from his recent swim, and he was dressed in muggle clothes. The worn t-shirt was a bit big on him, and Ginny suspected it had once belonged to his overweight cousin. Her attention was drawn to the sinewy muscles of his arms as he reached over her to grab a dinner roll, and she gasped when his elbow accidentally brushed her breast. She looked at his face, but he didn't seem to notice that he had disturbed her, for he was now concentrating on buttering his bread.
"Yes, I am quite funny, don't you think?" she said in an over-bright voice, though smiling at him engagingly.
Harry was momentarily speechless at the sight of her breathtaking smile. "Yeah, sure, funny looking," he grinned teasingly, all the while thinking 'Yes, you're funny, and smart, and beautiful, and I can't get you out of my head.'
"Oh, original, Harry. Really witty," she said, rolling her eyes. She turned her head toward the doors leading into the Hall. "So, where are Ron and Hermione?"
Harry sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "I left them at the lake, but I don't even think they noticed I had gone, they were yelling at each other so loudly. If I have to listen to their bickering for one more minute, I'm going to set a fully grown blast-ended skrewt loose on them, because I really don't think I can take any more."
"I know what you mean. I wish they would just admit they have feelings for each other and put the rest of us out of our misery."
"Hmm." Harry said, brow furrowed. Then a mischievous grin lit up his eyes. "Maybe we should help them along."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Ginny asked cautiously.
"Well," he said, lowering his voice to a near whisper and leaning in close, "I've been thinking about it, and we could, I don't know, get them to be alone together. And we could drop hints to each about how great the other is, or" and now Harry looked as if he had been truly inspired, "I could make Ron jealous."
"How?" Ginny asked slowly, growing suspicious.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. All I'd do is. . . make Ron think that I was interested."
"But you wouldn't actually do anything, would you?" Ginny asked accusingly.
"What!?" Harry said incredulously. "Hermione and me? Are you mad?" Ginny relaxed and felt herself smile when she saw how impossible the idea was to him. "No, I'd just sort of make Ron believe that I might make a move. Bring him to his senses."
"Yes, it would," Ginny couldn't help but agree. She narrowed her eyes in concentration. Then she smiled. "You know, if we plan this right, I think it could work."
"Of course it will. I'm a genius." Harry said with a false air of superiority, smiling at her. She felt her insides start to melt, but was distracted by angry voices coming from the doors leading into the hall. Harry looked up and said, lowering his voice, "That will be Ron and Hermione. I think we should meet tonight and discuss strategy, somewhere we won't be overheard. Any ideas?"
"Nowhere in Gryffindor is safe, they could walk in on us," Ginny said glancing over her shoulder again at the approaching figures of Ron and Hermione and lowering her own voice even more. "But almost anywhere else Filch might catch us. The only place I can think of is the Room of Requirement. Sound good to you?"
"Perfect." Harry said. "I'll meet you in the commons, say nine thirty, and we'll get there under the invisibility cloak, just to make sure they don't know we're going off together alone, avoid any awkward questions."
Ginny stared at him for a second. They would be going off together. Alone. To a room where no one would find them. "Okay," Ginny got out from around the lump in her throat. Harry nodded and then they both looked up as Ron and Hermione sat down, glaring furiously at one another.
"Not again," Harry muttered to Ginny as they lit into each other.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At precisely 9:29 that night Ginny went running down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, and was surprised to see that Harry had not yet arrived. Then she jumped when Harry appeared suddenly, having removed his invisibility cloak right in front of her.
"Come on," he urged, casting his eyes toward the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories and reaching for her hand. Once they were out in the hall, he pulled the invisibility cloak around them both, and Ginny's back was pressed close to Harry's front as they made their way through the halls and passageways to the seventh floor. Ginny's hair was up, and she could feel Harry's breath on the back of her neck. Their close proximity was doing serious damage to her nerves. Little did she know that she was having the same effect on Harry.
When they got to the tapestry opposite where the door should be, Ginny felt Harry shift behind her. He had pulled something from his pocket, and Ginny got a quick glance at an aged piece of paper that looked like a map with a few tiny dots moving around on it, before he said, "Look's clear" and put it back in his pocket as he removed the cloak from around them. He then walked back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, concentrating hard, and a door suddenly appeared on the opposite wall.
Harry opened the door and beckoned for Ginny to follow him. She walked into the room and looked around. She was amazed at how different the room looked compared to when it had held their DA meetings. It was much smaller then before, and it looked less like a classroom and more like a living area. There was a plush love seat flanked by two overlarge armchairs sitting in front of the fire, which provided a sufficient amount of light but no heat. There was a window through which a soft breeze was blowing in on the warm August night. In front of the love seat was a coffee table, on which lay a scattered assortment of pens, paper notebooks, and two steaming mugs of what Ginny assumed was tea.
"Ah, excellent! I didn't actually ask for tea but I was really craving it when I was thinking of this room." Harry smiled at her and offered her the second mug as he sipped from his own. She took a great gulp, and felt her eyes water as it burned her throat, but stopped herself from coughing as she sat down on the loveseat next to him thinking, 'Right then, smaller sips. Calm down, Gin, it's not like you haven't been alone with him before.'
"All right, then. Where do we start?" She asked in an attempt to hide her awkwardness.
"Well, I think for the next few days we should just concentrate on doing little things. We have to try to distract them when they start arguing. I'll start saying how wonderful Hermione is and pointing out all the great things about her to Ron. You should do the same with Hermione. But try not to be too obvious, because if anyone could catch on to what we're up to, it would be Hermione."
"Right," Ginny said, "I should probably start making a list because, don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but I don't know if I could just come up with great things to say about him when put on the spot."
"Whatever helps," Harry grinned. "So after a little while I'll start really laying it on to Ron about how much I like Hermione. Just enough to get him riled up. And maybe you should go to Ron and say you're worried that I might be interested in Hermione, to confirm his suspicions."
"But why would I be worried about that?" Ginny asked.
"Well, because you still like me, of course."
"No I don't!" Ginny said, a little too quickly, and Harry looked at her oddly.
"I know that, Gin, calm down. But you could make Ron think you're taken with me, which will make Ron even more pissed about me chasing after Hermione."
"Oh, okay," Ginny said, relieved. She would have just died if Harry knew that she was still interested in him. Well, more then interested.
"After that, we need to get them alone together." Harry sat scratching his head for several minutes before turning to her, "How does this sound. . ."
For a long time they sat plotting, and Ginny finally relaxed enough to add some suggestions of her own. She looked at her watch sometime later, and was surprised to see that they had been talking for almost an hour.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, seeing the startled look on her face.
"Well, nothing really, it's just that it's almost ten thirty. Do you think we should head back?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Harry said, standing up. They walked through the door and out into the hall, and Harry once again enveloped them in the invisibility cloak. She sucked in her stomach when Harry placed a hand on her waist, guiding her forward, but he didn't seem to notice that she had stopped breathing.
They were only halfway to the common room when Ginny gave a small yell, and tripped over the front of the cloak. Harry tried to stop her from going down, but instead felt himself being pulled down with her. He cursed and quickly maneuvered himself so that he would bear the brunt of the fall, landing on his back with Ginny cradled on top of him. He gave a grunt when his shoulder dug into the stone floor, and Ginny looked down at him, concerned.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Ginny asked, a little breathless from the fall. She looked into his eyes searchingly.
"Um, yeah," Harry said. The pain in his shoulder was forgotten as he looked up at Ginny. Amazingly, the cloak had stayed in place, and it surrounded them, wrapping them tightly together. Some of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and it gently framed her face, softening her features. Though her face was cast in shadows by the torchlight, he could see the concern pouring from her genuine eyes. She lay completely covering him, and her breasts were pressed up against his chest, her hands gripping his shoulders as she leaned up to look at him. Not daring to tell her what was really bothering him, and hoping that she wouldn't feel it against the top of her leg, he got out, "just my shoulder."
"Oh," Ginny said, and she began to gently rub his shoulders. Harry gulped. "That better?" She asked smiling down at him, and was caught off-guard by the look in his eyes. As inexperienced as she was, she could not mistake the desire there.
They lay there for a few seconds, looking into each others eyes, neither knowing what to do. Harry raised his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, and before he could stop himself he was leaning up to kiss her. He felt Ginny tense up over him, and then slowly start to relax, raising her hands to cradle his head. Her lips were soft, but she kept them closed, and Harry got the impression that was the only way she knew how to kiss.
Ginny felt a shock go through her when Harry's tongue touched her lips, gently seeking entrance to her mouth. She hesitated slightly before opening her mouth to him, and moaned at the feel of his tongue sliding smoothly against hers. She savored the new, exciting sensations for a few seconds, and then she became more enthusiastic. Tilting her head, she imitated him, pushing her tongue between his lips and rubbing it up against his tongue, brushing it up against the roof of his mouth before gliding it over his bottom teeth. He tasted good, sweetness and spice mixed with a flavor that had to be uniquely Harry. He had one hand wrapped in her hair, guiding her head as he kissed her. The other had found its way inside her shirt, and it was sliding up her back, pressing her more firmly against him. His hand felt good on her smooth, bare skin, and she shivered when he reached the clasp of her bra. He continued to kiss her, playing with the clasp but not daring to open it.
She pulled away from him slightly and looked into his eyes. She could see the question there and nodded, bending her head down to kiss his neck as he clumsily fumbled with the back of her bra. She felt it pop open, and quickly moved up to kiss him on the lips again. He got distracted by her playful tongue darting in and out of his mouth, and she slid one of her hands down his firm chest, amazed at how muscular it was. She gasped in anticipation when she felt his hand moving toward her front underneath her shirt, and leaned up to give him easier access. His fingers were just inches away from her breast. . . one inch. . . almost there. . .
Suddenly he was withdrawing his hand and pulling her head away from his mouth. She started to ask him what was wrong, but he pushed her face against his chest, covering her mouth and stifling any noise she would have made. She could hear his heart beating a mile a minute, and yet he was struggling to control his labored breathing. As Ginny lay against his chest, it took her only a few seconds to figure out why he was trying to be so quiet, and her eyes widened in terror over the edge of Harry's hand.
". . .I know someone's there, I could heard you," Filch was saying, and Ginny looked up to see that he was standing not five feet from where they lay, lantern held high as he looked around the hallway. His cat sat at his feet, its great eyes staring at Harry and Ginny in disdain. Ginny nearly fainted when Filch walked passed them, placing his foot not inches from her head. She held herself as still as possible, and Filch continued down the hall, calling, "If that's you Peeves, I swear. . ." before turning to go down the steps leading to the fifth floor. They listened as his footsteps faded, and it was several moments before either of them moved.
Harry removed his hand from Ginny's mouth and let go of her head. He helped her stand clumsily, encumbered by the invisibility cloak twisting annoyingly around them. Once they were up they stared silently into each other's eyes, neither being able to read the other's thoughts there. Harry cleared his throat and looked away nervously. "I think we should get back to Gryffindor in case he comes back up here again," he said, unable to look her in the eye again. Ginny nodded, a blank expression on her face, and within a few very awkward minutes they had made it to the commons.
They removed the invisibility cloak, and Harry looked at Ginny, searching for something to say. Ginny spoke first, looking at the floor and blushing, "Harry, could you turn around a sec, I need to-" she stopped there, and gestured feebly toward her breasts.
Harry realized that her bra was still undone. "Oh," he said, and quickly turned to face the other way, feeling the heat rise to his own cheeks. When she cleared her throat he assumed she was done and turned back to her.
They both glanced at each other before looking away quickly, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Harry could not stand the silence any longer and he started to ramble. "Listen, Gin, I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Well, that's not true, I know exactly what I was thinking, I mean, you're a beautiful girl and we were laying there like that and I guess I just sort of got caught up in the moment." Ginny looked up when he said this. "I mean, you're my friend, Gin, and I went way over the line, and I just can't say how sorry I am for taking advantage of the situation like that." Here Harry paused, scratching his head. Ginny stared at him mutely.
"It was a huge mistake." He said.
No it wasn't.
"It'll never happen again."
He sure as hell hoped it would.
'Tell me I'm wrong,' Harry thought imploringly, waiting for Ginny to say something. 'Tell me I'm wrong, and that nothing that had felt so perfect could ever be a mistake.'
Ginny felt close to tears. A mistake. Harry thought their kiss had been a mistake. "You're right," she said, and didn't notice his stricken look, because she had returned her gaze to the floor. "I just don't want something like a little.mistake to ruin our friendship. I really care about you Harry." Here she choked, but forced it out so that she would clear any doubt in Harry's mind that she might still be infatuated with him. "You're like a brother to me."
This could not possibly get any worse. "Well, should we agree to just forget about it, then?" Harry asked, and Ginny nodded, forcing a smile. He went over to her and hugged her, savoring the feel of her soft body against his, and pressed his lips into her hair. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Friends?" he asked huskily.
Ginny forced a smile as she looked up at his handsome face. "Always," she said, kissed him on the cheek, and turned to walk up the stairs. Harry watched her go, and then sat down on the sofa, his head in his hands.
That night, Ginny cried herself to sleep.
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Tehehe^_^ well, I thought it was pretty good(=
Review Review Review Review Review!!!! Please review! Make me feel like I'm not blowing off my Anthropology homework for no reason! (=
