"Remind me to warn Ron and Hermione never to name their child Virginia,"
Ginny said, the comment coming out of nowhere. Not that she and Harry had
been talking -- just walking slowly down the corridors together. They
"happened" to leave dinner at the same time.
Harry raised his eyebrows at her as if to imply she wasn't all there in the head. "Where did that come from?"
"Oh, just me bored over here. Don't you think of the stupidest things when you're bored?" Ginny asked.
"I don't let myself get bored," Harry said.
"You don't let yourself have any emotions, do you?" Ginny grumbled under her breath. Before
Harry could come up with a plausible reply, she returned to her perky attitude and changed the subject. "If a fly didn't have wings, would it be called a walk?"
Harry shook his head sadly and grinned at her. "You're a very strange girl, Gin."
Ginny suddenly shot a suspicious look to the wall beside her as they passed a doorway. Harry twisted his head around to see what was special about it, but he didn't notice anything.
"Do you get nervous whenever you're around closets?" Ginny asked, answering his unspoken question as to what it was she was thinking.
Harry laughed and gave her a look filled with mirth. "My hand always goes for my wand," he admitted solemnly.
"Oh!" Ginny said suddenly, ignoring what he'd said and completely changing the subject yet again. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" She grabbed Harry's wrist and twisted it around to see what time it was, then relaxed.
Harry glared at her, a bit affronted by her skin-to-skin contact with him. They'd had a silent, mutual agreement not to get within personal space of each other. "What is it you forgot to tell me?" he finally asked, exasperated, as it seemed she wasn't going to continue.
Ginny looked at him curiously. "Huh?"
Harry gave her a look that said he couldn't quite figure her out. "What did you forget to tell me?"
"Oh! I forgot again. Sorry, my mind has been elsewhere, and I got distracted . . ." she trailed off and blushed significantly. Harry decided not to wonder if she was blushing because the distraction she'd meant was him. "We have a detention with Snape tonight." Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust as she said this.
Harry groaned loudly and finished with a classic, annoyed click of the tongue. "Please tell me you're not serious." He sighed. "I'll bet the git asked specifically for us. Not only does he make my life a living hell, but he also has to include my friends?
"I never minded him until the closet incident," Ginny said. She laughed suddenly. "It wouldn't have been nearly as bad of a punishment had we been doing what we're now in trouble for."
Harry didn't know what to say; he found that this happened a lot in Ginny's presence lately. So, he decided that pretending she hadn't said anything and staring at the wall was the best way to deal with her comment. How was he supposed to deal with her mentioning such things? He finally decided on changing the subject. "What time tonight?" he asked, ignoring the look of disappointment that passed her face very briefly. He didn't want to contemplate what that meant.
"Er . . . nine twenty one, I think," Ginny said.
"You *think*? When we're talking about the time of a detention with Snape, you do not *think*; you have to be sure. Unless you like uncertain death," Harry reminded her.
Ginny pursed her lips and stomped her foot slightly in the form of a mini tantrum. Harry was reminded that she was still such a child. "Well, if you weren't so . . . you!--" she flung her arms wildly, gesturing to him "-- then I would be . . . well, the world would be a lot better off!" she finally decided with a defiant nod of her head.
Harry was very thankful to the Gods of Fate, because at that moment they happened to reach the portrait hole. He mumbled the password, jumped inside, and made a beeline for Ron and Hermione, hoping that the Gods of Fate would be so kind as to make Ginny suddenly want to hang out with people who weren't him, Ron, and Hermione.
"Hi," Harry greeted with a nod as he plopped down across from them on a couch.
"Hey," Hermione said pleasantly. She patted her stomach, a habit she'd formed that Harry worried would give her . . . er, situation away. "Was dinner good?"
"You weren't there?" Harry asked, surprised. Hermione had been like Crabbe and Goyle lately, eating anything in sight and wanting more. Of course, Harry doubted that Crabbe and Goyle ate apples dipped in mayo . . . but you never know.
Hermione blushed and glanced at Ron in what she thought was a discreet way. "I . . . er . . . got a little distracted."
Harry was going to give them a comment that would make both blush, but at that moment Ginny collapsed next to Harry with her arms crossed in a childish way to show she was angry.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, sitting forward to see her friend closer.
Ginny snapped to attention and sat up, smiling brightly in what was obviously a fake way.
"Nothing, thanks. I was just sidetracked."
"Do you want to come up to my bedroom? Lavender and Parvati are out with Seamus and
Dean, so we can look at baby name books and be as loud as possible," Hermione suggested.
Ginny shook her head. "I'm *fine*, Hermione, quit worrying. I'm just upset because Harry and I have a detention with Snape, of all people, in about twenty minutes."
Ron made a grimacing sound. "I'm just glad the whole faculty has seemed to have forgotten about the detention Hermione and I owe."
"They probably feel sorry--" Harry began, but was elbowed in the stomach by Ginny. After a second's thought, he realized that he was not about to say the most sensitive thing to a woman with hormones like crazy. Still, he shot Ginny a wounded look which she ignored.
"I'm gonna go change into something more cut out for the work Snape will have for us, okay?" Ginny asked, standing up and rushing up to her dormitory before anyone could respond.
Harry sat backwards with a look on his face that was very intriguing to Ron.
"What?" Ron finally asked, getting antsy at the pondering look reflected in his best friend's eyes.
Harry hesitated, then finally asked, "If a fly lost its wings, would it be called a walk?"
"No, it'd be called 'dead', Harry."
"I never thought about that . . ."
"Well obviously you're not doing much thinking if you're asking questions like that."
"Maybe your mind can't comprehend the deep intellectual thoughts circulating through my own,"
Harry said, grinning. He and Ron hadn't gotten into a playful bantering for a long time. Come to think of it, they hadn't spent very much time together lately period. Harry sent himself a mental note to change this.
Ron snorted. "I highly doubt that."
"I decided on a name!" Hermione said suddenly. Harry wondered what it was with women and irrelevant declarations.
" *You* decided? I thought I would have some part in this particular ritual," Ron said.
"Hush up. Now . . . what do you think of Kitty? Her name will be Katherine, of course, but I've always been fond of . . . oh, Ron, why are you giving me that look when you *know* the wrath my hormones can create."
Ron raised his eyebrows as if he didn't understand why Hermione didn't understand why he was disgusted. "Hermione, I don't think you understand. You just asked me to name my child after an animal."
Hermione's jaw dropped and she huffed loudly. "Well if you don't like the name, then just say it, Ronald!"
"I am saying it. I don't like that name," Ron said.
Harry had to hand it to Ron -- he had a lot of guts. The row looked ready to get loud enough for the whole common room to hear, but Ginny appeared at that moment, lifesaver that she was.
"That reminds me," Ginny said as she trotted down the stairs, "don't ever name any of your children Virginia. If you're going to nickname it Ginny, give it a *normal* name -- like Jennifer."
Hermione smirked at Ginny. "Try living with my name."
Ginny grinned at her and looked ready to say something, but Harry interrupted her.
"We'd better get going, Gin," Harry said with a quick glance at his clock. He gave her an appreciative glance at preventing the fight brewing between Ron and Hermione. She deserved a medal for such a rare thing, in his opinion at least.
Ginny nodded and she and Harry began their descent down to the dungeons. With ten minutes to get there, they had plenty of time to walk as slowly as they pleased.
"Have you seriously considered any names?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of awkward silence as they neared the dungeons. Talking about the baby was a safe enough topic, so Harry complied to her attempt at conversation.
"No. Should I?"
"Well, yes!" Ginny cried out, looking scandalized at his answer. "Harry, this baby will be here soon, and you should help out at least a little."
"Okay, what about the name . . . Harry?"
"Very helpful, Harry," Ginny said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Ron sure isn't helping."
"Hermione's suggestion of the name 'Kitty' was pretty funny, though."
"I think Molly would be a good middle name. Mom would be honored to have the baby named after her in sorts."
"That's a great idea. Why do you think it's a girl anyway?"
"Harry, some things you can just *tell*," Ginny said as though this were obvious, but since he was a guy, he didn't get it.
"I'm going to be laughing in your face when--what are you doing here?" Harry's voice changed swiftly to anger with a mix of surprise as he spotted somebody standing in the hallway, staring at them. Somebody that happened to be Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy began laughing. "Oh, that's rich. You got the Weasley girl pregnant? Ready to start
another family of more children than your money can support?"
Harry and Ginny were, in truth, a bit too shocked to reply right away. By the time their brains had caught up to their mouths, Snape was standing beside Malfoy.
"I'm sure your worrying is just that, worrying," Snape was saying to Malfoy in a continuation of what was obviously part of a conversation Harry and Ginny had missed. "Go on back to your room and we'll see if anything happens, eh?"
Malfoy grinned up at Snape in a very 'teachers pet' way. "Yes, professor. Thank you for your help.
As Malfoy shoved by Harry and Ginny, Ginny's anger got the better of her. "Ass kisser," she hissed at him.
"Slut," Malfoy returned, letting his eyes obviously sweep to her midriff.
"It's not--" Ginny began in a raised voice, but Snape sent her a glare and interrupted.
"You will not raise your voice in my presence, Ms. Weasley," he stated angrily. "Now about your detention . . ."
Ginny knew that Malfoy was gone, but a feeling deep in her gut told her that whatever Malfoy *thought* was true . . . wouldn't be very secretive for long. A look shared with Harry told her that he knew this too.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AN: Okay, I *have* an excuse. There was an author -- Neal Shusterman -- coming in on Friday and I was chosen for a special, private interview with him. So I hauled ass to the library and spent the past week reading as many of his novels as I could. Luckily they're young adult, so I read about one a day. Anyway, that's where all my time after school went. Sorry. And, since I'm giving you two chapters, can I have 580 reviews? :)
~Hales
Harry raised his eyebrows at her as if to imply she wasn't all there in the head. "Where did that come from?"
"Oh, just me bored over here. Don't you think of the stupidest things when you're bored?" Ginny asked.
"I don't let myself get bored," Harry said.
"You don't let yourself have any emotions, do you?" Ginny grumbled under her breath. Before
Harry could come up with a plausible reply, she returned to her perky attitude and changed the subject. "If a fly didn't have wings, would it be called a walk?"
Harry shook his head sadly and grinned at her. "You're a very strange girl, Gin."
Ginny suddenly shot a suspicious look to the wall beside her as they passed a doorway. Harry twisted his head around to see what was special about it, but he didn't notice anything.
"Do you get nervous whenever you're around closets?" Ginny asked, answering his unspoken question as to what it was she was thinking.
Harry laughed and gave her a look filled with mirth. "My hand always goes for my wand," he admitted solemnly.
"Oh!" Ginny said suddenly, ignoring what he'd said and completely changing the subject yet again. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" She grabbed Harry's wrist and twisted it around to see what time it was, then relaxed.
Harry glared at her, a bit affronted by her skin-to-skin contact with him. They'd had a silent, mutual agreement not to get within personal space of each other. "What is it you forgot to tell me?" he finally asked, exasperated, as it seemed she wasn't going to continue.
Ginny looked at him curiously. "Huh?"
Harry gave her a look that said he couldn't quite figure her out. "What did you forget to tell me?"
"Oh! I forgot again. Sorry, my mind has been elsewhere, and I got distracted . . ." she trailed off and blushed significantly. Harry decided not to wonder if she was blushing because the distraction she'd meant was him. "We have a detention with Snape tonight." Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust as she said this.
Harry groaned loudly and finished with a classic, annoyed click of the tongue. "Please tell me you're not serious." He sighed. "I'll bet the git asked specifically for us. Not only does he make my life a living hell, but he also has to include my friends?
"I never minded him until the closet incident," Ginny said. She laughed suddenly. "It wouldn't have been nearly as bad of a punishment had we been doing what we're now in trouble for."
Harry didn't know what to say; he found that this happened a lot in Ginny's presence lately. So, he decided that pretending she hadn't said anything and staring at the wall was the best way to deal with her comment. How was he supposed to deal with her mentioning such things? He finally decided on changing the subject. "What time tonight?" he asked, ignoring the look of disappointment that passed her face very briefly. He didn't want to contemplate what that meant.
"Er . . . nine twenty one, I think," Ginny said.
"You *think*? When we're talking about the time of a detention with Snape, you do not *think*; you have to be sure. Unless you like uncertain death," Harry reminded her.
Ginny pursed her lips and stomped her foot slightly in the form of a mini tantrum. Harry was reminded that she was still such a child. "Well, if you weren't so . . . you!--" she flung her arms wildly, gesturing to him "-- then I would be . . . well, the world would be a lot better off!" she finally decided with a defiant nod of her head.
Harry was very thankful to the Gods of Fate, because at that moment they happened to reach the portrait hole. He mumbled the password, jumped inside, and made a beeline for Ron and Hermione, hoping that the Gods of Fate would be so kind as to make Ginny suddenly want to hang out with people who weren't him, Ron, and Hermione.
"Hi," Harry greeted with a nod as he plopped down across from them on a couch.
"Hey," Hermione said pleasantly. She patted her stomach, a habit she'd formed that Harry worried would give her . . . er, situation away. "Was dinner good?"
"You weren't there?" Harry asked, surprised. Hermione had been like Crabbe and Goyle lately, eating anything in sight and wanting more. Of course, Harry doubted that Crabbe and Goyle ate apples dipped in mayo . . . but you never know.
Hermione blushed and glanced at Ron in what she thought was a discreet way. "I . . . er . . . got a little distracted."
Harry was going to give them a comment that would make both blush, but at that moment Ginny collapsed next to Harry with her arms crossed in a childish way to show she was angry.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, sitting forward to see her friend closer.
Ginny snapped to attention and sat up, smiling brightly in what was obviously a fake way.
"Nothing, thanks. I was just sidetracked."
"Do you want to come up to my bedroom? Lavender and Parvati are out with Seamus and
Dean, so we can look at baby name books and be as loud as possible," Hermione suggested.
Ginny shook her head. "I'm *fine*, Hermione, quit worrying. I'm just upset because Harry and I have a detention with Snape, of all people, in about twenty minutes."
Ron made a grimacing sound. "I'm just glad the whole faculty has seemed to have forgotten about the detention Hermione and I owe."
"They probably feel sorry--" Harry began, but was elbowed in the stomach by Ginny. After a second's thought, he realized that he was not about to say the most sensitive thing to a woman with hormones like crazy. Still, he shot Ginny a wounded look which she ignored.
"I'm gonna go change into something more cut out for the work Snape will have for us, okay?" Ginny asked, standing up and rushing up to her dormitory before anyone could respond.
Harry sat backwards with a look on his face that was very intriguing to Ron.
"What?" Ron finally asked, getting antsy at the pondering look reflected in his best friend's eyes.
Harry hesitated, then finally asked, "If a fly lost its wings, would it be called a walk?"
"No, it'd be called 'dead', Harry."
"I never thought about that . . ."
"Well obviously you're not doing much thinking if you're asking questions like that."
"Maybe your mind can't comprehend the deep intellectual thoughts circulating through my own,"
Harry said, grinning. He and Ron hadn't gotten into a playful bantering for a long time. Come to think of it, they hadn't spent very much time together lately period. Harry sent himself a mental note to change this.
Ron snorted. "I highly doubt that."
"I decided on a name!" Hermione said suddenly. Harry wondered what it was with women and irrelevant declarations.
" *You* decided? I thought I would have some part in this particular ritual," Ron said.
"Hush up. Now . . . what do you think of Kitty? Her name will be Katherine, of course, but I've always been fond of . . . oh, Ron, why are you giving me that look when you *know* the wrath my hormones can create."
Ron raised his eyebrows as if he didn't understand why Hermione didn't understand why he was disgusted. "Hermione, I don't think you understand. You just asked me to name my child after an animal."
Hermione's jaw dropped and she huffed loudly. "Well if you don't like the name, then just say it, Ronald!"
"I am saying it. I don't like that name," Ron said.
Harry had to hand it to Ron -- he had a lot of guts. The row looked ready to get loud enough for the whole common room to hear, but Ginny appeared at that moment, lifesaver that she was.
"That reminds me," Ginny said as she trotted down the stairs, "don't ever name any of your children Virginia. If you're going to nickname it Ginny, give it a *normal* name -- like Jennifer."
Hermione smirked at Ginny. "Try living with my name."
Ginny grinned at her and looked ready to say something, but Harry interrupted her.
"We'd better get going, Gin," Harry said with a quick glance at his clock. He gave her an appreciative glance at preventing the fight brewing between Ron and Hermione. She deserved a medal for such a rare thing, in his opinion at least.
Ginny nodded and she and Harry began their descent down to the dungeons. With ten minutes to get there, they had plenty of time to walk as slowly as they pleased.
"Have you seriously considered any names?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of awkward silence as they neared the dungeons. Talking about the baby was a safe enough topic, so Harry complied to her attempt at conversation.
"No. Should I?"
"Well, yes!" Ginny cried out, looking scandalized at his answer. "Harry, this baby will be here soon, and you should help out at least a little."
"Okay, what about the name . . . Harry?"
"Very helpful, Harry," Ginny said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Ron sure isn't helping."
"Hermione's suggestion of the name 'Kitty' was pretty funny, though."
"I think Molly would be a good middle name. Mom would be honored to have the baby named after her in sorts."
"That's a great idea. Why do you think it's a girl anyway?"
"Harry, some things you can just *tell*," Ginny said as though this were obvious, but since he was a guy, he didn't get it.
"I'm going to be laughing in your face when--what are you doing here?" Harry's voice changed swiftly to anger with a mix of surprise as he spotted somebody standing in the hallway, staring at them. Somebody that happened to be Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy began laughing. "Oh, that's rich. You got the Weasley girl pregnant? Ready to start
another family of more children than your money can support?"
Harry and Ginny were, in truth, a bit too shocked to reply right away. By the time their brains had caught up to their mouths, Snape was standing beside Malfoy.
"I'm sure your worrying is just that, worrying," Snape was saying to Malfoy in a continuation of what was obviously part of a conversation Harry and Ginny had missed. "Go on back to your room and we'll see if anything happens, eh?"
Malfoy grinned up at Snape in a very 'teachers pet' way. "Yes, professor. Thank you for your help.
As Malfoy shoved by Harry and Ginny, Ginny's anger got the better of her. "Ass kisser," she hissed at him.
"Slut," Malfoy returned, letting his eyes obviously sweep to her midriff.
"It's not--" Ginny began in a raised voice, but Snape sent her a glare and interrupted.
"You will not raise your voice in my presence, Ms. Weasley," he stated angrily. "Now about your detention . . ."
Ginny knew that Malfoy was gone, but a feeling deep in her gut told her that whatever Malfoy *thought* was true . . . wouldn't be very secretive for long. A look shared with Harry told her that he knew this too.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AN: Okay, I *have* an excuse. There was an author -- Neal Shusterman -- coming in on Friday and I was chosen for a special, private interview with him. So I hauled ass to the library and spent the past week reading as many of his novels as I could. Luckily they're young adult, so I read about one a day. Anyway, that's where all my time after school went. Sorry. And, since I'm giving you two chapters, can I have 580 reviews? :)
~Hales