Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within
this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her
stuff from her.
Chapter 5: Rendezvous
Ron sat in his room, puzzled. Harry, Neville, and Seamus had already left for dinner, but Ron had stayed behind in order to do some quality thinking.
"Ok, it isn't Draco, he's obviously with Hermione," he said, scratching Draco's name off of a piece of parchment. "Seamus would have been too obvious, they went to Yule Ball together." He scratched Seamus' name off. "Harry." he trailed off. He gazed at the ceiling, debating the match. Hesitantly he scratched off Harry's name. "Too much history."
He stared down at his list of all of the male students at Hogwarts. In the five days since his confrontation with Ginny he had spent every free moment contemplating his sister's secret lover. But that night he had finally narrowed the list down to one.
"NEVILLE!" he jumped up and screamed. "The filthy bastard! Carrying on in secret with my sister. Won't even make an honest woman out of her!"
His face matched his fiery red hair as he seethed at the thought of his roommate and his sister having secret nightly rendezvous.
Ron was ready to tear Neville's things to shreds when Harry entered the room. "Ron, what's going on?" he asked, noticing Ron's flaming red ears.
"Nothing," Ron said quickly as he snapped around. "Nothing at all, Harry. Just tidying up a bit. You know how messy I can get when classes begin to get harder." He looked at the parchment on his bed.
Harry's gaze followed his and Ron made a flying leap for the bed. "What on Earth are you hiding Ron?" Ron just smiled innocently. "Ron, I know you better than that! Fess up already."
"Fine," Ron conceded. "I was writing a letter to Hermione and Draco," he lied. "I'm having trouble being nice. No one was supposed to know about it until the wedding."
"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked, his demeanor lightening. "Sorry for interrupting you then. Good luck with the letter." Harry gathered up a few books and left Ron sitting on his bed, staring at the parchment.
Harry walked down into the common room to rejoin Hermione and Ginny. "Ron's been getting weirder by the day," he said, opening his Charms book. "He always looks guilty about something."
Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think my brother has gone completely mad. He won't let me go anywhere by myself anymore."
Although she feigned ignorance, Ginny knew that their encounter after Yule Ball was the reason for her brother's bout of insanity. She was entirely unwilling, though, to let Harry in on the secret, knowing full well that she would have another madman following and interrogating her if that was the case.
"I guarantee it has something to do with Draco and me," Hermione lied. She had noticed Ginny's wrinkled brow, giving away her inner feelings of worry, and she knew Harry would have to remain in the dark about the truth of the matter. "Personally, I don't think he can handle this huge abrupt change."
Harry let out a loud "ha!" and rolled his eyes. "I don't think anyone at Hogwarts can handle that change. The Head Girl and the most loathed among students together and engaged, its not what most people expected."
Hermione shot him a look. "People need to be open-minded to change. That's all!"
Ginny coughed and stood up. "As much as I would love to stay and continue this rousing discussion, I have some Potions work to attend to." Hermione looked at her slyly when Harry wasn't paying attention. Ginny returned the look. "I'm going to the library, I'll see you both later."
Harry and Hermione waved as she scooted out of the portrait hole and into the dark corridor. Harry hadn't even realized how far past curfew it was when she left. Ginny stealthily looked both ways to check for Filch or any professors.
She kept craning her neck around as she tiptoed through the castle and as she reached the bottom of a flight of stairs she ran into a body. "Going somewhere Miss Weasley?" its voice asked slickly. She cringed slightly and looked up to see Snape staring down at her. "Awfully late for a stroll," he snapped. Turning with a flourish he barked, " Follow me."
Ginny followed him down to his dungeon office where he took a seat at his desk in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down at the floor.
"Sorry you snuck out or sorry I was the one who caught you?" He stared at her with icy eyes. She didn't answer. "You were incredibly careless! What if someone else had been walking through and caught you? You would have been in serious trouble, and so would I!"
"I would never have told, Severus!" she shot back, finding her voice. "The last thing that this school needs right now is a scandal between you and I. We would both be ruined, and no one would know which way was up anymore."
"Then be more careful next time, Ginny!" He looked at her more tenderly now. "I don't care if I'm fired, but I couldn't stand to see you shamed by your association with me."
Ginny hopped up on his desk, knocking books and supplies everywhere. "Nothing is happening to either of us," she said. She leaned over and kissed him.
He smiled at her as she pulled back. "Fine," he said sounding less upset. "And ten points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew. Plus detention."
Her jaw dropped in surprise, but her face melted into a coy smile. "Did you want to start on that detention now, Professor?" Her eyes sparkled in the dim candlelight and she reached out to stroke his chin. "Since I'm already out and in trouble, that is."
"Detention it is then," he said standing up and kissing her. She laughed as he scooped her up into his arms, planting another kiss on her sweet perfect lips. Every time their lips touched it brought him back to that first time; to her sweet aroma and taste; to the way she blushed; to that first realization of love. He knew he would never trade her for all of the power and women in the world; he knew Ginny Weasley was the one. And that only made it harder.
Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked at the large grandfather clock that loomed in the corner of Snape's office. "It's so late," she said groggily. "I don't want to go back to the common room." She rolled over and kissed Snape on the cheek. "Can't you write me a note or something for classes in the morning? I really don't want to leave."
He smiled and kissed her. "No."
She pouted and rolled over, sitting up. "Fine. I've got to get back up to the common room and get some sleep then." She got out of the bed and collected her shoes and robe from the seat of Snape's chair. As she got ready to leave, she walked back the bed and kissed him. "Goodnight Severus, I'll see you in the morning." He grunted and went back to sleep.
Ginny tiptoed back into the common room, craning her neck looking for her deranged brother. She knew he would be waiting for her, somewhere. Much to her surprise, the only living thing she could find after a thorough investigation was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. "Hey," she said scratching his long orange fur. "What are you doing outside of Hermione's room?"
Crookshanks just purred and nuzzled Ginny's hand. She gave the cat a quick kiss on the head and dashed up the stairs. Crookshanks' eyes followed her all the way, then he leapt off the table on which he had been seated. Still purring he began to rub his face against a nearby statue.
"Stop that you miserable animal!" the statue said, suddenly moving. Crookshanks yowled and hid under a couch. "Crazy cat," the statue said stepping off his pedestal. He turned and looked up the stairs
"Returnio!" Pieces of plaster began to fall away revealing red hair and a plaster-dust covered Ron. He brushed himself off. "That was a nifty spell I must say," he said to Crookshanks who was still hiding. "More importantly I know what Ginny and Neville have been up to. I'll get them I will."
He trudged up the stairs; his mind was racing with thoughts of how to expose his sister. When he reached his room he looked to Neville's bed and scowled. "Wait, how'd he get up here?" Ron thought to himself. He'd been down in the common room for hours, no one had come through. "Must have staggered their re-entrances by quite a bit," he concluded. "And he made her come in later, so if she got caught she'd be in loads more trouble. The filthy bastard."
Ron crawled into his bed and stewed on his anger before falling into a restless sleep.
Chapter 5: Rendezvous
Ron sat in his room, puzzled. Harry, Neville, and Seamus had already left for dinner, but Ron had stayed behind in order to do some quality thinking.
"Ok, it isn't Draco, he's obviously with Hermione," he said, scratching Draco's name off of a piece of parchment. "Seamus would have been too obvious, they went to Yule Ball together." He scratched Seamus' name off. "Harry." he trailed off. He gazed at the ceiling, debating the match. Hesitantly he scratched off Harry's name. "Too much history."
He stared down at his list of all of the male students at Hogwarts. In the five days since his confrontation with Ginny he had spent every free moment contemplating his sister's secret lover. But that night he had finally narrowed the list down to one.
"NEVILLE!" he jumped up and screamed. "The filthy bastard! Carrying on in secret with my sister. Won't even make an honest woman out of her!"
His face matched his fiery red hair as he seethed at the thought of his roommate and his sister having secret nightly rendezvous.
Ron was ready to tear Neville's things to shreds when Harry entered the room. "Ron, what's going on?" he asked, noticing Ron's flaming red ears.
"Nothing," Ron said quickly as he snapped around. "Nothing at all, Harry. Just tidying up a bit. You know how messy I can get when classes begin to get harder." He looked at the parchment on his bed.
Harry's gaze followed his and Ron made a flying leap for the bed. "What on Earth are you hiding Ron?" Ron just smiled innocently. "Ron, I know you better than that! Fess up already."
"Fine," Ron conceded. "I was writing a letter to Hermione and Draco," he lied. "I'm having trouble being nice. No one was supposed to know about it until the wedding."
"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked, his demeanor lightening. "Sorry for interrupting you then. Good luck with the letter." Harry gathered up a few books and left Ron sitting on his bed, staring at the parchment.
Harry walked down into the common room to rejoin Hermione and Ginny. "Ron's been getting weirder by the day," he said, opening his Charms book. "He always looks guilty about something."
Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think my brother has gone completely mad. He won't let me go anywhere by myself anymore."
Although she feigned ignorance, Ginny knew that their encounter after Yule Ball was the reason for her brother's bout of insanity. She was entirely unwilling, though, to let Harry in on the secret, knowing full well that she would have another madman following and interrogating her if that was the case.
"I guarantee it has something to do with Draco and me," Hermione lied. She had noticed Ginny's wrinkled brow, giving away her inner feelings of worry, and she knew Harry would have to remain in the dark about the truth of the matter. "Personally, I don't think he can handle this huge abrupt change."
Harry let out a loud "ha!" and rolled his eyes. "I don't think anyone at Hogwarts can handle that change. The Head Girl and the most loathed among students together and engaged, its not what most people expected."
Hermione shot him a look. "People need to be open-minded to change. That's all!"
Ginny coughed and stood up. "As much as I would love to stay and continue this rousing discussion, I have some Potions work to attend to." Hermione looked at her slyly when Harry wasn't paying attention. Ginny returned the look. "I'm going to the library, I'll see you both later."
Harry and Hermione waved as she scooted out of the portrait hole and into the dark corridor. Harry hadn't even realized how far past curfew it was when she left. Ginny stealthily looked both ways to check for Filch or any professors.
She kept craning her neck around as she tiptoed through the castle and as she reached the bottom of a flight of stairs she ran into a body. "Going somewhere Miss Weasley?" its voice asked slickly. She cringed slightly and looked up to see Snape staring down at her. "Awfully late for a stroll," he snapped. Turning with a flourish he barked, " Follow me."
Ginny followed him down to his dungeon office where he took a seat at his desk in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down at the floor.
"Sorry you snuck out or sorry I was the one who caught you?" He stared at her with icy eyes. She didn't answer. "You were incredibly careless! What if someone else had been walking through and caught you? You would have been in serious trouble, and so would I!"
"I would never have told, Severus!" she shot back, finding her voice. "The last thing that this school needs right now is a scandal between you and I. We would both be ruined, and no one would know which way was up anymore."
"Then be more careful next time, Ginny!" He looked at her more tenderly now. "I don't care if I'm fired, but I couldn't stand to see you shamed by your association with me."
Ginny hopped up on his desk, knocking books and supplies everywhere. "Nothing is happening to either of us," she said. She leaned over and kissed him.
He smiled at her as she pulled back. "Fine," he said sounding less upset. "And ten points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew. Plus detention."
Her jaw dropped in surprise, but her face melted into a coy smile. "Did you want to start on that detention now, Professor?" Her eyes sparkled in the dim candlelight and she reached out to stroke his chin. "Since I'm already out and in trouble, that is."
"Detention it is then," he said standing up and kissing her. She laughed as he scooped her up into his arms, planting another kiss on her sweet perfect lips. Every time their lips touched it brought him back to that first time; to her sweet aroma and taste; to the way she blushed; to that first realization of love. He knew he would never trade her for all of the power and women in the world; he knew Ginny Weasley was the one. And that only made it harder.
Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked at the large grandfather clock that loomed in the corner of Snape's office. "It's so late," she said groggily. "I don't want to go back to the common room." She rolled over and kissed Snape on the cheek. "Can't you write me a note or something for classes in the morning? I really don't want to leave."
He smiled and kissed her. "No."
She pouted and rolled over, sitting up. "Fine. I've got to get back up to the common room and get some sleep then." She got out of the bed and collected her shoes and robe from the seat of Snape's chair. As she got ready to leave, she walked back the bed and kissed him. "Goodnight Severus, I'll see you in the morning." He grunted and went back to sleep.
Ginny tiptoed back into the common room, craning her neck looking for her deranged brother. She knew he would be waiting for her, somewhere. Much to her surprise, the only living thing she could find after a thorough investigation was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. "Hey," she said scratching his long orange fur. "What are you doing outside of Hermione's room?"
Crookshanks just purred and nuzzled Ginny's hand. She gave the cat a quick kiss on the head and dashed up the stairs. Crookshanks' eyes followed her all the way, then he leapt off the table on which he had been seated. Still purring he began to rub his face against a nearby statue.
"Stop that you miserable animal!" the statue said, suddenly moving. Crookshanks yowled and hid under a couch. "Crazy cat," the statue said stepping off his pedestal. He turned and looked up the stairs
"Returnio!" Pieces of plaster began to fall away revealing red hair and a plaster-dust covered Ron. He brushed himself off. "That was a nifty spell I must say," he said to Crookshanks who was still hiding. "More importantly I know what Ginny and Neville have been up to. I'll get them I will."
He trudged up the stairs; his mind was racing with thoughts of how to expose his sister. When he reached his room he looked to Neville's bed and scowled. "Wait, how'd he get up here?" Ron thought to himself. He'd been down in the common room for hours, no one had come through. "Must have staggered their re-entrances by quite a bit," he concluded. "And he made her come in later, so if she got caught she'd be in loads more trouble. The filthy bastard."
Ron crawled into his bed and stewed on his anger before falling into a restless sleep.