Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, propaganda, etc.
Eventually, Harry recognized the wood trap door that brought them to the cellar of Honeydukes and carefully pushed it open, opening his eyes slowly to let them adapt to the light of the room.
"Wow," Ginny said, still astounded that the passage had been there all along without her knowing it. "If those idiot twin brothers of mine loved me at all they would have told me about this," she added, grinning wryly.
"Oh, I dunno about that. They always talked about you like you were their favorite."
"Well, I know I rank higher than Percy does at the moment. Actually, I always did but until the pompous git swallows his pride he's lower than the bottom of the list. In fact, you might as well bump him off the list altogether as far as I'm concerned.
"Shhhh.. I think someone's coming," Harry whispered suddenly, ducking his head so it was hidden by a overlarge crate of chocolate sugar quills. Exactly at the same time they were hidden an old man appeared, muttering to himself.
"'Go get more chocolate sugar quills, Jergus, be a good boy.' As though she owns the place and I'm HER employee.. eh I don't know how she got so full of herself. Bossing me around like I'm lower than her, oh I'd tell her what I think of her if I thought she wouldn't breath fire and burn me to a crisp..." The old mans mutterings faded as he approached the crate of sugarquills.
Ginny felt goose bumps erupt on her arms as she attempted to make herself appear even smaller. She hardly noticed how hard she was clutching Harry's palm until she looked and saw the row of purplish crescent shapes where her fingernails had been. She could feel the old man's ragged breath as he reached over and opened the crate, could see the tips of his fingers peering over the edge... finally, the crate's lid was slammed back down and he walked away, the candy clutched in his weathered hands.
"That was close," Harry whispered as they slipped into the main of the store, letting out the breath he'd been holding.
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, as they let go of each other's hands. "Do you want to take a walk or something? I'm still feeling a little claustrophobic from that tunnel, and I know this great little canyon hardly anyone knows about."
Harry nodded. "A walk sounds great- anywhere but Madam Puddifoot's sounds great actually... I've had enough pink frilly things to last me a lifetime."
"Yeah, that place is usually for couples, anyway. And we're just here as friends,' Ginny said, wondering all the while WHY in the world she was saying anything when it had been feeling like an actual date for a minute there. *Trust me to make things awkward just when we were getting along,* she thought, cursing her big mouth.
"Um, yeah. Friends. Right," Harry said, looking as though he was having trouble stringing two words together. "Um, right-"
Harry stepped on a slab of ice previously covered with snow, and with a exclamation of surprise slipped backwards. Ginny stepped behind him in a brave but foolish attempt to catch him. Harry hit her with full force and they both landed, gasping, on the ground, Ginny pinned underneath him. Both of them began laughing hysterically, Ginny wriggled futilely to extract herself from underneath him but found she was too weak from laughter. Instead, she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it in his face and hair, finally getting him to move.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that one!" Harry yelled, grabbing an armful and thoroughly combining it into her carefully made hair. Ginny shrieked and pulled out her wand, sending a steady stream of snowballs slamming into him.
"Ouch, okay you win!" he said, slumping to the ground. Ginny collapsed next to him, feeling the snow soak through all of her clothes.
Harry looked at her. She was a mess; the snow had ruined her makeup- mascara was smudged around her eyes, and her hair was stuck in clumps of ice and snow. Even so, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes alight from excitement, and she seemed to glow with a smile bright and genuine. Perhaps she couldn't beat Cho Chang in the looks department, but she had something else that Cho just couldn't achieve- a sort of warmth that came from deep inside of her. Harry wanted to kiss her more than anything else in the world, but her words from earlier came back to hit him. "And we're just here as friends." The sentence stung as much as it did earlier, and the feeling returned that she didn't want to be more than that.
"We'd better head back to Hogsmeade, it's getting late," he said quietly, glancing at his watch and felt a strange coldness in his stomach that was definitely not the weather.
Ginny nodded and hoisted herself up. "Too bad we never made it to the canyon," she added, starting to walk. Before long they made it back, but something seemed different. The sky looked as though it were darkening before their very eyes, and the whole town seemed deserted. She carefully stepped up to a shop and pulled on the door.
"Sealing charm," she whispered, because speaking felt strangely inappropriate in the hushed town.
Harry tested another. "Same here." He tried pulling on the handle while calling for someone to let them in, but nobody answered. He felt the strange coldness in his stomach, and by the look on her face Ginny did too.
"Ginny, something's wrong. Something's really wrong."
*Review Box* I'm starving! Pleeeeease feed me!
Eventually, Harry recognized the wood trap door that brought them to the cellar of Honeydukes and carefully pushed it open, opening his eyes slowly to let them adapt to the light of the room.
"Wow," Ginny said, still astounded that the passage had been there all along without her knowing it. "If those idiot twin brothers of mine loved me at all they would have told me about this," she added, grinning wryly.
"Oh, I dunno about that. They always talked about you like you were their favorite."
"Well, I know I rank higher than Percy does at the moment. Actually, I always did but until the pompous git swallows his pride he's lower than the bottom of the list. In fact, you might as well bump him off the list altogether as far as I'm concerned.
"Shhhh.. I think someone's coming," Harry whispered suddenly, ducking his head so it was hidden by a overlarge crate of chocolate sugar quills. Exactly at the same time they were hidden an old man appeared, muttering to himself.
"'Go get more chocolate sugar quills, Jergus, be a good boy.' As though she owns the place and I'm HER employee.. eh I don't know how she got so full of herself. Bossing me around like I'm lower than her, oh I'd tell her what I think of her if I thought she wouldn't breath fire and burn me to a crisp..." The old mans mutterings faded as he approached the crate of sugarquills.
Ginny felt goose bumps erupt on her arms as she attempted to make herself appear even smaller. She hardly noticed how hard she was clutching Harry's palm until she looked and saw the row of purplish crescent shapes where her fingernails had been. She could feel the old man's ragged breath as he reached over and opened the crate, could see the tips of his fingers peering over the edge... finally, the crate's lid was slammed back down and he walked away, the candy clutched in his weathered hands.
"That was close," Harry whispered as they slipped into the main of the store, letting out the breath he'd been holding.
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, as they let go of each other's hands. "Do you want to take a walk or something? I'm still feeling a little claustrophobic from that tunnel, and I know this great little canyon hardly anyone knows about."
Harry nodded. "A walk sounds great- anywhere but Madam Puddifoot's sounds great actually... I've had enough pink frilly things to last me a lifetime."
"Yeah, that place is usually for couples, anyway. And we're just here as friends,' Ginny said, wondering all the while WHY in the world she was saying anything when it had been feeling like an actual date for a minute there. *Trust me to make things awkward just when we were getting along,* she thought, cursing her big mouth.
"Um, yeah. Friends. Right," Harry said, looking as though he was having trouble stringing two words together. "Um, right-"
Harry stepped on a slab of ice previously covered with snow, and with a exclamation of surprise slipped backwards. Ginny stepped behind him in a brave but foolish attempt to catch him. Harry hit her with full force and they both landed, gasping, on the ground, Ginny pinned underneath him. Both of them began laughing hysterically, Ginny wriggled futilely to extract herself from underneath him but found she was too weak from laughter. Instead, she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it in his face and hair, finally getting him to move.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that one!" Harry yelled, grabbing an armful and thoroughly combining it into her carefully made hair. Ginny shrieked and pulled out her wand, sending a steady stream of snowballs slamming into him.
"Ouch, okay you win!" he said, slumping to the ground. Ginny collapsed next to him, feeling the snow soak through all of her clothes.
Harry looked at her. She was a mess; the snow had ruined her makeup- mascara was smudged around her eyes, and her hair was stuck in clumps of ice and snow. Even so, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes alight from excitement, and she seemed to glow with a smile bright and genuine. Perhaps she couldn't beat Cho Chang in the looks department, but she had something else that Cho just couldn't achieve- a sort of warmth that came from deep inside of her. Harry wanted to kiss her more than anything else in the world, but her words from earlier came back to hit him. "And we're just here as friends." The sentence stung as much as it did earlier, and the feeling returned that she didn't want to be more than that.
"We'd better head back to Hogsmeade, it's getting late," he said quietly, glancing at his watch and felt a strange coldness in his stomach that was definitely not the weather.
Ginny nodded and hoisted herself up. "Too bad we never made it to the canyon," she added, starting to walk. Before long they made it back, but something seemed different. The sky looked as though it were darkening before their very eyes, and the whole town seemed deserted. She carefully stepped up to a shop and pulled on the door.
"Sealing charm," she whispered, because speaking felt strangely inappropriate in the hushed town.
Harry tested another. "Same here." He tried pulling on the handle while calling for someone to let them in, but nobody answered. He felt the strange coldness in his stomach, and by the look on her face Ginny did too.
"Ginny, something's wrong. Something's really wrong."
*Review Box* I'm starving! Pleeeeease feed me!
