Disclaimer: Me JamieBell on ff.net... Duh...
Before you all kill me for not updating Sleeping Beauties... it's not that I haven't tried. I've had my first wee bit of writer's block! I got half the chapter written, but the characters aren't doing what I want them to do. ::smacks Ron upside the head:: Anyway, I should be cured after I do this. And before you kill me a second time, what kind of author would I be, if I didn't do something to Sebastian's song Kiss the Girl (which belongs to Howard Ashman and Alan Menken; Disney Inc.)? Huh? Huh? Besides, it's got an original twist of its own, none of this Lavender and Seamus singing to get Ron and Hermione together stuff, nope. So, without further ado, enjoy!
A/N: We will pretend that there are no grindylows or any other evil creatures in the lake. Lightening is not an issue either.
Kiss Her, You Fool!
"Ardis! What are you doing?" Ardis groaned and inched away from the mirror, the forbidden mirror, the mirror she was so anxious to use. The mirror hung tantalizingly on the pink wall of the biggest room of their small house. Her fingers itched to touch it.
"Nothing, Mother!" she called. Cupid's wings… When will she realize that I'm old enough, I can do this… Her mother came bustling in the ornately carved, doorframe, if you could bustle in midair.
"Rubbish!" Sidra scolded, fluttering her shimmering wings. "I saw you sneak in here and activate it!" Ardis rolled her eyes and floated up to join her. I will convince her I am ready...
"Mother, when will I be allowed to help?" Ardis pleaded, clinging to her mother's hands, and peering into her silver eyes. Softness filled her mother's eyes and Sidra sighed.
"Darling, it's just that you're young and I'm not quite sure you can handle the responsibility," Sidra said patiently. Ardis' eyes filled with tears and she slowly sank back down to the floor. No tears… Stand up, Ardis, defend yourself! She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands.
"Mother, I am nearly five years old," she said defiantly. (That's twenty human years.) Sidra's eyes widened at her daughter's refusal to accept her words. "That's almost as old as you were when I was born!" She placed her tiny fists on her hips and flew up to face her mother.
Sidra sighed again. "You're right, dearest. I suppose I'm foolish in wanting to keep you forever young." Ardis felt guilty and flew forward and embraced the dear woman and rested her head on her shoulder.
"Not foolish, Mummy," Ardis murmured, using a name she hadn't used since she was one. "But I'm grown up now and I'm ready to take on the duties of being a conciliatrix." Sidra pushed her daughter away from her, holding her by the shoulders. A faraway look came into her eyes and she smiled gently.
"Let me look at you, dear," she said softly. "Darling, you've grown so much; why it seems like only yesterday you were my baby girl." She finally nodded and drew Ardis back to her to kiss her tenderly on the forehead.
"Does this mean you'll let me help them now?" Ardis asked excitedly. Sidra chuckled affectionately. Please, oh please...
"You do live up to your name, eager, don't you?" she smiled widely. "I don't know what your father will think, but yes, I do think you're ready. Do you have anyone in mind?" Ardis flew animatedly around the room before coming to rest in front of the mirror. She smoothed down her dress which had gotten messed from her frantic flying. She touched it with her hand and two blurry figures came into view, revolving slowly.
"I want to help them, Mother," Ardis said. "I know I've been naughty in sneaking in here, but I've watched them for a whole year, years for them, and they won't do anything about their feelings for each other." Her mother watched the two figures closely. She smiled reminiscently. I wonder what she's thinking…
"I remember helping two others, who looked remarkably like them," her mother said, amused. "I believe these are the right ones for you to assist. Remember the mission…" Ardis nodded and rolled her eyes yet again. She began to recite.
"To assist in guiding hidden feelings to the surface, but not create the feelings in an arbitrary way," Ardis summed it up glibly. "I think I'll go find Luke, he might have some good ideas for this. Thank you so much, Mother! I'm so excited!" She zoomed out of the house, causing pollen from the new spring flowers to swirl in a thick cloud in her wake.
Arriving at Luke's house hidden in a nearby rosebush, she fluttered up to his window and rapped on it sharply. "Luke, oh Luke, I've got wonderful news! Where are you? Come out!" She flew around the house crying out his name impatiently.
"Cupid's diaper, Ardis, I hear you!" a voice gasped. She swiveled around to meet the handsome face of her best friend, his mane of golden brown hair tousled from his flight to find her, his blue eyes gazing curiously at her. She cried out in delight and launched herself at him, hugging him fiercely. Oh, I'm so excited!
"Mother's decided I'm ready!" she said, twirling away in the air from him. Luke let out a shout of exultation. "I've already found my humans and I need your help."
"Finally! I've been waiting for your mum to hurry up," Luke congratulated her, flying in dizzying circles. "It's been boring waiting for you so we could put some of our plans into motion!" Ardis joined him in zooming in and out of the branches of the rosebush. All of the thorns had been magically removed when Luke and his father and mother had come to live there. The two young fairies came to rest on one of those thornless limbs.
"So what do you want to do first?" Luke asked excitedly, tugging on Ardis' golden locks. What was it with him and playing with my hair? She twitched them out of his hands and bounced excitedly on the branch.
"I want to bring their feelings out," she cried, throwing her arms out to the sides dramatically and nearly throwing Luke backwards. "I want music and song, but not blatant, kind of ease it out of them. I want to make it so romantic they'll never forget that moment!" Luke had been listening intently and a thoughtful look came across his face.
"I have an idea," he said slowly. "But I can only make it work outdoors." He paused, waiting for her approval. A wide smile spread across her face and she nodded.
"Whatever you say," she said. "Let's hurry, I want to start today!" Luke frowned and Ardis immediately got worried. Oh no… I need this to work…
"That's just the problem," he mumbled quietly. Ardis made a face.
"What's a problem?" she asked, patting him on the arm. Hmmm…Nice arms…
"My left wing was itching this morning," Luke said. "Which means it's going to rain, so what you've got to do is figure out a way to get them outside despite the downpour." Ardis made a frown identical to Luke's and kicking her feet back and forth, she thought for a few minutes. That might work… Or maybe not… How about…? Yes!
"I've got it!" she said finally. "I'll go home and do it, while you set everything up. We'll meet back here and start. Thank you so much, Luke! You're the best." She kissed him on the cheek and fluttered away, not noticing the bright flush on his face.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Harry Potter trudged up the familiar maze of stairways and corridors to Gryffindor Tower. The black-haired boy with the bright emerald eyes was weary, oh was he weary. Weary because he had not managed to hide the parchment he was doodling on and Professor Trelawny had seen it and taken it away. Harry would have flushed his own head down Myrtle's toilet, had he known what was going to happen. Why do I have the worst luck in the world? Why did I have to draw that picture of her? I hate that old Divination bat! I'll never hear the end of this…
That morning in Divination had been a particularly boring one, the sweet, sickly-scented incense had been more overwhelming than usual, Ron was snoring quietly but Harry had been occupying his time by doodling aimlessly on a scrap piece of parchment. He had rested his chin on his fist, his hand wielding a fine white quill, and sketched quickly across the yellowed surface of the parchment. A few more lines there, a little red there... Harry looked admiringly at the crude, yet fair drawing of-- A thin, pale hand, which had the faint bluish lines of veins protruding from it, darted in front of his face and snatched the paper away. Clutching desperately at it, he turned to see the disappointed face of Professor Trelawny. Her eyes, magnified by her incredibly thick glasses, mirrored pity and what was that-- amusement.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry begged, trying to take back the parchment. A snort told him that Ron had woken up, mostly likely nudged by a neighbor. He turned to see the entire class focused on this rare occurrence. Nothing remotely interesting in this class had happened in so long. "I promise I won't do this again." He reached out to take the paper, but Professor Trelawny held it back. Oh, the agony…
"Focus Mr. Potter," she said dreamily. "I have no choice but to confiscate it." Harry buried his head in his hands but snapped upright at her next words.
"Oh! The Fates!" she exclaimed mistily and ethereally. "Your parchment has confirmed my vision, dear boy, my vision of your future intertwined with that of a certain lady!" Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, masters and commanders of the gossip ship, jumped at this and lost no time in questioning.
"Oooohhh, Professor, who?" Parvati asked keenly. Lavender had whipped a quill out, ready to take notes. Harry tensed and Ron looked, amazingly, interested but hadn't said a word-- yet.
"Scarlet-haired is she," Professor Trelawny intoned dramatically. "Descendant of a large family. Beware the family lest they bring you harm!" Lavender looked scandalized and excited, and wrote every word down. The room erupted into whispering and staring, and mostly high-pitched giggling. Ron cleared his throat and Harry looked over at him, terrified out of his wits. Ron, interestingly enough, instead of a frown, was sporting the widest grin on his freckled face that Harry had ever seen. Oh no…
"Tell us who she is, mate," Ron asked, casually brushing his red hair out of his eyes. "She wouldn't happen to be anyone I know... would she?" Harry gulped. Now everyone would know of his infatuation with the youngest Weasley and he didn't have to say a word. His face was glowing as bright as one of the Muggle lighthouse beacons along the coast. Please stop turning red…
Just then the bell rang, and Harry fled the room, nearly diving headfirst through the trapdoor and down the rope ladder. This news had spread like wildfire. He had gone through the rest of the day, trying to avoid Ron and the scarlet-haired maiden who, incidentally, happened to be the youngest and only sister of his best friend. However, the good-natured ribbing and teasing in every class had followed him everywhere. Malfoy wasted no time casting down the Weasleys and exclaiming at his horrible taste, taunting him for going so low as to fall in love with a Muggle-lover. He had only hoped that Ginny had not gotten wind of this extreme humiliation.
Now here he was, trying to make it up to his dormitory to hide without anyone seeing him. Stupid, stupid, stupid… Harry paused to bang his head against the wall in desperation, causing several portraits to call out indignantly because of the jouncing ("I say there, young man, is that really necessary?"). Why hadn't he just kept to daydreaming about her hair, and her chocolate brown eyes, and her freckles... instead of displaying his feelings for all to see?
He finally arrived at the painting of the Fat Lady. He had to knock to wake her from her slumber, and she sat bolt upright. Pity immediately filled her giant face.
"Password, dear?" she asked, smoothing the silk folds of her pink gown. Harry mumbled incoherently. "Speak up, dear, I can't hear you." Harry looked up and spoke louder.
"Flaming death!" he cried angrily. What a horrible day this is! What a stupid password… Hermione should never ask first years what the password should be, especially not those little nitwits who are bloody obsessed with A Bug's Life…The Fat Lady sighed disapprovingly.
"No need to snap, Harry," she said. "Although, I would die of embarrassment if an incident like that happened to me." She swung forward, letting the disgruntled boy climb through. Merlin, even the portraits know… As he started to stalk through the common room to the stairs, he stopped cold when he faced the sight in front of him. Oh no… Tell me this isn't happening… Where to run? He stared.
Ginny Weasley was spinning crazily around the room, jumping over the furniture, waving her arms over her head, and singing loudly. "Oh, I've got a lov-uhly bunch of coconuth, doodle-leedoo, here they are a-thtanding in a row, bum-bum-bum; big oneth, thmall oneth, thome the thithe of your head... Harry!" She stopped spinning and swayed dizzily. Harry did the only thing he could think of. He clapped. Stupid, stupid… Ginny blushed furiously, but managed to laugh at the same time.
"Thank you!" she bowed. "How long have you been thtanding there, Harry?" Harry flushed too, but an answer fought its way out of his mouth.
"About a minute," he replied truthfully. Don't let her know about today…"Interesting song." She laughed again.
"Yeah, it'th pretty thilly," she said ruefully. "But it'th the weekend and I'm tho exthited! I needed to blow off thome thteam before anyone came back." Harry was confused about her speech and voiced it.
"Oh that," she giggled. "One of the girlth in my clath and I dethided to bet on the weather today, thyee bet for rain, and I bet for thun. I lotht. Tho now I have to thpeak like thith." Harry glanced out the window and, sure enough, rain was pouring down the glass. This kind of behavior was one of the reasons Harry was so taken by her, funny and childish, but at the same time wise and often serious. She was kind and generous, but did not hold herself back from playing pranks or non-cruel teasing. He grinned.
"How long do you have to talk this way?" he asked, feeling more comfortable. If she knew about the 'incident', she probably would have brought it up by now. Ginny laughed and plopped herself on the sofa next to the fire that was burning brightly behind the stone hearth. She patted the seat next to her and Harry, trying desperately to ignore the flop in his stomach, settled next to her, dropping his bag of books on the floor.
Ginny drew her legs under her in the lotus position and leaned back. "Oh, I think all of today ith what we agreed on." She turned her large brown eyes on him. Dumbledore's socks…She's staring at me…What do I do? "Tho, what do you have planned?" Harry shrugged.
"It's raining like you said, so I have no choice but to do homework," Harry said plaintively. Ginny wrinkled her nose, causing all of her freckles to mesh together. She shook her head violently and gestured with her hands.
"No, no, Harry, abtholutely no homework, it'th the weekend, that'th thacrilegiouth," she protested, grinning over the stupid lisp. "We'll think of thomething… Look, everybody'th here now, we can athk them! Guyth, over here!" Nearly all of Gryffindor house was plodding through the portrait hole, grumbling angrily over the rain that had ruined a perfectly good sunny afternoon. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Parvati, Seamus, Dean, Lavender and several others from varying years came over and crowded around the fire, filling the empty seats and the floor.
"Bloody rain, this," Ron moaned. "And I was going to steal Harry's broom for awhile." Harry only grinned and brandished a fist at him. Hermione, however, looked mildly annoyed.
"Language, Ron," she said impatiently, but not as urgently as other times. I suppose she's getting used to it…"What were you two talking about?" Hermione eyed Harry and Ginny interestedly. All of the other Gryffindors looked like they were about to split their sides laughing.
"Talking? Uh, we were talking, definitely—erm, about--?" Harry was at a loss for words. Ginny quickly covered for him, although she was confused about his lack of literacy.
"About what we thyould do, now that it'th raining," she supplied. "What do you guyth thyuggetht?" All of the Gryffindors look confused at her language.
"Why are you talking like that?" Ron asked bluntly. Ginny waved it away.
"I lotht a bet," she said. "Any ideath?" Everyone was silent for a little while.
"We could have another pillow fight," Seamus suggested. Clamor of voices yelling 'no!' shut him up. Ginny had conjured up a list and crossed that off.
"The latht time we had a pillow fight, a pillow fell in the fire, McGonagall came in and Neville hit her in the fathe and knocked her down, definitely not," Ginny said firmly. Neville was red, but all of the others were laughing at the memory. "What about you, Parvati?" Parvati had an evil glint in her eye.
"We could play Boys tell the Truth," she said snickering. Oh no… Nu-Uh…I know who she'd pick first…Ginny looked mildly interested.
"What'th that? Never heard of it," she asked the dark haired girl. Parvati grinned. Hermione let a tiny laugh escape her. I must run away…But to where?
"That's because I just made it up," she said, winking surreptitiously at Harry who flushed again. Girls are evil…Seamus and Dean were wiggling their eyebrows at Harry who shook his head fiercely. Ron once again was grinning wildly.
"Not really in the mood," Ginny decided and scratched that off the list. Thank you…Thank you…"What about you Dean?" The tall black boy lounged back against Parvati's knee, crossing his hands behind his neck.
"Before I came here, we had this really cool contraption in our backyard, called a zipline," he said. Hermione and Seamus were nodding, and so was Harry. "You tie a rope between two trees and there's this handle thing that you hook on… Then you grab on and you fly between the two trees. Lots of fun!" Ron looked confused.
"Say, wouldn't you smash into the tree?" Ron asked, holding a hand in front of his nose.
"Yeah, I don't want a broken face," Lavender piped up looking worried.
"No pain, Dean," Neville pleaded; he looked even more worried than Lavender. The other kids nodded. Dean waved his hand. Ginny looked excited at the mention of danger.
"No, no, there's a knot at the end to stop you," Dean assured them. "I was thinking we could go outside and tie a rope to the castle, have it go over the lake, so we could drop into the water." Excited voices broke out, and Ginny had to shout to make herself heard.
"Thoundth fantathtic! All in favor?" Ginny cried. Best idea anyone of us ever had…
"Aye!" came the shout. They all started to scramble to get up but a sharp whistle from Hermione brought them back. Ron gaped at her.
"Since when can you do that?" he asked her incredulously. She shrugged demurely.
"Few years, my cousin taught me," she said proudly. "Listen up! We have to figure out how to make the handles… I've got an idea, so, Lavender, I need one of your hangers, Seamus and Dean, you go find a rope and tie it up, and Neville, I need a wooden rod about this thick and about this long." Hermione demonstrated with her hands.
"Right," everyone said, and rushed off to find the supplies. Seamus and Dean returned first dressed in old shorts and t-shirts and left to go steal a long rope from Filch. Lavender came back next with a wire hanger; she handed it to Hermione who pulled out her wand. She placed a Strengthening Charm on it, so it would bear all the weight, and after she finished, Neville came back with the rod he had found underneath the sink in the boys' toilet. Hermione attached it to the bottom of the hanger with a Binding Charm so that the ends protruded on either side, wide enough for the rider's hands.
"All right, that should do it," she said, dusting off her hands. Harry, Ginny, Parvati, and Ron watched her in amazement, but then snapped out of it when she clapped in front of their faces. "What's wrong? Just because I made a zipline, doesn't mean you have to stare. Now, all of you, go upstairs and change into old clothes." They all obeyed and bolted up the stairs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ardis watched happily through the mirror as all of the boys and girls, dressed in their old cut-offs and t-shirts, trooped outside to where the one boy whose mind she tickled was tying the rope. She flew to the door, but was stopped by Sidra who cast a waterproof spell on her daughter.
"Mother, I have to go," Ardis complained, struggling to break free.
"I won't have you coming back with a cold," Sidra scolded, but finally let Ardis go. Ardis zoomed over grass and rock, reveling in the cool drops that fell onto her skin but did not soak her, due to that waterproof spell. She met Luke next to the lake, where he was swinging from a blade of grass. She fluttered next to him.
"Ardis! There you are," Luke said excitedly. "Everything's in order. How'd you get them to come out?" Ardis smiled proudly.
"I put a brilliant thought into that dark-skinned boy there," she said happily. "He had an idea to play a game outside." Luke nodded.
"Everyone's ready with their small spells," he said. "Are you?" Ardis clapped her hands.
"Let's do this!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hermione! Over here!" shouted Dean, who was helping hold the ladder that Seamus was climbing up. Hermione ran over and hung the hanger on the rope, bent the hook so it formed a ring and with yet another of her reserved Charms, welded the end of the hook to the hanger. Dean looked incredibly impressed at the show of efficiency and told her so. Hermione flushed appreciatively and cast another Strengthening Charm on it.
Seamus had succeeded in tying the rope, magically of course (so it wouldn't come loose), and the handles hung loosely at the top. Ginny, not wanting to be left out of this show of magical talent, pulled out her own wand and pointed it at the rope. It wriggled, then stiffened into a rigid line that extended over the lake.
"I've bewitched it tho that you drop off at the end and the handleth will take themthelveth back up to the top," Ginny shouted up to Seamus. Harry, Ron, Neville, and everyone else were anticipating the rush, by crowding under the ladder in a big line. Students from other houses had caught wind of this and had joined the group outside in the pouring rain. Harry was deciding that Ginny looked particularly pretty when her hair was all wet. Weird, I am…
"Hey Theamuth?" Ginny called. "Could I try it firtht?" Seamus climbed down to join the group. Ginny put her wand next to the wall for safekeeping, everyone followed suit and set their wands next to hers.
"Be my guest, Gin," he grinned. He helped her up and she gripped the handles tightly in her fists.
"Here goeth," she muttered. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" She screamed as she hurtled across the grounds and over the lake. Harry admired how her hair flew behind her despite all of the rain. Ginny reached the end and dropped into the lake with a huge splash and disappeared beneath the surface.
Everyone tensed, holding their breaths. Harry was staring not daring to blink. If she drowns, I will die…Ginny, come up! Suddenly, a head covered with a mane of crimson hair broke the surface, and Ginny emerged, arms held high above her head in a show of victory. Everyone cheered, but no one as loudly as Ron or Harry. Neville, with much urging from the others, was prodded up the ladder and was shaking visibly as he held on.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, quaking.
"We're right behind you, Nev," Harry shouted. "I'm right after you!" Neville nodded, shifted his grip, gulped and pushed off. They heard him holler the whole way down, and watched him drop into the gray water of the lake. Harry, who by now had climbed the ladder, grabbed the handles that had just returned to the top.
"All right, Neville!" screamed the crowd as they saw him come up triumphantly. Ginny hugged Neville and Harry felt a rush of jealousy. Stop that, she's hugging him as a friend, she does that with everyone…Harry clenched his fists and pushed off. He felt himself fly through the air, the cold wind whipping through his hair and in his face, chilling him. He reached the end of the rope and dropped off, yelling, and broke the surface of the water. He was pushed deep and he fought to swim back up to the surface. As his head emerged, he was met by Ginny who was laughing madly.
"Oh Harry, thith is tho great! Wathn't that brilliant?!" she crowed, splashing water in his face. He spluttered and lunged after her, splashing back. Body after body hit the water, as everyone came flying down. This would be a day to remember. He'd have to tell Dean how brilliant he was. He slowed down, treading water, and met the intense gaze of Ginny Weasley. A sudden warmth filled his stomach and he was plagued by a huge case of nerves. Glancing around, he saw Ron dragging Hermione through the water, while she was giggling crazily. Dean and Parvati were starting a huge water fight with the rest of the kids. Seamus and Lavender were pretending to waltz in the water, and he, Harry, was staring right back at Ginny again.
Suddenly, it seemed as though the world had come to a standstill, the raindrops were beating out a peculiar but pleasing rhythm on the surface, the wind was making whistling noises, and it seemed as though heavens had opened and the angels were sending music from a celestial orchestra. Strange feelings erupted within and he glanced at Ginny again who was smiling at him.
It seemed to him as though a low, mellow voice, started to sing, within him or somewhere else, he didn't know.
There you see her
Swimming there across the way.
She don't got a lot to say,
But there's something about her…
And you don't know why,
But you're dying to try…
You wanna kiss the girl…
"What?" Harry said aloud. Surely this wasn't happening. But he had to admit, Ginny looked particularly beautiful right now. And downright mischievous, as he was about to find out.
"Think fatht, Potter," she shouted, diving at him and pushing him under the water. Harry fought to break her grip and pushed up towards the surface. He didn't see her anywhere and whirled around to catch her trying to swim away. He kicked the water and swam at her, grabbed her ankles and dragged her under. He finally let her come up gasping.
"Never provoke me, Weasley," he grinned, panting from the exertion of trying to hold her down. Her brown eyes sparkled and her smile lit up her face. Harry again felt that warmth in his stomach and the urging voice. Who was singing anyway? No one else looked like they could hear anything. He treaded water, agonizing about whether it would be a good idea to say anything or to just shut up and grab her.
Yes, you want her…
Look at her, you know you do.
Possible she wants you too,
There is one way to ask her,
It don't take a word,
Not a single word,
Go on and kiss the girl…
"Watch out, Harry!" Ron bellowed. He tore off through the water, where he was being chased by the rest of the group. The red-headed oaf knocked Ginny right into Harry's arms and he automatically closed them around her. Ginny froze, her eyes wide and intense. Harry gulped. Oh Merlin, what do I do now? Look at her…I might as well be petrified, I can't move… Ginny's hands were resting gently on his shoulders. Harry's stomach and heart did aerial cartwheels, and he slowly leaned forward. Panic seized him and he leaned back. Hurt filled her eyes and she pushed away from him and swam away.
Stupid, stupid…Harry sank below the surface to collect his thoughts. The low, melodic voice followed him beneath the water. The ethereal music was urging him to find Ginny and not be a coward. Now what will she think of me? I didn't mean to hurt her feelings…Wait-- does that mean she wanted me to kiss her? Harry came back up gasping and looked carefully around. She was sitting on a nearby rock, her knees pulled up under her chin, her face blushing. Hermione was floating beneath her whispering something. Harry watched Ginny shake her head, causing the wet locks to fly around her shoulders.
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
My, oh my,
Looks like the boy too shy
Ain't gonna kiss the girl…
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Ain't that sad, ain't it a shame?
Too bad, he gonna miss the girl…
I am not shy…Yes, I am…Harry moaned inwardly. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing her with someone else, and he couldn't bear the thought, that he had to go up to her and tell her about his Who-Knows-How-Long-It's-Been feelings. The pitter-patter of the raindrops seemed to urging him forward towards that rock she was sitting on. He swam forward, and then floated backwards, swam forward, and then floated backwards. He wanted to hit his head against something, but the only something was that rock she was perched on. And at the rate he was going, he was never going to get anywhere. And the singing kept on going. Oh, did he want to comply with its suggestions, but he was too scared. Arrrggggghhhhh!
Now's your moment,
Floating in a blue lagoon,
Boy, you'd better do it soon,
No time will be better…
She don't say a word,
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl…
Harry gritted his teeth and swam forward, closer and closer to that rock, where the red-haired siren sat. He was quite sure he was going to his death. Who was singing anyway? It sure wasn't Ron, and it wasn't Ginny either. Probably some fairy godmother…Yeah, right… He reached the rock and came up behind her, so she hadn't noticed him, he reached up to tap her on the back and…
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Don't be scared,
You got the mood prepared,
Go on and kiss the girl…
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Don't stop now,
Don't try to hide it how
You wanna kiss the girl
…grabbed her ankle, pulling her into the water. She came up gasping, holding onto him, and blushing furiously when she saw it was him. She tried to struggle away, but Harry wouldn't let her go. She finally stopped and gazed at him for a second before lowering her eyes.
"What do you want, Harry?" she asked, eyes cast down. Exactly what do I want? Yeah, I want to kiss her…But what if she hits me? What if Ron hits me? Harry found it suddenly difficult to breathe. He tensed. The voice sang on, convincing him to act. The music swelled to a magnificent volume, that obviously only he could hear.
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Float along,
And listen to the song,
The song say "Kiss the girl!"
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Music play, do what the music say,
You gotta kiss the girl…
Harry leaned closer, looking at her pink mouth. Ginny's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned towards him too. Dobby's tea cozy…I don't believe this is happening…A loud voice broke his thoughts.
"Oy, Harry, just what do you think you're doing?" Ron bellowed, but Harry failed to see the big smile on his face… and all of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff's faces. All, of course, were observing intently, silently cheering them on.
You've got to kiss the girl,
Why don't you kiss the girl?
Closer and closer, until their lips were nearly touching… Harry hovered hesitating… Was this really the best idea? He started to get scared and moved the slightest bit backwards…
You gotta kiss the girl…
Go on and kiss the girl…
…but two arms grabbed him around the neck and pulled him, and his lips landed on hers. The music swelled as did his feelings… Pouring every ounce of himself into that kiss, Harry heard the cheers behind him and blushed, but did not break away. The kiss finally ended and Ginny broke away, flushed but delighted.
"What wath that?" she asked, still holding him. Harry grinned.
"I think that'th what you call a kith," he said, and laughed. "Look what you've done!"
"I'm not quite thyure I've got the hang of it," Ginny winked. "Want to try it again?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. Did she just say what I thought she said?
"Thyure…" Harry complied and they kissed again in the rain. The violins and the angels absolutely sang that time, Harry was positive. Or whoever was singing…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ardis squealed in delight, threw her arms around Luke and hugged him with all her might. "Oh, isn't wonderful! My first try and it worked! Did I sing all right?"
She let go of him and looked at his face. His blue eyes held her green-eyed gaze and she couldn't look away.
"Luke, why are you looking at me like that?" Ardis said nervously. Oh dear…Am I that obvious? Only Mum knew I liked him…I thought…
"Do what the music say," Luke blurted. Oh my…Never thought of this…Mmmm…very nice indeed…This day has been very…rewarding…
The End
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's Note: Hope you liked that… I had to get it out of my system… I think that was original enough. Anyways, please review… Or I'll cry… You don't want to see me cry, do you? You don't? Oh good, now R-E-V-I-E-W!!!!! Please.
Oh yeah…
Conciliatrix- a matchmaker ::winks::
Oh yeah, the second one…
Those of you who have me on author alert, I expect at least half of you to drop me a line or two… This is not a request. Thanks!
And one more thing…
I'll post a few outtakes in a little while… They're too funny for me to pass up!