CHEEK TO CHEEK
- Part 2 -
Ron watched
Harry closely for a few minutes. He remembered that Harry had been rather
attracted to his little sister during their seventh year at Hogwarts, but Harry
had never given voice to these feelings. He and Hermione had simply noticed
that Harry had been more attentive towards Ginny during the last few months.
But then it was time for them to leave Hogwarts and Harry had decided to leave
England. Now, two years later, Harry still seemed to have some sort of feelings
for Ginny… Otherwise, he never would have behaved the way he had when she had
come into the kitchen just now.
"So, tell
me," said Ron, deciding to bring up a subject that was sure to put Harry off
his guard. "What are the girls like where you were?"
Harry looked
at his friend. He thought Ron looked as if he had something up his sleeve.
"They're
great, of course."
"So?"
"So what?
They're great. That's it."
"Oh, come
on. Spill it."
Harry
hesitated for a moment before going on.
"Well, they're very , er, affectionate."
Ron burst
out laughing. "What do you mean by that?"
Harry had
to laugh as well. "Well, maybe not affectionate. Er…
Nice."
Ron laughed
even harder. He loved talking about girls with Harry. He knew this subject made
Harry feel very uncomfortable. He brought his laughter under control and went
on.
"So? I want
details. I think there was a Gina or something like that…"
Harry
nodded. "It was Tina."
"What about
Tina?"
"What makes
you so curious all of a sudden?"
"I'm your
friend, aren't I? I want to know everything."
"Well, we
dated… For about three weeks…"
"What
happened?"
Harry
sighed. He knew he was going to look ridiculous. "She wasn't looking for a
boyfriend. She just wanted… to sleep with me…"
Ron's eyes
were round as saucers in his surprise that a girl might only be interested in
sex. "I hope you took advantage of that!"
Harry
considered his options. He could tell Ron he'd slept with her…Ron would never
find out the truth. But surprisingly, Harry heard himself say, "No."
"What?"
cried Ron, before he burst out laughing once more.
Harry tried
to make Ron listen. "Stop it! It's not
funny!" Exasperated by Ron's attitude, he tried again. "I'm not interested in
that!"
But Ron
just laughed harder.
"Will you
stop? What was I supposed to do? Sleep with her just because she wanted to?"
"Was she
pretty?" The question startled Harry. He turned to see Ginny, a broad smile on
her face, standing in the doorway. Harry didn't know whether he should laugh or
cry. If he did anything, he wanted to avoid discussing his sex life in front of
a girl he found so attractive.
Faced with
Harry's embarrassment, Ginny sat down at the table with the boys and asked her
question again. "I really want to know. Was she pretty?"
Seeing that
Ginny was serious, Harry blushed and answered her just as seriously. "Yes,
very."
Now Ginny
began to laugh. "And you said no?"
Harry was
beginning to get angry, but he forced a smile. "So?"
"Nothing,"
replied Ginny. "Maybe you should have. Not all girls are like that."
"That's not
the sort of girl I want to sleep with the first time," Harry grated out.
Ginny and
Ron were both shocked.
Harry
smiled a bit. "That got you, didn't it?"
Ron became
serious again and asked, "is it true?"
Harry
turned to him, still smiling. "Maybe…"
Ron looked
at Harry closely, trying to read the truth in his eyes. But Harry's face
remained unreadable.
Ginny broke
the silence. "Anyway, it doesn't matter… Lots of blokes are still virgins at 19."
Harry
looked at her. "Er…"
Seeing that
both Ron and Harry were staring at her, she continued. "It's true. And it's
nice to find a boy who doesn't want to lose his virginity with just anybody."
"Wait,
Ginny. You don't understand," Harry tried to explain. "It's not that I never…
Maybe I…"
"Harry !
I said it was okay! Lots of girls would like that!"
Harry
forced himself to ignore Ron, who had begun to laugh again. Ron obviously
didn't have this problem, since he and Hermione had already consummated their
relationship several years earlier.
"Just
forget it!" Harry finally said, as he got up from the table. He took his empty
plate and glass to the sink.
Ginny
signalled Ron to leave, and Ron did. He suddenly felt like talking to Hermione.
Ginny went over to Harry and leaned against the counter. Harry was washing his
plate with a sponge. Harry blushed under her scrutiny. In an attempt to appear
relaxed, he rushed through the washing up and managed to break the plate in his
hands.
"Shit!"
"Hold on!"
Ginny had scarcely said the words, when she wiped the blood from his hand with
a clean cloth.
"Sorry
about the plate." He saw Ginny smile.
"It's all
right… Let's have a look at your cut." She removed the cloth, revealing a
zigzag shaped cut on Harry's hand.
"That looks
like…" Ginny trailed off. Then she muttered a few more words.
"Looks like
what?" asked Harry, who looked at his hand and then the plate which were both
now as good as new.
Ginny
looked up at him and smiled. "Like that!" She ran her fingers over Harry's
forehead.
Harry
couldn't breathe for a moment. Ginny was so at ease with him, and this came as
a total surprise. He remembered the end of his seventh year, when he had
managed to be so at ease with her. He thought it strange that she seemed to
take this ease for granted now… as if he'd never gone away. He somehow found
this thought comforting. Maybe they could take up where they'd left off. Harry
smiled to himself, remembering that they'd never actually got very far, since
he had never been able to properly express his feelings. They'd never even got
as far as kissing.
"Now, about
your virginity…" Ginny brought up the subject again.
"Just drop
it." Harry began washing up again. "Anyway I'm not a virgin."
"No?"
Harry
couldn't tell from her tone if she was surprised or disappointed to drop the subject.
She certainly seemed to know more than he did about such matters.
"Ginny !
I'm off!"
Harry felt
Ginny jump next to him, and she walked quickly out of the kitchen, saying, "I
forgot all about him!"
Next, Harry
heard Ginny laugh, and he didn't like that. It wasn't that he didn't like the
sound of her laugh, no. It was the thought that her stupid boyfriend had made
her laugh. Harry felt that he should be the only person who made her laugh. But he knew he hadn't been
there for two years, and during those two years, she had found others who made
her laugh, and who made her tremble.
Harry left the kitchen promising himself that he would do everything he could to make up for the time he'd lost with Ginny. Going towards the stairs, he saw Ginny and her boyfriend in the doorway. He couldn't help staring at them as they kissed passionately. A noise from the floor above made him look up for a second. Ron was watching him from the top of the stairs and signalling him to come up. Harry began to climb the stairs but couldn't help looking one last time towards the door. He saw Ginny's boyfriend put his hand under her robe, which distracted him and caused him to miss the next step. In the next instant, Harry fell back three steps. When he'd gathered his scattered thoughts, he glanced up at Ron who was doubled over with laughter. Harry sighed. It was time he put an end to his own suffering and did something about it.