Two Can Play At That Game
By: ProngsLivesOn125
Disclaimer: If you really think that I own Harry Potter, you need to schedule an appointment at St. Mungo's. I don't own Harry Potter!
Summary: Post Hogwarts. He's and international quidditch star. She's a Reporter for the Prophet. Can two old friends find love in the midst of a lousy quidditch game? Will it take something more to make it last?
Authors Note: Sorry about not updating, but here is chapter 11 Anyway. I really don't have much of an authors note for this chapter, but the only thing I can say is that I'm really sorry about not being able to update! Thanks for the reviews from chapter 9 though!
Chapter 11: Harry Potter's Night of Romance
Ginny popped home and saw that her roommate Sherry was sitting on the couch in a bathrobe once again going through the same copy of Which Weekly. Wonder if she ever gets bored of reading the same thing over and over again, Ginny thought to herself.
"So" Sherry said in a tone that indicated she had been sitting on that couch all night. "Who was he?"
"Oh" said Ginny quickly thinking up a lie. "He was just some guy I met at the paper."
"No, I meant who did you have a full snog session with? Sherry replied noticing Ginny's face.
Ginny thought up another lie. "What are you talking about? I was just interviewing him."
Yeah, interviewing his tonsils, more like." Sherry snickered. Ginny ran to her room and looked in a mirror. She looked like a living hell. Her makeup was smeared and there was lipstick smears on the side of her lips. "Scorgify" she said quickly and sat down on her bed and groaned. It had been a confusing night. She thought back on the whole date:
The 'activities' in the limo had been rather heated and sudden. But it wasn't like you didn't enjoy it and you've known each other for a long time. Still, Ginny argued with herself, the both of you are two lonely people whose senses snapped. You know it meant something to Harry and it definitely meant something you too. No, no it didn't. Then why did you kiss him again after he showed you the rooftop? It was polite? And Ron is the Headmaster of Hogwarts
Silently Harry walked around his flat trying to get his mind off of her. He knew Ginny didn't know what was coming. Tomorrow the paper's front page would read in big, black, bold, letters HARRY POTTER'S NIGHT OF ROMANCE, [or something cheesy like that, Harry thought] and the picture of Harry and Ginny kissing would be right there to accompany it. Damn it! He swore at himself. He should have known this was coming. Everything, with the exception of him being late, was going fine, too. He thought back to the limo, and he had kissed her. He'd enjoyed all of it, he thought she had too. But it was something that made this different. He had just snapped. Why? It seemed strange to Harry that something as simple as a kiss could break him when not even the most powerful wizard's spell could. Not for the first time in his life, but for the first time in a while, Harry Potter was in bewilderment. Why had he wanted her so bad? For that matter, why did Ginny participate so willingly? As he walked into the bedroom Harry walked past a mirror and looked at himself. There were traces or dark red lips all along his jaw line and around his lips. Looking at everyone one of them, he remembered every kiss, every emotion. We went to the bathroom to wash off his face. He took off his glasses and turned on the tap. When he looked up at his face it looked empty without the lips; Ginny's lips.
The next morning, Harry woke early. He was waiting for the 'Prophet' to be delivered. It came; he read: HARRY POTTER'S NIGHT OF ROMANCE
As told to Sarah Stevens
Pictures and Story by sources who wishes to remain nameless.
It seems that the rumors that Harry Potter, the world famous bachelor and seeker, being married are not true at all. Last night a source, who wished to remain nameless, tells the Prophet exclusively that they witnessed several places that Mr. Potter attended last night with the once mysterious red-head that he was seen with just a few short days ago attending a Chudley Cannons game. This once thought 'scarlet woman' turns out to be no other than Mary-Jane, Ginny Weasley, who is a sports reporter here at 'The Daily Prophet'. Mr. Potter and his 'date' attended a restaurant in down-town London and then were escorted into a limousine, a muggle transportation which is used for special events. The source says that 'they got into the muggle thing- the long black one- and then the sped off. Heaven knows what they did inside!" Another source says that they were 'walking down an ally where I had just got me pictures devel'ped when this really fancy muggle thing pulled up and just stopped there. No one got out, but I though' it was interesting so I stayed. Then Potter and this woman got out of the thing and he led her up a building. I've always wanted to meet him [Harry Potter] so I followed. When I got up the stairs, there he was, kissin' the girl. I had me camera, and took a shot, then the girl vanished, and [Potter] started swearin' and then I left.' It appears Mr. Potter will have to choose better places to engage in such activities somewhere other than in the view of the public. As for all the girls in Brittan, you can breathe a little easier. Harry Potter not married and it seems that this 'fling' won't last long.
Then the worst part of the article appeared. Right in the middle of the front page, the picture was there. It showed Ginny cupping his face and then kissing him squarely on the mouth.
A very moody Ginny Weasley woke up the next morning. She showered, ate and left the flat before Sherry could even say a word. She didn't want to deal with anybody. Apparating to work, she wandered over to her desk. Not amazed by the fact that there were owls waiting for her, Ginny sat down and took all of the letters from the owls which left. Ginny tore open the first letter and read it. By the end of the letter, she had a very angry feeling. She was moody; she was ticked off; and she didn't want her personal life posted all over the news. The feeling worsened. She dropped the letters and walked over to a desk not far from her.
"Hey Sophia?" Ginny asked a girl with black hair and pink highlights. She was one of the only friends that Ginny had at work.
"Hey Gin! What's wrong?" Sophia said compasonatly.
"Um, I'm going to go home." Ginny said, half wanting to cry, half wanting to run into the gossip department of the Daily Prophet and tear Sarah Stevens head off.
"What happened, Ginny?" Sophia said starting to get worried.
"Could you get my owls for me and if Terry asks, I never came to work, alright?" Ginny said her voice re-gaining some strength.
"Alright you feel better." Sophia said giving her a hug. Then Ginny was gone. After she left, Sophia went over to Ginny's desk to clean it up and make it look like no one was there. She stacked the envelopes up in a pile. Then she noticed two slips of parchment on the ground. One read:
'You are the worst person in the world. I can't believe you would get someone as nice as Harry Potter in trouble the way you did. You are truly just a 'fling' so I hope that kiss meant absolutely nothing to you!'
The other was worse:
'I hope you don't believe for a minute that some one as good as Harry Potter could have any feelings for a sports writer, [and a lousy one at that] like yourself. Go back to the dirt from which you came from!'
Sophia stared at the letters in confusion. Harry Potter and Ginny? She hadn't read the 'Prophet' this morning. Then she noticed a copy of the Prophet sitting on Ginny's desk. It was a picture of Ginny and Harry kissing. Sophia read the article. She felt so bad for Ginny at that moment. Now she knew why Ginny was upset. Who would want her personal life displayed all over England? She took the opened letters and slipped them in her pocket and went back to work.
Harry put the paper down and sighed heavily. He hated the people down at the Prophet. They always made something seem so different than it really was. He had to make it up to Ginny somehow. He wondered if she would even read the paper. He got out of his room and got ready. He had to go see Ginny and he didn't care what she said.
Ginny got home and was pleased to see that Sherry wasn't there. She changed back into her comfy clothes [a pair of adidas shorts and a white tank top] and went to lie down on the couch. The words of the article and the 'hate mail' came back to her. Ginny tried not to think about that, but it just kept coming back to her over and over again. Then there was a knock on her door. If it's a bloody reporter, I swear.... Ginny thought as she went to answer it.
'Who is it?" she said savagely tearing open the door. When she opened it, her face softened. A slight blush appeared on her face.
There is the end of the chapter. It was getting quite long if I do say so myself. Not that that's bad for you, but the next one is there too. So enjoy it.
Cheers,
Prongs
