Chapter 4: Dealing with the Keeper
Harry and Ginny soon found out that secret dating was not precisely easy at Hogwarts. They sat together only at lunch, and during the other meals they just greeted each other quickly. The first couple of days they met every midnight at the Common Room, but then they thought that their morning weariness might easily accuse them. So they cut their late meetings to two per week, something that Harry found awfully scarce. For the last Hogsmeade day of the year they went with Ron, Hermione and Neville. Inviting Neville had been Ginny´s idea, and Harry accepted it but didn´t much like it, especially because he suspected that it had been Neville who sent Ginny the "poem thing". Ron didn´t agree with Harry on this theory, for Ron was almost sure that it had been Dean Thomas.
"After all, she dumped him the second day of the term" said Ron to establish his reasoning."But why would you matter about that?".
Harry hardly avoided a gasp, and shrugged trying to look innocent.
If Ron and Hermione were not telling him about whatever was going on between them (and Harry and Ginny would have bet that something was indeed going on), Harry would neither say a word about him and Ginny.
Harry was quite relieved when the Christmas Holidays began, although he would have preferred to spend them at he Burrow and not at Grimmauld 12. The same afternoon they arrived, Mrs. Weasley sent Harry and Ginny to clean the attic, and they both went upstairs trying to complain convincingly.
Ginny locked the door, and some hours later, when Hermione went to call them to dinner, they had not clean a single thing. Ginny opened the door, and Hermione looked at them questioningly.
"Why was the door locked?"
Ginny lied openly: "We were afraid that something would emerge from the trunks and escape to another room".
Hermione looked at the untouched mess of the room, at Harry´s particularly untidy hair, and at Ginny´s very red ears, and smiled understandingly.
"I see it...You two were...I knew it!! Oh, when I tell it to Ron..."
"Oh no, it´s very important to keep this secret". And Harry told her about Dumbledore´s and McGonagall´s warnings.
"But Ron..." Hermione muttered.
"Why would you have to tell him?" asked Ginny, raising an eyebrow. Harry followed her strategy, and added:
"That´s true...I can´t see why you could not hide something from Ron."
This was Hermione´s turn to blush. She sighed with resignation, and nodded.
Nevertheless, Ron found it out four days later, when he opened the door of the wardrobe where Harry and Ginny were hidden.
"OOHH! I knew it... When I tell this to Hermione..."
"On no" Ginny cried."It´s really important to keep this secret". And she told him the same story they had previously told Hermione.
Ron seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea of hiding something from Hermione, but said nothing.
"Fred and George would be very proud of you" Harry told Ginny when they were alone again.
Their entertainment lasted until the day before returning to Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny had slipped away after dinner, and when they opened the door of the wardrobe where Ron had found them, they discovered that it was already occupied
"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Hermione!" Harry cried.
Ron and Hermione blushed furiously, but looking at them mischievously. Harry and Ginny noticed that they still were holding hands.
"So you two..." said Ron, not sounding surprised at all.
Hermione stared at him.
"You knew it!" she told him.
"I didn´t... wait... you knew it!" Ron said quite offended.
After making all the required explanations, Ginny asked:
"How long have you...mmm...dating... since the first Hogsmeade day?"
Ron looked at Hermione, who muttered: "More or less". "Before that?!" exclaimed Harry.
So Harry and Ginny learnt from Ron and Hermione (more precisely from Hermione) all the tricks they had been using to fool them. And they found them quite useful.
------------------------This chapter is much shorter than the previous ones. Perhaps it´s more like a corollary to chapter 3 and an introduction to chapter 5.
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