Chapter 7: Classes Finally Start
Ginny awoke the next morning as the sun filtered in through the bed curtains and fell across her eyes. She closed them again and attempted to burrow into the bed to avoid the sun but she encountered a warm wall. Thoroughly confused, she lay still and shoved her mind out of slumber in an attempt to explain the situation. Shortly after, arms tightened around her and everything came slamming into sharp focus. She remembered the horrid dream she had, the dull ache of the cut on her neck, and the warmth Harry gave her. Upon that last thought, her face turned a shade that rivaled her hair as she realized she still lay in his bed; in his arms, no less. And, she discovered she liked it.
"Good morning, Gin. How are you feeling this morning?" Harry asked, his breath brushing across her cheek. She shivered in response.
"Much better than last night, that's for sure. Thank you for listening, again," she answered honestly.
"You're more than welcome." As Harry finished, a flap of wings told him Hedwig arrived and he looked to find a letter attached to her leg. Ginny saw it too and rose to head back to her room but Harry stopped her.
"Hang on Gin. Are you planning on telling Professor Dumbledore about last night's dream?" he asked.
"I really don't want to; especially after I told him that I didn't need it. As such, I didn't take the potion and look what happened. I blatantly ignored what he told me to do. I don't think I could face him with it," she replied.
"Ginny, he won't hurt you for not taking his advice. Heck, with the number of times I disregarded it, I'm sure he's used to students not necessarily following his advice. Besides, he might be able to give you some more suggestions since the potion seems to be out of the question."
"No, you don't understand. I argued with him and did my own thing, believing I was right. Now look what happened. I saw all that stuff and I caused a whole family to be killed. It could have."
"Assume you did take it last night. All it would have prevented is the knowledge of what Voldemort was doing and that gash on your neck. While the rest of us are more than a little worried about that, you don't seem to be. We went through this last night, Ginny. I strongly suggest you tell Dumbledore. Like I said before, maybe he will have some ideas for you," Harry said firmly, leaving little room for argument.
"I'll think about it," Ginny replied as she stood up to go.
"Wait, Gin. Here, take the invisibility cloak so you can get back unnoticed and avoid trouble." As she stepped forward to take the cloak, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Please be careful." Without another word, he gave her the cloak and gently pushed her out the room. Turning around, he fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't believe he did that. What on earth ever possessed him to kiss her as she left? He couldn't answer himself; it was completely beyond him. He spent the rest of the morning laying there thinking about the last several days. Ron found him in the same spot a couple hours later and they prepared for their first day of lessons.
***********
Ginny, hidden by the cloak, made her way back up the stairs to the girl's dormitory and opened the door. Crossing the threshold, she removed the cloak and, walking over, sank down on her bed. Images of last night kept flooding her mind as she thought about the events. Everything from her time in Horror Manor, as she dubbed it, to the conversations with Harry, including the one from this morning, circled furiously in her head. Stubbornly, she fought off the headache that threatened to consume her while the thoughts enjoyed their ride on whatever rollercoaster they were on. She finally decided that talking to Dumbledore would be a good idea and would mention her desire to speak with him at breakfast. Looking over at the clock, she realized it was time to get ready for another year of classes so she rose and tried to control her blushing as she recalled the events with Harry. Why'd he kiss her before she left? Shrugging, she ran into the bathroom before her roommates took it.
Later that morning, everyone sat at the breakfast table talking about random things that were not addressed the night before while teachers handed out the timetables. Harry, Ron and Hermione went through their normal groaning at double potions that started their day, while Ginny looked mildly pleased at her first class, Care of Magical Creatures. She became slightly worried about it, though, as Hagrid sat at the head table grinning and looking for all the world like he couldn't wait to get to class. Leaning forward, she mentioned it to the other three.
"Um, do you guys think I should worry about class since Hagrid looks so excited to start classes? Just this once, I'm thinking it might be a better idea to accompany you down to the dungeons for a round of double potions," she said. The other three simply chuckled at her, though they envied her first class.
"Ok. Ginny, I will give you the utmost honor of taking my timetable for the next two hours and going to that class while I go to your class," Ron responded, sounding like he was presenting her with the biggest honor anyone could ask for.
"Gee, thanks, Ron. However, after closer inspection, I feel it would be a much better choice to not give the professors a heart attack so early in the semester. We should look into performing something of that nature later in the year." Neither Harry nor Hermione managed to keep in their laughter at their friends' antics.
Still laughing, they all rose to head to their classes since most of the school had already left. Ginny excused herself from the group and went to talk to Professor Dumbledore, much to Harry's pleasure, while the other three descended down to the dungeons. Expecting to be thoroughly picked on and annoyed, they were not disappointed as the class maintained its horrible experience.
Meanwhile, Ginny approached Dumbledore at the head table, slightly nervously. Finally coming to a stop before him, she shifted her weight uncomfortably while she searched for the right words to use. Of course, the headmaster helped her out by speaking first.
"Good morning, Miss Weasley. You look like you slept reasonably well. I hope the night wasn't too much of a problem for you," he replied with a kind smile and a small twinkle in his eye.
"Actually, Professor, I was wondering if we could discuss that. Part of it was good but the other part wasn't nearly as good," she replied honestly.
"I see. We can discuss it now if you are willing." She nodded and followed him out of the Great Hall to his office. Once there, he settled into his chair and pulled out a dish of candy. "Would you care for a small piece? Don't tell anyone about this stash, please. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would skin me alive." As Ginny shook her head, he continued. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny took a deep, steadying breath and launched into the story. She left nothing out except her escapade in the night to the boy's dormitory. During her story, she never once looked at Dumbledore directly, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod periodically. Finally, she reached the end and chanced a look at him. He sat there with concern in his eyes. Ginny thought she may have detected a hint that he already knew all she told him but she wasn't sure. However, she was very surprised to discover absolutely no trace of disappointment in his eyes.
"Thank you for sharing these events with me. I appreciate your willingness to be open with me and I ask that you continue to do so." At her meek nod, he continued. "Yesterday, you said the potion wore off, yet you still didn't have any nightmares. Why is that, do you think? We know it's not because Voldemort is leaving you alone, so what do you think it is?"
Ginny simply sat there, letting his words sink in. He had a good point. Why didn't she have any dreams yesterday? Losing herself in thought, she excused herself from his office, and proceeded down to her first class. She remained lost in thought, completely oblivious of her surroundings until she came face to face with a white fox. She blinked and the fax blinked back at her. It took her a solid minute to realize the fox wasn't floating but resting in Hagrid's large arms. She smiled up at her friend apologetically and he returned it.
"Ya alright there, Ginny?" he asked her.
"Sorry, Hagrid. Yes, I'm fine. I was just lost in though and wasn't paying attention." Ginny broke off her excuses when the fox's tails came up and brushed her chin. All four tails. Now she understood why Hagrid had the class looking at foxes. Looking around, she realized all the foxes had multiple tails, although she had the only white one. Hagrid handed it to her and walked off to continue the class. As he explained about the strange foxes, she looked at hers again and he licked her face, his golden eyes seemed to glitter back at her.
Before they realized it, the class ended and the sixth years proceeded to a typically horrid potions lesson. The lesson managed to bring Ginny a week of detention as she melted her cauldron when she stirred it. Thinking back to what Dumbledore said, she lost her thoughts, concentration, and control on her magic. As she stirred the potion, her power overloaded with the stirring action and the cauldron just melted down without any chemical reaction, spilling the potion everywhere. Needless to say, Snape was enraged. A week of detentions later, Ginny was allowed to run off to her next classes.
The rest of the day went slightly better since those classes were purely lecture and she could safely get away with not paying attention to the professors. By the time she made it to Dumbledore's office that night, she was no closer to answering his question than she was that morning.
"Good evening, Miss Weasley. After hearing of the events of your potions class this morning, we will spend tonight working on control and keeping yourself in check at all times. Right now you are exhibiting some control over your powers since my office is still in one piece. Now, please call the pillow to you but don't catch it. I want you to keep it floating in front of you for as long as possible."
Ginny did as she was instructed and kept it in the air for a solid two minutes before she gasped and let it fall. Maintaining that had taken a surprising amount of energy and she felt tired, even after just two minutes. Shocked, but determine, she tried again. Under Dumbledore's watchful eye, she continued to practice until she could hold the pillow in the air for ten minutes, five when they began discussing various mundane topics. Finally, Dumbledore sent her back to the common room and she trudged out of the office.
By the time she reached the common room, she was a nervous wreck. She desperately needed sleep but feared another trip to the manor too much to head up to her bed. So, spotting the trio by the fire, she walked over and plopped down next to Harry. He looked at her and moved over slightly so she could have enough room to join them.
"So, how was your day, Ginny? We didn't see you at dinner. Where were you?" Hermione immediately questioned her friend.
"Oh, today was fine, barring the week of detentions I received in potions. Sorry I missed dinner; I was working with Professor Dumbledore this evening. Did you guys have Care of Magical Creatures today?" she asked changing the subject.
"Yeah, I thought those foxes were so cute," Hermione said, completely forgetting the lessons with Dumbledore for the moment.
"Grrr. My fox had to hate me or something. The bloody thing kept trying to either eat me or chase his tails. I don't know how Hagrid expects me to continue working with it. It despises me," Ron grumbled.
Ginny laughed at her brother's misfortune and turned to Harry. "So which fox did you work with? Was it a terror also?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye, her fatigue completely forgotten.
"No, my fox was fine. I think he really liked me but he kept looking at me. I wonder if he really liked me, if you know what I mean," he chuckled. Ginny just rolled her eyes at him and prodded him to continue. He smiled and complied. "The fox was white with golden eyes and four tails. He was pretty cool."
"I had that one, too!! He kept licking my face and staring at me," Ginny replied, slightly indignantly, causing all four students to burst out laughing. They continued talking into the night until Ginny's stomach let out a rather loud grumbling and Hermione released a huge yawn.
"Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you all in the morning," Hermione said, chuckling after the yawn.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that, too. Goodnight guys. Harry, you coming?" Ron added, glancing over to his girlfriend.
"No, I think I'm going to stay here a little while longer. I'll be up in a bit."
With a few final goodnights, the couple went up stairs to bed, eventually, after saying goodnight to each other. Harry and Ginny merely shook their heads as they watched the other two go. Finally, Harry turned to her and inquired about her lessons with Dumbledore.
"I never thought it took so much strength and power. We worked for such a long time and I feel like we got almost nothing done," she answered, truthfully.
"Don't worry about it. It takes time and you have to build up your endurance. It's kind of like a sport that you have to get into shape to play and be good at. Success doesn't come overnight, but I'm sure you know that," Harry said.
Ginny nodded and opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out except her stomach's growling protest to the lack of food in it.
"Go get my invisibility cloak and we'll get some food in you," Harry said through his laughter. Ginny blushed, remembering she had his cloak and the reason why she had. In an attempt to hide the blush, she turned and ran up to her room to get it. On her way up, she couldn't help but wonder how in the world, he was able to act like nothing happened last night in reference to the cape. Last night had thrown her whole view of him, and her resolve not to pursue anything further, into a whirlwind that left her completely confused. She wanted so much to be able to curl up in his arms again and just let him hold her and reassure her that everything would be fine. But she couldn't. That would undoubtedly destroy their friendship and she was not willing to risk that for any reason.
Upon reaching her room, she located the cloak and headed back downstairs to the common room. As Harry came back into sight, she firmly told herself that she could and would do nothing different. If something would come of their relationship, he had to be the one to instigate it. Holding on to that decision, she approached Harry with his cape and noticed he had retrieved the Marauder's Map while she was gone.
"Hi. I'm back," she said, announcing her return.
"Great. I got the map so hopefully we won't run into too much trouble on our way down. Now let's go get some munchies," he responded. She shook her head vigorously and they left for the kitchens. The journey was uneventful except for Peeves throwing sludge bombs around for the staff to see when they rose in the morning. Avoiding those had been a bit of a challenge. Finally, they reached the kitchen and Harry reached out to tickle the pears. When the picture swung open, they entered and removed the cloak only to have one of the house elves squeal and slam into Harry.
"Harry Potter, sir! You have come to visit Dobby! Is Harry Potter and his lady friend hungry? Dobby will get them food," the house elf said before disappearing again. Neither student had time to answer or even comprehend what happened nor who it was before they suddenly found themselves being led to the table which was laid out with various breads, cheeses, and pastries. Harry and Ginny sat down and began enjoying their meal. They ate amongst amiable conversation, discussing everything from the weather to names Ginny would pick for Bill's expected twins.
"I still think 'Rupert' would be perfect if they have a little boy," Ginny said.
"Oh, no! You couldn't do that to the poor kid."
"The poor kid? Have you heard what Fred and George want to name them? Billy Bob and Persephone. You have to admit, that would be just plain awful."
Harry released a laugh that seemed to reverberate off the kitchen walls and fill Ginny with its warmth.
"I'll give you that, Gin," he finally concluded. They continued to chuckle and eventually lapsed into a comfortable silence. All too soon, the food disappeared and their stomachs couldn't hold any more. Thanking the house elves generously, they went back in the hallway and wrapped the invisibility cloak around them again. With a final look at the map, they set off for their common room.
Harry struggled. Since the room under the cloak was so limited, he walked with his arm tucked firmly along her waist. This shouldn't be a problem for him. He'd done this same thing with Hermione so many times and not once had it been a problem for him. However, this position brought her so close to him that he could smell her shampoo and it made his heart do a funny flip flop. His thoughts continued down this path until a funny little voice in his head reminded him just who he was thinking about. If Ron found out, good friends or not, he would most probably have a fit. That is, if he wasn't too busy with other things. Harry smiled ruefully at that then shook his head in a physical attempt to clear it.
"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny's voice floated up to his ears and her breath brushed across his neck as she had turned to ask him. That did not help matters at all.
"I'm fine Gin. Let's just get back to the room," he replied.
"Um, Harry, we are back at the room."
"Oh. Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention."
"Obviously." Ginny spoke the password and a very sleepy and confused fat lady swung aside to let them enter the common room. Once they were inside, Ginny pulled off the cloak and turned to face Harry.
"Thank you for joining me down in the kitchens tonight. Oh and for allowing me to borrow the cloak last night and bothering you," she said, attempting to hand it back to Harry. He simply shook his head and pushed it back into her hands.
"You keep it for awhile. Just in case you need it again. You know, under that, it's a lot easier to get somewhere without being seen, whether your destination is the bathroom to clean up or somewhere else to gather your wits." Harry's eyes had a very peculiar gleam to them and Ginny couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him. "Goodnight, Ginny." That was all she got for her efforts. She bid him a good evening in return and stalked off to bed, the cloak clutched firmly beneath her arm. After getting ready for bed, she shook her head and climbed in, ready to deal with whatever the darkness decided to throw at her.
A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and to all the people who kept harping on me to get this chapter done. I'm so sorry it took so freaking long to get out. There really isn't a good excuse for it and I'm going to try desperately to get a chapter out much sooner this next time. I promise I will finish this story, it just might take awhile. As always, thanks for reading and please, please, please review as it does help motivate me to write faster.
Ginny awoke the next morning as the sun filtered in through the bed curtains and fell across her eyes. She closed them again and attempted to burrow into the bed to avoid the sun but she encountered a warm wall. Thoroughly confused, she lay still and shoved her mind out of slumber in an attempt to explain the situation. Shortly after, arms tightened around her and everything came slamming into sharp focus. She remembered the horrid dream she had, the dull ache of the cut on her neck, and the warmth Harry gave her. Upon that last thought, her face turned a shade that rivaled her hair as she realized she still lay in his bed; in his arms, no less. And, she discovered she liked it.
"Good morning, Gin. How are you feeling this morning?" Harry asked, his breath brushing across her cheek. She shivered in response.
"Much better than last night, that's for sure. Thank you for listening, again," she answered honestly.
"You're more than welcome." As Harry finished, a flap of wings told him Hedwig arrived and he looked to find a letter attached to her leg. Ginny saw it too and rose to head back to her room but Harry stopped her.
"Hang on Gin. Are you planning on telling Professor Dumbledore about last night's dream?" he asked.
"I really don't want to; especially after I told him that I didn't need it. As such, I didn't take the potion and look what happened. I blatantly ignored what he told me to do. I don't think I could face him with it," she replied.
"Ginny, he won't hurt you for not taking his advice. Heck, with the number of times I disregarded it, I'm sure he's used to students not necessarily following his advice. Besides, he might be able to give you some more suggestions since the potion seems to be out of the question."
"No, you don't understand. I argued with him and did my own thing, believing I was right. Now look what happened. I saw all that stuff and I caused a whole family to be killed. It could have."
"Assume you did take it last night. All it would have prevented is the knowledge of what Voldemort was doing and that gash on your neck. While the rest of us are more than a little worried about that, you don't seem to be. We went through this last night, Ginny. I strongly suggest you tell Dumbledore. Like I said before, maybe he will have some ideas for you," Harry said firmly, leaving little room for argument.
"I'll think about it," Ginny replied as she stood up to go.
"Wait, Gin. Here, take the invisibility cloak so you can get back unnoticed and avoid trouble." As she stepped forward to take the cloak, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Please be careful." Without another word, he gave her the cloak and gently pushed her out the room. Turning around, he fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't believe he did that. What on earth ever possessed him to kiss her as she left? He couldn't answer himself; it was completely beyond him. He spent the rest of the morning laying there thinking about the last several days. Ron found him in the same spot a couple hours later and they prepared for their first day of lessons.
***********
Ginny, hidden by the cloak, made her way back up the stairs to the girl's dormitory and opened the door. Crossing the threshold, she removed the cloak and, walking over, sank down on her bed. Images of last night kept flooding her mind as she thought about the events. Everything from her time in Horror Manor, as she dubbed it, to the conversations with Harry, including the one from this morning, circled furiously in her head. Stubbornly, she fought off the headache that threatened to consume her while the thoughts enjoyed their ride on whatever rollercoaster they were on. She finally decided that talking to Dumbledore would be a good idea and would mention her desire to speak with him at breakfast. Looking over at the clock, she realized it was time to get ready for another year of classes so she rose and tried to control her blushing as she recalled the events with Harry. Why'd he kiss her before she left? Shrugging, she ran into the bathroom before her roommates took it.
Later that morning, everyone sat at the breakfast table talking about random things that were not addressed the night before while teachers handed out the timetables. Harry, Ron and Hermione went through their normal groaning at double potions that started their day, while Ginny looked mildly pleased at her first class, Care of Magical Creatures. She became slightly worried about it, though, as Hagrid sat at the head table grinning and looking for all the world like he couldn't wait to get to class. Leaning forward, she mentioned it to the other three.
"Um, do you guys think I should worry about class since Hagrid looks so excited to start classes? Just this once, I'm thinking it might be a better idea to accompany you down to the dungeons for a round of double potions," she said. The other three simply chuckled at her, though they envied her first class.
"Ok. Ginny, I will give you the utmost honor of taking my timetable for the next two hours and going to that class while I go to your class," Ron responded, sounding like he was presenting her with the biggest honor anyone could ask for.
"Gee, thanks, Ron. However, after closer inspection, I feel it would be a much better choice to not give the professors a heart attack so early in the semester. We should look into performing something of that nature later in the year." Neither Harry nor Hermione managed to keep in their laughter at their friends' antics.
Still laughing, they all rose to head to their classes since most of the school had already left. Ginny excused herself from the group and went to talk to Professor Dumbledore, much to Harry's pleasure, while the other three descended down to the dungeons. Expecting to be thoroughly picked on and annoyed, they were not disappointed as the class maintained its horrible experience.
Meanwhile, Ginny approached Dumbledore at the head table, slightly nervously. Finally coming to a stop before him, she shifted her weight uncomfortably while she searched for the right words to use. Of course, the headmaster helped her out by speaking first.
"Good morning, Miss Weasley. You look like you slept reasonably well. I hope the night wasn't too much of a problem for you," he replied with a kind smile and a small twinkle in his eye.
"Actually, Professor, I was wondering if we could discuss that. Part of it was good but the other part wasn't nearly as good," she replied honestly.
"I see. We can discuss it now if you are willing." She nodded and followed him out of the Great Hall to his office. Once there, he settled into his chair and pulled out a dish of candy. "Would you care for a small piece? Don't tell anyone about this stash, please. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would skin me alive." As Ginny shook her head, he continued. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny took a deep, steadying breath and launched into the story. She left nothing out except her escapade in the night to the boy's dormitory. During her story, she never once looked at Dumbledore directly, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod periodically. Finally, she reached the end and chanced a look at him. He sat there with concern in his eyes. Ginny thought she may have detected a hint that he already knew all she told him but she wasn't sure. However, she was very surprised to discover absolutely no trace of disappointment in his eyes.
"Thank you for sharing these events with me. I appreciate your willingness to be open with me and I ask that you continue to do so." At her meek nod, he continued. "Yesterday, you said the potion wore off, yet you still didn't have any nightmares. Why is that, do you think? We know it's not because Voldemort is leaving you alone, so what do you think it is?"
Ginny simply sat there, letting his words sink in. He had a good point. Why didn't she have any dreams yesterday? Losing herself in thought, she excused herself from his office, and proceeded down to her first class. She remained lost in thought, completely oblivious of her surroundings until she came face to face with a white fox. She blinked and the fax blinked back at her. It took her a solid minute to realize the fox wasn't floating but resting in Hagrid's large arms. She smiled up at her friend apologetically and he returned it.
"Ya alright there, Ginny?" he asked her.
"Sorry, Hagrid. Yes, I'm fine. I was just lost in though and wasn't paying attention." Ginny broke off her excuses when the fox's tails came up and brushed her chin. All four tails. Now she understood why Hagrid had the class looking at foxes. Looking around, she realized all the foxes had multiple tails, although she had the only white one. Hagrid handed it to her and walked off to continue the class. As he explained about the strange foxes, she looked at hers again and he licked her face, his golden eyes seemed to glitter back at her.
Before they realized it, the class ended and the sixth years proceeded to a typically horrid potions lesson. The lesson managed to bring Ginny a week of detention as she melted her cauldron when she stirred it. Thinking back to what Dumbledore said, she lost her thoughts, concentration, and control on her magic. As she stirred the potion, her power overloaded with the stirring action and the cauldron just melted down without any chemical reaction, spilling the potion everywhere. Needless to say, Snape was enraged. A week of detentions later, Ginny was allowed to run off to her next classes.
The rest of the day went slightly better since those classes were purely lecture and she could safely get away with not paying attention to the professors. By the time she made it to Dumbledore's office that night, she was no closer to answering his question than she was that morning.
"Good evening, Miss Weasley. After hearing of the events of your potions class this morning, we will spend tonight working on control and keeping yourself in check at all times. Right now you are exhibiting some control over your powers since my office is still in one piece. Now, please call the pillow to you but don't catch it. I want you to keep it floating in front of you for as long as possible."
Ginny did as she was instructed and kept it in the air for a solid two minutes before she gasped and let it fall. Maintaining that had taken a surprising amount of energy and she felt tired, even after just two minutes. Shocked, but determine, she tried again. Under Dumbledore's watchful eye, she continued to practice until she could hold the pillow in the air for ten minutes, five when they began discussing various mundane topics. Finally, Dumbledore sent her back to the common room and she trudged out of the office.
By the time she reached the common room, she was a nervous wreck. She desperately needed sleep but feared another trip to the manor too much to head up to her bed. So, spotting the trio by the fire, she walked over and plopped down next to Harry. He looked at her and moved over slightly so she could have enough room to join them.
"So, how was your day, Ginny? We didn't see you at dinner. Where were you?" Hermione immediately questioned her friend.
"Oh, today was fine, barring the week of detentions I received in potions. Sorry I missed dinner; I was working with Professor Dumbledore this evening. Did you guys have Care of Magical Creatures today?" she asked changing the subject.
"Yeah, I thought those foxes were so cute," Hermione said, completely forgetting the lessons with Dumbledore for the moment.
"Grrr. My fox had to hate me or something. The bloody thing kept trying to either eat me or chase his tails. I don't know how Hagrid expects me to continue working with it. It despises me," Ron grumbled.
Ginny laughed at her brother's misfortune and turned to Harry. "So which fox did you work with? Was it a terror also?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye, her fatigue completely forgotten.
"No, my fox was fine. I think he really liked me but he kept looking at me. I wonder if he really liked me, if you know what I mean," he chuckled. Ginny just rolled her eyes at him and prodded him to continue. He smiled and complied. "The fox was white with golden eyes and four tails. He was pretty cool."
"I had that one, too!! He kept licking my face and staring at me," Ginny replied, slightly indignantly, causing all four students to burst out laughing. They continued talking into the night until Ginny's stomach let out a rather loud grumbling and Hermione released a huge yawn.
"Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you all in the morning," Hermione said, chuckling after the yawn.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that, too. Goodnight guys. Harry, you coming?" Ron added, glancing over to his girlfriend.
"No, I think I'm going to stay here a little while longer. I'll be up in a bit."
With a few final goodnights, the couple went up stairs to bed, eventually, after saying goodnight to each other. Harry and Ginny merely shook their heads as they watched the other two go. Finally, Harry turned to her and inquired about her lessons with Dumbledore.
"I never thought it took so much strength and power. We worked for such a long time and I feel like we got almost nothing done," she answered, truthfully.
"Don't worry about it. It takes time and you have to build up your endurance. It's kind of like a sport that you have to get into shape to play and be good at. Success doesn't come overnight, but I'm sure you know that," Harry said.
Ginny nodded and opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out except her stomach's growling protest to the lack of food in it.
"Go get my invisibility cloak and we'll get some food in you," Harry said through his laughter. Ginny blushed, remembering she had his cloak and the reason why she had. In an attempt to hide the blush, she turned and ran up to her room to get it. On her way up, she couldn't help but wonder how in the world, he was able to act like nothing happened last night in reference to the cape. Last night had thrown her whole view of him, and her resolve not to pursue anything further, into a whirlwind that left her completely confused. She wanted so much to be able to curl up in his arms again and just let him hold her and reassure her that everything would be fine. But she couldn't. That would undoubtedly destroy their friendship and she was not willing to risk that for any reason.
Upon reaching her room, she located the cloak and headed back downstairs to the common room. As Harry came back into sight, she firmly told herself that she could and would do nothing different. If something would come of their relationship, he had to be the one to instigate it. Holding on to that decision, she approached Harry with his cape and noticed he had retrieved the Marauder's Map while she was gone.
"Hi. I'm back," she said, announcing her return.
"Great. I got the map so hopefully we won't run into too much trouble on our way down. Now let's go get some munchies," he responded. She shook her head vigorously and they left for the kitchens. The journey was uneventful except for Peeves throwing sludge bombs around for the staff to see when they rose in the morning. Avoiding those had been a bit of a challenge. Finally, they reached the kitchen and Harry reached out to tickle the pears. When the picture swung open, they entered and removed the cloak only to have one of the house elves squeal and slam into Harry.
"Harry Potter, sir! You have come to visit Dobby! Is Harry Potter and his lady friend hungry? Dobby will get them food," the house elf said before disappearing again. Neither student had time to answer or even comprehend what happened nor who it was before they suddenly found themselves being led to the table which was laid out with various breads, cheeses, and pastries. Harry and Ginny sat down and began enjoying their meal. They ate amongst amiable conversation, discussing everything from the weather to names Ginny would pick for Bill's expected twins.
"I still think 'Rupert' would be perfect if they have a little boy," Ginny said.
"Oh, no! You couldn't do that to the poor kid."
"The poor kid? Have you heard what Fred and George want to name them? Billy Bob and Persephone. You have to admit, that would be just plain awful."
Harry released a laugh that seemed to reverberate off the kitchen walls and fill Ginny with its warmth.
"I'll give you that, Gin," he finally concluded. They continued to chuckle and eventually lapsed into a comfortable silence. All too soon, the food disappeared and their stomachs couldn't hold any more. Thanking the house elves generously, they went back in the hallway and wrapped the invisibility cloak around them again. With a final look at the map, they set off for their common room.
Harry struggled. Since the room under the cloak was so limited, he walked with his arm tucked firmly along her waist. This shouldn't be a problem for him. He'd done this same thing with Hermione so many times and not once had it been a problem for him. However, this position brought her so close to him that he could smell her shampoo and it made his heart do a funny flip flop. His thoughts continued down this path until a funny little voice in his head reminded him just who he was thinking about. If Ron found out, good friends or not, he would most probably have a fit. That is, if he wasn't too busy with other things. Harry smiled ruefully at that then shook his head in a physical attempt to clear it.
"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny's voice floated up to his ears and her breath brushed across his neck as she had turned to ask him. That did not help matters at all.
"I'm fine Gin. Let's just get back to the room," he replied.
"Um, Harry, we are back at the room."
"Oh. Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention."
"Obviously." Ginny spoke the password and a very sleepy and confused fat lady swung aside to let them enter the common room. Once they were inside, Ginny pulled off the cloak and turned to face Harry.
"Thank you for joining me down in the kitchens tonight. Oh and for allowing me to borrow the cloak last night and bothering you," she said, attempting to hand it back to Harry. He simply shook his head and pushed it back into her hands.
"You keep it for awhile. Just in case you need it again. You know, under that, it's a lot easier to get somewhere without being seen, whether your destination is the bathroom to clean up or somewhere else to gather your wits." Harry's eyes had a very peculiar gleam to them and Ginny couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him. "Goodnight, Ginny." That was all she got for her efforts. She bid him a good evening in return and stalked off to bed, the cloak clutched firmly beneath her arm. After getting ready for bed, she shook her head and climbed in, ready to deal with whatever the darkness decided to throw at her.
A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and to all the people who kept harping on me to get this chapter done. I'm so sorry it took so freaking long to get out. There really isn't a good excuse for it and I'm going to try desperately to get a chapter out much sooner this next time. I promise I will finish this story, it just might take awhile. As always, thanks for reading and please, please, please review as it does help motivate me to write faster.