AN: Now we start getting into why it's rated "R"… heh heh heh
Chapter 11
Ginny was sleepy the next morning. She'd sat on Harry's bed, watching him sleep and thinking, until Ron had come upstairs and kicked her out. As a result, she'd gotten to her own bed rather late. Frankly, she thought sleepily, she should have just borrowed the part of Harry's he hadn't been using. The corners of her lips turned up as she pictured Harry's face if he woke up and found her lying next to him.
Then she rolled over and buried her face in her pillow with a groan. She hadn't gotten a straight answer from him about what he'd been up to, to get into such a state. She couldn't think of when she'd seen Harry look more exhausted. Whatever he was doing, it was wearing him out.
Something thumped against the side of her bed, and Ginny jerked her head up and glared blearily. "Come on, Gin, you've got a half hour before breakfast, and the bathroom's free," Cara said from the vicinity of her own bed.
"Right, breakfast, classes, stupid school…" Ginny muttered before taking a deep breath and dragging herself out of the nice, warm, cozy covers. She headed straight for the bathroom. After all, an empty bath didn't happed very frequently in this dorm room.
Twenty minutes later, clean, teeth brushed and wrapped in an oversized towel, Ginny walked back into the room. Cara was still there, this time doing something with her bookbag.
"Are you waiting for me?" Ginny asked, feeling guilty as she rummaged for clothes. "You should have yelled at me to go faster."
Cara just shrugged and bent to peer under her bed. Ginny gave her a curious look. "Something wrong?" she asked, a tad cautiously. She and her dorm mates, they all had healthy respects for each others moods. Women of passion, they liked to call themselves. Moody bitches, Ron had been heard to mumble on occasion, usually right before he was hit with any number of hexes.
Cara heaved a sigh, straightened up and then threw her bookbag on her bed in a fit of temper. "Dammit, I can't find it!" she burst out. "Why'd Hagrid have to make us get another bloody book that walks on its own? Wouldn't it make more sense to have a book that would sit still long enough to let you read it? But NO, he's got to have the weirdest, most vicious page-biting tome available."
Ginny buttoned her blouse, staring. "Hey," she said, concerned as she walked over to Cara. "What's wrong?" It wasn't like Cara to go off on Hagrid. She loved him dearly, weird animal obsessions and all, they all did.
Cara glared at her bookbag and then burst into tears. "I haven't seen Draco yet," she mumbled rather soggily.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's breakfast, he'll probably be sitting downstairs," she said.
Cara sniffed and swiped at her eyes. "No, he's been gone all weekend," she said. Ginny frowned. Now that she though of it, she HADN'T seen the blonde Slytherin around this weekend, which was unusual. He and Cara tended to be joined at the hip.
"Where is he?" she asked, wrapping an arm around her friend.
Cara sniffed once more, and then let herself be pulled down to sit on the bed. "He turned seventeen this summer, right? Which meant that he finally inherited all the Malfoy stuff. And the paperwork took a really long time, and he had to go and sign things and get spells done so the house would recognize him as the owner and decide if his mother could move back in because the house has been keeping her out once he had his birthday and it didn't think his dad was still the head Malfoy and damn it he hasn't owled!"
Ginny blinked, and mentally sorted through that rather long sentence, all said in one breath. "Ok. Draco's now the head of the Malfoy family, is that what I'm getting?" she asked cautiously. Cara nodded. "And he had to go do legal things this weekend and you haven't heard from him?" She nodded again. "And what's this thing with his mother?"
Cara sighed and flopped backward to lie on the bed, wincing when her head thumped against a corner of her bookbag. "He said that once he turned seventeen, the wards and stuff on the house stopped being in a kind of limbo, the way they'd been since his dad died. Now they're refusing to recognize anyone but him as allowed to enter the house, until he resets them." She sighed again and rubbed her forehead. "Which means that his mother, who's lived there the whole time, hasn't been able to get back into the house since Draco's birthday. And he's got to decide if he's going to let her."
"Oi," Ginny said, grasping the real problem. "Because he doesn't want Voldemort getting in again?"
Cara's lips tightened. "Or any of his little friends," she said. Ginny's mind flashed to the same person she was sure her friend was thinking of, and shivered. Bellatrix was safely locked away. "See, I guess the way it works is that the Head of the House, that's Draco, can say who can come in and out without interference. And any of those people have the power to invite someone in. So if he puts his mom in the wards, and she invites a Death Eater in…"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah," she said heavily. She should have paid more attention to Cara this weekend, she thought. No wonder her friend had been so into the idea of that slumber party, she'd been looking for something to distract her. Reaching over she grabbed Cara's hand and squeezed. "Well, I know one thing for sure," she said. Cara rolled her head to look at her. "You'll feel a lot better if we go downstairs and eat. Especially if Draco happens to be there."
Cara heaved a sigh. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I just wish he'd let me come and… help, I guess."
Ginny grimaced, and got off the bed to finish dressing. "Welcome to my world," she said dryly. "Full of uncooperative, macho men who think they don't need any help at all."
Cara snorted behind her. "Oh yeah, what was up with Harry last night? I mean, that guy looked awful."
Ginny straightened her tie and reached for her school robes. "I don't know yet," she said. "He was so tired he just collapsed." She turned around and raised an eyebrow delicately. "But let me say, I'll be getting an answer one way or another."
Cara grinned, looking much more herself. "Got something planned for breakfast?" she asked eagerly.
Ginny shrugged and grinned. "Nah, nothing much. Just a little good morning that should make him wake up in a hurry," she said evilly. Cara laughed aloud, and the two of them headed down the stairs.
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Harry slumped in his seat, staring at his cauldron. Breakfast had been very uncomfortable. He'd eaten rapidly, one eye on the door so as to avoid Ginny. He had the definite feeling that she was planning on cornering him about last night, and he really didn't want to have that discussion.
He eyed the light bubbling that was going on in his potion and gently nudged the fire a bit. He didn't want to over-cook the stuff, the book had said that a fouled-up Paralysis Potion was nasty. Just what you wanted exploding all over you.
So he'd lit out after nearly swallowing his breakfast whole, and had hidden in the library until the very last minute when he'd bolted for class. Ron, of course, had sat and smirked at him the whole time, right until Potions when Hermione had breezed in and dropped her things next to him, giving Ron another kiss on the cheek and turning his friend bright red. Harry glanced over at the two of them, to see Ron studiously not looking at Hermione. Hermione was working, of course, looking completely focuses… Harry blinked, and then grinned. Was it just him, or was her skirt a little shorter than was customary? He watched as Ron snuck another look down at their friend's legs, and resisted the urge to laugh. Oh, this was fun to watch when it wasn't him.
The classroom door opened, and Harry looked up to see Malfoy stroll in. Professor Snape didn't even ask him where he'd been, just raised a cool eyebrow and nodded at the board. Malfoy nodded in return and sauntered over to the table next to Harry. Where'd he been? Harry wondered curiously. He supposed he could poke around his thoughts and find out, but that would just be rude. Harry gave a mental shrug and turned his attention back to his potion. It wasn't like he cared, anyway.
An hour later, Harry stoppered the bottle and began cleaning up his space. Merlin, this was a long class, he thought. Almost as long as History of Magic, although there, at least, a bloke could catch a nap. Here you just sat in silence and watched stuff boil.
"Oi, Harry, get a move on, mate, I'm hungry," Ron said, already packed and ready.
Hermione stepped up next to him, and rolled her eyes. "Ron, you're always hungry," she said, reaching out and tapping him lightly on the chest. Although it looked a bit more like a stroke than a tap…
Harry tried not to grimace. "Yeah, I'll catch up, go on and I'll meet you in the Great Hall," he said, averting his eyes and trying not to picture Hermione seducing Ron. Who was at this moment turning red again. "Just save me some food, you bottomless pit."
Ron mumbled something indistinct, but Hermione smiled in Harry's direction. "Ok, we'll see you up there," she said, taking Ron's hand and pulling him toward the classroom door. "Come on, Ron," she said. Harry noticed that she kept the Head Boy's hand as they left.
He shook his head and finished packing his vials of supplies back into their carrying case. The classroom was quiet, everyone else gone and he was tempted just to stay down there and avoid Ginny some more…
"Potter," said a voice next to him, and Harry jumped.
"Christ, Malfoy," he grumbled. Ok, so the room wasn't completely empty. It had been nice pretending, however.
He turned to look at the other boy, fully prepared to make some kind of cutting comment about Slytherins and sneaking but paused. "What's up?" he asked instead, narrowing his eyes. Malfoy had been silent and perfectly controlled the entire class, but now he was looking blank and feeling disturbed.
The Slytherin gave him a narrow look back, and held out a brown package. "You may want this," he said. Harry just looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He knew better than to just take things.
Draco sighed and dropped the package on the table. "I found it in Malfoy Manor," he said coldly. "A sealed room formerly used by my father." A sardonic smirk crossed his face. "There was a great deal in that room," the other boy mused, almost as if he forgot Harry was there. "Too bad it's all going to disappear."
Harry did some quick mental shuffling. "Voldemort," he said flatly, bringing Malfoy's attention back to him. "You found your father's room with all his things for Voldemort."
Draco raised a cool eyebrow. "Clever, aren't you?" he said mockingly. "Very good, Potter, in the process of expelling my mother from the house, I found my father's secret room. Anything else I can tell you?"
This time it was Harry's turn to raise his eyebrows. Again. "Have you seen Cara yet?" he asked. The other boy gave him a cool glare. Harry shrugged. "Seems to me you want to talk, and god knows, you don't want to talk to me."
That actually got a laugh from the Slytherin, a short, harsh one, but a laugh nonetheless. "Quite right," he said, and picked up his own bag. Malfoy gave a nod at the package on the table. "At any rate, you'll want to look through that," he said. "It was in the room, and may help."
Harry frowned in puzzlement, but Draco was already heading for the door. Harry picked the package up. Books, perhaps? "Malfoy," he called out, making the other boy pause in the doorway. He held the package up. "Thanks," he said.
Draco just sneered back at him. "Any time," he said sarcastically, and then was gone. Harry had to grin, just a bit, having his own words thrown back at him. Well, apparently they were even, Draco having paid off the debt of last year in the Astronomy Tower.
Harry fingered the package and then tucked it into the bottom of his bag. He'd look through it later, when he knew he wouldn't be disturbed.
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Harry was on his way to the Quiddich pitch to set up early for practice that night, his mind darting back and forth between the package, which he hadn't opened yet, and the drills he was going to put those bloody Chasers through, much to Ron's delight, when a hand shot out of a dark classroom and yanked on his arm. Caught off balance, Harry stumbled into the dark classroom.
The door clicked shut behind him and not a split second later he'd whirled about, wand tip on the throat of whoever had grabbed him. "Lumos," he said through his teeth. A second later, Harry grimace and dropped his wand. "Never, never grab me like that, Gin," he said half furious and half panicked that he'd almost hurt her.
Ginny stood there, hands on hips, looking a little annoyed. "Well, if you wouldn't avoid me all day, I wouldn't have to grab you," she said. Her eyes narrowed. "And since when are you that quick to draw on someone?"
Harry tucked his wand back out of sight. "Since Voldemort," he said tightly, body still revved with the adrenaline of the near miss. He needed to get down to the pitch and burn it off, or he could be in some serious trouble, trapped in a classroom with Ginny.
"Hmm," Ginny said, studying him. She gave a sharp nod, and then said, "Alright, we'll let that pass. For the moment, anyway. Time for you to come clean, Potter. Where were you yesterday, and what were you doing that had you coming back half dead."
His body was still humming with the rush, and it wasn't dying down. No, his blood was pumping harder, if anything. Bloody hell. "My business," he said shortly. "Not yours."
Ginny laughed aloud at that, a sharp, angry sound. "Right. That's really what you think, isn't it, Harry?" She stepped right up next to him, and Harry had to curl his fingers in. "I've got news for you," she said, bringing her face close to his. His heart was pounding and his control straining at the leash. "You've got a lot of people who love you," she said, eyes on his. Harry would have liked to just walk away, but for some reason just stood and let her have her say. "Ron. Hermione. Me. Among so many more. I'm not even going to go into how many. And when you come staggering in, looking half dead, you loose the right to say it's not our business."
She jabbed him in the chest. "So don't you try that excuse with me anymore," she said fiercely. "You're going to have help, Harry, whether you like it or not. Get over it and get on with it."
She was still jabbing him with that finger, and it was shredding his control. "Don't push me, Gin," he said through his teeth, catching her wrist on it's next attack.
"Don't push you how?" she said, eyes firing dangerously. "Don't push you about avoiding your friends? Don't push you about keeping secrets? Or don't push you about this?" And with that, Ginny reached out and grabbed the front of his quiddich robes with her free hand and yanked him down to her level.
Once again, Harry was caught off guard by the kiss. At least mentally he was. His body seemed to know exactly what was going on, however, because a split second after those strawberry and spice lips hit his, he was kissing her back ferociously, dying for more of her taste. Her mouth was soft, warm, wet, her tongue tangling eagerly with his. Harry wanted to sink into that mouth and not come back up.
His brain seemed to have shut off because his hands closed hard around her, one around her waist, the other the nape of her neck, hauling her hard against him, pressing every soft curve against him. He ached, he ached like nothing he'd ever felt before. Her arms wrapped about him and she arched into the kiss, pressing even closer. He could feel her breasts flattened against his chest, the hard, aroused tips rubbing enticingly against him.
One of her legs wound about his, and then they were stumbling backward until Ginny's back came up hard against the classroom wall. Harry didn't pause for a breath, but pressed her into the cold stone, mad to feel her against him. Ginny gave a gasp as he reached down and cupped her bottom in his hands, lifting her until he was rubbing against the notch between her thighs. Her head dropped back, away from his kiss, and he attacked her neck instead, tasting the soft, white flesh there, feasting on her pulse point, her collarbone. Ginny moaned, a ragged, broken sound.
Somehow that sound, as passion-filled as it was, snapped Harry's mind back into play. "Fuck," he said between his teeth, and pulled back, pulled away. Ginny stumbled a bit as he abruptly let her down.
"Harry?" she said, looking confused. Dammit, he wasn't in much better shape himself. But at least his head was working again.
"Don't," he said harshly. "Just don't. Stay away from me, Ginny. Just…" He had to swallow hard, heart aching and body dying for hers. "Just stay away," he said and turned and left.
He headed for the Quiddich pitch in a black mood. He needed a cold shower, some exhausting exercise. No, he thought furiously. He needed Ginny. And he couldn't have her.
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AN: 114 reviews! I love you all… I apologize for the lack of individual responses, but I'll make it up by posting another chapter sometime tomorrow, complete with acknowledgements!
Ps. Review! : - )