Harry was in that position for some time, trying not to let Ginny press too hard against him. He could feel her chin on his shoulder, trembling and adjusting the curve of it to fit the hollow of his collar bone. And he was also acutely aware that his arms were around her.
Ginny moved her head slightly, giving Harry a better view of what was happening in the room beyond the red cloud of hair. He swallowed nervously. Ron was frozen in a position that would have allowed for him to spring at Harry, if not for Hermione having wrapped her arms tightly around Ron's chest and stomach. They, too, looked as if they were discovered in an act that was neither anticipated nor appropriate, but one that was an accident. (A/N: I really don't mean to abuse alliteration like this, I really don't. It seems I have an automatic thesaurus/dictionary in my head that glibly churns out words alphabetically.) Ginny stopped sobbing into his neck, but did not release him.
Harry and Ron and Hermione didn't blink for longer than could be healthy. Harry merely stared back at them, forgetting for an instant that his best friend's younger sister was entwined in an impromptu embrace with him. This was forgivable, because, after all, this fact was facing headlong the other fact that his two best friends were entwined in another impromptu embrace with each other.
Something downstairs moved noisily, and Ginny stiffened. Harry considered rubbing her back (to comfort her), but thought better and patted her lightly. She chuckled and pulled herself away from him.
"Boy, you really must value Ron's friendship," she said, smearing the back of her palms against her eyes. She laughed again, and spoke before turning around. "Ron, just to let you know, he's quite the gentleman even when you're not around us, but he's not this clumsy."
Harry wondered what he could say in reply, but hastily turned his thoughts toward what he could possibly say to prepare her. She let go of Harry's hand and turned to face Hermione and Ron.
"What . . . ?" Ginny immediately swiveled around to face Harry again, as if unwilling to let her brain process the image. Harry silently turned his palms upward in a small shrug. He, too, wondered why they remained so for such a long time. The inward spectator in him sniggered; ah, that's because they're unwilling to move from that position. They seem to be quite comfortable, thank you very much.
Ginny inhaled sharply, and Harry realized that his eyes were very dry. He blinked. In that split second, Ron and Hermione flew apart and managed to cross to opposite sides of the room in one significant bound.
"I can't believe I was wiping my eyes with your T-shirt while this was happening," Ginny commented dryly to Harry. "Here I was, pitying you!"
"Pitying?" Hermione managed to croak out. She cleared her throat. "What do you mean, pitying?" Ron clawed at the wall behind him unconsciously.
"You won't understand what's going on between you and him," Ginny said, pointing at the wall, "If it smacked your heads together and gave you a pamphlet. Even if it's so obvious to everyone else." Ginny pursed her lips, which was threatening to curve slyly up her cheek.
Ron looked despairingly into a murky brown stain in the carpet next to his feet. Hermione blanched and extended her arms behind her to make sure that the bed still existed for her to collapse upon. Harry coughed.
"Ginny, why don't we take—er—a moment outside," he whispered pointedly. He arched his eyebrows conspiratorially at Ginny, having now regained control of his head. Harry sensed that Ginny needed to be comforted, although her defiant self would never admit it. And while masking his concern with amusement, he could let Ron and Hermione work it out together in private. Something monumental and long-awaited was about to occur between them, and he wasn't about to ruin it with his presence.
Ginny gave a lingering glance at Ron before pushing Harry out the door. They were now in the empty hallway. A few soft laughs together later, they fell into a pause. The silence both downstairs and in the room they just exited was deafening.
"Where is everyone else?" Harry said, purposely avoiding the subject of the room, which would undoubtedly spawn another bout of giggles from Ginny and a kind of sickening enthusiasm within his stomach.
"Fred and George are probably back in Diagon Alley, or else they're eavesdropping again somewhere. But they have a shop to run, and Mum's been getting suspicious of them for a while." She pulled Harry a little farther away from the door. "Mum and Dad are out, I think, to some meeting at the Ministry. But they'll be back pretty soon—can't have us children running around by ourselves with Death Eaters on the loose now, can we?"
The sarcasm in her voice annoyed Harry slightly. Death Eaters were on the loose, and they were in danger. People were taking things too much for granted nowadays. He didn't let the edge creep into his own voice however, because he felt altogether like Moody. They needed to realize this very soon, and Harry made a mental note to talk to them seriously about this before he left.
"Are you okay?" whispered Harry. He leaned forward to brush a strand of hair away from Ginny's forehead. She sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Harry—I shouldn't have said things like that." She caught his hand in hers before he could let it fall back to his side, and looked earnestly into his eyes.
"Don't worry about it. You didn't know." He let himself be pulled closer to her. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"About that. Harry, you've got to stop worrying about whether we'll get hurt or not," Ginny said in a fierce whisper. "We're in a world right now that makes it too easy for us to get hurt. You can't become consumed by it."
"I am not consumed by it." Harry leaned against the wall, folding his arms. First Ron and Hermione, and now Ginny. Did everyone else think he was twitchy, too? But then again, no one else had ever come face to face with Voldemort, and no one else escaped death as often as he did. Yes. That was it. It was very understandable.
"There's nothing you can do if anything happens to me," Ginny said, "Or anyone else you care for. You've got to get used to that idea—well, at least accept it. I won't have you slowly destroy yourself if I die."
"That won't happen, because I won't let you die."
"And that's just what I mean. I know that you aren't going to sit back and take it if I'm attacked right in front of you, but I don't want you to play the part of a hero and come rushing after me."
"If I don't do anything, who will?" Harry gritted his teeth. Ginny shook her head and slid down the wall to sit down.
"The rest of us aren't exactly helpless, Harry."
He squatted to sit next to her, knocking the wall in the process. He and Ginny looked at each other, alarmed, and pressed an ear to the door.
"I guess it's too much to hope that you have an Extendable Ear in your pocket somewhere?"
"These are my best friends!"
"You're trying to eavesdrop anyway," she pointed out, peered into the keyhole. Harry grudgingly admitted that she had a point; not using an Extendable Ear, however, made it harder. He supposed this was his conscience's justification.
"Damn, something's blocking the hole," Ginny whispered, fingers trailing to the doorknob. She glanced mischievously at Harry, who crouched down close to her, wincing at the cracking of his knees. Ginny placed her hands on the knob, about to turn it.
"No—wait—" Harry placed his hand over hers, and used his free hand to point a wand at the knob. "Silencio!"
"Of course. Now . . ." Ginny and Harry turned the doorknob together painfully slowly. Harry couldn't see anything through the widening crack because she was kneeling in front of him, but suddenly Ginny shook off Harry's hand and flung the door wide open.
Obviously Ron and Hermione found themselves caught at something, because they were once again spread out into opposite corners. They were breathing heavily and avoiding each other's eyes. Ginny strode into the room, hands on her hips. She turned to Harry.
"Should we tell them that we aren't stupid?" she asked, extending an arm to the two.
"We aren't stupid, Hermione, Ron," Harry replied flatly. "You're just lucky I didn't see what was going on."
"You mean, we're lucky we didn't see it. Although I did catch a horrible glimpse," she murmured in a stage whisper to Harry. "Quite honestly, I never want to see my brother and my friend at it again. Ever. But I'll be nice. I'm actually going to encourage it."
"No comment." Harry marched up to Ron, who was cowering again into the wall. He clamped his hand on Ron's arm, and nodded to Ginny. She, in turn, grasped Hermione's arm, and pulled her roughly to the middle of the room. Harry had to prod Ron a little with his wand, but in the end they managed to make Ron and Hermione face each other.
"Now, we were right outside this room the whole time," began Ginny when no one else looked ready to say anything. "And we were getting a little worried about you guys. We heard nothing, not even sneeze. So we decided to take a peek."
"I put a silencing charm on the door," Harry offered, grinning evilly at his best mate. "If Ginny wasn't so surprised, we would have stood there, in the doorway, watching you guys, without getting noticed."
Hermione buried her face in her hands, and slouched weakly. Ginny reached up and wrenched her arms away from her head, thumping her back to straighten her. "It's proof of our friendship, Hermione, that I opened the door right away. Ron, there really is no point in trying to hide yourself—you're just too tall."
Harry and Ginny pushed them together closer, making in impossible not to look at each other. "Tell us—was that kiss an accident, or is it going to become something we've all been waiting for forever?" Harry said, walking back from them with Ginny. "We promise we won't tell Fred or George."
Ron moaned in helplessness. "Oh no."
"Do tell," Ginny called out from her comfortable spot in Ron's chair.
"Would you like to make an Unbreakable Vow with me about not telling the twins?" said Ron tentatively.
"Now, would you really want your own sister to die, Ron?" snapped Ginny. She motioned for him to go on. He swelled a bit, gasping in air, and then smiled. Hermione relaxed her shoulders.
"It's either that, or I'm killing you myself." Ron glanced quickly at Hermione, who turned a very pale pink. "Do we really have to say anything? I mean, didn't you guys see enough already?"
"NO!" shouted Harry and Ginny together gleefully.
"We-e-ell . . ." Hermione drew her words out, voice higher than natural, "I guess you're going to see more."
Ron's smile grew wider and more sheepish, and Hermione turned a darker shade of pink. Harry nodded, satisfied, but Ginny clapped her hands in delight.
"If I make the Unbreakable Vow with you, you also have to include 'staying together' as one of the requirements," Ginny added. "Because this has been much too long in coming, and I'm not about to taste only a sample."
Hermione gave Ron a peck on his cheek. "I'm not ready to die after our first argument."
Ginny rolled her eyes, but Harry shrugged. He wasn't too worried about them ending up mortal enemies, or acting disgustingly affectionate. The past year had taught him that much. He leaned back in his chair, watching Ron and Hermione sit down together on a sofa. The scene was nearing awkwardness when they all heard two loud cracks downstairs.
"They're back." Hermione stood up again, but Ron pulled her back down.
"Relax. It's not like they're going to come in here."
At that instant, when Ron and Harry and Ginny and Hermione were paired up nicely in cozy chairs, Mrs. Weasley stuck her head in.
"Nothing happened while we were gone, right?"
A/N: I'd like to say a special thank you to blue-buggy, my first and most consistent reviewer!