9

Ginny turned down Hermione's invitation to eat dinner with herself and Remus; not because Ginny didn't love their company, it was just that she was very tire, thanks to her dreams the night before, and she could think of nothing more inviting than long hot bath and a soft bed. She let herself into her house with a new found wariness, checking the corners and fireplace for anything new that Snape might have decided to share with her.

Surprisingly, she found no sign of him whatsover, not even a note, and despite herself she felt a little sad for the lack of it. Maybe she had asked too much of him this time, she thought with a sigh, as she slipped into her tub.

The water was delightful as it engulfed her, and she felt the exhaustion melt into pure relaxation. Muggle shopping always took so much out of her, since she had to concentrate so hard on not accidentally performing some feat of magic or another. Well, she didn't have to worry about here,did she? She dried off one hand on a lavender towel, and picked up her wand from beside the tub.

With a few quick charms she soon had the water roiling like a Jacuzzi, and a glass of pumpkin juice with a shake of rum in her hand. With the perfumed bubbles caressing her skin, she was reminded of how hard it had been to concentrate on anything that day; due to her body's sudden and inexplicable desire to drive her mad with arousal. One of hr hands disappeared under the water; and she touched her self. . .her breasts, weighing them in her hands. They were fine breasts, rather heavy, and oblong instead of hard round globes of flesh, but she thought they were nice enough. No one had ever complained about them before.

She pinched the nipple between her finger and made a small sound of satisfaction in her throat as the a little soft pleasure coursed through her. Next she slid her fingertips lightly down her skin, awakening all of the little nerves, so that they lit up and began singing.

" Ginny, stop it now. . .' she chided herself. '' If you keep going you'll just want more. . .''

But thankfully her hand didn't listen, and it continued to travel down over her founded pale belly, to the russet triangle f hair that covered her sex. She wound her elegant fingers in the tight curls and pulled gently; a sensation that was dull and remarkably pleasing to her. Further down, she slipped, until she could feel the thin tissue under her touch. She wasn't one for dilly-dallying around once she reached her destination. She dove straight for the most sensitive and swollen little bobbin of flesh, and began a vigorous circular motion.

She could never climax this way without the aid of fantasies, and she carefully cast about in her mind for just such a scenario. . .avoiding the most obvious one. She couldn't handle the thought of that one just yet. ..it would be too intense, like the first bite of a sour green apple.

She turned her head slightly to the side, and her eyes opened; as she imagined an erotic scene being played out on the blank white wall of her bathroom. She felt the inevitable first tingle that announced that she was passing the first half, and that now she only had to concentrate. Her muscles tensed, and she ground her fingers harder against herself, reaching for that glorious release.

And she almost found it. . .in fact she most definitely would have found it, had not a small movement in the outside of the bathroom caught her eye. Caught her eye? It damn near startled her out of the water. . .she had been focusing so much on the business at. . .er. . .hand, that she had not noticed that the adjacent bedroom was already occupied. She fumbled for the dropped wand, praying to herself that it was not an attacker lurking in the bedroom; and please don't let it be Snape spying on her!

" Lumos!" she whispered,and her wand ignited, displaying her apparently empty bedroom.

" No. . .I saw someone. Or something!" she hissed to herself, as she hastily tried to wrap a towel around her dripping body using only one hand. Stepping carefully over the side of the tub. . .she tiptoed to the bathroom door, holding her breath.

" Hah!" she leaped out into the bedroom, holding the wand forward in defense position. But nothing was in the room. Not a man, not a Dementor. . not even a stuffed animal.

She stood frowning at the room for a second, still wary, and wondering if she should do a tour of the house, or if that was one of those notions that gets otherwise seemingly brilliant young heroines slaughtered before the story's end. Ginny swallowed that thought and told herself that she was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. . .and if she wasn't brave enough to search her own house then she was most likely as unqualified for the post as Snape had once accused her of being.

So she flicked her wet hair back away from her face, and began creeping toward the bedroom door. She could just see the hallway through the crack between the door and the jamb, and was reaching toward her hand out slowly to open it further. . .when her bare foot connected with something.

Something slithery and alive.

With a screech she jumped back nearly the entire distance to the bathroom and aimed her wand at what she feared was a snake. Never mind the improbability of having a snake in your bedroom, when you were standing on it, probability didn't count.

It wasn't a snake. . .( which was an immense relief), but it was an Iguana, and that made Ginny incredibly suspicious. Iguana's did not just casually walk into people's houses. Especially violet iguana's with huge frilly bows on their backs.

Rolling her, she gave an irritated stamp of her foot. How could she have gotten so spooked over such a small matter? The light from the bathroom candle she had lit must have cast a larger than life shadow of the poor thing onto the wall. She angrily pushed her hair back behind her ears, and knelt down to see examine her new guest.

It regarded hr with patient eyes that seemed to say:

" Hey, after the day I have had. . .getting stepped on by a naked woman is the least of my problems."

There was a card attached to the bow, and she pulled it free. It was a regular Muggle birthday card, and for a moment she thought it must be a trick from Harry. But the card began to play music as soon as she touched it, and she knew only one person who would think that Chopin's " Funeral March" was an appropriate piece of music for a birthday card. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes,waiting for the music to end so that she could open the card. When it came at last to a shuddering and dramatic halt, she shook her head. Hopeless. . .completely hopeless.

Inside of the card, was a simple message, written in a hurried script.

" Happy Birthday!

I hope you enjoy your birthday gift. I was told by someone that every woman enjoys a pet, something cuddly and ' cute'. I was going to get you a cat, but the pet shop was sold out of them today, and this fellow seemed just as good. The saleslady informed me that he is ' leashed trained' and neutered. Just the same, it is a HIM, so please don't give him some incredibly sticky-cute name that will be painful for anyone to speak out loud.

Try to get ample amounts of rest tonight as I have a larger surprise waiting for you tomorrow, and if you like the lizard, you are absolutely going to love me for what comes next.

( or at least that is my greatest hope)

Goodnight,

S.S. "

She laughed a little at his words, imagining his voice reading the words. She had the sneaking suspicion though that someone, no doubt Remus had been very near to him while he was writing it, and apparently making suggestions. The part about being informed that every woman loves a pet. . .for one thing.

She returned the card to it's envelope, and it began playing the music over again. How. . .sweet? Now she could always touch the card and think of him. . .whenever she heard Chopin.

The lizard sat patiently still as she removed the bow from it's back. the poor thing had come from a Muggle shop, and been zapped right away with a color charm, a size charm. . .and who knew what else before being dropped into her house, probably via the fireplace. It must be wondering just what had gone wrong in it's crazy life!

" What am I going to do with you?" she asked him.

" What am I going to name you? Bernie? Randolph? Maybe something special to annoy Severus? that would serve him right for scaring me out of my wits, now wouldn't it, if he had to call you Goo-Goo, or Sweeticums? " she giggled to herself.

" I know,' she said, taking him into her arms and standing up. " I'll call you Sevvy-baby, just for a few days until I hear him say it once. Then, I think Bernie will do nicely. As for now though. . .I need to figure out what to do with you. You know what? I think I am going to kill Severus tomorrow. Yep." she continued mumbling as she returned to the bathroom.

Her tub was no longer warm or bubbly and she didn't feel like getting back in. With a swish of hr wand she had it cleared and dry. She deposited " Sevvy-baby'' temporarily in the tub, and went to her shower to clean the quickly drying soap bubbles out of her hair.

Well, she thought as the cool blast hit her; at least something had gotten her mind of sex. . .