Warning! There may be spoilers in the reviews or replies to reviews so anyone who hasn't read the new HP book should proceed with caution!
SeverusSnape's Love-Yeah, isn't it deliciously embarrassing though?
Marr Yanis- Hey, no fair drooling.
s.m.rahl-Yeah, but Dumbledore knows best, right?
Queen of the Faeries-Thanks again for your kind words! For you, I'll make sure Sevvy Baby makes another appearance before the end!
Everybody else-Thanks for the reviews! There are days when I wouldn't even bother with computers, but then I think of those reviews, and it makes everything worthwhile!
Dumbledore did arrange a word with her, but not his own.
Everyone else had gone home. Moody had simply Disapparated after a gruff grunt of farewell, and a customary warning to her on the basic principles of vigilance and safety. He had given the house another sweep over with his magical eye before leaving, just in case a boggart, a Doxie, or a stray Death Eater might have sneaked in while he was preoccupied.
The ' Lovers Lupin ' had offered to stay, if Ginny desired it, and she had been tempted. However she thought it was awkward enough as it were, to have to discuss anything personal with Dumbledore in private. . .let alone her good friends, who knew very little about the nature of the trial and her quarrel with Severus, in attendance. So, she had ushered them to the fireplace, with a promise to Hermione that she would meet her later and fill her in on anything of interest.
Greatly edited, of course. She had thought to herself.
After they had gone though, she missed them instantly. They might not have been much conversation, but their presence had filled up the vacuum that lingered at Grimmauld. The silence began to get very loud, punctuated regularly by the ticking of the clock.
Deciding it would be best not to wait idly, Ginny Accioed a glass of whiskey from the kitchen, and some parchment from the study, and began to scribble away at some notes, keeping a careful eye on the time and the amount of liquor she indulged in. But still, the minutes wore on, and no one came.
He burst into the room quite suddenly, throwing back the heavy french doors so violently that they connected with the walls, and caused the pictures to shake and the chandelier over the dining table to sway; it's crystal pendants tinkling in protest.
Ginny thought she did a very good job of not seeming startled, even though the sudden noise had echoed in the room like cannon fire. She raised her head briefly, then lowered it again, not in the least bit surprised to see that it was him instead of Dumbledore who had appeared.
He looked slightly more pale and a whole lot thinner than when she had last seen him, the day she had visited his sick bed. His hair seemed a bit more greasy, and his traditional black suit was powdered with ashes and soot.
" Do you have any idea what I have just been through?" he demanded.
" The Floo network?'' she suggested, innocently.
He did not appreciate her levity, and fixed her with a stern glower that would have shriveled the hearts of most men. She simply shrugged at his lack of response and returned her eyes to the notes before her.
Suddenly he brought both of his hands flat down onto the table, palms first, creating a great amount of noise, and causing her quill to skip crazily across the writing she had been so neatly producing. He was not in the least bit impressed with her ability to remain so calm after he had just experienced what he considered to be the most humiliating day of his life.
With a sigh, she laid the pen down and calmly folded her hands on the table.
" Should I apologize? I am sure my memory has caused you quite a bit of grief over the last few hours." she asked softly.
He sat down with a huff, twitching his head a bit nervously to dislodge the strand of hair that insisted on falling in his eyes. She resisted the temptation to brush it aside for him, clenching her fingers together to keep them from moving.
" No.'' he grumbled. " I owe you my freedom I guess."
They sat for a moment in awkward silence. A long uncomfortable silence. She wanted to ask him if he still thought she should stay far away from him for her own good, and if so, why was he sitting so close to her?
He wanted to ask if there was the slightest chance that she might have forgotten, magically, the words he had spoken yesterday. Probably not, he decided.
He was caught between his mental refusal to ever say he was wrong; and the determination to not allow her to say she had been right from the beginning. Finally he decided that the best way to come to a point was to detour as far away as possible from the issue at hand.
" Do you realize how late it is?" he asked, trying to keep the sharpness out of his voice.
" Yes. Nearly seven o'clock." she said, not keeping the coolness out of hers.
" I'm hungry." he said, accusingly.
" Then eat something. " she answered simply.
He stared at each other for a few moments, eyes blazing, and mouths set firmly into identical stubborn lines.
" Stop it." he said, finally.
" Stop what?" she did not stop.
" Stop. . .behaving like a five year old child."
" I thought I was just being civil."
" You are being a. . ."
" A...?" she raised a brow.
" Gryffindor." he said grudgingly.
" One of these days I might just kiss a confession out of you as to what you really wanted to call me." she gave a little laugh.
" One of these days? " he asked, his voice changing almost instantly to a silky purr.
" Oh, sure. Haven't you read the predictions? Hell is supposed to be freezing over any time now." Ginny would never know how she managed to deliver that with a straight face. She would also never know how she was able to maintain a straight face after watching Severus give a believable impression of a cod fish.
" You think you have won, don't you?" he demanded, suddenly turning everything around against her.
" Beg your pardon?" she asked.
' This ' he waved his hand as if to include the very world into his accusation.'' Is just some trick to try to prove me wrong."
" What are you talking about?" her expression was one that was reserved usually for people who claim to be purple fairies with keen insight into government conspiracies.
" That's fine." he said graciously. " I accept your little challenge, my dear."
She opened her mouth to argue. If she were anyone else, she might believe that he was playing with her. But he wasn't anyone else, and that was one of his most disturbing qualities, so what was she to think?
" Have you gone insane?" she finally asked.
" Yes." he reached across the table suddenly and seized her hand. " Totally and incurably insane, what do you think of that?"
" I think I am going to confront Dumbledore on this issue."
" Do what you see fit. I refuse to back down. Hell will freeze before I let a Gryffindor triumph over me." he suddenly pressed her palm to his mouth, and her first thought was to be curious and suspicious of this little romantic caress. She couldn't deny however a tiny thrill caused by the hot, dry movement of his lips against her skin.
Ginny was just about to lay her other hand on his head and forgive him, or at least give him another chance, when he pulled away with a smug chortle.
" Ha!" he dropped her hand.
Ginny wasted no time in turning over her palm to see what he was in such a gloat over.
" How? How dare you! " she finally demanded, showing her hand needlessly to Severus.
" I cannot believe you did that, you. . .you . .. slimy, snarky Slytherin scum!"
He wondered if she could say that ten times, very fast. However he was too busy smugly admiring his handiwork. He had spent the whole week designing this little charm, and had even tried it out on himself, just to be certain that there was only one charm for it's removal.
''. . .am I supposed to go around all day with a big blue smear on my hand?" she was still exclaiming loudly.
" It isn't a smear. Look closer, it is a Forget-Me-Not." he said quietly.
Ginny's eyes shot back to her palm, where the '' tattoo'' was coming into focus. Sure enough, it was a pretty, stylized Forget-Me-Not, it's delicate periwinkle blossoms so realistic in color, yet so delicately lined and out-lined that they appeared engraved. Around it was a delicate knotwork frame; a perfect oval.
' Why?" she asked again, raising her sapphire eyes to meet his obsidian gaze.
" In case I ever have to go away again. I wouldn't want you to forget me. "
" Oh. . .'' she looked back at the flower.
" Forget-me-nots, have no particular flavor of their own, so I have scented it to smell like roses. If I recall, from one of conversations, you would love to be able to enjoy the fragrance of roses, without having to suffer the consequences. I believe, that this is perfectly safe."
Ginny did not have to bring her hand all of the way to her face, before she was struck with the glorious scent of roses. She waited a few moments, but she did not swell, or itch, so she smiled.
" That is brilliant."
" Of course it is. And they have no fragrance unless you want them too."
" Is it permanent?"
" You might one day be able to kiss from me the counter charm, but for now, yes it is."
" I can't teach school with this! What sort of example would that be?"
" My little naive girl, no one but you and I will be able to see it. " he said. " I even-"
But he didn't get a chance to finish. Ginny had seized the lapels of his robes and pulled him towards her, meeting him halfway across the table. It was what he was beginning to think of as one of her '' rotten little kisses'' , highly enjoyable, but entirely to short-lived, and done only to tease him mercilessly.
" Does that mean you forgive me?" he asked, trying to not to sound too eager.
" No. . ., that means ' thank you for the flower '.'' she said, making to sit back down.
" Well, in that case. . ." he murmured and rose to his feet in a fluid, graceful movement.
He was incredibly fast. . .one second he had been standing on his side of the table, and the next second, he had hold of her arms, and had her pulled all of the way onto the table.
She made a little noise of shocked protest as her knees banged against the table's edge.
" Severmph-" she tried to say, but her words were muffled in his mouth. If her kiss had been light and teasing, his was practically indecent; leaving no part of her mouth un-violated or tasted. It was so intense that when he finally pulled away, sucking roughly on her bottom lip as he did, she could only think of one word to describe the huge tidal wave of emotion that he had just caused.
" Oh," she uttered, hoping he couldn't hear her heart as it pummeled her insides.
" Oh? Is that the best you can do?" he purred against her lips, running his tongue out to prod the now swollen and red flesh.
" Mmmmhmm..." she replied, pressing closer to him. She was just about to enfold him completely in her arms and forget any thing resembling a grudge, when a small portion of her senses sluggishly returned.
" Hey, wait! What was that for?" she glared at him, without moving away from him.
" That was a ' thank you'."
" For what?"
" For providing me with the world's most embarrassing yet incontestable alibi." he said, almost with a smile.
She blushed, and smiled sheepishly.
" Was it horrible?"
" It was. . .disturbing. Seven jaws fell to the table in unison, and I can only hope that it hurt like hell."
" Eek! Seven witnesses!" she groaned, dropping her face to his shoulder. He could feel the heat from her blush through his shirt.
" If it is any consolation to you at all, you were only. . .barely visible. Most of the time."
She covered his mouth with her hand.
" Don't. Don't go into detail, I don't want to know what I looked like, what we looked like, or who was looking at us." she gave a little laugh.
" Oh I don't have to tell you their names. If they ever see either of us again, they'll probably turn red and flee."
" Even Dumbledore?'
" Ha. We should be so fortunate. He managed to pretend he wasn't shocked, although he did light his beard on fire."
She laughed against his neck, and he relaxed. Not too long ago, he was furious because she had kissed him public; a memory that seemed absurd in it's simplicity, compared to the recent horror. Maybe he had been foolish, in his drunken, pain induced stupor. Foolish, and hasty. After all, if they could survive having their intimate moments displayed to seven witnesses, then what was a few Death Eater's and Lord Voldemort? Peanuts.
With that thought, he planted a kiss on her temple.
" Forgive me?" he murmured.
" Not yet, but your welcome to keep trying." she answered, tilting her head up so he could kiss her again.
" Oh, BLIMEY! HELP! I need a memory charm! Yeeps! Someone PLEEEAASE Obliviate meeee!" Ginny jerked away, nearly falling off of the table.
Behind her, in the doorway, was her brother Ron, holding his hands over his eyes and staggering madly back and forth, moaning and wailing dramatically in a wild imitation of a blinded man. He knocked several lamps and pictures to the floor, before seizing hold of the drape and sinking to the floor.
" I am traumatized. . .my eyes, my eyes. . ." he gasped, before collapsing with an audible thump.
" RONALD WEASLEY! HOW long have you been standing there? If I had my wand I would hex you so hard mother would have to bury you in a thimble, you utter PRAT! " Ginny screamed, scrambling off of the table and onto the floor.
Ron opened one eye and stuck his tongue out at her.
" Oh yes. . .that reminds me." Snape said , in a low almost bored tone." Professor Dumbledore said that he saw no reason why you shouldn't have this returned to you."
He drew out Ginny's wand and handed it over to her, a wicked gleam in his eye.
She took it from him with a wink, and whipped suddenly, striking Ron with her famous Bat-Bogey hex, followed by a Jelly-Leg curse. She had a few more lined up, and was prepared to fire them in rapid succession, but Severus laid a hand on her wrist.
" I think that will be sufficient enough to hold him. Shall we go?"
She nodded.
" Good day,Mr. Weasley." Snape said, stepping over Ron's sprawled form.
" Prat." Ginny nudged him roughly with her toe as she passed.
" My place or yours?'' she asked, linking an arm in Snape's. She knew he despised it when anyone used such deliberate ' Mugglisms '.
He glowered at her.
" Anyplace but here."