Warning: This chapter contains some content not suitable for people under sixteen.

The Midnight Hour

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Down Under

Ginny woke up cradled in Severus' arms, her head resting against his chest. She looked around his room, he hadn't taken much notice of it the night before. It was a plain cream colour and the walls were bare. He had no photos, no paintings, no posters not even a clock. His bed was a four-poster, less ornate than the ones at Hogwarts and the floorboard were worn to a dull polish. Severus spent most of his year at Hogwarts, so he didn't pay much attention to his house.

Severus felt Ginny stir in his arms and looked down at her, flaming red hair and pale skin. His mind ran through the events of the previous night and he couldn't help smiling. He enjoyed her company, and loved her dearly. There was more than one occasion where he had told Ginny that they should not be doing what they were doing, but she put a silencing finger to his lip and gave him a reassuring smile. Whenever he thought about it his logical side told him that he was easily old enough to be her father, and that what they did was wrong, but, his heart told him that it didn't matter. He kissed her head and she looked up.

"Morning Severus." She whispered, he hugged her tightly.

"Morning Ginny." He replied, she smiled and adjusted her position. Her bare skin brushed against his.

"I love you." She told him, he smiled and told her he loved her too. He stroked her hair and kissed her softly. He took her watch off his bedside table and looked at it, she had to be at her friend's house in two hours.

"It is ten o'clock my love." He told her, she took the watch out of his hand and put it aside.

"Don't fret over the time." She whispered, and then kissed him passionately. "We have all of the time in the world." She kissed him again more intensely and pulled his body closer to his own. She felt his body react to her and he gave her an awkward look. "We wont be able to spend time with each other alone for a long while." She whispered before running her hand down his body and kissing him invitingly.

Ten minutes before Ginny and Severus arrived at Hazel's house Severus walked into a restaurant to use their bathroom. He walked into the room and shut the toilet stall door behind him. He pulled a small potion phial out of his pocket and pinched his nose before swallowing it whole.

Ginny stood just inside the restaurant and waited for him. The place was packed with muggles hungry for their lunch. They seemed completely unaware of her waiting there. She wondered if they had any idea of the war raging all across the world. Probably not.

"Ginny." She heard someone call her and she looked around, she froze in shock when she saw her father walking towards her. He smiled. "It's me!" He said looking around, she took a step back.

"Dad… I am here with Hazel-" He interrupted her.

"Ginny, it is Severus." Ginny raised her eyebrows "And how do I know that you are not lying?" She asked, he leant in close to her.

"We have made love." He whispered, she flushed. That is not something she wanted to hear from someone who looked like her father.

"Okay. Why do you look like my father?" She asked, he smiled.

"Because I took a polyjuice potion, your mother gave me your father's hair yesterday so that it wouldn't look strange if I dropped you off at Hazel's house. After all, you are still supposed to be at the burrow." He told her, she nodded and they walked out of the restaurant together.

Ginny spent two days at Hazel's. She enjoyed the two days, Hazel was an only child and her parents were wonderful. Ginny and Hazel were allowed to do almost anything they wanted to do and stayed up late each night talking.

Ginny's pink owl, which she named Seraphina (Sera for short), left with a letter for her parents early on her first day at Hazel's house, and returned the next morning dyed a dark, inconspicuous brown with a note from her mother chiding her for being so irresponsible. She had to admit that her mother had a point, Grimmauld place was meant to be the hideout for the Order of the Phoenix, and it would look very suspicious if a hot pink owl kept flying towards the spot where it was meant to be between number twelve and thirteen.

Ginny had packed up all of her clothes, ready to return to Grimmauld Place and was waiting for her brother to pick her up. Hazel was walking around her house once more to make sure Ginny left nothing behind. Ginny took the compact out of her pocket and flipped it open. She saw her owl reflection grimacing back at her, she closed it softly and placed it back in her pocket. She still felt an overwhelming rush of relief that Severus was back and was happy to have spent time with him.

"Gin, here." Hazel said and handed her a pair of socks.

"Thanks Hazel," Ginny stuffed them into a side pocket of her bag. "Hazel?"

"Yeah?"

"Well," Ginny begun, Hazel eyed her suspiciously. "Before I came here I went and spent and slept over at Fred and George's, but Dad didn't want me to. So, mum told him that I was staying here for an extra night." She explained. Hazel thought for a moment then nodded.

"Okay. So, if your dad asks you were here?" She confirmed.

"Meeting your French cousins." Ginny added.

"Meeting my French cousins. Check." Ginny laughed and zipped up her bag. She really didn't like lying to Hazel, but she couldn't exactly tell her the real reason. Hazel did know about her relationship, but she definitely would not approve of Ginny spending a night alone with the potions master.

Ginny returned to Grimmauld Place with out being asked too much about Hazel's cousins and what they were like. Her father seemed somewhat preoccupied and when she walked into the head quarters of the Order, most of its members were in a secret meeting with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny went to her room and unpacked her belongings. After she was done she walked down to the lounge room to watch some television, she had to admit, it was extremely addictive.

It was late afternoon by the time the meeting broke apart and the members of the Order flooded the corridor. She walked out of the lounge room, hoping to see Severus. Her mother spotted her immediately and pulled her into a bone crunching.

"How was your time dear?" she asked.

"Good thanks Mum, Hazel's cousins are nowhere near as bad as Phlegm." Her mother laughed and patted her on the head before rushing off to the kitchen. She walked further down the corridor finally spotting Severus, he was in casual looking conversation with McGonagall and when he spotted her the corner of his lips tugged into a barrels noticeable smile she grinned at him before she felt a tapping on her back, she turned around to see Harry. She felt like rolling her eyes, but stopped herself just in time. Harry's hair was messier than usual and the circles around his eyes had darkened slightly, he smiled before speaking.

"Hey Ginny, how was your trip?" He asked.

"Okay thanks." She replied, he nodded.

"Can we talk?" He asked, she nodded and followed him down the corridor and through a door that led to small, overgrown yard. They stepped out into the snow and wind and Harry shut the door behind them. He looked lost for words and Ginny was sincerely hoping that he wasn't going to ask her out again. There was silence for five more minutes, Ginny pulled her jacket more tightly around her and waited patiently.

"While you were away, we heard some really bad news." He told her, she nodded, not wanting to know what the news was. "I don't know if you know this, but Voldemort doesn't only have death eaters in Europe. He has been recruiting followers worldwide for the past two years. The death eaters have begun displaying their beliefs publicly, like they did at the Quidditch World Cup. Do you remember?" he asked, Ginny tried not to think back to that night, it had been one of the most frightening in her life, along with the Chamber of Secrets and the department of mysteries. She nodded, willing her memories away. "Well, there was a particularly bad one in Australia a day or so before Christmas. There were a lot of people killed, but there are some survivors." Ginny thought for a moment and then her memory ran over the conversation she had on the Hogwarts Express with Felicity and Colin. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that she had not heard from her Felicity since that day on the train.

"Felicity?" When Harry looked away she brought her hands to her mouth.

"We don't know if she is still alive. Her, and her parents have been reported as missing. They haven't found their bodies among the wreckage… so, they might still…" He trailed off, Ginny looked away from him and he placed his hand on hers. He thought before he spoke. "The order doesn't want anyone knowing until numbers are final, but I thought that I should tell you. I didn't want you to read about it in the Daily Prophet and be shocked." She nodded and he turned to walk back inside. He stopped before opening the door. "I am sure they will find them." He whispered. Ginny slumped against the fence and closed her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ginny asked. Severus looked away from her and she brandished the Daily Prophet in front of her mirror.

"I didn't want you to worry." He told her, she rolled her eyes.

"So you would rather me pick up the Daily Prophet and read that a group of mediwitches had to spend eight hours casting spells on one of my friends to make sure she kept breathing?" Ginny put the paper down on the table. Severus looked at her through the mirror and took a deep breath. It took two days for the Daily Prophet to report the incident in Australia, and that was how long it was before she heard anything about Felicity. She had to admit, she was happy to find out that her and her family were safe. "How long have you known?"

"A week." He told her. She thought for a moment.

"But, the order have only known for… six days. How did you know?" Severus was silent. She glared at him through her mirror.

"Where are you?" He asked.

"In my room." She replied.

"Is everyone asleep?" He asked, she nodded and looked at her watch. It was after one o'clock in the morning. He disappeared from the mirror and she let out a large breath of air before shutting it angrily. She leant closer to the candle on her bedside table and blew it out before lowering her head onto her pillow. She turned to face the wall and tried to calm down. She knew that Severus wasn't meant to tell her these things, but it annoyed her that Harry found it important enough to tell her and Severus did not mention it at all. She pulled her covers up around her and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later her door creaked open and she sat up quickly, looking towards it, but it was too dark for her to see.

"Who is it?" She asked, feeling around on her bedside table for her wand. The person shut the door and she heard the lock click. She tried to find her wand more frantically.

"Lumos." The person hissed in deep voice. A wand tip ignited in the middle of the room and revealed Severus' pale face. Relief flooded through her.

"You scared the shit out of me." She hissed angrily, he brought his finger to his lips before casting a silencing charm on her room. He walked over to her bed and sat on it, careful to miss her legs.

"I can't stay for long." He told her, she nodded.

"Why did you just leave?" She asked, he took her hand.

"I need to tell you something." He told her, she nodded and crossed her legs under the covers. "I didn't want to tell you what happened in Australia." He begun.

"Clearly." She hissed, he squeezed her hand softly and she closed her mouth.

"It happened the day before I returned." He told her, she nodded and her eyes scanned the scar on his neck. Suddenly, her mind was illuminated as if by the lumos spell from his wand.

"You told the Order." She whispered. He nodded. "You were there." Anger stirred in the pit of her stomach. "You were there?" She said a bit louder "And you did nothing to help those people?" She hissed, he looked away. "You… you didn't…" she begun, he looked back at her and he shook his head quickly.

"I didn't kill anyone. As soon as it begun I left, but not before this happened," he gestured towards his neck. "One of the death eaters saw me turn to leave and cursed me before taking be to Voldemort." He said, Ginny winced and gripped his hand more tightly. He brought his free hand up to caress his face.

"All I could think about was you." He whispered tenderly, she looked away from him. "I managed to convince Voldemort that Dumbledore would not trust me if I killed someone. After hours he finally agreed before telling me to leave." Ginny bit her lip.

"Did you see Felicity?" She asked, he nodded.

"That is what made me leave." He said, she blinked back her tears. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "I am sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to know I was there." He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her head.

"You don't have to protect me." She hissed, he kissed her again.

"I know." He whispered kissing her again, she looked up at him.

"So, that's why Dumbledore sent you there?" She asked, he nodded and her stomach boiled with anger. She wished that the war was over, she was sick of all the secrecy, the lies.

"It's only just begun." He whispered, as though he read her mind, she buried her head in his chest. He squeezed her and kissed her softly.

"I can't lose you." She murmured, into his shirt.

Ginny sat on the Hogwarts Express on her way back to Hogwarts. Most of her friends were in a very sober mood after sharing the news of Felicity. They had been told that she would return to school in a week or so, but the thought that the war between Voldemort and the rest of the Wizarding World scared them to pieces. Ginny sat with her forehead pressed against the window, choosing not to take part in the conversation.

"Hey Ginny?" Colin asked, she nodded, "Have you heard the rumours about that group? The Order of the Phoenix?" Ginny shrugged, her parents had been adamant that she did not put herself in any danger by showing affiliation with the groups. "I heard that they are a group of arouras that have been working for years to hunt down you-know-who."

"I hear that Dumbledore leads them." Hazel said, a few people nodded.

"Maybe we should join them. They could probably protect us." Colin said, the other people in the carriage nodded and Ginny wanted to curse them for their stupidity. The Order was already protecting them, they had been for the past few years. They had stopped countless attempts by the death eaters to kill innocent people.

"What do you reckon Ginny?" Hazel asked, Ginny shrugged.

"I don't know." She said.

"I think it is Dumbledore that leads them." Hazel stated confidently, "Apparently, he is the only one who you-know-who is afraid of."

"Hazel, do you really think Dumbledore has enough time to run off fighting death eaters? He has to run the entire school!" Ginny said, Hazel shrugged.

"He could be like a muggle superhero, by day a school headmaster, by night a protector of the innocent." Hazel said, the other laughed and Ginny just looked outside of the train, willing her resentment for her friend's jokes away.

Ginny sat at her usual seat in the potions classroom, being yelled at by Professor Snape. She just nodded and hummed as he told her off. She had 'accidentally' poured her boiling hot invisibility potion all over her desk, making it disappear. It was sure to get her a few detentions.

"On your first day back you pour your entire potion on your desk. Have you no brains girl?" He roared, she held back her smile. "I will see you in detention." He yelled. She sat back in her seat and tried her best to look annoyed. He stormed to the front of the room. "Class dismissed." He said "So I can clean up Weasley's mess." The class shuffled out of the room.

"Detention on our first day back. Only you, Ginny." Colin laughed as they walked down the corridor. Ginny laughed too.

A/N: Sorry about how short this chapter is. I have been really busy lately. I am in the middle of my HSC, and if you don't know what that is I think you are the luckiest person alive. I can't have you taking all the luck, so, for those of you who don't know the HSC it, I'll tell you. The HSC, or Higher School Certificate, is the Australian muggle version of the N.E.W.T.S. It is out final year at school, which is concluded with a series of tests. So, my finals. I am halfway through my exams, four down, four to go. And I have about a week break. After my next three exams I have another break, about five days or so, so the next chapter will be up then. I am soooooo sorry that this took so long, but I can tell you that the next chapter is going to be a fun one.

I am thinking of lowering the rating on this story for now, but I don't know, what do you think?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, your comments mean the world to me…

maddudewalking …. I wont say much, but I am pretty sure it is hard to keep a secret at Hogwarts, as Dumbledore reminded us in the second movie. Thanks for your reviews, the next update wont be too long!

Mistress of Eternity…. Thanks for the advice, I have tried to use it. Yay for Snape and Ginny!

MyEmeraldEyes…. Thanks dude! Hope you liked this chapter, I know it was a bit short but the next one will be better…. Promise!

Kime…. Nah, no intention of killing Severus (yet…. Hehehe evil grin), and that review of your was wonderful.

Anglic Bladez… Sorry it took so long, I hate leaving it that long, but yeah…

Emily Grace Potter…. Thank you so much! Your sweet. You really have no idea how happy your review made me. Hope I didn't disappoint!

ArcticAngelzTx & Michelle R…. Thanks for the comments, here's the update for ya! Cheers!

Everyone Else… Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing…