Warning: This chapter contains some content not suitable for people under sixteen.
The Midnight Hour
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Formalities
Ginny opened the classroom door and stepped through the threshold, Severus was at his desk reading a hefty looking book that could easily pass for an encyclopaedia. She shut the door behind her and walked over to him, a slight bounce in her step to match her happy disposition. He looked up at her and clicked his tongue.
"You really do try my patience, you know." He drawled, she grinned and shrugged.
"I try to. It is so much fun." She responded, he rolled his eyes.
"I do wish you would do it without making such a mess though." He said as he gestured towards the desk. She laughed. "It took me an hour and a half to get it to that standard." He explained, as far as Ginny could see the edges of the desk were still slightly transparent.
"Why didn't you just wait for the potion to wear off?" She asked, he raised his eyebrow at her.
"I told you at the beginning of the lesson that on a living organism the potion takes four hours to wear off, but in the case of something that it not alive it can take days, perhaps weeks." He explained, "You weren't paying attention." He told her. She shrugged casually.
"Well it is hard to pay attention to what your saying when you look so good." She beamed; he rolled his eyes and beckoned her over, pulling her into a soft hug.
"Well, how about next time you try not to turn something invisible?" He asked.
"Yeah, next time I think I should burn it down. That should be fun." She joked, he squeezed her.
"Please don't tell me I am dating a pyromaniac." He hissed, she laughed and kissed him gently.
"Okay, I wont tell you." She laughed and then pressed her lips against his. "So," she said as she pulled away from him and took a seat from the first row, putting it in front of his desk and sitting down, "What are you reading?" He shut the book and showed her the cover, Brewing a Battlefield. It seemed to be a book that contained all types of spells that could be used in all types of battles. She sighed and pushed the book away from her. He brought his hand up to caress her face.
"There have been hundreds of wars before our time." He told her in his calm, droning voice "And we are still here today." He said she looked at him.
"We? Whom do you mean by we?" she asked, "If you mean we, as in wizard folk in general, you are right. But if you mean we as in people who fought in the battle then you are wrong. Sirius is dead, the Potters are dead and the Longbottoms are as good as dead. Not to mention hundreds of other innocent people who have fallen. Who is to say that we, meaning you and I will survive this war?" She asked, he leant over the desk and pecked her on the lips.
"I saw we will." He told her in a concluding tone, she gave him a faint smile and rubbed her cheek against his hand. "You worry too much." He told her, she laughed.
"It is part of the Weasley genetic code." She replied, "But really Severus, aren't you worried sometimes?" She asked, he shook his head and she laughed sceptically.
"If you worry then you lay your life at themercy of others. When it comes time, you need to be calm, so that you can approach a situation with a logical and responsible outlook. Ginny, you shouldn't fret so much. What will come will come, and you deal with it when it does. There is no point in trying to predict the future when you are dealing with the present." He whispered, her eyes averted from his. "Look where it got Professor Trewlany." He told her, they both laughed and Ginny placed her head on the table.
"I'll try not to worry so much Severus, but it is hard. Whenever I think about the possibility of losing you I don't know hat I would do." She said, he took her hand in his.
"Then don't worry about losing me, because I can assure you that you wont, and if – by some slight chance – you do, you will cope just fine. I am sure Potter will be willing to sweep you off your feet." He said, Ginny laughed.
"If all I have to look forward to is Harry, then it seems as though I will have a bleak future." She laughed, she had no interest in Harry any more. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "You and your stinking calmness." She hissed, he smirked.
A week passed without Ginny burning anything or turning it invisible. She visited Severus for one more detention and spent hours each night that she didn't see him talking to his through her two-way mirror. The Gryffindor versus Slytherin quidditch match was quickly approaching and Harry became more agitated and strict than he had been before. Ginny had a feeling that losing this match would cost Harry more than the Quidditch Cup, he would lose his pride. Judging by the way he acted though, he would lose his life. Ginny had trained in strong wind and heavy snow for the past two nights and was not looking forward to her next week at Hogwarts. Harry had scheduled three night time practises and three lunch time ones. If there was something that Ginny hated more than loosing her night, it was losing her lunch, and she had the feeling that most of her team agreed.
Ginny sat in her large four-poster bed, the scarlet curtains drawn with a silencing spell cast on them. She pulled out her silver compact mirror and opened it. She checked her watch, Severus should appear any moment. She exhaled forcefully and her breath misted up the mirror slightly. She grinned and breathed on it again, a nice layer of mist forming on it now. She used her fingers to carefully draw a love heart and grinned. Moments later she heard Severus' voice.
"Very creative my love." He said, she laughed and rested her head on her pillow.
"How was your day?" Ginny asked, Severus rolled his eyes and sighed.
"The third years were rather hyperactive today. Extremely annoying, might I add. They insisted on a consistent babble. And I also had a highly irritating red head in my sixth year class call me over to ask whether or not she was slicing an ingredient thinly enough." He said, she grinned and rubbed the misted mirror with her fist.
"You poor thing, you should have given the irritating redhead to see you in detention." He shrugged
"No, I think it frustrated her that I didn't. It makes my day when she is disappointed." He replied, Ginny laughed. "Been training hard?" She nodded and rolled up her sleeve, showing him a bruise she received during that evening's training. He tutted sympathetically. "Well, I don't think you have much chance against Slytherin." He said, she raised her eyebrows.
"Well, if you don't maybe you should be talking to me." She told him, he laughed.
"Alright then," he told he. "Goodnight my love." He turned and Ginny laughed.
"You know, it would really peeve me off if you stayed and talked to me." He turned back to face the mirror and looked at her questioningly.
"Really?" he drawled, she nodded adamantly. "Then I am obliged."
"So, can you give me any hints about the Slytherin tactics?" She asked, he tutted.
"Cheating, Miss Weasley? I am surprised." She laughed.
"I like it when you can me Miss Weasley." She hissed.
"Then I shall call you Ginevra." He responded simply, she looked utterly crestfallen.
"Can I call you Professor?" She asked cheekily.
"I thought you already did." He told her, she shrugged "Although, when you call me Professor, it makes me feel as if you are a sixth year potions student." He told her, she grinned.
"And you like that do you?" He shook his head.
"Not really, but I do like you." He told her, she smiled.
Severus and Ginny talked for an hour or so before retiring to bed. Ginny put her mirror in her draw and settled into her bed, hoping that she slept right through the next day's classes and training.
Ginny sat in transfiguration, chewing on her quill absent-mindedly. She, and her friends, had received a letter from Felicity saying that she and her family would be back tomorrow and that she would return to school the next day. Professor McGonagall's lesson travelled straight into one ear and out the other. Ginny was happily sitting in her seat trying to think of nothing, something she realised was near impossible. Hazel nudged her sharply in the stomach and Ginny snapped out of her trance.
"She wants our homework." Ginny bit her lip and searched through the mess of parchment in her bag. After a few moments she heard an impatient tapping on her desk, she looked up slowly to see a disgruntled Professor McGonagall.
"Weasley?" She asked, Ginny smiled sweetly.
"Uh… You see Professor McGonagall, it seems that I have left my homework in the common room. With all of the quidditch training lately I have been very tired, and as you can guess, that has made me extremely forgetful." She gave the professor another smile, and the older woman rolled her eyes.
"Unforgivable Ginevra. But, now you remember where it is you have five minutes to put it onto my desk." She hissed before walking away stiffly. Ginny scrunched up her nose and stood up abruptly. She lied. It wasn't in the common room at all. She had no idea where it was, nor had she any idea if she actually did it.
"Is that enough time for you to write one?" Hazel whispered with a laugh.
"Go Jump." Ginny said before walking out of the classroom quickly. Ginny ran through the stone corridors, feet thumping on the flagstones. Her mind raced over all of the possibilities. If she did do it, where was it? She was too tired to remember what she had done the previous day. She frowned and kept walking. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled through a door, which quickly closed after her entrance. An arm wrapped around her waist, one hand covering her mouth. The hand on her waist travelled over her hips and towards her breasts. She squeaked, the sound muffled by the hand on her mouth and she struggled to pull away. Whoever was holding her trailed kisses down up her neck and bit her ear. She struggled to get away but was roughly turned around. She looked into the dark eyes staring back at her and brought her hand up to punch her kidnapper in the arm softly.
"What are you doing out of class Miss Weasley?" Severus drawled, she raised her eyebrows and tugged her clothes into a more comfortable position.
"What are you doing abducting me?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"I asked you first." He retorted, she rolled her eyes.
"How did you know it was me?" She asked. He glared at her. "Fine. I need to get my homework from the common room. I think I left it there. Actually, I don't even know if I did it." She said, He tutted.
"What subject was it for?" He asked.
"Transfiguration."
"You were complaining about it two days ago." He told her matter-of-factly, she grinned.
"So I did it?" She asked hopefully. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her fiercely.
"No." He said when he pulled away, she howled and her shoulders slumped.
"What do I do?" She asked, he grinned.
"You should do your homework next time." He said with a slight shrug of is shoulders. She glared at him and he pulled her body against his, his tongue thrashing against hers. She pulled away from him and glared at him again.
"You, Professor, are terrible." She puffed before turning on her heel and rushing out of the room.
Ginny rummaged through her trunk, hoping to find some class notes that she could hand in as homework. She slammed the lid of it shut when she found nothing. She turned to leave, but then stopped on the spot and grinned. She looked around the room carefully before walking over to Hazel's trunk and searching through it feverishly, remembering a trick she had once heard. She clutched a piece of parchment with a triumphant "Aha!" and whipped out her wand. Her eyes scanned over Hazel's class notes and she told herself she would replace them.
"Imera Personifil." She hissed, a stream of black lettering escaped her wand tip and Hazel's lettering was replaced with her own. She grinned and walked into the bathroom, tearing the parchment into jagged-edged squared. She put the pile of scraps on the counter top and aimed her wand at it again. "Incendio" She commanded, the papers began to burn, but before they turned to ashes she blew out the fire. After letting them cool down for a few moments she scooped them into her hand and ran out of the room.
Even though Hazel's noted were in Ginny's writing, McGonagall was sure to notice that they were exactly the same as what Hazel handed in. And really, what sane Hogwarts student would burn their own homework?
Ginny put the pile of parchment onto McGonagall's desk angrily. The professor glared at her and then looked at the pile of burnt parchment.
"What on earth it this Weasley?" She asked, Ginny looked angry.
"I left it on the table beside the fireplace, professor, and some stinking git must have nocked into the fire!" She huffed, the professor looked at her before speaking.
"You can not blame other people for your careless placement of homework Miss Weasley." She hissed, Ginny's eyebrows knitted together. "Detention this evening." She hissed, as the words left her lips Ginny's insides fell, she planned on getting a detention from the potions master that afternoon.
"But Professor! I did do it!" Ginny cried, McGonagall looked thoughtful.
"Fine." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand "You have until tomorrow." Ginny gathered the remnants of Hazel's notes and dropped them in the bin on the way back to her desk. When she sat down Hazel rolled her eyes.
"How did you do it?" She whispered with a laugh, Ginny grinned at her.
"I used your notes." Ginny replied, Hazel's smile quickly turned into a circle of shock. The Ovell sounded and Ginny gathered her belongings and skipped out of the room, Hazel glaring at her retreating back.
"Why?"
"Because I asked you to."
"I gathered that. But why did you ask me to?"
"I don't need to tell you. Just do it. Don't answer back."
"Why don't you drink it?"
"It's not my job to drink it."
"Well, it's not my job to drink it either."
"Your job it to do whatever I tell you to do."
"No, actually, I don't have a job."
"Just do it."
"But-"
"Do as I say."
"Fine." Gulp.
Ginny turned a magnificent shade of green and the class roared with laughter, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Happy?" She hissed sitting back. Severus looked at her.
"You might want to rethink your attitude over detention tonight Weasley." Severus said before walking to the front of the classroom. "Ten points off Gryffindor." Ginny glared at his and his eyes twinkled at her. He had caught her just as she was ready to add in an ingredient into her cauldron that would make a spectacular explosion. Instead, he noticed that her potion was completely wrong and made her drink it. Now she looked like and overgrown mandrake. She glared at her green hands, as if it would make them return to their normal colour.
It wasn't until half an hour later that the class filed out of the room and Severus handed her the antidote to the potion she had concocted.
"You didn't have to make me drink it." She told him as she slowly returned to her normal colour.
"Well, you were about to create a potion that would turn all of the paper in the room to ash. You had to learn you lesson." He told her with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. She shrugged.
"Eh. Guess so." She sighed. "So, detention at eight?" She asked, he raised his eyebrow.
"Why so late?" He replied.
"Quidditch training." She told him.
"See you at six." He told her walking towards the door and ushering her out.
"Severus!" She cried clenching her fists.
"Fine. Eight. Don't be late though." He said, she walked out of the door, poking her tongue at him as she passed.
Ginny caught the quaffle and sent it shooting through the goal posts at an extraordinary. Harry clapped and hooted and she flew down to the ground. He patted her on the back and the rest of the team touched down.
"That was spectacular. As you know the match is this Sunday, and I think we will wipe Slytherin off the pitch. But, don't get too complacent. We could always loose and drown in a pool of shame and despair." He said.
"Great motivational speech Harry." Ron mocked as he dismounted his broom, Ginny laughed. It was rather poetic for Harry, but she guessed that the upcoming game had been the subject of his musings for the past few weeks. The team walked into the change room talking about their tactics, and Harry was trying to find ways to improve them.
"Harry, we'll be fine. If you think about quidditch anymore I think you will start growing Firebolts out of your arse." Ginny told his jokingly, Harry shrugged and fell silent- tactics clearly still on his mind. Ginny took looked at her watch. Shit. It was already five past eight. She grabbed her bag out of her locker and raced towards the door.
"Where you going?" Ron called after.
"Detention." She yelled before running to the castle.
Ginny slowed down as she rounded the dungeon staircase. She took another look at her watch, pleased to see that she would only be about fifteen minutes late. She wasn't worried about Severus being angry, instead she was more concerned about missing out on time with him. She came to an abrupt stop as the platinum headed Draco Malfoy stepped in front of her.
"Where do you think you are going Weasley?" He snarled, Ginny rolled her eyes and made to step around him, only to be blocked by his tall and slender frame.
"Malfoy, get out of my way." She hissed, he raised his eyebrows.
"You do know that I am a prefect, so you are required to answer all of my question." Ginny sighed "So, where are you going weasel?"
"I am going to Wonderland to have a tea party with the mad hatter and the door mouse." Ginny said sarcastically, Draco looked confused.
"What the hell are you on about?" He asked, she rolled her eyes again.
"Look, I have detention, just get out of my way." She tried to step around him again, only to fail. He laughed.
"So, you just came from quidditch training then?" He drawled, she looked at her robes and shrugged.
"No, I just like wearing them. I think they are pretty." She stated in an indifferent tone, Malfoy glared at her.
"Stop giving me cheek you blood traitor." Draco yelled.
"Well get the fuck out of my way." She yelled throwing her bag on the floor and reaching for her wand. Draco whipped his wand out and they aimed them at each other menacingly.
"You know, no amount of training will save you from the shame of loosing to Slytherin on Sunday." Draco hissed softly.
"And no amount of bullying will free your father from Azkaban." Ginny hissed in return, Draco winced before raising his wand.
"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" A voice called from down the corridor, Severus walked up behind Draco who's wand was now tucked into his pocket securely. The blond turned around.
"This insolent sixth year was disobeying school rules." Malfoy snarled, Severus raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"What did she do Mr. Malfoy?" He asked.
"She refused to answer my questions." He snapped, Severus nodded thoughtfully.
"Weasley, you were meant to be in detention fifteen minutes ago. Five points off Gryffindor. Malfoy, go on with your duties." He said. Draco pushed past Ginny, elbowing her hard in the stomach.
"Your dead Weasley." He hissed in her ear as he passed. Ginny turned around, raising her wand at his retreating back but Severus forced her hand to her side. They turned and walked into the dungeon classroom, Severus shutting the door behind them. "What was that about?" He asked as he sat behind his desk.
"He wanted to know where I was going, and I told him he had detention but he wouldn't move out of my way. He asked if I came from training, called me a blood traitor. I told him that no amount of bullying would free his father from Azkaban and we took our wands out." Ginny recalled, heat rising into her face, Severus brought a hand up to her face and caressed her cheek softly.
"Despite what you may think Gin, it hasn't been too easy for him this past year." He whispered, Ginny glared at him.
"Yeah, so that gives him every right to stalk the halls and be a slimy git that terrorises innocent people." Severus looked at her sternly but she ignored him. "Speaking of slimy gits," she poked him in the ribs "You professor making me drink that stinking potion today. And taking five points off Gryffindor." She poked him a second time and he shrugged.
"You look rather fetching in green," he drawled "and I didn't want Malfoy to get suspicious." Ginny walked over to him and straddled his lap, he looked at her warningly.
"I love you." She hissed planting her lips hard on his, he responded by pulling her body closer to his and kissing her fiercely. She pulled away from him after a few moments and pressed herself against him teasingly. "You know," She begun "I have always wanted to see the teacher's quarters." She whispered nuzzling his ear, he took her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead.
"Well, I am afraid that will be impossible." He whispered, but kissed her passionately anyway.
"Why?" She asked, he smiled at her.
"If we were caught I could hardly explain the situation." He told her matter-of-factly, she frowned.
"Well we can't do anything here." She motioned to the room around her and Severus nodded in agreement.
"I guess we wont be doing anything then." He kissed her softly.
"But I want you." She breathed into his ear, and caressing a part of his body that made him moan softly.
"You've become quiet the nymphomaniac." He whispered, she giggled.
"No -I just love the feeling of your arms wrapped around me." She hissed, he smiled and snaked his arms around her waist, she rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck.
"How was training?" He asked, taking in the smell of grass and sweat, she smiled.
"Good. Harry is confident that we will wipe Slytherin off the pitch." She said casually, Severus laughed.
"We'll have to wait and see, won't we?" He kissed her softly, wishing desperately that he could show her his private quarters.
Ginny tugged on her protective padding as she listened to the tense silence that had taken over the change room. It was five minutes before the final quidditch game of the year was due to start, and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering around gleefully. She sat down and put her shoes on, tying the laces up tightly with secure double knots. Just as she finished she heard Harry clear his throat nervously, she looked up at him and when the team was paying attention to his he begun to talk.
"Okay. Well. This is it. The final game. Gryffindor verus Slytherin. Look guys, I am not going to lie. This will be hard. The Slytherin's bigger bastards on the field than they are off the field. This game is personal. I want you all to watch out carefully, I have no doubt this will be a dirty game. Peakes, Coote, I want you to play defensively. Don't worry about hitting the Slytherins, just make sure they don't hit us. Ovell, Robins, Ginny – score, just score. And keep your eyes open. And Ron," Harry turned to his friend and patted him on the shoulder "Ignore whatever those bastards say. You are an amazing keeper." Ron grinned his thanks. "Well, good luck guys." He said. The team cheered before walking on the pitch to the cheers of the entire school.
Severus watched the Gryffindor team as they walked on to the pitch. His heart fluttered when he saw Ginny, and he wished her the best of luck. He didn't care if Slytherin won, for all he cared they could sit on their brooms and twiddle their thumbs. The two teams mounted their brooms, the whistle screeched and the quaffle was thrown in the air.
"Nicely caught by Ovell, passed to Weasley, Weasley to Robins, ooh. Robins drops it, recovered by- hey! He can't do that. Slytherin beater Kipper hits the ball out of Ovell's hands, caught by Longsdale, he goes for the scoring area." Just before Longsdale enetered the Slytherin scoring area a mellow chant begun to boom from the Slytherin stands.
Weasley is our king
He always lets the quaffle in
Weasley is our king
He never catches a thing Severus watched as Ron clenched his face, keeping his eye on Longsdale who bullet passed to Jenkins who used his broom to whack the quaffle towards the hoops. Ron latched on to his broom with his hands and jumped and quickly kicked the quaffle away from the hoop. "Saved by Weasley. Gryffindor in possession. Weasley takes it, passes to Ovell, who passed to Robins who passes to Ovell who passes to… whoa… Sorry this is making me dizzy. Oh… you can see what is happened. One… Two…. WEASLEY SCORES TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR." Luna's voice sounded throughout the pitch accompanied by the cheers of the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs. Severus smiled to himself and watched as Ginny high-fived her team mates."You ought to watch yourself." Ginny heard, she whipped her broom around and saw Malfoy leering at her, she glared at him. "Don't get too cocky."
"Go touch yourself." Ginny yelled, Malfoy sped off and Ginny turned back to the game.
The game continued for half an hour and Luna Lovegood had great difficulty keeping up the commentary. The competition was fierce and at time it seemed as though the chasers were playing hot potato with the quaffle. Gryffindor had score three more times, Slytherin one. Ginny wiped sweat off her face and caught the quaffle passed to her by Robins. Ginny steered her broom towards the middle goal post, waiting for the other two chasers to go around to either side of the scoring area, ready to practise the move they had created. Ginny ignored Peakes and Coote as they were forced to fly beside her to protect her from constant bludger attacks.
Severus watched, fists clenched in anticipation. He was sure that he hadn't been this excited about a quidditch game since his own time at school when it looked as though James Potter was about to loose the game for Gryffindor. He watched as Ginny flew gracefully into the scoring area, ignoring the bludgers pelting towards her. His eyes followed the quaffle as it shot towards Ovell who grabbed the end of her broom and used the tail to hit it straight through the far right ring. the Slytherin Keeper missed the quaffle by an inch and almost fell of his broom as Robins, who was waiting behind the middle hoop, sent the brilliant red ball pelting through the middle ring, scoring a second consecutive goal. The crowd cheered as Ginny added the final touch and kicked the quaffle into the far left, and final, hoop. Severus had to refrain from cheering as Ginny turned triumphantly towards the centre of the pitch for the toss. A wave of shock rushed over him.
Ginny turned back to the middle of the pitch, grinning ear to ear, satisfied with the move she and her team mates had managed to pull off. She looked up to see the two Slytherin beaters racing towards her, bats raised. She froze for a second before ducking. The Slytherins anticipated her move and lowered their bats. Ginny felt a bone-smashing thud before she blacked out.
Severus jumped out of his seat as did all of the other people watching the game. Ginny's helpless body fell of the cleansweep and hurtled towards the ground, before he managed to whip his wand out Dumbledore had cast a spell to lessen the impact of Ginny's fall. Madam Hooch's whistle blew as Ginny's body collided with the grass, Severus doubted Dumbledore's spell helped too much. He jumped over the seats in front of him and raced down the stairs, heart beating rapidly. His mind raced, full of concern for his lover, the image of her body hitting the ground replaying in his memory. By the time he landed on the soft grass of the quidditch pith a group of students had already swarmed around the red-head's body.
"MOVE!" He yelled, pushing several students aside, and successfully clearing a path Ginny. Anger rose in his face as Harry sat by her side, shaking he shoulders softly. Harry turned to face him and then turned back to Ginny, pushing his arms under her feminine frame. Severus thrust him out of the way. "GET OUT OF THE WAY POTTER!" He hissed, placing his arms around Ginny and lifting her off the ground with ease.
"What are you doing?" Harry yelled.
"Shut up Potter." He put an arm around Ginny's shoulders to support her neck and jogged towards the castle.
As the castle door slammed shut behind Severus he looked around to make sure no one was nearby, he brushed some hair off Ginny's face and kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you." He whispered loving, taking the steps two at a time. He cradled his body closer to his own and looked down at his beloved Ginevra. Two trails of blood were streaming down her face, one from her cheek and one from her temple, where the beater's bats would have collided with her porcelain skin. Purple bruised were already beginning to form all over her arms and neck and Severus ran his hands over her ribs, he had no doubt that some were broken. Anger boiled through him as his mind replayed the moment where the beaters attacked her. He held her tighter and sped up, eager to take her to Madam Pomfrey.
"Severus… Oh Merlin!" Cried Madam Pomfrey as Severus burst through the doors of the hospital wing. She quickly threw back the covers on the nearest bed and rushed off to her medicine storeroom. Severus laid Ginny on the bed carefully and pulled the covers over her. Poppy bustled back into the room. "Remove her robes!" She ordered, Severus glared at her.
"Poppy, I hardly think…"
"Horseshit. This is no time for formalities Severus." She interrupted; Severus complied and unbuttoned Ginny's quidditch robes with trembling features. The white pillowcase was already turning red with the blood pouring from the scars on Ginny's face. Madam Pomfrey pulled Ginny's top of Ginny's robes apart, revealing Ginny's white singlet top. She lifted it up to reveal Ginny's stomach and chest, which had turned the deepest shade of purple imaginable, Severus bit his lip as he looked down at Ginny's body, battered and bruised. He wished he could hold her. After a few moments Poppy had the bleeding on Ginny's face controlled and stopped the bruising from spreading any further. She looked up at Severus' concerned face.
"You can go now. I have the situation under control." She told him coolly, Severus nodded soberly and turned to leave.
Severus returned the quidditch pitch just in time to see Potter snatch the snitch from right in front of Malfoy's nose. A small amount of relief slipped through his mind, knowing that Ginny would be happy that her fall had not cost the game. Students flooded onto the pitch and Severus noticed the Slytherin team retreat to their change room.
"Your team does not serve your house reputation well Severus." McGonagall tutted as she left the stands, Severus sat in his seat for a moment before heading for the change rooms.
Severus stormed into the Slytherin change rooms to see the boys sitting on the benches and yelling at each other angrily. They stopped yelling as soon as they saw him.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" He shouted rounding on the beaters. They glared back at him. "Do you have any idea what you did? Weasley has three broken ribs, a fractured jaw, concussion and severe bruising. She could have died. Do you fools have any idea what you have done?" There was silence "DO YOU?" He yelled. The two beaters shrugged.
"That smarmy little git deserved all she got." Macintyre hissed, Severus' brain exploded inside his skull and he hovered over the fifth year menacingly.
"JUST BECAUSE THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM BESTED YOU ON THE PITCH, DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ABUSE THEIR PLAYERS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Severus yelled, the boy looked undeterred.
"Anyone would think you actually cared." He hissed with a dismissive wave.
"I DO CARE." Severus spat, the Slytherin team snapped to attention, glaring at their head of house. Shit, Severus thought. "Do you know what this does to the house reputation?" The boys narrowed their eyes. "Do you want your house to have a reputation for being jealous, ungracious bastards?" He asked "DO YOU?"
"I thought we already did." Draco whispered, the room erupted in laughter.
"SILENCE!" Severus yelled, he pulled Macintyre and his fellow beater Petrovic to their feet. "Pack your trunks. You are suspended." He hissed, their eyes widened as Malfoy made an angry noise from behind them, Severus turned to him. "Malfoy, I have no doubt that you encouraged this despicable behaviour, you have detention for the rest of the term, and I assure you, you will be scrubbing grime and mould off the dungeon floor every single night. And as for the rest of you, you are banned from any school outing for the next two months." The boys looked at each other in anger and Severus turned and left the room.
"Get over it. Weasley is a fucking whore anyway." Draco yelled after Severus, Severus stopped and turned around slowly, anger pouring through every crevice of his body. His fingers itched to wrap around the wand in his pocket and curse the insolent little bastard.
"Malfoy, I can only hope that the torture that Potter and Weasley bestow you with allows you to live long enough for you to learn to watch your filthy mouth." He hissed before turning to leave the room, resisting the overwhelming temptation to break every bone in Draco's body.
It was not until two nights later that Ginny roused in her slumber, head aching and pain pounding in her ribs. Her memory flashed and she saw Macintyre and Petrovic heading towards her, bats raised. She winced in pain as she remembered the collision. Her eyes fluttered open and were met with darkness and a vague figure leaning over her. A hand came down to caress her face softly, and a calming hush was cooed. She squinted through the darkness.
"Severus?" She whispered, the hand on her cheek froze.
"What?" Came a familiar voice. The lamp on her bedside table switched on and light stung her eyes, she peered through the brightness to see Harry Potter looking down at her questioningly.
A/N: Yay! Chapter 15 done! Wahoo dances and sings on top of monitor. Yet again, I am sorry for the delay, but here is a long and spanky chapter for you all. What will happen next, eh? Well, you should find out soon-ish. I plan to have another chapter written within the next few days, as I have a five days left until my last exam. Seven down, one to go! I am so happy dances again.
I would like to thank you all ever so much for your review, they are lovely. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I have been planning the Slytherin-Gryffindor match since the second chapter, it is one of those little bits of the plot that I have refused to let go of. Anywho, thanks again!
Kime…. Hehehe… sorry dear, but you will have to wait to find out if anybody will die. For now, just relax and enjoy the story! Love ya! Oh, and by the way, that cookie sounds pretty promising, what flavor?
Maddudewalking…. LOL, no your not a wacko, I get just as crazy in my reviews. I know what it's like to sit on the computer and have to wait for a chapter, so I am REALLY sorry that I have done that to ya, but I hope this makes up for it. Thanks for wishing me luck, I don't think my results should be too bad. I think I will scrape by with a fail, which is better than a miserable fail. LOL, I try to keep my expectations low so when I get my results back I will be overjoyed that I got 15 instead of 7.
Mistress of Eternity…. Thanks for wishing me luck on my N.E.W.T.S, I only have one out of eight left so I am ecstatic! Thanks for being patient! The next chapter wont be too long now, (I have already started it )
Anglic Bladez…. Here you are! Another chapter, I hope you like it cause I think it is one of my favorites so far. It is a bit more up-beat than the last few, so I hope the chage of pace suits your taste!
Emily Grace Potter…. A bit more fluff for you, and a longer chapter, but I assure you there is more to come. Thanks for your reviews and opinions, I value them deeply.
Nyah1…. Thanks. You know, before I wrote this story I wasn't too keen on Snape and Ginny as a couple, I had read one or two SS/GW fics and liked them, but after writing one I can see why people like them together. They are such a fun couple to write about.
Krista…. A chapter for you my dear, please don't die. And unlike some other stories that I have abandoned I know I will keep this one going. (and the ones I have abandoned will be continued when I finish school… at least, I hope they will). Hehehe, thanks for your review!
Lollylover… A nice long update for you – enjoy! Thanks for your review!
HarryGinnyfan32…. Thanks for the wish of luck and the encouraging comments!
Angelique Collins… Okay, your story is added to my C2, if you know any other to add feel free to tell me about them. And, as for your story- I love it! Thanks for your review!
sOmEtHiNg – L1k3 – LAuGhTeR…. Wow, I had to copy and past your name into here , hehehe. Thanks for wishing me luck, it is deeply appreciated. Good luck with your own tests. I wish the teachers here would let me forget what HSC means, but all I ever hear is HSC this and HSC this, with a strong hidden message of 'If you fail the HSC then you will fail life. You will be miserable gutter-lickers who sell your toenails for a living.'. Gee teachers, thanks for the stress relief! Well, good luck anyway!
I want to change the story summary and I can't think of anything, anyone have any ideas? Or should I just leave it? What do you think?
Love,
Sinister SpidersXOXOXO
P.S. If you noticed that the name of the third chaser changed from Bell to Ovell please don't be too harsh on me. I realised that Katie Bell would well and truly have left the school and, consequently, the team. I have not had time to change this in the previous chapters, but I will do it as soon as I have finished my exams, gone to my formal, and cleaned my room! Grin