Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly, no matter how much I wish I own Rupert Grint.

Chapter 17

Rumors were flying through the party, spreading like wildfire.

"Harry Potter, yes, that's right—"

"—Back from the dead, can you believe it?"

"—His ghost, he walked right through me—"

"—Amnesia, poor dear, can't remember a thing—"

"—Covered him in boiling oil—"

"—Kidnapped the Minister! A scandal!"

Naturally, no one had the right story. All those who actually knew the truth about what had occurred that day were still sitting in the small, upstairs room together. They had, or course, crowded at the only window and observed Harry's misadventure in Mrs. Next Door's garden. Now that they were satisfied the action was, in fact, over, they were ready to discuss the goings-on of the unexpectedly eventful day.

"Guess keeping him a secret kind of went out the window," George remarked. His twin shook his head in agreement.

Remus sighed and lifted his head out of his hands. "What are we going to do?" he asked. This caught everyone off guard, as they had rather hoped he had a plan, and no one met his eyes.

After several long moments, Fleur spoke. "Well," she began, choosing her words carefully as she realized no one was eager for her suggestions. "Not zat anyone could 'ave missed it, of course," she said, "but we should probably make certain everyone knows 'e eez 'ere."

Remus looked at her disbelievingly. "Excuse me?" he managed. She rolled her eyes, and he narrowed his own. "Fleur, we're trying to minimize the damage."

"Remus, dear," she said, her voice falsely sweet, "'Arry eez ze one 'oo ran out. Zis mess eez of 'is own making. I feel no guilt." Remus barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes.

"That much," he muttered, "is obvious."

Fleur continued on as if she had not heard him, though any hint of warmth that had been in her voice was extinguished. "You can be certain tons of people saw 'im, and zey will not be so 'igh-minded as you," she stated.

"Zey will pass along zeir own leetle stories and gossip about it. All I am saying eez zat it would be better for 'Arry to 'ave 'is own version out zere. Eet would be better for you to tell zem what 'appened." She smiled smugly, and Remus silently cursed the validity of her point. If she was so evil, she shouldn't be so smart; it just wasn't fair.

"We'll have to ask Harry," he said warningly, and she nodded in assent. Remus didn't like one bit how much it looked like he was looking for her approval. However, he wasn't about to try to rebuke her, for several reasons. Firstly, he knew she cared about Harry, in her own twisted way, and was just trying to help him, still using her twisted, twisted ways. Plus, he seriously doubted she would listen anyway.

No one noticed that Ella had slipped out of the room.

. x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x .

Ginny, having run as fast as she could from Harry, found herself in the bedroom they had put her in after she fainted. She sat on the bed, still dizzy from the kiss. Her hand was still stinging from when she had slapped him, and that was to be expected. What was unexpected—what was entirely unwelcome—was the tingling she felt whenever she touched him.

She let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, and began rocking back and forth nervously. Telling herself to calm down, she stretched her body across the bed.

What was she supposed to do? Ginny couldn't deny the feelings that were being resurrected after all these years. She recognized that being in his presence was as intoxicating as it always had been. The kiss they had shared was as passionate as they always had been. But no matter how much she wanted that again, Ginny was not about to tell him that. After all, he had left her. And she was engaged.

'Oh no.' She was engaged. Richard was going to be her husband. She was getting married. And what did she do? She kissed Harry.

"Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad," she said, eyes wide. "Oh no," she breathed, almost hyperventilating. "What have I done?"

Richard. Ginny was going to marry Richard, and they would be together forever. That made her happy. But the thought of Harry made her happy too.

"No, it doesn't," she muttered to herself. "Yes, it does," Ginny said before she could stop herself. Covering her mouth in horror, she continued to rebuke herself in her head.

'You love Richard. Very much.'

But it was no good. Green eyes and messy black hair kept flying through her brain. She could still feel his lips on hers.

'No, I can't—yes, I can.' She shook her head. "I'm my own worst enemy," she said under her breath. No matter how hard she tried to stop them, memories of the day overwhelmed her, pushing out any thoughts of her fiancé.

Until someone knocked at the door.

The wooden door opened slowly and silently, so Ginny didn't notice until the person put his foot in. She scrambled up quietly, trying and failing to quell the voice inside of her that was praying for it to be Harry.

It was Richard.

Trying to disguise the disappointed look that swept over her face upon seeing him, Ginny forced herself to smile.

"Darling," she cried as she flung her arms around him. The word sounded strange even to her.

"Hello, er, dear," he said, awkwardly patting her back. "Are you feeling better?" he asked in a business-like tone.

Ignoring the protests her mind was making against this treatment (she was sure Harry would never have left her side), she said, "yes," as sweetly as she could.

"Very well," he said, nodding his approval. Ginny stared at him. "I've got news!" he said, clapping his hand excitedly. She smiled. He really was cute sometimes.

"Well?" she said.

"Apparently," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows, "Harry Potter has made an appearance."

Ginny's smile became rather fixed. "Has he?" she asked, staring at her fingernails.

"Indeed. In fact," he added confidentially, "he has become Minister of Magic."

Ginny blinked. "Remus is the Minister," she said.

Richard leaned even closer, as if he was sharing a very juicy secret. "Mr. Potter has his ways," he whispered.

Ginny stared at him. "Where did you hear that?" she asked as patiently as she could.

"Everyone's talking about it," he said, as if his comments were common knowledge.

"Right," she said, unwilling to discuss the matter further.

"That's not all," he said in a sing-song voice. Ginny was now fully prepared to recant all the glowing comments she had ever made about him.

"Really? What else?" she asked in a monotone.

"Harry Potter is back for one day," he said, "and he's already snogging people."

Ginny heard something in her neck crack as she whipped it around to look at him. She suddenly felt very light-headed. "What?" she asked sharply.

"It's true," Richard said, nodding his head. "Loads of people are talking about how he was snogging a woman outside." There was a small noise at the door, but neither Ginny nor Richard paid it any mind.
"Do you know whom he was snogging?" she asked rather stiltedly.

"No," he said sadly. "No one does."

Ginny lowered herself onto the bed, closing her eyes in relief.

"Are you all right?" Richard asked her.

"I'm fine," she assured him, her mind swirling with everything he had told her.

Richard gave her a look she couldn't quite read. "Okay," he said slowly.

Ella, who had been crouching outside the door, quickly put away the Extendable Ear she had filched from the upstairs room. She stood up carefully, so as not to make any noise and alert the couple to her presence. Straightening her dress, and patting her hair down, she knocked on the door.

Richard opened it. "Hello Ella," he said guardedly. He had never been terribly fond of the girl. Ella grinned at him. She was well aware of his feelings towards her, having manipulated them to her benefit on more than one occasion. Richard was easy to bend to her will because he was slightly afraid of her. She took after her mother too much for his comfort.

"Ginny," she said, knowing it annoyed Richard when she called adults by their first names. "Remus would like a word."

Ginny nodded shortly and made to follow her niece.

"Bye Richard!" Ella called happily, giggling at the odd color of his face.

"I'll come with you," he said. Ella stopped, her smile disappearing. That wasn't part of her plan.

"Actually," she began, but Richard cut her off.

"Lead the way, then." Ella glared at him, and he pretended not to notice. He wrapped his arm around Ginny's shoulders and began to walk with her down the hall. Ella stalked after them, muttering to herself angrily.

Harry's insides writhed uncomfortably as he walked in and saw Richard kissing Ginny.

Author's Note: In the coming days/weeks, I've got a slew of tests and loads of family celebrations (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). Because of this, I'm not exactly certain when the next chapter will be out. Sorry! It shouldn't be too long, though, and reviews will certainly hasten the arrival.