All right, several things, first I would like to apologize for posting two crack!fics before updating this one…I do feel quite bad…but they were funny…and secondly I would just like to warn that there is in fact het in this chapter and maybe for two more /shudders/ but it is temporary, and is in fact a plot device that will lead to more gay monkey sex, so worry not. And finally all the italics are dream-flashbacks...so they actually happened. All right, then...
I would like to thank Lady Phoenix Ice Angel, animegurl088, darkmistwold1991, Anna and Anya, Rhian Karlie, gussiegal5, Solo D. Maxwell-Yuy, HecateDeMort, Mikito, Sierralia, Fate, Mischievous Murderer, DustFactory, murdrax, Leader of the…Hunting Squad (hope that's going well), jeje, Batsutousai, Yami no Hikari-chan, lotr325, lauren, dreamerdoll (holy crap, you reminded me /checks chapter/ no puns…/gasps/), Sh'arra Rie, QueenB23, MorganEddasil, VerticalTrain, ME (duzzywuzzy), Lady Bridge, Laughing Cat, Lanhar, Vampyre Moon, Irhi Safaia, Lashya, Lady Kaceemort, killbunniedead, Shania Maxwell, websurfer (that was all natural high, baby, I get high on life /snickers at thought of sometime sniffing life/), LGFS, Madd Girl, Bex Drake, HoshiHikari (good questions, I would've answered them if I knew the answers), Flensa, shora (it's called paranoia, it's a mental disorder…KIDDING!...what am I on today…), kumak (/pokes/ like Kumon…except you're a person and not a tutoring facility /pokes more/), Xelena, Nimeariel, Evelyn Lucia, chaser1, Grinedel, I Am The Bunny Slayer, Toki Mirage, Purple Raveness, Nemoralis (man, you're weird, almost as weird as me…almost), AJ of the Underground (sorry that Sin couldn't make it to your party, Sin didn't get his invite soon enough and was very upset that you sent it to him late…he cried in his room for a week), Lirael Ravenclaw Slytherin, moony103, Black Pheonix of the Shadow…, heir to the world, sliver of melody, acerbus-chan, and timydamonkey (HI/waves/) for reviewing.
Sahrious: I feel much better knowing that you're an honors student that doesn't know what precognitive means, but I would like to recommend it's good for all of you needs…
Luv-blonde-bunny: I can totally understand the not wanting to talk to stranger thing, I hate to do that too, but if it's any consolation, I've been stalking you for months and you're not my type, sorry…KIDDING/laughs/ I'm a loser…
Devilaire Mshadi: I'm currently in high school, but just for a few more weeks. Well, when the animagi (/sighs/ that word is ruined for me…Christ…why did I write Quidditch Toned Muscles? "Harry loved when his women could do that") scene first came up, I didn't want Harry go down the road…much further, of a Gary Stu and thought up some kind of cool, but loser animal that would make a funny vamp…a goose, but then I had to specify because there are several types of geese…Harry is only attracted to blood at the moment, but the attraction Voldie will develop.
Butterbutt: Harry/Voldie action? You must have missed the pairing, it's Ron/Dean...what do you think you're reading? …KIDDING! But don't get thrown off by the het, it's a plot device to get more gay sex, if it lasts for more than a couple of chapters though, I might off the het perp…gives me the shivers every time I think about this chapter…Het…in my fic! At least it's somewhat off-set by slash…but het can never be truly off-set /shudders/
Ghellie: so what exactly is confusing you? It might actually be holes in the plot (was re-reading), and I noticed that I don't do a lot of descriptions…I've been trying to work on it, but sometimes I go off on a tangent (/coughs/ Faulkner /coughs/) or it ends up being random…I dunno…glad you're still reading though.
SuryaPrakash: You wouldn't happen to be hinting about our boys getting it started now would you? I like the underestimation of Dumbledore though…I'm gonna use that, thanks for the tip about me not making Dumbledore look tough, I'll see what I can do…
Sugarplumfairy: I'm very pleased that you know what month it is and can count…very impressed (isn't trying to be mean…is just sarcastic by nature—it's actually an affectionate thing, I do this to my friends a lot), but I have to correct your knowledge just a bit I don't do regualar updates, I work through inspiration which is a very erratic thing by nature. Glad to see you didn't follow through with your threat, or I would've waited to update just to spite you /smiles sweet innocent smile that gets her out of detention/
Chapter Twenty Three
Harry wasn't quite sure what to do now that he was back, he was sure everyone knew…or at least the teachers, who stared at him oddly. Snape especially looked like he knew exactly what happened.
"Harry, are you doing okay?"
Harry looked up at Ginny and smiled lightly at her, "Yeah," he replied, "I'm fine."
"You've been kind of off since Voldemort let you go," She murmured, worriedly, her pale blue eyes piercing his.
"I'm fine," Harry insisted, and Ginny lightly touched his arm.
"You know I'm here for you don't you Harry?" She asked quietly, and Harry couldn't help but think…
He smiled warmly and replied, "Thanks, Ginny."
"No problem," She replied, blushing lightly.
"So," Harry asked, "are you doing anything next Hogmeade weekend?"
Harry glared up at Voldemort, who glared right back at him.
"If you do this," Harry threatened, "I swear to god I will kill you."
Voldemort leaned in closer, their lips separated only by their breath. Harry bit back a moan; he could smell the blood he'd drunk on Voldemort's breath. It was flowing all through him…Harry believed in that moment that if he could see, he would be able to see the blood flowing just under Voldemort's skin.
"You'll kill me?" Voldemort asked his tone curious.
"Yes," Harry replied, "I. will. kill. you."
Voldemort moved to Harry's ear and replied, "Not if I kill you first."
Harry screamed.
Harry and Ginny stared at each other silently for exactly one hour and two minutes, thirty seconds while on their "date." Not a word was spoken, and not a single bottle of butterbeer was finished. The whole thing was just entirely too awkward for them.
But on the quiet walk back to Gryffindor tower, Ginny took hold of Harry's arm and pressed a kiss to his lips. She lowered her eyes bashfully and waited for Harry's reaction.
Harry licked his lips uncomfortable and couldn't help but compare it to others he'd had…this one, like Cho's had little substance to it. But Harry was sure that he didn't like it because he'd been ruined by what happened while he'd been captured by Voldemort.
So even though Harry really didn't want to, he touched Ginny's cheek and when she looked up, he kissed her.
After all, love did need a little help every once in a while…right?
Harry spoke the password, and helped Ginny back into the tower.
Maybe…?
Remus sighed and slouched down into the chair, tossing his head back.
"I feel like we're playing god," He confided in Severus.
"That's generally what psychics do," Severus replied, "play god with what they know. Better this way—he'll figure it out on his own then."
"What if something goes wrong?" Remus asked looking over at Severus.
Severus looked up from the papers he was grading and asked, "what if everything goes right?"
"I'm just saying," Remus began again, "what happens when you taper in the future and don't know what the outcomes are? How do you know when your plans will backfire?"
"Sometimes," Severus replied slowly, "You don't. Sometimes you just have to stand aside and hope everything goes right."
"Then why are we playing god?" Remus asked.
Severus put his quill down and replied, "Maybe we aren't. Maybe we just think we're playing god when god is playing with us."
"But what if everything always ended up the way it was supposed to without people already knowing what was going to happen and making everything turn out right?" Remus asked. "Why do we even have psychics if everything always turns out the way it's supposed to?"
"Because sometimes people need to know things are going to turn out okay before they try something they might worry would backfire," Severus said quietly. "Because if you knew things would turn out okay, wouldn't you go ahead and take a risk?"
"I suppose," Remus replied, "but how do you know what's a risk or not?"
"Well," Severus said standing up and heading over to the chair across from Remus, "you have to think of something very important to you. Like the winner of the game, or the future of Harry Potter and think about what you could tolerate happening and what you simply couldn't tolerate happening. Then once you know what you couldn't tolerate happening, then you must act to keep that from happening. Most people can take a risk here or there and not worry about it, but you'll find psychics hate the idea of making something turn out wrong…horrifically low self-esteems."
Remus grinned at this, and asked, "And what do you think is the risk you would have to take?"
Severus thought deeply about something for a moment and then came to a decision. He leaned across the coffee table and captured Remus' lips.
"I couldn't just leave that open-ended."
So, now, Harry and Ginny were officially a couple. It was pretty slow going in Harry's opinion; he wasn't sure how to act around her now. It was easy when she was the little sister of a friend and a possible source of annoyance, if Ron ever were to deem her one.
But now, things were different.
Ginny was his girlfriend, and Ron was like the brother of his girlfriend who threatened him with death if he violated sweet Ginevra.
And she was constantly hanging on his arm…when he went to bed at night it was red and throbbing because of the way she constantly held and pulled on his arm. Harry was sure this would lead to amputation.
"Harry, do you want to go do homework together?" Ginny asked him at dinner.
Harry quickly caught sight of Ron who was glaring pure death at him, and then he quickly looked over at Ginny who was smiling in a rather pathetic manner waiting for his answer.
"Well, Ginny," he had to think fast, "my scar has been—"
Harry thanked all things good and holy.
"Oh, no, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed worriedly.
This even proved successful at getting Ron off his back, "Mate why didn't you say anything?"
"Harry this is quite serious," Hermione muttered from behind her volume of So You Want to be a Political Radical that Auntie Carrie lent her. She turned the page, and didn't once look up.
"Well," Harry replied, "I just didn't want you to feel weird around me Ginny, and I didn't want to worry you Ron."
Harry was dancing around in his head, yelling "YESSSS!"
"Harry it only bothers me when you don't tell me these things," Ginny told him, her hand perilously close to Harry's abused arm, "I…love you…"
She looked up at Harry from under her lashes and waited.
"Me too Ginny," Harry replied, and he pressed a kiss to her mouth, and then said with some difficulty,"I love you too."
Harry noticed that Ron no longer looked concerned about Harry or upset about the PDA with Ginny, he looked positively rapturous and Harry was sure he could hear the wedding bells ringing in Harry as the new Weasley-in-law.
"Now, why don't you go to bed and rest up Harry," Ginny suggested with a slight smile, "and tell me next time your scar acts up, because I…want to know so I can be there for you."
"I will," Harry replied, and he kissed her cheek and stood up, "Good night Ginny…Ron, Hermione—if you can hear me."
"Yeah, that team sounds like it's really picked up," Hermione replied, and Harry choked down laughter, and instead tried to look pathetic and sleepy.
But when he was out of the great hall he wanted to jump for joy and yell in victory.
Harry groaned and slowly began to wake up, the position he was in was vaguely uncomfortable, but he felt…good. Harry moaned and began rocking his hips.
"This is what it's supposed to feel like," a voice whispered somewhere near his shoulder blade, the hot air blew across Harry's shoulder and sunk, humid onto his skin. "Not like it did last night…this," there was a long, hard thrust inside Harry's body and he arched his back, nearly screaming…his toes curling.
"I could watch you doing that for hours."
Harry whimpered with need and shimmied back.
"I'll have you screaming my name."
A few more weeks later, and Harry decided he must've done something right, he was beginning to really like Ginny, he'd managed to kiss her with tongue a couple of weeks or so back, and now they were having make-out sessions…undisturbed and even encouraged by Ron.
Harry couldn't get rid of the dreams he'd been having…those flashbacks…every time he saw Ginny he couldn't help but compare her, and he didn't want to think of what would happen if she wasn't as good…
"Harry," Ginny said softly, her hand going to Harry's thigh under the table. He looked up at her; she had that smile on her face, begging for some attention.
Harry bit his lip and Ginny's fingers trailed further up his thigh and she pressed her lips to his.
"Harry," she whined.
"Not in the library, Ginny," Harry replied, and he quickly gathered his things…It actually wasn't so bad anymore, Harry was getting to where he enjoyed it.
They hurried out.
Again, I am quite sorry for the het…and hope none of you mind too much…/slams head on desk/ and with Ginny! What's wrong with me—but it won't be for much longer…