A/N: I just wanted to warn you that I went through about a week-long writer's block, and ended up reading about twenty different romance novels. That's the only excuse I have for the first part of this chapter. I may have slipped above theM rating.

Chapter 15

Melanie awoke with a slight giggle at a tickling sensation on her collarbone. A glance downward reveled Harry's messy brown hair as he dropped kisses along the neckline of her slip. She tensed suddenly, and Harry pulled back to look at her.

"Sorry, I couldn't wait any longer," he murmured huskily, then leaned forward to kiss her lips.

Melanie quickly turned her head to the side so that he kissed her cheek instead.

"Harry, I –uh…" she began but broke off when his lips moved to her neck again.

She took a deep breath and then firmly pushed him off of her and jumped out of bed.

"I have to go the restroom," she explained to his confused look.

He nodded and pointed to a door at the far side of the room.

"Don't take long," he called as he watched her practically run for the door.

A few minutes later he heard her turn on the shower and groaned.

Ten minutes later Melanie stood behind the closed bathroom door, wearing nothing but a towel, trying to work up the courage to open it.

Why hadn't they done this last night when she'd been too sleepy to be nervous?

She hadn't lied earlier when she said she needed to use the bathroom. But after that she realized that she had morning breath and so she brushed her teeth. Then she discovered that the charm that kept her legs hairless and smooth had worn off, and so she took her time reapplying it. After that she washed and dried her hair, and every body part she could think of. Now, there was nothing left to do. It was time.

Melanie took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Harry was lying on his back, not moving.

"Harry?" She asked tentatively as she walked over to the bed.

The only answer she got was a soft snore.

He was asleep.

"Really, I didn't take that long," she grumbled under her breath.

She climbed on the bed and sat cross-legged beside her sleeping husband.

Harry looked so peaceful and angelic in sleep that it made her smile.

She reached out a hand to shake his shoulder, but changed her mind, and touched his cheek instead.

The pale skin of his face was smooth and slightly flushed with the warmth of sleep. She traced her fingers along his jaw line and then up to his nose and brow. Finally her fingers swept across the infamous scar that marred the otherwise blemish-free skin of his face.

Harry's intake of breath at the warmth of her fingers on his scar was so subtle, that at first she only thought that she'd imagined it. Melanie instantly stilled her movements and watched him carefully for a sign that he was awake. His chest continued to rise and fall in slow steady breaths, and his face remained relaxed.

Testing a theory, she stroked his scar again, then had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the tension that went through his whole body. He was awake. He'd probably been awake the whole time.

At first she felt embarrassment for being so bold, and then she felt angry that he'd allowed her to do it. However, it finally occurred to her that she had overcome whatever fear she had awoken with. Melanie was actually touching him and wasn't nervous about it.

Smiling to herself, she continued her strokes on his face and then down his neck until she encountered the top of his pajama shirt. Scooting closer to him, she slowly undid the buttons and opened the shirt so that his chest was available for her inspection.

His chest was well muscled, and black hairs were scattered all over it leading down his stomach and under his pajama bottoms. Her fingers picked up where they'd left off at his collar and she continued her light strokes over his pectoral muscles.

Melanie watched his face closely as she brushed her fingers across a nipple, grinning even broader when he tried to stifle a gasp. She caressed him there for several minutes, then lightly ran her hands down his rib cage and stopped at the waistband of his pants.

Harry had forgotten about keeping his breathing under control, so Melanie decided to turn it up a notch.

She completely pulled away from him, and counted out a full minute, before bringing her lips to his cheek causing him to jerk slightly. She then traced the same path with her lips that she had with her hands and fingers. His moans began when her lips reached a nipple. Feeling very bold at the power he was giving her over himself, she could resist sinking her teeth into the nub of flesh.

Melanie let out a squeal as in a whirl of blankets and appendages, she was flipped onto her back with an obviously aroused Harry pinning her down.

"How long did you know I was awake?" he demanded huskily.

"You were awake?" she asked, cheekily.

He snorted and claimed her mouth with a long, deep, kiss that left her gasping for air when he finally pulled away. Harry's eyes went to the knot in the towel that rested above her breasts, which were heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

"My turn?" he asked, moving a hand to the knot.

Melanie nodded and shut her eyes as he pulled the towel away from her. She shivered at the cool air that rushed against her naked and slightly damp body, but she did her best to remain still as he started caressing her face like she had to him.

When Harry reached her breasts, he gave up trying to copy her routine and decided to just take his time.

Every caress, lick and nip that he gave her sent an electric-like impulse straight to her groin. Soon, she was moaning and writhing beneath him, pleading for something she couldn't name. But no matter how much she pleaded, Harry refused to be rushed.

That had been Charlie's advice, though Harry would never admit to asking him.

"Take your time getting her ready, or it won't be much fun for either one of you," the eldest Weasley had advised him.

Melanie's legs wriggled out from under him and then wrapped around his waist. Harry had to stop and take a breath to get control of himself at the feel of her hot, moist center press against him. The only thing that separated them was the thin cotton of his pants.

She groaned in relief at being able to grind herself against him. It both relieved and intensified the pressure.

"Harry, please…"

He kissed her again, and slipped his hand between their bodies to test her readiness. She was so tight that he knew the pain for her would be inevitable, no matter how 'ready' she was.

Steeling himself against his own roaring lust, he mentally started reciting all the hexes and counter-hexes he could think of while his fingers slowly stretched her, and his thumb caressed her to a frenzy.

"Ohh!" Melanie cried out as an orgasm washed over her.

Harry rolled off of her and onto his side peppering her face with kisses as she came back to herself.

"Wow. That was… that has never happened to me before," she confessed breathlessly.

Harry felt a surge of pride and possessiveness wash over him at her words, and he kissed her again, pulling her closer.

He held her silently for a few minutes, dreading and anticipating what would come next. Suddenly he felt Melanie's hand tentatively slip beneath his pants and wrap around him and let out a growl that startled her.

Unable to wait another minute, he rolled back on top of her, pushing his pants of with his legs and feet. Once he was naked, her legs wrapped around his waist again, and he positioned himself at her entrance.

"Melanie, I'll be as gentle as I can, but…"

She pressed a finger to his lips.

"It's okay, Harry. I'm ready," she promised and kissed him.

Harry took a deep breath, and pushed into her.

Melanie went very still, and he was surprised to see her eyes squeezed shut.

He kissed her temple, and she cautiously open her eyes again.

"Well, that didn't hurt at all," she said with a smile.

"That's because I'm not in all the way," Harry said, practically gritting his teeth to keep from thrusting.

Melanie let out an irritated sigh.

"What are you waiting for? I told you I was ready… OW!" she ended with a cry as Harry gave into his urge and buried himself inside of her.

"Ow, ow, ow! Get it out! I'm not ready," she pleaded, tears streaming out of her eyes.

Harry allowed his weight to settle on her and brought his mouth to her ear, shushing her gently.

"Just relax, Melanie. The pain will fade in a minute," he whispered soothingly.

"How do you know? You said you've never been with a virgin before," she accused, gripping his arms as tightly as she could.

"I did some research. Please, just try to relax," he said.

Harry lifted his head so he could see her face. The tears had stopped, but she was still wincing.

He sighed and felt Melanie's muscles tighten around him as he shifted slightly.

"Oh, that almost felt good," she said, surprised.

It felt so intimate to be staring into her eyes while he was inside of her, their faces only a few inches apart.

Harry kissed her with his eyes open, something he'd never done before, and shifted again, pleased at her moan of pleasure. He used his lips and his hands to distract her as he made greater movements every few minutes. His attention always seemed to be drawn back to her breasts, and he spent a few minutes studying them.

Melanie kissed his forehead, beaded with sweat from the effort of holding back. He looked at her face again, and was relieved to see a look of hunger in her eyes instead of the painful wince.

Cautiously, he pulled out half way and thrust back in. Melanie gasped, and arched her back in pleasure. His next few thrusts were steady and controlled, but he could feel his control slipping away.

"Faster," she commanded hoarsely, and he let go and gave in to instinct.

It wasn't long before he called out her name and collapsed on top of her.

They were both panting, and Melanie braced her hands against his chest and pushed.

"You're too heavy," she gasped out, squirming beneath him.

Harry groaned, and rolled off of her, then pulled her up against him, burying his face in her neck.

Melanie's heart was still racing, and she felt very tense. She knew she was close to another orgasm, and was a bit miffed that he'd stopped. She carried on an internal debate with herself, before finally grabbing Harry's hand, and placing it between her legs.

He was startled at first, but quickly caught on to what she wanted and was more than happy to oblige.

"Say my name when you come," he whispered into her ear, and then leaned down to suckle her breast.

A few minutes later Melanie did as he asked with a scream.

She fell back on the bed panting, while Harry continued to play with her breasts.

When her heart rate got back down to normal, she threaded her fingers through his hair, and tugged so that he'd look at her.

He straightened and kissed her, before cuddling her close again.

"Now what?" she asked, still a bit dizzy.

She could feel Harry's grin against her neck.

"Now we rest up so that we can do it all over again."

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"Why didn't you say anything?" Severus Snape demanded of the Headmaster as the two Wizards hurried toward the Apparation point.

"I only received his owl this morning," Albus replied.

Severus rolled his eyes.

"But you must have had some idea…"

They stopped walking and turned to face each other.

"Yes, I did have an idea. I have several ideas. They're all part of my whimsical gift. I also know when it's best not to meddle," Albus said, uncharacteristically sarcastic.

"But if you knew the girl was alive…"

"I didn't, not for sure. I had feeling, but… Oh, let's stop this nonsense. What's done is done, and all we can do is the best that we can. Come on, I see them now."

Severus looked up to see two cloaked figures headed towards them.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy," Albus greeted them as they approached.

Severus nodded slightly to them, unsure of his welcome. Ginny Weasley had been nothing more to him than an irritating Gryffindor student, and he was sure that she'd despised him as much as the rest of his students had. She looked at him blankly now, clearly not recognizing him.

Albus had showed him Draco's letter a little while ago, so Severus had been somewhat prepared for this meeting. Ginny had lost her memory, and was now married to Draco.

He looked at the young blond man cautiously. The last time he'd seen Draco was the night of the raid on the Grangers' house. Draco had been a Death Eater for barely a week before that night, and had seemed very uneasy about the whole thing.

After the Grangers escape, Severus had been tortured and maimed for three days. He was barely coherent at the time, but he knew it was Draco who'd slipped the Portkey into his hand allowing him to escape from the Malfoy dungeons.

Severus had spent the next six months healing in a private room at Hogwarts under Poppy's care. He'd missed the final battle, but had heard from Albus that Draco had switched sides a few days prior. Ginny had argued in the young man's defense, persuading Harry to trust him.

Something had gone wrong in that last fight. Only four people know exactly what happened: Lord Voldemort, who was really and truly dead, Ginny Weasley, who had no memory, and Harry and Draco, who refused to speak about it. Since Ginny wasn't there to keep the peace between Draco and Harry, they'd gone back to being enemies. Harry no longer trusted Draco, and so the Order turned its back on the youngest Malfoy. Not that he'd noticed as he had disappeared soon after. Holing up inside his mansion and refusing to speak with anyone.

Draco offered him a slight smile and Severus felt an unexpected rush of relief. He'd always felt a sort of kinship with the young man, probably the closest thing to a friend or family member he'd ever experienced. At least, until Hermione.

"We're so glad you've come. I've prepared rooms for you and thought it best that you get settled before we begin re-introductions," Albus explained.

Draco looked a touch relieved by this and nodded his assent.

The four turned and headed toward the castle.

Yesterday was the wedding of the famous Harry Potter. Today was the return of Ginny Weasley-Malfoy. Of all the descriptions you could use of life after Voldemort, boring was not one.

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Hermione hummed absently to herself as she packed an overnight bag. She'd be leaving for her parent's house soon, and though she'd been dreading the visit, she now realized that she was looking forward to seeing them again.

They would be a little miffed at her for not informing them of her marriage, but the news of her pregnancy would surely banish any resentment.

As she zipped up the bag she heard the front door to her chambers open, and headed to greet her husband, curious as to why the Headmaster had sent for him so early in the morning.

Before she reached the sitting room, the flash of a platinum blonde head stopped her in her tracks.

Draco Malfoy? What on Earth was he doing here?

Hermione quickly ducked back into the bedroom and hid behind the door.

Severus followed Draco into the room, and Hermione dashed for the bathroom, turned on the shower, and then slipped back out into the bedroom, locking the bathroom door behind her. She then ducked back behind the bedroom door just in time.

Severus came into the room glancing around; his gaze stopping to rest on the shut bathroom door, then left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Hermione couldn't suppress the grin at having fooled him and settled down behind the shut door to listen.

"What's wrong Snape? Afraid the Mrs. won't approve of my being here?" Draco asked with a sneer.

Severus suppressed a sigh at the younger man's insolence as he crossed the room to make them both a drink. Some things never changed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe you've given all of us enough grief for the time being. A little politeness wouldn't hurt your situation, seeing as how I am the only one who might take your side in this mess you've gotten yourself in," Snape replied in his deadly calm voice as he poured the Fire Whiskey into two shot glasses.

"I only did what I thought was right…"

"Is that so? If you truly believed you were in the right, then why were you hiding?" Severus demanded coolly.

Draco glared at him, saying nothing.

"I thought as much. Now…"

Draco held up a hand, not wanting to talk about Ginny just yet.

"You know, when I chose Granger, I knew Dumbledore would get someone else to marry her. To save her from me. I never imagined that it would be you."

"Yes, we were all waiting for some sort of retaliation for throwing a wrench in your plans," Severus commented carefully as he handed Draco the drink.

Draco snorted and downed the shot.

"My plan worked perfectly. I needed to get the ministry off of my back, so I chose the one mudblood that I knew would never marry me," he explained, proudly.

Hermione's hands clenched into fists, wanting desperately to relive that day in third year when she'd snapped and smacked the arrogant fool.

Severus glared at him and Draco's self-satisfied smirk slipped a little.

"I didn't think for a minute that she'd choose you. I mean, she had four Weasleys to choose from," Draco sputtered.

Severus took the shot glass back from Draco and refilled it for him.

"Yes, but apparently a few of your loyal minions at the ministry decided to tamper with blood test results so that she'd be incompatible with the Weasleys."

Draco choked on his whiskey.

"I-I didn't know. Really Professor! It was never my intention…"

"To saddle me with an arrogant, Gryffindor know-it-all, who is over twenty years younger than me?" Severus demanded, furiously.

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

Is that really how he felt?

Draco looked very uncomfortable.

"Listen, maybe I can pull some strings at the ministry. You could get an annulment…" his voice faded away as Severus' glare intensified.

A heavy silence hung in the air, and Hermione felt a painful lump form in her throat as she waited for Severus to answer.

"No. There will be no annulment," he said finally.

"Why not?"

Severus looked surprised at the question.

"Because I…"

'You love me. Say you love me!' Hermione thought desperately.

"Hermione is pregnant. I can't end it now."

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George surreptitiously watched Katie pick at her breakfast. She was obviously in a bad mood, and though he'd planned to begin his seduction, for lack of a better word, this morning he thought he might be more successful if he waited until she was in a better mood.

He didn't have to wait long. An owl dropped a letter in her cereal bowl, and the smile the lit up her face at the sight of it made his heart skip a beat. Did she even realize how beautiful she was?

George watched her eagerly tear into the envelope and pull out a sheet of parchment. As she read, the smile slowly slipped from her face. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head in disbelief.

She looked completely devastated, and George felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. Every instinct was telling him to touch her. Pat her shoulder. Pull her into his arms and take the hurt away.

His arm stretched out automatically but missed her as she suddenly slid her chair back away from the table and darted out of the hall.

"Katie?"

George started to follow her, but stopped to pick up the letter that she had dropped, curious as to what could have upset her so much.

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"Good morning, Headmaster," Rachel called politely as the old wizard stepped into the infirmary.

"Are you ill?" She asked in concern when she noticed his pale complexion.

He shook his head, blue eyes darting around the room.

"Is Charlie around?" he asked, quietly.

Rachel shook her head.

"He's out feeding the animals."

"Good. There's someone I'd like you to meet," Albus said, stepping to the side to reveal a pretty young woman with fiery red hair and brown eyes.

Rachel gasped in shock.

"I knew she was alive! Does Charlie know? Of course he doesn't know. If he did he'd be here now…" Her babbling trailed off and she looked at Albus questioningly.

"But why bring her here? Shouldn't you be showing her to her brothers? Why aren't…"

Albus held up a hand to stop her questions.

"I thought it best that you look her over first. Then, I'll bring her brothers here to let them see her. I'm not sure what the reactions will be, but it would be best to already be in the infirmary should the shock be harmful in any way," he said, shrewdly.

Rachel nodded and gestured for Ginny to take a seat on one of the beds.

"I'd better get the smelling salts. In fact, it might be a good idea to ask Professor Snape for some calming potions…"

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Katie ran all the way to the Astronomy Tower. Luckily there were no students around as it was Easter Sunday, otherwise she'd surely have knocked several down in her mad dash while squinting through blinding tears.

She'd only read the letter once. It was a reply from her Aunt Celia in America to her letter about coming to live with her. Aunt Celia had berated her for even thinking such a thing. How could you even think of bringing such disgrace to your parents? Don't even try to come here or I'll ship you right back. I will not harbor a criminal running from the law. They'd probably throw you in prison…

Katie reached her destination and determinedly climbed up onto the ledge.

The grounds were empty. No one would see her fall. In fact she probably wouldn't even be noticed until after lunch.

She took a deep breath and raised her foot to take the last step that she ever would.

End Chapter 15

A/N: I know, an awful cliff-hangar. I'll do my best to get the next chapter up within the week.

-Kassandra