Harry awakened with a groan, totally exhausted but at the same time, thoroughly sated for one of the few times he could remember in his life. Almost as soon as he and Ginny had gotten behind the door of his room, it had begun … and from that point on, he had lost all track of time. It had not just lasted two hours, though; it had gone on far longer … and it had only started on the bed.
He had thought he was highly sexed but Ginny left him in the dust. Ginny … Gods, how could any woman have so much passion wrapped up in one compact yet very beautiful package? The old saying of redheads being hot-blooded definitely had truth to it, he could testify to that … would gladly testify to that! A very exhausting way to begin one's seventeenth year, but at the same time he had never experienced such incredible ecstacy at her every touch, her every kiss and caress. He would definitely not mind repeating the experience … once he got his strength back, that is!
He turned his head upon hearing the door, smiling upon seeing Ginny step in, clad in just a blue terrycloth robe covered with Golden Snitches, her hair tousled from both sleep and passion, carrying two steaming mugs. "Good morning, Sunshine," she crooned upon noting that Harry was finally awake, smiling at the sight of her gorgeously messy-haired, emerald-eyed lover. Even just looking at him made her want him again. Dear gods, how could any man be so sexy? There should be a law against looking so good, especially looking so good without clothes … "Fancy some hot chocolate?"
"Love some," he returned with a weary but tender smile in her direction as he took one of the mugs and took a long, deep swig, the caffeine in same soon beginning to revive him.
She sat down next to him and took a swig from her own, then another. "I was beginning to wonder when you were going to wake up. Can it actually be that I actually wore you out again?"
Harry couldn't bring himself to answer for a long time, simply occupying himself with the hot chocolate. "Let's just say that it was a … unique way to begin one's seventeenth year."
"To say the least!" she laughed. "Then may I assume you enjoyed it?"
"Immensely," Harry assured her, feeling desire rise again in his body, knowing that had it not been for his youth, he would never have been able to go again this soon.
She stood up and set the empty mug aside, preparing to drop her robe while he was occupied with his own. "Are you game for a rematch?"
"After the workout you gave me last night, I shouldn't be this soon, but strangely enough, I am. Why?"
"Just wondering." Her voice made him turn his head, and that's when she dropped her robe … and while he stared at her mesmerised, she removed the mug from his suddenly nerveless fingers, set it aside, threw the bedcovers aside and once again positioned herself in his lap, one leg on each side of him. With the first touch of her lips on his, Harry was totally and thoroughly lost once again. Gods, she was incredible … if she could wear him out like this in just one night, how could he realistically expect to survive marriage to her? Just the same, what a way to go!
Once Harry woke up again, it was to Ginny telling him that Hedwig had arrived with yet another official-looking package. Strangely enough, he actually felt refreshed, as if he had had eight hours of uninterrupted, dreamless sleep … and if this package contained what he thought it did, he would feel even better. This time, however, Ginny kept her robe on and simply sat on the side of the bed, waiting silently as he discreetly covered himself and sat up in bed to examine the contents of the package.
The more he found, the wider his smile got. Gods, there was enough here to put Draco away for life, even without Ginny's testimony … but having it would simply be icing on the cake! Ginny looked up and had to ask why he was so happy. Once Harry explained, her smile was just as wide. This meant that no other girl would ever suffer as she had, ever again … at least not at Draco's (or Dudley's) hands.
"It seems that our friend Draco has been a very bad boy for a very long time … and once this is in the hands of the Wizengamot, nothing even Lucius Malfoy says or does, no matter how many palms he tries to grease with his bribery and hush money, is going to save his sweet baby boy from life in Azkaban and a lifelong label of sexual predator."
"Just the same, they're not going to take this lying down," Ginny pointed out.
"Let them do their worst. I'm ready for them … both Draco and Dudley!" Harry called for another large envelope, addressed it to the Wizengamot and sent Hedwig off again. Now it was only a matter of time before both of them would be out of his (and Ginny's) hair for good …only a matter of time before he would gladly take Veritaserum or sodium pentothal and give them his own testimony, a first-hand account of his own nightmarish experiences at both Draco's and Dudley's hands.
Coupled with all the other evidence, Harry seriously doubted that either of them would see the outside world again for a long time, if ever, once they were finally put away. On top of his triumph over Voldemort and the Death Eaters, this would be the ultimate happiness for him, to see them both finally punished as they deserved – other than a tenderly passionate night (or several) with Ginny, that is.
The next day, Harry heard that regular weekly, hour-long counseling sessions had been arranged for Ginny with the witches' rape counselor at St. Mungo's. He wasn't looking forward to trying to get her to go to them, but knew he must if she were ever to achieve closure and put the subconscious memories of her ordeal to rest. Even if he had to go in with her, she was going to go. The only good thing about the counseling was that it would be on an outpatient basis. The first meeting was scheduled, in fact, for two p.m. the very next day, so he had to speak with her right away.
After they'd had breakfast (he'd even brought it to her in bed), he set the remnants of their meal aside and took a deep breath, then jumped in with both feet. "I talked to your personal Healer at St. Mungo's, and she believes it best for you to take rape counseling sessions."
Ginny was finishing her milk and gave him a hard look from above her glass. "But I'm fine. I don't need any counseling."
"I'm afraid you're not a proper judge, luv. You don't want to keep having nightmares about what happened, do you? The counseling sessions are designed so that you'll be able to put the subconscious memories to rest."
"Neither are you," she countered. "As for the nightmares, I'll be fine as long as I have you there to bring me out of them. As far as that goes, you need counseling as much as I do."
"That is not the subject under discussion here," he threw back. "If it'll make you feel better for me to be with you while you talk to the counselor, just say the word."
"I don't think they allow that, if memory serves me," she pointed out. "At least not as far as I know."
"Under certain special circumstances such as this, they do. The Healer told me so," Harry insisted.
"Well, that's fine—for people who need counseling. I don't," Ginny reiterated stubbornly.
"Yes, you do. I don't want to have to Stun you, but I will if I have to in order to get you there." Harry's voice was soft but firm, and Ginny knew he meant business. "It's only for an hour, Gin—and as I said, I'll be with you if you want me there. Then after the session, we can go out for supper or something. Please do this, if only to humour me."
Ginny sighed in affectionate exasperation but reluctantly gave in. "All right, since you're twisting my arm. And you don't need to take me out for supper afterward."
"But I want to," Harry insisted. "And by the way, the first counseling session is tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock."
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was a conspiracy to shanghai me against my will," Ginny opined dryly.
"No conspiracy, luv. We just want to help you."
"Uh-huh," she replied skeptically. "Which reminds me. Who else is in on this with you?"
"Everyone who loves you," Harry informed her. "So as you can see, you're far outnumbered."
"So I don't have a whole lot of choice, do I?"
" 'Fraid not," came the matter-of-fact reply. "Look on the bright side. At least you're getting a weekly supper date out of it."
"I could have that anyway," she reminded him. "But if only to get everybody off my back, including you, I'll go."
"Thank you. You won't regret it … and if I were you, I'd be thankful to have so many people who care so much about me. It's certainly more than I had for eleven years of my life. If it hadn't been for you, Ron and your family, among others, Merlin knows how I'd have turned out. Maybe even gone over to the Dark side."
"Don't say that," Ginny returned, horrified. "Don't even think it!"
"Just teasing, luv. I wouldn't do that to you. Now may I owl St. Mungo's and tell them to expect you—or rather, us—tomorrow afternoon?"
"Go ahead," Ginny remarked unenthusiastically but didn't argue further, seeming almost resigned to her fate.
Harry sighed in affectionate exasperation but knew he had won, so that's what mattered. It took only a few minutes to owl St. Mungo's and let them know that Ginny would begin her counseling sessions as scheduled tomorrow afternoon.
