Warning: swear words
THC, Round 2
Slytherin, DADA
Drabble
Prompt:
(pairing) Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
(dialogue) I'm making it my mission to avoid him.
WC: 995/1000
Also, "If an offence come out of the truth, better is it that the offence come than that the truth be concealed." is a line from Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It is not a grammatical mistake.
(action) discovering a secret
(character) Luna Lovegood
(location) kitchen
(word) cryptically
(song lyric) Whisper words of wisdom
(first line) He knew that she couldn't hide herself for much longer.
He knew that Ginny couldn't hide herself for much longer. Pretty soon, she would be hungry and would have to come down to eat. And then… Harry would make his move.
Crouched in the corner of the kitchen, he wrapped his Invisibility Cloak tighter around himself. A rat scuttled over, and Harry kicked it with the toe of his boot. He didn't dare make a sound, worried Ginny would hear him.
He sat there huddled under his cloak, waiting. She would have to appear soon. She'd been avoiding him ever since Harry had overheard her hushed conversation with Luna the other day. They had been giggling over their weekly tea, and Harry had snuck closer to listen. Ginny's tea confession had Harry's face redden to the point he was sure he resembled a baboon's arse.
Unfortunately, before he could regain composure, Ginny had seen him and had high-tailed out in a panic.
Harry had tried to corner her in Grimmauld Place to tell her he was interested in what she had mentioned to Luna, but Ginny had the magical ability to sense his presence in a room before she even set foot inside.
Still, Harry had grinned and tried to corner her. He'd jumped out at her from behind the bushes, he'd pretended to be dying of suffocation, he'd leapt out from the bathtub when she'd passed by the bathroom, but Ginny still escaped his clutches.
Harry snorted at his thoughts but stiffened when Luna's voice rang through the kitchen. "Are you sneaking around your own house like a Gulping Plimpy?"
Harry assumed she was talking to him—after all, Luna had seen him under the cloak in his fifth year—but then, to his utter delight, Ginny crept into the kitchen behind Luna. She glanced around furtively, her eyes passing over his hiding spot; Harry stayed still as if he were Petrified.
"I'm making it my mission to avoid him," Ginny whispered, and Harry smirked but didn't move.
"Who? Harry? Really? Why is that? I thought you two would have been using that strap—"
"Shh! Not so loud!" Ginny shushed Luna before tiptoeing towards the counter. Harry stiffened, not daring to breathe until Ginny's back was turned towards him.
"You know…" Luna's eyes wandered over to where Harry was hidden. "I don't think Harry was offended by what you said at tea. You two are happily married—I'm sure Harry—"
"NO! I can't talk to him about this! This was supposed to be a secret fantasy, that's all. Harry wasn't supposed to even know about it." Ginny nibbled on her lip, and Harry's heart melted at the sight. He couldn't believe she was so worked up about this; he had thought she'd be open enough to talk about it with him, but surprisingly, even Ginny got embarrassed sometimes.
Humming, Luna said cryptically, "If an offence come out of the truth, better is it that the offence come than that the truth be concealed."*
Harry mouthed the words to himself, wondering what in Merlin's name Luna meant by that, but it seemed like Ginny understood. She sighed and dropped her head into her palms. "You're right," she said, her eyes closed, "but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I'm sure you'll enjoy reaping the benefits of telling Harry the truth," Luna said, petting Ginny's hair like a Kneazle. Harry thought Luna's smile was too innocent for the words spilling forth from her lips.
Ginny's face reddened, and she batted Luna's hand away. "Oh, shut up, Luna! This is so embarrassing…"
"Why? You two are consenting adults who are also in a healthy marriage," Luna said pointedly, shrugging Ginny's embarrassment off. "I could tell you how much Neville likes it when I use—"
"Luna!" Ginny cried out, trembling with suppressed laughter. "Please, no…"
"Very well, but if you want, I could give you tips later." Harry had to muffle his laughter behind his hand at the look of horror and curiosity on Ginny's face. Truthfully, Harry himself was curious how that worked, but he knew Luna would go into explicit detail about everything, and Harry was not ready to have that conversation. Ever.
"Back to the topic." Ginny wrung her hands. "How do I even bring it up with Harry? He's been trying to corner me, but—"
"Are you not a Gryffindor? I say you march right up to him, grab his collar, and tell him you love his arse—"
"I can't just say that! That's—no—I can't—"
Harry suddenly whipped off the cloak and asked, "Why not?"
Ginny shrieked as she fell off the stool. Harry lunged forward and grabbed hold of her wrist right before she landed. He helped her up and grinned wickedly. "Come on, Ginny, let's have a little chat."
"No!" Ginny shrieked before she sprinted out the door. Harry laughed, following her through the hallways and towards the little garden near the main gate. When Ginny leapt over the small rose bush and fell flat on her bottom, Harry cackled like a witch from the Muggle movies Ginny liked so much.
"Come here." Tears of mirth streamed down his face as he extended his hand towards her. Ginny batted it away and scrambled towards the door to get away from the oh-so-embarrassing conversation.
To Harry's horror, Ginny's lips were turning a deep purple, and her skin was reddening. She gasped for breath, falling onto her knees. Crying out, Harry hurried towards her. "Gin! Shit! You touched the roses, didn't you? I told Kreacher to get rid of them, but the bastard didn't listen! He said it protected us from intruders! You'll be alright, I promise. Hold on!"
Harry scooped her up in his arms and yelled over his shoulder, "Luna, Gin's having an allergic reaction! I'm taking her to St. Mungo's!"
Ginny moaned in pain, chest heaving and eyes clenched shut. Harry said, "This doesn't mean you can get out of this conversation. We'll talk about your more-than-normal interest in my arse later."