Chapter 4
()()()
Ginny woke up of her own accord on Sunday morning and gave a lazy stretch of the kind that one only experiences after a very good nights sleep. Her arms were high above her head and her toes were curled with her foot stretched out so that she felt a nice pull in her calves and when she released from her stretch she felt even more comfortable beneath her sheets.
Yesterday had turned out to be the best date of her life. When Harry had suggested they get together earlier before the game she'd found herself agreeing to breakfast with him before any potential problems from them spending the entire day together registered with her. Now it looked like they'd be having breakfast together both days this weekend.
She bit her lip and turned her head to check if Harry was still laying beside her.
He was.
His hair was even more disheveled than usual and there was this sexy stubble that was starting to grow along his jawline. He was on his back with his head turned slightly towards the wall on the opposite side of her and he looked to be still completely asleep.
It was a bit surreal for her to see he was there in her bed, and that her dream date had in fact been real, and with her dream guy.
She turned to her side facing away from him so she could allow herself an internal squeal of delight over the excellent events of last night. It had been incredible! Three times it had been incredible! If she hadn't had a few drinks at the Quidditch game she wasn't sure she would have been able to let herself be as relaxed as she had been, but Merlin was she glad she had been slightly buzzed.
Opening her eyes again they caught on the glimmer of light reflecting off something on the floor.
It was some kind of foil that was laying beside Harry's trousers.
Curious, she managed to summon it to her, this little bit of wandless magic being the only kind she could consciously do owing to the practice she had gotten from her being shorter than the men she grew up around and everything being just out of reach.
The ripped foil floated through the air into her outstretched hand easily and she looked it over. One side of it advertised 'LifeStyles- assorted colors, 1 premium lubricated latex condom'. Condom, that was what Harry said the bag thing had been that he'd put on. This was how Muggles stopped pregnancies. She turned the little package over and read the other side; 'Condoms contain natural rubber latex and, if used correctly, will help reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy, transmission of HIV infection (AIDS) and of many other sexually transmitted infections'.
'If used correctly'? How does one put a little bag on their prick incorrectly, Ginny wondered? She turned the little package over in her hands again. She supposed if Muggles didn't have a charm or a potion that could stop women getting pregnant then stopping the sperm from getting in there was an obvious way of dealing with that, but wouldn't both parties feel the plastic? Wouldn't that make the whole experience less enjoyable somehow?
"You really didn't know what condoms were?"
Ginny jumped at the sound of Harry's deep voice. She hadn't realized he'd woken up. He was grinning at her from his pillow, his green eyes somehow more vibrant with his half awakened expression.
"I really didn't," she told him with a chuckle. "I thought that it was some sort of kink of yours when you'd put it on," she admitted. "Is it meant to make the experience better as well?"
"It really doesn't," he told her definitively. "I've just never had the opportunity to not use one until last night. I put it on not even remembering that magic was an option."
"They have other options, don't they?" she wondered aloud.
"A few," he nodded. "Like how we have the charm or the potion, they have condoms or a pill women can take regularly. Men can also choose to make it so they can't have children with a small surgery, but generally that is a decision made later in life."
"How did you learn about this?" she asked holding up the condom.
"I started dating when I was eighteen, and only Muggle girls. Had to read a book. I found out really fast that if a Muggle girl finds out you don't have a condom then you aren't going to be doing much, doesn't matter if she's on the pill."
Ginny nodded, but now she couldn't help wonder just how many of these girls he'd had to use one of these condoms with.
"Five," he said without her having to ask.
"Five?" she was surprised by the number. He was twenty-two and had just said he'd been shagging girls since he was eighteen. He was a good-looking bloke too, that number could have been exponentially higher.
"Five, now six" he nodded. "You?"
"Three," she told him. "Now four."
He scooted a little closer to her and she dropped the little foil packet back to the floor and cuddled into his side. He was warm and it felt really good to have his arm around her, his hand tracing gently up and down her side as she ran her fingers through his small amount of chest hair.
"So, I think our date yesterday went really great, what about you?" he asked.
She felt a satisfied smile take over her face as she lay it against the skin of his upper torso. "Yeah, I reckon it went alright, considering how you're still naked and in my bed and all."
"Right, right," he nodded with a feigned casualty. "So, it's worthy of a repeat then? Maybe make it a regular occurrence?"
She could play along with this game of his. "Well, different game I suppose. And there are only so many times I can walk around Hyde Park before it gets too familiar, but the same overall premise of spending time together sounds good." There was an extra amount of warmth she felt through her whole body and it wasn't just coming from the body heat he was now sharing with her under the sheets. This wasn't going to be just a one-time thing! She had hoped that it would be something real, but the girl inside her that had crushed on The Chosen One was making her second guess whether she was worthy.
"And the shagging? Because that bit was pretty good for me."
That earned him a full-on laugh from her. "Oh, definitely the shagging too. Actually, I think we need to start and end our dates with the shagging bit."
"Care for another date again today then?" he asked her cheekily.
Her belly gave a rumble then. "How about breakfast, then shagging?"
"Deal," he grinned.
()()()
It was one long and arduous week later that Ginny stood in front of a building that from the outside of it showed no sign of being significant. It was in an industrial area in Felixstowe with shipping ports and warehousing facilities all around it.
Her plans for the day had involved keeping her legs elevated and drinking cup after cup of coffee while she read all day. Luna was spending two nights in Northern Scotland following a herd of Red Deer in an attempt to find Cernnunos, the God of Deer, who she believes is hiding among them and will show himself in the midnight sun. Harry had been planning on visiting his Grandmother for the day with Neville and stopping by to see Ginny in the evening, so when he had come over to her flat that morning with a surprise trip that he'd planned for them today she had not anticipated that she would be standing where she was just now.
Apparently, he'd told his Grandmother about how he was dating a witch and his Grandmother had insisted that he do something special for her.
Ginny didn't much care where he had planned to take her, she was just excited to see him again. She'd been busy with the Harpies all week and exhausted in the evenings, and he'd been busy with work this week as well so they hadn't seen each other since he'd left her flat six days ago.
She hadn't anticipated that this was where he'd bring her for their next date though.
"You're Grandmother suggested you bring me here?" Ginny asked in awe.
From their surroundings, to someone who wasn't aware, it looked like he'd brought her to the perfect spot to dispose of a body. There were very few people or vehicles about and a maze of aluminum sided buildings with several loading doors that were currently closed as it was the weekend. Ginny, however, was in the know and couldn't believe she was staring up at his unremarkable building that the few Muggles that were around were simply walking past without a second glance.
"She didn't tell me, no. I just remembered what you'd said that night we had the burgers at my flat and thought that since the two of us had this on our bucket list, why not?" he explained.
"I didn't think they let the public in," Ginny thought aloud.
"Well, they don't. I sort of set up a private tour," he explained.
Ginny tore her eyes away from the building and stared at him dumbfounded. "You set up a private tour?! How? Gwenog Jones is the only person I know that would have that kind of sway."
Harry shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Erm. I used my name," he offered.
Her jaw fell open then and she let out an incredulous laugh.
Of course, he only needed his name to set up a private tour at the Nimbus Racing Broom Company's private testing facility. He was Harry Potter after all. His name could open several doors, she just hadn't pegged him for one that would use it for something as frivolous as this.
"I can't believe you did this," she said quietly as she turned back to the building.
"That's a good 'I can't believe you did this', right?" he asked to be sure.
"Yes, of course," she assured him. "This is incredible."
"Great," he breathed out in relief as his whole body relaxed.
"You were worried I wouldn't like it?" she asked him.
"No, well. I mean, I knew you'd like it. I don't really know why I was concerned about what your reaction would have been," he shook his head at himself. "Come on then." He grabbed her hand and led her up to the rusty blue door, knocking three times before unlocking it with his wand and turning the knob.
They went from the seaside slum on one side of the wall to an immaculate foyer with a refreshment stand and plush seating on the other. There was a glass wall before them that looked over a stadium area that was broken into quadrants showing several different weather scenarios for testing brooms in; It was snowing in one spot, raining in another, there were gusts of wind coursing through the topmost quadrant that you could see a slipstream in. At ground level there was even a river flowing through it.
"Amazing," Ginny breathed out as she stepped towards the glass, doing her best not to press her nose right up against it.
"No kidding," Harry said in agreement. "I didn't know the set up was like this."
All around the open testing center there were three levels that were lined with doorways and windows with the space to walk around the perimeter of the open area and observe the conjured environments.
"Mister Potter?" called a voice from the other end of the foyer. There was a petite older woman who, even in her advanced age, gave the impression of one with her wits about her and a spry step, though from her hair and the paleness and pliancy of her skin she could easily have been the same age as Albus Dumbledore. She was holding a clipboard close to her side and giving them both a polite smile. "And Miss Weasley. We've been keeping an eye on you."
Ginny was sure her eyes had just doubled in size from that comment.
Nimbus Racing Brooms had been keeping an eye on her?
She was at a loss for words. And her feet didn't seem to want to move, even though the thing to do in this situation would be to approach the woman that was clearly about to give them a tour or direct them somewhere. The shock had frozen her where she stood.
Thankfully Harry placed a hand on Ginny's lower back and guided her forwards toward the woman.
"You… you. Me, why? What?" Her brain to mouth function was not working.
"Yes, we take a close look at all of the professional teams new recruits here," the woman explained. She held out her hand for Ginny to take it. "Lorelei Martin," she introduced herself.
Harry was the first to shake her hand and Ginny was grateful for that because it gave her a clear example of what she should be doing as well.
"We attend the try-outs as well. Keep an eye out for those who are good on a broom but may not have the potential required for professional teams."
That threw Ginny for a moment. Did that mean they didn't think she was good enough for the Harpies? Were they just waiting for her to get kicked off the team?
"Saw a lot of potential in you to be sure. As did the Holyhead Harpies obviously, no doubt you will be getting moved up the roster in no time," Lorelei continued. "We saw how excellently you flew at your trials, and on a Cleansweep no less. Goes to show that sometimes you can make the best broom out there but it really is the flier that unlocks the abilities of the brooms."
"You flew a Cleansweep at your tryouts?" Harry asked her incredulously.
"You had to provide your own broom for the tryouts," Ginny told him. "It was the only option I had."
"Yes," Lorelei nodded. "And even against the Nimbus and Firebolt riders you outmaneuvered them. Cleansweep makes a decent broom but they are not as quick to turn and certainly not as fast. Which means that you, my dear, are a truly remarkable flier. And we were all quite happy to accommodate Mr. Potter's request to show the two of you around the facility today. Hopefully you will keep us in mind for your second career once you are ready to store away your Quaffle."
"Wait a moment," Ginny couldn't believe her ears. "Part of the reason you agreed to Harry's request today was because I was going to be the one accompanying him?"
"Wow, the first time I try to use the 'celebrity' thing to my advantage and it turned out it was you and not me that got us through the door," Harry chuckled.
'Wow' just didn't seem to be good enough to cut it.
The daze she felt around what she'd just heard was washed away as Lorelei led them through the foyer and into the corridor that led along the training room. "Now, the flow that we have established here is one that allows our craftsmen to see the progression of the brooms making from start to finish so that by the time the Grand Master Craftsman reaches his office he'll have been able to pass by each stage of the production. It allows him to catch potential problems in the design and see areas for improvement," Lorelei told them as she gestured through the windows of the workshops they were passing.
Through each window they could see the brooms being manufactured; starting from the tree they were getting the wood from to the final coat of polish that was added after 'Nimbus' was engraved on the head of the finished product.
There were thirty windows on the bottom level that were all specifically for production.
"What are the upper levels for?" Harry asked as he pointed up.
"Second level is for the testing teams and problem solving. We have a success rate of seven out of ten brooms. Those three brooms that don't make it to market are thoroughly analyzed. Usually it is a problem with the spells or the tree the wood was taken from. Once in a while it is the flier, which is why we only take on the best for testing." She gave Ginny another appreciative look.
Ginny felt like she was being poached, and she did not mind it at all.
"The third floor is for executives and our sales team," Lorelei continued.
There weren't many others around the facility right then as it was a Saturday, yet the contained environments of the stadium were still operating.
"Are they continuous?" Ginny asked and pointed at the weather systems. "Do you ever throw in a dense fog or a tornado or something to change it up?"
"These scenarios are continuous, and no, we don't change it up. The brooms have certain performance standards that we endeavor to have each individual broom meet and this facility is already designed to do that."
"Any chance we will be able to test out one of your brooms in these environments?" Harry asked. He looked as keen to do that as Ginny was. She may have been on a broom all week and sore from five straight days of pushing her limits after her time off, but she was still born to be on a broom.
Ten minutes later she was giggling as she guided her broom from the Saharan heat to the windy slip stream and did circles and loops through the air with Harry hot on her tail. From the look of pure joy on his face he was having as much fun as she was.
There wasn't space in this enclosed area to really test out the limits of the brooms though. If there was an extra few hundred meters then maybe she could have got the broom to its top speed, but here she could only go round and round inside. The turns that she made required a bit of extra finesse than she was used to on her Firebolt now as well. On her old Cleansweep she had been used to giving it extra to do what she wanted the broom to, the Firebolt had spoiled her. Her team broom essentially responded to her every thought, it did half the work for her and it wasn't until now, riding the Nimbus, that she realized how much she missed all that went into making her a good flier.
Growing up she had been determined to be better at something than her brothers and flying had been that one thing. She'd spent night after night sneaking out and learning all the tricks that went into making the Cleansweep bend to her will to the point of it leading her to become a Professional Quidditch Player. Her Firebolt hadn't need any tips or tricks. It just made flying a bit too easy.
Of course, when she was playing a game of Quidditch with the other professionals and her head was in the game she wasn't thinking about how rather boring the Firebolt was, she was focused on out maneuvering the other player on a Firebolt who also didn't need to dominate their broom in order to make it do what they wanted.
After about thirty minutes of flying they touched back down and placed their borrowed brooms back in the lockers they'd been assigned to for the actual Testers to run them through their paces.
"How was that?" Harry asked her looking windswept and like he'd just had the time of his life.
"Amazing," she grinned. "I'd forgotten how good it felt to ride a broom that required the rider to do some of the work."
"What do you mean?" he asked. "The Firebolts are too easy?"
"They are," she admitted. "Anyone can hop on a Firebolt and look like they know what they're doing. It takes a real rider to take a broom like a Nimbus or a Cleansweep and make it do the same."
"Mind if we quote you on that?" Lorelei asked. "Parsing out that bit about the Cleansweep of course," she added with a grin. She'd been sitting down and contently observing them while they gave the brooms a go.
"I'd rather you didn't," Ginny blushed. She could only imagine what sort of ramifications would come up at her job if it got out that she was praising a broom that the League didn't ride. There was a Public Relations team that wouldn't be too happy for sure, and Firebolt was a League sponsor so they might have sway over her contract.
"Not to worry. We wouldn't want to hurt our chances of getting you working for us after your long Quidditch career," Lorelei said with a wink.
"I still can't believe it," Ginny said to Harry when they were back at her flat. "She seemed like she was genuine, don't you think?"
It had Ginny walking around in a bit of a daze when she thought about it. Nimbus Racing Brooms wanted her to work for them. "My whole job could be testing racing brooms. It isn't quite on the level as playing Quidditch but I would actually be getting more time on a broom than I am now."
"You wouldn't be as quotable though," Harry pointed out. He didn't appear to have gotten tired of her gushing yet. He looked a bit proud of her actually. "And that was your first time on a Nimbus?"
"It was. And they flew pretty well, didn't they? Mine listed a bit to the left and I really had to give it my all on the sharp turns, but that would have just required a bit of tweaking to the tail to kick that."
"You sound like you're actually considering it."
"Oh, not seriously. I'm just excited," she preened.
"You could do it in your off season, couldn't you? From the way Lorelei was talking I think they might be open to the idea."
Ginny sat back against the couch cushion as the picture of it played out in her head. Working for Nimbus would allow her to save up some more money. It would be strictly a weekday thing too so she could maybe travel a bit on the weekends. Usually there was only one weekend a month where she wasn't required to be at a game during Quidditch season, and those games had yet to involve her playing in them, she was still strictly a reserve player.
"It could be awesome," she whispered in awe.
Harry reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Am I losing you to a daydream right now?"
She turned her head to the side and gave him an eye roll with her lips pursed. "Alright, I'll properly dream about the possibilities later." She sat up and turned herself towards him properly. "That's two excellent Saturday's in a row you've provided me with. I don't know how you're planning on topping it the next time we go out."
"Oh no, next time it's your turn to wow me," he told her as he pulled her closer by the belt loops on her trousers. "There was this whole 'woman's lib' movement and equal opportunity this and that. I've managed to come up with two excellent dates, now you get to wow me next time and the one after."
"What? How am I supposed to top a Quidditch match and the Nimbus tour?" she asked in a playful panic.
"Hey, you were expecting me to!" he laughed. "I'm not too bothered with what we wind up doing, I'm just enjoying spending time with you."
Awe, she had no doubt there was the sappiest look on her face from that comment. He sounded so sincere about it as well. "I'm really enjoying spending time with you as well." She leaned forward and gave him a long kiss.
That long kiss turned into them laying down on the couch and eventually finding their way back into her bedroom to waste away the afternoon naked together.
()()()
Ginny felt a lot less out of place at the Ministry now after having spent a good few days in the storage rooms on nearly every floor of the building, but it would always be a shining beacon of how her life might have turned out. Her mother had wanted Ginny and the rest of her brothers to wind up at the Ministry like their dad and Percy but it just wasn't for them.
She couldn't imagine having to go somewhere five days a week and sit behind a desk. There were positions at the Ministry that required time in the field but Ginny preferred all of her time in the field.
Her visit this Tuesday had nothing to do with her family though, she was meeting up with Luna after work and they were going out to join a few school friends for a cheap drinks night at a Muggle pub. Ginny had been tempted to invite Harry to join, but she didn't know where they were exactly in the relationship department. They had gone on a few dates, had rather spectacular sex, but inviting him out for drinks with her oldest friends might have been a bit too soon. She wouldn't even know how to introduce him to them.
As Harry, obviously, but would she use the term 'friend' or 'boyfriend'? And of course he wasn't just 'Harry', he was Harry Potter. Her friends wouldn't be able to help themselves asking how the two of them came about and trying to figure out just how together she and he were by trying to put a label on what she and Harry had going between them.
Better to just avoid that all together for now.
She did want to talk to him though. They had gone out the last two Saturday's, but this one coming up they had tentative plans that she needed to cancel. The first game that she was fit enough to sit on the sidelines for again was this Saturday. While her chances of getting flying time for the game were low, it was still her job to be there for the duration.
Standing in front of the lift doors and waiting for one of them to open she wondered whether simply popping up to the second level Auror offices to tell Harry this information face to face would be alright, then the decision was taken away from her; The polished doors of the lift slid open before her and there before her stood Harry.
He was distracted however and didn't notice her right away. His distraction was due to the woman that was basically hanging off of him at that moment. If Ginny had been any less self-secure she might have instinctively jumped to the conclusion that Harry was more than okay with this woman hanging off of him. The woman was beautiful after all, her dress was tight and a very flattering fit, her hair was glossy and coiffed perfectly, her nails were polished and she wore lipstick. Ginny couldn't remember the last time she'd worn lipstick.
This woman had her hand resting on Harry's shoulder and her side pressed right up against him, the reason for which clearly not being that they were lacking space in the lift since there were only three other people in there with them. The woman was laughing like they had just shared a private joke.
Harry's expression though told Ginny that was absolutely not the case. His stance was ridged and his lips were pursed. Ginny hadn't known him that long but clearly he was very annoyed with his current situation and that made the panic that had instantly seized her at that sight settle down a bit. There was still a whisper of a stinging sensation at the back of her eyes that she had to blink away, but she was okay. She was calm.
At least she could pretend to be until there was some sort of explanation offered.
Harry and the woman stepped out of the lift and the woman ran her hand down his arm as though they were about to go for a casual linked-arm stroll across the atrium together. The two of them just walked past Ginny, Harry's eyes focused determinedly at the fire grates at the opposite side of the atrium and not seeing her at all, just a twinge at his jaw that indicated annoyance.
"Hey Sailor," Ginny called out to him, feeling that that was a casual enough greeting that could have been made to a friend or someone that was more. She would let him pick up their interaction from there how he felt comfortable.
Harry did a double take, a big smile stretching out over his face when he realized she was standing there. "Ginny!" he beamed and managed to pull away from the woman that was now scowling at Ginny.
Harry pulled her in for a hug and when he pulled back he gave her a kiss. It wasn't a quick peck either, it was an 'I haven't seen you in two days and missed you' kind of kiss that had her melting against him.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked when he pulled back, his arms still firmly around her.
Ginny felt her face warm up from his attention. The early stages of a relationship dance is one she'd done before and it was not fun trying to figure out where the line was before she was toeing it. Harry didn't seem concerned about anyone at the Ministry knowing they were dating though and that was making her deliriously happy.
"I'm meeting Luna, we're joining up with some school friends of ours for drinks," she told him. "Girls night," she spelled out for him.
"Well, you look great," he said before actually looking down to take in her appearance.
She had put in some effort; tights and a casual dress with her hair braided a bit and pinned back on one side. She had earrings in and that was about as fancy as she was comfortable getting for a night out.
"Thanks," she grinned then noticed that the woman who had been pawing her man was still standing there waiting for him to join her. "Er, were you going somewhere with your… friend?" Ginny asked, attempting to sound as polite as possible.
"What?" Harry turned around as saw that she was still standing there. "Were you waiting for me for something?" he asked in a tone that clearly indicated she bugger off in the nicest way possible.
The woman looked taken aback. "I, well I thought you were going to escort me to the Floo grates," she said and gave him a coy smile that Ginny saw right through.
"Er, mind getting there yourself? I'm going to head back up with Ginny so we can chat a bit." Harry grasped Ginny's hand and gently tugged her along to the lift that had just opened a few doors down, not turning back to the woman to see the scathing look she was giving Ginny.
It took all she had for Ginny not to turn back and stick her tongue out at her.
"So, she's a good friend of yours?" Ginny asked teasingly as the lift doors closed behind them.
"She's bloody annoying," he said through gritted teeth. "Angelique is the Admin Assistant to Robards, the Head Auror. I try and use evasive maneuvers to get away from her when I see her coming but today they fell short."
"Yeah, you didn't look too thrilled there." She was trying to stop her self from doing a happy dance in her mind now. He didn't want that perfectly put together leggy woman, he wanted her! Her! The inappropriate, barely remembers to run a brush through her hair, tomboy that eats like every meal is her last!
"I am now though. This is a nice surprise," he said turning his attention fully to her. "You're doing a girls night out you said?"
"I am, and I was hoping I might run into you though. I know we didn't have any solid plans to meet up this coming weekend," she started.
"I wanted to talk to you about that actually," he said cutting her off. "I have to work. Overtime," he explained with a frown line forming between his eyebrows.
"Oh, no, that's perfectly fine," she assured him. "I have a game this weekend that I'm cleared to be on the sidelines for, I wasn't going to be able to commit to doing something with you anyways."
"I guess that means you have more time to form that excellent date idea you're in charge of for our next one then, eh?" Harry asked her cheekily.
Ginny rolled her eyes in mock exasperation at that. "I'm still sure I won't be able to compete, but yeah, now I've got extra time to plan something out."
They reached the floor that Luna's office was on and Harry followed her off the lift. "Well if we can't get a full day off together for a while then you should come back over to mine for dinner one night."
"Missing me already, are you?" she asked, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Yes," he said simply and gave her a kiss to the cheek.
She was in so much trouble with this boy. He was going to break her heart; she just knew it. Already she liked him more than she had any of her old boyfriends, she'd certainly fallen into bed with him quicker than them as well, but it had felt like a natural progression for their date when it had happened and she didn't regret it for a moment.
"Dinner sounds great," she answered with a blush she hadn't been able to fight off.
They reached Luna's department and opened the door to find Luna standing just a little ways inside the waiting area before the offices having a staring match with a bushy haired brunette whom Ginny knew well and who was going a little purple in the face as they glared at each other.
"Er, Luna?" Ginny tried to get her attention.
Luna didn't turn to look at her, she simply raised a hand and indicated to Ginny that she would have to wait a minute. The brunette was not as invested in the staring match as Luna though.
"Ginny," Hermione said with relief. "Please tell her that House Elves deserve a fair wage. She won't listen to me!"
"And Hermione won't listen to the House Elves," Luna said calmly. "She seems to think that they are lying when they say they are happy. Instead she would like to force them to change their whole sense of being and begin to suffer the cruelties of life that we humans have to deal with instead. She doesn't understand and she doesn't want to."
"What cruelties of life?" Hermione nearly shrieked.
"You force them to take a wage and then next they will be forced to pay rent to their employers, then they will suffer the perils of consumerism and feel obligated to gift purchased items at holidays and no longer find their work enjoyable but just something they must do to continue on with their life in the manner with which they have grown accustomed. It is cruel."
"Fair pay for fair work is not cruel!" Hermione nearly yelled.
"Then listen to them when they tell you what they believe to be fair," Luna snarled viciously at her and Hermione took a step back with a look on her face like she'd just been slapped.
Ginny had seen Luna get angry a few times before and it was always a surprise. She could get very scary when she was angry. It was like when you are petting a purring kitten and next thing you know their claws are digging into your skin. Luna was a soft and cuddly kitten that most forgot had the ability to scratch them until they bled.
"Whoa," Harry said under his breath.
"It's rare, but it happens," Ginny told him.
"Scary," he whispered.
"Don't worry, she gets it all out of her system in one go and then is back to her usual, wonderful self," Ginny said patting his arm.
Sure enough, Hermione distancing herself from Luna by the one step backwards that she took in surprise was all it took for Luna to know she had been heard and ended the argument.
"Are you joining us for drinks?" Luna asked Hermione pleasantly.
"She really does switch gears quick, doesn't she?" Harry murmured in Ginny's ear, she could feel him vibrating with humor at the situation through their clasped hands.
"She doesn't hold a grudge, that's for sure," Ginny whispered back.
Hermione was still too flustered about their argument to give an answer and was still gaping at her.
"I just need to grab my things," Luna said to Ginny, not waiting for Hermione's response. "Hi Harry," she smiled and headed back towards the offices.
"That girl is so frustrating," Hermione said with a stomp of her foot.
"Hey Hermione, how are things?" Ginny asked with a laugh.
"How do you put up with her?" Hermione asked in frustration. "She's-,"
"Careful what you say next," Ginny warned. "She's my best friend and his best mate's girlfriend," she indicated to Harry beside her.
"Oh," Hermione said when she recognized him. "Oh, you're Harry Potter, we've never been properly introduced." Hermione held out her hand for him to shake.
Harry took her hand politely but threw a questioning glance to Ginny as though asking if she was an alright person.
"Hermione here was a year ahead of Luna and I in school. Head Girl, Prefect, doesn't care for Quidditch but carries a torch for my brother Ron," Ginny introduced.
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "I do not!"
Ginny just shook her head. Hermione and Ron had been in the same year and house at Hogwarts, but while Hermione was fastidious about her studies Ron had done the bare minimum to get the grades he needed and the two of them didn't operate in the same circle. Ginny had been better friends with Hermione than anyone in Hermione's year. The older girl had offered to do tutoring sessions and Ginny had taken her up on it because she'd needed all the help she could get once she was on the Quidditch team and found herself growing more distracted by boys and less interested in paying attention in class.
There had been a few tutoring sessions in the Gryffindor common room where Ginny had caught Hermione looking longingly towards her peers that were messing about on the other side of the room. It had been a while though before Ginny realized that it was Ron that Hermione had been staring at and not the others in her year as a whole.
Unfortunately for Hermione, Ron hadn't ever seen her in that light. And he never would unless Hermione did something about it.
"Right, right. That must have been somebody else," Ginny said unconvincingly. "You should come out with us for drinks though, looks like you've had a long day."
Hermione looked between she and Harry as though unsure due to his presence. "Us?" she asked.
"Luna and I," Ginny clarified. "Harry wishes he could join us, but he's got the wrong bits."
Both Harry and Hermione sputtered at that while Ginny enjoyed the sight of having made them uncomfortable. As she checked Harry's reaction specifically she saw that there was this little part of him that wanted to say something, something that was very much inappropriate to say in mixed company. Something about how he was sure that Ginny quite liked his bits how they were. She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge, willing him to say it.
He didn't know Hermione though and he'd been raised by a strong and old fashioned woman who would surely have scolded him for talking about his private parts in public, particularly in front of two young ladies.
"I suppose I could use a drink," Hermione answered. "And it has been a while since we have been able to catch up."
"Great! Go and get your things then," Ginny encouraged.
"You are trouble," Harry said in a low voice in her ear as Hermione walked away.
"Is that a bad thing?" Ginny asked demurely. Harry's responding grin told her it wasn't.
"Suppose I should leave you here then," Harry sighed regretfully. "Angelique should have cleared off by now."
"Well, if you go back down and spot her in the atrium still, come back up. You can walk us out and I'll be sure to let her know that you are currently unavailable. Really mark my territory and what-not," she said boldly.
Harry chuckled, "I could only imagine what you have in mind for that."
Oh, she had all sorts of things she wouldn't mind doing to him to make his fan girl back the fuck off, but none of those things were going to happen today, and they certainly weren't going to happen in a public place where her mother might find out about it and her father might walk by.
Ginny gave him one more kiss before he left and watched him walk away.
"Is it new?"
Hermione's voice beside her made Ginny jump.
"Yes," she sighed happily. "We met a few weeks ago and have been dating for just over a week now."
"You look very comfortable together for it just being a weeklong relationship."
Ginny blushed. "Well, they've been rather, erm, intense dates." Though she and Hermione were friends they hadn't ever been the kind to gossip about boys and Ginny wasn't sure what Hermione's views were about such things.
"Ah," Hermione nodded in understanding. "Well, you already seem more comfortable with him than you ever did with Dean."
"I was also fifteen when I dated Dean and everything about intimacy was new to me," Ginny commented.
"It wasn't new the whole year that you two dated though, and I'm sorry if this is out of line, but you didn't look any more comfortable with him by the time you two called it quits."
"Yeah, that's true," Ginny admitted. She'd been excited when Dean Thomas had asked her out, he was her first proper boyfriend and for the first few months of their 'relationship' it was summer holiday and they only sent letters back and forth. It did get less awkward snogging him as their time together went on but trying to figure out what she was comfortable with in terms of intimacy was hard. Thinking back on it, it was probably made all the more hard because she and Dean weren't well suited for each other.
"What about you?" Ginny turned the attention to Hermione. "Been dating anyone?"
"Oh, who has the time?" Hermione dismissed. "I'm always working or thinking about work."
"That might change if you had someone to warm your bed every now and then," Luna told her having just joined them again. She didn't say in a harsh way, just making conversation. "I've found Neville to be a lovely distraction from work."
Hermione pursed her lips but didn't say anything more about it. "Where are we headed?"
The pub that they were headed to was a dingy Muggle one in London Center that had a drinks and appetizer special for five pounds on Tuesday nights. Ginny's purse strings were not nearly as tight now she'd earned an extra hundred Galleon's with her little job at the Ministry but stretching that as far as it could go was a good thing, and beer was beer no matter how much it cost.
This little pub still held the lingering scent of cigarette smoke even though smoking had been banned inside a year ago, there were little wooden dividers between the booths that had faded fabric pulled over the bench seats which had lost their cushioning a long time ago. The tables had decades of marks on them and a permanent stickiness that no amount of scrubbing would make go away. It was a familiar meet-up spot for Ginny and her friends, there had been many a drinking game played and many a man hit on in this pub.
They met up here about once every other month, the area that surrounded it was a financial district and the Muggle men that came into the pub after a day of work were always dressed smartly which Ginny and her friends appreciated. The men were bright too, decent for a chat and usually one or two of the girls got a drink purchased for her.
Now Ginny would get to sit back and watch her friends flirt and she could revel in the fact that she wouldn't be joining them in that now.
Norma and Hestia had been in Ginny's year in Gryffindor; Norma was now working in a shop on Diagon Alley and Hestia wasn't working, she came from an affluent Pureblood family and felt no need to put her education towards a job, eventually she would have a marriage arranged by her family, which had been a fact that had never seemed to bother her, and until then she was determined to enjoy her freedom.
"Hermione!" The two girls cheered when they saw her with Ginny and Luna.
It looked like the two of them had gotten there early and were already a few drinks in, and they weren't alone.
"Boys, thank you for keeping us company," Norma told the two young men who were sitting opposite them in the booth, "but these are the friends we were telling you about. So maybe we'll catch up later?"
"Yeah," one of the men grinned at Norma in particular, "we'll be here."
Luna slid into their vacated spots right away and pulled the menu out from under the napkin holder. "Has any food been ordered yet?" she asked the other two.
"Well hello Luna, good too see you too. Looks like you've been getting some sun," Fiona said with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh yes," Luna replied examining the back of her hand. "I was in northern Scotland all weekend and the sun is visible all hours of the day and night right now."
"Though her tan is from her visit to the African desert a few weeks ago," Ginny told them, and reminded Luna who seemed to have forgotten the actual reason she was a few shades darker than usual.
"Wow," Norma gave Luna a longing look. "If I'd have known that a career with magical creatures could have led to so much traveling I might have continued on with that class."
"It isn't all traveling," Hermione told her. "I've been with the DoMC for two years and haven't traveled outside of England. Luna's position simply has much more field work than mine. Currently I am working with-"
"Drinks?" Ginny said loudly in an attempt to stop Hermione bringing up the argument that she and Luna had been having only a few minutes ago. Not to mention stop Hermione from boring the rest of them to tears before there was a good buzz going on.
While enjoying their first round of drinks and food Fiona told them a few stories about the parties she had been obligated to go to and the trouble she had gotten up to at each of those parties, Norma caught them up on gossip she had overheard in Diagon Alley and Ginny told them about the upcoming Quidditch season and her injury.
"Alright," Fiona said after finishing her drink and taking a look around the bar. "Those two from earlier are still here. Norma and I call dibs on them, what about you three?" She was asking which men they were interested in chatting up.
"Ginny and I have taken lovers," Luna said happily.
"What?!" Norma leaned forward across the table, eager for details.
"Lover's? Is that what you're calling it?" Fiona asked. "It sounds so… French."
"I'm not calling him my 'lover'," Ginny stated. That didn't sound like the right term at all.
"Oh, are you calling him your boyfriend now?" Luna asked.
"Er… well. I mean, we haven't had that conversation," Ginny said. "Dating. We're dating. I am seeing someone. That's the best way to say it."
"Who? Anyone we know?" Norma asked with wide impatient eyes.
"Oh, can I tell her? I never have gossip and this qualifies," Hermione asked pleadingly. Her eyes were already glassy after her one drink. Clearly she was a light-weight and Ginny was interested in seeing just how much her guard would be down after one or two more.
"Sure, go ahead," Ginny chuckled.
"Ginny's dating Harry Potter!" Hermione said in a loud whisper.
"What?!" Norma and Fiona both exclaimed.
"The Harry Potter?" Norma asked.
"But he's notorious for staying away from our world for everything but work at the Ministry!" Fiona said. "He's been invited to all the parties in my family's circles for years and he's always turned them down. He won't even go to the Ministry functions. How did you two get together?"
"My friends friend works near him and has been trying to get his attention for ages. She's, like, super chic and apparently he's rebuffed her at every turn. There was talk of him even being gay after turning down her advances." Norma would have latched on to that information.
Ginny snorted. "Trust me, he isn't gay."
"Does that mean that you two have," Fiona waggled her eyebrows at her in innuendo.
"Yeah right!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'll tell the two of you that I'm dating him, but I'm certainly not going to be giving you any details about our possible adventures between the sheets. You're dangerous with that kind of information," she said singling Norma out.
Norma wasn't offended by that, instead she just rolled her eyes. "Well at least tell us how you met! How long has it been going on?"
Ginny blushed at the focus of the conversation being her. It had always seemed to her that everyone else's relationships were the one's that people gossiped about and were interested in. When she had broken up with the first boy she'd dated, her technical first boyfriend though they hadn't done any real relationship type things, no one had even seemed to notice. Now even Hermione was looking enraptured in what the story was there.
"I met him at the Ministry," Ginny shrugged attempting to downplay it. "We had lunch together a few times with my family, because of their history with the Order and such, then we got dinner. Now we're dating." It was a simple and straight forward answer, but if she launched into any more details she felt like she would be breaking Harry's trust or something. She cast Luna a pleading look for her to pull focus to herself.
"I'm seeing Neville Longbottom," Luna said. "We had met a few times before but three weeks ago we were in a remote location, just the two of us and he kept getting distracted by me, so I took matters into my own hands."
"Well, you are rather distracting," Hermione said wryly. "Was it your radish earrings or your bottlecap necklace that was distracting him?" Her question was posed seriously though, not to be mean.
Luna didn't look the slightest bit offended. "I think it was more the fact that I wasn't wearing anything at all."
Hermione sputtered while the other three laughed. Clearly working with Luna hadn't yet allowed Hermione to understand just how unconventional Luna was.
"You were just walking around naked?" Hermione asked in shock. "Of course that was distracting for him. Then what? You just shagged him?"
"Yes," Luna said simply. "Though he was still distracted a bit the next day but seemed to be able to concentrate much better after a few more go 'rounds."
Ginny could always rely on Luna for making everyone distracted from whatever uncomfortable conversation Ginny had been wanting to get out of. Luna's methods for ensnaring a man had the conversation moving nicely through the next round of drinks and then Fiona and Norma moved on from the booth to get some male attention.
The third round of drinks was set down in front of them by the bartender and Luna excused herself to use the loo. Hermione sank back comfortably in her chair and wrapped her hands around her drink. "I would like to have a man," she sighed longingly, giving the men that were at the bar a casual looking over. "I'm no good at the flirting thing. Wouldn't even know where to start."
It seemed Ginny's brilliant friend was at the truth serum point in her drunkenness. Ginny regarded her objectively. "You are quite pretty you know," she said. "Are you actively looking for a man? Do you have one in particular in mind?"
She had teased her about Ron, but that had been years ago that Hermione had held that torch for him, a lot could have changed since then and now.
"I've one I'm interested in, yes, but honestly I wouldn't mind just dating anyone that sparked my fancy. You know it's been two years since I was last kissed?" Hermione took another long pull of her glass and smacked her lips appreciatively over the coolness of her drink. "He was my study partner at Cambridge. Good looking guy. Gave him my virginity, but it was never going to come to anything. I knew it wouldn't be anything when we started snogging, I just felt like it was time, you know? It was getting to the point of it being sad that I hadn't shagged anyone."
Ginny leaned against her friend in a show of comfort and rested her head against hers. "Do you regret it?"
"No," she said after a moment of thinking. "At least I have the experience to pull from. I wish he had been somebody else, that it meant more, but it was what it was," she said with a sigh.
"I think everyone's first time is awkward. It's all so new and it hurts a bit. If the boy doesn't know it's your first time too then it can be pretty bad." Ginny's own first time had been the boy she'd dated after Dean, Andrew Mitchell had assumed she and Dean had gone further than they had and he hadn't been gentle enough with her.
"It get's better, right?" Hermione asked, her tone almost desperate for the answer to be a yes. "Everything I've read has both parties thoroughly enjoying themselves and need to know that it's true."
"It's true," Ginny assured her and patted her hand. The romance novels rarely described things accurately, they are all 'heaving breasts' and 'taking in a manly fashion'; how often to they have 'and then she got a cramp in her hip and they had to change positions'? Then a thought occurred to Ginny, she sat up straight and turned to look at Hermione directly. "You said your first time was with a Muggle boy?"
"Yes," Hermione said with a confused look on her face.
"Then did you use a… a. Crap, what is it called again. A plastic thing that goes over his… you know," she pointed down between her legs.
"A condom?" Hermione offered, her eyes dancing with laughter.
"Yes!" Ginny snapped her fingers. "A condom. You used one of those?"
"Yes, of course." Hermione looked stunned that it was even a question.
"What did it feel like? Couldn't you tell that he was, you know, covered up there?" It had been in the back of Ginny's mind since her first morning after with Harry when she read the condom packet.
"Well," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I could tell that he was wearing it. I imagine it is a much more enjoyable experience without one, or with a different kind of one."
"Hold on," Ginny held up her hand. "There are different kinds?" she asked incredulously. "How are there different kinds? It's a plastic bag thing."
Luna had rejoined their table now but neither of the two of them realized.
"Well, yes. There are thinner ones, ones that have somehow made it so that it is supposed to be a better sensation for the woman. Some that are flavoured-"
"What the hell would that matter?" Ginny asked, then immediately realized after she asked why it could matter and gave a snort of laughter. "Never mind, carry on."
"Why do you want to know?" Hermione asked curiously.
Ginny opened her mouth to answer but caught herself and gave a look around to see if someone might overhear. Luna was looking at her, waiting for the answer, but other than that no one was close enough to catch their conversation.
"Promise to keep it to yourself?" Ginny asked Hermione. Hermione nodded. "When Harry and I spent the night together the first time he put one on. I didn't know what it was, he'd done it out of habit." Hermione and Luna both started chuckling and Ginny carried on with the story; about how shocked she'd been and worried it was for a reason having nothing to do with contraception.
Hermione wound up laughing so hard she had to rest her head down on the table, shooting back up straight again with regret and reaching for a wet wipe that had been given out with one of the appetizers from earlier. Tears of laughter were rolling down her cheeks as she wiped the invisible table grime from her forehead.
One more drink later and Ginny didn't care whether it was a good idea or not, she was standing in an aisle in Boots, a Muggle pharmacy, looking at all the different types of condoms there were to offer.
Luna and Hermione were flanking her sides as she browsed at all the options before her.
"This one has four different kinds!" Luna said loudly. "One of them has a warming charm! That might feel good."
Her volume had drawn curious and uncomfortable looks from a few others in the aisle and Hermione shushed her loudly. "This isn't really something to be carried on about in public," Hermione warned. "And they aren't charms, they are… lubricants or something. I don't really know."
"I'll test it out and tell you," Ginny said with a grin as she snatched the box out of Luna's hand. "Wonder what the difference is between the 'intense' and the 'warming', you would think those would go hand in hand, and the 'her pleasure'. Don't know about the 'twisted' option though," she said examining the box and having an utterly horrifying image come to her mind at the idea of a 'twisted' penis.
"Here are those flavored ones! You like strawberries, don't you?" Luna asked and added a box of strawberry flavored condoms on top of the box Ginny was already holding.
Hermione gave a loud snort of laughter as she picked up a pamphlet that was hanging off the end of the shelving. "This tells you which size you should use," she laughed. "It has circles showing for girth. Think you can remember what size he needs?" she asked to be cheeky.
"Are you supposed to measure that and compare?" Luna asked as she took the pamphlet from Hermione and stared off into space as she made an open mouthed 'o' shape with her lips having it grow larger and smaller.
"What is she doing?" Hermione asked Ginny as she stared at Luna.
"Trying to remember how big Neville is," Ginny started crying with laughter. Then started laughing harder when Luna nodded and pointed to her open mouth as though that was the right size, then down to the pamphlet at the circle drawn asking them if it was a match.
"The regular size will suit you just fine," Hermione told her through her own teary laughter.
"Excuse me," a salesperson had come over to them. "The three of you are interrupting the other patrons, I am going to have to ask that you make your purchases now and leave."
"Let me ask you something first," Luna stopped him from hurrying away. "You have this pamphlet here with erection sizes for girth, but are the men supposed to simply drop their trousers in the aisle and measure? If so there should probably be women pictured on the boxes and not men. It might make things a little easier. Or at least some of the boxes, I suppose not all men are attracted to women."
The salesperson was at a loss for words with her question and simply gaped at her.
"Perhaps just a measuring tape of some sort would be beneficial," Luna offered, still oblivious to why the question was inappropriate.
"We'll head up to the check out," Hermione assured the man and hastily grabbed a box of condoms for herself before pulling Ginny and Luna along by their elbows.
"Oh, but they still have a toy shelf at the top we haven't looked at!" Luna protested but Hermione kept pulling them along.
Luna and Ginny saw Hermione home after that and went back to their flat. It had seemed that Hermione had had a wonderful time out with them and Ginny assured her she would be invited to the next one as well.
It wasn't too late in the evening by the time Ginny was snuggled under her blankets and fell into a deep sleep thinking about a strawberry flavored Harry.
()()()
AN- I hope you had as much fun reading that last scene as I had writing it!
