A/N: I really intended to finish and post this chapter over a week ago, before I went away for vacation, but unfortunately, I couldn't get it where I wanted in time. I'm sorry that what I intended to be a Christmas and Hanukkah present turned into a New Year's gift instead, but hey, at least it's one of the longest chapters I've written. Hopefully that's a good thing. :)

The snowstorm started in earnest sometime between the first and second time Harry and Ginny made love that night. The sound of the wind howling outside only magnified the quiet coziness Ginny felt laying against Harry under the blankets, their bare skin touching in dozens of places. Ginny snuck out to the loo after Harry's detection spell deemed it safe, and when she dove back under the covers, Harry yelped.

"Damn, your feet are cold," he said. He didn't move away though.

"My whole body's cold," Ginny chattered. "It's freezing out there."

"Well then, let's not go back out there any time soon," mumbled Harry. His hands moved against her hips under the blankets and he lowered his mouth to hers. He shifted to lie on top of her and Ginny could feel him pulsing against her thigh.

"Good idea," she mumbled back.

This time they were unhurried as they touched and explored and made each other moan. They playfully fought to be the first one to dive beneath the covers to find the other's most sensitive bits with soft kisses and tastes, and when Harry won he looked cheekily up at her from his place between her legs. "You let me win, didn't you?" he asked.

"Of course," said Ginny promptly. She opened her legs a bit wider. "It only took me four minutes last night to get you to climax; let's see how long it takes you."

"Witch," said Harry affectionately. "Maybe I want to take my time now that we're not in a rush." His tongue darted out for a tiny touch against her clit and Ginny moaned.

"Take all the time you need, Harry," she gasped.

"That's what I thought," he said in satisfaction before lowering his head again.

Harry remembered overhearing a discussion between Bill and the twins, not too long after Bill had begun dating Fleur. The rest of the family might not have been too enamored with the Veela at the time, but Bill had a rapturous audience in Fred and George, who wanted to hear anything and everything Bill agreed to tell them. When it came to performing oral sex, Bill had admitted to liking it so much that could bring him right up to the edge of climax before Fleur even touched him. At the time, Harry had been rather incredulous about that.

Now, Ginny was still panting from her orgasm when Harry slid up her body and inside of her, and it only took him a few frantic strokes in and out to get there himself. He collapsed on top of Ginny moments later, enjoying the feeling of softening while still inside.

"Fleur says Bill really gets excited about that too," murmured Ginny. She reached up to kiss his neck. "I thought maybe it was just a Veela thing."

Harry finally pulled out and rolled to one side to reach his wand for a cleaning spell. "Definitely not just a Veela thing," he said. "Another minute and I might not have made it inside first."

Ginny giggled sleepily. "We'll have to try for that sometime," she said.

HPHPHP

They must have fallen asleep afterwards, for when Harry next awoke, anemic sunlight was creeping through a crack in the curtains. The wind was as wild as ever outside and he was glad to imagine spending the day cosseted under blankets and drinking hot chocolate with Ginny. He slipped carefully out of bed and pulled on his pajamas before heading for the loo, thinking vaguely about how they'd sneak Ginny back to her flat before she could casually come over for a visit later. It was only when he'd finished and was on his way back to bed that a thumping sound from the sitting room startled him out of his stupor. The door to Ron's bedroom was cracked open – Harry was pretty sure it had been fully shut when he went to the loo – and he was relieved to see that his own door was firmly closed. Deciding it was unnecessary to disillusion himself, he crept slowly down the hall.

The sitting room was dim and empty but Harry could see Ron fumbling in the kitchen. He was opening one cabinet after another, pulling items out and then muttering fuck under his breath as he apparently didn't find what he wanted. One of the cabinet doors shut with a bang and Ron winced and put his hand to his head. Harry turned silently around to head back to his room – the need for a plan to get Ginny out of the flat suddenly more urgent – when Ron looked up and saw him.

"Do we have any hangover potion?" he croaked weakly.

Harry walked cautiously into the room. "I'm not sure," he said, thinking quickly. "We might be out. Maybe you should, uhh, Floo to the Apothecary for some?"

Ron winced again. "No way I'd make it," he said heavily. He gave up his search and walked into the sitting room to flop on the sofa. "Fuck, I drank too much. Hermione too. I promised her coffee with a cure before she got out of bed but I can't find the potion."

"We uhh, we all drank too much," said Harry carefully.

Ron glanced at him briefly. "You don't look to be in as bad a shape," he said. "Do you have potion in your room?"

"I don't," said Harry quickly. "I guess I didn't drink as much as you did." He sat down on the sofa next to Ron. The hangover could be useful, he thought; hopefully he could convince Ron to just go back to bed; maybe Harry would even offer to Floo for some potion himself shortly. And he'd sneak Ginny out in the meantime. "I think the Firewhiskey I drank was the good stuff," he said conversationally. "It's less likely to cause headaches later. I'm guessing you and Hermione might have been drinking the cheaper whiskey." He pretended to think. "You said she was feeling bad too? Ron?" He turned on the sofa, half hoping that Ron had actually dozed off right there.

Instead, he was staring across the dim light of the room. "Does it look . . ." he began. He looked at Harry. "Did you . . . ?" He stopped again and rubbed at his eyes. "I can't see it clearly," he mumbled. He waved his wand and flicked open the curtains to allow in some of the wintry sunlight.

"Can't see what?" Harry started to ask. Then he saw too. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

Ron was still peering at the poster. "Why is there a number 1 now?" he asked. He shook his head as if to clear it. "I'm not still drunk, am I?" He looked at Harry. "How could you erase one of the times you had sex? Did you not . . . finish or something?" Ron's cheeks turned faintly pink.

"Umm," said Harry. "Maybe the storm's interfering with it." It was a lame excuse, but hopefully Ron was hungover enough to buy it. But he was gingerly shaking his head.

"Fred and George's stuff is too good, and the number's red now, not green," he said. He looked right at Harry. "Something changed." Before Harry could respond, Ron shot a spell at the poster.

And Potter Catches the Snitch – He brought home One Witch!

Ron winced at the noise, but that didn't stop him from punching Harry in the arm too. "You brought her here?" He stretched up to look down the hall. "Is she still in your room?" He suddenly sounded a lot more alert.

"No," said Harry shortly. "She's umm, she left. A while ago. She wasn't here for that long."

Ron gave him a curious grin. "How did you get Bill to keep his mouth shut?" he asked. "Cause, I have some dirt on him I've been saving up; this might be worth using it."

"Bill?" asked Harry. "What's Bill got to do with anything?"

Now Ron looked confused. "To give you a password for her so she could get through the building's wards," he said. "He's the only one authorized to do it, and he has to know her name." He cocked his head at Harry. "How did you get her into the building without a password for her?"

"Umm," said Harry again. Shit, think! "I uhh, I couldn't," he said. "That's why she wasn't here for long."

"But long enough to have sex?" asked Ron. "Did you have to do it in the front lobby?"

Fortunately, Harry was saved from answering by a groan from the hallway. Hermione stumbled into the room looking even worse than Ron. She sat gingerly in a chair. "If I don't get hangover potion and coffee soon, I'm going to vomit," she announced grimly.

"I don't have any, sorry," said Harry.

Hermione looked at Ron. "I thought you were getting some?"

"Harry brought his witch back here last night," Ron said in response. "He managed to get her inside without a password, too."

Hermione leaned back and closed her eyes. "How'd you do that, Harry?" she asked tiredly.

"Sex in the lobby, apparently," said Ron. He shook his head in admiration. "Damn, you must have been really randy to attempt that. Why didn't you just go to her flat?"

"Umm," said Harry again. "We were going to, but umm, we didn't," he finished weakly.

"I'm surprised the poster knew you had sex here, since you didn't actually bring her into our flat," said Ron. He smirked. "Think we can figure out how many times?" He shot another spell at the poster

"Ron," Harry began. As he watched, the red "1" morphed into a glowing green "4".

And Potter Catches the Snitch – Four Times Now!

"Four?" said Ron incredulously. "You did it twice in the lobby? Weren't you afraid someone would walk in?" He shook his head. "Or did you go down to the laundry room or something?" He looked at his girlfriend. "What do you think? The poster's range is farther than we thought."

"Ron," said Hermione quietly. "Please. I can't think about anything until you get me some hangover potion." Harry had never heard Hermione sound so uninterested in figuring out a magical problem. He jumped on that fact.

"Why don't you uhh, take Hermione back to bed then?" he said quickly. "You look like you could use a bit more of a lie-in yourself. I'll Floo to the Apothecary and get the potion." He stood up.

Ron was rubbing his head. "You mean, you'll probably stop off to see your secret witch and not be back for hours," he said. "Besides, I think Ginny has some." Before Harry could say a word, Ron raised his wand and conjured his Patronus with one of the advanced communications spells used by the Aurors. "Go to Ginny," he told it. "Bark at the door until she wakes up – it may take a few minutes. Ask her to bring over some hangover potion." He flicked his wand to send the terrier away.

Harry knew immediately what was going to happen but he couldn't make his brain work fast enough to stop it. Instead of bounding through the wall, Ron's Patronus scampered down the hallway and stopped outside Harry's closed door.

"What the hell?" asked Ron, as the terrier began to bark and whine. He looked at Harry and Hermione. "Did I do the spell wrong? It's supposed to go to Ginny's door."

"It sounded okay to me," mumbled Hermione, just as Harry said "Yeah, I think you did it wrong."

"Well, which is it?" asked Ron. He stood up and shot another spell down the hall. The terrier's barks grew louder and it began to paw at the door.

"Why does it think Ginny's in there?" he asked.

Harry could only stare as the door to his bedroom slowly opened.

"Because I am," said Ginny calmly, walking into the room. She was wearing bits and pieces of Harry's pajamas and her hair was pulled back in a hasty ponytail. "And if you want me to get you any potion, I'll thank you to keep your mouth shut about it."

Ron opened his mouth and then closed it again, still looking perplexed. "Ginny?" he finally asked. "What were you doing in Harry's room?"

Harry glanced sharply at his best friend, but apparently, the question was legitimate. Hermione's eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly through her mouth; Harry wasn't even sure she was aware what was going on.

Ginny sat down on the sofa. "I stayed over last night," she said.

"Did your heat break or something?" asked Ron. "Or were you too drunk to even get back to your own flat?" He snorted and then winced. "That was some game you had us play, Harry. I bet we don't even see Dam and the others until this afternoon." He gave Harry a pointed look. "But it was just Firewhiskey, right? Nothing else?"

"Nothing else," Harry assured him. He glanced at Ginny and she gave him a tiny shrug back. Hangovers do weird things, she seemed to say. Indeed, Harry had seen Hermione injured in any number of ways and yet she'd always been able to keep her wits about her and her magic intact. He couldn't remember ever seeing her in such a state that she couldn't even participate in a conversation – the time she was petrified their second year excepted, of course. And even then, she'd provided a clue for them to follow.

"Pipes," he said out loud, remembering. Ron looked curiously at him.

"Ginny's pipes are broken? I thought the whole building is linked together." His suddenly eyes lit up and he turned to his sister. "But this is great, Ginny. If you were here, did you get a chance to find out who Harry's secret witch is? I know he didn't bring her up here, but you must have known he was sneaking out. Did you follow him? What did you see?"

"Umm," said Ginny. Her brain seemed to be residing in the same post-coital place as Harry's. "I, umm . . ."

"Is that the real reason you didn't bring her up here, mate? You didn't want her to meet Ginny, did you? That would have been awkward, to say the least." Ron ran his hand through his hair and looked at his sister. "But you'll behave, won't you? When we meet Harry's witch? You won't act like you did when we all met Fleur, right? Because she turned out more than okay, once we got to know her."

"Umm," said Ginny again. She looked as if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her brother's cluelessness. "Yeah. I'll be nice."

"You better," said Ron. He rubbed his head again. "Maybe coffee by itself will help," he mumbled. He walked into the kitchen and began pulling out the coffee making things, talking to them from the other room. "Why don't you just tell everyone tomorrow night at the Burrow Harry?" Ron called. "Fred and George are going to obviously have something planned; you could ruin their fun by giving up her name right away."

Hermione opened her eyes. Despite her obvious misery, Harry could tell she'd figured out what was going one. "Ron," she said quietly.

He didn't hear her. "What do you say, Harry? " he called over the sound of grinding beans. "Are you going to tell everyone? You're not embarrassed about it are you?" The grinding stopped and Hermione's shoulders relaxed a bit.

"I thought I'd taught him better by now," she said weakly.

Ginny stifled a snort. "Yeah Harry, you should definitely tell everyone at dinner tomorrow night. All at once," she said. "And Ron," she called in the direction of the kitchen, "I promise that I'll be very, very good about Harry and his witch."

"Glad to hear it," Ron called back. "Because I'm betting she has no idea how much we all know about her and Harry's . . . private activities."

While Ginny tried not to snort again, Harry looked apologetically at Hermione.

"It's not something that's ever crossed his mind, you understand," he said. "Fred and George didn't have a clue either." He looked at Ginny. "If you have hangover potion in your flat, this would be a good time to get it, I think. We need Hermione at full strength before Ron figures out the truth." Harry knew that trying to hide anymore was futile, if Hermione knew.

"What truth?" asked Ron. Four coffees floated in front of him. "I'm sorry I don't have any potion for it," he said to Hermione. He looked at Harry and then at Ginny. "You already figured out who it is, didn't you?' he asked his sister. "What did Harry promise to give you to keep your mouth shut?"

Ginny jumped up. "I actually left the remedy in your bathroom cabinet," she said, waving her wand. The tiny bottle came zooming down the hall and landed in Hermione's lap. She picked it up with a groan of relief and poured a healthy shot into her coffee.

"Ron, you're not supposed to be this thick anymore," she said. She took a big gulp of the steaming liquid and some of the greenish tinge cleared from her face. "I'll blame the large amount of Firewhiskey you drank and the fact that it's not something that even I considered happening between them, at least not so quickly."

"I thought I wasn't thick at all anymore," said Ron. He took the potion from Hermione and drank a few swallows straight from the bottle. He shook his head from side to side and his face cleared. "Much better," he said. He looked back at Hermione. "You've figured out who she is too? And you didn't tell me?"

Hermione sat up straight. "It's not really my news to tell," she said. She looked at Harry and then Ginny.

Instead of responding, Harry caught Ginny's eye. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. He took a few steps towards her, forgetting for a moment that Ron and Hermione were in the room.

Those few seconds were enough for the cobwebs of drink and oblivion to clear from Ron's brain. A sharp intake of breath brought Harry back to the present, and he looked up to see Ron looking rapidly back and forth between him and Ginny, awareness dawning on his face.

"Your heat isn't broken?" he asked weakly. He ran his hand though his hair.

"Nope," said Ginny cheerfully. "And Harry doesn't need any sort of special password to get his secret witch into the building."

"It wasn't the publicist," added Harry.

"But," Ron said. He stopped and shook his head. "I thought she's like a sister to you," he said finally. He looked at Ginny. "And him a brother. You thought he was a prat." He sank down on the sofa. "I don't . . ." his voice trailed off.

"I did think he was a prat, yes," said Ginny gently. "Until I learned better and stopped being a prat myself."

"And I never, ever thought of her as my sister," said Harry forcefully. "Ever."

"So you didn't have sex at the pub?" Ron asked. A minute later he looked horrified. "Or . . . did you?"

Harry wasn't sure exactly how much Ron wanted to know, or how much Ginny wanted to tell him. He looked at her.

"Not at the pub," she said carefully. "We were in my flat. The first time."

"And the second," supplied Hermione. Now that her hangover was gone, she had the analytical look in her eye Harry knew well. "Isn't that right?"

Harry nodded. "The second too," he admitted.

Ron still looked rather gobsmacked. "And the others . . .?"

"Were here, last night," said Ginny briskly. "The poster got that right too."

"I was here last night," said Ron plaintively. He turned to Hermione. "Did you hear anything?"

"I was pretty much passed out," Hermione admitted, at the same time Harry said "I know how to set a silencing charm, you know."

Ron seemed to be putting more and more together now. "So last night, when I sent Ginny that Patronus to follow Harry, the two of you . . . actually, I don't want to know the specifics."

"Thank Merlin," said Ginny, earning her a small smile from her brother.

Hermione got up from her chair and went to sit next to Ron. He laid his head on her shoulder for a long minute. "You were right," he said finally. "Harry did fancy Ginny."

"And still does," said Harry.

Hermione turned her head and kissed Ron's hair. "But I didn't realize it was mutual," she said. Ron sighed and looked at Harry again. He seemed more comfortable talking to his friend than his sister.

"How . . . how long?"

He started fancying me his Fifth Year!" Ginny said with a grin. "Guess all those silencing charms weren't to keep you from hearing his nightmares after all."

"All his . . ." began Ron. He looked over at Harry. "You did set a lot of silencing charms that year. And I thought they were for . . .no. Please don't tell me." He put his hands over his ears.

"It became mutual a little over a month ago," said Harry carefully, as Hermione peeled Ron's hands away from his ears. He seemed to be taking the revelation calmly, but Harry wasn't convinced the news had completely sunk in yet. It wasn't that he expected Ron to explode the way he had their Sixth Year over Ginny and Dean, but right now he was looking at Harry and Ginny as if he didn't quite recognize who they were, as if the concept of the two of them as a couple had made them incomprehensible as his best friend and his sister.

Hermione, on the other hand, was smiling shrewdly at them. She was dying to ask a million questions, Harry knew, trying to figure out how she'd missed all the signs that Harry and Ginny had gotten together. He was almost as impressed with her restraint as he was with Ron's calm.

"But . . . how did it . . . .happen?" Ron asked. "I mean, I was glad the two of you got over your constant irritation with each other, but just because you're friends now doesn't mean you had to . . . jump into bed together." He mumbled the last bit, clearly not intending to have said so much.

"You did," pointed out Ginny. Harry stifled a snort of laughter and even Hermione giggled. Ron looked sheepish.

"Yeah, well, maybe," conceded Ron. "Although Hermione and I were friends for ages first."

"And we still irritate each other sometimes," said Hermione.

"I think Ginny and I are done being irritated with each other," said Harry. He finally decided it was safe to walk across the room and wrap his arms around her. She put her head on his chest and sighed contentedly. Harry watched Ron carefully.

He stared at the two of them for a second before giving a little shrug that seemed to say, well, if you must, before turning to Hermione. "This is going to take some getting used to," he said.

"You're reacting remarkably well," said Ginny. She slipped her hand underneath the back of Harry's pajama top and tickled up his back.

"Or a lot of getting used to," said Ron heavily. He inclined his head at them. "Do you do . . . that sort of thing a lot?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry. "You and Hermione are the first to know about us." He thought of something. "And actually, we'd rather not tell anyone else just yet. Especially my teammates. It doesn't need to be in the papers any time soon."

Ron nodded knowingly. "Maybe we can keep the Arrows from finding out for a while, but good luck with our family," he said. "I wouldn't eat or drink anything that's been near Fred or George tomorrow night."

Harry groaned. "They aren't going to go easy on me, are they?"

"Not at all," said Ron. "I wouldn't be surprised if even my mum got involved in trying to figure out who you're with; she's been in a state about your apparent loneliness for months now."

Harry buried his face in Ginny's hair. "Then I'm going to eat and drink as much as possible tomorrow night," he said. "Because once she knows why I'm not even a little bit lonely, she may never cook for me again."

Ron barked a laugh. "Are you mental? You think my mum's going to be upset that you're together with Ginny?"

Harry looked at his best mate. To be honest, he hadn't really considered how the Weasleys would react to his and Ginny's relationship. He'd never once doubted their love for him, and Molly and Arthur had always treated him nearly as one of their own. If they'd been perhaps a bit more lenient about his participation in the family's hijinx, Harry was certain it was because Molly considered him punished enough by his aunt and uncle.

But being in a relationship – having sex with – their daughter was quite different from helping the twins swipe Percy's quills so they could charm them to write only in childish scrawl, or even from involving her and Ron in far too many near-death experiences fighting Voldemort.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "You think they'll be okay with it?"

Ron sighed. "I guess I'm not the only thick one," he said rather smugly. He looked at his sister. "Remember what I told you the other day? About Harry and his secret witch?"

Harry felt Ginny shiver. "Yeah," she said quietly. She pulled out of Harry's arms and led him over to the chair Hermione had vacated. "You didn't know it was me then, though." She sat down, shifting over so Harry could snuggle next to her. He pulled her legs over his lap.

Ron shrugged. "Doesn't matter that I didn't know it was you; still the same thing. More even."

Harry turned to Ginny. "What?"

Ginny gave him a shy smile. "Ron said you wouldn't sleep with a random witch – especially the first time – just to get it over with." She rubbed her thumb over his hand. "He knew you cared about . . . her . . . me . . . more than you were admitting." She shivered again.

Harry took her chin and tilted her head toward him. "Ron was right," he said, kissing her. "But I think you know that. It was never casual or random with you." Ginny shifted in his lap and Harry found himself forgetting about Ron and Hermione again.

Ron cleared his throat.

Harry pulled his face away from Ginny's. "Sorry mate," he said. He searched for their previous topic of conversation. "Umm, we were talking about . . .?"

"Why my mum is going to be thrilled that you and Ginny are dating," said Ron. "I've been around the two of you for less than an hour and it's already blatantly obvious you aren't just messing around." He smirked. "Honestly, Harry, you'd be better off making mum angry. She's not going to give you a moment of peace."

"But she's not like that with your brothers," protested Harry. "And about you and Hermione. Why is this different?"

Hermione leaned forward. "I think you know why it's different," she said. "It's Ginny – the only daughter. And . . . it's you."

Ron was nodding in agreement. "No one else they'd rather see Ginny with, mate. And considering how many times you almost got her killed at Hogwarts, that's really saying something."

They all laughed then, and Harry felt warm inside, that these were the people he knew so well that they could joke about their past like that. He remembered something. "You asked me last week if my secret witch was annoying," he said to Ron. "I can promise you, now, that's she's definitely not." They all laughed again and Harry felt Ginny shift against him in a way that was much more purposeful. "Now?" he murmured in her ear. "The poster'll change."

Ginny shrugged. "That's Ron's problem," she whispered back.

Harry chuckled. "He's being more than decent, do you really want to push him?"

"Actually, I'm not sure he's going to be paying attention," said Ginny. She nodded her head to where Ron and Hermione were currently snogging on the sofa.

Harry grimaced. "I'm suddenly less inclined to care about Ron's feelings," he said dryly. He wiggled Ginny off his lap and stood up. "My room again?" he asked.

A weak knock at the door interrupted them. It was quiet enough that Ron and Hermione didn't even look up from the sofa, and Harry threw an exasperated glance in their direction as he walked by. "Oi, can you two stop for a minute? Someone's here."

Ron pulled his lips away from Hermione's neck. "In this blizzard?"

"Well, I'd imagine it's someone who lives in the building," said Hermione reasonably. She straightened her pajama top. "Which means Harry and Ginny have about three seconds to come up with an explanation for why she's here at 7 a.m. wearing Harry's pajamas and the poster says Harry's had sex two more times since yesterday." She spoke in that practical tone that Harry knew to appreciate now that it wasn't setting study schedules. He looked wildly at Ginny.

"Ummm," said Ginny. The knock came again.

"Potter?" said a shaky voice. "Ron?"

"Fuck, it's Dam," said Harry. "He's going to have a field day with this."

Hermione stood up. "Not sounding the way he does now," she said briskly. She looked around the room. "Ginny, you passed out on the sofa last night and umm . . ." she waved her wand in a complicated pattern and Ginny's mismatched pajamas sprouted flowers and frills."

"Ugh," said Ginny looking down. "What the hell am I wearing?"

"Something that won't make it look like you and Harry just shagged," said Ron. "Nice Transfiguration, Hermione."

Hermione shrugged modestly. "And Harry snuck his witch back here for a middle-of-the night romp," she said. "That's all we need to say, as long as Harry takes his hand off Ginny's waist." She rolled her eyes at them while Harry shuffled sheepishly away and then flicked her wand at the door.

"Rather rude of me to bring another witch back here with my girlfriend passed out on the couch," said Harry conversationally, right before the door swung open. Ginny gave him a pleased smile. He grinned back at her.

"Harry!" hissed Hermione. He quickly straightened his features and looked away from Ginny to the figure leaning against the doorframe.

Dam looked terrible. He was pale and the bit of his eyes that could be seen as he squinted in the light of the flat were bloodshot. From his stance, Harry got the impression that if not for the wall holding him up, he might instead be curled up on the floor. "I'm out of potion," he mumbled. He looked blearily around the room. "D'you have any?"

Hermione jumped up. "I'm not sure, Dam. We might have all finished it ourselves. We were all pretty drunk last night, and suffering for it this morning, weren't we?"

Dam didn't acknowledge everyone's murmurs of agreement that yes, they had all been just blindingly drunk. He stumbled over the place on the sofa Hermione had just vacated and collapsed heavily. "I need potion," he said again, closing his eyes.

Ginny picked up the bottle Ron had been drinking from and peered into it. "There's really not any left," she said apologetically. "We umm, we all needed it pretty badly this morning ourselves. I don't remember much from last night. I umm, I passed out on the sofa here, apparently. I didn't hear anything else until . . . Ron woke me up about a half hour ago to give me potion. And Hermione. So I'm feeling better now." Ginny seemed to realize she was talking too much and stuttered into silence.

Harry hid a grin to hear Ginny tripping over her explanation; her years of experience with Fred and George meant that she was usually better at things like this.

Dam didn't seem to notice. He cracked an eye open. "Weasley?" he asked in Ginny's direction. For once there wasn't even a hint of flirtation in his voice. "Can you make me some? I don't know how; never really learned potions."

Apparently, a bad hangover was as effective as loosening Dam's tongue as the red drink at the pub had been. Ginny gave him a sympathetic grimace. "I don't think I have the ingredients here, I mean, in my flat," she said. She looked quickly at the poster and then back at the Keeper. "Maybe you can sleep it off?"

Dam groaned again. "I'm to have an interview with what'sername," he slurred. "For Quidditch Today. She sent a message this morning that we can talk by Floo because of the storm. Woke me up." He leaned back and closed his eyes again.

Harry glanced sharply at Ginny. "Do you remember who the interview is with?" he asked. Quidditch Today was usually on the more respectable magazines, but normally, a request for an interview would be handled by the team's PR department. "Or did you talk to Violet?" he asked, naming the blonde publicist Ron had suspected Harry of shagging.

"She said she talked to Violet," said Dam. "Showed me a message too. Writin' a story about what we all do on our days off and how it helps us play better. Or somethin' like that."

Across the room, Ginny pursed her lips and Harry knew her thoughts had gone the same place as his. Ron was frowning and seemed to be having a silent conversation with Hermione. Ginny walked over and touched Dam on the shoulder. "I'll Floo the Apothecary and get you some hangover potion," she said gently. "And Ron and Harry will walk you back to your flat to wait. Hermione too, if she wants." She glanced quickly at the poster. It wasn't talking right now, but the big green number 4 was still popping in and out of existence over Harry's left shoulder and Harry wasn't sure when it would start announcing again. Hungover Dam might not be looking at the bright thing, but Harry had no illusions that no matter how bad he was feeling, Dam needed to get out of the flat before he learned something he'd be very interested in once he felt better.

HPHPHPHP

Now that Dam was out of Harry and Ron's flat, Ginny decided that it would be a good idea to shower and dress before returning with the hangover potion. She felt only a tiny bit guilty making the man wait for relief; solidifying their story about what had happened the night before was more important. With any luck, he didn't remember that she'd told him she'd slept on Harry and Ron's sofa and hadn't even noticed what she'd been wearing earlier. She could say she'd gone to Ron for coffee; that would explain her early presence in their flat. Indeed, Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't mention her changed appearance when she arrived clutching the striped Apothecary bag. They were huddled to one side of the fancy leather sofa in Dam's flat and had obviously been having a quiet conversation; Ginny could still hear the buzz of the Muffliato spell around them.

Hermione waved her wand to cancel it. "So the Apothecary was open then?" she asked brightly, nodding at the bag.

Ginny nodded. "More or less; it's a good thing the owner lives in rooms behind the shop though. Like it's a good thing that I live right down the hall and can stop by early in the morning for coffee without going out in the blizzard." She spoke the last bit slowly and deliberately, looking each of the three in the eye.

Hermione nodded slowly. "That might work better," she said. "If he doesn't remember. . ."

"He won't, I don't think," said Harry. "I've seen Dam pissed plenty of times, and the morning after too. He's worse this morning." He gave rueful smile. "I may have encouraged them to drink more than usual last night. As part of the game I invented. Didn't want to take any chances."

"Well, it looks like it worked," muttered Ginny. She opened the bottle and nudged Dam. He had fallen asleep on the couch, but woke and took the potion gratefully, downing half of it in one gulp. His face cleared almost immediately; Ginny had gotten the most powerful antidote she could.

"I love you, Weasley," said Dam fervently. The change in his demeanor was stark. He waggled his eyebrows at her. "First Potter and now me; it's getting so none of the team should even think about drinking unless you're around." He looked at Harry. "Isn't that right? Maybe we should offer Weasley a position with the team. It'd be fun to have her on road trips." He stretched and then smirked. "Although, maybe that would interfere with the fun you've been having with this secret witch of yours. D'you think she'd mind sharing you with Ginny here?"

There was a muffled snort across the room. Ginny glared over Dam's head at her brother, who looked close to exploding with laughter. She turned back and gave Dam a smile.

"You'd have me give up being an Auror just so I can childmind you when you get pissed? Wouldn't it be easier to make sure you never run out of potion, or even better, that you just drink less from now on?" She wasn't sure how long she could sit through a discussion of Harry's secret witch and whether he'd like to share without going the same way as Ron.

Dam shrugged. "Easier maybe, but not as enjoyable. Now that Harry's finally getting some. . ." He squinted suddenly, as if trying to remember something. "Wait . . . " he said slowly. "The poster in your flat. Did I see it say . . . four?"

Ginny fought the urge to look at Harry. "Did it?" she said brightly. "Well, good for Harry. I uhh, I wouldn't know, seeing as I was . . ."

"Passed out on the sofa," said Ron quickly. He gave Ginny a look she took to mean they'd better stick to their original story; Dam apparently had been more aware than they'd thought.

"Yeah, I didn't hear anything until Ron came into the room to make coffee," she said quickly. She gave Harry a teasing look. "So, when did you sneak her out?"

"Or is she still there?" said Dam. He jumped up from the sofa. "As your captain, I should really meet her, make sure she's not too distracting to your dedication to the Arrows." He headed for the door. "And I should probably take another look at the poster again." He looked back at Harry. "If it said you'd had sex twice yesterday, and now it's four, that means you weren't nearly as drunk as the rest of us last night, were you, Potter?" Dam's voice was gleeful. "Way to make up for a lot of lost time. Now I really need to meet her." He turned back toward the door.

"She's not there," said Harry quickly. "She left pretty quickly. After." Ginny saw him blush.

"Wanted to miss the storm, I'd imagine," said Ron.

"That's right, I heard even the Floo Network might be impacted, if people forgot to put a blizzard repelling charm on their chimneys," added Hermione. "You can get halfway to your destination and suddenly find yourself stuck in a snowdrift right inside a fireplace."

Ginny knew this was absolutely not true; the Floo Network was carefully regulated so that all fireplaces were kept magically clear at all times. But Hermione spoke with so much authority, Ginny wasn't surprised to see even Ron half-believed her.

"Apparating too," he said. "Maybe her closest Apprarition point is blocks from her house."

"True," said Dam. He cocked his head at Harry. "Where does she live, anyway? Somewhere close by?"

"Not too far," choked out Harry. "She umm, I mean, I Apparated her home. Because it was late."

Dam nodded seriously. "Glad to hear it, mate. We need to keep the Arrows' reputation on the up and up, especially off the pitch." He turned towards his fireplace. "Which reminds me," he said. "That reporter should be calling soon. What was her name again? I can't remember, but she assured me she has a lot of experience writing about Quidditch." He looked at Harry. "Want to join in the interview? I bet it would make the front page, both of us together."

Ginny could tell she wasn't the only one to be uncomfortably reminded of Professor Lockhart, even though Dam's suggestion was much more innocent. Harry shook his head. "If it's all the same to you, I'll just listen in," he said.

"Maybe we should be out of sight of the Floo," said Hermione. She had a shrewd look on her face. "We don't want to distract the reporter. Some of them can be rather particular about their interviews." She smiled sweetly at Dam. "If you want us to stay, you probably shouldn't mention we're here; we wouldn't want to interfere."

Dam shrugged affably. "Fine by me," he said. "Hope it won't take too long; now that I'm feeling better, I'd like to have a workout before getting ready for my special supper invitation." He grinned at Ron and Ginny. "Did you hear? Your mum invited me tonight. Said I looked like I could use a home cooked meal." He chuckled. "I hope she cooked enough."

They were all saved from answering when the Floo flared green. Ginny pulled Harry out of the line of sight of the fireplace and Hermione quickly cast a Muffliato around the four of them.

"Did he say who the reporter was?" asked Ron.

Harry shook his head just as a woman's voice rang out. "Harlow Hayes here! I see you got my message, Mr. Clarke. I hope this isn't too early."

While Dam shook the reporter's hand through the Floo and promised her he was ready to talk, Ginny cursed softly.

"Harlow Hayes?" she said. A pit of dread landed in her stomach. "Fuck."

"Is that the reporter you hexed at the press conference?" asked Hermione. "I'd forgotten about her. Most of the other articles have been written anonymously."

"I know," Ginny said. "But I've had my suspicions."

"Should we break it up before it starts?" Harry asked quietly. He spoke to all three of them, but Ron and Hermione seemed to understand that Ginny was to make the decision. She thought for a moment.

"Let's see where it goes first," she said. "Maybe it's completely innocent and we'll end up giving the reporter more of a story than she needs."

Everyone nodded, although Ginny could tell by the looks on their faces that they didn't believe any more than she did that Harlow Hayes had entirely proper intentions. Her voice was sticky sweet and sounded so fake Ginny thought she might be using a spell to disguise it. Even as she and Dam went through the pleasantries of her thanking him for making time to speak and a comment about the weather, Ginny's senses were on high alert. Next to her, Harry was barely breathing, he was listening so carefully.

"I should send a message to Violet," he muttered. "She's not going to be happy about this."

Before Ginny could reply, Harlow's questioning took a turn.

"So, what kind of rules do the Arrows have about the kinds of activities players can engage in during their off time?" she asked. "I'd imagine you wouldn't want anyone doing anything that could cause injuries, right?"

"That's right," answered Dam. "Nothing too risky. No dragon taming or mountain climbing." He chuckled. "But we like to have some fun. Boring players make for boring Quidditch." He laughed again and Ginny suspected he was remembering one of the many impromptu games the team liked to play in the hallway. A natural follow-up question would be to ask Dam to elaborate on the types of fun the Arrows liked to have.

"I imagine that fun includes private time with a witch or two?" Harlow asked instead. "Or possibly a wizard, I suppose." Next to Ginny, Harry stiffened. She looked at him. "Should we stop this?"

"Mmhmm," Dam answered before Harry could respond. His voice took on a note of pride. "Not a virgin in the bunch, I'm happy to say. Why, just the other day, we learned that . . ."

Harry rushed out of the protection of the Muffliato spell and slipped quickly over to sit next to Dam in front of his fireplace.

"Harlow Hayes? Nice to meet you. Harry Potter. I've seen you at press . . ." his voice died away. "What the hell?"

Without stopping to think, Ginny rushed after Harry; Hermione and Ron were right behind her. "What's going on?" she asked. Her wand was already out.

"Well, isn't this a party?" Hayes asked, looking rapidly from Harry to Ginny to Ron and lastly to Hermione. Except the face staring out at them from the Floo wasn't the mousy brown-haired reporter Ginny remembered hexing.

"Which one are you?" she asked the familiar looking blonde. "Zoya, right? You've written for the Prophet."

Zoya Bellows – for that's whose head was floating among the flames - shrugged, non-plussed. "So you discovered one of my aliases, so what?" she said, slipping back into her Russian-accented English. "That doesn't answer my question about why you're all spying on Mr. Clarke in his own flat."

"We aren't . . . You didn't clear this interview with our publicist, did you?" said Harry defensively. "I wanted to make sure the interview was on the up and up." He scowled. "Obviously it wasn't."

"You didn't talk to Violet?" Dam asked. He grimaced. "I'm never drinking again," he said under his breath. He looked into the Floo. "Potter's right," he said. "Can't talk to the press without clearing it with PR first." He shrugged, looking genuinely apologetic. "I'm really sorry."

Zoya smiled, and Ginny knew the woman wasn't at all upset about the turn the morning had taken. "No worries," she said cheerfully. "I'll be sure to contact the team next time."

"And you won't write anything . . ." Harry began.

It was obvious Zoya was pretending not to hear him. "Until later then," she trilled, withdrawing her head from the flames and disappearing.

Harry flopped onto Dam's sofa. "Shit," he said.

Ginny started to sit next to him and then stopped, realizing where she was.

"What's the problem?" asked Dam. "I barely had a chance to say anything."

"Except that everyone on the team is having sex," said Harry. "Now the entire Quidditch-loving world is going to want to know who I'm sleeping with."

Dam snorted. "Including me," he said. He shrugged, unconcerned. "It'll be great publicity for the team; everyone's going to want to know who Potter's secret shag is." He chuckled. "I don't suppose you want to let me in on the secret?"

"Absolutely not," said Harry promptly. "You talk too much when you've been drinking." He grinned at Dam, but Ginny could tell how hard Harry was trying to keep things casual. "I'm probably not going to see her again anyway," he added.

Dam nodded. "She wasn't that good in bed," he said knowingly.

Behind her, Ginny heard Ron groan and Hermione hush him.

"No, it's not that," said Harry quickly. "She's actually, I mean . . . that's not it." Ginny saw a faint blush on his cheeks. "That's not it at all," he said. He sighed. "It's just complicated."

Dam snorted. "The good ones always are," he said. He smirked. "No matter. I'll find out tomorrow, I suspect. At dinner at the Weasley's. You'll be there, right Potter?"

Harry glanced at Ginny again and she stifled the urge to just walk over and put her arms around him. It had to be his decision when to tell his teammates though. Harry nodded. "I always am," he said finally.

Dam nodded in satisfaction. "Fred and George haven't let me down yet," he said. He threw a pillow at Ginny. "And you'll help too, won't you? We'll pry the name of Harry's secret witch out of him somehow."

Ginny swallowed. "Umm, maybe Harry needs someone on his side," she said carefully. "Since I know none of my brothers are going to leave the poor bloke alone." She smiled fully at Harry. "I'll watch your back, if you want."

Ron groaned again just as Harry smiled at her. "I'd like that, Ginny. Thanks."

"I bet you will," muttered Ron.

"But now I need to get home and umm, work on something for the Aurors," she said quickly. She looked pointedly at her brother. "Right, Ron? Don't you have that report to finish too?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, that report," he said. He grabbed Hermione's hand. "I'll warm up the coffee; we can drink it in bed." He pulled her to the door and Ginny suspected they'd be busy for a while. That suited her purposes just fine. She gave Harry a grimace. "For your sake, let's hope they remember the silencing charms this time," she said.

Harry stood up. "If not, I'm hiding out in your flat."

Ginny sighed. Put on a show for Dam. "Fine," she said. "But then you're helping me clean."

Harry sighed back but she could see him hiding a grin. "I'm pants at those spells, but I'll do my best," he said cheekily.

Dam sat back on his sofa and yawned. "And I think I need a nap," he said. "That hangover remedy made me sleepy." He yawned again. "We'll Apparate to dinner tomorrow together, right?"

Ginny nodded. "We'll stop by to pick you up," she promised. Ron and Hermione were gone and she hoped she didn't look too eager herself as she said goodbye to Dam and left his flat. Harry joined her a moment later. As soon as the door was closed her grabbed her around the waist and kissed her firmly.

"That was torture," he said.

"It's going to be worse tomorrow at the Burrow," she pointed out. She walked quickly down the hall. "Which is why we have to not think about it for the next several hours at least."

Harry beat her to the door of her flat. "Or until five minutes before we're expected there," he said. "Right now, I want to see how badly I can scandalize that damn poster."

Ginny opened her door. "Please do," she said, pulling him inside.