A/N: I realize this chapter changes back and forth between Ginny's and Harry's POV pretty often. I think it's appropriate, given the action.
Ginny arrived at the Ministry feeling more than flustered. First, she'd been almost struck speechless by the sight of Harry in his dress robes – as long as she lived she knew she'd never get over her attraction to him in the bottle green he'd always favored for his formalwear. He'd been almost forceful when he'd insisted that she needed to go to the ball with him, and Ginny had felt hopeful that it was going to be fine, after all. Then she'd made that stupid blunder about the Apparition even though she had promised herself that she would go out of her way not to pressure Harry. Now she stood in the Atrium of the Ministry watching joyful couples streaming in and feeling like she wanted to turn right around and go home.
She wouldn't leave, she knew, not after Harry had told her she needed to be here, even though his body language told her he'd rather be here alone. She cursed herself for still feeling that attraction to him that would keep her here against her will. It wasn't even a desire for sex, just a wanting to be wherever Harry was.
Stop it, Ginevra. Harry did ask you. You're friends. Give him a chance and try to have fun.
She was successful enough at lecturing herself that by the time Harry popped into view a few seconds later, Ginny had managed to paste a reasonably realistic smile on her face. She grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handed one to Harry.
"Thanks," he said, taking a long drink. He took her by the elbow and inclined his head towards the center of the room, where the majority of the guests were. "Shall we?"
The first thing Harry saw as he and Ginny walked further into the crowd at the Ministry ball was the tall, dress-clad figure of Gwenog Jones hurrying towards them with a glass of wine in one hand and a big smile on her face.
"Harry! I see you managed to get Ginny down off her broom and actually out to enjoy herself for an evening. Ginny, that dress is just smashing. Too bad our uniforms don't show more leg, eh? Some of those all-male teams wouldn't stand a chance then."
Ginny laughed tightly as Harry looked at the Harpies captain. Contrary to what he'd expected, she didn't seem at all depressed, or in mourning, or upset that Ginny was out with him. She was here, at the ball herself, for Pete's sake and Harry wondered briefly who her date was. Glancing around for a Ministry official, he instead saw Tamara and Bindi together on the dance floor and a small crowd around Kennedy Smythe, who had a big smile on her face as she sat in a magical wheelchair holding hands with a young wizard Harry recognized from the Department of Magical Sports and Games.
What the . . .?
Harry barely noticed as Gwenog touched his arm briefly and said something before disappearing back into the crowd. He was too busy noticing the other Harpies players who were here at the ball, obviously enjoying themselves with their dates. Ginny clearly had not been reluctant to come with him out of concern for her team.
So why didn't she want to come, then? Her head was turned away and Harry followed her gaze to a small, dark haired young woman who worked in the evidence lab. She was wearing a tight-fitting red dress with a deep plunge in front, gyrating her hips suggestively as she moved on the dance floor.
"Is that what you meant by 'cute trainees?'' Harry couldn't keep the bitter sarcasm out of his voice. He finished the glass of champagne in his hand and grabbed another from a tray.
Ginny looked startled at his question. He ignored the hurt look that flashed over her face before she answered. "At least she looks like she's having fun." She also grabbed a second glass of champagne and downed it in one gulp.
So that's it, then. Why she agreed to come with me.
Harry took her glass and banished it along with his. "We can have fun too." He raised his eyebrows at her. " Our kind of fun, I mean."
"Here?" Ginny seemed almost confused, but at the moment, Harry didn't really care.
"Why not? Being around other people hasn't stopped us before, has it? Anyway, the Ministry is a big place. I'm sure we can find somewhere suitable."
Ginny stared at him for a long moment and Harry suddenly felt hot. He was about add an, "if you want to, of course," when he was engulfed in the kind of hug that could only come from Molly Weasley.
"Harry! Ginny! You came together!" Her mum's face was already a bit red from the wine she was holding as she moved from hugging Harry to her daughter.
"Just as friends, mum," Ginny said. She was still trying to process Harry's suggestion. So that's what he meant by needing me. He insisted I come with him because he wants to shag. She looked over at him. He appeared to be completely intent on whatever her father was saying, but Ginny recognized the tightening of his jaw – something was bothering him. Before she could analyze Harry's behavior any more her mum was asking her why she hadn't told them she was coming to the ball as Harry's date.
The last thing Ginny wanted was to have her mother start asking all kinds of questions, right here. She smoothed her hand down her mother's arm. "I love your new robes, mum. That golden brown color looks beautiful on you."
Molly was just tipsy enough to be distracted and began taking Ginny through the finer points of her dress. Ginny listened with half an ear, focusing more on her father, who was now talking in a low voice with Harry.
". . . so glad that you could be with her tonight . . ." he was saying. "Asking her was a smart idea."
"I didn't ask . . ." Ginny heard Harry say before the two men were interrupted by Kingsley Shacklebolt and several other men Ginny only vaguely recognized. She gave up all pretense of listening to her mother and instead stewed over what she'd heard.
So he was actually going to admit to my father that he didn't exactly invite me to the ball? I knew it. Forced me, is more like it. This was just a way to do something nice for my parents – protect their little girl because obviously, she can't take care of herself. All the floo calls and letters of the past week made even more sense now – they were probably communicating with Harry about how often he was able to watch over her and assuring him that her mum and dad would check up on her in between.
". . . be sure to save a dance for me later, Ginny," her father was saying. Kingsley and the other men were gone and her mother was leading her father out to the dance floor. Ginny looked at Harry. His jaw was still tight and as her parents turned away the smile he'd given them faded away again. He jerked his head in the direction of the dancers.
"Do you want to? Dance, I mean." He sounded so unenthusiastic that in any other circumstance Ginny would have laughed; now she just shrugged.
"If you do," she said out loud.
Harry shrugged back and shifted in front of her, looking around. His voice dropped as he stepped in closer. "Or we could, walk around, you know?" He raised his eyebrows.
This time, Ginny was ready. "Sure, Harry, why not? That's what we do, after all."
He gave her an odd look but didn't say anything, just took her elbow again and led her towards the back of the Atrium.
Harry wasn't really thinking about exactly where he and Ginny should go, but when they got near the steps leading to the lower levels of the Ministry and saw no one around, he steered her that way. She looked quizzically at him for a moment but didn't protest.
Inside, his thoughts were swirling. He wasn't sure what he'd expected when Ginny finally agreed to go with him to the ball, but now it was abundantly clear she hadn't wanted to dance and mingle. She slipped a little bit on one of the stone steps and Harry automatically moved his hand to her waist to steady her. Then, he couldn't bring himself to pull it away.
Inside he was cursing the effect that being this close to Ginny was having on his body. Something was going on here besides their normal "friends with benefits" thing, but Harry was dammed if he knew what it was.
First she tells me to bring someone else. Then she acts all weird when I invite her, she doesn't need to be with her team, she doesn't want to be with me . . . except for a shag . . . well then, fine. A shag's what she'll get.
He waved his wand at a familiar door and it silently opened. She looked up at him, understanding dawning on her face.
Courtroom Ten.
Ginny wondered what Harry was doing, bringing her here, of all places. As far as she knew, only bad things had happened in this cavernous room: his hearing before Fifth year, the crazy and daring recapture of the locket Horcrux, when Harry, Ron and Hermione had almost been caught. Even without dozens of faces staring down at her from the rows of seats that surrounded them, Ginny felt small and guilty, standing beside a large chair with chains. She looked at Harry. "Why here?"
He shrugged. "Why not?" He was tugging at the neck of his dress robes, loosening his tie and looking around, apparently nonplussed by the locale. "So, you wanna try it in this chair?"
Anger boiled up inside of Ginny. Sure, they'd been having sex in odd places for almost two months now, but it hadn't ever felt dirty or uncomfortable before. It had been fun and silly, and even embarrassing sometimes, but Ginny was beginning to realize it had never been just sex – not really. And now . . .
"Can't you just wait a minute?" she said irritably. "Why is it all about shagging with you?"
"Well there's the pot calling the kettle black," retorted Harry. "Or maybe you think I'd be better off finding one of my cute trainees?"
"Enough with the trainees!" Ginny said sharply. She was close to yelling. "I said I was sorry about that."
"No," said Harry. "No, you didn't. You never said you were sorry. You just told me to invite some cute trainee to the ball and I still don't know why."
"Because you were going to go alone!" said Ginny, exasperated. "And you clearly had no interest in asking me." Her voice wavered a bit and she bit the inside of her lip. Don't pressure him. But she was fuming, and her anger helped her gain control. "So why shouldn't you have asked some other Auror, someone who would be able to help, instead of just distracting you from your work."
Harry moved in front of her then, so close she could see his pulse thudding in his neck. His eyes flashed darker green and when he spoke his voice was low and controlled. Only the way his body shuddered and his hands tightened into fists at his sides gave away how close to fury he was.
"Another Auror would certainly not have been any kind of distraction ," he said. "I thought we made it quite clear months ago that neither of us were interested in that sort of thing with anyone . . . else." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Ginny could practically feel the heat flying off him and she flushed.
It had been a stupid thing to say. She knew what the rules were, and now she was breaking them, left and right. But he was too, and it wasn't fair. It did not help her fight at all that Harry looked so sexy right now it practically took her breath away.
"We did say that," she said quietly.
"And have you changed your mind?" Harry had opened his eyes and was staring intensely at her. She swallowed as he took a step towards her and grabbed her wrist.
"No," she whispered. The feeling of his skin on hers made her entire body shiver. She was sure he couldn't miss it and a second later he took another step forward until his body was just barely brushing hers.
"Neither have I," he said.
The air seemed to go out of the room as Ginny looked up at Harry. His face was still tight, but for the first time that night she saw desire there too. He wasn't smiling, and Ginny guessed that he was as powerless to control his physical reactions as she was. She lifted her hand a fraction and then froze. What was she thinking? She'd been half intending to trail her fingers down his cheek, but at the last second she moved it to their waists instead, and then between them, until she cupped the erection she had felt pressing lightly into her belly.
"I can tell," she said.
Harry pushed himself into her hand and Ginny had to take an involuntary step back. Her legs brushed against the seat of the chair and then suddenly she was sitting down in it, Harry still grasping her by the wrist. He moved forward towards her, the bulge in his trousers pushing through the opening in his dress robes. That was all she needed to see.
Figures. Ginny put her hand on his zipper and tugged it down with more force than was probably necessary, throwing Harry slightly off balance. As soon as he let go of her wrist to steady himself against the back of the chair, the chains that had been rattling down at the ground snaked up and wrapped themselves around Ginny's wrists, pinning them to the armrests. She looked up, furious. If this is why he was so eager to come here, of all places . . .
"Not funny, Harry. I'll give you a blow job first, since you've obviously gone to great lengths to set this all up, but I am not going to be fucking tied up like a criminal while I do it. Now get these off of me."
Harry pushed himself back off the chair and stood up straight again. "I did not set anything up, Ginny. You were the one who grabbed my zip and practically took my dick off in the process. It looked to me like you wanted to give me a blow job."
Ginny glared up at him, tugging angrily at the chains. "Why, so we can get interrupted again before you have to do anything for me?"
"You were the one sucking me off while I was trying to talk to my boss!" Harry yelled back. "People were getting hurt – dying even! It's not my fault I couldn't just throw you across my desk afterwards and shag you senseless." He took a deep breath before continuing in a quieter voice. "And I have no idea why the chains are doing that – probably because they thought you were about to attack me or something."
"I was thinking about it," Ginny growled. She wished she could reach her wand, but it had dropped out of her hand when the chains had moved. She knew Harry would give it to her immediately if she asked, but for some reason, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of helping her, yet again. Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World and personal protector of Ginny Weasley, saves the day.
She didn't think it was an accident that he'd mentioned his job and people dying and how busy he was. Just in case I might think he wanted to . . . ohhhhhh. All thoughts went out of Ginny's head then, because Harry was suddenly on his knees in front of her, waving his wand.
For the second time in a month, Ginny felt the sensation of her knickers disappearing. Harry pushed her dress up and then prized her legs apart, exposing everything. Leaning in close, he blew lightly and Ginny's entire body shivered with pleasure. Despite herself, she groaned.
"I'm going to leave the chains," Harry said. He looked up into her face, as if to gauge her reaction. Ginny nodded jerkily. She wanted to keep yelling, to tell him he didn't need to keep watching out for her, to jump out of the chair and hex every inch of his body.
She didn't want him to stop touching her.
Because he was gently running a finger across her bare thigh and down into her center. Feather-light pressure traced each fold, back and forth, up and down, until Ginny was writhing in delicious agony. It wasn't fair, that he could make her so angry and yet, feel so good. She was mad at him, she was.
"I'm going to use my mouth."
It was not a question, and Ginny gasped with anticipation. Harry had only tried that a few times before they'd broken up. They had both been a little hesitant, and anyway, usually, they had been caught up in all the things they could do together.
But this wasn't the time to think about the past, or what they normally did. Harry's tongue was exploring everywhere and all Ginny could do was sit there and enjoy the ride. If he wanted to keep her arms chained down, then she wasn't going to feel guilty about the fact that she wasn't doing any of the work. There would be time to repay him afterwards.
As soon as Ginny climaxed, the chains holding her down dropped away. Harry sat back on his heels and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pleased with himself. That was quite brilliant. Ron actually has something there, stopping Hermione's rants with sex. He glanced up at Ginny to see if she agreed, although her reaction left little doubt in his mind.
Her eyes were closed and she was leaning against the back of the chair, still breathing heavily. Quickly casting an Auguamenti charm, Harry swished water in his mouth and spit it onto the floor. He stook up and had taken two steps towards the chair when he realized Ginny's eyes were open, watching him.
So much for . . . well, it's not like she'd let me . . .
"What are you doing?" Ginny's voice sounded accusing.
He shrugged, not sure what to say. "Probably not a good idea for me to talk to people upstairs with your . . . you know . . . all over my mouth." Ginny nodded tightly, straightening the skirt on her dress and rubbing her wrists where the chains had left marks. Harry stood up and reached out his hand. "Shall we go back up?"
"What?" Ginny was looking at him with a gobsmacked expression on her face. "You're done?"
Isn't that enough?
"Isn't that enough?" Harry was confused, and Ginny's nonchalance was making him begin to feel the stirrings of anger again. "I mean, I know I don't have much experience down . . . there, but you seemed to enjoy yourself, not that you bothered to tell me." He was being childish and he knew it, but he just couldn't stop.
"Excuse me," said Ginny icily. "I didn't realize you expected a 'thank you' for every orgasm."
"I don't expect anything, Ginny. And I don't understand what your problem is, all of a sudden. A week ago you yelled at me for wanting to come to the ball alone, and told me that balls are for people to dance and have fun. Now, when I suggest that we go do just that, you practically bite my head off."
"Don't you want to, you know?" Ginny gestured towards Harry's crotch.
Is that what this is about? Tit for tat? In truth, Harry didn't really need that right now. Yes, he'd been aroused, and doing what he'd done to Ginny had stirred up all kinds of feelings in his belly. He'd even felt the start of his own climax when she came, and in another situation it probably wouldn't have taken more than a stroke or two to get him off.
But it wasn't a necessity; he'd not performed cunnilingus on Ginny just to get something in return. It had been exciting for him, seeing her chained up and being able to give her exactly what she wanted – That's what we do, she'd said. What else does she want?
And now her coldness had effectively killed his arousal anyway. Not that Harry expected anything from her, but really. He'd not only just given her an orgasm that made her scream echo across the entire courtroom – not bad, Potter– but he'd done it using a technique she knew that he'd been nervous to try before. She could have at least acknowledged it.
She was still staring expectantly at him, and her hand was actually fluttering in mid-air, towards his zipper again, as if just waiting for his okay. For some reason, this irked Harry more than anything.
"Can't you just, I don't know, enjoy yourself for a minute without jumping to return the favor? It's like you have one of Hermione's checklists for how the evening is supposed to go: Have orgasm – check, give Harry orgasm – check." He glared at her. "What's next, we each go find other people to actually talk to, once we've gotten each other off? Maybe your suggestion about finding some trainees wasn't such a bad one after all – I bet Bindi would think you're cute."
Ginny reeled back as if she had been slapped and Harry immediately knew he'd gone too far.
"You are such an ass," she began coldly, standing up stiffly in front of him. Her mouth was set in a thin line and Harry saw her hand twitch towards her wand. He flinched and closed his eyes, bracing himself, but when nothing happened for a second, opened them again.
"I cannot believe you're mad at me because I offered to return your favor," she said. Harry cringed at the look in her eye; it was one he'd seen only rarely before, and only on her mother, when she was really, really furious. This was the face that had killed Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Why does it all have to be about sex for you?" Harry shot back. "I mean, I know that's why you came, but couldn't you at least try to enjoy yourself some other way too?"
"What do you mean, that's why I came? I came with you because you told me you needed me to be here. Everyone was so happy that you were around again to keep me safe. God forbid little Ginny Weasley has to look out for herself." She'd started pacing in front of him, and even in the large room, the effect was to make her look like an angry, caged tiger. Harry was trying to process exactly what she was talking about – of course he wanted to keep her safe, but that didn't – when she whirled around and glared at him.
"And what about you? How long were we upstairs – five minutes, maybe ten – before you were dragging me down here to shag?"
"We didn't . . ." Harry began.
"Yes, Harry, I realize we didn't shag," said Ginny peckishly. "That was my point before."
Harry closed his eyes and counted to ten before responded. It only helped a little; he couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice no matter how hard he tried. "So sorry that you didn't enjoy yourself. Next time we'll just go straight to the blow job, how's that?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it," retorted Ginny. She shook her head and took a deep breath. "What's wrong with me wanting to - you know - to you? It's only fair."
"It doesn't always have to be even and fair!" shot back Harry. He was completely frustrated that their "friends with benefits" had turned into just . . . sex. "I thought . . . oh hell, it doesn't matter what I thought." He ran his fingers through his hair.
"Are you done?" Ginny's voice was still cold.
"Apparently so," said Harry, matching her tone. "Do you still have an objection to going back upstairs? I promise not to ask you to dance, or get you a drink, or even talk to you, if that's what you want."
Ginny glared at him. "You have no idea what I want." She turned her back and began walking towards the door.
"Well that's the bloody truth," muttered Harry behind her. "But do you?"
At the entrance to the Atrium, Ginny painted a fake smile on her face and looked out over the mingling crowd. A number of couples (her parents included, she noticed), were slow dancing near the new Fountain of Magical Equality that graced the center of the room. She looked away, determined not to catch her mum's eye. This was going to be difficult enough as it was.
"You're still here? I figured you'd be off complaining to your teammates about me by now," Harry was at her side, wearing a smile on his face that matched her own. He scanned the room, waving casually to Kingsley and a few others before taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter.
"Right, and have my mum on my case in an instant about where you've gone and don't I think it's dangerous to be apart?" Ginny didn't bother to try to keep the bitterness out of her voice. The feeling of knowing that Harry was only here with her as part of his duties – whether to the Aurors or her parents – was weighing her down, and she was suddenly horrified to feel her eyes prickling with tears. She did not cry, especially not over Harry. She'd only cried over Harry once, and it was not even when they had broken up. She grabbed her own glass of wine and took a drink.
"We just need to act natural," she finally said.
Harry looked at her mulishly. "And what exactly is natural for us, these days?"
Ginny counted to ten. Couldn't he at least try to make this easy? "We're friends, Harry, remember? Just act like my friend."
"Friends, right," muttered Harry. He held out his arm. "Shall we go get a real drink, friend?"
Ginny didn't say anything, just glared and took his arm. "Just steer clear of the dance floor," she warned. "I'd rather avoid my parents for a while."
They talked to each other very little as they negotiated the room, stopping every few minutes to talk to someone or other. Everyone seemed to want to speak to Harry and Ginny was stopped quite a few times herself.
It was odd, as soon as they saw someone's eyes light up in recognition and start towards them, Harry's tight stance would relax and Ginny would plaster the fake smile back on her face. Then they'd talk with whomever it was for a little while, one or the other telling a funny story or listening to a joke, Harry's hand casually on her back. If it was another Auror, he and Harry would speak in half sentences and guarded words, and Ginny knew they were talking about the investigation. Harry glanced at her more during these times, his eyes unreadable.
And then, as soon as they were alone, the façade would fall away and they would start snipping at each other again, Harry commenting on how surprised he was to see so many Harpies there; he'd assumed from Ginny's reluctance to come to the ball that the team was going to be together. Ginny had responded by pointedly asking if he'd rather she go hang out with her team so that Harry could dance with one of the any number of women who stopped him to talk.
Harry's face grew stony at Ginny's question. "If that's what you . . ." he began, but then the two of them were accosted by Gwenog and her date – a handsome man from the Minister's office – and Gavin Sykes, who appeared to be rather drunk, with a Chaser Ginny recognized from the Tornadoes. Tamara and Bindi walked up next, their eyes rather glazed as they looked at each other.
"I was just saying to Lorenzo here," said Gwenog, "that you and Harry make such a handsome couple. Don't they, Tamara?"
"Definitely," Tamara smiled, her arm around Bindi. Next to her, Ginny felt Harry stiffen.
"We're all meeting up after this at the Fatted Calf, are you going to come, Ginny?" Tamara was still speaking but Ginny could barely process the words. From beyond their little group she could see her father spinning her mother across the dance floor. Next to her, Lorenzo was kissing Gwenog's ear and she was giggling in a way Ginny had never heard her do before. Bindi was running her hand up and down Tamara's back and Tamara herself looked much more interested in that than in whatever Ginny was going to answer.
"So, are you going to come, Ginny?" Gavin at least was paying attention. "And you, Harry? It should be fun."
"No," they both answered, almost simultaneously. At their words, Tamara looked up again. "You both seem quite certain about that," she said with an air of forced casualness. Then she smirked. "They do have quite a nice loo at this pub, I've heard."
Ginny chuckled weakly. "That's good to know."
"You know, of course," broke in Bindi, a wicked look in her eye, "rooftops can be awfully nice too, so I've heard."
"Thank you, Bindi" Harry said stiffly. Ginny thought the young trainee would have at least blushed, but she just flashed a cocky (and rather drunk) grin.
"And what was that song Meyers and Dirkson were singing the other day? 'Harry and his Harpy, underneath a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G?"
"That's enough, Bindi," Harry's voice had risen and Gwenog looked back and forth between him and Ginny, eyebrows raised, before she and Lorenzo tactfully melted back into the crowd. Tamara was tugging on Bindi's arm. "Hope you change your mind, Ginny," she said as they walked away.
Gavin slapped Harry on the back. "Witches," he said conspiratorially. "What are you going to do?" He gave Ginny a one-armed hug. "Go home, you two. Get some rest, shag, do whatever it is you two do." He waggled his eyebrows and squeezed his date, who looked like she hadn't heard a word anyone had said. "I know I will."
When Gavin was finally gone, Harry let out a breath. "Fuck," he said. Ginny started. Harry almost never cursed. "What?" she asked.
"Everyone knows . . . about us," he said. He turned on her. "Who'd you tell?"
"Me? What about you? Half the time we've had sex it was in the middle of some god-damned Auror emergency – I'm surprised they don't have pictures of us shagging to use as an example for the trainees of what not to do when you're on a case."
"Oh, and you weren't telling Evie and Leandra stories about how you attacked me in the training room, and in Bristol, and behind the stadium . . ."
"In the training room? I was facedown on the fucking table! How exactly, Harry, did I attack you then?" Ginny glared at him.
Harry shrugged. "Under my desk, then."
"I didn't hear you complaining at the time," Ginny retorted.
"Of course not. As soon as we were done, you were off somewhere else."
"Just like you were, tonight." What had happened to them, that they couldn't even have a civilized conversation? Ginny felt like she couldn't say anything nice even if she had wanted to. And here, surrounded by happy couples, co-workers, and both of their bosses, they couldn't even have a proper fight. Although, what exactly are we fighting about? They were trading barbs like she sometimes heard Ron and Hermione do, but for them, it had always been a kind of fiery foreplay. Right now, Ginny felt anything but aroused. And Harry apparently felt the same way.
"I need to get out of here," he muttered. "This was a mistake."
Ginny froze. Had he meant for her to hear that? Was he just going to leave her here? "Yeah, it was," she finally said. "Let's go."
Harry stared at her. "You're coming with me?"
Only the fact that they were in the middle of several hundred people kept Ginny from hexing him right there. "No, Harry. I thought I'd stay and dance with as many blokes as I could. Maybe even give a blow job or two under their desks. That wouldn't make people talk or anything." She glared at him. "Anyway, I left my cloak at your flat and it has some notes in the pocket from our team meeting."
"Fine," said Harry curtly. "Come on."
He grabbed her by the arm and led her through the crowd so quickly she almost tripped. Once or twice she thought people were looking at them oddly, but they were moving so fast she couldn't really tell. They didn't even stop to say goodbye to Kingsley or her parents.
Harry strode right by the Apparition point and headed towards the elevator that would take them out to the Muggle street. "Uhh, Harry?" Ginny asked, panting from keeping up with his pace.
"I need to walk," was all he said, and a moment later they were together in the tiny elevator/phone booth. Harry dropped Ginny's arm and held himself as far away from her as possible, looking fixedly out the window even though there was nothing to see but the black inside of the elevator shaft.
"What do you want to tell people" Ginny asked. "About why we left, I mean." Because someone was sure to notice, and ask.
"I don't care," said Harry. "They'll probably just assume we're off shagging anyway."
Ginny stopped trying to talk, after that. Block after block, they walked silently through the streets. Occasionally, their arms would brush and just as swiftly, they'd each pull away, lost in their own thoughts.
For her part, Ginny was too angry to even be confused over Harry's behavior. As far as she was concerned, the night had gone exactly as she should have suspected from the moment Harry had felt forced into asking her. Instead of giving her time to cool off, the walk had quite the opposite effect. Over and over in her head, she reviewed every word he'd said to her that night, every obnoxious comment and snide remark, and by the time they reached the street where Harry's building was located, she was fuming.
With Ginny walking beside him, clearly angry, Harry couldn't relax. Everything had gone wrong tonight and Harry wasn't sure why. He just knew that being at the ball with Ginny had felt – unnatural. They hadn't fit in with the happily together couples, they were clearly different from people like Gavin and his new witch every night, and now, for some reason, they couldn't just shag casually according to their own rules.
He couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment when it had all gone to hell – before they'd even gone down to the courtroom, probably. But for a moment or two there, he'd thought everything was going to be all right. And then Ginny had gotten totally irrational. Not for the first time that night he wondered what she wanted from him.
He was about to ask her that – ask her what the hell she wanted, when she spoke, as if they'd been talking – or arguing – the entire walk home. They had just arrived at Harry's flat and he was fumbling with the key he hardly ever used – the building was all-wizard even though it was on a Muggle street – when she huffed behind him.
"And honestly, why did you ask me to go with you, anyway? Because you sure as hell didn't act like you wanted me there. I stay with you and you wonder why I'm not with my team. You talk to my parents about keeping me safe, but as long as you know I am, you don't want to have anything to do with me. I want to make sure you're enjoying yourself down in the courtroom and you pull away."
They were in the building by now, Harry taking the steps two at a time to get up to his flat. Right before his landing he whirled around and looked at her.
"I was too busy waiting for you to grab some 'cute trainee' and shove her in my direction to pay much attention to anything else," he retorted. He was struggling to keep his voice down, at least until they were in the apartment. "You didn't want to dance, you didn't want to mingle – all you wanted was to have sex, and yet, even that wasn't good enough for you. I'm sorry my technique wasn't up to your standards."
"Well, excuse me for wanting to make it a bit more personal for you, Harry," Ginny's voice was cold behind him as he opened the door to his flat. "But going down on me while I'm chained to a chair and we're barely talking is not the way we've ever done things. Even recently."
Thud.
The sound of Harry slamming the door shut wasn't quite loud enough to drown out the crash from his living room. He looked up to see Ron standing there with his wand out, the large box he'd apparently just been levitating now on the floor in front of him. He looked rapidly back and forth between Harry and Ginny.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
Harry wondered for one wild moment if he could play dumb and pretend that Ginny had not just screamed something about their recent bondage game in front of her brother and – oh shit – the twins, who'd just appeared from the hallway. Apparently, Ron had picked this night to move out. Any hopes that having an audience would calm Ginny down were dashed when she turned her back on her brothers and continued her rant, no longer bothering to keep her voice down.
"I mean, you couldn't even fucking kiss me, Harry. Sure, you could run your tongue all over my clit, but you couldn't put it on my lips?"
"Did she just say . . ."
"Yes, Gred, I think she did."
"Clit? You had your tongue on my sister's . . . down there?"
"All right, Ginny! I didn't think you had it in you."
"Well technically, Forge, it sounds like Harry had it in her."
The voices didn't stop and Harry suppressed the urge to silence them all – Ginny would probably find something offensive about that too. He opened his mouth to respond to her but she didn't take a breath, talking right over her brothers in a taunting sort of voice.
"Oh no, that would be wrong, wrong, wrong. Better just rinse out your mouth and get back to discussing tactics with your Auror buddies." Her eyes were glittering with anger. "You haven't kissed me once in all the time we've been . . .whatever!" she yelled.
"That's because it was one of the rules!" he yelled back.
"It was not one of the rules," said Ginny. "You just . . ."
"What rules?" Ron's confused voice broke through the haze of Harry's anger. "Cause if you're talking about Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, mate, I'm pretty sure that kissing is allowed. And anyway, why should you be kissing my sister anyway? You certainly haven't been acting like you want to kiss her."
"Will you just stop giving me bloody relationship advice, Ron!" Harry knew he probably shouldn't turn on his best friend right now, but he pretty much felt like yelling at anyone who got in his way. And seriously. Did Ron actually think he knew anything about . . . well, anything? Harry conveniently ignored the fact that Ron had known Ginny for a long time – lived with her even, and had a fairly healthy respect for his sister's moods and talent with a wand.
Instead of getting mad, Ron just rolled his eyes. "Right mate, and I don't know a thing about fighting – and making up – with witches. Have you met my fiancée?"
"This is completely different, Ronald." Ginny was glaring at her brother. "Because Harry and I are certainly not going to be ending this fight by falling into bed and fucking each other's brains out."
"Sounds like you already did that earlier, no?" said George conversationally. "Or was that just a one-sided thing?"
"No, Harry wasn't interested in having sex earlier," said Ginny. Harry heard the bitterness in her voice and his frustration rose again.
"I didn't say that," he said sharply. "I just told you it didn't have to be perfectly equal, every time. Believe it or not, I can still enjoy myself without an orgasm." Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the twins snorting, their faces identical masks of amusement. I am never going to live this down, Harry thought. Assuming I survive the night at all.
"Right," said Ginny. "As long as you don't have to kiss me or anything. Please, Harry, refresh my memory. During which recent time did you enjoy yourself without a climax? Because I can't remember. Was it when you took me up against a tree after that Harpies game or in the gent's loo at the pub? Or maybe it was that time you scared one of our trainers right out of the room by straddling me in the middle of a post-workout sports massage – was that it? Maybe it was when you got on top of me in the storage room at the pub in Bristol or you grabbed me up in the stands in the middle of one of my training sessions, not to mention the time I was wedged under your desk sucking you off while you had a bloody pow-wow with Kingsley. Tell me, Harry, when exactly have you enjoyed yourself without getting off? What in our past makes you think I'd believe that load of crap?"
Fred and George had stopped laughing and were looking back and forth between Harry and Ginny with a look that could almost be described as awe.
"Good man, Harry, did you really shag our sister all those places? Recently?"
"You forgot about the garden at the Burrow," said Harry to Ginny. Behind him, he thought he heard Ron choke. "At the Burrow too?" he asked weakly.
Harry was beyond angry now. The last two months had been something personal, private, between him and Ginny. They had agreed to keep it that way – to keep it from everyone. And while Harry was relieved to see that neither Ron not the twins seemed interested in hexing him to bits – she does still have three other brothers and a father, though – they were still probably the last people who really needed to know the intimate details of their relationship.
"You should believe it because it's true," he snapped. "I've never done anything but tell you the truth. I've done everything right, here, Ginny. I've followed all the rules and given you your space and worked to make sure you've enjoyed yourself – while keeping you from getting killed why I was at it, may I add. What exactly, have I done wrong? Which of your many, and multiple, orgasms did you not enjoy?"
Harry barely heard her next comment. "I knew this was all about keeping me safe," she muttered under her breath. But before he could process what she meant, she'd raised her voice again. "Don't try to turn this around and make me look like the one who's done anything wrong her, Harry. I haven't broken any of your precious rules either. I've never gotten in the way of your work – unless you've dragged me into the middle of it so you could fuck me, and I haven't breathed a word of it to anyone. It's not my fault that you're really bad at subtlety and silencing charms."
Ron seemed to have found his voice. "Have you noticed," he asked his brothers, "that they both seem to be saying pretty much the same thing to each other? That should tell us all something, don't you think?"
"Shut up, Ron!" Harry and Ginny yelled at the same time, both turning furious faces away from each other for a minute.
Ron shrugged. "I rest my case."
Harry ignored him. He could deal with Ron's stupid prattling later. "You have made it more than clear, Ginny," he said in a dangerously calm voice, "that you are not interested in anything with me that's not purely physical. Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again. Next time I need a date, I'll just take you up on your suggestion and ask a 'cute trainee.' Maybe you can even help me pick one out."
Ginny's face was so tight with anger that she could barely get her next words out. But when she spoke, her voice matched the calm of Harry's. "You do that," she said in clipped tones. "And why don't you assign one of those trainees to childmind me the next time you and my parents think I need watching. I'm sure Gavin or some other bloke is more than up to the task of keeping me safe." She grabbed her cloak up from the sofa.
"I'm sorry that the idea of spending more time with me is so repulsive to you. I guess I should be spending more bloody time with my team, after all." She turned towards her brothers, and for one, brief second, Harry thought he saw a flash of vulnerability across her face.
"Ron, Fred, George," she began in a voice that held the barest hint of pleading. "Please. Don't tell mum and dad. They'll only overreact, and then worry Harry's not watching over me anymore."
Harry looked up. Watching over her?
To their credit, Ginny's brothers all nodded solemnly; for once, Fred and George had nothing to say. She turned back to Harry, her face hard.
"If you hurry, Harry, you may have time to get back to the ball for the end. I'll bet someone will have saved you a dance." She walked stiffly to the door, and opened it.
"I'll be at the pub." The door closed and Harry heard the crack of Apparition.