Just Going With It

by pinkdigi

When the world falls apart, they only have each other. [PostHBP. HG and RHr, with Horcrux hunt and Final Battle]

33. The Party

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Harry let Malfoy go instead of trying to get him put into Azkaban because Azkaban is incredibly worthless at this point. The Dementors aren't working with the Ministry anymore, and Draco would probably be out in no time, especially if Lucius had anything to do with it. I don't know about JKR's 7th-book version Harry Potter, but my post-HBP Harry wouldn't be happy doing Malfoy in unless he did it himself. Maybe you think the canon Harry is going to be more gentlemanly about it, and maybe you're right. But mine is going to be taking names.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Party
……………………………………………………………

'What part of be careful do you not understand?'

'I said I was sorry.'

'Sorry? You ran into a house when it was on fire!'

How daft could he be? Was he trying to get himself killed? And just where were Ron and Hermione during all of this? They were supposed to watch him and make sure he didn't do something so … Harry.

Harry winced and dropped his head forward, onto his arm. 'Can we do this later? I'm kind of busy right now.'

Ginny looked at him fiercely for a moment before nodding and sitting down. Harry was sitting backward on a chair in one of the bedrooms in Grimmauld Place, and Audrey was rubbing something over his burns.

'Bugger!' he yelled. She jumped up off the bed and knelt beside him. She frowned at him, but rubbed the side of his face soothingly. 'That stings!'

'That means it's working,' said Audrey. 'Keep still.'

Make you think twice about running into a burning house next time, huh?

His voice echoed in her head – What did you want me to do? Just watch it burn?

You can't be the hero all the time, Harry. You need to learn that.

'Drink this,' Audrey said, completely oblivious to the way Harry and Ginny were communicating. She handed him a potion and he made a face after gulping it down.

Is there anything I can do? she asked.

You can stop lecturing me for a second, he told her, smirking.

I know. I don't mean to act like such a cow. It's just scary … I have to stay here and sit on my hands while you're out there doing who-knows-what … and to keep from going crazy, I tell myself that you'll come back okay. And then you show up like this. What am I supposed to think?

He frowned. You worry too much.

You don't worry enough.

Then I guess we're perfect for each other, then.

She smiled grudgingly and stood up.

The door opened suddenly and a small girl with red hair poked her head in and smiled. 'Muuummmm!' she yelled.

A moment later, a woman entered the room behind the little girl. Her eyes darted around once before landing on Harry. 'Excuse me,' she said. 'Is this a bad time?'

'No,' Audrey said. She put a large bandage over Harry's back and handed him a shirt. 'All done. That should be good as new in a few hours.' She looked at the small girl, then up at the woman. 'How is she?'

'Good,' the woman said. 'The other doctor – erm, Healer? – checked her out.'

Audrey smiled and then left. Feeling out of place, Ginny made to leave as well, but Harry stopped her and told her she could stay.

'Oh, my,' said the woman, taking a few hesitant steps toward Harry. 'Are you all right?'

'Oh, yeah. It's nothing,' Harry said casually. He shrugged, and then winced. Ginny scowled.

'It's not nothing, you git,' Ginny muttered.

'This is Ginny,' he said, ignoring her. 'Don't mind her. She's a little hacked off at me right now.'

The little girl tugged Harry's glasses off of his face and put them on hers. Harry laughed and then squinted up at the woman again.

'I – I just wanted to come and thank you,' she said.

What was this all about?

Ginny must've made a noise, because the woman turned and looked at her. 'He's told you, hasn't he?' she asked.

'Um, actually,' Ginny said, glancing at Harry. 'He hasn't said a thing.'

What's she going on about?

It's not important, Gin.

'He saved my daughter's life.'

'He did what?'

'Our house was on fire and she was … inside. He went in after her. If it hadn't been for him …'

Ginny gasped. Oh, she was such a horrible person. She'd given him an earful about his injuries, and he'd only done it to save that precious little girl.

Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry. I'm awful.

No, you're not.

Why didn't you tell me? You just let me stand here and yell at you!

I don't know. It's not that important.

You don't think it's important that you ran into a burning house to save a little girl who you don't even know and will probably never see again?

Well … I guess it is … a little.

'Anyway,' the woman continued. 'The – the man downstairs said he was going to e-erase our memories. I wanted the chance to thank you first.'

……………………………………………………………

Ron found Hermione sitting on the floor in the living room of Grimmauld Place and leaning up against the wall. She wore a sort of far-away expression on her face.

'Happy birthday,' Ron said. 'I mean, I'm sure it hasn't been that great yet, or anything, but the party tomorrow should be fun.'

Hermione nodded. 'It'll be nice,' she agreed.

Ron frowned and sat down on the floor beside her. 'I know I'm not normally good at emotions and all that rubbish, but even I can tell that something's wrong.'

She shrugged. 'Do you ever get the feeling that we're not all going to make it out of this?'

'What? What makes you think that?'

'Remember before, when I told you I thought that we would all be together forever? I was fooling myself. I wanted so badly to believe that I was right,' she said. 'But we have to think logically. Harry almost died tonight, and not because the Death Eaters almost got him, but because he's just too much of a hero for his own good.'

'Yeah, but that's just Harry,' Ron said after a moment. 'He's always been like that.'

'And he's always just escaped death because someone has always been there to keep him in line. But he's – soon, he's going to be in charge. Don't you think? And what then?' she asked. 'We – we should have been there to stop him from running in there. We should have been watching out for him. We need to be his friends. We need to take care of him.'

'He isn't four,' Ron said. 'He doesn't need us trying to be his babysitters.'

'He does,' she argued. 'As long as he's acting recklessly, he needs us to be there – to hold him back and not let him run ahead without thinking things through.'

'Hermione,' he said pleadingly. He just wanted to change the subject. He didn't want to sit here and talk about whether or not Harry's number was almost up. How morbid was that? 'Harry's not the only one who almost died in the past. You got hurt pretty badly at the Department of Mysteries, and you weren't, er, "acting recklessly", were you?'

'No,' she said. 'If I had been reckless, though, I'm almost positive that I would have died.'

'I –' Ron began, but Audrey came down the stairs then and he forgot was he was going to say. 'How's Harry?'

'He'll be fine,' Audrey said. 'Nasty burns, though. Good thing he didn't wait to have them looked at.'

Earl, the other Healer, called Audrey's name, and she excused herself.

'That's a relief,' Hermione said. 'But do you see what I mean? Harry didn't even want to have Audrey examine him. He only did it to get Ginny off of him. He just doesn't think sometimes.'

'I know,' Ron admitted.

Some of what she said made sense, and he knew she was somewhat right. He also knew that she was only saying these depressing things because she wanted Harry – and everyone else – to come out of this alive. But they had conflicting methods when it came to dealing with problems. Ron avoided the situation, while Hermione liked to face it head-on.

'Really, though,' he continued. 'What are we going to do? Telling Harry to be more careful will only get him hacked off at us.'

'We have to take it upon ourselves,' she said. 'I can't stand by and let something awful happen … not again.'

Harry and Ginny appeared at the base of the stairs and Hermione fell silent.

'What're you two talking about?' Ginny asked.

'The party tomorrow,' Ron supplied, surprising even himself with his quick thinking. 'I said I bet Fred and George get drunk first.'

'And I said they had better not,' Hermione added, 'because my parents will be there.'

'I'm sure they'll behave,' Ginny said. She appeared to consider what she'd just said. 'Er, I'm sure they'll try – if you ask them to. Maybe.'

Harry made a face and then lightly tugged on the ends of Ginny's hair. 'C'mon. I'm knackered. Let's go home.'

……………………………………………………………

Ginny? Are you still awake?

Yeah. I can't sleep without you.

Same.

Can't you come down here for a bit?

Not without getting caught.

All right. So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or am I going to have to guess?

What? There's nothing bothering me.

Yes, there is. I can tell.

I … can't tell you.

You can tell me anything.

Not this.

Harry.

Okay, fine. But tomorrow, when you can't look at me, don't say I didn't try to spare you.

Whatever it is, it can't be as horrible as all that.

I … almost killed someone tonight.

What! Who?

At the raid … we were all fighting and I saw Malfoy … I couldn't let him get away. I don't know what came over me. And if Hermione hadn't stopped me, I would've done it. I would've … killed him.

Oh, Harry …

You hate me.

I love you.

I have no idea why you would.

Because you're sweet and kind, and because you drive me absolutely crazy – er, in a good way, that is. Because you make me laugh. Because you spent most of this school year staring at me and looking away really quickly when I glanced over at you, and then you turned around and snogged me in front of my brother, my ex-boyfriend, and about fifty others. Because you're totally oblivious to how great you are, which makes you even greater. Because I fell for you when I was ten years old and I built you up so much in my head, and it turns out you're nothing like what I'd always hoped – you're even better. And it doesn't hurt that you're completely adorable, not to mention an amazing kisser.

There was a soft pop as Harry Apparated into her room.

'You … you thought of all that just now?' he asked sheepishly.

She nodded. 'Yes,' she said. 'And I can keep going, if you'd like.'

'No,' he said. He sat down on the edge of her bed and half-smiled. 'I'm trying to brood and you aren't making it easy on me.'

She hit him over the head with her pillow and smiled at him, but sobered immediately. 'We – do you think we should talk about what you said before?'

Harry's eyes dropped to the blanket on her bed. 'I guess,' he said. He pulled out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm.

She leaned forward and reached for his hands. 'Look, I'm not going to pretend that the thought of you … you know … is something I like. But it's … necessary, I guess. Hell, even I'll have to do it at some point –'

'No,' Harry said stubbornly. 'You won't. I'll never let the Death Eaters get that close to you.'

'Eventually,' she said with a sigh, 'you're going to turn your back for a second. And they'll be ready. Harry, they've tried it before. They'll try it again. There's nothing we can go about it.'

'If they did try something,' Harry said, 'I would be the one to … I mean, you shouldn't have to …' He shook his head. 'Even if you did, it would be different. It would be self-defense. Malfoy was different. He was running away, Gin. And I followed after him. I threw him to the ground and … I wanted to do it. A part of me still wishes I had. How sick is that?'

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment, but she had to open them again. All she could see in her mind's eye was Harry pining Malfoy to the ground and muttering that awful curse …

It seemed like something a monster would do. But that wasn't the case. She wouldn't blame Harry if his emotions had gotten the best of him and he had done it. In fact, she was fairly certain her dad and Charlie, and maybe even Bill, had done it in the past. None of them were monsters.

'It's not sick,' she insisted. She wished he'd look at her. She needed him to see the sincerity in her eyes. 'There's a war going on, and everyone has to pick a side or die. Malfoy picked the wrong side. He deserves whatever he gets.'

'The night that Dumbledore died, I promised myself that I'd get my revenge on them all, especially Malfoy. But the more I thought it over, the more I started to think that maybe Malfoy wasn't as evil as he wanted everyone to think. I mean, Myrtle said he would cry in the toilets, and I even caught him that one time … But then, at Malfoy Manor, I saw how cocky he was, how awful he was … and he made it look like he'd been torturing you just to mess with me.' He twisted the blankets in his fist.

'He wasn't even allowed near where I was being held,' Ginny said. At least, that was what Snape had told her.

'Yeah,' Harry said. 'I knew it wasn't true but … the thought of him doing that to you … I'm not ever going to let it happen. Not again. I swear on – on everything.'

'If something happens to me,' she began, but he put his hand to her lips.

'Nothing is going to happen.'

'But if it does –'

'Ginny.'

'I'm just saying –'

'Well don't just say,' he said fiercely. 'Nothing is going to happen to you because it just can't. Don't you get it? If you … if they took you from me, that would be it! I – I wouldn't even fight anymore, because there would be no bloody point! And they'd kill everyone else in the entire fucking world, but if you were already gone, the others wouldn't matter to me at all. I'd have no reason to even get out of bed in the morning, let alone win a war! And it's selfish and stupid and a whole bunch of other terrible things, but it's the truth. I'm doing all this so the world can be safe for you, and … I don't know … our kids?'

She smiled slightly. 'You think about that sort of stuff?' she asked.

Harry shrugged. 'I guess if you live your life knowing you might not have a future, it makes you wonder what sort of future you aren't going to get to have.'

'You're going to get a future,' she insisted. 'With me. If you want it, I mean.'

'Yeah,' Harry said, nodding almost imperceptibly. 'I think I could handle that.'

'And – if you ever need to talk about this, I'm here,' she said. 'I'm always going to be here. No matter what.'

Harry drew in a breath.

'Everyone on that side is fighting dirty. They'd kill us all without even blinking. If I could just do that back to them, we'd stand a chance. And I know I'm only as good as they are if I sink to their level, but if that's what I have to do in order to get the job done, I'll do it. I'd do anything to just get this all over with.'

Ginny rested her head against his shoulder and breathed in his scent. 'I know you would,' she said. 'That's what scares me.'

……………………………………………………………

'They're really kind of sickening, aren't they?' Ron asked.

Hermione looked up from her book and followed his eyes to Ginny and Harry, who were staring at each other and not speaking.

'I don't know,' said Hermione. 'I think they're sweet.'

'Sweet?' he repeated. 'Tell me if you think this is sweet.' He opened his eyes wide and stared at her. She stared back for a few seconds before laughing uncomfortably and realizing how ridiculous they must've looked.

'You're right,' she said. 'I don't know how they do it.'

Ron looked back at Harry and Ginny. 'Oi! D'you have to be so annoying?'

They jumped slightly and turned to look at Ron. 'We're not even doing anything!' Ginny said. 'We're just sitting here.'

'No, we're just sitting here. You two are … being weird.'

Ginny rolled her eyes and stood. 'I'm going to get something to eat, and then maybe help Mum set up. What time is everyone coming at?'

'Dunno,' said Ron.

'I'll come with you,' Harry said. He gestured rudely when Ron's coughing fit began sounding distinctly like "whipped", and then he got up and followed Ginny out of the room.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the two of them. She went back to her book, desperate to get her mind off of the upcoming party. Her parents would be there, and she wasn't sure how she would react to it. She wasn't sure how they'd react to it. She hoped they didn't get into another awful fight.

They hadn't spoken since before Ron's "funeral". When Ron had proposed throwing Hermione a birthday party, Mrs Weasley had suggested inviting Hermione's parents. She hadn't even been sure if they'd come, but Ron was so insistent. She didn't want to tell him that she'd gone completely off the deep-end last time she'd seen them (yes, now that she thought back on it, she was willing to admit she'd been a little less that lovely to them), so she'd smiled and gone along with it.

Presently, they were going to arrive any minute. And although she spent most of her wizarding life telling Ron to be mature and be the bigger person whenever he had a confrontation with Malfoy, she was finding out that it was easier to dispense advice than it was to take it.

After a moment of being lost in her own thoughts and concerns, she realized that Ron had shifted on the couch and was now sitting significantly closer than he'd previously been.

She looked up from her book again and smiled questioningly at him. 'What's wrong?' she asked.

'Oh, nothing,' he said. 'I just realized that I hadn't given you your birthday kiss yet.'

'Birthday kiss?' she asked with a small smile.

'Yeah, haven't you ever heard of it?'

'No,' she said, playing along. 'Can't say I have. Care to demonstrate?'

'Sure. I mean, I'd hate for you to not be properly informed on something,' he told her. She was saved from replying when he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

They separated after several long moments. 'Actually,' Hermione said. 'I think I have heard of that. But if you really think about it, we've known each other since we were eleven. I've missed out on six other birthday kisses. And you've missed out on six, as well.'

Ron laughed. 'I guess we'll have to do something about that, then.'

They never fully reimbursed one another, though, because George came in a few minutes later and interrupted them.

'Your parents just got here,' he said. 'And they've got some packages for you … Muggle things … you might want to get down there before Dad's self-control snaps and he opens them himself.'

……………………………………………………………

Clutching her husband's hand, Mrs Granger knocked on the door to the Weasleys' house – The, er, Burrow – and when she received no answer, she walked in. She looked around nervously.

It wasn't as though she thought the Weasleys were strange (the fact that they were wizards aside, they were actually rather charming people, though their language was slightly off-colour), and it wasn't as though she thought Molly and Arthur were unfit parents. Still, though, there were certain things that a mother didn't fancy having another woman do for her own daughter.

It was easier to resent the Weasleys for stealing her daughter than it was to hate her daughter for choosing a family other than their own.

She knew that she was being irrational, but she didn't care. When it came to Hermione, all she had ever hoped for was that her baby was happy and healthy and taken care of. But she'd always just assumed that she would be the one making sure all of those things were happening.

Molly Weasley smiled widely and embraced her, and as she looked into the face of the woman who had replaced her, she had to bite her cheek to keep from crying.

There was a sound of shrieking laughter just outside of the kitchen, and thinking that it was Hermione, her heart leapt and broke at the same time. It turned out that it was only Hermione's friend Harry and the redhead girl, Ginny. Harry had thrown Ginny over his shoulder, and she was laughing and yelling for him to put her down.

Harry spotted Mrs Granger and placed Ginny back on the floor, the pair sobering immediately. 'Er – hi, Mrs Granger. Mr Granger,' he said.

'Hello,' said Mrs Granger warmly. She had always liked this boy.

'I'll go get Hermione – she's just upstairs,' he said.

'S'okay, I'll go,' one of the twins (really, they looked so similar that she wasn't even all that concerned that she couldn't distinguish between the two) volunteered.

'I apologize for the way the house looks,' said Mrs Weasley. 'We've been so busy trying to set up that everything is sort of – well – everywhere.'

'No,' Mrs Granger said. 'It's fine.' In truth, she thought that The Burrow was actually very quaint. It was smaller than her own house, and with seven children of their own, as well as Hermione and Harry, she didn't understand how they all fit. But, somehow, Molly and Arthur managed to keep the house from caving in on top of them. Though she suspected it involved at least a little bit of magic.

'Is there anything we can do to help?' Mr Granger asked.

'No, no,' Mrs Weasley insisted. 'You're guests. Sit down and relax!'

'I'll take those,' Ginny said, and then relieved Mr Granger of the packages he held. 'Oh – this one's heavy! Probably a couple books, yeah? Hermione will love it. She's been itching for something new to read.' Harry moved to help her carry them into another room.

Mrs Granger smiled at the young girl before her. She'd only officially met Ginny Weasley twice, and both times, the girl had been slightly less than cheerful.

The first time had been the day the kids had been released from school, when the Grangers had joined the Weasleys for dinner in the backyard. Ginny had frowned through her entire meal and gone up to bed instead of playing that "Kwiddich" thing with her family.

The second time, her somber mood had been completely understandable. She had just been rescued from wherever it was that she'd been held, and her brother, Ron, had been killed.

Ginny hadn't been the only one who had been hurting then, though. Hermione had been absolutely devastated.

Mrs Granger couldn't stand watching her daughter be in so much pain. She had only wanted to bring Hermione home and take care of her the way she used to. But it was Mrs Weasley who had taken care of her, and that was too unsettling.

At first, she had believed that this whole "witch" thing was an April Fools prank of some sort. And when it turned out that it was real, she had allowed her daughter to go off to a strange school that was thousands of miles away, without any means of contacting her short of an owl. Her one concern would be that Hermione would turn her back on their world and way of doing things. Using magic was surely easier than doing things the manual way. Hermione had been far more advanced than the other children her age, and it was no question that she would excel at whatever task she faced at Hogwarts.

Mrs Granger hadn't minded when Hermione went to stay with the Weasleys at first – she was pleased, mostly, that her daughter had made friends. Soon, though, she began to miss having Hermione in the house. Still, she'd let her daughter go. It was selfish of her to force Hermione to stay with them when she clearly wanted to be at The Burrow. But could she be blamed for wanting to spend even a little time with Hermione? She'd been almost completely shut out this past year.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Ron entered the kitchen and smiled in greeting.

It was a strange thing to see; someone who she had thought to be dead was up and walking around as though nothing had ever happened.

When she had received the … owl … saying that Ron was very much alive and well, she hadn't believed it, but had known better than to think Hermione had sent the letter as a joke.

His hand was clasped tightly in Hermione's, and it almost looked as though he was pulling her into the room against her will.

She knew it was a mistake coming here.

She locked eyes with Hermione, who, much to her surprise, smiled. 'Mum … Dad,' said Hermione. 'Hi.'

This was by far the most awkward moment she'd ever shared with her daughter, including the time they'd spoken about "the birds and the bees".

'Happy birthday,' said Mrs Granger hesitantly.

'Happy birthday,' her husband said, and she nearly forgot that he was even standing beside her. She'd released his hand ages ago.

'Thanks,' Hermione said.

She held out her arms awkwardly and Hermione stepped into them. 'I've missed you,' she admitted to her daughter.

'I've missed you, too,' Hermione sniffed. 'I'm sorry about everything. But you sort of just showed up – and Ron was – and – and I couldn't go home.'

'It was selfish of us – of me – to expect you to come home after everything that had happened,' her mother said.

They separated after a moment. Hermione greeted her father as Mrs Granger wrapped her arms around Ron and kissed his cheek. 'I – um – hello, Mrs Granger,' Ron said awkwardly.

'I'm very glad that you're okay,' she said sincerely. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. 'And – if I may ask – what, exactly, happened?'

Ron looked at Hermione, who hesitated for a second before sighing and gesturing toward the kitchen table.

'Maybe you two should sit down,' Hermione said. 'We still have a little time before the rest of the guests arrive.'

'Are you going to tell us what's going on around here?' Mr Granger asked.

'Yes,' Hermione said, looking at her feet. 'We'll tell you everything.'

……………………………………………………………

'Are you okay, Mrs Granger?' Harry asked.

The four teens had taken their turns talking, explaining everything they could to Hermione's parents without saying too much and jeopardizing their security. The guests had arrived just as they were wrapping up, and the party was now in full-swing.

'Harry,' she said, her eyes still wide. 'I just – well – oh, I need a drink.'

Harry tried not to smile as Mrs Granger grabbed a Firewhisky.

After entertaining a friendly (and, Harry was relieved to note, a non-Voldemort related) conversation with McGonagall and Lupin for quite some time, Ginny came over and he excused himself.

'Well,' Harry said, sitting down beside her on the couch. 'What d'you want for your birthday?'

Ginny shrugged. 'I've already got everything I need,' she said.

'I didn't ask you what you needed,' he said, leaning in a little closer to her. 'I asked what you wanted.'

She smirked. 'You,' she said.

'Me? You've already got me. C'mon,' he said, 'be serious. I'll get you anything you want. It doesn't matter to me what it is. Just tell me.'

You, she told him. Let's go to my room.

He looked around, suddenly very aware that over half the people in the house were direct relatives of Ginny's, and the other half were nearly all members of the Order. He knew that his face probably held a very scandalized look, but he couldn't help it. 'You – your entire family is here!'

Look around – they're all completely pissed. They wouldn't notice us if we caught fire and started doing flips around the bloody room. Come on.

But Gin –

Fine. Never mind. Forget I offered.

Forget? No, no, that wasn't what he wanted to do at ALL. He was merely going to suggest that they do it discreetly – leave one at a time, even.

No, I never said that! I –

Oh, I think that's what you said.

She leaned forward slightly, giving him a rather lovely view down the front of her dress.

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Ginny,' he said aloud, getting dangerously close to begging. I didn't say that exactly … I was merely, um, weighing the pros and cons. And I've decided that the pros greatly outweigh the cons …

All right. Ginny sighed. You win. Let's go.

He was well aware that she'd twisted the conversation around, but he certainly wasn't about to argue with her.

They stood up and were making their way through the crowd of people when they heard: 'Hey! Ginny!'

Ginny cursed and Harry turned to see Fred coming toward them. 'Have a drink!' he said, and thrust a bottle of Firewhisky into both her and Harry's hands. He stood there, watching, as if to make sure they would accept them.

'Um, thanks,' said Ginny.

'Well?'

'Well what?'

'Drink!' shouted Fred, and the rest of the Weasley sons cheered and thrust their glasses into the air. 'It's a party!'

Sighing, they both tossed their heads back and took a long drink. It burned on the way down – it wasn't called Firewhisky for nothing, of course – but after Harry's sixth or seventh sip, it wasn't as bad.

Ron came up behind them and started talking, effectively blocking their exit route to the stairs. Damn! There was no escaping now. If Ron figured out what they were trying to do – well, that wouldn't be good.

'Where's Hermione?' asked Ginny.

Ron gestured to the corner, where Hermione was chatting with Kinglsey. 'Honestly! We're at a party, and all she wants to do is talk about smart things!'

Harry grinned and took a nice sip of his drink. He and Ginny somehow ended up surrounded by five of her brothers, something that made Harry uneasy. They all looked at him as if they knew exactly what was on his mind. And there was no way for him to get it off his mind now.

'Remember the last time we drank?' Ginny whispered in his ear.

Oh, yes. He would have to be awfully plastered not to remember that.

Shite! Ginny was such a tease.

They mingled with the rest of the guests, and Fred – who, apparently, had designated himself "bartender" – never left them without a drink in their hands. By the time the party was starting to thin out, and it looked as if they might actually get away, both Harry and Ginny were rather drunk.

'This isn't gonna happen,' he told her. 'Can't do the Charm. Can't do … anything.'

She grinned and rubbed against him when she weaved out of the crowd to go over to Hermione, and he thought, fleetingly, that she'd never intended on acting on her words, but merely wanted to see how worked up she could get him tonight.

'Minx,' he muttered.

'Huh?' said Ron.

……………………………………………………………

'Psst! Hermione.' Hermione looked up when Ginny called, and Ginny gestured toward the kitchen. She could feel herself wobbling slightly on her feet as she walked. 'C'mere.'

Hermione excused herself from her conversation and met Ginny in the deserted kitchen. 'What is it?' she asked

'Can you do the Contraceptive Charm?' Ginny whispered.

'Why?'

She rolled her eyes at Hermione's question.

She looked around wildly, making sure none of her brothers were listening. It would be disaster if they were. 'Harry and I,' she whispered loudly, 'are a little drunk! So can you? I'd really appreesh – appreesh – appreciate it.'

'I don't even know how,' Hermione said. 'Sorry.'

'S'okay,' Ginny said dejectedly. She felt a hand around her wrist and turned to see Harry standing behind her.

Upstairs?

No Charm.

So? We just won't … I mean, we can still …

He was blushing, and it made her laugh.

Okay, she agreed.

Harry tugged on her sleeve and started to pull her over to the stairs. 'G'night, Hermione,' he called.

'What'll I do if anyone starts looking for you?' she asked.

'You're smart! Think of something!'

They left Hermione and eventually made it up to Ginny's room. Standing in the doorway, he unzipped her dress as she pulled his shirt over his head. When Ginny turned to pull Harry into her room, she nearly screamed. 'Oh!' she gasped, and her hand flew up to her mouth.

Tonks buttoned her shirt and Lupin flushed. 'We were just –'

'Snogging?' Harry supplied.

'Yeah!' Ginny cried. 'In my room!'

They both muttered apologizes and left. As Tonks passed by, Ginny grabbed her arm and halted her. 'Do one thing for me,' she said, 'and nobody has to know about this.'

Tonks raised an eyebrow. 'You would tell?'

'It might slip out,' Ginny said vaguely.

Tonks sighed. 'What do you need?'

'Contraceptive Charm.'

'Your mum would kill me –'

'Have it your way, then.'

Tonks sighed and pulled out her wand.

……………………………………………………………

I am in desperate need of a subplot for Ron and Hermione. To be quite honest, I'm really only interested in this pairing when they're not together or when they're bickering, and I'm not going to break them up or constantly have them arguing. Unless I come up with something I like, or I get a good suggestion, I'm going to keep this story predominately H/G with R/Hr just on the side. But, of course, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. And if used, credit will be given where credit is due.