"Looks good, doesn't it?" Ron says.
Harry comes to a stop on the path next to him, gazing up at Hogwarts rising above the trees. "Yeah. It does."
It's only been a little over a year, but it's hard to tell that a battle ever happened here. Only the most discerning eye would notice that the skyline of the castle is not quite the same, and Harry supposes it's like Ron said last summer—after everything that happened, something should be different.
Walking past them at a steady clip with her trunk following behind, Hermione barely spares a glance for the castle, her mind doubtlessly already mired in timetables and upcoming exams.
Ron shakes his head, looking after his girlfriend with a fond expression. "Mental, that one."
Harry makes a sound of agreement. As much as some things have changed, that certainly hasn't.
"Come on," Ron says. "Let's get up there."
Out on the lawn, students lounge in small groups, some down by the water throwing what looks like a beach ball out at the giant squid. These, Harry imagines, are the students lucky enough not to be seventh- or fifth-years, no enormous, life-defining exams looming over them. Despite his jealousy, it's nice to see students enjoying themselves in sharp contrast to the last time he was here.
The castle interior is cool and dim in comparison, and much quieter. It's harder not to think about the bad memories in here. For all he got to spend one pleasant day in the castle, it doesn't necessarily outweigh everything else, and he's glad to have Ron here by his side carrying on a steady stream of chatter.
The three of them head for the stairs towards Gryffindor tower, a route they've taken so many times before. Turning a corner, Harry stumbles as someone runs smack into him. He reaches out to stop what turns out to be a very young witch from sprawling back on the floor. Her robes identify her as a Hufflepuff.
She looks up at him, and her face seems to drain of all color.
"Are you okay?" Harry asks.
Her face undertakes another rapid transformation, a flood of red replacing the white. She doesn't seem capable of speech.
"Er," Harry says, not quite sure if she's hurt or what.
"I know," Ron says, stepping up and smiling kindly at her. "I'm very famous."
The witch's eyes dart to Ron and then to Hermione and back to Harry, a small sound of distress emanating from her.
Content that she probably won't fall down at least, Harry lets go of her. She immediately sketches a bizarre sort of head bob curtsy thing before turning and fleeing with a small squeak.
Ron laughs quietly as she disappears, nudging Harry in the side. "Reminds me of how Ginny used to be around you, that first summer you came to the Burrow."
"Right," Harry says, finding himself disappointed to be treated that way here of all places. One of the few places he ever really thought of as home. But maybe not anymore.
They continue on their way back up towards Gryffindor tower, the weirdness of it all not dissipating. He honestly hadn't intended to actually stay in the castle, but Hermione insisted.
"What if I miss an exam?" had been her constant refrain. "What if I'm late? What if there's a book I need?"
So with McGonagall's permission, here they are, trunks in tow, heading back to their old dorms for two weeks. As strange as it feels, it will definitely have its perks. Seeing friends. The amazing food in the hall. Sleeping in his old bed again.
But mostly being around Ginny of course. Pretty much completely Ginny, if he's honest.
He hadn't been all that hard to convince, really.
Their arrival coincides with lunch, which may or may not have been planned, primarily by Ron but definitely assisted by Harry. At this time of day, the common room is fairly empty, everyone outside enjoying the weather or cooped up in the library studying, no doubt.
Up in their old tower dorm room, everything waits for them just like always. It's just how he remembers it, Neville, Dean, and Seamus's beds already set up with trunks at the end, belongings strewn about.
Harry looks at his old four-poster bed and wonders if he's imagining that it looks smaller than he remembers it.
By the time they dump their stuff and head back down to lunch, more students are out in the halls, many stopping and staring and whispering. It's been a bit of an open secret, the arrival of the so-called 'Golden Trio.' Ginny has been helpfully filling him in on every amusing (to her) rumor flying through the castle.
The staring does nothing to help with the knots in Harry's stomach, though honestly very little of that has to do with rumors or upcoming exams. He's excited to see Ginny, yes; but he also just isn't really sure what it will be like, being around her and Ron and Hermione at the same time, day in and day out.
Fortunately Hermione starts fretting over their schedules and what kind of questions they think might show up on their first exam tomorrow. It's a distraction, a familiar one at that. Hermione obsessing and Ron complaining about it, and that's pretty much like everything's wrapped back around to the beginning.
Harry almost runs into Ron as he comes to a sudden stop in the doorway to the Great Hall.
"What the bloody hell," Ron says, staring around in alarm.
At first glance, the hall seems to be in chaos. Rather than four long tables, there are a lot of tables of various sizes, some of them actively shifting and bunching up to make larger tables of dubious shapes. The students don't seem that fussed about it really.
Neville appears next to them, greeting them warmly. "Come on. I know it looks weird." He leads them to the buffet and then over to a table, sitting down with them.
"Thought we were finally shot of you three," Burke says by way of greeting, dropping his tray down on the table nearby and taking a seat.
Hannah sits next to him, giving him a poke. "Be nice."
"I'm always nice," Burke says indignantly.
Luna wanders up. "Hello," she says, sitting next to Hannah as the table begins to morph into a long 'L' shape.
Reiko drops down in the empty seat next to Harry. "Potter," she says, voice brisk. "Mind if I pick your brain about something?"
Hermione, who has always bemoaned the house divisions she thought were only exacerbated by Quidditch, looks at the chaos around her and beams.
Harry starts in on his meal, one eye on the room as he tries to answer Reiko's questions about Quidditch and Seekers and feinting theories.
They've been there maybe fifteen minutes when Ginny finally walks into the hall. Harry forces himself not to react, but that doesn't mean he takes his eyes off of her as she works her way across the room. He watches the way she affects the space around her, the way people melt out of her way. He doubts she even notices the effect she has on everything around her.
He'd think her completely unaware of his presence except that she unerringly shoots a smile in his direction right before passing out of sight to sit at a table behind him.
Harry forces himself to return his attention to his food. Reiko still hasn't taken a breath as far as he can tell, or noticed his lack of attention.
Reiko finally stops talking enough to shove some food in her mouth when Harry notices Ron frowning at something just past his shoulder.
"What is it?" he asks.
Ron juts his chin, Harry turning and looking.
He sees Ginny sitting at a table with the Carrow twins. Michael Corner, he notices, is in the spot directly next to her. As they watch, he leans into her space, seeming to find little reasons to touch her. Just enough to not seem particularly innocent.
"That wanker," Ron says, tone fairly dangerous.
Hermione just gives Ron a repressive glance. "That's Ginny's business, not yours."
Even though he knows he shouldn't, Harry can't help looking over again. Ginny's face, he notices, is carefully blank, but the next time Corner touches her, she leans into him, her mouth near his ear. To anyone watching it might look intimate and comfortable, right up until Corner's face pales and he slides carefully away from her, leaving a sizeable space between them.
Ginny gives Corner a smile that seems pleasant on the surface but makes the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand up.
Next to Harry, Reiko snorts. "Stupid git. She's been trying to shake him off for ages." She looks up at him. "Some blokes just can't take a hint, can they?"
Harry has no interest in touching that comment, returning his attention to his plate as Ron starts abusing Corner to anyone who will listen. Harry definitely doesn't encourage him, but he doesn't exactly try to stop him either.
Ginny imagines she can tell the very moment Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the castle. Patronus messages really don't have anything on the rumor mill at Hogwarts. For the rest of Sunday, the castle buzzes with it. Ginny herself barely has time to do more than say a passing hello, the three of them are so constantly surrounded by students.
Monday the castle is a little quieter, many students sitting the first round of exams, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny's first exam isn't until tomorrow, so she's spending the morning in the DA room revising. There's a fairly large collection of people there, mostly the girls, having drifted in to give the fifth- and seventh-years a gossip break.
Predictably, Harry is the center of almost all of it.
"Is it just me or is Harry Potter far more attractive now that he's not always covered in blood or about to be killed?" Padma muses.
"Dunno," Demelza says, lounging back on her elbow and looking annoyingly relaxed as a sixth-year with no exams to sit. "I think I prefer my wizards a little distressed."
Padma laughs. "You would, wouldn't you?"
Lisa Turpin looks around Padma's shoulder from where she's currently braiding her best friend's hair. "Apparently Holly already propositioned him and he's barely been in the castle a full day."
Demelza fairly cackles upon hearing this. "Did she really? Did Potter take her up on it?"
Lisa shakes her head. "From what I've heard, he didn't even realize she offered."
They burst into laughter. Ginny just keeps her attention on her Potions notes as if she is at all studying rather than listening to a gaggle of girls speculate about her secret boyfriend's love life.
"It's like he doesn't even realize that The Chosen One could pretty much have any witch he wants," Padma muses.
"Not this witch," Lisa points out.
"Right," Padma says with a laugh. "Every witch who isn't gay."
"Or your sister," Lisa says. "I think she still hasn't forgiven him for the Yule Ball, Slayer of the Dark Lord or not."
Padma laughs in agreement.
"Or who isn't Ginny Weasley," Demelza adds on.
Ginny looks up from her notes, doing her best to look like she's missed the entire conversation. "What about me?"
Demelza waves her hand lazily. "Oh, just that there are some feats even the Savior of the Wizarding World couldn't overcome."
"Meaning me?" Ginny says, working hard to keep her voice light and even.
"What did you say to Michael at lunch yesterday?" Padma asks, clearly curious. "He looked like he'd swallowed his tongue by the time you were done."
Ginny supposes it was too much to hope that that little interaction had gone mostly unnoticed.
"I just pointed out that the only bed I had an interest in seeing him in was a hospital bed," she admits, deciding that she's fine with sharing so long as it turns the conversation away from Harry.
The girls let out loud whoops of approval, falling into each other, even as Susan shoots them disapproving glares for interrupting her studying.
Fortunately after that they move on to other areas of speculation, such as Astoria and Draco, and whether or not Dean and Seamus really think they are fooling anyone.
At lunch, Ginny peels away from the girls, looking around for her brother. He spent most of yesterday locked up doing last-minute studying, so this is her first real chance to talk with him. It would be completely reasonable to seek him out, she tells herself.
She finally finds Ron, already sitting with Harry and Hermione. Hermione's face is scrunched as she thoroughly details something while Ron and Harry listen on, occasionally sharing amused glances as if this has been going on for a while.
It's weird to see Harry back in a Hogwarts uniform, but definitely not unpleasant. Padma wasn't wrong. He definitely looks particularly relaxed and fit for all he's in the middle of exams. Having Voldemort and the war and even those sodding Dursleys behind him at last, she imagines.
He looks up as she nears, his face fairly lighting up as he catches sight of her. She knows he's disappointed with how challenging it has been to find any time with each other so far. She has been too.
Ginny steps up behind Ron, mussing his hair. "How'd it go?"
He ducks his head, turning to scowl at her. "The best that can be said is that it's behind us."
She smiles, knowing her brother always prefers the doing to the writing about. If he really didn't do so great on the written, he'll no doubt do much better in the afternoon practical exam.
Touching Hermione's shoulder gently, she says, "Hey. How are you?"
Hermione looks up. "The way they asked one of the questions was so ambiguous! There were at least three different ways it could have been answered, depending on how you read it. It's so irresponsible! They should be clearer."
Ginny nods, biting back a smile. "I'm sure you're right. Did you give them all three answers and explain why?" She's only half-joking, knowing Hermione.
"Of course I did, but that left me with so little time to do everything else."
There's no point in reminding Hermione that it's done and over and that outside of using a time turner there's no going back and changing it, so instead Ginny just makes a vague sound of commiseration and finally lets herself address Harry.
"And you?" she asks.
He shrugs. "Unfortunately I only gave one answer to that question, so I'm apparently doomed."
Ron snorts into his pumpkin juice, Hermione glaring at Harry.
Ginny smiles. "Might as well give up right now then, I suppose."
"Yeah," Harry says, nodding. "I'll find a way to live with it."
She's tempted to make a joke there, but this is treading perilously close to flirting, and she is far too aware how many eyes are on him at any given moment. Looking away, she drops her bag in the empty chair next to Ron.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Only if you talk about anything other than Transfiguration," Ron says darkly.
"Deal," Ginny says, crossing over to the buffet to fill a plate.
The seats around them have all filled in by the time she gets back, people very eager to sit with them. She's relieved to see Harry between Hannah and Neville, two people she can trust not to pester him. She knows all the attention has got to be wearing on him.
"So," she says to Ron as she settles in her seat. "Shall we talk about Potions?"
He groans, no doubt at the reminder of tomorrow's exam. "I have three exams in four days!"
Ginny's pretty lucky in her own schedule, her exams spread out for the most part. Hermione apparently has four exams in a row next week. It sounds like hell.
"And I hate having to get up for more food at lunch," Ron griped.
Hermione is now complaining to Luna, who seems serenely unperturbed by it, just nodding as she carefully spreads her bread with butter.
Ginny catches Harry's eye across the table. "Your mates are a pair of grumps," she observes.
"It's okay," Harry says. "I'm told I'm the cheerful one."
Ginny can't help but laugh, even as part of her brain is yelling about what a bad idea this is. It's not like she's going to go out of her way to ignore him, but she can't exactly tease him the way she's become more comfortable with. It's a line she isn't quite sure how to navigate. And she bloody hates being uncertain.
Just to be safe, she does her best to pay more attention to her food than Harry for the rest of the meal, no matter how tempting it is to do otherwise.
Harry no sooner finishes his afternoon practical Transfiguration exam than he finds himself once again holed up with Ron and Hermione studying for his next exam, with barely a break for dinner.
It takes a toll on his mood, only feeling bleaker and more annoyed as the evening passes.
It's not even the tests he's annoyed with really. The truth is that he seriously underestimated how hard it would be to find time with Ginny. He's been in the castle for almost 36 hours now and still hasn't had even a minute alone with her. There's just always people everywhere. Including Ron. Especially Ron. Not that he doesn't want Ron to be there. He likes Ron being around. It just makes it challenging to slip away to see Ginny without having to come up with some sort of lie. And he is terrible at lying to Ron.
He sighs, looking up from his potions notes. Currently, Ron's frowning over at Hermione. She refused to sit with them, instead settling in the corner at a small table, glaring at anyone who dares approach her. Harry understands exactly why Ron is watching her with concern. She is demonstrating all the hallmarks of an impending studying-induced meltdown. She has a tendency to slam up against a wall at some point, and it isn't pretty to see. Having two tests back to back certainly isn't helping.
"Should we do something?" he asks. He's hoping Ron has some sort of plan. Harry may have been best mates with Hermione for years, but he's still never been that great at this particular part.
"She needs to be distracted for a bit," Ron confirms.
Harry nods. That sounds about right. If she weren't Hermione, he might suggest a broom ride or something similar. That always helps clear his head. But Hermione doesn't find brooms particularly relaxing. She only finds organizing people relaxing as far as he can tell.
"Should I fake a personal crisis?" he offers. It would probably be a better option than letting her reorganize his notes, which wouldn't really be a step in the right direction.
Ron shakes his head, clearly having something else in mind. "Could I borrow the map?"
"The map?" Harry says stupidly.
Ron gives him an exasperated look. "Yes the bloody map. You didn't forget to pack it, did you?"
"Uh, no," he says, not seeing any way around the truth. "I actually gave it to Ginny before we left for Australia."
Ron frowns. "Ginny?"
Crap. "Well, it wasn't going to be of any use to us, and your brothers gave it to me in the first place, so it's already kind of your family's," he says, aware that he's babbling, but unable to stop. "It seemed the thing to do."
"She showed it to us," Neville confirms from where he's sitting on the other side of Ron. "Been pretty useful. I just wish we had it last year."
"Yeah," Harry says with a wince, thinking about the DA trying to work around the Carrows without the map. "Sorry about that."
Neville gives him an easy smile. "It's fine. You couldn't have known."
"I wonder if she would lend it to me," Ron says, clearly more concerned with the present. He slouches back in the couch, apparently not liking his chances. "Not without wanting to know why probably. I knew I should have been nicer to her today."
Ron was hardly mean to Ginny today. More like the usual affectionate sniping that seems to be their default state. Still, Ron seems to think this level of a favor requires a lot more buttering up.
Ron stares contemplatively at the staircase up to the boys' dorms. "You and Neville aren't going to sleep anytime soon, right? Maybe I could have the dorm to myself for a bit?"
Ron's specific plan to distract Hermione becomes painfully clear in that moment. Harry and Neville catch each other's eye only to immediately look away again.
"Surely Dean and Seamus won't mind," Ron says, either unaware or uncaring of their reaction.
Harry thinks about what he's pretty sure is going on upstairs in their dorm right now, having seen Seamus and Dean head up there earlier.
"Um," Harry says, not sure how to avert this disaster without breaking confidences.
Out of desperation, he looks at Neville again, and they simultaneously seem to realize that the other is aware of Dean and Seamus's relationship. Of course Neville would be. Hard not to be, having shared a dorm with them all year.
But Harry definitely isn't going to think about that.
"There's a closet," Neville rushes out, saving them both.
"What?" Ron asks.
Neville nods. "On the third floor beneath Ravenclaw Tower. Around the corner from the Charms classroom."
"A closet?" Ron asks, looking confused.
Neville squirms in his chair. "Some people use it for…well…"
Ron perks up. "Privacy?"
"Yeah," Neville says, seemingly relieved not to have spell it out further.
Harry's never really been up on the favored snogging locations in the castle, but something about the third floor tickles a memory in the back of his mind.
"Oh," he blurts, the detail finally connecting in his head.
Ron looks up at Harry, clearly figuring it out too. "Oh, Merlin," he says, letting out a bark of laughter. "Is that what that witch was saying to you yesterday?"
Harry feels his face warm. The witch 'bumped' into him in the hall and then proceeded to offer to give him a tour of the castle to see all the changes since he was last in school.
"She was pretty eager to show Harry the third floor in particular, if I recall," Ron informs Neville, nudging him suggestively in the ribs.
Neville smiles. "Well, he is the Hero of Hogwarts."
Harry wads up a spare bit of parchment and chucks it at Neville.
Ron laughs. "May want to avoid the third floor, mate. Or, you know, not , as the mood may take you."
Harry groans, covering his face with his hands. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your girlfriend right now?"
"Oh, right," Ron says, easily distracted from taking the mickey. He turns to Neville. "So if lots of people know about it, how do you make sure someone isn't already…"
Neville awkwardly clears his throat. "There's a painting of a pub. If the fire in the fireplace is lit, the room is…occupied."
"Convenient," Ron says.
Neville shrugs, a red flush working its way up over his collar. "It can be."
They both stare at Neville, his understanding of this spot apparently going far beyond simple castle gossip.
Ron's mouth spreads into a wide smile. "Neville, you dog," he says with a chuckle.
Neville presses his lips together, clearly not interested in denying or confirming anything.
When it's clear that he isn't going to get any more details, Ron shoves everything away in his bag in preparation for Operation Distracting Hermione. "Wish me luck, lads."
"Good luck," Harry says. He thinks Ron's going to need it, trying to separate Hermione from her books the night before a big exam.
"One more thing, Ron," Neville says, before he can walk away.
"Yeah?" he asks distractedly.
Reaching into his bag, Neville pulls out a folded piece of parchment, shoving it towards Ron. "Just take that, will you?"
Neville looks incredibly uncomfortable, and Harry watches with interest as Ron opens the parchment, skimming the words and what looks like illustrations.
"Christ, Neville," Ron says, eyes wide. "What are you, the house mum?"
"Just…look it over it, will you?" Neville says, sounding long-suffering.
Ron recovers, shaking his head back and forth. "Sure, mate. Cheers. Maybe I can convince Hermione this is just studying too." With a wink, he turns on his heel, crossing over to approach Hermione.
Harry turns to Neville. "What was that?"
"Um." Rather than explaining it, Neville pulls another one out, handing it to Harry.
Harry nearly chokes as he looks down at it. There's a careful list of charms and instructions for how and when to use them. All of them revolving around sex. Some of them rather graphically. There's even a bit about love potions and consent in there too.
Neville clears his throat. "We had them made up for the DA. Based off something Sprout gives the Hufflepuff girls apparently."
Harry manages to recover himself. "You, uh, talk about this in the DA?"
"Technically it's defense. Of a sort," Neville mumbles.
"I guess so," Harry says, looking down at the charms and potions he's never even heard of. It occurs to him just how limited his own education is in this particular area—both from magical and Muggle sides. It's not like the Dursleys would ever talk about it. And asking the Weasleys… Just no. Maybe he could have worked up the nerve to go to Sirius eventually, but that isn't an option anymore. Even he and Ron don't really discuss it, mostly because even if they leave it unspoken, they both still know it's about Hermione.
"Do you mind if I, uh, keep this?" Harry asks.
Neville shakes his head, doing his best not to look at him.
Harry tucks it quickly away in his bag, not exactly keen on anyone else in the common room seeing him with it. By the time he looks back up from his bag, against all odds Ron has somehow successfully convinced Hermione to take a break, the two of them walking out of the common room together.
Meaning Harry is on his own as well. Finally.
Glancing at his watch, he notes that there's only forty-five minutes left before curfew. Not a lot of time, but still time. Time he can spend with Ginny. He glances down at his potions notes. Surely he's learned all he can at this point?
It honestly isn't even a choice. Shoving his notes aside, he pulls out his parchment and quill.
Ron is finally distracted. Any chance you need a study break?
Screw potions, is her immediate reply. Meet you in the cloister in ten minutes?
Harry grins, relieved that she is clearly just as eager. Deal.
Dean and Seamus choose that opportune moment to come back down the stairs, a plan forming in his mind. "I'm going to have a bit of an early night, I think," Harry says, shoving everything back in his bag and getting to his feet.
Neville looks quizzical, but doesn't pry. "Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."
"Night," he says and heads up the stairs. Up in the dorms, he stows his bag and closes the curtains around his bed. Hopefully no one will think to even look. He doubts Ron will be back anytime soon anyway.
Pulling on his invisibility cloak, he sneaks back out through the common room and out the portrait hole as some thirds years come in.
It's close enough to curfew that there are very few people out in the halls, though he does cross Mrs. Norris at one point, her wide eyes following his progress.
You aren't doing anything wrong, he reminds himself. For once.
The cloister is dark when he gets there, nothing more than the soft filtering of moonlight through the glass ceiling. It's not enough to get around without tripping over anything, so Harry lifts his wand, muttering, "Lumos."
He finds a lamp sitting on a mostly full bookcase wedged between two marble pillars, prodding it to life with his wand. It fills the small space with a soft golden glow that doesn't quite eliminate all the shadows. Lit like this, the space feels even cozier than he remembers.
"Hey."
He turns, and there Ginny is, still dressed in her uniform, wand held loosely at her side.
"Hey," he says, smiling broadly as he takes a step towards her.
He's so happy to see her, but he can't help but notice that it feels a little weird. He isn't sure why. They've seen each other since he arrived, but never alone really. The ease and comfort of her last visit to Grimmauld seems to have evaporated, like a reset button or something.
Or maybe it's just how different she is here. He tells himself he's probably just imagining that. More likely it's just that it's been more than two weeks since her last visit. Or that they have to be so careful when they are around other people.
It's hard to slip back out of that.
"I'm sorry to take you away from studying," he says, starting to feel foolish.
She shakes her head, stowing her wand. "Merlin. I'm not."
His shoulders relax. "Yeah. I'm not really either."
She smiles, and suddenly it feels easier, Harry crossing over to her and pulling her into a hug.
"How has it been?" she asks, arms wrapping around him as she presses into his chest. "Coming back?"
"There are definitely things about this place I miss," he says.
She leans back to look at him. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah," he says, nodding solemnly. "The Fat Lady makes the best jokes. And the treacle tart…."
Her nose scrunches up as she glares at him. "Oh, I see how it is. If you'd rather meet up with the Fat Lady, I could probably arrange it."
He laughs, shaking his head before he leans in and kisses her. She only holds stiffly for a bare moment as if to remind him she won't forgive his teasing so easily. Then she's kissing him back, and it's great, but also feels a little cautious, like they are working it all out again, and he's really looking forward to not having to go weeks without kissing her ever again.
Ginny's hands wind up the back of his neck, pulling him closer and everything shifts, the kiss deepening and feeling far more familiar.
Harry has never been more thankful for her strange little cloister than he is right now. He considers that maybe this is what it could have been like if he'd come back instead of going to Australia. But there are a thousand reasons that wouldn't have worked, so he concentrates instead on being very content to be here with her now.
Apparently Ginny has similar plans of enjoying every moment they have together, and in no time at all, they are very well reacquainted, Harry settling on the grass with Ginny sitting on his lap, and it's even better than he remembers.
"Harry?" Ginny says.
As he's currently working his way down her throat with his mouth, his fingers fiddling with her topmost button in hopes of maybe gaining better access to the smooth line of her shoulder; he just gives a vague noise in response.
"About Michael," she says.
Talk about a cold dose of water. This is definitely not what he wants to hear at the moment. Abandoning the button, he slips a hand up under the hem of her shirt.
She lets out a sound like a hum of approval, and he thinks maybe he's successfully distracted her when she shakes her head a bit.
"Harry," she says, voice stern as if remind him that she will not be so easily derailed.
He sighs, dropping his forehead against her shoulder as he considers the fastest way to get through this conversation so they can get back to more important things. "What about him?"
She's quiet so long that he looks up at her. She's biting her bottom lip, apparently working out exactly what she wants to say, but the gesture just makes Harry impatient to get back to kissing her. And stupid. It makes him pretty stupid too.
"Are you snogging him behind my back?" he asks.
She sucks in a breath, her hands pushing him away as she leans back. "What? No. Of course not."
He nods, not thinking for a moment that she was, but a little unclear of the point of this conversation, particularly at this exact moment. "Okay. Then I don't care about Michael bloody Corner." They have so little time together, he'd rather not waste it talking about other blokes.
Only Ginny is frowning at him rather than looking appeased, something stubborn in the set of her shoulders. "We dated for three weeks."
Lovely. So much for getting through this quickly. Harry leans his weight back on one hand, rubbing at his eyes with the other. "Okay. But you're not dating him now."
"Obviously not," she says, beginning to look cross. She folds her arms across her chest, and that doesn't bode well for anything.
Harry sighs. "Look, do I kind of want to hex him? Sure. Yeah. Quite a lot, honestly." He peers up at her. "Can I?"
She shakes her head.
"Yeah. I didn't think so. So, to recap. You aren't currently dating him or snogging him and I can't hex him."
"I knew it upset you," she says, and it occurs to him that she actually looks worried under that prim look she's giving him. Like she isn't sure how he is going to react to this evidence that she dated other people.
That's the only reason he manages to bite back a sarcastic reply that would no doubt only get him in more trouble. "Only because he's clearly still making a nuisance of himself. Not about anything you've done. We already talked about this, didn't we?"
Her shoulders soften. "Yes, I know. I just thought seeing it might be different. I mean, the photographs of you and that witch…"
"Muggle," Harry corrects absently.
"What?"
He shakes his head. "Cass is a Muggle."
"Cass," Ginny says, voice soft. "Is that her name?"
Dammit, he's only making this worse. "Ginny," he says, reaching out and pulling her back towards him. "I don't care if you dated the entire bloody school."
She gives him an unbelieving look.
"I only care that you're with me now."
"Which I definitely am," she says.
"Yeah?" he says, giving her a challenging look.
She rolls her eyes at him, but also leans back into him, unfortunately stopping just short of actually kissing him. "The entire school?"
He sighs. "Except Malfoy. Please tell me you didn't date Malfoy."
She laughs.
"Seriously," Harry asks, eyes narrowing. "Did you date Malfoy?"
Her fingers trail down the front of his shirt, tugging his tie free of its knot. "I thought you didn't care?"
He regards her, attention split between this conversation and the movement of her fingers as they move on to his topmost button. "You're really not going to tell me, are you?"
"Nope," she says, finally kissing him.
He considers being put out by that, but honestly has much better things to think about than bloody sodding Malfoy. Mostly the way her fingers pull his collar to the side, her mouth following suit.
After passing a very pleasant half hour together, they are very reluctantly collecting everything to leave the cloister when Ginny brings it up again.
Hefting her bag up on her shoulder, she asks, "Do you know why I did it?"
"What?" he asks, shrugging his robes on and stuffing his tie in his pocket.
"Went out with them."
He bites back the urge to press in on exactly who the 'them' is. Not just Corner, then. He's already said he doesn't care, he reminds himself. He busies himself with checking that he still has his cloak. "Because moving on was the logical thing to do, if I recall."
"No," she says.
He looks up at her. "What?"
Pulling an elastic band one more time around her hair, she drops her arms by her sides. "I mean, it definitely was. But that's not why I did it."
"Of course," he says, smiling at her. "Because I make you illogical."
She laughs, stepping closer and looking up at him fondly. "I think I was testing myself."
"Yeah?"
She nods, her fingers tapping on his chest. "Going out with them wasn't about moving on or any of the things it probably should have been. I just wanted to know that if you came back, if I did get another chance, that I wouldn't muck it up again, that I wouldn't freak out or…disappoint you."
"Ginny," he says, touching her waist.
She presses her face into his shoulder. "It was a stupid idea though. I wasn't really testing anything. Because it turns out that being with someone who doesn't mean anything to you isn't the same as being with someone who does."
Being with someone who does. Harry finds it difficult to respond for a moment, his chest seeming to fill with pressure.
"No, it isn't," he eventually agrees. He doesn't want to, but he can't help thinking of the entire fiasco with Cass—that being needed to do things isn't the same as being needed just for you. "Maybe that's a good test result. Figuring that out."
"Why, Potter, that's downright logical of you," she teases, but he can feel the way her fingers are still firm on his arms like she's not sure he won't pull away.
He folds her into a hug, reveling in the way she just quietly tucks into his body, that tantalizing ease firmly back in place. "You could never disappoint me, Gin."
"Oh, give me time," she mumbles.
He shakes his head, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "And you definitely aren't mucking anything up."
Her arms tighten around him. "Yeah?"
He nods. "Full marks. Gold star. O for outstanding."
She laughs, leaning back to look at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, you definitely exceed expectations."
He frowns. "Is that all? Where did I lose points?"
She tilts her head to the side. "Wasted potential."
"How exactly?"
"Well," she draws out, "there's this whole thing where you could be kissing me right now..."
Harry doesn't need to be told twice. After all, he takes his studies very seriously.
Consequently, it is very very late by the time they finally leave the cloister, curfew little more than a memory. Of course, that means the corridors are all deserted and they don't have to worry as much about being seen.
Harry has his invisibility cloak draped over his arm, the two of them hand in hand as they slowly wander back in the direction of her common room. Inspecting the alcoves, so to speak, from time to time, both of them far too aware how hard it might be to find time together again. He's going to be exhausted and bleary for his morning exam, but honestly couldn't care less.
He blames the exhaustion for their carelessness.
"Oh, bugger," Ginny says, eyes going wide as she glances down at the map.
Harry doesn't think, just flings his cloak over Ginny, the folds settling into place right as Professor McGonagall turns the corner.
"Mr. Potter," she says, eyes narrowing. "Have you forgotten curfew?"
"Sorry, Professor," Harry says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I must have lost track of time in the library."
He smiles, hoping against hope that it might work on her.
For a moment, she seems to soften. "It's nice having you three back, even if just for a few short weeks," she says, giving him a rare smile. The smile disappears. "But don't think I won't put you in detention for breaking the rules."
He absolutely believes her. "No, ma'am. I mean, yes, ma'am. I definitely won't break any more rules."
She lets out a sound suspiciously like a snort of disbelief. "That would be a first."
Harry does his best to stand there looking innocent.
McGonagall's eyes dart to the empty space where Ginny stands hidden.
Harry holds his breath and reminds himself there is no way she can see around the cloak.
After another long moment, McGonagall returns her gaze to Harry. "Well, I trust you can remember how to find your way back to your common room, even if reading a clock is beyond you?"
"Yes, of course," he says, knowing he is far closer to the Slytherin common room than his own, let alone the library, but hopes that isn't particularly obvious.
"Well then. Good night," she says, walking away.
Harry blows out a breath.
"Oh, and Mr. Potter?" she says, coming to a stop.
He straightens up, turning to look warily at her. "Yes, ma'am?"
"You've missed a button. Just here." She points at her own robes somewhere in the middle of her chest.
The implications of that flood Harry's brain, and his face blazes with heat.
Damned if he doesn't think McGonagall maybe chuckles to herself as she disappears around a corner.
Under the cloak, Ginny starts to laugh, leaning against him.
Harry wraps an arm around her, cursing under his breath. "She has not gotten any less terrifying."
Ginny's only response is to laugh harder.