Harry Potter and the Power of Time

by RossWrock

Now AU, 6th Year, following OoTP. Tired of the way Dumbledore and the Order treat him, and ready to face his destiny, Harry dedicates long hours to muggle and magical training to take the fight to Voldemort for a change. Slight HPGW, not shippy though.

18. Ginny's Wicked Ways

Harry Potter and the Power of Time

Chapter 18 – Ginny's Wicked Ways

The Gryffindor Quidditch team, and to a lesser extent Harry, was disappointed with their loss to Slytherin, but at least acknowledged that it could have been far worse. With nearly a complete new team, not to mention the excessive dirty tactics Slytherin had used, a loss by only twenty points was still respectable. The facts that they were still in contention for the Quidditch Cup, and the tremendous humiliation of Malfoy, made the loss even more bearable.

In fact, as soon as Harry had caught the snitch, the entire team got to enjoy a ten minute show of Draco Malfoy at his worst. First he got snubbed by his father (who refused to talk to him after the match), then he whined like a little girl to Madame Hooch about Harry's unknown broom, claiming that it had illegal charms on it. Them not playing an authorized European Quidditch match, because schoolyard games had no official regulations, didn't seem to register with him. Then before he finally stormed off the pitch, most of the school, including some from his own house, yelled at him from the stands to stop humiliating himself. It got to the point that even some of the more bold Hufflepuffs were mocking Draco from their elevated positions.

The next day, Sunday, while most of the school caught up with homework, Harry instead spent most of his time in the Room of Requirements planning ways to improve the team's practices. Ginny had wanted to join in, but the sheer amount of work wouldn't allow her. The full force of her OWL year schoolwork was finally showing itself. And while Ginny had a head start because of some of her work from the summer, and friends like Harry and Hermione were spending some time helping her with some subjects, she still had more work each week than any other member of the Quidditch team.

The endurance training he had promised Neville and Frank was definitely needed, and Harry figured it couldn't hurt the chasers either. Harry had a few creative ideas he could work on, besides the obvious running or flying drills. The chasers also needed to spend more time in harm's way, no matter how much Harry wanted to protect them. Part of the problems that caused Natalie to lose her focus, and Connie to forget her hand signals, was because in practice they never had such close calls with the bludgers. From now on, Harry vowed the team's practice sessions would be more game- like than just the running drills and scoring opportunities that they had so far used.

As the weekend ended and the week began, Harry had to refocus his attention on his duties besides Quidditch. The weeks before the first game of the season were always lax around Hogwarts, because the students and even most of the teachers looked forward to the highly anticipated action. However, with the first game of the season out of the way now, normal life could continue.

Classes for the most part continued like they had for Harry, with few exceptions. The extra study time done by his double further advanced him in classes, to the point that even Hermione had to make time for extra studying to keep her position as top student in Transfiguration class. As it was, she had long ago given up in Charms, and it was a good thing she wasn't in the same Arithmancy class as Harry. He would have displaced her there as well. At least in Defense Against the Dark Arts, she never had the advantage in the first place.

DADA class was progressing nicely, and most students agreed that Rofordit was the best professor in the subject they had had since Lupin. True, most of her lessons were theory over practical, but the weekly attempt by one of her students to best her in a duel more than made up for any short attention spans.

Over half of the students had by now tried their hand at the duel; some even more than once. Hermione hadn't yet, but Ron had, and he was one of the students who came closet to securing a victory over the elderly instructor. All thought that Harry might finally be the one to gain the fifty house points, but surprising to all, he hadn't yet attempted to duel Professor Rofordit. Even Ron and Hermione tried talking him into it, seeing as how even a failure wouldn't hurt. Harry however was still learning plenty by watching, and saw no reason to get up there himself. True, he also thought he might be one of the few students capable of beating their teacher, but he didn't want to let on how advanced his knowledge was. If he was to duel against Rofordit, he'd be tempted to use some of the advanced spells he'd been practicing with, and that could lead to an unwanted inquiry from the Headmaster.

Prefect patrols were starting to fall into a common occurrence as well. Harry's nights with Ginny were more fun and adventurous than those with Cami, but both partners were pleasant to be with.

Cami, for her part, got to know Harry beyond "his celebrity image," and found him to be a normal person, who was just often placed in abnormal situations. They talked about many thins during their long walks, and after the third week, even breached into more personal topics.

As he explained the inner workings of Gryffindor to shy girl, Harry learned a little about how the Hufflepuff house worked, and was surprised that they weren't as hopeless and easy to pushover as the rest of the school thought they were. They just let the other houses think what they wanted to, and went about their own business. Cami did admit however, that the past year had been hard. Ever since Cedric died (which Harry had to squash guilty feelings about all over again), a braver, older student hadn't yet stepped up to take his spot as a house icon. Gryffindor had Harry and the trio, she explained. Slytherin had Malfoy and his gang of thugs. Even Ravenclaw had Cho, recently Rodger Davies, and the upcoming genius of Terry Boot. So far though, the only student who attempted to show some house pride in Hufflepuff had been Zacharias Smith, and not many students liked him enough to show strong moral support. Hence, Hufflepuff was still struggling in student pride and recognition among all those at Hogwarts.

Harry's nights with Ginny, on the other hand, didn't include any type of depressing thoughts or deeply personal feelings. They left the meaningful stuff for their long talks after Quidditch practice. Instead, their Tuesday night patrols were lighthearted and fun. They most often patrolled the castle dungeon in hopes of catching Slytherins out of bed (that's what Draco and Pansy did, only looking for Gryffindors), made sure to check every broom closet and empty classroom for snogging couples, and even occasionally played pranks on the school caretaker Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris. That had stopped just last week though, when they got caught by McGonagall.

In her animagus form, the Transfiguration teacher had happened across a bit of catnip, which when licked, triggered a clever spell that surrounded the cat with trick steps and false floors. So whereas Mrs. Norris was supposed to fall into the stone floor until morning, McGonagall had triggered the trap instead, and got one hell of a nasty surprise. Even once she transformed back into her human self, it took her almost half an hour to pull herself out of the deep hole. Harry and Ginny had each been docked ten house points for that stunt, and neither had any doubt that they got off lucky because they were both in her house. It was well worth it, however. On the way back to the common room that night, the two joked about what possible reasons their head of house had for pawing around the castle at night, licking strange deposits of catnip. Oh, they theories they came up with!

The only consistencies between the patrol routes with the two different girls were the infrequent meetings with roaming aurors. During the day their presences was almost nil, but at night, there were usually at least four aurors patrolling the castle at all times. So far, Harry had only bumped into Tonks and Kinsley from the Order. He sometimes stopped to chat with them for awhile, but as Cami and Ginny were even less privy to Order information than he was, which was almost none at all, they never did have much to say besides the normal pleasantries.

Dawlish too Harry recognized, but he was much colder to the auror who had accompanied Fudge and tried to capture Dumbledore, than to the other Ministry aurors he passed in the hallways. Dawlish was the first to notice Harry that first meeting, and had tried to nod in recognition to the young man. Harry had simply ignored him. Since then, they had met three more times in the hallways, and Harry still only acknowledged the man with a cold glare. And every time Harry thought he might cut the aspiring auror a break, and return his head nod, all he had to do was remember the night of his Astronomy OWL, when Dawlish and his team attacked not only Hagrid, but Professor McGonagall as well.

Harry's focus turned back to Quidditch however early Wednesday morning, when he and Ginny called an extra practice session with the team. Up until the Slytherin game, they had all been practicing three times a week. The extra two hour session that Harry and Ginny just agreed to add to their schedule would now make it four. Needless to say, it wasn't a popular decision among the team.

The sun hadn't even risen when Harry inspected his tired and cranky team members on the pitch early that morning. They had all complained, one way or another, about being woken up so early. Ron and Frank had even talking about skiving off practice to get an extra few hours of sleep.

"Quite down; all of you!" Harry demanded. He didn't want to be overly harsh, but the situation called for force. And Ginny and he had long ago decided that when the situation arose, he had to play the bad cop. Ginny was simply no good with discipline, except maybe in the case of her brother. Harry supposed it was her mischievous nature that didn't allow her to punish and criticize others, because she herself caused more trouble than anyone else, now that the twins were gone.

"I know you all don't want to be here, but that's just too bad. I know it's only been a few days, but in case you've forgotten, we lost to Slytherin for the first time in five years last weekend. That's not something I want to happen again. Now, as Ginny and I have said before, we always expected this to be a rebuilding year for our team. And frankly, the way we preformed has already exceeded my expectations for this year's team. I happen to know that Professor McGonagall feels the same way too." There were a few proud faces and quiet cheers now among the tired athletes.

"However," Harry continued, in a warning tone, "those expectations were made before this year's team was decided, and before I could see what you could all do in practice. This team is capable of so much more than what we've done so far, and I don't want to lose another match this season. If we manage to beat both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff this year, there's still a chance we can play a rematch against Slytherin in the finals, and win the Quidditch Cup! So that's my new goal, and I expect all of you to work hard to achieve that. Ginny?"

"Right, I agree with Harry," she said. "Slytherin is going to be the hardest team to play against this season, and we've already seen what they can do. So now that we know our week points, we can work to fix them. Natalie, Connie....the two of you and me need to work more on teamwork. Harry and I have talked, and have come up with some great ideas to improve on that. We've also got to get used to being under fire, so I'm sorry to say that practices are going to get a little rougher for us.

"Philip?" Ginny looked for the seventh year boy, who diligently showed up for every team practice, even though he was only a reserve player. "From now on, Harry and I have decided that you're going to be on the pitch at all times during practices, not just when Frank or Neville need a break. In essence, we're changing the rules of the game to include three beaters, instead of two. There will also be three bludgers in play from now on at all times. Our hopes are that the chasers will be more alert on the field with the added danger, and the beaters will have more work cut out for them with the extra bludger. If all goes as planed, when it comes time to play a real game, and the numbers go back down to two, we should have a leg up on the opposition. The only thing we have to worry about is developing plays and defense strategies that rely heavily on having three beaters. Everyone understand?"

All the players, especially Natalie and Connie, looked a little nervous about the news, but cautiously shook their heads. Only Philip looked excited about the news, as he was now guaranteed equal playing time on the pitch, at least during team practices.

"Ron," Harry picked up where Ginny left off, "you did great the other day, so I don't think we need to improve on your skills much. I got to admit I did get a little concerned when you missed those first two shots, and the Slytherins started singing that blasted song, but things turned out OK. The only thing I can suggest, is if you have the time, take out any students who might want to spend some time flying, and have them shoot quaffles at you. You could even play keeper in a lot of the pick up games with the younger students. I know they're not up to our level of play, but I don't think the extra practice could hurt. It will also get you used to playing in front of others, which I think was your biggest problem last year. After a few weeks of being teased by the first and second years, which I'm going to tell them to do, I don't think Malfoy and his unoriginal comments will get under your skin so much."

Ron had turned a slight shade of red at having his faults aired in front of the entire team, but nodded that he understood. He honestly didn't expect to get off scott-free in the new Quidditch training regimen. He had, after all, let Slytherin score twenty eight goals against him. The fact that he blocked so many other attempts successfully, in such a long game, didn't lesson the sting any.

"And Neville, Frank, I want you two to meet me in the common room tonight after dinner. That endurance training we talked about is going to be the biggest task for you two to tackle. Now I'm not blaming you, but if we had our beaters at full capacity for the entire game last Saturday, I'm sure the score would have been different, and we would have won the game. We've got to change that by the time we play our next match. Now, Ginny and I have devised some flying drills that will help. The chasers will join in with those as well. And as we've said already, they'll be no more breaks when we substitute in Philip, so being on the pitch the entire time will help also. But I'll show you some independent work tonight that I expect you keep up with. Philip, you're more than welcome to join them, although it's not mandatory, especially as you've got NEWTs this year. The rest of the team is welcome to come also. I expect everyone could benefit from the extra work, if you've got the time and dedication." With a small smile, Harry added, "At the least, you can show up and watch Neville and Frank work their arses off!"

This caused the team to laugh as a whole, even if Neville and Frank's laughs were a bit forced. They didn't know what type of extra work they had in store for them, and Harry's comments hadn't lessoned their fears any.

Their fears were unfounded however, as they found out later that night. The whole team had shown up after dinner, which pleased Harry immensely, to find out the extra work he had arranged for the beaters was a workout cycle on muggle gym equipment, set up the day before by Harry with a little help from his house-elves.

Harry had explained his idea to McGonagall immediately after the Slytherin game, and she had quickly agreed. After approval from the Headmaster, McGonagall had added an extra room off the Gryffindor common room one night when everyone was asleep, and Harry had moved in his extra set of gym equipment from home the next day. This included a treadmill, two multi- purpose machines with adjustable weights, jump ropes, a heavy-bag, and a complete set of free weights. His second set of equipment was more advanced that the original machines Harry had bought for his trunk, and it took a full hour to explain to Neville and the others exactly how to work each piece of equipment. So the team could work out whenever they had some free time, the small room was hidden behind a portrait off the common room. And so Harry didn't have to worry about some random Gryffindor abusing the equipment or hurting themselves, the portrait was password protected. Just to make things easy on Neville, they made the password "Mimbulus Mimbletonia," so he wouldn't forget. After the stinky sap had been sprayed all over his face on the Hogwart's Express last year, Harry didn't think he would forget either.

The only restriction on the muggle gym equipment was that little Connie Wood was limited, if she chose to use any of it, to only using the treadmill, jump rope, and heavy bag. She wasn't allowed to use any of the heavier weights, as it could stunt her growth and normal development. While Natalie and Ginny surely still did have a little more to grow in future years, Connie was still pre-pubescent, and as such was more susceptible to developmental changes. Harry had been totally ignorant of the possibility until Professor McGonagall had pointed it out.

Now that he thought about it though, Harry knew what she meant. It was the type of thing that happened to female body builders, or female gymnasts even. Their metabolism was just not equipped to handle such drastic changes, and if forced, their bodies would react harshly. Abnormal levels of hormones, growth stunts, and psychological damage were all possibilities.

After getting over her embarrassment of being referred to as pre-pubescent, Connie had been very upset when hearing about her restriction. But after seeing a conjured picture of a female body builder from Harry, she had no more complaints. And toward the end of the year, Harry promised to ease her into some light circuit work that would train muscle tone, and not mass. That was enough for her.

And so Quidditch practices began again with a new vigor for the Gryffindor team. Four times a week, for two hours each time, they would all attempt the new and improved schedule that Harry and Ginny had devised. Each practice was much more game-like than previous years, but still had a fair amount of drills and conditioning. Neville and Frank promised to work out in the gym room at least an hour a day, and more if they could find the time. Neither were liking the exercises much, Harry knew, but he also knew that once they got over the initial discomfort of the movements, they'd find things much easier. Having a partner to work with you was invaluable too, as you couldn't skive off a session without disappointing the other. That had been one of Harry's major problems when he first started to work out. Hopefully Frank, Neville, and any others who chose to use the equipment wouldn't have that problem.

In was Wednesday night, after a full day of lessons, a successful meeting of the D.A., and a brutal Quidditch practice, that Harry and Ginny got to enjoy their first massage session of the week. The extra planning and team practices had cut further into the time they normally met.

Ginny's hands worked their magic on Harry's back as he melted into the flat massage table. Weeks ago both teens had gotten past any lingering embarrassment they might have had, and both were now comfortable topless in each other's presence. Well, not totally topless in Ginny's case, but nearly. Her support shirt still covered as much as a muggle bathing suit would, so nothing too improper was going on.

"I think these new strategies are really working well, Harry," Ginny said. "Frank and Neville already seems to last longer in the air, and I think Neville's swing is getting stronger too."

Harry could only moan an agreement in response. Ginny knew what he meant though. There was a distinct difference in the sounds of Harry's positive and negative moans.

"Natalie, Connie and I are working together better too. I think if we continue on at this rate, we might even be able to do away with hand signals all together. I never thought that what you came up with would work, but I'll admit it's very productive. It's even a little bit fun," she added with a giggle.

Harry moaned again, but the corners of his mouth also crept up in a smile that Ginny couldn't see. Ginny had been very vocal against some of Harry's ideas concerning training the chasers, and originally only agreed to give them a trial run. What she didn't know was that his ideas weren't very original at all, but instead were some of the techniques used by muggle athletic coaches, for various sports. Harry had read about them years ago in an abandoned book by Dudley left in his second bedroom.

What Harry had the chasers do, which Ginny had been against at first, was to spend all their meal times together. Not only that, but they were only allowed to talk to others around them, and never with each other directly. They could look at each other, use hand signals, even slap each other around the head if they wished. But they couldn't direct any of their comments to the other girls. To make sure that they complied, Harry made sure to sit right next to them for each and every meal. Ron and Hermione would usually sit to his other side, and the rest of the Quidditch team would sit on the other side of the chasers.

It was Harry's hopes, and the hopes of the insane muggle coaches who had developed this training technique, that by having the girls rely so much on body movement instead of speech when dealing with each other, that they'd get to know their needs and wants better. For instance, if Connie wanted for Ginny to pass the tray of pancakes at breakfast, normally she would need to vocalize her request. Now however, with the new rules in play and Harry's ever watchful eye always present, she'd have to point with her hands, or catch Ginny's eye to try to make her understand what she wanted. If all things went well, and the chasers gave the training a fair chance to work, eventually the coaches in the book Harry had read hypothesized that they wouldn't even need to point or make eye contact. The three chasers would be so attuned to each's needs and wants, that Ginny should be able to pass the platter of pancakes just as Connie was taking her last bite off her own plate. By not being able to speak, the three would have to learn the eating habits of the others, and would have to study the slightest body movements and gestures. If this practice could be translated to the Quidditch pitch, Harry hoped it would make the three girls a much more cohesive chaser unit. No longer would they have to rely on hard to pick up hand signals and vocal cues. Instead, they would know the others' movements and needs as if they were an extension of their own body. That was the hope, anyway. The three chasers were still a long ways off. Why just yesterday evening, after silently trying to ask Natalie to pass the gravy for over five minutes, Ginny had given up and stood up herself to get it. After applying a little to the turkey on her plate, she then proceeded to empty to full gravy boat on top of Natalie's head, who had been talking with Colin Creevy. Yes, they still needed more work.

"Are the D.A. meetings coming along as well as our Quidditch practices?" Ginny asked, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

He had to think about that one for awhile, but eventually answered.

"Yes, for the most part. I did expect to be along further this year then the level we are at now, but I think that's due to so many people joining the group. If it was only the members from last year, I know we'd be farther along. Still, I think it's important for as many people to be able to defend themselves properly. Better the whole school have a decent chance against a Death Eater, than just a dozen students having a better than average chance, I think. You've come along nicely, you know. I think I'm starting to see a corporeal form in you patronus even. What do you think it will be?"

Harry only half listened as Ginny went on to theorize what her patronus might be. If she had to make a guess, she thought it would be a crup or something equally as cute. Harry just rolled his eyes. He knew Ginny was half joking, but that was the problem. Her quirky sense of humor would love for her actual patronus to be something unusual and interesting. A crup itself wasn't unusual, but the mental picture of a five pound dog with a forked tail chasing away dozens of Dementors sure was. Even Harry giggled along at the image.

In his advanced D.A. group, about half had been able to conjure a corporeal patronus at least once. Only Harry's stag, Hermione's otter, Cho's swan, and lately surprisingly Neville's lion were the more constant visitors. Each of them could mange an animal form at every attempt. Ron had managed to produce a fox twice, and Susan, Ernie, Terry, Padma, and Seamus had also produced real forms more than once.

None of the newer members to the advanced group could produce a corporeal form yet, but two were well on there way. Orion and Cassiopeia Flint, twin fourth year Slytherins and younger siblings to ex-Slytherin Marcus Flint, had been the most surprising addition to the group, but some of the most potential.

As they admitted to Harry in not so many words, there parents were Death Eaters, and their older brother was well on his way. They however, hadn't ever noticed a difference between Pureblooded wizards and muggle-born, and didn't have the same prejudices that the rest of their family had. They also, thank Merlin, were more attractive and much brighter than their older brother.

Because they always stood by each other's side, and no one wanted to upset Marcus, the twins had been left alone for the most part by their housemates for their entire Hogwarts experience. But with Marcus's graduation, they were now being teased some by the older students, and soon feared that a few scuffles might break out. They had joined the D.A., therefore, to be more able to protect themselves from their housemates. And once they left school, they no doubt would need the skills to refuse the surmounting pressure to join in their parents' activities, which they knew was certain. They didn't want to be Death Eaters, so they had sworn in their second year that they'd learn everything possible to protect themselves later in life.

It had taken awhile for the others to accept the Slytherin duo, especially Ron, but after so many weekly meetings of the D.A., the group had all but forgotten the green colored patch the two had on their robes. They weren't the only Slytherins either. Previously unnoticed students popped out of the woodworks, all claiming to want to protect themselves from their housemates. Harry was amazed, and slightly embarrassed, that he never had noticed the amount of reluctant students in Slytherin house who didn't agree with some of the older student's ideals. Most were younger students, and none were seventh years, but there was a single sixth year student. Blaise Zabini was the brave loner who joined the D.A. hesitantly the first week, and soon proved her worth and was asked to move up to the advanced group.

Personally, Harry had no problems with Blaise, as she never consorted with Malfoy and his goons willingly. In fact, Harry couldn't remember a single instance in the past five years when she even so much as talked to other sixth year Slytherins, outside of class. And that was even including her own dorm mates, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode.

The large group of first year students that Harry had shown around school that first weekend were also some of the Slytherin members of the D.A. Only seven of the nine had joined, and they were in the novice group of course, but it made Harry feel proud that he might have been a part of the reason why they decided to join in the first place. He'd shown them that not all non-Slytherins were bad before house prejudices could set in, and for the most part it had worked. Sadly, Loren Zabini was one of the two first years who hadn't joined. Blaise later explained to Harry that once her parents noticed her less than enthusiastic attitude about ridding the world of muggles and half-breeds, they had redoubled their efforts in convincing their youngest child. Not everyone could be saved, Harry realized.

Even Professor Dumbledore had noticed most of the young students' attitudes, and had made a comment to Harry one night in the hallways, after dinner had concluded. "That is the most social and friendly bunch of Slytherins I've seen in many years, Harry. I heard about your little tour, of course, and I have no doubt that you had a large part to play in their attitude. Job well done," he had said.

Harry could only mumble a thank you. He mumbled again as he returned from his thoughts, as the extreme pleasure continued thanks to Ginny's ministrations.

"What was that, Harry? Honestly, you're worse than Ron with a mouthful of food!"

"I said, that feels wonderful. I don't think you've ever done that before, but I like it." Harry was commenting on Ginny's current actions, which were her hands kneading the sides of his torso and abdomens. Over the past weeks, their hands had roamed some from just the shoulders and back area, which is what both teens started with in their massages. Not roamed to any naughty places, Harry thought with a blush, but just to some more areas that got sore while playing Quidditch. Ginny had worked her way down Harry's back, and moved her hands to either side of his stomach. His oblique abs, which were a little pronounced from all his exercise, often got sore from all the twisting motions Harry made while riding his broomstick. Ginny was rubbing a slave into them presently that would relax his muscles' tension. It was something Harry had brewed himself, and smelled strongly of mint. It was a good thing however, that her hands never traveled below his hips, otherwise no salve would be able to relieve that muscle tension. Harry had long since tried to stop his body's reactions to the wonderful massages he received. It wasn't anything sexual, he knew, it was just in response to the pleasant stimuli. He was sure, however, to hide any embarrassing signs from Ginny, if he had to get up in a state of arousal. When that happened, he always made sure to leave the table facing away from her, and then put his robes back on.

"Well," Ginny giggled as she applied more pressure, "you'll have to show me how good it feels. I think I'm about done. My turn!"

In her excitement, Ginny slapped Harry's bum jokingly and roughly pushed him off the table. The pain of landing on the hard cold ground, and the shock of the sudden movement, put Harry's fears to rest that he might have to deal with an embarrassing situation. He was completely in control by the time he regained his footing, and Ginny was already lying on her stomach, with her face in the padded hole the table provided.

"Pay special attention to my shoulders today, I think I might have overdone it a bit with the passing drills."

"Yes, your highness!" Harry joked, as he reached across the table for some of the oils and lotions they normally used. The two had a few favorites, and the Room of Requirements always provided at least one new choice each time they met. Rubbing today's coconut scented oil between his palms to warm it, Harry asked some of his own questions.

"So, how's your workload coming along this year? OWL's getting to you yet?"

Ginny nodded her head as Harry began rubbing the junction of her neck and shoulders. It was the place he always started his massages, as it always seemed safe. With strong, slow stokes, he gently squeezed and kneaded his hands.

"It's not as bad as some of the others, I don't think," Ginny elaborated. "I known my dorm mates spend more time with homework than I do, and Luna says the same thing about hers'. Not that she spends a lot of time with them, mind you, but at least they stopped stealing her things this year."

Harry didn't know that to be true, but was glad. Earlier in the year he had talked to Padma and Cho about Luna's belongings being taken every year by her housemates, and had asked them to try and look out for his friend. They said they'd do what they could, and apparently it was working.

"We really do owe you and Hermione a lot for working with us so much. I know I got some advanced work done this summer because of looking at Ron's homework, but you two really are the reason I'm so ahead in my studies. I don't know how you find the time."

"Don't forget about Neville," Harry reminded her. "He's been helping you both with Herbology in the greenhouses. Hermione and I can't take all the credit." Twice a week Harry and Hermione met with the two fifth years to go over any concepts or work they had questions about. Hermione usually concentrated on Transfiguration, Arithmancy, History, and Potions, while Harry specialized in DADA, Charms, and CoMC. Neville addressed their Herbology concerns at a separate time each week. Harry had taken to giving Ginny a little extra help alone too sometimes when they both had nothing else to do. He would have done the dame with Luna, except with her being in a different house, it was harder to arrange times and places to meet. Usually his meetings with Ginny were at night in the common room, after one of them lost a game of chess to Ron, or something similar.

"Ohhhh, that's nice," Ginny mentioned of Harry's current actions. He had moved from her neck and shoulders to just her neck, and was now rubbing the oil into the base of her skull, above her hairline. Oddly, it was the same place that Sean Hazelton had a Dark Mark burnt into his flesh.

Shaking the sickly feelings in his stomach at remembering some of his captured Death Eater's crimes, Harry continued in his work, now moving his hands to either side of Ginny's neck. The area around her throat, and behind her ears, all got their just due, and were paid special attention before Harry moved on. Hands creeping lower, Harry continued down the line of her spine, past the middle of her back, to the waistline of her pants. The cooler weather in the air caused both teens to wear pants now instead of shorts during team practices, but Harry didn't notice. He forced himself never to look past Ginny's waistline, because regardless of whether she was wearing pants or shorts, the material was always stretched tightly across her bum as she laid on the table. Instead, Harry dug his thumbs into the slight depression in the small of her back, and used his fingers to grab onto her hips to get better leverage.

"Ron feels a little left out, you know, not being able to tutor me in any subject. He offered to teach some Divination, but I had to remind him that I don't take the subject." It amazed Harry that Ginny had no trouble stringing together coherent sentences while he worked on her. In her position, Harry at best could only use single syllable words to answer any questions.

"I think Ron will get over it," Harry replied. "He may say differently, but we both know if he had to spend extra time on school work that wasn't even his, he'd do nothing but complain. Besides, Ron's got other things on his mind now. Let's just say it's a good thing you don't have Dean helping you study. I don't think Ron would like to see the two of you alone, no matter the excuse. He still thinks the two of you are dating, you know."

Ginny laughed. "Really? Boy, my brother really is thick sometimes, isn't he? Dean and I have hardly spent any time alone together. I'm always busy with the Quidditch team these days."

"That's the reason why Ron's still suspicious," Harry informed her. "Ron thinks because he doesn't see the two of you spending a lot of time together, that you must be sneaking around at night. I even caught Ron once trying to break into my trunk to get at the Marauder's Map and my invisibility cloak. I think he was going to try to spy on the two of you."

Ginny was angry at hearing that. Even though she had nothing to worry about, she was mad that Ron would feel the need to spy on her. To calm the fiery redhead down some, Harry moved his attention to massaging Ginny's shoulder blades just underneath her armpits. He knew this was her one weak spot, and would head off her tirade before it began. Positioning his thumbs behind the large bones of her shoulder blades, Harry worked his fingers into her sides. To his surprise, Harry found that the support shirt she wore that day ended right where his fingers landed. The material stopped just under her arms, and only the three thin straps continued across her back. Harry was slightly temped to push his fingers under the material of the sides of her support shirt to get better access to her ribcage, but decided against it. The area was too close to other parts of Ginny that Harry didn't want to think about, and he figured the area was covered by her support shirt for a reason.

To distract his mind, Harry thought back to the night he had caught Ron attempting to break into his trunk. It was the night after the Quidditch game, and Harry had just got back from the owlery, after sending his first report letter to Walt Whiggman about his new broom's performance, when he entered his dorm room to find Ron kneeling before Harry's trunk. He had a letter opener in his hands, and was trying to pry the halves of the trunk apart.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harry demanded. If truth be told, he was a little angry that Ron would invade his personal space like this. He wasn't worried about Ron actually opening the trunk and discovering his many secrets, but Harry was hurt and disappointed that not only would Ron attempt to gain entrance without Harry's permission, but he'd also resort to trying to break open the trunk's seal. The trunk had belonged to his grandfather, and was one of the only family belongings Harry owned. What made it worse, was that Ron knew that as well, and was still trying to use the envelope opener like a crowbar.

"Trying to get at your map and cloak." Ron didn't even bother to look Harry's way, and had the gall to continue trying to pry open his trunk. Harry actually had to cross the room to pull his friend away before Ron stopped.

"What the bloody hell do you expect to achieve with a letter opener? I told you about all the security precautions built into this trunk. The worse you can hope to do is mare the finish, you sodding git! If you want to borrow something from me you need to ask, not take it without my permission."

"Gee, sorry! No need to get tetchy about it. Can I borrow your invisibility cloak and map, then? There's something I want to check on." Ron still didn't look even the least bit ashamed.

'What do you want to use them for?" Harry asked.

"Ginny is up to no good with Dean. I just know it! Problem is, I can never catch them at anything, so I can't write home about it. I need to find where the two of them meet up, so I want to use your cloak to sneak up on them. Come on now, open the trunk! I saw Ginny leaving the common room ten minutes ago, and Dean's nowhere to be found. He better not lay a finger on my baby sister!"

Harry didn't know what to do, but for some reason, maybe because of his anger at catching Ron trying to invade his privacy, he purposely refused the offer.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no, Ron," Harry explained. "It's my cloak and my map, and right now I don't want to lend them to you. Besides, what Ginny and Dean do with their own time is none of your business. I've got locks on my trunk for a reason, and if I wanted you to be able to get in there whenever you wanted, I would have left it open."

"But how else was I supposed to get in?" Ron threw his hands up in annoyance. "You were no where to be found, and you forgot to key me into the security thingy when you showed all of us your trunk's features."

From there the conversation got even worse. Ron had expected to have free access to Harry's things, and when Harry admitted that he didn't forget to key Ron in, but purposely didn't do it, Ron got even angrier. He accused Harry of hiding things from his best mate, and had brought up the fact that they weren't spending as much time together this year as normal, with the exceptions of classes and Quidditch practice.

Harry knew that Ron was right, about not spending enough time with him at least, but was too angry to admit it. Besides, Ron was not right about the rest. Harry had very good reasons to keep the trunk to himself, even if he couldn't tell Ron what those reasons were.

That night at dinner, and the rest of the evening, Ron and Harry continued to be cold towards each other. They made up at breakfast the next day though, over one of their famous bacon strip eating contests encouraged by Hermione. She had noticed the tension between the two, and had thought of an excellent way for the two hot-headed friends to make up. Harry only managed to eat seventeen that day, but Ron had gone on strong to eat a record breaking forty two strips! After an impressive victory like that, Harry had to congratulate Ron, and apologize for overreacting the previous day. Ron accepted the apology, and offered one of his own. He said all the right things, and had no doubt been coached by Hermione on what to say. By lunch, they were both back to best friends. It was a good thing too, as Harry had to escort Ron to the Hospital Wing for not feeling too well. The only thing that hadn't been resolved was Ron's access to Harry's trunk.

"We should play a prank on him, you know, to teach him to mind his own business." Ginny's comment brought Harry back to the present, and he moved his hands back up to Ginny's shoulders now. They were the area she was most concerned about after all.

"Like what?" Harry asked. Despite the fact that the infamous Prongs was his father, Harry really didn't think the same way Ginny, the twins, or the Marauders did. He had more important things on his mind; like Voldemort. He'd been very quite lately, and Harry hadn't had a vision in over a month.

"I'm not sure," Ginny answered. "I need to think about it. It's got to be something that will teach him a lesson, but at the same time makes him see that he's overreacting about this whole 'big-brother' routine. Dean and I may not be doing anything, but some day I will be, and Ron's got to accept that he can't control my actions. Speaking of which, we should really let poor Dean off the hook with Ron as well. I think their friendship's starting to suffer over this. Dean's only pretending to be my boyfriend because I asked him to. He really doesn't like lying to Ron though. Maybe we can include this in the prank?"

Harry was now squeezing Ginny's upper arms, from her elbows to her shoulders, and then back again. He'd had to apply more oil awhile ago, so his hands were plenty lubricated. With her arms stretched out over her head on the table, Harry had no problems accessing all of Ginny's nooks and crannies.

"Maybe you can pretend to get another boyfriend, to let Dean off the hook? I'm sure Neville or someone else wouldn't mind pretending for awhile."

"Nahh, that wouldn't work. Ron knows we're only friends now, and I wouldn't want to lead Neville on any, even if it was only pretend." Ginny paused to ponder. With an evil grin Harry couldn't see, she calmly offered another suggestion.

"We could always tell Ron that you and I are together? We could even tell him all about these sessions we've been having. I'm sure Ron would completely understand all the massage oils and everything."

Harry's hands froze on her back until he realized she was just kidding. It took a moment, but Ginny's uncontrollable laughter broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Why you little..." Harry was pretending to chock Ginny's neck now, even though he couldn't get a proper hold with his slippery hands.

"Hehehe, you're so easy to get sometimes, Harry. It's a wonder you catch on to any of my jokes!"

Harry thought it was funny too, but pretended to be outraged and hurt. When Ginny continued to giggle, Harry grabbed the closest bottle of oil he could find, and squeezed a generous portion all over her back. Not being warmed up between his hands, it was shockingly cold, and caused Ginny to shriek with surprise, as she wiggled around on the table uncomfortably.

"Ahhhh, that was evil Harry Potter! You'll pay for that. Don't think I'll forget, either. I'll get you back when you least expect it!" Harry's face was red from laughing so hard, and his eyes filled with mirth at the look on Ginny's face. She was sitting on the table properly now, the massage completely forgotten after she got doused with cold oil.

"I know! That give me an idea of how we can prank Ron!" Ginny clapped her hands together. Harry didn't know what she was talking about, so he asked.

"You're face Harry; it's all red. It reminded me of that one time Fred gave Katie Bell all those hickies and love bites. Her whole neck was red for days. Ron would just go bonkers if he found me with those same marks. And I know he'd confront me about them, and blame Dean. I can simply tell Ron that Dean had nothing to do with them, and that we broke up weeks ago. It's perfect!"

"Errr, Ginny? You're forgetting one thing." Harry thought the fault in the plan was obvious. "You don't have hickies or any other kind of marks on your neck. The plan kind of centers around that. And I'm not sure Dean would be willing to incur Ron's wrath much farther. That might be asking too much of him.

Ginny giggled again. "No, not Dean, silly. That's where you come in. Ron would never expect it from you, and seeing as how you're already here, we might as well act on this tonight. If I hurry, I can just get off a letter to put phase two of my plan in action."

Harry didn't hear anything about phase two however, because he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he'd have to give Ginny the love bites her plan demanded. But that meant that....

"Ginny! I can't do that! I'd have to suck on your neck to make hickies, and I'm pretty sure Ron would kill me if he ever found out!"

Ginny was positively bouncing now with an odd mix of anticipation, excitement, and humor. The thought of having Harry kiss and nibble on her neck had crossed her mind, and the thoughts were quite nice, but she was more excited about the reaction Ron would show.

"Don't worry Harry, I don't mind. Besides, it's not like it will mean anything. It'll only take a few moments, and no one ever has to know that you did it. I promise. Just think of the reaction it will get from Ron, though. This will be priceless! I can have Colin take some picture of Ron even, and send them to Fred and George. They'll be so proud of me. Please Harry? I won't bite....that'll be your job." Ginny went into another fit of giggles when she realized what she said.

There was a very short list of things he'd rather do than to kiss Ginny on the neck. She was, after all, a very attractive girl. Harry would have to be blind not to notice, especially after spending so much time alone with her these past few months. Still, just that fact that he wanted to go through with this, was reason enough to convince him that he shouldn't. He might get carried away, or do it wrong, or any number of things. No, this was definitely a bad idea.

Seaming to read his mind, Ginny reached out to grab his hands, and she pulled Harry in to stand right in front of her. She was still sitting on the edge of the massage table, and now Harry was standing in between her legs, bashfully looking away.

"Come on Harry, just pretend that I'm someone else. Someone who sends you pink colored letters every week, perhaps?"

Harry's eyes shot to Ginny when she said that. "How do you know?" He thought he'd kept his relationship with Amber secret, even from his closets friends. It's not that he was embarrassed or anything. Harry just liked having something that was just his. Something that his friends didn't know about.

"I don't really. But it's not hard to figure out. Really, Harry. Pink letters? If you were trying to keep it a secret, you should have been more careful about things. Only a girl would write on pink parchment, and she'd only use it to write love letters. Plus the fact that not a week goes by that you don't receive one, and it's not hard to deduce. What's her name?"

"Her name's Amber, and they're not love letters. We're just pen pals, sort of."

Sort of indeed. Ginny almost laughed, but instead asked more about her.

"We meet this summer at Madam Malkin's robe shop. She works there, and she helped me pick out my new robes this year. When we were done that day, she asked if she could see me again, but I had to say no. I tried explaining to her that I wasn't allowed to just go about town like normal. And even if I could, I wouldn't want to, with reporters and fans following me everywhere. She seemed to understand, but only after I promised I'd come see her again if I was ever near Diagon Alley again. I did meet her once more, and we had lunch in muggle London together, but that was the last time I've seen her. We both promised to write each other, though, and that's what we've been doing."

"So she spent hours dressing you the first time you met, and the second time was out on a date? Sounds to me like a lady friend, Harry," Ginny teased. "Did you kiss her?"

What!!! Harry couldn't believe Ginny had been forward enough to ask that, and couldn't form the words to answer. He didn't have to though, as his blush answered Ginny's question for her.

"Ohhhh," she squealed, "you did! See, it's not that hard. Just pretend I'm her for a moment. All you have to do is kiss and suck on my neck, after all. It's not like we're snogging or anything."

"I don't even know how to do this," Harry mumbled.

"What?" Ginny hadn't heard what he said, and asked him to repeat himself. So he did.

"Really? I thought you and Cho did this type of thing last year. What about Lavender and Pavarti? They're always going on about how good of a kisser you are."

Now it was Harry's turn to shoot up an eyebrow and ask Ginny to repeat herself.

"Lavender and Pavarti? I've never kissed them! What on earth are they talking about? I think once we're done getting even with Ron, we might have to play a joke or two on those airheads."

"Don't get off the subject. Although it does make sense now; that those two never talked about you when Hermione was around. They only brag about you to the younger girls. Anyway, just kiss and nibble on my neck a little. There's really not a way to do this wrong. And as long as you don't draw blood, I'm sure I won't complain."

Harry backed off a bit by Ginny's candor, and she had to pull him back in. She still had a grip on both his hands. "Really, Harry. You're too easy to scare, and it's too much fun. If only You-Know-Who knew how scared you were of intimacy, maybe he'd try to kiss you to death."

"That's not funny," Harry growled. It was though, sort of. Especially since Harry wasn't sure if Voldemort even had lips. If he did, they were way thinner than even McGonagall's.

"Oh shut up already and suck on my neck! Remember; think of Amber. And don't stop until you get some good marks on there either, or we'll have to do this all over again."

Harry thought again of backing out, but the strong grip Ginny had on Harry's hands wouldn't allow him to escape. Besides, it would be funny to see Ron's reaction. And kissing Ginny, even if it was only on the neck, wouldn't be too bad either. Maybe Harry wouldn't even need to spy on the seventh year girls tonight with his x-ray lens. So taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes so he didn't see the look on Ginny's face, Harry pushed his mouth forward to the crook of her throat, and opened his mouth when he felt skin.

At first all he did was get an air-tight seal on her skin, and create a vacuum. He had heard once that that's how hickies formed; suction broke capillaries in the skin that caused discoloration. But Harry wasn't sure, so after a few seconds, which seemed like hours, he started to move some. Merlin, he wished Hermione was here. Not that he needed another female present (the thought caused a deeper blush that was already on his face), but because she'd be able to tell him the best way to go about marking Ginny. Hermione no doubt had read up on the subject.

Moving his mouth a little higher, Harry started to close his mouth some, and let the air-tight seal break. When it did, he hesitantly pushed his tongue onto Ginny's skin, and began to move it in small circles. Surprised by the coconut taste of the oil he'd applied himself, Harry became more confident in his strokes as he lapped up the tasty skin.

In the back of his head Harry thought he might have heard Ginny make a sigh, but he convinced himself that he'd heard wrong. She was just probably just giggling at his attempt. Strangely not discouraged by this, Harry continued his exploration, and licked at the tender flesh right below Ginny's earlobe. He flicked it experimentally, and found that he liked the odd shape of Ginny's ear. He sucked on it for a moment before winding his trail back down. Harry wasn't convinced he had caused enough marks on Ginny's neck, and there was a lot more space to explore.

Sometime later, more than a minute, but less than five, Harry realized his hands, which were previously flat on the table to either side of Ginny, were now resting gently on her hips. He didn't remember moving his hands there, but honestly, his attention was placed elsewhere. He had really enjoyed himself.

Stunned by his lack of control, Harry pulled away quickly. A thin saliva thread linked his now closed mouth with Ginny's red neck, and Harry was embarrassed that she might see his slobber. Not thinking clearly, Harry went in for a last lick to clean up his mess. Ginny was surprised by the move (she had opened her eyes as Harry's mouth first left her skin), and let out a short sound. Harry didn't know if it was a moan or a sign, but this time it was most definitely not a giggle.

The silence now broken, and with both teen's attention on Harry's hands on Ginny's hips, the two sprung apart fast enough to topple the massage table. Neither noticed though, as Harry busily collected his training gear, and Ginny threw on some robes, noticing for the first time since they began these massages how exposed her outfit really made her.

"Well, umm, I certainly think that's enough," Ginny got out nervously. "I don't have a mirror handy, but I'm sure you left some pretty decent marks. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast then?"

Harry, who didn't notice the mirror springing into existence behind Ginny, agreed quickly. "Breakfast, yes. See you then. Goodnight Ginny."

And so the two retired to their separate dorms. Even though the walk from the Room of Requirement to the Gryffindor common room was the same for each, somehow they managed two different routes, so they wouldn't have to walk together. Once tucked in for bed, each teen knew they were in for a sleepless night, too busy worrying about the other's reaction to what they had just done.

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The next morning at breakfast, Harry did all he could to avoid sitting near Ginny. Unfortunately, the whole house was used to his sitting arrangement to sit near the chasers to oversee their non-verbal meal, so the only group of open seats were the usual. Harry might have been able to find room next to the first years near the end of the table, but that would have appeared too odd.

Ginny was already eating when he sat down, and Harry was happy that he at least had some time with her alone to get past any strange tension before Ron showed up. Since Harry didn't rely on the tower showers, he usually beat Ron down in the mornings. It was a good thing too, because judging by the red marks on Ginny's neck, Ron would throw one hell of a fit.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Ginny chose that moment to speak for the first time. If she still felt at all embarrassed or funny about their little act the day before, her face showed no sign.

"Some marks I got, huh Harry?" Ginny asked with a suggestive smile. Some of the girls near her giggled as they couldn't help but overhear, and Harry could only hope that Ginny kept her promise of not telling anyone that he caused them.

"Let's just wait and see what Ron thinks of them. It's his opinion that matters, now isn't it?" Harry was very proud of the poker face he wore. Inside though, he was still remembering her coconut flavored skin.

"Oh, by the way, do you think Hedwig could deliver a message for me later today? Possibly after breakfast? I meant to send an owl out last night, but I forgot." Harry could have sworn he saw her face turn an extra shade of pink. It was hard to tell though, with all the hickies she wore. "Now I'm afraid it won't arrive on time if I still use an owl."

Harry wondered what Ginny needed to send such a fast message for, but didn't have time to ask. "Sure, but remind me later. Here comes Ron! I don't really know what you plan on telling him, so please leave me out of whatever story you concoct. I'd hate to be the guy who Ron blames for all this!"

True enough, Ron was heading down the isle, with Hermione right behind him. As she was usually up early in the morning studying in the common room, she always waited for whoever took the longest to get ready, and escorted them to breakfast. This past year, it was mostly Ron.

Ron greeted his friends good morning like normal, and then proceeded to load his plate with kippers, eggs, waffles, bacon, and muffins. If history served to repeat itself, it was only the first of at least three breakfast plates he would make for himself.

So far he hadn't even looked up to face his sister or Harry, and instead was trying to hold a conversation with his face planted in his plate. Ron's theory was, the closer your mouth was to the food, the more you could eat in any given time. Luckily, Hermione had better table manners, and therefore noticed Ginny's indiscretion for those who hadn't yet.

"Ginny, where on earth did those come from? You've been snogging! I hope you weren't in the Astronomy tower last night! That's against school rules."

"Wha...?" Ron couldn't form the full word because of his mouthful of potatoes, but when he looked up to see what Hermione was talking about, he swallowed real fast and lashed out with his Weasley temper.

"Ginny, did Dean do that? I'm going to kill him! Oy, Dean, what do you think you're doing with my baby sister?"

Dean, who was sitting on the other end of the table, had been warned already that Ginny had a joke to play on Ron, so he wasn't worried like he'd normally be. He was also relieved that Ginny promised he wouldn't have to pretend anymore to Ron to be interested in his sister.

"Chill Ron, it wasn't me mate. When I mark my women, I make sure to do it where no one sees."

Ron's eyes bulged out as he looked back to Ginny. "He better have not marked you anywhere where I can't see! What do you think you're on about, Ginny? Wait till Mum hears about this!"

"Ron," Ginny admonished. She had taken a tone that showed only mild interest and annoyance. "Dean just said that he didn't do anything. If you're referring to the hickies on my neck, I'm sorry you had to see them. But I've run out of the special make-up that covers them up. And Dean and I broke up weeks ago, if you'd only care to notice. I think he's interested in Pavarti now."

"Well, then who have you been snogging with? And where has this been happening? I demand to know!"

Ginny laughed. "Oh, you demand do you? Well fine, I'll tell you. I was in one of the broom closets on the second floor last night after dinner, and who I kiss in none of your business. You're just jealous that I've got someone!"

Ron was outraged. "Jealous? As if! At least I'm not running around school, snogging every boy I see! You still haven't told me who you've been seeing, though. As your brother, I think I have the right to know who your new boyfriend is!"

"I don't have a new boyfriend. What are you talking about?" Only Harry, because his head wasn't pounding with rage and surprise, could tell that silently Ginny was loving every minute of this. She must have planned out every detail of what she was going to say the night before. Hermione had caught on too by now. Smart one, that witch was. Harry and her shared a small conspiratory smile before turning their attention back to Ron.

Ron's anger was momentarily interrupted by his confusion at Ginny's confession. "What do you mean you don't have a boyfriend? Who have you been kissing then?"

Ginny waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I don't know. Whoever pulled me into that broom closet, I suppose. He was a good kisser though. I should have gotten his name before I left, but I did see that his robe's house patch was either blue or green. So I guess it was someone in either Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

"Oh Hell," Harry thought. Ginny had just said the magic word. He was trying desperately now to hold in his laughter, as was Hermione and a few others. Ron didn't seem to notice though. He had other things on his mind.

"SLYTHERIN! What in bloody hell do you think you're doing with a Slytherin! And you don't even know who it was? It could have been Malfoy, for all you know! You're turning into a Scarlet Woman, Ginny! Wait till Mum hears about this!"

At Ron's outburst, the whole hall had turned their attention to the sibling argument, and for the first time Harry thought they might have taken this prank a little too far. He'd had no idea that Ginny was going to say so much. He only thought that she'd make a joke about a new boyfriend, and then immediately let Ron in on the scheme once he started to fume. But Harry knew things were way out of control now, because McGonagall was stalking her way from the staff table with a tight lipped frown on her face, and she certainly wasn't here to award points.

"Mr. Weasley. You will kindly refrain from making remarks like that about the other school houses. That will be fifteen points from Gryffindor. Now please stop shouting and return to your breakfast."

"But, but..." Ron could only stutter. Still overwhelmed by Ginny's confession, he couldn't string any words together.

"But nothing. That will be quite enough out of you, or else you'll be serving a detention with Professor Snape tonight." Whoa, McGonagall must be really brassed off is she was threatening one of her own students with a detention with Snape. Then again, Ron did embarrass his whole house by his outburst.

Ron knew at least to keep his mouth shut, but he shot some death glares at Ginny until Professor McGonagall walked away. Once she did, Ron gave one more dirty look, and then picked up his things and stalked out of the room. Once the Great Hall doors closed, Harry and Hermione burst out laughing, and Ginny joined in with them. All the tension from the day before was forgotten in light of Ron's explosion.

"Ginny, I think you might have taken things too far," Harry managed to say through his laughter.

She responded, "Well, I never meant for him to lose any house points, but he should have known better than to erupt like that in front of the staff. I honestly thought he'd wait until we got back into the common room. Still, my plan's not complete yet. There's still phase two."

"Phase two?" Hermione asked. "I'm still waiting to hear what phase one was about."

So Ginny and Harry quickly filled her in. They said nothing about who Ginny had actually gotten intimate with to receive her be speckled appearance, but Hermione had picked up on the odd vibe between them in the early parts of the meal. Wisely though, she said nothing. If Harry and Ginny wanted her to know something else, they'd tell her.

"Hermione," Harry asked out of the blue. The three had returned to finish their meals, and Ginny had just passed a platter of hash brown to Connie. Even during her tale told to Ron, Ginny had paid a little attention to her fellow chasers. A lack of concentration could result with a maple syrup bath, she knew quite well. "Is that a new necklace? I don't think I've seen it before. It's quite nice."

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush and look flustered. Her robe must of fallen open part way when she was laughing so hard, and her necklace had slipped out from underneath.

"Told you he'd notice eventually," Ginny said. The two swapped a short giggle and then Hermione explained.

"It was a birthday present from Victor. You didn't think I only got presents from you guys and my parents, now did you? He wrote that it's a Bulgarian custom to exchange birthstone with friends, so he sent this nice Sapphire pendant in his last letter. It's lovely, isn't it."

Indeed it was, and Harry couldn't believe he had missed it in more than the month that had passed since Hermione's birthday. The stone itself wasn't cut in any particular shape, but rather left in it's raw form. It was highly polished though, and a delicate gold chain was attached that was just long enough to keep the necklace from being hidden from under Hermione's shirt. Actually, the pendant drew attention to the V-shape of her blouse, and rested nicely in the swell of her chest. Harry dared not think about it any further. That damn x-ray charm was more trouble that it was worth! The things his mind thought of these days!

"Victor, huh? I didn't know that you two were still writing. Why haven't you told us about this before?"

Ginny answered for Hermione this time. She must have still been upset at Ron, because she wasn't pulling any punches with her answer.

"Well, I knew about it of course, as did Lavender and Pavarti. A few others, I suspect as well. But we didn't tell you and Ron about it, because if you hadn't noticed, my prat of a brother gets insanely jealous whenever a certain Bulgarian seeker's name gets mentioned."

Hermione had blushed a little at Ginny's explanation, and felt she needed to clarify. "Victor and I are just friends, if you must know. I did visit him a few days this summer, but things were kept strictly platonic. However, I get the feeling he wants more, and judging by the expensive necklace, I think I'm right. I'm going to try and let him down easily, but it might take some time. I'm just not ready for any type of long-distance relationship. I haven't even had a short-distance one yet. Ron however, sees red every time Victor's name is mentioned, and I don't think he'd understand. So if you don't mind Harry, please don't tell Ron any of this. Give me some time to write Victor and work this out. Oh, he told me to tell you he thinks Rowen is a fine specimen. He congratulates you on picking him out." Hermione paused to giggle, "I think he's a little jealous that you picked out such a practical gift, when he himself went a little overboard."

It took a moment for Harry to process all that he had been told, but got it after awhile. Ron could get mighty jealous, and it seemed that Hermione and Ginny were both somewhat aware of Ron's crush on Hermione. Harry wondered though if they knew how long it had gone on for. Harry wondered in Ron even knew how far back the attraction had gone. Harry himself guessed at least back to the beginning of their fourth year.

"Tell Victor I said hi, next time you write. Tell him to look for a new broom on the market soon too, by Walt Whiggman. He won't want to pass up that opportunity." Harry couldn't think of much more to say.

Hermione nodded, and though it nice to warn a fellow seeker about the new, upcoming broom. Victor, she figured, might be one of the few people she knew who could appreciate it's increased performance over the Firebolt. On a person like Malfoy, the subtle difference would be lost. Just because Hermione couldn't fly to save her life, doesn't mean she's not knowledgeable about the sport, after all. She was friends with Ron, Ginny, and Harry, who were all obsessed with the game. She'd picked up a few facts over the years.

"Now Ginny, what's this about phase two?"

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Phase two, as both Hermione and Harry found out the next day, occurred when Ron received a letter from his Mum. The day before, he had written home the moment he had stormed out of the Great Hall, and had then spent the day ignoring the lot of them. He wasn't actually mad at Harry or Hermione, he was just too frustrated to enjoy any of his free time. He'd turned in early the night before, and Harry could hear him tossing and turning in bed well into the night.

Ginny made sure to look over to Ron as he read the letter, but made it appear as if she wasn't interested. Harry and Hermione, who had both been informed of what phase two consisted of, made sure they had good seats for viewing. The show was about to begin.

Ron's eyebrows crawled up on his forehead as he finished the letter, and he threw it down in disgust. Looking over to Ginny, he spat out, "Mum says hi, and asks how you're doing in your OWL year!" With that, he strode out of the room once more, cursing his own family under his breath. "Mental, the whole lot of them!"

The second he left, Harry grabbed the letter before anyone else could, and read it aloud for those who were in on the joke. By now, the entire Quidditch team, Ginny's dorm mates, Dean, Lavender, and Pavarti were all apprised on the situation.

Dear Ron,

You should be ashamed of scolding you sister in public like that. As
far as I can tell, she's done nothing wrong. You yourself admitted
that you only saw kiss and bite marks on Ginny's neck, and that hardy
constitutes being a Scarlet Woman. She'd have to do a lot more than
just some snogging to earn that title. And for your information, it's
not that uncommon for teenage couples to be snogging in broom closets!
Why, I can tell you stories about when your father and I were at
school! In fact, I think we even used that same closet on the second
floor you wrote about. An animal, your father used to be! Anyway,
back to the subject.

Honestly, I don't think you know how hard it is to be a teenage girl.
Especially coming from our family, Ginny's got to work every advantage
she can use to snag a man who might want to marry her. We can't
afford her beautiful clothes or fancy smelling perfumes, so if Ginny's
got to give a little TLC to get boys interested, than that's just fine
with me.

So please refrain from interfering in Ginny's love life, unless you
want her to use her favorite Bat Boogey Hex on you. You know she will
too, if you keep up this attitude. Maybe you should redirect your
frustration elsewhere, and find a girlfriend yourself. You're such a
handsome boy, I'm sure you'd have no problems finding a nice girl to
take up with. Let me know if you do find someone, and I'll be sure to
make her a jumper this Christmas.

Love,

Mum

P.S. Say hello to your sister for me, and tell her to write home
soon. I want to hear all about her OWL year, and more about these
lucky boys she's been meeting. I smell Girl Talk!

Harry's eyes were tearing as he managed to finish the letter. Oh, he didn't know that Mrs. Weasley had it in her! Now Harry knew where Ginny inherited her sense of humor from. It wasn't the twins; it was her mother! Fred and George must have taken after her as well. Maybe that's why she's always so critical of their work. Perhaps Mrs. Weasley thinks they could do better.

The rest of the Gryffindors were falling all over themselves, as well. Most had meet Mrs. Weasley at one point or another, and none could imagine her really saying the things in her letter, which was so funny.

Phase two of Ginny's plan, was writing a letter to her mum, asking her to go along with the prank played on Ron. She explained how he'd been unbearable to Dean, and how he was even sneaking around school, trying to spy on her. The whole reason Ginny needed to borrow Hedwig, was so that her letter would arrive before Ron's did, so Mrs. Weasley had plenty of warning.

In her reply written to Ginny, Mrs. Weasley had reluctantly agreed to participate in the prank, as long as they didn't take things too far. Ginny was instructed to tell Ron the truth about her hickies, and about the false letter, the same day Ron received it. Otherwise, her mum feared her son would never forgive her.

A post script at the bottom of Ginny's letter had also wondered what charm or potion she had used to simulate hickies on her neck. Ginny had hastily skimmed through that part in her explanation, and it was Mrs. Weasley's own assumption that led to her thinking of potions and charms. In her next letter home, Ginny would just have to say that "a resourceful friend helped me with the problem." Hopefully, she'd just make another wrong assumption; this time that it was Hermione who helped.

Needless to say, later that night after being forced out of his dorm room to confront all those who were in on the joke, Ron took the news with a grain of salt. Ginny had even told the entire truth about Dean, and how they had never really gone out. It was only an act to infuriate Ron, which had worked splendidly. Harry didn't know who was more relieved at the news; Ron or Dean. Each shared a few play punches with the other, and Harry was glad to see his dorm mates back to close friends.

Ron was still a little upset that Ginny had gone so far to play a joke on him, and even more upset that so many others were in on it. Though, even he admitted he could see a little humor in it all. Especially the letter from his mum, which Harry had saved, and let Ron read again. Now that he knew his mother was in on the prank, it really was funny. How could he have been so thick to believe all that?

With a few more laughs and good natured ribbing, all the Gryffindors turned in for bed late that night. Tomorrow would be the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. The annual Halloween Feast was also being held that weekend, and everyone always looked forward to the great food and fun. Little did they know that friends, food, and fun weren't high up on Voldemort's list of things to do....

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AUTHOR NOTES:

I'm back everyone! Sorry about the delay, but as the members of my Yahoo! Group know, I had family in town for a cousin's graduation, and I took some time off. I'm back with a vengeance though, and you can hopefully expect the next chapter in a few days. Don't get used to such fast updates though, this is a one time deal to make up for my truancy. I've also been getting a lot of reviews lately complaining about my lengthy AN's at the end of each chapter. I figure it's only fair that if you take the time to read my fic, I take the time and space to address some of your comments. I know they can get kind of long winded, but unlike some authors who write a 5 page chapter, then a 3 page AN, I hope that my VERY LONG (20 pages minimum!) chapters justify me writing 2 or 3 pages of AN's. And so far I haven't gotten a single warning from the staff here at FF.net, so I see no need to stop. So if these AN's bother you, then feel free to stop reading once I finish the chapter. That's why I write them at the end, after all. I hope all the shippers out there liked the sexual tension and physicality of his chapter. You can be sure it won't get any further than this, and it will be some time until I return to writing like this. Next chapter is pure action. I'm talking Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vin Diesel, Wesley Snipes hardcore action! And now, because I've been gone for a long time, and I've gotten more than the usual number of reviews, here's a lot of those responses I was talking about:

Numba1 – I agree it was a lot of Quidditch, but where did you think I got the chapter title from? You'll be pleased to know that for future games, I'll streamline the action more, and write less. But I accomplished my goal of writing a Quid game, and I think the end result wasn't as terrible as I thought it'd be. Glad you appreciated the DE scene, even if it was harsh. I have to disagree with your statement though that HP are children's books. I believe that they're normal books, that just happen to appeal to kids as well as adults. I don't think JKR will totally ignore violence in books 6 and 7, and I don't think "war" is the proper term for where Harry and co. are heading. I think conflict is a better term, and kids can handle conflict.

Darkmoore – I meant Connie Wood of course, but I must have made a typo. I'm a film buff, so that's where Nat Wood came from. I'll fix it eventually. And no, Harry's not going dark, but he is fighting fire with fire. And he didn't mind doing the Crucio to Burkes because it was done with consent. If you read the chapter over again at Schnoogle, I reworked that part to make Harry more cannon friendly. He was too cold in the original version. And would you really want to see Jason Issacs squatting over a bucket, taking a dump? That's kind of freaky. J/K. Thanks by the way for the advance chps the other day, I really enjoyed them.

Skeeter007 – I take no offense. You point out very good concerns, which I'll try to improve on. After all, this fic is the first thing I've ever written (since high school English), so it's as much a writing practice for me as anything else. Thanks for the insight.

FondyCheesehead – You can claim whatever you want, but as a proud member of the male species, I refuse to believe that young, nubile females everywhere don't engage in at least one pajama party/underwear show a week. Not only that, but I'm sure that it's a huge conspiracy to keep the knowledge of these parties from men. That's why you all go to the bathroom in groups. It's to show off the latest bra/panty set from Victoria's Secrets. And no matter what you say, or how many other females write in to refute me, I refuse to believe otherwise. Leave me alone, and let a man have his dreams!

Tandywr – I have to apologize again to everyone who took offence to my DE scene. Not wanting to overstep my PG-13 bounds, I even wrote FF.net about it, and at their suggestion took out much of the scene. It now exists at my Yahoo! Group for those of you with strong stomachs. I'm pleased at the reaction though. After lengthy discussions with my yahoo group members, I learned that most people are OK with what I wrote, but some were not. I even made a handful of people cry, and one had to stop reading and run to the bathroom, because she had to vomit. I never thought that I'd elicit such reactions from three short paragraphs, but I'm pleased in a weird sort of way. Not pleased that I made people upset, nor pleased because I took pleasure in writing that scene. I guess I'm pleased that I convincingly wrote a rape scene when I have little familiarity with the subject, and that for the most part, although they didn't like to read it, my fans could appreciate the part it takes in my story. It's a necessary evil, and one that fans saw the need to show. Sorry for babbling, later.

Molly Morrison – Harry was offered Muggle Studies b/c he grew up as one. Even so, McGonagall mentioned in her letter that he'd have to take a displacement test. Sort of like a G.E.D. I guess. A lifetime's worth of practical experience must be enough to enter NEWT level Muggle Studies. In my story at least. And please do review again. I'm interested to hear about what you think I might have missed. I think that too sometimes. It's what I'm trying to change in my revisions, which are being published at Schnoogle.

Darak – As far as I know, there are no red cards in Quidditch. True, the rules might allow for a referee to remove players for rough play, but who knows? In a game with over 700 fouls, and such a long history to boot, I think you're just going to have to accept my version of the game in my fic. And even if Madame Hooch was sitting on the sidelines (which is false, there's mention of her being on the field in the first book and movie), there's no way she can keep a panoramic view on the whole pitch. It's too big. There are bound to be some fouls that go unnoticed, even in normal play. And when Slytherins are around, you can bet that that number goes up.

Bella – Let me address your concerns. No, Herm's not getting sappy. Fudge cleared Lucius and some of the others of charges, claiming the "Imperius," like what happened to him in the past. Sorry about the Brit speak, I'll try to fix that. And yes, 16 year old boys do have hair on their ass. They've gone through puberty after all, and Harry's also older than norm, because of the time tuner. It's a part of his sexuality, and if it makes you feel better, it's not a particularly hairy ass; just fine hairs. I wanted to convey how close and intimate Ginny was when looking at the tattoos. It made them both nervous. And sorry, but I don't see HP as the type of person who waxes. That's more Lockheart.

Gotta B Writin – Thanks, that's one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. I do try. I think I'm already longer than SS was, and the end fic will probably be about the length of OoTP. Scary, huh? A have no idea about the locker rooms, but I don't plan to have the girls spy on the boys, or vice versa. There are 13 year olds present. I can justify Harry and Ginny and their actions (they're horny 15 and 16 year olds), but 13 is a bit too young for me to feel comfortable writing about. Don't worry, there will be plenty more massages and fashion shows in the future. And yes, Herm did get other gifts, but I skipped over those. Who cares what Lavender and Pavarti gave her, anyways? I just talked about the gifts from her closest friends. Thanks for a great review.

Relieved Pitcher – And we're supposed to believe what half-crazy Bella says? Honestly, I figure that her way is ONE way to cast Crucio. The other way is out of need, like Harry has been doing. Or maybe he's funneling his anger about Voldy when using the curse. Or his Occlumency skills are coming into play, as he's using one of his mind's inner subsets. Take it however you want, but you can't use Bella's reason to substantiate cannon. As for not giving every incantation for the new spells I come up with, well, I happen to think that's very cannon. In the 5 HP books so far, JKR only gives incantations for about half of the spells she mentions. Think I'm wrong? Than tell me what the incantations for the Leg Locker Curse, the Fidelius Charm, and the Jelly Legs Jinx are. A stroll through the HP Lexicon spell list will prove my observation.

GinnyPotter – Sorry you're not satisfied with a normal teenage relationship, but I'm not going to provide more Harry/Ginny & Ron/Hermione romance just because that's what you want to read. And I haven't even said that Ron and Herm are going to be together, so please stop assuming. And while I will provide more action in future chapters, if romance is all you want, than I suggest you go to your local bookstore, pick up a paperback with Fabio on the cover, and draw a lightning bolt on his forehead. That's the only way you'll get what you want. Sorry if I sound mean, I don't intend to.

Lethifolder – Wow! You've given me the most in-depth, accurate, and lengthy review I've ever had. Congrats! It would take too much space to respond to everything, so there's only a little I can address. First off, as we learn in cannon, there's less than a dozen registered animagi. And even though we've seen our fair share of illegal ones, I still have to believe that it's a rare trait. And no one has ever mentioned magical animagi, so I doubt that Voldy is a basilisk. Same with Dumble/Harry being a phoenix. Sorry, not going to happen. And if you read back, I've said that Harry is having trouble meditating on his animagus form, so he may not even have the ability. You'll have to read on to know for sure. About the SuperHarry thing, I am trying to show he's not perfect. He almost dies in Knockturn Alley, he was sloppy in his form when hitting Draco and the others on the train. He's not outperforming Hermione in all classes, etc. And please remember, that all his success has come at a cost of his practicing almost non-stop since his summer began, aided by use of the time tuner. It's not so farfetched that his skill level has increased, and Harry's still a long ways away from his end goal. And then there's Ron. I've already admitted that I don't like him, so it's hard to write his character. But I resigned to writing him like a sign wave. He'll have his low points, and then his highs. Right now's he's riding a high point (i.e. showing maturity in accepting Harry and Gin's captaincy), but some Ron bashing will be soon to come. I could go one forever with the other stuff you've written, but I'll stop here. Feel free to email if you want to discuss further.

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I don't respond to everyone's reviews personally, just those that have comments or questions. Especially now that I'm receiving 100 reviews per chapter, I just can't fit them all in. So if you've written to say you liked my story and are waiting for more, than thank you.

I also now have a Yahoo! group addressing new updates my story, as well as pictures, info about live chats, etc. If interested, please visit. A link to the site is on my bio page.