The Cerebral Coordination of Ginny Weasley

Rating: T

Author: ValorOrgulloso

Chapter XIII: In Which Being Caught Results in Detention

My mood had improved drastically. Harry and I were on good terms once more, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest. Even Delia had noticed, which says something since she never seemed to be the kind of person to notice emotions. I suppose I was really depressed though.

But not anymore!

Harry was walking me to classes again. When he stopped doing that before, it was pretty tragic for me. I mean, even if I never let him carry my books I expected him to be by my side as we walked together from Transfiguration and History to Charms and Divination. When he didn't show up that first day – for which I was thankful actually; I didn't want to deal with him at the time – it was pretty depressing to know that we had a split between us.

But all was fixed! And my brother and Hermione seemed relieved. At least they did right now. At dinner. Eating. Although that could be because Ron is always content when there's something in his mouth, and Hermione was busy watching him with disgust.

Harry was sitting next to me, and he occasionally would pat my leg and smile at me shyly. It was cute, but sometimes I couldn't understand why Harry could be reserved around me. With what we've been through I'd assume he'd be open and talkative with me more. Then again, I guess he was, I considered. He was just shier in the eyes of others. When we're alone he can be quite the little chatter box. It's normally when we're around other people that he goes all quiet.

"Whu' duh oo uyth shfi'?"

"Swallow, Ron," Hermione reprimanded, and Ron struggled to swallow the large mouthful of ham.

"Why did you guys fight?" Ron finally asked properly.

Harry and I exchanged looks. "Er…" Harry started. It'd be a little awkward to explain the situation to anyone; Ron especially.

"We weren't in a fight," I argued. And we weren't; just extremely uncomfortable around each other.

Now I saw Hermione and Ron look at each other before turning back to us.

"Well, something was going on," said Hermione. "You two didn't just start ignoring each other cold turkey. You guys were nearly inseparable, broke apart, and now you're back to being attached at the hip."

"Yeah," Ron supported, "You stopped being disgusting. And, while I thought this was a good thing, it made both of you mope around for days, and it was starting to make me depressed."

Knowing it would be a bad idea to delve any farther into this conversation I tried to end it with, "It's none of your business!" This, apparently, was a bad idea since Ron started showing his tell-tale signs of "I'm starting to get angry."

"Of course it's my business! You're my sister, and that's my best mate!"

"No, it isn't!" I snapped. "It's not your business just like what you do isn't my business! If I wanted to tell you I would!"

Ron glared at me and then trained his gaze on Harry. "You'll tell me later, right, mate?"

I felt and saw Harry shift uncomfortably and sit up stiffly. "Well… um, no… it really isn't something we want to share at the present."

Ron glared at him too. He huffily stood up without another bite and muttered loud enough to hear, "Some friend you are…" and he left the hall.

Hermione looked at us, and I looked at Harry. His face was red with what seemed embarrassment, and he had a strange expression on his face.

"It's okay, Har –" I started, but I was cut off as Harry trudged out of the Great Hall without another word to anyone. I could tell he was going into one of his moods, and I looked apologetically at Hermione. I didn't want to leave her here, but I knew things would turn out worse if I didn't get to Harry.

She sighed and stabbed at a potato, "Go on, then."

I took one long glance at her before making a decision, and I hurried out of the hall just in time to see Harry's heel pass the doors leading outside. It was chilly out there, but I chased after Harry anyways. "The things I do for you…" I muttered.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and, in that time, I had lost sight of Harry. I carefully wandered down the steps and onto the grounds. I could hear the gentle buzz of dinner behind me.

I shivered then I heard a sigh. My head whipped right and I saw Harry lying on the half-frozen ground looking up at the sky. I slowly approached him.

"Harry, what's the matter?" I asked in some exasperation.

He just sighed again, and I lay down next to him, knowing if I was persistent enough he would give me an answer of some sort.

We lay there gazing up at the stars so long my teeth began to chatter. Harry heard me, and he wrapped an arm around me in a futile effort to keep me warm. He was wearing a heavy sweater so he was warm, but I was only in my crisp, cotton school shirt.

"Are you mad at Ron?" I asked at last when it became clear he didn't plan on answering my question anytime soon.

"No," Harry said. "I'm mad at myself."

I turned my head sharply to look at him. I heard my neck snap, but I ignored the pain. "What? Why?"

His face was carefully blank as he responded. "I… I took advantage of you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Are you still talking about tha –"

"Yes I'm still talking about that!" Harry snapped at me. At last, some emotion. His face showed signs of true anger. "I just can't forget about it! It was a big deal!"

"But we could! We could just start over anew–"

Harry cut me off again. "How can you think that? It happened, we did it, and it's done."

"Actually, it's finished," I corrected in an effort to lighten up the mood. It didn't prove very successful.

"You don't get it, do you? I'm the one that asked! I'm the one that convinced you! It's my fault!" Harry moaned. He removed his arm from my shoulders, sat up and covered his face with his hands, elbows propped up on knees.

I quickly sat up too, trying to soothe him. "No, that's not how it happened. I wanted to do it. You asked, but I agreed – eagerly as I recall." I tried to keep him from sinking into his oh-so-common depression. When he didn't say anything I tried to amend things by saying, "It'll be better next time."

I made things worse.

"Next time? Next time!" Harry cried. He removed his hands from his eyes and stared at me incredulously. "There will be no next time! I hurt you! I'm awful…" And he covered his eyes again.

He couldn't really believe that! And if I had anything to say about it there would be a next time. Maybe not anytime soon, but eventually.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He tried to pull away, but I yanked him back towards me, not letting him run off.

I felt him struggle, and desperate, I nearly yelled, "Harry!"

I briefly felt his struggle stop, and I took the chance to intervene with my own thoughts. "Harry, stop being ridiculous. It's not you're fault! You weren't acting like this earlier! What happened that triggered… this?"

This time Harry pulled himself harshly away from me, and I had no choice but to release him. I took a deep breath, not letting my impatience with his attitude overtake me.

"Why are you acting like this?" I asked quietly, subdued a bit.

"Because…" Harry ran a hand harshly through his hand, staring at the ground, frustrated. He stopped talking, and I myself became frustrated.

"Because what?" I asked. His gaze snapped back to me quickly, and it was so strong that I almost looked away.

"Because I fucked my best friend's sister!" Harry shouted.

I was stunned into submission. Harry never swore. Ever. It was normally me. And, as such, it took a moment for me to compose myself. When I finally found my voice it was harsh. "Yes, Harry, you did! You did it with me! And I fucked my brother's best friend! It happened, we did it, and it's done," I mimicked, copying his words from before.

He looked away, and I did too. I hated fighting with Harry. It always left a salty, bitter taste in my mouth. It felt physically draining, and it was always such a relief when we made up.

I heard Harry mumble something incomprehensible.

I looked at him. "What was that?"

"I said I'm sorry." I stared at Harry, and I took in the whole of him. He was sitting forlornly on the grass, looking regretful in every sense of the word. His eyes were dull (from what I could see of them – it was rather dark, and we only had the glow of the castle to cover us), his mouth was turned down slightly, and lines seemed to crease his face beyond his years. He was fifteen, but he looked about fifty at the moment.

"This isn't the only thing bothering you, is it?"

Harry was still another minute until he looked up at me. "No."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked away around at the grounds – towards the lake. He sighed, "I dunno…"

I reached over and gently took his hand. "You can tell me anything, you know… I won't judge you."

"I know." And he squeezed my hand in his. "I just…," he started. He seemed to choke on the words, and he tried again. "I keep having these… dreams. At least, they seem like dreams… but they're not."

He paused again, and I was quiet, wanting him to open up to me. "I'm in a corridor… and there's a door… and I want to open it… but when I get close enough… I wake up."

He stopped talking, and I could tell he was finished. "Do you know where this corridor is?" I asked.

He hesitated before nodding. "It's the hallway in the Ministry I had to go down for my hearing."

"D'you… do you know why you keep dreaming about this corridor?"

Harry shook his head, and I could tell it really bothered him. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, removing my hand from his.

"You're so cold!" he yelped when he touched my body when I hugged him.

I laughed gently. Yes, I was cold, and he always figured out when I was. During our conversation I must have forgotten it was like zero degrees Celsius.

"Here…" Harry said, pulling back from our embrace. I shivered. Now I was really cold. Harry hopped up, and he reached down, pulling off his sweater.

"You don't have to do that!" I yelped, standing as well.

Harry didn't speak as he shoved the sweater over my head and onto my body. It was baggy on me, but almost immediately I stopped shaking. "Thanks…" I said gratefully, but I saw that Harry was now in a short sleeve shirt and probably colder than I was before.

I hugged him tightly, hoping I was doing a good job at keeping him from shivering.

"You know… this is where we first kissed," Harry muttered in my ear. It sent shivers down my spine, and it definitely wasn't from the cold since I was in Harry's sweater.

"Yeah…," I said, thinking back on the happy incident. I looked up at Harry, and he smiled at me. "Where it all began…" I snorted at how cheesy I sounded. Harry noticed and giggled too.

As far as I know, I was the only one to ever hear him giggle like that. I was proud of myself for being able to bring it out of him.

I cut off his giggle by pushing my lips against his. He responded quickly, moving his lips with mine. My mouth opened as he gently prodded his tongue into my mouth. My body was on fire as his hands slid up and down my sides, and I quickly remembered why exactly I was so easily succumbed into having sex with Harry. He was irresistible.

His lips released mine with a small sound, and I nearly moaned at the loss.

"Let's go inside," Harry suggested, completely out of breath, holding onto me just as tightly as I was to him.

"Okay," I agreed, equally breathless.

Harry released me from the hug but kept one arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly to his side. I helped by keeping my arm wrapped around his waist. We walked through the entrance doors to discover dinner was finished. There wasn't a student wandering about anywhere. Harry glanced at his watch to discover it was already half past nine. It was a little past curfew, so we slowly made our way back to the tower, hoping we weren't caught by anyone.

No such luck.

"Miss Weasley! Mr. Potter!" McGonagall barked from behind. I cringed. Lovely.

"What are you doing out past curfew?"

"Um… walking?" Harry tried. What a dear; being brave and speaking up.

"Detention for both of you tomorrow night!" McGonagall ordered, obviously finding Harry's excuse inexcusable. "See me in my office at nine o'clock sharp, seeing as you want to stay out past curfew." I groaned – it was Saturday tomorrow!

McGonagall's sharp look quieted my moan but my sullen expression stayed in place.

"Now get back to your common room, and don't let me catch you out after hours again!" McGonagall ordered, watching us go off together, making sure we were going the proper way. And, seeing as we were headed to the common room anyway, it didn't matter much.

We got back to the common room by ten as we were walking slowly. We were already in trouble, so why hurry back?

Many were still up when we got back, and Harry and I found a seat by the fireplace. We talked for a while, and the common room started clearing out. I yawned, looking at the grandfather clock. It was almost midnight, and the day had worn me out.

"Harry, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'm exhausted!" I groaned. I got up, and Harry followed suit.

He walked me over to the stair case, which I found a little funny. But sweet. Harry was sweet.

He took my hand. "Goodnight, Ginny."

I swung our arms. "Goodnight, Harry."

He pulled on our swinging arms, hugging me. "I love you," he whispered.

I smiled up at him. "I love you, too." He smiled back. "Do you want your sweater back?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, keep it." I sighed in contentment and kissed his cheek.

"See you in the morning." And then I climbed the stair case up to my warm, inviting sheets.

A/N: *You don't have to read this. It's me rambling about my stressful life. I find it helpful to vent to something, so read if you care (*makes a hopeful face* Care about me!). Or, if you're lame, scroll down and read the end.*

So, it's Christmas break. Wanna hear about my ridiculous swim schedule? Okay, so on Friday night I had a swim meet. Then, directly afterwards, was a party. In the morning I woke up at 8:30, and I went to school to catch the bus to Westerville for another swim meet. At a totally ghetto pool. Like, seriously, the toilets had curtains covering them up, and there was a giant hole in one of them, so people could see others' business. The entire ground was wet; the ceiling was a dripping tarp; the pool was 2 feet deep, therefore, when doing flip turns, we had to be cautious not to hit our heads on the floor of the pool; the dive team couldn't dive there anymore because the ceiling was too low, and they hit their heads on it when they dived; the deep/shallow end was divided at a 90 degree angle, dropping from 3 feet to 10 feet suddenly; the blocks were slippery, and people slipped off of them; the water was too murky; there was no sink in the bathroom; the mirror was a funhouse mirror; the lockers consisted of hooks on the wall. It was possibly the most ridiculous pool I've ever been to. Either that or I'm spoiled (which may be the case, because I come from a pretty affluent area).

Anyways, the rest of my schedule this break consists of two practices a day for two hours. That's four hours of practice a day (who needs that much on break!?!?!). I even have one (mandatory) on Christmas Eve. It's kinda like WHATTHEFUCK. Some break.

And I've been getting Fs on basically all my tests in Honors Algebra II and AP US because my parents are freakin idiots and are getting divorced and I've been distracted and depressed. It's been since last summer, and last year during April/May was when the yelling was the worst. My history teacher gave me a hug one day because he asked me if anything was bothering me (because he said I looked like an A student and my grades have been dropping), and I said that my parents were getting divorced. It was awkward to say the least.

And my friend is a complete idiot. She's 16, a junior, and she met this guy in the Tim Horton's drive-thru. He's 18 and in college. He asked her out, and they went on a date. Afterwards, they went back to his dorm. Guess what happened there? It was her first time, and she went back last night to spend the night in his dorm, telling her parents she's spending the night at a friend's house. Stupid bitch, right?

Oh, and I have a creeper. It's this kid who sits next to me in Algebra. He likes me, and he's a fucking weirdo. He smells like diapers and looks like he's high all the time. He always asks me what our homework is. I'm like "It's on the board". And he's like "Oh. Yeah. Hahaha. That was really stupid." Yeah, no kidding, dumb shit. And then he says "Is it 16-20 even?" Would you like some glasses? Stop talking to me! And my friend used to have a creeper, too. He's nice, but he had fantasies about her. This is even weirder because he's the band director's son, who I have during class.

And one of my best friends is moving back to Scotland. It's SOOOOO sad. I'm gonna be really even more depressed when she leaves. In March. But I'm going to visit HER. I wanna go to another country (although I once went to New Mexico, which is VERY different from the Midwest, so it was like I was in another country), dammit, other than Niagra Falls Canada side.

There's a LOT more I could talk about, but I think I'll stop now, because I think I've made my point that life is sucking. I'm normally (and have always been) a very happy person. But lately I've been so depressed and I lie about feeling sick just so I can sit there and be sad. It actually got to the point where I smoked a fag… or two… which says a lot because I've always been afraid to do stuff like that.

And my English teacher told me there is NEVER NEVER NEVER a comma after or before because because it's such a strong word. I was like "Wow, I never never NEVER knew that." He wrote it on the board so the entire class could know. I believe he's gay, but he's so adorable (he's like 24). So if I made a mistake like that in past chapters, you should know I realize I've done wrong.

Thanks for listening (or reading, I guess).

My playlist as I wrote this: "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event, "Green Light" by John Legend, "All I Want For Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, "You Found Me" by the Fray, "Vamos a la Playa" by United State of Electronica, and "This is Love" by Self

*Read this part now if you weren't before.*

I'm going to the zoo lights in two hours, so I decided to finish this up before I left.

Sorry if my writing is getting more depressing, but that's how I feel. When I started this story I was happy, and I'll try to keep it happy still, but I can't help it sometimes. It's better to get a slightly angsty chapter than no chapter right? But I do have a plan for the next chapter to make it less sad and stuff. No worries :) This is about the last of the angsty chapters for now.

And I haven't read any Harry Potter books since the 7th one came out. So if I get any information wrong, that's why.

REVIEW!!! I LOVE YOU ALL, MY DEARIES (some more than others)!!! JOYEUX NOEL!!! This chapter was kinda longer than others, so you should show appreciation by reviewing.