This is more of a filler chapter to prepare you all for the next one. ;)
ooo
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you."
Greg and Ginny both froze mid-stride as the watched Ron come out of the living room and nod his head towards the closed kitchen door.
"What? Why?" Ginny asked, folding her arms in front of her chest as she cast her brother a challenging look.
She and Greg had been spending a lazy morning in her room under the pretence that Ginny was looking for a book that Greg wanted to borrow, when really, they'd been cuddling in bed and making out for most of it.
But it was almost noon now, and they had officially passed the level of hungry that was easy to ignore; so, driven by his rumbling belly, and accompanied by a lot of sighing and some more kissing and groping, he had nudged Ginny to finally change out of her infuriatingly short pyjama bottoms and come downstairs with him to steal some tea and snacks from the kitchen.
"Wrapping presents." Ron sighed, pulling a lazy shoulder into a half shrug. "You know what mum's like. If she thinks you're trying to sneak a peek, she'll hex your eyes out of their sockets."
Greg's eyes went wide. He thought Ron was only joking, but knowing Molly Weasley he couldn't be entirely sure, and he'd much rather keep his eyes right where they were, thank you very much.
"Ugh…seriously?" Ginny groaned, her shoulders slumping slightly. "But what about food? I'm hungry!"
"Well that's what happens when you miss breakfast." Ron countered loftily.
"We've been looking for a book," Ginny shrugged, her face completely passive. "- 'Flying Without Magic: Is it really possible?'. Greg wants to borrow it for his Muggle Study essay about how aeroplanes stay in the air, but I can't find it. Any idea where it is?"
"Mhmm.. sure you were." Ron drawled. "How very eager of you. Thinking about school work during the holidays. I hope all the 'studying' was worth missing breakfast."
He winked at Greg knowingly, who instantly felt all the colour drain from his face. This was exactly the problem with the Weasleys. They were Gryffindors to the bone. No subtlety whatsoever!
Ginny had been far too careless with her affections towards him, constantly touching and hugging him, leaning against him and playing with his fingers when they were lounging on the couch, making highly suggestive comments and her looks… Merlin help him… the way she looked at him would drive any man crazy.
Of course, her family would have caught up by now, and they were just as subtle at telling him that they knew, as Ginny was with her continuous flirting.
Honestly, at this point it would be easier to just sit them all down and tell them that he and Ginny were….well… he didn't really know what they were. Definitely not friends. But he also hadn't asked her officially if she wanted to be his girlfriend, yet. They had been on a date together, so that must have counted for something, but other than that all they had done so far was snogging and cuddling in secret. Would she even want to be official with him? And what if her parents would disapprove? Ginny loved her family. If they told her they didn't like him, she would probably listen to them.
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he put on his most blasé Slytherin expression and shrugged.
"A good grade in Muggle Studies will show the world that I'm making an effort to change."
Ron looked at him for a long moment, his bright blue eyes scrutinising him with an intensity that made it very hard for Greg not to squirm, until he finally nodded and his mouth split into a lopsided grin.
"You're probably right." He said, giving him a brotherly pat on the shoulder, but Greg could tell that this wouldn't be the last of it. Again, Ron was a Gryffindor – he wore his heart on his sleeve – and right now Ron's expression clearly stated 'I'm letting you off for now, but we'll have to talk about it eventually.'
Damn older brothers and their need to protect their little sisters at all costs. His heart sank as he thought about the size of Ginny's family and how many potential "don't you dare hurt my little sister" talks he would have to go through.
"Anyway, I think you're in luck." Ron added, turning his attention back to Ginny. "I can smell beef stew, so I'm pretty sure mum's already started preparing lunch. …Oh, and if you're looking for anything muggle related, Dad's your best bet." He finished, ruffling Ginny's hair, who growled at him in response, before he walked off, chuckling quietly to himself.
The second Ron had disappeared, Greg blew out a deep sigh and began to make his way back upstairs to Ginny's room. "He knows." He groaned, overcome by a sudden wave of nausea.
"Knows what?" Ginny asked innocently, trudging after him.
"You know!" he retorted, pausing in front of her door to wave his hand back and forth between them. "You… me… He knows we're not just friends. I can tell."
"So what?" Ginny shrugged, looking infuriatingly unbothered by the whole situation.
"What do you mean 'so what'?" He argued. "He'll have my head, if he thinks I'm not treating his little sister right. That's what!"
"Hmmm..." Ginny hummed, a dangerous sparkle in her eyes as she stepped closer. "Well, you better make sure you treat her right then." she breathed, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. "And try to give her exactly what she needs. ...Just to be safe, I mean."
Gregory could feel his heart speed up, as she put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him through the door into her room. "You will take care of her the way she deserves, won't you?"
"Not gonna lie, she's quite the handful." He retorted, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, before yanking her hand away from his chest and pulling her close. He was right up in her personal space now, his lips only inches from hers. "But don't you worry. I'll take care of her just fine."
He smirked when Ginny's breath hitched and a feeling of triumph roared in his chest, as he watched a light blush creep up her neck and into her cheeks. She always pretended to be so brave and daring, always happy to take the first step, to push just that tiny bit further; but as soon as he took the reins and returned her attempts of flirting she blushed like a little school girl.
He loved to see her like that, all flustered and lost for words. He practically revelled in it.
"Well…" she breathed, her blush deepening as he stepped even closer and raised a hand to her neck. "I guess you won't have anything to worry about then."
"I don't think I do." He murmured, fondly swiping a strand of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, before caressing her cheek with his thumb. "But I'd still prefer it if I didn't have to explain my intentions to five older brothers on top of having to ask your parents for their permission to date you."
"You want to date me?" Ginny's eyes grew wide, as she looked up at him with a hopeful expression.
"I thought that was obvious." Greg returned, placing a soft kiss on her nose.
"Well..." Ginny said, swallowing thickly. "We'll just get them all in one room then. Get them all at once."
"Mhmm sure." Greg hummed "Have them all hex me together. That'll be fun."
"No one will hex you." Ginny retorted, tilting her head to the side to place a kiss on his palm. "My whole family loves you. Even George told me yesterday that for a Slytherin you're not so bad." She smirked, looking rather pleased.
It was true. George had approached him after their Quidditch match the day before and had apologised for his behaviour at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, offering him a firm handshake, accompanied by a promise to do better in the future. Greg had felt a little awkward at the rather pompous apology, but would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved. He had found that his desire to gain the Weasleys' approval had been getting much stronger, now that his relationship with Ginny was getting more serious.
"And mum is gift-wrapping a Weasley jumper for you as we speak." Ginny added, pulling him back to the present.
His eyes grew wide.
"You think your mum made me a jumper?"
"Uhm yes?" Ginny deadpanned. "Of course, she made you a fucking jumper, Greg. She even asked me to help with picking out the right colour."
It was Greg's turn to blush now, and he quickly dropped his gaze to hide his embarrassment from her.
"That's… really nice of her." He murmured, a funny feeling spreading in his tummy at the thought of Mrs Weasley going through so much trouble for him.
"Yeah, well.. she likes you." Ginny smiled, but then her face turned indignant and she rolled her eyes. "I just don't know why she has to make such a big deal out of wrapping gifts in secret. It's not like we're children anymore. I mean, does she really think we'll all sit together and unwrap our presents one by one?"
"Err, yes? Of course, you will!" Greg retorted, raising an incredulous eyebrow at her. "Who doesn't like opening gifts? It's great fun."
"Is it?" She laughed, and his mouth went dry, as her eyes began to catch that annoyingly seductive sparkle again.
"Hmmm. I'm not sure I'm convinced." She hummed, gazing up at him from underneath long lashes. "Maybe I'll need a demonstration. I could pretend to be your present and you can show me how you'd unwrap me… to help me understand I mean." She winked at him playfully, before sauntering over to the bed, her hips swaying enticingly.
Greg swallowed thickly, as a bolt of desire shot straight to his core. He knew he shouldn't take the bait, but Merlin help him, if he wasn't completely and utterly under her spell. It took all of his willpower to not jump her right there and then, as he watched her drop onto the soft sheets and stretch her long limbs invitingly.
"Don't fucking tempt me…" He almost growled, forcing himself to remain right where he was.
"Why not?" Ginny purred stretching a little further to reveal a thin strip of skin around her waist.
Greg groaned. This was so unfair.
"Because…" He breathed, trying to ignore the fact that his trousers had become uncomfortably tight at the sight of her exposed midriff. "…we're in your family's home. The very same family who thinks we're friends. And anyway, I want our first time to be good. I'd rather not have one of your family members barge in on us when it happens."
"That's what silencing charms are for." Ginny countered, pushing herself up and crawling towards the edge of the bed to face him, while giving him a spectacular view down the front her shirt. – no bra again. She was going to be the death of him, wasn't she?
"Ginny, please!" He begged, desperately trying to think of something that would take his mind off the ever-growing feeling of desire in his lower abdomen. "Believe me, I want this just as bad as you. But right now is not the time. We both know that the second we cast a silencing charm, your mother will be knocking at the door. It's like she knows when something's up."
Ginny pushed her lips into a petulant pout, as she sank back into the mattress and sighed dramatically.
"Fine." She finally conceded, casting him a dark look, before adding sulkily: "I honestly can't wait to get back to Hogwarts."
"Yeah," Greg huffed, feeling relieved and disappointed at the same time. "Because it'll be so much easier to find time to ourselves there."
Thinking that it was probably safe to approach her now, he walked over to the bed and let himself sink onto the edge, his hand instantly finding hers to give it a gentle squeeze. "There'll be a time and place for it. I promise."
"Yeah, well, I hope it's soon." Ginny grumbled, but looked slightly pacified.
"It will be."
Greg didn't think she knew how close he had been to throwing all his caution to the wind just a moment ago. She'd been trying to seduce him for days; the secret touches, her flirty remarks, the heated gazes, …it wouldn't take much for him to finally reach his breaking point now. He wanted her. Desperately. And the fact that he knew she wanted him too made it even worse.
"CHILDREN! LUNCH IS READY!" Molly Weasley's voice sounded from downstairs.
The shrill sound made Greg jump and instantly brought him back to reality. Shooting up, he let go of Ginny's hand as if he had burned himself, and took several strides backwards to bring as much distance as he possibly could between them.
"Ugghhh!" Ginny groaned, dragging a hand across her face and shaking her head in disbelief. "She really does know, doesn't she?"
When Greg didn't respond, she clambered out of bed and pulled her t-shirt back down. "Maybe later then…when everyone's in bed." She breathed, casting him a sultry look, followed by a quick peck on his lips, before she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the door. "Come on! I'm starving anyway."