Chapter 10 :
About a quarter of an hour later, clustered in an abandonned classroom in a nook of the castle, a ridiculous gaggle of girls and women of all ages conferred together like a flock of panicked ducklings. Incensed whispers could be heard all throughout the herd, resonating in every present souls as the Harbinger of The End :
"I heard that a girl from Ravenclaw frenchkissed Harry in front of everyone !" Frantically gulped a small first year.
"I know !" Added a conveniently unnamed teacher, fretting and biting her nails. "Seems like she touched his butt too !"
Everyone was gasping in horror -as was proper given the news- when the door was suddenly slammed open so violently that the hinges nearly died under the duress.
"WHO ?!" Bellowed the arriving Ginny Weasley, her magic lashing out angrily around her. "WHO IS IT ?! WHO HAD THE BALLS- ?!"
"Calm down, Chairwoman Weasley !" Tried to pacify Hermione, hurrying behind her. "It's only rumors-!"
"IMMA GUT THEM WITH A BUTTER KNIFE !"
"Poor Ginny..." Commiserated a chagrined Luna, looking up from her book in a corner of the room. "You should give up Hermione Granger, Nargles have completely taken over her... The Chairwomen we knew and loved is already gone..."
Hermione glared at the younger girl before vainly trying to calm Ginny down again. Unabated, the Weasley girl banged her fist against a desk, calling everyone to attention.
"WOMEN !" She shouted out to rally them. "We are the proud members of the Harry Potter Fanclub ! Where Harry is, our members follow and protect him from the shadows ! When Harry speaks, our members listen and spread his Words like the Gospel they are ! We. Are. The Potterhearts !"
Never had truer words been spoken. Moved beyond tears, every girls nodded and yelled their agreement. But Ginny was not done. Breathing in and out, she grinded her teeth in fury :
"Today our Idole, our Harry, has been besmirched. Someone kissed our Harry ! On the mouth ! With the tongue ! And even touched his marvelous butt ! Whoever they are... I WANT THEIR HEAD ! BLEED THEM DRY ! HIT THEM DEAD ! LEAVE NO BONE UNBROKEN !"
United by a wrath unknown to Man, everyone was going to scream their support when a soft sentence left them voiceless :
"I only kissed Harry on the cheek though ? And I didn't touch his butt either... Did someone else kiss him too ?"
Every eyes turned as one toward the culprit, every mouth left gaping at the audacity :
"LUNA ?!"
"LOVEGOOD ?!"
"Vice-president Lovegood..." Subtly asked Hermione, always quick to get back her bearing. "You kissed him ? You kissed Harry ?"
Luna's bright eyes became even bigger as she assimilated the question :
"You called me- ! Yay ! I'm not self-proclaimed anymore ! Daddy will be so proud !"
"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION !"
By the end of the day, all the castle was talking about the Kiss.
Rumors had been flying around for the last two days and Theodore Nott was irritated beyond mesure. Whether by Fate or interference, he hadn't been able to discover what the rumors said until he overheard some first year talking about it a few hours ago. Spying on them he had heard stories, each more outlandish than the last, about The Kiss, and now... Now, sitting in front of the hearth in the Slytherin Common Room, Theodore was thinking about the worth of it all. He was not a man of rumors, he was a man of facts. Facts that were presently sorely lacking in his life. In the end, he would have no choice but to ask Harry for the truth. And wasn't that aggravating ? He, Theodore Nott, Shadow King of Slytherin, would have to check the facts by asking confirmation from the person themselves. What was the use of his spy network if he had to do the spying himself ? What was its use when firsties knew about the last juicy gossip before him ?
No, his spy network had indeed proved utterly useless. It was time to build another one.
AN : Writing Fangirl Ginny is so much fun ! I have to make sure she comes back later...
PLew A.E