AN- AU- Harry isn't close friends with Ron but is still in Gryffindor and notices Ginny is a girl early on in his Hogwarts life. No YKW (You-Know-Who).

()()()

Cat Person

()()()

It started in detention.

Funny how something that was supposed to be a punishment was going to turn out to be a major moment in his life; and it had nothing to do with 'learning his lesson'. Detentions never stopped Harry from making trouble, they were simply part of his weekly schedule. He did have his father's reputation to uphold after all.

He'd been thrilled to find out he was holding this particular detention with Ginny Weasley. She was in the year below him, on the Quidditch team with him and was genuinely an all-around great person to be around. And attractive. He would have had to be blind not to notice how attractive she was. Her good-natured and strong personality that just made her all the more appealing.

His little crush on her had grown exponentially over the last year. Somehow he just hadn't noticed her properly before his sixth year. He knew who she was and had joked around with her a few times, but then at some point early on in his sixth year he just saw him in a whole new light and it hit him like a truck how much he fancied her.

For some reason the 'out to prove herself' behavior on Ginny was much easier to take than it was on her closest in age brother, his dormmate, Ron. Probably because she always had a smile on her face where Ron always had a hint of jealousy.

Ron was an alright bloke, but he was lazy and quick to get offended. Harry didn't not like him. It was just that there had always been this animosity between he and Ron, stemming from Ron's side. From day one on the Hogwarts Express it was like Ron found out Harry's surname and automatically assumed Harry thought he was better than him.

That wasn't the case at all, but Ron kept giving him that vibe.

It wasn't like Harry was strutting around the castle like that ponce Malfoy or anything. He just happened to have new clothes at the start of every year and get nice things from his family for birthdays and Christmas. Ron always made a comment about Harry's new things, more so than the others in their dorm that also had nice things, but didn't have a noble title, well, Neville had both, but he was a bit of a bumbling fool, so Ron didn't hold him in the same regard.

Ginny wasn't like that. And the Twin's hadn't been like that either, that's why Harry got on so well with them when they were at school; that and the fact that Harry knew their idols, the Marauders. Harry had overheard them mentioning something about the Marauders Map in his first year and they had been friends ever since.

That also didn't help Ron like him.

This detention he had with Ginny though, once he'd realized it was going to be just the two of them he knew he had act. He'd missed out on enough chances last year when she was between suitors, this detention at the start of his seventh was affording him the perfect opportunity to act on it.

They were stuck in Flitwick's Charms class scraping gum from under the tables and sanding them down before applying a coat of varnish. All tasks that had been set upon both of them before at different intervals. How there was already this much gum under the desks this early in the year was a bit of a head scratcher, Harry sort of suspected that the teachers put it there themselves just to have the punishment to dole out.

That or Peeves did it.

Flitwick wasn't actively supervising, so Harry and she had the chance to chat about their summers and he didn't have anyone noticing just how much he was admiring her bum while she was bent over sanding down the tables.

They'd carried on plenty of conversations before, but one or both of them had always been dating someone else at the time. Ginny had always been a little intimidating as well. It probably came from having so many big brothers that she'd tried to hide any weaknesses from, but she had a hell of a sharp tongue on her and quick wit to compensate for any part of her that couldn't physically keep up with them.

Harry was really keen on getting the chance with her, and he had been going about it the best he could trying to build her interest in him all throughout the detention. He'd never been able to get a proper read on whether she liked him that way.

He had this checklist for getting dates that he'd developed through some helpful hints from his more experienced friends and uncles;

1. Get her laughing

2. Make sure she knows you're interested

3. Find out something the two of you have in common

4. Get her to share a secret. Any secret

5. Ask her out

Well, he'd got her laughing plenty of times and they had Quidditch and a love of mischief in common. He needed to make sure she knew he was interested and get a secret from her though, then he'd be gold.

"Stop staring at my arse, Harry," Ginny called him out, looking over her shoulder and seeing where his eyes had been focused.

"It was looking at me first," he told her in excuse. It didn't matter to him that she caught him looking, at least now she knew for sure he was interested.

"No need to encourage it then, I'll give it a talking to later about manners," she told him flippantly and continued about her task.

Not the reaction he was hoping for, but humorous all the same.

Perhaps he could skip over the secret part for this one and just get to the point. Girls like her didn't stay single for long. She'd probably already been asked out since they got back, and the term had only started two weeks ago.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he got straight to the point. What was the worst that could happen really? She says 'no'? So, what. His dad asked his mum out 173 times when they were in school together before she said yes, Uncle Sirius had kept track, now they'd been married for half their lives.

Ginny stood up and turned around with a surprised expression. "Did you just-?" she asked, like she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Yeah," he told her. "I like you. You're funny, pretty, smart and a wicked Quidditch player. I wanted to put my bid it to spend time with you before anyone else this year."

He had not been this smooth about asking a girl out the first time he'd attempted it, or the second. But he'd gone on a few dates in his life now, and while he wasn't a Cassanova, he wasn't bashful about making his interests known anymore.

Ginny considered him for a moment.

"Come on," he gave her a cheeky grin. "I've seen you checking me out before. Give me a shot, what's the worst that could happen?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. "What's the worst that could happen you ask? You mean like what have I got to lose, besides my reputation, by being one of the many?"

"One of the many what?" he asked, slightly confused. "I'm not exactly a Lothario or something."

"On your way to it," she told him pointedly. "You've gotten around, and I understand the appeal of you, but I don't need to be just another name on your list."

With no more explanation she turned back around and kept working at her table.

"Hey," he tried to get her attention back on him. It wasn't that he was thoroughly offended or anything, but she could at least give him a chance to prove her wrong. He came around to stand on the other side of the table she was working on. "You wouldn't just be someone on a 'list', I really do think we would hit it off. We've got enough in common."

"What, like Quidditch?" she asked.

Harry shrugged, "to start with."

She smiled and shook her head and kept sanding. "Harry, you're a nice guy, fun and, yeah, attractive. But you're not one to take relationships seriously. I've seen you with other girls."

"So, you're worried I'd break your heart or something," he asked her skeptically. "I'd have to have it first in order to break it, and you aren't exactly one to wear it on your sleeve."

She stood up again and her eyebrows knit together. "I think you're trying to be convincing, but you aren't doing a very good job of it."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm not saying you're heartless or anything. I'm just saying you haven't seemed too broken up about your previous break-ups. Me having been the same way about my previous break-ups is hardly an indication that we couldn't make something work. In fact, it probably means that we'd be better together; I won't be a chauvinistic pig like that last guy you dated, and you won't turn on the waterworks when I fail to save you the last blueberry muffin."

The blueberry muffin incident had been what happened when he made the mistake of dating Lavender Brown. The girl was insipid, but she was interested in him, and she had nice breasts.

He could admit it, he was a bit of a pig with that one.

Ginny chewed her lip, considering what he'd said. "I'm not sure," she said finally.

He felt promise with that answer. It wasn't a no. None of what she had said to him had been a 'no', it was merely comments on his previous behavior.

Harry stepped closer to her and took her hands in his own. "How can I turn that into a yes?" he asked sincerely. He watched the expression on her face shift as her concerns started to mean less to her. She was caving.

"I just don't like being a part of the gossip around this school," she said, her voice soft as he stepped slightly closer.

"What can I say? My public adores me," he grinned, and leaned down for a kiss.

She pulled away from him then and took her hands out of his. "You're such a cocky little shit, aren't you?" She didn't sound angry with him though, just shook her head with a smile and started back up doing her task.

"Come on, it was a joke," he defended, unable to help the laugh that escaped him. "Look we can start out keeping it quiet if you want. We don't have to announce to the whole school during a Hogsmeade trip or something that we're spending time together."

She still said nothing but he could tell she was mulling it over.

"Give me a chance and I think you'll find out we're perfect together," he told her in a low voice, leaning down over her.

Her big beautiful brown eyes looked up at him from where she was scrubbing the table with a wry expression. "Help me finish with these tables and I'll think about it," she told him and gutted her thumb to the other side of the classroom.

()()()

Ginny thought about it, and she kept on thinking about it.

Harry Potter was a great guy, a friendly, funny, and attractive guy too. But she hadn't seen any indication that he would make a decent boyfriend.

It didn't matter that she wouldn't mind the opportunity to snog him. From what she'd heard he was no slouch in that category. None of the gossip about him mentioned that he was anything less than a gentleman too. And she'd kept her ears open about it, because she'd always been a little interested in him.

Well, a lot interested in him.

She just didn't think that he would be truly interested in her the way she wanted him to be and had convinced herself she was fine with that. Resigned herself to tucking that little fantasy of being with him in the back of her mind to pull out for daydreams in History of Magic class.

That's why she was so surprised to hear him ask her out last night.

She'd always dated the guys that were less confident than she. The one's that, conceded as it sounded, were reaching, and sort of treated her adoringly.

But that was getting boring. None of her past paramours had been able to hold her interest past the excitement of a new relationship.

She hadn't let Harry kiss her last night. Not in detention and not when they'd gotten back to Gryffindor and said goodnight at the stairs to their separate dorms, even though it looked like he wanted to.

All day though she'd been thinking about how nice it might have been.

It was what she'd been thinking about instead of doing her Transfiguration assignment in the library when the seventh years started coming in and she heard Ron getting into a verbal spat with Malfoy again.

Her brother just did not know when to quit with that guy. Malfoy was a wuss, but he knew how to get Ron riled up enough to have Ron overreact and get himself in trouble.

How they got to discussing her, she didn't know, but she was damn sure going to shut it down.

"Yeah, well you might want to keep a better eye on that slut of a sister of yours then," Malfoy sneered as they approached the table Ginny was at.

"Is that so?" Ginny piped up from behind him, resting casually in her chair, arm propped over the back of her seat and body half turned towards him. The nonchalance came naturally to her after years of exemplifying the twins.

Malfoy's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her there, having overheard him. Clearly, he'd merely been trying to rattle Ron and hadn't anticipated confrontation from another side.

"Sounds like that might be wishful thinking there, Malfoy," she raked her eyes over him. "Personality aside I'd say you aren't a terrible looking bloke, but the way you strut around and carry yourself I can only imagine you're as selfish in bed as you are everywhere else. I've no interest in that."

Malfoy's pale face took on a slightly pink twinge as those in the library around him that heard her started snickering under their breath.

"Shows what you know," he started.

"You're right," she cut in. "I really don't have first-hand knowledge of sex, contrary to what you've just broadcasted flagrantly a moment ago. But I guarantee you, when I start looking for some experience on the subject, I will not be coming to you to learn it."

"I wouldn't want you," he said, his eyes betraying him and giving her a not too subtle looking over before puffing out his chest importantly. "And I'll have you know that I've plenty of experience. Not a one of my partners had any complaints."

Ginny snorted, "is that so? Give us some references then? Who are these partners exactly? Let's see what they have to say about it."

Even Ron was now grinning from Ginny taking on Malfoy. Malfoy wasn't looking so sure of himself anymore.

"Parkinson maybe?" Ginny provided. "Didn't you two go out? Go find her, we can settle this right now."

Malfoy's nostrils flared, but he didn't answer her, he just snarled before he turned and walked away.

Ron gave a laugh and settled down to sit at her table. "Thanks. I hate that I can't manage to one up that guy."

"Then why do you try?" she asked. "Just ignore him."

"Yeah, that's what Hermione says too." Ron shrugged before he started in talking about his girlfriend and the interaction with Malfoy that led to Ginny stepping in, but she wasn't paying attention.

Harry had come into the library as well, and he was in the next aisle over from her table, right at the end, in her line of sight, and he was looking at her. He didn't have his usual laisse-faire expression either, his eyes were searching, asking her if she'd made up her mind. His lips were set together, a slight twitch to the side, not in a smirk, but almost as though he was worried about what she'd decided, if she'd decided.

His gorgeous green eyes were imploring her to give him a chance.

She felt special getting his attention like this. The way he was looking at her was making her feel warm and slightly jittery. Her breath was growing deeper simply looking at him. Ginny couldn't stop herself from answering him.

Slightly, subtly, she nodded.

His miniscule flash of a smile told her he understood, and then he was gone.

Ginny sat there trying to collect herself for a minute. She'd just agreed to go out with Harry Potter.

Ron was still prattling away about the same thing he was three minutes ago and in that span of time she was now no longer single but seeing his dormmate and Quidditch Captain.

This was probably going to turn out to be a bad idea.

Harry was a little reckless, and she didn't know how he got away with half of the things he pulled around the school over the years, but she felt a fluttering her stomach and anticipation pumping through her veins now.

There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate on the rest of her assignment.

"You know what," she interrupted her brother, "I've been thinking over this assignment too long. I'm going to go find something else to do until dinner." With that she collected up her things and left Ron at the table by himself.

With no idea where Harry might have gone off to Ginny left the library and started slowly back towards Gryffindor Tower. She wasn't 100% sure, but he did seem the type to just jump out from nowhere and pull someone into a secluded spot.

So, she was prepared when he did just that. Rather than gasping in fright from abruptly finding herself in a dark broom cupboard Ginny chuckled and lit the end of her wand.

Harry was grinning back at her as her wand illuminated part of the space. "You'll give me a chance then?"

"Sure," she shrugged, feigning nonchalance, "why not. Every other girl has had a go," she teased.

"Why is it you seem to think I've gotten around that much?" he questioned, pulling the strap of her book bag down over her shoulder and letting it fall to the floor. "I've only properly dated four girls at this school."

"Properly dated," she repeated as his hands came to her hips. "That doesn't include all one-off dates and snog session's you've had with the others." Her palms lay flat against his chest, slinking upwards and around his neck.

"Fine, include those in too, and it still isn't into the double digits." He was inching forward towards her, not yet letting anything but their hands touch each other.

Ginny let out a fake gasp, "are you saying that I might be the one to get you to that milestone?"

"Are you saying you're a perfect ten?" he quipped back.

Ginny groaned her exasperation.

Harry chuckled leaning in enough that she was pressed back against the wall gently, their bodies lightly coming together, "anything else you'd like to say?"

She bit her lip and took another long look at his dark eyes and ruggedly messy hair before leaning towards him and coming up slightly on her toes, "Nox."

()()()

Harry was nervous about how this was going to work out. He knew that the Twins had never taken that secret entrance, so it was likely that Ginny didn't know anything about it. He wanted it to be a surprise, he wanted everything about the evening to be a surprise.

After their brilliant snogging session in the closet the other day he realized that she wasn't going to get to know him properly if that was all they got up to. Getting her somewhere that they could have an actual date would be a good way to make her open up more and see that he wasn't just the player she'd been concerned he was.

He didn't know her too well yet either, so showing her his invisibility cloak on their first date was a huge leap of faith. But he was sure they'd get on perfectly, there was just something about her that felt right. And he had set up the perfect plan for getting them the opportunity to make sure she saw that they were right as well.

He'd slipped her a note after their practice yesterday asking her to meet him outside by the entrance hall at eight the next night. Now she was standing off to the side by one of the suits of armor as he snuck up on her under his cloak. Ginny must have heard him approaching, because she was looking in the direction he was coming from, but her brow was furrowed.

He took a moment to simply stand there and take her in. She was dressed comfortably, that was perfect for what they were going to be getting up to. It looked like she could have been ready to go to the library or curl up in front of the fire or go gallivanting through the Forbidden Forest. He couldn't remember a time when she didn't look like she was ready for anything.

Now he was getting his chance with her, and he was determined not to blow it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he suddenly appeared before her.

"What?" she asked, gazing down at the cloak in his arms.

"Invisibility cloak," he told her, grinning.

"No!" she gasped, her eyes were quite round as she reached out to touch it. "That's your secret?" Her grin was wide as she looked back up into his eyes.

"One of them," he told her conspiratorially as he traced his index finger down her cheek. "And you'll be learning of another tonight."

"Oh, I will, will I?" she grinned, tucking part of her bottom lip between her teeth as though trying to staunch her enthusiasm, but her eyes were a dead giveaway for her excitement.

He just gave her a wink in response and pulled his cloak back over himself, holding it up for her to get under there with her.

She gave a small giggle as she ducked underneath it in front of him. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He guided her down the lawn and towards the Whomping Willow. "Trust me?" he asked.

"I-I guess?" The hesitation in her voice was justified. This was a tree that would attack anyone that came near it after all, and he'd gotten her with in swinging distance of the branches.

"The next time a branch swings past I want you to run straight towards the trunk," he instructed her, taking a moment to appreciate the feel of her tucked close under the cloak with him. "We'll have ten seconds to get in the secret passageway."

"The secret-" she started. But then one of the large branches had just attempted to get them and Harry pushed her forwards as the branch swung past.

They hurried forward and he got to the knot on the tree, knocking on it hard as though it were a door, and the passageway opened up. "Go, go," he ushered her and she slipped feet first down the passage. He came down behind her and folded up his cloak.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "Where does this go? How do you know about this place?"

Harry grinned. "My dad told me about it. He and his friends used it all the time when they went here. They discovered a lot of secrets while they were here." The twins knew all about his link to the Marauders, but all that knowledge clearly hadn't been passed down to Ginny.

"Really?" she asked in intrigue. "And have you managed to add to their list of secrets at all?"

Harry took her hand and began leading the way down the passage towards where he'd set up their date. "I have, but I can't give away all of my secrets in one night. You'll have to start sharing your own if you want any more out of me."

"There's not much to know about me," she shrugged.

"Doubtful," he stated. "Everyone has something that they don't want widely known and considering how you aren't wanting anyone to know that you and I are seeing each other I'd say you have more you're keeping to yourself."

He heard her sigh and knew he'd hit the nail on the head there.

"Come on. Even your brother doesn't know about my cloak and we've shared a dorm room for six years. You have to give me something," he coaxed her.

"Fine," she caved, "the only reason that I'm passing Muggle Studies is because I stole my brother Percy's essays from when he took it."

Harry stopped dead and turned to her. "What?!" He couldn't see her too well in this lighting, but he was sure that if he could he'd notice that her cheeks were red.

"It isn't that I don't like the subject," she prefaced. "But the class is so boring."

"You've stolen your brother's essays? And what, you're just writing them out again and handing them in?" It wouldn't be a huge deal to him to do that, but she clearly was ashamed of it.

"Basically. Look, do you take Muggle Studies?" she asked.

"No, but my mum is Muggleborn, so I've spent plenty of time around them and even have electronics and such at my house." He continued walking down the passage while she told her tale of plagiarism.

"You probably know, but my dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department at the Ministry, he's basically obsessed with them, and as interesting as I find the ways they manage to make do without magic, I just can't manage to pay attention to Professor Burbage's monotone voice in class. I'm a fan of their entertainment, I've been to the cinema, I've read plenty of good books by Muggle authors, but I really don't give a shit who invented the lightbulb.

"I was thinking about dropping the class after my third year because I was doing so poorly. My assignments were all coming back with just passing marks. I was worried about having to tell my dad that I was going to drop it, because he'd be really disappointed. Then I found Percy's assignments and realized that Burbage got her students to do the same essays every year."

"Then are you copying verbatim or using them as a guide for your own assignments?" he asked as they reached the end of the tunnel and he climbed up the ladder at the end and threw open the trap door.

"I bastardize the language a bit. Percy is way more formal then I am, so it definitely isn't verbatim. I do change up a few things, add bits here and there," she admitted, climbing up the ladder after him and looking around at the structure they were in with furrowed brows.

"Then that isn't bad. It's not like you're just turning in the same thing with your name at the top instead of his. Just taking his key points and writing your assignments around that."

"Yeah," she frowned, still looking around at the building surrounding them. "That's what I tell myself too when I'm writing them."

Harry liked that she felt bad about something small like that. He'd paid one of the Ravenclaw kids to write his History of Magic assignments more than once, at least she was still writing hers.

"Know where we are yet?" he asked.

"A decrepit old…" She sucked in a breath at her realization and her eyes went wide, "Oh! The Shrieking Shack?"

"Full marks Miss Weasley," he told her and gave her a quick kiss for her correct answer.

"There's a tunnel from the school to the Shrieking Shack?" she asked astounded. "Why? Why is it under the Whomping Willow?"

"So no one will try to use it, of course," he told her as though it was obvious.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him as she considered a question in her head. "You know something about the stories of this place too, don't you?"

Harry gave her a wink and took her hand again, leading her up the stairs to the sitting room and pulling out some candles and snacks that he'd gotten from the House Elves at the school. He levitated the battered furniture out of the way and set up a small area on the floor for them to sit on with the candles lit around them.

"Geez, giving me the good treatment, aren't you?" Ginny teased as she took up on the floor, resting her back against an old couch.

"Of course."

"Alright, so what's the story about this place?" she asked.

"There was a werewolf that started going to Hogwarts as a student. The tunnel and the Whomping Willow were put there so that he could sneak out and have a place to transform during the full moon."

"There was a werewolf that was a student?" she asked in surprise.

Harry paused, unsure if he should tell her more about it. Uncle Remus was a good family friend and it hadn't been very obvious to Harry before school how careful Remus was about letting others know of his condition. It was only after a few years in school that Harry realized some people were very bigoted against werewolves and why.

"You know, I'd never thought about that before," Ginny mused, "but it makes sense. If a wizard child was bitten, it isn't like they would have their own school to go to. I could only imagine if there was such a school it would get attacked by people with prejudice. Wouldn't it be obvious though if a student was sneaking off every full moon and was feeling like shit every time it drew close?"

"You'd be surprised what people don't notice. People are fairly self-centered," he told her.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Ginny raised her eyebrow at him. "I haven't noticed you looking like shit at regular intervals, and I have been watching." She gave him a coy smile and picked up a piece of cheese and crackers.

"No," he chuckled, "but I do know who it was."

"Moony," she said, snapping her fingers at the realization. "He was friends with your dad, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Harry didn't think she knew who Remus Lupin was by his nickname, the twins did tell her some of the secrets of their success obviously, but she hadn't ever been the one in possession of the Marauders Map. Sirius' daughter was a second year Ravenclaw who was making a name for herself as a troublemaker as well. Harry had passed the Marauders Map on to Jamie Black last year so she could learn all the secrets of the castle, the legacy had to live on. "The stories about this place being haunted were really from the sounds of the werewolf transforming."

"Awe, that's sad," she frowned. "I've heard that their transformations can be terrible. That Wolfsbane potion that came out a few years back supposedly made a world of difference."

"My mum had a hand in that," Harry said proudly. "She started working towards becoming a Potions Master and was part of the team that worked on perfecting the recipe."

"Wow. Look at you, nearly preening over your brilliant mum."

They continued talking and sharing stories from their childhood. Harry hadn't ever felt like he missed out on much by being an only child, he always had his dad and uncles to get into trouble with, the Jamie came along when he was five and she was like a younger sister to him. But the stories that Ginny told of rough housing and midnight adventures, pranking and general troublemaking between she and her six older brothers, it sounded like a lot of fun and a lot of noise.

It was well after curfew by the time they decided to head back to Gryffindor and Harry hadn't wanted the night to end. They'd been shifting closer to each other as the night had worn on and before now he hadn't ever had this level of comfort with a girl. He didn't just want to snog her silly, he also wanted to carry on talking and laughing with her forever.

He could tell she was having the same feelings about it as well, and that made it all the more enjoyable.

()()()

Dating Harry Potter was fun. Dating him in secret was even more so.

He turned out to be incredibly thoughtful. She was surprised by some of the things he'd pulled off since they'd started going out; There were notes from him she found in her bag when she was in class, there had been a flower on her pillow one morning when she'd woken up, and he'd introduced her to the wonder that was the Room of Requirement and set up another picnic for them.

All the while they had managed to keep anyone from guessing that they'd been getting to know each other in that way.

Romantically.

Ginny couldn't help smiling to herself and feeling heat come to her face when she thought that word.

Harry was romantic though, and she loved it.

He'd also figured out her weakness and got this sexy smirk on his face every time he was about to use it on her.

The thing was, Ginny loved getting… pet.

Not in an intimate way or anything, but one night she and Harry had been snogging and his fingers were scratching gently in her hair and she hadn't been able to contain the moan she'd given at that feeling.

Scratching her hair, rubbing her ears, simply making continuous petting motions on her anywhere and she would become absolute putty in his hands. Most anyone's hands really. She'd begged her mum on more than one occasion to brush her hair as she fell asleep when she was younger.

Harry petting her had preceded some very intense snogging sessions.

There had even been one incident when she had an assignment that she was down to the wire to complete, but Harry was trying to convince her to slip away with him and he'd traced his finger up and down her nose and she'd given in because it had felt so nice.

It was her secret and his secret weapon.

She didn't mind him using it against her though. After practice one day he had given a rub to her ear when everyone was walking ahead of them and she'd nearly fallen over at the wave of pleasure she got from that. It had led to them both staying late in the changeroom and him grinding against her while they snogged until they both cried out with ecstasy.

Initially she'd been unsure that she should have let them carry on to that point, but he'd been so sweet with her after and that had gotten her out of her head over whether it had been a smart move or not. It had felt right at the time.

Tonight he'd managed to sneak into her dorm room and cuddle up to her in bed, she might have told him that it was too risky, but he had put up a silencing shield around her bed and was scratching her scalp until she was literally purring against him.

"I can't believe how you react to this," he commented softly as she was curled up by his side with her head on his chest.

"You like it when I do it to you too," she pointed out, trying not to let herself drool on him.

"Yeah, it feels nice, but with you it's like you'll let me do anything so long as I keep doing it."

"Mmm, maybe I would," she said, snuggling more into his warmth.

As relaxed as she was, she knew what he was getting at. Her brain function hadn't completely worn off. She had her one leg between his, she could feel his reaction to them laying in this position. It was something she'd been thinking happy thoughts about for a while as well.

"Good thing I'm a cat person then, eh?" he said lightly, like he was trying not to sound too hopeful about what this might be leading to.

Four weeks now they had been sneaking around and she felt like she knew him fairly well now. Well enough that perhaps their hands might wander below the belt. Slowly her hand started tracing lazy circles on his stomach, swirling lower and lower to the top of his pajama bottoms.

His breath hitched when her finger-tips ran just under the elastic. "Ginny," he said quietly. "We- you don't have to."

His own fingers had stopped moving on her head and her thoughts were coming in clearer. She wanted to touch him like this. They'd been getting to know each other in so many different ways, she wanted to know him this way as well.

"Shh," she told him, her hand dipping under his bottoms properly, the back of her hand grazing up his erection. It bobbed up and down, twitching at the feel of her skin against it.

His chest was rising and falling with his breaths that were becoming erratic. With each caress he would take in two inhales before breathing out. Ginny turned her hand over and wrapped her fingers around him properly.

It was the first time she had touched one. It felt smooth and hard, but the skin around the hardness had some pliancy. And it was warm and thick.

Harry's hands came down to grip the blanket at either side of the mattress as she stroked him up and down. Ginny was biting her lip as she rubbed her thighs together while she worked him over.

The length of him, the size of him. It would probably feel amazing to have that inside of her, but they were too soon into this for her to be thinking of them taking that step. Her imagination was already taking her there though. She couldn't help imagining the two of them with just their naked flesh between them and him between her legs. It would hurt at first, but then it would be incredible.

Up and down his shaft her hand went. Licking her lips, she moved her head down his body, she might not be ready to go all the way, but she was ready for this. Lowering her head to rest lightly on his belly she stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of him that was poking out the top of his bottoms.

"Ginny," Harry panted quietly in surprise.

Feeling more confident she lowered her head a bit more and stuck the whole head of his penis in her mouth, circling her tongue around it in a steady rhythm while her hand worked.

His hips started joining in and rocking back and forth. "Gi- Ginny," he said warningly after a few minutes of the repetitive movements. "Ginny, I'm gunna."

He didn't get any more words past his lips before something warm and salty shot into her mouth in tiny spurts. Ginny swallowed down what had shot into her mouth and gave a few more swirls of her tongue to clean him off before pulling back, waiting for him to relax back against the mattress before bringing his pajama bottoms back over him.

It was the same feeling she got as the last time they'd done something intimate. The instant concern that she probably shouldn't have done what she just did. Again, it went away as Harry gently pulled her up to lay properly beside him and hugged her close.

"That felt incredible," he whispered into her hair. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she told him in a shy whisper.

He nuzzled against her forehead, encouraging her to look up at him. "I would never," he told her sincerely as he traced his fingers down the side of her face. "Ginny, I've never cared about anyone like I do for you before. I haven't told anyone about us, and I'm not going to be saying anything about what we get up to when you're finally alright with admitting we're together."

Ginny didn't know what it was she was worried about. She liked Harry. A lot. The rumor mill at Hogwarts could be vicious, but if she and he were in a committed relationship then what did it matter what people were saying?

"I trust you," she told him.

"Enough to… let me return the favor?" he asked hopefully.

Heat rose to Ginny's cheeks as she blushed in the darkness. "Yes," she said slowly. She'd fantasized about this as well.

Harry let out a disbelieving breath. "Really?"

Not trusting her voice Ginny rolled to lay back on the mattress, opening herself up to let his hands wander.

Harry rolled to his side, starting off slow, which she was grateful for as he scratched at her hairline behind her ear before rubbing her ear gently and turning her into a pile of goo before he worked his hand down, cautiously cupping at her shirt covered breasts while his lips went to her neck.

Ginny's head lolled to the side to give him better access and arched her back at the feel of his hand sliding down her stomach and to the top of her sleep shorts.

Her thighs fell apart further the closer his hand got to its mark, but Harry hesitated. Ginny was too wanton to wait much longer. The anticipation was torturing her. Placing a hand over top his she guided it below the fabric and between her folds.

Harry gave a groan at feeling her there. "So warm," he murmured in amazement. His fingers slid over and around her clit and entrance, not staying in one spot.

Ginny's brow furrowed, he didn't seem to know what to focus on.

She let him fumble around a bit more before she simply placed her hand over top of his once more and directed his fingers to where they needed to go.

"Like that," she whispered as his fingers circled around and around her clit in steady and sure movements.

Eventually she moved her hand away, tucking it under her pillow to grip there as she let the wonderful feelings Harry was giving her pass over her body. This was definitely the best way to get petted.

His fingers fumbled again as he moved his way down her body.

Ginny couldn't help how deep her breaths were getting as she realized that he really was intending to repay the favor.

She didn't know if she was quite ready to bear it all in front of him, but as he shifted his body down hers she understood that he had no intention of removing her shorts. She was looking down at him and he up at her, locking eyes as he pulled her bit of fabric between her legs to the side, finding her special spot with his fingers once more and then replacing them with his tongue.

Her head fell back against the pillow at this new sensation against her.

His tongue was making the same movement against her clit as his fingers had been doing but somehow it felt a million times better.

And then his fingers joined into the mix again and she let out a pleasured gasp.

His fingers were there at her entrance, gently gliding inside her bit by bit in small movements, movements that grew more pronounced due to her hips rocking back and forth of their own accord.

Never before had she felt so incredible.

All thought flew from her head while the sensations inside her simply grew and she fell into a blissful state of being both incredibly aroused and still searching for a magnificent climax that was surely to wash over her body soon.

Wave after wave of eye rolling pleasure washed over her as his tongue continued on its mission.

Then there it was, that feeling that was telling her soon she was going to be crying out. His tongue was making those perfect circular motions and his two fingers were inside her and she felt herself become frenzied as she rocked against his mouth and fingers while her climax grew closer and closer until it finally broke her apart.

Ginny couldn't have stopped herself from crying out her finish for anything.

Never before had she managed to bring herself to such a magnificent climax.

Did everyone else know just how incredible oral sex was?

She relaxed back against the pillow and tried to collect herself. "That. That," she tried to tell him just how much she enjoyed it, but words were too much work.

Harry straightened out her sleep shorts and came back to lay beside her. "I quite enjoyed that too," he admitted softly, giving her a kiss to her forehead and adjusting them so they could lay comfortably beside each other.

Ginny could feel that he was hard again, but she could barely bring herself to move, let alone take care of him once more just then.

As she lay there attempting to regain her composure she soon found out that he had no expectations for her to try and take care of him, as he had begun snoring softly.

She grinned widely as she heard him sleeping. Her last conscious thought was to set her tempus alarm to go off around five a.m. so he could sneak back to his dorm unnoticed.

()()()

It was clear to Ginny after that night that she didn't want to keep their relationship a secret anymore. Harry had been so patient with her, but they were taking things to the next level now and it was time to stop hiding.

And the first Hogsmeade Weekend was coming up.

With her decision made she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and saw Harry sitting with Seamus Finnigan at the far end of the table so she headed straight for them, feeling confident.

He started when she sat down beside him and started loading up her plate.

"Hi Ginny," Harry greeted her pleasantly, his eyes narrowed slightly in an effort to find out what she was getting up to.

"Hi Harry, Seamus," she nodded across the table.

"Weaslette," Seamus nodded.

Ginny gave him a good-natured growl at that name for her. "Do we have a practice next Saturday?" Ginny asked Harry casually.

"No, it's Hogsmeade weekend," he told her easily and kept eating his breakfast.

"Is it really?" she pressed. "Huh. Planning on going then?"

"Think someone might be fishing for an invitation," Seamus grinned at his friends from across the table.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Seamus in interest. "Do you? Think she's looking for one from me or you?"

"You're the one that knows her better, but I certainly wouldn't mind a shot," Seamus waggled his eyebrows at her.

"What do you imagine a Hogsmeade trip with our Miss Weasley here would entail exactly?" Harry pretended to think it over.

"She's more of a 'winging it' type, don't you think?" Seamus pondered. "Well, Miss Weasley, which of us is it?"

Ginny turned her eyes to the transparent ceiling. He had been caring and romantic with her when they were alone together, but why on earth did she think that would translate to him jumping at her laying the groundwork for him to ask her out in public?

"Trying to clue you in actually," Ginny told Seamus. "Romilda has been hoping you'd ask her. Think you should get on that," she pointed down the table to her dorm mate that was making eyes at Seamus.

"Oh, cheers for that," Seamus said happily and picked up his bag to move down the table.

"Well, that's taken care of," Ginny made to stand. "Enjoy your breakfast."

Harry caught her hand and gave a tug so she would sit back down. "Did I just fail a test or something?" he asked her patronizing and teasing tone.

"No," she said too quickly.

Harry just gave her a look that said he didn't believe her.

"Fine," she admitted. "I thought things had been going well between us and wondered if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade together."

"Of course, I do, but what was that about?" he asked, gesturing down to Seamus who now had Romilda Vane hanging off him.

Ginny bit her lip, feeling a little ashamed. "I," she started quietly and picked up her juice, "might have had that playing out a bit differently in my head," she muttered into the glass.

"Was I supposed to get down on bended knee or something," he teased her as he pulled her slightly closer towards him on the bench.

"No," she rolled her eyes again.

"Drop what I was doing and snog you in front of the whole school?" he continued guessing at her fantasized scenarios.

Her shoulders sagged. She didn't know what exactly she was hoping for, she just knew that he and Seamus joking about it over breakfast wasn't what she'd expected. With a sigh she simply asked him, "Harry, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

He touched a finger under her chin and turned her to head to face him. "I'd love to," he said softly and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Oi," Ron's voice protested from not far away. "What the bloody hell is this?"

Harry rested his forehead against hers. "Can you please be the one to deal with this? I'm going to be getting enough glares from him in our dorm."

Ginny smirked at him and gave him one more kiss before pulling away and confronting her brother.

"Harry and I are going out, Ron," she said plainly.

"Wha? Why?" his face was screwed up in disgust.

"Because he's a cat person."

()()()

AN- I am adding to this compilation story sporadically as I focus more on my other longer stories that I am working on, but I don't know that I will ever be done posting sexy one-shots. It's fun to think up different scenarios for them to hook up in. I love the meet-cute-then-bang stories.

I will be adding some excerpts from Chamber Girl in here eventually that are too hot for the 'T' rating as well, but not until the chapters that they are excerpt from are posted.