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SIYE Time:6:04 on 29th March 2024
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The Thorny Rose 3: A Spring Clean for the May Queen
By Brennus

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance
Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 127
Summary: The third and final part of the Thorny Rose trilogy. Voldemort is again without a body, Ron has vanished and our favourite couple now know the contents of the prophecy. More importantly, Sirius is getting married. What will Harry and Ginny do now to finally put the Wizarding World to rights.
Hitcount: Story Total: 49696; Chapter Total: 5757
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:

Another Zep-titled chapter (hmm, I seem to be leaning on their sublime final album 'In Through the Out Door' for song titles). ‘In the Evening’ is actually my all-time favourite Led Zeppelin song, just in case anyone is interested in the slightest.

I do have one thing I want to mention about this chapter. The broom cupboard scene may seem just like a bit of titillation, but I did actually have a (semi-)serious point to make here. I've read far too many soul bond stories where Harry and Ginny are bonded, and share every thought, feeling and emotion, but when Harry happens to glance in Cho Chang's direction or something, suddenly that all seems to go out of the window! Hello, if they're sharing emotions then surely Ginny would realise Harry didn't have any interest in the Chinese bint! So, here I set up a situation where Ginny can get suitably jealous, but then have the matter dealt with as I imagined it would with the bond in place. You'll be pleased to know I resisted making any jokes about Hermione becoming 'Head Girl' at this point...

Thanks as always to Arnel for her super-duper beta work.




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Chapter 9 — In the Evening



“Hello, and welcome to this term’s first meeting of the Hogwarts Defence Association,” Harry greeted the assembled group loudly.

Ginny watched him proudly from the side of the stage. During the last year Harry had really grown into his role as leader of the H.D.A. and now he presented a commanding and imposing figure. The fact that even the pupils older than he listened to his words in rapt attention spoke volumes.

In truth, she’d been a bit worried about running the H.D.A. this year as she suspected that she and Harry were starting to take on too much. So far, however, her worries had been unfounded. Hermione’s desire that Eddie be more involved had proved a blessing, as they had simply turned over the meetings of the lower years to them. From this point, Hermione and Eddie would teach the first through to fourth years, and she and Harry would teach the older students. It was already proving a good system.

Their prefect duties were taking up less time than she feared, too. In truth, the Marauder’s Map played a big part in that, as they barely had to patrol the castle, allowing the pair of them to devote themselves to much more pleasurable activities. They did have fun occasionally interrupting couples who had decided to make use of the castle’s broom cupboards, however. Frankly, if they couldn’t find a better place to engage in their romantic activities, then they deserved to get busted. Harry and Ginny always used the Room of Requirement: a lot more private and they could get the room to create a large and comfortable bed for them. Much more satisfactory!

“As we’ve probably all been lazy over the holidays, I thought we’d kick off with some simple drills, namely Shield Charms,” Harry continued. “For this exercise I’ll need you all to split into pairs so that one person can cast the Shield Charm while the other fires spells at them. I’ll demonstrate what I mean. Can I have a volunteer, please?”

“I’ll do it, Harry!” cried Colin Creevey enthusiastically.

Ginny rolled her eyes. Although Colin was a nice bloke, his constant state of excitement was a little exhausting at times. His complete hero-worship of Harry could be a little off-putting, too. When Colin had learnt that she had become betrothed to Harry over the summer, he’d begged her to be allowed to take the photos at their wedding, when it happened. In the end, she’d agreed to his request just to shut him up. Still, Colin was pretty handy with a camera, and they could probably get his services for free. A Knut saved is a Knut earned, as they say.

By this point, Colin had scrambled onto the stage and was facing Harry with a look of glee on his face. Harry just smiled at the younger boy indulgently.

“Right, Colin, what I want you to do is simply cast a Shield Charm and I’ll attempt to break it down by casting Blasting Charms at it. I’ll keep my charms relatively low-powered, so if one of them gets through it shouldn’t hurt you,” Harry explained. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Colin confirmed happily and cast a Protego Charm in front of himself.

“Okay, I’m going to cast the first spell now,” Harry warned. “Confringo!”

A bolt of light purple light shot from Harry’s wand and impacted against Colin’s shield. The shield instantly collapsed and Colin was blown backwards a good twenty feet where he impacted against the wall. Fortunately, before commencing they always cast Cushioning Charms on the walls and floor for this very eventuality.

Colin hit the wall and bounced off it vigorously. He flew forward a few yards before hitting the floor, face first, with a loud slap. Weakly, he raised his head.

“That was brilliant, Harry!” Colin announced before his head fell forward and he passed out. Harry immediately rushed to his side to check his injuries.

Fortunately, it appeared that Colin had merely been knocked unconscious and no major damage had been done. Even so, a couple of people volunteered to take him to the hospital wing to get him checked over. Ginny approached her stunned-looking boyfriend cautiously.

“I thought you were going to keep your spells relatively low-powered,” she reminded him gently. “You nearly blew poor little Colin through the wall.”

“I know! I did keep my spell low-powered. At least, I thought I did!” Harry protested.

“You know, we haven’t exactly done a lot of spell work since you got shot of You-Know-Who out of your head,” she pointed out quietly. “Do you remember that we speculated that you were using up a lot of your magical power just containing him?”

“Yeah, I remember you saying that. Do you think that now he’s gone I’ve received a bit of a power boost?” he asked.

“More than a bit,” Ginny laughed. “If that was your idea of a low-powered spell then I would hate to be around when you really cut loose!”

“You’re right. I think I’d better be careful when I start casting spells in class, at least until I get use to the extra power and can control it,” Harry decided.

“Good plan,” she agreed. “I also think that you’d better avoid duelling anyone for a while. Not that I think you’d get many volunteers at the moment, anyway.”

They turned and saw that most of the H.D.A. members were looking at Harry with a mix of awe and trepidation.

Feeling wicked, Ginny called out to the assembled group. “So, who’s next to face Harry?”

She laughed as collectively they all went as white as a sheet.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was almost half-past nine on a dull Wednesday evening as Harry and Ginny made their way up the staircase to the fourth floor. It was their night for patrol duties and they had elected to take a quick stroll around the castle before they headed to the Room of Requirement for a little fun. Besides, it would give them a chance to engage in their new hobby of broom cupboard busting.

Despite catching numerous couples engaged in various levels of activities over the previous weeks, Hogwarts amorous youngsters still seemed intent on using the poky closets for their trysts. After forcefully opening the door to a cupboard a few weeks previous and finding themselves presented with a grandstand view of Millicent Bulstrode’s naked bottom, they had decided to do something about it, namely thoroughly embarrassing all those they caught.

They had therefore created the ‘Wall of Shame’, a large noticeboard situated in an out-of-the-way corner on the sixth floor. A few Permanent Sticking Charms had been applied to prevent anyone, teachers included, from removing it and they were in business. From that point on, they had ensured they carried a camera with them whenever they were on patrol duty. One of them would pull the door to an occupied cupboard open while the other would take a picture before the occupants could react. So far, the results they had obtained had been extremely mixed. They ranged from catching a pair of fourth year Hufflepuffs holding hands, to getting a great shot of two near-naked seventh year Slytherins going at it hammer and tongs. All the pictures religiously went on the board, and word had spread of its existence rapidly. The sixth floor now received a regular stream of visitors to check for new additions.

Quite why people still insisted on using the cupboards was a mystery to Ginny. Hogwarts was a huge castle full of little-used rooms and hidden passageways. Frankly, if people couldn’t be bothered to put a little more imagination into selecting a place to go, then she had no sympathy for them.

They now had a regular route that they checked whenever on patrol that included all the most popular cupboards. To make things a bit fairer, they had decided not to use the Marauder’s Map while conducting these searches, as at least it gave the courting couples a fighting chance. It also made for some interesting surprises when the doors were opened. For instance, they had caught Tamsin Applebee, a seventh year Hufflepuff, in a cupboard with a different boy on three separate occasions. They had also caught Pansy Parkinson in a cupboard with Ivan Urquhart, which suggested she probably had lost interest in Draco completely.

“Oh, I think we have some customers!” Harry crowed with delight as he tried the door handle on one of the cupboards on their regular route. “Whoever it is has placed a Locking Charm on the door, too.”

“Ooh, sneaky! But not nearly sneaky enough. Did they really think we couldn’t handle a simple Locking Charm? I mean, really!” Ginny snorted in disgust.

“It does kind of make you wonder what whoever it is in there is up to, doesn’t it?” Harry pondered.

“One way to find out,” she smirked and dispelled the charm on the door. She then rested her hand on the door handle in preparation. “Got the camera ready?” she asked.

Harry positioned himself opposite the door with the camera in his hands. “Ready when you are,” he confirmed.

With a practiced twist of her hand, Ginny jerked the door open abruptly. As soon as the door was fully open there was a flash as Harry operated the camera. He grinned in triumph for a second before the smile slid off his face. Ginny heard him gasp in shock and she darted round so she could see who was in the cupboard. When she saw who the occupants were, she felt her jaw drop in amazement.

“Hermione?” Harry gasped.

There, on her knees, knelt Hermione Granger, with her blouse wide open revealing a lack of undergarments and a look of abject horror on her face. A boy Ginny recognised as Eddie from his wiry hair stood with his back to them, desperately trying to pull his trousers up. For a second, Ginny could only stare at them in surprise before her brain cleared and she burst out laughing.

Hermione’s face went hard and she leapt to her feet. “What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” she screeched.

“Why, we’re doing our job as prefects,” Harry replied, amusement clear in his voice. “You know we’re meant to check each broom cupboard. It’s in the rules!”

“Yes, but I didn’t think you two actually did that!” Hermione shouted, sounding a bit hysterical. “I thought whenever you were on patrol you both just headed straight to the Room of Requirement and got busy.”

“Hermione, who do you think it is that created the Wall of Shame on the sixth floor?” Ginny asked in delight.

“That’s you?” Hermione gasped. “I thought that was Ernie and Susan from Hufflepuff.”

“Nah, they’re much too nice to do something like that,” Harry laughed. “We, on the other hand, are evil gits who like causing mayhem. And now we have a lovely new picture to add to the wall!”

“Don’t you bloody dare!” Hermione snarled, looking around for her wand.

“Oh, what’s it worth for us not to, then?” Ginny teased.

“Umm, Harry, Ginny, there’s no need for this, is there?” Eddie asked plaintively. He’d managed to get his trousers done up and had emerged from the cupboard sheepishly.

“Don’t know about that,” Harry grinned. “Two prefects, caught in a compromising position in a forbidden place. That’s a very serious matter, you know.”

“Gimme that camera!” Hermione yelled, lunging at Harry. Harry, with all the skills of a top-class Quidditch player, just tossed the camera to Ginny before Hermione’s grasping fingers could reach it. Ginny, in turn, tapped the camera with her wand, Banishing it back to her room.

Hermione stared at her in wild-eyed anger. “If you don’t give me that bloody photo…” she began.

“That’s no way to talk to a friend,” Ginny cut her off in mock outrage. “Especially one that has such compromising material on you.”

“What do you want?” Eddie asked in a defeated voice. “I don’t have much money.”

“Money?” Harry gasped, sounding genuinely offended. “We’re not trying to get money from you! You’re our friends; we wouldn’t do something that nasty.”

“No, especially when it’s more fun just to embarrass you,” Ginny added, equally annoyed that Eddie would think that lowly of them.

“What do you want, then?” Hermione asked, fighting to keep her temper under control.

“Well, for a start you could stop flashing your knockers at my boyfriend,” Ginny replied irritably.

Hermione, suddenly realising her blouse was wide open, turned a bright shade of red and hurriedly started to do up the buttons on her shirt. Harry pulled an exaggerated look of disappointment.

“You will give us that photograph, won’t you?” Hermione insisted once she had covered herself up.

“We were going to, until Eddie suggested we wanted money from you,” Ginny snapped, suddenly feeling very annoyed.

Hermione spun around and glared at her boyfriend. Eddie gave an apologetic shrug and suddenly became enormously interested in something on the floor.

“Eddie! You should have known Harry and Ginny would never try and extort money from us,” Hermione said angrily. “No, they’ll probably just want to do something to humiliate us, like make us run naked through the Great Hall!”

“Now there’s an idea,” Harry pondered.

It was Eddie’s turn to glare at Hermione.

“You’re going to have to wait to hear what we’ve decided will be your forfeit,” Ginny decided. “We’ll let you know in due course.”

“You promise you won’t show that photo to anyone,” Hermione begged.

“Of course we won’t!” Ginny barked.

“Except Luna, of course,” Harry added, “and maybe Fred and George…”

Ginny kicked him hard in the shins.

“Ow! No, of course we won’t show anyone,” he amended. “You’re my best friend, Hermione, I would never do that to you.”

“Okay, well… we’ll be going then,” Hermione said, clearly still worried. She grabbed Eddie’s hand and they disappeared down the corridor.

“Oh, that was fun,” Harry sniggered.

“It certainly was for you, wasn’t it,” Ginny growled.

“Eh?” Harry said, nonplussed by Ginny’s sudden change of mood.

“You were certainly having a good look at Hermione’s bazoombas, we’re you?” she snapped.

“To be fair, they were a bit hard to miss,” Harry pointed out. Ginny’s reddening face instantly made him realise his mistake. “Ginny, you can’t be jealous, can you? You know I don’t think of Hermione in that way.”

“Then why were you looking at her chest so intently?” she demanded.

“I dunno, I was just curious, I guess. I mean, I’ve known her for years, it’s only natural to be a little curious,” Harry pointed out. “Besides, you didn’t object to me looking at Luna.”

“That was different!” Ginny spat.

Harry looked confused for a moment.

“Okay, I’m probably making a massive mistake by asking this, but I really have no clue. Why is it different?” he asked with the look of a man about to stick his head into a bees’ nest.

“Because there was a genuine reason why Luna was naked! We were all sunbathing! You staring at Hermione like that was just perverted,” she raged.

She knew she was being a bit irrational, after all, they had set out with the express intention of embarrassing whoever was in the cupboard, but she couldn’t help herself. Hermione was older and more developed, while her body was only just coming into its adult form. Harry and Hermione had always been close, and she hated to see him leering at her like that.

“Ginny,” Harry said plaintively. “I’m a teenage boy. It’s only natural for me to be curious about other girls’ bodies. Apart from you, that was the first time I’d seen a topless girl, apart from Luna, of course. Oh, and that time we walked in on Tonks and Remus. And when we accidentally saw Eva with Sirius. I guess that Slytherin girl last week counts, too…”

“Just keep digging that hole, Potter,” Ginny growled.

“Err, yeah. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that it’s natural for a relatively inexperienced boy like me to compare other girls with you. Do you know what I think when I do compare them to you?” he asked.

“What?” Ginny snapped, feeling angry, nervous and curious all at once.

“I think what I bloody lucky git I am,” Harry told her resolutely. “I still can’t understand how I managed to end up with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Merlin, could you be any cheesier?” Ginny scoffed.

“Look into our bond,” Harry insisted. “Tell me what you feel.”

Reluctantly, Ginny opened her feelings to him. A consequence of the Soul Bond was that they couldn’t lie to each other, not really. It was virtually impossible for them to truly hide their feeling from each other. The second she opened herself up, Ginny felt waves of emotions rolling off Harry. Concern that she was upset and sorrow that he might be the cause of it. There was also confusion that she was so angry and hurt by his actions. But mostly she felt his love and desire for her. He genuinely did believe she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Her anger evaporated and she felt her heart melt.

“You’re mental, you know that?” she challenged. “I’m short, freckly and I have small boobs. How can you possibly think I’m beautiful?”

“You have the most wonderful brown eyes I’ve ever seen. I just get lost in them whenever I look at you,” he started to explain, taking a step towards her. “Your hair is just magnificent; it’s like an ocean of fire. You always smell so wonderful; just a hint of your scent makes me go weak at the knees. I love the height you are; you fit into my arms just perfectly. And as for your body, I think it’s perfect. You’re slim and athletic; your legs are shapely and just so sexy. Your skin is smooth and creamy; it drives me wild just to touch you. And as for your chest, if you think your boobs are small then you haven’t looked in a mirror for a while. I mean what I say: you, Ginny Weasley, are perfect.”

Ginny looked at him in wonder. Did he really think all that about her? She looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his express and what little anger she had left in her vanished.

“You, Mr Potter, are going to get so lucky tonight,” she purred seductively.

“Then why don’t we head on over to the Room of Requirement and you can show me?” he challenged, his eyes shining with desire.

Unfortunately, when they reached the Room of Requirement it appeared to be already occupied, presumably by Eddie and Hermione. Fortunately, they knew of an unused room in the East Wing that used to be additional teacher accommodation. They hurriedly made their way there and shut themselves in and no one, not even Dumbledore, would have been able to dispel their Locking Charms.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next morning, a rather giggly Harry and Ginny made their way down from the common room. The previous night had proved to be rather spectacular in the end, and they were both feeling very affectionate to each other that morning. Indeed, they were nearly late to breakfast because they kept dragging each other into secluded alcoves to snog. Their mood was only slightly soured when they found a very disgruntled Hermione waiting for them at the Gryffindor table.

“Good morning, Hermione. I barely recognised you with your clothes on,” Harry joked as they sat down. Ginny just giggled at the older girl’s irate expression.

“Well? Have you decided what indignities you’re going to subject me and Eddie to?” Hermione demanded with any preamble.

Harry and Ginny just grinned at each other.

“Actually, we have,” Ginny admitted. “Your punishment is… to tell us how much you love us.”

“What?” Hermione exclaimed doubtfully.

“Here,” Harry said, and pushed a photograph, face down, across the table to her. Carefully, Hermione picked it up, being careful not to display it to anyone else.

“Bloody hell!” Hermione gasped when she got a good look at the picture. She rapidly shoved it into her robes.

“Great picture, isn’t it?” Ginny teased, “Although I’m shocked that you should know how to perform such a disgusting and degrading act.”

“And so well, too, if the look on Eddie’s face is anything to go by,” Harry sniggered.

“Is that the only copy?” Hermione demanded in a horrified voice.

“Yes, and we’ve destroyed the negative, we promise,” Harry said earnestly.

“Thank you,” Hermione said simply, looking like she was going to cry in relief.

“Honestly, do you really think we would have done anything with that photo?” Ginny demanded. “Oh, we’d tease you rotten about it, but we’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know!” Hermione moaned. “It’s just that was the first time I’d ever done anything like that before and to get discovered while doing it was… mortifying.”

“Don’t worry about it. So, I take it things are going well between you and Eddie, then?” Harry asked.

“Really well,” Hermione confirmed with a smile. “It’s just so wonderful to have a proper, affectionate boyfriend. Eddie’s just so tall and muscular, but he’s not just some muscle-bound, Quidditch-worshipping idiot. We actually have proper conversations and discussions. He challenges me in positive ways, too. Not to mention he’s so tender and considerate! Do you know how lovely it is to have someone always greet you with a smile and a hug?”

“Yeah, I do actually,” Ginny grinned.

“Oh, I’m not saying you’re not kind and affectionate, Harry, it’s just we’ve never had that kind of relationship. You always seemed really tense when I hugged you. I’m really glad that you’ve found someone that you feel totally comfortable with,” Hermione told her friend.

“I am, too,” Harry agreed, “and for the record, if you ever feel the need to hug me in future I promise I’ll be a lot more relaxed about it.”

“Did your parents and Eddie’s get on okay, then?” Ginny asked.

“Yes, surprisingly well,” Hermione confirmed. “I think they found some common ground early on, moaning about all the weird things that witches and wizards get up to. In fact, they’ve agreed to meet up for a meal next time my parents travel to London. It will give them a chance to talk about us when we’re not there, I expect.”

“So, have you two… done the deed yet?” Ginny asked quietly.

“Umm, no,” Hermione admitted, sounding very embarrassed. “I must admit, I always thought that I’d wait until I was married to do… that sort of thing, but lately it just seems like it’s getting harder and harder to find reasons not to. I know Eddie would never force himself on me, in fact, he’s made it clear that how far we go is my decision, but I can tell he really wants to, and, truthfully, so do I.”

“My advice is, if that’s what you both want, and you take the suitable precautions, then you should do it. You two are clearly nuts about each other, and if you’re both comfortable with the idea of taking your relationship to the next level, you shouldn’t let anything stop you,” Ginny advised.

“I’ll think about it,” Hermione said with a shy smile.

“To be honest, I thought that’s what you two were up to in the Room of Requirement last night,” Harry admitted.

“What do you mean? We didn’t go to the Room of Requirement. After you interrupted us, we went back to our respective common rooms. I was too embarrassed to do anything else,” Hermione explained ruefully.

“Well, someone was in there. We couldn’t get in at all,” Harry said in puzzlement. “Who else knows about the room?”

“Luna does,” Hermione pointed out before smirking, “perhaps she’s finally found herself a boyfriend.”

“Or maybe a girlfriend,” Ginny said casually.

Hermione instantly blushed and ducked her head. Ginny exchanged a quick glace with Harry. Clearly, their bushy-haired friend was not unaware of Luna’s tastes. There was definitely more to this story!

“Err, I should probably head over to the Ravenclaw table and tell Eddie he doesn’t need to worry about that photo,” Hermione announced, conveniently finding an excuse to leave. “Luna’s normally sitting with him. I’ll ask her if she was in the room last night.”

Hermione hurried away before either of them had a chance to say anything further. Ginny watched as her friend quickly made her way over to the Ravenclaw table and greet her tall boyfriend. Sure enough, Luna was sitting next to Eddie as she often did these days. When Eddie had learned of the extent that Luna had been bullied by members of her own house in the past, he had virtually adopted the younger girl. Although Luna received much less abuse these days due to her close friendship with Harry and Ginny, Eddie had ensured that no one within Ravenclaw was mean to Luna in the slightest. It was another thing that had endeared the young man to them.

Ginny watched as Hermione had a rapid conversation with the blond-haired girl. With a confused expression on her face, Luna turned and looked at them, shaking her head.

“Well, if it wasn’t Luna, who was it in the Room of Requirement last night?” Harry asked in bewilderment.

“I don’t know,” Ginny admitted. “Luna was the only other person who knew about the room, as far as I was aware. Clearly, someone else knows, too.”

“That’s worrying,” Harry said with a frown, before his expression darkened even further. “And that’s even more worrying. Look over at the Slytherin table.”

Ginny looked in the direction Harry was indicating in time to see Draco Malfoy strutting to his usual place at the Slytherin table. Clutching onto his arm was Pansy Parkinson, and a few steps behind him lumbered Crabbe and Goyle.

“Malfoy has got his little entourage back, somehow,” Ginny noted. “How the bloody hell did he manage that? His name’s been mud lately.”

“Do you think mummy has come back from France and brought the family gold back with her?” Harry suggested.

“I doubt it. I’m sure Tonks would have let us know if she’d returned. The Aurors are keeping a special look-out for her, after all,” Ginny reminded him.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Harry asked worriedly.

“Me too, love, me too,” Ginny added, with the sinking feeling that something awful was going to happen.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH P

“Right, thanks for coming everyone. I’ll try and keep this brief, mainly because I’m as keen to get out onto the pitch as you guys,” Harry said with a grin.

Ginny looked over at the rest of the team. They’d held try-outs for the Gryffindor team the previous week, and this was the first practice session for the new players. She didn’t think the new additions were as strong as the players they had replaced, but they still had the makings of a good team.

“How often are you planning to have these sessions, Harry?” Katie Bell, the oldest player present, asked.

Harry smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Katie. I know it’s your N.E.W.T. year and most of you others have O.W.L. exams to sit, too. I plan on just keep it to one session each Saturday afternoon, and maybe adding an evening session a few weeks before each game.”

“You mean, we’re not going to practice morning, noon, and night like Oliver and Angelina had us doing?” Katie asked in surprise.

“I don’t think all that extra training really helped that much,” Harry speculated. “Everyone on that team was a good player, and we ended up just doing the same things over and over again. I swear we lost some of edge because we became bored with the whole thing,” he explained. “No, as far as I’m concerned, once everyone has their basic skills down to pat, we’ll just need to practice team tactics. We’ll ramp things up just before a game, but I don’t see any point in working ourselves into the ground.”

Katie turned and solemnly looked at Ginny. “I know he’s your bloke, Gin, but I love him and want to bear his children.”

“Don’t we all,” giggled Demelza, who was sitting next to Ginny.

“We’re never going to win anything like that!” Cormac McLaggen objected. “If you can’t be arsed to do a proper job as captain, you shouldn’t have taken the position! I think that…”

“McLaggen, shut your mouth! When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Got it?” Harry barked. McLaggen looked like he wanted to argue, but had the sense to keep quiet for the moment.

“How are you going to set the team up this year?” Ginny asked in an effort to get the meeting back on track. She didn’t really mind if Harry murdered McLaggen, but cleaning up the mess afterwards would be a pain.

“As I see it, our main strength this year will be in attack. You three girls are probably the best Chasers in the school at the moment, and I want to centre our play on getting the Quaffle to you as early as possible. Jimmy and Ritchie, no offense to you, but this being your first season I don’t want to rely too much on our defensive play. You guys need time to bed in and get used to playing in higher-tempo competitive matches. I’ll want you guys to spend most of your time protecting Ginny, Demelza and Katie so they have a clear run at the opposition hoops, okay?” Harry asked the nervous young Beaters.

“Yeah, no problem, Harry’” Jimmy Peakes assured him.

“We won’t let you down,” Ritchie Coote added.

“I think your tactics are all wrong,” McLaggen protested. “I’m by far the best Keeper in the school, and you should be building the team up from the solid defensive base we have. I’ll be able to distribute the Quaffle to the girls easily enough, so you should have the Beaters forming a protective line about ten yards from my position. If we then…”

“McLaggen, if I hear one more bloody word out of your mouth, you are off the team. Do you understand?” Harry growled taking a few threatening steps towards the larger boy.

“I’m just saying…” McLaggen began defensively.

“One… more… bloody… word…” Harry snarled, his face turning red and eyes positively glowing with anger.

“Err… I…” McLaggen stuttered. Although he was older and much larger than his captain, Harry had built quite a reputation for himself over the previous years as someone not to be messed with. You could practically feel the magical energy pulsing around him.

“Let me make a few things clear to you, McLaggen,” Harry said in a low, threatening voice. “Although you’re a half-decent Keeper when you put your mind to it, you’re also an arrogant wanker who thinks he knows better than everyone else. You see this shiny gold badge on my chest, Cormac? The one that says ‘Captain’ on it? That means that I’m the one giving the orders around here, not you, a concept you don’t seem to have grasped yet. So let me make it clear to you. If you question my word again: you’re out of the team. If you start trying to order your fellow team members about: you’re out. If you start sexually harassing the girls, which I hear you’ve been known to do: you’re out. In fact, if I catch you so much as looking at me funny, your arse will be out that door so fast that you’ll be the first wizard to break the speed of sound. Don’t speak; just nod your head if you understand.”

McLaggen nodded.

“Good, then perhaps we can press on!” Harry announced before starting to break down his proposed tactics in greater detail.

As Harry started to speak, Demelza leaned over and whispered in Ginny’s ear.

“Have you any idea how turned-on I am at the moment, Gin? Please lend him to me for one evening. Pretty please,” she begged.

“No chance,” Ginny whispered back, “but if you’re a good girl, I’ll draw you some pictures of what I plan to get up to with him tonight.”

Demelza pouted, much to Ginny’s amusement.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP HPHPHP

“Well, that was a sodding great waste of time,” Ginny huffed as they made their way down from the Headmaster’s office.

“It can’t be helped,” Harry said in a resigned voice. “If we’re going to keep up the pretence that we know nothing about Voldemort’s Horcruxes, we need to keep taking these lessons with him.”

“But what’s the point of all this?” Ginny demanded, waving her arms about in irritation. “Even allowing for the fact that I know Tom Riddle’s life story a hell of a lot better than old droopy-draws up there, what is Dumbledore hoping to achieve by showing us all these stupid Pensieve memories? I mean, he could sit us down and say ‘these are the objects I believe to be Horcruxes’ and ‘this is where I think they are’. Job done! I don’t give a toss how deranged Morfin Gaunt was, or how desperate Hepzibah Smith was for a shag.”

“I think it’s a case of ‘knowing your enemy’. At least, I assume that’s what Dumbledore is trying to teach us,” Harry smiled.

“Is that man incapable of just coming straight to the bloody point? We’ve been at this nearly three months now and we’ve achieved bugger-all,” Ginny grumbled. “No wonder he didn’t defeat Gellert Grindelwald until nineteen forty-five. It probably took him that long just to decide what colour robes to wear.”

Harry just sniggered, obviously a lot calmer about the whole thing than she. True, most of the information about Tom Riddle was new to him and therefore a lot more interesting, but there were still a million other more useful things they could be doing with their time.

They had just reached the main staircase when a flustered-looking Professor McGonagall called out to them. She hurried up the stairs towards them, breathing heavily.

“Oh, there you two are. I thought I would have to run all the way to Albus’s office,” she said breathlessly.

“What’s wrong, Professor?” Harry asked in a concerned voice.

“Your godmother has been trying to contact you, Harry,” she puffed. “It’s about Sirius.”

“Nothing’s happened to him, has it?” Harry immediately asked.

“No, quite the contrary, he’s regained consciousness,” McGonagall informed him.

“What? When?” Harry cried in joy.

“Earlier today, I understand. Eva is on the Floo in my office. If you make your way there, I’m sure she can give you more details then I can,” the Professor explained.

Harry instantly took off at a furious pace and Ginny was hard pressed to stay with him. As McGonagall’s office was on the first floor, it was quite a distance to run, but Harry didn’t slow once. By the time they reached the office and barged through the door, Ginny was breathing heavily.

“Eva? Eva, are you there?” Harry called, throwing himself onto his knees in front of the fireplace.

“Harry? Is that you?” Eva’s voice called out and a second later her head appeared in the grate. “Thank Merlin Minerva was able to find you. Harry, Sirius is awake! He woke up this afternoon and immediately asked for me. He would choose the one afternoon I wasn’t at the hospital to wake up.”

“Sounds typical of him,” Ginny laughed, squeezing herself next to Harry. “Is he alright?”

“Mostly,” Eva confirmed. “He’s still getting headaches and he occasionally loses control of his bodily functions, but the Healers say that will sort itself out in the near future. Oh, words can’t express how relieved I am!”

“When can I see him?” Harry asked eagerly.

“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the Christmas holidays,” Eva told him hesitantly.

“What? But I want to see him now!” Harry protested angrily.

“I know, but he’s still very weak and needs his rest. Trust me, Harry, he doesn’t want anyone to see him at the present. Let him regain his strength and get himself back on his feet. The Christmas holidays are only a few weeks away and hopefully he’ll be back home by then,” Eva told him, a hint of steel behind her voice.

“Harry, you know Sirius would hate anyone to see him while he’s so weak,” Ginny pointed out, lightly rubbing her boyfriend’s arm. “I know you want to see him more than anything, but he’s still very sick. Let him get his strength and dignity back first.”

Harry sighed. “Okay, but can you tell him that I’m thinking of him and that I can’t wait to see him again,” he begged.

“Of course I will,” Eva assured him, “and I bet he’ll be really looking forward to seeing you, too. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I really should get back to him. I love you, Harry and I’ll see you soon. Take care of him for me, Ginny.”

“I will, Eva,” Ginny called, but Eva’s head had already disappeared. Ginny looked at her boyfriend, who appeared to be quite upset.

“Christmas! Why the bloody hell can’t I see him before?” Harry moaned.

“I don’t want to worry you, but reading between the lines, I assume Sirius is still very ill. Remember what the Healer said about how head injuries can affect people? My guess is that Sirius is still on the road to recovery at the moment. Eva said he was having trouble controlling his body functions, which probably means that he can’t control his bladder at the moment. Imagine how mortified Sirius would be if he wet himself while we were visiting,” Ginny pointed out gently.

“I wouldn’t care! He’s been badly injured; I understand that he’s still recovering from that,” Harry protested.

“You might understand, but it would still humiliate him if it happened. Sirius is a proud man, and being as helpless as a baby must be agony for him. Trust me, love, he’ll appreciate it more if you give him a bit of time to recover. The Healers at St Mungo’s can do wonders, you know, and I’m sure in a few weeks he’ll be much better,” she said soothingly.

“I guess,” Harry sighed.

“I understand how you feel,” she assured him. “If it was one of my family, I’d be tearing down walls trying to see them. In this case, though, I think you need to give Sirius a bit of time.”

“You’re right,” he huffed, “as usual. Still, it’s going to be a difficult couple of weeks. You know, I really don’t fancy going back to the common room tonight. Do you mind if we go to the Room of Requirement and sleep there? I really need to have you by me.”

“Of course,” she confirmed, giving him a soft kiss. “Don’t worry, Sirius is awake. This is a good thing; you should be happy.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s still hard, though,” he said sadly.

“I know. Let’s head over to the Room of Requirement and get it to create a great big, comfortable bed in front of a roaring fire, and we’ll just cuddle-up for the rest of the evening. That sound good?” she asked tenderly.

“Yeah, that sounds wonderful. Have I told you how much I love you today?” he asked.

“Well, only the once, as I recall, so you’re really slipping,” she teased. “Come on, love, let’s go to bed.”

Taking his hand, they left McGonagall’s office.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH P

“We’re here!” Harry declared excitedly, leaping to his feet.

Ginny looked out the window and saw that the train was indeed just pulling into King’s Cross Station. It would, however, be a few minutes before it stopped completely, but Harry seemed determined to be the first one off.

“Calm down, love,” she told him as he hurriedly put on his jacket. “You won’t be able to disembark for a few minutes yet.”

“I know, it’s just…” his voice trailed off and he looked at her pleadingly. She smiled at him.

“Come on, then. Let’s make sure you’re at the front of the queue to get off. We’ll see you later, Luna,” Ginny said, smiling at their friend who was the only other occupant of the compartment.

“Yes, I’ll see you both on Boxing Day, won’t I?” she asked with a dreamy smile.

“Yeah, you have a great Christmas, Luna,” Harry said and, surprising both girls, he leaned down and kissed Luna on the cheek. The blond girl’s smile became just a bit more radiant.

“Bye, Luna, see you on Thursday,” Ginny just managed to add before Harry pulled her out of the compartment and towards the exits. A couple of second years were already standing in the doorway, but they rapidly stood aside after Harry scowled at them. Ginny smiled apologetically at the two young boys, but made no effort to scold her boyfriend. This was just too important to him.

It seemed like an age before the train finally came to a complete halt and the doors opened. Harry leapt from the train and began to frantically look around him. It didn’t take long to find the people he was looking for.

“Sirius!” he cried and ran forward.

For a second, it looked like Harry was going to knock his godfather flying, but at the last second he remembered that the man was still very fragile and managed to halt himself. Instead, he gently pulled the older man into a warm embrace. Sirius wrapped his arms around his godson, and it looked like he was fighting back tears.

“Hello, Ginny, did you have a good journey?” Eva asked, moving forward to hug her.

“Yes, thanks, Eva, although Harry couldn’t wait to get here. He fidgeted the whole way,” Ginny said, accepting Eva’s embrace happily.

“Your parents are over by the platform entrance,” the large woman told her. “They said that you could meet them there.”

Ginny nodded, pleased that her family had been so considerate. Harry openly had tears streaming down him face, and Ginny couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat at the sight of the two men’s joyous reunion.

The last two weeks had been extremely difficult for Harry. It had not been helped by the fact that both she and Luna had both been extremely busy taking their O.W.L.s and had not been around much. Fortunately, Hermione had stepped into the breach and had made sure that Harry was never left by himself. Harry’s oldest friend had been a great comfort to him as he fretted about Sirius’s health and longed to see him. Ginny had made sure she got her bushy-haired friend an extra nice Christmas gift this year.

“Ah, there’s the beautiful young lady that’s captured my godson’s heart,” Sirius announced as he let go of Harry. “Come and give me a hug.”

Ginny darted into the man’s open arms. “It’s great to see you, Sirius,” she said. “You’re looking really good.”

“What do you mean? I always look good,” Sirius protested with a smirk.

“You really haven’t seen yourself first thing in the morning, have you?” Eva grinned. “I’ve seen Mountain Trolls who are more attractive.”

“Huh, that’s a lie and you know it. You find me irresistible, admit it,” he replied grandly before addressing Harry and Ginny. “You know, I had barely woken up before she was demanding to have sex with me. There I was, weak and tired from my ordeal, having to service my lustful wife three times a day. I was lucky not to have a relapse!”

“Funny, I seem to recall it was you begging for sexual favours,” Eva said primly. “I ask you, you’d been unconscious for months, on the brink of death, and when you finally wake up, what are the first words you say to me? ‘Gissa hand-job, love!’ Unbelievable!”

Ginny burst out laughing. That was just so typical of Sirius. The man himself looked completely unrepentant and merely winked at his wife.

“You obliged me eventually though, didn’t you?” he pointed out smugly.

“Ugh! Are you two trying to traumatise me?” Harry demanded. “That is one image I don’t want in my brain!”

“Come on, Ginny’s parents will be wondering where she is. Let’s get out of here,” Sirius said, slipping his arm around his wife.

“Yeah, then can we get something to eat? I’m starving,” Harry announced, putting his arm around Ginny’s shoulders.

Ginny smiled. Everything was back to normal.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH PHPHP

“So, when is the group meeting up again? I miss seeing everyone,” Luna said as she settled back onto the bed she was sitting on, a glass of fruity elven wine in her hand.

“I don’t think it will during the Christmas holidays,” Harry informed her. “Sirius will only want to get involved, and Eva has strictly banned him from doing anything. It will probably be Easter before we all get together again.”

Ginny looked up at her boyfriend who was, as usual these days, dressed immaculately. The years of being forced to wear his cousin’s old cast-offs obviously still rankled and he always took the time to be well-presented. The pine green shirt with gold buttons he was wearing really suited him, and went well with his dark grey trousers. She decided he was one Christmas gift she was definitely going to enjoy unwrapping.

“Has Hermione or Remus had any luck in finding out who this R.A.B. person is?” Luna asked.

“No, and apparently we’re not to mention this to Sirius, at all. If he gets wind of how close we are to destroying the last of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, he’s bound to want to help. I know he seems like he’s his old self, but he’s still pretty weak, even if he does a good job hiding it,” Harry said sternly.

Luna nodded obediently and took another sip of her wine. It was Boxing Day and this had been the first opportunity for the three of them to get together. The Weasleys had thrown a huge party and The Burrow was overflowing with guests. They had sneaked up to Ginny’s room to talk in private while the party was in full swing downstairs.

“Oh, I meant to ask you how you did with your O.W.L.s,” Ginny said to her friend. “You got your results, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did,” Luna beamed. “I managed to get ‘Outstanding’ in everything apart from Arithmancy, which I admit I find boring and only got an ‘Exceeds’ in, and, strangely, Care of Magical Creatures where I got a ‘Poor’. I really don’t understand the last one. I wrote pages and pages of really interesting information during my exam. I even corrected a few of the questions that were set.”

“Err, well, some of those examiners are a bit set in their ways,” Harry ventured carefully. He clearly could imagine what sort of ‘interesting information’ Luna had included in her exam paper.

“I got an ‘Exceeds’ in Potions, but apart from that I got ‘Outstanding’ in everything, too,” Ginny announced happily. “That means that next term we get to move up to the N.E.W.T. classes.”

“How brilliant is that?” Harry said happily. “I know Hermione’s really excited that you’ll be joining us, too.”

“Yeah, well, she does only really have you for company. She’ll probably appreciate having some intelligent conversation, for a change,” Ginny smirked.

“Thanks,” Harry responded sarcastically. “Actually, to be serious for a second, I’m really glad we’ll be together for most of the time. I’ve just got this feeling that Malfoy is going to try something soon.”

“I know what you mean,” Ginny agreed. “He’s been looking rather smug of late, hasn’t he?”

“I just wish we knew what he’s getting up to in the Room of Requirement,” Harry lamented.

The mystery of who was frequently occupying the room had been solved several weeks before, when Harry happened to notice Draco on the Marauder’s Map. He’d been moving along the seventh floor corridor when he suddenly vanished from the map at exactly the spot where the room’s entrance was located. They subsequently noticed that he was a frequent visitor to the room and often posted Crabbe or Goyle as a guard outside.

“We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him,” Luna decided. “If he tries to hurt any of you, I swear I’ll gut him like a fish and throw his remains to the Thestrals!”

Ginny looked at her friend in surprise. She had never seen Luna so aggressive and the girl’s words shocked her.

“Don’t worry, Luna. We’ll take care of the little ferret if he steps out of line,” Harry assured her.

“Good. I refuse to let any of my friends be put in danger because of that disgusting, bigoted piece of Hippogriff shit,” Luna snarled. “You all mean the world to me, and I’m damned if Malfoy is going to threaten that!”

“It’s okay, Luna, really,” Harry said comfortingly. He put down his wine glass and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We know Draco is up to something and we’ll take precautions, I promise.”

“Hmm, that’s actually not a bad idea,” Ginny murmured. “Perhaps we should try and put a Tracking Charm on ferret-features when we get back. We could modify it so it warns us if he’s using the Room of Requirement, or trying to leave the castle.”

“That’s a very good idea, Ginny,” Luna agreed. “I’d feel better knowing we could keep an eye on him.”

Ginny was about to reply when suddenly the door to her room flew open and Bill leapt in.

“Ah-ah! Caught you at… oh, err, hello Luna,” Bill said, looking rather crestfallen.

“Hello, Bill,” Luna replied with a smile. “Were you expecting to find Harry and Ginny up here alone?”

“Actually, yes,” he admitted. “Mum noticed they were missing and sent me to find them.”

“Thought you’d catch us shagging, did you?” Ginny smirked.

Bill just glared at his sister. “Mum wants you downstairs. She’s about to serve evening tea.”

“Not more food,” Harry groaned. “I’ll explode if I eat any more.”

“Oh, it’s just a light spread,” Bill assured him. “Porkpies, cold-cuts, bread, cheese, quiche…”

Harry mimed vomiting.

“…cake, trifle, ice-cream, fruit, chocolate gateau…”

“Bill, stop! I really will be sick if you carry on,” Ginny laughed.

“Anyway, stop hiding yourselves away up here,” Bill grinned. “I’m heading to France to spend the rest of the holidays with Fleur’s family tomorrow, so I would like a chance to talk with my little sister a bit before I go.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Harry exclaimed. “I’ve got a present for Fleur I didn’t get a chance to post before Christmas. Can you take it with you to give to her please, Bill?”

“Giving beautiful blond witches presents now, are you, Potter?” Ginny snapped. “Trying to buy her favours?”

Harry just gave her a pitying look.

“Oh, bugger. Since we did that Soul Bond Ritual it’s absolutely impossible to wind you up, isn’t it?” Ginny pouted. “It’s spoilt all my fun!”

“Wow, that’s a really useful thing to have,” Bill said to Harry. “It’s certainly going to help you when you’re married.”

“Yeah, I’m never going to be one of those blokes who hangs around bars moaning to the barmaid that his wife doesn’t understand him,” Harry laughed.

“Oh, I understand you all too well, Mr Potter,” Ginny said saucily.

“Oh, yeah? Well, what am I thinking about now?” Harry asked, looking at her intently.

Opening the bond between them, Ginny sought out his emotions and was hit by a wave of unbridled lust. She could feel his desire and yearning for her. She was instantly hit with surge of excitement and she could feel her body responding to his need. Ginny looked into his brilliant green eyes and could almost see images of what he wanted to do to her. She had a sudden vision of him bending her over and…

“Oi, what’s going on here? What exactly are you doing to her, Potter?” Bill shouted.

Recovering quickly, Ginny laughed at her brother. “Got you, didn’t we?” she teased him. “In fact, Harry was just letting me know he fancied some of Mum’s walnut cake. That was right, wasn’t it, Harry?”

“Yeah, you got the type of cake right and everything,” Harry lied smoothly.

“Hmm, well, you three better get yourselves downstairs,” Bill huffed, a bit disgruntled at being made fun of. He stomped out of Ginny’s room and down the stairs.

Harry started after him and Ginny was about to follow when Luna grabbed her shoulder.

“Harry wasn’t really thinking about cake, was he?” She whispered in Ginny’s ear.

“Hell no,” Ginny sniggered, “but he definitely has a sweet tooth, I can assure you of that.”

“Lucky girl,” Luna giggled, and the two friends headed back to the party.



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