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SIYE Time:13:15 on 29th March 2024
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Secrets and Slugs
By snarky24

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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-HBP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Humor
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 36
Summary: While at the Burrow over Christmas holidays, Harry struggles to keep his feelings for Ginny secret, Ginny learns to let go of her secrets, and everyone is burping slugs with Fred and George’s newest invention. Sequel to "The Not-So-Lucky Potion"
Hitcount: Story Total: 15173; Chapter Total: 3392







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Fred and George dropped by again for dinner that night. Harry suspected they were checking up on Mrs. Weasley, who was still distraught about the Christmas kerfuffle with Percy.

After dinner, they moved to the living room. Mr. Weasley settled into his favorite chair, reading The Daily Prophet while Mrs. Weasley curled up by the fire with her knitting. Harry watched Ron and Ginny play a game of wizard chess from the couch.

Fred and George appeared in the doorway to the kitchen and beckoned to Harry. He rolled off the couch and met them in the kitchen.

“Here,” said George, tossing a glass ball the size of a tennis ball to Harry.

Harry caught it easily and examined it. It was glass with swirling gray smoke inside it, like a small crystal ball. It reminded him of Neville’s Remembrall that turned red when the holder had forgotten something.

“Why were you showing off for our sister yesterday?” asked Fred suddenly.

“What? I don’t know what you’re--” Harry broke off. He’d tried to set the glass ball down on the table, but it was stuck to his hand. He opened his hand and shook it, but it stuck to his palm like a magnet.

“Why won’t this come off?” Harry demanded.

“You have to answer the question,” said George.

Harry’s stomach turned. He did not want to talk about this.

“I wasn’t showing off,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. The ball glowed red in his hand, still stuck.

“I suggest you tell us the truth, or that ball will do more than just change color,” said Fred with a mischievous grin.

“What have you done?” Harry was starting to panic. Fred and George’s inventions were never dangerous, but they could certainly be embarrassing. The ball had returned to its original foggy gray color.

“We’re testing our newest invention, the Veritaball,” explained George. “When asked a question, the holder cannot release the ball until he’s given an answer. If he tells the truth, the ball will glow green and he can release it. If he lies or tries to deceive the questioner in any way, the ball will glow red and he will have one more try to tell the truth.”

“What happens if he lies twice?” asked Harry uneasily.

“You don’t want to chance it,” said Fred. “Just tell us.”

What could the twins have in mind? Would his hair turn colors? Would he get boils all over his face?

“Is it permanent?” asked Harry stiffly, imagining boils all over his face for the rest of his life.

The twins folded their arms and said nothing, identical grins on their faces.

“Er, she mentioned playing Quidditch with Dean,” Harry started. He still couldn’t release the ball, so he continued. “And I wanted to make sure it was clear that--that she knew I was better.”

The ball glowed green, and he immediately set the ball on the kitchen table before they could ask him another question.

Fred and George doubled over with laughter. Harry felt his face heat up.

“You’ve had your fun. The least you can do is not tell anyone,” said Harry. He did not want to talk about this ever again.

“Tell you what,” said Fred, still chuckling. “Just because you’ve been such a good sport, we won’t tell anyone, and we’ll never ask you about it again.”

“Yes, we won’t tell anyone that you’re flirting with our sister,” said George with mock seriousness.

“I was not flirting with her--” Harry’s voice died in his throat when the door swung open.

“Flirting with who?” Ron had just walked in, followed by Ginny. “I just beat Ginny again,” he added smugly.

“Narrowly,” muttered Ginny.

“We’re talking about that Muggle girl you were flirting with at the pub,” said Fred. He tossed Ron the ball. Ron’s ears turned slightly pink.

Ginny jumped away from Ron like a cat who’d seen water. She clearly knew better than to trust Fred and George.

Ron caught it with a look of suspicion on his face. “What is this?” he asked.

“Who is your favorite--” started George.

“DROP IT, RON!” yelled Ginny, grabbing a cup and running toward him. Where had she been when Fred and George had cornered him with the ball?

Ron let out a yelp and dropped the ball like he’d been burned. It rolled toward the table, and Ginny trapped it under the cup. They both backed away from the cup slowly. Ginny’s eyes darted around the room as if checking for other threats.

Harry couldn’t help laughing with the twins. Once they’d calmed down, George explained how it worked.

“So what happens if you lie twice?” asked Ron, still skeptical.

“You burp up slugs for 30 seconds,” said Fred. “And if you don’t want to answer a question, you can say, ‘I’ll take the slugs’ and you’ll immediately burp up slugs.”

Harry glared at Fred. He’d certainly had chosen to burp slugs instead of admit he’d been showing off to Ginny.

“That’s disgusting!” exclaimed Ginny, grimacing. “I don’t want any part of your slugs or secrets.”

“It’s a homage to our youngest brother,” said George.

Ron shrugged. “I guess that’s not the worst thing that could happen.”

“It’s not so bad after awhile. We’ve tested it quite a bit on ourselves already,” said Fred.

“But we’re ready to start testing more widely now,” said George.

“Fancy a go?” said Fred, picking up the ball from under the cup.

“No way! I’m not letting you have free reign to pepper me with questions,” said Ginny defiantly.

Harry was not surprised at her resistance; the Veritaball made her vulnerable to the very thing she hated: sharing confidences.

“What if we made it a game where only the winner could ask questions?” suggested Fred.

“Depends on how easy it is for me to beat you…” said Ginny slowly, narrowing her eyes.

“Preferably a Muggle game that I know how to play,” said Harry. He didn’t want to be at a disadvantage if he were the only one learning the game.

“What about Muggle poker? Fred and I have played it a few times at Hogwarts,” suggested George.

Harry doubted that they had only played “a few times.” The twins would never agree to make themselves vulnerable like this unless they thought their chances of winning were good.

“Does everyone know how to play?” asked Ron. Harry and Ginny nodded. “Are you sure, Ginny? I’ve never seen you play.”

“I’ve played at Hogwarts, too,” she said mildly. “Don’t worry about me.”

Harry thought it was very unlikely that Ginny knew how to play poker as well as the others. She wasn’t taking Muggle Studies and she’d grown up in the wizarding world, so there were very few opportunities for her to become a skilled player. Ron may have limited experience as well, but he was an excellent chess player and had a great mind for strategy games.

“Alright! We’ll play 5-card draw,” George clapped his hands together with a smile. “We’ll need to play with chips, so that everyone has the proper incentives.”

He waved his wand and a deck of cards and a few stacks of poker chips appeared on the kitchen table as everyone took a seat.

Fred started to divide the chips while George carried on, “Ante will cost five chips, and it won’t change throughout the game. The winner of each hand will get to ask anyone a question with the Veritaball, but they’ll have to put up another five to ask the question.”

“We have to win and then pay more?” groaned Ron.

“It’s to keep the game balanced in case George and I dominate,” said Fred, winking.

“Each winner can only ask one question, even if they can pay for more,” continued George. “If you go bankrupt, there will be a bankruptcy round where every player can ask you one question for free. Then, we’ll give you more chips to get back in the game.”

“Why have a penalty for bankruptcy? Isn’t losing bad enough?” asked Ron.

“The ante and the bankruptcy round deters players from skating through the game by folding every hand,” explained George.

“Fair enough, but what’s to prevent someone from refusing to answer any questions by taking the slugs?” asked Ron.

“Yuck! Why would anyone want to do that?” asked Ginny with a look of horror.

But Fred nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, we you’re right, Ron. We need to motivate players to actually answer the question,” he said.

“How about the first person to burp up slugs three times loses?” suggested Ron.

“Loser has to agree to be our test subject for our next invention,” added George.

“But won’t that encourage other players to ask more embarrassing questions?” asked Harry, unsure that he wanted to be involved in this game anymore.

“Watching each other squirm is what makes it fun!” laughed Fred. Ron and George nodded.

“I don’t know why you’re agreeing to this, Ron,” said Ginny. “You’re in for a whole night of questions about Hermione and Lavender.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” scoffed Ron.

Ginny and Harry exchanged glances, turning away quickly to suppress a laugh.

“Alright, let’s get to it,” said George, rubbing his hands together and sitting up straighter in his seat.

The game seemed simple enough to Harry. While he hadn’t played poker in a long time, he understood the basic strategy and the hands. He felt a little uneasy at the prospect of being asked questions with the Veritaball, but he suspected the Weasleys would go after each other more aggressively than they would Harry. Yesterday’s incident was already off the table. The rest of his secrets were about Voldemort--the lessons with Dumbledore, the prophecy, his visions--and he knew the Weasleys would never press him on that subject.

Fred started to deal the cards.

“Wait, one more thing,” said Ginny. They all turned to look at her.

“Anything we say in this game stays in this game,” she said sharply.

“Agreed,” said Ron while Fred, George, and Harry nodded earnestly.

“Ante up!” proclaimed Fred. And the game had begun…

~*~

Ginny won the first hand with most of the table folding. Harry only had a pair of twos, but he’d stayed in the game since he figured it was better than nothing.

“Not hard to beat a pair of twos,” Ron muttered.

“It is when you fold,” smirked Ginny. She picked up the ball and handed it to Fred. He took it from her enthusiastically and Ginny giggled with excitement. Harry leaned forward in anticipation of what she would ask him.

“When you lived here at the Burrow over the summers, how did you sneak girls into your room at night without Mum and Dad finding out?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

Harry turned to Fred and George, slightly shocked that they’d had the gall to try something so risky right under Mrs. Weasley’s nose.

Her question had wiped the grin off of Fred’s face. George turned away, laughing.

“You’ve been holding out on me! Both of you!” snapped Ron.

“Who would you be sneaking in? Lav-Lav?” asked Ginny giggling.

Ron shot her a dirty look, but said nothing.

“I can’t have my little sister knowing how to sneak her boyfriends into the house,” said Fred, shaking his head and conjuring a bucket with his wand. “I’m taking the slugs--” He immediately started heaving slugs into the bucket.

“That’s why I’ve switched to dating Ron’s friends. It’s a lot easier to get them into the house if Ron invites them over first,” said Ginny, turning to Ron.

“Are you talking about Dean? I would never invite that tosser into our home,” spat Ron, disgusted.

Harry wholeheartedly agreed. Dean was a nice guy, but he didn’t want to have to watch him grope Ginny over the holidays, too. It was bad enough watching it at Hogwarts.

“I guess you’ll have to trade him out for one of Ron’s other friends,” teased George as he lightly patted Fred on the back, who was still retching.

Ginny shot him a look, but said nothing. Unbidden, an image popped into Harry’s mind of him quietly opening Ginny’s bedroom door at night…

He shook himself. George had clearly not been referring to Harry. Ron would not appreciate his best mate going after his sister… and Fred and George would probably feel the same.

Fred dealt another hand. Harry didn’t fare much better this round, and Ginny won again. She handed the ball to George, who was directly on her right.

“It’s time to clear my name. Who sent Harry the singing Valentine?” she asked.

George answered immediately, “It was Fred’s idea, and I wrote the poem.” The ball glowed green.

“No! I thought it was Ginny!” exclaimed Ron, jerking his head from George to Ginny.

“That was part of the prank,” said George, shrugging.

“I’m hurt that you would think my poetry is that bad, Ron,” said Ginny with a tone of mock offense. Harry gave her a sheepish look. “Not you, too?”

“Of course they thought it was you! We’re that good!” interjected Fred, dealing another round of cards.

To Harry’s surprise, Ginny won another round. She’d bet big, and everyone had folded. Harry had thought Ron would have the edge since he was such a good chess player, but clearly he had underestimated Ginny.

“What did you have?” asked Ron, reaching for her cards.

“You don’t get to see if everyone folds,” she said quickly, sweeping the cards back into the deck.

“How are you so good?” he pressed, furrowing his brow.

“You’ve got to win the right to ask,” she replied as she handed him the ball.

“Blimey,” groaned Ron. He took the ball and looked at her as if ready to receive a sentencing. Harry could think of at least a dozen of embarrassing questions Ginny could ask, most of them about Hermione. He wondered if she would take a jab at him in front of Fred and George.

“When are you going to start speaking to Hermione again?” she asked straightforwardly.

“When she apologizes!” exclaimed Ron, temper flaring. The ball turned bright red almost instantly.

“What the--why is this thing turning red? I told the truth--” Ron retched and burped slugs onto the floor.

“Bloody defective--” he choked, heaving more slugs on the ground.

Fred Vanished the slugs with his wand and handed Ron the bucket. He reached over and patted Ron on the back reassuringly as he retched some more.

In all honesty, Harry felt that Ginny’s question was fair. Ron and Hermione were his best friends and their latest argument was hard on everyone, especially Harry.

“The ball is clearly not defective because you lied,” explained George.

“Then what qualifies as the truth?” asked Ron crossly. He seemed to be done burping up slugs.

“The truth is something that the holder truly believes,” said Fred. “There can be many truths and gray areas for one question, but the holder only needs to give one truth.”

“Well, I truly believe that thing is broken,” said Ron darkly.

Fred dealt again. Only George folded this time, and Fred emerged victorious with a full house. He slammed down his cards with a loud, “HA!”

“Finally. Anyone but Ginny...” muttered Ron. He threw his cards into the middle as Fred raked in his chips.

Fred turned to Ginny and rolled the ball to her. “Your turn, dear sister.”

Ginny took the ball cautiously. “I’m ready.”

“How did you get so good at poker?”

Harry supposed this was the question on everyone’s mind.

Ginny considered his question for a moment. “Ok, I’ll give you the whole story as long as you remember that we agreed nothing I say will leave this group.”

They all murmured in agreement. Harry leaned forward. He knew this was going to be good.

Ginny took a deep breath. “Neville taught me how to play during my second year. He learned about it in his Muggle Studies class and wanted to try it--”

“That’s not how you got good though. All the Muggle Studies students play! Answer the question,” interrupted Ron.

“I’m getting there!” she shot back. “Anyway, after that, we both started playing with other students in the common room. I was pretty good then, but I really improved after I started playing for money.”

“You were fleecing Hogwarts students?” asked Fred incredulously. George guffawed.

“No, I started playing monthly at the Hog’s Head with a few of the regulars. I saw them playing during my first Hogsmeade visit in third year, and I asked to join,” she replied.

The ball glowed bright green in her hand as she spoke. Harry’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe this was possible, yet the ball was confirming her story. He saw Ron and the twins were gaping at her, too.

“That’s a really dodgy bar…” Ron started.

“Blimey, our sister was in a Hog’s Head gambling ring...” mumbled Fred, awestruck.

“How did you even get out of the castle?” asked George. He looked both shocked and confused at the same time.

“That’s another question. But I’ll answer it if you pay up since you might not win any hands,” she said smugly.

“Gladly,” said George, throwing a chip into the middle of the table. The ball had turned back to gray.

“Sneaking out of the castle was the hardest part,” she told them. “None of your secret ways out of the castle would work because Filch knew about them. And I couldn’t use the tunnel to Honeydukes because they’d be closed when the game was over. So I went to the Room of Requirement and asked it to give me a secret way to the Hog’s Head, just to see if it would work.”

The ball glowed green again, but this didn’t make sense to Harry.

“How’d you know about the Room of Requirement in your third year? We didn’t tell you about it until your fourth year,” he asked.

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him. “Pay up.”

Harry tossed a five-chip into the pot. “Go on.”

“Tom Riddle took me there in first year,” she said shortly. Harry immediately regretted asking. The ball glowed green.

“Why did he--” began Ron.

“Don’t, Ron,” Harry snapped automatically. The twins gave Ron identical warning looks.

Ginny ignored them and decided to continue, even though she’d answered the question. Harry sensed she wanted to move on.

“The Room of Requirement showed me a tunnel that went straight to the Hog’s Head,” she said. “It came out through a portrait hole behind a portrait of a girl in the barkeep’s office. He caught me climbing out and threatened to tell Dumbledore, so I told him I’d give him a few Galleons per visit to keep quiet. He took a liking to me after that and even agreed to watch my back on nights when the bar got rowdy.”

“You bribed the barkeep?” asked George, looking impressed.

“Yes,” she said evenly. “I came almost monthly up until this year. I stopped going because it doesn’t feel safe sneaking out now with Voldemort back in power.”

There was a shudder around the table as she said the name. Harry was both impressed and shocked at her story. She certainly wasn’t exaggerating when she said she liked adventures at Slughorn’s party…

Ron opened his mouth to speak again, but Ginny held up her hand. “That’s it. I gave you far more than you earned.”

Fred dealt cards, muttering, “I wish I’d known we’d be playing with a card shark.”

To nobody’s surprise, Ginny won the next round. Ron groaned.

Ginny rolled the ball across the table to Harry, a small smile playing at her mouth. Harry felt his stomach clench in anticipation. Ginny had asked only three questions, yet already two people had burped slugs. He picked up the ball and met her eyes, not liking his chances.

“Harry…” she said slowly. “Why did you Confund Dean at Slughorn’s party?”

The bottom dropped out of his stomach. He couldn’t deny it now.

“Wait, Harry cursed Dean?” blurted Ron. He turned to Harry with a confused look on his face.

“I didn’t Confund--” Harry broke off when he saw the ball turn bright red.

“Try again, Harry,” prodded Ginny. She folded her arms and studied him as he squirmed.

Harry’s heart quickened as he racked his brain for a reason that was both true and innocuous. He hadn’t really thought about why he’d Confunded Dean. He’d just wanted to talk to Ginny alone…

But that was not the inclination of someone who was just a friend and her brothers would see right through it. He considered taking the slugs, but then the others would all be left to assume the worst. What if they thought he fancied Ginny? Would Ron turn on him the way he’d turned on Dean? Would Ginny laugh in his face now that she was over him and the tables were turned?

And what about the fact that Harry didn’t even fancy Ginny? Why take the slugs and give them a reason to think he did?

“You can take the slugs if you need to, Harry,” Fred said, nudging Harry with his elbow and winking.

Nettled, Harry decided that he would not take the slugs. He knew he could count on Ron to be outraged when he found out what Dean had been doing...

“I Confunded Dean because I wanted to talk to you without him hanging all over you,” Harry said. He had tried to keep his tone casual, but he sensed that Ginny picked up on the tension in his voice. The ball glowed green, but Harry thought it seemed a bit fainter this time.

“Thank you, Harry,” she replied. Her face was unreadable, but her brothers exploded all at once.

“Dean was doing what?” Ron flared.

“Was he groping her?” George stood up, looking ready to tear Dean limb from limb.

“You should have slugged him!” Fred raged, banging his fist on the table.

“He just had his arm around me and gave me a kiss. That was it!” protested Ginny. This calmed her brothers, but their expressions remained sour.

“How nauseating,” muttered Ron.

“Funny coming from the only person at this table who habitually makes out with his girlfriend everywhere,” she responded acidly.

Harry and the twins laughed. Ron glared at them as if they’d committed mutiny.

“I think we can all agree that Harry did what any reasonable person would have done in that situation,” said Ron, thumping Harry on the back. Harry heaved a sigh of relief.

“Does that mean I get to Confund Lav-Lav?” asked Ginny. Ron ignored her.

“Who did Harry take to the party?” asked George, suddenly turning to Harry.

Ron broke in before Harry could answer. “Luna...as a friend! He could have had any girl!”

Harry felt his face going red. He didn’t want to take just any girl…

“I bet the girls are falling all over you now that the Ministry has come over to your side,” said Fred, almost enviously.

“I haven’t noticed anything,” muttered Harry, wishing he would just deal the next hand.

“Do let us know how our love potions work when one of them finally sneaks one past you,” said George with a wink.

Harry gave George a withering look. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with that.”

“Not if you lose the game,” quipped Fred. Harry’s stomach turned at the idea of letting the twins test a love potion on him.

“Looks like Harry’s bankrupt,” said Ginny, changing the subject.

Harry cringed as he realized that he was out of chips. He’d bet big trying to win the last hand. He thought his full house was a great hand, but it wasn’t enough to beat Ginny’s four of a kind. Still holding the ball, he took a deep breath and braced for a barrage of questions.

“We’ll go clockwise, starting with me,” said Fred without missing a beat. “So if Luna was just a friend, who did you really want to take to the party?”

“Nobody,” said Harry immediately. To Harry’s surprise, the ball turned red.

“Honestly! There was nobody I wanted to take to the party at the time!” he said, a note of desperation in his voice. The ball glowed green, and Harry relaxed his grip as he realized he’d been squeezing it so hard his knuckles were white.

At the time!” repeated George. “Who do you wish you’d taken to the party now?

Harry tensed up again. “Nobody!” he said defensively. The ball turned red almost instantly. “Your ball is broken!”

“No, you’re lying. It’s clearly working as designed,” protested George.

Harry was getting annoyed with this line of questioning. He didn’t fancy anyone before the party, and his feelings certainly hadn’t changed after the party. He was sure Fred and George wanted to turn his lapse in judgement that landed him in the lake as evidence that he fancied their sister.

“I can’t imagine who it could be because I don’t fancy anyone--” Suddenly Harry’s stomach contracted painfully, and he felt something large moving up his esophagus very fast. Without thinking, he doubled over and coughed violently, his mouth full of the putrid taste of slugs. It was so repulsive it made him retch more.

“Harry! You’re getting slugs all over the cards!” complained Ron, leaning away from the table.

“Clearly--broken!” Harry gasped between heaves.

“Denial still qualifies as lying,” said Fred chuckling. He Vanished the slugs from the table and handed Harry the bucket. “Your turn, Ginny! We’ve almost got him!”

Harry buried his head in the bucket as he felt another wave of slugs. He grabbed the ball and braced himself for the next question.

“What kind of…uh,” Ginny stopped.

“Go on, ask him about who he fancies. We might be able to get burp slugs twice!” said Fred, grinning.

Harry coughed a few more slugs into the bucket. The rim of the bucket felt cold on his forehead.

“What kind of...drinks did you have at the party?” asked Ginny lamely.

What are you doing?” demanded George, smacking his hand on the table.

Harry sat up abruptly, ready to seize the opportunity. “Butterbeer and mead!” he coughed. The ball turned bright green. He gave one more heave before setting the bucket down.

“Since when do you go easy on anyone?” asked Ron, turning to Ginny. He looked thunderstruck.

“He was still vomiting! We can lay off him!” she groused. “You can finish him off now that he’s done.”

Ron didn’t waste any time. He rounded on Harry: “Since you won’t give us a name, what are three things about the girl you wish you’d taken to the party?”

Harry wiped his mouth on his sleeve as he grasped wildly for an answer.

“There isn’t anyone--” Harry stopped abruptly. The ball had turned red almost instantly.

He paused. Clearly the ball thought there was someone in his mind. Perhaps if his answer was general enough, he could get it to turn green. What were three things that were generally true about the average Hogwarts girl?

“She likes…chocolate,” Harry began tentatively, remembering that Ginny had asked for a Chocolate Cauldron at the party. Carefully avoiding Ginny’s eyes, he checked the ball to see if it would accept his answer. It faintly started to glow green, but he still couldn’t release it. Harry felt his face heating up.

“Just like almost every girl at Hogwarts,” teased Fred. Harry ignored him.

“Quidditch…” continued Harry. He could never fancy a girl who didn’t like Quidditch...

“What kind of girl doesn’t like Quidditch?” asked Ron, rolling his eyes.

“Hermione doesn’t like Quidditch,” supplied Fred.

“She likes watching Quidditch. She just doesn’t like to play,” corrected Ginny.

“Well, we know it’s not Hermione, so that’s irrelevant,” said Ron, sounding irritated.

“You still owe us one more, Harry,” pressed George.

Harry was struggling to find a third thing that was vague enough to keep them guessing.

“We don’t have all day, mate,” said Ron.

Harry met Ginny’s eyes across the table. He’d enjoyed talking to her more than anyone else that night. He’d even Confunded Dean, so he could get more time with her… She had talked about how much she loved--

“Adventures,” Harry blurted. The ball turned green, and he set it on the table. He was glad to finally be done with what felt like an interrogation.

“Adventures? What does that mean?” asked Ron, confused.

“Do you mean she’s daring? Is she a Gryffindor?” questioned Fred.

Harry bit his lip and shrugged. He wasn’t going to give them anything.

“I don’t know any girls who like adventures or have even been on adventures before,” mused Ron, furrowing his brow.

“Girls go on adventures!” snapped Ginny.

“Name one adventure you’ve been on recently!” challenged Ron.

Really, Ron? Are you serious right now?” asked Ginny, looking dumbfounded. Harry felt her eyes sweep around the table, but didn’t dare look up.

Yesterday I pulled your best friend out of a freezing lake!” she said, clearly irritated.

“But is that an adventure or a horrible accident?” asked George skeptically.

“I’ll count it. It was unusual and hazardous, as are most adventures,” conceded Fred.

“Ron, I also went with you and Harry to the Department of Mysteries,” she continued.

“Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” said Ron.

“And you’ve probably also forgotten about the Chamber,” she said sourly.

“Alright, alright. Point taken. You’ve been on adventures,” said Ron, relenting. “But it sounds like you don’t go on any adventures without Harry.”

Ron’s last comment hit a little too close to the truth. Harry looked up from the table abruptly.

“You’re assuming that all of this is about a real person,” Harry grumbled, hoping to cover his tracks now that he wasn’t holding the ball. “I told you, the ball is broken. I just didn’t want to burp up more slugs.”

This seem to settle the matter for the time being. Fred gave Harry more chips and dealt everyone a new hand of cards. Harry decided he would be more cautious with his betting from now on.

Ron won the round and celebrated by punching the air and taunting the group. He grabbed the ball with zeal and handed it to Ginny with a huge grin.

“Why’d you go easy on Harry when he was bankrupt?” he demanded.

“I went easy on you, too, you know,” she said defensively. The ball remained gray.

“That’s not an answer,” Ron returned.

“But not untrue,” Fred chimed in.

“And yet he still ended up burping slugs…” added George.

Ginny sighed audibly. “Because Harry clearly wasn’t going to answer your questions.” The ball turned red.

“Wrong! You don’t really believe that,” said Ron.

She ran her fingers through her hair, clearly agitated. She closed her eyes and spoke quickly, “Because I didn’t want to know who he wanted to go to the party with.”

She opened her eyes, and Harry made eye contact with her for a moment. She turned away. Ron and the twins said nothing. They clearly hadn’t expected this answer.

Why wasn’t she curious like the others? She certainly wasn’t indifferent toward him. Was it possible that it bothered her to hear about other girls he fancied?

Harry did not have time to ponder this further. Fred had dealt the cards, and they were starting again.
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