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SIYE Time:23:38 on 28th March 2024
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A Foolproof Plan
By Awakening5

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Category: Post-OotP, Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fluff, General, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 78
Summary: Ginny is fed up with boys and just wants to be left alone for a while. A plan is hatched--Ginny needs a fake boyfriend. But who will it be?
Hitcount: Story Total: 29761; Chapter Total: 6609
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Thanks to all of you wonderful reviewers. Things are about to get real up in Hogwarts, so watch out! I hope it's still fun for you, though!




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Chapter 3: One of Two Outcomes



“What was it you said, Hermione? You saw one of two things resulting from all of this?”

Hermione nodded, reaching out to grab Harry’s hand. She had followed him straight to the Hospital Wing after he left the Great Hall. Harry wasn’t sure if it was her desire to comfort him, or her desire for the drama that was sure to ensue. Hermione loved drama. Harry assumed that’s why she liked Ron despite all he had done to annoy and insult her–it was never-ending drama between the two.

After Madam Pomfrey had looked him over and cast a few healing charms on him, Hermione sat at his side.

In a bed across the room lay a moaning Pansy Parkinson. Apparently, she had had an accident in her Potions class earlier that day, and the only cure for the pain was to sleep it off. So she slept soundly…soundly in that she was making strange sounds while sleeping.

Harry continued his question to Hermione. “Either we realize our feelings for each other and we fall in love or the strangeness of the relationship affects our friendship?”

Hermione smiled warmly at him. “Yes, Harry. On the plus side, I think you’re well on your way to the former.”

Harry shook his head vehemently, and waited for a particularly loud screech from Pansy to end before replying. “This can’t happen, Hermione.”

Hermione slapped his arm lightly. “Of course it can. I think Ginny is just as smitten as you are.”

“You do?” Harry responded hopefully, hating himself for caring.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Harry. It’s as obvious as your feelings for her are. Besides, don’t you know why she and Dean broke up?”

Despite himself, Harry continued the conversation. “Ginny said neither of them was feeling it anymore.”

Hermione nodded. “Yes, and you’re the reason why.”

Confusion and surprise filled Harry. “Me? What did I do?”

Hermione sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that your friendship with that girl is weird? I don’t blame Dean for filling insecure about his relationship with her. In many ways, you were closer to his girlfriend than he was.”

“But we never did anything!” Harry responded adamantly.

“Oh, but you did, Harry. You’ve borne your heart to that girl on multiple occasions–opened up about things that I don’t even know. You make her feel like the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. You were a higher priority to her than Dean was. Sure, she never cheated on Dean with you in the physical sense. But you were more of a boyfriend to her than Dean was.”

As if to emphasize Hermione’s point, Pansy howled long and hard into the quiet air. Harry ignored her, and wanted to argue with Hermione, but decided he wouldn’t be able to win. After all, even the closed off and bitter way in which Dean treated him supported her point. Instead, he shook his head and held up his hand to prevent her from continuing. “What allegedly happened with Dean is not the point, Hermione. I’m saying this is not good. For either of us.”

“What do you mean? You two are perfect for each other!” Hermione glared incredibly at him.

“Oh really?” Harry asked, his voice flat. “You think that the world’s most powerful and evil wizard’s number one target is good for someone? Hermione, if Voldemort gets his hands on her, I’ll never forgive myself!”

Hermione rolled her eyes again, and Harry was starting to get really annoyed at it. “Stop your tragic hero sob story Harry. You don’t make sense. You’re ‘dating’ her right now! Voldemort doesn’t know that it’s fake, and so she’s a target anyway. Nicely done, there.”

Interrupting their conversation, Pansy loudly muttered, “Mmm, Draco, not so hard!” in her sleep. The words echoed through the room.

“Ew,” Harry said, looking up at her bed. He turned his attention back to Hermione and resumed their conversation. “I thought this through, Hermione. Ginny said our ‘relationship’ wouldn’t last more than two months. Therefore, it will end before we ever leave Hogwarts grounds. She’ll be safe while we’re in a relationship here at Hogwarts, and she won’t be a target when she’s no longer safe here.”

Hermione just shook her head, and Harry had the suspicion that she wasn’t buying any of it. And he had to admit that he could come up with a couple of counter arguments to his own statement, so he changed tactics. He was frustrated how many arguments he was losing. He needed a win. “Besides,” he continued, “this isn’t just me being a ‘tragic hero.’ I have a duty to perform. You know the prophecy as well as I do, Hermione. I can’t be worrying about this! I can’t be in a real relationship, especially with someone I care about so much. I won’t be able to focus on the larger plan, the more important outcome of my life.”

Sadness replaced Hermione’s incredulity. She looked at Harry with tears forming in her eyes. “Is that really how you think of your life, Harry? Like you’re some chess piece destined to put the king in checkmate, even if it costs you everything?”

Harry didn’t respond, so Hermione continued, over the steady groaning filling the chamber. “Your happiness matters, Harry. Your choices matter. You aren’t just a cog in a great machine that was built and programmed at your birth. You get to live how you want.”

“Neither can live while the other survives, Hermione,” Harry quoted at her. “And I have to agree if only because I will not be able to defeat him if I don’t give it my all.”

They heard the door open, so Hermione quickly gave her final words. “Well, maybe you aren’t giving your all if you don’t let us, and Ginny, in!” Hermione stood and left without a goodbye, which Harry thought odd. Why would she just leave on that cryptic note? One shouldn’t just end a conversation so abruptly.

Giving the moaning Pansy a weird look as she walked into the room, Ginny walked purposefully over to Harry. She passed by Hermione, who didn’t even look back when Harry shouted to her, “Well, goodbye then, Hermione!”

As Ginny sat down, Harry had to ask, “Is it normal to get up and leave after visiting with someone for a while and not say goodbye?”

Ginny looked thoughtful–if not a little confused–for a moment, “I guess that depends on what her last words were.”

Not wanting to divulge that particular information, Harry kept it general. “She just gave me some cryptic advice and stood and left. I mean, I’ve seen things like that some muggle movies before…but people don’t really do that, right?”

“She probably thought she was being profound and wanted to leave a lasting impression on you.”

Harry thought about it for a moment. “That does sound like Hermione…but still odd.”

“How are you feeling, Harry?” Ginny asked suddenly, a little worry showing on her face.

“Not great,” Harry answered truthfully, though he wasn’t referring to the injuries he received from the Giants.

Ginny seemed slightly taken aback that Harry had given an honest answer. “What did you and Hermione talk about while I was being mobbed by love-sick girls about your entrance?”

Harry grinned at her. “Why do you ask? Jealous?”

Ginny huffed. “After getting a kiss like that, how could I be the jealous one? I never knew you had it in you, Potter.”

Harry took a mock bow before saying, “Well, you made it easy.” Ginny blushed ever so slightly, and Harry found himself admiring her beauty anew despite what his brain told him. In addition, Harry realized how much better he felt now that she was at his bedside. All of his concerns seemed to fade away when she was around. That is, until he consciously realized this was the case, at which point he began freaking out about his feelings for her.

As Pansy began to roll violently in her bed and distracted Ginny’s attention, Harry berated himself. Not minutes after he had explained that he couldn’t get any closer to Ginny, here he was falling harder and harder for her. She was like a drug, and he couldn’t get enough of her, despite knowing it wasn’t good for him.

“What’s wrong with her?” Ginny asked, motioning towards Pansy, whose blankets had been violently thrown to the floor in her shaking.

“I think she spilled some unfinished pain soother on herself, which has the opposite effect when it is incomplete. Turns out, she can’t take the finished product as a cure or it will only intensify the reaction, so Pomfrey hit her with some powerful sedative so that she can sleep off the pain.”

Pansy rolled right off the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. Ginny shrugged and looked back at Harry. “Looks like her subconscious can’t escape it, though.”

“Yea,” Harry said, thinking of his own situation. “There’s a lot of that going around.”

-0-0-0-

Since he was young, Harry had found the law of precedents to be fascinating. He often watched in awe at how an action or thought, previously unaccepted, would become commonplace if a precedent was set.

All it took was for Aunt Petunia not to make Dudley finish his vegetables once, and now look at him! Dudley knew from his sixth birthday that all he had to do was whine enough, and his mum would cave. As a result, he now resembled the spawn of a blue whale and an elephant.

Malfoy had only needed to break the ice when calling Hermione a Mudblood, and since then it was accepted. Was the action ever condoned by the general public of the school? No. But it was accepted and even expected that some people would say it, and there wasn’t much they could do about it.

Once again, a precedent had been set. Harry had kissed Ginny in front of the entire school. Now, it was expected of them to kiss by the students. And it was no longer strange for Harry and Ginny to do so, because it had already happened once. So why not again?

At first, it was a quick peck to appease the crowds as they departed to go to class. Harry remembered the first occasion well. Their second kiss had come about because of three fourth years staring at them outside of Ginny’s Charms class.

“See ya,” Harry had said to Ginny, and turned to leave. But Ginny squeezed his hand and motioned with her eyes that the three girls were looking expectantly up at them. “Oh,” Harry had said. “Umm….”

He leaned in hesitantly and they kissed briefly before turning to leave. The girls squealed like only fourteen year-olds could, and Harry rolled his eyes. As he walked away from the situation, he reflected that he had only intended to kiss Ginny once. But now, that didn’t look like a possibility.

This occurrence repeated several times before Harry admitted defeat and their kisses goodbye became habit. Beyond that, Harry found he was looking forward to them. He cursed himself inwardly for enjoying them so much and thinking about them when no one was watching.

Harry and Ginny were both private people, which Harry was both grateful for and disappointed in. This meant that their public kisses were very chaste (with the exception of one incredible good luck snog before the quidditch opener against Hufflepuff that the team sans Ron had called for). So Harry constantly longed for more with Ginny while acknowledging it was for the best that their relationship was limited to public display.

For her part, Ginny played the whole situation very cool. Harry was relieved that their friendship had not changed as a result of this new development. And that’s exactly what kept Harry in the relationship instead of calling it quits as he said he would if it affected their friendship. His mind continually recalled Hermione’s two outcomes: fall in love, or ruin their friendship. Harry desired neither at this point, so he tried his best to stay in the limbo of this false relationship.

But then it all changed one fateful night.

Ginny had put off her Potions homework until the night before it was due, and Harry offered to stay up with her until she finished it. She had reasoned that he didn’t need to stay up any longer when the last student left the Common Room just after midnight, but he was persistent. Harry’s seventh year was an interesting one, given his long and frequent absences from the school. Because of these absences, he wasn’t required to take classes, and would instead receive personal instruction by the professors, and he was not given homework. Harry used this as an excuse as to why he could stay up with Ginny.

Of course, he really just enjoyed her company. But he wouldn’t tell her or himself that.

When Ginny finished, she proudly set her quill down on the table and proclaimed, “And she’s done it again! One and a half feet done the night before it’s due!”

Harry chuckled. “I suppose this means you didn’t learn any lessons about procrastination tonight?”

Ginny looked offended. “Of course I did. Put things off long enough and not only will you do the work in record time, but you’ll have dreamy green eyes to look up to in between sentences!”

Harry laughed again. “Well, good. I was afraid this experience would do nothing for your character. Want to go grab a snack?”

Ginny checked her watch. “It’s after three, Harry. And I have class at eight.”

“So…yes?”

Ginny stared at him for a moment before she sighed and responded. “Yep.”

They made their way to the kitchens, with Harry reasoning with her that the twenty minutes of sleep she was missing right now wouldn’t do her much good anyway, and that memories were more important than attentiveness in class.

They enjoyed visiting the house elves and enjoyed the seasonal pumpkin pie even more. On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, the two had a brief encounter with Mrs. Norris that left them panting and bent over gasping for breath in front of an upset Fat Lady portrait.

“Waking me up at all hours of the night…” they heard her mutter as they clambered through the portrait hole. When they arrived safely on the other side, they burst into excited laughter at having evaded detection.

Harry shook his head as he caught his breath. “Does that cat just not sleep or something? I don’t get it!”

When she caught her breath sufficiently, Ginny whined, “Great, now I won’t be able to fall asleep for another half hour after getting my heart beating like that.”

They began walking toward the girls’ dormitories. “Like my very presence doesn’t already affect your heart like that,” Harry responded cheekily.

They arrived at the base of the stairs, and Harry realized Ginny had not retorted with her usual sarcasm. She was looking down at her feet instead, and seemed to be lost in thought. Assuming she was tired and just wanted to go to bed, Harry quickly said, “Thanks for putting up with me tonight, Gin. Goodnight.”

Perhaps it was that a habit had developed. Perhaps Harry had thought there was someone else in the common room that would think it odd if he didn’t kiss her goodnight. Or perhaps Harry’s subconscious really wanted to feel her lips on his. Whatever the cause, the result didn’t change.

Harry quickly leaned in and brought Ginny’s lips to his. After a brief and tender kiss, they separated just inches. Unable to resist the urge, Harry quickly closed that small gap again before he could tell himself not to.

Unlike their public displays of affection, however, this was no chaste kiss. Holding her face in his hands, Harry deepened the kiss, his tongue begging admittance into her mouth. She acquiesced as her hands went into his hair, gently rubbing his scalp. She made a small moan into his mouth which turned off any remaining thought that Harry had, and made him want to affect her the way she did him.

After several long moments, which were all too short for Harry’s liking, they both pulled apart. Cognizant thought slowly began to return to Harry’s mind as he gazed at Ginny’s beautiful face. Her eyes were closed, her breathing haggard as it had been minutes earlier from escaping Mrs. Norris. As Harry began to realize what he had done, her eyes slowly opened–and Harry feared what he might see behind those eyelids. Her hands were now resting on his chest, which is where she initially looked. Then, slowly, her eyes drifted upwards and met his own.

Harry held Ginny around the waist, and they stared at each other for what felt like several minutes, neither wanting to make a move or speak a word for fear of what might happen. Harry berated himself, hating that he may have just ruined everything, all the while wanting to dive right back in and kiss her again.

Ginny breathed in as if to speak, but then let the breath out slowly. She wasn’t going to be the one to break, Harry decided. Without thinking too much, and desiring to lighten the mood, Harry softly joked, “Whoops…no one here to convince…” He broke their gaze and looked around the empty common room, which suddenly felt cold and distant.

When his eyes returned to hers, he saw a pained expression on her face. She pulled back from him. “Yea…guess that’s become a habit, huh?” She looked down at her feet and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Harry resisted the urge to pull her back to him and run his hand through her hair.

“Goodnight, then,” Ginny said quickly, and walked up the stairs without looking back.

Harry didn’t move for twenty minutes, just staring at the last few steps he had seen her on before she disappeared. He didn’t sleep well that night. His thoughts were full of a red head and a fear that things would never be the same again.

-0-0-0-

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m ready to date again…and thank you for your services…”

Silence followed. Harry realized there would be a consequence to his actions, but to have it happen on the very next morning–just four hours after he had kissed her–was unexpected.

“So…” Harry said, unsure of what to say. He could feel his heart breaking.

Ginny wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “Yea. I’ve decided I’ve got to move on,” Ginny said. She quickly gave an addendum to her statement. “You know, from my relationship with Dean…and deal with the guys out there.”

Harry found it very difficult to know what to say. Should he tell her she wasn’t ready to move on? That they needed to keep the façade up? That it shouldn’t be a façade at all?

Instead, he lightly mumbled, “Right…if you’re certain?”

“Yea,” she said, not so certainly. She then looked up at him for the first time since their conversation began. “Unless you don’t think I should?”

Harry wondered why she put the quaffel back in his field. He didn’t want it. He couldn’t do anything with it. It was a lose-lose situation for him. If he told her to stay with him, then his duty and her life would be compromised–and he didn’t want either of those things to happen. If he told her to go, Hermione’s prediction of their friendship being destroyed might come true.

“I can’t say…I mean, it’s your life. If you feel like you’re ready?”

Ginny looked back down. “It looks like I am…”

He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but the rumors of their breakup reached him just minutes later, confirming his fear. Harry supposed it was for the best, what with Christmas break arriving in two weeks. But those two weeks did not go as Harry had hoped.

It started out awkward, which is a word Harry hadn’t used to describe his relationship with Ginny since his second year. When they spoke, it felt forced. Harry knew that on his part it was because he spent whatever conversation they had either wanting to hold her close or run away from her. They talked about the meaningless things they used to talk about, but now those things actually felt meaningless.

“And how’s Charms going for you?” Harry asked a couple days after the breakup. They ate at the house table at dinner, and Harry had sat down by Ginny either out of habit or longing. Knowing Charms was Ginny’s favorite subject, he decided on that as a safe discussion topic. Plus, it was something she could talk about for hours if he’d let her.

“Oh, fine, I suppose…” she responded, not for hours.

“Good…” Silence followed, and for the first time in years it wasn’t comfortable.

“And how are your personal lessons going?” Ginny asked, her voice a little strained, and her words a little forced. “Getting all super-powered for Voldemort?”

Harry frowned. Normally, he would have smiled or laughed. He would have played along, and boasted his great power. Then Ginny would have made some snarky comment to bring him back to earth. Then they would laugh together. But this wasn’t ‘normally’ anymore, and something in Harry wasn’t clicking. Besides, Ginny likely would keep the charade going either, even if he tried to get it going.

“Fine, I suppose. Snape’s a git as usual…”

“Right,” Ginny said, and a little more silence followed. Harry wondered for the first time why they didn’t have some music playing or something in the Great Hall. Surely with this many awkward teenagers having three meals a day in this room, someone would have thought it a good idea. Anything would be better than silence. “Well, good luck with it. I’ve got to go to the library tonight…”

“Okay,” Harry said sadly. “See ya.”

She stood up and left, with Harry watching her the entire way out of the Great Hall. He was surprised when Neville’s voice shook him out of his clouded and confusing thoughts.

“Yikes…did you guys have a messy breakup or something? That was torture!” Harry looked quickly at Neville, who was wide-eyed and shaking his head.

“Thanks for being so sympathetic, Neville.” Harry said sarcastically with an eye roll. “Your compassion for me about my breakup is really quite overwhelming.”

Neville had the decency to look sorry. His words, however, did nothing to alleviate the pain that Harry felt for being unable to even converse with Ginny normally now. “Sorry, Harry. I guess I just can’t believe you guys actually split! I mean, you were perfect for each other!” Harry winced–this was not the first time other students had told him as much. “I haven’t seen you two so happy my whole time here at Hogwarts, and all of a sudden you end things? I don’t understand it. One minute you are inseparable, and the next you can’t carry on a conversation.”

Being told the obvious did not put Harry in a good mood. So, like he often did when Ron tried to lecture him, Harry decided to turn the tides back on Neville. “Funny coming from the guy who can only talk about imaginary creatures with the girl he fancies.” Harry tried not to come across as rude, but he heard a little malice in his own words.

“First of all, they are invisible, not imaginary!” Neville said defensively. “Secondly, Luna is not a great conversationalist, but we never sound like that.”

Harry sighed, thinking back to his ugly conversation with Ginny. No fun banter, no sharing of thoughts and feelings, no…anything. “Yea…this sucks.”

Neville patted his back. “What happened? I don’t get it…”

“I don’t either, Neville. Sometimes life is just confusing…”

Neville stood from the table. Before walking away, he said, “No, Harry. Life is generally pretty straightforward–we just choose to make it confusing for some reason.”

Harry sat in silence for a moment, then he shook his head when he realized that Neville was leaving the dinner table. He called out to Neville, as the boy strode across the Great Hall. “Okay, well, see ya! Nice talking to you, too, Neville!”

Neville didn’t look back, and Harry looked desperately at Lavender Brown just a few seats down from him. “He just got up and left. Is that a thing now? Do people really do that? What he said wasn’t even super profound, and then he gets up and leaves without a ‘see ya later’ or ‘goodbye?’”

Harry turned back to the retreating Neville, and shouted. “That wasn’t even that profound!”

Turning back to a very mystified Lavender Brown, Harry resumed his one-way conversation. “Who does that? If that was an attempt at a dramatic exit, then it was a failure.”

Lavender Brown looked confusedly at Harry and shrugged. Harry looked back at the retreating Neville, who was now leaving the Great Hall and let out scoff. “We choose to make life confusing,” Harry muttered to himself. “What does that even mean?”
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