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The Dark and Winding Path | ||||||
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Category: Post-HBP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Drama Warnings: Dark Fiction Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 338 Summary: *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated in over 2 years *** "He did not feel the way he had so often felt before, excited, curious, burning to get to the bottom of a mystery; he simply knew that the task of discovering the truth about the real Horcrux had to be completed before he could move a little farther along the dark and winding path stretching ahead of him, the path that he and Dumbledore had set out upon together, and which he now knew he would have to journey alone." ~HBP NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN EXTENTION OF THE S.S.POTTER SERIES, BUT IS AN ENTIRELY NEW STORY. Enjoy! Hitcount: Story Total: 130625; Chapter Total: 2138 Author's Notes: I apologize! RL has thrown me for seveal loops (job changes / family problems etc). I thank all of you who continue to read! |
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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Hearts & Kisses The next morning the common room was unusually full of people, most of whom seemed to be crowded around the notice board. Harry hadn’t slept well, thanks to the numerous questions that were rattling around in his head. Annoyed, he pushed past the knot of people blocking the portrait hole and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He found Ginny was already ensconced at the Gryffindor table, eating her way steadily through a stack of toast as she perused a copy of Advanced Transfiguration which she had propped open against a jug of pumpkin juice. “I think you and Hermione are spending entirely too much time together,” he said, grinning as he slid onto the bench beside her. “Transfiguration at breakfast Gin? Are you feeling all right?” “Honestly, Harry” said Ginny, in an uncanny imitation of Hermione as she snapped the book shut and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t you know that there is nothing in the world more important than homework? Especially seeing as that N.E.W.T.’s are only sixteen weeks away!” “That was good! Almost too good. I’m afraid to kiss you now.” “Come again?” “Well, maybe if I kissed you right now it would feel like I was kissing Hermione.” “Did you say you’ve been kissing Hermione?” said Neville interestedly as he slid in on the other side of Ginny and helped himself to kippers. “Doesn’t that bother you Gin?” “No, I said it would be like kissing Hermione,” corrected Harry. “I never said that I’d kissed her.” “But then that sounds as if you’ve kissed her in the past,” Neville pointed out. “Otherwise how would you know what kissing Hermione would be like?” “Wouldn’t bother me actually,” said Ginny grinning broadly as Harry squirmed uncomfortably beside her. “Who Harry snogged before we got together is none of my business.” “Who’s Harry been snogging then?” asked Ron, stifling a yawn as he took a seat opposite Neville and began piling his plate with everything he could reach. “Hermione,” said Neville and Ginny together. Ron froze, his cheeks bulging with sausages. He swallowed with some difficulty then turned to Harry and, in a rather strained voice that was struggling to remain genial. “You want to clarify this mate, or should I just kill you now?” “Why would you want to kill Harry?” asked Hermione, nudging Ron over so that she could take a seat beside him. “Can you pass me the eggs, Ginny?” “For snogging apparently,” said Neville blandly as Ginny, whose hand was shaking with suppressed laughter nearly upset the entire platter of eggs into Hermione’s lap. “I thought we’d discussed this Ron,” said Hermione with a heavy sigh. “Look, you’ve upset Ginny. You’ve got to come to grips with the fact that girls today can kiss whomever they choose.” Ron and Neville goggled at Hermione as she blithely poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. “Just because you see something you don’t like doesn’t mean that you have to get all protective,” she continued then, catching their expressions said, “What are you two looking at me like that for?” “So you’re admitting it then,” said Ron, his voice choked. He was distracted momentarily by Harry snorting into his Goblet. “Of course I admit it,” said Hermione serenely as Harry’s snort turned into a full-fledged laugh. “I told you Ron, women today can choose how they display their affections.” “That’s not on!” growled Ron. “Well you didn’t see Harry or I getting on you about snogging Lavender all over Gryffindor tower now, did you?” “That was different!” “How?” “Well, when I was going out with Lavender I wasn’t snogging other girls, was I?” “Wait a minute, Ron, what are you talking about?” “You know what I’m talking about! I’m talking about you snogging Harry!” “Me snogging-” “Harry, yeah,” said Ron moodily poking at the eggs on his plate. “I mean, come off it Hermione, you really expect me to just sit back and watch while you and Harry go at it?” “Don’t be ridiculous,” said Hermione, sounding outraged. “I’ve never-” “I’d want some privacy if it were me,” said Neville serenely. Ron glared at him. “Ron,” said Harry, leaning forward across the table. “I haven’t been snogging Hermione.” “But I thought-” “This is what happens when you come in at the end of a conversation, idiot,” said Ginny conversationally. “So you never kissed Hermione, Harry?” asked Neville interestedly as Ron subsided, his ears retreating from scarlet to a more manageable pink. “No!” said Hermione and Harry in unison. “Not even back in fourth year?” Neville pressed, a crease forming between his eyebrows. “You were always together, and then that Skeeter woman wrote-” “Yeah well, Rita Skeeter wrote a lot of things,” said Harry heavily. “Trust me, Neville. Hermione helped me out a lot that year, getting ready for the Tri-Wizard tournament and everything — but we were never, you know, an item.” “Nope, that was Krum,” said Ginny nastily. “Here we go again,” Hermione sighed as Ron’s ears once more turned scarlet. “Ginny!” groaned Neville and Harry together. “What about Krum?” came a new voice, Luna’s, from behind them. Harry turned to look over his shoulder. Luna, looking almost normal in a pink and white polka-dotted jumper was standing behind Neville, watching the proceedings with a small half-smile. “Nothing!” said Hermione, Harry and Neville together. “No, Victor Krum took you to the Yule Ball fourth year, didn’t he?” said Luna dreamily. “I didn’t dance at the Ball you know. There was far too much mistletoe hung over the dance floor.” “Nargles, yeah,” said Harry, suppressing a smile. “So that’s why you only danced the once with Parvati!” said Luna brightly. “Very perceptive Harry. Yes, from the way everyone was acting that night, I’m sure there were whole herds of them.” What’s a Nargle? Mouthed Neville over Luna’s head, Harry shrugged. “But I don’t think that will be a problem this time,” said Luna with a small shrug. “Filch is bringing in a flock of Cupid’s, but they’re safe enough if you don’t provoke them.” “Cupids?” said Harry stupidly, remembering the winged cherubs that had hovered over the tea table at Madame Pudifoot’s. “Yes silly, you can’t expect to have a Valentine’s Day Ball without some decorations, can you?” said Luna vaguely. “What Ball?” said Harry, Ron and Neville together. “The Valentine’s Day Ball,” said Luna patiently. “I expect you heard about it if you’ve got half an ear on you. I mean, its all anyone’s talking about, isn’t it?” “Guess I missed that bit,” said Harry with a sideways look at Ginny. “That must have been what everyone was crowded around the bulletin board for.” “The notices went up last night,” said Hermione with a stern look at Ron. “Two week from this Friday. Weren’t you paying attention when McGonagall handed them out at the Prefect meeting?” “I — no, I guess I wasn’t,” said Ron with a sheepish grin and a significant glance at Hermione who had gone rather pink. Do I even want to know what they were doing under the table during the prefect meeting? Wondered Ginny sub-vocally, causing Harry to spray his mouthful of pumpkin juice across the table. “It’s been a while since we had a dance at Hogwarts,” said Neville, who had gone a delicate shade of pink. He cast a sideways look at Ginny who grinned back at him. “Going to charm someone else in the Fairy Grotto this time Neville?” laughed Ginny. “That’s right, you went with Neville to the Yule Ball, didn’t you Ginny?” said Luna serenely. “I’d forgotten about that,” said Ron, scowling darkly at Neville. “I also seem to recall that neither of you made it back to Gryffindor tower until after I did.” “Yes, well, that was then,” said Ginny complacently. “And this is now — are you game Harry?” “Game?” repeated Harry. “Yes, do you want to go to the ball with me?” “Will there be a Fairy Grotto?” wondered Harry brightly. “With rose bushes and everything?” “I’ll take that as a yes,” said Ginny giving him a kiss on the cheek as she slid off the bench. “And now I’m off for a scintillating potions session.” * * * Harry was amazed at how something normal - like a Valentine’s Day Ball — could lift the spirits of the Hogwarts students so completely. Over the next week instead of stumbling across knots of students talking earnestly about the latest Dark Creature attacks or the dreadfully depressing headlines of the Prophet, he would round the corner to find groups of giggling girls discussing dress robes or boys in pairs discussing the best methods for getting girls alone long enough to ask them out. “They’re always in packs!” moaned a Ravenclaw third year to his companion as Harry and Ron passed them on their way to Transfiguration on Thursday. “What do you think they’re afraid of?” wondered Ron as the third years turned off down the Charms corridor. “Looking stupid I expect,” said Harry. “Don’t you remember fourth year?” “Course I do,” muttered Ron as they slid into their seats on either side of Hermione. “Sort of hard to forget.” “What’s hard to forget?” asked Hermione, looking up from Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7. “How difficult it was to screw up the courage to ask a girl out for the Yule Ball,” said Ron with a grimace. “Well you never did ask Padma out, did you?” said Hermione conversationally. “I mean, you sort of yelled at Fleur, but it was Harry who asked Parvati, and Parvati who asked Padma for you, so you never actually asked anyone Ron.” “I asked you in case you forgot,” said Ron raising his eyebrows at her. “A little late,” sniffed Hermione. “Not like this time,” said Ron, grinning at her. “I take it he’s asked you already?” Harry asked Hermione in an undertone as Professor McGonagall tapped the board so that the instructions for their lesson appeared in her crisply neat script. “First thing I did mate,” said Ron leaning across Hermione so as not to be heard by Professor McGonagall who was now handing back their last essays on Exceptions to Thermal Laws in the Conjuring of Animate Creatures. “Call it a lesson learned.” Harry grinned to himself as he opened to the pages McGonagall had marked on the board. Fourth year Ron had dithered over asking a girl to the ball, finally asking Hermione as a last resort, only to discover that she had already been asked by none other than the International Quidditch Player Viktor Krum. Their row in the common room following the Ball had become the stuff of legend. Ron had refused to admit that he had asked Hermione as a last resort, putting the blame on her accepting Krum’s invitation. They had treated each other like polite strangers for weeks afterwards. For Harry, Ron and Hermione’s fight had been a rather disturbing revelation; for watching the pair of them Harry had first come to the realization that Ron and Hermione were, in truth, attracted to each other. Granted it had taken almost three years for them to admit it to each other…Harry glanced sideways at the pair of them. Ron was reading and Hermione was writing notes, but they were sitting close enough so that their legs touched, and Harry could not help but see the small smile dancing around Hermione’s lips as she scribbled, nor the look of smug satisfaction on Ron’s face when Hermione’s left hand slipped onto his knee. “Now class,” came McGonagall’s voice, interrupting Harry’s train of thought. “In today’s lesson we will be working without pre-existing creatures. The point of course, as the material covered in the essay so clearly explains, is to conjure an animate creature out of apparent thin air. Can someone please explain the connection between the third thermal law and the conjuring of mammals? Miss Granger?” Harry sighed deeply as Hermione’s hand shot up, nearly knocking off his glasses. No matter how much some things changed, others remained exactly the same. |
| Reviews 338 |
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