Harry held Ginny close to him as they danced at the Valentine’s Day Ball. Once again, the hall had been decorated extravagantly for the special occasion. There were many more couples at this dance then Harry had seen at the previous two. He guessed the spirit of the day was alive in even the younger students.
After only an hour, Harry led Ginny out of the Great Hall and towards the grounds. “What’s the rush, Harry?” she asked. “We haven’t even eaten yet.”
Harry stopped and turned to her. His eyes took a moment to gaze at her flawless form in her beautiful ocean blue dress. He made a mental note to thank Sara and Hermione for picking out this dress with its unique features. It might be worth the extra five galleons to get the spell that would alter the cut of the dress, though she might be tempted to alter it in such a way that would make Mrs. Weasley faint and cause Harry’s eyes to leave their sockets.
“I have a surprise for you.”
They walked onto the grounds. Harry could see the telltale glimmer of candle lights placed across the grass. Apparently Ron and Harry had not been the only students that had taken notice of the shop in Hogsmeade. Harry hoped that the spot he had picked out for Ginny and him was secluded. Still holding her hand, he walked towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry could feel Ginny’s grip tighten. “Don’t worry, we’re not going in there.” Just before they reached the edge of the forest, Ginny felt a sensation wash over her, and they were suddenly on top of a hill.
She looked down from the hill and saw the castle below her. “How did we get up here? Did we just apparate?”
Harry smiled. “A little gift from Kevin to make sure we weren’t followed. Snape would just love to spoil my surprise to you.”
Ginny looked around the hilltop, and her breath caught in her throat. “Harry, this is wonderful.”
A table was set on the hill, complete with linen tablecloth, candlelight, and a meal for two. Ginny walked over to it, and as she got closer, soft music started playing. She looked around for the source, but couldn’t see where the music was coming from. Harry noticed her confusion. “A little something extra to add to the evening. Don’t worry, no one else is around.” He put his arms around her waist. “We won’t be disturbed.”
Harry led her in a little dance as she gazed lovingly into his eyes. “I can’t believe you did all this, Harry. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “I did it all for you.”
*****************************************************
Though Harry had indeed tried his best to make sure he and Ginny were alone, someone was watching them from a distance. A hand-held telescope to his eye, Griff let out a disgusted grunt. “Absolutely nauseating.”
“What is?” Dragair said, from behind his brother.
Griff handed the telescope over. “That,” he answered, pointing to the hilltop. “That boy and his wench.” He drew out his wand. “It would be so easy to kill them both now.”
Dragair swatted the raised wand. “And you would most likely be killed for it. Either by the Aurors or our treacherous brother, or worse yet by father himself. We have our orders to watch only. If we’re going to find out who the traitor is, we have to watch everyone that might have had contact with him, and we both know that Kevin has taken a liking to young Harry. Besides, do you really think that Dumbledore would let his students wander about the grounds like this without some sort of protection? No doubt the instant we use our wands we’ll be apparated directly to the Ministry of Magic, or something devious like that.”
Griff twirled his wand. “It might be worth it if that annoying Potter boy is dead. Father would probably reward me. Without Potter to stand in his way, father would have no trouble conquering the rest of our world and then I would be free and he would honor me.”
Dragair took the telescope and hit the back of Griff’s head with it. “Are you truly so blind, or just stupid? I can’t believe that you think one boy is really so powerful. If it were so easy to take over the country, father would have done it, Potter or no Potter. The only problem is that he has more ego then power, our father does. He wants the only people to have ever stopped him out of the way before he dares set one foot towards true conquest. If he was as smart as he thinks he is, father would move on this castle with all the Death Eaters, kill the boy, Dumbledore, and our brother, and then concentrate on the rest of the world.”
Griff looked intently at Dragair. “You shouldn’t speak of our father that way. If he got wind of it, then he might think you were passing along information to the Order, and that wouldn’t look very good for you to succeed him.”
Dragair scoffed. “The only person who is going to succeed him is himself, if he can help it. And I only speak of him this way because his obsession is going to lose this war and get himself killed. If we’re not careful, we’ll be killed along with him.” A cold chill suddenly blew across the landscape. “Come on, Griff. I’ve had enough of this watching. The night air will take us if we stay any longer.” He apparated away.
Griff took one last look back towards Harry and Ginny. “Enjoy this time, Potter and Weasley. When the day comes, I’ll enjoy watching the both of you die.” He flicked his wand in the direction of the couple in a mock spell, and then apparated.
************************************************
Later that night, after Harry had taken Ginny back to Gryffindor tower, he walked back up to his dormitory and found Ron lying in his bed. The Weasley boy was still in his dress robes and he was wearing a large grin in his face. “I take it your night went well, Ron.”
Ron looked over at Harry. “It was amazing. Kevin got us a great spot near the lake. Hermione loved every minute of it.” He sat up. “And listen to this. She said that, when the weather warms up a bit, that she and I should go swimming. Have you ever seen what she looks like in a bathing suit?” Harry shook his head. “Neither have I, but I’m looking forward to finding out.” His grin got wider.
Harry and Ron changed out of their dress robes into their pajamas. After a few moments of silence, Ron had to ask, “So how did it go with Ginny?”
Harry was a bit reluctant to discuss his romantic evening with his date’s older brother, but since Ron had been willing to share. “She loved it. The hilltop, the music, everything was perfect. If it weren’t for the air suddenly turning cold, we might have stayed out there all night, which is what I was kind of hoping for.”
Ron’s face suddenly had an expression of shock. “Harry, you weren’t going to try anything with my sister, were you?”
“No,” Harry said, quickly. “Nothing like that, this was the first real date that she and I have had. Sure, we’ve spent time in the common room, but we’ve never really been alone together. I just didn’t want the night to end.” He saw that Ron still had a skeptical look on his face. “Don’t worry, Ron. I would never do anything that was improper to your sister, because your mother would kill me…or your brothers…or Ginny…whichever of them got to me first.” He let out a small laugh.
Ron’s face relaxed. “Can’t argue with you on that.”
*****************************************************
“Kevin, how long are you going to stand by that window?” Sara asked, from the bed.
Kevin was leaning against the windowsill, staring out onto the now empty grounds. “I just wanted to make sure we didn’t have any stragglers still out there.” He turned around and looked at his wife. Sara was now more than three months pregnant, but she never looked better. He closed the window and got into bed beside her. “Sara, I think you should go back to America for the time being.”
Sara let out of sigh of frustration. “We’ve been over this, Kevin. I’m not going anywhere, and neither is our baby. Just because someone sends an anonymous letter saying the Voldemort is starting up some twenty-six year old scheme…”
“A twenty-six year old scheme that puts you and our baby in danger!” Kevin replied, with a tone of frustration. “And I can’t be sure that I’ll always be there to watch out for you.”
Sara leaned over and placed a hand on his cheek. “Stop it, Kev. I can take care of myself, pregnancy or no pregnancy. I don’t have to run around to cast a spell. You just worry about yourself, and make sure Harry stays out of trouble.” She placed a kiss on his lips.
“All right,” Kevin said. “I know better then to argue with you when you actually make sense. Just promise me one thing.” She nodded. “When you get closer to having our baby, stay where it’s safe. Either in the castle or somewhere else, just never where he can get you. Please?”
She kissed his lips again.