The first week of term had passed with relative peace and quiet. Harry had gone for his first Potions class with Snape on the Wednesday morning and was actually able to enjoy his lesson. They were working on the Wolfsbane Potion, which was naturally of interest to Harry and his friends. They were extra careful when reading the instructions, chopping up the ingredients and stirring it. After a long and hot hour had passed, they took their cauldrons off the heat and allowed the potion to cool. Ron and Harry were delighted when the liquid that was swirling around in their respective cauldrons was the same colour and texture as Hermione’s. It had to be said that she looked very relieved as well. Once the potion had cooled to room temperature, they filled a flagon each and took it to the professor’s desk. He made several derogatory comments to the Ravenclaws that were in front of them but when Harry popped his glass container down on the wooden desk all the sallow man said was, “Fine.” He didn’t say anything at all to Ron and Hermione or Dean who was behind them. As the three of them escaped the stifling heat of the dungeon the tepid air of the rest of the castle felt cool and refreshing.
“What was all that about?” Ron exploded when they emerged at the top of the stairs that lead to the dungeon corridor.
“What do you mean?” Hermione asked lightly.
“He means, Snape didn’t snipe at me once, that’s not normal,” Harry felt odd. Part of the fun of school was sitting at lunch or dinner having a good gripe about Snape; it was one of the student’s favourite past-times.
“So?” Hermione was clearly too levelheaded for Ron and Harry’s train of thought.
“Maybe Ellie’s had a word?” Ron suggested.
“I think he’s probably had enough of Ellie’s words,” Harry snorted as he sat down at the Gryffindor table and pulled a plate bearing chicken sandwiches towards him.
“Too right,” Ron grinned at the memory of a conversation they had overheard between the two teachers the previous year. “Not afraid to give him what for, is she?”
“Maybe she should be a little bit nicer to Professor Snape instead of encouraging you two to make fun of him,” Hermione said sharply. Ron choked on his spoonful of soup.
“Did you just criticize a teacher?” He stared at her in disbelief.
“More to the point, did you just criticize Ellie?” Harry objected on his cousin’s behalf.
“I’m not criticizing her, I just think that her behaviour towards him is strange,” Hermione argued defensively.
“How d’you mean?” Ron asked.
“Well, she said that he owes her a debt. You’d think she’d be a little bit nicer to him because of that.”
“I don’t think Ellie particularly likes him owing her debt.” Harry had a vague recollection of hearing Ellie talk about things between her and Snape with someone but the memory was rather fuzzy.
“All the same, she should be setting a good example and showing him some respect,” Hermione continued.
“I really hope that’s the Head Girl’s badge talking and that you’re not putting down my sister-in-law, Hermione. You’re going to be related to her one day.” Ron stopped his spoon dead in its journey from the bowl in front of him to his mouth. Had he really just said that? Harry was gawping at him with eyes that were ready to burst out of their sockets and Hermione was just staring at him with a bit of shock seeping into her eyes. They’d never really talked about where there relationship was going but his last comment made it quite clear that he had been thinking about it. “See that? One person gets married and it’s all a bloke can think about for months. Who does Ellie think she is looking so pretty in her dress and planting ideas in people’s heads?” He rose from the lunch table, red as a beetroot and took off after mumbling something about needing to get more books. He nearly knocked Ginny down in his haste.
“What’s up with him?” she grumbled. “More importantly, what’s the matter with you two?”
“Ron just said…” Hermione couldn’t finish her sentence. Her eyes drifted over to the door that her boyfriend had disappeared through and she too felt the need to leave the table. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she said as she marched away from the table.
“What did Ron say?” Ginny asked Harry, who had only just managed to pull his eyeballs back in. He relayed the previous conversation to her and she gasped when he reached the end of his tale. “He really said that?”
“Yeah, right here, in the middle of the hall!” Harry couldn’t help the high-pitched tone of his voice.
“So Ellie was right,” Ginny muttered more to herself than to Harry.
“Ellie was right about what?” he asked with confusion.
“She predicted that wedding bells might ring for those two. We’ll have to wait and see if her other predictions were right,” Ginny smiled at the plate in front of her as she remembered the day on the stairs.
“What else did she predict?” Harry was half afraid to ask and half curious about the answer; in the end his curiosity had won over.
“You’ll find out when the time is right,” she answered. “Now tell me, Mr. Potter, what are your plans for this evening?” she asked in a plumy voice.
“I’ve got an essay to do for Ellie, I mean Professor Weasley,” he corrected himself because a second year student sat a couple of seats away from him was giving him a funny look. “It’s on Pogrebins, but that won’t take me too long, she only wants a foot and I’ve got a free period up next.”
“Good, because I have a much more interesting night planned for you. I’ll see you at dinner.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before she too left the hall. Seeing him all alone, Neville slid further along the bench.
“You all right there, Harry?”
“I think so,” he answered with bemusement.
“Have they abandoned you?” Neville was trying not to laugh at the very baffled expression the other boy was wearing.
“Something like that. You know, Neville, I’m having the weirdest day.” Harry shook his head and tried to concentrate on his lunch but he couldn’t really stop his mind from wandering after a certain petite redhead.
The next time Harry saw his two best friends was at dinner. They sauntered into the hall together with Hermione tucked securely under Ron’s arm. They were laughing and grinning madly at each other. Harry had the feeling that they’d had the chance to talk about Ron’s earlier declaration of his intentions and the outcome had been good. Very good judging by the glow in Hermione’s cheeks and the fact that Ron’s hair was messier than usual. Harry wondered if they had managed to find some nice broom cupboards on their prefect rounds in the past two years. “Okay there, mate?” Ron asked with a wide grin.
“Not as good as the two of you by the look of things. Probably has something to do with the fact that my two best friends just deserted me at lunch time,” he said with his best fake ‘you hurt my feelings’ voice.
“You had Ginny.” Although he was quite sure that Hermione was talking to him, you would never have been able to tell because she was too busy gazing at Ron.
“Unfortunately, she ditched me not long after you did.”
“That’s a shame,” Ron said without a hint of sympathy.
“Yes, we’re very sorry, Harry,” Hermione said. Her voice was muffled slightly by her attempt to kiss Ron.
“Now if only I could believe that,” he chuckled. Both of them grinned at him in a guilty manner. “Never mind, I had Neville for company.” Ginny sidled in to the seat beside him and gave his knee a quick squeeze. The sudden, quite intimate, contact caught him by surprise.
“So you two are better now?” she said to her brother and best friend.
“We’re fine,” Hermione beamed.
“We can see that,” she smirked when Ron popped a carrot in Hermione’s mouth. The spent the rest of the meal in sociable silence. Afterwards they retired to the common room and curled up in their favourite seats by the fire. It wasn’t too long before Ginny was tugging Harry away from the cozy position he had achieved and pulled him towards the stairs to the boy’s dormitory.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Ron had been lying asleep on the couch with Hermione curled up on top of him but was now peering at Harry and Ginny with one eye and a very accusatory tone.
“Just going to get our cloaks and go for a walk in the grounds, it’s a lovely evening,” Ginny said as cheerfully as possible. She was well aware that the dark and stormy sky, that was visible in the window behind her, was practically sticking its tongue out at her back.
“Hmm,” Ron grunted and shut his eye. Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map before they shot back down the stairs. They were halfway to the portrait hole when Ron spoke again. “Decided to forgo the cloaks have we?” he said with his eyes still firmly shut and a slight grin playing at the sides of his mouth.
“Well, it isn’t very cold outside, so we thought we’d take our chances,” Ginny said in a casual voice. Harry could see that on the hand furthest away from Ron had she had her fingers crossed.
“Right, well be careful, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Ron couldn’t fight the little smile any longer.
“Does that rule anything out?” Harry laughed. He immediately regretted it because Ginny thrust a very sharp elbow into his ribs, he suddenly felt very sorry for a certain butter dish. Ron’s eyes snapped open.
“Just remember that is my little sister,” he pointed a lazy finger at an unimpressed Ginny. “I know that you’re my best mate, Harry, but unfortunately that doesn’t go for her other four brothers. Although they like you a lot, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if you do anything you shouldn’t. And before you make any stupid comments about what that includes, you know fine well what it does. So watch your step and your hands.” Ron’s eyes drifted shut before Ginny could start a tirade. Instead she huffed and puffed and stormed out of the common room with Harry running to keep up with her.
“So where are we going?” he asked nervously. She was in a furious temper, thanks to Ron.
“Just follow me,” she said with forced niceness. He didn’t want to argue so he did as he was told. They marched along several busy corridors, passing the late diners that were just emptying out of the Great Hall, until they found a corridor on the fourth floor that was completely empty. Ginny’s strides lengthened along this passage way and Harry found himself amazed by the amount of ground her short legs could cover. There was a floor to ceiling tapestry on the wall that Ginny pulled open to reveal a rather cramped looking space that couldn’t have been much more than two feet square. Harry just stared at the collection of mops and buckets wondering if she was serious. Tired of his waiting she shoved him into the cupboard and snapped the tapestry shut behind them. This plunged the small room in to complete darkness.
“This is…cozy,” he said awkwardly.
“It’s not supposed to be cozy,” the anger had faded away from her voice and it was once again seductive. He could feel her pressing closer to him and it took every ounce of self-control he had to keep from throwing himself at her and doing unmentionable things to her. He was surprised that his face wasn’t glowing scarlet through the gloom. “Is everything all right, Harry?” her voice changed again, this time it was soft and concerned.
“Yeah…it’s just… I… you…we…” he finally decided to shut up. He wasn’t doing himself any favours by blundering on like that.
“Have you gone off me?”
“Definitely not,” he shook his head furiously. If only she could see the mental images running though his head at this moment.
“Well, why don’t you show me?” she was back to seductive. She reached a tender hand around Harry’s neck and pulled him towards her for a passionate kiss. He allowed her to pull him deeper into it and found himself lost in the moment, the hands which he had rested on her waist slipped down to her bottom in his desperation to pull her closer. When he realised where his mitts were he snatched them away from her and pulled back. “I’m going to ask you a couple of questions and I want you to be honest,” her voice resonated firmly through the darkness.
“O…okay,” he replied unsurely. He had the distinct feeling he was going to get a rollicking.
“Did I give you any sign that I was uncomfortable?” she asked.
“No,” he cringed slightly.
“Right then, my next question is; if I was anybody but Ron’s little sister would you have pulled away like that?”
“Honestly?”
“Honestly,” she answered.
“Probably not,” he said quietly.
“Harry, when I’m with you I’m not Ron’s little sister! I’m Ginny, just Ginny,” she breathed deeply. Harry suddenly felt quite daring.
“But you’re not.”
“Why not?” she protested.
“Because when you’re with me, you’re so much more than ‘just Ginny’” he whispered in her ear before pressing his lips on to hers avidly.
They spent a very long time locked together in that broom cupboard and only tore themselves away from their activities when they realised that things were getting too heated. “Lumos” Harry whispered quietly so that he could check the time on his watch. In the light he saw that Ginny’s hair was all over the place and her face was flushed, he allowed himself a small smile.
“You look pleased with yourself,” she teased.
“I don’t know why, it’s a quarter to midnight. I’m going to be murdered,” he laughed. Somehow standing in the protective shell that was the cupboard the thought of Ginny’s four older brothers killing him was quite funny.
“Aww! Don’t worry, Harry, I’ll protect you from the bad Weasley brothers,” she mocked him.
“Good, now get under this cloak,” he wrapped the material around them and allowed himself to enjoy how close Ginny was to him. She was holding the Marauder’s Map and examining it carefully.
“The path to the tower is clear,” she informed him as they slipped out from behind the tapestry as quietly as possible.
“Keep an eye on it,” he whispered as they began their way back through the maze of corridors and staircases.
“Ellie and Charlie at four o’clock,” Ginny whispered and sure enough Professor Weasley and her husband came trotting up the stairs just to their right. “What’s Charlie doing here?” Ginny said a little too loudly. Ellie froze. She looked directly at the spot where they were standing behind one of the school’s countless suits of armour. She stared at the spot for a couple of minutes before she pointed her wand at them and called ‘Ventus!’ A gust of air blew through the cloak and Harry instantly knew that she had seen their feet.
“Who’s there?” she asked. Charlie had his wand out too.
“It’s just us,” Harry conceded, pulling the cloak off of them. He didn’t have to see Ginny’s face to know that she was looking horribly guilty.
“And what do you two think that you’re doing out and about at this time?” she demanded.
“We were…um…” Harry began.
“Exploring the castle,” Ginny finished for him. Ellie broke into a smile but Charlie was looking at Harry lethally.
“Well, it’s awfully late to be wandering about. I’m afraid you leave me no choice but to take ten points from Gryffindor and give you a detention each, which you will serve with me tomorrow evening after dinner,” her voice was serious but a twinkle was dancing about in her eyes. “Let’s get you back to the tower now,” she indicated up another flight of stairs. She and Charlie followed them all the way back to the portrait of the Fat Lady. “No more late night wanderings or I’ll have to report you to Professor McGonagall,” she said with a smile.
“Just one question,” Ginny ventured bravely. Ellie and Charlie turned back to face her. Charlie was still giving Harry the filthiest looks. “Why are you here?” she asked her brother.
“We’ve been looking for a nice broom cupboard, do you know any?” Ellie asked with the utmost seriousness.
“Us? Nope, we haven’t been near a cupboard in months,” Ginny grinned before she disappeared through the portrait hole. As the painting swung shut they could still hear the two people on the other side.
“I hope you won’t hold it against me if I kill your cousin,” Charlie said angrily.
“Why?” Even through the canvas the innocence that Ellie was feigning was obvious.
“WHY?” Charlie exploded. “You know exactly what those two were up to and it wasn’t exploring the castle, more likely exploring….” There was a large gulp. “…Each other.”
“Are you telling me that if we’d been here together, we would have behaved any differently?”
“That’s not the point,” Charlie claimed.
“Oh yes it is! This is just a case of your double standards!” Ellie retorted.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that it’s fine for you or one of your brothers to slip out and accost poor girls here, there and everywhere - and by the way Madame Pince caught Ron and Hermione at it in the library earlier - but it’s not fine for Ginny to go out and get accosted. At least you know Harry’s not about to take advantage of her, not that she would let him. Your sister has got a strong mind of her own and it’s about time that you started giving her credit for it. They’re not stupid little children, they know what they’re getting themselves into and I don’t see why we can’t leave them to it!”
“For your information, all teenage boys are capable of taking advantage!”
“You never tried to take advantage of me!”
“That’s because I exercised a little bit of self control!”
“What makes you think that Harry isn’t doing the same?” Ellie asked. Unfortunately, Charlie had no answer to this and was subjected to a gloat of victory from his wife. “My point exactly! Now we’ve finished the rounds and had a nice little argument can we go and make up?” A little smacking sound told them that Ellie had kissed her husband. Harry and Ginny stepped away from the portrait hole and into the now empty common room. Harry dutifully walked Ginny to the foot of the girls’ staircase.
“Well, Harry, it’s been fun ‘exploring’ with you,” she smiled and gave him a kiss. “Goodnight.”
“Lots fun, we must do it again some time.” He kissed her back. “Night, Ginny.”
He crept up the steps to his dormitory quickly, and cursed the door silently when it creaked open. He changed for bed as quietly as he could and nearly fell over when Neville gave a particularly loud snore. “You’re awfully late,” Ron’s voice sounded out from behind his curtains. “I hope you didn’t do anything I’d have to smack you one for.”
“As if I would,” Harry replied, eternally grateful that Ron couldn’t see his face right now. “Besides, I’ve already been glared at by one of your brothers tonight.”
“Which one?” Ron asked with sleepy interest.
“Charlie, he’s here in the castle.”
“Why?”
“Ellie said they were looking for a nice broom cupboard,” Harry smirked; she certainly had a sense of humour.
“Oh right. By the way, Harry, I know you would.”
“Would what?”
“Do something I’d have to smack you for.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence there, mate,” Harry grinned. Ron knew him so well.
“You’re welcome. Night, Harry,” Ron mumbled as the sleep finally caught up with him.
“See you in the morning.” Harry snuggled under the covers. He was thoroughly pleased that Ron had not been anywhere near that tapestry, otherwise Harry would have come back black and blue for the things he did.
The next morning found Professor Weasley yawning widely at the staff breakfast table. “Late night?” Madam Pomfrey asked her with concern borne from decades in the nursing profession.
“It was indeed. I caught some students roaming the corridors on my midnight rounds and then me and Charlie had an argument that was promptly followed by frantic making up,” Ellie grinned in a slightly embarrassed way. Poppy Pomfrey had been the healer on call at the time of her birth and yet here she was sharing the details of her married life with the woman who had eased her in to the world.
“I remember the first few months of my marriage, Wilfred and I used to argue terribly. I remember going to my mother once and saying that all we did was fight and she said to me, ‘Poppy, dear, if you never argued you’d never have a reason to reconcile.’”
“Never a truer word was spoken.” Ellie agreed.
“May I ask which students you caught out of bed?”
“Certainly, it was Harry and Ginny. They had been ‘exploring the castle’ but I happen to know that there’s a very secluded storage cupboard at the end of one of the fourth floor corridors, and judging by poor Ginny’s hair, I’d stake my life that they were in there.” She grinned down at the Gryffindor table where the two students were now wolfing down their breakfast.
“The mind boggles as to how you can know so much about this castle, considering that you never attended school here.” Poppy said affectionately.
“I spent an awful lot of summers here with just Charlie for company, so I know all the good hiding places,” she smiled. “Please excuse me, Poppy, but I should be getting back to my classroom before my group of raucous forth years come along and wreck the place.” Ellie swept down from the top table to speak to Harry and Ginny. “Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, I would like to remind you that I’m expecting you at six thirty sharp to begin your detention,” she increased her volume as Snape walked past. “Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, I understand that Madam Pince gave you two detentions yesterday as well, and I’ll be expecting the two of you at the same time as your friends,” Ellie said in her best voice of authority.
“Yes, Professor,” the four of them chorused together. Ellie was almost out of the room when Ron shot after her.
“Professor Weasley, could I ask a favour?”
“A favour?” she repeated.
“Could I possibly do my detention tomorrow night?” he pleaded. Ellie studied him carefully before she said answered him.
“I suppose I don’t need to remind you that it’s a punishment and it doesn’t have quite the same effect if it is arranged to suit you?”
“Of course not, but there are special circumstances.”
“And they would be?” she raised a single eyebrow at him and for a moment he thought he’d caught McGonagall instead. He leaned forward so that he could whisper to her in private; there was a group of third year Hufflpuffs nearby that were watching the conversation with interest. When he had finished explaining, she nodded slowly. “Okay, Mr. Weasley, tomorrow night it is. I hope it all goes well.”
When Ron came back in to the hall he was immediately subjected to a torrent of questions. “What was that all about?” Harry managed to get in first.
“Nothing,” Ron replied.
“It quite obviously was. What were you asking Professor Weasley?” Hermione was giving him an intense look.
“I just had a quick favour to ask.”
“Like what?” Ginny prodded.
“If you must know, I asked if I could swap my detention to tomorrow!” the red haired boy shouted.
“But why?” Hermione asked soothingly.
“Because I’ve got things that I need to do tonight.”
“Surely nothing that’s worth getting a lecture for?” Harry asked. He had seen the look on his cousin’s face and recognised it as the one she wore when she was trying to get a point across.
“Actually it was, and she said I could do it tomorrow.”
“She let you off?” Ginny was affronted.
“No, I still have to do it, just tomorrow.”
“I hope you realise, Ronald, just how unfair this is.” Hermione slapped her fork down on the table; sending little bits of scrambled egg everywhere, and left the hall in a very large strop. Ginny wasn’t far behind her.
“You not going to have a go as well?” Ron grumped.
“Nah, I just want to know what you said that got you out of it, that way I can use it,” Harry grinned.
“I wish I could tell you but… well… it’s kind of a surprise.”
“Oh! Say no more, I take it that I’ll understand sometime soon?”
“Within the next month,” Ron replied.
“I suppose I’ll have to wait. Shall we go to Charms now or give Hermione some more time to calm down?”
“We should go now, before she gets a chance to work herself up into a storm.”
“Sometimes she really reminds me of your mum,” Harry said thoughtfully as they made their way to the Charms classroom.
“Harry! It’s not nice to say things like that about your best mate’s girlfriend!” Ron protested, with a thoroughly disgruntled expression. Oh well! Harry thought. At least now he’ll probably avoid doing the stuff that got him his detention!
A/N: That chapter seemed to take forever, thank the heavens that it’s done now!
The next chapter hitting a computer screen near you is….Hermione’s Surprise.