* *Harry’s POV* *
As Harry awoke, he sniffed and stretched his back and arms, feeling unusually comfortable. He yawned deeply and, half-opening his eyes, took in his surroundings; he was apparently in the common room and then, looking down, saw Ginny snuggled tightly in his arms. He readjusted, closing his eyes again, and tightening his hold on her, smiled contentedly.
Wait…what?!
His eyes flung open and he gaped down at the girl still dreaming peacefully next to him. He racked his still foggy brain for an explanation…
Last night we were…waiting for Ron and Hermione and then…oh Merlin…Ron and Hermione…
As his mind cleared completely the first logical step seemed to be to get up. He carefully slid out from under her and, setting her gently against the pillow, stood, and then quickly leaped back, as if afraid she would wake suddenly and pounce on him. He stood silently, trying to make sense of everything, slightly rocking forward and backward, as if it would help. Slowly Ginny began to wake up, and as she looked around sleepily she spotted Harry and looked at him questioningly.
Here it comes…
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Morning Harry.”
“Erm…morning…Ginny,” he mumbled. She doesn’t know what happened; for Merlin’s sake don’t tell her!
Her peaceful smile was interrupted by a long, tired yawn, and then suddenly, as her memory returned, she looked at him frantically, “What…happened…to Ron and Hermione?”
He shook his head at her slowly with his eyebrows scrunched tightly together. “I have no idea.”
Her face fell. "We missed it. After all that work how could we miss it?"
He smiled apologetically ignoring his plagued mind as he saw how disappointed she was. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of interesting moments this morning alone…”
She sighed and slowly got up from the couch. “You’re right, I’m just sad we missed it. I’m going to go shower. I’ll meet you down here for breakfast?”
He nodded distractedly and stared at the ground in front of him trying to process everything. What have you done now? As he heard her door close he shook himself out of his daze and slowly wandered up to the stairs. He looked around for Ron, but with no sight of him anywhere grabbed some clean clothes and and headed to the showers, his mind still going haywire, unable to decipher what his central thought was. Of course it was completely innocent, nothing had happened, yet…images of waking up with Ginny wrapped in his arms persistently occupied his mind’s eye. He distinctly remembered falling asleep, how content he’d been, and this morning it felt so natural to wake up holding her tightly. As he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair he leaned his head against his arm on the wall, letting the warm water wash over him.
It doesn’t matter what I do or think to try to ignore it, it’s been coming for so long…He nearly laughed as he understood… I have feelings for Ginny…
As the realization fully dawned on him, he stood in the shower for ages before realizing that the very girl he was thinking of was waiting for him downstairs. The rest of his shower, dressing, and walking down the stairs was a blur, and when he reached the common room he saw her waiting for him impatiently. His breath caught in his chest and he froze. As always she looked adorable, and the more he thought about his newfound realization, the more he realized how many things he appreciated about her. It seemed this really had been coming for quite some time. Since the beginning of school, no, he remembered the waterfall. Since she had brought him the letter? No, at least since her bravery at the Department of Mysteries, wait… He was still standing on the bottom step trying to figure out how long he’d been feeling this when she spotted him and rushed over eagerly. “Hermione wasn’t anywhere. Did you find Ron?”
“No.” He could only manage one word, and barely that.
She smiled positively. “Well then they must be at breakfast already! Come on let’s go…”
She turned and hurried out the portrait hole and he followed her in a daze. What do I do now? Upon realizing his feelings he had no idea what to do about them. Should he tell her? Did she feel the same? What would I say? How would she react? What would Ron do? Questions flooded his brain at once, not giving him time to ponder one answer before worrying about the next.
Before he knew it they were standing before Gryffindor House’s table. The two were nowhere to be seen. Disappointment drew her face down before she looked back up at him, slightly disheartened. “Where could they be?”
Harry shook his head and then called out, “Hey Seamus, have you seen either Ron or Hermione this morning?”
His friend shook his head, mouth still full, and then swallowed looking confused. “Nope, now that you mention it, I haven’t. That’s strange, huh?” Harry nodded absentmindedly and then turned to a contemplative Ginny.
As a worrisome thought passed the rest he looked at her worriedly. “Um…Gin. What if…I mean, do you think there’s a chance…” she looked at him quizzically as he tried to find the words.
“Do I think what, Harry?”
“What if they never made it out? What if something happened… he said something thickheaded, she got offended and…they’re still in there?”
She shook her head forcefully. “No, no. It had to work. I mean, there’s no way with all that…” She faltered suddenly looking worriedly at Harry. “I mean, they couldn’t possibly still…” she ended trailing off hopelessly.
They met eyes forebodingly and without another word turned and made a beeline for the Room of Requirement. When they reached it Ginny crossed her fingers, and Harry opened it slowly. Both stood in shock in the doorway…
* *Ginny’s POV* *
When Ginny woke the next morning she had a grin fixed permanently on her face that she couldn’t seem to straighten out. She looked groggily around, and spotted the Grandfather Clock, 5:37. Wait, grandfather clock? I’m in the common room? She tried to sit up, but realized something was holding her down. Glancing down she saw an arm, then followed it up to a shoulder (the dots began to connect in her head), a neck…and a mob of messy black hair...Harry? She craned her neck as far as she could, and saw his face, peaceful and calm, slightly smiling in his dreams. What do I do? There were two obvious choices, but it didn’t take her long to realize which she wanted. She cautiously laid back down, careful not to wake him, and closed her eyes again. She smiled as she felt the steady rise and fall of his chest and heard him breathing quietly. The soft smell of Harry, like some fascinating mixture of soap and chocolate frogs and who knows what else, filled her head and before drifting off again she whispered quietly,
“I love you Harry Potter.”
* ~ *
Her pleasant dream was interrupted as she felt someone stirring in the room with her. As she opened her eyes they darted around the room, and stopped on a very bewildered looking Harry.
“Morning Harry,” she said pleasantly, still slightly disoriented from waking up.
He looked at her worriedly and muttered, “Erm…morning…Ginny,”
She smiled a bit confused, and then began to remember: I woke up in Harry’s arms… she smiled wider remembering and then yawned deeply as her mind cleared, because…because I fell asleep before midnight ” then the rest hit her “ because of… Ron and Hermione. Oh Merlin… She turned and looked at him anxiously. “What…happened…to Ron and Hermione?”
He just stared at her for a moment and then began to shake his head shrugging helplessly. “I have no idea.”
Oh no, how could we…“We missed it.” She looked at him dolefully. “After all that work how could we miss it?”
He gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of interesting moments this morning alone…”
She sighed and slowly got up from the couch. “You’re right, I’m just sad we missed it. I’m going to go shower. I’ll meet you down here for breakfast?”
He nodded slightly but didn’t really answer. As she began to climb the stairs she looked back at him dejectedly. In the midst of it she had been so surprised, yet so thrilled to find herself in his arms. For that instant she felt her dreams had come true. But apparently, his reaction had not been quite the same. His face was now contorted in deep concentration, and he seemed deeply distressed by…something…
…by waking up with you. Well there’s your answer Ginny…he woke up holding you and immediately hurried away from you. He doesn’t feel the same…face facts; deal with it.
She entered Hermione’s dormitory flooded with both eagerness to see her brother and friend, and sadness over her newfound conclusion.
“Er…Lavender…have you seen Hermione this morning?”
“Nope,” she replied without looking up from applying her eyeliner. Ginny sighed, and headed for the shower. If something didn’t go right soon this was going to be a very long day.
She showered and dressed quickly, and hurried down to the Common Room. No sight of Harry. She began to pace, waiting impatiently for him, and as she heard his footsteps she hurried over.
“Hermione wasn’t anywhere. Did you find Ron?” she asked quickly.
“No,” he replied as if mechanically. His tone caught her off guard and she looked at him quickly, he really is freaked out! However, instinct told her not to bring it up now and she proceeded to put on a false enthusiasm.
“Well then they must be at breakfast already! Come on let’s go…”
She hastened out of the common room slightly to admire the results of her toil, but mostly to get away from him for a second to calm her heart. It’s not like I really thought he liked me… but as she felt another wave of sadness she realized… but you did… She huffed silently to herself, not now Ginevra.
Soon they were in the Great Hall, but as she looked down the row of faces, two were missing.
“Where could they be?”
Harry shrugged and then asked Seamus with no luck. They’re not anywhere in Gryffindor Tower, they’re not in the Great Hall…where else would they be so early in the morning?
Harry interrupted her thoughts mumbling, “Um… Gin. What if … I mean, do you think there’s a chance…”
She looked at him expectantly. “Do I think what, Harry?”
“What if they never made it out? What if something happened… he said something thickheaded, she got offended and…they’re still in there?”
No…
“No, no. It had to work. I mean, there’s no way with all that…” it had to work, right? “I mean, they couldn’t possibly still…” Oh Merlin what if they didn’t make it out...Ronald you thick-headed git! What did you do?
Ginny moaned quietly and together the two rushed back out to the Room of Requirement. Both paused as they reached the door. Ginny didn’t really want to open it...
Harry reached for the handle and she crossed her fingers. Please don’t be there... They gaped as the door slowly opened.
Ron and Hermione sat on the couch together smiling with an eerie pleasantness.
“Good morning. We’ve been expecting you.”
Sorry for the long wait guys, I wanted my beta to have a look at ch. 10 before I posted this because I had some concerns with it and wanted to make sure the ending matched up with how I wrote ch. 10, but she lost the email or something (don’t blame her she’s been busy and she's a great beta!). Anyway, it turns out she liked 10, a lot actually, so it doesn’t need lots of revamping which means you guys get 9 now! Yay!
Please be considerate and leave me a review “ if you do I promise to get 10 up as quick as I can.
For updates, send an email to: themarauderfanfics@yahoo.com (Don’t forget to tell me which story you want them for!)
Thanks for reading!