Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword	By : brooklynvtc Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Ginny Views: 21247 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 29
- 30
- 31
"Dare." Ginny said, confident. She could handle any dare Meyetta threw her way.
If possible, Meyetta's grin grew larger, and a feeling of dread fell in Ginny's stomach.
"I dare you to kiss Harry Potter on the lips first thing tomorrow in the Great Hall."
It took a moment for the dare to register in her thoughts. But when it did, the color in her cheeks instantly drained from Ginny's face...
.
.
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Chapter Thirty
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.
.
"Wh-what?" Ginny gasped, looking at Meyetta with wide eyes, not quite able to believe what she had just said.
Meyetta flashed a large smirk at Ginny, and said, snidely, "You heard me."
Lavender and the Patil twins looked mightily confused. "Wait... why not just dare her to go kiss Harry now?"
Meyetta shot a superior look over to Lavender. "Because, kissing Harry in the Great Hall at breakfast was a dare that Ginny didn't take before... and now, she has to. And besides, have any of you seen Harry around recently? Because I haven't."
As they spoke, the shock of the dare was starting to wear off, and panic was quickly taking it's place for Ginny.
Her hands whipped up to nervously clutch at her hair, and she subconsciously started to rock her body back and forth. "Merlin, why? Why are you forcing me to do this?!"
Seamus gave her a strange look. "Calm down, Gin, it's not that bad-"
"Don't call me that!" Ginny snapped. Only Harry could call her 'Gin'. Anyone else who tried to call her that, made her feel uncomfortable from how off it sounded. So, only Harry-
Oh Merlin... Harry... her friend who she was being forced to kiss! He was going to hate her forever for this! It was honestly a miracle that he had agreed to becoming friends at all, after she had embarrassed him by confessing her feelings for him, last year.
And no matter how much she wanted to press her lips to Harry's and never back away, it was clear to Ginny that Harry had no desire to do the same with her.
And if she were ever to have the chance to kiss Harry, she only wanted it to be mutually consensual between the both of them. She didn't want to kiss Harry unless he wanted it too.
"It's going to be alright, Ginny," Parvati tried to soothe, as she reached across the circle awkwardly to pat her knee in a consoling manner. "I mean, think about it! You have the chance to kiss Harry Potter! The only person I know who was lucky enough to do that is Cho Chang!"
Ginny frowned in obvious dislike at the mention of the Asian beauty. Even though she had no reason to be jealous, seeing as Harry had confided in her about not fancying Cho anymore. And besides that, Ginny had no right to be jealous over Harry because Harry wasn't hers to get jealous over. Plain and simple.
"You don't understand!" Ginny stressed, her voice tight with her anxiety. As she pushed herself away from Parvati's touch. "This will ruin my friendship with Harry!"
Colin reached over and took her hand, which was fisted tightly by her knee. "Ginny, if nothing else, just tell him that it was a dare after you kiss him. I don't know Harry very well, but I do know that he can be forgiving if he has reason to be."
This still didn't make Ginny feel any better... knowing that the awkwardness wouldn't subside, no matter what explanation she brought forth. Because it wasn't as though Harry would truly believe it was a dare anyways. She had once admitted her fancy to him not even a year ago... and now that she had to kiss him, she knew exactly what conclusions Harry would come to.
If only she hadn't agreed to take that stupid Integrity Potion that her brothers made!
Then, it suddenly hit her! She found the solution to her problem.
She would send a letter to Fred and George immediately, and ask them for the antidote to the potion. And hope to Merlin that they would send it in time by tomorrow.
With that small sliver of hope, Ginny abruptly stood to her feet, startling everyone in their small group.
"Ginny?" Seamus asked, confused and more than a bit concerned. "Where are you going?"
Ginny found her jaw clenching, and as she walked away, managed to hiss through her teeth, "Doing damage control by finding a cure to this bloody potion!"
As Ginny marched towards the stairs that led to the Girls Dormitories, she thought that she heard Meyetta say, snidely, "Wow... it's called Integrity Potion for a reason, but it seems that Weasley doesn't have much of that..."
Fueled by even more anger, Ginny quickened her pace, trying to find her way to the nearest quill and parchment paper.
...
A broom closet.
Harry Potter was currently hiding in a fucking BROOM CLOSET! Of all the places for him to hide in the middle of a giant party...! He was actually sort of shocked that no one has tried to invade his hiding spot for a private snog... but figured that it was only a matter of time.
He couldn't believe that he was hiding in the middle of a great party... a party he was supposed to enjoy, seeing as he was the one that had won Gryffindor the game. As well as supplied the alcohol.
But no... instead he was in a broom closet, wasting the time away by drinking from the bottle of Firewisky Ron had snatched for him and fantasized about Ginny stumbling upon him in the broom closet and suddenly snogging him mad!
Harry grinned crookedly as he took another swig of the burning alcohol and wondered what other places their snogging would lead to if she found him here. And as a result, to the images in his mind, Harry grew a rather hard erection that he was currently palming through his trousers.
In his drunken state, Harry wondered at how far Ginny would be willing to go...
'Would she let me- er, I mean, a bloke - kiss her neck?' Harry thought. 'Palm her breasts? Touch the heat underneath her skirt?'
Harry groaned out loud at the last one, imagining his own hand doing just that. The only trouble was that even just the thought of starting anything sexual with Ginny, was that Harry hadn't the faintest clue as to how to pleasure a girl... he had no idea where his hand would feel best on her or what spots to stroke. So his mind had to make up whatever seemed the most natural.
But with his sloshed mind, Harry saw no trouble with this. All that he knew was that any sight of Ginny Weasley in any sort of undress would make it all worth it in the end. From what he has seen of her in her knickers, Harry knew that she was lithe and toned… and so, so sexy…
Suddenly, the door burst open, startling Harry from his sitting position in his hiding place. And Neville Longbottom was pushed in the closet next to him, his back landing against the back wall.
Alarmed, Harry had been about to ask his friend if he was alright, but was stopped when someone else joined them in the closet – shutting the door behind them.
Luna practically leapt forward at Neville, in a fashion that reminded Harry of an animal attacking its prey. And then they were snogging… in all of its messy, clumsy glory.
Harry watched on in horror at the situation he had found himself in, and leapt up from his sitting position on the floor, standing on clumsy feet.
"Oh!" Luna exclaimed as she broke away from Neville, surprised by Harry's appearance and abrupt movement. "Harry?"
At the sound of Harry's name from Luna's lips, Neville's eyes snapped open in alarm, before relaxing a bit when he saw that Harry was actually in the closet with them.
Harry held his hands up in surrender, hoping that his face displayed how apologetic he actually felt. "Merlin, I'm so sor-"
But Luna wasn't listening. Instead she turned her attention to Neville, who had a terribly embarrassed expression on his own face at getting caught snogging in a broom closet. "Neville, I didn't know that Harry would be joining us… Did you intend to make this a threesome?"
A violent coughing fit suddenly overcame Neville, while a gobsmacked Harry felt his cheeks burn. How, in the name of Merlin, did he always find himself in these situations?!
"N-No!" Harry exclaimed, just as Neville cried out, "He better not!"
A confused look crossed over Luna's face and her gaze went from Neville's face to Harry's. "Then, Harry… Why are you here?"
Harry cleared his throat anxiously, and stuttered, "I-I was just leaving…"
And with that, Harry quickly stumbled out of the closet as fast as he could. But it seemed that he drank more than he could handle, because walking seemed rather difficult all of a sudden.
Harry stopped and stood there - in the middle of the common room - to catch his breath. His hand went up to his temple to try and get rid of the sudden dizziness he felt.
But just as he was starting to feel relaxed, out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Romilda Vane over by the portrait door, seeming to still be searching for him.
No! He couldn't face her! At least not alone...
"Hermione..." Harry said, panicking out loud as he backed away from the witch who had once tried to use a love potion on him.
"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled as he finally turned around on the spot, searching for his friend with brown, bushy hair. Students all around him snapped their attention to him immediately, some smirking in amusement at how sloshed the Boy-Who-Lived had gotten. "Where are you?!"
Apparently yelling in a middle of a crowd wasn't the best thing to do when you were trying to avoid someone. Because as soon as he had shouted for Hermione, he also captured the attention of, not only everyone in the common room, but Romilda Vane, herself.
Romilda smiled widely as soon as she caught sight of him, and started to try and make her way to him through the crowd.
"Harry?" A voice called from his left side, his head shot over to see Hermione gently pushing her way through the crowd of scattered students.
Sighing in relief, Harry rushed towards her before ducking and hiding behind her - even though she was much shorter than he was.
"Protect me!" Harry slurred, bending low and trying to hide himself behind her bushy hair. "Sh-she's bloody mad, and I don't want to love her! Please don't let her make me!"
Hermione tried to turn her body to face him, but Harry held on strong to her shoulders, using her as some sort of human shield against Romilda... especially as the fourth-year Ravenclaw approached.
Romilda frowned slightly at the sight of Hermione, but - after a moment of intense scrutiny - pointedly ignored her and tried her best to look past Hermione at Harry.
"Harry!" Romilda giggled in a way that made Harry grimace in annoyance. "There you are! I know that you feel shy around me, but there was no reason for you to run away like that earlier."
Harry groaned, and knocked his head forward against the back of Hermione's bushy hair in exasperation. Especially since her words were heard by almost everyone that was standing close to them. Now word would spread that Harry Potter was shy around Romilda Vane... "Bloody mad, she is!"
It seemed that Hermione had enough, as she turned her torso slightly to push against Harry's forehead, which had been keeping up a steady stream of light head banging against her. "Stop that, Harry. It's annoying."
Harry let off immediately, perfectly chastised at hearing the no-nonsense tone in Hermione's voice, and he even took a couple of paces back from her. "Sorry."
Hermione stared hard at Harry for a moment, before giving a single nod, and turning her attention towards Romilda. "Now, as for you, I'm not about to hide the fact that I think that your attempted use of a love potion is absolutely deplorable! Don't you know that it is illegal, Romilda?! You're a Ravenclaw, one would think that you would be smart about this, if not responsible. And furthermore, I think that you pestering Harry at his own victory party when-"
"Oh shut it," Romilda snapped, a hardness in her tone as she glared at Hermione for her truthful accusations. Hermione gasped. "You're just jealous of what Harry and I will have."
Sobering slightly at the horrible tone of voice Romilda had used against Hermione, his sister, Harry couldn't hold back the hard glare that he directed at the fourth-year witch.
It suddenly hit him of what he needed to do, and he had only wished that he had thought of it sooner…
"Dobby!" Harry shouted out, still a slight edge to his tone.
With a crack shouting out through the air, the excitable house elf appeared. His sudden appearance startled some of the surrounding students that had been watching the scene… which Harry would have found hilarious under different circumstances. Were they witches and wizards, or not?
"Harry Potter is needing Dobby?!" Dobby exclaimed, tugging on his long ears in his excitement. "Harry Potter is such a kind and generous friend to Dobby! Harry Potter is a friend to all house elves! Harry Potter is-"
"Yes, thank-you, Dobby," Harry quickly intervened, his anger momentarily replaced by his embarrassment and his pinkening cheeks. "Would you be so kind as to apparate Romilda here back to the Ravenclaw dorms?" Then turning his level gaze back to Romilda's shocked face, Harry continued on to say, "I think that she has overstayed her welcome in Gryffindor Tower."
Romilda gasped, and some surrounding students either looked just as shocked or amused by the situation - which was evident by their snickering.
Romilda tried to step closer to Harry but was blocked by Hermione, who was miffed by Romilda's blatant disrespect towards her. "B-But Harry-"
But before Romilda could go on with what she had wanted to say, Dobby gleefully stepped forward while saying, "Dobby is happy to be doings what Harry Potter asks! Dobby is happy to help his friends!"
With that, Dobby reached forward and clutched onto Romilda's unwilling hand and, with a crack, disapparated from the room.
As soon as she had gone, Harry had relaxed. It felt as though an unnecessary burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
Hermione finally turned towards him, a questioning look in her eye, asking if he was alright.
Harry sighed and ran a drunken hand down his face. "She can't make me love her, Hermione… Don't let her make me…"
Hermione's face softened as she looked upon Harry. "I won't allow it to happen, if I can help it, Harry." Then her gaze turned critical once more. "You're drunk."
Harry nodded, agreeing with his friend that he was downright plastered… "Y-Yep." Harry hiccuped, suddenly feeling slightly woozy and wobbly on his feet, now that the threat of Romilda was removed.
Hermione's face immediately transformed into worry. "Perhaps you should lay down, Harry… I think that you've had too much…"
As she said this, Hermione started to lead him towards the boy's dormitory stairs, but Harry immediately rebelled against the idea.
"N-No!" Harry exclaimed, pushing against the hold that Hermione held on him. "I-I'm free now. I want to find Ginny… Where is she?"
Harry's eyes traveled across the expanse of the room, looking for any signs of the long, striking, red hair… with no luck.
Frowning, Harry turned his eyes to Hermione for explanation, until the coveted sight of red caught his attention out of the corner of his eye…
Ginny was at the top of the stairs to the girl's dormitories, stomping down the stairs with what looked to be determination. She looked beautiful, a bit flushed in the cheeks, but it added to her appeal.
An eager smile suddenly broke out over his face, and he pushed forward to meet her - not even remembering to say anything else to Hermione as he left her.
"G-Ginny!" Harry called out in a slur, drunkenly trying to make his way towards her in the crowd, while waving his hand in the air to get her attention. "Ginny!"
Ginny froze as soon as she had heard her name from his lips, and stared at him, wide-eyed, as he came closer. It had honestly been a miracle that she had heard him in the noisy common room. Harry beamed widely at her, glad to see that she was willing to wait for him, and came to stand right in front of her… grinning madly at her with a goofy smile.
"H-Hi!" Harry hiccuped, then spread his arms out wide in front of her. "Here I am!"
Ginny gaped at him as she looked at him strangely. She didn't say anything, a fact that caused Harry to grow self-conscious and lower his arms.
"Gin?" Harry asked, a sobering concern taking root. "Are you alright?"
As soon as he had asked the question, Ginny immediately gave a jerky nod. "Y-Yes. S-Sorry… I, um, just hadn't seen you all night and I, uh, really got to send this letter."
Relief swarmed through him, and his buzz returned, along with his smile. "Who is the letter for?" Suddenly noticing the envelope clutched tight in her hand.
Ginny's eyes followed his to the letter in her hand, before snapping her eyes to meet his face, once again. "F-Fred and George." Ginny stated, before going on to explain. "I was going to go up to the owlry to see if there was a school owl I could use to send it."
If possible, Harry brightened even more at this information. He could use this as an excuse for some alone time with Ginny… Maybe on their walk to the owlry, Harry would find that 'right moment' that his dad was telling him about, and he could tell Ginny how he feels about her. "I have a letter that I need to send to Fred and George, too!" Harry exclaimed, even though he really hadn't. "We can send them together with Hedwig!"
Ginny looked as though she wanted to protest this idea very much, a fact that went over Harry's head as he was too sloshed to take notice. "W-What letter do you possibly need to send to them?!" Ginny asked, her voice stressed.
Harry chuckled, as he ran a hand through his hair, a habit reminiscent of his dad. "Well, I haven't exactly written it, yet. But I will as soon as we get there! And Hedwig is fast at delivering letters. She may even get them to Fred and George well before the sun rises."
Harry knew that he was bragging about his familiar, but at the moment, he would use everything he had in his arsenal to impress his Ginger Firecracker.
At his words, Ginny perked up in interest. "That fast, huh?"
Harry nodded eagerly and found himself leaning in closer, glad to have found himself at the center of her attention. "Yep! Hedwig used to deliver the letters that I sent to Snuffles! And I remember that Snuffles was in someplace tropical, but it took no time at all for Hedwig to deliver him the letters! She would always be back within two days!"
Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment, before she gave him a slight smile, with some of the tension melting away from her body. "How is it that you always come to save me from my problems, Harry?"
A warm feeling enveloped inside his chest and a bubbling burst in his stomach. Harry licked his lips nervously, before replying, "Be-Because I would do anything for you, Gin..."
Harry waited as Ginny stared at him for a long moment, with those beautiful, brown eyes of hers... all the while, Harry was kicking himself for saying too much, thinking that he crossed the line. But that was before Ginny's body relaxed and she stepped forward to give him a hug.
Harry melted and immediately wrapped his arms back around her, feeling the sparks and warmth coming from where they touched.
"You don't know how much that means to me..." Ginny muttered, where her face was pressed into his shoulder.
Harry chuckled and squeezed her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Well, it's true."
But it was after he said this, when Ginny pulled away. And Harry mourned the loss, but put on a brave face by giving her an easy smile, which Ginny returned.
"The owlry?" Ginny asked, expectant.
Harry nodded and stepped aside, letting her lead the way.
...
On their way up to the owlry, Harry didn't find a single moment where it felt right to confess his feelings to Ginny.
In fact, Harry barely had a chance to speak at all, seeing as Ginny spent the entire time filling it with endless chatter. Not that Harry minded, as the things that Ginny said happened to be hilarious and had Harry laughing outrageously. But Harry couldn't help but notice how... off Ginny seemed tonight. Almost as though she were anxious about something. This, being evident by how nervous her voice sounded as she tried to fill any threat of silence.
But, ever-still, Harry found himself wanting to reach out and grab her hand as they walked close to one another. It was four times that their hands accidentally brushed by their close proximity.
When they finally made it to the owlry, Hedwig immediately flew up to greet him, by coming to perch on his shoulder.
"Hey, girl," Harry said, affectionately, as he brushed the back of his fingers through her feathers. It was at that moment, where he realized that it had been a while since he had spent time with his familiar, and he found how much he actually missed her.
Hedwig must have felt the same, by the way that she crooned against his touch.
"Who knew you had such a way with the ladies, Harry?" Ginny snickered, as she stepped forward to scratch lightly at the top of Hedwig's feathered head.
Harry flushed at her words, and looked around pointedly for a distraction... and found it in the corner, where a desk sat with some spare parchment paper and never-drying ink sat.
"I best start on my letter then." Harry said in a way to change the subject. But before he made his way over to the desk, Harry turned towards Ginny and asked, "Would you mind giving her an owl treat? She's going to need her energy for flying tonight."
Ginny grinned and nodded, and Harry passed Hedwig along to her.
Watching Ginny with his familiar sent a warm feeling in his chest as he watched them go over to where the owl treats were kept.
Shaking his head slightly, Harry stepped forward to the desk, sat down, and started in on his letter to the Weasley twins...
Gred and Feorge,
Well, it's official! I'm going to be a Weasley. And not just an honorary one. Do you think that Ginny would adopt me into the family?
Did I ever thank you two for the Marauder's Map? Dad says that he wants to meet you two.
Malfoy is a git who wants my woman. Dean Thomas, too.
Shhh, don't tell!
Luna won't stop talking about the clouds… or snogging Neville. And Dobby makes the best muffins that can lead to cuddles in the girl's dormitories.
I've decided that I want to get married. Yeah… don't kill me. It's my bloody choice! Not yours! Ron is alright with it, and you two bloody well better be, too! It's best that you just accept it and move on. Because if you don't, I will make the two of you regret it. Glowing eyes and all…
Don't think that I'm not bloody serious! Or you'll get what's coming to you!
Harry
Drunkenly, Harry surveyed the letter that he had written to the Weasley twins. He couldn't believe how masterfully he was able to write! Sure, it got a bit threatening toward the end there, but Harry thought that it added an element of suspense for the letter as a whole.
Perhaps he should become a poet… Poetry would surely woo Ginny over, wouldn't it? In fact, whispering poetry against Ginny's bare skin, with his lips, was a sure fire way to make Harry love poetry, too.
With that thought in mind, Harry sealed the letter in an envelope, stood up from the desk and walked over to where Ginny was spoiling Hedwig with treats and compliments.
…
Ginny laid in bed, lazing happily on the top of her covers.
It was only twenty minutes earlier when she had woken up from an unfit sleep, dreading the fact that she had to go down to the Great Hall to kiss Harry Potter against his will, in less than an hour…
Fred and George had sent back their response to her plea, stating that there was no antidote potion for the Integrity Potion, and that she should just suck it up and do the dare assigned to her. They also went on to say that she should tell Harry that he needs to watch his back now… which Ginny had no idea where that came from, but didn't dwell on it, seeing as she was too busy stressing over the fact that she was about to force herself onto Harry Potter against his will...
But it was after dressing for the day, when a thought had come to her, unexpectedly. Did she really have to go to the Great Hall? And with relief bubbling in her chest, Ginny had formed the plan of merely skipping breakfast in the Great Hall and going to the kitchens for some pastries later.
Ginny grinned as she thought of her own genius. If she didn't go down to the Great Hall, then she wouldn't have to kiss Harry, after all. Seeing as after breakfast, the dare would be null and void.
Now more than ever, she was grateful to Harry for showing her the entrance to the kitchens.
Ginny stretched and grinned at the thought of Meyetta's face when she saw that Ginny wouldn't be at the Gryffindor table this morning. And she outright laughed at the image of what Harry was sure to look like this morning. He had been downright plastered last night! Slurring his words, tripping over his own feet, blowing kisses randomly at the air…
In fact, Ginny had to help Harry back to the common room, where she had handed him off to Ron, who had helped his best mate up to bed - despite Harry's protests of wanting to stay and enjoy the party.
She could only imagine how hung-over Harry would be this morning, and almost felt bad at finding that fact funny.
Distantly, she could hear the chatter of Gryffindor students gathering in the common room before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. And she knew that breakfast would be starting in a minute, and again, Ginny smugly thought of her own genius…
But in the next moment, her body was standing, and Ginny gasped at how light-headed the action caused her. Then her feet were walking towards the door…
No, no, no, no, NO!
It was the bloody potion! It was making her go to the Great Hall!
Ginny watched in horror as her own hand reached out to twist the knob to her dormitory door…
She had to fight this! All that she had to do was delay herself long enough for breakfast to be over. Fighting with all of her might, Ginny fought for control of her own limbs. And she managed to at least gain control over her arms when she was only a foot out the door. Ginny's arms snapped out to the mantle and literally hugged herself to the doorframe, clutching with all of her might.
She could feel the potion fighting for control of her arms again… in fact, her legs were still trying to walk forward. Ginny held her breath with the effort of trying to glue herself into place.
"Well, well," A snide voice said from behind her in the dorm room. Ginny didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"What do we have here?" Meyetta laughed crudely. "What's the matter, Gin? Aren't you hungry?"
Ginny could literally feel her face engulf with an angry red… But she felt that she couldn't retaliate with any sort of response, for fear of the potion taking control, once again.
Meyetta snickered from behind her, and boasted loudly, "Well, if you are so eager to eat, then I'm, of course, willing to help!"
With that, Meyetta pushed Ginny from behind, sending her body surging forward. And with that one distraction, Ginny felt the potion take control, once again…
Ginny gasped in a breath as her body caught itself on the opposite wall. And she barely had time to right herself before body was propelling forward down the stairs.
"Damn you, Meyetta!" Ginny shouted behind her, trying to put in as much malice as she could.
In response, Ginny heard antagonizing laughter. "You'll thank me later, Gin!"
Ginny was panicking. She fought for control once again as she stepped out of the portrait hole, but was unable to gain any of it back. She honestly felt that in any moment, she was about to burst into tears… and she nearly did as she found herself sitting in her seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
Harry would never forgive her for what was to come. She tried everything that she could think of to stop it, but she failed! Even if Harry understood that it was all a result of a dare, would he see her as incompetent for not being able to stop it? Would he kick her out of their inner circle?
Ginny bit her lip hard into her bottom lip as she contemplated her worries. And it was only a moment later where the sound of bickering infiltrated her hearing, and Ron and Hermione sat down across her.
"All that I asked was if there was anything going on between you and Seamus!" Ron said in exasperation. "No need to get hissy about it. I mean, he did sing a love ballad to you, last night at the party…"
Hermione stiffened, and replied heatedly, "He was also very drunk! And besides, if he does feel that way about me, then I can say that I certainly don't feel the same!"
Ginny thought about intervening and telling them that what Seamus did the night before had only been a dare, but decided against it. She had enough to think about…
That was how Ginny spent the rest of breakfast… Listening to Ron and Hermione bicker back and forth about Seamus and his supposed 'fancy' of her, while Ginny waited on bated breath for Harry to walk through the double doors…
But he never came.
Ginny felt the exact moment where the potion granted her mobility back to her… right when the food disappeared from the tables.
Ginny sucked in a breath, breathing labored, and earned the bewildered looks from Ron and Hermione - who had suddenly cut off from their argument.
"Ginny?" Ron asked, concerned all of a sudden. "Are you alright?"
Ginny gave a jerky nod as she continued to breathe. "Ye-Yes. Where is Harry?"
Ron and Hermione continued to give her weird looks, while Ron replied, "He had quite the nasty hang-over this morning, so he stayed in bed. I mean, it's not as though we have access to a hangover potion in Hogwarts."
Ginny stared at her brother for a long moment, before letting out a relieved laugh. Now, more than ever, she was grateful that Harry had drank more than he could handle, last night.
It took a moment for the nervous tension to leave her as she laughed, aware, she was, that Ron and Hermione were looking at her in a way that said that she had grown two heads. When she finally calmed, Ginny beamed at them with a wide smile, and stood from the bench. "Well, I'm off to the kitchens for breakfast. See you lot, later!"
Then she was practically skipping from the Great Hall, very much enjoying her newfound freedom over her limbs. But it was near the exit to the Great Hall, at the end of the Gryffindor table, where Ginny saw Meyetta. The two locked eyes, and Ginny shot her a smug and superior look. She managed to best Meyetta at her own game, and it was all thanks to Harry wanting to sleep in!
Meyetta looked as though her face was about to prune, from the stink-eye that she was giving Ginny. But Ginny found that she didn't care, and left the Great Hall while she could.
…..
It was after a breakfast of pastries, when Ginny decided that she needed to clear her head after a long night of worry and so little sleep - Ginny gathered her ink, quill, and parchment together to take with her outside, so she could do her homework in the fresh air.
As soon as she stepped outside, she felt the tension in her shoulders - that had been present since breakfast- relax. Ginny felt that she could finally breath properly now that she was in the open, Scotland air.
She took a moment to stop and stand there, breathing deeply through her nose as she forced herself to relax - before she set off to sit under the birch tree by the black lake.
She had a long essay due in Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day, and she really needed to get started on it. Ginny spent the entire day under the tree, writing all of her essay to completion, before going back and checking for any errors in grammar or facts.
By the time that Ginny finished, she realized that it was well past lunch hour and almost time for dinner. Ginny set aside the essay and her textbook, and relaxed her head against the trunk of the tree… Her right hand was cramped and hurting from the amount of writing that she had done, and her eyes were tired from staring at the same paper the entire day…
Ginny closed her eyes and let herself relax after a job well done.
But suddenly, a large gust of wind blew past and Ginny heard the crumbling sound of her parchment paper being lifted from the ground…
Her eyes snapped open to see her essay flying away with the wind.
"NO!" Ginny gasped, before leaping to her feet and trying to chase after it. She couldn't lose her essay! At this time, she wouldn't have enough time to rewrite it before she had to turn it in!
Ginny ran across the field, chasing the wind along with her D.A.D.A. essay… when a swooshing sound came from behind her, and Harry Potter flew by her.
Ginny stopped running, watching as Harry arched his broom upward, where he plucked her essay from the sky. Then watched as Harry slowed his broom, and hovered in the air as he rolled up the parchment paper, before he tucked it under his arm and turned his broom to return to her.
When Harry landed in front of her, he had an amused grin on his face. "I would ask if you dropped something, but that wouldn't quite be accurate now, would it? Seeing as the thing you 'dropped' was flying in the air…"
Despite herself Ginny couldn't help but laugh slightly at the joke he made, but mostly she was relieved that he had saved her paper...
Harry Potter… Her savior from Basilisks, evil diaries, hunger, boredom, a date with Malfoy, and now… from losing her flying homework…
Grateful, Ginny stepped forward and took her rolled up essay from his outstretched hand. "You honestly don't know how thankful I am! This essay was brutal to write…"
Harry waved off her gratitude and leaned against his propped-up broomstick, his other hand going up to run through his windswept hair. "Ah, it's nothing. I was already out flying."
Ginny nodded in acceptance to his answer before looking at him curiously. "How are you feeling? Ron told me that you had a nasty hangover…"
Harry coughed as his cheeks pinkened. "Yeah… I'm feeling better. Sorry if I did anything weird last night… I only really remember snippets of last night, and I'm only hoping that I didn't do anything to embarrass myself."
Ginny giggled and immediately shook her head. "Not anything too incriminating. In fact, I barely saw much of you last night. What were you doing?"
Harry shuddered, and a grimace came to his face. "I was hiding from Romilda… She-She sort of has this unhealthy obsession with me."
Ginny frowned at this new tidbit of information, but decided not to comment more on it.
Thinking of a change of subject, Ginny suddenly remembered something that she had momentarily forgotten and started to laugh. Harry shot her a questioning look, and Ginny quickly clarified. "I got a response back from Fred and George this morning, and they said something about you needing to watch your back, and that it is only yourself that you can blame, because you were the one who waged war."
Harry's face was quickly losing its color the more that she talked. "What exactly was it that they were talking about?"
Harry coughed and pulled at his shirt collar, uncomfortably. "Er, well, I-I may have gotten cocky in my letter to them last night and may have goaded them on…"
Ginny gaped at him, questioning his sanity. "You didn't…"
Harry nodded, suddenly terrified. And Ginny looked on at him in sympathy. "Oh, Harry…"
Her obvious concern over his oncoming war with the twins, caused his anxiety to double for a moment, before his entire face cleared with clarity and he looked down at her with a hopeful expression. "Would you - I mean you don't have to - but would you mind joining my team? I could really use an ally as devious as you on my side."
Ginny laughed and found herself immediately agreeing. "Sure, why not? The twins won't know what hit them with Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter against the world!"
Harry grinned easily back at her, before his stomach rumbled loudly. His hand snapped down to cover his stomach in embarrassment, and he now looked at her apologetically. "Sorry… I missed breakfast and lunch today because of my hangover. Want to go in for supper?"
Ginny grinned and nodded. Not daring to thank him out loud for missing breakfast that morning.
Together, they walked back up to the castle, chatting about nonsense as well as planning ideas of retaliation against the twins.
It wasn't long before they made it into the Great Hall, and Ginny found the smell of the delicious food calling her… propelling her body forward. And her own stomach rumbled in response to the enticing smells. Harry laughed from behind her and commented, "Seems I'm not the only one who was starving."
Ginny nodded in agreement, remembering that she had missed lunch in favor of finishing her essay.
They spotted Ron and Hermione already sitting down at their usual spot in the middle of the long Gryffindor table, and they both made their way towards them on the other side of the table.
"Feeling better, Harry?" Hermione asked as soon as they were within earshot, concern in her voice.
Harry nodded and sat down, leaving space for Ginny. "Yes. But now, I feel like I could eat as much a Ron does, I'm so hungry…"
"Hey!" Ron yelled out, indignantly, flinging a cloth napkin at Harry's face.
Ginny laughed at Harry's jibe at her brother, before stepping over the bench herself and sitting down.
But the moment that she sat down next to him, is when she felt it...
The overwhelming need to complete the task given to her. The force propelling her body to comply, even though her mind screamed against it.
No! She couldn't stop it! She couldn't fight it! All that she had done to prevent this from happening, was all in vain. She had been mistaken when she thought the dare would become void as soon as Harry had missed breakfast - as it was the first time they had been in the Great Hall together, to the potion, it would be considered 'first thing' as Meyetta had said in her dare.
With all of her might, Ginny tried to fight the effects. Her hands fisted the edges of the bench she sat upon. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip as she tried to focus all of her concentration. And she held her breath in the effort of focusing her mind.
But soon, she felt his comforting hand on her shoulder, and Ginny couldn't help the involuntary way her eyes naturally flicked over to look at him.
His face was so full of concern as he looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you alright, Gin? I've been calling your name and you didn't answer... And your face is getting rather purplish... Do you need me to take you to the hospital wing?"
As soon as her eyes met his, Ginny knew that she had lost the fight. They were such a beautiful shade of green, that she couldn't help but get lost in them. And it was as soon as she lost her focus, she lost her will-power, as well. Her mind fogged over with a haze as the potion took effect.
It was almost as though everything happened in slow-motion from then on, but it all still seemed so fast to Ginny.
The potion compelled her to lean forward, and she did so marginally as she looked into his eyes... his innocent eyes that said that he had no idea what she was about to do.
Ginny sucked in a breath, and the corners of his lips lifted in relief as he saw that she was actually breathing. But it was just as he was about to open his mouth to say more, Ginny leaned in all of the way, and firmly pressed her lips to his.
Under all of the haze of the potion in her mind, Ginny managed to make a clear assumption within her thoughts.
'This is what magic feels like...'
Sparks burst behind her closed eyes as soon as they touched, in a way that Ginny hadn't even thought possible.
Ginny moved her lips, not even really noticing how frozen Harry's were underneath hers. Only focused, she was, on the addictive tingling that she felt where they touched.
His lips were so smooth, almost like velvet. And she could feel a heat stemming from that smoothness traveling all the way down to her stomach... where butterflies were flying around like mad.
From the back of her mind, Ginny noticed sudden gasps coming from all around her as her mind started to clear - the dare fulfilled. With a gasp of her own, Ginny snapped back - her hands automatically going up to cover her mouth as she stared at him, aghast with horror!
Harry's eyes were wide as he looked back at her, his face showing nothing but surprise. And looking back now, with a clear mind, Ginny realized that he hadn't kissed her back...
Tears started to well in Ginny's eyes.
Oh Merlin! She had kissed Harry Potter...! And it had been as wonderful as she had ever dreamed it to be. But he hadn't liked it at all... Ginny could see it all over his frozen face, as he gaped at her.
"Merlin," Ginny managed to choke out through her ever-growing tears. She had never been so mortified. "I-I'm so sorry, Harry... I-"
She couldn't stand it any longer. Couldn't stay when he was staring at her in a way that implied that she had two heads.
Abruptly, Ginny stood. Turned towards the doors, and ran.
She ran in a way that implied that she wouldn't stop anytime soon, covering her eyes as the tears came more and more. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Meyetta smirk at her from her place at the table, but Ginny wasn't in the right mind to care at the moment.
How could she be so bloody stupid?! Harry would never forgive her for this! He had drawn the line, had made it plenty clear to her that he had drawn it, but then she just had to go and cross it...
Ginny pushed her way past the students lingering in the doorway of the Great Hall, all the while thinking of the best place to wallow in her grief as she mourned the loss of her friendship with Harry...
...
Harry sat gaping at the empty spot Ginny had previously been sitting in. He hadn't even the right mind to look and watch as Ginny ran from the room.
As soon as she had left, though, chattering broke out all around him of what the surrounding students had just seen...
All the while, Harry stared at the empty spot...
It was a long moment before Harry moved. And when he did, he raised a shaking hand to his face, as his fingers traced at his still-tingling lips.
Ginny... she- she had kissed him!
A slow smile started to break out on his lips.
Ginny had kissed him!
Merlin... and that... that was some kiss...! If it felt that good just frozen still as she kissed him, he could only imagine what it felt like to actually participate.
"-to be lost in thought..." Harry vaguely heard Hermione say from across the table.
Suddenly, there was the frantic snapping of fingers in front of his face, startling Harry out of his dazed state of mind.
"Oy!" Ron exclaimed, still snapping his fingers in front of Harry's eyes. Shaking his head a bit, Harry pushed Ron's hand away, annoyed at the fact that Ron had to go and ruin the good moment... "Are you going to go after my sister, or am I going to have to hex you for inadvertently rejecting her... again?!"
That was when Harry's muddled thoughts vanished, as he finally found his brain.
Abruptly, Harry stood from his seat, almost falling over as his speed hadn't really given him time to find his balance. Before moving any further, however, Harry spared a moment to look at his friends in gratitude. Smiling widely at his best mates of six years, before he went to go declare his fancy to the girl that he loved.
Ron still seemed rather miffed, but his features relaxed as soon as he saw that he planned on going after Ginny. Hermione merely smiled at him, excitement shining in her eyes. "Go get her, Harry!"
Harry smiled even wider before he nodded in affirmation, and stepped over the bench, as he grabbed his broom in hand.
As Harry ran towards the Great Hall doors, someone from the Gryffindor table stopped him by reaching out and clutching the sleeve on his robes.
Harry paused and looked back at who would stop him at such a crucial moment in his life. And he recognized her to be Ginny's doom mate... Marjetta, was it? No... it was something else...
She had an odd gleam in her eyes as she looked up at him, and she was about to open her mouth to say something, but Harry cut her off - now frantic at finding Ginny as soon as possible.
"Sorry!" Harry interrupted whatever it was she had been about to tell him. "Haven't the time to chat!"
Then Harry turned himself away from her gobsmacked face, tugged his sleeve away, and ran out of the Great Hall exit.
But as soon as he was in the outside corridor, Harry hadn't the faintest clue of where it was Ginny could have gone. And was left at a loss of what to do for a moment, as he cursed himself for not following her immediately after she ran away.
Then inspiration hit him. The Marauders Map!
Smiling widely at his own genius, and thanking Merlin that his dad, Remus and Sirius had even thought to invent such a marvelous piece of parchment - Harry took out his wand from his robe pocket.
"Accio Marauders Map!" Harry exclaimed, hoping that the spell would actually work. It took a moment of waiting until Harry heard as the whooshing sound of folded-up parchment paper came sounding through the air.
"Yes!" Harry cheered and he lifted his hand up into the air to catch the flying parchment that was zooming towards him. Eagerly pointing his wand at the blank, old paper, Harry immediately said the magical password. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
Harry smirked as the ink started to appear, thinking about how much he wanted to be 'up to no good' with Ginny at that very moment...
It took some time for Harry to find Ginny on the map. But he instantly realized his mistake as soon as he spotted her under the name, 'Ginevra Weasley' rather than Ginny. It made sense, as 'Ginny' wasn't her given birth name.
But Harry finally found 'Ginevra' and saw that she was sitting high up in the Astronomy Tower, all alone.
Relieved that he had found her, and that she was alone, Harry clutched his broom tighter in his fist as he made his way towards the outdoors...
.
.
.
A/N: Yay! I finally made them kiss! About time, right? Gotta love that slow burn, though! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! ;)
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Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword