Content Harry Potter
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The Ambush

With a towel wrapped around his waist and his dirty clothes balled tightly in his fist, Harry Potter crept slowly from the sixth-year boys’ showers towards his bed. The warmth from his ultra-hot shower was the only thing keeping him alive as the viciously cold air assaulted his bare chest and feet. He couldn’t wait to slip into bed and let the extra heat soak into his sheets — otherwise, he’d be faced with the prospect of shivering for the first hour of the night while his bed lowered his body temperature. With all the magical solutions to problems, Harry still marvelled at how little things like this seemed to get lost in the cracks.

He padded past Neville’s bed and was surprised to see his own bed hangings closed, a small light radiating from the crack between them. He was certain that he’d left them open after retrieving his towel. With a shrug, he pulled them apart and was shocked to find a pair of bright brown eyes staring back at him.

"Ginny!" Harry whispered harshly. "What the..." But he stopped speaking at the look on her face. Since the Department of Mysteries, Harry had taken to noticing Ginny more often than in years past. Part of that noticing was that she seemed to be either extremely confident of herself, or prone to constant second-guessing. It looked like tonight she was suffering from a bit of the latter.

Harry sat on the edge of the bed and made sure his towel wasn’t revealing anything in the light of her wand. "What’s the matter?"

She hesitated for a moment, looking mournfully towards another four-poster in the room and motioned for him to get fully into bed. He complied and she shut the hangings, casting a silencing spell as she did. "It’s Dean," she said miserably. "We broke up this morning."

A light bulb turned on in Harry’s head. He’d seen Dean flirting with Parvati in Charms earlier and wondered about that. Now he knew. Turning to face Ginny, he shivered in the cold air as the effects of his shower began to wane. "What happened?"

Ginny sniffled a little, staring at her hands, and then gave Harry a watery smile. "He said I wasn’t committed to our relationship, and that it would never work with me...pining after another boy."

Harry stared back at Ginny, not understanding what she had said at all. "I’m sorry?"

"Dean dumped me because I have a thing for someone else, and didn’t feel like snogging him every second of every day." She shifted on the bed, crossing her legs so that their white flesh peeked out of her nightdress.

Harry felt his eyes drawn to them, following their smooth lines up to....

"It’s actually kind of a relief, to tell you the truth."

Harry’s eyes shot back to hers. "A relief?"

"Yeah," she confirmed and shook her head so that her hair fell into her eyes. She used her hands to push it back and it caused her nightdress to tighten across her chest. Harry pulled more tightly on his towel, mentally checking to make sure it was still in place. "It’s almost like someone is trying to tell me something."

She leaned forward and placed a hand on his bare shoulder. Harry swallowed. "Really?"

"Harry?" she asked, her face close to his now. "Can I be totally honest with you?"

Suddenly unable to speak, he nodded.

"You’re the boy I’m infatuated with." She paused, letting that phrase linger between them, as if by doing so Harry would be able to comprehend it more than he did. Instead, it completely paralysed him. "I know I haven’t been the most subtle about my feelings in the past, and I really tried to get over you in the past two years, but...."

"But what?" Harry whispered, almost afraid of the answer, but compelled to prompt her, nonetheless.

She smiled and leaned even closer, forcing Harry back to the headboard of his bed. "But I know that will never happen, Harry. You mean too much to me; I can’t just let you go without...trying."

She suddenly withdrew, leaving her scent lingering around Harry’s face. His skin burned where she had touched him and he began to understand how she felt. "W-What do you want to try?" he stammered.

Her smile returned and there was a definite twinkle in her eye. She pushed herself along the bed until she was sitting right next to him, facing the headboard. Then, she took her free hand and cupped his cheek. Harry swallowed again as she leaned forward once more, feeling his mouth go dry. "This," she murmured and placed her lips on his.

Warmth. Warm and soft was the only way to describe kissing Ginny Weasley. Her tears were long gone, but he couldn’t help but taste their saltiness mingled with Ginny’s indescribable flavour. When Ginny finally pulled back, Harry almost leapt at her to keep the contact. After a moment’s hesitation, and the look of pleasure reflecting in her eyes, he did just that.

He stopped clutching his towel, and put his hands behind her head instead, burying his fingers deeply into her long, flowing hair. Ginny responded to that very well, and opened her mouth against his, moaning low into their kiss. Harry had a fleeting thought that he’d missed out on so much kissing simply because he hadn’t seen what had been right in front of him all this time. He’d been too caught up with Cho....

After what seemed like an hour, Ginny broke away again, placing her hand on Harry’s chest to keep him against the headboard. It was trembling, as if her hand was at war with her mind in breaking the kiss. Her wand had extinguished itself somehow, and they sat there in the dark, staring at the tiny points of light that reflected from their eyes. Finally, Ginny slipped out of the hangings, and with a lingering glance at him, walked away.

Harry lay awake for quite some time after that. He found his boxers and pyjamas, managing to put them on, despite the overpowering desire to take a very cold shower instead. With her scent in the air, her taste in his mouth, and the memory of her kiss emblazoned on his mind, Harry sank into bed. It was still warm from where she sat, and knowing that so much of Ginny was still around him gave him comfort. He snuggled into his covers, smiling at the thought of seeing her again in the morning, and dreamt about her eyes all night.

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