The Lewis House 113 страница

Harry sucked in a breath. His hand found the outside of her thigh and he grasped it, making Ginny feel dizzy.

Yes.

"Do you - have lessons today?" he managed.

"I think so," she whispered, arching a little beneath him when he dragged his fingertips down to the outside of her knee and back up again. "But I'm not sure - It depends - on Remus -"

Harry was kissing the very sensitive skin just below her ear. "When will you be finished for the day?" he mumbled.

She knew what the real question was. A brilliant, terrified thrill shot through her. He was going to take her up on yesterday's invitation - Ginny could hardly believe she'd said those things right in his ear. She wondered what sort of girl that made her, then realized she didn't care, because it had worked, and Harry certainly didn't seem to mind, and they were going to be alone together in the way she desperately wanted to be alone with him.

"What are you doing today?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.

Harry's hand felt its way up over her hip to her waist. He gave it a squeeze. "Waiting for you," he said, his voice barely audible.

Ginny closed her eyes and felt for his shoulders as he began to kiss along her jaw, working his way from one ear to the other. Every soft press of his mouth sent a deep, perfect jolt straight through her. It was so hard to believe that he was kissing her like this. Hard to believe that Harry was paying her such total, intimate attention - it was too heady a rush. It was too much to absorb. She threw back her head and slid her hands down his bare back, making him press closer to her. She hardly even heard the soft pop! that sounded across the room, near the door.

She did, however, hear the shocked gasp that followed it, and then a second pop!

She and Harry froze together and held their breath. There was obviously no one in the room now… but there had been. And they both knew it.

"Was…" Harry's voice was faint with horror. "Was that Hermione?"

"I didn't see," Ginny whispered.

"But…"

Ginny nodded her head beside his, and wondered why she wasn't more embarrassed. "Probably. It sounded like her."

Harry groaned, rolled off of her, and sat up. "Oh no -"

"Harry, it's not a big deal," Ginny said comfortingly, sitting up beside him. "It was only a second. And you said you walked in on them the other day -"

"Yeah, but not like this." Harry sat up and blinked around, very red in the face. "At least they had all their clothes on - where are my glasses?"

Ginny got them from the bedside table and handed them to him. He slid them onto his nose and his eyes came into focus, fully mortified.

"I'm really sorry," he said.

"Don't be," Ginny answered for the second time that morning. She smoothed his hair, which was completely out of control, and leaned over to kiss him quickly on the mouth. "It's not like she doesn't know… you know. What goes on."

Harry went even redder, but he nodded.

"You'll… still come by tonight, won't you?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Of course," he said, as if there were certain things one simply didn't give up, no matter the consequences. Ginny was pleased to know that she was one of them. "But you never said what time you'd be finished."

Ginny squinted at the clock. It was nearly eleven. "I don't know - six-ish?" she said. "Is that all right?"

"Yeah, that's great."

They looked at each other, both recognizing that something profound had just been rather casually arranged, and then Harry reached out and traced his fingertips down the side of Ginny's face.

She closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into his hand.

"You're…" Harry softly cleared his throat. "You're so lovely," he said, and his voice was still hoarse. "Really."

The words shivered through her as deeply as any touch - he'd never told her that before. She opened her eyes to see his face, but was struck suddenly very shy and had to look away over his shoulder.

"Thank you," she managed.

"See you at six, then."

"Yes."

Harry's fingers reluctantly slipped from her face; he got out of her bed and picked up his wand.

"See you," he repeated, and then, very awkwardly - "Should I - I don't know - bring anything?" He blushed as soon as the words were out and looked like he wanted to throw himself off a very high broomstick.

"Just you," Ginny whispered. She could take care of the rest of it on her own.

Harry looked slightly less suicidal. "All right," he said, sounding relieved. "Bye."

"Bye."

He Disapparated, leaving Ginny in her bed to hug herself and imagine… unimaginable things.

A soft knock at the door interrupted her fantasies, but she didn't mind. They wouldn't be fantasies for long. "Come in," Ginny called, and flicked her wand in the direction of the door, unlocking it.

Hermione came into the room looking very apologetic. She fidgeted in the doorway for a moment as if not sure whether to admit what she had seen.

"We know you were here," Ginny said, laughing. "Try not to make such a noise next time."

"I'm so sorry!" Hermione exclaimed, pink-faced, putting her hands to her cheeks for a moment, and then waving them about. "I just assumed - I mean, it was eleven - I thought you'd have class, and I'd been up for hours, and I just wanted to get some clothes and…" Her voice trailed off and she glanced briefly at Ginny's legs, which were only very barely covered. She pinkened again, looked away, and reached out to close the door behind her. "I'm really sorry," she repeated. "I… hope I didn't interrupt…"

"We weren't," Ginny said quickly. "We haven't yet."

Whole sentences and specific words were apparently unnecessary. Hermione looked very relieved, and then she peered at Ginny as if she didn't quite believe her. "Haven't you?" she asked keenly.

"No."

"Oh."

Ginny felt suddenly flustered. "Why, do I seem like I have, or something?"

Hermione shrugged. She studied Ginny closely. "You seem…" She shrugged again. "You're looking very…" Her eyes flitted over Ginny's tousled, half-dressed state. "I don't know, I suppose I was just very total about it."

"Total?" Ginny frowned.

"Yes. I hardly let Ron do… well… anything. Before we did everything. Except once, but that doesn't count, because I was leaving and it was very emotional."

Ginny stared at Hermione. "Doesn't count?" she repeated.

"Well, you know what I mean." Hermione went to her dresser, started taking clothes out of it, and piled them up on a chair.

Ginny wasn't sure she knew what Hermione was talking about. But she was willing to survive without the details of Ron's private life, though it didn't seem quite fair that it had to be Ron, really. Hermione was the only girl she could talk to about any of this. Perhaps if she really tried, Ginny thought, she could forget it was her brother on the other end of everything Hermione was saying.

"Hermione?"

"Hm." Hermione was holding up a soft green, long-sleeved T-shirt with white dragons embossed on the arms. "I never wear this," she mused. "I don't even know where I got this - do you want it?"

Ginny had always liked that top. "Yeah - thanks," she said, and Hermione tossed it onto Ginny's dresser. "But… Hermione?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"What's it… like?"

Hermione paused in the middle of folding a pair of jeans, and looked over at Ginny as if she didn't know what to say. "I…" she began. "It's…"

Ginny decided to narrow it down. "Is there anything I should know?"

Hermione peered closely at her again. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to ask something, then shook her head and went back to folding. "It's none of my business," she muttered, a little too loudly.

"No, say what you were going to say."

Hermione threw the jeans in the pile and turned on Ginny with her hands on her hips. "Well, I know you're in love with him, so I'm not going to bother asking if you're ready," she said. "But do you know the proper charms?"

"Prevention charms, you mean?"

"Yes."

Ginny laughed. "Of course, my mum taught me - she made sure I knew them all. Which is funny, when you think about it."

Hermione's pressed her lips closed on a smile.

"No, go on. It's funny. I mean - seven of us, it's not like she took her own advice, is it?"

Hermione giggled. "Remember when she told us how she tried that love charm?"

"Yes - did you ever try it?"

"No! Of course not." Hermione tilted her head. "Did you?"

"I was going to," Ginny admitted. "But I was afraid it would work, and then I'd have to spend my whole life knowing that Harry didn't really love me, and it was just a charm."

"Oh, Ginny." Hermione looked fondly at her. "Are you… About Harry… I mean, I know you two must have decided…"

"Just don't come in here tonight," Ginny said, cutting short the rest of Hermione's awkward question. "Or tomorrow morning. Get everything you need. And don't come into Harry's room at the Notch, either, because I don't know what's going to happen - and don't let Ron come looking for either of us, please. Unless it's literally life or death, and even then, just stay out."

Hermione laughed. "Okay," she said. "It's so… strange."

"What is?"

"I don't know. Thinking of Harry. I know it's the same for you about Ron. And it's just a shame, because I don't really have anyone else to talk to about this sort of thing and perhaps it's not really ladylike to discuss it, but sometimes I just want to see if you've done the same… I don't know."

Ginny knew. "I was just thinking the same thing," she said honestly. "I was thinking I could try to forget it was Ron, if you wanted to tell me anything."

"Really?" Hermione's eyes lit up as though Ginny had just suggested they work on an Arithmancy project together. "Well… what are you doing today? I'm going to visit my parents, but they're in therapy until three, so I'm free until then. Do you have school?"

"I don't know. I need to ask Remus."

"He's not even awake. Do you need to study for your N.E.W.T.s?"

"Yes… but I've been good about that, I can skive off."

Hermione frowned at her, but then her eyes lit up again. "Oh, do you know what we should do!"

"What?"

"Remember that magazine with the quiz? We never did it all the way through, did we? Did you keep it?"

Ginny thought she had, somewhere. She flicked her wand and Summoned it, and it came flying out from underneath her bed, sending balls of dust in every direction.

"Let's both take it," Hermione said, grabbing it out of the air and fairly jumping onto her own bed. "And let's do our nails like last time, while we're at it. Mine look horrible."

Nails. Ginny hadn't even thought about them. And her hair, and… everything. She wanted to be perfect, and she had hours. She knew it didn't really matter how her nails looked… but it would be one less thing to worry about. Not that she was worried. She wondered why she wasn't.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Were you nervous?"

"Yes. That's normal."

So then she wasn't normal. But neither was Harry. And what they had together wasn't normal either, she thought, as her heart throbbed twice at once at the memory of what his skin felt like under her hands. What they had was tremendously rare.

"Number one," Hermione said, and then she laughed. "No. Number nine. Have you ever…"

And Hermione asked a question that made Ginny blush to the roots of her hair before she gave her shaky answer.

"Er… not… yet… "

Perhaps she was a little nervous, after all.

~*~

Harry arrived at Lupin Lodge at six o'clock. He had showered. He was terrified. He had told himself all day that he was probably assuming too much, and that what she wanted was probably very different from what he was thinking, and that there was no reason for him to work himself up like this - but it was no use. He couldn't get Ginny out of his head. Hanging around Ron, to whom he could say nothing, had been far too difficult, and so he had finally gone up to the dragon camp and tried to help Charlie and Mick disassemble some of the tents. They had told him he was insane, and refused to allow him to do anything. But they hadn't realized that he wasn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart - he needed something to do.

Harry had finally ended up at the Ministry, where he had turned in his badge and had an extremely uncomfortable couple of minutes alone with Mr. Weasley, who surely knew everything. Who had probably been able to tell, somehow. Harry could have sworn that Ginny's dad had given him more than one all-too-perceptive sort of look. He had nearly run from the office at his first opportunity.

He was being an idiot.

There were very few lights on in Lupin Lodge. Harry found Remus sitting alone in the front room, with a book in one hand and a teacup in the other.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Harry?" Remus asked, when he saw him there.

Harry would very much have liked one. It would have calmed his nerves. "Er - no thanks," he said. "Have you seen Ginny?"

He could have sworn that Remus smirked.

"She said she was going for a walk," Remus answered. "And then she went out back to the garden. I think she may be checking on her Herbology plot - have you seen it? I don't think she'll have a problem earning that N.E.W.T."

"No, I haven't," said Harry. "I'll go and have a look." He wheeled around and nearly dashed out the back door, and as he shut the door behind him, he knew that he had heard Remus laugh.

The late-afternoon light was wonderful, coppery-gold; it lit the garden in a range of amber hues, making everything shine. Harry looked around at the different herbs and flowers, and dimly realized just how much work Ginny had done this year, all on her own. He'd had a whole class full of people to help him study, in his seventh year, and she'd only had herself to rely on. Yet she had done a beautiful job - at least with Herbology. And with… other things.

"Harry!"

He looked left and saw her, standing at the edge of the garden among all the growing things, looking radiant in the golden light. She'd left her hair down. He liked it.

Harry walked over to her and extended his hand. Ginny slipped hers into it. They stood for a moment, still and quiet, just looking at each other.

It was… strange. Just looking. Harry felt almost as though he shouldn't have been allowed to look for quite so long. There should have been some excuse for it. He was used to glancing at her when she wasn't watching, and then looking away when she caught him. But this was different. This was… open.

"Did you do this whole garden on your own?" he asked, and was surprised by how low his voice was.

"Oh no. Remus did more than half."

"Well it all looks brilliant."

Ginny beamed. "I worked on it a bit today," she said. "I should really be spending more time on Arithmancy than on this, but I know I'm never going to get that N.E.W.T." She sighed. "I'll be lucky if I get five, honestly."

"I bet you get nine."

"Why, how many did you get?"

"Nine."

Ginny smiled a little and squeezed his hand. "Nine would be good," she said. "Do you want to have a walk with me?"

Harry wanted to have a lot of things with her. He nodded, and she led him off down the path, away from the garden and towards the woods.

"Isn't this beautiful?" Ginny asked quietly, as they walked in among the tall trees. Great shafts of orange light came down between them, dappling the ground and shadowing them both in light and darkness. "I love it back here."

"I haven't come back here that often, to be honest," Harry said, looking around. It was beautiful.

Ginny looked around with reverent eyes. "I've never seen it like this," she said. "This is my favorite time of day. My favorite light."

Harry wasn't sure why he liked it so much that she had a favorite light. But he did.

They walked a little further down the path, listening to the creatures of the forest, which sounded, for the most part, to be friendly.

"What did you do today?" Ginny asked, stepping carefully over a little stream.

Harry followed, equally careful. "I turned in my badge. I'm not a Ministry employee anymore." He got his footing again and was surprised to be pulled immediately into a tight, possessive hug.

"Good," Ginny whispered.

He closed his eyes and held her just as tightly. It was good. It was over. He had never been so thoroughly uplifted - it was all beyond him. He was in the woods, in Ginny's arms, and he had no responsibility. Even if another one came his way tomorrow - and it wouldn't have surprised him - for tonight there was only this. Only her.

He wondered what she really thought of him crying all over the place. He still couldn't believe he had done it. He tried to push it out of his memory.

"What's wrong?" she mumbled.

Damn.

"Nothing?" he tried, but he knew it wouldn't work.

Ginny pulled away and gazed at him, her eyes full of affection. "All right, Harry," she said quietly. "Only tell me if you want to. I won't sense." She took his hand again and Harry rubbed his thumb over the back of it.

"What are you going to do, now that you're finished with school?" he asked.

"Oh… everything." Ginny laughed. "There are a lot of things that need doing."

Harry nodded. "What first, then?"

"First I want to spend time with Neville's parents," she said unhesitatingly. "I want to see what I can do for them."

Harry pulled a hanging branch out of Ginny's way, and gently guided her forward. Together, they continued to walk, as the golden light around them began to fade.

"It doesn't last long, does it?" Harry mused aloud, looking around.

"No." Ginny looked up. "But that's part of what makes it so beautiful. It's sort of… fragile. You can't keep it for long."

"I don't think that makes it beautiful," Harry said without thinking. "It makes it sad. It's not right that you can't keep it."

Ginny looked over at him. And then she picked up his hand and surprised him by kissing it. "It always comes back tomorrow, Harry," she said, very gently. "It's not gone forever."

Harry wasn't sure what they were really talking about.

They came to the edge of the wood, where a stretch of long, soft-looking grassy banks spread towards the shore of the small lake. Sunset light shimmered on the water, made fires in the crags of rocks, and illuminated snakes of sand. Harry looked out into the reddening sky, where the sun was setting beyond the trees on the other side of the lake. He took a deep breath.

"Look," Ginny murmured. "Look at the moon." It had already risen, half-full. It hung halfway up in the burning sky, over the lake that reflected all the golds and reds of the setting sun. So did Ginny's face, which was tilted up and caught the light. "It's a Gryffindor sunset, isn't it?" she asked.

"Definitely," Harry said absently. He wasn't looking at it anymore. His eyes followed the contours of her lips, and the way they picked up the ruddy light. "Definitely," he said again, and turned her towards him by her hand.

Ginny looked right into his face as he touched her shoulders. He moved his hands up and down her arms a few times, feeling something soft and scratchy on the fabric of her shirt. He looked down at what it was and saw that there were dragons on her sleeves.

"That's cool," Harry said, running a fingertip down her arm, along the spiky spine of one long dragon. "Glad I don't have to ride one anymore, though."

Ginny laughed. She had a really good laugh. He didn't really know why she thought he was funny, but he was pleased that she did. He pulled her towards him, rested his forehead against hers, and shut his eyes "Do you want to turn around and walk back?" he asked, after awhile.

"Not really. You?"

"No."

Ginny pulled away and looked right at him again, and there was something in her eyes that drove a spike of heat straight through Harry, making him sweat.

Without taking her eyes off him, Ginny dropped down to sit in the grass. She tugged Harry's trouser leg. "Sit with me."

He did, arranging himself just behind her so that she could sit between his legs and lean back against him. Harry held her around the middle and brushed her hair back towards him. He then carefully put all of her hair over the front of her right shoulder, and rested his chin on her left.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think I'm lovely?"

Harry blinked. Didn't she know she was? "Yes."

She was quiet for a minute. "Harry?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"I love you."

Harry's heart stopped. A buzzing warmth began in his eardrums; it spread through his head and down his neck. His stomach tightened. Would he ever get used to hearing it? Would it ever lose its impact? He didn't think so.

"You knew I… talked about you all the time, when we were little," she said softly. "My brothers told you. I'm sure Riddle told you too - or didn't he? I've always wondered."

Harry worked his mouth and tried to unstick his throat. He was very glad not to have to look at her face. "Yes. He did."

"He said he would." She was very quiet for a time. "You thought I was just star struck by you, didn't you?"

Harry thought about it. Had he thought her star struck? No… it had been something else entirely. He'd known that she was taken with him; that much had been clear. But he had never equated her with the people who had stopped him in the street or stared at his scar. She had watched him in a different way; it had given him a different feeling. It had never been uncomfortable. Perhaps a bit strange at first… but in a nice way.

"Never mind answering; I know you did. And I was star struck, a little." Ginny's voice was soft and clear. "I think I still am. Sometimes I catch myself staring at your forehead and thinking no, he didn't do those things, that's all too much for one person."

The tightness in Harry's stomach moved up into his chest as Ginny settled back into him. She rested her forearms on his thighs and dangled her hands on his knees.

"You're so real, Harry."

Ginny's stomach rose and fell under Harry's hands and he watched the sliver of her profile that he could see, lit by the moon.

"This was never Empathy."

He blinked hard and rested his forehead on her shoulder. The tightness was in his throat now. He didn't want to cry again - once in a day was enough. Once in a lifetime was enough.

"I'll tell you how I'm sure," Ginny went on. "It wasn't really fair of me to get so angry with you for asking when I wondered too, at first." She rubbed his knees. "First, I know what woke me up. My gift, I mean. Riddle's diary did it."

Harry nodded a little against her shoulder.

"But I noticed you before that, Harry. I couldn't get you out of my head from the second I saw you at platform nine and three-quarters. Ron wasn't lying when he said I never shut up about you all summer. And he only heard it for the summer - I'd been tormenting Mum all year, asking questions and making up story futures for us and…" Her hands stopped moving in his knees and heat radiated from her neck. "I'm saying far too much," she mumbled.

"No you're not." Harry tightened his arms around her. She was saying what he had needed to hear, and he had needed to hear it all year and all his life. No one had ever told him exactly how they loved him before.

"Well then, the other thing was Expecto Sacrificum," Ginny laughed and her back moved against him; Harry lifted his head and stole another look at her profile. "I told you I loved you in front of all those people. That was so hard." She put her hands over his and held them to her. "And that spell never would've worked if I hadn't meant it. I thought you'd work that out, but you didn't - and then you made me so angry - I couldn't believe you thought I'd go with Malfoy -"

"I never thought that," Harry interrupted.

Ginny turned her face so that her cheek leaned on his chest, and craned her neck to look up at him. "You didn't?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04