Order of the Phoenix
Lead Me Into Temptation
By Ruskbyte
Chapter Seventeen
~ Lead Me Into Temptation ~
Fire.
Lots of fire.
It was all around him, to the left, to the right, in front, behind, everywhere. The houses were burning, as were the shops and stores, the trees lining the pavement, everything. The entire village had been transformed into a blazing inferno.
Black shadows danced amongst the flames, some tall, some short, all threatening. Twisted shapes contorted around the burning pyres, screams of terror and malicious laughter accompanying their taunting dance.
Death Eaters.
Lots of Death Eaters.
The clouds were hanging low in the sky. No. Not clouds. No, it was smoke. Smoke from the fires raging throughout the hamlet. He could see it rising up in thick billowing columns, framed in a dark red and orange glow.
Impossible blinding blue-white lightning joined the layer of smoke to the ground, thunder rumbling like a hidden avalanche. The fires were crackling so loudly it was almost all he could hear, except for the pained screams and wicked laughter.
The post office, already engulfed in flames, loomed up before him. The owls inside were trapped and screeching in agony and terror. He had never heard anything like it. They sounded almost human as they cried out while the fire claimed them one by one.
He tried to run, either to help or flee he did not know, but found himself unable to move. His feet were leaden and his legs refused to work. He could only watch in horror as a terrible visage rose up behind the burning post office. It was a giant figure, thrice the height of the building and shrouded in blackness, despite the ever-present flames.
Goodbye, Harry.
Death Eaters surrounded him on all sides and were slowly closing in on him with small, measured steps. The firelight illuminated their blank, skull-like masks beneath the cowls of their black robes as they drew nearer and neared. Voldemort was looming high over the horizon, his crimson eyes glowing maliciously in the night time gloom.
Your friends will be next.
.oOo.
Harry woke with a jolt, his heart pounding with in his chest like a trip hammer. He sucked in a deep and shaky breath, trying to slow his pulse to something more normal. Sweat was soaking his shirt, and he could feel the garment clinging to his chest and back. The heat of the fire, crackling merrily at his feet, surrounded him like a heavy blanket.
*Welcome back. Rough trip?*
No more than usual, Iolaus.
He could hear the soft murmur of conversation surrounding him, filling the common room. Taking another deep breath and licking his lips, Harry pulled himself upright and opened his eyes.
***
Ginny gently caressed Harry's head through the thick mop of his unruly black hair, trying to easy the tension radiating from him.
That was a shorter one than usual.
He was lying on the floor of the common room, feet pointing towards the crackling fireplace, his head and shoulders propped up against the couch Ginny was lying on. It was the position he always lay in during the short catnaps he would take after finishing his homework and before going to bed for the night.
Ron had tried it himself once. Just once. He had quickly learnt that his shoes did not withstand the fire's heat nearly as well as Harry's dragon hide boots. The point had been forcibly driven home when the soles of his shoes had somehow caught fire, resulting in a highly amusing hot footed dance around the common room.
It had been young Dennis Creevey that had finally acted on Ron's bellows, conjuring up a large bucket of water to douse the flames. This did not sit well with Ron, who ended up drenched from head to toe, since Dennis was a wizard and a simple extinguishing spell would have done a much better, not to mention drier, job of it.
To make matters worse was the fact that Dennis was a carbon copy of his brother, Colin, and was easily excitable. Thus nobody, besides Dennis, was very surprised when he lost his grip on the pail, letting the container fly through the air behind the water and smash into Ron's face.
A perfect example of adding injury to insult declared the twins.
Harry had been very quiet ever since their return from Hogsmeade the previous month, spending a lot of his time either practising duelling, sword fighting or some form of martial arts in the Practical Fighting Techniques auditorium. Or, as he was now, lying prone on the floor, close to the fire and eventually dozing off.
After several people had reported his reactions to the devastation in Hogsmeade, and after having seen the damage up close, the Gryffindors had cornered Harry one night and demanded to know just what had happened on the night of the attack.
And so Harry had sat down, albeit reluctantly, and given a clear and concise account of the work he had done during the aftermath. Trying to extinguish the fires as they relentlessly spread from building to building, helping pull victims from the wreckage, everything.
By his own count, twenty eight people had died in his presence and very few of them had passed on in a peaceful manner.
Since then the Gryffindors had become extremely protective of Harry. Not in public, although they did support anything he proposed without reservation, but within their own ranks. On the long nights when Harry lay by the fire, head propped against the couch, there were always at least a half a dozen Gryffindors present to maintain a vigil of him as he slumbered.
No matter how long he slept by the fireplace they would remain at his side, taking shifts if need be. Only Ginny, Ron and Hermione were always there. Ginny would lie down and stretch out across the couch Harry would lean against, while his two best friends would be close at hand in the sitting chairs set next to the fireplace.
The nightmares were never far from Harry when he slept. A pattern had quickly emerged, and by now everyone living in the tower knew it well.
When it began, Harry would tense up, his muscles coiling and bunching tightly. His entire body would shiver and tremble from the effort, which often brought a sweat to his brow. His jaw would clench tight and his teeth could be heard grinding from the other side of the common room.
Next came the twitches in either Harry's arms or legs, sometimes both. As if he were fighting against something... or trying to flee from it. Soft whimpers and moans would escape him during this part, his face contorting into an expression of such utter helplessness that some of the more emotional girls began to cry in sympathy.
As the nightmare progressed Harry's movements would become more and more violent, sometimes he would even lash out. Some of his watchers had learned the hard way, usually by means of a bloody nose or black eye, to stay well back when Harry began to struggle. His breathing became ragged and harsh, growing faster and faster until they feared he might hyper-ventilate.
Occasionally words would escape his lips, pleas or denials, signifying the beginning of the nightmare's final act. Harry would arch his back, almost to the point where they worried he might injure his spine, before crashing back into the waking world. It was like watching a elastic band being stretched taut and finally snapping from the strain.
Sometimes, if the nightmare was particularly bad, Harry's magic would begin to leak out, causing the furniture to shake, parchment flew wildly about, the walls and floor creaked ominously, and the windows rattled and sometimes even cracked.
Tonight's had not been that bad, fortunately.
Crookshanks twisted about in Hermione's lap and purred as Harry pulled himself up into a sitting position, kneading his neck with both hands. Everyone, save for Ginny, had moved a little back once he had awoken, knowing he disliked being crowded or attended to. Nobody said a word to him, or each other, about his dreams.
"Decided to join us, Harry?" asked Ginny, still stroking her hand through his hair.
"Yeah," he said, leaning back so he could look at her, "what time is it?"
After Crookshanks jumped off her lap Hermione checked her wristwatch and answered, "Just past eight o'clock."
Harry looked at her with surprise. "Only? It's still early. I could have sworn it was much later. Past ten at least."
"You're just tired from having to read all those soppy Valentines all the girls sent you," teased Fred, leaning down against the back of the couch.
Both Ginny and Harry turned to glare at her brother, who was beaming benevolently down at them. Unfortunately neither of the two could deny his proclamation, since it was indeed Valentine's Day, and Harry had received quite a fair number of cards and other tokens during the course of it. So for that matter had Ginny, to her surprise, although not to anyone else's.
The fact that Harry seemed highly embarrassed by the attention and Ginny highly frustrated of the perceived competition, merely provided the twins with additional ammunition.
"It's actually amazing you got that many," concurred George, standing beside his twin. "I would have thought most of them would have been intimidated by your forceful presence."
"Of course," continued Fred, grinning devilishly, "there's nothing to worry about. None of them could possibly be suicidal enough to try anything more. Not with our dear Gin Gin sending death glares towards any poor thing that tried to approach you today."
Oooh, I can't believe him!
Ginny audibly growled at them, "Are you really that eager to visit Madam Pomfrey again, dear brother?"
The freckles on the twins faces stood out starkly as they paled almost instantly, and both were quick to raise their hands in appeasement and take a large step back.
"N-n-no need, Ginny," stuttered Fred, still backing away. "We were just - just teasing."
"Remember we have the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw soon," tried George.
Harry arched his eyebrows innocently at them. "That's not for another month, George. I'm sure you will be out of the Hospital Wing by then."
The two brothers exchanged an alarmed look and quickly made their way to the stairs leading up to the boys' dormitories, loudly proclaiming their need to finish their Charms homework. The fact that it was Saturday and they had already finished all their homework that afternoon, did not seem to register anymore.
If I had only known... I would have hit them years ago.
Hermione had pulled her chair back and stood up, packing her things into her bag as she said, "Come on, Ginny. Let's head upstairs ourselves."
Ginny looked at her, puzzled. "Why? Like Harry said it's still early."
"Angelina and Becky wanted to arrange something," Hermione replied. "They didn't tell me what, but they did say we'd have fun. They've invited most of the older girls too."
"Is this some sort of Valentine's thing?" asked Ron, looking cautiously at Hermione as she lifted her bag and rounded the table they had been sitting at.
Hermione smiled and leaned down to peck Ron on the cheek. "I've already wished you a happy Valentine's, remember?"
Ron grinned broadly up at her. "Nuh-uh. Maybe you should remind me."
Talk about saccharin sweet, thought Ginny, watching as her friend and brother leaning in for a very intricate seeming exchange of... ugh. The thought of doing that with Harry sent shivers down Ginny's spine, but watching Ron and Hermione made her feel like gagging.
"Why is it they can do that?" Harry whispered to her, "yet whenever we so much as try, someone or something interrupts us?"
"Bad timing," replied Ginny, sitting up. She graced him with a seductive smile, "Of course, since they're suddenly occupied, maybe we could try now?"
Before Harry could reply Hermione broke away from Ron and came to collect Ginny, pulling her off the couch and to her feet. As she was lead across the common room to the stairs, Harry groaned, "You were saying?"
I should have known better.
"Goodnight, Ginny," called Ron, "don't let the monsters under the bed do anything bad to you, 'kay?"
"Bad? Oh, don't worry, Ron," she assured him, her eyes meeting Harry's as she started to climb the stairs after Hermione, "I'm sure the monsters could find far more interesting things to do with me."
Harry grinned as she was departing and simply told her, "Goodnight, Gin."
What I wouldn't give for a goodnight kiss instead.
"G'night, Harry."
***
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEIIIII!!"
*Woo-hoo! They're naked!*
They are not! They're... they're... they're... oh boy.
It had been about an hour and a half since Ginny and Hermione had retired upstairs, leaving Harry and Ron to play a friendly game of chess. Over the past few months Harry had been pushing his friend relentlessly when it came to playing, using every trick he knew and a couple he borrowed off of Sun Tzu who was a true master of the game. Ron had improved dramatically and now won their games more often than not.
"Checkmate," Ron had grinned, making his move with a flourish and his grin broadening as his knight stepped forward and decapitated Harry's king.
"Hmm. Interesting tactic," observed Harry, "a variation on Kerensky?"
Ron nodded. "Yep. Want to play another round?"
Harry shook his head. "No thanks."
Both boys looked around and saw that the common room was mostly deserted, apart from Neville, who was revising for his O.W.L.s and the pair of Seamus and Moira. The two were talking quietly, and Seamus' Irish accent had come out to the point that he was almost as unintelligible as Moira.
"In that case," observed Ron, "I'm going to turn in early. You coming up?"
"Not just yet," demurred Harry, glancing towards the stairway leading up to the girls' dormitories. He smiled at his best friend, "I want to wish Ginny a happy Valentine's Day first."
Ron smiled back at him, remarkably at ease with the fact that Harry was nominally going out with his sister. It might have had something to do with Ginny pounding Fred and George into the dirt after having been interrupted the previous month, but Harry wasn't complaining.
Too much. There was still the annoying fact that whenever he and Ginny tried to kiss, something would always present itself and break them apart.
It's almost as if there were some higher power at work, he mused, trying to stop us.
*Considering how frustrated it's making you, I'd suggest a lower power.*
Hey! No insinuations like that please!
"Be careful, mate," Ron told him as he made his way up the stairs. "Walking in on the girls unannounced could get you into trouble."
"I'll knock first," Harry had told him, before standing up and climbing the other set of stairs. He had quickly found the dormitory marked as belonging to the fourth-year girls, behind which he heard a great deal of chatter.
From the sound of it, several girls from other years were present, though for what he could not guess. Harry knocked politely and, after a few seconds in which he received no reply, pulled on the door knob and swung the door inwards.
At which point he found himself in the current situation.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEIIIII!!"
Even with the enhanced abilities and senses the Order had given him, Harry was so surprised by what, not to mention who, stood before him, that he was only able to catch fleeting glimpses of scantily clad girls as his mind struggled to process what he had walked in on.
There was Alicia, ducking behind a post and the drapes of the nearest bed. Angelina reacting calmly to his intrusion and simply placing her hands on her hips. He had apparently caught Katie in-between changes, and she vanished from sight behind the bed with a thump.
He had a brief glimpse of short mahogany hair as a sixth-year girl, Becky Silver, ducked into one of the large wardrobes. Unfortunately the wardrobe proved rather fuller than expected and Becky bounced back out and crashed to the floor in tangle of robes and dresses.
Carmen was further back in the room and fell onto her bed with a squeak and hurriedly pulled the drapes shut. A streak of long blonde hair that he thought was Lucy Ferrier disappeared behind some curtains with a high pitched squeal.
Harry barely paid any attention to Lavender, in something very pink and very lacy, and Parvati, who stood out in several vibrant shades of translucent yellow. Both girls gave shrill cries that would have done credit to a startled house-elf and also dove for cover. From the sound of it, and since they had dived behind the same bed, he figured they must have landed on top of Katie.
Then amidst the general confusion that had engulfed the dormitory, Harry spotted Hermione, not far from where Katie had first been. The shimmering sky blue satin of her decidedly erotic knickers and suspender belt went well with the tan of her legs and stomach. The matching bra she was holding dropped to the floor as she squeaked loudly, reaching up to cross her arms in a belated attempt to cover her bare chest.
Good thing Ron didn't see her like this, was the first thought to cross Harry's mind upon seeing his best friend in such a state of undress. He'd have a heart attack.
*I don't think he would complain.*
A second thought occurred to him almost immediately after that. Good thing I'm not Ron, or she'd have a heart attack as well.
Then Harry's gaze slid to the girl standing next to Hermione, Ginny. She was standing, frozen in place, with an expression on her face that Harry had always imagined what "a deer in headlights" looked like. He only looked into her eyes for an instant before his eyes found themselves dropping lower and then lower once again.
His breath caught in his throat, and Harry felt his thought processes grind to a screeching halt as his brain simply stopped working.
The material was black and hugged her lithe figure like a second skin, which in itself did bad things to Harry's nervous system. That it was also somewhat sheer, particularly the bra cups, only made matters that much worse. His eyes slowly wound their way back from where they had been directed at her amazingly long and smooth legs, drifting over her flat, toned stomach and up to the soft swell of her breasts, where they froze in place.
Blushing such a bright shade of red she could have glowed in the dark, Ginny turned around and grabbed for her robes, which were lying on the bed. A deep, throaty groan escaped Harry when she did this. The view from the rear was just as heart-stopping.
Forget Ron and Hermione, I'm going to have a heart attack.
Ginny turned back to face him, her school robes held in a bundle before her in an attempt to cover herself from his gaze. Harry stared into her wide chocolate eyes, wider than he had ever seen them, and wondered if there was enough magic in the world to prevent the blush he could feel rising to his cheeks.
*Don't think so, laddie.*
*Who cares? You're in a room full o' half naked wenches!*
Oh God, I'm going to die.
Several moments passed, and Harry saw Carmen sticking her head out from inside the drapes of her bed, while Lucy ventured just her head out from behind the curtains. Becky, on the floor, seemed to have judiciously untangled most of herself from the assortment of clothes that had fallen over her.
When Katie's head and shoulders emerged from behind the bed right in front of him, Harry wondered abstractly if this meant he had now seen more of Katie than George had. If so he resolved, he'd beg if necessary, to make absolutely certain George never found out.
"Harry," croaked Ginny, "wh-what are you doing in here?"
"I was... going to ask you... something... something important..." he answered slowly. He was dimly aware that most of the girls not hiding behind the beds, primarily Angelina and to a lesser degree Hermione, were grinning knowingly at him. "I remember it was important... I can't remember what it was... but I remember it was important."
Harry tried to say more, but his mind wasn't functioning properly. He floundered about for a few seconds, shaking his head as he tried to speak. Finally he managed to articulate the first proper thought that came to his mind while confronted with a barely clothed Ginny.
"I need a cold shower."
***
Ginny had never felt so embarrassed in her life. For that matter, she could not recall having ever seen Harry look quite so embarrassed either, but that was a small consolation.
Oh God, I'm never going to be able to look him in the face again.
After spending several seconds staring at her in obvious horror, Harry had declared his need for a shower and fled the girls' dormitory as if Voldemort himself were chasing after him. Not that that would have posed much of a threat, all things considered, but still.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha," cried Angelina as the door slammed shut, and Harry's footsteps retreated. "That poor boy! For a moment there I thought he was going to have a heart attack."
"Especially when he saw you, Ginny," agreed Hermione, although with a bit of squeak left in her voice and a definite flush to her cheeks.
Ginny glared at the other girls, wishing that for once the infamous Weasley blush would not rise to her cheeks. Her attempts, however, only sent them into further peals of laughter, despite the fact that Harry just perused their own assets in nothing more than the decidedly bedroom-only lingerie that Angelina and Becky had provided.
"Somehow I doubt either of you would find the situation as humorous had it been Fred or Ron," Ginny retorted, still trying to fight the blush.
"But it wasn't, was it?" replied Angelina, batting her eyelashes. "It was young Harry there, who's probably having trouble walking upright at the moment. No wonder the poor boy needs a shower!"
Ginny stomped her foot angrily. "It's not funny!"
"Oh yes, it is," said Carmen, slinking out from behind her drapes. "Did you see the look on his face?"
"No doubt about it," agreed Lucy, leaving the cover of the curtains. "It's a miracle he didn't tear off what little you have on and ravage you right here!"
Ginny sank down on her bed and dropped her face into her hands. "Oh dear Merlin," she groaned, "didn't any of you see how horrified he looked?"
Hermione sat down beside her and patted her on the shoulder. "It was kind of hard to miss, Ginny."
"That boy wants you so much, I'm not surprised he ran like that," confirmed Parvati, rising off the floor. "He was probably afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself."
"He's Harry," retorted Ginny in protest, "he wouldn't do that!"
"He's a boy, dearie," replied Angelina, sitting down on her other side. "Confronted with a half naked young girl, especially one he likes so much, he could very well do that."
Katie grinned evilly. "We're talking from experience, aren't we, Ang?"
"Shut up!"
Ginny groaned and dropped her head back into her hands. "What I am going to do?"
"Go after him!" chorused almost every girl in the room.
"Come on, Ginny," prodded Becky, "you know you want to."
"Yeah," agreed Carmen, "maybe you'll finally get to kiss him without being interrupted at the very last second."
They have a point.
After leaving her dormitory and running to the fifth-year boys' room, she quickly found out that Harry had not gone there for his shower. Leaving Ron, who seemed rather flustered that his baby sister was running around in such a state of undress, Ginny ran down to the common room. There she learned from Neville, as well as Seamus and Moira, that Harry had made a hurried departure out the portrait hole.
Running around Hogwarts after Harry in the dead of night, barefoot and in only her underwear and robes was probably the single craziest thing Ginny had ever done. Considering the situation, however, she could be forgiven for acting so impulsively.
It was something of a miracle that she managed to avoid Filch, Mrs Norris and the patrols of Aurors now stationed at the school, but somehow she managed. After stealthily treading down the many corridors, she reached the place she knew Harry had come to, the Prefects' bathroom.
"Pine-fresh," she announced and stepped through the door.
Harry had described the room for her while recounting the events of the previous year, during the Triwizard tournament. It was exactly as he had said it was, white marble and a pool-sized bath with hundreds of taps surrounding it. Harry was standing by the edge of the bath, watching as the water slowly pooled up and filled the bathing area.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed, whirling around to face her as she entered. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I-I just wanted-" she haltingly replied, "I wanted to find out what it was you wanted to ask me when you - you know." He looked at her incredulously and then flushed a bright scarlet when she added, "And maybe we could finally manage a simple kiss without being interrupted."
"That would be a bad idea," he stated, "a very bad idea."
Ginny hoped the slight hurt she felt at his words did not show on her face. Working very hard she managed to prevent the quiver that was threatening to shake her voice and asked, "Why?"
Harry looked imploringly at her, a strained expression on his face. "Because right now, Ginny, there are so many things I want to do with you I don't think I could control myself if we got started."
Now I really know why I love him.
"Harry do you realise what you just said?" she asked with a small smile, closing the distance between them until they were almost touching. "You said 'with' me. Not 'to' me, but 'with' me. And that tells me what kind of a man you are. That even if we do nothing but stand here and talk for the rest of the night, I've made the right choice."
They were very close together now, Ginny could just feel the tips of her breasts brushing against Harry's chest as she snaked her arms around him and began caressing his back. Harry reciprocated in full and began tracing his fingers in delicious circles across her back with a feather-light touch that was sent shivers up and down her spine.
Eager to accomplish what they had thus far been unsuccessful with, Ginny leaning into Harry and tilted her head up to his lips. His arms tightened their grip, and he pulled her against him, his lips brushing at her temple and slowly winding across her cheek and then along her jaw line.
He had just reached her chin and was sliding up to her mouth, with aching slowness, when without warning his arms released their hold on her and began flaying wildly about. Ginny looked up at him in surprise and consternation a moment before the realization of their predicament hit her.
Then, with the grace of a flying anvil, they fell in.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
KER-SPLASH
Ginny was spluttering about and trying to find her footing on the floor of the bath when Harry jerked up from below, sending a spray of water into the air. "For the love of all that's holy!" he cursed, smacking his fists into water. "What did we ever do to deserve this?! Tell me! What?!"
As Harry continued to curse the gods, the heavens and just about every obscure deity known to exist, Ginny surveyed the Prefects' bathroom with a mixture of alarm and amusement. The fine white marble was littered with thousands, maybe millions, of cracks and fractures. The floors, the walls and the roof looked as though a large, angry and inebriated cave troll had been beating them with a mallet.
The splendid and intricately wrought chandelier was wobbling and seemed in imminent danger of falling away from the fractured ceiling. The high glass windows had shattered and apparently shredded the white linen curtains into nothing more than rags. The fluffy white towels were similarly destroyed, and the painting of the mermaid had fallen loose and was hanging from the wall at a sharp angle.
"It's going to take forever to fix all this," she groaned, drawing Harry's attention away from his increasingly profane cussing.
"Half an hour, maybe less," he said after taking a deep, calming breath, "if we get..."
As Harry's voice trailed off abruptly, Ginny became aware of the fact that she was now utterly soaked from head to toe. This would not normally have been cause for much concern, however in her haste to locate Harry, she had not firmly fastened the front of her robes before setting out after him. As a result her robes had parted in front and were giving him a close up view of her now even more clinging underwear.
Well, at least he doesn't seem to be going red this time.
"Ginny," Harry said in a breathless voice, "if you keep this up, I'm going to die of stress before the end of the year."
Wading her way through the water, Ginny pulled him into an embrace similar to the one they had been in before their fall. Harry, however, rested his hands on her hips instead and began to gently slide them up until his palms were brushing the sides of her breasts. Ginny's breath caught in her throat at his bold and intimate touch. She pushed up onto the tips of her toes and curled her arms around his neck, running one hand through the wet tangle of his hair and pulling his head towards her.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Harry," she whispered, her lips just brushing against his.
With a jerk Harry pulled his head away from her and glared off to one side. He snarled with pent up frustration and muttered vehemently under his breath, a curse of some sort that Ginny did not recognise. A moment later a high pitched wailed echoed forth from one of the taps, quickly fading away into nothingness.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAaaaaaiiiii...!"
"What was that?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"Moaning Myrtle," replied Harry, turning back to her with a satisfied smile. "I just flushed her down the pipes and into the lake."
Ginny blinked and asked, "Moaning Myrtle? What was she doing here?"
"Apparently she likes to spy on the boy Prefects while we bathe," replied Harry with a shrug. "I almost forgot about her this time." He smiled at her and leaned close, once again. "Of course, I was distracted..."
His breath was hot against her flesh, and Ginny knew that this time nothing would interrupt them. At least she hoped not. With the slow inevitability of two forces of nature clashing together, his lips finally, after so long, pressed against hers in that long-awaited kiss.
And boy, was it a kiss.
The touch of his lips against hers was like lightning, what her father called eckeltricity, and it only got better as they increased the pressure. After what must have been only a few seconds, but felt like a lifetime, Harry's lips parted a fraction and he tentatively ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip. Without any hesitation Ginny opened her mouth to allow him entrance, her hands pulling him even closer to her as she did.
No wonder Ron and Hermione do this so much, she thought as Harry held her tightly against him, one hand between her shoulders, the other at the small of her back. It was incredible; the most amazing sensations were coursing through her as their tongues danced around each other, almost resembling their infrequent duels with sword and wand.
As their kiss continued, and Ginny began to feel dizzy, whether from the act or the lack of oxygen she did not know, she revelled in his touch as well as his taste. She didn't know if Harry always held this flavour within him, but he tasted like... mint tea, with a hint of chocolate.
Finally, after an eternity and more, they drew back and parted, Harry pulling playfully on her bottom lip as he left her. They stood there, in the bath, for an age. Their breath was coming fast and shallow, and both were flushed with excitement and desire.
"You taste good," Ginny said, after her heartbeat eventually slowed to something like normal.
"So do you," Harry told her, kissing her quickly on the tip of her nose, "like honey with a dash of cinnamon."
Ginny grinned and then surveyed the room. "Looks like we won't have to stay here for very long anymore."
Amazingly, probably in a magical backwash from their pleasure, the damage done to the bathroom had repaired itself. The cracks in the marble had sealed over, the chandelier hung firmly from the ceiling, the windows were whole and the curtains unshredded. The only thing left to be done was to hang the fallen picture of the mermaid back in its proper place.
"In that case," purred Harry, nuzzling her neck, "we'll have to find another excuse to stay in here for a little longer."
"Only a little longer?" she asked with a playful pout.
Harry grinned down at her. "Well, at least until Valentine's Day is over."
Ginny arched her eyebrows and teasingly pointed out, "That gives us a couple of hours."
"My point exactly."
TBC...