Authors note: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed chapter 2. I appreciate it. Here's chapter 3. It's called 'Cause and Effect' and that basically sums it all up. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think when you're done.
Chapter 3
Ginny gathered up her books as her boring last period class had finally come to an end. "Well it's about damn time! I can't wait to get out of here," she thought. A broad smile appeared on her face as she headed for the door. She stopped in the doorway and looked both ways as a river of students flowed past the open door. She entered the flow and skillfully managed to weave her way through the throng of students bustling through, or milling about in the hallways of Hogwarts.
She was extremely excited, a long weekend of shopping with Fleur in Paris. What could be better? Sure her mother was going also, but she wasn't going to let that ruin things. She was happily lost in thought as she strolled down the hallway. She hadn't noticed that Lavender and Pavarti stepped away from the wall as she passed and fell into step behind her.
"Isn't it sad?" Lavender said to Pavarti in a mischievous way as the two friends' huddled close together. She had made sure she spoke loud enough to be overheard.
"Oh yes it is, poor thing, she obviously doesn't have a clue," replied Pavarti.
"I know, all the years of pining for him up in smoke in a single afternoon, the poor dear." Lavender replied.
Ginny stopped, so did the two older Gryffindors behind her. The hallway had miraculously emptied out, a normal Friday afternoon phenomenon at Hogwarts as the students scattered to the wind. There were very few people within earshot when Ginny said to the pair without turning around.
"What are you two prattling on about?" making no effort to hide her annoyance.
"Isn't she being brave?" Lavender asked Pavarti in an extremely sympathetic tone.
"Yes, I don't know how she's doing it? I wouldn't be holding up so well if it was me. I'm sure of that." Pavarti dripped with sympathy.
Ginny turned to face the two girls. She dropped her backpack on the ground and crossed her arms in front of her and angrily confronted the pair.
"Enough! Spill it you two, what's all this nonsense about?"
Although they may have been momentarily startled by Ginny's anger they both recovered quickly and there expressions changed back to masks of sympathy once again. Lavender reached forward and placed her hand on the younger girls shoulder and began, "Gin, it's okay; you don't have to be brave around us. We feel your pain. Let it out. You'll feel much better if you share."
Ginny looked at Lavender, confused by what she had said. Then she looked at the hand on her shoulder with a raised eyebrow, and then back at Lavender. Lavender understood the implication, remove that hand or get bat bogied. She quickly removed her hand but her expression never waivered.
Pavarti was eager to get in on the fun and she stepped forward.
"Ginny I'm so sorry things between you and Harry are over. We all know that you've been crushing on him for years. It must be devastating to realize that he's moved on."
"What the hell are you two cackling about? Harry and I are fine!"
Ginny was starting to get annoyed. The two of them looked so smug and condescending. Whatever it was they knew that she didn't they weren't really being sympathetic at all, they were deliberately trying to make her upset.
"Bitches," the young redhead thought to herself. "I won't give them the satisfaction."
"I don't have time for this," she said dismissively as she turned away from the girls. Her red hair went flying as she bent over, picked up her bag, and slung it over her shoulder, and then started to walk away.
Lavender waited until Ginny was a good ten feet away before she said, loud enough to be sure the youngest Weasley heard her, "If the guy I was in love with was eyefucking a certain bookworm buddy of his in every class this afternoon, I know I'd be interested."
Bull's-eye!
Ginny stopped dead at Lavenders words and she contemplated what she had heard for a second.
"Hermione," she thought and closed her eyes. "Of course, who else?" Hermione was the one person she feared she could actually lose Harry to, and her heart sank.
Lavender smiled with satisfaction toward Pavarti as the two girls exchanged a quiet high five, "I just thought you might be interested Gin."
Ginny's mind was racing, she was angry, and she was hurt, which was just what they had wanted from the start. "I can't give them the satisfaction of knowing they got to me. How do I turn this on them? Think of something!"
An idea clicked in to her head, and after composing herself Ginny smiled sweetly and turned towards the pair.
"Girls, I appreciate your concern. I'm truly touched by your heartfelt sympathy, but it's not necessary. I know what Harry's been up to all afternoon, but unlike you two, I know why he was behaving that way. Have a nice weekend girls, I'm off to Paris to shop."
The matching smug looks on Lavender and Pavarti's faces were instantly wiped away. Neither girl had expected this turn of events, or foreseen it as even a remote possibility. With wide eyes they looked at each other and then bolted towards Ginny who was smiling as she turned and walked away.
"Wait Gin, what do you mean you know why?" they both blurted out as they pushed and jostled each to get close to Ginny to hear her answer.
Ginny smiled to herself as she thought, "If the two fashionistas in front of her just totally ignored that she had said she was going to Paris for the weekend to shop, then they were hooked and ready to be reeled in."
"Ginny, please tell us," they begged in unison.
"Well, since you two were so obviously concerned about my wellbeing," her voice dripped with mock appreciation. "I guess I could let you in on my little secret." Ginny's confidence had returned, and the two gossips before her were ready to gobble up whatever she threw their way, and she knew it.
Ginny motioned for the girls to follow her into a secluded alcove just around the corner from where they had been standing, which they did enthusiastically. Once they were somewhat secluded Ginny looked around and then leaned in close to them and began.
"Obviously you two are aware of my feelings for Harry," to which the girls nodded in unison. "I know he has feelings for me too, he's just a bit, shy, or ahh awkward around…, oh for Merlin's sake, he's bloody dense when it comes to women, right? You should know all about that," she said as she gestured towards Pavarti who was in complete agreement as she remembered the Yule Ball fiasco. "I decided he needed a little, shall we say…. encouragement, so to speak. So, I put a dab or two of love potion is his drink at lunchtime, to give him a little…..romantic aggressiveness."
The girls gasped in shock at the deceitfulness of the redheaded witches plan. They actually were beginning to see the youngest Weasley in a new and positive light. To use a love potion on 'the boy who lived,' was way out there guts wise.
"Ginny, I'm impressed," Lavender said with shock and surprise still evident on her face. "Hey, wait a minute," Pavarti chimed in with a confused expression. "Then why has he been drooling over the bookw…I mean, Hermione all day and not you?"
Ginny frowned at the accusation, "Because… she stepped in front of me to ask him some bloody question, so….."
"Oh, that sucks," Lavender replied as she shook her head with displeasure at the situation. "I'd be pissed if she got in the way of my hard work."
Ginny looked at her, "Nah, it's done," she waved dismissively, "he'll be over it soon enough."
"That must have been one really strong love potion Gin, because he was on her like white on rice the whole afternoon," Lavender finished.
"Yeah, you better be careful with that stuff, he looked ready to shag her brains out every time I saw him." Pavarti added.
Ginny frowned a bit, but tried to hide it as she stepped back and prepared to leave. "Girls it's been a little slice of heaven spending this time with you both but, I've gotta go and you're holding me up so, have a nice weekend."
"No! Wait!" they both cried as they gripped her arms to keep her from leaving. "You can't leave now! Where did you get the love potion? Did you make it yourself? Was it hard to make? What do you do now? Do you take another shot at Harry? We have to know!"
"Sorry, but as I said earlier, I'm off to Paris so, gotta go," and she pulled herself loose and headed down the corridor leaving Lavender and Pavarti in her wake in stunned silence. The youngest Weasley took a deep breath and then smiled to herself as she rounded the corner.
Lavender and Pavarti stood dumfounded as they stared at the spot where Ginny had just been.
Pavarti finally turned to Lavender and asked, "Did she say she was going to Paris?"
"Huh? What, Paris? Uhh, I think so" Lavender replied with a puzzled expression on her face as she stared at the empty hallway in front of her. "Damn….she did say Paris didn't she?" She looked annoyed at first, but then she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well, too late to ask about it now."
"I still can't believe she gave Harry a love potion," Lavender gossiped as she and Pavarti linked arms and headed down the corridor together. "Neither can I," Pavarti answered wide eyed as she shook her head in disbelief. "She's finished if Harry finds out." Both girls stopped dead. They looked at each other and smiled truly evil smiles. "Should we?" Pavarti asked. "Hell yeah, why not? She did it, not us," her best friend replied and they ran down the hallway laughing.
On the long quiet walk to Hogsmead village to meet her mother, Ginny had time to think.
There was only one person she truly felt was a threat to her fairytale ending with Harry Potter and that, was Hermione Granger. Cho had meant nothing, she knew that, but Hermione was different. First off, they had both been raised as muggles, so they had that in common. From the very beginning, Hermione was always at Harry's side. She had been with him through every major challenge in his life. They were also way too in tuned with one another. They didn't even have to speak; they could communicate with only a look. The bond between them was extremely strong, stronger then either of their bonds to her brother. Wasn't it only a matter of time before they both realized they had something special, and their relationship became more than friends? "Merlin, I hope not!"
"Now I'm depressed," she mumbled grumpily. "Why the hell couldn't she bond with my brother for Merlin's sake?" She then angrily kicked a rock that rocketed down the road bouncing and tumbling. When she had calmed down some, she thought about how, what she had just said sounded and she chuckled. "Bond with my brother," and she continued to chuckle until, "Ewww," she then shuttered in disgust. "There's a mental picture I really didn't need." "You know what, I'm not gonna worry about Hermione right now, I'll deal with her, when I get back."
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Harry headed for his common room, relieved to be out from under McGonagall's questioning gaze, but deeply concerned about what was to come. While he was furious with Ginny, he needed to stay focused on Hermione.
"I'll deal with Ginny later," he muttered angrily. As he continued walking, he was trying to plan out in his head what he wanted to say to Hermione when he saw her.
"That is, if I can control myself long enough to not shag her brains out the second I see her!" "Oh crap," he muttered dejectedly as he rolled his eyes, he then adjusted himself for what seemed like the thousandth time since lunch.
"I should just let the son of a bitch swing free for Merlin's sake, and save myself the trouble," he said out loud as he headed down the dark and deserted hallway. He allowed himself a momentary chuckle as he thought of the scene that would create. "I can see it all now, 'The Daily Prophet' headline, 'The Boy who Lived' is now the 'Boy who's Hung', right on the front cover. Probably sell them a shipload of papers!" His momentary silliness was quickly replaced with anxiety as his thoughts turned back to Hermione.
"Okay…. Relax….you can do this," he tried to reassure himself as he took a few deep breaths. He ascended the last staircase that lead to the 'Fat Lady's' portrait and the common room behind it. Hermione would be waiting for him inside, happy, and beautiful, and completely clueless concerning the news to come.
Harry stood before the Fat Lady for at least a minute, agonizing over what was about to happen. He stared at the ground as he stood there running his hands through his perpetually disheveled hair. Finally, he circled away from the portrait. "Fuck," he shouted, louder than he had actually intended as he leaned his head back in anguish." I really don't want to do this," he said to no one in particular as he tried to think of a way out of the mess that Ginny had dumped him into. He continued to pace back and forth in the corridor for a few moments as he worked up the nerve to do what he so desperately didn't want to do.
Hermione was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt as she sat on the couch by the fireplace. She was anxiously waiting for Harry, and she was getting worried. Harry had been gone quite a while, far longer than she had expected. The brightest witch of her age hoped everything was okay. She brushed a stay hair from her eyes as she looked up at the clock. She hadn't bothered to fix her hair at all. Harry had been the cause of her messy hair, and fixing it would be, kind of be like erasing what had caused it, and she wanted as many reminders as possible of what had happened between her and Harry. She smiled at the memory, but reality soon set back in, and she looked back up at the clock.
"Two more minutes, and then I'm going to go look for him," she determined.
Just then, the portrait swung open, and in stepped the man she'd been waiting for.
Hermione was instantly elated at seeing him, and she leapt off the couch and bounded in his direction, hair flying and eyes sparkling. But…Halfway to him, she stopped, and her good mood was instantly dispelled. The look on his face was not good, not at all. He looked very worried, and her heart began to race. They slowly closed the distance to each other, and she took his hand in hers as she reached him. He was staring down at the floor, and had not yet met her worried gaze. She tilted her head to the side to try to see into his eyes as she said, "Harry? "Harry, please look at me."
He took a deep breath and raised his head and looked into her beautiful, but concerned face. She was gorgeous, and he put his hand to his chest as he felt his heart skip a beat.
.
He steadied himself, and began, "Hermione, I need to tell you something. I don't think it's a really big deal, but…"
In her opinion, the look in his eyes completely contradicted what he had just said.
"What? What is it?" she added, almost pleading.
"Here, come sit," he said in as normal a voice as he could manage. He then led her to the couch and they sat down. "I've got something to tell you, that will sound worse than it actually is, I hope. Because I don't believe it, I mean, I don't think it matters, or mattered at all, but, you need to know."
"Harry, what are you talking about? Please tell me, whatever it is, just say it."
"Alright…Hermione…what happened between us," he began.
Hermione was instantly struck with terror. If he had said that, Voldemort was on his way up the stair, it would have been less scary to her than having him begin a sentence with, 'what happened between us'. Her mind went into panic mode and she pulled away from him as all the color drained from her face and her eyes showed insecurity, and fear.
Harry, realizing that Hermione was about to lose it, reached up and took her hand and then blurted out, "No, no, wait it's not what you think. I don't regret what happened, not for a second. What happened between us, being with you, like that, is the most alive I have ever felt in my whole life. You are the most…amazing, sexy, smart, wonderful girl, I could….," and he trailed off.
She had relaxed a bit and she allowed him to pull her back down to the couch, her total panic had been downgraded to only extreme worry, but for Harry, now came the truly scary part.
"Okay, here it is….today…. at lunch….it seems that Ginny," and he paused.
Hermione furrowed her brow; panic had been replaced by confusion.
"Ginny…. may have put," and he took a deep resigned breath, "a love potion in my drink," he finished as quickly as he could. He then, very sheepishly, braced for her response, hoping against hope that she wouldn't melt down.
Hermione understood what Harry had said, and what it actually meant, to them both, and her expression changed dramatically. Harry watched as her face transformed before him. It took on a mixture of sadness, embarrassment, and then, abject humiliation, and he watched as her heart broke right in front of him. She got up from the couch, and tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes, and then, they suddenly exploded.
Harry was mesmerized. He knew, and fully expected that she would get upset, but he had expected anger. He had never seen Hermione cry like that, a deep wracking cry that involved her whole body. He felt sadness like he never had before. The girl, who was his rock, had just totally broken down. When he had regained his composure he took a step toward her.
"NO….DON'T," she shouted through the tears, as she brought her hands up to her face and very slowly, backed away from him. She stopped her retreat, and trying to be brave, she wiped away the flood of tears that were cascading down her cheeks and looked at him. He stared back at her, unsure of what to say, or do. So….he just stood there, staring at her. She tried her best, but her pain was too great, she just couldn't hold her tears in, and her crying resumed, full force. And in a flash, Hermione was gone, up the stairs to her dorm, before he could react.
"HERMIONE, WAIT!" he screamed, and he finally took off after her. Unfortunately for him, she had gone up to the girls' dorm, where no male could follow, but he wasn't gonna let that stop him. He was halfway up the stairs, and thought he might actually make it to the top when the stairs suddenly transformed into a slide. He dropped like a rock, and he slammed into the cold hard stone chin first, which split open instantly and gushed blood. His glasses had flown through the air and shattered when they landed. He was then unceremoniously depositing in a bloody heap on the common room floor.
He got up and stared at the staircase. His now blinding rage at Ginny, for causing all this, coupled with his absolute need to get to Hermione made him more determined then ever to get up those stairs.
The boys' tower was slowly emptying into the common room. The Gryffindor boys were curious as to what all the commotion was about. What they saw surprised them. A furious and bleeding Harry took run after run up the stairs to the girls' dorm. Each time he got about half way up, then the stairs would change, and down he'd go. As he slid down he would wail for Hermione. His screams got more desperate with each attempt.
On attempt number five, Dean turned to Neville as the two boys stood in their pajamas watching Harry, and remarked, "I saw the Coyote do this once in a Road Runner cartoon, I'm telling you, if Harry straps an Acme rocket to his back, I'm gonna totally lose it." Neville looked at Dean with zero comprehension, "What?" he replied looking completely bewildered. Dean waved him away, "Never mind, Muggle cartoon, guess you wouldn't understand."
The entire population of the girls' dormitory was now huddled around the top of their staircase watching Harry's attempts, all except one. Hermione was laying face down on her bed crying uncontrollable. She had a pillow wrapped around her head to drown out the sound of her name filling the tower with every attempt Harry made to get to her.
On his seventh try, as he was sliding backwards down the stairs; Harry wedged himself sideways to stop from sliding any further. He then preceded, hands on one wall and feet on the other, to slowly inch his way up. This captured the attention of all the guys gathered at the foot of the stairs and they began cheering him on.
"GO, GO, GO, GO," they chanted louder and louder as they pumped their fists in encouragement. But, it was not to be, two feet from the top, the stone walls widened outward on Harry, and down he went, again.
As he hit the bottom, Harry was furious, he had never been so angry. He raged at the castle for denying him access to Hermione, and at Ginny for causing their pain. Everyone, girl and boy alike, stood back and stared in dumbstruck silence as he got to his feet and stormed from the room.