FIC: 'The secret sits in the middle' by pluschi
To: pocketfullof
Title: The secret sits in the middle
Author: pluschi
Pairing: Harry, Ginny , Ginny/Dean, mentions of Luna, Hermione, Ron and Lavender
Rating:G
Word Count: 4343
Summary: Ginny runs out of Slughorn's Christmas party after a fight with Dean. Harry follows her outside and takes the first steps towards a new intimacy. Talk, teasing and some tension is what follows. Oh, and secrets too, of course.
Author's Notes: This fic is for pocketfullof who requested secret crushes or a secret that H/G keep from others. I gave you both, so I hope you're happy with that. I had to go through a number of scenarios with some help from r_becca who volunteered to beta. So much credit goes to her as well. Also, pocketfullof's requested elements or prompts were "a huge intimacy kink" as in Harry and Ginny spending some alone time. Since I love missing moments (reading and writing) I decided to make this a HBP missing moment (plenty of opportunity there) and so I do hope that creates enough intimacy for you.
Again, many thanks to r_becca for her patience with me and this fic!
The secret sits in the middle.
We dance around the ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows.
~ Robert Frost
Of all the times his impulsiveness could fail him, this was definitely not a good moment, Harry thought sourly. He cursed under his breath as he walked in small circles outside the massive front door of the castle and tried to fight off the freezing cold by blowing warm air on his hands.
Despite Harry's low expectations, Slughorn’s Christmas party turned out to be rather enjoyable, at least until about five minutes ago when a certain redhead had stormed out in a mixture of anger and distress. Normally, anyone in their right mind would leave an angry Ginny Weasley to herself but he was Harry Potter after all which meant he was in no way normal anyway. More importantly, he had overheard parts of what sounded like an extremely tense argument between Ginny and her boyfriend. In between Luna’s entertaining but completely nutters explanation on the reproduction of Wrackspurts Harry intercepted fragments of shouting ‘care more about Quidditch and friends’ , ‘jealous’, ‘can fetch a drink for myself’ and ‘only trying to be a good boyfriend’. After that the shouting turned to whispering and Harry turned around just in time to see Ginny slap Dean hard in the face. Next, Ginny was running past him out of the party, all green gorgeous dress and red fury. Before he had time to think, Harry was moving after her with Luna’s characteristic comment still ringing in his ears.
‘Maybe she’s been infected by breeding Wrackspurts. It is their mating season.’
Thick as he may be, Harry was quite sure that Wrackspurts had nothing to do with Ginny’s behaviour. However, he was not so sure why exactly he was standing out here in nothing but his dress robes, rooted to the spot instead of going after Ginny. He wanted to talk to her but he had no idea how. Maybe she wouldn't want to talk to him? He wasn't exactly known for his verbal talents, that much he knew. But despite all that, he was still standing out here which was enough testimony of either his insanity or his increasing feelings for her. The monster in his chest roared at the thought of Dean’s words and at last the image of Ginny’s hurt and doubtful brown eyes as she’d stormed out of the party made his feet move towards the dark surroundings of the lake.
The wind assaulted his senses and cleared his head and by the time he reached the path to the lake, he felt more sure of himself. He didn’t know if he would find her here, but if he needed a place to think and get his bearings, that's where he always ended up.
The moon was out tonight and it illuminated the grounds just enough for Harry to be able to see where he was going. Quickly casting a warming spell, he took in the stunning scenery of the pitch-black lake against a frame of snow-covered trees. Just as he was approaching the water, he saw her sitting on a large, flat rock that she’d cleared of snow. Even in the moonlight, her signature Weasley hair stood out vibrantly and she looked even more beautiful out here than at the party. Her green dress fell in waves around her frame and the breeze blew it softly around. Something stirred inside of him, a feeling he was slowly getting used to when he was in her presence. He went straight to her and tried not to think too much about what he was doing. Instead, he focused on the crunch of the snow underneath his shoes and the fluttering of his heart.
Harry stuffed his ice-cold fingers in his pockets and squeezed them tight as he approached her figure from behind, giving her still enough space. ‘You know, I’ve never known a Weasley to run out of a decent party so …’ He swallowed quickly. ‘What’s up?’
‘You can go back in and tell Hermione I’m fine, Harry.’
Right, of course. With all his delaying, she probably figured that Hermione had sent him out to check on her. Good one, Harry. Now what?
‘Hermione didn’t send me out here, actually.’ Ginny turned her head towards him and he could see traces of tears, even in the shadows, mingled with a look of surprise. This emboldened him and he continued in a much softer voice. ‘And even I can tell you’re not fine, Ginny.’
‘Really?’
Harry thought that sounded alarmingly like anger or irony, he couldn’t tell for certain. Either way, neither were good coming from a female Weasley.
‘Really.’ He tried to sound teasing as he continued. ‘Though, if I understood Luna’s interpretation correctly as I was running after you, this is a clear case of infection by breeding Wrackspurts.’
She giggled and his insides suddenly warmed up considerably. He gingerly stepped closer to her and went to sit beside her on the flat rock bordering on the lake.
‘In which case, you know, you’re actually entitled to be, well, not fine.’ She playfully nudged his arm at his joke and sighed deeply.
Small clouds of air appeared in the night sky as she muttered, ‘Maybe I wouldn’t mind a Wrackspurt infection right now.’
Hmm. Harry reminded himself to hex Dean into a Wrackspurt swarm of goo later on. It was quite unusual for Ginny to sound so defeated and he felt a pang of something deep in his gut. ‘You know, I think you’re one of the few people I know who could actually pull that off.’
‘What?’ She shuffled her tiny feet around which were elegantly tucked away in very un-Ginny-like black shiny pumps. He wondered why he’d never noticed her that much all those years and now he couldn’t stop noticing her all the time.
‘Handle yourself while under attack by Wrackspurts.’ He was rewarded with a mischievous glint in her eyes that made his breath hitch and the monster purr. ‘Though you’ve probably endured worse growing up with the twins.’ He laughed out loud this time.
‘Hey, I gave as good as I got.’
That’s the Ginny he knew. He sighed in content and looked out into the pitch black water. ‘Yeah, so I heard,’ he said.
He gathered up his courage and turned to look her straight in the eye. ‘And what I also heard was Dean being a right git.’ She looked away but not before she could hide the shock in her face. ‘So why aren’t you in there hexing his bits off?’
Ginny snorted loudly. Then, as quickly as she had averted her gaze, those brown eyes were piercing his and he felt more than a bit exposed under her scrutiny.
‘And why are you here?’
The best defense is a good offence. Ginny obviously knew her strategy. He stayed perfectly still as brown eyes challenged him and without even blinking, he softly spoke. ‘Because you’re my friend and Dean’s an idiot.’
If she was surprised by his answer, she hid it well and Harry was starting to feel a little uncomfortable when the smallest of smiles lit up her face. He watched her carefully as she lowered her head in thought and frowned.
‘Dean’s my boyfriend, you know.’
It sounded so matter-of-fact that Harry had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. ‘Yes, I noticed that.’
She grinned at him this time with a hint of amusement in her eyes and he grinned back and continued, ‘I think it was the snogging that gave you away.’
She lifted an eyebrow at his comment but he didn’t let her reply. ‘Though I must say, if you start acting like Ron and Lav-Lav,’ he screwed up his face to emphasize his distaste, ‘as your friend, I will have to intervene.’
Her eyebrow went up even higher, if possible. Harry tried to look innocent and sniffed loudly. ‘It’s for Gryffindor’s honour. Nobody can take any more public snogging.’ He made a face and Ginny laughed out loud.
‘Is that so? I’ve heard of a girl or two or maybe twenty who’d like nothing more than a bit of public snogging with a certain dark-haired Gryffindor wizard I know.’
The smug look on her face did nothing to reassure him as he sputtered for words. ‘Oh, well, I, uh, how did, uh, …’
‘Don’t worry, Harry. Hermione’s running the potions patrol. I’m simply her little helper-elf.’
He almost choked on his breath as Ginny laughed uncontrollably.
‘Should…’ Giggles. ‘have seen your face.’ More giggles. ‘Priceless.’
She imitated his supposed facial expression and she was so good at it that he started laughing right along with her.
‘You’re so easy to goad, Harry.’ She patted him on the back and he smiled happily at her.
‘Or you’re just really good at it.’ He tried to sound mock-reproachful but it came out teasing at best.
‘I must admit that I am, yes.’
She had a mischievous look about her that Harry hoped was not directed at him. As much as he liked her, being a target of a well-concocted Weasley plan did not bode well.
‘What are you up to, Weasley?’ He nudged her. ‘Come on, spill it.’
‘Spill it? What makes you think I can trust you with my genius plans?’
Harry felt a stab of sadness at her question though she was probably only teasing him.
‘Well, will I like this genius plan of yours?’
‘Oh I think you will, Harry. I know you will.’
She looked all confidence and altogether happy and he loved her spirit and vitality.
‘Well then, you can trust me, you have my word on that.’ In a solemn gesture, he placed his hand over his heart. ‘And if that’s not enough for you than I must admit that the thought of being on the receiving end of one of your Bat Bogey hexes is enough to shut me up completely.’
‘Frightened, are you?’ She leaned closer to him and purposefully wriggled her eyebrows.
‘Terribly.’ He mirrored her posture and their faces were only inches apart, their breath mingling. They burst out laughing at exactly the same time and didn’t stop until their bellies were aching with joy. They leaned against each other in companionable silence for a while and stared out at the stillness of the landscape outstretched before them.
‘So…,’ Ginny playfully tilted her head to look him in the eye. ‘can you keep a secret?’
He simply nodded in return. Ginny eagerly kicked off her shoes and moved to sit cross-legged on the flat stone and deftly repositioned her dress to cover her legs. Harry, in turn, moved to sit opposite her and leaned forward conspiratorially. He was holding his breath slightly in excitement and thanked himself for taking the risk of coming out here to find her.
'Harry,' she sought out his eyes and he was all attention, 'you're going to have to do your best to keep this secret because you'll laugh your pants off with what I have planned. With a sheer stroke of luck, my new best friend Lav-Lav has sought out my advice in picking out a Christmas present for my dear brother Ron.'
She gave him a moment to let it sink in and he did not disappoint her.
You're kidding?'
'No, I'm not.' She chuckled amusedly. 'It seems dear Lav-Lav is unaware of the Weasley family tradition of taking the mickey out of each other. So, who am I to refuse such a request?'
Harry had started laughing uncontrollably because he was very aware of all the possibilities Lavender's request would provide a girl like Ginny.
'Gin, come on...what did you say to her?'
'Oh, well at first I assured her that I'd be more than happy, even flattered, to help her out with such a delicate task.' She blinked innocently at him before continuing animatedly. 'Then, of course, I took my time in figuring out the gift that would annoy and embarrass Ron the most. I wouldn't be anything of a good sister to him if I didn't, right?'
Harry was nearly falling over with laughter and she hadn't even told him what she had suggested to Lavender. He knew it would be priceless, though.
'Of course not.'
'Besides, I think we can all agree this little disgusting affair of theirs has gone on long enough.'
'To say the least, yes.'
'And of course, I did have to take into account the fact that my nitwit of a brother is hurting Hermione terribly. She's been hiding in the library for more time than is even healthy for Hermione.'
'I know. She's really having a hard time.' Harry sobered a little at the thought of Hermione.
'Yes and she's my friend and it really sucks to see her pining for my brother like that.'
'True. It's about time those two worked it out.'
'It would certainly help us all it they just snogged and got it over with, yes.' She rolled her eyes at him and they both grinned at each other. 'But anyway, it took me a while to find a present that would both thrill dear Lav-Lav and disgust dear Won-won.'
'I can imagine. So what did you come up with?'
'I got some help from Madam Puddifoot's owl order catalogue that half of the Gryffindor girls are subscribed to.'
'Madam Puddifoot's? Oh no, I'm not sure I even want to know. The place alone is madness but a catalogue?'
Harry knew Ginny was one of the few girls that hated the overly pink lovers hide-out tea place as much as he did and in his opinion, that was testimony of her sanity and all the more reason to like her.
'Oh yes, a catalogue. Two hundred pages filled with all the products you need to enchant the wizard of your dreams.' She wriggled her eyebrows at him and he started to feel very uncomfortable at the thought of all the possibilities.
'Ugh, that's completely insane.'
'Yes, I nearly was when I finished looking through it. But oh the inspiration.' There was a dangerous glint in her eyes and Harry knew he was going to love what was coming next.
'So?'
'Don't you think Won-Won would just die of happiness if he received a gold-plated heart-shaped necklace with the words 'my sweetheart' spelled on it?'
'No, you didn't?' Harry burst out laughing and almost toppled over in surprise.
'Yes, I did. Lav-Lav loved it! She was ever so thankful and overcome with happiness at the idea. She made a straight grab for the catalogue and ordered it.' She was fighting to keep from laughing herself. 'What a sister wouldn't do for the happiness of a brother.'
'Gin, if he ever finds out...' Harry was still shaking with laughter. 'He's going to kill you.'
'Oh but that's the beauty of it,' She looked downright smug now as she crossed her arms in a self-assured way. 'He's never going to find out I had anything to do with it because Lavender is so enthralled by the necklace, she'll never admit that it wasn't her idea. She wants to impress Ron. And my dear brother doesn't have the guts to tell her outright he's never going to wear it.'
'Merlin, you're good!'
'So he'll have to wear it until he snaps. Which of course we'll help him do. And Lav-Lav won't understand because it's just such a precious gift and a token of her undying love. If it doesn't end their snog-affair I'm sure it'll at least give them a push in the right direction, if you know what I mean?' She'd started playing with her dress and moving it around and Harry took in the raw beauty of her.
'You evil sister.' He winked at her.
'So now that you know the plan, you are officially an accomplice and sworn to secrecy. Deal?' She reached out her hand.
'I think I'll manage, yes.' He shook her hand to seal the deal but didn't let go, instead giving her fingers a soft squeeze. Her touch felt unfamiliar but wonderful, her lean fingers warm in his. Both of them were staring at their hands, intertwined. Still holding on to her, he trailed his gaze to her face and was not surprised to find the laughter had gone, replaced by an unspoken question in her eyes. At the realisation, he let go of her hand and quickly averted his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have done that, after all she was dating Dean even if they'd had a fight, but it felt so natural to be this close to her. He felt her eyes on him and he didn't know what to do next so he just sighed and fumbled with his dress robes. When he thought he'd regained his composure, he risked looking back at her and softly added, 'Thanks for sharing, Ginny. Your secret's safe with me.'
Her eyes searched his own imploringly but he stood his ground. This was not the time or the place to tell her of his own feelings. It reminded him also of why he'd come out here in the first place.
'Gin, about before...,' He swallowed thickly. 'You running out of the party, ... are you sure you're all right?' He held his breath, hoping he wasn't going to be hexed but she just kept staring at him as if he was out of his mind. Maybe he was.
Slowly, she unfolded her legs and rearranged her dress again. He followed her every move, anxious of her answer. Absentmindedly, she tied a loosened strand of hair back into place before answering him with a thoughtful look.
'I don't know, actually.'
'Uh, ok.' Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't an admission.
She giggled. 'Thanks for that astute assessment, Harry.'
He looked at her sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. 'Sorry, I guess I didn't expect you to say that.'
With a loud snort, she answered him dryly. 'That makes two of us.'
Her own surprise made Harry feel slightly better and appreciating her openness, he continued softly. 'Well, you know, Gin. ' He took a deep breath and hoped what he was about to say would come out right, 'Dean's my friend and all but I've heard him say things that are just stupid. And I don't like it when he treats you like that.' With his heart beating wildly in his chest, he looked up at her and willed her to look back at him. Astonishment was written all over her face but with a warmth in her eyes that made Harry's insides tingle with joy.
'I didn't know you noticed these things, Harry.'
'I do.' He was starting to feel slightly embarrassed again, his cheeks beginning to turn a Weasley shade of pink. When hers started colouring as well, she blinked noticeably and sat up straighter.
'Thanks for coming out here tonight. We probably look like a couple of idiots sitting out here with warming spells in the freezing cold and snow.' She gestured at the landscape around him. 'Mum would have a fit.'
'Yeah, she'd have us cleaning sprouts all weekend.' They both smiled at the thought of a angry Mrs Weasley.
'She'd have me cleaning sprouts all weekend and you covered in a warm blanket drinking hot chocolate, that is.' With a playful wink, the seriousness was gone and they were back in the now-familiar territory of teasing. 'You've charmed your way into my mother's heart, you!'
'Did not!'
'I know, I know, you did have some help what with being underfed by those dreadful relatives and being the savior of the world. That softened mum up considerably.' She was teasing him full-on now and he couldn't stop blushing at her words. She giggled some more and then sobered up a little. 'Talking about mum, as much as I'm enjoying myself out here, I think we'd better get back up to the castle. It must be past curfew by now and you are the Chosen One after all. Can't have you wandering about on the grounds by yourself.' She did an uncanny imitation of her mother's voice with those last few sentences and Harry laughed out loud once more.
With regret that their night was approaching its end, he had to agree that they weren't supposed to be outside this late at night. He didn't want to endanger her either so he took out his invisibility cloak from under his dress robes, scanned their surroundings and started to unfold it.
'You're right. I forgot the time. It's probably past curfew and we'd get in a lot of trouble if we were caught outside or even in the castle wandering about this time of night.'
She was staring at his cloak in wonderment and he covered a small piece of her dress with it on purpose. It disappeared where the fabric touched and she gasped. Harry started to feel quite smug and proudly continued, 'I have a few secrets up my sleeve as well. And though I'm usually not against getting into trouble, I think maybe it's safer if we use my cloak to get back to the common room.'
He reckoned she must have heard the rumours about his cloak before but to her credit, she just bit her upper lip and didn't ask the question Harry knew she was dying to ask. With some excitement, he decided to help her out of her misery.
'It's an invisibility cloak. It used to belong to my dad. Dumbledore returned it to me in my first year.' He got up from the flat rock and gestured for her to do the same. 'So far, only Ron and Hermione know it really exists. We use it to sneak out to Hagrid's or just well, when we need it.' He shrugged and handed her the fabric. She took it in her hands with a delicacy that touched Harry.
'So, now you know, too.' He smiled at her softly.
'The rumours were true then, that you had this cloak.'
'Yes, they are. But I'd like it if they could stay rumours.'
She handed him the cloak back and their hands touched once more. 'Thank you, Harry'
There was a hint of more than gratitude in her eyes that did strange things to the monster in his chest. It purred in contentment and this time, he gave her a brilliant smile.
They stood there like that for a few moments. The wind blew loose strands of her hair into his face and it brought Harry back to the present.
'We better get going,' He threw the cloak over both of them and stepped closer to her until the fabric covered both of them. 'That should do it.'
Harry tried to give her as much space as possible as he felt a little unsure about putting his arm around her. But much to his own happiness, Ginny resolutely nestled herself underneath his arm.
'There, that's better.' Their faces were so close now that when she spoke, he could feel her warm breath on his skin. He liked the intimacy and could only hope she didn't feel too uncomfortable. He smugly noted that she didn't look uncomfortable at all but rather relaxed and excited.
‘You ready? We’ll probably need to go slow to keep ourselves covered.’ Not that it was of any concern to Harry that the walk back would take a long time. He liked being this close to her.
‘I’m ready if you are.’ She looked at him expectantly.
‘Right then, stay close to me.’
‘I thought you’d never ask.’ She smiled sweetly and Harry’s heart stood still. When she shook her head backwards in laughter, he groaned silently and mentally kicked himself.
‘We can’t talk until we get to the Fat Lady so use your hands if you want to say anything.’
‘And you do this with Ron all the time? Nice going, Harry.’ She giggled but stepped even closer to him and clasped her arm in his.
‘Don’t remind me, please.’ He mock-shivered and with her laughter still ringing in his ears he nudged her forward with his arm and they started the climb up to the castle.
They moved faster than he did when Ron was beside him, Harry thought amusedly. Ginny was lean, quick and she had a good feeling of where he wanted to go - which sadly her brother lacked completely. He secretly enjoyed how well they worked together. Without a single noise they evaded a vigilant Mrs Norris, Ginny steered them clear of a couple of giggling girls obviously coming from the Slughorn after-party and with joint effort they managed to stay on their feet on a moving staircase. Before he knew it, the Fat Lady came into view.
Just when he was about to take the cloak off, she gestured for him to stay still. All of a sudden, she was hugging him and his mind went numb. Seconds might have passed but all he could see was gorgeous red hair and the feel of her fingers caressing his back, her body moulded against his, her sweet flowery scent invading his senses. A muffled 'Thank you Harry' was spoken against his ear and he thought he could feel her lips move against his skin. It was blissful heaven and it ended far too soon.
Before he could reply, she'd ripped off the cloak and entered the common room. Dazed, with the monster growling loudly in his chest, Harry was rooted to the spot, hidden under his cloak. Slowly, he stretched out his hand to the place she had occupied moments before and whispered back 'You're welcome.' In a swift movement, the cloak was gone and he entered the deserted common room with the silliest of smiles on his face. Yes, he thought with some amusement to himself, Luna would definitely say that this was a clear case of Wrackspurt infection. Then again, he knew better and maybe, just maybe, Ginny did too.