A Matter of Circumstance

Chapter 2 - Race Against Time

Harry Flooed back to his kitchen in a state of emotional numbness. What he was being forced to do repulsed him to the core, but he could see that he had no choice. He had never felt so utterly defeated in his life. All he wanted to do was escape, but to do so would be condemning an innocent woman to death. That was not an alternative as far as he was concerned, but he considered how he was going to live with himself after this. He knew that he should be feeling rage at this time, but he was so depressed, he didn't have the energy.

Feeling restless, he wandered through his home, pondering how he would feel in just a few hours time. Since it was shortly after 7:00 p.m., he thought he should eat something but he had no appetite. Eventually, he found himself in his bedroom. Flinging himself on the bed, he lay there motionless, staring through the heavy curtains of his four-poster, his mind awash in troubled thoughts.

Rolling onto his side, Harry felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He recalled the book Dumbledore had handed to him that he had placed in his robes. Pulling the book out, he examined cover and bindings. It was apparent that it was a fairly old book. The pages looked yellowed and the leather cover had cracked with age. The title was printed on the spine in faded gold lettering: Magus Adunatio. Harry frowned -Magical Union, a guide to Lovemaking in the Wizarding World, by Garamond and Lucille Lovejoy.

Harry recalled that Dumbledore had said there were practical matters to consider. Leafing through the pages, Harry learned that the spells in this book all pertained to sexual activities. At another time, the contents might have roused Harry's prurient interest. Right now, however, he was more interested in working out exactly why Dumbledore had given it to him. The reason became clear as Harry came across a section dealing with impotency; considering his feelings on taking an unconscious woman, he might just need some help in this area. Given the circumstances, he was impressed that Dumbledore had been able to think quickly, clearly and with a great deal of consideration.

Harry took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He needed to be just as thoughtful and he needed a clear head to do so. To the best of his ability, he carefully tried to empty himself of his emotions and view this situation from a logical standpoint.

"Right..." Harry spoke aloud to himself, "I'm going to have to stun a Muggle woman then..." He swallowed his disgust and pushed on. "First things first: when should I stun her? She'll be confused, probably scared. She might try to run from me. I suppose I'd best stun her right away." Harry rose from the bed and began to pace around his room. "Well, I'm not going shag her right there in front of the Shrieking Shack. I guess it should be here. But how to get her here?" A moment later, he walked to his chest of drawers, picked up a black ribbon he occasionally used to tie back his hair and pulled out his wand. "Portus," he murmured. The ribbon shimmered blue for a moment then Harry placed it inside his robes.

Harry hated to think what he would have to do next. He walked back over to his bed and picked up the book, thumbing through the pages once again. "Dumbledore said something about the woman being prepared. Well, she's going to be unconscious... it's not like she needs to brace herself." Harry slapped the book against the palm of his hand and huffed in irritation. "Think, man... what do you have to do before making love?" He squeezed his eyes closed trying to envision the steps a person usually took without having to think about them. His eyes popped open. "Of course... get undressed." Harry stood silently for a moment thinking, "Well, there's no need to uncover more than what's necessary," Harry cringed at the though of having to remove some unconscious woman's knickers. "That can't be what Dumbledore was referring to." He began pacing the room once again, slapping the book repeated into his hand.

After he had completed four complete circuits of his room, Harry came to a stop and his eyes widened. "Oh..." He opened the book and began thumbing through the pages and stopped at one listing the spell Lubricus. "That would be the one. Makes sense..." Harry made sure he memorized the incantation and wand movements and then returned to the spell he had found for himself and did the same. He briefly considered practicing the one for him but quickly discarded that idea as unappealing and returned to his thoughts.

As 10:30 p.m. approached, Harry figured he had covered most of the practical aspects. He had decided that the Muggle woman would need somewhere to stay in the magical world. Since they would need to meet once a day, it made sense for her to stay with him. Harry freshened the adjoining bedroom by performing a quick dusting spell, emptied the wardrobe, and conjured some flowers for the bedside table. By the time he was through, he was both physically and emotionally drained. He knew that before the evening was over he would be pushing himself to his limits and beyond. In a show of self-discipline, he forced himself to eat a light meal and take a quick shower to refresh himself.

At 10:55 p.m., Harry Apparated to the rendezvous point. He looked around and noticed three figures lurking at the edges of the light in the clearing where he stood. Keeping his wand at the ready, he cautiously approached the figures and recognized them as former members of the Order. They informed him that Dumbledore had sent them in case of trouble and then quickly dispersed out of sight. When the clock tower in the town square chimed 11:00 p.m., Harry steeled himself for what was to come.

Just as Harry was wondering how long he would have to wait, a figure appeared a few meters away. As Harry raised his wand, he barely had time to recognize it was a woman before she crumpled to the ground. Harry stood frozen, his chest tightening and his palms sweating. After it seemed several minutes had passed quietly, he noticed the Order members coming out from hiding and heading toward the figure lying still and silhouetted in the faint moonlight. Harry caught their attention and waved them back. Stepping up to the woman, Harry noticed a slip of parchment clutched in her hand. Bending down, he cautiously removed the parchment from her grasp and turned it toward the light of the moon. He had no problem making out the one word boldly written across its face.

Enjoy.

A small sound caught Harry's attention and he realized that the Order members were closing in to examine the unconscious woman. He didn't know how much Dumbledore had filled these men in, but he suddenly couldn't stand the idea of facing anyone right now. Stooping low, he swept her into his arms and, holding her tight, pulled the Portkey from his pocket and activated it.

Harry reappeared at the foot of his bed. Shaking slightly, he moved to the side and gently laid her on the bed. With a flick of his wand, he lit the candle on his bedside table and stepped back from the bed. He could not bear to look at the woman in front of him and he wondered how he would manage to do this. Glancing at the clock on his mantle, he saw that it is now 11:07 p.m.

Bracing himself for what he must do, Harry looked back to his bed. The woman appeared to be about twenty years old and ordinary enough to be from just about anywhere. She was fairly attractive with long blonde hair and average features. Her simple Muggle dress of pale yellow was smudged with dirt and torn in a few places. Harry realized that she still hadn't moved and worried that she might be hurt. He wondered if she'd been hit with the Stupefying charm and if another dose would cause her even more harm. After briefly considering calling Madam Pomfrey - he discarded the idea at the thought of facing her questions - Harry finally decided to err on the side of caution and wake the woman to see if he could tell if she'd been injured.

As Harry prepared to perform the charm necessary to revive the woman, his eyes became fixed on her hair. What had been straight and flaxen was now curling and darkening to red. Harry froze, staring at the ginger locks. While he logically knew that red was not an uncommon hair color, he could not help but recall that he had only once ever seen this particular shade.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no..." Harry was afraid to continue to look at her, as if by ignoring her presence he could somehow stop this nightmare that was unfolding before him. But he stood transfixed as her skin lightened to a milky cream dusted with light freckles. "It can't be... this is a Muggle, not a witch." He watched in horror as her features gradually changed into a very familiar visage. The air in his lungs was expelled as his heart sunk.

"Ginny."

It all changed in that one moment. The mental preparation, the internal debate. He couldn't do this... not to Ginny. She was his friend. She was newly engaged - what would this do to her? Harry sank to his knees, thinking of the Weasleys. "Oh God... they'll hate me." How would he ever face them? He buried his face in his arms and sobbed.

A soft chime from his mantle clock told Harry it was now 11:15 p.m. He lifted his head and took a deep breath. He looked up at Ginny lying deathly still on his bed. He didn't have time for self-pity. He didn't have a lot of time to contemplate the new factors involved in the situation. One thing he did know was he still needed to know if she was hurt. Rising to his feet, he picked up his wand from where he had dropped it on the floor.

"Ennervate."

Ginny's eyelids began fluttering and slowly her eyes opened. Her face was a mask of groggy confusion. "Harry?" She tried to pull herself into a sitting position but stopped with a groan.

"Are you hurt?" Harry sat on the edge of the bed and laid his wand on the bedside table. "Are you all right?"

"My head hurts. Someone stunned me... I think... when I was leaving practice." Ginny rubbed at the ache in her temples. Lowering her hands, she fixed her gaze on Harry. "What's going on? How did I get here?"

"Do you remember anything after being stunned? Before waking up here?"

"Some... most of it's fuzzy. I was someplace dark... there was some strange spell I didn't understand..."

"Did you drink more than one kind of potion?"

"What? How did you know? Someone did force something awful down my throat a couple of times," Ginny grimaced in distaste. "I don't think they were the same thing. Harry, what's going on?"

His heart plummeted. "One of them was apparently Polyjuice potion. I'm so sorry... there isn't time for a long explanation. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"You do know that I'd never do anything to hurt you, don't you?"

"Yes, Harry... what's all this about?" Ginny looked agitated.

"Oh God... how do I even begin?"

It wasn't easy but Harry managed to convey to Ginny the essence of the spell and what had to be done before midnight. The long-term effects of the spell would have to be explained later. There simply wasn't sufficient time to tell her everything. He did, however, intentionally omit telling her that he wasn't bound by the spell - he knew she'd insist he not go through with it.

As if he had a choice.

Ginny's listened to Harry's explanation, her eyes widening more with every word. When he had finished, she whispered, "There's no other way?"

"I wish there were. If it was just me in danger, I'd die before I let this happen," Harry said while looking intently at his hands, fisted in his lap.

Had Harry been looking at Ginny, he might have wondered at the expression of hurt that flitted across her face. As it was, he only heard her sigh. He started as the clock struck a quarter to midnight.

"We're running out of time."

"All right, Harry."

Harry's eyes snapped up to Ginny's face. He shouldn't have been surprised that she agreed... her life was at stake. "I'll try to make this..." he trailed off, intending to say he'd try to make it good for her. But that couldn't be, not like this. He settled with saying, "I'll be as gentle as I can."

Harry was at a loss for just what to do next. He thought it might just be the strangest situation he'd ever been in. Any previous encounters he'd had were mutually consenting. And although this one was consensual, it was not desired by either. With a sense that he'd need to make some kind of move toward accomplishing their task, Harry leaned forward and gently kissed Ginny. It was soft and tentative, a mere brushing of the lips. When Harry pulled back, somewhat flushed, he softly said, "I'm sorry... I really don't know how to go about this... for you. I... I mean, your first time should be special... with someone special." Harry looked away.

"Harry, you are someone special." Teary eyed, she looked at Harry sympathetically. "It'll be okay."

Harry reached a hand up to stroke her cheek. "I still wish this didn't have to happen this way."

He didn't say that he didn't want it to happen at all. Harry had always thought that Ginny was a beautiful person. He had simply never considered her in that way because she was Ron's sister. If she hadn't been, he would probably have pursued her long ago.

Ginny shyly pulled back and, looking down, reached for the row of buttons lining the front of her dress. Harry rose from the edge of the bed and moved around the room snuffing out candles. Soon the only light in the room came from the soft glow of the moon that filtered in through the windows.

"I'll wait outside... let you get under the covers..." He stepped out of the room and closed the door. When he had waited what he hoped was sufficient time, he rapped softly on the door and inched it open. "Are you ready?"

"You can come in now." Ginny was lying on the bed, the covers pulled up high to her shoulders. Harry moved to the opposite side of the bed and turned his back to Ginny. He self-consciously removed his clothes, hoping that Ginny was not watching him. Once he was down to only his boxers, he pulled a corner of the covers down and sat on the bed. Carefully maneuvering the fabric of the duvet to protect his modesty, Harry slipped the waistband of his boxers down to his hips and slipped between the sheets. With a little awkwardness, he managed to remove his boxers under the covers and dropped them off the side of the bed.

Harry carefully moved closer to Ginny, letting the sheets bunch up to provide a small barrier between their naked bodies. He turned to look into Ginny's eyes. His heart broke at the moistness brimming in them. "I'm so sorry, Ginny."

Shifting the fabric from between them, Harry rose onto one elbow and carefully reached over Ginny toward the bedside table. Ginny flinched as he placed one knee between her legs to balance himself. After he picked up his wand, he paused to take in the woman lying beneath him.

Even though the circumstances were horrid, he knew he wouldn't need the spell that Dumbledore had provided for him. The sight of Ginny's hair fanned out on the pillow, her soft shoulders glowing in the moonlight, her full moist lips so close to his were having a definite effect on his body. He closed the distance and once again placed a gentle kiss on Ginny's lips.

Allowing himself to linger this time, Harry reveled in the warmth and softness that was Ginny. Wand in hand, Harry's fingers sank into Ginny's silky tresses as he deepened the kiss. Unconsciously, he pressed himself against her thigh. When he pulled away, Harry noticed Ginny eyeing his wand with a curious look on her face.

"This will help." He softly muttered "Lubricus" while passing the wand over Ginny's abdomen. She gasped and her eyes widened. Harry was grateful that it was dark as he felt a flush on his cheeks. He wondered just exactly what that spell had felt like and was immediately shamed by his own thoughts. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. To cover his embarrassment he leaned over to replace his wand on the table. He then removed his glasses and placed them by his wand.

Harry took a moment to gaze in Ginny's eyes. In a movement that was disturbingly natural to him, he reached up to stroke her hair. A bittersweet ache filled his heart as he thought of how, under different circumstances, this moment might have brought him great joy. Here was a woman that embodied all that he cherished. The epitome of all he sought. But she was not his... not truly. At one time, she might have been -- but he had foolishly given up his chance. He had not had the courage to face the battles it might have taken to win her. And now, he was forced to summon the courage to endure being made an instrument of chaos and pain. The thought of hurting her tore into the very fiber of his being and filled him with unfathomable sorrow. That his body was betraying him, by responding to her softness and beauty, filled him with agonizing regret for what might have been.

"I wish this could be different," he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you, Ginny. But you do know that this will?"

"It's all right, Harry." He winced as he watched a small tear slip down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

Harry moved his other knee between hers while gently nudging her legs apart. He shifted his weight off his hands and settled himself onto his forearms. Ginny brought her hands up to rest gently on his biceps. Her slender fingers curling around him arms sent shivers up his spine. He was surprised at how her lightest touch caused desire to smolder in the pit of his stomach. As Harry fingers tangled in her hair, he dipped his mouth down to hers. He gave her small, urgent kisses in attempt to distract her from what he needed to do. He slid his hand down to her waist, causing Ginny to twitch as his fingers brushed the side of her breast. He quickly slipped his fingers under her to tilt her hips upward a bit. Pulling his mouth from hers, he whispered, "Just relax... I'll try to be very gentle."

Harry's heart was beating rapidly and he moved to guide himself into her. His breath hitched as his hand grazed the soft curls between her legs. The heat coming off her body was making him dizzy. Slowly he brought himself to her entrance.

Ginny gasped as he slowly entered into her. Her hands tightened on his biceps and she braced against him. Harry's natural reaction was to let her push him away; however he knew that he needed to complete this. A wave of guilt and shame came over him as he realized that he wanted to complete this. His breathing became shallow and his pulse pounded in his ears. Harry fought to maintain control of himself so he didn't hurt her too badly.

Ginny's fingers had tightened on his arms and her nails bit into his skin. Harry knew that their time was almost up. "We don't have much time left..." he whispered, pain filling his heart. "I'm sorry."

And with that he plunged into her completely, his mouth coming down to swallow her cry.

Harry spared her a few moments to adjust to his being buried within her body. He pulled his mouth from hers and placed light kisses on her forehead. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Ginny panted, tears freely falling from the corners of her eyes into her hair. When Harry finally shifted a bit, she cried out softly. Harry didn't know what to say to her. It tore him apart. His body told him he was in heaven but his mind was in hell for hurting her like this.

As if Ginny had read his mind, she managed to breathe out, "It's okay. I'll be okay, Harry." He slowly began moving again. Ginny no longer cried out but an occasional whimper told him of her discomfort. Harry knew that he had to concentrate on himself if he was to bring this to completion. He closed his eyes and soon lost himself in the feel of her. His pace quickened and a light sheen of perspiration broke out on his skin. With a soft groan, his thrusts brought him to conclusion and he spilled his life-saving seed into her.

As his orgasm washed over him, he felt slim tendrils of magic wrapping themselves around him. He knew without a doubt that he was now as bound by the curse as was Ginny.