Bedtime Stories

Chapter 3 - I'd Rather be Your Lover

I don't know where I stand with you
I never ever make any plans with you
I don't know what I mean to you
The only think I know is I dream of you
And all that I know (all that I know)
Is that just don't understand (just don't understand)
Why my happiness always lies
In the palm of your hand...
Take a walk within me, venture through the dark sea
Can't you see, I need you beside me
Don't you see, that I want you to want me
Are you surprised? Are you?
- Madonna - I'd Rather be Your Lover

A couple weeks later, Ginny woke up to someone knocking on her bedroom door. Her first impulse was to crawl deeper into the covers and not come out. Tonks had put her and Harry through their paces the day before, both with duelling and physical fitness. After spending the afternoon dodging curses from the young Auror, both Harry and Ginny had been exhausted at the end of the day. The past two weeks had been a trial for them. They had been mentally and physically exhausted between the constant training in all forms of magic and the strengthening of their bond. It did have one positive aspect: the more that they spent time working together, the closer Harry and Ginny had become.

The only exercise they had repeated on a daily basis was what Tonks called 'Dual Meditation.' The first week they had been taught the basics of how to clear their minds. It had been a little easier for Harry with the training he had already received in Occlumency; he had spent several nights alone with Ginny helping her to catch up.

In the second week they began the second stage. Their first task had been to try and find the bond that linked them, searching in their minds for what ever it was that joined the two of them together. It had been a lot of hard work for both of them, as they had been forced to spend longer and longer in deep meditation. Eventually, they had stumbled across the filaments of magic that joined them.

The next step was for them to try and consciously use it as partners. It had been explained to them that Aurors worked together, each covering the others backs. With their bond, if they could learn to utilise it properly, they would each be able to know what the other was doing at all times, without looking or even consciously thinking about it. It would turn them into an incredibly powerful force--and bring them closer together emotionally as they added mental reliance to the physical.

The results had not always been good--often leaving one, the other, or occasionally both feeling really frustrated. Fred had been the first person to have a confrontation with them--and to regret it soon after.

He had wanted to prank Ginny so he had crept up behind her. He was confident he wouldn't be discovered; his 'Sneaky Sneakers' would ensure that he wouldn't be heard.

Unfortunately, Harry had sensed someone enter their personal space and had spun instantly, a series of well chosen curses exploding from his mouth. Not even the fact that his wand was in his pocket had stopped him.

Fred had a microsecond to look stunned before he toppled to the floor, completely immobile.

The thing that had scared the watching George the most was that she didn't flinch, not with Fred's attempted scare or with Harry's sudden protection of her. It was as if she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Harry would protect her and take care of her.

"Ginny dear, it's time for breakfast," Molly Weasley called through the door. Molly had taken to waking Harry and Ginny because the others had become a little afraid of them. She knew that the training they were going through was rough emotionally, mentally and physically on them.

"Coming Mum," Ginny called back. She crawled out of her nice warm and highly inviting bed, grabbing her dressing gown. She walked out of her bedroom to run in to a solid form. "Oomph. Sorry."

"It's OK, Gin," the body said to her. She looked up into the intensive green eyes of one Harry Potter. "Sleep well?"

"Like a rock. Tonks really wore me out yesterday."

"Yeah, me too. Ready for breakfast?"

Ginny rolled her neck to work out a kink that had seemed to be there for the past three days. "Yes, I was dreaming about Mum's apple cinnamon scones all night."

Harry stirred behind her his hands moving to her neck. "Here, let me take care of that for you." He began to massage the tense muscles of her neck, rolling his Quidditch roughed hands over her skin. He closed his eyes, almost sinking into meditation himself, as he tried as hard as he could to feel where she was tense so that he could ease her muscles and relax her.

"Mmm... that feels wonderful."

"Good." All he could think about was the skin on skin contact. Other than a hug, he had never touched anyone this way except his Aunt Petunia. The little mewing noises that she made were doing something pleasant to his body; he could feel heat pooling in his stomach.

She became lost at the sensations that he was giving her. Never in a million years had she ever dreamed that he would be doing this to her. The massage was more than just a manipulation of her neck; there was also warmth in his touch--the feeling of his chest against her back. The more she relaxed, the more she started to utilise the link herself. For the first time she started to feel what he was feeling: the way he enjoyed touching her and the effect her scent had on him.

A noise up the stairs broke the moment. Ron was walking down the stairs from his bedroom when he came upon the couple. "Moooorrnning," he yawned. "How is training going?" He ran a hand through his sleep-rumpled hair.

"Going well," Harry replied calmly, slowly pulling himself from his meditation, his hands still resting on her neck.

She sighed in regret, already missing the relaxing movements. "Morning Ron." She was going to start down the stairs when Harry's grasp around her neck tightened a little. She let her brother pass by them.

"Feel better," Harry asked, his voice caring. He reluctantly removed his hands from her neck, sliding them down her shoulders.

"Yes, thanks for that." She twisted her head to smile warmly at him. "You know, I can repay the favour later if you need it."

Harry smiled brightly. "Just might take you up on that. Let's go eat so we can get to our meditation." He started down the stairs humming to himself.

"What are you humming?"

"Something my cousin was listening to over the summer. It was on the radio all the time. A band called the Counting Crows from America. The song is Anna Begins. It just kinda stuck with me." He explained as they walked through the living room.

"Well, what is the song about?"

He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, his eyes suddenly intense. "It's about a guy that is in love with this girl but he doesn't know how to handle the situation. Should he allow himself to fall further or just send her off? He doesn't know. But there are a couple lines in the song that made sense to me. But I'm not going to break, and I'm not going to worry about it anymore..."

"What do they mean to you?" she asked softly, her eyes bright as she watched him. She could feel a faint confusion of emotions through their bond, a heady mixture of hope, fear, anger, and desire. Slowly, her right hand reached out and grasped his hand.

"This whole thing with Voldemort to begin with. If I worry about it, then I lose. He's not going to break me. The tosser has been trying for six years now with no luck." Without thinking about it, he slid his fingers between hers.

If anyone in the kitchen noticed that the pair was holding hands as they entered the kitchen, no one mentioned it. Harry's effective demonstration the other day had proved that he was not going to accept people teasing her, and pretty much everyone had come to the same conclusion: that she was going to be at least as protective of him as he was of her. The couple sat at the table as Molly began passing plates of eggs and kippers.

Ginny grabbed the scone she had been dreaming about all morning and slathered butter all over it. Taking a bite, she relished the simple pleasures of breakfast food. Harry caught her eye as she ate. He raised an eyebrow in question. She just stuck her tongue out at him before going back to her breakfast.

Ron was sitting at his normal seat at the table watching his best friend and sister. He had noticed the massage in the hall upstairs--he would have had to have been blind to miss it--as well as the expressions they both had on their face. He was the first to admit that Harry and Ginny getting together was probably a very good thing. He knew that his best mate would take care of his sister.

But then there was this training thing. He was a little worried about it. Lately the pair had been finishing each other's sentences without thinking about it, which was disturbingly similar to what Fred and George did. It was strange to see them have that level of intimacy.

No one had been allowed to watch the training; Fred and George had tried on a Sunday morning and had regretted it quickly. Somehow Ginny had noticed their attempts at stealth and she had simply touched Harry. The twins didn't remember much about what happened next; they vaguely recalled the two of them turning to face them as one, their faces blank. They thought that they remembered her with her wand in her right hand, Harry's in her left, pointing both at them, and Harry next to her, his fists out. When they woke up four hours later, they silently agreed to never, ever talk about what they had seen, and never try to spy again.

Ron did want to watch the two of them duel. He had heard Professor Lupin and Tonks talk about it and from what he had surmised, their duelling was a sight to behold. He was brought out of his thoughts when his mother spoke.

"What do you lot have planned today?"

Harry and Ginny shared a glance before she spoke, "We have more training. Professor Dumbledore is coming this afternoon."

"Speaking of which, we need to go get dressed for meditation," Harry reminded her.

"What about you Ron?" his mother asked.

Ron sighed. He had planned on seeing if Gin and Harry might want to practice some Quidditch, but they had training--they always had training. "I have some summer reading to get done for Transfiguration. I promised Hermione that at least the reading would be done by the time she got here." He ignored the looks of surprise from his housemates.

"OK. I have to go to Headquarters for a bit this morning. If you need anything tell Tonks, Kingsley or Remus." Molly walked out of the kitchen leaving the teenagers together.

"Do you think that we might be able to get some Quidditch in some time soon?" Ron asked, trying as hard as he could not to whine. He watched as the pair shared a silent conversation. That was something else he had written Hermione about. It was hard for him to let go of Harry for the summer because they had always shared pretty much everything. She had told him that when Harry and Ginny were ready, they would talk to him about everything that was going on. He finally understood how Harry had felt the previous summer, when he had been left out of everything. It didn't help that the only other person who knew what was going on was his little sister.

Harry was the one who eventually answered. "We could this evening after the afternoon session."

"Great," Ron said, as a big smile crossed his face.

Ginny got up from the table depositing her and Harry's plates in the sink. "We need to get ready for meditation." As she finished her statement, Harry silently followed her out of the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later they were dressed and heading out to the garden for the morning session. Tonks had provided Ginny with some clothing which was more suited for the actitivities she would be engaging in: form-fitting, yet comfortable, and easy to care for. Kingsley had provided a loose fitting styled pant to Harry and also given both teens holsters for their wands, which strapped onto their left wrists.

They didn't wait for their instructors to arrive. They both knew their routine by now, and were always eager to begin. They sat down on the grass and began their stretching, neither realising that their movements were very close to being synchronised. This part of the session was to ensure that they wouldn't be to stiff after sitting for too long meditating.

Harry pulled off his T-shirt. He hated wearing it when they were meditating, preferring to feel the cooling breeze brushing his skin.

Ginny sat spread-eagled and stretched her upper torso from side to side. This particular position was the one that she favoured during their morning ritual. One thing that Tonks and Kingsley had stressed was that during meditation one needed to be in physical contact with one's partner. Harry and Gin had found that because of her petite frame, they couldn't both sit in the Lotus position and still be able to touch each other. So, they quickly decided that he would sit in the Lotus to her spread-eagle.

Harry breathed deeply, his eyes locked firmly on his partner's, as his hands reached out and found hers. He would be the first to admit that once they had agreed on their positions, he had found hers very appealing. The image of her body as it slipped into the ramrod straight carriage, causing her chest to push out her tank top, was locked into his mind. It had taken a couple of days for him to be able to sit comfortably while opposite her. He had been immensely grateful that his pose and loose pants allowed him to hide the perfectly natural reaction a teenage boy had to a beautiful young girl.

He closed his eyes, half his senses concentrated on the touch of her soft warm fingers. His mind wandered, mentally picturing the three parts he had noticed most: her legs, her chest, and her beautiful multi-shaded red mane of long hair.

It was her hair that he focused on as he slipped deeper into his meditative trance. The individual strands seemed to react much in the same way she did. If she were angry or frustrated, her hair would fly around her like a flame, wild and uncontrollable. It amazed him that her hair reacted to how she felt.

Ginny stretched her legs to either side of Harry, moving as close to him as she could get. She took the first of her deep breaths and started to relax. She watched her partner silently as he took his own deep breaths. His chest moved in and out, emphasising the pectoral muscles he had begun to develop. She loved the fact that he insisted doing this topless. It gave him the opportunity to tan for the first time in his life. His lightly brown skin had offset his midnight black bottoms perfectly, leaving her with a mental image of him that kept her warm at night.

Breathing in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, she went to the mental plane that she and Harry had created as a visual meeting place. At the beginning they had problems finding a place to join spiritually. When they discovered there was one place they were both happy--the Quidditch pitch--this joining became easier. She knew that he was in deep meditation when his thumb rubbed the top of her hand.

When they met on the spiritual plane, the pair allowed their souls to commune with each other. It had formed the basis of their current relationship. They opened up completely to each other during this time little was hidden. They each knew about the attraction that was growing between them and it didn't scare them.

Harry and Ginny stayed in their meditative states for an hour, their souls merging into one for the brief period of time. Their progress showed most when they duelled together. Their reactions to each other and to their teachers were becoming almost instinctive. It was a fluid relationship as far as they were concerned.

Remus sat on the garden wall waiting for them to come back to reality. He had watched as a somewhat casual observer as their relationship grew. The wolf in him couldn't miss the pheromones that passed between them, just like he hadn't missed them with Lily and James or Ron and Hermione. Of course, those two couples had almost needed a good smack to the head to get them to notice anything, but this wasn't the case with Harry and Ginny. These two weren't acknowledging the obvious as of yet, but they grew closer on a daily basis. It wouldn't surprise him if they were together as more than just friends in the coming weeks.

When the suggestion had been made that they train together, he had been a little sceptical about it. Remus knew about Ginny's crush--hell, anyone within a twenty-kilometre radius of Hogwarts when he taught knew about it. But the admiring looks from Harry when she accomplished a new curse or hex showed him that it wasn't a one-way street anymore. Harry had created the bond when he saved Ginny, but Remus knew that she would solidify it by saving Harry from himself everyday. The moody teenager from the previous year was gone and had been replaced by a thoughtful and introspective young man. All it had taken was this fiery sprite who wouldn't back down. The changes in Harry made Remus smile. He noticed them stirring, signalling the end of meditation.

Harry stretched from his seated place on the grass and watched as Ginny did the same. He couldn't help but admire her body when she did this. Her small frame encased in the cotton tank top was visible in a way that her school robes would never allow. The warm feeling that had appeared with the initial touch of his hands on her skin that morning returned in full force. It didn't disappear during breakfast or meditation, but he was able to block it out. Now that he was focused only on the girl before him, the feeling was almost uncontrollable.

"Morning," Remus said cheerfully, walking toward the teens. "How was your meditation?"

"Excellent," Ginny replied, standing up to finish stretching. "How was your evening, Remus?"

"I had a quiet night and slept well. How about you?"

Harry jumped up and bounced on his toes a couple times to wake up the muscles in his legs from sitting in one position for a hour. "I slept quite well. Gin and I were talking this morning about how Tonks wore us out yesterday."

"It's going to be another full day today. The three of us are going to work on physical training for most of the morning and this afternoon and Professor Dumbledore will be over to see how your duelling skills are doing. You won't be going against any of us, just each other."

Ginny smiled at that information. "We haven't been allowed to duel against each other yet. This should be fun."

"Fun, you say," Harry looked over the top of his glasses at her. "Sounds like a challenge to me, Miss Weasley."

"Care to make a bet, Mr Potter?"

"Well..." he said rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What would the winner get?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "How about a rub down at the end of the day?" She subtly licked her lips at the thought of his hands on her body again.

Harry was thinking along the same lines when he replied, "It's a deal." He wasn't sure if he cared if he won or lost the duel; it seemed like he would win, regardless.

Remus watched the exchange with a hint of amusement. He didn't want them to get in so deep they forgot what was really at stake. "Why don't you go and put your trainers on so we can start our run?"

They nodded to him and dashed into the house.

At two in the afternoon, Dumbledore came to see their progress. With his many duties to the Order and Hogwarts, he hadn't been able to come as often as planned. Remus and Kingsley had given him frequent updates of their progress. It wasn't a surprise to the wizened old wizard that Harry and Ginny were working well together; he knew they would do fine. Both teens had a score to settle with Tom and neither of them would stop until he was gone.

When Albus entered the paddock, he noticed that Harry and Ginny were acting like first year students', using their wands to shoot multi-coloured sparks at each other. He was very happy to see that they hadn't totally lost their sense of fun after the trials of life.

"Miss Weasley, Mr Potter, having fun?" he asked congenially. He laughed at the looks of surprise that appeared on their faces.

"Yes, Professor," Harry answered his mentor calmly. "Since we've been banned from duelling each other properly, we came up with this to improve the accuracy of our curses." He walked over to a nearby apple tree and plucked an apple from the branch. Without hesitating, he hurled it as fast as he could into the distance.

Ginny followed it with her eyes, her wand pointing, and a second later she released the sparks and watched with satisfaction as they hit the apple in mid arc. "You'll have to do better than that, Potter." She looked triumphant.

"Oh don't worry," Harry smirked back. "I've got a lot more than that up my sleeve."

Ginny noticed the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes. "I am only trying to explain to Harry that he will have to suffer the humiliation of defeat now. I do not plan on losing."

"Ginny, do you really think that you can beat me?"

"Why of course I do," she replied, a smug look on her heart-shaped face.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? Do you think that I am going to lay down and not hex you like that wimp Corner did in the DA?"

"I would hope not. Kinda hard to defeat lizard-face if you cower behind my skirts. And you don't have Chang around as an excuse now."

"Wait a minute here. Didn't my ex-girlfriend run off with your ex-boyfriend?"

She sniffed. "I believe you are correct. Michael went off to comfort Cho after I snatched the snitch right from under her nose in the final. Of course, the walking waterfall had to cry about the loss."

"And he's so wet, he wouldn't notice the difference."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts watched the two needle each other. He understood why they did it. The frustration helped them duel each other but he heard the undertones of the conversation; there was more here than met the eye. It seemed the report that Tonks had given him about the pair was dead on. They were attracted to each other. He knew that it would happen in time but not this soon.

"If you will assume your duelling stances, we can begin." He held his hands out to direct them to stand face to face.

Ginny moved to stand in front of Harry. Slowly, she stood up straighter, pulling her shoulders back. If she wasn't mistaken, this action would definitely distract him. She hid a smirk as his eyes dropped to her chest and a flicker of hunger danced through his eyes. "Ready to be beaten?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Yep, give me a moment." He reached up and removed his T-shirt--knowing full well what his bare chest did to her--throwing the shirt off to the side. "Now, I'm ready." He tilted his head and looked at her before winking with a half smile on his face.

"Ok, move back from each other." Professor Dumbledore waited until they moved. "Wands at the ready?" He waited for them to nod. "I will count to three. One...Two...Three..."

Harry was the first to act. "Rictusempra!" he shot his wand at her midsection.

Ginny was ready. "Protego." She lazily flicked her wand. "The tickling charm? What are we second years? Blatero!"

He found himself was unable to speak normally. She had hit him with the babble charm. Before he could stop the charm, she hit him with another shot.

"Incarcerous!" Ropes flew out of her wand and bound him. She walked over to see her handiwork forgetting one important thing that Harry had been working on--wandless magic.

"Diffindo!" he screamed as the ropes split down the middle. He flipped back up to his feet. "Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

"At least you have the shield charm down." He started to circle around her.

She smirked. "Yes, I do. After having to deal with Malfoy last term following me around like a bloody puppy, I had to convince Parkinson I wasn't trying to steal her Draco. Like I would ever want that obnoxious ferret." She moved opposite him, side-stepping, making sure her eyes never left his.

"Don't like the short, pale, and blonde types?"

"No, I am more of a tall, dark, and handsome kind of girl. Think about it...you and Michael have dark hair, relatively tall, and I would say you are both handsome."

"So you do admit to hiding feelings for me?"

"When I was twelve, yes." She didn't like where this conversation was going. They were treading on dangerous ground.

"What about now?" His voice dropped a little from the drawl he had been using.

"I don't know," she said softly, shaking her head. Almost absently she sent another curse at him that he batted away irritably. She needed to get away from his question. "The Wizengamot is still out."

"Well, you can ask the Chief Warlock later what the verdict is since he is here. Let's get back to duelling."

"That's it, Potter. No more playing around. I want your best shot so that when I beat you, you can't deny it."

"What makes you so sure you are going to win?" His voice deepened.

"Because I want it more," she snarled. "Stop pussyfooting around. You've got nothing left to hide behind."

"I don't hide," he growled back, mentally pulling his power together.

"No, you just run off on your own. Not anymore. Now bloody well come on." The sky started to darken above her.

He moved first, throwing a banishing charm at her. She shifted aside as fast as she could, feeling it brush past her.

Dumbledore watched the two of them and took the prudent step of moving away. He realised that they had deliberately wound each other up and had a feeling that this could end badly. The problem he now had was that they were both putting out an enormous amount of magical energy.

She finished her movement and replied with a curse of her own. Harry snarled as he absorbed it, his shield being pushed to its limit. She took two quick steps forward and, without warning, she jumped forward, her left foot kicking out at his chin. The movement wasn't technically perfect, but was more than enough proof of the progress she had made under the tutelage of the Aurors.

Harry swerved back the bare two inches necessary to allow her foot to fly past his face unimpeded. He dropped to the floor, his left leg snapping out in a sweep kick at her support leg. She used the momentum from the kick to leap up, vaulting his attempted sweep. He continued the flowing motion of the takedown, straightening up to come to a rest facing the girl, in the exact same position he had started in. He paused, in no hurry to rush in and attack.

Ginny couldn't help herself. She knew that was playing to his strengths; she'd seen him enough with Tonks and Kingsley. She simply didn't have the patience to wait. She moved forward again and launched a combination of short, close-in punches at his torso.

Harry swayed, avoiding a few, barely managing to block the others.

Both of their techniques were suspect. An experienced martial artist would have had no trouble with either of them, but they were improving fast. As they fought, the sky darkened, and intense waves of magic started to pulse from them as they subconsciously called on their powers to assist them.

He could see how she had improved over the past few weeks. She now fought with what he was beginning to recognize as a combination of Tonks and Kingsley's fighting styles. His musing was proved correct a second later, as he fell for a faked punch to the midsection and received one to the jaw instead.

He shook off the pain quickly and used his height advantage to leap straight through her defences, and knee her solidly in her breastbone. He followed her as she flew backwards, only to find that she twisted like a cat, knocking him on to the floor. He flew to his feet unconsciously utilizing his magic, as she had a second before.

Both of them were completely into the fight now; all outside stimulus was shut down as they focused completely on each other. Through their link they were able to anticipate each other's moves, blocking them as fast as they were made.

Harry suddenly moved as fast he could, using his magic to force her arms out to one side while he threw a magically enhanced punch at her face.

Ginny found herself wide open with no way of stopping him, when he stopped himself.

"Why the hell have you stopped?" She demanded angrily. "Don't you think I can take it? Are you trying to be bloody heroic again and protect me? Damn it, Harry, I'm not a kid, Death Eaters aren't going to bloody well stop--they'll kill anyone!"

"No," he screamed, enraged, the magic crackling around him. "I'm not trying to be bloody heroic, and I don't think that you're a bloody kid, either. I'm well aware that you have grown up. I told you that night we went for a bloody walk and I wasn't lying."

"Then why did you stop?"

Neither of them noticed the cool rain that had started to fall, drenching them.

"Because I didn't want to hit you."

"Why not?" Her voice suddenly became small.

"Because..." Harry paused, searching for the right words. When he couldn't find them, he did the only thing that he could think of to do. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close. "This is why," he shouted, then leant down and kissed her as hard as he could. The last thing he would remember was that his world just exploded.

A/N: Thanks again to Jeconias who keeps me sounding like I know what I am writing. And to ChaoticK who makes sense of my ramblings.

My thanks to the rest of the reviewers... you are the best!

Enjoy!