Flipside

Chapter Seven

The following week passed in a blur, celebrations for Gyffindor's victory were mixed with piles upon piles of homework. True to Draco's word, no one asked Ginny to the Ball, although countless boys approached her. They would open their mouths to speak, but suddenly pale and then dart off. One of these times Ginny turned around abruptly afterwards and caught Harry standing at the other end of the hall. Swallowing her anger, Ginny had simply smiled at him, as if silently thanking him for doing her a favour.

Shortly after catching Harry in the act, she bumped into him in the hallway between classes. Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the hall, out of the way of their traveling classmates.

"So are we going?" he asked her.

"Going where..." Ginny questioned suspiciously, afraid she already knew what he meant.

Harry gave an exasperated sigh, "To the Ball of course," he said as though it should have been obvious.

Ginny snorted in amusement. "I don't know what world you are living in Potter," she said full of hatred, "but I wouldn't dream of going to the Ball with you now."

He rolled his eyes at her, and talking down to Ginny like she was some small child he said, "So you're going alone? Don't you realize no one will ask you to dance? I just don't want to see you suffer."

"Oh Harry," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Don't act as though you are doing me some big favour. For your information all the males who might have asked me I would have turned down -," Harry gave a smug smile, "- why I've had a date for the Ball this whole time!"

Harry opened and closed his mouth once in surprise, then narrowed his eyes at her and demanded, "who is he?"

"Harry!" Ginny laughed. "I'm not telling you, I'd hate for you to pick a fight with him and get beaten to a pulp, although I have to admit the idea is appealing."

Ginny was amused as she watched him getting steadily angrier, practically shaking in rage. He suddenly grabbed the small girl's shoulders and pushed her up against the wall, his face just inches from hers. Ginny gave him a meek smile, hoping to show him that he didn't scare her. 'God,' she thought, 'what is with people and pinning girls against walls?'

"I said," Harry growled through clenched teeth, "Who. Is. He?" With this he gave Ginny's shoulders a painful squeeze with his hands.

Ginny then became very scared of the monster that Harry had morphed in to. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but then noticed that the once busy corridors of Hogwarts had disappeared, and the hallway was deathly quiet.

Just as Ginny was about to completely break down in panic, she heard a sharp voice coming from the other end of the hall.

"What on Earth is going on here?!" it demanded.

Harry and Ginny started, and this caused him to release her from his painful grasp.

"P - Professor McGonagall," Harry stammered, "I was - we were -"

Ginny gathered her wits about her, and rubbing her sore shoulders cut into the conversation, "Professor, Harry was just asking me to the Ball, and needless to say took it quite poorly when I turned him down - but no harm done," she added with a smile.

Wondering what their Head of House would do with the sudden truthfulness, Ginny glanced up expectantly.

Professor McGonagall was obviously frazzled by what she had just witnessed. "Err - right," she stammered. "Well 10 points from Gryffindor. Classes have started - get a move on! Oh and Mr. Potter," she added, "come and see me at the end of classes today, and do try to keep better control over your emotions in the future." Casting the pair a worried glance she hurried past them down the hall.

Ginny could hear Harry letting out his held breath, and she exhaled too, not knowing she had been holding it. She threw him a casual smile as she walked away.

Ginny shook her head as she walked, still shaking a bit from the sudden violence that Harry had shown. When he had pinned her against the wall she hadn't felt the same excited fear that she had felt both times with Malfoy, but rather a sick panic - like the Harry she had once known had turned into some sort of beast. It was obvious that she would have to be very careful when it came to him.

There was one thing Ginny couldn't get out of her mind as she pushed open the door and entered her Advanced Charms class -

- Why on Earth had Professor McGonagall barely punished them?