Showers and Spice and All Things Nice

Showers and Spice and All Things Nice

Part One: Towel Trouble

~x~x~x~x~x~

Ginny peered through her slightly open door. It was early. Too early for anyone to be up...she knew she could make it, it was right there, staring her in the face. If she was quick, she could sprint there and close the door in a matter of seconds and no one would be any the wiser. Right, she nodded her head briskly, it was time to move. She swung the door open fully, and sprinted across the hall, colliding with something rather solid. Correction, make that someone rather solid.

"Oomph," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. She scrunched up her face, trying to come up withall the possible horrible ways she could think of to make whichever one of her brothersthat had so abruptly stopped her sprint to the bathroom pay. She looked up and glared, her eyes quickly widening as she saw who it was. Harry.

"Uh, I..."

He was stuttering, Harry Potter was staring at her, Ginny Weasley, and stuttering. She wasn't sure whether she should continue to be horrified, or start being pleased.

"Uh, Ginny...you're eh... I can see...I mean...your towel."

Oh, horrified, definitely horrified. She looked down and noted that half of her towel had slipped over her...OH MY GOD! She pulled the towel around her tightly, cringing. Oh my GOD! Harry Potter has seen me half-naked!

"Hi," she said lamely, clearing her throat. Harry quickly followed suit, although she was sure he sounded more like he was choking. They were all entering their last year at Hogwarts. Including her. Ginny had been thrilled when her teachers all recommended she be moved up a year, allowing her to finish school with her brother and their friends. She still had friends her own age, but she had become accustomed to spending time with people in her own year, including Harry Potter.

She had been extremely happy that she hadn't made a complete fool of herself in front of him in over two years. Well, not in the 'I love you' sort of way. It had been an amazing feat, but she'd managed it. She had even convinced herself that she no longer had a crush on him. She was right. She didn't have a crush on him. Nope...now that she knew him better, could talk to him like the good friend he was, her crush was no longer there. No, now she was completely and utterly in love with him.

She groaned. This really wasn't the time she needed to be reminded of that. Looking back at him, she noticed that she wasn't the only one in a state of undress, no, Harry had a bare chest as well. Although, granted, she was the only one with breasts, and oh God, Harry had seen one of them.

"G-Ginny," he choked. "I...I was just going to the bathroom..."

The bathroom, that was her destination. The shower. She had to get there before her brothers spent all morning in there. She may have been embarrassed as hell, but she was not about to be deviated by anyone. Including Harry.

"Not before I get there you're not." she said, grinning impishly. He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her and she felt instantly relieved.

"Is that so, Red?" he asked lightly, and she mock glared at him. He called her that to wind her up, it was a running joke with them. She had been joking about his sweater bringing out his eyes, and he had said that her Quiddich robes brought out her hair. He'd called her Red ever since, and although she pretended to hate it, she actually loved that he had a nickname for her.

Without even realising it, she had let her awareness slip, and before she could do anything about it, Harry had made it into the bathroom before her.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Harry paced the bathroom floor. He hadn't had any need of the shower when he had woken up, he'd been dreaming about waterfalls and rivers and seas and had awoken desperate for the toilet. But after his...run in with Ginny, he was sure he could use a shower now. A cold shower.

He ran his fingers through his hair and wondered if he should attempt to go back to his room. He knew Ginny, quite well in fact, and he was sure that he was in for it later for sneaking into the toilet when she was, quite obviously, thinking of something else. He wondered what it was that she was thinking of...was he in her head somewhere?

Shaking his thoughts away, he moved cautiously to the door, knowing that she must have heard the toilet flushing and that meant she would be preparing to get into the bathroom again. But he wasn't sure he was ready to face her again. He checked the mirror. Yes, he was still blushing, in fact, his face probably rivalled Ginny's hair.

"Harry!" He turned to the door when he heard her hiss. "Get your cute little arse moving, now!"

He grinned. He loved her when she was all riled up. In fact, he loved her full stop. The first time he realised that, it had taken him by surprise. Luckily, he hadn't had to face her at the time, as she hadn't been speaking to him. He really hadn't meant to turn her head into a cat's. Was it his fault he sucked at Transfiguration? The image of her speaking to him in nothing but hisses, her whiskers flailing, really had been quite amusing...but that had been his downfall. His laughter. Couldn't have helped that Ron had commented that at least if she had been hissing in snake language he could have understood her...or that, he had added, if she had been hissing in Ginny language...which she was doing right now.

"Harry!"

"What?" he whispered, hoping to buy himself some time to rid his mind of the wonderful image her towel had so easily displayed for him.

"Get out of there now," She said slowly, punctuating each word carefully. She was mad, he realised. Sighing, and bracing himself for a fuming Ginny, he opened the door slowly. He wasn't disappointed. She was glaring at him, clutching onto the dark blue towel, and, could he help it that he was staring at the pale white skin at the top of the towel?

"Hoping for another look, now, were we, Mister Potter?" His eyes widened as he shot up to meet her gaze. She was grinning impishly at him.

Well, he thought, two can play at this game. "Well, if you wouldn't mind."

Her eyes widened and she stepped back a little, and Harry wondered if maybe he had taken this game a little too far. He stepped towards her and reached out his hand, "Ginny, I'm..."

"Sorry?" She shook her head. "No, you're not."

"You're right," he said softly. "I'm not." He stared at her, wondering if she realised what he meant, but she had closed herself off and, for the first time in a long time, he didn't know if he had pushed her too far.

There was a noise from one of the rooms and they both looked at Percy's door, a little frightened. Without thinking, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her into the bathroom, locking the door behind them and leaning against it. They both flinched as they heard a door open in the hallway, and held their breath as the handle turned beside them.

"Hmph, who's in there?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny beat him to it. "It's me, Percy, I'm going for a shower."

"Can I use the toilet first?"

"Eh..." Ginny looked up at him over her shoulder, her eyes frantic.

"Say no!" Harry mouthed at her.

"He'll get mad and magic the door open!" she whispered back.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"I...I said..."

"Tell him you're naked!"

Ginny's eyes widened and, at the thought of being in the bathroom with her, naked, so did his. Looking at what they were both covered in, or not covered in as the case was, he realised that that was almost true. He suddenly felt very aware of where she was pressed against him. Her back was pulled flush against him, as his arms held her tightly. He gazed down at her and realised that she was looking at him, really looking at him. What if she...no, she wasn't in love with him, he decided. She looked into his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. He was staring right back at her, and he was sure she was moving closer. A moment later he felt her breath on his face, it was coming short and quick, a lot like his. Just before his lips touched hers, the door behind them shuddered and they jumped apart.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Ginny! If you're don't let me in first, I will open this door myself."

"Quick," she said, pushing Harry to the shower. "hide." She closed the shower door and prayed that Percy wouldn't spot him. She walked over to the bathroom door and opened it, glaring at her brother. "There, now be quick about it." Percy hmphed a little and walked past her, head held high. She could have kicked him. She did.

"Virginia Weasley!"

"Oh, just hurry up, Percival." The door closed and she turned around, biting back a squeal.

"Well, that was amusing."

"Harry Potter, what do you think you are doing?"

"I guess we both forgot I passed my Apparation exam on my birthday, huh?" he grinned.

She leaned forward to hit him but he caught her arm with one hand and gripped her other arm with his other. She felt as if things were moving in slow motion as he leaned towards her. She closed her eyes, feeling his breath on her face and a few moments later his mouth was on hers. She had to catch her breath, she was floating. Charlie was right, this was better than Quidditch...not that he had said that directly to her, but could she help it if she'd eavesdropped a lot as a child? But who cared, Harry was kissing her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her closer, gripping her around the waist. Just as he appeared to be pulling away, Ginny sighed a little, opening her mouth slightly. His tongue cautiously ran over her lips and Ginny gasped before pulling him closer allowing him entry to her mouth.

Behind her, she heard the toilet flush and she jumped back, eyes wide. She smiled at Harry before glaring at him. He was staring at her a little too smug for her liking.

"And what's so funny?" she demanded.

"I think this is yours, Red," he said, leaning forward. Ginny felt the soft material of her towel pressed into her hand as he kissed her lightly. He smiled and went back into Ron's room and Ginny closed her eyes and cringed. She had only just put her towel back in place when the bathroom door opened behind her.

"There. Was that quick enough for you?" Percy asked huffily, going back to his room. Ginny didn't reply, instead she ran into the bathroom, hoping to get there before he could ask anything about her blush or her mussed up hair. Percy wasn't particularly observant about these things, but she wasn't taking any chances. Leaning back against the locked bathroom door, she idly wondered if she could get Harry to Apparate himself back into the bathroom.

Shaking her head, she removed her towel, again. Still grinning to herself, she walked across to the other side of the small room and started the water running. Yes, she could definitely do with a shower. A cold one.

~x~x~x~x~x~

End of Part One: Towel Trouble

Notes: I've decided this will be a short series. The way it's planned there should be five parts, so look out for "Quidditch Boxers", "Seeing Red", "Giving Chase" and "Myrtle's Not The Only One That..."