War and Passion

Chapter Nine
The Last Temptation


Ginny laid awake staring at the darkened ceiling. She had been up for hours talking with Hermione who’d been visibly upset when she had returned to her room. Now, Hermione was asleep, leaving Ginny to really think about the events in the living room a few hours before. She had forgotten just how incredible it felt to be held by Harry. If a simple kiss could overwhelm her so completely, what would if feel like to actually make love with him? Well, she was going to find out. Ginny was sick of wondering and daydreaming about it. She wanted the real thing. She had promised herself when he lay bleeding on the platform, that if he lived, she’d make up for lost time. Her pride be damned. Harry’s had one to many close calls. The thought of him dying with so many things left undone between the two of them was unacceptable. The truth of the matter was, Harry could easily get killed before the War was over. It tore her heart out to admit it, but there it was. So, if Harry thought she was going to wait patiently to see if maybe he made it out alive, he had another thing coming. She was going to seize the moment. She may die an old maid pining for her lost love, but she was going to do it with memories.

Ginny woke several hours later feeling refreshed and determined. The situation required real planning. She had to get rid of Ron for the night. Since Harry was sharing his room, Ron would definitely notice when Harry didn’t show up for bed. Ginny thought about it for a while then cast a glance at a still sleeping Hermione. True, the two of them were fighting, but when were they not?

“Hermione, get up,” Ginny was practically yelling since Hermione set barriers around herself when she slept and it muffled out the sound. Ginny instinctively ducked when a curse bounced off the barrier.

“What?” Hermione mumbled as she lifted the barrier and slipped out of bed.

“I need your help,” Ginny said with a huge smile.

“With?” Hermione raised her eyebrow at Ginny in suspicion.

“With my incredibly charming and handsome brother.”

“Bill?”

“Come on Hermione, stop playing. This is important,” Ginny said seriously. If Hermione didn’t agree, everything would be ruined.

“Go on.”

“I need Ron to disappear tonight.” Ginny cast a nervous glance at her as she spoke.

Hermione’s jaw dropped as she realized what Ginny was asking her to do. “Ginny, no!”

“Oh, come on. Sirius will be here any day to get Harry. I don’t have much time!” Ginny pleaded as Hermione looked at her, horrified.

“Ginny, that’s just . . . I don’t know. . . deceitful!” Hermione gasped.

“I don’t think Ron will mind,” Ginny raised one eyebrow and smirked.

“You’re so bad.” Hermione said with a half smile as she shook her head.

“I’m determined. There’s a difference. So, will you do it?” Ginny looked hopefully at Hermione.

“I don’t know. . .”

“Please. . . What if Harry had died? Then, I would never know. I love him, Hermione. I love him so much it hurts. Please, do this for me,” Ginny grabbed Hermione’s arm in desperation.

“Oh, I guess. But, I won’t enjoy it.”

“Yeah, right!” Ginny laughed as she gave Hermione a hug.

“Won’t he be surprised,” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“Which one?”

“Both, I suspect.”

Harry woke up a few hours later feeling much better. The after effects of his injuries had all but disappeared. He still hadn’t had that much sleep, but he was more than used to that. Ron got up a few minutes later and the two of them dressed and headed down to breakfast.

Ron was still in a surly mood. Harry ignored it. He had other problems to deal with. He was going to write to Sirius again and ask if he could go to Lupin’s until news of Sirius’ innocence was released. It was the only alternative, aside from going back to the Dursley’s. He had to get out of the Burrow.

“Has Hedwig returned?” Harry asked Mrs. Weasley as she fluttered around the kitchen pilling huge amounts of food on Harry and Ron’s plate.

“Oh no, we blocked the post, remember. She won’t be able to get past the barrier Arthur set up around the house,” Mrs. Weasley said with a worried look at Harry.

”That’s not good,” Harry mumbled as he ate his toast. “Can post get out?”

“No, I’ve been having the twins drop off all the letters at the post office on the way to the shop.” She pilled more bacon on Harry’s plate as she spoke.

“Have they left already?”

“Oh yes, they left hours ago. You two slept late. Of course, you need your rest,” Mrs. Weasley patted his arm then dropped more bacon on Ron’s plate.

“Who do you need to write to?” Ron said as he glared at Harry.

“A couple of people, actually,” Harry said thoughtfully. He should write Cho and tell her he was okay. She would be sick with worry, but wouldn’t dare show up at the Weasley’s.

“Well, they can send your letters tomorrow,” Mrs. Weasley said as she went back to cooking.

“Can I use the floo to contact Sirius?”

“No, we had be taken off of it. Reporters starting showing up right here in the kitchen. Can you imagine? They have no shame. I do hope this blows over soon.” Mrs. Weasley sounded totally exasperated and Harry didn’t blame her.

“So, basically we’re barricaded in here with no contact to the outside world?” he said incredulously.

“I told you it was bad! They took us off the network right after we arrived from the hospital,” Ron growled.

“What about the paper?”

“Dad brings it home from work.”

“Do you have the old ones from the attack?”

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry the papers from the past few days before she headed out of the kitchen. He had them spread all over the table as he looked at the pictures of the battle at the station. Ron was right, he did look like a mad man. Harry felt his mouth drop open while he watched his photographic self throw a knife at one Death Eater as two others bounced off a barrier. There were pictures of all of them, horribly graphic pictures. Harry still couldn’t believe they had printed them. He looked closer at a picture of Hermione as she threw a knife at the cloaked figure in front of her.

“God, she looks good,” Ron sighed as he saw what picture Harry was looking at. “She looks so sexy in that uniform.”

“I really worry about you, sometimes. She’s killing a Death Eater in this picture and you think she looks sexy?”

“Look at her, she’s amazing. What other woman could throw a knife like that? She’s so tough. I love that.” Ron grabbed the paper away from Harry and looked at it closer.

“Ron, if you cut out that picture I’ll have you committed,” Harry muttered as he turned back to read the paper.

The pressed had coined them ‘The Heroes of Platform 9 3/4’. Harry was relieved to read that Charlie, Ron and Hermione received just as much credit as he had. The media did make a huge deal over his accident, though. Harry read more about his injuries in the Daily Prophet then the Medi-Wizards had told him personally. Typical, there must of been a leek at St. Mungo's, nothing new there. They had printed the details of his and Ron’s injuries two years ago, why should it change now? Harry looked over at Ron who was busy looking at a different picture of Hermione. Ron’s scar stood out, a thin white line that ran across the length of his cheek bone. Harry felt the guilt again. He felt it almost every time he saw the bloody thing. Ron was proud of it, of course. To him, it meant that he was a survivor. It was his reminder of how truly evil Voldemort’s followers were. That scar represented something much different to Harry. It was visible proof of what happened to someone who cared about him.

“Do you ever wonder where we’d be if we went with Hermione and Ginny to the bookstore that day?” Harry sighed.

Ron looked at him in shock. They never talked about what happened, ever.

“No,” he snapped then went back to looking at the pictures of Hermione.

“You never wonder if we’d have normal lives? I mean were sitting here looking at pictures of ourselves killing other human beings. We wouldn’t be doing that if we hadn’t been kidnapped.”

“They’re not human beings, Harry,” Ron said in exasperation as he looked up again.

“Yes, they are.”

“You’re joking? Please, tell me you’re joking.”

“You never feel bad about it? You never feel any guilt over killing all those Death Eaters?” Harry questioned as he looked back at the pictures.

Ron jumped up and started to pace around the empty kitchen.

”You want to talk about this? Fine, lets have a fucking sob session over it. I hate the bastards. There’s not a night that goes by that I don’t hear you screaming in pain. Every night, I see that mask in front of my face asking me if I’m willing to die. So no, I don’t feel bad about it. I’d love to drive a knife right through the black heart of every single last one of them!” Ron was still pacing around the room as Harry watched his face turn red with his ranting.

“And you think that’s normal?”

“No, I don’t think it’s normal! I think it’s highly fucked up! Normal people don’t have their best mate’s screams burned into their dreams. Normal people don’t know what it’s like to feel so much pain that you pray for death. But, it’s not our fault, it’s theirs. So, please get over this fucking guilt you think you’re feeling!” Ron continued to pace as he ran his hand through his hair over and over in frustration.

“What about Hermione?” Harry asked as he looked at a picture of her stunning a Death Eater.

“What about her? She’s incredible,” Ron said as he stopped to look at Harry again.

“You don’t feel bad about what’s she turned into? She wasn’t tortured. Why did we let her turn into a murderer?”

“When has Hermione ever done what we told her to do? She made the decision to be a War Mage on her own. And it’s a good thing to, we’d both be dead without her,” Ron said proudly as he looked towards the door.

“I guess I just wanted more for her than this.”

“Than what, being considered a heroine? Do you know how many letters she’s got out there? She’s been asked to speak at all kinds of Witch’s Rights conventions. She has done something that no other Witch has ever done. You should be proud of her.” Ron dropped down into the chair again and looked at Harry in irritation. “Can we drop this, now? Are we done crying?”

“I guess,” Harry laughed.

“Thank god!” Ron heaved a huge sigh and went back to looking at the pictures of Hermione.

Harry spent a good hour reading the papers. He hated seeing the pictures, but he was glad to be up to date. It was a lot to take in. The Ministry was a mess. A portion of the platform had to be repaired, as did the Hogwarts Express. The four of them were being painted as heroic demigods. There was a slight controversy over he, Ron and Hermione being trained as War Mages since they were so young, but their actions at the station pretty much over shadowed that. Harry and Ron’s kidnapping was also mentioned several times as the cause of their training. Hermione was made to look like the next Joan of Arc. As always, they retold the story of Harry’s tragic beginnings. There was also several articles on the Weasleys since two of their son’s were involved. Over all, Harry was feeling pretty disgusted with the press in general when he was done. It was true that he was being painted in a positive light, but still, they were digging into every accept of his life and he hated that. He was very glad that he’d been so secretive about his relationship with Cho or they could have easily started attacking her for statements. Any friend of his was in danger, especially one that he’d had a sexual relationship with. He shuddered to think what would happen if the press got a hold of that. He really needed to write her. She was always discreet, but now more than ever, he couldn’t have her telling anyone that they were friends. The press never stopped to think about putting someone in danger by their reporting. If their relationship ever came out, the Death Eater’s would be knocking on her door. Harry would never forgive himself if that happened.

Harry realized it was past noon and wondered where Hermione and Ginny were. He and Ron had been up for a while and he hadn’t seen either girl. He figured they were avoiding the two of them. Ron and Hermione were still fighting. Not to mention, he and Ginny’s little interlude in the living room. He was kind of hoping she was upset with him. It looked like he was stuck at the Burrow until Sirius was free to come get him. That could be bad if Ginny decided to take him up on his offer of finishing her game for her. Once again, he marveled at how truly idiotic she could make him. His brain just stopped working when she was around. He still couldn’t believe he had said that.

After finishing with the papers Harry and Ron deiced to play some one on one Quidditch. They spent most of the day out there working off their excess stress. The twins and Charlie joined in on a few games when they returned home. The twins had closed up their Joke Shop early to escape the reporters who had been hounding them all day. Charlie had been given a lax work load due to his heroics at the station. Over twenty fully trained War Mages worked at the Department of Mysteries. It was pretty shameful that Charlie was the only one who made it to the station. The alert systems were all being reworked. War Mages were suppose to be the best. The fact that the Aurors beat them to the job was embarrassing, especially since the Aurors took so long to begin with.

The five of them didn’t head in until nightfall. They argued over the shower, but eventually made it down to dinner cleaned and refreshed. They ate outside on two tables set up to accommodate everyone. Aside from Bill, who had remained at his flat, the entire Weasley clan was in attendance.

“Did you have a nice day, Harry?” Ginny asked cheerfully from her seat between George and Charlie.

Harry was sitting across from her. His eyes narrowed at her cheerfulness. “Okay. . . You?”

“I had a wonderful day. Although, it was a little uneventful. Perhaps, we could play a game later.” Ginny smiled innocently as Harry’s glass slipped from his grasp and crashed to the ground.

“Harry, what’s your problem?!” Ron yelled as he jumped up. Half of Harry’s drink had spilled on him.

“Ron, it’s not that bad. Here, let me get that for you.” Hermione came around from her seat next to Harry and with a wave of her wand, cleaned up the pumpkin juice that had spilled all over Ron’s leg. “See, all better.” She ran a hand over the now clean area to see if it was dry. If Harry wasn’t in his own serious predicament, he would have died laughing at the look on Ron’s face as Hermione’s hand ran slowly over his thigh.

“Thanks,” Ron mumbled as he sat back down casting confused glances at Hermione.

“So, what do you think?” Ginny smiled at Harry looking as innocent as could be.

“I think a game would be a bad idea,” Harry hissed through gritted teeth as he looked back at her.

“Oh, I disagree. I think it’s been a really long time since we’ve played one. We could make up for lost time. You know, get caught up on everything.” Ginny was speaking causally and no one at the table had any idea what she was really implying.

“I’m not playing a game tonight.” Harry said firmly as he gave her a look that clearly meant ‘drop it.

“Perhaps, if I started one you might feel obligated to finish it.” Ginny suddenly gave him a mischievous smile and one eye brow arched.

“Jesus, Harry. Play a game with her. You know how she is once she sets her mind to something,” George laughed.

“Yes, I do,” Harry muttered under his breath as he looked as his plate.

Harry remained silent for the rest of the meal. He was desperately trying to figure a way out of the situation he had so moronically created for himself. He was faced with several over lapping problems at once. The first being Ginny’s obvious determination. Second and most alarming, was his own overwhelming need for her. His defenses against Ginny were at an all time low. He realized that he was in real danger of actually giving in to temptation. He found himself making excuses for it. He had a long affair with Cho that he’d kept secret. He and Ginny could simply do the same thing, right. Wrong, he loved Ginny. She deserved more than a fling. Cho never wanted anything but the obvious out of their relationship. She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. She was looking for someone to keep her company while she recovered from Cedric’s death. Ginny was an entirely different situation. It would tear his heart out to know that he was using her for sex when he wanted to give her so much more. Then, there was the pressing mater of Ginny’s family. The Weasleys had been nothing but good to Harry. He would hate to abuse their trust in him. Ron was also a real problem. A two hundred and fifty pound War Mage’s threat of murder was not something to be taken lightly, even if he is your best mate. Ron was bad tempered in the best of times. He may not actually murder Harry, but they could easily come to blows over it and that could be dangerous for both of them. They were both highly trained. Their reflexes were faster than their brains.

By the time dinner was over Harry had decided that he had to stay away from Ginny. He had survived fifteen hours of torture at the hands of Death Eater’s. He could survive Ginny. He may not ever sleep again, but he would resist her. After all, he had resisted her almost two years ago, barely, but he had done it.

Harry made a clear attempt to stay in the company of one or more of Ginny’s brothers for the rest of the night. It unnerved Harry that this didn’t seem to bother Ginny. In fact, she turned in early and left Harry to spend almost a hour talking Quidditch with Charlie as the twins bounced around the room pestering everyone with their latest inventions. Ron and Hermione disappeared, as well. Which also surprised Harry, considering Ron’s drunken state the night before. Eventually, Harry headed up to Ron’s room feeling more shaken than he had in years. He knew Ginny to well to think that she’d given up so easily.

Harry opened the door slowly, worried he’d find either Ginny or Ron and Hermione. Both situations would be bad. Thankfully, the room was empty and he fell into bed. His peace was interrupted when his head landed on a letter laying on his pillow. He picked it up and almost blanched when he recognized Ginny’s handwriting.

Meet me at the tree.

One sentence, that was it. Yet, it held a world of meaning. The tree where they fell in love. Ginny wasn’t stupid. She knew Harry would go. He wanted to kick himself for not coming up earlier. She was alone, outside, in the dark, with a fucking war going on! She was the most reckless woman he had ever met. He was furious at her. She probably sat in her room all day thinking of the one thing that would make him come to her. Well, she’d done it. He wasn’t about to leave her out there all alone. She was stubborn enough to sit there all god damn night. He stormed out of Ron’s room.

The living room was empty when he reached it and he was more than glad, because in a few minutes he was going to be dragging Ginny back here kicking and screaming if he had to. He didn’t really want to explain to five hot tempered brothers the reason Ginny was idiotic enough to be outside at this time of night.

Once outside, he lit his wand and ran full speed towards the tree. He wasn’t worried about resisting her. He was worried about not clobbering her once he found her. He was over the hill and through the clearing in minutes. He slowed when he saw the light from a lantern glowing.

Ginny sat under the tree on a blanket. Her legs folded under her as she calmly waited. Her eyes were cast out towards the lake as a dreamy expression played across her face. She turned when she heard Harry approach.

“You came,” Ginny exclaimed happily as she jumped to her feet.

“Of course, I came. What were you thinking, Ginny?! This has to be the dumbest thing that---”

Harry didn’t see Ginny’s hands rising to the straps on her dress until it was to late. His words, indeed his ability for speech, died the second he watched Ginny’s dress slide off her body and pool to her feet. She had thought of everything. She hadn’t worn a single stitch of clothing under that dress. Ginny stood there, glorious and naked in front of him. Her red hair flowing around her. Her skin glowing from the eerie light cast by the lantern behind her. Every inch of her bare to him under the tree where they had proclaimed their love.

With a slow smile she asked Harry one question.

“Will you finish it?”