Unbidden Desires

Chapter 9 - Casa sporca, gente aspetta

Later that evening just before 7:00, Draco entered Professor Snape's classroom to serve his detention. His head of house was not there but had left a note for Draco on his desk next to a pitcher of cool water. His note read:

Mr. Malfoy,

I must attend a meeting with the Deputy Headmistress. I expect to be finished by 9:00 or so. There will be six other students for detention (Mr. Wickham, Mr. Bennett, Miss Bellucci, Mr. Collins, Mr. Bingley, and Miss Weasley). You are to supervise the others. Their task is to scrub by hand every dish in my storage cabinet, which I have been saving for an evening such as this.

It should take about two hours for them to finish the job. If their work is not satisfactory, they shall return tomorrow at the same time. As usual, no magic is allowed. If any of them are stupid enough to have brought their wands along, please take them as they enter the classroom, as well as five points from their house.

Depending on you - Professor Severus Snape

P.S. Professor Lupin will be dropping by sometime this evening. Please let him in my office; he already knows where to find what he requires. Should he have Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey with him, allow them in as well. One of them is to deliver some notes; please have her leave them with you.

Thus Draco sat at the front of the dismal Potions classroom, utterly bored to tears as he watched younger students do menial labor. He helped himself to a glass of water then gazed at Ginny, who was concentrating feverishly on her task. Ah, well -- if he couldn't have his wicked way with her (Not yet, anyway), the least he could was try and make her feel as uncomfortable as possible. Sipping his drink slowly, his eyes lingered on her, trying to catch her attention and remind her of the forbidden passion they had both felt the night before.

Eventually, she could no longer ignore his intense stare. She looked up at him, glaring spitefully. He could tell she felt this whole situation was incredibly unfair. Displaying her emotions plainly on her face (As all Weasley's do), he could easily imagine what she was thinking just then: 'You complete arse! Here I sit, scrubbing layers of filth for Professor Snape, and all you have to do is watch. And it's entirely your fault that I'm here in the first place!!'

Draco smirked and winked at her, and she glowered back at him. Trying to unnerve her, he flicked his tongue between two fingers in a suggestive fashion, implying something both naughty and sensual. Ginny squirmed a bit in her chair, but she refused to let his antics get to her. Undaunted by his insinuating gestures, she focused on her work.

He soon got annoyed at her lack of response. He wondered, What's got her knickers in a twist? Giving up for the moment, he sighed and opened his Transfiguration book to Chapter 6, occasionally glancing over the tops of the pages to keep an eye on Snape's detainees.

A short while later, Professor Lupin walked through the doorway to the classroom, Professor Sprout at his side. The two were deeply engrossed in a discussion about some of the new plants her Advanced Herbology students were working on. After a few minor setbacks, it seemed like they were on the verge of their first important breakthrough.

Professor Lupin looked up and greeted Draco. "Good evening, Mr. Malfoy. Pleasure to see you."

Draco was never openly rude to any teacher (Even those I personally find disgusting), so he responded respectfully, "Good evening, sir. Ma'am."

Professor Sprout nodded in reply. Professor Lupin gave Draco a friendly smile then got right down to business. "I believe Professor Snape has something for me in his office. May I?"

He indicated his consent by turning his head toward the office door and slightly shrugged one shoulder. The two professors walked along, Professor Sprout speaking in a hushed voice. Draco could not resist the opportunity to eavesdrop, as it was always far more interesting than reading one's textbook. Besides, that's where the real learning is at this place.

That, and Hannah Abbott's bedroom.

"As I was saying, Remus, I believe my Advanced Herbology students are on their way to making something very special. Miss Granger's idea of blending DNA from the Mimbulus Mimbletonia and the root of asphodel -- the results were simply astonishing! The hybrid finally seems to be thriving. That girl certainly is a cracker-jack. She's very bright." Draco scowled to himself, A bright mudblood?!

"Yes, she certainly is that," Lupin agreed heartily. "She has a lot of potential."

Just then, Professor Sprout enthusiastically volunteered some surprising news. "And speaking of bright students, the way that Miss Parkinson has jumped right in and offered to help Neville Longbottom with his charms has simply amazed me! She certainly has a good command of her skills."

Draco practically choked on his water and had to fight to keep from sputtering. Parkinson is actually helping Longbottom? Maybe Michael Grant needs to be informed of that. Even if he is mental, I'd love to see Pansy get her comeuppance -- she treats me and Blaise like dirt! Grinning evilly, he decided, This may turn out to be my most worthwhile detention ever.

Staring into his book, his ears pricked up to catch Lupin's response, trying to make out every word. Professor Lupin replied, "Yes, I saw promise in both of them when I was their teacher before, and they continue to excel." The instructors went into Snape's office and shut the door. They emerged two minutes later, Professor Lupin wearing a nasty grimace on his face and Professor Sprout eyeing him sympathetically.

They left the classroom, waving to Draco, who acknowledged them with a slight smile and a nod of his head. Professor Sprout made a sudden turn-about, saying, "Oh, Mr. Malfoy! I nearly forgot. Professor Snape is expecting this. Would you please see that he gets it?" She handed him a thick folder, jam-packed with notes that were haphazardly thrown into it. With a bland look on his face, he nodded in silent response. She smiled broadly and added, "Thank you, young man."

He set the folder down, stretched his arms above his head, and inhaled deeply. Wanting to get up and move around a bit, he rose slowly and ambled around the room, observing the work of the younger students in an offhanded manner. He strolled nonchalantly, all the while stealing occasional glimpses of Ginny, who was seated three tables behind the others. Feeling compelled to speak to her, he slowly sauntered over to her table.

He stood by her side, pretending to monitor her work. He pointed to an imaginary spot on the dish she was working on, just so he could touch her hand, and whispered, "Ginny, last night was amazing."

"Delightful, I'm sure," she sneered quietly. She was infuriated that his so-called 'detention' was a walk in the park for him. Damn him! He never gets in trouble for anything, even with his daddy locked away in prison and Snape secretly on my parents' side! It's so unfair.

But the person she was most angry with Ginny Weasley. Cursing herself for her actions of the previous evening, she had been thinking of the Quidditch practice she was now missing and how Ron was going to be so mad at her. Like last night, only five times worse. And if he only knew what I'd really done -- I'd surely be pushing up daisies by now!

Draco was appalled by her attitude. He hissed, "Don't pull that crap with me, Weasley! You wanted it, too! Innocent, blushing virgin, my arse--"

She turned to face him directly, her response immediate and fierce. In a half-whisper, she said, "Maybe I did, but it's never going to happen again, so just forget about it!" Shock and disappointment registered on his pale face. She explained in hushed tones, "I was under the influence of a very powerful potion! Compulsory behavior can be excused, you know," she said, fixing her eyes on her work. She stared at the dish and continued scouring, her eyes never moving, as if she could make the stubborn marks vanish by sheer will.

"Compulsory--" he started. But he had another thought: "If the Veritaserum 'made you do it', then that's all the more reason to believe it was your idea. Your body's, anyway," he leered as his eyes roamed up and down her. "So tell me, love. Does it want to have another go?"

She felt like slapping him for his presumptuous innuendo. Instead, she slammed the dish that she was working on down rather forcefully, causing a couple of the boys to turn around and gawk momentarily. One furious glare from Draco was enough to make them refocus on their own tasks. As she reached for a new dish, he grabbed her hand; he needed her to look at him, or this would never work. He softly stroked her hand with his thumb and spoke quietly to her. "Ginny, I was only saying . . we could both . . . enjoy one another so much. . "

That was the wrong thing to say. She abruptly pulled her hand away from his. At her look of utter contempt, he narrowed his eyes and spat in as low a voice as possible, "Oh, just forget it! You're bloody impossible!"

He stormed away and headed toward the front of the room in a huff. The nerve of that bint! No girl snubs me, especially a peasant like her! He was moving along at a pretty good clip when he stopped abruptly right by Miss Bellucci, who promptly dropped three of the five dishes she was holding. The aged glass shattered instantly on hitting the stone floor.

Being the only one with a wand, Draco did a quick Reparo spell to fix the bowls. He didn't want Professor Snape to be angry with him for allowing a student to make a mess. In a loud voice, he reprimanded the young girl for her stupidity. Forgetting herself, she apologized -- in Italian: "Scusi, Signore Malfoy!"

Realizing her lingual mistake, she gasped and promptly corrected herself in her thickly accented English, saying, "I am sorry, Mr. Malfoy," blushing deeply. Her contrite apology gave Draco a feeling of power, which he lorded over her as he stared at her menacingly. As if Ginny was watching and could read his mind, he thought, See? She respects me. She fears me -- and you should, too, Weasley.

As Sophia's blush faded, he continued to watch her and wondered, Is her skin always that dark? He shook his head and concluded, She probably tried one of those new tanning charms and didn't quite set the intensity properly. Either that, or somebody's got me so bloody miffed that I'm seeing things.

Not quite satisfied, he spun around and spoke crossly to Maurice Collins for the poor cleaning job he was doing. He growled at him, "Are you a complete moron? I already took your wand and five points -- do you want Hufflepuff to lose even more tonight?" Maurice shook his head and shuddered at the accusation. But for some reason, Draco found that yelling at the boy wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it should have been.

He threw himself back into Professor Snape's chair. Frustrated beyond belief, he thought about Ginny once more, blaming everything on her. I knew it. I can see the harpy in her coming out already. I was only going to suggest a repeat performance in the nearest secluded room immediately after detention, but I guess I'll just . . go back to my room, alone, cast a silencing charm, and have myself a good, long wank-fest. Merlin knows, I need it!

But try as he might, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Even though she was angry, or perhaps because of it, she looked so very sexy. So incredibly tempting. He couldn't possibly focus on his Transfiguration homework now. He sighed in annoyance and slammed his book shut as he fidgeted in the chair. This was going to be a very long and trying evening.

In an effort to distract himself, Draco reached for the folder Professor Sprout had left with him. He thumbed through the disorganized notes, revolted to find small particles of dried mud stuck in between the stacks of parchment. Not only was it all a hopeless mess, the text may as well have been written in Greek, for all he could make out of it. Roots, hybrids, dicots, seed coats -- gods, I hate herbology. Most boring subject ever.

When he turned to the next page, a series of items written in royal blue ink at the bottom caught his eye. He read with curiosity:

Draco was baffled by what he'd read. UCD-I? What the hell was that? How was the Ministry involved in all this? Had they actually sanctioned this crazy old bag's hair-brained project?

He speculated about what DNA might be but decided he really had no clue. He read a bit more of the cryptic notes, occasionally checking around the room to see that all the students were still working and that Snape was not skulking back into the classroom. It was twenty minutes until nine o'clock. Good. Just enough time to snoop a bit more. Since Ginny won't talk to me -- no, won't even look at me, I may as well make my time here useful.

Most of it was pretty dry reading, so he scanned for more information about what this 'DNA' was and what new potions they were planning to brew. He saw a sketch of an odd-looking plant that combined the qualities of three others -- what was that thing? Disgusted at his complete ignorance, and the nagging fact that Neville Longbottom most likely had a better understanding of what all this crap meant than he did, he rearranged the notes and tossed the folder to one side.

Moments later, Professor Snape returned to the classroom. He surveyed the room and said snidely, "It looks as though each of you have adequately managed to complete your part of the task. You may go."

The younger students prepared to depart for their individual houses. Draco opted not to tell Professor Snape about the broken dishes; after all, Miss Bellucci was his housemate, and getting her into trouble could reflect badly on him and perhaps lose points from his own house. Instead, he simply gave Maurice his wand, along with a cold, superior sneer. While Draco collected his schoolwork, the others made a hasty exit, with the exception of Ginny. She had just been finishing her last dish when the Potions Master had dismissed them.

As Draco looked around the room, he noticed that there were about a dozen dirty dishes remaining on the various tables. He started to make his way toward the door when Professor Snape grabbed his shoulder and clarified, "Oh, no, Mr. Malfoy. Not you. You are to finish the job, without magic. Your wand, if you please?"

Stunned, his mouth fell open. Ginny fought the giggles to keep from snorting at him, and he turned red, fuming silently at her. Professor Snape turned around sharply and snapped at her, "Miss Weasley, perhaps you would like to assist Mr. Malfoy?"

Her face lost all expression when she said demurely, "No, sir."

"Good night, then," he said brusquely. "I shall see you here back again tomorrow evening, promptly at 7:00." She left before the surly Potions Master could change his mind and decide to extend her punishment.

"But Sir," Draco began, "I still have two more chapters to read and summarize for Professor McGonagall by tomorrow morning. She's one tough old bird; even though it is Saturday, and a Hogsmeade weekend, she won't let me off the hook for my being ill this morning. Can't you please--"

After watching him squirm for a bit, his head of house cut him off mid-sentence. "Don't worry, Malfoy. I'll take care of those dishes in a bit. Didn't want to show 'extreme favoritism' in front of members from other houses. Headmaster's orders, you know." He glimpsed toward the doorway and said quietly, "The real reason I asked you to stay is that I need to speak with you privately."

"Sir?" Draco asked expectantly.

Professor Snape pointed his wand toward the door and muttered a spell to close it. "Look at me, Draco. Relax. I must see something."

Confused, the boy obeyed. Snape raised his wand and said a strange word, one which Draco knew he must have heard somewhere before, but he couldn't place exactly where or what it meant. Must be some kind of advanced spell they haven't taught us yet, was the last cognizant thought he remembered having for several minutes.

Soon he felt like he would pass out. Hundreds of images flashed through his mind rapidly; some of them he grasped, others slipped by too quickly. Of the ones he did capture, they were mostly humiliating or cruel in some way. Falling off his broomstick, long before he came to Hogwarts, and his father being angry with him. His mother sitting at his bedside, cold and distant, reading the gossip column of The Daily Prophet, as he endured a severe bout of pneumonia during winter break of his third year. His father yelling at him for losing yet another Quidditch match to Potter, calling him unskilled, weak, hopeless -- and Draco feeling very ashamed. Laughing maliciously when he'd heard that Hermione Granger had been petrified and wishing she would die. Disbelief when he learned of his father's arrest. The warmth that emanated from Ginny Weasley as she took him to completion, the fear that she would never take him there again--

"Draco," Snape prompted gently, "are you all right?"

Looking around, he realized that he was lying on the floor, sprawled flat on his back, his cheeks moist. Fighting to keep the accusation out of his voice, he asked, "Wh-what just happened? What did you do to me?"

"I am sorry, Draco, but I had to. It's a spell called Legilimens. It allows one to penetrate the mind of another."

"I - I've heard of that before," the boy whispered, still gasping for air. "Yes, I'm quite sure I've heard Father use it at home, from time to time. What does it do?" he asked inquisitively.

"I can't tell you much about it right now, but you weren't harmed," he said seriously. "Besides, someone is coming to visit you directly. Your mother is most anxious to see you."

"Mother?" Draco asked, puzzled.

"Yes, I had mentioned your headaches to her, and she is seeing Madam Pomfrey about an appropriate remedy. She should be on her way down shortly. In fact, I expect her momentarily." He opened the door with a simple spell, and both wizards fell silent.

As they awaited her arrival, Severus Snape wistfully recalled the day he first laid eyes on Narcissa Black. She was possibly the most striking beauty to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts. Rumored by her classmates to be at least one-quarter veela, the pale, svelte blonde could turn the head of every wizard on campus, including a handful of the instructors. It was easy to see why the powerful and handsome Lucius Malfoy had made Narcissa his wife shortly after she graduated.

The rare and magnificent flower was now standing in the doorway of Professor Snape's classroom, bestowing him with a faint smile. Entering with her usual flair for the dramatic, she nodded to Professor Snape and acknowledged him coolly, "Severus."

"Narcissa. How good it is to see you again," he said with a thin smile on his lips. "I'll leave you two alone." Before he left, he uttered, "Scourgify," pointing his wand at the remaining dishes. He quickly banished each one to its rightful place on his shelves, leaving the room neat and tidy. He turned to go, bowing his head slightly, and retreated to his office and his private quarters behind it.

Mrs. Malfoy closed the door behind her quietly. At first, a slight smile graced her ruby lips, which Draco found rather unusual yet strangely reassuring. His mother never came to Hogwarts without a compelling reason, and he sincerely hoped she wasn't there at Father's behest. Damn, I never did finish that note for her. I hope she wasn't seriously expecting one.

Hoping to get in her good graces straight away, he began with a genteel kiss on her hand. He murmured, "You're looking well, Mother."

She pulled her hand away from his and smacked her son on the cheek as hard as she could. "How dare you, Draco Lucius Malfoy?" As the sting started to rise in his face, she accused angrily, "Do you hate me?!"

Putting his hand to his cheek, he asked in surprise, "What? Of course, I don't hate you! What are you on about?"

"You -- ingrate! What were you thinking, sleeping with . . . a . . a Weasley?"

Shocked at her accusation, yet not feeling bold enough to confirm it, he decided that denial was the best way to handle it. That, and a bit of humor, was the only possible course. He scoffed defensively, "Me, sleep with a Weasley? I think not. Ron's not really my type; even the sleekest Quidditch robes can't help that body."

She was not amused and spoke severely to him. "I am serious. I would have come earlier today, but I was visiting your father, as I do every Friday." She paused to gather her thoughts and continued ranting, "What if that whore gets pregnant? They breed like rabbits, or didn't you notice?! Do you think I want to be a grandmother at my age, not to mention, be related to something that is part of that -- that -- herd of revolting blood traitors?!" She cried into her lacey silk handkerchief, as if his actions had wounded her to the bottom of her black heart.

To say Draco was stunned that she'd managed to find out about it in the first place was an understatement. But he wasn't going to ask her about it; instead, he continued with his denial. "I'm sure you don't, but you needn't worry about that, Mother. Yes, Miss Weasley helped me with a project, but I assure you, nothing else happened."

As if controlled by a faucet, Narcissa's tears ceased flowing immediately. She stared up at him, utterly livid. "Don't try and dispute me, young man. I know you did it -- even things you think you keep secret from me, I always find out," she hissed. "You are to stop this affair, and I mean immediately. As you can imagine, your father will be less than thrilled with your behavior. And I fully intend to inform him of it."

Deciding things couldn't get any worse, he said irritably, "And what would you know about my 'behavior'? You and I never talk. You don't write to me to ask how I'm doing, and you've never once called me in the Slytherin common room's fireplace." He paused for a second, then asked, "Who is your spy, Mother? Is it Snape?"

She laughed coldly. "Severus? What a thing to say! I have my own sources, and they are extremely reliable. They have my best interests at heart, unlike my son, who apparently appreciates nothing!" She stomped out the door without looking back.

"My," Draco remarked dryly to himself, "that went well. Wait till I tell her about the wedding plans."

~~~

Meanwhile, Ginny was trying to evade problems with one of her own relatives. She was just returning to Gryffindor tower, hoping to avoid a blazing row with Ron for having missed practice again. Dreading she would run into him, she ducked surreptitiously around the knot of people that were standing near the center of the room. In their midst were Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke, the inept pair that had become their team's Beaters, replacing her brothers when they were banned from playing last year.

She looked around the group and spotted former Gryffindor Chasers Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. They were Fred and George's current girlfriends, so Ginny decided she would say hello. Moving closer, she thought defiantly, Piss on Ron's bad attitude, anyway!

Working her way into the crowd, she suddenly noticed a bit more red hair than she'd seen at first. Some of it didn't reach quite as high as Ron's, and she wondered briefly where Katie and Angelina had gotten to. That was when she spotted the bane of Mr. Filch's existence, the Weasley twins. Bloody brilliant! When did they get here?

Ginny had to talk to them. It had been over three months since they had been to the Burrow. They were staying at Oliver Wood's flat, as he was almost always off playing professional Quidditch. The twins had not been to Hogwarts since their spectacular departure just weeks before their impending graduation.

"George! What in blazes are you doing here?" she shouted enthusiastically, breaking through the crowd and embracing him. "Were you here just a minute ago?"

"No, my dear, we just 'arrived', as it were." At her puzzled look, George explained, "I'm sure Filch hasn't forgotten us from last year, so we came Polyjuiced as our girlfriends. Didn't you see Angelina and Katie come in a while ago?" he asked with an impish wink.

"Ah, I see. That would explain your unusual garb, I suppose?" Ginny snickered, looking down at George's rather feminine attire. "And here I thought you were both just blossoming transvestites."

"Lady Guinevere, fairest maiden in Gryffindor Tower!" Fred exclaimed, bowing low. "How are you, love?"

"She's in deep shit, that's how she is," Ron snarled. Snapping his fingers, he ordered, "You -- over here -- now."

"Hey, Ronald, don't be so harsh on our darling Gin," Fred defended her as he hugged her affectionately. "Is that any way to speak to our favorite sister?" he asked, smiling sweetly.

Turning to Ron, George piped in, "He's right, you prig. You're as obnoxious as Percy." Then he added, "Whoops -- my bad -- you're worse than him. If you make Head Boy, I'll feel sorry for the whole school, including the Slytherins." Ron glowered at him but did not respond.

"So you're still not speaking to what's-his-arse?" Ginny asked Fred.

He scoffed in reply, "What! Me, speak to Percival, the Patron Saint of Suck-ups Everywhere? He is more unbearable than ever."

"And that's really saying something," George threw in, taking over where Fred left off. "Ever since Fudge changed his tune and started singing you guys' and Mum and Dad's praises, Percy has been acting like he knew all along that You-Know-Who was back. No one was pulling the wool over his sharp eyes, by golly." He snorted, "What a pretentious arse-kisser!"

Fred sighed, "Ah, some things never change. Remember the time we transfigured his beloved 'Hogwarts: A History' -- no offense, Hermione -- into a stack of Playwizard magazines? Perce told Mum he didn't know how all those got in his knapsack. She obviously didn't know that the horny creep already had loads of them under his bed. He actually had the nerve to accuse us!"

"But didn't you do it?" Hermione asked rather indignantly.

"That's beside the point," Fred said.

George interjected, "And then, to top it all, this strange owl flew right through the kitchen window and delivered the latest edition to him. Dropped it right into his hands. I thought Mum would kill him!" He paused for a moment then remarked innocently, "I still don't know how that owl got there -- do you, dear brother?"

"Not a clue," Fred replied.

"Could it have been because we asked Charlie to pay for it as an early birthday present to us?" George suggested.

His twin said thoughtfully, "Hmm . . . you could be onto something there."

"But we digress; we are not here to discuss the carefree days of our youth." Wiping a mock tear away from his eye, George added melodramatically, "Alas, they are gone forever."

"Well, not quite," Ginny laughed, "but you still haven't answered me. What are you two doing here?"

Hermione piped in excitedly, "I know, they're here to finish their N.E.W.T.s!"

Fred retorted, "Actually, Miss Granger, for once -- you're wrong." Then he shouted, "Call Rita Skeeter! Exclusive: Hermione Granger answers question incorrectly! All of Gryffindor in shock! See the photos!" She gave him a good-natured smirk.

Then George announced rather loudly, "We are here seeking new product testers. You will be well-paid for your services, either in gold or product exchange." Then as an aside, he tacked on the fine print: "We regret that we cannot guarantee the safety of your limbs, facial parts, hair, etc. We will do our utmost to restore them to their original condition, should you encounter any occupational hazards. If not, well -- then, please consider it a sacrifice for the greater good of wizardkind everywhere."

Fred added in a booming voice, "We are also here to announce that will be setting up shop in . . drum roll, please, George . . the lovely village of Hogsmeade, subleasing space from Honeyduke's, opening promptly at 9 a.m. tomorrow--"

Ginny's eyes drew wide. "You're not!" They nodded in reply. "Oh, you are! That's smashing!"

George affirmed, "Indeed, we are, dearest sister. And yes, it is most definitely smashing. Being so close, we will be at all of your Quidditch matches," which induced a groan from Ron, "and see you at every Hogsmeade weekend, starting tomorrow of course--"

"Not so fast, Lady Guinevere," Ron sneered. "You missed Quidditch practice tonight, and you know what that means -- make-up session, first thing tomorrow morning!"

"But Ron," she pouted, "I told you, I had a detention with Snape! And I already had plans to go to Hogsmeade with Luna!

"I don't give a crap. You're staying here and going over the game patterns we practiced tonight. And then you're going to practice your moves, alone, on the pitch. You'll need to finish by 2:00, because that's the time Slytherin has it booked for their practice."

Ginny was furious. She nearly screamed, "Oooh, you're the worst captain ever! And a lousy brother!"

"Couldn't agree more, sis," Fred chimed in. "He's much more brutal than Oliver, and not half as cute."

"Quite true, bro," George concurred. Then he said in a loud whisper, "Besides, any guy who's getting as much sex as he allegedly is has no right to be grouchy."

Ron's fuse was growing short, with his three siblings all picking on him. He snapped, "I heard that!"

"Good. I meant for you to," George said with a wicked grin.

Fred tried to smooth things over. "Now, now, dear brothers, let's not fight, shall we? We need to head back to Oliver's soon -- we have a big day tomorrow -- and we still have all this free butterbeer to give away."

Ginny and Harry reached for a butterbeer at the same time. Harry's hand brushed up against hers as they both grabbed for the same bottle. "Oh, sorry," he said, blushing. She still made him a little nervous, as he had not managed to get over his crush on her. He held out hope, however faint, that she would change her mind and give him a second chance.

Holding his bottle out in front of him, Harry opened it and said, "Lucky the tops were still on these, or I'd be questioning whether or not they were safe to drink." He tried to hide the mild anxiety she instilled in him. "So . . you were going to go to Hogsmeade with Luna tomorrow?"

"Yeah, well, guess I'm not now, am I?" Ginny grumbled.

"Well, I'm not all hung up on going there myself, except to see Fred and George's new shop." After thinking for a minute, he got a brilliant idea. "Hey, I know. How about I join you for practice, just to give you someone to toss the Quaffle about with? Then we could run over to the store after you finish. All right?"

She hedged for a moment then decided that practice would be a lot less boring with a friend along. "All right, Harry -- that sounds great. Thanks."

Harry sighed and gave her a slight smile, teasing, "You're welcome, 'Lady Guinevere'." They agreed to bring their brooms down to lunch with them and then go to the pitch together.

Everyone toasted Fred and George several times, wishing them fantastic success in their new venture. It was an exciting evening in Gryffindor Tower, as its residents drank butterbeer and sampled some of the new products. The revelry wound down nearly two hours later, when Hermione sternly reminded everyone to go to their rooms and rest.

"Cor, you're a wet blanket, Hermione," Fred remarked. "Are you sure you're dating the right Weasley? Perhaps you'd like to meet my older brother, Percy?" She wrinkled her nose at him, and Ron spit a mouthful of butterbeer everywhere.

The twins took the rest of their Polyjuice Potion and transformed so they could exit the school grounds without incident. Ginny smiled and waved at the two girls as they left, then headed upstairs to her room to rest up for her practice in the morning.