dedicated to 123J0rdy for the cute cover!

Song For Chapter: Take A Walk - Passion Pit

"The answer has been staring me in the face, this whole time," Harry stated as he stalked into the Common Room, not bothering to say hello to Hermione, Ginny, and I as we watched him trudge from the portrait door to the boy's staircase.

"Hello to you too, Potter!" I called after him, watching his messy hair disappear behind the wall of the stairs. Chuckling, I turned towards Ginny and Hermione. "Where's he off to in a hurry?"

Ginny blushed as her eyes strayed over the cobblestones of the wall. "I-I'm not sure."

The way she shifted nervously on the spot caused a brow to quirk up my forehead. "O-kay, and what's the matter with you, Ginevra?" Hermione set her book to the side as I nudged her, trying to get her interested in my snooping too. She seemed a bit intrigued, but also a bit agitated.

Ginny tucked a long strand of red hair behind her ear and watched as Ron disappeared behind the hall after Harry before clearing her throat and turning towards us, ears burning red. "I, well... I sort of, kissed Harry."

Hermione was the first to break the small time of shocked silence, as I was too busy trying to find where my jaw dropped. "Ginny, that's fantastic! How did he react? Was he surprised?"

"Well, obviously he was a bit surprised... his eyes were closed and I snuck it."

I cleared my throat, finally finding my voice. "Hold on, did he kiss you back?! That's the most important bit, you know." I paused, watching her duck her head and usher her hands towards me, as if telling me to keep my voice down. Then, a thought hit me. "Wait, are Dean and you no longer going out?" That time, I whispered it, hearing light footsteps coming down the stairs.

Ginny shook her head, a small face of disappointment plastered on, but it was quickly washed away as the people coming down the Girls Stairs rounded the corner. The three of us were nervous for a split second, thinking it was Lavender Brown -- or some of her friends, but it was just Jenna and Lana. Ginny cleared her throat. "No, it wasn't working out," she faltered a bit, trying not to meet my eyes. "A-And, yes, he did kiss back."

I smirked, trying to keep the giddy laugh that was bubbling up inside myself down, but I couldn't help it. "Ahaha! Gin, really? Why are you acting so bashful?! I've snogged your brother on many occasions, you can tell me about this."

"Ew," Gin crinkled her nose in distaste. "You may have, but I don't ask you for the details! I don't want to know if Fred's a good kisser or not."

Jenna perked up at this, linking arms with Lana and taking a place beside Hermione and I on the couch beside the fireplace, Ginny occupying one of the comfy chairs. "Is Fred a good kisser?" She prodded. "I don't think I've ever asked."

Hermione, Lana, and Jenna looked down at me, expectantly, while Ginny made retching sounds in the background. Sighing, I bowed my head. "He's a terrible kisser. All spit. Moving on," I clapped my hands together, trying not to make the lie obvious by laughing at the grossed-out expression on Jenna and Ginny's faces. Hermione and Lana seemed as if they weren't fooled. "How was Har--"

Lana coughed into her head, eyes darting from my face to the Boys' Stairs. "Ah-hem, ix-ney the iss-kay! Ah-hem." Jenna lightly tapped Lana on the back, knowing that she was speaking Pig-Latin, but trying to be obnoxiously funny.

Ron and Harry rounded the couch and sat down, Jenna moving to the floor beside Lana. Ron glanced at Lana, who was attempting to get Jenna to stop patting her back. "Erh, gesundheit."

'That's for sneezing,' I wanted to tell him, but honestly it didn't matter. Under my breath, I muttered, "Upid-stay," getting Jenna to snicker quietly and Ron to glance at me in confusion. Changing the subject, I cast Harry a withering glance, noting how he was clutching a vial in his fist. "What's going on, Harry?"

Harry's eyes travelled from Jenna to Lana, wondering if he should talk about anything 'confidential' when they were in the room. Eventually, he must have decided to trust them since he took a deep breath and leant forward, showing all of us the small vial of Liquid Luck. "I know how to get Slughorn's memory; the real one. I'm going to drink this, then march into Slughorn's office. Simple."

"Are you sure about this, Harry?" Hermione asked, frowning as she watched him uncork the bottle. "I mean, there could be many other things you could use this for."

Harry merely took a few, shallow swallows, leaving about a third of the potion inside. "This is important, Hermione. You know that," he said taking the rest of the potion and placing it into his trouser pockets, for safe keeping.

I waved a hand in front of Harry's face as a dopey grin began to take form. "Well, how do you feel?"

"Excellent," Harry grinned, cheekily, as he got up from his spot on the couch, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Really excellent."

Hermione and Ron jumped up as Harry began to walk towards the portrait door, whistling a chipper tune. Which, was funny to me. I didn't take Harry as a whistler. My sister grabbed Harry's upper arm, stopping him. "Remember Harry, Slughorn usually eats early, takes a walk, then returns to his office."

Lana cupped a hand around her lips and leaned in close to my ear, murmuring under her breath, "And, how does your sister know all of this about a teacher?" All I could offer Lana was a small shrug of my shoulders. There was no valid explanation as to why Hermione knew Slughorn's schedule.

"I'm going to Hargid's," Harry decided, after listening to Hermione's break-down of Slughorn's whereabouts. Walking around Ron and Hermione, Harry grabbed a jumper and began to pull it over his head.

"Uh, no," I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Hermione's shrill yell of command sounded. Whenever things began to go against 'Mione's plans, her voice took a higher octave of control. "No, Harry. You have to go to Slughorn's. We have a plan."

Harry's eyes were the size of saucers as he glanced from each of our faces, taking in everyone as if we were all a very important part of this moment. "I know, Hermione," he finally said, after the awkward stare down he'd had. "But, I have... a really good feeling about Hagrid's. I feel... I feel like it's, the place to be tonight!" Harry looked towards Ginny, Jenna, Lana, and I with an open-mouthed grin. "You know what I mean?"

Snickering, Lana shook her head. "No, I don't. But, you go ahead, Potter. You do you."

"No," Hermione interjected, cutting Lana a sharp glare. "No, Harry, you've only got so much time --"

"--Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Harry's eyes flickered back and forth from Ron and Hermione's faces, a shadow of a doubt echoed on his face. "Or, Felix does!" With that, Harry finished pulling the jumper over his head and turned towards the portrait door, just as Seamus and Dean came into the Gryffindor Common Room.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind Harry, Jenna let out a fit of giggles, clutching at her sides as she began to roll on the floor. "Aha! D-did you see?! Haha! His eyes - oh my God, his eyes were --ahaha! So dilated!"

Finnigan and Thomas gave Jenna awkward glances as they watched her having her fit, Lana patting her back -- as if it would calm her. "Is she alright?" Dean asked me, eyes wandering towards Ginny as they both shared an awkward smile.

"She'll be fine, just a bit of a nut-case," I reassured them. Jenna stopped laughing at that and sucked in a deep breath of air, clearing her head with a small pout, muttering about how I was mean.

Seamus chuckled at us and shook his head as Dean nudged him slightly. "Hey, mate, you wanna go toss the Quaffle 'round outside for a spell? It's the weekend tomorrow and I can stand to put off my work for another night."

At the odd pause from Finnigan's end, I turned away from Jenna and towards the Irish boy who, in turn, was grinning Lana. Finally, without looking at Dean, Seamus shook his head. "That's alright, I think I'll stay inside."

The way Lana handled the attention was down-right professional. If it had been Jenna, or myself, in that situation there would be giggles and a rush of blood against cheeks. But, Lana was perfectly smooth as she flicked the fire-truck red hair behind her shoulder, scooting down the couch to make more room for Seamus. I rolled my eyes with indignation towards how suave she was being.

Hermione and Ginny began talking amongst themselves, ignoring the two boys in the Common Room while Jenna and I spared each other similar looks of knowing. A frown etched across Jenna's face and she scooted closer to me as Lana and Seamus began talking animatedly to one another.

"When did Lana-Banana become so close with Irish boy?"

"Is that jealousy I hear, Jennifer?"

Jenna scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose up into the air, pretending not to be bothered -- however, I knew her too well to believe the obvious lie. "Okay!" She snapped, eyes growing wide. "Why does Lana always find a guy, while I'm here, boyfriend-less again?! I mean, you both have men now --"

"--I wouldn't exactly call mine a man, Jen--"

Jenna kept quickly whispering under her breath, as if the fact that her voice was low would keep Seamus and Lana from hearing her. I wanted to tell her that they were only a few feet away from us, and there was no doubt that they could hear her, but I bit my tongue. "And, I like a guy, but every guy I like turns out to be mental!"

"That's not true--" I began, thinking of my brother, of whom she'd had the longest crush on.

Jenna's eyes narrowed. "Kyle," she began, "Trey, Draco, Matthew --"

"--You liked Matthew Gallahan?" I interrupted her list, trying not to chuckle at the thought of the nerdy boy from Sorcellerie; he had been... interesting. "And, what's wrong with my brother? Malfoy and Kyle, I get." 'Malfoy is a prick, Kyle was a closet gay man who only strung Jenna along to get at her brother...' I weighed it out in my mind.

Sighing, Jenna flopped down onto the hard floor, arms spread out above her mane of golden curls. "Trey was the worst kind of mental -- the married kind."

"You're mental," I huffed under my breath, earning a kick from her. "Ouch," I whined, rubbing my calf, as I watched her, thinking of a certain boy that seemed to like her back, one that wasn't mental. "What about Neville? He seems to like you," I trailed off, getting a wide-eyed stare from her.

Jenna pushed herself up on her hands to look me in the eye, a glimmer of confusion stapled over her brow. "I don't like Neville, and I know for a fact that he doesn't like me."

I sat up straighter at this news, seeing in Jenna's face that she wasn't being coy with me. "You're shitting me."

"No, Elle, I'm not 'shitting you'," she tossed up air-quotes, throwing my words back into my face. "Neville's a sweety, honestly. But, he doesn't like me. To be completely straight with you, he's been asking me for advise about a certain girl. We're really good friends."

"Who does he like, then?"

"Luna of course."

There was a small pause in our conversation as I shot her a small glare of irritation. "Wow, you weren't even going to try to keep his crush a secret, were you?"

Jenna simply shrugged and flopped back down onto the cobble-stone flooring. "We tell each other everything, Elle. Besides, it's not a big deal. He's not really trying to hide it; he just hasn't figured out what to do with the crush. I think it will pass -- like a school girl crush, you know?"

"You said you like someone," I took a break, letting anticipation saturate the air for a bit. "So, who do you like?"

"You don't want to know," she blushed, turning her gaze to the glowering fire that flickered lazily in it's grate.

"No, we 'tell each other everything', remember? Besides," I snickered, "it can't be worse than your previous crush. You have to admit, Malfoy is a right prick."

Jenna didn't meet my eyes as she continued to glower into the fire. "Yeah, he is."

"Nooooo," I practically wailed, flopping down on the floor beside my harebrained friend, covering my eyes with my palms, rubbing circled over my forehead. "I'm not hearing this. Why, Jenna? He attacked you; he tried to attack a teacher -- a few times!"

She didn't really give me a proper answer, just a shrug and a muffled groan. After a few minutes, she huffed out a sigh and turned around to face me. "Elle, you know me, come on -- I mean, come on."

My eyes simply bore into Jenna's steel grey ones, a million thoughts racing past my mind. There was a lot I wanted to tell Jenna. That she was better than Malfoy, that she could be with someone who deserved her attention, that she was being stupid. But, all I could offer her was a limp smile. "You know what, Jenna Margaret Chase? I am okay with this."

"Seriously?!" She perked up, eyes bright.

"No," I shot her down, refraining from rolling my eyes. "Obviously not, dumby. But, I'm going to say that I am. Because I love you, and, I trust your judgement... I guess." I pulled my hair away from my face and frowned, thinking about how I knew people that were totally sweet but couldn't make things work. "You'll find a guy that deserves you, so I'm just going to over look this lapse in judgement."

"Tell me how you really feel, Elizabeth."

Ginny and Hermione turned their attentions towards the two of us, and Hermione sat down on the grind beside me, giving me a humored smile. "Boy troubles again?"

"When aren't there boy troubles?"

Hermione weighed that option out, and Ginny chuckled from the comfy chair -- subtly agreeing. "What is it this time? Fred? Or... other?" She eyed Jenna as Jenna groaned again, flopping around on the floor with agitation. As my sister watched my friend, I could see Hermione trying not to seem weirded out by her.

"I'm trying to think of a better guy for Jenna then ferret boy." I sat up and stretched my arms over my head, feeling my back crack in various places before I let out a content grunt.

Hermione nodded and tapped a finger against her chin, scrunching up her face with a skew frown. "Neville?"

"No."

Ginny joined us then, rambling off random boy names, kids I'd never heard of but apparently went to Hogwarts. Hermione shook her head after some time, almost giving up. "I'm not sure then," she hummed to herself, then a quirky grin flashed across her features. "I've got it!"

"Bruce Banner?" I blurted out, not entirely sure why the Incredible Hulk was on my mind. But, hey... he's pretty attractive -- so that could have been why.

Hermione's brow scrunched up in confusion and she turned to give me a questioning brow. "Wait... isn't that the name of an American superhero?" She shook her head and held up her hand, blocking off whatever I was about to say. "No - No, never mind, I don't want to hear it. I'm talking about Henry. Henry Ports."

GINEVRA'S POV:

Elle, Jenna, and Hermione stayed up for a few hours, talking about a Muggle dentist named Henry. I wasn't particularly involved due to the fact that I was busy worrying about Harry. He didn't seem too focused when he'd left the Common Room, and I hoped he would be able to retrieve Slughorn's memory.

Eventually, the three of them began dozing off beside the fireplace, Jenna was first -- Hermione last. It was about midnight that Hermione stirred and rubbed her tired eyes with a thick yawn, telling me that she was off to bed. Jenna and Elle only shifted around the floor a couple times, never fully waking up.

Lana and Seamus had said their goodnights a few hours before. They were a curious pair. On the outside, it would seem that they were just two really good mates, but I knew better. I had been on more than one Quidditch team with Seamus, and I could tell when his smile was a genuine, friendly grin, or when something else was behind it. This was one of those rare times. I really hoped they would be able to see it for themselves and get together.

My eyes wandered to the floor, where Elle was muttering something under her sleepy breath. A small smirk quirked over my lips as I suppressed the urge to giggle. I'd gotten her and Fred back together, so maybe there was hope for Seamus and Lana.

Elle rolled over and grunted out a slurred phrase, "Okay, but... don't tell Fred, Bruce."

I considered kicking her, lightly of course, but thought better of it -- I didn't want to face the wrath of a startled Elle. I thought of all the silly moments I'd seen her and Fred share, and a warm feeling spread in my stomach. 'They are sickeningly cute,' I thought, watching the fire in it's grate slowly burn out, embers flickering low light through the Common Room. 'I really hope they don't screw up what they have again.' Something told me that they had learned their lesson, and maybe -- just maybe -- one day Elle would be a Weasley.

'Oh, come on, Gin,' I scolded myself for thinking such silly thoughts. There was no point thinking about where we'd all be a few years from now. Not with the way the world was topsy-turvy, and resting on a certain, stupid boy's shoulders.

"Oh, ...Harry," I sighed, running a hand through my red mane, tucking the long strands behind my ear asI shifted in my sleepless pondering. The sound of the portrait door clicking shut startled me and I hopped up from my place on the couch, wand aimed at the intruder.

Harry offered me an uneasy grin, hands up in surrender. "Morning, Gin."

"Harry," I breathed out, pocketing my wand. "Did you get it?"

A forced, half-smile worked it's way across his face as he nodded, stepping closer to me, hands in his trouser pockets. "Yeah, I did." A relieved smile spread over my lips, and I took a few steps closer to him, heart pacing, but he lowered his head and spoke before I could. "Ginny, I.. I want -- need, I need you to take this." In his hand, he held out the half-consumed bottle of Felix Felicis.

"Why d--"

He lightly took my hand, pressing the vial into my palm and closing my fingers around. "Please. I don't feel that Hogwarts is safe without Dumbledore, and tomorrow... tomorrow I am assisting him on a mission."

"A mission, but are you sure that i--"

Harry interrupted me once more, a glimmer of apology in his eyes. "Ginny, please promise me that, no matter what happens tomorrow, if something is off, you will take this -- along with Ron and Hermione, and that you will stay safe."

A million thoughts rushed through my head, some of them telling Harry that he should be the one staying safe, others along the lines of something less dramatic. But, in the end, I realized how scared he seemed and I understood that this was important to him. "Yes, I promise, Harry."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly against him. There was a flutter in my chest, but I hugged him back just as strongly, fearing that this would be the last time I saw him. "I'm going to bed," he said, pulling away.

I watched him walk to the boy's stairs, tears prickling the corner of my eyes, embarrassment flickering across my mind. "Harry wait," I swallowed the lump in my throat as the boy I loved paused, and I yanked on his jumper sleeve, pulling him against me and planting a lingering kiss on his lips, feeling my mouth ignite.

The kiss only lasted for a moment of so, but even then, it was enough. And, as I pulled away, I stared deep into his green eyes, letting him see how much I cared. "Goodnight, Harry."

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