His love for Potions II

Chapter 8: Ginny, a Date and what?

"Ginny," Harry said later, after flying himself into comfortable exhaustion, "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

"Sure, Harry," she said in rather a high voice.

As they left the Gryffindor common room, Harry heard Lavender resume talking excitedly to someone.

Harry aimed their walk vaguely down towards the main entrance, feeling itchy and uncomfortable without....

"Do you know where anyone goes in this school for privacy?" Harry asked abruptly.

Ginny squeaked.

Harry looked at her blankly.

"The astronomy tower," Ginny told him. "This way."

Slightly bemused, Harry followed her. She seemed to know where she was going, at least. And the view from the Astronomy tower was quite nice.

"So," she said, leaning against a wall and looking out over the lawn and the forest. "What did you want to talk about, Harry?"

"Well. Voldemort."

She turned and smiled at him.

"Music to my ears. Do you know how frustrating it is to be kept out of it?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning tiredly. "A bit."

Somehow, this turned into filling Ginny in, more or less, on most of what they suspected Voldemort was up to. Secret weapon and all. He didn't talk about the Order, because he wasn't completely stupid.

"And one more thing," he said. The sun was setting and curfew would be any minute, but Harry couldn't bring himself to care. Being up high was almost like flying.

"Harry," Ginny said with some affection, "If you don't get to the point I'm kicking you off the edge of this tower."

Harry laughed, startled.

"Okay. You know how the papers are always going on about how I'm going mad and hearing voices and that?"

"Yes," she said with a snort.

"They're a tiny bit right," Harry said, looking out at the bright orange sunset. "Well. One voice. I wanted to ask your advice on dealing with him."

Ginny was silent for a while.

"You think you're being possessed?" she asked quietly.

"No! No, he just - we can just talk, I don't know why. It's as if he's in the same room, sometimes. I'm working on it - blocking my mind - but it's like bailing a boat out when the shark's already in the boat, it's distracting."

Ginny snorted.

"You know I never did anything heroic like fight him off or anything. You had to rescue me."

"Would have happened to anyone," Harry said sturdily.

"But it happened to me."

Harry felt abruptly very awkward.

"Things without feelings, or fun things. Things he doesn't understand. Like... makeup, and Quidditch, and girly magazines," she said after a long few moments.

Harry tried to visualize developing an interest in girly magazines.

"Quidditch I can do."

"Come on, Harry. We need to go to bed, we'll get detention."

The sun had thoroughly set, now.

Ginny interwove their fingers to lead him down the stairs, and kissed his cheek at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.