PROTECTION ♞ h.p.

2. A New Friendship

Ginny awoke slowly, her eyes blinking open and then falling shut again as she rolled onto her side. Breathing deeply she burrowed farther under the covers for a second before her eyes snapped back open.

Stiffening, she stared at the wall in front of her as her mind ran over the previous day's events. With a groan, she rolled onto her back and covered her eyes, praying it had all been a strange and horrible dream.

Finally throwing back the covers she climbed from her bed and made her way down the hall to the loo.

Harry's toothbrush on the sink assured her that it was real and as an afterthought she locked the door. With a sigh she slipped out of her pajamas and stepped into the shower.

She was dressed and ready in no time and soon stood alone in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee.

After a few seconds, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the doorway and then the clock. She hadn't heard anything from Harry yet and if he didn't hurry up she would be late for work. Her irritation rose as she watched the seconds tick by, beginning to wonder if she needed to go wake him up.

Finally she pushed off the counter and headed down the hall, muttering under her breath as she went.

He throws my life into chaos, and then he doesn't even have the decency to at least try to make my day go smoothly...obviously a friend of Ron's...bloody Aurors...

Knocking softly on his door, she paused and waited to hear a response. When she didn't get a reply, she pushed it open, only to stop and stare.

Harry was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. His back was to her as he faced the window with his hands resting lightly on his knees. He'd yet to finish dressing and his shirt lay on the floor beside him. Unable to help herself, her eyes ran automatically over his smooth, tan back and toned muscles before coming to rest on a tattoo of a dog.

Situated in the small of his back Ginny watched as it seemed to wag its tail at her arrival and then got up and ran in a circle. Finally sitting down again, the image transformed into the word "Padfoot" before turning back into a dog.

Determined to hang onto her irritation Ginny dragged her eyes away and stomped over until she was standing in front of him, blocking the light that had been shining on him through the window. Her eyes narrowed and her annoyance mounted when the front was even more beautiful than the back.

Bloody Aurors, she thought crossing her arms over her chest.

Opening his eyes suddenly, Harry watched as she huffed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other causing the sunlight to turn her hair to fire.

"Are you planning on getting ready anytime soon?"

Dragging his eyes back to her face, he watched her lips as she spoke.

"I'm going to be late, if you hadn't noticed...What are you doing anyway?" she added when he didn't respond.

"Centering," he replied simply as he grabbed his shirt from beside him.

Pulling it quickly over his head, he pushed off from the floor and stood up.

As he covered his body, Ginny felt an unexpected twinge of disappointment.

"Centering?" she asked, reminding herself that she was annoyed with him, not attracted to him.

"Yeah," Harry replied simply, crossing the room to put on his shoes. "By the way," he threw over his shoulder. "I showered and ate before you woke up. We can go whenever you're ready."

As he left her standing in his room, he couldn't help smirking. She'd obviously thought he'd been asleep.

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