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SIYE Time:9:24 on 29th March 2024
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Checkmated
By lucky_black_cat

- Text Size +

Category: Open House Challenge (2006-2)
Characters:None
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff, Humor
Warnings: Extreme Language, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 17
Summary: "Keep calm, Ginny. A duel is like chess – you can’t get angry or upset because if you do, you’re more likely to make a mistake which might make the difference between a victory and a loss. Keep a cool head and don’t let nerves take over you and, most importantly, don’t take pity or underestimate your opponent, then you really mess it up and boom - checkmate.”
Hitcount: Story Total: 4679





Author's Notes:
This evening, I realised that the deadline for the Challenge is tomorrow. Six hours and several coffees later, I finished my entry. It hasn't even seen my beta's mailbox, so forgive me if you find a misplaced comma here or there - it's a battle that I never seem to win.

This fic takes place during Harry's seventh year, Ginny's sixth, and it ignores their brief relationship in Half-Blood Prince.




ChapterPrinter


CHECKMATED
by lucky_black_cat


It would have been a quiet spring afternoon if it hadn’t been the eve of a very anticipated event. Members from all houses were helping each other get ready all the booths, while professors and prefects walked around the grounds, supervising the students’ work and occasionally giving them a hand here or there. A very bored-looking Theodore Nott sat at a desk that had been placed next to the lake, and he watched all the goings-on with longing as he waited for students to go there and sign up for some of the displays. Excitement was thick in the atmosphere and everybody was chatting animatedly about the next day. The sun shone with all its brightness, a pleasant breeze was blowing, and it didn’t seem possible that a war was going on in that same moment. It was like a world apart, an oasis in the middle of the desert, a long awaited peace. All the harmony the day provided was broken, however, by the two Head students, who were having one of their worldwide famous rows.

“No, Ron, aren’t you listening to me? You’re doing it the wrong way again!” Hermione shouted, growing more frustrated by the second.

“Well, miss perfect, why don’t you just do it yourself?” Ron roared, furiously throwing his end of the banner they were supposed to be hanging.

“You know I can’t do it alone!” Hermione exclaimed shrilly. “It’s not so difficult, for God’s sake! But it’s the third time you try to hang it upside-down!”

Ginny wiped the sweat on her brow with her sleeve and looked at his brother and best friend. Ginny checked her watch: twenty minutes at it, and still going strong. She rolled her eyes and went back to trying to determine what would be the best spot to put the refreshments table.

“I’m not hanging it upside-down! It’s supposed to go like this!”

“Whatever, just do it the other way around!”

“Who are you, my mother? Stop bossing me around, for Merlin’s sake!”

Ginny shook her head and repressed a smile as she looked at them. They were both red with fury, their faces inches apart. She giggled, wondering who would be the first to start pouring steam out of their ears.

“Gin!”

Ginny turned around to see Harry running towards her with two lemonades. She watched him with a smile dancing on her lips — his hair messy from the spring breeze, his eyes smiling at her, his shirt drenched in sweat. Tonks had taken him shopping for some decent clothes that actually fit, and he looked amazing. Tonks had probably known Ginny would think that, and had taken him shopping to test her self-control. Ginny grinned mischievously — maybe the next day she would have a chance to get back at her. Meanwhile, she had a good excuse to stare at Harry — they had become very close friends during the summer, and even though Ginny thought she often got knowing glances from Hermione, her alibi would be believable as long as she didn’t start blushing or stuttering.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling, and took the glass he was giving her.

“Those two still going at it?” Harry asked rhetorically. Ginny had her back turned to them, but judging by Harry’s soft chuckle, Ron and Hermione had, if anything, turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Yeah, well, Ron and Hermione wouldn’t be Ron and Hermione if they didn’t bicker all the time,” Ginny reasoned, shrugging slightly and sipping her drink. Then, she looked around again, but she couldn’t really find the perfect spot. “Do you realize how difficult it is to place the refreshments table in the perfect spot?”

Harry grinned. “Just leave it till later. We can go help Ernie, Justin, Neville and Luna — they seem to be having some trouble with-”

Crash.

Harry’s glass fell to the floor and shattered, exactly at the same time his jaw dropped in shock.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked, confused by the sudden interruption. Harry chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair, an incredulous expression on his face. He pointed at Ron and Hermione wordlessly, and Ginny whipped around. “What the-?”

Hermione had grabbed a fistful of Ron’s shirt, and she was kissing him for all she was worth. The Ministry Of Magic Open House banner lay on the floor, absolutely forgotten.

Harry started laughing, slowly recovering from the shock. “Well, what a change, huh?”

“I honestly don’t know what it is with today,” Ginny chuckled, shaking her head. “It’s like the world upside-down — first, they organise an Open House for the Ministry here on Hogwarts grounds, then you agree to help prepare it, then Hermione starts snogging Ron for England…”

Harry laughed. “It was coming, I guess. But I never thought it’d happen like this. In any case, I’m doing this for Hogwarts, not for the Ministry. The DA is going to take part, and besides, seeing duels and all of the other stuff will help everyone learn to defend themselves much better than a certain Ministry pamphlet.”

“Oh, don’t be like that! That pamphlet would be really useful in a duel with a Death Eater! The so-called element of surprise — bet the Death Eater doesn’t expect you to throw a ball of paper at them in a duel,” Ginny joked, and Harry laughed. “I’ll give you that,” he nodded, his eyes sparkling.

They finally arrived to see Ernie and Neville putting the last touches to the stage. Justin crawled under it to check it was alright and, just then, the stage fell down, inevitably burying the Hufflepuff student. The others jumped in alarm and rushed to take Justin out. Harry and Ginny ran too, and helped out a Justin that was coughing and swearing like a Jarvey.

“Ruddy useless pile of shit!” he roared angrily, kicking what was left of the stage. “It’s the second bloody time it happens!”

“Are you doing everything right?” Ginny asked timidly, throwing a cautious look at Justin, who was red with fury.

“Yes, we are,” Neville said dejectedly, sitting down with a sigh. “But it just won’t stay put.”

Luna walked over to the rests and examined them closely. After five minutes of silent inspection and several pairs of raised eyebrows on the others’ faces, she nodded curtly and muttered, “Indeed, indeed.”

“What?” asked Ernie, confused.

“It’s obvious. Just look at it, can’t you see it?” Luna asked, pointing at the pieces of wood.

Intrigued, all of them stepped closer and looked at the spot Luna was pointing, but they couldn’t see anything unusual.

“What are you talking about?” Ernie asked, looking at his girlfriend expectantly.

Luna looked at him like he had greatly disappointed her, and heaving a sigh, she explained, “It’s obviously possessed.”

Harry and Ginny shared dumbfounded looks.

“Excuse me?” asked Neville, the only one still in a condition to speak.

“The stage is essential to the Open House, yes?” Luna said in the same voice you use to point out that two and two make four. The other five nodded. “Well, something has possessed the wood we’re going to use, to make sure that we can’t form the stage, so the Open House won’t take place. And it’s probably a Flurclurb,” she added in a grave voice, as if that settled the matter.

Ginny looked at everyone’s faces. Justin was pinching himself; Neville was standing completely paralyzed; Ernie was looking warily at the pieces of wood as if expecting them to come to life and start clubbing them over the head; Luna was looking sincerely worried about the Flurclurb, whatever it was; and Harry was staring at her slack-jawed and frowning slightly as if struggling to find the meaning of Luna’s words. At the sight of him, Ginny started giggling uncontrollably, thinking what a Luna-ish situation they were in. Neville blinked, startled by the sound of Ginny’s giggles, and Harry gave a start, as if he had just come down from Cloud 9. He swatted Ginny’s arm reproachfully, but his lips were twisting upwards in a smile.

“So, erm, Luna… what’s a Flurchunk?” he asked, trying not to join in Ginny’s laughing fit.

“A Flurclurb is a very ancient creature. They like to feel powerful, and hate to depend on others. They used to live in groups in the mountains, but they killed their leaders and other Flurclurbs, too. The communities dissolved and now they wander the world, trying to make anarchy grow wherever they go.” Luna explained seriously, giving him a penetrating look.

“So, you, er… you think a Flurthingy has possessed the chunks of wood to make it impossible for the Ministry to have their Open House?” asked Ernie, looking at Luna with astonishment.

“I’m almost certain of it,” Luna answered in a rapt whisper.

“And what can we do?”

“Well, Flurclurbs don’t like being ordered around, and they’re also immune to our magic, so we’re going to have to politely ask it to leave,” said Luna. She bent down on her knees next to the pile of wood and took a piece. Giving it a sad and understanding look, she started whispering softly to it.

“You see, Mr Flurclurb, this stage is not only for the Ministry, it’s for students too. We’re not part of the government!” she explained, cradling the piece of wood softly in her arms. Ginny completely lost it and hid her face in her hands to muffle her laughter. Harry’s face twitched for a second as if he was going to laugh, but he quickly stitched his worried expression back in place.

Luna shushed Ginny angrily and brought the piece of wood up to her right ear. “You were saying, Mr Flurclurb?”

“I think I’ll go get us some drinks,” Harry announced, trying to keep his voice steady. He whipped around and dragged Ginny with him, as her shoulders shook with laughter. When they were some twenty feet away from Luna and the others, they looked at each other and roared with laughter.

“Oh, Merlin,” Ginny gasped several minutes later, once they could speak again. They had fallen to the floor laughing, and tears of mirth were running down their faces.

“I can’t believe she was trying to persuade a piece of wood. I thought even Luna had a limit,” Harry chuckled, rubbing his sides.

“And she’s got Ernie reading the Quibbler as well now, too,” said Ginny chuckling and shaking her head.

Harry got to his feet and reached out a hand to help Ginny stand up. Taken aback slightly, she looked from his hand to his smiling face. She shook her head to clear it and grabbed his hand. He pulled a little too forcefully, and a second later they were standing so close that they could feel each other’s breath on their faces.

“Th-thanks,” Ginny stuttered, blushing at the intense look in his green eyes. She couldn’t quite place it, but it made her heart skip a beat.

“No problem,” Harry answered, his voice unusually husky. He tilted his head to the side, and Ginny closed her eyes slowly as they drew closer…

“Harry! Ginny!”

They jumped apart, as if electrocuted. Ginny swore under her breath and looked daggers at her brother, who was running towards them with a big grin on his face. Hermione was right after him, calling him back - she had obviously noticed what had almost happened between two of her best friends, and was trying to stop Ron from interrupting them, but to no avail. Ron approached them and said jovially, “Did you hear? The Giant Squid threw Nott into the lake! He was there with his stupid list, and the Giant Squid went and dragged him in! They’ve just taken him out, but you should see him, he looks like a git!”

Ginny stomped her foot in frustration and roared, “You brainless, clueless idiot!” Ron’s eyes widened in surprise, and he started shouting angrily at Ginny, who turned tail and ran away from the scene.

“What is it with you, huh? What did I do this time?” Ron shouted after her, and Harry threw him a murderous look that shut him up effectively.

“I’m going to talk to her,” he said, and ran after Ginny before her read hair disappeared in the crowd.

Ginny quickened her pace, upset and furious. What was wrong with Ron? Didn’t he realise that she had been about to live the one moment that she had longed to live for her whole life, and he had ruined it? How could he be so stupid, so thoughtless, so dumb?

“Gin, wait!” she heard Harry’s voice call after her. She ran faster — to have Harry see her crying was the last thing she needed just then. But his legs were longer, and after a while he was standing in front of her, blocking her path. She sucked in a breath in surprise, and halted suddenly. Swearing, she looked down at the floor, praying he couldn’t see her face.

“Are you ok?” he asked, coming closer and lifting her face to see her properly. He looked terrified to see her crying. “Oh my god,” he whispered. The sad look on his eyes was too much for Ginny, and she broke into more sobbing.

“Wh-what do you w-want?” she asked.
“Gin, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. You’re terrifying me.”
“Why? Am I so ugly? Am I so horrible that I scare you?” she yelled, as her temper flared.
“This is the second time I’ve seen you cry. The other time was when I took you out of the Chamber,” he muttered gravely, his voice shaking. “Whoever did this to you, I’ll beat them to a pulp.”
Ginny threw her arms around him and sobbed onto his shoulder. He hugged her fiercely, all the while whispering soothing words to her. After a while, her breathing eased and she pulled apart to look at him. His eyes expressed deep concern, sadness and — was that love? ‘No, impossible,’ Ginny shook her head and broke eye contact with him at the same time he opened his mouth to say something.

“Thanks, Harry. I’ll just go and find a spot for the refreshments…” she said, and rushed off. Harry shook his head dejectedly and, sighing, he decided to go and see if anyone needed help.






When Harry went down to the grounds the next morning, he saw lots of people there: adults, parents, ex-students, Aurors and some Ministry officers. He spotted Percy Weasley laughing at one of Rufus Scrimgeour’s jokes to a grumpy-looking Auror, and although Harry was sure that Percy had spotted him, the Weasley didn’t even acknowledge his presence. He didn’t really care that much, but it still made him a bit uneasy as he remembered Ginny’s efforts to avoid him the previous evening. Harry waved at the Weasley twins, who had their own booth to display their newest defence products, and gave them a half-hearted smile as he walked on.

Seats had been placed in front of the stage, over which the Ministry of Magic Open House banner hung imperiously. Harry went over to the refreshments table, hoping to see Ginny there, but he was just reduced to admitting that, for reasons undisclosed to him, Ginny was still avoiding him. It was sad and frustrating at the same time, because he knew that if it had been Ron acting so cold, he wouldn’t have felt as dreadful as he did now, and he didn’t understand why, in less than a year, Ginny had become more important to him than anyone else. Sighing, he grabbed a Butterbeer and watched everyone sit down and wait for Professor McGonagall to start explaining the Open House.

“Drowning your sorrows?” Luna’s voice asked, as she joined him at the table.

“Hardly,” Harry answered. “It’s only Butterbeer.”

“Well, just wait half an hour. I reckon by that time someone will have had the decency of spiking the punch,” Luna reasoned, grabbing a Butterbeer herself.

Harry grinned. “So, you managed to get rid of the Flurclurb in the end?”

“Oh, yeah. I offered him an interview in the Quibbler to speak about his reasons to spread anarchy, and he gladly agreed to let us put up the stage. I told daddy and he’s thrilled — he’s always dreamed of interviewing a Flurclurb,” Luna answered happily.

Harry chuckled. “That’s great. I won’t miss that one.”

Luna smiled placidly and commented, “The duels start now, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they finally managed to rescue Nott’s list from the Giant Squid and they decided to schedule the duels first thing before any other inconveniences could happen,” Harry said, now fully appreciating the hilarity of the situation.

“That’s good,” said Luna, nodding. “Are you going to take part?”

“I’ll have to, if someone challenges me. I’m actually looking forward to it — I need to distract myself somehow.”

“I’m curious — how will you distract your mind from Ginny when you’ve got to duel her?” Luna asked, smiling cheekily.

“What?”

“She signed up to duel you yesterday,” Luna answered, giving him a curious look. “Yes, yes, listen…”

“First duel of the morning,” Professor McGonagall’s magically amplified voice rang in the air. “Ginevra Weasley challenging Harry Potter. Duellists, please come onto the stage.”

Harry was frozen. What was going on?

“I’ll go get a nice seat,” said Luna, patting him on the back.

**********

Ginny took a calming breath and climbed onto the platform, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. She could distinctly hear Fred and George’s disbelieving comments as the crowd started muttering in surprise. She didn’t look at them, she just kept her eyes locked on the space on the stage in front of her, and went over Ron’s words to her in her mind.

”Keep calm, Ginny. A duel is like chess — you can’t get angry or upset because if you do, you’re more likely to make a mistake which might make the difference between a victory and a loss. Keep a cool head and don’t let nerves take over you and, most importantly, don’t take pity or underestimate your opponent, then you really mess it up and boom - checkmate.”

She felt reassured and smiled slightly. Challenging Harry had been a great idea — if she could duel him without holding back, she would know that she was well over him, and would realise that what had happened the day before had been nothing relevant, it didn’t really matter. She would know that Harry didn’t matter to her as much as he always had. She would know she had stopped being in love with him, to see him as a simple friend. He was just another friend.

But he was so, so much more, Ginny realised as she watched him get on the stage, looking at her confusedly. She felt her confidence falter — how could she ever hurt him? She didn’t want to cause him pain —

“The first to render the other incapable of continuing with the duel wins. The use of lethal spells is prohibited,” Professor McGonagall instructed.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny bowed slightly and so did Harry. They then retired to their respective ends of the stage and waited for the countdown to finish.

“Three, two, one…”

“Expelliarmus!” Ginny shouted.

“Protego!” A thin shield enveloped Harry and blocked Ginny’s spell.

Ginny felt herself breaking down, she loathed herself for what she was doing. She hoped it would be over soon.

“Batius Bogius!” she screamed, casting her most famous hex. Harry ducked and stared at her with hurt, disbelief and disappointment at her attitude.

“Incendio,” he said, and a fire sprang to life just behind Ginny. Startled, she turned around and lifted her wand to put it out when-

“Petrificus Totalus.”

She fell to the floor with a dull thunk as the Full Body Bind Curse hit her on the back.

“Mr Harry Potter wins the duel,” Professor McGonagall announced.

Harry immediately put out the fire and ran to lift the curse off Ginny. People started muttering excitedly, and Harry carried Ginny off the stage. Once they were well away from the crowd, he quietly asked, “Why?” His green eyes looked into hers with disappointment, like she had betrayed him.

“I don’t know,” Ginny said truthfully, ashamed at herself. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I didn’t want to duel you,” Harry muttered. “If I had known you had challenged me, I would have asked Professor McGonagall to call it off. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know. I was upset at you.”

“So why were you? I was the one who cared about you! I was the one who consoled you after you fought with Ron! I was the one who helped you whenever you needed it! I was the one who listened to you when you needed it! What did I do to upset you? What was there to prove with this duel?” Harry spat, his temper rising.

“I don’t know!” Ginny roared back, feeling hot tears forming in her eyes. “Leave me alone!”

“Ok,” Harry said coldly, and he left her there, sobbing as she watched his retreating form. Now she knew she had made him mad at her, and all because she couldn’t control her temper, or make up her mind. When she said Leave me alone, she had wished that he would hug her and comfort her like the previous day… but she had asked to be alone, and alone she had been left, hoping with all her heart that she hadn’t lost Harry forever.

“Aren’t you going to come back?” a familiar voice asked. Ginny quickly wiped her face and looked up to see Luna, looking innocently at her, and Ginny couldn’t help but smile.

“No, I don’t really feel like it,” Ginny answered, shrugging.

“Well, that’s a pity,” said Luna, “because the Head of the Auror Department has just challenged Harry.”

“What? He can’t! How could they let him? He’s got so much more experience! They’ll take Harry to the infirmary in a matchbox! I’m going to talk to McGonagall.” Ginny was outraged, and was determined to do whatever it took to cancel the duel. She got to her feet and brushed off the dust on her robes, fury etched in her face. Luna smiled at her sweetly.

“What?” Ginny asked brusquely. “Aren’t you going to come and help me?”

“I’ve already just helped you,” said Luna mysteriously. She turned around and started walking slowly back to the stage. “By the way,” she added, turning to look at a bewildered Ginny, “I’ve saved you a seat. In the first row.”

Ginny ran after her, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw that Harry was, indeed, waiting to get onto the stage again. She rushed to where Professor McGonagall was, but Hermione saw her and halted her when she saw her agitated look.

“Ginny, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You ask what’s wrong? He’s going to kill Harry!”

Hermione frowned. “Who?”

“The Head of the Aurors!” Ginny exclaimed shrilly.

“Ginny, are you feeling alright?” asked Hermione concernedly. Several heads turned to look at them.

“Yes, I’m feeling great! What’s wrong with the lot of you? Are you going to let the duel progress?”

“Why are you so freaked out? It’s only Michael Corner he’s duelling!” Ron said laughing.

Ginny looked at him, convinced she hadn’t heard correctly. “Michael? But Luna said he was going to duel the Head of the Auror Office…”

“Well, I don’t know where she got that from, but I assure you Harry’s not going to duel him.” Hermione said, casting a glance at Luna, who was smiling at Ginny with satisfaction. “Just sit down and calm down, ok Ginny?”

“Sure,” said Ginny, confused. She sat down next to Luna, who was watching her with a smile.

“Why did you tell me that?” Ginny muttered angrily.

“I only wanted to help,” Luna answered simply.

“How did you help? What help did you give me?”

“The help which would have made it unnecessary for you to duel Harry, had I given it to you sooner,” Luna said, smiling.

Ginny frowned slightly, pondering her words.

“You do love him,” Luna said, smiling at her. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have been so eager to cancel the duel just now. It’s clear as water, Ginny, so stop lying to yourself and accept it. You love him, and there’s no way out,” Luna chuckled.

Ginny grinned in spite of herself and shook her head. “I’m fighting a lost battle here… I guess I’ll never be over him. And the worst of all is… I don’t know if he’ll speak to me again after today.”

“Who knows,” Luna smiled serenely. “You made him really mad earlier… which is good. It’s going to be interesting to watch how he beats Michael to a pulp.”

Ginny laughed as both Harry and Michael got onto the stage. “Someone up there knows how to cheer me up.”

“Remember: no lethal spells are allowed. On the count of three…” Professor McGonagall said. “Three…”

Harry and Michael bowed at each other (both rather reluctantly) and went over to the respective end of the stage.

“Two…”

They raised their wands up to the ready.

“One... Start!”

“Rictumsempra!” Michael shouted.

Harry dodged and waved his wand. Seconds later, Michael was suspended in mid-air by his ankles. Furious, he said, “Stupefy!”

“Protego!” The Stunner bounced right off Harry’s shield as he suddenly put Michael down. Surprised, Michael fell onto the stage.

“He’s just ruined his pretty face,” Ginny said to Luna with vindictive pleasure in her voice.

Harry looked angry, and seemed determined to vent it all on Michael. “Confundus!” he shouted.

Michael got up groggily and, looking furious, he punched himself in the face. With a roar of pain, he suddenly turned his own wand on himself and cried, “Stupefy!” He dropped onto the stage unconscious, and Professor McGonagall announced Harry as the winner at the same time a very harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey rushed onto the stage to attend Michael, who was sporting a black eye and split lip to match.

Ginny laughed appreciatively at the state of him, feeling some kind of old pleasure at seeing her cheating ex-boyfriend in such ridicule. “He’s such a git,” she grinned.

“I think Harry probably went harder on him because he used to go out with you,” Luna commented nonchalantly. Ginny looked at her and then at Harry who, she saw, hastened to look away from her and appear mildly interested in Michael’s state.






Ginny watched with a grin as Fred and George demonstrated the Triptoe Supreme to the amused crowd.

“When a Stunner or a jet of any other spell comes hurling straight at you and your wand is on the floor,” Fred explained, dropping his wand and putting on the hideous green shoe.

“Just stamp your feet hard on the ground,” continued George, as Fred did just that and fell to the floor in a heap, causing laughter among the audience. “You will trip and fall to the floor, hence getting out of the way of the spell and in a position to reach your wand.” Fred reached for his wand and got up to general applause.

A certain pink-haired Auror came up behind Ginny. “Punch, my lady?” Tonks asked Ginny, smiling as she handed her a glass. Ginny smiled and took it.

“Thanks,” she said, and drank half the glass in one go. “It’s probably been spiked.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t come as a surprise if it was,” Tonks nodded, sipping her glass. Ginny grinned.

“So, where’s Harry?” Tonks asked, looking at her interestedly.

Ginny shrugged. “He’s angry at me, and anyway, how would I know?”

Tonks arched an eyebrow at her and smiled mischievously. Ginny rolled her eyes. “Oh, ok. Kingsley and he are looking at those Dark detectors in that booth over there.”

Tonks laughed. “Admit it. You can’t take you eyes off him. And I can’t really blame you… he looks handsome in those jeans,” she added appreciatively.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Ginny asked, torn between annoyance and amusement.

“He really needed new clothes.”

“Come on, you can’t fool me. Tell me the truth.”

“I wanted to see for how long you could resist temptation,” Tonks said, smiling cheekily.

Ginny grinned. “I knew it. But nothing’s going to happen — not while things are like this between us, anyway.”

“So fix things,” Tonks suggested, looking at Ginny.

“How? He probably doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“You talk to him then. Come on. I’ve got to replace Kingsley in that booth in five minutes, anyway,” Tonks said, throwing her now empty plastic glass into a black plastic bag full of people’s leftovers.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Ok, then.”

Tonks grinned and started walking towards the booth, Ginny in tow. Kingsley’s deep voice was carried to them by the wind as they approached.

“And it’s dead useful, because if there’s any dark item around, the needle will point in its direction,” Kingsley was saying, showing Harry what looked like a plain Muggle compass.

“I see,” Harry nodded, examining it. “What about that one?” he asked, pointing at a small bottle full of what looked just like Floo powder, only bright pink.

“Curse Powder,” Kingsley explained. “It’s a new discovery, we make it with the shells of Thestral eggs. It makes cursed objects shine with a phosphorescent glow.”

“Threstrals are born from eggs?” Harry asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Kingsley said, nodding. “You ask Hagrid, he knows all about them, after breeding all the Thestrals at Hogwarts.”

“You can go have a drink, Kingsley,” said Tonks as they arrived. “It’s my turn now.”

“Oh, good,” said Kingsley, smiling. “I want to try the punch before it finishes. I heard there’s very little left… and it’s only half past four!”

“It’s probably been spiked, you know,” Harry and Ginny said in unison. They looked at each other, taken aback at the fact that they had both said the same thing at the same time. Tonks and Kingsley exchanged a knowing look before Kingsley walked off and Tonks took his place in the booth.

“Luna told me,” Harry said. He wondered why he felt the need to explain himself.

“Luna told me you were going to duel with the Head of the Auror Office,” Ginny answered, though she didn’t really know what it had to do with the spiked punch.

“Luna told me her father is going to interview the Flurclurb,” Harry said, breaking the awkward atmosphere between them. They both grinned.

“I saw the stage didn’t fall, even when Michael’s oversized ego climbed onto it,” Ginny smiled mischievously. Harry grinned wider.

“Are you still mad at me?” he asked timidly, looking suddenly serious.

“No,” Ginny answered truthfully. “I think I was more mad at myself than I was at you. What about you? Still angry?”

He shook his head. “I can’t remain angry at you,” he muttered under his breath, and Ginny smiled as she heard him.

“That’s good,” she said. “Does that mean I can tease you mercilessly without fear of the consequences?”

“Does that mean you don’t want to Bat-Bogey Hex me anymore?”

Ginny laughed nervously. “I’m sorry about that, I really am. I shouldn’t have challenged you, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Let’s forget about that,” Harry said, putting up a hand to stop her apologies. “I fancy a glass of punch, don’t you?”

Ginny smiled. “Let’s go, before Kingsley drinks it all. And we can talk along the way… there’s something else Luna has told me, and I reckon she’s right, and you should know.”






The moon was starting to appear in the sky as the crowd started clearing out and crossing the gates that marked the end of the school grounds. Stars twinkled amicably at them all from their place in the sky, and only some students lingered outside — most of them had chosen to spend the evening in front of their Common Room’s fireplace instead of outdoors, in the cold night breeze. Hermione smiled softly as she took Ron’s knight with her impeccably white queen. Ron’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

“Blimey! I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming!” he exclaimed, looking alarmed at the pile of black pieces that stood by the board looking at him reproachfully. Hermione grinned — she knew Ron wasn’t really concentrating, because if he were, she wouldn’t be winning. In any case, it felt good to beat him at chess once every seven years.

“You’ll have to be more careful, or I will win and my ego won’t fit through the front doors. I would freeze out here,” she said, smiling mischievously at him as their eyes met.

Ron raised his eyebrows and suggested, “You could sleep in my arms, I would help warm you up.”

Hermione grinned and Ron ordered his pawn forward, discreetly stealing a glance at his girlfriend. She shot him a flirty look and the pieces that were out of the game scoffed and shook their heads. They seemed to find it outrageous that the two teenagers weren’t as intent on winning as they were on flirting with each other.

“I feel weird,” said Ron after a while. “Everything’s changing… first we get together, then all the Open House stuff, then Percy apologises to me when Scrimgeour isn’t looking, then Ginny challenges Harry to a duel and they get mad at each other after being so inseparable…”

“I don’t think they’re mad anymore,” Hermione smiled, stealing a glance at a willow tree under which Harry was holding Ginny and playing with her hair.

“So they’re back to being friends?” asked Ron, looking at her.

“It’s only a matter of time that they come face to face with their feelings. Ginny isn’t over him, no matter how much she denies it to herself, and I know that Harry doesn’t feel what you’d call brotherly towards her.”

“What?” Ron asked, taken aback as his queen fell defeated by Hermione’s bloodthirsty knight.

“I said, it’s clear they like each other, a lot,” said Hermione, smiling.

Ron shrugged. “That’s okay… I guess. Better him than that Michael git. He can’t even defend himself in a duel.”

Hermione looked at Ron with wide eyes. “Oh my God, what a tragedy!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t record what you just said! It’s the first time you agree with Ginny’s choice of boyfriend! And now your words will be carried away by the wind, and there won’t be any surviving testimony that you ever said them…”

“Hold on, hold on there a moment. Did you say boyfriend?” Ron said, holding up a hand to stop her.

Hermione grinned. “Are you thinking about taking back your words, Ron?”

“But he’s not her boyfriend, is he?”

“It looks like he is.”

“He would have told me if he were! He can’t be!”

“I thought you were ok with it?”

“Yeah, but… all of a sudden?”

“Have you forgotten about yesterday?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ron grinned in spite of himself. “That was some bold thing you did there. I wouldn’t have though you capable of such a thing.”

“Neither would I. But I had to shut you up,” Hermione smiled cheekily.

“Yeah, you say what you want, but I know that you did it because you want me so bad,” Ron teased.

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re going to lose.”

“You wish,” said Ron, smiling cheekily. “Hermione…”

“Yeah?”

“Harry’s not her boyfriend, is he?”

Hermione sneaked a glance at Harry and Ginny. Harry was whispering something to her that made her blush and giggle, and she turned in his arms and kissed him full on the lips. Hermione smiled and ordered her pawn forward.

“Checkmate.”
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