|
Love Potion Number Nine | ||||
|
Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley Genres: Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 3 Summary: Ginny is tired of waiting around for Harry after the breakup. She makes a love potion and the side effects are quite unexpected. Hitcount: Story Total: 5973 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: This is a result of my urge to be silly with a story. I hope you smile and maybe laugh at bit. |
|
|||
|
“Harry… hey Harry… quit day dreaming will you!” Ron joggled Harry’s arm and got punched in the shoulder for his pains. “Ow Harry… what did you do that for?” “If you didn’t notice… its spring, this is our free period, and I’m tired of studying!” “Too bad mate, we’ve got serious problems.” “Stop overstating things Ron, you’re starting to sound like Hermione - honestly, ever since you two started shag…” “Hey… I’m in the room Harry.” Hermione smacked his other shoulder. She was red in the face and looked completely panicked. “What’s going on?" Harry asked. "You two look like someone put dung bombs in your pumpkin juice.” “It’s Ginny… you have to help us stop her.” Hermione said, wringing her hands. Harry went white in the face. “No, I’m not going anywhere near her.” “Look Harry… just because you’re the worlds biggest prat, who can’t admit he’s wrong, doesn’t mean you can’t help her. It’s your fault this happened anyway.” Ron was yanking on one arm, and Hermione had the other one. “Okay, let go of me. I can walk on my own you know. What’s so important... what happened to Ginny and just why’s it my fault? The trio clambered out of the portrait hole and headed off in the direction of the Great Hall. “Harry, I told you to make things right with Ginny at the wedding. All you had to do was admit that you were wrong and get back together with her, but you had to be stubborn about it.” “Hermione, I already told you -” “I know, I know, you only wanted to protect her from Riddle. She doesn’t want to be protected, and frankly I think she’s right. Don’t you think girls can take care of themselves, or are you one of those chauvinistic wizards who think women should be barefoot and pregnant?” Hermione was working up a good head of steam. Harry decided that he would forget to mention to Ron her resemblance to Molly and her temper. He didn’t want to think about it. Fortunately, Ron distracted her by pushing her against the nearest wall, knocking a third year Ravenclaw to the floor in the process, and snogging her senseless. “Do I have to watch this?” Harry asked loudly, while the Ravenclaw girl flushed pink and giggled. “Hey… nothing to see here,” Neville said to the girl as he jogged up to Harry and tugged on the sleeve of his robes. “Harry, did they tell you about Ginny?” “Yes… I mean no… I mean just what’s going on?” “Can’t you hear that?” Neville asked, and Harry realized that someone was singing. It was echoing down the hallway, and whoever it was had the most beautiful voice he‘d ever heard. It did something to his head that he‘d never felt before, he wanted to follow that voice to it‘s source and-” Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him from heading for the stairs. “Harry you can’t go down there. Put these on.” He tried to shake her off, but she and Ron held him back. The next thing he new, Ron had shoved an earplug in his ear and Hermione pushed one into the other ear. Immediately his head began to clear, and he didn’t protest as the others shoved him into an empty classroom. He saw Hermione turn and cast some kind of spell over the room, and then she was motioning to him and the guys to take out the earplugs. He pulled his out and the room was silent. He missed the beautiful singing, only now it was just a lovely memory, like a song heard from far away that you struggle to remember days later. “What’s going on, and who was singing? It was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.” “You’re kidding me Harry, right?” “No… it was more beautiful then anything I’ve ever heard.” Harry saw Neville nodding his head in agreement, and even Ron looked impressed, if a bit pink in the ears. “Boys,” Hermione huffed. “For the last time… will someone please tell me what’s going on? “That’s Ginny, she took a love potion,” Ron said without preamble. “What!” “Look Harry… when you wouldn’t even talk to her at the wedding, she kind of went a little loopy. She decided that the only way to get you back was to create a potion to be irresistible to you.” Now Harry’s face was approaching an unfortunate shade of magenta. “I… I... I can’t believe it; you’ve got to be lying. This is Ginny we’re talking about; she would never do something so girly,” he managed to say, before dropping weakly into the nearest desk. Hermione pushed past Ron and sat down next to Harry. She loves you, she always has. The other boys, Michael and Dean, they were all distractions, a way to forget about you. Then, last year, you guys started to see each other, and we all thought that you were over being a git.” The others nodded their heads, and Ron slapped the back of his head. “Yeah, then you had to go and turn into a big prat and break up with her.” “Ron, I told her and you guys that -” “Oh stop with the noble speech, you’re making me ill.” Hermione snapped. Harry jerked back in surprise. Since when did Hermione talk to him like that? “She’s right mate, you gotta make this right before the whole school finds out. They’ll be after your head if you don’t, and I don’t blame them.” Ron was looking at him like he was a new species of toe fungus. “Hermione what happened, obviously something went wrong with the potion.” “I’d say that’s the understatement of the millennium,” Neville added, earning him a glare from Hermione. “Yes Harry, something went wrong. She’s been working on it all year, while we’ve been in and out of here looking for the Horcruxes. Now that all of them have been found, she decided to try out the last formula. She’s convinced you aren’t coming back, and she wants you to tell her you love her before you go off to die a brave and gallant death.” “Hermione did she really say that, or are you trying to replace Rita Seeker as the gossip writer for the Dailey Prophet?” “Very cute Harry,” she glared at him. Just then the room began to fill with a haunting melody full of strings and brass; it was beautiful, but completely inappropriate for the discussion. “What’s that?” Neville asked inanely. “That must be the music to hide exposition,” said Luna Lovegood’s dreamy voice from behind Neville. “Where did you come from,” Ron demanded. “I’ve been here all the time, it’s not my fault you don’t notice me.” She took Neville’s hand and he flushed pink. “Whatever. What do you mean “hide the exposition” what’s exposition?” Harry asked. “This is the part of the story where everything is explained.” Hermione said rather impatiently, while tapping her foot. “Okay, so explain it already.” “You see my great, great, great, great, great grandfather was Hubert Weasley. He was an Auror in his younger days and got hurt in a lot of battles. He ended up blind, with one leg and one ear. The family never thought he would get married, so they made a pact with a mermaid that had the ability to take on human form. She would marry my grandfather and give him two children. In return, they would tell her where the mirror was that my great, great, great, great, great, grand Uncle Herman had stolen from her.” Ron began to explain. “They were married, and they had a boy and a girl. With the contract fulfilled, the mermaid was allowed to have her mirror back, and she went back to the sea. The little girl they had was half mermaid, and the last female to be born to the Weasleys until Ginny. My great, great, great, great Aunt was a menace to the little fishing village; she kept luring sailors to their deaths, or to the house, which was worse.” “When she was a teenager, she followed her mother into the sea and was never heard from again. It broke my great grandfather’s heart, he’d come to hate his wife, but he adored his daughter.” Ron finished looking very red in the face. Everyone was gaping at him like he’d grown an extra head, except for Hermione. She didn’t seem surprised at all. “Wait… so you’re telling me that your family has mermaid genes. How come you can’t breathe under water Ron? That would’ve saved me a lot of trouble in the second challenge during the Tri-wizard Tournament” “Ginny is the only one that inherited any mermaid genes - the Healers say it’s because she’s female. She has to take a potion everyday so that she doesn’t start singing and put men it harms way, or enchant them to follow her everywhere. These last four years have been really hard on her Harry. She's wanted to sing for you, but she doesn't want you to be a slave. How could she after what Riddle did to her?” Ron had left his chair and was pacing the room, his ears crimson. “What happened to change that, I assume she didn’t take her potion today and that's why she’s singing.” Harry wondered. “We don’t know... she was fine this morning. I think the latest formula must have been faulty.” Hermione said “Do you think?” Harry replied sarcastically. The music abruptly ended, and silence descended on the classroom once more. “Wait a minute…Hermione you said that Ginny didn’t want me to be a slave, then why did she make up this potion? If you knew about this, why didn’t you try to stop her?” “I didn’t think she would succeed, and she hasn’t. She thought that if she took it and could just get you to admit that you love her, then after it wore off, it would be too late for you to back out.” Harry ran a hand through is unruly hair and stood up. “We have to make her stop. Where are the teachers — why aren’t they doing anything?” “Harry, most of the male teachers are sitting down in the Great Hall listening to her sing. They can’t help themselves. Oddly enough, Professor Snape seems unaffected, the heartless old git.” Ron explained, his ears returning to their normal colour. “So what is he doing, hanging up side down in his dungeon?” Harry asked; his face had gone blotchy red. “No… he and Professor Dumbledore, who isn’t affected for some reason, are breaking down Ginny’s potion and analysing it to find out what went wrong. He may be a greasy old git, but he’ll find an antidote,” Ron said. “Come on, we have to get down stairs and see if we can get Ginny to stop singing.” Hermione stood up and headed for the door of the classroom. “Just how do you propose we do that,” Harry demanded. “I don’t know, but we have to try something,” Hermione pointed out. “Put your earplugs back in. I’m going to lift the soundproofing charm on this room.” “Hang on, why aren’t you affected by the music?” Harry asked logically as they took the earplugs out of their pockets. “Harry, don’t you pay attention to anything the teachers say. The mermaid song lures only men. I think I might have to put in the earplugs anyway. I don’t want to listen to that song.” “What’s so bad about it,” Harry wondered; he still thought it was the most beautiful thing he ever heard, and a small part of him didn’t want to block it from his ears. "Harry Potter...you must be crazy! She's been singing Barry Manilow's greatests hits!" “Oh… I see why that’s a bad thing.” He shuddered and put the earplugs in. He watched Hermione reverse her spell and open the door. ------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----------------- When the group reached the Great Hall it was just in time to see Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore enter the door. They watched Hermione speaking to them; Harry wished he could hear the conversation until Professor Snape looked over at him with his usual evil smile. He watched as the Potions Master pulled a vial of blood red potion from his robes. There was more discussion, and then the Headmaster and Professor Snape entered the Great Hall. Harry tried to follow them, but Hermione shook her head and laid a hand on his shoulder. She smiled reassuringly at him and pointed at her left ear. He nodded and sat with the rest of the group on the steps. After what seemed like forever, Hermione and Luna indicated to the boys to remove the earplugs. Harry cautiously removed his and the only thing he heard for a moment was quiet then many male voices began to speak at the same time. The doors to the Great Hall opened and just about every boy in school exited the room with varying looks of embarrassment, humiliation, and anger on their faces. A couple of them headed toward the group on the stairs before being told to go back to their dormitories by Professor McGonagall. After the students had disappeared down hallways and up the staircase, Professor Dumbledore exited the Great Hall with Ginny. He was levitating her and she looked unconscious. Harry leapt to his feet and ran down the stairs with Ron hard on his heels. “Professor Dumbledore, what happened to her, is she okay?” He was dismayed by the sound of tears in his voice. “Calm yourself Harry, she’s sleeping. We’re going to take her to the infirmary. You can see her later.” It wasn’t a request Harry could tell and his shoulders slumped. He was going to have to deal with Ginny whether he liked it or not. “Yes Potter, why don’t you fix your romantic problems and leave the rest of us out of them.” Professor Snape snapped at him. He passed by close to Harry and whispered silkily. “If you were in my house I’d see you and the Weasley brat expelled, Potter.” He stalked away to the infirmary with Professor Dumbledore -------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- Harry sat on a cot next to Ginny’s in the infirmary. Professor Dumbledore had talked Madam Pomfrey into letting him stay till Ginny awoke on her own. He’d also made the others leave. So Harry sat in a darkened room lit by only one candle on the table next to Ginny’s bed. The sight of her face in sleep made his heart ache anew. He thought that he’d put her out of his mind, but seeing her lying there and knowing what she had done to get his attention, made him feel terrible. He should be angry, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel it. The shadows produced by the candle danced over her face, and he realized for the thousandth time in the last two years how beautiful she was; her hair was like fire and her skin was like pale silk, even her freckles were cute. He remembered the feel of her arms around him and the warmth of her breath on his skin. The way her lips tasted when she kissed them, like strawberries and honey, was forever branded in his brain and heart. “Harry what are you doing here.” He jumped guiltily at the sound of accusation in her voice. He looked down into her cinnamon eyes and quailed at the expression she wore. “I was concerned; I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He said lamely. “I’m fine and I don’t need you here. Why don’t you leave, again? That is what you’re best at.” The fire in her eyes surprised him. “Ginny I -” “Save it Harry?” I am not interested in anymore of your excuses.” She spat out at him. She was pissed, and humiliated, and utterly beautiful to him. “I was going to say that I was wrong.” Harry said, grinning widely at the look of surprise and then extreme disbelief on Ginny’s face. “You’re just saying that because of the singing. Oh yeah… I remember what happened. I know that you’re only here because of the mermaid magic…” He cut her off with a kiss that was feather soft and full of promise. “Does that feel like I’m under a spell, or here against my will?” She stared at him searching his face for any sign that he was lying, or under the influence of the song. “Do I pass, Miss Weasley?” “For now, but you’re in for months of grovelling for your foolishness last spring.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. He yelped and then smiled tightly. This was not going to be easy. “Ginny I’m sorry. I thought that it was better for us to be friends; I didn’t want you to get hurt. I would die if anything happened to you.” “Harry nothing is going to happen to me. Did it ever occur to you that we’re stronger and safer together?” He’d never considered that, but maybe she was right, and it was time for him to let go of all the fear that was holding him back. He loved her so much, that had never changed. “I’m sorry Ginny, I’m sorry that you had to do this to get my attention.” “I know you are, just promise me you’ll never act like such a prat again.” “I promise!” He leaned in and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and they stayed that way till the lack of oxygen became a real issue. Harry pulled away breathlessly and said, “So... does this mean that you’re going to have gills and a tail?” |
| Reviews 3 |
|
