And Life Goes On - Part 1
He could hear the amusement in her voice as that sweet, flowery scent he always associated with her wafted across his nostrils. "You're not hurt, and being too tired is no excuse to deny me the dancing that was promised me."
"We danced," Harry said, smiling but keeping his eyes closed.
"Barely! You'll have to do better than that to keep me satisfied," she said primly.
"Is that so?" Harry asked, enjoying the banter. He opened his eyes wide as memories of the night crashed down upon him.
He sat up suddenly, glancing around the room and feeling slightly panicked. He felt his heart rate increase as he recognized his surroundings. He was back in the one place that he'd sworn he never wanted to see again. He was back at Grimmauld Place...at Sirius's house.
He was lying on a couch in one of the small sitting rooms off the main hallway, and his head had been resting on Ginny's lap. She rubbed his back soothingly, apparently understanding his dismay.
"Why are we here?" he asked tightly, struggling to do anything but look around at his surroundings.
Ginny moved closer and wrapped her arm around his stiff shoulders. "We sent a lot of refugees from the wedding here, remember? Mum was too uptight to leave anyone at the Burrow until the wards are thoroughly checked, so we've moved in for the night. Bill and Fleur absolutely refused to allow Voldemort to spoil their special day. They've continued the party right in the ballroom; the band set up their equipment and are down there playing right now."
Harry could hear the grudging respect for what Fleur had done in Ginny's voice.
"Bill's all right?" he asked. If he felt as bad as he did, certainly Bill couldn't be dancing. He cracked his neck from side to side, trying to judge if had the strength to dance. He felt as if he could sleep for a week, and it galled him to think Bill was in much better shape.
"Oh, he's just sort of propped up in a corner, watching Fleur dance. He can barely keep his eyes open, but she wasn't about to let him use up all his remaining energy dancing. I'm certain she has other plans for him this evening," Ginny replied, her eyes twinkling.
It took a moment for the full impact of what Ginny had said to sink in, and when it did, Harry blushed crimson. "Ginny!"
Her words stirred images about what Bill and Fleur might get up to that he really didn't want to think about. Having Ginny pressed so nicely against him caused his train of his thought to switch tracks to images of her that none of her brothers would want him thinking about, and his anatomy began to respond. He shifted uncomfortably, the collar of his shirt suddenly becoming unbearably tight.
"That caught your attention," Ginny said, smirking as if she knew exactly what she'd done.
She was right, too; he had been preoccupied with the idea of being back at Grimmauld Place until she'd moved his thoughts to other things.
"Ron and Hermione," he said suddenly, staring into her eyes with alarm. "I saw Ron's Patronus, so I know he did turn up eventually, but –"
"Nothing to worry about," Ginny said soothingly, shaking her head and placing her soft hand on his lips. "Hermione did get cursed with something, but she'd already been tended to by Mum when I saw her. I haven't got the full story out of anyone yet, as I've been rather preoccupied with you, but I believe it had something to do with an altercation between Ron and Victor Krum."