Thoroughly clean and feeling much better Harry waited in his room for the girls to finish getting ready. He slipped into his mindscape and began examining his emotions again. He found, not a lock this time, but definitely a block on a few of them; they were a mixture of greens and reds. For the time being he decided to remove the block without examining which emotions they were and which memories they were linked to. He did not have time for a breakdown this morning and hoped that he would simply be able to deal with them normally now that he was not blocking them.
Pulling out of his head he looked up to find the girls walking in; both were wearing khaki shorts and sleeveless tank tops. He wished he had some lighter clothing to wear out since it was so hot outside, but Winky was only able to pick him up some casual robes from Madame Malkin's. He would have to be content wearing his now tailored sweatpants and a t-shirt until he could do some Muggle shopping of his own. Maybe he could convince the Headmaster to let them go into Muggle London later. He would almost be safer there than he was in Diagon Alley surrounded by Order members.
"Ready to head down Harry?" Ginny asked him with a smile. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable around her.
"Um, yeah." He said not meeting her eyes. Ginny suddenly got a very worried look, and nonverbally asked Hermione to leave them alone.
Seeing the look the older girl nodded, "I am going to go and see if Ron is awake yet, I'll see you downstairs." And with that she turned and left the room.
"Harry can you look at me please?" He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, and blushed bright red. "Is something wrong?" She asked in confusion.
"I think I have been blocking out some of my feelings as a defense against hot naked witches." He said before covering his mouth and falling back on his bed. He grabbed a pillow and through it over his head.
"What do you mean?" She asked as she sat down next to him. She didn't move to get closer to him and he didn't ask her to move, so he assumed this was a comfortable distance at the moment.
"Gin, I have been running around starkers with you two for the past week and rather than get used to it I swear I get turned on more every day. If I am creaming myself left and right we couldn't get much work done, so I guess I sort of locked away some of the feelings. I am not ashamed of our relationships, or of spending time with you two nude. I am however feeling extremely guilty for how I am treating you, and especially for not putting a stop to things with Mione. She is going out with your brother for god sakes!" He said as he removed the pillow and looked at her, his blush finally having subsided.
Ginny was momentarily stunned. She knew he hadn't been acting like himself, but she was just so happy that he was returning her flirting, among other things, that she hadn't really thought about it. "Does this mean you don't want to keep working the way we have been?" She asked him meekly.
"NO!" He nearly shouted. "I mean, as far as the nudity goes the cats out of the bag, I don't think it would make a difference to Ron at this point if I told him I suddenly came to my senses and didn't want look at his sister and his girlfriend naked any longer. And I have been consciously keeping my distance from her when I can; trying to respect her relationship with him.
" As for you." He sat up and looked her in the eye, picking her hand up off the bed and holding it in both of his. "I don't know what's going on between us, but it's a lot of fun. I just feel bad because I'm afraid you expect me to express my undying love for you and promise to marry you or something." She gasped at the mention of marriage, but he took it as mention of the situation.
"Harry, I'm only 14, you're only 15. Well for another couple days at any rate. I know I have feelings for you, but who the hell knows if it's Love?" She said the last quietly.
He nodded. "So is it okay that I nearly cream myself every time I look at you? Is it okay for me to really enjoy rubbing myself raw against you until we both collapse in pleasure? Is it okay that I can't tell you I love you?" He asked in rapid succession.
She pulled him into a hug. "That depends. Is it okay that you've made me cum and pass out on more than one occasion now with just a look?" She waited until his eyes went wide with understanding of why she kept fainting. "Is it ok that I thought it was really really hot to be covered in your cum?" She looked again, he blushed but he was grinning. "Is it okay that I can't tell you I love you either?" She asked finally.
Relief flooded through him when she said the last and he pulled her into another hug. "So what does this mean? Are we dating?" He asked.
She pretended to ponder the situation for a moment. "That depends, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" She asked. He nodded quickly. She responded by picking herself up and straddling his hips. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him into the kiss she longed to give him since she understood what the feelings meant when he made her feel funny. He returned the kiss with passion and as she moaned he threaded his tongue lightly between her lips.
She took a sharp breath through her nose and pulled him closer, opening her mouth further and dueling his tongue with hers. Finally he had to get a breath and pulled away. "I take that as a yes then?" She nodded happily and wiggled on his lap. "Hey! None of that, it seems to happen often enough as it is without doing it on purpose, and I really like your clothes, I don't think you fancy seeing them in shreds on the floor." He growled.
Giggling she got up off of his lap and held out a hand He took it and stood up. She went to pull him out of the room but he remained in place, looking pensive about a question he was mulling over. "Now what boyfriend?" She asked, savoring the word.
He grinned but it quickly left his face. "What about Mione?" He asked. "She and Ron haven't been getting along, and you know how she is when she feels rejected by him." He looked at her pleading.
"Harry, I don't want you to change your relationship with her one bit, do you understand me?" She stated firmly. "I am surprisingly not jealous of her, other than looking longingly when she sat in your lap as you comforted her."
He smiled and pulled her into his arms and kissed her quickly. "Thank you, she means the world to me, but you do too and I didn't want to have to choose. I am going to talk to her about setting some boundaries though. It isn't fair to Ron. Maybe you and I can help those two out?" He said the last as a question.
She nodded but was frowning. "She has told me she started crushing on him after a chess game." She said looking at him confused while understanding showed in his eyes. "But I never pushed her for details. He is my brother after all, and I can't see what she sees in him. Let alone do I want to hear her go on about him." She didn't tell him that most of those conversations had turned to Harry Potter instead.
"Our first year when we rescued the Philosophers Stone from Quirrelmort, we had to go through a bunch of traps, one of them was a giant chessboard. We had to play our way across with Ron directing us. He had climbed on the back of a knight and in the end he sacrificed himself so that I could go forward and save the stone." He recited the story quietly, and she listened enraptured. Her brother had done that? The crazy selfless git!
"Wow," was all she could say for a second. "I guess I don't give him enough credit sometimes."
He nodded, "I would have thought it was saving her from that Troll, it was Ron's levitation charm that saved us. All I managed to do was get bogeys on my wand." He said with a shutter.
"No this story I have heard, she knew it was your idea to find her and Ron would not have thought twice about it at the time without you there. She also told me you jumped on the trolls back to distract it. That was some serious chivalry Harry." She said and kissed him again shortly.
Smiling he walked past and pulled her out the door by their joined hands. As he popped open the staircase he asked her. ", would you accompany me to Diagon Ally and perhaps into Muggle London today, as our first date?" She looked surprised that he would actually ask rather than assume.
"I would like that very much Mr. Potter." She replied. Then they both giggled and headed down the stairs, the door slowly slid closed behind them.
*************************SFTP************************
Ron lay on his bed staring at the ceiling where he knew Harry's room was. His girlfriend spent an awful lot of time with his best mate but he tried to shrug it off. He had opted out of the training after all. She wouldn't tell him anything about it except that they were progressing nicely. She told him it was a very intimate experience and she couldn't violate Harry or Ginny's trust like that. She offered to let him join them, but once again he got upset.
"Would you stop pestering me about it, I already told Harry I am happy working on the training room and following him to hell and back if he needs me. I don't want to spend my time learning some useless skill to hide a secret that isn't so secret anyway." He had said rather coldly. She had run from the room in tears leaving him feeling alone and ashamed.
That had been two nights ago, for some reason they never seemed to part on good terms. But she kept coming back and forgiving him when he told her how sorry he was for the stupid argument. Then they would snog for a while; he just wished every night worked out the same as the night he asked her out.
Hermione came to his door and knocked nervously, he opened the door to find her standing in the hallways in her night robe. It was the same blue as her ball gown had been two years ago and almost completely solid. It was just sheer enough to offer a hint at what lay beneath.
"May I come in?" She asked and he nodded dumbly as he opened the door for her. Shaking his head he closed the door behind him and headed into find her sitting on his bed looking nervous. He noted that there was no tie on her robe; she was holding it closed with one hand.
"What did you want Hermione?" He asked getting more nervous by the second. Harry had told him to do it before he lost the chance; he just had to summon the nerve to ask her.
She looked up at him and let the robe fall open a bit. He could not help but notice she was topless underneath. "I wanted to talk to you, about us." She stated.
He gulped but nodded and sat down on the bed beside her. "Hermione…" he trailed off as his throat dried out. He swallowed quickly and continued. "I wanted to ask you all summer, but I just couldn't get up the nerve. I know we fight like cats and dogs, but everyone has been teasing us since the Yule indecent and it got me thinking. Do you think maybe you wouldgooutwithme?" He stammered out the sentence.
Finally, Hermione thought as a grin exploded on her face. She had planned to ask him tonight if he didn't do it. She was so happy she jumped into his arms and kissed him soundly on the lips. "Yes Ronald, I have been waiting ages for you to ask." With both hands around his neck, her robe had fallen open revealing her topless form fully to him.
"Bloody hell Hermione!" He said looking away from her at the wall.
"Oh grow up Ron, I went to the French Riviera the first two weeks of this summer, did you take the time to notice there are no tan lines?" She asked him shrugging the robe off her shoulders so that it pooled around her elbows. Leaving her completely exposed before him. He gulped and was too stunned to answer, his eyes moved in time with her breathing as her breasts rose and fell.
"I had to get comfortable with my body quickly with all the healers looking at this." She motioned to the scar that was barely visible. He only nodded dumbly. "They are just breasts!" She said pulling one of his hands up and placing it over her nipple. "Besides, you looking at me like that makes me feel very nice." She said quieter this time.
"You're beautiful." He finally managed to speak. "I noticed before the ball, but I mucked that up so bad, and I have been kicking myself ever since." He said. He lightly squeezed the breast in his hand and looked at her face for a reaction she had closed her eyes and parted her lips. He was no expert but she seemed to be enjoying his attention. So he pulled his hand down a bit and took her nipple between his fingers. She let out a soft moan.
"Ron you have no idea how long I have wished for you to touch me like that." She breathed out. But then opened her eyes and sighed. "However I think we can move a little bit slower. I don't mind you looking at them, but it feels a bit soon to enjoy you playing with them." He looked dejectedly at the floor. She raised his chin up to hers. "Not that I don't like it, I'm just not ready. More than a kiss requires a lot of trust and we need to build that up." She said.
He nodded and pulled her robe closed, then ran his hands up to her face and framed it in his hands. "I guess I can handle that Hermione, but the more I see of you, the less control I am going to have, so let's try to keep those put away yeah?" She nodded but had a slightly annoyed look on her face.
"Ron half of England and all of France saw me topless this summer and none of them attacked me. I think we will be ok, but if you insist." She smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. He pressed his tongue against her lips but she pulled back.
"Sorry Ron, I know I moved a little fast earlier, but now that I can think again I think we need to keep it slow. Is that alright?" She asked him.
He had gotten a taste of her and he longed to do more, she was teasing him badly but he reigned in his initial reaction knowing it would push her away. "That's fine Hermione; we can take all the time you need, I'm just happy to have you. He leaned in and fed all his feeling for her through his lips as he kissed her gently. She sighed as the broke apart and stood up. "Goodnight Ron, I look forward to more of this." She smiled at him as she said it.
"Yeah me too." He said breathily as she waved and walked out his door.
Every night since then he had pushed and gotten a bit more out of her, but it always seemed to end in an argument. She insisted on talking rather than snogging for god sakes. They could talk when they weren't alone together! He put his pillow over his face and growled out loud, he heard a knock and then the door opening and closing. "Ron?" She asked sounding confused.
"Yeah I'm here," he said removing the pillow from his face. "Is breakfast ready yet?" He asked excitedly.
She groaned but shook her head. "I don't know Ronald, I haven't been downstairs yet and neither of the elves has announced it."
He nodded, it was not so strange for her to come visit him in the morning but normally it was because she was waking him for breakfast. "What are you doing here then?" He asked with a hopeful look.
She sighed. "Harry needed a minute with Ginny; I think he might finally ask her out." She said switching to a true smile.
He groaned but they had discussed this possibility when she insisted on talking to him. "Harry is a great bloke and all, but she's my little sister, how am I supposed to deal with this?" He asked her seriously.
"You are going to be happy for them and you are not going to ask any personal questions. You know Harry is like a brother to me and I am like a sister to him. How would you like him to grill you on what we do together?" She asked.
"Not like we do bloody anything…" He mumbled before he could stop himself. Luckily it looked like she didn't hear it all.
"What was that?" She asked confused.
"I was just agreeing with you, I don't really want to know so I better not ask the question. But if he hurts her…" She cut him off.
"Ron how can you even think that Harry would do that? He is your best mate, if that's not good enough for you then maybe you should ask Ginny to be a lesbian!" His face got a sour look on it and he shook his head to clear the thought of his sister between another woman's… "Bloody Hell! Hermione did you have to go and put that picture in my head?" He asked.
"What, do you have a problem with two women being in Love? Making Love?" She asked him.
"No not a problem with women together," He gave her a hungry look, which disgusted her. "Just my sister with anyone, especially another woman. I don't want to think about it!" He stated firmly.
"Alright then you hypocrite. And just hypothetically, I know what you want to do with me." She said giving him a look. "And I know what I want to do with you." He looked up hopefully, "Eventually." She finished her statement and he nodded looking away once more. "Do you see anything wrong with you and I having a sex life?" She asked.
He quickly shook his head in the negative. "Absolutely not!" He grinned at her, she smiled back with tolerance. "Then how can you be upset with Ginny for wanting the same things." He looked shrewdly at her, what did she know about his sister that she wasn't telling him. "Eventually." She said quickly. He hadn't noticed her quick addition and simply nodded.
"Alright alright. I won't say a bloody thing about it to either of them. I can't promise Mum will be too pleased though, especially considering you three are a whole floor away from her."
Hermione grinned in sudden inspiration. "Then I guess I will just have to keep them chaperoned wont I?" She asked hiding her amusement and excitement.
Everything was suddenly right with the world again and Ron grinned and nodded in response. "Yep, you will just have to stay in the room with them at all times to make sure they don't do anything you wouldn't do." He said.
He was getting hard under the blankets and decided since she was so OK with partial nudity he would give her a little show. Maybe it would tempt her into going a little further with him later. He longed to get his lips around the nipples he played with on the first night.
"Alright then it's agreed, I won't let those two out of my sight no matter what they are doing unless I am with you. Sound like a plan?" She asked.
He looked at her for a moment and decided to push his luck. "Think you could make that a wizard's oath? I would feel a lot better, and I promise I will never say anything to either of them." He asked sheepily.
She thought hard for a moment about how to phrase it before proceeding. "I swear on my life and my magic, to stay in the company of Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley as long as it does not conflict with my other obligations, such as spending time with you. Until such time as they are married or living separately from me. Or until I am released by you. So mote it be!" She finished and looked at him curiously. She wondered if he had caught the loopholes or the connotations. She never said she would keep them from doing anything. If he broke up with her it would fulfill the contract as well leaving her free to date, and leave the lovebirds alone.
He didn't even think what he was agreeing to he agreed. "So Mote it Be!" he said and the slight magic flared between them. "Thanks Mione, you're a life saver.
He nodded and threw back the blankets. He was wearing his boxers, which was his plan. He knew she would see his cock straining against the fabric and get her thinking dirty thoughts. What he hadn't planned on was said member escaping through the bloody flap on the front and waving hello to her.
Her eyes froze on his erection and she licked her lips before looking back up at his face, which was frozen in terror. "Why Ron, it's nice to know you care." She commented lightly, thinking of Ginny's reaction to Harry in the same predicament.
He jumped out of bed and headed into the bathroom quickly. He called through the door. "Uh yeah, so um, I'll just meet you in the kitchen yeah?" He managed to stutter out.
"Alright Ron, I will see you downstairs." And she got up and left the room.
*************************SFTP************************
Hermione entered the kitchen to find Harry and Ginny sitting at the table. Hands clasped together and staring in to one another's eyes. She felt a momentary pang of loss, but smiled for her friends. "What's going on here then?" She asked as if she didn't know.
"Lover boy here finally managed to ask me to be his girlfriend!" Ginny beamed.
"I figured as much, I already told Ron that was probably what was happening upstairs." She smiled as they looked at her dumbfounded. "What? Anyone could see you two coming from a mile way." She commented cheerfully.
"Would have been nice if you had told me." Harry said kissing Ginny's hand. "I might have enjoyed the last week rather than feel tortured." Hermione looked at him with confusion and sadness.
"Wait that came out wrong, I never said I didn't like the torture, just that it could have been more enjoyable if I had known." She nodded after a moment, deciding that nothing had changed.
"Speaking of which," Her newfound hope was quickly dashed. "I unlocked some of my emotions this morning, which is what led me to ask Gin here to go with me. I have been bottling up all the awkwardness and guilt about running around in the buff with my best mates girlfriend and it has to stop." Harry said in a soothing tone.
"Oh, ok then, I guess I can just leave you two alone then, Ginny is the one that really needs the training anyway." Hermione began but Ginny cut her off.
"No Mione, I told him I don't want him to change his relationship with you in any way!" She said forcefully. "If there is a problem with any of this that is between you and my brother. However Harry did have a couple of requests." She looked at him and urged him to speak.
"Uh yeah, look Mione at this point the cats out of the bag with the whole nudity thing." He began, using the same argument he had with Ginny. "I don't think it would matter much to Ron at this point if he found out, that I decided a week after the fact that seeing his sister and girlfriend naked was a bad idea." He said, sounding less confident.
"Um, so all I ask is that you think about it before you sit in my lap to have a good cry or whatever. I won't desert you Mione; I just won't shoulder any guilt about what happens between us. Ginny told me not to change and I agree with her. You are too important to me. So if you are ok with it, I am ok with it."
He knew he was partially lying to her. He would feel a bit of guilt, but now that he had unlocked it rather than bottling it up, he could handle it on a case-by-case basis using Occlumency. In much the same way he had decided that Sirius and his parent's deaths were Voldemort's fault not his. He still felt the guilt but he was able to deal with it easily by apportioning blame. In this case it was normally Ron's fault for making her feel so horrible and her fault for turning to him instead of talking to Ron about it. That idea settled he decided to share it.
"I might still feel a little guilty, but I know it's really Ron's fault for upsetting you, and your fault for not talking to him about it." He said looking at her.
She dropped her eyes and nodded. "So is it ok if I come to you for comfort and then go back and talk to him? He can just be so infuriating!" She said.
"Yeah that's fine." He agreed. "As long as you are ok with it I am ok with it."
Her eyes lit up and she tried to lighten the mood. "Good, because I had a discussion with my boyfriend about sex. He had me swear an oath to stay in the room with you two at all times to keep you from thinking naughty thoughts." She giggled.
Ginny actually looked excited, Harry looked like he couldn't believe it. "You mean, no matter what, he told you stay in the room with us?" Harry asked delicately.
She related the terms she spelled out in her oath and smiled at them. "Granted, he doesn't know the whole story, but I have tried to convince him multiple times to join us for training. It's his own fault really that he painted me into a corner. "
"But that is hardly binding, if he breaks up with you, you don't have to watch us. If you can ever get him to say something like I release you it could cancel it out. And you didn't even tell him you would stop us from doing anything!" Harry practically shouted.
Hermione laughed and nodded, "I won't stop you two from doing anything you want, but I have to be in the room. From that little demonstration this morning I don't think you will have any problems getting to know one another better." She blushed as the memory raced back from this morning. "Um, and I…" She trailed off suddenly thirsty. Luckily Winky popped in and placed a glass of Orange Juice in front of each of them and a carafe in the middle of the table.
"You's should have called Winky!" She admonished. "You wants the usual?" She asked them, and they all nodded. Winky quickly set to work on bacon eggs and toast.
"You were saying?" Ginny asked.
"Um" Hermione stuttered.
"You will try to keep from joining us again?" Harry asked her. His tone was serious but there was laughter and lust in his eyes.
"Yeah, I mean, I can't promise I won't touch myself, that was just too hot to watch." She stumbled over the words. "But I will try to stay out of the way if something like that happens.
Ginny shook her head and got up to hug the other girl. "Hermione, don't change a thing for us. I am surprisingly not jealous of you, since I know Harry chose me. We aren't in love, were just having fun. If you want to change for Ron then we will be happy for you. But don't try to change for us." The redhead finished.
Hermione almost teared up as she looked at her best friends, but Ron walked in just then and broke the mood. 'Good I'm starving!" He said kissing Hermione on the cheek. Winky quickly set four overflowing plates on the table in front of them, and butter and jam in the middle next to the carafe of Orange Juice.
"Morning mate!" Harry said a little too excitedly, luckily Ron didn't notice.
"Morning, so do we know when we are heading out to the Alley?" He asked. He noted that Ginny had grabbed Harry's hand across the table. But said nothing. "Maybe we eat at the Cauldron and get separate tables. You know…" He trailed off looking at Hermione. "If you want to make today a date that is, er a double date I guess." He said.
Hermione nodded, happy that he was keeping his promise. "That would be lovely wouldn't it you two?" She asked them, they were lost in each other's eyes again and she giggled before looking at Ron. He had noticed as well and was looking a bit sick. So he dropped his eyes to the plate and began inhaling as usual.
She sighed and began eating as well, taking a moment to kick both of her other friends under the table, they looked at her and she raised a piece of bacon to her mouth. They both sheepishly nodded and began eating.
Soon Harry felt the wards flair then heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" He called.
The Headmaster walked in and they all exchanged greetings. "Sir why did you try to Apparate into the house again?" Harry asked feigning curiosity, but secretly seething at having his defenses tested.
"Ah Harry, I simply forgot and Apparated to the sitting room out of habit. You know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks." He replied easily. "Now we should be ready to leave in about half an hour, if that is okay with the four of you?" He looked around the table and they all nodded. "Very well, if you do not need me I will retire to the sitting room to wait for Remus and Nymphadora to arrive." He said and began to walk out of the room.
"Headmaster wait!" Hermione exclaimed and he turned towards her curiously.
"Yes Ms. Granger?"
"I was wondering if you could test our shields before you go, I am still itching to learn what Harry knows." She replied matter-of-factly.
"Certainly Ms. Granger, however I cannot begin to believe that the two of you would have suitable shields after only a week. Despite our prodigy here." He said motioning to Harry. At least his comment sounded sincere and Harry took it as a compliment. "Now who would like to go first?" he asked. Hermione indicated that she would like to be the first one tested.
He looked her in the eye and counted, "One, Two…" and then he turned to Ginny, "Ms. Weasley whenever you are ready?" She looked shocked at the speed but nodded. "Very well then, please look me in the eye. Alright on One…" He then turned to Harry with a strange look on his face. "Harry I must commend you, I have never seen three students who have gotten so good a grip on this subject in such a short time. Harry beamed once again at the compliment.
Hermione spoke up again, holding her head with one hand and keeping her eyes closed. "Was that a pointed attack like the first one you used against Harry or was that a probe such as the second time you checked him?" She asked. Dumbledore looked a bit put out that Harry had shared his experiences but answered nonetheless. "That Ms. Granger was the most Gentle Probe I could manage. Both of you have surprisingly strong shields in place, and even had I attempted to break in with full force, I doubt I would have discovered much before you repelled me." He stated.
Ginny was likewise rubbing her head. "Then why are we the ones with the bloody great headache?" She asked him shortly. "Uh, Headmaster." She added trying to be polite despite the pain.
"Ah, that is normal for beginning Occlumens Ms. Weasley." He said with a smile. "Until you build up your defenses the pressure will feel quite uncomfortable. However this also means you will know instantly when an attack is occurring, and thus be able to find another way to defend yourself." He finished.
Harry and Hermione nodded, having read the book. Ginny saw them and sent a scowl at her new boyfriend. "You could have warned me." She said.
He laughed before catching himself. "You could have read the entire book." He said as he got up. He walked around behind her and began rubbing her temples, replacing her hands with his own. Hermione shot a look at Ron who noticed but had his mouth full of eggs.
"Wafts gongon? He asked.
"Ronald, please don't speak with our mouth full." She said with a scowl, and turned back to Ginny and Harry before rubbing her temples once more.
Ginny sighed and relaxed back against his chest. "But the way you two taught was so much easier than the book." She pouted.
"I don't know about that but the book still contained good information. That is why I gave it to you." He said kissing the top of her head. He looked across the table and remembering what Ginny had told him that morning, walked to the other side of the table.
"Here let me." He said, pulling her hands away and repeating what he had done for his girlfriend. She sighed peacefully and let him continue; finally she pillowed her arms on the table and lay her head down. "Thank you Harry." She said with a smile.
"Any time." Harry replied taking his seat back.
"So Harry I expect you will be revealing your secret soon?" Dumbledore asked him.
"I expect so sir, thank you for your time." Dumbledore nodded and headed out of the kitchen.
Ron swallowed, "So does that mean you guys will be done with your training now?" Ron looked hopeful at not being left alone for the rest of the summer.
Ginny got an evil gleam in her eye and looked up. "That sounds wonderful Harry, think of all the alone time we will have now!" He looked surprised at his girlfriend, advertising to her brother like that. Until he saw Ron's face and caught on to what the little minx was doing.
"No, never mind, I bet you have loads more to do now that you will know the whole prophecy." Ron said quickly.
Hermione looked annoyed for a moment as she looked in his direction, but as she turned back to Harry a smile lit her face. "Yes Harry, Besides Legilimency and Wandless magic, we are going to have to think of a plan for Voldemort." Ron fell out of his chair.
"Bloody Hell woman!" He shouted up from the floor. "You've been hanging around this nutter too much if you can say that with a straight face." He got up off the floor and sat down looking put out.
"Ron it's just a name, as much as I may disagree with the Headmaster he is right on that. Fear of the name increases fear of the thing. How do you expect to be with me next time I face him if you can't even say his name?" Harry said quietly.
Ron looked very scared at the idea of facing down Voldemort but quickly masked it. "Yeah I know, sorry mate, with you 100% and all that." He mumbled. "Just a surprise, I haven't seen much of you guys lately and only Dumbledore says his name like you do. And Hermione and I spend our time doing more important things than talking." Ron grinned at her, oblivious to the scowl that she wore.
"Riiiiight." Harry said taking Ginny's hand. "Well anyway, I am going to go see if we can head into Muggle London today as well. I really need some new casual clothes." He said motioning to his sweat pants. "And I figure we can look for some stuff to put in the training room while we are out. We can pick up catalogs while we are in the Alley as well. There has to be a demand for this type of stuff in the wizarding world." Harry finished.
"Yeah, I think the main thing is that since its dual use, we want to get good padding that will go under some new carpeting. That way it looks nice, but we get fewer bruises when you knock us down mate." He said cheekily.
"That sounds great Ron, You know, if you want you could fix up the rest of this place. Not that you have to, you just seem to enjoy design so much." Harry responded.
"Yeah funny isn't it?" He asked no one in particular. "If you asked me at the end of the school year what my favorite hobby was I would have said Quidditch. But I really have a knack for this stuff. Tell you what, I will start planning some of the other rooms and see what you think." Ron finished.
"Alright mate, but only if you let me pay you. In the Muggle world people make big money designing other people's houses like that." Harry said. Ron looked dumbfounded.
"If you insist, but really I'm having fun and in a roundabout way I'm helping you and the Order against Vol… well him." Harry was happy he had at least tried.
"Alright I'll be right back." Harry got up and left the room.
"Ron that really is a wonderful Idea, I had no idea you could draw and plan like this." Hermione said happily.
"Yeah, I guess it's a little bit chess and a little bit Quidditch Plays." Ron shrugged it off. "Guess I have a backup plan if I don't get to play professionally." He said.
"What else did you have planned for the training room?" Ginny asked interested.
They spoke for a while about charms placed on the carpet to make it spell resistant as well as spell resistant materials to make furniture out of. Ron did not know what a Pool Table was so had not integrated it into his plans yet.
Molly walked in and smiled at them. "Morning dears, ready for your shopping day?" She asked. She noticed the huge grin her youngest was wearing and knew things had changed between Harry and her daughter. Then seeing the proximity of Ron and Hermione she made up her mind.
"Do you girls think you can help me with something in the dining room?" Both girls nodded looking a bit confused. And they headed out just as Harry walked in.
"Where'd the girls head off to?" He asked.
Ron took a moment to study his best mate of five years and thought back to his conversation that morning. He hated that Harry got everything that he wanted, but Hermione was suddenly all over him so he had to give the guy some credit.
"They had to help Mum out with something. They'll be back in a bit." He said.
Harry nodded and felt the guilt pushing on his gut. "Ron, you sure you don't want to join us, even just for one session? It would be nice if you at least knew what we were up to."
Ron was surprised by the question, but shook his head. "What goes on up there is between you three. Leave me out of it." He said knowing he at least had Hermione to keep those two apart.
The girls reentered the room with funny looks in place but when they saw Harry they sent him a questioning look.
Harry smiled as he said. "It just so happens that Remus has spent a good deal of time in the Muggle world since he can't find work as a Wizard, and Tonks' dad is a Muggleborn so we have tour guides. Dumbledore thought it was a grand idea as long as we remain vigilant."
Ginny jumped up and kissed him hard on the mouth. "I can't wait!" She said excitedly.
Hermione looked like she was about to jump towards Harry as well, but made her way over to Ron, standing behind him she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "This should be a lot of fun. I get to show you the world I grew up in." She said loud enough for Harry and Ginny to hear.
The four heard a loud pop and a crack almost simultaneously from the back garden. "Looks like they're here!" Ginny was practically bouncing in anticipation of her first date with her long time crush and new boyfriend.
Tonks and Remus entered the kitchen to find the foursome coupled up around the table. Tonks smiled at them, "Wotcher kiddoes, ready to go?"
Meanwhile Remus could smell the pheromones in the air using his enhanced senses. The funny thing was he could smell both of the girls on Harry and vice versa, with only a hint of Hermione lingering on the redhead in her arms. He shook his head and decided he needed to have a talk with Harry. Filled with dread he spoke. "Hello all, I trust you have all been well?"
Harry straightened up from his cuddle. "Yeah, we actually got Dumbledore to let us head into Muggle London later as well if you two don't mind." Harry said before he looked at them with a grin. "You two arrived almost the exact same time; dare I ask if you were together before you arrived?" He asked leering at the werewolf.
Tonks blushed and Harry once again swore he could feel Sirius pat him on the back. Harry 2, Metamorph 0. He thought. "That Cub; is none of your business. However as long as we are on the subject I see your relationship status has changed as well?" Remus asked trying to deflect the conversation.
Harry got a huge grin as he looked down into cinnamon colored eyes. 'Yeah Remus, ain't it grand?" He said.
"Alright I have had enough of this. Harry you agreed to call me Moony remember?" he said trying to insert another topic and get away from his love life.
"Sorry Moony, you know how hard it is to break habit. How many times have you caught yourself calling Minerva, Professor?" he asked stumbling over the last two words. Moony nodded and smiled. "Alright you win Harry. So if you are ready?" They all nodded.
"For security sake, and knowing how you felt about Portkeys currently." He shot a look to Harry who shivered. "We will be Side-along Apparating you. Now taking one extra person can be very taxing, so we need you four to help out."
Hermione looked confused. "What do you mean prof-er Remus? None of us can Apparate yet."
Tonks jumped in to the conversation having started feeling left out. "Technically we can't teach you to Apparate until you're 17, or in Harry's case 16." Harry suddenly grinned madly, he got to learn to Apparate in 3 days. "But we can walk you through the beginning of the process. That way your magic will help us along. Now!" She said spreading her arms wide. "Blokes with me, Ladies with Remus, unless you fancy feeling like you're pressed up against him tightly." She looked at Ron who shivered and looked green. "Alright then take hold."
The girls each took one of Remus' arms and the guys likewise one of Tonks'. "Now I want you all to concentrate on the exit from the Cauldron into the alley. I want you remember back to the last time you watched the bricks open and taking your first step through. That is where the Apparation point is and that is where we are heading."