CHAPTER 8: PREPARATIONS/EROTIC DREAM
The week before their departure was a busy one, what with making preparations for same, making sure they had all the necessary supplies that they could lay their hands on as well as having gone with Ron and Hermione to help pick out their rings. They had naturally been thrilled to hear about his proposal and there had been hugs and backslapping all around; Harry had naturally agreed to be Ron’s best man and Ginny would attend Hermione, either as a bridesmaid or matron of honour.
She couldn’t have said which at the moment, because she had no idea when she and Harry would be able to get married. So much depended on the circumstances and conditions being just right! There was also another secret she was concealing from Harry at the moment: the night before they had gone out with Ron and Hermione to help pick out their wedding rings, she and Harry had once again shared a tenderly passionate night together ... or more precisely, the end result thereof.
In fact, it seemed even twice as tender and passionate as usual. What’s more, Ginny had again “forgotten” to put the Contraceptive Charm on herself. Harry had not asked whether or not she was doing it, and she was glad of this, for she could never have lied to him, but he would surely be livid if he found out she wasn’t doing it.
If they made love without the protection of the Contraceptive Charm even once more, there was a 99% chance that she would end up pregnant by the end of it, so she would have to do her best to see that she seduced Harry into making love to her at least one more time before they left on their quest. Of course, if she did end up pregnant, it would be a question of how long she could conceal it.
Even if Harry and Ron didn’t know the signs to look for, though, Ginny was willing to bet that Hermione did and would be the one most likely to confront her on the subject at some point, if not owl her mother about it. She and Ron were likely using the Contraceptive Charm themselves and no doubt intended to continue to do so throughout their quest.
But no amount of lectures as to how foolish her actions were, particularly considering the kind of danger they were likely to find themselves in, would change Ginny’s mind; to her it was only logical to ensure that she became pregnant at least once, particularly if something happened to Harry. In that event, at least she would have his child to live for … provided she survived their “adventures” herself.
On a brighter note, Ginny recalled when Harry had described to her his experiences in the Prefects’ bathroom in his fourth year. How she wished she could have been there, somehow been able to conceal herself—perhaps with an Invisibility Cloak—to observe him as he bathed. She had always wondered what he looked like without clothes. His body seemed so beautiful and perfect when he was clothed, but how she wished she could have known then what she knew now! Even after only their first night together, she knew she had been right. Harry’s unclothed body was every bit as beautiful as his clothed one. She always blushed crimson at the thoughts this prompted, particularly when she had had a dream based on these same recollections …
She and Harry had spent most of the evening in the Gryffindor common room; it was fairly late and everyone else had gone to bed by the time he stood up and held out his hand to her, as if he wanted her to follow him. But follow him where? She soon found out; upon reaching the fifth-floor Prefects’ bathroom, Harry gave the necessary password and they went inside.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Harry released her hand and turned to face her with a sly smile and suggestive wink. “Why do you think we’re here?”
“But I haven’t got any bathing suit or anything with me,” she protested innocently.
“No need for them,” he informed her. “This is a bath, not a swimming pool, despite how large it is.”
Even as much as she wanted to, Ginny was scandalised at what he seemed to be suggesting. “Just what are you suggesting, Harry?”
“Simply that we … bathe together,” he returned, voice deceptively calm. If she could only have known how his heart was pounding at the mere thought of possibly seeing Ginny without clothes …
“I’m not undressing without something to cover myself before getting into the tub, even if it’s only a towel,” she returned firmly.
“No problem. The towels are over there on racks.” He pointed to the corner nearest them. As she moved toward the area, he called after her. “Bring several, at least two for each of us, to be on the safe side, okay, Gin?”
“Okay,” she called back.
Once she did so, she returned and handed him two towels. “Where can I undress?”
“Just go into the shadows. I didn’t find anyplace when I was originally here to serve as an undressing room,” he explained.
“In that case, make sure to keep your back turned until I say otherwise,” she directed him.
Harry sighed in affectionate exasperation but said, “All right. Let me know when you’re ready so I can get ready.”
“No problem,” she called back as she headed for the shadows.
She undressed quickly and tucked a large towel around her, making sure it was secure before she dared venture out. “Harry? I’m ready.”
“Great. Just give me a few minutes, then we can get into the bath.” He passed her on the way to the shadows, once again giving her a sly smile and wink.
In spite of herself, Ginny’s heart was pounding double-time as she waited, clad only in a large towel, waiting for Harry to return. Why had he brought her here? What did he have in mind? She turned around to see the portrait of the mermaid on the wall watching her. She had better remind Harry to put the mermaid to sleep; otherwise they might be embarrassed later.
She jumped when she heard Harry speak to her seemingly out of nowhere. “Ready to go in?”
“When-whenever you are,” she stammered, once again blushing crimson and hoping Harry couldn’t see her do it.
“Don’t be frightened, Gin. I would never hurt you,” he assured her. “And I would certainly never do anything you don’t want me to.”
“I know you wouldn’t, Harry. It’s just that I’ve … never done this before.”
“Neither have I, really, so it’s a new thing for both of us … skinny-dipping.”
“Skinny-what?” she prompted.
“Skinny-dipping. It’s when you bathe in a pool without a bathing suit.”
“Don’t you usually take your clothes off to bathe?” she asked.
“To bathe, yes, but we’re not here to bathe,” Harry almost crooned. “I have something far nicer in mind.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll find out,” he smiled. “Come on, let’s get in.” He held out his hand to her again and they walked to the edge of the bath. She snuck a look at the portrait of the mermaid and was glad to see that she was asleep. Harry had obviously noted the same thing she had and taken the necessary action.
“Do you want us to go in at the same time or go in one at a time?” he finally asked upon noting that she hadn’t moved.
“Doesn’t make any difference,” Ginny replied.
“All right, I’ll go first. That way I can help you in, make sure you don’t slip.”
“As long as you keep your eyes closed when you do,” she threw back. “At least until I get into the water all the way.”
Again, Harry sighed in affectionate exasperation but simply said, “All right. Fair enough.”
She was quite surprised to note that he seemed unembarrassed about removing the towel around his waist in her presence. She had noted when he’d first come back that he hadn’t gotten chest hair yet, although he was old enough to do so, at least technically. But that wasn’t so important.
What she wondered about was … other places not generally shown in public. She blushed crimson yet again. What was wrong with her, that she was having such naughty thoughts? Mum and Dad would have thrown a fit if they knew what she was doing, much less her brothers, particularly if they knew she was doing it with a boy … or rather, a young man. Especially after curfew!
Harry dropped the towel at her feet and got in the bath; Ginny noted his gently rounded, beautifully formed backside and the smooth lines of his bare back. Not to mention his shoulders, which were just beginning to widen out … and his waist was slender. He didn’t have any excess flesh anywhere—except, hopefully, one certain … special … spot.
It took Harry calling to her to bring Ginny back to reality. “Come on in, Gin. The water’s fine.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” she promised, reaching for the towel to loosen it in preparation for entering the bath. “Remember, keep your eyes closed as you help me in.”
Harry sighed yet again but said nothing, simply held out his hand to her. Even in the fairly dim light provided by the torches, she could see that his eyes were indeed closed. She could only hope they would remain so until she was decently covered by water and bubbles.
However, his eyes didn’t stay closed—at least not fully. He had opened them just a crack as Ginny was stepping in and his heart nearly stopped at the nude beauty of her. She was so beautiful, so perfect … like a porcelain miniature. Far too good for him. He’d tried to be a gentleman, tried not to look, but the temptation had been too great to resist. And was he ever glad he hadn’t! Oh, the sights you saw when other people didn’t know you were looking …
Surely this was more than any young bloke should be expected to endure—to have a beautiful naked girl so close, yet so far. More than his heart and body should be expected to endure, particularly considering the way he had come to feel about her. Just the same, Ron would have been livid had he known what Harry was doing now, much less what he planned to do later … and with Ron’s baby sister! If he caught them, there would likely be Hell to pay—literally—but right now, Harry didn’t care.
How very much he ached to kiss and caress that sweet perfection, feel that silky skin beneath his hungry eyes … and even hungrier hands and lips. Ginny, you’re so beautiful … But she was a shy and sheltered young woman; he mustn’t rush her. A shy and sheltered young woman, yes—but a shy and sheltered young woman with six older brothers, one of whom was his best mate! He had better be careful.
“Harry, it’s okay to look now. I’m sitting down.”
When he dared to look, Ginny was sitting with her elbows resting on the edge of the bath, her bare shoulders glistening with water droplets, the waterline coming to just below her arms, covering her breasts … for the moment. For a long time they just sat there beside each other; Harry hardly dared look at her for more than a few seconds at a time; otherwise he was sure she would read his guilty secret in his eyes.
“Harry?” she called out.
“What?”
“Are we supposed to do anything … special while skinny-dipping?”
“Anything ‘special’? No. We can do whatever we choose to do.”
“What did you want to do?” she threw back.
“Ginny, may I … touch you?” he cautiously ventured, moving slightly closer but still not within touching distance—yet.
“Touch me where?” she wondered.
“Nowhere you don’t want me to,” he answered her. “May I sit close to you?”
“I suppose so,” she returned; he edged cautiously closer until he was within touching distance, then they sat quietly, not speaking, for several tense moments, until Harry gently touched her shoulder.
“Ginny?” Harry wished she could have known his thoughts, how much and how long he had hungered for this moment. Hungered for her … to kiss her, touch her, perhaps even join physically with her. But only if she wanted it as much as he did. “May I tell you that I think … you’re very beautiful?”
“Thank you, Harry. I’m glad you think so,” she returned softly, not meeting his eyes even as much as she wanted to.
With or without clothes, he thought daringly as he inched closer, until he was able to grasp her right hand, then lift it to his lips and kiss it gently. This was when their eyes met—and both of their young hearts pounded with a mixture of desire and anticipation. “Ginny, may I … hold you?”
There was a long silence, then she finally said, “You may.”
Harry forced himself to move carefully, slowly, drawing her gradually closer to him until their bodies just touched. Harry fervently hoped he would be able to conceal his growing arousal until he could prepare her properly, but couldn’t count on it. What mattered was that he had made progress. Ginny was allowing him to hold her. In a tub. Alone. And most importantly, with no clothes on!
A short time later he said, “You can put your head on my shoulder if you like.”
She said nothing, but the next thing Harry knew, Ginny had manoeuvred herself so that her head was on his right shoulder; the corresponding arm cautiously slid around her bare waist.
“Comfortable?” he asked softly, finding it progressively more difficult not to simply turn her toward him and ravish her—but he mustn’t. He had to take it slow, and he would, but there was no way in Hell that it was going to be easy! A short time later, he moved her hair aside and gently brushed her nearest ear with his lips.
She shivered but otherwise made no move to get away, which Harry took as a good sign. Just the same, he had no idea how much longer he was going to be able to endure being so close to her like this without possessing her in some way, any way, even if it was only a kiss. He had no idea how much she wanted him to do the very things he was thinking about, even though she was pleased he wasn’t trying to rush her. All the same, this couldn’t be easy for him. From what she’d heard, young men were easily aroused … and in this kind of situation, Ginny was sure that Harry must be. Perhaps it would help if she let him kiss her.
“Harry?” she asked softly. “Would you like to … kiss me?”
Need you ask? he thought—but outwardly merely said, “Very much.” It took a few seconds to manoeuvre her properly, but he soon had her facing him, kissing-close. A moment later his lips found hers, gently, carefully … then the pressure deepened and his arms tightened gently around her. “Ginny …”
“Harry …” she whispered against his lips and one of his hands began to cautiously explore her. She gasped softly at his touch, but didn’t try to move away—didn’t seem to want to, for which he was immensely thankful.
A moment later she felt his lips travel down her body until he reached her breasts. She again gasped softly as his lips found one and one hand found the other. Her gasp became louder as his caresses became more intimate, although still tentative. “Harry …”
“Ginny … let me touch you. Let me … love you. I … need you.”
Her answer was only a whisper, but it was the one he wanted to hear. “I … need you too, Harry.”
She then felt his hand slide down her body. “Ginny, open your legs for me.” Harry’s voice was so sweet and held a crooning quality. Ginny could scarcely bear its beauty, much less the perfection that was his eyes, his face, his nose, his smile … every inch of him!
His fingers moved tentatively and her legs opened, almost of their own accord. He gently, cautiously, moved to stroke her intimately. He soon found that she was very wet there—a wetness that had nothing to do with the water. He gently explored further; in a short time she began to softly cry out.
“Oh … oh … Harry … that feels so good.”
“Do you want me to keep doing it?” he whispered, the warmth of his breath feathering her nearest ear.
“Yes … yes …” she almost moaned. “It feels … so wonderful. So … very wonderful …”
It wasn’t much later that Ginny found herself reaching a peak of pleasure she had never felt before. About thirty seconds later, however, she came back down to earth. “Oh … Harry … I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
“I’m … glad you enjoyed it,” he returned softly, attempting to conceal his own arousal but not quite succeeding.
“Oh, Harry, I’m sorry. You must need something, too.”
“You … might say that,” he forced out, gently guiding her hand to his hardness.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked as their eyes met.
“Just stroke it, caress it … but be careful, it’s sensitive,” he admonished.
“I would never hurt you, Harry,” she crooned. “I love you.”
“I know, Gin. I know. Now, if you would …” He gently pressed down on her hand.
“Of course.” With that, her hands gently began caressing and stroking him. It wasn’t long before he began to moan and move restlessly.
“Oh … Ginny … keep … doing … that. It … feels … wonderful.”
Ginny had no idea what she was doing; all she knew for sure was that her partner was enjoying it. She continued to stroke and caress him; not long afterward Harry called out.
“Oh, Merlin … I can’t stop … I can’t …”
He seemed to pulse in her hand for a time, then it stopped and he settled back onto the edge of the bath, almost literally as limp as the proverbial dishrag—then after he had rested a few moments, he lifted his head and smiled radiantly at her.
“Thank you, Ginny. Now may I ask something else of you?” His voice had once again taken on an almost unbearably sweet quality that Ginny just couldn’t resist. She was literally putty in Harry’s hands and he knew it! But fortunately he was decent enough not to try to take advantage of her innocence, vulnerability or trust in him. “I … want to … make love … to you.”
“How do we do that?” was her only question.
“Lean against the side of the bath. Now open your arms … and legs … wider. Wider. Yes. That’ll be fine. Now once I get situated, put your arms and legs around me.”
She soon felt his arousal gently pressing at the opening between her legs. She even felt it going inside a little … more … more … then she flinched and cried out softly.
“Ginny? Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
“No. It just … startled me, that’s all,” she assured him.
Harry frowned but didn’t question her, simply resumed his previous ministrations … until he felt himself roughly a quarter of the way inside her. But he couldn’t go any further; there was a barrier preventing it … so he knew what he had to do.
“Tighten your arms around me again. Yes, that’s great … Now your legs …” She did this as best she could, and it seemed to satisfy him. She then felt him begin to move faster and faster; when she least expected it, he thrust forward sharply—and felt himself break through the barrier.
Once they had finished, she asked, “Why did you want me to come here tonight, Harry?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” he said.
“Leaving? Where are you going?”
“Where do you think? To find Voldemort … the Horcruxes … and destroy them all. But I wanted to be with you like this at least once, since we might never have this chance again, depending on what happens. You were wonderful, Ginny. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, the beautiful memories you’ve given me. Thank you.” He lifted his head and found her lips in a deep, delicious kiss.
“Thank you, Harry. I love you.”
“I love you, Gin. Please stay as sweet as you are … and take care of yourself for me while I’m gone.”
“I will. You be careful too.”
“I’ll do my best. We’d better get dressed now.” They stood up and he helped her out; they were still naked, but she no longer felt any shyness around him. He disappeared into the shadows for a while, then reappeared, carrying her clothes. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
Once she was dressed and the tub had been drained, they left the bathroom. He walked her as far as the door to the Gryffindor House girls’ dorm. “I wish you could come up with me,” Ginny blurted out before she could stop herself.
“Wouldn’t that be something to explain!” Harry laughed. “Maybe another time, Gin. Right now I’ve got to get some sleep. I want to get an early start tomorrow. See you later.” He drew her close and kissed her deeply, sweetly, one last time, then released her and walked away without looking back.
Oh Merlin, what a beautiful dream it had been … yet no more beautiful than what was her reality now. She would have to tell Harry about the dream at the first opportunity. Meanwhile, she had a job to do. Washing clothes, packing … fortunately, she had magic to help her do everything, so it could be done in a fraction of the time. There were only three days to go now until they left. She supposed they would either Apparate or use their brooms, maybe even both. She’d have to ask Harry; he had the last word on such things.
Ginny noted that he wasn’t in bed with her, then heard the sound of the shower going in the bathroom … then he came out, a towel tied around his slender middle, his hair as unruly as ever—but at least it was clean. She moved to kiss him, then nuzzled his neck. “Mmm. You smell wonderful.”
“No more than you,” Harry countered with a smile and wink, nuzzling her in return—then they released each other and resumed their previous business. “When are Ron and Hermione supposed to come Friday?”
“Around seven, I think … so we’d better make sure to be ready and not forget anything because we won’t be able to come back for it.”
“By the way, how are we going to get … where we’re going? Apparate, use our brooms or what?”
“I was thinking, a combination of the two, so we’d better get our brooms ready while we’re at it.”
“Are we going to take our owls with us?” she wondered. She had recently gotten one of her own, a male greatly resembling Harry’s own Hedwig … but this one had different colour eyes. Blue to Hedwig’s golden brown. Maybe they could even breed the owls at some point if things worked out and everyone returned alive.
“Probably better take at least one, just in case of an emergency. How about your Armand, since he’s youngest and fittest?” Harry suggested.
“What’ll you do with Hedwig and the others?” Ginny wondered.
“Keep them at your mum’s for the time being,” was the reply. “Best place for them until we can get back.” If we get back, Harry finished in his mind, but said nothing more out loud … at least not in Ginny’s hearing. Yet he had to be careful nonetheless; she seemed to be able to pick up his thoughts from thin air, even without Legilimency.
* * * * *
The three days seemed to pass like sand through an hourglass—and true to form, Ginny was indeed able to seduce Harry into making love to her one last time before they left. The only question now, how long would it take before her likely pregnancy started to make itself known—and not only to her?
* * * * *
They spent the last day making arrangements for the care of their homes … that is, the one Harry shared with Ginny and the one Hermione and Ron shared. One could only hope, however, that they would actually return to them. After this night, only Merlin knew where they would be, the places they would have to sleep. That is, when they got the chance—or dared to do so.
Perhaps they could take turns, two of them keeping watch over the others who slept … then vice versa. Of course, there was always the possibility that one or the other couple would want to be alone for a little romantic interlude. At a time like that, the last thing they would want was to be overheard or observed … maybe a Silencing Charm and an opaque forcefield which would only work for the people casting it.
Would they even have a chance to keep themselves properly clean, clothed and fed? They were witches and wizards, after all; it was certainly possible, but what if they were in a danger zone or something and didn’t dare use magic for fear it would give their presence away? It was as likely to be simply a matter of taking advantage of one’s opportunities as they came along, if nothing else.