Attention

Chapter Fourteen

Ginny hadn’t really been planning on telling Harry everything, but they’d met each other just outside the Great Hall after her Potions lesson.

‘What’s got you looking so worried?’ Harry asked her.

‘Oh, Snape gave me a week’s detention. It’s nothing,’ she said, trying to pass it off, but Harry wasn’t to be put off so easily. He grabbed her, pulled her aside into an empty closet, and then listened as Ginny recounted everything that had happened since the Library incident.

‘You won’t hurt him, will you?’ she asked, as Harry opened the door to the cupboard fifteen minutes later.

‘Why shouldn’t I? Look at what he’s done!’

‘But I don’t know if he really meant all of it to happen like this—’

‘Even if he didn’t mean it, it’s still his fault.’

‘Harry, please,’ Ginny pleaded, knowing full well what Harry could do to Malfoy when enraged. ‘At least give him a minute to explain.’

And now, half an hour later, Ginny was still waiting in the Great Hall for Harry to return. She thought they ought to have finished their discussion by now, but if it had turned nasty they might both be up in the Hospital Wing. And knowing those boys, it probably had. Sighing, she pushed her plate away and got up.

Charlotte and Lisa looked at her questioningly.

‘I’m just going up to the dormitory to finish the reading,’ Ginny lied. ‘I’ll see you in Defence.’

Her friends nodded and continued chatting about Maddy Chambers’ new haircut.

Ginny left the Great Hall and walked quickly up to the Hospital Wing, but it was completely empty except for poor third-year Adelina Young, who had fallen afoul of the Venomous Tentacula in Herbology and was still completely unconscious.

Thinking that perhaps Harry and Draco might not have finished their ‘discussion’ yet, Ginny went back down to the dungeons, but she only saw Snape, sitting at his desk marking homework. She quickly scurried past his door before he could give her any more detention. She listened at all the doors but couldn’t hear anything.

Ginny considered checking every boys’ toilet to see if Harry was in there, but that would probably arouse gossip, and as neither boy was in the Hospital Wing nor were they still arguing, her immediate concerns faded. She did actually need to go up to the Tower to get her books for Defence Against the Dark Arts, so she hurried up through the castle again to the Gryffindor common room—

—where she finally found Harry, sitting in an armchair near the fire and staring into space. Ginny went over to him.

‘Harry?’ she asked. ‘Are you okay? What happened with Malfoy?’

‘What?’ he asked blankly, then suddenly looked oddly defensive. ‘Malfoy? Oh. Nothing happened with Malfoy. Why do you ask?’

‘Well, last I knew you were going off to possibly beat him to a bloody pulp.’

‘Oh,’ said Harry. ‘Oh, right. Um, well, I found him, and he, well, he told me he wasn’t a Death Eater, and then… well, that was about it.’

Ginny narrowed her eyes.

‘Harry, what happened?’ she asked. ‘You look all out-of-sorts.’

Harry looked up at her, his eyes wide. He looked around the common room, which was completely deserted, what with everyone at lunch. ‘Can you keep a secret?’ he whispered.

‘Of course I can, you know that.’

‘Right. Right, of course you can.’ Harry seemed to be steeling himself to say something. He kept looking at Ginny and then glancing away again.

‘What is it?’ Ginny asked gently. Harry was clearly distressed. ‘Did something happen with Malfoy? Did you kill him accidentally?’

Harry started, then laughed. ‘No, no, I didn’t. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to kill me now.’

‘What did you do to him, Harry?’

‘I—I sat on him.’

Ginny gaped. ‘You what?’

‘I sat on him,’ Harry repeated. ‘He’d insulted my mother, and I got mad and threw him down and was sitting on him, and then—then he—’ He swallowed, then said very softly, ‘Ginny, he was up.’

‘He was… what?’

‘Up!’ Harry repeated. He had gone very pink. ‘Malfoy was up.’

‘You mean he stood—Oh.’ Ginny suddenly understood, and felt herself going a little pink as well. ‘Oh, my.’

‘Yeah.’

‘You think… you think he likes you?’

Harry ran a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t know… I mean, it’s not always something you can control…’

Ginny waited silently.

‘And he’s clearly into girls, isn’t he? He’s slept with enough of them, and rumour says that he’s quite good, so obviously he’s got no hangups there.’

Ginny nodded. She’d heard quite enough of those rumours. ‘So it was just an involuntary reaction, you think?’

‘Yeah, maybe,’ Harry said. But he didn’t look comforted.

‘But then what’s bothering you?’ Suddenly, Ginny thought she knew, but waited for Harry to make his confession.

‘You swear you won’t tell anyone?’ Harry pressed her. ‘You swear?’

‘I promise. I won’t tell a soul.’

Harry looked around to make sure the common room was still empty. It was. He leaned forward and said very quietly, ‘I…I liked it. I liked it, Ginny, knowing that I was arousing him, and that he was underneath me and—’ He broke off and looked her questioningly in the eyes. ‘And now it kind of makes sense that none of my girlfriends ever really worked.’ He looked away again. ‘I’m not into girls, am I?’

‘You think you might be gay?’ Ginny said, aiming for a tone of voice that was sympathetic but not judgmental.

Harry nodded and bit his lip. He looked forlorn.

‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with it,’ Ginny said matter-of-factly.

‘I know there’s not,’ said Harry, though quite clearly thinking the opposite, ‘but it’s just weird. I mean, that it should happen to me. I never thought… I always assumed that I’d be normal. My uncle always went on about me being a freak because of my magic, and now… I guess he’s right.’

‘You’re not a freak, Harry,’ Ginny said. ‘Really, it’s okay.’

‘Is it so common in the Wizarding world?’ Harry asked.

‘Well, not really…’

Harry sighed.

‘…but it happens, and people don’t make a big deal out of it,’ she assured him.

‘Well, I can’t be sure yet,’ Harry said, as if comforting himself. ‘I mean, it was just one incident, and it could mean anything…’

‘Of course it could mean anything,’ said Ginny soothingly. ‘Don’t worry about it.’

‘I won’t,’ said Harry, and again Ginny knew he was lying.

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch, and both jumped.

‘I should go,’ Ginny said.

‘Can we talk again later?’ Harry asked, deliberately casual.

‘Of course,’ Ginny said at once. ‘I’ve got a free period after Defence.’

‘I’ve got Transfiguration all afternoon,’ said Harry. ‘But maybe after dinner?’

‘Okay.’ On an impulse, Ginny reached down and gave the trembling Harry a hug.

‘Oy!’ came a voice. Ron had entered the common room. ‘I don’t want to see my sister behaving like that in public!’

Ginny broke away from Harry, who she saw had plastered a look of neutrality on his face, and turned to her brother, irritated. ‘It’s just a hug, Ron, get over yourself.’

‘All I could see was my sister bending over some bloke! You could have been doing anything!’ Ron said. He rounded on Harry. ‘I don’t want to see you feeling up my sister—’

‘Ron, it was just a hug,’ Harry said firmly. ‘I’m not interested in your sister.’

‘You’re not?’

‘Nope. Not in the slightest.’ Harry shot Ginny a wry grin.

‘Oh. Well, good,’ said Ron, who didn’t seem to know what to do with his anger now that it didn’t have a target. ‘It had better stay that way.’

‘Oh, it will,’ said Harry, though now his smile was slightly sad.