In Pursuit of the Unknown Power

When the door closed behind him both girls began laughing quietly. Ginny looked caught between being mortified and being excited. "Oh my gods Hermione. How could you let him see me like this?" She asked.

"I wasn't wearing this robe when he came in either. I honestly forgot to lock the door, but I'm not sure I feel bad." She said before laughing again at the look on Ginny's face. "Come on Ginny, you know you want him to ask you out, I am pretty sure he doesn't see you as Ron's little sister anymore." She said with a leer.

"Well thank goodness for that." Ginny replied. "But did he really have to see me in darn near the altogether?" She asked.

"I really am sorry for putting us in this position, but I think it worked out if the look on his face when he saw you was any indication." Hermione said smugly. "He had to physically drag his eyes away from you." Ginny blushed prettily.

"Yeah, but what about you?" Ginny asked. Hermione went quiet suddenly. "I know you have at least been crushing on him since he saved you from that Troll. And unlike me he actually knows you." She said quietly.

"He touched my scar." Hermione said. Ginny looked at her carefully, "What do you mean? You wouldn't be acting like that if he had just touched it. Spill!" She ordered.

Hermione sighed and sat down on the bed. "He opened the door and then spun around before apologizing for seeing us like this. I turned him toward me and told him how silly he was being. I mean, I went topless at the beach this summer and I bet you own a bikini?" Hermione asked; the younger girl shook her head. "Mum would never go for it, even when I was younger." Ginny said.

Hermione looked surprised for a moment but nodded, "Oh, well anyway he locked his eyes on mine while trying to apologize more. I dragged his chin to his chest and asked him if he wanted to see my scar." Ginny sat enraptured by the story. Her breathing was speeding up imagining herself in Hermione's place.

"He seemed to get clinical at the mention and looked at my shoulder. When he couldn't see it because I had the lights turned down he had to lean in closer." Hermione's breath caught. "His breath washed over my bare skin and I thought I was going to faint. I really don't think he knows just how sexy he is." She said as an aside. Ginny pushed her to continue and she did so, though reluctant.

"Why must you make me relive this? I just want to forget it ever happened." She asked the younger girl. "Because I wish it was me you git!" Ginny said laughing at the other girl's predicament.

"Fine," She huffed. "He placed a finger on my shoulder here," She put her finger where his had been and closed her eyes. "And he ran his hand along my scar." She did as well, the nightgown falling open as her finger traced the path his has taken. "I just about passed out I swear. But he suddenly jumped away from me like I burned him and started apologizing again." She sighed.

"And?" Ginny asked forcefully.

"And I told him that he didn't do anything wrong and that nothing would change our friendship." She said the last word as almost a curse. "But listen to me prattle on about the boy you like. Honestly I gave up on Harry a long time ago, he is my best friend and I love him dearly, but us together just isn't in the cards. I just hope your idiot of a brother gets over himself and asks me out soon." Hermione finished.

Ginny knew the older girl and been crushing on Ron almost as long as she had on Harry. For the life of her she didn't understand why. They fought worse than cats and dogs and she had to bully him into reading or doing homework, not to mention that she merely tolerated Quidditch and her brother lived and breathed it. "One of them will come round eventually." She said to the brunette.

Hermione sighed, "Well let's put our things back on and go collect lover boy. We missed lunch and I am willing to bet he did as well," She stopped in the middle of her sentence as her eyes went wide. "Oh no! We need to check on Ron and make sure he isn't eating the bedding!" She exclaimed.

Both giggling they got dressed and headed to Harry's room.

*************************SFTP************************

Meanwhile Harry headed to the bathroom to relieve some pressure. He did not often take himself in hand as the Dursley's would either yell at him for taking too long in the shower or for washing his clothes more than once a month. And at school he was in a dorm full of boys and it just felt wrong to do that with Ron lying across the room from him. Especially if a certain red-haired witch was the object of his intent at that moment.

He stood in front of the mirror and began slowly stroking himself over the sink to make it easier to clean up afterward. In his head swam thoughts of Hermione lying on a beach topless. Visions of Ginny in a bikini, and then the memory of her sitting in the middle of the room half naked, and when she had kissed his nose at the end he thought he might explode from the contact.

He took his time, trying to savor the sensations that were running through his tingling manhood and down to his balls for as long as he could. He imagined Hermione behind him one arm hugging him the other hand stroking him, while Ginny knelt on the floor waiting for her surprise. Finally he was too close and could no longer stave off his orgasm. Just then there was a knock on the door! He panicked even as he coated the black marble with ropes of white cum. The adrenaline pumping through his system heightened the orgasm and he nearly moaned out loud as his body spasmed. "One second!" he called out trying to sound reassuring, but only managing to sound a bit scared.

"We're ready when you are Harry." Ginny called through the door. He thanked all that was good he had locked both of them when he entered the bathroom. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Fine!" He nearly shouted as he turned the water on and washed his hands and watched as his spunk washed down the drain.

"You don't sound fine Harry, did you have a vision?" Hermione asked unknowingly giving him a way out.

"Um no, I mean not really." He said drying his hands and fixing his trousers. He opened the door and walked past them without looking at either one. "Not really a vision, just some disturbing thoughts. I need to center myself before we head down if that's ok with you two?" He shot them a pleading look.

Ginny sat down in one of the chairs by the window. "By all means Potter, I plan to enjoy the show!" She said with a smirk.

Show? Harry thought to himself. "Show?" he asked out loud.

Hermione giggled, "Ginny, I don't think Harry needs to be nude in order to center himself. That just seemed to work for me and apparently you." Ginny looked crestfallen but nodded. "Oh," she said, "Alright then, will it take long?"

Harry shook his head. "Once I get inside my own head everything moves at the speed of thought. I will tell you the rest on the way downstairs." He said as he sat down on the floor and began breathing deeply.

Soon he found himself inside his candy store and started sorting memories and feelings. He had to expand the bin that held the fuel for his Patronus Charm. So many happy memories in the last hour or so! Finally having his thoughts settled and sorted he woke up and smiled at the girls. "There we go, all better now." He said.

"But Harry, you took less than a minute!" Hermione said looking put out.

"How do you get to Carnegie Hall Hermione?" He asked. Ginny looked confused.

Hermione turned to her friend and sighed. "Carnegie Hall is one of the most famous venues in the United States for classical music and popular music, renowned for its beauty, history and acoustics." She said, Ginny still looked confused. "It is a Muggle joke about perseverance, someone asks for directions 'How do you get to Carnegie hall?" and the answer," she said turning to Harry. "Is practice." She finished.

Ginny nodded, still confused but slightly less so. Harry couldn't stop the comment before it slipped out. "Do you know how sexy you are when you go into lecture mode?" He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as Hermione blushed. "Sorry, you two got me pretty worked up in there." He said shyly.

"Don't worry about it Harry, thank you for the compliment." Hermione said. "Just because we are friends doesn't mean I don't notice that you are always sexy." She blushed even deeper. "But that is neither here nor there. Let's go collect Ron, none of us have eaten lunch, and as it is nearly dinnertime I am afraid he will have eaten the bedding and started on the desk by now."

Harry nodded and they walked out the door, the girls began to cross the room but Harry coughed politely. They turned around and looked at him curiously. He crooked a finger silently and beckoned them toward him. Curiosity got the better of them and they came back to stand between the two rooms beside him. He reached behind him and pushed the wall, with a click the door swung open as both girls gasped.

Hermione was the first to speak. "The servant's stairs, I had almost forgotten they were there!" She said.

Harry nodded. "I don't think I will advertise it even though you can see these stairs from the kitchen I don't think anybody connects that fact with the blank wall at the end of each floor." The girls nodded. "Anyway if we go this way Ron's room is right below us." They nodded and he held his hand out in a motion for them to go ahead. "Ladies first." He said with a smile.

They walked down ahead of him and they stopped quickly on the third floor but found that Ron was already out of his room. Harry told Ginny what happened with Dumbledore as they walked down the remaining two flights and exited to the kitchen where they found Molly preparing a Sunday Roast. Winky was watching from the corner of the kitchen with a look somewhere between admiration and loathing.

Harry walked up behind her as she stood stirring what looked like some sort of dessert in bowl form. "Molly," He said softly so as not to scare her.

Despite his effort she still nearly dropped the bowl. "Oh sorry Harry dear, you startled me." She said.

"If I may say so Molly, none of us will think any less of you if you let Winky help." Harry said trying to calm the poor woman down. "You don't have anything to prove to any of us and I don't want to see my guest have an anxiety attack."

Molly looked at him closely before sighing. "Thank you dear, but I am afraid if I let her help me she will try to take over." The Weasley matriarch said with an evil look to the corner where Winky still stood watching.

"Winky?" Harry said.

"Yes Harry?" She said sweetly.

"Sundays are Molly's day in the kitchen; do you think you can help her with whatever she asks, without tossing her out of here?" He said just as sweetly.

"I's can do that Harry." Winky replied looking chastised.

"Molly will you use her to help you. Maybe on a normal day it wouldn't be a problem but you normally spend all day making dinner on Sunday right?" Harry asked. Molly nodded before replying.

"You're right, Winky I am sorry for being so rude, but you must understand my family is my life." She said somewhat sadly. Winky's eyes got huge and she hugged the older woman's leg.

"Winky understands! Winky lives to serve, she will help you and not try to make you not work. Winky doesn't like it when Master Harry tries to make her not working." She said with a sniff. The two females seemed to come to an agreement before Molly turned back to Harry and the Girls.

"Ron should be in the sitting room, we will come get you when the food is ready." And with that they both shooed the teenagers out of the kitchen.

Laughing the three headed into the sitting room to find Ron with papers spread all over the coffee table. There were various drawings and notations, it appeared Ron had even drawn everything to scale and noted such on the sides of the room.

So engrossed was he in his work he didn't notice the three enter the room until Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up startled until he saw who it was and promptly blushed scarlet.

"Hey guys, sorry I got a little into this." He said quietly gesturing to his notes.

"What is all of this?" Ginny asked.

Harry wondered what she meant before he remembered with everything that he had seen, or rather everything that had happened upstairs he had forgotten about Ron's project. "Sorry guys, we got sidetracked when I got back upstairs. I asked Ron to design a training area to take over the sitting room on the other side of the top floor." Harry said, having the grace to look a bit ashamed.

Hermione's eyes immediately lit up. "That's brilliant Ron; you have a fantastic mind for this sort of thing. I have watched you designing Quidditch plays." She said enthusiastically.

Ginny who was standing next to Harry still, had to ask. "Since when do you pay attention to Quidditch?" Harry elbowed her in the side softly but the damage had been done.

"You don't honestly think I could come watch all of Harry's games without reading every book in the library on the subject? What did you think I was reading in the stands?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ron stuck his foot in his mouth as usual, "We all thought you were studying. You know support your friends support the team type thing. But we never actually thought you liked Quidditch." He said, not noticing the dangerous look in her eye.

"For your information Ronald I don't like Quidditch. However it has an interesting history and you never know if I might stumble across something that will help keep Harry here from breaking his neck." She stated firmly.

Ron replied sheepishly. "Sorry, we just assumed. So you really think these are any good?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject. Back in her element the argument was quickly forgotten and the other three breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think it's wonderful of you to take this on while we are working on our 'summer project' and yes, I think these are very good. What's this one here?" She asked him.

Ron got what Harry would have previously called a Quidditch gleam to his eye. "I was just thinking that we won't always be training will we? So what if we designed the furniture so that it could be stacked neatly against the walls and still leave an open training space. Harry can use magic in a week or we could have the elves help us out." He said.

Ginny was actually proud of his idea and said so. "Ron that's brilliant. Hermione and I can help you design the furniture," She turned to Harry, "I mean if it sounds OK to you Harry."

"Sounds wonderful to me, I was wondering if we could get a pool table or something in here but upstairs would work great as well. And I always wanted one of those Air Hockey tables like at the arcade." He added.

Hermione nodded excitedly, Ron and Ginny just looked blank so she expanded. "Air Hockey uses two paddles and a plastic puck. The surface of the table has many tiny holes that create a cushion of air for the puck to ride on top. You then attempt to score goals on your opponent. I'm sure we could come up with a magical equivalent seeing as how there is no electricity in this house." she said. Ron and Ginny looked only slightly less confused.

"Don't worry guys; I'm sure you will love it if we can figure it out. Speaking of which I really wanted to find out what it would take to add electricity to the house. Maybe we can ask Professor Lupin when he gets here." Harry said.

"I still don't know how the magic world hasn't embraced electricity. I understand that magic interferes with electronics but honestly, it's not like I walk around the house blowing light bulbs out of lamps!" Harry nodded in understanding; Ginny caught the part about elekticity and lite bulbs, but didn't know you could use the stuff to grow flowers. Ron just continued to look blank.

Hermione suddenly got that look in her eye. The look that said if you came between her and the library you were going to have a Hermione sized whole through you. "Mione? What are you thinking?" Harry asked her.

She seemed to phase back into reality at his words. "Oh sorry, I just had a brainstorm of how to use magic to power Muggle electronics. If you can conjure lightning, then surely there is a way to conjure electricity at the proper voltage. Thus eliminating the magical interference altogether!" She said excitedly.

"Down girl." Harry said, and got a slap on the arm from Ginny for his comment. Rubbing the spot more to cause pity than to soothe pain he continued after throwing her a hurt look. "After we finish our Occlumency study, you can take all the time you want to research it. I will even fund it from the Black Estate. Won't that make them all roll over in their graves?" He asked with a devious smile. "Using Black money to find a way to use Muggle stuff." He cackled gleefully, eliciting strange looks from the other three present.

Coming back to reality he looked at them and quietly said. "Sorry, I was gone crazy for awhile but I am back now." Though a giggle still escaped him.

Fearing for his sanity, but not wanting to scare him off Ginny asked cautiously, "But what about the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Laws?"

Hermione responded. "We can always ask your father, but I am pretty sure there is no law against using magic to power Muggle artifacts, as long as you don't change the function. For example if you charmed an automobile so that if got its momentum like a broomstick, then you would not need to refuel it. That would not break the laws since you did not change its function. However if that charm also allowed the car to fly." She glared at Harry and Ron who had the good sense to look away. "Or put an invisibility charm on it, then it is no longer functioning as intended." She finished.

"Guess you can ask Dad then," Ron said. "How long have I been in here?" He asked glancing at the Grandfather Clock. "And how long till dinner?" As he asked his stomach growled to make the point. All four of them laughed and all had just sat down when Dobby popped into the room.

"Mrs. Wheezy and Winky says dinner will be ready in five minutes and to please to wash up and heads to the dining room." He said with a bow before popping away again. Harry looked to all his friends who nodded and they trooped down the hall to the WC and took turns washing up before heading into the Dining room.

When they arrived other people had already gathered around the table. Gred and Forge were back from wherever they had disappeared to that day. Tonks and Remus were talking quietly together across from them, and down the table were Professor McGonagall and Mad-Eye Moody. The four entered and sat at the far end of the table, the girls directing Harry to sit at the head. They all exchanged greetings before settling in to the conversation.

"So Potter, you decided to let a bunch of people you barely know have free run of your house. Not sure it's all that safe you know?" Moody grunted out.

"I had the Headmaster modify the Fidelus so that I could revoke the information if I need to Professor. I don't want to end up like my parents because I trusted someone too implicitly." Harry told him.

"Good on you then lad, Constant Vigilance and all that. And what is with this professor stuff. First of all I never actually taught you, and second of all anyone who has faced down Voldemort and lived to tell about it deserves to call me by name." Moody replied.

"You want me to call you Alastor?" Harry said skeptically. Ron coughed to cover a laugh and both girls were turning red trying to hold it in.

"Not if you like both your legs Potter." His good eye narrowed and the other stopped spinning to pin him to his chair.

"Joking of course Mad-Eye." Harry said, finally allowing his smile to show. "But only if you will call me Harry, Potter reminds me too much of a Malfoy or Snape." He finished with a theatrical shiver.

Laughing Moody nodded. "You're alright Harry."

"I take it you are getting settled in well then?" McGonagall asked. Harry nodded, not sure yet how to interact with his Head of House in a casual setting.

"Yes Professor, the girls and I are working on a summer project that doesn't require the overt use of magic, And Ron is helping me plan and design a training room for the top floor." He spoke to the entire table with the next sentence. "We would appreciate all of your input at some point. Ask Ron to show you what he has planned so far, it really is brilliant." He finished, Ron blushed and Hermione smiled at him, then at Harry.

"Harry, as long as you remember and realize that in public or in class you must still address me as Professor, I think I can allow you to use my first name as all of my students do once they become adults. That actually goes for all four of you. I have never been prouder of my Gryffindors." They all looked at her stunned, she simply smiled back.

"Thank you Minerva. Wow that feels weird." Harry said and they all laughed. "That's going to take some getting used to. I hope you won't be offended if we slip up from time to time." He asked smiling. She simply nodded her approval and turned back to her conversation with Moody. Down the table Remus called out for his attention.

"Harry, I was a bit worried about how you would react to being in this house again. But you have done a marvelous job, I'm sure Sirius would be proud of you." He said.

Harry closed his eyes and took a few breaths to center himself and keep a hold of his emotions. "It's still hard you know?" He said quietly. "I don't mean to act like it doesn't bother me because it still does. I asked the elves to leave Sirius' room untouched for now until I can go through it myself." He paused and took a few deep breaths again. You could hear the emotion in his voice. Ron looked concerned but lost as to what to do. Each of the girls placed a hand on his back and began rubbing soothing circles. He opened his eyes and smiled in thanks.

"I'd like you there with me Professor when I go through his things. If you would like that is." Harry finished.

"I would like that Harry, and seeing as how I haven't taught you in two years, and won't be teaching you in any official capacity any time soon I believe you can call me by name as well." He finished.

Harry thought for a moment. "Would it be alright if I called you Moony? I would feel closer to my Parents and Sirius that way, and it just feels more natural." He asked.

Remus teared up a little but quickly schooled his features. "I would like that very much. Thank you Harry."

Deciding that was enough emotion for one evening he turned his attention to the young Auror. "Does this mean I get to call you Nymph… a." He trailed off as her eyes turned red. "Right then, Tonks it is." Everyone laughed just as he had hoped. He heard a low arguing coming from the kitchen and stood up to investigate. "If you will all excuse me for a moment, I'm going to check on dinner." With that he walked through the door to find the two females arguing once again.

"What now?" Harry asked. They both stood up rigidly and faced him. On the elf it was comical, but to have Molly jump to attention when he walked in was disconcerting.

"She won't let me serve my meal!" Molly exclaimed. Harry looked over to the elf. "Winky?"

She cast her eyes at the floor but spoke with conviction. "Winky will allow her to make the Dinner but Winky thinks she should enjoys her dinner with her family."

Molly looked between the elf and Harry. "She didn't say that before, she just tried to take the food from me and kick me out of the kitchen."

Harry nodded and giggled before he asked sarcastically. "So what have we learned?"

Molly smiled at his playful tone. "That we need better communication I suppose." She turned. "Thank you Winky, that is a lovely thought, but you need to explain your actions to me. I am not used to being pampered so." The elf nodded. Harry held out an elbow for her to take and she blushed before taking it.

"Shall we?" He asked.

She nodded and together they entered the dining room and found their seats. "Our cook needed convincing that she is allowed to enjoy the meal she cooked." He announced to the room. She blushed again but continued smiling and conversation resumed. Harry felt a tug on the wards and spoke up. "I believe Arthur just arrived." As he finished the thought the kitchen door opened and Arthur walked in.

"What do we have here?" he asked as he walked over and placed a kiss on Molly's cheek. "Molly sitting down at the table? And on a Sunday? Harry you have corrupted my wife!" He said jovially as he walked to the other side of the table and sat down opposite to his significant other.

They could all tell he was joking but Molly spoke up in his defense anyway. "No Arthur, I just came to an agreement with the elves. I cooked the dinner, and they are forcing me to enjoy it with my family." She smiled at Harry once more.

"Well I must agree then, where is dinner I am famished." Arthur said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than pops sounded as Winky and Dobby placed the trays of food on the table in front of them. Moving too quickly for the eye to catch unless you knew what to look for it appeared two plates a time. There was roast beef, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli, and Yorkshire pudding. When nobody made to fix a plate Hermione leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Harry you are the master of this house, it is tradition to let you fix your plate first."

Harry looked stunned for a moment and looked at Arthur; he smiled and nodded so Harry began fixing his plate. As he reached for the mustard everyone else began fixing their own plates. Conversation resumed as normal. "Thanks Hermione, I might as well be Muggleborn for all I know of wizard customs. I'm glad one of us knew what to do." He said gratefully. She simply nodded and turned back to Ron. He looked at Ginny on his other side who blushed for some reason and quickly looked down at her plate after smiling at him. He was thoroughly confused considering her little performance earlier upstairs.

Rather than dwell, he called out to Fred and George. "Oi Bookends, what did you get up to today?"

They shared a look and nodded at the same time before turning. "If you must know" Gred began.

"We have found premises" Forge continued.

"For our shop"

"In Diagon Alley"

"And we sign"

"the paperwork"

"Tomorrow!" They both finished grinning.

Molly seemed torn between being angry and being pleased that they were following their dreams. "Just where did you find these premises, are you certain you can afford the rent?" She asked.

Gred spoke up in their defense. "Rent schment. We used our inheritance to purchase premises across from Gringotts."

Forge continued. "Prime location that, lots of foot traffic"

"And there is a flat above the storefront as well"

"So we have a place to stay as well"

"All in all"

"We made out like bandits." They said again. The alternating speech was getting annoying so he sent them a look that he hoped said 'Cool it'.

Possibly they had grown tired of the gag as well, or possibly they read the intent of his glare. Gred continued. "Everyone is so down because of old Moldishorts that the prices in Diagon Alley have really dropped. Honestly we got a great deal and it solved two of our problems at once." He finished before taking a bite. Forge continued though after swallowing. "We hope to have enough product to open up before school shopping begins." He said.

"You had better get to work quickly then, I have it on good authority that the school owls will be arriving tomorrow." Harry said, they all looked to McGonagall who nodded.

"Harry! We are getting our OWL results tomorrow and you neglected to share this information with me why?" Hermione was looking a bit miffed.

He quickly shifted away from her. "It came up in a conversation I had with the Headmaster, it totally skipped my mind. Uh, sorry?" he babbled.

"Well don't let it happen again then." Hermione said.

Attempting to change the subject he asked the table, "So what do we know about Professor Slughorn?" This had the desired effect as the adults began trading stories and the teenagers listened in. Before too long dinner was over and Molly shooed them off to bed. They dropped Ron off at his room, and took the hidden stairs up the last flight to their rooms. This had to have been one of the longest days he could remember.

They each went in their separate doors and Harry went to his closet to change. He quickly found some pajama pants and was pleasantly surprised to find that they fit him perfectly. He quickly took care of business in the bathroom and headed into the bedroom proper where he found Hedwig sitting on her stand with a letter.

"Hey girl!" he said. She preened and squawked sweetly at him. "What have you got here." She chirped something along the lines of 'Response from goblin' and he nodded. No longer thinking about it hard enough to find it odd. He stroked her head a bit then sat down at the desk to read his letter.

Lord Potter-Black,

Although somewhat unorthodox I was pleased to receive your letter. I have made all the necessary arrangement to allow your employees access to your money. I set up a separate vault that contains 10,000 Galleons, which will be topped off at the beginning of each month. Should they require a larger amount they can request a draft from a teller, which you will need to sign to authorize the withdrawal.

If I must say, we at Gringotts find it most reassuring that you would trust a non-human that is not bound to you with this kind of responsibility and look forward to doing business with you. On a personal note I thank you for noticing my promotion. Most humans could not tell the difference between goblins let alone remember my name. I was promoted to account manager of the Black Estate so if you need anything at all please don't hesitate to ask. When you visit Gringotts next you need not bother with the tellers, simply ask the Keeper to see me.

Once again may I offer you my sincere sorrow for your loss. May your gold always flow and your enemies drip rubies.

Griphook - Account Manager, Gringotts, London

Harry smiled to himself as he finished the letter. If normal wizards treated the people that handled their money that badly he was happy to be abnormal for once.

"What's that Harry?" called a voice from behind him, causing him to fall out of his chair and onto the floor.

"Ginny what the hell!" He exclaimed. Rather than be chastised she giggled at his predicament. Massaging his bruised ego as well as his backside as he got up, he glared at her.

She was wearing an outfit similar to the one Hermione had been wearing earlier. Harry decided it was a torture device. The sheer fabric barely hid the form underneath, and he could clearly see the matching black bra and knickers beneath the emerald green material. Catching his gaze she blushed slightly but her words did not match her face. "Like what you see Harry?" she asked him.

He stammered something unintelligible before slowing down and responding. "You look very nice Ginny, but aren't you uncomfortable?" He asked.

"I might have been, but you have seen me in less than this now anyway, and I trust you Harry. Besides, do you feel uncomfortable in that?" She asked noting his outfit.

Harry realized then that he was only wearing pajama bottoms and had an erection straining against the button on the slit in the front. He blushed hard. "Er, actually I do a bit." He said. "But I see your point, what's a little bit of skin between friends right?" He finished with a gulp, trying to wet his dry throat.

"Right, so back on topic then?" She asked.

"Wait, where is Hermione?" He wondered aloud.

"She said she had something to discuss with Ron." Ginny said sounding a bit annoyed. Harry nodded before he mentally kicked himself.

"Dressed like you are?" He asked, trying to hide the sudden jealousy.

"Yeah, I think she is attempting to make him look at her as something other than a bookworm." Ginny said with a significant look at him.

"It's working." Harry said before he caught himself, she blushed even deeper this time as he tried to back pedal. "I mean it has to work, for her I mean. Besides I have it on good authority he was planning to ask her to go with him before the summer was out anyway." His statement turned into a question that did not quite make sense if put as a question, but he was rapidly losing the ability to think coherently.

"Um, anyway, so my letter." He clumsily changed the subject. "Yeah. So I found out from Winky that I could get them both access to my money for household expenses and such. Griphook set it all up for me and was just explaining how it worked." He stumbled through the explanation but as he was now looking at the letter it was getting easier to breathe again.

"Oh, well that's nice. So they can buy the furniture for the training room?" She asked him.

"Yeah, among other things. I kind of want to update the furniture in the sitting room as well. It isn't all that comfortable if you are spending any time in there at all." He said.

"Well seeing as how that's the formal sitting room. I think that was supposed to be the point. Usually these places have a formal and an informal sitting room. The formal sitting room is used for visitors and business that you want to get over with quickly." She said. He just looked at her in awe. "What?" She asked. "I am a pureblood after all; some of this stuff is unfortunately bred into us. Mum and Dad have never set any store by it, but when we visit family like my Aunt Muriel we have to know how to act properly." She finished.

"So maybe I will just see about reupholstering the furniture in there then. That makes too much sense to ruin it." He grinned. "But maybe we can find some good cushioning charms or buy some chairs just for the four of us that are comfortable. Only make them look like the worst ones in the room. It would be like a prank every time we have people in there." He finished happily. She nodded her agreement.

"Well, I guess we should get some sleep, is it just me or did today feel like the longest day ever?" She asked. It was spooky hearing her repeat his thoughts back to him.

"I was thinking the same thing actually." He replied. "Good night then." He got up and suddenly felt rather awkward. Should he hug her? He thought that normally he would, and if it were Hermione she would have hugged him by now. He leaned in and held out his arms. She quickly wrapped hers around his waist and sighed into his chest. Meanwhile he had forgotten about his raging hard on which was now poking her just above her belly button. She giggled into his chest as his arms tightened around her, not out of affection, but out of shock.

"Why thank you Harry, it's nice to know you care." She murmured up at him. Her face belied her tone though; he just hoped his face wasn't not as red as hers. The heat he could feel coming off his ears said otherwise.

"Um yeah," he said feeling mortified. "Uh, goodnight then." He pulled away and quickly dove under the covers to hide his shame. Ginny turned and walked back toward the secret passage but paused before entering.

"Hermione and I were talking earlier; do you think we could leave the passage open?" She asked innocently but had not turned back to look at him. At this point he would agree to anything to get her to leave the room.

"Yeah that's fine." He said. She nodded and closed the door behind her. He jumped out of bed and headed into the bathroom. He needed a cold shower and to relieve the pressure that was causing his balls to ache at the moment.

"They are trying to kill me, but what a way to go." He said to himself as he entered the shower.