Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get up here, unfortunately there were issues with Track Changes. Thank you to ncdsbookworm for the great beta! Dedicated to Georgia.





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" ... Harry was sitting beside the window in the common room, supposedly finishing his Herbology homework but in reality reliving a particularly happy hour he had spent down by the lake with Ginny at lunch-time ... "



~ Chapter Twenty-Five: The Seer Overheard


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince



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"Make a wish, Harry."



The dandelion is practically shoved up under his glasses; it tickles his nose. He looks up from Flesh Eating Trees of the World, squinting into sunlight and a pair of bright brown eyes.



He raises his eyebrows, but her expression doesn't change.



"What kind of wish?" he asks.



"Anything!" she huffs.



He looks at her uncertainly. "Um..."



"Ok, fine." She throws away the dandelion with an angry toss of her hand, turns, and crawls back to her spot. Picking up her abandoned textbook, propping it up against her bag and grabbing her quill, she turns her attention back to her notes. "Fine, if you're not going to do it properly, then - then - fine." Without another glance at him, she starts scribbling.



Harry thinks he may have made a mistake.



Her brows furrow in concentration. A foot goes into the air as she bends one of her knees. Slowly, her toes curl.



Suddenly, he realises that he knew what to say all along.



"Gin?"



A grunt of some kind.



"Do you want to know why I don't know what to wish for?"



A non-committal sound.



He dives in anyway. "It's cause I'm - I'm kind of happy with what I've got here."



There is a beat.



She looks up, and Harry sees her smile and lets out a breath. Dropping her quill, she crawls over slowly. "Mr. Potter," she says.



Harry thinks there might be something struck in his throat.



"I do believe that you have, once again, managed to wriggle out of a very sticky situation."



He smiles and edges forward on his elbows.



Still advancing, she continues. "Such cleverness of tongue," - he raises an eyebrow - "should be rewarded."



He opens his mouth to speak, but her lips get there first.



Her warm, wet mouth on his - he kisses back as well as he knows how. His elbows dig into the grass, his neck cranes out to meet her questing lips, and as her head turns slowly, his tongue slides in...



... He can taste her shepherd's pie, hastily shoved down their throats in an effort to get away from Ron and Hermione ...



... How long has it been since their last kiss?



... But wait, she's pulling away ...



"Harry," she reproaches. She sits up, patting her hair and eyeing him sternly, as if her kissing him was somehow his fault. He sits up as well, rubbing his sore elbows.



He sees the regretful look in her eyes. "Harry, I really have to get back to - "



An arm round her waist and a hand in her hair: he really is unaware of how he got here, he dimly registers a few seconds later - but it doesn't really matter when she's gasping against his lips and clutching desperately at his shirt. His arm circles her waist tighter and pulls her closer to him, almost onto his lap; one of her arms hangs on tightly round his neck; their kissing frenzies. Her tongue darts in and out of his mouth - he can't stand it! With an almost pained moan, the hand in her hair fists and twists her head so that he can hold it still, so that he can have her lips for his very own - but his mouth slips; instead he finds his lips attached to her pale, exposed neck, and she's moaning, a sound that Harry is sure he's never caused a girl to make before. As he kisses a freckle, she pants, "I should not - " his tongue touches her skin " - be doing this." She grabs his head and detaches his mouth from her neck, drawing it upwards to meet her lips.



"Hermione told me - " he gasps between kisses, " - to stop - " Her lips clamp onto his tongue and she suckles it in her mouth. Losing it completely, he groans against her lips and yanks her onto his lap properly.



"Hermione told me - " Ginny pants, as Harry's hand slides round her hips, just brushing the downy hairs of her lower back, " - to stop - letting you - " His hand reaches round to her other hip and he pulls her even further onto his lap. With another moan, Ginny grabs Harry's collar and sinks down to the grass, dragging him down with her.