In Need

A/N - This chapter contains an explicit scene between 2 teens - if that bothers you, then you should probably skip this one...

R.


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The DA club met on a Friday between classes. Harry invited Megan to attend once again so she could work more intensively with the group on skills that she had introduced on a basic level in the regular seventh year defense against the dark arts classes. While not everyone in the DA club was a seventh year student yet, the intensive practice and selective admission to the group made certain that all of them were up to the level of the advanced work they did in there.


As Megan put the group through the paces, she was very pleased to see how much their agility had increased since she had issued the challenge before Christmas. She conjured stinger bubbles that skimmed through the air toward the kids with increasing number and speed. The students responded adeptly, pointing their wands and stopping the bubbles with amazing speed and accuracy - only a few bubbles ended up making it through their line of defense.


After awhile, Megan split the kids into teams of three each and instructed them to try and knock each other down with the harmless flippendo spell. She added that in addition to casting the spell, they should also try to catch the opposing spells coming toward them and hurl them back. She was very pleased to see the students quickly get the hang of that activity too - the spells came flying out of the wands and were often volleyed back and forth several times until the sheer volume of flippendos flying around allowed some to get through to their marks.


Megan watched their faces, which were drawn up into determined concentration as they moved swiftly and confidently. She noted with a mixed twinge of pride and sadness that for the first time, they really looked like formidable fighters and not just kids in a classroom.


When they had all finished with the exercise, Ron, Harry, and Neville, grinning mischievously, nodded to each other and raised their wands in challenge to Megan. They were three of the best in this group and wanted to test their new skills out (and, she suspected, see what their teacher was made of). She smirked at their sauciness and gave a curt nod of her head, accepting their challenge. As they took a step toward her, she moved like a flash and all three boys flew backwards onto the pillows before they had even opened their mouths.


As the rest of the group laughed and the boys sat up looking stunned, Megan grinned down at them and said, “Now how much faith would you have in my abilities as your professor if you had taken me down on the first try? You have improved a lot and you will improve even more with practice.” She turned to face the whole group and said, “All of you keep up the good work - I am proud of you.”


Megan left to meet with Dumbledore, and the students headed off to prepare for afternoon classes.


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Harry and Ginny were the last ones in the Room of Requirement after everyone else left, which was exactly what they had intended. Ginny took off her shoes and robes, gathered together a comfortable pile of the squashy pillows from the DA meeting, and lay down on them. Harry said the incantation that Hermione always used to make the door disappear during meetings, effectively preventing anyone from barging in. Once their privacy was secured, Harry eagerly turned to join Ginny, making her shriek as he took a flying leap over her, dove into the pillows, and landed beside her. Giggling, she reached out to him and tossed his glasses to the side.


Harry smiled, closed his green eyes, and began to kiss her. Ginny excited him so much that he had a hard time keeping his hormones in check and taking things slowly. She was the star of all his youthful fantasies - while they hadn\'t yet had sex in the most conventional sense of the word, thoughts of what they had done so far and imagination about the things to come (pun intended) had revved his seventeen year old libido up to a level that made his head spin.


Every night in the silent darkness of the boys’ dormitory with his bed curtains drawn, he stroked himself as he imagined the sweet secrets under her panties and exactly what he\'d do when he got the chance. Even with this nightly ritual, he was still aching for more attention by the time morning came around, so in the shower - with mental pictures and a soapy hand - he would once again momentarily satisfy his need and wonder if he was some kind of circus freak for wanting it all the time.


Lying together in the Room of Requirement, Harry and Ginny kissed and kissed. Both of them quickly got caught up in it, especially now that their initial shyness and awkwardness was out of the way. As Harry\'s tongue brushed against hers and then met it more insistently, Ginny felt the throbbing warmth build up between her legs.


When she was alone at night and felt that longing warmth, quite often she would hitch her nightie up, slide her panties down, and rub in circles on her clit with one hand while sometimes fingering herself with the other hand. She was pretty sure that some of the other girls did it too, but none of them ever talked about it, and it made her wonder if it was normal. Having only overprotective older brothers, she didn’t have anyone to ask about it - her mother meant well, but was sure to overreact if her baby Ginny suddenly started showing an interest in sex. Ginny already knew the basic mechanics of how sex was supposed to work, she just wanted to know how to embellish it a little and make it nice.


As they kissed, Ginny ground the warm throbbing place between her legs against Harry, and she felt his hard on pressing into her crotch. He tensed up and pushed back into her, his throbbing erection aching to be relieved.


While they kissed, his hands had been roaming over her shirt, feeling her breasts through it. Now, his hands held onto the hem of her top and he asked, “Please, Ginny - can I?”


She nodded and lifted her arms as he pulled the shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. He gulped as he looked at her hardened nipples and the silhouette of her full breasts pushing against the white cotton cami that she was wearing.


“Oh my God, Gin,” he said hoarsely, reaching for her again, and feeling like he was going to come apart.


This time as they started to kiss again, he gathered his nerves together, placed his hands on her waist, and slid them up under her cami, feeling the heavy soft fullness of her naked breasts for the first time. She gasped and began to make breathy sounds as he touched her breasts and ran his quidditch-calloused fingertips gently over her hardened nipples.


By now, Harry’s heart was pounding so hard he could hear his blood rushing through his ears. Ginny moved her hand down to where they were grinding against each other and shyly but eagerly caressed Harry\'s erection through his pants. He groaned into her mouth and pushed back against her hand as it rubbed up and down on him.


They had done some light petting through their clothes before, but it was clear by now that they were going to go farther than that this time. Asking with his eyes and again receiving consent, Harry pulled Ginny\'s cami off and dropped it on the floor. Breathing heavily, he licked each of her nipples, drawing them into even harder points than they already were, and sucked each of them, savoring the way they felt against his tongue and lips. This time, Ginny cried out softly and arched her back up to meet his kisses. His mouth and hands felt amazing on her, and every place he touched or kissed seemed to have a direct current to the now-aching place between her legs.


Boldly and instinctively, Harry ran a hand down the side of her school uniform skirt from the top of it at her hip down to the hem just above her knee, and he reached his hand under the edge of it. Finding no resistance from Ginny, Harry felt her smooth warm thigh and slowly moving his hand up it, found the front of her panties. He swallowed hard and his hand began to shake as he lightly traced his fingers over her underwear. He began to rub her mound through them, and it felt so good that Ginny thought she might go crazy from the teasing sensation. Harry worked his hand slowly but deliberately lower until it was rubbing against the now-soaked fabric between her legs, and both of them were breathing in gasps. Through the thin cotton, Harry could feel the warm and soft outline of Ginny’s most secret place as she pushed said place insistently against his hand and spread her legs farther apart. As he felt her reacting so strongly to him, he knew that neither of them wanted to stop this time without some kind of release.


Cautiously, and with a still-slightly trembling hand, Harry hooked his finger into the edge of the cloth he was touching and moved the crotch of Ginny\'s panties to the side. Looking straight into her eyes, he caressed her exposed sex, feeling her wet curls and folds, and felt like he was going to explode simply from touching her and watching her move so eagerly against him. He found her entrance and carefully slid his middle finger into her tight warmth. Ginny was now writhing against his palm to get friction on her clit, and riding his finger, overcome by the sensation of having someone touch her there. As his finger slid in and out of her and continued to kiss and suck her nipples, it didn\'t take long for the heat to gather itself into the wave that now started to ripple in sharp pulses through her as she came, gasping and squeezing her eyes shut.


When it subsided, she grabbed Harry\'s hand away and reached to undo his fly. With hands that smelled sweetly and pungently of Ginny\'s sex, he fumblingly helped her release his erection. By now, his excitement had produced so much pre-come that it had made a wet spot on his pants.


Ginny took his solid warm hardness into her hand and looked at him questioningly. He put his hand over hers and showed her how to touch him, stroking up and down, and caressing the seeping head. She caught on quickly and loved watching him as she did it to him, spreading the wetness on the head down over the length. The sensation of her warm soft hand jerking him off sent him bucking uncontrollably into her touch and he groaned with each stroke. He felt his orgasm gathering, and he moaned gutturally as he emptied himself in sticky spasms into her hand.


As they both lay back on the pillows and calmed down, they smiled shyly at each other and kissed. Harry found his glasses and put them back on, and handed Ginny’s shirt to her and helped her pull it back over her head. They had both come to the unspoken conclusion that they no longer cared if they didn’t know very much about sex yet - it was going to be terrific fun just figuring it out together.


As they straightened themselves up and said their hasty goodbyes, they agreed to do it again as soon as they could. It was, in their opinion, totally worth the house points they each lost for showing up late to their respective afternoon classes.


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Megan Waters closed the door of Dumbledore\'s office behind her and went down the stairs. She did not look happy.


Severus had been gone for three days now on a covert trip to find the giants and investigate the rumors about their movement south and their possible involvement with Voldemort. Dumbledore had heard from him earlier that morning, and told Megan that Severus was already making his way home and intended to be present at the next day’s meeting of the Order that Dumbledore needed to announce. Unfortunately, the news about the giants was even worse than they had expected. For lad lad as Megan was to know that Severus was on his way home, she was also dreading the task that her uncle had given her and sincerely wished that she didn’t have to be the one to do it.


Complying nonetheless, she apparated from the edge of Hogwarts grounds to the sidewalk in front of the Ministry of Magic, feeling a knot begin in the pit of her stomach. She made her way through the maze of corridors to Arthur Weasley\'s desk. He looked up in surprise and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. Smiling brightly, she said, “Hi Arthur! Are you ready for lunch? You didn\'t forget, did you?”


Not understanding - but playing along - Mr. Weasley replied that he had lost track of time and just needed a moment to clear some things off his desk. Megan waited for him in the hallway, and he appeared in a moment with his briefcase in his hand. When they got to the sidewalk, she took his arm and whispered, “Follow me,” and apparated four different places with him before finally stopping at Black Manor.


Now he looked worried. As soon as they stepped inside, he clutched her arm and asked, “Megan, what on earth is it?”


With a quick shake of her head, she led him up the stairs into a study and scanned the room as she set locking and silencing wards. She motioned for him to sit down, and then sat facing him. “Arthur… I have difficult news,” Megan said.


He felt like his throat was closing. Instinctively he asked, “It’s Percy, isn’t it?”


It had been nearly two years since Percy Weasley had cut himself off from his family. Arthur and Molly had gone through a gamut of emotions around his sudden departure - worry, anger, and annoyance had ended up settling into grief and an empty longing to have all of their children safe and under their care. Even though most of their children were now independent adults, Arthur’s family was still everything to him. No matter how highly he regarded his children’s accomplishments and honored their autonomy, the fact remained that he would always see all of them through a father’s eyes.


Percy had always been a bit different than the rest of the children. Being sandwiched in the middle of the brood, he’d been both pesky little brother to his older siblings and bossy older brother to the younger ones. He never seemed to be able to grasp the easy manner that the rest of the Weasleys had, and he had always seemed to feel ashamed of their modest lifestyle. Percy had always been very sensitive to the taunts and comments that he pretended not to hear from the wealthier purebloods, and on some level had appeared to agree that he ought to be ashamed.


School used to be an enormous source of pride for him - he was good at his studies and well-behaved. It won him the spot of prefect and then head boy. He had been immensely proud of both and had taken the positions very seriously. His hard work in school landed him a job at the Ministry of Magic that was unusual for someone his age to have been offered. Percy excelled at his work at the Ministry and had been extremely pleased to finally being able to do something that he regarded as important, and which, in turn, made him feel like he was important too.


In hindsight, Arthur mused, Percy’s position at the Ministry could very well have been the start of the breach, and he regretted not taking it more seriously at the time. Every time Percy had boasted and fished for admiration, he had been teased about it by one of his siblings. Molly, always proud of him, had given constant and effusive praise to Percy, which further fueled the taunts of his siblings. Even Arthur had to admit that he too had gotten more than a little tired of hearing Percy’s constant references to work. Arthur Weasley sadly wondered how things might have happened differently if they had all just given Percy the acknowledgement that he had so obviously been craving once and awhile.


Now, in the study at Black Manor, Megan’s face told Arthur Weasley the truth before she even said another word. “I’m afraid so, Arthur. He was spotted quite unexpectedly during a scouting mission. We recently learned that the giants are moving south and we wanted to investigate. While observing them, our person discovered that Percy himself was present and had negotiated a deal to bring the giants into the service of a secret department within the Ministry of Magic which is apparently more heavily under the control of Lucius Malfoy than we ever knew.”


Arthur mopped his brow with a handkerchief and stared down at the floor, stunned. How had Percy mixed himself up in something like that, and what was happening to the Ministry of Magic? Now he understood the caution Megan had used in revealing all of this to him - it had much larger implications beyond his own family concerns. Not only was Percy working on a mission of a dubious nature, but he was also apparently doing it completely by the book and according to the authority of wherever he was now working within the Ministry of Magic. Why on earth would they be buying the loyalty of giants? And why on earth did Lucius Malfoy, of all people, still have so much pull within the Ministry?


This did not look good at all, and Arthur felt heartsick about it. He dreaded telling Molly.


Megan waited quietly, sadly watching the pained expression on Arthur’s face. After a few moments, she gently said, “I wanted to tell you first so you wouldn’t have to learn it from someone else. The information about Percy does not need to be known at this time, so you can tell your family as much or as little as you choose. The giants and the questionable actions of the Ministry, though, will need to be discussed within the Order - the implications are enormous and greatly affect our own strategy.”


“Thank you, my dear.” Arthur Weasley sighed heavily and stood up, looking older than he should have. “I expect that we will need to meet soon, then.”


“Yes. Dumbledore has called for a meeting tomorrow after the kids’ Quidditch match. They have a free afternoon in Hogsmeade afterward and will not be missed if they come here with me.”


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It was a cold and bright Saturday morning, and the stands were packed in the Quidditch stadium. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw in the first match since the holiday break, and everyone had been looking forward to this welcome diversion from the everyday grind of classes. The crowd roared as the announcer introduced the teams, and they flew out over pitcpitch in their brightly colored robes among the posts bearing the house pennants.


Harry Potter, in his second year as Gryffindors’ captain, signaled his team into formation. Ginny winked at him as she flew past to her place, and he grinned back at her. The Ravenclaws had an excellent team this year, and they had gotten some amazing broomsticks, too, but he was nonetheless confident that they would be able to take them on without a problem. Harry pulled up higher and began to circle around, waiting for the snitch to be released.


Megan Waters sat in the crowd between Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore. Her rosy cold nose and cheeks and candy-striped wool hat, scarf, and mittens were the signs of a diehard fan who would not let sitting outside on a cold clear January morning deter her. She had not seen quidditch before she came to Hogwarts, and had instantly fallen in love with it. When the said candy-striped mittens interfered with her enthusiastic applause, she pulled one off to stick two fingers into her mouth, whistling sharply as the announcer called out the players’ names. Then the golden snitch was released and the game began…


The Ravenclaws’ seeker trailed Harry closely, knowing (as did everyone else) Harry’s skill in locating and catching the snitch. Harry was a natural quidditch player - since the time he had been admitted onto the team in his first year, he had taken to the game like a fish in water. Over the last couple of years, he had gotten better than ever, and had worked hard to imitate some of the moves that he saw the pros use a few years ago at the quidditch world cup as well as plays he had researched in books about the subject.


Harry scanned the ground carefully as he circled, listening to the commentator in the background announcing a goal for Gryffindor. He ducked out of the way as a stray bludger flew straight for his head, and was relieved when the beater on his side came to retrieve it, aiming it back at the Ravenclaw seeker, with the other Gryffindor beater coming over to flank him and take both bludgers under control. Ginny caught the quaffle and flew straight up with it, the Ravenclaw chasers moving in close behind her. She flew swiftly along a diagonal to the the right hand goal post, but they still managed to gain on her, and she could see the Ravenclaw keeper moving through the goals in a sweeping sort of figure eight maneuver to cover all of the goal posts.


Just as the lead chaser caught up to her and grabbed onto the tail of her broom to slow her down, Ginny quickly stopped moving forward, dropped between them, and heaved the ball toward Ron who was below her on the opposite side of the field. As they zoomed past her, the chasers realized too late that Ginny had been baiting them, and Ron caught the ball without interference and scored it through the goal farthest from the keeper. The crowd jumped to its feet and roared even louder, the announcer screaming the play-by-play excitedly over the noise. Ginny arced around to move back toward the center of the pitch.


Hermione and Megan were on their feet and jumping up and down as they screamed excitedly. Professor McGonagall was in the front row and happily stamped her feet as she snatched off her hat and waved it furiously around in the air.


As the game continued, Harry spotted the snitch out of the corner of his eye. It was quite close to his own keeper, but he suddenly dove toward the ground in a Wronsky feint to try and lure the opposing seeker into following him. Despite Harry’s having done that in nearly every game he played, the Ravenclaw seeker followed him into the dive. At the last second, Harry pulled up sharply and zoomed upward, wincing as he heard the sharp thud of the Ravenclaws’ seeker hitting the ground. There were mixed cheers and gasps throughout the crowd and he flew quickly back toward the snitch to take advantage of his lead. He heard the announcer shouting excitedly about it, but the play-by-play abruptly changed…


“Wait just a minute,” shrieked the announcer. “Weasley’s falling! Ginny Weasley’s taken a bludger to the side of her head and is going down!”


Harry turned sharply and dove toward the limp figure of Ginny Weasley hurtling down toward the ground. He was the only one close enough to reach her, and as he nudged his broom to go faster he became a blur to the people watching him.


The crowd held its collective breath as he held on with just his knees and reached out toward Ginny with both hands. He caught her neatly and glided to a stop just above the field, not wanting to move her more than necessary before Madam Pomfrey could see her. There was already an angry red blotch that covered her entire right cheek, and blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. Ginny turned her head and spat out a bloody glob of saliva with two teeth in it. Madam Pomfrey rushed over to her and Remus Lupin, who had come to see the kids play, ran out with Madam Pomfrey, picked Ginny up and carried her to the side of the pitch.


As she was whisked away, Ginny gave Harry a somewhat groggy look and said, “For crying out loud, Harry - get back in there! I’ll be fine. Don’t you dare let them win!”


Letting out a sigh of relief that the damage seemed to look worse than it really was, Harry jumped back onto his broomstick and soared straight up, making a beeline for the Ravenclaw seeker. Upon seeing Harry’s signal that Ginny was okay, the Gryffindor team proceeded fiercely and the remaining two chasers went into their next formation while the beaters, taking the offensive, kept the Ravenclaw beaters at bay. They scored again quickly, but then the Ravenclaw chasers, taking advantage of the fact that they now outnumbered the Gryffindors by one, were able to win back control and scored shortly thereafter.


The crowd was going wild as the game reached a fever pitch.


Ginny, mended and released from Madam Pomfrey’s care, zoomed back into the match with no sign of her injuries except the blood spatters on her gloves and the front of her quidditch robes. As Harry watched her circle toward Ron to begin another fake-out play that they had perfected in practice, Harry saw the snitch glimmering behind her. He immediately sped toward it, but then it zipped quickly toward the stands. The crowd gasped as Harry dove toward them, the hem of his bright red robes nearly skimming their heads. He was so close that they felt the rush of air as he swept by in a blur, his hand outstretched toward the ever-elusive snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker, now seeing it too, came at it from the other side and stretched out his hand to grab it.


The announcer was now standing and clutching his hair as he called the plays from the grandstand. “Potter\'s right on top of it! He’s let go of his broom all the way now! But wait - Ressen’s coming in from the other side and it’s headed right for him! Ooooh, watch out for that bludger, lads - that was a close one! Weasley and Weasley come around the pitch again and it’s *another* goal for Gryffindor! Are they *ever* on fire today, ladies and gentlemen! Annnnnnd… Potter has it!! Potter has the snitch!! It was a near collision there for a moment, but Harry Potter comes through once again and Gryffindor wins 180 to 10, keeping them in a solid lead for the house cup! Potter leads his team in their victory lap - that’s it, everyone - let’s hear it for our players!!!”


Still making a racket, the crowd began to file out of the stadium as they watched the players zoom off the pitch and head back to their changing rooms. The Gryffindors in the crowd were especially boisterous, and many had their arms around each other singing songs. The older Hogwarts students headed straight for the meeting point where they would be taken for their free day to Hogsmeade, where they intended to celebrate (or gain consolation) with liberal quantities of butterbeer.


Hermione waited next to Megan while Harry, Ron, and Ginny changed out of their quidditch robes. They all met up and walked toward the crowd going to Hogsmeade, chatting excitedly about the match. After the initial round of congratulations and backslapping to the winning team, the students were so caught up in discussing the game with each other that no one noticed when the group of five broke off from the rest and disapparated.


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As they walked up the steps to Black Manor, Megan said, “Sorry that you guys didn’t get to go tosmeasmeade today. I promise you’ll get a makeup outing, okay?”


“That’s alright,” said Ron. “If Fred and George are here, we can tell them all about it!”


Molly Weasley was already there, starting to make preparations for the dinner that was planned for after the meeting. Remus Lupin was there too, already back from the game, and sat at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. He called cheerily to them as they came in and congratulated them. Molly bustled over and greeted the kids warmly, but barely acknowledged Megan. Megan, used to this by now, excused herself to run a few quick errands befthe the meeting started. Mrs. Weasley conjured a plate of sandwiches that she had already made and put them on the table, saying, “You kids must be starving. Would you like to have some lunch before everyone gets here?”


Lupin eagerly grabbed one and bit into it as the rest of the troop found places at the table and helped themselves.


Ginny said through a mouthful of sandwich, “You know, Mum, you’re going to have to stop giving Professor Waters the cold shoulder one of these days. It’s been ages since she and Bill were dating.”


Hermione was relieved that someone else had mentioned it first - it was a touchy subject for her, having in the past borne the brunt of Molly Weasley’s displeasure with young women who did not go along with her hopes of pairing up with one of her sons. While she felt like one of the family, Hermione also didn’t know if pointing something like that out would be going too far, so she was very glad that Ginny had done it.


“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Molly Weasley said, trying to sound nonchalant, but with telltale pink creeping up her neck and ears.


“Yes you do, Mum,” said Ginny, gently teasing her. “I know that he really liked her, but she must really like Professor Snape if they are still dating. I think we need to get used to the idea.”


“After all, they are getting married,” added Hermione.


Lupin promptly inhaled a bite of his sandwich, and his eyes bugged out as he made a pitifully strangled sound and grabbed his throat. Hermione quickly pointed her wand at him and said, “Expectorae!”


The bit of sandwich came out of his throat and evaporated, and Lupin wheezed his thanks to Hermione. Shaking his head at the news, though, he said, “What the hell is she doing with him? I can’t imagine old Snivellus playing the part of the romantic. Even if he *could* get the attention of a woman, he hardly seems like the marrying type, if you know what I mean.”


“I think Hermione’s full of baloney anyway,” said Ron. “I don’t think that ring means what she thinks it means. Why would wearing a piece of jewelry mean that you were engaged?”


“I’d have to go with Hermione on that one, Ron,” argued Harry. “She grew up around muggles and that’s definitely what it means for them.”


“But they aren’t muggles - why would they use something from that tradition?” asked Ginny.


“Because he thought I would like it.\"


Their heads whipped around to look at Megan who they hadn’t heard come back in. To their relief, she looked amused by their debate. She put down the packages she was carrying, picked up a sandwich, and said, “Voldemort’s followers think that our relationship is a front, so we’ve had to be careful about what we say and to whom we tell it. , al, also, Severus is not exactly someone who likes to have his business known. You are obviously people that we can trust, though, so I am glad that you . I. I’m sorry you had to guess about it for so long - we were actually planning to have it announced at the next meeting whenever it happened, so you would have found out later today anyway.”


Molly Weasley took Megan by the shoulders and regarded her at arm’s length for a moment. “Are you happy, dear?” sheed. ed.


Megan looked at her seriously and replied, “Yes. He is my heart. I know that it seems like a strange pairing to those of you who have known him longer,” she said, glancing sideways at Remus Lupin, “but I am glad that I got to see what was behind the exterior, and I am thankful for him every day.”


Molly hugged her tightly and said, “Then I am happy for you, dear. I’m sorry if I haven’t been as hospitable to you as I should have, by the way. You are always welcome among us and I haven’t always let you know that.”


Megan was surprised to feel her throat tightening up with emotion. She didn’t like feeling uncomfortable around people that she cared about, and was surprised by how relieved she felt to hear Molly say that to her. “Thank you,” she said quietly.


Standing up, Mrs. Weasley brightly returned to her bustling preparations. The kids started talking about the quidditch match again, and Megan cleared the table. Remus Lupin looked thoughtfully at Megan and the glittering ring on her finger, feeling - for the first time ever - the beginnings of respect for Severus Snape. After all, he had to be doing *something* right.


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People started to arrive for the meeting, and they all talked together while they waited for the rest to get there. Megan sat restlesslynderndering where Severus was, how his travels had been, and if he would really be able to make it to the meeting. Finally, she felt him nudge the edge of her mind, probably his way of feeling out whether she was there yet or not. She jumped up from the table and ran out into the hallway and leapt into his arms before he was even all the way in the door.


“I missed you,” Severus said, clutching Megan tightly against him and breathing in her scent.


“I missed you too,” came her muffled reply from where her face was pressed into his neck.


“I have never missed anyone before. It was most unpleasant.”


Adoring his particular way of phrasing things, she kissed him fervently. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up, turned her around so they were no longer blocking the doorway, and closed the door behind him.


Cold nights of spying and skulking around had never really bothered Severus Snape before - he liked doing useful work and knew that, in the unlikely event he was discovered, that his presence could be explained away as insurance to make sure the task was done the way Voldemort wanted. This trip, however, had felt grueling to him - all he could think about on the quiet frozen nights was the warmth of his bed at home and Megan’s soft frame in his arms.


He pulled away from the kiss and drank in the sight of her. The familiar and welcoming smile that were just for him gave him a feeling that he didn’t even have words for. She made him feel like a man, and when he was with her he felt like he was exactly where he should be.


Hermione, who had gone into the hallway to see what had happened to Megan, stood hidden behind the edge of a bookcase. While she felt a little guilty for having watched such a private and unguarded moment between Professor Waters and Professor Snape, she was transfixed and found that she was holding her breath, feeling a longing that she never could have named before. For as much as her history with him balked her admitting it, and for as nasty and vile as he had been so many times, the realization was awakened within Hermione Granger that she wanted to have a man look at her the same way that Severus Snape looked at Megan Waters. While Snape may have been the last person in whom they all would have expected to find an example for such things, his passion and longing were unmistakable. Watching Megan\'s reaction to him helped Hermione begin to define something elusive in her own definition of what it would mean to someday be in love.

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At dinner, Severus sat next to Megan, but spent the whole meal engaged in quiet conversation with Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley. Bill was there and Megan would have enjoyed talking to him, but he seemed to want to keep his distance, so she respected it and left him alone. She sat among the youngest members, who were enthusiastically telling Fred and George about the match earlier that afternoon.


At first, the kids’ conversation about quidditch caught her fancy and she joined in enthusiastically. After it went on nonstop for what seemed like hours, though, Megan realized that her enjoyment for the game was nothing compared to the zealous fervor of Harry and the younger four Weasleys. After they had gone over every single play and every possible alternative of the match this afternoon, they began regaling their favorite parts from past matches they had watched and played in.


Hermione had long since turned to talk with Tonks who was sitting next to her. They were too far away for Megan to politely be able to join in, so she began to idly arrange the contents of her plate with her fork, making little designs with the food and waiting for the conversation to change. The kids were still talking about quidditch - would it ever end?

They excitedly began re-hashing the world cup match they had gone to a couple of years ago. The name Viktor Krum was mentioned repeatedly, and Megan started to listen with more interest as an inkling of an idea began to come to her.


“He was so *fast!*” exclaimed Harry. “Do you remember that? He was such a blur that I had to slow down the replay on my omnioculars just so I could even *see* him!”


“I know!” said George. “And do you remember the way he just kept going after that bludger smashed into his face? I’ve never seen anything like it! A broken nose and blood flying everywhere, and he still keeps going and catches the snitch!”


Megan, was listening intently now, and slowly raised her head back up and looked at the kids.


Fred noticed that she had rejoined the conversation. “You know, he came to school with us that same year. He was one of the champioor tor the tournament. Nice enough guy, and he seemed to take quite the fancy to our little Miss Granger too!” he said, grinning.


Ron scowled at him. “We don’t need to start that again, do we? Just shut up.”


Harry said, “Well, Ron, it’s not like you’ve ever shown any reason to make us think we can’t say that. And besides, I liked him - he was alright. Plus, I would give anything to be able to fly like that.” He looked wistful and said, “I don’t know... All of my practicing has paid off some, but he was still so much better at my age - he was already playing pro by his last couple of years in school!”


“Come on Har,” said George, “you’re already the best seeker Hogwarts has seen in I don’t know how long! Hey, where’s she going?”


Megan had gotten up and walked over to Dumbledore’s chair. She laid her hand gently on his shoulder and leaned in close to him. “I need Viktor Krum,” she said quietly. “Can you get him for me?”


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A/N - Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed! (Doing a happy dance) I really love hearing what you think about the story. Thanks also to all of the readers out there - those of you who have been following all along, and those of you who have recently joined us. Sorry I didn\'t have a chance to post last week, but things were pretty hectic here.

So anyway - hope you like the story, and if you have a minute, why not drop me a line to let me know what you think!!! Your comments always keep me fired up to keep working on it.

shemhamforash - Glad to hear you liked the lemony bits. ;-D Thanks also for your other comments - you give my ego such an amazing boost!!

Barrie - Thanks for your comments! I appreciate hearing that my version of Malfoy made the effect I was hoping for! About reading the stories and keeping track of the plots - I totally do the same thing! I was really just teasing you before, and am glad that the last chapter cleared up your question. Thanks for reading, and I am pleased that you enjoy the story so far. :-)

Talene - You are so sweet!! As always, you make me smile. Thanks for being cool about the occasionally delayed updates, and I am glad that you have enjoyed them. :-)

Jorrn - Thanks! I love twisty plots - having something catch my attention one way and then it turns out to be something different than expected. Thanks also for your comments about Snape\'s character, and I am glad that you are enjoying the story. :-)

Best wishes to all of you,

R.


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