Consequences

"So, you still haven\'t..." Hermione trailed off, blushing, as she Ginny and Luna walked to the infirmary the next afternoon for their first class in introductory healing.



"Someone who shags as often as you do ought to be able to say it," Ginny laughed, "And...no. Neither one of us were exactly in the mood by the time Madam Pomfrey figured out how to remove the hex Nott put on those cuts. We didn\'t make it back to the dorms till after ten. Now we\'re stuck with the rooms furthest from the entrance. By the time we got up there, we just crashed on his bed and passed out," she sighed frustratedly, "I know we\'ve only been together for three months, but I swear if I have to wait much longer I\'m going to explode!"



Hermione chuckled sympathetically, but Luna frowned for possibly the first time, and muttered, "At least Draco knows you exist!"



Hermione and Ginny exchanged questioning looks, then Hermione asked, "Who isn\'t aware of your existence, Lu?"



"Ron!" Luna wailed, flailing her arms about in despair.



Ginny bit her lip hard to keep from laughing and noticed Hermione doing the same. After taking a few deep breaths through her nose, she asked, "You like Ron? As in my brother? You like Ron Weasley?"



"More than like," Luna nodded dreamily, "I think he\'s perfect. Can\'t you just picture how attractive our children would be?"



Ginny choked back a laugh, her eyes watering as she struggled not to let it out. Hermione cleared her throat delicately, then said, "You should tell him, Lu. Ask him out. Maybe leave off the bit about your children..."



Ginny pictured vacant-eyed, strawberry blonde children with radishes in their ears, stuffing food in their mouths hand over fist and nearly bit through her tongue trying not to giggle.



"Do you think that would work?" Luna asked dubiously. "Both of your boyfriends asked you out first."



"Harry didn\'t ask her anything, he just snogged her in front of half of wizarding Britain," Ginny laughed.



"There was a bit of a follow-up question later on," Hermione mumbled, blushing again.



"And then the three month shag fest commenced," Luna giggled. Both she and Ginny sighed enviously as a dreamy smile crossed Hermione\'s face.



"You all must be so sick of us," she murmured sheepishly, "It\'s just, I don\'t know...I can\'t even think straight if he\'s not around. And when he is around..."



"You can\'t keep your hands off him?" Ginny snickered. Despite her teasing, she could definitely sympathize with her older friend. Even if they hadn\'t had a chance to do much more than snog, Draco\'s presence had become almost a necessity for her. She could function without him, of course...but she\'d rather not.



"Or your clothes on?" Luna chimed in.



"We\'re not that bad," Hermione rolled her eyes.



"Yes, you are," Ginny and Luna replied in unison.



"But it\'s kind of adorable," Ginny added.



"And you both deserve to be happy," Luna said, smiling reassuringly as Hermione frowned thoughtfully.



"So do you," the brunette declared. "I think Operation...uh...\'Get Ron for Luna\' needs to start immediately."



"The first thing this operation needs is a better name," Ginny snorted. "And I\'ll just ask him what he thinks of you after Quidditch try outs this afternoon."



"How are you going to merge all the most experienced players from four houses onto one team?" Luna asked curiously, demonstrating her remarkable ability to change subjects with little or no provocation. "And doesn\'t this mean the other four teams won\'t have anyone older than fifth year?"



"There won\'t be house teams anymore. Everyone is trying out and Hooch is randomly assigning us to five mixed teams," Ginny explained.



"Um, how did that news go over?" Luna asked, wincing.



"About like that cursed bludger Harry\'s second year, I bet," Hermione snickered. "All the players must be furious."



"Not Draco," Ginny shrugged. "He says he\'d never make Seeker over Harry. And, like Luna said, a bunch of sixteen through eighteen or nineteen year olds against a bunch of twelve through fifteen year olds wouldn\'t be much fun for anyone."



"Good point," Hermione agreed, just as they arrived at the infirmary.



When they entered the large room, Ginny\'s eyes shifted straight to Draco, who was leaning against the temporary wooden frame surrounding one of the small windows along the plain wooden wall that currently stood in as a patch for the huge hole that had been blasted in the wall three months earlier. The sight of the wall (and several other temporary repairs she\'d seen throughout the day) made her stomach lurch uncomfortably. She hoped the permanent repairs would be finished sooner rather than later.



"Hey, Gorgeous," Draco murmured, wrapping his arms around her. "Why the frown?"



Ginny blinked. She hadn\'t even noticed his approach. "Bad memories," she mumbled, nodding her head toward the wall.



"Yeah," he sighed and nuzzled her neck, something he tended to do whenever he was upset. "I keep thinking I hear Mum screaming my name," he whispered, his voice suddenly thick with unshed tears.



"Oh, Draco," Ginny crooned, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his back.



It was a testament to everything they\'d all been through in May that no one seemed to mock, or even question, the sight of a fellow student in tears. A couple of people smiled sympathetically at Draco, and Madam Pomfrey quietly offered him a calming draught before clearing her throat and beginning her lecture on spells to stop and counteract blood loss.



Ginny noticed Harry\'s hand on Draco\'s opposite shoulder as they watched Madam Pomfrey demonstrate the proper wand motions for \'Vulnera Sanentur\' and smiled to herself.



A lot of things were damaged and destroyed during the Battle, but a lot of good things had come about from that day in May as well.



**********



"I can\'t believe they made me a Captain!" Ron exclaimed giddily as Ginny and Draco followed him into his room after Quidditch later that afternoon.



"Well, you\'re not that bad," Draco quipped. Ron chucked an elbow pad at his head and he snagged it out of midair, "Why do people insist on trying to throw things at Seekers?"



"Because they\'re idiots?" Ginny grinned briefly, then frowned. "I can\'t believe none of us are on the same team!" She sighed disappointedly.



"We might\'ve been if you\'d tried out as Chaser instead of Seeker," Draco said, sticking out his tongue.



"Um, ditto," Ginny retorted, hands on her hips.



"Don\'t fight, children," Ron said in a sing song voice.



"You are barely three months older than me..." Draco snorted, rolling his eyes.



"But I am older," Ron smirked and puffed up his chest.



"Prat," Draco muttered.



"Git," Ron grinned.



"Weasel," Draco chuckled.



"Ferret," Ron laughed.



"You\'re just jealous that I have an animagus form," Draco bragged, puffing out his chest proudly.



Ginny, who had been holding back her laughter, finally burst into helpless giggles remembering everyone\'s surprise when Draco had been the only one to successfully transform himself in Transfiguration that afternoon before try outs. Everyone had held their breath until McGonagall began to chortle helplessly. By the time Draco reverted back to his normal self, even he was laughing.



"So, Ron," Ginny murmured once she\'d gotten herself under control, "What do you think of Luna?"



"Lovegood?" Ron asked absently as he tried to shove his Quidditch gear into his trunk.



"No, the other Luna," Ginny snorted. He frowned confusedly and she smacked him lightly on the back of the head, "Yes, Lovegood, Brainiac!"



"Geez, you hit like a girl," Ron muttered, jokingly rubbing a different spot on his head. "What about her?"



"Do you like her?" Ginny asked impatiently.



"Like her?" Ron repeated.



"For Merlin\'s sake," Draco muttered, "The girl\'s crazy about you. You should ask her out or your sister and Hermione will give you the cold shoulder for a month and a half." Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, and he stared at her mouth for a long moment before grabbing her hand. "Anyway, you should think about that while we go hit the showers."



"Luna likes me?" Ron asked dazedly, then blinked. "Hey, I don\'t need to know about you two hitting anything. It\'s bad enough with Harry and \'Mione!"



"Ask Luna out and you can disgust us all right back with excessive information," Ginny suggested as Draco slowly pulled her toward the door.



"I just might do that," Ron grinned. Grimacing as Draco teasingly kissed Ginny\'s neck, he muttered, "Ugh...get a room. Or at least get out of mine!"



Ginny giggled happily as Draco scooped her up in his arms and slung her over his shoulder, exclaiming, "You heard the old man. Let\'s go!"