Knickers

Chapter 4: Aftermath

Ginny Weasley entered the kitchen to her parents' house a different woman. It was the morning after she had suspected Colin would propose to her and she had been right; after they had arrived at the restaurant, Colin had spent all of about a half hour in nervous conversation before getting down on one knee and popping the question.

Strangely enough, she hadn't felt a moment's hesitation when she said yes. But then again, this might have been because of the sight she had been treated to as she sat waiting for Colin to get to the point. Indeed, Harry had been with Katie at the Leaky Cauldron, a stone's throw from the upscale restaurant where she and Colin sat, and Ginny had personally watched as a hoard of girls had chased them down into the alley from the pub, driving the two of them into Katie's flat. After that, Ginny hadn't watched anymore, knowing without a doubt that whatever was going to happen in the flat between Katie and Harry when they became trapped inside, they certainly weren't thinking about her.

And now, as she wandered into the home she had known since birth, she let her eyes linger on the diamond that graced her ring finger. It was big—far bigger than anything she had ever thought Colin could afford, but apparently he had been thinking about doing this for a while, and had been putting money aside accordingly. Still, it all seemed slightly suspicious.

She was startled from her thoughts by a noise coming from the doorway behind her. She turned and took in the sight of Harry, who looked thoroughly hung over.

Ginny raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. Apparently getting pissed had been the order of the evening beyond, of course, escaping the hoard of screaming girls. "All right there, Harry?"

"Hmmm" Harry murmured quietly, grimacing as he moved towards the kitchen cabinet where he knew Molly kept a supply of potions for nights of excess such as the one Katie had subjected him to. After he had taken care of Katie's 'needs' of the previous evening, he had found himself taking care of his own with drink and a good chat with his girlfriend. Of course he was paying for it now, having left the only remaining hangover potion in Katie's kitchen for Katie that morning when he had snuck out of the flat.

Ginny took in the obviously hung-over man in front of her and raised an eyebrow, going to the cabinet he was currently searching diligently and removing the bottle that he wanted (located conveniently, yet elusively in front of him). "I think this is what you're looking for."

Harry didn't even say thank you, but took the bottle wordlessly from her hands and brought it to his lips and swallowed. Truthfully, he didn't want to say much to Ginny at that moment because of the possibility that the conversation he might have with her—specifically regarding her possible engagement to Colin.

Harry hadn't, as of yet, gotten an 'official' glimpse of the ring since Ginny had her left hand in her jacket pocket. He knew what it looked like as he had helped Colin pick it out. He had also helped pay for it, having gone into the jewellers that he and Colin had been planning on visiting the night before and arranging with the storeowner to discount any ring they chose by 50% when quoting prices to the younger man—Harry would pick up the tab later.

And so Harry didn't even acknowledge the fact that his best friend's sister had even given him anything, instead opting to listen to his taste buds, which were currently screaming in agony as the harsh tasting hangover cure passed his lips. It was to this sight that Ron and Hermione entered.

"Oy, Harry." Ron smirked in an expression resembling the one his sister had shot his best friend as she had handed him the potion bottle. "Had a good night, then?"

Harry simply shot Ron a look of disgust and placed the now half empty potion bottle on the table before flopping himself into the nearest chair and burying his head in his arms.

"You shouldn't drink so much, Harry," Hermione said soothingly, as she sat down next to him and rubbed a hand across his back.

"No, you shouldn't," Ginny said in agreement, taking the bottle of hangover cure from the table and placing it back in the cabinet with the hand that she had previously hidden in her jacket pocket. If she wanted to be truthful with herself, she would acknowledge that she was a little ashamed by the ring she was wearing. It was a sign that she, Ginny Weasley, had finally given up on something—a first in her life and a moment she had hoped she would never have to face. For that reason, when she had seen Harry in the kitchen doorway, she had unconsciously shoved her hand in the pocket of her jacket, only noticing that it was there just moments before.

The sun, now shining happily into the kitchen, apparently had other ideas, purposely catching her ring and making it sparkle. Hermione, having looked up a moment to watch what Ginny was doing, shrieked, startling Ginny and making Harry cover his ears and moan as the loud sound resounded through his already pounding head—the sight of the ring on her hand made his heart break a little more.

"Oh Merlin, he finally did it, didn't he?" Hermione got up from the table and rushed over to Ginny, taking the hand with the ring on it in her own and openly admiring the hunk of centuries old rock currently residing there.

"Did what?" Ron, who seemed to be eternally clueless, asked, moving closer to his sister and wife and looking curiously at what they were staring at.

"Proposed!" Hermione exclaimed, holding up the hand that held the ring to show her husband. Ron looked startled, his eyes widening and shooting towards Harry. He had always assumed Harry would be the one placing a ring on his baby sister's hand. Ginny, however, had shot down all hopes of this when she had gotten over her crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. As for Harry, even if he had ever felt anything for his sister, that ship had apparently sailed with the arrival of his mystery girl, whom he and Hermione were still wondering who she was.

"And just when were you going to tell us about this?" Ron demanded, drawing Ginny into a hug, thereby negating any connotations that he wasn't happy about the situation and cementing, in his mind, the role of supportive big brother. If Ron were to be utterly and completely honest with himself, his wife, and Ginny, he would have come clean and admitted that he had never been 100% sure about Colin. But that would have ruined the special moment he was currently having with his only sister

"Soon," Ginny smiled, purposely not looking over to Harry, who still sat with his head buried in his arms.

"My little sister's getting married," Ron murmured into her ear, drawing back to ask his next question, "So, when's the wedding?"

"Colin and I haven't discussed it yet. We were hoping to talk to Mum first," Ginny said. She wished that her mother were here now so that she would have some sort of distraction. She couldn't ignore either Harry's eyes boring into the back of her head or the guilt mixed with the feeling that this whole situation was wrong that was somehow unsettling her emotionally. Indeed, if she hadn't been concentrating so hard on ignoring these feelings, she would have noticed that Harry had suddenly stood up from the kitchen table and had bolted up the stairs. Obliviously, she continued her response she had been formulating to Hermione's question. "Maybe after Quidditch season ends though."

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Sitting at the kitchen table, Harry's head pounded not only from the hangover he was currently suffering from, but from the knowledge that Ginny was actually going to marry Colin. With a sigh, he inadvertently ran an appraising eye over Ginny who still wore the sexy green sheath from the night before. Colin was a lucky man. His eyes continued their journey north, stopping to gaze at Ginny's shapely bottom. No lines marred its curves…

His eyes went wide as he realized that she wasn't wearing any knickers under her dress. A thought suddenly occurred to him. Judging by the distinct lack of knickers, Colin and Ginny may have indulged in similar activity to what he and Katie had shared the evening before. It was becoming difficult to breathe, as his jealous mind conjured images of exactly how Ginny may have lost her knickers

Harry suddenly felt his stomach turn from the relative calm lake it had been to a suddenly churning sea, and he knew that the alcohol he had drunk the night before would soon be making another appearance. Quickly, he stood up from the table and ran up the stairs, bolting into the second floor bathroom and dropping to the floor next to the toilet just as his stomach rebelled and the hangover got the better of him.

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Hermione, who still stood next to Ginny, nodded her head in agreement in response to her idea of having the wedding after Quidditch season. "That's a good idea. What do you think, Harry?"

But Harry was nowhere to be found, having left the kitchen table sometime during their brief conversation. Hermione shrugged, turning her attention back to Ginny and Ron and making the assumption that Harry had simply gone up to bed to sleep off the remnants of the hangover that not even a potion could cure him of. Hermione frowned as she listened to Ginny tell her and Ron exactly how she had become engaged the night before. She was worried about Harry. She was worried for Ginny as well, for that matter. Indeed, for all the excitement she seemed to have lavished on Ginny on her engagement, she couldn't help but feel a little odd about the whole thing. Ginny didn't seem as excited as a bride-to-be should be, and she had kept shooting looks toward Harry. If Hermione didn't know better, she would have said that Ginny still had feelings for him, but Hermione was fairly certain that Ginny had grown out of that years ago… then again, Hermione had far bigger things to worry about. Ginny appeared happy and that was the most important thing. Harry, on the other hand, was so miserable that he had left the kitchen completely, and, to make matters worse, neither Hermione nor Ron knew exactly why.

They thought they knew, though. The night before, Ron had come down to the sitting room after Harry had left for his date with Katie, and they had talked for several hours about Harry's 'mystery girl,' whoever she was. Hermione furrowed her brow, her attention wandering from the present discussion, as a nagging sensation pulled insistently on her brain. Something about the conversation the night before… Hermione shook her head and turned her attention back to her husband and sister-in-law. Whatever it was, she could worry about it later; it certainly wasn't as important as Ginny's upcoming wedding, and, at any rate, Harry had looked quite ill when she and Ron had come into the house from their walk that morning.

He deserved some time to himself to sleep off the hangover and recuperate. Maybe it was best that he had some time to himself. After all, in a short time it was almost certain that Molly and Arthur would return from their evening in London and then it would be all wedding talk. As a male, Harry was probably better off resting now, for the loud chatter that would most certainly resound throughout the house in only a few short hours.


Harry hugged the toilet bowl as the remnants of everything he had eaten from what seemed like the entire year made a re-appearance. Even the hangover potion he had taken hadn't been able to stem the nausea he felt at the news that Ginny had said yes to Colin's proposal.

He was pretty sure that it wasn't the fact that he had overindulged the night before that he was currently 'praying to the porcelain god'. No, Harry was fairly certain that this was all Ginny's fault. How could she have accepted Colin? Sure, it was true that Harry hadn't said anything about his feelings for her, but that didn't mean that she had to say yes to Colin…

Harry stood up and flushed the toilet, running a hand through his already messy hair and sighing as he realized that his problem wasn't the fact that Ginny had said yes, or the fact that he had seen evidence that she was having sex with Colin. The problem was that he hadn't spoken up about his feelings for her before she had had a chance to formulate a relationship with Colin in the first place.

The night before had been therapeutic. He and Katie had talked for several hours before the drink had gotten the better of them and they had stumbled into her bedroom. Indeed, the amount of alcohol and the angsty conversation had gotten the better of them, and, despite Harry's thoughts that he was in neither the correct frame of mind nor the correct mood, he and Katie had had sex before drunkenly falling asleep in each other's arms.

And now, as he looked at his appearance in the mirror, a new sense of determination set into him. His situation might be bleak, especially since Ginny had agreed to Colin's proposal, but that didn't mean that he had to completely fall apart. He was happy that Ginny was happy. No, this sense of hopelessness could be used for a better cause. Suddenly Harry felt a little better.

The sound of Ron's voice calling Harry broke him out of his train of thought. With a sigh, he reached for his toothbrush to brush away the stale taste of vomit in his mouth. No one could know about his unresolved feelings: not Ron, not Hermione, and especially not Ginny. If they did, well, Harry didn't want to think of the looks of pity that would be thrown his way. After all, he had had his chance at Hogwarts when Ginny actually had feelings for him, and he had completely ignored her. What made him think that he even deserved her love now?

Quickly, he finished brushing his teeth and turned his thoughts away from his own situation to Katie's. Indeed, if he couldn't help himself, he might as well help her. Harry smirked at his reflection as Ron called his name again. Somehow, he would be getting Oliver away from Fleur and into Katie's arms. It was the least he could do under the circumstances. Of course he had never broken up a relationship before only to put another one together.

Well, there was always a first time for everything.

"Coming Ron," he called, smiling more broadly now. Oliver didn't stand a chance.