Chapter Eighteen: Venus and Mars

"Harry!" Ginny gasped, absolutely horrified that he'd found her out here. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe I asked you first," he said coldly, marching towards her with very determined steps. Ginny was so shocked that before she knew it, he'd reached out, grabbed her arm, and began dragging her back to the castle.

"Let go!"

"Nope, not this time. I want to know what the hell is going on here, and why in the name of all that is holy are you out here, in the middle of the night, meeting Ludo Bagman of all people."

"You're so good at jumping to conclusions, why don't you tell me?" she snapped, trying to jerk out of his grasp.

"Come off it, Ginny!" Harry snarled furiously. "Bagman is a crook!"

"He's helping me!"

Harry stopped suddenly, causing Ginny to slam into him, nearly knocking both of them over. "What a load of dung! He's been up to all sorts of shady stuff for years! The goblins have been after him for years!"

"How'd you know that?" she asked, frowning.

"He made a bet on me during the Tri-Wizard tournament. Made one during the World Cup that year too. Owed Fred and George quite a bit of money, and never paid up."

"What? Fred and George! They never told me that!" Ginny was shocked.

"Yeah, well...not very many people know about that. But don't get off the subject. What was Bagman offering you?" Harry's eyes narrowed, then widened, as though he'd just solved a complex Arithmancy equation.

Ginny swallowed nervously.

"He's the one, isn't he?" Harry guessed. "He's the one who sold you the broomstick, isn't he?"

Ginny stared at him dumbfounded. Then, not quite sure why, she burst into tears and began to tell Harry everything.

Harry started, mouth hanging open in surprise as Ginny began to speak through great sobs, tears streaming down her cheeks. She paced a circle around Harry, her voice a high-pitched whine that only could be understood by dogs. He turned around and around, trying to keep up with her, but gave up when he became very dizzy.

Are you getting any of this?

Nope. Just glad she's talking to us again. I think.

It took Harry a moment to realize that Ginny had finished her explanation, and he gaped at her as she suddenly launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground with a great whoosh of air, feeling as though he'd been hit by a red-headed anvil.

Harry grinned, suddenly more light-hearted than he'd felt in weeks.

Think we should ask her to repeat that?

Nah, let's just kiss her.

Good idea.

Much later, once they'd properly made up and were dusting the leaves off their clothes, Ginny calmly explained what had gone on with Bagman and the deal she'd struck up with the Assistant Head of Magical Games and Sports and the President of the Firebolt Company.

"Are you going to tell Mr. Dopplebottom-Trousers and Mr. Simons about it now, or wait until Bagman contacts you next week?" Harry asked as they were walking back up to the castle.

"Don't know," Ginny replied frowning. "I'm thinking I should send them an owl now and ask them what they want me to do. I really don't want to get into any more trouble over this than I already am. And I definitely don't want to give that creep any more money," she added, frowning.

"They can't kick you off the team, they don't have the authority," said Harry.

"No, but they certainly can influence McGonagall and Dumbledore who can. And make sure I don't play Quidditch again. Ever."

"We won't let that happen. Let's head to the Owlery now and get Hedwig to send a message and tell them what's happened so far."

They had not traveled far when a sudden noise startled the pair as a figure wearing large, brightly colored glasses came out from one of the greenhouses. A smell of cooking sherry quickly filled the air, as Professor Trelawney peered at them dazedly.

"Harry Potter," she stammered, blinking rapidly. "And Ginevra Weasley."

"Professor," they replied, each hoping not to be questioned about why they were outside late at night.

Professor Trelawney glanced down at their entwined hands, and slowly looked up towards the night sky.

"Venus and Mars are alright tonight," she murmured cryptically, and disappeared back into the greenhouse.

Harry and Ginny burst out laughing.

It took a while for Harry and Ginny to ascend the marble staircase to Gryffindor tower. There were exactly 87 steps, and they paused on nearly every third step to kiss. The fat lady, who was devouring a box of chocolates, looked up as they approached.

"It's about bloody time you two came to your senses!" she said, licking her fingers and wiping them on her dress. "Password, if you please."

"Commandeer," Harry replied.

"Commandeer, nautical term," repeated the fat lady. "Aye, avast!" And the portrait swung forward to let them in.

Although the common room was still crowded at this time of night, a hushed silence fell as the portrait hole opened and both Harry and Ginny appeared, still holding hands.

Everyone's eyes were on them, and Harry felt his face flame, although he still couldn't manage to wipe the silly grin he knew he was wearing. Ron suddenly let out a loud whoop, and burst out laughing. Soon the entire room was joining in, and Harry heard Ginny mutter, "Barking mad, the lot of them." But from the way her eyes were shining, he could tell she was happy.

Harry couldn't help but join in, he felt like dancing. A group of fifth year girls, sitting together in front of the hearthrug suddenly started yelling, "The cockroaches were right! The cockroaches were right," and promptly fell into insane laughter. A large pile of empty butterbeer bottles surrounded them. One of the girls was wearing a pirate shirt and an eye patch. "Abandon ship!" the pirate-girl cried, pointing a finger at Mary Sue Blackstone, who was frowning intently at them, clutching what looked like a slice of pumpkin pie in her hands.

Ginny pulled Harry over to a secluded corner, shaking her head. "You'd think they'd never seen a couple fight before, which is totally ridiculous, as Ron and Hermione fight at least once a day."

"Yeah, but at least they make-up pretty quick," Harry said, plopping down on one of the cushions and cuddling Ginny close to him. "We need to work on that."

"I suppose so," Ginny replied. "Let's try not to make this a habit, OK?"

"Deal," Harry said, bending down to kiss her.

At that moment, Mary Sue Blackstone began choking on the slice of pumpkin pie she was eating. "Ewwww!" she spat out as bits of pumpkin landed on the table. "This tastes like crow!"

A/N: If you're feeling any sort of surprise or shock from seeing this being updated after such a lengthy absence, then you're nowhere near as surprised as I am. Assuming anyone is still reading this, of course. I'm not going to make any more promises on when the next chapter will be posted, but I do thank everyone for reminding me that I really do need to finish this story.

Chapter title is from a Paul McCartney and Wings album.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!