A/N: Here's the second (and final) installment. Hope you enjoy :)

It had been a week since the appearance of "The Article"—Hermione and Ginny still giggled every time it was mentioned. The public had been crazy about the situation—switching continuously between outraged that the Prophet would print such trash, and outraged that Harry would hide his relationships from the public (for the obviously had the right to know), and outraged that anyone would judge him for his sexual orientation, and outraged that The Boy Who Lived was no longer eligible to the many witches and the select few wizards who had held some tenuous hope for their future happily ever after.

They were all quite thankful that they'd elected to leave Grimmauld Place under such strenuous security measures. Severus hadn't been nearly as lucky, and Spinner's End and The Burrow were both regularly accosted with news reporters, paparazzi, and members of the nosey general populace. Ginny herself was harried at the Prophet by other reporters, but she tended to be on location and missed the most of it.

There had also, of course, been follow-up articles and editorials rife with speculation and scandal. Maybe they were already sleeping together when Harry was a student! Perhaps they had found solace in one another after the war! Or maybe Severus had Harry under the Imperius curse—or a love potion! To top it all off, Ginny and Hermione not only laughed riotously over these each day, but they also rather enjoyed coming up with their own lurid scenarios.

And today was day one of Plan "Play Along," and was therefore time to face the public. Harry's hands were sweating horribly. His mind was foggy, his cheeks were flushed, and his hair was an absolute disaster.

"Yet another dreadful habit you picked up from your father, Potter."

"Harry," he corrected absently.

Severus arched his eyebrow, as he always did, but said nothing.

"Ready, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.

"Stop treating him like a little boy. This is hardly the end of the world, Hermione, and you're coddling him." She merely scowled at him like he was a complete idiot and returned her gaze to Harry, nudging him gently when he didn't respond.

"I'll be fine, 'Mione. Don't worry about it."

"Sure he will be! Besides, they're both quite dashing. All the women are going to be thinking about is what a loss it all is," Ginny piped up from the stairs.

Severus was taken aback. "Dashing," he scoffed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sure. You've got that dark, mysterious allure, you know? No one's really sure what side you were on or what you had to do. You keep to yourself and are rarely seen in public. You're the penultimate tortured soul."

"Plus, your hair isn't as greasy," Harry added before he realised what he was saying. "Uhm. Oops." Rather than blushing, all the colour drained from his face, and Hermione hugged him tightly.

"Just breathe, Harry. It'll be alright. If all else fails, you can apparate, remember?" she grinned, but there was still a tinge of concern on her face. Even Ginny was beginning to wonder why the bloody hell Hermione was so concerned. I mean, the boy had defeated Voldemort, obviously he'd survive a little homosexual handholding. There had to be more to it. Had Severus done something that made his presence unbearable?

The two had bonded after the war—Harry visiting Severus regularly at Saint Mungos where he was recovering from Nagini's attack. It had been a long time, which had added up to a lot of visits, and both of them seemed to have undergone some emotional healing by the time Severus was released. They still held a certain distance from each other, but an amicable one, with joking and debating and the holding of serious conversations. Something was definitely going on for this to be such a big deal. Ginny shook her head as they apparated to Diagon Alley. She was going to get to the bottom of it—today, if possible.

Severus extended his hand to Harry, slightly awkwardly, as they appeared outside Gringotts, but Harry merely stared at it as though it were a life sentence in Pre-War Azkaban. Hermione nudged him sharply—no one had noticed them yet, but that wouldn't last long—and with a sigh he dropped his hand into Severus'. Hermione bit her lip for a moment then, with a shake of her head, linked her arm through Ginny's as they set off for their publicly demonstrative shopping excursion. Ron was noticeably absent, as he absolutely refused to be a part of something "so revolting." They figured this would just add intrigue and dramatic tension to their performance.

After about a half hour of public accosting, and reporters', "Tell us the whole story, Mr. Potter. Was it his dark mystery that first sparked the flame? Or was there a tender and gradual bonding?" Ginny finally got fed up with Hermione's winces and not-so-furtive glances, and pulled her to the side. "What the bloody hell is going on, 'Mione?"

Hermione sighed heavily. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" she let out a self-deprecating laugh, "I'm just… I can't help but feel that this is going to end really badly."

Ginny resisted throwing her hands up in exasperation. "How badly could it end? Worst Case Scenario A: no one believes their act, and it becomes obvious that Rita was lying anyway. This doesn't seem likely, however, because they're acting perfectly normally now—chatting each other's ears off about potions, even in spite of all the insanity. Ay?" Hermione nodded reluctantly, unable to resist a grin as a fangirl dropped in front of Harry and confessed her undying love and devotion.

"Right," Ginny continued after regaining her composure. "Worst Case Scenario B: everyone believes their act, but then doesn't believe they actually broke up. In which case we're exactly back where we started, and we were laughing about it."

"I—You know what? You're right!" Hermione plastered a smile on her face. "I just need to relax, and stop worrying. Thanks, Gin."

"You're lying," Ginny announced. "What're you hiding? And since when do you keep secrets from me?" She didn't sound hurt, and Hermione was relieved, but she did sound frustrated.

She sighed. "It's not my secret to tell. I'm sorry, honestly. And before you get upset with Harry, I haven't known for very long, and I only found out… everything… this morning."

Ginny managed to accept this, but only barely, as it added an enormous amount of fuel to her curious fire. She settled for watching the pair closely until they returned to Grimmauld late in the afternoon. As soon as they walked through the door, Harry and Severus dropped each other's hands and took a big step away from each other, but Ginny thought she noticed something, something that seemed to concur with her other observations throughout the day. Could it—? Nah. But maybe… She grinned.

"Well, that was… interesting, but I'll be on my way now. Good afternoon Ginny, Hermione, Harry." He nodded at them each and took his leave. The door clicked shut behind him.

"You like Severus." She wasn't sure, but the certainty in her tone said, in no uncertain terms, that she was, and Harry and Hermione looked at each other worriedly.

"Me?" Hermione exclaimed, covering poorly—she always was a dreadful actress. "I rather think you're more likely to harbour such an absurd crush, Ginny."

"No, not you." Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're gay, aren't you, Harry?" It was maybe a little blunt, she considered, but she was a straightforward sort of girl.

Harry shot a panicked look at Hermione who punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Oh just man up, Harry!"

Ginny giggled at the hint of confirmation. "This is so perfect!"

"I don't see how," Harry muttered uncomfortably. "This entire situation is less than brilliant."

The door eased back open, and there was Severus, bearing a shell-shocked expression no one had ever before seen upon his face.

"Oh bloody hell." Harry covered his face with his hands. "I'm going to bloody well kill Rita Skeeter."

xXx

Harry somehow managed to escape up to his room, and was followed shortly thereafter by one Severus Snape, whose expression was heavily masked. Hermione strode into the kitchen. "I'm making a brew, would you like one?" Ginny rolled her eyes. Hermione always found something to keep her hands occupied when she was worried.

"Sure, sounds great, 'Mione. But, as I was saying, this is perfect!"

Hermione looked at her penetratingly, tea temporarily forgotten. "What do you know that I don't?"

Ginny grinned, eager to get to the gossip. "Well, I was sworn to secrecy, but it hardly counts now, right? Well," she paused, building the dramatic tension. "I once caught Severus Snape kissing this well-dressed man down Diagon Alley! He's not straight, he's bisexual!" She revelled in Hermione's answering gasp. "I know! So this is perfect! He and Harry can hook up, and it'll be so cute."

"Assuming Severus, you know, likes Harry back. I mean, there's a huge age gap, Gin."

Ginny scoffed. "Well, we'll see."

Hermione resumed the tea-making, and Ginny fished some biscuits out of the cupboard.

"How long have you know?"

"That Harry's gay? A few months. That he's in love with Severus? He told me this morning. He was in a right panic about today."

Ginny mulled this over for a bit, trying desperately hard not to run away with herself and plan their entire future together.

"Neville's seeing Susan Bones, did you hear?" Hermione asked after a while, setting the tea on the table.

"Mhm, I saw her last week during an interview for the Prophet. She was all glowing-in-love."

"And Ginny, she's seeing Draco Malfoy, did you hear about that one?" she added casually.

Ginny choked on her tea. "How long have you known?"

"Oh, not too long. I finally pieced it all together about a month ago, Miss 'since when do you keep secrets from me?' Care to dish?" Ginny sheepishly, but eagerly obliged.

About an hour later, Hermione glanced at the clock, paused mid-sentence, and grinned. "What do you suppose they're doing up there?"

Ginny smiled mischievously. "Oh, who knows? Picking daisies perhaps."

"Who's picking daisies?"

"Oh! Ron!" Hermione laughed nervously. "Didn't hear you come in. How are you?"

Ron appeared oblivious, unsurprisingly, to the tension in the room. "Good. Great, actually." His smile punctuated the statement. "Padma and I were actually wondering whether you lot would like to go out to dinner with us. Assuming Snape's gone home?"

"That's an excellent idea," Ginny rushed, "Harry and Severus are, er—"

"Planning!" Hermione supplied in a slightly high pitched voice.

"Right, planning. So we were going to be by ourselves for supper anyway."

His face scrunched in disgust. "Well, his loss. I'm going to grab a shower before we—"

"No, no!" They weren't quite willing to risk Ron's presence upstairs. Who knew what might happen?

"We're starved."

"Exactly. It would be better if we went now, really."

"If you don't mind, of course."

"Or even if you do," Ginny said firmly, grabbing Hermione and Ron and leading them outside.

xXx

When they got home from dinner, Harry was sitting on the couch, a dazed look on his face but appearing otherwise perfectly fine.

"Had a good evening, Harry?" Ginny asked slyly.

His bashful grin said it all.

"Oi, am I missing something?" Ron asked confusedly.

"More than likely, Ron."

He ignored his sister's slight, merely shaking his head, and headed upstairs for his long-postponed shower.

Ginny and Hermione dropped eagerly onto the couch on either side of him, and he flushed slightly.

"Oh, c'mon, Harry. Let's hear it!" Hermione prompted.

"Yeah, give us all the juicy details!"

"Mhm, like, does he kiss as dreamily as we imagine he must?"

"And what all besides kissing did you do?" Ginny waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Harry's grin grew mischievous. "I never kiss and tell."

The two girls watched him leave, filled with an intense disappointment. "You know, he's an ungrateful sort, isn't he?" Ginny griped.

"Ungrateful?"

"Yeah! I mean, if it weren't for us, he and Sevvy Pooh would never even have hooked up in the first place!"

Hermione giggled. "Please, don't ever call him that again."

"Harry and Sev-vy sittin' in a tree!"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"First comes luuuurve!"

"Then comes— Wait… Can you even get married to another man?"

"Oh who cares, 'Mione? It's just a song."

Harry smiled as he heard their voices drifting up through the floor panels of the old house. Even if they were being awfully silly about the whole thing, he was rather glad they weren't fleeing him in mortification. Maybe everything was going to be quite alright…

"Then comes Sevvy with the ba-by carriage!"