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Author: Zelthian Story: Match Maker Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 12 Words: 28,830
The rain continued for the next two days. Finally, Harry awoke to sunny skies. Wanting to get some practice time in, Harry hurried downstairs with his Firebolt, only to be stopped by Mrs. Weasley. After a quick round of orange juice and toast, Harry was out on his broom again. The cool morning air felt good on his skin as he made pass after pass around The Burrow. It was on the third full pass that he noticed the swimming pool. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed it when he arrived, but decided he had been too distracted by being just set free. Harry set down by the pool and looked around, now wishing he had known about it sooner. The hot tub looked particularly inviting. Harry rushed inside to find Hermione and Ginny sitting at the kitchen table with Mrs. Weasley. “Well, there’s the early bird. Anxious to get back out on the broom again?” Ginny asked, amused. “Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you, but I just couldn’t resist,” Harry said, sheepishly. Ginny giggled. “I don’t mind, Harry. We have plenty of time to practice. Besides, some days I just like to sleep in a bit.” “Did you have breakfast already?” Hermione asked. “Yeah, a light breakfast. Erm, when did the swimming pool appear?” Harry asked. “Dad put it in a couple of weeks ago. He thought we’d all enjoy having a new way to relax and enjoy ourselves,” Ginny explained. A disappointing thought came to Harry. “Mrs. Weasley, could I speak to you for a moment?” Harry walked into the living room as Mrs. Weasley followed. “I just realized I don’t have any trunks to wear in the pool,” Harry whispered. “I’m sure Ron has an old pair you could borrow. Check the third drawer of his dresser. I bet there’s a pair in there that will fit. Towels are in the bathroom.” Harry smiled. “Thanks Mrs. Weasley.” “Go enjoy yourself, Harry.” A few minutes later, Harry quietly walked down the stairs. He peered into the kitchen and, finding it and the table empty, hurried out to the hot tub. Once there, he kicked off his shoes, put his towel aside and eased down into the warm water. The tub must have been enchanted; as soon as he sat down, bubbles appeared in the water. Harry thought the bubbles were trying to massage him, and he realized this must be the whole point of a hot tub. He leaned back and let the tub do its work. The soothing effects of the hot tub had almost lulled Harry into a light nap when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone on a broomstick landing a few feet away from him. Harry opened his eyes to see Ginny standing a few feet away dismounting her broom. His stomach suddenly full of butterflies, he sank down slowly into the water to hide as much as he could, hoping Ginny wouldn’t notice. “You might as well sit back up. I already saw you with your shirt off. I was in the air, remember?” Ginny said, as she walked up to the hot tub. “Oh,” Harry said, not sitting up. “Mind if I join you?” Ginny asked, as if it were the natural thing to do. Even under the water, Harry could feel gooseflesh covering his body. “No! I mean, yes! I mean, you can’t!” The thought of Ginny being this close to him in a hot tub somehow made Harry very uncomfortable. Ginny pouted, though Harry didn’t think it was a completely sincere pout. “Aw, Harry, why not?” Think fast, Potter. “Erm, well, you don’t have your suit.” Ginny smiled. “I have it on under my clothes. I have been wearing it every day, just in case I got the urge to take a dip.” “Well, you don’t even have a towel!” Harry tried. Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes. Harry got the impression he wasn’t going to win this one, and Ginny was going to end up in the tub with him. He couldn’t run, because to do so would mean giving Ginny a close up view of his bare chest. He watched as Ginny bent down under the hot tub, and then stood up, holding a towel in her hands. Harry guessed there must be a cabinet built into the platform, complete with a supply of towels. “Got any more lame excuses, Potter?” Ginny asked in an amused voice. Harry gulped, shook his head and prepared for the worst. Ginny tossed her towel over by Harry’s, then carefully put her Cleansweep down in the grass. She took a step back from the tub and faced directly at Harry. He watched mesmerized as she crossed her arms across her chest and in one quick motion pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it over by her towel. Harry got the impression she was making a show of this, but it was nothing compared to the one she gave as she removed her jeans. She unbuttoned her jeans and pulled down the zipper a little slower than Harry thought was necessary. She then grabbed the waist of the jeans on either side of her hips and tugged them down slowly, as if she were pealing them off of herself. The jeans dropped into a heap at her feet, and she stepped out of them and up to the hot tub. It was then that Harry realized that she was making no attempt to hide herself from him. She stood there before him in plain sight wearing a stylish bikini with the only the hot tub between them. Of course, this didn’t last long. Ginny climbed the steps and sat down into the hot tub directly across from Harry, brushing her legs against his as she did. She slid down below the water line, leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the bubbles relax her. Harry let out the breath he was holding. The butterflies were still going, but now at least that was over. Harry had never realized just how attractive Ginny was, and it seemed she was determined to make sure he knew. Harry allowed himself the luxury of admitting she was attractive. After all, she was taken, so there was no harm in it. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. “It’s really good to see you smile again, Harry. I was afraid you were going to be depressed all summer.” “It feels good to smile. I’ve had a lot on my mind since the end of the school year,” Harry said. There was a brief pause. “Do you want to talk about it?” There was no amusement in Ginny’s voice, only sincerity and genuine concern. Harry actually found himself considering it. What could be the harm? Ginny seemed willing to lend an ear, something Harry found himself suddenly grateful for. “Well, for one thing, I miss Sirius a lot.” “I do too. I found him fascinating; the fact that he was raised in such a hateful family and could care for someone as much as he cared for you is nothing short of a miracle.” Ginny’s comment caught Harry off-guard. In one simple gesture, Ginny had illustrated very plainly how selfish Harry had been. Sirius’s death had obviously affected other people than him, even Ginny who had known him only briefly. “You’re not still blaming yourself for his death, are you?” Ginny asked suddenly. “I have to admit I’m still struggling with that one. I can’t get past the fact that if I hadn’t gone to the Ministry, Sirius would still be alive.” There was a sound of moving water, and Harry opened his eyes to see Ginny leaning forward looking at him. “Did you ever stop to think that if you hadn’t gone to the Ministry, then the Ministry would still believe that Voldemort wasn’t on the loose, and that they’d still think Dumbledore was a fool, and you were just looking for attention?” Busted again. “You have a very good point there, Ginny.” “As a matter of fact, if Sirius was here now, knowing how he felt about not being able to leave his house, do you think he’d want you to spend the summer wallowing in your own self-pity and not having any fun?” This hit Harry hard. Why didn’t he see this? Because he didn’t want to, that’s why. “No. No he wouldn’t.” Ginny just sat there, looking at Harry as if she was waiting for him to say something else. When he didn’t, Ginny said, “You know, nobody was meant to bear their pain alone, Harry. That’s what friends of for. I know Ron and Hermione are your best friends, but I want you to know I’m always here if you need someone to talk to.” “Thank you Ginny. That means a lot to me. Really.” Without warning, Ginny leaned forward and gave Harry a hug. At this moment, the only thing Harry could think of was the fact that here was this wonderful, attractive girl, in a hot tub with him, wearing just a bathing suit, and was now hugging him. Her body was against his, and his chest was bare. Harry had never been in a situation quite like this. He just tried his best to hug her like a friend. To his relief, Ginny didn’t linger too long on the hug, and soon she returned to lounging across from Harry. He tried to think of some way to change the subject. “How do you like your Cleansweep?” “It’s great,” Ginny said. “It feels so much better than the older brooms, and a lot better than the school brooms. I can only imagine what it must be like to ride a Firebolt.” “Well, if you want to ride it sometime, I’ll let you take it out for a while.” Harry got the impression that Ginny nearly slipped in the tub. “You don’t have to do that, Harry. That Firebolt is special to you.” “It is, but it’s no fun if I keep it all to myself. I trust you,” Harry said. “I’m honored,” Ginny said. Somewhere in Harry’s mind, a red flag went up. He thought about it for a moment and decided to approach the issue from the Quidditch angle. “I certainly hope Dean is more appreciative of your Quidditch skills than Michael was.” After a few moments, Ginny spoke. “Harry, I have a confession to make.” “Oh?” Harry said, opening his eyes. “What’s that?” “I’m not really seeing Dean. Ron was being a git on the train and I needed a way to push his buttons. I just picked Dean’s name to see what Ron would say.” “Oh, okay, well, I can understand that,” Harry said, trying not to laugh. “There’s no need to apologize to me, really. And I won’t tell Ron until you tell him.” “Thanks Harry, I appreciate that.” It occurred to Harry that he was sitting in the hot tub with an extremely pretty girl who, besides being a good friend and having a feisty personality that he enjoyed, was apparently very available as well, not to mention the fact that she was barely wearing anything. He suddenly became more than a bit nervous. “So, who are you really seeing?” Harry said, trying to find a firm ground to set his feelings. “Nobody,” Ginny said completely naturally. “Ah,” Harry said as casually as he could. Now completely out of his comfort zone and not having another subject to change too, Harry closed his eyes and tried to relax again. “What did you think of my swim suit?” Ginny asked out of the blue. This time, Harry nearly slipped in the hot tub. It seemed Ginny was trying every method she knew how to keep Harry out of his comfort zone. Harry wondered if this is what flirting was all about. It occurred to him that he was just imagining that she was flirting with him. If that was true, why did he think she was flirting with him? Did he want her to? “I’m sorry Harry; I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Harry opened his eyes to see Ginny grinning at him very slyly. She was also sitting up in the tub so that the water just covered her top. Harry had to force himself to look at Ginny’s eyes. She was obviously enjoying this a lot. Harry could tell he was blushing. “I don’t believe that for a minute, Ginny,” Harry risked. “It worked, huh?” Ginny asked, undeterred. “All too well,” Harry admitted, closing his eyes yet again and trying to get Ginny’s smile out of his mind. “Well, I’m going to go get ready for lunch. See you there!” Harry took some guilty pleasure in watching Ginny leave the pool. He was right, she was very attractive. He watched her dry her hair and wrap the towel around herself. Once she was out of sight, Harry left the tub quickly, dried off and covered his chest with his towel the best he could. Properly covered, he returned to his room and dressed in his normal clothes for lunch.
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