MY BIRTHDAY IS IN JUST A FEW DAYS AND IM SOOOOO EXCITED!! Short chapter, since the next one is long.

Ch. 25
Uh, well...

Ginny jumped at the sound, her eyes flicking up towards the cold, dark ones of her teacher. Snape stood with a Potion's book in his clutch, glaring a hole through Ginny and her boyfriend. Speaking of who, he was now stirring, blinking up at the professor with confusion.

"Do I need to remind you too that this is Potions class? Not nap-time." Snape drawled, giving Harry a disapproving stare.

"No, sir." Harry grumbled at last, rubbing his eyes. Snape ignored him, instead looking over to Ginny.

"I assume you both know how to make an Anti-Paralysis Draught?" He asked, "Since you have been paying such good attention to class?"

Heat seared in Ginny's chest and she took deep breaths, ignoring the glow she knew was soon to radiate off of her. Standing her ground, she held eye contact with Snape before he looked away. With a glance at her hands, she saw light leaking from under her palms as fury rolled through her body. It was the first day of class! Did he really have to start complaining now?

"Or, are you too more interested in yourselves to pay attention?" Still, both Harry and Ginny stayed silent. Eventually, Harry looked down at the table with a look of disgust on his face. His eyes were turning golden from the outside inwards, the Bond taking over his green irises.

Ginny knew the same was happening to her as well, and could feel the affects bowling through her body. She could feel every small pebble on the stone floor under her feet, smell and distinguish every herb, see the smoke rising above cauldrons around them. She met Ron and Hermione's eyes from across the room, they'd gotten in late and had to sit in two of the less desirable seats, the ones closest to Snape.

She ducked her head, hoping he wouldn't see any of the gold. But she knew he had when he ended the conversation abruptly and she glanced up to see his slightly paler face.

"Finish the potion." And he swept away.

///

They did finish the potion, and hurried out of class, ignoring all the stares they got from their fellow classmates. Rage was still deep in Harry's stomach, and it was hard to catch his breath without huffing in annoyance. They sped through the halls, eventually turning into a deserted corridor. They stood for a second before a light clicked in Harry's mind and he remembered something from the map.

"Over here." He called, peeling back a tapestry to reveal a passageway. Ginny slid past him and he quietly let the edge fall. Thank Merlin they had a break.

Ginny sat on the stone ground, her robes tightly around her as she leaned her head on the wall. Harry sat opposite her, watching as the gold faded from her unfocused eyes and it helped calm him.

"That was embarrassing." She remarked, tightening her arms around herself. Harry didn't respond, only sat there with his hands in his pockets as the silence folded around them.

Finally, he scooted over and lifted his arm, Ginny coming to sit next to him. She fit perfectly in his side and he breathed in the smell of flowers, ignoring the moldy smell coming from the corridor.

He kissed the side of her head, feeling her sigh, and then pulled her closer, "I hate him." Harry murmured, taking a deep breath. It was Ginny's turn to go silent.

"I know, I do too." She laid her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat underneath her. It seemed to echo off of the walls, and a thin glow rose from their skin.

"Want to go to our spot?" Harry asked, referring to the clearing in which they had spent most of the year before. Ginny shrugged, looking up at him with her lips pressed in a thin line.

"It's the first day back at school, we don't need to be moping about because some git thinks he can beat us." She decided, standing up. Harry scrambled up as well, watching as she slowly started smiling, "Look at us, it's pathetic. What we really need is payback." Her eyes sparkled and she took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together slowly and watching as a glow swirled around their hands, throwing shadows on the walls.

Harry truly liked the idea, but had no idea how they'd do so. "I have a feeling he isn't going to the worst of our troubles." Harry's voice was low and serious, pulling Ginny's eyes towards him. His face was stony in the light, but when she softly touched his face, he relaxed slightly.

She kissed him, her fingers threaded in his hair, and he held her waist, her back against the wall of the corridor. It caused sparks in Ginny's chest, and behind her closed eyelids she could see the glow brightening around them. It wasn't the most romantic of kisses, with the smell of moss around them and the cold stone wall at her back, but it was still her kissing Harry, the only boy she ever truly wants to kiss.

When he pulled away, he pressed his lips to her closed eyes, hearing her sigh. "I love you, Gin. No matter what."

"I love you too, Harry. No matter what."