EFRN: Deleted Scene and Posting Update

Afternoon, all. Just popping in for a quick update before I get lost in studying for my finals. :)

The good news is that the responses I got from Ch. 16 really struck a chord and reinvigorated me. They got a lot of ideas churning and I’ve just got to sit down and begin punching out those chapters.

This of course leads to the bad news that three finals and one presentation have left me with no way to do that. My free time is being held hostage by studying- and I don’t think I’ll be able to get Ch. 17 to you this week, unfortunately.

However, what I am doing is I’ll be posting this deleted scene from Ch. 13 for you – it’s a more H/G moment that got taken out (and probably moved to a later chapter). And, I’ll quite possibly put the teaser for Ch. 17 up on Sunday/Monday and post the chapter on Tuesday/Wednesday. Just a few additional days to wait, but worth it so I can do the final edit.

Factoring in winter break, more writing time, and the Holiday Hiatus, the ideal plan is that, by early January, I’ll have a large load of chapters to start getting to you. The ideal plan gets me another 5 chapters…and STILL not everything has been covered, lol. I’m out of my mind, yes. ;)

But for now, I’ve got to make sure I don’t get kicked out of college for being an idiot. Incidentally, for anyone else (high school or college/uni) that has finals as well, GOOD LUCK! Hopefully we all do well, yes!? ;)

Thanks for everything guys, really. Supportive, understanding, and patient readers are more than I could ask for.

***

And now, your Deleted Scene:

-- The opening scene between Harry and Ginny was originally a lot longer. I had intended it to slowly merge into another bit of Harry/Ginny, but ended up feeling that it would’ve been a bit too much right after what happened with Ron and Hermione.

Incidentally, a few reviewers had a reaction similar to both Harry and Ginny, lol. But as I keep reminding you…Ron and Hermione are together in a *physical* relationship. It’s just a fact we’re all going to have to accept. However, this may come up later in the fic. Can’t you just imagine the absolute awkwardness that will be between all four of them as they realize exactly how serious things are for each other? It’s going to be a fun hurdle for them to jump, LOL!

What made the final cut was a more to the point and edited version. This, is the original opening.

“Did you find them?” Mr. Weasley asked, slightly frazzled, as Ginny came back down into the kitchen.

She nodded. “Yeah. Yeah they’re – um- they’re just finishing getting ready. They’ll be right down.”

Harry caught the odd tone of her voice and looked at her questioningly as she came back to stand by him. Ginny only glanced at him and looked away. Finding this both obvious and worrying, Harry turned to the rest of the Weasley’s still gathered in the kitchen and waiting to walk to the field.

“Why don’t you all go ahead and Ginny and I can wait for Ron and Hermione?”

There was a general murmur of agreement and the others headed out the back door. George, however, paused and looked back at Harry and Ginny.

“Tell them to hurry up. We can’t do this without Ron.” Then he too was gone.

“Yeah, well, you’ll have to wait,” Ginny informed the floor she was staring determinedly at. “Because they were apparently quite busy.”

”Please tell me not fighting,” Harry said, running a hand nervously through his hair.

Ginny gave a short laugh, but there was little humor. “Think the exact opposite.”

Harry raised an eyebrow as he pieced it together. “You didn’t walk in on them together did you?”

“Right in one.”

Harry rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Well, it was bound to happen sometime. You know they’ll most likely do the same to us. Ron has a talent for it actually.”

“Yeah,” Ginny agreed, still in that odd tone, that made Harry’s grin fade. “But at least when they walk in on us, I expect we’ll only be kissing.”

Now, Harry frowned. “They weren’t just kissing?”

Ginny shook her head, a tinge of pink flaring up in her cheeks for the first time in ages.

“What are you saying?” Harry asked, at the same time wondering what he was going to hear and if he even wanted to hear it.

Ginny looked up at Harry, the embarrassed look still on her face as she said, “I’m saying that it looked like they were well on their way to consummating their new relationship.”

The silence in the kitchen was so deep that Harry was sure that he could hear the murmur of the voices all the way out at the paddock where the ceremony was.

“What?” Harry asked, utterly dumbfounded.

Ginny shook her head slowly back and forth. “I honestly didn’t think I’d see that from them for another few months, years even.” Her blush was now a full crimson.

“Ginny,” Harry said weakly. “Think about what you’re saying. This is Ron and Hermione here. It took them seven years to just kiss.” Now he too was flushing in embarrassment at the thought of what his two best friends had been up to. “There’s no way – “

“You didn’t see them,” Ginny said evenly.

“But- but-“ Harry spluttered. “But – Hermione would never, ever let – and – are you sure about what you – I mean - think about it – Ron? Honestly? I doubt he’d even know what to –“

”That’s what I’d think too,” Ginny said. “But after that…I don’t know. They’re a lot farther along than I thought.”

“They weren’t -?” Harry began, horrified.

“No!” Ginny said firmly, smacking Harry on the arm. “Gross. No, nothing like that.”

“Thank God,” he breathed. “That would’ve been too much.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ginny groaned, pressing the heals of her palms into her eyes. “I did not need to see that from any one of my brothers. And especially not with one of my best friends.”

Recalling his own feelings on this subject on the night when Ron and Hermione had first kissed, Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny.

“I know,” he assured her. “It’s like you know its right and you’re happy for them, but you can’t really shake off the shock. Because they’re still your family and it should be more…private.”

“And they accuse us of being all out in the open,” she said. “They’re lucky it was me. Mum may approve, but she would’ve hit the roof.”

***

Thanks again guys. See you late this weekend/early next week.