Natalie crept into Healing Hands quietly. She'd never been so embarrassed, but she needed to get this done. She knew Ginny would help her and not say anything to Dean. Not that she really minded if Dean knew. It was just... embarrassing.

"Hello?"

Ginny jumped, her hands shaking a bit. There really was no reason to be so jumpy. First, it'd been two days since Crabbe had been in the office, and since then, she'd set the wards to alert her for a male presence. Second, the voice that had called out had been female. She made her way down the hallway a bit slower than normal, peeking around the corner before smiling at Natalie. "Natalie! What are you doing here?" Her face fell. "Oh my God, is something wrong with Dean? He was fine when I saw him last night!"

"What? No! As far as I know he's fine. Is he not? Oh my GOD!"

Ginny held up her hands. "Whoa, alright. Dean is fine. You're not here to tell me something's wrong, so there's nothing wrong." She put a hand on her hip, giving Natalie a surveying look. She'd sounded horrified that something could be wrong with Dean. This was a good thing in Ginny's book. A very good thing. Especially after what her and Dean had talked about the night before. "You're not hurt are you? I'll kill Harry if he let anything happen to you."

"What? No. Harry's actually been a bit over-protective. He hasn't asked me to do much," Natalie looked down and traced her boot on the floor. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a medical thing. Sort of. If that's ok."

Damn. She could face down Death Eaters at fifteen, but talking to Ginny Weasley about a contraception potion scared the bejesus out of her.

"Medical? What makes you think I know anything about medical things?" It was mean, she knew this, but Ginny couldn't help making her squirm a bit. She looked so nervous, like she was embarrassed. What could she be embarrassed about?

"I... I need to... I think I need to... I... um... need..." Natalie whispered. "A potion."

Then she turned bright red. Some Auror she would make.

"For?"

Natalie groaned and looked at the ceiling. "Contraception. Like for... preventing pregnancy."

Ginny rose an eyebrow. Hadn't Dean been talking to her last night about pushing Natalie too far? "You need a contraception potion?"

"Well... yeah?" Natalie looked around nervously. "Look, can we talk about this in a room or something?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry." Ginny shook her head. She'd been enjoying Natalie's embarrassment a little too much that she was actually overlooking her duties as a healer. She motioned to one of the rooms. "Right back here."

Natalie tried not to fidget. She was nervous as hell, and she was usually pretty energetic anyhow. She waited until the door was closed.

"First, you can not tell Dean ANY of this. Not a word. I feel like I'm being a bit of a tease, but I am not going to be irresponsible. I will follow-through... once I have something... you know?" Embarrassing. So very embarrassing. Hope the floor opens up and swallows me whole.

"Being safe is a good thing. I respect that you're preparing yourself before hand." Lords knew I didn't. "Have you thought about exactly what you'd like? There are several choices. Potions. Charms. Muggle methods that seem to be somewhat affective, though I don't really trust them."

"I... I don't know. No one ever really... I mean, I don't... what do you recommend?" Can I die? Now?

"Well, I personally don't want to have children anytime soon, so I do a combination. I take the monthly potion and also use charms. It's easier that way, and I feel much safer. The potion is good, however you need to remember to take it and sometimes it can be rather bitter, depending on who brews it. Luckily for you, I think I have one of the two best potions masters on staff, barring Snape."

Ginny leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.

"All right. That sounds good. I'll do that. Should I use the contraceptive charms McGonagall taught us at Hogwarts, or is there something else?"

"McGonagall knows what she was talking about. I highly doubt she wanted little students running around, and as much as Romilda Vane tried, no one was pregnant, so as far as I know they work well." Ginny shrugged. "Are you partial to strawberry?" At Natalie's look, Ginny smiled. "That's what flavor my potion is, though I'm sure Blaise could do it in a different flavor if you asked."

"Strawberry is fine. Just fine." Natalie wrung her hands. "Has... has... Dean said anything about me? I don't want to violate the best friend code or anything, but I think I'm being a bit of a tease."

"You're not a tease," Ginny said, pushing off the counter and crossing the floor to sit next to her on the exam table. "He likes you, Natalie. He's just afraid he's moving to fast. The thing you have to know about Dean is that he respects women. Sometimes to a fault, and he's not going to push you past what you want. Don't take his hesitation as reluctance. That would be a mistake. Don't lead him on, however. That would lead to badness. You don't want that. Promise."

"I would never... I mean I... I like him. Nobody's ever looked at me like he does. I don't want him walking around all frustrated, but what if I'm not... any good?"

"If he likes you enough, it won't matter. Nobody's first time is their best time. It doesn't work like that. However, if you really like him, it'll get better." She looked over at Natalie with a small grin. "Don't be so nervous about it. It'll be fine." She looked back down at her toes, the corner of her mouth turning up. "Should I be prepared for him to owl me incoherently anytime soon, or was this just in case?"

"Oh my God, if he owls you about it, please never ever mention it to me. I'd die of embarrassment. I'm really not sure how I made it though this at all."

"You like him. That's how. Liking someone can make you do things you didn't think you could do." She stood, smiling as the crossed the floor and opened the cabinet, grabbing out a few bottles that she had already pre-made. She turned back to Natalie, holding the bottles out to her. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Natalie. Sex should not be embarrassing. It should be enjoyed."

"I... I wasn't prepared for this. I wasn't... it wasn't supposed to be like this. I was all set to be solitary, you know. I never thought..." Natalie snatched the bottles from Ginny's hands, looking at the floor. "Thank you so much. I should go. Now. You probably have other patients and yeah. Um, going. Yes."

She was smirking. She was definitely spending too much time around Slytherins if she smirking. She sighed. "Natalie, you need to stop being embarrassed. If you're embarrassed, you won't enjoy it as much. You like him. He likes you. It'll be fine."

"Uh huh. Thank you. Bye." She was as red as a tomato. Natalie stuffed the potions in her bag and hurried out. She had to get out of here before her face popped off due to all the blood infusing it just now.

Ginny couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Dean honestly didn't know. He just didn't know.


{SUMMARY} Natalie pays Ginny a visit for potions advice.