AN: So you came back? Good! I'm proud of you! Keep up the reading!
HP doesn't belong to ME but to JKR. Shoot.
Harry looked up quickly, at the very least, relieved that he had stopped crying for Fred and George were standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. There were identical, gleeful expressions on their faces.
"What are you doing back so soon?" asked Ginny, standing up.
"Tsk tsk, Ginny," Fred replied, grinning. "Can't leave you alone for a minute, can we?"
"What do you reckon, Fred? You think we should have a little chat with the two of them?"
"Great idea, George. You want to take Ginny, or should I?"
"Nah, that will take far too much time. Let's just handle them both right now," said George.
"Oh, honestly," Ginny huffed. Giving her brothers a glare, she stalked from the room. Harry tried to follow suit but was blocked at the door.
"Wait just a sec, Harry," said George. "We gotta straighten a few things out, first."
"Yeah," Fred added. "Just so you know where we stand when it comes to our sister."
With a cornered look, Harry sank down onto a sofa. The twins closed in on either side of him. Harry had a bad feeling that it would be awhile before they let him go.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upstairs, Ginny was reclining against her pillows and thinking about the events that had just transpired. She had been hopelessly in love with Harry until her fourth year. Then she had started dating Michael Corner. She thought she cared about him but she was relieved when they broke up.
"I don't understand," she whispered to the ceiling. "I thought I was over Harry."
Ginny was rather confused about her emotions as of late. She felt happy, she felt sad. One minute she could be dancing through the house, singing cheerfully, the next she felt as if she'd never be happy again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back downstairs, Harry, with his face a brilliant red, was curled up once more on the window seat. Fred and George had just left with looks on their faces that couldn't help but show their joy at the happy outcome of their little 'talk.'. Despite the humiliation, Harry was thinking about what just happened. Ginny had always been a little girl to him, his best friend's sister. Now she seemed, well, an equal.
Is it possible, he thought, that I could-could like Ginny? Not just as friends but as something more? This was a new idea to him. The only girl he'd ever "liked" was Cho. Of course, they had broken up so it wasn't much of a relationship to go by.
Of course, Ginny's bound to be better than her. She's not as emotional or -what am I thinking? Am I actually considering me and-and Ginny?! He stood quickly and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Suddenly, he knew what to do.
I'll fly. That always helps me think better.
Harry summoned his broom from his bedroom and walked down the stairs. Once outside, he took a deep breath and--nearly choked on it. He had run into Ginny who was just coming inside with her own broom.
"Ginny!" he spluttered. "I--I..." he was tongue tied.
"Hello, Harry," she said quietly. "I just want to apologize for, well earlier. I shouldn't have pried into your business."
"What? Oh, no, that's perfectly fine, I'm glad you did."
What was this nonsense? "I needed someone to talk to and..." he couldn't continue for he was lost in the brown depths of her eyes.
Ginny smiled, blushing prettily. He likes me. But do I still like him?
"I guess I'll see you later," she said. To her disappointment, he didn't stop her.
He simply said, "Yeah, I'll see you later."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the kitchen, Ginny was pulling out dishes and ingredients to make pumpkin bread. She could hardly wait for the day when she could cook with magic. For now, she had to do everything by herself. Ginny didn’t realize she was banging the pans until a familiar voice behind her said, “Rough day?”
Spinning around she said, “Hermione! You’re here early!” Looking closer, she added, “Your hair looks great, what did you do to it?”
“Thanks,” Hermione said. “It's only temporary, but I straightened it last week. Tonks came over to help me with it. Of course, she also wanted to die it blue, but can you see me with blue hair? Honestly!” She rolled her eyes laughing. “Anyway, Ron and your Mum were going to be longer than they expected so she sent me back to rest.”
“I’m glad you could come,” Ginny said giving the older girl a hug. “It’s been a long summer. How was your internship at the Ministry?”
“It was amazing.” she replied. “I learned a lot about how our government works. I spent a lot of time at the education department. I even ran into Professor Dumbledore a couple times.” Hermione held Ginny off at arms length and observed her critically. “Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on. I’m fine.” This was said far too quickly.
“You don’t look fine,” Hermione appraised. “That banging of pots wasn’t you being fine. Come on now, tell me what’s up.”
Ginny sighed, knowing Hermione wasn’t going to let up. “It’s just that…” and she found herself explaining everything that had happened that morning. Hermione listened without speaking until Ginny said, “And now I don’t know what to do.”
“How long have you felt like this?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You remember the crush I had on Harry? I’d get so nervous and excited every time I was around him but I would be too scared to say anything. Last year when I was dating Michael, I found that I could talk to Harry because the pressure was off. I actually got to know him. Him, not his fame, not what the papers said about him, but I found out who he really was.”
“What do you feel now?”
“When we were in the parlor, I felt his pain so strongly that it was almost tangible. I wanted so bad to say the right things and help him feel better but I think I only made it worse. Then, he looked at me and I saw…Never mind. But when Fred and George came in I wasn’t angry because they caught us doing something wrong. I was mad because they interrupted something that felt so right. Does this make sense to you?”
Hermione laughed. “No. But I don’t think it is supposed to. I think that the confusion and madness is all a part of what love does to you.”
“Have you felt like this before?” Ginny asked, intrigued.
“No,” Hermione replied.
“But I thought you and Viktor”I thought you loved him!”
“I care about Viktor very much. He’s a good friend and a wonderful man. However, I do not love him and he knows it.” Hermione smiled.
“Well, what about you and R-“
“Hermione!” came Harry’s voice at the door. “When’d you get here?” He gave her a swift hug. “Your hair looks great!” He glanced over at Ginny. She turned slightly red and looked away.
“Not so long ago,” Hermione replied. “Ron and Mrs. Weasley should be back soon. Oh, I almost forgot this!” She summoned a box from the hallway. “Happy Birthday, Harry. I know it’s late but I wanted to give it to you in person.”
He unwrapped a box of chocolate frogs and a small book.
“What’s this?” he asked.
Hermione answered, saying, “It’s a defense against the dark arts book. You select a curse or a jinx and two silhouettes demonstrate it in full detail and then perform the counter curse.”
“Wow!” Ginny said in awe. “Where’d you find it?”
Hermione laughed. “Oddly enough, from the Quibbler. Don’t worry though, I checked it out first. It’s legitimate.”
“This is really great Hermione.” Harry said. “Oh, speaking of which, who’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year?”
Hermione smiled cunningly. “I’m not telling.”
“Oh come on!” Harry and Ginny said together; then they both turned red again.
She laughed, “No you’ll just have to wait and find out.”
Then, they heard Ron’s voice calling down the hall. “Is anybody here?” followed by Mrs. Weasley’s “Ronald, must you yell in the house?”
You all still with me? Yay! Another chapter in. Here's your spoiler!
"But who?" Harry said. "Who would I love?" Sirius' fading figure smiled. "You'll know."
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