Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am simply borrowing some of the charecters JK Rowling created to play with for a while. No infringement is intended.

Harry smiled as he stepped into the Burrow and smelled the sweet aroma of the Weasley's kitchen. The radio next to the sink was softly playing Celestina Warbeck's latest hit, I'll Curse My Soul if I Can't Charm You. There were several knives chopping up carrots, asparagus, and many other tasty vegetables at the kitchen counter, as well as a spoon stirring a large bowl of mashed potatoes. Harry saw the Weasley's legendary clock sitting on their scrubbed wooden table, and he watched as the hand baring the name Ron moved from traveling to home.

"Home, sweet home," Ron said as he stepped into the kitchen behind him. Harry bit back a chuckle; Ron had not taken very well to living like a muggle for the past month. Harry was still amazed that his two best friends had decided to stick with him on his quest to track down Voldemort's horcruxes and destroy them. They had even endured the Dursley's for him.

"Privet Drive was neat and clean," Hermione said as she came in after Ron, "but I must admit I prefer the Burrow."

"Mmm food!" Ron exclaimed as he saw the fresh cooked mashed potatoes on the counter. With a quick flick of his wand the bowl and spoon zoomed toward him. Now that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were of age, they could use magic outside of school whenever they pleased.

"Ronald Weasley!" sounded the shriek of a short, plump woman entering the kitchen from the living room. Harry grinned as he watched Mrs. Weasley approach with a murderous look on her face. "I made those for dinner! We're having sixteen people tonight young man. I barley have enough time to cook all the food we need, so I most certainly don't have time to replace what you've eaten." With that Ron dropped the spoon and slumped over to the table.

"Do you need help with anything Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked her.

"Hermione, dear! Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as if just noticing them. She quickly grabbed both of them and pulled them into a big bear hug. Harry grinned again as his and Hermione's heads were bumped together by Mrs. Weasley's force. He would probably have a headache later, but he didn't care. He was so happy to be at the Burrow. Harry was finally free of the Dursleys; he would never have to go back to Privet Drive again. "Why don't you three grab the silverware and go help Fred, George, and Ginny with the table after you put your things up stairs?"

"Okay," Hermione answered as Harry's heart sank. He knew that he would be seeing Ginny quite a bit over the next few days; after all it was her house. However, he was not entirely prepared for it. He had thought of Ginny so much since he had broken up with her that day at Dumbledore's funeral. He had missed her during the month he had spent at the Dursley's house even though he was trying so hard not to. Harry knew that he could not continue his relationship with her and risk her getting hurt, but he wanted to be around her so badly. He wanted to hear her laugh, watch her play Quidditch, see the sunlight bring out all the lovely shades of Weasley red in her hair. He just wanted to be around her. But he didn't know if he could trust himself around her. He would just get close to her again and she would become a target. Harry wanted Ginny in his life, but not at the cost of her losing her life.

Harry picked up his trunk and followed Ron and Hermione up the rickety staircase. When they reached Ginny's room Hermione stopped there to put her trunk into the room, and Harry and Ron continued up the stairs to the top floor. Harry set his trunk down at the foot of Ron's Chudley Cannons encrusted bed and turned to the door, dreading when he would get outside and have to face Ginny.

"Wait, Harry," Ron said as Harry stepped out the door. "I need to talk to you, close the door."

Harry confusedly shut the door and stared at Ron. He was pacing his room looking very nervous and panicky. Harry looked closely and saw that Ron's hands were shaking and there was sweat on his brow. He'd never seen Ron quite like this before.

"What's wrong Ron?"

Ron stopped pacing and sat down on his bed. "It's Hermione," he said with a sigh.

Harry had a feeling something like this would be coming, but he didn't think it would be now, and he definitely wasn't ready for it. He knew Ron and Hermione had feelings for each other, and from the looks of it, Ron was ready to act on these feelings. However, he had no idea why Ron wanted to talk to him about it because frankly, he was horrible at all this girl stuff.

"I don't know what to do," Ron continued. "I like her a lot, and I can't stop thinking about her. I don't know how to act around her because I want to be more than just her friend. When I see myself in the future, sitting in my rocking chair, in my own big house, with my own big family, she's the one sitting in the rocking chair next to mine. Through everything we've been through together, I know she's the only one for me. I've never felt this way about anyone before, and it just hurts that I know she'll never feel that way about me."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked. He had been following what Ron was saying until the last statement, but now he was completely confused. "Ron, how could you think Hermione doesn't feel that way about you? I mean, it's obvious that she does."

At that moment the door swung open revealing Hermione with an extremely impatient look on her face. "What in the name of Merlin is taking you two so long?"

"Nothing," Ron replied a little too quickly. "We were just talking. Come on let's go guys."

In Ron's haste to stand up, he tripped over the cage that belonged to his owl, Pigwidgeon, and fell face down on the floor. Harry immediately burst into laughter, while Hermione rushed to Ron's side.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Ron said sitting up. His faced had turned a shade of red that rivaled that of his hair. "Shut it you," he added to Harry, who was now also on the floor, rolling in fits of laughter.

"Honestly, Harry. It's not funny. Ron could have been seriously hurt." At this Harry laughed even harder; tears of glee were streaming down his face. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to Ron, who was now standing up. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I already told you, I'm fine."

"Are you sure you didn't twist your ankle on the cage?" Hermione asked, looking from Ron's foot to the now bent owl cage.

"I'M FINE!" Ron nearly screamed at her.

"Well I'm sorry I was concerned!"

"Good because you should be!"

"Well fine then! Next time you hurt yourself I'll just laugh at you then!"

"I DIDN'T HURT MYSELF!"

"I didn't say you did!" Hermione screamed back at him and stormed from the room and down the staircase.

Ron turned to Harry who was no longer laughing, but was still sitting on the floor. "Yeah, Harry. She definitely has feelings for me," Ron said as he sat back down on his bed, looking gloomier than ever.

"She does, mate," Harry replied. "It just might have helped if you hadn't screamed at her like that."

"No. You're wrong. She doesn't think of me the same way I think of her, she only looks at me as a friend. You saw the way she talked to me; she was treating me like a child. She's always trying to take care of me. She'll never see me as an equal that she could possibly have a romantic relationship with."

"Ron, just like you said, she was making sure you were ok because she cares about you. Not like you're a child, but because she loves you," Harry explained. "How can you not see that?"

Ron shook his head and looked down at the floor. "We better go ahead and get down there to help before she gets even angrier."

Accepting defeat, Harry got up and followed Ron down the stairs. He didn't understand how Ron could be so blind when it came to Hermione. Even he, Harry, who could never understand what was going on in a girls mind, knew how Hermione felt about Ron. He had thought that both of them had understood each other's feelings, but apparently he was wrong. Now he was beginning to wonder if Hermione was also missing the picture.

Harry was so deep in his thoughts that he had forgotten he was on his way outside, where Ginny was. He didn't remember until he was in the Weasley's backyard and was face to face with her.

Ginny's appearance was breath-taking. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun on the back of her head. Soft tendrils had fallen out and framed her face. The evening sun shone brightly highlighting all the different shades of her red, Weasley hair. Harry couldn't help but noticed she had grown up over the month they had spent apart, or at least certain parts of her body had. She was wearing short shorts that showed off her slender legs and a low cut tank top that allowed Harry to see just how much she had grown up.

Ginny smiled when she saw her big brother and Harry approaching. "Hey Ron, I missed you," Ginny said as she ran forward and gave her brother a big bear hug.

"I missed you too, Gin," Ron replied, hugging her back.

Ginny let go of Ron and turned to Harry. He allowed himself to get lost in her beautiful brown eyes for just a moment before forcing himself to return to earth. She smiled at him.

"Hi."

"Hey, Gin."

She tentatively stepped towards him and opened her arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and quickly let go. Harry had already promised himself he would not get too close, he could not let any harm come to Ginny.

"You guys feel up for a game of Quidditch before dinner?" Ginny asked them with a grin.

"Yeah but first mum said we had to set the table."

"Hermione already finished," Ginny replied. She hesitated before continuing. "She didn't seem to be in the best mood, you don't look quite as cheerful as normal either."

"Yeah let's go play Quidditch," Ron said, ignoring Ginny's last statement.

"Did I hear the word Quidditch?" Fred Weasley asked as he and his twin brother walked over to join Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"Why weren't we invited?"

"Of course you're invited," Ginny said rolling her eyes. "How do you expect us to play Quidditch with just three people?"

"How do you expect us to play with just five?" George asked in a high-pitched voice, while doing a dramatic reenactment of Ginny rolling her eyes while putting one hand on his hip.

Harry, Ron and Fred laughed appreciatively while Ginny glared at George.

"Oi, Hermione," Fred yelled, while Ron shook his head at him vigorously. "How about a game of Quidditch?"

Hermione who was sitting in the Weasley's garden examining a rather feisty gnome looked up and shrugged her shoulders. "Why not?" she called back.

Ron shook his head and cast an evil glare at Fred.

"What's wrong Ickleronnikens? Afraid Herm-own-ninny will beat your booty in Quidditch?"

Harry glanced at Ginny and they both bit back a laugh as Ron shoved past Fred on his way to the broom shed. Harry turned around and glanced at the rickety Weasley house. He grinned as he raised his wand to summon his broom from Ron's bedroom."

"Accio Firebolt."

He was definitely glad to be home.

A/N: OK so this is my first chapter of my very first fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it! Please, please, please review. I would really appreciate your feedback. And if you thought it sucked don't be afraid to tell me. I would love to have suggestions on ways I can improve to make my stories more enjoyable to you. Thanks for reading!!