I Wish

Disclaimer: My name is JKR and I write the actual Harry Potter books! Hooray! (change of voice) No, I am the real JR, you must listen to me, mwuhahaha! (another change) No, it's me, I'm real, don't believe these two liars-
(The short caption below taken from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, everything else is my own idea.)

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, he kissed her.

After several long moments – or it might have been half an hour – or possibly several sunlit days – they broke apart. The room had gone very quiet. Then several people wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of nervous giggling…

The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, he grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole.

Walking far enough away from the Fat Lady, Harry turned to Ginny. Her brown eyes looked at him with something unreadable in them, but she was smiling.

"Well, er… sorry," he said, not meeting her eyes. She raised an eyebrow. "For, uh, that."

He looked at her with what he hoped was something that resembled an apologetic expression.

"You know, Harry, there's something I've been wanting to try," she said after a minute of surveying him. "Maybe you could help me with it, make it a little easier, you know?"

"What?" he asked.

She took a step closer to him. "This," she whispered, and her warm breath tickled his face as her lips met his. He wrapped his arms around her slim figure and she pushed him up against the wall. Ginny was warm and sweet and fulfilling, how could he not have noticed her before?

He turned his head so they could kiss better; life was so fair right then. Nothing in the world mattered except the girl in front of him, nothing… maybe except for the footsteps indicating that they would soon not be the only people out in the corridor.

He broke away. "Come on," he whispered hurriedly, and grabbed her by the hand. He led her swiftly down another identical hallway, knowing that Mrs. Norris was hot on their trail. He found a door and threw it open, sending both Ginny and himself out onto the grounds.

Closing the door and panting quietly, Ginny took his hand again and led him down to a tree near the lake and collapsed under it, with Harry following close behind.

The waves lapping up against the shore calmed him, and the darkness and night-sounds almost put him to sleep. The castle had just enough light to keep the stars from appearing, but the crescent moon that hung over them shone brightly in the darkness.

"So tell me," Ginny said, shoving him out of his reverie, "why you thought that the after-party would be a good time to, you know…"

"It just seemed right," he answered truthfully, "but mostly because you're so pretty and all."

He could have sworn, even in the darkness, that her face turned redder than her hair.

"I'm really, really glad you did, though," she said after a moment, "because I've been waiting so, so long for it to happen."

Cupping her face in his hands (mostly to conclude where her lips were), he kissed her quietly, enjoying the small moment of ectasy it brought him.

"You know," she said softly, "I knew that this was going to be our year."

"So next year isn't an option?" he asked, mock-offended, which earned him a small punch on the shoulder.

"I dunno, I just had… a feeling. It it was such a wonderful one, too. Dean really was a loser, so I was thinking, 'Maybe Harry will notice me,' and it worked."

"Hmm. D'you want to go to the next Hogsmeade trip with me?" he asked on impulse before he lost the nerve.

"Harry, you know I'd like nothing better," was the reply that made his insides warm with delight. "But just one more thing."

"Yeah?" he wondered.

"Don't ever apologize for kissing me again. Ever."

"Agreed, but you have no idea what you've just allowed. This means I can kiss you whenever I want to," he teased. "Like now."

With courage he didn't even know he had ten minutes ago, he picked up her delicate hand and planted small feather-light kisses up her arm. She laughed.

"Oh, why couldn't you have gotten your detention sooner," she moaned after sitting in silence for a few minutes. "I didn't even know I could feel like this next to a person, and it's just so… good."

"It's my fault. Merlin, why did I have to fall for Cho when the girl I'm supposed to be with was standing right next to me the whole time?"

"Oooh, look!" Ginny squealed suddenly. "A shooting star!"

Even though the more-stationary stars could not be seen, Harry caught a glimpse of something white flash across the sky before it vanished. He wondered if he should make a wish when he heard Ginny's voice.

"I wish that Harry would kiss me now," she murmured.

"Wish granted," he said, and did so.

A/N: I always wondered what happened after the HBP kiss where JKR left us hanging, so here's what I imagined. Not enough fluff to stuff a pillow, but it would give them a good start on their relationship, I think. No, there's not going to be another chapter, much to your disappointment. I'm trying to get ideas that would be more like multi-chapter stories, I'm sure you're all tired of oneshots… well, I am, at least. Feel free to review about what you'd like to see for upcoming stories and how you liked this short fic. Please and thanks!