Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter nor any of the characters. I make absolutely NO money from this work of fanfiction.

Foreword:

While this IS an AU Fanfiction, I will be keeping many things as canon as possible. Harry will still deal with the other tasks in the Tournament, Cedric will probably still die, and Voldemort will DEFINITELY still return. It is my wish to maybe even continue this story after Harry's fourth year. I think it would be very interesting to show how different Harry's fifth year had been if he'd had someone like Ginny to lean on. Maybe Sirius wouldn't have died... who knows? If you like this chapter, let me know in the review and I'll go ahead and keep writing. If not, well I'll probably keep writing anyway, I just want you to like it. :D

Chapter One – Smile Like You Mean It

After being rejected by Cho, Harry walked dully up to the common room. Entering, he looked around and to his surprise he saw Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.

"What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them.

Ron looked up at Harry, a sort of blind horror on his face.

"Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!"

"What?" said Harry.

"He – er – just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball him," said Ginny.

She looked as though she was fighting back a smile, but she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.

Harry stared at Ron blankly, "You what?"

"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped, beginning his tale. Ginny, unable to hold it back anymore, started to smile, causing Harry to look up at her.

The rest of Ron's story was drowned out by a Harry's sudden realization. "Ginny," he said breathlessly.

"What?" Ginny asked as her and Ron's eyes both snapped to him. Ron had stopped talking mid-sentence and now stared at Harry. Harry was staring at Ginny, mentally kicking himself for not having seen it before. She would be the perfect person to go to the Ball with. He already knew here, so asking her wouldn't be near as awkward as asking a semi-stranger like Cho had been.

"Harry?" Ginny asked staring back at him. He hadn't stopped looking at her since he had said her name so softly.

Harry smiled at her and she blushed, "Ginny," he started. "Do you want to go to the Ball with me?"

Ron gaped. Ginny blushed more furiously than ever before. Harry, meanwhile, just smiled at his own brilliant idea.

As soon as the sentence had left Harry's mouth, Ginny's heart had begun to soar, but as realization hit her, it dropped suddenly 30,000 feet and smashed into the Giant Squid.

"Harry-" Ginny began, but she didn't know how to finish. She began to tear up and the smile suddenly left Harry's face.

"Someone else's already asked you haven't they?" He said, a depressing tone seeping into his every word. Ginny just nodded as a tear finally escaped and cascaded down her face.

"Oh, Harry!" She said, "I am so sorry! I-" Her words got cut off as Harry waved his hand, trying to mime it wasn't a big deal. He didn't trust himself to speak. Having been rejected twice in less than twenty minutes had left him feeling quite empty.

"'S okay," he finally grunted. Ron looked back and forth between them, his face changing colors as he changed emotions, sad for Harry, furious at Harry, angry at Ginny, still furious at Harry. He finally settled on just feeling bad for Harry as he saw his best friends face.

Ginny, also seeing Harry's face, broke out into sobs and dashed from the common room, slamming the portrait of the Fat Lady as she blindly made her way towards the grounds.

Harry sat with Ron in the common room, both of them telling each other about the night's rejections. Hermione soon came in, and Ron made a not-so-subtle and not-so-kind play for her, but Harry barely listened to Hermione's heated rejection. Feeling miserable at the day's events, he decided to head on up to bed in an attempt to end the day before it somehow got even worse.

Ginny, however, was wide-awaked and sitting at a large tree by the Great Lake. She'd stopped crying by the time she had reached the grounds, but her tear-stained face gave her away to anyone who saw her.

Her thoughts drowning in Harry, Ginny didn't notice the footsteps approaching from behind. "Ginny?"

Ginny spun around and found her self face-to-shins with Neville Longbottom, her date for the dance. "Oh – Neville. Er – Hi," she finished lamely, turning back around to continue staring out at the Lake.

Neville frowned, he could plainly see that she had been crying, but he didn't exactly know what to do.

"Erm – Ginny?" Neville began cautiously. Ginny turned around to look at him again. "Er – Are you – Are you okay?" Ginny stared at him blankly.

"Fine." She said sharply, her voice on the verge of cracking. "Why do you ask?"

Neville motioned to her face and Ginny suddenly realized that he could tell she had been crying only minutes ago. "Oh," she said lamely, "it's nothing. I'm fine."

Ginny turned back around and Neville's mind began to race. He was suddenly blaming her tears all on himself. She didn't want to go the ball with him, he thought wildly, she probably only said yes out of pity! Neville's thoughts spun out of control as he found more and more reasons for Ginny's tears.

"You don't want to go to the Ball with me, do you?" Neville asked blandly, tears springing to his own eyes. He wiped them away furiously as she turned around for a third time, a bewildered look on her still splotchy and red face.

"What?" Ginny said. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," Neville began, beginning to feel stupid now that he realized that this wasn't why she was crying. "I just asked you out this morning, and now I find you crying…. I just thought that…." Neville drifted off, looking ashamed at himself.

Ginny's face softened. "Neville that's not why I'm crying. If I'm honest, then yes it has to do with the Yule Ball, but it is definitely not because I'm going with you."

This time it was Neville's face which looked bewildered and confused. "I don't get it." He said simply. "If it's about the Ball, how is not about me?"

Ginny bit her lip, debating on what to tell him. She knew that Harry asking her out wouldn't stay quiet for long, the common room had been pretty full when it had happened. Rumor's would soon be flying all over Hogwarts about her rejection. This thought brought tears back to her eyes, but she blinked them away, deciding to focus on the problem at hand. I'll just tell him the truth, she thought, it's better he hears it from me than some random first year or Slytherin.

"Harry asked me to Ball," she said quietly. Neville suddenly understood. He, like everyone, knew how much Ginny loved Harry. He also knew, however, that Ginny was far too nice to abandon Neville after she had already agreed to go with him, which would have forced her to say no to Harry, no matter how much it killed her inside.

Neville smiled slightly at Ginny, she was easily the kindest, most caring person he had ever met, and she more than deserved to be happy. Even if it meant he would have to go and ask someone like Eloise Midgen to the ball.

"Ginny." He said, forcing her to look up at him. She frowned slightly at his smiling face. "Ginny, you should go with Harry."

Ginny was shocked. She was sure she'd misunderstood him. "Wh-What?" She asked, staring up at Neville's smiling face. "I- I can't. I already told you I'd go!"

Neville continued to smile. "Well I just decided that I'd rather go with someone else, sorry." He smiled again, and she knew he was only saying that so that she could be off the hook of going with him. A small smile appeared on her face.

"Neville you don't have to do this. I really don't mind going with you, I don't."

"Yes you do, Gin. You're just to nice to say it, and that is why you deserve to be happy." Neville stopped and pulled Ginny to her feet. "Most girls here would have said yes to Harry without a second thought about abandoning me. But you – well you would have told Harry no a dozen times, just so that I wouldn't feel any sadness."

Ginny blushed and smiled at the compliment and the pair began to walk back to the school. "Are you sure, Neville? I mean who're you going to go with?" She was biting her lip to keep a beaming smile from erupting. She had a feeling, Neville's confidence wouldn't be able to handle ALL her joy right now.

"Yes I'm sure, and don't worry about me finding someone to go with, I'm sure some girl still doesn't have a date."

A sudden thought hit Ginny. "OH! Neville! I can set you up with a friend if you'd like! She's a Ravenclaw in my year, and she's very pretty." Ginny looked towards Neville eagerly, waiting for him to agree to let her play matchmaker.

"Uh, I guess it couldn't hurt. What's her name?" he asked, looking around as though he expected to see her walking along the ground's as well.

"Luna Lovegood," Ginny said with a smile.

As Neville and Ginny reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ginny felt her stomach go into knots. What if he changed his mind, she wondered, what if he had already asked another girl. Her thoughts paralyzed her, and Neville had already walked a few feet into the common room before realizing Ginny wasn't with him anymore.

"Gin?" He asked, coming back out. "You okay?"

She turned to him, fear etched on her face. "What if he's changed his mind?" she asked, horror-struck.

Neville almost laughed until he saw how truly scared Ginny was. He settled for another grin, "I doubt that's happened Ginny," he began. As she opened her mouth again he held up his hand to silence her, "BUT, if something has changed, then you can still go with me."

Ginny relaxed a bit at this, but still felt her stomach knotting and tangling itself continuously. Neville grabbed her arm and led her into a corner of the common room, where he sat her down on a red and comfy armchair. He looked around, curiously, keeping his eyes peeled for the familiar jet black hair.

He saw Ron sitting alone at a table on the far side, building another house out of exploding snap cards and decided to go and ask him where Harry was.

"Oh, yeah, he went on to bed," Ron said, barely paying attention to Neville. "Had a pretty rough day, you know?"

"Yeah," Neville muttered, leaving Ron on his own and heading up to the dormitories, Ginny's curious stare following him.

Reaching the fourth floor landing, Neville pushed open the door to find Harry sitting up in his bed, Quidditch Through the Ages sitting open on his lap.

"Harry," Neville said, getting his friend's attention. "Can you come down to the common room with me? I got you a date to the Yule Ball."

Harry's face looked very confused and even more wary, but, when he thought of how his situation couldn't get any worse, he got up and followed Neville back down the stairs.

A/N – Read! Review! Tell me I'm great! Tell me I suck! Okay please don't tell me I suck. Just let me know if you think I should continue :).