Disclaimer: Everything but the plot belongs to JK Rowling.  Please don't sue me...

Please be nice, it's my first fiction. Thank you everyone who's reviewed, means a lot to me. I've applied some grammer changes, but it's still the same story. Reviews are still accepted with open arms... Enjoy.

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Chapter 1 - A nudge in the right direction

Harry was nervous. More nervous than he had ever been. The times he had faced Voldemort, the Quidditch game against Slytherin in his 3rd year, the tri-wizard tournament. None of them compared to what he was about to do.

The common room was nearly empty except for him, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Hermione and Ron were bickering, as usual. They had an essay due for History of Magic, and Hermione was refusing to let Ron copy any of hers. Usually, Harry would have tried to act the part of peace negotiator, but today his mind was on something completely different.

Ginny was curled up in a chair by the fireplace. In her lap lay her Potions book, and her face bore a look of pure despair. 'She looks cute when she's despaired,' Harry thought to himself, as he had done many times that term. It hadn't really occurred to him before, how pretty she was. Not until that summer.

The Weasley's had again saved Harry from spending his holiday being bullied by the Dursley's. It seemed every year he spent at Hogwarts made them hate him even more. But Ron had come to his aid again, and he had spent a delightful summer at the Burrow, glad to see that everything was as usual there, despite the return of Voldemort. Only everything wasn't quite as usual. Ginny wasn't who she had been. She wasn't Ron's shy little sister anymore, Harry quickly noted. She didn't spill anything around him, and when he talked to her she didn't go flushing red anymore. Ginny had grown up, grown confidence, and with a touch of disappointment Harry noted that she seemed to have grown out of her childish crush on him. Ron confirmed his suspicions; "She been sending owls to Colin all summer." Against his own will, Harry found himself surprisingly hurt by this. He'd had a good job hiding it from Ron, who seemed to think Harry should be overjoyed by the news. "Maybe they'll be so busy with each other they'll have no time for you." That, was exactly what Harry was afraid of.

He had never dared to admit it to himself, but he had started rather liking Ginny's attention. She always seemed to like him, no matter how many school rules he broke or Qudditch games he lost. Spending the summer at the Burrow had given Harry that final nudge he'd needed to realise that he was in love with Ginny. Sadly, the nudge had come a little too late.

Harry watched her as she sat there, mumbling ingredients to herself in order to memorize them. He'd shut out Ron and Hermione's quarrel, and forgotten all about the essay in front of him. Ginny had that effect on him and, despite the fact that it made it impossible for him to do his homework, Harry wouldn't have traded the feeling for anything.

"Harry, snap out of it!" Ron's voice made him jump. "Huh?" he asked, quickly turning to his friend. Ron eyed him suspiciously. "What was that all about?" Harry shook his head. "Off in my own little world for a second," he assured Ron, who still looked suspicious. "Really, I just drifted." "Right then," Ron shrugged. "I'm going to bed. You coming?" Harry shook his head. "I need to finish this, or McGongagall will turn me into a toad." Ron's eyes searched Harry's face, but he didn't say anything more than "night then" before he disappeared up the stairs, still arguing with Hermione.

Harry swallowed hard a couple of times. "Now or never, Harry," he said quietly to himself, and got up from his chair. Ginny didn't even look up from her book until Harry had sat down across from her. "Yeah?" she asked, looking at him curiously. Harry tried to calm down. "Well, I just wanted to… ask you if you needed any help with that." 'Damn' he thought to himself. She shook her head, making her red hair practically dance. 'God, she's beautiful' Harry though, but quickly pushed that aside. "No, not really," Ginny said. "Colin's pretty good at Potions." Harry's heart sank a little at the mention of Colin's name. "But it was sweet of you to ask," Ginny added, seeming to notice the change in his face. Harry had lost his nerve. "Well… er, good-night then," he said, getting up. "Don't stay up too late. Don't want Snape catching you yawning in class." She smiled, making his heart skip several beats. "No worries, Harry," she assured him. "Night." He seemed to have run out of words, and just made for the dormitories. "Way to go, Harry," he muttered to himself, feeling completely useless.

Ginny eyed him as he made his way up the stairs. She almost felt sorry for him. It had been clear to her for a while that Harry's view on her had changed, and this had not been the first time they'd had a strange conversation. Ginny felt almost certain that her little plan had worked.

Colin had been in on it right away, being the good friend that he was. Though Ginny half suspected he had agreed on pretending to be her boyfriend partly because it meant spending more time with Harry. None the less, the plan had worked better than she had ever imagined. Harry had seemed jealous since the first day of school, and she had more than once caught him giving her and Colin longing glances. But she had to wait for him to make the first move, and that proved to be a longer wait than she had counted on. "Boys," she sighed, snapping her book shut.