A Thoughtful Interlude
Harry watched the passing countryside with a passing interest. Another year done at Hogwarts meant another summer spent with the Dursleys, and that prospect really did not interest Harry, no matter what Dumbledore said about how important it was and how safe it was there. His thoughts traced back to the train station, long since gone from the rear view mirror. He could never have imagined what a thrill it would be to have all those people clearly aligned on his side. As his mind wandered over the confrontation between his wizarding friends and the Dursleys, he remembered Moody's treatment of his Uncle Vernon and allowed himself a small smile. Since Moody had removed his hat, none of the Dursleys had said a word to him. Dudley was still cowering on the other side of the back seat, squishing himself as deeply into the corner as his large body would allow, which Harry mused was not far at all.
His thoughts traced back further in time, to the events of that night that led him to the situation he had found himself in. The death of Sirius still weighed on him, but he forced that aside and thought about the fellow members of Dumbledore's Army that he had brought along. Harry thought himself extremely lucky that none of them had been seriously injured during the battle with the Death Eaters. What had he been thinking, taking them along with him against a better prepared, better numbered, more experienced foe? The short answer was, unfortunately, that he had not been. The though that Sirius had been in danger had filled his mind until there was no room for trivial things such as others' safety or the fact that it could have been a trap. However, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny had acquitted themselves better than Harry ever could have hoped, and possibly saved their own lives in doing so.
Harry's thoughts all of a sudden screeched to a hard stop, greatly annoying him. It was as if his mind was trying to get him to pay attention to something. He retraced his thoughts and came up with the answer with not a lot of surprise. That mane of red hair had not left his mind since that exchange on the train ride and the significant look that Ron had given him. Ron was usually pretty thick about such things as emotions, so the fact that he was giving Harry pointers about something probably meant that he had best pay attention to it. He wondered about the response Ginny had given Ron when he had told her to choose someone better. Dean Thomas? Was she serious? He flipped it over a few times in his mind. Harry thought that it could have been a joke, but he was not sure. He kept changing his mind about it until he realized he was chasing his own tail and almost physically shoved the thought from his mind.
The natural sequence led him to think about how the girl had treated him this past year. He admitted he had found it a bit odd that she had finally found her voice around him last summer, and that the source of the sudden change had really floored him. Truth be told, he kind of missed the hero worship and mindless adulation that had come with her, and the fact that no matter what he did, someone would think very highly of him. However, Ginny was a quick wit and more than able companion, and Harry truly enjoyed her company and friendship. The timed they got themselves kicked out of the library had been a Godsend, a time when he needed someone and she had been there for him. Harry could not help but be mentally grateful to her.
Then there was the fact that the girl had helped save his beloved Quidditch team. Naturally, he wanted his spot back the next year, but she had already said she wanted to be a Chaser, so no conflict existed between them as far as that was concerned. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, thanks due in large part to both Ron and Ginny, and for that Harry would be eternally grateful. There was just something about a girl who could play sports that attracted Harry. After all, Cho had attracted his attention by being the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, why could not Ginny do so when she was the Seeker for the Gryffindor team? He had to admit as well, she looked really good up there on her broom. She was a natural, looping, swooping, diving, and curving. . .
Harry shook his head. What on earth was he trying to describe, her flying or something else?
With that, he fell back into thinking about her looks. He tried to shake himself out of it, but he could not help himself. The red hair, the eyes, everything about her was quite interesting. He supposed he could have been projecting his previous thoughts about her personality on to his perception of her looks, but did that really matter in the end? Of course, he would never bring up a word about a girl's looks in Hermione's presence. He had learned his lesson very well when he and Ron had been looking for dates to the Tri-Wizarding Tournament's Yule Ball. Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered the fight that had resulted between Ron and Hermione over that particular incident. When were they finally going to admit what was going on? It seemed that everybody in the Hogwarts castle thought of it as inevitable except for the two people involved. One of these days Harry was going to beat Ron's head in and show him that he and Hermione were meant for each other. Harry just hoped that he had someone similar waiting for himself.
Who was he kidding? He hoped that he and Ginny were as inevitable as Ron and Hermione. He wondered if this particular interest was going to be as successful as his pursuit of Cho. After all, he had finally gotten the girl, though he would never have wanted it to come because of Cedric's death. He felt bad about that, the fact that Cho was drawn to him because of that, but he could not honestly think of anything he would have done differently. After all, he had long been interested in the girl, and he had received his first kiss out of it all.
He also wondered if his feelings for Ginny would be as temporary as his feelings for Cho. Despite the fact he got the girl the resulting relationship could not be described as anything but a fiasco. Hopefully he had learned something about how to deal with the opposite sex from how Cho had reacted to some of the things he had done. He thought about that for a bit. In the end, he probably really had not learned all that much. Of course, Cho was so emotional all the time that it was impossible to predict how she would react in any given circumstance, and he suspected that most girls were not like that. Ginny, especially, was not. He greatly admired the fact that, although she had a quick and explosive temper, she was normally very levelheaded and she had kept her cool under fire during the fight with the Death Eaters.
Harry groaned inaudibly. He had come around full circle and was back to thinking about that night and all that went with it. He decided to go back to thinking about Ginny. Yes, she certainly displayed an explosive temper. That provided a stark contrast with the girl he had dealt with far more than any other, Hermione, who required a great deal of stress and strain to snap. On one hand, Harry did not relish the possibility of being on the receiving end when Ginny got into one of her tempers and started unleashing hexes at him. That could prove very hazardous to his health, as she had so ably demonstrated that night, and his continued health was something he valued a great deal. On the other hand, Harry could not help but think that a dangerous girl such as that was also a very intriguing girl.
The grinding sound of a machine in motion startled Harry from his reverie. He looked up to see the garage door opening and his Uncle Vernon started pulling the car into it. Harry sighed and prepared to get his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Certainly none of the Dursleys would lift a finger to help him with his things. As he pulled his trunk from the trunk, he resigned himself to a long summer. He just could not wait to see the flaming mane of red hair again.
It was a joke, was it not?
Harry watched the passing countryside with a passing interest. Another year done at Hogwarts meant another summer spent with the Dursleys, and that prospect really did not interest Harry, no matter what Dumbledore said about how important it was and how safe it was there. His thoughts traced back to the train station, long since gone from the rear view mirror. He could never have imagined what a thrill it would be to have all those people clearly aligned on his side. As his mind wandered over the confrontation between his wizarding friends and the Dursleys, he remembered Moody's treatment of his Uncle Vernon and allowed himself a small smile. Since Moody had removed his hat, none of the Dursleys had said a word to him. Dudley was still cowering on the other side of the back seat, squishing himself as deeply into the corner as his large body would allow, which Harry mused was not far at all.
His thoughts traced back further in time, to the events of that night that led him to the situation he had found himself in. The death of Sirius still weighed on him, but he forced that aside and thought about the fellow members of Dumbledore's Army that he had brought along. Harry thought himself extremely lucky that none of them had been seriously injured during the battle with the Death Eaters. What had he been thinking, taking them along with him against a better prepared, better numbered, more experienced foe? The short answer was, unfortunately, that he had not been. The though that Sirius had been in danger had filled his mind until there was no room for trivial things such as others' safety or the fact that it could have been a trap. However, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny had acquitted themselves better than Harry ever could have hoped, and possibly saved their own lives in doing so.
Harry's thoughts all of a sudden screeched to a hard stop, greatly annoying him. It was as if his mind was trying to get him to pay attention to something. He retraced his thoughts and came up with the answer with not a lot of surprise. That mane of red hair had not left his mind since that exchange on the train ride and the significant look that Ron had given him. Ron was usually pretty thick about such things as emotions, so the fact that he was giving Harry pointers about something probably meant that he had best pay attention to it. He wondered about the response Ginny had given Ron when he had told her to choose someone better. Dean Thomas? Was she serious? He flipped it over a few times in his mind. Harry thought that it could have been a joke, but he was not sure. He kept changing his mind about it until he realized he was chasing his own tail and almost physically shoved the thought from his mind.
The natural sequence led him to think about how the girl had treated him this past year. He admitted he had found it a bit odd that she had finally found her voice around him last summer, and that the source of the sudden change had really floored him. Truth be told, he kind of missed the hero worship and mindless adulation that had come with her, and the fact that no matter what he did, someone would think very highly of him. However, Ginny was a quick wit and more than able companion, and Harry truly enjoyed her company and friendship. The timed they got themselves kicked out of the library had been a Godsend, a time when he needed someone and she had been there for him. Harry could not help but be mentally grateful to her.
Then there was the fact that the girl had helped save his beloved Quidditch team. Naturally, he wanted his spot back the next year, but she had already said she wanted to be a Chaser, so no conflict existed between them as far as that was concerned. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, thanks due in large part to both Ron and Ginny, and for that Harry would be eternally grateful. There was just something about a girl who could play sports that attracted Harry. After all, Cho had attracted his attention by being the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, why could not Ginny do so when she was the Seeker for the Gryffindor team? He had to admit as well, she looked really good up there on her broom. She was a natural, looping, swooping, diving, and curving. . .
Harry shook his head. What on earth was he trying to describe, her flying or something else?
With that, he fell back into thinking about her looks. He tried to shake himself out of it, but he could not help himself. The red hair, the eyes, everything about her was quite interesting. He supposed he could have been projecting his previous thoughts about her personality on to his perception of her looks, but did that really matter in the end? Of course, he would never bring up a word about a girl's looks in Hermione's presence. He had learned his lesson very well when he and Ron had been looking for dates to the Tri-Wizarding Tournament's Yule Ball. Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered the fight that had resulted between Ron and Hermione over that particular incident. When were they finally going to admit what was going on? It seemed that everybody in the Hogwarts castle thought of it as inevitable except for the two people involved. One of these days Harry was going to beat Ron's head in and show him that he and Hermione were meant for each other. Harry just hoped that he had someone similar waiting for himself.
Who was he kidding? He hoped that he and Ginny were as inevitable as Ron and Hermione. He wondered if this particular interest was going to be as successful as his pursuit of Cho. After all, he had finally gotten the girl, though he would never have wanted it to come because of Cedric's death. He felt bad about that, the fact that Cho was drawn to him because of that, but he could not honestly think of anything he would have done differently. After all, he had long been interested in the girl, and he had received his first kiss out of it all.
He also wondered if his feelings for Ginny would be as temporary as his feelings for Cho. Despite the fact he got the girl the resulting relationship could not be described as anything but a fiasco. Hopefully he had learned something about how to deal with the opposite sex from how Cho had reacted to some of the things he had done. He thought about that for a bit. In the end, he probably really had not learned all that much. Of course, Cho was so emotional all the time that it was impossible to predict how she would react in any given circumstance, and he suspected that most girls were not like that. Ginny, especially, was not. He greatly admired the fact that, although she had a quick and explosive temper, she was normally very levelheaded and she had kept her cool under fire during the fight with the Death Eaters.
Harry groaned inaudibly. He had come around full circle and was back to thinking about that night and all that went with it. He decided to go back to thinking about Ginny. Yes, she certainly displayed an explosive temper. That provided a stark contrast with the girl he had dealt with far more than any other, Hermione, who required a great deal of stress and strain to snap. On one hand, Harry did not relish the possibility of being on the receiving end when Ginny got into one of her tempers and started unleashing hexes at him. That could prove very hazardous to his health, as she had so ably demonstrated that night, and his continued health was something he valued a great deal. On the other hand, Harry could not help but think that a dangerous girl such as that was also a very intriguing girl.
The grinding sound of a machine in motion startled Harry from his reverie. He looked up to see the garage door opening and his Uncle Vernon started pulling the car into it. Harry sighed and prepared to get his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Certainly none of the Dursleys would lift a finger to help him with his things. As he pulled his trunk from the trunk, he resigned himself to a long summer. He just could not wait to see the flaming mane of red hair again.
It was a joke, was it not?