One Touch

Author's Note: I have returned! Hopefully this brain of mine can churn out a few more stories this summer. Until then, enjoy this one! I hadn't seen this pairing before and thought it was about time!

It was these quiet Thursdays that Ginny loved so much. Harry was at Quidditch practice, as was Ron. Hermione had stayed in the Common Room just long enough to finish her homework, then she headed down to the field to watch them. Ginny thought it was so cute the way Ron and Hermione had this game going; they were always holding hands and cuddling, but they hadn't established themselves as a couple yet. So Hermione tagged along to Quidditch practice whenever she could and never ever missed a game. Harry was also equally amused by their antics.

It was one of those great November evenings: cold outside, but lovely warm inside, especially when snuggled under a blanket…or next to someone. Ginny wasn't consciously looking for a boyfriend, but the site of so many couples made her yearn for someone to be with. The inevitable had happened this year: Fred, George, and Lee had finally gotten together with the three Gryffindor Chasers (thought the beginnings of the relationships had been present during their 6th year). Lavender and Seamus had paired up, and Parvati was at the start of a relationship with a great Ravenclaw 6th year. Ron and Hermione were playing their little game. Ginny's fascination with Harry had slowly waned as his interest in Cho Chang increased. Ginny now just had an idle crush on Harry, something that was always at the back of her mind, and didn't bear Cho any ill will. Ginny had made sure to keep the remains of her crush on Harry quiet; she didn't want to mess up either of his friendships with her and Cho.

Ginny had apparently entered that phase of life that accompanies adolescence, where she had (at least a slight) interest in every guy she knew well. Usually she just let these feelings sit in the back of her mind, but tonight she felt a bit preoccupied by them (whether this was fate or just boredom is unclear). Clearing the materials she had used for her Transfiguration essay, Ginny looked around the Common Room. Colin and Dennis Creevey were sitting at one table, reading a letter from home. A few 6th years had cleared an area and were practicing for an upcoming Charms practical exam. Dean Thomas was sitting by himself near the fire, reading a book. It was strange to see Dean by himself, and he wasn't a big reader. Ginny decided to go over and find out where his usual entourage had gone.

"Mind if I sit here?" Ginny asked, pointing to a seat on the couch.

"Not at all," Dean replied, moving his feet from that seat.

"If you don't mind my asking-What are you doing?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Procrastinating." Dean replied with a slight sigh.

"Oh?"

"Potions essay. '10 Ways to Slow Death Using Potions.' Not only is it boring, it's hard!" Dean said, placing his book, pages down, on his lap so as to save his place.

Ginny nodded sympathetically. "I had one the other day. 'The 5 Most Common Antidotes and How to Use Them.' You know, I was excited to take Potions when I first got here. My first Potions class was after History of Magic-" Dean groaned. "-and Potions seemed so hands-on in comparison. But now, in between the essays and more essays, I find myself kinda afraid to work in his class."

Dean nodded. "I know exactly how you feel. In class, unless Snap assigns us partners, I work with one of three people: Ron, Hermione, or Neville."

"Never Seamus?"

"Usually, no. Parvati and Lavender, of course, pair up. Seamus isn't too bad at potions, truth be told. He's probably he best partner for Neville, because he isn't perfect. When Hermione works with Neville you know she's doing all the work. Then Harry and Ron usually pair up. Usually that'll leave me and Hermione to pair up. But working with her makes me feel so…incompetent? And days where I work with Neville, I do all the work. But it's good to be paired with Ron because we're at the same level. But that only happens when Harry and Ron are fighting, like last year. Mind, I'd give anything never to see that again!"

Ginny laughed. "Oooh, that was like hell! Ron was being a flat-out jerk. I mean, I understand how he felt but he knew deep down that Harry hadn't entered himself. But he was being a prat when he should have been happy for his best friend!"

Dean looked surprised. "Ms. Weasley, I didn't know you felt this way!"

"I held my feelings in, which is exactly what Ron should've done!" Ginny took a deep breath, looking to change the subject. "What is it you're reading?"

"Oh, this?" Dean asked, holding up the book. Ginny saw it was titled "A Brit's Guide to Soccer." He replied, "It's just a Muggle book about soccer."

"Can I look at it?" Ginny asked, curious. Her father had passed on to her his fascination of all things Muggle (only her interest was not bordering unhealthy obsession, as his was).

"Sure," he answered, handing her the book.

Ginny looked at the page it was open to. A large picture showed a team decked in blue trying to kick a black-and-white ball into a large net. The net was guarded by a bearded player in yellow. The picture was completely stationary. Ginny voiced her surprise at this.

"Um…why aren't they moving?"

"Gin, it's a Muggle book." Dean replied pointedly.

Ginny giggled nervously, blushing a bit. "Right," she replied, "I knew that. I've had two years of Muggle Studies. I should've known that. Deep down, I did know that-" She was rambling now, but it seemed important to her that she convince Dean she wasn't as ditzy as people believed she was.

"Don't worry about it," he casually replied. "When I go home for break, the first stationary ad in the train station always surprises me. It takes a while to get back into it. And I'm only here nine months a year, for the past five years. You've spent 13 years in the magical world!"

"14."

"Eh?"

"I'm 14, Dean."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that."

There was an awkward silence that hung over them. Then-

"Gin, do you know anything about soccer?"

Ginny thought for a moment. "No," she said. "All I know is it's on the ground and you kick the ball."

"Well, then it's about time you learned! No young European should grow up without soccer!" He replied, getting excited. And without giving her a chance to reply, he grabbed the book, sat right next to Ginny, and spread the book on both of their laps.

"Alright, here you've got two professional teams. Basic move here. The midfielder's made his way down the field. Now he's going to pass to a teammate, who'll kick it past the sweeper and goalie, and into the net-hopefully…"

And they sat there for a quarter of an hour, Dean explaining all of the pictures to Ginny.

"This isn't exactly an advanced reader book, is it?" Ginny asked playfully.

"Hey! There's play-by-play strategy guides in the front! And a guide to all the teams in the UK and a complete list of all the international teams! We were just looking at the pictures to teach you the basics-"

"Dean, I'm only kidding," Ginny replied soothingly.

"Erm…I…um…I knew that," Dean said sheepishly.

"Sure, sure, sure." Ginny said smiling.

"Fine. Let's see what you've learned so far!" he said. Dean threw the book down on the couch and ran up to the boy's dormitory. Ginny sat, dumbstruck. Where had he gone? Ginny looked around the now empty Common Room. Colin and Dennis had long since wandered up to bed. The 6th years had gone up to be a while before, leaving an empty training area behind. The clock told Ginny it was not 11, and she wondered why the Quidditch players weren't back yet. But her attention was now diverted to the staircase, where Dean was bounding down, a large black-and-white ball tucked under his arm.

"Time for some practice!" he cried out.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"A little one-on-one! Don't worry," he added, seeing the disbelieving look on her face, "I'll go easy on you."

Dean walked over to the area the 6th years had cleared. He placed the ball roughly in the middle of their "field." He pointed at two tables, one at each end. "Those'll be the goals. You gotta kick the ball under the table."

Ginny was feeling a tad nervous. Dean could cream her! But it was just a pick-up game…still, she felt it necessary to stall.

"So you just happen to have a soccer ball in your trunk?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah. Like I said, no young European should be without soccer!" Dean looked over at her. "Alright, it's go time!"

And so Ginny and Dean played soccer right in the Common Room. Or, they tried. It was a small area, and Ginny wasn't very good. They had fun though. Dean was leading 12-5. Ginny was sure he had let her score the few goals she had. But she didn't plan to let him score! Dean was dribbling the ball down the "field," looking to shoot. Ginny ran toward him and kicked the ball away from him. Dean said "Hey!" as they both ran toward the loose ball. Ginny's legs carried her to the ball faster, but as she turned around, Dean came at her. Their legs got tangled, and Ginny fell to the ground. She wound up tripping Dean, and he fell on top of her, both of them laughing hysterically.

Ginny looked up at him, smiling, "Dean, I thought you said tackling is illegal in soccer."

He looked back down at her. "It is, Ms. Weasley. But I don't think you're allowed to lay on the ground and kick my legs out from under me either!"

They both looked at each other and started laughing. But they stopped when they heard someone say, "Alright, what the hell is going on here!?"

Ginny and Dean looked up to see Harry, sweaty and dirty from practicing. Ginny suddenly realized how strange (and a bit incriminating) this looked. Dean was laying on top of Ginny in the middle of the empty Common Room, a soccer ball rolling away from them.

"Hey Harry." Ginny said casually. From her position on the floor, she was looking upside-down at Harry. But even from here he could see how tired and haggard he was. "Tough practice?" she asked knowingly.

"You have no idea." Harry responded, rubbing his aching shoulder.

"Hey, where is everyone else? I believe three Weasleys, one Granger, one Jordan, one Spinnet, one Bell, and one Johnson all went down to the pitch with you." Dean said. Ginny wondered if he had realized the same thing she had: if Harry was back, the others were soon to follow. And perhaps this wasn't the best position to be in when her brothers, tired from practice, traipsed back in.

Harry sighed wearily. "I think Fred, George, and Lee finally convinced the girl's to sneak in to Hogsmeade tonight. Their logic was 'We're already halfway there!'" Harry shrugged, "I've heard worse logic. And Ron and Hermione are taking a moonlight stroll."

Ginny "aww'-ed at this.

Suddenly Harry got a familiar mischievous glint in his eye. "And what have you two been up two?" He asked, looking at the pair of them on the floor.

Ginny blushed scarlet and Dean began stuttering, trying to explain. But Ginny noticed they both stayed exactly where they were.

Harry held up his hand, cutting off Dean. "Don't bother. I'm so tired that at this point, I don't care. But," he added, cautiously looking toward the portrait hole, "It's a school night and I doubt any of the girls are willing to stay out late tonight. So you might want to…erm...stop before they come back and find you two like I did." Ginny and Dean both nodded, knowing that Fred, George, and Ron would never even give them the chance to explain. Harry continued, "I, meanwhile, am going to shower and then go to bed. And I won't tell anyone that I found a friend of mine laying on top of my best friend's little sister."

"Thanks Harry! And if you ever care to hear it, there is an explanation!" Dean shouted at Harry's retreating back. But Harry was already halfway up the stairs.

Dean looked down at Ginny. "Well then. I guess we'd better call the game then, shall we?"

Ginny nodded, swallowing hard. She hadn't realized it, but her heart had been beating hard. She was a bit surprised to realize how much she liked spending time with Dean.

They silently moved the furniture back into place and Dean picked up his soccer ball. As each walked to the staircase that led to their respective dorms, Dean shouted to Ginny, "You know, for your first time, you didn't do so bad!"

Ginny stopped, turned, and smiled. "Well, that's true." she said. "But I still want a rematch!"

As she ascended the stairs and got ready for bed, she couldn't help but think of all the ways to spend more time with Dean Thomas.

Author's Note: Alright, what did you think? I'd like to write a sequel and make other chapters, but I don't know if it's worth it. Please review, regardless of what you thought of it! If enough people liked it, I'll write more! This was fun to write, so please review with a positive opinion! If you want to get in touch with me, email at Megaroni91@yahoo.com or leave a review. And you get a cookie if you get both meanings in the title!