Summer Chill

Dedicated to May Ann.

Happy birthday, I hope you like this and I hope that it's not too fluffy and corny…even though I think it is. lol this one's for you May.

It was the middle of July, and it was hot- scorching hot. Britain was caught in the middle of an extreme heat wave, and the temperature was unbearable. Ginny lay on her bed, too lazy to move and try to find a way to cool off. She stared blankly at the ceiling: beads of sweat slowly being pulled down by gravity from her forehead and being absorbed by her bed sheets. It was terribly muggy and moving seemed like an impossible task. Midday was tardily approaching and she knew that the heat would only get worse and worse. So, gathering all of the remaining strength in her body, she got up and headed towards the Burrow kitchen.

She opened the fridge, in search of anything cold: lemonade, water, ice…anything at all. Nope, none there, she thought. She then advanced to the freezer and there she saw: chocolate frog flavoured ice cream with miniature fizzing whizbees in the mix. Ginny snatched the ice cream carton, grabbed a bowl and a spoon, and hastily uncovered the box. She was ready to dig into her favourite ice cream when she looked inside.

It was empty.

She stared at the bottom of the carton, willing the ice cream to appear. After a few minutes, she gave up. Dejectedly, Ginny put the bowl and spoon back in the cupboard, took one last longing glance at the empty ice cream box and threw it in the garbage can. With a disappointed sigh, she sat down on the kitchen bench and tried to think of another way to beat the heat. With the humidity fogging up her brain, Ginny sat on the bench for nearly 20 minutes before she got a brain wave.

Take a shower- a cold one. Take a nice long and cold shower.

With the promise of a long and cold shower in her mind, she dashed up the stairs as quickly as her body allowed her, and headed for her room to get her clothes and towel. She dashed back down to the second floor. As she spotted the washroom door she started grinning madly. She reached the doorknob and started twisting it violently.

It was locked. NOOO!!! PLEASE NO!! Merlin why? WHY? WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME!!

She was starting to get frustrated now. She knocked on the door to see who was in it. Maybe they're just in there to wash their hands or something?

"Who's in there?" She yelled.

"Oy! Get Lost Ginny!" said the familiar voice. It was her annoying, overprotective prat of a brother, Ron. "I'm taking a shower- a nice long and cold one. Leave me alone!"

Ginny seethed. That is supposed to be ME in there, taking the long cold shower that Ron stole from me! She felt completely robbed.

She stormed down the stairs and back onto the kitchen bench, steaming and completely put off. This was definitely not helping her cool down. Actually, it was making her feel worse because now she felt unbearably hot and frustrated from anger. Which in turn was making her terribly cranky. She sat on the bench, arms crossed and a sour expression on her face, trying to think of another way to cool off.

Holy hippogriffs…I wish I were of age. Then I could just conjure up a pool in the backyard and I could go swimming anytime I want…gosh swimming…SWIMMING!! That's it! I'll go swimming at the river! It's not too far from here…just a twenty or so minute walk into the woods! That's perfect!

With that thought she rushed off to find her mom and asked her for permission to go out for a swim at the river…

"ABSOLUTELY NOT YOUNG LADY! THAT'S FINAL!"

"But mum! Please! It's only a twenty minute walk-"

"-into the woods Ginny! Who knows who or what is in there! The wards on the Burrow don't reach as far out as the river! You know that as well as I do! Now that is my final decision Ginevra. Now, GO! Find some other way to cool off!"

With a huff, Ginny stormed off, her face steaming with anger. She was definitely not in a good mood. She was angry, frustrated, cranky, and really hot, and now she couldn't think of any possible way to cool off.

This is NOT fair! Arrgh!! This sucks. This utterly completely sucks! These stupid wards are getting in the way of the cooling charm that's on the Burrow, and now I can't even go to the river!

Finally, Ginny reached the porch. She plopped down onto the porch swing hoping to catch a little breeze going by. She sat there for several minutes, just waiting, but nothing happened. The tree branches were still. There was no wind. There was no wind at all.

Ginny picked up a rock and threw it as far as she could into the distance. With every rock she'd thrust, the rock would go farther and farther into the trees. Her anger was slowly dissipating with every pebble she threw. It was as if all of her frustration was being thrown away with the rocks.

"Ginny?"

A deep voice startled Ginny, mid throw, causing the rock to go only a few feet ahead of her. She knew that voice. It was him, the boy who she'd been secretly in love with for three years. Of course, she did a great job hiding it. She was even dating around. Not that those relationships ever lasted long. Harry was always somewhere in the back of her mind and she could never properly be in a relationship with him back there.

She slowly turned around to face him and fought a blush overcoming her face, but it was not working. Harry was looking really fit today. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt, that showed of his quidditch toned arms and shoulders quite perfectly, baggy khaki coloured shorts that went just below the knee, and nothing else. Small strands of hair were sticking to his forehead, but his raven hair was still as messy as ever. His eyes were still brilliant, despite all of the hardships he had overcome and still had to rise above. It seemed that the weather was getting to Harry also as he looked a little flushed.

But unbeknownst to Ginny, the weather was not what was causing Harry's face to flush. What caused the slight pink tinge that showered Harry's face was Ginny's attire. She was wearing a white cotton tank top, light blue denim shorts that went mid-thigh, and she was bare footed. Harry needed no imagination to see what was under her clothes, not that what she was wearing was skimpy. It just formed around her curves very well. Ginny's long ginger hair was pulled into a high ponytail, but little wisps of her hair had escaped the elastic as she was venting her frustration into throwing the rocks. Her chocolate brown eyes flashed with frustration but at the site of Harry, widened just a little and looked embarrassed for a moment. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead from the exertion she had put into throwing the rocks, and they were now slowly rolling down the side of her face and moving lower and lower.

Secretly, Harry fancied Ginny a lot. It all started the previous year when Harry was depressed with Sirius' death and overwhelmed with the prophecy. She had helped him get over that. She had not pressed him on the matter like his best friend Hermione did. She did not pretend that nothing had happened like his other best mate, Ron, did. What Ginny did was kept her presence known. She acknowledged that he did not want to talk about it, but he also did not want to forget about Sirius, so instead of asking him 'Harry, what's wrong?' or 'Harry, you want to play a little quidditch before dinner?' she told him 'You know where to find me if you want to talk when you're ready,' accompanied with a small smile and a pat on the shoulder. But that's just the beginning.

After Harry had accepted Sirius' death and the prophecy, he had noticed Ginny in a new light. He noticed how witty she was, how compassionate she was to others, how great she was at quidditch, how she was willing to try anything once, how she had a bit of a rebellious streak in her, how she took after Fred and George, how she would stand up for anything and anyone that deserved to be defended, how smart she was, how beautiful her hair was, how her eyes had the power to keep him in a daze for long periods of time, how she had filled out in all of the right places, and how she was dating Anthony Goldstein, the Ravenclaw prefect.

"Err…hi Harry," she replied a little sheepishly.

"Hey, what's going on? I heard your mum yelling at you about a final decision. Did she get mad at you or something?" He was sincerely concerned and that caused Ginny's blush to increase just a little.

"Oh that. Well, I wanted to go down to the river for a swim, but mum wouldn't let me since the wards don't reach as far out into the river, and I would have had to walk into the woods for about twenty minutes. You know how mum is. She doesn't realize that I can take care of myself," she said nonchalantly, as if it were nothing to worry about, which it wasn't for her at least.

"Oh, ok then. For a minute there I thought you were in trouble for one of your pranks or something."

"Oh not this time Harry," her bad mood had suddenly disappeared when she noted Harry's concern for her, "That was last week. Besides it's too hot to pull any pranks on Ron, or Hermione…or anyone for that matter. I don't have enough energy to do that. I think that the heat has caused all of my energy to evaporate," she declared with a sigh.

"What! You, not have any energy? Impossible!" Harry cried out mockingly.

"Ha ha. Very funny. But seriously…it's getting too hot for my liking," Ginny pouted.

Ginny took a seat on the porch swing, soon followed by Harry. He put a hand on her knee, going a little red in the cheeks as he did so, and said, "Don't worry Gin, I'm sure the heat will let up soon."

Ginny let out a little gasp as cold tingles ran through her leg, emanating from the spot where Harry laid his hand. She closed her eyes, welcoming the cool sensation that Harry was unknowingly giving her. When Ginny opened them she found that she and Harry were sitting very closely together. She turned her head and found herself staring at his amazingly vibrant green eyes. The witch was entranced. She could not look away, and to her surprise, Harry seemed to be transfixed on her as well. He was now tracing little circles on her knee, giving Ginny goose bumps wherever he touched her.

She was so close now. He could count every single freckle on her nose. Somewhere in the corner of his mind he was aware of himself tracing patterns on her knee, and somewhere else in the abyss of his mind, he was aware that Ginny seemed to be enjoying it. They were so close that Harry could smell the mint of her toothpaste, which she used that morning. Harry couldn't take it any longer. He closed the gap between their lips, giving her the gentlest and most tender kiss she had ever received.

He pulled back; leaving Ginny stunned with her eyes closed and tingles on her lips. She placed a hand on her lips, as if making sure that what had happened indeed just ensue. She opened her eyes and saw Harry who looked like he was a deer caught in the headlights. Slowly, a grin formed on her face and her auburn eyes took on a glint of glee.

"GINNY THE BATHROOM'S FREE! YOU CAN USE IT NOW!" Ginny looked up and found Ron with his head sticking out of his bedroom window. He was grinning madly and looking at Ginny knowingly.

She winked back and yelled, "It's OK Ron! I've found the perfect way to cool off!"

She turned back to Harry, who was smiling at her, gave him a sly grin, and leaned in for another kiss.

FINITE

A/N: Hey guys. this is just a fluffy fic that is for my firend May Ann. She's one of my best buds, she's one of my queer sisters, and she's moving away. We'll miss you may, and don't forget to call, cus you know i CAN follow through on that threat I put in my present for you! lol i CAN kick your ass if i tried! lol. anyways, do what you want: review, don't review...it's up to you. though if you were nice, you would send me a review...even if it is critism. I appreciate the feedback.

--Rayah paya