DISCLAIMER: I own none of these characters and I did not come up with the concept. These belong to J.K. Rowling.
What Might Have Been
Ginny Weasley knew she was prettier than people might have expected her to be. Sitting at the dressing table in her room, she assessed her looks. The bright eyes, rosy cheeks, and the fiery waves cascading down her shoulders made her look ethereal and angelic. The new white muggle sundress she was wearing definitely helped, as well as the use of muggle makeup.
Normally, Ginny didn't care how she looked, except that Harry was here and she wanted to impress him for once. This year, she wasn't the same plain little Ginny he had known. Today, Ginny knew, she was a woman. She kissed her reflection and left the room, heading down the rickety staircase to breakfast.
As usual, her mother was bustling in front of the stove, but today Ginny saw the familiar face of Hermione Granger, one of her few close friends.
"Oh Ginny! Look at how beautiful you are!" Hermione cried as Ginny appeared in the kitchen, looking pretty spectacular herself because she was so tan from a summer in Spain.
Hermione embraced Ginny, who accepted the hug warmly, hoping to grill Hermione about Harry when her mother wasn't in earshot.
"All right girls, you'll get first pick. Those darn boys still haven't woken." Mrs. Weasley mumbled as she magicked eggs and sausage onto the girls' plates. "Your father was called into work early this morning, so he won't be joining us. Harry arrived just after you went to bed last night, Ginny, and Hermione arrived this morning."
Ginny pretended her heart didn't stop beating for a moment when she learned that Harry was in the Burrow at that very moment. She had thought she'd have more time to prepare herself to see him, and her hands began to get clammy.
"Eat, Ginny." Mrs. Weasley commanded, pushing her daughter into her seat, "You look a little pale. I'll go get the boys."
Hermione winked at Ginny as she sat down and, as soon as Mrs. Weasley was gone, whispered, "So, you're dressed up for a reason aren't you?"
"Same reason as you." Ginny whispered back.
"Ron and I are together, though. Why don't you just tell Harry how you feel? Sometimes the girl can make the first move."
"Yes, Hermione, you had to make the first move on Ron because he is a moron. Harry is more of a first move kind of guy." Ginny said dreamily.
Hermione swallowed the hot food on her plate and sighed, "Well you better try to make it obvious because even if Harry is a first move guy, he's still a boy. He has to be sure you're interested or he'll do nothing."
They heard the groans of the floorboards as the boys tramped down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Hermione jumped up and flew into Ron's arms, peppering his cheeks with kisses.
"Oi! Give me a minute to wake up!" he shouted, grinning at the same time.
Ginny felt very much like she would vomit up the few bites of egg she had managed in her nervousness. Harry Potter was standing before her, his lean frame lounging against the wall, his beautiful head of messy hair shaking in amusement at his two best friends.
Ginny couldn't tear her eyes away as she willed him to see her. He finally noticed that she was there when he sat at the table.
"Ginny! Have a good break?" he asked cheerfully.
Ginny smiled, "I am now."