The sound of screaming drifted lazily up through the layers of the Weasley household. Apparently someone was in trouble. Again…Ginny rolled over on her saggy mattress. The boys had only gotten back from Hogwarts a few weeks ago, but they were already bringing down the walls. But nothing will bother me today Ginny remembered suddenly. Today my letter will come. Ever since Bill had gone, ever since she could remember, Ginny had been waiting for this day. She had watched her brothers step onto the train so many different times, seen them ride away with a puff of steam while she stood on the platform and waved them out of sight. She could remember when Fred and George's first trip had come. The house had become quieter when they had gone. Before then, Ron had often taken refuge with her, knowing that his hair would stay red and his nose would remain on his face. After the twins were gone, he'd continued to hang out with her. But then his first September first had come, she finally stood on the platform with only her mother. That parting had been the hardest of all of them. Ginny felt a slightly guilty turn as she pictured her mother, standing all by herself on the platform this year.

Silence fell downstairs. Ginny tossed herself from her bed and throwing on her slippers. What if the letter had already come? "Mum! Mum! Has the mail come yet! Mum?" She must be making breakfast already, Ginny thought distractedly, flying down the stairs and almost tumbling head over heels when she didn't see the raincoat sitting innocently in the middle of the landing.

With an angry snarl, she picked up the raincoat and shoved it in the closet before turning toward the kitchen. There seemed to be enough clattering in there to account for most of the family already. As she rounded the corner, already opening her mouth to ask for her letter, she saw him.

Him.

Harry Potter was eating breakfast at her kitchen table! Ginny's question dissolved into a squeal as she quickly backed out of the kitchen and made a beeline for the stairs.

Nobody had told her He was coming… Nobody told her! And now she'd gone and walked in on him eating while she was wearing her nightdress! Cheeks reddening as this anguishing thought surfaced, Ginny slammed her door with a snap and dove under her covers again.

Even Ron had noticed that she liked Him. Probably even her dad. She'd heard all about the fascinating adventures He had been on with Ron and Hermione in the last year while she had sat at home. Ron had sent a raving letter to her after the first week of school, filling his baby sister in on visiting with Hagrid, fighting with this nosy girl (who happened to turn into one of his best friends, she had of course noted), finally learning magic and meeting all the teachers Fred and George had tortured. But best of all, befriending the single, most popular boy in the whole school. After that letter, Ginny had spent days moping around the house. She was jealous of all of it, of course, but, it was Ron's friendship with Harry Potter that interested her most of all.

Months and months of nothing but measly "Harry made the Quiddich team" and "Don't tell Fred and George that I asked you for wart cream" from Ron. And now here he was, Harry Potter in the flesh, sitting at the kitchen table eating bacon… and she was too mortified to even move. With the sigh of one submitting to the drudgery that is life, she buried her head under her pillow to shut out someone or other's loud complaints about gnomes or something and contemplated her empty stomach.

Later in the morning, after carefully picking out the least scruffy pair of clothes she owned and meticulously combing her shoulder-length fire hair, Ginny was ready to try going downstairs once again. She had long since realized that the Hogwarts letters weren't coming that day, that in fact, the muffled conversation she'd been eavesdropping on the night before had never been about letters coming at all. She could only imagine that she'd only been hearing what she wanted to hear (eavesdropping was one of her most practiced arts) and it was yet another embarrassment that she pushed out of her mind as she opened the bedroom door- and came face to face with Ron and Him as they were walking up the stairs. With a snap she shut the door again. Face reddening in the empty room, she cursed her luck. As their footsteps continued on up the rickety stairs, she could hear Ron telling Him how weird she was acting…Thanks a lot big brother…

The next few days were some of the most nerve racking Ginny thought she had ever known. One would think that having the cutest boy on the face of the Earth stay at one's house would be a good thing… But no, oh no, that would be just too easy. Every time she saw him, she wished she could disappear. She spent all her time in his presence determinedly trying not to look at him. And yet all the time he spent out of her sight she was looking for him. Every time He said something to her (it had happened about twice now) she forgot how to talk. Every time he asked her to pass something at the dinner table (this had happened a lot more often), she had almost dropped it. And every time anything happened, Fred and George, even Percy were there rubbing it in afterwards.

"Ginny, I don't think Harry really goes for the beans all over his shirt look, in case you were wondering..."

"Gin, it may be a bit of a shocker for you, but I think Harry wouldn't mind if you answered him when he asks you if you've seen Mum."

"Ginny, it may just be my brotherly overprotective nature, but do you actually fancy Harry?" Considering the fact that Percy came out of his room for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and to steal back his possessions, this was saying rather a lot.

The only good point was that since she was spending so much time avoiding people in general now anyway, disappearing into Ron's closet to listen to them talk about Quidditch for hours on end went completely unnoticed. In fact, a whole lot of what she did seemed to be going unnoticed lately. Molly was so busy fussing over Him that it was a wonder Fred and George hadn't gotten themselves abducted. Arthur, after mortally embarrassing her when he'd asked Him if muggle toilets flushed in front of her had assumed a position of non-aggressive fleeing when alone with her, and Ron went without saying. Times like these I wish Bill was still around…

Late on the afternoon that the letters had finally come, (an entire week later) Ginny sat basking in the sunlight. A thick bush that wielded large, sticky leaves blocked her from the sight of the boys playing Quidditch in the field behind her. Even if her clothing would be coated in her hideout's leaves later, everything was, for once, going well. They couldn't see her-she couldn't be embarrassed. She could only hear them-the rest was left to her imagination. Harry was a great flyer. Years of stalking the twins as they played in this field had taught her that much at a glance. As a stray apple whizzed high over her head, she lazily thought of the real Quiddtich games she could watch Him play this year. No doubt he was best on the team. With the best broom she'd ever seen and the most stunning natural talent she'd born witness to (and yes, she had seen more than backyard apple games), how could he not be? A smile flitted across her lips as she closed her eyes, drowsy with satisfaction, envisioning the day when he finally noticed her, and he became her superstar. Going to Hogwarts finally… future famous Quidditch player in her back yard… what wasn't there for her to still desire?

Harry Potter got lost on the way to Diagon Alley. He got lost. Her family lost him. She would have laughed along with the twins at the sight of his soot covered form had it been anyone else. Instead, she felt embarrassed. Her mum had dragged her off away from Him and into the bank before she could even turn red in sympathy though. The poor guy had gotten out in Knockturn Alley. Rather brave of him to not panic... Couldn't imagine what Ron would have done in a situation like that…

She could have cried when He was led down to the Gringotts vaults with them. Her father had determinedly stared at the tunnel wall as her mother had groped for every last knut. Percy had seen her turning red and was bound to make some stupid comment to her later. Fred and George had carried on with whatever it was they were carrying on about, but she knew that He was looking.

Thus had followed the most thorough scouring of second hand shops she'd never thought possible. Loads of times, her mother had been forced to cart her around as she searched for that one thing they just couldn't manage to pay for new. Loads of times she'd scuttled after her mother, never really understanding why Molly never talked to anyone as they hurried about the dingy shops. She'd marveled at how big a deal Molly had made about finding the single, most beneficial bargain in the whole town. But now wasn't one of those times. Even though Ron had turned traitor to their childhood and denounced it, she at least, was sure she was growing up. And when they passed by Madam Malkin's glossy display window, she hadn't even given it a glance. Of course as her mother handed her robe after robe to try on in a bitsy little shop off the main street, Ginny wondered if her cheeks would always fume with shame. Some things couldn't be helped.

Before they met up with the rest of the family (and Him, more importantly), Ginny had seen more of Diagon Alley than she ever wished to see again in the whole of her existence. She'd even had to stand by as Mrs. Weasley took a brief detour to order a fresh supply of some sick, slimy pink tentacles outside an apothecary. But the tedious day wasn't over yet. Even the appearance of the famous, the amazing, the looks-like-he-fell-in-a-barrel-of-lip-gloss Lockhart hadn't lifted her spirits.

Needless to say, by the time her dad tried to beat up Lucious Malfoy, she wouldn't have been surprised if she gave way to sudden combustion. First that idiot Mini Malfoy just had to come up and tease poor Harry about Mr. Lip gloss's stupid prattle that hadn't been Harry's fault in the first place. Then he'd just had to embarrass her in front of Him. Then Ron. Then Mr. Macho Cool Malfoy had to come on over and add his two cents. In a way Ginny was almost glad her father had embarrassed the whole bookshop in his attempt to preserve some Weasley dignity; anything was worth it when you got to see Mr. Macho Cool get hit in the eye with an encyclopedia of toadstools.

Furiously confined to her room later that evening (she hadn't seen where He had gone, so nowhere else was safe at the moment), she decided it was a most excellent time to start packing for Hogwarts. September 1st couldn't come soon enough. Just before she'd disentangled herself from the mess of shopping and people in the kitchen, Percy had caught her arm and told her he wanted to talk to her later. Hopefully he'll forget... As she dug around under her bed, fingers groping for her forgotten quill, legs dangling wildly in the air, her door burst open in a flurry of energy. Her locked door. "FRED!" she screamed, bumping her head on the underside of the bed as she tried to wriggle out. He was going to be there too. She'd bet anything she owned. "FRED it's called KNOCKING", she screeched as she managed to knock over her "new" old cauldron and spill all her "new" old books before she got plucked from under the bed by her ankles.

But it was George chuckling as he stood above her. "Having fun?" he asked, bending down to the faded blue carpet and dragging her out of her awkward position on the floor and sitting her on the messy bed with a mphuf from the sagging mattress. Ginny glared at him as he sat down next to her, causing the poor mattress to wilt nearly to the carpet. "So much hatred dear sister, what is this?" George joked, trying to loosen her up. Her scowl deepened.

"George, don't come in here and pretend like I'm not mad at you too. I mean, come on! You stole Dad's car without even telling me! You, all of you, even Ron ignore me all the time! I'm sick of it! And now with Harry muugh-", George had laid a sticky palm across her mouth. Ginny, it seems to me, as far as Harry's in it anyways, that you're excluding yourself. You keep avoiding everyone, and you're so quiet. It's freaking us out. What's with you and Harry?"

Ginny fell silent, her eyes stinging. This was strange. She usually told George everything. She always spilled her guts to anyone who would listen like it was the easiest thing in the world. But now George couldn't understand her. How do you tell your older brother that the only thing you care about anymore is a boy? He probably would think she was diseased or something. Ginny deflated more than her mattress. "Listen, why don't you just, just talk about Hogwarts or something. Harry Potter makes my stomach hurt."

With a small sigh, George slid off the bed and began stacking her tattered books in a pile next to the cauldron. "Well, you know the first thing they make all the first years do is swim across the lake without getting eaten by the giant squid. It's the only way there is to see if you have enough magic in you to be a real which or wizard…"