A/N: Firstly, this fic is kinda special cookie for all of my English readers who have to wait an eternity for me updating my other fic. ("Letters to Him" – go check it out!)
Secondly, I want do dedicate this fic to two people (is this possible? Anyhow, I'll do it): to Sheen Rox for her wonderful comments and to ER Monkey for her useful extra-information. And to both for doing beta-reading for all of my English stories, this one included. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R., except for Elaine, she belongs to herself! ;-)
How to Tell Him
It all happened on a strange day in October. We – that are the fourth years of Gryffindor and Slytherin – were in the dungeons, mixing a potion for Snape. I had nearly finished it, my potion just had to be stirred constantly for ten minutes. Because of this I had a little time to think of other things.
And those other things were Harry, Harry and... Harry.
Harry, the best friend of my brother Ron; they always stood by each other, helped each other and came through together.
Harry, the rakish boy, who had managed to escape you-know-who a few times.
Harry, the hero of the school, who had managed to solve all riddles to win the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts.
And also the brave Harry, who had risked his own life to bring me back from the Chamber of Secrets.
Oh yes, by this time my heart belonged to him. There were only two problems. Problem one: He felt nothing for me, or at least from what I could tell. But I reckon that for him, I'm just the sister of his best friend, and you just don't fall in love with her. And problem two: I was much too shy to ever speak to him.
I kept under control and didn't sigh loudly. It would have disturbed the other students, who were stirring attentively in their cauldrons. Only now I remarked that my hand was only stirring intimately. Of course I didn't want to ruin my potion, so I concentrated for a moment to stir properly and constantly.
And a few seconds later Harry was holding my thoughts again.
Yes, I was much too shy to speak to him. Something about my true feelings for him could maybe escape my mouth. But in my daydreams I was not inhibited like that. I really talked to him. Like now.
We meet alone on the corridor. It's dark outside, the moonlight is floating through the window nearby.
"Hello, Harry," I say and don't lower my head as usual, but instead, look straight into his green eyes that sparkle like emeralds.
"Hi, Ginny," he says and stops in front of me.
"Harry, there is something I wanted to tell you for a long time," I begin and clear my throat, going sure that I have his full attention.
"What is it, Ginny?" he wants to know, staying serious. He takes another step into my direction. I just had to stretch my arms if I wanted to touch or be close to him.
"Your hair is shining like copper in the moonlight," he says without warning. I'm blushing deeply. "It looks pretty. Your skin is like alabaster in the moonlight, your brown eyes seem black and the black Hogwarts robes look even darker than they are, only your hair...it is the only thing that is gleaming on you."
"Harry," I whisper. "How do you know that my eyes are brown?"
"I've watched you," he whispers back.
"Harry, I've to tell you something very, very important." My whole body is pulsating of anxiety. "Harry, I love you."
But he doesn't answer. Not yet, at least. Instead of an answer he pulls me gently into his arms and kisses me with such a passion that I really forget to teak breath. But the air I'm not able to breathe in any more, is given to me by Harry. So we're standing there, in the dark corridor, and the moonlight gives a shadow of one body.
Finally, this shadow divides into two that are bound together by hands holding each other. He takes a deep breath, smiles at me and I can see that this smile is honest and comes from heart. "Ginny," he says now. "I love you too."
I'm smiling while tears are sparkling in my eyes. Again, he pulls me to him, I can see how his head comes down to mine, so that his lips can find mine again. I close my eyes and...
"Come on, Ginny, the ten minutes are over now." This wasn't Harry. It was Elaine, who was sitting next to me, shaking me on my arm.
"What?" I shook my head to clear my mind again.
"The ten minutes are over," Elaine said once more. "This means your potion has to be filled into a little bottle!"
"Yes, thanks, I understood", I grumbled while I was angry that she had pulled me out of my daydream.
I filled the bottle, brought it to Snape and was still angry with Elaine, who actually knew nothing about it, and it wasn't really her fault. But I made a plan.
I will get Harry, come what may.
A short time later I regretted my plan again. How could I ever speak to Harry without being disturbed? I've never been good at finding the right words, and not at all if they were about my feelings.
Immediately after Potions class had ended, I had to go out into the fresh air. I couldn't be in the castle any longer; it just appeared to me as a prison – a prison I had to share with the boy I loved.
I walked around the lake, trying not to think of anything, and again Harry distracted me. Because he sat there, under the trees, his back turned to me.
The wind played with his jet-black hair. He sat with his head down on a low rock, reading in a book about Quidditch – at least I thought it was about Quidditch, as there were pictures of Quidditch players and brooms, zooming across the pages.
I knew it, it was my chance to speak to him without being disturbed by someone else.
I took a deep breath and mustered up all my Gryffindor courage. Then I walked over to him and said, "Hello, I wanted to speak to you for a longer time because it's...like...well...Would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade, some time?"
Finally he turned around. "What, are you talking to me?"
I must have looked very shocked. I was very shocked. It wasn't Harry sitting in front of me. He was a black-haired boy with the eagle of Ravenclaw on his robes.
"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. I shook my head, totally confused. "Come on, better sit down," he said gesturing for me to sit beside him. I hesitated for a short moment, then I sat down.
He looked at me for a while. "Okay, if you want it, we can go to Hogsmeade together."
I wanted to scream. Run away. Do something. But under no circumstances I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him! I wanted to go with Harry! But I was not a coward. I stayed. And I stared at him. And he stared back. I blushed, but I didn't look away. Okay, if it had to be, then I'll go with him to Hogsmeade once. And then I'll say that it was terribly nice with him, but I'm not interested in him. I'll do it like that, yes.
"Can you tell me your name?" he asked with a small smile.
I answered coolly, "Weasley, Ginevra Weasley. You can call me Ginny. Everybody does."
"Okay, Ginny."
I still had not the slightest idea with who I was talking. I just knew that he looked like Harry and that he was a Ravenclaw. No, this must not have been the whole truth, I thought. He really was a Ravenclaw, but he didn't look at all like Harry. He had brown eyes, was a bit taller than Harry and he had no glasses. But I still didn't know his name.
He must have felt it. "I'm Michael Corner," he said and held out his hand. I was embarrassed, but I shook it. Actually, he was quite nice.
"Okay, Michael..." I stood up and thought quickly of an excuse to get away from here. "I've got to go to the library..."
"It's alright," he said and also stood up. "I'll write you an owl to decide when we can meet, okay?"
"Yes, that's a good idea," I said and smiled at him for the first time.
He smiled back. Than he abruptly bent down and gave me a kiss on my cheek. My eyes widened. Then I lost the last of my courage.
"Well, bye, Michael," I said and headed towards the castle without turning back once.
But this time I decided something else.
He was not Harry and he'd never be him. But I could try to like him as he deserved it. He was nice and good-looking, so why should I not like him?
I'll try it, and I'll try to make the best out of it.
THE END
A/N: If you liked it, then give me a little review, please, if you didn't, then too ;-) But one thing I can say for sure: There won't be a sequel. This was the product of a free Monday afternoon – oh yeah, holidays are great ;-) – and nothing more, the idea just popped into my head...