Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of Ms. Rowling's characters, plot lines, etc. That being said, on with the story!
Author's Note: Oh, one other thing... please, please, PLEASE REVIEW! I can't tell you how discouraging it is for an author when you spend time writing something, and nobody reviews. It's worse than being flamed. b/c you think that nobody's even read your work, whether it's a masterpiece or piece of crap. So, please, if you want to keep me happy, and, um, well, SANE, please review! (Just kidding, I'm not really crazy, lol!) Have fun!
He looked at both of the girls. Each was beautiful in her own way. Cho, with her soft ebony hair, dark, almond-shaped eyes, and olive skin; Ginny, with her fiery mane, crystal blue eyes, fair skin, spotted randomly with cute freckles. Whenever either of them smiled at him, he felt warm and fuzzy. However, neither of them was smiling now; just the opposite, in fact. They both looked very pissed off, and were alternating between looking at him expectantly, and glaring at each other fiercely.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Tell her how you really feel – that you don't want her, you want me!" Cho implored him.
"What? You obviously got the wrong impression. It's me he's after, you bitch!" Ginny shrieked.
He didn't know what to do. They both looked like they would tear each other apart any minute now. He quickly jumped in front of them to keep them apart.
"Girls, stop," he begged them. "What do I have to do to settle this? I want to end this once and for all."
"Fine," they both said, but then scowled at each other.
"There's only one way this can be settled," Cho said.
"Yeah," Ginny said, still scowling, "you have to choose between us. Choose the girl you really want, and tell her," she pointed at Cho," to leave us alone."
"Oh, puh-lease!" Cho spat. "What gives you the illusion that it'll be you he picks? Anyone can see that he's liked me for ages, while he never gave you a second glance."
"Please, girls, stop! This is too much!" he begged.
"Then choose!" they said in unison. He looked like he'd rather have a one-on-one lesson with Snape or Umbridge, maybe both at once. He gulped, inhaled, and said shakily,
"I want –"
"YOU GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW! A fat, neck-less man with a purplish face and spit flying out of his mouth abruptly burst into the room, causing Harry to fall off his bed and hit his head on the floor.
"Ow!"
"YOU'LL BE HURTING A LOT MORE IF YOU DON'T STOP MESSING AROUND! YOU'RE LEAVING, RIGHT NOW!" Vernon Dursley shouted.
"What?" Harry was wide awake with that last statement.
"You heard me, boy! Well, it looks like Christmas's come a day early for me. Your friends are here to take you away early." He sneered evilly. He pulled Harry roughly to his feet. "Now get packing! No, dilly-dallying, either. I expect to see the last of for nearly a year in the next ten minutes!"
Luckily for Harry, he hadn't unpacked much, so it took him only five minutes to pack, and drag his stuff downstairs to the waiting Arthur Weasley, who greeted him pleasantly, completely oblivious to the throbbing vein in Harry's uncle's neck, who was trying to push them into the fireplace as quickly as he could. Harry didn't need much pressuring, although the opposite could be said of Mr. Weasley, who gawking and muttering excitedly to himself about "having the delightful experience of being in the presence of real-live Muggles", obviously forgetting that he'd seen them and the inside of their house before. Harry almost had to drag him into the fireplace himself. Soon enough, though, they were standing inside the Order's HQ. This house brought back so many painful memories, just like anything that reminded him of Sirius.
Fortunately, though, he didn't have to spend too much time there, as, three days later, he, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were safely aboard the Hogwarts Express. They put their stuff away, and settled comfortably into an empty compartment. Soon, Neville and Luna Lovegood also entered their compartment, followed, to Harry's great surprise, Cho Chang. Last year, he and Cho had parted on not very amiable terms. He was really surprised to see her. He was reminded of his dream less than a week ago. He hadn't had much time to think about it, but now it was bothering him.
Earlier during the summer, Harry had visited the Weasleys' on vacation. He had been really excited to visit Ron, even though he'd known it wouldn't be for the whole summer, and that he'd have to return to Privet Drive. Still, he'd been very excited. When he'd arrived, however, it was to the scene of Ginny fleeing the house, tears streaming down her normally cheerful face. Startled and concerned for his friend, he'd later followed after her. That scene was still vivid in his mind.
He walked out to the edge of the Weasleys' back yard. Muffled sobbing could be heard from behind a huge tree near a small pond. Walking around it, he sat down near Ginny. Her pretty blue eyes were red and puffy, and her lower lip was trembling. Her face was tear-streaked and smudged with dirt. He felt a sharp pain in his heart for her.
"Ginny, I – what – I mean, do you want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly.
"It wasn't meant to be," she had a strange glint in her eye. "Or, at least, that's what he said. It wasn't like we were ever going to get married, so why should we even bother? It was a waste of time, he said."
"Wait, so, you – you and – and Dean, you're not…"
"We're not anything, and apparently, never were, really." She grinned ruefully. "Don't tell Ron, will you? He's always thought I couldn't handle myself, that I'd always end up getting hurt, and this will only convince him that he's right. Promise you won't tell him, please?" She looked so sad that he wouldn't have been able to say no, anyway.
"Of course I will." Her face brightened a bit.
"Thanks a bunch, Harry!" She hugged him tightly. He was a bit taken aback.
"Um, you're welcome," he managed to get out.
"Anyway, we'd better get back inside before Mum starts thinking I tried to drown myself and dragged you down with me." She stood up and brushed her self off. Harry Conjured a tissue with his wand and handed it to her.
"Thanks."
"No problem." They walked slowly up to the house. Just as they got there, Ginny turned and faced him.
"Harry, thanks for caring. It really means a lot to me." This time, her smile wasn't sad or regretful at all. His pulse quickened a bit.
"Uh, yeah," he mumbled, blood rushing to his cheeks. She went inside. "Idiot!" He said to himself. "What the hell was that about? She probably thinks you're a complete moron. Anyway, why did she affect you like that? She's just your best friend's little sister, almost like your little sister."
That was something he'd been asking himself ever since then. It was true that she'd grown up and was drop-dead gorgeous, but he was sure that wasn't the reason. Well, not the complete reason, anyway.
"Um, Harry? Harry? Harry! EARTH TO HARRY!" Ron shouted in his ear, bringing him out of his thoughts and back to the compartment, where he became aware of six pairs of eyes on him, including Ginny's and Cho's. His face turned very red.
"I – um – I was just –" he stammered.
"Daydreaming? Yeah, we noticed." Hermione said slyly. He could tell she was suspicious. She was usually really good at guessing what he was thinking about, so he tried hard to keep his face smooth and emotionless. He wasn't really sure he wanted her to know what he was feeling, especially since he wasn't exactly sure himself. He had liked Cho forever, and even after their little tiff last year, he wasn't completely sure his feelings for her were gone. Judging from the expression on her face, she probably felt the same way. But now, there was Ginny to worry about. Exactly what was wrong with him, anyway? With both of them in the same room as him, gazing at him intently, he suddenly felt slightly boxed in.
"Um… excuse me guys, I'll be right back." He leapt up quickly.
"Wait! Where are you going, Harry?" Ron asked quizzically.
"I, uh, I just need to, uh, go to the, uh, bathroom. Yeah, that's right! I'll be back in a bit. Oh, and I might go try to find Katie, you know, to find out what's happening with the team this year." He hurried off before anyone could say anything.
Hermione stared at his retreating back warily. He had been acting strangely lately, and she was determined to find out why.
So, whatcha think so far? Please Review! (I won't go into my whole spiel again)
