A/N: I'm happy to find a number of you liked this idea. This chapter jumps ahead a good chunk of time. I hope that doesn't disappoint any of you.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.
The year at Hogwarts progressed in much the same fashion. Within two months people had begun to realize that the odd occurrences the two were always involved with were the results of an ongoing game. Even after the realization, however, many of their friends were still curious about the interactions between the pair; they grew continually closer as the game went on. Between the dares they distributed for laughs and the truths they asked for answers, they quickly became close friends.
Dean wasn't taking too kindly to his girlfriend and best mate becoming so close, of course. He wouldn't have had any problem with them being close; it was more the way they were accomplishing that. They had a special bond that Dean just couldn't connect with. He began to grow increasingly jealous each time he saw or heard of a dare being acted out. He tried several times to get them to include him in the game, but they just kept telling him that he hadn't started with them and they couldn't be letting people join – regardless if it were him. He felt, as her boyfriend, he should be the one who was so close to her and have the special bond, not Seamus. Ginny just said she had a bond with each of them and that they were just different and he shouldn't complain or just maybe he'd find himself with out a bond at all anymore. He kept his major complaints to himself from then on.
As for Ginny and Seamus, they were oblivious to what everyone else thought of them. They obviously knew Dean wasn't terribly supportive of what they were doing, but they also knew he wouldn't understand. They were having fun and that's all that mattered to them. The dares ranged from hilarious, to embarrassing, to wimpy, to cruel. They did them all though; neither wanted to be the first one to back down on a dare. The truths ranged greatly as well. They went from silly, to serious, to embarrassing, to completely unfair things to make someone admit. However, they told the full truth each time; they trusted each other completely. There was an unspoken agreement between them that if they were telling each other personal things, they would remain fully confidential. The less significant things turned out being useful.
Seamus had once answered as his favorite drink being the hot chocolate with an added hint of caramel that his mother always made him growing up. Ginny figured it must be great if it beat out pumpkin juice – which he drank like it would one day disappear and he wanted to be sure he got his fill. The next day she sent a letter to his mother for the recipe. She wrote that Seamus had been raving about her hot chocolate and could she please have the exact recipe because she wanted to surprise him with it one day. His mother had written back promptly, her letter oozing of pride at Seamus's compliment. Ginny held on to the recipe until the perfect time presented itself. It was a couple weeks before it happened; Seamus had been having a bad day and just seemed overall depressed. She surprised him with a large cup of the hot chocolate in the common room that night and delivered the message that he should write to his mother now that she'd made him a cup. It became a tradition to sit and share cups of his mother's cocoa whenever one member of the duo had a bad day.
Ginny confided that when she was overworked she simply longed to be home - pouring over Muggle objects with her father and eating her mother's heavenly cooking. Taking a page out of her book, he owled her mum explaining he was a friend of Ginny's and asking if she could please send Ginny some of her cooking because she had been stressed lately and the familiarity would help relax her. Along with the meal Ginny received there was a letter addressed to Seamus. Mrs. Weasley had written to say what a fine boy he was to look after her daughter and that she sent along enough food for him too. Seamus thought that, by the looks of it, she may have actually sent enough food for all of Gryffindor but Ginny assured him the oversized container was meant to hold just enough for the two of them. Mrs. Weasley had also added an invitation to visit the Burrow over the summer to get some fresh food and so she could meet "such a fine young man." He had been blushing by the end of the letter and promised himself he'd write back and thank her for her kindness. Ginny beamed at him. Hermione, for some reason, looked just as delighted as Ginny. Harry didn't look too pleased while Dean and Ron just settled on a nice set of glares.
When summer had come around Seamus didn't waste much time in making plans to spend a day at the Burrow. As soon as he'd stepped off the Hogwarts Express Ginny was dragging her mom over to him and, after proper introductions were made, they'd set up a day for him to visit. Somehow he'd started writing back and forth with Mrs. Weasley every few weeks since the first set of letters. It was never much more than checking in to see if the other was doing well and, on Mrs. Weasley's part, hinting none too discreetly that he took wonderful care of her daughter and would make a wonderful match for her. He always wrote back negating any claims she made of such a thing, but would joke good naturedly about what a match he was with Ginny later on those evenings. Dean had been less than pleased to hear about his plans, but Seamus was too eager to really be properly concerned.
Mrs. Weasley had simply adored Seamus. She fussed over him just like any of her sons - or Harry - making him eat ridiculous amounts of food and constantly offering him anything she could find to make his visit more pleasant. Ginny was thrilled to have him as well. As much as she loved her brothers, she was getting sick of just them. School had her too used to a large number of companions. Seamus made for a lovely distraction.
"Truth or dare Seamus?" she asked lazily hours into his visit.
"Truth," he grinned.
"Do you like it here?"
"Are you kidding? I'm having a blast," he laughed lightly. "Your mum is all kinds of nice."
"Good," Ginny grinned. "I'm having a blast too."
"Truth or dare Gin?"
"Truth."
"What's your favorite memory here at the Burrow?" This was how most of their conversations worked these days. They didn't simply ask questions, they asked truths. If the other person chose dare, well, they just had to wait to get their answers. It was a rare occurrence for them to have a conversation these days that didn't include that fateful question.
"There're so many good ones," she said after a moment's consideration. "I think my absolute favorite is just before Charlie left for Romania. I had been terribly upset that he was going so far away; I cried constantly." She paused to laugh at herself before continuing. "He took me out to the Orchards and we had a little picnic. He said he'd write me everyday if I wanted him to. That picnic was the best day ever."
"Didn't you already have a brother who moved away?" he asked.
"Yeah, Bill went to Egypt, but I was closer to Charlie than the others," she explained. "He was the one who spent time with me doing whatever I wanted to do. He'd play dolls with me, have tea parties or do anything I wanted, no matter how girly my ideas were. Every one else was always more reluctant to play girl games. I mean, can you see Fred and George playing dolls?" she grinned at the image and Seamus laughed softly. "He never tried to teach me his hobbies. I was either interested in them or not. It was my choice. If I didn't want to do any of the things he liked to do he wouldn't make me and he wouldn't complain. It would have been very selfish of me," she laughed. "But it turned out I liked his hobbies anyway. I know a lot about Dragons you know. He could never stop my interest, not that he would ever try. Mum did; she didn't want her baby girl to be interested in boy things. I was though, because they were so important to Charlie. And really, they're truly fascinating creatures. Oh! And we used to go for runs," she grinned. "I'd tag along sometimes when he wanted to go and he'd pretend I wasn't being a pain and slowing him down. He was always so awesome."
"He does sound pretty awesome," Seamus agreed.
"Yeah," she sighed. "Except he was in school then so it was really only over the holidays I got to see him."
Seamus took a minute to think over what she'd said about her brother. He could easily understand why Charlie would be the favorite. He would forfeit his own wants to do what she wanted - all while being in that weird school age where you want nothing more than to have everything to do with your friends. "Ya know Gin, I think I'd like to meet this favorite brother sometime," he told her. "He sounds like a great bloke."
"That's a wonderful idea!" she said, sitting up excitedly. "He'll be home in two weeks and you can come back to meet him and spend another day here!"
"That does sound great Gin," he said hesitantly. "But can you do me a favor first?"
"What?"
"Could you invite Dean over sometime this summer?" he asked. "He wasn't too pleased I was coming over here today."
"Oh goodness you're right," her eyes widened. "I'll owl him as soon as you leave to invite him over one day."
"Thanks, love," he grinned, feeling relieved that his friend would get his own time with her and hopefully back off him a bit.
"Truth or dare Seamus?"
"Dare."
"Good," she grinned. "I dare you to ask my mum how she met my dad."
"This is going to be a long story isn't it?"
"Yup, but it's entertaining!"
Seamus groaned for her benefit and got up. Bending down, he scooped Ginny up over his shoulder and took off running towards the house. Depositing her in a heap on the floor on his way into the house he called out, "Mrs. Weasley?"
"In the kitchen dear!" Came her answer. "I thought I'd make you a snack to take to your mother."
"Thank you," he smiled. Their mothers had met at the train station as well and were very friendly with each other. "She'd love that. I actually wanted to ask you something though."
"What's that dear?" she asked absent-mindedly.
"How'd you and Mr. Weasley meet? How'd you end up falling in love?"
"Oh you don't want to hear that," she said with a faint blush.
"Of course I do," he persisted. "Gin said it'd be a great story to hear."
"I'm sure she did." Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow at her daughter, who smiled brightly back at her. Her eyes then landed on Seamus, who was sitting patiently at the table as he waited for the tale and she sighed. "Oh, alright then. Back in my Hogwarts days…"
Ginny took off while her mum retold the story she'd heard a thousand times before. She figured she'd better write Dean now. If she didn't it was very likely she'd forget later.
Dean,
How've you been since the last letter? Things have been lovely here. Ron's been a bit on my nerves, but what can I do? Today's the day Seamus was coming to visit. He's downstairs now with mum. I thought I'd write to you to see if you'd like to come over one day. We hadn't discussed such a thing yet. We can hang out together and with my brothers. I better get back down stairs to rescue Seamus from my mum though. Write me with an answer soon.
Ginny
She read over what she wrote and was surprised to find how impersonal it turned out. This wasn't the first time she found this problem this summer. Nearly half of the letters she'd written him had to be rewritten to seem more appropriate for a letter to your boyfriend. She sighed and grabbed a fresh sheet of parchment.
"You really did that?" Seamus laughed along with Mrs. Weasley. He was thoroughly enjoy the story and was very happy he'd asked to hear it.
"Of course I did," Mrs. Weasley said passionately. "I needed to get Arthur's attention off her! It really seemed the best way."
"You couldn't think to maybe just call his name and make up something important to talk to him about?" he grinned. "Your first thought was to just grab him and snog him?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures my dear. One day you'll find a girl who'll make you lose rational thoughts and act on impulse. And when you do you hold on to her." Mrs. Weasley smiled softly as she noticed his cheeks color slightly. "If you've already found her, keep her."
"I've found her Mrs. Weasley," he muttered, half embarrassed at having been read so easily. "But she isn't mine."
"Who's not yours?" Ginny asked brightly coming down the stairs and catching the tail end of the conversation. Mrs. Weasley watched in understanding as Seamus' cheeks turned a darker pink.
"No answers rewarded to eavesdroppers," he teased to avoid any awkward situation he'd undoubtedly get himself into. "Your mum and I were just having a gossip-fest. So what happened after that Mrs. Weasley?"
Not wanting to embarrass the boy farther, Mrs. Weasley quickly finished up the story and ushered them back out of the kitchen. She knew from that conversation, of course, that all her little hints had not been in vain. Seamus Finnigan would one day make a perfect match for her daughter. It was just a matter of time.
Dean had set up his own time to visit Ginny at the Burrow, but she couldn't bring herself to be as excited about his visit as she had been with Seamus's. They simply lazed around and talked on and off. She was relieved when Ron showed up and engaged Dean in a game of chess. If she thought there was anything weird about the fact that she kept Seamus hidden from Ron, but left Dean right out to be found, she didn't voice it. Her favorite brother would be home in a week and Seamus would be coming to meet him that same day. She'd have her two favorite guys all for herself. Plus, Harry should be showing up days after Charlie's arrival - Hermione as well. That was all something she was excited for. As wrong as it was, she was more excited for many other people visiting than her boyfriend. She snuck into the kitchen to find her mum. She thought it was time for some advice.
"What's wrong?" her mum asked, looking up from the book she'd been flipping through to see a frown across her daughter's face. "Isn't Dean having a good time?"
"I assume so," Ginny shrugged carelessly. "He's playing chess with Ron."
"Are you having a good time?" Mrs. Weasley asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure now was the time to get into this with her daughter.
"I guess," she shrugged in return. "Can I ask you something mum?"
"Anything dear," she responded right away, shutting her book to provide her full attention.
"Is it terrible of me to be more excited for Seamus to come back than Dean being here?"
"Well, he's a lovely boy that you seem awfully close with," her mother said carefully.
"He's my best friend."
"Maybe you just don't have the same feelings for Dean anymore," she suggested in a light tone.
"I think you might be right mum," Ginny sighed. "I mean, I'm letting Seamus come to meet Charlie, but I made sure Dean came before he arrived."
"Well it seems your feelings have moved on to another boy," Mrs. Weasley nodded in understanding.
"I don't like Seamus like that mum!" she instantly denied, cheeks burning.
"Oh sorry honey, my mistake," she smiled. Inside she knew it was only a matter of time. She'd be waiting for that day. Seamus was just perfect for her daughter.
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. :)
