Across the table, Colin Creevey was looking anywhere but at Ginny. He chanced a bashful look at her and, seeing her smile, felt a swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach. Ginny was still looking confusedly out on the Hall. Realizing the impossibility of her task, she sank back down in her seat and managed to eat the remaining food on her plate.

Ginny found it hard to concentrate on her classes that day, which was perilous, due to the ever closer OWL examinations coming in ten weeks. After dinner she dragged herself moodily up to the Common Room, already annoyed at the talking-to McGonagall had given her. She was even more thoroughly aggravated when Harry cornered her on her way. He blocked her path, giving her no option but to follow him out of the Common Room and into the first empty classroom they could find. Ginny felt her nerves surging when he locked the door, but tried to appear as I nothing was wrong when he turned around and faced her.

'Ginny, whatever I did … I'll make it up to you.' She stared at him in disbelief.

'You don't know what you did?' She gaped at him, before turning on her heel and pacing the length of the classroom. Looking back she could see how sincere he was, could see him pleading for her forgiveness. She stopped six feet away from him, out of reach, she noticed silently.

Harry averted his eyes, turning his sight instead to a large crack in the tiled floor. When he spoke, it was more of a mutter. 'I … I really care about you, Ginny.' He was speaking so determinedly to the floor she half-expected it to answer back. She was lost for words.

'It's just … moving too fast.' She watched as his eyes lit up with hope. 'We should take a break for a bit. I need to sort myself out.' She was now speaking directly to the ceiling. She glanced at Harry's expression, but it was unreadable. He sank into a chair as she crossed the room and unlocked the door. Harry managed to turn around and find his voice just as her robes whipped around the corner. The words died on his lips.

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Ginny sat with the fifth years again at breakfast next day. She was determined not to be distracted from her lessons today. When post arrived, she looked glumly into her pancakes, and so let out a cry of surprise when a fast screech owl almost knocked over the flagon of pumpkin juice. She untied the parcel and watched the owl fly away, noting how odd it was for someone in the school to send her something by owl.

This gift was a necklace. A small, gold, ornate heart dangling from a fine silver chain. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, and the detail was amazing. Another small piece of parchment accompanied this gift. 'I give you another heart, to accompany the one you already took from me.' She stared blankly at the note, understanding it to mean, vaguely, 'I like you.' Again, the signature was a small heart, this time in shining green ink.

Draco Malfoy walked past, his eyes drawn to the necklace by the glinting light reflected in it. 'What's that you've got there?' Malfoy looked highly interested and snatched it out o her hands; he didn't even manage to smirk. 'You don't know anybody that rich,' he pointed out, looking at the fine silver chain appraisingly. He averted his eyes, throwing the necklace back and walked on, tripping on the hem of Colin's robes. He muttered an apology and turned to look at Ginny. She was still inspecting the necklace, eyeing a small smudge of green she could have sworn had just appeared. Colin looked away and said to her, 'It looks like you've got an admirer.' If that isn't the understatement of the year.