The fact that Harry Potter was going out with Ginny Weasley seemed to attract a great deal of attention throughout the whole school, rather more than it had last year. People seemed to have forgiven Harry for that momentary lapse of brain damage, and assumed that he would be going out with someone a little more popular now that he was… Pretty much the most famous wizard in history now. At the very least, fan girls had stopped dogging his every move, although he did often see them gawping at him when he went anywhere with Ginny.
"Why are you going out with HER?" Shrieked Romilda Vane one day as they walked down to the end of year feast.
Harry did not answer, but Ginny hung her head in shame. They did not speak until they reached the Great Hall, and Ginny said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Harry questioned.
"For this," Ginny answered. "Everyone's laughing at you."
Harry turned to face his girlfriend.
"Ginny," he said solemnly. "There was a period of my life when everyone thought I was attacking Muggle-born's with a giant killer snake. Believe me when I say, I've endured worse."
"But still, if you can avoid it-" Ginny started, but Harry cut her off.
"And, I find this a reasonable price to pay for dating the girl of my dreams."
He hugged her. Ginny did not shake him off, but hugged him back. After a while when they separated, Harry remembered they were due on the Hogwarts Express soon. The two hurried off down the corridor, wanting to eat something before leaving.
An hour later, Harry and Ginny were rushing down the platform of Hogsmeade Station with Ron and Hermione. They all stepped onto the train, and immediately left to find a compartment. Finding a perfect empty carriage, they all deposited their trunks into it, and sat down.
The train ride back to London was long, and pretty soon, they were all running out of ways to entertain themselves.
Hermione had taken out a book, and vanished behind it, while Ron sat beside her, casting anxious glances at his girlfriend every few minutes, and staring blankly into space. Harry and Ginny sat facing each other, just talking; about Quidditch and Muggles and Magic, all sorts of things.
When the train slowed down and the windows showed Platform 9¾, all four jumped out, and the first sight they saw was the Weasleys, waving at them. The Granger's, whom a team of Oblivator's had liberated from the Memory Charm cast upon them by their daughter, were standing a short distance away, mesmerised once more by the sight. The Dursleys alone were absent, but then again, Harry thought, they could be on the other side of the world for all he knew. Hermione hugged Harry, gave Ron a rather fleeting kiss, and departed. When they reached the Weasleys, grabbed Harry in a bone-crushing hug to rival that of Rubeus Hagrid.
"We got Ginny's letter just before the end of year. I'm so glad you're coming to stay!"
"Yeah, and, thank you for doing this. Really."
"Oh, don't worry about that," She said at once. "Now that you're the most famous wizard of all time, I'll bet some people would pay for this opportunity!"
Everyone laughed, and proceeded towards the barrier separating the two worlds. The moment they were through, she said, oblivious to the many people staring at them, "We've already sorted out sleeping. Ginny was very specific about it when she wrote to us."
Ron frowned as Ginny blushed a deep shade of scarlet to rival that of her hair.