THE SECRET

Harry. That's all I could ever think about now. Why didn't he love Cho anymore? They always seemed so happy. What even happened to her? She shouldn't be ignoring him like that. I know if I were his girlfriend, I would be doing anything but ignoring him. What was I thinking? I had to stop thinking like that. Harry and I would never be together again. He thought of me as just a friend and nothing more. Not that there was a problem with that. I loved being his friend. I just knew that deep down, that wasn't enough for me. I tried to move on when we broke up, but I couldn't get him off my mind. Was I in love? I couldn't be….

"Hello? Gin Gin!"

My best friend, Jenny, brought me back to earth. I had almost forgotten that we were in Hogsmeade together. She wanted to take me shopping on my birthday. To be honest, I wasn't that in to shopping, but it was just fun to be with Jenny. She's one of those people who could replace the sun in the sky and it would make no difference. Jenny was always happy, and she's the one person I could always trust with anything.

"Sorry. I was zoning out," I said, and obviously she wanted to know why.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, nudging my arm. What was I supposed to tell her? I wouldn't even tell my best friend that I still had feelings for Harry. I didn't even know if I still did. He's all that I ever thought about. That doesn't mean I still like him right? Jenny could always see right through me. She probably already knew what I was thinking about, but just wanted me to admit it. I had to think of a good lie. Lying was something I had always been good at. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it came in handy for me. The only problem was that Jenny was the one person who could always tell when I was lying. I came up with the best thing that I could.

"I'm just a little sad that I won't get to see George today. I miss him." I thought that was a good thing to say. It wasn't completely a lie after all. It just wasn't even close to what I was thinking about.

"I'm sorry, Gin Gin. Who knows? Maybe you will see him today," she said hopefully and gave me a comforting smile.

"Yeah, maybe." Why couldn't I just tell her that I still have feelings for him? It's not like she would go and tell him. I trust her more than anyone. I shouldn't tell her. I'm not even sure how I feel about him. This seemed like a stupid thing to be so lost about. Who wouldn't know if they liked someone or not? I guess I'm the first.

"So, were you thinking about Harry at all?" Jenny asked teasingly, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What? Why would you think that?" I used to be so much better at lying. It's so hard to lie to her not only because she could see right through me, but she was my best friend. Who keeps secrets from their best friend? Again, I guess I'm the first.

"Oh, come on, Ginny! Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you don't still have feelings for him," she said smirking. I couldn't lie straight to her face. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't even answer that because I didn't know the answer myself. I envied anyone who could easily figure out if they were in love with someone or not because I had no clue. This was probably the hardest thing I would ever do in my life, but I looked her straight in the eyes.

"I don't have feelings for him."

She laughed when I said that, probably not believing a word I just said. I couldn't blame her. That was the worst lie I ever told. I knew it right then. I was still completely in love with Harry. That's why I thought about him every second. That's why it hurt inside to see him and Cho together. That's why I wanted to be more than just friends again.

"That's the worst lie I ever heard in my life!" Jenny said and couldn't stop laughing.

"I'm not lying. I don't have feelings for him." With every word I spoke, it brought me to realize even more that she was right. I was finally admitting to myself that I still have feelings for Harry Potter. I was in love, and no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't stop.

"Please, Ginny. You're so in love with him. You always have been," she said as if she were the thoughts in my head speaking to me. "If it helps at all, Harry still has feelings for you too."

I could feel my heart stop.

"What?" was all that I managed to ask. That couldn't be true. It just couldn't. He was so happy with Cho. Well, until yesterday that is. Jenny just had to be messing with me. This would only happen in my dreams, and maybe not even then. It seemed too impossible to even be spoken words.

"What do you mean 'what?'?" Jenny said, mimicking me. "Yeah, it's true. He comes to me for help. He has no idea what to do; he's lost." After she said that, she immediately covered her mouth, realizing something. "I probably shouldn't be telling you all of this."

She had to be messing with me. Why would Harry still have feelings for me? I just didn't believe it for one second. "You're making this up, right?"

"I shouldn't say anything else, but yes. It is true," she said still looking guilty for even saying anything. Her words were like a slap across the face, bringing me into reality. Jenny wouldn't lie to me. "So you do love him, don't you?" she asked me.

I groaned. I don't know why I just couldn't tell her that I like him. I knew it was wrong. That's why. He had a girlfriend that loved him, and he loved her. At least that's what I thought before today. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Harry still had feelings for me. It seemed to good to be true. "For the last time, I don't! Harry and I are just really good friends," I said, trying to reassure myself more than anyone.

Jenny gave me a look of disbelief, crossing her arms, and shook her head. "Yeah, I'm sure that's true, Ginny," she said sarcastically. Damn it, the girl could see right through me! That's what you get for having a really close best friend. I couldn't take this anymore. I just couldn't. I had to say it no matter how much I wanted to hold it in. Somehow, I managed to keep my mouth shut about it and said something else instead.

"Where should we go now?"

After a few hours, Jenny and I got tired of shopping. I knew from the look in her eyes that she still wasn't letting the subject of Harry go. To be honest, neither was I. I admitted to myself that I still had feelings for him. I was in love, completely in love. I explained to Jenny that I wasn't going home yet. I just wanted to stay for a few more minutes. I assured her that I was fine, and she left. I sighed, looking around at all the people. At least I wasn't alone. I still wished that he was here. He's still the one that's made me the happiest today. Whatever I did, I couldn't let him know that I was in love with him.

All the sudden, I saw someone that I wasn't expecting to see right then, walking over to me, but looking down.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up, probably hearing me say his name. "Ginny? What are you doing here? I mean, it's nice to see you again-" I laughed, cutting him off.

"It's good to see you again too, Harry," I said with a smile, then hugged him without thinking about it. I was just so happy to see him. It's like everything feels right just when he's standing right here with me. We stood there, hugging each other, and then finally, I pulled away smiling.

"Well, that was an enthusiastic greeting," he said and we both laughed. God, I loved that laugh so much. I couldn't help but smile every time I heard him laugh. I didn't know how much longer I could hold it in anymore. I wanted to scream that I loved him, but I didn't. I couldn't tell him, not when he was with Cho. I didn't know if I could even tell him if he was single…

"Well, it's still your birthday. How about I buy you a butterbeer," he offered with a smile. I smiled back. Why would I even say no to that? The answer is I can't.

"Race you to the Three Broomsticks!" I challenged smirking and ran off without looking behind me. I remembered the look on his face as I ran away, and I could hear him running behind me. There was just something so amazing about this moment. I didn't know what it was. It must have just been the fact that I was here with Harry. Nothing else mattered.

"Ginny! Wait!" he called running behind me. He was just so damn cute. I knew if I looked behind me, I would lose all my senses. He always had that effect on me. If I wanted to get there first, I couldn't look behind me no matter what.

Just then, I heard something or someone fall. Harry. I heard him make a grunting sound from behind me, and then I stopped running and turned around. Sure enough, there he was on the ground, holding his leg. Damn it! This was all my fault. I shouldn't have challenged him to a race. We should've just walked to the Three Broomsticks.

"Ginny!" Harry grunted and winced in pain. I rushed over to him without another thought. This was all my fault. Why was I so stupid? He reached out his hand for help, still holding his leg, and I took it. I started to pull him up as I apologized.

"Harry! I'm so sorry. This was my fault, I-"

Before I even pulled him all the way up, Harry was already pulling himself up with a smirk on his face.

"I'll see you there, Ginny," he teased and ran off, leaving me standing there in shock for a second before I ran after him. Wow, he was good. I can't believe I fell for that. I never fell for stuff like that. I ran fast, eventually catching up to him. Harry looked over at me, still running.

"Oh, no you don't!" he said breathing heavy, trying to run ahead of me.

"Face it, Harry. I was always faster than you!" I teased, and then apparated in front of him, making him run right into me.

"Now you're just cheating Gin Gin," he complained, but still smiled and took my hand in his. It sounded cute when he used Jenny's nickname for me.

The two of us walked the rest of the way to the Three Broomsticks, hand in hand. I was smiling like an idiot and couldn't stop. There's only one thing that could've made this moment even better…

We entered the Three Broomsticks and looked around for an open table so sit down at. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my seventeenth birthday than being with Harry. Although, I would never admit that to him. I woke up this morning expecting this to just be any other birthday, but it seemed like Harry was trying to make it more than that. I mean, I'm sure everyone was. But there was something special about being with Harry today. Then again, there's something special about being with him any day. Nothing felt more right than being by his side.

"Okay. You choose where we sit birthday girl," Harry said and smiled. "I'll do anything you want just for your birthday." Wow, anything? This should be good if I could make him do anything. A smirk came across my face as I thought about what I could make him do, and then shook it off.

"Let's sit over there," I said pointing to a table over in the corner.

We sat down at the table I pointed at opposite each other. I couldn't stop thinking about what Jenny had told me earlier. Was Harry really still in love with me? That couldn't be true. I mean, it doesn't seem like it. I wonder if I hid my feelings from him that well. As far as I knew, I think I was keeping it a secret pretty good. He didn't seem like he had a clue as to how I felt about him.

The waiter came over to our table and asked for our orders. Harry asked for a butterbeer for each of us, and then looked at me as the waiter left to get our drinks.

"So how's your birthday been so far, Gin Gin?" Harry asked smiling at me.

"It's been great," I said smiling back at him. We just sat there talking to each other for a while, waiting for the butterbeers. We talked about everything from his work at the Ministry to Quidditch, but he never once admitted that what Jenny said was true. He probably didn't even know that she told me. It's not that I didn't trust Jenny, I just wanted to hear it from Harry himself because he was the only one who could say if it was true or not. I mean, my best friend wouldn't lie to me, would she? Maybe she made it up so I could get my hopes up. Jenny wouldn't do that to me, but she could. The fierce battle in my head was broken up when Harry spoke again as the waiter brought us the drinks.

"How about we play a Quidditch match sometime," he offered challengingly.

"Fine, but you're going to lose," I teased with a smirk on my face.

"You're so sure about that, aren't you? We're going to need more people," he pointed out. We sat there, thinking about who could be on the teams, while drinking our butterbeers. Ron, of course, could play with us. Hermione was another option, but we both admitted that she wouldn't be much help when it came to Quidditch. After a while, we decided to think about the teams later and finished our drinks. Then we changed to the subject of getting whatever I want for my birthday.

"Could I have some napkins, please?" I asked him smiling.

"Whatever you say, Gin Gin," he answered and stood up to go get some napkins. As he was walking over, we both saw something unbelievable.

"Can I have another beer, please?" Ron said at the bar in a slurry voice.