Slughorn's Christmas party was looming on the horizon, Harry desperately wanted to ask Ginny but he knew that he couldn't .Despite whatever problems she and Dean were still having, they were still together . He had broached the idea of him and Hermione attending as friends ,only to discover that his friend had panicked since naturally Ron wouldn't be taking her, and apparently asked someone else.

Who he had to admit he was curious to find out since Hermione refused to tell him.

So now Harry was faced with a horde of females begging to go with him or Romilda Vane , so he had decided to just ask another friend .

As Harry stepped into the common room, it occurred to him that he had gone about this all wrong. Too late now though.

Ginny lay on the floor reading a Muggle magazine and lifted her eyes to meet his.

" Hi Harry " greeted Ginny, her smile warm and mischievous ,as usual.

A smile slid into place as it always did when he saw her, her energy was infectious.

Idly Harry wondered how many freckles were scattered across her nose and how nice it would be to kiss a path across it to find her lips.

He blew out a breath," Ginny"

" I heard Charms was dreadful," joked Ginny,somberly," I didn't realize it effected you"

" I told her about what Ron said to Hermione …." contributed Neville, helpfully.

" I'm considering actually interfering this time ," Harry nodded towards Ron who was in the armchair with Lavender . They were wrapped together snogging , one only caught glimpses of his ginger hair and her blonde waves." More than I already have "

' That dunderhead troll of a brother of mine has been like that for nearly ten minutes," informed Ginny, sticking her tongue out at them," I'm about ready to get one of those Muggle plungers to pull them apart. It's disgusting …."

" So are you and Dean" thought Harry but kept it to himself.

" Neville ought to get a medal," said Ginny," he's mastered ignoring them"

Neville lifted his head from his Dark Arts book to grin at them." They sort of sound like a Tentacular plant ," explained Neville," except for the sucking sound so if I concentrate hard enough, I can imagine that I'm studying in the greenhouse for Herb logy "

" That's brilliant, Neville," replied Harry , glancing back to see Ron trying to disengage himself from his girlfriend ," also kind of sad "

Neville shrugged, unconcerned ." You come up with anything better, Harry ?"

" good point ," said Harry," real good actually. I'm splitting my time in two so that I can still be friends with both Ron and Hermione . I think its safe to say I am nearly tapped of anything remotely clever …."

" Hey," protested Ron, backing away from his girlfriend," I'm here "

" Glad that you could join us " muttered Harry, dryly.

Lavender tried to kiss Ron's jaw but he blocked her ." Give it a rest, Lavender . I want to know what is going on for a change "

She pursed her lips, big violet eyes, watering ." Don't talk to me like that, Won Won "

It was her pet name for him and all she ever called him" You'll hurt my feelings "

Ron patted her hand ." Sorry, Lav, sorry. Just give me a bit of space , will you?"

Couldn't she give him one moment of peace ? He'd settle for a second even.

Ginny caught the interchange between the couple, met Harry's gaze, and drew a 1 in the air .

Harry wanted to hug her. Except he shouldn't and he really needed to talk with Neville.

" Neville," brought up Harry ," I wanted to speak with you about something "

Neville turned to look at his friend as it wasn't often Harry asked him things .

" Sure, Harry ," answered Nevillle, readily ," what is it ? You know I wish I had your hand in Potions . I am really doing pitiful this term and Slughorn isn't that fond of me. Especially since I didn't make his club but your like his favorite .How do you do it ?"

Harry thought of the half-blood prince's potion book and all of his handy notes but kept quiet.

" Just got lucky , I guess " said Harry, casually.

" Lucky book is more like it " remarked Ginny, glibly. She knew why he was now the potions king and it had nothing to do with his natural ability or sitting beside Hermione .

" You've heard about the Slug club Christmas party ," broached Harry, wishing he had given this more thought .Now he felt incredibly foolish," its sort of a big deal"

" Only if your part of the Slug Club ' retorted Ron with distaste.

" Everyone is talking about it ," interjected Neville, " how its formal and that he has invited all sorts of famous people. Ex-students he taught and all. Can you believe that professor Slughorn asked me to be a waiter at his party ?"

" That's awful, Neville," this came from Ron," your no more a servant than I am. Hope you turned him down flat …I would have "

In the back of his mind it occurred to him suddenly that if he had continued the dance he had been doing with Hermione before Lavender came into the picture, they would be going to the holiday party together . Ron sent a side-long glance at Lavender and she hung on tightly to his he managed not to tug his arm away from her .

" No, he's paying 3 Galleons for the whole night ," explained Neville, enthuisiactly ," Marcus Belby is passing out hand towels in the men's loo. I figured it couldn't hurt besides I still have to get Luna 's Christmas present "

" Neville," scolded Ginny, good naturally ," I don't believe that you would wait till the last minute to get your girlfriend a gift. Some other prats around here , I would believe .."

" Won Won had mine special ordered ," piped up lavender ," my darling boyfriend "

" Eh, it wasn't that difficult " added Ron and truth be told, it wasn't .

He had simply ordered her one of Fred and George's new Wonder Witch perfumes .Lavender was frilly and feminine so he figured it didn't matter if he didn't actually pick it out for her . Not like last year when he had perfume specially made for Hermione but that was different ..completely different .

Ginny cocked a brow in her brothers direction as if to say'this I'll have to hear "

" Give him a break, Ginny," said Harry," I would think Luna might be a bit difficult to shop for …..she likes different things than other girls "

Ginny made a face at him." You are so wrong, One "

" I agree with Harry ," added in lavender ," the girl is a bit dafty "

" Luna 's good value but she's not daft , Lavender " tossed back in Ron," and I don't think I've ever actually seen you speak once with Luna "

Lavender folded her arms angrily across her chest." She and I hardly run in the same circle , Won Won "

" Actually she's not really ," contributed Nevillle, " and I was going to get her some pretty earrings I saw in town but then I overheard Lavender and Parvarti discussing intimacy of gifts which I hadn't really thought of before. I don't want to give her anything inappropriate …."

" You have been seeing Loony Lovegood for months ," cut in a peevish lavender ," I cant imagine that a dolt such as yourself could find anything highly inappropriate for her "

Ron stood, affronted for his friend." Lav, bloody hell, that was uncalled for ! Neville and Luna are my friends or do you just keep forgetting that "

She gripped her hands together, tightly, and cursed her tongue. She kept forgetting that her boyfriend had a sensitive side beneath all that manly physique .

" I am sorry, honey "

Ron chose to ignore her , hoping that she would get mad and leave him alone tonight .

" Actually Luna is what I wanted to talk to you about , Neville," Harry tried again," Slughorn's party…we have to bring a date. I was going to bring Hermione but she already has a date apparently " he caught a glimpse of the color drain from Ron's face and knew he had dropped a bomb. Couldn't be helped and surely Ron would have figured that Hermione might have asked someone else .

" Er, who is she taking ?" stumbled Ron, not caring if Lavender got pissed at him.

This was Hermione that they were talking about and it didn't matter if they weren't speaking . She was still his best friend . Blokes just didn't up and ask Hermione out, ordinarily unless she did the asking cause she was independent like that.

" I don't know," answered Harry in utter frustration," she wouldn't tell me "

" Why wouldn't she tell you?" shot back a curious Ron, eyeing him warily .

Lavender's eyes narrowed." Why would you even care about Granger ?"

" Drop it ," growled a disgruntled Ron," I don't want to know, alright "

Just then Parvarti Patil strolled in and caught the tail end of the argument and realized that she could be of assistance and have a bit of fun as well.

" Are you talking about Slug horn's Christmas party ? " gushed Parvarti, ever the gossip," I wish Seamus was a part of it so that I could go . Do you know who I just saw outside the library ?" She didn't give them time to respond ," Hermione and Cormac MCLaggen. They seemed awfully cozy and I heard her ask him to the party . I hadn't even realized that those two were dating ?"

Without a word to anyone, Ron growled under his breath and stormed upstairs.

" Lovely " muttered Harry on a heavy sigh .

Lavender glared daggers at her best friend ," Thanks for ruining my night , Parvarti "

Parvarti slid on the armchair of the sofa beside Ginny. " Did you ever stop and think that if your boyfriend is this upset over Hermione Granger that it means something ,Lav ?"

Lavender tossed her braids off her shoulders, dramatically ." You're supposed to be my friend! Ron loves me ! How could you even suggest such a mean, hurtful thing to me?"

" Because I am your friend ," said a patient parvarti," its right in front of you, Lavender .Ask anyone here and they'll tell you the truth. Wont you, Ginny ?"

" I would never lie about my brother ," answered Ginny, smartly ," he's wild over Hermione . You only have to see them in a room together to know "

" You hate me, Ginny," accused lavender ," I wouldn't ever believe you "

Ginny waved her hands in the air in defeat ." Believe what you will, Lavender. "

Groaning at the onslaught of constant interruptions, Harry once more faced Neville .

" Look I asked Luna to go with me to the party," blurted out Harry , louder than he had intended ," I didn't really think about it at the time cause I was trying to hide from Romilda Vane . It would only be as friends . I hope your not mad at me , Neville, since Luna is your girlfriend "

Neville straightened ." I'm not mad," replied Neville and found it to be true ," Luna is very fond of you. I bet it meant a lot to her that you asked her as friends..Was she happy ?"

" I think she was a bit excited " admitted Harry ," your truly not upset at me, Neville ?"

" Are you planning on stealing Luna from me then, Harry ?" asked Neville, a gleam in his eye. He trusted Luna first and foremost , even if she did have a tiny crush on Harry .

This was speculation on his part but it wasn't important .

He loved Luna and she felt the same way about him.

If she wanted to go to a party with their friend, it was her right .

" That's absurd, Neville, " said an incredulous Harry ," of course not "

Neville puffed his chest out a bit, confident for a change. 'It's stupid to get jealous ," decided Neville, " Besides I'll be there serving and maybe I can add a spark of romance for me and Luna . You know, like a surprise, what do they call them in those girl movies ? Tryst in the night , that's it "

" That is very sweet, Neville, " Ginny pressed a friendly kiss across his cheek," and I am positive that Luna will be delighted that you thought of it "

Harry gaped once more at Ginny and marveled at the depth of her emotions.

One minute, she was a fiery, impetuous girl and the next simply down to earth and kindhearted. There were so many layers he was discovering or maybe they had always been there in her only he hadn't chosen to see her as anything more than Ron's little sister .Which wasn't the case anymore.

" Are you and Dean going to the party ?" blurted out Harry , wishing he could take it back once it had left his mouth. He had to know though if they were still fighting .

Hermione confided in him that they were and she would know the truth.

A thin line drew across her lips in consternation. " That was the plan ," eluded Ginny," though Dean is a bit hacked off at me , we may not be going "

GO WITH ME. BE MY DATE GINNY ..BE WITH ME

Harry held her gaze and in that second , the longing and the confusion was reflected in both of their eyes. Neither dared to speak it out loud , for the fear it wasn't reciprocated.

" I'm…sorry ," stumbled Harry , aware that they had an eager audience ," I ..can talk to Dean, if you like "

Talk to Dean ? Where the hell did that come from ? Was he out of his mind too ?

He wanted them apart and here he was offering to talk to the sod.

Obviously Ron's insanity was catching or he would have never offered such a thing !

Ginny sputtered out a half-laugh, part cry. " no, I don't think you should , Harry "

Parvarti flicked a look from Ginny then back to Harry ." That wouldn't help at all "

" Oh, this is stupid," declared Lavender ," I'm going to see if I can figure out a chart of Ron's moon and mine . I will prove that we're meant to be "

With a flounce of superiority , Lavender marched towards the girls dormitory .

Harry ignored them, though in the back of his mind, vaguely wondered what exactly parvarti had meant by her comment but didn't dwell on it .

" I hope you still come to the party, Ginny " said Harry , quietly .

" I plan too " Ginny found her voice. If only to be ..near you.

" Good," replied Harry, hope surging within him," maybe we can have a dance "

" you cant dance , Harry ," teased Ginny warmed by the affection in his voice.

" I'm not so bad on the slow ones ," admitted Harry ," I mean, unless you'd think it would be wrong. I mean if Dean decides to come or not…with you "

How could she get him so twisted up in knots ?

In a manner of one summer, it would seem that he had become an idiot around Ginny.

" Uh, I need to talk to Ron about something " said Harry, vaguely waving at his friends and proceeded to head upstairs towards his dorm room.

Parvarti raised a perfectly arched brow towards Ginny. " That wasn't subtle, Ginny "

" I don't know what you're talking about ," insisted Ginny , matter of fact," and even if I were to guess, you would have no room to speak. I saw your work with Seamus …"

She let out a full blown laugh " I wasn't being spiteful, Ginny. Dean's a sweetheart and seamus's best friend but a girl has eyes. I can tell as well as anyone it's gone with you and Dean and I've never seen Harry potter look at another girl how he does you "

" She's right ," Neville collected his books," not even when he was with Cho"

Ginny gave him a look of pure exasperation. ." You too, Neville ?" asked Ginny, in mock pain. How was it that more people other than Hermione could read her ?

She had tried so hard to keep her emotions in check and take things as they came along .

No stuttering or casting silly spells or writing sappy love letters- just being herself.

Just Ginny Weasley .

" You once gave me some really good advice about Luna ," stated Neville with a crooked grin," so now its my turn. I agree with Parvarti on this and its really painful to watch you and Dean lately. I think you'd be a good match for Harry and he needs that "

" Thanks, I think " muttered a thoughtful Ginny.

Having said his piece , Neville headed the direction Harry and Ron had gone, leaving the girls alone .

" Wonderful," Ginny sank back down in the armchair," does anyone else care to weigh in on this or do my moronic , cabbage head brothers have bets on me ?"

" I haven't seen your brothers ," chimed in parvarti, sweetly ," except for Ron. Now if you will excuse me , I need to go sway those charts towards Cormac or Terry Boot or else lavender will make it her life's ambition to be Ron's wife "

She and Ginny both shuddered at that thought ." Lav is my best friend but even I don't want to have to deal with that "

Ginny chuckled and sighed heavy-hearted as the portrait door swung open bringing in Hermione and a tall stack of books tucked under her arms. She glanced furtively towards the armchair , breathing again since it was empty save for Ginny.

She had come to think of the chair as Ron and Lavender's snogging spot.

"It's safe, Hermione ," called out Ginny," no one is here but me "

Hermione let her books drop onto the table. She took a moment to allow herself to relax.

" Where is everyone ?" she asked , curiously ," I thought I was supposed to help Harry with his Advanced Transfiguration homework "

Perhaps he was off trying to talk with Professor Slughorn still.

" He went up to the dorm," answered Ginny," so did Ron "

She paused , noticing Hermione fidgeting with her hands. " he was annoyed with lavender "

" I don't care one way or the other " lied Hermione in a neutral tone .

" Is that why you asked Cormac McLaggen to the Slug club Christmas bash ?" quipped Ginny, dying to find out how her friend had landed Cormac when there were so many much nicer guys in school that would have gladly taken her.

Hermione winced ." I only just asked him. How do you know about it ?"

" Parvarti overheard you ," admitted Ginny," I'm sure half the school knows now "

" Brilliant ," muttered Hermione ," I hate gossip in this place '

Ginny skewered her with a dirty look. " McLaggen is a filthy creep , Hermione ," said Ginny," how can you even think to ask him ?"

" I am perfectly capable of handling myself ," informed Hermione , confidently ," besides Cormac told Ron he fancies me. " She smoothed her lips " Besides Ron hates him "

" I don't think it is the wisest thing to do ," expressed a concerned Ginny," Dezmelda said that Cormac is as aggressive with a girl as he is on the quid ditch pitch "

" I will be fine ," assured Hermione with a dismissive wave," so did you make up with Dean after this last fight or are you two still cooling off ?"

Ginny ran her hands down the front of her jeans, nervously.

" I think its more settling back, " surmised Ginny," oh, don't you start, Hermione Granger . The holidays are around the bend and I wont spoil it for Dean "

" What about the Christmas party ?" inquired Hermione , glancing warily towards the stairs as if expecting Ron to stride down on his lanky legs.

No Ron though .

" What about it,' cut in Ginny," If Dean doesn't want to go with me, I will still go"

" Harry would love to be your date ' confided Hermione , knowingly.

" Maybe, maybe not ," said Ginny," Harry and I talked about the dance. We will see each other at the party and a dance was mentioned . It wont be a date "

" Why are you putting up roadblocks, Gin?" demanded Hermione ,though she and Ginny seemed to be in a constant influx of a circle when it came to their sorry love lives.

" I'm not the one who is having a war ," stated Ginny," Harry and I are good friends. You and Ron have been carrying on this stupid war for too long …cant you at least call a truce for the holiday?"

" No," answered a stubborn Hermione ," honestly, can we just not discuss this right now ?I don't have the energy to even argue with you over my decisions and I'd much rather crawl into my bed and pretend this has all been an awful nightmare "

Ginny leaned over, hugging her. " Atleast promise me you will reconsider the Mclaggen date , Hermione . Just so you know , Ron does know that you asked the creep . I thought he was going to blow up on Lavender when he heard about it …"

Hermione chewed worriedly on her lower lip." Ron has a temper ," says Hermione , quietly,' I don't care if the prat doesn't like it. I …I just …it doesn't matter anymore "

With her heart in a puddle at her feet , Hermione made the escape to her room ,leaving Ginny once more alone with her thoughts. She picked idly at the patch on her knee and closed her eyes, imaging Slughorn's Christmas party as a real date with Harry .

If only it were real, if only she could allow it to happen between them without feeling as if she was being unfaithful to Dean as well as her true hearts desire .