Oh sweet Merlin why did I do this to myself. I have five minutes before my first date ever.
I have to romantically interact with a girl.
I have to do the romance thing with Ginny.
I don't know how to do the romance thing! I grew up in a cupboard! The spiders did not prepare me for this. I cannot overstate how woefully unprepared I am for this.
For the love of all that's good and holy, I asked out Ginny!
Why do I do this to myself? Why do I rush into situations without thinking? Where is my self-preservation? Well it's back in Godric's Hollow but that's not important.
This is why I can't be in charge of anything. I don't even trust myself not to screw up! The world is doomed! Tommy's going to win and everything is going to be horrible and I'm going to screw up this date and Ginny-
Oh no! What if I ruin this for Ginny? She doesn't deserve that! Just because I'm a screw up doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a good time. I am a terrible human being.
But she said yes!
You're right inner me, she said yes. That has to count for something. Right?
Right?!
Deep breaths Potter, any minute now Ginny will come down the stairs and it will be game time. Ginny had been confused when I asked her to miss the carriages to Hogsmeade on our Hogsmeade date, but she went with it. The only people still here are the first and second years, and for some reason they keep running back up to their dorms when they see me. That or bolting out the portrait.
I take a huge gasping breath and turn to the chair next to me. On it are the date gifts I have for Ginny. That's the one thing Musty, Sirius, and I could agree on.
Forget what I said earlier, asking Sirius was a terrible idea, and not for the reason you think. He didn't tease me. He didn't give me fake advice. He was actually very supportive about the whole thing. There was just one problem.
He doesn't know how to plan a date either.
Apparently, there was no time for dating during the war. Especially with the weird Black boy. The girls on the light side wouldn't date him because he was a Black. The girls on the dark side wouldn't date him because he was a Gryffindor. The neutral girls didn't want to be seen as taking a side. His advice is basically useless unless you're trying to date Lily Evans.
It was an awkward conversation.
But one thing everyone could agree on was give her something. The entire date itself is my idea based off what I know about Ginny. I tried my hardest, I hope that counts for something.
Step, step, step.
I freeze completely. I stare up at the stairs to the girls dormitory as Ginny comes down.
Urgh derrrrrr.
Pretty.
….
"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny prompts. I blink rapidly a few times as my mind returns to my body. Ginny is stunning. She's wearing a green blouse that enunciates her beauty without being inappropriate. It's long enough that she has a belt around her upper waist and the soft material ends halfway down her thighs. She wears a simple pair of burgundy leggings that end in black ballet flats. Her hair is down with a simple braided crown.(1)
I stare at her in awe and panic.
What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
"It's okay potter, i know I'm amazing, but please breathe." Ginny lilts out with a small grin. I do manage to breathe a bit and I remember.
The presents!
I turn to the chair and grab them before awkwardly shoving them at her shouting out'
"Here Ginny your prettyandIlikeyoupleasedon'thateme." She blinks a bit and stumbles under the sheer magnitude of gifts. She whips her hand underneath the basket holding them lightly brushing my arm with her hand.
Eep!
I scramble my hands away and she gasps out with the weight. Inside the basket are five different stuffed animals, two chocolate boxes shaped like hearts, various romantic gifts, and all the flowers I could get my hands on.
She quickly places the basket on the ground staring at. She grabs the top two stuffed animals, a tiger and a blue roan pegasus. She gawks in shocked amazement at the sheer amount of stuff. I twitch a bit as she remains silent.
"I overdid it, oh merlin I overdid it didn't I?" I state anxiously. She nods a bit as she starts trembling.
Is she crying!? Oh Rowena's knotty hair I made her cry. I blank out trying to figure out how to fix this, or move very far away.
Suddenly arms are wrapped around me. I flinch and tense a bit before my brain catches up.
Ginny's huggin me.
I bring my arms up robotically and squeeze her back as quiet laughter becomes audible. The hug lasts for a few moments as Ginny laughs a bit more. She pulls back and wipes at her eyes a bit.
"You were crying," I intone emotionlessly as I try to process. She laughs a bit more before nodding.
"I'm sorry, I just forgot for a bit that I was going on a date with Harry Potter." She states like that makes perfect sense. It doesn't. She sees my confused expression and elaborates.
"Even knowing you I sometimes have trouble separating you and the 'Boy Who Lived.' I was so nervous thinking I would have no chance with the mythical hero but there you are standing in front of me lost and awkward and adorable, acting like a total dork, and I remember Harry. The crazy boy who fumbled about trying to stab a giant basilisk to save some girl he barely knew and still got bitten. The perfect human hero that I think I'm genuinely falling for. This is perfect Harry. Absolutely perfect." Ginny finishes wistfully with a warm look.
Well, it's official, I'm totally in love with her. I smile back as my nerves calm down.
"Ready for lunch?" I ask and she beams at me.
"Of course I am, but where are we eating?" She scans the area around us. I feel some confidence return to me. I know what to do for this part. Just follow the plan. I grab her hand and drag her out of the common room. Ginny stumbles a bit before getting her footing. She grasps my hand back and my heart stops for a moment.
"Come on, I think you're going to love this!" I exclaim as we make our way through the castle. We finally get to the grounds and I lead her towards the Forbidden Forest. I let my wand fall into my hand from my holster and mutter the well practiced spells that would tell me if anyone can see us. Ginny looks at me, raising her delicate red eyebrow in confusion. I smile a little manically. I lead her down a worn path into the forest.
"Okay Potter, I know you're a bit mad, but I didn't think you were completely round the bend! You're going to get us killed." Ginny hisses out, scanning her surroundings. I can tell she's nervous and rush to reassure her.
"No no, it's okay! I'm a friend of the forest. We're safe here. Everything here loves me." I gasp out, excited. It's my first visit to the Forest this year. I wanted this date to be extra special. I'm going to introduce Ginny to my other friends.
But first…
I lead her a little further in and we come across two brooms. One is my beloved Firebolt and the other-
Gasp! "Is that the Thunderstreak! Quidditch Weekly said the Nimbus company wouldn't be releasing those for another six months!" Ginny babbles in excitement. SHe walks up to it reverently. I smile and do an internal happy dance. My mum might not have been into broom rides but Ginny loves flying.
"Yep! That is indeed the Thunderstreak. The best broom for any aspiring Chaser. It's all yours." I tell her excitedly grabbing the broom and holding it out to her. She looks a bit faint for a second as she reaches for it. She then shakes her head.
"Harry, I can't accept this. It's too much." She admits a bit teary eyed as she stares into my eyes. Ah, good old Weasley pride. Too bad it won't work here.
"Yes you will because this didn't cost me a knut." I sing-song out. I gently shove it into her arms. She gasps and looks at me in shock.
"Don't lie to me! This must have cost a fortune! How could you possibly get one for free?" Ginny demands, anger building. I softly place a finger before her lips. Shushing her I explain.
"All investors of the Nimbus corporation get a complementary model of their newest broom. Guess which family just happens to be at the top of that specific list?" I grin coyly. She gasps as her eyes widen in shock. She gently grips the broom.
"So it really didn't cost you anything," she murmurs. I nod a bit.
"The only thing I spent money on were the gifts in that basket at the beginning of this. That's allowed, right?" I ask the last bit uncertainly. She beams at me and nods. My heart picks up a bit. I reach behind me and grab my Firebolt. I hop on in a fluid and practiced motion.
"Race you!" I shout before taking off like a bullet. I laugh as I head straight up hearing Ginny reply "your on Potter!" I stop a hundred feet above the forest. Ginny shots past me in a corkscrew, shouting in joy.
I'm not sure how long or fun on the brooms lasts, but it has to be at least a few hours. We drift next to each other laughing and completely worn out. I watch Ginny laugh for a moment. She's just so beautiful. She stops laughing and looks back at me. I don't know what she sees in my face but her own smile becomes small and so full of warmth I think my heart might explode.
She suddenly scoots closer and grabs the front of my shirt, pressing our lips together. My eyes widen in shock. I press my lips back. Physically, the short chaste kiss isn't all that special. Magically though? My whole world explodes. Our cores reach out to meet and mold together, brushing against each other. When Ginny pulls back our cores are still swirling together. I grin like an idiot. Ginny's eyes are still closed and she's smiling in bliss. Her eyes snap open a moment later.
"You mentioned something about lunch?"
Yay! I'm not dead! Sorry for such a long wait but my emotional stability just went down the drain with the start of school. I didn't want to write this story in the throes of depression, because that just doesn't fit the overall tone of the story. I'm not posting anything less than my best.
