If JK was the ocean, I would be a glass of water. So again, not mine.

29. (about thinking and teasing)

-Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words-

Harlan Miller

Ginny had hoped that her worries would go away once a few weeks had passed, but it seemed that every time she solved one, another one would pop up in its place.

Her homework and dreams were now completely under control, but Evelyn seemed to get more depressed by the day. Two weeks had passed since her first letter from home, but Ginny knew that her friend still felt sick when she thought about it. She tried to remain positive when talking to Evelyn about it; her mum probably hadn't meant to sound so harsh, and she was sure that there wouldn't be any more catastrophes after the Dementor attack in the southwest. However, it was hard to lie to her friend, for Ginny was actually quite sure there would be far more disasters to come.

Dean had also been a little problem: between her homework, Evelyn, practise and her lessons, it had been rather hard to make time for him, and he seemed to be annoyed by that. He was still sweet and helpful, but every time Ginny declined his offer to do something fun, or simply be together, he became more and more sulky and silent. For now, Ginny really couldn't help it; Dean would have to accept that fifth year was hard. And being the great boyfriend that he was, he seemed to really try.

Practises, on the other hand, were going very well; after the feedback Harry had given them at the first practise, they were now all focusing on their weakest points for the upcoming match against Slytherin on the third Saturday of October. It seemed that Harry had taken winning against Slytherin as a given these past few years, and he wasn't about to let that change, especially now that he had been appointed captain.

She had wondered a lot during practises since when Harry had become such a good leader; he obviously had those qualities during the DA, but as Captain of the Quidditch team, he seemed to be more relaxed then last year. They trained hard and well, but unlike Oliver and Angelina, as Katie told her, Harry was also able to laugh from time to time, and have fun with them.

On a Friday morning, she was having breakfast with Ron and Harry. Hermione had rushed of to the library ("You never know how much that little detail is going to affect my marks, Ron!") and Ginny hadn't seen Dean or Evelyn. The former was always a little late for breakfast; the latter had received another letter yesterday and had probably fallen asleep around dawn.

The post arrived, and, to her surprise, she and Ron both got a package. Hers was delivered by Errol, who unceremoniously crashed into Harry's plate while landing, and Ron's came by an owl Ginny recognized as a typical post-order-one.

She opened her package and saw that it was from her mum, sending her the extra Quidditch gloves she had requested. After training with her old ones last week, they were now completely torn and ready for the waste bin.

"Mum says hi," she told Ron, who was unpacking his parcel. She threw some of the chocolate frogs her mum had sent towards her brother, who caught them out of mid-air with his Keeper skills. Keeping her own eyes on the letter that had been attached to the gloves, she continued:

"She wants to know if you need anything, and why you haven't written her yet. Oh, she says hi to you too, Harry," she said, and threw him a chocolate frog as well. Harry grinned at her, still picking the feathers out of his pumpkin juice. "Apparently, she thinks you guys are up to something, since Ron hasn't written anything and you are always in trouble." Harry snickered. She scanned the rest of the letter.

"Blah, blah, a lot about Dad's work… blah… congratulations on our spots on the Quidditch team and greetings from Fred and George, who want to know who the new Beaters are," she said, rolling up the parchment. "Nothing shocking," she concluded, when she saw that they were both looking at her.

In glancing at them, she saw that Ron now held a small black box in his hands, but hadn't opened it.

"What's that?" she asked curiously. Her eyes fell on the wrapping paper stamped "Diagon Boutique."

"Oh, nothing," her brother replied, but his ears said otherwise, and before Ron knew it, Ginny had snatched the box out of his hands, and was taking off the lid.

"Hey! Give it back, you! That's personal! You can't just open other people's mail!"

"Umbridge did," Harry replied matter-of-factly, as if that would give Ginny permission.

"Umbridge was a—" but before Ron could finish that sentence, he was interrupted by Ginny's shriek.

"Ron, please tell me these aren't for you!"

In the box lay a pair of small blue earrings. A little silver star dangled from each of them, and they looked very pretty. Very girly, too. "Or did you have a sudden urge to become a woman?"

"No, of course not!" her brother hissed, now clearly annoyed. Ginny's shriek had made people stare at their conversation and he got more flustered. Ron snatched the box out of her hands, and threw it in his bag under the table.

"Then who are they for?" Ginny pressed. She had an idea, but wasn't going to believe it until Ron actually said so. Harry, who didn't seem that interested, had now fished all the feathers out of his pumpkin juice, as well as some leaves, and had decided that he had better pour himself a fresh glass. He was busy reading the paper and Ginny saw by his expression he would try very hard to stay out of this.

"I…" Ron stammered, and started to turn red. "They're for a girl," he managed to get out.

"Ron, I figured that out already."

"Were you always this nosy?"

"Ron, come on! I won't tell anyone," she lied, thinking that if they were meant for anyone besides Hermione, her friend would definitely hear about it.

"They're a gift – I messed up on a birthday present, so these are for Christmas, to make up for it. I saw them in the paper, and thought I'd better order them now, so I wouldn't forget," he replied hastily, taking a sip of pumpkin juice afterwards.

Ginny wanted to ask more, but before she could, Dean walked over.

"Hi," he said happily. Ron scowled a bit at him when he placed his hands on Ginny's shoulders.

"Let's find a spot for two, shall we?" Ginny replied sharply when she saw the look on Ron's face. "See you guys around. Oh and Ron, don't forget to write mum! She's getting really annoyed, you know."

She turned around and walked away with Dean, not feeling remotely sorry about how she'd annoyed Ron. After all, someone had to do it now that Fred and George had left.

Hope you like this chapter...It's short, I know, but I had to write it, because it ties in later in the story... waaaaay later...

Again thanks to Lisa, for editing and thanks to all the people who reviewed so far: You guys rock!

Next up: Hermione, going on a certain Hogsmeade trip...

Leave a review if you have some time!

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