Prompt: "Is that flammable?" "We're about to find out." (N 32)

This drabble is an A/U in which Harry and Ginny get together in GoF instead of HBP. Harry and Ginny become closer friends during Harry's fourth year when one day while reading outside, Ginny notices the twins are up to something. The two decide to follow them to see what they're up to with interesting results. This drabble is rated T.

Note: this prompt is not on my bingo card.

"What do you reckon those two are up to?" Ginny asked Harry, nudging him with her elbow to draw his attention to the Weasley twins who were carrying a large black cauldron and a bag of supplies. They trying to stick to the shadows of the outdoor corridor that lead into the courtyard where Harry and Ginny were currently getting some reading done.

Harry looked up from his copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 4. "Not sure, but if I had to guess from the way they're acting, it's gotta be something potentially dangerous."

Harry had gotten a lot closer to Ginny that summer, hanging out more with each other and getting to be better, closer friends. When school started back up, Harry invited her to sit with him, Ron, and Hermione for meals and to do homework, much to the irritated grumbles of Ron who didn't want his sister around. Harry ignored his friend's griping about Ginny, he was allowed to have other friends other than him. That and Harry found himself wanting to hang out with Ginny more as the days in September and October passed by. He could have sworn Hermione was giving him looks like she knew something he didn't whenever he was around Ginny, but he chose to ignore his friend.

And when his name got pulled from the Goblet of Fire, she was his most vocal supporter in believing that he didn't put his name in the cup. It had meant the world to him that she believed him, and when he told her that, she said, "Of course I believe you, you're my closest friend and I know you hate all the attention you get as it is, why wouldn't I?"

Harry's heart swelled with warmth at hearing he was her closest friend, but then deflated when he replied, "Not every Weasley has believed me."

Ginny's face flushed with anger. "Ron's being a jealous prat, he's always had this sore spot about being the youngest son. He feels he has to somehow show that he can stand out against Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the twins. That, and while he doesn't outright say it, I know he's always been a bit touchy with how much money our family has. Being in the tournament would be very tempting for him. He'll come around eventually, he just has to work through his jealousy and insecurity first. And as for the twins, while they're taking the mickey out of you for this, I know they don't believe you entered yourself."

Ginny had been right: Ron had apologized after seeing Harry perform in the first task, but things were still a little rocky between the two of them. Ron had assumed things would just go back to the way they had been before.

So when Harry was still spending as much time with Ginny as he had when he and Ron were fighting, Ron started getting a bit shirty. Harry tried to spend more time with him, but Harry secretly found that he enjoyed doing homework more with Ginny than he did Ron.

And Hermione wasn't helping matters either by telling Harry that she noticed his work improved greatly since he started working with Ginny, leaving Ron's ears burning red in embarrassment and feeling jealous of his sister. Harry knew Hermione meant well, but sometimes he wished she would better read a situation and not say certain things. Plus he was very much over that slightly smug, knowing look she would give him whenever Ginny was mentioned or with them.

It was the main reason why they were currently outside wrapped in their thick woolen cloaks in the chill of the snowy late November afternoon. Harry hadn't felt much like dealing with a sulking Ron in the common room for sitting with Ginny to read, or going to the library where Hermione had gone to spend the day. So when Ginny suggested they go out to the courtyard to get a bit of fresh air, he quickly greed to her idea.

"True, it is the twins after all. Wouldn't surprise me if they were going to blow something up. Wanna go follow them and see?" Ginny asked, a half smile forming on her face.

"If you want to, sure." Harry stood up from the stone wall they had been sitting on and put his book away in his bag. He waited for Ginny to put her own book away and the two followed Fred and George out of the courtyard, making sure to keep a distance back as to not be discovered.

They followed the twins out of the castle and down towards the paths that ran around the lake. They were halfway around the lake before Fred and George came to a sandy stretch along the shore. The area was opened and in the distance on the other side of the lake, Harry could see the Drumstrang's ship. He grabbed Ginny's arm to pull her away from the small beach and off of the path, not wanting the twins to find them.

They found cover behind a snow bank, peaking over the tall ridge of snow to watch what the two were up to. They watched as Fred put the cauldron he'd been carrying down in the sand. George pulled a flask out of the bag he had been carry and poured a thick, viscous liquid out of it into the cauldron.

"Alright, add the powder." George directed Fred. Fred pulled a small sack out of the bag and added two cupfuls of the mystery powder, stirring it in as he went.

"Is that flammable?" Ginny whispered to Harry.

"We're about to find out." Harry whispered back. He suddenly didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George!"

"Light it up!" Fred struck a match and dropped it into the cauldron, the two running for cover behind another snowbank as quickly as possible.

Harry and Ginny watched the cauldron intently as at first reddish-orange smoke began to escape upwards. Then, without warning, a massive tower of orangy-black fire shot upwards out of the cauldron, reaching about one hundred meters into the sky. Except that it suddenly started bending downwards at an angle, directly towards the snowbank he and Ginny were hiding behind.

Without thinking, he pushed Ginny down into the snow, shielding her with his body from the flames that now were shooting directly overhead where their heads had been seconds ago. He could feel the intensity of the heat from the flames as they passed over him.

Eventually Harry felt the flames slow down and end just as abruptly as they had started.

"Okay, next time, add a cup less of the powder." Harry heard one of the twins say.

"Yeah, agreed, we're lucky no one else was down here, that could have easily flambéed someone."

"True. But that was still awesome! Can you believe how high that fireball reached?! It's not practical for our Scottish fireballs, but it was still very impressive. Damnit, we're gonna need another cauldron too, this one's toast."

"Good thing it was Percy's and not our own." The twins laughed at that.

Harry heard them gather up their items and eventually head back up the path towards the castle. After waiting enough time to ensure they were gone, he lifted his head from where it had been buried in the crook of Ginny's neck to look at her face.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Ginny replied breathlessly.

His eyes met her own wide, warm chocolate brown ones. They were so close he could see that her irises weren't just simply brown. There were flecks of honey gold, mossy green, and dark brown that ringed around her slowly dilating pupils. He found them so captivating, why hadn't he noticed how mesmerizing her eyes were to look at before?

Harry felt his heart racing, adrenaline coursing through his veins and heightening his senses. He could smell Ginny's flowery scent fill his nostrils, making his brain go fuzzy. And he could feel every line of Ginny's warm body underneath his as they continued to remain pressed close together in the snow.

His eyes flicked down to her lips. He watched as she hesitantly bit her lower lip between her teeth before letting it go, tinting it a darker shade of pink.

And without thinking, or caring that they were still laying in the snow behind a half-melted snowbank, Harry kissed her.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling as Ginny's soft lips moved against his. He felt like he was flying but at the same time felt as though the warmth of the summer's sun was contained within him. And it was intoxicating.

After what felt like several sunlit hours, or it could have been days even, they broke apart. Their breathing was ragged as they tried to fill their lungs with air, still no moving away from each other.

However, the spell was broken when Harry felt Ginny start to shiver below him.

"We should probably get up." Harry suggested reluctantly. Ginny nodded her head. He stood up, giving Ginny his hand to pull her up with him so she was no longer laying in the snow.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What does this make us now?" Harry noted the slight tone of nervousness in her voice.

"I hoped it meant that you might want to go to Hogsmeade with me on the last visit before the Christmas holidays. You know, like a date?" Harry finished, hoping that last part didn't sound as lame to her as it did his own ears. He cursed himself, so much for trying act smooth and confident. Didn't girls like that kind of thing? Why did it have to be so hard to ask out a girl you liked and only just realized you were developing feelings for?

Ginny smiled brightly. "Yes, I'd loved to go with you, like a date."

Harry took a step closer to her before lower his head to capture her lips again. They remained that way for several minutes before Harry broke away, suddenly asking, "So wait, does that mean you're my girlfriend now?"

She laughed before giving him a chaste kiss. "I would say yes, yes it does."

A goofy grin spread across his face. "Brilliant."

Sadly the happy mood was broken as a hard, cold wind started to blow in from the south, bringing with it the promise of more snow.

Harry took Ginny's hand in his and lead her back onto the pathway that lead to the castle. "Come on, let's get out of the cold. We can warm up in front of the fire before dinner starts."

They ran into Hermione on their way back up to the tower. Harry didn't miss her look of initial shock at seeing him and Ginny holding hands before it morphed into that smug, knowing look. And that's when it finally clicked: Hermione knew this entire time that he was starting to have feelings for Ginny before he did. That girl was too smart for her own good sometimes.

"So, have a good afternoon?" Hermione asked, that look never leaving her face.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look before looking back at the bushy haired girl. "I think 'good' is a bit of an understatement." Harry replied, the goofy grin returning to his face.

Hermione raised one eyebrow questioningly only for Ginny to whisper in the girl's ear, "I'll tell you later."

()()()

The next day Professor McGonagall informed his Transfiguration class about the Yule Ball to be held on Christmas Day night. As soon as he left the classroom after McGonagall pulled him aside, Harry went to immediately find his girlfriend to ask her to the ball.