Chapter 10: The Date

Original A/N: I know, I know, finally. Thank you everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or The Sims 2.

Harry sat in front of the computer staring dully at the game playing on the screen. He had played the SSX-3 game so often in the past two weeks; it no longer helped him have 'fun' even though the meter said he was. He thought that was how it was with the others, but he wasn't sure. He hadn't talked to anyone in two days, ever since their Senior year had begun. Everything was just so…boring. Sighing, Harry shut the game down and sat back, waiting for what he knew was coming. Sure enough, he was told to write his term paper. Grudgingly, he leaned forward and started typing.

Ginny appeared at the end of the sidewalk and briskly walked into the dorm. She passed Harry at the desk, sighed, and reluctantly walked on. She found Hermione draped on the couch, looking exhausted. Ginny couldn't blame her; they all were tired. For nearly two weeks, all they had been able to do was attend their dreadfully long classes and study. Hermione was having a hard time keeping up with her physics class, which seemed odd to Ginny. Harry seemed to be taking everything the worst. Although he seemed cheerful when he had come back from his first class, he had proceeded to get in worse moods as the days went on. He hadn't been able to talk to anyone for two days, and Ginny didn't think that was completely the fault of the cursor.

Hermione opened her eyes, moving over to allow her friend to fall onto the couch. "How was Art?"

"Not bad." Ginny shrugged. She was actually enjoying her art classes. "You?"

"I've had better days." Just then, Ron walked into the room. His eyes searched the room, and when he saw the two of them, he walked over.

"Hey." He sat down next to Hermione, taking her hand in his. Hermione found herself gazing at their hands. Though it had seemed like the cursor had them laser focused on finishing this University part of the game, Hermione had been happy that unguarded times had allowed the two of them to reach this tentative state.

A few minutes later, they saw Harry abruptly stand up in the other room. He walked towards them and stopped, looking a bit surprised. Ron turned so he was standing in front of Hermione, and Harry in front of Ginny. They watched the cursor take the same action on both of them: ask Hermione and Ginny on dates.

Ron turned a bit red, but the corner of his mouth turned up. "Well, Hermione, do you wanna go on a date with me?"

Hermione hid her smile behind her hand. "Sure, sounds fun."

Ron sighed loudly. "Thank Merlin. This game is the worst. I gotta get away from this school."

Harry looked at Ginny. "Same question, I guess."

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him. "Very romantic, Harry."

He groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "Sorry, yeah, that was bad. Do you want to go out on a date with me?"

Ginny eyed him. "I wonder what would happen if I said no."

Harry sighed. "Ah come on, Ginny. Take pity on me."

Ginny echoed his sigh. "Fine, I'll go, but you have got to lighten up a bit. I swear, I think whoever builds these sets had to add extra lighting just to counteract the gloom you've been putting off."

"Very funny, Gin."

She grinned at him. 'I am, aren't I?" Harry cracked a smile, and she took his hand, letting him pull her up.

Blue marks suddenly appeared above Hermione and Ginny's head. Harry also noticed timer ticking down in the sky.

"Er, Hermione?" He looked over to her, unsure of what to do. Hermione briskly walked over to a nearby phone, which she talked briefly into before hanging up and returning to the group.

"I had to call a taxi, we're going to some kind of restaurant, I think."

The four walked outside to wait for the taxi, and sat in the two benches by the steps.

Ginny took Harry's hand in hers. "Hey, you know I was joking, earlier, right? Well, mostly," she amended. "You do seem like you haven't been doing very well recently. What's going through that head of yours?"

Harry stared down at their entwined hands, letting his thumb swipe back and forth over hers.

"I guess I'm just preoccupied thinking of what's going on out there. For all we know, Laura could have been mistaken, and time could be going by much faster out there. And I don't know what Voldemort is up to. I feel so...useless being stuck here."

She squeezed his hand. "Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding World." He smiled weakly at her, realizing she didn't know the extent of what the rest of them had to finish up when they got out of here. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sure everything will still be there to save when we get out. Until then, however," she unlaced her fingers, bringing them up to his face, "I think maybe you just need more distractions to keep you busy." Ginny brought her mouth up to his, and he inhaled sharply. He caught a hint of a flowery scent before he became too distracted by the feel of her mouth moving softly against his. He let his tongue brush her lips, which parted slightly with a quiet moan.

A cough nearby startled them both, and Harry looked over to see Ron and Hermione trying very hard not to look at them. Hermione was covering up a smile with her hand, and Ron looked uncomfortable.

"Hey now," Ron said, looking over at him now that they had stopped. "You're my best mate, and I'm happy for you. But that's my sister, and I don't really fancy having to watch the two of you."

Ginny scoffed at him. "Seems like you better move along with finding your own distraction then." She looked pointedly between Ron and Hermione, both of whom turned pink and immediately looked down and away from them. Ginny shook her head and leaned in close to Harry's ear. "That cursor may need to shove those two in a closet and lock the door to get them to progress any." Harry tried not to laugh.

A flash of yellow caught his eye. The taxi was here. Harry stood up and pulled Ginny with him. Before walking to the Taxi, Ginny wrapped her petite form around him in a hug.

"I'm sorry that I can't be much of a help," she said.

Harry let his fingers rest under her chin, pulling her up into another soft kiss. He rested his forehead on hers and whispered, "You're of more help than you know."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all climbed out of the taxi and stood on the front walk in front of the new location. A beautiful double door stood at the front of the building. Harry and Ron walked forward and opened the doors into what looked like a pretty nice restaurant. It had two sides; one contained the main seating, and the other had a bar and some couches. Harry took Ginny's hand as they were led by the cursor to the older man standing behind a podium.

"Hello, welcome to Londoste. Two?" Harry glanced back at Ron, who nodded.

"Yeah." Another man walked up to Ron and Hermione and led them to the bar counter.

"Right this way please." The man turned and led them into the main seating area, seating them in a table by the wall. "Lyle will be here to serve you." A second man, younger than the first, walked up. He nodded his head at the first man, who walked away.

"My name is Lyle, and I will be your server today. Here are two waters to start you off with. Please let me know when you are ready to order." He set the two waters on the table, and smiled.

Before he could leave, Harry asked, "Wait, are you real?" The man continued to smile at them for a second, before he simply turned, hurrying over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting.

Ginny snorted. "Well I guess that answers that question." The cursor disappeared. Harry picked up the menu that was lying on the table, and saw Ginny do the same.

"So, seems like a nice place," Ginny said, glancing around. Harry looked up. It reminded him of a restaurant that the Dursley's had taken him to a long time ago. They hadn't been able to find someone to watch Harry, so he had been allowed to come. He had only been allowed to drink water and order a salad, while Dudley had gotten to eat a huge steak that was almost bigger than the plate. Harry shook his head, trying to get rid of the bad memories.

When Harry next looked up after deciding what to order, he suddenly noticed Ron staring at him from across the restaurant with wide eyes, clearly trying to get Harry's attention. Harry mouthed "What?" and Ron motioned over to a dark hallway, and stood up, saying something to Hermione.

"Ginny, I'll be right back." And that was when he felt something appear in his pocket.

A few minutes earlier, Ron had sat down at the counter next to Hermione. After getting water from Lyle, Hermione put down her menu.

"I know what I'm getting. Do you?" Ron shrugged.

"I'll just get whatever you're-" Ron stopped. Hermione looked at him.

"...Ordering?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Er, yeah." Something was in Ron's pocket that hadn't been there before, he was sure of it. He slowly reached in, and took out a box, hiding it from view. He cracked it open a bit, and, making sure Hermione wasn't looking, took a glance. His eyes widened and he shut it with a quiet snap. Placing it back into his pocket, he looked over to where Harry and Ginny were sitting. Harry was looking around aimlessly, before Ron caught his eye. He saw Harry mouth the word "What?" Ron looked around, and spotted a dark hallway that looked like it led to the kitchen. Ron nodded in that direction.

"Hermione, I'll be right back, yeah?" He stood up and slowly walked toward the hallway, glancing behind him to see if Harry was following. He was. They both reached the hallway, and walked in far enough so that they were hidden. As soon as they stopped, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out what Ron had already discovered, a box of his own.

"You got one too, then," Ron stated, taking his from his pocket.

"Yeah, but what is-" He stopped when he opened it. His eyes widened as Ron's had. Inside the small box, sitting on a velvet patch, was a diamond ring.

A/N: It is official, I absolutely cannot write kissing scenes from a guy's point of view. I will definitely be switching to Ginny's view for any other further activities.

Original A/N: Whew, I can't believe I finally finished this chapter! Yay! Please review if you liked it, didn't like it, or whatever. I try to get the next chapter soon, within a week or so, but I can't promise anything.

Until next chapter!