Ginny was feeling rather tired by the time dinner was about to start, but she wasn't going to let that great prat, Malfoy, get the best of her. She was going to walk into the Great Hall and eat dinner with her friends, not be served on a tray in the infirmary. When it came time to go down, Ginny tried to keep pace with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but her legs were stiff. They seemed to notice this and slowed down so she could keep up. By the time they reached the Great Hall, Ginny's pain had grown and she became thankful for the potions that Madam Pomfrey had forced her to take.

Ginny forgot about her pain as soon as they entered the Great Hall. Every head turned her way, mostly smiling, but it was Malfoy's face that she enjoyed the most. He was so surprised to see Ginny not only awake but coming to dinner that his eyebrows shot straight up, then pulled down in annoyance. She didn't miss the bruises that covered his face and smiled to herself. They found seats with Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati at the end of the table.

"Ginny, I'm so happy you're up!" Lavender smiled at her.

"Same here," Seamus threw in.

"Me too. You played a great game, though. You know, right before you fell off your broom." Dean laughed.

"For your information, I was thrown off my broom by a bludger."

"Speaking of which," Seamus broke in, "you got some good punches in last night, Ron."

"Thank you," Ron gave a very small bow. They kept eating and talking about their upcoming winter holiday in two weeks. Ginny couldn't wait to go home for Christmas. All of her brothers would be there and they planned on inviting Hermione and Harry to come, as well. Her thoughts drifted to Harry once again and she thought about him staying by her bed while she was in the infirmary. She'd been so happy to see him there, but when he'd said that he had volunteered so that Ron and Hermione could get some sleep, she had felt her heart break a little. She'd felt so stupid. She had gotten her hopes up that maybe Harry had feelings for her, but they'd been crushed. Ginny was brought back to the present when someone spoke to her.

"Think you'll be able to go to your classes tomorrow, Ginny?" Parvati asked.

"Yeah, I'll just have to walk a bit slower. At least Malfoy didn't hit the bludger hard enough to keep me in the infirmary," Ginny made a face.

"Stupid git. I wish I had gotten one more punch in," Ron frowned.

"I think you got in plenty," Hermione rolled her eyes. "By the way, you should go now so you're not late for your detention."

"I'm going, I'm going," Ron was still muttering as he left the table. Everyone knew that McGonagall's detentions weren't as bad as Snape's, which meant that Ron wasn't putting up as much of a fight about his detention as he usually would have.

Ginny was grateful when dinner ended, the wooden benches had caused Ginny's body to ache worse than ever and she craved the softness of her bed. They all got up and moved with the rest of the students to the Great Hall doors, Ginny trying her best not to be jostled by the surge of students. As they passed through the doors, Ginny felt someone slam into her, making her let out a cry of pain. Before she knew what had happened, Ginny had been pulled from the crowd and brought a few feet away. Before she turned away, she saw a blonde head walking away and laughing. She leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. She felt like she'd been hit by the bludger all over again, but this time she was wide awake for the pain spreading throughout her body.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Harry had heard Ginny's gasp of pain and practically carried her away from the other students. He watched as she took deep breaths, obviously in a lot of pain. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

She looked at him and he sucked in a small breath as he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "Malfoy slammed into me as we were walking. I'll be fine, I just need a minute." She closed her eyes, taking some more deep breaths. Harry was consumed by rage, but he forced it away. Ginny needed him and Hermione, now wasn't the time to go after Malfoy.

"Okay, I'm alright now," Ginny said.

"Are you sure? Do you want us to get a teacher?" Hermione looked at Ginny with concern.

"No, no, I'm alright. Let's just go back to the common room." Ginny pushed off the wall and started to walk towards the stairs, stumbling a little. Harry rushed to wrap an arm around her like he had earlier and he took most of her weight on himself. Hermione went ahead of them to get Ginny's armchair ready for her again.

"Thanks for your help, Harry. I promise I won't be this much of pain tomorrow," Ginny gave him a rueful smile.

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind." Harry would have happily walked like this for the rest of his life, but he couldn't tell her that. They got to the common room and Harry helped Ginny sit, while Hermione put a blanket over her lap.

"Do me a favor and don't tell Ron what Malfoy did?"

"I don't know, Ginny," Hermione began. "He'll be upset if he finds out and knows we didn't tell him."

"You know he'll just get angry and go after Malfoy again. I wouldn't have said anything to either of you, but you were there."

"Oh, alright, but I don't like keeping things from Ron," It was true that Hermione didn't like secrets between her and Ron, but she also saw the wisdom in Ginny's request.

"You wouldn't have told us if you were hurt?" Harry felt a small pain in his chest at the thought that Ginny would rather keep something like being hurt from him, then let them all know.

"I just don't want anyone making a fuss over me." Harry sighed with relief, he could understand that. He never liked when anyone made a big deal about him getting injured.

"I'll probably be fine in the morning, this is just my first day up."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" They all turned to see Ron walking towards them.

Hermione looked at him confused, "What are you doing here? Did McGonagall cancel your detention?"

"Nope. She told me I couldn't go around beating up anyone to upset me and then told me I could go." Ron shrugged, taking a seat next to Hermione on the couch.

"That's it? That doesn't sound like McGonagall," Hermione looked at him suspiciously.

"Probably had to give me detention to show she was serious. To be honest, I think she understood why I hit him." They laughed, talking some more until Seamus came up to them.

"Hey. Hermione, could I talk to you?"

"Sure, Seamus," Hermione got up without hesitation and followed him to the same corner that they had talked in a few weeks before.

"What's he want with her now?" Ron demanded.

Ginny smirked at Harry, but answered Ron with an uninterested voice, "I told you, maybe he likes her."

"He's never liked her before."

"Honestly, Ron, Hermione is very pretty, smart, and nice. She's probably got loads of admirers," Ginny sat back in her chair. She hoped that Ron would take the hint and realize that if he wanted Hermione, then he'd have to talk to her sooner rather than later.

"Maybe he's asking her to the Yule Ball," Ginny shrugged. Ron whipped his head around to stare at Ginny, but she pretended she didn't notice, "Harry, care to play some chess?"

"Sure," Harry set the chessboard up on a small table between their chairs. "Nice touch with the Yule Ball part," He mumbled so that only she could hear.

She smiled, "Thank you, I thought so, too. This should be interesting." Harry grinned, he knew that Ginny wasn't talking about the chess game.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I told you that I'd help you last time, Seamus," Hermione smiled at the nervous boy in front of her.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind."

"Of course not. Why don't we start after the winter holiday?"

"That'd be great, Hermione! Are you sure it'll work?" Seamus' face went from excitement to worry.

"I'm positive, but it might help if I ran some of my ideas past another girl. Would it be okay if I talked to Ginny?"

Seamus thought about it for a minute, "Yeah, I think she'd keep it quiet."

"Great! I'll talk to her about it later when we're alone." Seeing Seamus' face cloud with dread, Hermione reassured him, "Don't worry, it'll work, I promise." She gave him a friendly hug, turning to look towards the fireplace when she heard a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Seamus followed her gaze.

"Nothing, I just thought I heard something," She wrinkled her brow, she could have sworn she'd heard someone. Seamus thanked her again and she went back to take her seat on the couch next to Ron, who was giving her a hard stare.

"What?"

"What'd Seamus want with you now?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "The same thing he wanted last time, help with Potions."

"I thought he needed help with Transfiguration?" Ron narrowed his eyes.

Hermione hesitated for half a second before turning wide, innocent eyes on Ron, "Isn't that what I said?"

"No."

"Oh, my mistake," Hermione shrugged as if it was no big deal, watching as Ron turned to glare into the fireplace. He really was very handsome, with his customary Weasley hair and freckles. She always felt so safe with him around and he made her feel special. He was good for her, she knew that. She'd probably be stuck with her nose in a book twenty-four hours a day if he didn't force her to take a break...or goad her into taking one. She smiled to herself, she wasn't going to tell him that she actually enjoyed arguing with him sometimes.

"What are you thinking about?" She blushed when she saw that Ron was looking at her.

"Oh, um," Hermione scrambled to come up with something. "The Yule Ball." That wasn't a complete lie, she had been thinking about it recently. Mostly because she'd been thinking about the person that she wanted to go with.

"What about it?"

"Nothing, really. Just about who I might go with and what color dress I should get."

"What do you mean 'who you might go with'? Who asked you?" Ron turned to face her fully.

"No one, but I'd like to be asked," Hermione spoke as normally as she could.

"I'm sure you will be," Ron muttered darkly.

"I hope so," Hermione said so only she could hear it.

"Pink," Ron said suddenly.

"What?" Hermione was utterly confused. Pink?

"Your dress," Ron mumbled. "You should wear pink."

Hermione couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face, "Maybe."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Come on, Ginny! We're going to be late to breakfast," Ron rubbed his stomach hungrily.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You're always hungry, so that's not much help."

"Finally," Ron sighed happily as Ginny hobbled down the dormitory stairs.

"I'm sorry, Ron, was I holding you up? How about I toss you off the astronomy tower and we'll see how fast you move."

"It's just a figure of speech, she doesn't have to get so bloody worked up," Ron grumbled as Hermione pushed him out of the portrait hole.

Harry saw Ginny carefully loading her arms with her books, wincing as the weight got heavier. He knew she'd never ask for help on her own, so he walked over to her and scooped up her books.

"Hey!"

"You're in too much pain to carry all of these, so you might as well let me help."

"Fine, but just to breakfast," Ginny huffed as she moved past him, making him laugh. They walked at a slower pace that was more comfortable for Ginny. She straightened up before they entered the Great Hall, making Harry give her a curious look.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to give Malfoy the satisfaction of seeing me in pain," She said through her teeth. Harry nodded his head, looking at her fondly. He knew how much pain she must be in, but she was far too stubborn to let anyone know. When they passed by the Ravenclaw table, Harry saw the angry look on Cho's face, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what he'd done to cause it. Shaking it off, Harry helped Ginny to her seat and took a place beside her.

"Feeling better today, Ginny?" Neville asked from his spot down the table.

"Loads better," Ginny smiled.

"Liar," Harry muttered to her, enjoying the glare she sent him.

"Has Bovin said anything about the next advanced class?" Ginny asked.

"Not yet. I hope he's going to keep doing them, though," Hermione answered.

"He will," Ron said as he shoved a fistful of bacon into his mouth. "Stil' gut st'ff tuh w'rk 'n."

"Honestly, Ron, do you think you could just pretend to have manners?" Hermione put her hand on top of Ron's to prevent him from putting more food into his mouth.

"Why are you trying to starve me?" Ron swatted Hermione's hand away.

"Oh, please, no one would ever think you're starving...Although, by the way you eat, maybe they would." Hermione's comment made Seamus choke on his orange juice, forcing Dean to pound him on the back.

"Alright, if I wanted to feel like I'd been trampled by a herd of unicorns, I'd throw myself off my broom like Ginny did." Seamus moved further away from Dean.

Ginny shook her head, "I wouldn't recommend it. Takes a lot of skill and I don't know if you'd survive it." The table broke out into laughter, poking fun at Seamus until it was time to go to class.

"Hey, Ginny. Would you like me to carry your books for you?" A tall, brown-haired boy from Ravenclaw stood next to Ginny.

"Oh," Ginny replied, surprised. "No, that's okay, I can manage. Thank you, though." Ginny smiled at him and Harry watched as admiration flared in the boy's eyes, making him clench his fists at his sides.

"Are you sure, I'm going—"

"She's fine, I've got them for her," Harry grabbed Ginny's books from the bench.

The boy regarded Harry with cool eyes, but spoke to Ginny, "Some other time. See you around, Ginny."

"Thanks, Harry. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, he's always been nice to me." Ginny reached to take her books from Harry, but he held them out of her reach.

"Come on, I'll walk you to class," Harry hoped she wouldn't turn him down the way she did the other boy.

"Harry, I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I can make it to my classes and you'll just be late for yours."

"You could never be a burden to me, Ginny," The words slipped out of Harry's mouth before he could stop them. "Besides," he quickly added on, "I've got double Potions with the Slytherins today, so this will help put that off for a while longer." Harry prayed that Ginny would focus on the second part of what he'd said rather than the first.

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine, but it's not my fault if Snape takes points from you for being late."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Mr. Potter, how nice of you to join us. That'll be five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness." Snape continued writing on the board as he spoke. Harry went to his seat next to Hermione and Ron in annoyance. It was only five bloody minutes, he thought. He set up his cauldron on the table and took out the ingredients that Snape had put on the board.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I carried Ginny's books to her class for her." Hermione gave him a knowing smile, causing heat to rush into his face. He was saved from having to answer by Snape's cold voice.

"Today we will be making a potion called Timoris. Although unlikely, who can tell me what this potion is and what it can be used for?"

As expected, Hermione's hand was the only one to go into the air. She patiently waited until Snape's disdainful gaze landed on her, "Miss Granger?"

"The word 'Timoris' means dread, and it's a potion that shows you the thing you dread most. It is similar to a Boggart, but no one besides yourself will be able to see what you do. When brewed, the potion will become a color that is associated with whatever you dread. It has been known to be useful in disarming an opponent you may face, but it comes with the risk that the person you are fighting might become so enraged by what they see that they can begin casting spells at random, putting you in greater danger of being hit." Hermione finished answering Snape's question, not noticing the looks of awe on the faces of her fellow Gryffindors, particularly Ron.

Snape, knowing that Hermione's answer was completely correct, but unwilling to let the opportunity to embarrass or anger any student not in his own house pass, turned a nasty smile on Hermione. "That is correct, however being an unbearable braggart will not get you an invitation to the Yule Ball, which I can surmise you so dearly want to attend."

Hermione remained unaffected by Snape's disparaging remark, but it did have the desired result on Ron, who had gone very red. "For your information, Hermione's already been invited to the Yule Ball. She was ages ago!"

Snape's lip curled in disgust before he turned to the board and began writing the instructions for brewing the potion. The rest of the class, however, had varying expressions of shock and interest on their faces, though no one looked more surprised than Hermione, whose mouth had dropped open as she stared at Ron.

"Why did you tell them I'd been asked to go to the ball?"

"I don't like that every time you have the right answer, Snape tries to humiliate you." Ron began angrily cutting up his Dacian root, almost cutting himself in the process.

Hermione's eyes had gone very soft and she smiled a little dreamily before shaking her head and setting about helping Ron. Harry grinned inwardly, thinking he had to remember to tell Ginny what had happened. Thinking her name made Harry work in a fog as he thought about how she had taken over every second of his day. Everything he did or thought about invariably ended up connecting to Ginny, not that he minded.

When the class had reached the final step of the potion, Snape faced them, "The last ingredient you will add is four drops of essence of Droxal. You will have approximately ten seconds before the potion takes effect, during which time you should take note of the color of your potion as it will connect to what you will see. I assure you, should anyone begin casting spells while under the potion's influence, I will not hesitate to stun you." Snape smiled as though the idea of using that particular charm on some of his students greatly pleased him.

Harry leaned over his cauldron and put in the Droxal. His once clear potion became a fiery red and then melted into an image that made Harry grind his teeth. He saw Ginny sitting on the couch in the common room, talking to someone that he couldn't quite see. The person sitting with Ginny shifted then, moving closer to Ginny, and Harry saw that it was Dean. Harry watched as Dean opened his mouth and he was surprised to find that he could hear what Dean was saying to Ginny.

"Ginny, you know how much I like you, and I was hoping that you'd be my date to the Yule Ball?" No! Harry thought. She can't say yes.

Ginny nodded happily, "Of course I'll go with you, Dean!" Harry thought he would explode as he watched Dean lean forward and begin kissing Ginny. He ripped himself away from the potion, looking up to see Hermione and Ron doing the same. Hermione was close to tears and Ron had gone completely pale, not saying anything. Glancing around the room, they saw expressions of shock, hatred, sadness, and defeat written on everyone's faces.

Snape dismissed the class and they packed up their things, quietly making their way to Charms. Not even Professor Flitwick's cheery disposition could change anyone's mood, so he abandoned his teaching plan and had them take notes for the rest of the class. When it came time to go to lunch, no one had any appetite. Hermione went to the library, Ron stomped off towards the common room, and Harry wandered aimlessly around the halls until it was time to go to their last class of the day, Transfiguration. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at their desk and faced McGonagall. Even Hermione couldn't bring herself to answer any of the questions they were asked. McGonagall, who had had enough of the class's moping, turned to face them.

"Would anyone care to explain why you all look like someone just snapped your broomsticks in half?"

"It's Potions, professor," Hermione spoke quietly.

"What about Potions?" She looked to Hermione who seemed to be the only one willing to explain.

"Professor Snape had us make Timoris."

McGonagall's eyes flashed with annoyance, "I do wish that he would save that particular potion for lessons at the end of the day, it makes students useless afterwards. Well, there is no point in keeping you in class today. You are all dismissed, but I expect you to be fully recovered the next time we see one another." Professor McGonagall swept out of the room, taking a sharp right towards the dungeons.

The class collected their things and trudged off to dinner. Seeing the condition of their fellow classmates after Potions had set the other houses on edge, wondering what terrible thing had happened to put them in such a horrible mood. By the time the food appeared on their plates, things were starting to look up, and once he'd seen the look of dislike Snape had directed towards McGonagall at the teacher's table, Ron had cheered considerably and was almost back to normal.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry frowned as he swung his gaze from one end of the table to the other.

"I haven't seen her since breakfast," Hermione turned in her seat, scanning the table for someone. "Colin!" The small, blonde-haired boy stopped talking to the person next to him, looking around the hall. Spotting Hermione waving at him, he got up and came over to them.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Ginny?" Hermione asked him.

"Oh, I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" Harry asked sharply.

"We were walking back to the castle for lunch after Care of Magical Creatures and Ginny tripped. She landed pretty hard, and what with her falling off her broom the other day, she was in a lot of pain. I took her back up to the common room to rest."

"Thanks, Colin," Hermione smiled at him and he headed back to his seat.

"I've got to go make sure she's alright," Harry didn't give Hermione the chance to respond, instead leaving the Great Hall as fast as he could and sprinting the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower, shouting the password to a very disgruntled Fat Lady. Harry clambered through the portrait hole, sighing with relief when he saw Ginny in the armchair by the fire.

"Ginny, are you alri—" Harry broke off before he could finish speaking. As he looked at the scene in front of him he heard a ringing in his ears and he started seeing red.

Dean sat on the arm of Ginny's chair, talking to her while she looked up at him, smiling and nodding. They continued talking for several more minutes before Dean gave her a hug and went up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Harry didn't know what to do, almost everything he'd seen during Potions that morning had come true right in front of him. He stalked over to where Ginny sat as she wrote on some parchment. She looked up as his shadow fell across her paper, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw that it was Harry and that he looked very upset.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Ginny laid her parchment aside.

"Nothing," Harry choked out, throwing himself cross-legged on the floor.

"Are you sure?" Ginny looked at him with great concern.

Harry picked up a stray piece of parchment and began tearing it to shreds, ignoring Ginny's question as he spoke, "What did he want?"

"What did who want?" Ginny could feel her temper rising. What was wrong with him?

"Dean," Harry spat the name as though it were poisonous.

"We were talking."

"Are you dating him again?" Harry refused to look up as he continued ripping the piece of paper in his hands.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Ginny snapped.

Harry's head snapped up, his eyes locking on hers, "So you are back together. Well, I hope you'll be very happy with him, but you're not as smart as I thought you were if you think he could ever love you as much as—" Harry's eyes grew bigger as he realized what he'd said and he clamped his mouth shut, looking down at the scraps of paper scattered on the rug.

Ginny couldn't breathe as she looked down at the boy sitting in front of her. Was he going to say he loved me? Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ginny forced her voice into a normal tone. "Love me as much as who?"

The sound of Ginny's voice brought Harry's head up and he stared at her in frustration. Knowing there was no way out of it, Harry forced himself to continue, bracing himself for her rejection. "Love you as much as I do," he whispered.

"You mean as a friend?" Ginny heard her voice shake as she spoke, but she had to know what Harry meant before she let herself get carried away.

"No," Harry said miserably. "I'm in love with you, Ginny."

Harry heard Ginny gasp as he finished speaking, and he looked up to see tears building in her eyes, "Ginny, I'm sorry! I know you don't feel the same way and that you're back with Dean, but I had to—"

"Harry!"

Harry stopped speaking when Ginny yelled. At some point while he had been talking, he'd stood up from the floor and began pacing. He stopped walking and looked at Ginny as she stood up from her chair and came to stand in front of him.

"Harry," He held his breath, waiting for her to finish. "I'm in love with you, too."

Harry felt happiness flood throughout his entire body, making him feel lighter than he had in months. He no longer had the crushing weight of his unspoken feelings for Ginny or his mounting fear of rejection. Taking in Ginny's sheepish smile, Harry did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her, long, slow, and sweet. When they broke apart, both had wide, silly grins plastered on their faces.

"Does this mean that you'll be my girlfriend?"

Ginny scrunched up her face, "On one condition."

"What's that?" Harry asked confused.

"You have to help me rewrite my Transfiguration homework," Ginny gave a pointed look at the rug where the pieces of parchment that Harry had ripped apart lay.

Harry grinned at her, "Deal."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"He did?!" Hermione screeched. Ginny had brought Hermione to her dormitory after dinner under the pretense of needing her help finding something so that she could tell her what had happened between her and Harry.

"Sshh," Ginny waved her hands at her friend. "I don't want Ron to know."

Hermione, who had been bouncing up and down with excitement about Harry telling Ginny how he felt, stopped to stare at Ginny. "Why not? You'll have to tell him some time and I think it should be sooner rather than later."

"I know, but I don't want to deal with him when he finds out. You know how he gets when I even go out on a date."

Hermione pursed her lips, "I think he'll surprise you. Despite what you may think, he only wants to protect you."

"I know," Ginny nodded. "Let's go back downstairs and I'll try to get Harry alone to talk to him about it."

Giving Ginny one last hug before they left the room, Hermione pulled away and beamed at her, "I'm so happy for you, Ginny. I've been waiting for this to happen for months!"

"What do you mean, months?"

"Oh, Harry's been in love with you since summer," Hermione gave Ginny a sly smile.

Brushing off her comment, Ginny laughed, "Harry has most definitely not been in love with me for months! He barely looked at me twice while we were at the Burrow."

Hermione's retort was cut off by Ginny, who threw a final statement over her shoulder as she walked out of the room, "Now come on, I've got a feeling it won't be long before a certain redheaded Gryffindor asks you to the Yule Ball...And I don't mean me."

Ginny ran out of the room as Hermione's mouth dropped open. She scanned the room for Harry and found him sitting on the couch, deep into a game of chess with Ron. "Who's winning?"

"I am," Ron focused all of his attention on the game, not noticing how Harry looked up to give Ginny a quick smile.

Hermione came to sit in one of the armchairs, a large book in her hands. Ginny took the opportunity to distract Ron, "Hermione, didn't you want to talk to Ron about something?"

Hermione gave Ginny a baffled look, but when Ginny raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards Harry, Hermione understood. "Oh, yes, I did, thank you for reminding me. Ron, could you come here for a minute, I had some questions about our next study session."

"Sure, one second," Ron moved one of his pieces across the board, "Checkmate."

Harry gave a frustrated grunt, making Ginny laugh as Ron made his way over to Hermione. Ginny sat beside Harry, but kept far enough away so that Ron wouldn't question them. "Hermione's keeping Ron busy so we can talk."

"About what?"

"I told Hermione that we were together now, and she thinks that we should tell Ron sooner rather than later." Ginny waited nervously while Harry considered this.

"Well, I don't fancy Ron's reaction when he finds out we're together, but I also don't want to pretend we're not."

Ginny nodded, "Me neither. How about we tell him when the opportunity comes?"

Harry smiled his agreement and Ron returned to set up the chessboard again, "Want to play another game?"

"Sure. Ginny, you want to help me beat him?"

"Ha, you couldn't beat me if you had Ginny and Hermione helping you!"

"Is that right? Hermione, come help Harry and I beat Ron at chess," Hermione rolled her eyes, but snapped her book shut. Ginny waved her over to sit next to her, which gave Ginny a reason to move closer to Harry. As her shoulder brushed against his, she wondered when the chance would present itself for them to tell Ron, but decided she'd worry about it when it happened.