See Chapter One for Disclaimer.
A/N: I was able to write two chapters (admittedly not very long), in one night! Ok, anyway, nothing much to say here, except I'd like to know who recognizes the title chapter (and, for that matter, the title of the story). Sorry, no prizes for guessing, as it's not all that obscure. Anyway, onwards and upwards.
Chapter Two
Jealous Guy
Breakfast proved to be a rather painful experience for Harry and Ron. The two friends had waited for Hermione to come down, and then the three together had headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. They had barely got started when who should appear but Ginny Weasley herself. She smiled and waved briefly at them--Harry wasn't sure whether to be glad or disappointed--and then went to sit with some girls in her year . . . at the other end of the table. Despite willing himself not to, Harry decided on disappointed, and then mentally kicked himself for caring at all. Mustering all his will power, he tore his gaze away from her and focused on Ron and Hermione, which proved to put him in a rather Catch-22 situation, as they were gazing lovingly at each other. Harry was just deciding what to do about this rather cruel twist of fate when Justin Finch-Fletchly walked behind them. As he was anxious to look somewhere else, he watched as Justin made his way towards the other end of the Gryffindor table. Right towards Ginny, Harry noticed with an odd twist in his stomach. Justin said something to get her attention, and then started talking at what looked to be a mile a minute. Ginny started smiling up at him, which only seemed to encourage the boy further. He smiled back and continued to talk. Harry began to wish he'd sat closer to her, just so he could hear what was going on. Not that he cared, he reminded himself sternly. He was just about to turn his attention back to the two lovebirds in front of him when Ginny stood up and gave Justin a hug. Harry noted with disgust that he could not deny that this merely encouraged Justin, who pulled back slightly and kissed her. On the lips.
To Harry, it was rather like viewing a nasty accident. His stomach twisted and turned, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily as he watched them, yet he was unable to turn away, unwillingly riveted to the scene. He was feeling too much to deny that he felt nothing, and too upset to deny that one of those feelings that he now felt was jealousy. Had he been more aware of his surroundings, he might have noticed that the Great Hall had gone silent, and had the affect of causing Ron and Hermione to look around, wondering what was happening. Of course, Harry was too wrapped up in the train wreck in front of him, that it took Ron muttering a particularly colorful sentence to snap him out of it. And when he did, he looked over at his best friend, who had turned a deep shade of red and looked to be fingering his wand. It was probably only Hermione that kept him in his seat.
Harry looked back to see that Justin and Ginny had come up for some air, and were grinning at each other. He shook his head, sincerely hoping to dislodge the image that was probably burned there for a good while. He looked back at Ron and his dream came back to him. Though he hated to be the one to say it, he decided that Ron could use a voice of reason. Especially after hearing Ron mutter something about Ginny being too young to date, and cursing Justin with some of the Unforgivables. He turned to Ron with an ironic grin and said quietly, "she's a big girl now, Ron."
Ron, startled, turned to look at Harry with a rather deadly glare. "She's my little sister, Harry! She's too young to date, and if that git breaks her heart, I swear . . . " he trailed off, planning which curses would be the best to use on the bastard that had done something to his little sister.
"Ron, you've been dating Hermione since she was fifteen, and Ginny's sixteen now. What makes them so different?"
Ron seemed surprised at this, and didn't really have a ready answer in the face of logic. "Well, Ginny's different . . ." he answered, a bit defensively.
Harry snorted. "You don't have to protect her. She's a big girl now. She can take care of herself."
"How can you be so nonchalant while that bastard is molesting my sister!" Ron hissed at Harry, as the two of them watched Justin and Ginny walk out of the Great Hall, oblivious to the commotion they had created. The noise level had returned to normal pitch, but everyone was talking about what had just happened, as public displays of affection were rather rare.
Hermione piped up at this. "I would hardly call an innocent kiss--"
"That was not an innocent kiss!" Ron practically shouted, upset that neither his best friend nor his girlfriend could see that Justin obviously had evil intentions for Ginny.
"Yes it was Ron," Harry said calmly, though he secretly agree with Ron that Justin was up to no good. "I've seen worse from you and Hermione," he added.
Ron blushed at this, but didn't back down. Instead, he merely muttered, "well, this isn't settled yet. I think I'll just have to have a little talk with my dear sister."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, but allowed the subject to drop.
Still, Harry couldn't keep his mind off what he had just seen, despite his
best efforts to the contrary. He looked wistfully at the doors to the Great
Hall. I guess she really is over me.