A/n Well, I finally had enough free time to write another part to this. It started out as just a one part story, but I got enough good feedback on it that I decided to continueJ. If you want me to write anymore to this, let me know. If I don't get enough feedback, this will be the end.
Part II
It was the first week of school, and Harry was already having trouble getting to sleep. Friday night, he lay in bed tossing and tuning a while. He wished he were back at the Burrow, he missed going downstairs and talking to Ginny at nighttime, when everyone else was asleep. A thought struck him. 'It's only twelve o'clock. Maybe Ginny will still be up in the common room.' He pulled himself out of bed, threw on some robes and tiptoed downstairs to check.
He did not like the sight when he arrived at his destination. Yes, Ginny was up, but she wasn't the only one. A sixth year boy was sitting beside her, engaged in conversation. They were laughing amongst themselves, and Ginny offered him a plate of something that was in her hand. The boy picked it up, and Harry saw that it was a cracker-pickle sandwich.
This angered him. Not only was Ginny up talking to this kid, she was also sharing her sandwiches with him. No, not 'her' sandwiches, 'their' sandwiches, as in 'Harry and Ginny's' sandwiches. They were sitting fairly close to each other in a small loveseat seated by the fire.
Harry felt a strange sort of anger, almost the same feeling he got when Cho went with Cedric to the Yule Ball in his fourth year. 'It's almost like jealousy…' Harry quickly fought off that thought. He didn't know why he would feel jealous, it was only Ginny. He couldn't exactly place the feeling and he didn't want to. He told himself that Ginny was nothing but a good friend and surrogate sister. He stood there, staring for a few minutes, until Ginny turned her head and spotted him standing there.
"Oh Harry-couldn't sleep again? Come on over, there's plenty of room," she said, sitting on the floor in order to leave Harry a seat on the couch. The boy gave him a strange sort of look that struck Harry as odd; this was the same boy that jumped at the chance to get Harry's autograph after winning the Triwizard Tournament. Harry remembered the boy's name to be Phillip.
"Thanks, but I can sit on the floor. It's no bother." He sat down next to her on the floor and patted the seat next to Phillip for Ginny to get back on.
"I couldn't Harry. You sit there," she answered.
"I'm the guy. I should sit on the floor." Their little argument ended up being an all out shoving match on the floor. Finally, Harry picked Ginny up, and sat her down on the loveseat. In response, she jumped up while he was still standing and pushed him down onto it. He hopped back down onto the floor, and started to tickle her feet.
"Stop, stop. How about a truce?"
"I'd like to hear this," he said.
"How about we both sit on the floor? As long as that's all right with Phillip."
Harry shot a sorrowful glance at the perturbed Phillip. "That's okay Ginny. I should be getting up to bed anyway.
"Oh, but didn't you have a question to ask me?"
"I'll ask you tomorrow. Could you meet me in the common room tomorrow night at seven?"
"That'd be great Phillip. Good-night."
"Good-night," he said heading off to his dorm.
"What was that all about," Harry asked her once Phillip was out of sight.
"I think he likes me," she whispered, and gave him a wink.
"Well, er, do you like him?"
"Oh, I don't know Harry. I like him all right, but I don't know if I like him like that. I guess I'll worry about that if he asks me." She covered her mouth over a big yawn. "I think he had the right idea though. I'm exhausted after surviving a whole week of school. You should get some sleep too Harry."
"Suppose you're right. Will you be back down here tomorrow night?"
"I always am."
"Good-night Ginny."
"Night," she said as she yawned. "See you tomorrow Harry."
The next night, Harry waited until all the rest of the boys in his dorm were asleep before he stole down into the common room. He had been in a surprisingly good mood ever since later that night, when he saw Phillip walking around the common room looking dejected. He figured he really should have felt sorry for Phillip; Ginny apparently turned him down. 'That's what Phillip gets for eating my pickle-cracker sandwiches,' he thought.
Harry didn't know where all these strange thoughts were coming from all the sudden. He felt as though he discovered the many secretes Ginny has to offer, and he didn't want to share them. Harry knows how her eyes light up when she tells stories of her childhood, or how her fingers tremble excitedly before she flies on her broomstick, or how she innocently flips back her fiery locks when they get in her eyes. Ginny confided in Harry earlier that she loved to fly as high as she could on her old battered up broomstick, and look at the people running around as tiny dots.
Harry was happy to see Ginny in the common room, alone. He sat on the couch next to her, and gave her a half-smile, which she returned.
"Harry, do you think I did the right thing in turning Phillip down," she asked.
"Yes," he said, a little too quickly. "Er…I mean, you shouldn't go out with him if you don't want too."
"I know. I just didn't want to hurt him or anything. He is a nice guy. I just don't like him like that."
"Who do you like like that," he asked teasingly.
"No one," she blushed. "Don't you think it's unfair though? Great guys like Phillip don't come along very often, and when they do, you can't go out with them because you're too busy thinking about someone else! I guess they're right when they say you can't make yourself fall in love."
Harry, lost in his own thoughts, just looked at her.
"I'm sorry Harry, here I am going on a tangent and you probably have no idea what I'm talking about."
"No, I'm sure you can eventually fall in love with someone. Maybe someone you've known for a long time, but never really got the chance to really know. Maybe you can see a person in a whole new light."
" I guess in Ron and Hermione's case that did happen. Maybe I should give Phillip a chance."
'What am I doing,' he thought. 'I don't know why, but I do not like that Phillip guy. And here I am encouraging her to go out with him! "Oh no. I'm sure Ron and Hermione's case was a lot different. I mean, er…they were a lot better friends than you are with Phillip."
"No, I think you were right the first time Harry. I'm going to give Phillip a shot!"
"Ginny, don't listen to me; I didn't know what I was talking about. I mean, er, seeing a person in a whole new light…what was I thinking?"
She smiled and giggled playfully at him. "Oh, Goodnight Harry. And I don't need anymore 'big brothers,' I have enough of them the way it is." She jumped up and gave Harry a quick hug before ascending up the stairs to her room. Harry just sat there for a moment, going over their whole conversation in his head, and trying to figure out where exactly he went wrong.
A/n Poor Harry, he should've quit while he was aheadJ Well, if you want to see any Harry/Ginny romance, you gotta reviewJ
Disclaimer: All the characters (except Phillip) belong to J.K. Rowling. I didn't make up cracker-pickle sandwiches either, I think my brother made them up, I don't know for sure.