*Author's Note* Yeah!! Here's the second chapter! This one's a little longer. PLEASE review. If youre an author, you know how good it is to get a review and know that someone is reading your stuff. My first day published, I got five reviews(all good!!) I meant so much to me to seem my stuff published online and it gave me such a lift knowing you liked my stuff!! If you're not an author, well, just take my word. I don't care if you're review if one word. It can be flames or no flames, just review it. Enjoy the story, and don't forget: I warned you I'm a hopeless romantic!!!

*Dislclaimer*All the HP characters belong to JK Rowling, and sadly, not me!

CHAPTER 2: GUY STUFF & GIRL STUFF

A week later, the six Weasleys (Percy had to go in to work), Harry, and Hermione went to Diagon Alley using Floo Powder(this time without incident). Everyone split into groups: Mrs. Weasley and Ginny went to get Ginny's supplies, Fred and George went to buy supplies(though Harry had a sneaking suspicion that they meant "prank supplies"), Mr. Weasley went to pick up a few things, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron went off on their ritual supply shopping followed by sundaes at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
The trio saw other Hogwart's students. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were picking up Potions supplies in the Apothecary. Neville Longbottom was picking up his books in Flourish and Blotts. Hermione spotted Lavender Brown and Parvati and Padma Patil in Madam Malkins Robes and began to talk. Fred and George had kept their world to Harry and given Ron money for new dress robes. Ron settled on some navy blue dress robes and Harry bought cadet blue robes.
When Harry and Ron saw that Hermione would be talking for a while, they told her they were heading over to the ice cream parlor and she should meet up with them later.
"Since when is Hermione friendly with the 'popular girls?'" Ron asked, looking back at the happily chatting girls.
"Dunno. I guess she's sick of just guys," said Harry. "I mean, she doesn't understand when we talk about 'guy stuff' and we don't understand when she talks about 'girl stuff.' She needs some girls to talk to sometimes."
"I guess" said Ron, grabbing a seat at a table. "So, she would order without her, or wait until she comes out? Harry?? Harry??"
But Harry didn't hear Ron. He had totally zoned out. Cho Chang, Harry's crush since third year walked by. Harry stared at her without meaning to. Cho was talking to one of her friends. She smiled and flipped her hair as she talked. Her hair caught Harry's attention. She must have gotten it done over the summer. Instead of the waist length, straight black hair she usually had, her hair was in tight curls. It only reached her mid-back now. Then Harry's attention went to her smile 'Some how she manages to show all her teeth even when she's not talking' Harry thought. That comment sounded familiar. Harry remembered that he had said almost the same thing about their egotistic former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lockhart. Only then it was an insult; now it was a good thing.
Ron must have seen who Harry was staring at, because he said with a devilish grin: "So Harry, when you say 'guy stuff,' you really mean Cho Chang, right?"
"Oh, shut up Ron." Harry said, waving his hand to hit Ron, but missing, because he never took his eyes off Cho.
"Oh come on Harry! Do something other than just stare at her. If you really like her, go for it! I mean, she's only one year older."
"Look, Ron," Harry said impatiently, "I asked her to the Yule Ball last year, but she was going with Cedric. I felt so stupid after that, and I'm in no hurry to relive that. I bet she's got guys fawning all over her."
"Well, now you've got a chance at her now that Cedric's out of the way. I mean," Ron added hastily, seeing the pained expression on Harry's face, "sure, it would've been better if they'd just broken up or something, but still. Look Harry, she's walking over here. Ask her to sit with you."
Indeed, Cho was bidding her friend farewell and walking towards them.
"But-" Harry began. He always got so flustered around her. He was afraid he'd start blubbering like an idiot again.
"Harry," Ron said seriously, "You've got to be her friend before you can be her boyfriend. Just treat her like Lavender or some other girl. Just talk to her on a friendly basis. And" Ron added, almost reading Harry's mind, "I'll move to another table. It'd just be awkward if I was sitting here.
"All right, I'll do it" Harry said, taking a deep breath. Ron slapped him on the back as he moved to a nearby table.
"Cho!" Harry called, summoning all his courage. 'Remember, you're brave, you're in Gryffindor' he thought. Cho turned around to see who was talking to her. "Er, would you like to site with me?" he asked hopefully.
Cho's face broke into a smile that light up her face. "Sure!" she said, coming over and sitting across from Harry.
Harry's heart gave an involuntary jump and he felt his pace quicken. Harry knew he should start a conversation before they settled into an awkward silence.
"So, how's your holiday been Cho?" he asked, hoping his voice wasn't shaking. "Oh, it's been pretty good. I've done some traveling. I visited a Muggle cousin here in London and a wizard cousin in America. You won't believe how different it in on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean!" Cho said.
"Oh, so you're half-blood then?" Cho nodded. "For some reason, I always thought you were a pure-blood."
"No. My mom's a witch. She didn't go to Hogwarts thought. She was living in China when she was educated. I think the school was "Gong Fu Academy of Magic." My dad is also Chinese. They were married in China and moved to England later. I have a lot more Muggle relatives though, so I'm used to Muggle culture, both British and Chinese."
"Gee, I guess you'll never have to take Muggle Studies." Harry said, in an attempt at humor.
Cho giggled. Her giggle seemed to release some of Harry's tension. 'This isn't going so made' he thought.
"No, I know lots about Muggles, though I grew up in a distinctly magical house. Mum would do chores with magic and mend all our 'ouchies' as we called them, using magic. She would tell me and my sisters fairy tales, only from the magical point of view. Like, Cinderella's godmother's take on the ball."
"Oh, so you're not an only child" Harry said, pointing out the obvious. He figured that this, being a basic fact, would come in handy in future conversations. "Is your sister older or younger?"
"Lin's six years older. We didn't get along very well at home, cause, well, six years is a pretty big age difference. But when we were at Hogwarts at the same time, it was great! We were in the same house, so I always had someone to go to for help with homework. I remember the day of my first potions lessons. Snape was horrible to me!! I ran to her in tears, but she comforted me. Potions has always been my best subject, because I've always tried to prove him wrong."
"Not to pry," Harry said, his curiosity getting the better of him, "but what exactly did he say?"
"Oh!" Cho said, laughing at the memory, "He told me that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake putting me into Ravenclaw, because I obviously wasn't smart enough!!"
"That's horrible!" Harry said, remembering all to well Snape's hatred for him. "I get a good deal of nastiness too. Snape hated my dad when they were in school, so now he takes it out on me!"
"Oh, that's awful." Cho said. "Anyway, now Lin works for the Accidental Magic Reversal Department in the Ministry. She's fairly high up, considering she's so young."
"That's great." Harry said "Ya know, she might have been behind a letter I got in my second year. A house elf had used magic in our Muggle house, and I got a letter telling me that the use of any more magic would get me expelled!"
Cho laughed, "You'd be surprised how often that happens!"
"Well," Harry continued the discussion about family, "I don't have much family, and the family I do have, I wish I didn't. I know, I know" Harry said, seeing the look on Cho's face, "if they were just Muggles, I'd be fine. But they are so anti-magic! I didn't even know wizards existed until I got my letter! Well, actually, Hagrid had to get me, because they refused to acknowledge I was magic, and they wouldn't give me my letter!"
"Wow! I don't think I'd like them very much either." Cho said.
"Anyway" Harry continued, "The Weasleys are like family to me. And Hermione's like a sister" Harry paused here. True, he loved Hermione. But lately he'd be thinking of her in less than sisterly way. Harry shook his head. 'Don't blow your chance with Cho!' he told himself."
Cho was sitting there, twirling her hair around her finger. This reminded Harry of something. "Cho?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering what you did to your hair. It looks great, but it's definitely is different than the last time I saw you!" Harry said, trying to show her that he was attentive to details. Plus, we was just curious.
"Oh! I'd wondered if you noticed!" Cho said. Harry's heart lept. She wondered...That means she had been thinking of him! 'Get a grip, Harry' he told himself. "I got it permed last week. The curls are a little bit much, but by the time we get back to school, it should just be wavy."
"Oh. Well, it still looks nice." Harry said, hopping he didn't come off sounding stupid.
"Umm, Harry, this has been great. I'd really like to get to know you better, but I've gotta go. Maybe we could get together some other time..."
"How bout this first Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.
Cho smiled. "Sure, that'd be great! I'm sure we'll talk before then. See ya Harry!" and with that she got up.
"Bye Cho!" Harry called after her retreating figure.
'Yes! I did it!' Harry thought 'Wait, did I just make a date with Cho Chang?!'
Ron came back, grinning. Hermione was with him. 'Geez,' Harry thought 'I was so wrapped up in my conversation with Cho, that I totally ignored my friends!'
"So Harry, how'd it go?" asked Ron the matchmaker.
"Great! I think" Harry replied "We're gonna get together on the first Hogsmeade weekend!"
Harry saw Hermione's eyes flash, and wondered if she was jealous. 'Don't be silly! Hermione's not the jealous type.' he scolded himself.
"Harry, thats great! It's fantastic that you've finally talked to her! This way, you can tell us all about her instead of complaining that she'll never like you!" Hermione said.
They all laughed. Ron was grinning. Harry felt he should give Ron some credit. "Well, Ron really was the one who convinced me to talk to her. Well, more like bullied me into talking to her."
"Hey," said Ron, punching Harry playfully on the arm. "I just saw what you didn't!"
"And what was that?" Harry said, eyebrows raised.
"That you were completely infatuated by her!" Ron said. Everyone laughed as Ron jumped to avoid the shin-kick Harry was aiming at him.
"So guys, how about some ice cream?" Hermione asked, eyeing a triple chocolate sundae at another table.
"Sounds good" Ron said, seizing a menu.
Over sundaes, Harry recounted for his friends the conversation he had just had with Cho. It was then that Harry remembered that Hermione herself had just gotten out of a long conversation.
"Hey Hermione," Harry said, putting the spoon back in the dish.
"Mmm?" Hermione said, or rather grunted. As her both was full of whipped cream, she couldn't say much.
"What could you possibly have talked about with the populars for so long?"
"Yeah, I'm rather curious myself." Ron said, taking another scoop of hit Too Fruity Sundae.
Hermione took on a faint blush. "Well, y'know, girl stuff."
Harry and Ron looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"And just what is so funny?" Hermione asked indignantly.
"One," Ron said, regainig his composure, "you have whipped cream on your nose." At this, Hermione definetly blushed and tried to wipe off the whipped cream. "And two," Ron continued, "Harry and I had justed had a conversation about 'guy stuff and girl stuff.'"
"So, exactly what aspect of 'girl stuff' did you four ladies chat about?" Harry said.
"Well," Hermione said, bushing aside the empty dish that once held her ChocoNut Sundae, "They mainly wanted to talk about the fact that I looked different and Viktor."
"Ya know," Harry said, also pushing aside his ice cream dish(he had ordered the Triple Chocolate Sundae) "I notice something WAS different about you. I know! Did you lose weight?"
"Actually," Hermione said, "I did. I didn't mean to, it happened quite by accident." Harry and Ron looked puzzled at how you could lose weight by accident.
"I'll explain," Hermione continued, "Remember how I told you I was going to visit Viktor this summer? Well I did. And it turns out I don't like Bulgaria food nearly as much as I like French food. I didn't eat much the whole week I was there, so I lost a couple of pounds. Oh, and after I got back, I got my hair layered and lightened, so maybe you noticed that."
Harry and Ron looked at Hermione's hair. It was indeed a golden-brown color instead of just plain brown. And it wasn't as bushy as usual either.
"So, how it Viktor?" said Ron. That summer, Ron had taken great delight in telling neighbors that he knew Quidditch Star Viktor Krum, and acted as though the two were close friends.
"He's doing alright. We've decided to keep in touch, though I think between the fame, age difference, and long distance, we'll just be friends. I mean, girls are all ogling him because he's famous. But we'll still keep friends. Oh!" Hermione said, looking at her watch, "Ron, we have to meet your parents!" Harry threw down some money(the ice cream was his treat) and the three hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron. Once everyone was there, they Flooed back to the Burrow.
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The rest of the holiday was rainy. Whenever they got the chance, Fred, George, Harry, and Ron would head out for some Quidditch practice. Ron was learning to be an excellent Keeper. Whenever they were forced to stay inside because of the rain, Ron was either reading Harry's Quidditch books or beating Harry in wizard chess. Harry was getting better: he had beaten Percy, Hermione, and Ginny, but he was still no match against Ron.
Since the girls were a minority in the house, they were frequently subjected to "guy talk," which mainly revolved around Quidditch. Ginny and Hermione, however, were able to enjoy the quiet and "girl talk" whenever the guys played Quidditch.
On August 31, Mrs Weasley perpared a farewell feast. She had chicken, corn, bisuicts, potatoes and pudding for dessert. She seemed especially teary this year, perhaps because it was Fred and George's last year. Harry had mixed feelings as he went up to bed: he was looking forward to returning to Hogwarts, his home, but he knew he'd miss the Burrow. Harry thought about the birthday party Mrs. Weasley had thrown for him and the very special gift she had given him. 'I really didn't even thank her.' Harry thought guiltily. He rummaged in his trunk for the parchment and quills Percy had given him, laughing to himself. 'Geez, itsn't it weird that Percy's dumb gift is the most useful so far!' Ron heard Harry looking for something, "What's up, Harry?" Ron asked sleepily.
"Nothing much Ron. Don't worry, it's just something I need to do." Harry said, unscrewing the cap on his ink bottle.
"Alright," Ron said, drifting back to sleep.
When Harry had finished his note, put it on Mrs. Weasley's pillow. Harry, feeling satisified with himself, went back to sleep.
When Mrs. Weasley went into her room, ready for a nice sleep after a long day, she saw a note on the pillow. 'Oh great,' she thought grumpily, 'One of the kids forgot to give me something of their list and NOW they want me to get it. Probably Fred and George, they're such procrastinators.' She opened the note and read, in very neat handwriting she didn't recognize:

Dear Mrs. Weasley,
I want to thank you for all you have done for me, and not just this summer. Without you, I'd never have gotten to Hogwarts! You were there on the Platform on the first day, and you told me how to get on. Because of that, I knew Ron. I was very glad to know someone, and we became friends. So I have you to thank for giving me my best friend.
Your house is so wonderful! The Burrow is amazing. I, who grew up in the most non-magical house in the world, love to explore all the magical things. You're house is a safe haven, a refuge from Privet Drive. Thank you for always taking me in.
Thank you for the wonderful party you gave me! I can never remember having a birthday party, so it meant a lot to have a surprise party, at that.
Most of all, I want to thank you for the book about my parents. You must have gone through lots of trouble to make it. It mean more to me than you will ever know. Though you are like a mother to me, and your family is like my family, you can never replace MY family. It is so good to finally know what my parents were like and where I came from.
I wrote a letter, simply because I would cry if I spoke these words, and, well I'd be embarassed if I cried. This is to thank you for everything you have ever done for me and let you know that I am eternally grateful.
Harry

Mrs. Weasley put the note away, in the special drawer of her dresser, the silent tears pouring down her face. 'Oh Harry' she thought, drifting off the sleep, 'thank YOU.'
************************************************************************ The next morning at the Burrow was what is best described as pandemonium! Fred and George, surprisingly, were up early. But, as the others soon found out, that was to do all the packing they had neglected to do. Ron woke up late because he wasn't feeling well. Not only did he throw off the shower schedule, but Mrs. Weasley was running around trying to find medicine for his cold. Harry couldn't find his dress robes. After tearing up Ron's room looking for them, he discovered that he had already packed them. Even Hermione was in a dizzy. Her problem wsa the worst: she couldn't find her wand. What good woudl it be not to have your wand in a school of magic!? After trying out many fake wands, Hermione found her 10 inch maple and dragon heartsring wand(good for Transfiguration) in the kitchen sink, of all places. The only one who seemed to be completely ready was Ginny. She slept late, because she knew everything was all packed. She was bright eyed and bushy taled, a real minority in the Burrow that day.
After a hurried breakfast, everyone took their stuff outside. Mr. Weasley had been able to get a Ministry car. Since there was only one car, all six kids squeezed in and Mr. and Mrs.Weasley would Apparate to King's Cross. Much to everyone's relife, they arrived on time. Fred and George walked through the barrier to platform 9 3/4 togther, followed by Ginny and Hermione, who casually leaned through the barrier, followed by Ron and Harry, who took the barrier at a run.

*A/N* Sooo, whaty'd think?? A little cliffhanger, but nothing drastic. Now, bear with me, because I'm starting to get writer's block here, but I'll work hard. I thought Harry and Cho should be togther. See, that's two wishes and dreams for Harry! First he got a birthday party, now his friends with the girl of his dreams! But there's trouble in paradise, because, as Harry noted, he'd been having conflicting feelings for Hermione!! Please review, flames, no flames, suggestions, whatever! Pass word on about this story! Thanx! -Megaroni