Chapter 14 ~*¤ I took a super long break from this story to make some new, shorter ones and also because my hard drive was freaking out. Well I majorly re-wrote some chapters because the plot was ridiculously dramatic. I was gonna have chapter 15 be the last chapter, but I decided this story was much too loved to be finished. Seriously, it was my very first imaginary adventure for Harry Potter: my friend and I first thought of it when we were ten. And now I'm almost 15 and am actually trying to develop it into a real story. Weird!

Harry danced down the third floor hallway, singing loudly and positively beaming. He hopped down two flights of stairs and encountered Ginny sitting in the living room, lackadaisically watching the television. Her attention was piqued when she noticed Harry's jubilant attitude.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

Harry returned her gaze curiously. "What are you talking about?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You're happy."

He skipped over to her and pulled her off the sofa. "Of course I am."

She returned his smile. "What do you mean by that?"

He simply grinned, and kissing her forehead, danced towards the door.

Ginny followed him across the room. "Where are you going?"

Just as he was walking out the door, he began singing in his crystal- clear voice, "I think I'm in love…"

Ginny watched giddily through the window as he twirled down the moonlit sidewalk. She could still hear his muffled voice through the thin glass. Just then, Ron walked into the room.

"What a girl. He's always singing about something."

Ginny frowned as he plunked down on the sofa and changed the television channel to a soccer game. "I think he has a beautiful voice."



"I never said that he was bad at it. I just said that it's a girly thing to do."



"Whatever." Ginny stood up and sauntered lazily into the kitchen. "Do you want any cookies?" Ron leapt off the sofa and burnt his hand on a hot, squishy cookie. "Not yet, Ron! I just pulled them out of the oven, you have to let them cool before you can touch them. Oh no, now this one has a finger-dent in it."



Ron laughed. "Yeah, but what happened to the poor finger? Can I have some ice to put on it?"



Ginny dampened a cloth in cold tap water. "A hot cookie couldn't have burnt you that bad. Just cool off your hand with this."



"Dinner was so good," said Ron as he slumped back into his lazy position on the sofa, "I'm stuffed."



"I wonder where Harry went at this time of night." Ginny sat next to Ron and, to his obvious dismay, switched the channel to "Martha Stewart Living".



"T'isnt that late. Just about eight o' clock."





"Yeah, but does he know where he's going? He could get lost."



"Coronado isn't that big of a town, Gin. And I'm sure he's not going far. Maybe he's meeting Mike somewhere- if you're really that worried, go chase after him," Ron snatched the remote control from Ginny's hand and switched the station back to the soccer game. "Can I have one of those cookies now?"



"I'm not going to chase after him. That would be too…too weird. Too "stalker". Sure, go get a cookie."



Ron pushed himself wearily off the sofa and stole a cookie from the pan. "Why didn't Hermione come down for dinner?"



Ginny stretched and switched the channel back to "Martha Stewart Living". "I have no idea. I made her look so sexy, too. I can't believe she didn't want to show herself off."



Ron shoved the entire cookie into his mouth. "I do' 'noh, mayb oo shou go geth her."



"Ew, Ron, don't talk with your mouth full." She stood up and walked towards the stairs.



"Wai! Gim!" he called with his cookie-mush-filled mouth. She turned around, and he showed her his partially chewed food.



"That's disgusting," she said, and was answered by Ron's raucous laughter.



She climbed the stairs and walked down the hall towards Hermione's bedroom. She knocked twice before entering.



"Hermione?"



Hermione was sitting quietly on her bed. She hadn't taken off any of the makeup or clothes Ginny had let her borrow.

"Why didn't you go down for dinner?"

Hermione looked up at Ginny, who was standing uncertainly in the doorway. "Well, I got to thinking…why did I want to look like somebody I'm not? I mean, the makeup, the trendy clothes…eventually I got to thinking that maybe I was trying to impress somebody. Maybe just having him as a friend wasn't enough, y'know?"

Ginny moved closer. "You taking a fancy to Ron?"

Hermione blushed and shrugged. "I've always wanted to know how it feels to have a man's love. How it feels to have him put his arms around you and protect you, and just how it feels to know that he cares about you in that special way."



Ginny smiled and her eyes partially glazed over with fond memories. "It feels wonderful. Especially Harry…I swear he's perfect. Every year he defeats these monsters and wizards, and he's never cursed, never hit an innocent person- well excluding Sirius- never taken advantage of anybody…he's so brave and valiant and DAMN good-looking…he sings like an angel, and he-"



Hermione interrupted. "Okay, okay Ginny. I get the point."



"Sorry," she bashfully apologized, "Well, why don't you go downstairs and tell Ron how you feel?"



"Because I just told him I wasn't ready for a boyfriend just this afternoon! What's he going to think when all of a sudden I've changed my mind?"



"He's going to be incredibly excited, that's what! Go tell him, I'll watch from the dining room."



"Not right now! It has to be the right moment." A look of peace settled over Hermione's usually stressed face, as if she had been planning the next statement for a very long time, "He'd have just saved me from something bad. I'd be in his arms, and I'd look up at him, and he'd look down at me, and then we'd share the most wonderful, most romantic kiss of all time. Then he'd tell me how much he loved me, and how he'd been pining over me for years. Then we'd kiss again, and I'd tell him that I loved him as well." The two girls sighed dreamily and laid back on the bed.



"That'd be dreamy, 'Mione," mooned Ginny.



"I wish that would happen," sighed Hermione.



"Doesn't every girl…," Ginny added.



Another knock on the door, and Calista sauntered into the room.



"Hey Calista."



"Hi Calista."



"Hey guys. You bored?" She joined them on the bed.



"We're mooning over boys," answered Ginny with a grin.



"Harry's quite the person to moon over, isn't he? You're a lucky girl, Gin," said Calista.



Ginny smiled and nodded exuberantly. "Like you Americans say, "He's a major hottie."



They laughed, and for a moment Hermione thought fondly of Ron.



"So anyway, I'm bored. Want to play a game?" asked Calista expectantly.



Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances. "A game?"



"Truth or Dare! I love that game!" exclaimed Calista excitedly.



"Oh, that is the BEST game!" piped in Ginny. She bounced on the bed.



"How do you play?" asked Hermione.



"Well, everybody gets in a circle. The first person asks a person of their choice "Truth or Dare?" and the other person has to either answer a private question- they can't lie- or do whatever dare the first person makes up. Then after their turn is over, the second person gets to do the same thing to whatever person they choose."



"Sounds interesting," commented Hermione.



"Let's go get the boys!" exclaimed Ginny. The three girls scampered down the stairs, where Ron was still watching the soccer game. Hermione yanked him off the couch while Ginny ran outside to get Harry.



"So where are we going to play?" asked Ron after Hermione had told him about the girl's plans.



"Umm…how 'bout in one of the empty guest rooms?" offered Calista.



"That's fine," said Hermione. Harry walked through the front door carrying Ginny, who greatly resembled a blushing bride.



"This game sounds rather interesting," he said with a bright smile.



"That's what I said. Come on, let's go play."



The five teens clamored up the stairs.