Then and Now



Chapter Two



Harry was sitting at a small table in the common room trying very hard to concentrate on his History of Magic essay but failing miserably. His thoughts were more often focused on the beautiful redhead he was in love with than on knights, goblins and revolutions. Of course, his thoughts were usually directed towards Ginny Weasley. She was always there in his thoughts even when he wasn't thinking about her. The only problem was, she didn't know how he felt about her. She didn't know that when he was within ten feet of her, his heart jumped into his throat, and he felt as though he would pass out. She had no idea that he thought she was the most perfect person ever created and that no matter how much time he spent with her, he always felt empty when she went away.

No, he had hidden his feelings for her very well, maybe too well.

He had made a decision to finally tell her exactly how he felt (or at least ask her out). Of course, that was over a week ago, and it was much easier said than done. He had been trying to work up the courage to go through with it for five days now. So far, however, he had only managed to convince himself that the timing just wasn't right, but the truth was that he was just plain scared.

He sighed and slammed his book shut out of frustration. It's now or never, he resolved to himself, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. He decided that he should get this over with, even if it would turn out to be the stupidest thing he'd ever done.

As he slowly approached the table where Ginny sat working on some homework of her own with a few of her friends, his mind filled with every negative thought imaginable. She'll probably laugh at me, he said to himself. There's no chance that she still likes me. I didn't help that his legs felt as though they were filled with cement and he felt so light-headed, he thought he would surely pass out.

At last, he reached the sofa, after what was definitely the longest walk across the common room he had taken in all his seven years at Hogwarts. All three girls looked up at him with questioning expressions. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. He was debating whether or not to run away and hide under a rock for the rest of the term, when he heard a voice that sounded eerily like his own say, "Ginny, can I speak to you?"

Ginny looked a little confused as she said, "Alright."

Harry quickly glanced around the busy common room and decided it was not the place to have this conversation. What if she said no? Every student in Gryffindor would be a witness to his humiliation. With that thought in mind, he led the way out the portrait hole. Hopefully, no one would be in the hall. Now Ginny looked even more confused, but she followed Harry into the deserted corridor.

"What's going on Harry? Is something wrong?" she asked with both uncertainty and concern in her voice.

"No. Nothing's wrong," he said, mentally cursing himself for not having thought this completely through. He still had no idea what to say. He stood in front of her, looking as awkward as he felt, for what seemed to be an eternity.

"Um. I just wanted to talk to you about something," he said at last. But his heart was beating so rapidly and his head was spinning so quickly, that he was unable to continue with this overwhelming task. He was only able to lean against the wall and look bewildered. Why is this so difficult? Just get it over with. He kept repeating those thoughts as he fought the desire to forget the whole idea and just make up some lame excuse for having brought her into the hall.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Ginny finally spoke up. "Er.what was it you wanted to talk to me about? I really have loads of homework to do."

Harry stared at her for a few more moments, still trying to decide what to do. He eventually gained enough composure to reply, somewhat coherently, "I.well.I was just wondering.well.would you like to go out with me. sometime?"

Ginny did not respond immediately. She only stared at Harry with a look of such intense concentration that he would have thought she was trying to solve a complex Arithmancy problem if he hadn't just asked her out. Finally, she shook her head slightly, as if to clear her thoughts, took a deep breath, and replied, "No, I don't think that would be a good idea."

Harry didn't know how to react. They simply stood looking at one another, neither knowing what to do now. After what seemed like an eternity, Ginny said very quietly, "I'm sorry. I just can't right now." With that, she went back through the portrait hole into the common room, leaving Harry alone in the hall.

Harry continued to stand in the hallway, glued to the floor, staring at the spot where Ginny had been only seconds before. Slowly, he turned and walked away from the common room. He had no idea where he was going, he only knew he couldn't g back in there. He felt heartbroken and humiliated and he just wanted to be alone to sort through what had just happened. He hadn't expected her to say yes, but somehow he was still shocked. After he first asked her, he had thought that there was a chance that she might say yes. It seemed like she wanted to say yes.

Why did she say no?

He had known that she had gotten over her childhood crush on him. He realized that the summer before his sixth year when he had gotten to know her better. That summer Dumbledore had allowed him to spend a considerable amount of time at the Burrow. He even got to spend his birthday there. He smiled to himself as he remembered the only real birthday party he had ever had. His smile quickly faded, however, as he remembered what had just passed between him and Ginny.

At least now, he knew how she felt about him. She had gotten over him completely. And now, he had no choice but to get over her. Forget about her, he thought to himself. But he knew, deep in his heart it wouldn't be that easy. Actually, he felt certain that getting over Ginny Weasley would be the hardest thing he had ever done.





A/N: Just wanted to reassure you that H/G will get together in the end. Do not fret, and please don't hate me.