I Really Like You Harry James Potter
A/N: Hello all. Slightly different AU for this story. Voldemort and his Death Eaters do not feature in this, though it is not mentioned in the actual story, Dumbledore defeated Voldemort in 1978/9 which killed him for good. Also James and Lily have three children, Harry/Charles and Evelyn, with Harry and Charles being born in July 1980 while Evelyn was born just over a year later in August 1981.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story, please read and review, constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.
28th November 1996
Partially concealed in one of the tall towers of the school Quidditch stadium at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Fifth Year Gryffindor Seeker Ginerva Weasley was trying to stay out of sight as she watched the Slytherin Quidditch team train, or rather watched their Chaser and Captain Harry James Potter organising his other two Chasers into the Hawkshead Formation.
Ginerva, or "Ginny" as she preferred to be called, was fifteen years old with long flaming red hair running down her back, pale white skin that was lined with freckles on her face and a slender, athletic body shape.
Dressed in a warm woolly jumper, scarf and gloves (all of which were knitted by her Mother), along with some jeans and warm boots, Ginny wrapped her arms around herself to stay as warm as she could.
Keeping her eyes on Harry, who was of average height for his age (sixteen) with short, wavy black hair and emerald green eyes behind his spectacle glasses, dressed in some dark green and silver Slytherin Quidditch robes, complete with some leather padding on his chest, back and arms while he was also sporting a new pair of fingerless leather Quidditch gloves.
In Ginny's mind, he was a perfect specimen and she hoped that she would finally have enough courage to take the plunge today and tell him what she really wanted from him.
You see, Ginny had nursed a strong crush on the Slytherin Chaser for a few years now, probably starting during the summer after her Second Year, when Harry, who had come to stay at the Burrow with his twin brother Charles "Charlie" Potter (the best friend of her older brother Ron Weasley) and younger sister Evelyn (now a Fifth Year Gryffindor like Ginny) for a few days.
The same day he had arrived, Harry had let Ginny borrow his Nimbus 2001 broomstick to play Quidditch with her brothers, who would not let her borrow one of their Shooting Star broomsticks so she could play with them.
19th August 1993
"We're using all of the brooms Ginny" her older red-haired brother George shouted down at her.
At twelve years old, Ginny was not happy about being left out by her brothers (Fred, George and Ron) who were playing Quidditch in the large field behind the Burrow with Charles and Harry Potter (both thirteen), with the next words that she heard threatening to bring tears to her eyes.
"How's a little girl like you going to stand up against us anyway?" Ron shouted down at her, making his best friend Charles Potter (who was the spitting image of Harry) laugh while Fred and George just shook their heads in disappointment.
As Ginny turned around and ran back towards the Burrow, she was unable to see Harry flying down towards her.
With tears brimming in her eyes, Ginny jumped as she was stopped dead in her tracks by Harry as he brought his broom to a halt right in front of her.
"Ginny" Harry said as he dismounted his broomstick, taking hold of it with one hand.
Looking up at him with a hurt look on her face, Ginny tried to move past him but he would not let her pass while the four boys flying above them had resumed their game of Quidditch.
"Look… do you still want to play Quidditch?" Harry questioned her.
Ginny frowned.
"What's the point… they don't want me to play with them, they never let me play" Ginny told him sadly.
Harry frowned and took her hand which made her jolt slightly with pink cheeks.
"Here… borrow this" Harry told her.
As she looked up at him nervously, her eyes went wide as he held his broomstick out for her to take.
"What?" Ginny asked of him in shock.
Harry smiled as he let go of her hand.
"You can borrow mine if you want" Harry told her.
Ginny slowly took the broomstick from him.
"You sure?" Ginny asked him nervously.
Harry nodded.
"Go on… go and have fun… take as long as you like" Harry replied softly.
Ginny smiled and hugged him as she thanked him.
After a good few seconds of hugging Harry, Ginny finally let go of him.
"Can you keep a secret Harry?" Ginny asked of him.
Seeing him nod made her spill the beans, hoping that he would not laugh.
"I've been nicking their brooms out of the shed and flying them at night for years" Ginny told him nervously.
Harry smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
"Get up there and show them then" Harry told her.
Upon hearing that, Ginny mounted his broomstick and took to the skies to join her brothers and Charles.
Since that day, she and Harry had gotten closer (if only slightly at first), becoming one of the few real friends Harry had.
From what Evelyn had told her over the years, Harry could count the number of real friends he had on one hand, finding it extremely difficult to make friends in the Slytherin Common Room as nearly all of his fellow Slytherins did not like him.
From what Ginny had been told by both Evelyn and Harry, the Sixth Year Draco Malfoy was the worst of the bunch, openly taunting Harry and referring to his family as "Blood Traitors" and his Mother (Lily Potter) as a "Mudblood", with the bad blood between Harry and Malfoy only getting worse when Harry (as new Quidditch Captain) kicked Draco Malfoy off of the team (as he was a Seeker) in his efforts to overhaul and rebuild the Slytherin Quidditch Team.
From what Ginny had seen so far, the new Slytherin Quidditch team looked better and more organised than they had done in the last five years, swapping the gorilla-like Beaters Crabbe and Goyle (friends/cronies of Malfoy) with the Sixth Year Tracey Davis and the Fourth Year Robert Rosier, both of whom had good aim and equally good strength.
Joining Harry in the Chaser positions were the Third Year Isobel Warrington and the Seventh Year Andrew Urquhart while he had a reserve Chaser in the form of the Second Year Garrick Wilkes.
Completing his team were the Fifth Year Seeker Mattias Harper and his fellow Fifth Year Adam Vaisey who played as Keeper.
Though it was clear that Harry got along with his Quidditch teammates, all of whom respected him as a Captain, Ginny knew that none of them (with the possible exception of Tracey Davis who had dated Harry for a month during the last school year) considered their Captain a friend and likely never would.
On the whole, Ginny felt sorry for Harry having to spend most of the school year in the Slytherin Dormitory in the dungeons where he was constantly having to watch his back.
Had Evelyn not told her otherwise, Ginny would have still believed that everything was perfect for Harry outside of Hogwarts, yet it was not.
Though both James and Lily Potter loved all three of their children dearly, they were frustrated at the complete breakdown of the relationship between their twin sons, which according to Evelyn, had started after both Harry and Charles had started their first year at Hogwarts.
While Charles had followed in the footsteps of both of his parents by being sorted into Gryffindor, Harry was sorted into Slytherin which most likely would have been a shock for all who witnessed it.
Just as he was shunned by his Housemates, Harry was shunned by his twin brother who wanted nothing to do with Harry after he had been sorted into what Charles called "The House of evil", with the once loving relationship between the two boys now completely destroyed, aided by some of the friends Charles had in Gryffindor (including her brother Ron) who were of firm belief that all Slytherins were evil, including Harry.
While Evelyn continued to stick by Harry, James and Lily tried everything within their power to make their twin sons get along again, none of which worked.
Just thinking about how the boy she had liked for so long was treated made Ginny's blood boil with rage, knowing that Harry deserved better than the hand that was dealt to him.
Having grown up with six older brothers, Ginny hated the way Harry was treated by his own brother, not to mention the way he was treated by Ron.
Just as she hated the way he treated Harry, Ginny found herself hating Charles Potter even more last year, recalling how Ron had tried to set her up with Charles after she broke up with her boyfriend Michael Corner last April, with Charles only agreeing to try and get Ginny to go out with him because she was pretty and popular, as well as the fact that it would make him look good if he was dating her.
Glancing down at her right hand, Ginny remembered the palm of her hand stinging with discomfort after she slapped both boys as hard as she could.
Thankfully, Charles would take the hint that she was not interested and move on to the next girl he could find that would fawn over him. Ron was not so accepting, making it clear that he did not approve of any boy who even so much as looked at Ginny, even if he did not know them.
For Ginny, however, she only had eyes for Harry and saw no reason to date other boys while she was waiting for him to possibly make a move.
He was the one she wanted and for good reason.
Not only did she find him cute (or in more recent times, handsome), Ginny knew that he was an incredibly smart wizard who had achieved high marks year after year, as well as being extremely capable with his spell work, particularly in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration where he was among the top students in his year group each school year.
She even recalled a conversation she had overheard between Charles, Ron and Hermione on the first day of this school term, where the three Gryffindors had been openly voicing their anger and jealousy at the fact that Harry was able to grasp the basics of Silent Casting so quickly in their first Newt Level DADA class of the year.
While Ron and to some extent Charles were adamant that Harry had cheated, Hermione (who Ginny had once counted as one of her closest friends until five months ago) was merely jealous that Harry almost always completed the work before her, as she was almost always jealous whenever someone else would do better than her.
Looking back on it, Ginny still felt bitter about Hermione's sudden change in attitude towards her.
After all, Hermione had been only one of the two people (the other being Evelyn) that Ginny had confided in about her crush on Harry last April, a few days after she and her old boyfriend Michael Corner had ended their relationship.
While Evelyn was all for it and encouraged Ginny to go and ask Harry out, Hermione was less enthusiastic about the news, having a low opinion of Harry which was the result of her close friendship with Charles and Ron.
Suddenly, Harry moved to look in her direction which made Ginny panic before pressing herself up against the wooden wall of the tower, hoping that he did not see her as she did not want him to get the wrong idea and think that she had come here to spy on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
After several seconds, Ginny heard Harry barking out some new orders to his Beaters and she slowly moved away from the wall.
As she watched Harry, she found her mind wandering back to her Third Year which had been a turning point in her friendship with Harry.
After a chance meeting between the two of them one afternoon in early December, Harry and Ginny had talked about the Yule Ball which would take place on Christmas Day night of that year.
Having asked Pansy Parkinson (a Slytherin in his year) to go with him as they had spent a day in Hogsmeade together, though he was unaware that she only did so because she was using him to make Draco Malfoy jealous, Harry had been in a bad mood after she had turned him down, calling him a loser among other unkind things.
After spending nearly ten minutes talking to each other (during which she had tried to cheer him up after his rejection), Ginny had revealed to him that she was disappointed that she would not be able to attend the Yule Ball without a date (as she was too young), only to be surprised when Harry suggested that they could go together.
5th December 1994
"I mean… if you really want to go and it's not like I'll find anyone else to ask… why don't we just go together?" Harry asked her nervously.
Taken aback slightly, it took Ginny several seconds to merely nod at him, her cheeks as red as flame as she tried to compose herself.
"I'll go with you" Ginny practically blurted out nervously and excitedly.
Harry gulped and nodded.
"So… we'll go together then?" Harry questioned her.
Ginny nodded.
"Yeah… I guess so…" Ginny trailed off nervously.
His cheeks just as red as hers, Harry quickly told her that he would see her around before she walked away from him, skipping with excitement as she left.
By the time the Yule Ball arrived that night and Ginny had changed into her dress robes (brought second-hand by her Mother) which were pale blue, light pink and dark pink in colour, Ginny was a nervous wreck as she waited for him outside of the Great Hall that night, being self-conscious that he would not like her dress robes for some reason and thus would be disappointed with her.
The root cause of her low self-confidence was not only because she really liked Harry. But also because from what she saw as the other girls walked past her into the Great Hall, all of them were much prettier than her and their dresses/dress robes were a lot nicer.
Yet her fears would prove to be vastly exaggerated on her part that night, as Harry was kind and complimentary of her appearance (telling her that she looked really nice), as well as making sure she had a pleasant time at the Ball.
Laughing slightly, she even remembered how Ron had reacted when he found out that Harry Potter was taking his little sister to the Yule Ball a week and a half before the night of the Ball.
15th December 1994
"This is getting bloody ridiculous now… I'll get Hermione to go with me… Ginny, you can go with Charles" Ron told them out of frustration.
Them, being Ginny and Charles, both of whom were standing with Ron in the Gryffindor Common Room this evening.
Protesting the decision he was trying to make for her, Ginny spoke up defiantly.
"I can't… I'm going with someone else"
"Who?" Ron questioned her.
Ginny straightened up.
"Harry asked me last week… and I said I'd go with him" Ginny told him fiercely with a hint of pink to her cheeks.
Miraculously on his part, Ron seemed to be able to put two and two together, judging by the angry look on his face.
"That snake… you can't go to the Ball with him… I won't allow it" Ron verbally spat at her in anger, with Charles being equally as angry as his friend.
Ginny reeled back in shock.
"Allow it… since when do you tell me what I am allowed to do?" Ginny fired back at him.
Ron scowled.
"Fine… you can go and tell that loser that you won't go with him because you're going with Charles… let him take one of his little snake buddies with him instead, you'll be better off doing that… and people won't think that there's something wrong with you for going with a filthy snake" Ron told her bitterly.
"No… I told Harry that I would go with him and I am going to the ball with him… if your best mate wants a date so bad then tell him to get off his lazy arse and ask someone else" Ginny retorted.
Clearly taking issue with being insulted, Charles sneered at her.
"Please… that loser only asked you because no self-respecting girl will go with him even if he begged them" Charles told her with a sneer.
"He only asked you as a last resort Ginny, you know that" Ron went even further.
Having heard enough, Ginny punched Ron in the nose, being so angry that she broke it as well as bruising her knuckles before running away from him, tears pouring from her eyes as she ran towards the Common Room entrance.
Sitting on one of the benches in the courtyard in the cold that night as she cried over what was said to her, her Head of House and Transfiguration Professor Minerva McGonagall found her minutes later, escorting the sad girl to her office and giving her a cup of tea in an attempt at making her feel better.
From what she remembered, Ron and Charles had ended up in a lot of trouble for what they said to Ginny, though they were still allowed to attend the Ball and had even managed to wrangle themselves some last-minute dates in the form of Parvati and Padma Patil.
Two last-minute dates who had an awful time at the ball that night, with Ginny feeling sorry for them for having such a lousy night.
Though she did not want to be worried that what Ron said about Harry only asking her as a last resort was true, she could not help herself and asked Harry if it was true a few days later.
17th December 1994
"I promise you Gin… I didn't ask you as a last resort… and unless you say otherwise I don't see any reason why we can't go to the ball together" Harry told her after she had cornered him in a private corridor to ask him if what Ron had said to her was true.
Relieved, Ginny surged forwards and wrapped him in a tight hug.
As she hugged him tightly, Harry slowly brought his arms up to her back to return her hug.
"You mean it Harry?" Ginny asked him softly.
"I do… do you still want to go to the ball with me?" Harry replied with a question of his own.
Ginny looked up at him and nodded, perhaps with a bit too much excitement.
"Yes… yes, I want to go with you Harry" Ginny told him softly.
Harry smiled down at her.
"Then we're going together… no matter what anyone says about it" Harry told her.
Having felt down for two days before she had this conversation with him that afternoon, Ginny had felt her confidence return in an instant.
One hour later…
Now standing outside the entrance to the stands that was close to the changing rooms and captain's tent, Ginny watched patiently as the team made their way out of the changing rooms, with Harry making a detour into the captain's tent while his teammates started walking back towards the path that led back up to the castle.
As she pushed herself away from the stand she had been leaning on, Ginny felt her feet carrying her towards the captain's tent, hoping to catch Harry alone so she could finally make her move.
A move she was so close to making on her fifteenth birthday last August.
11th August 1996
Finding herself alone with Harry at the foot of the winding staircases of the Burrow while the rest of her guests and her family were outside, Ginny took a deep breath as she placed her hand on his arm.
"Happy birthday Gin" Harry told her kindly.
Ginny smiled and held a small piece of his sleeve between her thumb and index finger.
"Thanks for the gloves, Harry… I love them" Ginny told him in return.
Unable to miss the fact that she had moved closer to him while she was toying with his shirt sleeve, Harry took a deep breath to steady himself.
"You're welcome Gin" Harry replied.
With the distance between the two of them now mere inches, Ginny swallowed her nerves as the thought of kissing Harry was at the forefront of her mind.
"Come on Ginny… just kiss him already" Ginny thought nervously as she slowly moved towards him.
As she tilted her head towards him ever so slightly, a large knock from above them caused the two to break apart instantly.
As Harry and Ginny were apart, Ron descended the stairs towards them, looking at Harry with a sneer on his face, though Ginny doubted that her brother knew exactly what he had just interrupted.
Had he known what Ginny was about to do to Harry, he might have reacted differently.
Now slightly embarrassed and deflated at the missed moment, Ginny quickly walked away from Harry, who remained still as though he was deep in thought.
For a long time since that day, Ginny had been too embarrassed to even talk to Harry for longer than a few seconds, feeling like the moment to take their friendship to the next level had passed them by.
Today, she was determined not to let that same moment pass them by once again.
Finally reaching the captain's tent after a minute or two, Ginny made her way inside, making sure that she was as quiet as possible as she moved towards him.
Something that she was ultimately unsuccessful at, stubbing her toe on one of the chair legs and letting out a small cry in pain which made Harry wheel around to meet her.
"Ginny" Harry called out in surprise before he flipped the chalkboard he had been writing some notes about his formation and tactics upside down so she could not see what was on it.
Ginny held up her hands in defence while taking a step back.
"I didn't see it, Harry, I swear… and I swear I wouldn't tell anyone what was on there if I did" Ginny told him quickly.
Harry took a deep breath before asking her.
"What are you doing here Gin?"
Though quite a few people called her "Gin", it was Harry who made her smile the most when he called her that name, with Ginny liking the way it just rolled off of his lips.
Turning a shade of red to match her hair in anticipation for what she was about to do, Ginny looked down at her feet nervously.
"I was… I was kinda hoping that we could talk… just the two of us" Ginny replied nervously.
Glancing at him, Ginny saw his cheeks turning pink before he nodded.
"Okay… what do you want to talk about?" Harry asked her, with Ginny feeling certain that she could hear a nervous hitch in his voice.
Ginny kept her eyes on the ground as she made her way over to where he stood, coming to a halt several inches away from him, resting against the polished wooden desk.
"Gin… are you okay?" Harry asked her, slightly concerned that she was being so quiet.
Of course, being in close proximity to Ginny Weasley was making Harry feel nervous all over his body, given that he had harboured more than friendly feelings for her for nearly six months now, recalling the few times when they had been so close that he thought they were going to kiss each other.
Just as she liked him for his fine qualities, Harry liked her just as much as she liked him, finding her fierce nature and wicked personality extremely attractive, just as much as he was attracted to her good looks which were noticed by many of the boys close to her age at Hogwarts.
The moment they had at her fifteenth birthday party last August, where Harry had been so close to her that he just wanted to kiss her over and over again, wishing he had done exactly that for weeks after her birthday.
How she had hugged him mere hours earlier on that day when he gave her the birthday present he had gotten for her. Giving her some brand new leather Quidditch gloves as he had noticed how battered and worn her old gloves were.
Gloves that she had worn during every Quidditch practice session she had since that day, liking the feeling of the smooth leather against her skin just as she liked Harry.
The time when their paths had crossed in the hallway at Potter Manor when they were dressed in their swimwear, ready to spend the warm summer day in the pool, with Harry trying his hardest not to stare at her legs or her slightly athletic stomach (from practising Quidditch) as he really liked what he saw.
Just as Ginny was trying her hardest not to look at his toned chest on that day, Ginny felt that that was the most awkward moment they had shared together, even though she liked the look of him in his swimming shorts and sleeveless shirt.
She knew that he liked the sight of her in her bikini, sandals and shorts as he could not take his eyes off of her for most of the time they shared in that hallway.
Just like she was now, keeping her gaze on the floor with red cheeks.
Taking a deep breath, Harry moved slightly closer to her.
Looking up to see him standing in front of her with barely any space between them, Ginny slowly stood up to close that remaining space.
He was so close to her that he could count her freckles if he wanted.
"You know you can tell me anything Gin… absolutely anything" Harry told her.
Looking down into each other's eyes, neither said a word for several seconds, though there was a slow increase in breathing from both of them.
"I… I… I really like you Harry" Ginny told him nervously, breaking the silence as she got lost in his emerald-green eyes.
Feeling his heart explode with excitement, Harry could only blurt out one reply.
"I like you too Gin, I really do"
The heat in her cheeks and the hammering of her heart now ramped up to the extreme, Ginny had a nervous smile at what she had just heard.
"Really… you like me as more than a friend?" Ginny asked him nervously.
There was absolutely no turning back now, not that she wanted to turn back of course.
Harry nodded, his cheeks reddening to match hers for colour while his hands slowly found their way to her hips which had Ginny's stomach doing flip-flops.
Standing there in silence, both Harry and Ginny were just waiting for the other to make the move, with both of them waiting for the other to do so.
A similar situation to the one they found themselves in three and a half months ago on her birthday, though this time they hoped that they would not be interrupted.
Even if by some bizarre chance they did get interrupted, they both knew that they were still going to kiss each other in the next few minutes and nothing was going to stop them.
Swallowing her nerves for a brief moment, Ginny placed her hand on his cheek.
"Harry… I think this is one of those moments… where we should, you know… kiss" Ginny told him nervously, biting her lip and shuffling slightly in an attempt to stifle those nerves.
Those bloody nerves that Ginny blamed for not kissing Harry on her birthday four months ago, even with Ron unknowingly interrupting them in what should have been the perfect moment.
Harry gulped before taking the plunge and leaning his head down, starting to close that small gap as he was only half a head taller than her.
Ginny brought her hands up to his neck to guide him down before leaning her head back just in time to meet his lips.
As their lips touched, Harry brought his hands up to her the small of her back to pull her as close to him as he could.
Having only kissed two girls before Ginny, one of whom was the Ravenclaw Seeker and Quidditch Captain Cho Chang (four disastrous dates in Harry's opinion) and the other being his housemate and on-off girlfriend of two months Tracey Davis (with their friendship becoming strained following their breakup), kissing Ginny felt far better than both Tracey and Cho combined, with the feeling of her slender but athletic body pressing against his being a bonus.
When they finally broke their first kiss together seconds later, they could not break the eye contact that they were sharing.
"I wanted that to happen on my birthday… and then Ron had to bloody ruin it" Ginny told him with red cheeks with a scowl appearing on her lips at the mention of her brother.
Harry moved her back until her bum hit the desk and she sat down.
"Me too… and when he interrupted us I chickened out… a part of me just wanted to say fuck him and kiss you right then and there, show him that I liked you and I did not care that he did not like me" Harry told her.
Ginny's lips curled into a smirk as her heart was hammering in her chest.
"So, you really wanted me on my birthday… spill, how long have you wanted me like this?" Ginny asked of him.
Harry slowly took her hand, letting her lace their fingers.
"All summer… I guess it started that day after me and Tracey broke up before the end of term, I needed a shoulder to lean on and you were there for me… I guess that was the moment that made me start thinking that there could be something more between us" Harry told her nervously.
Ginny leaned towards him and gave him another kiss as her arms came to rest on his shoulders.
"You're one of my best friends Gin… and I don't care what people might say about us dating, I still want to date you no matter what they say" Harry told her as their lips separated.
Ginny smirked before standing up and giving him the deepest kiss she had ever given anyone.
"Then date me… ask me out here and now" Ginny told him in a determined voice.
A determined voice that projected the fiery personality that drew Harry to her like a moth to a flame.
"Will you go out with me Gin?" Harry finally asked her.
Ginny wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest.
"Yes… yes, I will go out with you" Ginny told him softly, loving the feeling of his beating heart against the side of her head.
Harry smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Can I take you to Hogsmeade on Sunday?" Harry asked her softly.
Raising her head to look up at him, Ginny gave him a small smirk.
"I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you Harry… but as for today… will you join me for dinner?" Ginny asked him in return.
Placing his arm around her shoulder, Harry smiled and nodded.
"I will" Harry replied.
Ginny smiled and slowly moved away from him.
"I'll meet you outside the Great Hall in an hour then… unless you want me to stay?" Ginny asked him testily.
Harry took her hand and squeezed it.
"Give me a few minutes to pack up… then we'll go back together" Harry replied.
Ginny smiled and pecked his lips before sitting down on his desk, watching him finish clearing up with interest on her face.
When he was finally ready to leave after shrinking his Nimbus 3000 (which was a present from his parents after becoming Quidditch Captain) and putting it in his pocket, Ginny stood up and took his hand, interlocking their fingers and squeezing.
"Come on… I'm getting hungry just thinking about dinner" Ginny told him as she started to pull him towards the tent flaps.
One hour later…
As they walked into the Great Hall hand in hand, Ginny felt the eyes of many students from all four houses on them, their eyes zeroing in on their joined hands for several moments before the whispers started.
Before too long, Ginny knew that the story about her and Harry dating would be all over the Hogwarts rumour mill whether they wanted it or not.
As they walked up between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, Ginny spied Evelyn and some of her friends sat close to Harry's identical twin brother Charles "Charlie" Potter, her own brother Ron Weasley and their best friend Hermione Granger, all three of whom were a year older than her in their Sixth Year.
At seventeen now, Hermione had a long mane of bushy brown hair and she was dressed in a warm hoodie and jeans.
Looking exactly like her Mother did at fifteen years old, Evelyn Jasmine Potter had long auburn hair that was tied up in a ponytail while she was dressed in a warm red and gold wool jumper that had her initials on the front, with the jumper being a birthday present from Mrs Molly Weasley.
Moving towards Evelyn and her childhood friend Luna Lovegood (a Fifth Year Ravenclaw), Ginny refused to let go of Harry's hand even after she noticed Ron and Charles looking at her with anger on their faces.
As she and Harry sat down next to each other, Evelyn was about to open her mouth to ask Ginny how she and Harry finally ended up together before another voice travelled up the table towards them.
"Get your hands off my sister Potter!" Ron shouted at them, though he was not loud enough to the point where everyone in the Great Hall overheard him.
Instead, it was only heard by those around them, all of whom turned to the stocky, short red-haired boy.
Turning to look at him, Ginny smirked at him and pressed herself into Harry's chest.
"Actually Ron… I rather like having his hands on me, you could say his touch is… magic" Ginny told her brother cheekily.
Watching triumphantly as his ears turned red with anger, Ginny twisted her head and kissed Harry for everyone in their vicinity to see.
"You've gotta be kidding me… you can't date this snake, I won't allow it" Ron spluttered with anger.
Feeling Harry's arm loop around her stomach, Ginny smirked and fed him a chip from the serving platter.
"I'll date whoever I want to date Ickle Ronniekins… just as you can date whoever you want… and ogling those girls in your Playwitch magazines doesn't count as a date" Ginny retorted, using the nickname given to him by their mother that he absolutely hated.
By now, the people sitting near them had fallen into a tense silence as they watched the two Weasley Siblings arguing with each other.
Sensing another opportunity to annoy Ron further, Ginny gave Harry another kiss.
"Stop bloody kissing him in public… it's bloody disgusting having to watch you two snogging each other while I'm eating" Ron growled.
Breaking her lips away from Harry's, Ginny turned back to Ron.
"Why… because you can't stand seeing your little sister kissing her boyfriend when the only kissing you've ever done is kissing that picture of Auntie Muriel that you keep stashed under your pillow" Ginny retorted.
"Shut up" Ron growled as laughter erupted around him.
"Snogging a picture won't help you practice for the real thing Ickle Ronniekins… if you ever manage to grow up enough to experience the real thing that is" Ginny told him mockingly.
With laughter erupting all around them, Ron scowled before standing up and storming out of the Great Hall, followed closely by Charles and Hermione, both of whom were attempting to stifle their own laughter.
4th December 1996
As Harry returned to their booth in the crowded Three Broomsticks pub with two glasses of foamy butterbeer in his hands, Harry placed one of the glasses in front of her before sliding into the booth next to Ginny, letting her take his hand that was resting on the table.
"Thanks" Ginny told him as she shifted closer to him.
Smiling as her fingers danced over the back of his hand, Harry picked his glass up in his other hand.
"Bottoms up Gin" Harry told her as he raised his glass.
Ginny smirked and picked her own glass up.
"Bottoms up" Ginny replied, chinking glasses with him before they both took a drink of the warm, foamy beverage.
As they placed their glasses back on the table, Ginny smirked when she saw the foam moustache above his top lip.
"Here" Ginny told him amusedly as she leaned towards him, using the thumb of her free hand to wipe the foam from his upper lip.
As she did so, she saw Harry smirk.
"Makes a great starter moustache, doesn't it?" Harry replied.
Ginny smirked and gave him a kiss.
"A starter moustache that would not suit you in a million years… not at this point in your life anyway" Ginny told him cheekily as they moved apart slightly though they kept their joined hands locked.
Meanwhile…
As Hermione removed her coat, gloves, scarf and hat before sitting down opposite Charles and Ron, she caught sight of Harry and Ginny sitting in one of the corner booths.
Though she was not the biggest fan of Harry, given how he and Charles treated each other which she felt was made worse due to the fact that they were twins, Hermione did note that Ginny genuinely looked happy with Harry, happier than she seemed to be with Michael Corner last year at least.
As such, Hermione decided not to tell Ron and Charles that Harry and Ginny were sitting over there, not wanting her two friends (particularly Ron) to cause trouble for Harry and Ginny.
After Charles had ordered some butterbeer pints for them, Hermione heard Ron groan before he let out.
"Oh, bloody hell"
Hermione sighed, knowing that Ron had seen his sister and Harry.
Following his gaze, Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron was clearly overreacting to the situation as Harry and Ginny were merely holding hands and talking to each other.
"Come on Ron, they're only holding hands" Hermione told him with a hint of frustration in her voice, wishing that Ron would just grow up a little bit and ignore what he was seeing in the corner of the pub.
With that, all three of them caught sight of the young couple sharing a kiss.
"And snogging" Hermione said sheepishly as she quickly turned away from Harry and Ginny, not wanting to be caught staring at the two of them.
Also turning away from Harry and Ginny, Ron straightened up though the look on his face made Hermione believe that he was trying to remain calm.
"I'd like to leave" Ron told them.
Hermione chuckled while Charles looked equally as uncomfortable as a waiter placed three glasses of butterbeer on their table.
Hermione quickly paid for their drinks before leaning closer to Ron with her elbows on the table.
"You can't be serious Ron" Hermione told him.
Before Ron could answer her, Charles spoke up.
"Can we at least change tables… I'd rather enjoy my drink without watching my brother kiss his girlfriend"
"And that happens to be my sister, Hermione… it's bad enough that I have to put up with the fact that she's dating that loser… I shouldn't have to put up with watching them snogging out in public too" Ron finally replied to Hermione.
In disbelief at the actions of both boys, Hermione had an amused look on her face as she replied.
"So… if Ginny looked over and saw you snogging someone, would you expect her to just get up and leave Ron?" Hermione questioned him amusedly.
Ron scowled and positioned his chair so that his back was facing the booth that Ginny and Harry were occupying.
"Come on… let's go and sit over there" Charles told her bitterly.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Look… I'm not the biggest fan of your brother, I admit… and I know that you two don't have the best relationship… but he and Ginny seem genuinely happy together… can't you just be a little bit nicer to him?" Hermione asked of him.
Charles just scowled and sipped his butterbeer, not even giving her words any consideration.
