Greetings all! Its Finals week now and my first four finals are over, so I finally had a chance to update the fic. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reviewing; I really appreciate it!

Title: It's Never Too Late

Key Characters: Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione

Chapter Two: Oops

            Flipping her long, red hair over her shoulder, Ginny sighed in frustration and climbed into the portrait hole to the Gryffindor Common Room. Her arms were full of books that she was using to finish the essay that she had planed on writing the previous night, but so got side tracked. Well, mad. She got pretty mad at a certain black haired, green eyed seventh year Gryffindor. Speaking of Harry, he looked up from his spot in a cushy chair to watch Ginny walk in. She held her head high in the air and went straight up to her dormitory room, walking by Harry so quickly that her breeze caused her to catch a whiff of Harry's cologne. Half of her brain melted, but the other half reminded her of the previous night and the past six years. "Why should you all of the sudden forgive him for the years and years that he completely ignored you, even after all of the loyalty and support that you showed him?" her practical side asked her. She tossed her books on the floor and flopped down on her bed. "Damn men… always trying to make life complicated," she muttered to no one in particular. "Yeah, I know," a voice said from the door.

            Hermione was at the door smiling at her and holding a bag of cookies that she had snuck up from the kitchens. Ginny sat up and smiled. "You always did know how to cheer me up, Hermione!" she said, making room on her bed for Hermione to sit down. The older girl smiled and said, "Well, the Head Girl likes to keep everyone happy!"

            Taking one of the soft cookies and breaking it in half, Ginny continued, "…so I said something about not wanting him to be lonely and me spending time with him, but he was like 'Why?' and had his arms crossed. I mean, can't I do something nice for someone without them thinking that I have an ulterior motive?" Hermione snorted and said, "Boys… they're so simple that they're complicated. Take your stupid git of a brother, for instance… the entire time Viktor was here in our fourth year, and the entire time Viktor and I were dating our fifth year, Ron was so moody every time I tried to do something nice just for him. He would call Viktor 'Vicky' and ask me why I wasn't sending him an owl at the moment. It really started to piss me off, until I realized that Ron was jealous… well, until Harry told me that Ron was jealous. My point is… I think that Harry is really quite jealous of Mike." Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "Hermione, we have gone over this a million times. Harry Potter is not interested in me, nor will he ever be. It's just something that is going to have to die away with time." Shaking her head, Hermione smiled. If her thoughts were correct, Ginny would be eating her words in about a week.

            "What are they talking about up there?" Harry asked Ron, anxious and fidgety. "How much of a brainless git you are," Ron said, trying to sound serious but breaking into a smile. Harry frowned, but Ron said, "Harry, I'm sure Hermione is just telling Ginny all about how much of a gentleman I am and how sweet I was yesterday." Harry burst into laughter but quickly stopped when he saw Ron's face. "Sorry," he said, suppressing another laugh, "I thought you were joking again!"

            A few days flew by… Ron and Hermione were trying to limit the amount of snogging they did in front of Harry, and Harry was trying to ignore it the best he could. Ginny was a little too busy with her homework to worry about Harry or Mike, and she was often in the library until late at night. "Did you turn her into you?" Ron asked on Friday night, noticing that Ginny was at a table in the common room, reading over her Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 book. Hermione swatted at Ron, but then smiled, snuggling up to him on the couch where the three were sitting. Harry shifted uncomfortably, wishing Ginny would come over and talk to him. She could yell at him for all he cared; he missed her company and he was tired of being around the two love birds all the time. However, she was involved in her work, and he knew better than to disturb Ginny, whose temper was worse than Ron's; he simply leaned back and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, escaping from Ron kissing Hermione and the thought of Mike kissing Ginny.

            Ginny studied and wrote until she was the last person in the common room, and then she picked up her books and headed to her bed to try to sleep. Things had been bothering her lately: school, Mike, being mad at Harry, not talking to Harry, how strong her feelings were for Harry after all these years, Harry, Potions, and Harry. Just as she passed the couch and headed up the stairs, she saw someone out of the corner of her eye, and he was asleep on the couch. Realizing immediately who it was, she couldn't help but smile. "The great Harry Potter sleeps too, you know," she thought to herself, setting her books down in a chair. She walked over to him quietly and leaned down to hear him breathe, and with a smile, she pushed the hair out of his face. "Harry?" she whispered softly, still leaning close to him. He didn't budge. He was so easy to get along with while he was asleep! "Okay Harry, if you like Malfoy, just keep quiet," she whispered, trying not to laugh. Once again, he was silent. Giggling, she said, "If you want to marry Professor McGonagall, lay there and sleep." As he remained still, she giggled a little louder. Putting a hand over her mouth, she watched him for a second to see if he was awake. He didn't move, so she said, "If you like Ginny Weasley, raise your hand." He didn't move. "That's what I thought," she said softly and sadly. She reached out and shook him, causing his eyes to open slowly. "Come on Harry, it's time for bed," she said, a small smile on her face, but sadness in her eyes. He looked at her, a little confused, and she mistook it for grogginess. "You fell asleep in the common room. I thought you would like to go on up to bed," Ginny said, watching him start to get up. Looking at her for a second before speaking, he said, "Thanks."

            Harry paused, thinking about what to do, but Ginny turned and walked to the stairs to her dormitory. Just before she reached them, something came over Harry and he blurted out, "I heard you." She froze. Turning around slowly, she stared at him for a second and then whispered, "What?" Looking into her brown eyes, Harry said, "I heard you… when you thought I was asleep." Her face turned a bright shade of red and her eyes widened. "Oh," she squeaked, whirling around and sprinting up the stairs.

To be continued…