Just Friends?
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.

Chapter Ten

Ginny sighed as she took Crookshanks from the Ravenclaw Seeker. The cat would pass from the girl who the Boy Who Lived liked to the girl who he ignored to finally reach the girl he was always with.

She would have given almost anything to switch places with either Cho Chang or Hermione Granger.

Ginny knew it was just a crush. She had been told over and over again that her feelings for Harry Potter was just puppy love.

That didn't make it hurt any less. Especially since he tended to ignore her so completely. If he had paid any attention to her, if he had shown any interest in her, perhaps it would have been easier to get over her feelings of first love. As it was, he was not interested in her at all and it just hurt so much.

It was funny how a single wound to the heart could hurt all over and for so long.

She was also unlucky in her choice of crushes. If she had chosen anyone else, then she might have been able to easily find faults and so get over her feelings in that way. Quite a few of her year-mates had liked Draco Malfoy when they first arrived at Hogwarts. Yet his general nasty disposition and foul temper quickly led those classmates to reconsider what they thought of him. Any tender feelings that remained were quickly squashed after the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match in their second year where Malfoy had cheated in the most blatant of fashions.

Her year-mates were lucky. She had fallen for the boy who saved her life in her very first year. She knew he had faults, but when compared to those of others, they really didn't seem significant. She couldn't use the classical method of getting over one's first love by listing ways that love wasn't good enough for her. Whenever she tried that, she couldn't think of anyone good enough for him.

She sighed again. Dwelling over her crush did no one any good. As time passed, she had gotten better. When she had first come to Hogwarts, she could hardly look at Harry without blushing. Now she could look without blushing and even hold a decent conversation with him, whenever he bothered to take notice of her, although those times were few and far between. Her feelings were fading and slowly the pain of having one's first crush denied was slowly going away as well.

While falling for Harry was not one of the brightest things she had ever done, she would always be grateful that she had been able to get closer to Hermione. Being the only girl in a family with six boys was not easy. While her youngest brother, Ron, might have whinged about being compared to their other brothers, he was lucky when compared with her. At least he had never been lonely amongst their great, big family. Ginny remembered all too painfully the times when her oldest brothers were inaccessible, her younger brothers had decided that girls were no fun to play with, and Percy was being, well, Percy. She knew her parents loved her and tried to make time for her, but her dad was always busy with one Muggle artifact or another, while her mum was overworked with trying to keep the twins in line. Growing up at the Burrow had been terribly lonely at times despite the house always being full.

It had been very strange indeed to come to Hogwarts and be living with girls, instead of one's brothers.

Ginny had been totally unprepared for such a change. Her roommates were nice enough, but all too often cruel in those ways that females can be to each other. They had encouraged her to send that awful valentine—even said that the bit of rhyme she had created was the most romantic thing ever. She should have known better but she was too used to her family watching out for her. Neither her brothers nor her parents would have given her such disastrous advice. Her younger brothers would have probably laughed at her, while her older brothers would have been more subtle and understanding. Her dad would have given her mum a look and her mum would have then helped her make a better valentine after a short talk. Not one of them would have set her up for such a heart-wrenching fall.

She had never felt very close to her roommates after that. It was better to hang around the boys of her year or around her brothers until she was told to leave than to give them another chance to hurt her.

Getting close to Hermione had taught her that having female friends could be a wonderful thing. You just had to be careful about who you chose to confide to. Hermione had been much wiser than she in that regard. During one of their first long talks, Hermione had confessed that she would never tell anything important to either Lavender or Parvati. Telling one of them about your crush or something similarly personal would only be broadcasted around school the very same day. Of course, Hermione had also told Ginny at the same time not to worry about making those mistakes in her first year. After all, Hermione had been around girls before and knew what she had to watch out for, while Ginny was too used to her brothers.

Looking back, becoming closer friends with Hermione was one of the best choices she had made. You could trust Hermione. If you told Hermione a secret, she would keep it a secret. If you asked for her help, she would genuinely help you and look out for your best interests. Simply put, she did everything a loyal friend should do. She wasn't faultless. Ginny thought Hermione was a tad too obsessed with schoolwork. While Hermione was very perceptive about others' feelings and indeed cared about what others felt, she could have an astonishing lack of tact at times. Sports didn't interest her at all, much to Ginny's dismay, and she could be a bit of a wimp when it came to things like heights. Finally, and currently not the least of all, she fed her cat too much. Ginny was rapidly getting tired of lugging Crookshanks around.

Despite all of her shortcomings, Hermione was still the best girl that she knew. If anyone could come close to deserving Harry, it would be her. And fortunately, she had finally reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

It was not a moment too soon for the sake of her arms.

Author's note: I always felt sorry for Ginny. First crushes are hard to get over, especially when you chose someone whose such a great person. The poor girl must have been humiliated at the valentine incident though and I thought it was bad that her brothers weren't more supportive. I know that I wouldn't go around singing those verses if my little sister embarrassed herself like that. With that being said, I don't feel sorry enough for Ginny to actually pair her with Harry. It was a crush after all and we eventually get over them. She doesn't really know Harry but rather seems to still put him up on a bit of a pedestal.

Finally, a big thank you goes out to everyone who reviewed the last chapters. I truly do appreciate it. As always, please let me know about any comments or criticisms you may have by leaving a review. Thanks!