A/N: Yipee!!! I just can't believe many are enjoying this fanfic as much as I do!!! I even got more reviews than expected!!! Thank you so much to you guys! I love you all!!! Person, horsegirl, mandy and jenny. Wow! I have new reviewers again! Welcome to my fanfic and I hope you're enjoying yourselves… Bucky, at last I've heard from you again! I thought you already left my fanfic…. I'm glad you're back. Tinabedina, I hope so too. Harry keeps on denying his feelings, poor Ginny… Danielle, I really would like to do your suggestion but I think Ginny will be sad about it (don't you think?) so… just check the author's note after this chappie. Jenny, I am so flattered *blushes* Thanks. Mandy, same comment as Jenny's *blushes a little more* ginny5, I'm glad you appreciate how I upload so fast. I'm glad too because you reviewed my fanfic. LilDoodle, guess what? I think what you did is DEAD cool! Thanks! Appreciate it very much… D.G. Revlis, I really love you! You reviewed *almost* all my chapters… I'm so touched! From the bottom of my heart, I want to extend my deepest thanks! Liz, I'll email you again next time so don't worry. Thanks! Tsutsuji, don't worry about your problem with "you-know-who", I'm sure that you two can work it out sooner or later (winks). Thanks for the compliments! Horsegirl, that was soooo many exclamations in your review! Does that mean you like my story very, very much??? If you liked it so much, I'm very flattered (again). Thank you. And to Person, Wow! I'm happy you liked my fanfic! Please continue reading…
What a long author's note! Anyway, thanks to those who read AND REVIEW my story. I really love you all! LOVE AND PEACE!!!!
Disclaimer (I KNOW WHAT TO PUT THIS TIME! *grins*): What is in here that is familiar to you is not mine, definitely NOT MINE. But if you see something, rather weird and unfamiliar… think about it, maybe it is mine! The plot is mine!!! Gwahahahaha!!!!
By the way, the song in this chapter isn't mine (it's from Hercules if I'm not mistaken) but since it fits the story here 'cause Ginny's reading Muggle Walt Disney, I decided to put it. I think I read a fanfic with this song too (Kiss the Girl), I'm not copying the fanfic or anything but for the sake of Walt Disney (which I really love) I hope you don't mind if I also put that song. I really want to put it 'cause it suits this chapter!!! Please don't sue me…
WARNING: I think this chapter is a little mushy… ^ _ ^' I guess.
Although some of my beloved reviewers wished that Kyle would die I couldn't kill him 'cause I still have other plans for him. I'm sorry but Kyle didn't fall 75 feet above the ground. But guess who fell??? *grins*
Chapter 15
Just an Inch More...
Harry entered the locker room and made an announcement to everyone.
"Okay, team. This is the time. Like what Wood would have said if he were here, win or die trying. But just take it easy, okay? Don't pressure yourselves but don't underestimate them, either." He said. Harry looked at everyone and nodded. "Let's go then." He took his Firebolt and walked out of the locker room and to the field.
Ron followed him closely and said, "You know who the Hufflepuff Seeker is, Harry?"
Harry shrugged and looked into the crowd, immediately spotting Ginny, Maya and Hermione cheering loudly. "Haven't heard any news about it." Harry answered, looking away from the crowd.
"Well, I have." Ron said with a smile.
"So, who is it?" Harry asked, his heart beating faster as they neared to Madam Hooch. His stomach felt like it was filled with small butterflies fluttering in every direction.
"You won't believe it but it's Tatterson. Kyle Tatterson," said Ron.
Harry's stomach lurched and the butterflies fluttered faster and faster. Great! Now I'm feeling sick, thought Harry as he looked at the other side of the field.
Seven people were walking towards them all in yellow robes. Harry looked at their seeker and Ron was right—it was Kyle.
"Okay, I want this game to be smooth and fair. No cheating or whatsoever." Madam Hooch said once the fourteen players were around her.
Kyle looked at Harry and smiled kindly. "Good luck, Harry." He said as Madam Hooch ordered them to mount their brooms.
Harry mounted his broom and nodded to Kyle. "Same to you."
And they were off. The bludgers were released and the Golden Snitch flew out of sight.
Harry soared immediately into the skies. He felt so better now that he was up in the air again. But then, he still couldn't believe Kyle was Hufflepuff's Seeker.
I can't believe Ginny didn't even tell me all about it! Harry thought as he circled the fields, ducking from a bludger that tried to hit him square on the face. But I think Ginny doesn't know about it either, He thought. That explains why he's interested with my match against Hufflepuff.
Harry had been so busy with his thoughts that he didn't notice that the game was getting tenser. "Angelina! What's the score?" He shouted to Angelina, who was the nearest Gryffindor to him.
"50-40 to Gryffindor!" She shouted back as she caught the Quaffle thrown to her by Katie Bell.
Harry knew he must find the Golden Snitch fast or the Hufflepuff was going to tie with them. If he had anything to wish for that very moment, he'd only wish one thing—that they win this game with a large difference in the score. He felt very determined to win the game. Especially now that he knew that Kyle was the Hufflepuff Seeker. He didn't want them to win, he really didn't want Kyle's team to win.
Harry looked around for any sign of the Snitch. Kyle was doing the same on the other side of the field. Then, Kyle immediately sped downwards, was it possible that he saw the Snitch? Harry couldn't take any risk, he followed quickly and was soon on Kyle's tail. Kyle continued to dive towards the ground and Harry knew exactly what Kyle was trying to do—the famous Wronski Feint (what Hermione calls Wonski Faint). He immediately pulled his broom and sped to the left as if he saw the Snitch. Kyle also pulled out of the dive and followed Harry.
Now let's see how well you play the game 'Follow the Leader', Harry thought as he saw Kyle at his back. Harry flew up then to the right. Left, right, down, right and up. Kyle was a pretty good Seeker; Harry couldn't lose him. Then, on the top of the Gryffindor goal post, Harry saw a glint of gold flashing just behind a Hufflepuff Chaser. Harry didn't want Kyle to see this so he just continued to make swerves and turns around the field. But Kyle got tired of following Harry, now was Harry's chance.
Harry flew instantly to the Golden Snitch. But Kyle followed him just like lightning. The two were now racing for the Golden Snitch.
The crowd knew what was happening and they began to cheer for the Seekers.
"Potter! POTTER! Go get the Snitch,POTTER!!!"
"Go Tatterson GO!! Get the SNITCH!!!"
The crowd was getting louder and louder. The Slytherins were all shouting, "Go, Potter!!! Fall from your broom!!!"
Harry didn't mind the shouts of the crowd. All he knew was that he must win. "I must win." He told himself. And then he reached out his hand and reached for the Snitch. Just a little more, Harry thought. His broom was already unsteady and he knew that any minute he could fall if he wouldn't steady his broom. The Snitch was very near to him…almost in his reach.
His broom couldn't take it anymore. Harry lost his balance and he was dropping fast to the cold muddy ground.
***M***
Harry opened his eyes and looked around.
Where am I? Harry asked as he adjusted his eyes to the dark surrounding. He was on one of the beds of the hospital wing.
Harry placed his hand on his head. He felt bandages wrapped around it.
Then, Harry noticed that there was something (or someone) holding his other hand. He looked at his hand and saw a girl. The girl was seated beside Harry's bed, leaning forward on Harry's bed and sleeping peacefully. It was Ginny Weasley who was holding his hand.
Harry looked at Ginny. She looks tired, Harry thought as he looked at her face. He didn't take his hand off Ginny's touch instead he preferred it to be there forever.
"That girl had been here ever since you got in here."
Harry turned and saw Madam Pomfrey standing on the other side of his bed.
"The others were here too a while ago but Professor McGonagall told them to go to bed already." She continued.
"Why is Ginny here then?" Harry asked.
"She insisted very much and Professor McGonagall didn't have any choice but to say yes. That girl is very smart." Madam Pomfrey said.
Harry smiled as he thought about what Ginny had done to make Professor McGonagall say yes.
"By the way, you want something to eat or drink?"
Harry shook his head and said, "I just want to sleep, that's all."
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Very well, I'm in my office if you need me." And she went back silently.
The silence in the hospital wing seemed music to Harry's ears. He felt at peace and he forgot all his worries. He began caressing Ginny's scarlet hair with his other hand and began singing subconsciously:
"If there's a price for rotten judgment
I guess I've already won that
No girl is worth the aggravation
That's ancient history—
Been there, done that!"
A voice seemed to reply to Harry's singing…
Whody'a think you're kidding
She's the Earth amd Heaven to you
Try to keep it hidden
Honey we can see right through you
Boy, you can't conceal it
We know how you feel and who you're thinking of….
Harry looked down at Ginny and felt blood rushing to his face… Was it possible? He continued to sing:
"No chance, no way
I won't say it, no, no!"
But Harry's heart was persistent…
You swoon, you sigh
Why deny it uh-oh!
Harry mind fought back…
It's too cliché
I won't say I'm in love
Harry's heart continued to insist…
You keep on denying who you are and how you're feeling
Baby, we're not buying
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling
Face it like a grown-up
And ya gonna own up
That you got, got, got it bad
Harry continued to sing:
"No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no"
But his heart was insisting more and more…
Give up, give in
Check the grin—you're in love
Harry mind fought back too…
This scene won't play
I won't say I'm in love…
"You're doing flips
Read our lips: you're in love,"
Harry looked at Ginny, who was already singing with him. Harry smiled and continued the song,
"You're way off base
I won't say it
Get off my case
I won't say it"
Ginny smiled back and sang:
"Boy don't be proud
It's okay you're in love"
Harry and Ginny sang together:
"At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love…"
"I'm glad you're already awake!" Ginny said to Harry.
"Me too. I'm glad too that you're already awake." Harry replied.
Ginny blushed when she saw that she was still holding Harry's hand. "Sorry." She murmured, retrieving her hand immediately.
"That's okay." Harry said with a small smile. "You know that song too?"
"Yes, I've read it in the Walt Disney Collection you gave me and I asked Hermione if she knew the tune. She even taught me how to sing it. It's one of my favorite songs in the book." Ginny answered.
"Finished reading the book?" Harry asked.
"Not yet." Ginny smiled. "By the way, why are you singing that song?" She looked at Harry curiously.
Harry felt himself blushing and looked at Madam Pomfrey's office. "I just wanted to. That's all."
"Are you sure?" Ginny said in a teasing manner.
"Come on, Gin!" Harry said, blushing more. "I just wanted it."
Ginny giggled.
"What's funny?" Harry said, pouting.
"You're blushing!" Ginny laughed.
"No, I'm not!"
Ginny grinned and said, "You look cuter when you're blushing!"
Harry's face turned a perfect shade of red just like Ginny's hair.
"See!" Ginny said and giggled again.
After Ginny's giggles died out, Harry changed the topic.
"So, what exactly happened in the match? I can't remember anything after I fell." Harry said, fixing his glasses.
"I felt shocked when I saw you falling. I followed Hermione and Maya who went down immediately to see your condition." Ginny told Harry.
"Did we—lose?" Harry asked, looking intently at Ginny.
Ginny smiled. "No, we won." She said. "You got the Snitch just before you fell off."
"I can't remember anything, but I do remember myself falling. And what happened next?" Harry said.
"Kyle dived immediately and saved you." Ginny said, smiling.
"He saved me?" Harry said with a tone of disbelief.
"Yes." Ginny said. "I didn't even know he was the Hufflepuff Seeker. He never told me about it," she looked at the other beds in the hospital wing—all of which were empty.
"He was here a while ago with Ron, Hermione, Maya and me." She added.
"I also didn't know he was Hufflepuff's Seeker. It was quite a shock to me." Harry said.
"He's so kind, you should thank him as soon as you get out of here," said Ginny, smiling.
"Yeah, I'll do that." Harry said. "If it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead by now." He smiled at Ginny.
Ginny smiled back.
Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and went to them. "I think we can take the bandages now. The wound is healed already." She said, looking at her watch. She took out her wand and went close to Harry.
"Umm…Madam Pomfrey, can I do that for you? I've been reading books and I think I can handle this myself." Ginny said, taking out her own wand.
Harry smiled as he listened to Ginny. She sounds a bit like Hermione, Harry thought.
Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow and looked at Ginny. "Are you sure you can do this right?" She asked.
"Positive," said Ginny.
Madam Pomfrey looked at Harry, who was sitting on his bed. "So what do you think?" She asked Harry.
Harry smiled. "I think she can do it." He said.
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Okay, I'll leave it to you then." She said to Ginny. "If something happens to my patient, I'll tell this to Professor Dumbledore."
"Yes, Madam. I'll take care of everything." Ginny said.
And so Madam Pomfrey returned to her office with a yawn.
Ginny looked at Harry and smiled. "This is just easy, just relax, okay?"
"Okay, I trust that I won't end up with a blasted head." Harry said.
"Harry!" Ginny scolded. "I'll just take off your bandages, it's just very easy."
Ginny stepped a little closer to Harry and pointed her wand to Harry's head. Magically, the bandages started to unwind on Harry's head until all the bandages were off.
"See? It's finished!" Ginny exclaimed, showing Harry the bandages on her hands. She smiled while looking into Harry's emerald green eyes.
Harry looked into Ginny's eyes and leaned forward. Closer and closer, Harry's lips inched closer to Ginny's. Their eyes weren't blinking, they just stayed like that—looking at each other.
Ginny's heart began beating faster and faster. She didn't know what to do.
Just an inch more…
Then a voice inside Harry's mind shouted. Harry! That's Ron's sister!!! Immediately snapping out of his trance, he stopped inching forward and blushed furiously.
"I'm sorry, Gin." Harry said, leaning back to his bed. He couldn't look into Ginny anymore so he looked down instead.
Ginny's heart began to beat normally again.
"That's all right." Ginny smiled, but Harry still didn't look at her. "I think you ought to take some rest already." She said.
Harry really felt stupid that very moment. "Umm…Gin. Thanks for visiting." He managed to say.
Ginny placed the bandages on the table and said, "You're welcome." She started walking towards the door. She held the doorknob and opened the door slowly.
"Gin?"
"Huh?"
"I'm really sorry about what had happened." Harry said, looking firmly at Ginny. "And I-I promise it won't ever happen again."
Ginny smiled. "I know." And she went out to the cold castle's corridors.
Ginny looked back at the hospital wing. "Just and inch more…" She murmured. I couldn't believe Harry was going to kiss me, Ginny thought. He had probably thought I was Maya or something… perhaps because Maya and I have the same eyes…
If he had kissed me, I don't know what I would have done. Maybe I would have slapped him or even cursed him. But what if I kissed him back? Ginny felt shivers as she looked around the dark corridors.
"It's not safe to be wandering the castle past your bedtime, Miss Weasley."
Ginny looked around to see who had spoken.
Then she saw a pale boy with silvery blonde hair. It was Draco Malfoy.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" She asked, sounding really irritated.
"And what are you doing here?" He returned the question to Ginny.
"It's none of your business." She said, walking faster to get away from Malfoy.
"Why are you in a hurry?" Malfoy said, blocking her way. "You just went to visit your boyfriend, am I right?" He smirked.
"Harry's not my boyfriend, okay?" Ginny said, feeling sleepy already.
"Well, if that's what you want." Malfoy said with a smile. (A/N: Malfoy smiled at Ginny?!?!)
"What do you want exactly?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing." Malfoy replied.
"Then why are you here?"
"Waiting for you." Malfoy said. "That Potter's making you suffer, I think you should forget him."
Ginny gave out a cold laugh. "And now you're acting that you know me?!"
"You're right. I don't know you, but I'm just giving out my opinion." Malfoy replied.
"If you don't mind, I'll be going to bed now." Ginny said, walking past Malfoy.
"I'll walk you to the Gryffindor tower." Malfoy offered. "It's too dark to walk alone."
"You think I can't find my way there?" Ginny said in a sarcastic manner.
"It's better to walk with someone." Malfoy said, walking with her silently.
The conversation between them died out. None of them could find any word to say.
But Ginny was partly happy Malfoy escorted her to the tower. The castle was truly scary at night.
"We're here." Malfoy said.
"Okay, now you go to your own room and sleep." Ginny said, walking towards the portrait.
Malfoy started walking away.
"Malfoy?" Ginny said.
"…"
"Thank you." She said gratefully.
"Just don't tell this to anyone." Malfoy said.
"I won't," said Ginny. "Who would believe me?" She smiled.
"No one." Malfoy smirked. And Ginny slipped into the hole to her dormitory.
Malfoy smiled to himself and walked back to the icy dungeons.
Meanwhile, back at the hospital wing, Harry still couldn't sleep. Looking at the ceiling, he probably had counted every crack there was in the ceiling. He kept on thinking about Ginny. I bet she would have slapped me if I continued that. He thought. Imagine, just an inch more and I could have broken my promise to Ron… He closed his eyes and tried to sleep once more.
Just an inch more…
A/N: Well, I hope you liked it. It's getting hotter, isn't it? Please review this chapter okay??? By the way, Malfoy is getting soft to Ginny, what do you think about that? Well, I hope you REVIEW THIS!!!
To Danielle, I really APPRECIATE it 'cause you did the favor I asked my reviewers to do. Thank you so much! If you have any favors to ask from me, don't be shy and I'll be happy to do what I can for you. Just don't ask me to kill Kyle, okay? We'll get rid of him in some other way…
So to those people who HAVEN'T reviewed my first NINE chapters yet… PLEASE REVIEW FOR MY SAKE. I'm not doing this as a threat but, if I don't get at least 5 reviews on my first nine chappies, I won't post the next chapter… Hehehe. I'm evil. Please review them, and I'll appreciate it so much that I'll do you a favor too. (^ _ ^') Of course, you need to review THIS chapter too. Sorry if I'm too demanding but hey I'm the one spending time to type this. (Best Friends Reviewers: But hey, we're the ones spending time reading this, you know!) I know but please be kind and do me that small favor. Even though just one review for chapters 1-9 or if you're very kind, which I'll really appreciate, you can do separate reviews for chappies 1-9! Thanks!
I'm already working on the next chapter… Kyle's going to court Ginny. What will Harry do about this? Will he tell Ginny that he also loves her? A ball is about to happen before Christmas vacation… and well… just read my next chapters. But you'll be able to read them if only you would review my first nine chapters… so… go on and push the buttons!!!