Harry did not sleep well that night. He just kept turning her words over and over inside his head... that he needed to help himself, before he helped anyone else. Before he helped her. How had she known that, after her confession about her nightmares, all he wanted to do was help her, hug her... wait, that wasn't right. She was Ron's little sister. Ginny was a year younger than Harry...wasn't she?

***

"Ron, when is Ginny's birthday?" Harry asked on their way to breakfast the next morning.

"Um, November twenty-forth, why?"

"No reason." Harry paused. "That means she kind of old for her grade."

"Yeah..." Ron eyed his friend suspiciously. "Do you have a point?"

"No... She just..." Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "...is pretty smart. For her age, I mean."

Ron laughed. "Oh, and don't I know it. She never fell for many of Fred and George's tricks. But then again, they didn't try to trick her much... she Uis/U every Weasley's favorite. Not just Mum's." Ron smirked. "I'd hate to see what her six brothers are going to do to her first boyfriend."

Harry winced. Then he wondered why he winced.

"Come to think of it, Harry, you're young for our grade. Imagine if you'd been born a month and a half later! You could have bloody well been best friends with Colin Creevey..." Ron laughed about this, but Harry was thinking. He actually was closer in age to Ginny than Ron. How...interesting.

They reached the Great Hall, and Ron said, "I hope Ginny isn't telling Hermione any more 'funny' stories."

Sure enough, Ginny and Hermione were sitting next to each other, immersed in conversation. But neither girl was laughing, in fact, Hermione and Ginny were comparing homework and apparently discussing school subjects.

Ron sat down across from Hermione silently while Ginny looked up and saw Harry. She blushed, and Harry found himself also blushing as he sat down. Hermione noticed, crinkling her nose perplexedly.

"Good morning!" Ron was immune to the uncomfortable silence on his left. "Did you finish your Transfiguration essay, Hermione?"

She looked crossly at him. "Of course I did."

"Then maybe you could help me. See, I'm a couple of inches short..."

Harry double-checked to make sure they were properly arguing before muttering to Ginny, "We need to talk."

She apprehensively nodded, than asked, "When?"

Harry was about to answer when the entire Gryffindor table grew silent. A smug Ron and a shocked Hermione had just found out that Hermione's essay was shorter than Ron's.