Title: So Hard to Let Go
Author: Dragon's 1 Girl
Summary: It's the summer between Ginny's 5th and 6th year. This is when she finally confronts Harry about her feelings for him. But, things never turn out as they should. Along with a rousing game of Truth or Dare!
Rated: R for strong language and 'detailed' and blunt mentions of SLASH relationships
Warnings: SLASH RELATIONSHIP, don't read it if you don't like it! Don't flame me for that reason! (I'll just toast marshmallows with them!) You've been warned!
Disclaimer: As much as I love them, the characters do not belong to me! ::sniff, sniff:: I wish they did! But anyways, I just borrowed them from the lovely J.K. Rowling. Only the plot belongs to me. (Though, Draco would make a very nice present!)
A/N: This is my first fic ever! R/R but, please, don't be too harsh! Thanks to my three totally great betas: Sam, Frodo, and Pippin. Hobbits Forever! Well anyways on to the fic, I hope you enjoy it!
So Hard to Let Go
She was going to do it! She was going sit down and write this letter!
Harry,
Let me just come right out and say this. I really am deeply.
"Damn it! Why can't I just write this stupid letter to him, Pig?" The small owl didn't especially appreciate this rude awakening. The owl also knew some major denial was on the way, "Oh, yeah Ron will be all like 'Where've you sent my owl?' grrr my stupid brother!" Ginny Weasley crumpled the piece of parchment she had been writing on.
"Ginny, come eat!"
"OK Mum!
"Damn it all to hell! I'll never get this letter written," Ginny muttered under her breath as she exhaled slowly so as not to scream. Then she put on a very fake smile and bounded down the stairs.
As Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs she heard, "Oh, and Dear, would you mind running up to the orchard and telling your brothers that they can stop with all their practicing and come eat lunch."
"OK."
But before Ginny could take another step, the twins and Ron burst through the door covered from head to foot in mud. (They always could tell when there was food ready to be eaten.) Mrs. Weasley nearly choked on her gasp, but instead managed to shriek, "I've just cleaned this kitchen, Dumbledore is coming to dinner tonight to make sure that every thing is in order for when Harry is delivered tomorrow, and you three have just made an absolute mess of the place!" It was nearly as bad as a howler.
Under normal circumstances Ginny would be sniggering under her breath at the fact that her brothers were being yelled at, but when her mother said that Harry was coming over tomorrow, she fell silent and her jaw must have dropped because her mother was now staring at her. Before she'd turned to Ginny, she had cleaned the boys up with a quick flick of her wand and something muttered in Latin. "I hate it when she does that," whispered Ron, no one was sure if it was because of his sister's look or his mother's spell.
**Ginny's POV**
Harry's coming over! Oh gods! How could Mum not find the time to tell me! This is a catastrophe! I look like crap. I look so fat. Holy Shit! I am soooo going to die, damn it! "Ginny! Why on earth do you look so shocked by the news that Harry is coming, I told you that first thing, when the morning owls arrived," Mum snapped at me in a very harsh way.
"Oh yeah, but I was just wondering if. if Hermione was coming soon, I did send her an owl the other day."
"Nice recovery," muttered George just quite enough so that Mum couldn't hear him but some how I did.
"Yes dear, she will be here in time for breakfast tomorrow," Mum said in a much softer tone than before.
"Oh good, that'll be good," I added with a distracted nod.
**Normal POV**
As Ginny sat down to eat, her normally piggish appetite took a back seat to a rather petite one. This appeared to be perfectly fine with her brothers. It meant more for them to eat.
~
Later, as Ginny was climbing the stairs she overheard Ron talking to Fred, not even bothering to keep his voice down, "Stupid git," She mouthed as she listened to Ron speak, "Have you ever noticed that every time Harry is over that, Gin practically starves herself at all meals?"
"Duh! She still fancies him, you dumb ass, and she thinks that by starving herself she can look her best"
Ginny nodded in mock amazement that he knew her plan.
"I figured that! Harry is my best friend but Ginny will always be my baby sis, and I don't want her doing any thing stupid that could hurt her, just for him."
"It's not like she needs to eat as much as she always does."
Ginny had, had enough! She burst into the conversation, much to Ron's surprise, with; "Enough you two! I am 16 years old, I should think, that my eating habits are my concern alone and I don't give a damn that Harry is coming over!"
"Didn't seem like that at lunch," Fred whispered in an almost 'Malfoy' oily tone.
"Shut up about me, talk about some one or something else!"
"Boys leave your sister alone!" Mr. Weasley chimed in. Ginny glanced at her watch in amazement that she could neglect time so badly! It was already 4:30!
"Holy Shit! How can it already be 4:30? Harry will be here in like less than 24 hours! But at least I'll have a few hours of girl time with Hermione to talk about my little situation."
~
Ginny took a shower before dinner, to make herself presentable for Dumbledore's arrival then put her long red hair in two tight braids and put on some of her newer muggle clothes. "Yippy," she sighed as she went downstairs to await their dinner guest. When Dumbledore apperated into the living room about 5 minutes later a small chorus of laughter followed by the fact that Percy jumped out of his seat like a jolt of electricity, as his father would say, had been sent through it. Percy's neck promptly turned a shade of red that was vivid enough to rival his hair as he quickly sat down again.
Most of the pre-dinner talk occurred between the Weasley parents and Dumbledore about Harry's delivery but he did make small talk with the rest of the family. He had to listen to Percy complain about all the woes of being the head of a department at the Ministry of Magic. The Headmaster spoke with Fred and George about the joke shop that they had recently set up in Hogsmeade and lightly warned them not to go about selling anything too dangerous that a Hogwarts student might want to buy. He and Ron had a friendly row about quidditch teams but when it came time for Ginny's turn to speak with the old man she had no idea what to say.
Dumbledore seemed to know the perfect topic, magical creatures, to be specific, phoenixes. They talked for what seemed like an hour to Ginny. When the conversation drew to a close Ginny felt empowered like a real phoenix had been singing to her. Some how she thought this had been the old man's intent all along, judging by the imp-like twinkle in his eye. Then it was time to eat!
Dinner went through without a hitch, well as much so as a Weasley family meal can. One of the twins' favorite jokes that usually happened when ever the elder brothers visit nearly got pulled, but Dumbledore was smart and quick enough to catch them and turn it around onto the pranksters. The whole family, except Mrs. Weasley, who was in utter shock, had quite a laugh.
As Dumbledore bid his goodbyes he mentioned Harry's arrival time, 12, noon. As soon he disapperated Ginny looked at her watch to see how much time she had until Harry came, it read 12:00
**Ginny's POV**
Midnight! Holy shit! Harry will be here in 12 hours! Shit! This could be. screw that, this is a disaster! Gods! And Dumbledore just left, grand, just bloody grand!
"I'm going up to bed," I announced with a fake yawn that I hope wasn't too fake sounding. But why should I really care if they notice.
"Night Gin!" from the twins.
"Night Sis," Ron managed through a real yawn.
"Sweet dreams Ginny, dear," from both Mum and Dad
"Good night Virginia," Is a somewhat nice sentiment coming from Percy, even though he knows I loathe being called 'Virginia'. The git! I wonder when he'll finally move out. Maybe I'll just start calling him 'Percival.'
I remember a bit of salvation as I clime the stairs, Hermione will be here in just a few hours. She'll have some good advice about how to tell Harry about my feelings for him. That is if she's not off snogging with Ron, EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW! Mental image! (A/N: If you've ever had an involuntary mental image of a sibling snogging you'll understand Ginny's reaction!) Hopefully Ron will still be asleep and I can grab Hermione to talk with.
~6:00 A.M.~
Oh good gods, it's fucking early! I have got to stop starving myself when I hear anything about Harry. "Oh gods I sound so obsessive, don't I? And I'm talking to myself to top it off!" Hmm my stomach is really loud after not eating two meals, it is just fucking empty!
**Normal POV**
Coughing could be heard from the small kitchen "It must be 'Mione!"
~Downstairs~
Hermione had just tumbled out of the fireplace and began violently coughing. Through her hacking she choked out, " I can't wait until /cough/ I'm able to /cough/ apperate!"
"Hermione, dear, how good to see you, would you like a glass of water," said Mrs. Weasley in a very cheery voice holding a glass of water, which the young witch, took gratefully.
" 'Mione!" Ginny cried after she had rushed down the stairs, still in her pajamas.
"Gin!"
The two girls rushed into a hug. "How've you been?" asked Ginny in a so- glad-to-see another-female-besides-my-mum sort of way. "Oh, and I have to talk to you before breakfast, so do you mind heading up to the orchard for a little while?"
"I'm just fine and I'd love to talk, so lets go. See you in a little while Mrs. Weasley and, please tell Ron 'good morning' from me if he wakes up before we get back. Thank you."
"See you in an hour or so, Mum!"
"Bye girls."
~In the orchard about 5 min. later~
"OK, OK, 'Mione! I'll tell you, just stop poking me! You know how I totally like Harry and everything, soooo I've been considering asking him out. But, would mind giving me some pointers, seeing as how you made the first move on Ron?"
"Um, I know you would love to go out with him, but not to hurt your feelings or anything, he would never go on a date with you. Ever. For at least two reasons, one of them is that he thinks of you as a sister, like he does me. The other is one that I know he would prefer to tell you himself. Not even Ron knows. I found out by total accident, really."
"What is it? Is he seeing someone? Come on, Hermione, you can tell me anything!"
"Yes he is dating some one."
Ginny cut her off with, "Tell me who!"
"That's all I can say, Harry and this person promised to hex me if I told anyone about them being together and trust me Harry knows his fair share of hexes and curses after the Triwizard Tournament, I know, I taught them to him."
"Are you sure you can't tell me?"
"Not even Ron knows. And I'm not about to betray Harry's trust by breaking my promise. He needs all the friends he has, especially, with You-Know-Who cavorting about the country trying to kill him and all."
"Fine. Fine. Fine. I'll just ask him out and then when he turns me down, I'll ask in a hurt way, almost crying, 'B-But why not?'"
"Ginny that is positively evil! Give me your left arm right now, so I can check for the Dark Mark!" Hermione replied in a mock alarmed/horrified voice.
Ginny thrust out her left arm and covered face with the other in a dramatic fashion to 'show' the (non-existent) brand of Voldemort. 'Seeing' it Hermione did a fake faint but in reality was collapsing in a fit of giggles along with Ginny.
~
After wiping the tears of Mirth away from her eyes, Hermione said, "If you do go about melding in his personal life, I must say a few things. 1) This is a Pandora's box; once you open it you can't close it. 2) Always be mindful of Harry's feelings, just because he's the 'Boy Who Lived', oh God, he would kill me for calling him that, but anyways that doesn't mean he's not sensitive. 3) DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT bring up my name! I would like to graduate from Hogwarts this year with all of my body parts intact! I don't know how they are all still there now but if I lose any appendages over this I'm gonna hex YOU!"
"Valiant speech, I shall heed your warnings, and if you don't mind I would like to go eat something. I haven't had much at the last two meals"
"Sounds good to me, lets go!"
~Back at the Burrow~
"It's almost 7:00 and Ron still isn't up yet?!" Hermione was rather good at complaining about her boyfriend. "You would think, that if your significant other was coming over, that you would at least have the decency to. OH, good morning Ron, honey!"
"Complaining about me again?" asked Ron with smirk then a cute little peck on his girlfriend's cheek.
"Maybe I was, or maybe I was telling Ginny, here, about how my father blew my parents anniversary" It was clear that Hermione was making it up as she went along.
"No you weren't, for one thing, your parents anniversary is in the middle of January, the. 15th, I believe you said? For another you are a horrible liar when you're not concentrating. And last but not least, I was on the last few stairs when you started on your little rant. It was about me darling."
"I am amazed at your listening skills, now I expect more listening out of you."
"Damn, I should have seen that coming!"
"Yes, you should have, and anyways I was about to say, you win, I was complaining about you."
"I would hardly call that a win." Stated Ron in a bit of a huffy way.
Ginny interrupted, "As cute as this lover's squabble is, I would like to eat my breakfast is peace, please."
"Hey Gin, sorry about that whole thing yesterday. I was just worried, you know, that's the thing good brothers do. But, now, I realize that it was not my place to meddle in, in the first place. Seeing as your 16 and all," said Ron in a semi-sincere tone.
Ginny couldn't help but laugh, "Aw, how cute, Mr. Suck-up!" Ron scowled at the last bit but Ginny kept right on going, "How long, exactly, did it take you to come up with that one?"
It made Ron rather upset that sister knew him pretty much inside and out. Except for his personal life, which she made a point to stay away from. "For your information, it took two whole minutes of my very valuable time. Thank you very much!"
"I thought so, and there is no need to get flustered! Hey 'Mione, pass the marmalade please."
Hermione stifled a giggle as she did so. She always found the sibling rivalry between her boyfriend and her closest female friend quite amusing.
~
The hours approaching noon were rather uneventful. Of course Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found, so it lead one to wonder. At around 11:45 Ginny was really starting to doubt her plan to ask Harry on a date and then it hit her, well not the idea, but the pillow that Fred chucked at her head, the idea came when she was about to start screaming at her immature brother. Instead she thanked Fred for the inspiration and dashed off to her room to perfect the wonderful plan. Only after the fact did realize just how many times she would be hit with pillows as a result of thanking Fred. "Damn it, I can be such a idiot when I think I'm being brilliant. Shit! Only a minute 'til noon! Better go downstairs."
The big grandfather clock chimed 12:oo as someone knocked at the door. Ginny figured she might as well answer the door seeing as how she was the closest one to it.
When Ginny opened the door she found herself face to, well, chest with Harry. It seemed that he had grown about five inches over the seven weeks that they hadn't seen each other. Dumbledore was standing behind Harry with a protective hand on the young man's shoulder.
**Ginny's POV**
Damn! He soooo got even hotter! Oh gods, and is he wearing a pair of those muggle contacts? (A/N: No Harry is not wearing contacts, it was a vision correction charm, contacts are way too troublesome.) Oh gods, I may just jump on him now! Self control Virginia, girl, now say something! "H-hiya Harry." You sound like one of the Creevey brothers!
"Hey, Gin!"
Oh, that smile is going to be the death of me! "Um, why don't you two come in?" Gods damn me now! Can I be any more obvious? OK, now move out of the way so that they can come in! Jeez, I sound like such a first year!
**Normal POV**
Harry looked around with a huge grin on his face, "So great to be back home at the Burrow! Gin, have you seen Ron and Hermione around lately?"
"Nope, but they'll probably pop up soon."
And true to Ginny's word Ron and Hermione strode into the still open door hanging all over each other. "Hullo!" they said in unison. Hermione closed the door after realizing it was still ajar.
Harry laughed at his two best friends, because, as cute as they were, they looked pretty stupid the way they looked right then, "Taking advantage of some alone time, eh?"
Ginny rolled her eyes despite her growing discomfort. Her brother could be such an idiot sometimes. Ron was struggling to form a sentence of explanation long after Hermione gave the look that clearly said 'Yup'.
"Ron."
"Yeah, Harry?"
"Forget it. OK?"
"Thanks. So, what do you want to do now that you're free?"
"Eat."
"I'll just be going, now." Dumbledore spoke up after the teens had finished they're greetings. "And, Ginny, do send my salutations to your parents for me. Good bye everyone!" With that he stepped out the door and disapperated.
Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen, "Is that Harry out there?" She didn't wait for a response before she hustled out to the entryway to see for herself. "Oh, Harry! It is just so good to see you again!" She swept him into a tight motherly hug then continued talking, "Now come, come, you need to eat something, and I have lunch all ready."
At this Harry's eyes lit up, he was really, really hungry. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley, I am starving!"
~
After lunch, Ron and Hermione mysteriously 'disappeared', again, so Ginny asked Harry if he wanted to walk with her. He agreed, seeing as he had nothing better to do until his best friends were finished with their business.
Ginny decided that this was the best time to put her plan into action. So, that was exactly what she was going to do! (So There! Ha!)
As they walked though the large back yard that separated the house and the orchard, Ginny made her move. "Hey. Harry."
"Hm?" He stopped and turned towards her.
Ginny grabbed Harry by both sides of his face and brought his lips crashing down onto her own. She kissed him hard and somehow managed to pry open his mouth with her tongue. When this happened Harry pulled back sputtering and after he wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand he demanded to know what just happened, "What the fuck was that?!?"
"What do you think it was? I kissed you!"
"But, but."
"But what Harry?"
"I don't like you that way! In fact, I don't like girls that way! Period!"
"WHAT?!? You're gay? B-b-but."
"No, there are no buts. I. Am. Gay. And, I'm involved with some one! Damn, this was not the way I wanted you to find out."
"And prey tell, just how were you planning on letting me know?"
"I don't know, but this was not it!" Harry was now running a hand through his hair nervously, "You won't tell will you? Please, please don't tell any one, especially not Ron!"
"OK, OK! I won't tell! Just, you have to tell me everything or I'm gonna owl Rita Skeeter and let her have a field day with this shit!"
"Fine." Harry really didn't want to say anything but now was as good a time as any, so, "I was in fifth year when figured out that I was at least bi and within the first three weeks of my sixth year I had this really bad experience with a girl, do I have to say who?"(A/N: It was Cho! Don't you just love dramatic irony?)
"I'm not sure I want to know, so, no. Go on."
"Um, thanks, so it was the beginning of last year when I found out that I was just plain gay. A couple of weeks later, I was having a fly about the pitch, alone, when Draco Malfoy showed up to do the same."
"What has he got to do with this?"
"I'll tell you if you stop interrupting me!" He was getting irritated but had no chose but to go on, Harry knew not to doubt Ginny's nerve. (A/N: For Pippin, the memories of French class, lol)
Ginny was getting exasperated but decided not to interrupt anymore. "That was the last time."
"OK then, so where was I? Ah, yes, the quidditch pitch, so Draco showed up and I wasn't really in the mood to fight so I decided that it was a good time to study his flying style, this wasn't what he had in mind though. He flew straight up to me, told me he knew that I was gay, and then preceded to kiss me. Much in the same fashion that you just did. Except, I didn't pull back." Harry had been staring at the ground afraid of Ginny's reaction, but he braved a quick glance at her. She looked a bit like a fish, the way she was opening and closing her mouth and she just pointed at him. "Are you OK?"
"NO! My tongue was in your mouth after DRACO MALFOY'S!"
"His tongue has been in my mouth many times actually! And what you consider such a big misfortune is not my fault it's your own! You shouldn't have attacked me like that! Draco and I are very happy together!"
"Erg, I did not need to hear that!"
"And I did not need to be ambushed by you!"
There was silence for a moment but then in unison they shouted, "I NEED MOUTHWASH!" Then they turned to each other and pointed, "You need mouthwash?"
"My tongue has been were Malfoy's has been!" she retorted.
"SO? I've been kissed by a girl!" he yelled back.
"You make it sound like such a bad thing! Most guys would be ecstatic that I kissed them!"
"Awful high opinion of yourself, there, and I'm not 'most guys', now am I?"
"Apparently not!" She ignored the other part of his retort.
All of a sudden his tone change drastically, from enraged to troubled "You're not going to tell anyone, are you? Please, please, please don't, this is something that Draco and I just have to tell every one on our own, OK?" The look on Harry's face was one of genuine worry.
Ginny sympathized with him and drew him into a comforting hug, "No, I won't say anything. Does any one else know?" She knew full well that Hermione knew also but she asked him so he wouldn't get suspicious.
"Thank you, and yes, Hermione knows as well." So did Draco's mother, who was ecstatic about it, but Harry hadn't even told Hermione that so he wasn't about to share this fact with Ginny. Draco's father would have also been counted among those who knew, but the news that his heir was a homosexual caused him to take his own life. (The git!)
"Oh, would it be alright if I talked with her about it?"
"I suppose so, I doubt that it could do any harm."
"OK, you think we should head back to the Burrow?"
"Yeah," he said with a feeble laugh, "We probably should, we have been gone for a while. People might start to think."
They walked back to the Burrow talking of much lighter matters. When they reached the back door Ginny challenged Harry to a game of Wizard's Chess, if Ron and Hermione were still 'busy'. Harry's response was, "Only if, you don't try and kiss me again."
"Trust me, I won't!"
~
The games were fun and Ginny just kicked his ass for the third time. Ginny thought to herself 'and he fancies himself as a chess player! Ha! Yeah right!' (A/N: Tee hee that was for my three great betas! Mega house points to any one else if you can tell me where that's from!)
"Harry, are you alright? You seem a bit. distracted." It was really hard for Ginny not to gloat about winning so many times, but she managed a very worried tone.
"I'm just thinking about how to tell, Ron and every one."
"Well, you could just out right tell him when you first get on the train, then, you and your little lover could have some alone time, while Hermione and I calm him down, or just Hermione, and I can go find Neville, who does like me 'that way'."
"Always the supportive one," Harry giggled, "And I don't want to think about the way Hermione would 'comfort' Ron. EW! Straight relationships. Gross!"
Ginny couldn't help but laugh as she retorted, "You know some people would say the same thing about your relationship!"
"Say what about Harry's relationship with who?" Ron's voice floated into the room.
They both turned from the chessboard to see Ron and Hermione come into the living room. "Gin was comparing how cute me and my lover are to how cute you and Herms are."
"And who is this mystery lover?"
"None of your concern. Any one want to play Truth or Dare?" Harry was quick with his response.
"Sure," the other three said.
"We'll play too!" Fred and George came through the doorway, "But," George continued, "Why don't we go some where more secluded? Like the orchard?"
Every one nodded in approval. They headed to the orchard in near silence.
~In the Orchard~
Once in the orchard the twins began to whisper furiously with each other. About a minute later, they turned to face the others with matching broad similes. George was the first to speak, "Any one care to up the ante?"
There were raised eyebrows among the small crowd. Ginny decided to inquire what they meant by 'up the ante', "Up it, how?"
Fred spoke this time, "With this." At that he produced a medium sized potion bottle from his back pocket.
Harry raised his eyebrow still further as he asked, "And what, exactly, is that?" Motioning towards the bottle as he spoke.
Every one listened closely as George explained. "This," he said pointing at the object in his brother's hand, (A/N: You people better keep your mind out of the gutter with that last comment, it was not meant to be taken dirty!) "Is a Truth Potion. It is completely legal, we got the instructions out of our seventh year text. It is nowhere near as strong as Veritaserum; so don't worry about permanent effects. And, it wears off after you've had something to drink, so we brought water."
Hermione couldn't help but smirk, "Well, haven't you just thought of every thing?"
"We think so," from both of them.
Harry was starting to get nervous about this whole truth potion thing but didn't want to seem afraid so he went with the safe option, "I'm fine with it, but nothing better leave this place!"
The whole group looked right at him with straight faces and said, "OK."
Ron finally said something, "So, who takes it first? I vote either George or Fred since they made the stuff"
There was a general nod from all around. The taking order went around the circle that had formed and was as fallows: George, Fred, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and lastly Ginny who spoke up after taking it, "Ew! That was the nastiest thing I have ever tasted and that includes the inside of Tom Riddle's mouth!" She immediately clapped her hand over her mouth while every body stared at her wide-eyed and shocked.
Suddenly Fred burst out laughing and said, "Well I guess it works then!"
Harry's eye twitched as he whispered, "I am so glad I used the mouthwash before!"
Ginny looked at him with eyes full of malice, but decided not to act on it, instead she asked, "Alright now that we know it works, who goes first? I think Harry should since this was his idea."
"OK. I will," Harry, said quickly, "Ron, Truth or Dare?"
Ron turned bright red (A/N: This happens to me too- a lot. Whenever I get put on the spot I turn a brilliant shade of pink, my dear beta, Pippin, has dubbed this condition 'Ron Weasley Syndrome', 'R.W.S.' for short and may make reference to it as such during the rest of this fic.) but briefly squeaked, "Truth."
Harry was going to have fun with this, "Do you still sometimes wank off thinking about Fleur?"
"Nev. yes. Damn you Harry! I am so sorry Hermione!"
"You better be sorry!" Hermione was giving the death glare to Ron.
Harry and the twins were laughing their asses off and Ginny was a little shocked but still thought it was funny, "Um, your turn Ron," she said timidly.
"Fine! Ginny, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"Snog Harry for a minute!"
She gave Harry a very apologetic look but complied. The others counted slowly to 60 and when the count was up they tore apart and both asked in unison, "Does mouthwash count as drinking something?"
The twins looked at each other and Fred answered, "No, as long as you don't swallow it." At this they each took out a bottle of mouthwash and began to gargle, ignoring the strange looks from all of the others.
After spitting it out Ginny took her turn, "Fred, Truth or Dare?"
"Um. Truth, I guess."
"Why on earth were you carrying around a Truth Potion?"
"You sounded a bit like Mum just then, and it was for an occasion such as this!" Fred had a maniac glint in his eye, "Yay! My turn! Harry Truth or Dare."
"Truth."
"Tell me who the identity of the makers of the Marauders Map truly are!"
"OK. Prongs was my dad, James Potter. Padfoot is Sirius Black. Moony is Remus Lupin. And Wormtail, the traitorous bastard! He's Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Scabbers the rat."
"NO WAY! We had a Marauder living in our house!"
"Yeah the one that betrayed my parents, gave them to Voldemort and made it so I can't even live with my own Godfather! I HATE WORMTAIL!"
"Oh, I'm really sorry Harry, but it still is cool! A Marauder!" George was fighting the urge to get up and do a little dance as he said it.
Every one groaned and Harry had to yell to get his and Fred's attention back to the game that they were playing. "OK! MY TURN NOW! OK, that's better. Herms, you know the question that's on every body's mind! Truth or Dare!" he said the last bit in a cheesy game show host voice.
Hermione laughed and said, "Gee, Harry I think I'll break the trend, I will pick Dare!" No body got the joke, except Harry, since they had never watched T.V. before. (::authoress shakes head in a sad fashion::)
"Lets see, I dare you to keep your hands off Ron for an hour after we are done here and spend some time with me! I'm Ron's guest too!"
"Jeez, Harry if it perturbed you so much, you should have just said something, but OK, no problem, hands off for at least an hour! Um, Ron! Truth or Dare?"
"Truth, Honey."
"How sweet, I want to know your deepest fantasy, you don't have to tell every one, but you have to tell me." Ron leaned over to Hermione and whispered into her ear for a good ten minutes. All the while Hermione was practically moaning and Harry along with Ginny nearly threw-up from just the look on 'Mione's face. The twins were indifferent to the whole matter. When Ron drew back Hermione was breathless but spoke, "Um well, we'll just have to see about that later, your turn though."
"Okey dokey! George, my dear neglected brother! Truth or Dare?"
George who was practically in a coma of boredom snapped to, "Dare!"
"Hm, I dare you to.to retake the Truth Potion right before dinner and not drink anything 'til dinner is over! Ha!"
George gulped but said, "Alright. Fred! Dearest twin of mine! I must asketh thou the epic question of our peers! Truth. Or. Dare!"
Fred kept up the old world theme in his answer, "Brother! I must taketh the gentlemen's option of, Dare!"
"I must warn thee, mine mirror image, this dare may do thou in! So I bid thee a fond farewell in advanced! I dare thou to snog Harry for two minutes!"
This was starting to piss Harry off! "I am dating someone you know! Why the hell am I the one every body is being dared to fucking snog! Am I just that kissable?"
As Fred got up and when across the small circle he said something along the lines of, "Well, yeah," in a 'duh' tone. Ron's eyes were bugging out of his head as Fred completed his dare with a very responsive Harry. After completion, the dared twin muttered something that only the dark haired wizard could hear, "Well if I had known how you felt, I would have done something sooner, too bad you're involved with some one now."
"I guess it is, but I'm just as happy with the person that I've been having sex with for the last six months." Harry was serious as he said that in the same quite tone to Fred.
Fred slinked back to his spot between George and Hermione and asked, "Gin, you know the question, so what'll it be?"
"Truth, please."
"Are you still a virgin?"
"Yes! What do you think I am? A whore?"
"No, I just had nothing else to ask, I expected you to pick dare."
"Stop expecting stuff of me! Ron, Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"How far has Hermione let you get with her?"
R.W.S. showed up with his answer, "Sleeping in the same bed but no action." Hermione looked very pleased with herself and all but Ron had a smug look about them.
The twins were also laughing so hard it hurt. They choked through the fits of hysterics, "We so knew you lied!"
"Ahem, Harry." (A/N: I'm getting sick of writing 'Truth or Dare?' so from now on the character's name is just going to be said and they will respond.)
"Truth, I'm too lazy to get up."
"Well if that's how you feel I'll have to make this one count! Who is your current lover?"
Harry gulped, he was afraid this was going to happen and this wasn't the way he wanted Ron to find out. Damn first Ginny now Ron! "Draco Malfoy."
Ron's jaw hit the floor! "You've been bum fucking Draco Malfoy?
"Yup, and it's not meaningless sex either."
Again Ron's jaw dropped. "Has he buggered you?"
"Of course, but I'm a natural top."
From every one but Hermione and Fred, "TOO MUCH INFO!" Hermione just rolled her eyes and Fred mumbled something like "Damn, but I like top."
"Um, my turn" Harry brought the group's attention back to the game for a second time "George."
"Dare."
"I dare you to, oh I don't know, eat a Canary Cream, since we all know that you carry them around in your pockets" George did so, it was no big deal since he had been the one to originally test them. After he swallowed something unexpected happened, instead of sprouting feathers like he was supposed to, he turned into a REAL canary. This bright yellow bird immediately flew over to Harry and pecked at him angrily. Fred managed to contain his laughter long enough to change his twin back. When Canary- George turned back into a human, he fell on top of poor Harry, then promptly scrambled off and back to his spot with a face the purest shade of red possible. Hermione was saying some thing about conflicting magic through her laughter, while every one else, except canary boy, was just plain griping their sides laughing.
Once every one had recovered a good 15 minutes later George spoke, "Hermione."
"Truth."
"Alright then, who would you be going out with, if you weren't dating our ickle Ronniekins, here?"
"Um, probably Viktor Krum, he's still over the moon about me! Honestly, he still owls me sometimes. It's rather annoying having to explain repeatedly that I love Ron. Jeez, you would think he'd understand but, NO!" Ron cleared his throat loudly and Hermione took the hint, "Oh, look at the time! Nearly dinnertime, we should, um, go! Where's the water, Fred?"
"Here you go," he said. Every body took a short drink from the bottle.
Ron quickly remembered the dare he had given George. "Oi, Canary Boy! Don't forget, you have to retake the potion before dinner and not drink anything 'til afterwards!"
George narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "How could I not remember the dare you issued me, my dear brother, Ron?"
The younger redhead smiled sadistically, for he was going to embarrass the hell out of his older brother. "Just making sure that you upheld your Honor."
~After Dinner~
**Ginny's POV**
I can't really remember what happened during dinner except that, with the help of Ron, George made an ass of himself. My emotions have been running wild ever since that kiss! Now I realize that the main reasons that I 'loved' Harry were that 1) He's famous 2) He's hansom and 3) He saved my life during my first year at Hogwarts. I never took the time to really hang out with him; he was always 'Ron's Famous Friend'. This year I'm going to get to know him as a person and a friend. Now that I don't like Harry 'that way' I realize whom I really do like and how long that I've really had those feelings for: Neville. I know it seems a little dorky, but when I think about it, and I mean really think about it, we've been good friends since my first year and he did ask me to the Yule Ball in third year. He is a sweet guy and he listens to what I have to say, even when it was just fawning over Harry. I think I'll write him.
Dear Neville,
How's your summer going? Mine is going just fine. I've had a revelation though; I thought you might just want to hear about it. I don't really like Harry. I thought I did for the longest time but I really don't know him at all. I also realized whom I do like. I like you in 'that way'. I was wondering if your statement from the Yule Ball still held true. (You know the one where you confessed your love for me.) If you got tired of waiting I'll understand perfectly fine but just let me know. OK? Write back.
Love,
Ginny
**Normal POV**
"PIG!" The small owl flew over quickly, excited about a delivery. "Bring this to Neville, OK?" As soon as the letter was secured to its leg, the owl zoomed out the window.
And almost as if on cue Ron popped his head into Ginny's room, "Where've you sent my owl?"
Ginny just rolled her eyes, "He's delivering a letter for me, besides if you had to send something to some body that badly I'm sure Harry would let you borrow Hedwig."
"Oh, just wondering. Night Gin."
"Night, Ron."
Ginny settled down to sleep and thought to herself, 'he wasn't so hard to let go, after all.'
~End~
A/N: How did I do? This took so long to write 'cause I got writer's block for about two months, sad huh? Well please review. And remember Dragon doesn't like it when I get flamed, my friends know that well! Constructive criticism is welcome, though! Maybe, if your nice, I'll write a sequel when I'm done with my next writing project! Cheers!
~Dragon's Girl~
(My insanity run wild!)
Draco: I can't believe you made me GAY!
Dragon's 1 Girl: I can't help that I'm a Harry/Draco shipper!
Draco: I don't even like Potter! Why would I kiss him? Why would I let him, or any one, for that matter bum fuck me?!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Oh Dragon, you are so touchy! I know you love me. It's just a piece of fiction!
Draco: ::mumbling to himself:: I'll tell you what else it's a piece of!
Dragon's 1 Girl: What was that?
Draco: Um, nothing! I was just saying, fine. But please resist the urge to write further stories in which I get with Potter! ::nervous laughter::
Dragon's 1 Girl: Maybe if you were nicer to him in reality, I wouldn't have to write ones where you get very friendly with him!
Draco: I'll try, but you had better try too!
Dragon's 1 Girl: ::crossing fingers behind her back:: OK. I promise, none after the sequel-
Draco: SEQUEL?!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Yes, if the reviewers are nice I'll write them a lovely sequel. End of story!
Draco: OH, FINE!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Good. Now let's head up to Astronomy Tower, I heard it's free tonight!
Draco: OK! ::turns to readers and brandishes wand threateningly:: You had better be nice to her! NO FLAMES!
Author: Dragon's 1 Girl
Summary: It's the summer between Ginny's 5th and 6th year. This is when she finally confronts Harry about her feelings for him. But, things never turn out as they should. Along with a rousing game of Truth or Dare!
Rated: R for strong language and 'detailed' and blunt mentions of SLASH relationships
Warnings: SLASH RELATIONSHIP, don't read it if you don't like it! Don't flame me for that reason! (I'll just toast marshmallows with them!) You've been warned!
Disclaimer: As much as I love them, the characters do not belong to me! ::sniff, sniff:: I wish they did! But anyways, I just borrowed them from the lovely J.K. Rowling. Only the plot belongs to me. (Though, Draco would make a very nice present!)
A/N: This is my first fic ever! R/R but, please, don't be too harsh! Thanks to my three totally great betas: Sam, Frodo, and Pippin. Hobbits Forever! Well anyways on to the fic, I hope you enjoy it!
So Hard to Let Go
She was going to do it! She was going sit down and write this letter!
Harry,
Let me just come right out and say this. I really am deeply.
"Damn it! Why can't I just write this stupid letter to him, Pig?" The small owl didn't especially appreciate this rude awakening. The owl also knew some major denial was on the way, "Oh, yeah Ron will be all like 'Where've you sent my owl?' grrr my stupid brother!" Ginny Weasley crumpled the piece of parchment she had been writing on.
"Ginny, come eat!"
"OK Mum!
"Damn it all to hell! I'll never get this letter written," Ginny muttered under her breath as she exhaled slowly so as not to scream. Then she put on a very fake smile and bounded down the stairs.
As Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs she heard, "Oh, and Dear, would you mind running up to the orchard and telling your brothers that they can stop with all their practicing and come eat lunch."
"OK."
But before Ginny could take another step, the twins and Ron burst through the door covered from head to foot in mud. (They always could tell when there was food ready to be eaten.) Mrs. Weasley nearly choked on her gasp, but instead managed to shriek, "I've just cleaned this kitchen, Dumbledore is coming to dinner tonight to make sure that every thing is in order for when Harry is delivered tomorrow, and you three have just made an absolute mess of the place!" It was nearly as bad as a howler.
Under normal circumstances Ginny would be sniggering under her breath at the fact that her brothers were being yelled at, but when her mother said that Harry was coming over tomorrow, she fell silent and her jaw must have dropped because her mother was now staring at her. Before she'd turned to Ginny, she had cleaned the boys up with a quick flick of her wand and something muttered in Latin. "I hate it when she does that," whispered Ron, no one was sure if it was because of his sister's look or his mother's spell.
**Ginny's POV**
Harry's coming over! Oh gods! How could Mum not find the time to tell me! This is a catastrophe! I look like crap. I look so fat. Holy Shit! I am soooo going to die, damn it! "Ginny! Why on earth do you look so shocked by the news that Harry is coming, I told you that first thing, when the morning owls arrived," Mum snapped at me in a very harsh way.
"Oh yeah, but I was just wondering if. if Hermione was coming soon, I did send her an owl the other day."
"Nice recovery," muttered George just quite enough so that Mum couldn't hear him but some how I did.
"Yes dear, she will be here in time for breakfast tomorrow," Mum said in a much softer tone than before.
"Oh good, that'll be good," I added with a distracted nod.
**Normal POV**
As Ginny sat down to eat, her normally piggish appetite took a back seat to a rather petite one. This appeared to be perfectly fine with her brothers. It meant more for them to eat.
~
Later, as Ginny was climbing the stairs she overheard Ron talking to Fred, not even bothering to keep his voice down, "Stupid git," She mouthed as she listened to Ron speak, "Have you ever noticed that every time Harry is over that, Gin practically starves herself at all meals?"
"Duh! She still fancies him, you dumb ass, and she thinks that by starving herself she can look her best"
Ginny nodded in mock amazement that he knew her plan.
"I figured that! Harry is my best friend but Ginny will always be my baby sis, and I don't want her doing any thing stupid that could hurt her, just for him."
"It's not like she needs to eat as much as she always does."
Ginny had, had enough! She burst into the conversation, much to Ron's surprise, with; "Enough you two! I am 16 years old, I should think, that my eating habits are my concern alone and I don't give a damn that Harry is coming over!"
"Didn't seem like that at lunch," Fred whispered in an almost 'Malfoy' oily tone.
"Shut up about me, talk about some one or something else!"
"Boys leave your sister alone!" Mr. Weasley chimed in. Ginny glanced at her watch in amazement that she could neglect time so badly! It was already 4:30!
"Holy Shit! How can it already be 4:30? Harry will be here in like less than 24 hours! But at least I'll have a few hours of girl time with Hermione to talk about my little situation."
~
Ginny took a shower before dinner, to make herself presentable for Dumbledore's arrival then put her long red hair in two tight braids and put on some of her newer muggle clothes. "Yippy," she sighed as she went downstairs to await their dinner guest. When Dumbledore apperated into the living room about 5 minutes later a small chorus of laughter followed by the fact that Percy jumped out of his seat like a jolt of electricity, as his father would say, had been sent through it. Percy's neck promptly turned a shade of red that was vivid enough to rival his hair as he quickly sat down again.
Most of the pre-dinner talk occurred between the Weasley parents and Dumbledore about Harry's delivery but he did make small talk with the rest of the family. He had to listen to Percy complain about all the woes of being the head of a department at the Ministry of Magic. The Headmaster spoke with Fred and George about the joke shop that they had recently set up in Hogsmeade and lightly warned them not to go about selling anything too dangerous that a Hogwarts student might want to buy. He and Ron had a friendly row about quidditch teams but when it came time for Ginny's turn to speak with the old man she had no idea what to say.
Dumbledore seemed to know the perfect topic, magical creatures, to be specific, phoenixes. They talked for what seemed like an hour to Ginny. When the conversation drew to a close Ginny felt empowered like a real phoenix had been singing to her. Some how she thought this had been the old man's intent all along, judging by the imp-like twinkle in his eye. Then it was time to eat!
Dinner went through without a hitch, well as much so as a Weasley family meal can. One of the twins' favorite jokes that usually happened when ever the elder brothers visit nearly got pulled, but Dumbledore was smart and quick enough to catch them and turn it around onto the pranksters. The whole family, except Mrs. Weasley, who was in utter shock, had quite a laugh.
As Dumbledore bid his goodbyes he mentioned Harry's arrival time, 12, noon. As soon he disapperated Ginny looked at her watch to see how much time she had until Harry came, it read 12:00
**Ginny's POV**
Midnight! Holy shit! Harry will be here in 12 hours! Shit! This could be. screw that, this is a disaster! Gods! And Dumbledore just left, grand, just bloody grand!
"I'm going up to bed," I announced with a fake yawn that I hope wasn't too fake sounding. But why should I really care if they notice.
"Night Gin!" from the twins.
"Night Sis," Ron managed through a real yawn.
"Sweet dreams Ginny, dear," from both Mum and Dad
"Good night Virginia," Is a somewhat nice sentiment coming from Percy, even though he knows I loathe being called 'Virginia'. The git! I wonder when he'll finally move out. Maybe I'll just start calling him 'Percival.'
I remember a bit of salvation as I clime the stairs, Hermione will be here in just a few hours. She'll have some good advice about how to tell Harry about my feelings for him. That is if she's not off snogging with Ron, EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW! Mental image! (A/N: If you've ever had an involuntary mental image of a sibling snogging you'll understand Ginny's reaction!) Hopefully Ron will still be asleep and I can grab Hermione to talk with.
~6:00 A.M.~
Oh good gods, it's fucking early! I have got to stop starving myself when I hear anything about Harry. "Oh gods I sound so obsessive, don't I? And I'm talking to myself to top it off!" Hmm my stomach is really loud after not eating two meals, it is just fucking empty!
**Normal POV**
Coughing could be heard from the small kitchen "It must be 'Mione!"
~Downstairs~
Hermione had just tumbled out of the fireplace and began violently coughing. Through her hacking she choked out, " I can't wait until /cough/ I'm able to /cough/ apperate!"
"Hermione, dear, how good to see you, would you like a glass of water," said Mrs. Weasley in a very cheery voice holding a glass of water, which the young witch, took gratefully.
" 'Mione!" Ginny cried after she had rushed down the stairs, still in her pajamas.
"Gin!"
The two girls rushed into a hug. "How've you been?" asked Ginny in a so- glad-to-see another-female-besides-my-mum sort of way. "Oh, and I have to talk to you before breakfast, so do you mind heading up to the orchard for a little while?"
"I'm just fine and I'd love to talk, so lets go. See you in a little while Mrs. Weasley and, please tell Ron 'good morning' from me if he wakes up before we get back. Thank you."
"See you in an hour or so, Mum!"
"Bye girls."
~In the orchard about 5 min. later~
"OK, OK, 'Mione! I'll tell you, just stop poking me! You know how I totally like Harry and everything, soooo I've been considering asking him out. But, would mind giving me some pointers, seeing as how you made the first move on Ron?"
"Um, I know you would love to go out with him, but not to hurt your feelings or anything, he would never go on a date with you. Ever. For at least two reasons, one of them is that he thinks of you as a sister, like he does me. The other is one that I know he would prefer to tell you himself. Not even Ron knows. I found out by total accident, really."
"What is it? Is he seeing someone? Come on, Hermione, you can tell me anything!"
"Yes he is dating some one."
Ginny cut her off with, "Tell me who!"
"That's all I can say, Harry and this person promised to hex me if I told anyone about them being together and trust me Harry knows his fair share of hexes and curses after the Triwizard Tournament, I know, I taught them to him."
"Are you sure you can't tell me?"
"Not even Ron knows. And I'm not about to betray Harry's trust by breaking my promise. He needs all the friends he has, especially, with You-Know-Who cavorting about the country trying to kill him and all."
"Fine. Fine. Fine. I'll just ask him out and then when he turns me down, I'll ask in a hurt way, almost crying, 'B-But why not?'"
"Ginny that is positively evil! Give me your left arm right now, so I can check for the Dark Mark!" Hermione replied in a mock alarmed/horrified voice.
Ginny thrust out her left arm and covered face with the other in a dramatic fashion to 'show' the (non-existent) brand of Voldemort. 'Seeing' it Hermione did a fake faint but in reality was collapsing in a fit of giggles along with Ginny.
~
After wiping the tears of Mirth away from her eyes, Hermione said, "If you do go about melding in his personal life, I must say a few things. 1) This is a Pandora's box; once you open it you can't close it. 2) Always be mindful of Harry's feelings, just because he's the 'Boy Who Lived', oh God, he would kill me for calling him that, but anyways that doesn't mean he's not sensitive. 3) DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT bring up my name! I would like to graduate from Hogwarts this year with all of my body parts intact! I don't know how they are all still there now but if I lose any appendages over this I'm gonna hex YOU!"
"Valiant speech, I shall heed your warnings, and if you don't mind I would like to go eat something. I haven't had much at the last two meals"
"Sounds good to me, lets go!"
~Back at the Burrow~
"It's almost 7:00 and Ron still isn't up yet?!" Hermione was rather good at complaining about her boyfriend. "You would think, that if your significant other was coming over, that you would at least have the decency to. OH, good morning Ron, honey!"
"Complaining about me again?" asked Ron with smirk then a cute little peck on his girlfriend's cheek.
"Maybe I was, or maybe I was telling Ginny, here, about how my father blew my parents anniversary" It was clear that Hermione was making it up as she went along.
"No you weren't, for one thing, your parents anniversary is in the middle of January, the. 15th, I believe you said? For another you are a horrible liar when you're not concentrating. And last but not least, I was on the last few stairs when you started on your little rant. It was about me darling."
"I am amazed at your listening skills, now I expect more listening out of you."
"Damn, I should have seen that coming!"
"Yes, you should have, and anyways I was about to say, you win, I was complaining about you."
"I would hardly call that a win." Stated Ron in a bit of a huffy way.
Ginny interrupted, "As cute as this lover's squabble is, I would like to eat my breakfast is peace, please."
"Hey Gin, sorry about that whole thing yesterday. I was just worried, you know, that's the thing good brothers do. But, now, I realize that it was not my place to meddle in, in the first place. Seeing as your 16 and all," said Ron in a semi-sincere tone.
Ginny couldn't help but laugh, "Aw, how cute, Mr. Suck-up!" Ron scowled at the last bit but Ginny kept right on going, "How long, exactly, did it take you to come up with that one?"
It made Ron rather upset that sister knew him pretty much inside and out. Except for his personal life, which she made a point to stay away from. "For your information, it took two whole minutes of my very valuable time. Thank you very much!"
"I thought so, and there is no need to get flustered! Hey 'Mione, pass the marmalade please."
Hermione stifled a giggle as she did so. She always found the sibling rivalry between her boyfriend and her closest female friend quite amusing.
~
The hours approaching noon were rather uneventful. Of course Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found, so it lead one to wonder. At around 11:45 Ginny was really starting to doubt her plan to ask Harry on a date and then it hit her, well not the idea, but the pillow that Fred chucked at her head, the idea came when she was about to start screaming at her immature brother. Instead she thanked Fred for the inspiration and dashed off to her room to perfect the wonderful plan. Only after the fact did realize just how many times she would be hit with pillows as a result of thanking Fred. "Damn it, I can be such a idiot when I think I'm being brilliant. Shit! Only a minute 'til noon! Better go downstairs."
The big grandfather clock chimed 12:oo as someone knocked at the door. Ginny figured she might as well answer the door seeing as how she was the closest one to it.
When Ginny opened the door she found herself face to, well, chest with Harry. It seemed that he had grown about five inches over the seven weeks that they hadn't seen each other. Dumbledore was standing behind Harry with a protective hand on the young man's shoulder.
**Ginny's POV**
Damn! He soooo got even hotter! Oh gods, and is he wearing a pair of those muggle contacts? (A/N: No Harry is not wearing contacts, it was a vision correction charm, contacts are way too troublesome.) Oh gods, I may just jump on him now! Self control Virginia, girl, now say something! "H-hiya Harry." You sound like one of the Creevey brothers!
"Hey, Gin!"
Oh, that smile is going to be the death of me! "Um, why don't you two come in?" Gods damn me now! Can I be any more obvious? OK, now move out of the way so that they can come in! Jeez, I sound like such a first year!
**Normal POV**
Harry looked around with a huge grin on his face, "So great to be back home at the Burrow! Gin, have you seen Ron and Hermione around lately?"
"Nope, but they'll probably pop up soon."
And true to Ginny's word Ron and Hermione strode into the still open door hanging all over each other. "Hullo!" they said in unison. Hermione closed the door after realizing it was still ajar.
Harry laughed at his two best friends, because, as cute as they were, they looked pretty stupid the way they looked right then, "Taking advantage of some alone time, eh?"
Ginny rolled her eyes despite her growing discomfort. Her brother could be such an idiot sometimes. Ron was struggling to form a sentence of explanation long after Hermione gave the look that clearly said 'Yup'.
"Ron."
"Yeah, Harry?"
"Forget it. OK?"
"Thanks. So, what do you want to do now that you're free?"
"Eat."
"I'll just be going, now." Dumbledore spoke up after the teens had finished they're greetings. "And, Ginny, do send my salutations to your parents for me. Good bye everyone!" With that he stepped out the door and disapperated.
Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen, "Is that Harry out there?" She didn't wait for a response before she hustled out to the entryway to see for herself. "Oh, Harry! It is just so good to see you again!" She swept him into a tight motherly hug then continued talking, "Now come, come, you need to eat something, and I have lunch all ready."
At this Harry's eyes lit up, he was really, really hungry. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley, I am starving!"
~
After lunch, Ron and Hermione mysteriously 'disappeared', again, so Ginny asked Harry if he wanted to walk with her. He agreed, seeing as he had nothing better to do until his best friends were finished with their business.
Ginny decided that this was the best time to put her plan into action. So, that was exactly what she was going to do! (So There! Ha!)
As they walked though the large back yard that separated the house and the orchard, Ginny made her move. "Hey. Harry."
"Hm?" He stopped and turned towards her.
Ginny grabbed Harry by both sides of his face and brought his lips crashing down onto her own. She kissed him hard and somehow managed to pry open his mouth with her tongue. When this happened Harry pulled back sputtering and after he wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand he demanded to know what just happened, "What the fuck was that?!?"
"What do you think it was? I kissed you!"
"But, but."
"But what Harry?"
"I don't like you that way! In fact, I don't like girls that way! Period!"
"WHAT?!? You're gay? B-b-but."
"No, there are no buts. I. Am. Gay. And, I'm involved with some one! Damn, this was not the way I wanted you to find out."
"And prey tell, just how were you planning on letting me know?"
"I don't know, but this was not it!" Harry was now running a hand through his hair nervously, "You won't tell will you? Please, please don't tell any one, especially not Ron!"
"OK, OK! I won't tell! Just, you have to tell me everything or I'm gonna owl Rita Skeeter and let her have a field day with this shit!"
"Fine." Harry really didn't want to say anything but now was as good a time as any, so, "I was in fifth year when figured out that I was at least bi and within the first three weeks of my sixth year I had this really bad experience with a girl, do I have to say who?"(A/N: It was Cho! Don't you just love dramatic irony?)
"I'm not sure I want to know, so, no. Go on."
"Um, thanks, so it was the beginning of last year when I found out that I was just plain gay. A couple of weeks later, I was having a fly about the pitch, alone, when Draco Malfoy showed up to do the same."
"What has he got to do with this?"
"I'll tell you if you stop interrupting me!" He was getting irritated but had no chose but to go on, Harry knew not to doubt Ginny's nerve. (A/N: For Pippin, the memories of French class, lol)
Ginny was getting exasperated but decided not to interrupt anymore. "That was the last time."
"OK then, so where was I? Ah, yes, the quidditch pitch, so Draco showed up and I wasn't really in the mood to fight so I decided that it was a good time to study his flying style, this wasn't what he had in mind though. He flew straight up to me, told me he knew that I was gay, and then preceded to kiss me. Much in the same fashion that you just did. Except, I didn't pull back." Harry had been staring at the ground afraid of Ginny's reaction, but he braved a quick glance at her. She looked a bit like a fish, the way she was opening and closing her mouth and she just pointed at him. "Are you OK?"
"NO! My tongue was in your mouth after DRACO MALFOY'S!"
"His tongue has been in my mouth many times actually! And what you consider such a big misfortune is not my fault it's your own! You shouldn't have attacked me like that! Draco and I are very happy together!"
"Erg, I did not need to hear that!"
"And I did not need to be ambushed by you!"
There was silence for a moment but then in unison they shouted, "I NEED MOUTHWASH!" Then they turned to each other and pointed, "You need mouthwash?"
"My tongue has been were Malfoy's has been!" she retorted.
"SO? I've been kissed by a girl!" he yelled back.
"You make it sound like such a bad thing! Most guys would be ecstatic that I kissed them!"
"Awful high opinion of yourself, there, and I'm not 'most guys', now am I?"
"Apparently not!" She ignored the other part of his retort.
All of a sudden his tone change drastically, from enraged to troubled "You're not going to tell anyone, are you? Please, please, please don't, this is something that Draco and I just have to tell every one on our own, OK?" The look on Harry's face was one of genuine worry.
Ginny sympathized with him and drew him into a comforting hug, "No, I won't say anything. Does any one else know?" She knew full well that Hermione knew also but she asked him so he wouldn't get suspicious.
"Thank you, and yes, Hermione knows as well." So did Draco's mother, who was ecstatic about it, but Harry hadn't even told Hermione that so he wasn't about to share this fact with Ginny. Draco's father would have also been counted among those who knew, but the news that his heir was a homosexual caused him to take his own life. (The git!)
"Oh, would it be alright if I talked with her about it?"
"I suppose so, I doubt that it could do any harm."
"OK, you think we should head back to the Burrow?"
"Yeah," he said with a feeble laugh, "We probably should, we have been gone for a while. People might start to think."
They walked back to the Burrow talking of much lighter matters. When they reached the back door Ginny challenged Harry to a game of Wizard's Chess, if Ron and Hermione were still 'busy'. Harry's response was, "Only if, you don't try and kiss me again."
"Trust me, I won't!"
~
The games were fun and Ginny just kicked his ass for the third time. Ginny thought to herself 'and he fancies himself as a chess player! Ha! Yeah right!' (A/N: Tee hee that was for my three great betas! Mega house points to any one else if you can tell me where that's from!)
"Harry, are you alright? You seem a bit. distracted." It was really hard for Ginny not to gloat about winning so many times, but she managed a very worried tone.
"I'm just thinking about how to tell, Ron and every one."
"Well, you could just out right tell him when you first get on the train, then, you and your little lover could have some alone time, while Hermione and I calm him down, or just Hermione, and I can go find Neville, who does like me 'that way'."
"Always the supportive one," Harry giggled, "And I don't want to think about the way Hermione would 'comfort' Ron. EW! Straight relationships. Gross!"
Ginny couldn't help but laugh as she retorted, "You know some people would say the same thing about your relationship!"
"Say what about Harry's relationship with who?" Ron's voice floated into the room.
They both turned from the chessboard to see Ron and Hermione come into the living room. "Gin was comparing how cute me and my lover are to how cute you and Herms are."
"And who is this mystery lover?"
"None of your concern. Any one want to play Truth or Dare?" Harry was quick with his response.
"Sure," the other three said.
"We'll play too!" Fred and George came through the doorway, "But," George continued, "Why don't we go some where more secluded? Like the orchard?"
Every one nodded in approval. They headed to the orchard in near silence.
~In the Orchard~
Once in the orchard the twins began to whisper furiously with each other. About a minute later, they turned to face the others with matching broad similes. George was the first to speak, "Any one care to up the ante?"
There were raised eyebrows among the small crowd. Ginny decided to inquire what they meant by 'up the ante', "Up it, how?"
Fred spoke this time, "With this." At that he produced a medium sized potion bottle from his back pocket.
Harry raised his eyebrow still further as he asked, "And what, exactly, is that?" Motioning towards the bottle as he spoke.
Every one listened closely as George explained. "This," he said pointing at the object in his brother's hand, (A/N: You people better keep your mind out of the gutter with that last comment, it was not meant to be taken dirty!) "Is a Truth Potion. It is completely legal, we got the instructions out of our seventh year text. It is nowhere near as strong as Veritaserum; so don't worry about permanent effects. And, it wears off after you've had something to drink, so we brought water."
Hermione couldn't help but smirk, "Well, haven't you just thought of every thing?"
"We think so," from both of them.
Harry was starting to get nervous about this whole truth potion thing but didn't want to seem afraid so he went with the safe option, "I'm fine with it, but nothing better leave this place!"
The whole group looked right at him with straight faces and said, "OK."
Ron finally said something, "So, who takes it first? I vote either George or Fred since they made the stuff"
There was a general nod from all around. The taking order went around the circle that had formed and was as fallows: George, Fred, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and lastly Ginny who spoke up after taking it, "Ew! That was the nastiest thing I have ever tasted and that includes the inside of Tom Riddle's mouth!" She immediately clapped her hand over her mouth while every body stared at her wide-eyed and shocked.
Suddenly Fred burst out laughing and said, "Well I guess it works then!"
Harry's eye twitched as he whispered, "I am so glad I used the mouthwash before!"
Ginny looked at him with eyes full of malice, but decided not to act on it, instead she asked, "Alright now that we know it works, who goes first? I think Harry should since this was his idea."
"OK. I will," Harry, said quickly, "Ron, Truth or Dare?"
Ron turned bright red (A/N: This happens to me too- a lot. Whenever I get put on the spot I turn a brilliant shade of pink, my dear beta, Pippin, has dubbed this condition 'Ron Weasley Syndrome', 'R.W.S.' for short and may make reference to it as such during the rest of this fic.) but briefly squeaked, "Truth."
Harry was going to have fun with this, "Do you still sometimes wank off thinking about Fleur?"
"Nev. yes. Damn you Harry! I am so sorry Hermione!"
"You better be sorry!" Hermione was giving the death glare to Ron.
Harry and the twins were laughing their asses off and Ginny was a little shocked but still thought it was funny, "Um, your turn Ron," she said timidly.
"Fine! Ginny, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"Snog Harry for a minute!"
She gave Harry a very apologetic look but complied. The others counted slowly to 60 and when the count was up they tore apart and both asked in unison, "Does mouthwash count as drinking something?"
The twins looked at each other and Fred answered, "No, as long as you don't swallow it." At this they each took out a bottle of mouthwash and began to gargle, ignoring the strange looks from all of the others.
After spitting it out Ginny took her turn, "Fred, Truth or Dare?"
"Um. Truth, I guess."
"Why on earth were you carrying around a Truth Potion?"
"You sounded a bit like Mum just then, and it was for an occasion such as this!" Fred had a maniac glint in his eye, "Yay! My turn! Harry Truth or Dare."
"Truth."
"Tell me who the identity of the makers of the Marauders Map truly are!"
"OK. Prongs was my dad, James Potter. Padfoot is Sirius Black. Moony is Remus Lupin. And Wormtail, the traitorous bastard! He's Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Scabbers the rat."
"NO WAY! We had a Marauder living in our house!"
"Yeah the one that betrayed my parents, gave them to Voldemort and made it so I can't even live with my own Godfather! I HATE WORMTAIL!"
"Oh, I'm really sorry Harry, but it still is cool! A Marauder!" George was fighting the urge to get up and do a little dance as he said it.
Every one groaned and Harry had to yell to get his and Fred's attention back to the game that they were playing. "OK! MY TURN NOW! OK, that's better. Herms, you know the question that's on every body's mind! Truth or Dare!" he said the last bit in a cheesy game show host voice.
Hermione laughed and said, "Gee, Harry I think I'll break the trend, I will pick Dare!" No body got the joke, except Harry, since they had never watched T.V. before. (::authoress shakes head in a sad fashion::)
"Lets see, I dare you to keep your hands off Ron for an hour after we are done here and spend some time with me! I'm Ron's guest too!"
"Jeez, Harry if it perturbed you so much, you should have just said something, but OK, no problem, hands off for at least an hour! Um, Ron! Truth or Dare?"
"Truth, Honey."
"How sweet, I want to know your deepest fantasy, you don't have to tell every one, but you have to tell me." Ron leaned over to Hermione and whispered into her ear for a good ten minutes. All the while Hermione was practically moaning and Harry along with Ginny nearly threw-up from just the look on 'Mione's face. The twins were indifferent to the whole matter. When Ron drew back Hermione was breathless but spoke, "Um well, we'll just have to see about that later, your turn though."
"Okey dokey! George, my dear neglected brother! Truth or Dare?"
George who was practically in a coma of boredom snapped to, "Dare!"
"Hm, I dare you to.to retake the Truth Potion right before dinner and not drink anything 'til dinner is over! Ha!"
George gulped but said, "Alright. Fred! Dearest twin of mine! I must asketh thou the epic question of our peers! Truth. Or. Dare!"
Fred kept up the old world theme in his answer, "Brother! I must taketh the gentlemen's option of, Dare!"
"I must warn thee, mine mirror image, this dare may do thou in! So I bid thee a fond farewell in advanced! I dare thou to snog Harry for two minutes!"
This was starting to piss Harry off! "I am dating someone you know! Why the hell am I the one every body is being dared to fucking snog! Am I just that kissable?"
As Fred got up and when across the small circle he said something along the lines of, "Well, yeah," in a 'duh' tone. Ron's eyes were bugging out of his head as Fred completed his dare with a very responsive Harry. After completion, the dared twin muttered something that only the dark haired wizard could hear, "Well if I had known how you felt, I would have done something sooner, too bad you're involved with some one now."
"I guess it is, but I'm just as happy with the person that I've been having sex with for the last six months." Harry was serious as he said that in the same quite tone to Fred.
Fred slinked back to his spot between George and Hermione and asked, "Gin, you know the question, so what'll it be?"
"Truth, please."
"Are you still a virgin?"
"Yes! What do you think I am? A whore?"
"No, I just had nothing else to ask, I expected you to pick dare."
"Stop expecting stuff of me! Ron, Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"How far has Hermione let you get with her?"
R.W.S. showed up with his answer, "Sleeping in the same bed but no action." Hermione looked very pleased with herself and all but Ron had a smug look about them.
The twins were also laughing so hard it hurt. They choked through the fits of hysterics, "We so knew you lied!"
"Ahem, Harry." (A/N: I'm getting sick of writing 'Truth or Dare?' so from now on the character's name is just going to be said and they will respond.)
"Truth, I'm too lazy to get up."
"Well if that's how you feel I'll have to make this one count! Who is your current lover?"
Harry gulped, he was afraid this was going to happen and this wasn't the way he wanted Ron to find out. Damn first Ginny now Ron! "Draco Malfoy."
Ron's jaw hit the floor! "You've been bum fucking Draco Malfoy?
"Yup, and it's not meaningless sex either."
Again Ron's jaw dropped. "Has he buggered you?"
"Of course, but I'm a natural top."
From every one but Hermione and Fred, "TOO MUCH INFO!" Hermione just rolled her eyes and Fred mumbled something like "Damn, but I like top."
"Um, my turn" Harry brought the group's attention back to the game for a second time "George."
"Dare."
"I dare you to, oh I don't know, eat a Canary Cream, since we all know that you carry them around in your pockets" George did so, it was no big deal since he had been the one to originally test them. After he swallowed something unexpected happened, instead of sprouting feathers like he was supposed to, he turned into a REAL canary. This bright yellow bird immediately flew over to Harry and pecked at him angrily. Fred managed to contain his laughter long enough to change his twin back. When Canary- George turned back into a human, he fell on top of poor Harry, then promptly scrambled off and back to his spot with a face the purest shade of red possible. Hermione was saying some thing about conflicting magic through her laughter, while every one else, except canary boy, was just plain griping their sides laughing.
Once every one had recovered a good 15 minutes later George spoke, "Hermione."
"Truth."
"Alright then, who would you be going out with, if you weren't dating our ickle Ronniekins, here?"
"Um, probably Viktor Krum, he's still over the moon about me! Honestly, he still owls me sometimes. It's rather annoying having to explain repeatedly that I love Ron. Jeez, you would think he'd understand but, NO!" Ron cleared his throat loudly and Hermione took the hint, "Oh, look at the time! Nearly dinnertime, we should, um, go! Where's the water, Fred?"
"Here you go," he said. Every body took a short drink from the bottle.
Ron quickly remembered the dare he had given George. "Oi, Canary Boy! Don't forget, you have to retake the potion before dinner and not drink anything 'til afterwards!"
George narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "How could I not remember the dare you issued me, my dear brother, Ron?"
The younger redhead smiled sadistically, for he was going to embarrass the hell out of his older brother. "Just making sure that you upheld your Honor."
~After Dinner~
**Ginny's POV**
I can't really remember what happened during dinner except that, with the help of Ron, George made an ass of himself. My emotions have been running wild ever since that kiss! Now I realize that the main reasons that I 'loved' Harry were that 1) He's famous 2) He's hansom and 3) He saved my life during my first year at Hogwarts. I never took the time to really hang out with him; he was always 'Ron's Famous Friend'. This year I'm going to get to know him as a person and a friend. Now that I don't like Harry 'that way' I realize whom I really do like and how long that I've really had those feelings for: Neville. I know it seems a little dorky, but when I think about it, and I mean really think about it, we've been good friends since my first year and he did ask me to the Yule Ball in third year. He is a sweet guy and he listens to what I have to say, even when it was just fawning over Harry. I think I'll write him.
Dear Neville,
How's your summer going? Mine is going just fine. I've had a revelation though; I thought you might just want to hear about it. I don't really like Harry. I thought I did for the longest time but I really don't know him at all. I also realized whom I do like. I like you in 'that way'. I was wondering if your statement from the Yule Ball still held true. (You know the one where you confessed your love for me.) If you got tired of waiting I'll understand perfectly fine but just let me know. OK? Write back.
Love,
Ginny
**Normal POV**
"PIG!" The small owl flew over quickly, excited about a delivery. "Bring this to Neville, OK?" As soon as the letter was secured to its leg, the owl zoomed out the window.
And almost as if on cue Ron popped his head into Ginny's room, "Where've you sent my owl?"
Ginny just rolled her eyes, "He's delivering a letter for me, besides if you had to send something to some body that badly I'm sure Harry would let you borrow Hedwig."
"Oh, just wondering. Night Gin."
"Night, Ron."
Ginny settled down to sleep and thought to herself, 'he wasn't so hard to let go, after all.'
~End~
A/N: How did I do? This took so long to write 'cause I got writer's block for about two months, sad huh? Well please review. And remember Dragon doesn't like it when I get flamed, my friends know that well! Constructive criticism is welcome, though! Maybe, if your nice, I'll write a sequel when I'm done with my next writing project! Cheers!
~Dragon's Girl~
(My insanity run wild!)
Draco: I can't believe you made me GAY!
Dragon's 1 Girl: I can't help that I'm a Harry/Draco shipper!
Draco: I don't even like Potter! Why would I kiss him? Why would I let him, or any one, for that matter bum fuck me?!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Oh Dragon, you are so touchy! I know you love me. It's just a piece of fiction!
Draco: ::mumbling to himself:: I'll tell you what else it's a piece of!
Dragon's 1 Girl: What was that?
Draco: Um, nothing! I was just saying, fine. But please resist the urge to write further stories in which I get with Potter! ::nervous laughter::
Dragon's 1 Girl: Maybe if you were nicer to him in reality, I wouldn't have to write ones where you get very friendly with him!
Draco: I'll try, but you had better try too!
Dragon's 1 Girl: ::crossing fingers behind her back:: OK. I promise, none after the sequel-
Draco: SEQUEL?!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Yes, if the reviewers are nice I'll write them a lovely sequel. End of story!
Draco: OH, FINE!
Dragon's 1 Girl: Good. Now let's head up to Astronomy Tower, I heard it's free tonight!
Draco: OK! ::turns to readers and brandishes wand threateningly:: You had better be nice to her! NO FLAMES!
