Chapter 7 Fred and George were absolutely stunned. What had they just got themselves into? Here they had been, telling the enthralling tale of how they got Harry and Ginny to get Snape and Malfoy at the same time, collecting all the accolades from their peers, and demonstrating their pranking genius when they had been hit by a lightning bolt from a clear blue sky.

"You heard me right. We want to help," Angelina said, gesturing expansively to include her fellow Chasers. "I'm not sure about him, though," she added, indicating Lee Jordan.

"I don't care, as long as we get to have fun," the aforementioned party declared.

"But my dear Angelina," Fred said, "Help with what?"

"Don't be a prat. Of course we know you're trying to get Harry and Ginny together. We're not stupid." This time Katie spoke for them.

"But Katie . . .," George started, but Katie cut him off.

"No buts. Just let us come up with some ideas. You're guys, you have no idea how to deal with the female psyche."

"Hey, I resent that," Lee piped up.

"Too bad," answered Alicia. "It's the truth."

"Well, we already have Hermione helping us," George said.

"So it's not like we're doing it alone anyway," continued Fred.

"Females are very different creatures."

"Hey!" sputtered Angelina.

"Prone to bouts of emotionalism and plagued by a lack of consistency."

"We are not," Katie stated indignantly.

"They say it takes one to know one."

"Should we let them?"

"I believe we should. Okay, you're in," finished George.

"So what do we need to do, oh great females?"

"Well," said Angelina, "tell us something. Does Harry know that Ginny is a girl?"

"What?" asked George in a stunned sort of voice. "Of course he does. I mean, isn't it obvious?"

All three girls just rolled their eyes. "Obviously, you have no experience in these matters," said Katie. "Now give us a moment."

The girls huddled together, excluding Fred and George. Fred, for his part, smiled and waved his finger around his ear in a circle, to indicate that the Chasers were loony. George smiled and nodded, but they were cut off by Katie's sharp call, "Hey, we heard that." After that, the twins assumed innocent poses with angelic expressions, and remained silent for the rest of the conference.

Angelina spoke for the group. "We've come to the conclusion that the next step is getting Harry to notice Ginny as a girl. Being as brilliant as we are, we have come up with a foolproof plan that puts any of your plans to shame."

"So what is this plan, oh brilliant ones?" asked George. "And what do we have to do for it?"

"Well, first of all . . ."

* * * * * Harry was in a bad mood, because he and Ron were climbing the stairs to get to Divination. They were doing Tarot Cards, and he wasn't looking forward to having his death predicted in yet another way. His one consolation, that Ron was there to laugh it off with him, was the only thing that kept him placing one foot on the next step, and thereby bringing him closer to his Divination debacle.

When they reached the trap door, they were greeted with an even more pungent odor than they were used to. Harry sniffed the air out of curiosity, and gagged as punishment for his impetuous action. "What is that?" he asked Ron as he dived for fresher air.

Ron, who had apparently known what was coming, since he had his nose firmly plugged with his fingers, just laughed at Harry's desperate attempts to flee. "That's garlic you're so desperate to avoid. Apparently, last night during a special tutoring session with Lavendar and Parvati, she 'saw' Hogwarts being attacked by some vampires flying in as bats. She thinks this will keep them away from her beloved little tower."

Harry felt a momentary flash of panic. "Has Voldemort already enlisted their aid?" Ron just gave him an amused look. "Well, she also predicted that they would be driven out by the combined efforts of Peeves, Filch, and Professor Snape. Talk about an unholy Trinity."

Harry had to laugh at that. "Yes, that it is. How did you hear this little tidbit of information anyway?"

Ron shrugged. "I talked to Dean and Seamus this morning before you got up. They warned me about what to expect."

Harry glared at him. "I take it this was a conveniently forgotten fact." His response was more laughter. "Where'd they get this information in the first place?"

"Same place I get all my transfiguration information," Ron said cryptically. His grin rivaled that of the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh," said a befuddled Harry. Then inspiration hit him, and he groaned. "Shut it, you. We need to get in there." They climbed the ladder and took their customary seats at the back of the room. Still grinning, Ron transfigured two spare quills into nose plugs for himself and Harry. Harry just rolled his eyes.

Professor Trelawney's misty voice floated their way from the front of the room, momentarily getting their attention. "As you know, today we are going to be studying Tarot Cards. Now, Tarot Cards are a fairly imprecise branch of Divination," at this Ron snorted and Harry had to cover his mouth with both hands to keep from laughing, "but it can be used to find themes and momentous events in one life. Today, I'm going to do a reading for each one of you." Parvati and Lavendar started chatting excitedly, causing Dean and Seamus to roll their eyes. "I will call you up one at a time, so I expect you to be studying while it isn't your turn. Now, I'll call the Ravenclaws first, in reverse alphabetical order." Harry tuned her out at this point. At least he could spend most of this lesson chatting with Ron, even though he knew his death was going to be predicted, yet again.

Harry was surprised when he saw Dean and Seamus pulling chairs up to his and Ron's table. He hadn't talked to them as much this year, due to their new involvement with Parvati and Lavendar. He was happy to talk to them, though, and laughed at Seamus' first comment.

"Before you say a word, Ron, I know. You were right; the Cannons are better this year. I should know better than to underestimate an Irishman."

Ron smiled, "Yes, indeed. I fully expect them to climb even higher than fifth. After all, they are the Cannons."

"Yes, well, the Cannons need a better Seeker if they're ever going to win the league," replied Seamus. "I bet Harry here could get them there." "I'm not that good," Harry said, blushing. "I'm just a kid, having fun playing a sport. There's no way I'm good enough to be a professional."

Dean waved his hand in dismissal. "You're the best Seeker in forever here at Hogwarts. Everyone says so."

"Well," Ron inserted, "what do you think your fates are going to be?" Harry was grateful for the change in subject.

Seamus smiled devilishly. "Well, I bet mine says I'm going to return to this place later tonight." The boys all laughed. "I will also become rich beyond belief from my invention of Seamus' Superior-Smelling Shampoo, and outlive Dumbledore."

Dean recovered from laughing, then said, "Well, I'm going to be famous for the introduction of the Red Card into the game of Quidditch, and I will sponge off my parents until I'm 30."

"I'm going to die," Harry said dryly, causing the group to break up laughing once again.

"I, of course, am going to be the filthy rich brother of the most boring Minister of Magic in history," Ron deadpanned. "Speaking of that, I hear my name being called. Wish me luck."

When Ron stood up, Seamus and Dean did as well. They gave Harry and Ron their regards, and headed back towards the table where they had left Lavendar and Parvati, who were still excitedly discussing this new development in their Divination practice. For his part, Harry closed his eyes and relaxed. He thought about what his fortune would be. His best, and only, guess was that Professor Trelawney was going to tell him his death was imminent, again. This normally would have been cause for amusement, but since Voldemort's return, anything related to death had bothered him, no matter how ludicrous it sounded.

Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts by flopping down into the chair next to him. Harry opened his eyes, turned his head towards Ron, and looked at him questioningly. "Well, according to the old bat, I'm going to have an absolutely miserable life filled with sorrow. On the plus side, I'll be rich. I fail to see how those two are not mutually exclusive."

Harry laughed at him. "Haven't you ever heard the expression 'Money can't buy happiness'?"

"Nope," Ron said unconcernedly. "Must be a Muggle thing."

Harry was just about to make a witty comeback when he heard Professor Trelawney's voice call his name as if it were being carried on a cloud to his ears. He made his way towards the front, apprehension suddenly becoming his companion. He didn't want his death foretold again.

Professor Trelawney's voice now carried a mournful tone. "Ah yes. Harry Potter. Let me consult the cards, and tell you how your life will turn out." The Professor began flipping over cards. Harry watched intently, even though neither the cards nor the process that she was using made any sense to him whatsoever. She spoke again, her misty voice holding the same morbid tone. "Yes, Harry Potter, your life is very clear. Soon, you shall find love. Your happiness though, will not last, as you will succumb to a horrible fate and meet your death." Harry just looked at her. How could she continue to say these things when it was obvious he kept on living? "You're dismissed, dear. Parvati Patil."

Harry walked back to his and Ron's table. As he sat down heavily, Ron turned and looked at him. "Well, how did it go this time? Dead again?"

Harry allowed himself to smile. "Not quite. I'm going to fall in love, then die."

Ron looked unperturbed. "Ah, at least you'll die happy then. Chocolate Frog?"

* * * * * Hermione was getting exasperated. She had been trying to get information out of George for nearly half an hour now, and she had managed to get absolutely nowhere in that entire time.

"George, how can I help you two if you don't tell me anything?"

"Relax, my brother's dearest, everything is under control. It's just that this particular time, we can't give you any information, as it might leak, and we're afraid of your and Ron's reactions."

Hermione mentally screamed in frustration. She had always thought that George was the more reasonable of the twins.

"Anyway, you keep calling me George. Why?"

"Because you are George," replied Hermione. "And I told you before. Don't call me 'my brother's dearest'."

"So sorry. It merely slipped my mind. What makes you think I'm George in the first place?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you have freckle right below your right eyebrow," Hermione said impatiently.

"Hey, how'd you know that? Not many people are observant enough to catch that," George said, impressed.

"Well, I'm not everyone, am I?" said Hermione with a grin.

"You're right, you're not. You're the only one who happens to be dating my younger brother, who accidentally let slip that little bit of information," said George wryly.

"All right, you caught me. Now will you please tell me what you have planned for those two?" she pleaded.

George shook his head. "I told you already, I can't. There are too many things that can go wrong, and you wouldn't like it anyway. You'd get all self-righteous and probably tell Ron, and that would just blow everything." He looked over Hermione's shoulder. "Besides, you're about to be busy."

Hermione turned around. "Hey Ron, how was Divination?"

"It was a lot of fun, for once," Ron said. "She did Tarot Card readings for all of us. Apparently I'm going to be rich and miserable. As I told Harry, I don't know how that's possible."

"Well, they say money can't buy happiness," Hermione said, laughing.

"That's what he said too. This must be a pretty popular Muggle saying," said Ron.

"Speaking of Harry, where is he?" she asked.

"Oh he's over talking to Ginny, yet again," said Ron. "He seems to be doing that a lot lately." Hermione looked over to the couch where Harry was talking animatedly to Ginny, and gesticulating wildly to emphasize some point. Apparently Harry was telling an amusing story, because Ginny was laughing so hard she was gasping for breath. She turned and glanced at George, who winked at her.

"Yes he has. Well, we need to start doing our Transfiguration homework. Goodbye George." Ron broke up laughing, and she didn't understand why.

* * * * * Harry flew among his team, watching the tactics the two teams of Gryffindors used against one another. He was impressed; the Reserves were holding their own against the regular team. Apparently all those weeks of practice had paid off, as he would now put up his reserves against any team except the Slytherins. His normal team looked very good as well. He would have to make sure they understood that they were going to have to be prepared for the dirty tricks and cheating the Slytherins would no doubt employ in their upcoming game though. The main two he was worried about were the twins; they could be very protective of their friends and family, and when combined with the famous Weasley temper and their position as Beaters, they could get into some trouble with retaliation penalties. Satisfied, he called both teams down.

"That was a great practice," Harry began. "Just the kind we need if we're going to be ready for Saturday's game against Slytherin. Reserves collect the balls, and you can go in. The rest of you hang on a moment. He waited for the younger players to get to their duties, and again turned to his team. "Now, all of you know what type of game Slytherin plays. They're good, but they're also dirty. I don't want to get any penalties for retaliation." He looked directly at Fred and George, who were actually paying attention for once. "None whatsoever. If you can manage that, we'll be able to run up the score on them unlike we were able to do two years ago. Any questions?"

Fred eagerly raised his hand. Harry acknowledged him apprehensively, wondering what could be coming. "Are we allowed to snog members of our team during the game?" he asked, while winking at Angelina.

Harry chuckled. "No. That'll interfere with their concentration. Anything else?"

George raised his hand. "How about the other team?"

"The Slytherin team is all male," Harry pointed out.

"Oh right. Never mind then," replied George, and the rest of the team laughed at him.

"OK, anything else? No? Well then, you're dismissed."

Harry followed the Weasleys into the guys' locker room. He took his time in the shower, daydreaming about new Quidditch plays in his head. He got dressed slowly, as he needed to stay behind and lock the locker rooms after his team was done with them, and in his experience, girls took a very long time getting ready after a practice. After a few well thought out comments to Ron about his activities before he got back to the Common Room, Harry finished getting ready and walked over to the girls' locker rooms. He saw Angelina, Katie, and Alicia walking back up to the castle, being thoroughly entertained by the twins, so he pressed his ear to the door to listen for any other girls still getting ready. Hearing nothing, he opened the door to magically lock it from the inside, but stopped when he looked in the room.

There was a girl still in the locker room. She wasn't making any noise, because she was trying to tame her wild, fiery hair. Harry gasped. That was Ginny Weasley? That towel-clad temptress with flames rolling down her back? Harry stood stock still in the doorway with a single thought running through his head. She's a girl. Harry had got to know Ginny Weasley quite well over the past term, but nothing had indicated this to him. Unbidden, a memory of the Yule Ball from the previous year sprang into his head. Not the part about it being an unmitigated disaster, but rather the open admission from Ron to Hermione of her femaleness. Harry liked to think himself as somewhat more observant than his best friend, but he realized he had done the exact same thing Ron had. Now that he realized this, he hoped to avoid making a fool out of himself in the same manner. With this in mind, he turned to make his silent exit, and promptly fell flat on his face with a crash. He heard footsteps come running over to him, followed by a voice.

"Hello?" called Ginny. "Who's there?"

"It's me," Harry replied, his face red with embarrassment. He looked up at her.

"Oh, Harry, are you all right? What happened?" Ginny asked.

"I'm fine. I just tripped over my shoelace," he answered. "I just came over to lock up. I didn't realize you were still in here."

"Oh," said Ginny. Although Harry was too caught up in his embarrassment to notice, she too turned red at this point as she realized her state of dress. "Well, I'll be done quickly." "I'll just wait outside, then," said Harry in a shaky voice. He stepped outside, and Ginny joined him shortly. Harry locked the door, and they walked the path up to the castle, conversing in clipped sentences due to their embarrassment. Neither one of them noticed the eyes following them as they walked into the common room, nor the triumphant expressions on the faces to which the eyes belonged.

* * * * * Harry lay in bed that night ruminating about the events of that day. He had had a whirlwind of a day, and he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. He finally had had a prediction that wasn't involved with death in Divination, and since it was new to him he kept on turning it over in his mind. Finally, he rolled over, opened his curtains, and whispered to his best friend.

"Psst, Hey Ron."

"What do you want?" Ron asked groggily.

"How did you know you fancied Hermione?" Harry asked.

"What? Why do you want to know that?" he asked suspiciously.

"No reason. I couldn't go to sleep, and I figured the story would put me right out," Harry lied.

"Oh, you want a bedtime story, do you?" Ron teased. "Did those big bad Muggles never read poor ickle Harrykins a story when he was just a lad?" "Shut it you. No they didn't, but that's not the point," said an embarrassed Harry.

"Well, my feelings go back a lot longer, but the story really begins with the Yule Ball last year," Ron began. "You already knew that though."

"I guessed something was up, but I never have hear what you were thinking at the time," replied Harry.

"My feelings probably predated the Yule ball by a year, but I didn't realize that then," Ron continued. I don't think realization hit me until I saw Hermione on Viktor Krum's arm. You remember how sullen I was throughout the ball?" Harry nodded his head. "Well, it wasn't just the jealousy that I was feeling. It was all the things I had been feeling about Hermione, friendship, jealousy, admiration, and even love swirling around and colliding in my head. Being the genius I am, I blamed Hermione for my problems, and the result was the huge uproar that you walked in on that night."

"But how did you make that up so quickly?" Harry asked. "You two were being perfectly nice to each other the next morning.

Ron sighed. "Well, I can only speak for myself, but I know in my case it's because I realized what was wrong. I had all these feelings, had dumped them on her, and expected her not to react. It was the height of either arrogance or foolishness to expect that, so I resolved to be nice to her the next day. I got lucky, and she apparently had decided the same thing."

Harry nodded. "That is lucky. I know I was happy about it, since I don't like getting caught in the middle of those fights between you two."

"I can understand that," Ron agreed. "To continue, I was still confused. I knew about my feelings, and I thought that Hermione knew how I felt, but I had absolutely no idea what to do about these feelings. Above all, I was jealous of Viktor Krum. He had what I wanted, and I figured the only way I'd get her was to get rid of him. Because of this, I ripped him apart every chance I got in front of her."

Harry winced. "I remember how well that worked."

"Yes, all that did was irritate her," Ron said. "And we kept on fighting because of that. Truth be told, Viktor is a great guy."

"What?" Harry was incredulous. He couldn't believe his ears.

Ron was chuckling. "Patience, grasshopper. All will be made clear to you. Anyway, when we left school for the summer, we weren't fighting for the sole reason we were both so concerned for you. Once we got to our respective homes and started writing, though, that ended really quickly."

Harry laughed. "You were fighting by owl post?" Ron nodded. "Did you get any Howlers?"

Ron smiled sheepishly. "No, but I'm sure she came close to sending one. By the time she was ready to leave for Bulgaria, we weren't speaking to each other." Harry grimaced, but he couldn't resist getting a shot in.

"Weren't writing, you mean?"

Ron waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever. The important thing is, by the time she got to Bulgaria, she was absolutely miserable. She was moping around, and Viktor noticed. She had already told him that she was coming solely as a friend, so he asked her what was wrong. She wouldn't tell him much, but he did manage to eventually find out I was the cause of the problem."

"She felt that horrible about you that she couldn't enjoy Bulgaria?" Harry asked. He was very skeptical.

"Apparently," Ron stated. "So Viktor, realizing what the problem was, owled me."

"He did what?"

"He owled me," Ron said calmly. "His letter basically told me that I was an idiot for treating her like this, and a fool for not doing anything about it. Seeing as I already have five older brothers, and they had all told me the same thing except for Percy, I figured this might actually be true."

"Wow," said Harry. "That is incredibly cool."

Ron nodded. "After that, I owled him to thank him, then spent the next three days locked in my room trying to figure out what exactly to say to Hermione and how to say it. I ended up with two paragraphs; one apologizing for my behavior, and one inviting her to stay with us at the end of the holiday."

Harry laughed. "That's impressive."

"Don't remind me," Ron warned. "Once she got here, I plucked up all of my courage, and meekly asked her on a picnic. You know the rest."

"I'll bet that was difficult," Harry said.

"You don't know the half of it," Ron said. "It was ten times worse than asking someone to the Yule Ball because it meant so much more to me. Any more questions? Because I really need to go to sleep."

"Nope," said Harry. "Night Ron."

"Night Harry," he said, and closed his curtains.

Harry closed his own curtains, and laid back down, thinking of everything he had just heard. He then wondered if he would ever have the courage to ask someone on a date, and went to sleep wondering if Ron would kill him if he knew whom Harry had in mind to ask.