Disclaimer: They're not mine; they're Ms. Rowling's. They just jumped into my head one day and started thrashing around. I had to let them out somehow! I can't lay claim to the idea either. I have no clue where it came from or where it's heading. I just hope it doesn't leave anytime soon.

Any similarity between this and other fics is entirely coincidental. If you see something you recognize, please let me know. I don't want to step on anyone's toes!

Thanks to my beta, She Who Must Not Be Named, and my Brit-picker, Laucia. Any mistakes in here are entirely my fault. They tried to talk me out of them, but would I listen??

Warning: If you haven't read OotP yet, please, go find another fic. I'd love for you to keep reading mine, but I don't want to spoil anything for you. Don't worry, I'll be waiting right here when you finish!

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"So, what exactly are your intentions toward my baby sister?"

Harry looked down at the table. He could feel Ron's gaze boring into the top of his head as though trying to read his mind. Ron wasn't likely to wait around until Harry felt more comfortable. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a single thing to say. He had buried himself in his Charms essay so that he wouldn't have time to think.

"I don't know what to say, Ron. I honestly don't know where that came from. I've never really thought about Ginny like that before."

"I should hope not!" Ron grumbled. "And even if you did, I certainly don't want to know about it."

Harry slumped back in his chair and pushed a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. I don't even know what to tell myself! Up until a few hours ago, I would've said that I thought of Ginny as my little sister. This, well, this pretty much changes everything." He sighed.
"Would you mind if we talk about this later? I need to think about this."

Ron nodded. "Take your time, Harry. Just don't do anything stupid. I do know where you sleep."

"Yeah, I know. And you'll hex me into next week if I blah blah blah. I heard the speech you gave to Dean. You need some new material." Harry looked over at Ron in time to see him flash a smirk.

"That was nothing. I wish I could've seen the letter the twins wrote to him. I heard he didn't eat or drink anything for a whole day after that." Ron pushed his chair back from the table and stood. "Speaking of food, want to sneak down to the kitchens for a snack? We still have a few minutes until McGonagall's bed check."

"You're on. I didn't eat much at dinner." Harry stacked his books and parchments on the table then rose to follow Ron, who was already halfway to the portrait.

Ron stepped out into the corridor first and peered both ways before giving Harry the all-clear. The Fat Lady sighed loudly as she swung closed behind them.

"Now, you boys mind yourselves. Don't go looking for trouble!" she called after them. Harry heard her grumbling to herself as they went down the stairs.

In the kitchens, the boys were greeted by a virtual army of house-elves and were quickly seated at a small table piled high with pastries. After stuffing themselves and thanking the elves -- Hermione had trained them well in the wake of the Kreacher disaster -- they started back to their dormitory.

Ron was gesturing wildly as he recounted the Chudley Cannons's latest match. Harry, his stomach full, nodded in all the right places. Normally, he would have had no problem rehashing the whole game and arguing over which strategies had caused defeat. He was just as mad about Quidditch as Ron was. But he was having trouble focussing on the conversation as his mind kept returning to the earlier confrontation with Colin.

It was beyond bizarre that Colin, of all people, had been so crude. He was normally quiet and reserved, hiding behind his camera and watching rather than participating. Harry could count on one hand the number of times he had seen Colin without his camera. He had even brought it to their Dumbledore's Army training sessions!

What was even stranger was that he had been talking about Ginny. Everyone in Gryffindor knew better than to tangle with the youngest Weasley; growing up with six older brothers had sharpened her reflexes to the point that she, like Ron, often reacted to perceived threats before she had time to consider her actions. More than that, until he and Ron had walked up behind Colin in the corridor, Harry had thought that the two fifth-years were good friends. He had often seen them revising together in the Library and they usually sat together at meals.

Harry continued to turn the night's events over in his mind as Ron launched into a spirited recreation of Chudley's very badly executed, last-minute sacrifice play, the one that had virtually assured that the Harpies would win the match.

As they waited for one of the staircases to reattach, Ron suddenly stopped talking with his hands in midair. He cocked his head to one side. "Did you hear that, Harry?"

Harry listened briefly but all he could hear were the snores drifting out of various paintings and the grinding noise of the staircases. "Hear what?"

Ron didn't answer for a minute. He went down a flight of stairs and paused outside a door. He waved Harry down to him, and then pressed his ear against the door. "It's coming from in there," he whispered. "Sounds like a row."

As Harry joined him on the landing, he could just make out muffled voices. He pressed his ear against the door as well.

"I won't do it! You- you don't scare me!" a thin voice stammered.

"I don't? Perhaps you are more foolish than I thought. You will do this or everything you hold dear might suddenly slip away. Do we understand each other?" a second voice hissed in response.

Harry jumped back as he heard a muffled thud and a cry that was quickly cut off. He looked at Ron, who was pulling his wand out of his robes. Quickly realizing his intent, Harry drew his own wand.

Ron met Harry's eyes and mouthed, "We go on three."

Harry nodded once and tensed, ready to move when Ron uttered the unlocking charm.

"Alohomora!"

The door swung inward and both boys quickly stepped into the room. It was empty. There were a few tatty chairs piled near the entrance. In the pool of light spilling through the doorway, Harry could see a thick carpet of dust on the floor. He squinted into the gloom but could only see the outline of some grimy windows on the far wall.

Ron lit his wand and stepped a few feet further into the room. "Looks like the elves haven't been in here lately." He kicked one of the chairs and coughed as a large cloud of dust rose around him.

"Where did they go?" Harry asked. "Is there another door back there?"

Ron shrugged and started to walk across the room. After only a few steps, he stopped and pushed back his sleeve. He swore softly.

"What? What is it?" Harry moved toward him only to pull up short as Ron turned and started walking back.

"The alarm just went off!" Ron exclaimed. "McGonagall will be at the Tower in just a few minutes! Hurry!" He broke into a jog as he neared the door.

Harry followed him into the corridor, taking only a quick glance around the room before closing the door. By the time he started up the stairs, Ron was already one flight higher. Promising himself he would return in the morning for a more thorough inspection, Harry ran.

Professor McGonagall was standing next to the Fat Lady when Harry huffed his way up the last staircase. He tried to gasp out an explanation but stopped when she raised an eyebrow. After glancing at the timepiece she had pinned to her robes, she waved him into the Common Room with a warning. Harry stumbled through the hole and sank to his knees as the portrait snapped shut behind him. He bent his head, gasping for breath and trying to calm his racing heartbeat. He could hear Ron rasping nearby and McGonagall's cane tapping down the corridor.

"That … was a little … too close," Harry managed finally.

Ron chuckled weakly. "Shouldn't have eaten so many éclairs."

After a few minutes, Harry felt recovered enough to stand. He walked to the table in the far corner and gathered his books then followed Ron up to their dormitory. They talked quietly about the conversation they had overheard and made plans to examine the room after breakfast.

When they entered their own room, Harry dropped his books on the floor and collapsed on his bed. He couldn't even summon the energy to change into his pyjamas. Ron was already snoring.

What a day, Harry thought. I feel like I could sleep for a week. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the canopy, waiting for the exhaustion to pull him under.

~

Harry closed his eyes briefly as he shovelled porridge into his mouth. Despite his mad dash back to Gryffindor, he hadn't slept well. He had fallen asleep almost immediately but woke up nearly every hour for the rest of the night. In addition, he was still feeling the effects of several hours on the Common Room floor. His lower back gave a twinge whenever he bent over too far, the muscles in his neck still felt sore and his legs ached. He set his fork down on his plate and let the noise of the Great Hall flow over him.

Somewhere to his left, he could hear Dean and Seamus arguing about a project for their Magical Creatures class. Apparently, Seamus was trying to locate an Augurey, an Irish Phoenix. Dean was loudly protesting that the creature was too difficult to capture and keep in captivity. Apparently, Dean preferred working on a more common, and more easily controlled, animal. Seamus scoffed at the suggestion, saying that Hagrid would give them higher marks if they worked with something slightly dangerous. Harry silently agreed and even Dean could not argue.

A loud clatter immediately to Harry's right heralded the arrival of Neville at the table. Harry opened his eyes to see the contents of a full goblet of water rushing towards his lap. He fished out his wand and evaporated the liquid just before it cascaded over the edge of the table.

"Sorry, Harry!" Neville exclaimed breathlessly. "Didn't watch what I was doing!"

"That's all right, Neville." Harry was well used to Neville's clumsiness, although it had lessened considerably after the fight in the Department of Mysteries the previous year. To no one's surprise, Neville had gained quite a bit of confidence in himself when it was all over. He was still awkward and bumbling at times, usually when he was in a hurry.

As Neville settled himself onto the bench with slightly more caution, Harry helped himself to another serving of eggs.

"So, what are you doing up this early?" Neville asked as he poured a fresh goblet of pumpkin juice.

Harry shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. Figured I might as well come down. Ron and I are supposed to check on something. But if he doesn't get up soon, I might go to the Library for a bit to work on my Charms essay before Potions."

Neville nodded and attempted to butter his toast. "That essay is nasty. I'm doing Memory Charms. I didn't know there were so many!"

"Find any good ones? " Harry caught the dish of butter as it shot off the table towards him.

"Yeah! There's this one that some German wizard has been working on. I don't really understand how it works, but he says that it might be useful for interrogations...."

Harry listened with half an ear to the rest of Neville's explanation as movement at the foot of the table caught his eye. He looked to the entrance doors and froze.

Ginny had just walked in to breakfast.

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A/N: Why is it that every chapter seems to end with a cliff-hanger of some sort? Am I just evil? And what's this: do my eyes deceive me? Is that a plot I see brewing? Yes, indeed it is. And you thought this was just fluff! Hah!

Well, lots of things have changed in this post-OotP world, but luckily, nothing in the new book directly impacts my intended storyline. I'm going to have to go back and tweak a few things in the first chapters, but yay!  Also, if you've already read OotP (and if you haven't, why are you here?!? Go! Read the canon first!), take a moment with me to say goodbye. It may not have been my favourite character, but I mourn all the same. What a time (and a way) to go….

Let me know what you think so far. Just click that little button. You might even get a gushing letter of thanks and praise out of it!