A/N: I was home sick from school with a stomach virus for two days, so chapter 10 is a bit longer than the others. lol. At least I think so anyway. I hope it is to everyone's satisfaction. I don't own any characters except the ones I make up...blah blah blah...and on with the story! :) A little R/Hr and H/G in this chapter I think! But I'm trying to get it to progress slowly....anyway....*cough* you can read now.

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Over the next few days everyone was talking about Harry's return. There were many phrases repeated throughout the castle such as "He's back, can you believe it!?", "Harry Potter is so brave!", and from certain Slytherin groups,"I can't believe he's still here." Of course Harry ( being the person he was ) hated all the attention, but it was all understandable. He remembered walking into the Great Hall for breakfast the morning after he had been back in the common room. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop...and then suddenly the room burtsed with applause and admiration. It had actually made Harry feel quite uncomfortable, but no matter how much people would whisper about the incident in the corridors, things went back to normal. Well, as normal as things get in Hogwarts. The only thing on Harry's mind was the lovely Saturday morning that awaited him at the end of the week, a day filled with nothing but quidditch.....

"She's not very good at dodging bludgers," Harry said as Rina Bardy circled the quidditch pitch.

"Well Ginny's quite good at dodging those things. Especially since she had to practice with Fred and George when I wasn't around," Ron replied and smiled. Harry shook his head.

"Just because she's Ginny doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on her. It also doesn't mean that I'll automatically rule out any other potential chasers. I suggest you do the same Ron, think about what's good for the team." Harry scolded. Ron sighed and took his place in front of the hoops to help another student try out. He was the keeper after all, and the whole point of being a chaser is to get the quaffle past the keeper and through one of the hoops. After many tryouts and an hour of deliberation, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team chose it's 2 new chasers. But to the students' dismay, the results would not be posted until the next morning.

Ginny trudged back to the common room where Hermione was waiting for her.

"So Ginny, how did it go?" Hermione asked putting down her quill and smiling.

"Eh..terrible. Bonnie Hashcrow was so much better than I was. I almost forgot for a moment I wasn't looking for the snitch. I was so used to taking Harry's place at the end of last year, that it seemed the natural thing to do out there, but chaser is so much more fun! I hope I made it!" Ginny said excitedly. Hermione frowned.

"You mean they haven't told you yet?" Hermione asked. Ginny shook her head sadly. "Well that's just not fair. Harry is the Captain, maybe I can get him to let something slip." Hermione added with a grin. Ginny laughed, but shook her head once more.

"That's alright Hermione. I don't want to take advantage of Harry like that. I'll wait like the rest of them, it's only fair." she replied and smiled. Hermione agreed and mentioned something about Ginny having 'a good head on her shoulders'. It was then that Ron and Harry walked through the portrait hole talking and laughing. Hermione motioned for Ginny to come closer.

"You should tell Ron about Dean now. I mean, he may be overprotective, but I saw him getting ready to say something to him the other day....and I'm sure Dean was confused when he mentioned it before." Hermione whispered. Ginny sighed and nodded quickly before tugging on Ron's robes.

"Hey Gin, what is it?" he asked. He assumed of course that she wanted to know if she would be Gryffindor's newest chaser. Ginny hesitated.

"I need to tell you something." she replied and Ron waited for her to go on. " Dean and I aren't dating," she muttered.

"He broke up with you?!" Ron yelled, angry that his friend would just dump his little sister like that.

"No, no! Ron calm down. It's just well... I was tired of you bugging me about Michael when we were going out, so I lied and said I was going out with Dean so you would fix your attention on him while I looked for someone I really liked." Ginny explained as calmly as possible. Harry coughed and Hermione nudged him with her elbow. He shrugged at her and continued to watch as Ginny and Ron talked.

"Well at least you haven't had more than one boyfriend already when I haven't even had one girlfriend myself." Ron said and shrugged. It was hard to be mad at Ginny, she was too innocent. Ginny laughed and shook her head. Hermione jumped up.

"Well I'm sure it would be easier for you to get a girlfriend if you didn't ask every girl in the school to be your date without even getting to know them! Not to mention drooling over veelas all the time!" Hermione spat at him. Ginny slowly backed away and sat down next to Harry, where the two watched as Ron and Hermione stared at each other.

"Oh come on Hermione! That is in 4th year, and I was desperate! You were desperate too! You went with Viktor Krum for crying out loud!" he shot back. Hermione glared at him.

"Viktor was very sweet! He asked me because he liked me, not because it suddenly dawned on him that I was a female and could be asked to dances! Sorry if I don't like being 85th choice, Ron!" Hermione screamed. Ron threw his hands up into the air.

"You were not my 85th choice Hermione! You were.....just....nevermind! Maybe I should just leave before this turns into another S.P.E.W. lecture!" he fumed. Hermione gasped.

"Well what's wrong with that!? Maybe it should turn into one! You should treat women and house-elves the same, be kind and gentle and have some respect! I guess that's just too much for certain red-heads to handle!" she shouted. Ginny and Harry stared at one another for a moment before quietly laughing and continuing to watch the argument.

"I have plenty of respect for women Hermione!" Ron said angrily.

"YOUR MOM DOESN'T COUNT RON!" Hermione screamed. Harry jumped up.

"I LOVE BUTTERBEER!" he screamed at the top of his lungs before Ron could retaliate against Hermione. They (including Ginny) stared at him bewildered. He smiled and gave a sigh of satisfaction.

"Have you gone absolutely insane?" Ginny asked before laughing hysterically. Harry smiled and rubbed his hair sheepishly before answering.

"I just wanted to stop you guys from going any further. It was getting pretty nasty, and I know you both don't mean what you are saying. No point in saying stuff you don't mean, right?" he asked them. They stared a moment longer (Ginny still laughing) and shook their heads.

"I guess you're right. Don't know where butterbeer comes into play though." Ron replied. Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"Ron, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." she started to say but Ron quieted her.

"No Hermione, you were right. Can we just please get over this whole Krum...ball....girl....respecting houselves thing?" Ron asked and smiled. Hermione laughed and gave him a hug.

"Yeah. I have to admit, you've grown up quite a bit since then. It wouldn't be fair to hold you against previous actions." Hermione replied with a grin. Ron rolled his eyes and gave her another hug. Harry coughed.

"So I'm gonna go to the library now. I need a book for astronomy." he mentioned. Ron and Hermione broke apart and acknowledged him.

"Ok then. I'd come with you, but I have everything I need." Hermione said and sat back down to finish her weekend homework. Ron shrugged and waved goodbye. Ginny sighed.

"I'll come with you Harry. We'll leave this two eggheads alone. I myself need to check out some library books..."Ginny said and got up. Harry smiled and waved goodbye to the other two. As he and Ginny left, he could swear he heard Ron's slightly faded voice saying... "egghead? I'll tell her...", but they turned the corner and it was gone.

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The new Gryffindor chasers were announced as Bonnie Hashcrow and Ginny Weasley. This of course was a shock for Ginny, and left Ron with a beam of pride permanently attached to his face right up until the first game against Hufflepuff. Ginny scored 50 points for the team, and Harry caught the snitch hovering about 2 feet above Ron's head. This was of course carried on in coversation all through the month.

Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were covered by various volunteers. Mr. Weasley took a week off work to teach new jinxes. Even Neville's grandma came in for a day to teach how to dodge curses. Unfortuantely, she fell over a desk and crashed into a pile of boxes, which didn't help with convincing the students that dodging curses was a simple task. Things would be carrying on this way even up to the Christmas holidays, which were quickly approaching....

"Harry, c'mon! Cho honestly didn't take you in there..did she?" Ginny asked as they walked by a cozy cafe like shop in Hogsmeade. Harry shrugged and laughed at the memory. He had been really uncomfortable sitting at a table alone with Cho..with all these couples around just...kissing....

"I see nothing wrong with it! It looks like a cute little place. I don't know why you would even think of mentioning you were going to meet me when you were in there. I would be too caught up in the moment to remember a thing!" Hermione said happily as she looked throught the window. Ron made a face and pretended to gag at Ginny. Ginny crinkled up her nose and giggled. Hermione laughed. "That would be really cute, Ron, if I couldn't see your reflection in the window." Hermione said and shook her head. Ron blushed and looked away, too embarassed to comment.

"Lets go into Honeydukes! I'm dying for some chocolate frogs!" Ron said and headed toward the store. Harry's eyes widened. Honeydukes was the last place he wanted to go into. Hermione shook her head at Ron's retreating figure.

"I don't understand you Ron. You have plenty of candy stashed up in your dorm. Don't think I haven't seen it!" she yelled. Ron pretended not to hear as he walked in. Hermione turned around to face Harry and Ginny before going through the door.

"Do either of you understand anything about him? If you do, would you mind sharing some of the information with me? It's getting pretty tiring trying to keep up with him!" she said and rolled her eyes. She noticed Harry was looking a bit distant. "You look a bit queasy Harry. Everything alright?" she questioned. He scratched his head and winced at the store sign. Ginny patted his shoulder.

"It's probably all the cold air. It is pretty extreme weather we are having for so early in the winter season. Maybe he just needs to warm up. Do you wanna go with him to The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer? I'll make sure to force Ron along. Oh, this is all of course if Harry wants to. It's up to you Harry." she said and rubbed her hands together. Harry nodded. It was pretty cold, he could use some warming up.

"Nah, I think I might be getting the hang of forcing Ron along. Why don't you go, Ginny, and Ron and I will be along quickly." Hermione replied. Ginny nodded and watched as Hermione walked into the shop.

"Well, I hope you don't mind being stuck with me for a few minutes. I know I look pretty awful in the cold." she said and laughed. Harry stared at her shining face. It looked a bit pale, and her nose had more of a red tint to it than was usual, but all in all she looked...well...sorta nice.

"No, not at all. You look fine." Harry said and smiled. She laughed and playfully punched his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure..whatever you say. Not to kill the day and ruin the mood or anything, but what was up back there?" she asked.

"I don't know. I just don't really want to have to go into Honeydukes for awhile, since I was stuck in the cellar of the place." he replied. Ginny covered her hand with her mouth and gasped.

"I completely forgot! Well then I vow never to eat candy again! Except...I do have a bit of a sweet tooth, so...I may break this vow when the occasion calls for it. You understand." Ginny said blushing. 'I'm acting like a 5 year old' she scolded herself. Harry laughed.

"You can eat candy whenever you want. I won't stop you. I have a bit of a thing for chocolate myself sometimes." he said happily and rubbed his hands together. 'It's soooo cold, but Ginny is surprisingly good company' Harry thought to himself.

"Don't we all?" Ginny asked and flung her hair over her shoulder. Harry agreed and opened the door to the Three Broomsticks for her. She thanked him and casually walked inside.

"Ah, much warmer in here," Harry thought aloud and sat down with Ginny. She took her hands from her pockets and made their order.

"2 butterbeers please," she said politely. Harry tilted his head to the side.

"Don't you mean 4?" he asked her. Ginny laughed.

"I'm not ordering Ron and Hermione's drinks until they come. Knowing Ron, he'll take forever deciding what he wants and come in here about an hour after I've ordered, and it'll be bloody cold by then!" Ginny said and smirked.

"I guess that's true. I guess you and I can just talk while we wait for them." Harry stated and stared down at the table. Ginny became a bit more uncomfortable, but tried to hide it from him. That's when she spotted the couple sitting a few tables down from where she and Harry were sitting. She tugged on Harry's sleeve and pointed.

"Looks like both our old flames are having a good time." Ginny said as Harry spotted them. Harry rolled his eyes as he watched Cho give Michael puppy dog eyes.

"What is it with her? I think I'm just like Ron, I have no clue when it comes to girls. I mean, why does she bring Michael here and brought me to a spot that made me want to hurl myself out the window?" Harry asked. Ginny laughed and patted his arm.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It's always been this way. Girls don't understand guys, and guys don't understand girls. We can manage to get along just fine. And knowing Michael, he probably came here before Cho even had time to suggest going anywhere else. You're much nicer Harry, you care about what other people want." Ginny explained. Harry blushed and shook his head at Cho and Michael.

"At least she's happy with him. She just kept crying on me all the time. I used to go all..weird whenever I was around her, but now I just don't care anymore." Harry said and shrugged. Ginny laughed.

"Yeah. I used to get all happy around Michael. Now I want to hex him whenever I pass him in the corridor." Ginny said and crinkled up her nose. Harry chuckled. 'Wow, I've told Ginny a lot. I guess it just..came out. At least she doesn't think I'm crazy. She's kinda nice to talk to' Harry thought. Ginny smiled at him. 'He's so cute when he smiles. I wish he would more often. Maybe I should stop prying into his business with this whole Cho thing, he'll probably get really angry with me...' Ginny thought and wrung her hands. She bit her lip and Harry stared at her for a moment, but they were quickly snapped out of their thoughts when their butterbeer arrived. Ginny thanked the woman and paid.

"I could've paid for my own!" Harry argued, but Ginny waved to him as if to say 'nonsense'. She took a sip and motioned with her eyes to Cho and Michael's table.

"I think we've been spotted," Ginny whispered. Harry turned to see Cho glaring at him. He snorted and turned back around.

"So what? I can hang out with my friends in here, right?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. 'Friends' Ginny thought and sighed. Harry noticed that when she was thinking her eyes would sparkle. It was pretty interesting. He was jerked from his thoughts again as the Three Broomsticks quieted and Cho's voice could be heard.

"Harry was so spacey. He hardly looked at me the whole time and all he could talk about was how he was supposed to meet some other girl," she said to Michael. Michael nodded feverishly.

"Yeah, Ginny was always bragging about how she was sorted into Gryffindor like her brothers. It was like she had something against Ravenclaws or something. I don't care anyway, she wasn't exactly a beauty queen," Michael said in response. Cho just sniffled and took his hand. Ginny clenched her fist and stood up.

"Yeah, well you vomitted all over my robes twice! And I caught you picking your nose when we were studying! I didn't want your scummy hands all over my notes!" Ginny yelled. A couple people turned and looked, Harry just stared in shock. Michael then did something real mature, he stuck his tongue out at Ginny and grabbed Cho's hand. They got up to leave and Cho shot Harry a death glance on her way out the door. Harry laughed and sunk down in his seat. Ginny let a tear run down her cheek.

"What gives him the right to be such a....a...jerk?!" she asked no one in particular and stared into her mug. Harry frowned.

"Aw Ginny, don't listen to him. He's just jealous because you dumped him and are still looking as beautiful as ever," Harry said to comfort her. She smiled at Harry and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, well I guess it's expected for him to hate me. But Cho used to be so nice, I guess Michael must have rubbed off on her or something." Ginny said sadly. Harry took a sip of his butterbeer. He had no idea what to say. His mind had gone completely blank. Ginny coughed and blushed a bit before pointing toward the door. Hermione was dragging Ron in by his sleeve. Harry laughed and waved them over.

"Sorry we took awhile guys, but Ron had to look at every type of candy in the store at least 3 times before he'd buy anything!" she said exasperated and collapsed next to Ginny. Ron sat down next to Harry and across from Hermione.

"It's such a good selection. I can't help but be hypnotized." Ron spoke for himself and flashed Hermione a smile. She shook her head and waved down a waitress.

"It's like I was saying to Harry earlier; the Weasley's have a bit of a sugar addiction, right Ron?" Ginny asked. Ron violently moved his head up and down. Hermione ordered two butterbeers and turned to face Harry.

"Feeling any better?" she asked. Harry nodded and took a sip from his mug. 'I wonder what Ginny's favorite type of candy is..' he thought to himself.

"It's too bad Fred and George set up shop in Diagon Alley. I would've paid them a nice long visit while we were here." Ron said absent mindedly.

"Yeah, it is a shame, but a smart move. Zonkos is their competition. It would be tough on their business if they started their shop so close by," Hermione replied. Ginny smiled. ' I wonder what Harry is thinking' she thought to herself. Hermione coughed and nudged her with her elbow. Ginny snapped out of her daze and blushed.

"Uh, sorry...what were you saying?" she asked. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door opening loudly. Two girls around Ginny's age came wandering up to the table, with excited expressions plastered on their faces.

"There you are Gin! We've been looking all over for you!" the first girl, with bright blonde locks, said to the group. The second girl, a tall brunette, waved. Harry recognized her as Bonnie Hashcrow, the 4th year Gryffindor that was now on the quidditch team.

"Spending quality time with your brother? That's nice. Well we were hoping you'd come to Zonkos with us, we heard they've got some new stuff in!" Bonnie said eagerly. Ginny stuck out her tongue and cringed.

"Eh, I'm not bothering with that place again. Now that Fred and George have a joke shop, I have to show them my support 100 percent!" Ginny said proudly. The blonde girl rolled her eyes.

"Well of course you do silly! That's why you need to come with us and check out the competition. Think of it as your own little spy mission, all information gets sent to the twins." she said and pouted to persuade her. Bonnie jumped up and down clapping her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw Harry. She giggled and nudged the blonde. When the blonde saw where her friend was looking she giggled and turned back to Ginny.

"On second thought, if I were you, I'd stay right where I was." she said and laughed. Ron grinned like a maniac and Hermione tried not to laugh. Harry put his head in his hand to hide his red face and Ginny choked on her butterbeer.

"That's alright. I've imposed on them long enough. You guys are Ron's friends. I shouldn't be here." Ginny said nervously and got up. Hermione shook her head.

"No Ginny! It's no trouble.." Hermione started to say but Ginny stopped her. Ron shrugged. Harry looked up to say goodbye, pretty upset about the fact that his good company was walking out the door, but Bonnie was giggling and waving at him like crazy. "See you later Captain Potter!" she shouted. He groaned and put his head right back into his hands. As the girls left Hermione finally started to laugh.

"Poor Ginny, to be stuck with friends like those," Ron said and chuckled. Harry tried to calm himself and return his face to its normal shade.

"What was that all about Harry?" Ron added and looked at him.

"I have no idea. Am I ugly or something?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I think they were thinking the opposite Harry." she replied. Harry mouthed 'oh' and tried to switch the subject.

"How do you know, Hermione?" Ron asked, curious.

"I've heard lots of girls talking about him in the library. They said the summer was good to him, and something about fainting...and....there were lots of giggles..." Hermione said and shrugged. ' That can't be true. No girl would like me..' Harry thought and shook his head. Ron sighed.

"Oi. To be you mate, I'd give anything. I'm afraid I've been cursed with Weasley genes." he said and tugged on his ears.

"Oh Ron, you're very attractive!" Hermione said quickly. 'Oh no...' she thought to herself, but Ron just blushed.

"I think I've had enough butterbeer. Hogsmeade isn't getting any more interesting today. Anyone up for going back to the castle?" Harry asked. The two nodded and paid for the butterbeers before heading out the door.