Harry Potter, a sixteen year old boy, slumped down into the nearest armchair. His two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, looked up from their parchments with raised eyebrows.

"I take it the practice didn't go too well", Hermione stated, folding her parchment and putting it away in her bag. She pulled a part of her brown hair behind her ear and looked over at the black haired boy. "What happened?" she asked Harry.

"Oh… I decided to call it a night since none of the players were alert today", Harry answered with a sigh. "Ron, I really need you to come back to the team!" Harry said to his red haired, freckled friend.

"Don't have the time for it, mate", he answered, shutting a book he had in front of him. "Between the homework every teacher hands us and the prefect-duties I have very little time" Ron continued.

Harry sighed again. He knew very well that the prefect-duties were made up once or twice a day so he and Hermione could sneak off. And as Hermione was the bright head in the class, she helped Ron get through the homework pretty quickly.

The portrait swung open and Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister, stepped inside, soaking wet. "Hi guys", she said in passing as she made her way to the girls dormitory.

"Freeze!" Ron called after his flamingly red headed sister. "Why are you soaked?" he asked.

"It was raining", Ginny replied. Ron looked out through the window, the darkening sky was as clear as it had been all day. He looked back at Ginny with a look that said "don't you dare lie to me". Ginny sighed.

"Fine. It wasn't. But I'd rather not talk about it!"

Harry looked amused at Ron and Ginny's conversation. It had been like this the entire semester. Each time Ginny got back to the Gryffindor common room a bit later than she'd said, Ron would play "20 questions" with her until he found out where she'd been, who she'd been with and why she'd been there. Ginny looked helplessly at Harry and Hermione. Harry smiled.

"Ron, lay off her. She was cleaning over at the Quidditch pitch", he said. It had the effect Harry, and Ginny, wanted. Ron turned to face Harry while Ginny sneaked up to the girls' dormitory. She slammed the door shut and Ron spun around.

"Hey! What was that good for?" he complained to Harry when he sat down at the table again.

"She's really been working her ass off at practice, so she doesn't need a brother giving her the third degree every time she gets back to the common room", Harry said, looking straight into his friends eyes. "And she's been struggling with homework in between." Ron looked down at his hands.

"I had no idea."

"I know you didn't", Harry said. "But lay off her. She needs to have some fun once in a while too, you know."

Hermione, who had pretended to be busy clearing the table from various books and parchments, looked up at Harry with a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean, struggling with homework?"

"If you hadn't noticed, Ginny tries to cope with school, prefect-duties and Quidditch", Harry explained. Hermione didn't seem to have listened to what he said.

"And how do you know all she's not having fun with prefect-duties and school?" she asked, stealing a quick glance at Ron when prefect-duties came up. Harry shook his head; he didn't want to get in to a discussion with Hermione at this hour.

"Right. I'm off to bed", Harry said and faked a yawn. "It's been a long day." He got up and stretched like you usually do when you're tired. Hermione began to clear the table next to them where some students had forgotten to put some paper in the wastebasket. "Night", she said, turning her back on Harry.

Ron held up a finger. "I'll be up in a sec", he said. Harry nodded. He knew fairly well that he wanted to say or do something to Hermione before he was off to bed. He climbed the stairs and sneaked into the boys' dormitory, which he shared with three other boys but Ron. Neville Longbottom, a clumsy and oblivious boy in Harry's class, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, two other boys in Harry's class. Dean, Seamus and Neville were all sleeping and Harry tiptoed inside, getting out of his Quidditch robes and slipped on his pj's in the dark. He climbed into bed, feeling very sleepy, and drew the drapery so he didn't have to get the sunlight in his eyes when he woke up.

He thought about Ginny as he was passing in and out of the land of dreams. Did he really know that she was having a hard time finding time to do everything she was supposed to do? His eyelids became rapidly heavier, and he was soon asleep.

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Author's note: Yes, I just realized how to make it all with italics, bold and such… Go me! Now, review and press 'next chapter'!