Hello guys... sorry it took me a while to update. I spent two more days in San Francisco saying goodbye to my cousin. It was pretty funny- everything was gone and being shipped to Virginia, so we had nothing to sit on, nothing to heat up food in, nothing to sit on... etc. Hmm... anyway, hope you're not too mad at me. This chapter was... well... hmm. Hard to write. And when you read it, you'll probably understand why. Argh. If you guys don't like it, just keep in mind that this is my first fic. Thank you for the EXCELLENT amount of reviews... geez you guys are wonderful!
Oh yes, and the evil rabbits were part inspired by Monty Python, part inspired by Bunnicula, which my little cousin was reading when I wrote this chapter.
Merci beaucoup: Brown Pryde, Elizabeth Keyes, Nightwing 509, The Vampire Story Hunter, Jess, Luna Lovegood2, Ze-Cookie, Tru Lys, yeknottemaster, Maria, Raquel, JNT, To Kill a Tear, armed, Padfoot Is ALIVE, HGandRHrforever and Sweet-Oklahoma.
JamieBell- Hahah, I love ya Margaret! You're such an awesome person! Well thanks for the spiffy review and I AM still waiting for your update (ahem). Lol. Oh and I read "Special" and reviewed it. Fantastic, I must say. FANTASTIC.
Bob-chan- Hehe, you wanted Harry and Ginny- YOU'VE GOT IT. Finally got out this chapter, so here you go!
Potterchica02- Ah! Another California girl, how fun! It's amazing that you read my whole story in one sitting- THANKS SO MUCH. Well hope you like this chapter!
Kingmaker- Haha, plot bunnies attacking a bunch of fangirls? Excellent! Lol, anyway, thank you for your awesome review (actually, thank you for being such a dedicated reviewer!). Here is the next chapter... Hmm... a hard one to write, but ah well. Hope you like it!
A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Anti- Harry and Ginny friends? (Gasp) How dare they? Anyway, the characters are on summer vacation... So that's why they have so much free time. Lol. Look in my profile for more info about me, but just to let you know, I live in California. Fun! Alright, thanks for the review!
Obsessed87- I don't remember Hermione using magic in the last chapter; If I remember correctly, the woman in the pet store used magic to stun the rabbits, and the potion at home was created by Mrs. Weasley... Hmm, well anyway, thanks for your review! You rock!
Crookshankx- Haha, a little eager for some more Harry and Ginny eh? Well here you have it! Read and enjoy!
Shadow Fortune- You've got quite an imagination- dumping me in a bucket of mashed up cockroaches and donut holes?! Insane. Well I wouldn't want that to happen, so here is the next chapter!
WhippyBird- Haha, I love you for reviewing too! Anyway, here is the next chapter. More action? I don't know, you'll just have to read and see, won't you?
Zeo and the Harvest Sprites- Thanks so much for reviewing regularly, you rock! Hm... I'm glad you're liking the story, hope you continue reading it!
Lightprincess- Whoa, I want to meet your ex-killer bunny! Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!
CherryBlossom08- Hmm, well I think Hermione's gotten less sensitive as the story has progressed. And no, I don't think you reviewed before, but THANKS for reviewing this chapter! Well here is more Harry and Ginny. What fun! Now read!
Fireboy- Fascinating! You're from England?! You've got to tell me more about it... Anyway, here is the next chapter; hope you like it!
raven- Aww, thanks I'm so flattered! You rock! Well thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my fic. Hopefully, this new chapter doesn't let you down!
Tweek's Panda- Eep! Your review rocked! Well thank you for reading my story even if you didn't think there was going to be much to it. And thank you so much for sticking with it! I know the beginning kind of sucked (okay, it sucked a lot, but hey, this is my first fic), but I hope you think it's improved. Thank you, thank you!
Okay guys, thanks so much for all the reviews! Here is the next chapter; hope it doesn't disappoint anyone. Just keep in mind that this was probably the chapter that I've had the most difficulty writing. But hey, here it is! So go read, please?
Harry and Ginny left the house, Ginny in a considerably better mood now that Fred and George were out of sight. "They're so ridiculous," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry that they threaten you, Harry."
Harry shrugged, trying to smile. "Ah, it doesn't really bother me," he lied.
She however, was not fooled. She rolled her eyes in amusement. "Right. That would be why you locked yourself in the bathroom last night."
They walked down the block; finally coming into what Harry was surprised to see was a community pool. Apparently, they were just as popular among wizards as they were muggles. Of course, there were a few differences, all advantages, Harry noted.
The water was clean, clearer than even any drinking water that Harry had ever seen in the muggle world. And of course, the protection spells around the pool to protect them from harmful UV rays were much more convenient than applying sunblock. Around the pool, many middle aged witches lounged together, gossiping as they glanced idly over at their children splashing in the pool.
Of course, this wasn't necessary, as whenever someone was under the water for more than two minutes, a beeping alerted the lifeguard on duty, who would glance up from her magazine with an annoyed look, point her wand in the pool and levitate the person from the water.
After discarding her sunglasses, flip-flops and shorts, Ginny had eagerly jumped into the pool, happily resurfacing to cajole Harry into the water as well.
"Come on, Harry!" Ginny motioned from the pool, her head bobbing above the water as she shook her wet strands of hair from her face. "Just come on in!"
Harry gulped, trying not to look directly at her. He glanced over his shoulder yet another time, not sure whether to jump in and risk the twins coming out and killing him, or get on their good side by dragging Ginny out of the pool and clothing her in a nun's habit.
He turned towards Ginny again, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him, pretending to be exasperated.
"Harry!" she called out, the sun beaming upon her wet hair in a way that he found rather enchanting. She glared at him sternly. "You get in here right now or else I'll have to drag you in!"
He chose the former.
Diving into the pool, he only briefly heard Ginny's excited squeal before he had plunged underwater, overwhelmed by the relief that the cool water provided on a hot summer day. He swam upwards, gasping for air as he broke the surface.
On seeing his wide grin, Ginny poked his arm. "See, Harry!" she rolled her eyes. "If you had only listened to me sooner, we wouldn't have wasted so much time."
He sputtered in defense. "Come on now Gin, it was only a couple minutes at the very most!"
She giggled, swimming over to hang onto the wall, as she grew tired of treading water. "Yes, Harry," she shook a finger at him playfully. "But those were a few minutes of our lives that are gone forever!"
He shook his head, making his way towards her. "You're so dramatic," he muttered.
"Well it's true!" she sniffed, looking at him with a superior gaze.
He chuckled, retorting, "Well now you're wasting time with this petty argument!"
Ginny looked scandalized. "Petty?" she blinked at him. "Petty?! You waste away my life and you call that petty?"
Unable to resist, Harry splashed her as she was in the middle of her complaint.
"You!" she coughed, wiping water from her eyes as she glared at him furiously. She looked so comical as she stood there, clinging to the wall of the pool, water dripping down her face, her wet red hair plastered to her head as she glared at him that he burst into laughter.
That, apparently, did not improve her mood. In a split second, she lunged at him, furious battle cry and all as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a very unladylike way, apparently intent on dragging him underwater.
Harry was caught off guard, more so by her arms encircling him in any form rather than the fact that she seemed out to kill him. Fortunately for him, her attempts to drag him under weren't quite as successful as she had hoped, and his head was only dunked underwater a couple times.
Of course, he could have easily escaped her attack, but he found her determined attacks on him rather amusing, the way her face would screw up in concentration as she willed all her strength towards pulling him under the water.
Finally, exhausted, she gave up, arms limply hung around his neck as she pouted at the back of Harry's head.
He turned around to grin at her. "God, you're a vicious one," he teased, watching her blush.
"Yeah," she laughed, letting go of him (for some reason, Harry felt a tiny bit of disappointment at this) and reaching over to grab the wall again. "Mum always used to yell at me, you know. But," she shrugged. "It isn't my fault. I had to be tough, you know, growing up in a family of six boys and all."
"I can only imagine," he chuckled, imagining Ginny as a toddler wrestling against her older brothers. Without thinking, he brought his hand up to the back of his neck where Ginny's arms had been a few minutes ago.
She watched, concerned. "Harry, did I hurt you?" she bit her lip worriedly.
"No," he blushed slightly, averting his eyes.
"Okay," she sighed contentedly. "I wonder how Ron and Hermione are getting along?"
Harry chuckled. "I don't know... Ron's never really entered a library of his own accord."
She giggled in reply. "Yeah, I know. I really can't imagine him allowing Hermione to tutor him in the middle of summer."
"Mm..." he winked suggestively. "Depends on what you mean by 'tutor'."
"Harry!" she gave him a shocked disapproving look while trying not to giggle. "You and that dirty mind of yours."
"Hey," he defended himself, smirking. "I didn't say anything."
She smacked his arm playfully, covering her mouth with one hand as she giggled. "You're terrible."
"Yeah, I know."
"You have absolutely no shame."
"Yeah I know." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile as he watched her become frustrated.
"You live to annoy me, don't you?" she pouted, glaring at him questioningly.
He shrugged and grinned at her. "Yeah," he ran a hand through his wet hair. "That's about it."
"Argh!" she turned away from him dramatically, crossing her arms over her chest in a highly annoyed fashion.
"Oh come on Gin," he floated over to her. "I was just teasing."
She refused to look at him. "Right." "Come on," he coaxed; smirking as he realized that she was trying very hard not to smile. "Just a smile?"
She turned to glare at him, her lips pursed in a disapproving frown. "No."
He advanced on her, grinning mischievously.
She eyed him warily.
"I could find ways to make you smile," he warned, smirking at her.
"Nuh uh," she stuck out her tongue at him stubbornly.
"Yuh huh," he grinned, launching himself at her and tickling her.
"No!" she squealed, squirming. Unfortunately, his attacks did not fare well with her in water, and she panicked, not able to continue treading water as her head dunked underwater several times.
A bit alarmed, Harry stopped tickling her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her up. She coughed, gasping for air as she pulled herself up by putting her arms around his neck.
Oh my god, she blinked after having stopped coughing. She stared bashfully at Harry's face, a few inches away from her own. Too close... too close to Harry, she blushed.
Harry too was at a loss for words. He blinked at Ginny with her slightly awed expression and unconsciously tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
So... close, Ginny gazed upwards to look at Harry, who was staring at her with an expression she couldn't decipher.
I like Ginny Weasley? Harry's inner voice asked in disbelief as he looked down at Ginny, her face so close, and her mouth partially opened in shock or anticipation- he couldn't tell.I like Ginny Weasley. For some reason, this confession to self didn't shock him as much as he imagined it would.
Ginny stared wide-eyed at Harry. "I..." she started to whisper, but stopped when he lowered his face closer to hers.
Closer...
Almost there...
She shut her eyes.
Toot!!!
"NO INAPPROPRIATE DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION IN THE POOL!"
Harry and Ginny jumped back, flustered at the lifeguard's harsh bark.
"Err..." Harry stammered, turning redder than he ever thought possible.
"Oh god," Ginny whispered to herself, mortified as she hid her face in her hands. She peeked through her fingers, glancing around the pool.
All the children had stopped playing and splashing about in the pool and were now staring, wide-eyed at Harry and Ginny. Even the middle-aged witches sitting around gossiping had quieted, watching the two teenagers with interest.
Ginny smiled weakly at them, mumbling under her breath, "Oh dear god, Mum's going to hear about this one."
Harry tried to avoid eye contact with everyone, especially Ginny.
"Harry," Ginny murmured, not quite looking at him either. "Perhaps we should go home."
"Err," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah... we should."
She nodded, biting her lip. "So, the showers are over that way," she pointed, not daring to look at him.
Harry concentrated on the direction her finger was pointing. "Uh huh," he said with some effort. "Thanks."
"Yeah," she muttered in reply, pulling herself out of the pool. "No problem."
They disappeared into the showers, and had Harry been observant, he would've taken great interest in the self-cleaning showers. However, he found his thoughts drifting back to Ginny and their 'incident' in the pool.
"Stupid," he berated himself. "Why'd you do that?"
Ginny was equally mortified. She walked into the shower room and threw her things on a bench and laughed bitterly at herself. "What were you expecting, Gin?" she shook her head.
After their showers, during which they both had time to brood, they came out, ready to go home.
Ginny looked at Harry awkwardly, biting her lower lip. "So, home then?"
He nodded in reply, and they walked down the road in a very awkward silence. After ten minutes, the silence was almost unbearable, and Ginny was desperate to break it.
"Umm," she floundered, trying to think of something to say. Finally she laughed weakly. "Harry, you aren't going to be like this just because I fell into you at the pool, are you?"
Harry immediately recognized what she was trying to do. "Of course not," he replied with the same fake smile. "I was just thinking about... ermm... Ron and Hermione."
"Of course," she continued the conversation, though her voice sounded a bit strained. "I'm sure they're getting along wonderfully."
"-And gotten past that awkward stage," Harry couldn't help from saying a bit resentfully.
She turned to look at him, the expression on her face contemplative. "Hmm..." she opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it again, turning away.
"What?" Harry asked, curious. "Nothing," she stared at her feet.
"I was just," she shrugged. "Thinking."
He nodded absently, willing himself not to blush at the mere thought of her. "Yeah..." They once again continued, both desperate to reach the Burrow.
Finally they were home, and Ginny sighed in relief as she opened the door. "I'm going to go change," she muttered before disappearing upstairs.
Harry stared after her for a moment and went upstairs as well, shuffling into Ron's room with a sigh. He chuckled softly to himself. "I fancy Ginny," he mused aloud. "Who would've known?"
Meanwhile, Ginny was in her room, flopping on her bed after having already changed.
"Ugh," she grabbed her diary from her dresser drawer, and flipped back to the beginning. "Imagine that," she laughed bitterly. "Feelings from first year are coming back."
She sighed, turning her head to look out the window.
Suddenly, she started up.
Was that Hermione? Standing on the lawn over there with a broomstick in her hand while she gazed up at Ron?
She blinked, scrambling off the bed and tossing her diary back into the dresser drawer. Without the least bit reservation, she burst into Ron's room, where a contemplative Harry Potter sat on the bed.
Needless to say, he was quite surprised.
"Harry!" she gasped. "Look out the window!"
He glanced out the window and immediately his eyes widened. "Err..." he laughed incredulously, running a hand through his hair. "That's not Hermione, is it?"
Ginny ran over to stand next to him, watching as Ron zoomed about on his broomstick. "She's not going to actually try flying, is she?" she whispered.
Harry shrugged, still in shock. Finally, he turned to Ginny, grinning. "I suppose she just has a soft spot for Ron."
Watching Hermione and Ron, Ginny giggled in reply, relieved that the awkwardness that had followed the incident at the pool was gone. "Yeah, well, I suppose my brother just has that legendary Weasley charm."
Harry snorted, giving her a skeptical look. "Ron? Charming?" He shook his head.
"Well," Ginny shrugged. "I suppose you're right about Ron. But the rest of the Weasleys on the other hand," she gave a superior smirk. "Are just the most charming creatures on earth."
He looked at her for a moment, feeling himself redden. "You know," he muttered, finally tearing his eyes away from her. "That just might be true."