I have done it. I have written THE chapter. And it may not be great, and it may not be my favorite, but it is still THE chapter. Anyway, here you go, the NEW chapter. How fun! Well, I feel the need to warn you- this ends in a cliffie. And worse news? I'm going off to Florida for vacation on Friday, so if I don't update by then, well, I won't update til, erm... the seventeenth.
Anways, I must thank you guys for the MANY MANY wonderful reviews. I've received more reviews for the last chapter than any chapter thus far, and it excited me and totally encouraged me to keep writing. You have no idea how many times I stopped while writing this chapter in frustration. I was going to take a brief (as in a couple weeks) hiatus, but then I felt bad.
Hmm... oh yes, and my rant of the day: man-bashing is bad. Yes, that's right. Going to an all-girls school, I've seen all forms of man-bashing, from the books on how to train your man, to jokes about how males have the intelligence of geraniums, to (no, I'm not making this up) frightening rituals in which girls shred pictures of men (former lovers? I don't know...) and burn them.
So, we're all for women's lib, right? Equality of the sexes. Then why don't we stop being hypocrites? I mean, comparing men to misbehaving pups all the time? Come on now. You wouldn't like it the other way around. "Look, women are bitches who can only be controlled through a reward system. They're too stupid to grasp anything more complex." That, I think, is not funny.
You have no idea how many girls I've met who, when inquired about what they want to do with their lives, reply with, "I just want to marry a rich guy." Good god, this is an all-girls school! It's supposed to instill us with independence and confidence. Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for a guy to say that? "Yeah, I don't really want to do anything as a career. Just, you know, marry a rich girl."
Right.
So, ladies, we fought for our equality and we gained it.
Now let's keep our end of the deal and prove our self-worth and respect for others.
Oh boy, did I bore anyone into leaving? I sure hope not. Anyway, sorry for making you listen to that =D. I like to rant, and sometimes I get a bit carried away.
Cam on (thank you in Vietnamese, hehe) to: Blackcat69, Nightwing509, WhyDoYouCare36, AnA4ever, Luna Lovegood2, BrownPryde, HGandRHrforever, The Shadow of Sora, The Vampire Story Hunter, Bob-chan, Ghost123, Tweek's Panda, baseballkid, Jim, Chantal J, xxero2005, Potterfan, potterchica02, Sweet-Oklahoma, Rayah Papaya, Dbish403, blank-cd, Kallasilya, mary-v, Kallan Myers, Mep, and Titanic-HarryPotter-lvr-2! I love you guys I love you guys! So many reviews.... Ah, I'm SO HAPPY!!! =D
Tru Lys- Awww, you're such a sweetie! Thanks for being such a great reviewer; I'm glad you're liking the story. And I'm also glad that someone's liking my sad stabs at humor. Lol.
Ronnies Gurl- I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU. You made me smile with your super super nice review! Thank you so much, and I am so honored that you actually read the chapter to your friend. And just for the record, you're amazing.
JamieBell- Ah! I love you Margaret! Anyway, this fic has been progressing fairly slowly, but (gasp)- it's nearing its end. Thank you so much for being my mentor of sorts!!! You've helped me so much, and I don't know what I would've done without you. =)
Crookshankx- I'm glad you love my story! Eesh! I'm excited for the day when you finally write out your own story! It'll be fun! Fun fun fun! And I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the splendid review, and I hope you find this new chapter satisfactory!
Kingmaker- I'm terribly ashamed. Absolutely nothing I write deserves to be called "perfect", but I must admit, I am extremely flattered. Well, here is the new chapter. And dear lord, more happens! I really hope you find it to your liking, and as this story is nearing its end, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to always leave reviews that are always a delight to read. Thank you!!!
Fireboy- Whaat? You're LEAVING me?! Accckk... you will be missed! I hope that when you come back, you find that this completed story is waiting here for you, and that you like it! You've been absolutely wonderful with all your reviews; thank you so much for having taken the time to read my story!
A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Yaay, you like my story! I mean, you've always told me that you have, but it excites me nevertheless! Oh and the kissing that you've been asking about forever?! It's in the near future. I promise. Very very near future. Very very very very very near future... Okay, I'll stop before I give anything away. I just hope that you like this chapter though!
Oliana Walden- I just know you'll do wonderfully with your story! I already think it's off to a wonderful stop, and I'm looking forward to an update. Anyway, as English is not your mother language, I'm very impressed with what you were able to do. Thank you so much for reviewing my story and taking my review to heart, and I wish you luck. Oh yes, and what is your mother language, if you don't mind my asking?
Click La Magnifique- Aww, thank you, you're so sweet! And of course, I have continued writing, and voila, here is my new chapter. I have a confession to make- I actually tried to read your story after getting your review. But, alas, my french is absolutely horrible. I mean, I've been in french class for two years now, and I do not understand, read, or speak french. Dear lord, I'm hopeless. But I'm glad you were able to read my story, and so glad that you like it! I hope you like this chapter!
She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys- I have no idea what a beta reader is, lol. I'm just about as clueless as you are, if not more so. Anyway, I hope you like JamieBell's stuff; it's absolutely fantastic. But don't abandon me, okay? Lol, anyway, here is the newest chapter!
Whippy Bird- Yaay, you're back you're back! And here to read my newest chapter! And hopefully not hate it! How exciting =P. Anyway, thank you for being an excellent reviewer and taking the time to review even after a long trip. You rock!
Leoking- Wow, that's a long review. Dear lord, I don't know what to reply to first. Anyway, easy stuff first, lol. "Lol" is an acronym for "laugh out loud" and is the equivilent of saying "haha". Yeap. Well I'm glad you're liking this story, and I agree with you. Fred and George deserve a huge prank. But, alas, I'm not sure what to do to them, so that will come in later chapters. I hope you'll be satisfied with the progression of the characters in this chapter- namely the relationship between Ginny and Harry. The characters all have very distinct personalities by now, and I'm still trying to piece everything together so that it works. Anyway, hope you like this new chapter; it took a while, but I finally got it out!
The Irish Fox- Ooh ooh, look, I wrote more! And just for the record, yes I would write more if your life depended on it. You betcha I would. I mean, you review my story and say it's your favorite! Of course you're an awesome person =D! Well, thank you for your review, and here is the new chapter you were so eagerly awaiting!
Okay everyone- Here it is. Be happy, read it and remember that it's my first fic, and please please, no evil reviews. That would be a serious blow to my confidence. So here here here! Read read read! And of course.... REVIEW.
"How about-"
"No."
"-But we could-"
"No."
"If we-"
"No."
"Oh please-"
"No."
"-But they would-"
"No."
"Aww... but Harry-"
"No."
Ginny sat across from Harry, watching as he serenely ate his breakfast without looking up at her. "You're no fun," she pouted.
He shrugged, unperturbed as he continued to crunch his way through a bowl of cereal. "Do you really want a repeat of this morning?"
Huffing, she crossed her arms, frowning. "Really, I've got a thoroughly thought out plan this time!" she protested, remaining seated where she was.
"That," he replied dryly, picking up his empty bowl and walking to the sink, "Is exactly what you said last time."
"Oh, so I messed up one time," she persisted. "It's not like I've ever led you astray before, right?"
He looked at her warily. "Right. But the one time you did, the consequences were absolutely disastrous."
"Oh they won't be this time," she waved off his concerns. "I promise."
"For some reason, I don't really believe you, there," he muttered, still looking extremely distrustful. "You know, I had a bad feeling about the last plan, and well, I have a bad feeling about this one too."
"Oh, Harry," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're being absolutely ridiculous. You haven't even heard my plan yet, and you're already against it."
He opened his mouth to retort, but was startled by the sudden appearance of the twins coming down the stairs, swaggering threateningly as they made their way towards Harry.
"Hello, Harry," Fred said coolly, crossing his arms.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" George inquired, frowning. "What did you do Harry? Drug my little sister and drag her up there so you could..." he paused, looking pained. "Use her for your sick purposes?!"
Fred looked equally pained. "You Harry," he hissed, poking violently at Harry's chest with his finger. "Are going to die."
Harry stumbled back a couple steps, mouth open in shock. "Err..." he stammered, staring wide-eyed at the twins.
For some reason, these 'talks' often had this effect on him.
"I really didn't do anything!" he finally pleaded.
The twins looked at him disbelievingly. Looking at each other for a moment, they began to advance on him menacingly, looking like they were ready to pummel him into the ground right then and there.
"No!" Harry cried desperately. "Don't kill me!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh you two!" she sighed in frustration. "Stop being ridiculous. Harry would never ever have such," she paused, searching for the word, "dishonorable intentions!"
Turning to look at her, Fred appeared puzzled. "Then what in the world were you two doing on the roof all night?
"Not what you thought!" she cried out indignantly, reddening. "We were simply stargazing."
"Stargazing, eh?" George raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Gee Gin, you're sure becoming quite the romantic."
"For academic purposes!" she replied, her voice getting a bit higher.
Harry quickly nodded in agreement.
"Right." The twins looked unconvinced.
"So," Fred looked unsure. "You don't want us to teach Harry a lesson then?"
"No, not at all!" Ginny giggled, flashing them a big smile as she glanced quickly towards Harry. "Harry and I will be off now, alright?"
The twins looked at each other for a moment and then glanced warily at Harry, who continued to smile weakly in what he hoped was an innocent manner.
"Yeah," George finally said, giving his little sister an affectionate pat on the head. "Well, Ginny, if Harry bothers you at all, just tell us, alright?"
"We'll be up in our room, ready with many instruments of torture," Fred added helpfully.
"Wonderful," Ginny rolled her eyes sarcastically. "That sure is nice to know."
Grabbing Harry's hand despite his frightened glances at the twins who were currently shooting him death stares, she dragged him upstairs and into her room, slamming the door behind them. Flouncing on her bed, she gave a startled Harry a triumphant smile.
"How do you do that?" he asked in awe. "You know, get rid of them like that?"
She smirked, propping herself up on her elbows. "I'm just brilliant like that."
Err, if that's what you want to believe," he chuckled teasingly, sitting down on the bed beside her.
She gasped, pretending to be terribly offended. "Harry!" She tilted her head upwards to look at him, "How dare you doubt my intelligence!"
"Aww Gin," he replied lightly. "You know I believe in everything that comes from that pretty little head of yours."
Blushing, she turned away. "You really mean that?" she asked, forcing a laugh.
Harry sensed that they weren't joking around anymore.
Glancing around the room nervously, Harry searched for a way to answer. "Well," he began carefully. "You're a very clever girl, and I respect that."
She blushed again, but smiled at his words.
"And," he added, trying to lighten the mood again. "That head of yours is definitely the prettiest in your family. Quite a bit more pleasant to look at than your brothers' anyway."
She burst into giggles. "Oh really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well I've happened to hear from quite a few people that Ron has the most alluring physique."
Harry made a disgusted face. "Ugh! That's not true, is it?"
Shaking her head, she burst into giggles again. "Naw, I just wanted to see your reaction."
He glared at her. "But now I have this horrible image of my best mate! Ron. Alluring," he shook his head in disgust. "That's... that's... there are no words to describe how traumatizing this is."
"Aww..." Ginny cooed, giving him a pitying look. "Did I scare poor Harry?"
He pretended to look terribly frightened. "Yes," he replied, dramatically. "I was terrified!"
"Poor dear..." she leaned in closer, giving him an impish grin. He stared at her, trying not to blush.
Well, she was close.
Very close.
A good thing?
Yes, definitely, he decided.
Unconsciously, he found himself leaning in closer to her.
Maybe... his dazed mind thought. Maybe she won't kill me.
That of course, was enough to encourage him to continue.
Ginny stared up at Harry, her mouth slightly parted in shock.
Why yes, that would be his face coming closer.
And why?
Well, there were many possibilities.
He could be leaning in to bite her nose off, for one. Or perhaps he meant to whisper something in her ear.
Hmm... but he sure didn't look like he was heading for her ear.
In fact, if she didn't know better, she'd say that his mouth was heading for hers.
Dear lord!
Was he leaning in.... for a kiss?
Her eyes fluttered shut as she decided that it was time for her conscience to shut up. All this thinking was starting to make her nervous.
Harry felt even more dazed as he watched Ginny close her eyes and lean in towards him.
So, she's not going to kill me.
Here goes...
They both held their breaths in anticipation.
Bam!
The door burst open and the triumphant twins barged in.
No, no, no... Ginny squeezed her eyes shut. Not now. Not again.
"Aha!" Fred called out, running over and roughly yanking a mortified Harry away from Ginny. "We've caught him in the act!"
Oh lord.
Harry stared in horror at the twins, feeling his face redden. "I..." he stammered. "I... I..."
Fred continued roughly dragging Harry out the door, while George rushed over to Ginny's side, mistaking her silent mortification for fear.
"Gin!" he soothed, patting her back. "It's alright now. We won't let Harry try to take advantage of you again."
Try not to kill. Try not to kill. Try not to kill.
Unfortunately, her little mantra didn't help matters any.
Red in the face, she turned to a surprised George and exploded, "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Fred stopped in the middle of shoving a protesting Harry out the door and turned around to gawk at his little sister.
"Gin," George backed away from his little sister, a bit frightened by her outburst, though he would never admit to that, of course. "Are you alright? I mean, we just stopped that... that pig," he pointed at Harry, who was currently staring wide-eyed at a very peeved Fred who, every few seconds rapped rather brutally at the top of Harry's head with his knuckles, "From... from deflowering you!"
"Deflowering? Deflowering?!" Ginny wasn't sure whether to toss them out of the window in frustration or giggle at George's interesting choice of... phrasing.
She chose neither.
Instead, she opted for a more violent approach... without the throwing them out the window bit, of course.
Instead, she launched herself first at George with a strangled scream, bashing his arm (she had a bit of a penchant for this, she had to admit) with her fists.
Fred stopped abusing Harry, stopping to stare at Ginny's violent attack as he debated whether to continue hurting Harry or rushing over to save George's life.
George, trying to preserve what dignity he had, attempted to maintain an amused grin when inside, he was quite terrified. The result was a rather grotesque expression that would've given small children nightmares.
"You!" she vented as she pounded away furiously. "I hate you! I hate you both!"
Argh! How could they?
Stupid overprotective brothers.
"You know," Harry piped up feebly. "I really wasn't aiming to, err... deflower her."
That of course, earned him a swift kick from Fred.
"Harry and I," Ginny yelled, "Were simply spending some time together, and you two ruined that! Ruined it!''
"But..." George grimaced as he rubbed at his injured arm. "We were... erm... preserving your innocence."
She shot him a glare. "Oh you two..." she muttered, impulsively tossing a pillow onto the floor with vehemence, raising her voice. "I've snogged boys before, alright?! So just leave me alone! I won't go and get myself, um, deflowered or whatever you said!"
The twins looked aghast.
Harry himself looked absolutely shocked at her outburst, and also terrified of how the twins would react.
"You expect us to leave?!" Fred retorted, stomping his foot angrily. "Not when you've made that confession, Gin! I don't want you near any boys, ever again!"
"Argh!" she screamed in frustration, smacking George's arm again (as he gave a rather undignified yelp).
Grabbing a textbook from the floor, she ferociously hurled it in Fred's direction.
On seeing that their little sister was now aggravated enough to kill them, the twins simply gave her an alarmed look and scurried out of the room.
Fred attempted to drag Harry along by his collar, but Ginny glared at him.
"Leave him behind," she gritted through clenched teeth, holding another textbook threateningly.
Taking one look at her expression, Fred dumped Harry on the floor and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Don't you dare do anything to her Harry!" he called through the door hurriedly before scampering down the hallway.
Ginny sat down on her bed again, looking considerably calmer. "Alright, Harry?" she asked concernedly.
Lying in an absolute mess on the floor, Harry smiled up at her, glasses askew. "Erm, not too bad. The twins were rather set on killing me, huh?"
She giggled softly. "Yeah, they don't really want me getting too close to any boys."
They lapsed into silence again, which was only broken by Ginny nervously tapping her foot as she bit her lip blushing.
Harry felt himself redden.
How are we supposed to talk about this?
"Erm," he coughed awkwardly, blushing even more deeply as she looked up from her stupor. "I think... err, I mean... um... We should talk about, you know, what was going on before the twins came in," he finally blurted out, immediately burying his face in the pillow (which Ginny had thrown down earlier) to hide his mortified expression.
Twirling several strands of red hair between her fingers, Ginny stared at the floor, blushing more than she ever thought possible. "Yeah," she whispered. "I suppose we should."
This time, it was a long, long silence that left them both fidgety and desperate to die before they just exploded from all the embarrassment.
"Yeah," Harry coughed again. "Well we were talking about plans for one..."
And then... the little voices inside both of their heads probed.
"...And then...." Ginny murmured, giving a squeak of horror before staring pointedly at the floor again.
I can't do this correctly, Harry panicked.
I can't, I can't.
It isn't supposed to be like this!
We're supposed to eloquently profess our love to each other and fall into each other in a passionate embrace, cooing terms of endearment like "darling, darling!" or, his personal favorite, "Love muffin!"
...Okay, so maybe that was the way things happened in those horrid soap operas that Aunt Petunia watched religiously.
And well, he had to admit, that all seemed rather ridiculous to him. Over the top, if you know what I mean.
But they did it so easily!
Ginny, on the other hand, was simply feeling very frustrated with herself and the whole situation. The embarrassment may have been unbearable, but this, this silence was even worse! "Okay Harry!" Ginny finally admitted, still keeping her face turned away from his. "Erm... I still fancy you a bit, alright?" She said this all hurriedly, trying to get it over with as soon as possible.
As incredibly relieved as he felt (not to mention elated), Harry couldn't think of anything witty, suave, or wonderfully romantic to say at the moment, so, instead, he stammered out, "Oh..."
His inner voice immediately began berating him.
That's the best you can do?!
You've been staring at her for weeks, found the way she eats cereal charming, and tried to kiss her twice, and the best you can do when she tells you that she feels the same way is 'oh.'
You're pathetic.
And so this self-scolding continued.
On seeing his lack of reaction, Ginny could only reach one conclusion. He didn't feel the same way. Mustering up her dignity, despite the fact that her face was probably as red as a tomato, she forced herself to look at him.
For some strange reason, he was muttering things to himself, looking extremely distracted.
Ignoring this, she spoke. "You know Harry," she said haltingly. "It's alright if you don't fancy me back. I... I understand."
Okay, you did it, she praised herself glumly.
So I'm not jumping for joy, now that I've been rejected.
Well, I think I certainly have the right to sulk.
"Oh no," Harry quickly replied, his head snapping up at her comment. "Oh no... I don't... I mean, I do... well, erm..." he was flustered and stammering again.
She looked at him expectantly, a slightly disappointed frown on her lips.
"I..." he stared, wide-eyed at her, finding for some reason, that he could say no more.
Oh great, great time to freeze up.
"Look," she muttered, even more mortified. "You really don't have to explain. Like I said, I understand."
Say something, you twit! His conscience screamed at him.
"There is something I have to explain, actually," he finally mustered up the courage to say. "Err... I'm glad you fancy me."
She blinked.
"And," he continued, growing redder by the moment, "That's because I fancy you as well."
There was an awkward silence.
"Oh," Ginny finally said, staring at her hands.
Another awkward silence followed.
"That's a good thing," Ginny added awkwardly, looking up at him.
He grinned tentatively, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think so too."
"So," she suddenly found her hands very interesting again, "Do you think... you know... we should, well, finish what we started?"
He nodded, relieved that she had brought it up. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Me too," she whispered before leaning in towards him.
This time, they weren't interrupted.
Their lips met hesitantly, and after a moment, they both withdrew, smiling shyly.
Ginny sat on the floor, blushing prettily as she faced an equally bashful Harry.
She was, for once, absolutely speechless.
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and whipped his head towards the window at the sound of a loud scream from outside.
In a flash, Ginny and Harry had both leapt up and pressed their faces against the window. Eyes wide, Ginny brought up a hand to her mouth as she gasped.
"Hermione."