Chapter 7

The next day was an uneventful one for Harry Potter. Other than the fact that Ginny was obviously delighted with the latest love ode she had received, his day was like any other.

All he could do was watch Ginny and pray to himself that she would get it. She had to have narrowed her search down somehow. It took every ounce of restraint within him not to stand up and scream at her, "I WROTE THEM!"

Quidditch practice was not until five that day, and Ron had asked Harry for some help in Transfiguration. Harry had frowned at this. Hermione was usually the ideal person to ask for help, especially when it was Ron. He had a feeling that Ron wasn't very intent on studying at all.

After the bell rang for the end of classes, Harry ran quickly to the dorms to put his stuff away. He and Ron were meeting in the library to work on Ron's mysterious homework. All Harry could think about was what Ron would really have to say.

Grabbing his Transfiguration book and his wand, he bolted out of the dorms, through the common room, and to the library. Why did what Ron have to say involve him? He had almost arrived at a conclusion when he stepped into the library.

He headed to the back, where Ron had settled. No doubt he wanted privacy to interrogate him. Harry set his books on Ron's table and sat down across from him. "Okay. Tell me where you're having trouble and we'll skip to it."

Ron's ears turned crimson when he stammered in reply. "Uh, well, actually…" Harry waited for the confession. "Harry, I asked you to come down here because I wanted to… um… talk to you about something."

Harry smirked at his friend. "I had a feeling you did. Why would ask me of all people to help tutor you when you've got the smartest girlfriend in the school?" He watched a dreamy and wistful look pass over Ron's face before he shook it off and answered.

"I kind of wanted to talk to you about my sister."

Harry's eyes widened. What did he know? Had Hermione told him? Had Ginny solved it and then told everyone in a six-mile radius? He gulped and managed, "What about it?"

Ron was very uncomfortable talking about it, but he needed to if he was ever going to accept it.

"Harry… do you like my sister?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure I like her. She's a great friend and the best Chaser I've ever seen."

"No, no, Harry, I mean… do you like my sister?"

Harry was caught off guard by the direct tone to the question. Ron was a very vague person. How was he going to answer this? But then suddenly, he changed tactics. He wasn't going to answer. "Why do you want to know?

Ron sighed. "Well, first off, I know since she joined the Quidditch team you two have been spending more and more time together. I don't mind or anything… it's just…"

Harry watched Ron in slight amusement as he squirmed uncomfortably.

"It's my sister. I don't think it's a bad thing that you two are always together. I like it, actually. I love Hermione with all of my heart, but I do feel guilty about wanting to spend time alone with her. I hate leaving you by yourself, so I'm glad Ginny is there. Especially since everything that happened during Christmas took all my attention¯"

"Don't worry about Christmas," Harry stopped him, laughing. "I don't mind at all about that. You know me. I've never minded you and Hermione."

"W-What do you mean 'never minded?' Hermione and I just started dating this year," he muttered quickly.

Harry gave him a Look. "Oh, please. Let's see," he said, very much enjoying the torture he was inflicting on his friend. He sat back and ticked off on his fingers. "First year it was the fighting. Second year it was the slugs. Third year it was Scabbers. Fourth year it was the ball. Fifth year it was¯"

"Hey! We fought ALL the time, and the slugs… anyone with a right mind would have done that!" Ron was red from embarrassment.

"Mate, you don't have to defend all of that! You've got her now."

Ron and Harry stopped for a second while Ron reflected happily. Then, as if snapping to life, he frowned. "Wait a second. How did we get to talking about Hermione? I was asking about Ginny!"

Harry's vision blurred for a second when he heard her name. Ron leaned forward suddenly, a mischievous expression on his face. "Don't tell the girls about this."

Uh oh.

"Last night, I was in the Charms classroom when Ginny came in. She was fit to be tied! When I tried to ask her what was wrong all she said was 'Quidditch practice.'" Harry gulped. "So she started to help me with Hermione's present when an owl came in. It dropped a letter for her and she got very weird about it. She just got up and ran to the common room with Hermione. They wouldn't tell me what was going on so I decided to find out for myself. I got my cloak and listened outside the door. Harry, Ginny got a poem."

Harry started to become very interested in the designs he was tracing on the table with his wand. "Uh huh."

"So I told Hermione that I had passed by and heard them talking. Of course, she didn't believe me, but surprisingly she didn't press me either. She told me everything, but only after I solemnly swore not to overreact. She told me that Ginny had received two of these love letters from someone very close to me. She wouldn't say who. Harry."

The way Ron said his name made Harry become tongue-tied. He couldn't say anything in his defense. Ron narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"Do you know who wrote those poems?"

Harry shrugged absently. "I dunno, I-I might."

"Do you know him well?"

He nodded. Ron said nothing for a few moments before Harry sighed and gave in. "So what if I… like Ginny? I'm sorry, Ron, I know she's your sister and everything, but I can't help it. It just sort of… happened. I didn't plan it."

Ron was silent for a few minutes. "I didn't plan on Hermione either."

Harry snorted. "I don't think any of us planned on Hermione."

The two broke the silence by bursting into laughter. The tension suddenly lifted while they hooted for a few minutes, reminiscing over the years. Ron glanced sidelong at Harry. "So you always knew I loved Hermione?"

Harry rolled his eyes for effect. "Please. You had to be an idiot¯" he stopped when Ron gave him a Look, "¯or blind like you two were to not see it. Seamus even asked me when you were going to admit it."

Ron blinked. "Then why did you always act like you had no idea what was going on?"

"Sometimes I really didn't. I knew what was going on, but I really didn't know it was all happening right then. I honestly thought it was going to take longer. I was pretty sure both of you were too stubborn to admit your feelings for each other. It was kind of unexpected. I caught on after a while," he said, smirking. "And during that whole time, when I was avoiding you two, I kind of got to be fond of Ginny. I can't help it, Ron. She grew on me."

He was afraid of what Ron was going to do at this. He had no idea what it was like to be in love with his best friend's sister. It was truly a first.

"Do you like my sister, Harry?" Ron spoke quietly.

Harry frowned. "I just told you¯"

"No!" Ron cut him off forcefully. "I mean…"

"Yes," Harry knew exactly what Ron was trying to say. "Yes, I think I love your sister."

Ron almost winced at this word, but then suddenly decided not to care. Instead, he smiled meekly at his best friend. He couldn't be mad at Harry for loving Ginny. He had watched as she turned into the young woman she was. She was smart, funny, sweet, and caring. She was everything any man could have ever wanted. He was just happy that 'any man' was Harry, and not someone he had to get to know.

"I'm glad it was you," Ron whispered, fiddling with the pages of his textbook.

Harry's eyes lit up. He was accepting it? He wasn't going to fight him and tell him he shouldn't be seeing his sister, his only sister? Harry was so grateful that he wasn't sure what to say.

He knew it couldn't have been easy for Ron. He stood up and made to leave. Ron spoke up in a hoarse voice.

"Take care of my sister, Harry. She deserves it."

Harry glanced over his shoulder at his best friend. "I'll take care of her." And as he turned to walk away, he suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Ron, you won't¯"

"I won't tell Ginny you're writing the poems," he said sincerely, smiling at him.

Harry wasn't sure what to say, so he only nodded his head and walked out of the library. He felt a sudden ease in his heart that he hadn't felt for some time. Ron had seen the light, and understood.

Now it was Ginny's turn.

Ginny stared at the poem in her hands. Like the first one, it was crinkled after having been read so many times. She had narrowed the candidates down to four people. It could have been Dane, Jack, Dietrich, or Andrew. However, though as obvious as it suddenly all was, she couldn't picture any of the formerly mentioned boys sitting down with a quill and a dreamy look on his face to write poetry. Dane Adams was not credited for being a smart member of Gryffindor house. Neville Longbottom was one of his best friends. Jack Hughes was a typical playboy, surrounded by as many girls as his charming, sparkly smile could get him. He had more brawn then brains. Dietrich had far too much testosterone to even realize what a poem was.

That left Andrew. It seemed so unlikely, considering the fact that Andrew had a serious girlfriend in Hufflepuff.

What am I doing?

Folding up the letter, she jumped off of her bed and wandered up to the sixth year's dorms, in hopes of tracking down Hermione.

Sure enough, the older girl was lying on her bed, writing in what appeared to be a journal. When she saw the distressed look on Ginny's face, she invited her in right away. Ginny sat down opposite Hermione and waited for her to close her journal.

"What's on your mind?" Hermione asked as soon as she was ready.

Ginny didn't want to cry, but she felt the sudden need to. Things were suddenly becoming so complicated. "Oh, Hermione… I'm so frustrated."

"Why is that?"

"Because… these poems… I'm just… I can't seem to figure out who it is."

Hermione nodded, even though she was itching all over to tell her who it was. She had to let things happen. All she could offer was a shoulder for her best friend to cry on.

"I… oh, Hermione, I'm in love with Harry."

Yes! Good girl! Now, open your eyes and see that he's in love with you, too! Then you'll know who wrote the poems. Hermione kept her mouth shut.

"And there's someone writing me poetry… how am I supposed to deal with my love for someone who doesn't even notice me and the love of some anonymous person? Hermione, I want to cry."

Hermione fixed herself on the bed and stretched her arms out. Ginny took the opportunity, throwing her arms around Hermione's neck and burying her face into her shoulder. She let the sobs come out as Hermione ran her fingers through her hair gently, whispering to her that everything was going to be okay. For a fleeting moment, Ginny wanted to pretend it was Harry doing that very thing.

Ginny abruptly pushed from Hermione, who in turn cast the younger girl a confused look. More tears leaked out of Ginny's eyes as she started to explain. She couldn't manage the words.

"I know how you're feeling, Gin," Hermione empathized. "I know what it's like to be confused and bewildered about those emotions flying around. I just wish I hadn't been so thick and admitted it as early on as you did."

"Early on? You consider this early on?" she moaned through her tears.

"Well… isn't it?"

Ginny shook her head miserably. "I've been in love with Harry for two years."

Silence filled the dorms before Hermione spoke. "You know, you may be surprised to learn that Harry is not an idiot."

Ginny cast her a sharp glare. "I know he's not."

"Surprisingly enough, neither is Ron. He knew something was going on. He asked me about it last night."

"You didn't tell him… did you?"

"Well," Hermione flushed. "Ginny, he's my boyfriend… I have to start trusting him somewhere."

"Her-MI-one!"

"I made him swear not to overreact and would you believe it, Gin, he didn't!"

Ginny's brown eyes met Hermione's. "Are-Are you serious?"

"No! I told him everything… and then he didn't overreact and I was so proud of him. Maybe he is growing up."

Ginny contemplated this thought as she stared at the wistful look on Hermione's face. All Ginny could think about was having that look some day. It was too much to hope that she would have that look for the one person she wanted.

Sniffling and wiping the tears from her eyes, Ginny got up from the bed. "Hermione, thanks for everything. I have to go do some homework."

Hermione watched concernedly as Ginny disappeared into the hallway. She raced down the hallway and back into the common room, wanting to get to the library as soon as possible. However, just as she had come crashing from the stairs, she crashed into something tall, solid, and rock hard.

Harry Potter.

Harry felt the full force of her weight collapse into his arms and he lifted her to her feet. "Are you okay? You must have been going pretty fast."

"Yeah, I guess," she said, flashing him a small smile.

Both of them were vaguely aware that Harry still had his arms clutched around Ginny's petite frame even though she no longer needed support.

Pushing herself away suddenly, she stared at her feet. Harry felt discouraged.

"Listen, J, about yesterday¯"

"¯It's my fault, Harry¯"

"¯No, really, I shouldn't have asked about it¯"

"¯I shouldn't have gotten so short with you."

They both stopped for a few seconds, staring at each other. Harry let his eyes peer within hers. His heart felt great dismay. She still doesn't know.

She stared at Harry, wanting to be out of his presence as soon as humanly possible. "I'll see you tomorrow, Harry."

"G'bye, J," he mumbled, watching her speed out of the room. He stared determinedly at the portrait hole and retreated to his dorm. This time he was going to do it right.