A/n: ::tosses chocolate every which way:: WOW! So many reviews! I can't thank ya'll enough, so I'm going to try and make this a longer chapter!
(Please note the rating increase due to some of the mild content of this chapter)
Newest Fave Reviewer Quotes:
I love your portrayal of Ginny. Most people just seem to miss the boat, but not you.
— Padfootlover719
…I want to finish Ginny's chocolate, and if I die tonight in my sleep I shall be most disappointed that not only will I have missed the last 2 books, but also the rest of your fanfic...
— Queen Guenevere
C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N
It was with a wide yawn and bleary eyes that Harry awoke with on the 6th of August. He scratched his head, put on his glasses, and threw his feet over the side of his bed, promptly crumpling a piece of parchment. Harry picked it up with his toes, brow furrowed, and opened it.
Dear Dean,
Dean—Dean Thomas?!
Hey, it's Ginny. This is one of the most awkward letters I've ever written—erm, look, Dean, you're a really great guy, and incredibly sweet…but I think it would be best if we stayed as friends, do you know what I mean? It's just that I have a lot of stuff going on at the moment and I feel like I wouldn't be able to give you the attention you fully deserve, and I don't think that would be fair to you.
All my best,
Ginny
P.S. If I need an O.W.L.s tutor, I'll let you know.
Harry put the pieces together in his mind. Ginny had been here last night, he knew it. And she wasn't seeing Dean. For some reason, the idea gave him a sort of satisfaction.
Not wanting to lead the poor boy on, Harry folded up the letter and made to put it in Dean's drawer. Trouble was, a piece of parchment already lay there.
Harry swapped the two letters. Part of him knew he really shouldn't be reading this, it was Ginny's business, but the anger and resentment of being ignored for a crime he didn't commit left him with little remorse.
He nearly dropped the parchment in shock.
She was writing to Tom?! Tom Riddle?
Well, it made sense—Tom did seem to be the only confidant she had had, the only one who listened. Perhaps the letter was like a journal entry, and Tom the journal.
Phrases jumped out at Harry—
…when he didn't notice me it was a lie…I thought he wanted a hero…I didn't need anyone to save me now…Used me for an escape… I'm not worthless anymore… he really is falling in love with me?…
Folding the letter and tucking it in his pocket, Harry stomped into the lavatory to prepare for McGonagall. Things had gone far enough.
---
"Ginny! GINNY!" Harry bellowed up the girls' staircase at about 8:45 that evening, quite beside himself. Ginny answered by humming placidly to herself and continuing the lacquering of her toenails. It wasn't the first time Harry had tried to talk to her, but he was certainly being aggressive about it.
There was the sound of heavy footsteps pounding the stairs, and then a sort of alarm noise. "Ginevra Weasley, I'm calling you out!" cried Harry, panting, flat on his back. He seemed to have forgotten Ron's "slide incident" last year.
Ginny raised her eyebrows, capped the nail polish, and poked her head out the door.
"Don't speak to me in that tone, Harry Potter," she said coldly, smirking at him from the top of the staircase-turned-slide.
"I'll speak to you how I please," he retorted. Hopefully, Ginny would grow angry enough to come down and hit him; then, conceivably, they could have their first real conversation in nearly a week.
Coming out completely from behind the door, Ginny glared, her nightdress billowing around her and so livid she wasn't watching her step .
"Who do you think you are—?!" she exclaimed, before tripping over her own feet and slipping down the slide on her knees…
…And landing atop Harry's stomach.
"Oof!"
Run! Gerroff him! Ginny's mind screamed, but her legs, splayed on either side of Harry's abdomen, didn't want to respond. Harry gently grasped the hands on both his shoulders, no doubt used to break the fall, and made Ginny look at him.
"Is this the only way we're going to be able to talk?" he asked quietly, a small blush across his face. The fact was they were in a rather compromising position.
Say something! Her mind shrieked frantically. Ignore the fact you're sitting on him!
"Erm…" began Ginny brilliantly, "there's nothing more to say…"
"That's not what you told Tom," Harry said with a hint of bitterness.
Ginny yanked her hands from beneath his. "You—you read my letter? How could you?" she attempted to stand but Harry firmly held her down.
"Look, I didn't do it on purpose, I found Dean's first on the floor and went to put it in his drawer, but—the point is," he blathered impatiently, "there's some stuff we need to clear up."
She watched him expectantly, one eyebrow raised, arms folded across her chest.
He heaved a great breath, which, of course, made his stomach rise, along with Ginny, and, looking her dead in the eyes, began.
"First of all…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything—for all those times I ignored you, or made you feel worthless, or didn't take your feelings into consideration. But most of all, I'm sorry that I didn't start seeing you—the real you—sooner. I guess it's because you're my best mate's little sister…
"But I see you now…and I hope that counts for something. Now, I've never been in love, so I dunno if that's what I'm feeling at the moment—"
She placed a finger on his lips and silenced him instantly, all her past rage dissolved. She didn't doubt the truth of his words, because everything he said was reflected in his eyes. Ginny had waited too long for this moment to muck it up now.
"Well," she asked softly, "Do you get this sort of floaty feeling?"
"Yeah…"
"And you find it hard to focus on other things?"
"Yeah."
"And you find yourself wanting to protect…this person?"
"Yeah."
"Could you talk to this person for hours?"
"Yeah," he said, propping himself up on his elbows. Their faces were now inches apart.
There was an odd look in Ginny's eyes.
"Are you saying you love me, Harry Potter?"
"Yes," he breathed, and he placed one hand on Ginny's neck, stroking it with his thumb.
"You promised you wouldn't," she said on a laugh.
"But I hope you don't mind…" she leaned down, "if I…do…this."
And she kissed him. Still straddling his stomach, she bowled him over and kissed him.
Harry's mind was in a haze, but he still had enough sense to realize their location wasn't the safest of places. What if McGonagall came in?
"Ginny," he said breathlessly against her lips. She pulled back sluggishly and listened. "Dobby or McGonagall could burst in here any second."
"Mmm," she sighed. "I would love to continue this conversation, though."
Harry grinned up at her, his first true grin in a very long time. She grinned shiftily in return, and promptly began tickling him.
"Hey—that's—that's not f-f-fair!" he wheezed, reaching up to tickle her. Ginny leapt off him and took off running. Harry ended up chasing her around the Gryffindor common room twice before she raced up the boy's staircase.
By the time he reached his dormitory, Ginny was perched on his bed, her back to him, and re-reading her two letters. As silently as he could, Harry snuck up behind her. He eased onto the bed, swept away the hair cascading down her back, and made to read along. She was so focused on the letters that she didn't acknowledge his presence.
Harry once again noted the beauty of her curves, gazing at the place where her neck met her shoulder. He kissed it delicately, and cautiously worked his way across to her cheek. Such a bolder move he had never made.
Ginny dropped her letters and turned to face him. She leaned in again…
At first it was unhurried, gentle. They discovered and relished the softness of each slow kiss, the tenderness of lips.
Then it became a bit more hurried, hungry…intense.
Lips parted and tongues explored, danced, caressed the insides of mouths fervently as they fell back upon the pillows, entangled, finding love they never knew was possible. And Harry found himself having a very adult sort of feeling. Ginny felt it also. In fact, she let out a little whimper. She nuzzled the side of Harry's neck and he moaned, too.
They suddenly jumped apart as though scalded. Ginny's face was flushed, and there was a small red blemish on her neck. Harry's hair was mussed even more than usual, his glasses off and lips burgundy from kissing.
"We have to stop," they said together.
"I love you Harry, I really do—" she started.
"But I'm just not ready for this—" he said.
"It's too soon—"
"And we're so young, there's plenty of time—"
"When we're older," they concluded unanimously.
Both of them settled on the bed and gazed at each other, not wanting the night to end.
"You know, you look really beautiful with your hair all messed like that."
Ginny blushed deeply. "And I love the color of your eyes. It's gorgeous."
It was Harry's turn to redden.
"Can I show you something?" she asked suddenly. "Something I've never shown anyone?"
There was no hesitation in his reply. "Of course."
She beamed. "Get your broom. Hurry."
---
"Stop right…here," Ginny whispered in Harry's ear. They were both on his broomstick and about to dismount on one of the vast rafters near the Astronomy Tower.
Harry leapt lightly onto the rafter and held out his hand to Ginny, who accepted. She paced back and forth for a bit, came to a decision, and plopped down on the rafter. Harry sat next to her.
"What did you want to—"
She tilted his head upward and heard his sharp intake of breath.
"Wow!"
Stars. Millions, billions of stars—stars everywhere, stretched across the ebony sky like so many little glowing Snitches, surrounding the smile of the crescent moon.
"I made this my sanctuary in third year," Ginny said, nestling her head on Harry's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her back. "I thought maybe now, we could use it together. Merlin knows we're going to need it."
Harry kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for showing me. It's brilliant."
"I've always loved the stars, the moon. I think that's why part of me wonders about the dependability of Divination."
"Speaking of which," said Harry, chortling, "what were you doing that night in Trelawney's classroom?"
"I was unburying the feelings for you I had hidden," she replied seriously, and raised the hem of her nightdress to reveal the outline of an emerald heart on her left ankle.
"How long have you had that?"
"About two years," she said on a yawn.
"For me?"
"Mmhmm," she sighed, adjusting her head on his shoulder.
He thought about Divination a bit more and opened his mouth again. "I'd like to believe that every man can choose his future, but I'm starting to doubt it…what do you think, Ginny? Ginny?"
Harry looked down at her and smiled. She had fallen asleep. Shifting her onto his back and mounting his broom, Harry cast the sky one final look before flying to his dormitory window.
He could have sworn the constellation of Canis Major was glimmering brighter than all the others, and that the Dog Star, Sirius, was twinkling so brightly it looked as if it were laughing jovially.
---
Cradling Ginny in his arms, Harry lay her gently on his four-poster, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and pulling up the covers to her neck. He smiled fondly at her for a moment before wondering, Where am I going to sleep?
Not any of the boys' beds—What if Dobby told McGonagall that he had to tidy two beds that morning? Certainly not the floor—he had no spare blankets. He gulped a bit and, pulling back the sheets, tucked himself in next to Ginny.
a/n: well…I'm in shock…AND I WROTE THE CHAPTER! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and remember, just when you think you've figured me out, I'll throw you for a loop!
muaha…
-ahem- so…a rap before I go:
Wuz up my homedawgs, hope you liked the show
Just remember one thing before you go
What keeps the writer writing, the reader reading
The skinny guy on Slim-Fast ™, and the fat guy eatin?
You got it, you got it, all you gots to do
Is send me, HiPa, a REVIEW!!!
right…FileQuit.