Chapter 5:

Dining With Ginny

Ron and Hermione visited Harry's appartment with little Claudia after he got out of work. He was extremely nervous about his date, and wasn't quite sure what to expect. The last time he was out on a date, he was in Hogwarts. Back then, a typical date was a trip to Hogsmeade, going into the shoppes and stopping for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. This was going to be very different. Harry had never gone out on a date as an adult. He paced back and forth in his bedroom, breathing heavily. Ron and Hermione sat on his bed, watching him as he nervously went through his closet. "What do people wear on dates? Five years ago, I would have been fine with a hoodie and a pair of jeans!" complained Harry.

"Don't wear jeans, Harry," Hermione said firmly.

"Well, we're going to a resturant in Hogsmeade. Should I dress up, wear my robes...?"

"Try something simple," suggested Hermione, attempting to keep Claudia on her lap, who was much more interested in playing with Hedwig, who was perched in her cage. "Like what?" he asked Hermione.

"A sweater and slacks normally works for me, mate," Ron said to him. He rummaged through the closet to find a nice sweater that more than likely was knitted for him by Mrs. Weasley. Harry felt like a muggle high school girl looking for the perfect outfit for the big dance. He pulled out a royal blue sweater he recieved for Christmas from Mrs. Weasley last year. He then pulled out a pair of kakhi slacks. "Think this'll be alright?"

"Sure, Harry, that'll be fine," Hermione said warmly. Harry sighed deeply and walked into the bathroom to change. Once he was in his clothes, he grabbed a comb from the medicine cabinet and tried to straighten out his messy black hair. He came out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom to recieve approval from his friends. "It's perfect, Harry," Hermione said. "Ginny will find you very handsome tonight."

"Maybe you can get lucky like last time!" Ron joked, Hermione smacking him in the gut. Harry laughed at his friends. Looking down at his watch to check the time, he told Ron and Hermione that it was already quarter after seven. "We should probably get going," said Hermione. Hermione grabbed Claudia, who was about to get her fingers nibbled on by Hedwig. They all walked out to the living room, to the fireplace so they could floo themselves back home. "Good luck, mate," Ron said to Harry. "Thanks," replied Harry. Ron threw down the floo powder and firmly voiced, "490 Fribble Street." The three of them disappeared into the fire.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry heard the knock on his door. He took a deep breath, and opened the door to reveal a beautiful red-head wearing a black dress, high heels, and the leather jacket she wore two nights before. "Ginny... you look great," Harry said breathlessly.

"You too," said a smiling Ginny. An uncomfortable pause immediately followed. Harry and Ginny studied each other longingly. "Well, er... shall we go?" Ginny asked awkwardly.

"Yes, yes, let's go," Harry said. The two disapparated from Harry's appartment to Hogsmeade village, where they stood in front of Madme Fiona's Eatery. Ginny took Harry's hand and lead him into the resturant. When they were seated, they both ordered butterbeers. Now what? Harry thought to himself. What do people do on dates? "So..." Harry began, attempting conversation. "How's it been at St. Mungos?"

"Pretty good," she answered. "I'm working with a lot of nice people, and the patients have treated me wonderfully. It's a much tougher job than I ever imagined, though. Breaks my heart every time I see the Longbottoms. I've already seen Neville--he was there on Sunday."

"I feel just awful for him," Harry said sympathetically. "I can't imagine what it must be like for him."

"They're slowly getting better, now that there's no Death Eaters to bribe the hospital to worsen their condition, but I'm afraid that they might be so far gone, there may not be much hope for them."

"Well, if they're making a little progress now, maybe there's still a chance."

"Maybe. Lockhart's doing much better, though. He seems to remember his fear of pixies quite clearly, but he can't remember doing any of the stuff he wrote about in 'Magical Me.'" Harry began to laugh, remembering Lockhart's pixie incident in Harry's second year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ginny had an angered look on her face. "It's not funny, you know! Poor Lockhart might not ever get his memory back!" she said to him sternly.

"Oh, come off it! He never did any of those things--he was a fraud! Lockhart erased the memories of the people who really did save the day so he could take credit. He was going to do it to Ron and me, but with Ron's faulty wand, it backfired--luckily! Didn't you know that?"

"No," she said, looking quite surprised. "That was the night you saved me, right?" Harry nodded his head.

"Lockhart was supposed to be the one to get you," he said. "because he kept telling people that he knew how to get into the Chamber of Secrets. Ron and I caught him trying to run away. He was going to let you die in there! We threatened him, and had him come with us into the Chamber. Then somehow, he got a hold of Ron's wand, and told us he would erase our memories, and then tell the press he was too late to save you. I could have killed him that night, and he deserved to have his memory damaged after what he did to so many people. He didn't care if you were dead or alive--just as long as he could make the front page!" Harry couldn't believe how angered he was getting at just the memory of it. He remembered being so scared that Ginny would die in his arms that night. He remembered Tom Riddle standing there, taking the life out of her the weaker she got. Maybe for a moment that night, he realized just how much he cared for her. For one, amazing moment, Harry saw Ginny as more than Ron's little sister, and more than just a friend.

Ginny sat across from Harry, completely shocked by what she just heard. Her jaw was dropped, thinking of how she would have died if Gildory Lockhart succeeded in erasing Harry and her brother's memories. "He's not so handsome now, is he?" Harry said with an angry sarcasm. Ginny looked down at the table, feeling awful for ever thinking Lockhart was a hero for anything. She realized that he was nothing more than a coward. "No... you're right, he's not..." she said quietly. "Besides, I've always thought you were more handsome than him, anyway," Ginny said, meeting his eyes and showing a small smile. Harry smiled back at her, calming down the more he looked into her sparkling blue eyes. "Harry, one thing I've always known is that you were the one to save my life that night, regardless of any information I ever had about Lockhart. I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for you, and I've known that ever since that night. I owe you my life." Harry reached his across the table to hold her hand. Neither of them really knew what to say. Luckily, the waiter came by to take their order.

By the time their salads arrived, they were talking about some of the antics Fred and George pulled during their years at Hogwarts. They laughed hysterically at the memory of their triumphant escape from Hogwarts back when Dolores Umbridge was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry had to catch his breath when they mentioned the fireworks that they created where if you tried to Vanish them, they would multiply times ten. "You know what, Ginny, you're brothers are a couple of bloody geniouses, you know that?" Harry said, the two of them both laughing loudly. "It was certainly never boring living with them! Poor Mum!" Ginny said. "Of course, there was one time I never particularly forgave them for," continued Ginny. "Once during the summer holiday before my sixth year, they put a hex on my shampoo to make my hair turn blue! I was so angry at them. Mum finally figured out how to turn it back after she scolded Fred and George." Harry began to laugh even harder.

"Blue?" he said, unable to control his laughter.

"Oh believe me, I got them back!"

"What did you do?" asked Harry.

"I turned their pumpkin juice into tabasco sauce!"

"Brilliant!" laughed Harry. "But how did you do that outside of school?"

"Well," Ginny said. "They always say, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.'"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Fred and George had just invented assorted powdered drinks that you could dump into someone's beverage. It became a favorite prank of Fred and George's customers at their store in Diagon Alley. The flavors were inspired by Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. So, one day I snuck up to their room, stole a couple of the tabasco packets, and dumped them into their juice glasses the following morning when they weren't looking!"

"You are unbelieveable, Ginny!" In the midst of their reminiscing, the waiter came back with their meals.

After the bill was paid, Harry and Ginny were not ready for the date to be over, so they walked around the village together, hand in hand. They took a trip into the candy store and bought some sweets that they ate on a bench in front of the store. Zonko's Joke Shop was quite amusing as well, looking at all of the new items. Some of them were very Fred and George inspired, like fake wands that blew bubbles every time you tried to make a spell. They eventually wandered into the cafe and had some tea to end their evening.

They arrived back at Harry's place around ten o'clock. It was time for Ginny to go home, but neither one of them wanted her to leave. Harry looked straight into her blue, sparkling eyes. "I had a great time tonight," he said warmly. Ginny smiled and took his hand. "Me too," she said. Harry pulled Ginny closer to him, and deeply kissed her lips. Ginny was very tempted to stay there the night again, and Harry was tempted to let her. They had to stay strong, though, and they both knew that. Harry and Ginny both knew better than to rush a relationship, as both of them had bad experiences doing that. "Well... I guess I better get going. I have to get up early for work," Ginny said.

"I can apparate with you to your place and make sure you get back okay, if you'd like me to."

"No, that's okay. I'm a big girl, I'm fine. I just spent four years in France on my own, I think I can handle an appartment outside of London!" They laughed, but they both knew it was time for her to leave. "Would you like to go out again?" Ginny asked.

"Sure, any ideas?"

"Not sure yet. We'll talk to Hermione and Ron this week and figure out something that maybe all four of us could do together."

"That'd be fun. Well... goodnight," said Harry.

"Goodnight," replied Ginny. They both held each other, kissing goodnight, but holding like they didn't want to let go. Eventually, Ginny slipped out of Harry's strong arms and disapparated from his appartment.

Hours Harry laid in his bed, unable to erase the glowing smile off of his face. Something about Ginny made him feel as if he were standing on top of the world. He loved every minute of it, and as scared as he was, he hoped that this time around, it would end much better than last time with Kaylie.

...Or perhaps maybe not "end" at all...