Okay ppl this is sorta a spin-off from one part in book five… if I don't get the quotes exactly right sorry but I'm too lazy rite now to go look it up… but 1) if you're reading these fanfics you'll probably already know which part I'm talking about, and 2) I'm a harry potter freak but not THAT freaky… and that's not meant as an insult to anyone who memorizes parts of the books… but okay okay I admit it I have memorized SOME parts…

well w/e I'm rambling and I'm probably boring you, so…

onto the story!

Thoughts…

"Well… just… choose someone better next time," Ron said, giving Harry an oddly furtive look.

"Well, I've chosen Dean Thomas, would you say he's any better?" asked Ginny vaguely.

"WHAT?!" Ron upended the chess board, while Ginny scratched her nose with her quill, turned the Quibbler upside down, and began marking her answers.

…

After Ron had calmed down some, Hermione and Harry helped him to pick up the chess board, with all of the little pieces squeaking, "What'd you do that for?" "Could've killed us…" "Weasley, sir! I think one of our pawn's head has cracked…" He and Harry resumed their chess game, and everything went back to what it had been before… well, not everyone. Ginny, who had begun to help pick up the chess pieces as well, suddenly found herself looking straight in the sullen face of Harry Potter. "Sorry," he muttered, not looking her in the eyes. He crawled back to his seat, after picking up two rooks, a knight, and a couple pawns. Ginny, however, went back to her seat, and pretended to be interested in her magazine. But she couldn't help looking occasionally at Harry. She felt so sorry for him… he had lost his parents when only a baby, and now he had lost the closest thing to a parents he had ever had. Even now, as she looked back to those last weeks at Hogwarts, she felt that Sirius had almost become a much, MUCH older brother/father combination to her as well. She looked at Harry's alluring green eyes, and felt herself get lost in thought.

God, I wish I could help him in some way… he's had way too many problems for one person to take. His parents, the media, occasionally his friends… Cho, and other girls…

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Hermione's voice washed over Ginny.

Ginny started. She realized that she had been staring at Harry for more than a minute—staring off in space, but at the same time, in the direction of Harry's face.

"What? Oh… oh, yeah," Ginny replied, turning a slight tinge of pink.

"Okay… you were kinda scaring us there. A knut for your thoughts?" Hermione added, seeing that Ginny was about to sink back into her pensive mood.

"huh?" asked Ginny, still in her own head. "Oh… nothing. I was just thinking about… about… well… you know." She felt she couldn't mention the Department of Mysteries until everyone else, not to mention Harry, felt free enough to talk about it too. Hermione seemed to accept this answer, and went back to attempting to beat Ron at chess. (Harry had suddenly gotten even more sullen, and let Hermione take over his game). Little did Ginny know that he was stewing in his own thoughts about her…

Harry abandoned his game of chess with Ron. He felt that it was a bit of an insult to Sirius to be having fun just a few weeks after his journey through the curtain. He sat, just thinking about how screwed up his life had been. He glanced over at Ginny. Although she was good at hiding it, he could tell that she'd been looking at him. He didn't really care, at this point. Until…

Is that Ron's baby sister? Harry rubbed his eyes. Since when was she so pretty?

Stop it, he commanded himself. You're going to get hurt again.

Ahh… but she's not LIKE Cho, is she? He argued himself. No, her boyfriend didn't die, she's a lot stronger than Cho… she can't hurt you.

Yes she can! She's a girl, and that's enough.

Not really. Stereotyping, Mr. Potter… Harry shook his head, rubbed his eyes again, and continued his stare at Ginny.

Ginny noticed Harry staring at her from under her thick eyelashes. She glanced up at him, and as he was in a daze, he didn't notice her at first. Then he shook his head, rubbed his eyes, but continued to gaze at her. She gazed right back for a few seconds, curled her lips up into a tiny smile, then turned her attention back to The Quibbler. But she soon found that although it may look like she was interested, she couldn't keep her mind off of Harry. He was so adorable, the way that he got angry when he was kept in the dark, the way he pouted, the way he smiled, the way he laughed, the way he looked when he was thinking, the way he smiled that sad smile of his…

Ginny sighed. You already have Dean, she told herself sternly.

No you don't, not really. His name just popped into your head. He's just a friend…

No! I will MAKE him my boyfriend…

Pshaw, yeah right. He's not your boyfriend, and never will be. He likes Parvati, he told you so.

Fine.

So what's wrong with liking Harry?

Ginny sighed again. "Is there something wrong?" asked Hermione.

Ginny looked at her. "No," she replied. "just thinking… more."

Hermione looked at her strangely, then saw Ginny glance at Harry. She gave a sly grin. "Ooh… I see. But why so glum?"

Ginny glared at her. "That was NOT what I was thinking about. And I'm not glum."

Hermione grinned. "Whatever… sure you weren't."

The boys looked at the girls interestedly. "Is there something we don't know?" asked Ron suspiciously.

The girls giggled, well, Hermione did, anyway, and replied, "Nope." She had understood that Ginny hadn't made eye contact with anyone when she had said Dean was her boyfriend because she had been lying. She knew her best (girl) friend well enough.

Luna had even tore herself away from her edition of the magazine to listen in on the conversation. In her slightly misty voice, she said, "I think that Hermione is implying that Ginny likes you, H—" She was cut off when Ginny placed a firm hand on her mouth. But that one syllable had been enough.

Ron's suspicious look became confused. "Hermione, you think Ginny likes Harry? What happened to Dean?" he asked, turning to his younger sister.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?" a voice asked.

The compartment door had slid open, revealing Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. "Nothing's happened to me." Ron's face contorted, deciding whether or not to attack his friend and fellow Gryffindor. But before he could,

Ginny's face flamed red, and she said, "Dean? May I talk to you… outside for a moment?"

She jumped up and forced him out of the compartment, while forcing Seamus in, closing the door behind him. Knowing that the rest of her friends could see through the window in the door, she pushed Dean along towards the back of the train. "Dean? I know we're just friends, but I kinda… told them that you were my… thatyouweremyboyfriend," she rushed out. "I think Hermione knows I was lying, but I just told Ron to make him mad." She was rushing her words out so fast that she could tell Dean was only just absorbing what she was saying.

"You… you told them I was your boyfriend?" Ginny nodded, her face turned down.

"I'm really sorry, but Ron was bugging me…Can we just… pose as a couple just for the rest of the train ride? Then during the summer, I'll act all heartbroken and say we broke up. You probably won't see Padma or Parvati this summer anyway, face it."

Dean's face looked a little confused, then he smiled. "Okay, Miss Weasley." They walked back to the cabin, and Dean made a little show of whispering to Ginny, (he was just saying, "Let's have a little fun with Ron") and then kissing her on the cheek right outside the door window. They walked back in, with Harry looking on, only a little interested, Ron looking about to burst, Hermione looking slightly surprised, but still understanding, Seamus just… looking, and Luna absorbed in her magazine again. Yes, this was going to be one interesting summer indeed.

A month later…

It was July 31, and that day Harry was arriving to stay with the Weasleys again. All the family, Hermione, Lupin, Moody, and a lot of the rest of the Order were planning to throw him a surprise party. Most everyone was already there, but Lupin, Moody, Bill, Charlie, Hestia Jones, and Tonks were all going to bring Harry to Grimmauld Place again. It had been spruced up quite a bit since the last time the kids had been there, but still some objects could not be removed. Kreacher had been 'executed,' so to speak, and there was now a new house elf, named Starry, after Sirius. (AN: Sirius Dog Star if ya didn't know)

Harry was still in a sullen mood. He hadn't been able to shake it off, no matter how hard the Dursleys tried to get him to cheer up. They had been dead scared that if he was unhappy, and they didn't know the reason why, that he would call his "freaky friends" to come and curse them away to San Francisco and back. He cheered up a little on this particular day, though, because one, it was his birthday, and two, he would be leaving the Dursleys for the rest of the summer. He had just finished packing his trunk when "Ding-dong!" Harry sprung up from closing his trunk, and raced downstairs to the door. He opened it, to see a bunch of friendly faces: Lupin, Moody, Bill, Charlie, Hestia Jones, and Tonks, all standing on his threshold. He welcomed them in gratefully, then he and Tonks went up to his bedroom to bring down all his stuff.

"Hedwig's delivering a letter to Hagrid," he said while motioning to her empty cage. "Could you just clean it up so we can bring it? She'll be able to find me," he scrunched up his face, not wanting to think what would happen if he even did scourgify to clean up his room a little more before he left. Tonks replied, "Wotcher, Harry. Sure," then performed the spell, leaving the cage spotless. Harry grinned, then leaned forward to drag his trunk down the stairs. But just as he was exiting his room, Lupin came upstairs, panting slightly. He bumped into Tonks, (hint hint heheee!) then hurriedly told them, "We've gotten the first signal. I'll do it all." He levitated Harry's trunk, his broom, and Hedwig's cage, while Moody, standing at the foot of the stairs, disillusioned Harry. "Can't be too careful," he growled. "We're driving, but we still gotta keep a lookout."

A last shower of gold sparks shot up into the air, still quite visible over the setting sun. Everyone rushed out to the Ministry car, and crammed into it. It was quite comfortable, as, obviously, the car had been enlarged, like Mr. Weasley's old Ford Anglia…

At Grimmauld Place

(AN: I have no clue about the geography of the U.K., so I actually don't know if they can drive from Surrey to Grimmauld Place & etc… work w/ me here, ppl!)

Once at Grimmauld Place, Harry had to reread a note written by Dumbledore for Number 12 to appear. Once it did, he waited for Hestia Jones to unlock the door, then pushed the door open and stepped inside. He noticed that the picture of Mrs. Black had finally been taken down, so he didn't worry about making too much noise. It was bothering him a little, though, how silent it was in the house. One by one the rest of Harry's guard walked into the house, at the end, Remus, with all of Harry's stuff.

"Hello?" Harry called out tentatively. Charlie (pretended to, though Harry had no clue he was acting) looked around, and shrugged like he didn't care. "Guess they haven't gotten back yet."

"Where did they go?" asked Harry curiously.

"Nowhere important. Just Diagon Alley for a while. Guess we'll all sit in the kitchen and wait for them."

He knew it was a little selfish, but Harry couldn't help feeling a bit grumpy that no one had even bothered to welcome him back. No one to tell him Happy Birthday, no one to envelope him in suffocating hugs, no presents?! He sighed, pushed open the swinging door, and slid onto a bench by the tables. He was about to start tracing circles on the surface of the table, when

"SURPRISE!!" The voices of about 30 people rang out through the kitchen. Harry spun in all directions, looking at everyone who had been hiding somewhere in the kitchen. Ginny came out from under the table, (Harry was glad he hadn't sat a few feet down, he probably would have kicked Ginny), Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley from out of the pantry, Mr. Weasley from behind the counter, and then, to his surprise, Dean, Seamus, Lavendar, Padma, Parvati, Neville, Luna, and many more of his school friends and other Order members emerged from other various spots in the kitchen, including Hagrid with Hedwig on his shoulder. Harry jumped up, as Mrs. Weasley started revealing all of the decorations that had been put up. (They had hidden them so Harry wouldn't get too suspicious). He hugged Mrs. Weasley (not that he had a choice), shook hands with Mr. Weasley, and gave a hug each to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

He felt different when he hugged Ginny. She had held on (or was it him? Or both?) to him for more than a few seconds needed. She smells really good. And her hair's really soft, he thought to himself. He shook his head. He couldn't help noticing that she seemed to be a little sad. He made a mental note to ask her how she was later.

Harry thoroughly enjoyed the surprise party the Weasleys, his friends, and the Order had planned for him, despite still being in a general sad mood about Sirius. There was cake, ice cream, puddings of all sort, and, oh yeah, dinner. Harry couldn't imagine another birthday better than this one. The only thing bothering him was the look on Ginny's face after hugging him earlier. But he pushed it out of his mind, at least until he could talk to her privately. Soon enough, members of the Order and others who were not staying at Grimmauld Place left, leaving Lupin, Tonks, all the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry to clean up. However, the seven adults (Lupin, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, who had claimed his amendments the first week in July) shooed Harry and his friends out of the kitchen, telling them that they needed to go an talk and "erm… what is it? 'catch up' with each other," as Mr. Weasley pronounced. So Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all traipsed up to the room Ron and Harry were sharing. Harry looked much happier than he had in weeks, thankfully for the other three. Hermione and Ron, with his arm around her waist (they had finally gotten together about a week before Harry arrived), sat on one bed, while Ginny and Harry sat on opposite ends of another.

"So, Harry," Hermione started. "How've you been? Since the last twenty-four hours we've heard from you, of course," she finished, grinning.

Harry also grinned. "Fine, thanks. How about all you three?" With a wink, he added, "You two in particular seem to be getting along just fine without me."

Hermione and Ron both flushed, and Ginny let out a reluctant smile, even though she was a bit annoyed by them leaving her out the past week.

"Hermione! Ron! Professor Dumbledore would like a word about your new prefect duties! Please come down!" called Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, perplexed. Wouldn't they get their assignments from the Head Boy and Girl on the train? Nevertheless, they walked out of the room, leaving Harry and Ginny by themselves. Harry thought this was as good a time as any to talk to Ginny alone.

"So… Ginny. I figure Ron and Hermione are okay, but how are you? Seriously. I thought you looked a little sad earlier…" He trailed off, only looking slightly in the direction of Ginny.

"Oh. Um… well, see… it's…" Ginny looked to Harry as though she was having a hard time describing it. But really, she was simply deciding whether or not to tell Harry the truth about Dean, how she had just said it to make Ron mad. Harry though, misunderstanding her, put his hand out as if to stop her from hurting herself, and said, "If you don't want to, don't. I was just asking…" He stopped when Ginny placed a small hand on his thick, strong arm.

"Actually Harry. I was just deciding whether or not to tell you."

Harry cocked his head to one side. "Tell me what?"

"To tell you the truth, Harry. See… remember when on the train I said that Dean was my boyfriend?" Harry nodded. "Well… I sort of just said it to make Ron mad. His name was the first to pop up in my head." Her small grin grew wider. "I was pretending to be sad because I just told them a couple days ago that he had broken up with me." Now even Harry was grinning, reliving seeing the look on Ron's face when Ginny had told him. "I was still a bit put out that those two haven't been including me this past week, though." She grinned again. "They've been… busy." An impish smile was now coming onto her face. "I walked in on them the other day, and believe me…"

Harry smiled and shook his head, not wanting to imagine his two of his best friends making out.

Did you just say two of your best friends, Potter? He asked himself.

Well, yeah… What's your point?

Two of? I thought they were.

Um…

HA! You consider Ginny one of your best friends too!

I suppose…

Yeah, duh, but you want her to be MORE than a friend, don't you?

No, I don't. That's ridiculous.

Is it?

Uh…

HA!

Shut up.

Harry looked over at Ginny again, who was wondering why Harry had suddenly gone so quiet. He cocked his head to one side, and on impulse leaned towards her… Ginny gasped, and within the next second, realized this was what she wanted, and cocked her head opposite of his, leaned towards him, closed her eyes…

BAM

"Sorry mates, Dumbledore gave us this whole long-winded speech—" Ron broke off, seeing his sister and Harry. They jumped apart.

"Just… just… giving Ginny a… a hug. Um… she just told me about… about Dean. Yeah." Harry gave a frantic excuse.

Hermione, holding hands with, but still behind Ron, raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. Ron, being slightly thick as always, simply said, "Er… okay, mate. I thought you were doing something else, but I suppose not." Hermione slapped Ron in the arm, looking at him furiously for being so blatantly stupid. "Ow! Whaaat!?" he whined.

"Ron, I have to ask Dumbledore something. Come with me?" she gave him a puppy-dog stare. He melted under his girlfriend's gaze. "Okay."

As soon as the door shut behind the two, Harry and Ginny looked at each other.

"Harry—"

"Ginny—" They started at the same time. Each gave a weak smile.

"Ginny," Harry started again. "I'm really sorry. I just…" He sighed. "I just sort of was arguing with myself, and then I… You're…you're b-beautiful, you… you know." He bit his lip and looked down.

"What? Harry… I… I dunno what to say."

Harry looked up at Ginny. "I think… I'm beginning…" Bloody hell, this was hard. Then, all of a sudden, "Don't."

"What?"

"Don't say anything."

"Wh—"

But Ginny was cut off, for Harry had suddenly covered her mouth with his own. Beginning to kiss Harry back, and starting to smile within the kiss, she thought, Things aren't so bad after all.

A/N: Wow I had a lot of writer's block for this one… and I've had TONS of stuff to do… therefore I didn't update in months lol! Well anyway… not that very many ppl have, but keep reviewing!