"Harry, can you go into the pantry? I think Ginny needs some help getting something off a high shelf," Fred asked casually.

Harry should have known, should have realised this was an odd request considering Fred was nearly the same height as him but he was happy to help out Ginny so he went into the kitchen without a second thought and into the pantry. Ginny looked at him curiously when he entered.

They both jumped in surprise when the door slammed behind Harry. Harry spun around at the door and tried the door handle. It was locked.

He took out his wand "Alohomora."

Nothing happened.

"Lumos." He turned around at Ginny, raising his wand so they could see each other. "We're locked up."

Ginny had her arms crossed and a frown appeared between her brows. She pushed Harry away and tried the door as well. Then she pounded on the door. "Fred! I know this was you. I don't know what game you're playing but I will kill you if you don't let us out of here right now!"

It was silent for a moment. Harry stepped back.

"Ah, but we can't do that," Fred's voice came from the other side.

"And why the fuck not?" Ginny responded, her arms folded again.

"Well, someone brought something to our attention and we, uh, thought we'd help things along," George spoke now.

Harry put his wand on the pantry shelf so he didn't have to hold it up. He was trying to wrack his brain about what this could be but he came up with nothing.

Then Hermione's voice came, sounding extremely apologetic. "I am so sorry."

"What about?" asked Harry, the fact that Hermione was involved, made this even stranger.

"As much as Ginny likes to pretend she's just friends with Harry now, I like to bet a good Galleon or two she still likes Harry…" George said, sounding far too happy.

Harry saw Ginny freeze, her eyes trained on the door. He assumed if he could see her face, she'd be blushing madly the way she would before they became friends.

"And then Hermione just so happened to mention that she was convinced Harriekins developed feelings for our darling sister so we decided to take one for the team. Mum would be delighted, would she not?" George spoke again.

"Yes, I'd think so, George," Fred replied, sounding equally happy.

Now Harry froze and he swallowed hard. Did he? He had never given it much thought. All he knew was that the room was always a little brighter when she walked in it, his mood instantly lifted when they talked.

Ginny turned around at him slowly, her arms unfolding as her eyes landed on him. "Harry?"

Wherever this conversation was going, he did not need the audience outside to hear it. He cast Muffliato on the door. "Now they can't hear us."

"Are they snogging? I don't hear a thing," Fred commented. "Alright, that was easy."

"No, you idiots, Harry probably cast a Muffliato charm!" Hermione replied before they could hear her stalking off.

"I am going to kill my brothers," Ginny muttered, her face now red with anger.

"Not if I get to them first." Harry offered her a lop-sided grin, momentarily forgetting their predicament.

A small smile appeared on her face too. She looked at him for a minute.

"Is it true?" she asked so softly he almost didn't hear her.

Harry's eyes flitted away from her, suddenly finding a jar of pickles particularly interesting. "I… I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know ?"

Her tone was so sharp, it caused him to look right back at her. She looked thoroughly confused and Harry could not blame her, he was feeling rather confused himself.

"How can you not know? It is a yes or no situation."

Her tone was almost accusatory and it caused Harry to take a step back instinctively. His back hit the shelves.

"Maybe for you it is!" he retorted. "I don't know… I don't not like you… I think…"

Ginny covered her face with her hands. "Merlin, this is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Ginny. Gin," he said, desperate to calm her down. This was unfair to her, he knew that much. "I am shit at both feelings and girls, you know that. Combine the two and my brain stops working entirely." His hands folded together so he wouldn't be tempted to fidget.

"Didn't think you were that self-aware," she said, cocking her head as her hands landed on her hips.

"Thanks," he said and he couldn't help the next grin breaking across his face, it was just the side-effect of hanging around Ginny.

He suddenly forgot what point he was trying to make because the realisation hit him like a quaffle to the face. His face dropped as all the puzzle pieces fell together. All the times the beast in his chest had reared its head, it was never some brotherly feeling, it was jealousy. The reason the room brightened when she walked into it had nothing to do with her radiant hair that was reflecting every ray of sunshine, it was caused by the fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach when he spotted her. When they talked it made all his worries fade into the background and it made him happy because that meant she was paying attention to him and him only.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ginny asked with worry when she noticed his expression drop and she stepped towards him to look closer at him.

This caused a panic to rise within him, he was not ready to face this new reality, not ready to face her, but they were stuck in a pantry together. His back pressed against the shelves more in a desperate and useless attempt to keep his distance from her.

"It's true," he mumbled to himself. Hermione had been right.

"What?" Ginny asked, taking another step closer so she could hear him better.

Too close and he had nowhere to go, they were almost standing toe to toe now.

There was no way out of this. Harry's stomach seemed to twist itself into a hundred knots as his eyes met her hazel ones, which were filled with worry. He took a deep breath.

"Hermione was right, it is true." He was breathing rather hard, as if he had just run up several flights of stairs.

Ginny went to speak but then closed her mouth again. Her gaze dropped down and landed somewhere on his chest.

"Gin?" he tried, his voice sounded almost like a squeak.

She shook her head, a hand running through her hair in agitation, making her hair cascade over her shoulder. "I don't know what to do with that."

If he could back up further through the shelves, he would have done so. His hands landed on the shelves behind him. "Well, you see, when two people like each other…"

Ginny's brow furrowed deeper as her eyes met his once again. Then her mouth dropped in a silent 'O' as she gathered what he had meant. "Should we kiss now?"

"I am not opposed to that…" Harry replied, his hands dropping off the shelf.

"Well, not if you don't want to!" Ginny shot back, her face red.

He reached out to her, his hands coming to rest on her waist and he pulled her flush against him. Ginny looked up at him, her eyes wide. He dipped his head and their lips finally met. For a moment, Ginny froze before she sank into him altogether. Her hands came up to his face to hold him close as she angled her head for better access. Their lips were tentative for a moment, exploring the feel of each other's lips, Ginny's were soft as they slid against his. Then they both gained confidence and their kiss became more greedy, nipping at each other eagerly. Nothing else was real in the world anymore, it was just him and Ginny, clinging to each other for dear life.

His hands moved, his arms curling around her, she fitted perfectly there in his arms. His tongue snaked past his lips, running across hers. She opened her lips for him without much hesitation, the kiss deepening as her arms wrapped around his neck.

When they finally broke apart, he was not sure how much time had passed. The knots in his stomach had resolved into butterflies, his heart was pounding and Ginny was beaming up at him.

He took a few deep breaths, sucking much-needed air into his lungs, hoping his heart would slow down a little. He hugged her to him and she tucked her head against his chest. His thumb rubbed against her back.

Suddenly she moved her head towards his left and pressed her ear against his chest. She looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow and a teasing smile. She was listening to his rapid heartbeat.

Without a word he peeled one of her arms off him and took a hold of her wrist, putting a finger on it to find her pulse. He met her eyes with an equally quirked eyebrow. Her heart was beating at least as fast as his.

He let go of her wrist again and brought his hand to her, cupping her face. She allowed him to guide her back up to his lips. They kissed slowly this time, but Harry ended up grinning out of pure delight and she was grinning too and they weren't really managing to kiss at all and they were both reduced to giggles, lips barely apart.

Harry tried to kiss her again but she leaned away, snorting with laughter and then covered her own mouth in terror at the noise that had erupted from her throat but Harry thought it way be the cutest little snort he had ever heard. He was completely smitten.

"Gin, kissing is serious business, stop laughing," he told her, eyes sparkling with amusement. His hand dropped from her face and landed on her side instead.

She bit the inside of her cheeks, attempting to keep a straight face but she was hardly managing. She shifted her weight. "Call me Gin again."

"You like that don't you?" he asked, he was aware he was the only one who called her that, maybe that's why she liked it so much. He leaned down to her ear. "Gin," he said huskily. "My Gin."

He leaned back a little to see her reaction but she seemed to have stopped functioning entirely. He pressed a kiss against her cheek softly, his lips lingering there for a moment.

Her eyes searched his. "This is real, isn't it?"

"I hope so. If this is a dream and I wake up to your snoring brother, that may be the biggest disappointment of my life," he told her honestly.

"Of your life?" she repeated questioningly.

He nodded resolutely. "Definitely."

"I suppose we should try and break out of this pantry sometime," Ginny said.

Harry wanted to argue against that, with all the food around at least they wouldn't go hungry anytime soon. He nodded. He pressed another short kiss against her lips before his arms slipped off her.

She stepped back and turned towards the door. Harry grabbed his wand off the shelf.

Ginny tried the door handle and the door simply opened. They both blinked at the bright daylight entering the pantry once again.

"Wait, how long has this been unlocked?" Ginny wondered as she stepped out into the kitchen.

"For twenty minutes," Fred replied from the living room.

She walked into the living room, Harry behind her. "We weren't even in there for that long!"

Fred glanced at his watch. "Thirty minutes. We got bored after the first ten considering we couldn't hear anything. A grave oversight from our side, I'll have to admit. George is working on mistletoe now, should work better." He looked up at his sister. "So, what's the verdict?"

"Shut up," Ginny retorted and she hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Harry stood somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room, but he was glad Fred was not asking him anything.

"Have you seen Ron?" he asked Fred sheepishly. He would rather not remain there.

"Locked him in his room, had to make sure he did not interfere."

Harry walked briskly to the stairs.

"So how did snogging my sister go?" Fred tried.

Harry whipped back around. "We didn't- Ginny wasn't- I don't think…"

"No need to be embarrassed, Harry. I think you two make quite the pair." Fred offered him a sweet smile that felt slightly unsettling.

Harry turned back around and rushed up the stairs to Ron's room.

"Were you locked up too? I have no idea what Fred and George had planned now…" Ron said as Harry opened the room and stepped inside. Ron didn't seem terribly annoyed as he was resting on his bed reading the Quidditch Quarrel magazine.

"Yes, I was. Ginny too," he replied, careful not to mention they had been locked up together. He sat down on his bed. He sat in silence for a few minutes,

Ron was minding his own business and so Harry tried to gather his thoughts about what had just happened. There was a swooping feeling in his stomach as he remembered the way her lips had felt against hers.

There was a soft knock on the door and they both looked up when the door opened.

Ginny popped her head inside. "Harry, can I talk to you?" There was a hint of a smile on her face.

Ron looked a little confused why Ginny wanted to talk to Harry, but he remained silent, returning to his magazine.

Harry pushed off the bed. "Sure."

He stepped to her and she held the door open for him. He walked past her and she closed the door. He turned back around to face her, waiting for Ginny to speak but instead she grabbed his hand. Another pleasant fluttery feeling erupted in his stomach as their hands touched and he beamed at her.

She let out a soft giggle when she saw his expression. She pulled him towards the stairs. Harry was quickly gathering she didn't want to just 'talk'.

"What are we doing?" Harry asked curiously, allowing her to guide him down the stairs.

"Walking," she replied, glancing backwards at him for a moment.

"Walking?"

"Walking. " She shot another look at him, her eyes teasing, the hint of a blush across her freckled cheeks.

When they reached the ground floor, Fred turned around to look at them and noticed their hands. "So it worked, then? Can't wait to tell mum."

"I would reconsider that, Fred. Whatever will mum do when she finds out you locked her poor baby daughter in a pantry. I was terrified, a sudden bout of claustrophobia took over me," Ginny said dramatically.

"She is not going to buy that." Fred scoffed.

Harry locked eyes with Fred. "I think you'll find if I tell her, she will believe it. I would never lie to her, of course."

Ginny looked up at him, eyes full of glee. He squeezed her hand and grinned once again, he couldn't help himself.

They grabbed their coats, not waiting for Fred's reply and walked to the back door.

"Even if I don't tell her, she's going to figure it out pretty soon, you know!" Fred called after them.

"Well, that's my business, not yours!" Ginny yelled back as they walked down the few steps into the garden.

"She'll want a summer wedding!"

Ginny shot a look at Harry and rolled her eyes. She walked back up to the door. "Fred, I know your love life is in shambles right now, but that doesn't mean you have to project your dreams on mine!"

She turned back around to Harry as Fred spluttered a retort.

Ginny walked back up to Harry, this time he held out his hand for her. She took it easily, as if that's where her hand was supposed to be.

"I wonder who they're going to test the Mistletoe on?" Ginny thought out loud.

"I have a pretty good idea."