"Harry," she muttered

"Mmm", he kept kissing her, feeling slightly dizzy.

"HARRY!", a different voice bellowed in the room. He froze and opened his eyes. Light shed all over the room, coming from the doorway. He hadn't realized when Ginny had stood up, but he still sat there, staring at Ron's face.

"What…what ARE you doing?" Ron looked stricken.

"Ron…I…we…Ginny and I…" Harry stuttered, as his brain tried to begin functioning again. His mouth was dry, and he couldn't quite process the situation he was in.

A ginger blur ran past Ron and out of the room, and moments later a small creak was heard from Ginny's door. Ron slammed the door behind him too, and looked at Harry. Getting his act together, he too stood up and faced Ron, bracing himself for the upcoming outburst.

"What-the-bloody-hell-were-you-doing?" Ron spat in a hollowed voice, making Harry feel worse than he would have, had his best friend screamed.

"I'm sorry Ron, I'm really sorry you had to see that but…" he uttered, looking somewhere behind Ron's shoulder. He wasn't comfortable in looking straight in his best friend's eyes right now. But before he could finish his sentence, Ron cut him off.

"You're sorry I had to SEE that? It's my baby sister Harry, don't you think you should be sorry for DOING that?" he snapped.

Harry felt his own anger flaring inside him, "Why should I be sorry for doing that? It's my choice and hers", he said, looking now at Ron, trying to sound calm, but his voice trembled with repressed anger.

"It maybe YOUR CHOICE, but it's MY LITTLE SISTER. You can't just use her like that in front of me and expect me to say nothing!"

"USE HER? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Harry was shouting now, his fists clenched, "I'M IN LOVE WITH HER YOU GIT!" he was ready to storm out of the room not wanting to hear Ron's answer, when two words stopped him.

"OK then."

Harry turned around on the spot to find an irritatingly calm Ron looking back at him, a smug look on his face, like his brain had never registered their previous fight.

"What do you mean OK?" Harry snapped, his anger not subsiding.

"I just wanted to make you say it." Ron was smiling now, "Sorry if I yelled. You see, I knew it the minute you came back here. You should see the way you've been looking at her," he made a goofy face, "like she was the last bite of a Honeydukes chocolate! And you should see your face when I walked in! Hilarious! I just don't want to get another visual like that," he chuckled.

"You're OK with it?" Harry was stunned from his friend's statement. His anger was ebbing away, and a feeling of relief mixed with embarrassment swept over him. Had he been that obvious?

"Well," Ron spoke now in a deep, funny voice, "since you are the Boy-Who-Lived and all that, and have great potential, I may give you my blessing, boy!"

"Oh, is that so?" Harry asked walking to his bed, and quickly grabbed his pillow, "You stupid git, you'll pay for it!" he laughed, chasing Ron around the room. After about ten minutes of fierce pillow fighting, Harry had Ron cornered, "Surrender?"

"Never!" Ron declared, covering his head with his hands.

There was a knock in the door, and they both froze. Throwing quickly the scattered pillows on the beds, they sat down, trying to look innocent in case it was Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione, followed by a blushed Ginny entered the room. The older girl looked at their faces, with a calculating expression, "Were you two fighting?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"No." they replied in unison, looking mildly surprised.

"Pillow fighting then?" she grinned looking at the misplaced pillows.

They grinned back. Ginny's head, which was to that moment facing the floor, shot up. She looked at Harry, her lips curling in a small smile, and then turned to face her brother timidly. He smiled back at her and she returned the grin blushing.

"Well," said a pleased looking Hermione, "I think everything's as it should be! I didn't think you could be against this Ron," she continued in her Know-It-All tone.

At that moment Ron looked as if he remembered something. He stood up, and walked to Hermione. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her and leaned over her until their noses touched, "I couldn't be against it, love," he said slightly blushing, "I could never go against two people who love each other and want to be together. Some things are meant to be, " he said looking serious now.

Hermione was rooted to the spot, looking in his eyes transfixed. Harry- though blushing at Ron's previous comment, about him loving Ginny- noticed that Hermione had moved her head slightly at Ron's direction, looking at his lips. Ron looked like a desperate battle was going on inside his head, but the next moment he had stepped away from her, and resolutely walked out of the room smiling, and leaving a frozen Hermione behind.

After a few moments of silence Hermione mumbled something about going to bed and left too. Ginny stood looking at Harry, but after a minute, they both broke down into roars of laughter. She went and sat beside him, tears glistening in her eyes, still chuckling, "Well that was a sight, wasn't it?" she choked.

"Yeah, it was!" he replied, but as the laughter subsided, he turned worried to look at her, "Ginny…about what Ron said…"

"Oh, don't think about it-I guess you…" she uttered, looking uncomfortably at her hands on her lap.

He touched her cheek softly, and turned her so that she was facing him, "Ginny, I- I think I do," he whispered.

"You do?" she asked, with an awed expression on her face.

Harry nodded with a slightly apologetic lop sided smile, "I think so…yes."

A small smile crept on her face, and her eyes lit up from it, "I think I do too, " she replied.

"Do what?" he teased.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, trying to look mad, but clearly fighting a smile.

Without a second thought he grabbed her and started tickling her mercilessly, until she had to gasp for breath. The tense moment before forgotten, he reveled on the comfortable companionship he shared with Ginny. Before his courage left him he leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips.

It was Harry's best birthday ever.

Even though they couldn't go outside, the four Hogwarts students enjoyed as much as they could their remaining holidays at Grimmauld Place. For Harry, living in a house with his Godfather's shadow dwelling in every corner, was still difficult, but the presence of the Weasleys and Hermione in the house was so soothing that the pain he felt when he first came in the house was steadily diminishing.

Ginny's presence was even more helpful than anyone else's but Harry couldn't help but fell a little frustrated towards her. He had believed from what had happened on his birthday that they were a couple, but since then Ginny had held him at arm's length, not quite treating him bad or ignoring him, but not behaving like she loved him either.

Every time Harry had tried to talk to her, she would always make it hard on him, behaving friendly but avoiding holding or touching him. At first Harry thought that it was that he had scared her with his aggressiveness the first time he kissed her, or that he was a bad kisser, but Hermione had assured him that it was neither of the two, but she wouldn't tell him what it was.

Two weeks had passed from his birthday, and Harry hadn't managed to get Ginny alone to confront her about it. The Hogwarts letters arrived, and Harry Ron and Hermione sent back the list with the classes they wanted to take in their sixth year. Meanwhile Ginny was not made Prefect to her joy and her mother's disappointment. Harry was happy to see that Ginny hugged him, celebrating the event, before owling to Fred and George. But even after that day, she didn't even hint that she and Harry were a couple, and the night before they left for Hogwarts his anger and frustration had reached a boiling point.

The dinner that night was a family affair, so all the Weasleys-minus Percy- Hermione and Harry were gathered around the table in the kitchen eating and chattering. Harry watched Ginny laughing happily with Bill, and the sound of her laughter although sending chills down his spine, depressed him. He hadn't made her laugh like that until she blushed in a long time, and while he was happy to see her like that, an overwhelming urge to hold her again like he did on his birthday overcame him. Why had she acted like that?

Catching his eye, and seeing the look on his face, Hermione motioned that she wanted to speak with him after dinner. Nodding back, Harry thought about his two best friends' behavior towards each other. Since starting –what Harry had named- the Lockhart treatment, Ron had continued behaving like that to Hermione, and every time her reaction was the same. She always flushed and was rendered speechless by Ron's actions but before she could speak he would always smile to her and leave the room.

Finishing his apple pie, Harry's eyes drifted once again to Ginny, and a slightly pained expression crossed his features. Hermione excused herself, thanking Mrs.Weasley for the wonderful meal, and shot a pointed look at Harry that he should follow her. Harry obeyed, and with a last forlorn look in Ginny's direction he bade everyone goodnight.

He found Hermione outside the girls' room, and she motioned for him to enter after her silently.

After carefully closing the door, Harry turned to his best friend, "Well?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What do you mean 'well'? Is there something bothering you Harry? Well…you know…apart from…" she trailed off, and Harry knew that she ment apart from Sirius' death.

He flinched slightly remembering his Godfather, but tried to push it from his head, or else his depression would increase tenfold, "Bothering me? Are you joking? No, apart from her ignoring me and pretending nothing ever happened between us, I'm fine! Just corking!" he replied, gesturing wildly in frustration.

"I don't appreciate that tone you know! Anyway, I thought that was the reason, so even though…I was asked not to tell you anything until you two sorted this out yourselves-"

"Sort it out ourselves? Do you know how many times I tried to get her to talk to me? It's been a month Hermione! A month !" he exclaimed, pacing around the room quickly.

"Will you stop acting like Pig all of a sudden, and sit down so I can talk to you?" he ignored her, so she continued, "Oh well, anyway, I'm wondering Harry how come you haven't figured it out yet!" he opened his mouth to protest but she raised her hand to cut him off, " She asked me not to tell you but I'm really worried-seeing you like this. She wants to 'talk' to you-as you put it- but she has to…speak to--Dean first," Hermione let out a breath she had been holding.

Harry stopped abruptly, and turned to look at his friend ashen faced. He had forgotten about that.

Dean.