Chapter; The Eighteenth

Dreams and Living Nightmares

Ginny sat at the breakfast table reading through one of her new novels, a bowl of cereal quickly growing soggy in the forgotten bowl in front of her. She didn't notice someone enter the room from behind her. She didn't notice until the person placed his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who!" a male voice asked from behind her.

Smiling as she set her book down, she turned. "Neville! What are you doing here so early. I thought you were working today."

"I took the day off so that I could come and see you. I feel like we haven't spent any time together in ages."

Ginny stood quickly and wrapped her arms around Neville's neck and was forced to stand on her tiptoes to do so, which she didn't mind in the slightest. He tucked his hands around her waist and kissed her hair lightly. "So, what have you been doing today?" he asked as he let her down.

She picked up the book and waved it in his face. "Reading. I'm bored without our research." She sighed and set the book down gesturing to a chair as she sat back down. "What have you been doing?"

Ginny didn't hear the answer. Something about this seemed very wrong. It felt right somehow, but at the same time, it was very wrong.

Neville reached over and grabbed her hand, idly stroking her thumb with his finger. Neville. Why would Neville being there seem wrong?

While Neville was still talking, Ginny glanced up at the window and suddenly knocked over her chair in her haste to stand up.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny couldn't find her voice in order to answer him. Outside the kitchen window, smiling in at her, was none other than Harry Potter. Why is the Boy Who Lived at my house?

Suddenly having a very strong instinct – one which probably was inherited from her mother – Ginny felt as though she needed to clean the kitchen for such a famous figure-head, but when she reached down to take her bowl to the sink, she saw that it was no longer sitting there.

Ginny looked back at Neville, intending to ask if he knew what had happened to her cereal bowl, but when she saw him he was jovially conversing with Harry.

Something is seriously wrong here. But what…?

"Ginevra," Harry spoke from beside Neville. "Your fiancé was just telling me all about your synthesis experiments. It sounds fascinating, but I'm really not catching the bulk of it. Would you mind translating?"

Our research. It was over. She was no longer engaged to Neville Longbottom. That's what seems wrong. Then why was this happening?

"Is something wrong, Ginny?" Neville asked, concern painted on his face.

"You should sit down, Ginevra, you look as though you're going to pass out."

No! This is wrong! Why are they both here? Why am I here? Why is this happening?

Neville, his concern turning very serious, walked over to Ginny and wrapped his arms around her. "Please, tell me what's wrong."

"NO!!" she screamed, pulling away from him. She had to quell the emotion she had to run, instead, into Harry's arms.

"Ginny." Neville's voice was full of pain.

"Ginevra." The look Harry was giving her made her want to run to him all the more.

"Ginny!" With each passing second Neville seemed to be drifting further away from her. She turned to run, but found her way blocked by a bunch of men carrying cameras.

"Ginevra." A new voice. "Ginevra, wake up."

Ginny felt someone shaking her shoulders and forced herself to open her eyes, which her mind tried to convince her were already open.

"Ginevra, are you alright? I heard you yell a couple of minutes ago. I think you were having a bad dream." Trista sat next to her on the bed in a long nightgown, concern the prominent emotion on her face.

Reality suddenly hit Ginny and she found herself sobbing softly into Trista's shoulder. She didn't really know why. She didn't know if the tears were for the confusion caused by the dream…or because in the dream, she and Neville had still been in love. Then, of course, there was that bit with Harry showing up and the look on his face right before she woke up. Whatever it was, it caused her to cry for a good ten minutes before she was coherent enough to explain to Trista what was going on.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. It was a dream. It wasn't bad at first though. Oh, I don't even know how to describe it! I'm sure it was brought on by the conversation from last night. I haven't dreamed of Neville for weeks."

Trista gave her a big hug, consoled her for a few minutes, then told her to get some sleep and left the room. As much as Ginny liked Trista, she was glad for the last bit. She really did want to be alone at the moment.

Ginny laid back down with every intention of looking at this dream from every possible angle until she could reason out where it came from, but no more than 30 seconds passed before she was once again fast asleep.

When Ginny woke the next morning, she was not only exhausted, but she had this sneaking suspicion that she was going to be in a horrible mood today. This turned out to be a very bad thing, since today was Trista's date with Harry, and after helping her get ready, Ginny realized that it was going to be a day during which it would be hard to get away from Janice.

"Bad dream last night?" Janice asked her as she sat in the alcove with her knitting. Tuck, loop, pull back, slide off. Tuck, loop, pull back, slide off. The knitting had a calming effect on Ginny, so she was able to evaluate what she said in response without her emotions getting in the way.

"Not particularly. I just often yell in the middle of the night. Keeps people on their toes."

"One would think something else could be going on with the kinds of things you yell."

Having discussed this with Trista last night, Ginny already knew what exactly it was she had yelled. "Yes, I suppose people could draw many conclusion from someone yelling 'no' in the middle of the night, but I'm sure you have a truly devious mind and were able to think of the worst possible thing." She continued knitting without even looking at Janice. "I suppose you expected me to ask what it was you thought I was yelling for, yes?"

"Not particularly," Janice answered complacently, as though Ginny wouldn't notice the exact repeat of her earlier words.

"Well then, you'll forgive me if I don't." Janice, however, didn't leave. "Is there something I could do for you?"

"No."

Ginny almost ground her teeth but thought better of it and simply continued to knit. Tuck, loop, pull back, slide off. Tuck, loop, pull back, slide off, ram up Janice's nose. It was hopeless, but Ginny knew that if she left now, Janice would think she had won, and Ginny would not allow Janice that kind of satisfaction.

After a few more minutes Janice finally got bored and left the room. Ginny waited another ten minutes before standing up and leaving herself. No use having won that small victory if she simply let Janice know she had been flustered by leaving too soon.

She stayed in her room most of the rest of the day. She knew it was the cowardly thing to do, but with the mood she was in, she was likely to pull out all of Janice's hair on a whim if she saw her again. And probably get all of hers pulled out as well. Ginny hated being a coward.

Lunch had, blessedly, been on their own, so Ginny had been able to eat in her room. She had no such luck with dinner. Without Trista to give her strength and with Denise and Becky not even attempting to hold back their disgust, Ginny found herself precariously close to giving Janice the rough side of her tongue. But that wasn't the only temptation. About half-way through the meal, Janice asked Ginny – in a sickeningly sweet voice – to pass the butter. Ginny smiled back with her teeth bared and whipped out her wand. Ginny saw Janice flinch for a second until Ginny merely levitated the butter to Janice's side of the table. Bit twitchy, aren't we?

When Trista got home that night, Ginny was pacing inside Trista's room, her wand clenched in her hand and muttering to herself. She didn't even realize that Trista was back until she spoke. "I take it the day didn't go well." Ginny sighed.

"What was your first clue?" Trista calmed Ginny down considerably before telling her all about the date. Trista's eyes were shining as she spoke and Ginny wished there was some way for two people to win at this game.

The other three dates went by quickly enough and the days seemed much shorter with Trista around to keep her in check. Ginny was not forced to be alone with Janice but just being in the same room with her was bad enough. Ginny found herself daydreaming about either herself of Janice being kicked off at the next ceremony. The way Janice was making her feel lately, either would have been a relief…though, of course, Ginny would prefer Janice leaving.

Other than Janice, Ginny also fervently hoped that Laurie would be kicked off. Ginny began to notice that Laurie's presence was almost as bad as Janice's, as Laurie had become a Janice-wannabe. It was a very sad sight to see; almost as though Laurie was some kind of lost puppy following around what she thought was her mother. It was sickening.

Harry continued to have breakfast with the girls just about every morning but Ginny still had not found a chance to really talk to him since their date. He smiled at her every morning, but then, he smiled at all of them. Janice and Laurie were getting a little too good at making sure that Ginny didn't sit anywhere near Harry. I think I know who she was talking about getting rid of on the phone the other day, Ginny thought bitterly, though really, she had suspected the whole time.

The night before the rose ceremony Ginny found that she couldn't sleep. Visions of Janice and Harry were plaguing her thoughts and she kept seeing this white rose looming over her. She got out of bed but found that even her room seemed too small; she was feeling claustrophobic.

She picked up her knitting stuff and headed out to the alcove. She only had a few rows left until the scarf was finished so she told herself that she would try to get some sleep again after she had finished the whole thing. Before she sat down, she set her stuff on one of the coffee tables and opened the door to the garden, letting the night's breeze come in and adding some extra light with the moon.

She had been knitting for a good half hour before she finally got to the final row. The last few stitches took more concentration, especially in the dark, so she didn't notice that someone else had entered the alcove.

"Wow. That's a really nice looking scarf," a voice said from over her shoulder.

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Wow…that's a really cheesy ending. Augh! I am so not liking my writing right now, but hopefully it's still okay and I swear things will get more interesting soon. So, did you like the dream? Were you confused? Hehehe Anywha, chapter 19 should be up 19th – what a coincidence. Okay, so yeah, it'll be up then, and you'll find out who the mystery speaker is (as though you can't guess) and you will also know the outcome of the next rose ceremony. Yee-haw. Now for my review replies. One more thing first – harrysmom was my 300th review!! I'm in the 300's now! I love you guys!

Rayah Papaya: There will be some fluff later on, but not yet. I'm glad that my story being so far fluff-less is okay with people. I happen to believe that things don't always go perfectly for the main character and that a story is actually more interesting when it doesn't. Thanks for reviewing!

Elvencherry07: Yeah…most of my ex-stories are quite pathetic, but not in a redundant way…just because I've dated some major losers. And, you know what they say, it's better to have lost a lover, than to have loved a loser. sigh

Milky way bar: Thank you!

Joy Cutting: Ah yes, what's the deal with Janice – it may be a few chapters before that is explained…and I hope that I explain it to some satisfaction. Janice is a very complicated character, believe it or not… Thanks for reviewing :)

Notice-me: Thanks again so much for putting my story in your profile. It really does make me feel special grins I hope you continue to read, and thank you for reviewing!

Harry/Ginnyfan4ever: Well, congratulations for finishing your biology course. I have to take one of those in the next few semesters…I hate science, despite the fact that I always did well in science classes. Anywha…triplet brothers? Seriously? Ack! I could barely handle one brother, and he was older than me. How old are they? Oh, and the PS2 is better than GameCube. Though it is better than the X-Box…X-Box has Halo, and Halo is the spawn of satan!! cough Sorry. Thanks for reviewing!

Allimba: Oh, you know that Ginny will win, do you? I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. There are still a few more twists to this story left evil grins Thanks for reviewing!

Kneh13: Thank you!

Tricia Emily: Thanks!

Harrysmom: Well, it may be a while before Janice gets what's coming to her, and I'm not sure it'll be as dramatic as everyone hopes, but… Thank you, reviewer number 300!

Miss Anonymous hp: Well, I hope you didn't mind that this one was actually several days in one chapter, but it would have been boring to go on in detail about days in which Ginny hardly even got to see Harry, so… Thank you so much for your encouraging words.

Chewy01: Well, this is the first time I've gotten nearly this many reviews. With my other stories, the norm was for me to get about 5 or 6 a chapter…now I'm getting an average of 30 per chapter! It's a beautiful thing… Anywha, I'm so glad you like my story, and thanks for reviewing.

Ashlee V: Yeah, I don't like Janice so much either. The girl has some issues. As for Trista…I can't tell you what's going to happen with her. I hope you continue to read and enjoy. Thank you for reviewing.

IceSugarHigh: No, Harry has not over heard Janice talking bad about Ginny or anything else. He really doesn't use the cloak that often. And no, Ginny isn't going to tell Trista about the conversations that she's overheard because she doesn't want to be the type of person that tells people something that she knows will make the person look bad; no matter how much she dislikes the person. Thanks for reviewing.

Spaced Out Space Cadet: I'm glad that you, er…love to hate Janice. Me too! Lol Oh, and don't even get me started on wedding planning…I despise it! Really, at this point, I don't care anymore – I have my dress, let's just elope! Lol sigh But my parents have paid too much for other stuff, so I guess I'm stuck waiting for December 18th.

Nessie8: Well, I'm glad you liked it so much. Sorry I made you wait for the next chapters :) Thanks for reviewing.

Angel: Yeah, it confuses me too. But remember, the difference with Neville could very well be the same thing as Ginny and Harry not knowing each other – if that's possible then it's possible for Neville to have gotten a bit of an ego over the years. I'm glad you like the story, even if it's confusing, and thanks for reviewing.

Laura: Do you really think that getting kicked off would deflate Janice's ego? Just getting kicked off? There needs to be more than that, don't you think? Hehehe Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you continue to like the story.

KeeperOfTheMoon: …I had spelling mistakes at the beginning of my story…? Crap. I'll have to check on that. That's weird, though, since word has spell-check. Anywha, I'm glad you like the story, and thanks for reviewing.

Snuggle the Muggle: No, sorry, no snogging for a while, but I do plan on it eventually. Yeah, I know; from writing this, I've gotten ideas on how I could recreate other shows – and not just reality shows either! I have several ideas formulating…but I think after this story is finished I need to focus on my older stories again. sigh What, you don't like the fact that if you post on the wrong day it may throw my posting schedule completely out of whack and could potentially cause the crashdown of the entire fanfiction system? Where's the pressure in that? winks

Hpsk8ergurl: Well, I only made you wait four days for this chapter…and I'll only make you wait another four for the next chapter…though during the summer, four days does seem to take a really long time… Anywha, I'm glad you like the story, and thanks for reviewing!

Sunflowerchild: Yeah, the invisibility cloak will make another appearance; I wouldn't have put it in to begin with if it wasn't going to serve a purpose. Ouch. Last chapter didn't have any substance? That kind of hurt. A lot of my chapters are a little short, but com'on now! You try writing a chapter every four days! Lol Thanks for reviewing.

SRAndrews: Well, I'm glad you reviewed :) And thank you. I really don't want Janice to stay on the show much longer either, but it's up to Harry. Lol Besides, the reason I want her gone is different from the reason you want her gone…I know what kind of trouble she's going to cause…

Loves to Read: Everyone wants Harry to overhear Janice using his invisibility cloak…which is exactly why I'm not going to have him overhear her. If it's expected, it's less enjoyable, in my opinion. Anywha, thanks for the review.

Granger's Twin: This is your favorite? Thank you so much! I'll try to check out your story when I can…I'm kind of busy sometimes, what with work and wedding plans and stuff, but I'll try to remember. Oh, and I don't mind at all that you recommended my story in an A/N. In fact, I will thank you for it! Thank you! Lol

Silver Witch: Yes, I guess an alternate universe story based on an alternate universe story is pretty impossible, huh? lol But, that's what makes it fun, right? Thanks for reviewing.

Alannah: Thank you so much! Don't you hate it when you stay up late reading a really good story then it never gets updated again? I won't do that! Hehehe I'm really glad you liked the story, and I hope you continue to! Thanks for the review

Bakaneko: I don't see why having a cell-phone would be banned. And yes, I do believe that you have mentioned hating Janice…I think almost everyone has! Lol Including me. She said who she was talking to, by the way. She gave a name, but for the rest, you need to read between the lines. Thanks for reviewing!

Kery J. Wales: I think the reason that Harry is so hard for us is that he isn't the main character. He's not too terribly difficult to write when you can probe his mind in your writing, but otherwise, he's nearly impossible! Thanks so much, again!

Emerald Desire: Thanks so much!

LillianaRose: There you go, I updated! As to whether or not Dustin is an ex…you'll just have to wait and see.

Whoa. Look at that! 31 reviews! Thanks again everyone. You make me happy :) Jaa, mata ne.