July 24, 1995, 12 Grimmauld Place

My left hand has a purple tinge to it, and there's a black bruise on my palm, but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. Mum is still making me wear the linen cloth over it, even thought it itches like crazy, and it's driving me up the wall.

I did get out of cleaning yesterday, but Mum sent me to work first thing this morning, just after breakfast. She says that the drapes in mine and Hermione's room are "filthy", so both Hermione and I spent a good two hours trying to knock all of the dust out of them. Mum came in after lunch and cleaned off the dust that had fallen into the carpet.

Something very odd happened today.

I "bonded" with Ron.

I don't even know if "bonded" is the right word, but I'm at loss for a better one at the moment. I owe it all to Hermione, who locked herself in our room after lunch to read the rest of her Arithmancy book before dinner. Therefore, I was forced to find another method of wasting time.

Fred and George couldn't be bothered, because they were busy testing Puking Pastilles, and I didn't really want to be puked on by one of the twins. Bill was at Gringotts, Sirius was up in Buckbeak's room again, and Mum and Dad were in the kitchen, speaking with Mrs. Figg and Dumbledore again. So, the only person who was left was…you guessed it, Ron.

I challenged him to a game of Exploding Snap, and he accepted eagerly. I won three out of the four games we played, and I only lost the last one because Pigwidgeon distracted me by landing on my head and pulling out several strands of my hair with his beak. Ouch.

I played chess with Ron afterwards, and, not surprisingly, he won both games that we played. I was very close to winning the first one, but then Ron's queen beat up my last knight, so I wasn't happy about losing that game. Besides, I've been waiting practically my entire life to beat Ron at a game of chess, just to wipe that superior smirk off of his face every time someone brings out a chessboard.

Then Ron mentioned something that I was sure he had no idea about: my nightmares. Apparently, our lovely Miss Granger told not only Mum, but Ron as well, that I have been having recurring nightmares about Riddle. I remember this icy feeling flooding my stomach when Ron asked me timidly if they scared me. I told them that they did, and terribly so.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that if you ever have another one, I'm here, too." Ron told me when Mum called us all down to dinner. I'm sure Mum and Dad would have been in tears to hear him say that.

It makes me want to tell Ron about Michael. Oh, sure, I know that Ron will probably beat Michael into little bits and pieces once term starts up, but he's close to me, and somehow, I think he deserves to know.

Yet, at the same time, I dread the day I will have to tell Ron that I have a boyfriend. God, I am so confused!

Anyway, Ron still thinks that I like Harry, as do the rest of my brothers. Hermione's been telling me that she's proud of the fact that I've moved on from my "silly schoolgirl crush" on Harry, and that I'm finally getting ready to "live my life the way it should be".

But she doesn't understand. Harry wasn't just a schoolgirl crush. I loved him and---

No. I did not love Harry Potter, nor will I ever. I think.

No, no, no! I love Michael. I love Michael Thomas Corner!

Oh yeah, and just for the record, Michael told me what his middle name is. I'm not a stalker or anything, so you can forget all of those crazy thoughts and suspicions.

Okay, I'm going to stop blabbing about Michael now…

Fred overheard on the Extendable Ears that Harry is getting "more and more restless by the day", according to Mrs. Figg, who stopped by to give her report to Dumbledore. Dad seems to think that it's dangerous for Harry to be staying with the Muggles.

Everyone is treating Harry like a ticking time bomb. We've overheard several Order members saying things like, "If we don't get Harry out of there soon, he might do something drastic, and we don't want Harry Potter running around the country by himself." The boy can take care of himself perfectly fine, as he has proved over and over again!

Oh my god. You know what I just realized?

Harry's birthday is in seven days. That's just a week away! Should I send him a birthday card? No, or maybe I shouldn't acknowledge his birthday at all. Or maybe…

Ah well. I'll figure it out in the morning.

Good night!

-Ginny


Okay, I'm on a time limit here, so I'll make this note short and snappy. So sorry for the short chapter…I just don't have the time!

Cheers to all of my reviewers, no time to list everyone, and I thank everyone who has showed their sympathy for my writer's block. I'm slowly starting to climb that "wall". Keep reviewing!

How do you like this chapter? I tried to mix everything in, and I've included the "Ron bonding" stuff just for a bit of fun. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter!

Update on "Puddlemere Night Stand": The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, July 25, 2005. So sorry for the long wait!

Please review!

-Rox