A:N/ Sorry this has taken so long to update, I've been out of town on vacation and then when I got back, I just couldn't get into the swing of the story. This isnt my best work, but hopefully you'll like it just the same, and I can get back on the ball and finish this baby up. Thank you all so much. Enjoy the Read.
"Of course I'm not angry at you Hermione…" Ginny said, scooting closer to her on the bed. "You made a choice. Sure, it was an—odd one—but it was still a choice you had to make. I trust you…even if you are crazy enough to marry Fred." Ginny smiled and her joke made Hermione give a slight giggle. That sat in silence for awhile, thinking, until Hermione looked at Ginny and squeaked:
"Did I make a mistake?" Ginny could see the fear in Hermione's eyes, and wanted to do the best she could to calm her.
"Does he make you happy?"
"Yes."
"Has he ever hurt you in any way?"
"No!"
"Do you love him?" Ginny raised her eyebrows at Hermione's minor hesitation. Then a dawning look passed over Hermione's face and the corners of her mouth turned up.
"Yeah…I do." She said, blushing slightly and messing with the corner of the quilt on her bed. Ginny grinned and hugged her.
"Then you haven't made any kind of mistake." Ginny smiled. They talked for awhile about trivial things...Ginny did her best to keep Hermione's mind off of Lavender. A few minutes past, and Ginny remembered.
"Oh—I forgot to tell you earlier…I broke up with Seamus."
"WHY?" Hermione jumped up off the bed in surprise. "But you two were in love! You were—what—why!"
"It just wasn't working…if I loved him as much as I claimed, I wouldn't be as unhappy as I've been. I mean—I was constantly worried about him…my world revolved around what Seamus would do…then he started pulling the jealousy treatment on Harry, and I found him flirting with Lavender the other day and I couldn't stand it anymore. I broke up with him the day before yesterday. I was going to tell you last night, but you were—ahem—'detained'."
"Erm—sorry I wasn't there."
"That's alright, you're here now, and everything is going to be okay. No worries?"
"No worries…" Hermione said, with a worried expression. Ginny slapped her hand and Hermione laughed as she realized what she was doing. She relaxed, and the two girls fell back onto the bed and laughed.
The weeks leading up to Winter Vacation were tough for Hermione. Of course, everyone had questions about what Lavender had said, but Ginny, Harry, and even Ron guarded Hermione beautifully, fending off their questions and keeping Hermione from going insane. Ginny continued to be the sole keeper of Hermione and Fred's secret, and Harry and Ron continued to wonder what was going on. One morning, Harry and Ginny were standing outside the Great Hall waiting for Ron and Hermione to arrive, when Lavender spotted them. She quickly approached with her arm hooked through the crook of Seamus'.
"Hiya Harry!" She said loudly, of course, attracting attention.
"Hey Lavender—Seamus." He nodded at them both respectively and turned to walk away. Lavender grabbed his arm.
"Oh Harry, you're not mad at me on account of that silly little stunt Hermione pulled are you? Because I'd hate it if you were mad…" She got right up under him and batted her long lashes at him. When that didn't illicit a response, she turned and jerked Seamus forward.
"Look—this is my new boyfriend…" She shot at him, glancing at Ginny and smirking. Ginny's mouth dropped open slightly, but it wasn't noticed by anyone other than Harry. She rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling and sighed.
"C'mon Harry." She slipped her hand effortlessly into his and gave it a gentle tug. Harry followed her silently, up until they reached the Great Hall doors. Harry then stopped, and when Ginny turned to see why, she was surprised to see Harry's free hand come up and cup the side of her face as he planted a soft and gentle kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, she grinned up at him and turned to go into the Great Hall. As the doors were closing behind them, they glanced over their shoulders at Lavender, who was throwing a hissy fit in the hall.
Not surprisingly, when Harry had planted the nonchalant kiss on Ginny's lips that day in the Great Hall, people saw and rumors flew. The-Boy-Who-Lived had a new girlfriend—his best friend's little sister. It didn't surprise anybody of course; at least not for long…Ginny Weasley was an obvious choice for Harry Potter. Several girls were upset of course, because they had high hopes for catching Harry and pinning him down. The boys were frustrated, because although Ginny's family was fairly poor, she was a real beauty and a real sweet kid, and several of the available boys in Hogwarts had had their eyes on her for a long time. But sadly for them, she'd been attached to Seamus until recently, and it looked like she was unavailable once again. When Ron heard the rumors the next day, he immediately hunted down Harry and Ginny, who were sitting together in the Great Hall eating breakfast and laughing about people's wild stories. When they saw him coming; red faced and angry eyed, they knew they were about to get it. Harry smiled up at Ron as he saw him coming and started to greet him.
"Hey Ron, where've you---"
"What's this I hear about you and my sister?" Ron said—directly and to the point.
"Ron—that's none of your concern." Ginny said, putting her hand on Harry's shoulder and standing up.
"What do you mean it's none of my concern! You're my little sister and I don't know if I'm comfortable with you dating my best friend!" He said passionately. Ginny turned red and placed her free hand on her hip.
"Ronald Weasley—last time I checked I was sixteen years old and not in need of you or anyone else dictating who I can and cannot see. You should be glad that I decided to date one of your friends. You know more than anyone else that Harry is a good person and would never intentionally try to hurt me. Please don't pretend like you are my lord and master and try to tell me what I can and cannot do ever again. C'mon Harry…let's get out of here." Ginny said, and Harry stood up next to her, although he hesitated.
"Ron—look I—" He placed a hand on Ron's shoulder and squeezed in a brotherly attempt to make him feel better.
"Go with her—I'll deal with you later." Ron said huffily. Harry got a pained look on his face, but took Ginny's hand and led her out the doors to the Great Hall.
They made their way out to the Quidditch pitch, which was deserted this early in the morning.
"Ginny? What was that all about! Now he's angry at us, and we aren't even dating!" Harry said, turning around to Ginny and running a hand through his already tousled hair.
"And how do you think he'd feel if he found out you kissed me and we weren't dating? He would've beaten the crap out of you!" Ginny said, flopping down on one of the benches and putting her face in her hands.
"We've made a fine mess out of this, we have." She moaned. "What are we going to do?"
"Yeah—fine, I have no idea." He muttered, sitting next to her. He glanced over at her and shrugged slightly, putting his arm around her back. Surprisingly for him, she sat up and sat her head in the pocket between his neck and his shoulder. "Unless…" He said after a minute or two.
"Unless what?" She said, looking up at him.
"Unless we…but you wouldn't want to…"
"Harry…"
"Why don't we—why can't you—Ginny, would you like to be my girlfriend?" He said. Ginny looked at him with her mouth hanging open. Harry smiled down at her as he took the side of his pointer finger and gently pushed her lower jaw up to meet her upper. Her mouth closed with a soft 'click'. After a moment, Ginny tilted her head slightly to the side and breathed—
"Have you lost your mind?"
