Chapter 11

Dialogue (part 2)

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Teresa read the paper, and then set it down. "Wait, wait... George, we need to talk."

"What?"

"Well, Harry's replies..." she said, but didn't know quite how to phrase it.

George mistook what she was saying. "Harry's being realistic," he pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but..." She sighed. "Listen, George, when Ginny started talking about her problem, Harry shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?" George was clearly bewildered.

"Well, for starters, he read over her essay and told her what she did wrong."

George was even more confused. "Isn't that what he should have done? I mean, they were talking about the 'P' she got on her essay. He's trying to help her get the grade bumped."

"But she doesn't want that," Teresa said.

"She doesn't want her grade bumped?"

"No, of course she wants the grade bumped. She just doesn't want Harry to help her do it. She's not looking for him to solve her problem."

"Wait, what?" George looked flabbergasted. "Then why did she even bring up the subject if she doesn't want his help?"

"George," Teresa replied softly, "She was looking for Harry to be supportive of her."

"But that's what he was doing - he's trying to help her."

"No, I mean..." Teresa struggled with words for a second. "Ok, let me put this differently. When Ginny told Harry about her problem, she wasn't worried about what she'd end up doing. She can solve her own problems, or if she does need advice on what to do she'd ask him for it. What she wanted was for him to make her feel better."

George's face slowly reflected understanding about what Teresa was saying. Finally, he pronounced, "That's stupid."

Teresa, despite herself, laughed. "Why is that stupid?"

"It just is. If I have a problem with... say... a pair of new shoes being too small, I don't talk to my neighbor so I can feel better about my small shoes. I do it because I want some help fixing the problem. I'd want them to say to me 'You should go back to the shoestore and get a different pair'. What would you want to hear?"

"I don't know," Teresa replied back. "How about, 'Ouch! Yeah, they look pretty small. My last pair was that way, so I know how you feel'."

"But... your shoes are still small."

"That's not the point."

"It's not helping solve the problem."

"It's not about solving the problem."

George didn't say anything, mostly because he wasn't quite sure what his wife was talking about. Teresa shook her head and began writing a response.

Ginny nodded absently. "How about you?" she asked quietly. "You're not having a good day either, are you?"

"Ehn," Harry said, making a defeatist shrug. "Not really that big of a deal."

Ginny frowned, concerned. "What's not that big of a deal?"

"Nothing," came the reply in a slightly defensive voice.

"Harry," Ginny said, putting her hand on top of his, "You can talk to me. What happened?"

"Not anything important," Harry replied back insistantly.

"Harry," Ginny chided in a mildly disapproving voice. "Obviously something had you irritated."

Teresa watched as George took the paper, but was surprised when he didn't start writing.

"Ok," George said slowly, "Ginny deserves to die."

"What?" Teresa asked. "Why?"

"Obviously he doesn't want to talk about it."

"But it's bothering him."

"So?"

"So he should talk about it - it'll make him feel better."

"But he doesn't want to."

"Why not?"

George looked at his wife, trying to decide how to explain this. "Did you know," he said, "That a woman at the restaurant I was eating lunch at yesterday called me fat?"

"What?" Teresa asked, feeling a pang of guilt from her teasing five minutes ago. "That's terrible - and you're not fat."

"No, no, you missed the point. Do you think it bothered me?"

Teresa had to admit, her husband was a bit sensitive about his weight, and nodded.

"But I didn't tell you about it. When... when most guys come across a problem or something that upsets them, they want to handle it themselves. And generally we do, you just have to give us some time. Does it look like I'm still upset about what that woman said yesterday?"

"Not really. Still, you should've said something."

"That's not how it works," George admitted, shrugging.

"Then explain it to me," Teresa said. George searched her face, looking for any sense of sarcasm at his wife asking her husband to explain the mechanics of the male mind to her. Strangely, it seemed to be an honest request.

"Well," he said, not knowing how to start. "We don't like talking about that type of stuff - I'm sure you know that. And it's even worse if you come right out and ask, and it's pure agony if you keep asking even after we say no. Usually if you just give us a bit of time, we'll get over it on our own."

"So," Teresa said, trying to understand this, "Ginny knows Harry's feeling bad, but she shouldn't try to help him? Just make believe he's fine and hope he gets whatever is bothering him within a day?"

"No, not quite like that" George sighed. "Ok, they're done talking about her 'P' in transfiguration. Instead of saying 'Your day was horrible, you will tell me right now what happened' she should lean up against him, put an arm around him, give him a kiss, and ask how his day went. If he doesn't go into it, Ginny should just let it pass. Talk about something else - quidditch, or the next DA meeting."

If anything, this brought a grin to Teresa's face. "So what you're saying is, Harry wants to be held. What a big baby."

George couldn't help but smile himself at it. "I thought you knew. All of us guys are just big babies at heart."

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