Disclaimer: I'm not J.R.R. Tolkien, I'm not J.K. Rowling, But I write from the heart, from the heart.

Summery: Holidays are over. Time to face the crowd again.

Bata: Beankin' and Tamara – I thank you so very much for that.

Mad About You – Chapter 5

Artist – Sting. Title – Mad about you. Album – The soul cages.

It was the last day of the holidays. People were going to come back throughout the day and for the first time Harry was a bit disappointed. After two weeks of what was like a dream to him, it was time to face reality again. He and Seamus spent the day in the common room playing wizard chess. This was an entirely different experience than playing with Ron, thought Harry. When Ron was playing chess his face was set with utmost concentration and he let nothing distract him from the board. Seamus, on the other hand, was playing with his pawns, making them dance around the board, arguing with them where they should go. Harry found it highly amusing until Seamus' queen tried to stab Seamus with her sword. He gave her a most offended look, but she didn't seem moved by it, which made Harry laugh even harder.

Eventually they switched to playing exploding snap because Seamus declared he could not carry on playing with such a treacherous queen.

"Are you waiting for Ron or for Ginny?" asked Seamus when Harry kept shooting glances over the portrait hole. Harry looked at him in surprise and Seamus smiled at him. He sighed.

"Are you going to tell Nora?" he shot back in defence. The smile on Seamus face vanished and he shook his head.

"Nope."

"Why not?" Harry asked curiously.

"She's too young. She doesn't need to know about these things."

"She's your sister. Don't you think she has a right to know?" Seamus looked appalled by the very notion.

"She's twelve years old!" he called out. "And besides," he added, "she won't understand."

"She's a smart kid, she's a Ravenclaw after all... I really think you should tell her."

"I don't! Look, leave Nora to me, alright?" Seamus said trying not to sound impatient. Harry couldn't possibly understand what's it like to have a sister or to be catholic for that matter and he really didn't want to pick a fight with him over that subject. "So, are you going to tell Ginny? Or Ron, for that matter?"

"I guess, someday…" Harry answered with a shrug.

"Tell you what, I'll make a deal with you!" Seamus said and Harry looked at him curiously. "I'll tell Parvati if you tell Ginny."

"I thought Parvati already knew." Somehow it felt like he got the raw end of the deal.

"She doesn't know about you and me…" Seamus pointed out.

"Still, she's not going to fall off the chair or hex you or anything."

"You're scared Ginny will hex you?" Seamus couldn't hold his laughter,

"Wouldn't you?"

Seamus gave it a thought. "You've got a point… But you still have to tell her before she finds out somewhere else and then you'll really be in deep shite!"

"I know… Between her and Ron, I'm not sure who would take it worse…" said Harry miserably.

"I'd go for Ginny first; girls are more open to the idea of two men together for some reason. Hey, if you're lucky she might find the whole thing really sexy."

Harry sighed. "I don't want her to find it sexy, I just don't want to hurt her too much."

Seamus decided to drop the subject and instead concentrated on the game. They played a few more rounds, when the first people started to arrive. They were mostly younger students, and Harry and Seamus ignored them. The first seventh year to arrive was Parvati. She came over to where Harry and Seamus were sitting with a dazzling smile. She leaned and gave Seamus a big kiss on his cheek and he gave her one in return.

"Hello boys! So, how was your holiday?"

"Great, Harry and I spent most of it shagging up in the dorms." Seamus informed her with a huge smile.

Harry stared at him in disbelief but Parvati didn't look shocked in the least. She simply gathered the snap cards and started to shuffle them, saying, "About time too. Anything else?" she looked up, caught the sight of Harry's face and smiled. "Don't be so shocked Potter; it's not like I didn't have a clue. Unlike some other Gryffindors I know…" she added dryly, lifting her eyebrows at him.

"But we weren't doing anything until two weeks ago." protested Harry in disbelief.

"Yeah, but your dear 'boyfriend' here had a crush on you for ages." Harry turned to look at Seamus who shrugged and looked slightly flushed. Harry smiled and shook his head.

They were in the middle of the second round of snap, trying to avoid Parvati's quite intrusive questions about their holidays when the portrait hole opened and Ginny stepped in, chatting with Neville and Dean.

"Hello everyone," she called brightly as they reached the corner Harry, Seamus and Parvati were sitting in. they exchanged their hellos and "how was your holiday?" pleasantries, and Harry was beginning to feel uneasy again. The mere notion of being in the same room as Ginny was making him feel uncomfortable and guilty. He lowered his head and toyed with the playing cards in his hand when he felt a sharp kick in the shin.

Harry tried to stifle a cry of pain and looked up; both Seamus and Parvati were looking at him, signalling towards Ginny with their heads. If he wasn't so preoccupied with feeling like an idiot he would have found them very comical. He sighed and looked at Ginny, who was talking to Dean.

"Where's Ron?" asked Neville before Harry could say a word.

"Doing his Prefect rounds with Hermione. That is, trying to steal a snog at some remote corner," answered Ginny and everyone laughed. Harry decided to take advantage of the light atmosphere and plunged in.

"Can I have a private word with you?" he asked her. Her face lit up and she nodded. They both got up and went through the portrait hole.

Harry had no clear idea what he was going to say or how to even start tackling the subject. He was trying to think about it while wondering quite aimlessly through the corridors. Ginny walked next to him in silence, a curious look on her face.

Harry raised his head and realized they were heading towards the astronomy tower, definitely not a good place to go! Instead he ducked to a nearby classroom pulling Ginny behind him and closing the door.

This is interesting, thought Ginny; Harry obviously had something rather important to say. Judging from the look on his face he was either about to tell her he hated her, or ask her to move up to the next level of their relationship. It was a bit hard to tell as he kept his head low and his face was half hidden. He leaned against a desk while Ginny leaned against the wall. She was rather amused, she wasn't sure why but she felt this was going to be a lot harder for Harry than for her.

Harry seemed to finally reach a decision as he lifted his head and took a deep breath.

"Ginny, you know how everyone thinks that we're dating…" Oh, bad, bad start! Ginny gave him a glance from under her long, golden lashes, her lips slightly parted. Oh, yes, defiantly a bad start. He took another breath, trying to focus himself, when she said softly,

"It's ok Harry, you can tell me anything."

"I'm gay." he blurted. Very subtle, you idiot, he cursed inwardly, his hand flying up to shut his own traitorous mouth. There must be a better way to handle this without having to blurt out stupid sentences he hadn't planed on saying at all. He wasn't really sure what to expect from Ginny, tears (Oh dear gods, please no), anger (his fingers were already curling around his wand), mad laughter (slightly better than tears but not by much). Actually, thought Harry, anything was probably better than Ginny crying out "I knew it!" her eyes wide and her finger pointing at him.

"What?" cried Harry indignantly; it always seemed as if the whole sodding school knew everything about him before he did.

Ginny caught herself and quickly changed her expression to one of shock. "I mean… Oh!" She opened her blue eyes wide.

"Ginny, what the fuck? What do you mean you knew it?" Ginny smiled a little uneasily. This was probably not the way this conversation was supposed to proceed, but then again if she had waited for Harry to get to the point it probably would have taken all night.

"Well, how could I not notice?" She asked defensively as if it were obvious, but when Harry still gave her a blank look she sighed and tried to clear things up.

"Well, you know how everyone thinks that we're dating?" Hmm, that sounds uncomfortably familiar… "The thing is, I knew from the start you weren't particularly attracted to me, don't try to deny it, it's ok, it's not your fault - I suppose. At first I thought it was because of Ron, you know the whole "dating my best friend's sister" routine, but then I thought it was me. I thought you might have the hots for someone else, so I started watching you."

"You followed me?" Harry almost yelled in disbelief,

"I didn't follow you, I watched you. There's a distinct difference between the two," said Ginny firmly. Harry recognized the dangerous gleam in her eye and decided not to interrupt her anymore.

"You don't know what it's like to grow up in a world that has you as its hero. Ever since I remember myself I worshiped you. I never thought I'd meet you, but I had fantasies about us getting married and all. Oh, come off it, don't give me that look, you know that half the girls at school were having these thoughts at some point or another! Anyway, the last thing I expected is for you to become my brother's best friend, not to mention the seventh son of my mother…

"And the worst part was - you turned out to be so much better than I ever dreamed, nobler, braver, and much more handsome. And then we sort of started dating and I was so happy, but then I realized, this was a fantasy too. So I started watching you to see if you had another girl or something but what I found out wasn't that you had another girl, it was that you couldn't care less about other girls.

"At first I was thrilled, it was obviously a good sign for me, but I was totally blind. It took me a while to see beyond my own pride and realize you don't want other girls, you don't want girls at all! From what I could tell, there wasn't a specific guy you wanted either but you definitely wanted them…" she trailed off somewhat sadly and Harry couldn't stop himself from asking,

"How did you know?"

Ginny smiled. "Hermione must have told you already that she can read you like an open book, right?" Harry nodded. Hermione's actual words were "read you like the Marauders' map" but she only used it among the trio. Ginny smiled again. "She's right, you know… Don't worry! It's not like the whole school knows. It's just that whenever you look at a guy you fancy your eyes light up in a really cute way. You never looked at me like that. Guess that's why I finally gave up on making you fall madly in love with me."

Harry bit his lip; he had no idea, of course, that he was doing any of this. But then, Hermione also used to say that he and Ron wouldn't know a Blast Ended Skrewt if it came and bit them in the arse. The fact that they actually had to learn how to handle those beasts back in fourth year merely emphasized her point. He got up from the desk and went over to where Ginny was standing. He put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him a little and then pulled back and leaned against the wall again. Harry did the same; he couldn't shake the guilt off, or the feeling that he was a real idiot.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny; you have every right to be mad at me. I never meant to hurt you…" he couldn't think of a better thing to say, and this too came out lame. Ginny looked at him with her big blue eyes open wide.

"I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault. I'm a little disappointed, yes. But I'm not mad." She smiled brightly and leaned closer. "So, who is it?" Harry blinked at her in surprise. He could never get used to the amazing speed women changed their minds. He shrugged and her smile widened.

"What do you mean? Who said there is someone?" He tried to sound confident and not betray the fact she caught him completely off guard.

"Because you wouldn't even bother to tell me if there wasn't someone and you felt guilty over cheating on either one of us," she said simply and he just looked at her, speechless. Ginny gave him yet another dazzling smile.

"Hmmm, let's see. It's probably someone who stayed behind in the holidays because I'm pretty sure there wasn't anyone before. Not one that mattered anyway…" she added. Harry felt himself flushing and cursed inwardly. Damn, he was too bloody predictable. Ginny, however didn't notice his face as she mentally went over the list of people left behind for the holidays.

"Well, I guess we can rule out anyone under the age of sixteen. Right?" Harry nodded hurriedly. "Ok, that leaves us with… three people. Ernie, Terry and Seamus." She gave Harry a calculated look while he tried his best at looking blank and impassive (and failing horribly), and then she declared with glee, "Oh my god, you and Seamus! That's wonderful, weird, but really cool." Harry frowned at her.

"Why is it weird?"

"You've been his friend for six years now, when and why did things change?"

"The day before Christmas. I had a nightmere," he said and smiled to himself. Then he remembered he was talking to Ginny and that he was most definitely not going to discuss his holiday's activities with her! "How do you know it was Seamus and not one of the others?" he asked instead, trying to shift the conversation away from dangerous water.

"Simple, the reason Ernie stayed behind was that he could spend time with Hannah. And Terry's going out with Kate, so that only leaves Seamus," she declared and Harry tried to hide his smile. If only she knew…

"Seamus is going out with Parvati," he pointed out but she gave a dismissive snort.

"Oh, please. Everyone knows they are only "dating" to cover up for the fact that they are both gay."

"I didn't know that."

"What a shock." Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled. Harry couldn't help but smile too. "So, how is he?" she asked in a brisk voice.

"You just saw him. He's fine."

"Very funny, Harry! You know what I mean."

"I'm not telling you that!" Ginny looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Oh, come on. You have to tell me! I have a right to know!"

"No you don't," he said, and she pulled a face at him.

"Come on… tell me anyway…" Harry sighed. He wasn't going to win this argument.

"What do you want to know?" he asked tiredly.

"What's he like in bed?"

"Amazing."

"Can you be more specific?"

"No."

Ginny sighed. "Boy, Harry, you sure know how to take all the fun out of this."

"I just don't see why you care so much."

"I guess you can call it 'curiosity of the unknowing'."

"Ginny, you can have any guy in school you want to have sex with… I bet half of them would be happy to oblige."

"You mean the ones that don't secretly wish to be shagged by you! Don't be daft, I meant I could never have a guy on guy sex! Why do you think girls are so keen about gays? And why do you think guys are so keen on two girls together?"

"I was never too keen on two girls together…"

"That's because you're gay. You're weird that way. You have this profound fear of women or something." Harry chuckled. "Anyway, I'm glad you ended up with someone nice like Seamus and not some creep from Slytherin, for example." She winked at him and then leaned over to kiss his cheek.

They didn't say anything for a while and Harry was wondering whether they should head back to the tower when they heard voices behind the door. One was clearly Ron's. Harry glanced over at Ginny and saw a wicked glint flash in her eyes.

"Let's give Ron something to fret about," she whispered, and before Harry could say anything, she grabbed him and kissed him. The door opened and Ron stepped inside; when he saw Harry and Ginny in a lip lock he gave a startled yelp. Ginny released Harry and gave her brother a sheepish look, while Harry was genuinely alarmed and shocked. Behind Ron he could see Terry's face, a slight frown crossing his forehead and a little smile on his lips.

"Ginny! Harry! What's going on here?" Ron was practically shaking with anger, his face turning an ugly shade of puce. Ginny looked down, the perfect picture of guilt. Harry had to hold himself from rolling his eyes. She grabbed his hand and made a dash for the door, her face still down. Harry knew that to Ron and Terry it looked like she was on the verge of tears but he knew she was about to crack with laughter. When he passed Terry, the Head Boy nodded at him with a smile that said "You little devil". Harry didn't have time to correct him before Ginny forced him around the corner. Once they were out of earshot, Ginny collapsed against the wall, holding her sides, peels of laughter echoing in the corridor.

"Ginny that was evil!" Harry tried to sound angry but the thought of Ron's face was too much for him and he couldn't hide his grin.

"I'm sorry… It was too good an opportunity to miss, oh my, the look on his face… that was priceless," she said once she calmed down a bit. "Hey, in a way I was doing you a favour."

"How is that exactly?"

"Well, nothing can be worst than your best friend dating your sister, right? So he will be so pleased when you tell him you're not going out with me, he wouldn't care who you are going out with."

Harry thought about it. It didn't seem very likely, but then again it was Ron and most likely things didn't apply to him. They made the rest of the way to the Gryffindor tower in silence.

When they entered the common room it was almost empty. Ginny gave Harry a little kiss on the cheek and waltzed to the girls' dormitory looking very pleased with herself. Harry went over to the sofa where Seamus was sitting, eagerly waiting for news.

"I see that went well." He gestured after Ginny.

Before Harry could answer, the portrait hole opened and Ron stepped in. when he saw Harry he turned his head pointedly and went up the stairs before Harry could stop him or apologize. Harry sighed in frustration and slumped down on the sofa next to Seamus. In answer to his questioning look, Harry told him about the talk with Ginny and the fiasco with Ron. Needless to say, Seamus found the whole thing hilarious.

He pulled Harry to him and placed his head in his lap, stroking the soft locks of black hair. Harry closed his eyes and gave in to the lovely feeling.

"Ginny has a point, you know," said Seamus quietly.

"About Ron being less mad when he finds out I'm not dating Ginny?"

"Yes."

"Great! I'll get in a fight with him just to prove to him I'm not going out with his sister."

"You still should tell him. Imagine he'll find out somewhere else."

"Where, exactly, on the front page of the Prophet?" Harry meant it as a joke but Seamus gasped in fear.

"Hell, no! Can you imagine the headline "The Boy who lived loves boys"… Gods, Harry, I sure hope it won't come to that."

"I promise you we won't end up on the front page of the paper," he declared in a firm voice.

Seamus smiled and leaned forward whispering "Liar." before his lips sealed over Harry's.

Neither of them heard the portrait hole open or see Hermione slip inside. She stood in the shadows of the entrance and looked at the sofa. She could see Seamus sitting on it and a pair of feet at the end. She recognized them as Harry's immediately. He was the only person she knew who tapped his toes together like that. She didn't catch the last words Harry was saying but she did see Seamus lean forward for an obvious kiss. Hermione frowned; she just heard the most interesting tale from Terry, which involved Harry and Ginny snogging on the seventh floor and Ron catching them. What she saw in front of her indicated that Harry was definitely not going out with Ginny, or maybe he was dating two people. No, that didn't make sense, Harry wasn't like that…

She was about to step forward and confront Harry about the whole situation when the boys on the sofa got up and started making their way to the dorms. Hermione crouched in the shadows, not that it mattered much since neither of them cared what was going on around them. They were looking fondly at each other, smiling and holding hands. Pushing and shoving each other slightly on their way to the stairs, eager to keep touching one another.

Once they were gone Hermione stepped out from the shadows and made her way to her own dorms. What in the name of Merlin was going on here? She thought furiously. She was determined to get to the bottom of this. She was going to corner Harry and get the truth out of him. Tomorrow.