It was July now and Harry had come to join them at The Burrow. At first things had been awkward between Harry and Ginny. She definitely still cared for him. In her head she could see a future and a life with him, a happy one. She knew that he still cared for her too but he was afraid. He wanted to protect her, she knew that. Even though they had talked about it before and Ginny agreed it was still strange for the two of them to be around each other.

However, Ginny was a woman of action when she wanted to be. Thus, after about a week of feeling weird and not knowing what to say Ginny sat Harry down and they had a little talk. They had sat in Ginny's room, hands intertwined and talked about how they didn't want to feel this way. Harry had talked mostly and at first it had been about the two of them but it changed into his worry and fear over Voldemort and being a hero. Through the course of the conversation the awkwardness melted away and Ginny realized how it didn't matter how either of them felt. The thing which would control Harry's life until it was over was the war and hearing him talk made Ginny feel perfectly fine with it. She didn't want Harry to be afraid but she knew that he was capable of handling it, especially with Ron, Hermione and herself being there for him. They both said they wanted to be with each other but they could wait. Ginny failed to mention, of course, her growing desire for a certain bushy haired friend of theirs.

After that the tension was gone and it was just another happy summer at the Weasley house. Mostly.

Hermione was still staying in Ginny's room and now Harry was staying in Ron's so Hermione was in Ginny's room every night. Hermione had snuck upstairs and spent some nights in Ron's room before so Ginny had been given a few nights of peace. She didn't think that Hermione and Ron were having sex but that wasn't the point. The point was that every night Ginny fell asleep after talking to Hermione and listening to her breathe on the floor right beside her.

"Hey, Gin."

Ginny looked up from her cereal at Ron one morning about the middle of the month. Harry was sitting beside her twirling his spoon around in his hand.

"Can you make eggs?"

"What?" she scoffed.

"Please. You know I can't make food for me life." He pouted at her.

She only rolled her eyes. Harry laughed and stood up

"I can."

"But…. Oh, ok." Ron grinned at Harry. "So, you get to be the mom today then?"

"Shut up, you arse."

Hermione came in the room and raised an eyebrow at Ron.

"Making Harry make you breakfast?"

Ginny snorted into her cereal, splashing milk.

"He offered!"

"Is that so?" Hermione said, sitting beside Ginny who snorted again.

Ron just sighed. Harry turned to look at them.

"I can cook you know."

"I know." Hermione said, leaning over Ginny to grab an apple out of the bowl on the table.

Ginny's spoon paused halfway to her mouth as Hermione's leg pressed against hers and Hermione's chest came perilously close to her hand. Blinking rapidly, Ginny put the spoon in her mouth and was very careful to swallow and not choke. It was only breakfast and already Ginny wanted to grab Hermione.

The eggs in the pan were making sizzling type noises as Harry added cheese and salt. Ron was standing next to him, watching.

"So," Hermione began. "What are we going to do today?"

'Throw you down and…' Ginny thought.

Ron shrugged, taking the plate of eggs Harry offered him. They both turned around to face the girls while leaning against the counter. Harry ate his eggs out of the pan with a fork.

"Well, we can't just sit around here all day. It's too nice outside." Hermione said.

"We have windows. Don't need to go anywhere." Ron said, gulping down some more eggs.

"Really, Ron." Hermione replied in a withering tone.

"Yeah, really Ron." Harry mocked.

Ginny smiled and looked at Hermione. She looked side long at Ginny and rolled her eyes. Ginny's smile only widened. Somehow the older girl always managed to look so beautiful in the morning. Ginny especially liked it when Hermione put her hair up in a messy bun because she didn't feel like really making it look nice yet. There were always a few strands that refused to cooperate and fell down into her eyes. Ginny liked how the wavy brown snippets of hair framed her face.

She realized she was staring and averted her eyes. Her cereal was gone, nothing to do.

"Let's go on a picnic!" Hermione said suddenly.

"In the woods?" Ron asked.

"Yes, it's such a nice day!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other then back at Hermione. There was a staring contest for a moment and Ginny looked between the two factions wondering who would crack first.

"We could go swimming too?" Hermione said with a shrug.

The eyes of the boys widened a little and they both nodded.

"Great idea." Harry said.

"Yeah, great, great."

"Let's go!"

"Yeah, now."

"Ok, boys." Ginny said. "Let's relax a little."

Ginny said this while she did a dance in her head at the thought of Hermione in a bathing suit. Then the dancing figure in her head stopped in worry over how she would behave. Fuck, she had problems. Lucky that there was a pond behind their house in the woods that her parents kept clean with some charm her mother found in Witch Weekly.

"Alright then, testosterone crazy boys, we'll go swimming too." Hermione said as she stood up and headed up stairs.

An hour later they were all walking through the grass and into the woods.

"It is so nice out!" Hermione was saying.

"A little bit sunny." Harry said from in front of them, a hand above his eyes.

"Too sunny for you, Potter?" Ron said, swinging the picnic basket into Harry.

Harry hit him in the shoulder. They pushed each other from side to side for a bit but stopped when Ron almost fell over and threatened the destruction of their lunch. After this episode Hermione took the basket from Ron and gave him the blanket instead. Ginny was distracted by the bathing suit and skirt combo which Hermione was sporting now. It wasn't a bikini but that was hardly the point. The point was that Hermione was wearing a beautiful skirt and form fitting bathing suit which would soon be wet.

"Ginny!"

Ginny blinked at Harry who had spoke and ran up to join them.

"Being antisocial?" He asked.

"No, that's your job." She retorted.

He just huffed at her. They were walking in a line now, Ginny on one end, Ron on the other, and Hermione and Harry in the middle. It felt like a scene from some sappy muggle movie in Ginny's head.

The pond came into sight and Ron ran ahead shouting at them.

"Last one in is a Malfoy!"

"You bugger!" Harry shouted and sprinted after.

Hermione and Ginny just kept walking normally, now side by side. Ginny felt a smile grow over her face. She turned her head slightly to look at Hermione. The sun only made her look better. In summer blond highlights would come out ever so slightly in her hair and she always smiled more. With the boys far ahead it almost felt as if Ginny and Hermione were alone. A sudden urge came over Ginny. What would happen if she told Hermione how she felt?

She stopped suddenly and gripped her towel against her chest. Hermione stopped a bit ahead and looked back at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Ginny suddenly felt more awkward that she ever had in her life. Why was telling someone you were attracted to them so hard? She'd known Hermione for awhile now. She knew Hermione wouldn't completely shun her and never talk to her again. Hermione wouldn't hurt her or run away. Yet Ginny couldn't move her mouth or feet. It was the simple fact that if Ginny said something then Hermione would know. If she told Hermione all the things she thought, all the glances she stole then it wouldn't be the same. Then Hermione would know and that wasn't something Ginny could take back. It would always be there. Ginny had one small chance for the possibility of Hermione returning her affections and a million other chances for awkwardness, silence, and growing apart. Would it make things better if Ginny said something or worse?

"Ginny?" Hermione said again, walking back until she was standing right in front of Ginny, blocking the sun. She put a hand on Ginny's face. "Are you ok? You look a little off."

Ginny blinked rapidly as she looked up at Hermione. She was just a little taller than Ginny but right then Ginny felt like she was 12 years old again. She was just a little love sick girl who didn't know what to say.

"Um… yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Hermione said.

'No,' Ginny thought. 'No, I'm not.'

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's nothing."

Hermione smiled and took Ginny's hand. "Ok, let's go."

They skipped along to the pond and Ginny felt like crying.