Disclaimer - Don't own a damn thing, not HP and definitely not "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton.

Chapter 3 (Ginny's POV)

What am I doing here? I mean really! What am I, Ginerva Molly Weasley, youngest and only daughter of the clan Weasley, doing sitting on the steps of the girls' dormitory watching my brother and his 'oh-so-oblivious' girlfriend finish was is probably their first real date? I really don't have any freakin' idea.

That's not exactly true. I know precisely why I'm here and it has everything to do with what everything else does, and that is Harry Potter. Everyone in the school, everyone save for Ron and Hermione, knows 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' is head-over-heels for the female piece of the 'Golden Trio'. Don't blame Harry; it's not as if he is being obvious. He is being far from it around them; it's only when you pay close attention to the times when he thinks no one else is watching that it becomes clear. The only problem is that being Harry Potter means that there is never a time when nobody is watching. So now everyone knows.

It's actually quite funny really, or at least it would be if I don't feel so sorry for them, but Ron and Hermione are playing the exact same game. The difference is they are not as good at keeping their relationship a secret; the rumor about them being together moved much faster through the hollowed halls of Hogwarts than most. But they are doing a particularly smashing job around Harry. They're the same three friends they have always been when they are all together. They laugh and joke and bicker (well, pretend to bicker so that Harry stays grounded) and when they walk down the halls, they flanking him like the loyal sidekicks that Ron and Hermione have always been considered to be.

It's when those two are alone that they can't help themselves. They aren't overly affectionate; the most substantial evidence against them comes from the gossip. When other Prefects claim that you're spending more time snogging and shagging then doing your jobs, people tend to listen.

No one dares tell Harry about it though. Actually Draco Malfoy tried to...one time. After all, he has never been one to think before he speaks in cases where Harry is concerned, has he? Earlier in the year, the blond cornered our hero about the rumors in an attempt to force Harry's hand. "Lost to the Weasel, did you Potty?" "Poor Potter can't have a taste of the Mudblood then?" Blah...blah, blah...blah, blah. Harry was taking most of the ribbing without batting an eyelash. I, however, could tell Harry was boiling under the surface, especially when it came to the insults hurled involving Hermione. Basically, the Slytherin was grasping at straws until he made a crack about Remus and Tonks. At that, Harry exploded. I mean he literally exploded…as did everything else in the Great Hall. Of course a magical release of that size would have registered on every magical monitor in the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore flew out of that room faster than a man his age should be able to, and he tried to intercede. However, by the time he got there Harry had already challenged Malfoy to a legitimate Wizards' Duel. Unlike the one that the two of them had tried to have in their first year, this one was legally binding. With Harry being an emancipated minor in both the muggle and magical world, Draco being head of Malfoy house due to his father's incarceration, and the audacity of Malfoy's words Albus had no choice but to sanction the match. If he had not the consequences would have cost the rivals their magicks. Dumbledore did make a few stipulations. The match would be held in secret and they had to choose seconds from different houses. Malfoy picked some random Ravenclaw upperclassmen, while Harry snatched up Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff. Supposedly it ended rather quickly. Harry, of course, emerged victorious and unscathed; the seconds were in awe of whatever display Harry had provided; and Malfoy was levitated to the Hospital Wing unconscious. After a couple of days the entire school was shocked to see a humbled Draco Malfoy enter the Great Hall. And this more than anything, Harry kicking Draco's ass into modesty, kept the gossip from reaching the Trio's ears.

And absolutely no one mentions Harry's summer around him anymore, except for me that is. Colin tried...poor boy. When he had asked, Harry glared so ruefully at the young fan that he actually received a physical blow to the forehead. Harry was very apologetic afterward, but the angry red welt warned everyone else not to ask. I'm the only one he talks to about it, and I'm the only one who is allowed to ask. Hermione is very jealous.

Speaking of Hermione, it seems as if the 'lovebirds' are heading up. Their hands and mouths look rather busy as well. I for one don't know where they get the energy. I am beat. Maybe if I just close my eyes for a second just to rest them...yeah...that's it...

Dream Sequence

(A/N: It would be very difficult for me to cover the entire sequence of events from a first person perspective. Therefore, I am going to write it from the third person, in Italics, and just call it a dream sequence.)

It had been nearly a week since Harry had arrived at the Burrow and he had yet to wake up. Almost at once the Order had been informed of his condition and situation. There had been many visitors, the most important of which being Professor Dumbledore. Everyone was saddened to hear of the deaths of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, they had been awed at Harry's strength and determination against Voldemort, and all were brought to tears by the fact that he had refused to leave his guardians behind. For a time, the ancestral home of the Weasleys' was transformed into a pseudo-headquarters, and the orders were simple. The men and women that were more adept in combat were on guard duty, while the people more capable at healing stood constant vigil over the people injured in the Battle of Azkaban and Harry's bed. Unbeknownst to all, however, was that something terrible was happening to young Ginny Weasley almost every night.

You see the affects of the Riddle diary on Ginny's mind were more far reaching than anyone expected. The sixteen year-old Voldemort had slithered his way into her subconscious without her consent. He had even doctored up a dream so traumatic, little Ginny would be scarred by it for the rest of her days. In this dream he had taken advantage of her to metaphorically represent what the diary was literally doing to her mind. That night had been the right before she had tried to dispose of the journal in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Since then, she had been subject to terrible nightmares. These nightmares started to change, though, after Voldemort's resurrection.

Ever since Voldemort had been informed of Malfoy Sr.'s actions he had been exploring a possible connection between himself and the young woman. Fortunately for Riddle, and unfortunately for Ginny, a connection had been found and once again he was in a position to manipulate her dreams. This link was incredibly weak though, nothing like the one between Harry and the Dark Lord. It was so weak, in fact, that Ginny's basic mental defenses were more than enough to protect herself from the Dark Lord's flimsy assaults in the summer time. During her terms at school the ancient magicks of Hogwarts were more than up to the challenge of defending the young witch. In fact, the only time the correlation was strong enough for Voldemort to have any influence whatsoever was when Ginny was around those similarly affected. This included only two types of people: Death Eaters and Harry Potter.

It started in the summer before fifth year. Voldemort had felt that Ginny and Harry were close and launched a few attacks. The anonymity of the Order Headquarters had kept Riddle from taking full control and the end result was a few violent night terrors that had Ginny's body convulsing during sleep. Harry's scar would twinge violently at these times. However, because he had yet to feel the full sting of a Voldemort possession he was never able to uncover the problem. Ginny herself never remembered any of these attacks due to Voldemort's superiority in Mind Magicks. The Burrow, being in full knowledge of almost the entire wizarding world, and with no real defenses of its own, was a prime target. And on a balmy night in the middle of July, Harry's final battle of the summer with Voldemort would take place for nearly all to see.

It started a little after midnight. Seemingly out of nowhere the entire house was awoken by a blood-curdling scream coming from the youngest Weasley's room. Hermione, being in that same room at the time, alerted the whole house to Ginny's dilemma. Mrs. Weasley, followed closely by Albus Dumbledore and some of the more prominent members of the Order, rushed the young girl, still asleep, down into the open kitchen and onto the table. Ginny would continue to writhe and scream, for what seemed like forever, while Dumbledore and Pomfrey threw everything that they had at her to try and cure her ailments. Just as the possession was taking full affect, Harry's scar seared with pain.

Harry, who at the time was still unconscious from his earlier struggles, bolted out of bed and down to the kitchen. He hadn't eaten solid foods for a while, and his body had been beaten to hell, so he was looking a little peaky. He had magical bandages wrapped around his abdomen, left bicep, and over a scar on the pectoral of the same side. He instantly recognized the situation and was just as quickly infuriated by it. Bringing his true power, or at least what he had achieved so far, to the fore he was able to clear a path straight to Ginny's thrashing body.

With murder in his eyes, which immediately softened once he reached the table, Harry acted on pure instinct. He brought his lips down to rest over the young red heads. And, even though he had already promised his heart to another, he was able to summon enough affection and 'brotherly' sentiment into the kiss to draw Voldemort out of Ginny and into himself. This is where things started to really get interesting.

As soon as the transference had taken place there was a bright white light and Harry was thrown across the room, through a wooden banister, and into a wall. Here, he promptly slid down onto the floor, where he seemingly lost consciousness again. The living room full of Order members slowly approached the 'Boy-Who-Lived' until the reawakened Ginny warned them to stand back.

It was a good thing to, because almost immediately Harry's body levitated to an erect position and his eyelids flew open. Now this wouldn't have been cause for concern if the room full of wizards were presented with his normal smoldering emeralds, however, for the first time Voldemort's blood-red orbs flashed disdainfully from the headmaster's 'Golden Boy.'

"You weak and pathetic child. Look at the opportunity you have granted me." Voldemort, in Harry's body, stalked around the living room and continued to rant in a snake-like hiss. "A house full of enemies to kill and dare I say it..." At this, he took a good look at all of the women present. " ...witches to enjoy." He raised his right hand to cast his first spell, while everyone else raised theirs to protect themselves. "Avar..." Suddenly, the left side of Harry's body started to resist and he began to take back control.

"I won't let you do it Riddle, not to anyone else that I love." But before Harry could fully recover he was magically thrown up against a wall.

Voldemort hissed back through the boy's mouth. "But it's too late I am almost in complete control and everyone in here will die because you were too weak."

"NO!" Harry struggled back to his feet and continued to fight against the Dark Lord's influence on his mind. The mental battle raged between the two wizards for nearly ten minutes. Verbal volleys were thrown back and forth constantly; Voldemort would threaten those closest to Harry, to which he would attack Riddle's heritage. All the while, the boy's body was thrown from one place to another on the first floor of the Burrow. He constantly cracked the plaster in walls as he was slammed up against them, smashed through chairs, and broke bones and skin on the sharper furniture. Harry's friends silently cheered him on from the sidelines, for no one was able to approach him in a time like this, lest they shatter his concentration. After one of his particularly hateful remarks involving the virtue of Riddle's pureblood mother, Harry was thrown through a full-length window at the back of the house.

He was bleeding and broken, never relenting in the struggle, and by now every wizard on the land was silently praying for him to overcome Voldemort. Liquid crimson was pouring from the cuts that adorned almost his entire body, but most alarmingly from a gash on the side of his face that started at the corner of his eye and traveled all the way down to his collarbone. He stumbled up to the foot of the pond in front of the Burrow and summoned all that was within him to banish Voldemort's shadow. With Dumbledore, Ginny, Molly, Ron, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, his mother and father, and most importantly Hermione on his mind he opened his mouth wide, screamed with everything he had, and the spirit was dispelled.

The wraith traveled out to the middle of the water and turned on him in much the same way a Dementor would, so Harry used the same means of dispatch to get rid of it. An ethereal Prongs erupted from the tip of his wand and charged down what was left of the sixteen year-old Riddle mixed with the Voldemort of today. The Patronus and the evil spirit exploded in a golden shower of beautiful light and Harry collapsed under the strain of the day, but not without adding another page to his legend.

End Dream Sequence

(A/N: Ginny's POV again.)

My eyes flutter open and I curse under my breath. Not only have I fallen asleep on my watch, but I had also had that dream again. That dream that I hate. That dream that has haunted me for months. I should probably just resign myself to it. I will most likely have it for the rest of my life. Bugger!

Just everything about the beginning of this summer was so scary. Harry was in trouble at Pivet Drive; then Harry was in trouble at headquarters; and finally Harry was in trouble at the Burrow…my own home! He was so frightening that night. Not Voldemort, but Harry. The hate and venom in his voice when he confronted the Dark Lord's accusation; the power he had to display to get rid of Riddle's influence; and the darkness that seemed to consume everyone afterwards was just a little spooky. What was worse, though, was that a wall had seemed to form between Harry and me.

It was as if Voldemort's essence had placed something in between us, romantically anyway. It's sad really. All my wildest dreams were fulfilled in that month after 'The Incident', but I couldn't feel it. Harry came to me, trying to get Hermione off his mind, and I welcomed him with arms wide open. I don't regret it, but instead I was saddened by it. We tried, good god did we try to feel something…anything. In fact, I am blushing just thinking about all the things we tried to feel. I gave him my virginity and he did his best to make it everything I thought it would be. In a way it was. He enjoyed it, and I know I enjoyed it...thoroughly. It's just that we didn't connect on any level whatsoever. It was nothing but great sex, at first…

After I thought about it, for a long time mind you, I felt a little disgusted. I hate to admit it but it felt almost...incestuous. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Harry was more a brother to me than a boyfriend. The next time we were alone I told him about what I had been thinking and that git laughed. He laughed until he cried and I should have been furious, but I wasn't. It was so wonderful to see him laugh about something. In fact, I started to laugh as well after a time. Once he calmed down, he told me that he had been thinking the exact same thing. We were inseparable after that.

Of course I mourned the fact that we could never have a real relationship because Voldemort had tainted us so completely, but I embraced the friendship and kinship we were able to develop because of that divide. It's really wonderful. We know exactly where the other stands and we aren't uncomfortable with platonic, even familial, displays of affection. I hate to say this, and I have always believed that blood is blood no matter what, but Harry's the brother I never had.

Bill was too old for me to get extremely close to. I know that I thought the moon of him when I was a toddler, but that was a long time ago. It's the same with Charlie; he was just a little too old for me to get real close to. Percy is a pompous ass, and I haven't really like him much since he turned his back on us. It's really no different to how he treated the rest of us when he was with the family. He was always locked up in his room trying to better everything about himself, so that one day he could become Minister of Magic or some such thing. Fred and George would sooner use me as a test dummy than a family member, and being twins meant that it was the two of them against the world. That, of course, leaves Ron.

I love Ron, believe me I do, but he takes that protective thing to the max. Even some of my other brothers are a little bothered by the extremes he goes in shielding me. He doesn't realize that that's the problem. He protects me too much, and isn't there for me enough. Take for instance the two boyfriends I have had, that he knows about. Victim number one was Michael Corner. Now even though the relationship ended months before he started going with Cho in her attempt to make Harry jealous, Ron thought that he had been cheating on me with the older Ravenclaw. So Ron charges off, half-cocked, and puts Corner in the hospital wing. Victim number two was Dean Thomas. There really wasn't much between us, maybe just the whisper of a relationship, but did that stop Ron. Of course not. He never tried anything to hurt Dean because, quite frankly, Dean could put Ron through a wall without breaking a sweat, but their friendship hasn't been the same in a long time. Harry's different.

Harry talks to me, and he listens to me, too. He's sweet to me, he helps me, offers me a shoulder to cry on when I need it, and knows exactly when to let me go. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I had slipped into the position that Hermione had more a less been in for a long time. It was probably more awkward between the two of them because of Harry's feelings, but I know she misses it. And she is jealous of me because of it.

I have seen this look in her eyes when Harry and I are together. Hermione and I are really good friends, the best of female friends in fact, but I still get a thrill from making her seethe. I think that is one of the ways men and women are different. Men are competitive with one another physically. They push each other in sports and games and other activities, but usually when it comes to women they respect each other's rights to court whomever it is they want to be with. Women however, don't care. We challenge each other intellectually and for the affections of men. When guys beat each other it's really no big deal, when we beat each other it can mean the end of a friendship. The problem is that Hermione isn't consciously looking for Harry's affections, and neither am I. She is just confused, and I am trying to help her to see what Harry can be. Helping him this way also makes it easier for me to date.

That's another thing he does really well. He respects my decisions, especially when it comes to men, just as long as I am careful. And really, he does a lot more than that. Usually after I express interest in someone, he approaches them. It's mostly nothing more than a Butterbeer in Hogsmeade and a conscientious effort at becoming friends with them, but it means the world to me. Harry understands my fear of Ron ruining these relationships for me and always helps me to keep them a secret. Harry doesn't explode, either, after my break-ups.

I have had four boyfriends since I got back to school. Bachelor number one was Blaise Zabini. He was one helluva nice looking bloke, but was awfully quiet. He was the epitome of that old adage that "it's the quiet ones you have to watch". We moved pretty fast, but the problem was it wasn't fast enough for him. After just two weeks he was pushing me to have sex and I just wasn't ready for that. I know I was ready that quickly with Harry, but I had known him for most of my life. I didn't know this guy from Adam, and he took it one step too far. I broke it off with him and fled back to Gryffindor Tower in tears. Harry was there, staring into the fire like always, and I flew into his arms. I cried for what seemed like forever and all Harry did, all he had to do, was hold me. After I calmed down, I told him what happened. He had already seen the bruises on my arms from where Zabini had gripped me, so my story must have just confirmed his suspicions. I saw that emerald fire flash behind his eyes for just a second until he was able to calm himself down. He made sure I was comfortable and asleep before he exacted revenge on my behalf. Under normal circumstance, Ron circumstance, I would have been very upset because of Harry's reprisal. However, after everything he did to comfort me and make me safe, I was actually happy to hear about Zabini being in the hospital wing the next day, and being beaten to within an inch of his life on top of that.

The time I spent with Neville was nice, but we are better off as friends. I also had fun with Zacharias Smith, but he made the mistake of cheating on me with some ditsy Hufflepuff. This time I was the one who took care of things. Harry may be a warrior, but he is a man, and I don't think he would ever do anything to harm another man's ability to procreate. I really didn't kick him all that hard, but hard enough to make Harry wince when I told him about it and get my point across. What he did for me the night Colin and I got together was incredibly sweet.

We had the Yule Ball a few weeks ago, and as per our public agreement Harry and I would be going together. I knew though, that at some point Harry would want to escape. So I asked him if he wouldn't mind if I spent the rest of the night with Colin Creevey. Harry didn't mind, and our plans for that evening were set. Ten minutes before the ball was scheduled to start I met him in the common room. I wore some very beautiful dress robes that Harry had purchased for me, and I had reserved the expert skills of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil for my hair and make-up. I thought I looked OK, but Harry had said I looked incredible and told me that Colin would think the same. I was skeptical. Harry had done his best too reassure me over the weeks, but after the situation with Smith I was feeling a bit self-conscious and just as worthless. Harry noticed and said, "let me show you something."

So I followed him all the way up to the Room of Requirement; I watched him pace back and forth until the door appeared; and I stepped inside when he asked me to. At first I was confused. I take Muggle Studies, but I had no idea what kind of strange contraption Harry had asked the room for. The only thing I did know was that it was muggle. He picked it up and told me it was a guitar. I was still confused, so he brought his fingers up and dropped them across the strings. It made the most wonderful noise. Next he said, "I am going to sing you a song Gin and you had better take it to heart."

And then he sang to me. He has, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard.

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.

She puts on her make-up and brushes her long (red) hair.

And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"

And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

We go to a party and everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.

And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"

And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

I feel wonderful because I see

The love light in your eyes.

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just realize how much I love you.

It's time to go home now and I've got an aching head

So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,

I say, "My darling you were wonderful tonight.

Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight."

It was a bittersweet moment for me. This man, that I thought I had once loved with all my heart, had changed into someone that I considered my closest family member whether or not I wanted him to. Therefore he couldn't have meant all the worlds that he had just sang to me, but he did give me what I needed to move on and try again with someone else. I was incredibly grateful so I gave him a heartfelt kiss on the cheek, one that had caused his eyes to flutter in a feeling of loss for the relationship we could never really have, and we left for the dance. But everything is OK now. I am with Colin, even though it probably won't last, and Harry and I are happy to be brother and sister.

To tell you the truth I am glad we could never be anything real. Harry has a big heart, and he is capable of loving more than one woman at one time. For instance, he loves Hermione with everything he is and he was still able to give me just enough to be content those few weeks we were together. Had we stayed that way he could've shown me something wonderful, but I wouldn't have been able to stand him pinning away for her. We would've hated each other in the end, so I am happy to be the sister he never had. And I know he is happy being the brother I never really had.

Oh no! Oh shit! Maybe if I just close my eyes he won't be standing there. Nope. Didn't work. Oh God...I think Harry just found out!

(A/N: I know that Harry's character is sounding a little too good to be true, but that will change. He is going to get angry; he is going to do things that would be considered Dark; and he is going to take lives other than that of Riddle's. He might even have a few illicit affairs if I feel like including them.)

Next Chapter: Hermione