Half an hour later, Ginny was keeping up with Lia like she'd been riding a bike for years. As more people arrived and more people started filling in the walkways, it got a little more difficult to maneuver and they had to stop before they ruined their day by running into someone.

"I definitely want to do that again," Ginny stated, stretching out her thighs as they walked. "Kind of hurts, though. I thought the seat would be nice, but…"

"Yeah, they're not always the comfiest, especially on rentals like this. I don't get how people ride them for hours without their bits falling off." She laughed, wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulders.

Ginny started laughing too. "Their bits falling off?! It's worse with brooms, actually. At least you're not getting whacked if you're already sitting on a seat, but if you slip on the holsters or get run into wrong… I've worried about my brothers' abilities to have kids in the future plenty of times, which makes me sound like my mum."

"Is that a bad thing?" They flopped down a bench and Ginny found herself gravitating to press against Lia's side, head resting on her shoulder. Unlike the hesitation of the first time, though, Lia's hand just slid further down her arm, holding her there.

"Yes and no," Ginny admitted. "She can be a bit… overbearing sometimes, but that's all mums. And I can't be too annoyed with her, since she literally saved my life in the battle. She just cares about the family's future too much, I think. She wants us to all be successful and happy."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Her definition of successful and happy doesn't always line up with ours. It's about money and large families."

"Ah," Lia nodded. "Yeah, I can see how that would be hard. Does she know you want to play Quidditch?"

"No. I don't know if she'd want me to just for the traveling. She didn't want Fred and George to open up their shop because she didn't think it would take off. Percy was her favorite for a while, I think, when he was working for the Ministry and doing all of the rule-following, but he got sucked into the bad parts, too. So I guess it's back to Bill being the favorite, and he just got married so Mum's already asking him and Fleur when they're going to start having kids now that the war's over."

"Fleur?"

"Yeah. From the Triwizard Tournament. Don't get me started on that story," she laughed.

"You're joking."

"I'm not!" When Ginny pulled back to look at Lia's face, her cheeks had turned red. "What?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you." But her smile gave her away.

"You didn't kiss her or anything, did you? Because I can't ever bring you over if you did," Ginny teased.

"I didn't kiss her, no. But, ehm… I wanted to. I kind of had a huge crush on her that whole sixth year, like everyone else did. She's gorgeous."

"Yeah, she is. Though you'll have to keep your ogling at a minimum since she's my sister in law now."

Lia shook her head. "Don't worry. She's got nothing compared to you, love." Another look down to Ginny's lips, and it was getting harder to resist, especially with words like that coming out of her mouth. Ginny could only blush, pressing her face further into Lia's shoulder. A couple minutes passed in silence while Lia tried to think of the next best thing to say. She didn't want to keep talking about Fleur when they were on a date, so was it back to her family? It was obvious that Ginny at least partially enjoyed talking about them, and right now, she probably needed to. Plus, she didn't want to push too hard with the flirting. "Is George going to open the shop back up?"

"I think so. Eventually. Maybe. I don't know. I don't think it'll be anytime soon. He's getting better, but it's hard every time he talks about it. Plus, he wouldn't be able to do it on his own. We don't want him to, anyway. It was hard with the two of them trying to keep things straight. Maybe he's just waiting for the right person to help him? I think he wants to, though. He's been getting better at remembering the happy things than being sad."

"Well it's barely been a month. Just give it time." Lia slid her fingers easily through Ginny's hair. "This okay?"

"Yeah," Ginny breathed, her eyes fluttering closed. She could barely feel chunks of hair parting for Lia's fingers, but the way it fell onto the back of her neck once she released it was comforting somehow. "No one's ever played with my hair before. Not since I was little."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

"Good." She hadn't been this comfortable with someone else in a long time. The girls in the dorm used to test out spells to braid each other's hair before bed, and she still frequently used it, but she had a feeling she'd prefer Lia to do it over a spell. Luna had touched her hair a couple times, but the undercurrent of attraction towards Lia sent pleasant tingles through her scalp. "So I feel like I've spent most of the day talking about myself."

"I like listening to you talk, though."

"Yeah, yeah, join the club. Far from the first time I've heard that," Lia said, to which Ginny laughed. "Seriously, though. What was it like growing up with so many siblings? I can't even imagine."

"Fun. Most of the time, anyway. It was nice always having someone to hang out with, but forget about alone time if you wanted it. Even when I had my own room, someone would always be hanging out in it. Usually Fred or George. It was better once Bill and Charlie moved out, but there are only so many rooms in the house, so mine was prime semi-privacy. When I was little, it was like a treat when I got to stay with one of them for the night."

"That sounds lovely."

"It was. The weirdest year was before first, when they were all gone and it was just me and Mum and Dad. I kind of hated it." Lia just hummed in response. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"I don't. Maybe that's why I'm so desperate for company." Ever so hesitantly, Lia slid her hand from Ginny's hair and down her back, snaking around to rest on her waist.

Ginny's head fell back onto her shoulder. "That's why you were so attached to your chickens?"

"Yeah. They were my only friends. I used to dress them up and have tea parties with them." She felt Ginny smile against her. "And then, it was just a natural progression from loving chickens to dating hens."

"Oh, Merlin, that was terrible ." But Ginny was about to lose it, shaking with laughter she was trying to hold in. By the time she was barely able to breathe again, Lia had stood up, taking both of Ginny's hands in hers. At eye level, there was a bracelet Ginny hadn't noticed before: thin strings in all the colors of the rainbow tied around her left wrist, maybe an inch in total. For some reason, it brought a smile to her face, perfectly encapsulating everything Lia had been so far.

"Come on," she said, tugging her to her feet. "I want to take you to the Rose Garden before we leave."

"Leave?" Ginny asked instinctively, her heart sinking at the thought of this date ending, which was something she never recalled feeling before. It was a nice shock.

"Yes, unfortunately. You have to go home at some point, don't you? The last thing I need is your mam to never let me see you again."

"She wouldn't keep me from you." Ginny grinned, tugging Lia to her side as they walked again. "You're my most unproblematic friend at the moment."

"That's what we are, eh? Unproblematic friends?"

"You'd rather be problematic friends?"

"Oh, definitely. Always arguing. At each other's throats. Always on top of one another."

"On top of one another? That does sound like it could get really problematic."

"It could, couldn't it? Best we avoid that, then."

"I thought you wanted to be problematic."

"I do," Lia smirked, "but that wouldn't keep me on your mam's good side, would it? Too many problems and I'll end up like all the rest of your friends who don't get to take you to the park."

"Well, we can't possibly have that."

"How about a very leisurely walk through the Rose Garden? Don't worry. I'll take my time."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." Ginny smirked, earning a nudge from Lia's shoulder that nearly knocked her off the path in another fit of laughter.

The Rose Garden, it turned out, was more than just a single had never seen so many flowers in her life. The trees and bushes and walls of roses and greenery didn't look like they'd ever end. There were so many leaves for her to touch and beautiful petals basking in the sunlight. It wasn't just roses, either. A few of them Ginny recognized from their own garden, but there were some she'd never even seen before. "This is so beautiful," she whispered as she took in everything. "Are there a lot of these? Gardens like this, I mean."

"Yeah, they're all over. Not usually as big as this one, but still really good. They keep things a little more wild here, but there are a lot of castle gardens that are so tidy and contained. Totally different atmosphere. There's one at Kilkenny Castle that I always feel like I have to dress up to go to. I think Raheny's my favorite, though. That's in Dublin." She let Ginny lead the way, taking a closer look at whatever she wanted to. It gave her a perfect excuse just to watch her, too. Every once in a while, she could feel Ginny's hand squeezing a little harder in excitement or swinging their arms between them.

"These look like your tattoo." Ginny had been wanting to bring it up since the date started. All of it, really. The ring, the bracelet, the tattoo. Every one of them was beautiful. "It's just different wildflowers, right? Are there any specific ones in there?"

"I can't name them," Lia admitted with a grin, turning her arm slightly to look at the ink. "But there's a picture when I was little, maybe about two or three, laying in a whole mess of wildflowers at the farm and pretending to be asleep. It's my favorite picture of me. And I've always loved wildflowers, so it was only fitting."

"Do you have any others?" she asked.

"Guess you'll just have to find out for yourself, won't you?" Lia smirked again.

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that."

Lia let out a soft chuckle. "No, I don't. I wouldn't mind getting more, though. I wanted to get the flowers colored at one point, but when the outline was done, I really loved it. Maybe I'll get it finished one day."

"It's beautiful as it is," Ginny assured her. "I… well, I don't know any girls with tattoos, but it looks really good on you."

A shy blush came over Lia's cheeks as she slid her thumb against Ginny's skin. "Thanks."

They walked for a bit in silence, which Ginny thought might be weird, considering the amount of talking they'd done in the last few hours, but it was comfortable. They didn't need to talk. They'd have plenty of time to talk. Every once in a while, one of them would point out a flower or a rabbit or turtle or a duck, but otherwise they just stayed close, and Lia had to fight herself tooth and nail not to kiss her under the vine arch walkway. Instead, she just committed the mental image to memory of the shadows cast over Ginny's hair and face as she ran her fingers delicately across the stems and over the flowers, trying to reach up and touch the ones at the top. It wasn't until their stomachs started growling that Ginny realized she should head back.

"I'm sure your family wants you home for dinner, yeah? It's nearly six."

"Yeah… Mum's probably worried already." Ginny tilted her head back with a childlike groan. "That means we'll have to Apparate, doesn't it?"

"At least a little," Lia reassured her with a smile. "Then we can Floo back to your house if you'd rather."

"I absolutely would rather. You sure there's no fireplace hidden in the garden somewhere?" Ginny pressed into Lia's side again as she led them off into a more secluded path away from prying eyes.

"Positive. Back to Diagon Alley, then?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really. Just another excuse to get real close to me."

"That's the only plus."

The second time wasn't quite as bad, especially if she kept her eyes shut when they landed. Nevertheless, she let herself hang onto Lia for as long as she could. She hadn't known a day that had gone by as quickly as this one had, and she didn't want to let go. She didn't want to be apart.

It was clear that Mrs. Weasley had been cooking for a while when they appeared in the fireplace at The Burrow, based on the smell filling the small house.

"Oh, that smells so good ," Lia was quick to announce.

"I hope you brought Ginny back with you, Lia!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.

"Safe and sound!" Ginny replied.

"Wait, you're so dirty!" Lia laughed fondly as she took a look at the ashes on Ginny's face and tried to brush them off with her fingers.

"So are you. Always happens with our Floo for some reason. We've tried to clean it, but it never really works. Just adds to the charm, I guess. That's why we have this." Ginny reached over next to the Floo powder for a rag to help clean them off, trying to get Lia's face as clean as possible before she got too preoccupied with staring into her eyes again. Lia had just started on Ginny, and seemed to be taking her time, she noticed, when Mr. Weasley nearly ran up to them.

"Lia! Hi! So glad to finally meet you in person!"

The rag flew from touching Ginny's face as if Lia had practiced pretending like she wasn't cleaning her much gentler than necessary, as if her father would care (or notice, really). "Mr. Weasley! It's great to meet you, too. I hope it's not too late-"

"Not at all! And sorry about the Floo. We really can't seem to get it clean."

"Oh, it's fine! A little soot never hurt anyone, right?"

"I feel like that's our motto around here most days," Mr. Weasley laughed, helping Ginny get cleaned off as much as he could. "Did you two have a good time? The weather was nice, I take it?" he asked as they headed into the kitchen, where George and Percy were sitting at the table playing a card game neither of the girls recognized.

"Oh, it was beautiful," Lia answered. "And Ginny's a natural on a bike. No surprise there, though." George's head snapped up to look at her.

"No way," he muttered, looking back and forth between Lia and Ginny.

Lia just smirked. "Hey."

" This is…" George stopped himself before he said too much. "Unbelievable. Gin, you're…" He sighed, shaking his head with a smile as he went back to the game.

"Well, thank you for taking such good care of her, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "You're more than welcome to stay as long as you like. Dinner, spending the night-"

George suddenly choked on his own spit. Ginny's eyes widened in mortification, but it rolled right off Lia's shoulders.

"Well, I'd love to stay for dinner if Ginny's fine with it, of course, but I've got work early in the morning, so spending the night may have to wait until next time. Thank you, though. I do appreciate the offer."

"Mum, I wanted to show her the chickens," Ginny piped up, "so I think we'll just go out into the garden for a bit if that's okay?"

"Oh, can you feed them while you're out there, please?"

"Yeah! Sure." Ginny had a quick internal debate about how to usher Lia out of the house, which was made worse because everyone was staring at them, but she eventually settled on a hand on the small of Lia's back as they walked out the back door. Ginny grabbed the bucket of feed on the way, and once they were away from the windows (and probably her brother), she let herself reach for Lia's hand again. "Okay, what was that with George? Is there something I need to take the mickey out of him for?"

"Nah," Lia laughed. "I think he had a crush on me for a bit, though. He'd always try to be my study partner in class. That was third or fourth year, though, so I wouldn't tease him about it too much. Just a little, if you want. He was definitely surprised to see me."

"Do you just have a Weasley attraction gene or something?"

Lia quirked an eyebrow. "'Just had to go through the rest of them before I made it to you."

Ginny just blushed, shaking her head fondly. "Well, it's not like you'd want the rest of them anyway. I'm really your only choice."

"No, my plan all along was to get in with a pureblood family, and since all the rest of them are absolute dryshites and you're the best out of the lot, I've really just pretended to be a lesbian this whole time. I'm honestly surprised you've found out the secret so quickly."

"You're sure doing a very convincing job of it with all the innuendos and longing stares you've been giving me today," Ginny teased back as she took Lia through the ward around the chicken coop.

"I have to be committed, don't I? In fact, I might as well keep it up just for consistency. In case anyone asks, you know."

"Uh huh," she smirked. "Well, enjoy the Weasley selection of hens, then."

"Ah, we're back on that? That joke's never gonna get old."

The chicken coop looked to be an old dog house they'd fixed up and warded, nesting boxes and little rooms for them made out of whatever they had: milk crates, cupboards, drawers, scraps of wood. Definitely something that would have never been adequate in the Muggle world, but with all the sticking spells and temperature regulations Lia was sure were on it, it was like a miniature Burrow with just as much charm.

As soon as Ginny shook the small bucket, half a dozen chickens came running out to greet them, clucking excitedly and surrounding Ginny's feet.

"Look at all of them!" Lia squatted down in an attempt to pet one, but it just hopped away, which made her chuckle. "Oh, they're so cute."

"The only one that will really let you hold her is Henrietta."

Lia looked up at her incredulously. "Really? Henrietta? And you were getting onto me for Beans ?"

"Henrietta's a pun! Beans is a food! It's definitely not the same," Ginny laughed, dunking her hand into the bucket and scattering food over the grass. It was immediate which one was Henrietta by the way a large grey hen nearly ran right into Ginny's arms. She took a few moments to pet her lovingly before the chicken noticed someone new, and more hesitantly approached Lia.

"She's all right," Ginny assured one of them, and Lia had a suspicion she was probably talking to the chicken.

"Hi, sweetheart," Lia cooed, reaching a hand out, which after some curious inspection, Henrietta eagerly accepted. "There you go. She's so beautiful! Do you know how old she is?"

"A little over a year. She's rubbish at laying eggs, but she's friendly, so that counts for something."

"Well, she's gotta make up for it somehow," Lia said with a smile, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Most of ours are friendly, but that's because we raised them from chicks and they just got used to being handled."

Ginny's eyes widened. "You raised them?! That must have been amazing! I've always wanted to raise some but it's so hard with being in school and everything when they're that little and Mum and Dad have a lot going on as it is."

"Yeah, it's a lot of work. Mostly my parents were in charge of them. They had plenty of time since that was their job for a bit, and every once in a while I'd get to see the chicks when they were tiny. Never got to see one hatch, though." Henrietta had settled nicely in the space between Lia's legs, watching all the other hens eat without a care about getting her own. "She better not make me miss dinner."

"Oh, she'll sit there all day if you let her."

"And she's so calm, too. You sure she's not an Animagus?"

Ginny visibly tensed up, her eyes flashing in fear before she seemed to shake herself out of it. At Lia's concerned frown, she answered. "That's a really sore subject in our family, to put it lightly. Long story that I'd rather not get into. Probably the worst first date material in existence."

Lia just nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine! You didn't know! But, er, yes, we're sure. She's just a very docile hen, that's all. Like you said, she makes up for the lack of eggs by being adorable."

"Well, she's doing a great job."

They spent a few more minutes with the chickens, and Lia tried to look into the coop, which Ginny said had an extension charm inside it so the hens barely needed to come out unless they were called. They'd set it up due to a problem with foxes a few years ago, Ginny explained, but hadn't had a problem since, especially with the wards set up so nothing could get in except people.

Ginny took Lia to see the pigs, which she was equally as excited about, and then through their garden, which had plenty of vegetables and flowers alike. A small concrete bench sitting under a vine archway caught Lia's eye and Ginny chuckled when she noticed where her attention was. "Best be avoiding that one for the moment."

"Why?"

"A lot of first kisses have happened on that bench."

Lia teasingly pretended to pull Ginny towards it even more enthusiastically, and Ginny had a hard time not following, holding her ground and pulling Lia back into her. She knew that she'd never be able to face her family immediately after a first kiss, though. Especially this one. "Fine. Just for now, though."

"You're very impatient, aren't you?" Ginny smiled.

"When it comes to kissing you? Extremely."

Ginny blushed, but tried to hide it behind a smirk. She'd never blushed this much in her life. "All for the appearance?"

Lia turned Ginny to face her, pushing her hair behind her ear. Ginny's breath hitched at the contact, and all Lia could do was bite her lip as her eyes looked down to Ginny's once again. "You know that was all shite. If you need me to prove I'm really a lesbian, I can think of a couple things-"

"How did I know exactly where to find you two?" George's voice suddenly asked from a couple yards behind Lia. Ginny hadn't even seen him walk up, and she barely heard him now, distracted by the mischief in Lia's eyes and her touch and the way that her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. "Mum was going to come get you, so you're lucky it was me," he joked.

"You didn't interrupt a thing," Lia said without turning around, but Ginny quickly looked down at her feet to get her thoughts back in order.

"Damn. I was hoping I would. I have a few things I need to get her back for."

"Oh, I'd love to hear that." She dropped her hand from Ginny's, walking slowly enough with them back to the house so that the obvious blush in Ginny's cheeks and ears could settle. "So you're not jealous?"

"Jealous? Of what?"

Ginny snickered towards the ground.

"Of her! Considering the crush you had on me, I thought you might have some hard feelings, you know."

"I did not have a crush on you!" He wasn't meeting her eyes, though.

"You just wanted to be my partner in every class and tried to start a multi-house study group, but only invited the Hufflepuffs-"

"You what?! " Ginny laughed.

"Fred was supposed to tell the Ravenclaws!" George attempted.

"We were in class with them literally every day! I think either one of you could have told them at any given point and yet…"

"Fine, you win! Is that what you wanted to hear? Now I know that I had no chance anyway," he admitted with a grin.

"That was so much easier than I thought it would be."

"Told you you had a thing with Weasleys!" Ginny said from her other side. "Or just charm. Probably that too."

"Bet she's drugged us with love potion," George smirked.

"Oh, yeah. It was in the sandwiches at lunch and then I somehow managed to get it to you without even touching you."

" That's why I wanted to be your study partner, because you're brilliant. See?"

Lia rolled her eyes playfully, trying to shove him to the side, but due to their height difference, George barely moved. "You're impossible."

"Get used to it," Ginny chimed in. "He's always impossible."

"I wasn't lying when I said you were the best Weasley."

When George moved to push Lia, she ended up pressed into Ginny again as they all started laughing, and Lia took the opportunity to wrap her arm around the other girl's waist for a second, then dropping it once they got back into the house.

"Do you need any help, Mrs. Weasley?" Lia was quick to offer.

"No, you just go sit down!" she insisted, waving her hand dismissively. "It'll just be a minute anyway."

"She never lets guests help," Ginny explained.

Once they sat down, Mrs. Weasley called in Percy to help get everything together while Lia busied herself with looking around the house from her seat and taking Ginny's hand under the table.

When food was on the table and everyone had started eating, Ginny was a little surprised at how easy Lia seemed to fall into step with everyone. She was eager to answer any question they asked, especially about her family, who she loved to talk about. Both her parents were magical, but her grandparents were Muggles. "And very Catholic," she added with a laugh, "which is a lot of fun on holidays. And my grandmother's one of the people I cherish most in my life, so it's not like I'm not going to tell her there's not really a way to be both , you know? I've never done real magic around her and I just try to have fun at church when I go with her."

"And very Catholic," she added with a laugh, "which is a lot of fun on holidays. And my grandmother's one of the people I cherish most in my life, so it's not like I'm not going to tell her there's not really a way to be both , you know? I've never done real magic around her."

There were a few moments of silence, as if they were all trying to understand. It was Mrs. Weasley that finally asked, "What's Catholic again? That's a Muggle thing, right?"

Lia visibly tried to fight back a laugh. "Ehm, yeah. It's a religion. It's a lot to get into over dinner, but you know one of the reasons that Muggles celebrate Christmas is because they're celebrating the birth of Jesus. Who… honestly, was probably a wizard himself because of all the miracles he did. But since they don't know about magic, it's more about… well…" She paused, trying to figure out how much she wanted to explain. "A lot of people worship him, all of my Muggle family included."

She'd finally let go of Ginny's hand, but not long after, Ginny felt Lia's leg press up against hers as she subtly scooted her chair a little closer.

"You know, I think it's fascinating that you live in the Muggle world and work in the magical," Mr. Weasley began once it was his turn for interrogation, because that's what the conversation had turned into. Not a bad one, but it seemed like everyone in the family was eager to get to know this poor girl Ginny had dragged into their house. She'd have to apologize later - new people hadn't been around since Harry, really.

"It took some adjusting once I graduated, just because I was so used to being surrounded by magic at Hogwarts, but I still use it at home and all that. It's really just out that you've got to worry. But one of my best mates, Claire, started at a Muggle university last year and she was looking for a flatmate so she could live in London. My parents are in London now, too, so it worked out brilliantly, really."

"And what is she studying?" Mrs. Weasley asked, much more interested in the conversation now that it seemed to have taken a turn other than her husband asking her about every Muggle artifact she owned.

"Nursing. It's hard for her sometimes, just knowing she can whip out her wand and fix bones with no problem, but she's amazed with Muggle medicine and how much it's able to do, so she was interested to learn more about it."

"I don't blame her!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. "It's amazing that Muggles have been able to do lots of stuff we can do with spells with just the same efficacy! Actually, that reminds me of this case we had last week…"

When dinner was done, Mrs. Weasley asked Ginny to help her clean up, and Ginny's eyes widened - it was her cue to talk in private. Surely she couldn't know. Surely she wasn't upset. Lia had been perfect. She was perfect. Ginny had to actively think about looking elsewhere during dinner so she wouldn't stare too much. And seeing her with her family, who overwhelmed some people, just made her fall a little harder. They'd spent all day together and Ginny still wasn't ready to be done. Lia ended up getting dragged into George and Percy's card game, and once Mrs. Weasley had charmed everything to start washing, she turned to Ginny, making sure they were out of earshot.

"Don't look so nervous, Ginny," she said with a smile. "I just wanted to see how your day went. Make sure you had a good time and all that."

Ginny's shoulders visibly relaxed. "Yes, I did. She brought lunch and we rode bikes and walked through the Rose Garden. I'll have to take you there one day. It's absolutely gorgeous and the weather was so nice."

"And Lia?"

"She's amazing. Great," she corrected, not wanting to get overly excited. "And it was just really nice doing something new and… happy."

"Well, that's all I care about - that she makes you happy." Ginny fought the urge to laugh. If only she knew. "And I can tell. I like seeing you happy again. She seems like she's got a good head on her shoulders. I haven't seen George smile that much in a long time, either."

"Yeah, he had a crush on her for a couple years, apparently."

"Oh?" Mrs. Weasley peeked around her to see the three of them seated around the coffee table. "Interesting."

"She's into someone else." Ginny interrupted, already knowing what track her mother's mind was on. "We… kind of talked about it. But… yeah, that's…" She hoped her voice didn't give too much away.

"Oh, well. I can't pair off all of my children now, can I?" she joked, but it only made Ginny laugh nervously.

"I'll, uh, I'll keep bringing her around, though. She loved the animals and the garden. She'd probably spend the night if she didn't have to work." Ginny swallowed thickly at the thought of it. She knew Lia would behave herself, of course, but the possibilities would make her nervous. No, not on the first date. She'd never agree to it with a boy, so she didn't need to get too ahead of herself just because Lia was a girl. Plus, if her mom found out…

"There will be plenty more times, I'm sure." Mrs. Weasley grinned. "Maybe she'll get through to Percy - she is very pretty."

"I'd never do that to Lia," Ginny laughed. "I've only known her for a couple days. Don't promise her to anyone in the family yet, okay?"

"All right, all right. I just didn't know if there was anything you couldn't say in front of her."

Oh, there was plenty.

"No. Nothing that I can think of." She cleared her throat softly. "Can I go now?"

"Yes. But if anything changes-"

"I'll let you know," Ginny promised. It had been some kind of unspoken agreement since Ginny started going back to Hogwarts. If she needed anything, all she had to do was ask. No questions. If her friends didn't feel like friends, she could stay at the house, at least until school started. If she needed to leave the house, she could go wherever she wanted. She hadn't been nearly as strict with her as she was in the past, and Ginny had a suspicion that nearly losing her to Bellatrix had done a lot more damage than she was letting on. She tried not to take advantage of it.

"Oh, thank God," Lia muttered when Ginny walked back into the living room and sat down next to her on the floor. "This card game is… I've already forgotten the first rule. How do you keep up with this?"

"Well, I thought you were brilliant," George muttered, earning him a pillow to the face.

"Already ending the night with violence. You'll fit right in." Ginny put a hand on Lia's knee, and Lia looked at her with a genuine smile that made her heart do somersaults again.

"Hey. Back to the game."

"This isn't a game , George! It's -" She glanced up, but none of the adults were paying attention, so she lowered her voice. "It's a load of bollocks, is what it is. None of this makes sense. I can't put down this three if you've put down a purple card, but Percy can throw down an eight because you put down the purple card? What does the number have to do with the color and the shape of these cards? I don't understand! Did you make these?! Why is that one a triangle?!"

"It helps if you've been drinking."

"Only because I think you make up new rules every time you play," she laughed, setting the cards down.

George looked over the cards himself, his brow furrowed. "Aw, now you've got me all confused."

"I keep trying to tell you we can't play with other people and you never listen," Percy sighed, but shot Lia a grin. "Sorry this became such an awful initiation. It's worse when we're all together."

"Nah, it's been great. I've had fun. Up until about now, anyway," she teased.

"Oh, you could have put down this pink one, here," George finally said after turning over Lia's cards. "See, because the triangle means you can put down a color or a number that's any of the last three cards because the triangle's got three sides, and mine's purple, but there's a pink one down there-"

"What does the eight have to do with it?"

"Well, if it's over five, then you can… or is that if it's under a five…?"

Lia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Jesus. Okay, how about you have a few shots, write down all the rules, and then next time I come over, I'll play when I've got them all in front of me and I'll drink with you, yeah?"

"Deal."

Percy just rolled his eyes playfully, setting down his own cards. "I barely know what's going on half the time, so this should be interesting."

"Go get the firewhiskey, Perce."

"No way. It's a Monday!"

"What have you got tomorrow?!"

"Work!"

"Me too," Lia seconded, leaning against the front of the chair. "And if the firewhiskey comes out, I'm not gonna be able to leave."

"I'm sure Gin wouldn't mind that at all, would you?" George said with a wink, and Ginny wanted to sink into the floor. Percy hadn't seemed to realize anything was off - maybe this was normal.

"I haven't cleaned my room in ages , actually," she lied, "so it's definitely not fit for guests at the moment. I wasn't even expecting her to stay for dinner."

"She can sleep in my room," George teased. "It's spotless."

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one," Ginny laughed. "Your room's a disaster. Might as well put her up with the ghoul in the attic."

"You've got a ghoul in your attic?!"

"Yeah, right above Ron's room. If it gets quiet, it likes to bang on the pipes. There's a lot going on at this house. You'll find out quick enough."

"Though it has been weird to be back," Percy said. "I mean, not just because of Fred, but… I don't know. Something else has been off. Tonight was good, though. Fun. I'm glad you came over, Lia."

"Me too."

"Oh, Lia!" Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared in the living room next to them. "Before you go, I meant to ask you - did you bring your cell phone?"

"I did!" Lia had rarely been more grateful for a parent to interrupt a conversation.

She ended up staying for nearly another hour with Mr. Weasley inspecting every inch of her cell phone, trying to figure out how it worked and calling their house with it a few times until he realized that no matter how many times he called or which part of the house he was calling from, the outcome was never any different. Then Pig came flying in through the window with a mouse in his beak and Lia had to stay for a bit longer just to say hi to him, even teaching Ginny a trick about how to get him to hand things over ("It's all about bargaining with most owls, see.") In the end, it was almost dark when she realized how long she'd actually stayed.

"I'll walk you out. I assume you're Apparating from here?" Ginny asked as they headed towards the front door after saying their goodbyes.

"Yeah. It's the easiest. Thanks for hanging out with me for so long. I didn't mean to spend this much time with you, but I'm glad I did."

"Psst," George whispered, sticking his head out of sight from the rest of the family. When they both turned to look at him, he puckered his lips, making kissing noises, and winked. Ginny promptly gave him the middle finger before turning them back out the door.

"Sorry he's such an arse."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Lia grinned.

"I'm glad you spent this much time with me too."

"So a good first date, then?"

Ginny blushed. "Very good. The best one I've been on."

"I… can say the same, honestly. And you're not tired of me yet?"

"Not at all. Couple more hours though and I might have been."

"Ah, so that's why you didn't want me to sleep over."

"Yeah, that's it." Ginny walked them a little farther out from the house, making sure that no one (George) was spying. "I… I actually appreciate that you… er… that you didn't… I mean, that you…"

"I really do have to work tomorrow," she laughed. "But I wouldn't have spent the night even if I wasn't. That's not exactly my thing."

"You mean you don't sleep over at the parents' house of every girl you go on a date with?"

"I did for a bit, but it got kind of old."

Ginny grinned, taking Lia's hand and playing with her fingers. "And I'm sorry I didn't kiss you. Well, kind of sorry."

"There's still time to fix that, isn't there?" Lia smirked.

"But if I kiss you now, what will you have to look forward to?"

"And now we're back to those couple other things I could think of…"

Slowing to a stop, Ginny took a breath, and once they were facing each other, she said, "I'll allow you a kiss on the cheek, if that's acceptable enough for you."

Even in the dark, Lia's eyes lit up as a smile grew on her lips. "I'd be honored. Just keep your head still."

Her hand was on Ginny's jaw again, pulling her close before moving her fingers to the back of her head as if she was going to kiss her properly. Ginny felt her heart in her throat again as the gentlest of touches trailed down her neck and Lia's lips pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. Ginny's eyes fluttered closed of their own accord. After what seemed like minutes, she pulled away. Her hand followed, fingers trailing along Ginny's jaw and under her chin.

"Did you feel that, too?" Lia asked, and Ginny knew she was talking about the swarm of butterflies that had erupted in her stomach and chest. She nodded. "Good. Anyway, I guess I better get going. I've got an extra shift this week, but maybe we can make a point to see each other again soon?"

Ginny nodded quickly. "Yes. Yeah. I'll, er, I'll call you. Not tomorrow, since you're working. Or tomorrow night, maybe."

"Okay! Yeah. I'll… I'll talk to you tomorrow." Lia squeezed her hand one last time. "Bye, Ginny."

"Bye, Lia."

As soon as Lia was gone, the quiet of the summer night settled in around her, like the world had just come back into focus again. Ginny blinked a couple times, reaching up to the spot on her cheek Lia had kissed, and she couldn't help but bite back a smile. She knew she had a tendency to fall fast - hell, she nearly fell for Harry after saying two words to him. But this was something new entirely, in more ways than one. After having spent so much time with her, being without her was like someone had turned off the lights, or closed the blinds.

She was still smiling as she walked back into the house and straight to her room, sitting down on the bed. She didn't really want to face her family in this state of giddy confusion. There was going to be no privacy, though, as George followed, leaning against the door frame.

"She's absolutely smitten with you, Gin. Does she always look at you like that?"

"Yeah. She's… not shy."

"And you're in love after the first date."

"Am not!" Ginny argued. "She just makes everything feel like things were before, you know?"

"Yeah. Percy was right for once." They shared a laugh before George crossed his arms. "Did she kiss you?"

"No. I mean, she kissed me on the cheek, but I'm nervous about anything else," she admitted, picking at a thread on her blanket.

"Why's that? 'Cause she's a girl?"

"Partially. Though that's mattering less the more I spend time with her. But just the way she looks at me like she thinks I'm the sexiest thing on the planet or something. She said I couldn't disappoint her, but I feel like she's got all these expectations of past relationships and-"

"Ginny, I'm going to stop you right there, all right?" George moved to sit down next to her. "I know Lia. Not well , admittedly, but I spent enough time with her that I know that she's confident and forward and she knows what she wants, but she's also understanding and she's patient as long as she knows you're trying. I mean, she's probably the biggest Hufflepuff I've ever met. She's not going to want you to be uncomfortable, but she's going to make sure you know what it is she's looking for from you. Not expecting , necessarily, but no, she's not shy. She doesn't expect anything from anybody except for them to be honest with themselves."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You sure you don't still have a crush on her?"

"Look, do you want my advice or not?" When Ginny fell silent, though still with a smile on her face, he continued. "Just be yourself and you won't disappoint her. She likes you , Gin. Not who she thinks you are."

"She just wants to snog the hell out of me."

"Aaand that's my cue to leave." He stood from the bed, then turned back to her. "You understand what I'm saying, though, right? I really just want you to be happy, and I'm grateful you've found someone that does."

Ginny nodded, feeling tears prickle behind her eyes, afraid that if she said anything, she'd start crying. Eventually, after George left, she got herself ready for bed and headed back downstairs to say goodnight to her family, telling them she was exhausted from such a long day and wanted to get to sleep early. Which was partially true - she was exhausted. But she also didn't want to answer any more questions about Lia. Not when she felt like she was still trying to sort out her own insecurities.

It took her a long time to fall asleep, but that was the first night she dreamed about kissing her.