Hi guys!

So, before we start, this chapter takes place before the Christmas holidays and the Greek Week. Now you'll read what Ginny -and Harry- were doing and how they ended up together in the Ball.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Just this fanfiction.

GINNY

Her body moved to the beat of the loud music that flooded the disco her and two other girlfriends were visiting that night. It was a Thursday night and she would have classes early Friday morning, but she didn't really care. Ginny continued dancing for a long time and with no one in particular, noticing how the men watched her move while she smiled and flirted with some of them.

But then the music suddenly changed and a soft, romantic melody flooded the place. She stood stunned for a while, but then looked around for her friends and saw them dancing with their boyfriends. Ginny couldn't help but think about what it would be like to be hugging Harry at that moment, dancing together. That mental image hit her and tears welled up in her eyes. She left the dance floor heading for the toilets, which were thankfully deserted.

The girl looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her black dress and high heels that made her look even more stylish. Her dark makeup was still intact and her straight hair draped down her back. She looked like an angel, a sad angel. "Am I not pretty enough?" she thought as she continued to watch herself and remember that Harry insisted on avoiding and rejecting her when she tried to get closer.

"Enough is enough" she told herself decisively as she fixed her hair and left the sinks. She didn't want to be in the disco anymore so she left the crowded place and lit a cigarette while walking through the silent streets.

Ginny kept her promise and didn't look for Harry nor force meetings between them.

She had decided to leave him alone although that didn't mean that she wasn't thinking about him. Quite the opposite. Now that she wasn't busy thinking about how to approach Harry, her mind was free to create scenarios about them being together.

"Is this what Hermione feels when she thinks about Draco?" she wondered one night, watching the brunette working on her homework. Ginny would have wanted to talk to her but their relationship wasn't in the best moment, especially since Hermione continued to going out with Harry, which Ginny had considered a personal betrayal.

September and October passed like a blurred for Ginny, who tried to entertain herself as much as she could with her sorority sisters and other friends.

Returning from shopping one November afternoon, she decided to stop at a Starbucks for a hot drink, so she left the bags in her car and entered the store. When Ginny was leaving the place she received a text message from Angelina. She walked with the drink in one hand while trying to respond with the other, but distracted as she was she didn't notice that someone was coming in front of her, and she bumped into a man. The man turned out to be her psychology teacher, and Ginny spilled the contents of her drink on his clothes and papers.

"Oh God," she said covering her mouth with the hands.

"Miss Weasley, why I'm not surprised it's you," the professor glared at her while trying to clean his clothes.

Ginny took some tissues out of her bag and handed them over. The professor cleaned himself as best he could, "I'm sorry professor Slughorn. Truth is I didn't realize where I was walking", she made a sweet and sorry face, "I hope I have not damaged anything important".

"Actually you damaged the results of a very important study I'm working with the other psychology students, that the Dean was supposed to read this afternoon. And now they're ruined." She didn't know what to say. She hoped she could get rid of this matter quickly, but apparently the professor was not going to be so forgiving, "Miss Weasley," he continued, "You have missed my last four classes and have not yet presented updated on your project," he looked at her again severely, "I don't usually meddle with how my students manage their academic life but I must warn you that it is almost certain that you will fail if you continue with this attitude," Ginny looked at him without reflecting any emotion, "But you know Miss Weasley? I may consider giving you an opportunity on my class if you help me with something"

"With what exactly?" She looked at him suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"With your participation in this study," he pointed to his ruined papers, "You meet the profile that we seek in some of the study subjects. If you agree to participate I will give you a second chance to catch up on the course and present your project, which I remind you, represents 50% of the final grade."

Ginny felt angry. Participate in a ridiculous investigation just to get a second chance? The man should at least exonerate her from the course. The redhead was tempted to tell the professor all that but held back, not exactly in a position to negotiate with him.

Also, if she failed a class again, her father would definitely cut off her credit cards. The girl rolled her eyes and decided to accept, "What do I have to do?" She asked

Ginny got into her car after the professor finished explaining everything related to that ridiculous study. "Behavior Research". Ginny cursed her luck as she drove, thinking how boring it would be to spend sixty hours locked in a room.

And the worst thing is that it started on a Friday afternoon.

Friday came amazingly fast and suddenly Ginny was closing the bag in which she had placed essentials things to survive the weekend. After one last look in the mirror, she wondered if she was wearing the right outfit. "Use something comfortable" Professor Slughorn had told her. "Well, this is comfortable for me," she thought as she arranged her animal print dress that ended in a black lace skirt that reached a few fingers above the knee. Ginny grabbed the bag and left her room.

Ginny drove to the psychology building and it took her a moment to find the correct classroom where she would meet the professor. The place was occupied by many students, women and men and all from different ages, but they all noticed her when she arrived. She sat down without paying much attention to them and waited for someone to tell her what to do. Shortly after a young man wearing a green uniform called the students in groups of three and four until the room was almost empty.

At that moment Professor Slughorn arrived. The old man told Ginny that she should have worn something sporty, and then led her down a corridor to the laboratories, where she would take part on the study. The professor approached a pale boy with sandy hair who was writing something down in a notebook and they exchanged a few words.

"Seamus, I want you to meet Ginny Weasley, the girl I talked you about," the pale boy stretched her hand. Ginny smirked at him.

"Hello Ginny, we're about to start. Are you ready?" He asked kindly and smiling.

"And very excited," she replied sarcastically.

He seemed not to notice, "Come on then," Seamus pointed a white door in front of them, "This is the room"

Ginny walked behind him and into the room, which was quite basic and had a sofa, a TV, a table and two chairs. There was already someone sitting in one of the chairs. Harry Potter.

"Harry, this is Ginny Weasley, she'll be your partner in this study," Seamus introduced, apparently unaware of the increasing tension between Harry and the redhead. The two of them were looking intently at each other, amazed and uncomfortable.

"Eh Seamus, can I talk to you for an instant?" Harry stood up and approached him.

"Sure," Seamus answered. They both left the room.

Ginny flopped down on the sofa and tossed her things aside. She wasn't stupid. It didn't take much to know that Harry was surely asking Seamus to assign him another partner. "Not even now, after months, he can bear to be near to me" she thought as she played with her necklace.

Seamus and Harry returned a few minutes later and Harry sat back in the chair, annoyed. Seamus cleared his throat and gave them instructions on what to do. He wished them luck, thanked them and left them alone.

"Just so you know," she said when the silence in the room began to bother her, "This time I had nothing to do with us meeting here".

He turned to see her and nodde, "I know".

"You've already made it clear to me that you don't want to see me," she added in a low voice.

But apparently Harry heard her, because his expression changed and his face reflected something that Ginny couldn't interpret.

After that brief exchange neither of them said anything else and the room continued in silence until Seamus began projecting images to them on the television and they had to answer whatever came to mind. After many hours of psychological tests, they were allowed to eat. It was around midnight or so Ginny thought, since they did not let them know what time it was.

They ate the food Seamus brought them in silence, and then the tests continued. They were only allowed to go to the toilet when it was very necessary and for a few minutes.

Those were really weird hours in which Ginny had to imagine how she would act in different situations, as well as filling out questionnaires with personal questions that she usually didn't like to think about.

In the end she was exhausted but felt strangely pleased because after several hours, Harry seemed calmer and less aggressive towards her, although perhaps it was just exhaustion. Anyway, Ginny was very happy to have been with him and to have been able to observe him from time to time.

But by the time the study ended, Ginny was on the brink of collapse. She hadn't eaten anything else after the first meal Seamus brought them, as the next one he brought had nuts and she was allergic. Seamus apologized for it but they couldn't bring anything else and she had to settle with a soda.

When Ginny left the psychology building she barely had the strength to carry her bag. She couldn't really walk properly in the heels she'd decided to wear on Friday. She gathered all her strength to walk as she had to get to her car, but she continued to stagger from how weak she was. And there wasn't even anyone around because the other students had gone hours ago and Seamus and the professor were still in the classrooms. And she couldn't count with Harry because he had left as soon as Seamus had indicated that he could leave.

Ginny stopped to calm herself as she was on the verge of tears, took a couple of breaths and continued walking slowly, but the street was made of stone and she suddenly lost her balance violently.

She closed her eyes waiting for the blow but strong arms supported her and helped her to stand up, "Are you ok?" Ginny didn't have to open her eyes to recognize that voice, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she responded, "Thanks"

"Is someone picking you up?" He asked removing his arms from her waist, but still firmly holding her arm.

"No, I came alone. My car is right there", she pointed.

He shook his head, "You're too weak to drive".

"I'm fine," she replied and tried to walk again, but she was barely able to do it.

"Let me help you," he took her arm again.

"Acting like a gentleman now?" She said without thinking.

Harry stiffened beside her and tilted his head. Ginny scolded herself inwardly, "I'm sorry," she added, "I'm talking nonsense. It's the fatigue and hunger".

He watched her for a while and then sighed, took off his jacket and wrapped it around Ginny's shoulders, for the morning was cold and she had been shivering, but she hadn't realized it until he covered her with the garment. "There's a cafeteria nearby," he started, sounding a bit uncomfortable, "We could go and get something to eat. Especially you. You need it."

"Sounds good," she smiled helplessly.

"Fine," he cleared his throat and put his arm around her shoulders to help her walk.

As he had said the cafeteria was quite close. There were very few people in the place and when they sat down at one of the tables, Ginny saw on the place clock that it was barely six in the morning, "We're lucky this place is open," she said trying to start a conversation.

"It's open 24/7", he replied.

The waitress, a blond and cheerful middle age woman, approached then with a menu. Ginny ordered hotcakes and a glass of milk, making Harry smile. The girl thought that it was probably the first honest smiled he had given her. Harry ordered the same as Ginny, "What's so funny?" She wanted to know.

"Your order. A glass of milk," he smiled again, "You don't seem like someone who would order hotcakes and milk".

"It's what I usually eat when I'm really hungry", she answered, also smiling.

Harry didn't reply and began to fidgeting the napkin holder on the table, eventually giving Ginny short glances, "So, how exactly you ended up participating in the study?" He asked,

"It was kind of blackmail really. Professor Slughorn agreed to give me a second chance with a class project if I accepted to participate in the study," she explained, "What about you?"

"Seamus is my roommate. He talked me into it".

"He seemed cool," Ginny didn't really believe it but it seemed right to say so.

"He is"

The blonde woman returned with their orders. Ginny focused her attention on devouring her food, as she was really hungry. About half an hour and an extra pancakes order, she felt full and with much more strength. She excused herself with Harry to go to the restroom and gasped in amazement at her reflection. She looked pale, with dark circles under her hazel eyes and no makeup. Her hair was unkempt and seemed lifeless. Ginny clicked her tongue and tried to fix herself as best she could. She was still wearing Harry's jacket, his musk and tobacco scent filling the tiny room. She smiled and went back to him.

"You look much more recovered," he said, nodding.

"I am, thank you," she said, "For helping me on the street and for bringing me here. Thanks Harry."

"It's fine," he replied shrugging, "Shall we go?" Ginny nodded.

Harry paid the bill, helped her with the bag and walked her to her car. He put the bag in the back seat and turned to her.

"Your car is also here?" She asked.

"No, I walked here".

"You want a lift? It's the least I can do," she added.

"It's fine, I prefer to walk".

"You sure?" She was trying to spend more time with him.

"I am," he answered but smiled, "Goodbye Ginny".

"Goodbye Harry," she said, waving her hand before getting into the car.

Ginny drove slowly until she reached the house, went into her room and left her bag. It was already close to eight in the morning, so Hermione had gone to her first class of the week.

The redhead decided to take a bath and that's when she realized she still had Harry's jacket with her. She smiled holding it in her hands and put it in her closet, then went up to the toilet and relaxed for a long time feeling the hot water running down her body. She dried her hair, put on warm pajamas, and went to sleep. Ginny slept well into the afternoon, got up to eat and then went back to sleep until the next day.

On Friday afternoon Ginny took Harry's jacket - which had arrived a couple of days ago from the dry cleaner- from her closet and carefully tucked it into a bag. She had delayed returning the jacket for a couple of days, partly because she was a little afraid of Harry's reaction, and partly because she liked having something of his around. Especially something that reminded her of the sweetest moment she had ever spent with him.

Ginny buttoned up her pink coat, carefully slipped on her knitted black beanie and took her purse and the bag. She drove to the building where Harry lived and parked the car, taking a deep breath of encouragement and applying lip gloss before getting out of the car.

There were just a couple of students inside the building, but Ginny didn't need to ask about Harry's room, for she knew the number of the room. She waited a long time for the elevator until the janitor showed up and told her that it was broken. So she had to go up the stairs to the third floor and by the time she reached the door of Harry's room, she was gasping.

Ginny took a deep breath and tapped the door gently. A few moments later Harry opened it. "At least he doesn't seem upset" she thought as she watched his reaction, "Hi Harry," she started and handed him the bag, "I came to return this to you. It's your jacket".

"Oh right… thanks Ginny", he said grabbing the bag.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to return your jacket, but I've been really busy this days with college and the sorority".

"No problem, it's ok".

She wanted to say something else to try at least that things were not so awkward between them but nothing came to mind. Ginny looked down, sighing, and noticed that Harry was holding knitting needles. He noticed Ginny watching him and cleared his throat, "I'm working in this… project but knitting is not my strong suit"

She quickly replied, "I could help you, I'm good at knitting".

"I don't think its necessary Ginny," he looked away and licked his lips in a sexy gesture even though his voice sounded harsh.

"I would like to be able to reward you for helping me on Monday", she explained, "That's it".

He must have heard something in her voice because he turned to her. He watched her for a few seconds and finally fully opened the door to his room, "Come in then," he stepped aside and she entered observing everything around her, "But I warn you that this will not be easy"

Ginny wondered inwardly if was talking about his project or about spending the afternoon with him in the same room. But she just turned to him and smiled., "What do I have to do?"

"Here," he pointed a box full of wool, "I'm trying to knit a scarf".

"Scarf, good," she sat on one of the beds.

Ginny grabbed what appeared to be a misshapen red garment, "Like I said knitting is not my thing," he blushed.

"It's not that complicated", she smiled and started correcting what Harry had been doing wrong.

He frowned and sat beside her, watching her knitting. After a while and a brief explanation from Ginny, he seemed to get the hang of it.

"How can you be so good at this?" He asked her.

"My mom taught me when I was a kid and it's also a useful skill to have if you live in a sorority", she laughed and started working on her second scarf. A blue one.

"The sorority, right. I think Hermione mentioned something about that," he smiled.

Hermione. Of course he had to mention her. Ginny hid her anger with another smile, "What's all this for by the way?" She pointed the scarves, trying not to talk about the brunette.

"To help families affected by a gas explosion a few weeks ago. We, a group of friends and me, are bringing food, clothes and other things to the place they're staying until their relocated. My friend Luna thought that it would be a nice touch if we knitted our own scarves," he shrugged.

"That's so nice," she said sounding far more excited that she really felt, "Could I go with you guys to visit these families?"

Harry looked at her surprised by her question, as if expecting Ginny to say it was a joke, but she didn't hesitate for a moment and held his green gaze, "Seriously?" He still sounded surprised.

"Of course, why not?" She agreed

"I just didn't think it was the kind of thing you would do"

"I love being able to help people whenever I can Harry," she said softly and he seemed to be convinced, "So could I go with you?"

"I guess it wouldn't be a problem," he answered after considering, "Beside we usually need more people to help with all the things we do".

"You can count with me," she smiled again, pretending to be thrilled at the idea.

It took them all afternoon and part of the night to knit the necessary amount of scarves, but they managed to finish by the time Luna arrived to collect them. "Thanks for helping me with this Ginny," he said when they finished loading the boxes to Luna's van, "I don't think I could have done it without you".

She smiled sweetly at him, "No problem Harry. I'm happy to help".

Harry seemed to hesitate before asking, "Will you come tomorrow then?"

"Of course," she nodded vehemently, "Where are we meeting?"

"Here. Seven o'clock in the morning," he explained.

"See you tomorrow Harry Potter".

Ginny smiled at him, got into her car and went back to the house.

Heading straight to her room she put on her pajamas and lay down on her bed. She was so excited at the prospect of the next day that she couldn't sleep, and was moving all over the bed. But at some point she must have succeeded because she didn't feel Hermione entering the room, and suddenly her phone alarm was ringing.

She was on her feet instantly, took a quick bath, and started to get ready. Ginny was determined that Harry had no reason to be upset with her so she put on black sweatpants, a shirt, and a jacket that matched her outfit. She knotted her slippers, feeling grateful for being tall -as she didn't like to appear short and wide- and arranged her hair in a ponytail. She applied very little makeup and slung a small backpack with toiletries around her shoulders.

Ginny made her way to Harry's building where she saw Luna's van parked. She parked the convertible and went up to Harry's room. They found themselves descending the stairs and after greeting each other, went outside again. Harry introduced her to the group: Susan, Viktor, Tracey, Justin, and Luna. Ginny greeted them all being extremely friendly and then they got into the van.

She wanted to sit next to Harry but preferred not to force things and had to put up with Susan and Tracey. The girls asked her questions the entire time it took them to arrive to the place of the fire.

When they arrived, they contacted the community leader and began unloading everything they had brought. It was a tedious job but Ginny didn't complain at all, but collaborated as much as she could. When everything was ready the people began to gather and they distributed provisions, food, clothes and blankets for the winter that they already had before them.

Although she had gone to that place to win Harry's favor, after a while Ginny began to feel really sorry for those families. She had never lacked anything, she had grown up with the best of everything, and although she knew that some people didn't have financial resources, she had never been so directly in contact with them. But these persons had lost everything. It was shocking to go through the remains of the houses, and especially to see the children in second-hand clothes, playing among the ashes.

There was a moment after lunch, when two little girls came up to her and she knelt down to talk to them. At that time Ginny didn't mind dirtying her pants with the mud from the street due to the melting snow, but instead tried to cheer up the girls while telling them stories.

By the end of the day Ginny was exhausted but felt very good with herself. She climbed into the van and resting her head between the seat and the window, she fell instantly asleep, until soft hands moved her arm. Ginny opened her eyes slowly and bumped into Harry, who was staring at her, "We're on campus again", he said smiling.

"Oh wow," she sat feeling ashamed, "I slept the entire ride," she yawned.

"You seemed really tired", he helped her to go out the van, "It's normal considering you helped a lot today. Thank you Ginny".

"It was my pleasure", she said, this time it was partly true.

"Maybe you can help us with the next visit," it was Luna's suggestion, "We're going to an orphanage".

Ginny was loving the idea to spent more time with Harry, "I would like that. When are you guys going?"

"In a couple of weeks," Luna said. She was going to add something else but her phone started ringing, "Hey Harry, can you give her the specifics? My father is calling again".

"Sure, goodnight Luna. Thanks".

She got in the van and drove away. Harry turned to Ginny, "Are you really going to help us again?" He asked.

"Only if you're ok with that", she responded.

"It's just that this attitude change of yours takes me by surprise" he crossed his arms but didn't sound aggressive.

"I wouldn't call it an attitude change Harry," she looked at him, "You just don't know me very well"

He fixed his glasses and sighed, "You might be right," Harry accepted, "So about the next visit…"

Harry explained everything about the visit to Ginny, and she was feeling more and more encouraged by how things were developing.

She never thought she would say it but she was really glad she spilled the coffee on Professor Slughorn that afternoon. The old man had given her an excuse to get close to Harry and she would not miss it. This time she would do whatever it took to actually have a chance with Harry.

A/N: So thoughts about this? I would like to read your opinions. Coments are food for a writer soul ;) Thank you so much!