Ginny awoke as her face hit the surface of the water. She was completely disorientated and not sure where she was for a few seconds. Then she remembered when she saw the stands and thousands of people facing her! She was in the Black Lake and…Harry?! She looked around frantically for Harry, trying to find any sight of him. Fleur's sister was struggling through the water beside her, so Ginny took her arm and pulled her to the stands. Where was Harry?
Suddenly, a bolt of light erupted from beneath them and a figure landed smack bang onto the stands. He had messy, wet hair and Ginny sighed in utter relief! Ginny and Gabrielle were about a third of the way to the stands, and Hermione was covering Harry in layers of towels. Finally, they got there and were pulled up by Madame Pomfrey and Ron pulled up Gabrielle. Ginny rushed over to Harry and nearly knocked him to the ground with a hug so forceful that even Buckbeak would have fallen over. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'm so proud of you! How…?" She fumbled for words as Hermione attacked her with thick layers of towels.
It was only then that Ginny realized Cedric watching her intensely. She felt like rolling her eyes. 'What? Am I not allowed to kiss my best friend?' she thought to herself irritably. Besides, why should he care? Cho was holding on to him so Ginny diverted her attention back to Harry who was saying, "I finished last, Gin." Hermione shook her head and beamed at him, "Next to last. Fleur never got passed zee grindylow's." Ginny couldn't help but giggle at Hermione's pseudo French accent. Fleur walked up to Harry with a shocked expression on her face and got down and whispered, "You, saved her even zo she wasn't yours to save! Thank you!" She kissed him on both cheeks and Ginny couldn't help but feel miffed. Then Fleur praised Ron for helping Gabrielle up and kissed him too.
Ginny took a hold of Harry's wet hand in her own and Professor Dumbledore amplified his voice with his wand and yelled, "ATTENTION! The winner is, Mr Diggory." Ginny turned to see Cho kissing Cedric on his cheek, but he was paying more attention to his friends who were high fiving him. Professor Dumbledore continued, "Our sources tell us that Mr Potter would have finished first, had he not only attempted to rescue Miss Ginny Weasley but Miss Granger and the others too, I award him second place!" Ginny's eyes widened in relief and she felt Harry squeeze her hand tightly. She turned to look at him and she could see her relief echoed in his eyes. It made her heart soar. They were handed robes by Madame Pomfrey and they eagerly wrapped themselves in one each.
Then they all headed back to the castle in the boats the first years used, but they had been elongated to fit six. Ginny sat beside Harry and asked, "So how did you manage it?" The twins, Ron and Hermione shared a boat and they all listened intently, "It was thanks to Neville, actually. He don't me about gillyweed, which is literally like seaweed and if you eat it, it gives you fish-like scales for breathing underwater." Hermione frowned and asked, "And how did you get this…gillyweed?" Harry chuckled and replied, "We Accio'd some from Snape's supplies." Hermione seemed to dislike the idea initially but the twins howled with laughter and this caused her to smile.
When they reached the ground, Ginny hopped off in her warm bath robe and Harry followed her. However, Barty Crouch intercepted them and said, "Mr Potter! Mind if I have a word?" Harry looked at them and Ginny nodded, "We will meet you in the common room, Harry! Fred and George are saying we're celebrating tonight!" Harry nodded before turning back to Crouch.
Hermione whispered in her ear, "I wonder what he wants to talk about?" Ginny bit her lip and replied, "I really hope he's not trying to convert Harry to join the ministry. Dad says they've tried to do that before." Hermione nodded in acknowledgement and whispered, "Harry isn't stupid enough to take him up on that offer, don't worry. He knows he needs to finish his education first." Ginny nodded, "I know. I have a lot of faith in him." Her friend grinned at that, "You seem to have a hell of a lot of faith in Harry. You've kissed him twice in two days now!" Ginny nearly choked as they started up the stairs to the castle, "So? You've been keeping track?" Hermione giggled and she shrugged, "I care deeply for him, as a friend." Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically and retorted, "Oh please! That whole 'friend' act is see-through to anyone who knows you at all."
Ginny quickly turned to see Ron in deep conversation with the twins. Thank goodness he hadn't been listening! Ginny sighed and replied, "Hermione, I promise you when I feel something more, you'll be the first to know." The elder girl nodded but otherwise had a know-it-all smirk spread over her face. That's when she heard someone calling her name.
Ginny turned to see Cedric running towards her, also in a grey, fluffy robes. He looked serious and Ginny frowned as Hermione stopped walking. Cedric reached them and huffed, "Hey guys. Gin, can I speak with you please?" Ginny nodded and she said to Hermione, "I'll be right up." Hermione nodded and said, "Well done Cedric! I can't believe I never thought of the Bubblehead charm!" He chuckled and replied, "Thank you. I can't take the full credit though. Cho taught it to me." Hermione nodded as she continued up the stairs.
Cedric pulled Ginny aside so that they didn't block the entire path. They were almost in the forest when Cedric sighed, "I saw you kissing Harry, earlier. I thought you guys were just friends?" Ginny rolled her eyes. She should have seen this coming so she grumbled, "Hermione is Harry's friend and she kissed him on the head. Nobody questions her about it." He sighed and replied, "Look Gin, I know I haven't really been a good friend to you. It's just so hard with Cho being there all the time. I told her I want to break up but she went into a blue-eyed fit."
Ginny had to say she hadn't seen that one coming. She sighed and whispered, "So? Ced, I really don't know what you want from me. I think its best you decide what you want and then we can go from there." He grinned at her his smile that sent her heart pounding and he replied, "I know I like you, Ginny. I like you a lot. I keep thinking about our kiss and it's all I've been able to think about. When I saw you with Michael the other night, I was jealous. When I saw you with Harry earlier, I felt intensely jealous. I've never felt that jealous before. I would like it very much if we could start over, please?" Ginny frowned and crossed her arms, "What do you mean by start over?" He smiled kindly and replied, "Just be friends. For now? I know I haven't been a great friend. I just…can't really end things with Cho at this point because she has a lot of family issues going on right now. It wouldn't really be fair to her." Ginny sighed and thought to herself, 'It's not really fair to me, either."
However, she nodded and held out her hand, "Alright. Friends?" He took her hand in his and grinned, "Friends. Thank you for forgiving me." Ginny smiled as they began walking up to the castle together, "There was nothing to forgive." He grinned and she felt her heart flutter in her chest.
Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Might be able to get another one up today, too and then I have a long weekend ahead so lots to come! Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing! It's motivation and it makes my day