It was several days after the match and it seemed as though all people could talk about were Harry and Ginny's relationship. Although Ron and Lavender seemed to be all over each other, they weren't the topic of conversation. It was the Thursday after the match and Ginny had been sitting at lunch when she had heard Romilda gossiping about her relationship with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Those three refused to believe that they were together, or refused to accept it, but either way Ginny found it particularly frustrating! And particularly sad.

Harry came to her the evening before Slughorn's Christmas party and slumped down next to her at the Gryffindor table during supper and exclaimed, "Sorry I'm so late! Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee were trying to chat me up!" He kissed her on the cheek and she couldn't help but blush. She still wasn't used to him doing that in public. Hermione rolled her eyes, "You think they would take the hint and find their own boyfriends…not someone else's." Ron was still cold shouldering Hermione. Harry had told Ginny that he had found Hermione crying in a room close to the Gryffindor common room. He'd also said that she'd been crying specifically about Ron. Now she refused to acknowledge that he even existed.

Ginny asked, "Who are you taking to the party, Hermione?" over a bowl of mushroom soup and bread sticks. Hermione shrugged, "I only asked him to upset Ron. Apparently, he showed some interest in me according to Harry, at the previous dinner." Ginny raised her eyebrows, "That's not answering the question…" Hermione groaned and whispered, "Cormac McLaggen!" Ginny gasped and then turned it into a giggle. She glanced sideways at Harry, smirking, and Harry grinned too. He shook his head and said jokingly, "Honestly, Hermione your taste in men is appalling!" Ginny laughed so hard that her stomach ached and she leant her head against Harry's shoulder. He was also still chuckling.

Hermione shot them an annoyed look, because McLaggen himself had just walked into the hall and he had winked at Hermione. She was doing everything possible to avoid his gaze. Ron, who was sitting a few seats away from them, noticed this and turned his back to them. Lavender was busy feeding him breadsticks and it looked so awkward.

Ginny rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "So it will be a fun time on a double date. You, me, Harry and McLaggen!" Harry smirked and replied, "Fun times, alright!" Hermione shrugged, "Apparently, Luna has been invited because her father is the editor of The Quibbler. So we will have someone else to talk to!" Ginny sighed in relief, "Good! Because I don't intend to spend an evening being chastised by McLaggen on my Quidditch skills. The only person who you could have chosen worse than him is Smith!"

Hermione grimaced, "I know, which was why I didn't choose Smith." They finished their meals quickly and then they went to go and spend the rest of the evening writing essays, and studying, much to their happiness and joy.

The next evening was Slughorn's Christmas party. Ginny read the letter she had received again, to make certain of the dress code. The letter read:

Dear Miss Weasley

I would like you to attend my Christmas party, being held on the 20th December. I would much appreciate your attendance and please bring a significant other (I'm sure in your case it will be Mr Harry Potter!)

Ginny paused while re-reading this. Slughorn had been particularly fond of the idea of herself and Harry as an item. Almost too fond for her liking. He'd been overly enthusiastic upon hearing the news-saying how much they reminded him of James and Lily. Ginny didn't know how she felt about this. She knew that Harry was often compared to James-except for his eyes. He had Lily's eyes. It was possibly the most common thing Harry heard in his life. She didn't want to be seen as James and Lily either. She wanted to be seen as Harry and Ginny, no matter how much she yearned to meet Harry's parents-and never could. She continued to read the letter:

Please dress formally and I look forward to hopefully seeing you on the day. Please reply A.S.A.P

Kind Regards

Professor Slughorn

P.S: Have a very, merry Christmas.

Ginny turned to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a red cocktail dress, which showed a great deal of her back, but covered a lot of her front. Her whole chest area was concealed in the red fabric, but the fabric turned to lace in the back which had a big, oval shape in it, exposing her skin. The bottom of the dress puffed out, maybe a little ballerina-ish for her liking, but it wasn't excessive which was nice. Hermione had insisted that she borrow her dress robe and Ginny actually found herself turning in the mirror. She didn't look like herself at all. She'd also borrowed a pair of Hermione's black high heels, which were rather painful and causing her feet to ache already.
Hermione grinned at her, "Beautiful!" she said, "Harry won't be able to take his eyes off you." She felt herself blush beneath the make-up as she glanced at herself in the mirror, "I hope you're right," she whispered. She was wearing base (a lot of it, much more than she was used to at any rate), brown eye-shadow (which Hermione had conjured into a smokey-eyed look with her wand) and she had bright red lipstick on. She felt more girly-fied than she ever had in her life. Hermione grinned in pride, "You will. You look like a model!"

Ginny turned to Hermione, "You're not bad yourself!" She said with a grin, "It's almost as if you're trying to impress Cormac or something!" Hermione rolled her brown eyes, "Oh haha. Hilarious." Hermione wore a fairly plain beige dress which was nothing in comparison to what she wore to the Yule Ball, but it was still pretty in its own, simple way.
They walked down the stairs because it was time to go. Harry was waiting for her in the common room, wearing a smart tux, and Hermione had told McLaggen that she would meet him at the party. When she walked downstairs, she felt so embarrassed, because everyone else was in their school uniforms, and here she was in a bright red dress which stood out magnificently from the crowd. However, when Neville prodded Harry on the couch, he turned around, stood up, and stared at her perplexedly.

Ginny felt her stomach turning, as only Harry could make her feel that way, and she walked towards him timidly. He walked towards her, kissed her cheek and grinned, "You know, everyone is staring at you." Ginny nodded and blushed, "Yeah, so let's get out of here." He chuckled and pulled her towards the portrait hole.
She felt his hand dip to her back, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist and they walked like that the whole way. He grinned at her and said, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world. You don't know how beautiful you are." Ginny shook her head and paused on the way as she groaned, "I'm the lucky one. My dream came true. I got you." He grinned and leaned in to kiss her. Nobody was around and so she let him. Finally, she had to pull away as she sighed, "Harry, if we don't stopped now, we won't get to the party in time." He grinned, "I don't want to go to that stupid party anyway." Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes, "Neither do I, but we've got to. You'll never hear the end of it from Slughorn. It's bad enough that we're late."

Harry grimaced, "Fine, you win." She looped her arm in his and they carried on down to the dungeons, which was in actual fact, probably about the worst place to have a party because it was so cold. Ginny hadn't thought about that as she shivered. Harry said immediately when they arrived, "Do you need my coat?" She shook her head, "Nope. I need to look good for at least one photograph." He rolled his eyes and murmured, "Typical girl." She winked at him and kissed his cheek outside the entrance, "I will take you up on the offer as soon as we have our picture, I promise."

They walked inside, and the room was entirely different to the potions classroom she was so used to. There were silk hangings covering the walls, and the desks were gone. In the empty space stood about two hundred people, several waiters and a photobooth on the far right hand side. Ginny took hold of Harry's arm and pulled him towards the photographer. She didn't know who he was, but he recognized Harry immediately, "Ah, Mr Potter! Come for a picture with your lovely lady friend, I see." Harry frowned, "Do I know you?" he asked. The elderly man shook his head, "No, dear boy, I work for the Daily Prophet¸ though, and I helped out Rita Skeeter during the Triwizard Tournament. Thought you mind have recognized me."

Harry shook his head, "Nope. Sorry. Come on Gin, let's take this picture." She stood in front of him and she felt his hands be placed on her hips. She smiled widely and then the photographer said, "Oh come on, Mr Potter, lean in for a kiss, please!" Harry leaned in and kissed her cheek from behind. The feeling caused her to laugh and the flash went off. The photographer smiled and pulled the photograph out of the camera. He handed them the picture and she saw Harry and her looking at the camera, smiling, and then him leaning in to kiss her. She couldn't help but grin and she thanked the photographer, "Thank you Mr…?" she paused and he supplied for her, "Bozo. Just Bozo. No Mr." Ginny nodded and thanked him again before she gave the photo to Harry to keep.

Then, Slughorn found them and he grinned, "Mr Potter, so glad you could make it!" Ginny resisted rolling her eyes because obviously this event had been planned around Harry. So of course he could make it." Harry said politely, "Thank you, professor, for organizing such a wonderful event." He beamed and shook his head, "Not to mention it, dear boy, not to mention it. So good to see you too, Ginevra! You played so well in the match the other day, I must commend you!" Ginny smiled and thanked him and he nodded, "And you're looking lovely this evening! I simply must introduce you to Gwenog Jones! She's around here somewhere!"
Ginny couldn't help but feel her jaw drop. Gwenog Jones! The captain of her favorite Quidditch team, the Hollyhead Harpies! Ginny could simply not believe it! She let Slughorn drag her away from Harry, regardless of how could she was. He lead her towards a far corner, where a lady in a long, black gown who's sleeves fell to the sides of her shoulders was standing. Gwenog had long, black hair and a confident smile on her face.
Ginny approached her nervously and Slughorn said with a grin, "Ah! Gwenog, may I introduce you to a potential young star for your team, Ginny Weasley." Ginny felt herself gaping uncontrollably. If only Ron were here…But then when she thought of her pig-headed brother, she gained some composure and grinned from ear to ear, "Mrs Jones, it's such a pleasure to meet you!" Gwenog shook her head and Ginny frowned before Gwenog said in a Welsh accent, "Oh no, my dear, apparently it is I who has the pleasure of meeting you. Apparently, you are a phenomenal Quidditch player with lots of potential. Chaser, so I've heard?" Ginny nodded speechlessly. Had Slughorn really been raving about her that much? If he had, she made a mental note to thank him.

Ginny blushed and replied a bit delayed, "I, uh, I don't know if I'd say that, but, uh, thank you Mrs Jones." She rolled her eyes and said, "Please dearest, call me Gwenog! It's no surprise that Mr Potter has a very talented girlfriend. I would like you to try out for my team when you finish your schooling. I would like to see you fly before then, if possible?" Ginny floundered around but no words came out as she stammered incoherently, "Um…m…m…me?" she asked perplexedly.

Gwenog nodded and she smiled, "No need to be nervous, my dear. I won't bite. I'm always looking for new blood on the team." Ginny still couldn't believe her luck. She beamed and said, "I'd be honored!" Gwenog smiled happily and raised her glass, "Cheers to that! I will ask Professor Dumbledore where you live and write to him. I shall visit you in the holidays then!" Ginny nodded eagerly, before there was a great, big clanging sound, and Harry joined her, putting his arm around her waist and giving her his jacket. She had totally forgotten how cold she was. He whispered, "You're shivering."
Ginny nodded and watched as none other than Draco Malfoy was pulled into the centre of the room, where a big open space had been made by the party-goers. Filch pulled him in and told Slughorn, "I caught him loitering around the corridors. Thought he might be gate crashing!" Malfoy growled, "Yes, yes I was trying to gatecrash, okay? Let go of me!" He pulled away from Filch, and then Slughorn chuckled, "Oh well, join the party my dear boy, if it means that much to you! Please do!" The party continued and Ginny turned back to Gwenog, who was watching Harry intensely. She held out her hand and shook his, "Pleased to meet you, Mr Potter. I've heard all about you from Professor Slughorn, of course." Harry nodded and smiled politely, "Of course. It's good to meet you, Mrs Jones. Ginny here absolutely loves your team. You're her favorite." Ginny nudged Harry's ribs in embarrassment and Gwenog laughed, "Well, I've just offered to see her tryout for the team. Obviously, she can only really be a part of the team when she's older, but it's a start. You've got a very talented girlfriend, Mr Potter." Harry grinned and nodded, "I know, but thank you."
They chatted for a bit more, and Ginny ate a few eats, and they spoke to Luna a bit, who bought Michael Corner. Ginny felt like it was possibly the most awkward conversation ever-studded with lots of awkward silences. Even though she'd never actually dated Michael, she still felt bad that he'd helped her try and get Cedric, to know benefit of his own. He'd been a decent sort of guy.

Eventually Hermione joined them, claiming that she'd dodged Cormac McLaggen and was currently hiding from him. They'd been under the mistletoe apparently and he'd tried to make a move. He was heading their way and she ran in the opposite direction, hiding behind the hangings. He approached them and asked Harry, "Have you seen Hermione? She keeps disappearing." Harry shrugged, "Went to powder her nose, I think." Cormac rolled his eyes, "She's a little minx, your friend, you know that?" Harry glowered at him, and then he turned his eyes to Ginny, "Hey Weasley. You're looking pretty this evening." Harry tightened his grip around her waist and said warningly, "Careful Cormac, or else I will have to kick you off the reserve position on the team." He chuckled, "Just being polite, Harry, just being polite that's all."

He headed off to find Hermione. Ginny said to Harry, "I'm feeling quite drained." Harry smiled "You want to go?" She nodded and said goodbye to Luna and Michael, before finding Slughorn and thanking him. Then they headed off and on the way back to the tower, Harry told her, "When you were speaking to Gwenog, I saw Malfoy speaking to Snape. Snape was offering to help him with something, but Malfoy refused." Ginny frowned and pondered it for a second, "I wonder what it could be?" Harry shrugged, "He also said something about the Unbreakable Vow-Snape that is- and that he had made one with Malfoy's mother."
Ginny gasped and said anxiously, "That's not good at all." Harry frowned and asked, "I figured. Why?" She grimaced and said, "If you break the Unbreakable Vow, you die. This is pretty serious stuff. I think you need to tell Dumbledore." Harry shrugged, "I will, in my next meeting. Whenever I manage to get this memory from Slughorn. Anyway, it wasn't a bad evening all in all." Ginny nodded in agreement, "No. It wasn't the worst. Not as bad as we expected at any rate." They glanced at each other sideways.
They were in the middle of the castle, on a changing staircase going upwards and Harry grinned as he leant forwards and kissed her. It was such a passionate kiss that she felt longing well up inside of her. She groaned as he tangled his hands in her hair and they stayed like that for quite a while, until they were both out of breath. She smiled at him happily and he kissed her cheek again before saying, "You should wear that dress, all the time." She giggled and said, "You'd have a problem keeping McLaggen away from me." Harry rolled his eyes, "I would punch him in the face if he was being anything more than polite to you." She laughed, "You wouldn't." Harry turned serious and said, "Oh believe me, I would. As long as you're my girlfriend, he can't touch you without suffering serious revenge from me." She couldn't help but feel so safe when he said that as he wrapped his arms around her, and they stayed there like that, arms wrapped around each other, on the staircase in the middle of the cold castle for quite some time.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I loooved writing this chapter! It was so much fun to write and took me much quicker than usual. I know it's quite a girly one, and quite unusual for Gin to be so girly, but every girl has to have a girly moment every once in a while, right? The majority of us love to dress up every now and again, even the Tomboys. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I had fun writing it! It's Ginny's chance to truly shine in beauty and her Quidditch abilities.

Thank you all for your opinions and suggestions regarding Ginny's seventh year! It seems like most people are quite keen for alternating chapters between Ginny's P.O.V and Harry's P.O.V. I might not always do alternating chapters, I might do every three chapter's or so in Harry's P.O.V. or maybe even little snippets of Harry's P.O.V at the end of the chapters, I'm not sure. But this seems to be what the majority wants. However, it will still mostly be about Ginny's story as this is what you guys came here to read! I just figure it kind of helps to know where Harry is at in his Horcrux journey, so that both you and I can understand how far we are in the story when we get there, if that makes sense. This is because Gin's seventh year is obviously totally different to Harry's so I think it will help add a sense of time frame to the story.

Anyway, thank you again to all of my lovely readers! Thank you also to my incredibly reviewers: pottermum, Deadman19, Starrya47,123rachel123, and Anonymous! Your compliments and opinions are always greatly appreciated! Thank you!