A/N: Next chapter is finally here! And a big thanks for jeflin3 who took the time to e-mail me and ask me too update. Apparently it was just the sort of encouragement I needed. I hope all of you like this chapter. It's a lot longer than the last one, and although we've gone through these events before, I'd like to think that Harry's POV adds a whole new dimension. I hope you enjoy!

HAM005 - Your review made me laugh, and yes I supposed it would be tough.

AshEllie - Thanks! I'm glad you find my story addicting and sorry for the update wait!

cho-kaoru88 - Thanks for being honest. I was buying a bit of time with the last chapter, but hopefully you'll find this one to be an improvement. It's a bit too angsty now for a good ol awkward moment like the one you described, but I have something planned for the end that I think you'll enjoy.

Dragon of the lost world - Thanks for your review! I'm glad you liked the pensiveness (you'll get a lot more in this chapter) and how I started the first chapter. Hope to hear more from you. :)

SnowflakeGinny - I'm so glad that you like my fics and that the entire series is on your favs. I feel honored. Hope you like this next chapter. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Aracalien - I love when people tell me I'm writing in-character, so thanks a lot! P.S. Thanks for reviewing Almost Like Magic too. :)

kitotterkat - Thanks a lot. It's always great getting your reviews and thanks for reviewing my other story too.

eckles (aka Wayne) - Harry, as I'm sure you'll notice in this chapter, has realized that things have spun out of control. Ron is placing a lot of trust in Harry, but Ginny is also counting on him. It puts him in quite a bind and I hope you like the way I handle all of that conflict and strain in this chapter.

HermyRonGrl7 - For "not H/G or R/Hr centric", I meant that for my other story Almost Like Magic that revolves around George. I'm glad that you like my writing style (I agree that it can be difficult to find good stories on so I'm glad you think mine is one of them). I'm also fond of the sister-in-law comment that Ginny made, so I'm glad you liked it.

JKRobsessed - Sorry it wasn't exactly soon, but here's your update!

frecklednproud - Aw, saying that my characters are "so canon" warms my heart. You're great.

A Hundred Steps Back

Ginny let out another angry huff beside me and I dared a glance at her. She was leaning against the back of the couch with her arms crossed and glaring at Ron. She hadn't stopped glaring at him since dinner. I didn't know how to deal with it.

"So..." I tried, trailing off when Ginny didn't even acknowledge that I was speaking.

"Bloody prat," Ginny muttered under breath.

"Ginny," I whispered, eager to get this entire nightmare over with, "We have to figure out what we are going to say."

"How about this: Screw you Ron, you're a bloody idiot and I don't know what Hermione sees in you."

Ginny looked like she actually might say that and I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined Ron's reaction. After I laughed, Ginny smiled in that cute, "I still want to be angry sort of way".

I leaned towards her.

"How about something a little more subtle," I suggested, hoping to get Ginny to laugh, "like hinting about the virtues of snogging in a deserted Potions classroom."

"Harry!" she shouted before starting to laugh.

Ginny's laugh was light and beautiful. I wished I could always make her laugh. She deserved to spend life laughing. Her laughter stopped and I noticed that she was smiling faintly in the direction of the portrait hole. I squinted to see if there was something over there that I'd missed. Stupid glasses.

"Wait!"

I jerked my head back, wondering what Ginny was so frantic about.

"You can't!"

"Why not Weasley?" I joked, wondering what had gotten her so worked up.

She laid her hand on my shoulder as if to stop me from saying something that I'd only been joking about in the first place. Ron was right, Ginny did need to lighten up. She was starting to get paranoid just like her brother.

"Harry! They'll think." She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her long red hair. I wished I could touch it. It looked so soft.

"They'll think that we know about the virtues of snogging in a deserted Potions classroom!"

That didn't sound so bad, the two of us snogging. I leaned a little bit closer to Ginny.

"So?" I asked.

Maybe now's the time. I should ask her how she feels about me. Or maybe tell her how I feel. Ron said that I could flirt with Ginny. He gave me permission. Talking about feelings could fall in the same category, right?

I can't believe I'm actually considering going through with this.

"Ginny," I say softly.

She leans closer and I think I see her eyes drift down to my lips. I'd wanted to talk to her, but at the moment kissing her seems like a much better idea.

"Um...yeah," she says coldly as she backs away. "That won't work."

I leaned back against the couch and let the mortification settle over me. At least I'd gotten my answer. Ginny admitted that she would never want to kiss me. She hadn't said the words, but it was in her tone and the way she'd jumped away when he'd been about to kiss her.

What had I been thinking anyway? Ron was right across the room.

"Ginny, what's the plan?" I said when I'd finally gathered up my wits, or what was left of them. I wanted to get away from Ginny Weasley as soon as possible.

She seemed to want to get away from me as well. Her tone was frustrated when she answered.

"I'm sick of this. I'm just gonna say 'Ron, you like Hermione and Hermione, you like Ron. Deal with it.'"

At this point, I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to leave.

We packed up our things for the library without saying a word to each other. I was really regretting having agreed to wait with Ginny in the library after this final attempt at matchmaking. I was starting to wonder why she was so invested in getting Ron and Hermione's relationship to work.

We walked over to the couch where Ron and Hermione were sitting and stopped in front of it. Ginny was trying to get back at Ron, I reviewed. As much as the two of us wanted to see Ron and Hermione together, this was about Ginny's revenge. It was about Ron insinuating that Ginny fancied me when she didn't.

It was a sibling thing, I thought as I looked between Ron and Ginny, and somehow Hermione and I had gotten dragged into it. Or rather, I had volunteered and Hermione had gotten dragged into it.

"Ron," Ginny started, putting the final part of her plan into effect, "I -"

I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.

"I don't think you should say anything about Hermione's feelings for him. She shouldn't be a part of this feud between you and Ron."

She nodded and I felt relieved. Then, spitefully I guess, I told Ginny to throw Ron off a bit first. I wanted to, for just a moment longer, not be the only miserable one. I didn't want to be the only one whose feelings were unrequited.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll make it good."

Ginny squeezed my arm. It was a reminder that she didn't like me and I felt slightly queasy.

"Ron," Ginny said solemnly, "I just wanted to say that we shouldn't fight anymore. I'm sorry."

"Very magnanimous of you Gin."

Did Ron just use the word magnanimous?

"We're going to the library," Ginny said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me with her toward the portrait hole. The pressure of her fingers burned. We took three steps and she dropped her hand and turned back toward the couch.

"Oh and Hermione?" Ginny said.

"Yes?" Hermione replied, completely unaware of what Ginny was going to do.

"Ron fancies you."

Ginny smiled at the two of them and turned to leave, probably congratulating herself on a job well done. I looked at Hermione's wide, horrified eyes and felt sick to my stomach. She certainly didn't look happy. She looked like her world was collapsing. I knew that she fancied Ron, so something else had to be the problem. Had Ginny's words not sunk in?

In a flash, so quick that I might have missed it, Hermione's eyes cleared and she looked hopeful. Then Ron made a strangled noise and she shook her head sadly and her eyes started to shine with unwept tears. I gave Hermione the most optimistic smile that I could under the circumstances before following Ginny. I don't even know if Hermione saw the look I'd given her, but I hoped that this mess would work it out and that Ron and Hermione wouldn't screw it up with their whole "one steps forward, two steps back" method of romance. I just wanted my friends back. I wanted them to be happy.

The look in Hermione's eyes haunted me as I walked silently beside Ginny to the library. I was glad, for only about the second time in my life, that Ginny wasn't talking. I wanted to brood and I didn't want her to ruin it, especially as she was partially the cause.

When we sat down at one of the wooden library tables, I laid out my books with precision, trying to focus on anything other than my guilt and my self-pity. Once that was done, I grabbed my Transfiguration book and started to read. The chapter I was supposed to read was boring and I had to focus really hard to keep from looking at Ginny. The sad part about having feelings for someone is that they don't stop the moment you realize they aren't returned.

I turned a page without having read anything. Best at least look like I'm revising. Letting my finger trail down the text, I wondered how soon I could leave without Ginny getting suspicious. Earlier I'd promised we'd make a night of it.

I flushed as I remembered the light in her eyes when she'd said we needed to celebrate and what I'd initially thought. I'd thought that maybe she might've meant something more. I was an idiot. An idiot who was stuck in his own personal hell.

I stole a glance at Ginny. She seemed deep in thought.

There wouldn't be any celebration tonight, of either meaning. Ginny obviously didn't fancy me and from the look in Hermione's eyes, I doubted anything would be resolved between her and Ron tonight. I pushed my hair back from my face let out a frustrated sigh. About the only way things could get worse is if Snape, Voldemort, and Malfoy all decided to pop into the library.

I realized I'd been thinking about it a moment too long when having my three worst enemies show up started sounding like a good idea because then I would no longer have to think about Ginny rejecting me. Or fancying someone else, which come to think about it she probably did.

"Harry!"

Ginny's voice cut right through my negative thoughts. I'd almost forgotten she was sitting right beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"Umm..." She bit on her lip. I hated that I still loved when she did that. "Do you think it'll work out?"

No, I wanted to respond immediately. You love somebody else and I'm going to die and my best friends are in a horrible mess because of me. She wasn't asking about me though. She was asking about Ron and Hermione. I should've known she didn't care when she was always cringing when people suggested she fancied me.

"Oh, with Ron and Hermione?" I responded finally. "Yeah, I think so."

Or at least I hoped so. It would stop a bit of this horrible feeling gathering in my stomach.

Ginny frowned at my answer and I wondered if she was starting to feel as guilty as I was about messing with Ron and Hermione's love life. She stared down at the wooden table and bit her lip again. She looked so sad.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

She shook her head no even as she said, "I'm okay Harry, it's just..." She sighed and looked in my eyes. I was met with a flat and resigned brown that no longer sparkled. Ginny was usually strong. The troubled acceptance in her expression scared me.

"I'm sorry for being a silly, stupid little girl," she finished.

"What? Ginny what are you talking about?"

I'd heard that before, I was sure I had. Or at least something quite similar. The way that Ginny had said that about herself gave me the creeps. She wasn't the least bit stupid and she wasn't really silly that often. As a sixth year she certainly wasn't a little girl any more.

I heard a loud bang and jumped as Hermione came through the library doors and headed straight to our table.

"What the hell is your problem Ginny!"

"What?" Ginny replied, looking like a confused first year.

Hermione and Ginny kept yelling back and forth, but I ignored it for the most part. There was something that I was missing, some reason why Ginny's comment seemed so important and left me with a chill.

"He doesn't love me," Hermione said harshly to Ginny, and I lost my train of thought. "And because of you I'm not even sure if he's going to be my friend anymore. You just ruined my life."

"Hermione," I started, not really knowing what I was going to say next.

"Harry, shut it."

"Hermione," Ginny pleaded.

"Ginny, I thought you were my friend. Don't ever speak to me again."

Hermione left the library as swiftly as she'd come. I saw her angrily brush away tears with her left hand before pushing the door open with her right. It seemed as if my best friends had taken a hundred steps back instead of just two.

I heard a thud beside me and saw that Ginny had just banged her head on the table. Her hands were shaking a bit.

"Ginny? Are you okay?"

I was worried about her. It was like she was falling apart in front of me. The last time I'd seen her remotely like this was after the Chamber.

"I'm sure Hermione didn't mean what she said Ginny," I tried to reassure her. "She and Ron probably got into a fight because they didn't know how to deal with their feelings for each other."

"Why can't people just admit how they feel," Ginny muttered from behind her crossed arms before lifting her head, "and live happily ever after?"

I couldn't do it. I couldn't sit here and talk to Ginny Weasley about happily ever afters. I couldn't tell her that happy endings existed. My parents didn't have a happy ending. Sirius didn't. And it was entirely likely that I wouldn't have one.

Ginny was expecting an answer.

"Erm...I don't know," I said, "Look, Ginny, I have to go...er, do something. I'll talk to you later."

I grabbed my books and practically ran out the door. All that stuff she'd said about happily ever after though, I knew it wasn't in the cards for me. One of these days I wasn't gonna be able to scrape by against Voldemort. I wasn't strong enough to kill him, at least not yet.

I headed toward the Quidditch pitch. I always went there to clear my thoughts. So much had been happening lately and I didn't quite know how to handle it. Ginny Weasley had stolen my heart and then dropped it. Ron and Hermione had somehow gotten into a huge misunderstanding over their feelings for each other. I couldn't help thinking that this whole being in love business wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. And if this, as Dumbledore had kept trying to tell me, was somehow going to defeat Voldemort...well, it certainly seemed really temperamental and unstable.

The cold, damp weather matched my horrible mood. I was glad the weather was miserable. The clingy, wet chill reminded me of the Chamber of Secrets. It was just as silent outside as it had been in there too. A perfect place to feel perfectly horrible.

And then it clicked. I knew why Ginny's comment about herself back in the library had jarred me so much. I'd heard only one person say something like that about Ginny before, and that person had been Tom Riddle. How could she think those same things?

It made me want to throw up.

I stopped walking. Things had gotten too far out of control. I sat down on the wet grass and hung my head down. Things had gone horribly wrong and I'd been able to tell that something was up with Ginny, but I left anyway. I was selfish.

I'd just left her there. After Hermione had yelled at her and after she'd said those things about herself that had reminded me horribly of something Tom Riddle had said about her down in the Chamber of Secrets. I didn't even deserve to be Ginny Weasley's friend, much less anything more.

"I have to fix things," I determined.

The whispered sentiment sounded stronger than I felt. Maybe the truth behind it gave it more weight. I knew what I had to do, as surely as I knew that one day I would again have to face Voldemort.

I had to fix things between Ron and Hermione and then I had to prove that I could really be Ginny's friend and be there for her. I had to make things right. Now I just had to sift through 500 possible solutions and choose the right one this time. I wished for luck.

A/N: Next chapter is completely new territory (well almost), aren't you excited! Please leave a review, I'd love to read it!