A/N: First off, I'd like to say thank you for everyone that is still with this story and sorry for the long wait between chapters. I've been juggling two jobs and being a full time student and it didn't leave much time for writing. I hope you find that the wait for this chapter was worth it though. And after this, there's only one more chapter to go! As always, enjoy and I can't wait to hear what you thought. Also, a special thanks to Dragon of the Lost World and jkg-vader for e-mailing me for special encouragement to get the next chapter out in spite of how crazy my life is at the moment. You're wonderful!

Thanks to EowynSaule, jkg-vader, godessa39 (that would be funny, but don't worry even without a special room Harry will get some snogging), bamse (glad you like it!), Crookshanksforever (thanks for the great review and I do promise that I will be writing more stories once this series is over), HarryPotterFan05, Dragon of the Lost World, harrypotterfan77, Offending Shadow (glad you liked the Riddle thing and Ginny's comment about snogging in the library...I love to hear which bits are liked the best), Baby-Atemu, CreativeQuill (thanks for the positive review and don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story...simply slow in updating it), paige2310, J.Rhaye (as always, thanks for your wonderful and insightful review), OliviaD, Aracalien (hope you like the "new territory"), Gabs (snogging is up and coming), Anony, HAM005, Withered Quill (sorry for the long wait. thanks for the fabulous review of course and i think you'll be happy to see what Harry and Ginny get up to), Oliphaunts aren't Elephants, Silver Weasley (thanks for the wonderful review), AshEllie (it's gonna be one more chapter after this one), Snowflake Ginny (glad you love that line, it's one of my favs too...and thanks for the review), cho-kaoru88 (I'm glad you liked ch 5 better :) ), kitotterkat (thanks for the review and it's so sweet that you say you're going to miss my stories when they're done...I'm glad I can provide so much entertainment and enjoyment)

A Load of Dragon Dung

I ran to the library, but when I got there, the table where Ginny and I had been sitting was completely empty. I saw a first year packing up his books nearby. I couldn't remember his name, but I knew he was a Gryffindor.

"Hey you!"

The kid turned around, startled.

"Do you know where Ginny Weasley went?"

He still looked surprised that I was talking to him, and a little nervous, but answered anyway.

"I dunno. She looked upset though."

I should have been expecting that, but it wasn't at all what I wanted to hear. I muttered a quick thanks to the firsty, and rushed out of the library. I stopped once I reached the corridor. I didn't know where to look. I tried to think. Where would Ginny go? It seemed like she had always just been there. I'd never had to go searching for her before.

Lacking another idea, I headed back to Gryffindor tower. Ginny wasn't in the common room and neither were Ron and Hermione. They'd probably gone on to detention already, but I had to check the dormitory. Maybe Ron hadn't left yet. I could at least talk some sense into him before finding Ginny.

"Hey Harry!" Dean said as I threw open the door and looked around. "In a hurry?"

"Have you seen Ron?"

Dean shook his head.

"Hermione?"

He shook his head again and went back to writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Ginny?" I asked a bit desperately as I grabbed onto the corner post of my bed and sat down.

"Dunno." Dean replied without looking up. "Have you done this essay for Snape yet? I can't find the list of ingredients for Befuddlement draughts. I know we've gone over it before."

I felt like I'd taken a Befuddlement draught. Everyone was missing and I was feeling distinctly unsettled. Why didn't I know where Ginny had gone? I should know these things.

"Harry?"

Dean was staring at me, waiting for an answer. I'd completely forgotten what he'd asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I have to go, er, do something."

I grabbed my invisibility cloak (it was close to curfew) and went out the door. It wasn't until I was back in the corridor outside of the Gryffindor tower that I realized I had absolutely no idea where to go and no plan. This wasn't a good start.

I started wandering around the castle and asking random people if they'd seen Ginny. At first, people seemed really helpful. As it got closer to curfew they started looking annoyed. A few girls seemed to think it was sweet that I was looking for Ginny and started to try and get me talking about when I'd asked her out. I told them I wasn't aware I had. Then they just looked at me like I was pathetic.

They're probably right. I have been feeling rather pathetic lately.

The corridor torches dimmed and I realized that it must be curfew. I tossed the invisibility cloak over my shoulders and glanced around. The corridors were completely empty and I still hadn't found Ginny.

Maybe I should fix things with Ron and Hermione first. At least I knew where they were.

I entered the dungeon and saw Ron and Hermione standing in front of a sink full of disgusting cauldrons. I cringed, glad that I didn't have this detention. Double-checking to make sure that my invisibility cloak was covering me fully, I shut the door and walked inside.

"Take the gloves," I heard Hermione say, "I'm not allergic."

I walked closer until I was standing right beside the two of them. I still didn't have any plan, but things didn't look too horrible. They were talking to each other at least. How bad could it be?

They both went to grab the same cauldron and then simultaneously dropped it as soon as their hands touched.

"Hermione, about earlier, when Ginny said...er, what she said..."

Hermione ignored him and picked the cauldron and started scrubbing.

"I don't want you to feel that..." Ron continued awkwardly, "I mean, I don't want us to not be friends."

He couldn't have possibly...did Ron tell Hermione that he didn't fancy her? I saw Hermione glare at the cauldron with her jaw clenched. Ron, please say you didn't.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said briskly. "We both know that Ginny didn't mean what she said. You don't fancy me, you fancy Lavender and I don't fancy you."

Somehow, unfortunately, this was exactly what I'd expected to happen ever since that bloody day when Ron had lied to Hermione about fancying Lavender. He'd made me go along with it too. Bloody coward.

"I know you don't," Ron said angrily, "and what about Lavender?"

He started scrubbing a cauldron and Hermione exploded.

"That you fancy the superficial slag, you prat!"

I'd been through enough Ron and Hermione arguments to predict what would happen next. They'd go back and forth, continually raising their voices until Ron brought up Krum. That was usually when Hermione stormed out of the room.

The reason I was standing here guessing what was going to happen next was that I still didn't have any plan. None at all. It came to my attention that normally Hermione and Ginny came up with the plans. Not that that fact helped me any.

I was waiting for Ron's comeback when I realized that Ron was smiling.

"Hermione," Ron said slowly. "How can someone as smart as you be so incredibly daft?"

Perhaps this was a new strategy to get Hermione mad - insulting her intelligence.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

It definitely seemed to be working...and then Ron laughed and made it worse.

"What in the world would make you think that I fancy Lavender?"

Hermione dropped the cauldron she was cleaning.

"Because you said so!"

Ron started to laugh again and I wondered if he had a death wish.

"Since when do you listen to me?"

Hermione looked flustered and angry. She crossed her arms across her chest. I wondered when and if I should step in. This new turn that their argument had taken threw me for a loop.

"Why are you being so cheerful anyway?" she said. "We're supposed to be in the middle of a fight."

"Because I thought I didn't have a chance before," Ron grinned. "You know, until you started acting like me."

"I don't act anything like you."

"Oh yes you do," he said confidently. "You're acting about Lavender the way that I did about Vicky."

"His name is Viktor," Hermione snapped. "And I'm not acting any particular way about Lavender."

Now they're back on track. Their arguments always do come back to Viktor Krum. This is the part where I usually leave the room or hide behind a textbook.

"Yes you are," Ron said cheerfully. "And I know why, because I know why I acted the way I did."

"Oh really then. Why were you a complete and utter jerk?"

I was trying to get up the courage to pull off my cloak and put an end to this mess, or at least focus the attention on me, when Ron surprised me again.

"You're jealous," he told her, albeit a bit unsteadily.

"I am not!" she shouted.

Bloody hell, I thought as Ron confidently took a step closer to Hermione, maybe he finally got it after all this time. Maybe I wouldn't have to do anything and they'd fix this mess on their own. I sighed with relief. After all, I hadn't been looking forward to taking the brunt of their anger.

"Then why do you care?" Ron said as Hermione took a step backward and bumped into the counter. "Why'd you yell at Snape and get a detention all because of me?"

I knew that look on Hermione. I didn't see it often, but I knew what it meant. She was going to run. I didn't know why, but I knew that somehow I had to stop her. I was sick of all of the sodding tip-toeing I always had to do around the two of them because they hadn't admitted how they felt about each other. I was sick of people put in the middle. If the two of them had just been honest with each other, I wouldn't have gotten involved in Ginny's mess of a plan. I noticed that Hermione's hand was inches away from one of the cauldrons and I recognized the potion that was in it. She'd said she wasn't allergic, right?

"Because well...er..."

As Hermione stumbled for words, I got out my wand and hoped that I was doing the right thing this time. Ron and Hermione just needed a bit of honesty and if I could help them with that, so be it. I muttered a levitation spell and moved the cauldron until a drop of potion on its edge touched Hermione's skin.

"Because I love you," she said before clapping a hand over her mouth.

That had been a little more to the point than I'd been expecting, but as long as it worked...

"Really?" Ron asked before pulling Hermione into a hug.

I saw him touch her hair and decided that I'd best leave before I witnessed any snogging. It's not something I'd really want to see close up like that.

I really was glad for them, Idecided I as made my way down to the Quidditch pitch. I was jealous of them, but I was glad. The thought popped into my head that Ginny would be excited that Hermione and her brother were together. If I knew where to find her, I'd go tell her. If she would speak to me of course.

I spent the rest of the walk to the pitch feeling sorry for myself. Eventually I decided that if I was going to be feeling sorry for myself, I should at least apologize to Ginny first. The whole honesty thing worked for Ron and Hermione, maybe it would work for me. I could still be her friend if I explained...well, I probably wouldn't actually explain that I'd left in her moment of need because I'd been upset she didn't want to snog me. That wouldn't go over well. I'll have to figure out some other thing to be honest about.

I continued walking until I tripped over something.

Or rather someone.

A someone who promptly screamed.

"Ginny?"

I ripped off my invisibility cloak.

"Harry! What in the hell were you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

"I didn't even know you were here. Why are you here? It's after curfew."

She rolled her eyes at me, pointedly looking at my invisibility cloak and most likely alluding to the fact that I am also out after curfew. She opened her mouth to comment but ended up sighing instead.

"I like to come out to the pitch to think sometimes."

"Me too," I replied as I sat down next to her. I put my elbows on my knees and looked over at Ginny. She didn't look like she'd been crying or anything, but I couldn't be sure. It was really dark.

The moments stretched on and Ginny leaned back on her elbows to look at the stars. I followed her lead and did the same, stalling until I could figure out the exact right words.

"So why are you out here thinking then?" Ginny asked without turning her head in my direction.

It was then that I decided there probably weren't any exact right words and I should just say something...anything. Anything slightly more appropriate than what I was currently thinking about how her hair looked in the moonlight.

"I was looking for you."

Ginny raised her eyebrows as if she didn't quite believe me.

"And, er," I continued. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Looking rather perplexed, she turned and leaned toward me.

"Sorry about what?"

"Well, I'm sorry about just leaving you there after Hermione yelled at you. I shouldn't have done that and I shouldn't have let Hermione yell at you in the first place -"

"Harry that wasn't your fault," Ginny interrupted. "I shouldn't have messed with her life in the first place." She shifted to sit with her legs underneath her and ran a hand through her hair. She looked resigned to the fact that somehow everything was her fault, when really it was mine. I wanted to tell her that this mess was my fault and Ron's and that she was only trying to do what was right, even in her act of "revenge". I wanted to tell her how brave she looked sitting there taking credit for this entire mess.

"...I was just too naive," Ginny continued. "I thought that if I pushed them a little bit they would have a romantic happily every after and I was wrong. Sure, it was to get back at Ron, but it was also to help him. And Hermione. I wanted to at least let her have what Ron was always rubbing in my face that I couldn't. I'm not a bitch, you know." Ginny turned to me for agreement and I nodded. "I just thought that they were being so stupid and that I could fix it and that maybe if Ron was happy he'd stop pestering me about talking with you. Maybe I went about it in the wrong way, but I thought a little more happiness would be nice around here."

Ginny looked so passionate and determined as she caught her breath after that speech of hers, that I couldn't help noticing that her arm was touching mine and her jaw was set and her eyes were full of emotion. I know I said that I was going to be her friend and try and do that well, but I couldn't help myself. She looked so damn beautiful that I had to kiss her.

I slid my hand up the back of her neck and pulled her to me, kissing her briefly and pausing before kissing her again. If she wanted me to stop, I'd given her the opportunity stop me. She hadn't. In fact, she started to kiss me back.

Her hands trailed up my arms, leaving nerves trembling in their wake, and one hand ended up around my neck as the other tossed my glasses on the grass. Soon we were both laying on the ground, me on top of her, breathing heavily. I kissed the one lonely freckle on the underside of her jaw and brushed her hair out of her face. She was smiling and I felt like my heart would burst from happiness. This could've been a horrible mistake, but instead it was turning out wonderfully.

"Ginny, I love you."

The words spilled out before I even had a chance to stop them. Ginny's hands on my back stilled.

"What?"

I started to get nervous. This was not the reaction I'd hoped for.

"I love you?"

She laughed. "Do you really now?"

I was indignant. How dare she think this was some sort of joke.

"Of course I love you," I said. "I love everything about you. I always have."

At my last sentence her eyes narrowed and she pushed me off of her.

"What a load of dragon dung," she muttered.

I landed with a thud on the ground and groped around for my glasses with my right hand while keeping my focus on Ginny. I put them on just in time to see Ginny standing over me with her arms folded and a furious expression on her face.

"So this is how Ron decides to get back at me, huh?"

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Harry and Ginny finally kissed (or snogged rather). I know that all of you have been waiting for it so I want to hear what you thought. There is one final chapter to this story (and series!). Hopefully you won't have to wait as long for this last one. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and having wonderful comments throughout this series. I really appreciate it.