Author's Note: Once again, I have to thank all of my readers. Vigilance! I was getting worried that I was losing people's interest, but I have planned the outline more carefully and I like where it's going.

Phx. tears - I have to agree with your review. I hadn't payed much attention to how old Ginny would be in first year when I said she had boyfriends; I was more focused on getting the time line right with Hermione (they needed to meet while Hermione was still at school, and not her last year because they were searching for Horcruxes then). You are right though, 11 years old is a little young to have a boyfriend. I think, to make the story work, we will have to assume that her relationship with the boys when she was younger was completely innocent, and that they just called it going out. We used to do that in my school, if you had a crush on a boy and they thought you were cute, you would say you were "dating", but obviously it doesn't mean anything. Same theory applies to this. If there are any more questions on this particular topic just e-mail me or review again.

Bella


Hermione had spent the rest of the night trying to watch Harry for signs of a possible attraction he might have towards Ginny. She knew Harry well enough to be able to tell when he liked a girl, and although he didn't show it consistently, she noticed a sparkle in his eye every so often when he talked directly to Ginny, or when she laughed.

At the same time, Ginny was preoccupied with watching Hermione and Ron together. Harry had been right in saying that Ron made an arse of himself sometimes in front of Hermione. Granted, he wasn't constantly tripping over his own words or blushing whenever he looked at her, but once or twice, when talking only to her, he would stutter a little and turn a light shade of pink.

Whenever he did this, Ginny was careful to look at Hermione and note her reaction. Most times, she would just smile slightly, as if she were aware of the power she had over Ron, and enjoyed it. Ginny caught her looking at Harry an awful lot as well, although not in the same way she looked at Ron. It seemed as though she were evaluating him whenever Ginny caught her, and for some reason, it made Ginny slightly uneasy.

The four were making plans for the next day, Sunday, deciding that they would spend it together so that Ginny could get to know everyone better, excluding Ron of course, although their relationship could definitely stand for improvement after all the secrets that were between them previously. They decided to go to Diagon Alley and look through the shops, and later get lunch.

After deciding on their plans and cleaning the kitchen, they split up, heading for bed (and Hermione for her home) to get a good night's rest. Ginny and Harry stood in the hallway separating their bedrooms for a few moments before going to their respective rooms. They were still laughing about an incident that had occurred during dinner, when Ginny had placed her elbow into a butter dish in the middle of a conversation. Harry had made some crack about etiquette and whatnot at the time, and he apparently found the whole situation funny, secretly finding it endearing that Ginny was a little clumsy.

In reality, Ginny was not simply clumsy. She had been in the middle of a serious conversation with Harry about Dumbledore's accomplishments and the benefits he made towards the wizarding race, when she found herself getting lost in Harry's emerald colored eyes. She had almost seen her reflection clearly at the time, and was so entranced by the gorgeous green color, that she had placed her elbow straight into the butter without even realizing it!

Of course she blamed it on her natural clumsiness, and kept the real reason to herself.

Now she stood in the hallway, looking once again into Harry's deep set eyes. The conversation paused and for an almost awkward moment, the two stood gazing at one another.

Ginny then cleared her throat, and said goodnight to Harry, wanting desperately to kiss him on the cheek, but knowing not to push her limits. She went into her room and hopped into bed after changing into her pj's. She wasn't very tired, but she tried her best to fall asleep, closing her eyes and laying down. She breathed in and out deeply, focusing on relaxing individual parts of her body.The exercise wasn't working much, as she was still very awake, mostly with excitement about the next day. Eventually though, she fell asleep.

...

The next morning welcomed Ginny with a burst of sunshine, and obnoxiously cheerful birds chirping outside of her window. Deciding to make the most of the sun, she slowly got up from her bed, and crossed her room to sit at her window seat overlooking the front yard.

She loved having a window seat in her room, and had actually chosen her room when she was a little girl for the sole purpose of the seat. She would sit there for hours when she was younger, reading, drawing, and eventually writing letters to her brothers while they were away at Hogwarts. She wouldn't admit it now that they all drove her crazy, but she had hated having to watch all of her dearly beloved brothers leave her, one by one, to go to school. She often felt abandoned, and would continuously write them, hoping that one day she would get a reply from them that told her she too could come to Hogwarts. That letter did not come for a few years though, and her brothers were certainly not the ones to send it.

As Ginny sat there now, overlooking the yard and soaking in the sun rays that made their way through her window onto her skin, she heard a quiet knock on her door. She looked up surprised. Normally, her mother's knock was louder, and Ron would just shout her name before barging in. A quiet knock was something she was rather unaccustomed to. She called out "Come in," to whoever was at the door, enjoying the sun too much to get up and open it herself.

Harry entered Ginny's room. His eyes had to adjust to the amount of light that was in her room after entering from the considerably dark hallway. Once he was no longer blinded, he focused in on the room, trying to find Ginny.

Ron had been in the shower, and Mrs. Weasley had sent Harry up to wake Ginny, to tell her that Hermione would arrive soon to go to Diagon Alley.

Harry finally spotted Ginny sitting on the opposite side of the room than the door was on. She was basked in the light coming from the rather large window, and Harry noted subconsciouslythat she looked beautiful, with the light making her hair glow vibrantly, and beams of light shining from behind the top of her head, looking like a halo. Her face seemed to be glowing in the light with her pale skin looking luminous and unmarred, although Harry could distinctly make out the bright freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. He gazed at her entranced in her beauty without even realizing it.

Ginny was feeling slightly awkward, dressed in her PJ's, and having Harry standing in her door, seeming to be deep in thought. She cleared her throat gently, in an attempt to bring Harry back to attention, and she noticed that he was pulled almost violently from his thoughts.

"Morning Harry, what's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Oh, uh, sorry, morning Ginny. Your mum sent me up to wake you, but I guess I'll just tell you instead that Hermione will be here soon for Diagon Alley." Harry said, finally focusing on the present.

"Oh, okay. Thanks Harry. I think I'll just take a quick shower then." Ginny replied, standing up to grab a towel and bathrobe from a hook in her closet.

Harry took this as his cue to leave, and he went downstairs to wait for Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.

...

When Hermione eventually arrived, and Ron and Ginny had emerged from the showers and eaten a quick breakfast, the four walked outside of the Burrow to apparate to Diagon Alley. Ginny had originally suggested they Floo there, but Harry had been dead-set against it, and from what Ginny could gather, he did not have good experience with Floo Travel.

Regardless, they arrived at around 11 o'clock, and immediately set off towards Fred and George's joke shop. The shop had expanded in a short amount of time, and Fred and George already had three stores! One in Hogsmeade, the original location, one in Diagon Alley, and another in a wizard shopping centre in France, that very closely resembled Diagon Alley.

Fred and George preferred to work in Diagon Alley at this time of year, because it was the most crowded of the three locations and often needed the most work. The four coming from the Burrow decided to stop in and say hi. They entered the shop which wasn't overly crowded, and found George sitting at the counter off to the left.

"Well look who it is, my dear brother and sister, and Miss Granger and Mr. Potter too! Well now, can't say I've seen the four of you together before!" George said with a certain light in his eyes. "I take it Ron that you have finally told Ginny about your friends. Not a moment too soon either, you certainly took your time!" George continued.

"Your right about that," Ginny mumbled, earning a smile from Harry and Hermione, but a glare from Ron. Ron turned towards George and replied, "You know why I didn't George, cut it out."

"Ooh, careful little brother, we musn't get our panties in a bunch now." George mocked.

Ron lightened up when he realized his older brother was only joking, and they continued to chat, talking about recent events and whatnot. George told them that Fred was out with Angelina, his fiancee, and would not be back until later in the afternoon. At this, the four decided that they would head over towards Flourish and Botts to look for some new books.

The afternoon passed in much the same way, with different trips into various stores, and laughing, joking and talking amongst the four friends. They decided at around 12:30 that they would stop in at Madame Malkin's for some new robes, and then head towards the pub for lunch.

Hermione and Ginny headed towards the girl's side of the shop while Ron and Harry drifted over towards the men's section, looking around aimlessly at the various robes.

Hermione and Ginny wandered around admiring the different robes and laughing at a few ridiculous ones. They were both a little glad that the boys weren't with them at the moment, mainly because they discovered that day that they got along very well with one another. They both had the kind of personality that the other looked for in a friend, not to mention Hermione had never had a good friend that was a girl before. She was enjoying being able to shop for clothes with someone who liked it as well.

Throughout the say, Hermione had been watching Harry and Ginny together to determine if there was something going on. Aside from the occasional glance between the two, she didn't notice anything in particular. She was still convinced however, that Harry felt something for Ginny. It was the way he talked to her, gently and focused, as though she were the only person he was with.

Hermione didn't want to push it though by confronting Harry about it. What if he just felt very close to Ginny as a friend? Hermione doubted this but there was still the chance that there was nothing more there.

Hermione and Ginny paused at a display showing off a dark green colored robe, with small gold details. Hermione saw that Ginny was admiring the color, and she insisted that Ginny try it on, thinking that if nothing else, the color would look fantastic with Ginny's pale skin and fiery red hair.

She was right. Not only did the dress compliment Ginny's hair, but it seemed to enhance her beauty into something unearthly. In short, Ginny looked incredible in the dress.

Hermione then insisted on buying it for Ginny, who was ready to put it back saying she wanted to save her money for an apartment. Ginny was trying to refuse but Hermione bought it anyway, and there was nothing Ginny could do to stop her.

The two girls met up with the boys at the front of the store, and they headed off to the local pub for lunch.

During the day, Ginny had noticed that people would stop and stare at Harry as they walked by. Harry, Ron and Hermione all seemed accustomed to it, although they were not happy about it, but Ginny was completely shocked by it all. There were even a few people here or there; reporters, who would snap pictures of the four as they walked through the streets.

Ginny knew of course that Harry was famous, who didn't, it went without saying that the savior of the wizarding world was well known. The extent of his celebrity though was what surprised Ginny. To have people take pictures of you when you went out to shop was bizarre, and as far as Ginny could tell, uncomfortable.

"Bunch of nosy gits, aren't they?" she said sarcastically as they sat down to eat, noticing one standing outside taking a picture of them.

"Yeah, it's bloody annoying," Ron replied, "and Harry here has it the worst, it only happens to me and Hermione once in a while because we weren't as well known, but Harry has to deal with it all the time!"

"It's not so bad anymore," Harry then said, "or at least, it has gotten better than it was immediately after the war. I couldn't go outside for a year after the war without having my picture taken!"

"Bloody shame too Harry, you certainly are an ugly looking chap," Ginny said smiling sweetly. Hermione and Ron cracked up while Harry glared at Ginny while trying to hide his smile.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't quite live up to your standards Miss Weasley, but it just so happens that most women find me quite attractive." Harry said.

Ginny knew how true Harry's comment was, although he meant it to be a joke. All day, women had been looking at him as though they were marking their prey. It had made Ginny sick, and for some strange reason, slightly jealous. One or two women had even approached Harry, and to be honest, they were reasonably attractive, but Harry had courteously turned them down which had made Ginny happy, although she wouldn't admit it to herself.

The four became quiet as their meals came, and after they had finished, they apparated back to the Burrow.

Once they had returned home, Hermione told Ginny that she would buy tickets for the next night's performance at the ballet theatre, saying that she wanted to see the show again now knowing Ginny was in it, and support her.

Ginny was excited, she really liked having Hermione as a friend, and she was surprised by how quickly they had become so close. She said goodbye to Hermione who was apparating home, and she told Ron and Harry that she would be back later. She had to go to an afternoon practice with the ballet company to prepare for the next nights show.

She apparated to the town where the ballet studio was, and she walked a block or two to get there, so that she would not be seen just popping out of nowhere by a girl from the studio. She entered the building and went to the practice room where she began to put her shoes on.

As she waited for practice to begin, she found herself thinking back to earlier that day, and how glad she was to have found a good friend in Hermione.