Revelations

Once again, Molly found herself hovering in the doorway as she listened to a conversation her youngest child was having. This time, she wished she could avoid hearing it, but it was obvious that any movement would distract Ginny and Molly didn't want to intrude. Instead she tried hard to avoid hearing too much of what was passing between Ginny and this latest boy, a friend of Ron's called Dean. In desperation, Molly looked around for a way to noiselessly leave the area and caught a glimpse of someone else who seemed miserably caught and trying to avoid overhearing the conversation.

Harry was in a chair in the lounge and Molly was sure Ginny didn't know he was there. He looked as if he wanted to run; to clear the vicinity, and the look on his face drew Molly's compassion. It was clear that he was unhappy about the state of affairs with Ginny and this boy, who, Molly realised with a start, would be one of Harry's friends too.

'I don't need you to look after me, Dean,' Ginny was saying in an irritated voice. 'I am perfectly capable of finding my way onto the train without you.'

'But Ginny, I just want to see you. I'm not saying you can't get on without me. I just thought you might miss me too and want to meet a little early.'

Ginny's voice softened. 'Of course I do, Dean. OK, I'll see you outside platform 9 ¾ then.' She smiled and blew Dean a kiss and Molly let out the breath she was holding as Ginny stood up and left the room, thankfully heading in the opposite direction from the door where her mother was standing. She looked towards Harry again and the hands he held clenched on his knees had relaxed as Ginny left, but the look on his face was unchanged.

Molly slipped backwards into the kitchen leaving him alone. She thought about what she had seen and later that day called Ginny to the kitchen to help her with some chores. It was always easier to talk to her children when they were helping her like this. She waited as they worked before she said anything, but soon she could feel the rhythms of cooking kicking in and was finally able to talk to her daughter.

'Ginny, I accidentally overheard your talk over the floo today ... with Dean.' Molly kept up the steady rhythm of the chopping process, but watched Ginny out of the corner of her eye.

Ginny sighed, her focus on the food dropping away. 'It's OK. It wasn't that private anyway.'

Molly looked at her closely, noting the way Ginny's eyes had hardened when the conversation started. 'You don't seem yourself when you talk to him, dear. What's going on?'

'I don't know, Mum. I feel ... he smothers me a bit.' She stopped and thought for a moment, her hands stilling as she did so. 'And that annoys the hell out of me.'

Molly smiled. 'I could tell dear. Do you ...' she probed delicately, wondering whether she was going to trigger her daughter's famous temper. 'Are you sure this is the right relationship for you?'

Ginny looked up from her preparations. 'I don't know. Do you remember me saying ages ago that I wasn't sure how to tell if the guy was the right one?'

'Of course I do,' Molly smiled. 'You seemed so young and I overreacted.'

'Well, I still don't know. Dean seemed like the right one when we started dating, but now he just ... well, it doesn't feel the same.' She looked at her mother beseechingly. 'How will I ever know? I mean, it always seems so good at the start and then they change ... what if I get married one day and the guy changes and I can't get out of it?'

'I think when it's the right one, you just know that you can weather the storms. It's ... different somehow.'

'But you said you knew Dad was the one right from the start.'

'Oh, I did, but I ignored it. I tried out a couple of other boys before I gave in and saw what was right in front of my face.'

'Hmmmmm, I guess.' Ginny didn't sound convinced as she resumed her steady chopping. 'I just feel like they're always the same. They start out nice and then just go funny on me.'

Molly gave her a searching look. 'Are you sure they're all the same, or are you choosing ones you subconsciously know will do this? From memory, you had similar issues with Michael last year, right?'

'Yeah. He got all jealous of my quidditch, and now Dean keeps trying to treat me like a delicate piece of china. What's wrong with me?'

'There's nothing wrong with you love, you're just not finding the right guys. These boys aren't bad, and they make good fun relationships, but you already know they aren't going to last the distance, right?'

Ginny grimaced. 'I never thought they would, but I did think going out with them might be fun and not so irritating. Why is it that only Harry treats me like I'm not going to fall into tiny pieces if I do something? Well, him and Fred and George,' Ginny smiled as she thought about her older prankster brothers.

This was promising, Molly thought. It was clear to her that Harry was becoming interested in Ginny and the fact that Ginny was contrasting him with her boyfriends seemed auspicious. Molly determined to question Ginny about it.

'I wasn't the only one who overheard your conversation.'

Ginny looked up, startled to realise just how public her irritated interaction with Dean had been.

'Harry was in the lounge, and he looked very uncomfortable to be there. He seemed,' she paused, trying to work out the best way to say this. 'He seemed like he didn't like the way Dean was being with you either.'

'Harry was there? Why didn't he say anything?'

'Probably for the same reason I didn't come in either. The conversation seemed very tense, and I know I didn't want to interrupt you.' Molly glanced sideways at her daughter, who was frowning as she filled the large pot with water. 'I think his feelings for you are changing.'

'Mum, don't be stupid. He'll never see me that way and I've moved on from that.' She stopped and turned to her mother. 'I'm not about to go back there and risk heartbreak again.'

'Listen to yourself Ginny. Don't you think you might be choosing these boys who are all wrong for you because they are so different from the one you refuse to let yourself look at again?'

'I don't ... I can't, Mum. It was too hard last time, and I'm happy now that I have him as a friend. Better that that being so lovelorn over him again for no result.'

'Are you sure there would be no result?'

'I can't risk it. He doesn't see me that way, and anyway I have Dean.' Ginny's voice trailed off miserably. Dean wasn't proving to be as ideal a boyfriend as she had hoped when they got together.

'Well, I think Harry has been hit hard too, and I think you may be doing what I did, dear. You're ignoring what's in front of your face, but nothing else is feeling right to you.'

'Okay, I get it Mum. You like Harry and you want us together. I'll keep it in mind.' The snappish tone her daughter had adopted told Molly clearly that it was time to end the conversation. She sighed and smiled at Ginny before steering the conversation into safer territory, like the vegetables they were working on.

Ginny did take her mother's words to heart. Despite her sensible decision to move on from what seemed like a hopeless situation, she wasn't immune to the delightful images her mother's words conjured in her mind. Over the next few days she paid more attention to Harry than usual, but all she saw was the same friendly open guy who had been in her life ever since she had given up on her crush and explored the idea of going out with other boys. She told herself that her mother was mistaken and had seen what she wanted to see in Harry's face.

It wasn't until Ginny got so annoyed at Dean's overprotective stance and broke up with him that she noticed a change in Harry. She saw the way he relaxed more in her presence and the way his face reflected some previously unknown emotion when he looked at her. Her mother's words came back to her and Ginny found herself spending more and more time in Harry's company, and noticing the small things he did that hinted at an interest in her. She noticed the way he laughed when she made a joke, the way he always chose to walk with her to and from quidditch rather than with Ron, the way his eyes strayed towards her whenever they were in a room together. Warmth flooded through her as she saw these things, and for the first time she allowed herself to believe .

Then she won a crucial quidditch game for Gryffindor and Harry kissed her. It was everything she had dreamed of when she first started dreaming of Harry romantically. His hands in her hair, her arms around his shoulders, the feel of his lips on hers, the way everyone else in the room magically seemed to disappear. It was all perfect and Ginny thought that this was the happiest she had been in ... well, possibly forever. The best thing about Harry, she thought as they broke apart to enormous catcalls from the surrounding crowd, was that she had known him for so long and had no illusions about his temperament. He was unlikely to change on her the way Michael and Dean had, so Ginny allowed herself to revel in being with Harry knowing she could rely on him. She also thought that maybe she should listen to her mother's instincts a little more often because sometimes she was right.