Early one morning, the week before Holiday break, Anita awoke gracefully. She drew apart the drapes around her bed and changed into her robes. The rest of the dorm was empty, meaning her friends were all downstairs waiting for her, so she sped up her morning routine and went downstairs.

She stepped into the Common Room and immediately found her Ravenclaw friends: Cho, Luna, and Padma. They sat in the corner by the fire, their favorite spot in the room.

"Morning Cho!" Anita said as she fell into the chair next to her.

"Hey Anita, there you are! We were wondering if you would ever wake up! We have news!" Cho exclaimed, beaming.

Anita leaned forward eagerly. This news was obviously good, or else Cho would not be this excited. "Well?" she asked.

Cho leaned forward quickly and whispered, "It's that Gryffindor you're always with. Ginny Weasley. She's – Well, she's got a crush on someone."

Anita didn't like this one bit. A look of confusion crossed her face, but it was nothing compared to her thoughts. Her mind was racing with questions. Who could it be? Why hasn't she told me before Cho found out? Is this just some untrue piece of gossip that Cho picked up somewhere? What if she likes Colin-

Colin? Why had Colin come to her mind? Would she dislike it that much if Ginny liked Colin? They're her best friends, so wouldn't she be happy for them if they got together?

Whatever, she thought and pushed the idea away. Cho had noticed her moment of not responding and was trying to pull her out of her trance.

"Anita? Anita? Are you in there? Don't you want to know who?" she was saying.

"Oh, yes! But you don't have to tell me, I'll just go ask her. I have to meet her at breakfast in a second, anyways. Are you guys coming?"

Cho deflated a little and waved for her to go. "No, we have to study for Potions. We'll see you later." She smiled and Anita nodded and smiled back before walking briskly out into the corridor.

/

The second Anita got down the staircase to the Great Hall, she was stopped by Colin approaching her from where he had been sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"I found you, Jennings! I beat you down here!" he said as he led her into the Great Hall.

"Oh, hush Creevey," she said, grinning and laughing. "We have to find Ginny- is she still down here?" she asked, obviously in a hurry to find her.

"I'm not sure… We can look… Oh! There she is! GINNY!" He bellowed, waving her over to them.

Anita met her eyes and gave her a meaningful look that Ginny deciphered immediately. The moment she reached them she dismissed Colin (who looked a little hurt to be turned away, but obeyed) and Anita pulled her over to the side of the room.

"Cho mentioned this morning that you fancy someone? Is it true? Who is it?" she asked eagerly, now excited to know if this was true.

Ginny's reaction was not as she had expected. She dragged Anita further into the corner, smiled a bit, and lowered her voice.

"Well, yes, I suppose I do fancy someone. But you mustn't tell anyone, alright? Swear?"

"I swear!" Anita squeaked and leaned in even closer.

"Well, um, I've rather, well, I….. I think I've taken a liking to Harry Potter." At this, Anita gasped- a little in relief and a little in excitement- and Ginny quickly hushed her. "Remember, you mustn't tell a single soul. You swore."

"Right, right. I won't tell. But you have to tell me all about it!" Anita was excited by this news and felt, deep down, a good feeling at the thought of it not being Colin. As she had before, she shoved that thought out of her mind.

"Not now," Ginny explained, "Not when Colin's over there waiting for us. But later, after class today, on the front lawn. We can have a little picnic and talk about… things." Ginny grinned, Anita nodded, and they walked back over to Colin and sat on either side of him.

"So, what was all that about?" Colin asked the girls.

"Nothing!" they said at the same time, but it was Anita who continued as Ginny turned as red as her hair, "It was just something about Cho and my Ravenclaw friends. Nothing that you'd be interested in."

Colin accepted this answer and turned to the trays of bacon, eggs, sausage, and more that lay out in front of them. "Shall we?"

Anita nodded and grabbed some food, but Ginny just sat there and turned a deeper shade of red, something that Anita had thought wasn't possible. She glanced around, realizing that Harry had sat down a little ways down the table and a shadow of a smile crossed her face, but she said nothing more.

/

After breakfast, they parted ways and went to their classes. The girls didn't meet again until their afternoon picnic on the front lawn. They chose a spot near the lake so they could dip their toes in as they spoke.

"So, what's he like in person? The most famous Boy-Who-Lived? What makes him catch your eye?" Anita asked teasingly and winked a little at Ginny.

"Oh, well, he's not arrogant in the slightest. He didn't know he was famous until right before his first year! He's so humble and sweet and….." Ginny went on and on, gushing about Harry and his seemingly flawless personality.

Once she was done, Anita smiled at her and simply said, "Wow, you really like this boy. Why don't you try and get him?"

"Oh, he'd never like me. I'm just a first year, and I'm his best friend's little sister. There's no chance…" As she said this, the spirit and animation that she had had as she described him faded a little.

"Why not? You're so wonderful! I bet he'd fall in love with you if you took a chance."

Ginny's spirit had pretty much disappeared by now. She mumbled, "It's fine, I'm alright just liking him for now." After a moment, she picked her head back up and smiled at Anita. "So, is there anyone you fancy yet?"

Anita was a little startled at this question, and she had to take a moment to think about this. Did she fancy anyone? Well, there weren't many Ravenclaw boys that she'd really gotten to know yet, and the only other boy she spoke to was Colin.

"Not really…" she replied tentatively.

"But surely there's someone!" Ginny pushed, causing to Anita to think about it even further

Well, what about Colin? He was one of the few people she confided everything in, even her annoyance at her dad for pushing her so hard. He was a very nice boy, and she did get that feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw him… Was that love? Or even just a fancy?

"Well… I suppose…" Anita finally said.

Ginny wanted to know more, so she trudged on, "Who?" She was grinning by now, proud of herself for getting this out of Anita.

After only a moment more of thinking, Anita knew it. She hadn't noticed it before, but now that the thought had materialized, she knew it was true.

Anita looked up into Ginny's eyes and spoke softly, "I… Well, I… I believe that I rather fancy Colin."