The vocalist started singing the first lines of the song.

Feel the ground it's slipping away

Like a sigh that greets the close of day

Ginny grabbed Harry's hand. She turned around and led him out of the dance floor, trying hard not to feel the ground slipping away beneath her as his hand warmed hers.

She let go of him as they got back to their table, where Ron was sitting by himself, still frowning at Hermione and Viktor Krum. Harry wisely sat himself between her and Ron. She put her hand palm-up on her lap. It was still hot and tingling from its recent contact with Harry's.

Ginny had only been sitting for a second when a boy she knew to be from Ravenclaw approached their table, smiling nervously at her.

"Hi, Ginny," the boy greeted. "I'm Michael Corner—Ravenclaw. We share Charms class," he said to Harry and Ron, both of whom nodded at him. "I was wondering if I could dance with you….that is, er, if you don't mind," he added, his gaze flickering to Harry then back to her.

The song's chorus started.

I'm drowning in your eyes

I'm floating out to sea

Ginny looked questioningly at Harry. He looked back, his green eyes unreadable.

Helpless on the restless tide

"It's up to you," he said. His tone was impassive.

That flows between me and you

She pushed her disappointment away and turned to Michael Corner, smiling as genuinely as she could.

"Sure," she said to Michael Corner, whose smile widened.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly.

Harry frowned at Ginny's retreating back as Michael Corner led her to the dance floor, the lights dancing merrily on her red hair as it swayed in rhythm with her hips. Michael Corner was smiling stupidly as he and Ginny stopped and turned to face each other. He took her left hand in his right and put his left hand on her waist. Harry looked away.

"You know, I let you go with Ginny so that other guys wouldn't go near her," said Ron. "And now you let her dance with that wart?"

"Leave her alone, Ron," snapped Harry. "Ginny's not a child, she doesn't need you breathing down her neck."

"Gee, mate, I was just joking," said Ron, blinking in surprise at Harry's outburst.

"Right…sorry," said Harry quietly. He wasn't quite sure what suddenly made him so irritable. He had been perfectly fine a few minutes ago.

Ron gave Harry a curious look before going back to his favorite pastime that evening: staring at Hermione.

Ginny turned to face Michael Corner as they reached the middle of the dance floor. Michael grinned at her with a questioning look in his eyes. He tentatively reached out for her hand. She smiled, letting him take her hand without resistance. Emboldened, he put his other hand on her waist.

"Thanks for this dance, Ginny," said Michael.

"No problem," she said lightly.

"Is...er…is there anything going on between you and Harry?" asked Michael.

The vocalist's voice filtered through Ginny's ear.

Lying here beside you

Trying to reach you but you're so far

Ginny looked over Michael Corner's shoulder at Harry. He was looking at someone in the dance floor but Ginny couldn't see whom they were from where she was standing. She assumed that he was staring at Cho Chang.

"No, there's nothing," she told Michael. "We only came as friends."

"Oh? Well, that's good news," Michael said happily.

Ginny smiled at him. The vocalist began singing the final chorus.

I'm drowning in your eyes…

Ginny looked up and met Michael Corner's gaze. His eyes were blue with streaks of grey. They had a metallic quality to them. It was a beautiful color, but she suddenly found herself wishing that they were the vivid green of emeralds.

Cho and Cedric stood close to each other on the dance floor, swaying slowly to the music. Harry frowned at them. Cho was looking very radiant and Cedric was looking happily back at her. Frowning, Harry looked away and turned to Ron, who was still glaring at Hermione and Viktor Krum. It was only then that Harry realized something.

"Hey, where's Padma, by the way?" he asked Ron.

Ron shrugged uncaringly. Harry wasn't really interested so he didn't push Ron. The current song ended and the next one began, but Ginny and Michael Corner continued to dance. Hermione came over and took Ginny's empty seat.

"Hi," said Harry. Ron didn't say anything.

"Hi," she greeted brightly. "Why aren't you two dancing? It's loads of fun."

Hermione did look like she was having a lot of fun. Her face was still flushed from dancing.

"Where's Ginny?" she asked.

Harry nodded his head wordlessly towards Ginny and Michael Corner.

"She looks like she's having fun," said Hermione, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

Harry shot her an annoyed glance. She didn't really have to point that out. Hermione didn't seem to notice.

"It's hot, isn't it?" she said, fanning herself with her hand. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks."

Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.

"If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."

Hermione stared at him, and then at Harry, who shrugged.

"Ron, what—?"

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Hogwarts! You—you're—" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly—who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

"What happened—trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he—he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

Hermione said this very quickly, and she blushed so deeply that her face matched Ron's hair.

"Yeah, well—that's his story," said Ron nastily.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Obvious, isn't it? He's hoping you'll help him with whatever it is they wanted them to do with that stupid egg! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions-"

"I'd never help him with anything regarding the Triwizard Tournament!" said Hermione, looking outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that—I want Hogwarts to win!"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.

"No it isn't!" shouted Ron. "It's about winning!"

People were starting to stare at them.

"Guys," Harry began in a frustrated tone. He was getting rather tired of playing peacemaker between Ron and Hermione.

Ron ignored him.

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," said Ron.

"Don't call him Vicky!"

Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face.

"Well, you've had a productive evening," Harry said wryly. "You've already had two girls storm away from you. Or maybe it's three, if we include Padma."

"Don't start Harry," said Ron, still glaring after Hermione.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked towards the dance floor. He hadn't really heard anything over Ron and Hermione's argument, but he was pretty sure that the current song was different from the one that was playing before Ron and Hermione started fighting. Still, Ginny continued to dance with Michael Corner.

"Let's get out of here," Ron suggested as Hermione and Viktor Krum started dancing again.

Harry looked at Cho and Cedric. He too wanted to go somewhere else so that he couldn't see them, but he didn't want to leave Ginny.

"I can't leave Ginny here," he said to Ron.

"She's still dancing with that Corner git, she won't notice."

Ron's words stung a little. "I know, but I'm her date," said Harry a little resentfully.

"Well, I'm getting out of here," declared Ron. He stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.

Two songs later, Ginny finally decided to join Harry.

"Hey, where's Ron?" she asked lightly as she took the seat beside him. Like Hermione, her face was flushed from all the dancing.

"He went outside," said Harry, a hint of irritation escaping from his voice.

Ginny noticed and she looked curiously at him. He stood up and ignored the look she was giving him.

"I'll go get you a drink," he said tonelessly.

Harry walked to the table where they were keeping all the drinks and took two cups of ice-cold punch for him and Ginny. He glanced irritably at Cho and Cedric, who hadn't stopped dancing. A vindictive thought came to his mind and he imagined them collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. He huffed irritably and went back to Ginny, wordlessly putting her drink in front of her.

"What's up with you?" Ginny finally asked.

Harry looked at Ginny in annoyance. She looked back at him, her brown eyes blazing with defiance. He looked away, unable to hold her gaze. Truth be told, he didn't really know what was going on with him.

"Nothing…I don't know," he said honestly.

Ginny took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Wanna get some air?" she asked.

"Yes," said Harry gratefully. "This place is suffocating me."

Harry stood up and followed Ginny into the entrance hall. They headed for the front doors, which stood open, and stepped out into the cool night. They walked down the stairs towards the rose garden, which was put up for the purposes of the Yule Ball.

It was a moonless night. Fairies, trapped in glass containers, illuminated the garden, which was surrounded by large stone statues with flowering vines climbing around them. The winding paths were lined with rosebushes, some of which hid pairs of students who were probably seeking more 'adventurous' activities than dancing.

Further ahead, Harry could see a large stone reindeer spurting jets of water. He followed Ginny as she set off along one of the paths towards the reindeer fountain. Carved benches were placed in measured intervals around it. Ginny chose the one facing the reindeer and Harry took a seat beside her. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the water, which seemed to splash in tune with the music filtering out of the Great Hall.

Harry looked sideways at Ginny. The blue fairy lights made her dress appear darker, causing her fiery red hair, which seemed to defy the lights' color, stand out in even greater contrast against it. Her hair was draped over one shoulder and several strands strayed to her face. She was frowning slightly and gazing at the sky as though the stars held an answer to a secret question. She must have sensed him looking at her because she tore her gaze from the heavens and met his eyes.

The stars twinkled merrily against the inky black sky. They were teasing her; she just knew it. She didn't know what made her suggest it—what made her think that going out there in the garden was a good idea. All she knew was that she didn't want to see Harry staring after Cho anymore. Could it be—?

Ginny mentally shook herself. No, that couldn't be it.

She sensed Harry looking at her, so she lowered her head and met his emerald green eyes. Unable to hold his gaze, she immediately looked away and cast around for a topic to break their silence.

"What's, er, what's up with Ron and Hermione?" asked Ginny, her eyes fixed on the reindeer fountain to avoid Harry's gaze.

"Oh, Ron didn't want Hermione to go with Krum," replied Harry. She could detect a slight note of exasperation in his voice. "Said she was 'fraternizing with the enemy'."

"Fraternizing with the enemy?" she asked incredulously.

"His words, not mine," said Harry, shrugging.

Ginny frowned in annoyance at her brother. "Ron's an idiot," she said fervently.

Harry grunted noncommittally. She knew he didn't agree with her, or even if he did, he did not want to voice it.

"He is," she told him firmly. "It's his own fault that Hermione came with Viktor Krum. He should've asked her sooner. And he should stop being a child about it. I bet he's already told her that Krum just wanted her help with the Tournament."

"Well, Ginny, you certainly know your brother," commented Harry. He was obviously not inclined to join in her tirade about Ron. She continued anyway.

"He's insensitive, a sore loser, and an idiot."

"He's still your brother," Harry pointed out.

Ginny huffed irritably. She didn't see how that was relevant. "Sometimes I wish he wasn't," she told Harry, crossing her arms in front of her.

For some reason, Harry burst out laughing, irritating her even more.

"And what is so funny?" she asked, glaring sternly at him.

"Nothing!" he said loudly, even though he was still grinning. "You—you're so stubborn."

He was looking at her in amusement. The constantly flowing water reflected ripples of blue fairy lights on to his eyes, giving her the impression that she was at sea, drowning in them. She blinked, tearing her gaze away from his captivating green eyes, and again turned to stare at the heavens.

"Oh…right," she said quietly, unable to come up with anything smarter to say.

Merlin, what is going on?

She focused her gaze on the stars, begging them for answers. What is it? What was this thing bubbling inside of her? What was wrong with her?

"I wish I had a brother," Harry said after a while, interrupting the barrage of questions forming in her head. "Or a sister," he added.

Ginny turned to face him, grateful for having something to talk about. It prevented her from thinking.

"How come you don't have one?"

It was certainly odd. Ginny had met Harry's parents several times and they seemed like the sort of couple who would want more than one kid. She could tell that they really loved each other and they had no qualms in showing that to the world. They were a lot like her own parents in that respect, definitely nothing like the icy Malfoys.

Harry took a deep breath before replying. "Well, Mum had some, er, complications when she gave birth to me," he explained. "The Healers told her that she couldn't have a child anymore. She, er, she almost died…."

Harry trailed off. She could tell that it was costing him to tell that to her. That it was not something he would like to talk about with just anybody.

"I bet you thought it was your fault," she said calmly, hoping to keep the tone light. She did not want to see him sad.

"At the time Mum told me, yeah," he told her. "I was nine. I had kept bugging her and Dad about why I don't have little brothers and sisters. I cried for a whole afternoon when she told me…."

He trailed off again. She had a feeling that he hadn't told anyone about that last part.

"You didn't have to tell me that," she said.

"I know."

Ginny felt her heart soar at this simple answer. It was very gratifying to know that Harry trusted her enough to tell her something that he must've thought was embarrassing.

"I wished I had a sister too," she said, smiling at Harry.

"Really?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, when I was younger," she replied, her smile widening into a mischievous smirk. "But not now, not anymore…. I have Hermione, see. I secretly adopted her as my older sister. But don't tell her that," she added conspiratorially.

Harry exploded into mirthful laughter. Ginny looked at him, mesmerized by the way his face lit up in delight, and happy that she was able to make him laugh.

"You won't tell her?" she asked jokingly.

"I won't tell, I promise," Harry said in a mock-solemn tone.

He was looking directly at her with an amused expression on his face, his eyes twinkling almost as if they had their own internal lights. Ginny suddenly found herself struggling for breath. Her heart started beating faster, as though making up for lack of air. She tore her eyes away from his, only to have them rest on his lips. He was trying not to smile, but the corners of his mouth started tugging upwards—the start of a full-blown grin. She wondered what it would be like—

Ginny quickly turned her head away from him and stared unseeingly at the reindeer fountain. She fought the blush that was starting to creep up her cheeks.

Merlin, this cannot be happening!

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Harry turn towards the reindeer fountain. He was still smiling, a contented look settling on his handsome face.

How can he be so calm?

Ginny focused her gaze on the fountain, letting the quiet ripples lull her heart to a normal pace. A silence settled over them, both nervous and comfortable. How she could feel both contradicting emotions at the same time, she had no idea. She swallowed hard several times and struggled to find her voice.

"We should get back," she said after a while.

She stood up, not meeting his eyes, and headed for the castle doors. Behind her, she could hear Harry hurrying up after her.

People had already started filing out of the Great Hall when they got back to the castle. It was already a few minutes past midnight. Ginny and Harry scanned the Hall for Ron, Hermione, and Neville, but they couldn't find the three of them, so they headed for Gryffindor tower by themselves.

They trudged along the hallways in silence. Most of the students had already gone up to the tower ahead of them. The only sounds to be heard were the treads of their weary feet and the whispers from the portraits.

Ginny walked a step behind Harry. She stared at his back, half-formed questions running through her mind. He was walking in that characteristic way of his—an unassuming gait that she now found quite attractive. His jet-black hair had refused all of his attempts to flatten it and was sticking up in all directions like it always did. He had recently cut his hair, she noticed. It now stopped short at the back of his neck, brushing the collar of his dark blue dress robes. She wondered what it would be like to run her hands through his hair. Would it be silky? Smooth? Rough? Would it smell of mint? Apples? Peaches—?

She mentally shook herself. No, she shouldn't go there.

Presently, Ginny and Harry arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait. They stepped through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room just in time to witness Ron and Hermione end a nasty shouting match and stomp angrily up the stairs to their respective dormitories.

Ginny stared after Ron and Hermione, her mouth curling into a grimace. Her exasperation at the two of them drove her thoughts and confusion about Harry out of her mind.

"What was that about?" she wondered aloud, looking to Harry for an answer.

Harry shrugged, probably too used to his best friends' arguments to worry too much about it. Ginny smiled fondly at Harry's reaction. She walked towards the girls' staircase, turning back to Harry as she stepped onto the bottommost tread. She suddenly felt nervous again.

"Thanks for agreeing to be my partner," Harry said sincerely.

"No problem," said Ginny, trying to keep her voice casual. "I had a lot of fun."

Except when you were staring at Cho Chang.

"I had a lot of fun too," he said, grinning widely at her.

Ginny felt her legs weaken. Her shoes suddenly became very interesting and a blush crept slowly up her cheeks. She swayed on the spot for a moment, wondering what to do. Should she hug him? Kiss him? Where? On the cheek? On the lips? No, she couldn't do it.

"Good night," she said abruptly, then, not meeting his eyes, she turned and hurried up the stairs, slamming the door behind her as she entered the third year girls' dormitory.

Betaed by: NancyDrewGirl.

Last Edit: 25 February 2010