Ginny was not proud of what she had done. Walking out was not her thing. She had always preferred to take things head on. But she just couldn't stay there any longer. Not with Harry gaping like a moron at Cho Chang. A small part of her knew that she was behaving childishly. Another part worried about what the others might think of her behavior. But she really couldn't bring herself to care.

Why did Cho Chang have to turn up anyway? Why couldn't she just go snog her own boyfriend? And Harry, why couldn't he just get it into his head that Cho Chang was dating Cedric Diggory? How could he still like her? She liked someone else!

Harry likes Cho Chang, yet you still like him, the annoying voice in her head pointed out. She ignored it.

What is it with Cho Chang anyway?

And her stupid brothers! Teasing him about her—encouraging him. The idiots! And George had to make that comment about Cho and Cedric not being married. How dare he? If she hadn't told herself not to let the twins get to her, and if Angelina hadn't been around, she'd have asked George if that was what he thought about Fred and Angelina too. That would have shown him.

She tried to squash the hurt that was bubbling within her. She had really thought that Harry was starting to get over Cho Chang. She had started hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could start liking her, Ginny. They'd had so much fun that week. They'd played together, done homework together, practiced spells together, talked and laughed together—but obviously that wasn't enough. Obviously, she'd been wrong to hope. What a foolish mistake to make.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—

Ginny started, taking in her surroundings. She was standing right in front of the library. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had not noticed where her feet had taken her. She stared at the library's double doors, wondering what to do. A second later, she decided to go in. The library was the last place Harry would visit on a beautiful afternoon such as that one and she had no intentions of seeing him right at that moment.

She entered the library with Madam Pince scowling at her and at the Nimbus she was still carrying. There were no rules against bringing a broom into the library, so she knew she was okay. She ignored the librarian's disapproving expression and made her way to a corner of the library, where the nearby window presented a view of the Forbidden Forest.

Ginny wondered why Hermione had not followed her. Maybe Hermione did not want to raise Fred and George's suspicions. Or maybe she knew that Ginny did not want to talk just yet. Whatever Hermione's reasons were, Ginny was glad that Hermione wasn't there. Not that she did not appreciate the older girl, she had not been joking when she told Harry—Harry—that Hermione was like a sister to her. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts right at that moment. So of course, someone just had to interrupt her.

"Ginny?" a vaguely familiar voice called her back to reality.

Ginny tore her eyes away from the snowcapped trees of the Forbidden Forest and turned to see Michael Corner standing right in front of her. He was grinning widely, a couple of books clutched in his hand.

"Michael!" she exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't spoken to him since the Yule Ball. He had been rather nice then, not to mention funny and a good dancer. "Hi," she added, smiling half-heartedly at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, and then looked pointedly out the window, obviously wondering why she wasn't outside and enjoying the weather.

"Oh, you know…"

Harry.

"Sulking?" he asked jokingly, his head cocked to one side as he smiled at her.

"No," she said flatly.

"Yes, you are," he said. "Your face was going like this—"

Michael Corner brought his eyebrows together in what he obviously thought was Ginny's 'sulking' face. He looked so ridiculous that she just had to let out a small chuckle in spite of herself.

"Got you to smile, didn't I?" he said, looking quite pleased with himself.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but allowed herself a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprising herself with the fact that she genuinely wanted to know the answer to that question.

Michael held out the books he was carrying. "Potions," he said ruefully. "I've put everything off at the last minute and now I'm stuck here," he added with a longing look at the school grounds.

Ginny chuckled. She also wasn't halfway through her written assignments. She still had three essays to do. The difference between her and Michael was that she still chose to enjoy the beautiful day outside. Well, it had been enjoyable before Cho Chang decided to show up at the pitch.

"I thought Ravenclaws never put homework off," she commented, shaking off her unpleasant thoughts about a certain Ravenclaw Seeker.

"That's a stereotype, if I've ever heard one," Michael pointed out.

Ginny had the grace to be embarrassed, but she said, "No worse than saying all Gryffindors are foolhardy."

"All Gryffindors are foolhardy."

"No we're not," she said defiantly, thinking of Hermione, Percy, Neville, and a few others. It escaped her notice that she was not on that list.

Michael raised his hands up. "Alright, alright, I did not come here to argue with you about House traits," he said, making Ginny wonder what he had approached her for. He fell silent for a moment, then said, "Mind if I sit here?"

Sort of.

"No, go ahead," Ginny heard herself say.

"Thanks," Michael said happily, taking the seat opposite Ginny.

He laid his books on the table but made no motion of opening them. Instead, he rested his arms on them and fixed his gaze on her. Ginny looked away, blushing slightly, uncomfortable with the attention he was giving her.

"Looks like Pince is not too happy with you bringing that broom inside," Michael said after a moment, nodding towards the librarian. He had obviously been casting around for a topic.

Ginny turned around and saw that Madam Pince was still scowling at the Nimbus. She turned back to Michael, rolling her eyes.

"There are no rules against it," she told him. "Although," she added, "I wouldn't put it past her to make a new one up."

Michael chuckled appreciatively. "You play Quidditch, then?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Ginny replied pleasantly.

"What position?"

"Chaser. Do you play?"

"Nah," Michael said offhandedly. "I mean, I can fly, but I'm not as good as the players on the Quidditch teams. Are you good?"

Ginny didn't know the answer to this question. Michael was smirking knowingly at her. She decided to go with the truth—or at least what she thought was the truth.

"I think so," she replied, not in a bragging way. She suddenly remembered that Harry thought that she was good too. He even said once that she could play for the Gryffindor team. It brought a smile to her lips.

"I'll take your word for it then," Michael said easily. "So, what's your team?"

"Please, Hermione," wheedled Ginny.

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading. "Are you going to share it with your classmates?" she asked suspiciously.

"No," Ginny lied without a moment's hesitation.

"Then, no," said Hermione, turning back to her book.

"Well, yes then."

"Still no."

"But—"

"I said no, Ginny."

"It's only History of Magic."

"I'll have you know," began Hermione, eyeing Ginny sternly, "that History of Magic is just as important as every other Hogwarts subject."

No it isn't!

"Come on," Ginny said out loud. "You know I don't normally ask you for this, but I still have those Potions and Charms essays to do, not to mention Transfiguration. I haven't got the time to do all four before Monday."

"Well, you would've had the time if you started with them during the holidays," argued Hermione. "It's not my fault you put everything off until the last minute."

"You let them read your homework," protested Ginny, pointing at Harry and Ron (she didn't know where Neville was), who were looking at her and Hermione with amused expressions on their faces.

Hermione said, "I do not!" at the same time as Ron exclaimed, "No, she doesn't!" and Harry said, "Hey, don't involve us in this."

"I read over their essays after they're done writing them," said Hermione. Ron nodded fervently beside her. "Now, why don't you start with your essays and I'll read through them when you're done," she added in a final tone.

"Oh, fine," Ginny said with a stubborn huff.

Harry, who was sitting on Hermione's other side, started chuckling softly. "Told you it wouldn't work," he told Ginny in a mirthful tone, his green eyes twinkling.

Ginny felt her stomach swoop and her legs go weak, but she kept her calm. "Worth a try," she said with a casual shrug. "Thank you so much for your help, Hermione," she added sarcastically.

"You're very welcome, Ginny," Hermione said cheerfully.

Ginny playfully stuck her tongue out at the older girl before heading to the other side of the common room, where her friends Kimberly, Sarah, and Edmund had taken seats around a small table.

Kimberly was flipping idly through a Muggle music magazine, ignoring the stack of books she had piled on the table in front of her. Kim's father was a Muggle so she was exposed to the non-magical world. She was a huge music lover, and especially loved Muggle songs. She would tell anyone who listened that Muggle songs were way better than the ones written by Wizards ("excepting Sirius' music, of course," Kim would always say). She was a huge fan of Sirius and had hounded Ginny for days to get an autograph for her when she found out that Ginny knew Sirius personally. Kim was quite serious when it came to music. She was even a member of two bands: a Muggle one from back at her hometown and a group she had formed with a couple of Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw the previous year. She was also a member of Sonorus, Hogwarts' singing club. Kim could play a number of musical instruments and had a great voice—a talent which Ginny was severely lacking.

Sarah and Edmund were pouring over Standard Book of Spells: Grade Three. They were sitting very close together, their heads almost touching. The pair had known each other since they were children, their two families being quite close. As far as Ginny knew, Sarah and Edmund weren't together as a couple but from the way they interact with each other, they might as well be. She could tell that it would only be a matter of time before they became official. They were practically attached to the hip and were so close that if they were hanging out with a third person, that third person would almost always feel left out.

"No luck, huh?" Kim said when Ginny sat beside her.

"Nah," Ginny replied lightly. She wasn't really counting on Hermione to let her borrow the essay she'd written for Binns last year, but it was worth a try (and she got to talk with Harry, even for a few minutes).

Sarah and Edmund looked up from their book. "Shall we go to the library then?" Sarah suggested unenthusiastically.

"Well, no choice," said Ginny. She stood up and slung her book bag over her shoulders.

"Oi Colin, mate," called Edmund. Colin, who was obsessed with taking pictures, was standing by the fireplace and pointing his camera at the crackling flames (of all things). "We're going to the library now," Edmund told Colin. "You coming?"

"Yeah, hang on," replied Colin.

Colin put his camera in his bag and hurried after Ginny and the others as they walked towards the portrait hole. Ginny narrowed her eyes mockingly at Hermione as she passed, but Hermione only waved cheerfully. Harry grinned widely at Ginny, and she couldn't help but smile back. Throughout the entire walk to the library, his heart-melting smile and his brilliant green eyes were all she could think of.

"No brooms allowed inside," Colin said loudly, pulling Ginny away from her daydreams.

Ginny looked up and followed Colin's gaze to a sign that was pinned to the bulletin board next to the library's entrance.

"Who would bring a broom inside, anyway?" Colin asked no one in particular before entering the library.

Ginny snorted at Colin's comment and followed him into the library. The two of them, along with Kim, sat at a small table by the window. Sarah and Edmund, as usual, chose a separate table. All her friends went to check out some library books while Ginny stayed to keep an eye on their things.

Ginny looked out the window, focusing her attention on the blinding whiteness outside the castle. The raging blizzard which had let up on the last weekend of the holidays had come back with a vengeance at the start of the second term. It was already the first Saturday since the start of term and still, the blizzard had shown no signs of ceasing. It prevented her from flying at the pitch with Harry that afternoon, lest they get blown away towards the Forbidden Forest. Ginny still couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or not. On the one hand, she really wanted to hang out with Harry. On the other, she was afraid that she would make a fool of herself around him. It was one thing to hang out with him at the common room when Ron, Hermione and Neville were with them and they were surrounded by a lot of people and completely another to fly with him at the pitch where they would be alone, just the two of them. And even if she didn't embarrass herself, she was afraid that Cho Chang might turn up again and Harry would start gaping at her. Ginny didn't want to see that.

Ginny blinked, shaking unpleasant thoughts away. She turned her attention back to the view outside the window. Directly below, she could make out the rectangular outlines of the greenhouses while up ahead were the white, cloud-like tops of the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Further along the edge of the forest and almost out of sight stood Hagrid's hut, unrelenting to the blizzard going on outside.

A frown crossed Ginny's face as she remembered the Monday issue of the Daily Prophet, which contained an article about Hagrid. Rita Skeeter, a reporter who made her way up the proverbial ladder through scandal rather than talent, had written that Hagrid was a half-giant. Ginny already knew about this since Ron had overheard a conversation between Hagrid and Madam Maxime where Hagrid had told the Beauxbatons Headmistress that he was a half-giant. But, while the article's claim of Hagrid's lineage was true, everything else was trash bin material. Ginny saw no reason in announcing Hagrid's lineage to the entire world, and making it seem like a crime was simply unjust and ignorant. Hagrid was nothing like the person Skeeter had made him appear to be. He was a great softy. Skeeter had no reason for writing that article about him. She had been assigned to cover the Triwizard Tournament, not the personal lives of Hogwarts' staff. The keyword, of course, was 'assigned'. Dumbledore had banned Skeeter from Hogwarts for publishing fake stories about the Triwizard Champions. So, as Hermione kept reminding anyone who would listen, the question was: How did Rita Skeeter get into Hogwarts?

"So is this your favorite corner in the library?" an amused voiced interrupted her thoughts.

Ginny pushed her musings about Rita Skeeter aside (Hermione would figure it out anyway) and turned to face the speaker. It was Michael Corner, standing right in front of her. She smiled, recognizing the familiarity of the situation.

"Hello, Michael," she greeted pleasantly.

"Hi," replied Michael, and without waiting for an invitation, he took the seat across from her.

Looking around, Ginny realized that her friends had returned with a number of library books. Sarah and Edmund were sitting at the table they had chosen earlier. They gave Ginny teasing smirks when she caught their eye. Kim and Colin had taken seats at another table ("the traitors," Ginny thought vindictively), effectively leaving her with Michael Corner, and were sniggering quietly to themselves. Ginny glared at her friends before turning back to Michael.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing homework?" asked Michael, raising an amused eyebrow and looking pointedly at the empty table.

Ginny gave him a resigned grimace. She grabbed her bag from the floor and took out her school books, a quill and an ink bottle, and several rolls of parchment. She put the items on the table and frowned at them, blowing an annoying lock of hair out of her face.

"I guess we can safely say that you always put homework off until the last minute," Michael said with a teasing smirk.

Ginny gave him a slightly sheepish smile but did not say anything in reply. She grabbed her History of Magic book and opened it to the assigned chapter. She honestly did not know what to say to him. They had not known each other long enough and while Ginny had a knack of making quick friends with just about anyone (except perhaps Slytherins), the extra attention he seemed to give her made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She had no idea why he kept seeking her out—

Well, okay, maybe she did have an idea. But she was not about to encourage him. He was nice enough though, and she saw no reason to turn him away.

"You know what they say about Binns?" Michael asked after Ginny had read the same boring, and incredibly confusing, paragraph on her book for about the fifth time.

"What?" she asked, welcoming his distraction.

"They say he only reads the introduction and the conclusion," he replied. "You can write anything in between—nonsense stuff, insults, anything! And he won't know, he won't read it."

"Really?" asked Ginny hopefully.

"That's what they say," said Michael, shrugging. "But I don't know if it's true. I haven't really dared to pass an essay that only has an introduction and a conclusion then nonsense in between."

Ginny smirked at Michael. "Well," she began mischievously, "Let's find out, shall we?"

"What—?"

Ginny waved her hand nonchalantly and turned back to her History of Magic book with more enthusiasm than she had a while ago. Several minutes later, she already had a conclusion drafted and an introduction written on a clean roll of parchment. She gave Michael a smug grin and then began writing a detailed comparison of Europe's Quidditch teams after the introduction.

Michael stared at her in disbelief.

"You're doing it," he said after a moment. And then, "You're actually doing it." And finally, "You're really doing it."

Ginny ignored him and kept on writing, detailing the reasons why she thought the Holyhead Harpies were the best team in the European League. Michael recovered soon enough, however, and began offering his opinions on the different strategies used by different teams. He got so enthusiastic at one point that he almost grabbed the quill and parchment from her to defend his precious team (Tutshill Tornadoes) in writing. Three rolls of parchment later, Ginny happily copied the draft of her conclusion to her essay.

"This is the longest History of Magic essay I've ever written," she told Michael, waving her homework proudly at him.

"Are you really going to pass that?" he asked, his disbelief coming back.

"Sure," she replied casually. "Why not?"

Michael started laughing softly.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Michael said through his laughter. "You—" he hesitated, biting his lip. "Nothing," he finally said, though Ginny doubted it. "This was fun wasn't it?"

And even though she was not one to enjoy doing homework, Ginny had to admit, writing about Quidditch in her History of Magic essay was fun.

Betaed by: PadfootProngs7