Attention: I need a new beta-reader. My old one just stopped answering almost a month ago. i waited for some time, hoping to hear something back, but nothing. So yeah, if someone feels like it, let me know.

Harry tipped the vile over, pouring the foul-tasting potion into his mouth, quickly swallowing. For a moment he felt even worse, ready to throw up, then his stomach settled and his headache fled his skull. He sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Kreacher." Harry said, rubbing over his forehead that wasn't killing him anymore. He turned to the bowing figure to his side.

"Could you again bring one to Ginny and place a Dreamless Sleep Potion next to my bed for tonight?" He asked the eager to serve elf. Kreacher raised his head, looking at Harry with dark deep eyes.

"Of course, as Heir Black wishes. Kreacher lives to serve. Would that be all Heir Black wishes from Kreacher?"

Harry nodded, getting out of his bed.

"Yeah, that would be all. Oh and like yesterday, I would like this to be our little secret okay?"

The elf rubbed his fingers together, slowly shifting.

"Kreacher has to ask, does Heir Black wish to continue consuming alcohol? In that case, Kreacher would need to be punished as he can't keep something like that from Lord Black." The elf looked pretty much like he was fighting with himself. He shifted slightly, looking really uncomfortable. Harry blinked a little. He wasn't used to Kreacher speaking back to him, it had not really happened before, because he was most loyal as it seemed towards him. But it made sense in some way for the elf to have this nervous reaction.

After all, Sirius was still head of the household. Harry slowly shook his head.

"This was the last evening. I needed it to sleep, but with the sleepless dream potions, that will not be a problem anymore." He said firmly, looking away. The elf bowed again. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but then he bowed again.

"Of course, Heir Black. Kreacher bring that potion in the evening." Harry again nodded.

"Thank you. You are dismissed." After those words, the elf popped away. Making Harry sigh. He didn't want Sirius to know about this really. He could deal with it on his own. Even though the man had been quite eager to mirror call him over the course of the last few days and each evening he had said if Harry wanted to come home, but Harry had also noticed something else. His godfather ended every call with the statement that he would meet up with Amelia Bones. Harry knew full well what that meant. Sirius was slowly moving on. His godfather was building his own life.

Harry shook his head, clearing out the thoughts and moved to the stairs upstairs. Dawn came to his shoulder and once again he caught himself before his fingers brushed through his collar, something he had done to feel if Gryph was secure around his neck, but now the gesture was empty and without aim. He stopped short and instead rubbed Dawn's belly. She was clingy but Harry didn't mind at that. He felt clingy himself right now and therefore more than happy to have her in close proximity to himself.

Stretching one more time until his back popped slightly, he climbed the stairs and came out of the trunk. Like so often, the dorm was mostly empty. Someone was still showering, probably Ron, Harry thought with a snort. Next, to the door, Neville was tieing his shoes. The chubby boy looked up hearing his footsteps. He smiled, rising from his bed.

"Oh hey, Harry. Do you feel better today?" He asked, brushing over the front of his uniform. Harry nodded shortly.

"Yeah, way better than yesterday, thanks for asking." Harry said, leaning against the post of Neville's bed. The chubby boy looked a little uncertain, rubbing his hands.

"That's good. I'm glad to hear that. There...There is something I wanted to ask you..." He looked not into Harry's eyes. The raven-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" Dawn chirped when Harry answered and his fingers absentminded rubbed her belly. The golden-eyed phoenix's chirps died down to a gleefull cooing and she shuffled slightly.

Neville raised his eye looking at Harry. "I have talked to Hermione yesterday. She seemed pretty upset and well it seemed to be about you. Maybe you should-"

Harry's face hardened at Neville's words and he pushed himself from the post, shacking his head. He then pointed his finger at Neville. "No! If Hermione has a problem, then it is hers. I did nothing wrong. And don't stick your nose in other peoples business Longbottom." He snapped at him, glaring with burning eyes. Neville flinched a little, taking a step back and slumping down on his bed. Harry gave him one final glare and then turned, rushing out the door.

He sped down the stairs, telling himself he wasn't running from the conversation. The common room was mostly quiet right now, where Harry looked around. To one end, Hermione was packing her bag with her books. Harry stopped in his tracks. The bushy-haired girl looked up like she noticed that someone was watching her. Over the entire room, their eyes connected for a moment, just looking at each other. Harry felt his stomach crunch and he turned away. He had done nothing wrong, she should apologise to him!

Instead of walking over, he turned to the side, looking away. He sees a different girl there and it makes his stomach feel a little weird. Red hair flowed freely, while she threw her head back, laughing at something a friend of hers had said. Harry felt something, a fluttering in his stomach when he saw the light shimmer in her hair.

Is this love? It must be. He said to himself. His mind came back to the last night when they had made out for the first time. It had been actually kind of weird. They kissed and that for a long time. Not the chaste kisses he had with Cho. This those two times they had kissed, they had mostly pecked each other on the lips.

With Ginny it was different. More wild and sloppy. Her fingers had run through his raven hair, gripping and pulling, while she nibbled on his bottom lip. Harry, in turn, had pulled her in a close embrace and claimed her lips with his. Their tounges had danced in a tight and moist dance, wrestling each other, almost like they tried to outdo the other. It had been hot and tense, some moans and grunts had come out of the two of them. Finally, when Harry had pulled back, he had tried to catch his breath, tried to get oxygen into his blood. Ginny had slowly risen, breathing rapidly too, and then there had been this awkward silence between the two of them. Both had blushed like mad and quickly decided that it was time to go to bed. Neither had said anything while they had walked back to the common room and only wished the other good night before they had both dashed for their respective dorm.

Now she was there and Harry's mind flashed back to the taste of apple from her lips, well as well as the cinnamon of the Fire-Whiskey. He wasn't sure what to do, what did their kissing mean? Did it mean anything? What did Ginny think about it? Was she ashamed? Would she scorn him? Or did it mean something else?

Harry's thoughts stopped when Ginny turned, looking over at him. A soft smile formed on her blushing face and she waved at him. He took that as a sign and moved over, walking around the central couch. The two friends of the red-head also turned their heads when they heard him coming closer and giggled slightly.

"Morning Ginny." He said careful not to look over to the giggling girls. Ginny smiled, her face a little red under the freckles. She turned her upper body towards him.

"Good morning Harry. D-Did you sleep well?" Her voice was a little nervous, while she tried to calm herself.

Harry scratched the back of his head, feeling himself blush too.

"Yeah...Oh yeah, I slept like a stone. Could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

Ginny nodded slowly, eyeing him slightly, then she turned to her friends.

"Lara, Sara, we meet in the Great Hall, okay?" She asked. The friends seemed to be wanting to disagree but Ginny gave them a very forceful stare, which made both girls waved quick goodbyes. Harry watched both of them leave slowly, his hands in his pockets. His mind wasn't thinking at his moment, caught up in the state of just emptiness for a moment.

Then Ginny nudged him slightly, making him jump. It caused her to laugh slightly, shaking her head.

"A little jumpy aren't we?" She asked, with a slight smirk. Harry gave her a mock glare. Then her smile turned a little more firm.

"So...considering what...happened yesterday and you wanted to speak to me alone, let'S go to "our" room." She said walking to the portrait hole. Harry shuffled after her, feeling nervous all the sudden. It's just Ginny, he tried to say to himself. You have avoided her the whole summer and somehow now you are afraid she would walk out on you? Dumb Harry, get your head together. Like so often his hands started sweating slighly as he followed her down the corridor and into the side one. His own words mean about this being nothing special meant nothing to his own body as he stepped through the door into the unused classroom. The couch was still standing there as he stepped closer. Ginny had stayed at the door and closed it behind her back. She looked down, her hands clasped around the handle behind her back. Harry didn't see it but the hands were shacking because even though Harry was nervous, he was not nearly as nervous as the red-haired girl.

"I..." Harry started not sure how to deal with this kind of conversation. He never had the need to say something like this.

He turned silent, not sure what would be the appropriate way to express his feelings. He wasn't even sure what his feelings were, to be honest. What did he feel?

After a moment, Ginny looked up, smiling at him.

"Thank you for the potion, that was very considerate of you." She said, her hands still clasped tightly around the handle. She had been over the moon last night, Harry had kissed her. HARRY HAD KISSED HER! All she ever dreamed of had come true. But the way the evening had ended made her stomach roll back and forth and she had thrown up in the girl's bathroom that night, maybe due to the alcohol, maybe because anxiety had kicked it. And she had made a plan, this morning, after a pepper up potion had brought her up to speed.

Ginny of the past year would have dreamed about her and Harry together, would have thrown herself into his arms this morning, thinking that she was his girlfriend and they would marry and have lots of children together.

Today's Ginny wasn't so sure. Yes, she was twitching inside by the thought of his arms around her, about his lips on hers, but since the evening ended so abrupt, she wanted to be careful. Don't ruin it on the finishing line. Be calm. Be calm Be calm. Don't force it. Keep your cool, you can do it.

Harry slowly nodded, like he had heard her thanking him only with half an ear. He looked out the window, she was sure he didn't even realise that he was petting Dawn vigorously. The bird chirped quietly, making him raise his head. He turned and from his eyes, Ginny saw that he had done thinking.

"Ginny, I don't know what to really say right now. We kissed and all but what does this mean for us? Are we friends? Are we...a couple? I'm not good at this kind of stuff, so...yeah." He again scratched the back of his head. While he did so, Ginny's own organs made a summersault when he said a couple. He carefully prayed her fingers from the doorknob and moved over to him. Her steps were slow and careful as she moved around the couch.

"I'm not sure either, but I try. Did you like kissing me?" She asked, her hands clasped behind her back. Harry stared at her, thoughts drifting back and forth in mind. Then he slowly, while turning a little red, nodded. Ginny smiled, moving a little closer.

"Would you like to do it again?" She asked, moving now really close. Without waiting for an answer, she rose to her tippy toes and kissed Harry on the lips. Not like yesterday, just a small peck, so quick he was surpriesed and it was over before it even stepped back, smiling at him in the morning sunlight.

"Did you like it again?" She asked the blinking boy. Harry thought about it. Yes, it hadn't been the raging fire he had felt when Cho had kissed him, not the same way. It was tamer more controlled, but there it was. Was this these more mature feelings people talked about? It didn't feel exactly as exciting but then again, all those stories said love was different every time.

Also, a voice in his mind spoke up. Remember what you have thought yesterday. Enjoy life as long as it lasts and kissing Ginny didn't exactly was a bad feeling. It felt really good in its own way. So why should he back down? Who did he want to please and should he?

Harry made up his mind. Instead of answering he stepped closer, his hand moving around Ginny's waist and pulling her towards himself. She tilted her head back to look at him and with a grin he planted his lips on hers again. Ginny melted into his arms, while her mind tumbled into bliss.

Yes! That was all she ever dreamed of, all she ever wanted.

The two of them finally made it to the Great Hall, walking down the table. A few heads turned, looking over. Since they held hands, it was quite obvious what happened there just now. Ginny had taken Harry's when they had left "their" room. They held it the entire way, even though they didn't say much to each other. While they walked past the table, again Harry saw Hermione, who looked up from her book, frowning slightly when she saw their hands linked. Harry gripped a little tighter and walked past her with a slight huff, before reaching the place where two girls sat.

Those were the friends Ginny had send away this morning and Harry sat down on a free spot. Ginny took a seat next to him and smiled at her friends. Harry raised their intertwined hands and placed those on the tabletop.

Two pairs of eyes went down on the table, to their hands and then back up again.

The blond of the two, Sarah, leaned over, whispering eagerly.

"Are you two...?" She left the words hanging, while Ginny looked over at Harry. Even though he was a year older, his short stature made them the same hight. He nodded once and Ginny smiled, turning back to her friends. She nodded too.

"Yeah, we are a couple."

Both girls got this gleefull look that Harry never really understood and made a little applause, really quiet, still a few older students, tired of their asses, looked over with a frown. They were mostly too tired in the morning to listen to the squirrelling of children in their opinion. The rest of the breakfast was quite fun. Ginny's friends were actually hilarious, Harry thought to himself. So much better than Ron and Hermione. Not once they scowled at him or something. Mostly they were amazed by everything he told them. He wasn't some much of a show-off, at least he thought of himself this way. But the things he talked about weren't boy-who-lived things or something like that. Instead, he talked about flying, about the duelling practice Sirius and Remus had given him and things along these lines. Things that made him proud, since it was things he had the feeling he earned them. Of course, not to miss out, Dawn was one of the topics and the girls were quite taken by the black-feathered phoenix on his shoulder. Yes, every Gryffindor knew Dawn but most came not really in close contact with her.

It spoke volumes about the problems she was having right now that the little girl didn't relish in the attention she got, Diva she was usually. Instead, she huddled close to Harry's neck and cooed quietly. The large Hall, which she knew very well and never had problems with, this morning seemed to be of her dislike and therefore she kept close to her bonded human, even forgoing offered pets. Harry was quite attentive to her when he noticed, something the girls cooed over.

The words had been true once more. Girls were suckers for guys who act well with animals.

At the end of their meal, all four rose and agreed on flying after classes. They made their way out of the Hall and Harry walked with them to the entrance of the dungeons, since they had potions as the first period. There Sarah and Lara gave him and Ginny a moment, a moment the used to kiss each other before each began their days.

Harry just finished his transformation class and walked towards charms. Alone. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but Neville stuck to Hermione, Harry wasn't ready to apologise to her for what he felt was totally appropriate, Dean and Shaemus were with Ron, so he was stuck by himself.

Well, not entirely. There was a certain black-feathered phoenix who took his attention anyway, by chirping at him, making him smile, while he tickled her stomach with his index finger. She was all the friends he needed, Harry thought to himself. No one came close in understanding him as she did and if all those others were being douches, then he would stick with her and her alone.

So he was on full focus, speaking quietly to Dawn, that he didn't see when the wall next to him opened and an arm reached out. It grabbed him by the cloak, pulling. Harry actually yelped when he was pulled and Dawn fluttered her wings chirping loudly in surprise.

Behind him, the wall closed without a sound and Harry found himself in the darkness before someone spoke.

"Lumos." A faint glow filled the side room and Harry breathed out a sigh in relief.

"Jeez, guys, you gave me and Dawn a heart attack." He stated, shaking his head at the two grinning redheads. George turned to Fred, clapping his hand over his mouth.

"Oh Merlin, Freddy...what have we done?"

Fred smirked and also held his hand high in the air, in a wonderful Hamlet pose.

"Oh no just think of it, George. The hero of the wizarding world, dead by failed heart. What Drama."

"What Tragedy."

"The sorrow would be out of this world."

"Haha, very funny." Harry said, shaking his head again. He crossed his arms. "What do you two want?" He asked, looking from one to the other. They were in one of the secret passages, a cob-web filled corridor, thick dust on the floor and some old statue to the side which looked a little like an overweight woman with just two teeth.

"What we want? Really Prongslet."

"You hurt our feelings."

"Why would you think."

"That we would always be out for something."

"That we always planned some devious."

"But probably most genius."

"Plan, that would leave the masses gobsmacked."

"Really, you shouldn't judge people like that."

"A noble lord should have more patience."

"And understanding for the mere peasants."

"Who are humbly minded their business."

Harry shook his head slightly, waving his hand up and down."Yeah yeah, come on you guys. I'm sure you are as innocent as it can be, but still, if you pull someone into a remote corridor, scaring them half to death, you have to expect a few questions."

Fred and George eyed each other and their jovial smile slowly died down as they got on their "business" faces. The nodded to each other turning to Harry, who felt a shift in their vibe. They crossed their arms.

"Someone is impatient. Fine."

"Since you want us to stop beating around the bushes, we do you the favor."

"What are your intentions with our Sister?" They said, leaning closer. Their eyes were intense and Harry felt a slight shiver run down his spine.

"What do you mean?" He asked lamely, knowing full well that it was pointless. Geroge tilted his head slightly.

"Our sister. You know, short red long hair, quite a set of lungs. Since you held her hand this morning at breakfast and kissed her on the entrance of the dungeons we thought you might remember her."

Harry nodded stiffly, before releasing a held breath. He nodded again.

"Yeah, I just wouldn't have thought you would have noticed this quickly." He said, looking up at them. Both chuckled.

"Oh now you really do wound us Harry."

"Our trade demands high alert and observation. Do you think we only became beaters because of our bulking muscles?" Fred even flexed his bizeps a little.

"Also since two years ago, we have an eye on our little Gin-Gin and look out for her."

George nodded, leaning against the wall next to Harry. "So we were kind of surprised at the display this morning."

"Of course, we knew about her fascination for you, Merlin our entire family knows about that, even though she thinks she is subtle about it."

"But we thought you weren't interested in her that way, so we just found it most amusing."

Quiet followed the words. Harry squared his shoulders a little. "And what do you think about it now?"

Fred put his hands behind his head, looking to the ceiling.

"Puh, that is difficult to tell really. On the one hand, we like you, Harry. We really do. Your capability to cause trouble even outdoes ours. Getting yourself into the tournament is a testament to that."

Harry gritted his teeth. "I didn't put myself in." He snapped at them. Fred raised only an eyebrow slightly.

"Maybe you did, maybe you don't that is not really important to us. You are a trouble magnet and we commend yo for that."

George nodded, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly. "Yeah, also you are with one of the marauders, so that is a huge plus for us."

Fred then raised a single finger. "But, and here is the big but."

"You are also a danger magnet, like none other, outdoing us in that field by far. And even we bite off more than we can chew sometimes, to think that a ickly fourth-grader gets in even more trouble, maybe pulling our baby sister in is a problem. I think there is no student, with the maybe exception of Longbottom after potions, who has been ot the Hospital Wing more often the last years than you did. And the honoured Padfoot isn't as subtle as he might think he does and his idea of handling girls..." He left those words hanging while Harry swallowed hard.

They were right, Sirius was a dog, in a literal and a figurative way. His school stories, when not about pranks or Harry's dad, were often about all the girls he had dated. It was a contrast to the singleminded love James has had. He was a heartbreaker and had told Harry more often than not that he wanted him to have the same...experience. Harry wasn't sure if he liked the idea of taking your own fun as a primary goal, but then again, this was what he had thought to himself.

George nodded in agreement with his brother's words.

"So...you see we are in some kind of predicament here. As Ginny's older brothers we are inclined to protect her, you know? So we can't just leave this situation alone, but on the other hand, you are normally a good guy. So...what are your intentions?"

Harry frowned slightly, shaking his head. "Isn't this kind of Ginnys and my business, not yours?" He asked, tilting up his chin to show a strong side. George and Fred looked at each other, before starting laughing.

"Oh ickly Harrinsky, really, that's cute. Now for one, that is not how being an older brother works. Also, do you really take us for the kind of guys that would keep clear of something like this?"

Harry gritted his teeth slightly, shaking his head slightly. "That's nothing I care for. I don't really give a damn about whether you like or dislike me and Ginny being together because that is our thing, not yours. You can boast as much as you want, I'm not scared of you two. I stared down a damn dragon, so bugger off, I have Charms to get to."

Harry pushed himself off the wall, trying to step around George, but he planted his arm out, stopping him from passing.

"Not so fast, Harry." He said, serious and earnest.

Fred also stepped closer. "I think you misunderstand our intentions here. We aren't here to intimidate you. Okay maybe a little, but in the end, that is not important. We merely wanted to hear what you plan. Your "relationship" with Chang burned and crashed pretty fast, we don't want our sister to suffer a similar fate."

Harry growled in anger. "That wasn't my decision! She shot me down as soon as the damn goblet spat out my name because her precious friends were telling her to do so. So no, I don't plan to break Ginny's heart, if that is what you want to know! Not because of you but because it would be unfair to her and I love her!" The last part was almost screamed from the top of his lungs. For a moment quiet came, as George slowly turned his head towards Fred. The other twin nodded slowly and George pulled his arm away.

"Fine. We allow it."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't asking for your permission."

George smirked, clapping him on the shoulder with a laugh. "Sure you didn't." Then the grip got a little stronger and the smile on his face turned to a smirk.

"Yet...we can't have you walking around, telling people you aren't afraid of us. Reputation is half our job, you know?"

Now Harry did swallow hard when the two stepped closer. Dawn chirped loudly in the darkness, as the Lumos spell was cancelled.

Somewhere half a castle away, a girl climbed the stairs of a tower. She was thinking about what she had seen, about words that had been spoken.

To think that her best friend was saying something like that made her stomach drop. But more than anything she thought about a certain look she had seen in eyes. It was a look that worried her. There was a hurt in these eyes, a hurt she felt was deep in his core. Harry wasn't like he had been before, he was different. Snapping not only at herself but also at Neville, for something so minor.

But and that was the biggest indicator, he had been mean to Dawn and that was a large warning sign. She wasn't an expert on familiar bonds and phoenixes, but she was a keen observer. Dawn didn't fly out of the window, not into the weather they had yesterday. That just didn't fit her at all.

Also, Hermione had noticed the distress feeling Harry had shown during their fight. Normally Dawn would have found him anywhere in this state, trying to get to him, just to be close to him. Yet the rest of the Day, she hadn't seen the black-feathered phoenix near her best friend.

For Harry to be parted from her for so long was worrying. Also, she had seen Dawn on the shoulder of Daphne Greengrass. Sure she was also bound to her, but Dawn had looked so miserable, sadness oozing out of the small form.

Hermione reached the owlery, walking over to one of the school owls. After a short coaxing with owl treats, she bound the letter to the bird's leg and watched it take off into the daylight.

She knew very well, that something was really wrong with Harry right now, but she also knew she had no idea what and he was too much of a mule to let her help him. So she would have to ask for help.

She just hoped she did the right thing.

We end here for today. It took me quite some time to write this chapter. Harry is super hard to write at the moment. The problem is I have a modus operati for him and the last few chapter are NOT like Harry should be. It is super hard to have a protagonist who is supposed to be a dick for a time but shall be redeemable. That in of itself makes it hard, the reason why I keep him away from most of the main characters. Some are easy, like with Narcissa or Sirius since he can be a child towards them and hurt them, but they will not turn him away.

As for Ginny, I have an idea of how she will be during and after the relationship but the start was difficult. On the one hand, I want her to be the wrong girl for Harry, just the wrong one. On the other hand, she has to be passable enough for him to throw himself into the relationship.

All in all as strange as it sounds, I have the feeling at the moment that I move to fast, that I don't let it evolve naturally. But on the other hand I have over 300K words under my belt, I should be ok. I often tend to put in added stuff, just to have it longer at some points but in the end, I don't need to do so I think.

Hermione is a lot worse. She will observe form the distance and worry but is too proud of herself. Two people too prideful to apologise.

To make something perfectly clear. Harry is fooling himself with the entire Ginny thing. He wants himself to be in love. He wants to be this easy because he doesn't want to think about other things.

Fred and George. I have often the feeling in fics that they are either bulling assheads, who torture people for fun, or these funloving guys who only give it to people who deserve it and don't do wrong. I want them somewhere in between. They aren't saints, far from it but I hope not too bad. And of course, they also prank Harry.