Hermione rapidly untangled herself and darted into the hallway.
"Ron, wait!" she called.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
Harry jolted as Mrs. Weasley's voice rose through the floorboards.
"I HAVE HAD IT WITH THE SLAMMING DOORS AND THE STOMPING AND THE RUNNING! RON, GINNY, GET IN HERE AND HELP WITH DINNER!"
Harry tip-toed to the door. Hermione stood in the stairway, motioning Harry to follow her downstairs. As they arrived in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was continuing to scold her children.
"How can we help, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione offered.
Mrs. Weasley looked up. "Oh, that's alright dear, there's not enough room in the kitchen for everyone. Ginny and Ron can practise being good hosts."
Ron's eyes shot daggers at Harry and Hermione. Ginny didn't look up from the silverware she was laying out with unnecessary precision.
"Let's go outside," Harry whispered.
"But-" Hermione protested.
Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the exit. This earned an extra scowl from Ron.
"Oh, no, this is awful!" Hermione exclaimed as she wrung her hands outside. She chewed feverishly on a fingernail.
"What is awful?" Fleur asked as she walked up with a small basket full of cabbage.
"Nothing," Hermione said quickly.
"Ron thinks Hermione and I are together," Harry explained as he skipped a stone across the pond.
Hermione whirled around and gaped at Harry, betrayal etched on her features. Harry ignored her and selected another rock.
Fleur let out a tittering laugh. "'Ow in the world did that 'appen?"
"Hermione was excited about Ginny and I and gave me a hug right as Ron walked in," Harry said as he whipped a stone at the water. It skipped three times.
"Ginny and I?" Fleur asked. "So, you are togezzer?"
"Not exactly," Harry admitted. "She slapped me."
"Oh, poor 'Arry," Fleur said, grabbing his chin and examining his still-red cheek.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Two cracks sounded as Bill and Mr. Weasley arrived.
Bill kissed Fleur, and Mr. Weasley greeted Harry and Hermione with a tired smile.
"You're home early," Hermione said.
"My wife wanted to have a family meal tonight," Mr. Weasley explained.
They walked inside where they were met by a still-glowering Ron and a Ginny who refused to make eye contact. After Mrs. Weasley finished the preparations, everyone sat down.
"How was work?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she dished mashed potatoes onto Harry's plate.
"Dramatic," Mr. Weasley said with a chuckle as he tucked in.
"You-Know-Who?" Mrs. Weasley said, frightened.
"No," Mr. Weasley replied through a mouthful of chicken. "Dramatic in a different way. Reginald Cattermole caught Peter Podmore kissing Penny Haywood in a closet in the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
"Penny Haywood?" Bill frowned. "She was in my class. Isn't she married to Anderson? That doesn't really sound like her."
"That's why it was so dramatic," Mr. Weasley replied. "I think everyone was excited to have something to talk about that didn't revolve around You-Know-Who."
Harry guiltily looked over at Ginny. She glanced up, and they locked eyes for the briefest of seconds before Ginny quickly redirected her gaze down at her food. Harry saw Hermione grimacing.
"You Eenglish are so funny," Fleur said. "Imagine making such a fuss over a man kissing his lover."
Mrs. Weasley's eye twitched. She pursed her lips and examined Bill closely for a few seconds before taking a drink of water.
"I can't believe Penny," Mrs. Weasley tutted as she cut into her piece of chicken. "Stepping out like that."
"Maybe it wasn't Penny's fault," Ginny spoke up, still not looking up from her plate. "Maybe Podmore just grabbed her."
Mrs. Weasley set her utensils down. "What have I told you, Ginny? It's a woman's responsibility not to put herself in situations like that."
Hermione huffed.
Ron viciously stabbed a cooked carrot. "It probably was all Penny's idea, and she wasn't as innocent as she let on."
"What if Cattermole misread the situation and stormed out before they could explain?" Hermione snapped.
Ron slammed his fork on his plate. "Stupid Cattermole, always misreading things!"
"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley roared. "I don't know what has gotten into everyone, but we are having a pleasant, civilized meal together, and we will act POLITE!"
The topic of conversation quickly changed to the pleasant weather outside, and the rest of the meal passed in safety. After dinner was over, Bill and Mr. Weasley gave Harry an update in the living room on the latest disappearances, odd accidents, and deaths while Ron and Ginny cleaned up.
Hermione sat in an armchair, nervously twisting the tassels on a crocheted blanket while the men talked. When Ron walked through, Hermione jumped up to try to speak with him. He stormed past without a word. Hermione followed him upstairs. Harry could hear her continuing to try to speak to him, but Ron's door soon slammed, followed by the sound of footsteps coming back down the stairs and entering the bathroom.
"Is something the matter with Ron?" Mr. Weasley asked with a frown.
"It's a long story," Harry said, wondering how he could speak to his friend when an idea occurred to him.
"Bill?" Harry asked. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Depends," Bill replied with a wry smile. "Am I going to have to get involved in whatever is going on?"
"Can you convince Ron to come outside and talk to me?"
Bill ran his hand down his ponytail and nodded. Harry went outside by the pond to wait for Ron, who appeared a few minutes later. He slowly walked over to Harry and stood next to him, staring off into the distance with his arms folded around his chest.
"I know what it looked like," Harry began, "and I understand why you thought what you thought, but it wasn't like that."
Ron scoffed.
"You're acting like you did during the Triwizard Tournament," Harry snapped. "You know I wouldn't lie to you."
Ron scuffed his foot in the dirt. After a few seconds, he looked over at Harry. "Fine. You have one minute."
Harry sighed. "Hermione was excited because she found out I fancy a girl. Not her, someone else. She was happy for me and gave me a hug and we lost our balance. That's all."
"You expect me to believe that?" Ron scoffed. "You've been running around whispering in corners ever since you got here. Hermione can't shut up about how handsome you are. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Harry fought to control his temper. "No, I don't think you're stupid, that's why I expect you to believe that. Do you really think I'd risk my friendship with you? You're my best mate. Hermione's my friend; I don't fancy her. She's like my sister."
This admission stunned Ron. A fleeting gleam of something like triumph shone in Ron's eyes.
"It's not important, but we were arguing about how Hermione was spying on me when I was in the orchard with Fleur."
Ron inhaled sharply. "Harry, the girl you fancy – it's – it's not Fleur, is it?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "No."
Ron plopped on the ground. Harry sat next to him.
"I'm sorry, mate," Ron said as he pulled blades of grass from the earth. "I walked in and saw you there on the bed and just . . . saw red I guess."
"Forget about it."
Ron turned to Harry. "So, who is it?"
"What?"
"The girl you fancy."
Harry froze. He saw Ron shoving him into the pond, shouting things like "betrayal of trust" . . . "supposed to be my friend."
"She's a Gryffindor, right?" Ron asked.
Harry continued to try to think of something to say.
"Oh, she's not a Slytherin is she?" Ron's face fell. "I mean, Daphne Greengrass is fit I suppose, but mate, she's in Slytherin!"
"It's not Daphne!" Harry replied. "She's in Gryffindor."
"Parvati?"
Harry shook his head. "She's not in our year."
Ron snapped his fingers. "Ginny!"
Harry's blood ran cold.
"Does Ginny know her?" Ron continued.
"Yeah, I guess Ginny would know her," Harry prevaricated. "Look, I'd rather not say."
"You told Hermione, but you won't tell me?"
"I needed Hermione's advice, and I don't even know if the girl likes me. Look, if it goes anywhere, I'll tell you."
Ron finally accepted this, and they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until they were joined by Hermione. Ron stuttered through a brief apology. Hermione accepted it stoically, but Harry saw a deep and genuine smile when Ron wasn't looking.
After brushing his teeth that night, Harry was surprised to walk back into his bedroom and find Hermione rearranging his pillows.
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"We need to talk about Ginny," Hermione said as she sat down on a box.
"About what?" Harry replied suspiciously.
Hermione shook her head in slight annoyance. "Harry, you don't need me to tell you that your last relationship was far from ideal."
Harry sighed as he sat. "Alright, fine. Let's talk."
"So, you fancy Ginny now. Why?"
"Why?"
"Why now?"
Harry exhaled a long breath and cocked his head in thought. "Well, I suppose she's fun to be around, I guess."
Hermione scowled at Harry. "She's fun to be around? Harry, Hagrid is fun to be around for you. The Snitch is fun to be around for you." She folded her arms. "Be honest, do you think she's pretty?"
Harry felt his face heat up a little. "Yeah, obviously she's pretty. I don't really feel comfortable talking about this sort of thing."
"Well, too bad." Hermione wore a determined expression. "You are rubbish at understanding and articulating your emotions, so you're going to practice. What do you think is pretty about her?"
Harry groaned. There didn't seem to be any possibility of getting rid of Hermione so he decided to be honest.
"Her hair is nice," he began haltingly. "I like watching it when she flies. And her eyes are really pretty. I like looking at them. I don't know, she's just pretty, can we move on?"
"Fine. What do you like about her besides her appearance? That's all that you ever saw in Cho., and it was not a lasting foundation."
Harry flopped down on his back and stared at the ceiling. "She's brave. Determined. She helped us out in the Ministry even though it was dangerous, and I tried to tell her to go back."
"Brave and determined. Harry, you're just describing Gryffindor. Be specific."
Harry slammed his hands into his duvet. "She's funny, she makes me laugh, she's great at impressions."
Harry took a breath and continued. "She's an amazing Chaser, I spend too much time watching her when she's flying and not enough time paying attention to anything else."
Harry's voice grew faster and faster. "She's loyal. She cares about her family and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Even when she spied on me and then attacked me earlier, I didn't really care because I knew she was doing it for her family, and I want her to be on my side that much. Being close to her makes me feel weird, and not in a weird way like Cho but in a good way."
The words continued to gush out. "When I'm around her or thinking about her, I don't worry about Voldemort and I'm just happy! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Harry looked over at Hermione who was covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my goodness," Hermione gasped. "I didn't realize you were that . . . I probably shouldn't have . . ."
Hermione jumped to her feet and reached at the head of the bed.
"What are you doing?" Harry demanded hotly.
Hermione grabbed the end of an Extendable Ear and quickly wrapped up the cord in her hand.
"Hermione," Harry sputtered. "You didn't."
Hermione fled to the hallway. Harry dashed after her but collided with Mrs. Weasley as she was walking by with a hamper full of laundry. Harry was knocked to the ground, while the sturdy Mrs. Weasley was only driven back a step.
Harry quickly stood, apologizing profusely. Mrs. Weasley graciously accepted the request for forgiveness, but by the time the interaction was over, Hermione was already safely ensconced in her room. Glowering, Harry returned to his bed. How much had Ginny heard?
Harry tossed and turned for several hours with a pit in his stomach until he was finally able to drift off.
The next morning thankfully brought no sign of either Ginny or Hermione. Ron and Harry practiced Quidditch penalties for a few hours until lunchtime. As they were scarfing down bacon sandwiches, Ginny appeared.
Ginny made brief eye contact with Harry and then looked meaningfully outside. She grabbed a sandwich and went out the door.
Harry stood and stretched.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk in the garden," Harry said, hoping Ron wouldn't want to follow.
"Suit yourself," Ron said as he reached for another sandwich.
Harry hurried out the door and quickly caught up with Ginny.
"You must think I'm mental," Ginny said with a rueful smile.
Harry shook his head. "I don't think that."
"Sometimes I do," Ginny replied.
They walked in silence for a few more minutes.
"I didn't know what Hermione was going to do," Ginny said. "I promise. I walked into my room and there was a note next to the Extendable Ear that told me to listen."
"That sounds like Hermione," Harry said. "At least the way she's been acting lately. She's trying so hard to help that she's causing more problems than she's solving."
Ginny glanced slyly at Harry. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not going to lie; I did listen."
Harry grimaced but said nothing. Hermione had said that he didn't understand his emotions, and she was right. Everything inside was a roiling mess of anxiety, desire, and frustration.
"I think it was the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about me." Ginny paused and plucked an apple. "Do you want one?"
"Sure."
Ginny took an apple from the tree and gave it to Harry.
"I sent a letter to Dean this morning," Ginny said softly, tossing her apple from hand to hand. "I broke up with him. It wasn't going to work out, and I didn't want to lead him on."
A surge of hope shot through Harry's chest.
Ginny quickly looked at Harry. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't leave him for you."
The hope quickly deflated.
"I just . . . I don't know what to do," Ginny continued. "I've never been this confused before. It's not that I don't like you, as a friend, but my schoolgirl crush is gone. I'm not a little girl anymore."
"I noticed," Harry thought.
"I shouldn't move between boys that fast," Ginny added. "Ron's a prat, but he's right. You can get a reputation as a –" Ginny paused as she searched for the right word – "scarlet woman."
Harry was unable to control a chuckle. Ginny backhanded him on the shoulder.
"Shut up, I couldn't think of a better word."
Harry remained silent and devoured his apple.
"Maybe one day -" Ginny started before trailing off and failing to complete the sentence.
She took a bite of her apple.
"I don't want this to ruin our summer," Ginny finally said. "Let's have fun, and forget this ever happened. Deal?"
She offered her hand to Harry.
Harry slowly nodded. "Deal."
He shook her hand.