The Plan, Part Two

The Plan, Part Two...

Like Shooting Fish In A Barrel

Ginny opened the door to her bedroom and stuck her head out to look up the steps. She listened for any sounds that would tell her if the boys were awake yet, and then stepped out onto the landing. She turned to see Hermione still brushing tangles from her freshly washed hair, and said, "It sounds like one of the guys is in the shower, but I don't know which one. I'm heading down to get some breakfast."

"I'll be down in a minute," Hermione answered.

With a nod, Ginny closed the door and headed down to see if Harry was in the kitchen yet. Just before she reached the kitchen, she stopped to adjust her hair and then walked in, only to find the kitchen empty, except for her mother cooking breakfast.

"Morning Mum," she said. "Am I the first one up?"

"Ginny, really!" Molly Weasley scolded mildly as she surveyed her daughter from where she was tending to the eggs on the stove.

"What?" Ginny widened her eyes innocently. She was wearing white shorts and a deep green tank-style bikini top, exposing a long stretch of lightly freckled torso. Her hair was pinned up on the top of her head in an artfully careless look that had taken the better part of forty-five minutes to achieve, leaving her neck and back bare. "Mum, we're going swimming at the pond today - what else would I wear?"

"It's a good thing your father's already left for work," Molly said, rolling her eyes as she scooped up eggs and toast and set them on the table. "You know he isn't comfortable seeing you like that."

"He's so old fashioned," Ginny chuckled. "It's just a bathing suit. He acts like I'm still seven years old."

"And what is that on your navel, young lady?" Molly asked, squinting down at Ginny's midriff.

"It's a hoop. You said I could get it pierced ages ago." Ginny shrugged. "I've had it done for months."

"I know that," Molly said. "But what is that thing hanging from it?"

"It's a charm," she shrugged, flicking the tiny silver and gold charm with her bright pink fingernail. "I got it in Diagon Alley yesterday while you were at Gringotts. It's a snitch." 'Catch me if you can,' she thought with a smirk.

"Ginny..." There was a warning tone in Molly's voice. She had suspected that Harry was the recent target of her daughter's affections, but now it was confirmed. She was going to have to keep a closer eye on the two of them - they had been alone in Arthur's workshop for an awfully long time last night. Surely they hadn't been sneaking around together? "Do we need to have that 'talk' again?"

"Mum!" Ginny was turning red now, "I'm not doing... that!"

"Maybe not, but you're sure advertising it! A snitch, indeed!" Molly snorted. "You don't see Hermione flaunting her body that way."

'You obviously haven't seen Hermione this morning,' Ginny thought wickedly, 'I'm not the only one who's going to get threatened with a repeat of the 'talk'.

"Morning!"

'Speak of the Devil!' Ginny thought as she heard Hermione's voice in the doorway. She turned her head to see that Hermione had spent the last twenty minutes French braiding her hair in one long, thick plait so that it hung down between her shoulder blades. Without the long bushy hair to cover them, her shoulders were shockingly bare. Her bikini top was hardly more than a couple of triangles of shiny blue fabric held strategically over her with a complicated arrangement of thick fabric straps tied in the back; it made Ginny's suit look downright demure.

"Good gracious, Hermione!" Molly said, dropping her spatula, "Does you mother know you own a bathing suit like that?"

"Of course!" Hermione smiled unconcernedly. "She bought it for me while she and Dad were on holiday in Spain last summer."

"Er," Molly was temporarily at a loss for what to say. The Gangers had seems like such nice sensible people the times she'd met them, and now their daughter was sitting at her kitchen table half naked! "Hermione, have you had a talk with your mother about...er, sex?

"Sure," Hermione answered with a straight face. "But I don't think she learned much."

Molly was speechless for a full five seconds, he mouth moving soundlessly, before both girls broke into peals of laughter.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley, I was just joking," Hermione assured the older woman. "I've had a very candid and informative talk with my mother, and I know all about the facts of life."

"Please, girls, just be careful!" Molly pleaded. "They are just young men, and as such are not likely to be thinking with their heads when they see the two of you dressed like this. It's not nice to toy with them this way."

"We promise to be careful, Mum," Ginny said solemnly.

It was probably a lucky thing that Molly turned back to the stove as Hermione passed a tube of lip-gloss over to Ginny a moment later. Ginny grinned mischievously and pocketed it before her Mum turned to bring Hermione a plate. Both of them stifled laughter as Mrs. Weasley began muttering to herself, 'Arthur's going to have to have a talk with those boys.'

Mrs. Weasley was just turning to pour herself another cup of tea when Harry entered the room. His hair was still damp from his recent shower, and he was wearing some of the new clothes he'd bought the previous day. His tee shirt was white today, and had a large British flag printed on the front, and his shorts fit properly for a change. She noticed that he gave the girls a brief and cautious look before swallowing hard and moving to sit at the end of the table farthest from them. She gave a mental cheer to see that at least one of these kids seemed to be acting judiciously. Not that she felt the need to worry about Harry taking advantage of her youngest child; she was more afraid that it was the other way around. It wouldn't hurt to have Arthur have a talk with Harry about the facts of life this evening- she doubted that he'd gotten much understanding or information from those horrible Muggles he lived with.

She set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him, along with a mug of tea, and patted him on the shoulder in a motherly way. Harry tucked into his eggs and tried not to look over at the barely dressed girls at the other end of the table. He hadn't dared to take much more than a cursory glance at them, but his fears had been confirmed by the amount of exposed skin he'd seen. His dreams during the night had swung disturbingly between Ginny kissing him senseless in the shed, and Snape in his underpants, waving booklets about contraceptive charms at him. He'd woken himself and Ron up with his scream.

"So Harry," Ginny said casually, standing ostensibly to reach for the sugar bowl. She waited until his eyes lifted from his plate, and grinned when he obviously focused his eyes somewhere over her right shoulder. "Hermione and I were going to go to the pond today for a swim. Do you think you and Ron would like to come?"

"Uh," he was determined not to look at the way her bikini top was showing off her... Oh God! I'm looking! He moved his gaze downward, but caught the flash of silver at her navel that he knew was the hoop that had so enticed him yesterday - he didn't even want to attempt looking there with Mrs. Weasley in the room. He turned to Hermione instead, and then when he saw what she was wearing, quickly cast his eyes back to his plate. He couldn't afford to keep picturing Snape in nothing but knickers if he ever expected to get a decent night's sleep again. "I think that Ron wanted to practice some Quidditch today."

He had no doubt that he and Ron would be going to the pond if that was what the girls had decided they were going to do; but there was no point in making himself a fish in a barrel, prime for shooting, was there? If one of them didn't play hard to get here, they'd soon need the little "gifts" that Fred and George had given him the night before. He prayed that Mrs.Weasley never found out about the booklets with advice about girls and sex he had hidden in his trunk, or she'd flay the skin from all of their bones with nothing more than her voice.

"Why don't you just bring your broomsticks to the pond? It's really secluded, so no one will spot you if you don't fly too high." Ginny coaxed.

"Spot us where?" Ron asked, coming into the room. He had taken five steps before his eyes fell on Hermione, and then he promptly tripped over his own feet and landed with a hard 'whump' on the floor. He picked himself up, and averted his gaze from her as he sat across from Harry, eyes shut tight for a moment as if repeating some sort of mantra in his head.

"The pond," Ginny said as if nothing had happened, ignoring her Mum's 'I told you so' look as Hermione snorted into her tea. "We want to go to the pond to swim, and Harry said that you had planned to practice Quidditch. I was just saying that you could bring your broomsticks with you, and we could all go to the pond together."

Ron cast Harry a look that clearly said, 'Help me!' But Harry had no help to give him, and only shrugged, still not daring to look back at Ginny or Hermione. He hadn't taken the plans he'd overheard the girls making the night before seriously enough, and now he was being made to pay for it. He took a bite of his bacon to buy himself time, and fished around for some comment that he could make that wouldn't make him seem too eager, but not insultingly reluctant either. It was a fine line to walk, because if he leaned too far in one direction, Mrs. Weasley would be likely to get suspicious, and if he acted too much like he didn't want to go, he'd be in trouble with one of his best friends and Ginny - and he didn't know which Weasley woman he was more afraid of when it came to this subject.

"I suppose we should go," he finally said to Ron, sipping his tea, "To beat off any men who might happen by. It would be irresponsible, really, to let them go out without some sort of pro... I mean, escort."

He had almost used the word 'protection' and immediately thought better of it. It sounded way too provocative with the way Ginny had been acting around him. He also knew that if it hadn't been the girls' plan to convince them to go, they would have both taken exception to the fact that he had just implied that they couldn't take care of themselves. The fact that they both just smiled at each other with a satisfied expression told him that his choice of words had earned him points instead of the silent treatment, or worse. Ron didn't seem to have regained his sense of speech, but nodded his agreement before gulping down the tea that his mother had set in front of him.

They ate in silence for a while, and when Harry felt that he could leave the table without embarrassment, he stood and remembered something. "I don't have anything proper to wear for swimming."

"I think that Bill has a old pair of swimming trunks around here somewhere," Molly said helpfully. She added mentally, 'Thank God that at least they're not planning on skinny dipping!'

Ginny and Harry took their dishes to the sink, where she said. "I'll dig them up for you. Follow me."

Harry flushed at the thought of being led away from the safely of the others, but had no time to protest as Ginny grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. He followed her up the stairs, hand still firmly held in hers, and climbed all the way up to the attic. "Here we are!" she announced, pushing open the door. The room was dusty and dim, and Harry was startled when a low growling noise came from a corner, behind a stack of crates that began to shake menacingly.

"That's just Bump," Ginny said dismissively. "He's our ghoul, but he's shy. He won't bother us; you've probably heard him knocking around up here while you've been in Ron's room."

Harry nodded warily, and looked over to see a pair of baleful eyes looking out at him, but the rest of the ghoul stayed well hidden. Ginny had found a crate marked 'summer clothes' and had begun to rummage through it. She pulled out several pairs of faded swimming trunks in various sizes, colors and patterns. She finally found the most likely to fit, and apologized for the ugly pattern on them. They were a terrible brown and green plaid that Harry couldn't imagine had ever looked good on anyone, but at least they had a drawstring, and would fit well enough.

"Mission accomplished!" Ginny stated, handing the trunks to Harry and dusting her hands. "Mum should be able to air them out a bit with her wand.'

"Thanks," Harry said, turning to leave the small, stuffy room.

"Not so fast, Harry," Ginny said, stepping deftly in front of him before he could make it out the door. "You seem a bit nervous. You're not afraid to be alone with me, are you?"

"Well," Harry stammered, "To be honest...."

"Don't be silly Harry!" Ginny said crowding close to him, and backing him into an old trunk, "What's there to be afraid of?"

'Good question', Harry thought a moment later as her lips met his. 'I know there's a reason, but I can't think of it right now.'

Ginny ended the kiss with a gentle nip of teeth on his lip, and said, "See? Nothing to be afraid of." Then she turned and exited the room, leaving Harry to recover his composure before following her down the steps, shaking his head in confusion.

The Pond

An hour later, Ginny and Hermione were carrying their satchels with towels, sunscreen, and an ancient looking wireless so that they could have music. Harry and Ron followed them along the overgrown and shady grassy track that led to the small pond. They each had a broomstick over their shoulder and Harry had been recruited to carry the picnic basket the girls as packed, while Ron had a large blanket over one of his arms. It looked as though Ginny and Hermione were planning on making a whole day of it, and Harry found he was actually looking forward to the rest of the day.

'How much trouble can I get into if Ron and Hermione are both here the whole time?' he asked himself, enjoying the view of Ginny's long legs and nearly bare back as he walked.

"That's my sister's bum you're looking at," Ron growled at him quietly.

"It's hard not to look at it," Harry admitted with an evil grin, just to annoy his friend. "It's damn near perfect."

"Eew," Ron said, clearly not as enticed by Ginny's bottom as Harry was, "Just... watch yourself. She is my little sister, after all."

"As if you're not eyeing Hermione the same way?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "She's as good as a sister to me, and I'm not getting weird about it."

"I'm not being weird," Ron said quietly enough that the girls couldn't hear him, "I'm just saying that if you hurt her, I'd have to kill you. That could really put a strain on our friendship."

"Same goes," said Harry nodding toward Hermione's back.

"Deal," Ron said, and held out a hand, which Harry shook to seal the pact.

"Here we are!" Ginny said happily as they came to a break in the trees that had been getting thicker as they walked.

Before them was a small pond, no more than 20 meters in diameter, surrounded on all sides by tall trees, and shaded in areas from the summer sun. The surface of the water was still and inviting looking as the girls dropped their satchels and took the blanket from Ron to spread out on a grassy area near the edge. Harry put down the basket and his broomstick, and stretched. The day was already uncomfortably warm, except for a light breeze that rustled invitingly through the trees. Ron sat down on the blanket to remove his shoes while the girls toed off their sandals. Harry was thinking idly of stretching out on the blanket and taking a catnap to catch up on some of his missed sleep while the others played, but then Ginny began unbuttoning her shorts. 'Oh my God!' was his last coherent thought that passed through his mind as both Ginny and Hermione shed their shorts to reveal the bottom halves of their bikinis.

The blood rushed straight from Harry's head to below the waistband of the horrible swimming trunks he was wearing as he noted that the bottom half of Ginny's suit probably covered less of her body than the average pair of girl's panties. 'Don't think about panties you dolt!' The proverbial 'good' angel was back on Harry's shoulder, but almost immediately the 'bad' angel made an appearance. 'Why not?' he said slyly. ' She obviously planned this whole outing for that reason!'

"Harry?" Ginny was looking at him with a questioning, yet smug expression. "I asked if you were going to join us for a swim."

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice not to betray his inner thoughts at the moment. The sooner he got the bottom half of his body submerged in cold water, the better! He began to untie his worn out trainers and forced himself to think calming thoughts. Surely there was something he could think about that would cool his libido and not give him disturbing nightmares later. He conjured up an image of Dudley, steadily eating his way through a box of doughnuts - nothing remotely enticing about that image, and he'd seen it enough in real life, that it was unlikely to give him bad dreams. He looked over to see how Ron was faring, and found he was still staring open-mouthed at Hermione's bikini-clad body. The bottom of her suit carried on the theme of the top part, with slightly larger shiny blue triangles in the front and back held in place by thick straps of the same material at her hips. Harry swallowed hard and felt sympathy for Ron, but was not going to look at Hermione again until she was neck-deep in the pond. He was in enough trouble as it was!

He took off his shoes and socks, and when he was sure that he could stand without 'saluting' everyone present, Harry stood and shrugged off his shirt. The red and blue of the British flag had been clashing terribly with the ugly brown and green plaid swimming trunks anyway, but he hadn't seen the point of dirtying another shirt for an outing where no one but his best friends were going to see him anyway. The girls were wading slowly into the water when he heard them giggle. He looked up sharply when he heard Hermione say, "Wow, Gin, you weren't kidding!"

"I told you!" Ginny said, looking at Harry with an appreciative smile.

"Weren't kidding about what?" Harry asked self-consciously, looking down at himself with concern.

"Ginny was just saying how, er, fit you were looking lately." Hermione commented. She looked over to see an unmistakable pout forming on Ron's face and quickly added, "You look almost as good as Ron."

Harry caught the wink she sent him, and then glanced over at Ron, whose expression had lightened, and grinned. "Looks like Quidditch has done us both some good, hasn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Ginny agreed with sincerity.

It was true. Ron shrugged off his own tee shirt to reveal and lean and defined torso that he hadn't had at the beginning of the previous year. Winning the spot of Keeper on the Gryffindor House team had worked wonders on his gangly frame, and filled it out nicely. Judging from Hermione's stunned and admiring stare, Harry bet that she would no longer complain about how much Quidditch practice they were sure to have in the coming year. Harry was about to wade into the water, when Ginny started to come out of the pond.

"I forgot about sun block," she said. "I'll burn in about three minutes without it. Would you mind putting some on my back, Harry?"

'That has got to be the most obvious ploy, ever!' the good angel whispered in Harry's ear.

'Shut up!' the bad angel answered, and Harry whole-heartedly agreed with him as he took the bottle that Ginny offered him and poured some of the creamy liquid into the palm of his hand.

Harry rubbed his hands together to spread the lotion over both of his palms, and then placed them on the warm skin of Ginny's back. Ron was scowling at the pair of them as Harry massaged the sun block over her, but then had an idea of his own.

"Hermione?" he asked, taking the bottle from Ginny's hand and holding up with a boyish, pleading look.

"Of course!" she answered with a pleased smile. She waded out of the water and stood behind him, applying liberal amounts of lotion to her hands and beginning her own exploration of his taller frame.

Harry smirked as he finished Ginny's back; he had no doubt that Ron's request had been a carefully orchestrated move on Hermione and Ginny's part. Not that he was complaining! He thought it would probably be best to get into the water while Ginny finished with her arms, legs and face. Applying the sun block to her back hadn't done anything to assuage the feeling of light-headedness that he was sure was the result of a lack of blood to his brain. He waded in to his waist, and found that the water was actually warmer than he had expected. He turned around to face the shore when he heard the sounds of the Wizarding Wireless Network playing softly, and found that Ginny was putting the cap back on the bottle of lotion. Hermione was now turning her attention to Ron's nose and cheeks, a delighted look upon her face; Ron looked as if he was in heaven.

The water wasn't very deep, and Harry could easily wade a third of the way into the center of the pond before he couldn't reach the bottom without submerging his head. The water was cooler toward the bottom of the pond, and the contrast to his heated skin was nice. Ginny entered the water again and waded out toward him, but being shorter, had to tread water to get to him. "They look cute together, don't they?" she asked, looking back at her brother and Hermione, who were now standing at the water's edge, talking quietly together.

Harry took her arm walked forward, so that she didn't have to work to stay afloat, and when he was sure that she had her footing, smiled. "Yeah, they really do. I've been hinting at Ron all year to make a move."

"Really?" she asked curiously. "Hermione's done with being subtle, I think. Ron doesn't seem to be able to take a hint."

"You think?" Harry asked with sarcasm as he watched Ron bend to give Hermione a soft, but brief, kiss. They were both grinning broadly when they looked up to see that they were being watched. "Looks like he's getting the message now."

"What about you?" Ginny asked with a wicked smile.

"Me?" he asked uncomfortably. "What about me?"

"Are you getting the message now?"

"I'm getting all kinds of messages lately," he muttered. "And I'm not sure I understand them all."

"Good," she grinned, and then suddenly swung her leg behind his under the water and knocked him off balance, making it easy to use her hands to dunk him underwater.

'So she wants to play, does she?' Harry thought as the water closed over his head, glasses and all. 'Let's see how she likes this!'

He allowed himself to sink down toward the bottom and grabbed Ginny's ankles while planting his own feet firmly on the bottom of the pond. He waited a beat so that she would be in no doubt about what was about to happen, and by the way she was squirming above him, he could tell she knew. With a hard thrust off the silt-covered bottom, he stood, while still holding firmly to her ankles. As his head broke the surface of the water, hers disappeared with a shriek, and Harry laughed as she clawed at his submerged legs in retribution before working her way back to her feet.

Hermione and Ron were looking on in amusement, wading out to where Harry stood, incase he needed protection from a wet hellcat in the form of the youngest Weasley. She surfaced sputtering and pushing the wet hair out of her eyes.

'So much for the hair I spent all morning on,' she thought with an inward sigh. 'This is worth it, though.'

"Now Ginny," Harry said in a placating tone, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. He was slowly backing up into deeper water in case she tried to retaliate. "You're the one who started it."

"Oh, you're going to get it now, Harry," Ginny said, advancing on him with evil intent stamped on her face. "Hey! There's something on the bottom of the pond..."

She stopped her advance with a look of concentration as she peered down into the water. Curiosity got the better of Harry, and she stepped forward to peer into the water as well. "What is it?" he asked. The water was churned up at the bottom from their frolicking, and he couldn't make out any shapes below the surface.

"It's you!" Ginny said, and pushed him under again. She was quick enough to swim out of arm's reach this time.

Ron was shaking his head and saying, "Pitiful. I can't believe he fell for that one."

"Even I saw that one coming." Hermione agreed, wondering how she was going to manage to get Ron into a similar situation.

Harry came up shaking his head, and sending water flying in all directions. "Okay," he said good-naturedly. "I asked for that one."

"Harry," Hermione said suddenly. "Where are your glasses?"

Harry put his hands to his face and scrubbed the water away before answering, "They must have come off in the water."

"Oh no!" she said. "How well can you see without them?"

"Everything is pretty blurry," he said. "But I doubt I'd be able to see them anyway; the water's not very clear."

All three friends looked concerned and agreed to help search for his glasses. They walked along the bottom around where he had gone under, and felt around with their feet for any sign of them, dragging their feet across the bottom so that they didn't crush them. Soon Ron and Ginny were diving under to search with their hands. They never noticed when Harry began walking backward toward the shore. He unhooked his glasses from the back of his trunks, and slipped them on, then sat on a towel and took an apple from the picnic basket. He had almost finished with the apple when Ginny finally spoke up.

"It's no use," she said, sounding a bit guilty. "We'll have to get Mum or Dad to come down here and use their wand to summon them back."

"You don't have an extra pair, do you Harry?" Ron was asking, still peering down into the water. "Harry?"

Harry was smirking back at them from his comfortable spot, where he had been watching them for the past five minutes while he relaxed. They all stopped to look at him in confusion for a moment, until they saw that he was wearing his glasses.

"You little prat!" Ginny half laughed.

"Good one," Hermione smiled as they walked back through the edge of the water near to where he was sitting.

"Thanks," Harry grinned back, taking the last bite of his apple.

"Yeah," Ron said, leaving the water, dripping wet to stand beside his best friend. "Good one."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all pounced at once, as if they had practiced this move a hundred times before. Hermione and Ginny each grabbed one of Harry's legs, and Ron sprung around behind him to grab him around the middle. They all lifted him into the air as he shouted out in laughing protest and dragged him back into the water. By the time the struggle was over, Harry had been dunked again.

This time when he surfaced, he looked around at them all with a goofy grin on his face and announced, "Only one of us here has escaped going under water."

Hermione began to back up, and shrieked when Harry made a lunge for her. Ron came to her rescue, and scooped her into his arms, saying, "Harry! I'm surprised at you! Hermione doesn't want you dragging her under the water."

"Thank you!" Hermione smiled up at him, kissing his cheek.

"She wants me to do it!" Ron said evilly. He looked down at the shocked look starting to cross Hermione's face as she realized what he'd just said, then dropped her into the water without ceremony.

"Oooh!" Ginny said to Harry as they laughed. "He's going to pay for that one!"

"No doubt," Harry agreed, putting a companionable arm around Ginny as they waited to see what would happen next. He couldn't remember that last time he'd just spent a day playing with friends and not worrying about potential danger on every side. He definitely didn't think he'd ever grinned this much in his life.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shouted as she emerged. "If I had my wand...."

"But you don't!" Ron teased merrily, dodging out of the way as she tried to reach him.

The rest of the morning went by as they played foolish games and generally enjoyed themselves. When they became hungry, they all dried off and sat on the blanket for sandwiches and pumpkin juice, and discussed the recent arrival of their O.W.L. results, and Ginny's impending O.W.L year at Hogwarts.

"I still can't believe I made it into N.E.W.T. level potions," Harry lamented. He had been half-hoping that he would be spared the necessity of having to endure another year with the Potions Master. It didn't bode well for him that along with the O.W.L. results; Snape had sent him a very grudging acceptance letter for his sixth year class, along with a difficult summer essay assignment that he had yet to finish. "I'll need to at least work a little on that essay tonight."

"I still have that Muggle Studies assignment to finish," Ginny said innocently. "Didn't you say you'd help me with that, Harry?"

Harry swallowed hard. Her idea of 'help' with her assignment last time had found them in her father's shed, snogging until Mrs. Weasley's call had interrupted them. "Sure, Ginny, I'll give you a hand."

She smiled broadly at him, giving him a strange but pleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach, and changed the subject.

Once lunch was finished, the girls decided to relax in the sun for a while, and boys rode their broomsticks over and around the pond, skimming the surface, and challenging each other to different stunts. By the time they walked happily back to the Burrow, the sun was beginning to set, and they were all a little pink in spite of the sun block.

They returned to the Weasley home and took turns in the bathroom, letting the girls have their turns first in each of the two showers in the house. Ron and Harry took the blanket and towels that they had used that day to hang on the line at Mrs. Weasley's request. As they companionably shoved clothespins on, Ron asked, "So what's going on with you and Ginny?"

"I'm not really sure," Harry admitted. "We haven't really talked about it."

"Don't you think you should?" Ron asked seriously. "Find out where you stand?"

At Harry's raised eyebrows, Ron rolled his eyes and continued. "Look, mate, Ginny's my sister and all that, and I don't want to see her hurt. But you're my best friend, and I don't want to see you hurt either."

"Ginny wouldn't hurt a fly!" Harry protested. "Not unless they were really asking for it."

"Not on purpose, no," Ron agreed. "But I wouldn't want one of you to be thinking that you've got a girlfriend/boyfriend type of thing going on, and the other one just thinking you're having a bit of fun."

"I wouldn't treat her that way," Harry said, beginning to feel insulted that Ron would think he'd mistreat Ginny in any way.

"I know that," Ron said impatiently. "But does Ginny? I just think you should talk to her and find out how she feels is all, so that the two of you are on the same page."

Harry knew that Ron had a point, and that he would need to sort out the status of his relationship with her before long. Because that was a far from comfortable idea, Harry felt that he should spread some of the joy to Ron.

"And have you had this type of talk with Hermione?" Harry asked archly. "What's the deal with the two of you?"

Ron looked concerned for a moment, and then said confidently, "Hermione's not the type to play with a guy that way."

"Maybe not," Harry said. "But she didn't used to be the type to dress up and wear make-up and flirt shamelessly, either."

The worried look returned to Ron's face. "Maybe you're right."

Harry let Ron stew about that for a while, while he went in to see if the shower was free yet. He had no doubt in his mind that Hermione wanted to keep Ron as a boyfriend, and would never toy with is affections once she was sure that he'd gotten the message from her flirtatious displays of late. Ginny was another matter. He was afraid to ask her about where all of these kisses and flirtations was headed. She had hinted at a message that she was sending him while they were at the pond, but they had gotten distracted before finishing the conversation. 'Do I want a real girlfriend?' he asked himself as he found the bathroom free. He stripped off and stepped under the hot spray, thinking about how he felt around Ginny. 'Happy,' he thought. 'I feel happy around her. And comfortable... well not necessarily physically comfortable, but that's a whole other thing to worry over.' He asked himself how he would feel if Ginny decided that she didn't want a real boyfriend and was just having a bit of a lark this summer, and his stomach lurched unpleasantly. 'How did this happen?' he asked himself with dismay. 'When did I fall for Ginny?' It wasn't just yesterday; of that much he was certain. Yesterday had been a catalyst, and the rest of him had begun to catch up with something he'd known in the back of his mind for a while now. Had she been trying to get his attention before, and had gotten fed up with his complete lack of attention to what was right in front of him? Surely he wasn't as clueless as Ron had been all of last year in regards to Hermione? Was he?

He finished his shower with one sure thought. He didn't want to lose what he was starting to build with Ginny. The time seemed to have come for him to make a move of his own.

Catch Me If You Can

After dinner, during which they all ate ravenously, Ginny and Harry cleared the dishes, and then all four kids got their school bags and settled down at the table to work on their summer assignments. Harry and Ron were grateful for Hermione's help on their Potions essays, which she had finished before she had even arrived at the Burrow. Much to his surprise, Harry was able to concentrate and had gotten the first draft of his essay completed and checked over by Hermione within an hour. Ron, on the other hand, seemed to find that having Hermione leaning close to him to point out his errors and give advice about what he should write was a bit distracting, and had while to go before he finished.

Harry rolled up his parchment and put away his school things. Glancing over at Ginny, he saw that she was watching him instead of bending over her own work. She looked pretty with her freshly washed hair down around her face, and she had changed into jeans and a white tee shirt that made her cheeks and nose seem even pinker than they had before. 'Take action,' he thought to himself.

"Still need help with your Muggle Studies, Gin?" he asked, standing and walking around to where she sat at the foot of the table. He bent down to look at her parchment, and noted that she was working on a paper for History of Magic; the same one he had worked on the previous summer about the Goblin rebellions. It appeared that it was pretty much finished.

"Yes, actually," she said. "I've done the bit I wanted to about Muggle transportation. I still need to do the part about how the home life of Muggles differs from the home life of Wizards. I thought I'd write about all of the so-called labor saving devices they use to cope without the use of magic."

"I think I can help you out there," Harry nodded, looking serious. "I think we should start by going out to your dad's shed so I can show you all of the different appliances they use and explain why they use them."

Her grin spread slowly over her face as she said, "I think that's a great idea." She stood up and headed toward the door, when Molly's voice sounded from very close by.

"Don't you think that you're going to need some parchment and quill for your, uh, research?" Molly asked sweetly, looking at Harry appraisingly. It had sounded suspiciously to her like Harry was working very smoothly to get her little girl alone. She truly wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt; he didn't really look like he was up to anything improper (and she should be able to spot it, after raising six boys).

"Oh yeah! Thanks, mum," Ginny said brightly, returning to the table to grab them.

"I'm sure that your father would love to see all your notes when you two come back in," Molly said loudly enough for Arthur to hear.

"Yes! Of course I would," Arthur said from his chair by the fire. "In fact, I wouldn't mind having Harry come out to the shed with me some time to answers some questions."

Ron suddenly choked on the water he'd just taken a sip from, and had Hermione thumping him heartily on the back while stifling her own giggle. Poor Mr. Weasley could have no idea how funny his statement had been. Harry just smiled weakly and held the front door open for Ginny, then followed her out. They walked across the garden, and Harry spotted a garden gnome scurrying out of sight as he tried to gather his thoughts and think of what he was going to say to Ginny to find out her feelings about them as a couple.

They reached the shed and the lanterns hung along the ceiling automatically flared to life. It appeared that Mr. Weasley had spent some time in his workshop since Harry and Ginny had visited there the night before. There was a toaster sitting disassembled on the work surface, and the screwdriver set that Harry had given him last Christmas lay nearby.

"So," Ginny said, setting her parchment and inkbottle down. She unscrewed the lid on the ink, loaded her quill, "What is all of this stuff?"

Harry blinked at her businesslike attitude, but switched gears obligingly and searched over the shelves to find a likely candidate for her essay. He spotted a relatively new looking blender, and took it down from the shelf and placed it beside her parchment.

"So what's that thing do?" she asked curiously. When he explained its function, she laughed and said, "You're joking!"

"Nope," he grinned back.

"Professor Stone's going to love this!" Ginny began to scribble down Harry's description. She made a quick and canny sketch of the appliance that impressed Harry, and then she pointed to another item on a different shelf. "What's that one?"

Harry put the blender back where he'd gotten it, then turned to take down the large rectangular microwave oven. After that, he explained the toaster, then the coffee maker. She was just finishing a sketch of an electric kettle when the door to the workshop burst open and Fred and George stood framed in the doorway.

"Get your hands off of my sister!" they both cried at once.

Harry and Ginny looked up at them with raised eyebrows, and Harry pointedly lifted the hand that he'd had laying on Ginny's shoulder as he watched her add the finishing touches to her drawing.

"Hey guys!" George said cheerfully.

"Mum had some mad idea that the two of you were out here doing naughty things to each other." Fred informed them, equally cheerfully.

Harry reddened, and Fred's smile faded a little. Ginny on the other hand, stood up and put her hands on her hips and asked, "So the two of you came out here to get some pointers?"

"You two weren't really...." George looked from Harry to his little sister and back again.

"Well not yet," Ginny said. Her matter of fact tone made Harry wonder wildly if she was actively trying to get him killed by her brothers.

"She's winding us up," Fred said, catching sight of the two pages of parchment that Ginny had filled with descriptions and drawings of the appliances. "Mum said that she was supposed to be doing a Muggle Studies project out here, and it looks as if she is."

"Of course I am," Ginny sneered. "I had to, if I didn't want Mum to know we were coming out here to snog."

"Harry, Harry, Harry," George said in an uncanny imitation of their old Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. "Could Fred and I have a word with you outside?"

"Er," Harry said, stepping backward as Fred slung a friendly arm around his shoulders. "No?"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to insist," Fred smiled, his arm as firm as shackles as he guided the younger boy toward the door.

"Won't be but a moment," George assured Ginny, as he followed his twin and Harry out into the yard. He pulled the door shut behind him, but Ginny hurried over and opened it a crack to listen, incase Harry needed to be rescued.

"So, young Harry," Fred said, releasing Harry as he and George flanked him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing?" Harry said quickly, not meeting the eyes of either twin, and preparing to duck if needed. It seemed distinctly unfair that Mrs. Weasley had sent out two wizards who were allowed to use magic and fought dirty against one unarmed boy on the suspicion of impropriety.

"Nothing," Fred repeated disbelievingly, eyes trained on Harry's face. "I'm torn here. I don't know whether I should be ashamed that you would waste a prime opportunity, or if I should be glad that I don't have to break something on you for wasting a prime opportunity."

Harry didn't know an answer to this that wouldn't result in bodily injury, so he remained stoically silent. The fact that Ginny was almost finished with her essay, and the knowledge of what he had planned to do with her when she did, deflated any self-righteous behavior he might have displayed at any other time. The best he could hope for out of this was a warning from the twins, at the worst, a severe physical trauma. He kind of wished, now, that he had actually done something to deserve all of this unwanted consideration from Ginny's family.

"And yet, Ginny did admit that they came out here to snog," George said thoughtfully. He, too, had his gaze trained on Harry, looking for any sign of guilt that would betray him. "Is that true, Harry?"

Harry wondered how bad it was going to hurt if he answered them, and if he might get out of it by pleading insanity. "Er," he said, drawing a complete blank for anything clever to say. "I was just helping her with her essay."

"This time, maybe," Fred agreed. "But are you telling us that you've never kissed Ginny?"

"Er," was the only answer Harry seemed capable of as his face flushed scarlet in the moonlight.

"Just as we suspected," George said casually. "Now I think you'll agree that this changes things, Potter."

'Oh God, we're not even on a first name basis anymore! They're distancing themselves so that they don't feel too bad after they kill me. I'm a dead man,' Harry thought wildly.

"We had no idea about your designs on Ginny when we gave you certain... publications last night at dinner," Fred said menacingly.

"And if we find out that you've used any of the information we gave you to...." Fred began, crowding Harry even more.

That caught Harry's attention more quickly than a quick jab to the face could've done. His face was red now with anger as he spoke up at last. "It's not like that!"

"Why don't you tell us how it is, then?" George suggested silkily.

"I would never treat Ginny like some... some...I wouldn't do that!" Harry objected hotly. "She's the one who kissed me, to begin with, and I liked it! So what? She's a beautiful, smart, funny witch and I like her. A lot! Why shouldn't I kiss her if I want to - in your father's workshop or anyplace else?"

The twins looked at him appraisingly for a few seconds and then Fred announced, "Fair enough."

Harry blinked at their acceptance of his tirade.

"Mum made it sound like she thought you two might be in there doing...you know," George said. "We had to come and make sure that you weren't taking advantage of our baby sister."

"Of course he wasn't," said Ginny dangerously from the doorway of workshop, where the door was now open and she stood with her arms crossed. "Harry isn't the type to make unwanted advances. Why don't you two go bother someone who might actually need intervention, like Ron and Hermione?"

Twin evil, yet delighted, expressions crossed over Fred and George's faces at these words. "So Ron's finally seen the light, eh?" George snorted.

"This is going to be fun!" Fred grinned as the two boys headed back toward the house.

As he watched them go, Harry let loose the breath he had been holding. "Thanks," he said as Ginny walked over to him. "I thought they were going to take me apart."

"Anytime," she smiled at him. "Did you mean it? What you said to Fred and George?"

Harry looked down into her upturned face in the moonlight and put his arm around her before he said, "Absolutely."

"So," Ginny said, sounding a bit nervous. "What does all this mean?"

"Well," Harry answered with a devilish grin. He tugged up the t-shirt she was wearing a couple of inches and fingered the charm that hung from the hoop at her navel. "I caught the snitch, and that means I win, doesn't it?"

"Those are the rules, but as we're on the same team, it means I win, too," Ginny agreed, and returned the kiss he gave her eagerly.

Finis.