An Unexpected Juncture

"Oh, Ginny, those robes are beautiful," Hermione said as Ginny got her dress robes out. They were a deep midnight blue color in a soft shimmering fabric, long and elegant with fanning sleeves and a deep neckline that was sure to make any guy notice her. "They look expensive. How'd you pay for them?"

Ginny gave her a sheepish look. "I borrowed money from Fred and George. I have to pay them back, at least half, they said."

"Well, I say it's worth it. You'll look so beautiful in them. I can't wait to see Stephen's face when he sees you. Two weeks, are you getting nervous?"

"No, just excited. I still can't believe I'm going with him." Ginny hung the robes back up on the hook next to her bed and sat down. "What about you? Are you excited?"

"Yes, I am a little, I guess. But actually I'm a bit nervous." Hermione sat down on the bed across from Ginny. "Ron and I have been friends for so long, this is like a big step. What if it doesn't work out?"

"It will, don't worry. And even if it doesn't, you guys have a strong relationship now. Nothing can ruin that. Not even a nasty break up. You've been through too much together." Ginny smiled. Hermione returned it and laid back on the bed with her legs dangling off.

"I'm worried about Harry though. He's brooding again, ever since I asked Ron to the ball."

Ginny cleared her throat. "Oh, um. That's my fault, I think. I sort of, well, made him angry." Hermione sat up and looked at her with inquiring eyes. Ginny caved. She looked down at her hands and began talking. "Well, he told me I'd have made a good Prefect and then I sort of asked him why he wasn't made Prefect. He told me, and, um he sort of took my reaction the wrong way...."

"Oh, Ginny. He was doing so well too!"

"Well I'm sorry. Like I knew him not being a prefect had anything to do with Voldemort."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, then closed it looking confused. "Voldemort? Harry told me it was because he thought Ron deserved it more."

"He told me Dumbledore thought he had enough to be going on with without being a Prefect on top of it," Ginny stated in disbelief.

"That one makes more sense," Hermione nodded. "I suppose Dumbledore told him that sometime after the Ministry attack last year. Which would have only made him angrier." She sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do, I guess. Just let him be."

"Do you think I should apologize?"

"It can't hurt, but if he doesn't want to talk just leave him be. You know how he is."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Ready for dinner?"

"I'm starved. Let's go." The two girls went down to the common room and met Ron and Harry and together the four headed down to dinner. Before they reached the first staircase Ginny slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I forgot something for Luna," she said to the other three. "You guys go on ahead. I'll meet you down there." She spun around and sprinted back to the common room and up to her trunk. She grabbed the book she had for Luna and ran back down and out into the corridor. She was rounding the corner after the first staircase when she stopped dead in her tracks. She felt her insides disappear and her heart stop.

Stephen was walking down the corridor with Cho. That wouldn't have bothered her so much, but he had his arm around her and they were talking quietly, as if sharing a secret. Ginny leaned back against the wall and breathed heavily. She felt tears sting her eyes, but she blinked them away. After standing there for what seemed like an eternity to her, but what must have only been a couple of minutes, she made her way back down the hall to dinner. She wasn't really watching where she was going, she knew it by heart anyway. Her mind was reeling.

How could he do that? He liked Ginny, right? Not Cho. He was going with Ginny to the ball. If he didn't like her, why did he say yes? Before she knew it she had reached the Great Hall, she gave herself a mental shake and walked in. She had to act normal, not as if her world had just come crashing down on top of her. An easy enough task before she remembered she had to go over to the Ravenclaw table to give Luna the book. She looked for Luna over there and spotted her sitting next to Amanda, face buried in a copy of The Quibbler.

Ginny walked over to them trying to keep her eyes on them and not wander in search of Stephen and Cho to see if they were still together. Curiosity got the better of her, though, when she was a few feet away from Luna. Stephen and Cho were sitting with a group of sixth and seventh years a few spots down from Luna. Ginny had to hold back tears again as she reached Luna.

"Here-" her voice shook and she tried again. "Here's the book you wanted, Luna." Her voice still sounded a little quiet and shaky, but it was better. She forced a smile on her face as Luna looked up from her magazine.

"Oh, thanks, Ginny. Would you like to sit with us?" Luna asked making to move over. Ginny glanced back over at Stephen, who was now watching Cho intently as she talked, and then back at Luna.

"No, I told Hermione I'd help her figure out what to wear to the ball."

"Oh, yes. She's going with Ron isn't she?"

"Er, yeah. Well, I'll see you later, okay?" She quickly turned and walked over to the Gryffindor table, hoping the whole way that there was a spot facing away from the Ravenclaw table. She was greatly disappointed. Harry and Ron were sitting on the side facing away from the Ravenclaws. There was a spot waiting for her next to Hermione, so she took it. She kept her eyes down the whole time, forcing herself not to look up. She piled food onto her plate, but she didn't have an appetite anymore. So, she played around with the food on her plate while her head rested in her other hand.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Ron asked after she hadn't laughed at the joke he just made. She looked up to find all three of them staring at her. And Cho and Stephen talking in her line of sight behind Ron. She looked back down.

"Nothing," she said quietly.

"Obviously it's something, Gin. You haven't said a word all through dinner."

She looked up and glared at him. "I don't want to talk about it, Ron. Leave me alone." She dropped her fork and got up from the table.

"I wonder what's going on," Hermione asked as the three watched her leave the Great Hall.

"Gin? What's wrong?" Hermione asked when she got to the common room that night. Ginny was curled up in a chair reading a book when she walked in. Hermione went right over and sat down opposite.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said not looking up.

"I know you're not fine. You're never that quiet at dinner. You didn't even eat anything. Now tell me what happened," she said sternly.

Ginny sighed and marked her book, knowing it was pointless to argue with Hermione. "Fine. I was on my way down to dinner and I saw Stephen walking with Cho. It just kind of upset me, that's all." She shrugged.

"Why would Stephen walking with Cho upset you?" Hermione asked confused.

"Well right before I asked him to the ball, Amanda and Luna told me she was after him ever since he and Anya broke up. Which is weird because I thought she was still dating Michael Corner."

"She was," Hermione stated blandly. "At least until this past Wednesday. I heard him telling Colin about it in the library yesterday."

"So they were still together when I asked Stephen to the ball?"

"Yeah."

"Huh, that's weird." Ginny was thoroughly confused now. Why would Cho start to go after someone else if she was still dating Michael? "Well, I'm sure it's nothing. They've probably been having problems for a while. He wasn't that great boyfriend anyway," she said with a grimace.

Hermione smiled. "Well, 'night Gin." She got up and went to say goodnight to Harry and Ron. Ginny saw Hermione kiss Ron on the cheek before she opened her book again smiling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So Cho's going with John. You're going with Ben. Luna, who are you going with?"

"I'm going with Harry."

"Oh, good," Ginny smiled. "I'm glad he's not going with someone like Parvati again. You'll have fun."

Ginny was sitting outside during break with Luna, Amanda and Leslie, from Hufflepuff. They had all just gotten out of a particularly difficult Ancient Runes exam and they were taking this time to relax before they're next class, which was Potions for Ginny. It was the Monday before the ball and they were all very excited and discussing they're plans for the evening.

"Why aren't you going, Amanda?" Leslie asked, arms wrapped around her knees in the grass.

"Don't want to. I don't have a date, it'd be a bore going alone," she shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Leslie replied.

"We better get going," Ginny said rising from her spot in the grass. "Break is almost over."

The other three rose as well and they made their way back to the castle. Ginny said goodbye to Luna and Amanda in the Entrance Hall as they went up the marble staircase to go to Transfiguration. Ginny and Leslie went down to the dungeons for potions.

Ginny tried to ignore the fact that Cho was on Stephen's arm as she past them on the stairs. She said hello to Stephen cheerily; Cho glared at her and tightened her grip on Stephen's arm. Stephen said hello back and the two girls continued on their way to Potions. Ginny had been seeing Cho and Stephen like this all week, ever since last Saturday actually. She tried to ignore it, to deny it. They weren't together, there was no way. Stephen liked her. Everyone thought so, all of her friends, even his friends. She saw the envious looks other girls shot her when she was talking with him. Cho was just another one of those girls.

Her thoughts were cut short as Snape entered the Potions classroom and barked out his orders. She got to work with Leslie making their potion and pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.

An hour later she was on her way to lunch, but when she reached the entrance hall she stopped when she heard someone say her name.

"I know, but he's going with Ginny Weasley." It was a girls voice. One she recognized.

"But Cho-" another voice started.

"Yes, I know. It's very strange." Ginny stepped around the corner to find Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil talking. Parvati was about to say something else when she saw Ginny.

"Oh, hi, Ginny," she said in a falsely cheery voice that Ginny saw right through. "How are you?"

"Fine," she answered through gritted teeth and pushed past them into the Great Hall. So people were talking about her now. All because she was going to the ball with Stephen and he was seen gallivanting around with Cho Chang. She wasn't hurt, she was angry. As if she wasn't talked about enough, what with what happened at the Ministry last year. She didn't need to be talked about anymore than she was already. She seethed as she gathered food on her plate, mostly because there was nothing she could do about it. People would say what they wanted no matter if it was the truth or not. It only made her hate Cho more.

She had to know what was going on between those two. Where they together or not? Not knowing was too hard. It was constantly on her mind. She couldn't take it anymore. Of course, she didn't want them to be together, she wanted to be with Stephen herself. But not knowing was worse.

Ginny didn't find out for sure until that Wednesday. It was a cool and rainy day, completely opposite of the weather they'd been having for the last three weeks. Ginny was making her way to the library to do some research for her Potions assignment when she saw them. Cho and Stephen, standing in a dark corner, and kissing. Ginny quickly looked away and strode briskly to the library. When she got there she found a private corner and tried hard not to cry as she looked up the potion. But the tears came anyway, sliding down her face one after another. She choked out a few sobs and wiped her tears away.

After trying to read the same sentence ten times, she finally gave up and slammed the book shut. She put the book in her bag and left the library for the common room, going the long way just in case she saw them again. The whole way she walked she pushed away the tears. She felt confident enough to not breakdown in front of everyone when she reached the Fat Lady. She gave the password and entered the common room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting by the fire talking. They stopped when she joined them.

"Hey, Gin," Ron said grinning.

"Hi," she said as if nothing was wrong. "You guys all excited for the ball?"

Ron and Hermione smiled. "Of course," Hermione said. Ginny looked to Harry who seemed slightly uncomfortable.

"What about you, Harry? I heard you were going with Luna."

"Yeah, I suppose," he said and cleared his throat.

"What's wrong with Luna? I thought you liked her."

"I do, I do. She's a great friend. But-well, let's just say she wasn't my first choice," he said not meeting her eyes.

"Oh, so you guys are going just as friends then?" He nodded. "Well that's good then. I think you'll have a better time that way."

"What about you, Ginny? Are you excited?"

Ginny forced a large smile and said, "You bet." Just then Parvati came over and sat down as if she owned the place.

"Hi everyone," Parvati greeted in a cheery voice that made Ginny want to hit her.

The four greeted her back. "So what's going on?" Parvati asked.

"We were just talking about the ball," Hermione answered.

Parvati squealed. "Oooh, aren't you excited?"

"Yeah," Ginny answered. Everyone else echoed her blandly.

Parvati looked at her. "Oh, you're still going?" she asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ginny asked confused.

"Oh, no reason. I just figured, you know with Stephen dating Cho and all."

Ginny gasped and looked away, again trying not to cry.

"What do you mean, Stephen's dating Cho?" Ron demanded.

"Oh, you guys didn't know? I thought you did since Ginny's going with him to the ball. Sorry," she said, though it didn't look like she meant it at all. She got up and gave them all a smile that could have been classified as a sneer and said goodbye.

"She did that on purpose," Ron spat angrily getting up from his spot to go after her. Hermione and Harry had to grab him by the arms and push him back onto the couch.

"Ron, stop it," Hermione scolded when they had him sitting again. Then she turned to Ginny. "Hey, are you all right?" she asked softly putting a hand on her shoulder.

Ginny nodded numbly, not daring to speak. She knew deep down that it was more serious between them, but she didn't want to believe it. Now she had to accept it. She was trying hard not cry in front of everyone in the common room but she couldn't anymore. She stood up quickly.

"I have to go," she said as the tears came down, and she tried not to run up the stairs to her room. Ron made to go after her, but Hermione stopped him.

"Let her be, she needs to be alone."

"But-"

"Ron, she's just had her heart ripped in half. Let her alone."

"Fine, but if that bastard pulls anything on Saturday I'm cursing him so bad no one will recognize him."

"You're not alone on that one, mate," Harry said in an unexpected forceful voice.

Ginny smiled through her tears on the stairs before she ran the rest of the way up them. It was nice to know she had good friends.

She found the next day that most people were on her side in the matter. When she saw Luna, Amanda, and Leslie at breakfast they could all sympathize with her.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. He fooled everyone. I really did think he liked you. I never would have dreamed he'd go for Cho Chang."

"Thanks, Amanda." Ginny gave her a small smile.

Ben and John came up and sat next to the three girls where they were sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey, we just heard," John said. "Sorry about him. We thought he liked you too. He never really seemed interested in Cho until last week."

"Yeah," said Ben. "We didn't think he'd go after her. Not until after the ball, anyway."

"But we're on your side. He shouldn't have played you like that."

"If he does anything on Saturday, treats you badly, ditches you, I'll beat him up," said Ben.

Ginny grinned. "Thanks guys, but you don't have to."

"Yeah, we do. He'd deserve it. We told him so too."

She smiled again. "Then I guess he'll have his work cut out for him. He'll have Harry and Ron on his case, too."

"I still don't know why you're still going with him, Ginny," Leslie said. "What's the point?"

"Well, this way, I won't be moping around the common room the whole night crying my eyes out. I'm going to go, and have a good time. If it gets too bad, I'll just go hang out with Ron, Harry, and Hermione."

"And me," Luna said.

"And Luna."

"Now I wish I were going. I wish I could be there for you. But I don't even have any dress robes," Amanda said.

"It's okay. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"We gotta get going to class. See you on Saturday, Gin," said John. "Come on, Bennie."

They got up and left Ben calling after John, "I told you to stop calling me 'Bennie.'" Ginny laughed.

"I better get going, too. I've got to be all the way up on the sixth floor. See you at lunch." Ginny left the Great Hall feeling better than she had in days. She knew she had people on her side now. Maybe Saturday wouldn't be so bad. They were friends after all. And, she remembered, John was going with Cho. If Stephen decided he wanted to ditch her, she could hang out with John, too.