First Dates

First Dates

by BJH

Harry hung his head is painful resignation, as did most of those present in the Gryffindor Common Room that evening. Ron and Hermione had just launched into another row and it promised to be a grand one.

"If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: it's S.P.E.W, Ronald, not SPEW!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs.

"And if I've heard it once then I've heard it a thousand times!" countered Ron at an equally uncomfortable volume. "The thing is SPEW is a lot more appropriate since that is what everyone in hearing wants to do whenever you start spewing that rubbish!"

Harry looked over and saw Ginny sitting in a chair with her hands pressed firmly over her ears pushing her fiery hair up into an adorable bunch that Harry wanted to...

"I'm just sick to death of hearing you spout on about how house-elves deserve to be free when they are doing exactly what they want to do in the first place!"

"Oh," Hermione hollered, "so you think they deserve to be slaves then?"

"No! They deserve to be able to choose how they want to live and they don't want to have clothes!"

"But if they only understood..."

"You mean that if you could only cram your ideals down their throats!"

SMACK! The sound of Hermione's hand on Ron's cheek resounded through the room and everything fell totally silent until the sound of the Fat Lady's portrait slamming shut behind Hermione broke the spell. Ron shook his head, the imprint of Hermione's hand still glowing on his cheek, and muttered "Bloody insane, I tell you" as he fled up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.

Ginny, once she was certain that the fireworks were indeed over, glanced at Harry and said, "You've got to do something about those two. They're driving the whole house mad."

Harry shrugged his shoulders helplessly and responded, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Get them to start snogging and stop fighting!" the rest of the room's occupants shouted in perfect, and eerie, unison.

"But how?" he asked them all.

"We don't care, just do it!" they responded.

"What you need is a plan," Ginny told him conspiratorially.

Harry nodded; he knew that the nearly explosive tension between his two best friends was being vented at the entire house. Ron and Hermione fancied each other silly but for some reason they refused to admit it. And he had just been given the task of getting them to overcome that hurdle.

"D'you got one?" he asked her hopefully.

Ginny shook her head sadly. "Not yet, but I'm sure we could work one out."

"Yeah," said Harry, "we've got the whole weekend to brainstorm. Maybe we can come up with something? We'll start first thing in the morning."

Ginny nodded her head and then, as if a thought just struck her, shook it. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend," she said, "and I've got some errands to run in the village."

Harry thought for a second. "We could go together?" he said suddenly. "You could get your errands done, and then we could have some lunch and try to hatch a plan." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the boy's dorms. "This has gone on long enough."

Ginny looked surprised for a second and then her mouth spread into a familiar, familial grin. "OK, that should be fun." That said, she scooped up her things and disappeared up the girl's stairs leaving Harry to try to think of some way he could persuade Ron and Hermione to stop fighting long enough to admit how they felt about each other.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast and a long wait in line before Filch checked off their names and allowed them out of the castle, Harry and Ginny headed off to the village of Hogsmeade together. Just after they passed between the statues of the giant winged boars that marked the entrance to the school grounds, Ginny tripped over a loose stone and Harry quickly reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"Are you all right, Gin?" he asked, concerned. "You didn't twist your ankle or anything, did you?"

Ginny held on to Harry's arm for support as she gingerly placed her weight on the ankle and began to walk again. "No, it seems to be fine. Just a stumble, I suppose. Good thing you caught me, though."

Harry looked down at her smiling face and answered, "Must be the Quidditch. It's good to know that I'm good for something other then just catching the Snitch." Ginny patted his arm and then slipped hers through his elbow for support as they continued to stroll towards the village.

It was a crisp fall day, not cold enough to drive people inside, just right for a comfortable walk and that is what they did. Harry and Ginny chatted lightly as they passed by Zonko's and Honeyduke's and down a narrow lane where Harry had never been before. Ginny brought them to a halt outside a small shop and finally let go of Harry's arm.

"Well, why don't you wait out here while I pick up a few things? I won't be long."

Harry shrugged lightly and replied, "Or I could go in with you. Maybe I could help you pick out something?"

Ginny's eyes shot open as she gawped at him. "Do you really want to come in and browse?" she asked him with a laugh.

Harry finally looked up at the sign above the shop. 'Fantastic Foundations' it read and looking at the displays of various ladies' undergarments in the window Harry knew, as much as he might want to, he'd never have enough Gryffindor courage to go in there alone, much less to shop with a girl.

Ginny watched with delight as realization spread across Harry's cheeks. Not willing to pass up such a golden opportunity to take the mickey out of him she launched on. "Well, it's fine by me. I could try on a few things and you could tell me what you think?"

She laughed as Harry's face turned a full Weasley red and dashed into the shop before Harry could respond. "Maybe I'll just make my own choices then, eh?" she called over her shoulder.

Harry crossed the street to wait, so that any stray passers-by didn't think he was deliberately hanging about in front of the other shop, and slowly felt the heat leaving his face. After about twenty minutes of staring at the window and imagining what sort of things she might be buying, he saw Ginny leaving the shop carrying a small pink and white striped bag; it seemed too small to be holding much and that thought sent the flush straight back to Harry's cheeks.

"All done there, Ginny?" Harry asked in slightly too high a voice.

"All set," she answered brightly. "Would you like to see?"

She reached into her bag and Harry caught the briefest glimpse of something pink and lacy before he turned his head away and began to examine the shutters across the way in minute detail. Ginny laughed brightly at his discomfort and this caused Harry to snap his head around just in time for it to impact with a lamp post that he hadn't seen directly in front of him. With a thud he landed on his backside in the lane and Ginny gasped and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Oh, are you all right, Harry? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Ginny asked him.

Harry reset his glasses onto the bridge of his nose and brushed off the front of his robes as they stood up again.

"No harm done... I think," he told her with a sheepish grin. She smiled back and looped her arm back through his - this time to support him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" came a familiar and oh-so-unwelcome drawl from behind them. "Don't tell me that little Potty is finally falling for the Weaslette?"

The gorilla-like grunting that passed for laughter told the pair that Crabbe and Goyle were accompanying Malfoy, as usual. Harry spun around to face them, his fingers flexing in anticipation of drawing his wand. Draco smirked as Crabbe stepped in front of him to act as his human shield.

"Don't you think you're just a bit outnumbered, Scarhead?" Malfoy sneered.

Crabbe cracked his knuckles threateningly as he tried to smirk. Harry, having learned his lessons in brawling from his cousin Dudley the hard way, didn't hesitate. He took a long step forward, towards Crabbe, and threw a fast overhand right straight into the other boy's chin before the dolt could even register that the fight had begun. Crabbe collapsed in a heap. Draco's eyes flashed to his fallen bodyguard and his hand whipped inside his robes to get to his wand. He stopped just as quickly and his eyes grew to the size of sickles as he stared over Harry's shoulder. From the corner of his eye Harry noticed the tip of Ginny's wand pointing at the Slytherins and he just knew what hex was on the tip of her tongue.

Malfoy quickly began to back up, almost tripping over Goyle in the process. "Don't think you're going to get away with this," he snarled but the threat was significantly lessened by the fact that he was retreating as he spoke.

"Just sod off, Malfoy, and leave us be," Harry shot at his retreating back.

Harry and Ginny turned and walked in the opposite direction, their steps taut and quick. As they got back onto the main street of the village, they looked at each other, the tension falling away from them, and began to laugh.

"You pack quite a punch there, Potter!" Ginny said, impressed. "I wouldn't have thought you had it in you."

Harry snorted a laugh. "Well, I've been on the receiving end of them often enough that I had to have picked up something along the way." Ginny knew that Hermione would be shocked at this revelation, but Ginny herself had grown up with six older brothers and she knew that brawling was only to be expected among any group of boys and it was nothing to get upset about.

"You hungry?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Ginny replied lightly. "Where do you want to go? There's always Madame Puddifoot's?"

Harry turned on her with a look of revulsion on his face. "Have you ever been there?" he asked.

"Once," she answered, adding quietly, "with Michael."

"And did you like it?"

Ginny shrugged. "Not particularly."

Harry sighed his relief. "That's good; I hated it." He gave an involuntary shudder at the memory of his one time there with Cho, his one and only date with her and its disastrous conclusion. "How about The Three Broomsticks?"

"OK by me," Ginny answered amicably and she grabbed his hand and headed them off.

The pub was crowded and Harry steered them to a small table near a corner by the front windows. He pulled out a chair for her and asked her what she wanted to eat as she sat.

"Whatever you're having will be fine," she answered. "And a butterbeer!"

Harry nodded as he made his way over to the bar to place their order and get their drinks. In a minute he was back with two tankards of the steaming brew and took his seat.

Wiping the foam from his mouth with a napkin he broached the subject he was loath to discuss. "So, d'you have any idea what we can do about those two?"

Ginny shook her head. "Nope. That is if you discount the idea of locking them in a cupboard until one of them is dead or Hermione's preggers."

Harry grinned. "Don't you reckon it would be Ron?"

"Ron get pregnant?!" Ginny practically screamed.

Harry hastily covered his mouth to prevent himself from spewing butterbeer all over Ginny's robes. "No! I meant him being the one to get killed. Although thinking about it, the idea of him getting knocked up would be quite interesting."

Ginny slapped his hand and giggled. "Yeah, I can just see the rest of you blokes being really sympathetic about his morning sickness."

They lapsed into companionable silence as their lunches came and they dug into the food while it was still warm. His sandwich gone, Harry started munching on his chips. Ginny watched as he picked up a fork and began to critically examine it. Harry ran his fingers over the curves in the handle and grasping it firmly he bent it slightly, putting a little less curve in the center and adding a reverse bend at the end. He waggled it between his fingers as if judging how well it would fly then placed it flat on the table in front of him. Ginny looked at him quizzically as he picked up a chip and placed it carefully onto the end of the fork, in the bit of reverse bend he had put there. Harry caught her eye and gave her a mischievous wink then slapped his hand down on the tines of the fork causing the bit of chip to fly up into the air. Ginny gawped as it flew upwards and then began to fall. Harry was watching it intently until, like lightning, he snapped his head out and caught the morsel in his mouth. His mouth spread into a broad smirk as he chewed and swallowed.

Ginny laughed for a full minute at his antics and then said between gasps for breath, "You are quite the talented fellow, Mister Potter!"

Harry gave her a half bow and replied, "Anything to please a lovely lady."

Ginny smirked a bit herself then picked up her spoon and began to polish it with her napkin. After she was satisfied with it, she rubbed the tip of her nose with the napkin as well. Then huffing her breath three times into the bowl of the spoon, she pressed it to her nose and held it there a moment. Harry stared as she slowly drew her hand away and left the spoon hanging from the end of her nose with no visible support. Harry laughed out loud as the spoon just hung there at the end of Ginny's nose as she slowly stood and turned around in a circle to let the entire pub see her feat. Sitting down again she burst out in laughter of her own, causing the spoon to slip and fall into her lap.

The two grinned at each other happily for a moment until the sound of snarky laughter was heard from somewhere over to their right. Harry turned and saw Draco Malfoy sitting there laughing derisively as he whispered a surely insulting comment to his companions. Ginny flushed in embarrassment and Harry turned cold. Taking his fork-cum-catapult and pointing it in a new direction, Harry snatched up another chip and drenched it in gravy before placing it at the very end of the fork. Ginny was about to shake her head 'no' when Harry brought his hand down sharply on the other end of the fork sending the spud missile sailing through the air. It landed with a splat in the bowl of soup Malfoy was eating and splashed broth over the front of his robes.

Ginny watched as a vicious snarl crossed Draco's face and saw from the corner of her eye that determined look in Harry's eyes that told her that he wasn't about to back down. She could tell that this was going to end in a huge fight and all of them would likely be getting into trouble. Suddenly, a group of Ravenclaws that were sitting at the table in the middle of the DMZ stood to leave. Ginny took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him to the rear of the pub. Harry caught on to what she intended and helped bull them through the crowd. He pushed open the swinging doors that led to the kitchens and thrust her through.

The cook, a small but burly looking fellow lifted a heavy frying pan threateningly but Harry held up his hands in supplication. "Back door?" Harry asked quickly. The cook waved with the pan in the general direction and off they went again.

Pushing Ginny through the door and into the alleyway, Harry closed the door behind them and led them off away from the pub at a trot. When they had put several shops between them and the Three Broomsticks with no sign of pursuit, Harry stopped and looked at her. His hair was more disheveled than usual and his face carried a broad grin; she couldn't help but grin back.

"Smart idea," he said. "I was more than willing to hex that arrogant prat but I would hate to have Madam Rosmerta ban us from the pub for fighting. Sirius told me a story about this one time he and Dad got tossed by her and it took them two years and five pounds of Honeyduke's best chocolates to get her to let them back in again." They both laughed at the thought but then Ginny noticed the cloud beginning to cross over Harry's eyes again at the thought of his late Godfather; she took quick action to avert it.

"Com'on then," she said brightly. "I had finished eating anyways. Let's go for a walk." Taking his hand she led him without protest out of the village and towards the Shrieking Shack.

They stood before the derelict building that was Remus' sanctuary in his school days as Harry spun for her the tale of his third year. She had heard it before, in dribs and drabs, from Ron and the others but she had never heard the whole thing before, especially from Harry's view point. He never talked much about the things that happened to him. He never did, or at least he never had. When he had finished, she began to approach the small cottage.

"Do you reckon we could find a way in?" she asked.

"I dunno," Harry answered. "It was sealed up tight enough to keep a werewolf in and since Pettigrew ran back to join him I'd reckon Dumbledore has placed all sorts of new wards and alarms on it to prevent the Death Eaters from using it to get onto the castle grounds."

Ginny nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, it likely would be impossible to get into from this side. Still, I wonder what it's like inside now."

"Maybe I could show it to you sometime?" Harry answered. "It's not likely to be warded from the Hogwarts side, is it?"

"That'd be fun," she said as she continued to stroll around the building. "You know, Michael took me here once. It was our first real date and he took me here and told me all kinds of stories about the horrible ghosts and other monsters that lived inside." She snickered lightly to herself. "I suppose he was trying to frighten me so that I would cuddle up into his big, strong arms for protection."

Harry laughed. "It must have really hacked him off when you told him the truth about it."

"Oh, I never told him I knew the real story," Ginny said conspiratorially. Harry shot her a confused look and she continued, "You see, Michael was rather high maintenance. I know it's usually girls who wear that label -" Harry nodded his agreement; he knew what that was like. "- but it fits him as well. He always needed to be reassured. He had to be right, or at least I couldn't be righter. He always needed to be reassured that I liked him. It was quite annoying there towards the end." Harry shook his head at the irony of Ginny's words, Michael's need to be reassured that Ginny liked him being the thing to make her stop, and continued to examine the outsides of the building.

Ginny shot him a rather sideways sort of look through her hair and asked, "Did you ever take Cho here?"

"Nah," Harry muttered. "We only really had one date, to Madame Puddifoot's, and that was a complete disaster."

"You mean all that time you two were going out you only had one date?"

"Well we didn't go out all that long."

"You were seeing each other for more than half the year," Ginny countered. "You started dating before Christmas by what Ron said and broke up near the end of the year, right?"

"Yeah, but most of the time in between was spent with her being hacked off about one thing or another. If you wanted to string all the time we were just together it added up to only a couple of weeks."

"And one disastrous date," Ginny added with a snort.

Harry snorted along with her. "Yeah, fairly typical for me."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, taking a seat on the weathered steps leading up to the front door.

Harry snorted again, only this time in disgust rather than humor. "Come on now, Ginny, you must have noticed by now that I'm not exactly beating girls off with a broomstick."

"Oh, com'on, Harry. You're the Boy-Who-Lived! You could have any girl in school you wanted. Even half the girls in Slytherin would abandon Malfoy if you just gave them a reason."

"But that's just the point. I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, the Tri-Wizard Champion, the dirty little liar, the showoff, the arrogant little brat who just wants more attention."

"Harry, none of that is true!" Ginny shouted, jumping to his defense. "It's all just a pack of lies they printed in the Prophet."

"Yeah, it is. It's all just a pack of lies, all of it. I'm none of those things," Harry said morosely.

Ginny inched a bit closer to him on the step they shared and asked quietly, "Then who are you?"

Harry just shrugged and said, "I dunno. I really don't." He paused for a moment to think. "All I do know is that I'm absolute rubbish when it comes to girls. I don't know how to talk to them, or act around them, or even treat them right on a date." He got up and started walking back towards the gates of Hogwarts, Ginny following closely.

"So you and Cho didn't get on that well?" she asked to reopen the conversation.

"Nah, there was always too much in the way. We couldn't get past any of it long enough to even get to know each other really." He walked on a bit further and asked her, "But what about you and Dean? I thought you had planned on starting to date him?"

Now it was Ginny's turn to shrug. "Yeah well, a girl can change her mind," she said noncommittally.

Harry turned with a concerned look on his face. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

"Harry," Ginny glowered, "I've already got six brothers; I don't need a seventh!" Harry hung his head in contrition and let Ginny catch up with him again. "Besides, he didn't try anything. We owled each other a few times over the summer and then when we got back here we went on a stroll around the lake. We talked a bit but there just wasn't... there wasn't any there there, if you know what I mean."

Harry nodded, not really knowing what she meant. How could anybody not want to spend time with Ginny, he wondered to himself?

They walked on in companionable silence, through the gates and onto the grounds. Instead of turning up towards the castle, for some reason they went of towards the lake instead. Occasionally they would stop and toss rocks into the lake to watch the ripples sweep across the water, or simply stare out over the lake and chat lightly about everything and nothing. Time seemed to sweep by them and before they knew it, the sun had set and it was dark.

Official permission to be out of the castle ended at sundown so Harry and Ginny needed to be careful not to be seen by any wondering teachers or prefects.

"I suppose dinner is long over by now," Ginny said with a tinge of sorrow.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked and Ginny nodded. "Then let's just pop down to the kitchens and get a bite."

Ginny smiled and led Harry by the hand down the wide steps towards the picture of the bowl of fruit. Once inside, Dobby was more than happy to get them a platter of sliced chicken left over from supper, along with some cheese and fruit. And bread. And some pastries and other goodies. The two sat at a small table in the corner as the house-elves finished their cleaning. When they were finally finished and Dobby took away their dishes, Harry glanced down at his watch and pulled a face.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ginny asked, concerned.

"It's way past curfew and if we get caught by Filch, he'll have our hides," Harry lamented.

Ginny grimaced as well at the thought. "Well, we'd best not get caught then."

"Serves me right for stepping out of the common room without my Dad's old cloak," he whined.

"Oh hush, Harry! It's not like either one of us is any stranger to sneaking about the corridors at night."

"When do you go skulking about at night?" Harry asked, half shocked and half disappointed that he wasn't invited along.

"A girl's got to have some secrets,' Ginny answered with a smirk. "Besides, who do you think put that Portable Swamp right outside Slytherin's common room a fortnight ago, hmm?"

Harry chuckled; he was surprised, surprised and delighted, at how much like the twins Ginny was. It was great having a prankster around the dorms, and Harry suddenly realized, with more than a touch of sorrow, that he wasn't one. Or at least not as big a one as he father and Sirius had been, or even the twins and Ginny. He'd have to see about putting a change to that.

He reached out and absently took Ginny's hand. Together they cracked open the door and checked the hallway for any sign of a teacher or prefect on patrol. Seeing the coast was clear, they left the kitchens and began a slow and cautious trip back to Gryffindor Tower. They had made it almost all of the way there when their path was blocked by a pair of glowing yellow eyes gleaming out of the darkened corridor ahead of them.

"Mrs. Norris," Ginny whispered in Harry's ear. "We're done for."

"Not yet," Harry answered as he drew his wand and, with a wave, sent a fountain of water shooting at the shocked cat. As adverse to water as her overly-ripened owner, the cat scrambled back and took off like a... well, like a drenched cat. "RUN!" Harry yelled, and the pair bolted off for the fat lady's portrait before Filch could sort out his soaked pet enough to give pursuit.

Holding their sides in a failing attempt to contain their laughter, the young couple fell through the portrait hole into the common room. Oblivious to the gaping stares around them, they held onto each other to keep from falling over.

"Harry! Ginny! What exactly is the meaning of all this?" Hermione shouted at them. "You two had disappeared for hours. No one knew where you were! Anything could have happened to you! And now you stagger in here laughing like a couple of loons! We were worried sick!"

"Harry!" Ron interjected. "What have you been doing for all this time with my sister?" His ears were turning the deep shade of red that indicated that he was gearing up for a major row. Ginny headed him off at the pass.

"Oh relax, Ron. Harry and I were just out on a date," she answered calmly.

"A date!" Harry and Ron both sputtered. Ron's ears got even redder now and Harry quickly moved to assuage him.

"Relax Ron," he said pleadingly. "We weren't on a date. Ginny's just trying to wind you up."

Now it was Ginny's ears that were turning red. "Harry Potter! How dare you lie to my brother like that! We were so on a date!"

Harry's eyes looked about to pop out of their sockets as he gaped at Ginny in disbelief.

Looking him straight in the eye, Ginny continued, "Did you or did you not ask me to go to Hogsmeade with you today?"

"Well, yeah but..." Harry stammered.

"And did we or did we not walk down there arm in arm?" Harry could only nod.

"And didn't we do a bit of shopping?" she said holding up her bag. Harry nodded again.

"And didn't you buy me lunch?" Another nod.

"And take me out to see the Shrieking Shack where we spent time getting to know each other better?" Nod.

"We even complained about our ex's, didn't we?"

"Yeah but..." Harry tried, but Ginny would have none of it.

"And then we spent time strolling around the lake, hand in hand?" Harry went back to nodding.

"And finally, after sneaking dinner in the kitchens, didn't you have to smuggle me back to my common room so we could avoid getting in trouble for being out after curfew?" By now, Ginny had her hands on her hips and was stamping her foot to emphasize each word. "That certainly sounds like a date to me." She raised her eyes to the rest of the people in the room. "How about you folks, does that sound like a date to you?" The girls were all nodding their agreement while the boys wore alternating looks of amusement and sympathy for Harry getting hoisted to thoroughly on his own petard.

Ginny returned her gaze to Harry. "In fact, it sounds like a nearly perfect first date to me. So don't you ever again go on about how you're rubbish with girls, because the whole of Gryffindor now knows that it's nothing but a crock!" With that being said, she turned on her heel to go up the steps to the girls dorm.

Harry, not knowing what else to do, played the only card he could think of. "Well, if this WAS a date, then why didn't I get a good-night kiss?"

Ginny stopped a few steps up and turned around to face him once again. "It's no one's fault but your own," she snapped. "You never asked for one!"

As Ginny turned and continued up the stairs, Harry's eyes went from a look of shock to one of grim determination. Raising one foot, he stomped down hard on the first step of the girl's staircase triggering the wards and causing the stairway to turn into one long slide.

There came a squeal as Ginny slid back into view and Harry caught her and leaned over, placing one hand on either side her shoulders. Ginny flushed and placed her hands against his chest in token resistance. "Why, Mister Potter, what kind of a girl do you think I am?"

Harry grinned at her wickedly and said, "You know? I haven't the slightest idea, but I do think I'm going to enjoy finding out." With that he lowered his lips onto hers.

As Ginny's arms moved from being on Harry's chest to wrapping themselves around his neck, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, grinned, and exchanged a very enthusiastic high five.