Two Gloves

The Two Gloves

Ginny Weasley Apparated right in front of her brother Ron's apartment that he shared with Harry Potter. She reached up to knock on the door and hesitated. "I hate you!" Cho Chang's voice screamed from behind the door. Cho Chang was Harry's girlfriend. Suddenly the door flung open. Ginny took a step to the right when Cho came barreling out of the apartment without farther warning. Cho almost collided with Ginny, but Ginny swiftly dodged the collision. Cho muttered an "Excuse me" before rushing past Ginny without a backward glance. With Ginny's glance that lasted a second she noticed that Cho's face was contorted with rage and her eyes had red rims from crying. Ginny glanced flittingly at Cho's returning back. With a slight pause, she took a step toward the opened apartment door.

"Oh Ginny," Harry said noticing her before she noticed him. Harry sat on the couch in the living room. He looked crestfallen with tears in his green eyes. Ginny's breath caught. He looked so sad, she secretly wished she could just wrap her arms around him and hold him until he felt better. Harry was looking at her. "Hi?"

"Hey, Harry," Ginny said gaining control of her urge to hold him. "Did you and Cho... have a fight?" She was fishing for information, but she hoped that Harry just thought of as a friend interested in what happened between a friend and his girlfriend (Ginny secretly wished it was ex-girlfriend) and not the truth. The truth was she was jealous of Cho and wanted Harry... for herself.

Harry felt crestfallen and down, until Ginny walked in. Suddenly the world seemed brighter. Ginny had always had that particular effect on him. "Cho and I are over," he stated clearly. He hadn't realized he had decided that it was officially over until he told Ginny. He wasn't even sure Cho knew it was officially over, but he did know he couldn't take anymore. The relationship with Cho had been unhealthy at best. Everyday they at least got in one fight, if not a couple of fight, and always over petty things.

"Oh," Ginny started, "I'm really sorry." Ginny was genuinely sorry about the news. She did want Harry to herself, but she always knew that he cared a great deal with Cho and would be hurting at the moment. A big part of her wanted to go over to him and hug him, but she held back. "Is there anything I can do?"

Harry shook his head. "No." He stood. "I'm going for a walk." He walked to the door and brushed her arm as he reached for his coat. A tingle went through his arm to his heart has he did. He had been a long time since he had felt any kind of tingle when it came to a girl, including Cho. Suddenly Ginny seemed all grown up. Her features perfected a beautiful face of porcelain skin. Her red hear, the trademark of the Weasley's, was falling down her shoulders. Her lips were full. Why did I notice her lips? He asked himself. I've never noticed her lips before. She must have been wearing perfume because her smell of flowers or berries or whatever was making it harder for him to think. Suddenly, he found the smell, which he probably had smelled a hundred--no million--times before, was tantalizing him like no woman's smell had before. He had a sudden urge to get closer to her, to smell that smell up close.

When Harry's arm brushed hers, Ginny felt a tingle all over her body. She always felt a tingle when Harry accidentally touched her. He never touched her on purpose. His eyes were green, but today, they were troubled. Probably with the break up, she thought to herself sadly. His dark hair was untidy as always. He was beautiful. Since she could remember meeting him when she was 11 she had always thought he was beautiful. His smell was even beautiful. His smell was musky and manly, and a smell no one could ever double. "Ok..." Ginny said weakly. "Is Ron home?"

Harry nodded. "He retreated into his bedroom when the yelling started." He nodded toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "Well, bye," he said weakly, sliding back her to leave the apartment. He made sure he didn't touch her when he went past her. Harry was confused enough already about Cho not to have Ginny - his best friend's little sister no less - confuse him more by being suddenly grown up.

Harry walked outside and took a deep breath. He could no long smell Ginny's perfume, and he could think once again. Instead of thinking about Cho, he found himself wondering how Ginny's lips would feel if he kissed her. Why are you suddenly thinking of Ginny that way? She is practically your sister! He chimed himself. Cho think about Cho. He picture Cho's face as she ran out of his apartment mere minutes before. He walked for fifteen minutes before he made his decision. He decided he would no longer deal with the baggage that came with Cho. Cho may be beautiful, and she was stunningly beautiful, but it just wasn't worth it. Almost every time he made the slightest mistake she throws Cedric Diggory's death in his face. It wasn't his fault Cedric died, but Cho acted like it was. This time the fight about something he had already forgotten would be the end of their relationship. It was time to move on for both of them. They had been dating off and on since Harry felt Hogwarts five years ago. They had been getting serious for about a year now, but wasn't worth the pain and frustration. He honestly found himself wishing it was worth it, but he knew in his heart he wasn't.

He found himself picturing Ginny. Her long red hair, so much like everyone else's in her family, but there seemed to be something different in her picture. She had always been his best friend's little sister and his friend, but lately, she had been becoming more and more to him. He couldn't place what had changed. She suddenly seemed grown up... Suddenly she seemed have turned into a woman before Harry's eyes. Her bright brown eyes seemed to be calling him - at least in his mind. Her smile - the smile he'd seen too many times to count - seemed radiant and beautiful. Her red hair seemed so much more beautiful than anyone's hair, even if it was the same as the rest of the Weasley's. To put it plainly, to Harry's shock, Ginny now seemed attractive.

Maybe because he was longer tied to Cho, but suddenly Ginny seemed to be a woman. A woman he could see himself spending time with, as more than a friend. He remembered her laughter and humor. When had she grown up? Harry wondered to himself. He hadn't notice her changing from the little girl he first saw on King's Cross Station nearly thirteen years ago. He had been eleven then... and she had been ten. He had saved her his second year - her first - at Hogwarts from the Heir of Slytherin and was her friend... so when she did grow up?

Harry shook his head as he walked. He slowly realized he had walked in a full circle without realizing it and was back on the road to his apartment. He noticed a glove on the ground near the ditch. Without realizing what he was doing he walked over and picked it up. On the top there was the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry symbol. He hadn't seen that symbol in years and he felt a tingle of nostalgia at the sight of it. He looked around for the matching glove and didn't see anything. He struggled, feeling as though he couldn't just leave the glove, he pocketed it. I'll throw it away when I get home, he told himself, even though he knew it wasn't true. He stood there for a moment, thinking about the seven years he had spent at Hogwarts. Memories flooded through his head... Being on the Hogwarts Express for the first time and meeting Ron... Fighting the troll first year with Ron and Hermione. So many good memories, but there was always a great deal of bad ones, but he forced himself to going think of the good ones.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and walked up the road to his apartment.

Ginny sat down on the couch in Ron and Harry's apartment as Ron went on and on about work. She nodded occasionally so that her brother would think she was listening, but she wasn't really hearing what he had to say. She kept picturing Harry. She felt a twang of guilt and sadness as she thought of how sad he looked when she had came in after Cho had left. He had not seemed happy to see her and left quickly afterward. She sighed inwardly. He will never think of me as anyone but Ron's little sister, she thought bitterly to herself.

Harry had never just been "the boy who conquered the Dark Lord" (twice now) or her brother's best friend, he had always been more. She had always felt that she and Harry had been meant to be together. Even after she had started to date other guys in school, she never gave up the hope that Harry would one day be hers. Just the sound of his voice could send her heart reeling. She had long since gotten over her shyness around him and could speak freely to him, but she never could tell him what was in her heart because he was in her heart. He haunted her very existence. Even if she had gone three months or more without seeing him, he was constantly in her thoughts. She couldn't escape him.

"...and I'm quite sure that Hermione will die if she keeps fighting the trolls like she does. I mean they are so dangerous..." Ron rattled on, but something in that sentence brought her back to the room with her brother.

Hermione fighting trolls? Ginny thought, confused. "Hermione fights trolls?" she echoed her thoughts.

Ron was smirking at her. Then he laughed. "That brought you back to reality," he said still laughing. "Honestly, Ginny, what's going on?"

Ginny blushed. Her thoughts had not been sexual, but somehow they seemed worse when she faced her brother's questioning. "Nothing, I'm just distracted with work," she lied easily.

Ron's laughter grew louder. "More like Harry," he laughed.

"H-Harry?" she questioned weakly. She was shocked. Since when did he know of her love for Harry?

Ron stopped laughing. "Ginny, don't lie. Yes, Harry. I mean, you were thinking about him weren't you?" Ron asked her, looking and sounding rather serious.

Before Ginny could answer her brother, the door opened. Ginny jumped at the sound of the opening door, and looked over. Harry emerged from the door and sent her heart beat on top speed. He looked so handsome. His dark was wind swept and his face was red from the cold. She looked into his eyes, and he stared back at her. His green eyes were clouded over with thoughts. Thoughts of what nature she didn't know, but she wanted to. Suddenly, something changed in his familiar, but loved, eyes, the clouds receded a bit, and passion filled them. Passion? Passion for whom? She questioned silently.

Harry saw Ginny sitting on the couch the moment he entered his apartment. He felt a rush of pleasure in seeing her, and a less predominate feeling of confusion. She is so beautiful, he found thinking. She looked the exact same as she did when he left his apartment, but something was different. Something good was different. Her lips were pink and full and in a small, almost guilty smile. When he met her brown eyes he felt a pang of want.

Ron was the first to speak into the quiet room. "Hey, Harry," he greeted his friend. Harry broke away from Ginny's strong glaze and saw that his friend was looking from him to Ginny with an amused expression on his face. For some reason, Ron didn't look confused at this odd encounter.

Harry cleared his throat. "Hey, Ron," he said in return. He nodded to Ginny, "Ginny."

Ginny felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. She saw Ron's amused expression and realized she had just given him the answer to his question. With her silence she had clearly told him she had been thinking about Harry. "Hello again, Harry," she said trying not to sound rushed or nervous. "I was just leaving," she said before she consciously made the decision to do so. She stood up and walked at a pace that was just slightly slower than running to the door.

"You're leaving?" Ron said, sounding amused. "But you never did answer my question."

Ginny turned and glanced at her brother. He had a smirk on his face, and he was clearly enjoying himself. Damn him. Ginny thought silently.

"What - or should I say who were you thinking about instead of listening to her loving brother?" Ron asked. As Ginny glared at her brother, she felt a blush crawl onto her face.

Harry glanced back and forth at the siblings and noticed he was missing something entirely. Ginny's face was slowly growing red, and she was glaring at her brother. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen Ginny blush, but he definitely could recall the last time Ginny had glared at her brother. Feeling awkward in the middle of this family drama, Harry turned and took off his coat. The glove he had found on the road fell out of his coat pocket.

Ginny noticed something fall out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to see her lost glove fall out of Harry's coat pocket. "Oh, Harry," she said without thinking, "that's my glove! I dropped it yesterday." Harry bent down to pick it up and she rushed over to him, pulling out the matching glove from her own coat pocket. "See?" she said showing him the other glove. Silently, he handed the glove to her. Their fingers brushed as she took the glove. She felt a tingle for the second time in an hour at his touch. Her heart sped up and her face that was already blushing grew hotter. She glanced timidly up at him through her downcast eyelashes. He was looking at her. His eyes were filled with shock, confusion, and passion. Is that passion for me? Ginny wondered to herself, feeling hopeful.

Harry had never felt so awkward close to Ginny before. Suddenly, he felt insecure, confused, and shocked all at once. He was shocked that he had the urge to pull Ginny into his arms. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt the urge to kiss, hold, or even just be near Cho; everything with Cho was just so automatic. Ginny's beautiful brown eyes stared up at him through her eyelashes looking awkward and insecure. Before he could stop himself, Harry reached out and put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. A shocked breath escaped from Ginny's mouth. Her tantalizing smell reached his nose once again and sent his sense in full gear. Her brown eyes, which was looking directly into his eyes, was now filled was determination.

From the moment Harry's hand touched hers, the room had melted away and the only things that mattered was Harry and herself. Harry had made the first move and Ginny couldn't be happier. Suddenly, she felt a surge of determination and less insecurity. The passion was still in Harry's green eyes, so she leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed her closed mouth gently over his. A feeling she had never experienced before flooded her body. She stared up in his eyes and saw only passion and an amused shock.

Harry couldn't believe that she had actually kissed him. True, the kiss had been close-mouthed, short, and timid, but it was kiss. Before he could have a second thought, Harry pulled her closer and put his lips on hers. He gently tried to her to open her mouth as she stood there in his arms. She was unmoving and stiff and suddenly Harry felt guilty for kissing her. But before he could push away and say he was sorry, he felt her loosen and her lips slowly parted. Harry felt a surge of passion and happiness. He tasted her. She tasted sweet and perfect.

It had taken Ginny a moment to realize that Harry was actually kissing her, but when she did, she kissed him back with as much passion and love as she could. She had kissed boys before, but this kiss was different. She felt complete and whole while she was in his arms. She felt safe. And it wasn't the safety she had always felt with him since he had saved her from the Chamber of Secrets. No, this was a complete safety and trust that only love could create. Love from him too. It dawned on her as his mouth slanted over hers again and again that he must love her too if he could kiss her like this.

Feeling like he wanted to go farther than just kiss her, Harry drew away slowly. Ginny sacked again him and her breath was fast. He felt pleased with himself knowing he had done that to her. Suddenly he wanted to kiss her again, but he held back. There was no doubt in his mind now that he was in love with her. He was in love with Ginny Weasley.

Ginny sacked against Harry, glad that he was still holding her. The taste of his lips lingered and she wanted very much to kiss him again, but didn't make a move. She felt weak from the kisses and wasn't sure she could really move anyway. She felt safe. And complete. Slowly the room began to appear into focus and the sounds of the apartment came back to her ears. She vaguely heard Ron's laughter. Ron's laughing? She thought distractedly. Ron! Suddenly she realized she was still in the apartment with her brother. Her brother had seen everything. She felt her face grow hot. She cursed her brother silently.

Harry heard Ron's laughter and smiled. So Ron knew who cared? He thought to himself. He felt Ginny's body stiffen slightly and he methodically began to rub her back softly. She relaxed again. She sighed softly into his chest. His smile widened. He leaned down and whispered, "That was very nice," in her eye. He felt her stiffen right up and chuckled quiet. "I love you," he whispered.

Ginny gasped. Did she just imagine what she heard? "What did you say?" she whispered softly into his chest.

Harry could barely hear her question as he held her. "I love you," he repeated himself, louder this time. Ron's laughter grew louder and it was oblivious his best friend had heard his words.

Ginny could barely contain her happiness. She glanced up into his eyes and saw only passion and love there. Yes, love. There was no longer shock or confusion. He loves me! Ginny thought wildly. She made sure to look him in the eyes when she said, "I love you, too." She had said it as loudly as he had and felt no shame in saying the words.

Harry leaned down and gently kissed her softly on the lips. "I thought you did," he whispered against her mouth.

Ron's laughter continued when Ron's voiced sliced into their world, "Will you two please stop already? I think you're going to make me throw up. And man, it took you long enough!" Ron continued to laugh as the two turned to him with shocked faces.