When Worlds and Dreams Collide...

Chapter One

The Burrow

"Hermione!?!??"

The look of shock on Ron's face would have been comical for anyone but the person who gave it to him. She couldn't believe she had done it either but she had been so sick of waiting for him to make the first move! They were now in their last year at Hogwarts and she finally realized that if she left it up to him, she'd go to the grave waiting!

"Oh, just close your mouth Ronald."

Shocked at her own temerity and alarmed at his reaction, she was rapidly losing her temporary bravado. If he didn't give her a more positive response in the next few seconds she would literally run screaming from the room. She could feel the fight or flight reflex start kicking in already. Hermione was in the midst of turning and running when...

He grabbed her hard, almost violently, and smashed his lips against hers. The sudden shift in aggression temporarily left her immobile, but her own hormones still raging, Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron and gave in to the crazy shock of finally being with the man she loved.

Neither of them noticed, in the heat of their passion, the look of shock on their best friend's face. All they could sense was the rightness of what they were doing. As if they had waited forever to do this.

~~~~

Harry had woken up distraught...yet again. And for once it wasn't because of Voldemort. He had been having strange dreams all summer long. It was his first morning at The Burrows and he was trying to think of a way to broach the topic to his best friends. The dreams were, after all, beyond strange. If he didn't find the right way to present his dreams and his theories about it, his friends might think that he had finally succumbed to all the pain and horror that was his life.

He turned to wake Ron up and found his bed empty. That's strange, thought Harry. Oh well, Ron had already been asleep by the time Harry arrived late last night. It made sense, he supposed.

He grabbed his glasses from the side table and pushed them haphazardly onto his face and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. That was when he saw them.

His first thought was to whistle lewdly at them and yell out "finally!"

It was why he was caught completely unprepared for the violent hatred that flared up instead. It blinded him with rage and pain--making him trip backwards--straight into something small and solid.

All he could think about was it was happening all over again...

~~~~

"Harry, watch where you're...oh, my! Well, it's about time don't you think?"

Ginny was chuckling and smirking at the free show that hadn't heard them when her breath was taken away by the look she saw on Harry's face.

"Harry...Harry?"

As if coming out of a trance, Harry looked down and grinned at Ginny. He gestured to the pitcher of water on the far side of the counter.

Momentarily confused, Ginny decided that she probably read too much into what she just saw. Trick of the light or something. It was just shock. Just shock. Somewhere inside her mind though, she thought shock sure looked creepy.

~~~~

The two drenched lovers jumped apart at the first impact of cold water that had doused them. Looking around frantically, they finally came to and saw the culprits behind the prank. Their self-righteous tirade came to an abrupt stop before it began when they realized what they had just been caught doing.

"Awwww...look Harry! Ronnikins is all growed up!"

Harry and Ginny were laughing outright now. Neither heard Ron's exclamation because the two were too confused by the sudden spark they saw in each other's eyes.

"Shutup Gin!"

Ron was spluttering horribly--his red face resembling the red Christmas lights at Hogwarts. Shaking themselves out of the strange undercurrent they had just experienced together they shared a grin and turned to their friends. It really was uncanny how often they just knew what the other was thinking and how the other was feeling. Both of them had always thought it came from having Voldemort in their heads.

Harry decided to take pity on the pair and decided to ignore what he just saw. He went and grabbed some food and started shoveling it down his throat. The strange thing was...nothing tasted good--and the violence of his emotions scared him. What was happening to him?

He vaguely heard Hermione mention something about toiletries and running off upstairs and heard Ginny's sigh of unhappiness at being cheated of prime target mockery when Ron splattered next to him.

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Ron with a goofy grin on his face, Harry locked in his own confusing emotions and Ginny--with a speculative look on her face.

~~~~

Ginny had long ago accepted the fact that Harry didn't feel that way about her. She had. Somewhat. It didn't hurt her to think of him with other girls anymore...at least, not all the time. Sometimes it felt like he was one of her brothers. Not like Ron and Percy and the rest...but someone even closer. There were so many times that they would just look at one another and laugh. It was like they shared all these inside jokes with one another. It was confusing...sometimes...as strange as it seemed...it felt like they were twins. In these times, she always hoped he'd find someone worthy to be with, as she knew she would. But at other times, like a few minutes ago...that connection felt more romantic. Those were the times she felt like hexing and cursing any woman who even dared to look at him.

It made her want to kill Hermione...wait...that can't be right. Why would she ever want to kill one of her closest friends? The rogue thought left her puzzled and scared.

It was all very strange.

~~~~

The next day dawned bright and a little eerie. The pale sunlight streaming through the windows did little to permeate the very real tension in the room.

Ginny would have been a part of that strange little tableau if she hadn't accepted Neville's invitation to visit. As it was, she realized that she needed to get out of the house. The strange tension in the house was making her snap. The trio knew they should talk about what had occurred, especially with no one there but themselves, but none of them had the nerve to broach the topic and none of them even knew what to say to the other.

So the three sat in morbid silence, until with a bang and a pop--Fred and George apparated into the room.

"Have we got news for you guys!"

"You'll nevvvver guess what this pertains to."