Ginevra, What Were You Thinking?

Keep running, Ginny.

Why? What if Harry comes after me?

He won't.

How do you know that?

I'm magic. Besides, he'll go after Cho. You made her cry.

She deserves it, the prat.

Ginny, you need to learn how to control your temper.

No, I--here comes Harry. I told you so.

"Ginny--er--are you okay?" Harry asked, finally catching up to her in the Gryffindor common room.

No! No! I'm not okay. I just made a girl cry, and I unintentionally told the entire city of Hogsmeade that I love you, Harry Potter!

"I'm okay."

"Good. I was afraid that you'd still be upset about Cho," Harry said, a look of relief flittering across his face.

I am! I am upset about Cho! And about you. And about life in general!

"No, I'm okay."

"Well--er--I guess I'll see you later, then."

No! Don't go, Harry! I desperately need to talk to you.

"All right, then," Ginny said calmly, despite the jumble of emotions floating around in her head and heart.

At her affirmation, Harry left and headed for some other part of the castle. Ginny, berating herself all the way, went up towards her dorm room. Seeking solitude, Ginny climbed into her four-poster and pulled the curtains closed.

Ginny, why'd you have to go and tell him that everything's all right when you know perfectly well that it isn't?

I don't know. I just can't talk about it right now. I don't even know how I feel--how can I talk about my feelings to someone else? Besides, did you forget what we were down there for? Harry obviously still likes Cho.

Well, maybe if you told him how you felt--I mean, in normal conversation--he'd feel the same way about you.

No. I don't want to make him feel any certain way about me. I want him to like me of his own accord--I don't want or need his sympathy.

~~~

Several hours later, Hermione quietly entered Ginny's dorm room.

"Ginny?" asked Hermione cautiously.

Oh, no. She's going to make me talk about it.

All Hermione got in response was a groan from the depths of Ginny's four-poster.

"Can I talk to you?"

"I guess so," came the reply.

"Ginny, I just saw Harry in the owlery. He looked all weird and wouldn't say anything about Cho's present. What happened?"

To Hermione's great astonishment, Ginny answered by jerking open her curtains, grabbing Hermione's arm to pull her in, then shutting the curtains and placing an imperturbable spell around her bed.

When Ginny made no move to explain, Hermione tried again. "What happened in Hogsmeade, Ginny?" asked Hermione in a soft voice, while gently placing her hand on the other girl's shoulder.

This was all the prompting Ginny needed. Amongst many tears and sobs, Ginny conveyed the occurrences in Hogsmeade to her closest friend. Upon finishing her monologue, Ginny looked up to Hermione's face, expecting to see unwanted reassurance.

Surely she's not going to tell you everything is fine. She said it herself--Harry's acting all weird now. He'll never want to speak to you again.

No, I don't think that's what she'll say. She's not wearing a kind look. It's that one that she uses when she wants to get to the bottom of something.

"So, let me get this right," began Hermione pensively. "Cho marched up to you in Hogsmeade accusing Harry of things he didn't do, and you blew up at her?"

"Yes," Ginny admitted miserably.

"And you told them that you wished Harry had dumped Cho for you?"

"Yes," she groaned again.

After a couple of minutes, Hermione had assessed the situation in full, and she delivered her prescription. "You need to talk to him, Ginny."

I know! I know I need to talk to him, okay?! But--

"I can't," Ginny concluded her thoughts.

"Why not? You were able to talk a few hours ago," Hermione pointed out kindly.

"I can't because--because I haven't fully thought out what I'm prepared to tell him. Besides, I think he needs a little time to let the idea of me liking him sink in," Ginny reasoned.

"Ginny, Harry has had six whole years for that idea to sink in," Hermione giggled.

"But you know what I mean, Hermione. I have to decide what I want to say, or I won't be able to string two words together."

How am I ever going to figure this out? I have to come up with a tactful way to address Harry.

C'mon, Ginevra, you know as well as I do that tactfulness is not your strong point.

"Well," tried Hermione sympathetically, "I would offer to talk to him for you, but we both know that that is immature, and it will come off looking like you're a two year old who can't speak for herself."

"I know." Ginny gave a resigned sigh. "If only life and boys were simple--if only guys understood how girls felt."

"Ginny," Hermione giggled again, "life is rarely simple, and how can we expect boys to understand us when they don't even understand themselves?"

Hermione left Ginny's dorm room a little while later and left Ginny to her thoughts instead of trying to offer advice that both the girls knew would solve nothing. Hermione, wise beyond her years, knew that girls sometimes need to be left alone to reason things out for themselves.

You need to think about Harry, Ginevra.

No, I can't, not now. I'll think of it tomorrow--I'll be able to stand it better then.