For Just A Little While

For just a little while, we were here together,

For just a little while, we were side by side.

Ginny Weasley walked down the spiral staircase into the Gryffindor Common Room. It was the last day of her sixth year, and, although she didn't mind having the summer off, she felt very reluctant to have to go home. The common room was empty of the people she was looking for, but Ginny saw her other sixth year friends, Cassie Hogen and Juliet DeSimithers, sitting side by side on a scarlet couch, along with Colin Creevey, looking at Colin's pictures that he had taken of the school year. Colin was the head photographer of Hogwarts' newest "installment", the Hogwarts Yearbook, founded by a certain Muggle-born girl who happened to be the editor.

"Hey Ginny! Get over here you late sleeper!" said Juliet, waving her hand and patting the couch next to Cassie, for Colin (her boyfriend) was on her other side. Ginny shook her head.

"No thanks, I'm kind of hungry," she said as she headed toward the portrait hole.

"Don't forget to pick up your yearbook in front of the Great Hall!" Colin shouted after her.

***

When Ginny reached the Entrance Hall, she found herself overwhelmed by a mass of students waiting to get their yearbooks. She spotted Parvati Patil leaving a table already squealing in delight at what was in her yearbook. Quick as mad, she dashed over to the table and found herself face to face with Dean Thomas. Ginny almost blushed - almost - but she calmly stopped herself from reacting to her once long-time crush and said, "Ginny Weasley please."

Dean looked up and smiled when he saw Ginny. Ginny remembered how that smile had made her stomach hop with joy, years and years ago. But then last year, Dean had started to date Parvati, and Ginny forced herself to forget her feelings. "Hey Ginny, have a good year?" Dean asked.

" Oh, It was OK," Ginny lied. The truth was, it had been the best year of her life. She smiled as Dean picked up her yearbook. He handed it to her with another smile.

"Hope you have fun next year Ginny," he said. Ginny smiled.

"You too." She turned around and walked to the post of the marble staircase. There, she carefully ran her fingers over her name in the fancy, raised gold letters: Virginia H. Weasley 1997 She sighed, then took out her wand and stuck the tip in the center of the book. "Virginia," she said, and the book swung open. Password yearbooks were an invention of Parvati's, and Ginny suspected it was so no one (like Dean) could read the things she'd written to other guys. Ginny was flipping through it when she spotted a page that said GOOD LUCK 7^TH YEARS! In the same fancy writing as on the cover. She stopped and looked at the page. Of course, there was a picture of the trio. Harry was on the end, with his arm propped on Ron's shoulder, who had his arm around Hermione's waist. They were all laughing and smiling, and every now and then, the picture Ron and the picture Hermione would look at each other with sheer adoration in their eyes. Ginny always felt that having her brother and Hermione, as a couple was one of the best things that could happen; it brought her closer to both Hermione and Harry. However, Ginny looked at Harry's other side with a slight drop of sadness. Unless she had been imagining things (which she wasn't), she could have sworn that she had had a hand on her waist too.

And I know someday that we, will reflect on this and see,

What a special time it was.

The hand of Harry Potter.

For just a little while.

~*~

For just a little while, we will join our voices,

For just a little while, we made a difference here,

"Ah Harry, that's a horrible picture of you."

Harry glanced up. Ron was pointing to a picture on a page titled POTIONS CLASS. Snape's back was turned and you could see the Seamus Finnigan was almost falling asleep, Pansy Parkinson was painting her nails (something she never would have gotten away with in Potions if she wasn't a Slyhterin), and Harry, whom Snape couldn't see because of the angle he was at, was making a face like he'd just kissed Dudley. Harry raised his eyebrows and turned. "Oh, put it away," he said in mock distress. Hermione giggled. She had been very giggly over the past week. Probably because school was ending. Or maybe it was because she had been caught snogging with Ron in the famous Astronomy Tower Snogging Spot. Whatever it was, Harry figured he didn't want to know. Harry glanced down at his bag under his seat and saw the corner of his own yearbook sticking out. He sighed. So many memories. And the year wasn't even over yet. The Great Hall doors opened, and Ginny walked in. Harry's heart leapt when he saw his girlfriend, but he had a sinking feeling she didn't feel the same way.

~*~

When Ginny entered the Great Hall, her heart leapt when she saw her boyfriend, but a lurking feeling at the bottom of her stomach said that he probably didn't feel that way also.

~*~

Ginny came over and Hermione right away jumped up and went to sit next to Ron. Ginny sat down, and Harry gave her a kiss on her ear. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she replied, giving him a sly smile. She started to load pancakes on her plate and added syrup. "So Ron," she said, "Any news on who's winning the House Cup?" Ron, who had been contented in covering every square inch of Hermione's face with tiny kisses, looked up.

"What?" he said in total confusion. Ginny laughed, and Harry quickly followed in suit. Even Hermione giggled. Then again, Hermione always giggled. Ginny was just about to start on a second round of pancakes when she happened to glance at her watch.

"Cripes!" she said. "I've got to go! I have to catch Colin before he goes on that prefect boating trip. I have to talk to him about some of the editing he did on some of these pictures," Ginny said, tapping her yearbook. "Bye," she waved to Harry. Ginny turned on her heel and dashed out of the Great Hall, her yearbook under her arm. Harry watched her longingly.

And I know that through it all, these are days we will recall,

What a special time it was,

For just a little while.

~*~

Maybe someday, when we're all alone own.

Maybe someday, out there on our own.

We'll remember this time and we'll smile,

However, when Ginny left the Great Hall, she didn't head for the lake. Instead, she dashed upstairs like mad to Gryffindor Tower. "Mumble Wumble," she said, panting when she reached the Fat Lady.

"You know, you should go outside on the last day of the year, it's such a beautiful day," said the Fat Lady.

"Mumble Wumble," Ginny repeated, a bit more urgently, but the Fat Lady kept on going.

"Why, I remember when I spent the summer in my friend Beverly's home in a painting on the fourth floor. A castle on a cliff it was, raining something dreadful the whole time. You'd never imagine how-"

"MUMBLE WUMBLE!" Ginny shouted, interrupting the Fat Lady's rather boring story.

"Fine, have it your way," said the annoyed Fat Lady as she swung open. Ginny stuck her head in and saw Cassie and Juliet still fawning over Colin's pictures. Ginny took a deep breath and let out a long, low, hoot, exactly like an owl's. Both Cassie and Juliet's heads spun around in the direction of their secret signal and saw Ginny's head at the side of the portrait hole. Ginny heard Colin say "Odd, I thought owls were only awake at daytime."

"Must be one coming back from the Great Hall." Said Juliet, winking at Ginny, then turning back to her boyfriend. "Cassie, I'm starved. Feel up for some eggs?"

"Why-" Cassie started to say, then realized what Juliet meant. "Why, er, why would I say no? Come on," she said, saving herself just in time. The two girls sprang up and ran away so fast that poor Colin didn't realize they were gone until the portrait hole closed.

"Always quick on the uptake, aren't you Cass?" said Ginny sarcastingly when her friends emerged.

"Oh, stuff it," Cassie said as they headed downstairs.

"All that shouting and you didn't even go in? Young lady, I hope you come back next year with some manners!" shouted the Fat lady as they left, but Ginny ignored her.

On the sixth floor, the three girls ducked behind a tapestry. "We swear on womanhood that we aren't loyal to boys," they whispered in unison. The stone wall in front of them opened up into a small, windowless, circular room, divided into quarters, each quarter a different color, red, blue, yellow, and green, for each Hogwarts house. These colors were the color of the rug, the walls, the beanbag chairs that filled the floor, the mountains of fluffy pillows and even the celing of the particular house they were meant to represent. The only thing that wasn't a house color was the trophy case opposite from the door, which was filled with the winners of the "Hogwarts Heartbreaker Award". Draco Malfoy had won this award as the Slytherin Heartbreaker six years in a row, and was most likely going to get it this year as well. They were in the Secret Room, a room which they discovered in their third year. Juliet ran over and grabbed the red pillows from the green corner of the room, where they looked out of place. Some Slytherin girls must have been the last ones to use the room; for some reason the green Slytherin pillows were a bit on the hard side. Cassie turned and faced the hole in the wall. "Secrets soon spoken shall not be heard," she said, and the wall closed. No one would be able to enter until they left. Ginny plopped onto a red beanbag and sighed.

"OK, what's up with Harry?" said Juliet as she threw herself onto a red, furry, inflatable chair and Cassie streched out across four beanbags.

"I just.........I think he's going to break up with me tonight."

"Impossible, that's what you thought at the end of last year, and he didn't, did he?"

"Cass, this year is different. He won't be here next year. He'll go off and....I'll still be here. For a whole year. You know how long that is?"

"365 days," answered Cassie. Juliet threw a pillow at her.

"Are you saying that you doubt his faith in you?" asked Juliet. Ginny sighed.

"I don't know. I have a feeling that he's going to try and pull the 'It's not you, it's me' excuse." Both Cassie and Juliet winced.

"The dreaded 'It's not you, it's me'," said Cassie.

"The worst and most used of them all," said Juliet. "Well then Gin, why don't you pull the plug with him first?"

"Juls, what if he's not though?"

"You think he is though, don't you?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"So beat him to it!"

"But I-"

"I mean, if he thinks he has the courage to break up with you, then you definatly don't deserve him. If Colin-"

"JULIET!" Ginny shouted. Lately she'd been doing a lot of that. "Pardon me for being selfish, but it's ME we're talking about, remember?"

"Right, sorry. As I was saying,-"

"Before you got carried away."

"Right, before I got carried away-"

"And before you were interrupted."

"Right, BEFORE I WAS INTERRUPTED, CASSIE!"

"Yeah, so what are you waiting for? You were saying something about before you were carried away and interrupted......"

Juliet hopped up and took a green pillow. She was about to bash Cassie on the head when Ginny stopped her. "Guys, please. I really, really need some help," said Ginny. Both girls calmed down.

"Well, you want us to do a little detective work?" asked Juliet. Ginny was silent.

"I think that means a yes," said Cassie.

"OK. Now, the obvious thing to do would be for you Gin, to ask Ron. I mean, he's Harry's best friend, and you're his baby sister, right?"

"Right." Ginny was too distressed to even argue about the "baby sister" part.

"Of course, those are also the reasons for him to not say a single word. So, here's my plan. I'll talk to Colin, who can talk to Bobby, who'll ask Samantha, who can ask Natalie, who can ask Ron. As a back up, Cassie, you can stalk them. Everyone knows you're such a big Harry Potter fan that no one will care anyway."

"I am not!"

"Right, that's why you threw a hissy fit when Harry won the Gryffindor Heartbreaker award last year."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Whatever. So what do you think Gin?"

"Fine, let's go."

"Operation Harry is underway!" said Cassie as they got ready to leave. "Secret Spoken," she said, and the stone wall opened up. As they left, Ginny decided she would just ask Hermione herself.

For just a little while

~*~

That night, everyone at the Gryffindor table was happily eating the feast, knowing that once again, it was obvious they would win the House Cup. Ginny wondered what it would be like next year without the trio to gaurente it. Ginny looked up from her untouched ham and noticed that Harry wasn't eating either. He was staring at her. She smiled, and he said, "Want to go for a walk?"

"Sure," said Ginny as they got up. This is it I bet, thought Ginny as they left the Great Hall.

~*~

For just a little while, we have shared the music,

For just a little while, we have shared a dream,

They went outside and walked hand in hand to the lake. The lake looked beautiful. It was perfectly flat without a single ripple and was mirroring the full yellow moon. "I don't think I'll ever forget tonight," Ginny said.

"Me neither," replied Harry. "Gin dear, there's something we need to talk about."

Here it comes

"Sure Harry."

"This is a big moment in my life. After tomorrow, I'm leaving Hogwarts, and I don't think I'll ever come back. It would be kind of hard to stay in touch-"

Oh please Harry, just get it over with. Don't hurt yourself by drawing it out.

"-And I'm really sorry too. I've been thinking about this for awhile now, and I know what the right answer is. I know that you're a year younger than me, and that's the only thing that was standing in my way-"

Ginny looked down, and Harry's voice seemed to mute. All she could hear were her own gasps of trying to hold tears in, then the wet hot tears running down her face. Harry lifted her chin upward so she was looking at him, and his eyes dimmed when they noticed the tear streaks on her face.

"Ginny, this is the biggest moment of my life, but I hope you'll agree with me on this, and that it's for the best."

But I know that in my heart,

We will never be apart,

What a special time it was,

For just a little while

Maybe someday, when we're all alone,

Maybe someday, out there on our own,

We'll remember this time and we'll smile,

For just a little while.

"Ginny, will you be my fiancé?"

"What?"

"I know, it sounds stupid, but I really think I'm - we're - too young for me to ask you to marry me, but I really do want to, but I just want to make sure that you won't go anywhere until we're a bit older. That you'll still be my precious Ginny."

"There's nothing else I'd want to be but yours."

Harry grinned madly, then slipped a small ring with a single ruby - her birthstone - onto her left pinkie. Ginny threw herself on him and almost knocked him over.

"Oh Harry, I thought you were going to break up with me!"

"Break up with you? I thought you would break up with me!"

They looked at each other and laughed, then headed back into the Great Hall together.

For just a little while,

For just a little while,

What a special time,

This was.