The Little Sister

The school year had started again at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ginny Weasley was in her fifth year. She blew the bedside candles out hours ago, but for some reason was still wide awake in the Gryffindor girl's dormitory. Normally, she would have been asleep by now. Something kept creeping into her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to prevent it - thoughts of Harry Potter.

Since meeting Harry five years ago, Ginny has had somewhat of a crush on him. She was 10 years old then, and didn't recognize the boy she had grown up hearing so much about; how, when he was only 18 months old, his parents died fighting against the dark wizard Voldemort; how Voldemort tried to kill him, only to have the spell backfire, leaving a lightening bolt-shaped scar on his forehead.

She didn't know who he was the first time she saw him at the train station because his unruly hair was covering that now famous scar. She also didn't notice that he was alone. There were no parents there to see him off, or to show him how to go through the magical barrier to Platform 9 ¾ to board the train to Hogwarts. She thought he was cute then, and she still did.

But it seemed to her that Harry hadn't shown any interest in her beyond being just a friend. In fact, at times he seemed more like another older brother. "I already have six older brothers," she would tell herself. "I don't want any more." Her brothers Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George had already graduated from Hogwarts. She and her brother Ron, only one year older than her, were the only two Weasley children currently attending Hogwarts.

She wanted Harry to see her as a girl, not just as Ron's little sister. But how? Only a little later that evening, she stumbled onto a situation that would gave her the result she desired.

After doing a lot of tossing and turning, she decided to go down to the Common Room to find something to read. She thought if she found something really boring, like a copy of the cauldron report her brother Percy wrote a few years ago, she might get sleepy.

From the door of her dormitory, she saw the glow from the fire in the fireplace in the Common Room reflected down the hallway. "Good," she thought. "Maybe the fire will help make me sleepy."

It was well after midnight in the middle of the week, so she didn't expect to find anyone else in the Common Room. She was surprised to see someone was still up and reading - Harry Potter.

The room was quiet, except for the crackling of the fire, and Harry noticed her immediately.

"Oh, sorry Harry," she said. "I didn't know you were still up."

"That's alright, Ginny. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she replied. "I just couldn't sleep is all. I thought maybe reading something here by the fire might make me sleepy. What are you reading?"

"Potions," Harry replied. "I'm finally taking Hermione's advice, and not waiting until the last minute to finish reading assignments."

Ginny nodded and smiled, and picked up an old copy of The Daily Prophet newspaper. She sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace to read the news of the day from two days ago.

After a few moments, Harry found himself looking up over his book at Ginny. Until she walked in he was studying just fine. For some reason, her presence niggled at him. "But why?" he wondered. "I've known Ginny for several years now. She's a friend. Just Ron's little sister. Just.... Ron's.... little.... sister," he thought, as he peeked again over the top of his book. She saw him, and he quickly averted his eyes back to his reading.

Ever since the floo powder and ton-tongue toffee episodes in the Dursley living room two summers ago, Harry had been spending more time with the Weasleys during the summer months. The Dursley family was Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin - his only known living relatives. They were Muggles (non-magic folk), and considered the wizarding world to be repulsive and freakish. "Abnormal and rubbish" as they put it. Harry spent only a couple of weeks at the Dursley's this past summer. They seemed to become disgusted with his presence more quickly than usual.

Mrs. Weasley wrote a letter to Harry's aunt and uncle offering, since they had become so fond of Harry, to have him spend the summer with them. For the Dursleys, berating Harry at every opportunity when he was in their home was second only to getting him out of their home. As such, his Uncle Vernon decided it was more desirable, and certainly safer, to allow Harry to stay with the Weasleys. "If those people are willing to board him and feed him, so much the better!" he said.

Just before returning to school this year, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took everyone on an outing to the beach along the River Otter in Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon. Being wizards themselves, they decided it would be a great way to enhance the Muggle studies that Ron and Ginny were taking. Having Harry along would help since he has lived most of his life up to this point in the Muggle world.

Hermione Granger came along, too. Hermione's parents were Muggles, so having her along was even more helpful. Ron, Harry, and Hermione met on the train to Hogwarts at the beginning of their first year. They became very good friends that year, and have been so ever since. Towards the end of school last year, Ron and Hermione finally admitted they liked each other a lot, and started dating.

Besides having a great time with people who liked him and appreciated him, what Harry remembered most about the beach outing was Ginny. Until that day, he hadn't really noticed how much Ginny had "matured". She was more talkative around Harry than previous summers. When Mrs. Weasley asked her and Harry to set the table for lunch at the beach, they played at it by bumping one another with their hips. They pushed each other a little. They touched each other a little. Neither of them realized it, but it was the kind of physical play a boy and girl might engage in when attracted to each other.

They watched some Muggles having a water fight. The boys hunched down, and the girls got on their shoulders. The fight to knock each other down in waste-high water ensued. The four decided to give it a go. Hermione was on Ron's shoulders, and Ginny was on Harry's shoulders.

He didn't remember how many times they played, or which pair won the most. But he did remember having Ginny's legs clamped around the sides of his head, and having her "privates" pressed against the back of his head and neck. This sparked erotic feelings - feelings that had only been described in the Sex Education Class at school. He recalled noticing that her bikini revealed she had quite a cute bum.

Harry also recalled his guilt in suddenly having erotic feelings about Ginny. The Weasleys and Hermione were almost like family to him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were almost like parents, and the Weasley children and Hermione were almost like brothers and sisters. Ginny was the "little sister". And until this summer, he had not seen her as anything but that. "Is this wrong?" he asked himself.

The memories of that beach trip faded with the beginning of school. However, Ginny's presence in the Common Room brought them all rushing back as he snuck another peek over the top of his book. There she was - Ginny - Ron's little sister. She wore a nightshirt that looked over-sized, and fit rather loosely around her neck and shoulders. Harry was staring at her. She yawned, and looked straight at him. He quickly averted his eyes back to his book. He wondered how long he had been staring, and if she had noticed.

"I think the reading and the fire has done the trick," she said with another yawn. "I think I'm sleepy enough to go back to bed. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ginny," Harry replied, as he watched her get up and walk around the couch.

Harry returned to his Potions reading, but was quickly interrupted when he heard Ginny yelp in pain along with a crashing sound. Looking up, Harry saw Ginny lying on the stairs holding her right foot. He jumped up and ran over to her. It appeared she stubbed her toe on the plant holder, knocked it over, and had landed on the stairs.

"Are you hurt, Ginny?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Not really," she winced. "But I think my little toe will be sore for a few days."

Harry helped her up off the stairs. She had her right hand on his shoulder and was steadying herself as she lifted her right leg to rub her foot. She suddenly realized how loose her nightshirt was, and that Harry was probably getting an eyeful. And that's exactly what was happening. Harry was captivated at the sight of her bare breasts beneath her nightshirt. She quickly stood up straight. She was a little embarrassed, but not all that angry that Harry was looking down her nightshirt.

"Sorry for being such a klutz, Harry," she said as she gathered her neckline. "I should have been more careful." They stood there for an awkward moment. Harry was embarrassed at having been caught gawking, and was uncertain what to say or do next.

Ginny started to turn up the stairs, and Harry said, "Uh, Ginny, would you like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Sure, everybody usually goes there for a bit almost every weekend," she said, not realizing what he was asking.

"I'm not talking about with everybody," Harry replied nervously. "I'm talking about just you and me."

"Are you serious?" she asked with widened eyes and a little disbelief. "A date?"

"Well, yeah," Harry replied, as he looked down and shuffled his feet. "Maybe we could take a break from studying, and, I don't know, just hang out. I mean unless you'd rather not..."

"I'd love to."

Ginny reached out, and touched Harry's arm. The moment seemed to be frozen in time. With Ginny standing on the first step, she was almost at eye level with Harry. Their eyes darted up and down, looking first at each other's eyes, and then looking at each other's lips. Harry moved closer, and Ginny seemed to approve. Their eyes closed, and their lips met. It was a soft, small kiss. Both seemed nervous, but excited. They looked at each other and smiled. Harry pulled her close. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. Their lips met again, this time with less apprehension.

Harry had been on dates before, but usually found himself becoming disinterested since most other girls seemed to like being seen with him rather than just being with him. With Ginny it was different. She seemed to genuinely like him, and wasn't affected by his notoriety. He noticed he was trembling.

With a wave of his hand, the plant and its holder were placed upright, and the fire in the fireplace went out. They held hands as they walked up the stairs. At the top, they stole another kiss. They were startled by the sound of a door opening and closing inside the girl's dormitory.

"I guess I, uh, better... go off... to bed," Ginny said as she smiled. She was trembling, too. Reluctantly, they loosed their hands, and beamed at each other as they walked the few steps to their dormitories.

No matter how they tried, neither was able to fall asleep that night.