Senior Year

Disclaimer: I am SAD that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming out... do you really think that I'm J.K. Rowling?

Senior Year

Ginny tried not to feel sad and angry when he called her his sister. Instead, she brushed past him, making sure that their bodies touched, and proceeded into her room. Hey, she could still try to seduce him, right?

Harry almost passed out when her body brushed up against his. He shook it off and walked into the bathroom.

Chapter Two: Journey to Morse's Pond

Ginny rushed into her room and all but slammed the door behind her. She took several deep, calming breaths and allowed herself to calm down before she thought about what had happened.

Harry had seen her in nothing but a towel. There had been nothing but the small green towel she now clutched desperately to her body between her body and Harry's eyes. Ginny's skin turned a nice shade of Weasley red when she thought of what might have happened if her towel had slipped... She couldn't even think about it. She was mortified beyond belief. The man she was in love with had just stood before her while she clutched a rather small towel to her scrawny body. Ginny struggled to convince herself not to stay in her room for the rest of her life out of pure mortification.

Then, and only then, did she ponder what Harry had said to her. He had said, basically, that he would always see her as a little sister and she would never be more... or less, which was good, right? Oh, who was she kidding? It was awful! Sister was a step down from friend. If he saw her as a sister, there was no chance in Hell that he would ever love her!

Oh! The bittersweet feelings that came with unrequited love!

Had she known Harry any less, Ginny would have tried to impress him in order to get him to like her. But, she knew that Harry hated fake girls. He liked girls who were themselves around him, and that was all she had ever been... but, apparently, that wasn't enough. Ginny sighed and began to get ready. She pulled on some underwear and a bra. Then, she slipped on a Red Sox t-shirt and a pair of long jean shorts. Hey, if she was going to be herself, why not dress like herself? She left her long red hair down so that it could air-dry, put in a pair of hoop earrings, slipped on her watch, and checked the mirror. She grimaced at her reflection. Her pale skin was marred by freckles and had several blotches from the hot shower. Her wet hair looked messy as it clung to the sides of her head, instead of falling naturally. Oh well, there was nothing to be done for it. Ginny sighed, then opened her door and began to prance downstairs for breakfast in bare feet.

As she rounded the corner that was halfway down the stairs, Ginny caught sight of Harry. The platform that she was on was positioned so that she could see him, but he couldn't see her. She looked at him and felt her heart leap.

Harry was wearing just a t-shirt and shorts, but his shirt showed how much good soccer did him. His hair was messy as always and his round glasses were placed cutely on the tip of his skinny nose. His emerald eyes shone behind the iron frames. They sparkled as he laughed at something the twins had said.

Oh how Ginny would love to lose herself in the emerald seas, to run her hands through his messy black hair, to feel his muscles under her hands...

Ginny shook herself and managed to regain control of her emotions, for the moment. She decided it was time to make her entrance. She started to walk down the stairs and she tried to so it as she normally would, the only thing was, she could feel Harry's eyes on her.

As soon as Ginny came into view, Harry looked up. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and her wet hair hung down her back, but she looked beautiful to Harry. She had matured since she had started high school. Nature had blessed her with a curvy figure. Ginny was not one of those stick girls and she had a stomach, but that was one of the many things Harry loved about her. She ate, yet she was still healthy. She was by no means fat or even chubby, just sturdy and healthy. But she also had a delicate beauty that surrounded her whole figure.

As she walked down the stairs, Harry saw a blush rising in her cheeks and thought it was the cutest thing. It was only then that he realized that he was staring. He looked around quickly and was relieved to see that no one had noticed how closely he had been watching the youngest Weasley. She came to the table and sat at the only open seat, which happened to be across from Harry, and helped herself to some eggs and toast.

"Harry, mate! Wanna go kick the soccer ball around?"

Harry was pulled out of his inspection of Ginny when Ron asked him to do what he loved. Why, then, was he so reluctant to go? "Yeah, sure," he managed, tearing his eyes away from Ginny.

Ginny immediately felt herself relax as the boys (Harry, Ron, Fred, and George) went out to the backyard to play soccer. Now, it was only Hermione and Ginny in the kitchen because Mrs. Weasley had gone up to the attic for when Charlie came to stay later that week.

Hermione immediately moved so that she was sitting next to Ginny. The two friends sat in silence for a couple minutes as Ginny swirled her fork in her half-eaten eggs.

"Oh, for God's sake! Just eat them already!" Hermione said, making Ginny jump.

"Sorry, Herms, I just have a lot on my mind," Ginny said feebly.

Hermione softened. "Like what?" she asked subtly... or not.

"I love Harry," Ginny blurted out. Hermione sighed. This was getting ridiculous.

"What?" Ginny asked, disconcerted by Hermione's apparent annoyance.

"N- nothing!" Hermione said, smiling sweetly to cover up her guilt. Ginny and Hermione were like sisters; they told each other everything. Hermione felt a twinge in her conscience when she didn't tell Ginny the truth. Well, she supposed that she wasn't exactly lying... And, she knew that she'd feel guilty, on Harry's behalf, if she told Ginny. With these condolences, Hermione put on her war face and decided she was just going to have to give little pushes to help her friends get together. Then, a thought struck her.

"Jeez. You sure got over Dean fast," Hermione said, meaning it as a joke, but realizing too late that Ginny didn't see it as a joke.

Ginny blinked. Oh, yeah! Dean. She had totally forgotten about him. She was a horrible person! She and Dean had just broken up before the summer holiday and she had already forgotten about him? Ginny gave Hermione a hopeless look, and then proceeded to bang her head repeatedly on the kitchen table. Hermione stared at her friend for a while, then she seemed to realize that if Ginny continued, she'd give herself brain damage.

"Stop! Stop! Ginny, STOP!" she said, pulling Ginny's head up and slapping her. "Snap out of it!"

Ginny looked shocked, then her eyes began to water with the force of the slap. "Ow."

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Hermione said, making random, jerky movement to show that she was clueless as to what to do and that her calm demeanor was tumbling down around her.

"Hermione, it's OK. I deserved it," Ginny said, meaning it. She had gone and fallen in love mere weeks after braking up with Dean. Actually, if she had admitted it to herself, she would have seen that she had been in love with Harry even when she had been dating Dean. She sure thought she was a horrible person.

"No, no you didn't," Hermione insisted, feeling awful about slapping her friend. Sure, Ginny was being a bit silly, but she was confused and sad and angry and she needed a friend who didn't abuse her.

"Yes I did," Ginny insisted, then she proceeded to burst into tears. Hermione scooted over and hugged her friend, letting Ginny cry into her shoulder and patting her back to sooth her.

Ginny didn't know what had come over her. She just knew that she had been holding in her feelings for Harry since sixth grade and that it felt good to just let all that stress out. She proceeded to tell this to Hermione. The older girl just listened and murmured soothing words into her friend's ear as Ginny slowly calmed herself.

When Ginny had finished, she looked up at Hermione. The older girl smiled at her friend in a reassuring way. Ginny gave a slight smile back and proceeded to eat the rest of her breakfast.

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About and hour and a half later, the boys came in, covered in mud, sweat and blood. When she saw the blood, Hermione made a fuss about how they had to be more careful. Then, after making sure that their cuts were thoroughly disinfected, she sent them up to wash off. Ginny chuckled slightly to herself. Hermione was by no means a shrimp, but she was only 5'5", whereas the boys were all over six feet. Seeing her shouting at them and subduing them with a simple glare up at them tickled Ginny the right way.

When Hermione turned around after she was sure that all four boys were upstairs and cleaning off, she turned around and found Ginny gasping with laughter. Hermione glared at her. All of her friends made fun of her for her maternal actions. Some friends they are! Hermione huffed to herself.

"All right, all right! You've had your fun! Now, get up," she all but growled at Ginny. Ginny tried her best to sober up. It was extremely difficult with Hermione standing over her, looking like a pissed-off mother.

"S-Sorry, Hermione!" she managed to gasp out. "You should see yourself... they're so afraid of you!"

"As they should be!" Hermione sniffed indignantly.

"Why?"

Hermione smiled secretively. "See if I tell you..." she said, a mischievous glint infecting her eyes.

"What? Hermione!" Ginny said, suddenly exasperated.

"C'mon! Let's go change into bathing suits! We're going swimming!" Hermione said, evading Ginny's question as she dragged her friend up to her feet, pulling her up the rickety, winding stairs that led to the top floors of the Burrow.

"We're swimming?" Ginny asked, realizing that she must have been laughing too hard when this information was exchanged. Hermione just shook her head and led the way up to Ginny's room.

"Which suit am I allowed to borrow?" she asked Ginny, motioning to the clump of about eight bathing suits that lay in Ginny's bathroom.

"Whatever," Ginny said, not really caring. "Not the green one, though."

Hermione looked up in mock horror. "As if I would even dare to touch your green bathing suit!" She cracked a smile at her friend and Ginny swatted her away playfully.

Hermione selected a black bathing suit and skipped into Ginny's bathroom. Ginny sighed and began to slip on her green bathing suit. So, they were going swimming? Ginny loved going swimming... just, not with Harry there. Sure, she loved to look at him, but she certainly didn't want him looking at her.

"Hurry up, slow poke!" Hermione said, hopping out of the bathroom. She looked as if nothing had changed, but she had just put her suit on under her clothes. Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend, making sure Hermione saw. "Ugh! You're so slow!! I'll go call Ella, Lis, and Rose. Try to be a bit faster than the snails in your garden! We're going to Morse's Pond," Hermione said, rushing down to call Ginny's other three friends.

Ginny smiled when she heard her brother shout to ask Hermione who she was calling. Hermione's responding yell told Ginny what she already knew. Then, Ron bellowed back that Hermione should call Neville, Luna, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and the Patil twins while she was at it. Then, George yelled down to tell Hermione to call Lee Jordan. Fred added on to tell everyone to bring food.

In response, Hermione let out a string of curses that basically said, "I'm not your fucking servant!" There was silence and Ginny could almost picture the boys all holding their breath. Then, Hermione shouted back that she would call everyone, but the boys owed her. Ginny laughed when she heard the boys' audible groan and Hermione's snickering from downstairs. Noise traveled easily at the Burrow.

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About a half and hour later, the four Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were piled into the Weasley's old station wagon that was about fifty years old and was reserved for all of the Weasley kids to use. Since only Ron and Ginny were at home, during the school year at least, it was pretty good for them because they hung out with a lot of the same people. George had insisted on driving because he had just gotten his driver's license back after having it taken away for reckless driving. Everyone protested, but he got into the driver's seat first and would not budge. Fred, being the supportive twin that he was, let George be and grabbed the front passenger seat, leaving Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry to squish into the back. This was extremely awkward considering that there were two seventeen year old boys and their crushes crammed into a space meant for three normally sized people who were comfortable with each other.

After the awkwardness had somewhat dissipated in the back of the maroon station wagon, the car erupted into a blast of shouting and arguing because everyone disagreed with what music to listen to. They finally decided on some Boston. It was one of the two CDs in the car. As the electric guitar blared through the crummy car speakers nearly deafening the six teenagers, three different conversations began to take place, which meant a lot of shouting over each other and yelling at each other to shut up and tons of smacking on the back of heads.

Then, George decided that he was going to use his current position, along with the element of surprise, to get everyone to shut up. Hey, it was the guitar solo in Rock and Roll Band. Who wouldn't want quiet?

"Guys! Shut up! I can't concentrate on my driving!" he shouted over everyone else. There was a reason why everyone claimed George would make an excellent drill sergeant. Everyone shut up to stare at him in shock and confusion. "Thank you," he said, bobbing his head slightly to the guitar music that was clear now that everyone was silent.

The car managed to remain silent, other than the rock music, until they reached Morse's Pond. George pulled into a parking space. The parking lot was crowded. The Pond usually got crowded over the summer, especially in August. But, the small, make-shift beach around the clear water was big enough to fit all the people who could fit into the parking lot. Luckily.

George began to climb out of the car when he realized that no one was moving. "What?" he asked, silently daring them to insult his driving skills.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they weighed their options. Then, they all decided they rather liked being alive. "Nothing."

"That's what I thought," George all but growled. He got all the way out of the car and everyone followed his lead. Fred popped the CD out of the car and Ginny got the towels. Harry grabbed the portable boom-box that ran on batteries and Hermione and Ron each grabbed a cooler filled with food. They began to trudge towards the beach, looking for their friends.

The beach was small enough that once they got to it, it became apparent that they were the first of their friends to arrive. They chose a rather secluded part of the beach that was under a large maple tree. Secluded meaning, of course, that there were only about ten people around them, rather than the normal fifteen. Ginny spread out the blanket they had brought and they all set up, like the good responsible kids they are. Yeah right! The boys dropped their stuff unceremoniously on the ground, ripped their t-shirts off and sprinted into the water.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look before sighing and setting everything up neatly, knowing full well that it would just get messy again when the boys returned. As they were setting up, three of their other friends arrived. Elethera, Rosalie, and Lisbeth were in Ginny's grade and had been Ginny's best friends since sixth grade. At that time, Hermione had been best friends with Harry and Ron. Ginny and Hermione had gotten along, but they had never been really good friends. Then, somewhere between seventh and eighth grade, puberty had hit and Hermione had needed girlfriends, because there are some things that you just can't discuss with your guy friends. Especially when you're developing a crush on one. So, naturally, Hermione turned to her closest girl friend. Her best friend's little sister who was only a year younger. Ginny and Hermione had become fast friends and Hermione had also become very close to Ginny's three other friends.

"Hey Gin, Herms!" Rosalie said, dropping her bag onto the sand and plopping onto the blanket, messing it up.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Hey Rose," she said, shaking her head. Rosalie had cream-in-your-coffee skin and shoulder length black hair that had red highlights in it. Her dark brown eyes sparkled in her pretty face. She was average height, but she was extremely skinny. Rosalie loved to have fun and was reckless sometimes. She didn't care at all what others thought of her, which made her that much more appealing.

"Hello, loves," Elethera said, plopping down next to Rosalie and lying down on her back. Rosalie quickly leaned her head on her stomach. Elethera shoved her off, but Rosalie just kept putting her head on. Elethera seemed to decide it wasn't worth it and let Rosalie's head alone.

"Hey Ells," Ginny and Hermione said. Elethera was very pale, but unlike Ginny, she had no freckles. Ginny always found herself a bit jealous of Ella's skin. It was almost flawless. Her black hair contrasted shockingly with her ivory skin. The last three inches or so of long black hair were a bright turquoise color that was almost the exact same color as her eyes. She was tall and muscular, definitely bigger than Rosalie. She was exactly like Rosalie when it came to not caring what others thought. That was one of the reasons they were such good friends. They had known each other for ages and were closer than sisters.

Because Rose and Ella were extremely close, Ginny and Lisbeth had become close as well. "Hey Lis," Ginny said, smiling at her other friend. Lisbeth grinned back and shrugged off her bag, going over to help Ginny. Lisbeth was the tallest of the four. She was well built and busty, which made her a bit self conscious. Her short light brown hair framed her delicate face. Kelp green eyes sparkled beneath long eyelashes.

"Hey Gin, Herms. You guys need help?" She asked.

"I think we're good. Thanks, Lis," Hermione said, plopping down next to Rosalie and Ella, who were now having a bit of a skirmish on the blanket. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Race ya to the water!" Rosalie said, hopping up, stripping down to her purple bathing suit, and racing towards the Lake. Ella growled and jumped up, following her friend's example. She took off running in her turquoise suit and tackled Rosalie into the water. They fell, laughing, and when they emerged, the proceeded to have a war in the water. Ginny, Hermione, and Lisbeth watched for a while in amusement.

When they returned to their towel, they found two more t-shirts that had been dumped there and their friends Lavender Brown and Parvati and Padma Patil.

"Hey girls," Lavender said lightly, smiling at them.

"Hey," Hermione, Lisbeth, and Ginny replied. Lavender, Parvati, and Padma were all wearing extremely tight shorts and tank tops over their bathing suits. Parvati removed her tank top to reveal her perfect stomach. She lay down next to Ginny and closed her eyes.

Soon after, Lee Jordan arrived and joined the boys, Rosalie, and Ella in the water. Then, Neville and Luna arrived. Neville hopped into the water as well and Luna sat on the blanket with the others.

After a while, Ella came and pounced on Ginny, dragging her into the water. Ginny dragged Lisbeth with her and Lisbeth dragged Hermione with her. Luna did not even have a bathing suit and the other girls were all sunbathing. So, Hermione, being Hermione, decided to drag Padma with her. Padma dragged her sister and Parvati dragged Lavender. Soon, all of the girls were in the water, splashing and playing.

When the girls all came in, the boys stopped fooling around to watch them. Lavender and Dean had been dating for abut a month and Lisbeth and Seamus were coming up on their five-month anniversary. Neville and Luna were basically a couple. But, the others were all single. However, Harry and Ron both had girls they were staring at, as well.

The girls didn't seem to notice the boys' gawking (and they managed to do some of their own). After the boys had gotten a hold of themselves, they decided to sneak up on their friends. They tackled the girls, taking them by surprise, and soon the whole group was in an all out water fight, with no clear teams.

When everyone began to get tired, they all decided to go eat the food they had brought for lunch. Everyone rushed towards the blanket that Luna was guarding faithfully to grab their towels and start chowing down.

Not because they didn't like each other, but rather as a course of habit, they split up into three groups based on age, with the exception of Lisbeth, Seamus, Neville and Hermione. Lisbeth and Seamus were basically a group by themselves, so they didn't really count. Ginny, Hermione, Ella, Rosalie, Neville, and Luna all sat together while Ron, Harry, Dean, Lavender, Padma, and Parvati all sat together. Fred, George, and Lee kept to themselves, talking about college and the like.

"You guys ready to be Seniors?" Dean asked everyone. They all nodded with enthusiasm.

"Are you kidding? Seniors are finished early and after first semester, you don't even have to worry about your grades anymore!" Ron said, drawing nods from everyone again. None of them would admit it out loud, but under all the excitement, there was also fear. They were going to leave their comfort zones and go off to college. Secretly, they were all afraid of what the new setting would bring... and of even getting into college. Sure, this year was going to be great. It was, after all, Senior year. But, it was also going to be stressful and, frankly, scary.

A very different conversation was taking place between Hermione, Ginny, Ella, and Rose. Luna and Neville had left already because Neville had to be home for his grandmother.

"YOU WHAT?" Ella shouted at Ginny.

"Not so loud, if you don't mind," Ginny said, cringing. She had taken the step and told Ella and Rose about her not-crush on Harry. And now, they wouldn't shut up.

"Sorry," Ella said. "But, Ginny! This is huge! How long has this been going on?" she demanded, glaring at her friend.

"A long time," Ginny mumbled.

"That doesn't matter," Rose cut in. "How are you going to get him?"

Hermione struggled not to blurt out that she already had him where she wanted him. Her friends looked at her when she made a small choking sound. "Sorry," she said, grabbing her soda can discretely. "Choked on the soda." They rolled their eyes and resumed their conversation.

"I don't think that I'll be able to," Ginny said weakly, knowing that she was asking for a lecture from Rose.

"Nonsense!" Ella said. "Of course you will!"

"Ginny, you're a beautiful, smart, talented, kind, amazing girl. If you can't get a guy, then I don't know who can," Rose said, giving Ginny a pointed look.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Ginny said rolling her eyes. She had heard the lecture from Rose enough times to know not to protest. But, she was really grateful that her friends supported her this way. It made her feel special, even if they had to say that stuff because they were her friends.

"We'll help you," Ella said, flicking her turquoise-tipped hair over her shoulder.

"Of course we will... but, later," Rose said, glancing down at her watch. "I had to pick up my brother two minutes ago and it takes ten to get over to Jack's house," she said, referring to her brother's friend's house. She groaned and struggled to her feet after pushing Ella off of her. Ella jumped up and ran over to Lisbeth and Seamus. She seemed to take some sort of maniacal pleasure in breaking up make-out sessions.

"Lissie! We got to go!" she shouted, right next to her friend's ear.

"I'll give her a ride home, thanks," Seamus said, smiling up at Ella.

"Okee dokee!" Ella said, skipping back. She kissed Ginny and Hermione quickly goodbye and then skipped to meet up with Rose, who was already trudging back to the car.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. Her friends were so odd and... out there. And, she loved them for it. She picked up her cell phone from the blanket and flipped it open. The time surprised her. 5:30. It was getting late. Especially considering her mum would be expecting them ready for dinner at 6:30 and Ginny was dying to take a shower. Especially if Harry was staying for dinner, which she did not doubt for a moment.

She walked over to Fred and George to tell them it was time to go.

"George! Let's go!" she shouted at him as he threw a football to Fred.

"Okay, munchkin," he said, turning and winking at her. Ginny fumed. She hated it when he called her that. It made her feel like a little kid. She decided to let it drop, though, because if she made a fuss, George would refuse to drive her home.

She went over to Ron and Harry to tell them to go too. Then, she returned to Hermione and helped her friends pack up.

Twenty minute later, Ginny found herself squished into the back of the car again. And, once again, it was extremely awkward. But, to her immense relief, the awkwardness seemed to dissipate when the question of music came up again. All in all, the ride was almost an exact repeat of the ride over except this time, they listened to the Journey CD.

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Okee dokee!!! That was chapter two!!!! I hoped you all liked it!! I sure had fun writing it!!! Thanks for the reviews that I got!!! If you're reading and not reviewing, you know that I'll update faster if I think more people will enjoy it!!!!

By the way, I obviously don't own Journey or Boston or the song Rock and Roll Band. I would love to, but I don't...

Last time, like the idiot I am, I forgot to give my beta credit!!!! I'm sorry, Lissie!!!! I lurve you!!!! So, thanks to my beta, whose pen name is corned-beef-famine for reasons that shall only be known by our lunch group... haha!

So, I decided that they're gonna be graduating in 2007... so, technically, this part of the story takes place in 2006. You'll see why I want them to graduate in 2007, but if you go to a high school, chances are you can guess because I bet that almost EVERY senior class chose the same theme for their class... Because they're all SO original...

Please tell me your thoughts!!!! They make a difference!!

Jess