For Your Love

Chapter 11 - In the Village

It was on a cool day at the end of September that the Gryffindor Quidditch team emerged through the portrait hole after a particularly grueling practice to find a crowd around the common room bulletin board.

"Ooh, is it Hogsmeade?" Sophie asked, craning her neck to see as Hermione emerged from the pressing third and fourth years, looking hassled.

"Honestly, you'd think buying sweets at Honeydukes was a once-in-a-lifetime event. They couldn't even wait until I got the notice up before they were all crushing in on me."

"When is it?" Ginny asked.

"Tomorrow," Hermione said, falling into an armchair.

"Tomorrow? Oh no!" Sophie exclaimed in a defeated tone.

All eyes turned to Harry, who had just scheduled another practice for the next day. Harry, in turn, rounded on Hermione.

"Why did you wait 'til the last minute to post it? We need to practice tomorrow. Our first match against Slytherin is only a week away!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "So sorry for the inconvenience. Guess I should run all of my Head Girl duties by you first from now on." She lowered her voice and motioned for Harry and Ron to come closer. "Professor Dumbledore didn't think it was a good idea to put out the dates too early. We don't want anyone outside the castle getting wind that there will be a large mass of unprotected students milling around Hogsmeade. So, Malfoy and I agreed to hold the announcement until today. And the hours will be restricted. Students won't be allowed out until eleven o'clock and back by five."

Ron creased his brow. "Did the words 'Malfoy' and 'agree' just come out of your mouth in the same sentence?"

Harry straightened up and turned back to his waiting team.

"Alright, it looks like we can't leave for Hogsmeade until eleven. So, we're going to practice right after breakfast for a couple hours before we go. I want you all at the pitch at eight o'clock sharp."

"Oh, thank you, Harry!" Sophie jumped up and down excitedly and bounced off to join her friends at the board.

Harry looked to Ginny and raised an eyebrow. She smiled.

"She's just a fourth year," Ginny said, taking a step closer to him. "Don't you remember how excited we used to be to go to Hogsmeade?"

Harry's mouth turned up in a half-smile. "I guess. But listen, I want you and Sean to work her hard tomorrow. She's got to learn to keep that Quaffle tight into her. She's leaving herself wide open for..."

"Harry, she'll be fine," Ginny interrupted, shaking him gently by the shoulders. His hair was still windswept from practice and there was a smudge of dirt on his cheek that she had to fight the urge to wipe off. "She did much better at passing today, and don't forget Malfoy has to train his new Chasers as well. We'll get her into shape, don't worry."

Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know you will." He took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to get cleaned up. Want to wait for me and we'll go down to dinner?"

"Sure," she said. She watched him climb the boys' stairs and was about to head up to her own room when she became aware that Ron and Hermione were having a heated discussion by the fireplace.

"I'm not going to leave him by himself all day," Hermione was whispering. "What if something happens?"

"What's going to happen?" Ron hissed back. "He doesn't need a babysitter, Hermione. And you and I haven't spent any time alone in weeks."

"Ron, there's a war going on. Harry's not a target, he's the target. Malfoy and I had to beg Dumbledore to let us have Hogsmeade weekends at all, and I promised him that I wouldn't leave Harry alone where he might be vulnerable."

"Hermione, there haven't been any attacks for months. You can't shield Harry from everything. What about us?"

"I'll be with you all day! I just don't want to leave him alone." She crossed her arms to signal that she was through talking about it. Ron threw up his arms and grabbed his broom roughly, brushing past Ginny as he headed to his room.

Hermione stood impatiently in front of the fire for a moment, but then her shoulders sagged and she rubbed her forehead, looking suddenly tired. Ginny slipped quietly away to wash up before dinner.

* * *

After dinner, where Harry had discussed Quidditch with Ron and Ginny, and Hermione had been uncharacteristically quiet, Ginny settled in with her Herbology textbook in front of the fire. But she had only gotten through a few pages when a blonde head popped around the corner of her chair.

"Hey," Colin smiled.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

Ginny looked at him curiously. "Good. Just reading. Why?"

Colin crouched by the side of her chair and rested his elbows on the armrest. "What are you up to tomorrow?"

"Um, Harry called a practice for after breakfast, and then I'm going to Hogsmeade."

"Want to go with me? To Hogsmeade?"

Ginny closed her finger in her book and turned to look at him fully. "I always go with you."

"I mean, just you and me."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Alone?"

"Yeah."

An unexpected shiver ran up her spine. "Are you... asking me out?"

Colin lowered his eyes and looked almost embarrassed. "No, I just thought maybe you could use a day away from... things."

His eyes flickered to his left, and Ginny glanced over his shoulder to see Harry playing chess with Ron in the corner. Harry had been watching them, but when Ginny's eyes met his, he dropped his gaze to the chessboard again and seemed to become very interested in his knight.

She looked back at Colin's expectant face and felt a warm rush of gratitude. "Yes. That would be lovely. Thanks."

"What are friends for?" He gave her a lopsided smile and stood to leave.

Ginny smiled to herself, lost in thought for a few minutes before deciding to give up on her reading for the night. She stood and made her way to the stairs, not noticing the pair of green eyes that followed her across the room.

Her roommates were busy getting ready for bed when she walked in.

"Ginny!" said Maura excitedly. "We were just talking about Hogsmeade. I think we should all go to Madam Puddifoot's for tea. Just the girls. We can make fun of all the couples. Want to come?"

Ginny turned to Abby, the only one of them who currently had a boyfriend. "You're in on this, too?"

"Oh," said Abby dismissively, "Sean can fend for himself for an hour. Come on, it will be fun. We never do anything just the four of us."

Ginny laughed. "Tempting, but no. Colin just asked if we could spend the day together, so I'm going to go around with him."

All activity in the room stopped, and Maura and Anna raised their eyebrows at each other.

"Did he finally ask you out?" Maura asked breathlessly.

"What? No," Ginny said. "He was just being nice. He knows I've had a lot on my mind lately. He's just being a good friend."

Anna flopped onto her bed. "Ginny, don't be daft. Colin's been waiting for you for ages. You must know that he fancies you."

Ginny screwed up her face, wondering for a moment if they could be right, but then deciding that no, they couldn't. "No he doesn't."

Maura strode over and stood in front of Ginny, looking at her like she was a lost puppy who just needed to be shown the way home. "Sweetie, he does. We all know it. You just can't see it because of that huge thing in your eye."

Ginny reached up and touched her cheek. "What thing?"

"Harry." Maura stopped any retort Ginny had been about to make with a knowing arch of her eyebrow. "Don't throw away what's right in front of you for something you can't have."

Ginny looked at Maura in shock for a moment before scowling, "Oh, go to bed."

But as she lay in bed later under the cover of darkness, the soft moonlight shining through her window, she couldn't help but think that her friends were right. Colin had always been attentive to her, had always made her feel good and desirable. And his friendship was already etched into a large part of her heart. She loved Harry, but she couldn't dwell on him forever. Maybe opening herself up to someone who knew her and liked her might not be such a bad thing after all.

* * *

The Gryffindors milled around the common room late the next morning, preparing to head to the Entrance Hall. Ron and Hermione bundled themselves in their cloaks against the brisk autumn day. They beckoned to Harry, who was leaning against the back of the couch, chatting with Ginny.

"I guess they're ready," he said, gesturing toward the portrait hole.

"Okay," Ginny smiled in parting.

Harry took a few steps, but turned around when he realized she wasn't following.

"Are you... aren't you coming?" he asked.

"Oh," Ginny stammered, slightly flustered. "No, I'm just..."

"Ready?" Colin appeared at the bottom of the stairs, cloak in hand, smiling at Ginny.

She took in a visible breath and nodded, glancing at Harry. A look of comprehension dawned across his face, and he forced a smile, nodding to her.

"Have fun," he said, lifting his hand in a small wave.

"You too," she replied as Colin helped her on with her cloak. She didn't realize that her gaze had followed Harry out of the portrait hole until she felt Colin's breath on her ear.

"Just you and me today, right?" he spoke softly.

She turned and met his eyes, which were giving her a hopeful but somewhat disbelieving look. She nodded determinedly and fastened the clasp at her neck. "Right."

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione went straightaway to the Three Broomsticks for an early lunch. Hermione thought it best if they avoided the lunchtime rush, and the boys, fresh from practice, were too hungry to disagree.

As they sipped their butterbeers and waited for their food, Hermione glanced out the window several times and Harry noticed that she kept fingering her wand, which lay on the table in front of her.

"Hermione," he asked, "what's wrong? Why do you keep looking out the window?"

Ron set his bottle down with a thunk and leaned forward on his elbows, speaking in a voice of affected concern. "Yeah, Hermione, why don't you tell Harry what's wrong?"

She shot Ron an exasperated glare before speaking to Harry. "I'm just, you know, keeping an eye on things." Ron snorted and shook his head, but Hermione continued. "Professor Dumbledore asked if we would be especially careful today. We want to make sure everyone makes it back without any incidents."

Harry turned a confused look to Ron, then back to Hermione. "What sort of incidents?"

"You know, we just want to be prepared. If there was an attack on Hogsmeade with all these students milling about..."

Harry choked on his butterbeer. "An attack? Hermione, I think Voldemort's got bigger plans than taking out a few third years in Honeydukes. Besides, I haven't felt anything in my scar for a while now. You're being paranoid."

He noted the smug look that Ron cast across the table and Hermione's huffy silence in reply. But far from feeling smug himself, Harry felt an irritation begin to rise in him. Since they had been back at school, he had had only one private meeting with Dumbledore, who had nothing of interest to tell him about Voldemort's whereabouts or activities. After what had happened in the past, he'd thought that he could trust Dumbledore to share information with him. And yet now he was asking Hermione to "keep an eye" on things? Hermione might be Head Girl, but he was the one Voldemort was after. If Dumbledore felt there might be danger in Hogsmeade, why keep him in the dark? Then something Hermione had said struck him.

"Who's we anyway?" he snapped.

Hermione looked up from her plate of fish and chips, which had just arrived, and shook some vinegar onto her food before answering, "Me and Malfoy."

Harry looked at her, incredulous. "Are you serious? Hermione, if anyone would know of an attack planned for today, it would probably be Malfoy."

Hermione shook her head. "Malfoy was just as willing as I was to go along with Dumbledore. You should have heard him arguing all the reasons that we shouldn't cancel Hogsmeade weekends this year."

"So, he wanted us all out here today?" Ron said knowingly. "All the more reason to suspect him."

"Oh Ron, bugger off," she said earnestly, biting into a chip. "I don't have any reason to believe that he's in Voldemort's inner circle or knows any more than we do. We thought he was the Heir of Slytherin once, remember? And we were wrong about that."

"Please tell me you are not defending Malfoy," Ron said, the tips of his ears turning red.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Of course not. He's an insufferable arse and I loathe him. But he's not a Death Eater."

Harry dug into his fish and tuned out his friends, whose bickering had not let up as much as he would have liked since they had gotten together. The lapses between the fights were longer, but it was there just the same.

The door opened and a young couple walked in. He recognized Ellie Bridgeton's dark hair and with her was Reed Barton, whom he knew from years of playing Quidditch against Ravenclaw. Reed must have been visiting for the day. Ellie smiled and waved in his direction, and he exchanged nods with Reed before they settled at a cozy table for two in the far corner.

Outside, another couple was making their way to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, but stopped short when they reached the door.

"Let's not eat here," Colin said, turning around suddenly and startling Ginny. He had seen Harry through the window and was doing everything he could to make sure Ginny had a Harry-free day.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Let's try something different, we always eat here. How about Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Oh, no, I think we want to steer clear of there," Ginny said with a chuckle. "The girls are planning a 'heckling tea', and I don't want to get caught in the crossfire."

Colin looked up and down the street with a frown on his face. "The Hog's Head?" Ginny wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Well, let's just walk a bit more then. I'm not really hungry yet anyway."

He took her arm and set off at a brisk walk. Ginny hurried to keep up with him, wondering why the Three Broomsticks had suddenly become so unappetizing.

After a few minutes of moving from one storefront to the next, they found themselves in front of Silas Green's Grocery, a small shop with plate glass windows sporting adverts for Goat Cheese, Ox Tongue, and 10 Knuts off your next purchase of Fortescue's Ice Cream.

Ginny peered in the window. "We could get something to eat here, I suppose..."

"Do you want to?" he asked. "We've never done that before."

They pushed open the door and were surrounded by the scent of fresh baked bread and ripe fruit. It smelled delicious.

Colin's face lit up as he looked around. "This might be kind of fun! We could each get a few things and then go find somewhere to have a sort of picnic. What do you think?"

Ginny chuckled at his enthusiasm and nodded. Several minutes later, they piled their purchases onto the counter in front of an old wizard who eyed them with an amused look. A small loaf of bread, a block of sharp cheese, one peach, one apple, two flasks of pumpkin juice, and Chocolate Frogs for dessert. After splitting the cost of the food, they set off down the street, their bags swinging between them.

"Where shall we go?" Ginny asked, excited at the prospect of finding someplace they'd never been before.

Colin stopped and looked around at the narrow streets and shops crowded together. His eyes traveled beyond the shops and houses to a grassy hill that rose above the trees at the edge of town. He could just make out a few grazing sheep dotting the hillside. Ginny followed his gaze.

"Up there?" she asked, surprised.

"Do you think we could make it that far?"

"Why not?"

They grinned at each other and set off down the street, nipping through alleyways and side streets until they found themselves at the base of the hill.

* * *

Harry picked through the glass jars at Honeydukes, filling his bag with an assortment of chocolates and sweets.

"You almost ready?" Ron asked, coming up behind him with a sugar quill already planted in his mouth. "I want to get to Zonko's while everyone else is still at lunch."

While Harry paid for his things, Hermione stood at the front door waiting for them. She checked her watch impatiently and looked out the window again, scanning the street for anything out of the ordinary. Something was approaching from the far end of the street, but it was not at all what she had expected. Her eyes narrowed.

"No," she said under her breath. "You can't be serious." She wheeled around and hurried to where Ron and Harry were gathering up their bags.

"You can't go outside," she whispered, placing a hand on Harry's arm.

Harry started at her urgent tone. "Why, what's going on?"

"Rita Skeeter is coming this way and she's got a photographer with her."

Ron rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, for the love of..."

"I think you should go," Hermione said. "Go back to the castle. You can sneak out through the... you know." She gestured to the door behind the counter that led to the basement and a secret passageway back to Hogwarts that Harry had discovered a few years before by way of the Marauder's Map.

"No!" Ron hissed. "He doesn't need to go running every time a reporter comes around." He turned to Harry. "Come on. We can dodge her. You don't want to sit in the castle all afternoon."

Hermione frowned. "Do you really want to deal with Rita today? Because if you do, I can help you. She knows she can't mess with me."

Harry's shoulders tensed and he pressed his lips into a thin line. He was already irritable and annoyed, and having to run away from reporters like a fugitive was doing nothing to improve his mood. He thought back to when Dumbledore had said there would be times when it might be advantageous to cooperate with the press. But this was not one of those times. Today, he felt it would definitely be better to remain invisible.

He shook his head and looked apologetically at Ron. "I'll see you later."

He made his way to the edge of the counter and ducked down. When he was sure the witch who had rung up his sweets was busy with other customers, he scooted through the doorway and down the stairs.

At that moment, the bell on the front door tinkled and Rita Skeeter entered the shop, resplendent in a Scottish tartan walking robe and matching tam-o'-shanter. She spotted Ron and Hermione at once and strode over to them with a silky smile.

"Hermione Granger! How lovely to see you again. And Ron Weasley! Imagine catching you both here at the same time."

But Hermione had no patience for her false sincerity. "What are you doing here, Rita?" she asked, turning to browse through the candy shelves and doing her best to appear uninterested.

"What I do best, of course. Reporting."

"On...?"

"Well, first Hogsmeade weekend... students roaming about freely in wartime... Dumbledore is making quite a statement, don't you think? Speaking of statements," she said, tapping the end of her quill against her chin, "I was hoping to have a word with Harry. Is he nearby, just in the back room perhaps?" She craned her neck around the shop.

"I wouldn't know," Hermione said briskly. "He's not with us today."

Rita raised her plucked eyebrows. "Really? I was under the impression that the three of you were joined at the hip. Did he have pressing matters to attend to at the castle?"

"I didn't say he was at the castle, I just said he wasn't with us. I don't know where he is."

Rita turned her attention to Ron, who was pretending to be very interested in a box of Acid Pops. "Or maybe he's with your sister? That was a lovely little piece on them; I'm only sorry I didn't write it myself."

Ron turned and felt his cheeks grow hot. He was glad he was finally tall enough to look down his nose at Rita. "You leave my sister out of it."

Hermione stepped quickly in between them and pressed her lips into a smile. "Goodbye, Rita. Don't overstay your welcome. Oh wait, you already have."

Rita watched as Hermione bustled Ron out of the store. "Well," she smirked to the photographer who had been waiting obediently behind her, "I think I've had enough of Hogsmeade for now. Let's go see what the Ministry has made a mess of today." And with a crack, they Disapparated.

* * *

Colin and Ginny found a narrow footpath and followed it through the trees, up the hill, along a stream, and finally into a grassy field overlooking the village. Ginny turned and looked out over the landscape, her cheeks flushed from the climb. She breathed in the crisp air.

"It's beautiful up here," she smiled. Across the lake she could see the towers of Hogwarts shining in the sun, and the small dots of her schoolmates scurrying around the village below. She bent to sit down on the grass.

"Wait!" Colin yelled, causing her to jump up again.

"What?" she said, looking at the ground around her, thinking she had been about to sit on something.

"We should have a blanket," he said, digging out his wand.

Ginny laughed in relief. "Oh, I thought it was something serious."

"It is," Colin said with mock seriousness. "You can't have a proper picnic without a blanket."

"I see. Um... you're not going to try to conjure one, are you? Because the last time you tried to conjure something, you nearly gave Professor McGonagall a black eye," she said, backing away.

Colin rolled his eyes. "I told you, that was just a fluke! I couldn't control where the chair was going to appear." Ginny stifled a giggle. "Besides, I've been practicing. Watch."

He waved his wand over the ground and said, "Conjurus." A small yellow blanket about the size of a bath towel appeared on the ground.

"Hmm," Ginny hummed. "Well, at least it ended up where you wanted it."

"Alright, just wait." Colin pointed his wand at the blanket again. "Engorgio."

The blanket started expanding in size, but apparently didn't know where to stop. When it reached Ginny's feet, she yelped and backed away further. "Colin!"

"Reducio!" Colin yelled, now laughing along with Ginny at the absurdity of it all. The blanket shrank back down to its original bath towel size. "Well," he sighed, "looks like that's the best I can do."

Ginny thought she probably could have conjured a more convincing blanket, but not wanting to hurt Colin's feelings, she gamely sat on the edge of the soft fabric and motioned for him to sit beside her. Their shoulders bumped together as they rummaged through their bags of food.

"Mmm," Ginny sighed, taking a bite of bread and pulling her knees up to her chest. "This is nice."

He looked down at her and smiled.

* * *

Harry stormed through the common room and startled a group of first years playing Gobstones in front of the fire. He threw open the door to his room and flung his Honeydukes bag against the headboard of his four-poster, pacing angrily around the room.

Rita Skeeter. Unbelievable. What's she going to do, write a feature about what kind of sweets I eat now? It's not like she could get any real information out of me, not while Hermione is Dumbledore's right-hand girl. And what is with Hermione, anyway? I don't need her to tell me how to keep out of danger. Where was she when I was fighting Voldemort on my own? He doesn't care about Hogsmeade. I'm the one he wants. And where the hell is he? Doesn't he see me? Doesn't he see that I'm right here?

Harry stopped in the middle of the room and squeezed his eyes tight, forcing all his anger to the surface. Occlumency training had made the shields around his mind second nature to him, but he let them down now and reached out. It was dangerous, he knew, but he was beyond caring.

"Come on, you snake. Come and get me. Are you afraid of me now? You know I'm the only one who can defeat you, so you run away and kill defenseless Muggle-borns for sport? Coward. Come and get me."

But he felt nothing. No snake rising within him, no visions of Voldemort or where he might be, only his own anger and frustration. His breathing was ragged now and his hands began to shake. He made his way over to the bed, cradling his head in his hands to nurse the throbbing in his forehead. Whether it was his scar or just a pounding headache, he wasn't sure, but after a few minutes of calming breaths, the pain began to subside. He stood and walked over to the pitcher stand in the corner, pouring himself a cup of water and drinking deeply.

Looking around the room, everything seemed suddenly bright and ordinary. The red bed hangings thrown haphazardly open, clothing scattered on Ron's and Seamus' beds, stacks of books on the desks and bits of parchments littering the floor. This wasn't the room of the Hero of the Wizarding World. It was just the room of five seventeen-year-old boys.

Harry shook his head to clear his mind. You've got to get it together, he told himself. He looked out the window at the blank sky and felt like a captive in a high tower with no escape. He needed to get out of the castle. He was damned if he was going to sit around all afternoon, hiding like some first year behind Dumbledore's protections.

He walked to his trunk and flung it open, rummaging through its contents until he found what he wanted and stuffed it under his shirt. He strode across the common room, aware of the first years' eyes on him again. Invisible. That's what he wanted to be. Invisible. He pushed through the portrait hole and headed for the third-floor corridor to the statue of the hump-backed witch.

* * *

"...and so the boy says, 'No, but the duck doesn't know that!'"

Ginny burst into laughter, clutching Colin's arm with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. They had lingered over their picnic, talking and playing games and sharing jokes, and they were starting to feel a bit silly. When the last Chocolate Frog was gone, they finally stood up and piled their trash in the center of the blanket.

"Allow me?" Ginny asked.

Colin gestured grandly. "By all means."

Ginny waved her wand. "Evanesco," she said, and the blanket and all its contents disappeared. She turned to Colin, a smile lighting up her face.

"It's good to hear you laugh," he said, his eyes resting on hers.

She met his gaze and felt a flush begin to creep up her cheeks. "It's good to be with someone who makes me laugh."

They stared at each other for a moment more before Colin lowered his eyes and looked down the hillside. "Back to the village, then?"

"Yes," said Ginny, recovering herself. "Let's go to Zonko's next."

They spent the rest of the afternoon running in and out of shops, trying on funny hats and browsing through bookshelves, calling to each other when they found something interesting. At around four o'clock the students began to make their way back down the high street toward Hogwarts. Ginny and Colin fell a bit behind, and she didn't object when he slipped his hand into hers as they walked.

When they reached the outskirts of the village, Colin's grip tightened on Ginny's hand, and his pace slowed. She looked up in question and saw an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Let's go over here for a moment," he said. She looked to where he was pointing and saw a grove of trees standing in a small field near the path.

"What for?"

"I just don't want to go back yet."

She gave him a quizzical smile and let him lead her off the path toward the trees, her shoes sinking slightly into the soft earth. Colin stopped and looked up at the branches forming a covering over them. The leaves nodded back and forth, letting in snatches of grey sky and then snuffing it out again.

"The light in here is so soft, this would be a great place to take some pictures," he said.

"Yeah, it's pretty. I never really noticed it before." She looked around politely, waiting. For what, she wasn't sure.

Colin seemed to be looking everywhere except at her. She felt a nervousness emanating from him, and a smile played on her lips. For all his exuberance, he could really be quite sweet when it was just the two of them. He turned to her and took a deep breath.

"I didn't really bring you here to look at trees," he laughed.

"No?" she chuckled softly.

He moved closer and took her hand, playing with her fingers and avoiding her gaze. "We're pretty good friends, aren't we?"

Her heart sank just a bit. "Yes, I think so."

"And when two people have been friends for a while, sometimes, they might start to feel more for each other... more than just being friends I mean."

She brightened a little. "Yes?"

"And I find that I'm starting to, maybe, feel that way about you. More than just being friends, that is, if that's alright with you. I mean, if you don't feel that way, I understand, I just..."

"Colin."

He stopped his rambling and looked up from her fingers into her soft eyes.

"Me too."

He beamed at her with a wide grin. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He exhaled in relief and she smiled. His hands cupped her shoulders and pulled her closer, his eyes resting on her lips. "I had such a good time with you today."

"So did I."

"Is it okay if I..." His eyes flicked up to hers in question. She nodded and he bent his head, meeting her lips in a chaste kiss. When he met her eyes again, she could see that they were serious, all trace of their earlier silliness gone. He leaned in again and kissed her deeply, drawing her into a warm embrace, and she circled her arms around his waist.

This was what it meant to be more than friends, she thought. Not whatever it was that she had with Harry. Harry made her feel passion and love like she'd never known, but he also left her confused and exposed, raw. This was sweet and safe. There was no confusion in kissing Colin, just comfort. But no sooner did she have this realization than Ginny felt an emotion radiating toward her that was so strong, it jolted her and she pulled back suddenly, searching Colin's eyes.

Jealousy.

"What is it?" he asked.

She paused. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yes... did I do something wrong?"

Ginny furrowed her brow. "No. I'm sorry, I just felt odd for a moment."

She mustered a reassuring smile and drew him down to her again, closing her eyes and concentrating on the feel of his lips on hers, but after a few seconds, she felt it again. Jealousy. Pain.

She pressed against Colin's arms and wrenched her lips away, looking anxiously around her, but she saw nothing except the gentle swaying of the branches overhead.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

She returned her eyes to Colin's and stared deeply into them. "What are you feeling right now?"

Colin flushed and he began to back away from her. "Oh, I'm sorry... you think this was a mistake."

"No!" She reached out and held his face with her hands. "No," she repeated more softly. "Just tell me. Are you happy?"

His features relaxed somewhat, though he was clearly not sure what to make of this sudden change. "Yes, very happy."

"And you're not feeling..." Jealous? It seemed ridiculous. Why would Colin feel jealous right now? "You're not feeling angry or hurt?"

"Of course not. Ginny, what's going on?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes and looked around at the trees again. A slight wind stirred the branches, and she heard a soft rustling sound. Maybe it was the leaves, maybe...

She shook her head. "It's nothing, just a feeling I had. But it's gone now."

She tried to smile, but the moment was broken. She laced her fingers through his, squeezing them in what she hoped was an encouraging way, and said, "Come on, let's head back."

A look of disappointment flitted across Colin's face, but he recovered quickly. "Alright."

As they made their way back to the path, retracing the sunken footprints they had made previously, Ginny noticed another pair of footprints a few feet from theirs, leading to and from the trees as well.