When Harry Met Ginny...

A/N: Well here goes nothing. This is my first journey into the world of Harry/Ginny fanfiction. I have always been intrigued by Harry and Ginny's relationship and I love stories that explore what would have happened if they had become friends earlier. So, I decided to write my own version. At the beginning of the chapter I use the names of two characters taken from the wonderful Shannara fantasy world of Terry Brooks. I have also used word-for-word phrases and whole sentences from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." I do not in any way own any of the characters or ideas of the Harry Potter universe, I am just having a little fun playing in Rowling's sandbox. Please read and review. I hope that you enjoy the story and that you will stick around as it continues to unfold.

Chapter 1: When They First Meet

Numerous thoughts ran through the mind of Wil Ohmsford as he was marched out to meet face to face with the man that had sought his death for so many years. "I wish I hadn't trusted that stupid, cunning, secretive old man so much," he thought to himself. "I wish I had learned more, trained more, prepared myself properly, and then maybe I wouldn't be in this mess," he whispered bitterly within his own mind. "I wish," he thought, as a single tear rolled down his cheek and his heart constricted, "that I hadn't ignored her for so long. I wish I would have seen how incredible and beautiful she was before it was too late. I wish I had told her how I felt about her when I still had the chance. Now I never will be able to." Wil closed his eyes as his enemy dealt him a fatal blow, and as the life slipped from his body, his last thoughts were of her and how he had let her slip away.

Twelve-year old Harry James Potter closed the novel that he had been reading. He let out a sigh, and wished with all of his might that he would never have the same regrets that Wil had. The book was a fantasy novel that told the story of a set of friends who had been destined to conquer a great evil that threatened their kingdom. The author, however, had not written a traditional story where the heroes saved the day, but one in which the protagonists eventually succumbed to their enemy due to grave mistakes made by themselves as well as by those who were supposed to help them accomplish their task. Not a cheerful story, but Harry still liked it. He had actually read the book several times and this section dealing with Wil's last thoughts had always stuck out to him. He almost felt like they were in fact real living words being spoken to him directly. Something about Wil's imaginary musings rang true in Harry's heart, almost as if they were instructions or advice that were being given directly to him by a trusted friend.

Surprisingly, the thoughts that struck him the most were the regrets that Wil expressed over his failed relationship with the object of his desire, Shirl. Shirl was a red haired girl that Wil had known for most of his life. Apparently, throughout most of the story, Shirl had had a major crush on Wil, but she was so embarrassed around him that she was never able to show him what an amazing person she truly was. Wil did not help matters much because his own embarrassment and shyness led him to ignore her, to laugh at her silly attempts to get him to notice her, and callously to disregard her feelings and existence. Even when she got over her initial shyness and started being a friend to him, Wil only ever saw her as the same blushing little girl, and constantly ignored her attempts to befriend him. Eventually, Shirl fell out of love with Wil and instead developed a deep hatred for him, a hatred driven by her bitterness at being rejected and ignored as both a friend and a possible love interest. Eventually, her hatred drove her to destroy her own life, her family, and inspired her to betray Wil to his enemies. At the end, Wil realized that he indeed had feelings for her, but his realization came too little, too late. Harry, who at the age of twelve had never been in love before, though he had just started really to take notice of girls, vowed that he would never allow himself to fall into the same trap as Wil.

He let out another sigh as he stared out at the night sky through the bar-covered windows of the smallest bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive. Amazingly, it was his new found fondness for reading that had helped him survive this summer. A few days after arriving home from his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had convinced his Aunt Petunia to take him to the local library. While he was there, he checked out several novels, science books (especially ones on insects and snakes, two groups of creatures he had begun developing a fascination for), and books on physical fitness, working out, and martial arts. The novels were a great way to whittle away the hours, while the science books got him interested in starting a bug collection (and he already had several specimens that he had collected from the yard and the park down the street). The fitness books and martial arts books had inspired him to start doing exercise and physical training to strengthen his body. This had become a priority for him because he was a Quidditch player at school, and because of the fact that he had faced Lord Voldemort just a month ago. Harry hoped that if he ever came across old Voldy again or any of his lackeys, that he would be in better physical condition to take them on. He knew that he would also need to prepare magically, and he planned to browse extensively through Flourish and Blotts bookstore during his next trip to Diagon Alley. That is if he ever got to go back there. Today, three days after his birthday, Harry's prospects of returning to Diagon Alley, and Hogwarts for that matter, were looking very bleak indeed.

Harry sighed again. He hated this place. He hated the Dursleys for locking him up and starving him, for beating him and yelling at him. He had, until his birthday, hated his friends for apparently not writing to him. He hated Dobby for stealing his letters, for trying to get him not to go back to Hogwarts, for causing him to get in trouble with the Ministry of Magic and his uncle. He hated Dumbledore for making him grow up in this place, for making him come back here after this past school year, even after Harry had explained to him all the abuse that his relatives had dished out to him over the years. He especially hated Dumbledore for not telling him the whole truth about Voldemort when he had asked him questions in the hospital wing at the end of last term. Harry hated life right now. With a sigh, he rolled over on his back and closed his eyes. As he began to fall into a deep and peaceful sleep, his thoughts wandered back to the story he had just finished reading, and the doomed relationship of Wil and Shirl.

"If I am ever lucky enough to find a girl who loves me and that I love, like my mum and dad did each other," Harry thought to himself sleepily, "I vow to never ignore her. I promise to tell her how incredible and beautiful she is before it is too late, I will never let her go, and I swear to do anything to make her happy."

As those final thoughts floated through his mind, Harry Potter succumbed to sleep at last. That was the reason that he missed seeing the brilliant gold light that shined all around his body for several hours so brightly that it illuminated his entire bedroom.

At the same time, a similar gold light shone around the sleeping form of a young red haired girl as she peacefully dreamed about a boy with raven-black hair and deep emerald-green colored eyes.

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Less than twelve hours later, Harry found himself sitting down to eat breakfast with the Weasley family in the kitchen of their home, The Burrow. Harry still could not believe the events of the past few hours. He had woken up to find the headlights of a flying blue car shining directly through the window of his second-story bedroom. Fred, George, and Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley, had taken their dad's enchanted car and flown it to rescue him. Using the car, they had pulled the bars right off the walls of the house, packed up Harry's stuff and his owl Hedwig into the car, and flown off with Harry into the night while the Dursleys looked on with horror and rage. It had taken them the rest of the night to fly to The Burrow, and when they arrived, the twins and Ron had shown Harry around their home. Even though the Weasleys were poor, Harry thought the house was brilliant and quickly decided that this was without a doubt one of his most favorite places in the world, second only to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley, a short red haired woman, had been furious with her three youngest sons, but had been delighted to see Harry and had fussed over him all morning. Harry was not sure how to handle all this attention, seeing as he had never had a mother before, but he quickly decided that he liked it. He was now sitting down at the table with Fred, George, Ron and Percy while Mrs. Weasley was preparing breakfast. Something happened during the course of that breakfast that would change Harry's life forever. He just did not know it yet.

Harry was just biting into his first piece of sausage while Mrs. Weasley was buttering a piece of freshly baked bread for him when a noise from the stairway caught his attention. Harry turned and saw a small girl bouncing rather noisily down the stairs and into the kitchen. Harry was momentarily mesmerized by the sight of the girl and his breath caught in his throat. The girl had long scarlet hair that appeared to fall down past the middle of her back, but as the sunlight streaming through the windows reflected off her head, Harry saw that her hair color was actually composed of over a dozen reddish hues that appeared to shine and shimmer almost like a living flame. The girl had big wide chocolate-brown eyes that sparkled, revealing innocence, passion, and playful mischievousness all at the same time. Her white skin was smooth and creamy and Harry briefly wondered if it would actually feel as soft to his touch as it appeared to be to his eyes. She had a spattering of freckles across her nose and face that Harry thought were absolutely adorable, and her soft pink lips were curved up into a beautiful smile that made his heart do a little jump. She was dressed in a long pale baby-blue colored nightdress that almost appeared to be made of silk, with only her cute feet visible beneath it. If Harry had never noticed girls before, he was certainly noticing this girl now. She was cute. No, Harry suddenly realized, she was beautiful, and with this realization he felt his cheeks go hot and his heartbeat get faster.

"Mummy, have you seen my green jumper?" the girl asked cheerfully as she stared expectantly at her mother. Harry thought that her voice sounded like sweet music, and every word felt like a cool balm on his heart.

"Check upstairs in my room, dear. I think it's in the wash that I just finished last night," Mrs. Weasley replied as she continued to cook breakfast.

Harry was suddenly conscious of snickering coming from Fred, George, and Ron. Distracted, Harry turned to look at them and found that they were all looking intently in the direction of the stairs. Harry turned back and saw that the girl was no longer looking at her mother, but directly at him. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was hanging open in surprise, and her face was turning as red as her hair.

Harry, completely caught off guard by the girl's response and the increasingly loud snickering of the three other boys at the table, said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Hi, I'm Harry!"

The girl, if it was possible, turned an even greater shade of red, gave a small squeal like an animal that had just got caught in a trap, and turned around and ran up the stairs as fast her legs would carry her. Harry's jaw fell open, and his checks burned hotter than a thousand suns. Fred, George, and Ron burst out into laughter.

"What happened? What did I do?" Harry croaked out as he turned to face Ron and the twins.

"That's Ginny," Ron managed to squeak out in between his fits of laughter, "our little sister. She's been talking about you all summer. Bit annoying actually. All she's wanted to hear is the story about you saving the stone from You-Know-Who this past year."

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin.

"And probably a big wet kiss too," George blurted out. All three boys burst out laughing again.

"But why did she run away when I spoke to her?" Harry asked, a look of bewilderment on his face. When the twins and Ron saw this they only laughed harder.

"Come on Harry; don't tell me you're that thick. It's obvious, isn't it? Our wee sister has a crush on you," Ron said. As this revelation was made known, the three boys started laughing so hard that tears began rolling down their faces.

Harry felt a sudden indignation rising up within his heart, a feeling that he did not quite understand.

"You don't think I'm the kind of guy that a girl would get a crush on? I know that I'm kind of short and skinny and my hair is a mess, but I don't think that I'm that bad," Harry said.

"It isn't you, Harry," Fred and George said at the same time.

"Yeah, it's Ginny," Ron explained. "She normally doesn't shut up and she hardly ever embarrasses easily. I reckon she has had a crush on you for a long time. Her favorite bedtime story growing up was the tale of the Boy-Who-Lived. She used to pretend that she would marry you one day. I think Mum and Dad actually bought her a Harry Potter doll for her birthday one year." Fred and George fell into further hysterics. Ron continued, "She used to tell it how much she loved Harry Potter and wanted to make sure that he was happy and safe, and then she would kiss its lips and sigh out loud." Ron was laughing so hard now that he could barely breathe and he had to stop talking. After catching his breath he continued.

"Listen, I'll make sure to tell her to leave you alone this summer. She has been a right pest these last few weeks, constantly wanting to hear about you and Hogwarts. I mean she's going in a few weeks for crying out loud. Keeps going on and on about trying out for the Quidditch team. I mean she doesn't even know how to fly. Mental that one is!" Ron said, gasping for air in between sentences.

As the three brothers continued to laugh at the expense of Harry and their sister, a large number of emotions were swirling around in Harry's heart. He definitely felt embarrassed about the whole situation, especially by the way that Ginny had reacted to him and also the fact that a girl, and a pretty one at that, had a crush on him. He was just Harry; scrawny, short, messy haired Harry Potter. Why would a girl have a crush on him? He was also embarrassed and just a little surprised at the fact that he found Ginny to be so beautiful. At the same time, he felt genuinely touched that Ginny had expressed concern and longing about Harry's happiness and safety. He also felt anger, anger that Ginny's brothers were laughing so shamelessly at their sister's expense and dismissing her as if she was a huge burden to them. Harry would have given anything in the world to have a little sister to play with and to talk to. She was already embarrassed enough, he just was glad that Ginny was not hearing any of this conversation because he was sure that it would break her heart. It was out of this anger that Harry replied.

"Hey, you guys sure aren't being very nice to your sister. You're lucky that you even have the opportunity to have one! I would give anything to have a sister that wanted to talk to me and play with me. And obviously she is embarrassed by her crush on me, and you lot laughing at her expense about it isn't going to make the situation any better; it's only going to embarrass her more! Why don't you lay off her?!" Harry said sharply.

The three boys stopped laughing immediately and all hung their heads shamefully towards the floor. Ron said, "Sorry mate. We love her and everything; we were just taking the mickey out of the two of you. But you better not let Ginny hear you defending her like that because she'll be proposing to you tomorrow!"

All four boys got grins on their faces at that comment. Mr. Weasley soon arrived home and was introduced to Harry. He blasted Harry with numerous questions about Muggle devices and showed the delight of a five year old opening a Christmas present when Harry provided him with explanations. Mrs. Weasley proceeded to tell Ron to help Harry bring his stuff up to his room and then to join the Twins out in the garden for a morning of degnoming as punishment for their flying car escapade. Harry eagerly agreed to join them. As they were carrying his trunk up the stairs, they passed an open bedroom door on the third landing, and Harry briefly caught the site of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before the door was closed with a snap.

"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally...."

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After a morning spent degnoming the garden under a brutal August sun and a late lunch of beef tip and vegetable stew, Harry found himself completely exhausted as the events of the previous night and his lack of sleep finally caught up with him. After thanking Mrs. Weasley for her delicious cooking, Harry decided that a good long nap was in order. As he drudged up the stairs to Ron's room, he passed by the semi-open door of Ginny's bedroom on the third landing. Hesitating for a moment, he quietly tipped toed over to her door and peered inside. He caught sight of the room's occupant almost immediately. She was sitting at a small desk with her back facing the door. Harry stood mesmerized once more as the sunlight flooding through her open window lit up her hair making it appear like a fiery halo, while the soft breeze that was blowing in caused strands of her hair to gently sway. As Harry stood and watched this scene unfold before him, he was convinced that he was actually staring at the apparition of an honest-to-God angel. His heart was pounding so hard and fast within his chest that he was slightly surprised that it had not burst out and immediately set out to run a marathon. Harry closed his eyes momentarily and quietly took several deep breathes in an attempt to get his heart under control.

That was when he heard the voice. Her voice, he suddenly realized, and he opened his eyes again and gazed back at the red haired girl. She was singing to herself softly, but her voice was just loud enough that it carried to the open door of her room and right into Harry's ears.

"More like right into my heart," he thought.

Harry closed his eyes again and focused all of his attention to the sounds that were splashing over his eardrums. He could not quite understand every word that Ginny was singing, but that fact was inconsequently to Harry. All he cared about was the soft and soothing sound that Ginny's voice was making and what her voice was doing to his insides. It felt as if every note of her song was wrapping itself around his soul, bathing it in comfort and warmth. As the sound of Ginny's voice continued to wash over him, Harry felt emotions that he never even knew existed suddenly roar to life within him, like a huge sleeping dragon that had just awoken after a millennium-long slumber. Harry realized at that moment that he felt alive, more alive than he had ever felt before. That feeling, he realized with a start, simultaneously thrilled him and terrified him. Harry suddenly had the urge to rush right into that room, take Ginny into his arms, and kiss her for all that he was worth.

"What?" Harry yelled out in his own mind, as feelings of absolute astonishment and shock coursed through him. "Where the heck did that come from?"

Harry never got a chance to contemplate the answer to his silent question, however, as he was knocked out of his thoughts by the sound of a loud bang that echoed up the stairs from the kitchen followed by the sound of hysterical laughter and the voice of a very irate Molly Weasley.

"FRED! GEORGE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR BROTHER? UNDO THIS RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Harry's eyes flew open at that moment, but before he had a chance to respond to what had just happened, he saw that Ginny herself had heard the downstairs festivities and had spun around to face her door. Harry froze as he watched Ginny's eyes widen in horror and her face turn redder than blood as she saw him standing there looking at her. Ginny was so shocked at seeing Harry standing at her door peering into her bedroom that she gave off a little yelp and fell over backwards out of her chair. As she fell to the floor her foot kicked her desk and the bottle of ink that she had been using flew into the air and landed back on top of the desk with a loud thud as ink flew all over the top of Ginny's desk and Ginny herself. Harry was so stunned and embarrassed at being caught peeking by Ginny and by her response to catching him that he did the first thing he could think of. He turned tail and ran directly up the stairs, flew into Ron's room, slammed the door behind him, and dove head first into his bed.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Harry yelled in his own mind. "I'm so bloody stupid! Standing there and gaping at that girl like she was an animal at the zoo. God, she is going to hate me forever. She will never be able to look me in the eye now. Hell, I won't ever be able to even look at her foot. Some Gryffindor courage, Potter. I made her fall out of her chair, and spray herself and her room with ink and all I could do was run for it. Yeah, heart of a lion all the way. Real smooth, Harry."

Harry continued to berate himself mentally for almost twenty minutes until sleep finally claimed him. He dreamed off and on about a girl with red hair who sang with the voice of an angel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, Harry awoke to the sight of moonlight shining through the bedroom window and the sound of Ron's characteristic snoring echoing through the room. Harry reached for his glasses and peered at the clock noticing that it was after midnight.

"Wow, I've been asleep for almost nine hours," Harry thought.

Suddenly, the events of the afternoon came flying back to his consciousness and Harry groaned to himself as he rolled over unto his back.

"How can I possibly ever face Ginny after what happened this morning and this afternoon. Damn, this is going to be a long couple of weeks," Harry groaned out within his own mind.

As Harry silently stewed in feelings of embarrassment and helplessness over the situation with Ginny, his stomach gave out a loud rumble, and he realized that he was extremely hungry. Harry had always swiped food from the Dursleys in the middle of night when they had refused to feed him properly, but he felt slightly guilty about doing this to the Weasleys, though he knew deep down that they most likely would not mind in the least. His hunger finally winning over, Harry swung his legs out of the bed and prepared to get up when his left foot lightly brushed up against something cold and metallic. Reaching over and turning on the small lamp that sat on the night stand next to his bed, Harry peered down to see what his foot had hit. He saw a medium-sized silver serving platter. On the platter was a plate that held three nice-sized sandwiches as well as several slices of perfectly cut pickles. Next to the sandwich plate was a smaller plate that had three delicious looking chocolate-chip cookies as well as a glass of pumpkin juice. Harry smiled to himself and figured that Mrs. Weasley had sent up the sandwiches with Ron while he was sleeping.

Harry picked up the plate with the sandwiches and began eating happily. Each sandwich had a different kind of meat (one turkey, one ham, and one roast beef) and they were each neatly dressed with a slice of tomato, lettuce, a piece of cheese, and a touch of mayonnaise and yellow mustard. They were delicious and Harry ate them quickly, in between bites of the pickle slices and sips of the pumpkin juice, which was surprisingly cool to the taste even with the lack of ice. When he finished the sandwiches, Harry started on the cookies. They were warm, soft, and chewy, and Harry was convinced that chocolate-chip cookies were now his second favorite dessert, second only to treacle tart. As he drained the last of his pumpkin juice and quietly sighed in contentment, he noticed that there was a folded piece of parchment on the tray. Picking it up and opening it, he realized that it was a letter. It was written in beautiful emerald-green colored ink and the handwriting was small and neat.

Harry,

When we noticed that you were not at dinner, Mum wanted to wake you up, but Ron convinced her to let you sleep. I took the liberty of making these sandwiches and cookies for you, because I knew that you would probably be hungry when you woke up. I hope that you like them and that they tide you over until breakfast tomorrow. I put a cooling charm on the pumpkin juice because I figured that any ice that I put in them would melt. I also put a warming charm on the cookies, well because cookies are best when they are warm. I know that they are not treacle tart, but I hope that you enjoy them.

Listen, I just want to say sorry for the fact that I have been acting like a dumb-blushing bunny rabbit. I swear I can actually talk, and I am determined to at least say hello to you before we leave for Hogwarts so that you can see that I am capable of communicating by using more than a squeal. I also want to thank you for the way that you stood up to my brothers this morning. Yes, I heard the conversation, and yes, it did break my heart, but I was really happy to hear you stick up for yourself and for me, even if I do not deserve it. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the snack and I will see you in the morning. In case you are wondering, I will be the only furiously blushing girl at the table.

Your blushing, truly capable of human speech, hope-to-be friend,

Ginny

P.S. You owe me a bottle of ink, Potter, lavender color #2.

Harry laughed quietly to himself as he finished the letter. A smile broke out over his face as he contemplated Ginny's words. She was funny and perceptive, and appeared to be able to poke fun at herself for her shyness and embarrassing antics. He was overwhelmed with her thoughtfulness and concern for him, and was amazed that she had taken the time to make him sandwiches and cookies. He was somewhat stunned that Ginny had performed both a Cooling and a Warming Charm, two spells that he knew were not normally taught at Hogwarts until around year three or four, though he suspected that she had probably acquired her mother's help. It was his turn to blush as he realized that Ginny must have brought the tray into his room herself after Ron was asleep, owing to the fact that Ron would have probably eaten the food himself.

"I wonder whether or not she stopped to stare at me for awhile," Harry thought to himself, as he felt his heart beat a little faster at that thought. "I wonder how she knew I was hoping that she wouldn't hear that conversation and how I thought it would break her heart if she did. And how the heck does she know I like treacle tart?"

Harry sat the letter down on his bedside table. He got up and carried the tray down to the kitchen, placing the plates and the glass in the sink. After a stop in the loo, Harry paused by Ginny's closed bedroom door. He gently laid his hand on the door and sighed quietly to himself.

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry whispered. He headed back to Ron's room where he climbed back into bed and promptly fell back to sleep. He dreamed all night of a red haired girl with brown eyes.

"You're welcome, Harry," Ginny's small voice whispered into the night as she turned over in her own bed and then fell sound asleep.

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Harry woke up at about eight in the morning to find that Ron was already gone. Harry yawned as he climbed out of bed and stretched in an attempt to get his blood flowing freely. Harry realized suddenly that he felt completely refreshed and wide-awake. In fact, this had been one of the first nights since the end of school when Harry had not dreamed about life-size chess games, flying keys, three-headed dogs, huge mountain trolls, rows of potion bottles, enchanted mirrors, red stones, or a turban wearing man with two faces, one of which had huge red eyes. No, he had not dreamed about red eyes, but he realized with a start that he had dreamed about red hair, and chocolate-brown eyes, and creamy-white skin. After a long and cold shower, which he suddenly found necessary, though he was not quite sure why, Harry brushed his teeth, got dressed, and headed down the stairs to breakfast.

When Harry arrived in the kitchen, he found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny already sitting at the table eating. When Ginny looked up and saw Harry entering the kitchen, she accidentally knocked her porridge bowl off the table where it fell onto the floor with a loud clatter. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun.

"Morning, mate," Ron said with a mouth full of food.

"Ron, how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Good morning, Harry dear, I hope that you slept well."

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied. "Yes, m'am, I slept very well."

Harry turned to face Ginny with a slight smile on his face. "Morning, Ginny," Harry said kindly.

Ginny's face flushed again but she kept her eyes focused on his face. "Hullo, Harry," she replied, before quickly looking back down at her food.

Mrs. Weasley began fussing over Harry and quickly placed a heaping plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him all the while commenting on how he must be starving after having missed dinner the night before.

"Actually I'm ok, Mrs. Weasley. I had a wonderful snack to tide me over last night," Harry responded. At his comment, Ginny looked up from the table and gazed at him with a look of anticipation and nervousness on her face.

"Thank you, the food was wonderful," Harry wordlessly mouthed to Ginny. Ginny flushed bright red again, but mouthed back a "You're welcome" in response. Harry smiled at her and winked. At this, Ginny flushed even brighter and in her nervousness stuck her left elbow directly in the butter dish, which was sitting right next to her on the table. Only Harry saw this, and he quickly looked away stifling the giggle that was struggling to escape his lips. A few seconds later, Ginny excused herself from the table and quickly headed up the stairs.

After breakfast was over, Harry and Ron convinced the twins, who had finally come down to breakfast, to engage in a game of two-on-two Quidditch. Harry suggested to them that they see if Ginny might like to play, but the twins and Ron laughed at this, saying that Ginny did not even know how to fly yet.

A sudden feeling of anger and indignation flashed through Harry at their response along with a thought that stated, "I can fly better than any of them!"

"What was that?" Harry thought. "Of course I can fly better than them, I proved that last year. Why am I defending my own flying abilities when they are talking about Ginny? And why am I getting so angry about it?"

Harry dropped his thoughts as he and the three youngest Weasley brothers proceeded out into the garden and began the game. Ron and Harry played against Fred and George, and the game was evenly matched because Harry, Fred, and George's skills as Chasers were far below their skills as a Seeker and as Beaters, respectively.

"Great flier, but not much of a Chaser."

"I know that," Harry stated in his mind. "I'm a Seeker. I know that I'm not a Chaser. Dang, Harry, you sure are the captain of the obvious today aren't you."

The game lasted all morning. As the sun reached the apex of the sky, sweat was pouring down Harry's face, back, and chest, and his shorts and t-shirt were completely drenched. He was just about to suggest that they take a break when he felt his whole body instantly cool off. It felt as though he had just plunged himself into a pool of cool water, and he felt instantly refreshed and revitalized. Perked up by this mysterious occurrence, Harry got his second wind and for the next hour he played like a speed demon. Eventually, Ron and Harry racked up the score in their favor, and the twins finally begged off when they spotted Mrs. Weasley walking out to them carrying a picnic basket and a pitcher of lemonade with four glasses. All four boys flew down to her, grateful for the refreshing drink.

"Lunch is ready and on the table, boys. I'll be back in a few minutes. I am just going to take this picnic lunch out to Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Where is Ginny, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked.

"Oh, she went down to the pond to go swimming about an hour ago, dear," she replied. "She likes to stay out and get some sun so I decided to bring lunch out to her."

"Mrs. Weasley, I don't mind bringing it out to her," Harry said, his heart beating faster once again. Harry desperately wanted to talk to Ginny, but felt that he would never be able to have a proper conversation with her as long as anyone else was around. He figured this would be the best time to try it. "I kind of fancy eating outside myself."

"That would be lovely, dear. Here, let's just step into the house and I'll pack up your food for you. Do you boys also want to go?" Mrs. Weasley asked her three sons.

"Please let them say no! Please let them say no!"

"No way, Mum," Fred said.

"Yeah, it's way too hot to eat out here," George continued.

"Sorry, mate, but I'm burning up. No go for me," Ron replied.

As they walked back into the house, Mrs. Weasley suggested that Harry change into some swimming trunks so that he could take a dip in the pond if he got too hot. Harry sheepishly replied that he did not have any swimming trunks. Mrs. Weasley gave him a kind smile and told him she would fetch a pair of Ron's old trunks for him to use. After changing into the shorts and a fresh t-shirt, Mrs. Weasley performed an anti-UV charm on Harry, handed him the picnic basket, and gave him directions on how to get down to the pond. Now faced with the prospect of actually going out to see Ginny alone, Harry felt extremely nervous and his stomach seemed to be swarming with butterflies. Mrs. Weasley gently touched his shoulder and he turned to face her.

"Don't worry, dear. She will be thrilled to have lunch with you. Get past all those blushes and there is an amazing young woman waiting to be found," Mrs. Weasley said kindly.

Reassured, Harry gave Mrs. Weasley a smile, headed out of the back door, and made his way quickly to the pond. The path to the pond was beautiful, and the air was filled with the sound of thousands of insects squeaking, birds chirping, and small animals scuttling through the trees. The Burrow's grounds were breathtaking, and with every step, Harry found himself falling more and more in love with this place.

"Of course, it's the people that live here that make this place so special. I wonder what it was like to grow up here."

As Harry continued on his way, he found his thoughts straying to Ginny. He could see her vibrant red hair and sparkling brown eyes. He could picture her creamy white skin and cute little feet. He could recall the sound of her voice as she sang softly to herself. He could feel the emotions that had stirred within him when he read her letter last night. He sighed with happiness as he broke through a set of trees and saw The Burrow's pond lying directly in front of him. As he drew nearer to the pond, he could hear the sound of at least two voices talking excitedly to each other, though Harry was still unable to see anyone. Slowly he approached the edge of the pond and when he looked to his left, the sight that greeted him caused every ounce of breath to leave his body and his knees to go extremely weak.