MetaFic

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I know I promised, but McGonagall gave the Gryffindor prefects extra patrols. I'm really sorry." Hermione Granger gave her friend an apologetic look.

Ginny Weasley heaved a deep, shuddering sigh and allowed her shoulders to slump. "It's all right, Hermione. I'll manage to muddle through somehow."

Harry Potter looked from one of his friends to the other. "What's wrong?"

Ron Weasley turned and explained the situation to his best friend. "Hermione promised Ginny help with defense revisions, but now we've got to go patrol the third floor corridor. McGonagall's orders." Ron leaned into Harry and whispered conspiratorially into his ear. "Ginny's been having problems with her defense revisions for her OWLs."

Harry Potter blinked. Ginny having problems with defense? That didn't seem right to him. Ginny was the best in her year at defense and better than many students older than she was. Still, he knew how the pressure of the OWLs could drive even the most accomplished student to struggle.

"I'll help you revise if you want," Harry told Ginny.

"Yeah, Harry would be better for this than Hermione anyway," Ron blurted out, gaining a glare from the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "What?" Ron continued. "He received extra credit on his practical for casting a patronus."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning back to Ginny. "Harry probably would be a better choice to help you. What he lacks in theoretical knowledge--"

"Hey!" Harry cried out. "I got an O in defense theory, same as you."

"–he more than makes up for in practical application," Hermione finished.

Ginny bit her lower lip, a habit Harry found oddly endearing. She gave him a pleading look. "If you don't mind, I really could use the help."

Harry chuckled softly. "Well, I suppose I can drag myself away from the essay McGonagall ordered long enough to help you revise."

Hermione opened her mouth to chide Harry for not having finished his essay, but then she squeaked and closed her mouth. She grabbed her bum and turned to glare at Ron, who had an almost sublime smile on his face.

"What?" Harry asked, looking between them.

"Nothing, Harry," Ron said. "You and Ginny should go work on defense revision. We'll meet you here in a couple of hours."

Ron took Hermione by the arm and led her toward the portrait hole. Harry could just hear an angry whispered exchange between them, and then the portrait hole closed, leaving Harry and Ginny in the Gryffindor common room together.

Harry turned to Ginny. "So, what do you need help with?"

Ginny smiled up at him. "Well, I'd like to review everything in fact, try casting each spell for effect, have you check my – form."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Ginny had put a rather odd emphasis on that last word for some reason. Still, he had been working with her in the D.A. and he knew Ginny's execution and casting were almost flawless. "Your form's fine, Ginny."

Ginny nodded solemnly. "I'll take your word for it." She gathered up her books from the study table. "Professor Dimblewat said I could use the defense classroom tonight for two hours to revise." She spun suddenly and started toward the portrait hole. Stopping with one foot out in the corridor, she turned back toward Harry, looking over her shoulder. "Are you coming?" she said. Then she moved away in a flash of red hair.

Harry Potter shook his head. He had a strange, disquieting feeling about all this, but he couldn't quite place what it was. With a sigh, he followed Ginny out through the portrait hole.

Neither spoke as they walked toward their destination. Harry found himself almost trotting to keep up with Ginny Weasley, and he wondered at how quickly the small girl could move. Every once in a while as they walked side-by-side, Ginny would give him a quick sidelong glance, as if trying to read his mood. Harry sighed internally. He was tired of his friends trying to help him get over the death of his godfather. So far, of all his friends, Ginny had been the only one to treat him as a normal person instead of pushing him into trying to talk about his feelings. He hoped this wasn't some lame plan on Hermione's part to get him to talk about Sirius. He would talk to them when he was ready and not a moment sooner.

As they stepped into the defense classroom, Ginny tensed suddenly. Harry decided the best thing to do was to act just like it was a D.A. meeting, only with one student instead of thirty. "Okay, so why don't we start with the basics and work our way up?"

Ginny nodded grimly and cast a levitation charm, then a light charm, and continued working her way up into more powerful hexes and jinxes.

As Harry watched her run through all the various hexes, jinxes, and curses, he had to admire what he saw. Ginny Weasley truly was a terror with her wand. Harry still couldn't believe that she needed help with defense revisions.

"All right, that's enough," Harry said. He strode over to the short girl. "You're obviously doing well with all this, so why are we really here?"

Ginny bit her lower lip again. Harry tried not to let it distract him. She looked up at him, a slight bit of guilt in her brown eyes.

"Well, Hermione wanted me to try to get you to open up and talk to me. I told her it wasn't a good idea. It's not like you've been all sulky and moody or something, and I told her if you wanted to talk to her and Ron about last term, you would when you were ready. But you know how Hermione can be, she kept pestering me about it." She gave Harry an imploring look. "Please don't be mad at me."

Harry blew out an annoyed breath and sat down in a chair. "I'm not mad at you Ginny, not at all. I know how Hermione can get, believe me." Harry smiled softly at her. "I've been talking to Professor Lupin a lot this year, as well as Dumbledore."

Ginny came over and sat next to Harry. She placed one small hand on his knee. "You should tell Hermione that. If she knows you're talking about it with someone, I'm sure she'll leave it be."

Harry took a quick breath. "No, Hermione's one of those people who worries over a thing until it's resolved to her own satisfaction."

"Harry, you're being too harsh on her," Ginny chastised him softly.

"Maybe."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Ginny gave another sigh and, leaving her hand on his knee, turned to face him fully. "I have a small confession to make."

Harry looked up at her. "Yes?"

"I wanted you to help me tonight anyway. I still haven't managed to cast a real patronus, and I thought if I could get you to help me..." Ginny trailed off and looked away shyly.

Harry blinked in confusion again. "Hermione can cast a corporeal patronus, too."

Ginny nodded, her face suddenly solemn. "Yes, but – but I know that you learned to do it first, and you taught her how, and well, I just–" Ginny swallowed. "I see that diary and hear Tom Riddle's voice in my head anytime a Dementor gets too close. I don't really want to go through all that with Hermione." Ginny smiled a wicked little smile. "You know how she is, she'll want to–"

"–talk about how it makes you feel," Harry finished, laughing lightly.

"Right," Ginny nodded. "I'm not interested in how it makes me feel. I just want it to go away."

Harry patted her hand and stood up. "I think we can work on that."

For the next twenty minutes Harry coached Ginny, trying to get a real corporeal patronus to appear. Ginny tried different memories, but none of them seemed to be working.

"Look, Ginny, try that little wrist flick like I showed you when you say the incantation." Harry moved to stand behind her. He reached around and placed his hand over her wand hand. "Like this," he said, mimicking the movement. "Try to cast it while I guide your hand.”

Ginny nodded and took a deep breath. Harry felt her body inch back into his until suddenly Ginny Weasley was pressed against him in an almost too familiar way. At first he was amazed by how well they seemed to fit together. Then he swallowed and started to pull away, but he was too late: Ginny had begun casting the spell. Harry tried to push aside the sudden odd feeling in his stomach and moved to guide her wrist movement.

"Expecto Patronum!" Ginny cried, allowing Harry to guide the wrist flick before she pulled forward a bit, drawing Harry closer to her. She grinned to herself as she felt Harry – react – to being in such close physical contact with her. It was nice to know that in some ways Harry really was a perfectly normal sixteen-year-old boy. It didn't hurt to remind him of that once in awhile.

What neither of them was prepared for was the giant Welsh Common Green dragon that burst forth and roared into the room before returning to Ginny's wand.

Ginny spun around on the spot, excitement radiating from her small body. "That was wicked! Thank you, Harry." She bounced happily and grabbed Harry around the neck.

Harry Potter stood stunned as Ginny Weasley wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped up. His feet were not set properly, and he felt himself tipping backward. Instinctually he grabbed for the nearest object to steady himself. The fact that this object happened to be Ginny did not occur to him, nor did the fact that her feet weren't touching the ground.

Harry toppled over onto his back, pulling Ginny with him.

Ginny Weasley looked down into the startled eyes of Harry Potter. She stifled a giggle at the stunned look on the face of the young man lying under her. For a moment she held his eyes, and then she leaned closer to him and smiled broadly. "Thank you, Harry. That's the first time I've ever cast a corporeal patronus." Ginny pushed herself up onto her hands and, keeping contact with Harry for as long as possible, slid backward a few inches before pushing off and standing. She held a hand down to him.

Harry Potter stared stupidly at the offered hand, then tentatively reached out and clasped it. For a few moments on the floor, Ginny Weasley had been so close to him that he could literally count every freckle on her face. He had never noticed before how dark her brown eyes were or how cute her little nose was. He had always known, at least on an intellectual level, that Ginny Weasley was a girl, but now, after having her lying on top of him on the floor...

Harry blushed and tried to push the thought away as he rose to his feet with her assistance. He looked down at Ginny, who was giving him a searching look.

Harry swallowed hard. "Um – yeah – that was – that was great Ginny and – uh – I'm–" He paused as she stepped closer to him and gave him a concerned look.

"You're what, Harry? Are you okay?"

"Fine!" Harry squeaked. He backed toward the door. "I'm just – fine." He said in a more normal, if rushed voice.

Ginny nodded and regarded him with solemn eyes. "Okay. I'm glad you're fine, Harry." She took a step toward him.

Harry gulped once. "I need to go finish that essay for McGonagall!" he said, turning toward the door.

Ginny Weasley watched, amazed, as Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived and savior apparent of the wizarding world, turned and fled from the room.

A small smile played across her face. "Perfect," she whispered to herself.

***

Harry Potter fled down the corridor back to the Gryffindor common room. He wasn't sure what he was feeling all of a sudden, but it couldn't possibly be good.

Could it?

He stopped at the other end of the corridor from the Fat Lady. It wouldn't do for anyone to see him this flustered, and flustered he was. He took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself and stood quietly, waiting for his pulse to settle. It wasn't that he had never had a reaction like that to a girl before, he was a teenage boy after all, but Ginny?

Ron's little sister?

Not so little sister, a voice whispered in his head. Quite a pretty girl, actually.

Harry placed his hands on his knees and bent at the waist, trying to calm his breathing a bit more. He took a deep breath and stood up.

I'm okay, he kept telling himself. It was just a normal biological reaction.

You've never reacted like that to Hermione, the voice said.

I've never had Hermione lying on top of me, Harry thought. He paused as a new thought occurred to him.

The inner voice chuckled. You've never wanted Hermione lying on top of you, either.

Shut it, you! Harry thought, stalking through the portrait hole into the common room. He walked over to the study table where he had left his books and settled down. He sharpened a quill, perhaps shaving off the excess nub a bit too violently. He took a deep breath and plunged the quill into the ink well. He had an essay to write. He didn’t even notice when Hermione and Ron joined him at the table ten minutes later.

Five minutes after that, Ginny Weasley returned to the common room. Harry's head snapped up when he heard her soft sigh. She flashed him a smile, and he ducked his head, focusing on his parchment. Ginny walked up to the table and sat down next to Harry.

"So how did the revision go?" Hermione asked.

"It was great," Ginny said. "I managed to cast a real patronus for the first time."

"That's fabulous, Ginny!" Hermione said happily.

Harry continued to scratch away at the essay.

Ron gave his sister a fond look. "That must have been some kind of happy memory."

Harry's quill stopped moving.

Ginny smiled a wicked little smile. "Oh yes, it was." She touched her knee to Harry's under the table.

Harry swallowed and tried to fight down his rising blush.

"Well, I'm very happy for you, Ginny," Hermione said crisply. "I knew that Harry would prove a good tutor. Perhaps Harry could take over all your defense revisions?"

"That would be brilliant," Ron said sharply. "If you must revise, why not work with the best tutor available? What do you say, Harry?"

"Um, yeah, sure," Harry mumbled.

Ginny turned toward him and smiled. "Thank you, Harry," she said softly.

Harry blinked twice in rapid succession. Her nose really was the cutest thing. "No problem," he said, trying to fight down a blush again. "I'd love to help."

Ginny smiled broadly and touched his arm. "I appreciate that."

Harry jumped slightly at the touch and upset his inkwell. He stood rapidly but over-balanced and ended up reaching toward the table to steady himself. His left hand smashed into the rapidly running ink and splattered it on Hermione, who was sitting across from him.

"S-sorry," Harry muttered.

"It's okay," Hermione drew her wand and cleaned up the mess.

"I – um – think I'll just go to bed. Yeah – tired – sleep – bed." Harry turned and started toward the stairs, leaving his books, quills and the remains of his ink behind.

"Good-night, Harry," Ron and Hermione chimed together.

"'Night," Harry mumbled, retreating rapidly.

"Good-night, Harry," Ginny called softly.

Harry turned to look at her, but his feet kept moving. He stumbled over a low divan and flipped over it. Harry popped right back up and looked at Ginny, who was smiling slightly. "Um – good-night, Ginny." Harry turned like a startled cat and fled up the stairs.

Ron gave Ginny and Hermione a confused look. "What was that all about?"

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other and giggled.

"Turnabout," Ginny said between giggles.

For a moment Ron's face took on a confused expression, and then he suddenly understood. He smiled broadly at his sister. "Good for you."

Ginny smiled thankfully at her brother and then turned to look up the boys’ staircase, where Harry had just disappeared. She wondered, if she were to walk up those stairs, would she find a pair of emerald eyes peering at her from behind a door? She decided to let things rest for now. Whether he really understood what was happening or not, Harry had shown her that he was attracted to her and did know she was a girl. Harry had tipped his hand, and Ginny saw no reason to let him off the hook easily.

Ginny Weasley's smile broadened. It didn't matter if this was her OWLs year; it was going to be the best school year ever.