Dinner had been a quick affair with Ginny staring a bit dazedly at the Ravenclaw table and not really paying a lick of attention to the people around her. She was pretty sure they all noticed her lack of attention, but no one bothered to point it out. Maybe they thought she was sick. Who knew. She’d only stayed long enough to get some food in her before excusing herself to Gryffindor Tower in order to prepare for her date that evening. She felt a little giddy each time she thought about it, then she would mentally slap herself. She had a date! But she wasn’t some girly-girl like Lavender Brown.

Ginny had climbed the stairs to her dorm room and was rummaging in her trunk for some clothes that would suit whatever the Ravenclaw had planned for her. She grabbed the snug pair of light jeans she’d worn on the train ride and smirked, remembering how the boy had reacted to her appearance then. He seemed to appreciate the way these pants hugged her curves… She slipped out of the clothes she’d donned for class, pulling on the jeans and grinning full out. She wasn’t sure how into quidditch the boy was, but she thought he might appreciate the tee she grabbed. Jersey style in nature, it hung a bit high on her toned stomach from a few too many washes. Perfect.

The black shirt had maroon sleeves, decorated with gold rings at her elbows where they ended. The Gryffindor lion rested proudly on the front in the medieval style that she loved, and on the back was “WEASLEY” with a smaller font reading “CHASER”. On the bottom of the shirt, resting on the small of her back, was “Gryffindor Quidditch.” The upper script was in peeling gold, while the lower was a similar peeling maroon. The lion was gold to match. It was one of her prized possessions, and no matter how many times Molly tried to get her to throw it out as it was ‘too small,’ Ginny managed to sneak it away and wear it again.

She swept her brush through her thick hair, leaving it down and full, then put her wand in her back pocket and vaulted down the stairs. It was about twenty minutes before Riley was supposed to meet her. She had just enough time to make up some excuse to her friends and slip out to meet him in the hall.

When her feet hit the floor of the common room, Ginny was met with the emerald eyes of one Harry Potter. Just the boy she wanted to talk to. If she was going on a date, she thought they might need to have that conversation she was planning about saving each other for later and dating around for now. She just didn’t know exactly how to start it. “Er, hey Harry,” she said, looking a bit frazzled as she knew he’d notice she’d changed and kind of prettied herself up. “What’s up?”

The first three days of classes had flown by in something of a blur, and Harry never remembered being this busy this early in all his time here, and that was without considering the extra burden that was put on him by the start of N.E.W.T. level classes. He wasn't the same around Ron and Hermione, no matter how much he wanted to be. He was avoiding Dumbledore like the Headmaster carried the black plague. He and Malfoy had almost every class together, and yet neither seemed inclined to start anything, a fact that was bound to be noticed soon if it didn't change. Oh, and he was two nights away from a secret meeting with Padfoot's daughter that he hadn't told anyone at all about yet.

All of this meant that for the first time in his life, Harry Potter was actually glad to have a pile of homework to do. He intended to spend his Wednesday evening hidden in a corner of the common room, writing essays for Potions and Transfiguration, practicing Charms, and answering an insane list of questions that Snape had set during his first ever lesson as the Defense teacher.

He bolted an early dinner and then found just such a corner. He was just beginning to pull books and other necessary supplies when he saw a familiar red head coming directly towards him. "Nothing much," he shot her with a look of fake exasperation, "just drowning in homework when we're not even a week in yet." Just because he was glad for it meant that he was going to advertise that fact. He had a reputation for laziness and struggles against his mountain of homework to maintain.

He gave the younger witch a look up and down at that point, noting that this was the look she adopted when she really wanted to show off for someone. The only difference was that she had swapped the ruined Holyhead one for her second favorite tee, the one she had earned when he got banned from Quidditch last year. It still amused him that she had had it branded Chaser, not even wanting to step on his toes when it wasn't clear if he was ever coming back or not.

He had assumed from the brief glance he got on the train before going to meet Ron and Hermione that the target had been him, but if so, he target appeared to have shifted from the strange look she was giving him now. Harry found himself to be more okay with that than he had realized he would be, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but he knew he wasn't in a place where he could risk losing Ginny by dating her badly, and he couldn't exactly trust himself to date anyone well.

Somehow, all of this translated to his teasing smile from yesterday coming back in full force as he addressed her. "So, who's the lucky guy?"

“Damn, that pile looks wicked,” she commented, assessing the work that Harry had mentioned. Ginny probably should have been working on some schoolwork as well, considering OWLs were this year, but she was much too excited about what tonight might hold, so she happily disregarded any homework that lay about her bed upstairs.

Of course, she noticed how Harry looked her up and down, and she couldn’t help but grin at him when he came to his conclusion. Of course her best friend would know what was going on without her even saying anything.  And his smile told her he wasn’t hurt by it at all, either. That was a relief, and it pulled a smile to her own lips easily. She sat down in the corner area that Harry had claimed, then gave him an appreciative look before running a hand through her hair and willing the pink tint to leave her cheeks.

“The guy I kissed on the train,” she muttered, knowing the blush was growing deeper despite her desire for it to go away. “He’s a Ravenclaw in my year. I doubt he knows what he’s getting into, to be honest, but he deserves it.” She laughed, figuring Harry could figure out what that meant. Ginny wasn’t the easiest girl to date, since she was far from easy to impress, and if anyone knew that it would be Harry. She felt like this conversation was finally going right, and she could finally talk about what she really wanted to with the boy.

With a focused gaze, Ginny looked at Harry and started speaking again, this time in a much more serious tone. “You know, I wasn’t going to date anyone this year,” she said simply, looking at the older boy with questions hidden within her eyes. “But I realized something. There’s too much going on. Too much left to chance right now. It doesn’t seem like the time for… serious pursuits, you know? I might know that I care deeply about someone, but it isn’t the right time for that. Not to make it known or act on it, I mean.”

She swallowed audibly, wondering what the boy before her might have to say to that. Would he know what she was talking about? She had faith that he was smarter than her brother, but she still wasn’t entirely sure just how he felt about her. “This year should be about having fun while we turn the world as we know it upside down. I mean, we’ve already befriended a snake and decided to go against the man we’ve blindly followed for years now, right? Why not have a bit of fun with dating as well…”

Harry sort of just nodded his acknowledgement when she told him about the guy. He had known there was more than the rumors said going on with the train, and maybe less in some ways, hopefully, so that made sense. At the same time, she hadn't really told him anything about the guy at all. Harry wondered whether she just didn't know him that well, or if she was actively hiding this guy from Harry. If things ever did slow down for him a little bit he really might have to go into detective mode on this situation. That could wait until the third date at least, though.

Then things suddenly got really serious, really fast. Ginny was essentially admitting that she was in love with him still, telling him that she wasn't going to actually admit it, and telling him to make no comment about his feelings for her, whatever they may be. Where in Merlin's name had that come from? Harry didn't even know how deep his feelings for the redhead went, just that he wasn't willing to risk their friendship to find out right now.

Maybe that meant that this was actually a good thing. It sounded like she might be saying she would still be there for him when they were ready to grow up, though he might have to talk to someone who spoke girl better than he did to make sure. He needed to track Hermione down soon anyway. Way too much had been going on this week while she was hiding in the library, frantically researching who knew what.

His mind turned to dating and this year, then. "I think I might have a date Friday, but I'm not really sure," he mused to himself, only half aware that he was saying it out loud. He really hoped this thing with Felicity was not a date. The only other one he had ever been on had been really terrible, and if this girl had some hidden knowledge or Sirius or was a way to connect with him again, however small, Harry had no intention of scaring her off and blowing it.

He looked up and realized that Ginny was still there. "You still have some time, right," he said, sounding a little worried, "like, I'm not making you late or anything?"

“A date? Really?” Ginny’s eyes lit up as she tried to figure out who her friend could be meeting with on Friday. The two really needed to catch up, it seemed, and it wasn’t likely that they’d go over everything necessary in the time that they currently had. They could at least catch up a good amount, however, so she was quick to answer his question. “Yeah, I have time. About fifteen minutes or so I reckon.”

Ginny grinned at her friend, trying to think of just who he might be spending time with. “So, tell me about this maybe date of yours,” she said, leaning forward so that her shirt rode up inappropriately far in the back. Since they were in a secluded corner of the common room, she was sure it wouldn’t matter. And even if anyone could see, it wasn’t like it would both Ginny. One glare and they’d be on their way with their tail between their legs.

“Riley’s actually one of the reasons I punched Parkinson on the train, you know,” she grinned at the memory. “The pug took a picture of us snogging and then tried to call me a slag for it. As if I’m anything like her…” Sometimes the redhead wondered if many others thought of her the way Pansy did. Perhaps she should as the one person who might actually be truthful with her…

She cleared her throat a little, then looked at Harry with a seriousness in her eyes. “Harry, be honest. Do you think people see me as… easy?” The truth was, she’d never even been with anyone, but people always liked to assume things. Apparently since she wasn’t an over girly-girl and she actually did what she wanted and wasn’t scared to show her sexuality, that could be seen as her being overly abundant with things. She really hoped it wasn’t how the rest of the castle saw her, but it was definitely something worth knowing. Who better to ask than the one person who had little to no reason to lie to her?

"I don't know," Harry said honestly. "I'm meeting her at midnight on Friday, and I think plans that late generally mean something." In the stress of all that had happened this week Harry was honestly forgetting that he had set the time of the meeting, falsely remembering Felicity changing the entirety of the meeting, not just making the location more specific. Hopefully he would remember everything before tomorrow and not make a fool of himself.

Harry thought about the rest of what she said carefully before he responded. He knew what she wanted him to say, he knew what he knew, and he had an idea of what the truth might be. The fact that these ideas could be so different from each other was weird. Sometimes he wished the world was more like Ron's mind last year, when one person couldn't feel all of these emotions at the same time. Feelings were hard.

"I think most of the castle respects you," he said thoughtfully, "and you can't expect most of Slytherin to be anything but gits." He stopped, thought again, not really sure he wanted to say the rest of what he thought on this matter. She had been really honest with him though, in what she said and what she hadn't, so the least he could do was respond in kind. "Though if they really think that about you, do you really think anyone would be dumb enough to say anything to ME about it?" he asked with a short half laugh.

Getting serious again, he reached more down than out, thanks to her bend, to gently touch her cheek. "Even if the entire school thinks the absolute worst of you, anyone who really knows you, knows better. We love the real you, and that's all that really matters, right?"

The conversation was getting away from her as Ginny realized just how far they’d strayed from the topic she’d wanted to discuss. Did Harry actually agree with her idea that they should relax and have fun for now, waiting on things with each other until they might focus a bit more on building that relationship? He never actually said anything on the subject, and that somewhat worried the redhead.

His brotherly touch was comforting, of course, and she couldn’t help but smile at him. “Thanks, Harry. You’re right. Anyone who wants to say that kind of bullocks about me doesn’t matter. And if they say it too loudly I can just hit ‘em with a well-aimed hex.” She winked at him then, finding that her words definitely held some truth.

“You know, you didn’t share your opinion on my earlier idea…” she said carefully, wondering if he might have avoided it for good reason. Ginny felt a bit awkward about bringing it back up, but she really did need to know Harry’s thoughts on the matter. It would make her feel so much better to know that he felt the same way.

Harry sighed deeply. It hadn't been an accident that he hadn't answered her on this earlier. He had hoped he was being given a pass, but apparently he was wrong. They both knew essentially how Ginny had felt for a long time, so she had said nothing but still expected him to let her know what was going on, as if he actually knew.

Harry did have some idea what he wanted of course, almost as much as he was sure what Ginny was saying. Getting his thoughts into words was a different problem entirely. Then again, if she was going to be his best friend and maybe eventually more for a long time, he owed it to her to do the best he could at getting this stuff out. He sighed again, opened his mouth thoughtfully, and began.

"I think there's nothing I want more than to be the guy you deserve to marry," he said with a smile that he did his best to keep happy and upbeat. "I know I'm not that guy yet. I'm not sure if we even live in a world where I can be that guy or not." His mind drifted to Trelawney's prophecy, which if legitimate, meant everything. How could he ask this amazing person to commit to forever with someone who would either be an outright killer or wouldn't last anywhere near forever? He needed to know more about memories and prophecies before he could even think about a future after Hogwarts.

For that matter, he didn't deserve her even if he could be with her forever yet. Ginny deserved the best, and Harry certainly wasn't the best boyfriend. A certain Ravenclaw seventh year could attest to that. He needed to learn to be a good boyfriend, too, before he could worry about the amazing redhead he was sitting with. He sounded more actually upbeat when he spoke again. "I think you're right about having fun for awhile. Why get serious right now? There will be time for that later, and I'll always be here for you." As a friend, and whatever else you want me to be, Harry added in his head.

She truly hadn’t expected that! When Harry said the word ‘marry,’ Ginny nearly choked on air. He actually had intentions to marry her someday? She wanted to be with him in a much more serious nature than a school time crush, but marriage? She hadn’t even thought about actually tying the knot with anyone. When she did spare such a thing a bit of her mind, she realized that Harry would definitely be one of the first guys she’d place in the starring role. Still, it seemed a bit heavy for her to even consider and she suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.

Harry Potter had basically just said he planned to marry her if he decided he was worthy. And he didn’t think he was worthy yet. Holy crap! She felt the blush rising and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Seriously? Harry cared about her that much? It was really quite flattering, and she couldn’t help but feel really good about herself for it. If she had someone so perfect as Harry Potter thinking he wasn’t good enough for her, she must be pretty special.

She grinned at him, nodding her head in agreement. “My thoughts exactly,” she answered, not really sure what all she meant were her thoughts. Did she mean that she intended to marry him too? She wasn’t really sure what she wanted in the long run. Right now, she just wanted to have fun and collect some injuries, maybe try and get into some professional quidditch after graduation…

“I’m glad you’ll always be there, Harry,” she said sincerely. The redhead could no longer hold herself back and leapt into his arms. She hugged him as tightly as she could manage, just enjoying that she had such a wonderful friend in her life. She’d always love Harry, no matter what type of relationship they were in, and she appreciated that he could deal with whatever she threw at him. “I’m here for you too, you know. Always. Don’t ever forget it. I’d go to the end of the world by your side.”

Her eyes were shining a bit as she promised him this, then she shook her head and cleared her thoughts, focusing on the time. “I’d better get going. Don’t want to keep the birdboy waiting.” With a huge grin, she climbed off of her best friend and strode to the portrait hole with confidence. She felt at ease and desirable and, on top of it all, she knew she had a friend who would never leave her. Ginny was on top of the world, and the night could only get better.