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Author: Majick Story: I Can Read You Like A... Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 20 Words: 11,555
This story starts when I was twelve years old and I found someplace I could call home. I suppose that sounds melodramatic, but it's true. Only when I went to the Burrow for the first time did I really feel like I'd found someplace I could be happy, where I could be me without being made to feel like I was failing in some way. That first morning, when Ginny came running down the stairs, banged into the kitchen, took one look at me, and ran back upstairs again... It was a bit of a shock, really. The rest of the holidays, I kept trying to catch more than a fleeting glimpse of Ginny, but it wasn't until we went to Diagon Alley that she even said more than a word or two in front of me. In fact, she stuck up for me in front of Draco Malfoy. And while I was still getting over hearing her say something, Malfoy turned on her. 'Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend,' he drawled. Ron may always say he wants to lay one on Malfoy, and Hermione may actually have hit him, but if Mr Weasley hadn't shown up at that point, I'd have hexed him as hard as I could. He had no right to make fun of her, the nasty little swine... After that, it seemed like Ginny got to be even more distant. Ron even teased her a bit about what Malfoy said. He thought it was pretty funny. We went back to school, and what with everything that happened that year, I never really got the chance to get to know Ginny any better. I just sort of supposed she had other friends, she was doing other things... When I found out it had been her opening the Chamber, I really felt ill. Over the next few years, things were just... awkward between us, right up until we were involved in that fight in the Ministry, I suppose. I realised after I went back to Privet Drive this last summer that I had to talk to Ginny more. Voldemort had possessed her. I needed to know more about him. In the process, I could learn more about her, too. I sort of felt that it was something I owed her. When I got to the Burrow this year, I resolved not to let any more time go by, and I really did get to know Ginny pretty well that summer. Once we'd talked about the Chamber, and Voldemort, and everything else, I felt a lot better. She was just fun to be around. And then we found out that we both supported Puddlemere United. We talked about the Pudds, and that got us talking about life after Hogwarts, and about family and friends and school and, well, everything. Ginny was so full of life, even after all she went through, that for the first time I found myself really seeing a life after school. Not just fighting the Dark forces, which seems to be how things are going to go, but finding time for myself, maybe even time to settle down. I guess I always knew that I could rely on my friends when I needed them, but the way Ginny chatted happily about life, and family, and stuff like that... She made me see that I could rely on them when I didn't need them. That they would be there for stuff like birthdays, and Quidditch matches, and when I needed help putting up shelves. A friend is for life, not just for life-or-death. It seems pretty stupid I never noticed that before, but I suppose I had, in a way. I just never thought it through to the point where I'd have a life where my friends weren't all living in the same corner of Hogwarts as me. By the end of the holidays, Ginny and me spent so much time together that Fred and George were whistling the wedding march whenever they saw us. Being Fred and George, of course, they whistled it really slow and mournful, like a funeral march. Well, until Ginny put Ton Tongue Toffees into their lasagne one night. Still, it was nice spending all that time with her. Ron's always been so emotionally open, and Hermione is almost too smart for her own good. Ginny was somewhere in the middle. She was intelligent, without being logical all the time, emotional, without erupting over Fred getting more sausages at breakfast. She was great to spend time with. So, when Hermione read out that card, and it seemed like Ginny had started to like someone again, it felt weird, except I sort of recognised that feeling. I was jealous. I realised that I'd fallen for Ginny without even noticing it. I couldn't quite believe it as I walked through the common room, half in a daze. I couldn't really put words to how it happened, just that the thought of Ginny going off with someone else was really uncomfortable. I was being selfish, but I didn't want to share her, not after I'd just found her. I really didn't like feeling like that, at all. So, I decided I had to talk to Ginny, just get it out in the open, let her choose between me and this other boy. I was torn though, between going up to check on Ron, who was probably in our dormitory, and going straight to Ginny. In the end, after an indecisive five minutes, I figured that Ron'd probably cheer up when I told him that his sister laughed in my face when I asked her out. So there I was, standing by the study corner that her and Hermione had gone to, about to say something. And that's when I heard what they were saying. "Ginny?" I said. The girls froze when they saw me standing there. Whatever they'd been talking about, they shut up straight away. "Harry?" Ginny breathed. "Were you... Did you... How long have you been standing there?" "Er... Not long," I replied. "Ginny, can we talk?" She didn't say anything, just looked at Hermione who still hadn't moved. "Hermione, can we have a few moments alone, please?" "Of course," Hermione said, suddenly moving again. She walked towards me like she'd just been hit with the Jelly Legs Jinx. I tried to catch her eye on the way past, but she just stared at the floor. Instead, I looked at Ginny, and my heart jumped into my mouth. She looked so gorgeous in the moonlight. There was just something about Ginny at that moment that made me come over all light-headed. From what Sirius and Lupin told me about my parents, it felt like what my dad used to say he felt like when he saw my mum. And I really don't know what to make of that. Anyway, before I start to dwell on my parents, let me get back to the story. I was standing there, Ginny was standing over there, and nothing seemed to be happening to get us closer together. I don't know if you've ever had the feeling when you're feeling all hot and flustered that your knees aren't working properly? They just seem to want to spring out at all angles. It makes walking really impossible. It's a horrible problem that seems to hit me worse than anyone. Ron and Hermione seem to be okay. Eventually, I managed to sort of half-walk, half-stagger to her. Now, I know it was dark in that corner of the common room, and I know Ginny has pretty fair skin, but I would swear she almost looked white as a ghost. I wanted to reach out and touch her, partly to make sure she was all right –she looked a bit sick- and, well, partly because I just wanted to touch her. So I did. I reached out and stroked her cheek. She jumped like I'd shocked her, which made me jump. We laughed, which helped break the tension. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. I tried to think of something to say, something that would hint at what I wanted to talk about. Casting my mind about, I tried to think about what anyone else might say in my place. "Ginny, who's this boy you like?" was what I came out with. In the back of my head, I could hear Fred and George laughing themselves hoarse. Really, I suppose I shouldn't have gone with what they would have said. But, again, being around Ginny Weasley seemed to be different to being around anyone else. I screwed up my courage, and tried to meet Ginny's eyes. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do, especially as I halfway suspected she was going to be absolutely furious with me. Instead, she looked a little shocked, certainly surprised that I'd asked, but nervous too. Momentarily, I tried to work out who this guy was, that Ginny was so nervous about owning up to liking him. Why on earth hadn't I come to my senses earlier? Ginny looked at me, seeming to calm down a little, as though she'd thought I was going to be angry. "Why... Why do you want to know?" she stammered. I could have kicked something. If Draco Malfoy had walked past just then, he'd have been hexed into the middle of next week. There was someone, and now I had to choose between letting Ginny go on with her life, or trying to force myself back into it, like a set of robes that no longer fit. "Erm, well, I..." I managed. Hopeless. Whoever this guy was (Dean? Please don't let it be Dean. I couldn't cope with sharing a room with the guy if it was), he almost certainly deserved Ginny way more than the tongue-tied, fumbling, bumbling idiot who stood in front of her at that moment. "Well, what's he like? Why do you like him?" Anything to buy some time, I decided. Ginny seemed to regain some colour as she thought about the boy of her dreams. I almost pulled a face, but remembered I was supposed to be honourable, and gracious, and all that dragon dung. "Well," Ginny said, taking a deep breath. "He's a Quidditch player, he's really brave, he can be really funny, but he's also one of the most... intense people I know..." she tailed off, looking down at the ground. "He's sweet, and kind, he'd do anything for his friends... And I'd do anything for him." I was lost. Completely at sea. Who on earth was she talking about? I decided to take a chance, try and see if she was really as into this bloke as she seemed to be. I took a deep, deep breath. "Ginny, listen," I said. "Um..." I dried up. Completely. I wanted to say it so much, but I couldn't. Then I thought about Ron and Hermione, and how obvious it was that they liked each other, and how much it had been starting to get on my nerves that neither one would admit it. Thinking that at least I'd be able to say I tried, I straightened up and looked Ginny square in the eye. "Ginny, I like you, I really, really like you. More than just friendship like, I mean," I said, cursing myself as I did so for my clumsiness. "I'm sorry to tell you this now, just when you're starting to like someone else, but I just had to tell you. I don't know who this other guy is, but..." And that's about where my courage failed me. With Ginny standing there with her mouth open, not having made a sound since I said those fateful words, I tailed off. "Oh, Gin, I'm sorry..." I said, before turning on my heel and walking away from her. I staggered through the common room, only vaguely seeing and certainly not hearing all the chaos going on around me. I stumbled up the stairs, feeling as though my mind was separate from my body and had only the vaguest control over its limbs. Fortunately, the door to my room was open. Something as complicated as turning a doorknob was beyond me right then. I went through the door, and threw myself onto the bed face first. After a few seconds, when normal service seemed to have returned to my body, I got up to pull the curtains closed around me. It was as I did this I realised that Ron was coming over to me. "Er, Harry? You all right mate?" he asked. Ron is a wonderful guy, my best friend in the entire world, but I somehow had this feeling that I'd been wrong earlier. If I told Ron I'd asked his sister out, he wouldn't think it was funny. He's always been pretty protective of Ginny. He may say that it's because his mum always tells him to keep an eye on her, but I know different. "No," I said. "Just... I don't want to talk about it, Ron. Not tonight." "Well, okay. You know where I am if you change your mind," he said. I looked after him unhappily as he turned and walked back toward his bed. Only now was it starting to hit me that what I'd said to Ginny could have a lasting effect on my friendship with Ron as well. What would he think of me if Ginny said anything? And she surely would, if not directly to Ron, but word gets around. Just for once, the gossipmongers would have a piece of gossip every bit as juicy as the ones they dream about. "Ron?" The voice I heard was muffled as I shut the curtains around my bed. It was definitely female though. I lay back and shut my eyes, not wanting to hear another conversation between Ron and Hermione where they dance around their feelings for one another before finally breaking into a huge argument. It was getting to be a real pain. I may have mentioned that before. If so, my apologies. I do get rather sidetracked. I could spend as long moaning about those two as they do moaning about one another. Anyway, this is all a roundabout way of saying that it wasn't Hermione that Ron was talking to, but Ginny. And she was asking him to give us some privacy. My stomach sank. I don't know why people say their hearts sank. It's always my stomach. Sometimes I feel like I have a Quidditch team practising in there, sometimes, like now, it just drops like I swallowed one of Hagrid's rock cakes. "Harry?" she said. I didn't reply. I wasn't trying to be rude, I just couldn't think of anything to say to her. "Harry? Please talk to me," she said. "Don't be angry with me, please." I sat up and drew the curtains open. Ginny was standing there, wringing her hands together. I know it's not the most complimentary of comparisons, but she reminded me of Dobby when he gets nervous. "I'm not angry, not with you," I said. "I'm angry with myself. I'm sorry for saying those things. It was really wrong of me. Whoever this guy is you like, I shouldn't have tried to interfere. I have no right to say stuff like that to you, just because I finally realised..." I tailed off. "Realised? Realised what?" she said. I sighed. "Gin, please don't make me say this," I said. She stared at me, a little worried, but the expression on her face unmistakably curious. I looked down at the dormitory floor, knowing that there was only one way out of the mess I'd landed myself in. "Look, you're great, okay? I finally realised that. I've had Ron going on all this time about how you're normally really chatty, and Hermione says it's nice to have someone around other than boys to talk to and... Well, they both like you a lot, you know? I suppose I should have paid more attention to them before now, because just as I'm starting to appreciate for myself how much fun you are to be around, how... how alive you are..." I sighed again, and looked up at her. "Just as I finally start to realise all that, you start to like some guy I don't know, and now I'm not going to get to spend any time with you." I smiled, grimly. "I guess you could say it's only fair, after all the years I spent ignoring you." She looked down on me, and for a second I thought I'd offended her. She looked furious, her cheeks bright red, then she unclenched her hands, letting them drop to her side. She sat down beside me on the bed, looking as though she was tensed to spring up at any moment. I looked at her curiously, but she kept her eyes fixed on the floor. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out something I immediately recognised. It was her card. The picture on it showed Ginny running trough the fields behind the Burrow, turning to laugh at the person with the camera before racing on ahead. She had flowers twisted in her hair and was wearing a simple sundress. She reached out, holding the card in front of me. I took it, and stared blankly at the picture. "You might want to read the description of me," she said in a whisper. "If you're feeling so terrible about being honest to me, maybe you can help me work out a way to get this boy I like to stop being so stupid? I've tried, quite a bit in fact, but he still always seems to see the worst of every situation..." Well, if anyone could stop a person doing that, Ginny would be it. So I turned over the card, dreading what I was about to see. I read the description, eager to delay by a few seconds the impending blow. "Ginny Weasley is the youngest of Molly and Arthur's Weasleys seven children, and the only girl," I read. "A vivacious redhead, she is particularly adept at Astronomy and Charms. The legend of the seventh child is one commonly heard in magical lore, and Ginny has already proven herself to be a powerful witch, fighting against the ghost of He-Who-Must-Not-Named for nearly a year until she was finally too worn out to keep him away. She has vast potential and may prove to be vital in the fight against Voldemort, especially if her desired union with Harry Potter ever comes to pass. Ginny is a longstanding fan of the Puddlemere United Quidditch team." "Oh," I said, after several seconds. And yes, I really did read all the way to the end of the card before what I'd read sank in. I turned to her, and tried to control the huge grin spreading across my face. "Me?" I asked. She coloured red again, and this time I recognised it as a blush. Ron doesn't blush anything like that. That's pretty irrelevant, I know, but still, he doesn't. "You," she replied. "So, now you can read me like a Chocolate Frog card rather than a... a..." "A horoscope?" I suggested. My Divination despair was becoming legendary in Gryffindor tower. "Yes, that. Anyway, is there anything you want to say?" Now, I may be slow on the uptake at times, but I try and make up for it. Well, except for Snape. He may have saved my life, not actually been involved in any of the evil plots I've uncovered, and generally turned out to be on the right side, but I still think he's a slimy git. Anyway, I took Ginny's hand in mine and tried once more, unsuccessfully once more, to try and control my grin. "Gin, I'm sorry for being really stupid, I'm sorry for being a horrible pessimist and I'm really sorry for making you come in here and be subjected to the odour five guys make just by living in one room. I'll try and look on the bright side more often, though having you around me a lot would certainly help, so would you please, please, please go out with me?" "Well, I grew up with six brothers, so the smell isn't as big a problem as you might think," Ginny replied, smiling impishly at me. "As for going out with you..." she paused. "Of course I will." To which there could only be one reply, really. But it didn't involve me saying anything much, so I'm not going to go into details. There
were plenty of words the next morning, of course, once it finally
dawned on Ron why he'd been left in the common room for half an hour in
his pyjamas. Everyone was saying how nice he looked in maroon,
apparently. Of course, Hermione and him had had another argument,
although whether it was connected to Ron's pyjamas I doubt even they
could say. Really, it can take some people so long to realise what's
perfectly obvious to everyone else. Maybe there's a spell that could
help them? The End
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