A/N: This was the first HP fanfic I ever wrote way back in January
2001. Thanks to Honeychurch for the beta help : )
GINNY’S SECOND CHANCE
Ginny Weasley sat curled up in her favourite chair in the Gryffindor
common room. It was located in the corner, between the window
and the fireplace, and gave her the entire view of the room as well
as some of the grounds outside. A storm was brewing, rain had
begun to fall harshly against the windowpanes, and every once in a
while, a flash of lightening would cast eerie shadows inside.
No one was around, since it was rather late, and the only light came
from the slowly dying fire. Ginny was too excited to sleep,
and just let her mind drift over the evenings events, hoping to relive
them again.
She had recieved her second chance tonight. Harry had finally
asked her to the Yule ball, and it was all she could do not to run
through the halls of Hogwarts, screaming out her joy at the top of
her lungs. Ginny had a crush on Harry since before she started
Hogwarts, and although he was always nice to her, she had long given
up hope that he saw more in her than just his best friend's sister.
She was always tongue-tied around him, always blushed furiously every
time she had even stood near him, afflictions which she now had some
small measure of control over. Harry had taken her crush in
stride for the past few years, until this past term when she started
to notice that he began to react to her presence in the same way;
his cheeks would turn pink and he would start stammering, as if his
mind and lips were not working properly.
She smiled at the thought of some of the things she had done to him
in her younger days, like sending him a singing Valentine from a troll.
It was on a dare from her older brothers Fred and George, who lived
for causing mischief. Harry was teased about it for months from
her brothers, and more annoyingly, from Draco Malfoy. She had
not intended to give Malfoy any more ammunition against Harry, and
had not even thought about the consequences of sending it out, until
it was too late. That was the year that Harry had saved her
life from Voldemort, and had earned her undying love.
Her thoughts then drifted to the first Yule Ball, held two years
ago, and how she was so close to going to the ball with Harry.
She was in her third year, and was praying that someone would ask
her, since only fourth years and above were allowed to go. She
had known that Harry waited until the very last minute to go, but
she had seen him earlier in the hall with Cho Chang, and just knew
that Cho had said yes (How could she have said no?). It wasn't
until later that evening that she found out he had been turned down,
when she had already accepted Neville Longbottom's invitation to go.
Her brother Ron, who had also waited until the last minute, demanded
that Harry go with Ginny. She cried herself to sleep that night,
wondering had she refused Neville, would Harry have asked her.
After that first Ball, Ginny felt better that Harry didn’t have any
fun at all, shameful though it was. Her feet still hurt from
Neville's dancing.
The fire began to crackle, jerking her from her daydreaming.
Settling back down further in the chair, Ginny mused idly over the
events of the day. She had just left the dining hall, heading
straight for the dungeon where she had double potions with Snape.
She was attempting to get there early, so as to not end up sharing
a table with some of the meaner Slytherins in the classroom.
Snape had never liked her, although she never did anything wrong in
his class. She always tried to not do anything that would attract
his attention. As she was heading down the stairs, a voice had
stopped her.
"Ginny! Wait up!" It was Harry. Ginny turned and saw him running
to catch up to her. He was now more handsome than ever (in Ginny’s
unbiased opinion), his eyes were still the same startling green, he
was now much taller, and his body became a bit more muscled, from
all those Quidditch practices. His voice had changed to a deep
tenor in his fifth year, and Ginny loved nothing more than to listen
to him speak.
"Hello Harry," she said when he had reached her. "What's up?"
she asked in what she hoped was a casual voice.
Harry leaned against the wall, and began to draw lazy circles around
the bricks. "I was...erm...just wondering," his eyes followed
his fingers and his cheeks had turned a deep shade of pink, "if you....were
going to the Ball with anyone?"
Ginny's heart began to quicken its pace. "Uh, no. No one's
asked me." She felt her own cheeks grow warm.
Harry's eyes met hers. He paused for a second, as if not really
hearing her. "Do you, uh...wanna go with me?" He took
a deep breath. "If you want?"
Ginny went numb. It was as if she had left her body, and was
watching the strange scenario take place from above. "Sure,
that would be great." She heard herself reply.
He gave her a bright smile, like she had somehow pronounced him king
of the world. "Great! So, I'll see you later, then?"
"Yeah." Ginny was certain he could hear her heart pounding
over her words. "I've gotta go...I'll be late for class."
Harry squeezed her hand and slowly let go.
How Ginny had made it through the rest of the day, she never
knew. She existed in a fog where nothing seemed real.
She remembered Snape yelling at her for not paying attention in class,
which resulted in twenty points deducted from Gryffindor. She accidentally
poured one too many beetle intestines in her cauldron, turning her
potion a bright green, which reminded her of Harry's eyes. She
didn't see him at dinner, he was out at late Quidditch practice.
********************************
She snuggled deeply into the chair, and her eyes drifted shut.
She never heard the person come through the portrait hole, dripping
and exhausted from practice. Feeling another presence in the
room, green eyes scanned around, stopping on the small form sleeping
in a comfortable chair. He silently padded over to her, pausing
as he noted her soft smile. Harry had never seen anyone sleep
and smile at the same time. His heart flip-flopped at her peaceful
expression. Not wanting to waken her, he quietly took a quilt
from the nearby chest, and draped it over her, tucking it in at the
corners. He stood over her a moment longer, memorizing her features.
With a light caress to her cheek, he tiptoed upstairs to his room.
