Sighing heavily, Harry collapsed into the nearest chair in the common room. Glancing out the window, he saw snow and sleet falling out of the grey sky. "That's how I feel right about now," he thought, sighing again. He didn't understand what was going on with himself these days; he was feeling lonely and he suddenly found himself watching Ginny Weasley fly around at Quiddich practice, walk in the halls between classes, and eat her meals. It had been almost a year and a half since he had dated someone, and he felt like he was ready to begin dating again. "The trouble is," he thought, "there is only one person I can see myself with." And that person happened to be Ginny Weasley.

            Hours turned into minutes, and minutes turned into seconds, and before he knew it, Harry had finished with his classes and was down in the Great Hall finishing up his dinner… right next to Ginny. "She agreed to meet him," she whispered, leaning into Harry. Breathing in her fresh scent, Harry leaned toward her also. After a few seconds, he looked at her blankly and said, "Huh?" She looked at him in amusement and then said, "You know… Hermione and Ron… your best friends?" Turning beet red, Harry said, "OH… er… good." His hand shook, and he dropped his fork, which clattered loudly onto his plate. "Are you alright?" Ginny asked, the smile gone from her face. "I – I'm fine," he said, and the matter was settled.

            Harry stiffly walked beside Ginny to the library as she talked. There was an awkward silence and Harry decided to break it by asking, "So why aren't you hanging out with Mikey tonight?" Ginny frowned and said, "We're not attached at the hip, you know." The conversation should have ended right there, but before he could stop himself, Harry blurted out, "Could have fooled me." Boy, was that a mistake. Her face turning red instantly, Ginny replied in a fierce, yet low tone of voice, "For your information, Harry James Potter, I decided not to hang out with Mike tonight so you wouldn't be lonely!" She put her hands on her hips, daring him to respond. "Me?" he asked skeptically, crossing his arms and frowning. Speaking more intensely, Ginny said, "You know, I consider you a friend. And when stuff started about this Ron and Hermione thing, I began to think that you might start to feel left out and a little lonely. So, I decided to try to hang out with you more." Her crossness faded away as she turned and calmly said, "Good night, Potter," and headed back toward the Gryffindor common room.