Not Afraid

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Harry Potter I'd be taking a bath in money from all of my amazing success. But unfortunately, I'm forced to take baths strictly in only water. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and I own nothing but my character and plot.

This was made for my best friend, Monika.

"Dakota, I've found a compartment!" called Ginny from down the hall.

A brunette head bobbed up from petting her cat before grinning and maneuvering through the students in the small train corridor. The pair received many stares as they joined, but they got used to it.

Ginny Weasley was the only daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley, known as blood traitors to many pureblooded families. She was also the best friend of Dakota Rose DelaRoux, a Slytherin. They didn't care about their questioned friendship however, and neither did their parents. Dakota's family was originally from France and didn't follow the ways of pureblood society quite like the ones in England did.

"I'm so excited to meet your family!" Dakota exclaimed as they sat down across from each other. She was going to the Weasley's for the first month of summer vacation because her parents were still in Paris visiting.

Ginny laughed, "You've already met about half of them at school".

It was true; she'd already met Percy, Fred, George and Ron throughout her years at Hogwarts. They were finishing their fifth year now and seeing as the twins had left the previous year, it was just Ginny and Ron.

"Still!" She protested, "I adore your family, they're so sweet".

"Not including Percy", the red head snarled, her eyes darkening. Dakota had heard all about how the pompous former Prefect abandoned the family once he gained a title in the Ministry.

Attempting to change the subject, she crossed her legs and grinned deviously at the girl in front of her. "Is Harry coming to your house for summer as well?"

Immediately, Ginny's cheeks went as red as her hair before she mumbled, "Yes".

"And how are you two?"

"What do you mean how are we?"

"Don't give me that! I'm your best mate, you can't hide a thing from me", Dakota smirked.

She blushed furiously, "Well with Cho out of the picture, I think I may have a chance".

Her eyes narrowed. "I told you to clobber the girl last year instead of waiting around like some last resort!"

A laugh erupted from her friend's lips as she shook her head, smiling. "You're such a Slytherin, Dakota".

"You still should've clobbered her".

"And have Harry hate me?!"

Dakota snorted. "I highly doubt he'd hate you when you're snogging him senseless".

Ginny shrieked and lunged at across the compartment, hitting her playfully.

"A cat fight going on in here?" a voice drawled from the doorway.

The two girls looked up to see Ron and Harry with amused expressions on their faces.

"Just being attacked by your sister", Dakota replied, grinning. She had developed a slight crush over the years on the red-headed boy – okay, a big crush – but he was Ginny's brother, so strictly off limits.

Her friend scoffed and rolled her eyes, grinning. "You deserved it".

"What did she do?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny as he and Ron sat across from them.

Immediately, her flushed more than it had a few moments ago and she faltered. "Uh, she – I – ", she sputtered.

Dakota smirked at her friend's embarrassment. "I asked her if she would ever shag Goyle", she lied easily with a shrug.

Ron's eyes darkened and Harry's lit up with laughter.

"You better not ever shag him – no, wait – you better not shag any boy", the girl's brother threatened sternly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, regaining her composure. "Oh, shut up".

The kids arrived at King's Cross station soon enough and the minute they stepped on the platform, they immediately spotted a crowd of red hair in the distance.

Dakota grinned at once they reached the family, a plump red-headed woman who she could only imagine was Mrs. Weasley engulfed Ron in a hug. She soon did the same for Ginny and Harry before turning to her.

"Oh and you must be Dakota!" she exclaimed and also hugged her.

So these were the bone-crushing hugs that Molly Weasley was famous for. As she hugged her back, looking over her shoulder she saw some of the Weasley family. The twins were present, along with a man who she took to be Mr. Weasley.

"Now, Fred take Dakota, George take Ginny. Your father and I will take Harry and Ron", she told her sons with a stern look before lightly pushing Dakota towards one of them.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" the boy protested, putting his hands on his hips and huffing.

"Merlin, woman. You call yourself our mother?" the other scoffed, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Mrs. Weasley just rolled her eyes before sighing. "I'm sorry boys".

The one who originally was mistaken for Fred laughed before taking Dakota's arm. "Only joking, mum. I am Fred!" he told his mother before disapparating to the Burrow with the brunette.

After the familiar and not so delightful sensation of being squeezed through a tube was over, Dakota found herself looking at a somewhat small house that looked incredibly inviting. She heard pops from around her, signaling the rest of the family had arrived also.

"Oh, that's adorable", she whispered and heard Ron snort from beside her.

"You can say that", he told her with a grin. "It's not much, but it's home".

"Not much?" she asked skeptically as she stepped inside, a feeling a comfort wash over her. "It's incredible!"

"Ron! Show Dakota to Ginny's bedroom!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen as she began to prepare lunch.

"This way", he said and nodded towards the stairs, taking her things.

"Mum", Fred asked as she walked up the stairs, "Why doesn't she stay in our old room?"

"Because I don't trust all of those old inventions lying around!" his mother scoffed and shooed him out of the kitchen.

"This is it", Ron shrugged as he opened a door.

Dakota smiled as she looked around the room at the posters and pictures. Definitely Ginny's room.

"Dinner will be done in a bit, so I'll come get you", the red-head told her with a smile as he walked out, shutting the door.

Oh Ron, Dakota thought, You can come get me anytime.

The first two weeks of summer passed by rather uneventfully, though Dakota thought she and Ron were flirting much more than usual. And it wasn't until one day when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were out running errands that something slightly interesting happened.

It was just the kids that were still in Hogwarts that were at home, since the twins were at the shop, Bill and Fleur were at work, and Charlie went back to Romania for the weekend.

"We're going to go play Quidditch, 'Kota", Ginny said from the doorway, her broom in hand. "Want to come?"

She shook her head, her long brown hair shaking out loosely around her. "Think I can bake a cake or something for your mum? As a way of saying thank you", she asked.

Ginny snorted. "Sure, why not? She'll probably be really touched that somebody would make her something", she laughed, "Everything you'll need is down in the kitchen".

"Sounds good", Dakota said and got up from the bed. "Have fun with Harry!".

Her friend's cheeks reddened slightly and she stuck out her tongue before walking down the stairs. Dakota grinned as she followed her down, but they parted when Ginny headed for the door and she went into the kitchen.

"I'm sure she has some cookbooks around here somewhere", she muttered to herself as she looked through the cupboards of the Weasley house.

She huffed after searching the first few cupboards and found nothing. There was only one left and she crossed her fingers in hope that at least one cookbook will be in it.

She gaped when she opened it and found a dozen or so cookbooks.

"This could work".

After getting out all of the things she would need to make Mrs. Weasley a huge cake – eggs, flour, water, milk, cocoa, icing sugar and such – she flipped through the pages of the large book until she found the right recipe.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "Homemade Extra Big Chocolate Cauldron Cake – that sounds good, don't you think, Star?"

Her cat meowed from her foot in response and she laughed.

"Yes, I do too".

She read from the book the first few instructions, following them carefully. Her grandmother had taught her how to bake when she was little and it followed her through life. All she needed was the recipes to make perfect desserts.

"One cup of milk", she read before snatching up the measuring cup and getting down at eye level with the counter to pour the liquid.

"What are you doing?" a voice came from behind her.

Dakota jumped slightly and screamed, the measuring cup almost dropping to the ground.

She placed a hand on her chest. "Merlin, Ron! You scared me!"

He chuckled. "I thought Slytherins weren't afraid of anything?"

She scoffed and placed the cup of milk on the counter, her hands resting on her hips. "That's Gryffindor courage, smartie pants".

"Well", he started as he circled her. "You certainly act as though you're not afraid of anything".

Dakota's eyes narrowed slightly, a small smile remaining on her face as she watched him circle her. "As do you, best friend of the Boy Who Lived".

Ron rolled his eyes and walked towards her, "I'm not a scaredy-cat, like you". He looked so hot to her with an almost Slytherin-like smirk on his lips; the lips that she'd do anything to meet with hers.

"I recall you being afraid of spiders", she replied and stepped back as he closed in on her.

He took another few steps towards her, the smirk still present on his face. With every step of his, she took a step behind her until her back hit the counter.

"You look quite afraid of me right now", Ron told her, his blue eyes staring into her brown ones.

"Don't flatter yourself, Weasley", she breathed when she realized just how close to her he was.

He chuckled slightly, placing his hands on the counter which left them dangerously close to her waist.

"Prove you're not afraid of me then", he whispered, she could feel his hot breath against her lips now.

She reached behind her, dipping her hand into the bowl of flour that was on the counter and flicked it at his face. She giggled slightly when she saw his mouth agape with shock.

"There", she said simply.

Before she knew what was happening, a wide puff of flour was coming straight for her face and she coughed when she felt it cover her face. Ron's smirk grew wider

"I'll get you for that", she said as her eyes narrowed and her eyes glinted deviously.

Throwing a handful of flour at Ron, she ran and ducked behind the island counter in the middle of the kitchen. Dakota gasped as he dropped some onto her head.

Soon, a full out flour throwing war had broken out in the kitchen, Harry and Ginny still oblivious to what was happening as they played Quidditch outside. The kitchen was splattered with white everywhere as laughter and playful screams filled the room.

Dakota had grabbed the last handful of flour and shoved it down Ron's shirt before attempting to run away. It failed when he grabbed her around the waist from behind and lifted her onto the counter.

She squealed in delight as he did this, throwing her head back and laughing. He joined in her laughter and without realizing it, ended up standing in between her legs while she sat on top of the kitchen counter.

When their laughter died down, they both seemed to become aware of the position they were in at the same time.

Breathing heavily, Dakota grinned. "I told you I'm not afraid of you".

Ron chuckled and said, "I don't think I'm afraid of you either, big bad Slytherin".

She shivered slightly as he pushed away a piece of hair from her face, her heart leaping in her chest at his touch.

"And I'm not afraid to do this either", he whispered, leaning in closer to her.

She opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, but was cut off as crashed his lips into hers, his hand cupping her cheek. She almost gasped at what he had done, but quickly regained her pride and kissed him back, her arms locking around his neck.

He deepened the kiss once he felt her respond, melting into her lips as he had wished to do so many times during the summer. His hand moved from her soft cheek to her brown hair, his fingers playing with it lovingly.

A moan escaped from Dakota's lips as he pressed himself closer to her, her fingers trailing down his chest. They were both so caught up in each other that they didn't even notice both of their best friends enter the kitchen.

Harry cleared his throat and they pulled apart reluctantly to look at who had caught them. They looked quite guilty with her legs still wrapped around his waist and his hands still in her hair.

"Oh, h-hey guys", Ron stuttered, his ears growing red with embarrassment.

"I knew you fancied him", Ginny said with a smirk, but still looking slightly disgusted that her best friend was wrapped around her brother.

She blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Was it really that obvious?"

The red-headed girl scoffed and laughed, "Just a bit".

Harry was still grinning widely at Ron, shaking his head and chuckling. "Finally got the nerve, yeah?" he asked.

Ron did nothing but blush even more and smile slightly.

Dakota unwrapped her legs from the boy slowly, not keeping her eyes off of him.

"We should probably clean up", she told him, glancing around the kitchen.

He smirked and retrieved his wand from his pocket, waving it around the room as he still watched her. She had forgotten he was of age now and could do magic whenever he pleased.

Placing his hands on her waist, he lifted her gently off of the counter and rested her on the ground.

"You have flour in your hair", Ron said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and smirked back at him. "Because you're not afraid of the big bad Slytherin".