Crush – by Cerulean Leader

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the song 'Crush' by David Archuleta.

Hasn't been proof-read by anyone else.

Couple: Harry x Ginny; if you don't like this pairing, then don't read. This one-shot is set during HBP. It just talks about Harry's new-found feelings for Ginny.

Summary: During the events of Half-Blood Prince, Harry slowly starts to fall in love with Ginny. He's afraid to tell her, for she has moved on. What if she doesn't feel the same way?

"Crush – David Archuleta"

"Ron, your spelling really is atrocious…"

Harry didn't bother listening. He was leaning back in his mahogany chair, looking out of the corner of his eye at his best friends' younger sister, Ginny, who was sitting on one of the couches with Dean, holding hands with him. The chosen one wasn't exactly with this arrangement but he couldn't do anything about it. He watched her carefully, drinking in every detail of her face that he could as he was sitting a bit far to see her clearly.

"Harry, are you listening to me?" Hermione's voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to reality while he glanced at his bushy-haired friend who was following his gaze. Sighing, she gave him a sympathetic look before handing Ron the essay she was correcting.

"Yeah, mate. You've been spacing out lately." Ron supplied, looking in concern at his younger friend. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, don't worry." He answered, shrugging their concerns off and turning back to his essay, dipping his quill into the ink and writing distractedly on the parchment.

Suddenly getting the feeling that someone's eyes were on her, Ginny looked in the direction of her older brother and his two friends for a moment before staring into the fire, her brown eyes reflecting off the flames. "Gin, are you alright?"

She inwardly cringed at the sound of the name Dean used but didn't she bother to say anything. That was the name Harry had come to call her, a nickname she reserved the right only for him to use. "I'm fine." She replied, faking a smile while squeezing his hand gently in reassurance. Her boyfriend still looked slightly worried.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She nodded, removing her grip on his hand and stood up, brushing off her jeans. "I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight."

She leaned her head to kiss his cheek as he smiled back at her lovingly. She felt bad; she liked Dean, but she was still in love with Harry. She had never given up on him. Sighing, she glanced over at Harry, briefly making eye contact with him as he watched her go upstairs. She smiled softly at him as she ascended the stairs.

Harry watched Ginny disappear out of slight slowly before she slowly stopped to look at him. When the emerald green of his eyes met the chocolate brown of hers, he felt like a monster in his chest was fighting its way out of skin, forcing him to just stand up and kiss Ginny. Fighting the urge, he settled for returning her smile with a small nod before turning back to his homework.

Why had he started to develop feelings for her? For Ginny of all people.

It was only last year that he had liked Cho Chang briefly, but his buried feelings for Ginny had kept him from really have anything serious with her. That and her guilt about 'cheating' on Cedric.

Back when he was only fourteen, Hermione had informed him that Ginny was over Harry. He could still remember the slight disappointment he had felt when she told him this but thought nothing of it.

He was spacing out again, thoughts of Ginny clouding his mind from reality. He remembered her lying helplessly in the Chamber of Secrets, skin pale white and extremely cold, lifeless as her vibrant hair was laid out like a fan but covered in water and mud.

He remembered her being terribly nervous around him when they were younger; at one point even stick her elbow into the butter platter. He chuckled inwardly at the memory, now thinking that she did act cutely back then, even if he had thought she was slightly odd back then.

Once she had started acting like herself around him in her third year, they had grown fairly close, even to her convincing him that fighting ones' demons alone was not good for anyone; she had broken his guard down and helped back to his feet.

These qualities were not even half of what attracted him to her. Also there was her fierce determination, her fiery passion and just her herself. In his eyes, she was perfect; flawless. Even her flaws made him love her even more—

Wait, love?

Harry almost fell off his chair at the thought while Hermione and Ron looked at him with startled expressions on their faces.

"Harry?" Hermione asked hesitantly as Ron poked him in the shoulder with his finger.

"I'm going to head to bed." Harry said finally, packing his things and grabbing his parchment before hurrying upstairs and dumping it all into his trunk after he had unlocked it.

'In love with Ginny?' Harry thought to himself in disbelief as he laid back against his pillow. 'I can't be…'

Thoughts of Ginny holding his hand, kissing his cheek, nuzzling him and romantic scenes filled his head as he groaned in frustration and turned to the side. 'She's Ron's sister for Merlin's sake!'

'I can't love Ginny, she's Ron sister!' he yelled in his mind.

'But you do.' His conscience informed him smugly.

'She's Ron's sister! She's off-limits.'

'Who says? Ginny loves you too.'

'She's going out with Dean.'

'What have you got to lose?'

'My best friend!'

He smacked himself in the forehead, slightly annoyed at himself. Now he was arguing with his own self? He was going mental.

Unknown to Harry, he would have his wish of having Ginny eventually.

A/N: …I really shouldn't have published this but I liked the idea. I've been trying to write a fic to this song for ages and since I haven't been around, you guys deserve something for my absence; even though no one really cares.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Please review if you can. Flames are accepted. (:

Word Count: 907

^ Eww, short. :(

~CL