Chapter One: Homework Help

Harry sighed, closing the book he was using for his last homework assignment of the evening. It had taken him longer than everyone else to finish because of an extra long Quidditch practice. He was tired, but Wood had promised the team a day off tomorrow, so he was feeling happy at the prospect of a whole evening to himself the next day. He got up and turned to go up to the dormitory, thinking he was the only one left in the common room, but to his surprise, Ginney Weasley was sitting cross-legged on one of the couches near the fire, her little face looking very frustrated over the pile of books in her lap.

He walked over to her, slowly, uncertain of what to do. "…All right, Ginney?" he asked. She looked up, a little startled. "I, uh, I was just having a bit of trouble with my potions homework…" she said glumly. Harry sat down next to her, putting his books on the floor. "Well, I'm not so great at potions, myself, but maybe I could help…"

She looked up at him gratefully, and nodded quickly. They worked together on the homework for a little while, and soon it was done. Harry smiled down at her kindly. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

She looked up at him for a moment, before bursting suddenly into tears.

Harry sputtered, what had he done? "Uh, don't…Ginney, don't cry…" he said, confusedly. Her little body shuddered with sobs as she tried to control herself. "There, it's all right…. Don't cry…" he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. She sniffled, and spoke shakily, "It's just…(sob) everything's so… (sniffle) hard, and I, I can't understand any of my lessons… and you're so kind to me…" she sniffled again. Harry stared at her, feeling completely overwhelmed and utterly useless. "It's allright," he said when he had found his voice, "everyone has trouble with their classes, it might seem really hard now, but it'll get better, I promise…"

She nodded, still sniffling a little, and looked up at him finally, her eyes a bit red from crying, but more-or-less dry now. "Thank you Harry, I guess it's just a little overwhelming sometimes…" He nodded.

Looking down at her tear-streaked face, Harry suddenly recalled how pretty she was. The thought surprised him, having never thought of her as anything else but Ron's little sister. But it was there, none-the-less, and he felt he couldn't ignore it. Seemingly of its own will, Harry's hand reached out and softly brushed a lock of Ginney's red hair behind her ear. She watched him curiously, her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, Harry leaned down and his lips brushed against hers, kissing her softly. She kissed back, her cheeks filling with roses.

After a moment, they both pulled away, and Harry leaned back against the couch, a bit shocked. His arm around Ginney tightened a bit, bringing her closer to him, and she lay her head on his shoulder. They sat like that in silence for a while, neither knew or cared how long, until finally Harry sighed and kissed the top of Ginney's head. "It's getting late…" he said softly. She nodded, and started to rise and gather her books. Harry did the same and then they walked up the stairs to the dormitories, holding hands. When they got to the top of the stairs, they stopped, looking at eachother curiously. Ginney smiled shyly, and then so did Harry and Ginney leaned up and lightly kissed his cheek. They said good night and went to their rooms, each lost in their own little dream world.