Chapter Six

Harry sat down on the steps leading up to the front door of the castle. He had endured the long day of formalities, and he just needed some time to think. He hadn't had a chance to fully contemplate the meaning of Ginny's words the day before. He hadn't come up with any solution when he had been waiting for the other schools to arrive, and afterwards, he had been too consumed by the festivities and other distractions provided by strangers to think of anything at all. He knew there was something she was trying to tell him. It would be only a matter of time before he figured it out. He felt stupid and inept. He could usually read into things better, and it seemed like she had tried to make it as obvious as possible. He figured it had something to do with the Yule Ball in their fourth year, but he was at a loss to think of what it was exactly, and the fact that he couldn't recall Ginny's exact words wasn't helping the matter.

He glanced up from the ground to look out onto the field. His eyes gazed over the students relaxing before dinner and stopped when he noticed Ginny and Ron walking across the lawn towards the lake. They seemed to be deep in conversation, but about what, Harry couldn't tell. Whatever it was they were discussing didn't seem to be going well for either of them, and it became apparent that they were arguing with each other over something. Harry watched as Ginny started to walk away from Ron before he turned her back towards him to have the last word. Ginny walked off in a huff after pushing her brother away, heading towards Harry, but he barely noticed when she finally passed him because, in the distance, Hermione was tentatively approaching Ron. He watched as Ron turned towards her and she backed away slightly. Harry stared as they exchanged words and would have given anything to be able to overhear what was being said.

"It's going to take a lot for him to forgive you, you know..."

Harry looked up to find Ginny standing just to his left, watching the same scene unfold.

"You both really hurt him and betrayed his trust. I hate to see him in so much pain. You two don't even realise what you did. You just don't know, but I wish you did. It would make fixing all of this so much easier."

"Why don't you just tell me what we did wrong?" Harry asked as Ginny sat herself down beside him on the step.

"Harry, you need to figure it out for yourself. I can't help you with this. I can't tell you, and I don't want to be dragged any further into it than I already am." Ginny looked at Harry sadly before turning her attention back to her lonesome brother. He had pushed Hermione away again and was walking towards the pier. "He's really hurt, and both you and Hermione need to fix it. You two are the ones who really need to think this over and figure out what's wrong. No one else can really give you any answers. I think the best thing you can do is look and listen for any clues that might help you figure it out. Just think about everything that's happened so far... When... Why... I know you'll figure it out, Harry. You have to."

Harry watched as Ginny stood up and walked away, heading through the castle doors. He turned away and stared out to where Ron was standing. Ginny was right. He did have a lot of thinking to do. Nothing was going to change unless he figured out what had gone wrong and when. Nothing really seemed to add up just yet. After a few minutes of thought, Harry got up and followed Ginny inside, hoping to get some more information. He would take any clue she was willing to give. He wanted his best friend back.

As Harry headed towards the Gryffindor common room, he heard someone down the hall, giggling. Curious, he turned and started walking towards the empty classroom. The sound seemed to echo through the hallway, beckoning him closer. He peered through a crack between the door and the frame, squinting slightly in an effort to see into the room better. He could make out two silhouettes in the dim light of the early evening. He was about to turn away and head back to the dormitories when a flash of ginger hair caught his eye. Taking a better look, Harry made out the figures of Ginny Weasley and a male student, the shadows of the room concealing his identity. He watched as the guy leaned forward and whispered in her ear, causing a faint blush to appear on her cheeks. Harry turned away as their lips met, not wanting to see any more. He felt a rumble in the pit of his stomach as he made his way to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. It was sort of a sickly feeling, and he wasn't sure where it came from. He decided to head up to his room to lie down, thinking it would help. He needed some time to think over his situation again anyway, and lying down would possibly help.

Once in his dormitory room, Harry took a seat on his bed and tried his best to think over his problem with Ron. As soon as he started to formulate any sort of solution, his mind drifted back to the image of Ginny and the mysterious person with her in the classroom. A growl erupted in the pit of his stomach, and he glanced at his wristwatch. It wasn't nearly time for dinner, and he didn't particularly feel hungry. Harry lay down on his bed and stared up at the canopy over his bed in thought. So much was running through his brain, and it seemed to all jumble together. There was just so much going on, and he couldn't concentrate on just one thing at the moment. Harry pulled his curtains closed and shut his eyes, hoping that a short nap would clear his head.

"Bloody Hermione!" The door to the room slammed against the wall as Ron stormed in.

Harry opened his eyes at the noise and peered through a crack between the curtains. He could see a very angry Ron kicking the trunk at the end of his bed. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps following Ron into the room. Ron growled at the person Harry wasn't able to see.

"Oh, knock it off, Ron. It's your own bloody fault, and I am tired of listening to you bitch and complain about your two best friends. You, Harry and Hermione have me stuck in the middle of all this, and I'm bloody sick of it. Maybe if you had just plucked up the courage to tell Hermione that you fancied her in the beginning, none of this bloody mess would have ever happened." Ginny's shrill and frustrated tone echoed through the room.

"I don't fancy Hermione," Ron protested.

"Oh really? Then what's got your knickers in a twist? Honestly, I'm sick of the whole lot of you and your drama. Just bloody well tell Harry what's wrong and work things out. I want things back to the way they were, before all of this. I want all of you at peace so we can win the tournament and blast Voldemort into a million pieces!"

Harry could see Ron wince at Ginny's use of the name Voldemort. He smirked a bit until the weight of everything he had heard hit him. Ginny thought Ron fancied Hermione. Ron had argued, but the pink tinge of his ears gave away his true feelings. He was embarrassed, and knowing Ron, if he was telling the truth about his feelings for Hermione, he wouldn't be feeling embarrassed by the statement.

"Ron, I just can't do this anymore. I hate all of the turmoil. I can't be on your side anymore. I miss talking to Harry and Hermione. I love you, Ron. You're my big brother, but I don't want to give up my friends. I realise this situation sucks, but do you really want to lose your two best friends over it? You need them, and they need you. Please just forgive them. You know they have no clue what's wrong, because if they did, surely they would have apologised by now." Ginny's voice softened as her speech came to an end.

Harry quietly peered through the crack between his bed curtains to see Ginny giving Ron a hug and whispering something in his ear. He nodded with a slight smile and walked out of view. Harry waited a few moments, expecting Ginny to follow him out, but she stayed put.

"So, how much of that did you catch?" Her eyes rested on him and he knew he had been caught. Harry poked his head out between the curtains and looked at her.

"All of it, I suppose... So, is that what this is all about? Hermione? Ron fancies Hermione?" Harry got up off the bed and walked towards Ginny.

Ginny nodded in response. "Of course, he won't admit it. Probably never will... He was so angry when he told me, and so was I. It wasn't until I realised that the two of you really had no idea how he felt that I stopped being angry with you. I couldn't be angry with you if you didn't know. I wish there was an easy way out of this, but I don't think there is. I mean, I'm sure you really like Hermione, and it wouldn't be fair to either of you to separate just for my brother's sake. He's a stubborn git, and there's no sense in throwing away a relationship over him. You can't choose who you love, and no one should stop you from being with that person when they feel the same way, and you shouldn't have to hide it. It's not fair to either of you..."

"Ginny?" Harry looked oddly at her as she turned to him. She seemed to have completely lost her train of thought, no longer referring to his situation.

"Oh, sorry..." Ginny blushed softly. "I got a bit carried away. Just, don't do anything stupid. If you keep trying, I'm sure Ron will come around. I know he misses the two of you." She smiled softly before she turned towards the door. After a moment of hesitation, she went back down the stairs to the common room, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

It wasn't until the next day that Harry finally got a chance to talk with Hermione. They had just been let out of Charms for the day and headed to the library for their break. It was what they mostly did since Ron stopped speaking with them. Harry had been distracted most of the day with the thoughts of the evening before. So much had happened, and he wasn't really sure how he felt about anything anymore. Ginny had what seemed to be a secret boyfriend, and Ron fancied Hermione. The strangest thing to him was that he seemed to care more about Ginny's secret than the fact that Ron fancied his girlfriend. The label suddenly felt wrong for Hermione. All of his new knowledge twisted his world, and now nothing seemed right. He couldn't help wondering if he truly cared about Hermione as more than a friend. When he had first kissed her, everything had seemed like it fitted, but now it only seemed odd. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt the way he did, and he wondered if the new perspective offered by Ginny had changed everything. Harry took a seat at a table with Hermione as she started pulling her Potions book out.

"Harry, are you all right? You've been distracted all day," Hermione asked as she sat down.

"I've just had a lot on my mind, I suppose. I had a talk with Ginny last night and found out why Ron's been so angry with us. Really, all we need to do is wait for him to come around. We just have to keep trying to get through to him, that's all. He'll get over it eventually." Harry stared down at his hands, debating on whether to tell Hermione how Ron felt about her. It felt like something he needed to tell her himself, but he knew she would want to know what was wrong.

"Well? What's the problem?" Hermione asked.

"It doesn't really matter. Listen, Hermione... I'm not so sure about this anymore." Harry looked up to see the confusion in her eyes. "It's not that I don't love you, because I do... It's just that... I think it's more of a friendship sort of love. Maybe we both rushed into something we weren't one hundred percent sure on."

Hermione looked down at the table, her face showing no hint of emotion. Harry watched her nervously for a moment, trying to gauge her feelings on the situation, but having no luck. She was simply unreadable. It took a few moments before she finally looked up at him.

"Perhaps... perhaps you're right, Harry. I have to admit, things have felt odd to me. I thought maybe it was just getting used to you being a boyfriend instead of a friend, but I think it's more than that."

Harry couldn't have felt any more relieved than he was at that very moment. Hermione smiled at him softly before turning back to her Potions essay. It had gone much easier than Harry had anticipated, and for that he was grateful. He knew it could have gone a lot worse, and he could have lost one more friend. Now all that was left was to gain Ron's friendship back once again. The only problem was he had no idea where to even start. It wasn't as if he could just go up to Ron and tell him. He knew that wouldn't be the best way to approach it. He considered telling Ginny and letting her pass along the information to Ron, but then the question was how to tell Ginny. There never seemed to be an easy answer to anything. Everything was getting more and more complicated. Harry glanced over at Hermione as she wrote on the long sheet of parchment. He couldn't help wondering how the year would have started out if they hadn't got together at Wandsworth Manor. Deciding he wasn't going to get much of anything done just sitting in the library, he left Hermione to finish her essay while he headed outside to the Quidditch pitch.

As Harry walked towards the pitch, he could hear voices, which got louder as he approached. Before checking it out, Harry ducked into the Gryffindor changing room, retrieved his Firebolt from the locked broom closet and deposited his belongings into his Quidditch locker. When he finally reached the pitch, he saw two figures flying around. One was dressed in blue robes by the goal posts, and the other was in scarlet red robes, flying towards the other. Harry squinted into the sun, trying to make out who it was that was flying. The best he could tell was that neither one of them was from the visiting schools. When the pair met up, they started flying quickly around the pitch, soaring, diving, and swerving around each other as if it were a synchronised dance. Once they had flown out of the sun, Harry could make out the long ginger hair of Ginny Weasley. He still wasn't quite sure who the other one was, but he knew it wouldn't take long to find out. Ginny broke off from her companion and flew up higher, soaring into the sun until she made a sharp turn and started heading towards the ground. Harry watched as she laid flat along her broomstick, sending it and herself hurtling towards the ground, spiralling in a corkscrew motion until she finally pulled up from the dive, just inches from the ground. Ginny was certainly an impressive flyer, and he could easily see why she had been chosen as the captain. Just as suddenly as before, the pair started racing around the pitch once again. Deciding that they weren't planning on stopping anytime soon, Harry finally took a step out onto the green grass, making his presence know. He got onto his broom and kicked off from the ground. It was only then that the pair stopped racing and came to a stop before flying toward Harry. Harry finally could see who it was that was flying in the blue robes.

"Wood, it's good to see you out here again." Harry smiled at his former captain as he shook his hand.

"Aye, it's good to be back. I was just out here giving Ginny some pointers," Oliver explained.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who looked slightly annoyed, but with whom, he couldn't tell.

"She's quite the flyer, and with her skills, I don't see why she couldn't make it onto a professional team if she wanted."

"Could you please stop talking about me as if I wasn't here." Ginny rolled her eyes before she turned on her broom and took off flying again.

Oliver laughed as he watched her fly off. "That Weasley temper... Definitely runs in the family... So, Harry, what are you doing out here? I was told you were in class."

"Actually, we've got a free period. I thought I'd come out here and get some air." Harry glanced up at Ginny flying overhead, practising a handful of manoeuvres.

"I see. Where's your girlfriend? I would have thought she'd be out here with you. Hermione, wasn't it?"

"She's uh... in the library... We're... umm... actually not..." Harry started awkwardly, not really wanting to explain much of anything.

"Ah, I understand. Say no more. Well, why don't you do a lap or two while I finish up with Ginny? She needs to be getting back to lessons soon. I can only keep her for so long." Oliver waved at Ginny to come back over.

Harry decided not to wait for her as he took off towards the end of the pitch to start a few laps as Oliver suggested.

Harry watched as Ginny flew over to Oliver, and the pair started talking. He was too far away to hear what their conversation was about. Ginny glanced up at Harry for a moment before she turned back to Oliver. They exchanged a few words again before she finally flew down and landed, heading towards the changing room.

After Harry and Oliver had spent some time flying around the pitch for a bit, the two of them landed and headed to the locker room to get changed for the rest of the day. Harry was glad for the chance to catch up with an old friend and the first person to truly introduce him to the game of Quidditch, his favourite sport. They headed out on a walk around the grounds, biding their time until Harry had to head to his next class. They caught up on all the events that had happened over the past years, including events during the Triwizard Tournament. Anything that had been published in the Daily Prophet was decidedly not discussed. It wouldn't have made sense for them to talk about what was already known. As the free period started to wear down to the end, Harry turned to Oliver and asked him something that had been bothering him since he watched Oliver and Ginny flying around the pitch.

"Oliver, I was wondering, won't you get into trouble for helping Ginny? You're a referee, so isn't that a conflict of interest?"

"Actually, Harry, I've stepped down from the referee job. I had spoken to Professor Dumbledore about it, and he agreed it would be for the best. I am simply here as a guest and spectator. Oh, look at the time. You'd best be getting to class. Wouldn't want to get a detention and miss a game," Oliver smiled before they headed off towards the castle.

Harry couldn't help wondering what exactly had made Oliver step down from his position. A few possibilities ran through his head, but nothing seemed to be plausible enough to constitute his actions. Harry knew it he shouldn't dwell on something that was not of great importance, but that had never stopped him before. He also wondered why it was he was working solely with Ginny. Sure, she was the captain of the Hogwarts team, but everyone on the team could benefit from his knowledge. He wondered if Oliver was just trying to make sure he wasn't stepping on Ginny's toes when it came to the team. None of it really made a whole lot of sense.