“Ginny, can we talk?�

Harry tightened his fingers on Ginny’s wrist just by a bit and her eyes darted down to where he had gripped her. Harry’s nerves were making his heart thud furiously. He knew that he had given Ginny no reason to listen to him, but he didn’t want to go around pretending that he hadn’t hurt her anymore.

They should be friends, shouldn’t they? The Weasleys were the only family he’d ever known, and it seemed wrong that one of them wasn’t on speaking terms with Harry. Not that Ginny had ever fully iced him out. She would say polite words to him, or smile at him as part of a crowd. But for reasons unknown to him, it bothered him a lot that he hadn’t had a real conversation with Ginny in years.

And he didn’t think that their lack of interaction had ever been Ginny’s fault.

Even now, Ginny looked guarded, as if she wasn’t sure what Harry wanted. As if he would never think to talk to Ginny about anything. And wasn’t she right? Had he ever, ever, started a conversation with Ginny over the years? Hadn’t their longest conversation been the one they’d shared after Tom Riddle’s demise in the Chamber of Secrets?

Ginny nodded slowly.

“Of course, what is it?�

Harry didn’t know where to start. To be honest, he had half expected that Ginny would simply storm off. Instead, she sat back down on the chair she had just deserted, and Harry let go of her wrist.

“Erm, I was wondering whether you liked your Christmas present.� That seemed like a safe starting point. At this, Ginny’s eyes widened a bit and she almost looked remorseful.

“Oh I’m so sorry I forgot to thank you for it, Harry,� she said. Harry waved off her apology before she added, “It was a very thoughtful present. Thanks a lot, really.�

“Oh great, I’m glad you liked it.� Before she could question if that was all he wanted, he quickly added, “And I was thinking that maybe I could help train you a bit when we’re back. Umbridge won’t let me fly, but I could always help you out with like a few tips and tricks, I guess.�

Ginny gave him what looked like a genuine smile because he saw her brown eyes sparkle in the dim lights of the kitchen.

“That sounds great, Harry.�

Harry jerked his head in a nod but said nothing.

“I’ll just finish the dishes, then,� Ginny said and gestured towards the dishes. “Otherwise, you know Mum.�

Harry got up with her. Ginny seemed a bit confused but picked up her rag again, drying the dishes. Harry looked around for a dishcloth and joined her to help. They silently wiped the dishes for a few minutes, Ginny stealing unsure glances towards Harry. Harry swayed a bit, still nervous, not sure how to apologise.

“I’m sorry.�

Being blunt was the only way.

“What?� Ginny either hadn’t heard him correctly or couldn’t believe what she’d heard.

“I’m sorry,� he spoke a bit louder. “For forgetting about Riddle’s diary.�

Ginny smiled a bit.

“Oh Harry, I’m not angry at you. Plus, it’s not like you actually forgot. You’re going through something scary - it slipped your mind, I get it.� Ginny touched his shoulder with her hand and squeezed, making Harry feel a bubble of appreciation for her. She was perhaps the only one who could understand what he’d been scared of these past few days. Why hadn’t he thought of talking to her before? “I’m not mad at you. Don’t worry about it.�

“I’m still sorry.�

“Harry, I’m not-.�

“About the Yule Ball.�

There was a beat of silence. Ginny’s ears went red. In anger or embarrassment, Harry wasn’t sure.

“Oh.�

Her voice was barely a whisper.

“I didn’t mean to say that. I, er, Seamus was just going on and on, and was all over me about you maybe thinking that I’d want to date you, so I just, I wanted to explain to them, that’s all.�

Harry knew he was probably doing a bad job of explaining because he saw Ginny cringe at his words.

“I know, I was there.�

Her words stung.

“I’m sorry, Ginny.� Harry kept the dishcloth aside and grabbed her shoulders to turn her fully towards him. She kept staring at the loose thread on the rag in her hand. “I was an arse to you that night. Trust me, my intention was never to hurt you. The guys were just pulling my leg and I just wanted to let them know that-.�

“You would never date me.�

“No, I mean, yes I didn’t want to date you back then. But it’s not like I couldn’t ever imagine dating you.� She looked up at that. “I mean, I don’t want to date you, but back then, I thought you had a crush on me, and I panicked and thought that if I led you on, I might hurt you.�

She nodded.

“I get it, Harry.� There was a bit of resignation in her voice. “You didn’t want to lead me on. I can’t pretend that it didn’t hurt. But I guess, it was for the best.� She shrugged her shoulder at him. He pulled back his hands and held them limply at his sides. “After that night, whatever feelings I had for you were gone. For good.� Harry blinked. “And I met Michael, who is really sweet. I like him very much.� She swatted his arm playfully. “And you like Cho, clearly. So it’s all water under the bridge.�

“Oh, erm, alright then.�

Harry looked back at the counter - all the dishes were now dry. Ginny turned her back to him and untied her apron without a word, pulling it off her neck, her red hair flying a bit in Harry’s face as she did so.

She took a last look at him, smiled, and then bid him good night, leaving him alone in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

It was for the best.

Whatever feelings I had for you were gone.

For good.

Harry replayed her words again, and then again, in his mind. She met Michael that night. She liked Michael now. And she thought he liked Cho. He did like Cho.

Harry thought of the kiss he had shared with Cho. And the first thing that came to his mind was Ginny Weasley snickering at them, a smug smile on her face.

He did like Cho.

Didn’t he?

And now, he’d finally done what he’d set out to do. He had apologised to Ginny for hurting her feelings, for acting like a git. This was his plan to put that ugly incident behind them. He could now be free of guilt and go back to being friends (were they ever friends before?) with her again.

This apology should have undone the knot in his stomach.

Why then, he thought, did his insides feel like they were twisting into an even tighter one?

HGHGHGHG

Harry had wanted to take Ginny’s advice and have an honest conversation with Sirius about all that was troubling him, and also about his drinking habits, but Snape’s arrival ruined his plans. Sirius was more morose than ever - Snape had called him a coward and nothing could pull him out of his mood. If anything, the argument with Snape made Sirius drink even more heavily. And with Mr Weasley’s return, Harry never found the chance to corner Sirius and talk to him about anything.

Before long, Harry was on board the Knight Bus, with the package from Sirius tucked into his pocket. No, Harry wouldn’t contact Sirius. These things could only be talked about in person. And the last thing Harry wanted to do was to complain to Sirius about the lessons with Snape, perhaps encouraging him to do something stupid like venture out of Grimmauld Place on his own. No, it was better that his godfather was safe in hiding, where the biggest threat he would ever have is Snape calling him a coward.

With the village of Hogsmeade approaching, Harry’s thoughts turned towards the new term at school. He was dreading his extra lessons with Snape. And of course, there was still the unpleasantness of having to sit through Umbridge’s Defence lessons.

Maybe Harry could focus on the DA instead. Yes, that’s where he could devote all his energy. As the group walked back towards Hogwarts’ gate, Harry glanced at Ginny, who was engaged in an animated conversation with Fred and George about Quidditch. Harry had offered to help her out with strategies and training. Yes, he could always spend some time trying to help her be a better Seeker. At least that way, if they won, he could feel like he contributed. And spending more time with Ginny didn’t seem like the worst idea.

Once they were on the grounds, Harry saw Michael run up to greet Ginny, and the two of them fell behind a bit, talking to each other in low tones. Harry didn’t want to eavesdrop, but when he thought he heard Michael’s voice rising, he unconsciously zoned out from the conversation that Ron and Hermione were having and focused on what Ginny and Michael were saying instead.

“You could have worn it to show it to me, at least.� Michael sounded angry. “It wasn’t cheap, you know.�

“You know I’m not the jewellery type, Michael,� Ginny replied. “And I never asked you to buy me something expensive. I’d have preferred it if you bought me a few sweets or something from Zonko’s.�

“You’re my girlfriend, not my mate. And what do you even mean that you’re not the jewellery type?�

“That means that I would rather have a Blast-Ended Skrewt as a pet than wear a bracelet on my wrist.�

After that, Michael ran off in another direction and Harry held back a smile. What a berk, Harry thought. Clearly, Michael wasn’t as good of a match for Ginny as she thought. So maybe there was still hope that they’d split up.

For the rest of his walk up the castle, Harry wondered why he was so invested in Ginny’s relationship and then decided that now that they were sort of friends, he had the right to worry about who she was dating.

Yes, it was a friendly concern, that’s all.

Harry’s concern about Ginny’s relationship grew even more when he stepped into the Room of Requirement a few days later, a bit early for the next DA meeting, only to see Michael snogging Ginny in one corner.

Seeing Ginny kiss Michael burned Harry’s insides with a fire that he couldn’t explain. Harry wanted to pull Michael away from Ginny and hex his lips off. Ginny was way too young to be kissing anyone anyway, wasn’t she? No, he couldn’t allow this to happen. If Michael wanted to date Ginny, he would have to keep his hands, his lips, and any other parts of his body, to himself.

Harry cleared his throat as loudly as he could.

Ginny and Michael pulled apart to look at him. Ginny’s cheeks were flushed and Harry felt a slight tremor in his stomach looking at her freckles against her red cheeks. But Harry composed himself and put on his most ‘brotherly’ face.

“What are you doing?� he asked Ginny, determined not to look at Michael.

Ginny’s face was now blazing, the embarrassment at having been caught quickly abated. “What does it look like we’re doing?�

“You shouldn’t be doing that.�

“Why? Have you booked the room for you and Cho today? Is there a list somewhere that I’m unaware of?�

Harry ignored her comment about Cho.

“Aren’t you too young for this anyway?�

Ginny let out a harsh laugh and Michael threw a dirty look at Harry.

“Why do you care, Harry?� Ginny asked, draining the indignant anger from Harry’s body and replacing it with confusion. Why did he care? Shouldn’t he be glad that Ginny is finally over that mortifying crush she used to have on Harry? Shouldn’t he be glad that she had moved on, no matter how much he disapproved of who she’d moved on with?

“I don’t.�

But even as he said it, Harry knew it wasn’t true.

He cared. He cared a LOT about who Ginny was dating, for some unknown, unexplainable reason. He didn’t want Michael around her. No, he wanted no boy around her. And try as he might, he couldn’t fully convince himself that his feelings were brotherly or friendly in any way.

Would he care if it was Hermione snogging someone in Ginny’s place? He didn’t think he would.

“Good,� Ginny said, took Michael’s arm and led him away to stand in the centre of the room. More people were now starting to join them for the DA meeting. But none of them noticed that Harry was standing where he’d been, still dazed about what had happened.

Harry knew nothing for certain, save one thing. He regretted rejecting Ginny Weasley. And he wished he had done things differently a year ago. He wished he’d never said anything about her at the Yule Ball.

Because he was the one to blame. He had practically pushed Ginny into the arms of Michael Corner.

And now, she was starting to bother Harry.