The news of the mass breakout was now the only thing anyone wanted to talk about. Ginny felt like she had been transported back to her second year when the halls of Hogwarts had been filled with murmurs about the crazed murderer, Sirius Black. But it made Ginny so angry that there were so many idiots out there who believed that Sirius Black was behind this mass breakout.

Harry and Dumbledore had been screaming the truth about Tom Riddle being back for almost a year now. But not everyone believed them.

As she walked out of her Potions lesson, she spotted Michael in the distance. He always insisted on walking her from one class to the other. She tried not to feel annoyed by this - he was trying to be a sweet boyfriend, after all. It wasn’t his fault that his gesture made her feel like an eight-year-old.

“Did you see the Daily Prophet?� Michael asked her when she was close enough. “They reckon that Sirius Black has helped with the mass breakout from Azkaban. Had they caught the man two years ago, he wouldn’t be able to free his Death Eater buddies.�

“You know that it’s Voldemort behind the mass breakout, Michael,� Ginny retorted, slightly annoyed. Michael shuddered at her use of the name.

“Yeah, but he won’t be breaking them out in person, would he? I bet he sent his right-hand man to do the job.� Michael put his arm around Ginny’s shoulder, which made her want to squirm away from his touch. She knew she couldn’t defend Sirius, but hearing him talk like this made her angry anyway. “Plus, who better than Sirius Black to break more people out of Azkaban? He’s the expert, innit?�

As they turned into the Charms corridor, which was her next class, Ginny finally pulled herself away from Michael and his incessant chatter and found Luna instead. Michael looked a bit confused at Ginny’s cold parting but said nothing and walked away towards his next class presumably. Ginny wound her arm through Luna’s arm and made her way towards the Charms classroom.

Her worries did not disappear though, and only increased, when she overheard a couple of her Ravenclaw classmates discussing Hagrid’s probation. Of course, that horrid Umbridge woman had put him on probation. Ginny gritted her teeth at the injustice of it all.

Ginny was just thinking about making her way down to see Hagrid at some point that evening when someone said, “It would be such a relief to get rid of that oaf. We could finally have a real teacher for Care of Magical Creatures.�

She turned to see who it was - it was Harper Davies, a fourth-year Ravenclaw girl who had also spent the last four years tormenting Luna with her pranks and insults. Ginny didn’t think much more than two seconds before she pulled out her wand and hexed the smug bitch, making large bogey bats attack her in the middle of the classroom.

“Miss Weasley, 20 points from Gryffindor for that violent display,� Professor Flitwick said, as he undid the hex. “And I want you to serve detention with me on Saturday at ten.�

“But Professor, I have Quidditch practice on Saturday morning.�

“You should have thought of that before you hexed Miss Davies.�

By the time Ginny reached her Common Room, she was fuming. She threw her book bag with force against the sofa in front of the fireplace and kicked one of the legs of a coffee table in frustration.

It was only when she’d screamed and kicked the table a few times that she noticed that Harry was sitting in a chair facing the fireplace, watching her display with amusement.

“Don’t let me stop you,� he said and held up his hands. “It feels nice to see that I’m not the only one having a shit day.�

“When aren’t you having a shit day, Harry?�

“Good point.� He didn’t elaborate further, but asked, “Why are you having a shit day? Did you get into a fight with Michael?�

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him.

“For someone who said he doesn’t care, you sure ask me about Michael a lot.� Harry looked sufficiently ashamed, so she continued, “It’s not him. Or, it is him, but not just him.� She waved her hands around accustorily. “It’s bloody everyone! All this talk of Sirius Black helping with the Azkaban breakout and then I find out that Hagrid is on probation. And that bitch,� Harry sucked in a breath when she used the word, “Harper Davies was talking about how it’s a great thing and how we’ll get a real teacher now. Tell me, was it wrong for me to hex the smile off her face?�

Harry quickly shook his head in a no.

“Exactly. But then, Flitwick put me in detention on Saturday morning.�

“Isn’t Saturday your first Quidditch practice?�

“YES!�

“Oh.�

Both of them sat quietly for a bit, but Ginny felt a bit lighter already, having dispelled the worst of her anger.

“Why are you having a bad day?� She thought she should return the courtesy of letting Harry get rid of his anger the same way he’d done for her.

“Some of the same things as you,� he said and gave her a half-hearted smile. “Plus, I have literally nothing to look forward to. Hagrid won’t let us visit him, lest we be caught by Umbridge. I can’t have my Firebolt or play Quidditch. I now have horrifying lessons with Snape every week. I can’t write to Sirius about anything. And I have a date with Cho on Valentine’s Day that I don’t know if I’m even in the mood for.�

Ginny felt bad for Harry, she genuinely did.

Since he had apologised for the Yule Ball incident, she had felt herself softening up a bit towards him. She knew that he had a lot on his plate always, but this year had been particularly tough for him. She hadn’t entirely forgiven him for what he’d said (the words still hurt her even after more than a year had passed), but she had at least begun to be nicer to him than she had been before. And maybe she could help him feel better.

“Well, maybe we can sneak off to the Quidditch pitch at night and you can show me some of your best moves?� Harry looked up at her. “You know, you did say that you could help me be a better Seeker, give me some tips. And I know that I don’t have a Firebolt, but it flies well enough. You could at least get away for a while.�

“You want to sneak away at night for a fly?�

“I mean, I don’t think we should get caught,� Ginny defended. “I know you have an Invisibility Cloak, Ron told me. We could sneak out, you could show me some tricks, and then we’d be back before Umbridge even knew what was up.�

Harry seemed to be warming up to the idea because she could see a glint in his eyes.

“Okay, I’ll see you in the Common Room at midnight, then?�

She nodded, feeling a bit warm knowing that she’d help improve his mood, and said, “Sure. Bring your cloak. I don’t want to be serving detention with Umbitch.� This made Harry laugh and they both parted ways.

HGHGHGHG

Ginny met Harry in the deserted Common Room at midnight, as promised.

Harry was standing in front of the fire, tapping his foot nervously, a shimmery fabric draped over his arm. He turned when he heard Ginny step up behind him and flashed her a smile. Ginny didn’t want to pay attention to the way her stomach flipped at his smile.

Just because she was over her childhood crush on Harry, she hadn’t magically stopped being attracted to him altogether. His unruly hair, green eyes, and dashing smile still sometimes made Ginny’s heart skip a beat.

“So this is the famous Invisibility Cloak?� She held up the shimmery fabric with the hand that wasn’t holding her broom. “I swear Ron loves this more than he loves you. Wouldn’t stop talking about it that summer before my first year.�

“It’s been plenty useful for us over the years.�

“Well, I’m looking forward to becoming part of your rule-breaking club.� Ginny curtsied at Harry a bit, which made him snort loudly.

“Okay then, let’s go.�

With this, Harry pulled the cloak over the two of them. It was a snug fit, Ginny noted, especially with the broom also hidden under it. Ginny tried to leave some space between her and Harry, but Harry pulled her closer to him until she was basically smashed into his front.

“Stay close, otherwise you’ll flash your feet.�

Harry’s breath tickled her hairline.

They slowly began shuffling, through the portrait, out into the lonely castle corridors. Ginny tried not to think about how it felt being in a cramped space with Harry, with nothing but silence between them. She could smell his woodsy scent, which was sending shivers down her spine. She could also feel his heart thudding, her head right next to it. It sounded a bit unsteady, maybe Harry was scared of being caught.

Before long, they had made it out from the doors to the grounds, where there were fewer people likely to spot them. So they could walk a bit faster now, reaching the Quidditch pitch in no time.

When Harry pulled off the cloak from them, Ginny felt the cold night air hit her cheeks. She felt thankful for it - her cheeks were burning up now and maybe now it would look like she was red due to the cold and not due to the proximity she had shared with Harry.

It was a bit awkward in the beginning, but the conversation quickly picked up as Harry started talking about his most memorable matches and gave her a breakdown of various Seeker moves. Ginny thought that Harry looked particularly happy when he took her broom and showed a few of those moves to her.

She squinted at Harry flying in the dark. She could just about make his figure out as he whizzed through the pitch, showing her how to dive and catch the snitch if it dove towards the ground, which was what often scared a lot of Seekers, in Harry’s opinion.

Harry flew back to the ground and landed next to her.

“That felt great,� he said and handed the broom back to her. “I’ve not flown since Umbridge took my Firebolt. It really helped clear my mind.�

“I’m glad.� And she was.

“Did you actually see anything? Or was it a waste showing you that move?�

“No, it wasn’t a complete waste. I could make some things out, even in the dark.�

“Good.�

They waited a bit, both trying to come up with what to do next. There was a strong gust of wind, and Ginny shivered.

“Should we head back?� Harry asked, looking quite cold himself. “I’m afraid we’ll freeze our bits off if we keep standing here.� Then, he coughed loudly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say bits around you.�

Ginny laughed.

“Harry, I grew up with six brothers. Trust me, ‘bits’ is not the worst I’ve heard.�

They walked back under the cloak and Harry only took it off them once they were safely inside the Common Room. They shared a look, neither of them sure about what to talk about, until Harry plucked up the courage to say, “Listen, Ginny, thanks a lot for tonight. It put my mind off things. It’s just what I needed.�

“You’re welcome, Harry.�

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,� Harry said and turned towards the stairs. So did Ginny. They walked up the stairs together in silence, until Ginny’s path split towards her own dorm. She turned to Harry, wanting to say good night, but he spoke up before she could.

“Hey Ginny,� he said and waited for a beat. “We’re friends now, aren’t we?�

This made Ginny smile.

“Yes, Harry. I’d say we’re friends now.�

“Okay, good.� He smiled to himself. “Good night then.�

“Good night.�

Then Harry walked away, leaving Ginny staring after him in the same spot. The old Ginny would have been ecstatic to spend a night like this with Harry. She would have dissected every moment, memorised every word, and replayed it all again, hoping that something could happen.

Now, Ginny simply enjoyed the warmth spreading through her chest - something she hadn’t even hoped for before seemed possible now.

Harry and Ginny could finally be friends.

And that made her happy.