Harry was the angriest Ginny had ever seen him when he arrived at Sirius' house, and also the thinnest. It looked like he hadn't eaten in days, and the dark circles under his eyes spoke of many a sleepless night. As soon as the Order of the Phoenix meeting had ended, her mum had fussed over him like a mother hen. He'd been somewhat happy to see all of them and Sirius, but in the end it had done little to mollify him. He didn't believe a word they told him about not knowing much more than he did, and she couldn't blame him. Ron and Hermione were especially terrible liars.
At least Sirius had finally been honest with him after dinner, or told him as much as her mother would allow. Ginny was still upset that her mum had insisted on treating her as if she were still a child. Not to mention how embarrassing it had been to be sent to bed in front of the older teenagers. Hermione had filled her in when she had come to bed and Ginny had tossed and turned for awhile; not really thinking about anything that Hermione had told her, but just thinking. She couldn't seem to turn her brain off, so eventually she gave up trying and headed downstairs to get a glass of milk.
As she passed the sitting room her mother had on her list of chores for the following day, she caught a familiar silhouette outlined by the front windows. Harry was wearing a plain white t-shirt and plaid pyjama bottoms. He rolled his shoulders and she could see the sinewy muscles he'd developed from playing Quidditch all these years ripple under his shirt. A couple more years and he'd be giving Sirius - who like Hermione had said, was quite good looking - a run for his money.
Ginny marveled that she was able to stand here now and not feel intimidated at all, and she was glad she was over the silly girlhood crush. Harry needed a friend, not a stupid infatuated girl who gibbered every time he looked at her.
"They're all scared of you, you know?" she said from the doorway.
"Why aren't you?" he asked sullenly, staring out the front window.
Ginny snorted and nearly replied that she didn't have anything to lose, but thought better of it. "Are you done yelling?" she asked instead.
"Not sure," Harry said grimly. "Depends on if you're going to lie to me to."
Ginny smirked. "You should know by now that of all the people in this house, I would be the one that knows the least. Please, they all think I'm still a baby and can't handle anything. I've been sequestered away cleaning dank corners of this place. Can't you tell?"
"At least you've been here," he said.
"At least you could go outside," she retorted.
"Are we going to compare who's had the worst time of it?" Harry asked. "Because unless you've been attacked by Dementors lately, I'll win."
"Don't be petty," Ginny said. "It's unbecoming."
His shoulders slumped. "I'm tired."
"Why aren't you in bed like everyone else?" she asked.
She knew that wasn't his meaning, but also knew there was no way he would ever reveal any of his inner feelings to her. He never really had and probably never would. She wasn't that close to him, not like Ron and Hermione. However, she'd decided that he didn't need another friend who coddled him, like they tended to do. He needed someone who wasn't going to put up with his moods. If nothing else, she knew how to deal with moody boys.
"Nightmares," Harry said. "I was keeping Ron up. Thought at least one of us should get some sleep."
"Oh," she said, somewhat surprised at the admission. "What about?"
"The usual," he said cryptically.
She didn't really know what 'the usual' was and he clearly didn't want to tell her, but she could guess, so she let the subject drop.
