"Everybody Up!!" Molly Weasley's shrill voice burrowed into Harry's head and he awoke, jolting upright in his bed and hitting his forehead hard on the bunk above. Ron rolled over with a groan and started snoring again. Harry picked up his glasses from the table next to the bed and rubbed his head irritably. The clock displayed the time as 06:30 and he didn't understand why he had to be awake.
"Accio jeans." He muttered, pointing his wand vaguely at the floor and his jeans from the day before flew at him. He wriggled out of his pyjamas and threw the jeans on just as Ginny came in the room bleary-eyed and wearing a shirt with the buttons in the wrong holes.
"Morning. Why the bloody hell are we up so early?" Ginny asked him with a quick kiss.
"I don't know, It's still dark out. Someone needs to learn to dress themselves." He pulled on the uneven hem of Ginny's shirt and she blushed slightly and made to undo the buttons quickly. She had undone the top three buttons before Harry realised how inappropriate it was for him to be watching, especially with Ron on the bunk above. He closed his eyes while Ginny sorted out her shirt and was alerted to her being finished by her hands knotting themselves in her hair as she pressed her lips to his. He was taken by surprise and gasped slightly before kissing her back, his hands winding around her back and one resting in the gap between her shirt and jeans, the other finding it's way to her hair. Harry felt something more in Ginny's kiss, a fire that burned as he touched her, as he held her. He loved her more intensely, more powerfully than he ever knew he could love and he finally understood why Dumbledore had told him he should pity those who live without love; and why it was a weapon above all others. Harry's t-shirt lay on the floor, forgotten, and he tried to capture this moment, and these feelings, in his thoughts forever. She broke away from the kiss first, gasping for breath but he kissed along the line of her jaw, holding her tight. "I love you Ginny." She smiled breathlessly, her mesmerising eyes flashing in the half-light
"I love you too." She smiled as he sat up after her, planting a lingering kiss on his cheek.
"I need to get dressed." He said but didn't move. He was unwilling to move away from her warm body and his stomach was flipping something manic after the kiss they'd just shared.
"You need to get up then." She pointed out and he laughed.
"But I don't want to."
"Then you can't get dressed." It was a circular conversation and neither of them could win. In the end Harry got up but dragged Ginny up with him as he reached into his trunk for a clean shirt.
"Oh..." Ginny said suddenly and she slid down the wall she had been leaning on, ending up sitting on the wooden floorboards. Harry was immediately at her side, his t-shirt laying abandoned on the floor.
"What's the matter Ginny?" Harry grabbed her hand and felt sick with concern as she looked at him, her expression, for once, unreadable.
"You know what date it is?" She said quietly, her throat suddenly dry with nerves.
"It must be about the 1st by now?" Harry said, confused as to why she was staring at him like he was missing something obvious. "What's that got to do with an...Ah." He trailed off.
"Yeah."
"We're starting work today. That's why we're up so early..." Harry suddenly realised why Ginny had panicked and why she was so pale. "We're going to be teachers!" Harry's stomach bubbled with nerves and excitement while Ginny's face paled further.
"Harry I'm not cut out to be a teacher. I don't think I can do it." Ginny looked terrified and Harry kissed her head.
"You can Ginny, you can and you will. You're going to be amazing!" Harry smiled at her, unable to speak what was going through his mind.
"You think?" She didn't sound convinced
"Yes, I don't lie." He smiled at her reassuringly and she looked a little better. "Go and get some breakfast and I'll meet you once I've got Ron up, okay?" She nodded gratefully and stood up. Harry kissed her and watched her leave, before grabbing his shirt and shouting at Ron to get up.
"RON! MORNING!" Harry shouted, laughing as the tall, red-headed boy jumped awake with a yell, and left the room with a smile plastered across his face.
"Good Morning." Ginny sang as she danced into the kitchen to the aroma of freshly cooked bacon, her spirits as high as the sky. Hermione was already sitting at the table, eating in silence and looking as though she hadn't slept, while Mrs Weasley busied herself with cooking more bacon. "How did everyone sleep?" Hermione glared daggers at Ginny's happiness which, instead of quieting the excited teenager down, just made her burst into fits of giggles until she clutched at the sides of her stomach.
"Something funny?" Harry asked, wrapping his arms around Ginny's waist from behind and making her jump violently. "Or are you just happy all of a sudden?" He whispered at a volume only Ginny could hear, planting a kiss on her cheek. Hermione sighed and threw her toast on her plate with vehemence.
"What's with you?" Harry asked, surprised at Hermione's violent reaction to, apparently, nothing.
"Oh I don't know. Maybe the fact I didn't sleep all night because I was worrying about starting at Hogwarts today, and then you and Ginny are unbearably happy and in love while my boyfriend barely speaks to me, barely touches me and seems to care more about the food on his plate than me; the girl he supposedly loves!" Hermione's voice grew progressively more high pitched and tears sparked her eyes. Harry immediately let go of Ginny and went over to Hermione, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He kissed her hair gently while she fought tears and smelled a hint of strawberry, possibly shampoo. It was a beautiful smell that belonged to Hermione as much as Ginny smelled flowery; it drew him to her like Thestrals to fresh meat.
"Hermione." Harry whispered "What's going on? You know you can always talk to me, don't you?" He said quietly, turning her face to his as he tilted his chin towards his face. She avoided his eyes and he sensed something amiss, something wrong.
"But I can't talk to you, can I?" She breathed out, something undeniable sorrowful in her tone of voice. Harry heard Ginny walk from the kitchen, followed by Mrs Weasley.
"What do you mean Hermione? Of course you can talk to me." Harry sat down, facing Hermione who was still avoiding eye contact with him. When she remained silent he leaned slightly closer "Hermione, we're alone. Tell me what is going on here?" Her eyes flashed to his, just for a moment, but there was an intensity about his gaze that prevented her from looking away. She stared at him, her lips slightly parted in admission, her hands trembling slightly under the pressure and desperation of the situation. Hermione sighed in defeat, looking down at her shaking hands for a moment, readying herself for the oncoming storm.
"You remember that day, we were dancing in the Common Room, and I explained about my feelings for you and Ron. I thought I was being honest but then there was the whole...thing with Ron and I realise now that I was wrong. I do love Ron, I love him a lot, but I don't love only Ron. All these months I've watched you and Ginny falling in love and I was happy for you, very much so, but also a part of me was really jealous. At first I thought it was because you have a kind of relationship - a kind of love - that I can never have. But now I know it's more than that. I'm jealous of her Harry, because she has you." Hermione's cheeks blushed bright red and she looked intently at the table. "I do love Ron, honestly I do, and I need you to believe that. And yet I can't help but love you as well. You've always been there for me and I watched the way you touch Ginny, the way you kissed her, the way you even looked at her and I wanted to be her." Hermione was obviously agitated, her voice trembling and breaking and her explanation was becoming weaker, more interrupted by sniffs and sobs. "I love you Harry." She said quietly, before leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips.
