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Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword	By : brooklynvtc Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Ginny Views: 21247 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter Fourteen
Ginny lay in bed, wide awake after having rested all day. She hadn't been lying when she had told everyone that she hadn't been feeling good after eating breakfast. She had gotten a sick feeling in her stomach a little while after Dean had joined her at the table.
It was actually strange at how quickly the roiling in her stomach came about.
It was also strange at how weird the entire morning had been...
She was aware enough at how awkward it was to sit with both Dean and Ron after what had happened last night, but the two blatantly ignored each other. Which was probably for the best. Though, Dean didshoot her a questioning look at the sight of Ron with Lavender.
Hermione had been intently focused on her book, while Neville had been acutely unaware of the tension surrounding him at the table.
And then there was Harry... she hadn't been aware that he and Cho still had something going on... not that it was any of her business, but there had to be something still there between them... Why else would Harry walk off with her for a private chat?
Her face flushed at almost having been caught holding hands with Harry by Cho. She had almost messed things up for him with that.
But she grabbed his hand in a way of comfort, not because it felt nice... at least that's what she had been telling herself for the past five hours. And after thinking about it, she realized how silly it was of her to try and comfort Harry. Why would he want comfort from her? She really had overstepped her bounds when she grabbed his hand.
'Then why did he lace both of your fingers together and squeeze your hand?' A pesky thought poked back at her, and she found it best to ignore it for now.
But then there was Dean... who had been late to breakfast and missed Dumbledore's announcements. He had no clue about the ball... and she didn't know why she didn't tell him about it. All that she knew was that something was holding her back... perhaps it was that she was kind of upset with Dean about how he talked to Ron and Harry when they had been caught snogging...
Sure, her attitude hadn't been much better. But she was close to Ron and Harry, whereas Dean wasn't. Any annoyance that she would have with them didn't come from malicious intent.
Or maybe she merely had no interest in going to the ball at all. She really wasn't sure if she wanted to or not… despite it being her idea. She didn't have all that much fun at the Yule Ball, last time around. Neville, bless his heart, couldn't stop stepping on her feet when they danced.
And she just remembered being miserable for not being there with who she really wanted to be with at the time. She remembered watching Harry that night… watching him watch Cho with his own jealousy.
It was odd how thing have come to this point… Harry finally has Cho, and Ginny has moved on.
All was right in the world…
A tapping on her window broke her from her thoughts, which she was grateful for, as she was tired of her thoughts going 'round and 'round in circles.
The tapping came again at the window, and thinking that it was an owl with a letter to deliver, she lazily stood to open it, not even bothering to change out of her pajama shorts and braless tank top.
She drew away the drapes from the window and shrieked back in fright.
"Harry!"
Harry Potter was floating on a broom outside her dorm window, staring at her with a sheepish look on his face.
Once her heart had it's time to calm down, Harry motioned for her to open her window. It took her a second before she did just that, and he flew in and landed on his feet, then turned to her.
She couldn't help but notice how nice he looked today. The bags that were under his eyes earlier had disappeared, and were wide and bright. His black hair was windswept from flying through the air, so it looked longer and in more of a disarray than usual. He was no longer in his school robes, and was wearing one of his green, Weasley jumpers that her mum had made for him. It was actually rather snug on him now, and it was at that moment when Ginny noticed how much Harry had actually grown over the summer. It was difficult to tell when he was always wearing his cousins old, baggy clothing, but he wasn't as scrawny as he was at the end of last year.
Shaking her head slightly, she got her thoughts back on track. And she wondered what he was even doing here... in the girls' dorm, no less. But she had to give him credit for finding a way past the charm on the stairs that barred boys from entering the girls' dorms. In fact, she found herself impressed.
"Hey, Gin," Harry said, rather awkwardly. His face was flushed red from embarrassment... but she had no idea what from. Perhaps he wasn't embarrassed and was merely flushed from riding his broom?
But then what he said registered through her mind, and she noticed the nickname that he had given her…
Gin…
It sort of threw her off at first, but as it bounced around in her mind, she found that she actually liked it. The name was unique. Better than being known as Ginevra, for sure. And though he had called her that in an awkward tone, it was still said in an affectionate manner. Something that she couldn't help but appreciate.
She wondered again at why he was here, but before she could question his presence out loud, he held up a basket that she hadn't noticed until that moment. "I thought that you might be hungry... you know, since you missed lunch."
As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly in reply. And Harry chuckled, "I guess that answers that question."
Without dwelling on any silly embarrassment, she hurried forward and took the basket from him. "Thank-you! You are a Godsend, Harry! I hadn't even realized how hungry I was until now!"
She took the basket over to her bed, and sat down on it, before she curled her feet under her bum, getting comfortable. "What'd you bring me?" She asked, working at the ties that kept the basket tied shut.
As she got the ties loose, Ginny looked up at Harry's pleased face where he still stood, and he replied, "Soup and bread."
Opening the basket, a pleasant aroma filled the room. Ginny closed her eyes and soaked it in, before exhaling serenely. Then she opened her eyes, and they nearly bugged out at the large amount of food that was in the basket. There wasn't just soup and bread... but little chocolates, strawberries, cream puffs, butterbeer, and a variety of different breads and soups.
"How much did you expect me to eat, Harry?" Ginny asked, with a laugh.
Harry stepped forward and peered into the basket. And when he saw the large amount of food packed into the small basket, he flushed even more. "I may have had Dobby pack the basket for me..."
Ginny stared at him with a humorous grin, "Well, I can't eat all of this by myself..."
Then she patted the spot beside her on the bed, and Harry was quick to join her on it. "I'm glad you offered," Harry confided. "The smell was making my mouth water."
Ginny couldn't blame him, as she was salivating at the thought of food, herself. They both carefully looked over their selections, before deciding that they would sample a little bit of everything. It was as they both tucked in, when Harry looked at her with concern in his eyes.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, before he lifted the back of his hand to her forehead. "You feel a little warm…"
Ginny had been busy dunking a piece of bread in some tomato soup as he said this, and she looked up at him with a small smile. "Better. Especially now with food in my stomach."
Harry gave her a wide grin at that, and slowly dropped his arm. "I'm glad. I was worried..."
Choosing not to comment, Ginny fell into a companionable silence with Harry as they ate. Every once in a while, they would each express their satisfaction at a particularly delicious sample of food they tried.
It was later - just after the packed everything up, as they both had gotten rather full - when Harry caught Ginny staring at him curiously.
"Do I have something on my face now?" Harry asked, jokingly.
A smile grew on her lips as she slowly shook her head, but then her smile disappeared and she looked at him seriously.
"How are things with Cho?" She asked him, hesitantly. Hoping that she wasn't overstepping any lines. It seemed as though she was doing that a lot lately… especially in regards to Harry.
She was surprised, however, when Harry immediately groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Exhausting... Frustrating... take your pick."
He picked at a stray string of fabric on his jeans, exasperatedly, before he looked up at her. He must have seen the perplexed look on her face, because he quickly continued. "She's trying to get back together with me..."
This didn't help Ginny at all with her confusion on the matter. "And you don't want to?"
Harry nodded. "I realized that I only liked her for superficial reasons. But once I got past that, and started to get to know her, I found that we actually have nothing in common... just spending time alone with her is always so awkward and uncomfortable."
Ginny nodded, starting to understand now. What she didn't understand was why she felt - what was the word... relieved at the realization that Harry didn't care for Cho. She supposed that she just thought that Harry was too good for someone like Cho... and that she just never cared for the Ravenclaw girl in the first place. So, of course she wouldn't want Harry to be with Cho... that would mean having her around all of that time. Because there was no way in hell she would break ties with Harry if he actually wanted to be with Cho.
Ginny shuttered at the thought of having to be cordial with her, if only for Harry's sake. Thank Merlin he wasn't interested in her anymore!
"Let me guess... she's having a hard time accepting that you don't want to be with her." She stated this as a fact rather than asking it, as it sounded exactly like Cho...
Harry nodded with an exasperated sigh. "You have no idea... I've tried to let her down easy. But she just won't take the hint. When she wanted to talk to me earlier, I didn't want to go, but Ron took away any excuse that I had, so I had to! And then, she asked me to the ball! I had to lie and say that I had already asked Hermione. Which she got all angry at for some reason..."
Ginny started to giggle madly, feeling far better than she had since the morning, for some reason. "Don't you see, Harry?! She was jealous! Of you and Hermione, of all people!"
His green eyes got really wide behind his glasses, wide enough that they reminded Ginny of an owl. "That's why it seemed like she was angry?"
Rolling her eyes at how dense he could be, Ginny responded, "You aren't very good with reading girls, are you, Harry?"
For a moment there, it looked as though he were about to argue – at least it looked as though he wanted to - before he sighed and slumped where he sat. "I suppose you're right..."
He looked so hopelessly lost in that moment, that Ginny couldn't help herself when she asked, "You want my advice?"
His eyes perked up and he nodded eagerly. Why did it please her that she made him feel better just then? I suppose it was a good thing to want to cheer your friends up when they were feeling down…
"You keep on trying to let her down easy and not hurt her feelings..." Ginny began, "Well, that clearly hadn't worked. So, you have to be blunt and firmly tell her that you aren't interested."
Harry's eyes widened comically at this. "I can't do that! I mean, she'll cry!"
The laughter bubbled out of her before she could stop it. The idea was just so absurd to her... "Harry, you've faced a Hungarian Horntail; lived your childhood with those horrible, muggle relatives of yours; beat all of the Tri-Wizard Tournament tasks; talked back to Snape; and dueled Voldemort five times, and lived to tell the tale... but you are terrified of an overly affectionate girl's tears?"
A distinguished frown grew on Harry's face. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds like it should be easy."
"Then why does your voice still sound doubtful?" Ginny asked.
Harry rolled his eyes. But the way that he did it, made it seem that he was rolling them at himself and not at her.
"It's because, when I am in the moment, talking to Cho – or any other girl, for that matter…" He cringed at something from his own thoughts, that Ginny knew nothing about. "…My mind freezes and I never know what to say. I'm a cad that any girl can walk over to get what they want from me…"
"Who knew that Harry Potter's secret downfall is teenaged girls?" Ginny intervened, still finding it slightly funny. Before she got serious, for his sake. She started to think… to brainstorm over how to solve his problem. Because if she didn't help him soon, Harry wouldn't need to be subjected to a love potion in order to be ensnared in the webs of an unfortunate relationship that he didn't want.
Suddenly, she brightened as an idea came to her. "I've got it!" Then she turned to him fully, excitement in her body and tone, as she sat cross-legged in front of him.
"We could role-play!" Ginny suggested, happy to have thought of something that could help him.
Harry started to choke on a violent coughing fit. He pounded on his chest as he managed to choke out, "R-Role-play?!"
Ginny nodded, confused at his weird behavior. "Yeah, you know, practice scenarios where I will be Cho, and you will reject me. That way you will know what to do when you confront her."
"O-oh… alright then… But, in real life, Cho has gotten to be quite, uh, aggressive in her, um, pursuit…" Harry answered, still not quite convinced at how good the idea was.
Ginny waved him off, a devious smile on her lips. "Don't worry. I'll be so vigorous, it will be difficult for you to say no to me… I won't take no for an answer."
Swallowing heavily, Harry pulled at the collar of his jumper, before standing abruptly. "Al-alright. We can try…"
Ginny stood as well, and straightened her cloth shorts, that had ridden up a bit from sitting on the bed.
"Now, act as you think you should, and I will give you advice on how you can improve. That sound alright?" Ginny instructed.
Harry nodded, nervously, and wiped his palms on his jeans.
Ginny took a moment to concentrate on how she wanted to go about this, before she got into the embodiment of Cho Chang...
Ginny bit her lip awkwardly, and shuffled her feet. "Harry..." She breathed.
Harry exhaled roughly, before saying, "Y-yes, Gin- I-I mean, Cho?"
Ginny had to suppress a smirk at his slip-up, but she managed not to lose her composure, or her character. "Can we talk, Harry?"
She flashed him big, doe eyes, just as she had seen Cho do. She held out her hand for him to take, and Harry nodded absentmindedly, before immediately grabbing her hand with his.
Ginny dragged him to the other side of the room, pretending that she was 'finding a private place to chat'. Then she stopped and stared at him, tilting her head to the side in a studying manner.
"I really like you, Harry..." She declared in a vulnerable manner, she still had a grip on his hand, and she took a step closer as she said this. He didn't move away, as she inched her way closer. In fact, his breathing became labored, with what she suspected was the result of nervousness on his part.
"I want us to be together..." She accentuated this with another step closer. "Do you want that, Harry?"
She was now invading his personal space, and her hands came up to caress the sides of his neck... her fingers threading through the short hairs at the nape.
Harry, himself, seemed to be shaking and he nodded a little bit before he caught himself, and abruptly shook his head no.
She leaned in close, so that her lips were at his ear. "I want to hear you say it, Harry..." She whispered, before she rested her cheek against his, and pressed herself against his lean form in an embrace.
"I-I want, I mean, I don't want you, Cho..." Harry stuttered, but his hands wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
Ginny's breath hitched at the feeling of being in his arms. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and what she was supposed to be doing… She was so close, that she could smell his scent… She closed her eyes and breathed it in deep… it was alluring. He smelled of peppermint… pinewood… and butterbeer… She found herself leaning forward to get closer to the tantalizing smell, until her nose was nestled into the side of that disarray of black hair.
She breathed in deep once again, pleased that the scent was so much more potent there. A strangled groan erupted from Harry, as his hands fisted at the fabric of her tank top. And it was at that sound, that Ginny remembered herself and abruptly pulled back.
Poor Harry looked so dazed and confused… If she hadn't overstepped the line before, now she surely did!
She didn't know what exactly came over her, but it was as though… old feelings had come forth… But that couldn't possibly be true! It had to be something else! Perhaps she had been confunded earlier, and hadn't quite gotten over the effects yet.
As she stared at him in horror, her mind tried to come up with ways to fix this… She couldn't just let things become awkward between her and Harry! Not again! She just couldn't allow it…!
Ginny forced a laugh and made it sound natural, though inside, her stomach felt upset once again. "I would say that you might need a bit more practice in the art of rejection, Harry…"
Blinking numerous times, Harry came back to himself from out of his stupor.
"S-sorry…" He apologized, his face now, not only flushed, but a Weasley red that expanded past his cheek, to his neck, and beneath his jumper… She absentmindedly wondered how far the flush went… "Y-you weren't kidding when you said that you weren't going to hold anything back…"
She looked at him critically now, and playfully circled around him as she studied him. "I think I know what your problem is…" Ginny finally said, as she stopped her circling at stood in front of him. "You have trouble saying no…"
Harry sputtered and then he scoffed, indignation taking over his initial embarrassment. "I don't have a problem saying no…!" He crossed his arms as a form of protest, and to emphasize his thoughts on the matter.
"Oh really?" Ginny asked, amused and not at all convinced. "When was the last time that you said no to something that was expected of you, that you really didn't want to do?"
Harry readily opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He closed his mouth, and pursed his lips in thought as he scratched at the side of his head, just above his ear. When a minute passed with no response from him, Ginny considered it a victory. "That's what I thought… All that we have to do is have you practice saying no."
She turned and walked over to her bed, before sitting down on it again. Harry hesitantly followed suit, and sat down stiffly on the mattress.
Ginny turned to face him when he finally sat. "Now, before we start, I've been meaning to ask you… Would you mind helping me by talking to Snape and getting the work that I missed today? It would really help me out, Harry…"
Harry immediately nodded. "Sure, Gin. I'll go see him after supper."
Groaning, Ginny fell backwards on the bed, and covered her face with her forearm in exasperation. "Harry...!" Ginny scolded. "You were supposed to say no!"
"Wha…" Was the noise that Harry managed to get out, his voice thick with surprise. And Ginny uncovered her eyes and sat up in a sitting position, once again. "I hadn't realized that we started…!"
Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "That's the point, Harry. Life isn't going to be one big practice session. Bludgers are going to be unexpectedly thrown your way, and you have to learn how to dodge them… because, most of the time, bludgers don't come with any warnings."
Looking pointedly at him as she said this, Harry sighed heavily in defeat and nodded. "Right… right… learn to dodge… right."
Ginny nodded in approval at him, glad to see that he was seeming to get it. "Want to try again?"
Harry immediately agreed, and for the next twenty minutes, Ginny asked Harry for different favors, and Harry practiced saying no. Ginny even went so far as to teach him to have valid points as to why he was saying no, so that there would be no argument to the contrary for his decision.
"Harry, will you please rub my feet? They may smell a bit at times, but I've had a long day running drills for the Quidditch team all day, and they've gotten a bit sore…" Ginny asked, and she had a hard time keeping her laughter in, as did Harry. It was fun thinking of ridiculous things to ask him.
Harry snickered at the smelly feet comment, before he replied, "No. Sorry, Gin, but I-"
"Don't apologize for something that you don't want to do." Ginny interrupted to remind him. "It's practically an invitation for someone to walk all over you…"
Harry nodded to himself as he took the critique, "Right… Right… Don't apologize." Then he stood up straighter, and cleared his throat.
"No." He said in a bold and confident tone, something that Ginny wasn't used to hearing from Harry. "I don't want to, and besides, you don't even use your feet for Quidditch… So how can they be sore from that?"
Ginny laughed heartily. "Very good!" She applauded loudly as Harry stood and gave her a mock bow at the praise. Harry straightened from his bow, and grinned cheekily at her, before sitting right next to her, and throwing an arm around her slender shoulders, in a very demure way. Ginny could help but chuckle at him.
"What if, after all of this, Cho still won't let up?" Harry asked, his voice still more confident than usual, but there was a slight nervousness at this possibility.
Ginny's eyes narrowed at the thought. "Then she's as dumb as a doorknob for not taking a hint, and you should stop indulging her. If nothing else, ignoring her will get the point across."
She lay her head on his shoulder and he squeezed hers where his hand lay.
"Thanks for everything, Gin." Harry whispered, before turning his head and kissing her on the side of her forehead. "It was actually a lot of fun!"
Ginny sighed contentedly. It had been a lot of fun… teasing each other with questions and answers, like that. "I don't think that I have ever seen you act that confident before…" Ginny mused. "Not even when you are in a duel… or at the Department of Mysteries…"
She felt Harry stiffen underneath her, and she pulled away slightly – his arm falling from around her shoulders - so that she could look at him properly. By the looks of him, he seemed rather troubled by what she had said.
"Do you think that lack of confidence is something that holds you back? Is that why you step back and let Ron or Hermione take the lead most of the time, unless – in the direst of situations – you have to step forward and take control?" Ginny really hoped that she was hitting the nail on the head for this. "I noticed this a lot when we were in the Department of Mysteries, last year… It was only after- well…"
"You can say it…" Harry encouraged, sadly.
"It was only after Sirius had gone through the veil, did you finally take charge and went after Bellatrix. I want to know why that is…"
"Everyone knows that I'm not the greatest wizard…" Harry said, miserably. "I know that I can't do it all, Gin."
"I know you can," Ginny said, firmly, and she forcefully grabbed his hand in both of hers and squeezed it tight. "You know why?"
Harry shook his head.
"Because all those amazing things I said that you went though, aren't the only things. You also saved a poor, little first-year girl from a chamber, a basilisk, an evil spirit, and a diary." Ginny replied, passionately. "And if you can't believe in yourself as a hero, know that I believe enough for the both of us... because without you, I wouldn't even be alive. There hasn't been a greater gift that anyone has ever given me."
His face was dazed as he looked at her, and his eyes were wide with awe... For her… His body was swaying closer, fractionally. And Ginny wondered if there was something wrong with what she had said. Did she break Harry Potter? Because he seemed to not be functioning normally.
It was the chatter of girls walking up the stairs, outside the door, that froze Harry. There was a light knock on the door…
"Ginny?"
Harry was quick to whip out his wand.
"Ginny?" A soft voice called through the door, before the twisting of the knob started to turn…
.
.
.
.
A/N: Please leave a review! :)
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Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword