Lily blinked away tears as she watched Harry blow out his candles for his eleventh birthday. His party was today, the thirtieth, since they planned on heading to Diagon Alley as soon as they received the letter with his supply list, which would probably be the next day on his birthday.

The Weasleys cheered and Harry grinned wildly as his mother took him up into a huge hug. He blushed furiously.

"Mum.... Your embarrassing me!" He mumbled, shooting a glance at Ron who was smirking. Then Fred and George, then Ginny.

Every time he looked at her he felt a twitch in his chest, like his soul was physically trying to come loose and present itself to her. Her eyes flashed and he knew she felt the same thing. Strange. They had never really been great friends, only talking rarely.

She was still a Weasley, and all of the Weasley's were his friends. And she was really pretty. But, that didn't matter.

He tore his eyes from her and back to his mother who was still beaming through her tears as she cut into the cake.

She handed him a piece and he dug in, enjoying every bite of it. But he soon noticed that Ginny was gone, and that Ron was looking putout, like he had been in a fight.

Harry glanced at the sliding glass door and wasn't surprised to see Ginny walk down the porch steps and start walking through the grass.

He stood up after he was sure that his mum wasn't looking, and slid the door open, trying to make it not squeal like usual. The house was surprisingly modern for what it looked like outside, like a cottage, but still had the rusty door hinges and creaking floorboards that came with older houses.

Harry jogged to catch up with Ginny and started walking beside her. She sniffed and looked at him.

"Harry?" She asked, without emotion. He cringed at how broken she sounded.

"You okay?" He asked, placing his hand on her shoulder to make her stop. Warmth spread through his hand as he touched her shoulder that was partly bare. She was wearing a pair of overalls that went to almost her knees and a tank top under that, so when he touched her shoulder, most of his hand was touching her skin. He shivered slightly and felt goosebumps rise on her pale skin.

"Yeah," She said unconvincingly. Without thinking, he took her in his arms and felt her shake with sobs. She told him how Ron said she shouldn't have been there because she wasn't Harry's friend and that Harry was his friend, not hers. She said that afterwards Ron realized what he said and tried to apologize, but she didn't believe he actually meant it.

Harry felt great, and he hated himself for it. He liked having her in his arms, tucked away where he could keep her safe. But she was in pain and it wasn't the time to think about that. No time to think about his growing crush on her while she cried.

He calmed her down and they both sat across from each other, cross legged, and talked for pretty much forever, or so it felt like to him. Ginny absently made a crown of wildflowers and Harry marveled at how nimble her fingers were. He watched as she weaved flower after flower into a halo of gold, white, and fire orange with blades of grass sticking from the top to make it seem more like a king's crown than a tiara.

"How do you do that?" Harry asked, awestruck.

"My mum is always teaching me new things, like how to knit, cook, or even weave flowers into different things." She replied, still fiddling with the crown. "I think it's because she never got to teach those things to my brothers. Since they're boys."

When she was finished, she admired it before getting a sly smile and looking at Harry who was grinning like the goofball he was just from watching how amazing she was at crafts.

She leaned forward and placed the crown over his raven hair and he stared into her eyes as she appraised him.

"Pretty nice, Potter." She teased, staring at the crown. He kept his grin in place and stared into her brown eyes that were flecked with a light amber. Like chocolate mixed with butterscotch.

As she met eyes with him, he felt his entire face glow with embarrassment and he looked sheepishly at his lap. "Anything to say?" She teased again, barely containing her laughter.

"Your eyes are pretty..." He said to his legs, not even glancing up when he heard her go silent.

"Th-thank you," She stuttered, surprised. She clearly didn't expect that he would answer like that.

Harry felt another twinge in his chest and he looked up at Ginny who was staring at him weirdly. "Did you feel that?" He asks.

"Yeah," She breathes lightly. She felt it too? They got lost in each other's eyes and the twitching in their chests that wasn't uncomfortable or comfortable. It felt natural.

She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, he instantly slapped his hand onto his cheek when she pulled away with his mouth agape and his face as red as her hair, spreading from the point her lips touched his cheek. "Thank you, Harry. For being a friend."

She giggled slightly at his expression and stood up, leaving him there with the same expression and contemplating why he felt like that around her.

Meanwhile, inside the house, an entirely different scene was taking place.

"Where's Harry?" Lily asked, looking around at the crowd. She spotted Molly looking around as well and noticed that Ginny was gone too. "Where's Ginny?" She asked. They all started looking around until Charlie looked out the window and laughed.

"There they are!" He laughed again. Lily moved to the sliding door and saw Harry and Ginny sitting across from each other, a crown of flowers in Ginny's hands.

Molly sighed and went to call them in, but James put a hand out. "Well would you look at that!" He said with a laugh. Ginny had taken the crown and put it on Harry's head. What shocked Lily was that he didn't object. "Aw, Lily! It seems our little boy is taken!" James cooed. Lily laughed at her husband, ignoring the sudden push that showed that the Weasley brothers were trying to get a look at this.

They talked for a bit more, then just stared at each other. Then Ginny leaned forward and kissed his cheek, leaving him thoroughly shocked. Everyone burst out laughing when he slapped his hand to his cheek and his jaw dropped slightly.

Ginny started walking back, so everyone went back to normal and tried not to show that they had been watching.

Outside, Harry fell back on the grass and grinned brightly, staring at the clouds, his mind full of all things Ginny Weasley.

That cloud kinda looks like her hair, that bird is the color of her eyes, those flowers are red, like her hair, those rocks are shaped like her dimples, That leaf is the same color as her tank top. I wonder if she'd appreciate it if I brought her some of those pretty flowers by the creek?

He sighed and shook his head, it still being cloudy from the kiss. He then thought of all that he knew about her and smiled, knowing that he knew almost as much as her brothers. He looked over at where they could see the Burrow. It wasn't that far away, a good five miles. And from his experience there, he knew that the window facing his house was the one in Ginny's room. He couldn't see it from all that way over from where he was, but he could imagine her sitting on her window seat like she did so often when he was over.

He shook his head again and noticed that it was getting dark, so he made for the house and got there just in time to see his parents saying goodbye to everyone. He caught eyes with the young Weasley girl and she smiled, waving before exiting the door with her family.

He felt sorrow fill him, and he knew that he was probably wearing his heart on his sleeve right now, but he didn't exactly care. When everyone was gone, his parents turned to him and he tried to make a quick get away.

"Hold it, mister." His mum said sternly. He made his way back down the two stairs he went up slowly. He knew they would ask why he didn't spend time with all his guests. They sat him down on the couch and they took the love seat.

"So, what's with you and the Weasley gal?" His dad asked.

"Listen I didn't mean to- what?" He asked, surprised.

"We know something was going on." His mum supplied.

"Ah..." He mumbled

"So, do you like her?" James asked, excitedly. Lily smacked his arm but Harry answered anyway.

"No- Yes- Maybe- But just a little bit." He stuttered, looking at his hands. James grinned and they all changed the subject to Hogwarts, giving Harry some relief. But something was bugging him in the back of his mind.

"Mum, dad," He started nervously. They both nodded, urging him forward. "When I was talking with Ginny... Well, anytime I'm around her... Something in my chest twitches, like my soul is trying to physically dislodge itself. She said she felt it too..." He ended lamely, glancing up at the shocked expressions of his parents. They forced smiles.

"It's fine, why don't you go to bed?" His mum said with a tight look. He nodded and headed upstairs.

"Lily. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" James asked cautiously. She nodded.

"We need to talk to Dumbledore."