Ginny was surprised, but rather pleasantly so, by Aidan's reaction. "Thanks," she said softly. "Looking back at it - I don't know." She shrugged. "You know how you sometimes look at your friends and wonder if they'd taken the same risks had you not been there to encourage them? Actually, maybe that's just me."
They were standing on a small stretch of pavement, with shops on one side and the road on the other. People were moving around them, but Ginny didn't much care. She simply met his eyes until he took a step back, blushing. "Really," she said. "Thanks. I, um, appreciate it."
He seemed to be really rather embarrassed, and she once again had to fight the impulse of patting him on the head. "Where you a Seventh Year, then?" she asked, in an attempt to distract him from the tips of his shoes, that seemed to be incredibly fascinating.