Quaffles and Parchment
Sweet Dreams
Sweet dreams are made of these
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody looking for something
I've always been known as a bit of a tomboy. Growing up with six brothers, it's not a really shocking statement. My mother tried to instill more lady-like qualities in me by teaching me to cook and sew, but my desires for Quidditch and wrestling with my brothers won out.
Now, being a tomboy did not mean I had no appreciation for the opposite sex. In fact, I had quite the healthy crush on Harry Potter the summer before my first year. When the Boy-Who-Lived walked into the Burrow, I squeaked embarrassingly, ran away, and even introduced my elbow to the butter dish. I wish I had gotten over my crush sooner, and had been able to make friends with Harry. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so desperate for a friend.
That summer, I met Tom. He was charming enough, for a diary, and allowed to me prattle on about my daily happenings with my family, and my classes when I began at Hogwarts. Little did I know, he was actually slowly possessing me, and soon I had blank spots in my memory. As much as I tried to fight him off, I began losing more and more of myself before he finally won and took over. I don't remember any of this, just that I was dragged into the Chamber of Secrets to die.
I regain consciousness in the dank chamber, being shaken awake by none other than the Boy-Who-Lived himself. I found out that Tom was really Lord Voldemort, and he used me to try to get a body back. I spent weeks after this incident suffering from violent anxiety attacks and eventually gained a stern distrust for men in general. I vowed to never let anyone get that close to me again. I spent much of my second year at Hogwarts avoiding people and being anti-social. While my grades didn't suffer, the lack of communication with anyone outside of my family had made me depressed. My nightmares never stopped and there was no one to confide in.
I jack knifed up right in my bed, screaming, after one particular nightmare. I was immediately thankful for having learned the silencing charm as my fellow second years slept on. I tried to go back to sleep, but I found myself too haunted by the dream. Not wanting to hear Tom call me a foolish girl anymore tonight, I hopped out of bed and headed down to the common room, with the hopes of being alone. I was surprised by the warmth of a lit fireplace, indicating that someone else was up and in the common room. I turned to go back to my dorm room when a soft voice called my name.
"Ginny?" Turning towards the voice, I saw Hermione Granger, my brother's best friend (besides Harry) staring up at me, concern in her eyes. She was surrounded by mounds of books and parchment everywhere. "Couldn't sleep either?"
Shaking my head, I made my way over to the third year and sat across from her on the opposite chair. We sat in silence for a few minutes, hearing nothing except the crackling of the fire and the scratching of quill on parchment. Soon the quill scratching stopped and Hermione turned to me.
"I still have nightmares, you know."
I turned to her in shock. "Nightmares? From being petrified?"
She turn away for a moment and pulled a strand of bushy brown hair behind her ear. "I only wish. My first year, I was nearly killed by a troll a professor had brought into the castle. I had been in the bathroom, crying over something your brother said to me and I locked myself in. The troll had gotten in and blocked my only exit. If it hadn't been for Harry and Ron coming back to rescue me, I would be dead."
Angered upon hearing this I muttered, "If it hadn't been for Ron, you wouldn't have been in there in the first place."
Hermione smiled slightly, "True, but he did save me, which more than made up for the slight. In my dreams though, no one comes into the bathroom to save me. That's why I'm down here. I don't want to see that troll again."
It was quiet in the common room again. I tried to process what I was told when I heard a whimper across from me. I looked up quickly to see Hermione crying. Without even realizing it, I was out of my seat, comforting the third year, grasping her tightly as my own tears fell.
I don't know how long we held like that. Hours. Minutes. All too soon, she pulled back and I reluctantly let go and moved back to my seat. Through her tears she gave a gentle smile.
"Thank you Ginny. I have been holding that in for too long. I feel like a weight has been taken off of my shoulders. You know?"
I nodded, feeling lighter than I had when I first walked in. I gave her a smile, a real smile, the first one I had given in over a year. She smiled back and pulled me into another hug, giggling slightly.
Feeling tired, I pulled away intending to go up to sleep. As I opened my mouth to tell this to Hermione, she leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I tensed up and felt my face heat up with a blush. Chuckling at my reddened face, Hermione packed up her things and made her way up to her dorm room, wishing me a goodnight. I'm not sure how long I sat there before I finally move up to my dorm. As soon as I hit the pillows, I was asleep.
For the first time in months, I slept nightmare free. Instead, I dreamt of a certain bushy haired third year.
