AN/ This is part two of the story "Nothing But Pain" as told from the point of view of Harry. You can read them in either order, but both story (Part one and two) are the sequel to the story "I have Known what love is, which you have to read first!" enjoy…there's a lot more to come!
Disclaimer - I am actually JKR in disguise, hiding out and living the poor life as a student looks around to see if anyone actually believes her Oh well…worth a try!
~ For Mabwenya ~
I was having a nightmare, and I knew it. I was being chased through a deserted graveyard and I was trying with all my might to run away from the voices, but the more I ran, the closer they became. I gave a grunt of pain as I went sprawling to the floor, and looked up just in time to see a tall pale figure laughing down at me mirthlessly.
'No one to save you this time Harry' said the high, cruel voice as a wand was brandished in front of my face.
'No' I said, trying to get up, to run away and save myself.
'There's no hiding from me Harry' came the voice that was startlingly close to my ear.
I whirled round in fear and was greeted by the wand yet again and an evil smile, before I had time to react he spoke again.
'Goodbye Harry, it has been a pleasure...Avada Kadavra'
I gave a gasp and sat bolt upright. It took me a few minutes to register I was in my dorm and my heart was still thumping uncomfortably in my chest. I took a few steady breaths and listened to the sounds of the dorm. Ron was muttering in his sleep, Neville was snoring and two other sets of even breathing told me that I hadn't woken anyone up.
I tossed and turned in my bed for a few minutes, unable to get back to sleep. My dreams are always so vivid, and this one was no exception. Finally after a few more failed attempts to calm myself, I got out of bed and threw on an old school robe. I decided that a nice warm fire was exactly what I needed right now as I made my way down the stone staircase to the common room.
I paused when I realised that I wasn't the only one seeking the solitude of the common room. I could see a hunched figure sitting at my favourite place in front of the fire, apparently muttering to themselves. I crept closer and saw a shock of red hair, knotted on the back of the head and secured with what looked like a muggle pencil.
A smile tugged at my lips as I realised it was Ginny and I stood watching her curiously for a few minutes, talking crazily to something in her hand. I craned my neck and realised that it was a small teapot and I decided she had indeed lost her sanity.
"Please, please work this time, I'm begging you" came her pleading voice from a cross the room.
"Did anyone ever tell you it's not right to talk to household appliances?" I asked her, imagining her embarrassment at being caught talking to pottery, especially by me.
"No, strangely I missed that part" she told me while groaning with frustration as she examined the teapot, once again.
I laughed quietly to myself while marvelling at Ginny's new-found humour. Actually, I reprimanded myself, it may not be new found, I just don't know her. For all I know she could have been taking lessons from the twins, you don't live with them for so long without a little rubbing off. However, there seemed something different about her tonight. She didn't seem to be embarrassed or shy and I moved closer, all thoughts about my nightmare disappearing.
"What is the point anyway?" she muttered.
"The point of what?" I asked.
"What is the point in transfiguring a teapot into a turtle? Am I really going to be sitting in my house one day and think, 'Gee, what I really need right now is a turtle, and hey! What do you know, here's a teapot...I know, wouldn't it be cool if I could make a turtle out of said teapot?'" she ranted, waving the willow-patterned teapot around her head quite insanely.
I gave a snort of laughter as I found myself liking the new Ginny more and more and I continued to laugh as she cussed and cursed the teapot.
"What am I doing? I'm talking to a teapot, I'm actually trying to bargain and bribe a teapot..." she said faintly, looking dazed and confused at the same time.
"Well, it's when it starts talking back you've got to be worried" I said laughing.
"True...damn teapots...stupid turtles...who wants a turtle anyway, all green...eat lettuce...stupid, stupid me" she started muttering to herself.
"Hey, are you feeling alright Ginny, you seen a little...preoccupied?" I questioned, becoming slightly worried for her sanity, maybe spending so long in a house that occupied the twins, Percy and lets face in sometime Ron, could make anyone a little crazy.
She didn't reply, and I moved around to the side of her, starting to become seriously worried. I put my hand on her forehead, to feel her temperature and she gave a huge start and jumped out of her seat as if it was electrified. I cringed as the teapot in her hand fell to the floor and smashed in a scream of protest, and she whirled round looking confusedly from the teapot's pieces to me.
"Harry! You scared the life out of me!" she gasped, clutching her heart with a pale hand.
I gazed at her slightly confused for a few seconds. Did I scare her by touching her? Or was it me just being here? She didn't seem to have realised I was in the room, despite the fact we were just having a conversation.
"I've been talking to you for the last five minutes" I said slowly, grinning slightly as I looked at her crumpled robes, tired eyes and hair precariously balanced on top of her head.
"Oh yes, silly me," she said laughing nervously as she raised her hand to the pile of hair, and tried to release it from the pencils grip.
"What are you still doing up? It 4 am" I asked her, watching her fighting a loosing battle with the hair, she was succeeding in tangling it up more and more.
"Well if you haven't guessed by now, I'm having some trouble with turtles and teapots at the moment. I'm in so much trouble if I can't get this down" she moaned looking dejectedly down at the teapot.
I was still watching untangle her hair, standing in the middle of the common room very self-consciously. I felt a pang of guilt when I realised I must of really shocked her and I noticed a slight flush was creeping into her pale cheeks.
"Come here" I said finally, walking behind her and taking the pencil in one hand.
I started to pull long pieces of wavy red hair from the knot slowly, inwardly marvelling at the vibrant colour. My back was to the fire and the dancing flames where making her whole head glow a kind of deep red. I was being hypnotised by the colours and I tried to clear my head of strange and foggy thoughts.
"You should talk to Hermione you know, she got 100% on her transfiguration exams every year, she's a master at the turtle-teapot thing. Mine always seemed to have willow patterned shells, or breathe steam" I said laughing, trying to concentrate on the task in hand.
"At least that's something! I thought mine might be turning faintly green about three hours ago, but it was just my eyes I think" she said shaking her head suddenly.
"Ouch!" she cried as she managed to pull her hair in my hand.
"Oh sorry, here don't move your head so much" I laughed, placing my hands on her neck to keep her facing forward.
Ginny's shoulder stiffened slightly, and I continued to pull her hair away, my throat suddenly feeling too tight to speak. What the hell am I doing? I'm standing in the middle of the common room, in the early hours of the morning toying with some girl's hair. Ron would have a field day if he saw this. Not girl, I told myself, just Ron's little sister, it's only Ginny... In fact Ron would probably beat me senseless if he knew I was down here doing this, let alone Fred and George. However, I couldn't stop my stomach from fluttering slightly, I'm just hungry I told myself, just hungry.
I finally managed to free out her hair, and pulled the pencil out. Ginny turned around and suddenly a pair of chocolate brown eyes was only centimetres in front of my face. I looked into them for a few moments noticing how deep brown they were, before regaining my senses.
"Your pencil" I said in a strangled voice as I held up the offending item.
"Er, thanks" she whispered taking the pencil and quickly turning away.
She started packing away her things while I stood rooted to the spot. What was all that about? I thought as I watched her, noticing the butterflies in my stomach. I must be ill I decided as the contents of Ginny pencil case was scattered across the floor.
"Damn" she whispered as she dropped to her knees.
"Here, let me help you" I said, regaining the use of both my legs and vocal chords once again.
I leant across the pick up a pencil that had rolled underneath the chair, when I heard Ginny give a yelp of pain, I straightened up to see a savage piece of pottery had embedded itself in her wrist and hand. She pulled it out and was immediately greeted by a rush of warm blood that spilled across her hands and onto the red Gryffindor carpet.
"Give it here" I said hurriedly. I pulled her hand towards me and wrapped it tightly in the only thing I could find at the time, which just happened to be my robes. She was wincing as I pressed down hard, cradling her hand above her as I sat on my feet. I desperately tried to remember what I was taught at first aid in my muggle school, but it seemed such a long time ago. I couldn't even remember any magical spells – my mind had gone blank.
"It'll stop in a sec, then we'll take you down to Madam Pomfrey" I told her, carefully peeping under the rolls of fabric.
My stomach gave a lurch when I saw that the bleeding hadn't stopped at all, and that her entire pale hand was soaked in deep red blood. There was an evil gash right across the palm of her hand and down the inside on her arm, she must have fallen really heavily on the pottery.
"Has it stopped yet?" she asked trying to peer across my shoulder, but I tactfully blocked her way. I don't think she would have liked what she would see.
"No, not yet, it's quite deep as well, your not squeamish are you?" I asked as trying to distract her while I wondered wildly what I was going to do.
"I lived in a house with Fred and George for 14 years" she answered simply.
"I'll take that as a no then" I said, trying to smile, what came out felt more like a grimace.
I could see blood seeping across the bunch of robes I was holding towards it, and spreading steadily across the dark carpet. I was getting more and more worried as I realised that there was a lot of blood covering both me, her and the surrounding area.
"Everything is going wrong today" she sighed, and I could feel her wiggling her fingers slightly through the cloth.
"Come on Gin, it's only half four in the morning, how much has gone wrong today?" I said, covering up my worry with an unsteady grin.
"I mean yesterday and today, oh I don't know. Just everything...I can't do it, I can't do transfiguration, I can't do potions...I'm so useless" she muttered with tears glistening in her eyes.
"Everyone has rough days, and it's no great shame if you can't do potions...Hey don't cry Ginny, it'll be ok, Madame Pomfrey will sort you out" I said desperately as a tear coursed down her cheek.
I raised one hand and tried to brush the tear away, but realised that instead of getting rid of the tear, I'd managed to leave a long streak of dark red blood across her ghostly white skin. She raised her own hand and tried to brush away whatever she could feel on her cheek. I watched her as her eyes opened wide with horror when she realised what it was.
"Er sorry, that'd be my fault" I said holding up a hand covered in dark red blood.
She gave a choked laugh, and adopted a far away look on her face that worried me even more that the amount of blood we were currently lying in.
"God Ginny, you got water for blood or something?" I asked, wondering with building panic, why it was stopping bleeding yet.
I absentmindedly tried to brush my hair out my eyes and didn't even notice the trail of blood I left behind. Ginny was leaning back against the couch and her eyes were dropping slightly. She had the dazed, dim look to someone who was about to fall asleep. I didn't need to be a doctor to know that this was bad – very bad. Suddenly she slid off her backrest and landed with a thump against my shinbone, lying awkwardly with her arm beneath her, but she didn't seem to mind.
"Hey Ginny, now is no time to be falling asleep" I said worriedly, pushing her with my free hand into an upright position. The whole right side of her face was now smeared with blood from where she'd lay on my robes, making her look even more deathly white. Not deathly I told myself, find another word...sickly, thats better.
"I'm alright" she murmured, "I'm just a little sleepy"
"Oh no you don't" I cautioned as she slid back down into my lap again.
This time I couldn't get her up, she was a dead weight, her eyes closed peacefully as if she was sound asleep.
"Ginny?" I shouted, shaking her slightly.
"Ginny!" I shouted again, feeling panic overtake me.
She's dying, was all I could think about. Here I was sitting in the middle of the common room in the early hours of the morning doing nothing as Ginny died on me.
"Ginny, wake up!" I choked out.
"G'night...Harry..." she murmured before becoming limp.
I gave a strangled cry and looked desperately around the common room, as if expecting to find some saviour. There was no one there. I laid her out on the floor, and working with fumbling fingers, I hurriedly ripped the hem from around my robe. I tied it around her wrist with shaking hands and I watched her breathing become shallower. I tied it as tight as I could, then got to my feet, torn between fetching Ron for help, or just going straight to the hospital wing. I didn't want to leave Ginny on her own, so I picked her up in my arms and was surprised out how light she actually was. I practically kicked the portrait open, and stumbled through the dark corridors, unaware of the long trail of blood I was leaving behind on the stone floor.
"Don't you die Ginny, don't you dare die" I muttered as I carried her, praying to God that I hadn't been stupid enough to sit there watching her die.
I cursed as her bleeding arm was dangling beneath her, causing even more blood to seep out of the makeshift bandage, and I tried to re-arrange her so I could hold it up. Her head was lolling over one arm and I looked down into her pale face.
"Oh God Ginny, you can't die now" I moaned, skidding towards the door to the infirmary, which was locked. I kneeled down to the floor, placed Ginny down and started hammering on the door, shouting loud enough to wake up half the castle.
Eventually Madam Pomfrey came to the door, wearing a night gown and an angry frown. It was quickly replaced by a worried expression as she took in me, drenched in blood and Ginny at my feet, already lying in a small puddle of blood
"Help us" I begged.