Title: Exciting Life
By: Lily P Writer at yahoo dot com
A/N: One-shot. Harry & co. belong to Jo Rowling.
Reason: Haven't written in a while. Felt like writing...
Ginny dismounted her broomstick, by accident, 20 feet in the air and landed on her left knee, feeling it collapse under her. At first it was nothing but a complete shock, 'Is it supposed to hurt like this?' Then, when Ron fell to her side to comfort her, it all hit her.
Tears poured down her cheeks like when you overflow the sink, she covered her face with her arms and dug her light pink finger nails into Ron's leg to ease her pain (which, in turn, caused him some). Ginny could hear people talking around her, yelling at what they should do...
It was Quidditch practice, the wind blew hard and fast and the sky was a dark orange-blue. Ginny was running drills with the other chasers, working on passes and catching, Katie wanted to make sure none of her team were ball hogs. Ginny had just thrown the Quaffle to a teammate when a burst of wind hit her in the back, she had not really dismounted her broom on purpose, she sort of...fell off.
"Which knee was it?" Katie asked Ron.
"This is horrible, this is horrible..." Mumbled the other chaser, a sissy blonde hair 3rd year named Brooke, she was clutching her face and biting her nails.
"Is it the right one?" One of the beaters asked, smiling at the thought of pain, as he swung and caught his bat in his left hand several times.
"IT'S THE BLOODY LEFT ONE" Ginny said through clenched teeth, she felt her head spinning and mouth foam.
"How do we mover her?" Katie asked Ron, who shrugged.
Ginny's vision was clouded with tears but she could see the sight change in scenery and Harry let out groan, "Well, we can't let her just lay there in pain, can we?" Ginny's arms flew to his neck and she cried on his scarlet Gryffindor robes.
"Do you think it's broken?" Katie whispered hurriedly as she and Brooke ran to open the doors to the grand entrance hall.
"Nah." Harry huffed, stepping over the threshold, Ginny lay crying in his arms. "I think she popped it out of place." At that Ginny let out a soft wail. "It's all right, Gin."
"We can't play without Ginny, our reserves just aren't that good." Katie said, thinking of the possibilities of a replacement.
"Thanks Katie," Ginny whimpered, thinking she was complementing Ginny; but really, Katie was trying to mentally find a new chaser.
Katie opened the door to the hospital wing and helped Ginny protect her head. "No problem," Katie shrugged, then went back to naming the substitutes: "Do you think Sara Akelworth will do it?".
"What the devil happened?" Madame Pomfrey soared in like a hawk, her beady eyes flashing angrily at Katie, el captain.
"She fell off her broom." Ron said as he helped Harry place Ginny on an empty bed in the middle the wall facing east.
The Nurse, with the aid of the girls, took off Ginny's robes, put her in night clothes that were short enough for her to have a brace on, and placed and removed the cotton sheet barrier. All the while Ginny was moaning and groaning.
The team was kind enough to take Ginny's broom and dirty clothes back to the common room and to her dorm. They also promised to visit her later. The Nurse helped her put on a brace. "How does this feel?"
Ginny gripped her knee "Could be a tad tighter," Ginny tugged on the bandage. The nurse tapped her wand on her knee two times. "Perfect." The nurse also put one really fluffy pillow under her left knee and brought her Mac and Cheese with two sausage links for dinner.
With one last trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth, shower, and relive herself, Ginny found herself back in Madame Pomfry's hands. "All right, lights out, to bed!"
Ginny rested her head on her pillow but, even after that long and painful practice, she couldn't sleep. Maybe because of the weird feeling in her knee. It wasn't exactly pain it was just something she had never felt before. It was different from her pain last year, when she had broken her ankle. It was more like something was out of place but she couldn't fix it or put it right.
Lack of sleep forced Ginny to stare out the window most of the night, 'There's the Big Dipper'. She was utterly bored until about midnight when the Hospital wing door opened and shut but no one entered. Ginny shifted upward but a slight tinge in her knee told her to stop moving. She let out a groan and fell back.
"Shhh...." She heard from the shadows near the door.
"Whose there?" Ginny asked, thinking it might be Peeves trying to scare her or dunk her in cold water while she slept.
"What do you think 'Shhh....' means?" A familiar voice rang out softly from a spot near the door that Madame Pomfrey disappeared through, Ginny supposed that it was her sleeping quarters.
"Sorry," Ginny mumbled, confused.
"All right, all clear." The Voice was drifting to her bed. Then, as if an invisible teenage boy sprang up from the ground, Harry appeared at Ginny's side. "Hello," he greeted.
"How did you know I would be up?" Ginny asked.
"Marauder's Map." Harry, clad only in his pajamas, sat down at the end of Ginny's bed and pulled out a deck of cards. "I thought I would keep you company."
"Thank you." Ginny blushed. "I have been meaning to thank you for carrying me all the way from the Quidditch Pitch. I was a burden."
"Of course you weren't," Harry dealt out the cards. "You will just have to carry me next time," He added with a smile. Ginny giggled. Harry's smiled disappeared and he said, "I'm not kidding."
Ginny and Harry gave up on the cards after a few games, they kept forgetting the rules, and just stuck with talking instead.
"She was crying?" Ginny laughed, throwing her head back.
"Yup," Harry nodded, now cross-legged on Ginny's bed across from her, "Crying her eyes out, and she kissed me!"
Ginny giggled.
"You?" Harry asked, shifting a little uncomfortably, and it wasn't because of the bed.
"My first kiss? Yule ball," Ginny's grin faded. "Neville didn't ask. He cornered me in the stairs."
Harry cupped his mouth, then spat out: "Funny!"
"To you maybe! But try telling poor Neville that your not interested!" Ginny's eyes turned and her bottom lip popped out.
"That doesn't sound too difficult." Harry laughed.
"Well, maybe not for you," Ginny paused, her lip twitching, "You might have enjoyed that kiss. I mean, at least Neville wasn't crying."
"Low blow!" Harry groaned. Ginny groaned too. "What's that matter?"
"My bandage is cutting off the circulation in my toes." Ginny motioned to her left knee and tried to wiggle her free toes, no luck.
"Don't worry, I'll help you." Harry walked around to the other side of the bed and slipped his fingers under the blue wrapping and pulled it gently down her leg. Ginny silently thanked God that she remembered to shave her legs that morning. Harry placed the discarded bandage next to her foot and touched her knee, "Does it hurt?"
"Yes," Ginny nodded.
Harry's fingers gently moved around her knee cap and under her knee, Ginny moaned but it felt somewhat good. She rested her head back on her pillow. Harry moved around to the other side of the bed to grab his invisibility cloak, thinking that they both needed rest.
"Wait!" Ginny yawned, sitting up again.
Harry turned back to her, half of his left arm invisible. Ginny reached for his right arm, pulled him in and kissed him on the lips before falling asleep.
"You have a few torn muscles," Madame Pomfrey told Ginny. "You need to stay in bed one more day and take this potion." The Nurse placed a plain goblet next to Ginny's bed, she could see the watery, green liquid. It was fizzing loudly.
"What is it?" Ginny asked over the noise it was making.
"It's something that will help you heal by this Saturday's Quidditch Match." Pomfrey said irritably, tiding up Ginny's get-well cards and breakfast plates. She reminded Ginny of a mother hen fluffing up her feathers.
Ginny grabbed the goblet and chugged the entire cup in three seconds flat. It felt like a fizzy drink but it tasted sort of plain, flavorless. Then ---WHAM--- it tasted like dirty old socks.
"Can I have some water?" Ginny spat, sticking out her tongue, hoping that cold air would make it stop tasting like her brother's laundry.
"No." Madame Pomfrey snapped, throwing out empty candy containers that Ginny attacked earlier that morning.
"PLEAZZE!" Ginny begged, her tongue still hanging out of her mouth.
"Water makes it useless." Madame Pomfrey explained. "Just relax, it will go away in a minute."
Ginny rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes willing herself to think about something else.
"Hey, cutie!" Katie exclaimed, walking in with the rest of the Quidditch team after lessons. Mark, a teammate, had gone around to all of Ginny's classes and brought her the homework she had missed (Ginny had tossed it under her bed and gave it no other thought).
"Hey," Ginny groaned.
"Well?" Katie plopped down on Ginny's bed. "What's the verdict?"
"I have something torn in my knee." Ginny said, nose upturned because she could still taste the medicine.
"ACL?" Mark, one of the beaters who had brought her school work, asked. "My brother had that happen a few years ago," he explained, "in the muggle world he had to have surgery. They cut open his knee, drilled two holes in it, and he had to use crutches for 8 weeks! He had to do physical therapy."
"Your not going to be out that long, are you?" Katie yelled, tears in her eyes, "It's the last Quidditch Game of the year! We could win the cup! YOU HAVE TO PLAY!" Katie's teeth were clenched and she was growling. Ginny wouldn't have been surprised if she started smoking at the ears and foaming at the mouth.
"Calm down, Katie." Ginny soothed. "I'll be out in time." Ginny stole a glance at Harry as the rest of the team helped Katie calm down.
He smiled at her. Ginny whispered, "Play you 'Idiot' tonight!" She wriggled her eyebrows up and down.
"Deal." Harry nodded.
"All right," Madame Pomfrey barged in. "Miss Bell, I have to ask you and the rest of your team to leave Ginny in peace, you are making her too hyper."
Katie took several long deep breathes before she agreed. She exited the room with Mark, they were talking about long-term issues with his brother's knee and if it would be the same as Ginny's. Brooke left with them and the other beater, Jim, hand-and-hand.
Ron leaned over and kissed Ginny's forehead, "Feel better," he said and Harry patted her hand.
"Good Night, Ginny," Harry said then winked at her.
"You lead a very exciting life, Miss Weasley." Madam Pomfrey began fluffing her pillow again.
Ginny was waiting this time. She was either staring at the entrance or at the door to the room where Madame Pomfrey retires. It was a tad later than she expected when the door opened and a small breeze entered the room.
"Harry?" She whispered.
"Shh..." Harry replied. Ginny could tell he was smiling under that blessed cloak of his.
Ginny sat up, looking to her right, towards the last place she heard Harry. In the blink of an eye Harry appeared in front of her and he kissed her. Ginny's heart shot up out of her chest and into her throat, her face began to burn, and her eyes shot open and looked at Harry when he let go.
"What was that for?" Ginny asked, appalled, although very flattered.
"Returning it." Harry smiled.
"What?" Ginny sat back, bracing herself. She could still feel his lips on her's even though he was plainly speaking to her a foot away.
"You, um, you don't remember yesterday?" From the look on her face she didn't. "You kissed me before I left."
"Oh." Ginny began to blush, she kissed a boy without knowing it. Not just a boy. She kissed the boy who lived. "Was it..." Ginny smiled, "Was it ok?"
Harry sat on the bed with her. "It was great." Ginny blushed and turned her face away. "You still want to play cards?" Harry asked, he sounded like it really wasn't on his mind but to keep a conversation going--
"Nah," Ginny shrugged.
Harry smiled awkwardly, "Well, then we could always---"
Ginny pulled him in and kissed him, inhaling his fresh-shower scent.
"--do that." Harry finished, taking a deep breath. "Does this mean you..." But he didn't finish, a pained look on his face was appearing, though.
"What?" Ginny asked, she couldn't help smiling, her lips all tingling.
"Does this mean you like me again?" Harry asked.
"I never STOPPED liking you. I gave up on you. There is a difference." Ginny swung her legs off the bed and faced Harry, putting her hands on his cheeks and pulling him in, "But, to answer your question: Yes, I like you...a lot."
Ginny pulled his face toward her's and kissed him, a tad harder than she would have normally have but there was something exciting about Harry and her...snogging...in the hospital wing...at 12:30 in the morning...almost getting caught by Madame Pomfrey...what an exciting life!
The End
A/N: I needed to do something. I didn't want to finish Chapter 2 of "This Isn't Right Either..." because I don't think it is ready yet.