"...and after a while Harry found himself taking [the Marauder's Map] out simply to stare at Ginny's name in the girl's dormitory, wondering whether the intensity with which he gazed at it might break into her sleep, that she would somehow know he was thinking about her, hoping she was alright." (Deathly Hallows p. 313)
Ginny whipped up into a sitting position in her bed, exhaling a gust of air in a loud gasp. She glanced around, and needed a minute to take in her surroundings. After the shock wore off, she recognized the four poster beds and the same old Gryffindor hangings. She quickly looked to see if she had woken up any of her bunkmates, but, fortunately, no one had stirred. Or perhaps they were just used to her waking up in the middle of the night by now.
She untangled the sheets that had been twisted around her legs and wiped a sheen of cold sweat off her forehead. It had been such a vivid dream. She had been running through the Hall of Prophecy, while glass orbs rained down on her. But it wasn't a memory of her time spent there two years ago. It was different. She was alone and she wasn't running from Death Eaters, she was running to find the others. She knew that somewhere near, a battle was ensuing and she had been left behind. A sense of sheer panic filled her that people she loved were dying and she wasn't allowed to help them, wasn't allowed to take part in the fight for them. As she searched and searched frantically, dread and horror overtook her and she knew she was going to be left alone. She just couldn't find them because the confusing hallways were against her and kept changing and blocking her way.
Ginny lay back down, still breathing heavily. She was confused. While her dream had been terrifying, she was sure it hadn't been what woke her. She looked around at the windows. She almost expected to see an owl pecking at the glass, carrying a note for her, but there was nothing but the glow from the moon. How odd. She had this overwhelming feeling that Harry was trying to contact her. Her heart fell, as sense came to her and she realized how foolish that would be on his part. He was wanted by the ministry and her mail was being watched. Some of her previous fear seized her again as she thought of Harry, Ron and Hermione holed up somewhere out there, trying to conduct their mission without generating attention. Her worry for them intensified at night. She tried to push it to the back of her mind during class and in company, but when everyone else was asleep and the chaotic world they were living in was temporarily silent, she let the fear take hold.
Ginny missed Harry terribly. More than she had missed her brothers when they went away to Hogwarts and she was left alone in the abnormally quiet house with Mum and Dad. She looked out the window again and stared at the moon, which was full and illuminating. She took a tiny bit of consolation in the fact that Harry was lying underneath the same moon tonight, and was perhaps, at this moment, looking up at it as well and thinking of her.
A/N: The first one. Be wary, these are going to be short chapters because each one is just supposed to be a minute or two. On the bright side, though, this leaves the story very open-ended, so it can always be added to. :) Reviews!
~G.L.H.~