Their Existence
"I think one of my favorite feelings is laughing with someone and realizing half way through how much you enjoy them and their existence."
—Unknown
Ginny's eyes raked through the crowd as she looked for a pair of muscled arms. Most people recognized her brother, as with the rest of her family, by his hair, but Ginny had never seen her siblings that way. Being the smallest member of the family had its disadvantages—not being able to reach the fun games on the shelf; being small enough to squeeze into the gross, hard-to-reach places while cleaning—but it also had some perks. One of those perks was being able to notice her brothers by whatever trait was eye-level, rather than what they all had in common. For her second-eldest brother, that was his scarred, muscular forearms.
This time, however, they moved too quickly for her to register amongst the chaos of the Romanian station.
"Ginner Bug!"
Rough hands grabbed Ginny around the waist as they lifted her into the air and set her on a pair of thick, stocky shoulders. She could now see the vivid hair below her.
"Charlie!" she giggled. "Don't do that!"
Charlie grasped her ankles and lifted them above his head, causing their backs to collide before he began to spin in circles.
"Happy Christmas, little sister!"
— — — — —
Dear Charlie,
I'm scared. Please don't tell Mum and Dad—I just needed to talk to someone.
I keep forgetting things. Lectures, conversations, entire days… I don't know what's happening. I've been to Madame Pomfrey and she says that I'm just stressed because of what a big adjustment first year can be. I know she's probably right, but it just doesn't make sense. No one else has ever mentioned this happening to them before.
I'm worried I've been doing something when I lose my memory, or that someone's doing something to me. Do you think I've been Obliviated? That's not probable, I know, but I just don't understand.
Please don't tell Mum and Dad. Like I said, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey's right. I just miss you. I hate school—I don't have any friends and Snape is way worse than I even imagined. I just need to talk to you. Please write back soon.
Love you,
Gin
— — — — —
Dear Ginny,
How's second year going? Better than the last one, no doubt. I'm so sorry, Ginner Bug. I know I've said it before, but I should have taken you more seriously when you wrote to me about your memory loss. I won't be so dismissive again. I promise. Write to me about anything weird that happens, alright? And be careful. I know you've seen the news about that bloke Sirius Black being loose, but it's no joke, Gin. He's dangerous, and if he can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts—I have no doubt about that.
I'm not saying this to scare you. I'm really not. I just want this year to go better than the last. The pictures you'd draw and send to me when I was in school helped me through the homesickness, so I guess I'm just trying to do the same for you.
So, watch Fred and George cause some trouble. Watch Percy get upset over them for it. Watch Ron get in trouble for laughing at Percy for being so upset. And then, when none of them are watching, go cause some trouble of your own.
Just be careful while you do it!
Love you, kid,
Charlie
— — — — —
Ginny stomped to the bottom of the stands, her heart racing and her temper seething. Watching Harry go for that egg had been terrifying. She could still feel the sympathy-induced adrenaline coursing through her veins. He was fine now, though, so at least she was able to push the panic to the back of her mind. That helped to slow her heart rate. As for her temper—
"You prat!"
She thrust out an arm to cuff the figure she had just approached. She had finally grown tall enough to reach his head and she was taking full advantage of it. She pulled her hand back for another blow.
"Ah! Gin—" Charlie flinched at the incoming assault. "What—?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were here?!"
She stopped to cross her arms and send her mother's glare toward the man in front of her.
"Bug—"
"Don't call me that!"
Charlie sighed before taking a deep breath and starting again.
"Gin, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you. It had to be a secret." Ginny could see the sincerity in his eyes and began to soften. That is, until he continued. "The past couple of days have been torture not being able to—"
"Couple of days? You mean to tell me—"
"Gin—"
"You've been here for days and haven't—"
"Ginny—"
"Said a single thing to—"
"Ginny."
His voice was quiet, so quiet that Ginny's rampage came to a halt. She felt his arms clasp her shoulders before he pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Bug."
Ginny sighed. Why couldn't her brother have inherited their mother's temper as well? That would at least make it easier to row with him.
"Well," she started, soaking up the embrace. "You should be."
Charlie pulled back before tugging on the end of her hair.
"Let's go check on Harry. He's still in the medical tent. If you're lucky, you might even catch him without his shirt on."
"Charlie!"
This time Charlie knew to duck.
— — — — —
Dear Charlie,
Dad's alright. He came home from the hospital today. He's a bit worse for wear, but he'll make it. I'm sure he will. You have to have gotten your stubborn will from someone, right?
Please don't come home. I know you want to be here to help him. Believe me, I do, but it won't do any good right now. He has the rest of us, not including the Order, to get him whatever he needs. Don't misunderstand me—it'd be great to see you, and I'm sure it'd help Dad, but you should probably save up your leave.
Something big is happening, Charlie. Mum and Dad won't tell me anything, but I know you already know about it. You're going to need to come home eventually, but not now. I'll let you know when it's time. Until then, stay in Romania. It's safe there, right? It has to be safer there than it is here. That's why you have to stay, at least until we can't do without you.
Take care of yourself, Charlie. I'll give Dad your love, don't worry.
Love you,
Gin
— — — — —
Ginner Bug, (I know, I know, I know—Don't call you that.)
Congratulations on making the Quidditch team! A Seeker—I knew you had it in you. It's from spending so much time with me, I'm sure. You get all your cool talents from me!
I'm sorry to hear about Harry, though. Ron says that Umbridge is a right cow and I'm inclined to believe him. How could she take away Quidditch? It's just wrong.
I know your last game didn't go so well, but you were just getting warmed up. The next one will be loads better. You go out there this weekend and give the Ravenclaws hell, you hear me?
You're gonna do great, Gin. Don't be nervous. You've always been better than the rest of us—even if you are a girl! (I know, bad joke. Don't be mad!)
Good luck, kid! Write to me to tell me how it goes.
Love,
Charlie
— — — — —
Ginny's mind spun as chaos erupted once more.
Harry's alive. He's alive. Alive.
She kept up the mantra in her head as she focused her attention on the scene in front of her. She aimed jinxes on any enemy in range, unable to focus on whom she was fighting beside. All she knew was that she had to keep them safe, whoever they were. A killing curse sped past her, close enough for her to feel its heat. She heard her mother cry out in anger. Her head continued to spin.
Then, she saw it—a large pair of muscular arms charging in beside Professor Slughorn, their broad shoulders holding a fiery head of hair. She was completely mesmerized. He spared a moment to wink at her before firing his first curse. Despite the turmoil around her, Ginny's spine straightened a little bit more.
Harry was alive.
Charlie was here.
In that moment, Ginny knew—no matter what, they could make it.
They could win.
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this! I really appreciate your support :) If you have a spare moment, please leave a review or send me a PM with any thoughts or criticisms you might have. It really helps me to improve my writing.
A/N 2: On a more official note, this was written for the the Quidditch Pitch Challenge of the Hogwarts Houses Challenges forum. The prompt I chose was "She was completely mesmerized" (sentence). I'm a member of Hufflepuff :)