Author's Note: This is the (I wish) much-awaited sequel to
my previous weirdo story, The Healer.
I was going to put Ginny with Harry, but, after much thought and
philosophical discussions with myself (and not to mention long hours of staring
at pictures of Draco in leather J) I decided not to. So read on, dear reader, read on!
I, of course, own nothing…
With All I Am
Part I Walking Away
Ginny sighed as
she collapsed onto the bottom stair.
She was sick and tired of what her life was becoming. Sick of being led everywhere, sick of
mincing around Harry, sick of trying to tell the story of what had happened
during her capture, sick, sick, sick of it.
Harry
Potter. Boy Wonder. The boy she had loved since the first time
she had clapped eyes on him, five years before. The boy who had rescued her from Tom Riddle in the Chamber of
Secrets, four years ago. The boy who
had endured captivity with her, deep within the bowels of Lord Voldemort's
fortress, without decent food or sunlight for months. She had come to care about him a great deal, looking after him as
he looked after her during the long months in their cell. She had held his hair back when he was sick,
as he did her. He had saved her life
more than once, as she had his. There
was no doubt that there was a bond between them
Why, then, was did she find herself wishing she
could walk away from him so often? In
the weeks since returning to school, Harry had been very protective of her,
walking her from class to class, checking up on her at breaks, always worried
that she was still suffering the repercussions of what had passed. Making sure she wasn't seconds away from a
nervous breakdown. He was wonderful,
and everybody said he had a crush on her.
A year ago, even a month ago, she would have been elated to hear
that. But now, she just wanted to be
left alone.
How could he be so ignorant? Hermione told her that Harry's version of
their escape featured her being blinded by the bright flash of lightning, her
eyes not appreciating such assault after so long of being in the dark. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant. Had he not heard the rasping words of a
Death Eater hissing the spell? Had he
not heard her scream in pain as she felt the spell virtually burn away her
eyes? They were still there, of course,
but she knew she could never see again.
And who cared, really? What was
there to look at?
He amazed her.
So famous, a household name for "saving the world". She wanted to laugh out loud. Harry Potter, Boy Wonder. Around her, the males of her peer group had
grown and matured into young men.
Except for one. Harry may have
grown to suit his frame, might have matured physically, but in many ways he has
still the boy she had first met. He
lost his temper at the smallest thing; he was constantly acting obnoxious and
breaking rules. Even Ron had expressed
annoyance at his behavior. How had she
come to love him? she wondered.
And now, on the first of February, she had finally
lost it. Got up in the middle of a
group conversation and walked away. Ignored
the protests of her friends and family, just walked out of the room without the
aid of a guide or a spell. She had
walked through countless hallways and corridors, relying on her memories of the
school's layout to guide her. The
memories, of course, had been given two and a half years to rot, and were less
than perfect.
And that was how she had found herself sitting here,
at the bottom step of an unfamiliar staircase, feeling more lost,
literally and figuratively, than she could remember ever feeling before. Wondering how on Earth she would find her
way to her dormitory, who would be around to help her get back. She almost laughed out loud. Who was she to call Harry a child, when she
spent her time storming out of rooms down hallways she didn't know and couldn't
even see, just to be free of a conversation?
Ginny started to climb to her feet, though what she
meant to do once standing escaped her.
Stand around until someone noticed her, she supposed. Tears of frustration stung at the corners of
her sightless eyes, and she furiously blinked them away, wiping her face with a
sleeve. Finally standing, she grasped
the handrail and began to ascend the staircase slowly, one step at a time. She was only a few steps from the top when,
suddenly, she heard an amazed voice.
"Ginny? What
are you doing here?"
'
A/N I can see your mouse straying to the "next" button! Don't think I can't! Review first!
