A/N: Idea to written story in less than two hours, and that's amazingly fast for me! AU after HBP. Pretty much ignores Deathly Hallows. Please tell me what you think, as always. Sorry for those of you who thought this would be the next chapter of WWAF! I pretty much have a smallish writer's block on that one, but I promise you'll get the chapter sooner or later. Now, on with disclaimer and story!
Disclaimer: This is not the way JK writes her characters. I'm not her. You wouldn't want me to be, anyway.
She runs though the white corridors, ignoring the ache in her left arm. When she runs into someone, she ignores the loud protests of "this is a hospital, young lady!" and barely shouts an out-of-breath "Sorry!" over her shoulder. She is searching for the Dangerous Curses-ward. Finally she realizes that it's going to take her all day if she won't ask somebody.
She stops a kind-looking old medi-wizard, who gently shows her the stairs and explains which way she should go, before he hurries off to take care of another newly arrived, badly hurt patient.
She barely has the time to think of all the victims of the war, all the injured she sees in the corridors and all the dead she spots in the rooms, surrounded by their family and friends, as she rushes up the stairs and into another white passage.
"Harry!" she shouts as she ran into the room.He looks surprised.
"Hiya." He manages a weak smile. "Why're you here? I thought your dad-"
"You need me more." She smoothes down his sheets, trying not to show how worried she really is, both for him and her dad. "Anyway, the healers said he will be fine. He'll wake up in a few hours."
Her voice starts to shake a little, and he notices. He doesn't say anything, however, just offers her another weak smile, trying to comfort her.
"How are you?" she asks after a little while. He shrugs, but winces and stops.
"Okay. The curse wasn't so bad, really, despite the looks of it. I feel relieved, actually, never mind how strange that may sound." She nods in agreement, and he nods back. They both smile. They understand perfectly why they would be relieved, and why that may sound strange. They had been in the middle of a war only four hours ago, and they still didn't know how many had died because of Voldemort's cruelty.
"How's Mad-Eye? I didn't see him… afterwards." She notices that he doesn't want to explain further. She understands, but she is still a little bit amazed that he doesn't want to acknowledge what he's done. But she knows him well enough to know he has never wanted the fame that comes with his name, not even when it's well deserved, like now.
She shakes her head with an amused but worried expression.
"He keeps telling everyone he's fine, and everyone keeps telling him he's not. He's lost an arm, Harry, and he's loosing a lot of blood, since the wound won't heal. He's certainly not fine, but as long as they can find a way to stop the bleeding, he will be." She snorts.
"Everyone okay then?" he asks, with the first flicker of hope in his eyes she has seen for a very long time.
She turns very quiet. The hope in his eyes fades. He asks, "Who?" with dread written all over him.
"I'm not allowed to tell you any of this, Harry. I really should go," she glances towards the door, "but… Oh, Harry, it's Charlie! They don't know if he'll…"
He gives her a searching look before he nods and embraces her, empathy radiating from his face. She starts to sob, not being able to stop. She knows he's in much more pain right now than she is, but she can't help it. She cries for only a few minutes, before she is able to stop.
"I'm so sorry, Harry, I know I shouldn't-"
"Don't," he says and gives her a tissue from the bedside table. "I… I know, Ginny."
And she knows that he knows. They both lie down on the hospital bed, and both of them fidget a little on the sheets. They meet each other's gaze and laughs through their sadness.
"I swear," he says and fidgets a little more, "they made the beds here as uncomfortable as they could without being sued, so their patients would want to be better sooner."
She has to agree. They lie there in silence for a few minutes, listening to the hurry and bustle outside their door. She can't help but think about her family, and she prays to anyone who would want to listen that they all will be okay. She wonders what he is thinking about. When she glances to her right, she sees tears in his eyes, and she thinks that perhaps he is also thinking about his family. She takes his hand and squeezes it. He gives her a small smile.
"No regrets, eh?"
She ponders about what that would mean for her. Not regretting leaving her home to hunt Horcruxes with the boy – no, man – next to her? No, certainly not. Not regretting using an Unforgivable in the battle they just have leaved? She isn't so sure about that, but she knows she would regret it even more if she hadn't killed the Death Eater with his wand pointing at Bill, ready to yell an incantation that would change her life to a nightmare and his life to not-at-all. He, Bill, was of course terribly mad at her afterwards. She didn't care, still doesn't. So, no, probably no regrets there either.
Still, not regretting leaving Ron and Hermione alone with a dozen Death Eaters at Godric's Hollow that many months ago? Truth is, she doesn't regret it, and she would do it again in a heartbeat. It was for Harry, after all. If she hadn't taken him to Hogwarts and Madam Pomfrey in time, he would have died. As it was, he came close enough and Ron had broken a rib or two, but they had survived.
She starts to answer him, but closes her mouth again. Now she ponders bout what that would mean for him. Not regretting breaking up with her? However short it may have been, he still thought it would last until the war was over. Not regretting choosing to leave Remus after the full moon, when he would have needed him? Not regretting all the deaths she is sure he blames himself for? Not even Dean Thomas', Mr and Mrs Granger's or Professor McGonagall's? Possibly even, she shudders when she thinks about it, Charlie's? Not regretting pushing everyone away, including Ron, Hermione and herself, hurting everyone, saying the things that would hurt them the most?
She shouldn't regret a single thing she has done, if he doesn't regret his. The thing they had done had hurt people. But themselves the most. She smiles and feels like she's closer to Harry than ever.
"No. No regrets."
First of all; Happy Halloween!
Second of all; yes, I know it's not very long. I'm incapable of writing long chapters, if I don't work half-a-year on each. Neither you nor me want me to do that, so I write short chapters/stories. Please do not complain on the short-ness.
As I said, make my day and tell me what you think! I always reply the reviews I get. The first three to review can request a character for my story What We Always Feared. (wink, wink) If you find any grammar/spelling errors, please tell me. I'm here to improve my English (and because it's fun to write, of course). X-)