supposed to take place after chamber of secrets
for love in motion, family, percyginny
304 words, by google docs
Ginny is wringing her hands, over and over again. It's a small action, but Percy notices it.
It scares him.
He's not good at emotions. He never has been. They seem to fly over his head like the Muggle airplanes his father loves.
But he thinks his sister is scared, too.
"Gin?" he asks, sitting down next to her. She's been wringing her hands for the past few minutes and he's concerned. She jumps at his voice, visibly shaking, but she takes a deep breath when she sees that it's Percy. She makes a head-jerk to the seat next to her, and Percy's not sure if it's a spasm or an invitation to sit down. He assumes the latter and sits down. He wants to put a hand on her shoulder, to do something to assure her that he cares, but he's not sure how she'll take it.
"I—" Ginny says. Her voice cracks in the single syllable. She looks up at him, tears glistening in her eyes and her mouth clamped shut.
Percy probably couldn't make himself say anymore, either.
And then the tears start to fall, rushing down her face. She's gasping for air, and Percy thinks that it's more than the tears that are making her short of breath. Her head touches his shoulder. Percy can feel the tears start to leak through his shirt and he just doesn't know what to do.
How does he comfort her? How can he possibly relate to anything she's going through?
The tears continue to hit his shoulder and Percy knows that he should do something—at least try to comfort her, but he can only think about how unfair it is.
Why should she be the one to go through this?
She's too young, Percy decides, bitterly.
Why couldn't it have been anyone else?