I Say a Prayer for You
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places (they belong to JK Rowling, Warner Brothers etc.) and am making absolutely no money from this writing. The song at the beginning is called "Love me do" and it belongs to the Beatles.
"Love, love me do!"
CRASH!
"You know I love you!
BANG!
Harry awoke with a start and dove for his wand. Unfortunately for Harry, the combined effects of grogginess and bad vision caused him to miss the bedside table by a foot and topple onto the hard wood floor, struggling frantically as if the tangled orange bed-sheet was an exceptionally vicious leithofold.
It took Harry a moment to register what had just happened and when he did Harry could feel the familiar burning of shame in the pit of his stomach. He was at the Burrow-strange noises in the morning should not be surprising. He glanced at Ron's bed which was thankfully vacant; Harry wouldn't have liked Ron to see him go to pieces like that.
The thing wasHarry had been expecting something to happen all summer. But strangely enough, Voldemort seemed to be lying low. Ron and Hermione were relieved, but Harry found the lack of dark activity to be unnerving. He often found himself guiltily wishing that Voldemort would get on with it already. There had not been a single attack, not one, since that fateful day in the department of mysteries.
Harry shook himself mentally. The Burrow was perfectly safe; Dumbledore had agreed to let Harry stay the Christmas holidays after he had cast a fidelus charm. Even Moody (after sniffing in the corners of the house, knocking suspiciously on perfectly solid walls, and filling every empty space with whirling, silver dark detectors) grudgingly declared the Burrow to be quite safe. If Harry wasn't careful he'd turn into Moody, hexing innocent singers ofHarry listened carefully to the music drifting up the stairsBeatles singles?
Harry curiously plodded down the staircase, following the music, and pushed open the door to the kitchen. To his amazement, Harry found Ginny Weasley, apparently baking, and dancing around the small kitchen with what looked to be a muggle radio blaring. Harry's initial surprise turned to amusement as Ginny, oblivious to Harry's presence, played the soup ladle as a bass guitar and launched into a boisterous dance break in which she knocked over a chair.
"Whoops!" yelped Ginny good-naturedly, righting the chair.
Harry smiled despite himself. He hadn't genuinely felt this carefree sincewell, since Siriusno, Harry reminded himself firmly. Not today think about something else.
This was surprisingly easy for the first time in a long while. He wasn't sure, butwell, he liked it when Ginny's hair fanned out as she spun it was almost mesmerizing. And, well, it was prettywait, no she was sort of
But before Harry could thoroughly acknowledge the thought Ginny spun to face him, wielding a spatula like a microphone, "So pleeease, love me d- Oh!" gasped Ginny, quickly dousing the music.
Harry's breath seemed caught in the back of his throat. The dangerous thought from before resurfaced with shocking timing and this time it clicked. Ginny Weasley was pretty.
"Er, hello Harry," said Ginny, regaining her composure. "We were wondering when you would wake up."
"Uh, what time is it?" asked Harry stupidly.
"Eleven thirty! Mum was all in a tizzy this morning- Fred told her I'd probably finished you off with that Bat-Bogey Hex- it wasn't meant for you, you know, but you were in the way-" Ginny stopped abruptly; she knew she was rambling.
Ginny felt her cheeks warm and silently scolded herself. No blushing! Harry was her friend and as long as she maintained a safe distance she wouldn't find herself falling into that silly crush again.
Harry gave her a lopsided smile which didn't help matters, "Yes, being in the way is a special talent of mine."
Ginny immediately began to apologize, but seeing the playful grin on Harry's face caught the jest.
"Well, actually, " began Harry, frowning slightly, "I am beginning to feel a bit intrusive amongst a certain couple we both know and love."
Ginny grinned. It was common knowledge that Ron and Hermione were meant to be even though Ron was too thick to understand it and Hermione too practical to admit it.
"So, er, the Beatles, huh?" said Harry, changing the subject with a shy smile.
Ginny gave an embarrassed giggle and seeing Harry's eyes flicker to the spatula still in her hand, she burst out laughing.
"If I laugh, will you promise not to curse me?" Harry managed to choke out before dissolving into a fit of laughter. It was as if a dam had burst somewhere inside of Harry and every pent up emotion suddenly seemed hilarious. Ginny recovered from her laughter quickly, but Harry found the sensation irresistible.
"Well, I'm glad you find it so funny Mr. Potter, "said Ginny, completely deadpan.
"I'm sorry," gasped Harry, suddenly anxious that he might have offended her. "It's just you-" he broke of chortling, "the soup ladle"
Ginny smiled to herself. If there was one talent she had mastered it was laughing at her own folly-benefit of growing up with Fred and George. Privately congratulating herself on her excellent composure in this potentially embarrassing situation, Ginny exclaimed, "I'm sorry, autographs lateror on second thought." Ginny flipped her hair in a perfect counterfeit of Lockhart, "I could sign a few things I suppose- a spare bit of parchment, a photograph, your foreheadwell, that's a bit crowded, isn't it?" she said, considering Harry's scar. "I can do your arm though- just hold still"
Harry threw up his hands in concession as Ginny brandished the spatula at him. "Okay, okay, " laughed Harry, "I think you're an excellent singer."
"Liar, " smiled Ginny turning back to the stove to finish making her lunch. "But what is it with the lyrics to that song, anyway. 'Love me do?' Honestly!"
"Well, maybe they needed something to rhyme with 'you?'" offered Harry.
"Yeah, but 'do?' It doesn't make sense. What else" Ginny suggested, ticking off the rhyming words on her fingers.
"Newzoo, oh, I hate the zoo-goo!?" tried Harry eagerly.
"Oh, brilliant, Harry!" exclaimed Ginny ironically. "Maybe if you were singing a love ballad to a bubotuber'If you squirt me with goo! I'll squeeze you till you turn blue!"'
Harry laughed, subconsciously thinking that perhaps he wouldn't mind it if she did squeeze him till he turned blue.
"Done!" announced Ginny, getting a plate out of the cabinet.
"What is it?" asked Harry.
"Grilled cheese with peanut butter. Are you hungry, Harry? We have cereal- or I can make you some eggs if you'd like-"
"I'll have what your having," said Harry.
"Ooooo! So you fancy yourself brave, do you? Ron thinks it's disgustingwell, alright, suit yourself," said Ginny, passing Harry a sandwich and sitting down across from him. Ginny was amazed at how easily she was speaking to him. No mumbling or blushing- it was a breakthrough!
They sat in companionable silence, munching their sandwiches.
Suddenly Harry spoke, "So, where is everybody, anyway. I was having such a good time I didn't even realize they were out."
Ginny coughed, suddenly very interested in her sandwich. Harry thought she seemed to be avoiding his eyes.
"Oher, well, dads at work, so are the twins, their new joke shop, you knowMums at the marketand Ron and Hermione are in Diagon Alley, " she said in a rush.
"They went without me," said Harry softly.
Ginny could see the hurt in his bright green eyes. She made a move as if to touch Harry but thought better of it; the last thing that Harry needed was Ginny blushing and gibbering again. What he needed was a foothold- a sounding board. Ginny might have given up on a romantic relationship with Harry long ago, but God as her witness, she could certainly be a solid friend.
"Harry, Dumbledore wanted"
"I know, I know," said Harry bitterly. Though some of his anger at the old wizard had dissipated after smashing half of Dumbledore's office, Harry still felt miffed at Dumbledore's lack of faith in him. "Dumbledore wants me to stay here like a good little boy until I'm ready to climb the walls with cabin fever!"
"Harry," Ginny began in a cajoling voice.
"You don't understand Ginny!" Harry shouted. He regretted his harsh tone immediately. Ginny's honey brown eyes widened in surprise and her lips quivered. Harry felt miserable.
"You think I don't understand," said Ginny in a dangerously calm voice. "Well, I have news for you Harry Potter! I have six older brothers, in case you haven't noticed!"
Harry was aware that he had obviously mistaken Ginny's anger for sadness. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously; it still ached dully from the after-effects of the Bat-Bogey Hex. Ginny's chin was set, her face flushed, and her eyes flashing- the infamous Weasley temper was ignited.
"And how about the Chamber of Secrets, huh? You think they don't throw that in my face every time they think I'm young and fragile?"
"Ginny, listen," started Harry, but she cut him off aggressively.
"NO, you listen, Harry! Stop thinking you're the only one that feels like this! GET A GRIP!"
She banged her fist on the table with such force that the plate jumped. The noise seemed to check her anger and her expression softened. She looked almost sheepish.
"It's just I mean, I know how you feel, is all."
Harry simply stared at her with a curious expression on his face. Ginny could feel his brilliant eyes boring into her and despite the gray, wintry sky outside, she felt too much in the sun. She felt herself flushing and not from anger this time; Ginny wished Harry would look away.
Another minute passed in silence, punctuated only by the ticking of the Weasley family clock. She studied the scrubbed wooden tabletop determinedly, tracing her finger around the edge of her ceramic plate. Finally Ginny couldn't bear it any longer.
"Harry, for goodness sake, what is it? I hope you're not angry." She lifted her face and locked eyes with him.
Harry simply smiled and said abruptly, " I like you."
"Wh-what?" breathed Ginny, completely taken aback. This was certainly not the answer she had expected.
"I like you," repeated Harry, regarding her with a burning intensity. "You make me laugh and fear for my life at the same time."
Unable to think of anything to say, Ginny stood up from the table and swept him an over-dramatic curtsy.
"Why thank you."
Ginny hoped she appeared composed because she felt as though her heart had been transfigured into an overactive snitch. She had vowed to stay clean this year. Was Harry Potter making this difficult on purpose? No, Ginny decided, Harry had strictly platonic feelings for her, right? She, Ginny, was the one making a fuss.
"And what about me?" asked Harry in mock hurt, putting on the puppy-dog face. "Don't you like me?"
Harry chuckled, but Ginny thought she caught a hint of- was in uncertainty- in his eyes.
"Of course I like you, Harry. Don't be silly."
Harry looked so relieved that Ginny felt momentarily puzzled.
"Ohwell, good because I wouldn't want to find myself on the other end of one of your curses again," he said slyly.
Ginny's heart plummeted. Was this whole conversation simply a jokewell, what did you expect?said a voice in Ginny's head. Harry thinks you're funny- you make him laughit's all a big joke
Oh, bugger off, thought Ginny, frowning at the cynical reasoning.
At that moment a loud noise in the fireplace announced the arrival of Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione. The latter seemed to be engaged in yet another bickering match.
"I told you, Ron," Hermione was saying shrilly, stamping snow of her boots. "That house elf was giving me signals- it wanted to be set free-"
"Hermione, you're raving! The little bugger was cowering in the corner and using it's hands to shield itself from that wooly toilet cover you were forcing on it!"
Hermione gave him a withering look. "It was a hat, Ronald. Honestly, do you live to annoy me?"
"Nah, perk I guess," smirked Ron, nudging Hermione. To Harry's surprise, Hermione actually giggled and swatted Ron playfully. Harry raised his eyebrows at Ginny.
"Hem, hem," coughed Ginny in her perfectly mastered Umbridge voice. Ron and Hermione looked up as they entered the kitchen.
"Harry!" said Ron in an over-bright tone. "Alright mate?
Harry saw Hermione give Ron a shifty sidelong look. It was clear that they had already braced themselves for angry Harry's reaction.
"Erm, hi Harry, Ginnylisten we would have invited-" began Hermione timidly.
Harry, however, cut her off pleasantly, suddenly not wanting an apology. After all, he'd actually had a good morning and really wasn't in the mood to ruin it with a row.
"It's okay," said Harry smiling. Then seeing that Hermione's eyes were still bright with anxiousness, added firmly, "Really. Ginny and I were just having lunch."
"Helloooo!" called a harassed sounding Mrs. Weasley from the living room. "Isn't anyone going to give me a hand with all these grocery's?"
Harry heaved an enormous bag of grocery's onto the table and began taking the items out. Mrs. Weasley was bustling around the cramped kitchen banishing food into the cupboards; Ginny ducked as a tray of butter zoomed over her flaming red curls.
"Ginny!" scolded Mrs. Weasley, noticing the half eaten sandwiches on the table. "You didn't feed that to Harry did you, dear?!"
"He asked for it mum," she replied nonchalantly.
"So, " began Ron, selecting a shiny red apple from a burlap sack and biting into it. "What've fyou tfoo been hup tfoo?" Flecks of apple juice flitted from his lips.
"Ron, how many times? Don't talk with your mouth full!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley, making the apple leap from Ron's hand and knock him on the head.
"Not much," answered Harry, who was skilled at comprehending Ron's food induced garbling. He smirked at Ginny. "Only Gin's been taking the mickey out of me all morning."
"At least not the stuffing, then," guffawed Ron while Hermione laughed.
"Watch it, " cackled Ginny and Ron had to leap aside as flying milk carton grazed his left ear before landing neatly in the icebox.
"Did you finish all your shopping?" asked Harry, carefully sending the last items on the table soaring into the pantry.
"Yep, most of it," said Hermione.
"Probably would've gotten more done if Hermione hadn't kept trying to sneak into the store rooms and distribute dishrags-"
"Hats!"
said Hermione icily, glaring at Ron."Oh, get out of it you two. Sorry I asked," Harry said, annoyed. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Ginny noticed that this had become rather a habit of his; it was clear that Harry was tired. Well, Ginny supposed, the weight of the world was enough to do it and bickering friends couldn't be helpful.
Ron and Hermione were still looking daggers at each other, but held their tongues probably more out of fear for Harry's temper than anything else.
"How about a game of chess," suggested Ginny cautiously, in an attempt to break the ice. Ginny knew only too well that intervening in one of Ron and Hermione's rows was like a game of exploding snap- one false move and- BLAM!the whole thing blew up and your eyebrows were on fire.
"Yeah, okay," mumbled Ron, his ears very red.
The sky was an inky black outside the frosted glass windows and bare tree branches rattled in the bitter wind. Harry yawned. It must be very late. He stretched out his long legs on the couch (he had grown a lot over the past summer) and put his arms behind his head, basking in the peacefulness of the scene.
A fire was crackling merrily in the grate and next to it stood a tall, knobbly Christmas tree which looked oddly misshapen on account of the innumerable ornaments-most of them homemade-weighing the branches down. Harry spotted one ornament that looked like a picture of nine wriggling tadpoles- it was either a young Ginny's family portrait or a picture of an apothecary- Harry couldn't quite tell.
The tree was not lit by the garish blinking lights that Harry was accustomed to at the Dursley's, but by live pixies apparently in some sort of long-term body bind. Each of them had murderous looks on their faces clearly indicating that, if left to their own devices, they would like nothing more than to shout "bah humbug" and gouge the eyes out of the person responsible for this humiliation.
Ron was sitting in a wicker rocking chair next to the couch polishing his new-last-year Cleansweep with Harry's broom servicing kit. The twins were upstairs on business matters and no one inquired as to what this business might be- it was safer. Mrs. Weasley, however irate at the twins for dropping out of Hogwarts, found she could do nothing more to stop the joke shop endeavor.
Ginny and Hermione were talking quietly on the hearthrug, Hermione scratching Crookshanks behind the ear and Ginny stretched out on her stomach, her bare feet swinging behind her. Harry noticed that she had painted every other toe nail red and green. He also noticed that the shimmering light from the pixies was dancing across her lightly freckled nose and twinkling in her eyes as she giggled at something. It was then that Harry noticed that he was staring.
He felt almost ashamed, wondering what Ron would do if he knew what Harry was thinking right now. Well, he'd probably be furious just like last year when he found out about Micheal CornerMicheal Corner. Now Harry remembered. Hermione had told him last year, "Ginny used to like Harry""She gave up on him." What was Harry thinking! He was being stupidsetting himself up for another heart break just like with Chosaid the other voice that Harry was trying to ignorebut Ginny's different
Harry was startled out of his thoughts when Ginny, most likely sensing his stare, looked up suddenly. They locked eyes. It was difficult to determine who looked more surprised. Face burning, Harry looked quickly away praying Ginny hadn't noticed anything suspicious.
Thankfully, it appeared Ginny had other things on her mind. "Snow!" she cried leaping up and running to the window. "It's finally snowing!"
Ron looked up, mildly interested. "Ginny's obsessed with snow," he told Harry. "Every years the same."
Ginny was now dancing on her toes, her hands clasped together. "And Bill and Charlie are coming home tomorrow! Do you know what this means?!" she shrieked, eyes bulging excitedly. "Do you?! Weasley sledding, Ron!"
At this pronouncement Ginny grabbed Ron's hands, yanked him out of the chair, and began spinning him around the room.
"Aw, Gin, come on," protested Ron, but grinned all the same. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and laughed. Then, feeling as if it was the only thing they could do, stood up to join in the gleeful chanting of, "Snow! Snow! Snow!"
Ten minutes later the four traipsed up the stairs yawning.
"I can't wait till B-Bills here," said Ginny through an enormous yawn.
"Yes, it will certainly be nice to see them again," agreed Hermione.
"You only like Bill because you've got him twisted around your little finger," said Ron.
"What are little sisters for? Well, good night boys," said Ginny as they reached the girls landing.
"Night," said Harry, chancing a glance at Ginny, who smiled.
Harry and Ron changed into their pajamas when they reached Ron's room and settled into their beds. It usually took Harry hours to fall asleep, in fact, he didn't think he'd had a really good nights sleep since fourth year. It was the dread of dreams: long corridors with locked doorsCedric Diggory, deadthat dreadful veil full of voices-
"Harry?"
Harry started. Ron usually fell asleep in minutes.
"Yeah?"
"Ermyou know Hermione?"
"Yeah, reckon I do know her," said Harry wanly, propping himself up on his elbow.
"I mean," Ron made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "That's not what I meant. I'm worried about her and thatthat Krum bloke-"
Harry groaned. Not this again.
"Well!" said Ron defensively. "He's dodgy-"
"For heavens sake, Ron, just ask Hermione out already!"
"W-what!" spluttered Ron, looking aghast. A slanting ray of moonlight fell across his long freckled nose. "Harry, the ministry's right, you are off your rockerI only- that's not, I mean- ridiculous" Ron paused. "You- you think I should?"
Harry laughed at the dazed look on Ron's face which was akin only to the look Goyle got every time he tried to spell his own name.
"Ron, you're seriously as thick as Hagrid's bunt cakes. Go on, just tell her how you feel."
"Right- yeah, think I will," said Ron in a strengthened voice, looking as though he had thought of it himself.
"Go get her, Romeo," smirked Harry rolling over just in time to miss the pillow Ron chucked at his head. Smiling into his own pillow, Harry drifted off to a fading image of Ginny twirling in soft pixie-light
A few floors down, Ginny was silently saying her prayers.
"Lord, thank you for the beautiful snowfor this dayplease bring Charlie and Bill home safelybless the Order- don't be too hard on Percyand most of all bless Harry. Help him to relaxto stop feeling guilty for things only you can controlhelp me to be his friend. Amen."
Ginny snuggled into her covers. She always slept with five quilts on top, which piled up so high that her slight figure could scarcely be seen underneath. She sighed, knowing Harry would probably never know how much she cared for him- deeply cared. Ginny slid farther into her cocoon-like bed.
Harry would probably never know that she said a special prayer for him every night.
Authors note: So what do you think of the first chapter of my first fic? This is purely for fun and has little or no plot; I'm focusing on character development. So please review- compliments and constructive criticism welcome. A chocolate frog to anyone who can spot a line from Fellowship of the Ring and one from Hamlet (disclaimer: neither of which I own).