Author's Note: Big thanks to my wonderful betas :)
Prompts
QLFC Round 5 Use the title of a story written by your Beater 2 as inspiration
Mending What is Broken (dialogue) "Do you mind if we stop for a minute?" (emotion) Apathetic (action) Pacing nervously
Summer Funfair
North - Ice Cream Harry/Ginny
East - Ferris Wheel (dialogue) "I said I can't do it, okay?"
South - Fortune Teller (dialogue) "Please don't do this."
Word Count: 1075
Mending What is Broken
It was hot. Unbearably and unnaturally hot for a simple summer in England. The grass around them was so starved of water that it had turned a pale, unhealthy yellow colour and made a loud crunching sound underfoot. There were no flowers, not as there should be, and nary a cloud in the sky or a gentle breeze to bring some cool relief.
Or, maybe that was all in his head. Maybe the sun wasn't scorching down the back of his neck and the salty sweat trickling down his cheek was the result of his own nervous anticipation. Perhaps the grass only sounded as if he were grinding bones because of the silence that hung like a heavy blanket between them.
Who knew?
Harry opened his mouth and found that his throat felt like sandpaper. He cleared his throat and attempted to wet his chapped lips - hoping that now some sound would come out. "D-do you mind if we stop for a minute?"
She continued on for a few more steps even after he had stopped, as if reluctant to face the inevitable conversation. The hot sun glinted off her silky hair as she whirled to face him. Her freckled skin was already turning pink in the baking heat.
Her face made his stomach drop. Ginny had always been so full of emotion; her face was normally a beautiful picture ready for him to read — but not today. No, her features were carefully sculpted into a mask of pure nonchalance. She appeared completely apathetic, which was a decided contrast to the nervous anxiety that Harry was sure was written in the lines of his own countenance.
As the silence stretched between them, her face became even more grave and Harry felt himself starting to sweat. She wasn't exactly being encouraging — what had happened to the vivacious young woman he had fallen in love with?
"Ginny," he started and then stopped, his mouth suddenly dry. Why had they come outside? It was far too hot to come outside. When she quirked an imperious eyebrow at him, Harry started to pace nervously, wringing his hands. It was so difficult to look at her when she was being so cold. Why was she being so cold?
He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying desperately to find the right words, but they wouldn't come.
"Harry, what are you trying to say?"
He stopped pacing when she spoke and looked carefully at her. The mask remained, the features were smooth and uncaring, but there had been no mistaking the wobble in her words or the slight break in her voice. He looked closely at her eyes and was surprised to find that beyond the bored look was something familiar — nerves.
It gave him courage.
"Ginny, this whole ordeal has broken me. I'm not the same boy that went to Hogwarts with you, that kissed you in the Room of Requirement. I'm tired and scared and now suddenly an authority in the wizarding world despite not even being a legal adult yet! Not by Muggle standards anyway. I don't know how to deal with all of this."
Harry stepped towards her and was shocked and hurt when she took a step back. Emotions chased themselves across her face, though Harry could see she was struggling to retain the apathetic mask. She swallowed.
"Please don't do this. I don't need to hear any excuses — I understand," she replied, struggling with the words. "You've been through a lot — we all have — and we've all lost people in this senseless war. We need space, I understand that and I'm happy to give you it. We've been distant with each other anyway so it's okay. I can't do this, you can't do this. It's fine."
Harry frowned, confused. He was tired and broken, but the last thing he wanted was space — at least not from her. Was that what she wanted? He studied her face and tone, sensing something amiss.
He opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to approach the situation now. His silence seemed to annoy her and she scowled at him. "I've said I can't do it, okay?" she snapped, "I don't know why you're still looking at me like that!" She dropped her head, breathing hard as she attempted to tamp down the fiery temper her family was so famous for.
"Ginny," she wouldn't look at him, "if space is what you need then I will happily give you it. I really only want you to be happy — but I hope that you can find that with me." Still she didn't react and Harry felt sick — but these were words that needed to be said.
He took a step forward, but she didn't retreat. "I am not the boy you said you loved, not even close anymore," Harry spread his hands before him, reaching for her, "and maybe you deserve someone who is whole and unblemished. Someone who can sleep the whole night through and doesn't flinch at shadows. Maybe I'm being selfish in asking you to look past the shadows in my eyes, but I'm going to anyway."
Stepping forward again, Harry reached for her hands and drew them up, forcing her head to rise and meet his eyes.
"I'm asking you to stick by me, and I will stick by you. To hold me when the demons come, as I will hold you. To see past the frightened boy to the man still somewhere inside me. To help him come out again. You aren't the same carefree Ginny I once knew; you've been shaped by these same experiences, but I want to help you smile again. We haven't been dealing with this very well — avoiding each other rather than helping confront the nightmares. I want that to change."
A sudden breeze swirled the air around them, bringing some cool relief and sending scatters of auburn hair flying across her face. Harry lifted a hand to brush the loose strands behind her ear, cupping her cheek when she didn't flinch from his touch. He watched with relief as the cold mask began to melt from her features, as her eyes softened and even a small smile curved at her lips.
"Will you help me?" he whispered, looking at her imploringly.
"With what?" she replied after a beat of silence.
"To mend what is broken."
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Much love, MaryandMerlin x