A/N: I know this is terribly overdone, but I was attacked by a plot bunny...I swear I'll try to make it good! If any chapters become FFN inappropriate I'll let you know where they're posted and post tamer versions here. This is my first Harry Potter story, so play nice please! Constructive criticism is gladly accepted as are Beta offers hint hint
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. The plot's mine. Sort of.
"Ginny! What's wrong?" Harry spluttered as Ginny stormed from the room.
Out in the main hall of Grimmauld Place, Ginny rolled her eyes as she pulled on her cloak. "Nothing. Go on your stupid trip. And be careful, Harry," she called softly, taking care not to wake Mrs. Black's portrait. After six years of trying to take her down, Sirius had admitted defeat. And so she still hung, going a bit more insane every day. Sirius turned the corner just as Ginny was preparing to Apparate. With a quick wave and a loud crack, she was gone.
.................
Sirius padded into the kitchen and sat down across from a very confused looking Harry. "Have another one, I take it," he asked.
Harry nodded, running a hand through his hair, looking very much like his father. "I just don't get it. She says she wants to talk. And she does. Talk, I mean. But she doesn't say anything." He dropped his head gracelessly onto the table and sighed. Sirius chuckled and ruffled Harry's hair. "And that, mate," he started, "is one of the many strange things about women. They talk but they don't say much."
Harry raised his head to look at his godfather as he continued, "Something tells me that's not the case with Ginny, though. Maybe you're just listening for the wrong thing."
..............
Everything around her was white. Walls, sheets, floors. Even her brother's usually tan skin was pale as the pillow he was lying on. Ginny closed the door behind her and glanced at the chart on the table as she dropped her cloak on the chair.
She scrunched her eyes up, praying that when she opened them it would all be a dream. A horrible, wake-in-cold-sweat-and-never-sleep-again dream, but a dream nonetheless.
But no. She peeked at the top of the clipboard and sighed. Weasley, William A. was still scrawled across the top next to the words Date of Admission: 5 May 2003.
Ginny sighed and climbed onto the bed next to him and took hold of his hand. "Fleur and little Henri stopped by with fresh flowers and new cards and posters," she relayed to him. Smiling, she glanced over the cards from Bill's 4-year-old. "Henri's been watching a lot of American TV. He keeps begging us to take him Trick-or-Treating tonight. Says he wants to be a mummy like the ones his daddy saw." Ginny chuckled quietly, remembering the summer the Weasleys had spent in Egypt, all those years ago.
She snuggled in next to him and rested her head on his chest. It was only when she did this that she knew he was really alive. The slow rise and fall of his chest and the gentle thump of his heart beat offered little solace, though.
Bill had fallen nearly 6 months ago in the final battle against Voldemort's remaining Death Eaters. He hadn't been the only one to be lost in the war or the battle. Moody, Snape, Aberforth Dumbledore, and Fred had all been physical casualties. But between losing Percy 6 years ago (he had never really come around) and Fred and very nearly Bill, Molly Weasley had gone nearly mad with grief. Arthur had had to resign from the Ministry to care for her.
Tears slipped from Ginny's eyes as she thought of her broken family. Of Fleur and Henri. Of George, who waged a daily war with the pain and emptiness that only a twin can feel. Of her mother and father and Charlie. Of Ron and Hermione struggling 'to make it work.' And of Harry and herself, failing miserably at 'making it work.' She swiped the tears from her cheek and got off the bed before pressing a kiss to Bill's forehead. "See ya tomorrow."
..............
"I'm going to find her," Harry announced. Sirius glanced up at his godson, taking in his appearance. Harry's usually vibrant green eyes were dull with fatigue, grief, and pain. They were haunted by memories that no 21-year-old should have. There were frown lines already etching themselves on his brow. He looked, in a word, awful. Sirius pushed Harry back into his seat. "No. You're in no condition to Apparate. And aren't you supposed to be on another mission? I'll go find her, you get some rest. You look horrible."
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Sirius was already gone.
..........
Ginny faltered slightly when she saw Sirius leaning against the wall, one foot flat against it. It wasn't that she was surprised to see him. It was just because he had that effect on her.
And it was a little disconcerting.
..........
His breath caught in his chest when she walked into the hallway. Her eyes were rimmed in red, her hair was disheveled and she was clad in tattered -around-the-house clothes, but she was beautiful.
And 22 years your junior, reminded his conscious, which sounded annoyingly like Remus.