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Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter. The characters belong to the great J.K.Rowling. I only own 3 cats and 2 dogs, and only 2 cats and 1 dog are really mine. Noises from the basement? Pay no attention to those…
A/N: Ok, dear readers, I am co-writing this with a friend of mine, pen name of lily-james-4ever010. We're probably going to chapter bounce, one me, one her, one me, one her… you get the idea. This one's by me.
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Looking Beyond
Chapter One:
By: MadameMing and lily-james-4ever010
It's cold in this room. It's always cold in this room. Which means that I'm always cold. Since I'm in here, at least, for a while. How long? I don't know. I could get out tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. Maybe never. I'm here as long as he wants me to be. Who is he? I don't really know that either. He treats me well enough. The only rule is that I may not leave, but I have no desire to. He supplies me with the basics, food and water, etc. I am content to read, write, and listen to my music during my days, and sometimes nights.
Sometimes, while I am in here, I see strange things, that flash at the corners of my eyes. Creatures, beautiful ones, that I could only imagine. Too amazing to be real. But then I turn my head, nothing is there. Sometimes I draw these creatures. But once I finish them, and place them somewhere, I can never seem to find them again. Perhaps I'm not supposed to.
I hear music sometimes as well. Beautiful music, that makes me want to dance, and sometimes I do. I can never seem to remember the tune after it's over, but again, perhaps I'm not supposed to.
Occasionally, I hear noises in place of the music. Just slight noises, such as someone coming up the stairs, or a door opening. But they always make me jump. Even slight noises scare me, ever since the accident. What was the accident? To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure. I can remember almost nothing of the events that led me here. A little comes to me now and then, but not very often. At times, I can barely remember who I am.
Who am I? I honestly cannot tell you who I really am. I only know the name that is on my things. The name? Ginny Weasley.
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Harry Potter stood outside Ginny's room at St. Mungo's, listening to her talk. He began to wonder, as he often did, what life would be like if what had happened had never happened. He wished that he could go back and stop her from doing what she had done, but he knew he couldn't. He only had one person that he could really talk to about Ginny, only one person who really understood. They had lost someone they loved as well, a little differently.He sighed. He had to get out of here. He had to talk to Hermione.
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Hermione Granger stood in the kitchen of her flat, staring out the window as she drank her coffee. She couldn't function in the morning without her coffee. Mmmm, good stuff, she thought. Now I just have to remember to get more. As she was thinking this, she heard a knock on her door. Probably the paper. Now, where did I put my change? Ah, there it is, she thought, as she spotted it on top of the kitchen table. The knock came again. "I'm coming," she cried, making her way through the maze of boxes she had yet to unpack, even though she had moved in almost six months ago. She opened the door, not even looking up as she began talking. "Alright then, let's see, here's the money for this week, and, wait, how much do I owe you for next?"
"Hermione, I'm not the paper boy, I just need to talk."
As she looked up, Hermione knew who she would see, and she was right. Harry Potter was standing in her doorway.
"Can I come in, or are you actually going to unpack these today?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the boxes.
"You know very well there's a reason why I'm not unpacking those, the same reason why you keep that one box hidden at the back of your attic." she snapped back. In response, Harry just looked sad. Hermione sighed. "That's the reason why you're here, isn't it?" He nodded. "Well, come on in then."
Five minutes later, Harry was sitting at the kitchen table across from Hermione, drinking coffee. "This really is good coffee 'Mione, you weren't lying."
"I know, I got it at a muggle store in town. Fairly cheap too," she replied. She looked him straight in the eye. "But really, Harry, let's cut the small talk. You went to see Ginny again today, didn't you?"
Harry sighed, and put his head in his hands. "She was talking about her creatures again. And the music, and the man who seems to be keeping her prisoner. She has no idea who she is. She only knows her name, and she doesn't know why she's there. It's breaking my heart, Hermione!" Harry looked like he was going to have a breakdown. Hermione reached across the table and took his hand.
"Harry, you have to learn to let go. I know how much you love Ginny, but you really need to face facts. I really don't want to tell you this again, but I think you really know it, and refuse to let it surface. I'm sorry Harry, but she's probably never going to get better."
Harry stood up, looking furious. "How do you know, Hermione, how do you know? How do you know that she's never going to get better? How do you know? Have you ever had someone you love just be torn away from you like-" Here, he stopped. "Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry, it just slipped out, I didn't mean to-"
Hermione stood up, her eyes full of tears. "You know the answer to that question as well as I do," she said. "The answer is yes. Now, please leave. I don't want to talk right now." Then, she ran for her bedroom, and slammed her door.
Harry could hear the sound of sobbing coming from behind the door. He knew not to even try to make things better when she was like this, so he started to walk towards the door. As he made his way to it, he noticed a picture of Hermione and Ron on top of one of the boxes.
Well, I guess she tried to unpack one box, he thought. He flipped the picture over, knowing that she wouldn't want to see it later. Then, he walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.