Faded From the Winter
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and never will. How sad. I do, however, own my OC Lain. Also, the plot was inspired by the anime game "Rumbling Hearts."
Summary: What do you do when your best friend is going out with the guy you've always loved? What do you do when your best friend falls into a coma and that guy is slowly killing himself? And what do you do, after you've won his heart, when your best friend wakes up? Ginny doesn't know anymore.
Summary Version II:
When Lain, Harry's girlfriend and Ginny's best friend, falls into a coma after the Final Battle, Harry is prepared to give up on living. Well, Ginny isn't going to just sit around and let that happen. So what happens when, four years later, Lain wakes up again?
Preview:
"Harry!" Ginny screamed, shaking him. "Don't do this to yourself!"
His body was limp. His blank, desolate, half-closed eyes continued to stare bleakly at her. There was absolutely nothing in those once lively eyes of his.
"Harry!" she cried, slapping him. He didn't even flinch as her hand impacted his hollow face. His head simply fell limply to the side. Tears sprung into Ginny's eyes... Gritting her teeth, she did the only thing she could think of. She ripped off her shirt.
Naru: Hi everyone! Thanks for giving this fic a chance. It is my first Harry Potter one! Anyway, I want to explain that there's almost two stories. The one where Lain and Harry actually get together (that'll be about…I'm guessing 5-7 chapters, please be patient!), and then there's the main plot, in which Lain's in a coma. So, please sit back, relax, and enjoy. :)
Chapter One: Just Breathe
Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe…- Anna Nalick, Breathe (2 AM)
Ginny twirled her short red hair between her fingers. She almost felt naked after she had cut off all her long tresses, but this new haircut seemed to lift weight off her shoulders. Her bangs hung close to her pale face and framed it at the sides, just the way she liked it. She continued to read her book, with a red and gold blanket drawn close to her small body. There was a happy buzz around her. She was, after all, in the Gryffindor common room. The fire crackled happily and she let out a little sigh of content.
"What did I say earlier?" asked a self-satisfied voice.
"I don't know," another voice answered sarcastically. "What you say every day?"
"It's not my fault that you forgot to do your homework, Ron," the first voice growled.
Ginny let out a little laugh at the antics that always happened between her older brother, Ron, and his (and her) best friend, Hermione. The lanky redheaded boy fumed at the pretty brunette girl. Ron's ears were turning red, probably out of embarrassment because Hermione was right, but he wasn't about to admit it. Hermione's face was flushed as well as she continued to scathingly scold the boy whom she liked.
Ginny blinked in surprise when she heard another laugh join hers. Harry Potter, the last of the trio, was laughing as well. Ginny felt her own face burn at the sight of him.
His raven hair was as unruly as ever, and her desire to run her fingers through it was as smoldering as ever. His emerald eyes flickered from his two friends to Ginny, and he flashed her an amazing grin. She managed, somehow, to smile back. It was a huge leap of progress compared to when she was a first year. Now she was in her sixth year, and had managed, somehow, to convince everyone that she had no feelings for the Boy-Who-Lived. Well…she didn't know she was that great of an actress. She had only told Hermione (who was too smart for her own good anyway) and… recently she had been thinking about telling her other best friend, Lain.
Ginny and Harry were very good friends now. She was happy with that. At least, she was okay with it because he was still single ever since he and Cho Chang fell apart in their fifth year.
"Hi, Ginny," said a cheerful voice to her side.
Ginny looked upward to see her blonde friend staring down at her. She had a wide and beautiful smile on her striking face. The long, straight blonde hair flowed downward and framed her face so that it resembled an angel's. Ginny instantly felt warmth and love toward her best friend of three years. Lain's azure eyes twinkled at Ginny's chocolate ones.
"Hi to you too," Ginny answered, blowing a lock of red hair out of her face with a laugh.
"What are you doing?" she asked, settling besides Ginny.
"Reading."
"Oh look, your brother and Hermione are fighting again," laughed Lain. Ginny couldn't help but glance enviously at her best friend. She had incredible rosy lips, lovely pale skin (un-freckled of course), and sleek, shiny hair. Still…the surge of love overcame this slight jealousy. She returned her gaze to Ron and Hermione when her heart nearly stopped.
Harry Potter was looking at her.
He had such a strange, unreadable expression on his face. She felt her heart pound madly back to life. Was there something on her face? She wasn't blushing was she? Then she felt time slow when she suddenly realized…
Those green eyes weren't directed at her…but Lain.
Ginny's head snapped immediately to her friend. Thoughts pounded in her head. It couldn't be…Harry Potter? No…he never…he would never…not her best friend! Not her bloody best friend! The world couldn't be so cruel! There's no way… God…there was a God somewhere wasn't there? This time her heart did stop.
Lain was looking right back at him.
Ginny, lying flat on her back, stared up into the dark sky. Stars were scattered across the blanket of midnight. The Astronomy Tower was beautiful at night. It was no wonder that most lovers came here to snog. Well, Ginny thought while sighing, she was never here for that.
She wanted peace. She wasn't quite sure how to act around Lain. It had been a week since the common room incident. Now she caught Lain sharing glances with Harry whenever they were in the same room. Ginny just wanted to avoid their little glances…and them entirely.
But what exactly was she going to do? She couldn't run away from them forever. Well, she could try, but it was bloody hard when one of the persons she wanted to avoid was her best friend and the other one was the best friend of her other best friend and brother. She groaned, rubbing her temple. She was under so much stress that her brain was confusing itself! So much for peace. These thoughts always came back to plague her.
Lain…she probably didn't even know about Ginny's feelings for Harry. After all, Lain was a transfer student so she didn't see Ginny go through her horrible and obvious crush with Harry during her first year and second year.
Christmas was coming soon and Ginny had already, albeit a bit regrettably, invited Lain over to the Burrow. But that was before… well, before. And Harry (plus Hermione) would be there. He always was. And so that could mean… a lot of things.
Ginny flopped over, ready to bang her head against the cold stone pavement in misery.
"My, what an interesting sight to see," someone mused. Ginny instantly stopped what she was doing and jumped up. Instinctively, she pulled her dark cloak closer to her.
"Harry!" she gasped, immediately pushing her hair out of her face to get a better view of him…or rather the part of him that was floating in the air. She forced what she hoped was an easy grin. "Or should I say head of Harry?"
With a laugh, he threw off the rest of his invisibility cloak.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"You ever try sleeping in the same room with your brother when he's dreaming about spiders?" Harry retorted, grimacing. Ginny laughed before she turned her gaze to his cloak.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing him uneasily.
"I don't think you want to know," he chuckled.
"You don't go around peeping in that, do you?" she smirked while arching an eyebrow in what she hoped was a graceful manner. She hoped her face was not distorted oddly.
"No!" grinned Harry.
He sat on the stone railing. Ginny felt her heart skip a beat. He didn't know how amazing he looked, his jet-black locks waving in the wind and dancing over his bright emerald eyes. He absently stared down below him, at the evergreen hills of Hogwarts below him. The full, white moon over black sky with stars was his background, and it shined down upon him, giving him an almost strange glow. His eyes flickered over to her again and he smiled his dazzling smile.
"You don't really think I would do that, do you?"
Ginny blinked, taking a moment to rewind and remember what on earth he was referring to.
"Oh...heh, of course not. It's not something that someone as stupid and noble as you would do," she returned cheekily. She felt a bit vulnerable with him watching her from above. She allowed herself to lay down again, in hopes that he would miss her blush.
"Yeah…that's me…stupid and noble…" he murmured vaguely, turning his gaze upward.
She watched him silently for a moment. Then she propped herself up on her elbows and said, "A Knut for your thoughts?"
"Hmm?" he frowned, turning back to her.
"What'd going on in that crazy head of yours?" she smiled weakly.
"Oh you know…crazy and stupid and honorable things," he joked back lamely.
Her brown eyes continued to watch him.
"You are you know."
"What?" he frowned at her, feeling confused.
"You are," she said with a sigh. "Stupid and noble."
Harry let out a small sarcastic laugh.
"And brave, and gallant, hardheaded, stubborn, heroic, and everything else there is to be a true Gryffindor," she continued on despite his interruption. Her eyes bore into his. "It's who you are and who you'll always be. But it's more than just that. You're just plain Harry. You're not all those things because you just so happened to destroy a dark lord when you were one. You're those things because it's who you are, not what you did."
He swallowed hard, a strange expression on his face. Then he ducked his head.
"Thanks, Ginny…" he whispered softly, his voice breaking slightly. "Thanks…"
"Where were you last night?" Lain asked innocently, not knowing that this would cause Ginny's spoon to miss her mouth entirely. Luckily she had kept it from her red hair. The two of them sat in the Great Hall and there was much chaos around them.
"What?" Ginny said dumbly.
"Where were you?" Lain smiled prettily, continuing to eat her porridge. She gracefully moved her silvery strands of hair behind her ear. Shiny earrings twinkled on her ears. "You didn't come back until after I was asleep."
"Oh…I was…in the library," Ginny finished lamely, wincing mentally. She scratched the side of her face nervously.
"Oh. Studying for OWLs already?" laughed Lain. She wagged a delicate finger at her friend. "You have to be careful or you'll end up like Hermione!"
"As if that's possible," snorted Ginny, feeling more at ease. She took a relishing bite out of her toast. Toast was safer than soup. Then she regarded Lain curiously. "Since when were you all cozy with Hermione?"
"I'm not!" Lain said defensively, but Ginny caught her slight flush. "I mean, everyone knows about how Hermione is… you know, she's so smart and ahead and… well, everyone knows."
"You're babbling." Ginny raised an eyebrow at her best friend. She knew that Lain was too honest for her own good when pressured.
"Well… I've been… spending a little time with her here and there. Homework, you know. So…" Lain searched for the right words. "Her and…you know, the others."
"The others…" echoed Ginny, who now placed her toast down slowly.
"Yes, that's right," Lain smiled slightly, her face rather bright.
Ginny stared down at the table. She had suddenly lost her appetite.
"So…Harry?" she said, struggling to sound casual.
"Yes…"
A silence fell over the two, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
Oh course bloody Harry! scowled Ginny to herself. Who else is always around Hermione and Ron?
"Um, Ginny?" Lain inquired softly.
"Hmm?"
"You're…you're not mad are you?" Lain looked at Ginny guiltily through wide, puppy dog eyes.
"Why would I be?" Ginny asked back with a false smile. "Unless there's a reason for me to–"
"No!" Lain spoke hastily. Then she corrected herself. "Er…no, of course there isn't."
"Good," Ginny said again in a false tone. "Pass the butter, would you?"
"Hi you two," greeted Hermione cheerfully, sitting next to Ginny. Pushing back her curly hair, she flashed Ginny a smile. Ron, who took the seat besides her, grunted hello. Harry, however, stood across from the two of them, next to Lain.
"Er, is this seat taken?" he asked awkwardly.
"Oh no!" she blurted quickly, blushing. She nodded her head a bit too willingly. "No, it's not! Sit, sit!"
Harry smiled shyly at her as he sat. Ginny stabbed her fork into her bread viciously. She remembered a time when another certain girl blushed whenever she talked to a certain Boy-Who-Lived and would only receive a horribly polite and unnatural smile. She growled to herself.
"Hey, Ginny," Harry said. She looked up and found Harry smiling at her, also a little awkwardly. Probably because of last night.
"Hi, Harry." She smiled coolly before returning to her food. Of course this girl was more attractive… with her gorgeous blonde waves of hair that framed her perfect pale face. And her blue eyes as deep as the sea… Stab, stab, stab.
"Er…" at his voice, she glance up again to see him eyeing her fork. "Did…something happen?"
"Oh, ha ha ha," she laughed feebly. "No, nothing at all."
Harry bit him lower lip. "Right."
"Hey, Ginny," a voice said as a hand tapped her shoulder. She looked up to see Dean smiling down at her.
"Hi Dean," she beamed. She liked Dean. He was always treating her as an equal even though he was a year older than she was. He never made her uncomfortable and enjoyed playing Quidditch with her very much (unlike some redheads who thought she was much too fragile for the sport). And it didn't hurt that he was an attractive bloke. He sat down to her right since Hermione was currently sitting to her left.
"I'm famished," he grinned before he dug into the food in front of him.
"Is something wrong Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry looked up from his goblet with a frown.
"What? No…" he said casually, but Hermione continued to eye him.
"Dean…" unexpectedly growled Ron, who spoke up for the first time. He glowered darkly at Dean. "What, may I ask, are you doing sitting next to my sister…?"
"Err…eating?" Dean answered, obviously baffled by the question since he was just about to shove a pancake down his throat.
"Ron," Ginny growled warningly to her overly protective brother, her dark brown eyes glaring at him.
"Don't give me that! I mean next to Ginny!" Ron continued screaming at Dead, ignoring Ginny. His eyes darted from the two before he pointed at them accusingly. "There's nothing…going on between you two is there?"
"Ron, Ginny can handle herself," Hermione argued.
"She can not!" Ron denied. "She's too young! She's not ready!"
"What are you talking about?" Ginny snarled, slamming her fork onto the table. Several of the other students were watching them (though it wasn't an unusual thing for Ron to be in a fight whether it be with Hermione, Harry, or Ginny). She felt her face heat up furiously. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"
"No you can't! It's my job as your brother to protect you!" Ron shouted back heatedly. Ginny snorted loudly. "Guys like Dean will eat you up and spit you out!"
Dean coughed.
"If you want to go out with a guy, the only one I trust is Harry!"
Harry promptly choked in his Pumpkin juice.
"Don't bring Harry into this!" cried Ginny, now feeling completely humiliated.
"What's wrong with Harry? He's a decent bloke!" Ron said, smiling with eyebrows raised as if he were trying to persuade Ginny to go out with him.
Ginny was now beyond mortification. Hermione buried her shaking head in her hands. Dean was at a loss of what to say or do. And Harry… well, Ginny didn't dare look at Harry.
"Look! You better stop before I hex you into next week!" Ginny roared. Ron visibly paled. "I can date whomever I please, whether it be Dean or Malfoy!"
Ron's jaw dropped.
"As if I would ever – " Malfoy snorted in the next table.
"STUFF IT MALFOY!" screamed Ginny, who was at her peak, and he swiftly did. She grabbed her things before storming off, though not without leaving Ron with a death glare.
"W-Wait…" Ron trailed off faintly.
"Nice going, Ron," snapped Hermione.
"Yeah," sighed Harry who had finally managed to stop choking. "Now she's going to go out with Malfoy."
Ron made a distinctive harsh noise.
"I'm not as bad as Malfoy, am I?" pouted Dean. He looked sheepishly at the others for support.
"No," Lain smiled comfortingly. "Not at all."
"I can hear everything you know!" barked Malfoy, shoving his nose into the air. "And for you information, I have no interest in Weasels!"
"You - !" Ron was about to aim his wand at the blonde boy, but Hermione grabbed his robes and pulled him back.
"As if Ginny would want to do anything with you," Harry stated sarcastically.
"She'd rather do it with me than you," Malfoy laughed smugly. Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously at his conceited smirk. Crabbe and Goyle laughed. "Your widdle Ronnie had to try to sell her off for her to even consider you!"
"That's because Harry and Ginny are just friends!" Lain cried. For the first time, her pretty eyes were flashing angrily. Harry swallowed hard.
"Ho, ho, I see the way it is," Malfoy calmly smirked. "Weasel-bee needs his little bookworm to defend him, and now Scar-face has found his own little owl to tweet for him!"
Lain blushed feverishly.
"Better stuff it Malfoy," Harry said in a stony cold voice.
Having lost his appetite, he stood up and left. He was so caught up fuming that he was utterly surprised when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. Lain stood there, panting heavily, her long blonde hair flowing over her slender shoulders.
"Er…" Harry inadequately uttered.
"I'm - !" she gasped, wiping her flushed cheeks. "I'm sorry!"
"What?" Harry frowned.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, blushing.
"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything."
"Well, I…what I said might have…" she stumbled.
"Don't worry about it. Malfoy's just a prat," smiled Harry. She reddened again. Then he paused before he asked hesitantly, "Er…what you said back there…about Ginny and I…"
"What?" Her head snapped up, a look of pure shock in her eyes. "It's not true?"
"What? No! Ginny and I are just friends… I was just wondering… well, do you know if…" he stopped, blushing slightly at how clumsy he was being. Finally he blurted, "Does she ever, you know, mention me?"
Lain stared at him, an unreadable expression on her face. She took a deep breath.
"No."
"Oh." Harry swallowed hard again, looking anywhere but the blonde. "Right. Well. I guess I'll just…"
"It's true you know!" Lain blurted, blushing intensely again and clenching her hands tightly on his sleeve before he left. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the mayhem in her heart. She didn't know what she was saying or doing. She felt it coming. It was a despicable feeling that she never felt before. It crawled up her throat and she couldn't stop it. But she could feel him there and she didn't want him to go. She didn't…she didn't want… "Ginny…"
He stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"Ginny's going out with Dean!"
Naru: I hoped you enjoyed that. Please review and give me any helpful feedback please:)