No More Tears to Cry
"Not now!" exclaimed Harry, turning purposefully away.
"I'm sorry… to have bothered you," Ginny breathed sorrowfully, her face hovering between tearfulness and an apology for existing. She twisted away, her mouth contorting with pain, struggling with the tears brimming in her bright brown eyes. She wrung her hands, and fled from the common room, tripping up the stairs to her dorm room. She flung herself on the bed, tugging the plush velvet hangings around herself, ignoring the cackles that buzzed in her ears.
"Sad little baby," Jenny taunted, "crying again!"
"How pathetic," added Rebecca Harper, and both girls chortled to themselves, skillfully laughing maliciously whilst applying perfect eyeliner at the same time.
"I'm off," Ginny heard Rebecca call. "I'm meeting Dean at nine, in Hogsmeade. He's taking me to this adorable bohemian restaurant!"
Jenny looked at her designer watch. "It's after nine already!" she exclaimed admiringly.
"Well, as the saying goes…"
"Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen!" both girls screeched in unison.
Ginny peaked out of an opening in her four-poster curtains, and wiped her eyes messily. She saw the svelte Rebecca in black sparkly dress robe, made from thin material that clung to her every bone, and a fur stole tucked around her shoulders.
"Mwah," she said, air-kissing Jenny in a way she obviously thought looked extremely grown-up, dahling. "Don't wait up," she added suggestively, winking.
"Have fun," called the adoring best-friend Jenny, flopping back on her bed as Rebecca shut the door, smiling through decadent-plum lipstick. She looked over at Ginny, who was blowing her nose.
"Don't know what you're looking at, kid," she added.
Ginny sighed. She had no more tears to cry. It had been like this for more than five years, sharing a dorm with Rebecca and Jenny, and also Havana, the American exchange student who had arrived in the third year. Havana got on beautifully with Rebecca and her groupies, and so joined in the fun game of making Ginny feel like something you scrapped off the sole of your shoe. Havana was out clubbing, no doubt charming every boy for miles, then turning them down, one by one. Havana could afford to pick and choose. The other girl in the dorm was Celeste, a pretty, hippie-trippie sort, who was into everything alternative, and dressed from head-to-toe in black, including dyed raven hair. She was always covered in chunky silver jewellery, and annoyed Rebecca by lighting incense sticks, and smoking dubious cigarettes. She was occasionally friendly towards Ginny, but mostly kept herself very much to herself.
Yes, all the way through from her first day until now, nearly Christmas in the sixth year, the beauteous ones had made her life a living hell. Although that was nothing compared to… him. Harry Potter. She had loved him before she even met him, and when she did, all those years ago… And he hated her, she just knew it. Every thing she did, and said, it annoyed him intensely; she could see it in the slight grimace on his face whenever she brought up the nerve to speak to him. What was the point of it all? She sometimes felt her only vocation was to go on loving someone that could never be hers. It was not a silly school-girl crush. It had lasted more than five years, and was as strong as it ever was. She had no reason to believe that the candle she held in her heart would ever be extinguished.
Ginny did not feel like a sixth year, whatever a sixth year was. All of her year were so set in their frames, confident with every air, speaking their mind, either chasing or spurring boys. They all had the elusive 'life' that every teenage witch was seen to be seeking. All of them, except her. Stringy, short and under-developed, carrot-coloured hair and smatterings of freckles that obscured her babyish features. Boring, hand-me-down clothes, patched and worn possessions, no knowledge in any field except heartbreak. She was sixteen, but felt like a child.
Jenny got up, and without a word of explanation, got up, and flounced from the room. Ginny stared after, and wandered over to the large wardrobe all five of them shared. It was easy to pick out Celeste's clothes- a fifth of the hung clothes were in different shades of ebony, smoke, and fog, with a hint here and there in scarlet, just to make a change. The middle section was awash with multi-colours, the latest fabrics and trends, tight, skimpy outfights, and classy, sophisticated dress robes, all of which belonged to Havana, Rebecca and Jenny. Then at the end, a small line of jeans, sweatshirts, T-shirts, one second-hand, washed out purple dress-robe; mundane, boring clothes. Ginny's, naturally.
Just then, the door burst open, and Havana appeared, sporting new hair-extensions, and an unknown boy gazing adoringly at her.
She stared pointedly at Ginny, pushing the boy away from her for a second.
"Get out, you idiot!" she supplied angrily, pointing at the door. Ginny sighed, and picked up her bag and cloak from her bed. She walked out, ignoring the boy vacuuming himself to Havana's mouth, pushing her lustily onto the bed.
She stormed down the faintly lit corridor, anger blurring her vision, and her feet propelled her whilst her brain switched off. She found herself walking out of the castle, stepping precariously into the inky night. It was suddenly all too much. She flung the grey wool cloak over her shoulders, covering the cream sweater and chocolate brown skirt, and ran into the Hogwart's grounds, tripping in her haste, tears pouring from the corners of her eyes, brimming all the more.
It had been one of those days. Snowflakes were swarming around her face, the breeze carrying them sniping at her face cruelly.
"Say that you love me!" she shouted to the winking night sky, imploring the stars and moon for an answer, knowing in her heart what it inevitably only could be.
"No," she whispered. "No, no ,no."
She tripped all the way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and collapsed at the rickety fence, breathing hard, gasping the frozen air. Ginny sank onto the ice-cold ground, falling into a wretched heap, pulling her cloak around her shivering body. What was the point of continuing such a miserable existence? She fingered the wand in her pocket. She knew the spell - sometimes having a father working for the ministry could be helpful. He had all sorts of books in his study. Arthur Weasley never knew his daughter often slipped in there after nightfall for a furtive read.
But no.
"I'm too much of a coward," she muttered out-loud. The snowflakes fell stickily onto her hot, wet cheeks, and burnt her skin slightly. She huddled into her cloak, and tucked her head onto her drawn-up knees, and shut her eyes.
*
A warm something was nosing Ginny's icy cheek. She moaned, and stirred slightly. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, heavily under their coating of snow.
"Mmm?" she groaned. She saw something blearily, and her brain suddenly jerked. Her eyes flicked wide open, and she let out a gasp.
A pure white horse stood in front of her, looking down with cocoa brown liquid eyes. On its back were two huge feathered wings, tinted slightly with golden rose on the tips of the feathers. On the horse's head was a golden-pink horn.
"A unicorn… no, a Pegasus…" said Ginny in awe.
A word suddenly popped into her head. Alicorn.
"You're an Alicorn?" she breathed. The horse whinnied. "A cross between a unicorn and a Pegasus," she said slowly. "You're beautiful…"
Ginny stood slowly up, brushing off the layer of snow on her clothes. The horse radiated white light in the deep depths of the night, glowing eerily, with shining golden light pouring from its horn. It flicked its tail, and Ginny saw that both the mane and tail were of the same rosy-golden colour. There was a rose bound to its mane, in a peachy yellow colour, the petals fluidly changing to pink blush at the tips. Ginny walked slowly up to it, and offered her hand, which the Alicorn bent its head to sniff. As the horse's muzzle touched her skin, she felt warmth spread quickly through her body, heating the blood in her veins. Ginny smiled, and wiped the tears, frozen on her cheeks, away from her face.
She felt a sudden urge to climb on the Alicorn's back, as though she was being instructed to. Ginny walked to the side of the horse, and carefully hoisted herself onto its snow-white back, nestling herself just in front of the wings. The horse shook its mane, and Ginny felt silk flow over her hands as it did so. The Alicorn suddenly took a few steps forward, and Ginny clung onto the mane as it started to race across the grass, and then the wings began to beat. Ginny realised with horrified excitement that they were suddenly swooping away from the ground, and she gripped the mane tighter, and clung with her legs to the horse's sides. The Alicorn galloped away through the air, and Ginny glanced down. They were far above the Forbidden Forest. She felt his wings slow to a stop, and she realised they were gliding like a bird, riding the air currents, in the inky night sky.
They must have flown for hours, but Ginny had no recollection of the hours passing, she kept a wide-eyed vigil on the constantly changing scenery below them. It was the slow burnished fire rising up on the horizon amongst scarlet-shot clouds, that jerked her awake. It was sunrise already.
The Alicorn suddenly dipped down towards the earth, and they skittered down together through the air, whipping smoothly across the ground to a dreamy soft stop. Ginny dismounted. They were in a clearing in a wood.
Ginny fell to her knees, momentarily giddy. The Alicorn nuzzled her affectionately, and she stroked his nose softly. She clambered slowly to her feet, brushing off her skirt.
Ginny lifted her eyes, and gasped.
To be continued…