Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Happy Valentine! This fic is written for a challenge. Send me a PM if you want the link for the Chinese translation.
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Fan Club
1.
She was reading near the fireplace when he entered the common room. She tensed despite herself. After a moment's hesitation, she lifted her head, only to find herself looking straight into his emerald eyes. She dropped her gaze at once, blushing furiously.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see him walking towards the table where the second years usually occupied. Ron was already sitting there, waiting for him, and-
"All right, Harry?"
Someone had dashed down the spiral staircase and placed himself in between Harry and his destination.
Harry sighed. "Hullo, Colin."
The brown-haired boy beamed, completely oblivious to the exasperation in Harry's tone.
She watched as Harry sat down next to Ron. He opened his bag, his head bending low as he searched for his books, his messy black hair-
A loud click followed by a flash of light made her jump. Her face heated up again as she realized what she had been doing and she quickly looked away. Her gaze fell upon the boy hovering near Harry. He was holding a camera to his eye, grinning in excitement.
Harry blinked several times before squinting up at the boy. She was sitting too far to hear what Harry was saying, but a second later the boy lowered his camera, looking slightly apologetic but as cheerful as ever.
As she watched the boy talking animatedly with Harry, she couldn't help feeling a tint of jealousy. She couldn't understand how the boy could interact so easily with Harry Potter while she always felt like running away whenever the famous Boy-Who-Lived was near.
When Harry finally left the common room an hour later, she couldn't quite suppress a sigh of relief. Her body relaxed and her thoughts at once became clearer. The words in her book began to make sense again.
"Hey, Ginny!"
She looked up at the sound of her name and found that Colin Creevey had somehow made his way to her side.
"Are you studying Potions?" he asked. "Great! Do you understand what Professor Snape meant yesterday when he said- "
They ended up studying together for the rest of the afternoon. At one point, Colin had brought up Harry in their conversation and Ginny had found herself listening eagerly to everything the boy had to say.
It was the longest conversation they had had since school started two months ago. Despite his obliviousness to everything outside the lens of his camera, Ginny found that Colin was not an unpleasant companion at all.
They were a strange pair, linked together by a one person. Colin never hid the fact that he admired Harry Potter. He knew everything about his hero, down to the smallest details. Ginny was the little sister of Harry Potter's best friend. There was nothing she wanted more than to be greeted by Harry with a smile, but she was too confused with her own feelings to even approach him.
Yes, they were a strange pair indeed.
2.
She was the only the one who saw him walking stiffly into the Room of Requirement. The DA meeting had begun half an hour ago and everyone else was engaged in a duel. With him being in detention, they had been left with an odd number of members and she had ended up without a dueling partner. Oh, the boys had offered to pair up with her, but she had refused, knowing that Luna would have been singled out otherwise.
Slowly, she made her way towards him. He couldn't quite hide a wince of pain as he lowered himself onto a cushion near the door. Nevertheless, he still managed to produce a bright smile when she sat down next to him.
"Ginny! Sorry, I'm late, I had-"
"Detention with the Carrows, I know. Are you all right?"
"It's not that bad. Luckily I didn't bring my camera with me, he threatened to destroy it."
He winced again, whether it was because of the pain or because of the thought that his camera might have been destroyed Ginny wasn't sure.
"Are we practicing dueling today?" asked Colin, looking ready to push himself to his feet and jump into the fight.
"You should take a rest first," said Ginny. While she was itching to use her wand, Colin was in no condition to duel yet. No one was after a detention with the Carrows.
"You don't have to worry about me," Colin insisted. "I'm ready."
Something about what Colin had just said reminded Ginny of Harry.
"Well, maybe I don't want make to make the duel too easy," she retorted.
Unconsciously, she had responded with the same playful comeback she would have given Harry had it been him sitting next to her.
Rather than taking it personally, Colin took Ginny's teasing in stride. "You should show me how to perform the Revulsion Jinx then, when we practice later, I'm still having trouble with it."
For a while they just sat in silence, watching as the other DA members danced around each other and exchanged curses. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but Ginny felt the need to fill it up.
"So, what did you do?"
Colin eyed her questioningly.
"The detention," she added.
The smile dropped from Colin's face. It was probably not the best topic to be brought up.
"I overheard them talking about Harry the other day. They said the Death Eaters have found out where he is."
"They lied," said Ginny sharply. Harry was still safe, they would have heard of it otherwise.
Colin nodded. "They lied because they're scared of Harry, because they knew Harry's going to win this war."
Ginny couldn't help smiling at Colin's absolute faith in Harry.
"And you told the Carrows all that," she guessed.
Colin smiled back. "It's up to us to stop them from spreading lies around the school, isn't it?"
He said as though he hadn't just been punished – tortured – for defending Harry.
"You should be more careful," Ginny warned him. "There are few enough of us as it is, we don't want you to- "
Colin shook his head. "I don't care what the Carrows do to me. I'm not going to back down."
The firm conviction in his voice surprised Ginny.
"Harry didn't back down when Umbridge and over half the school called him a liar two years ago. He kept fighting because he knew he's right." Colin paused, then looked up to meet Ginny's eyes. "And like him, I'm going to keep fighting because I know what we're doing now is right."
Inside Colin's eyes Ginny could see courage – the same courage that allowed Harry to stand up for what he believed in.
"Harry isn't the only one who can fight in this war," said Ginny, more to herself. "We'll fight it here, at Hogwarts. We'll show Snape and the Carrows that this school doesn't belong to them. Hogwarts will never be theirs as long as we're here."
Colin nodded, grinning widely. Ginny couldn't understand how the boy could remain so innocent after all that had happened, especially in the past few months. But at that moment, she knew she wouldn't change that for anything.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes, then Colin stood up and pulled out his wand.
"I'm feeling much better now," he said, "shall we start?"
Ginny nodded. She, too, was feeling much better than she had been for months. Colin's optimism had managed to chase away the empty feeling that had never left her since the day Harry disappeared.
As she stood opposite from Colin, both holding their wands at the ready. She realized that it would not be right to call Colin a boy anymore. He had grown up. They had both grown up.
He was no longer the hero-worshipping child who followed his idol everywhere. The courage that he had once admired was now his own. She was no longer the little girl who had a crush on someone she hardly knew. She was willing to stand up for herself and fight for what she believed in.
It was Harry who had linked them together, but now it was their common goal that allowed them to draw courage from each other and fight side by side without fear. Their little fan club was still running, but it had evolved and turned into so much more.
3.
She pushed the door open and entered the small room he shared with his little brother at the Order of the Phoenix's Headquarter. Dennis Creevey had gone missing three days ago. It was still too early to draw any conclusion; they refused to give up hope.
And yet-
"Colin?"
He was lying sideway on his bed, staring at his beloved camera on the bedside table. At the sound of his name, he turned towards her and smiled.
"Ginny."
"Neville told me what happened." She had hurried back to the Headquarter once she received the news five minutes ago.
"Snake venom. Nagini's." He paused to take in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I let her escape."
Ginny shook her head. "You've done your best."
He closed his eyes. "Harry would have done much better."
Anger rose within Ginny. "Could you please stop comparing yourself to Harry? You've helped the Order in ways he never did, never could. Harry's dead, Colin. We're the ones fighting this war now."
"How could you say that?" Colin's voice was strained. "Harry sacrificed himself for us. He destroyed all but one of the Horcruxes. He's the one who made it possible for us to keep fighting."
"Harry's not the only one who had made sacrifices, Colin," said Ginny quietly. "And Harry's not the only one who had lost those he loved to the war."
She thought of Fred, of Tonks and Lupin. Then she thought of George, who never recovered from Fred's death, of little Teddy, who had lost both his parents, and of herself, who had refused to attend Harry's funeral because it hurt too much. And finally, she thought of Colin, who had fought battle after battle since the day Harry ventured into the forest to meet Voldemort and never came back. Colin, who was now struggling just to stay awake.
"It's all right," said Colin, smiling as though nothing was wrong.
There was no antidote to Nagini's deadly venom, and they both knew it.
Ginny felt a lump in her throat. She slowly reached out and rested her hand on his chin. His skin was cold.
"It's all right, Ginny," he said again. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"No, it's not all right," said Ginny, fighting to keep her voice steady even though her eyes were welling up. "You're both the same, do you know that? You and him. Facing death as though it's nothing." And playing heroes without considering what their deaths might do to those closest to them.
Ginny kept the last part to herself, knowing Colin would simply insist that he was not a hero, that no one but Harry was. She didn't want to start another argument, not now, not at this moment. Instead, she slowly leaned forward and brushed her lips against Colin's.
"I'll miss you," she said softly, pulling away but keeping her hand on his chin.
He gave her a bright, childish grin in response. A grin that she now knew very well. "This is the first time- "
"Don't even start, Colin Creevey," said Ginny with a soft chuckle as a drop of tear ran down her cheek.
Colin's eyelids began to drop, but the grin never left his face.
"You'll keep fighting, won't you, Ginny? For Harry." A pause. "For me."
Ginny nodded with a smile.
"Yes, I will."
Fin.