Disclaimer- JK owns all Harry Potter characters, The Indigo Girls own "Love
Will Come to You". This probably will only be a one-chapter story so bare
with me.
"Charlie, I'm really sorry, but I just can't stay with you anymore." Kamilah blurted out over their pasta. Charlie looked up suddenly. She couldn't really be saying this! They had been steadily going out , happily he'd thought, for over 6 months!
"What?"
"I don't think we mesh well," she said softly.
"We don't mesh well!? What do you mean? We've "meshed well" for over half a year Kamilah!"
"Things change Charlie. Anyway, I'll be moving tomorrow. I'm transferring to a reservation in Lithuania."
"You moving and you didn't have the decency to tell me sooner?!"
"I didn't think it was the right time. Then it was the wrong time over and over again till finally, tonight I made myself tell you. It's not you, it's me-" the rest of the conversation was a blur for Charlie. At some point Kamilah had gotten up and left and Charlie had moved himself to his couch. Kamilah was leaving him? It didn't make any sense.
When he had gotten hold of himself he got up and took out the tiny sheet he had in his desk. He pulled it out, it was lined with all the women he'd dated in his lifetime. At first he'd started keeping it to brag about over his brothers but now it was a lasting reminder of just how much of a loser he really was. He glanced up at the very top, Morgan Little, his 5th year. There, the last one on the page, Kamilah Shadi- 6 months. 1 week, 5 days. He crossed her off and stuffed the list back into his desk.
The phone rang a second later and he went to go pick it up. "Hello, Charlie Weasley speaking."
"Ch-ch-Charlie?" a sobbing voice strained.
"Ginny, is that you?"
"Y-yes, I-I-I need to t-t-talk with you. Can I go over there?"
"How would you get here Gin?"
"The Knight Bus," she sobbed again.
"Where are you Ginny?"
"On th-the Kn-night B-b-b-bus."
"Okay Ginny, how much longer till you get here?"
"A c-c-couple of minutes," she sobbed. Charlie didn't have the heart to scold her though he was very afraid something would happen to her. He wondered what on earth could make Ginny, their Virginia Kathryn Weasley, cry so hard. He walked out to the porch to get her inside as fast as possible. A minute later the bus pulled up and Ginny came off with her bag in her hand. Tears were cascading down her face. When she saw Charlie she broke into a run and he caught her, just a minute with her face on his chest and it was already soaked with tears. He lead her inside and sat her down on the couch.
"Now what is this all about?" he asked finally. It took a minute for her to compose herself. She looked up at her big brother. Her small, perfect face was red from rubbing and her eyes were puffy from tears. On the very side of her face Charlie caught sight of a big bruise. "WHO DID IT?" he boomed. Ginny, though she was 20-years-old, and had fought in the 2nd rise, still curled back at his voice.
"Walter," she squeaked.
"Why that no good, rotten, awful, fucking, bloody," the list went on and on and on, creature, "I'll kill him!"
"No Charlie, that's why I came to you. I was afraid hat if Dad and Ron found out they would kill him. That's why I need to stay here for a while, till the bruises go down."
"Bruises?" Charlie asked incredulously.
"Guess I wasn't the best one to ask
Me myself, with my face pressed
Up against Love's glass
To see the shiny toy
I've been hoping for
The one I never can afford
The wide world spins and spits turmoil
And the nations toil for peace
The paws of fear
Upon your chest
Only love can soothe that beast
And my words are paper tigers
No match for the predator of pain inside her."
"I just don't know what's wrong with me, am I a mutant or something. Why don't I ever pick the right guy? Why doesn't the right guy ever pick me?" Ginny sobbed into her hands. Charlie, forgetting his rage, sat beside her and put his arms around her.
"It'll be okay Ginny, you'll find somebody. You're wonderful, and though I loathe to say it, you'll have no problem finding a guy." Ginny looked over at Charlie.
"You know as well as I do that I haven't had very good luck with men. It's not fair. All I want is a nice guy who won't beat me, who doesn't drink all the time, who doesn't yell at me.." she faded. "Just someone who I can trust and love."
"You'll find someone," Charlie repeated.
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because I spoke the words
That they're true
As if I've offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one
There will be two."
"But how do you know?"
"I don't know," Charlie sighed.
"Hey, where's Kamilah?" Ginny asked, looking around the apartment. "You two usually have dinner together somewhere."
"Kamilah broke up with me. She actually just left like an hour ago." Charlie knew that his statement would not make his previous statement more believable but he couldn't lie to her.
"Oh," Ginny said. Charlie ran his hands gingerly through her hair. She winced slightly.
"Ginny, where exactly did he hit you?" She scooted away from him and looked away. "Ginny, answer me now or I'll owl Ron and Dad." She turned to him very slowly. She touched the crown of her head, the side of her face, both of her arms, her legs, her stomach, her chest, the small of her back, and finally, either side of her hip. For a moment he couldn't speak. "When?"
"He's been hitting me for about three months. I told him this afternoon that I was breaking up with him and he flipped out. The minute he fainted from drinking so much I hailed the Knight Bus and came here." Ginny's voice was oddly apathetic as she spoke. It scared Charlie to death.
"Three months? How did we not know?"
"Up until tonight it was just little, modest bruises in places one wouldn't normally look."
"Why didn't you tell someone?"
"I thought I loved him and that he loved me."
"He hit you Ginny! How could that be love?"
"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Love-expert!" she exclaimed. Charlie looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry, it's just all so wrong. I didn't know what to do. You know Dad and Ron, they're so bloody over-protective!"
"Well what do you call me exactly?"
"I don't know, you're not crazy I guess," Ginny blushed. She then collapsed back into her lap. Charlie affectionately traced the bones in her back.
"I was born under the sign of cancer
Like brushing cloth
I smooth the wrinkles for an answer
I'm always closing my eyes,
Wishing I'm fine
Even though I'm not this time"
"Come on Ginny, you haven't eaten, come and have some pasta, it's your favorite," he lead her to the table and fixed her a plate. After clearing it off he forced Ginny to eat. She was a lot thinner then before, it looked as if she hadn't eaten a good meal in weeks. "Has Mum seen you lately?"
"No, why?" Ginny asked, looking up from the pasta she was swishing around her plate.
"You don't look well."
"Thanks, that's a compliment for sure," she hissed back. "Walter said I was getting a bit chubby so I kind of went on a diet."
"Bastard!"
"It's fine, I'll be fine," she managed to get out before falling onto her arm, letting the tears fall down into the pesto. Charlie felt a hot tear slip down his face as well.
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because i spoke the words that they're true
As if i offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one there will be two"
"Oh Ginny, don't cry. You're making me cry," Charlie tried to lighten the mood. She didn't respond. "Come on Ginny, I've got "Ben and Jerry's" from Clara's last trip to the States," he lead her to the couch and went to the kitchen for the ice cream. He brought back a pint of "Chunky Monkey" and a pint of "Cherry Garcia". He switched on the TV. "We'll just sit here with our ice cream and watch an entirely romantic movie." He flipped through the channels till he landed on "A Room With a View."
"Dodging your memories a field of knives
Always on the outside looking in on other's lives"
They sat and watched the movie in silence for a long time. It wasn't till after the kissing scene, (at which both Ginny and Charlie turned away), that Ginny finally spoke. "Why have you never gone out with Clara?" The question hung in the air like a bright star on a clear night. Charlie took a couple of minutes to answer.
"She's just a friend."
"They make the best ones."
"Then why haven't you gone out with Harry? He's nice."
"He'd never go out with me."
"I sincerely doubt that. Apart from being a bit too skinny, you're beautiful. Plus he's very non-creep."
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because i spoke the words that they're true
As if i offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one there will be two"
"Well, how about this, you go out with Clara and I'll go out with Harry," Ginny said slowly. "Let's shake on it." Charlie nodded and shook her hand.
"It's a deal."
"And i wish her insight to battle love's blindness
Strength from the milk of human kindness
A safe place for all the pieces that scattered
Learn to pretend there's more than love that matters"
"Charlie, I'm really sorry, but I just can't stay with you anymore." Kamilah blurted out over their pasta. Charlie looked up suddenly. She couldn't really be saying this! They had been steadily going out , happily he'd thought, for over 6 months!
"What?"
"I don't think we mesh well," she said softly.
"We don't mesh well!? What do you mean? We've "meshed well" for over half a year Kamilah!"
"Things change Charlie. Anyway, I'll be moving tomorrow. I'm transferring to a reservation in Lithuania."
"You moving and you didn't have the decency to tell me sooner?!"
"I didn't think it was the right time. Then it was the wrong time over and over again till finally, tonight I made myself tell you. It's not you, it's me-" the rest of the conversation was a blur for Charlie. At some point Kamilah had gotten up and left and Charlie had moved himself to his couch. Kamilah was leaving him? It didn't make any sense.
When he had gotten hold of himself he got up and took out the tiny sheet he had in his desk. He pulled it out, it was lined with all the women he'd dated in his lifetime. At first he'd started keeping it to brag about over his brothers but now it was a lasting reminder of just how much of a loser he really was. He glanced up at the very top, Morgan Little, his 5th year. There, the last one on the page, Kamilah Shadi- 6 months. 1 week, 5 days. He crossed her off and stuffed the list back into his desk.
The phone rang a second later and he went to go pick it up. "Hello, Charlie Weasley speaking."
"Ch-ch-Charlie?" a sobbing voice strained.
"Ginny, is that you?"
"Y-yes, I-I-I need to t-t-talk with you. Can I go over there?"
"How would you get here Gin?"
"The Knight Bus," she sobbed again.
"Where are you Ginny?"
"On th-the Kn-night B-b-b-bus."
"Okay Ginny, how much longer till you get here?"
"A c-c-couple of minutes," she sobbed. Charlie didn't have the heart to scold her though he was very afraid something would happen to her. He wondered what on earth could make Ginny, their Virginia Kathryn Weasley, cry so hard. He walked out to the porch to get her inside as fast as possible. A minute later the bus pulled up and Ginny came off with her bag in her hand. Tears were cascading down her face. When she saw Charlie she broke into a run and he caught her, just a minute with her face on his chest and it was already soaked with tears. He lead her inside and sat her down on the couch.
"Now what is this all about?" he asked finally. It took a minute for her to compose herself. She looked up at her big brother. Her small, perfect face was red from rubbing and her eyes were puffy from tears. On the very side of her face Charlie caught sight of a big bruise. "WHO DID IT?" he boomed. Ginny, though she was 20-years-old, and had fought in the 2nd rise, still curled back at his voice.
"Walter," she squeaked.
"Why that no good, rotten, awful, fucking, bloody," the list went on and on and on, creature, "I'll kill him!"
"No Charlie, that's why I came to you. I was afraid hat if Dad and Ron found out they would kill him. That's why I need to stay here for a while, till the bruises go down."
"Bruises?" Charlie asked incredulously.
"Guess I wasn't the best one to ask
Me myself, with my face pressed
Up against Love's glass
To see the shiny toy
I've been hoping for
The one I never can afford
The wide world spins and spits turmoil
And the nations toil for peace
The paws of fear
Upon your chest
Only love can soothe that beast
And my words are paper tigers
No match for the predator of pain inside her."
"I just don't know what's wrong with me, am I a mutant or something. Why don't I ever pick the right guy? Why doesn't the right guy ever pick me?" Ginny sobbed into her hands. Charlie, forgetting his rage, sat beside her and put his arms around her.
"It'll be okay Ginny, you'll find somebody. You're wonderful, and though I loathe to say it, you'll have no problem finding a guy." Ginny looked over at Charlie.
"You know as well as I do that I haven't had very good luck with men. It's not fair. All I want is a nice guy who won't beat me, who doesn't drink all the time, who doesn't yell at me.." she faded. "Just someone who I can trust and love."
"You'll find someone," Charlie repeated.
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because I spoke the words
That they're true
As if I've offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one
There will be two."
"But how do you know?"
"I don't know," Charlie sighed.
"Hey, where's Kamilah?" Ginny asked, looking around the apartment. "You two usually have dinner together somewhere."
"Kamilah broke up with me. She actually just left like an hour ago." Charlie knew that his statement would not make his previous statement more believable but he couldn't lie to her.
"Oh," Ginny said. Charlie ran his hands gingerly through her hair. She winced slightly.
"Ginny, where exactly did he hit you?" She scooted away from him and looked away. "Ginny, answer me now or I'll owl Ron and Dad." She turned to him very slowly. She touched the crown of her head, the side of her face, both of her arms, her legs, her stomach, her chest, the small of her back, and finally, either side of her hip. For a moment he couldn't speak. "When?"
"He's been hitting me for about three months. I told him this afternoon that I was breaking up with him and he flipped out. The minute he fainted from drinking so much I hailed the Knight Bus and came here." Ginny's voice was oddly apathetic as she spoke. It scared Charlie to death.
"Three months? How did we not know?"
"Up until tonight it was just little, modest bruises in places one wouldn't normally look."
"Why didn't you tell someone?"
"I thought I loved him and that he loved me."
"He hit you Ginny! How could that be love?"
"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Love-expert!" she exclaimed. Charlie looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry, it's just all so wrong. I didn't know what to do. You know Dad and Ron, they're so bloody over-protective!"
"Well what do you call me exactly?"
"I don't know, you're not crazy I guess," Ginny blushed. She then collapsed back into her lap. Charlie affectionately traced the bones in her back.
"I was born under the sign of cancer
Like brushing cloth
I smooth the wrinkles for an answer
I'm always closing my eyes,
Wishing I'm fine
Even though I'm not this time"
"Come on Ginny, you haven't eaten, come and have some pasta, it's your favorite," he lead her to the table and fixed her a plate. After clearing it off he forced Ginny to eat. She was a lot thinner then before, it looked as if she hadn't eaten a good meal in weeks. "Has Mum seen you lately?"
"No, why?" Ginny asked, looking up from the pasta she was swishing around her plate.
"You don't look well."
"Thanks, that's a compliment for sure," she hissed back. "Walter said I was getting a bit chubby so I kind of went on a diet."
"Bastard!"
"It's fine, I'll be fine," she managed to get out before falling onto her arm, letting the tears fall down into the pesto. Charlie felt a hot tear slip down his face as well.
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because i spoke the words that they're true
As if i offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one there will be two"
"Oh Ginny, don't cry. You're making me cry," Charlie tried to lighten the mood. She didn't respond. "Come on Ginny, I've got "Ben and Jerry's" from Clara's last trip to the States," he lead her to the couch and went to the kitchen for the ice cream. He brought back a pint of "Chunky Monkey" and a pint of "Cherry Garcia". He switched on the TV. "We'll just sit here with our ice cream and watch an entirely romantic movie." He flipped through the channels till he landed on "A Room With a View."
"Dodging your memories a field of knives
Always on the outside looking in on other's lives"
They sat and watched the movie in silence for a long time. It wasn't till after the kissing scene, (at which both Ginny and Charlie turned away), that Ginny finally spoke. "Why have you never gone out with Clara?" The question hung in the air like a bright star on a clear night. Charlie took a couple of minutes to answer.
"She's just a friend."
"They make the best ones."
"Then why haven't you gone out with Harry? He's nice."
"He'd never go out with me."
"I sincerely doubt that. Apart from being a bit too skinny, you're beautiful. Plus he's very non-creep."
"I say love will come to you
Hoping just because i spoke the words that they're true
As if i offered up a crystal ball to look through
Where there's now one there will be two"
"Well, how about this, you go out with Clara and I'll go out with Harry," Ginny said slowly. "Let's shake on it." Charlie nodded and shook her hand.
"It's a deal."
"And i wish her insight to battle love's blindness
Strength from the milk of human kindness
A safe place for all the pieces that scattered
Learn to pretend there's more than love that matters"