Written for the Monthly Het-Tastic Drabble-AThon Competition (November)
Same Universe as Blood
Prompt #97 Missing
Harry tried not to hear the whispered conversation that he knew was about him from the bunk below. Being in the forest like this was hard enough, not knowing which way to go, who to turn to, and unable to parse out any more clues. He didn't need the stress of his friends not trusting him anymore.
Instead, he blocked out their conversation and took out the Marauder's Map. He tried to track down a familiar name…
And he couldn't find her.
Where was Ginny?
His heart pounded and pounded, as he combed the map for her, eager to know why Ginny was missing.
For nearly two hours Harry sat on his bunk, eyes tired but concern overwhelming the need to sleep as he looked over the map again and again.
Harry eventually passed out, map spread in front of him. So he missed when Ginny finally reappeared on the map, on the third floor, at the exact same time as Blaise Zabini.
Over the next few months things got rougher, but Harry never stopped checking the map. Sometimes Ginny would be there. More and more often, however, she would be missing. She would be gone from the map completely. Eventually there came a time where he would find her gone from the map more times than he would find her on it.
It pained him, after all they went through, between Ron leaving and the Snatchers. Ginny's disappearances plagued him more than anything else. Was she ok? Being tortured? Worse?
It wasn't until they broke into Hogwarts that Harry found out the DA had been sleeping in the Room of Requirement, which didn't show up on the map. He figured that was where Ginny had been. However, that night things happened quickly so he never noticed that her corner of the room was missing; her bunk long overtaken by the others who hid in the room as a refuge.
The Battle was fought and won. The wounded and dead were converged in the Great Hall. Ginny had been there when he chanced to look, mourning over Fred's broken body. Harry had gone around, talking to many until the weight of it all became too much. He looked around for Ginny, hoping to have a private moment alone with her where he could show her properly how much he missed her.
But she was missing.
He shrugged it off, thinking that perhaps she needed the same thing he did, some quiet time alone.
Two hours later she was still missing, and try as he might, he could not find her. He found Luna, who gave him such a sorrowful look before offhandedly mentioning the Headmaster's office that it threw him off. So he found Ron and Hermione and went up, learning Dumbledore and Snape's last secrets.
Even then, Ginny was still missing. But as worry turned to dread she showed back up, walking into Gryffindor tower just as he was leaving. He didn't notice that her shirt was on inside out, or that her tie was missing, he was just happy to have found her again.
Word Count: 516
Harry/Ginny with Ginny/Blaise