Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own anything
After that whole day in my little room, nothing happened to me.
No one came to 'visit' except to bring another plate of food in the evening.
By this time, I had concluded that there had been nothing in the earlier cuisine.
However, there was always the possibility that they were trying to make sure I would eat it all, and there would be something in the rest of the food.
In any case, I was careful enough to keep from eating it.
By morning, however, I was so hungry that I hardly cared.
Besides, I thought, tossing other possibilities aside, if they were going to use a potion, it would be much more sensible to use a potion that worked quickly and put it in the first food.
Thinking it through, this new theory really was more sensible, as they had watched me eat the first helping.
Either way, I had to fill my stomach, eating all but a bit of strange-looking grey stuff. Maybe they weren't using any potions, but my stomach couldn't handle everything!
That whole day, no one came in my room. The next day, the same thing happened, with the exception of someone silently bringing in a cup of water.
No food.
Three days went by in the same manner, and I was getting paranoid.
'Why aren't they feeding me? Are they trying to kill me now?!'
Those questions were answered when I was given a small platter of food the next morning—or maybe evening, I wasn't sure which.
However, one question remained, and I couldn't help thinking about it.
Shouldn't someone have found me by now!?
Exhaustion took over and I fell into a restless and dreamless sleep.
TT.TT
Suddenly, I heard a huge crash somewhere outside my little room that startled me from sleep. It sounded like a large group of people had swarmed in.
It must have been the Order because I could hear Tonks yelling, even if it was impossible to make out the words. I prayed that they would find me.
I didn't have much time to pray, though, because at that moment. Draco Malfoy burst threw the door.
"C'mon!" he said gruffly, grabbing my arm. I tried to resist, but my body hadn't the strength.
He yanked upwards, pulling me with him.
Before I was lifted completely, a jet of red light came streaming in through the door, and Malfoy went down, unconscious.
I squirmed out of his cold grasp just as Harry stepped threw the door, wand in hand.
"Ginny!" He ran to my side. "Thank goodness you're alright. Wait, are you alright? Can you walk?"
I stood up as a reply, and noticed that Harry was covered with cuts and scrapes. While I felt the urge to cry, I was not the kind of girl to give in to tears that easily.
This was not the time.
Instead I put my mind on the situation at hand.
"I don't have my wand," I said. Harry stopped for a moment, reached into his robes, and handed something to me.
My wand! How did he-? I must have looked confused, because Harry answered the unspoken question.
"I'd hoped I'd find you here," he admitted. I smiled slightly until the yelling from outside reached my ears.
He looked over at me and I nodded.
Maybe I had been deprived a food for a while. Maybe I was a little tired.
But the loud incantations from outside filled my head as the rest of my body filled with adrenaline.
I was ready.
TT.TT
As soon as I stepped out the door, I could see curses flying everywhere I looked.
There were people from both sides of the fight on the ground.
As I stepped over and around the bodies underfoot, it was impossible to tell who was doing better: the Order or the Death Eaters.
I stepped this way and that, trying to avoid getting hit.
"Malfoy!" I yelled over the noise.
"Did you think I'd be out of the picture for long?" he snarled back. I narrowly missed his cruciatus curse.
He jumped out of the way of my bat bogey hex.
I stooped under another two curses, barely missing them.
We sent plenty more spells flying, and I could only hope that they didn't hit my friends as we darted and dodged.
"Well, I see that you can dance," my opponent taunted.
"That's one more thing I can do better than you," I hissed.
Although both of us were breathing was heavily, I had managed to evade all but two of his curses— luckily, the two that hit caused considerably less damage than an Unforgivable would have— while the young Death Eater had injuries to show for at least five hits.
I heard someone mutter an incantation from behind me and I whirled and ducked. A beam of light zipped over my head and hit Malfoy, who dropped, thrashing and writhing on the ground.
Before I could look back to my new rival, I had hit the floor…
TT.TT
"But I love…" the indignant voice was cut off.
"Not right now," said a quiet voice I recognized as Hermione's.
Then came the first voice again and I realized that it must have been Ron.
"I have to say it now. We could be dead later. Look at what happened to Ginny and Harry…"
"What?" I whispered. My voice was shaky. Instead of answering my question, the two embraced me, murmuring softly.
I was sore, but they needed reassurance, so I put pain aside and hugged them back.
Next, I needed reassurance.
"Do you mind filling me in?" I asked, quietly but firmly. The friends exchanged a glance.
"Oh, Ginny, Harry…well... Ron-?" Hermione's voice was shaky, and it seemed to pain her to speak. Ron wrapped an arm around her and took up the story.
"Harry was hit by a lot of right nasty jinxes. He's cut up pretty bad, right now, and they aren't sure if…" My brother cleared his throat.
"They aren't entirely sure if he'll make it." I closed my eyes and nodded slowly, trying to take everything in.
To keep the lump in my throat down, I took a deep breath.
"And the rest?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know. The pair in front of me exchanged glances.
"No one's been confirmed dead," Hermione said. I held my breath. "But Mad-Eye's missing and George…" A few tears fell from the girl's eyes and Ron squeezed her arm comfortingly.
"George's unconscious, and he's missing an ear. They definitely can't replace it," Ron finished. I bit my lip so they wouldn't see it shaking.
"But George will be okay?" I questioned softly. Ron nodded after a pause and a bit of uneasiness.
"Yes. George will be fine," he said confidently.
I glanced around the room, noticing that it looked much like the Hogwarts hospital wing, except that my sheets and several other objects said "St. Mungo's" on them.
"Can I see Harry?" I asked abruptly. Hermione and Ron both jumped and looked over at me.
"No! You're bloody-" Hermione whacked him on the arm, but he just turned on her instead.
"Hermione, Harry's not even awake yet-"
"I don't care," I informed both of them, causing Hermione to smile.
It was a small smile, but large enough, given the situation.
Ron opened his mouth, but Hermione glared at him and spoke instead.
"Come on, let's go." I quickly threw my feet over the side of the bed and stood up.
Then, grabbing the bed for support, I regretted my fast actions as my body started to burn and my head to ache.
I pretended the pain wasn't there; I gripped Hermione's shoulder and was led out of my room, ignoring Ron's protests.
"Ha—Harry?" I croaked, unprepared for the sight before me. The worst was a deep gash on his right arm, but it still shocked me.
He was Harry! He should be running around doing Merlin-knows-what to save the world and heroically getting through fights unharmed.
He should not be laying in a hospital bed covered in cuts, bruises, and various other injuries. I swallowed and went to lean on the bed instead of Hermione.
Tears began to form, but they didn't fall. That would just be showing my fear for Harry.
They would be unnecessary, because Harry would be fine.
Right?
I closed my eyes, feeling pain not only for Harry, but also for George, and for Moody, wherever he might be.
Then I could feel my own physical pain and the room started to spin.
I was vaguely aware of Hermione grabbing my arm and helping me stumble back to my own room where I collapsed onto the bed…
TT.TT
"He's awake," said a voice that I hadn't heard for a long time. "She'll want to see him?" questioned my mother.
I opened my eyes wearily, but had no time to see anything before I was engulfed into a hug. I waited patiently for her to finish.
"Mum, I know it's great to see you, but…" I paused and looked up to see that she was taking it rather well, actually.
"Yes, yes, of course dear," she said, though it may have been a strained smile. I forced the headache out of my dizzy head and stood.
With Mum's help, I limped to Harry's side.
"Ginny?" Harry's voice was hoarse, but it didn't take away from the happiness I heard in it.
My previous escort must have noted that the joy was meant only for me, and left the room.
"They told me you-" He coughed a few times. "They said you were pretty bad."
I chose this time to look down at myself for the first time since the battle.
Both arms were covered in scrapes, some already beginning to form small scars, and three fingers were healing from burns.
Although Harry had the same number of scars as I did, give or take a few and add the lightning bolt on his head, I had expected much worse.
Then I noticed Skel-a-Grow and various other medicinal bottles on the bedside table.
"But you're alright?" he asked. I collected my thoughts and nodded, taking a seat on his bed.
"Good," he continued, not quite meeting my eyes, "because I don't know what I'd do if you …" he trailed off, but it wasn't hard to tell what he meant.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Because…" he started. I leaned closer to him.
"Because …" he tried again. I leaned closer.
"Bec—" This time, I pressed my lips to his before waiting for him to finish. He welcomed the interruption and looked disappointed when I pulled away.
"Because?" I asked him playfully. He grinned.
"Because I love you," he told me. I leaned into him, careful not to put weight on his hurt arm.
"I love you too."
TT.TT
"And we are together now, right?" I asked him a while later. He frowned.
"I still have to defeat Voldemort…" I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"And when I do, there's no one I'd rather have with me than you," he finished quickly. I smiled.
"Now that's the answer I've been looking for."
And as I kissed him, I knew that, for a while at least, there would be no more tears.
Finished!
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