Chapter Seven
Ginny stayed in her room for the rest of the day. Having heard what happened from a group of gossiping fifth years, Hermione came the next morning to drag Ginny to breakfast-bodily, if necessary.
"But what if he hates me?" Ginny sobbed into her pillow.
Hermione pulled back the curtains around Ginny's bed, letting in the morning light. Dust motes danced in the sunbeams, swirling around Ginny's head as Hermione pulled her upright and shoved shoes onto her feet. "You have to face him," she replied. "He's still in all of your classes for the rest of the term. Even if what you had with him is over, you must still be able to interact cordially."
"But I don't want it to be over!" Tears again threatened to fall, the color of her irises darkly contrasting against the luminescent white.
"Then do something about it." Hermione said, pushing Ginny out the door. "And who knows? Maybe he thought about it last night and he's decided to accept you for who you are."
Ginny brightened a bit at that … until she saw him in the Great Hall. Oliver glanced down when she came in, studying his eggs and sausage with rapt attention. She saw an empty seat beside him. Taking a deep breath, she started for it, holding her head high and forcing a smile on her face.
Just before she reached it, Oliver threw his seat back and grabbed his pack. "I forgot to finish my arithmancy homework," he mumbled to the friends sitting with him. "Got to go." He fled the room without having spared her a passing glance.
Ginny froze. Her mind raced, calculating the days until he had arithmancy. There was no way he was in such a hurry to get his homework done. He must be avoiding her. A group of fifth years passed by while Ginny stood there stunned. Their mean-spirited giggling in her direction shook her from her trance, and she left the Great Hall without eating anything.
She decided to get to their next class early so she might get a chance to talk to him for a few minutes. She began to worry when most of the class filtered in and he was nowhere to be seen. Oliver slipped in just as the bell rang and slid into an open seat near the back. She had never seen him look so intent on the lesson whenever she stole little glances back at him. He disappeared from the room after class just as quickly as he'd arrived. If she hadn't seen at least the blur of his robes as he flew past her she would've sworn he'd apparated.
Ginny didn't think she could handle that type of behavior from him for the rest of the day, so she decided to visit the owlery. The owls at least wouldn't hurt her or avoid her. She stopped into the kitchens first since her hunger had finally set in from her missed breakfast. She made sure to snag a couple extra slices of bacon for the owls.
Hedwig swooped down onto her shoulder as soon as she appeared at the door, hooting softly and rubbing her feathery head against Ginny's ear. Ginny surprised herself when she laughed. She didn't think she was capable of laughter when her heart hurt so much.
"Here you go, girl." Ginny held up a bacon treat, and Hedwig hooted her appreciation before taking it up to the rafters to enjoy. Ginny snuggled in among the school barn owls, pulled a book from her bag, and began to read.
As soon as Hedwig finished her slice of bacon, she dove back down to Ginny, perching on her knees and peering over the book to hoot in Ginny's face.
"You already ate all I had. Are you a pig or an owl?" Ginny teased, tapping Hedwig on the beak.
Hedwig nibbled Ginny's finger affectionately before taking off and soaring out one of the many high windows. Ginny picked her book back up and continued reading. The breeze through the windows was pleasant, and she forgot herself in the fictional world of her book.
A voice coming up the stairs broke Ginny from her reverie, and she sighed unhappily. She wasn't in the mood for human company. She started packing up her bag, tucking her book in a pocket. She decided to try reading under one of the trees on the grounds instead. Perhaps there she'd have better luck of remaining undisturbed.
Just then the intruder rounded the corner from the stairs.
"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed. "It's you!"
Harry jumped, sending a squawking Hedwig into the rafters. White feathers rained down on both of their heads. "Ginny!" Oh, sorry. I wasn't expecting to see you here. I was just bringing Hedwig back. I guess she decided to pay me a little visit."
"Maybe she was hoping you'd give her more bacon," Ginny giggled, brushing feathers out of her hair. "I had to bring the owls some treats since I planned on invading their space for the day."
"I'd consider your presence treat enough," Harry said and then blushed a bright red.
Ginny felt her cheeks heat up, too. "I wouldn't say that," she said. "Especially not after last night."
"What happened last night?" Harry asked. "Er … well, I mean … you don't have to tell me if it's too … er, personal." He blushed again furiously.
Ginny giggled again at the realization of what he might be thinking. "No, no. It's nothing like that." She paused uncertainly. "You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" He brushed some stray feathers off his shoulders.
"I thought it was all over the school by now." She knelt down, pretending to organize the things in her bag as she hid the tears forming in her eyes. Her tone wavered, and she couldn't fool him.
"Ginny." Harry knelt down and pulled her into a hug, surprising her. He'd been so awkward around her since her transformation, so she never would have expected what happened next. He put his hand on her cheek, guiding her face up until her eyes met his. "Ginny," he said again. "You have no idea how beautiful you are to me. Not just with this transformation. You have always been beautiful to me."
Ginny felt herself slumping forward into him. He pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head as she pressed her face into his chest. He smelled of pumpkin, parchment, and soap. She inhaled deeply as her thoughts raced.
Harry wrapped his arms around her, his fingers finding hers. "Ginny." He whispered her name in her ear sending shivers through her. "I really care about you, Ginny. You. Ginny. Not Ella. Not this person you're trying to be." He pushed her away gently so he could look in her eyes. "Come back to us, Ginny. Come back to those of us who love you for who you are. We miss you. I miss you."
Love. He'd said love, Ginny thought frantically. She couldn't find any words, but he didn't seem to need any. Harry stood and strode out of the owlery and down into the castle, leaving Ginny with her thoughts.
Do I love him? Ginny thought. She had thought she might be having those feelings for Oliver, but now she wasn't so sure. Did she even know what love was? She knew what she'd have to do to find out. She pulled her wand from her pocket and left to find the nearest unoccupied girl's bathroom.
