Chapter 7
Ginny had never been more happy to go back to school in her life. Even if it meant not being able to see her older brothers for another few months, the rigour and structure of school would distract from the coldness that seemed to have crept into the Weasley house.
She had only herself to blame. Harry could take some of it from others, but in truth, it had been her doing. No one had confronted her about it, too worked up with holidays and comforting her mother, who took the blame for hurting Harry on herself. If Ginny could blame Harry for something, and she very much wanted it, it was making her mother feel terrible.
As she trudged down the road behind Ron, who was nearly as down as his mother, especially since Harry was his best mate, Ginny dreaded seeing Harry at school.
Would he even acknowledge that she and Ron existed, or rather would she and her brother be ignored completely? She hated to think how Ron would react to that. Even worse, though, would be the reaction from Hermione, who of course could not be told.
Ginny failed to see Harry or his rotund cousin for the majority of the day. Finally, at the lunch hour, she noticed him sitting alone. He was focused very hard on the table, where he seemed to be without anything to eat.
Good, let him suffer a little. She thought, before realizing how harsh that was. She knew it would be fairly awkward for them both to have her appear at his table, so she said nothing. She did, however, get up from where she and her friends were sitting. The Muggle girls were chatting about some television program that Ginny didn't have a clue about, so she was not missed.
She moved over and sat at the fairly empty table with her brother and Hermione. She whispered in his ear: "Harry's all alone…you didn't do anything to him. Try and talk to him."
Ron turned, looking surprised. "What? No! He was a complete git! Let him come back when he wants to."
Hermione noticed them talking. Having no idea why Harry was suddenly giving Ron the cold shoulder, Ginny knew she was unsure what to say to Ron. "Look, Ron…I don't know what this is about, but Harry won't come around until you talk to him."
Ron looked like he was about to retort before the three of them noticed Luna Lovegood stroll over and sit across from Harry. Ginny made a face. Luna Lovegood was difficult to tolerate, even for wizarding folks. She certainly made no friends at school, and no one much wanted to be caught near her. Harry, evidently, had not realized this yet, because he simply continued to stare.
Luna slid an odd-coloured fruit over to Harry, whose eyebrows rose in surprise. Don't eat it without asking. Ginny thought. Harry asked her something, and Ginny watched his brow furrow as he was treated to an explanation of something Luna had no doubt heard from her father or his terrible conspiracy rag.
When the lunch period ended and it was back to classes, Ginny watched Harry rise. He trudged along, looking thinner than usual. As she thought about what she could do for him, Ginny moved to the third year classroom. There wasn't much, she knew, and that was the hardest part.
When school let out, Ginny abandoned her group of friends, resolving to catch Harry before he went out of sight. Ron gave her a look that she returned with one of her fierce, Mrs. Weasley-ish glances that sent him flinching.
She followed Harry as he walked towards the ugly cookie-cutter housing that had grown up to service the new industry in the area. He didn't seem to have noticed her until she was right upon him. Grabbing him by the arm, she pulled him off to the side. She was nearly his height, and he seemed visibly intimidated by her.
"Look, Harry. We need to talk." She said, firmly. Her hand relinquished its grasp and he rubbed the arm.
"No, we don't." he said with annoyance in his voice. "Thanks for telling me, but it was a little too late."
Ginny's hand slapped him across the face. Looking shocked, he turned back to her and stared.
"Harry! You're being a prat!" she yelled in a high-pitched voice. "Do you know how bad you made my mum feel? She can't stop crying! You've made us all feel terrible! We didn't want to, you know! We thought that Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the thin and small and timid black-haired kid whose relatives hurt him so much deserved to know! I felt terrible for not telling you! Ron has been moping around for the last two weeks! He doesn't show it very well, but he's really broken up! You ruined my whole family's Christmas, you know that?"
She hadn't realized it, but she was hitting him. Despite their similarity in size, she had none of the strength of her brothers. All the same, Harry flinched as she stopped. He had taken the blows thus far, but she seemed ready to do it again. Instead, she sagged and fell forward a little. He caught her and steadied her.
His face was unreadable, but he winced slightly. She felt terrible all of a sudden, for hurting someone who had already been so badly damaged.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he whispered as he held her awkwardly. She didn't know what possessed her to sob. Finally, she got a grip on herself. She was not someone who cried or got emotional about everything. She was stronger than that.
"No, I'm sorry Harry…" she sniffed. "I shouldn't have hit you."
"Don't worry…I think it helped. I didn't realize how much your family would miss me…I was stupid."
She noticed how close he was to her. Quickly stepping back, she looked him full in the face. His right cheek was red from where her hand had hit it, but she noticed older wounds. "What happened to you?" she asked, and he looked confused. "You've got the end of a black eye…and you've got little cuts all over your cheek."
"It's nothing." He said in a dull tone. "Just fell."
Ginny put her hands on her hips. "Don't lie to me. What happened to you? Did your aunt and uncle hit you?"
"No…Dudley did." He mumbled. "He's been tormenting me all winter…he nearly blinded me with his stupid remote-controlled airplane…" he brushed the network of little cuts on his cheek. "And he hit me with a piece of ice last week."
Ginny looked at him for a long while. He was thinner than when she had last seen him a Christmas, and he had an unhealthy look to him.
"They didn't like having me home…they thought your family would get me off their hands for the winter…they locked me in my room for most of it, and when I was let out, Dudley got his hands on me." He said in a matter of fact tone that made it sound like he had experienced this kind of treatment often.
Ginny didn't know what to say. She knew that there was little that could be done, but still…
"I can't believe that anyone would do that to their own blood…especially you."
"Why is that?" he asked.
"Well, because you're special. For us, at least."
He looked a little irritated. "You keep saying that, but I don't know why! Maybe I'm a wizard, but still…I'm just Harry Potter."
Ginny said it quietly. It was a hard thing to say, considering she had anticipated a moment where he wasn't angry with her and covered in bruises and it was significantly warmer. "They call you the Boy-Who-Lived."
"The what?" he exclaimed, a little taken aback. "What did I do?"
"The Boy-Who-Lived…the boy who survived the most deadly curse of all…the Killing Curse…"
Harry's mouth fell open. Ginny was reminded of an expression Ron wore fairly often, albeit he didn't look as good while doing it. "You're famous, Harry. You're the most famous wizard in Britain." She said simply.
"w-w-w-What?" he stammered. The idea of fame had evidently never even crossed his mind. "I'm some sort of celebrity?"
"Yeah, you are!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly. "We all hear about it…you did something that a bunch of adults, the most powerful wizards in the world couldn't."
"What did I do?" Harry asked, sounding like he just been told Dudley was going on a diet. She wasn't sure whether he was thrilled or shocked. Probably both.
"You destroyed the most evil dark wizard of all time! We don't even say his name, he was so feared!" she cried, with the excitement that came with recounting this story. "You saved the entire wizarding world, Harry!" She grasped his hand without really thinking about it, and immediately regretted it.
He nearly collapsed, falling down in shock, his knees not up to the task of supporting a body that had just learned it was, contrary to its own expectations, pretty extraordinary. She came with him, ending up sprawled on top of him. Blushing furiously, she let go of his hand and hastily got up, brushing herself off. He just sat there, looking dumbfounded.
"Harry?" Ginny inquired after a second. He didn't seem to be moving. "You need to get up. Your aunt and uncle will be waiting for you, I think."
He stayed still. She bent down, crouching with her legs bent to observe him. His mouth hung open and he looked distant. His eyes seemed glossed over. She shook him. "Harry?" she asked, concern tinting her voice. "Harry?" Panic.
Then he blinked and came back to reality. "I saw something…terrible. It was in the house…it was coming towards me. I saw a great flash of light…a woman's scream, green light…and then it was standing over me."
Ginny stared at Harry as if he was speaking a foreign language. She didn't know quite what to say.
"I think you need to tell me how it happened." Harry said quietly. "Because I don't think my parents died in a car crash."
Ginny shook her head, recalling all she had read about it. "No…He came to your house…this evil wizard. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. No one knows what happened next…only that you somehow survived his curse and destroyed him, but not before your parents were killed."
Harry unconsciously touched his scar. "How did I get this scar? They said I got it in the crash…but…"
Ginny looked at the famous scar. "I think…." She stated quietly, "I think I read somewhere that scars like that are caused by dark magic. Really dark magic."
Harry looked down sadly and didn't speak for a long while. Finally, with a nudge from Ginny, he got up.
"I'm sorry I was such a prat," he mumbled.
"Percy's worse."
"No, really. Tell your mum I'm sorry. I should have known that you'd want to wait until you really knew me to tell me this. Can I come to your house tomorrow?"
Ginny laughed. "Of course you can. Just wait until you see it without all those stupid Muggle things in it."
Harry smiled tightly. He was about to walk away, but turned back. "Thanks for telling me the truth." He gave her a hug.
She was still standing there as he walked away. She had just had a real, long conversation with Harry Potter. She hadn't blushed a bit. She couldn't believe it. He liked her. He liked her. He liked her!
End of Chapter 7
Oh boy, Harry has no idea what he's getting himself into. Anywho, here's the second half of that little plot thing. We've pretty much filled in Harry on all he needs to know…but it's not over yet! We've still got a certain bushy-haired girl to deal with, not to mention Harry finding out more about the wizarding world…summer, and a bunch of other stuff. Needless to say, his fifth year will not be boring. Don't expect the Dursleys to just lie down when they find out he's going to Hogwarts.
I think I've it enough that it should have sunk in by now, but I'll say it one last time: Reviews are welcomed no matter the opinions within. If you notice something wrong (thanks to tumbshie for pointing out that I mixed up rugby and association football in the last chapter) feel free to point it out.
Up Next: Harry finds out that hell hath no one nosier than Hermione Granger, Ginny finds it much easier to obsess over Harry when he's asking her about her favourite subject: Him, and the boys become very acquainted with exactly how long five months can take when you're mind-numbingly bored.
