REVIEW REPLIES:
Awtr101fan: haha pentagon, got it :P oh ya, Jake is in there, too. So it's Harry, Ginny, Cho, Seth, Jake, and I think that's it… well that's only five. So… ya :P Thank you for your understanding about the chapter :) I think this one is much better. Haha, it's reviewers like you who keep me writing! Thanks :)
Aryia-elle: Haha, YES!! Another Max Ride fan :D This chapter is way longer, hope you like it! Thanks, and I hope your sis is doing better! :)
Keeperoliver: Ginny won't be with Harry for a while. You'll notice in this chapter that I skip over a lot of time, so it's almost Christmas by the end. I am trying to stick to the basic storyline, with my own little twists, so I feel that certain things really do have to happen. I'm not sure if I'm going to put Ginny and Jake together yet. Thanks for the review!
Fen Fiction: haha please don't be biased against Jake 'cuz he's a Slytherin. Remember, Harry could have been one, too. Jake isn't bad, he won't ever intentionally hurt Ginny.
Booth'sgirlLoVeshipper: you're the reason I let myself take so long to update. I didn't appreciate your review at all. I will always accept constructive criticism, but there wasn't anything constructive about what you commented. Actually, it was just plain rude. And, yeah, I was pissed when I read that. It's one thing for me to say I don't think this chapter was great, it's another for someone to say everything about it sucks. It's insulting and rude, and yeah I was disappointed with it, but I will never put something up that I think is completely sucky. This may be online, but that doesn't give anyone an excuse to be downright mean to others, especially about writing.
Chapter 14: Bittersweet.
I walked out of yet another detention with Umbridge, rubbing my mother's salve on my hand. I found it was the only thing that seemed to work when it came to healing the wounds that the Professor's damn quill left on the back of my hand.
I stopped talking about it to my friends a while ago. Aimee wasn't stupid, when I came back after my second detention she noticed my hand bleeding, and started asking questions. So I just stopped telling her, giving her some other excuses for my absences.
Although Aimee and I are friends again, Seth is an entirely different matter. We don't talk very much; only when absolutely necessary. Since my break up with Michael, he's tried to reconcile with me several times, but we just end up arguing. I know I'm pushing him away, but I can't bring myself to forgive him, not yet.
I thought about this as I walked through the halls, wrapping my hand in the bandage I had learned to always bring with me to the detentions. My thoughts soon drifted to Harry. No one besides him and myself, as far as I know, have had detentions with Umbridge. I know the Professor, or "High Inquisitor" as she liks to call herself nowadays, has assigned plenty with Filch, but very few with herself thus far. This helped me keep my secret, and I don't think Harry has told anyone, either, except for Ron and Hermione; neither of them know that I've been in detention with Umbridge, too.
I wonder if Harry's hand is okay... he doesn't have the salve after all, and that's the only way (that I know of, least) to heal it…I sighed. I would offer to help, but… well then Harry would know that I've been having detentions, too. And although he might not say anything if it was just him, he'd likely say something if he knew that I was going through it, too.
"Ginny." I whirled around at the sound of my name.
"Oh, hey Harry." I felt a smile involuntarily make its way across my face. "What's up?"
His eyes traveled down to my bandaged hand. "What happened?" He asked. I scrambled to think up an answer.
"Oh, umm… ju-just a cut I got. Nothing all that bad, really." I could tell by the look on his face that he knew I was lying. He came over to me and took my hand in both of his; I felt a blush creep up my face. Gently, he unwrapped the bandage I'd used to conceal the marks, his eyes widening as he did so, although he did not look particularly surprised.
"It doesn't look so bad as I expected." He said simply.
"I have a salve…" I reached into my bag and pulled it out. "Here. It helps."
"Have you told anyone?" He asked, eyes sharp.
"No. But you haven't either. Except Ron and Hermione."
"Yeah…" He was quiet for a moment.
"We can't tell anyone, ya' know."
"We should. But we won't; it'll be our secret."
I nodded. "Okay." His eyes seemed to be searching my own for something; what exactly, I couldn't tell. I looked down, and the moment was gone. I focused on his hand, then.
"No, no. You're doing it all wrong!" I sighed, exasperated. Can he seriously not even bandage his own hand? "Here, let me." Despite his protests, I led him over to one of the benches lining the hall and sat us both down. I grabbed his hand and started to bandage it properly, since he obviously couldn't do it for himself. Neither of us said a word while I cared for his hand.
"Thank you." He said when I finished.
"No problem. We should probably go back to the Common Room now… I don't know about you, but Aimee's waiting for me."
"Okay." He said. So we made our way back to Gryffindor Tower, chatting as we went.
The moment I stepped through the portrait hole, Aimee pounced. Her eyes darted between Harry and me as she grabbed my arm to drag me over to where Seth and she were sitting, giving Harry a quick hello as she did. Her eyes were excited as she pulled me into the chair next to hers; she seemed to forget that Seth was there at all.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Harry lately!" She said, as if it was the most amazing thing in the world. I felt confusion make its way across my face.
"So?"
"So? So?!? You've been spending more time with him in the past three months then you have in the last three years!"
"Your point…?"
"Ugh!" She was obviously becoming annoyed with my apparent lack of understanding. "He likes you!" She whisper-shouted.
I began to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. I was pretty much cracking up. She watched me incredulously, apparently offended that I hadn't reacted the way she thought I would.
"He…doesn't…like…me!" I said, attempting to catch my breath.
"But-"
I interrupted before she could argue, managing to control my laughter. "He likes Cho Chang, ya' know." I said.
"He thinks he likes Cho Chang." She said simply. "He really likes you."
I shook me head. "Does not."
"Does to."
"Does not."
"Does to."
"Does not."
"Does-"
"Oh shut it will you?" Aimee and I turned our heads to Seth.
"Excuse me?" I snapped. He suddenly didn't seem to know what to say. He looked away from me to Aimee, obviously hoping she'd save him. I suddenly didn't want to deal with it anymore. "I'm going to bed." I said, standing up. "Good night." I didn't wait for them to say anything before leaving.
It was our last DA meeting before Christmas. I couldn't help but be somewhat surprised we had lasted this long, what with Umbridge, Filch, and their "Inquisitorial Squad". But, here we are.
That day, we were working on Patronuses… and it wasn't going well for most. It was my philosophy that I would master a spell before helping others, so I mostly ignored everyone else; I was usually one of the first to get the spells, anyhow. But even I was having trouble with this one. I have plenty of happy memories, but none seemed quite right for the spell. I wasn't going to try the spell without finding that perfect memory.
I thought back. And then it smacked me in the face…literally. Neville somehow lost control of his wand, and it flew through the air and hit me straight in the face. Which sucked… but somehow it got me to realize that one of my happiest memories had happened recently… very recently. I shut my eyes and imagined the Quidditch Pitch… felt myself flying through the air on the most amazing broom I'd ever flown on. I heard my own laughter, and Harry's, too, as we soared. Maybe it wasn't my happiest memory, but it was very high on the list.
"Expecto Patronum." I said it quietly, but with force. A white light shone from my wand and I felt my face break into a huge smile. For a moment I thought I could see the light take the faintest shape, but then it was gone. Instantly, I was surrounded by members of the DA.
"Wow, Gin, that was-" there goes Fred.
"-amazing!" George finished for him.
"How'd you do that, Ginny?" That was Hermione.
"That was great Gin!" Aimee.
Then came the best one, Harry. "Wow Ginny that was great! You just need a slightly stronger memory, I think, and you could make a full body Patronus. Good job!" My smile got even bigger, if possible, and I resolved to get that fully body Patronus before leaving. But what memory to use? I reminded everyone that they needed to use a strong memory, before working on my own again.
One memory in particular came to me, but I hesitated to go back to it. I didn't want to re-enter the Chamber of Secrets. Surprised? There is one memory from that time that could be considered happy, even one of my happiest, in an offhand sort of way. Finally, I decided to use it, even though I was almost 100% certain there would be consequences.
"Expecto Patronum" I said for the second time. My heart soared as a horse made of pure white light leaped from my wand. At almost that same exact moment, it seemed that just about everyone had gotten the spell as well. I watched as Harry moved through the room, admiring Hermione's otter, laughing at Ron's dog, and smiling as Luna's rabbit whipped by him. When he saw my horse his smile widened even more.
"Excellent Ginny!" I laughed and the rest of the meeting passed quickly. Soon enough, it was time to pack up and leave the Room of Requirement for the holidays. As everyone left, I hung back and told Aimee to go on ahead; I'd left my bag back in the Room of Requirement.
I had grabbed my bag, and was just leaving, when I heard voices. I whirled around, recognizing Harry and Cho, and, on some strange impulse, ducked behind one of the tapestries by the exit. I peeked around the edge when the voices stopped.
A crash of emotions filled me. Harry and Cho were standing under mistletoe, kissing! I couldn't make sense of what I was feeling, the only thought that passed through my head was that Harry and Cho were kissing; it was like I was incapable of thinking of anything else. My heart almost seemed to shatter as I stood there watching, knowing it was wrong, but unable to stop. I suddenly snapped to my senses, and whirled around, running out the door, and letting it slam behind me.
If anyone had been around still to ask, I would not be able to tell them why I was so upset. I didn't know, and at the time, there was no way I'd have been able to realize it. All I did know, was that Harry and Cho had been kissing, and when I'd seen it, it had felt like someone was ripping my heart out of me.
Over the course of this year, I had discovered a few places where I could find comfort. One was the Quidditch Pitch, the other was the workroom with Jacob. With my realizing it, that was where my feet took me. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and ran into Jake, literally, just as he was leaving the workroom.
"Ginny? Ginny, what's wrong?" He caught me before I could trip, and somehow managed not to fall over as I smacked into him. I finally let the tears fall, and although he seemed surprised, he did not push me away. His arms wrapped slowly around me, holding and supporting me. Gently, he led me over to one of the benches along the wall and both of us sat down. He didn't say anything, just let me sit there and cry. By that time, I wasn't just crying about what I'd seen anymore. I was crying because of my nightmares; I was crying because of Seth; I was crying because of Umbridge's detentions; I was crying just to cry, because I never cry. Because I needed to.
A few minutes before…
I pulled back from Cho, hearing footsteps somewhere to my right. I saw a flash of red and watched as the door shut with a bang. Who was that…? The question passed through my head. And then suddenly, somehow, I knew.
Ginny…?
ITS SO LOONG!!!! MY GOODNESS!! Haha :P okay people, here it is. And it's long, and you probably don't really like me right now for that ending but I can't make myself really care.
And please don't bash on the Ginny/Jacob stuff. That scene with the two of them actually meant a lot to me because…well I sort of had a mini-meltdown last night. High school has less drama, it seems, but it's a lot more complicated :/ please excuse my incessant ramblings about my crazy issues.
Anyway… I officially declare it ask the author week…or something! :P If you feel like it, you can ask me any question when you leave a comment. You don't even have to leave an actual comment, you can just ask a question. Although, for my next update I am requiring at least TEN actual comments. The questions are just for fun :) of course, I can't answer anything super personal (last name, address, etc.) but I'll answer every reasonable question truthfully! :D so assskkk questions :P
Oh, and I'm also going to do a thing with songs that inspired me for chapters. Or at least what I was listening to when I wrote a chapter. I encourage you all to listen to them :) So here are mine for this chapter:
Here Comes Goodbye by Rascal Flatts.
One Time by Justin Bieber.
Okay, I know there are only two. But I'll have more for the next chapter. If you have any questions as to why I picked a song, let me know :) REVIEW! Haha love you all, peace 333