To the Future
A HariPo fanfic
by mew-tsubaki
Note: Nothing much to say except for the usual "these characters belong to JK Rowling."
P.S. REVIEW! & don't kill me for the pairing. :)
**P.P.S.** Tellings came first, love blossomed, and then things wilted. But fear not! After all, wilting flowers can be rejuvenated with a little bit of water and care…which brings us to the final arc in the story: SPROUTS. Even after wilting, a sprig of hope comes back, giving us a sprout for a new beginning. The end still isn't quite in sight yet, but I still thank all you readers who have read this far, considering this is my longest story yet. So let's read—and REVIEW!
- ^-^3
The Ninth Sprout (& the Thirty-Sixth Telling)
When Ginny awoke the next morning, it seemed like everything was perfect, though the wedding was still two days away. The birds outside her window chirped merrily and the sky was a cheery shade of pale blue.
The redhead got out of bed and dressed in a tee and jeans and glanced at the clock in her room. It said that the time was half past nine. Ginny thought it odd that, as this time in the morning, neither Harry nor Hermione were making any noise downstairs, whether in the kitchen or living room.
She left the room and peeked down the hall. The door to their bedroom was open. Ginny checked it and saw that it was empty. Befuddled, she turned around and hovered near the top of the stairs. There was a funny, fuzzy feeling in her ears…
Concerned, she took the stairs two at a time and stared around the house. It was completely quiet! And she knew it shouldn't be. She entered the kitchen—and ducked. Harry and Hermione were arguing, and Hermione was throwing the things closest to her: walnuts.
It clicked then. Ginny waved her wand and ceased the incantation cast. She glared at both of them and wondered if they would even hear her over their own hoarse barks. "And who thought it funny to cast Muffliato on me?"
Harry and Hermione stopped at her scream. Both still glared at the other, though, and both were huffing. Harry wiped his chin, which had been scraped by Hermione's projectiles. "Sorry, Ginny," he answered shortly. "I just thought you wouldn't want to be up yet."
"Certainly not awake to this," Hermione sniped, turning her eyes away as she rolled them. She gripped a walnut in her hand so tightly that Ginny and Harry could hear it start to crack.
Ginny looked from one to the other. "What is with you two? You were all fine yesterday! You were acting as if your wedding day couldn't come faster!"
Harry shook his head. "Oh, it's bullshit, Ginny. There never should've been wedding plans. Hell, there never should have been an engagement!"
Hermione looked at him as if he were a Death Eater and had just murdered her parents. "Shut. Up."
"No!" The Boy-Who-Lived ran a hand through his hair, making it messier. "No, I won't be silenced! You shushed me before, making me think that everything was all right! But it wasn't. It never was. It wasn't right from the moment Ron left."
Ginny flinched at his casual reference to that event. "H-Harry… Calm down… Maybe the two of you can civilly talk this out… Or maybe the three of us can talk…"
"He doesn't want to do the talking, Ginny," Hermione stated with another glower sent Harry's way. "He wants action. 'Get this done, get that done.' 'I'll show up when needed…' It's how he lives. Harry has to have everything planned out for him; he'll just play the part left for him."
He stared at her like she was mad. "Are you—? Good god, Hermione. I've seen some crazy reasoning from you before, but this takes the cake." He smacked his open hand to his chest. "I never have anything planned out for me! Things just always happen! C'mon—after how many years of being mates, you should know by now that nothing was ever in my control. Certainly nothing this time."
"Oh, you—!" Hermione flushed and heaved her chest. She grabbed several more walnuts, chucking them as she spoke. "I—" Chuck. "—am—" Chuck. "—not—" Chuck. "—some-some harlot!" She threw two more for good measure.
Ginny couldn't believe her eyes. These two were fighting like children and why had Hermione stated she wasn't a harlot? The Weasley daughter flicked her wand after Harry was knocked off his feet to stop the last few nuts. "Hermione, get a grip! There's no reason to pummel Harry with these! Are you okay, Harry? Harry? …Harry?"
Hermione deflated as the two witches turned as saw Harry floundering on the kitchen tiles. "Harry…?" the brunette asked timidly. She came closer. "Ha—Oh my Merlin! Harry!"
Both women dropped to his side. One of the walnuts had been deadly aimed. Harry had a whole walnut lodged in his throat and he couldn't choke it free. His wand had flown several meters out of his hand behind him and his empty hands were clawing at his neck, his fingers trying to push the walnut up from the outside.
"Hermione!" Ginny screeched. "You choked him! He can't breathe!"
"Uh, hold on," Hermione spluttered, their argument forgotten. She fumbled to withdraw her wand and pointed it at her fiancé. "Er…"
"What's the spell to get him to breathe?" Ginny cried. "He needs it now, Hermione! Come on! You always remember these things!" She held Harry's head on her lap and tried to get him to stop flailing. "Hermione!"
The genius squinted, trying to remember. "I-I remember something… I think it was in…"
"We don't need to know what book it's from! We need the spell!"
"R-Right!" Hermione, panicking, steadied her wand arm. "A-Anapmeo!"
As she said it, Ginny recalled the spell and knew Hermione had screwed up. For the spell was not "Anapmeo" at all. It was "Anapneo." And Harry didn't look any better.
The effect was quite the opposite of freeing his airway. Instead of dislodging the walnut, it grew to three times its normal size and Harry could no longer even wiggle it around. It was as if the walnut had cemented in his throat. However, as one spell had already been incorrectly cast, there was no hope for Anapneo; the object was too large to fly out of Harry's mouth now.
"Shit," Ginny groaned. "Let's Apparate him straight to St. Mungo's."
- ^-^3
At St. Mungo's, Harry was seen to right away. A couple of Healers whisked him out of sight and Ginny waited with Hermione in uncertainty. Ginny had more time to get a better handle on her surroundings here. It was very different from the time when Tonks had her miscarriage.
This time, though Ginny was still worried, was not as urgent. They knew that Harry would be okay, but they didn't know how quickly things would be remedied. Ginny didn't bother chastising her friend; Hermione definitely understood the ramifications of her actions.
"So why were you two arguing?" the younger witch asked.
Hermione stared at the floor.
"Are you going to be a clam until Tuesday?"
No response.
"Fine." Ginny stood up from the chair in the waiting room. "I'm going to go for a walk. Be here when I get back and please—no more walnuts." She saw Hermione blush, but she didn't touch the subject again.
Ginny wandered the hospital, taking in the area. She went up to the fifth floor for a drink at the Visitor's Tearoom, but when she finished, she felt she still did not want to return to the unhappy couple yet. Instead, Ginny traversed the other floors of the hospital, skipping over Harry's level (Spell Damage).
On the third floor, Potion and Plant Poisoning, she shrank back from several of the rooms. Many of them houses victims with uncontrollable vomiting. Judging by some of the other residents, Ginny wasn't going to want to go anywhere near these people; some of them had nasty, Blast-Ended Skrewt-colored rashes.
Magical Bugs, the second floor, was worse than the third. Most of the patients had something contagious. Dragon Pox, Scrofungulus, Vanishing and Levitation Sickness… One person had tentacles for arms, and Ginny didn't want to know what that unlucky wizard had caught.
The first floor (Creature-Induced Injuries) intrigued the witch. Bites, stings, burns—growing up with a horde of older brothers, Ginny had seen it all. Bill had had scorpion stings from his work in Egypt, Charlie was burned all the time by his dragons, and Ron had always gotten bitten by Scabbers (obviously before they knew the rat was Pettigrew). Ginny had a hard time leaving the floor. One witch was patching up a wizard with silvery gauze.
Ginny was only observing until the witch saw her. "Oi, you there! Grab the end of this, will you?"
As she was the only one in the direction of the witch's sight, Ginny hurried forward and held the gauze with both of her hands as the witch melded the end to another level of the material. She waved Ginny off when the gauze appeared to hold.
"Thanks for that." The witch looked at her, light brown eyes bright. "Are you the newbie?"
Coming unfrozen, Ginny slowly shook her head. "Sorry…"
"Pity. We really need more people around here." The witch tightened her blonde bun and urged the wizard to rest. "…There. All right. I guess he's good for today."
Ginny stared at the man over her shoulder as the witch pushed her out of the room. "What scratched him?"
"A nundu, poor bloke," the Healer answered. "We've done what we can, but he's been here for a week." The witch stared at Ginny, intoning, "Never visit East Africa, if you ask me. The place is rampant with them."
Ginny dumbly nodded, feeling strangely like this was a real Care for Magical Creatures class. "Will he be okay?"
"Well, the nundu didn't breathe on him. For that, he should count his lucky stars."
"Nundu breath can demolish whole villages and towns."
The witch looked Ginny up and down, evaluating her. "Are you sure you're not the newbie?"
"Yes…"
"Hmmm."
"Um…good luck with your other patients," the Weasley wished awkwardly. She didn't know what else to say, so she politely waved and left. Ginny's visit to the ground floor (Artifact Accidents) was brief and boring, and she stopped by the Visitor's Tearoom once more before checking on Harry.
Hermione was still rooted to the spot in the waiting area when Ginny returned.
"Have you gone in?" Ginny asked. "Or has anyone said anything to you?"
Her friend shook her head.
Ginny sighed, annoyed. "Look, if you want to focus on how things led to this, then by all means go ahead. I'm going to see if I can find him." She turned.
"Ginny, wait! L-Let's find him together." Hermione was frowning, but she did look concerned. She wasn't thinking about how she looked to Ginny in the earlier argument. She wanted to see that Harry was safe.
Together, they grabbed a lowly custodian and asked him for directions. He wasn't of much help; he could only point them to the head Healer. Luckily, the head Healer took them right to Harry.
Harry had been fixed and mended and was all too happy to see the witches. "That hurt more than a dementor attack," he quipped.
Ginny hugged him tightly. "Are you sure you're okay? That thing—"
"It was frozen in stone," he grunted, rubbing his neck. "But they reversed things and I'm okay." He raised his eyebrows at Hermione.
"I'm sorry," she bluttered.
"Hermione, don't—"
"No, Harry, you're right and—and I didn't want to say I was wrong." She pushed her hair out of her face, her cheeks tinged with color. "The wedding's off."
Ginny couldn't believe her ears. All this preparation—gone, after one fight? "Hermione—" She shoved Harry. "Harry, say someth—" She stopped as Harry nodded.
"All right," Harry said. "I won't ask for our deposit back from the church and certain things can't be returned, but I'll make some calls and such. We can stop this with a day to spare."
Hermione nodded, too. "Yes. I'll send the necessary owls and—"
"Are you two bonkers today?" Ginny felt like they were playing a particularly cruel joke on her. "You—"
"Gin," Harry said quietly as he followed Hermione out, "please. Don't talk about matters you know nothing of."
"Harry… When did I become a little girl to you guys? First Mum and Dad, and now you and Hermione…" She frowned. "Just tell me."
"Some things are better left unsaid," Harry grumbled.
The elevator ride was quiet and excruciating. Neither of them said a word to Ginny, and she was ready to send a Bludger or Howler to them both. Just as her anger was building to a peak, it ebbed. The witch from before passed Ginny on the trio's way out.
She passed Ginny a card. "I'm Camwyn Berthier. Come back and get a feel for my floor, dear. I knew I recognized you… Ginny Weasley, right? Second Great War hero…" Camwyn winked. "You could be great Healer material, too."
At home, Ginny owled Sirius with her opinions. Harry and Hermione had blown up… On the bright side, she now might have a future.
- ^-^3
YAY! 36! And the secret is coming up in the next chappie… Though those of you who've read From the Past know what's going to be said… B)
Chappie dedication: AdriannaZaria. Thanks for such a nice review! :3
Also thank you to the flood of favorites and alerts, everyone! I'm so happy to see that even towards the end, ToFu still delights. ;)
Review if you want the rest of the story ASAP!
-mew! XD