No! Harry had never flown so fast in his life, but it felt like an eternity until he finally reached the crowd that had surrounded Ginny. Harry jumped off his broom before his feet hit the ground, pushing his way through the other students until he was standing above Ginny's still form.
Dropping to his knees beside her, he reached out to shake her shoulder, but stopped, unsure if he would cause her more harm. "Ginny," he whispered. Ginny's beautiful face was expressionless, she looked as though she was simply sleeping.
"Ginny, can you hear me? Somebody get a teacher!" He yelled at the crowd.
Looking at the faces around him, Harry saw fear, shock, and anger. He found Hermione and Ron kneeling a couple feet away on the other side of Ginny, Hermione had tears in her eyes and Ron had gone very pale.
"Move out of the way!" Relief flooded through Harry as he heard McGonagall's voice coming closer. She would know what to do, she had to.
"Everybody stand back this instant!" The group moved as one as they took a few steps back. Only Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained where they were. McGonagall waved her wand, making Ginny's body levitate off the ground and move forward, following her as she marched back to the school. Harry kept pace with her, his eyes never leaving Ginny, who still hadn't moved a muscle. Ron and Hermione followed closely behind. They didn't even realize that they'd made it to the infirmary until McGonagall stopped walking, laying Ginny down on one of the perfectly made beds.
"Poppy! I need you out here at once!" McGonagall's call brought Madam Pomfrey, the school healer, running into the room. Her look of surprise quickly became one of stoic professionalism. Giving a curt nod of her head, she pointed her wand at the doors to the infirmary, making them slam shut in Ron, Hermione, and Harry's faces. Knowing it would be useless to argue, Harry paced back and forth in the hallway while Hermione held tightly to Ron's hand. Harry felt like he was going to be sick.
"Why didn't anyone catch her or put something under her on the ground," Ron didn't answer Harry's question, his face slowly getting redder.
"Harry, no one could have caught her," Hermione looked at him with puffy eyes. "The team was flying the other way, so they could be together to celebrate after you caught the snitch. Ginny was behind them, by the time they saw anything the bludger was already hitting her. The teachers that were there tried to get to her, but they couldn't."
Harry's rage boiled over, "Where's Malfoy?" He was going to beat him to a bloody pulp the next time he saw him.
Ron finally spoke, "Madam Hooch dragged him to her office as soon as she saw what he'd done." They all fell into a tense silence, broken up only by the pounding of Harry's feet as he paced back and forth.
"Where is she! Where's by baby?" The panicked voice of Mrs. Weasley broke through their thoughts as she and Mr. Weasley rushed towards them.
"Mum? Dad? How did you find out about Ginny?" Ron was rather surprised to see his parents there so soon.
"Professor McGonagall sent us a patronus and told us Ginny was hurt. She said we could use floo powder to go to Dumbledore's office. Have you heard anything yet?" Mr. Weasley was staying strong for his wife, but Harry could see the worry in his eyes.
Ron shook his head, "No, they locked us out here once they brought her in." They fell into a tense silence again, the occasional sniff coming from Mrs. Weasley. Several minutes later, McGonagall opened the doors, not surprised in the least to see Ron and Ginny's parents, and they held their breath, waiting for what she would say.
"You may see your daughter now, but you must be quiet." The five of them walked into the infirmary, heading straight for Ginny's bed where Madam Pomfrey was tucking a blanket around her. Mrs. Weasley went straight to her daughter and held her hand. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood on the opposite side of the bed, while Mr. Weasley spoke with Madam Pomfrey.
"Poppy, is she going to be okay?"
"Yes, but it's going to take some time. She took a bludger to the chest, which cracked the bone, and she fell 150 feet from her broom. She had several other broken bones and some cuts, but I've healed the bones and the cuts will go away on their own."
"When will she wake up?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Probably sometime tomorrow, I've given her a potion to keep her sleeping, she's going to be very sore when she does wake up." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stay for another half an hour, giving Ron strict instructions to let them know when Ginny woke up, and Professor McGonagall walked them out. Mrs. Pomfrey went into her office, while Ron and Hermione took Mrs. Weasley's place next to Ginny, and Harry sat at her other side, his heart beating painfully as he looked at her. Ginny's expression was calm, but there was a large bruise at her temple with several scratches around her face. Harry could only imagine the pain she'd be in when she woke up.
This thought filled Harry with anger. He knew Malfoy was scum, but he didn't know that he'd resort to this to get back at Ginny. Every fiber within him wanted to leave the room to find Malfoy and give him the beating he deserved. She could have died. The realization that he could have lost Ginny hit him with the force of a thousand stunning spells. Knowing that he'd never even told her how he felt made the pain in his chest that much worse. They stayed with Ginny for a long time until Hermione spoke.
"It's dinnertime, we should all go get something, and then we can come back." Ron nodded quietly and stood to follow her. He hadn't said much since they'd been there, but he turned to look at Harry.
"You coming, mate?"
"No, you two go. I'm not hungry." Harry was glad that Ron didn't ask him any questions, he simply nodded his head and walked out the doors with Hermione.
They came back from dinner a while later, saying that everyone had been asking about Ginny. Hermione made a point to mention that Ron now had to serve detention the next night. "What'd you do? You guys have only been gone for an hour?" Harry gave Ron an incredulous look.
"I saw Malfoy walking to dinner with Crabbe and Goyle, laughing about Ginny, so I came up behind him and threw a few punches."
"A few!" Hermione shrieked. "It took Carl, Dean, and Seamus to pull you off of him."
Harry smiled with grim satisfaction, "Good job. Now I won't have to."
"You're just lucky that it was McGonagall that caught you and not Snape." Hermione frowned at him, but Harry could tell that she wasn't truly mad at Ron. She loved Ginny like a sister, and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that she would have gotten to Malfoy somehow if Ron hadn't.
Ron and Hermione stayed for another couple of hours before they left to go back to the common room. Ron gave Harry a curious look when he said he was going to stay there for a while longer, but he didn't say anything. Harry didn't move an inch for the rest of the night, he just stayed with Ginny, watching her face for any sign that she was waking up. He reached out to run his hand down her cheek, brushing her hair back from her face. Her skin was as soft as it looked and her hair felt like silk in his hands.
"You've got to wake up soon, Ginny. There's a lot I need to tell you." Harry whispered in her ear. He watched her for a little while longer, until he fell asleep, his head on her bed and her hand in his.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Ginny had never felt this much pain before, her whole body felt like one giant bruise. She knew she wasn't in her dormitory, those beds were much softer than the one she was in now. She tried to open her eyes, but they didn't want to budge. Despite being so sore, she forced her hand to move around, feeling a rough blanket on top of her before her fingers came to rest against something soft. Knowing she couldn't stare at the backs of her eyelids anymore, Ginny forced her eyes to open, blinking rapidly as she took in the sleeping figure in front of her.
"Harry?" Her voice came out raspy, so she swallowed hard and tried again. "Harry?"
The figure lying on her bed slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and straightening his glasses. He looked at her, his eyes lighting up and a huge smile growing on his face, "Ginny!"
Harry jumped up and gave her a hug, making her gasp in pain. Harry pulled back, slight panic on his face, "I'm sorry! Are you okay?"
Ginny laughed lightly, "I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting to be so sore. What happened?"
She watched as anger spread across Harry's face and his eyes darkened, "Malfoy got angry when you flew in front of him while we were trying to catch the snitch. He took Goyle's bat and aimed a bludger at you. It hit you in the chest and you fell 150 feet. You've been here since yesterday."
Ginny thought about this for a minute, "Ah, so that's why feels like I got trampled by a herd of hippogriffs." Harry snorted, Ginny would crack a joke after just waking up in the infirmary.
"Ron and Hermione were here all day yesterday and so were your parents. They'll be back as soon as Ron tells them you're awake."
"Why are you still here?" Ginny scrunched her brow at him.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Harry froze as Ginny looked at him. What could he tell her? That he'd been standing vigil over her since her accident because he didn't want to be apart from her? She'd either laugh in his face or try to get as far away from him as she could.
"I volunteered to stay until you woke up. Ron and Hermione needed to get some sleep." Harry saw something unreadable pass behind Ginny's eyes.
"Oh," She said quietly. "Thank you." She was quiet for a minute before she spoke again, "What time is it? Will Ron and Hermione be back soon?"
Harry checked his watch, "It's 7:30, so they should probably be here any—"
"Ginny! You're awake!" The happy cry came from Hermione, who flew across the room to Ginny's bed, followed closely by Ron. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you need anything for your pain?"
"Hermione, breathe," Ginny smiled. "I'm fine, just a little sore."
"Mum and dad will want to know you're up. I'll tell McGonagall and she can let them know," Ron turned to leave, but Ginny stopped him.
"Wait, I want to talk with you guys some more. Did we win the match yesterday?"
"Yeah, Harry caught the snitch," Ron's mouth became a thin line and color rose to his cheeks.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't mind him, Ginny," Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's mad at Malfoy."
"Oh. Well, there's not much we can do about it right now. Plus, I'm not really surprised, I mean we all knew he was a git and I figured he'd get back at me eventually."
"You're not serious!" Ron yelled. "You're not even angry at him!?"
"No, Ron, I just love laying in bed feeling like I got run over by the Hogwarts Express!" Ginny retorted. "Of course I'm angry, but I'll just have to wait to get back at him."
Hermione snorted, "Maybe not. Ron already got back at him last night."
"What? What do you mean?"
Harry smiled at his best friend, "Ron beat Malfoy up on his way to dinner last night. Landed himself in detention with McGonagall tonight."
"Aw, Ron, you do like me." Ginny shot her brother a goofy smile, making them all laugh. They talked for a while longer before McGonagall came to check on Ginny. Seeing that she was awake, McGonagall left the room to send a message to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Within half an hour, Ron and Ginny's parents came bursting into the room.
"My baby!" Mrs. Weasley ran to Ginny and scooped her into a hug. Ginny had prepared herself for this, but Harry saw her flinch in pain.
"Are you alright? Do you need anything for the pain? I swear I ought to go grab that Malfoy by the back of his robes and give him a good shake." Mrs. Weasley was switching from joy at seeing Ginny awake to anger at Malfoy.
"Molly, I don't think you'll need to do that, even if it would be rightly deserved." Mr. Weasley finally got in between his wife's fussing.
"Don't worry, mum, I'm fine. I'll be back in classes before you know it and being your favorite child again." Ron sputtered at this statement, while Harry and Hermione hid their smiles.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley laughed, seeing their spunky daughter was indeed going to be alright. They fussed over her for another hour before leaving to go back home with the promise to check on Ginny every day. As soon as they'd left, Ginny swung her legs over the edge of her bed and made to get up.
"What are you doing, young lady!" Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to come out of her office.
"I'm going back to my common room. I don't want to lie around here for the next week counting the dust mites floating through the air." Harry, Ron and Hermione watched with great amusement as Ginny battled back and forth with Madam Pomfrey.
"I promise I'm fine, I'm not the first person to get hit by a bludger and I won't be the last!"
"You broke multiple bones and you need rest!"
"You already healed those bones, so I'm basically just a large bruise now, and nobody ever died from one of those!" Ginny stood with great dignity, grabbed her clothes from a nearby chair, and walked to the bathroom to change. She returned a couple minutes later, fully dressed. She came to a stop in front of Madam Pomfrey.
"See, I'm fine. I admit I'm sore, but I can walk, and I don't want to miss a week of classes, because of a little accident."
Madam Pomfrey wasn't pleased, but Harry could see the grudging respect in her eyes. "I'm not happy about it, but I can see I won't be able to sway you. Take these, they'll help with the pain." Madam Pomfrey shoved three small bottles into Ginny's arms.
Once they'd reached the hallway and the infirmary doors had shut behind them, Ginny began walking much slower. After a couple of minutes there was a light sheen of sweat on her face and she stopped to lean against the wall.
"Ginny, you need to go back to the infirmary," Ron made to grab her arm, but she shrugged him off.
"No, I meant what I said. I'm not spending a week in bed, I just have to go a bit slower."
"Come on, Ron, let's go get a chair set up in the common room so that Ginny can relax." Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him towards Gryffindor Tower.
"Do you need help, Ginny?" Harry watched as she pushed herself off the wall.
"I suppose I could use some help," She said reluctantly. Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and held her hand in his. He savored the moment of being able to freely hold her in his arms, and he made the decision that it was time to tell Ginny how he felt. He just had to figure out how and when...and what he'd do when he received the rejection that was sure to come.
All too soon, they reached the common room and Harry had to remove his arm from her waist, giving her a lift up through the portrait hole. As they entered, a cheer rose up from the large crowd of Gryffindors standing in the room. They all rushed forward to surround Harry and Ginny, asking her how she felt and telling her she played an amazing game. Ginny took it all in stride, but Harry could see she was getting a little tired from standing, so when the last person drifted away he guided her to an armchair by the fire. Hermione had put a charm on it to make it extra squishy and soft, so Ginny would be more comfortable.
"This is much better than being in the infirmary. I don't know how you do it, Harry." It was a given fact that at some point during the school year, Harry would end up in the infirmary from some sort of injury that would keep him there for several days.
"I would've loved to get out of there, but I don't think I ever thought of defying Madam Pomfrey," He raised an eyebrow at her, making her laugh.
"Blimey, Ginny, that was something. Did you see the look on Madam Pomfrey's face when you got up and walked passed her to change? I don't think she's ever been ignored by a patient before." Ron smirked at her.
"Nevermind that. I'm starved, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday."
Harry glanced at his watch, "We just missed lunch, so it's going to be a couple hours until dinner."
"We'll bring you back a big plate, though," Ron reassured her.
"No, you won't. I'm going to get my own food, thank you very much."
"You're still hurt!"
"I am not going to miss the look on Malfoy's face when he sees that I'm not lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Besides," Ginny grinned at Ron, "I want to get a look at him and see if you earned your detention with McGonagall."
