Crash And Burn
Disclaimer: I don't the characters, same thing every time, but just for kick I put it here.
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Dumbledore turned to Ginny. "Go on Ginny. What is it that you need to tell me?"
Ginny squirmed around in her seat a bit. She hadn't told anyone else about the dreams and visions besides Harry and somehow, telling the Headmaster was more difficult. Finally she stopped moving around and told him. "Well, you see, every since the Chamber of Secrets incident I've been having visions, dreams if you will. All I see is what Voldemort is doing or what he's going to do. Every night I see these things and it's just overwhelming. I can't stop the visions either. I've tried Dreamless Sleep Potions. I've made them for myself all summer and nothing has helped. I don't know how much more of this I can take. And then you tell me that the boy saw a girl riding a dragon and she came down to comfort him?"
Dumbledore nodded. He knew where this was going. ~It appears as though the right pair has finally come to Hogwarts.~
Ginny continued. "Well, in my dream, I was riding a silver dragon. I saw the village before it was destroyed. Then the vision changed and I could see a line of Death Eaters making their way down the street, burning and killing everything in their path. I knew I couldn't help anyone, I could only watch. But then I saw this little boy, all alone in the middle of the street, crying as he watched his family die and his house burn." She started shuddering as she was breathing now. Harry reached over and took her hand, squeezing in reassuringly, letting her know he was there. She turned to him and smiled, the tears about to fall, before continuing. "I saw him and all I could do was to try to comfort him. I hugged him and told him that everything would be alright, that he was safe now and that soon people would come and take him to a new home. And then Harry woke me up." She leaned back in the chair, using the edge of her robes to wipe from her eyes the tears that were there.
Dumbledore sat back and looked at the two of them. The sparkle in his eye was temporarily gone. "Who else knows about your visions?"
"Only Harry. He's the only one who would understand."
Dumbledore nodded. "Alright. Ginny, I want you to go down by Professor Snape and ask him for a Vision Block Potion. It should at least help keep them off for you to get a good night's rest. And Harry, I want you to go get some Pain Reliever Potion from Madame Pomfrey. That will help keep the pain out of the scar until the sensory perception goes off again," he added grimly.
"Um, Professor? He doesn't really need to go to Madame Pomfrey for that. I have a stock in my trunk that I brewed this summer. I thought it might help keep the visions away. Guess not," she said, a bit more bitter than she thought she had said.
Dumbledore gave them his first smile of the evening. "It appears as though we have a Potions prodigy on our hands here. That is not an easy potion to make for anyone. Very well then. You may give him the potion to drink."
Ginny blushed a bit. "Actually, I developed a way so that you don't need to drink it." She took the cloth from Harry for a moment and handed it to Dumbledore. "I made a batch of the potion one day after I had fallen out of my willow in the backyard. I had a large bruise and it hurt very badly. I figured that I should be able to make the potion so that you could put it on a cloth and store it like that. It's much more effective this way and works a great deal faster."
Dumbledore chuckled a bit. "I knew there was a reason we moved you up a year. Can you show Poppy this tomorrow? I'm sure she could put this to very good use in the hospital. And remember to go see Professor Snape Ginny. I want you to sleep tonight."
Ginny and Harry got up then, Harry taking the cloth back from Dumbledore and keeping it to his head. They headed out of the entrance and stood in the hallway. Ginny sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Let's hope that whatever this potion is works. I don't think I can take another night of what I saw last night." She turned and walked down the hall, towards the dungeons where Snape's office was, and was only a few steps before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ginny, when you get the potion, can you tell me? Just let me know when you're gonna take it. In case anything happens," Harry said, a slight bit of a blush creeping up his cheeks.
Ginny didn't even turn around. She just reached a hand to her shoulder and intertwined her fingers with his. "Of course." With that she released his hand and continued on her way to Snape's office, leaving Harry standing outside Dumbledore's office, a slight smile she hadn't seen plastered on his face. ~Perhaps I need to have a talk with Ron soon. I think I'm falling for his sister.~
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Mrs. Weasley was sitting in their living room, relaxing as she listened to the radio, a glass of iced tea in one hand, a book in the other. She loved those moments when nobody was home and she could get some time to relax. She was just closing her eyes when a tawny brown owl flew in the window and landed daintily on the coffee table. Untying the note from its leg, she gave it a sip of her tea out of a saucer and sent it off. She recognized the seal as one from Hogwarts and rolled her eyes. ~Who did what this time?~ She thought differently, though, when she read what was there.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley,
It has come to my attention that your daughter, Virginia, has certain abilities that may need to be cultivated outside of class. She scored perfectly on all her OWLs, something that hasn't been done in the history of the test. Due to this fact she has been moved up one year to be with the seventh year students, a feat which I'm sure will not overburden her. She will also be attending Animagi classes at night twice a week with Mr. Potter. Both these students show a remarkable amount of magical ability and I'm sure you would be very proud. I do request, though, that you allow Virginia to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break. I do hope that this will be alright. My best wishes to you.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
It was all she could do not to spray the tea in her mouth all over. Her Virginia? All this ability? And perfect OWLs? She was grateful nobody was home at that moment, for she jumped up off the couch and did a sort of a jig right there in the living room. She noticed that the hand on the clock belonging to Mr. Weasley was on "coming home." He would be overjoyed as well. She was sure of it. A magical genius in the family! She broke out into a little jig again, then stopped as she heard her husband pop in. She turned around and blushed a bit. "Hello Arthur. Have I got something to tell you."
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Ginny didn't head back to the Gryffindor common room right away. She headed out to her tree on the hill, wanting to be alone for a bit, to think things over, particularly about Harry. She thought she had gotten over her crush on him, but as she spent more time with him she realized that this crush was developing into something more, something she didn't expect but always felt was there. She sighed and leaned back against the tree. Her life was getting more complicated than she had ever expected. She felt around in her pocket for the potion Professor Snape had given her, the one that was supposed to block the visions she got. She took it in her fingers, twisting it by the top of the vial between her thumb and index finger, looking at the bright green liquid that would hopefully resolve her sleeping problem. She put it back into her pocket and leaned back against the tree.
Harry, meanwhile, was sitting in a chair in the common room, staring into the fire. Ron and Hermione were sitting at a table in back of him, watching him as he sat there. He didn't move, didn't speak to anyone, just stared into the fire, as if deep in thought about something.
"I'm getting really worried about him Ron. Something's up lately and he doesn't seem to want to talk about it with anyone," Hermione said, resting her head on Ron's shoulder.
Ron put his arm around her and sighed. "Well, maybe he does talk about it, but not with us. He's been getting very close to Ginny. Like this morning at breakfast. Or when she helped him to Dumbledore's office during Potions. Maybe Ginny is what he needs right now. You know how he's been since the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and with the attacks by You-Know-Who getting more frequent, he's become more withdrawn."
"So you're saying that if anything should come of it between them you wouldn't do fly off the handle like you usually do," Hermione asked, looking up at him.
"If it brings the old Harry back, not a chance. Ginny's always kept to herself a lot. Maybe being around Harry she'll come out of her shell." He smiled down at her, a smirk on his face. "You know, I'm not the insensitive git I used to be."
Harry had been staring into the fire, pretending not to hear what they were saying. He sighed, resting his forehead on his knees. ~I wonder how she's doing. I knew she wouldn't come back right afterwards. She needs time to think, same as me. I just hope she gets back soon. I hope that potion works.~ His head shot up as he heard the portrait hole open, and a few moments later was rewarded with seeing Ginny come over by him and sit in the chair next to him, resting her head on her knees and staring into the fire, much as Harry had been doing a few moments before. She turned her head and looked at him. His eyes said enough. She reached into her pocket and took out the vial, showing it to him, before putting it back in her pocket and staring back at the fire.
The pair sat watching the fire as the common room slowly emptied of students. Soon all who were left were Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. Hermione turned to Ron and whispered "Maybe we should go to bed. They need the time to talk and I'm sure they won't do it with anyone around. Come on." She stood up, taking Ron's hand, and the two of them went their respective ways to their rooms, leaving Harry and Ginny.
Harry got up and went over to the couch, grabbed a blanket, and went over to where Ginny was. She had fallen asleep already, her head leaning against an arm of the chair. He shook her gently. "Ginny? Come on Gin, wake up." She mumbled and rolled over, almost falling out of the chair. Harry caught her and brought her over to the couch, laying her down and covering her up. He shook her again. "Come on Gin. Wake up long enough to take the potion at least."
She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself face to face with Harry. ~He must have put me on the couch.~ She groaned and sat up a bit, allowing room for Harry to sit down. "Fine, although I was having a perfectly normal dream before you woke me up." She sighed and took the potion vial out of her pocket. "You know, Snape said people react to this stuff differently. I just hope it isn't a bad reaction I get." She uncorked the vial, smelling in at first and wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Ugh! This stuff smells terrible! Oh well. Here goes." She pinched her nose, tipped her head back, and let the liquid pour down her throat. Immediately she felt the effects in her head. She could feel something forming in her head. It felt like she was growing a brick in her head. She lay her head back down, this time on Harry's shoulder.
He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, letting her rest against him. "What's happening Ginny? Are you alright?" He was stroking her hair, watching as she kept her eyes closed, squeezed shut, her face a mix of pain and confusion.
She groaned, opening her eyes slightly to look up at him. "I feel like someone planted bricks in my head. I'm gonna have one hell of a headache tomorrow." She closed her eyes again. "Light is bad right now. I'll just keep my eyes closed." She sighed, rolling over to face the fire. "At least it's gonna work. I can feel it. I think it'll block the visions long enough for me to sleep. Now if I can just fall asleep." She laughed a bit sleepily. Then she turned her face up to him. "Can you stay with me here until I fall asleep? Please? I don't want to be alone right now." She turned her face back to the fireplace.
Harry smiled down at her, taking her hand and lacing his fingers with hers. "Sure. Whatever you need Ginny. I'll be here." He squeezed her hand as reassurance that he would be there. He heard her sigh, scooting herself closer to him, before he heard her quiet, rhythmic breathing as she fell asleep. He put his feet up on the table in front of him, leaning back on the couch so that now her head was resting on his chest. He pulled the blanket up around her and covered his legs with his own cloak. Soon he was asleep as well.
It was still dark when Ginny woke a bit. She opened her eyes a bit and looked around, trying to sit up but felt something on her. She looked down a bit and saw that Harry had his arms around her. She picked up one of his arms and moved it so she could sit up. She took her blanket and put it on the chair then went back over to the couch. ~He looks so uncomfortable sleeping how he is.~ She picked up his legs and moved them so that now he was laying on the couch. She turned to go back to the chair when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned around to find him awake. He motioned for her to come over by him. Sighing, she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself before sitting on the edge of the couch next to him. "Yes Harry?"
He sat up and looked at her. "You alright? Is the potion working?"
"Yeah. I just woke up. I'm used to it. It may block things but apparently it doesn't get my sleep pattern back to normal." She yawned. "I'm gonna go sleep in the chair. I don't want to make you move again." She was about to get up when she felt his arms go around her waist. She leaned back on him and closed her eyes. "Harry, if my brother--"
"He won't have to know. We'll be up before him anyway." He took his hand and gently turned her head towards him. His heart started beating faster as he realized her face was mere inches from hers. "Ginny, I--"
Ginny put a finger to his lips. "Shh." She smiled. "I know." And with that she took her chances and kissed him lightly on the lips. She pulled back slightly and looked up into his eyes.
Harry felt her lips brush his and as quickly as it happened it was over. He opened his eyes and looked down into hers. He smiled then reached down and kissed her again, this time longer than before. He put everything he felt for her into that kiss and felt everything from her in return. They both pulled back and smiled at each other. Ginny rested the back of her head on his shoulder, lacing her fingers with his as she felt his arms around her. They stared quietly at the fire, perfectly happy in each other's company. Soon, however, Ginny felt sleep coming upon her and lay down on the couch. She felt Harry settle himself in behind her, pulling the blanket over both of them. She turned so that she was facing him and rested her forehead in the crook of his neck. He put his arms around her and the two of them fell asleep.