DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognized belongs to JK (I'll get book five out when I'm good and ready) Rowling. I do own the aged computer this was written on. I would be more than willing to make a trade….
I am giving this fic a rating of R. R for restricted, responsible for your actions and read something else if you are not mature enough to handle adult themes. You should know better anyway.
Author's notes: Thank you so much for your reviews. See….I promised not to ignore Harry and Ginny.
CHAPTER NINE – Meanwhile, On The Other Side of the Forest …
"Why are we gathering wood again?" Ginny pointed her wand at the small group of logs she collected and reduced them to pocket size before joining Harry.
"For the fire place?" Harry was doing the same.
"To do what exactly." Ginny had gone along to give Ron and Hermione time alone but the whole endeavor seemed useless.
"What do you suppose someone does with wood in a fireplace?"
"Are we planning to Floo somewhere?"
"No."
"Is
it going to be cold tonight?"
"No."
"Is there problem with the lights or something?"
"No. Look, it's supposed to be romantic."
"What is?"
"Burning wood in a fireplace?"
"Watching the remnants of a once beautiful tree be reduced to ash is romantic you say?"
"It's what I've heard. It's warm and lovely and smells good."
"And we sit and watch it?" Ginny was finding this all a little hard to believe.
Harry just shook his head. "Didn't you ever sit in the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts?"
"Nightly."
"Didn't you like sitting by the fire?"
"I always sat on the other side of the room actually?"
"Why?"
Because then I could watch you from afar and not be humiliated by my brothers more than I already was. "Because ….because that's where Colin sat." Where did that come from?
Harry was clearly not expecting that answer. "You miss him don't you?"
Ginny kicked at some rocks and answered truthfully. "I don't know."
Harry seemed to accept this and continued walking.
"You're not going to ask for more of an explanation?"
"I'm not sure it's my place. We're friends and all but I am not sure that we are the kind of friends who talk about that sort of thing."
What is that supposed to mean? "What kind of friends are we then?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "The kind that gets together and plots against the rest of our friends, of course."
Ginny laughed and stared at him. "You know if our plan succeeds and Ron and Hermione do finally get it together we are both going to have a lot of spare time on our hands. Maybe we could turn into the kind of friends who talk about….things. Just because we haven't up until now doesn't mean we can't start."
Intriguing premise. "What kind of…things?"
"All kinds I suppose. You could drone on for hours about your misdeeds with an invisibility cloak no one is supposed to know about and I could gossip incessantly about my brothers and their misdeeds with the various girlfriends who aren't supposed to know about each other. You could complain about your fame and I could pretend to show sympathy. I could complain about my over protective brothers and you could pretend to listen. You could bore me with hours of Quidditch talk and I could force you to sit with me while I get my nails done. That sort of thing."
"Fascinating concept. Tell me, what do you get done to your nails exactly?"
"Cut, filed and painted."
His eyes went wide. "Sounds barbaric. Isn't there some way to do that with a wand?"
"If females waited to be able to freely use a wand before setting about learning to groom themselves you would never be able to differentiate the sexes. It's more fun this way, trust me. You should come along with me and we could sit and get our hair done together."
"Are you implying that my locks are less than perfect?"
"I am implying no such thing…I am stating it. You really need some help."
"And you think you could help me?"
"Why not? I worked wonders with Millicent Bulstrode."
"You were responsible for that?"
"If you mean turning her beautiful then, yes, I am. Poor thing spent most of her seventh year locked in Myrtle's bathroom crying. Even Myrtle got sick of the whining. Olivia Galladrille and I spent three days making her over. It took two hours alone to convince her that eyebrows were meant to come in pairs. I don't even want to get into how long it took us to shave her legs. Crookshanks was less furry."
"It only took three days you say. That's impressive considering it changed her personality completely. She hit on me you know."
"She did not?"
"She did. It seemed your make-over went to her head and she went for …..well mine."
"NO!"
"Yes….She made a grab for me at the end of year feast. Literally made a grab. It was no fun having hands the size of a small dog going for your privates, I'll tell you that much."
"What did you do?"
"I handled it as any mature, courageous person who fought evil overloads for almost the entirety of his life; I screamed like a girl and went running to Ron."
"Typical."
"What do you mean typical? What is so typical about a six foot girl with the shoulders of a Beater and a mustache?"
"We got rid of the mustache."
"You can try but it is hard for any man to forget that a girl had more facial hair than he did."
"All right, all right enough about Millicent. I promise to never insult your raven tresses again."
"Fine. Let's talks about something else….. Tell me about you and Colin."
"You don't waste time do you?"
"Wasted enough already I think."
Ginny was somewhat confused by the statement and a little taken aback by Harry's interest in her life. "What do you want to know?"
"Nothing in particular." Why did you date him? Why did you stay with him for so long? Did you ever love him? Was he good to you? How good? Do you still think of him? Do you miss him? Do you want him back? "Nothing in particular, at all."
"Right….Well I'm not sure where to begin…." She let out a deep breath. "Colin and I started to date during our sixth year. He had been asking me out for a long time but I always said no. I was waiting for…..waiting to turn a bit older. Then I got a bit older ……and waiting didn't seem like a great idea any more so I thought why not. Then everything happened with Voldemort and I was so worried about you…..and Ron and Hermione and everyone else that I clung to him. He helped me through it all, supporting me and comforting me. I needed that so much and coming from a home where I always had to share everything it was nice to have something that was just for me. Selfish, I suppose but it felt good to have someone only concerned about me." Ginny paused. There was a look of something in her eyes that Harry could not place. She continued, "Those days were hard. I'm not as strong as the rest of you. I cried on his shoulders more than I care to remember. I felt so….so…useless."
The surprise must have shown on his face because she stopped. He couldn't believe she felt like that. "You were not useless. You were learning to be a healer. Madame Pomfrey went on and on about how you helped her and how you saved people."
She gave a small laugh. "What did I really do Harry? I patched up the people who risked their lives….who risked everything while I sat safely in school. People died and lost everything and I …I…"
"You did your part. We are not all meant to be on the front lines, Ginny. We all have to work within our capabilities and use what ever it is we have in the best possible way. You have the gift of healing and that is special. You were needed at the school. Bill, Charlie and Ron were needed on the font lines, Percy and your father at the Ministry. Fred and George made spying devices. Your job was just as important as theirs. People lived to see their parents again or their children because you used your gifts to their best potential at the time you were needed. You should never be ashamed of that. How many others ignored the problem hoping it would just go away? And for the record were all scared and we all cried…a lot. It doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."
Ginny stared at him in wonderment and in a small voice said, "Thank you….Thank you for that…I felt so…so …unworthy for so long."
"Unworthy of what?"
"Nothing….It's late we'd better go back."
"You can't just leave it like that?"
"Harry…."
"Unworthy of what Ginny?"
She sighed. "I didn't think I was good enough to have the life I really wanted to have so I settled."
"You settled…for Colin? Why?"
A heart can only be broken so many times Harry, before it turns to dust.
"Harry…" She tried to walk away.
He grabbed her arm. "Ginny….why did you settle?"
She sighed again, this was quickly becoming an annoying habit. "I settled because it seemed to me the only thing I deserved. I settled because it was easier than waiting for something that might never happen. Then, before I knew it, five years passed. I don't think I ever loved him. Not the way one should love a spouse anyway, and definitely not the way he loved me. Good God, I almost married him." She spoke to herself, momentarily forgetting she was not alone.
"Why?"
Oh, shit I am not alone. "Why what?"
"Why would you almost marry someone you didn't love?"
She looked at him for a while but did not answer. Silently they let their feet take them home. Somehow, they found their way back to the cottage.
"Well, it's still standing." Harry was lost for things to say.
"That's a good sign." So was Ginny.
"We'd better go inside."
With that they entered and were immediately caught up in the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.
Ginny and Harry were surprised. Truth be told they expected smoke and flames coming from the kitchen and not something that smelled actually edible. Harry remembered the toast incident and winced. Something was not right.
"Hello. We're back. Smells great in here. Did you order out?"
"No, they ordered me." Marie Elena came out of the kitchen wearing an apron that did not have a single smudge on it. Ron followed her out, looking tired and anxious.
"Marie Elena. This is a surprise. Ron didn't tell us you were coming." Ginny tried to sound welcoming but that was a bit difficult to do when you don't actually move your jaw while speaking.
"No, I wanted to surprise him and it's a good thing I did, you should have seen the dinner they had waiting for you. Botulism in a pan." She shuddered. "No, I came to save the day as it were. Poor ….oh, what was it…Hestia or something, was falling apart. Poor thing seemed rather useless in the kitchen. You should all go and wash up; everything will be ready in a few minutes."
She re-entered the kitchen and a silent Ron followed her in. Harry and Ginny looked at each other. This was not good. Not good at all.
TBC
I tried not to sound too maudlin. Did I fail miserably?
This is the part where the Author shamelessly begs for reviews.
