He was surrounded by white. Brilliant, dazzling white. It seemed as if he was in the middle of a blizzard. Except that he was not cold. On the contrary, it seemed as if heat was flowing through his veins. A face entered his blurred line of vision. Wide, sparkling brown eyes. Full, soft looking pink lips. Ivory skin, the nose and cheeks lightly sprinkled with freckles. And glorious, ruby red hair cascading around her. He was sure he was in heaven, and found it not at all surprising that the angel hovering above him looked exactly like Ginny. What would heaven be without her? She leaned in closer and he closed his eyes expectantly.
But her lips did not meet his, and when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that he was not in heaven. He was in the hospital wing. His vision was now perfectly in focus, and he saw that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were at his bedside, accompanied by Dumbledore and a very sour looking Snape.
"Good morning sunshine," Ginny said quietly, giving him a small smile. Her red eyes were rimmed with dark circles, telling him that she had probably been up all night. And that she had been crying. Ron and Hermione looked only slightly better. He noted that Ron's hand was covering Hermione's and smiled inwardly.
"Hi guys. Hey, Gin." He reached out to take her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
The next few moments were filled with tense silence.
"Um, would someone mind telling me what I'm doing here?" he asked finally.
Dumbledore stepped forward. "Harry, what do you remember?"
He frowned at the unpleasant memories now flooding his mind. "Well, I remember Snape–er–Professor Snape and I going to get Ginny back. When we got there, he stunned a Death Eaters and I used the cloak as a disguise. I found Ginny," he paused and glanced at her, feeling his heart plummet at the sight of tears rolling down her cheeks. "I woke her up and we were almost out when Voldemort found us. He said that Avril wanted him to kill Ginny." he closed his eyes as he recalled the cold voice taunting him. "I begged him to let her go. But he performed the Cruciatus curse on her. Then it all got kind of fuzzy." He realized that he was shaking.
"Harry, you were put under the Imperius curse. Can you recall what Voldemort ordered you to do?"
Harry's eyes met Ginny's and he nodded mutely.
Dumbledore sighed. " The strain of battling the curse left you unconscious. Voldemort left both you and Ginny to die, and Severus transported you back here."
Harry looked to Snape for confirmation. The professor nodded almost imperceptibly.
He drew in a sharp breath, releasing it with a hiss. At that moment, Madame Pomfrey came bustling into the room. She glanced at him.
"Oh, you're awake I see." She turned to the others. "Out with you all, Mr Potter needs his rest."
"Please, can they stay? I've only just woken up," he pleaded.
She shot him an annoyed glance. "I assure you that, no matter what you may think, your energy is not restored. You need more rest."
"Rest assured, Poppy. We were just leaving," Dumbledore said, standing. Ron and Hermione followed suit.
"We'll be back to see you tomorrow," Ron said, looking between Ginny and Harry. He leaned down to give Ginny a small hug. "I'm so glad that you're ok," he whispered, before pulling back. Waving, he and Hermione left, followed by Dumbledore and Snape.
Harry looked at Ginny. "Don't you have to go?"
"No, Madame Pomfrey insists that I stay, at least until tomorrow."
"Oh."
Ginny sighed and tightened her grip on his hand. He closed his eyes, relaxing under her touch. The last thing he heard before he slipped into a peaceful sleep was the quiet whisper of Ginny's soft breathing.
