Disclaimer- I own...not much. And certainly not this. Nope. Nothing. Nada.
The plot is adapted from Sharon Shinn's The Alleluia Files, and the
characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Deep Cries Out to Deep
Ginny sat in a diner a few blocks away, staring at her arm. There, near the crook of her elbow, was the Dark Mark. It changed colors slightly as Ginny moved her arm. She shook her head- what had she been thinking to get this? It symbolized everything that she stood against. Self-preservation, the back of her mind whispered. To say alive.
"What'd ya want, hon?" The waitress asked, interrupting Ginny's musings. The lady was obviously an American, the accent told that much.
"Huh?" Ginny asked. The waitress nodded purposely toward the menu. "Oh." Ginny said, picking up the menu, and looking through quickly. I'll have the.house special." The waitress nodded, picked the menu out of Ginny's hands and left, leaving Ginny alone with her thoughts. She coughed and looked down at her arm again. She ran her fingertip along the outline, feeling a slight tickle. Odd that a feeling as happy as tickling could exist around such a horrid thing as the mark on her arm. She shuddered, and was repulsed and intrigued at the same time. As Ginny continued to stare down at it, she swore that she could almost hear voices coming out of the Dark Mark. Ridiculous, she told herself, no one has ever heard it talking. I just need sleep, she said, trying to alleviate her growing worry that she was crazy. Just what she needed, to go crazy on top of everything else that was going on in her life. The other patrons of the diner saw her arm, and gradually scooted away- no one wanted to be too close to a woman who was obviously a witch, and a Black Witch at that. Black Witch, indeed. Ginny snorted, drawing a few sideways looks. A term that the Muggles used for witches in league with Voldemort, it was not by any stretch of the imagination complimentary. If only they knew, Ginny thought. If only they knew that I spend every waking minute of my life fighting this evil I have marked on my arm. If only they knew that right now everything I own is in the seat across from me, in a duffel bag, because I don't have enough money for more things, or a way to carry them. That this meager meal was going to take a significant chunk out of my savings. If only they knew.
"Here ya go!" The waitress set the plate down on the table with a thump, startling Ginny.
"Wha- Oh, thanks." The waitress gave her a slight smile, with an underlying emotion- fear. Ginny looked down and began investigating her meal. She had no idea what she had ordered; it was cheap. She picked up her fork and began rummaging through the mass of...things on her plate. Whatever it was, it was encased in cheese, with pools of grease forming in the corners. Ginny took a deep breath, and then took a big bite. Not as bad as she would have thought. And besides, taste was not important. Right now, for Ginny, money and nourishment was more important than taste. And, as Ginny realized, the quicker she ate, the less she could taste her food. So she finished her meal quickly, paid her bill and was off. She decided to try to find a cheap inn to spend the night in, but all of them cost more money that Ginny had, even for just one night. Tomorrow, Ginny promised herself, I'll find a job. But she didn't know what to do for tonight. Bt now, it was nine' o'clock, and everything was closing up. "Damn!" Ginny whispered under hear breath, not knowing what to do. Finally, Ginny made her way to the bus station, and, propping her duffel bag up as a pillow, made herself a cozy little bed.
But sleep did not come easily. The hard wooden bench seemed to be cutting into Ginny's back, preventing the state of dreamland from comforting her. Finally, she drifted off.
Ginny woke up suddenly, feeling like she had only been asleep a few minutes. But, she thought, looking up at the sky, it's been at least two hours. And then she threw up, spewing all of the night's food all over the sidewalk by her head. More and more, it kept coming up. If the food hadn't tasted all the good going down, it was ten times worse coming back up. Finally, Ginny's stomach was completely empty, and she wiped her mouth. So much for nourishment. She reached behind her head, into her bag, and found a clock. It was about five in the morning. Ginny just moaned. She had somehow managed six hours of sleep, but it sure didn't feel like it. What she wouldn't give to have a warm bed, soft sheets...sleep. Even imagining the scene filled Ginny with longing. Ooh.
Time to get up. The voice drifted through Ginny's head. Time to go get a job. So, Ginny sat up slowly, feeling the sore muscles of her stomach- disturbed by last night's retching- screaming in protest. But that didn't stop Ginny. She got up, and set about looking for a public restroom. Once she found one, she spent several minutes surveying herself in the mirror. Her red hair was dirty, and made her stand out way too much. Her clothes were fairly worn, and also dirty. And her face wasn't much of an improvement. "Not much I can do about that." Ginny thought. "But at least I can wash up." So she did, in the sink of a public restroom. She went through her bag, and put on the least dirty and wrinkled pair of clothes she could find. Afterward, she made her way around the town, looking out for a place where she could get a job. It was when she was walking past the diner at which she had eaten last night that Ginny realized what an advantage it would be to work at a place where she would not only make money, but get essentially free meals, too- table scraps! A grin spread across Ginny's face, the first in several days.
And she got the job. It was a different waitress than the one from last night who interviewed her. Ginny was overjoyed. Not that having a job solved all her problems. The question of where she would be sleeping lay heavy on her mind. She figured she would just have to sleep on the bench until she got her paycheck.
A/N: Ahh, I haven't updated in sooooo long!!! Not since March 2nd! It's now June 14!!! Well, in my defense, I have been incredibly busy, and kinda had a major family crisis. Actually, I haven't even been home to write in a month or so. Oh well. Just tell me what you think of the chapter!
~NiMi
Deep Cries Out to Deep
Ginny sat in a diner a few blocks away, staring at her arm. There, near the crook of her elbow, was the Dark Mark. It changed colors slightly as Ginny moved her arm. She shook her head- what had she been thinking to get this? It symbolized everything that she stood against. Self-preservation, the back of her mind whispered. To say alive.
"What'd ya want, hon?" The waitress asked, interrupting Ginny's musings. The lady was obviously an American, the accent told that much.
"Huh?" Ginny asked. The waitress nodded purposely toward the menu. "Oh." Ginny said, picking up the menu, and looking through quickly. I'll have the.house special." The waitress nodded, picked the menu out of Ginny's hands and left, leaving Ginny alone with her thoughts. She coughed and looked down at her arm again. She ran her fingertip along the outline, feeling a slight tickle. Odd that a feeling as happy as tickling could exist around such a horrid thing as the mark on her arm. She shuddered, and was repulsed and intrigued at the same time. As Ginny continued to stare down at it, she swore that she could almost hear voices coming out of the Dark Mark. Ridiculous, she told herself, no one has ever heard it talking. I just need sleep, she said, trying to alleviate her growing worry that she was crazy. Just what she needed, to go crazy on top of everything else that was going on in her life. The other patrons of the diner saw her arm, and gradually scooted away- no one wanted to be too close to a woman who was obviously a witch, and a Black Witch at that. Black Witch, indeed. Ginny snorted, drawing a few sideways looks. A term that the Muggles used for witches in league with Voldemort, it was not by any stretch of the imagination complimentary. If only they knew, Ginny thought. If only they knew that I spend every waking minute of my life fighting this evil I have marked on my arm. If only they knew that right now everything I own is in the seat across from me, in a duffel bag, because I don't have enough money for more things, or a way to carry them. That this meager meal was going to take a significant chunk out of my savings. If only they knew.
"Here ya go!" The waitress set the plate down on the table with a thump, startling Ginny.
"Wha- Oh, thanks." The waitress gave her a slight smile, with an underlying emotion- fear. Ginny looked down and began investigating her meal. She had no idea what she had ordered; it was cheap. She picked up her fork and began rummaging through the mass of...things on her plate. Whatever it was, it was encased in cheese, with pools of grease forming in the corners. Ginny took a deep breath, and then took a big bite. Not as bad as she would have thought. And besides, taste was not important. Right now, for Ginny, money and nourishment was more important than taste. And, as Ginny realized, the quicker she ate, the less she could taste her food. So she finished her meal quickly, paid her bill and was off. She decided to try to find a cheap inn to spend the night in, but all of them cost more money that Ginny had, even for just one night. Tomorrow, Ginny promised herself, I'll find a job. But she didn't know what to do for tonight. Bt now, it was nine' o'clock, and everything was closing up. "Damn!" Ginny whispered under hear breath, not knowing what to do. Finally, Ginny made her way to the bus station, and, propping her duffel bag up as a pillow, made herself a cozy little bed.
But sleep did not come easily. The hard wooden bench seemed to be cutting into Ginny's back, preventing the state of dreamland from comforting her. Finally, she drifted off.
Ginny woke up suddenly, feeling like she had only been asleep a few minutes. But, she thought, looking up at the sky, it's been at least two hours. And then she threw up, spewing all of the night's food all over the sidewalk by her head. More and more, it kept coming up. If the food hadn't tasted all the good going down, it was ten times worse coming back up. Finally, Ginny's stomach was completely empty, and she wiped her mouth. So much for nourishment. She reached behind her head, into her bag, and found a clock. It was about five in the morning. Ginny just moaned. She had somehow managed six hours of sleep, but it sure didn't feel like it. What she wouldn't give to have a warm bed, soft sheets...sleep. Even imagining the scene filled Ginny with longing. Ooh.
Time to get up. The voice drifted through Ginny's head. Time to go get a job. So, Ginny sat up slowly, feeling the sore muscles of her stomach- disturbed by last night's retching- screaming in protest. But that didn't stop Ginny. She got up, and set about looking for a public restroom. Once she found one, she spent several minutes surveying herself in the mirror. Her red hair was dirty, and made her stand out way too much. Her clothes were fairly worn, and also dirty. And her face wasn't much of an improvement. "Not much I can do about that." Ginny thought. "But at least I can wash up." So she did, in the sink of a public restroom. She went through her bag, and put on the least dirty and wrinkled pair of clothes she could find. Afterward, she made her way around the town, looking out for a place where she could get a job. It was when she was walking past the diner at which she had eaten last night that Ginny realized what an advantage it would be to work at a place where she would not only make money, but get essentially free meals, too- table scraps! A grin spread across Ginny's face, the first in several days.
And she got the job. It was a different waitress than the one from last night who interviewed her. Ginny was overjoyed. Not that having a job solved all her problems. The question of where she would be sleeping lay heavy on her mind. She figured she would just have to sleep on the bench until she got her paycheck.
A/N: Ahh, I haven't updated in sooooo long!!! Not since March 2nd! It's now June 14!!! Well, in my defense, I have been incredibly busy, and kinda had a major family crisis. Actually, I haven't even been home to write in a month or so. Oh well. Just tell me what you think of the chapter!
~NiMi
