Hold Me
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Authors Note: I live. I am really really really sorry that I haven't gotten this chapter up sooner. One thing after another made it nearly impossible for me to type anything. My uncle was really sick and passed away. I had to go up to New York for the Funeral. When I came back I was extremely behind on a research paper I had to do, and still haven't started it. I really haven't written that much more on this, either. I'm still in the midst of writing Chapter 14, (giggles) I know some stuff you don't know. Also, there are some errors in early chapters. Voldemort is indeed gone, and Bill is dead. I'm so sorry I had to do it. :( It goes with the story, I know I know, I'm prepared to get hate notes. ):
Harry made his way up into the Head Common Room. When he passed through the portrait hole he saw Ginny and smiled. Her face had lit up when he she saw him. He loved when she smiled like that. She was the most beautiful sight to Harry, and he wished that every morning he could awake to that face. "Hey, Gin." He threw his bad into an empty chair and sat down by her. He was so glad to finally be able to sit down without Sirius springing a surprise attack on him.
"Ugh, my ears are still twitching." He heard her giggle. "I suppose you think it's funny, eh?" He reached over and tickled her. This was the time of day he loved most; unwinding with Ginny...or winding up...She squirmed and screamed at his pursuit. He laughed at her predicament. She was hunched over, panting for breath. Her face was priceless; she was putty in his hands. He smiled mischievously and tickled her more. He was not merciful when it came to tickling.
"Okay--Harry--stop--already! I--SURRENDER!" She panted this out before falling into hysterical giggles.
"Oh, fine," he made a pouty puppy face which rewarded him a wave of kisses. Her kisses were warm and full of love. He always melted at the touch of her lips. In his opinion, they didn't have enough time in the day for kissing. So, he made a mental note to do this more often.
"Big baby," she curled up into him. They sat there for a while, staring into the fire. This was another thing Harry and Ginny did well--relax. This was it. He was totally beat from the lesson with Sirius, and he realized he had used every las bit of energy in his pursuit in tickling Ginny. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.
A little while later, Ginny turned her head from the warm, crackling fire. She didn't realize how late it had gotten and she was actually very hungry. "I think we should go eat--" She looked up and saw him fast asleep. 'Okay,' she thought to herself as she slowly sat up, 'I can work with this.' She summoned a house elf and asked for her to bring up some food for two. Ginny loved the House Elves. They were all very kind and generous. House Elves, though, had a way of making you feel guilty with out doing anything to feel guilty about. She mentally shrugged the thought off. Not long afterwards, two dished appeared.
"Harry, wake up, dinner time." She nudged him a little in the sides.
"What? Was it a nightmare? Did I scream again, 'Mione?" He shook his head and then realized it was not Hermione standing there, but Ginny. "Sorry, Gin. I'm really tired." Ginny searched Harry for a moment.
"Harry, have you been sleeping alright?" She was concerned for Harry's well being.
He could not lie to Ginny Weasley. It was impossible. He had found this out at The Burrow when he had put a nipping charm on her blankets. "Actually no, I've been having random nightmares," he held his hand up to stop the flow of comments about to come out of Ginny's mouth, "Gin, I'm used to it, there's nothing you can do."
"Why not? You shouldn't have to deal with that! Can't you take some dreamless sleep potion?"
"Yes and no. It's highly addictive." Harry sighed. He hated the thought of not being able to sleep peacefully, but really, there was nothing they could do about it and he was willing to accept that.
"Oh..." She pushed his plate towards him, "well, eat." Really, Ginny was being eaten up inside. It had not occurred to her how many times Harry had these terrible nightmare...nightmares that plagued both their dreams.
"Thanks, Gin." He took a piece of his turkey sandwich. He grimaced as he took a bite of the sandwich; he put it down. "I'm actually not that hungry." Truth be told, he was hungry. Very hungry, and the sandwich was very good, but he couldn't eat. His stomach was in knots from from the duels he did with Sirius. But really...who said that was it at all?
"Harry, are you sure you're feeling alright?" She was hanging on his every word, clearly worried.
"I'll be fine, Gin," He was getting really testy. Ginny knew this voice. This was guarded territory. Some things Harry wasn't ready to divulge. Not even to Ginny.
"I hope so."
Late that night, Ginny awoke with a start. All she could hear ringing through the silence was Harry's desperate screams. She sat up with and quickly pulled the drapery apart. Everyone else was sitting up looking completely confused, and that was expected. Ginny grabbed her dressing gown and haphazardly draped it around her bare shoulders. She bolted for the head dormitory.
Ginny collided with Ron as she ran up the staircase. "Moonlight!" She yelled as they both ran up into the Common Room. They ran into Harry's room to find him buried in Hermione's arms. Odd as the sight may be, Ron didn't say anything, surprisingly calm and collective. Harry's body was racking with silent sobs. Hermione was crying along with Harry. Ron was even getting a little emotional, and to say the least, that was saying something.
Ginny looked at Ron and motioned for him to leave. He understood that this was something Ginny and Hermione needed to do. He left without a word. She slowly walked over to his bed and sat down behind him. She put her hand on his back and began to rub in circles. He relaxed a little under her soothing touch. Not knowing was to do, he sighed and looked up at Ginny. She pulled him into a warm embrace. She heard him mumble "I can't lose you, I can't lose you." That became his mantra as she rocked him back and forth. After what seemed to be an eternity, he relaxed considerably and fell into a finally dreamless sleep in Ginny's arms. Hermione wiped a few tears away from her eyes and sniffed back the the next flood.
"Gods, Ginny, he was so upset. I don't know what the dream was about, but he kept saying he didn't want to lose you. I don't know what happened, Gin, but I do know that if anything ever happened to you, he'd die." Ginny just say there, mouth agape. She knew his dreams were terrible, but she always thought that they were about the war...and the others. Never about her.
Hermione nodded to Ginny as she got up and left. "You really should stay here tonight, he looks so calm, and he needs this rest. I won't say anything to anyone, although they all know. I'm sure Dumbledore will be here in the morning, and I'm sure there will be a lot of questions. You better get some sleep, Gin. Night."
"Goodnight, 'Mione." Once Hermione left, Ginny pulled the covers over her and Harry before falling asleep. She knew this was going to be a long night if he woke up again. Fortunately, he didn't. He stayed sound asleep the rest of the night, not stirring once.
Ginny awoke to find herself in unfamiliar territory. She opened one of her eyes and saw that she was cuddled into the side of no other than Harry Potter. She smiled to herself and looked around. It was later in the morning and she sunk back into the bed. Suddenly, panic arose in her--school! She stopped herself from jumping out of the bed and collected her thoughts. She silently smacked her head, berating herself for not remember what day it was. Saturday. She sighed inwardly. Ginny looked around and stopped suddenly. Dumbledore? Oh no. Dumbledore was in the Common Room.
Ginny listened intently, hoping the old wizard was calm--and then she heard it. Sirius Black's worried voice. She glanced over to Harry and found him sleeping on, undisturbed by the loud conversation being held.
"--Sirius, it's obviously the best they have both slept in ages. We cannot give him dreamless sleep potion; this seems like a purely innocent way of solving this problem. I trust both of them to make right decisions. We cannot keep him waking the entire tower. It's detrimental to the entire house."
"I know, Albus, but they're so young! To have them sleep in the same bed--isn't that an open invitation to trouble?"
"Destiny, Sirius, destiny." Dumbledore seems to be very calm and collected.
Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing. This couldn't possibly be true? She had a proposition to wake up every morning with Harry and get a whole nights rest? She would take the offer hands down.
Ginny slid out from under Harry's arm and put on her dressing gown. She made an attempt to tame her hair but to no avail, it stayed messy. She hastily tied it up with a stray rubber band, grimacing as it pulled at a few of her hairs. "I hate using rubber bands! They always get caught!" She groaned to herself as she walked over to the door. She slowly and silently opened it, peeking out to see what awaited her.
She walked out onto the loft and descended down the spiral staircase. "Good morning. I'm not going to hide the fact that I was sleeping in Harry's bed; I know that's why you're here," she smiled apologetically to Dumbledore and most importantly, to Sirius. "We don't plan this. It isn't some nightly escape or anything. Really, we just want to be normal...but we both hold something no other seems to hold, and it seems to work for both of us." She poured herself some Mint Tea and curled up into a cozy arm chair.
"Miss Weasley, I know last few months have been difficult for everyone, but especially you and Harry. No one has a problem with these arrangements. We will make due with this. I will have you belongings sent to your new room. Charms will be placed so this isn't a noticeable affair. Your head of house, myself, Sirius, Harry, Ms. Granger, and whomever you wish to tell will know. No other teachers will know, either." His eyes twinkled as he saw Harry surface from his bedroom.
"Oh no," They heard him mumble, "I see," he groaned, "I have some explaining to do..."
"Morning, Sunshine!" Sirius laughed.
"Huh?" He decided from the beginning that we wasn't going to make any attempt to hide his confusion. It was a fruitless effort.
"Well aren't you a little slow on the uptake. Say 'hello' to your new room mate. Being that you shared a bed with her last night, and will be from now on--I hope you are already well associated." Sirius was obviously enjoying this. Dumbledore was shaking his head.
"You're kidding!"
"No, they're not, dear." Ginny peered at him from behind the chair. "Surprise!"
"What an eventful two weeks." Harry walked over to the empty arm chair and plopped down. "Who's breaking the news to Molly?"
"I will save you the pain, is that alright?" Dumbledore smiled as all three people sitting in front of him nodded feverently.
Authors Note: This had to be one of my favorite chapters. It was great to right. Props to me! I want to thank Moose (my bestest RL friend...) for the advice on helping my story. Ah Ha, I knew I forgot something. I'M SORRY FOR THE LAAAATTTTEEE POST! *begs and grovels* Please, please please please, DON'T KILL ME!
Lilia- Ah, the Professor Sirius issue. I feel that Harry can call him anything *cough* outside of class. :) Sorry for the wait, dear.
Dementorchic- As always! *Bows*
Esperanza- You come back and I leave--how terribly wrong! :)
Sew2100- Thank you for all the review and I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner!
Blue Eyes- Thank you for the comment.
Punkin- In a way you're right. He really isn't punishing himself, it's more of a "If I cut, then all of the bad will leave me" type thing. In a way you make up your own idea of why Harry's doing it. You never know for sure. :) A person can only be truly over something only if they can accept it without question first, and that's something Harry has learned. Yeah, in the book it had been four already? I think. I'll have to check. :)