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. (hehehehe - thought I'd use a real one for once)
Author's Note: Okay, Ginny was getting a little melodramatic. Sorry about that. I suppose we all do from time to time. Sometimes a friend needs to come along and kick us in the butt and tell us to get moving. Thanks to all the friends that do that to me!
Chapter 8 Completing the Puzzle
You don't have to wear that mask You are loved, no questions ask There is no test to pass, no grade to earn For years you've kept your wounded heart locked deep inside You can be free at last, but you've got to decide. -Susan Ashton
Bright sunlight and a persistent pounding brought Ginny out of a sound sleep.
"Gin? Open the door. Come on, sis. Open the door."
She was surprised to hear Ron's voice but even more surprised how high the sun hung in the sky.
"Just a minute, Ron," she yelled. There was nothing she could do about the dreadful state of her hair now but she did succeed in smoothing out most of the wrinkles in her shirt. It would have been nice if Dumbledore had supplied her with a wider selection of clothing then what she was currently wearing.
She had barely opened the door when she was swept into a suffocating bear hug. "You worried us. You have to quit leaving like that."
"Sorry about that. Didn't plan that one. It just happened. You have to let go, Ron, or I'm going to faint."
"Faint?" He swept her up in the arms and carried her to the nearest chair. "Why didn't you say something? Has Neville forgotten to feed you?"
"No, nothing like that. I couldn't breath. You were hugging me too tight." She watched her brother's face change from concerned back to agitated and cursed her luck.
A nagging sense of loss tugged at her. There had been something important that she lost when Ron interrupted her dreams. She needed to remember what it was.
Ron reached up and moved his hair out of his face and suddenly everything about the dream came back to her.
She had been walking beside a stream that she had never remembered seeing before. The birds were all singing and the wind was whistling through the low branches of the nearby trees. It had been the most peaceful place she had ever been to.
"Hello, Ginny." Harry appeared at her side and took her hand. "It's been a long time. I'm glad you decided to visit."
"Is this where you live now?"
"No, but I've been waiting for you here."
"For a long time?"
He pulled her into his arms and sighed. "Yes. For a very long time. I was wondering if you would ever be able to visit me here. Your heart's been closed off before this and you've only been able to look behind and not ahead."
With a deep sigh of contentment, Ginny wrapped her arms around him. Something was different, though. She felt uncomfortable.
"Harry, you feel strange. My arms don't' wrap around you like they used to. I don't fit into your curves like I did."
"I haven't changed, little one. You've changed. You've moved on. Neville is where your heart belongs now. He's a good man and he'll take care of you."
"But you-"
"I'm only real in your dreams. In this place. You can visit here but you can't stay."
The feeling of wrongness persisted and she backed away. "Can I still love you?"
"You can never stop loving me. Just like I'll never stop loving you. There's room in your heart for another, though. Go to him and help him remember that he is brave and strong and true. He has hidden his feelings away almost as deeply as you."
"Wow. You rhymed."
She watched him blush deeply and stick his hands in his pockets. "I was trying to be poetic."
"You don't do poetic well. Never have."
"Okay then, I'll be plain. Go to Neville. Tell him you love him. Kiss him and tell him you never want to leave him. Be brutally honest with him. He'll understand you better that way."
"I don't-"
"No. Don't start that. You want to be the old Ginny but that girl is gone forever. You need to find a new Ginny. A combination of the old, confident girl and the new, independent woman."
"Independent?" She frowned at him. It had never dawned on her that she had become independent, only that she had been hiding from reality.
"Sure. This new Ginny is more exciting then the old one. Who would have ever thought that you would yell at Dumbledore? Or get a Muggle job? That even impressed me."
"I impressed you?"
"Sure. Your only problem now is that you're afraid to feel any real emotion. The second you do, you shut down. Your poor heart is about to collapse from the strain of this constant hiding. In order for you to become whole again, you need to open up. Be real. Experience life. Give away your love. Accept the pain of reality along with the beauty of relationships."
"Now, that was deep." She flashed him a cheeky grin and held out her hand. He grasped it and stared in her eyes.
"You can do this, Ginny. You have the strength inside you."
"I want to do it. I know I need to do it. It's just hard."
"Hard is a good thing. It means life's worth living. Hard makes the special better. If you try living, the light will come back in your eyes. I miss the light in your eyes."
"I miss you, Harry."
"I know you do. This is all I can offer you."
She watched warily as he leaned toward her, knowing now was as good a time as ever to close her eyes and wait for the inevitable feel of his lips on hers. Was it possible to kiss a dream? She could feel his hands clutching hers, his breath as he neared her face. Would it feel the same?
It did. His kiss was all she remembered it to be. A part of her wanted to fall into his arms and refuse to ever leave him. The other part of her wanted to run back to Neville and try his kisses again.
"See, you can love two people without sacrificing your feelings," he whispered as he pulled back slightly.
"You're getting better. That was both poetic and deep."
They both chuckled and broke contact. "Do one more thing for me? Give Ron a message. Tell him that I said Checkmate. I win."
"Ginny? Ginny?"
She shook her head. Instead of the stream and birds and trees, she was back in the vine-strewn room with Ron.
"It looked like you left me for a minute."
"Sorry, Ron. Still not very awake. I was remembering a dream I had. It seemed-" she faltered, shaking her head to clear the last part of the vision from her memory. She needed to go ahead with her life, not look back. "It seemed real but I'm not sure."
"Was it a nice dream?"
"Very nice. It was strange because I haven't dreamed in forever. Harry was there."
Ron choked and turned red. Before she could react, he was staring at her while making small wheezing sounds.
"He told me to give you a message."
"A message? Me?" he croaked.
"Yes. Checkmate. I win. I don't know what he meant though."
Silent tears ran down Ron's face. He had lost the ruddy glow and gone dreadfully pale but a smile hovered on his lips. "In all the years we played Wizard's Chess, he never beat me. Not once. He never got to finish the game, never got to say Checkmate. I think this was his way of telling me he was okay."
"That you needed to finish the game and start a new one." Ginny was surprised how deceptively simple the dream had been but how important the message was that Harry had conveyed. She obviously wasn't the only one who needed to move forward. "Do you think it was just a dream, Ron?"
"No. No, it was much more then just a dream. That was a gift."
She nodded and hugged her brother tightly. "That's what I thought, too. Harry told me that I needed to go forward. I agree. I'm tired of sitting around, waiting for life to happen to me. I want to make something happen for a change."
"I think you need to go find Neville and tell him what Harry said to you. He needs to know."
"My thoughts exactly. Can you take me to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Would love to. I think Neville has some Floo Powder somewhere in this house. Let me go check with Dad and see if I can sneak you in the back without having to go through security."
She tried not to shiver as she remembered some of her past experiences at the Ministry. This is not the time to get fidgety, she reminded herself silently. "Good. First thing first. I need a shower and some new clothes." She ran out of the room and down the hallway. The portraits were strangely silent as she ran past but she heard the explosion of conversation as she darted down a new hall. Guided by instinct, she finally found Neville's suite of rooms. It didn't look like a house elf had been in yet.
The tub was large and oval, perfect for a long soak - preferably not alone. It would have to wait. She stripped off her clothes, throwing them as far across the room as she could before stepping under the spray of the hot shower. Surprisingly, there was an unused container of peach shampoo in among Neville's more masculine smelling items. Jealousy and intrigue warred with each other before she pushed them both aside. This kind of problem didn't matter now. She would leave this battle for later - when she had him in the shower.
Her choices in clothing were limited. A belt solved part of her problem as she cinched in a pair of charcoal trousers. A black t-shirt covered by a soft chambray shirt completed the outfit. She felt like a little girl playing dress up in her father's closet. Ginny gave herself just enough time to braid her wet hair before hurrying back down the hall.
"Don't you look a picture," Gran commented from her spot of honor on the wall.
Ginny skidded to a stop, her hand on the knob to the parlor. Her heart was beating rapidly from both desperation to find Neville and terror that she would be held in this house by something other then Dumbledore's charms. "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to find your grandson and tell him that I love him."
"Good for you. Be sure and kiss him at least once. It will be much more enjoyable then just yelling at him."
Staring with disbelief at the picture, she noticed a difference in the matron's portrait. There was a definite difference in the stately lady that had not been there last time. Even the lines in the background seemed softer.
"You don't mind that I love Neville? That we might live here?"
"By all means, my dear. You have my hearty blessing. This house could use some love. Be sure to fill it with children. Lots and lots of children."
Ginny's cheeks matched her hair as she turned and fled back into her room. It was strange that she thought of it is like that but the beautiful space did indeed feel like home.
"Did you get everything worked out with Dad?"
Ron turned from the window where he had been watching the gigantic sheep. "He's pleased that you want to come but we have to go through the normal channels to get you in."
"You mean-"
"Yep. The front door."
All thoughts of a happy reunion fled as Ginny tried to force air into lungs that didn't seem to remember how to work. She had read about panic attacks while doing research in the Muggle library but couldn't remember what she needed to do to stop one. Breathing would have been a great first step but there was no way that was going to be happening any time soon.
"Okay, Gin. This is one of those things that you have to suck up and do for the sake of moving forward. Remember the dream? Remember Harry? You have to move forward. Are you listening to me?"
She really wanted to tell him to go to hell but short gasps of meaningless air were all she could get out.
"If you don't snap out of this, I'm going to have to take you to see Hermione instead. She's a good kisser but I don't think you'll appreciate that as much as I do."
His trick worked. Imagining the look on everyone's face if she kissed Ron's wife made her snort with laughter.
"Why did you have to bring up kissing?"
"Because if you don't kiss Neville within seconds of seeing him then I'm not taking you anywhere."
"You're my older brother. Isn't there a code somewhere that says you have to hate anyone I like? I distinctly remember you telling me in school that there was a code written out somewhere that stated that you had to hate every boy who looked twice at me."
He cupped her face with his hands and leaned on her forehead with his. "We're adults now, Gin. As long as you are happy, I'm happy. That's how this works. I'll love anyone who loves you as much as humanly possible. That's all I ask for."
"I do love him, Ron."
"Then lets go tell him. You get through this and you can get through anything. Deal?"
"Deal."
***
Neville rubbed his forehead and tried to concentrate on the stack of papers on the desk before him. They had been threatening to fall over all morning but he was making no progress at all on them. The Quidditch World Cup was to be held in Scotland this year and he had a huge job in front of him. Keeping the Muggles unaware of the huge stadium nestled in the highlands was a rather large task and it was all his.
"Sir, you wanted me to alert you fifteen minutes before the meeting?"
His poor secretary was definitely scared of him. He hadn't yelled at her once this morning but that didn't make up for the tirades from the weeks before. Maybe a nice gift would cheer her up. Nothing up to this point in his life and prepared him for buying things for females. What did the average secretary consider a decent present for putting up with horrible tempered men who didn't sleep and only ate when prodded by aggressive house elves?
"Ginny would know," he muttered, forgetting that he needed to say things in his mind and not out loud.
"Excuse me?"
"Uh, nothing. I was reminding myself to bring the right set of papers to the meeting. Where did you say I was to go?"
"Level Seven. Room Three One Two."
"Right. I'll just leave now. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
She looked at him, searching for the hidden meaning in his words. "I would appreciate that, sir, but there is still a lot for me do to with the Crenshaw report."
"Never mind that. It'll keep until tomorrow." He had yelled at her yesterday for not having the report finished. Bloody hell. This is what it must feel like to lose one's mind. "Don't give it another thought."
"Certainly, sir. Why don't I just take my lunch now and I'll come back after your meeting. That will give me a bit longer for lunch but I won't be too far away if you need anything this afternoon."
"Perfect solution." He scrambled out the door, knowing she was staring after him. More then likely he would have yet another visit from the office shrink as soon as he was back at his desk.
It wasn't pleasant to be the current topic of conversation throughout the Ministry. Word had spread of Ginny being found and lost again. Luckily, no one had figured that she was staying in his house. Wouldn't that be a riot if all the gossips found out that she was hidden in his parlor where he couldn't see her?
More and more he was rethinking his decision to stay in his current job. He wasn't cut out for this kind of work. People scared him. They always had. Plants were so much kinder. They demanded nothing but water and food and sunlight. The last plea from Hujuxly Botany Institute was tucked away in his top desk drawer. They had been after him for months to come join their newest research team. While he searched for Ginny, he had been able to give them good reasons for not coming on board but now it was much harder to say no. His heart was torn. Until Ginny was completely settled, he felt that he couldn't leave the MoM. People were counting on him. He couldn't let them down.
"Floor seven," a friendly voice reminded him as the lift stopped.
"Thanks," he mumbled, never sure if there was a person behind the voice that would care if he acknowledged the words or not. The walls that greeted him were crimson and gold, reminding him of the Gryffindor common room. This was the part of the building that housed the Ministry of Magical Sports and Games so; of course, banners and flags were the main decoration.
"What room number did she say I was supposed to go to?" he muttered to himself, searching the pile of papers in his arms for the small piece of paper that he had scribbled the location on.
"Neville!"
The load in his arms slid to the floor as Neville slowly pivoted around. The voice sounded strangely familiar. "Harry?"
Author's Note: Okay, Ginny was getting a little melodramatic. Sorry about that. I suppose we all do from time to time. Sometimes a friend needs to come along and kick us in the butt and tell us to get moving. Thanks to all the friends that do that to me!
Chapter 8 Completing the Puzzle
You don't have to wear that mask You are loved, no questions ask There is no test to pass, no grade to earn For years you've kept your wounded heart locked deep inside You can be free at last, but you've got to decide. -Susan Ashton
Bright sunlight and a persistent pounding brought Ginny out of a sound sleep.
"Gin? Open the door. Come on, sis. Open the door."
She was surprised to hear Ron's voice but even more surprised how high the sun hung in the sky.
"Just a minute, Ron," she yelled. There was nothing she could do about the dreadful state of her hair now but she did succeed in smoothing out most of the wrinkles in her shirt. It would have been nice if Dumbledore had supplied her with a wider selection of clothing then what she was currently wearing.
She had barely opened the door when she was swept into a suffocating bear hug. "You worried us. You have to quit leaving like that."
"Sorry about that. Didn't plan that one. It just happened. You have to let go, Ron, or I'm going to faint."
"Faint?" He swept her up in the arms and carried her to the nearest chair. "Why didn't you say something? Has Neville forgotten to feed you?"
"No, nothing like that. I couldn't breath. You were hugging me too tight." She watched her brother's face change from concerned back to agitated and cursed her luck.
A nagging sense of loss tugged at her. There had been something important that she lost when Ron interrupted her dreams. She needed to remember what it was.
Ron reached up and moved his hair out of his face and suddenly everything about the dream came back to her.
She had been walking beside a stream that she had never remembered seeing before. The birds were all singing and the wind was whistling through the low branches of the nearby trees. It had been the most peaceful place she had ever been to.
"Hello, Ginny." Harry appeared at her side and took her hand. "It's been a long time. I'm glad you decided to visit."
"Is this where you live now?"
"No, but I've been waiting for you here."
"For a long time?"
He pulled her into his arms and sighed. "Yes. For a very long time. I was wondering if you would ever be able to visit me here. Your heart's been closed off before this and you've only been able to look behind and not ahead."
With a deep sigh of contentment, Ginny wrapped her arms around him. Something was different, though. She felt uncomfortable.
"Harry, you feel strange. My arms don't' wrap around you like they used to. I don't fit into your curves like I did."
"I haven't changed, little one. You've changed. You've moved on. Neville is where your heart belongs now. He's a good man and he'll take care of you."
"But you-"
"I'm only real in your dreams. In this place. You can visit here but you can't stay."
The feeling of wrongness persisted and she backed away. "Can I still love you?"
"You can never stop loving me. Just like I'll never stop loving you. There's room in your heart for another, though. Go to him and help him remember that he is brave and strong and true. He has hidden his feelings away almost as deeply as you."
"Wow. You rhymed."
She watched him blush deeply and stick his hands in his pockets. "I was trying to be poetic."
"You don't do poetic well. Never have."
"Okay then, I'll be plain. Go to Neville. Tell him you love him. Kiss him and tell him you never want to leave him. Be brutally honest with him. He'll understand you better that way."
"I don't-"
"No. Don't start that. You want to be the old Ginny but that girl is gone forever. You need to find a new Ginny. A combination of the old, confident girl and the new, independent woman."
"Independent?" She frowned at him. It had never dawned on her that she had become independent, only that she had been hiding from reality.
"Sure. This new Ginny is more exciting then the old one. Who would have ever thought that you would yell at Dumbledore? Or get a Muggle job? That even impressed me."
"I impressed you?"
"Sure. Your only problem now is that you're afraid to feel any real emotion. The second you do, you shut down. Your poor heart is about to collapse from the strain of this constant hiding. In order for you to become whole again, you need to open up. Be real. Experience life. Give away your love. Accept the pain of reality along with the beauty of relationships."
"Now, that was deep." She flashed him a cheeky grin and held out her hand. He grasped it and stared in her eyes.
"You can do this, Ginny. You have the strength inside you."
"I want to do it. I know I need to do it. It's just hard."
"Hard is a good thing. It means life's worth living. Hard makes the special better. If you try living, the light will come back in your eyes. I miss the light in your eyes."
"I miss you, Harry."
"I know you do. This is all I can offer you."
She watched warily as he leaned toward her, knowing now was as good a time as ever to close her eyes and wait for the inevitable feel of his lips on hers. Was it possible to kiss a dream? She could feel his hands clutching hers, his breath as he neared her face. Would it feel the same?
It did. His kiss was all she remembered it to be. A part of her wanted to fall into his arms and refuse to ever leave him. The other part of her wanted to run back to Neville and try his kisses again.
"See, you can love two people without sacrificing your feelings," he whispered as he pulled back slightly.
"You're getting better. That was both poetic and deep."
They both chuckled and broke contact. "Do one more thing for me? Give Ron a message. Tell him that I said Checkmate. I win."
"Ginny? Ginny?"
She shook her head. Instead of the stream and birds and trees, she was back in the vine-strewn room with Ron.
"It looked like you left me for a minute."
"Sorry, Ron. Still not very awake. I was remembering a dream I had. It seemed-" she faltered, shaking her head to clear the last part of the vision from her memory. She needed to go ahead with her life, not look back. "It seemed real but I'm not sure."
"Was it a nice dream?"
"Very nice. It was strange because I haven't dreamed in forever. Harry was there."
Ron choked and turned red. Before she could react, he was staring at her while making small wheezing sounds.
"He told me to give you a message."
"A message? Me?" he croaked.
"Yes. Checkmate. I win. I don't know what he meant though."
Silent tears ran down Ron's face. He had lost the ruddy glow and gone dreadfully pale but a smile hovered on his lips. "In all the years we played Wizard's Chess, he never beat me. Not once. He never got to finish the game, never got to say Checkmate. I think this was his way of telling me he was okay."
"That you needed to finish the game and start a new one." Ginny was surprised how deceptively simple the dream had been but how important the message was that Harry had conveyed. She obviously wasn't the only one who needed to move forward. "Do you think it was just a dream, Ron?"
"No. No, it was much more then just a dream. That was a gift."
She nodded and hugged her brother tightly. "That's what I thought, too. Harry told me that I needed to go forward. I agree. I'm tired of sitting around, waiting for life to happen to me. I want to make something happen for a change."
"I think you need to go find Neville and tell him what Harry said to you. He needs to know."
"My thoughts exactly. Can you take me to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Would love to. I think Neville has some Floo Powder somewhere in this house. Let me go check with Dad and see if I can sneak you in the back without having to go through security."
She tried not to shiver as she remembered some of her past experiences at the Ministry. This is not the time to get fidgety, she reminded herself silently. "Good. First thing first. I need a shower and some new clothes." She ran out of the room and down the hallway. The portraits were strangely silent as she ran past but she heard the explosion of conversation as she darted down a new hall. Guided by instinct, she finally found Neville's suite of rooms. It didn't look like a house elf had been in yet.
The tub was large and oval, perfect for a long soak - preferably not alone. It would have to wait. She stripped off her clothes, throwing them as far across the room as she could before stepping under the spray of the hot shower. Surprisingly, there was an unused container of peach shampoo in among Neville's more masculine smelling items. Jealousy and intrigue warred with each other before she pushed them both aside. This kind of problem didn't matter now. She would leave this battle for later - when she had him in the shower.
Her choices in clothing were limited. A belt solved part of her problem as she cinched in a pair of charcoal trousers. A black t-shirt covered by a soft chambray shirt completed the outfit. She felt like a little girl playing dress up in her father's closet. Ginny gave herself just enough time to braid her wet hair before hurrying back down the hall.
"Don't you look a picture," Gran commented from her spot of honor on the wall.
Ginny skidded to a stop, her hand on the knob to the parlor. Her heart was beating rapidly from both desperation to find Neville and terror that she would be held in this house by something other then Dumbledore's charms. "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to find your grandson and tell him that I love him."
"Good for you. Be sure and kiss him at least once. It will be much more enjoyable then just yelling at him."
Staring with disbelief at the picture, she noticed a difference in the matron's portrait. There was a definite difference in the stately lady that had not been there last time. Even the lines in the background seemed softer.
"You don't mind that I love Neville? That we might live here?"
"By all means, my dear. You have my hearty blessing. This house could use some love. Be sure to fill it with children. Lots and lots of children."
Ginny's cheeks matched her hair as she turned and fled back into her room. It was strange that she thought of it is like that but the beautiful space did indeed feel like home.
"Did you get everything worked out with Dad?"
Ron turned from the window where he had been watching the gigantic sheep. "He's pleased that you want to come but we have to go through the normal channels to get you in."
"You mean-"
"Yep. The front door."
All thoughts of a happy reunion fled as Ginny tried to force air into lungs that didn't seem to remember how to work. She had read about panic attacks while doing research in the Muggle library but couldn't remember what she needed to do to stop one. Breathing would have been a great first step but there was no way that was going to be happening any time soon.
"Okay, Gin. This is one of those things that you have to suck up and do for the sake of moving forward. Remember the dream? Remember Harry? You have to move forward. Are you listening to me?"
She really wanted to tell him to go to hell but short gasps of meaningless air were all she could get out.
"If you don't snap out of this, I'm going to have to take you to see Hermione instead. She's a good kisser but I don't think you'll appreciate that as much as I do."
His trick worked. Imagining the look on everyone's face if she kissed Ron's wife made her snort with laughter.
"Why did you have to bring up kissing?"
"Because if you don't kiss Neville within seconds of seeing him then I'm not taking you anywhere."
"You're my older brother. Isn't there a code somewhere that says you have to hate anyone I like? I distinctly remember you telling me in school that there was a code written out somewhere that stated that you had to hate every boy who looked twice at me."
He cupped her face with his hands and leaned on her forehead with his. "We're adults now, Gin. As long as you are happy, I'm happy. That's how this works. I'll love anyone who loves you as much as humanly possible. That's all I ask for."
"I do love him, Ron."
"Then lets go tell him. You get through this and you can get through anything. Deal?"
"Deal."
***
Neville rubbed his forehead and tried to concentrate on the stack of papers on the desk before him. They had been threatening to fall over all morning but he was making no progress at all on them. The Quidditch World Cup was to be held in Scotland this year and he had a huge job in front of him. Keeping the Muggles unaware of the huge stadium nestled in the highlands was a rather large task and it was all his.
"Sir, you wanted me to alert you fifteen minutes before the meeting?"
His poor secretary was definitely scared of him. He hadn't yelled at her once this morning but that didn't make up for the tirades from the weeks before. Maybe a nice gift would cheer her up. Nothing up to this point in his life and prepared him for buying things for females. What did the average secretary consider a decent present for putting up with horrible tempered men who didn't sleep and only ate when prodded by aggressive house elves?
"Ginny would know," he muttered, forgetting that he needed to say things in his mind and not out loud.
"Excuse me?"
"Uh, nothing. I was reminding myself to bring the right set of papers to the meeting. Where did you say I was to go?"
"Level Seven. Room Three One Two."
"Right. I'll just leave now. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
She looked at him, searching for the hidden meaning in his words. "I would appreciate that, sir, but there is still a lot for me do to with the Crenshaw report."
"Never mind that. It'll keep until tomorrow." He had yelled at her yesterday for not having the report finished. Bloody hell. This is what it must feel like to lose one's mind. "Don't give it another thought."
"Certainly, sir. Why don't I just take my lunch now and I'll come back after your meeting. That will give me a bit longer for lunch but I won't be too far away if you need anything this afternoon."
"Perfect solution." He scrambled out the door, knowing she was staring after him. More then likely he would have yet another visit from the office shrink as soon as he was back at his desk.
It wasn't pleasant to be the current topic of conversation throughout the Ministry. Word had spread of Ginny being found and lost again. Luckily, no one had figured that she was staying in his house. Wouldn't that be a riot if all the gossips found out that she was hidden in his parlor where he couldn't see her?
More and more he was rethinking his decision to stay in his current job. He wasn't cut out for this kind of work. People scared him. They always had. Plants were so much kinder. They demanded nothing but water and food and sunlight. The last plea from Hujuxly Botany Institute was tucked away in his top desk drawer. They had been after him for months to come join their newest research team. While he searched for Ginny, he had been able to give them good reasons for not coming on board but now it was much harder to say no. His heart was torn. Until Ginny was completely settled, he felt that he couldn't leave the MoM. People were counting on him. He couldn't let them down.
"Floor seven," a friendly voice reminded him as the lift stopped.
"Thanks," he mumbled, never sure if there was a person behind the voice that would care if he acknowledged the words or not. The walls that greeted him were crimson and gold, reminding him of the Gryffindor common room. This was the part of the building that housed the Ministry of Magical Sports and Games so; of course, banners and flags were the main decoration.
"What room number did she say I was supposed to go to?" he muttered to himself, searching the pile of papers in his arms for the small piece of paper that he had scribbled the location on.
"Neville!"
The load in his arms slid to the floor as Neville slowly pivoted around. The voice sounded strangely familiar. "Harry?"