A/N: the third enstallment
Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Harry Potter, and I also claim no rights to the song "Fred Jones, Part 2" by the extraordinary Ben Folds Five.
The lights are off again chapter 3
Fred sits alone at his desk in the darkThere's an awkward young shadow that waits in the hall
He has cleared all his things and he's put them in boxes
Things that remind him that life has been good.
25 years, he's worked at the paper,
A man's here to take him downstairs.
And I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, it's time.
There was no party,
And there were no songs
'Cause today's just a day like the day that he started.
No one is left here that knows his first name,
And life barrels on like a runaway train
Where the passengers change, they don't change anything
You get off someone else can get on.
And I'm sorry Mr. Jones, it's time.
Streetlight shines through the shades,
casting lines on the floor, and lines on his face
He reflects on the day.
Fred gets his paints out and goes to the basement,
Projecting some slides on a plain white canvas
And traces it, fills in the spaces,
He turns of the slide, and it doesn't look right yeah,And all of these bastards have taken his place,
He's forgotten but not yet gone.
And I'm sorry Mr. Jones
And I'm sorry Mr. Jones.
And I'm sorry Mr. Jones,
It's time.
Harry woke stiff and hungry in the plastic hospital chair. He looked out the window at the dawn sky and sighed. He shifted his gaze down to Ginny and he almost smiled. She was sleeping peacefully, with the first real smile on her face that he had seen for so long. Her thin-boned hands were unclenched on the top of the hospital blanket, and her eyes weren't fluttering fitfully like he had seen them do every other night for months. Her breathing was calm, not rapid. She was peaceful for once.
He pried himself from his chair and walked into the corridor to find someone. He walked down the hallway and looked at the floating bubble lights that where extinguished this early in the morning, and were vacant and dull. They looked like dead wishes and dreams, floating there transparent above his head.
He rounded the corner and ran into Ron, who was heading in the opposite direction as him. Ron smiled wanly and said softly "hey mate." Harry put his arm around Ron's shoulders and turned around so he was walking in step with his best friend as they headed back toward Ginny's room. Ron handed Harry a mug with the symbol of Saint Mungoe's on it, full of tea.
"Here, I thought you might want something warm."
"Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you all."
Ron chuckled half-heartedly and said
"The others are catching a bite to eat, but I wanted to stay with you and Ginny."
"She's going to be alright. I can tell."
Ron smiled a little and didn't say anything else until they reached the room, when he said "I miss the way she used to be. Do you?" Harry didn't answer at first, and then he said "I didn't know it was this bad. All I knew was that I wanted her to be back the way she was – full of smiles and joy. And I stayed with her, because I thought it was a phase she was going through, and also of course, because I love her."
