Summary: Ginny has the flu. Harry brings her some chicken noodle soup and reads her a bedtime story.
Chicken Noodle Soup and a Bedtime Story by loudnproud223Saturday night, instead of being in Hogsmeade with the rest of his fellow upper classmen, Harry found himself in the fifth year girls' dormitory with an influenza stricken Ginny. He had no idea what had possessed him to fly up the window on his Firebolt; perhaps the urge to see her or talk to her.
He hadn't seen her in a few days. Not during meal times or passing in the halls. This kind of upset him; he enjoyed gazing upon her head, only to get lost in her abundance of thick waves. He often found himself wondering how hugging or running hid fingers over her soft cheek would feel. Over the years, after her 'Harry the Hero' phase, also known as 'Butterdish syndrome,' Harry had come to acknowledge her kindness, studiousness and over all beauty. He liked what he saw.
Many boys had their beady eyes set on Ginny. She dated a few Ravenclaws, that Hufflepuff idiot, Ernie MacMillan and some Gryffindor boys. Ginny seemed to notice and even sometimes acknowledge the boys'…. um…. infatuation with her. He was shamefully subtler with his crush and didn't go standing on the Gryffindor table like Dean Thomas, professing his undying love for anyone who would listen. Harry thought that his pleasant greetings and their comfortable glances would be enough. This year he would have to work a little harder to win her heart.
After finding Ginny hurling her guts out in a nearby Tupperware bowl, Harry took the initiative to make a quick trip to the kitchen to find something to calm Ginny's stomach. 'She needs some Pepto Bismol. Gas; Heartburn; Indigestion; Upset stomach; Diarrhea! Yay! Pepto Bismol.' Dobby would be thrilled to see him, especially after those blue and silver striped glitter socks he'd given him for House Elf Appreciation Day (H.E.A.D. Another Hermione campaign) He tickled the pear in the painting and it giggled loudly as the door swung open.
"Hullo Dobby."
"Oh! Mr. Harry Potter, sir. You've come to see Dobby's new socks, sir? They fit him quite nicely sir."
"That's fascinating, Dobby. Glad to see that you like them."
"What can Dobby do for Harry Potter today?"
"Well, I have a friend. She's got the flu. Can you help me bring her some soup?"
"Of course." After running around the kitchen rather frantically (Harry saw the elf trip over something and proceed to hit himself over the head with a turkey thigh) they had the chicken noodle soup ready for Ginny.
Harry and Dobby walked quickly as to avoid the rush of excited students that would arrive. He had thanked Dobby profusely for his help and Harry was startled by Dobby's unknowing reply, "Anything for Harry Potter and his Wheezy." It had never hit him so close to home when Dobby said it before; he had always been talking about Ron. Could Ginny ever be his Wheezy? He doubted it.
"Ginny?" He entered cautiously; the last thing he wanted to interrupt was another barf fest. " You look a little green around the gills."
"Thank you for noticing, Harry. Why are you back in here?"
"Brought you some soup and crackers. I thought it might settle your stomach a little."
The look on Ginny's face made Harry's own stomach do back- flips and somersaults. She looked appreciative of Harry's concern and yet sick at the thought of eating something. He quickly distracted her from the liquid nourishment.
"Or, if you don't want to eat anything, I can read you a bedtime story?" He looked nervous at the thought of rejection. Truth be told, Ginny wanted to be left in her solitude to allow for proper retching. Upon seeing the pleading look in Harry's eyes, she agreed. He wanted to heal her. She would let him.
"So what bedtime story did you have in mind?" she asked as he slowly paced throughout her dormitory. "You're gonna wear a hole in the carpet!"
"Sorry… um… how about The Ugly Duckling?"
"Anything except Little Red Riding Hood. You know people actually have the nerve to compare me to her because of my red hair? I DO NOT skip and frolic. Certainly not when there's a wolf about." Harry laughed. He could just picture Ginny Weasley, intimidating, demanding baby sister of six swash- buckling boys, running around with a swishing red cape billowing behind her. He'd actually considered grabbing Little Red Riding Hood but the wolf reminded him of Remus. The thought of Remus chasing after Ginny the way he had chased after he and Hermione in their third year made the hair in Harry's neck stand on end.
"Well, I'm glad I chose the Ugly Duckling, then. Ready?"
"I'm ready."
One fine day in May, a duck sitting on her nest felt something move underneath her. Her eggs were hatching! One by one, her ducklings broke through their eggshells and each was yellower and fluffier than the one before.
Finally, the last egg cracked open. The duckling that came out was large and clumsy and a dirty gray color. He did not look like the other ducklings at all!
"Do you ever wonder which came first?" Ginny interrupted.
"Out of the chicken and the egg?"
"Yeah."
"It was definitely the chicken."
"But what if it was the egg?"
"Well the chicken would have to come first or else there would be no egg."
"But how does the chicken exist without first hatching?" Ginny had a point and so did he. The age-old question: Harry didn't feel like trying to debate over it. He continued.
The mother duck thought, "How big and ugly he is! I wonder if he is a turkey chick." But she loved him just the same. And when she led her babies to the pond, the ugly duckling swam just as well as the rest, so she knew he could not be a turkey.
The next day, the proud mama duck took her babies home to the farmyard for the first time.
"How harsh is that? Even his own mom thinks he's haggard." Harry was happy that Ginny had enough energy to respond after every page. She talked fast and empathized with the little guy. She looked cute when she was angry and he found it especially hilarious that she was protecting a fictitious swan.
"Moving right along," he mumbled.
When the little family entered the farmyard where the fat ducks and geese lived, the other birds were quite rude.
"Look at that ugly little fellow!" said one white duck- and bit the duckling on his long neck.
The other birds teased the poor duckling. Soon, even his own brothers and sisters called him "ugly" and wouldn't play with him.
"Aww. Poor baby!" Ginny wailed. She promptly slammed her hace into the crook of Harry's elbow and began to cry. After the 'Cho Fiasco' Harry's interaction with crying girls was somewhat nonexistent. He reached for the nearby box of Puffs and handed Ginny a tissue. 'A nose in need deserves Puffs, indeed,' he thought. He continued only after Ginny had finished extracting the green slime from the depths of her left nasal passage.
As the days passed, the duckling grew more ugly, and the teasing got worse and worse. Finally, he decided to run away.
The duckling wandered through the fields until he came to a swamp where wild geese lived. Before the duckling could speak to the geese, some dogs came and they flew away. The ugly duckling hid in the weeds, for he was too frightened to leave.
Ginny continued to wipe her tears with the used snot rag. "I remember when I was little, Fred and George would call me ugly and I would run away to my tree house and cry."
Harry knew how she felt. He had been called 'hideous' by Uncle Vernon thousands of times. He decided not to believe it after being called a fine specimen by none other than Pansy Parkinson. Harry shuddered at the recollection.
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
Do you think I'm ugly? Is that why you chose this bedtime story instead of Hansel and Gretel or Sleeping Beauty?" The question caught Harry off guard. He had never thought of Ginny as an ugly person, in fact far from it. Harry never could have predicted Ginny asking him such a self- conscious question in a million years.
"Of course not. You are far from ugly," He whispered. She kept staring at that interesting spot on her quilt and Harry felt the need to continue. "I picked this one because it's my favorite."
"Why?"
"Why is it my favorite?"
"Yes."
"Because it reminds me of my childhood with the Dursleys. Sirius said that I was like the Ugly Duckling because I was raised different and treated different than Dudley. He said that despite the abuse and neglect, I turned out beautiful."
The pages went on and they discussed and analyzed every sentence. Ginny though about what Harry said. He had come to terms with what happened in his life. Before, he had been temperamental, mean even. She decided long ago to keep their friendship strictly on a 'hello' basis for fear of getting hurt by his moody wrath. He had changed into the person she knew he could be right before her very eyes and she was proud of him.
"I'm glad that you understand that now, Harry. You have always been beautiful to us."
He smiled. He'd never talked to Ginny without having a specific reason. He was glad about the urge to fly up to the fifth yea girls' dormitory window.
Just as the lonely bird started to swim, three swans appeared from out of the shadows. As the duckling drew near, he bowed his head. But when he lowered his eyes, he saw the most beautiful swan of all. It was his own reflection!
The ugly duckling was really a swan! You see, it doesn't matter if you're born in a duck's nest, if you come from a swan's egg.
He'd somehow ended up in Ginny's bed with her head resting upon his stomach. As he finished the last sentence on the last page, he awaited Ginny's opinion or wave of tears. Instead he heard the faint breathing of a sleeping girl. He hoped that she felt a little better because of his visit. As he covered her with her quilt and crawled into his own bed he though of a life that included Ginny. He prayed that he would have the chance to read her another story again.
And he slept happily ever after.
AN: okay…so I got this idea from having a cold myself a few days ago.The Ugly Duckling story is so sweet and it reminded me of Harry's current situation with the Dursleys and Voldemort. He is singled out because he is different but I think that he'll be content and reach self-actualization in the end.
So what are your thoughts? For you Americans out there, I'm sure you noticed the mention of my favorite TV. Commercials: Pepto Bismol and Puffs tissue brand. Those are so awesome. Hope to get some reviews. Like…now.
LOVE PEACE AND CHICKEN GREASE!!