Ron yawned behind his hand. It definitely was too early. He looked toward the large window and saw the sun barely rising above the distant horizon. Waking up before the sun was definitely too early. He could still feel his eyelids trying to droop downward, but he fought it off. It would be terribly insulting to fall asleep, especially now.
"Would you like some tea, Ronald?" Professor McGonagall asked.
Ron blinked and nodded. Tea would help. "Yeah." He answered, holding back yet another attempted yawn.
Professor McGonagall set out two heavy cups and a stout tea kettle. Steam rose off the cups as she poured it in.
"How many sugars?" She asked.
"Uh…two?" Ron answered.
"You may be wondering why I asked you here, this early." McGonagall said as she handed him the cup.
Ron had been wondering what she wanted. There had been a letter upon his bed when he came back to his room. A letter asking him to come before breakfast to her office. Ron had been a little apprehensive as to why she wanted to meet with him, after the things that had been happening all week, coming to Professor McGonagall's office only held trouble.
The thought of Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle screeching like animals in the Great Hall suddenly came to him. The cup of tea suddenly felt like a ton of bricks and he could feel sweat begin to form. Was that why she had called him here?
"As you know, several events have occurred over the last two weeks." McGonagall looked at Ron. He nodded minutely. Ginny and Hermione in the Hospital Wing. All Harry's fault.
Ron looked down at his cup of tea. "Why am I here?" He asked. It was one thing to get in trouble, but it was another thing to hear the constant attempts at trying to comfort him. He didn't need it.
McGonagall set down her cup and cleared her throat. "What are your thoughts on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" She asked.
Ron looked up, confused. "Quidditch?"
"Yes."
Ron thought for a moment. The topic was one he hadn't thought would come up, but it was one he had been thinking about for a while now. The only reason there hadn't been any practices was because of Harry. Everyone knew he would be back on the team this year, that he'd be the captain, but the weeks he'd been moping about had pushed back when they would begin training.
Now it school had begun over five weeks ago and the first games were barely over a month away. There were several open positions and they needed to be filled. That meant getting some raw student and having to train them into good players. That would mean a lot of work and a lot of practicing to be even as good as they had been last year. Ron winced as he remember how bad they'd been. He suddenly looked up at Professor McGonagall, realizing he'd been quiet for a long while.
"We haven't held tryouts yet. There are several positions that need to be filled. We haven't got a new captain. We're way behind in practices." Ron answered.
"What would you to get the team ready for the first match?" McGonagall mused.
Ron frowned. "Practice. The team is way behind. All the other houses have been practicing for nearly three weeks now. While we haven't." He tried to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice, but McGonagall seemed to catch it. She nodded minutely.
"How would you like to be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain?"
Ron stared at her gaped mouthed. "Bloody hell!" He suddenly cried out as the cup of tea slipped out of his hands and onto his lap. It burned fiercely, McGonagall was on her feet, wand out. Moments later the tea was gone. "I'm sorry." Ron mumbled, sitting back down gingerly.
McGonagall gave a small smile. "So what is your answer?"
"What about Harry? Didn't you ask him?" Ron asked. Why else would they ask me, unless Harry refused them.
"No. Harry will not be playing Quidditch this year." McGonagall said sternly.
Ron was quiet. Emotions roiled within him. Harry wasn't going to play. The year before he'd also been forced not to play, because of a stupid little fight against Draco. Was he being punished for the same thing again?
Then again it was all his fault in the first place. He started the fights. He did the stupid things that got him into trouble. It was all his doing. He'd gotten Hermione hurt, Ginny hurt, Cho and Neville hurt. The whole Great Hall had been turned into a brawl because of him.
He shouldn't feel shamed as taking this. They had asked him. They had given it to him. Not to Harry. But to the one they thought could best lead the Gryffindor team. Not Harry Blood Potter who was so caught up in his own feelings as to not even see his friends who had been injured because of his actions.
"I'll do it." Ron replied.
Professor McGonagall nodded.
XXX
Ginny's feet touched the marble floor and she immediately jerked them back. She looked about for footwear of any kind, but there was none. Sighing with resignation she planted her feet upon the cold marble floor and wrapped her arms around her chest and made her way toward the door.
Dawn was coming, she noticed. Though how long she had been in the Hospital Wing was a mystery to her. The only thing she knew was that she didn't' want to stay in here. She didn't want to lie in the uncomfortable bed, the heavy scents of disinfectant and feeling of everything sterile around her. She wanted to be back in her bed, wrapped in her own comforter. She wanted to be somewhere she knew, somewhere familiar.
As she headed out of the door she took a glance back. For a moment she stared at the three curtained beds, wondering who was behind them. She knew that Hermione was still in one, but who were the others? She shook her head and pushed open the door and headed out. She'd find out later, for now she wanted to leave.
The corridors were empty and silent, the staircase cold and stretching upward forever in the half-light. Ginny leaned against the wall, taking a deep shuddering breath. She felt weak and tired, as if all the strength were suddenly leaving her. Her breathing was labored, her sides were aching, and there was a pain in her middle that just seemed to keep growing with every step she took away from the Hospital Wing.
"You should be back in the Hospital Wing."
Ginny gasped, whirling about, her hands going for a wand she didn't have. It took her a heartbeat to recognize Harry. He stood silently, his green eyes locked upon her. Ginny took a deep breath, trying to push down an irrational fear and calm her heart that was trying to beat it's way out of her chest.
"Why are you out of the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked. He didn't move nor did his expression change.
"I-I'm going back to the dorms." Ginny replied. She cleared her throat. Ginny watched him nervously, as he stood there watching her. He made no move nor did he say anything. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, after a long awkward moment had passed.
"I was going to the Hospital Wing." Harry replied.
Ginny felt a thrill run through her. "Why?" She asked.
"I was going to see you." Ginny felt a surge of emotion. "I need my Map back." He finished.
"Oh." Ginny sighed. "How do you know I have it?"
Harry watched her for a moment. "There are only three people who know where I keep the Map. You, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione's been in the Hospital for several days now, Ron claims he doesn't have it. That only leaves you."
"I don't have it." Ginny responded. "At least… I don't' think I have it." Ginny shook her head, trying to straighten the thoughts that were unclear in her mind. She looked up to Harry. "Why was I in the Hospital Wing?" She asked.
"You were attacked in the common room. No one knows by who. Do you?"
Ginny shook her head, suddenly feeling very tired. " I don't know." She muttered, suddenly feeling tears running down her check. Why am I crying? She wondered, feeling as if she were suddenly detached from her surroundings.
Suddenly the memories came coming back. An invisible man, the pain, and the yelling. Neville running for help and then the darkness. Ginny slumped to the floor knees to her chest and head buried in her arms. Her shoulders shuddering with sobs.
It felt as if she were a child. Like the first time she'd run into a boggart and seen the horrible things that terrified her. The sudden violence, the unbearable pain, and the darkness. It broke down everything, as if she had no defenses, as if there nothing she could do to help herself. Someone had violently attacked her and Neville in the one place where they were supposed to be the safest. It felt as if there was no place safe, as if everything was laid open for attack.
She felt arms around her shoulders and she leaned toward the warm body of another person. Someone to share her pain, a presence to keep her safe. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything, except sit beside her, arms draped across her shoulder and his presence anchoring her.
XXX
Until Next Chapter!