It Seems He Is The Only One Who Knows What It Is To Burn
"Diagon Alley." Laura disappeared within the flames.
"Diagon Alley." J.J was gone as well.
Ginny grabbed her own fistful of powder and chucked it carelessly into the fire
"Diagon Alley." she mimicked.
BANG
She was whipped through the warm air, speeding through the grates until she landed with a thump and found herself next to J.J who pulled her up by her left arm and followed behind the girls as they started down the cobbled street. It was packed today, Ginny noticed. With three days until their return to school most students were in a hurry to buy their new things.
"PORTEEEEER!"
"Oh god." Ginny heard Laura mutter.
A guy with long brown hair, barely an inch short of J.J and bright blue eyes was running full speed towards them
"TRAV!" J.J hollered in the same loud voice, and he too began to run forwards until they both crashed into each other and fell hard on the ground. There was a short pause where they both glanced stupidly at each other, then they burst into loud grunts of laughter.
"Oh god." Laura said again.
At the sound of her voice the guy with the bright eyes and teenage good looks pulled himself up off the ground, mopping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Well, well, well." he exclaimed still grinning stupidly "Look who it is!"
"Yeah it's me you asshole, nice one. How were you planning to turn that into a witty remark?" she said glaring at him.
He blinked.
"You know I don't know!" he threw his arm around Laura's shoulder jokingly
"Oh god."
"You look well Laura."
"The result of two full months without you Travis Chambers."
"Travis Marian Chambers." Ginny giggled
"What did I do to deserve that?" he asked pouting
"You were born." Laura said in a voice of easy loathing.
Ginny giggled again.
"I still love you Trav."
"Of course you do." he said bouncing on the balls of his feet "How could you not?"
"It's quite easy actually." Laura commented to Ginny "You just sort of glance at his face and hating him becomes quite simple."
Travis snorted.
"Hitting me where it hurts. But you still can't do this-"
"Touch me and I kill you!" Laura screamed backing away with her finger raised in the air
"AAAARGGGH!" Travis cried reasonlessly as he charged after Laura who was now running full tilt. He caught her by the stomach and threw her on his back sideways.
"I got new drumsticks!" he yelled to J.J through Laura's screams, laughter and attempts to escape
"Awesome!" J.J yelled back
"Ohhh god..." Ginny said as she doubled over laughing "He's holding you like one of those old timey water sticks with pales on the sides." she gestured with her arms to explain her point
"You hear that La?" Travis roared to her "You're a stick with pales!"
Ginny laughed, unaware how that was insulting
"And you're a fuck bag with new drumsticks!" she screamed, trying to squirm free.
"Fiiiine don't appreciate my kind services?" he said in a mock hurt voice "Be that way." he let go and she slid back to the ground. "I guess you don't want a ride."
Laura looked up.
"Eh?"
"You can use those short little legs of yours to keep up with me and Jay while Ginny can ride on my back!"
"What's that now?" Laura yelled regretfully
"Fine by me!" Ginny shrieked after a snort and hopped onto Travis's back throwing her head back laughing as they started to walk away from Laura. But she wasn't about to take this
"Fuck no!" she screamed running up behind her brother and jumping onto his back
"ARGH!" he yelled taking a step backwards out of nothing but surprise
"Haha!" Laura cried, a triumphant grin spreading across her face "I am the lizard queen!" she raised one arm in the air as her brother resumed walking and she flipped the sky off.
"How've you been man?" J.J asked Travis, ignoring the insane sibling that was riding on his back..
"Can't complain. How're Davinee, Adam and Leon?"
"Haven't heard from them."
"Kyler?"
"Her family's vacationing in America." Ginny piped up.
"So it's just the four of us!" Travis grinned "Magical."
"Oh god." Laura said, rolling her eyes.
Adam, Leon and Travis were the other three member's of J.J's band Kara's Flowers. Davinee was Leon's stepsister, and Kyler was Davinee's best friend. Ginny hadn't seen any of them since the end of fourth year. Laura, J.J and Travis were her best friends. The other four had their own little circle and though the two were crossed over they were definite and there had been occasions where some people had made it all too obvious where their loyalties lied...
"We'll see them on the train ride." said Ginny "And Dumbledore's probably throwing a Welcome Ball this year. That's always fun."
"Hey yeah!" exclaimed Laura "We can get all fancy and be bitches!"
Ginny snorted and gave Laura a high five from Travis's back.
"Always fun." she agreed taking his cap off his head and putting it on top of the toque she was already wearing
"Oh so sexy." grinned Laura
The fall leaves blew, full of bright colours, all around them. Ginny fingered the buttons on her jean jacket. She was dressed the way she always was...carelessly. She wore hats a lot to cover her insane hair. Today's was striped orange and red, her jeans were loose, dark and ripped at the knees. Her jacket was over a red turtleneck, and her dark sneakers were clearly worn. She had next to no make up on, and a silver chain around her neck. On it was a small rusted key. Ginny had forgotten what the key was for several years ago. She wore it out of habit...
And sometimes it makes me wonder...is it that easy to forget?
Laura's hair was twisted into a shiny bun today. Her green shirt was blotched with a message in brown writing that read Margarita Ville. Her jeans like many of her other possessions, were identical to Ginny's, except they were being held up by a brown belt. They were too long for both girls, even after being rolled up several times, so they did a job of covering Laura's long black boots. She licked her lips and gave a goofy grin.
"This lip gloss tastes like pie."
"Let me taste." Travis joked
"Raaaaape..." droned Laura lazily in response.
They slumped down the cobbled street, as Ginny and J.J listened to Laura and Travis's argumentative comments towards each other. The autumn sun poured down into her face as Travis walked out of the shade of the trees and someone caught Ginny's eyes.
"Fuck." she muttered to herself
"What's up?" J.J asked turning to her and hiking his sister up his back a bit to keep her from falling.
Ginny didn't answer but stopped gripping her wrist and let herself slide off of Travis's back
"Gin!" a voice called
She shuddered. It sounded wrong when he called her that.
"Erm..." quietly she stepped behind Travis who was at least two heads taller than her and would have hid her quite easily if she hadn't already been spotted.
"Ginny." a breathless Migell grinned appearing in front of her. Laura wrinkled her nose and slid off her brother's back. Ginny was unsure if it was intentional.
"Who's this?" Travis asked confusedly, towering over the Minister's son
"Migell Prang." he announced sticking out a hand "Nice to meet you."
Travis stared at the hand for a second before he and Laura both let out loud snorts. Migell looked confused but didn't lower his hand. J.J grabbed it roughly and let go, but didn't offer his name.
"What are you doing here?" Migell said, turning to Ginny
"Just...you know...doing some shopping with my friends." she said innocently
Migell looked up at J.J and Travis.
"Your friends?" he said
Ginny frowned
"Yeah." she said defensively.
Laura turned to Migell smiling.
"I'm Laura." she said possibly out of pity.
"Oh." he smiled "Nice to meet you."
"Of course it is." she grinned
J.J gave a loud hacking cough and Laura yanked on his hair. Blankly Migell stared at them clearly weirded out by their behaviour.
"So who is this guy?" Travis asked loudly as though he wasn't there.
"I'm Migell Prang." he said looking irritated at having to repeat himself "I'm Ginny's-"
"Don't mind my Trav, ah...Migell. He's just an ass." Laura piped up.
"And you're just a midget." Travis shot unfazed.
Migell blinked and turned his attention back to Ginny
"So what are you really doing here?"
She was beginning to lose her temper which was always reasonlessly short these days.
"I told you I'm shopping with my friends. Don't you ever fucking clean your god damn upper class ears?"
Migell didn't look at all insulted. In fact he laughed, which struck Ginny as odd since he got insulted when he had to repeat his stupid fucking upper class name.
She shook her head. She should not have been thinking those thoughts. She liked this boy. She did. She had to like this boy. He laughed again.
"Sure, it's just that I'm here with your family. If you'd have told us you were coming we could have all gone together...I didn't even know you were staying with...who are these people? I mean why didn't you tell me about any of this? Or your family?"
There was a pause which gave Ginny the opportunity to narrow her eyes.
"Seriously who is this guy?" Travis said blankly
"I did tell them. You were sitting right there. Is it my fault if you weren't listening? If they weren't listening? If they don't ever listen?" she snapped frantically
"Ginny!" J.J said gently. He put a sympathetic hand on each shoulder and squeezed them. Quietly he began to hum the tune of the song 'Only In Dream'. His band had covered it the previous year and it always calmed her down. Migell looked up.
"Excuse me-" he began "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Travis stared at him.
"Who the fuck is this guy!"
"Okay!" Laura exclaimed, the connection she had always had with Travis springing to life. "Let's stand over here Trav!"
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from where J.J and Migell were now locking eyes.
"What's that?" J.J asked
"Take your hands off my-"
"Off your what?" Laura spat dangerously, forgetting that she was trying to stay out of the way.
Ginny took a shaky breath as J.J removed his warm hands from her shoulders. She wished he wouldn't have. He took a step forward.
"Fuck." she muttered to herself
"I don't see you rushing to make her feel better after you openly tell her that you don't listen to her when she talks."
"Look I think you're blowing this way out of-"
"I'm blowing this out of-?"
"WHO THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS GUY?"
"I'm her boyfriend!" he yelled finally.
Travis stared nonchalantly from Migell to Ginny and then let out a long laugh.
"Excuse me?" Migell cried voice trembling
"Gin seriously?" Travis asked, once again speaking as though Migell could not hear him, "I mean..." he gestured to Migell who was now fuming, and snorted.
"We went out once." Ginny said angrily making a mental note to explain later to Travis she was using the term 'went out' very loosely.
"Ginny come and join your family." Migell said as there was no question in the matter. He was almost laughing. He seized her wrist and pulled
"Ow!" she snapped pulling away
"All right that's it!" It was Travis who spoke, "I still don't quite understand who the fuck you are but I don't like you. Got that?"
"We don't have time for this!" Migell exclaimed in a huff
"Guys maybe I should just-"
"Ginny you don't have to go." J.J said kindly, stepping in front of her
"Look maybe I should just go see them for a bit."
"That's right come along now." Migell said speaking to her as though she was a disobedient four year old.
"In a minute."
Travis was goggling at them.
"I'll meet you guys later okay? Gimme like half an hour."
Migell raised his eyebrows and she had a strong urge to rip off her arm just so she had something to throw at him.
"Gimme like...forty five minutes and meet me at-"
"Come along now Ginny."
He was seizing her wrist again.
"Just meet me here." she said hurriedly starting to tremble
Laura gaped at her
"Okay Gin." she said nodding quickly.
Migell tugged on her wrist and she tripped forward
"Hey, leave her alone!" J.J growled
"No Jay, just-well-bye!" she yelled trailing behind him.
The three of them stared blankly after Ginny. Travis's hands were clamped on Laura's shoulders.
"That was kind of...weird." he croaked after the pause
Laura looked uncomfortable and shifted her feet on the spot
"He's not gonna...I mean...he just seemed sort of...he's not gonna like...like hurt her or anything is he?" she said uncertainly, glancing some ways in front of them where Migell was still visible keeping a tight hold on Ginny's wrist
J.J stared avidly in front of him
"I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him if he touches her." he said plainly
Travis flared his nostrils and let go of Laura's shoulders as they began to walk slowly forward
"You and me both man." he nodded
Laura lay her hands on Travis's shoulders and pushed herself up. He caught her legs without words and kept walking as she closed her eyes, letting out involuntary snorts every so often...
He wasn't letting go of her hand. She didn't want to tell him that it hurt. She could honestly not see the point.
"So when'd you meet those people?" he asked casually
She hid her scowl
"I've known Travis since first year. My family was friends with Jay and Laura's mother even before Hogwarts so I saw them a few times. But their mother didn't get a lot of visitation rights until they found out about their powers. Now they live with her all the time. They actually haven't seen their dad since they found out. He's a muggle."
Migell looked a bit startled though Ginny could tell he had stopped listening about halfway through her bit.
"Really? I wouldn't have thought you'd known them that long. You look like you just met them." he said seriously
"We're really close."
"Didn't seem so."
He wasn't kidding.
"Migell I was riding on Travis's back when you walked up-"
"That I noticed." he said roughly giving her a warning look, "And I didn't quite like it to tell you the truth."
No. That she wouldn't put up with.
"Well you're gonna have to deal buddy."
His grip tightened and she tried to jerk her hand away with no success.
"Ginny dear!" a shrill and familiar voice called.
Migell dropped her hand.
"Hi mum." Ginny said walking up to her
"Quite nice to see you two." her mother beamed. "Migell, Arthur and your father have gone for a drink to discuss Ministry business."
He gave a single nod and put his hand on Ginny's shoulder. She turned to stare at him.
"What?" she asked coldly
He didn't answer. She took a step forwards forcing him to remove it.
"Hey Gin!" called Ron who was exiting Flourish and Blotts with Harry.
"Hey." she said simply as they approached her
"Let's just all walk shall we?" Migell asked smiling.
"What the fuck ever." Ginny muttered to herself
"Huh?"
"Whatever you want." she grinned falsely
And so they walked, and they conversed although since Ginny had only left home three days ago there was little to report and they found themselves jammed in awkward silences.
"What's down there?" Migell asked suddenly
Ron stared at him.
"That's Knockturn Alley you idiot."
Still Migell stared.
"I mean I don't doubt that you've never been down there but you must have heard of Knockturn Alley at some point in you life. Your father's the Minister of Magic."
He just shrugged looking embarrassed. But Ginny wasn't paying attention to him. For some reason she couldn't tear her eyes away from that alley...
"Let's go in I need new robes." Ron said. He gestured to the store to their right.
Ginny didn't reply
"Same, meet me in there." Migell grunted and left.
"Erm...yeah...me...me too okay Harry? Harry?...okay meet me in there." Ron mumbled and stalked away.
Ginny and Harry were left alone staring wide eyed down the alley
"We're going down there aren't we?" Harry asked in an odd hollow voice, gesturing to Knockturn Alley. Strangely enough Ginny did not find herself objecting. Instead she took a step forwards. And a blinding pain flashed through her head. But she didn't stop walking. The pain only increased until she could sense nothing else...
"What about this one?" Harry asked in a high voice that was not like his own
Ginny blinked her eyes open...where was she?
"I...I don't...where are we Harry?"
His eyes widened as she looked around at the odd surroundings
"Why, Knockturn Alley!" he raised a frightening finger. "You WANTED to come."
She stared at him turning red.
"We are not in Knockturn Alley Harry. Why the fuck would we be there?"
He didn't answer. He was far too absorbed in a bright red hand that was sitting eerily on the shelf
And then it became clear to her. They were in Knockturn Alley. But how? And why? Surely Harry couldn't actually believe that it had been her idea to come here...a frantic tear escaped onto her cheek.
"I'm late!" she exclaimed suddenly, glancing at her watch. "I need to go."
Harry looked up
"What?"
"You're coming too, I'm not letting anyone find you here!" she cried, tears streaming onto her cheeks. She grasped his hand.
"No!" he screamed "I won't go! You can't make me. I like it here!"
"Harry come on!" she sobbed
"N-ooo!" he clung desperately to the hand but Ginny gave a viscous yank and pulled him along with her as she ran speedily back into Diagon Alley.
"I don't...think...no...no one's spotted us." she confirmed breathlessly glancing around her, still holding Harry's arm.
"Wait...what? Where'd...what's going on?" he asked suddenly. Immediately Ginny whipped her body around and stared at him.
"Harry..." she said slowly. Unknowingly, they dropped hands.
"What...where did Ron go?" he said, voice quavering.
"He's...they're...I don't know where they are, we were just-" she recognized his voice now. It was more like his own, "I mean...I dunno."
"They were just here weren't they?" he looked around frantically
"Erm...yes...they...they must have run off...but I...I need to...I need to go now Harry."
"Huh?"
"I'm late."
"You just got here."
"Sure." she said carelessly as she began to run in the opposite direction. She raised one hand behind her as a way of saying good bye. "I'll see you on the train!" she hollered over her shoulder. Her voice was shaking uncontrollably. She realized she was still quietly crying tears of confusion. But really it was nice seeing Harry again. Sometimes she felt that he understood her. He never really said much but he didn't need to. She could read it in his eyes. She could tell he was feeling what she was. And she could tell it hurt him too. What had just happened she didn't know. But knowing that it hadn't happened to her alone was definitely a least a small bit comforting.
And it seems he is the only one who knows what it is to burn
"You're late." Travis grunted when she finally approached to the spot the four of them had encountered her dear boyfriend not an hour ago.
"Good to see you too." she snapped
He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged. Ginny narrowed her eyes. How Travis of him.
"I deserve that, I guess." he smiled
"You have fun?" J.J asked
It was Ginny's turn to shrug.
"Sure..."
He touched her arm and she flinched, expecting him to grab it and pull as Migell had. But he did no such thing, and she smiled weakly as he raised one eyebrow and gently tightened his grip. But she didn't mind at all when he did it. She knew how safe she was.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She smiled as she pried her arm away and pressed down hard on J.J's shoulders pushing herself up into a jump. He caught her feet as she bent her body around to look at his face.
"Yeah I'm sure." she grinned. "I'm really, really sure."
There was a flowing silence for a split second before Laura gave a small giggle and- a snort.
"That was so cheesy."
"What was?"
"That! That "Yeah I'm sure. I'm really, really sure." it's like god, role the fucking Lionel Richie song and the movie can end."
"Who's Lionel Richie?"
Everyone laughed at her, as they began to step steadily ahead again.
"Christ when are you two gonna learn to walk?" Travis inquired. Laura still had her left had gripped in her right, riding on Travis's back.
"Hey our poor little legs can't keep up with your hairy long ones! We're short." Laura grinned
"No you aren't." he grumbled
"Yeah they are." J.J pointed out.
"Yeah, I know..."
"Aww, I'm not that much of a burden, am I Trav?" Laura said pouting "I'm not so fat and ugly that you can't carry me for a few hours. Or are you just weak?"
Travis gave a bark of a laugh.
"Yeah, that's it Laura. You're a cow."
"An unbelievably small midget cow. You midget." J.J added.
Everyone laughed but Ginny. No one was telling her she was a midget. Laura acted insulted and Ginny used to too but of course deep down they liked it. It was much better than getting made fun of for being horrendously overweight. Which she wasn't...was she? Maybe J.J was just being nice...he probably didn't actually want to carry her…it probably hurt his back or some such shit. She was really getting too big for this...and if she wasn't than why in hell weren't they including her in this stupid joke? They were always telling so many stupid jokes...
Quietly she let herself slide off J.J's back and hopped in front of him, walking hurriedly.
"What are you doing? he asked blankly, "You actually want to walk?"
She shrugged and said nothing, turning red.
"Frooooog leeeegs." Travis guffawed pointing at Ginny.
She looked at him.
"What the fuck?"
"Because...wait frogs have short legs right?" he asked stupidly
J.J didn't answer.
"Gin come on. You don't wanna walk." he said knowingly
Ginny stopped walking. They were all smiling at her. She wished they would fuck off. But the thing is he was right. She really didn't want to walk...and he was offering...even if it was just to be nice or look good or what the fuck ever...
"Okay, you're right." she said apologetically hopping back on his back all the while sucking her stomach in. And Laura still looked thinner than her. She was gaining too much weight. And all she was happy about was that this wasn't new news. And she wasn't going to do nothing about it.
"Hey d'you guys wanna grab an ice cream?" Laura piped up lazily
"No." Ginny answered. "I'm not really all that hungry."
Her stomach gave a low rumble and J.J turned to look at her eyebrows raised
"Are you okay Gin?"
She took a shaking breath.
"I'm great."