A/N: Finally! Here is a brand new chapter! I hope you enjoy and make sure you review and let me know what you thought about it!
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When Harry entered the common room he was surprised at how normal everything seemed. The fire on the other side of the room was burning pleasantly, not even trying to engulf him. Everyone, even Ron and Hermione, looked decidedly happy. The room itself felt warm and cozy and not even the least bit evil or horrible. And most surprisingly of all, neither Snape nor Malfoy were anywhere in sight.
In short, the common room looked nothing at all like the hell Harry had been expecting after the massive blunder he'd made just outside the entrance.
What was I thinking? he thought as he sought out Ron and Hermione yet again. Ron had just said something that earned him a look of outrage and a swat on the arm from Hermione, whose outrage soon dissolved into a laugh.
You were thinking that she deserves the same treatment you'd want, you know, the golden rule and all that, a second inner voice responded. As true as that was it didn't help the situation he was in now. If only he could catch Ron's eye then he wouldn't have to bring Ginny over and…well, there had to be some way he could get out of this!
But Ron had started chuckling along with Hermione, whose laugh was almost starting to lean towards a giggle.
"Harry, I'll see you later."
He looked over at Ginny, who was still standing beside him, and his stomach lurched unpleasantly. Glancing at her slightly untidy crimson hair and her chocolate brown eyes that were glistening and bloodshot, Harry decided that no matter what the common room looked like at the moment, it felt very close to being in hell.
"Erm, thanks for walking back with me and everything."
Harry didn't feel like he deserved to be thanked for anything that was included in everything, because he had the sinking suspicion that he was about to ruin in all.
"Well, bye." And she turned to leave.
Harry's eyes shot over to Ron and Hermione who were talking amicably and looking at each other instead of over where Ginny was standing like they should. Bugger.
"Ginny, wait!"
She turned around and gave him an almost pained look.
"Harry, I really have a lot of homework to do."
"Ron has to talk to you."
Ginny rolled her eyes with the look of a sister that doesn't want to bother with her annoying brother at the moment.
"Well, tell him that he can talk to me later. I have three feet of parchment due tomorrow in both Potions and Divination. Not to mention Charms, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy…just tell him I'll talk to him later."
This was getting to be harder than Harry had expected and it hadn't even started yet.
"Look, it's really important."
"I really can't…"
"Please?"
Ginny gave an exasperated sigh and agreed.
"Fine."
Harry and Ginny walked slowly over to the couch where Ron and Hermione sat and Harry vaguely thought that it was rather like the calm before the storm. This plan had seemed so much smoother when they had discussed it earlier.
Perhaps he was just being overly dramatic. Hermione had said last year that he, through no fault of his own, could sometimes blow ordinary things out of proportion. 'It's not your fault, it's just because of all that's happened to you. You're bound to be a little suspicious of ordinary occurrences.'
He had snapped back that if people were trying to kill her all the time that she might be a little paranoid too. It hadn't been the right thing to say, but it had been how he felt.
He'd felt guilty after he said it though and was quite glad when Hermione accepted his apology a week later.
Maybe she was right though. Harry knew that he simply wasn't used to normal life, or at least as normal of a life as a boy wizard could expect. Surely this thing with Ginny, if it caused a problem at all, would eventually be okay. She would understand that he was just concerned about her, that they were concerned about her.
She didn't look like she was apt to explode or anything so that must be a good sign. She just looked slightly annoyed. He could handle that. After this discussion was all over he could apologize and everything would be just fine.
"Well Ron, what do you want?"
Harry heard Ginny's slightly exasperated voice and realized that they had just reached the couch where Hermione and a now flustered Ron were sitting.
"Ginny," he was saying, "I wanted to talk to you."
"I'd already gathered that."
"Well, actually we all wanted to talk to you."
We. Did he just say we?
Ginny's eyes widened slightly and she looked back at Harry in question. He didn't know quite how to respond.
"About what?" she asked heavily as she turned back towards Ron. It sounded like she already knew.
"Well," Ron looked at Hermione with slight panic. She responded with a supportive look and nodded.
"It's just that I'm, we're, feeling concerned about you. We'd like to help you with whatever it is that's going on."
Ron kept talking about worry, and feelings, and wanting to help, but Ginny was no longer listening. In fact, she couldn't focus on anything. Everything seemed suddenly and terribly out of control. She couldn't hold everything in much longer. It was all much too tempting to just break down and tell them everything. She wanted to more than anything, wanted to be free of the burden that she'd been living with ever since they'd gone into the Department of Mysteries a few months ago. The burden of this nightmare that just kept getting worse.
Ginny put a hand up to her forehead. A headache was starting to flare up as thoughts flew through her head at a faster and faster pace. For just a moment she let herself believe that she could just tell Ron what was happening. She just wanted her brother to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.
But she couldn't. Because if she told Ron, Harry would know. And he would stick closer to her rather than avoid her. It was just the way he was. Over the summer Ron and Ginny had talked more. And he had told her about what started the argument that she and Luna had walked into when Harry thought that Voldemort had Sirius. About how Hermione said that he had a "saving-people thing". Ginny couldn't fault him for it, because of Harry's "saving-people thing" she was still alive, but she knew better than anyone how true Hermione's statement was.
And it was because of this, because of Harry's caring heart that she had to stay strong. That she had to push them all away. Because if she didn't then the closeness she longed and feared would happen. And she couldn't risk him. Any of them.
"Shut up Ron!" The anger in Ginny's voice made Ron shut his mouth immediately and had Hermione and Harry staring at her in shock.
"Stay the hell out of my business." Ginny poured all the frustration and anger that she'd felt over the past few months into her tone. "I'm tired of you playing the big brother whenever it suits you."
"Ginny, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how we used to be best friends Ron. Remember that? Until you got to Hogwarts and decided to ditch me for five years until it was finally in your best interests to be the caring brother again. Can't have anything interfere with Quidditch and all that. Where were you my first year Ron? If you had paid any attention at all you might've seen that something was wrong!"
"Ginny, I - " Ron looked desperate to refute Ginny's accusations, but she couldn't let him have a chance.
"You can't just care when it suits you! And I don't want you trying to help me now. I can handle it, and you lost your chance years ago."
Ginny tried to ignore the pain on Ron's face as she spun around to face Harry.
"And you!" She looked him in the eyes and almost stopped. She couldn't bear the look of shock and fearful anticipation that he was giving her. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "What bloody kind of friend are you? Exploding snap tournament. I won't push you. What the hell kind of shit is that?" Harry opened his mouth, but Ginny didn't let him say anything, and instead looked coldly into his eyes and sharply whispered, "Remind me never to trust you again."
Ginny could feel herself draining of the anger she needed. She pulled up an image in her mind that would give her all the anger she needed. The image of Voldemort as he told her to kill Harry, as he enjoyed the hell that he was putting her through. As he took pleasure from her pain, for the second time in her life. Ginny took a deep breath and looked around at Harry and Hermione and Ron.
"Just stay out of my damn life. All of you."
And with that, Ginny turned and stalked over to the dormitory stairs without glancing back at three people whose only crime was caring about her. Once she got to the stairs she started to run and her tears started to fall. She tripped twice, but finally made it to the fifth years' room. She opened the door and stepped inside. Ginny looked over at her bed through her tear-filled eyes, walked over and flung aside the red curtains. She crawled inside and then shut the drapes behind her.
Hugging a pillow to her chest as she leaned up against the headboard, Ginny wondered why she felt so horrid if she was doing the right thing. She kept seeing their shocked faces and hearing the horrible things she'd said. At least she hadn't said anything directly to Hermione too. The look on Ron's face…how could she ever face him after what she'd said? What would happen during holidays at home. Did I just cause another Percy-like rift in our family? Oh God.
And Harry. It didn't hurt quite as much remembering his expression as Ron's, but then Harry has always been more guarded. He seemed to be expecting it too. I still hurt him though and I hate it.
I did the right thing, didn't I? If I did, why do I feel like something just went horribly wrong? Why do I feel like things just took a turn that they weren't supposed to?
Ginny's crying intensified and she leaned over to tap her wand lightly on a sky blue circular object. Music started to drift into the room, covering up the sound of Ginny's weeping.
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