Disclaimer: Darn these disclaimers. No, I do not own Harry Potter or anyone/anything related to the wizarding world.
Now that that's out of the way, on with the story.
Chapter 4: I'll Always Be There For You
McGonagall hurried the two girls into her office. When they arrived, the headmistress swept straight over to the fireplace and began to get the Floo ready.
"Potter is in St. Mungo's," McGonagall began. "Miss Weasley, your parents are already at the hospital and are expecting your arrival as well as Miss Granger's. And before you question-" she stopped Ginny, who had opened her mouth, "Your brother is completely fine."
Ginny heard Hermione breathe a sigh of relief. Ginny's sigh, however, was to be held until they got to the hospital.
While they were waiting, Ginny began chewing on her fingernails. So many questions were swimming through her mind. What happened to Harry? Will he be okay? How bad are his injuries? What if it's very serious?
Unfortunately, the answers to Ginny's questions would have to wait until they arrived at St. Mungo's.
McGonagall held out the small bucket of familiar green dust to Hermione.
"Miss Granger, you first," said the Professor.
Hermione gave her a skeptical look.
"Shouldn't Ginny go first?" she asked, slowly pulling back her arm.
"Miss Weasley and I have a few things to discuss before she arrives," said McGonagall hurriedly. "Please, Miss Granger, if you would," she added politely, motioning towards the fireplace.
Hermione grabbed a fistful of the dust. She threw it into the flames, which then turned into a sharp emerald green at the touch.
"St. Mungo's!" she cried, before disappearing into a whirlwind of green, gone to the hospital, without Ginny, who desperately wanted to go after her, but was held back.
"Miss Weasley," said McGonagall in a somewhat calm voice. "Potter's injuries. They're…"
"They're what, Professor?" Ginny asked quickly.
"His injuries are very harsh, according to the Healers," she continued, as Ginny twisted her fingers. "They're doing the best they can and when you see him, it will look bad, but with time, it will heal."
"Yes, Professor," replied Ginny, who was practically using all self control not to grab the bucket from her and Floo to the hospital. She just couldn't wait any longer.
Apparently, the headmistress noticed this.
"Now, Miss Weasley, you may go," she said, holding out the bucket.
"Thank you, Professor," said Ginny, eagerly grabbing a fistful of the Powder and rushing towards the fireplace.
"Oh, and Miss Weasley?"
"Yes, Professor?"
"Try not to let Potter get hurt any more. He's been in a hospital bed enough in his lifetime."
"I'm really sorry, Professor, but still, no promises," replied Ginny, with a faint smile on her face, before shouting, "St. Mungo's!"
With a swish of green before her eyes, the headmistress's office was then suddenly transformed into a hospital waiting room.
When she stepped out of the grate, she was greeted by her mother, who gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before taking her hand and leading her to the stairs.
"Harry is on the fourth floor," said Mrs. Weasley exhaustedly, for she had already led Hermione up the stairs. "His injuries are-"
"Bad, I know," finished Ginny, trying to keep her voice calm, but in her mind, she was practically losing her mind to see Harry. "But is it at the point where you'd call it gruesome, Mum?"
"Well…" replied Mrs. Weasley, thinking about the answer as they rushed past the second floor. "It's… close to gruesome. But not at the point you'd call it that."
Finally, after they had reached the fourth floor, Mrs. Weasley pushed open the door to the small fourth floor waiting room. There, she saw Ron, still in his Auror uniform, his hands deep in his pockets with a slight frown on his face. When he spotted Ginny, he leapt up and gave her a brotherly hug.
"Ginny…" Ron said softly, suddenly putting his full attention to the Witch Weekly magazine on the magazine rack, "Don't freak out when you see Harry. He's going to be alright, trust me."
"Everybody keeps saying that, I just want to see him," Ginny replied, looking into Ron's blue eyes. "What's his room?"
"Room 2B," said Mrs. Weasley, answering for Ron. "Hermione's already in there, dear. Spot her at one of the beds and that's where he's at." Ginny noticed her mother's eyes were glassy, but Mrs. Weasley looked away before she could take a closer look.
"You know what, I'll come with," said Ron suddenly, starting to walk the path to Harry's room. Before Ginny left to follow her brother, she gave Mrs. Weasley a wordless hug.
When Ron opened the door, Ginny immediately spotted some bushy brown hair sitting in a chair near a hospital bed, next to the window. She briskly walked over, needing a clearer view. When she got a full view of her boyfriend, she gasped.
Harry's left arm was bruised and covered with scratches. His right arm was in a cast, slung over his neck. As Ginny moved towards his face and gaped.
He had a large bruise under his eye along with a gash across his cheek. His face was smeared with dirt and he had a cut lip. Even though Ginny was shocked by all of his injuries, a small part of her heart was relieved to see that around his neck was the circular locket Ginny had given him for Christmas. As the picture switched, she saw the photo was Harry twirling Ginny under the sunlight in the tall grass of the Burrow.
Ginny's brown eyes filled with tears, and they overflowed. Ron conjured a chair with his wand as Hermione gently set her down. After sobbing quietly for a few minutes, Ginny spoke.
"Why can't the Healer's just heal him?" she asked, her eyes no longer holding the sparkle they used to have, for instead they were cloudy with fear and sadness.
"Well, Gin, luckily none of it is Dark Magic," began Ron. "Except he was still slightly conscious when they were going to clean his face, which the enchanted washcloth would have stung his gash, so they decided to wait. Then, after he passed out, the Healers confirmed that he was okay. They were going to start the process of healing the outside, but they were interrupted because they needed extra Healers in this one case, where the Cruciatus Curse hit deep into a man named Ereldor Ifaris near his heart, so they needed extra magic. So they decided to let it heal slowly while they helped out. After cleaning him up a bit while he was still unconscious, they rushed off, and…" Ron trailed off, his head motioning towards Harry.
Ginny reached out and ran her hand through Harry's hand. She started to sob again, but with less tears this time.
Hermione suddenly decided that she had enough time with her friend, so she dragged Ron off so that Ginny could be alone with Harry.
After a few moments of silence and a few occasional sniffles, Ginny held Harry's hand in hers.
How could this happen? she thought as her eyes trailed three healers rushed a woman into a hospital bed, and according to the looks of it, a jinx had blended with another jinx. I mean, Harry did say that there was a whole Auror team, maybe there were more Death Eaters than expecte-
"Ginny?" Harry croaked as one eyelid cracked open.
Immediately, Ginny snapped her head back to Harry's bed. Harry shut his eyes again, the light hurting. Nonetheless, he had a faint smile on his lips, delighted to waking up and seeing his girlfriend by his side.
"I told you not to do anything stupid, and yet, here you are," she said gently, pushing his fringe back.
"I'm sorry," he said in a hoarse whisper. He winced as he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. "Gin, it hurts."
It was like a stab in the heart, for Ginny felt useless, as she couldn't help Harry unless the Healers came back.
"I know, baby," she said soothingly, rubbing his hand with her fingers. She leaned in to kiss Harry, she couldn't resist it. Ginny saw his face flash with hurt as she pulled apart. It nearly broke her to two.
"Can you… can you come cuddle with me?" he asked hesitantly, his voice croaking.
"Of course," she replied, crawling into his hospital bed. Ginny snuggled up against him, trying to weave herself into a position so that she wouldn't hurt Harry more than he already felt. She laid her head on the pillows next to his.
She gently took her fingers and guided Harry's head to her's, then pressing her forehead to his.
"I can't trust you with anything from now on, can I?" she asked in a whisper, looking into his lovely green eyes. Ginny always wished that she could fall into those eyes, a pool of deep green.
"No, I guess not," he replied back equally as quiet. Harry winced again as he felt another jab of pain, this time of the gash on his cheek, which was facing the ceiling and luckily wasn't against the pillow.
Ginny trailed her fingers against Harry's jawline. "Don't worry, love, the Healers are coming soon and they're going to fix you up in no time."
"Gin?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"I love you."
It was a simple "I love you." Ginny never thought that three words could mean so much. Her brown eyes now had their usual sparkle, except this time Harry could see that they were filled with relief.
"I love you too."
This time, Harry leaned in for the kiss. He never knew how lucky he was to have Ginny until that day, when realized that nobody else, nobody else in the world could compare to the patient and sometimes impatient, fiery, fierce redhead next to him.
Harry closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. When Ginny tried to wiggle into a more comfortable position, she saw Harry's face cross with mild pain. She decided to slowly weave her way out of the bed, and opted for the chair for a more comfortable approach for Harry.
Somehow, even in the chair, Ginny managed to fall asleep as well. When she closed her eyes, she started to dream of a blissful Quidditch game…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Ginny? Ginny, wake up…"
"Mmm? What is it?" Ginny asked groggily as she rubbed her eyes.
Slowly, Hermione's face came into focus. She was holding Ginny by the shoulders, shaking her gently.
"Ginny, we have to go back to Hogwarts, our exams start in three days, we have to study a bit more."
"Gosh, 'Mione, is that all you think about? Studying?" Ginny asked as she stretched her arms. Her eyes opened all the way, she looked over at Harry.
Apparently, the Healers had come and gone. Harry's cast was gone, and his bruises were healed and only a few scratches were left. The gash across his cheek was healed, but not fully, for a medium-sized cut was still left, though not as big as before.
Ginny smiled as she saw her boyfriend looking much better.
Suddenly, as if on cue, Harry woke up, his green eyes now open to the world after a nap. He noticed that Ginny was not next to him and immediately looked at the chair positioned at his bed, and there sat Ginny.
"Why'd you take the chair?" he asked, his face scrunched with confusion.
"I wanted you to be more comfortable. Besides, the chair was fine," she added. Unfortunately, that was the moment her back decided to crack loudly from being in a stiff position. Her face morphed into slight pain.
"Love, I'm perfectly comfortable with you," Harry said, looking her straight in the eye and grinning the charming Potter grin, showing that he was feeling much better.
"Ahem!" Hermione cleared her throat. "Ginny, are you coming? C'mon, I know you loooove studying," she said, smiling goofily at Ginny.
"Go on, Gin, your mum will go ballistic if she figured out you didn't get at least 4 N.E. . I'll be fine," Harry said from his bed, playing with the sheets.
"Oh, alright, but only for your sake," Ginny said, getting up to leave. She kissed Harry and smiled at him.
"I'll see you again soon?" she asked, smiling.
"Indeed you shall," said Harry, deepening his voice for humor.
Ginny giggled, as Hermione said, "Harry, Ron's coming in after us, He needed to talk to you about something."
"'Kay, 'Mione," Harry said, as Hermione leaned down to give him a hug. Ginny also gave him a hug to whisper him a message in his ear.
"When are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Room of Requirement, next Hogsmeade date," he whispered back. Ginny gave him a quick kiss and turned her head. But before she turned around, she could have sworn he had clutched the area near his heart with a pained look on his face, as if… as if he was still hurting. But when she spun around again, he was smiling.
"Love you," he called out to her as they started to exit the room.
"Love you too," she called back, before finally disappearing behind the doors, ready to return to Hogwarts, to…
Study.
Yay, thought Ginny glumly. Just what I was looking forward to.
A/N: Chapter four done! Yay! Nothing like posting at two in the morning. Hopefully you liked this chapter, because I know I enjoyed writing it. If you have any feedback, review if you'd like, and have an awesome day.
Cheers, believeinmagic322
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
