Chapter Four; Unbroken Spirt
Sorry that I accidentally did a repeat chapter before, but here's the next one!
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Eve all soared upon their broomsticks through the clouds. Harry had always loved that wonderful sensation of the wind rushing through his hair and seeing his cross necklace glistening in the sun. His cross necklace had always meant a great deal to him since it was a present from his mother and a sign of his strong Christian faith, but it meant so much more to him now than ever since tomorrow was Easter.
For Easter to him was the reason that he knew that he would be able to see his mother again someday. They landed their brooms on the ground in front of the stables before going over towards the fence to meet Hermione who was busy watching as her new horse grazed on a bit of grass. "Hey Hermione." Harry began so that she was aware of his presence. Hermione turned her head and smiled back at him.
"Oh hullo Harry." She greeted.
"We figured that you would be here." Eve began. "Are you alright?" she questioned as Hermione smiled sadly at her.
"Yeah, Spirit's doing a lot better. He'll always have those scars though. Both physically and emotionally." She told her as Eve nodded in a very understanding manner.
"Yeah, I know how he feels. I mean I dunno personally but Morgan does." She told her.
"Who's Morgan?" Hermione asked her.
"She's one of Eve's friends. She was sorted into the same house as us remember?" Ron questioned her as Hermione nodded.
"Oh yeah, I remember her." Hermione began. "So what about her?" she wondered.
"She was sexually abused by a muggle. He told her that he was going to take her out to the movies but instead he raped her inside his car while they were parked in the parking lot. She was only fourteen when it happened but now she's stuck with a two year old daughter and she doesn't even have a license yet." Eve explained.
"Oh my gosh, that's awful! I mean not the part about her having a daughter, just at such a young age when she's still in school." Hermione said.
"Yeah luckily for her she has her parents who can watch Riley for her and help her take care of her." Harry began. "This is the only reason that I'm against premarital sex. I mean as long as you're committed, and protected for it until you're ready to raise a kid then I don't think that God has a problem with it. Now even though it wasn't Morgan's fault in this situation, if more people knew about the dangers of unwanted pregnancies then I don't think teen sex would happen as much as it does." He explained.
"I know but, where is all of this coming from?" Hermione asked him.
"Dad told me that he and Tobey had a fight yesterday. It seems like some of Tobey's friends have been trying to pressure him to score." He explained.
"Well then they're not really his friends." Hermione began with a shake of her head. "Because a true friend wouldn't continue to pressure you and downgrade you." She said.
"Yeah Hermione about that." Ron began. "I just wanted to apologize for the way that I acted before. You know about you wanting to adopt the horse. I never wanted to hurt you, it's just that_" he began but Hermione quickly interrupted him.
"It's alright Ron, I understand. Although Spirit's physically doing better, he still has to build up trust in humans again. All he needs now is prayers." She told him as Harry quickly placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder.
"Well don't worry, he's got them from me." He assured her.
"Me too." Ginny agreed as Ron and Eve silently nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thanks guys. I really appreciate all of your support." Hermione told them.
"Hey that's what friends are for right? Besides, everyone here understands how you can love animals just as much as people." Ginny said as Harry's mind automatically drifted to Diamond and Cowboy. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to upset you." Ginny added after seeing the look on his face.
"It's alright. Diamond and Cowboy are in Heaven now and it's been years since they died anyway. It's funny, you would think that after all of this time I would get over them but I still miss them." He told her.
"Of course you do, they were your friends. And true friendship lasts forever, and that's what makes it so magical right?" Ginny questioned him as Harry smiled and nodded at her.
"Right." He agreed.
"You know what I think would make us all feel better?" Ginny asked him.
"Tacking up our horses and going for a ride?" Harry questioned her back as she giggled.
"If I didn't know any better I would say that you just read my mind. C'mon, let's go." She said as she and Eve started turning around and walking away but Harry and Ron stayed behind and watched them go.
"Are you going to be alright?" Harry asked Hermione as she continued to watch Spirit graze and nodded.
"Yeah I should be. You guys go ahead, I'll go and tack up Samson in a minute since Spirit is still too weak for me to ride." She explained as Harry and Ron nodded and turned to follow the girls as Hermione heaved a deep and heavy sad sigh.