AN: Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review! And no, this is not going to be a Ginny/Hermione story.
Ginny holds her breath as she sits, slumped against the pale cream walls of the bathroom. She stares into the cracked mirror, taking in the way her reflection dances across the many shards, then turns away only a moment later with a snort of disgust. Her hands squeeze her robes tightly, the thin fabric wrinkling in her fingers.
She bows her head, eyes fixed on the stained floor. The yellow and red paint an ugly picture on the creamy tiles. Dirt fills the cracks in between, small specks of brown dotting the white. Small drops of water gleam in the dim golden light, and her face swims in them, a flicker of utter brokenness.
A sigh escapes her chapped lips, and she tries to push herself up, only to fall down again with a soft whimper. She wants to give up now and leave this world behind. Maybe she'll be able to see Harry again. The thought of seeing those green eyes again draws a tear.
She closes her eyes, blinking back the tears yet to come. Finally, she opens them again, only to screw them tighter when she hears a scream. She shudders, her throat dry. Pushing herself up on trembling hands, she stands outside the door, forehead pressed against the wood.
Another scream breaks the heavy silence, hanging in the air for a moment. Ginny claps her hand to her mouth, stifling a scream of her own. "Hermione?" she whispers, hands clenched at her sides. She reaches out with quivering fingers and wraps them around the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, she dares to open the door just a sliver, peeking out. She hears the another scream and flinches, jumping back.
"Ron. Hermione." She pulls the door open, jolting when it creaks. She hears more shouts and resists the urge to clap her hands over her ears and block out everything.
Ginny takes another step, gripping her robes. She catches sight of a masked face. Death Eater. She pulls her wand out and runs down the stairs, ducking. The Death Eater is leering at a limp figure, his laughs echoing in the otherwise silent room. She stands behind the Death Eater and whispers, "Stupefy."
A beam of red light shoots forward, striking true. The Death Eater falls to the ground, eyes rolling back, hands limp. Ginny lunges forward and grabs his wand. She glances around and sees a familiar flash of red. "Ron."
Ron's eyes are wide open, but something is missing. Ginny tries to convince herself that her eyes are just playing tricks on her, but she knows it's not true. She squats and reaches out with a trembling hand. She touches Ron's cheek gingerly, shivering as the heat slowly trickles out. "Ron?" There is no mistaking the loss of his steady heartbeat, the way his eyes are blank.
A voice jolts her out of the silence. "He's…. He's gone." Ginny turns around, and her gaze meets Hermione's.
She rushes to Hermione, surveying the many scratches and bruises that color her pale skin. "Hermione." She holds Hermione's hand, squeezing it. "What…. What happened?"
Hermione coughs and rubs her eyes. "I can't see."
Ginny hugs Hermione, pulling her closer. "It's going to be okay."
Lies.
As bad as they may seem, they protect her. But there is a point when they will expire and leave her without a shield. All things have expiration dates—and she doesn't know when her lies will expire.
"I can't see," Hermione says, a tear slipping from her eyes. "Everything's dark. I can't see!"
"It'll get better," Ginny says, her voice dry. She pulls up Hermione's eyelid gently, running her thumb over her forehead in a soothing manner. She resists the urge to draw back at the sight of the utter blankness that greets her. Hermione's eyes, once a clear chocolate brown, are fogged up.
"I'm blind, aren't I?" Hermione whispers, shaking. "I'll never be able to see again."
"Hermione…" Ginny wonders if she should say something comforting again, but she knows it won't work. Hermione isn't that kind of girl.
"I'm blind, Ginny." A strangled sob escaped Hermione's bleeding lips. "I'm blind, and Ron's dead."
Ginny can do nothing but cry.
Ginny holds Hermione's hand, pulling her along. It's been a week since the attack, and they've abandoned the Muggle house.
"We have to find Kingsley," Hermione says, trying to sit down. Ginny stops her, seeing the dirty puddle. She guides her to a wall, sitting down next to her.
"Careful." Hermione leans against Ginny, gripping her hand.
"It's hard," Hermione says, biting her lip. "It's so dark. Like all the light's been sucked out, and it's never going to come back." Her jaw is clenched.
Ginny stays silent. She doesn't know what to say, and even if she does say something, she knows it won't help. Instead, she squeezes Hermione's hand.
"We shouldn't have left Ron there. We should've buried him." Hermione sniffs. "He was a hero. He didn't deserve to be left to rot."
"We couldn't do anything," Ginny says. Lies. They could've done so much, but she had been selfish.
Hermione wipes her eyes. "We have to stay strong for him. Him and… and Harry." She stands up, putting a hand on the wall for support. "Let's go."
Ginny glances at the sky, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. The sun has almost set, casting broken shards of sunlight that dance across the ground. "It's getting late."
"Has the sun set?" Hermione asks, shrugging Ginny's hand off her shoulder.
"No, not yet." Ginny stares at Hermione. "We should sleep. We're going to be on the move all of tomorrow."
Hermione clenches her jaw, fists clenched at her side. "We can't waste time."
Ginny peers at her face, taking in the dark purple painted underneath Hermione's eyes, the way her cheekbones jut out, a picture of gauntness. "You need sleep, Hermione." She hugs her, hoping she can find some warmth in her broken body to give Hermione.
Hermione's face softens, and she buries her head in Ginny's shoulder, unable to hold back the muffled sobs. When she lifts her head, her cheeks are red. "I'm supposed to be strong," she whispers, choking on her words. "I'm supposed to take care of you."
"It's okay, Hermione," Ginny says, patting Hermione's back. "It doesn't—"
"It's hard to stay strong, Ginny." Hermione hugs herself, shivering. "It's hard to not give up when everything is so dark and broken."
Ginny stares at her, wondering how she missed this. How could she not see that Hermione was just as broken as her? She had been stuck in her own little world, unable to notice the way Hermione hurt every day.
"I'm sorry," she manages to say. They stare at each other, both pictures of brokenness.
"Let's sleep," Hermione says, turning away. She pulls out her wand and conjures a blanket.
Ginny settles down beside her, pulling the blanket over both of them. Their eyes close, and they sleep, a small moment away from being broken.
