owl post

(a harry potter story)

"Ginny…Ginny…"

Ginny peered around. She was in a dark room, fog twisting around her ankles. She was wearing only a thin sheet, like those in St. Mungo's did. Her upper back was exposed, and her hair tickled her bare skin. It was very cold in that room and Ginny shivered despite herself.

"Ginny…Ginny…"

"Who's there?" Ginny called hoarsely. Her throat was raw, as though she'd been screaming.

"Ginny…help me…"

The voice was awfully familiar. She lifted her shoeless feet from the floor and began to walk. The room just expanded as she trudged forward, her legs protesting in pain. She saw that they were flowered with bruises and roughed with cuts. Her arms looked just the same. She looked as though she'd been brutally beaten.

"Ginny…!"

There was an edge of horrible desperation to the voice, and it broke Ginny's aching heart.

"Where are you?" Ginny yelled, her throat burning.

"Ginny, Ginny…"

And then a cold wind roared through the room, knocking Ginny to the floor. Her hands found smooth, hard concrete and her cheek smacked against it. She spat blood out of her mouth.

"GINNY, GINNY…"

Ginny felt a terrible blow in her side. Moaning, she curled into a fetal position. "Stop," she gagged, still choking blood.

"GINNY!" a voice screamed in her ear, and through swollen eyes she saw the looming face of Harry Potter.

"Harry!" she howled, her mouth very dry. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"GINNY!" he begged, repeating her name over and over through jagged shrieks.

"You call me Ginerva," she whispered, pulling herself up. "You call me Ginerva because it's beautiful."

"GINNY! GINNY! GINNY! GINNY!" he positively screeched. "I need your help. I need your help."

"Are we in…Durmstrang?"

Harry shook his head violently. His eyes were too green, too green. They were all Ginny saw.

"Your wand your wand your wand get your goddamn wand."

Ginny wanted to throw up. "Harry, what's wrong with you?"

He seized her and brought her very close. His skin was burning with cold and Ginny screamed at the contact. New bruises bloomed from where his fingers had touched her.

"You're—you're the one hurting me!" she gasped, crying mostly from pain but also from realization, trying to free herself. "You're hurting me even though you think you're just pleading for help!"

"Ginny, you've got to help me, please just listen!"

"NO!" Ginny cried, her entire body bursting with pain. "Leave me alone, don't touch me!"

Harry wrapped his arms more tightly around her til she could no longer tell which body was which.

All she knew was fiery, fiery blood.

She awoke, heaving with heavy breaths, drenched in sweat. Shaking, she rolled over and fell back asleep.

When she awoke, she had no recollection of her nightmare.

"Good morning," Ginny said cheerfully to Corey and Angie.

"Well, isn't someone bright and happy as hell?" Angie teased, smiling.

"'Bright and happy as hell'?" Corey repeated. "Hell isn't a very bright and happy place, Angie."

Ginny laughed and buttered some toast. She had awoken to Errol beside her bed, a letter from her mum attached to his leg. Ginny was in a very good mood today, because not only was the sun shining and bright, not only did she have Quidditch practice tonight, and not only because she was less stressed for some reason, but did Seamus Finnigan find her about twenty minutes before breakfast to ask her to be his girlfriend.

Seamus was very cute, thought Ginny, and had a spectacular sense of humor (and pyrotechnics, as McGonagall put it so very wisely). She had agreed with a smile, and Seamus went off to find Dean, grinning like mad about his accomplishment.

Ginny was extremely sought-after, seeing as she was a very beautiful girl, was not afraid to get her hands dirty, and was a star on the Quidditch team. Once she had stopped isolating herself and chasing after Harry, she became more confident—more like her brothers. And Ginny was noticed.

"Seamus is waving to you," Corey remarked.

Ginny smiled at Seamus and waved back, gesturing for him to come sit by her.

"Hello again," Seamus said with a wink, taking a seat next to Ginny.

"Again?" Corey asked, frowning.

"Are you two dating?" Angie asked, smiling like a child on Christmas morning. "Ginny, are you?"

Ginny grinned and glanced at Seamus. "Yeah."

"No way!" Corey and Angie said at the same time, in very different tones.

Seamus took Ginny's hand. "I'd liked her for a really long time. Decided to do something about it."

Ginny smiled, blushing red. There was an air of severe awkwardness in the air.

"Ready for the match?" Seamus asked her, and she thanked him for cutting the tension.

"Oh yeah. You'll be there?"

"I never miss a good Quidditch match. Not with you on the team." He smiled embarrassedly.

"Aw, thanks. I've been working my butt off training. Plus now that it's so much colder…" Ginny shook her head. "I just want to win. We play Slytherin, and I want to wipe the smirk off of both of the Malfoys' faces."

Romulus and Draco were both on the team; Draco played Seeker and Romulus, Keeper.

Corey stabbed his toast with his butter knife and left the table. Angie rolled her eyes. "He's upset for absolutely no reason." She smiled. "Tell us more about the match, Ginny."

Seamus smiled at Ginny from across the DADA classroom, although there was really nothing to smile about. Snape was a ruthless teacher, and Ginny hated him dearly. Nevertheless, Ginny shot a sweet smile back Seamus's way. Corey cleared his throat and Ginny smiled at him too. She was in a stupendous mood.

"Today we will be covering…ah…the Severing Charm and its recent terrorization of the Wizarding World."

"A bit like our Severus has been terrorizing us," Ginny mumbled to Corey, whose manner dropped immediately and he snickered, choking on his laughter.

In Corey's eyes, Ginny was perfect.

She always made him laugh with her sarcastic, collected humor. She was—ah—easy on the eyes, as one might say. She could fly like no other.

And now, she was just out of reach.

He saw her gazing at Seamus. He cleared his throat rather obnoxiously, and she smiled her sweet, beautiful smile at him, and he couldn't stay mad.

Corey could, however, stay jealous.

For the next few days, he'd have to cope with Ginny laughing at every word that slipped out of Seamus's mouth and Angie commenting on how adorable they were.

Three days after Ginny had agreed to be Seamus's girlfriend, Corey snapped.

Ginny was sitting on Seamus's lap in her favorite armchair, telling him how excited she was for the Enchanted Ball, which was in about two weeks.

Corey marched over to them, grabbed Ginny's wrist, and pulled her off Seamus. She crashed onto the floor and Seamus jumped to his feet.

"What was that for, aye?" he growled, taking Ginny's hand and helping her up.

Ginny glared at Corey. "For god's sakes, Corey. What do you need?" She rubbed her elbow, where she had hit the hardest.

"A word, that's what I need," Corey spat.

"I'll be one second," Ginny said to Seamus, dragging Corey into a corner.

"I don't want you to see Seamus anymore," Corey said quickly, biting his words.

"Why?" Ginny asked, still angry. "What does throwing me to the ground have to do with me not seeing Seamus? I like him—a lot, I should add. He's my date to the Ball. What's the problem? I'm happy!"

"I'm happy that you're happy, Gin, but you don't spend much time with me anymore."

It was very cliché, but Ginny was a sucker for those kinds of things. Corey tried his best to hide his jealousy and seem clingy. "I'm sorry. That was predictable. But it's true."

Ginny smiled. "The world is full of clichés, and eventually we'll run out of things that aren't cliché. Best to use the ones that are worn out now before they're just a way of life." She grinned. "I'm sorry I've been so occupied with Sea, okay? Let's meet in the library tonight to study for our Divination test."

Corey felt his hopes soar. "Just me and you?"

"Just me and you." She smiled over her shoulder as she walked back to Seamus, kissing his cheek.

Corey wasn't in the ideal position, but he had definitely moved up a notch.

Ginny looked at the clock. I've got time, I've got time. I need to read this one.

It was ten minutes to five, when she was supposed to meet Corey in the library. She couldn't help it; she had to read Harry's letter.

She sprinted to the bathrooms, which were closer than her dormitory, and shakily undid the letter.

Dear Ginerva,

I hope this letter finds you well. I realize I forgot to ask my questions in the last letter, so here goes:

Do you remember what I was like at Hogwarts?

What was your reaction to my first letter?

What is your favorite song?

Favorite color?

Favorite food?

I feel as though I haven't gotten to know you at all. I do wish we'd had more time to interact when I was still at Hogwarts.

You asked some very complicated questions in your last letter, Ginerva.

Why am I writing? To stay sane, perhaps. To tell you my troubles. To get them off of my chest. To actually interact with someone that doesn't think me crazy or a drunk.

(I say that as I take a sip of Bryson's Best Brandy. Charming wizard, that fellow.)

What do I want from you?

Your words, Ginerva.

Your words and your emotions. Your sympathy. I'm in pain, and you're the nurse. I JUST NEED YOU TO LISTEN. I was surprised you asked that question, because I stated that very clearly in my first letter.

My letters arrive fast because I am very near to you most of the time. I've learned to Apparate, however, so I can transport anywhere. I wish I could Apparate to Hogwarts and talk to you face-to-face.

I have heard talk of an Enchanted Ball, however…do you have a date? Are you excited? I'm curious about you now, Ginny.

I guess we will be pen-pals. If that's alright with you.

Much love,

Harry James Potter

Ginny smiled to herself, holding the letter to her chest. She wanted to write back so quickly, but she had to meet Corey. She slipped the letter into her robe's pockets and hurried to the library.

Corey frowned at her. "It's nearly five-thirty, Gin. Where were you?"

"Oh—um—"

"Not another letter!" Corey moaned. "Ginny, what's going on? You're always so distracted. And the one time I thought we could finally be alone together and just have fun you show up late. You organized this, not me."

Ginny's heart sank. This was her fault. Corey had every right to be hurt. "Core, I'm sorry, I just lost track of time—"

"No. Really. Where the hell were you? Your dormitory, reading another letter? Are they from Seamus?" His cheeks were red and his eyes were prying into Ginny's thoughts.

"Stop, Corey. Stop." She held up a hand. "There's a difference between being curious and being intrusive, and you've crossed that line."

"Ginny, if something's wrong I have to know. I'm your best goddamn friend and you're not telling me anything. I'm worried. You can't blame me for being worried." He bit his lip.

"You're…never mind, Corey. Just never mind. I can't open a few letters without you jumping all over me, throwing a tantrum because I won't tell you private details. I'm not acting differently, and you know it. You can't stop me from writing back." She got up and stormed out of the library, her hair streaming angrily behind her.

Ginny felt terrible about what she said to Corey, but all of it was true. This was freaking private and Corey has no right to invade my confidential life! The longer she seethed, the angrier she got. Corey wouldn't stop, would he? At least Angie had the decency to move on. But Corey was sticking this like a leech, and Ginny was getting pissed.

She walked down to the pitch for Quidditch practice.

"Hey! Ginny!"

Dean scurried down to Ginny, grinning mischeviously. "How's Seamus, eh?"

"Shut up," Ginny laughed. "We're good. He's a good boyfriend."

Someone grabbed her from behind. Ginny yelped unattractively to find her "good boyfriend" smiling slyly at her.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Ginny screamed while Dean and Seamus roared with laughter. "That was not nice!"

"I'm not here to be nice, Gin," Seamus purred, sweeping her into a kiss.

Ginny had never kissed anyone before, and Seamus did it with casual grace. She exploded under his touch, and her fingers felt warm. She kissed back fiercely, smiling against Seamus's lips. Dean made exaggerated gagging sounds.

"Oh, shut up, Thomas," Seamus said, sounding dazed. Ginny knew she was. That kiss had been warmer than a crackling fire.

"That was intense!" Katie Bell called. "Now come practice, lovebird!"

Ginny smiled back at Seamus. "Care to watch?"

Seamus kissed her again. "I'd love to."

Ginny jumped onto her broom and soared into the sky, her stomach doing butterflies now that she knew Seamus was watching. He may have been held back for another go at sixth year, but Ginny didn't care. She really, really liked Seamus.

"GO GET EM, SWEETHEART!" Seamus screamed from the stands, and Ginny giggled, doing a couple loop-the-loops to clear her head. The Snitch, catch the Snitch. About a minute after Demelza released it Ginny found it flapping helplessly against her fingers.

"Wow," Katie teased. "We should get your boyfriend in the stands every practice."

"ROCK EM SOCK EM!" Seamus shouted, making Ginny laugh.

The letter? What letter? Corey? Who's Corey? Her thoughts were on Quidditch…and Sea, of course.

She had a fantastic boyfriend who made her feel amazing.