Potter47
Part One
Living Inside
"Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it."
Paul David Hewson
Chapter Two
Come Out, Come Out!
Harry looked at her forehead, where the reddest of red met the palest of white.
He looked there because he couldn't stand looking at her mouth, where he'd kissed her only a few hours ago, or her eyes, because he didn't like the way the eyelids were so still. Her forehead was so clean, so clear. He'd never really even thought of what it must be like to have a clear forehead--like someone with a birthmark on their thigh might never think of not having a birthmark on their thigh--and it was strange to think of it now.
"Harry?"
He jerked his gaze up to the doorway, where Ron was standing.
"You're back," he said. He meant to grin but it didn't work. "I guess I just missed you yesterday..."
"What are you doing here?" said Ron, shaking his head and managing that slight grin. "When'd you get here?"
"Yesterday," said Harry again. "Dumbledore sent Fawkes for me, brought me in the morning. Said he was worried Voldemort might set the Dementors on Privet Drive..."
"Oh," said Ron. Then: "What the hell happened to Gin?" He moved beside the bed, opposite Harry, and looked at her. "Fred and George said--"
"Her chair fell over, all of a sudden, and she got knocked out," said Harry, nodding. "We don't have any idea why..."
"How long has she been--"
"About half an hour," said Harry.
They were silent for a minute, because they didn't really know what else to say. And then, Harry spoke:
"Where on earth have you been, anyway? Your mum wouldn't tell me, she wanted you to say--"
"Oh," said Ron. "Uh... I've been at Luna's."
Harry's eyebrows jumped. "Luna's? Lovegood, that Luna?"
Ron furrowed his brow. "What other Luna would it be?"
"I dunno." A pause, and then: "Why on earth were you at Luna's?"
Ron wasn't really sure he liked the way Harry said that.
"Well, why shouldn't I have been?"
"I dunno, it just doesn't seem like something you'd want to do--"
"Well, it was, if you don't have a problem with that..."
Harry blinked. "Why would I have a problem with it? I was just--"
"Nevermind," said Ron.
"OK," said Harry, wondering what on earth Ron was so edgy about.
"COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE...!" Ginny yelled for what felt like the hundredth time. She let out a frustrated breath.
"I GIVE UP! COME ON, I GIVE UP! I CAN'T... FIND... you..."
Ginny rubbed her throat. She couldn't yell anymore. She was aching from running around the Chamber, seeking all over the place for the hiders she couldn't find. Now she plopped herself down on the cold, hard stone floor, laid back, and gave up.
"Oh, don't give up, Ginevra, then it's just not any fun..."
Ginny shook her head, irritated beyond description that he'd shown up when she'd actually begun to think of the hard stone as comfortable.
It was the boy, Tom, of course. When Ginny opened her eyes, he was standing over her, and the girl, Little Ginny, was standing there as well.
"How could I ever find you?" she said.
"You've got to know where to look," said Tom.
"Well, I don't. I don't live in here, you do--I don't spend all my time in here, I don't know the hiding places... and right now the only one I really care about is the one behind my eyelids. Leave me alone."
She closed her eyes again, hoping against hope they'd go away...
No such luck.
"But we can't leave you alone, that's just the point, Ginevra, don't you get it by now...? We are a part of you. We are behind your eyelids, this whole place is behind your eyelids."
"I don't care..."
"Come on, Ginny," said the girl. "One more game, and this time, me and you'll hide and he'll have to find us. I know all the best hiding spots." She smiled a wide, eleven-year-old smile.
Ginny harrumphed.
"Fine," she said. "But then I am going to sleep and you're both going to leave me the hell alone."
"Close your eyes and count to fifty," Little Ginny told Tom. And, looking more than a bit foolish as he did it, he covered his eyes with his hands and began to count.
"One... two... three..."
"Come on, Ginny, let's go."
"How is she?" said a voice from the doorway, and Ron and Harry jumped a mile.
"Hermione?" said Ron. "When did you get here...? Who else've I missed--"
"Only just now, Ron," said Hermione. "Professor Snape just showed up at my house and Portkeyed me and my..."
"Snape?" said Ron, a little suspiciously. "How did Snape know about this?"
"He didn't," said Hermione. "Would you let me finish?"
"Sorry," said Ron, but he didn't' sound it.
"Dumbledore wanted me here--something about Voldemort and the Dementors, he was worried they might try to attack my house. So Dumbledore sent Snape to bring me and my parents here..."
"Your parents are here?"
"Yeah--"
"I bet Dad's in heaven." Hermione gave him a look, and he put his hands up in defense. "I know, sorry for interrupting," he said.
"...and when we got here your mum told me what happened, so as I was saying... how's Ginny?"
"She's been better," said Ron.
"She's been worse, too," said Harry, speaking for the first time since Hermione came in.
"So she just... fell over...? Out of the blue?"
Harry nodded.
"Like a wind came in from nowhere and blew her chair over."
"That is so strange," said Hermione.
"Never come up in a book before, you mean?" said Ron.
Hermione gave him another look, and opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Then, bracingly: "Is this really the time to be flippant, Ron?
"Flippant, eh?" said Ron. "Haven't heard that one in awhile."
Hermione kept her mouth closed, and looked at Harry questioningly. Harry shrugged.
Ron looked back down at Ginny, laying there, and then stood. "I need something to eat," he said. "And some air. Nice to see you again, Hermione."
And then he was gone, and Hermione blinked.
"What on earth is his problem?"
Harry shrugged again. "I have no idea."
"I mean, you would think he'd be able to be nice when his sister is--"
"I dunno," said Harry. "He's been acting un-Ron-esque for awhile, I guess."
"Un-Ron-esque?"
"Yeah... now, Hermione, he hasn't been home since I got here yesterday, and I asked him this morning where he'd been. He told me he'd been at Luna's, and he got all defensive when I was surprised... Wouldn't you have been a little surprised?"
"I am, right now," she said, eyes a bit wider.
"I know... he was acting like it was a perfectly normal thing for him to do, and that I was being stupid for being surprised..."
Hermione blinked, and thought a minute, and then shook her head. "Well, if it wasn't Ron, I'd think he was embarrassed, and that he and Luna were..."
Hermione couldn't help a little giggle escaping her mouth, but then Ginny caught her eye and she felt guilty for laughing.
Harry cocked his head. "You don't think..."
Hermione shook her head. "No, no, it couldn't be that."
They were silent for a few moments, looking at nothing in particular and caught up in their own thoughts of Ron and Luna. Then, they caught each other's eye, and stifled a laugh.
"Fifteen... sixteen... seventeen..."
"Come on, Ginny, come on," whispered Little Ginny. "We don't have much time." She grabbed hold of Ginny's hand, and pulled her along towards the front of the chamber.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"Twenty-four... twenty-five..."
They ran, and ran, and Ginny's feet ached and ached. Suddenly, they were at the very front of the chamber, near the door to the tunnels, which led up towards the bathroom. Here, Little Ginny stopped.
"You know who I am, Ginny, yes?"
"Of course I do, you're me--"
"No, I mean... you know which part of you I am, Ginny, don't you?"
Ginny nodded.
"Thirty-eight... thirty-nine..."
"Good," said Little Ginny, and Ginny noticed something very different about this girl, now that she was away from her "brother"--she seemed to be somehow more real. "Then you'll trust me, yes?"
"Forty-three..."
Ginny nodded, unsure of what sort of trusting she was going to have to be doing...
"Run, Ginny," she said, speaking as fast as a little girl can speak (which is saying something). "Get out of the Chamber. The stairs will be there, so you can get up to the bathroom... but just go."
"Wait--I can just leave? All this time, I could just have walked out and I'd wake up--?"
"I didn't say that," said Little Ginny. "But trust me... just go."
"Forty-seven, forty-eight..."
Ginny went.
"Ready or not, here I come..."
Ready or Not
"Now he would have given all he had or ever might have to hold her warm in his arms, both of them wrapped in one blanket, and sleep. All hopes of eternity and all gain from the past he would have given to have her there, to be wrapped warm with him in one blanket, and sleep, only sleep. It seemed the sleep with the woman in his arms was the only necessity."
D. H. Lawrence
Coming Soon
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
This story archived at