Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Wounded
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Harry awoke the next morning and cursed. He had spent the night in bed with Ginny. It was a good thing he had woken up when he did, or else Mrs Weasley would've walked in on them. And then she'd yell and scream, and he'd be slaughtered by Ron.

Ron.

It felt as if Harry had just been sacked with a ton of bricks. He cursed again, more forcefully this time, and Ginny stirred.

'Harry,' she groaned without opening her eyes. 'I think I need to go to St Mungo's now.'

'Where does it hurt?' he asked, shifting so he could see her better in the dim lighting. Perhaps having her lie still all night wasn't the best idea. Her muscles were probably even tenser than before.

'Everywhere.'

Harry sat up and noticed that Hermione was no longer beside him. Taking advantage of the extra room on the bed, he managed to get on his feet without climbing overtop of Ginny.

'Can you walk?' he asked as he put his glasses on again, and then held out his hand to stop her when she tried. 'Never mind,' he said. 'I'll just carry you.'

'I can walk,' Ginny insisted stubbornly as Harry lifted her up.

'I know you can,' Harry said, though he didn't really believe her. He must've sounded as doubtful as he felt, because Ginny scowled.

'I can, Harry!'

'I never said that you couldn't.'

Ginny glared at him, something that seemed to take all of her energy. 'Put me down,' she commanded. Harry shook his head and didn't stop walking. He shifted her weight in his arms and tried to block her out as he went down the stairs. He needed to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, or they'd both end up as patients in St Mungo's. 'Harry. I can take care of myself!'

'Like you took care of yourself at the pond?'

The second he said it, he regretted it. Ginny's jaw dropped and Harry realized that he had stopped walking. She looked as if she was about to snap at him, and he wished that she would just let him have it because he knew he deserved it, but instead, she dropped her gaze and took a deep breath.

'Put me down,' she whispered. 'I don't want you to help me. Just … put me down. Please.'

Harry didn't want to put her down. He knew that she would go into her room and shut the door – or worse, she'd go to St Mungo's without him. He wanted to hold her and make her listen as he apologized – make her accept his apology and believe that he hadn't meant it, because he hadn't!

But Harry put her down and didn't even try to stop her as she staggered into her bedroom and shut the door softly behind her.

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Ginny was an idiot.

Why couldn't she just let Harry carry her? She was in pain! She probably wouldn't even be able to walk down the rest of the flights of stairs without his help. But she just had to be stubborn about it. Damn her and her stupid pride.

It hurt a lot. It hurt all over. It hurt when she took a step or even a breath, when she coughed or swallowed or blinked. The worst part wasn't the physical pain, though. What hurt the most was that Harry had thrown everything back in her face. She knew he hadn't meant it – she hoped he hadn't, at least – but then again, why would he say it if he didn't?

It wasn't as if he cared about her, or anything. If he did, why would he have broken up with her? Why would he have led her on all bloody summer? He said that he loved her but he didn't. He couldn't. A part of Ginny wondered if Harry was even capable of love. She wouldn't blame him if he wasn't, though. After everything he had been through … it would be a miracle if he could feel anything other than hate.

Merlin help her, she was so bloody in love with him. And no matter how many times he pushed her away, she would only try harder. She would never give up on Harry Potter. She would always want to be with him. Maybe that was what hurt her the most.

She was out of breath now. She had only walked from the corridor into her room, over to her wardrobe, and she was out of breath. What was worse, her heavy panting sent searing pains through her body. The Cruciatus Curse was bloody murder. She thought about how close to death she actually was yesterday. She thought about Ron and shuddered, wondering how close to death he was at that moment. She nearly cried out in pain. It hurt to shudder.

She cursed when she stumbled and nearly toppled over onto her dresser. She was such a mess. Oh, she needed Harry. But he was probably already down in the kitchen, getting food. Or maybe he had gone back to bed.

'Ginny,' Harry said through the door, and Ginny would've jumped if her body didn't feel as if it weighed four times as much as usual. 'I'm coming in.' Harry came in and frowned when he saw her. 'What're you doing in here? We should get your mum and go get you checked out. What if you have internal injuries?'

'I need to get changed,' she croaked out. 'I can't go there in this dress. And I'll need to run a brush through my hair and wash my face.'

Ginny could tell that Harry thought she was being stupid. The Healers at St Mungo's wouldn't care if she had a bit of dirt on her dress or if her hair was in knots. But he knew better than to argue with her. Instead, he went to her wardrobe and pulled out jogging pants for her.

He didn't bother asking if she needed his help. He dropped to his knees silently and slowly slid his hand up her thigh, pulling off her stockings. She watched him intently as he kissed her calf once before helping her step into the bottoms he had chosen for her. When he stood back up, she nearly gasped at the look on his face. His eyes were swimming with concern and guilt and, yes, love.

Harry pushed the straps off her shoulders and the dress she was wearing fell to the floor, but Ginny forgot to blush. She knew that Harry was doing his best not to look at her chest. In hindsight, perhaps she should've worn a different bra – one that fit her a bit better – but she had originally thought it would be better to wear something tighter than normal. She hadn't wanted to, er, fall out of her dress.

'Arms up,' he said quietly. Ginny lifted her arms over her head, trying not to wince at the pain that flared up inside of her. Why couldn't she handle the pain? Harry had been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse before, and he had never been so … incompetent and dependent on others. But he hadn't been victim to it as much as she had been. Lestrange had been almost relentless and for a while there, Ginny wasn't sure she'd even make it out of that mess alive.

Harry grabbed a large shirt from her wardrobe – one that, upon further inspection, was actually Fred's but had probably been sorted incorrectly by Mrs Weasley and put away with Ginny's things – and gently tugged it over her head.

He looked around her bedroom and found her hairbrush. He worked the brush through her hair, softly working out the tangles, pulling it back out of her face. She leaned into his touch, and for a moment, she focused on something other than the pain in her body. It was nice to have someone taking care of her in such a way. Harry lovingly brushed the hair out of her eyes and Ginny sighed contentedly.

'I'm sorry about what I said,' Harry whispered.

'I know,' she whispered back. It was the truth. From time to time, everyone said things they didn't mean. But Harry had just shown her how sorry he was, how much he hadn't meant what he said. Forgive and forget, her mother had once said. Perhaps she would never forget what Harry said to her … but she could forgive. She did forgive.

'I love you. Really, I do.'

'I know,' she said. 'And I love you.'

Harry grinned. 'Yeah, I know. But it's good to finally hear you say it.' He kissed her softly then, and Ginny wanted to wrap her arms around him, but it hurt to move so she opted to stay still, instead. 'Are you ready to go?'

Ginny nodded and Harry picked her up again, walking out of the room and down the rest of the flights of stairs.

Sometimes, Ginny reflected, you had to stand on your own two feet. Sometimes, though, it was best to just give in and let your boyfriend take care of you.

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Harry wasn't very good at waiting. Obviously. But he found it was easier to do it this time, because he had been allowed to sit beside Ginny as she slept. He didn't know when she would awake, but he wasn't in a hurry. She had been asleep for four hours (after taking six different potions) and wasn't showing any signs of waking any time soon.

Merlin, he was so in love with her. It wasn't love, really. It was something else. There had to be a word stronger than that to describe what he felt for her. Maybe he'd just have to invent one.

Harry yawned and shifted in his chair. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep, if that. It was only catching up with him now. He leaned forward and rested his head on Ginny's bed, knowing that he shouldn't fall asleep. He slept.

He awoke to Ginny tapping him lightly. He sat up and felt pain shoot down his neck and back. Ginny was sitting up in bed and staring at him, smiling slightly.

'Sorry,' she said. 'I didn't want you to get a stiff neck.'

Harry cracked his neck. 'How're you feeling?'

'The potions are helping me sleep, I suppose,' said Ginny. 'But it still hurts like hell.' Harry frowned and nodded. 'Aren't you going to come up here with me?'

Harry stared at her. 'What if your mum comes in? Or one of the Healers?'

'Mum's a little preoccupied at the moment,' Ginny said blankly. 'And no Healer is going to kick Harry Potter out of my bed.'

Ginny shifted over, making room for him, and Harry didn't really see a reason why he shouldn't just get in bed with her. It wasn't as if they were going to do anything inappropriate. They were in a hospital, after all. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he wanted to hold her more than anything in that second. He settled onto the mattress and immediately Ginny was against him, resting her head against his chest though he knew it couldn't be comfortable in her current state.

'Do you think Ron is okay?' Ginny asked after a few moments.

Harry wasn't caught off guard by this question. He had been wondering the same thing.

'I don't know,' he said, because what else could he tell her? He couldn't lie. 'I hope so.'

'Everyone's at Headquarters looking for him right now,' she continued. 'They'll find him soon.' He closed his eyes and bit his lip. 'Right?' she asked, almost as an afterthought.

'Right,' Harry agreed, his throat feeling dry. He didn't have the heart to tell her about what he had heard between Voldemort and Lestrange the night before. He would tell McGonagall later … but he couldn't tell Ginny. It would be best if she didn't know, at least for right now.

'Right …' Ginny repeated, and Harry didn't miss the doubt in her voice. 'I'm worried about Hermione.'

'So am I.'

'Do you think she'll … I mean … what if Ron –?'

Harry shushed her. 'We shouldn't be thinking about that right now.'

They fell silent again and Harry could hardly believe everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Just yesterday, at this time, he was getting dressed for Bill's wedding. He was trying to decide what to do about Ginny.

Merlin, he was daft. He had almost lost her so many times and she kept forgiving him. Why did she do that? Why didn't she just throw up her hands and give up on him already? He had given her plenty of opportunities to hate him. He wouldn't even be able to blame her if she did. He counted his lucky stars that she loved him, because he would be nothing without her. Whenever she was around, he felt a strange sort of … power. Of protectiveness. Of strength. It had everything to do with Ginny … with her feelings for him and his feelings for her.

The thought that he had tried to end things with her was laughable. His feelings for her hadn't gone away while he was at Privet Drive, and he doubted that they ever would. If he walked away from her right now and never looked back, she would be on his mind every second of every minute of every day. And he would never stop loving her.

He hated himself because he was stupid, because he tried to give her up as if she was an addiction. She wasn't a – well, she was an addiction. But she was the best kind. She was one habit he didn't want to break.

Ginny took a deep breath. 'About, um, what happened at the wedding …'

'I was an idiot,' said Harry. 'I thought that I was protecting you but I wasn't. I was so bloody stupid. I don't want to be stupid anymore, Gin. I'm done letting you down and I'm done letting myself down. I'm done being noble.'

He had never felt so open and honest, so exposed, and he briefly wondered what Ginny would say. She had told him she loved him but what if she had changed her mind? What if she had thought about it over the past few hours and decided that he wasn't worth the risk or that he wasn't worth the heartache?

'Good,' said Ginny. 'But this is it, you know. There's no going back now.'

'I know,' Harry said firmly. 'This is for life.'

For life.

Harry didn't see a problem with that, honestly.

'Mm, you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that,' Ginny said dreamily, her face nuzzled against his chest.

'I wish I had done it sooner,' Harry said, and it was true. Ginny had always loved him and the fact that he couldn't say the same hurt him in a way he didn't quite understand. He wondered if it matted to her. He wondered if she cared that he had ignored her for nearly six years. Of course she did – she had to. This thought bothered Harry more than anything else.

He wondered if she thought he hadn't cared about her back then. He wondered if she ever thought of their past, if she ever resented him for only seeing her as Ron's sister.

Harry had a random thought. 'So,' he said, breaking the silence. 'It's, er …'

'It's what?'

'It's your birthday,' Harry said softly, and he felt Ginny stiffen. 'Shite, sorry … I shouldn't have said anything.'

'No,' Ginny said after a moment. 'No, that's okay, Harry. Who knows, maybe everything will be okay once we get back home. That would be the best birthday gift I could ever ask for.'

Harry prayed to anyone he thought would listen that everything would turn out okay.

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Ginny sat up, sighed, and looked on as the resident Healer attending to her left to get more potions for her to drink. She had to admit, the care at St Mungo's was better than she had expected. Healers were coming in and out of her room to check on her all the time. But perhaps that was just because Harry Potter was with her.

She had never realized how much attention Harry always got, everywhere he went. It wasn't as if people just whispered behind his back or did other, less-obvious things. They would squeal and gasp, sometimes even blatantly stare or come up to him and ask for his autograph. Colin had practically been in love with Harry all through Hogwarts. In first year, after Colin found out that Harry had spent the summer at Ginny's house, she had to answer millions of questions about what Harry's pajamas looked like.

She realized that she was feeling sorry for him, so she shook her head to clear it, because if there was one thing that Harry didn't like, it was being pitied.

'Does it hurt?' asked Harry. 'I mean – as much as before?'

Ginny wanted to scream YES, NOW GO GET THE BLOODY HEALER AND BRING HIM BACK HERE SO HE CAN DO HIS JOB AND HEAL ME!

But she bit her tongue, forced herself to shake her head, and said, 'No. I'm feeling a bit better, actually.'

Harry frowned and stood from the chair at her bedside (he had left her alone in the bed once the Healers started to come into her room again). 'Really, Gin, I wish you wouldn't lie.'

Ginny smiled in spite of herself. Harry reached out and brushed the hair off her shoulders. His eyes locked with hers and his expression changed ever-so-slightly.

'What's wrong?' asked Ginny.

'I …' said Harry. He took her hair in his hands and gave her a puzzled expression. 'Is your hair falling out? It seems thinner than normal.'

Ginny gave him a strange look but grabbed at her hair. She gasped and looked up at him. 'It feels thinner over … here … do you think?' Harry nodded. 'There's definitely some missing,' she said. 'But it hasn't been falling out!'

'Then how –?'

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment and gulped. Shite. She was in serious trouble.

'I think I remember Lestrange taking some of my hair,' Ginny said slowly. 'I was too out of it at the time, but …'

Harry cursed. 'I thought I noticed it when I brushed your hair before but I never …' he cursed again. 'Do you know what this means? They're –'

'They're making a Polyjuice Potion,' said Ginny. 'What am I going to do?'

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