Chapter 15: Harry in the Sky
Maybe he shouldn't have woken up.
From the way the entire left side of his body had gone into paroxysms of pain, Harry thought that might be the case. The pain radiated from his hand, but for some reason, it had spread and now he was forced to groan through every breath, long and slow. It helped, almost as if he were letting out some of the pain with each release of breath. But there was a down side, and that was that everyone knew that he was in pain; Harry never liked letting that sort of thing get out.
"Merlin. I thought he was still unconscious," Ginny's voice said from somewhere nearby. From her footsteps, Harry could tell she was coming back to check on him. "Draco, how long has he been awake?"
The answer was so quiet that Harry couldn't hear it.
"Why didn't you call me?" Ginny snapped out, then bent over Harry. He could feel the whisper of air as she leaned over him, and wished he could stop moaning. "Harry," she said in a soft, mellow voice, "Madame Pomfrey gave me this potion for pain, since she's busy with Charlie, but you have to sit up to drink it. I'm sorry. Harry?"
Easier said than done. Harry watched from behind his lids as the world went psychedelic with every shift of his body. Somehow, he got up, then found himself leaning heavily against Ginny. When had she gotten so good at doing Madame Pomfrey's job? It was hard to breathe, but at least that meant Harry couldn't groan. He drank the potion with a grimace, then opened his eyes as it slid down. Ginny's face was close and blurry; he didn't have on his glasses.
"Thanks," he whispered in what he hoped was at least a semi-grateful way before giving in and lying back on the bed again. She pulled her arm from behind his shoulders and settled him back comfortably. He watched her blurrily. "So you're . . . giving potions now?"
"Yeah. I was here so much the last time you were recovering that Madame Pomfrey started training me a bit. I like Healing. I'm sorry you were in such pain. If the ferret had just done his job—" she bit off her words with a huff of disgust.
"He deserves to be in pain," snapped from somewhere nearby.
There was a rustle of robes and Harry knew Ginny's wand was out. Her voice was ice cold. "My brother is lying at the other end of the Hospital Wing, and Harry—HARRY—is lying here; both are in pain and both almost died tonight. I don't think you want to be dicking around with me right now."
"Need any help with that, Bitsy," came a cheerful, familiar voice. Harry looked up to see Fred and George coming from across the Ward. "Mum sent us over to see what's up . . . with . . . Harry." George trailed off; Ginny had swung around, and her wand was now trained on them.
"What did you call me?"
"Possibly not a good time to joke, my esteemed brother," Fred said as he froze in place, hands up.
"Sorry, Gin, just slipped out," managed George, shrugging though he kept still. Harry knew the twins had said they respected Ginny's power, but this was still surprising. The pause went a little too long and Harry shot a glance at Ginny, then peered harder to see if her face really had crumpled as he thought it might have. He grabbed over at the table beside him, finding his glasses and jamming them on. Yes, she was going to cry.
Fred and George were exchanging wide-eyed looks, deciding something in a split-second between them. George frowned and then Fred nodded. They turned back to Ginny, adopting similarly sweet expressions and walking around to each side of Ginny, who had now lowered her wand and was covering her face with one hand.
"It's been too much for our little Gin-Gin," Fred cooed, taking Ginny's arms and leading her toward the chair beside Harry's bed. "She's all done in, poor little tyke."
"Oh, stop it, you sot," Ginny said in watery voice, pushing Fred's hands away.
George, who was holding the chair ready for her, merely added, "Tut, tut, dearie. Little poppets need to have sweet manners."
Ginny managed a half-hearted glare. "Come a bit closer and I'll hex your little poppet."
George smiled at Harry ruefully. "She's a delicate one, is our little lamb."
Harry blinked, still a bit stunned at her very private threat, but then, she did have six older brothers to deal with; she had probably learned very quickly the best way to incapacitate them.
Ginny groaned and gave in as Fred bustled her over to the chair with so many fawning, patting movements that Harry had to smile. "Just have a little rest, now, here you go, Bitsy." Ginny froze again at the nickname, then glared at her brothers and for just a moment, it looked as if she was going to lash out at them. Then slowly, a weak smile crept over her face, and the twins broke out into brighter grins.
"Like the sun breaking out from behind a cloud," said Fred with a sigh, one hand to his chest.
"Makes you want to break out into song, don't it?" said George, giving Harry a look.
Harry was feeling very sunny now and yet somehow distant from himself. It took some effort to consider the question carefully.
"Dunno," he finally said, bemused, "doesn't make me want to sing—not much does—but well, it sort of makes me—yes, it does make me want to snog her silly."
All three Weasleys stared at him, as if he'd said something strange. Harry shrugged, and seeing their faces, giggled. Then clapped a hand over his mouth. Had he really just giggled?
"Ah," Ginny said in a suddenly amused voice, wiping away her drying tears, "that'll be the potion talking. Feeling better, then?" The twins burst out laughing.
"He's high as a kite!"
Harry pulled the hand from his face, considered and nodded. "At least. It's been a long time since I've felt this good." He frowned. "Have I ever felt this good?" He sniffed and smiled. "No, don't think so. I've never felt this good." He laughed and looked at Ginny. "Oh, except that one time we kissed. That felt this good, too."
Over the twins indignant expressions of "Oy!" came a derisive voice, "Must we trip down this particularly boggy memory lane? Surely there must be something better to speak of, Potter."
"Draco," Fred said politely, "would you like a Ton-Tongue Toffee shoved down your throat? No? Then shut it before I hex start hexing your various orifices shut. Now, Harry, when in the bloody hell did you snog our sister like that?"
"He didn't," Ginny protested.
"Do you people not read the Daily Prophet, or is just a congenital deficiency that makes you forget everything you've read?" Draco said scornfully.
Fred looked at George. "Would you like to pull his pants down, or should I?"
George looked thoughtful. "Dunno. Maybe I will. It's been a while since I've tried an Arse-Clamping Curse."
There was a strangled sound from across the room.
"That's right," Harry said. "The Daily Prophet did a whole article on that Love Potion thingee, didn't they? And the kiss. I overheard your parents talking about it"
Fred and George exchanged glances. "When?" they asked as one.
"Before I went to rescue Charlie, when everyone was standing outside the Infirmary."
"Half a mo'. Ron said that article was a load of dung," George said. "He said it wasn't like a kiss like that at all—just a peck. And he was there."
"Come off it," Harry said scornfully, "d'you really think I'd get the opportunity to kiss Ginny and waste it on a peck like that?"
Fred's thunderstruck expression melted and he stepped forward, a sly grin on his face. "Said just like a true Weasley, mate. I think I need to shake your hand." He took Harry's good hand with gusto.
George daubed at imaginary tears. "Seems like just yesterday he was a wee first year, and now here he is, scamming on our little sister."
"Not that we intend to let you, Harry," Fred went on, dropping Harry's hand. "She is the only one we've got. Now. Tell us more about this kiss so that we may take appropriate disciplinary measures."
"How's Harry feeling, then?" Mrs. Weasley's voice calling from across the room made Ginny spring into action.
"A bit better," Ginny said as she sat by Harry and shushed him.
"Not for long," Fred said in a low voice, his eyes narrowed. As always with the twins, it was difficult to tell whether Fred was serious or not. Fortunately, Harry couldn't be bothered. He smiled at Mrs. Weasley's concern.
"I feel wonderful," Harry said. "I was just telling them that I don't think I've felt this good in a very long time. In fact, the last time I felt this way was—"
"Oh—don't tell that story again, Harry, it's positively boring," Ginny said quickly as her mother stood beside her.
"I didn't think so," George said ominously.
"Ditto," Fred agreed.
Harry tilted his head to look at Ginny triumphantly. "See? Not boring."
"My, you are feeling better, aren't you?" Mrs. Weasley smiled, but suspicion was dawning in her eyes. She turned to narrow her gaze at Ginny. "How much of that potion did you give him?"
"Enough to make the pain go away," Ginny said firmly, a little flush on her cheeks.
"I understand dear, but really, that's probably a bit too much," Mrs. Weasley said with a soft glare at her daughter. "Though I do feel terrible he has to wait for Madame Pomfrey. Just keep a closer eye on him, since he's feeling a bit footloose and fancy-free. Now, I have to go back to Charlie. Just wanted you to know that he's coming along nicely. Should be fine in a matter of hours—thanks to you, dear—and Madame Pomfrey will be over here as soon as she can. Call if you need anything at all." She patted Harry's shoulder in a way that made him feel quite warm inside and then turned to pat the twins absently before walking back over to the other side of the room.
"Bye Mrs. Weasley," Harry called to her. "Drop in any time." He turned back to the twins. "She's such a great mum."
"Right. So let's get back to this kiss," Fred said in a blithe tone.
"Shut it, you gits," Ginny growled. "Harry was under a Love Potion, well, actually two of them at the time and it's not like he was exactly—"
"Oh no, no," Harry protested, "it wasn't just the Love Potion—"
Ginny clapped a hand over his mouth. "Don't say another word, Harry. You're completely doped."
There was derisive laughter from across the room. "How much of that potion did you give him, Weasley?" Draco asked.
"Shut it, Draco!" Ginny, Fred and George barked out.
"Stop covering up Harry's mouth, Ginny," George said gamely as he turned back around. "I wanna' know what he was going to say. Something even more incriminating, I'd wager. I like high!Harry; he's loads of fun. Maybe we should ask him about the Dursleys now; get some straight answers out of him for once."
"George!" Ginny said immediately, sounding a lot like her mum.
Harry, feeling a dip in his mood, said somberly. "I don't want to talk about the Dursleys."
"Why not?" Fred asked, getting settled into the chair nearby. "As long as you're feeling chatty."
"Oh, come on, you two," Ginny said shortly, "leave him alone." But she wasn't as adamant this time. Harry got the idea that she rather wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Why don't you want to talk about them, Harry?" George prodded.
"Because it hurts," Harry said in a low voice, thinking belatedly that he probably shouldn't have answered that question and that painkiller potions seemed to make him a bit stupid. But then it hit him that thinking of the Dursleys didn't hurt as much as usual. He shrugged and went on. "I know you don't understand, George, because it's not like your family. You hurt each other on accident some times; and it's all right. Even with Percy, I don't think he means to hurt you; it's just that he sees things differently.
"The Dursleys aren't like that. They go out of their way to hurt me whenever they can and it's always been that way. They could never stand to see me being happy or doing well in school." Harry's voice grew quieter as the memory of those days ghosted over him like a fog, driving away the thought of his listeners completely. Putting it into words was like scratching an itch; one he'd never realized was there. "They always had to ruin it somehow, whatever minor happiness I managed to scrape out, so that Dudley would be happy or look better in comparison or something stupid like that. I remember one time when I was little, a man came up to us in at a restaurant and want to give me candy for being so good. Dudley didn't get anything because he'd been wailing like a banshee. Aunt Petunia couldn't stand it. As soon as the man left, she took the chocolate bar and gave it to Dudley. That was the last time I remember us eating out together. After that, they'd just leave me at home." He paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I dunno. They could have been much worse, but I don't think Mum and Dad would have wanted me to grow up there. I wish I hadn't had to."
The room was quiet, and slowly, Harry realized he was in the Hospital Wing, saying things out loud he'd hardly ever dared think. Fred was looking at the floor. Ginny had sidled up to George and was leaning against him, his arm around her shoulders. They were all so quiet.
"How did they treat you physically?" Fred asked slowly.
"Physically?" Harry asked with a blank face. "Er . . . like . . . well—okay, I guess. They didn't ever spank me; they prided themselves on being above that. But if I got out of line, caused a row because I'd got no Christmas presents when Dudley had got fifteen, say, well, then Uncle Vernon would take a swing at me sometimes. Sometimes it would connect, but I was too fast for him most of the time." Harry grinned, visualizing his many escapes so easily. "You should have seen him, all red in the face, thundering after me, yelling about what he'd do to me if he could catch me, but all the time, I'm running, dodging, sliding . . .
"If he kept at it, I'd hide under my bed and duck into the corner, where he couldn't reach me. More often than that, he'd just give up and let Dudders take it out on me later. Dudley could beat me up whenever he wanted, you know, and I think they allowed it just because they hated me so much."
"And they kept you in a cupboard, right?" Ginny asked in a soft voice.
"Yeah, that was my bedroom. They'd lock it if I got in trouble." No one asked anything, and Harry was free to cast his mind back to it. "It wasn't so bad. It was dark under there, and it always smelled a bit musty. But I like it, you know? I felt safe there, like a rabbit burrowing into the ground. Dudley wouldn't come in, and Uncle Vernon couldn't fit. They always thought they were punishing me by locking me in, but it wasn't really so. I had a few books Uncle Vernon had thrown at me in a rage, and all these chess men from one of Dudley's old sets—he hates chess—and I would play soldiers for hours. And there was that box of crayons I got hold of once and I colored the boxes at the other end of the cupboard. Didn't get any meals for two days over that."
"They did that a lot, didn't they? Wankers." George said in a tense voice.
"Oh yeah," Harry nodded. "That was pretty much constant. If I did magic on accident; then they'd lock me in with no food. Once it lasted three days, because I did it at school in front of other kids, just Apparated myself onto the roof when they were coming to get me once. That was the worst. That and after my first year at Hogwarts, when they locked me in my room and only fed me a bowl of soup now and then. I'll never forget how glad I was to see that old Ford Anglia outside my bedroom window, Weasleys aboard," Harry said wonderingly. "It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen."
"God, you're pathetic, Potter. What, are you practicing for the next edition of the Quibbler?" Harry watched ambivalently as three wands went for Draco, who sat, sneering across the room. "'Poor Little Orphan Boy Spills Heart Out to Adoring Fans.' What rot."
"It's not rot, it's the truth," Harry said evenly, feeling good that Draco just wasn't getting to him today.
"Perhaps Mr. Silver Spoon needs to be gagged with it," Fred retorted, his wand aimed directly at Draco's face. "Keep it up, ferret, and we'll let Ginny have free reign."
Ginny lowered her wand and walked closer to Draco's bed, where the pale boy crossed his arms and shifted uncomfortably. Harry was wondering why on earth they were so concerned with the ferret; he wasn't. Ginny looked tense, but her voice was smooth as silk. Harry found himself thinking that probably that wasn't a good sign. "What makes you think Harry's not telling the truth?"
Draco sat up straighter, venom twisting his face into a potent sneer. "Because—because he's the effing Boy-Who-Lived, and I refuse to—to—" Draco never did get out the remainder of his refusal, but continued on anyway, "My parents were Death Eaters and they treated me better than that. The only person I've known with an upbringing that bad was Professor Snape."
Ginny glanced back at Harry, who was nodding solemnly. "Snape's was as rotten as mine was, or worse, and that's the truth." The Weasleys were all exchanging glances. George shrugged, obviously thinking Snape deserved it.
Ginny shook her head and looked back at Draco. "Are you actually that stupid or are you pretending? Or maybe, great bleeding coward that you are, you were so scared that night you don't even remember what happened when the Death Eaters Apparated outside Harry's house with you in tow? Did you think Harry threw himself out?" Draco started to retort, but she interrupted with a shout and a wave of her wand, "Silencio!" The twins both started, moving as if to stop her, but she shouted at them, "Don't you DARE! Dammit! For once, he's going to shut up and listen!" Fred gestured graciously for her to continue.
Ginny turned to Draco, who had frozen against his headboard. "You and your pathetic inferiority complex—you have to take every opportunity to knock Harry down, don't you? And why's that? Do you even know? It's because he's so much better than you'll ever be: stronger, faster, smarter, kinder, more loyal—better at everything that matters, even Quidditch—and no matter how hard you try, no matter how much money you throw around and pay to the right people, it won't matter. You'll never be anything but a vicious, power-hungry, selfish, unkind, weak-minded jackass.
"Every time you lash out at Harry, another crack appears in that thin veneer of sneering superiority, another crack that reveals what's inside—bitterness and the truth that you see it just as easily as everyone else does!"
Ginny's face had flushed pink and she leaned in to Draco's bed. "You hate Harry because you see yourself in him, or rather, what you could have been and aren't. You hate him because there's a reason people care about Harry, and it's not because of his family or his blood or because he's the Boy-Who-Lived. You hate him because he's everything you wish you were. And instead of asking yourself why, you lie to yourself to make it seem like he doesn't deserve it, when just the opposite is true. You're the one who has had everything handed to him; you're the one who's always received special treatment and you deserve it far, far less.
"Now that you have no name to back you up, maybe you're beginning to see it. Maybe that's why you're laying in here day after day. Or then again, maybe it's just because you're a coward." There was complete silence. Ginny's face had gone pale again, and she held her chin up proudly as she waved her wand. "Finite Incantatem."
Draco stared at her, white as a sheet with cheeks stained so red it looked as if someone had slapped him. Everyone waited a moment, but apparently, he was speechless.
'Well, you know what they say," Fred said with a wise air, as he turned back toward Harry's bed. "'Tis better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.'"
"Sage advice, brother mine," George added.
"Ginny," Harry said in awe. "That was amazing. Could you say all of that that again? I can't remember half of it, but it really made me want to snog you."
Ginny groaned and covered her pink face with both hands.
"As a kite," George summed up.
"So. One more question. What happened to your hand?" Fred asked casually as he walked back over to Harry's bed. "Everyone's been going on and on about it."
Harry frowned. "My hand?" He picked it up and looked at it blankly. There was a red mark there the size of a Galleon. "Hm. Doesn't hurt. Don't remember."
"Not that hand, you idiot," Fred corrected, "the other one."
Harry froze, then moved his left hand from its perch on his stomach. He knew, even before he brought it up to eye level, that he should have left it where it was. A shudder ran through him at the sight, and suddenly the ghost of pain reappeared. "Ouch," he said. The burn was bad. His hand had been turned to the side when he ran into the flames, and accordingly, the charred skin was on the left side of his fingers and palm, and was, in some places, burned to the bone. The flat of his hand was missing layers of skin, burned away to reveal the red, glistening of raw muscles and—
Harry put his hand back down and swallowed, remembering. "Wall of flame. Didn't put my shield up quick enough."
"Who did it?" George asked eagerly. "Lestrange?"
Harry stared at him. "Yeah—Rodolphus. How'd you know?"
"We picked up bits and pieces from the other Gryffindors before coming up here. They're in a right state, you know." Fred and George exchanged glances.
"What were you doing in the dorm?" Ginny asked.
"Well, we're re-matriculating, you might say," Fred offered with a grin. "Checked back into the dorm today."
"WHAT?" Harry and Ginny said together, then Ginny launched herself at Fred, who scooped her up in a big hug.
"Yeah," George said eagerly, stowing his wand and coming to sit by Harry. "We've decided things are getting too hot around Hogwarts to not be here anymore. Now that they've taken Charlie out, well, it's a matter of family pride."
Harry couldn't keep from grinning. "So that's where you've been—getting ready to come back?"
"Got it in one," George said over Ginny's head.
Fred took over. "We had to make arrangements with the store, sell out some shares and get a caretaker. You know the drill. Now, we're financially independent, disentangled for the time being, and paying our own way to this illustrious institution."
"Has nothing to do with the fact that Dumbledore asked us to come keep an eye on things," George countered.
"Nor with the fact that his request comes with pay," Fred added.
"And scholarships. Nope. We're here strictly on principle, to keep an eye on skids like Draco."
"I don't think you have to worry about Draco," Harry said slowly, "just now, it's Goyle who bears watching. I still can't believe that he tried to kill me. And Pansy. All the Slytherins hate me. What did I ever do to them?"
Ginny slid away from George and came over to sit on Harry's bed. "Now you're whinging, Harry. Shut it." She looked over at her brothers. "And don't worry; with all these Weasleys around, you're safe here. Just concentrate on getting well. Right?"
"Right," Fred and George said in unison.
"The only thing you need to worry about is if we catch you snogging our sister in the future. Then, there'll be hell to pay," Fred said matter-of-factly. George nodded.
Harry looked over at Ginny, worried. "But I like—"
Ginny gave a squealing grunt and put a hand over his mouth.
"Mmph," Harry said indignantly.
"Why do you keep cutting him off like that? I like him this way," Fred insisted.
"Why do you keep lying to him?" Draco spoke up suddenly, his expression dark and ugly. "'Don't worry about the students trying to kill you, Harry, since you're such a special, kind and caring bloke. Just stay the same reckless idiot as you are now and everything will be fine.'"
Fred and George exchanged dark glances and strode over to Draco's bed. "So what are you doing in here, anyway, you son-of-a-Death-Eater?" George said in a low voice.
"Recovering," Draco said shortly.
Harry turned his attention back onto Ginny, as she sighed and took her hand away from his mouth. "He didn't listen to a word I said, did he?"
Harry stared up at her. He didn't care about Draco and there were still things he wanted to tell Ginny, and with the buoyancy in his heart and the numbness everywhere else, he still felt like talking. "It was a good kiss," Harry remarked, taking her hand with his good one and tugging at it before she could move away. "Do you remember?"
She looked away and her half-smile slowly faded. Harry sensed that he'd made her sad and tugged at her hand. When she didn't look down, he whispered up at her, "But there was an even better one, wasn't there?"
Ginny jerked her head to him, and he smiled slowly.
"Just you listen to me," Fred said in a louder voice, calling Ginny's attention away. "He's in that bed because he risked his very valuable life—"
Harry made a face and tugged on Ginny's hand again until she faced him. "Don't you remember?" She looked down at him again, slightly curious but a bit blank. Finally, feeling mischievous, Harry raised his eyebrows and whispered, "Meow."
Ginny's eyes flew open wide and she jerked back. Her gaze skittered around the room, then came back to Harry. "No," she said in a breathless voice, "you weren't—you couldn't be—that's not possible."
"What part of 'he's a hero' don't you understand?" George said loudly, and Harry pulled Ginny closer so she looked at him again and ignored the very loud conversation going on over by the other wall.
"But I did and I was." He watched the emotions on her face battle a moment before settling on what looked like an interesting mix of horror and pleasure. "It wasn't just a dream." Harry watched, fascinated, as the surprise in her eyes gave way to a wave of what looked like chocolate-brown desire. Her mouth fell open slightly and she sighed. Harry really wanted to kiss her, brothers or no. He felt he was flying, exhilarated. "And all I wanna' know is . . . do you really feel that soft?" Harry asked quietly, sliding gentle fingers up her arm to the crook of her elbow. She didn't move a mite. Her arm was pale and beautiful, warm and lightly freckled, smooth as cream and soft as silk. Harry felt his body start to heat up deliciously.
Ginny took in a deep, shaky breath and Harry looked up. The moment their eyes met again, an electric shock went through Harry's body. Her eyes were melting with emotion and she clutched at the hand on her arm. He was taken aback until she said, "Oh, Harry," in a trembling voice. "Harry."
And with a sudden shock, he knew what that emotion in her eyes was. Love. The world seemed to fade around them. Harry's blood boiled and his heart thumped and he knew that Ginny was the only thing he'd ever really wanted this badly. An ache filled his chest and he wondered if his eyes looked as soft and vulnerable as hers.
"Oy, Ginny!" Bill barked out from somewhere. "Fred, George!"
"Yeah?" said two voices at once.
Ginny broke away from Harry. "Yes! I'm here."
"Charlie's awake! Poppy's a miracle worker! Come and see!"
Ginny clapped her hands together. "Thank Merlin!"
"Be nice, ferret," barked out Fred, then let out a whoop as he charged across the room.
"We'll be ten steps away in case you need another reminder. Coming, Billy-Boy!" George followed his twin with a grin.
"I'll be right there!" Ginny flung herself back at Harry, careful of his arm, and pecked him on the lips, pausing only to look him in the eyes and say, "Brothers across the room and all," before dashing away.
Harry put his good hand to his lips and smiled, feeling so full to the brim of good things that he was dizzy. He half-expected one of those deranged cupids from Madame Puddifoot's to be flitting around over his head, tossing confetti and flinging silver arrows.
Lying back on his pillows, he sighed and listened to the tearful-but-happy sounds coming from across the room. A gray, fuzzy sort of feeling came over him and he fell into a doze.
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for your reviews. You know now that I listen to you, right? See, it is actually an H/G story after all. : )
I just wanted to note for future readers, really, that this is the last chapter we will post before the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Then we will officially be going AU.
We are halfway through and I do have the outline and the story already set up, so if there are any similarities between HBP and my story, they will be unintentional and wow, pure, dumb luck. I promise not to plagiarize!
Thanks for your support!