Chapter 6: Falling to Pieces

Months after the Weasley's and Harry returned to Hogwarts, on March first, a frantic Professor McGonagall awaked Ginny.

"Ms. Weasley," she whispered hoarsely, "get up quickly." Ginny grumbled and rolled over. "Ms. Weasley, Ronald has been poisoned and we need you to come down immediately!" Ginny jumped out of her bed as quickly as possible.

"What, what happened?" she asked as she pulled her robe on over her pajamas. Professor McGonagall grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room and met Hermione and Harry out in the hall. "What happened, what's wrong with Ron?" Ginny asked them anxiously. Harry looked nervous and distressed while Hermione looked pale.

"Ron ate a chocolate cauldron that was spiked with love potion from Romilda Vane so I took him to Professor Slughorn for an antidote," Harry said as he pulled Ginny by the hand to the hospital wing with Hermione running close behind them, "and then Slughorn gave him some wine he got for Christmas and it was poisoned."

"So what did you do?" Ginny asked, "Did Slughorn have an antidote for poison too?"

"No," Harry answered as he pulled Ginny around the corner.

"Then what happened to him?" Ginny practically screamed at him.

"I got a bezoar," he answered.

"A what?" Ginny asked.

"It's a cure for poisoning," Harry said as he pulled Ginny into the hospital wing. Ron was lying perfectly still in the first bed. He was as white as a sheet had a blank expression on his face. Harry released Ginny's hand and walked over to the bed while Ginny stood perfectly still by the door, unable to move. Hermione, Fred, George and Harry stood around the bed while Ginny stood by the door. Harry looked up and saw Ginny over by the door and walked toward her. "Ginny," he asked quietly, "what's wrong?"

Ginny shook her head as her eyes filled with tears, "I can't do this Harry. It's too scary to think about losing him. After how horrible I've been to him these past few weeks!" Harry put his arms around her a pulled her into a hug.

"Everything is fine now," he whispered softly in her ear, "He's fine now. I promise." Ginny smiled as he drew away from her, took her hand in his and pulled her toward Ron's bed.

While Ron was in the hospital wing recovering, Cormac McLaggen subbed for Ron as keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The match started out normally and after a while Gryffindor was down by 30 to Hufflepuff.

"Could he be a bigger idiot?" Ginny screamed at Dean as they watched him miss another goal because he was trying to correct someone else. Dean laughed and shrugged as he passed the quaffle to her.

And then disaster struck when Cormac tried to show a beater how to use his own bat and hit the bludger into Harry's head. A loud crack echoed through pitch and time seemed to slow down as Harry fell off his broom, completely unconscious. Ginny screamed and bolted toward him, but she was too far away. "Peakes," she shouted to one of the beaters, "catch him!" But he was already under Harry as he fell onto his broom. Ginny let out a sigh of relief as Peakes gently glided down to the ground. The Gryffindor team rushed to Harry's aid while everyone was silent and still throughout the pitch.

"He's out cold. I think his skull is broken, I heard a crack," Dean said to Ginny as she landed next to him, "He needs to go to the hospital wing." Ginny nodded as Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore came running over and took Harry off the pitch. The game continued from there but Gryffindor had no chance of winning without Harry.

After the game, Ginny went up to the hospital wing to see if Harry was okay, but when she got up there he was still unconscious.

"How is he Ron?" she asked when she saw the bandages around his head.

"He fractured his skull but he'll be fine when he wakes up," Ron answered, "I'm sort of glad he's here. It's horribly boring in here."

"Ron," Ginny said annoyed, "you're glad he got hurt?"

"No," he said quickly, "I'm just glad he's here. Madam Pomfrey said he has to stay the night too." Ginny sighed and looked down at Harry again.

"Ms. Weasley," said Madam Pomfrey, "Visiting hours are over." Ginny nodded, waved good-bye to Ron and left. When she got down to the common room, Dean was still up and waiting for her.

"Hey, where'd you go?" he asked.

"I went to see Harry…And Ron," she said and took off her coat and sat down on the couch next to him.

"How is he?" Dean asked her.

"He has a fractured skull but he'll be fine by tomorrow," he said.

"Good," Dean said back, "but it did look funny when McLaggen hit that bludger at him?" Dean laughed but Ginny was silent.

"How could you say that Dean?" she said angrily and stood up, "I thought he was your friend."

"He is my friend," Dean said uneasily, "I wanted to make sure he was okay first."

"Yes but then you made fun of him for getting hurt," Ginny snapped, "that doesn't sound like something a friend would do."

"Ginny, calm down," Dean said, "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Whatever," Ginny grumbled and stomped up the stairs and into her room.

A few days later, Ginny was still annoyed with Dean. Everything he did seemed to annoy her now and she couldn't help wondering whether she should break up with him or not. They had planned to take a walk before dinner one night, but Ginny didn't feel like going anymore. Dean insisted upon it though, he had said they needed to talk. She unhappily followed him toward the portrait hole and as they climbed down, Ginny felt someone push against her.

"Stop pushing me Dean," she snapped at him, 'I can get through on my own. You're always treating me like I can't do anything on my on."

"I didn't push you and I do not treat you like that," Dean snapped back at her.

"Yes you do," Ginny shouted at him, "You are just so irritating! You always push me through this stupid portrait hole as if I can't get out on my own and you always try to help me with everything as if I can't do it on my own and you don't seem like a very good friend."

"Are you still thinking about what I said the other night about Harry?" Dean shouted back at her.

"How could I forget?" Ginny screamed. She was shaking with anger and hatred, "Harry is my friend and supposedly your friend too and you said that him getting hurt was funny!" Dean face was red with anger as Ginny went on, still shaking and her voice rising as people started to stare at them. "I will not be associated with, let alone date, anyone who talks about their friends like this or treats me like a child!" Dean's whole body seemed to relax and slouch forward as she said this.

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked faintly and quietly. Ginny was silent a moment as she stared down at her feet. She sighed and looked up into Dean's eyes.

"Yes Dean, we've been falling apart for ages now. I don't even understand how we thought this could work out" she said back, her voice at a lower, calmer level, "I'm sorry." She kissed him on the cheek, "good bye."

Ginny stalked off back through the portrait hole and into her room for the rest of the night. Dean stood in the portrait hole, watching her go and sadly and slowly, he turned and walked out and down the hall, alone.