The Note and the Gift
Hermione stared in disbelief as she tried to process what Ginny had just said. "You got a package from Harry?"
Ginny, numb and unsure of what to do with her hands, silently nodded.
"How can you be so sure? I mean, not that a package from Harry would be a bad thing, but… How do we know it's not just some sort of cruel prank someone is trying to pull?" Hermione said uncertainly.
Ginny now shook her head in disagreement. Somehow, she found the voice to speak the words that were running through her head like a freight train. "It's from him, Hermione. There's a… note inside. I could pick out his handwriting from a mile away. Harry sent this. Harry sent this to me." She looked into her best friend's face, hundreds of emotions playing across the screen of her eyes.
"A note? Well, why don't you read it then? Come on! Maybe it will say where he is!" Hermione was practically bouncing on her toes in anxiousness.
Ginny moved her eyes from her best friend to the box than now lay on the wooden floor. Unnoticed by Hermione, a conflict of emotions was raging within Ginny's heart at that very moment. She wanted to leap on the package and rip it apart, searching for every little tidbit of information about Harry. However, a small part of her felt somewhat repulsed by the package, almost as if she really didn't want to know what Harry had to say. He had left her again, and she had been devastated. Why should she care about what he had to say now? She mulled over this for the briefest of moments before she recalled the conversation she and Hermione had shared a scant few minutes ago. It was because she loved Harry Potter. "Yes," she thought to herself, "I love that boy with all I have and I am never going to give up on him." Nodding to herself with a small smile, she bent to pick up the fallen box.
Gazing into the package she noticed that it contained two things. One was obviously the note from Harry, but the second was something that seemed to be wrapped in tissue paper. Deciding that she wanted to hear from Harry first and foremost, even if it was only as words on a parchment, she pulled out the note first.
She slowly unfolded the letter and noticed right off that something had to be quite wrong with Harry. The parchment itself was in pristine condition, but there were a number of smudges and ink blots on the page. Ginny also noticed upon closer inspection that Harry's normally strong and flowing script had become thin, jagged, and abrupt. "Whatever he's going through, he's having a tough time of it," she thought to herself with a sudden pang of fear.
Unable to put it off any longer Ginny began to read the note from her love:
Dearest Ginny,
You didn't honestly think that I would forget your birthday did you? I am a great many things, but I'd like to think that I'm not such a prat that I'd neglect the birthday of the most special girl in the entire world. And before you go thinking otherwise, let me tell you that what I just said is true. You are so special Ginny, not just to me, but to everyone around you. You light up their lives with joy and unconscious grace. I can say that few good things have happened in my life, but being around you, for the short amount of time we had, was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Ginny felt warm tears began to course down her face as she read on.
It is with this in mind that I give you this enclosed gift on your birthday. I thought it would be a good reminder of… Ginny saw that the word "me" was crossed out …the times we shared. The shopkeeper I bought it from said that it was infused with a great deal of magic, but he refused to tell me just what type of magic it was. He did reveal at wandpoint that it wasn't anything dark and sinister, so I feel safe giving it to you. He did make a big fuss when he found out that I was buying it for a "special girl" and he even tried to give it to me no charge. Of course I refused to take it without giving him something. He just kept going on about being honored that he could sell me such a gift to give to you. It was all quite embarrassing if you ask me, but still I hope you like it.
I know you are probably wondering where I am and why I disappeared like I did. Well… At this point Ginny noticed that the next few words were blotted and crossed out… I just can't tell you. I'm so sorry, and I understand if you hate me for it. I think it's for the best though. I doubt if you could find me even if you tried to. Please tell both Ron and Hermione I said hello and that I hope that Ron is treating Hermione like the lady she is. I'd hate to have to pay him a call in the middle of the night for being a prat to my sister. He'll be even more afraid of spiders when I'd get finished with him. Ginny gave a watery giggle at this point.
Give all your family my love and be sure to hug your mum for me. Breathe easy and know that there is nothing for you to fear anymore. Happy Birthday once again.
With Love,
Harry
As Ginny lowered the note from Harry, she noticed with watery eyes that Hermione was staring intently at her, almost as if gauging her reactions. In a hesitant voice, Hermione asked Ginny, "May I read your letter Ginny?"
Ginny sniffed a little and handed the parchment to her. "He wrote about you in it."
"Really?" Hermione took the letter and sat down on Ginny's bed as she began to read.
Ginny watched for Hermione's reaction as she read Harry's note. Ginny could see her get a bit misty-eyed as she came to the part about Ginny being "the most special girl in the entire world".
"He is so sweet, you know that right?" Hermione said, looking up at Ginny, who nodded back to her.
Hermione continued reading, stopping a moment or two later. "Ooo, I'm really curious to see what it is he got you Ginny. It sounds really special."
"Harry is special, so anything he gets me is special too." Ginny said almost defiantly. Her friend just smiled back knowingly and continued with the letter.
Ginny was somewhat unprepared for Hermione's next reaction. Suddenly the brown-haired girl burst into heaving sobs as she held the note close to her chest. "H-he said I was his s-sister!" she barely managed to get out.
Now in a reversal of roles, Ginny sat down next to Hermione and held her close as she felt her own tears coming close to the surface again.
"He knows that I have always wanted a sister or b-brother to talk to!" Hermione wailed as she wept upon Ginny's shoulder, "Why did he have to g-go away? Why Ginny? I'm so worried about him and…and I want my b-b-brother back!"
Upon hearing Hermione's plaintive request, the dam of grief within Ginny burst forth anew as thoughts of both Harry and Fred washed over her, making her loss even more palpable. The two girls held each other, anchors in a storm of weeping, as time slowly swept past them.
How long they sat there, sharing their deep and intimate grief, they couldn't quite say, but they both knew that the day was growing long and they would soon be called down for supper by Ginny's mother.
Hermione was the first to break the long silence than had stretched between them. "Well I'd imagine that we both look positively dreadful right about now."
Ginny smiled around a set of hiccups she had fallen into during her crying spell. "I suppose you're right. We need to clean ourselves up, otherwise we'll be interrogated for hours on end about what's wrong with us."
With that said, both girls grabbed their wands and performed a few grooming spells on themselves, feeling better and looking much more presentable then they had been a few moments before.
Hermione then turned back to Ginny with a questioning look in her eyes. Ginny, who had yet to master the art of Occlumency, just returned her look with a blank stare. "What?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
It took Ginny a minute before she jumped up to her feet. "Oh my! The gift that Harry got me!"
Hermione just shook her head in disbelief, "Honestly Ginny, you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your neck."
Ginny stuck out her tongue at her friend, "Oh hush Hermione, I've had a very traumatic afternoon. You can't blame a girl for not remembering every little detail."
Hermione sniffed in response but Ginny was no longer paying attention. Once again, all her focus was on the package that Harry had sent her. She delicately placed her hand inside the box and pulled out the item that was wrapped tightly in tissue paper. With trembling hands, she began to unravel the paper until the item slid into the palm of her hand. Upon seeing the gift revealed, she let out a small gasp.
When Hermione heard the fragile redhead before her gasp, she felt a touch of dread come across her again and thought to herself, "Oh no, here we go again." Instead she was startled to see Ginny facing her with a radiant smile on her face.
"Look at it Hermione! It's so beautiful!"
As Ginny held out her hand to her friend, Hermione saw that hanging from Ginny's fingers was a silver chained pendant. The chain gleamed brightly in the now setting sunlight and betrayed itself as being wrought of fine goblin steel. This however was not the special thing about the necklace, although that was special enough. At the very center of the necklace was a delicately crafted glittering emerald. It seemed to grab all the light in the room and reflect it back at a hundred different angles. Hermione was almost, but not quite, at a loss for words, "It's so pretty. It looks-"
"-just like Harry's eyes!" Ginny finished with a happy sigh as Hermione nodded in agreement. "I'm going to put it on right now! Tell me how it looks when I do!"
Ginny undid the tiny clasp and placed the pendant around her slender neck. She then fastened it once again and struck a pose for her friend. "Well? What do you think?"
Hermione was about to comment on how stunning it looked on her when suddenly Ginny felt the pendant resting on her chest give a lurch. Ginny looked down at the emerald in confusion and was starting to think that she was imagining things when at that very moment the gem seemed to heat up and an uncomfortable burning sensation pierced straight into her heart. Ginny felt the air rush out of her lungs and experienced a jarring feeling of being yanked across a long distance. She shut her eyes and fought down a wave of nausea before feeling her body come to an abrupt stop.
When she dared to open her eyes she saw that her surroundings had changed drastically. Was the necklace a portkey? And if so, where was she now? She was about to start exploring her new surrounding when she came to the sudden realization that she really didn't have any control over her body. Actually, to be more accurate, she couldn't feel her body at all. A sense of being somewhat disconnected pervaded her mind so she was forced to remain immobile for the time being.
Not being able to move, Ginny focused instead on her surroundings. She was in a small, dimly lit room that seemed to be bare except for a worn chair and a battered mirror in the far corner. She tried to look and see if the room was occupied by anyone, but she found that she was unable to change her field of vision as well. Frustrated at her situation, Ginny almost failed to notice the feeling that there was a presence with her in this dim room. With a slow horror she began to realize that she was actually looking at this particular room through the very eyes of its occupant. With her view restricted as it was, she couldn't learn any more details than that and was wondering just how long she would be stuck in this unusual state of possession.
Suddenly, Ginny's world began to shift as the person she inhabited began to move around the chair and towards the mirror in the far corner. Ginny could also begin to feel what she guessed to be the emotions of the person she was looking through. She was overwhelmed with feelings of shame and anger that seemed to flow over her consciousness. Ginny could see that whoever was in the room was inching closer and closer to the mirror and with each step the horrid feelings intensified until they almost smothered Ginny's mind. Finally, the person was standing directly in front of the mirror, but they were staring directly at the floor, as if they were summoning the courage to raise their head and look at their reflection. Almost as if on a silent cue, the person raised their head and looked straight at their image in the mirror, causing Ginny to scream within the vaults of her mind. She was looking at the face of Harry Potter.
Harry studied himself in the mirror for a moment and Ginny was shocked to notice just how horrible he looked. Dark circles were etched around his eyes and his face had taken on a gaunt appearance. He had lost an awful amount of weight, and his clothes hung on his shoulders as if they were rags. But the worst of it all was his eyes. Those emerald eyes that Ginny had seen sparkle so many times were dull and lifeless, devoid of all joy and hope. She was dumbstruck and afraid, wanting nothing more than to find where Harry was hiding and hold him in her arms until all the pain faded away.
She was about to call out to him when suddenly she felt a wave of rage and pain sweep over her. Harry's face had contorted into a grotesque mask of fury and she heard him shout within the vaults of her mind.
"YOU ARE TWISTED AND EVIL! YOU DESERVE NOTHING!"
Ginny then watched in horror as Harry raised his fist and punched the mirror again and again, shattering his reflection as the shards of glass fell to the floor with a resounding crash. A hurricane of disgust washed over her mind and then suddenly she felt the room dim around her as she was forcibly pulled out of Harry's mind.
"NO!" Ginny screamed out as her consciousness was pulled back across the distance and everything faded into blackness.
The next thing that Ginny remembered was being shaken awake by a frightened Hermione. When she slowly opened her eyes, Hermione immediately set upon her with questions and looks of concern.
"Ginny! Are you alright? What happened? You put the necklace on and then passed out on the floor! Are you sure you are okay?"
Ginny placed a hand to her aching head, "Please Hermione, I can't take all these questions at once."
"Tell me what's wrong? Are you sick?"
Ginny shook her head, "There's nothing wrong with me, but I DO know that something bad is happening to Harry."
Once again, Hermione seemed perplexed as to what Ginny had just said, "Harry? In trouble? How do you know that?"
Just then both girls heard Mrs. Weasley's voice drift up the stairs, "Ginny! Hermione! Supper is ready!"
"Perfect timing," Ginny thought to herself. This would be a great way to keep from repeating herself a hundred times. "Look, I only want to explain this once, so why don't we go down to supper and I'll talk with the whole family about it okay?"
Hermione seemed to want to object. She always wanted to be the first to know about any new information that ever came up. Fortunately, her efforts to drag any more out of Ginny were dashed when Mrs. Weasley's voice cut through again, "Girls! Supper! Come on now or there won't be anything left!"
Ginny put a reassuring hand on her best friends arm as she got up to walk to the door. "Don't worry Hermione. I'll answer any and all of your questions, but only after I've told everyone about the danger Harry is in." Recalling what she had just witnessed in her mind, Ginny's lower lip began to tremble.
Hermione noticed this and slipped her hand into Ginny's. "Don't worry. We'll find Harry and we'll fix whatever is wrong."
Ginny took a deep breath and nodded as the two girls turned and walked hand in hand out of the room towards Mrs. Weasley's beckoning voice.
