Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, because she's a genius and is more creative than I will ever be.
ReadingRobyn is amazing and a great beta, thank you to her for putting up with my bad grammar and helping me along.
Thank you guys for the reviews, more would be appreciated! They help me tweak things that I've already finished and really, really encourage me to keep going!
.:x:.
Ginny rested her head against the pillow, reading The Daily Prophet and trying to relax. She found it funny and confusing that the stories about the war didn't increase her anxiety, it actually calmed her. Well, calmed wasn't the right word for it. They more or less gave her something else to focus on, inevitably taking her mind off the stress she was currently dealing with. Reading about other people's problems with unforgivable curses and death made her problems seem so much less, it made her feel better.
There were several stories regarding Inferi sightings and new citizens under suspicion for being Death Eaters. Still, one story in particular jumped out at Ginny. It was about a young witch from America that had been manipulated internally through dreams. Apparently, she had been able to go into a meditative state at will, entering a world of perfection where a Death Eater would be able to control her and make her do anything that was "needed". Angela Christianson, the young witch, was never able to graduate from the Salem Witches Institute, and after being institutionalized, committed suicide without warning.
Ginny shuddered and folded the paper up, placing it under a water bottle on her nightstand. Stories of suicide were not what she needed or wanted in the slightest. She glanced around the dormitory; all of the other girls were sleeping. She suddenly wished Hermione was there to comfort her, to ease her worrisome thoughts. She sighed, pushing the thought from her mind and switched off her lamp. She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes, begging for sleep to come. She just prayed that she would get what she wanted out of sleep, not nightmares about people hanging themselves.
For the first time since she'd been there, it was night in utopia. Ginny frowned, confused and suspicious of the surrounding darkness. She couldn't see off into the distance or see any stars in the sky, and it made her uneasy. She pursed her lips, waiting for Lela or Harry, but all she heard was silence, which made her heart beat faster and her stomach churn. Something was clearly not right.
She took a few tentative steps, suddenly very aware at the sounds the leaves made as they crunched beneath her feet. She was noticing everything from the way the branches looked silhouetted against the sky to the way the water seemed to be whispering, as if it was trying not to offend the silence that the night had brought.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to guard herself from the cold that was biting at her ears and sending shivers down her spine. She'd never been cold here before, she'd never felt alone in utopia but all of a sudden that's just what she was. She whirled around, looking for anything that was at all familiar, but nothing was normal.
"Harry?" she called out, her voice breaking in fear.
"Lela?" But all that answered her was silence.
Suddenly a soft crack was heard behind her. She turned around, red hair whipping her in the face. Lela stood behind her, leaning against a tree, an emotionless expression on her face. Her dark hair was blowing in the breeze, fanning around her head like some sort of crown.
Ginny broke into a run, hurrying towards the one thing that was recognizable to her. Lela just stared at her, her eyes glazed over with a sort of impassive cover.
"Lela," Ginny gasped, raking her fingers through her hair. "This isn't right. This isn't how this is supposed to be. What's going on? Tell me you know what's going on."
Lela brushed a dark curl out of her face, lowering her eyes to the leaves that rushed across her feet. "You're happier not knowing. Maybe you should leave."
"What?" Ginny shook her head furiously. "That's not right. I'm supposed to be happy here, this is supposed to be my paradise, why would I be happier away from it?"
"Maybe you should trust me for a minute," Lela hissed, snapping her head up to face Ginny. Her normally soft eyes were blazing and she let strands of hair blow furiously across her face, making her look fierce and wild. Ginny drew back, alarmed by Lela's sharp tone. The changes in her utopia were making her more and more nervous.
Lela closed her eyes and sighed. "Trust me," she murmured. "You don't want to be here right now."
Ginny crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Why not? Explain, Lela."
"Utopia is basically under your control. It's an escape for you, but sometimes you actually help the world discover why you needed it in the first place. When this happens, it may turn against you," Lela said against the wind.
"That doesn't make any sense, so the world's against me now?"
Lela shrugged. "I don't know exactly. But you should leave, bad things can only happen while you're here."
Ginny pressed her hands to her eyes, struggling to breathe evenly. She shook her head and fought the urge to cry. "I can't handle this. What am I going to do without this place?"
"Just leave for a little while; you'll know when it's time to come back."
Ginny looked to Lela, who quickly turned her head towards the ground, avoiding Ginny's gaze.
"Lela," Ginny said slowly. "What's going on? Why are you rushing me out of here? What could be so bad that it would cause this storm? I get that it's partially me, that there's a storm in my mind but what is it? Pleaseā¦Lela, please tell me."
Lela shook her head, giving a sad smile to the now cloud filled sky. A bolt of lightning flashed the light from the bolt filled up her eyes and making them look eerily wicked.
"You don't want to know."
Ginny grabbed Lela's face, turning it towards her and forced the other girl to look at her. "Stop keeping secrets from me. What's going on?" she yelled to Lela, who merely shrugged.
"Fine. Follow me. But you don't get to say I didn't try to stop you, Ginny."
Lela turned on her heel and headed into the forest, a place Ginny had never ventured. At first a tiny bit of fear tugged at her heart, urging her to go back, but Ginny pushed it from her mind, following close behind Lela. They passed trees that looked like people who were stretching their arms to the sky, a few times Ginny thought she saw something darting in between the branches, but the shadows disappeared as quickly as they came. She hesitated slightly when Lela waded through a creek but ignored the panic welling up inside of her and trudged through the ice cold water. Her shoes were soaked so she pulled them off; instantly cursing that idea when she stepped on twigs and pine needles with her bare feet.
They came to a small clearing that was surrounded by trees. The meadow in the middle was circular with trees surrounding it. The wind had quieted and the moonlight was shining down, illuminating the entire grove. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks, almost having to brace herself against a tree for support at what she saw.
Harry was in the clearing. But he wasn't alone. A girl Ginny had never seen before was embracing him, holding him close as he kissed her. They clung to each other the way he had once held onto Ginny, tenderly holding the back of this girls head.
Ginny gasped and turned around, unable to move or think or cry. She pressed one hand to her forehead, closing her eyes and trying to breathe.
"You should go," Lela whispered in her ear. "Anything can happen here because you're vulnerable and unstable now. It's going to turn on you if you let it."
If this was her minds way of reminding her it was time to move on Ginny just couldn't accept that. She was supposed to feel protected and loved when she was here. This was supposed to be a place where she could heal. Reminding her of what could occur in the real world just made Ginny want to scream even more. She felt the now too familiar twinge of hurt in her heart and she turned away from her worst nightmare. She looked at Lela, expected to see compassion or sorrow. But Lela's blank gaze didn't even surprise Ginny by now.
"Everything turns on me," Ginny whispered back in a shaky voice.
Lela gently pushed her away from the scene. "I won't."
Ginny wanted to thank her, but only one thing came to her mind. So she ran, she fled, and tried to cry.
But this time, no tears came. Nothing happened. She just felt cold and hard, and she couldn't decide if it was almost more difficult to feel nothing at all then to feel too much.
