Author's note: Hi everyone, I'm so sorry I didn't update last week. I know I said that I would update every Saturday/Sunday but my laptop went on fire. Yes. Fire. I walked into my bedroom and my mum was on my laptop checking her emails and then all of a sudden, there was smoke coming from it. I can't guarantee that I'll be on top of my story for the next few weeks to be honest because I'm on an old wrecked laptop and I'm going on holiday and I can't take my laptop so I'll do my best just please don't hate me. With love, Beth x
I Caught Myself- Chapter Five
GINNY'S POV:
We arrived at St Mungos in record-breaking time. I was shaking with nerves. They hadn't exactly said that Charlie was dead but if he is...
"Ginny, close your mouth or you'll catch flies," Fred joked, pinching my cheek.
I gave him a watery smile and turned around to see that George was a slightly greenish colour and was gripping the table for support, Percy patting his back comfortingly. Bill was sitting himself, with his head in his hands...I think he was crying. Me and Fred were leaning against the wall a short way away from our siblings and watching the comings and goings of everyone else while Mum and Dad were inside the office of the Healer that has been taking care of Charlie since he came in. Harry and Hermione had decided to stay at the Burrow, claiming that this is a family matter and they have no place being here.
"So, you and Harry, huh?" Fred enquired, looking off into the distance. I squirmed and looked in the opposite direction.
"There isn't a me and Harry."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure there is," he smirked.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, getting more annoyed by the second.
"Your little declarations of love," Fred teased, putting a lovesick expression on his face," Ah how romantic! Harry, I...I love...You, I want to kiss you and -"
"Right Fred, leave her alone," I heard someone tell him off. And it was George! George always takes Fred's side. Oh God, something awful's happened between the pair.
Fred looked just as dumbstruck as me. He eyed his twin with annoyance before turning back to me.
"Oh Harry, how I long to feel your soft lips crash against mine."
"Will you shut up!" I snapped, finally losing my temper. Fred looked slightly taken aback but opened his mouth to start his witty reply but was interrupted by a heart-felt sob.
We all spun around to look in the direction of the distraction and saw Mum and Dad coming out of the office, looking white and shaken.
"Mum," Bill started, getting up and holding onto her arm.
"I'm fine, Bill," she said, walking over to the rest of the family. The way she moved was almost zombie-like. "We need to have a discussion."
HARRY'S POV:
Hermione and I paced the Burrow for what felt like years. We didn't dare speak to each other about what had just happened. After Ginny had pushed past us we heard the distinctive scream of Mrs Weasley, followed by thunderous footsteps. The two women appeared at the bottom of the stairs and rushed into the living room where the rest of the family was.
"Right, George, you first," Mr Weasley muttered. George stepped forward and took a handful of Floo Powder before ducking into the chimney and saying as clearly as he could manage:
"St Mungos, Monique Fletcher's office," and disappearing with a flash of green light and a pop.
Bill went after George, followed by Fred, Ginny, Mrs Weasley and finally Mr Weasley, leaving Hermione and I in stony silence.
"Do you think they're okay?" Hermione asked, timidly. I shook my head.
"Of course they're not okay 'Mione. They have Bill stuck here getting a divorce, Percy's suddenly shown up on the doorstep, the twins are evidently all over the damned place, Ron's missing and now Charlies..." I tailed off, not wanting to say the word.
"Ginny's being really brave," She said, softly. That made me grin.
"When is Ginny not brave?"
"True Gryffindor."
The silence fell over us once again before a timid owl tapped the window. Hermione jumped up to get it -probably eager to do something other than sit around all day- and let it in.
"Aren't you a pretty owl?" she cooed, untying the letter. "If I didn't have Crookshanks I'd want an owl just like you."
Typical. She's talking to a bird.
"Isn't that bird familiar?" I asked, looking more closely at the tufts of white sticking up on its back.
Hermione squinted at it and nodded once.
"Now that I think about it, yes it does."
I snatched the letter from Hermione and read the envelope.
"It's addressed to me," I noted turning it around in my hands and trying to get a better look at it.
"Open it up then, Einstein," Hermione said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I stuck my tongue out at her childishly before opening the letter.
Dear Harry, I just heard the news about Charlie Weasley. I hope that you are all okay and that Molly and Arthur can get through this. I also want to make sure you're coping after the passing of Sirius ( Which we are all taking badly ) and I want you to know that even though you don't have your father, mother or godfather anymore, you knew me before Sirius and you can come to me in times of need.
Kind regards, Remus Lupin.
I felt a smile break over my face. Lupin was my dad's friend when they were at school, along with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Although Peter sold my parents out to Voldemort so that doesn't exactly count. But Lupin was a dear friend, and one of the few adults I trust along with Dumbledore, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mad Eye and Tonks.
I scanned the letter over again before folding it and putting it in my pocket. Hermione gave me a questioning look but I shook my head and headed up the stairs to Ron's room to see if I could find any clues as to where he could be.
FRED'S POV:
Ginny and I just sort of stared at each other. We were in Monique Fletcher's little office, sitting by her desk drinking coffee while Mum told us what was happening.
"So, we get to decide?" Bill said slowly. Mum nodded.
"I don't get it," I said thoroughly baffled. In truth, when they were explaining it to me I was peering out of the glass window in the door at a particularly porky man with a toilet seat stuck to his behind. It was quite a sight.
"There is a special spell on your brother that is keeping him alive in the hope that he'll awaken from his coma. We had every intention of keeping him like that until he came around but it appears that he has taken a turn for the worse and will not be...well...waking up. If there was any chance for him we would keep the spell running but since there isn't...we wanted to lift the spell and let him go his own way. If you would prefer to keep the spell running then that is entirely up to you but it won't do any good as we have already checked before calling you down here." Monique explained.
"So you want us to decide whether we want to keep the spell going or end it peacefully?" Ginny asked. She was a startling shade of white.
"How do we decide that?" Percy spat.
"Take a vote?" George suggested, staring at the wall without blinking.
"Okay, a vote it is," said Dad grimly.
"All those in favor of keeping the spell running?" Mum said, looking around us all. She, Bill and Percy raised their hands.
"All those who aren't?" George, Dad and I raised our hands. Three against three.
"Ginny, sweetheart, you didn't vote," Mum said gently. Thank you captain obvious. Looking over at Ginny, I saw that she looked -there was no other word for it- terrified. She was pale white with a slight greenish tang about her and was shaking uncontrollably. I slid over to her and put my arm around her shoulders.
"I don't want to vote."
"But Ginny-" Mum tried. That's when I lost it.
"SHE DOESN'T WANT TO VOTE! CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S BOTHERING HER? JUST LEAVE HER ALONE."
Everyone looked at me like I'd gone mad.
"Come on Gin, let's get you out of here," I pushed her gently out of the room, glaring at Mum as we left.
"Fred, I'm sorry," she started, but I hushed her.
"Ginny it's okay. They shouldn't make us vote for our brother's life. It's not right," I gave her a big hug and she began to cry. We sat down on one of the sofas in the waiting area and I rocked her gently, trying to calm her down. We sat there for a while until George peeped his head around the door.
"Ginny are you okay?" He said, kneeling down in front of her and taking one of her hands. She nodded.
"Good. They're going to sleep on it but we're going home now."
We made our way back into the office, thanked Monique and then landed back in our own home.
HARRY'S POV:
I heard the chatter of the Weasleys from downstairs signalling they were back so I made my way down to see them. I stopped short at the sight in front of me. Bill had tears streaming down his face, Percy's face was black with soot, Mr and Mrs Weasley were having a fully grown argument, George was limping and Fred was carrying a sick looking Ginny away from the fireplace. I quickened my pace and got to Ginny.
"Gin, are you okay?" I asked, taking her hand. She moaned in response so I looked to Fred for an explanation.
"Harry, I need to help George. Can you take Ginny upstairs?" He said urgently. I nodded and took her from Fred's arms and got her into her room. The second we were through the door I lay her on her bed and went into her drawers, trying to find her pyjamas. I searched through the drawers unable to find what I was looking for and almost dying of embarrassment when I ended up in her knickers drawer, closing it promptly and opening the next one only to find that it was no less awkward...I'd ended up in the drawer where she kept her bras and I just managed to get out of it without having a mental breakdown. Soon though, I managed to pull out a pair of grey shorts and a white tank top. I turned around to give them to her only to find she was in fits of laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" I said, puzzled.
"You're all hot and flustered and... Harry?" she said, trying not to burst into laughter again.
"Yeah?"
"You have a bra stuck to your head."
I turned around to look in the mirror and right enough, there was a bra on my head. The clip was stuck in my hair and it was dangling down my face. I couldn't help myself from letting out a low chuckle. I promptly unclasped the garment from my hair and placed it back in its rightful home before turning my back and letting Ginny get changed into the items I'd found for her. Once I was sure she was fully clothed I turned around and sat down on her bed.
"Ginny, why were you in such a state when you came in?" I asked gently.
"We were at the hospital and they told us that Charlie was on a special spell but he wouldn't get better and then Monique wanted us to decided whether or not we wanted to lift the spell so Mum suggested we take a vote and...I couldn't do it," she said, a fresh load of tears rolling down her cheeks.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her onto my lap, whispering comforting words into her ear and kissing the top of her head. I knew she didn't want anything romantic right now...what she needed was a friend and someone to listen to her, just be there for her. And I wanted to be that person.
PERCY'S POV:
I thought of what was being asked of me. I was being asked to keep a massive secret of George's from our entire family, I was being asked to keep my own little secret and I was being asked to vote on whether or not to keep my big brother alive. Hard was an understatement. My life was, at the moment, pure torture. I don't understand why George can't just openly admit it. It's nothing horrible. It's purely natural. The thought of him sitting alone day after day, night after night, not being able to talk to anyone incase he let slip and they were disgusted of him...It was heartbreaking. My own secret, well, that's going to come out sooner or later. But Charlie. How am I supposed to vote on his life? I voted on keeping the spell running because I could never forgive myself if they stopped it then later found out that there had been hope for him. The vote of my father, Fred and George played on my mind. Why did they vote to take the spell off? Didn't they want him to stay alive? Even though he can't talk or walk or understand things and he's in a permanent sleep, doesn't mean there isn't hope!
I got up from the chair in the living room and made for upstairs. It was past three in the morning and I was still up sorting through ministry application forms. I remembered coming home from the hospital. On the way, we had taken a wrong turning which meant I got an explosion to the face, causing me to fly backwards into George, snapping his ankle. The sight of broken bones and the memory of the voting had all been too much for Ginny and she felt sick to the stomach. Bill was overcome by emotion, something nobody expected. Bill was always the stong one in the family that never showed weakness, but then again, he had never been asked to vote on his favorite brother's life. Mum voted to keep the spell running and Dad didn't, so of course, that caused a huge uproar. The only person that managed to stay level-headed the entire time was Fred. I was very proud of him. The way he managed to carry Ginny back and get Harry to get her safely into the room before mending George's ankle with a wave of his wand was incredible. Then he took all the ashes off my face and made sure I wasn't injured from the explosion. After that, he calmed Bill down and made sure he was okay, then proceeded to fix Mum and Dad's argument. He's so much more grown up than I remember. I got to my room and flopped down onto my bed after safely stowing away the application forms and getting changed into a pair of black boxers. I leaned over and switched on my lamp and pulled a piece of parchment from under my pillow and reading it.
Dear Percy, It's Amilie McGowan here, we met in Spain when you were on ministry business about a year ago? Well you must remember as I was writing to you not too long ago. I'm sorry I couldn't write and tell you when the baby was born but I had a girl and called her Perrie, in honour of you. I know we were drunk when it happened and you instantly regretted it once you'd woke up and saw what had happened the previous night but I don't regret it one bit. In fact, to be honest, I'm in love with you and that is why I'm so glad I had our baby Perrie. I hope you are keeping well and that you can travel over soon and see her (She's six weeks old) and hopefully tell your family about me and our daughter. You never did tell me how it went with your family. Remember I advised you to seek them out and smooth things over? Do tell me how it is going.
With lots of love, from Amilie and Perrie. x
I sighed and folded the letter up, placing it on my bedside table. I switched off my lamp, removed my glasses, and put them next to the letter. I thought of the horrible mistake I'd made. A horrible, drunken mistake. And now I was a father who hasn't even bothered to go and see his daughter or her mother. I felt horrible, and that night, my dreams turned to nightmares, full of regrets and tragedies.
GINNY'S POV:
I woke up the next morning very relaxed. The night before, Harry had held me close and told me that it would all be okay. Then we made out. Then he told me stories about when he was a little boy. Then we made out. Then he told me things he had never told anyone before and finally, we made out. We fell asleep around midnight and I slept right through until nine, although I'm pretty sure Harry got up a couple of hours before me. I sighed and rolled out of bed, rummaging through my drawers and picking out a set of red lace underwear and a pair of ripped jeans and a white tank top with a picture of the Weird Sisters on it. I got a quick shower and put the clothes on before heading downstairs and taking a seat at the table next to Percy and Hermione, who were both eating breakfast with the rest of the family, excluding Fred and George.
"Morning Ginny," Hermione greeted me, passing a plate of toast in my direction.
"Morning," I said trying to stifle a yawn. I gave Harry a wink which he returned with a cheery smile before we heard Mum announcing Errol's arrival.
"If that damned bird smashes one more thing I swear I will..." but we ever got to hear what Mum would do because she was interrupted by the clatter of plates hitting the ground once again and the glass from the window shattering, showering little bits of glass all over us and causing Mum to curse horribly.
She cleaned the mess up with an angry swish of her wand and started handing out the letters.
"Hogwarts," she announced, "Harry, Ginny, Hermione," she gave a puzzled look before starting again slowly, "Fred and George."
Hearing their names, the boys Apparated into the kitchen.
"Yes, Mum?" enquired George.
"You two have Hogwarts letters."
The boys took the letters cautiously and opened them up. A couple of minutes later Fred piped up.
"They want us to go back for our last year because we left early because of Umbritch." Mum tutted.
"Language, Fred!"
"Sorry Mum," he said casually, flinging the letter down, "Well there's no chance I'm doing that." Mum choked on her orange juice.
"What do you mean you're not doing that?!" she thundered.
"Well, I have big plans, Mother."
"Fred, if you think that I am letting you and George pass up a second chance at your education you are very wrong."
Fred sighed. "Fine. I'll go back to Hogwarts for my last year."
Mum beamed at him and then turned to George.
"Mum, I'll go back too," he said quickly, trying to avoid a lecture. Mum sighed contentedly before walking out of the room, a slight bounce in her step.
"So we're going back to Hogwarts," Fred smirked mischievously at George.
"I guess we are."
"Wait, you're not going to ruin my fifth year right?" I said cautiously
"Ah my dear sister, do you really think such amazing brothers, and exceptionally good looking ones at that, would muck up their baby sister's fifth year?" Fred asked in mock innocence.
"Yes," the entire table said.
Fred glared. "I am a good brother, you know."
"Ha!" Hermione laughed, taking another bit of toast.
"Hmm Miss Granger seems to have a problem," Fred said, a dangerous glint in his eye. He walked over to where she was sitting and looked her dead in the eye. Hermione looked startled for a minute but quickly composed herself, although it didn't last long as her face turned a cute shade of pink.
"Fred, I, umm."
"Don't try to make excuses Hermione. You accused me of being a bad brother. I bet you would positively love to have me as a brother," he said, walking round her.
"Maybe not as a brother," I caught Harry saying under his breath. I turned to look at him, silently asking for an explanation but he shook his head.
Fred ran his hand up Hermione's arm and up to her jaw line where he tilted her head upwards so she had no choice but to look at him.
"Do you think I'm a bad brother?" he questioned, sounding a little hurt.
"N...n...no," she stammered back.
"Good girl, that was a smart answer," Fred said, giving her a saucy wink before Apparating back to his bedroom, several slices of toast still in his hand.
Hermione let out a shaky breath.
"Sorry about him," Percy said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
"It's fine, honestly, I shouldn't have questioned him."
"I think he just wanted an excuse to talk to you, Hermione," I smirked at her.
"Shut up," she glared.
Mum came back into the room with the small cauldron where we kept the Floo powder.
"Okay, you need to get showered and ready. All of you," she added pointedly, looking upwards to the floor where Fred and George sleep. "Then we'll get going to Diagon Alley and get everything for school."
I sighed and got up from the table and went up to my room. I had a little time before we had to go since most people still had to get washed and ready and I'd done it this morning, so I done what I do every day. I took out a quill and a piece of parchment and wrote a letter to Ron.
Dear Ron, I miss you. I miss the way you take the mickey out of me, I miss the way you annoy the hell out of me but most of all I miss the way that if I need you, you're right there with open arms. I don't understand why you left but I miss and love you and I hope you come home soon.
Love you loads, stay safe, love from Ginny. xox
I folded the letter up and put it into my drawer with the rest of the letters. I never send them, I refuse to be the first to break and get in contact with him. The letter writing business had taken longer than I thought because before I knew it, Mum was calling me to come downstairs. I ran down and stood beside Harry who gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before helping me into the fireplace. I took a handful of the powder before speaking as clearly as I could, "Diagon Alley". Then I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach and I closed my eyes to keep the dust out. After a few moments, I landed on my feet, the light shining onto my face and almost blinding me and I opened my eyes and saw the beautiful sight of Diagon Alley.