A Different Path

by Michael in Arizona

When Harry supports Hermione after Ron treats her horribly in POA, it leads Harry and the world down a different road. Always remember that Hagrid was right on the money with his correct perspective that Ron should value his friend more than rats. FRIENDS SHOULD ALWAYS BE VALUED ABOVE PETS! NO EXCEPTIONS! Always remember that friends run far deeper than pets. NEWEST CHAPTER AT 18!

12. Candid Conversation

Later that night, as Ginny was quietly sitting in an armchair by the fire relaxing, Harry approached her.

"Hi, Ginny," said Harry kindly, "Would like to go up to the Room of Requirement tonight? I would like to fulfill the promise I made to you earlier today."

"Yes, I need to have that conversation," said Ginny gratefully.

Ginny rose from her armchair and followed Harry out of the portrait hole.

Harry led her to the Room of Requirement and thought three times to himself, "Ginny and I need a place to talk to each other in private without being interrupted."

The door appeared and Ginny pulled the handle and held the door for Harry before trailing in behind him and closing the door. The nanosecond Ginny had closed the door, they both heard a distinct locking sound.

There was a white Ashley Furniture sofa in the middle of the room and Harry and Ginny sat down side by side on it.

"Ginny," said Harry seriously, "I promise you that I will not share anything we talk about in this room tonight with anyone else without your permission. I fully understand and fully appreciate that this is going to be a very serious, very difficult, and very personal conversation for you."

"Thank you, Harry," said Ginny sincerely, "I NEED to have this conversation, but given it's sensitive nature I appreciate that are leaving it on my terms whether anyone else will ever know the details of what we discuss tonight l."

"Respecting boundaries is very important in friendships," replied Harry, "Now, I'm going to start off by asking you a few questions."

"Fire away, Harry, " said Ginny in a determined voice, "I'm ready to talk."

"How often do you have these nightmares?" Harry asked Ginny gently.

"I've had them almost every night at Hogwarts since the fall 1993 semester began," answered Ginny honestly, "Though, interestingly enough, I didn't have these nightmares at the Burrow over Summer Vacation and Christmas Vacation."

"And what are these nightmares actually like?" inquired Harry.

"In the overwhelming majority of these nightmares, I find myself barely clinging to life in the Chamber of Secrets while Tom Riddle taunts me about sucking the life out of me and how much power he was going to have once I was dead, and he could escape the diary. Occasionally, I will have nightmares in which I write my own farewell on the wall in my own blood. In the worst of these nightmares, I see my own dead body and Tom victorious."

"Interestingly, " admitted Harry, "I've had the opposite experience. I have had far more nightmares while stuck on Privet Drive than at Hogwarts. In the summer between first year and second year, I had regular nightmares in which Voldemort was able to steal the Sorcerer's Stone because it fell out of my pocket and was able to use it to return to power. In these nightmares, Voldemort would taunt me about having killed my parents and about how I'm about to go the same way as them. In some of these nightmares he would actually kill me, and I'd see him laughing at my own dead body. In the summer between second and third years, I had nightmares about Tom Riddle escaping the diary and in some of these nightmares that Tom would kill me. In other nightmares I'd forget to keep my eyes closed and the basilisk would kill me with its stare. In the worst of my nightmares, I would be too late to have saved you and the escaped Tom Riddle would taunt me about being responsible for your death."

"Harry," grilled Ginny, "Do have any idea why I've had my nightmares AT Hogwarts while you've had your nightmares AWAY from Hogwarts?"

"I do have a theory, " replied Harry, "Ginny, you grew up with a happy home life with loving parents. Your first year at Hogwarts ended up being the worst time of your life. I grew up in an abusive and neglectful household with relatives who hate me with every fiber of their guts. When I arrived at Hogwarts to start first year, I found a sense of home and comfort for the first time in my life, and it made going back to my abusive and neglectful home for the summers that much harder now that I'd had a taste of something better. I believe we are both having these nightmares at the places where we are most vulnerable."

There was a minute and a nanosecond of thick and tense silence before Ginny piped up, "I think you are right Harry."

"It makes sense," said Harry bluntly, "We are both having our nightmares at the place we feel most vulnerable."

"Just talking right now is helping me," said Ginny matter of factly, "Just saying out loud exactly what these nightmares have contained to someone I trust who has been through similar experiences is therapeutic in the here and now."

"Ginny," said Harry seriously, "I would like to give some advice. First, and very importantly, you need to understand and accept that the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal was not your fault. You were the innocent victim of both Tom Riddle and Lucius Malfoy for slipping the diary. Sometimes, the most important thing in life is the ability to forgive yourself. Particularly when terrible things happen, it can actually be harder to accept that things are not your fault than to accept that things are your fault. Being honest with yourself is a key point."

"That's a lot harder for me to do BECASUE of the nightmares," confided Ginny, "These nightmares are the very reason why I'm struggling to move on from last year, though the dementors aren't helping either."

"Do you remember what it actually felt like when Tom Riddle was controlling you?" Harry grilled Ginny.

"I would have huge blank periods where I couldn't remember a damn thing," responded Ginny, "I'd be unsure of how I'd somewhere. And I'd be confused about things."

Harry heard Ginny let out a long and loud breath after answering that question and he knew Ginny had found it helpful to say this out loud as well."

"So, Ginny" said Harry compassionately, "Listen to me very carefully. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person who bad things have happened to. You understand, right?"

Ginny quietly took that in and then piped up, "Thank you for saying that, Harry. I needed to hear that."

"I'm going to give you some advice," Harry told Ginny, "This is my advice to you in an attempt to help you eliminate these nightmares. Don't go to bed after periods of absentminded thought. Now, I know I have never had a nightmare on a night when I have gone to bed exhausted. I'm not suggesting that you work yourself up to exhaustion, but exercising before bed and making yourself physically tired before going to bed may both reduce your nightmares and lead you to get better sleep."

"I've never tried that," said Ginny simply, "Well, it's worth a shot, right?"

"Of course it is," confirmed Harry, "Another option I would suggest is to engross yourself in happy and enjoyable thoughts before going to bed. Read fantasy books or comics. Do crossword or sudoku puzzles. Think about things that make you happy. I've found that thinking about happy things or engrossing myself in something before bed has led me to have sweet dreams rather than nightmares."

"It sounds to me," said Ginny slowly, "That keeping my body or mind busy and happy before bed is your prescription to reduce the frequency of my nightmares."

"Indeed," nodded Harry, "And if you do have a specific nightmare that really bothers you, ask me to talk to you about it and we can come in here and discuss. Getting things off your chest prevents things from festering."

"I'm feeling that right now," admitted Ginny, "I honestly feel that having talked to you about my nightmares and having spoken about exactly what they were has extracted something poisonous from me and that this conversation can contribute to me having less nightmares because I have confronted them."

"That's exactly it," Harry told Ginny in a crystal clear voice, "If you keep things bottled up, then they stay with you. If you deal with things, you can move on from them. And if all else fails, you can take Dreamless Sleep Potion. Madam Pomfrey will give Dreamless Sleep Potion if you tell her that you are having difficulties with sleep."

"Harry," said Ginny sincerely, "Thank you for taking this time tonight to talk to me. I can already feel it making a difference."

"Ginny," promised Harry, "If you ever have anything you need to get off your chest, I can be your sounding board."

Ginny nodded.

"Ginny," said Harry calmly, "I'm going to sing you a song. Ginny, I dedicate this song to you."

And Harry burst into song:

Even if we can't find heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.

Hands, put your empty hands in mine.
And scars—show me all the scars you hide.
And hey, if your wings are broken, please take mine so yours can open, too.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you.

Oh, tears make kaleidoscopes in your eyes.
And hurt, I know you're hurting, but so am I.
And, love, if your wings are broken, borrow mine 'til yours can open, too.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you.

Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.

Yeah, you're all I never knew I needed.
And the heart—sometimes it's unclear why it's beating.
And, love, if your wings are broken, we can brave through those emotions, too.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you.

Oh, truth—I guess truth is what you believe in.
And faith—I think faith is having a reason.
And nah nah nah , love, if your wings are broken, borrow mine 'til yours can open, too.
'Cause I'm gonna stand by you.

Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.

I'll be your eyes 'til yours can shine.
And I'll be your arms, I'll be your steady satellite.
And when you can't rise, well, I'll crawl with you on hands and knees.
'Cause I... I'm gonna stand by you.

Even if we're breaking down, we can find a way to break through, come on.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through Hell with you.
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.
Love, you're not alone.
Oh, I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, heaven, heaven.
Yeah, I'm gonna stand by you.

By the time Harry had finished his song, Ginny had had several peaceful tears fall down her cheeks and she felt very touched by Harry's fierce declaration of support and loyalty.

"Harry," said Ginny sincerely, "Thank you for your kindness and support. You have proven yourself to be a true friend to me and I feel a sense of inner peace knowing that I can count on you going forward."

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Much love from Arizona for all the support. Love you all-Michael. :) ❤️