| Firecrab
Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melbourne
Posts: 887
|  posty time x
Chapter Sixty – One (Part One)
Ginny and Harry woke up to the sound of knocking and the threats of Madam Pomfrey.
“If you do not present yourselves dressed, respectable and in five minutes outside this door, I will be forced to open it and expose you both for your blatant disregard of the rules”
They leapt out of the bed; dressed quickly, checked they both looked ok before opening the door.
“Sorry Madam Pomfrey” said Ginny in an innocent, earnest sounding voice “We only locked the door by accident”
She made a distinct ‘humphing’ noise in reply as she was sitting on the couch waiting for them.
“Honestly Madam Pomfrey, it must have clicked itself when I closed the door, Ginny had already fallen asleep and I was half way there myself, must have turned the handle the wrong way” Harry said trying to sound convincing. The nurse made no attempt to suggest she believed his story but started to talk about Willow instead.
“The professor wished me to inform you they will be paying you a visit today, both her and the baby are fine, healthy and want to talk to you about something important”
“Oh erm ok” said Harry not really knowing how to reply,
“Does the little girl have a name yet Madam Pomfrey?” said Ginny,
“Nehelenia Rose Vaughn” She replied with a smile, “Beautiful name for a beautiful baby girl”
“It is” Ginny said, Harry looking at her face carefully and seeing the want for children already there wasn’t surprised. He smiled and spoke “Want does she want to speak to us about that can’t wait for a few day’s, I mean shouldn’t she be taking it easy?”
“It seems she is like you in that respect, ‘taking it easy’ doesn’t exist for her either” Madam Pomfrey looked at him talking with the tone of disapproval she had ready for when he did something she didn’t agree with.
“… so did she say when?”
“Dinner time, she wants’ to attend it to announce the birth”
“Are we allowed to go?”Said Ginny eagerly, two days locked away with Harry had its benefits, but not seeing the grounds, or talking to her friends or being around a whole school of people when you ate your three daily meals were things she missed.
“I think I could allow that given your progress, but remember the trial is tomorrow”
“We know” Harry leaned further and deeper into his seat on the couch, Ginny, noticed the anguish and took his hand, “It’s going to be fine, don’t worry, like you said, anything we do we do it together”
He nodded and got up going into the kitchen for a glass of water.
He heard Ginny ask what the time was and he looked at his own watch, ten past nine, they had slept in considering it was technically a school day, they would have been in class now. He leant his palms on the edge of the sink, his fingers over the rim and pointing down into the basin and he stood there holding on to it and closing his eyes.
What was he going to say to defend himself against the Wizengamot? She came at him first … it wasn’t him it was Voldemort’s wand… it was revenge for Sirius.
How could explain being possessed all those other times, the how and why he ended up in Voldemort’s body but Voldemort didn’t end up in his until he took Ginny, until he was certain he new what he could take from Harry to cause equal pain… that thought stopped him his thoughts… he’d taken Ginny in revenge for Bellatrix, her kidnapping and torture was now even more his fault then before. His head spun round and round until he felt her hands around his wrists, the delicate fingers trying to pry his hands off the sink edge his knuckles were white, from holding so tightly. He relinquished his grip, his eyes still unopened as she placed his hands round her waist, drawing him into her arms she whispered to him.
“Please, don’t do this, and don’t think like that I can’t bear it anymore…it… it hurts so much”
Tears fell from his closed eyes onto her shoulder; she pulled away as he opened his eyes.
She reached up with one hand wiping them away with her thumb,
“It’s all going to be fine”
“I believe you, I just…” he sighed taking her hands in his own “It’s too easy not to ignore that I could go to prison for a long time, I could lose you for the rest of my life for a stupid mistake”
“You going to win this, we’re going to win this, there not going to take you away from me your not going to let them and neither am I” she said firmly staring at him.
Last time it had been her crying trying to hold it together and him the one to help them get through it now he needed Hermione’s promise much more then if he had died. She would have to look after her if he didn’t get out of going to Azkaban.
He nodded faithfully, he agreed with her but it was still at the back of his mind, that feeling that this wasn’t going to be as easy to do as it was to say. She hugged him again, took his hand in her own and led him back out to the empty room. Madam Pomfrey closed the door to the middle room just as they entered, excusing herself from what was going on.
They sat beside each other on the couch Harry conscious arguing with his own and Ginny’s.
“Harry, this isn’t like fighting Voldemort” She said and he heard the slight tremble in her voice when she said his name “The Wizengamot were on your side once before, they have every reason to be so again”
“It’s just I don’t really have much to tell them without making myself out to be an nutcase”
“It wasn’t that you were a nutcase that you killed her it was because she, killed Sirius, it was that she ruined hundreds of life’s, it was that she was serving at his right hand killing, torturing and you had the opportunity to end it and you took it”
“It was me, I can’t blame it on anything else, I should be punished”
“Not for doing something that so many others wanted to do”
“SHE WAS A PERSON, A LIVING BREATHING PERSON AND I ENDED THAT” he stood up, shrugging away her arm when she tried to stop him, to hold him back.
He’d shouted at her, he was punishing himself for it, he’d said he’d never shout at her and now he was. She kept quiet taking a breath, opening her mouth for something to calm him but closing it when he continued.
“I KILLED, I’M A MURDERER, I DESERVE THIS AND LEAVING YOU IS MY PUNISHMENT”
“Harry don’t”
“Ginny listen” he knelt down in front of her, his hands on hers “I love you so much but…but… I killed somebody, she had a family, she may have been evil but she had people that loved her”
“Don’t try to rationalise it, and don’t tell me what your thinking, I swear Harry if those words come out of your lips I’m never going to talk to you, kiss you or even acknowledge you again”
“Ginny”
“NO! DON’T SAY ANYTHING”
“Gin”
“Don’t” she whispered stroking his cheek tears falling from both there eyes.
“I …can’t… we can’t… if I’m taken from you…”
“Your punishing yourself already don’t you see that?”
“Gin, listen to me”
“No Harry, you listen, you silly stupid boy!” she grasped his hands tighter and looked at him so fiercely he daren’t move “I’m not going to let anything stop me from bringing you back here with me tomorrow, you won’t go to Azkaban, I promise because she deserved to die, she was evil, and you, you did what other wizards failed to do, stopped her from killing anyone else – when you killed Voldemort who do you think would have got away if the order had tried to stop her, who do you think would have wiped out me and my family given the opportunity after you had killed him, just because we were close to you, just like Sirius. She killed your Godfather, that last part of your family you loved so much as she took him, her own cousin, and murdered him in cold blood in front of you. I know how much pain you went though Harry, remember I was the only one you would talk to, I know what she took from you and I know she deserved to die and if was by anyone else’s hand but yours it wouldn’t have been just”
Harry sat in awe in silence looking into her eyes as she spoke telling him off like a child and then telling him exactly what to keep him there beside her.
“But Gin”
“Don’t say another word” she let go of his hands walking away from him. He was still kneeling on the floor as her bedroom door closed and beat his fists into the couch.
He took a breath, and stood up shakily. He pulled himself together and then something crossed his mind so fast he new she wouldn’t see it. He walked into his room, grabbed his cloak, wand and the marauders map.
He left under his cloak and made his way out of the castle and into the grounds heading to the gate. He made his way out of the gate and into Hogsmeade. He went straight to the Hogshead and opened the door. Walking in and going to the bar he took off his cloak and watched Aberforth stare surprised before coming to life,
“It’s not even midday and your in here, I can’t serve you, and you know that”
“You know why I’m here and you know it’s not for a drink”
“I can’t do that” he glanced at the two patron’s seated in the otherwise empty pub, one under a large black cloak hooded to his nose and down to his ankles as he sat. The other creature was hairy and drinking something blue from a glass sitting on the floor in a corner.
“You’ll let me go because it’s going to keep me out of prison”
“Who are you going to see?”
“Why?”
“I can tell you if there in there or if they’ve been moved”
“Willow said all those up for trial the same day as me would be in this place not Azkaban”
“Who is he then?”
“The person I put in there, the first time me and Willow came here”
“Ahh” he nodded knowingly “And what can you do to persuade him?”
“Well I’m not going to; I’m going to ask him something”
“Such as”
“If I was going to tell you I would have already”
“Silly boy”
“She just called me the same thing” he mumbled but Aberforth was too deaf to hear it. He drew his wand, “Go in there” he gestured to the nearby door with his head before taking a dirty glass from the counter and following him in.
“When you get there say that you want to speak to Mr Kneeling directly and they’ll let you in no trouble and you won’t have to threaten to blow the doors down”
“You heard bout that did you?” he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed,
“Yes, you got guts boy; learn when the best time to use them is eh” he grinned handing Harry the glass, before pointing it at with his wand. “And what shall I tell the red headed girl whose just arrived at my door?” he said looking out the filthy circle of glass in the door as Ginny looked around the bar.
“Send her back to the castle with this”. He took off the ring she had given him “Tell her I’ll be back for it”
“Hmm” Aberforth replied, pointed finally at the glass that turned blue and Harry disappeared as she burst through the door seeing the light and knowing what had happened.
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RIP JD Salinger |