today's post people....

Promise From The Fire...

It was middle of third week of October and the students were all busy with their studies and quidditch. Moreover the 7th and 5th years were having a tuff time juggling their NEWTs and OWLs with quidditch season respectively. For Ginny it was even more exhausting with all her head girl duties and what with the Christmas ball coming this December. She hadn’t told any of her friends till now. The only people who knew about it were the prefects and the head girl and the head boy and the staff.
Sara on the other hand was busy with her studies. She didn’t get another chance to go out of Hogwarts after the last trip to Hogsmeade and she doubted if she would ever have a chance again. The last time she went to Duff Town, she waited for her friend but he wasn’t around. She walked through almost all the shops of the town if they had seen her friend. She came to know that he was working in a second hand shop for his living. She was happy that he had found someone like her to help sustain in this new land. But she wanted to talk to him about what her headmistress told. She so wanted to know the complete reason for him not willing to go back, a reason that made complete sense. She wanted to know if he was alright, whether he had gotten worse or was he better than the last time she saw him. She missed him dearly. But she couldn’t meet him that day. She talked to the owner of the second handed shop and asked him to give the note which she had written for him, the shop keeper hesitantly obliged. She was all dull when she came back. Ginny understood by seeing Sara’s face. She didn’t question her at all. She waited for her to tell on her own but Sara didn’t speak a word about it. Sara was back to being her usual self once the school started with continuous tests.
It was after a hard day’s work in the green house and after writing two tests one of astronomy and the other of transfiguration she walked back from library to her dorm when she came across Roger.
“hey there Sara,” he said
“oh hey,” she said reluctantly
“um…how was your today’s test?”
“oh it was good,” she said trying to walk away from him but he kept his pace with her.
“so, what will you be doing now?”
“well the point is I am a bit tired after that hard work in the green house so I will freshen up a bit and then go down for dinner”
“oh, ok I’ll wait for you here in the common room then we can go for dinner”
“oh no, no that want be needed…” she trailed off but there was no point because he already left.
“oh dear, when will this guy stop stalking me,” she thought.

Sara reached her dorm room and found a small owl perched on the headboard of her bed. She went and released her of the letter. It was a small letter:

Dear Sara,
Hi. It has been quite a long time since we have talked and seen you and Ginny. What’s up you promised me to write but you have hardly written to me. Harry honestly can’t wait to see for himself if Ginny is fine. And moreover Ron wants to bite your head off for not joining the quidditch team. So we will be waiting for both of you in Gryffindor fireplace at midnight. I hope the time won’t be a problem to you as I have got know that you are studying late at nights, but I would like to know if Ginny will be free then because Harry says she is usually busy with night duties during most of the day. And also let me know if you will not be disturbed by our presence around your study timings.
Hope to see you at midnight.

Love,
Hermione.


Sara quickly wrote back to Hermione:


Dear Hermione,
I am glad to hear from you. Sorry I haven’t written to you for quite sometime. I just came back from library and Ginny just returned to her common room to get freshened up before the dinner. Yeah we will be free at midnight and don’t worry about me getting disturbed. I will see to it that I am free at that time. I just hope Harry isn’t too paranoid about Ginny and I hope I won’t find my head stuck in Ron’s throat tonight.
We will be waiting for you.

Yours truly,
Sara.


She tied the letter to the owl and let him fly.
At dinner Derek was all sober and hardly talked. Sara tried to talk to him but he wouldn’t answer properly. It was already a week and Fiona wasn’t getting better from her bout of flu. Sara completely forgot about Roger who was sitting right next to her on the dinner table trying to strike a conversation but she was busy worried about Fiona. As he was nowhere to be seen in the common room she breathed a sigh of relief when she came down but she didn’t know that he would drop by and sit next to her during dinner.
“you are allowed to visit her only after she is alright,” Derek said when Ginny asked him when could they meet Fiona when they were heading back to the common room after dinner.
“oh alright, see you later both of you,” said Ginny as she was turning round the corner
“where are you going?” he asked
“night duty,” she said. Sara told Ginny about the note and Ginny promised she will be there at midnight.
“Derek, listen to me, please go and sleep, you haven’t slept well last night. I saw you tossing and turning in the couch. If Madam Pomfrey calls for you I will come and wake you up,” said Sara. Roger snorted as Sara spoke to Derek but neither of them acknowledged about it .Around 11 Derek retired to his dorm while the 5th and 7th years still lingered till almost midnight. Roger was still there in the room but he kept his distance from Sara.
“maybe he understood that I am in no moods to talk to him about anything,” she thought. He left after Derek left for his dorm.

Sharp at midnight Sara got up and went to the window and stood there taking in the cool wind.

“Psst Psst,” and she turned immediately and saw Hermione’s head in the fire
“Mione,” exclaimed Sara and hugged her face
“Sara, let me breathe,”
“oops, sorry”
“so you have changed, huh, good,” said Hermione
“how’s your studies going on?”
“oh great and yeah by the way I wanted to ask you about” and Sara asked her astronomy doubt which Hermione explained to her within seconds and helped her finish the chart. It was 12:30
“Sara where is Ginny”
“I am thinking the same, Hermione,” said Sara
“she alright?”
“hopefully”
“what do you mean?” and just then Ginny entered the common room.
“Hermione,” she exclaimed and ran and hugged her the same way Sara hugged her
“honestly Ginny I was thinking where you were? Harry is getting worried sick”
“oh, nothing just night duty,” she said and turned her back to them and went to the table and drank some water.
Hermione looked at Sara and Sara mouthed, “Yaxely”. Hermione’s eyes widened and quickly vanished from the fireplace. Sara thought she must be getting Harry and she was right. Just then Harry came in.
“hey Sara,” he said softly. “Hermione must have told about Ginny to him” thought Sara
“hey Harry,” she spoke softly so that Ginny couldn’t hear. Ginny was at the window staring out in the sky.
“what happened?”
“I think it’s Yaxely. Please don’t get paranoid. I think it isn’t that very serious but be careful when you talk. Just for the beginning you talk to her about everything else and let her come on her own and tell you about it”
“why don’t you tell me?”
“because I don’t know. I have been trying to get out of her all this week but she hasn’t said a thing,” whispered Sara
“it has been a week?” he said astonished
“Harry…” said Sara
“ok”
“hey Gin. You angry with me?” called Harry aloud
“why shouldn’t I be. I am standing over here and you are continuously talking to Sara” Sara and Harry were taken off guard.
“sorry, Gin I’ll leave,” said Sara.
“oh no you are not leaving Sara, I was just kidding,” said Ginny lightly and went and kissed Harry which he returned back obligingly.
“so how was your quidditch match?” he asked and Ginny filled him in
“wow, but why didn’t you write back? ”
“I was really tired Harry by the time I got your letter and this entire week I was studying and making up for the time I lost on the practices so I completely forgot, sorry,” she said and Harry grimaced, “ok”
“hey is that Vicky’s voice?” asked Ginny suddenly jumping and all bright in face.
“yes”
“honestly I miss her so much, why didn’t you tell me that they are in the house”
“Gin I wrote in the letter that Bill, Fleur and Victorie are staying with us for over a week,” said Harry and with that Ginny’s face turned horrid and pale.
“what is going on Gin? Did you get my letter or not? You are even sounding different,” he said thoroughly concerned now.
“um…I am fine Harry, nothing to worry,” said Ginny trying to cover up her shock.
“I must have slept half way through your letter, maybe that’s why I don’t know about it,” she said carelessly shrugging but that showed she put in too much of effort in it and Harry wasn’t convinced.
“Gin, I know you better then you yourself, you read my letters numerous times and you remember them by heart. How much ever tired you may be you always read them,” he said slightly disappointed
Hearing his voice Ginny sighed and told him everything that happened that night. He demanded to see the scratches. She showed them. they were very faint now.
“Harry don’t get paranoid, they are hardly anything in comparison to what I have been through before,” said Ginny
“I don’t give a damn about how badly you were hurt before but I will be demanding answers from this head boy and his girl friend,” he hissed. Ron who had joined in with Harry, was equally furious,
“Ginny, why didn’t you tell us immediately and why didn’t you tell Luna or Sara!”
“I don’t want them to get into trouble, if Luna does something she will be stripped of her post, Yaxely will make sure of that and if Sara interferes she will have to take double detentions with him and that is what I don’t want Sara to go through,” she said
“stop worrying about me, though he must be 6 foot tall, doesn’t mean he can scare me to death, I loath him enough to take on him, alright,” said Sara
“Sara, don’t be so sure,” said Ginny and Sara just shook her head. Sara was not happy because she wasn’t told by Ginny about what happened in their common room.
The rest of the night Harry went on to persuade her to talk to McGonagall about it but Ginny refused. Ron almost gave up and wished goodnight and left.
“it will look as if I am scared of him, Harry and I am not!” she said with finality that he had no ways of arguing with her. He slumped and looked down.
“how can I make her see sense?” he thought.
“Harry please don’t worry. I promise I will tell Sara, Luna and McGonagall about it if it ever happens again,” she said and made him face her. There was sadness sketched on his face. She bent and kissed him but he didn’t react.
“please Harry, I am sorry. I will let you know about Yaxely if he crosses the line once again. Please don’t be angry,” she pleaded. He looked up at her and then gave a slight nod. She hugged him and took his face in her hand and kissed him deep and passionately and he kissed back.
“I love you,” he said softly and she whispered back, “I love you too”