Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Summer of Secrets
Chapter Thirteen
0 reviewsWith the Christmas holidays coming to a close, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts.
-1Cliche
Warnings For This Chapter: cutting
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter Thirteen
BeforeHarry knew it, it was the night before they returned to Hogwarts. He had spent most of the holidays with Ginny: whether it was private time at their spot, long walks to the village, or just snuggling by the fire, which was precisely what they were doing at the moment. He smiled happily when Ginny turned her face towards him to kiss his cheek tenderly. Half-an-hour later, Ginny's eyes were drooping. This didn't go unnoticed by her mother. Molly looked at the clock and at once ordered everyone, even those who didn't have school the next day, to bed.
“Harry, mind if we have a word?” Bill spoke up as Molly went into the kitchen to tell Ron it was time for bed.
Harry looked down at Ginny and then nodded. “I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight.”
Ginny stood up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. She murmured into his ear,“I'll miss you.”
“I'll miss you, too.” Harry kissed the top of her head and watched her disappear up to her room.
Once she was gone, Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend's eldest brother. It was then that he realized that it was not only Bill who wanted to speak to him, but Charlie, Fred and George also.
“Is something wrong, Bill?” Harry addressed the eldest brother.
“That all depends, Harry. You see, we,” Bill nodded towards his brothers,“were wondering about your intentions towards our little sister.”
“Our only sister,” Charlie interjected.
Harry offered them a nervous, crooked smile. “I thought my Christmas present pretty much said what my intentions were.”
“Well, that wasn't clear enough for us.” Fred shook his head in disagreement.
“We want to know that Ginny's more than just a good shag,” George said bluntly.
“G-Ginny and I h-haven't. . . .” Harry stammered, unable to finish his own sentence.
“It's okay, Harry, we know. We're not stupid. But don't worry, we aren't here to rough you up.” Bill smiled kindly at Harry.
“I-I don't know what you're talking about. . . .” Harry continued to protest.
“Give it arest, Harry. Like Bill said, we aren't here to hurt you, unless we need to. Do we need to, Harry?” Fred crossed his arms over his chest.
“N-no. I-I love Ginny. A lot,” Harry added nervously.
“Good. That's all we needed to know.” Charlie extended his hand.
Against his better judgment, Harry took it. Charlie pulled Harry towards him and spoke into his ear, “But if you hurt her in any way-”
“Shape,” Fred continued.
“Or form,” George said.
“Just look out, Potter. This is your only warning.” Bill clapped Harry on the back as he left the room. The other three brushed past him roughly.
Harry went up the stairs and into Ginny's room. She could instantly tell something had him rattled.
“All right, what did they do?” Ginny sat up in bed. She took Harry's hand in his and rubbed it sympathetically.
“Oh, they just threatened me with some unforeseeable pain if I ever hurt you,” Harry said half-heartedly.
Ginny frowned angrily. “Oh, when I get my hands on those four. . . .”
“No, don't worry about it, Ginny. If I had a younger sister I would've done the same thing.” Harry shook his head in disagreement.
“I suppose you're right . . . but that doesn't mean I like it.” Ginny crossed her arms.
Harry chuckled,“You don't have to, love.”
He lowered her lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Ginny quickly deepened the kiss and focused on pouring all of her love into it. When they broke apart, gasping for air, Harry rested his forehead against hers. “I should be going.”
“Won't you stay with me?” Ginny grasped his arm so he couldn't leave.
“I'm sorry, love, but I can't. I don't want to give your brothers any reason to fulfill their promise.” Harry kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
Ginny sighed. “I love you too.”
“Get some rest, love. I'll see you first thing in the morning. We have the whole train ride to ourselves.” Harry kissed her again before he left.
H/G
Ginnywas overwhelmed with dread when she awoke the next morning. Today, she would return to Hogwarts with her boyfriend, her brother, and her best friend. She should've been happy to return to a place where there was plenty of room for privacy with Harry, but instead she was anxious. Returning to Hogwarts meant the return of an excessive amount of homework. Ginny had barely been able to complete her assignments over the break, yet somehow she had managed.
Sitting up in bed, Ginny sighed unhappily. Looking down at her wrists she examined each scar closely. She knew she should go to Harry, but she couldn't bring herself to bother him. He had enough troubles without her adding to them. It was with this thought that Ginny slipped out of bed and stole away into the bathroom. She grabbed her razor and found her oldest scar. Placing the blade over it, Ginny dragged it across until the scar was now an open wound.
Ginny cleaned up and bandaged her wound. She then pulled the sleeve of her night dress down and returned to her room. She slipped back into bed and turned her back to the door.
“You did it again, didn't you?” Ginny was startled to roll over and find Hermione sitting up in bed.
“I had to use the loo.” Ginny rolled back over, pulling the covers up higher.
“Show me your arm,” Hermione insisted.
“There's nothing to see, Hermione,” Ginny grumbled.
“Then prove it. Show me your arm,” Hermione said.
“I'm going to see if Mum needs help with breakfast.” Ginny grabbed along-sleeved Holyhead Harpies shirt and a pair of jeans before leaving the room. She quickly changed in the bathroom and made her way down the stairs before Hermione could come looking for her.
H/G
Onceon the Hogwarts Express, Hermione and Ron went off to join the other Prefects. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and walked down the aisle until he found an empty compartment. He held the door open for Ginny, following her into it.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the city become countryside. Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look at him with curiosity.
“I spoke to Hermione this morning,” Harry spoke up.
Ginny felt arock form in her stomach. “Oh really? What did she have to say?”
“It was rather unusual actually, but she seemed to think you had hurt yourself this morning.” Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
All hopes of keeping her secret from Harry disappeared as tears began to fall down Ginny's cheeks. Harry was instantly by her side, pulling her into his lap. Ginny grasped his shirt in her fist, sobbing against his chest.
Once her tears had finally subsided, Harry asked, “Why?”
“I was just anxious about school starting up is all.” Ginny wiped furiously at her tears.
“Why didn't you come get me?” Harry pulled back to look at her.
“You have enough problems without me adding to them. Compared to your troubles mine are petty.” Ginny shook her head.
“Petty? If something is bothering you it is certainly not petty, Gin. I love you, and if something is causing you pain, it causes me pain. Just seeing you go through this . . . it hurts, Ginny . . . more than you know. It hurts me to see you do this to yourself. I don't know . . .maybe Hermione's right.” Harry sighed, shaking his head.
“What do you mean 'maybe Hermione's right'?” Ginny looked up at him in surprise.
“Maybe you should talk to someone, Ginny.” Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry cut her off. “No, listen to me. I don't know what to do to help you. Maybe . . . maybe someone else will.”
“I won't go. You can't make me. It's my decision and no one else's.” Ginny stood up abruptly.
Harry got to his feet. “Actually, it's not. You see if it were to come to Madam Pomfrey's attention that someone were in ill mental health, she could not possibly ignore it.” He took her hand and sat down once more. “I don't want to resort to that, Ginny, you must know that. But I don't want to lose you to this. I can't lose you to this. So please, think about it. For me?”
Ginny sighed, sitting down across from him. “Fine. But I won't make any promises.”
“That's enough . . . for now.” Harry leaned forward and kissed her chastely.
H/G
Harry's*]threat of going to Madam Pomfrey distressed Ginny even worse. She kept to herself mostly, throwing her all into her school work. This didn't go unnoticed by Harry or Hermione, but neither could bring themselves to say something. So when Ginny finished her work early that night and left to take a shower, Hermione followed ten minutes later.
Hermione stepped into the washroom. The sound of Ginny's cries reverberated off the walls. She quickly located which shower stall Ginny was in and pulled the curtain back. What she saw made Hermione's heart skip a beat.
H/G
Ginnyturned the tap of the shower to go as hot as possible. She stepped into the shower, finally allowing her tears to flow over. She was tired of hiding her sorrow, it was rather exhausting really. Ginny grabbed her shampoo bottle and rubbed her homemade strawberry shampoo into her hair furiously. Once she had rinsed it out and conditioned, Ginny turned to reach for her soap. That was when she caught a glance of her razor. She had unpacked it, keeping her spare one in her box just in case.
Without hesitation, Ginny picked it up and bit back a sob when she brought it to her newest healed wound. Placing the razor over her newest scar, Ginny dragged it back and forth furiously. She couldn't feel the pain; the skin was so covered in scar tissue. Ginny kept dragging the blade over her skin until she felt release. It only took a minute for her to realise she had once again gone too far.
Sobbing, Ginny dropped the blade and collapsed to the tile floor of the shower. Bringing her head to her arms, she silently prayed for whatever higher being existed to save her. She shuddered when the shower curtain was pulled back and Hermione appeared before her.
“Oh, Ginny! What have you done?” Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. She knew she had to act immediately; Ginny was losing blood fast.
“I-I'm s-sorry, H-Hermione. I-I did-didn't mean to.” Ginny shivered.“P-please tell Harry I l-love him.”
“Nonsense, you can tell him yourself. Stay with me, Ginny, stay with me.” Hermione turned the water off and tried to lift Ginny out of the shower, but she wasn't strong enough.
Ginny was coming in and out of consciousness by this point. Hermione knew she had to get help.
“I'll be right back, Ginny. Everything will be okay, I promise.” Hermione ran out of the room and into the common room.
“Harry!Harry! Come quick!” she yelled.
Harry looked up at her and watched as Hermione tapped her wand on the banister, before she ran back up the stairs. He followed her, barely registering the fact that the staircase remained solid.
When he saw Ginny passed out on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from her wrist, he gasped in horror. Biting back his tears, Harry found a towel and wrapped it around her before he lifted her easily into his arms.
“What happened, Hermione?” he demanded as he raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
“I-I don't know. I found her collapsed in the shower. I was too late to stop her. She passed out not long after.” Hermione ran to match Harry's long strides.
“We have to get her to Madam Pomfrey, fast. And this time we tell her the truth.” Harry hardened his resolve. He knew it had to be done.
“Ginny will hate you for this,” Hermione said.
“I know. But I'd rather have her around to hate me,” Harry replied.
[*Warnings For This Chapter: cutting
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter Thirteen
BeforeHarry knew it, it was the night before they returned to Hogwarts. He had spent most of the holidays with Ginny: whether it was private time at their spot, long walks to the village, or just snuggling by the fire, which was precisely what they were doing at the moment. He smiled happily when Ginny turned her face towards him to kiss his cheek tenderly. Half-an-hour later, Ginny's eyes were drooping. This didn't go unnoticed by her mother. Molly looked at the clock and at once ordered everyone, even those who didn't have school the next day, to bed.
“Harry, mind if we have a word?” Bill spoke up as Molly went into the kitchen to tell Ron it was time for bed.
Harry looked down at Ginny and then nodded. “I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight.”
Ginny stood up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. She murmured into his ear,“I'll miss you.”
“I'll miss you, too.” Harry kissed the top of her head and watched her disappear up to her room.
Once she was gone, Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend's eldest brother. It was then that he realized that it was not only Bill who wanted to speak to him, but Charlie, Fred and George also.
“Is something wrong, Bill?” Harry addressed the eldest brother.
“That all depends, Harry. You see, we,” Bill nodded towards his brothers,“were wondering about your intentions towards our little sister.”
“Our only sister,” Charlie interjected.
Harry offered them a nervous, crooked smile. “I thought my Christmas present pretty much said what my intentions were.”
“Well, that wasn't clear enough for us.” Fred shook his head in disagreement.
“We want to know that Ginny's more than just a good shag,” George said bluntly.
“G-Ginny and I h-haven't. . . .” Harry stammered, unable to finish his own sentence.
“It's okay, Harry, we know you two have been fooling around. We're not stupid. But don't worry, we aren't here to rough you up.” Bill smiled kindly at Harry.
“I-I don't know what you're talking about. . . .” Harry continued to protest.
“Give it arest, Harry. Like Bill said, we aren't here to hurt you, unless we need to. Do we need to, Harry?” Fred crossed his arms over his chest.
“N-no. I-I love Ginny. A lot,” Harry added nervously.
“Good. That's all we needed to know.” Charlie extended his hand.
Against his better judgment, Harry took it. Charlie pulled Harry towards him and spoke into his ear, “But if you hurt her in any way-”
“Shape,” Fred continued.
“Or form,” George said.
“Just look out, Potter. This is your only warning.” Bill clapped Harry on the back as he left the room. The other three brushed past him roughly.
Harry went up the stairs and into Ginny's room. She could instantly tell something had him rattled.
“All right, what did they do?” Ginny sat up in bed. She took Harry's hand in his and rubbed it sympathetically.
“Oh, they just threatened me with some unforeseeable pain if I ever hurt you,” Harry said half-heartedly.
Ginny frowned angrily. “Oh, when I get my hands on those four. . . .”
“No, don't worry about it, Ginny. If I had a younger sister I would've done the same thing.” Harry shook his head in disagreement.
“I suppose you're right . . . but that doesn't mean I like it.” Ginny crossed her arms.
Harry chuckled,“You don't have to, love.”
He lowered her lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Ginny quickly deepened the kiss and focused on pouring all of her love into it. When they broke apart, gasping for air, Harry rested his forehead against hers. “I should be going.”
“Won't you stay with me?” Ginny grasped his arm so he couldn't leave.
“I'm sorry, love, but I can't. I don't want to give your brothers any reason to fulfill their promise.” Harry kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
Ginny sighed. “I love you too.”
“Get some rest, love. I'll see you first thing in the morning. We have the whole train ride to ourselves.” Harry kissed her again before he left.
H/G
Ginnywas overwhelmed with dread when she awoke the next morning. Today, she would return to Hogwarts with her boyfriend, her brother, and her best friend. She should've been happy to return to a place where there was plenty of room for privacy with Harry, but instead she was anxious. Returning to Hogwarts meant the return of an excessive amount of homework. Ginny had barely been able to complete her assignments over the break, yet somehow she had managed.
Sitting up in bed, Ginny sighed unhappily. Looking down at her wrists she examined each scar closely. She knew she should go to Harry, but she couldn't bring herself to bother him. He had enough troubles without her adding to them. It was with this thought that Ginny slipped out of bed and stole away into the bathroom. She grabbed her razor and found her oldest scar. Placing the blade over it, Ginny dragged it across until the scar was now an open wound.
Ginny cleaned up and bandaged her wound. She then pulled the sleeve of her night dress down and returned to her room. She slipped back into bed and turned her back to the door.
“You did it again, didn't you?” Ginny was startled to roll over and find Hermione sitting up in bed.
“I had to use the loo.” Ginny rolled back over, pulling the covers up higher.
“Show me your arm,” Hermione insisted.
“There's nothing to see, Hermione,” Ginny grumbled.
“Then prove it. Show me your arm,” Hermione said.
“I'm going to see if Mum needs help with breakfast.” Ginny grabbed along-sleeved Holyhead Harpies shirt and a pair of jeans before leaving the room. She quickly changed in the bathroom and made her way down the stairs before Hermione could come looking for her.
H/G
Onceon the Hogwarts Express, Hermione and Ron went off to join the other Prefects. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and walked down the aisle until he found an empty compartment. He held the door open for Ginny, following her into it.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the city become countryside. Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look at him with curiosity.
“I spoke to Hermione this morning,” Harry spoke up.
Ginny felt a rock form in her stomach. “Oh really? What did she have to say?”
“It was rather unusual actually, but she seemed to think you had hurt yourself this morning.” Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
All hopes of keeping her secret from Harry disappeared as tears began to fall down Ginny's cheeks. Harry was instantly by her side, pulling her into his lap. Ginny grasped his shirt in her fist, sobbing against his chest.
Once her tears had finally subsided, Harry asked, “Why?”
“I was just anxious about school starting up is all.” Ginny wiped furiously at her tears.
“Why didn't you come get me?” Harry pulled back to look at her.
“You have enough problems without me adding to them. Compared to your troubles mine are petty.” Ginny shook her head.
“Petty? If something is bothering you it is certainly not petty, Gin. I love you, and if something is causing you pain, it causes me pain. Just seeing you go through this . . . it hurts, Ginny . . . more than you know. It hurts me to see you do this to yourself. I don't know . . .maybe Hermione's right.” Harry sighed, shaking his head.
“What do you mean 'maybe Hermione's right'?” Ginny looked up at him in surprise.
“Maybe you should talk to someone, Ginny.” Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry cut her off. “No, listen to me. I don't know what to do to help you. Maybe . . . maybe someone else will.”
“I won't go. You can't make me. It's my decision and no one else's.” Ginny stood up abruptly.
Harry got to his feet. “Actually, it's not. You see if it were to come to Madam Pomfrey's attention that someone were in ill mental health, she could not possibly ignore it.” He took her hand and sat down once more. “I don't want to resort to that, Ginny, you must know that. But I don't want to lose you to this. I can't lose you to this. So please, think about it. For me?”
Ginny sighed, sitting down across from him. “Fine. But I won't make any promises.”
“That's enough . . . for now.” Harry leaned forward and kissed her chastely.
H/G
Harry'sthreat of going to Madam Pomfrey distressed Ginny even worse. She kept to herself mostly, throwing her all into her school work. This didn't go unnoticed by Harry or Hermione, but neither could bring themselves to say something. So when Ginny finished her work early that night and left to take a shower, Hermione followed ten minutes later.
Hermione stepped into the washroom. The sound of Ginny's cries reverberated off the walls. She quickly located which shower stall Ginny was in and pulled the curtain back. What she saw made Hermione's heart skip a beat.
H/G
Ginnyturned the tap of the shower to go as hot as possible. She stepped into the shower, finally allowing her tears to flow over. She was tired of hiding her sorrow, it was rather exhausting really. Ginny grabbed her shampoo bottle and rubbed her homemade strawberry shampoo into her hair furiously. Once she had rinsed it out and conditioned, Ginny turned to reach for her soap. That was when she caught a glance of her razor. She had unpacked it, keeping her spare one in her box just in case.
Without hesitation, Ginny picked it up and bit back a sob when she brought it to her newest healed wound. Placing the razor over her newest scar, Ginny dragged it back and forth furiously. She couldn't feel the pain; the skin was so covered in scar tissue. Ginny kept dragging the blade over her skin until she felt release. It only took a minute for her to realise she had once again gone too far.
Sobbing, Ginny dropped the blade and collapsed to the tile floor of the shower. Bringing her head to her arms, she silently prayed for whatever higher being existed to save her. She shuddered when the shower curtain was pulled back and Hermione appeared before her.
“Oh, Ginny!What have you done?” Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. She knew she had to act immediately; Ginny was losing blood fast.
“I-I'm s-sorry, H-Hermione. I-I did-didn't mean to.” Ginny shivered.“P-please tell Harry I l-love him.”
“Nonsense, you can tell him yourself. Stay with me, Ginny, stay with me.” Hermione turned the water off and tried to lift Ginny out of the shower, but she wasn't strong enough.
Ginny was coming in and out of consciousness by this point. Hermione knew she had to get help.
“I'll be right back, Ginny. Everything will be okay, I promise.” Hermione ran out of the room and into the common room.
“Harry!Harry! Come quick!” she yelled.
Harry looked up at her and watched as Hermione tapped her wand on the banister, before she ran back up the stairs. He followed her, barely registering the fact that the staircase remained solid.
When he saw Ginny passed out on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from her wrist, he gasped in horror. Biting back his tears, Harry found a towel and wrapped it around her before he lifted her easily into his arms.
“What happened, Hermione?” he demanded as he raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
“I-I don't know. I found her collapsed in the shower. I was too late to stop her. She passed out not long after.” Hermione ran to match Harry's long strides.
“We have to get her to Madam Pomfrey, fast. And this time we tell her the truth.” Harry hardened his resolve. He knew it had to be done.
“Ginny will hate you for this,” Hermione said.
“I know. But I'd rather have her around to hate me,” Harry replied.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter Thirteen
BeforeHarry knew it, it was the night before they returned to Hogwarts. He had spent most of the holidays with Ginny: whether it was private time at their spot, long walks to the village, or just snuggling by the fire, which was precisely what they were doing at the moment. He smiled happily when Ginny turned her face towards him to kiss his cheek tenderly. Half-an-hour later, Ginny's eyes were drooping. This didn't go unnoticed by her mother. Molly looked at the clock and at once ordered everyone, even those who didn't have school the next day, to bed.
“Harry, mind if we have a word?” Bill spoke up as Molly went into the kitchen to tell Ron it was time for bed.
Harry looked down at Ginny and then nodded. “I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight.”
Ginny stood up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. She murmured into his ear,“I'll miss you.”
“I'll miss you, too.” Harry kissed the top of her head and watched her disappear up to her room.
Once she was gone, Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend's eldest brother. It was then that he realized that it was not only Bill who wanted to speak to him, but Charlie, Fred and George also.
“Is something wrong, Bill?” Harry addressed the eldest brother.
“That all depends, Harry. You see, we,” Bill nodded towards his brothers,“were wondering about your intentions towards our little sister.”
“Our only sister,” Charlie interjected.
Harry offered them a nervous, crooked smile. “I thought my Christmas present pretty much said what my intentions were.”
“Well, that wasn't clear enough for us.” Fred shook his head in disagreement.
“We want to know that Ginny's more than just a good shag,” George said bluntly.
“G-Ginny and I h-haven't. . . .” Harry stammered, unable to finish his own sentence.
“It's okay, Harry, we know. We're not stupid. But don't worry, we aren't here to rough you up.” Bill smiled kindly at Harry.
“I-I don't know what you're talking about. . . .” Harry continued to protest.
“Give it arest, Harry. Like Bill said, we aren't here to hurt you, unless we need to. Do we need to, Harry?” Fred crossed his arms over his chest.
“N-no. I-I love Ginny. A lot,” Harry added nervously.
“Good. That's all we needed to know.” Charlie extended his hand.
Against his better judgment, Harry took it. Charlie pulled Harry towards him and spoke into his ear, “But if you hurt her in any way-”
“Shape,” Fred continued.
“Or form,” George said.
“Just look out, Potter. This is your only warning.” Bill clapped Harry on the back as he left the room. The other three brushed past him roughly.
Harry went up the stairs and into Ginny's room. She could instantly tell something had him rattled.
“All right, what did they do?” Ginny sat up in bed. She took Harry's hand in his and rubbed it sympathetically.
“Oh, they just threatened me with some unforeseeable pain if I ever hurt you,” Harry said half-heartedly.
Ginny frowned angrily. “Oh, when I get my hands on those four. . . .”
“No, don't worry about it, Ginny. If I had a younger sister I would've done the same thing.” Harry shook his head in disagreement.
“I suppose you're right . . . but that doesn't mean I like it.” Ginny crossed her arms.
Harry chuckled,“You don't have to, love.”
He lowered her lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Ginny quickly deepened the kiss and focused on pouring all of her love into it. When they broke apart, gasping for air, Harry rested his forehead against hers. “I should be going.”
“Won't you stay with me?” Ginny grasped his arm so he couldn't leave.
“I'm sorry, love, but I can't. I don't want to give your brothers any reason to fulfill their promise.” Harry kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
Ginny sighed. “I love you too.”
“Get some rest, love. I'll see you first thing in the morning. We have the whole train ride to ourselves.” Harry kissed her again before he left.
H/G
Ginnywas overwhelmed with dread when she awoke the next morning. Today, she would return to Hogwarts with her boyfriend, her brother, and her best friend. She should've been happy to return to a place where there was plenty of room for privacy with Harry, but instead she was anxious. Returning to Hogwarts meant the return of an excessive amount of homework. Ginny had barely been able to complete her assignments over the break, yet somehow she had managed.
Sitting up in bed, Ginny sighed unhappily. Looking down at her wrists she examined each scar closely. She knew she should go to Harry, but she couldn't bring herself to bother him. He had enough troubles without her adding to them. It was with this thought that Ginny slipped out of bed and stole away into the bathroom. She grabbed her razor and found her oldest scar. Placing the blade over it, Ginny dragged it across until the scar was now an open wound.
Ginny cleaned up and bandaged her wound. She then pulled the sleeve of her night dress down and returned to her room. She slipped back into bed and turned her back to the door.
“You did it again, didn't you?” Ginny was startled to roll over and find Hermione sitting up in bed.
“I had to use the loo.” Ginny rolled back over, pulling the covers up higher.
“Show me your arm,” Hermione insisted.
“There's nothing to see, Hermione,” Ginny grumbled.
“Then prove it. Show me your arm,” Hermione said.
“I'm going to see if Mum needs help with breakfast.” Ginny grabbed along-sleeved Holyhead Harpies shirt and a pair of jeans before leaving the room. She quickly changed in the bathroom and made her way down the stairs before Hermione could come looking for her.
H/G
Onceon the Hogwarts Express, Hermione and Ron went off to join the other Prefects. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and walked down the aisle until he found an empty compartment. He held the door open for Ginny, following her into it.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the city become countryside. Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look at him with curiosity.
“I spoke to Hermione this morning,” Harry spoke up.
Ginny felt arock form in her stomach. “Oh really? What did she have to say?”
“It was rather unusual actually, but she seemed to think you had hurt yourself this morning.” Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
All hopes of keeping her secret from Harry disappeared as tears began to fall down Ginny's cheeks. Harry was instantly by her side, pulling her into his lap. Ginny grasped his shirt in her fist, sobbing against his chest.
Once her tears had finally subsided, Harry asked, “Why?”
“I was just anxious about school starting up is all.” Ginny wiped furiously at her tears.
“Why didn't you come get me?” Harry pulled back to look at her.
“You have enough problems without me adding to them. Compared to your troubles mine are petty.” Ginny shook her head.
“Petty? If something is bothering you it is certainly not petty, Gin. I love you, and if something is causing you pain, it causes me pain. Just seeing you go through this . . . it hurts, Ginny . . . more than you know. It hurts me to see you do this to yourself. I don't know . . .maybe Hermione's right.” Harry sighed, shaking his head.
“What do you mean 'maybe Hermione's right'?” Ginny looked up at him in surprise.
“Maybe you should talk to someone, Ginny.” Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry cut her off. “No, listen to me. I don't know what to do to help you. Maybe . . . maybe someone else will.”
“I won't go. You can't make me. It's my decision and no one else's.” Ginny stood up abruptly.
Harry got to his feet. “Actually, it's not. You see if it were to come to Madam Pomfrey's attention that someone were in ill mental health, she could not possibly ignore it.” He took her hand and sat down once more. “I don't want to resort to that, Ginny, you must know that. But I don't want to lose you to this. I can't lose you to this. So please, think about it. For me?”
Ginny sighed, sitting down across from him. “Fine. But I won't make any promises.”
“That's enough . . . for now.” Harry leaned forward and kissed her chastely.
H/G
Harry's*]threat of going to Madam Pomfrey distressed Ginny even worse. She kept to herself mostly, throwing her all into her school work. This didn't go unnoticed by Harry or Hermione, but neither could bring themselves to say something. So when Ginny finished her work early that night and left to take a shower, Hermione followed ten minutes later.
Hermione stepped into the washroom. The sound of Ginny's cries reverberated off the walls. She quickly located which shower stall Ginny was in and pulled the curtain back. What she saw made Hermione's heart skip a beat.
H/G
Ginnyturned the tap of the shower to go as hot as possible. She stepped into the shower, finally allowing her tears to flow over. She was tired of hiding her sorrow, it was rather exhausting really. Ginny grabbed her shampoo bottle and rubbed her homemade strawberry shampoo into her hair furiously. Once she had rinsed it out and conditioned, Ginny turned to reach for her soap. That was when she caught a glance of her razor. She had unpacked it, keeping her spare one in her box just in case.
Without hesitation, Ginny picked it up and bit back a sob when she brought it to her newest healed wound. Placing the razor over her newest scar, Ginny dragged it back and forth furiously. She couldn't feel the pain; the skin was so covered in scar tissue. Ginny kept dragging the blade over her skin until she felt release. It only took a minute for her to realise she had once again gone too far.
Sobbing, Ginny dropped the blade and collapsed to the tile floor of the shower. Bringing her head to her arms, she silently prayed for whatever higher being existed to save her. She shuddered when the shower curtain was pulled back and Hermione appeared before her.
“Oh, Ginny! What have you done?” Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. She knew she had to act immediately; Ginny was losing blood fast.
“I-I'm s-sorry, H-Hermione. I-I did-didn't mean to.” Ginny shivered.“P-please tell Harry I l-love him.”
“Nonsense, you can tell him yourself. Stay with me, Ginny, stay with me.” Hermione turned the water off and tried to lift Ginny out of the shower, but she wasn't strong enough.
Ginny was coming in and out of consciousness by this point. Hermione knew she had to get help.
“I'll be right back, Ginny. Everything will be okay, I promise.” Hermione ran out of the room and into the common room.
“Harry!Harry! Come quick!” she yelled.
Harry looked up at her and watched as Hermione tapped her wand on the banister, before she ran back up the stairs. He followed her, barely registering the fact that the staircase remained solid.
When he saw Ginny passed out on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from her wrist, he gasped in horror. Biting back his tears, Harry found a towel and wrapped it around her before he lifted her easily into his arms.
“What happened, Hermione?” he demanded as he raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
“I-I don't know. I found her collapsed in the shower. I was too late to stop her. She passed out not long after.” Hermione ran to match Harry's long strides.
“We have to get her to Madam Pomfrey, fast. And this time we tell her the truth.” Harry hardened his resolve. He knew it had to be done.
“Ginny will hate you for this,” Hermione said.
“I know. But I'd rather have her around to hate me,” Harry replied.
[*Warnings For This Chapter: cutting
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter Thirteen
BeforeHarry knew it, it was the night before they returned to Hogwarts. He had spent most of the holidays with Ginny: whether it was private time at their spot, long walks to the village, or just snuggling by the fire, which was precisely what they were doing at the moment. He smiled happily when Ginny turned her face towards him to kiss his cheek tenderly. Half-an-hour later, Ginny's eyes were drooping. This didn't go unnoticed by her mother. Molly looked at the clock and at once ordered everyone, even those who didn't have school the next day, to bed.
“Harry, mind if we have a word?” Bill spoke up as Molly went into the kitchen to tell Ron it was time for bed.
Harry looked down at Ginny and then nodded. “I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight.”
Ginny stood up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. She murmured into his ear,“I'll miss you.”
“I'll miss you, too.” Harry kissed the top of her head and watched her disappear up to her room.
Once she was gone, Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend's eldest brother. It was then that he realized that it was not only Bill who wanted to speak to him, but Charlie, Fred and George also.
“Is something wrong, Bill?” Harry addressed the eldest brother.
“That all depends, Harry. You see, we,” Bill nodded towards his brothers,“were wondering about your intentions towards our little sister.”
“Our only sister,” Charlie interjected.
Harry offered them a nervous, crooked smile. “I thought my Christmas present pretty much said what my intentions were.”
“Well, that wasn't clear enough for us.” Fred shook his head in disagreement.
“We want to know that Ginny's more than just a good shag,” George said bluntly.
“G-Ginny and I h-haven't. . . .” Harry stammered, unable to finish his own sentence.
“It's okay, Harry, we know you two have been fooling around. We're not stupid. But don't worry, we aren't here to rough you up.” Bill smiled kindly at Harry.
“I-I don't know what you're talking about. . . .” Harry continued to protest.
“Give it arest, Harry. Like Bill said, we aren't here to hurt you, unless we need to. Do we need to, Harry?” Fred crossed his arms over his chest.
“N-no. I-I love Ginny. A lot,” Harry added nervously.
“Good. That's all we needed to know.” Charlie extended his hand.
Against his better judgment, Harry took it. Charlie pulled Harry towards him and spoke into his ear, “But if you hurt her in any way-”
“Shape,” Fred continued.
“Or form,” George said.
“Just look out, Potter. This is your only warning.” Bill clapped Harry on the back as he left the room. The other three brushed past him roughly.
Harry went up the stairs and into Ginny's room. She could instantly tell something had him rattled.
“All right, what did they do?” Ginny sat up in bed. She took Harry's hand in his and rubbed it sympathetically.
“Oh, they just threatened me with some unforeseeable pain if I ever hurt you,” Harry said half-heartedly.
Ginny frowned angrily. “Oh, when I get my hands on those four. . . .”
“No, don't worry about it, Ginny. If I had a younger sister I would've done the same thing.” Harry shook his head in disagreement.
“I suppose you're right . . . but that doesn't mean I like it.” Ginny crossed her arms.
Harry chuckled,“You don't have to, love.”
He lowered her lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Ginny quickly deepened the kiss and focused on pouring all of her love into it. When they broke apart, gasping for air, Harry rested his forehead against hers. “I should be going.”
“Won't you stay with me?” Ginny grasped his arm so he couldn't leave.
“I'm sorry, love, but I can't. I don't want to give your brothers any reason to fulfill their promise.” Harry kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
Ginny sighed. “I love you too.”
“Get some rest, love. I'll see you first thing in the morning. We have the whole train ride to ourselves.” Harry kissed her again before he left.
H/G
Ginnywas overwhelmed with dread when she awoke the next morning. Today, she would return to Hogwarts with her boyfriend, her brother, and her best friend. She should've been happy to return to a place where there was plenty of room for privacy with Harry, but instead she was anxious. Returning to Hogwarts meant the return of an excessive amount of homework. Ginny had barely been able to complete her assignments over the break, yet somehow she had managed.
Sitting up in bed, Ginny sighed unhappily. Looking down at her wrists she examined each scar closely. She knew she should go to Harry, but she couldn't bring herself to bother him. He had enough troubles without her adding to them. It was with this thought that Ginny slipped out of bed and stole away into the bathroom. She grabbed her razor and found her oldest scar. Placing the blade over it, Ginny dragged it across until the scar was now an open wound.
Ginny cleaned up and bandaged her wound. She then pulled the sleeve of her night dress down and returned to her room. She slipped back into bed and turned her back to the door.
“You did it again, didn't you?” Ginny was startled to roll over and find Hermione sitting up in bed.
“I had to use the loo.” Ginny rolled back over, pulling the covers up higher.
“Show me your arm,” Hermione insisted.
“There's nothing to see, Hermione,” Ginny grumbled.
“Then prove it. Show me your arm,” Hermione said.
“I'm going to see if Mum needs help with breakfast.” Ginny grabbed along-sleeved Holyhead Harpies shirt and a pair of jeans before leaving the room. She quickly changed in the bathroom and made her way down the stairs before Hermione could come looking for her.
H/G
Onceon the Hogwarts Express, Hermione and Ron went off to join the other Prefects. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and walked down the aisle until he found an empty compartment. He held the door open for Ginny, following her into it.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the city become countryside. Harry cleared his throat, causing Ginny to look at him with curiosity.
“I spoke to Hermione this morning,” Harry spoke up.
Ginny felt a rock form in her stomach. “Oh really? What did she have to say?”
“It was rather unusual actually, but she seemed to think you had hurt yourself this morning.” Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
All hopes of keeping her secret from Harry disappeared as tears began to fall down Ginny's cheeks. Harry was instantly by her side, pulling her into his lap. Ginny grasped his shirt in her fist, sobbing against his chest.
Once her tears had finally subsided, Harry asked, “Why?”
“I was just anxious about school starting up is all.” Ginny wiped furiously at her tears.
“Why didn't you come get me?” Harry pulled back to look at her.
“You have enough problems without me adding to them. Compared to your troubles mine are petty.” Ginny shook her head.
“Petty? If something is bothering you it is certainly not petty, Gin. I love you, and if something is causing you pain, it causes me pain. Just seeing you go through this . . . it hurts, Ginny . . . more than you know. It hurts me to see you do this to yourself. I don't know . . .maybe Hermione's right.” Harry sighed, shaking his head.
“What do you mean 'maybe Hermione's right'?” Ginny looked up at him in surprise.
“Maybe you should talk to someone, Ginny.” Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry cut her off. “No, listen to me. I don't know what to do to help you. Maybe . . . maybe someone else will.”
“I won't go. You can't make me. It's my decision and no one else's.” Ginny stood up abruptly.
Harry got to his feet. “Actually, it's not. You see if it were to come to Madam Pomfrey's attention that someone were in ill mental health, she could not possibly ignore it.” He took her hand and sat down once more. “I don't want to resort to that, Ginny, you must know that. But I don't want to lose you to this. I can't lose you to this. So please, think about it. For me?”
Ginny sighed, sitting down across from him. “Fine. But I won't make any promises.”
“That's enough . . . for now.” Harry leaned forward and kissed her chastely.
H/G
Harry'sthreat of going to Madam Pomfrey distressed Ginny even worse. She kept to herself mostly, throwing her all into her school work. This didn't go unnoticed by Harry or Hermione, but neither could bring themselves to say something. So when Ginny finished her work early that night and left to take a shower, Hermione followed ten minutes later.
Hermione stepped into the washroom. The sound of Ginny's cries reverberated off the walls. She quickly located which shower stall Ginny was in and pulled the curtain back. What she saw made Hermione's heart skip a beat.
H/G
Ginnyturned the tap of the shower to go as hot as possible. She stepped into the shower, finally allowing her tears to flow over. She was tired of hiding her sorrow, it was rather exhausting really. Ginny grabbed her shampoo bottle and rubbed her homemade strawberry shampoo into her hair furiously. Once she had rinsed it out and conditioned, Ginny turned to reach for her soap. That was when she caught a glance of her razor. She had unpacked it, keeping her spare one in her box just in case.
Without hesitation, Ginny picked it up and bit back a sob when she brought it to her newest healed wound. Placing the razor over her newest scar, Ginny dragged it back and forth furiously. She couldn't feel the pain; the skin was so covered in scar tissue. Ginny kept dragging the blade over her skin until she felt release. It only took a minute for her to realise she had once again gone too far.
Sobbing, Ginny dropped the blade and collapsed to the tile floor of the shower. Bringing her head to her arms, she silently prayed for whatever higher being existed to save her. She shuddered when the shower curtain was pulled back and Hermione appeared before her.
“Oh, Ginny!What have you done?” Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. She knew she had to act immediately; Ginny was losing blood fast.
“I-I'm s-sorry, H-Hermione. I-I did-didn't mean to.” Ginny shivered.“P-please tell Harry I l-love him.”
“Nonsense, you can tell him yourself. Stay with me, Ginny, stay with me.” Hermione turned the water off and tried to lift Ginny out of the shower, but she wasn't strong enough.
Ginny was coming in and out of consciousness by this point. Hermione knew she had to get help.
“I'll be right back, Ginny. Everything will be okay, I promise.” Hermione ran out of the room and into the common room.
“Harry!Harry! Come quick!” she yelled.
Harry looked up at her and watched as Hermione tapped her wand on the banister, before she ran back up the stairs. He followed her, barely registering the fact that the staircase remained solid.
When he saw Ginny passed out on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from her wrist, he gasped in horror. Biting back his tears, Harry found a towel and wrapped it around her before he lifted her easily into his arms.
“What happened, Hermione?” he demanded as he raced out of Gryffindor Tower.
“I-I don't know. I found her collapsed in the shower. I was too late to stop her. She passed out not long after.” Hermione ran to match Harry's long strides.
“We have to get her to Madam Pomfrey, fast. And this time we tell her the truth.” Harry hardened his resolve. He knew it had to be done.
“Ginny will hate you for this,” Hermione said.
“I know. But I'd rather have her around to hate me,” Harry replied.
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