1996 - ginny weasley

chapter 29

okay, sorry, this chapter is going to be a bit shorter than usual.

"What the-" Fred sputtered.

Oh shit. I froze in place, wishing I had an invisibility cloak. 

"You two? Again?" he said, his eyes wide in shock. We both stayed silent, as Fred chuckled to himself.

Ginny ran out, red in embarrassment. I don't know why I felt so bad, it wasn't anyone's fault. I walked out after her, trying to catch up. She went into Charlie's deserted bedroom, locking the door behind her before I could enter. 

I went back to our room. Fred was gone. I decided to just leave Ginny alone, she deserved her own space. I read my books for about an hour when I heard a shout from downstairs.

"Dinner's ready! Come down all of you!" 

Floorboards creaked as the Weasley family emerged from their rooms for dinner.

"Violetta dear, come sit. Tell us all about the term so far!" Mrs. Weasley said in excitement.

"Nothing really besides Cedric's passing and my incident in the hospital," I said quietly, flinching just thinking about everything. 

"I meant to write to you dear, but I didn't want to bother you. Dumbledore informed us about Mr. Diggory's death. I am very sorry for your loss, he seemed to mean a lot to you," Mrs. Weasley said, reaching her hand across the table and clasping mine. 

"Thank you," I said to her, trying not to cry. I couldn't cry, not now. The whole family looked down at their food in silence.

It was less awkward after a few minutes, and soon the family was smiling talking about what they would do for the holidays.

That night, Ron called Harry and Hermione and invited them to stay at the Burrow for the rest of the break if they wanted. Harry would arrive tomorrow morning, and Hermione the day after. 

I went back to the bedroom Ginny and I shared. She was already almost asleep. I decided to quietly change and get into bed. 

That night, I couldn't sleep at all. I was wide awake, thoughts running through my head. My eyes were finally stinging from being open for so long, and I fell asleep.

When I woke, not even Mrs. Weasley, was up. What time was it?

Careful not to wake up anyone up, I crept downstairs. I looked at the clock. 

Seven in the morning?  I don't usually wake up this early even for school, and I was up late last night.

Suddenly I felt sicker than I ever had in my life. I got down on the floor, trying to see if adjusting my position would help the pain. It was worse than whatever happened on the train.

"I want my mom,"  I whispered to myself. I heard someone come down the stairs and turned to see George. He saw me and walked over. 

"Something's wrong," I said.

He sat down on the floor next to me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I didn't answer, so he just started asking me questions.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Like absolute shit," I groaned, weakly smiling at him.

"Violetta, I don't mean to sound like my mother but, I'm worried about you. What you did to yourself that day... I don't want that to ever happen again. Plus, you looked like a trainwreck in the infirmary after," George said.

"You're kidding, how bad was it?" 

"Oh, it was bad. You had snot all down your face, and your hair looked like a bird's nest, and you were sprawled out like Fred when he got hit by that bludger two weeks ago."

I laughed, wiping my eyes, which had begun to water.

"I couldn't have looked that bad if Ginny stayed with me until I woke up." 

"My sister would stay with you even if she hated you more than anyone else in the world. You mean everything to her, Violetta," he said, and I knew he was being serious now.

I fell quiet. 

"I mean... you do know she loved you for months, even after you broke up," he whispered.

Loved.  That stung.

I didn't know if Ginny would ever love me again. I didn't know if I could love her back if she did. Don't get me wrong, she never did anything. It was just painful, especially after Cedric. 

"Why don't try and get some sleep. I'm supposed to be down here helping with breakfast anyways," George said, getting up and tossing a blanket onto the couch. George had always treated me like his own little sister. He had Ginny, but she had always been closer with Fred.

I lay down on the couch, trying to ignore the raging headache I had suddenly gotten. I relaxed, the smell of cooked sausages drifting through the living room.

The last thing I heard was the creak of the cabinets in the kitchen as I fell asleep.