The Forgotten 7th Year

Easter with Hannah pt. 7

Ok, I kid you not, I was looking at teddy bear names, (for reasons you will find out if you read this chapter) and one of them was Beary Potter.

Ginny's POV

That was where Fred found me.

I didn't pass out, I simply didn't have the energy to move. What was the point? My lumps were iron, and my heart felt dead.

He'd kissed me. He'd touched me. How do I recover from that?

Fred touched my shoulder, and fear filled me, choking off common sense.

"No!" I flinched back, scrambling to get away from him. I tripped and collapsed in a heap, and my shoulders shook as tears fell. "No..." It was Amycus, it had to be. He was going to catch me. But this time he wouldn't let me escape.

"Hey, shh. It's ok. It's just me. Just Fred." He tried to touch me again, but I recoiled. "Ginny, please. Talk to me. Are you ok? What's wrong."

"Everything."

"Do you want to come inside? It's cold out here." I shook my head. "Ok, how long are we going to stay out here then? I could get a tent..." I shook my head once more.

So he sat next to me. And together we waited until I was ready to go back inside.

Luna's POV

Whatever had been influencing Bellatrix into being a decent human being had worn off. Her frustration at saying stupid things had escalated into violence. Now she wanted to hurt someone. Namely me.

But, Narcissa wouldn't let her, so she was reduced to pacing and fuming.

The last time Narsissa came down with food, she'd brought a box of Pixie Puffs. At first I'd been unfamiliar with the cereal, but once I'd tasted it, I realized it was Nargle Nuggets renamed.

Probably part of that Ministry conspiracy to deny their existence.

But the cereal was good, so I refrained from sharing with Mrs. Malfoy until I'd gulped the half that wasn't Ollivander's.

I'd hadn't been starved since Narcissa started delivering food, but I'd never really been full either. After I had inhaled my portion, my stomach gave a small, halfhearted grumble.

A tiny part of me wanted to scream and rage about how unfair this was. How I shouldn't be kept here like a caged animal.

But I told her about the Nargle Nuggets instead.

Neville's POV

At around 1:00, I was still awake. Part of me was petrified that I'd go to sleep and see something even worse than last night. Hannah's owl, Princess flew in, signaling I got another letter from Hannah.

Hi, I can't sleep. I don't mean to treat you like my own personal stuffed animal, but you could come over. You don't have to, it's just-.

I didn't read the rest of the letter, and disapparated.

But there was one nagging question that peaked my curiosity.

What's a stuffed animal?

***

When I entered the barn, Hannah wasn't by the horse's stall. I almost left, but then I noticed a hand waving at me from the center of a pile of straw.

"Neville."

"Oh, hi. Where are you?"

"Jacob levitated the straw up. There's a fort under here." My eyes widened.

"That is the most awesome thing ever!" I knew she was laughing at me, but I didn't care.

It was a little cramped, but I didn't necessarily hate that. And when we started kissing, well, I didn't hate the closeness at all.

She broke away, but I was practically on top of her anyways, so we barely even separated. A part of me wished we were always like this. I could feel my heart speeding up, and my breath was coming quicker. Every time I looked at her, I was reminded of how amazing and beautiful she is. My tongue seemed leaden, and I asked the first question that came to mind.

"What's a stuffed animal?"

"What?" I started to repeat myself, but she continued talking. "How do you not know what a stuffed animal is!? How did you get to sleep when you were a kid? How do you still get to sleep!?"

"Counting sheep-."

"How is it possible to become a functioning adult without stuffed animals?"

"Now you're just going a bit far-."

"You need a stuffed animal." She declared.

"I'm seventeen!"

"So am I! But Mr. Cuddlesworth is sitting on my pillow right now, and he's judging you."

I thought about arguing more, but if I did, I might have to start fearing for my life.

"Fiiiine."

Sneaking up to her room was easier than expected. We just made sure to tiptoe.

And sure enough, a kneazle sat on her pillow, it's head leaning slightly to the side.

"You can have... Mr. Snugabear!"

"Yay me."

I looked into Mr. Snugabear's glassy black eyes, and he stared back unblinkingly. He knew I was too old for him. He was taunting me.

"Thank you, Hannah." I smiled and picked him up. No, it. I picked it up.

But when I hugged him close to me, he was weirdly comforting. It was weirdly comforting. And it was soft, and it smelled like her.

"See? You love him already!"

I hit her with Mr. Snugabear.

"You did not just-."

"I just did."

She hit me with a pillow, and the fight began. It was the stuff legends are born from. The brave hero Mr. Snugabear versus the villainous pillow.

The villainous pillow sent me sprawling onto the bed.

She offered a hand to pull me up, and I yanked her down on top of me. I suddenly noticed how close her lips were to mine. My gaze flicked up to hers, and I could tell she'd noticed too.

And of course her dad chose that moment to walk in.