Chapter 5: Letters from the Trio
Days rolled into November as most of the trees in the forbidden forests and the Whomping Willow lose their leaves and weather has gone from warm summer to a windy autumn. The students of Hogwarts were busy as usual with their education hanging over their heads. Some, who are like Hermione when she was in school, were preparing for their lives after Hogwarts. Others, who were like Fred and George, would play pranks on others for the fun of it, causing trouble and mayhem. Many students, who would look forward for the holidays, would play Exploding Snap or Gobstones while talking to their friends about what they’ll do when they spend some time with their families. But some people, like a certain red headed girl for instance, would be sleeping soundlessly in the middle of Transfiguration class. Colin, who was sitting next to her, was trying his best to wake her up. He kept nudging her and poking her.
“Ginny! Wake up! You’ll get in trouble if Professor McGonagall finds out that you’re not paying attention! Hey, Ginny, you have to stay awake!”
But Ginny slept on, ignoring Colin’s whispers of warnings. The only thing she could do was shift a little every once in awhile. Colin scoffed and places his elbow against the desk, his head resting in his hand. He drummed his fingers on the desk, giving up on hope to waken up his best friend.
“Oh, that’s just great! Now what am I going to do?” muttered Colin.
* * * *
Ginny was once again at the Burrow, spending time with her family without a care in the world because what matters to her right now was the love of her life playing another game of chase outside. This time, it was Ginny’s turn to be the snitch while Harry will be the seeker. It’s like Quidditch, but in the game of chase, the rule is not to use any magic to find their target or use any brooms. The only thing they can rely on is their senses.
“Hey, Harry! Come and get me!” cried Ginny.
Harry laughed. “You’re on! Here I come, Ginny!”
Ginny squealed and screams with delight as she ran, Harry hot on her trails. Harry was pumping his legs to move faster.
“I bet you can’t get me!” yelled Ginny excitedly.
“Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that!” laughed Harry.
He reached out one of his arms to grab one of her arms. He can smell the wafting flowery scent filling his lungs that he fallen in love so much. Come on, I’m almost there…
Ginny turned quickly to get a glance at him. She smirked as she wagged a finger at him and quickly made a sharp turn into the forest.
Harry stopped, causing his feet to slide against the ground. The dust filled the air around him, but that didn’t matter to him. It felt accelerating to run outside in the Burrow in the warm cool summer day, chasing after the love of his life. He twisted a smile on his face; his bright green eyes glinted mischievously. Ha! You can’t get away from me now, Ginny! I’ll win this chase this time. They don’t call me the youngest seeker in Hogwarts history!
Harry pick up his pace once more, entering the forest after the red head. He searched all around him, looking for the hidden red hair. He looked from tree to tree, hoping to sneak up on her. As he reached further into the heart of forest, he only notices more trees and small animals wandering around to collect food for them.
“Damn it,” muttered Harry, scratching his ruffled up jet black hair. “Now where did Ginny go?”
Suddenly, he heard giggling that wasn’t too far away. Harry grinned. That voice… I recognize that voice anywhere.
“Ginny, I know you’re out there! Come on out! You can’t run forever from me!”
“Oh, yeah? Watch me then!”
Harry gave cringed his neck in time to see Ginny out of her hiding place behind a tree. He grabbed around her waist, feeling her struggle in his arms.
“I caught you now, Ginny!” said Harry triumphantly. “Admit it! Admit your defeat!”
Ginny panted and pushed Harry, trying to escape from his clutches. “No! No! I’m not letting you win! I’m giving up yet!”
She strikes Harry in the ribs with her fingers, tickling him to make him release her. Harry squirmed and burst out laughing, “Ha! Ha! Stop it! Stop it! Ha! Ha! That’s cheating!”
He clutched his sides, but realizing his mistake he made when he saw Ginny ready to get up and run once again.
“Oh, no you don’t!”
Harry grabbed her, causing the couple to fall and tumble down from the hill. They rolled and rolled until Harry pounced on top of Ginny. He lowered his lips closer to her ear.
“Ha, I told you I’ll one day win this game,” he whispered in Ginny’s ear.
“So you have,” she replied. “Okay, you win.”
Harry’s mouth curled into a smile, closing his eyes getting ready to win his prize from Ginny…
* * * *
A ringing suddenly filled her ears. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes. Ginny place herself in a sitting position, staring at the blank parchment right before her desk.
She bit her lip. “Oh no, I must have slept over Transfiguration class and I didn’t write any notes for today’s lesson! Well, maybe I should ask Colin for permission if I can borrow his notes later just to make it up.”
Ginny sighed dreamily, placing her elbow against her desk and her head propped on her hand, staring at the window. And yet, I was getting to the good part of my dream! If only that bell could hold on until the dream is over.
She lifted herself up and made to grab her sack from the floor beside her, packing her possessions glumly. When she placed her rolled up blank parchment back inside her sack, a folded paper was out in front of her. Curious, Ginny opened the paper and smoothed it out for her to read.
Ginny,
it’s about time you waken up from your long slumber! I tried many ways of waking you up, but you wouldn’t budge. You were too exhausted and I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, Professor McGonagall didn’t catch you sleeping in the classroom. She was too busy on focusing the class instead and didn’t notice you weren’t paying attention. Anyways, meet me at the Great Hall later for dinner and tell me what’s wrong with you.
Colin
PS: I’m not lending you my notes since you didn’t hear my warnings. Ha! Ha! You’re just gonna have to use the Standard Book of Spells, Year 6 to make up what you miss in class.
“Darn,” muttered Ginny under her breath, crumpling the note into her fist. “Well, so much for borrowing Colin’s notes.”
* * * * * * *
Later that night at the Gryffindor Common room, Ginny was flipping the pages in Standard Book of Spells, Year 6 while sitting in one of the comfy armchairs. She smiled at the warmth temperature the fireplace has filled in her surroundings to the tune that’s playing on the radio.
I tried you a picture, the colors were all wrong
Black and white didn’t fit you
And all along
You were shaded with patience
Your strokes of everything
That I need just to make it
And I believe that
Wow, it sure feels nice to sit here, all alone on this soft armchair.
She looked at her book miserably and sighed. This will take the whole night to finish! I guess that means no sleeping from here on out. Oh, I hate doing this for the last minute! Well, I better get this over with before McGonagall finds out that I didn’t do my notes and my homework assignment!
“Chapter…” But just as she was about to continue writing her notes, Ginny heard a tapping noise from outside. Ginny turn her neck to see that the tapping noise came from the window.
“Okay, okay! I’m coming! I’m coming!” Ginny barked out as she placed her book, parchment, and quill on the table. She walked toward the source of the noise, unlatching the window door. A snowy white owl hopped inside and hooted thanks with gratitude.
That I could tear you apart
But it won’t break
Anything that you are
You are
“Hey, Hedwig! What are you doing here at this time of night?”
Hedwig cocked its head to one’s side and stick its leg out to reveal three rolls of parchment attached to her.
We won’t say our goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change
All we are, all we are
Is everything that’s right
All we need, all we need
Our love is at a bind
Ginny’s eyes widened with curiosity and wonder. This must be from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
She detached the three rolls of parchment from her leg, giving Hedwig her share of pumpkin juice and oatmeal cookies from the house elf named Dobby. Ginny’s mind was building with excitement. She hadn’t heard from them in weeks since the beginning of school.
I walked a minute in your shoes
They would never fit
I figured there’s nothing to lose
I need to get
Some perspective on these words
Before I hunt them down
You’re an island and my ship
Has run aground
Maybe they wanted to know how I’m doing here in Hogwarts. Well, I bet mostly Hermione anyway.
She unrolled the first parchment to reveal Hermione’s letter:
Ginny,
How are you doing at Hogwarts? Are you doing well this year? I hope so because I hope you’re doing your homework right now, unlike two certain friends I have! Yes, even though I’m not there, I can tell you in this letter! Anyways, we (that is, Harry, Ron, and me) are coming to Hogsmeade for a visit. It’ll be great seeing you again! And maybe we can do some early Christmas shopping before coming to spend time at the Burrow.
Wow, I can’t believe Harry wanted to have a break from searching… well… something to do with defeating You-Know-Who. Hmm… I’m having a feeling that Harry misses you maybe too much! Well, whatever is his reason; it’s great to have a break for once. I mean, we’ve been working ourselves from morning to night and Harry won’t even lighten up. He always bosses us around and gets all angsty about it. Seriously, he such a prat! Oh, I wish I could just jinx him at times! Oh, please don’t tell him I said that in this letter! I’m not sure what would happen if you told him this, but I can sense it won’t turn pretty.
So, I hope to see you soon at Hogsmeade!
Love,
Hermione
Time to tear you apart
But it won’t break
Anything we are
We are
Ginny chuckled, placing her hand to her lips. "Well, I knew Hermione would mention about my homework, but I’m surprise that Harry could make Hermione that crazy!”
When she smoothed at Ron’s letter, she notices blotches of red ink smothered on the side. She shook her head when notices that his writing was sloppy.
“Darn, Ron, sometimes your words are so hard to read,” she muttered.
As Ginny pulled out her wand and muttered a spell to clean out the spilled red ink, her thoughts were filled with questions. Hmm… I wonder what my brother would talk about in his letter. Maybe, he’ll tell me why Harry is acting like that. He knows Harry since he they first met on the Hogwarts Express.
After examining the letter for the next five minutes, Ginny began reading her brother’s letter.
Ginny,
How are you? From where we are, it’s freezing cold out here! You’re lucky! You get to stay at Hogwarts, having three square meals a day! While we, on the other hand, have to collect mushrooms or find the nearest town to buy food.
I mean, seriously, I don’t understand this scraps of paper Muggles use. I can’t even tell from a ten or a twenty! I don’t see why Dad is so interested in Muggles. They wear weird clothing, food, and…all sorts of other things. And yet, some of the Muggle places and stuff are fascinating once Hermione and Harry pointed out what they are. Like there is this…um…sillyfone, I think that’s what it’s called. Anyways, this sillyfone is a on the go fone! Some fones can even have some things that I’m impressed with!
Okay, enough about Muggle stuff! I wanted to tell you that Harry was not acting all right since we last spoke. Well, he was, as Hermione said, angsty. But I bet it won’t last forever once he sees you again! Oh, and Ginny, if he gives you a hard time, let me know so I can throw Harry in the black lake and he can get taken away by the merpeople. Hey, I know what you’re thinking! I don’t have to, but it was just a suggestion, that’s all!
Okay, see you soon at Hogsmeade!
Your brother,
Ron
PS: Hermione is nagging to me it’s called a cell phone, not a sillyfone.
Ginny sighed. Ron, you are so like Dad! You just don’t know it yet. Well, if you won’t tell me what’s going on about Harry, maybe Harry himself can tell me.
“Well, here it goes…” muttered Ginny as she opened to read the last letter from Harry.
We won’t say our goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change
All we are, all we are
Is everything that’s right
All we need, all we need
Our love is at a bind
Every single day that I can breathe
You changed my philosophy
I’m never gonna let you pass me by
Ginny,
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other. I…I really miss you. Look, whatever Ron and Hermione mentioned in their letters could probably be true. It’s just that I’m upset that Ron and Hermione get to have each other and we can’t have that because we’re apart. It’s not fair spending less time with you! I even always wonder why do I have to save the Wizarding World and have to fight the darkest wizard of all time. Sometimes, I wish we can be together without having to worry about the war or the possibility of me dying. I wish I can lift you up in the air just one more time and embrace you again. But I guess we can’t have everything we wanted, huh?
Anyways, all I’m saying is that it’s better that way that you’re safe from danger and that’s all that matters. I just don’t want you to be hurt again. That’s why I wanted to see you at Hogsmeade and spend time with you at the Burrow along with your family. Just to enjoy what’s left of what’s between us. Ha, I bet Ron really misses his family after traveling from one Muggle town after another. I mean, he complains about the scraps of food we find or buy. So, to shut him up, we had to show him bits of what Muggles have these days or we make him take a long walk with us. Seriously, your brother is nothing but a pain in the arse!
So, I hope to see you in Hogsmeade and maybe get to go somewhere private or in other words, without Ron and Hermione in our way.
Love,
Harry
PS: Please remember that I still love you. Oh, and for the record, I haven’t dated anyone! You are my one and only girl I ever loved. So, don’t beat me up or let Ron throw me in the black lake as he promised!
So don’t say your goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change
Ginny hugged Harry’s letter as if it was a sign of hope. Harry still loves me! Oh, now I really can’t wait for the Hogsmeade trip!
She danced gracefully with her eyes closed, listening to the rest of the tune and imagining Harry in her presence, forgetting all about her abandoned essay and notes.
So don’t say your goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change
All we are, all we are
Is everything that’s right
All we need, all we need
Our love is at a bind
So don’t say your goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
I Still Believe In Loving You by Mhulan
Chapter Notes: Okay, this chapter took a long time to think about, but it was worth working on it. At first, I thought that I'm going to be done with this story in this chapter, but I guess I perdict wrong. Yes, that's great, huh?
Anyways, let's conclude this author's note! I don't own the Wizarding World or the characters. J.K. Rowling owns everything and I'm just a writer for Mugglenet Fan Fiction that loves Harry Potter. Nothing more. I also don't own the following song, All We Are. That belongs to One Republic, another kind of band that I listen to.
Oh, before you read, whatever character you know is already dead, please remember this isn't from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Okay, enjoy the chapter, my readers!
(Edited on November 8, 2008)
Chapter Endnotes:
Okay, I guess it's time to tell you why I picked another song.
1) Well, since I'm making this story a lot longer, I had to get some songs in this story because there are only a few song lyric lines left for I Still Believe In Loving You. So, the last lines of the song will be at the very end.
2) This song reminds me of the video I saw on YouTube that has this song with December Boys. Yes, I'm referring to one of the movies Daniel Radcliffe was in. Oh, speaking of him, his birthday was five days ago. So, I wish him a Happy Birthday and hope that all his wishes would be granted! =)
Oh, I also have very special treat for those who loves this story. I have currently writing Chapter 6 and I thought maybe it won't hurt if you read a bit of my next chapter. So, let's just say it's a sneak peek of what's coming up. Well here it is:
...But for Ginny’s case, however, was neither of those reasons at all. No, what she cares most was someone that wasn’t in school along with her friends but instead on a dangerous mission: Harry. That was all Ginny mattered to her every single torturing day and night. Ginny has been weaving in and out of her thoughts on a daily basis whenever she’s in class or with her friends. When Colin and Ginny were all alone, he popped the question immediately, asking what’s wrong. The only response Colin could ever receive from her was just a shake in the head or “It’s nothing, Colin, really.” When he pushed it a little further, believing that it’s a real big deal for him, Ginny would always give him the Don’t-push-your-luck glare and Its-not-going-to-work frown. That caused her best friend to drop the subject completely, making Ginny satisfied that he finally silence himself.
Okay, please leave a comment. Thanks!