Chapter 5 Awakening
Harry abruptly opened his eyes in the middle of the night and found himself in his bed. Suddenly he felt something warm fluttering on his chest. As soon as he reached for it, thinking it was Hedwig, it flew away. Then he noticed he had no clothes on and there were sore bruises on his chest and leg. His blanket was tossed on the floor. As he reached over to scratch his head, he felt a seething pain coming from his hand and he saw that it was wrapped in a blood-stained blue cloth. Feeling very exhausted and confused, he realized he just had another nightmare, only this one appeared very real, although less horrifying than the ones before for some reason. From the corner of his eye, he saw the pair of snow-white doves fluttering their wings on the shelf that he had originally placed them. Thinking that he was hallucinating, he reached for the nightstand but his glasses weren’t there for some reason. Feeling very sore, strange and dizzy he got up, put on his robe and walked towards the doves. He examined them, which stood still like a statue the way they were when Ginny gave them to him earlier that night. Then a shocking stroke of worry and fear crossed his mind as soon as he thought of Ginny and the images of the dream he just had began to come flooding back.
“Harry, still not asleep yet?” Ron yawned as he walked in the room and turned the light on, “Hermione and I talked all night and didn’t realize how late…”
“Where is Ginny?” DID YOU SEE HER?” Harry roared.
Ron stared at him dumbfounded in complete shock, “What is going on? What happened to your hand?”
“No time to explain! Hurry, we have to find her! She is in danger!” Harry yelled, yanking Ron’s arm with him, and ran out.
As they stormed out, they could hear loud desperate cries coming from the common room. Harry could hear tearful pleas of ‘I have to find him…where is Harry…’ and recognized that the voice was Ginny’s. He ran downstairs, yanking Ron’s arm to keep up. Then he abruptly stopped at the bottom of the staircase when he saw Ginny, who was distraught and sobbing, standing in her robe and clutching his clothes tightly in her arms. Hermione was holding his glasses and trying to calm her down.
“GINNY, YOU’RE SAFE?” Harry screamed excitedly when he saw her. “YOU SAVED MY LIFE!”
Ginny looked up with her tear-filled eyes, startled, and turned to him. ”Harry, you are awake! YOU ARE OKAY!” she screamed with the greatest excitement.
She leaped towards him so hard that when he caught her, both crashed onto the steps of the staircase. They threw their arms around each other. Both breathing very hard, they embraced each other passionately, burying their faces into each other’s bodies.
Ron and Hermione were standing there in shock, staring at each other with a look of disbelief on their faces and not knowing what to make of this.
“What the heck is going on?” Hermione couldn’t stand it and shouted at them, “One minute you grabbed my arm and pulled me downstairs yelling something about Harry dying from hypothermia and being unconscious and the next you…” She paused as she noticed that they were still hugging each other, oblivious to what she had just said. Then she continued in a sarcastic tone, ”And the next minute you are practically strangling him…”
Then suddenly, as if Harry and Ginny had just woken up from their trance and realized what they were doing, they froze, got up, and quickly darted away from each other. Both looking down and blushing heavily, they were taking quick nervous glances at each other, not knowing what to do.
Ron and Hermione then fired a whole of bunch of questions at them at once, each one louder than the previous one:
“Harry, what is this about Ginny in danger?”
“Ginny, why did you say Harry was dying?”
“Why were Harry’s glasses in your room?”
“Why are the glasses broken?”
“What happened to your hand?”
“What are you doing with his clothes?”
“WHY ARE YOU TWO WEARING ONLY YOUR ROBES? WHERE ARE YOUR PAJAMAS?” Ron finally inserted.
Hermione was staring at Ron with a look of disgust; she was appalled by his last question because it was so invasive. But this final question had Harry and Ginny blushing even more, and both of them immediately clutched their robes tightly. Their faces were hot in flames and were about to burst. Both were gaping at the floor with a look of shock, as the images at the church began to flash in front of their eyes. Harry then buried his face with his hand, his entire body shaking from utter embarrassment, as he awkwardly took a few more steps away from Ginny.
“Can someone say something?” Ron snapped at them, after a long silence.
“Harry gave me his glasses. They were broken. He…asked me to ask you to…fix it with a spell when you come back…”Ginny mumbled hesitantly to Hermione, who was looking very suspiciously at the glasses she had in her hand.
Harry looked up, flustered, and nodded diligently.
“What is she doing with your clothes?” Ron asked Harry and stared at Ginny, who was trying to bundle the clothes so desperately as if she wanted to make them disappear.
“She…she said she knows of a spell to…sew a button back. I guess the buttons…became undone when I had an accident with…with…the FIREBOLT. THAT’S IT. THE FIREBOLT!” Harry bellowed out smartly.
“It happened earlier today and I hurt my hand and broke my glasses too,” Harry continued as he glanced at Ginny, who quickly handed his shirt and pants over to him, nodding in agreement.
“And what was wrong with your pants?” Ron pressed Harry.
“Forget about that,” Hermione interrupted annoyingly. “Ginny, why were you completely hysterical before in your room, screaming that Harry was dying?”
“I…I had a nightmare and dreamt that he was hurt and dying. I thought it was real for a moment,” Ginny answered. Harry was looking directly at her, hanging on to her every word.
“Oh, you had a nightmare. But it was like you completely lost your mind back there, yanking my arm like that,” Hermione said. “I thought you were possessed by a demon.”
“So it was a nightmare for you too, Harry?” Ron looked at his own arm and asked suspiciously.
Harry nodded.
“You guys are like little kids, you know, both of you, yelling and screaming over a nightmare,” Hermione said disapprovingly.
“I am going to bed because it is almost dawn. Here are his glasses, good as new,” Hermione blurted in a sarcastic tone. She handed the glasses to Ginny as she rolled her eyes and then fired an angry glare at Harry, “Tell HIM next time to tell me directly when HIS glasses break. Or better yet, maybe HE should learn the sewing spell and the fix glasses spell HIMSELF! We are not HIS maids, you know!”
“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry muttered with a smirk. “Goodnight! Pleasant dreams!”
Hermione turned and sneered at Harry. Then she darted upstairs.
“I am going to bed too,” Ron yawned and followed Hermione up the stairs, leaving Ginny and Harry alone by the staircase under the mistletoe.
My Guardian Angel by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: Was it an illusion or was it reality? They don't really know. But what happened that night at the church would change the dynamics of their relationship forever.