Trigger warning: mention of vomit. No explicit description.
"What was that?" asked Hermione, who stopped chopping her carrot abruptly.
"Dunno," answered Ron. "Hey, where's Ginny and Harry?" He paused for a while to look around. Indeed, they were gone. "HARRY! GINNY!" he shouted.
"Don't shout, Ronald!" scolded Mrs Weasley. "I'm sure they are just abou-"
"In the toilet!" A muffled voice of Harry interrupted Mrs Weasley.
"Together...?" wondered George out loud, a small smirk on his face. Angelina shot bloody daggers at him. George immediately stopped smirking and said, "Uh, are you guys alright?"
There was a sound of the door opening, and a brighter voice of Harry shouted, "Ginny threw up!"
"What?!" cried all of the Weasley brothers together. They ran towards the direction of the bathroom like fish running away from sharks. Only when they get there did they see Ginny rinsing her mouth in the sink and Harry holding her hair back.
"Freck, you all right?" Charlie dashed forward to ask.
Ginny spat out the water and stood up. "Yeah, er, Bil-Charlie, I'm okay. Um, if I remembered correctly, isn't my name Ginny? Forgive me, I could most certainly be wrong."
This made Charlie's heart drop and a very sudden urge to cry. Charlie never cried, not in front of anyone, but this made his eyes water. His very own little sister, who he always called "Freckles", doesn't remember him. Why was he even surprised? She doesn't even remember her own mother. Heck, she doesn't even remember Harry. He had no right to be sad, not in front of those who hurt more. With that, he resisted the tears and blinked them away. Seeing Charlie, Harry gave him a sorrowful look, as if telling him I know how you feel.
"Y-yes, er, Ginny. 'Freck' is short for 'F-Freckles', your nickname that I always referred to you by. How are you feeling now?"
"Better. I've nauseous for a while now. Don't worry, it's probably just some symptom for memory loss. I'm fine, don't worry, Charlie."
"Are you sure?" asked Percy. "Need I ask Healer Williams?"
Hearing her name, Ginny immediately blurted, "No! I mean, uh, no, thanks, er, Per...civial?"
"Percy. If you say so, Ginny." Percy's voice dropped slightly.
Ginny shooed them all back to the dining room and they finished off their stews. Throughout the baking process, Harry's mind was drifted into a land far, far away. On the one hand, he was worried to death about Ginny. About her memory loss, and now her throwing up for no particular reason. On the other hand, he was worried to death about Ginny. About whether he should tell her about them, as an act of honesty, or if he shouldn't pressure Ginny into anything she doesn't remember. He wants her to be happy. Happier. Without him.
It was finally that he decided to go with the latter option. Not just to protect Ginny. Harry, in his own words, was selfishly afraid for himself: afraid of rejection. He was fragile...he couldn't bare it if Ginny knowingly walked away.
"Hey! Harry!" He was snapped out of his thoughts by Ginny waving her hands in front of him.
"Gin...ny?" He was so used to calling her "Gin". But she was no longer his "Gin".
"Har...ry," imitated Ginny. "our stew is ready!" He looked up and saw a casserole-full of bubbly, aromatic vegetables with a small spoon on the side. His expression softened. This was the smell of home.
Harry's hands and mouth helped themselves and fed himself a generous spoonful. "Mmm," he whispered. Strangely, this year's was better. Strangely, it tasted...like Ginny. That was the moment he realized...
"Oh, Merlin!" he cried. "I'm sorry! This is your spoon, isn't it? Sorry! Let me go wash this and get another one."
"That's...that's okay," said Ginny. "I'm glad you like it." How did he know it was my spoon?
Throwing that thought into the back of her mind, Ginny happily took the spoon Harry offered her and had a quick taste. MHM! It was delicious...and familiar. It tastes...like home.
After that day, Ginny settled in at her childhood home. Mrs Weasley reorganized Ginny's old room for her now, and the girl spent her days discovering the wonders of living. Somehow, she could still perform spells, when Ron asked her try, when he and Hermione came to visit, out of curiosity.
"Hey, Ginny, can you still do spells?"
"Spells?" She said, "I don't know. Probably not. But I can try."
"Ginny, I really don't think that would be a great idea-" started Hermione, but was cut off by her husband saying "do the bat-bogey hex! It was your signature spell!"
Ginny obeyed her brother and gave a swish of her wand randomly. The next second, Ronald Weasley fell back off the sofa in pain, a flock of bats swooshing out of his nose and flying out the open window. Hermione chuckled at the sight and helped him sit up after.
"I'm an idiot," moaned Ron. "Why did I ask you to do such a disgusting hex? Knowing I'd be the one on the receiving end, as always? It's just like when I say anything about you and Harry..." he muttered, but Hermione shot him a glare and he shut up. Though it was quickly, Ginny still heard it.
"Me and harry?" She asked. "What about us?"
"N-nothing," said Ron. "When...when we go shopping together and...and you two were always the slowest."
"Mhm..." said Ginny slowly, not really believing him but letting the matter go nonetheless. She had no right not to believe what someone told her. She wouldn't know anything else otherwise.
YOU ARE READING
Healers' Ruby
Fanfiction"It had been seven years since the war. Seven years of tranquillity. Some might say they're boring, but to them, this was the peace that they wanted but never got. The peace they deserved. Ginny and Harry were in a serious relationship, both working...
