Cicatrices- Marks That Remain

Refuge

Happy Monday, Wonderful readers. I apologize for the delay in posting. I have encountered many unexpected stressors. In other news, our wonderful Alpha reader is currently very sick. Because of this, you may notice delays in publishing. Perhaps not yet; we have a backlog of chapters that are mostly posting-ready, specifically for emergencies like this. However, If the backlog runs too low, I will need to slow down postings. Hopefully, this won't happen for still several chapters, if at all.

Warnings in this chapter will be placed at the end notes for those who want to avoid minor spoilers.

Please, let me know what y'all think, and, as always...

Enjoy!

"Maybe we could ask Mum if you both could stay at the Burrow". Ginny's suggestion rattled around in Harry's brain as Ron and Hermione gave a wave and apparated from the pitch.

The Burrow was always something of a refuge for Harry: a place where he was always safe, with a full stomach and a real bed and people who cared....

It was also the place he had been avoiding outside of special occasions, to evade the guilt of showing Molly and Arthur the state he was in- the state that he knew they would quickly pick up on if he spent too much time around them.

Harry jogged to catch up with Ginny as she approached the supply closet, the rain steadily growing heavier and colder as he did so.

"Gin, hey." He stopped short of the door she was already digging through, catching his breath through the chill of his now-wet clothing. "Do you think that Molly and Arthur would really be okay with me being there?"

Even as Harry asked it, he wondered very much if what he was considering was the wrong thing.

Ginny eyed him seriously, then, locking the supplies and beginning to walk out, she held her wand up as it cast a magical covering over the pair of them like an umbrella.

"I don't know why you think they wouldn't.... We all see you as family. You're just too in your head to see it most of the time."

Harry stumbled into step beside her as she continued off the pitch.

"I know you all care," he rebutted, "But it's also just hard."

"You think I don't know that it's hard, Harry?"

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"Look," Ginny said seriously, stopping them and whipping over to face Harry. They were so close that Harry was reminded of the fact that she is slightly taller than him, and for half a second, he thought about when they were together; when they used to talk about everything.

"Do you know why I didn't chase after you when you stormed out on us two years ago?"

Harry blinked, taken aback by the question. "Er..."

"Because," Ginny began, "I knew that there wasn't hope for a relationship when you never let anybody in to help you," she said pointedly. Her eyes were blazing with the boundless fire Harry always saw in her. "Not even your girlfriend, or your best friend- practically your brother!"

The words cut through Harry, sharp and precise. He opened his mouth to argue, but anything he might have said died before even reaching his throat. Something like guilt washed over him. Harry shivered.

Ginny's voice softened, though her gaze remained steady.

"You don't have to do everything alone, Harry.... You can't do everything alone... And I know you keep doing it because you're scared of sharing your pain with others. But we want to share it with you. We are begging you to share with us because we see you just punishing yourself eternally with what's in your brain. And I swear to Merlin himself... You better not do to Draco what you did to me. He's a git, but he's a git that cares about you as much as the rest of us do. And if you don't want to completely fuck it up, let him in, and make your health the priority, not your shame. He needs help.... But so do you."