Something Sweet (Hinny Fanfiction)

Ch. 12 My Friends

Ginny bit her lip, closing her eyes as the sounds of her brothers playing Quidditch outside reached her ears. She sighed, glancing over at her clock that perched on top of her dresser. It was around noon, and she was surprised her mother hadn't come inside to see her.

Looking down at her hand, Ginny cautiously pricked her finger, gulping as a little dome of blood appeared on the wound. She cleaned it, then placed her hand over the cut. Golden light pulsed for half a second, and then she removed her fingers. There was some blood, but otherwise she was okay.

It freaked her out. She shouldn't have this much power. The power to hurt, paired with the power to heal. It was just wrong.

Of course, Ginny was the only one that thought this. Her mother was thrilled, her brothers excited, even Harry thought it was cool and amazing. But Ginny...

"Gin!" She heard Ron shout from his room. She sighs, sitting up from her bed and pacing towards her door, glancing back towards Harry's house before exiting and shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah?" She asks, walking up the stairs. There is some scuffling, then Ron pokes his head over the railing, ginger hair falling over his eyes.

"I'm going to Hermione's today, want to come?" He looked slightly hopeful, which was confusing. Ginny thought they were together now, and he'd want to have some time alone with the girl. But then she thought of the look Hermione gave her when she said Ron wasn't with them. Slight relief. She wondered what her brother had done, then decided to not think of it.

"No thanks," She said, walking backwards down the stairs so she could keep her eyes locked with his, "I've got some things to do today." It wasn't entirely true, but she wanted Ron to sort out whatever had happened between him and Hermione. Besides, she was kind of hoping to start on her pile of homework with Harry.

The boy sighed, but Ginny had already sprinted down the staircase. The kitchen was disturbingly silent without her mother busying herself at the stove or cleaning something. Instead, the woman was sitting at the table, reading over a letter with her glasses perched on the edge of her nose and her face full of worry.

"Hey mum..." Ginny trailed off, trying to catch a glimpse of the writing. Mrs Weasley folded the paper neatly, then turned and gave her daughter a forced smile.

"Hello dear, lunch?" She asked. Ginny bit her lip, but shook her head. She wasn't feeling hungry anyway.

"No thanks. I'm on my way outside." She smiled, kissing her mother's forehead.

"Come back in before dinner!" Molly called, but Ginny had already made her escape, racing towards the broom shed.

She'd always loved the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair. Going so fast that her long red locks waved behind her instead of flying in her face. Even the prickling across her nose and cheeks from the air.

It cleared her head, and she sighed, letting her broom glide across the sky easily. Closing her eyes, she leaned her elbows against the handle and breathed in the smell that surrounded her. It was a dry summers day, and the scent of dry leaves and the crisp smell of warm air reminded her of her childhood. Before the Bond. When she'd spent hours outside, making flower crowns with Luna.

Luna.

Ginny hadn't thought about her in a while. Her head tipped towards Harry's house, but this time she looked past it, towards the crooked shape in the distance. It used to look so far away, she remembered, like a castle in another land, towering above everything else. Vines wrapping around the frame, flowers sparking around Luna's window. Everything had seemed so beautiful and gigantic back then, when the world was just the stretch of land named Ottery St. Catchpole, and no one else mattered.

Ginny remembered flying on the broom for the first time, going so far into the sky that she couldn't hardly see the field surrounding her home. Her stomach was in knots, both excited and scared. Excited about the fact that she was finally flying, and not just with one of her brothers. By herself. But also fear, because she had never looked down towards the ground and thought I could just tip over and it'd be all over. One movement. She'd never felt that urge.

She didn't fly for a while after that.

She remembered the thrill of going into a nosedive, the sensation of falling rocking through her stomach and chest. Her heart fluttering like a humming bird. Then she would pull up, and her face would turn completely red from pure ecstasy.

Ginny had to shake her head, pulling herself from memories. She laughed slightly as she realized she'd been drifting directly towards Luna's house and was now just a few yards away. There was only a moment of indecision before she landed, glancing at the sun which was still high in the sky before she came up to the door.

She didn't even have time to knock before the door swung open, revealing Mr. Lovegood, looking at Ginny with a shocked expression.

"Uh, hi." Ginny blinked, lowering her still raised hand. Mr Lovegood didn't answer immediately, but a small hand pushed him over slightly.

"Hello, Ginny," Luna trilled, smiling up at her father, "Nice to see you again." Ginny knew she didn't mean it to sound rude, instead the opposite, but it just reminded Ginny of how stupid it was that she was here, standing on the porch she and Luna used to draw on with chalk, when the last time they'd talked was almost two years before.

"Hi." Ginny repeated, trying for a smile, Luna didn't waver at all.

"Were you needing something?" She asked, stepping so she was fully framed in the door, wet paint sloshed across a pair of violently purple overalls; blue, brown, emerald, orange, and a bright gold that reminded Ginny immediately of the Bond. "I was just painting my room." She smiled.

Ginny snapped her attention back to the girl and smiled wider, "Need some company?" She offered. She could tell it caught Luna off guard slightly, but the girl opened the door wider and stepped back.

"Always. It's nice to have friends over."

The smell was so familiar, it knocked Ginny back to her childhood. Again. Drinking tea with her clothes soaked after they had danced around in the rain, their feet caked in mud, giggling about the way the raindrops made patterns on the windowsill. Ginny ranting on about how she missed Ron, and secretly Harry, who had just left for Hogwarts, Luna sitting there quietly and nodding with every sentence.

"Sorry for the smell." Luna said in her distant way, opening the door to her room. Ginny stepped in. It was exactly the same. Same books, same duvet, same rugs. The only thing different was a large tarp spread in the middle of the room, paint drips scattered across it.

Ginny glanced upwards and caught her breath, taking in the sight. It was the beginning of a painting, with a red haired girl and boy, the girl staring to her left, where a blank space was, and the boy to his right, where there was the outline of bushy hair.

"I hope I get to fill in the circle, one day." Luna said dreamily, pointing to the ceiling.

That's when Ginny's stomach twisted, and she had to close her eyes. Because she had noticed what was connecting everyone together. And she felt she didn't even deserve to be there, because what was painted between the figures wasn't a golden rope. But words.

My friends.