Fire and Ice

Lost Ideals and Interviews

It was unlike Ginny to contemplate suicide.

She was always a fighter, a rebel. In the face of six freckled fists, she held her own, and fought back. She despised those who lacked drive, or who would remain on the ground if pushed. Her idea of a good person was someone who kept going.

Yet, today, these ideals had slipped from her grip onto the wet grass beneath her feet. She walked towards the icy water of the Black Lake with little in her mind. She watched the ripples of the giant squid as it oozed its way through the murky depths. Once terrifying, they now appeared comforting, encouraging, beckoning. 

***

"Well, have you finished yet?" Ron's face redder than usual in the two-way mirror in Harry's hand. "Me and Hermione have plans, you know!"

"Aargh, let's not discuss that," Harry spluttered. The moment Lord Voldemort died was arguably Harry's most prominent memory of that night, had he not have turned around to see his two best friends in a frenzied embrace. "Listen, I told them this was my final interview about it. I've barely had any sleep, barely seen you two or even spent time alone. I'll meet you both as soon as it's over, and I made sure this one's gonna be a short one."

"Why?"

Harry sucked his teeth in an eerily similar was to Molly Weasley. "It's  Skeeter."

"ARE WE READY!!!" A high pitched voice bounced through Harry's eardrums, causing him to hurriedly hide the mirror given to him from his Godfather. Turning, Harry internally cringed at the sight of scarlet cat-eye glasses and a shocking lime green blazer. Licking her lips, Rita Skeeter said, "Now, I know you've given me only five minutes of the Chosen One's precious time, and I do not intend on wasting a second. Sit."

With a dazzling smile, she points to a chintz chair, which Harry wearily fell into.

"NOW. How much attention has Harry been receiving from the females??"

Harry opened his mouth, intending to rehash the same story he told every other reporter: he woke up, brushed his teeth, did not have any superstitions about the duel, had regular classes, no his scar did not hurt, yes the duel was "an ordeal". Then he closed it again. "What?", he spluttered, before remembering the Witches Weekly intentions. "Right, well, more than before, I guess. But mostly everyone is just celebrating."

"Celebrating... how?" Wink.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Harry sighed, "I've been doing seventeen interviews a day."

"Alright! Note-" Rita ordered her Quick Quotes Quill- "Harry's mouth trembles as he speaks of no contact with the female population of Hogwarts. His eyes appreciatively line my body." Harry sighed again.

"So what about past girlfriends? The Yule Ball date?"

Harry smiled momentarily. "Good friends. Pretty sure she has a boyfriend in the Chudley Cannons."

"The daughter of the Ministry worker? You had a momentary affair, did you not?"

Harry's eyes tightened. "Didn't work out."

"Ah- but one relationship did work out- did it not? With your best friend Ron Weasley (constantly in the shadows of his family and peers)'s sister?"

Harry's mouth opened, then closed. Suddenly, when confronted with one of his deepest worries, Harry forgot that he was in an interview. "Ginny... no one has spoken to her in a while. Me included."

Rita scribbled furiously, encouraged by Harry's momentarily unfocused eyes. "Why is that?"

"Things were... complicated. I've tried looking for her, to talk. Just to see where we are. But I haven't seen her since the duel. None of us has."

Rita's glasses slipped as she frowned, her own curiosity bypassing her journalistic professionalism. "Well- that surprises me. I just saw her today, actually. When I arrived, I flew above her, over the lake."

"The lake? When?!" Harry stood suddenly, his eyes widening.

"It must've been around twenty minutes ago- she was still as sleeping dragon. She's probably still there now- she looked as though she was there for a while. Bit of a depressing sight, if you ask me..."

But Harry was no longer listening. He'd raced to the South-East facing window, and roared as he saw a sudden flame of red disappear into the inky depths of the Black Lake.