Say Something

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Draco took that day off, to keep things to himself. Was it better to spend his days on Hermione's last, or keep away until he no longer felt her presence?

Hermione felt just as conflicted as he. Last night, she felt the chains of her illness around her wrist be lifted by some unknown force. It was pure and utter bliss, if only for one night. And the next morning as soon as Draco had left, the chains have been placed back on as if nothing had happened and time still went. She was giving up, and it just wasn't fair.

As she laid awake in her hospital bed, staring at the ceiling with a furrowed brow, a knock came from the door. she doubted it was him, because he never knocked. And what came next shook her to the bone, and she was almost positive her heart stopped, if only for a second.

"Hey Hermione," the redheaded girl spoke, and she was lost.

...

"What are you doing here, Ginny?"

"I'm sorry, I should've come sooner but....well, it's been hard."

"Oh, I'm sure it has," Hermione spoke with enough sarcasm to make both of them uncomfortable, "You don't have to be here." The redheaded girl closed the door and sat in the armchair next to the door. Her knee jittered nervously and Hermione swore that she hasn't blinked since she arrived. "How much longer?" It was a forward question and incredibly rude, but it was the most real question Hermione has ever gotten and she finally felt sure she wasn't the only one waiting for her to die. "I don't know."

"Have the symptoms kicked in yet?" her mouth barely moved with her words.

"Sore, just a bit."

"I suppose the treatments are more intense."

"Not at all," Hermione breathed.

Ginny patted down her coat in her lap and looked down at the floor distastefully. "Well, whatever they're doing is working." The way she straigtened her coat made it look like she was going to rip it in half. "Does that bother you?" Hermione asked, even if it was rhetorical. Of course it bothered her, even herself! Ginny politely shook her head and continued to look down at her lap.

Hermione sat up and tried to get her attention. "Gin, I promise - if anything - my treatments are far less than what Harry and Ron got," she assured the younger girl, watching her cringe, "I'm just....lucky, I guess," her words dripping in frustration.

Ginny scoffed, "Ha! You call that luck..."

"There isn't a better word," she mumbled, "So is that all you wanted? To ask if my treatments are better than their's was?"

"No," she uttered with such blantant anger.

"Then tell me, Ginny, why are you here?" Hermione almost shouted. Ginny stood abruptly and clenched her fist, "I had to come here," which she made sound like an obligation. "Who told you? Your mum and dad?! Send them my farewells but I don't need to be pitied!" she raised her voice.

"It's not pity, Hermione! We're frustrated, all of us! You've lived longer than them! Whatever they're doing here that's different, I feel I have the right to know!" she yelled back.

"That's the thing, I don't know," Hermione seethed.

"That's not good enough. I want answers! I want to know why my brother and my boyfriend had to die!"

"You're so selfish, Ginny. I swear to Merlin, you're so selfish," Hermione seethed again, this time standing to face her. Ginny was much taller than her now, but they both knew Hermione was much more terrifying when she raised her voice. "You act like you're the only person in the world who has lost the people they love!"

"I AM NOT SELFISH!"

"YES, YOU ARE! BECAUSE I'VE LOST THEM TOO AND THEY ARE NEVER COMING BACK! SO INSTEAD OF DEMANDING FACTS, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THEY'RE GONE?!"

"BECAUSE IT'S NOT FAIR! WE WON! HARRY WON! THIS CURSE RUINED IT ALL!"

"HARRY AND RON DIED KNOWING THAT THE WORLD THEY LEFT BEHIND WAS RIDDED OF THE EVIL WE DEFEATED! THE CURSE TOOK THEIR LIVES, BUT THEY DIED HEROES!" That last word shook Ginny, and made her break down at Hermione's feet and sob. They were heroes, all of them. Only now that didn't matter, because a hero's death can overshadow the victory. Hermione knelt to the ground and let her hand fall on her shoulder. "Harry and Ron wouldn't have wanted us to fight. Their lives are over now, and you have to carry on with yours," Hermione gushed.

"I don't want to live in a world where in order to win, you must lose. So. Many." Ginny pushed her hand away and stood slowly, gaining the courage to show Hermione her detestment. "How are you still alive?" Ginny's words filled the room like humid air on their skin.

"Because for the first time since their deaths, I've had something worth living for."