Ginny's Sixth Year

Chapter 36

"Fred! Fred, wake up! Please, Fred, wake up!"

"Hmm? Is it eight already?" he said looking drowsily up at me. 

"No, no, I...well, I..." my voice just kind of died off as Fred looked at me understandingly. He sat up and walked over to George. "No, don't..." but it was too late. Fred kicked George awake, and he was not happy about that.

"Why on earth...It's the middle of the night, Fred!" George whispered.

"Ginny came and woke me up. Tell us about the dream."

"There wasn't one...yet. I...I woke up about an hour ago in pain, and it hasn't gone away. I'm scared. That's never happened before."

"Well, do you remember if you were dreaming before?" George asked sensibly.

"Umm...actually, maybe. Only vaguely, though. I was with Luna and we were talking about a prank you two played once; then she suddenly disappeared and I was in the Muggle Studies room...I don't remember any more."

"Well, if you were in the Muggle Studies room, that would explain why you woke up in pain. Your brain saw one thing and automatically assumed you were in pain, so it sent that to your nerves. Hey, and while we're at it, let's assume that your still in pain because that's the message that your brain usually sends. That's also why you keep having nightmares about what you're used to dealing with," George reasoned. 

"You are annoyingly so much more logical than me," Fred grumbled. 

"How bad is it on a scale of 1-10?"

"Five. It's tolerable right now. Earlier it rivaled the Cruciatus Curse," I said, thinking back to one torturous hour earlier. "Not quite as bad, though."

"Do you want a Sleeping Draught?" Fred asked already halfway out the door.

"I dunno."

"Okay, I'll go get one." Fred quietly went downstairs to the medicine cabinet. 

"I never said I wanted one!"

"Go easy on him, Ginny. He's trying. I mean, hearing what's happening to you is devistating for all of us, and that's just how Fred's trying to deal with it," George said. 

Fred came back with a small bottle of Sleeping Draught. "Here you are."

"I never said I wanted one!"

"Ginny, please take it. You'll feel better in the morning," George said.

"Fine!" I said a little too loudly as I snatched the bottle from Fred's hand. George glanced at the door for a moment but decided that no one would come and see if everything was okay.

"Sit," Fred ordered, gesturing right beside where he had sat down. 

I sighed defiantly, but I went and leaned on his shoulder. "G'night!"

"Goodnight! And this time, please try to stay asleep," George joked, climbing in to his own bed. 

"Goodnight, Ginny!" Fred said. 

I drank the potion and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.