The Seventh Year

Healing Wounds and Rotten Food

The sun blinded Ginny as she awoke in her bed. She felt groggy and exhausted from how late she was up the night before. Her body ached as she sat upright to head to the bathroom. It was Wednesday. There were no detentions left for her to serve. She was Carrow-free for the time being. But it was only a matter of time before she got herself into trouble again. 

Ginny grabbed her robes and headed for the bathroom to bathe. She felt disgusting and in need of cleansing. Submerging herself in the warm water allowed her sore body to feel much better. Ginny needed to wash away all the fear and pain the Cruciatus Curse had caused her. She needed to cleanse away all the suffering she had endured that past week, including multiple beatings from Alecto Carrow. As she continued scrubbing at herself, the bruises and cuts became more apparent. Alecto had punched her in the face several times to "get it into her head" that mouthing off was no use. As the soap glided over her neck, and olive-toned concealer loosened and washed away, revealing the large hand mark imprinted on her skin. 

And then she cried. She wept a long while before Moaning Myrtle sat beside her. The ghost did not speak but merely placed her ghostly arm around Ginny's shoulders. This brought great comfort to Ginny; relief flowed through her as the last tear fell, mixing with the water from the bath. She collected herself and stepped out to dry her hair and change into her robes. From then on, she promised herself she wouldn't be afraid of the Carrows. It wasn't worth her time to sob and be fearful of two Death Eaters.

It was half-past eight as she headed down for breakfast. She did not bother to cover her wounds. In fact, she wanted to display for the whole student body what the Carrows actually did. She wanted to show everyone who they actually were. 

She walked past Elias Michaels and a few other first-years who stopped to ask if she was alright. She nodded and smiled at them, continuing to walk toward the Great Hall. Ginny wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell of rotting food. Turning into the Hall, the students barely had anything on their platters. Everyone had confused looks and looked upset. Some rubbed their stomachs, expressing their hunger, while others loudly complained and threatened to write to their parents about it. 

Ginny saw Neville sitting with Luna at the Gryffindor table, and she quickly strode over to them. 

"Why's the food rotten? What's going on?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Nevermind why the food's rotting. What happened to you?" Neville asked sincerely. "You didn't have those yesterday, and there's no way you could've gotten into trouble after the hour we got back into the tower."

"It's nothing," she replied swiftly and squirmed in her seat. "Now, please, what's happened?"

Taking the hint that she didn't want to talk about it, Neville answered, "Snape's just announced that there's a food shortage. Personally, I think he's lying. I think they just don't want to feed us. Gin, they're planning something; I know it. By starving us, we're weaker, and our spells won't be as powerful."

It sounded like Neville thought their whole plan through. "You could be an Auror, you know?" she spoke kindly and gave a small smile. He beamed back at her. 

Luna broke the moment when she said, "Guys, I know yesterday's detention was awful, but aren't you scared of going back tonight. What if it's the same thing? What if they Crucio you until you do things for yourself?" Instantly, Neville knew she was talking about his parents. 

"Well, being afraid can't stop us from doing what's right," Neville said firmly. Taking this a sign to drop the conversation, they began to sort through the rotten food. If they got lucky, a scrap or two wasn't moldy. Sharing their findings, they left the Hall more full than they thought they would be.