For Pinky Green's Quotes/Sentences Challenge in the HPFC Forum

( ~* 5 *~ )

( There are some hurts you never completely get over. And you think time will diminish their presence and to a degree… it does. But it still hurts, because, well… hurt hurts. )

( *~* )

She knows she's being stupid. She's fully aware that she's being unreasonable. She just doesn't care.

She wishes she's taking it a lot less hard than she is. It seems easy to fool herself into thinking exactly that, but while her brain says, "You're over him," her heart says, "You love him." She can't decide which she should listen to; both seem so promising, yet so full of empty promises.

She tries her very best to act normal around her friends on the train ride home almost as hard as she tries to ignore him. She ends up squeezing him in a hug so tight she could swear his face turns blue. When she thinks about it as the Ministry car bumps along, she realizes that she should have expected it of herself. She's never been able to ignore him before, so why should she be able to now?

"Exactly," her heart tells her knowledgably.

Her mother casts slightly worried glances at her over the back of her seat, as though her thoughtful silence is highly, highly unusual (which, of course, it is). Ginny doesn't notice: She's too busy wondering what she should make herself think.

When they get home, she mumbles an excuse and goes up to her room for some solitude. But she doesn't need – she doesn't want – solitude. She wants to see him safely sitting on her bed, perhaps even looking peaceful for a change.

Ginny tries to act normal. She doesn't lock herself away, or refuse meals; however, she rarely talks and she doesn't make eye contact with anyone, either.

She's staring out into the vast space surrounding the Burrow when she hears a soft knock on her door.

"Come in," she calls quietly.

Her mother opens the door and steps inside, closing it gently behind her. She walks over to her daughter and sits herself next to her on top of the covers.

"Hi, Mum," mumbles Ginny half-heartedly, her eyes flicking away from the illusion that all is right in the world.

Molly raises her eyebrows. "Is that all you have to say? 'Hi'?"

Ginny shrugs. "I guess."

Molly half purses her lips, half grimaces, putting her arm around Ginny. "It would help if you told me what's wrong, dear," she says.

"Nothing's wrong," protests Ginny, but she falters under her mother's unwavering gaze. She sighs heavily. "Well… it… it sort of has to do with Harry."

Molly is sure her shock is registered on her face, although she masks it well. "What about Harry?"

Ginny fidgets uncomfortably for a few tense moments before murmuring, "We were going out."

"You were?" asks Molly disbelievingly. At her daughter's nod, she further inquires, "For how long?"

Ginny's mouth twists into a bright smile. "A while," she says, and then upon noticing the lack of reaction on her mother's face, she elaborates in a rushed explanation. "Well, he said that he's liked me since nearly the beginning of term, and of course he knows how long I've liked him, even though I told Hermione that I was over him when I started dating Michael. When I broke up with Dean, there were times when he would always open his mouth to say something and then close it again. I had no idea what was going on. After the Quidditch Final, he came back from his detention with Snape, and he… he kissed me."

Molly is smiling now, too, hardly able to believe that the shy boy she once knew had the nerve to show that kind of affection in front of so many people. Ginny has a far-away look in her eyes, perhaps remembering just what it feels like to have Harry's lips on hers. She snaps back quickly to the present.

"Everything was going great," she says, her happiness dwindling, "but then…" She pauses to swallow; she will not cry, she will not fall apart over a break-up when he always stands strong with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "At Dumbledore's funeral, he… he broke up with me."

Molly blinks, her ears still not processing what they've just heard. Harry is a boy who is far more in tune with people's emotions than most; how had he not known how much he was bettering her daughter's life?

"He said he wants me to stay safe," Ginny says, her dam starting to crumble. "He doesn't want Voldemort" – she ignores her mother's slight flinch – "to use me again. He couldn't stand it if it was my funeral he was sitting at." (Molly has to force herself not to think of that scenario.) "He sounded so vulnerable, it scared me. He was desperate, and Mum –"

Ginny is crying freely now, because she feels she has as much pull over the war as the Chosen One does at this moment.

"– Mum, I'm afraid for him. I'm afraid he's not going to come out of this alive."

Molly surprises herself with the fact that she doesn't have tears pouring down her face, but she thinks that maybe it has something to do with her sneaking suspicion that mirrors Ginny's perfectly. The odds are against them, but they have to choice other than to believe as hard as they can.

She pushes Ginny away from her, holds her firmly by the shoulders, and looks into her own eyes.

"Ginny, listen to me," Molly says. "We're at war now. War is dangerous. But Harry is a strong person. He will get through this. You have to have faith in him."

Ginny nods, wiping her eyes. "I know, Mum," she says. "It just… it hurts."

Molly pulls her daughter back into a hug and rests her chin on top of Ginny's head. "There are some hurts that you never completely get over, Ginny," she consoles softly. "And you think time will diminish their presence and to a degree… it does. But it still hurts, because, well…" She trails off, looking for a way to explain what she wants to say.

"… hurt hurts," Ginny finishes, almost to herself.

Molly looks down at Ginny, kisses her head, and gets up.

"It'll be over soon," she promises as she leaves, casting one last glance at Ginny, who is on her back, staring at the ceiling. "He'll come back to you."

Ginny wishes she could say, "I think you're right," without lying.

( *~* )

So, yeah, this one was a little depressing, and I honestly don't think I did Molly too well, but… whatever. This story is now officially over. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!

ThAnK_yA, tHaNk_Ya_VeRy_MuCh

- XAPY-TZINY-IIOZEINTON-NOAT