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Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword	By : brooklynvtc Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Ginny Views: 21247 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter Sixteen
Though his head was killing him, Harry and Ron waited in anticipation for Ginny to come downstairs, as they sat in the great hall. They couldn't wait to finish something that shouldn't have ever started...
Which was Ginny and Dean's 'relationship'.
They had both formulated some sort of plan, in the rest of the wee hours of the morning... They would discreetly let Ginny know what Dean had done last night, and then she would hopefully realize how much of a cad he was and break up with him. Then Harry could swoop in and start the process of working his way into her heart.
It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was a start.
Harry was feeling a lot more confident. He really couldn't believe how free he felt, since getting Ron's blessing. To think he could have saved himself from so much stress and worry...
A pang in his head interrupted his thoughts and Harry rubbed at the back of his head, distractedly.
"Alright, mate?" Ron asked him, concerned.
Harry nodded absentmindedly, rubbing at the large bump that had grown on the back of his head. If he were being honest, it did hurt but it wasn't anything much worse than what he used to get from his beatings from Uncle Vernon...
Violently shuddering at some of the horrible memories from his childhood, Harry forcefully pushed them away.
"Look!" Ron hissed at him, his eyes directed away from Harry now, getting his attention once again. "There she is!"
Harry's head snapped up to the door of the dining hall, and once again found himself in a stupor...
She was so beautiful... the last he had seen her, her hair had been falling out of a complicated knot. But now, it was in one long, messy braid which rested over her shoulder. She was walking with Collin Creevey, and was laughing wildly at what he was saying. While his heart melted at her laugh, his cock gave a twitch in his pants at the sight of her in her school uniform...
Seeing as the Weasleys weren't the wealthiest family around, sometimes they went without when they needed new things. Ginny's skirt was an example of this. She still wore the same uniform that she had last year, even though she had grown taller this last summer, because they couldn't afford a new uniform for her just yet.
Harry would have offered to pay for it himself, but knew that they would never accept it. Also, he found that he got to reap some benefits from the situation, seeing as he got to enjoy the sight of Ginny in a short skirt all semester.
His thoughts stopped short as he saw Ginny sit at the other end of the long Gryffindor table with Collin... and despite himself, he felt the pang of disappointment that Ginny chose not to sit next to him. Of course, she wasn't obligated to, nor did he make plans with her to eat breakfast together. And she had every right to go and sit with her own friends. But he still couldn't help but feel a bit... rejected that she didn't even come to say hello to him. Especially after how they spent the night together last night.
And really, her sitting with them at breakfast was the basis of their entire plan to casually mention Dean's actions last night.
Now, it couldn't be casual if they had to walk all the way to her and inform her of it...
Ron must have seen the look of hurt and doubt on Harry's face, because he said, "I'll go talk to her about it. She already knows that I don't like Dean anyways."
Beads of sweat started to gather at his brow, and he found that it was difficult for him to concentrate on what Ron was saying, as his words got all hazy and blurred together. Finally, after a moment, Harry's mind caught up with Ron's words, and he nodded as Ron stood... he tried to distinctly concentrate on his plate of food as Ron walked away.
He was tempted to peek over at Ginny and Ron as they spoke, to assess Ginny's reaction, but instead he focused on picking apart his food, not really having much of an appetite due to what he thought to be his nerves.
But without any distraction from Ron or Ginny, Harry found that he could only concentrate on the pounding in his head. Which the ache was spreading from the back of his head, to the front. He put down his fork and rubbed at his temples, trying to ease away the pain. Grateful that at least it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the pain in his scar at times.
A giggling of girls from the Ravenclaw table momentarily distracted him. He looked up to see that it was Romilda Vane and her friends that were giggling to themselves, as they looked at him. No doubt noticing that he was alone at the table...
"Hi, Harry!" Romilda greeted cheerfully, as she wiggled her fingers at him in flirtatious greeting.
Her cheerfulness, however, caused his head to hurt worse.
Harry rubbed at the bridge of his nose, behind his glasses, and with the other hand, gave them a half-wave.
They all squealed in response, but Harry chose to zone them out... the noise really making his head pound.
Suddenly, a soft hand threaded in his hair, feeling and rubbing at the back of his head. Harry started, thinking that it was some random girl trying to flirt with him.
But before he could turn and see who it was, the light fingertips found the painful spot at the back of his head, and Harry saw white spots in his vision at the pain it brought. He hissed at the agony, and the fingers quickly retreated from the spot.
"Ronald Weasley!" A beautiful, irate voice hissed. "He has a bump on the back of his head! Why didn't you think to bring him to the hospital wing?!"
Harry turned his head slightly, and his heart jumped to see that it was Ginny who had her hand in his hair. Her eyes were alight with the most glorious fire, and Harry found himself bewitched...
"He never said anything!" Ron argued back.
Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes in an adorable way. "Well, of course he wouldn't! This is Harry we are talking about! He wouldn't complain if he had blood running down his leg! And even then, he would insist that he was still fine!" Ginny scolded.
"You know that I'm right here..." Harry slurred, reminding them both, which turned out to be the wrong thing to say, as Ginny turned her wrath on him. Leaving him feeling both stunned and terrified at the same time.
"Right." Ginny said, angrily. "Which is exactly where you shouldn't be, seeing as you should have been a patient in the hospital wing hours ago!"
Ginny reached down and started to tug at his elbow, forcing him to his feet. "Come on, I'll take you."
Ron rushed to Harry's other side, helping him to stand, as he was now rather dizzy and was tumbling about. "Here, let me help you!"
But Ginny shooed him away, as soon as she had Harry steady. "I think that you've done enough, you prat! And you call yourself his best friend...!" Ginny said, as she started to lead Harry away. The look on Ron's face was rather priceless to Harry, but he knew that Ginny didn't mean for the words to be taken to heart, nor did Ron take them as such.
"Of all the irresponsible, barmy things to do when your best mate hits his head...!" Ginny muttered as they walked out of the dining hall, sounding very much like Mrs. Weasley in that moment.
And no amount of pain could keep the smile off of Harry's face, as he tried to keep as much of his weight off of Ginny as he could, as he leaned on her for support.
Because it seemed as though she really did care...
...
Ginny had been having a good morning.
She had woken up relaxed and rested, having had a pleasant dream that she couldn't remember... but she knew that it had been a good dream. Not a nightmare of her memory of the chamber... which she still had from time to time.
As she had stretched her limbs and yawned, she tried to remember falling asleep, but she couldn't... but then a flash of memory came back to her, and she remembered Harry... how his eyes had drooped adorably, before he nodded off. She remembered how she wanted to let him sleep for a bit, before waking him to leave.
But that obviously didn't happen as Ginny must have fallen asleep herself. She noticed that Harry had left sometime in the night, from his lack of presence, and she found herself simultaneously relieved and saddened by this.
Ginny didn't know much about how she felt about the flashes of formerly buried feelings that had accosted her recently, but she did know that it made her feel more than a little uneasy.
Where her morning started to take a turn for the worse was when she was walking down the corridors for breakfast. And Malfoy came out of nowhere and started to harass her...
"I had my mother send this for you. As you can see, it has the Malfoy crest." He had said, as he tried to hand her a hideously, green broach necklace...
A disgusted sound had escaped her as she pushed his outstretched hand away. "Are you completely barmy in the head?! Why in Merlin's name would I ever take anything from you?!"
Draco had sneered at the insult, as he had replied, "If you were smart, you would stick to me as though you were attached by a sticking charm. Especially with who you associate yourself with... not only is your entire family blood traitors, but it is widely known in the pureblood community that the lot of you took in Potter as one of your own. That is a dangerous and idiotic thing to do... even by pureblood standards, that is unforgivable. Especially with what is coming..."
As he spoke, something had stopped Ginny from turning her wand on him. As she looked back at her memory of it, she realized that it had been genuine fear in his eyes as he mentioned that something was coming...
"What exactly are you talking about, Malfoy?" Ginny had asked him, trying to probe him for more information.
A part of the tension in Malfoy's shoulders had melted away as he took a step closer to her, getting into her personal space. "These are dangerous times, Weasley. And no amount of training in Dumbledore's Army will save any of you... but, if you associate yourself with me, I promise that I can protect you. I can't say the same about your family, and you will have to prepare yourself in knowing that Potter will most assuredly die-"
It was at that point where she had enough, and was about to whip her wand out on him, but a curse shot out from behind her, hitting Malfoy right in the crotch.
"Score for Gryffindor!" Collin had exclaimed, putting his wand away. The ferret had fallen over in pain, his hand covering his crotch.
After that, Collin had led Ginny away as Malfoy muttered in pain about filthy mudbloods.
Ginny was a little confused about what had happened, so when she asked Collin what he had done to Malfoy as they were walking into the dining hall, he replied, "Oh, that. Well, let's just say that Malfoy is more female than male at the moment..."
Ginny burst out into hysterical laughter at that revelation and sat down with Collin, wanting to hear more about the spell he had used.
But she hadn't had much of a chance to hear about it, because Ron had come over not long after.
"Ginevra," Ron had called her, which really caused her hackles to rise, as just the sound of her birth name made her mood instantly plummet. Which Ron was very well aware of, which meant he was either displeased with her or was actively trying to annoy her. "We need to talk about your boyfriend."
Ginny really couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "What exactly did he do? Use up all the hot water in the shower this morning?"
Ron frowned, his own annoyance had shown in his eyes. "No. He attacked Harry last night."
Ginny was shocked. That was the only emotion she could muster at the time. But while she was shocked, Collin seemed outraged.
"No! He didn't!" Collin had raged, then turned to Ginny. "He hasn't hurt you, has he?"
Ginny had slowly shaken her head no, still not able to believe it. Ron had to be setting her up or... something!
Ron nodded smartly, reminding her of Pompous Percy whenever he had told on them as kids... "The git pulled Harry up from his bed and threw him against the wall! And demanded where he was, and asked Harry if he was making you a whore! Now what exactly are you going to do about it?!"
She still couldn't understand... how exactly did this happen? Why did this happen?
But then she had found her eyes searching... searching the long Gryffindor table for him. And when her eyes had finally found him, his hands had been cradling his head.
"What's wrong with Harry?" Ginny had asked Ron, afraid to hear the answer.
Ron's gaze had followed her own, and frowned. "I think he hit his head when Dean smashed him up against the wall..."
Before Ron had even finished his sentence, Ginny had been standing and hurried to him... for some reason, she had been feeling... frantic.
But as she thought on it now, of course she would feel that way! Harry was her friend! Why wouldn't she be concerned about his well-being?
But it was his well-being that was in dangerous territory because of her boyfriend... and what he did.
The thought had still left her in a state of shock. She really thought that she knew Dean... really knew him. But apparently, she didn't. Not really... now she had to decide what to do about her boyfriend... And before she even had a lot of time to think over the answer, she knew what she had to do.
She had to break up with Dean...
She really didn't know what to feel about the situation. She wasn't exactly sad about it, seeing as she had barely even dated Dean for very long.
She couldn't even find herself feeling as angry as she usually would be for what Dean had done. Because she was too worried about Harry to feel any other emotion besides it.
It was as she was thinking all of this, where Ginny found herself helping a stumbling Harry Potter down the corridors to the hospital wing...
"You alright there, Harry?" She asked him again, wondering if she had been stupid to deny Ron's help... but at the moment, she was far too angry with her prat of a brother. But she couldn't deny that she was struggling...
A testament to that fact, was that Harry's nose was firmly implanted behind her ear, in order to help keep him upright.
In reply to her question, Harry gave a very large sniff. "You smell pretty... like the - like the flowers at the burrow..."
This reply didn't help Ginny at all with her worry... disorientation couldn't be a good sign...
But she couldn't deny the shot of thrill she had gotten from his words.
"Gin...ney?" Harry hiccuped.
Ginny sighed, as she tried to balance them once more... she could have sworn that she was taking care of a drunk person...
"Yes, Harry?" Ginny indulged him.
Harry swallowed heavily, before saying, "I wanna tell you somethin'... it's a secret..." Harry broke off as he giggled madly. Harry. Actually. Giggled...!
She had never heard such a noise come out of his mouth. But Ginny found her curiosity piqued. Harry was keeping a secret?
"A secret?" She asked.
She felt Harry nod against her neck, as he laughed more, his breath tickling her ear. "A big secret... been wanting to tell you for ages...!"
Despite herself, Ginny found herself... hurt by his revelation. Harry was keeping things from her? Or was it just his likely concussion talking?
"Harry? Ginny?" A voice ahead of them cut off what Ginny knew was about to be encouragement for Harry to continue, on her part.
Ginny looked ahead, and saw that it was Neville, obviously walking down to the dining hall for breakfast. She found herself disappointed that he had interrupted. "Hi, Neville."
Neville didn't return to greeting, as he looked on at them worriedly.
"Is Harry alright?"
Harry rolled his head slightly off of Ginny's shoulder. But when he spotted Neville, his face brightened. "Neville! M-my hero!"
Then he turned his head black to Ginny, saying In her ear, "Neville helped me to save Ron from the giant, evil prat! And I'm not talking about Voldemort either..."
Neville turned his questioning eyes to Ginny.
"I think he may have gotten a concussion last night..." Ginny informed Neville.
Neville hurried forward, "Here, let me help you!"
Neville grabbed onto Harry's other side, and together they helped hold Harry upright as they brought him to the hospital wing. It was a difficult and long time before they finally made it, and Ginny found herself wondering how she had managed to get herself as far as she had by herself.
As soon as they had stepped foot inside the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was walking out of her office, and rushed forward as soon as she had caught sight of them.
"Good Heavens!" She exclaimed, grabbing Harry and leading him over towards an empty bed. "What in Merlin's name did you do to yourself this time, Mr. Potter?!"
She forced Harry to lay down, and Harry closed his eyes as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"I think he may have gotten a concussion last night... and he has a large bump on the back of his head." Ginny informed the mediwitch, and Madam Pomfrey started at that and snapped Harry awake.
"There will be no sleeping until we get you sorted out Mr. Potter!" Madame Pomfrey scolded. "Now, did you sleep at all after you hit your head?"
Harry shook his head no, now looking less disoriented and more sick to his stomach, than anything.
"You should have come as soon as you had injured yourself, Mr. Potter., the brain is such a fragile thing, and an injury to it is no joking manner!"
Harry merely groaned in response, one of his hands coming up to rub at his temple.
"Now there can be none of that, you must hold still while my wand does a diagnosis of your brain."
Harry seemed to not be able to comprehend what she was saying, so Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand, keeping his hand away from his face. Harry squeezed her fingers tight as Madam Pomfrey cast a series of spells over Harry's head. Including a spell that made his mind less hazy. His hand felt... nice. Warm. As Madam Pomfrey cast her spells, Neville told Ginny that he was going to go tell McGonagall that she and Harry were in the hospital wing, and would be excused for classes. Ginny had only nodded in reply, her eyes intent on Harry's pained face. She didn't hear Neville leave.
"Well, it seems that you do have a concussion, dear... sit tight while I get some healing potions for you to drink. I'll make you right as rain, Mr. Potter, though I have no doubt you'll somehow find yourself in a bed in my ward once again, this year..."
A long groan came from another bed in the far corner, but Ginny didn't concern herself with it. Instead, she rubbed her fingers through Harry's dense hair and rubbed at his scalp.
"It will only take another hour for the counter-potion to work it's magic, Mr. Thomas." Madam Pomfrey told the other patient in the back corner.
Ginny's head snapped up, and whipped over to look at the boy in question. At the sight of him, a red haze threatened to overtake her for what he had done to Harry... but Dean didn't look much better than Harry did. His left eye was bruised and swollen, meaning that someone had punched him in the face. And he looked positively sick to his stomach.
"What happened to Dean?" Ginny asked Madam Pomfrey before she could go into the back and get the potions she needed.
"The poor dear was slipped an Angerall Potion in his tea last night... went into a blind rage, he did. But it makes you very sick as the effects begin to fade." Madam Pomfrey explained, before rushing into the back room for Harry's potions. Leaving Ginny behind in a state of speechlessness.
Ginny sat there in complete silence for a very long moment, not knowing what to think.
Then she suddenly found herself standing, letting go of Harry's hand, which seemed to startle him out of his own trance.
"Gin..." He said weakly, reaching his hand out again in offering, questions in his eyes.
At the sight of his outstretched hand, a flash of desire for her to reach out and take it overtook her. Things were starting to come into perspective for her... the heat and electric feeling she got from his touch... the appreciation she felt at him not treating her as a child... him believing in her capabilities, and her being pleased by that fact... her desire to just want to make Harry happy, and her sadness at the terrible things in his life... she was shocked to see that she had been slowly falling for Harry Potter, yet again... unbeknownst to her realizing that it was actually happening...!
She was almost startled when he reached forward further with his hand, even more insistent. She very nearly stumbled over her chair in her haste to back away. As though his hand would grow fangs to bite her with.
She couldn't believe that this was happening.
No... no, no, no, NO!
She had thought that she had gotten over this... over him! She had moved on... was finally at a place where she was comfortable just being his friend. Why did such a stupid thing as feelings have to come in and muck everything up for her! Why did such a simple thing as holding a friend's hand while they were in the hospital wing have to be so complicated for her?
But it was complicated. But not because it was her... it was because it was Harry. It was always Harry. Why did it always have to be Harry? Especially since he didn't feel an inkling of what she felt for him.
So, Ginny didn't accept his hand, because to him, it meant nothing... but for her, it signified so much more than just two friends holding hands. She could, even now, feel the ache of her feelings for him threaten to come forward. And it terrified her. Terrified her to no end.
Why did he have to be so kind? So charming? ...So unaware of what he was doing to her...? How his very presence threatened to shatter her heart into pieces, yet again. It left her feeling overwhelmed. So, she didn't accept his hand. Instead, she rejected his offering with her very words. Even though it pained her to say them, she knew that it would save her from even more heartbreak in the end... "I can't, Harry... Not now, I'm sorry."
His entire face crumbled in hurt and pain, and she knew that while his injury was painful for him, he must feel that she is rejecting their friendship. Either way, she couldn't bear to see his wide and pained green eyes looking at her with so much sorrow. So, she turned away... feeling mighty guilty as she did it.
Harry had been turned away from many people in his life... rejected away as though he were nothing. Especially from his muggle relatives, the Dursleys. But she needed time to think... reflect on her own. She needed space away from Harry Potter in order to stop the feelings inside of her that were threatening to burst out.
She had to do this... in order to save their friendship.
And so, Ginny walked away, walked towards the bed in the back corner...
When she came up to his bed, she noticed that his eye looked worse up close.
"Ginny," Dean sighed, as soon as he saw her come close. When she stopped a foot away from his bed, he reached his hand out to her. No doubt hoping that she would come closer. "I'm so sorr-"
"I have something to say." Ginny interrupted him, not wanting to wait to get this out.
Dean looked at her for a long moment before he nodded, hesitation palpable in his eyes...
Ginny took a deep breath, before she began.
"You not only hurt Harry, but you hurt me with your actions."
Dean's eyes shot open wide and he opened his mouth to interrupt.
"No. You don't get to speak. Not yet." Ginny said, firmly, putting up her hand to stop whatever it was he was about to say. "Harry is really close to not only me, but to my entire family. And it upsets me that you contributed to making his hard life even more difficult by heckling him and giving him a concussion!"
Despite her not wanting him to interrupt, he did so anyways. Sitting up straight in his bed as he spoke. "That's not my fault, Ginny! Didn't you hear Madam Pomfrey? I was slipped an Angerall Potion!"
Ginny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Feeling very annoyed, but secretly glad that the emotion was distracting her from any other feelings that she has been experiencing lately towards Harry... "Despite Potions being my worst class, I still pay attention. The Angerall Potion doesn't create anger towards a target out of nowhere! The drinker of the potion feels angry at people that they already have issues with. The potion merely amplifies it. So, it may not be your fault that you physically attacked Harry, but you do have a problem with him. And the potion may force the words out of you in the heat of the moment, but it comes from a place inside of you that means that you really believe them. So, tell me... do you really think that Harry is trying to make me out to be a whore?!"
Dean stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes for a very long moment, as Ginny gave him a just as long, albeit hard, glare. Finally, Dean started to sputter, "Wh-what?! I've never said... I mean, I would never dream-"
An angry voice, from the other side of the room, suddenly burst out firmly, "Don't you dare lie to her, Thomas." Harry said, as he shakily got out of bed, and made his way over to them.
Ginny's heart leapt up to her throats at the sound of his voice, but she was instantly worried about his health. So, she turned her anger for Dean on Harry, as she whipped around to face him. "Harry Potter! You get back into that bed this instant!"
But Harry ignored her, coming up right beside her, trying to stand firm and talk as he glared at Dean. She tried not to fidget from his close proximity to her, as she found the urge to reach out to him, as well.
Dean, glared right back at Harry and sneered as he said, "Ran right up to Ginny, didn't you, Potter? Telling her stories that aren't true..."
Ginny whipped her gaze off of Harry at that, her eyes instantly suspicious. "Harry didn't tell me anything about it. It was actually Ron that told me the whole story..." She watched as Dean frowned at this revelation, and frowned as well. "Are you saying that my brother is a liar, too?"
She was eager to hear his explanation... waiting to hear what sort of shotty excuse he would come up with. The blood in her veins, going through her heart, was beating loudly in her ears with her anger. She actually marveled at how level headed she came across, while on the inside she was about to boil over.
But Dean didn't have the chance to answer, as Harry scoffed, "Apparently, everyone is a liar, except for him..."
Ginny remained quiet, waiting for Dean's answer. Before Dean finally sighed.
"I never said that I didn't say it..." Dean finally admitted, quietly. Looking quite ashamed.
"But Ginny..." He said quickly, reaching out and grabbing her hand anyways, grasping it tight. "We all say a lot of things that we don't mean in anger... and I really didn't mean it! You have to know that I don't think that about you! Besides, look at the other night, for example. You said some mean things to Ron, but you didn't mean them..."
"Don't you try to compare that to your screw up!" Harry interrupted again, his face looking flushed with an attractive reddish color, his green eyes flashing bright... "That's like comparing apples and oranges. The big difference is that Ginny instantly regretted her words and felt bad about them."
Dean's face twisted in indignation, "I regret my words! But while I regret the actual words, doesn't mean that I regret keeping tabs on you regarding my girlfriend, Potter!"
Harry's face turned even redder, and Ginny knew he must feel embarrassed from Dean's delusional theory that Harry fancied her... "Enough. I'm right here, no need to talk in circles around me..."
Ginny suddenly felt very tired... and she wondered where her good day had gone. Her anger melted away as she felt her mind grow weary. But luckily, both of the sixth year boys stayed silent as Ginny reached up with her hand, and rubbed at her temple.
"I'm going to class." Ginny finally announced, breaking the silence. "I already missed yesterday, and I can't afford to miss another day."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry nod in understanding. Though she tried not to look at him... "That's a good idea. No reason you should have to stick around here if you don't have to..." Harry chuckled as he tried to jest with her, but she found that she didn't have the energy to muster even a snort.
Ginny turned to leave the hospital wing, but a tug on where her hand was still grasped in Dean's stalled her. "Ginny..." Dean said pleadingly, his eyes sad and desperate. "Please. Tell me where your thoughts are on us. Please don't say that you're breaking up with me for this..."
Behind her, she heard Harry scoff indignantly, but Ginny tried to force her mind to ignore him. And she focused all of her attention on Dean. "I don't think you realize how much this hurt me..." She told him, honestly. She sighed heavily, and took her hand away from his grasp. "I need some time... to think. I just need to be by myself. This is just all too much to process right now."
Then she turned to walk slowly away. But as she passed by Harry, he reached out his hand to stroke her arm with his fingers as she passed. Almost as though he wanted to grab her hand, but thought against it before he did. And as she went by him, she knew that she needed time away from him as well. To sort out her feelings for Harry and try to find a way to get rid of them again.
Because nothing was worse than a Ginny Weasley when she was pining after Harry Potter...
A/N: Please Review! :)
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Rejection: A Double-Edged Sword