Chapter Sixteen: Phoenix Eyes
As Ginny's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she noticed was pain. Her entire body ached terribly and she had no idea why; the last thing she remembered was falling asleep after a long, wonderful day.
She couldn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips as she tried to turn her head, suddenly realizing that she wasn't in her room anymore.
At the sound of her moan, she heard people moving around her, and Ron shouted "Ginny!" and the relief in his voice coupled with her mother's sobbing told her she was probably in the hospital wing; that would explain the pain. She shifted, trying to see her family, and the dull ache she felt all over suddenly became a burning fire, as though a thousand hot needles were being driven into her flesh; it took her several moments after that to realize the screaming she was hearing was coming from her. Her scream dissolved into a wracking cough, and the pain became even worse; she felt sure she was about to die.
Madame Pomfrey was at her side in an instant, casting lung clearing charms and pressing a cup to Ginny's mouth. As she swallowed the potion, she felt the pain dissipate, lessening to the point that she could think again, and heard Madame Pomfrey muttering.
"If Mr. Potter woke up to screaming like that, he'd destroy the hospital wing." Her voice grew louder as she continued, "How is the pain now, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny took a few deep breaths before answering; she found her thoughts were growing slightly muddled, and she desperately wanted answers. She was greatly reassured when each of her parents took one of her hands.
"It's not as bad as it was... What happened, where's Harry?"
She listened with growing confusion as they explained the confrontation with Wormtail, but as the story progressed, she began asking for things to be repeated and was still unable to understand.
"Never mind. Where is Harry?" she asked again.
"He's in the bed next to yours, Ginny," her father said in comforting tones.
Ginny found her eyes drifting shut.
"Is he okay?" she asked insistently, determined to fight off sleep until she knew.
"He'll be alright, Miss Weasley," this coming from Madame Pomfrey.
"Oh. Good," Ginny stated as her eyes finally shut and sleep claimed her.
***
Harry made his way back to consciousness through sheer force of will; he felt a debilitating exhaustion that tried to suck him back into the realms of sleep, and fought it off as much as he could. He found that his limbs were tingling, and he couldn’t seem to move against the crippling tiredness that filled him. His internal clock didn’t seem to be functioning, but he could sense that Fawkes was in the room somewhere, sleeping, so he knew he was somewhere safe, and by the familiar feel of the bed, he was sure it was the hospital wing.
“Ginny,” he mumbled, though not much sound escaped. He worked moisture back into his mouth and called again, “Ginny?”
He heard no answer, and he desperately needed to know if she had made it. If she was dead… she just couldn’t be dead.
Ignoring the weight in his mind that was still trying to put him to sleep, Harry once again began a struggle with his un-responsive body. First, he was able to shift his arms, and brought them to where he could push himself up into a sitting position. His muscles were incredibly sore as he flexed his arms against his weight, but he found he was making progress. After several minutes he was in a sitting position on his bed, and found himself fighting off dizziness and nausea.
Once he was certain he wasn’t going to be sick, Harry called for Madame Pomfrey, able to call in a louder voice with unrestricted lungs, and finally got a response.
“Mr. Potter!” she shouted, as she rushed into the room, “You lay back down this instant! Your body is attempting to recover your magic, and this activity will slow your recovery time considerably. Professor McGonagall is already unhappy to be covering your classes, and she will not be happy to do it longer than is necessary.”
Harry heard Madame Pomfrey reach his side, and felt a firm hand on his chest, gently pushing him back. Harry resisted this with one hand behind him, and closed his other hand around Pomfrey’s arm. She was shocked at the strength of his grip, despite his injuries and obvious weakness.
“Where’s Ginny?” he demanded, and traces of power could again be heard on the edge of his voice.
“She’s in the bed next to you, Mr. Potter, and she’ll be fine. Somehow, you managed to save her,” she answered, flustered at being questioned so forcefully.
Harry slumped in relief as he learned she was alive. All the energy he had used to move himself was suddenly gone, and he felt his body go limp as Madame Pomfrey gently laid him back down in his bed and covered him with his blanket. He slipped easily back to sleep.
***
The next time Ginny woke up, she still felt the deep aching pain, but it had lessened and she could move without making it much worse. She opened her eyes, and found herself looking into her father's smiling face.
"Good morning, Ginny," he said gently, "Feeling better today?"
"Hi, Dad," she answered, and pushed herself up, not quite hiding the wince of pain caused by the movement. She looked over at Harry’s pale, sleeping form and asked “How’s Harry?”
Arthur laughed fondly, as he helped his daughter sit more comfortably.
“You’ve both got very one-track minds right now. He was awake briefly last night, according to Madame Pomfrey, and he wouldn’t go back to sleep until he knew where you were and if you were safe. He really shouldn’t have been able to wake up at all, between his magic being drained and the potions he was on, but he was able to sit up, shout, and make demands.”
Ginny was gratified to hear about Harry’s protectiveness, and smiled brightly at her father.
“So what happened?” she asked, this time ready to hear and understand the answers.
“Pettigrew was able to sneak past the wards and confronted Harry and Remus in front of your rooms. He tried to make Harry take a Portkey by threatening to use a Blasting Curse on the tower, and Harry tried to go along with that to protect you, so Remus cursed the Portkey and Wormtail blasted the tower, with you in it.”
Ginny sat in shock for a few moments and then whispered, “He’s going to try and push me away again, now.”
Arthur smiled down at her and took her hand.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, yet. When the tower fell, Remus said he went completely berserk, and threw himself out the hole after you. Remus was certain he’d killed you both, then, and he killed Peter. Somehow, though, Harry was able to pull you out, and Madame Pomfrey says he also healed you enough that you were able to survive until she could help, and he drained all of his magic somewhere in the process, and broke his back. I think you’ll have to worry about some over-protectiveness from him for a while, but I don’t think he’ll push you away.”
“He broke his back and drained his magic? Is he alright?”
“Except for the magic, his injuries weren’t nearly as bad as yours. Madame Pomfrey was able to heal his back without any problems, though he might have some temporary loss of feeling in his extremities.”
“How badly was I hurt,” she wanted to know.
“Well, Poppy said you’d broken more bones at once than anyone she’s ever seen, including Harry, and there were all kinds of internal injuries. She’ll tell you more about it if you want; we were too happy that you were alive to pay attention to what she was saying exactly,” and his eyes grew misty as he went on, “you looked pretty bad.”
“Well,” she said, trying to lighten his mood, “I don’t think Harry will ever let me die, so there isn’t much to worry about as long as he’s around.”
“I think that might go for the whole Weasley family, considering the number of us he’s saved so far,” Arthur answered chuckling.
***
After two more days of sleeping, Harry finally woke up again. By this time, Ginny was walking about with the help of a cane, and getting very tired of the hospital wing. She was sitting next to Harry’s bed and shouted his name when his eyes open and began staring blankly around the room.
“Finally, you’re awake! I’ve been so bored without you to talk to,” she gushed, putting her arms around him and kissing him softly.
“That’s a good way to wake up,” he rasped, his voice failing him. He cleared his throat, and went on in a clearer tone, “How are you doing?”
“I beat you to waking up completely by two days,” she said proudly, “and I have the new record for the most bones broken at once, so now I’m better than you at Quidditch and getting hurt.”
Harry couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to hear you talk and to feel you there,” he whispered. “I thought I had lost you.”
“I understand you almost killed yourself saving me, so I almost lost you too; we’re even.”
Harry laughed again and kissed her soundly. Just being with her was helping to drive away the feeling of exhaustion that was still pulling him down. He closed his eyes and reached within himself, trying to determine if his magic were back to normal.
“If you’re worrying if your magic is back yet, Madame Pomfrey said that you should be fine by the time you woke up. She kept you on sleeping potions so you wouldn’t set yourself back again.”
Harry grinned and pushed himself up in his bed.
“Do you think she’d mind if we went for a walk?” Harry asked.
“Where would we go?” Ginny asked in response.
“I think it’s lunch time. How about to the Great Hall?”
“It’s a date, Harry.”
***
The two of them staggered about like a very, very old couple, laughing at their inability to get around by themselves. Before long, Fawkes had joined them from somewhere and also found the sight very amusing, and offered to transport them to the Great Hall. Harry had the phoenix take them to just outside the doors, and the two of them hobbled in together.
When they first made their appearance, the hall went deathly quiet. As they made their way up to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, the room began to buzz with whispered conversations. As Harry raised an arm and waved at the room in general, all of the first through third year students, including the Slytherins, exploded with cheering, glad to have their teacher back.
Harry’s face turned red as Ginny laughed, and the two of them sat down with Ron and Hermione.
“What are you two doing out of bed?” Hermione demanded, shocked that they were there.
“We were hungry,” Ginny responded, as if the answer were completely obvious. “The hospital wing isn’t exactly the best place to go to for lunch.”
Harry and Ron snickered as Hermione lectured them about following the doctor’s orders.
Before much longer, after another lecture from McGonagall, who had gotten an angry note from Madame Pomfrey, both Harry and Ginny were exhausted. Ginny needed another pain potion when they got back to the hospital and Harry fell asleep twice while they were walking back, despite the fact that he was standing up and moving. They were then lectured by Madame Pomfrey herself, sentenced to another full day in the hospital wing, and sent to bed.
As Ginny settled her head back into her pillow, she heard a rustling noise from the bed beside her, and caught the words “I love you, Ginny,” whispered from Harry.
She smiled sleepily, and answered. “I love you too.”
***
Harry slept that night for a full twelve hours, which seemed strange to him, even though he had been asleep for more than a week because of his injuries. Still, when he woke up, he felt incredibly refreshed, albeit a bit sore, and was in such high spirits that he even ate a hospital breakfast without complaint.
Ginny was still sleeping, and Harry didn’t want to invoke the wrath of the hospital matron, nor did he have it in his heart to disturb Ginny’s peaceful rest. Still, without her, he didn’t have much to do, and quickly became bored with his surroundings.
After a few moments, Fawkes appeared in the room, and Harry smiled as the bird landed on his shoulder.
“Hello, Fawkes. What have you been up to for the past several days?”
Fawkes sang a few mournful notes, and Harry saw a view of himself and Ginny lying in the hospital beds side by side, both looking very much the worse for wear. The image brought to mind how close he had come to losing Ginny, and he promised himself then that he would keep her with him where he could keep her safe.
“Thanks for looking out for us, Fawkes. She’d have died if you hadn’t pulled her out of there. I would have died too, if you hadn’t come back.”
Fawkes sang a few happy notes, letting Harry know that he was happy to help wherever he could.
Something about talking to Fawkes troubled Harry, though. Harry sat brooding, trying to remember something that seemed very important.
Harry suddenly sat up in the bed, causing Fawkes to squawk in protest and fly over to Harry’s bedside table.
“Fawkes! You showed me the beam falling, right when it was happening, right?”
Fawkes uttered a few musical tones that clearly indicated confusion, and Harry saw the beam falling once again.
“No, I don’t want to see it again… Can you show me what you are seeing now?”
Harry was beside himself with anticipation, and then suddenly Harry received a view of himself sitting in the hospital bed, and looked into his own eyes. Harry shut his eyes to free himself of the disconcerting image, but it remained in his mind. Harry couldn’t speak for a few moments, as he tried to decide how this would affect his life.
“Fawkes… would you be willing to do this for me often?” Harry asked, not wanting to put too much of a burden on the phoenix, but growing hopeful that he could function more independently, and the phoenix was with him almost all the time anyway.
Fawkes sang happily, assuring Harry that as often as he was with Harry, and even if they were apart, Harry would be more than welcome to see what Fawkes could see.
Harry asked Fawkes to fly up into a corner of the room, and held tightly to his bed as the phoenix complied and Harry’s vision flew dizzyingly to the new location. Harry suddenly had a panoramic view of the entire hospital wing, including the beds where both he and Ginny were laying. He got to his feet, trying to judge where he was as he watched himself move, and tried walking down the aisle. He staggered drunkenly, trying to get used to the new perspective, and a wave of nausea consumed him. He watched himself fall to his knees as he vomited on the floor. The phoenix sight cut off and Fawkes flew down in concern, and Ginny, woken up by his staggering into a bed, was at his side in seconds.
“Harry! Are you alright? Madame Pomfrey!” she said, calling the matrons name out loudly at the end.
Harry stayed on his hands and knees, shaking, as Ginny rubbed his back. He finally felt the nausea subside and fell back, waving his hand in a vanishing spell, cleaning up the mess before him.
“I’m okay,” he said, his words slurring slightly. “I just got a little dizzy, and then I got sick, it’s nothing.”
Madame Pomfrey was not so easily dissuaded, however, and demanded a full explanation. Harry said he had gotten up and felt a little sick and that was all, and after pressing for a while, Madame Pomfrey finally provided a potion that would calm his stomach and left them alone again.
“I know you too well now, Harry, and I know you were lying. What really happened?” Ginny demanded suspiciously.
Harry responded by taking her hand and using Legilimency to show her what had happened with Fawkes.
“It’ll take some getting used to, but I think this will help me a lot. If I can work with it, I’ll be able to see all around me, and no one will know what to expect because they’ll think I’m blind.”
“That’s wonderful, Harry!” Ginny exclaimed, genuinely happy for him, “And thank you for being willing to help him, Fawkes. Maybe now he’ll be able to cut his own meat.”
“Hey! I thought you liked cutting my meat!”
“Dream on, bird-brain.”
“You’re one to talk, there.”
They continued to joke with each other for a while, before Ginny changed the subject.
“Harry,” she asked hesitantly, “Will you use Legilimency to show me what happened with Wormtail?”
“Ginny, I…” Harry began, but she cut him off.
“I know you probably don’t want me to see it, but I need to see what happened to us, and no one but you knows the whole story.”
Harry knew he couldn’t deny her anything, and took her hand gently in his own. As he showed her the images and feelings he’d experienced, he heard her gasping in shock and commiseration, and could hear her crying by the end.
“Harry… you… thank you…” was all she could manage, as she buried her face into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. After a time, she added, “Thanks for not trying to push me away this time.”
“I’ve learned that I can’t live without you, no matter what… and I remembered that I don’t have a choice in that matter anyway,” he finished, smiling.
Ginny laughed through her tears, and then the two of them got to their feet. Ginny looked up and found that a haggard looking Remus Lupin had wandered into the room. He stood there awkwardly, looking as though he were trying to decide what to say.
Ginny leaned close to Harry’s ear and whispered “Remus is here, Harry.”
“Take me to him,” Harry whispered back.
As the two of them approached him, Remus began to look somewhat panicked and started stuttering.
“Harry, I, uh, wanted to…” he began, but Harry cut him off.
“Remus,” Harry said, before throwing himself into the last Marauder’s arms. “Thanks for having the courage to do what I couldn’t.”
Ginny watched Harry proudly, as Remus struggled trying to find words for the moment.
“Harry… I almost got you both killed!” he exclaimed.
“I would have died for sure if I went with him, and he may have cast the Blasting Curse anyway. And if the war is lost and Voldemort wins, I don’t expect anyone who has been close to me will live very long. You did what was right,” Harry finished.
Remus shook tears from his eyes and whispered “Thank you,” before the two of them stepped apart, and Ginny took Harry’s hand again.
“We’re on our way to lunch in the Great Hall again,” Ginny said, “Care to join us?”
Remus grinned as he accepted and they all made their way to the enticing aromas coming from the Great Hall, joking about how much trouble they would be in with Madame Pomfrey.