Echo in My Mind

Chapter 6: Stuck in the Hospital Wing

"Life asks of you what it thinks you can handle. There were days when I thought it had asked too much-"

Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent), Smallville

~*~

Remus left shortly after that. Harry hadn't moved from the spot he was standing in when Remus had told him the news. His hand felt slightly limp in Ginny's. He looked as if he needed to cry, storm, and rage, but simply couldn't. His face was a mixture of sadness and something completely different that Ginny couldn't place. She continued to stand next to Harry, feeling as if she was slowly gaining back movement in her legs.

With a sigh and a sniffle she clutched Harry's hand a little tighter and led him over to his bed. Once there, Ginny let go and he lay down, not realizing he was crushing the back of his head where the gash was against the pillow when he was supposed to keep everything away from it. His hair had even been parted away from the cut and held to the sides by bobby pins since no one wanted to risk a charm that might interfere with the potions that were healing the cut.

Harry rolled over onto his side after he seemed to realize that he was touching the cut to something. Ginny watched him look from her to the empty space next to him on the bed and back to her. She got the hint and lay down, her back pressing against him.

The silence that filled the room became too much for Ginny and she began to find something to focus on. She suddenly wondered when this shift had taken place inside Harry. When he was upset about something the previous year he had acted like he wanted to rip everyone's heads right off their necks, and she had been the one to calm him down. Now he just stayed silent and more often than not he would be found just holding Ginny as if she were his life support. In a way, she was his life support. Harry had made that pretty clear after the Diagon Alley attack when he had taken her outside and said what he had said. Ginny smiled a little as she remembered that night. The sunset mixed with Harry's words and the kiss made it seem perfect.

She felt Harry's arm around her again. His hand rested once more on her stomach. Ginny glanced down, not having realized that her shirt had been slid up a little ways and that's how she could feel his hand.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, not speaking, but Ginny didn't mind it so much anymore. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched...

James, Lily, and Sirius stood watching Harry through the window in the kitchen. Sirius had called them in once Harry had said that Remus was there. So far, since they had been able to watch Harry, Remus had not made an appearance.

Sadly, Sirius noted how old Remus looked. He could see the sadness in the werewolf's eyes as he looked at Harry and he knew that the living man was reminded of all he had lost when he looked at the couple before him. If Harry and Ginny had swapped eye colors, they would have been mirror images of James and Lily.

As Lily watched her son, she began to see a bit of Sirius in him as well. She supposed it had to do with the fact that he had let his hair grow out so it fell over the tips of his ears. Sirius had worn his hair that way, Lily remembered. James always had his cut shorter.

James kept his eyes on his son as well, occasionally glancing over at Remus. He noticed a striking resemblance to Lily that wasn't there before. It was in the way Harry held himself, not so arrogant as James had, but with a sense of maturity that few had at his age. Lily had had that sort of maturity at sixteen.

The three adults watched and listened as Remus began his lead up to the will.

"I can't believe they actually waited the six months," Sirius said.

No one said anything as Remus left. Lily watched Harry with tears in her eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only ten minutes, Ginny began to take charge, dragging Harry over to the bed. He was still a little shocked. Sirius figured that when Remus had come to visit that wasn't what Harry had expected to hear. It wasn't what I expected either, Sirius thought as he watched Harry laid his arm over Ginny.

Harry began to drum a series of beats on Ginny's stomach, forcing her to hold back giggles, thinking they would be inappropriate. When he was done, she tapped them back on his arm. She felt more than saw Harry lean up a bit to kiss her cheek. It was then Ginny knew that everything was going to be fine.

~*~

Katie pushed open the door to the hospital wing the following morning and went in, the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team following in her wake. She looked around for Harry but didn't see him. Annoyed, she turned around to face Ginny.

"You said he was here."

Ginny shrugged. "He is," she said knowingly. "You just have to know where to look for him."

Katie gave an exasperated sigh. "If you know where he is, find him, and do it now."

Ginny smiled and handed her broom to Katie. She knew exactly where Harry would be if he weren't in his bed. She figured that he knew that they were looking for him too, but was just keeping silent to annoy them. With her smile turning into a smirk Ginny set off toward the opposite end of the hospital wing where a window seat was hidden behind the last bed.

As she rounded the last bed and faced the window she saw Harry immediately. He saw her too, smiled, and then slid quietly off the window seat and onto the floor. No one but Ginny heard him or saw him do it. Ginny got the hint fairly quickly on what Harry wanted her to do just as a little payback to Katie for being rude to Ginny only moments ago.

Ginny went over to the window and pretended to look around.

"Oh dear," she said loudly. "There's no Harry!"

She continued to look around for a few seconds before she felt a hand yank her down to the ground by her leg. She gave a theatrical shriek as she fell, landing on Harry's lap (with a slight "Oomph" from Harry as she did). He leaned down to kiss her and when he pulled back she could hear footsteps coming their way.

"Help!" she yelled. "I have a Seeker on me!"

Harry laughed silently and spoke in a low murmur in her ear. "I did a pretty good job of catching the Snitch, didn't I? You weren't that easy to catch, my dear. I think I should receive a congratulatory snog for that."

Ginny grinned and leaned up to kiss him.

And that's when Harry and Ginny each felt someone shaking them. Still half-asleep, Harry waved his hand above his head to ward off the person who was shaking him.

"Five more minutes, Hermione," he mumbled at the same time Ginny said, "Let me sleep, Mum."

At the sound of Ginny's voice Harry shot up, his eyes wide open. Instantly he regretted doing that as the back of his head began to throb from the sudden movement. His hand flew to the cut automatically, feeling the hair covering it and he realized that the pins had fallen out overnight. Wincing as he touched it, he began to massage the cut in hopes of making the pain go away. It was then he saw that he had an audience.

"Katie?" he said. "Ron? Seamus?" His eyes grew wide as he realized the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was standing around the bed.

"Harry, shut up and let me sleep," Ginny muttered, throwing an arm over her face.

Ron sniggered quietly.

"What are you all doing here?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I said shut up!" Ginny exclaimed as she opened her eyes and sat up slowly, then letting out a high-pitched shriek as she saw the team in front of them. "Oh Merlin... How did I end up here?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Harry said. "Pomfrey made you leave."

Suddenly Ginny looked ashamed as she remembered. "I had a nightmare so I went up to your dorm to talk with Ron but Hermione was there so I snuck down here. I borrowed a spare bit of parchment and a cloak too, I hope you don't mind," she said quietly.

A confused look passed over Harry's face. It looked like he was lost in deep thought. The Quidditch team was momentarily forgotten as he tried to work something out. He looked up, worry replacing the confusion in his face. Noticing the team was still there he flicked his wrist, putting up a silencing charm so he and Ginny would not be heard. Then he turned back to Ginny.

"Did Pomfrey give me Dreamless Sleep last night?"

"Yeah," Ginny said. "Right before she shooed me out."

Harry's expression became more worried. "Ginny, what were you dreaming after you came down here?"

"The team was there. We were looking for you. I gave my broom to Katie and went to look for you at your place by the window. We decided to play a prank on Katie and I said I couldn't find you but then you pulled me down by my leg. I fell-"

Harry's hand over her mouth prevented her from talking anymore. Ginny wished it was his lips that had silenced her but then realized that would have been a bad idea with the whole team watching. They could still see the couple, even if they couldn't hear them.

"How is that possible?" Harry said after a while, dropping his hand from Ginny's mouth. "I had the same exact dream, but I shouldn't have if I was under the effects of the Dreamless Sleep potion."

Ginny began to look worried as well. "Why is it every time there's that spark we seem to have a mental connection? That's it! The spark! Harry, I felt a spark. Did you?"

Harry looked down at the bed. Frowning, he thought back to when he was still asleep. All he could remember was the blackness of no dreams caused by the potion. Then, just as he was about to give up, he remembered that there had been a spark.

"Yeah, I felt one. Ginny, what's going on with us?" His voice dropped so it was barely a whisper. "This is... this is really starting to scare me."

Ginny knew he was telling the truth. It wasn't like Harry to get scared but it was always important if he did. In truth, Ginny was scared too.

"As soon as you get released we need to go talk to Dumbledore," Ginny said, grasping Harry's hand. "We'll work this out, I promise."

Harry nodded, squeezing her hand in return. Ginny gave him a reassuring smile. She slid into his lap and kissed his cheek. Harry sighed.

"We should probably get back to the team," he said.

Ginny waved her hand, taking the spell off using thought magic. There was a silence for a second before Ron began talking.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"It was nothing," Harry said a little to quickly for Ron's liking. "Just something that - er - needed to be discussed in - erm - private."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "I'll be questioning you later, Harry."

Harry seemed to ignore Ron's words. He turned to Katie, deciding to ask her what was going on.

"Why are you all here? I don't remember getting an answer for that before."

"I scheduled a Quidditch practice last night for this morning after breakfast. You had already gone up to bed, Ginny, so I decided to tell you in the morning. When I went to find you earlier, you weren't there. At breakfast Ron said you had probably snuck down here to visit Harry, so I rounded up the team and came to find you." Katie laughed as she said the next part. "I really wasn't expecting to find the two of you sleeping together."

Ginny blushed a very Weasley red while Harry remained cool.

"There's nothing wrong with it," he said. "Get up, Gin, and go to practice."

Her blush slowly fading, Ginny got out of bed. She summoned her broom with her hand. Harry and Ginny no longer had to hide fact that they could do wandless magic. The entire school had heard about the duel between Harry and Ginny. Dumbledore had said that it was a taste of what you could learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts but did not say how they learned to do it. Anyone who approached Ginny to ask didn't get an answer out of her. No one had gone into the hospital wing to ask Harry. Some of the students, who had witnessed both Harry's and Ginny's power before didn't think it was abnormal that they could do wandless magic. A lot of the more powerful witches and wizards could. However, no one knew that Harry and Ginny had the Mark of the Phoenix.

"Actually, Harry, I wanted to see if you could come as well," Katie said. "Not to practice with us, since I highly doubt Madam Pomfrey would let you, but just to watch the plays since you know them and to see if we're executing them right."

It was at that moment that Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a cup filled halfway with a potion. She handed it to Harry. Already knowing what it was, he hesitated to drink it, even though he knew it would get rid of the pain in his head.

"Madam Pomfrey, would you let me go out with the Gryffindor Quidditch team to just fly a lap or two and then watch them? Katie wants me to watch the plays and I would like to see if my head bothers me when I fly."

Madam Pomfrey wore a look of consideration on her face. Before she could answer the door creaked open admitting Hermione, book in hand, into the room.

"There you all are," she said a little breathless. "I went down to the Quidditch pitch to watch the practice but no one was there. I figured you must have still been getting Ginny so I came back here."

Madam Pomfrey glared at her. "This is not a train station! Mr. Potter, I will allow you to go as long as you take a dose of the pain-relieving potion with you. I will give it to Miss Granger for safekeeping. If at any point you feel like it's getting too sore, drink the potion. If you get dizzy or anything like that, come back at once."

Harry smiled. "All right, let's go."

~*~

Fifteen minutes later Harry was up in the air again. He found that his head only hurt when he made very quick or sudden movements. He flew a few laps around the pitch, enjoying the feel of the cold air and wind hitting him and blowing his hair around. It felt great to be flying again.

Katie called the team in to start practice. Harry did one final flip before heading over to the group.

"How's your head, Harry?" she asked as he pulled to a stop next to her.

"Fine. I could actually practice."

He thought for a moment that Katie might agree. Their next match was against Ravenclaw, who had a strong team this year. Both Katie and Harry felt that even though the Gryffindor team was good, having creamed Hufflepuff in their first match of the season, they still needed some work. Hufflepuff was easily the weakest team; the Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams were much better opponents. The Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match would be the final one before the winter holidays.

"No, Harry. I really think it's best if you stick to Madam Pomfrey's orders. I'm not going to take the risk that something might happen and you would be unable to play the next match. I'm counting on you to seal the win by catching that Snitch right in front of Chang's nose," Katie said finally.

She turned back to the team and began to give out orders. The first thing they were going to do was review a play that Harry had drawn up and that they had been working on in his absence. Katie told Harry to fly to the side of the pitch to watch. He shot off once she was done, having missed the speed that his Firebolt could get up to. He stopped abruptly when he reached his destination. The suddenness of the stop made him feel slightly dizzy but it went away instantly.

Harry's play had been a little bit complicated at first. It had been made in anticipation of Ravenclaw's strong offense this year. Harry figured they would attempt to block the Chasers from scoring by getting in the middle of their passes. From that thought he made his play.

Kira was going to start with the Quaffle down by the Gryffindor goal posts. She would bring the Quaffle a quarter of the way down the field and would pass it to Katie. Kira would then swoop under and to the left of Katie and continue towards the opposing team's goal. Katie would pass the ball to Ginny at the halfway point of the field and swoop down under Ginny but to the right, flying parallel with Kira towards the goals. Ginny would take the Quaffle until she was in scoring range and then, when Harry anticipated the Ravenclaw Chasers would try to block the shot, Ginny would roll over and throw the Quaffle down to either Kira or Katie to score.

The tricky part was Ginny's role. She had had a lot of trouble hanging upside down on her broom while passing the Quaffle to the scorers. Since they had only started working on this after Harry had been knocked out, Ginny hadn't had much time to get it right. Katie had ended up taking her out specially Friday night to work on it. That session had built up Ginny's confidence and now she was about to see if it had paid off.

"Go!" Katie yelled.

The play began smoothly but Kira had a tiny fumble as she passed the ball to Katie. Katie did her part well, passing the Quaffle on to Ginny with no problems. Harry's eyes didn't leave Ginny for the rest of the play. She had voiced her fears to him about the play. Harry had responded by telling her that if he didn't think she could do it, he wouldn't have used her for that part of it.

Ginny did her roll but she nearly fell off the broom when she did. Harry could see, even from his distance, that she hadn't locked her legs properly around her broom. As soon as Ron blocked Katie's shot, Harry yelled for them to stop as he flew over to them.

"Katie, I'm going to borrow Ginny to work on the roll with her. Kira, I noticed you had a small fumble on your pass. Maybe Katie could work on it with you?"

Katie agreed and they went their separate ways. Ginny, who had clutched onto Harry's arm as soon as he had gotten over there; allowed herself to be led across the pitch. A little above them Seamus and Andrew were working on hitting Bludgers into targets. Harry stopped near the goals.

"Harry, I don't think I can do this," she said, her cheeks rosy from the cold. "I can't stop thinking about what would happen if I fell and it's messing up my concentration."

Harry hugged her suddenly. Ginny didn't move, a little bewildered at Harry's action. After a few seconds he began to speak.

"You can do this, Gin. I'm positive you can. You're an amazing Quidditch player and I know you're more than capable of doing this move." He released her. "Now I want you to try something. Before you object to it I want you to hear me out."

Ginny nodded warily. When Harry got a plan in his mind he always carried it out. This time it sounded like she wasn't going to like his plan and wouldn't want to do it.

"I'm going to sit under you a little ways while you attempt the roll again. This time I want you to fall off your broom on purpose. Just let go and I'm going to catch you, I promise."

"Harry, are you insane?" Ginny shrieked in response. "I'm not going to just fall and pray you'll catch me."

"I will catch you, I swear on my life that I will. You need to get over this fear and the only way you're going to do it is by falling off the broom and letting me catch you. Nothing is going to happen to you, Ginny. I'm going to catch you and you're going to be fine," Harry insisted firmly.

Ginny still looked hesitant and scared. Harry grabbed her by both shoulders to get her to stay facing him while he spoke.

"What happened to you, Gin? What happened to the little daredevil I used to love? You're not that same girl and it makes me feel as if I'm in love with a different Ginny. Prove me wrong. Make me see that I'm still in love with that same daredevil."

"You want proof?" Ginny said angrily. "I'll give you proof. Let go of me."

Harry smiled as he let go of her. He had achieved exactly what he wanted, making Ginny mad enough to do it. She flew up above Harry until he told her to stop. He made sure he was right under her and was in a position to catch her.

"Go."

Ginny took a deep breath and rolled. Bracing herself she let her legs go from around her broom. She began to fall, gaining more and more speed. Suddenly she began to wonder if Harry was really there to catch her.

"Harry!" she screamed, drawing the attention of the Quidditch team.

A pair of arms caught her and she stopped falling. She opened her eyes though she couldn't remember closing them. Harry's face loomed above her.

"I told you I'd catch you," he said. "You've never stopped being my little daredevil."

Ginny looked down and felt another wave of fear wash over her. She had been almost certain Harry would let her fall. Harry seemed to sense this because his expression suddenly hardened.

"You thought I wouldn't catch you. That's why you screamed my name." His expression changed to one of disgust. "Do it again until you can trust your boyfriend enough to catch you."

He took away the arm holding her around her back to summon her broom. Ginny felt herself falling again and flung her arms around Harry's neck to stop herself. Her broom came to a halt next to her and she clambered on it.

"Why are you doing this, Harry?" she asked, wondering why he was being so cold all of a sudden.

"You need to get over your fears and learn to open up and trust people," he said, with a small smile playing on his lips. "It's what you've been telling me all year."

Ginny flashed him a grin as she realized that he wasn't mad at her. She flew up above him once more. Neither of them realized the entire Quidditch team plus Hermione had stopped what they were doing to watch them.

"Promise you'll trust me or I'm going to let you fall," he said seriously.

"I promise. I trust you, Harry. I trust you with my life," Ginny called down to him.

She caught the grin he offered her. This time she really did trust him. She wasn't going to scream, she knew it.

"Go."

Ginny flipped over, releasing her legs. Knowing Harry would catch her, she took her time to really experience the fall. It was amazing to feel the wind rushing past her as she fell. She felt so free, closing her eyes to enjoy it.

"That was great," she sighed as Harry's arms wrapped around her.

"Not so bad, is it?" she watched Harry say once she opened her eyes.

"No. I want to try it with a longer fall though, just in case this happens in a match and you're not there immediately."

Harry raised and eyebrow but didn't question it. "How far down do you want me to go?"

Ginny summoned her broom and got back on it before answering. She flew back up to where she had started the last two falls.

"Just keep going until I tell you to stop," she called.

Harry flew down slowly until he had doubled the distance. Ginny told him to stop then. The Quidditch team was still watching them and the pair was still oblivious to it.

"Go!" Harry yelled up to her.

For the final time, Ginny rolled and released her legs. A little bit of fear crept into her as she began her fall. She wondered what made her make the decision to fall further than she already had. Suddenly she realized she was going faster than before, gathering more and more speed with each second. Ginny opened her mouth to scream. A tiny croak came out before she closed her mouth again. Harry is going to catch me. I know he will.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind when Harry caught her. She felt something wet hit her face and looked up. Tears were streaming down Harry's cheeks unchecked. Ginny stared up at him, bewildered.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

He shook his head, his hair flying wildly around it. With a shaking hand he summoned her broom. As soon as Ginny was situated on her broom he moved a little ways away from her.

"Harry, you can tell me what's wrong," Ginny insisted.

She found it odd that he wasn't wiping away his tears like normal. Suddenly Harry turned and rocketed off the pitch at a lightning speed. By the time Ginny fully realized where he was going it was too late to catch him. Even though she had a Firebolt that matched his, the one he had given her for her birthday, he was already too far away. Ginny sighed, watching him grow tinier and tinier until he rushed through the castle doors and out of her sight.

~*~

Ginny trudged down the deserted corridor to training the following afternoon. She hadn't seen Harry for more than twenty-four hours and it was starting to bug her. She didn't like being away from him, especially if he was hurt. Not just physical wounds but emotional ones as well. Ginny pretty much knew that was the reason Harry had flown off the Quidditch pitch like that the day before.

After practice and a quick shower Ginny had gone back to the hospital wing only to not be allowed in. Madam Pomfrey had banned all visitors for Harry since there was no way they could talk to him in the state he was in. The most the nurse had told Ginny was that Harry had come back in hysterics and was given several sedatives and Dreamless Sleep potion. When she had gone down after breakfast and lunch today she had been told that Harry was still asleep.

That's why Ginny was shocked when she opened the door to the Room of Requirement and saw Harry standing on the other side. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in quickly, shutting the door behind him.

"Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I... I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I have no clue what came over me when I caught you. Suddenly all I could remember was wishing I could have caught Sirius going through the veil and that made me think of the duel and the battle and... I suppose I just got carried away," Harry said in a rush, as if desperate to get it all out. "I'm really sorry, I just don't know what happened to me. I'm better now, but I missed you when I woke up. I convinced Pomfrey to let me out so I could go to training. I really wanted to see you and get this off my chest."

Ginny wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Resting his head on hers, Harry hugged her back. The moment was destroyed as the door was pushed open. Reluctantly the two stepped back from each other.

"Ewww," a girl's voice sounded. "You two were going to kiss!"

Harry laughed as he spotted Orli, the source of the voice. He went over to her and ruffled her hair. This caused her to pout but giggle at the same time. He ignored her comment about the kissing since he hadn't been about to kiss Ginny.

"What are you doing out of the hospital? Adam caught me in the hall and said he had seen you a few minutes ago so I came up as fast as I could to see you myself."

"The nurse let me out for a little training but I have to go back for one more night. Tomorrow after dinner she's going to let me go," Harry said, answering the girls' unasked question.

Conversation stopped as the door opened and Dumbledore stepped in. About a minute later Blaise and Draco joined them, hand-in-hand. Dumbledore willed for six chairs to appear and they did. He gestured for each person to take a seat.

"We, the Order of the Phoenix that is, have developed a plan with regards to Blaise's situation," the headmaster began. "Harry, this is based pretty much around your suggestion in the hospital wing. Blaise, you're going to have to fake making a poisonous potion. Sneak off at night but do not make it seem as if you are avoiding Draco. Do you know any Slytherins who are Death Eaters or have ties to Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes," Blaise answered since the question was directed to her.

"Good. Show one or two of them the potion one night. It will get back to the Dark Lord that everything is going according to his plan, which is exactly what we want him to think. The day the winter holidays begin is where you come in, Draco. You must make sure Blaise gets down to breakfast before you because she will prepare a drink for you and slip the potion in. All that the potion will really be is a sleeping potion that will keep you knocked out for a few hours. Blaise, you will leave after that and don't come back for another few minutes so as not to raise suspicion. This potion will not set in for an hour after you drink it. In fifty-five minute's time I would like you, Draco, to be at the Quidditch pitch. Harry, Ginny, and Orli, you will go down to the Quidditch pitch at a given time and find Draco's sleeping body but you must pretend he is dead. Run him up to the hospital wing where he will be kept until that night. Blaise, you will sneak into the hospital wing at a given time and take Draco. Further plans will be made as the time grows closer. You will be sent to a safe place."

"That was incredibly vague, sir," Draco pointed out after a while of silence.

Dumbledore nodded. "I am well aware of that, Draco. Certain parts of this are still being worked out. For now this is all I can tell you. I will be informing you of anything changed or further detailed in this plan at every training session. Blaise, after training I would like to have you stay so I may talk to you about this alone."

The finality in Dumbledore's voice told the teenagers and Orli to let the subject be for now. Dumbledore began to give out orders for training. Harry and Draco were to start on physical training while Blaise and Ginny reviewed the spells they had learned using thought magic.

Ginny found her eyes drifting back to Harry as he struggled with his part of the training. The sedatives were still working through his body, causing his movements to be sluggish. He looked ready to drop to the ground and sleep any second.

She stopped listening to Orli's instruction as she watched Dumbledore make his way over to Harry and Draco. He stopped Harry and by the relieved look on Harry's face Ginny could tell that Dumbledore had allowed him to stop training. The headmaster gave Harry a slight nudge in the direction of the stream and then left him. Slowly Harry walked over to the edge of the grassy bank and lay down, throwing an arm over his face to block out the sun. It looked like he had fallen instantly asleep.

Ginny turned away and faced Orli again, quickly picking up where she and Blaise were. By the time training was over, many long minutes later, Ginny was exhausted. She dragged her feet over to the creek and flopped down beside Harry. He didn't stir.

A small smile played on Ginny's lips as she closed her eyes for a very short nap.

~~**~~