Trapped Behind the Window

Trapped Behind The Window

Honey, you are a rock

Upon which I stand

When I come here to talk

I hope you understand

The green eyes, yeah, the spotlight

Shines upon you

And how could anybody

Deny you?

I came here with a load

And it feels so much lighter now I met you

And honey, you should know

That I could never go on without you

Green eyes...

- Green Eyes, Coldplay

Chapter 1

Ginny stepped into the room. The door was shut closed behind her quickly; they locked it with a faint clicking noise. They always locked it. They always did. It took a while for her eyes to focus. It was dark in the room and it had been very bright outside. They were not allowed to have light in the room. First, she only saw black, but a few seconds later her eyes had adapted; she could see the outlines of the little furniture they had been given. The big bed, a few isolate chairs. A table. That was all. There had been more furniture in here before....

It was still very dark, even though her eyes had got used to it by now. They only had light during the day when the sun shined in. Through the window, the sun would shine in sometimes. But they were not usually in the room then. They came to get them when it was still dark, in the morning. And they brought them back when it was dark again, at night.

It was dark now. It was late in the evening.

He was sitting on the bed. She watched him get up and pull the curtains aside. The sky outside was dark grey, mixed with red. It might have looked depressing to some. But for them, it was not depressing anymore. He sat back down on the bed and looked out of the window that covered the whole length of the room. They always looked out of the window. It was curious to already see him here. He was usually brought back after her. He was usually the first to be taken away and the last to come back. But she would be taken away only a few minutes after him. They never waited too long.

"Hey."

Slowly, Ginny stepped away from the door, went over and sat down next to him. He looked bad alright. His face was very pale, his hair still as messy as ever, but somehow different. It was not shining any more. It nearly looked grey, not the jet-black it used to be. Grey. Sort of like the sky outside. And her red hair looked like the redish glow from the setting sun. But inside the room it was dull. In the house on the other hand, it was white - bright white. Wrong. An illusion. It was supposed to look noble and good. But it was wrong. And in the room here, it was dull. Because they wanted to break down their minds. It was wrong as well.

The only truth was outside. Outside the window, that was reality, that was truth. And the truth today was grey and red.

"'Lo, Ginny," Harry said in a low voice.

What else was there to say anyway? It was not a good idea to talk about what happened outside the room in the white brightness of the house. It was enough to have to live through it once a day. It was enough to dream about it all night. There was no point to speak about it when that was the only time you could take your mind off those events. Ginny waited for him to continue all the same. It was nearly part of an every day ritual they were living. The question.

"Are you okay?" his hoarse voice sounded.

The question. Ginny did not answer at first. She did not dare open her mouth. If she did, she would probably start to cry. Cry about what she had experienced today. Share tears about what had happened the days and weeks before and what would happen in the days and weeks to come. And they did not help. Tears did not help any more. She was not okay. He knew she was not okay.

"I'm okay," Ginny said silently. "You?"

"Okay."

She knew he was not okay. But he always said it. And so did she. They always said they were okay. It made it more bearable. Ginny stayed quiet. Just for a moment. It was never quiet for long and so, calm, peaceful moments were gifts. Precious gifts. And they tried to cherish them as well as they could. It would be quiet for a short period of time.

But never too long. Never.

Sure enough, the slamming of a door downstairs interrupted the calm. The screaming started. It always did. It always did when it was peaceful. It always did at this time of the day. A salty tear slowly made its way down her cheek, leaving a hot, burning trace. She did not bother to wipe it away. What for? More were bound to come.

"More," he said sadly.

Ginny did not answer. Harry laid his head on her shoulder, not looking at the door behind them and sighed. Looking out of the window. At reality. Grey and red. They always looked out of the window. The window was their only hope. The thought of outside was the only thing that kept them going. She stroked his messy hair softly, looking out of the window as well.

"More," she said.

Every day they waited for the noise. If it came, it was bad. If it did not come... Ginny pushed the thought away. It always came. They always managed to get more. But the hope stayed. A tiny, faint glimmer of hope. Hope, that one day the noise would not come. One day.

"You'd think by now they'd have enough."

Ginny smiled sadly.

"There never is enough."

She played with his hair absently. There was never enough. The more they could get, the more they would bring. Until the day the noise would not come. Until that day, they would never have enough.

"No. Never."

The noises from the other side of the door stopped abruptly. It meant that they had shut them away into the Silencing Room. They were always shut away into the Silencing Room when they arrived. Nothing would change that. As long as they arrived they would be shut in there. The Silencing Room. Ginny shuddered.

"Don't think about it," Harry said softly and lifted his head from her shoulder.

They always screamed when they arrived. She had screamed as well. He had screamed as well. They had come together, part of the group of the first few that had arrived. They were the ones that had arrived first. At one stage they had all been in the room - together. But the others had obeyed better. Had followed the orders. Did not stand up. Did not ask questions.

They had been seperated. They left the two of them alone. The others were in better positions now. Maybe already allowed to go out and join into the Recrution. But the two of them had to be isolated from the rest. And every day, Ginny waited for somebody to come and tear them apart. Every day. Surely it would be a good idea to separate them? Why were they kept together? Why? But still, they were alone - only the two of them. And alone meant that they could not heck out so much trouble. Escaping plans. Rebellions. They had probably been in the Silencing Room more than any of the other ones. The others usually only needed the Silencing Room once. Once when they arrived. And then never again. They went in nearly every week.

"They always scream," Ginny said flatly.

"Don't think about it."

"We screamed as well."

"Don't think about it, Gin."

"We still scream. They will become quiet. We won't. We won't become quiet."

"Ginny. Look at me. Look," he insisted. He turned her chin towards him slowly. His green eyes were not dull. They sparkled. They always sparkled. They were reality as well. Another tear streaked down her face. At least she had a bit of reality in the room with her. At least she had him. That was a gift. And that was worth more than the silence. A lot more. He pushed a strand of her curly red hair away. More and more tears started streaming down her face. If only they were in another place. If only they were not in this room. In this house. If only they could be outside the window.

"Don't cry. Ginny, don't cry," he said softly and kissed her tears away one by one. "I don't want you to cry, Ginny. Don't think about it."

Ginny sobbed. She could not stop the tears anymore now. He pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face on his shoulder as he stroked her hair gently.

~

How long they had cried into each others arms, Ginny could not say. All she knew was that after what seemed like eternity, they had collapsed onto the bed and crawled under the sheets, lying next to each other closely - it was cold in the room. No light, no warmth. They had cried themselves to sleep, lying in each other's arms.

Tomorrow the door would be opened again.

And the window would stay closed.