Bruise Pristine

Bruise Pristine - Chapter one

"Stuck between the do or die I feel emaciated.

Hard to breathe I try and try I'll get asphyxiated."

The Door closed. A few seconds later Ron and Ginny came into the lounge, talking animatedly about music. Ron was carrying three videos and bottle of red wine. Ginny was carrying an envelope and four glasses. Harry looked up from his position on the dark red sofa and put down the book he had been staring blindly at for half an hour.

Ginny fell silent as she caught sight of him. She hadn't really changed much since Hogwarts in terms of general appearance, she was still small and quite pretty, she still had that attention grabbing red hair, but she had grown up fast. She had a haunted look in her eyes now which she hadn't had when she was at school.

"Hello," Harry said with no small amount of exasperation, he loved his friends but he was sick of them fretting over him as if any moment he would explode. If everyone just acted normal, he told himself, it would be a lot easier. That idea of course would only work if they could define 'normal' anymore. He got up and took the glasses off Ginny, placing them on the oak coffee table. "You don't have to end your conversation on my account, I'm sure mention of muggle bands won't cause me to rock back and forth." Ginny looked worried, and more than a little embarrassed,

"Sorry," she said, "are you okay? Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No!" Harry replied a little too forcefully, "I'm okay! Please believe me, and I'm not going to top myself just yet so stop looking at me like that!" he added as Ginny frowned. "I should be looking after you if anything," he said quietly.

"Harry, Don't!" Ron had stepped forward, "don't even say it, you couldn't have helped-" he trailed off with a sigh, "-can we just forget it and get back to watching this muggle stuff? I'm fed up with this conversation."

"What video did you get," Harry asked, attempting to change the subject as he removed some of the cushions from the sofa to make room for his friends.

Ron put the cassettes on top of the new T.V

"Got some classics," said Ginny, "thought Ron might like to see what muggles find entertaining. I hope you and Hermionie haven't seen them." Harry looked between Ginny and Ron, waiting for someone to tell him what the films were, no one did,

"And? What are they?"

Ron laughed. "Oh, yeah, right, she got Star Warp or something." Ginny giggled,

"It's Star Wars, Ron."

He glanced suspiciously at the pile of videos, "Right, yeah, apparently there are three Star Wars films, I dunno why someone would make three films with the same name though, I think the muggle in the video shop was having a laugh."

Harry and Ginny caught each other's eyes and stifled smiles. Ron, bless 'im, was still quite new to the non-magical world. He had become an Auror after Hogwarts and so, due to extensive training and extensive deployment had little contact with anything else. He was now, however, taking a break along with Harry, although Harry suspected that Ron was there to keep an eye on him rather than recuperate. The Ministry, although already strained by the increasing presence of Voldemort and being temporarily run by Minerva McGonnagal after the sudden Death of Fudge, had practically ordered Harry and Ron to rest for a while. Harry, to the slight distress of Ministry officials had decided to stay in the Muggle world. The Wizarding government had supplied Harry and Ron with a house on the edge of Regents Park, Harry was vaguely aware that this was a very expensive part of London and wondered idly how the Ministry had managed it. The house overlooked the huge park, which also housed London zoo, and it was on the bank of the Grand Union Canal. Ginny had explained that five minutes walk along the Canal was Camden and told him to go to one of the pubs and pretend to be a local for a while. Ginny had taken a long break from work and was only now getting back into things as she still had bills to pay. She enjoyed her job, which took her mind off things. She spent most of her time checking up on her mother or Ron and Harry.

"They aren't the same film, Ron," Ginny stated, "they're different films, but with the same name, three separate parts of the same tale. They couldn't fit the whole thing into one film--" she shrugged, "--so they made three."

It was quite clear this didn't help Ron one bit, his eyes glazed, but he acted like he knew what she was talking about, "right, yeah, I knew that, still think it's a bit silly though." Harry changed the subject.

"Hermione phoned," he said, "she's gonna get here about half past six. She's spent all day in the British Museum researching Hieroglyphics, she thinks a group of Death eaters have been using ancient Egyptian methods and curses to conceal meeting places and stolen objects."

Hermione had, of course, got the highest N.E.W.T marks in their year. At the end of her last year at Hogwarts the head of the department for the control of dark magic had approached her, asking her if she would be interested in a position deciphering and decoding spells and concealment charms. She knew that Voledmort and his supporters were on the rise again and had accepted, more than willing to use her intellect to fight against the dark arts.

"Right," stated Ginny, dropping down in the middle of the sofa, "she could be there hours. Can we watch the first film now? I have to be up early for a shoot so I can't stay too late," she nudged Harry affectionately, "unlike some." Ron sat down next to her.

"May I remind you that Harry has earned a break, you-know-who has vanished and no death eaters have been causing trouble for a good few weeks," Ron said. Harry shot Ron an uneasy look,

"Don't," he said, looking much older than he normally did, "please don't, I didn't do anything, I don't think I've earned a break at all. How can you say I've defeated Voldemort when you're still scared to say his name?"

"Oh, come on Harry," Ron said, a little uneasy about the mention of the V-word, "you did your best, you didn't know that was going to happen." Ginny was sitting quietly on the sofa, looking across at the boy who lived; this wasn't the time or place.

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry said sternly, leaning forward towards the coffee table and pouring himself a glass of wine. Ginny placed a hand on his arm,

"Ignore Ron," she said, shooting a venomous look at her brother, "you know he means well." Harry nodded and she felt the muscles in his arm relax a bit, he turned his head to look at her,

"I meant to ask earlier Gin, but what's in the envelope?"

Ginny brightened, "well, you know that photo shoot I've got tomorrow?" Harry nodded; Ginny had discovered a talent for photography in her sixth year and became a photojournalist for the Daily Profit before branching out into the muggle world. She loved the challenge of still photography; it meant you had to capture exactly the right moment because the picture didn't move. She did a lot of portrait work, commissioned by record companies for album covers and official shots. As well as stuff for magazines and books. Her parents were quite shocked when she told them she was moving to the muggle world, but they came to accept the idea eventually. Mrs. Weasley hoped it meant her youngest would stay out of trouble with the rumors of Voldemort's return. Mr. Weasley was delighted with the decision as it meant he could study muggle objects up close in their natural environment without attracting attention. That was of course until he knocked out the electricity for most of the Clapham area and Ginny banned him from the flat for over a month.

"Well, I've been asked to do some publicity shoots for a band called Placebo." Harry looked thoughtful, he thought he'd heard of them somewhere, but he was so out of touch was any music scene, muggle or otherwise he didn't have a clue, he shrugged apologetically. Ginny looked a little disappointed that Harry didn't know whom she was on about.

"Come on," she persisted, "they did that really famous song, you know, 'Nancy Boy', the one that goes--" she began to sing, not particularly well, "--'Comes across all shy and coy, just another Nancy boy'. The singer has that really distinctive voice, his name is Brian Molko, looks quite effeminate." Nothing. Ginny sighed.

"Yeah, well, Hermione will be excited, she likes them. I managed to get tickets for their gig at The Astoria in a couple of days, including aftershow passes. The tickets are impossible to get so I thought it would be a nice surprise, and you two could do with having a bit of fun, it's the end of their European tour so the party should be brilliant!"

"Wicked!" announced Ron, like he was thirteen again, "I've haven't been to a rock concert for ages!"

"You've never been to a rock concert, Ron," countered Harry, "as far as I know you've only ever been to see Madonna live."

Ron blushed bright red, "well, same difference right?"

Ginny smiled sympathetically at him,"not really, The Astoria is quite small, this means lots of people packed in, no one wants to sit down 'cos that's no fun, you're right in the thick of it, moshing, crowdsurfing, everything." Ginny wrinkled her nose, "much better than any Madonna show."

Ron raised his eyebrows, "I didn't know you were into that stuff," he said as if Ginny had just admitted to frequenting S&M clubs. "And anyway!" he exclaimed, "you've never been to see Madonna live so don't judge, you wouldn't believes the things she does on stage...she has this giant - "

" - Yeah, well," said Ginny quickly before Ron could get too graphic, "there are lots of things you don't know, I go to a lot of gigs, I get lots of free tickets and invitations to parties," she sighed melodramatically, "it's all part of the job." Harry was smiling to himself; he tried to imagine Ron jumping around in a pit full of sweaty bodies.

"Well, I'm up for it," he said at last, "when is it?"

"The eighteenth, that gives you two a chance to buy some appropriate clothes."

Neither Harry nor Ron knew if she was joking or not, and they didn't get the chance to ask as Ginny went over to the T.V and shoved the first Star Wars film into the video player.

N.B - The song quote at the beginning of the chapter is from 'Come Home' taken from Placebo's self titled first album.