The Pounding Rain

The Pounding Rain
Chapter Two
Alone

But you're all alone in the world
With no hand to hold on to
And no one to guide you
You you're doing just fine

For a while after the incident in the Great Hall, I avoided everyone, including Hermione. I kept to myself for about a week after that 'incident', taking shortcuts or "long-cuts" in the hallways just to evade having to see Harry. However, I was more afraid about meeting Ron somewhere, because I was uncertain of his reaction to all those private thoughts of mine I had just blurted out for anyone to hear. Ron would be surprised by those thoughts. Though he never suspected them, he would completely understand any underlying or implied ideas that Harry wouldn't understand. Well, maybe. You never know with Ron, sometimes he can completely surprise you.

Hermione, Ron, Harry and I were not the only witnesses of my confrontation. Other people had looked up from their breakfast to see what Harry and I were arguing about, and passersby had stopped to take a glance. Which was why I stayed in my dormitories once all my classes were over, only coming out to eat. I became a hermit devoted to my studies. Except, I wasn't just studying. I was trying to figure out a way to get Harry and Cho back together.

Originally, my plan was to have them write a note about their feelings, but then I realized that it couldn't be that simple if Cho didn't love Harry. After hours of indecision, I resolved to confront her in the hallway if I ever passed her. The one flaw in this plan was that I never saw her, except for at dinner, but there were too many people there. Besides, the chances of Harry being there at the same time were too great, and I couldn't talk to Cho about him if he was there to watch.

And then, Saturday came, and just to my luck, there was a Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor match. I could stop Cho after the match and talk to her. It shouldn't be too hard to find her. I was still avoiding Ron and Hermione, so I went to breakfast late. By the time I was done eating, the match had already started, and I was in a rush to get there. If I had gotten their earlier, Ron and Hermione would see me sitting by myself in the stands, but if I arrived late, sneaking in and finding a seat next to Neville, they wouldn't see me. I just hoped Neville hadn't decided to sit near Ron and Hermione this match.

Walking the empty path to the Quidditch field, I could already hear the screams from the stands. Something exciting was happening, and in anticipation to share the excitement, I rushed towards the stands and found the closest empty seating, forgetting about Neville.

It wasn't a good thing that Harry and Cho had to play against each other only a week after their break up.

Cho seemed to be in distress on how to act towards Harry. She was trying to be nice to him, but he was just ignoring her. Still, no matter how distraught he looked, his mind lingered on Cho instead of the game. He needed to concentrate.

The Snitch was the perfect distraction, and once he spotted it hovering above one of the goalposts, he sped towards it and raced away from Cho. She zipped after him. By the time Harry reached the Snitch, it was spiraling down around the goalpost, Harry following the swirling pattern. Cho, strategically speaking, should have just gone straight down and she could have caught the Snitch first. But Cho was too distracted and tense to notice or care.

Both of them barely remembered to tilt their brooms up in order to avoid crashing into the ground. The Snitch was still plainly in their sight, though it was hard to spot it from the stands and by now Cho had given up stressing over Harry and was finally concentrating on the game. The Snitch was zooming across the field in zigzags and complicated patterns, with Cho and Harry never far behind. Then, it spontaneously flicked upwards towards the Gryffindor stands. Then someone sat down in the empty seat next to me and interrupted my concentration on watching the game.

I didn't have to turn before Ron spoke.

"Ginny, I've been meaning to ask you, what was that all about in the Great Hall?"

I had a feeling that he might already know, or at least he had an idea, but wanted to hear the answer from me. Well, for once he'd decided to ask before going on about wild assumptions. I pretended to be more interested in the match than the conversation.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, putting on an innocent expression.

This only irritated Ron. "About all that love junk." I narrowed my eyes a little bit. Love junk?

"Don't you believe in love?" I asked, still trying to pretend innocence, but all the while wondering what his answer would be.

"You know what I'm talking about," Ron uttered. "What was all that about 'I've been nothing but a shadow to you. But a shadow always sticks with its master' and all that stuff about love?"

I sighed, turning to face him. "I said that because it seemed like the right thing to do." Actually, it hadn't, but then Ron doesn't now that and I don't need him second-guessing my motives. Especially when I didn't even realize them myself...

"Maybe then, but didn't you realize - "

"I stick by my decision," I interrupted, not standing to hear more about how insensitive my words had been. I already knew that. "Harry needed some sense knocked into him. Only, he never seems to get the message..." I glanced down towards the field to see Harry and Cho still chasing after the Snitch. It seemed like it was bewitched, Harry would have caught it by now...

"What do you mean 'needed sense knocked into him'?" he nearly yelled, "He's heartbroken, and you yell at him more? And you say you love him?"

There. I heard it, finally. I love Harry. Do I? "Love isn't always telling a person that they're right, is it? It's helping them. Whether the help seems nice or harsh at the time is anyone's opinion." I hesitated, wondering if I should tell Ron my plan or not. "So, he's still pining after Cho?"

"Of course he is." Ron scowled, and sat back in his chair, and turned to watch the game.

"What do you think of them? Do you think that it's true love between them?" Ron knew Harry better than I did; they were best friends. I needed to know what he thought, and while he was still being civil and not teasing me for liking Harry, this was the best time to find out.

"Well, whatever. I've never thought about fate, or any of that stuff he said Cho was talking about."

"Not even with Hermione?"

Ron hesitated. "We're only in Hogwarts, it's only our sixth year."

"Yeah, you're right," I scolded, "You'll be graduating next year. Do you have any idea of what you're going to do with your life?" If he wasn't going to tell me what he thought, then I might as well try to switch the conversation over to him.

"Well, actually, I was planning on -- Hey, wait a minute," Ron narrowed his eyes. "Weren't we just talking about you?"

I sighed and looked down, wringing my hands in my lap. It was strange and unnerving talking about this with Ron.

"I just have one more question, actually," Ron admitted. "What are you going to do now that Harry knows you like him?"

I looked back up at him quizzically. "He knows?" My stomach was doing somersaults.

"Well, he knows it's more than some silly old crush now." Ron squinted at me. "You know, you've changed a lot since your first days at Hogwarts."

"I think we all have, especially now that You-Know-Who is out there. We all have this sudden value of life, I suppose." I glanced back up at the Quidditch game, to find that Cho and Harry had lost sight of the Snitch. "But, Ron, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything." He paused. "Well, almost anything."

"I was thinking about trying to get Harry and Cho back together." Ron's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged at this. "And I'm not really sure how to do it."

Ron coughed. "You want to set them up together?" he repeated, bewildered. "Honestly, Ginny, I know that Harry is upset, but that's what happens after a break up. He'll get over it eventually. It probably wouldn't work."

"It has to!" I blurted out. "I mean, you know... I can't stand to see him so depressed..." I sank back into my chair, blushing. Ron laughed.

"I never realized how head over heels you were," he grinned.

"Well, it took you long enough to figure out how head over heels you were for Hermione," Ginny teased back.

"Haha. Well, Ginny," Ron stopped laughing and peered at me as though he were meeting a new person and trying to decide whether they were good or bad. "I think I could help you." He smiled, looking extremely suspicious. "Just let me talk to Hermione, first. I'll get back to you on that after the match." He left, disappearing into the crowd. I turned back to watch the match, and back to the cheering of the crowd as the Gryffindor Chasers just scored another ten points.

Just at that moment, Harry spotted the Snitch. He immediately started for it, zooming across the field while Cho lagged behind. Once again, he was forced on a while goose chase. The Snitch abruptly started upwards and towards my side of the stadium. In fact, I was sure it was heading straight towards me - especially when, once it was level with the stadiums, it made a beeline straight towards my seat. I could barely follow it, and it seemed to have disappeared when I felt something cold in my hand. Looking down, I realized it was the Golden Snitch. Its wings flapped up and down so fast they couldn't be seen. What is the Snitch doing out of bounds?

"Watch out!" someone cried. I barely had time to look up before a blur of green eyes and jet black hair crashed into me. I fell into unconsciousness.

})({

When I awoke, I was surrounded by the bright and sterilized look of Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing. Blinking, I sat up and looked around me. Harry lay in the next bed, still unconscious. Other than Madam Pomfrey and us, the hospital wing was empty. The kind nurse noticed I was awake.

"Well, that was quite a crash, Miss Weasley!" she said, coming over to me. "I daresay, Quidditch is a dangerous sport, even for the audience! You managed to come out okay, thank goodness. Unfortunately, Mr. Potter didn't. He's got a broken arm. Still, worse could have happened." I looked over at Harry sleeping form again. "He's okay now, don't worry."

At that moment, Hermione and Ron burst into the room. "Ginny! You're awake. Is she okay, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, she's fine. But keep it down! Mr. Potter is sleeping."

"Sorry," Hermione apologized, lowering her voice. They pulled up chairs to sit beside me, while Madam Pomfrey left to work on paperwork.

"You should have seen it! Blimey - was that ever a crash!" Ron raved. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but Harry has a broken arm."

"Speaking of Harry... we came to talk to you about your plan," Ron started. His eyes were glinting mischievously.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, and I think that it's so sweet, Ginny! Considering your love for him..." Ron tried to be discreet, elbowing Hermione in the gut as if they had something to hide. I pretended not to notice the secretive look on his face; they both were keeping something from me. I sighed, sinking into the fluffy hospital pillows.

"Well, Ginny, we think you should tell Harry."

"What!" I bolted up in bed. "Tell me you weren't serious!"

"No, Ginny," Hermione answered, in a calm voice. "We think you should tell Harry your plan. If anything, it'll make him at least stop glaring at you half the time."

I blinked; unaware he'd ever been glaring at me in the first place. "No, if you tell him, then he'll - he'll - just don't. I wanted to keep it a secret. Neither of them should to know that I'd be... "

"Keep what a secret? What will you be doing?"

I paled, and turned to see that Harry was wide awake, staring at the three of us huddled close as if discussing a secret. Ron nudged me, whispering in my ear, "Tell him!"

"Well?"

I sighed, threw a death glare at Hermione and Ron and said, "Oh, well, I... uh... wanted to apologize for my behavior in the Great Hall. It was really uncalled for, and, um, I guess I really don't know all that much about you and Cho... and all..." My eyes strayed to my blanket, where I was kneading it and clenching it with pale fingers.

"Yeah..." Harry hesitated, still obviously weary. "I guess I acted like a jerk, too. I shouldn't have been angry with you. I'm sorry."

I nodded absently, silently noting that he did not apologize for ignoring me all those years. "Listen, Harry, in order to make it up to you..." I looked up at the ceiling. "I was wondering, you know, if it'd be okay to help you... and Cho... get back together?"

I didn't look at him, afraid of his reaction to my silly request. Surely he'd decline, not wanting to spend another moment with me. Why had I even bothered to ask? I was being silly, stupid... I mean, who asks for forgiveness by offering to get a broken couple back together? What if he thought I was mocking him? I closed my eyes, my forehead crinkling with worry.

"Okay," came his neutral response. I opened my eyes to look at him. He seemed indifferent; he probably thought it wouldn't work anyway. And then I promised him, silently, that it would work. He'd be with Cho again, even if I had to die for it. No matter what happened.

"Really? Okay, then. Meet me Saturday, by that backdoor, where you broke up," something flickered in his eyes, "and I'll tell you my plan." I sounded confident, yeah. But I had no idea what I was doing.

"Sure, okay," was his response. He closed his eyes, mumbled something, and drifted off to sleep.

"We have to go to class now, Ginny," Hermione said. "I'll see you back in the Common Room. You should be back by dinner, right?" I nodded mutely.

"See ya, Gin," Ron added, as they walked out the door. I relaxed a bit in my bed. Starting to feel sleepy again, I rolled over and went back to sleep.

})({

In no time, Saturday came. I still had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to get them back together. I couldn't sleep, so I went down to breakfast early. But I couldn't eat, either, as I was too busy trying to come up with last minute plan. In the silence, I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen Cho in quite awhile. And who just so happened to walk in at that very moment, but Cho Chang. I jumped out of my seat and ran over to meet her.

"Hi, Cho! I'm," I started.

"Yes, Ginny Weasley, I know who you are," she smiled. "May I help you?"

"Yes, you could, actually. You see, I was wondering if..." I hesitated. I need to make something up, and fast. I wasn't sure what I was doing at all. I don't know why I even left my breakfast in the first place. But then it hit me. I got a sudden brilliant idea. I've never been known to be mischievous, however after the current events I decided I needed to make some sacrifices. I could tell Cho was almost completely over Harry, if she wasn't already. If I were to get her to love Harry, then I'd have to go to some desperate measures.

"Yes...?"

"Iwaswonderingifit'dbeokayifIcoulddateHarry," I mumbled, forcing the words out so quickly, not believing what I was doing.

"Excuse me?"

"I was wondering if it'd be okay with you if I went out with Harry," I answered, after calming myself down. "I wanted to make sure you were completely over him first, before I went out with him."

"Oh." She seemed dumbstruck, taken aback by the suggestion that Ginny should require permission and yet regretful. "Yes," she said slowly. "Go ahead." She started towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Wait, Cho!" I called after her. "Are you absolutely sure that you don't have any more feelings for him?"

This was her chance to say no. Say it, Cho! Say no! And at the same time, I longed for her to say yes. Say yes, say "Go ahead and marry him for all I care! It'd do him better." Convince Harry to love me... I can't do this.

Cho stood there, hesitating, for a while. "To be honest, Ginny... I... don't know. Is Harry, do you mean to say that he...?"

You're going to say, "Is he over me already?" And it does hurt you. But you don't love him. Why are people so complicated? But if you're over him, why do you care so much?

"Do you mean to say that he likes you, then?" She smiled. "I'm so glad for you, Ginny! I told him that he'd find her right behind the corner, right under his nose! That must be so wonderful for you. You liked him, didn't you?"

Oh. Well, then.

This was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would. Instead of going back to the Gryffindor table, I left the Great Hall and sauntered upstairs. And then I realized what I'd done. "What have I got myself into?"

})({

"Hermione! Hermione!" I called, racing into the Gryffindor Common room, up the stairs and to the girls' dormitory. "Hermione, I need your help." I pounded on her door.

"Yes?" She opened the door and invited me in. I settled on a chair in the corner, near the window and her bed.

"Hermione, I just did something terrible!"

"Calm down, Ginny. It can't have been that bad," she consoled. "What did you do?"

"I was in the Great Hall and Cho came and I talked to her," I explained. "I wanted to see if she still liked Harry, so I told her that I wanted to go out on a date with him and that I wanted to make sure she didn't have any feelings for him! And you know what she said? She didn't care! She didn't care that I'd date him. She said, 'I told him that he'd find her right around the corner, right under his nose!' So now I have to tell him soon and I don't know how to tell him..." I trailed off.

Hermione sighed. "What were you trying to do by asking permission to date Harry?"

"I wanted to see if she'd get jealous." I noticed the gleam in Hermione eyes. I'd swear, the girl was up to something no good! "Honest!"

"She was the one who broke up with him first, remember? She wouldn't get jealous."

I sighed. "Well, how do I make her fall in love with him? I don't know what to do at all." I sunk into the chair, tears brimming. I was so stupid for going along with this plan. It wasn't right to mess with other people's feelings. You can't make anyone do anything, or feel any particular way about something. Had it been my own feelings for Harry that made me do this in the first place? Had I longed so much just to see him smile, that I didn't care how much pain any other went through just to get that smile? Was it my selfishness in the first place that started this whole mess?

Hermione put a hand on my shoulder. "Ginny," she said, her voice gentle. "You were meeting with Harry this afternoon to talk about it together. Maybe he'll have an idea to help you get started."

"I'm scared, though," I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek. "We're playing with people's emotions here. I don't want anyone to get hurt, except for maybe myself. I can bare the pain."

"You're very noble, Ginny." Hermione patted me on the back. "Very noble. However, I believe you should wipe those tears away, because you're supposed to meet Harry in ten minutes."

"Oh! Fudge. Thanks Hermione. I'll see you later tonight." And I rushed out the door, out to the Hogwarts corridors, and down to the ground floor. I could see the door, with Harry waiting by it, tapping his foot and looking extremely doubtful. I halted at the end of the corridor, fixed my hair, as running had messed it up, and walked to down the hall.

"Hello, Harry," I greeted, "Shall we go outside? The fresh air may do us some good." He shrugged, and I opened the wooden door and led him through. There was a short silence, so I started.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do," I admitted. "And I'm afraid I don't have a plan."

"It's okay, really. It probably would work anyway," Harry replied, looking down at the grass.

"No!" I blurted. "I mean, no. I've accepted fate all my life, Harry, submitting to doubt. It gets boring after awhile, let me tell you. Spending your life always hoping that that particular someone would love you, but deep down always knowing that they would never even notice you. I've spent half of my time in this very place, trying to convince myself that I'd never have a chance..." Oh, leave it to me spill something so secret, especially to Harry. I blushed and looked away. "You can't just wait for fate to come around. Sometimes you have to go meet it yourself."

I could feel his eyes on me, searching for something. I gulped, and mumbled, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly. "It's just... how did you get so wise?"

"I... read a lot," I answered, truthfully.

"Oh. So, you don't have any ideas?"

I looked at him, startled. He'd changed his mind! Did he have faith in me now? Or was he just being nice? Well, in any case, he was going to let me do this for him. He was going to let me help him, and that made me happy. "Well, actually, today at breakfast I kinda... I asked Cho for permission to date you."

"What!"

"I was trying to see if she'd get jealous." I looked away, at the gray stones of the castle walls I knew so well. "She, er, didn't. Just said, 'I told him that he'd find her!'"

Harry sighed, sounding hopeless. "Then what are we going to do now?"

"Don't give up hope so easily!" I hesitated, thoughtful. "Yes, well, popularity doesn't affect her. Stand up for a moment, will you?" Harry complied, and I looked him over. I stood up, too, and circled him. He was just an inch or two taller than I was. "Well, Cho doesn't care about appearances, so it wouldn't matter how much we dressed you up." What is it that Cho likes in a guy? "Okay, Harry, you have to work on a few things."

"Okay, what?"

"First of all, you appear too... desperate," I observed.

"Me? Desperate?" He seemed appalled at the idea.

"Well, no offense, but yes," I said, half-smiling so that he might not take my criticism too seriously. Not that he ever had before... "Here you are, the most famous wizard in England, great Quidditch talent, and especially adept in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Not to mention you have a flock of screaming fan girls drooling after you day by day and a group of scheming idiots intent on having you killed..."

"Scheming idiots?"

"The Death Eaters."

He was staring at me funny. "It's not often you hear anyone call them, 'scheming idiots'."

"Well, it's not often you rely on the obsessed Harry Potter Fan Club President to solve Harry Potter's love crisis," I joked. And he laughed! I made Harry Potter laugh!

"Okay, continue."

"Well, I was going to say that you're Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, and here you are pining after Cho Chang. It makes you seem a little... clingy?"

"What makes you say I'm clingy?" he questioned.

"No, clingy isn't the right word." I hesitated. "Umm... You are a bit distracted, though."

"Oh." He took this in, thinking it over. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," I said, stifling a giggle. I thought it was a good thing, thought it seemed endearing. "But now that I think about it, it's nothing you have to change to make her like you. You're perfect just the way you are."

It didn't occur to me what I'd said until I saw his cheeks redden, and then I felt the heat rise to my own cheeks. "Or, umm... well..." Oh! Why did he have to be so cute when he blushed like that?

"Er... okay, well then," he continued, "what should we do?"

I bit my lip. What could we do? Cho liked Cedric. Cedric... Cho likes Cedric... I don't think this is going to work... I started grasping at straws. "You could pretend that you don't care about her anymore."

"I couldn't do that - "

"Of course you can! It can't be that hard," I mused. "Just pretend that Cho is... a Slytherin! Pretend that she's Pansy Parkison, or Millicent Bulstrode!"

His brows furrowed. "But she's a Ravenclaw."

"So? Just pretend," I told him. Then I shook my head, and said, sighing, "Never mind. That won't work. But if you could do that, maybe she'll get confused. She'll start doubting herself, and... she'll come back to you."

"You're positive this will work?"

I had absolutely no clue what I was talking about! How should I know if it would work?

"Well, it could. But that's why we'll need more than one plan," I stated matter-of-factly. "So our first plan is for you to act indifferent. If she's happy that you're over her, which is very likely, then we'll need a new plan." This sounded so diabolical. So this is what the twins feel like every time they're planning mischief... I can't imagine why they enjoy it. "And if she does come back to you, say you'll think about it. Don't get mushy or anything."

"But that's not the way I am..."

"You want Cho back?" He nodded.

"Then trust me on this!" I looked him over again. "Right. So if that doesn't work..." I hesitated. What was I that Cho had said? Something about holding a special place in her heart? "Oh! I know. Ask if she wants to just be friends. If you saw each other as friends first, and got to know each other, instead of just jumping into a relationship, maybe she'd see things differently."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Harry!" I sighed. "You know, you can just walk up to her and start a conversation. Just don't say a thing about love. Yes. Why don't you go do that now? It's Saturday, and no one has any classes today. Come on." I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the castle. "Let's go find Cho."

And that was how everything started. I was surprised at how quickly I'd thought of a plan, when it'd taken me a whole week and I hadn't come up with anything. It was a strange feeling, standing in my coven of peace with Harry. It almost felt like the world had stopped, and we were the only people there. I didn't care about anything, really. Maybe, maybe that's what gave me the inspiration for a plan. I nodded. Things seemed to be working out - maybe I could get Harry and Cho back together. Maybe I could see Harry happy again. And if I knew that it had been me who made him happy... Yes, everything would turn out great.