Neville's Sacrifice

Chapter Fourteen

Neville entered the large stone fireplace carrying the limp body of Ginny in his arms. Tears poured down his cheeks, landing like salt filled crystals upon her face and hair.

His sobs reverberated through the confined space, filling it with the sound of his pain and loss.

He held Ginny's head against his chest to protect it from the motion of the Floo. As he stroked her hair, he took deep gulping breaths trying to quiet his hysteria. Ginny needed him now; he couldn't fall apart on her.

"I...I know you'll be alright. We'll..." here he took a shaky breath..."We'll go to Bryn Bay, just like you always wanted to. We'll buy silly hats and sit in the sun and do anything...anything you want to,"

The coolness of the green flames caressed his overheated skin, helping to calm him as they spun closer and closer to St. Mungos.

Round and round they twirled in an endless dance of glimpsed fireplaces, the occupants of the rooms unaware of the drama that was taking place just beyond the walls of brick and mortar.

Ginny lay heavy against Neville's chest, the brutal crimson ligature marks that encircled her pale tender throat visible in the half-light.

He tried not to look at her neck, to notice the way her eyes stared unseeingly into the distance as he continued his reassurances of everything being okay.

"You might have to stay for a few days...you know, just to check everything out, to make sure your okay, but you'll be home before you know it, and we'll be together...we have to be together...if I lost you...if you...if you..."

He began shaking at the thought of losing her. Angrily he pushed the treacherous idea from his mind. No! It couldn't happen...not after all they'd been through.

Neville cradled her broken body even more tightly against his, his mind a whirling haze of doubts and regrets.

I should have gotten rid of those plants a long time ago, after they first attacked Jebidious...what was I thinking...keeping such dangerous plans around...and now look what's happened...

As the spinning of the Floo continued, Ginny's body was being buffeted and knocked against his, no matter how tightly Neville tried to hold her to prevent it.

I should have tried side-along appariation...what was I thinking using this Floo? What if we land wrong? What if she gets hurt even worse? How could I have been so stupid to have used this? Oh god, if something happens and I hurt her even more...

The blur of brick finally began to slow as they reached their final destination. Neville's foot touched down hard upon the slick white tile of the floor. The sudden stop caused Ginny's body weight to shift forward, causing Neville to stumble. She began to slide dangerously out of his arms as he frantically tried to regain his tenuous grip upon her.

His forehead knocked painfully against the blackened brickwork of the fireplace as he leaned forward to catch her. His vision filled with stars from the impact, his eyes pricking with tears.

Legs buckling beneath him, he fell hard to one knee, his arms straining to keep her from tumbling to the solid tiled surface.

He struggled to regain his feet, almost falling again from the dead weight of her body.

Once he was upright, he placed a hand gently over Ginny's head and face to protect her, then pressed the other hand against the brickwork to steady himself. He could feel the roughness of the brickwork biting into his raw and bloodied hand as he ducked his head beneath the large blackened entrance way of the fireplace.

Cautiously he shuffled forward, careful not to jar Ginny.

Straightening up, he found himself in a large reception area. Witches and wizards in assorted conditions sat comfortably on overstuffed chairs waiting to be seen, flipping through dog-eared copies of Witch Weekly and Which Broom?

An ancient looking wizard sat dejectedly in one of the puce colored chairs, bubble gum pink smoke emanating from the wand that was fused to his claw like hand.

A young witch sat with a string in her hand, her young son floating above her, sobbing furiously like an angry weather balloon.

A strong sense of deja-vu engulfed him as he remembered the last time he'd been in this hospital.

That time Ginny had also been hurt, the feelings and emotions from that time all flooded back to him as he stood there once again.

Panic overwhelmed him and he began screaming, "Help us! I need help! Somebody help us!"

The waiting room went silent as all heads turned to stare at Neville. A Healer with light brown skin and a long thick black braid down her back came out of one of the small examining rooms that lined the far side of the room and demanded, "Who's making all of that noise? What's going on here?"

As soon as the Healer spotted Neville and Ginny she rushed towards them, issuing orders as she went.

"We need to get a stretcher stat. Notify the other Healers that we have an emergency situation."

The Healer began to examine Ginny, questioning Neville as she did so.

"What happened to her? Where you there when this happened? How long ago did this take place?"

Neville did his best to answer her questions. He knew it was the best way to help Ginny, but it was just so hard to be calm when he didn't know if she was alive or dead, if she'd be okay...

The Healer reached into her lab-coat pocket and pulled out her wand. She began slowly moving it up and down Ginny's body, watching the color change of the glow of the wand intently.

Suddenly at the far end of the room a set of double doors burst open. There was a flurry of clattering feet upon the pristine white floor as the attendants rushed to help.

They gathered around the head healer, awaiting her instructions.

"She's severely injured; I don't think we should try to pick her up. We'd best use Moblicorpus to move her..."

The four attendants stood holding the canvas stretcher between them, ready for Ginny to be laid upon it.

The Head Healer pointed her wand at Ginny. Neville held her tightly against him, sure that this would be the last time he saw her. Tears slid slowly down his face. As the Healer gave the Moblicorpus command, he felt Ginny being pulled from his arms. Instinctively he went to make a grab for her, to bring her back to him, but it was too late. Ginny had already been laid upon the rough canvas and was being hurriedly whisked away.

Neville followed them in a panic, his heart racing in his chest as he remembered the last time...the last time she was on a stretcher, the last time she went through those same imposing double doors.

He stood there, staring, unable to believe that is was all happening again.

It was all just too much. He turned, stumbling towards one of the overstuffed couches. He sank into it, then leaned forward, hands pressed up against his head as fear and guilt waged war within him.

This is all my fault...that plant...that stupid plant...my fault she wasn't safe, my fault she got hurt...if she dies...here a flash of cold fear went through him like a lightening bolt on a hot summers day...if she dies...I don't want to live anymore...

He sat there, full of remorse and guilt, until he felt a soft hand upon his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a small woman with kind brown eyes looking down on him.

"The Healer told me you brought the young lady in. I know this must be a terrible time for you. Is there anybody that you want us to contact that could come and be with you?"

Neville sprang upright in shock as he realized he hadn't told any of the Weasley's about Ginny's accident.

"Yes...there is...her family. I haven't told them she's been...hurt..."

"We could send a message via the Floo network for you." The woman offered, her face etched with concern.

He knew he should contact them himself, that to hear that their daughter was hurt from a stranger would be just that much harder, but he just couldn't do it. To talk to her family via Floo or to send his Patronus...to tell them would make it real and he wished with all of his heart that it wasn't.

He smiled wearily up at the woman and said, "Yes, thank you. That would be very kind of you."

He leaned back in the couch, closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was going on behind those oppressive double doors.

Suddenly he was pulled up from where he lay sprawled against the back of the couch. Two soft arms encircled him, holding him tightly.

"Neville!" Molly cried, holding him forcefully against the great expanse of her bosoms, "St. Mungos sent us a message to come right away, that Ginny was hurt! What's happened, what's going on?"

Neville struggled feebly to free himself from Molly's embrace, but it was no use.

Eventually she let go for long enough for them to sit down upon the couch.

Neville began telling her what had happened, answering her questions as he struggled to contain his emotions.

After they'd talked about the accident they sat silently together, holding hands, each lost in their own thoughts.

Time passed slowly as they waited. Finally the double doors swung open once again and the dark haired Healer exited, walking over to Neville.

"How is she? Is she going to...is she going to..." he wanted to say "live" but he didn't dare, couldn't bring himself to ask the question that would take all hope away...so instead he said, "Is she going to be okay?"

The Healer replied, "We have her condition stabilized, but it's still very touch and go."

Molly asked, her voice trembling, "Can we see her now?"

"I don't really think you should. She really isn't in any condition to.."

Molly interrupted the Healer and said, "I don't care what she looks like. She's my daughter and I want to see her!"

The Healer looked at Molly and her face softened.

"Alright, follow me. But you can only stay a minute."

They followed the Healer down the white tiled corridors, the sounds of various machines buzzing and beeping in the background, the smell of Germ-B-Gone cleanser filling the air with its pungent scent.

The Healer pushed open the door. Ginny lay there small and alone, her red hair splayed against the white of the pillow. A white line and a blue one hovered over her prone body, skipping and climbing with every beat of her heart.

The Healer said, "As you can see, the white line shows us the regularity of her heartbeat."

"But what about the blue one?" Molly questioned, "What is that one for?"

"Oh that one...that one's for the baby."