Down Came the Sky

Chapter Six: The Bruise

The tears leaked out of Ginny's eyes so unexpectedly that she didn't have a moment to stifle them. So she sat in the middle of Transfiguration with her cheeks wetting and she buried her face in the crook of her arm, willing everyone around her not to notice. Ginny could tell that her face was swollen when her tears had abated, but she knew she couldn't afford to hide her face in such a manner for much longer. She didn't want Professor McGonagall to think she had fallen asleep.

Taking a swallowing breath, Ginny looked up and carefully proceeded in note taking. She felt her stomach quiver when Professor McGonagall's eyes swept over her, but Ginny seemed to go unnoticed. For that she let out a sigh of relief and bent over her notes, hoping that she might have similar luck with the rest of the lesson. When the lesson had ended, however, Professor McGonagall called Ginny over.

"Ms. Weasley?"

Ginny hoped her face displayed its natural hue, unmarred by any discoloring her tears may have caused. "Yes, Professor?" Good, Ginny thought of her naturally calm sounding voice.

"Is there something you would wish to confide in me?" At this, Professor McGonagall reached up to touch Ginny's cheek. A gesture so out of character that Ginny wasn't sure how to interpret it. But what was even stranger was her cheek felt almost tender to the touch. Ginny lightly brushed her fingers across her cheek and frowned. "Is there something going on you would like to tell me?" Professor McGonagall's voice seemed strangely sensitive considering her typically severe manner. Ginny stared at her, her eyebrows contracting in confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny answered quietly. Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Whatever you tell me will be held in strict confidence." Ginny wasn't sure why she was being told this, but she nodded at her professor solemnly, hoping she seemed serious enough about whatever it was Professor McGonagall thought was going on. "Would you like to tell me where this came from?" Professor McGonagall reached up and touched Ginny's cheek again and Ginny winced.

"Is something there?" she said, moving her face away from Professor McGonagall's hand.

"I would think you would notice something this prominent, Ms. Weasley," she replied grimly, moving to her desk to rummage through drawers. She retrieved a small mirror and handed it to Ginny. Ginny gasped. On the side of her face was a large, purpling bruise outlined in a sickly yellow color. She touched it delicately.

"I don't know where this came from," she said, handing her professor the mirror. Professor McGonagall's mouth was drawn into a thin line.

"You mean to say that this had nothing to do with whatever it was that upset you earlier?" Professor McGonagall had noticed her crying, Ginny realized. It felt as though a huge weight had dropped in the pit of her stomach and she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I don't know why I was crying," Ginny whispered hanging her head, though she wasn't quite sure why she was ashamed. Professor McGonagall's expression softened, as did her voice when she placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Ms. Weasley, I would like you to know that I am quite aware of your...situation, and of his temper. You would let me know if he was...doing anything, wouldn't you?"

Ginny quickly snapped her head up to look at Professor McGonagall. She wanted to scream a dramatic NO! at the accusation, but the thought in and of itself astonished her so much that she merely gawked at her professor.

"Ms. Weasley, would you like to tell me what happened?" she pressed softly.

"What?" Ginny heard her voice pierce the air shrilly. "Nothing happened! I don't even know where this came from, but it wasn't...he couldn't..." Her insides were reeling in frustration. How could anyone think that Harry would do such a thing to her, she fumed? "Professor," she said, steadying her voice, "it could have been anything, but I know it wasn't him. He would never hurt me..."

She wanted to finish the sentence by saying "because he loves me," but of that, she was not quite sure. She knew she loved him and she knew he was attracted to her...even cared for her, but beyond that everything was a bit muddy. Professor McGonagall nodded, but Ginny could tell she was not fully convinced.

"Why don't you get that taken care of by Madame Pomfrey? I'll write you a note for your next class," she said swiftly, employing her natural demeanor once again.

When Ginny went to the hospital wing, she was grateful Madame Pomfrey didn't ask any questions. Then again, she could have seen this yesterday and it's nothing new, Ginny thought cynically.

What was still puzzling, however, was how Ginny could go through that long of an expansive of time without gaining notice of such an obvious contusion. She reasoned it to be the hectic morning of oversleeping that caused her to skip breakfast and go straight to Transfiguration. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that people were giving her funny looks as she dashed to her first lesson of the morning--she was just too distracted to register it.

As she walked down the grassy slope toward the already in progress Care of Magical Creatures lesson, her note firmly clasped in her clammy hand, Ginny decided that she must have hurt herself when she was asleep. It was the only logical explanation. As discreetly as possible, Ginny slipped into the group next to Luna and immediately attempted to focus on the strange twig-like creatures Hagrid was describing. He soon broke them into groups and approached Ginny.

"All righ' there?" he said. She promptly handed him the note and he read through it and nodded at her. "Well, yer lookin' better now," he said, giving her a swift pat on the head that caused her knees to buckle slightly. He strode off, looking in on different groups of students here and there and Ginny breathed out turning to Luna. Luna was surveying her intensely.

"Did you remember your essay?" she said, her eyes widely raking over Ginny's cheek. Ginny wondered if the bruise left any coloring behind.

"Oh, yes...did we turn them in already?"

"No," Luna responded. "I just hoped that you would remember and get credit for it. You seemed to have put a lot of effort into it."

Ginny cleared her throat, "So what are we doing here?" she said, glancing over at Luna's blank parchment.

Luna leaned in. "We're drawing Willard."

"What's a willard?"

"The name of the bowtruckle," she said, indicating the twig-like creature before them. "I thought you should know," she said this in a whisper, "that they're all talking about you." Ginny instantaneously felt her heart jump to her throat.

"What about," she whispered back.

"I heard one of your roommates--the loud one--I heard her telling the girls in my house how you and Harry were acting strange in your common room. Something about him hugging your head and you crying." She said this simply, as though she was merely addressing the weather; the look on her face, however, portrayed nothing but curiosity. "Oh, and since neither of you told anyone you were dating, she thinks you were cheating on Dean with Harry." Ginny's eyes widened and she craned her head toward Hadley, who was talking animatedly with Amy while they were both bent over their parchments.

"That's not true," Ginny said in a low growl. "I would never do that to Dean...we just weren't right for--"

"Yes, yes, I assumed that. You're no tart," Luna cut in, waving her hand. "But what I find interesting is that you two were fighting in the corridors last night, according to your roommate, and it was more than yelling." She looked at Ginny pointedly at this comment and then continued before Ginny could respond. "And today you showed up with a huge bruise on your face and you cried during your entire Transfiguration lesson, is that true?"

"Sort of," Ginny said, furrowing her brow. "But it sounds a lot worse than it is."

"I don't want to believe he's hurting you," Luna said seriously. "But that's what they're all implying."

"He's not," Ginny stated plainly, resting her chin on her hands. She had the overwhelming feeling that this was all getting far too out of control. "I'm so embarrassed," she muttered, sliding her face into her hands. "I want to explain it--but I don't think I can. But trust me, it has less to do with me and Harry and more to do with Harry and You-Know-Who," she said this last part in a whisper so that no one could overhear.

"Yes, well, everything has to do with Harry and You-Know-Who, doesn't it?" Luna whispered back, lightly sketching the body of the Bowtruckle. Ginny glanced at Hagrid, who was coming their way, and quickly started drawing.

"I hate that it does," she choked, suddenly aware that she was on the brink of tears once again. She blinked furiously, but lost the battle when her tears started splattering on her parchment and causing the ink to run and mar her drawing.

"You cry because you feel bad for him," Luna commented frankly, dabbing the sleeve of her robe on Ginny's parchment. Ginny sniffed and wiped the back of her nose.

"I don't know why I cry," she said in a wobbly voice. Luna smiled at her sincerely and withdrew her arm to start drawing again.

"I think I would do the same thing if I was in love with a boy like him," she said serenely, her eyes following the lines she sketched on her parchment. Ginny could feel her tears welling up in her eyes again and she furiously ground the heels of her hands against her eyes to try and stop them.

"Do you need to use the loo?" Luna inquired calmly.

"What?" Ginny's voice sounded unnaturally thickened.

"I think I'll tell Professor Hagrid," she said, delicately laying her parchment to the side. Ginny watched her briefly mutter to Hagrid and then pack up her belongings, shooting Ginny a look that meant she should to the same. Quickly grabbing Ginny's elbow, Luna lead her into the castle and to the nearest lavatory where she tucked her bag under the sink.

Ginny dropped her bag next to Luna's and looked at her curiously. Luna sighed. "Just get it out. I'll leave if you want me to, but it's not healthy to keep tears in...Daddy told me holding them back can dehydrate you. Wait--" she walked over, locked the door and went back to Ginny. "But if you need a shoulder, my robes have needed extra salting. It always helps them to stay resilient in the winter."

Ginny wanted to laugh, but her mouth didn't cooperate and instead she burst into tears. Luna gave her a half smile and walked over to give her a hug.

"It hurts holding it in, doesn't it?" she murmured softly, running her hand down Ginny's hair. Ginny could feel her body trembling and she gasped for air through her hiccups.

"I'm sorry...your robes..." Ginny said, sniffing her runny nose. Luna shook her head.

"I told you, they need salting. You're helping me."

"Luna, it doesn't make sense," Ginny began, walking over to lean on the wall.

"I know."

"No, I mean it came out of nowhere." She was starting to feel inwardly dried up, but that was fine with Ginny because she was tired of crying.

"When does it come from somewhere?" Luna replied, joining Ginny against the wall.

"I don't know how to explain it..."

Ginny shook her head and slid to the floor. Luna imitated her motion and smoothed her robed over knees. Ginny couldn't think how she could explain to Luna how unexpected her crying was. Of course she was sad. The sadness, however, hadn't produced much more than a sore throat unless the situation called for more. But uncontrollable tears? Ginny felt she rarely lost control, except for that fight with Hermione or when she was kissing Harry. It doesn't make sense...at least those situations were a reaction.

And just like that, Ginny was calm. Her throat was relaxed and the fact that she had been crying felt strange. In fact, Ginny merely felt like it was time for a nap. "Shall we go to lunch?" Luna said, rising and giving Ginny a hand up. Ginny took her hand, stood up and followed her out the door to the Great Hall. She took a breath when she saw Harry sitting with Ron. Hermione wasn't with them. She felt as though teams of eyes were following her as she made her way over to them. She hoped the whispering she heard when she approached the boys was her imagination and she was simply being paranoid.

"...yeah, well, I don't think I should have even been able to take it this year. Dumbledore must've pulled some strings," Harry said with a slight tone of irritation.

"He still shouldn't be so awful. You'd think he'd be better after last year."

Ginny sank down next to Harry and ran her hand up his arm.

"Snape being a git?" she asked softly. Harry nodded and leaned over to her, but quickly turned his head after his lips brushed her cheek.

"Sorry," he said as his face flushed. "I forgot."

"That's okay," Ron and Ginny said at the same time. Ron looked at her inquisitively but Ginny only pulled a plate toward her and began serving herself some green beans.

"Harry, I reckon we have to talk about something." Her voice was shaking, and Ginny cursed its inability to stay steady when she needed it to be. Harry seemed extremely troubled by this comment, so Ginny gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"But first I need to know something." Ginny praised herself for sounding more confident. "Was there a bruise on my cheek last night?"

Harry turned to her in a slight shock and then scrutinized the room. He looked like he might pulverize any bloke that might dare bruise her. Ginny felt all at once a rush of emotion that encompassed safety, pride and love. She opened her mouth, almost telling him she loved him, but instead he turned to her and said in a low voice: "Did someone hurt you?" Ginny had the overwhelming desire to crawl into his arms while he wrapped his body around hers.

"I don't think so," she responded. "But this morning I woke up with a huge bruise on my cheek."

"Your cheek was red last night," Ron said thoughtfully. Ginny jumped; she had forgotten he was there.

"That's what I was afraid of," Ginny said, dropping her voice. "I think something happened last night when--" She broke off when Harry abruptly withdrew his hands from her and started shaking.

"Harry," she put her hand over top of his, but he didn't respond. "Erm, I had sort of a strange morning and there may be some weird rumors going around." Harry slowly looked up at her, still shaking and eyes wide with a mixture of fear and shame. Ginny wasn't sure if he might be sick or even cry. He slid his hand from under hers and leaned his forehead on it.

"It had to have been me." His voice was strangled. Ginny hated the no kissing rule at this very moment; a kiss was exactly what she could give him to make him feel better. Instead, she attempted to comfort him with her touch, but he kept pulling away. He shook his head. "I'm bad for you."

"Stop it, will you? You are not bad for me! I--" need you, Ginny thought.

"I bruised you," he said tightly.

"He is the cause of it, and you know it. I know you would never hurt me," Ginny replied firmly. Harry shook his head numbly.

"No...no, I wouldn't." He looked at her painfully again and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "But I did."

Ginny turned her eyes to Ron out of exasperation. He was staring between the two of them, appearing as though he was waging some sort of internal battle.

"Apparently that, er, 'fight' we had was witnessed by some people," Ginny said as casually as she could. "Oh, and I didn't know I had the bruise on my cheek this morning when I went to lessons." She decided to leave out the part about crying.

"They all think it was me," Harry concluded, his voice quivering.

"Something like that," Ginny responded vaguely.

"So, they think I'm abusing you," he said flatly. Ginny swallowed and nodded. Harry closed his eyes for a long time, still shaking.

"Ginny...I..." His voice strangled again, and he pressed his face into his hands.

Ginny loved him more at this moment than she ever had; she knew her heart had never swelled to such a degree of affection. His pain was begging for her and she wanted more than anything in the world to make it better. Ginny leaned close to him and cupped her hand around his ear.

"Can we forget about the rule?" she whispered and she pulled away from him, searching his face. Harry looked utterly confused and the side of his mouth twitched. "Well, I'll forget about if you want me to," she muttered, leaning in toward him. "Let me know after lessons."

As she was sitting through Ancient Runes, she speculated many times over whether Harry was as distracted at that moment as she was.

***

The air was brisk and bit at Ginny's cheeks as she stepped out onto the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor team. She was slightly annoyed because Harry had not looked at her much, even though she tried to catch his eye several times. It gave her a sinking feeling and a train of doubts traveled through her mind; everything from he's tired of me to he must be embarrassed by the rumors.

Whispering did indeed follow Ginny throughout the day and she wondered if Harry had to ignore as much as she did. She hoped he didn't...she didn't like this reputation being put on him. No one at this sodding school gets him! she had thought furiously at various moments throughout the day.

Katie was designating the practice positions and as soon as she called for everyone to get into position, Ginny sidled up to Harry and put her hand on his broom so that he couldn't take off.

"Do we need to talk later?" she said, looking at him pointedly. Harry swallowed, seemingly unable to move for a long time.

"I reckon we do," he replied quietly, slowly uncoiling her hands from his broom. "Later." He said this firmly, as if confirming it to himself and then pushed off the ground.

Ginny watched him soar to the air and perform some impressive loop-de-loops...the kind he usually performed when he was trying to burn off nervous energy. She had noticed this pattern in him for quite some time. Realizing she was the last of the team still on the ground, Ginny pushed off and circled with the other Chasers as they passed the Quaffle around quickly. The forced concentration was a nice break for her.

As welcome as Quidditch practice was to Ginny as a distraction, reality began to show her brutal face as soon as the sky dulled in a wintry dusk. Grayness glowed among the wispy clouds, which were thick enough to obstruct any colors of sunset from showing. Coldness was felt more obviously and Ginny had half her mind on her two pairs of woolly socks rolled in the corner of her trunk. Katie blew a whistle, calling the practice to an end, and Ginny felt her stomach twist horribly when Harry landed beside her. As the team went on, Ginny and Harry lingered back. A few team members stared Harry down before leaving and Ginny felt a sudden rage accompany her nervousness.

"Now, or after we change?" Ginny asked when the pitch was cleared. She shivered and Harry pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She loved the warmth of his body so much she almost forgot how cold her nose was.

"I don't care." His breath tickled her ear and Ginny fought the urge to turn her head just so in order to brush her lips to his.

Instead, she curled her fingers in his and whispered, "Let's at least go inside."

A few team members were mulling around the changing room, but Harry and Ginny took their time until Jack Sloeper ambled out of sight.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ginny said quickly.

"What?" Harry sank onto the benches, his brow creased in confusion.

"How come you couldn't look at me before or during practice?"

"Oh that..." Ginny was surprised to see that Harry looked relieved, but his expression changed to seriousness almost instantaneously. "I've been thinking about what you said during lunch." Ginny could feel her heart beating in her stomach. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten her proposition for breaking the rule.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry...I-I have trouble with rules sometimes, especially when I hate them."

"No! Don't feel bad...I want to break the rule more than I want to keep it. The thing is, is I know I should keep it." His face held such a firm conviction, that Ginny knew he was really telling her 'no' to breaking the rule. It made her feel utterly foolish. She stared at the bench, tracing the grain of the wood with her eyes, while she willed herself to forget her shame. The thought, however, was a broken record. I'm hindering him...I can't even do what he needs for 24 hours...I'm weak and I'm hindering him...

"I was being silly," Ginny said, slowly looking up at Harry. "I'll keep the rule from now on, I promise."

Harry stared at her for a long time, his expression likening the look she often had as a small girl when staring at fine dress robes, knowing she would never be able to purchase them. He gave her a small nod and they separated to change.

She laced her fingers in his as they languorously made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Her fingers were slightly tensed, almost urgently, around his and Harry's hand seemed far from relaxed as well. They stared straight ahead and Ginny made herself savor the moment. She was with him and this was the best they could do for a while.