Boys Don't Bruise

Of Dolphins and Goldfish: Ginny and Harry

'He's perfect in every single way. He's such a hero! Everybody loves him!' said Ginny excitedly.

'And what does he look like, strawberry pie?' her mirror questioned.

'Oh, he's so handsome! You wouldn't believe it if you saw him!' she sighed, turning a bit red in the face. 'He's got beautiful jet-black hair, and it's quite longish... Well, no, not really longish,' Ginny always forgot what the boy she really was in love with looked like. 'It's- well, about this long,' Ginny brought both her hands up to the side of her face. 'And his eyes... You wouldn't believe the colour of his eyes! It's so enormously bright green! And if he laughs they get this yellowish spark. And when he smiles, these dimples show in his cheeks!'

'Do they, my little glazed quill? And what else, does he have freckles? Or maybe an earring?' Ginny supposed her mirror was trying to be funny. It didn't quite work, but if that was what she had to bear then so be it. She smiled politely.

'No... I don't even think earrings are allowed at Hogwarts, that's what Bill said anyways... But he's got glasses. Round ones. And a scar. A lightning-bolt shaped scar. That's what he's famous for.'

'Are you talking about Harry Potter, sweetie?' said her mirror again.

'Yes! Yes I am.'

'Why didn't you just say that, honey maze, I know what he looks like,' it said enthusiastically.

'How do you know Harry?' Ginny asked.

'Because you've only told me about him for about seven hundred times!' the mirror replied dryly. 'Sugar Pops, don't you think it's time you move on? You've been sitting here for three years, telling me the same story over and over. There are other boys besides Harry! Plenty of fish in the sea!'

'But I don't want any other fish! Would you trade dolphin for a goldfish?' Ginny said, now quite annoyed.

'Ah, but Candy Stick, it would be a very different situation if you actually owned that dolphin...'

'It's just a matter of time!' Ginny sighed desperately. 'You'll see, one day, he'll realise I'm the only one who can make him happy.'

'Liquorice whip, you've got to be realistic...' Her mirror heaved a sigh. 'Shouldn't he have realised by now? Sometimes, even an angler needs to face the fact he or she's lost to a fish.'

Ginny sputtered, but couldn't say anything relevant.

'So, you see, my not so chocolate frog... Why don't you try to forget him? Hmm?'

Ginny rolled her eyes at her mirror, checked if she looked alright and stalked out of her dormitory.

Her heart froze almost immediately as she entered the Common Room. He was sitting by the fire, playing a game of chess with her brother. Hermione sat close by, reading a book.

'Hey, Gin, you can come and sit with us,' Ron said, as he noticed his sister.

Ginny felt her face go all red and warm.

'No... no thanks, Ron, I'd rather not... I've got books to read,' she said, hurriedly grabbing one that was lying on the table.

'You can read and sit with us, no problem,' Ron said. 'Look at Hermione.'

Damn you fool! Didn't you notice I don't want to sit with you and Harry? It would only make me feel stupid.

But she decided to go and join them anyway.

She sat down next to Hermione and watched their game from behind her book, or whoever's book it was. How could her mirror even think about moving on? She'd obviously never seen Harry. He was everything a girl could want. He was cute and sexy and funny and friendly... He was overly handsome and he looked so... so strong, so untouchable... unbruisable even.

And his hair. If she had to say the one thing she loved most about Harry, it was his hair. She knew it was a stupid thing to think, but it simply was true. It was so boyish and so dark and it was impossible to flatten it. Every time she saw him she had this almost irrepressible urge to ruffle his hair. Make it even more windblown.

'So what have you been doing up there for so long?'

Oh my god, Harry just said something to me... Relax Ginny, he has spoken to you before... Just take a deep breath and find something funny to say.

'I was trying to do some reading up there, but my mirror kept on bugging me,' she sighed, as casually as she could. 'You know, Ron, it's so obvious it was yours once. It keeps on calling me some kind of sweet.'

Ron tutted at her, but Hermione and Harry started to laugh. Good one, Gin, she thought.

'Do you have any other embarrassing secrets about Ron?' Hermione giggled. 'I'd be happy to put my book down for some of those.'

'Hear hear,' said Harry.

'Well, actually, there was this one time-' Ginny started.

'No, no, I really don't think Ginny knows other embarrassing secrets,' Ron hastily said, turning a bit red himself. 'Besides, there's nothing embarrassing about a mirror who calls her owner some kind of sweet.'

'But it is embarrassing how that mirror came to do that, isn't it, Ron?' Ginny said.

'And how might that be?' Harry asked, pushing away the game of chess.

Ooh, he's so cute when he pushes away stuff! Ginny thought. I'm very sorry, Ron, but I really don't care if you feel ashamed. This is Harry we're talking about. Or to.

'Look Harry!' Ron nudged his friend. 'Look, check. Oh, I'd look out if I were you. Very dangerous pawns, mine are. Look, my knight is moving towards a very-'

'Oh, Ron, give over, will you?' Hermione said. 'No one's interested in what your pawns are doing, not even them.'

Hermione was right, though. Every piece of the chess game had turned towards Ginny to listen.

'Well, you know those commercials on the wireless for Honeydukes and sweets and stuff?' she said. 'The ones with the funny songs?'

Hermione and Harry both shook their heads.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Hermione's a Muggle and Harry doesn't have a Wizarding Wireless!

'Well, I can only remember one, but I don't know the exact lyrics,' Ginny grinned. 'You'll have to help me out, Ron.'

Her brother rolled his eyes and turned his back on her.

'Oh come on, it's the Sugar quill-song,' she tried again. 'That's your favourite.'

Ron snapped his head around so fast, Ginny could've sworn she heard his neck crack.

'Alright then, I'll do it without your help,' she huffed. She took a deep breath and started singing an overly happy song.

If you're craving for a sweet treat,

then we've got just what you need,

in tastes and colours as you will,

taste our new Sugar quill!

Grown ups will love it,

can never get enough of it,

young kids will look cool,

there's no teacher they can't fool

So if you're aching for a delicacy

'If you're aching for a delicacy...' Ginny sang again. 'Oh, Ron, help me out, I forgot the last line. Something about a tree. If you're aching for a delicacy, nananana tree...'

'Come buy a Sugar quill or three,' Ron suddenly said, sounding very ill-humoured.

'Yes, that's it!!' Ginny said, whilst pointing at Ron. 'Well, every time Ron had washed his hair or had taken a shower, he'd go stand in front of the mirror and he would comb his hair backwards so he would have this huge forelock and he would sing that song. Over and over and over...'

'Yes, yes, yes, I think we got the picture, Ginny,' said Ron angrily, with his back still turned to his sister. Ginny actually started feeling sorry for him. 'So you can go and sit somewhere else now. Don't you know other people you can bother?'

And as quickly as they came, my feelings of compassion subsided, Ginny thought. 'Oh, stuff it, Ron, how many times did you embarrass me in front of my and even your friends? You deserved this. Oh, and just so you know, Ron always made his mirror cheer him on and he encouraged it to sing with him.'

Hermione and Harry were in stitches.

'But it was a very long time ago, so it doesn't really matter, does it?' Ron said again.

'What do you mean, a very long time ago?' Ginny wondered. 'I saw you do it to your own mirror last month!'

Ron took his knight and pelted it at her, under loud protest of the knight, of course.

'Alright, I can see when I'm unwanted. I'll just go and sit over there,' she sighed. 'But, remember that is was you who wanted me to come and join you.'

'Listen Ginny, care to come and sit with us over dinner in half an hour?' Harry asked, while wiping a tear from his eye. 'I could do with another laugh.'

'Really?' she asked, looking over to Hermione and back to Harry.

'Sure,' Harry said, looking straight into her eyes.

'Yeah. That's- that would be nice.'

Oh my Merlin, oh my Merlin!

Ginny tried to calm herself, but it didn't really work. Harry Potter, the Harry Potter had just asked her to join him over dinner. She could sit next to him, and listen to him, and talk to him and she could just watch him.

She dropped herself into an armchair that gave her a very clear view of Harry, who was trying to get Ron to talk to him.

Ron, you're such a baby. She thought, not really caring that her brother was angry. I got to look into his eyes and he laughed at what I said.

He was just so gorgeous. She could spend the entire evening just watching him. The way he moved and talked and laughed... There was absolutely no one who could do it as gracefully and as beautifully as Harry could.

He needed a laugh, he'd said. And he'd thought she was the one who could provide him with it. Oh, Ginny'd be more than happy to make him laugh every single day for the rest of his life. She'd be more than willing to share every single cell in her body with him and he was allowed to know every secret. She wanted to help him get through dark days and she wanted to brighten the ones that were already bright. She whished she could explore every part there was to her with him. She wanted to guide him through the places she knew very well and she wanted him to help her discover the ones she'd never thought she had. She hoped she could help him find out who he was by walking next to him and taking steps just as big as his were, as many forward and just as many backward. She could be his torch, his cane, his map and his direction indicator, all at once. She craved to lose him so she knew that this love she was feeling was worth more than everything she would ever own or would ever be and she wanted to find him so she could feel every single worry on her mind dissolve. She wanted to love him so much that she wouldn't be able to say if she was Ginny or Harry. She wanted to wake up next to him every day and fall in love all over, she wanted him to want the same... And if she'd give it enough time, Ginny knew everything would turn out just right.

Some people, dear mirror, Ginny thought. Some people are just meant to be, and if one of them has to wait before the other one figures that out, then so be it. I can wait. How very wrong you were... I'm never trading in my fish...

And with that, Ginny got up to change before dinner... Sometimes, even an angler needs to look good...