Sometimes It Be That Way

Wanting to Run...

*

"How can you turn and walk away,

Pretending everything's okay?

How can you turn your back?

Tell me, why do you love me like that?"

~ Michelle Branch, Love Me Like That

*

The corridor was long and dark. There were no paintings on the walls, and the air was cold, but Ginny tiptoed down it just the same. She had decided to go for a walk by herself to get away from the constant yelling of those in the common room. Their voices made her nauseous and tempermental. This is why she left so eagerly, hoping that no one would go after her, not even Hermione.

She slid down to the floor against a wall in exhaustion. A hand drifted to her stomach, feeling the prodding and kicking of the baby as he (or her) got bigger. These days, it took a lot to even move a short distance as the baby was practically sucking all the energy from her. She was even starting to eat even more--which she found to attract a lot of attention--to gain more energy to stay in school.

Already, she was five months pregnant and she was beginning to show that she was pregnant. The teachers insisted that a spell be used to cloak her pregnancy during the day, so no one knew that she was pregnant. It was fine with her, as she didn't want to show that she was pregnant and risk the negative ripples that would come along with that exposure.

She yawned and closed her eyes, the darkness of her eyelids consuming her. She felt a couple more kicks from the baby before she yawned again and fell to sleep.

*

The sun was shining, the day was lovely and everyone was perfectly happy. Ginny happily made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, hoping to squeeze in a few hundred cinnamon buns before the morning classes started.

The doors of the Great Hall were already open and multitudes of students were already in the Hall, enjoying their breakfasts and eagerly chatting to each other about the day's prospects. Before entering, she looked around the Hall for Hermione and spotted her with Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table (as usual). Ginny relaxed and smiled, before quickly entering with a ghost.

A sudden hush fell about the large room and it seemed that everyone turned their eyes toward her. She froze in place, wondering why they were all looking at her, before realizing that she had forgotten the charm. She looked down regretfully and found her belly to be wider than before, popping out in plain view.

The hush was soon replaced by boos and heckling from all corners. Students looked at her accusingly, like they had never seen anything so disgusting. Rumours swept viciously up and down the house tables and the teachers all shook their heads, frowning at her. Hermione turned away from her angrily, shaking her head, while Ron and Harry just ignored her. She looked towards the Slytherins and found Draco laughing viciously at her.

Ginny turned, tears flowing from her eyes, and ran from the Great Hall.

*

There was the sound of footsteps against the stone floor. Voices whispered, their tones far away and secretive. She moaned, rolling over, wishing them to stop so she could sleep in peace, but they continued. More footsteps sounded, and she dimly recognized the feeling of being pulled up.

She sat up quickly and realized that she was sitting in her bed. Sun was shining into the room, suggesting that it was mid-morning. Her white comforter was warm on her body and she looked down to see that her stomach was wide and large. The whispering continued.

Bewildered, she wondered how she had gotten there. After thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she dismissed it and started to get out of bed. Her feet touched the cold floor and she gritted her teeth against it, dimly wondering why she didn't have her socks on.

After washing up in the bathroom, she turned off the light and wandered back into her bedroom to straighten the sheets on her bed. But she found the comforter had already been pulled back and tucked neatly into place. Ginny frowned. "Okay..." she muttered.

The whispers grew louder. A sudden breeze picked up from a window that had miraculously opened, and blew into the room. The breeze travelled to the bed and turned into a white whirlwind that landed on the sheets. The whirlwind disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and she discovered there was a ghost sitting on her bed. The ghost was dressed in a long white gown. Her long red curls were pulled up and piled on her head, and her radiant skin glowed with a ghostly light. Ginny dimly recognized the emerald eyes of the other woman before the woman reached out and put her hands on Ginny's stomach.

"You're Lily," Ginny stated. The other woman didn't move from her position, but only smiled. "What--"

Lily held up a hand to silence her and Ginny closed her mouth. There was a silence as the woman pulled back, and then, "She is pregnant, then." The whispers seemed to be agreeing with her. Lily looked down and Ginny felt the fabric of her shirt move up a little. The bulge that was the baby could be seen plainly. "And it is Harry Potter's baby." The whispers became astonished.

Ginny spoke up then, confused at why Lily used Harry's full name so impersonally. "Yes, it's Harry's child... your grandchild."

Lily shook her head. "I am not who you think."

"You're not Harry's mother, Lily Potter?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"No, I am not," the woman who wasn't Lily told her calmly. "What I am, I cannot tell you. But all you need to know is that I am merely borrowing this form because it is connected to the baby you are about to have."

"I don't understand," Ginny said.

"You don't have to," Lily said. She got off the bed and stood up. Ginny watched in awe as the light around her changed to many different colours. She suddenly stopped and folded her arms, looking at Ginny. "A prophecy had been made years ago that said that Harry Potter would be the only person powerful enough to defeat the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Do you know it?"

"Yeah, I've heard about it," Ginny said, suspiciously. "What does this have to do with me and my baby?"

The woman looked at her strangely, and the whispering became faster and louder. "I'm here to make good on that promise," she finally said, still looking at Ginny. Ginny folded her arms closer to herself, becoming freaked out.

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked, nervously.

The woman didn't answer. Her eyes stayed focused on Ginny. Then, they travelled lower, and Ginny noticed the whispering became more excited and electrified. The woman's eyes finally landed on the bulge of her stomach, at the unborn baby waiting to be born, its tiny body still developing.

Ginny suddenly hunched forward in pain, her uterus cramping. The pain felt like a thousand claws tearing at her stomach, and Ginny collapsed to the ground, holding onto her stomach fiercely. Through the pain, she looked up and saw Lily still looking at her intently. "No!" she screamed. "Leave my baby alone! No!"

Lily's form suddenly morphed. White light gave way to dark light. The body became taller, and the clothes became dark and ragged. A horrifying sight appeared in the place of the beautiful woman and Ginny screamed.

*

She dimly remembered being woken up savagely by a strong grip on her arms. She tossed away from the grip, trying to pry herself from it, fearing that the horrific ghost was there now, trying to kill her baby, but the grip tightened. She felt herself being shakened and a loud corporeal voice shouted at her, trying to wake her up.

"For goodness sakes, Ms. Weasley, wake up!"

Ginny opened her eyes, finding herself laying on the floor in the stone corridor. Immediately, she looked down at her stomach and felt kicking there, but no pain like she had experienced before. It was just a dream. All of it had been a dream.

As she lay there, dazed and confused, the teacher in front of her began chiding her. "Such ridiculous behaviour! Sleeping on a stone floor in the winter time like that... that was very irresponsible of you. Do you know what you could have done?" She looked up at the teacher and realized Snape was standing in front of her, a pure angry look on his face. She grimaced. "To yourself and to the baby? You could have caught pneumonia and died. Or your baby could have died, and you would still live. To think that you have done something like this is--"

He suddenly stopped and clenched his teeth. Then, he looked her sternly in the eye and said, "Go back to your common room and go to bed. If I see you out here, sleeping in corridors again, I'll report this to the Headmaster and have him rethink his decision of allowing you to remain at school while you're pregnant. But for now, I'm giving you a warning: take care of that baby properly, or I will see to it that you will never see it again." He stood and brushed off his robes. When he was finished, he reached down and pulled her up too. "Do not do it again. Now, go back to your common room, you silly girl. And five points will be taken away from Gryffindor for this... destructive behaviour."

Snape suddenly swept off, leaving Ginny alone. She stood, bewildered, watching him go. When he had turned a corner, she looked at her watch. It was a quarter to midnight. She sighed, and leaned against the wall. The now-fading memories of those dreams came to her mind and a tear slipped down her cheek. She bit her lips and willed the tears not to come before she finally started off for Gryffindor Tower.

Meanwhile, unknown and in the shadows, Draco Malfoy leaned against a wall, listening to everything that was being said. His face hardened as he realized what was being said, but he didn't dare move. He waited as Snape stalked away and waited as Ginny silently left, crying, before he dared to step out of the shadows.