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2000 Miles | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Fluff, Tragedy, Drama Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 453 Summary: When Harry realises his need for Ginny he eventually finds a way to tell her how he feels, but their fairytale romance is interrupted by a battle with the Dark Lord, and Ginny is determined that she won't lose Harry and is prepared to go to any lengths to prevent it. H/G, R/Hr. Hitcount: Story Total: 164398; Chapter Total: 6321 |
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O that ‘twere possible, After long grief and pain, To find the arms of my true- love Round me once again!… A shadow flits before me- Not thou, but like to thee. Ah God! that it were possible For one short hour to see The souls we loved, that they might tell us What and where they be. ~By Alfred, Lord Tennyson Chapter XVI: Ginny’s Leadership The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were met with a very different sight as they entered the Great Hall. The house tables had been removed and, as Ginny Weasley had told them, only one person of each house could sit at each table. The students quickly found seats, to be ready for breakfast at 9. Ginny Weasley, from her sat at the staff table, watched how they were all getting on. At a table, not too far from the staff table a Hufflepuff girl and a Ravenclaw girl were talking about Ginny. “I wonder why Dumbledore gave the job to her?” said the Hufflepuff girl. “It’s because she’s Harry Potter’s girlfriend isn’t it?” said the Ravenclaw. “She’s good at fighting though, Harriet,” said the Hufflepuff. “She was one of the best in the DA.” “Then why didn’t she go to fight then?” asked Harriet. “Because she’s the only person in the school capable of running it,” said the Gryffindor girl. “Ginny is a really cool person, and she’s great fun. These will be the best few weeks that we spend here at Hogwarts.” Harriet glared at her. “What ever you say,” she muttered, but shut up as a Slytherin boy joined them. Once everyone had eaten their breakfast, Ginny stood to inform them of the day’s sessions. “Good morning, everyone,” she said. “I hope you all slept well. The arrangements for today will be as follows: Luna Lovegood’s group will go to the Transfiguration classroom, Colin Creevey’s group will go to the Arithmancy classroom, George White’s group will go the Astronomy classroom, and Susan Reynold’s group will go to the Charms classroom. The recreational rooms are as follows: the Room of Requirement, the unused Dungeon, the Muggle studies classroom, and the Staff Room. The first session will begin at ten o’clock and last for one hour. There will then be a ten minute break until the second session. The second session will end five minutes before lunch begins. After lunch there will be a one hour session until 2:15, followed by a fifteen minute break. After break we will have our defence session here in the Great Hall. This will last until 4:30. There will then be a fifteen minute break followed by the final session which will end at quarter to six. Supper is at 6. I will tell you later about the evening’s arrangements. Your leaders will remind you of times and breaks throughout the day. Todays sessions are: Getting to know you, Liasons with Muggles, Inside a Hero, Defence and finally Reflections. I hope you all enjoy your day.” She sat down, and a bell rang signalling the end of breakfast. The first two sessions went very smoothly. Ginny visited each group twice to see how they were getting on, and was pleased to see members of different houses working together. After lunch, the students had set off for their third session, Inside a Hero and Ginny was very anxious to see how they handled it. She entered the class of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff third and fourth years, along with the Slytherin and Ravenclaw fifth years. She stood by the door and watched as they all brainstormed. “What is a hero?” asked Jennie, one of the leaders. What does a hero need to be a hero?” “Strength,” said a girl. “Courage,” said a boy. “He needs to be handsome,” said another girl. “Charming,” said one of the girls who had been talking about Ginny at breakfast. “He should know what he has to do, then do it,” said a boy. “He should want to be a hero,” said another boy. “He should be flawless,” said one of the Ravenclaw girls. Susan, another of the leaders, turned to look at Ginny. “What do you think?” she asked her. "A hero should be someone with character. He shouldn’t want to be a hero. He needs strength and courage, yes, but he also needs to know when not to take the weight of the world on his shoulders. He needs no guilt, and should be able to accept that not all the bad things that happen are his fault. He needs to accept that no matter how many people he loses; someone will always love him. He needs to know that his destiny is not going to drive people away from him, but bring them closer. He shouldn’t be flawless, because it is the flaws that make a person who they are, and he certainly shouldn’t be charming. A hero is just an ordinary person, with a famous name, and a huge job that he wishes he didn’t have to do, but will do, so that he can have a normal life.” Ginny stopped and looked around at everyone. Every single face was staring at her. “What makes you say that, Ginny?” asked Susan. “That’s who Harry Potter is,” said Ginny. “I’m glad things are going well.” She turned and left the room, and jogged out into the grounds to a very old oak tree on the edge of the forest, behind Hagrid’s. She pulled out her wand and conjured a roughly cut wooden swing and sat down on it. And as the drizzle fell around her, she allowed the tears to fall. Harry had only been gone for a day and she was already missing him terribly. She knew that she would only ever cry when no one was looking, and only ever cry in the rain, so no one would notice. She knew that she couldn’t appear weak to all the people who needed her to be strong. As she sat, she relived in her mind the events that led up to the finally getting together. It was late evening. Ginny was sitting in the common room, scribbling away on some parchment. From across the room a pair of green eyes were staring avidly at her. It took her a moment before she felt that familiar feeling of being watched. She turned and her eyes met Harry Potter’s. She stood and walked over to him and sat down on the sofa beside him. “How was your day?” she asked quietly. “Not that great,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about Sirius.” Ginny took his hand and gently squeezed it. “I’d be more worried if you weren’t thinking about him," she said. “Just remember that it’s not your fault.” Harry looked at her and smiled. All she had to do was touch his hand, or smile, or say hello and he’d suddenly feel much better. “I don’t know how you can make me feel better so easily,” he said. “But don’t ever stop.” Ginny grinned and pulled him into a hug. “I’ll always be here for you, Harry,” she said. “No matter what.” He put his arms around her tightly and snuggled into his embrace. For now they were only friends, but they both knew that someday, they’d be much, much more. B efore long, the first week had passed. It was Sunday again, and Ginny had left the weekends free of sessions, but ran voluntary activities throughout the day. The evening activity was singing, and she had brought her guitar down to join in the fun. A group of mainly first, second and third years, were gathered around a small fire in the centre of the Great Hall, which Ginny had conjured for effect. They were all seated on cushions close together, chatting amongst themselves. “Hello everyone,” said Ginny, as she sat down on a cushion. She propped the guitar on her leg and prepared to play. “This song is called My Guitar Lies Bleeding,” she said. “It’s an old muggle song and I think you might enjoy it.” She began to play. “Misery likes company, I like the way that sounds I've been trying to find the meaning, so I can write it down Staring out the window, it's such a long way down I'd like to jump, but I'm afraid to hit the ground I can't write a love song the way I feel today I can't sing no song of hope, I got nothing to say Life is feeling kind of strange, since you went away I sing this song to you wherever you are As my guitar lies bleeding in my arms I'm tired of watching TV, it makes me want to scream Outside the world is burning, man it's so hard to believe Each day you know you're dying from the cradle to the grave I get so numb sometimes, that I can't feel the pain I can't write a love song the way I feel today I can't sing no song of hope I've got nothing to say Life is feeling kind of strange, it's strange enough these days I send this song to you, whoever you are As my guitar lies bleeding in my arms Staring at the paper, I don't know what to write I'll have my last cigarette-well, turn out the lights Maybe tomorrow I'll fell a different way But here in my delusion, I don't know what to say I can't write a love song the way I feel today I can't sing no song of hope I've got nothing to say And I can't fight the feelings burning in my veins I send this song to you, whoever you are As my guitar lies bleeding I can’t write a love song the way I feel today I can’t sing no song of hope I’ve got nothing to say And I can’t fight the feelings, buried in my brains I send this song to you wherever you are As my guitar lies bleeding in my arms.” The students applauded as she finished. “Thank you,” she said with a slight smile. “So, who wants to go next?” As the days and weeks passed, Ginny spent more and more time at her swing. It had become almost a sacred spot, and nobody would go near it out of respect for their ‘headmistress’. The school was ticking over nicely and Ginny was pleased to see that the obvious house divides were no longer in place. Children were spending time with children from other houses, including the Slytherins. She allowed herself time to smile, a time for a small triumph to say that she had done it. She had united the houses. But her triumph was short lived as she remembered where her family was. It had been a month since they left, and nobody had heard any news. One evening in the quiet room, Ginny was joined by ten students from various houses and years, all saying that they didn’t wish to carry on with the sessions. “It doesn’t feel right,” said a Ravenclaw girl named Chrissie. “For us to be enjoying ourselves here while there are people out there fighting.” “I’m just too worried,” said a boy. “I can’t concentrate.” Ginny surveyed them. “So what would you have us do?” she asked. “Sit around and do nothing but worry? Don’t you think that they would want us to enjoy ourselves?” “Why should I be enjoying myself when every day I am scared that I could have lost my brother?” a girl shouted angrily. “How many people close to you are out there fighting?” Ginny asked quietly. “One,” said Chrissie. “Three,” said the boy. “One,” said the girl. “Two,” said one of the others. “Two,” said another. “One," said a black haired boy. “Three,” said a little blonde girl. “One,” said a chubby boy. “Two,” said a skinny boy. “One,” said a girl with brown hair. Ginny looked at them. “Seven,” said Ginny. “And that’s just my Mum, Dad and five brothers. I’ve already lost one of my brothers. Then there’s Hermione and Tonks. They’re like sisters to me. Kingsley, Moody, Remus, Dung, they’re all close to me, and I would hate to lose any of them. But most of all there is Harry.” “Harry Potter?” said Chrissie. “Yes,” said Ginny. “Harry Potter. He has the most difficult task of them all. He will be the one to defeat Voldemort, if it can be done. My entire family is out there fighting, risking their lives fighting for a freedom that they may never see. I could lose everything because of this war, but you do not see me standing in front of you, and telling you that it is not right to enjoy yourselves. I find a way to concentrate, by pushing the worry away. Of course I am scared. But I control my fear. None of your relatives will be facing Voldemort himself, yet you tell me that you’re too scared to carry on. You know nothing of fear, until you’ve had him inside your head, or you’ve been in that chamber, or you’ve loved the one who is called his equal. I know these things. I’ve seen them. I’ve lived them, yet I have found the strength not to give up, and now I ask you the same thing. Don’t give up on your lives. Be strong, be strong for those who are out there fighting.” “If you are so strong,” said the black haired boy. “Then why do you sit on that swing and cry everyday?” “I never told you that I didn’t fear and that I didn’t cry," said Ginny. “I just said that I had strength enough to carry on, not to stop the tears from falling.” “You must love him very much,” said Chrissie. “I do,” said Ginny. And so, more weeks passed. Many sessions were run where students learned morals and how to treat others. They learned about what makes a person. They discussed Voldemort and the Death Eaters, looking at some of their more successful attacks and analyzing why they worked. They learned about Voldemort and his archenemy Harry Potter. They talked about how Harry managed to keep escaping death and they looked at each of the encounters between the two. They learned about the Chamber of Secrets, and Ginny shared with them her experience of having an evil wizard inside their heads. The students learned more in those few weeks about how precious life is, and what life is, than they had done in their whole lives, all because Ginny understood what life meant. She had watched Harry as an eleven-year-old arrive at King’s Cross with no one to see him off, and no idea of how to get onto the platform. She had watched him through his triumphs against Tom Riddle, against the Dementors and against Voldemort re-born. She had watched him grieve for the death of Cedric Diggory, and watched him blame himself. She had watched him mourn the death of his Godfather, Sirius Black, and she had watched him lose the people he loved. But Ginny understood life mainly because of her experience in the Chamber of Secrets, when she almost lost her life, and almost took the lives of others. She vowed then that she would live as long as she could, and save as many people as she could, but now with her illness she realised that her life would never be long. However, by passing on her knowledge to the students she was able to save them, in her own unique way. Just over two months had passed since the army had left for the war. It was now the tenth of July and term was due to end in a week. Nobody had received word from anyone fighting, and so they had stopped looking. Ginny was therefore surprised, when a phoenix feather flamed in front of her, dropping a letter of the table. The students were all enjoying their bacon and eggs and did not notice that Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, had just sent word. Ginny picked up the letter and turned it over to read her name on the front. She slid her fingers under the flap, broke the wax sea and pulled out a small piece of parchment, to read a very short note. Voldemort defeated. Death Eaters fled. Heavy losses to both sides. Returning on 13/7/98. Ginny stared at the looped, green writing. She realised with a smile that Harry had done it. He had won, and he would be coming home. She was happy for a moment, before her thoughts turned to the heavy losses. How many of her family had been lost? How many of her students had lost loved ones? She stood from the table and tapped her goblet with a spoon. “I have short announcement to make,” she said. All heads turned to face her. “I have just received word from Professor Dumbledore. The battle is over. Voldemort has been defeated.” The Great Hall erupted in cheers. People were chanting ‘Potter! Potter!’ They were shouting clapping, standing in their seats, running to congratulate friends. Ginny tapped her goblet again. “Dumbledore says that the Death Eaters have fled, but there have been heavy losses to both sides,” she said. This statement somewhat sobered the students. “But in better news, the seventh years, and our teachers will be back in three days. Therefore, as it is weekend anyway, all sessions will be cancelled, as we prepare for their arrival. I just hope there will be as many return as there were leaving,” she said quietly. A/N There you go. Next chapter is return of the Seventh Years, and I will warn you that everything is not as great as it seems, but it will work out for the best. These things always do don’t they. This chapter was a bit better length wise don’t you think. I wasn’t really short of ideas for this chapter so that’s why. The idea of sessions came from a residential trip I went on back in March. The song is ‘My Guitar Lies Bleeding’ by Bon Jovi. And in one of Ginny’s speeches, the lie ‘fighting for a freedom that they may never see’ is from a gospel song called ‘Freedom’ which I sang as part of a choir at a concert in June. I’m hoping to have the next chappie up soon. Please review. Well done to anyone who spotted the scene from A Walk to Remember in Chapter 14. I was hoping someone would spot it. |
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