WHO: Abby Moore β Ginny Weasley WHEN: Afternoon of November 15 WHERE: Offices of the Dunhaven Tribune SUMMARY: Abby gets the memory of a conversation between Ginny and Harry, which reminds her of bad times and support systems. WARNINGS: None
"All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to itβ¦"
Ginny had to stifle a sigh as this conversation continued, just as exasperated as Hermione had seemed to be -- though not as amused. "We wanted to talk to you, Harry, but you've been hiding ever since we got back."
"I didn't want anyone to talk to me."
They were just the right words to flip a switch in Ginny's mind, anger rising and her temper flaring. "Well, that was a bit stupid of you, seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who and I can tell you how it feels."
Ginny watched as Harry stilled, her words clearly having an impact on him as he turned to look at her. "I forgot."
Her lips pursed together in an expression that could have easily been straight from Molly Weasley's playbook. Ginny wasn't think about her mother, though, instead her mind returning to her first year of Hogwarts and the months she spent with hardly anyone but a diary to talk to as she slowly felt as though she was losing her mind, not knowing that it was that very diary that was causing it to happen. She thought of the blood soaked into her robes and the feathers stuck into the seams, the blocks of nothingness in her memory, and finding herself in the Chamber of Secrets, so certain that she was going to die.
When she spoke, her tone was ice. "Lucky you."
Abby snapped back to herself at her desk in the small offices that made up the Dunhaven Tribune. A document was open in front of her, her fingers poised over the keyboard and the cursor blinking steadily as she tried to pen her feel good article about upcoming local volunteer opportunities to help those in need before the holidays. The topic had nothing to do with what she had just seen, but there very rarely was any correlation there.
Sitting back in her chair, she blew out a long sigh. The memories were as frequent as ever, though they were often repeats of ones she'd already witnessed. It had felt like her mind -- or whatever it was that was doing this time them -- couldn't bear to think that she might forget about everything that Ginny had lived through, especially those difficult times. There were moments of levity as well, though Abby was unsure if those were better or worse; thanks to the knowledge of who was dreaming about Harry, she especially couldn't love the lip-locked moments she was treated to all too often between what was ostensibly herself and her brother-in-law.
But the events of what she knew to be the Chamber of Secrets book weren't ones that she liked to be reminded of. Even though she hadn't explicitly seen any of it this time around, feeling Ginny's dread as she thought of those moments herself weighed just as heavy. Abby had never gone through anything so harrowing and she couldn't imagine how a girl as young as Ginny Weasley was managing.
Actually, she did have an idea of just how she did it. There was no doubt in Abby's mind that Ginny had a good support system. Her brothers might have irritated her from time to time and her parents could be overbearing, but they loved her and she loved them. Her group of friends, from Hermione to Neville to Luna, were just an extension of that. And, thanks to all of the revelations on the network, she knew that she could very easily have the very same support system. It was time to make a dinner reservation.