A/N: Well, here is the next chapter, sooner than I expected (and sooner than you expected, too, I'm guessing). I'm not going to lie and say I was delighted by the amount of reviews- but those I did receive were encouraging and thank you to those who gave them. I hope you enjoy this chapter- and please, review! I feed on them.
Oh, and the chapter title is taken from Vienna Teng's gorgeous song 'Between'- a perfect song for love triangles, which, you may have noticed, are all over this story.
Love Will Come Through
Chapter Five: The Third One, Between
"This," whispered Neville, leaning down as inconspicuously as he could to Ginny's ear, "is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."
Ginny's head snapped round and she glared at him so fiercely that he gulped and stood straight again, flushing at he refocused on the scene before them.
Harry, looking thoroughly perplexed, was sat up in his hospital bed wearing a furry red jumper Neville had immediately recognised to be one of Mrs Weasley's. Neville also knew that the only thing that would cause Harry to wear the oversized, rather ugly piece of clothing was extreme cold, and, indeed, a cold wind was raging outside, battering the windowpanes and making the others in the room shiver.
On Harry's bed, her eyes closed in concentration, was Luna, who, if Neville had ever known her to have one, was in her element. She was rolling her thumb over Harry's left hand, which was making Harry flush and glance around in embarrassment, along with a fair amount of hopelessness.
The most unexpected of the room's current occupants was Ron, sitting in the chair next to Harry's bedside, where he was defiantly staring out of the window at the dark storm clouds that had gathered. Ron looked like he was trying to teach himself apparition, so disgusted and disinterested was his expression.
Ginny had already left Neville's side to stand quietly watching Luna work. Neville sighed. When Ginny had smiled so confidently at him as she mysteriously hinted at Luna's apparently wondrous methods, Neville had felt decidedly hopeful about everything, as if Ginny had suddenly stumbled upon the miracle cure. But when he'd finally been privy to hearing said miracle cure, his heart had sunk.
Meditation was the answer. Neville had laughed, sure it was a joke- but when Luna had looked at him curiously, and Ginny's eyes had flared warningly, he knew otherwise. Of course, that didn't stop him feeling sceptical about it. For all Ginny's protests that this wasn't just meditation- Luna'd seen it done, she said, a magical meeting of minds, a true test and proving of trust between loved ones- Neville didn't believe a word of it. Neville didn't like to think of himself as a weak person, but when it came to Ginny he couldn't seem to do a single thing, and so he'd wordlessly gone along with their plans.
They needed five people, Luna had dreamiy informed them, and Ginny had nodded acceptingly, chewing her nails pensively. Neville had done the mental arithmetic- Harry, of course, Ginny, Luna, himself…
That was where Ron came in. Neville had finally tried to intervene at this point, sure that this could only make things worst between the two Gryffindor boys; and anyway, he'd protested, if this was about trust, how could you possibly involve Ron? But Ginny was defiant. Ron cared, she insisted, and this technique was on the subconscious, not the surface. He'd just need some persuading, she insisted.
Her version of persuasion involved threatening her brother with her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex, which was how Ron had come to be commandeered into his current position. He'd said nothing to Harry in the ten minutes he'd been sitting there, though he had looked round curiously at Luna's frequent effervescent noises, which had only made Harry look even more uncomfortable and twitch nervously, meaning Luna had had to restart whatever it was she'd been doing.
Neville walked over to stand awkwardly at the end of the bed, watching Luna's strange movements before Ginny quietly instructed him to get another chair. As Neville dragged one over from the other side of the echoing hospital wing, Luna's voice suddenly rang out. "Ready."
Ron's eye twitched but he did not look around until Ginny pointedly said his name, when he moodily swung his legs off the arm of the chair and sat properly, staring at the floor. Neville put the chair down next to Ginny, which she accepted with a brief smile, and he went around the bed to sit across from Luna. She smiled luminously at him. Harry looked at Neville in desperation. Neville could only offer a smile and a shrug in reply.
Ginny, sat forward purposefully, looked to Luna.
"Okay, everyone, if you get out your wands and make a circle, each holding the end of a wand with each hand," Luna instructed, seeming uncharacteristically focused. "They need to point in the direction of Harry." Neville drew his wand out and held it with his right hand, sticking it out towards Ron; Ron rolled his eyes and fished out his own wand from his pocket, ignoring Harry even as he stuck his wand out to the boy sitting in the bed.
Luna smiled at the circle and looked to Harry. "Harry, this depends on you. If you're not focused, nothing will happen," she said kindly. Neville couldn't help thinking that nothing was going to happen anyway, and he could tell both Ron and Harry were thinking along similar lines. He felt Ginny's eyes on him, though, and said nothing.
Luna's soothing voice sounded again. "Close your eyes, everyone," she told them, and they did so, Ron giving a low snort of derision. "No pig noises please, Ronald," Luna added lightly, making Neville chuckle to himself. "Now," continued Luna smoothly, "what we all have to do is focus on Harry. Picture his mind. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, but there are pieces missing. Can you all see that?" Ginny murmured an affirmative. "Good," whispered Luna. "Now picture the pieces next to the puzzle. They're all there, all ready to slot into place. Now, you're standing over the puzzle with your wands. Lift up a piece with your wand. Put it into its place." She paused. "And again."
An eerie calm had settled over the group; even Ron, so defiantly derisory, seemed focused, his eyes closed tightly and his body rigid. Neville felt the currents of magic running through them all; even if he'd wanted to break the circle, he knew he couldn't have released either wand he was holding. He focused as hard as he could on Luna's words, on picturing what she said.
Not a sound was made around the circle; only the sounds of rain starting to patter at the windows, the storm slowly moving overhead, could have been heard to anyone else in the hospital wing- the circle of the five friends, however, could hear nothing but their own slow breathing.
"Good," said Luna suddenly, cutting through Neville's lucid consciousness and making him shake his head. He felt his grip loosen on the wands, though he did not drop them- whether still held by their power, or simply by fear of reprimand, he couldn't tell, but all the same he kept his eyes clamped shut, the images of the strange puzzle still in his mind.
A sudden sound of ragged breathing broke through the calm, and Neville blinked his eyes open worriedly, immediately seeing that the source of the noise was Harry. Ginny had moved forward concernedly, but Luna's voice, harsher than he had ever heard it before, made them both freeze: "No! Keep holding on," she ordered them, her eyes wide as she gazed at Harry.
Harry's eyes were still closed, screwed up as if he were trying to keep out every last particle of light, his body shivering slightly. Neville could see multicoloured sparks bouncing off the inside of Harry's curled, sweaty hands- the power within both Ron and Harry's wands was flowing into Harry, and he juddered more violently, his lips emitting a kind of hollow rasping noise.
Ginny was as far forward as she could get without breaking the hold on the wands she was holding, and she seemed to be having difficulty holding onto the one joining her to Harry- as sparks flew more wildly from Harry's hands, Ginny's arm was shaking from the sheer effort of holding on. Clearly panicking, her eyes flicked to Ron- who, looking horrified, was shaking almost as much as Harry, and Neville looked around just in time to see the wand slide out of Ron's grasp and flash blindingly at Harry.
Luna, seeing the connection break, immediately dropped the wands she was holding- which Ginny and Neville kept hold of- and slid forward to Harry, who had slumped into an unconscious position. Ginny leant close at Luna's inspection of Harry; Neville looked at Ron, who looked thoroughly shaken.
"Harry? Harry?" came Ginny's insistent voice, watching helplessly as Luna held onto Harry's face, her thumbs rubbing his cheeks firmly. Slowly, Harry awoke, blinking his eyes in confusion, pupils tiny as he looked back at Luna.
Luna sat back, fears allayed, and took a deep breath. "Can you remember anything, Harry?" she asked, voice returned to her usual soft, lilting tones.
Harry let out a sigh and shook his head. "I was… I saw things, but they're all a blur… I felt myself getting a hold of something but then it slipped away. What was happening to me?"
Luna smiled gently. "The wands were flowing through you Harry, you were shaking quite a bit… but that's normal, it's supposed to happen," she explained. "But Ron… he couldn't hold onto the wand, Harry, it was too strong, he dropped it before it could finish… and now whatever you could see is probably gone," she said, her soothing voice calming the other three.
Harry, however, looked incensed, and he glared at Ron, who was now staring at the floor again. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Harry said quietly, menace seeping through his voice.
"Harry, no!" said Neville in a whisper, as Ron looked up, eyes flashing. He said nothing but looked defiantly back at Harry.
"What did I do to you?" asked Harry in a whisper. Ron's nostrils flared.
"Get him out of here, Neville," said Ginny quietly but forcefully, and Neville sprang up, grabbed Ron and pulled him upwards, shepherding him out of the room as quickly as he could.
Once Neville had securely shut the door to the hospital wing, he turned to Ron. Ron was breathing heavily, his face a rather ugly mask of bitterness, and Neville, immediately regretting his words, asked, "Did you do it on purpose, Ron?"
Ron looked at him, fury etched on his face. "I bloody wish I had," he spat viciously, stalking heavily off before Neville could say anything else.
*~*~*
Neville awoke the next morning feeling strangely drained- his body felt heavier, his forehead was clammy, and his head was pounding with a fierce headache. And yet somehow, after realizing that he'd have to get up at some point, he didn't seem to feel the effects of these ailments in his movements- his legs didn't drag as he expected them to, he didn't wince at the frosty sunlight's glare, and, as the droplets of water drained down from the showerhead, he barely felt them at all. He hurt, and yet this seemed to have no effect whatsoever on his physical self- which left him thinking pensively, as he lounged by the fire waiting for Ginny to appear in the common room, that he was imagining things.
He was dozing off lazily when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Blinking, he looked around to see Ginny, who, he was unsurprised to see, still held that same sadness in her eyes; though, right now, she looked more confused than anything else. He lifted his eyebrows as he looked at her.
"Are you alright, Ginny?" he said in concern. She sighed, and flopped herself down awkwardly in a chair next to his. He shifted in his seat to show he was giving her his full attention.
"I'm not sure," said Ginny, scratching her ear absently. "I feel like someone's dropped a trunk on me, but there doesn't actually seem to be anything wrong with me," she said, poking her arm pointedly.
Neville's eyes widened. "That's how I feel," he said with strange eagerness, sitting up. Ginny started.
"What do you think it is?" she said, almost in a whisper.
Neville thought for a second, then almost cursed himself for being so dense. "The wand circle must've taken more out of us than we expected," he said. Ginny mirrored his feelings by hitting the side of her head with an audible impact.
"Of course! Luna did say it might have adverse effects," she said, biting her lip.
Neville frowned. "Did she say how long they'll last? I might be able to move properly, but I feel terrible," he said, rubbing his head.
Ginny nodded absently. "She said they'd go away within the day."
Neville sighed. "So we have to suffer this all day?" he moaned. "McGonagall's testing us today, I have to turn someone into a door or something," he groaned. "It'll be difficult enough as it is."
Ginny glared at him. "Stop whining, Neville… it's a small price to pay for Harry's memory," she said harshly.
"Yeah, well, it's not like it made any difference, is it?" Neville shot back in an unusual show of defiance.
Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously. "It would have done," she said in a whisper, "if it weren't for my darling brother."
Neville sighed. "Ginny, I don't think-"
Ginny held up her hand. "Neville, don't you dare try and defend him," she commanded fiercely. "God knows I thought Ron wasn't really the person he's been lately, I thought he was just being stupid… but he proved last night that he really doesn't care about Harry anymore."
"But Gi-"
Ginny brandished her wand. "Neville, do you want me to hex you? Shut up." Neville looked back unwaveringly but said nothing, and she nodded, tucked her wand back into her robes, and smiled falsely. "Now, it's time for breakfast, and then we can go and check on Harry before class," she said, standing and walking to the portrait hole before Neville had even realized she'd moved.
*~*~*
Breakfast was eaten between stilted, awkward conversation, both Ginny and Neville preoccupied with their continuing non-physical aches and the failure of last night's events. They waved to Luna, who smiled warmly back, seemingly unaffected by the problems plaguing the two Gryffindors. Neville noticed Ron sitting alone down the long table, eating his porridge moodily, ignoring anyone who tried to wish him a good morning. The gloomy skies visible via the bewitched ceiling seemed to mirror Ron's mood- enormous black rolls of cloud bared down upon the hall, rain falling outside, dark fog masking the grounds. Snow had quickly become sludge, and those who had enjoyed the weekend's sparkling snow drifts were muttering in annoyance, forced to stay inside the hollow, chilly corridors and sit shivering in lessons.
Harry was asleep when Neville and Ginny hurriedly popped into the hospital wing, and they had no complaints when Madam Pomfrey ushered them out, assuring them he was fine, and repeating the same old story about Hermione: no change yet. Neville gave Ginny a comforting pat on the back as they parted ways, agreeing to meet up again at lunch.
But Neville saw Ginny before that.
He and Harry had just finished their exhausting double-Transfiguration, where both had had to try and ignore the slowly dulling but still prevalent aches and focus on the gruelling test. McGonagall had taken the class two at a time- one to cast the spell, one to be transformed, then switch around- and so Harry and Neville had taken the time while they waited to practice on each other. Neville had almost gone to face Megan Jones with his nose still in the form of a doorknob.
Neville was as surprised as Professor McGonagall when Megan had, at one flick of Neville's wand, immediately turned into an antique dressing table, and had let Neville, after Megan had changed him rather painfully back from a heavy stone chair, go with hearty congratulations. He had waited to watch Harry, though, who had more trouble turning Zacharias Smith into tatty desk than Smith did turning Harry into a four-poster bed.
As Harry, chuckling from having witnessed Ron's bundled attempt at making Blaise Zabini into a trophy cabinet, gave Neville his own congratulations, they heard an all-too-familiar catcall.
"Oh, Potter! Don't go forgetting that flame-ball too; she'll hex you worse than You-Know-Who if you're not careful…"
Harry spun round to see the slick, greasy white hair of Draco Malfoy floating above the crowd, eventually emerging to stand opposite him and lean casually against the wall, sneering at Harry and Neville, who had frozen in the corridor. Malfoy was flanked by his usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to be trying to sneer with their ringleader, though they instead looked simply gormless.
The hallway had suddenly quieted- confrontations between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had become legend- and students had stopped promptly where they were, a few noises of scuffling at the back as particularly nosy students struggled through to the front of the crowds.
"What are you talking about?" said Harry distantly, still unsure why he apparently hated this sneering boy so much, and perplexed as to who Malfoy was talking about.
Malfoy laughed scornfully. "Oh, that's right, boys, Potter can't remember me either!" he exclaimed with a smirk. "Shall we see if he can remember how to do a Shield Charm?" he asked, flicking his wand casually at Harry.
Harry, who had not taken out his wand in his confusion, flinched, but Malfoy's silent jinx bounced off Neville's quickly emplaced shield, and Malfoy laughed. "Oh, look, Potter's got a new protector! Magical orphans stick together…" he sang, sneering at Neville.
"Shove off, Malfoy," came a voice, and Neville jumped suddenly as Ginny appeared at his elbow, her wand already pointed menacingly at Malfoy. Malfoy, however, merely smirked wider.
"Ah, here she is, Potter's upgrade," he laughed. Ginny fumed. Harry frowned. "Oh, sorry, fire-head, doesn't he know?" He looked at Harry. "Fire-head here's in love with you, didn't you know? Glad Granger's out cold, aren't we Weasley?"
Ginny was blushing furiously, but flicked her wand at Malfoy, her lips murmuring a spell quietly, and a jet of vivid purple shot out of her wand and hit Malfoy square in the chest. Malfoy, taken aback, fell to the floor, his face suddenly covered with enormous boils. His sneer evaporated as he felt his face, glaring at Ginny, who held her wand out warningly.
"It's not me you should be hexing," he spat at her disdainfully. "It seems the Weasleys can't even trust their own," he announced to the crowd, grimacing as he touched his face. Ginny paled, her wand falling to her side.
"What's goin' on 'ere?" said a low, growling voice, and Neville almost fell over as Mrs. Norris walked through his legs, and Filch appeared around the corner.
"Weasley's hexed me, Mr. Filch," said Malfoy quickly, putting on his best innocent voice. Filch raised an eyebrow at Malfoy, then looked at Ginny.
"Run along," he growled at her, and she nodded, shepherding Harry and Neville along before her. As they turned the corner, they heard Filch say, "whatever you did, boy, I'm sure you bloody deserved it," but none of them laughed. As soon as they were out of sight, Ginny let out an angry growl, her eyes avoiding Harry.
"I am going to kill Ron," she pledged in a violent whisper, before sticking her wand in her pocket and marching off without a goodbye to either Neville or Harry.
Neville looked at Harry. "He wouldn't..." he breathed. But Harry just looked even more confused than before, staring after Ginny's rapidly disappearing figure with a deep frown on his face.
*~*~*
When they got to Potions, Harry seemed to settle into his usual slumped yet attentive position- listening but staunchly putting up a front of disinterest against Snape- but Neville couldn't concentrate at all. He absently dumped his ingredients randomly into his cauldron- causing a rather rank odour and an unappetising grey smog to rise out it, and Snape to instruct him to start over ("And pay attention this time, Longbottom!")- as he thought about Ginny and Ron.
Would Ron really do what Malfoy had said he had? After all, Malfoy had been teasing Harry and Ginny about the same subject for years- but then why would he now throw in the remark about family? Had Ron's jealousy over Hermione really stretched to the extent where he'd start to tar and feather his own sister?
And Ginny. Neville sighed. He knew she tried her best in front of Harry, smiling at him with encouragement as he looked hopelessly through the pictures again, cheerfully diving into the Pensieve and emerging with an upbeat "Don't worry, Harry, next time!", but all Neville ever saw on Ginny's face otherwise was a haunting sadness, a hollow look in her eyes. He had the thought that perhaps she threw herself so violently into confrontation- with Ron, with Malfoy, with whomever- because it was the only time she felt she was having any effect. Ginny was the main person trying to help Harry- and she was failing.
Harry nudged Neville out his reveries and they walked silently down the cold stone dungeon corridor, ignoring the repetitive remarks of Malfoy behind them. They ran across the entrance hall, escaping the thrall of a cold wind as some fourth-years trudged in, drenched, from the greenhouses, and walked into the warmer air of the Great Hall, stomachs lurching in anticipation at the plates of food already laid out on the tables.
At the opposite end of the Gryffindor table, however, was a less enticing sight. Ron and Ginny were standing on opposing sides of the table, plates of food lying in a mess on the floor around them, wands pointed at one another. Ron's robes were torn, and Ginny's hand was bleeding. She was shouting.
"… to Malfoy?! That snivelling, snarling rat? How could you?! You're a pathetic waste of space!"
Neville was already running down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables towards Ginny, pushing aside the few present students who were standing nervously but transfixed to the scene unfolding before them. Tellingly, there were no teachers present at the raised table at the back of the hall- the Weasleys' rage was free to fly at one another.
"I was only telling the truth, Ginny!" Ron was snarling back, face contorted into an ugly smirk. "But he can't remember her, Gin, he's all yours! Yours to love, yours to hold…"
Ginny's wand flashed suddenly, but Ron deflected her hex with a reflex flick of his own wand, and it bounced off, shattering a windowpane. The room was suddenly filled with a fierce, deafening howl, wind flying in through the window, violently angled rain smashing down and impacting on some young Ravenclaws sitting innocently by the window. They yelped and fled in fear, and even Ginny and Ron looked round at the sound.
Neville was at Ginny's side now, quietly trying to move her way, but she shrugged him off, head flicking back round- but not in time for her to shield herself from the jet of red light from Ron's wand, which sent her flying back onto the Ravenclaw table, where she landed awkwardly on a roast chicken, and sent a plate of potatoes ricocheting into a disgruntled Terry Boot.
Ron grinned triumphantly at no one in particular, but Neville, suddenly gripped by a fierce mixture of anger and a protective impulse, grabbed his wand from his pocket and yelled "Petrificus totalus!"
Ron's arms and legs snapped together and he toppled to the floor, his eyes wide with surprise. Nearby Hufflepuffs looked over but did not move. Neville, however, rushed over to help Ginny stand up again. There were gashes of blood down her face but she didn't look particularly injured, and she looked up at Neville with surprise, a small smile on her lips.
"Um…" she stammered, cheeks red. "Thanks, Neville." He smiled back and let her arm go, looking over at Ron.
"I guess we shouldn't leave him like that," he said quietly, ignoring the increasing chatter of the gathering crowd.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "He bloody deserves it," she whispered back.
Teachers had started to arrive now, the tiny figure of Professor Flitwick pushing through the barrier the crowd had made and standing over Ron, flicking his wand to release Ron.
"Mr. Weasley," he squeaked in concern, "what on earth…"
Ron chewed fiercely on his lip but said nothing, avoiding Ginny and Neville's gazes. Neville suddenly realized that Harry, who he had left behind at the entrance to the Great Hall, had not appeared, and he was now nowhere to be seen. He let himself be commandeered by Flitwick, who Ginny was imploring that it was all Ron's fault, but, all the while, Neville was wondering where Harry had vanished to- and, more importantly, why.
*~*~*
Ron sat in the courtyard, kicking at his torn robes, ignoring the heavy rain pelting down on his head. He deserved it really, he thought, and, almost comforted by this, he let himself become covered in the water, feeling every inch of his body slowed become covered in its harsh beads.
"Ronald?" came a voice, and he jumped, immediately knowing who it was. Only one person, apart from his mother, ever called him Ronald.
"Hi, Luna," he said croakily, without looking up. He jumped again when he felt her sit down beside him, and he looked up at her in surprise. She was wearing her familiar dreamy smile, seemingly unaware of the rain, which was quickly making her hair go a thin and straggly grey, instead of its usual creamy, soft blonde.
"Aren't you bothered by the rain, Luna?" he asked curiously, almost grinning himself when she stared at him with a bemused smile.
"Oh, rainwater's good for you," she said in her soothing lilt, "it makes you more attuned to the lunar cycles," she explained, nodding wisely.
Ron chuckled despite himself. "Oh, that's good," he said uselessly, flushing slightly. Luna put a hand gently on his arm.
"Are you alright, Ronald?" she asked with concern. "I saw you with Ginevra earlier… it does no good to fight," she advised kindly.
Ron sighed, smile fading. He felt strangely comforted by Luna's hand- where it lay he felt warm, as the rest of his body became colder and colder. He coughed, and Luna turned his head towards him, her finger gently touching his cheek.
"You'll catch cold, Ronald," she said softly, a slight frown apparent on her face. He avoided her eyes. Luna seemed to pause, the air pregnant with a sudden anticipation. "You can't stay out here forever, you know," she whispered, and Ron felt a jolt run through his body, tears pricking at his eyes. They mingled with the rainwater, and, though he knew she couldn't have possibly seen any distinction between the two, Ron knew that Luna sensed he was letting his tears run free for the first time in months.
*~*~*
Harry had fled from the Great Hall, unable to watch the fierce battle unfurl between two siblings over something he could not remember, something that was his fault, his problem too. As Neville had run to Ginny, Harry had run away, taking refuge in the only place he knew he could be alone- the hospital wing.
The wind and rain battered loudly against the windows, the glass juddering nervously in response. Harry shivered, trying and failing to gather his robes closer around him. There was no one else there- Madam Pomfrey's door proffered a note saying she'd be back in six minutes (it had said ten when Harry had arrived)- and so Harry, feeling more distant from the world than he could ever remember feeling before, stood over Hermione's still body, hands awkwardly stuck in his pockets.
So this was her. The girl he supposedly loved. The girl Ron loved. The girl who seemed to be causing as much unhappiness as the happiness he was told she had once brought. This girl. This girl, pale as a sheet, skin cold to the touch, eyes closed unwaveringly, her right hand curled, still believing it held a wand.
This girl, who was spluttering, whose eyes were flickering open, whose fingers were twitching, who was looking up at him with a faint, warm smile.
"Harry?"
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A/N: Hermione would want you to review. So why don't you do so? It'll only take you a minute.