When the sun rose and Harry opened his eyes, Doctor Parker was standing over Hermione, clipboard in hand. What shocked Harry was Ginny, who was sitting in Ron's seat. "Gin, your game," he started.
She raised her hands. "It's alright. Ned here wrote an owl and they've called in our back-up. You didn't seriously think I would play against the Japanese Team when my friend is lying here, did you?"
Harry glanced at the doctor who was smiling sheepishly.
"She's quite loyal, isn't she? It's um, it's an issue that's rarely raised on the news," Ned said.
Harry smiled and turned his gaze to Hermione. "What about Ron?" He asked.
"He's too important to the team. Bryan isn't ready yet." Ginny paused and bit her nail. "Surprisingly, he seemed to be quite keen on leaving." She raised an eyebrow to Harry. "You wouldn't know why, would you?"
The doctor turned to Harry. The room seemed to have become very warm very abruptly.
"N-No," Harry stammered, "I have no idea." Ginny squinted and Doctor Parker's eyes moved around nervously. "Why don't you ask the doctor? Shouldn't he know?" Harry asked, anxious to drag the attention off him.
Ginny's mood changed drastically. "I already asked Ned." She smiled, pride in her voice. "But he said he couldn't reveal any doctor/patient information."
Completely oblivious to what she had said after, Harry glared at the doctor. "Ned?"
The doctor stammered. "We are-um-currently-um-attempting to form a-a more relaxed, uh, bond with one another s-seeing as Ms. Granger is not in-"
"Oh, what does it matter, Harry?" Ginny snapped. "It was me who asked if I could call him Ned. Please don't tell me you're going to get jealous at a time like this."
Harry got up from his chair this time. "Jealous?!" he yelled incredulously. "I am not jealous! I simply wanted to know-"
Hermione hadn't shifted in response to his yells. "Harry?" she whispered hoarsely.
Without another glance at the other two in the room, he rushed to her side, getting on his knees. "I'm here, Hermione, shhh, you're going to be alright."
"I'm scared…"
"It's alright. I'm here."
"Ron?"
Harry shook his head in shame for his best friend. "No. He went to play."
"Ginny…"
"They pulled the re-enforcement." A smile tugged at Harry's lips. Only Hermione would care about her friends when she was lying on the hospital bed. Hermione sighed long and softly before falling back asleep. Harry caressed her hair. "Rest," he said simply. Then he got up and faced…Ned. "So should I call you Ned as well?"
The doctor stammered again, intimidated by the shorter man. He fiddled with his glasses. "I-if that's what you are comfortable with."
Harry saw the fear in Ned's eyes. He sighed and cursed his name once again. "Look, don't be scared of me, please. I've done things in the past, I know. But I wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were…the bad guys. Judging by your occupation, I don't think you're a bad guy."
Ned sighed in relief and lowered slightly. Looking down at his feet, he re-adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter-"
"Harry."
"I'm sorry….Harry, but you are, after all…I mean, you're legendary! To be quite honest, I never thought I'd meet any of you four in my life. She's one of the best chasers in the world, Ronald is the keeper of my favorite team, Hermione's the most powerful witch of her time and you…you're…."
Harry winced. "Please. I'm not the boy-who-lived. Not anymore. Voldemort's-" GASP. "Sorry. The Dark Lord's gone and I'm just Harry. Just Harry."
Ginny scoffed. "Yet you still take a job as an Unspeakable. Yet you still hunt down Death Eaters. You run off and nearly get Hermione killed-"
"Ginny, please-"
"Why can't you be less hypocritical, Harry?" Ginny had gotten up from her seat. The three adults were now standing. "Why can't you be more like…like…NED here!?"
Ned's eyes widened at the mention of his name. "Oh-oh dear, I-I do believe I should b-be going now. Good day to you two." And with a clatter of his clipboard, Ned rushed out of the room.
"How nice, Ginny. Bring the innocent Ned into the fight!"
"What have you got against Ned?"
"Nothing, alright? I just think it's a bit weird that he's the doctor and you're on first name terms."
Ginny glared at him. "You're not the boss of me, Harry Potter." She turned on her heel and opened the door. "Ned!" She called out into the hallway. She seemed to have spotted him as seeing she had run off.
Harry sighed and fell back into his chair. He turned to look at Hermione. "Oh, Hermione," he sighed. He took her hands and kept them warm in his. "It's really not working out with Ginny, is it?" He was quiet, as if waiting for an answer. He laughed to no one. "It's like this with you too, isn't it? With you and Ron?" Silence. "I know if you were awake, you would deny it. But…" He rubbed his eyes, determined not to cry. "I just don't see how it's going to work out with us. We…we have nothing in common anymore. We-we don't talk. I don't want to share things at work with her. She doesn't want to tell me about her games. We're…we're strangers." He gulped and let a tear fall on her bed. He brought his head up to look at her. "It's over between us, Hermione. It hasn't happened yet but it will. It's over. We don't sleep together. We don't kiss." Deep breath. "We don't talk. We don't make an effort to talk." He paused to wipe a tear away. He was silent for a while, just looking at her face; still full of color. He sighed loudly and then said quietly, "I wish you were here. I wish you could hold me and tell me it'll be alright and that there's another girl out there for me." He smiled, remembering when she held him in their seventh year when he felt so alone. "I should be embarrassed, shouldn't I? Being so weak. Needing a motherly figure to keep my spirits alive." He looked at her seriously. "But you've always been there for me, haven't you?"
~*~
The week passed by slowly as Ginny and Harry spent less and less time talking to one another. It was true. They had nothing to talk about. Ginny would enter, ask Harry how Hermione was and then leave. Harry spent his whole day in Hermione's room, having a conversation with himself. He wondered where Ginny would always run off to and stopped worrying when he realized he just didn't care anymore. Harry saw more and more of Ned Parker as well and they sometimes spoke for hours when he came off his shift. From what Harry could tell, he was a very humble man, just wanting to save lives. A heartbroken Ned divorced his squib wife a couple of years back when he found her cheating on him with his assistant.
Hermione's eyesight hadn't improved by the end of the week, however. The bandages were still wrapped around her head. She woke up about once a day and would spend her few moments awake making sure everyone else was alright. Harry grew less and less worried when Ned assured him she was improving. Ron was not doing well in his games and the Cannons were down 2-0 in their series. The poor man couldn't concentrate but he was costing his team the championship.
~*~
"Good Morning, Hermione." Hermione shifted slightly.
"Harry?" He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"I can't tell when you're awake or not. So you know what today is?"
She smiled. "Saturday."
Harry smiled and helped her up.
Ned supported her back. "You're still very weak, Hermione," Ned commented. "You're still going to need several days of bed rest when you get home. I'll come by everyday after my shift and check up on you."
Hermione smiled and draped her arm over Harry's shoulder. "Thank you, Ned. That's very sweet of you." She said as she got off the bed and into a wheelchair.
Harry felt a surge of jealousy. He glared at Ned. "I didn't know you made house calls."
Ned stammered. "Um, well, to tell you the truth, Harry, I've grown quite attached to Hermione. Erm, I mean, you three. In addition, there's no family to come home to every night so I thought, why not?"
Hermione tugged at Harry's sleeve. "It's alright, Harry," she said, sensing his protectiveness.
Harry sighed and gripped the handles of her chair. They slowly made their way out of the room and out of the hospital. Ned followed them the entire way. When they had reached outside, they stopped, awkward and uncertain of this goodbye.
"Well…" Ned started.
"Yeah…" Harry rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'll miss you," Ginny whispered, keeping her eyes on the ground.
Harry raised his head and looked at her.
Ned smiled sadly. "I'll come by tonight to check up on all of you." He said, putting a hand on Ginny's shoulder. She raised her head and put her hand on his. Then they hugged and pulled apart quickly. Ned turned to Harry and shook his hand firmly. "I'll see you too, Harry."
"See you, Ned."
Ned knelt on his knee and caressed Hermione's bandage. "I'll bring by some supplies tonight, Hermione, he said softly. "We should get the bandage off you."
Hermione smiled. "I would like that," she joked. Ned smiled in return and with a weak wave, he walked back into the hospital.
Ginny watched him disappear into the building.
"Come on, dear," Harry said, noticing her far-away look. "Time to go home." He took her hand in his and disapparated into Grimmwauld's Place.
~*~
"Merlin, this place is a pigsty!" Ginny said immediately. She whipped out her wand and started cleaning the house, starting with dusting the ceiling.
Harry rose and eyebrow and carefully began to levitate Hermione upstairs.
"Wait," he heard her say faintly. He put her down and knelt by her side. "I don't want to sit. Please take me up yourself?" She asked.
Harry nodded, admiring her courage. "Alright, Hermione." He turned to face her and took her hand in his. Sensing his closeness, Hermione sat forward on her seat. "Get ready," he whispered. Then slowly, he picked her up with both hands and snuggled her close to him. She put one arm around his back and the other caressed his chest. Harry smiled, breathing in her scent. It felt good, having her in his arms. He felt safe. And most of all, he felt that she was safe. "Hold on." He took one step upstairs, getting her ready for the impact. She gripped his shirt. He took another. And another. And another. By the time they had reached the top of the stairs, Hermione was used to the motion. He brought her into her room and set her down on her bed.
"Am I in my room?" she asked.
Harry smiled. "Yes."
"Thank you."
He sat down on her bed and winced when she shifted in reaction to the sudden weight. "Anytime." He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. Then he glanced up, looking at the woman who temporarily lost her sight. Harry smiled as he remembered Dolohov was dead. Finished. His reign of terror over her and Ginny was over. At long last remembering Ginny, Harry turned off Hermione's red lamp and kissed her forehead. "You should get some rest like Ned recommended, Hermione."
She nodded and felt around for her pillow. Finally finding it, she brought it towards her head and put her covers over her body. "Thank you….for…everyth…" She had already drifted off to sleep.
Harry smiled and walked out the room. Closing the door, he couldn't help but sneak another glance at her sleeping figure. He was still haunted by Dolohov's last words.
~*~
Downstairs, Ginny had began cleaning up the living room and Harry took her wrist, stilling her wand actions. "Ginny, we need to talk."
She took her wrist away from his. "Later, Harry" She continued to clean the room.
Harry, now aggravated, grabbed her wand and threw it aside.
"Harry!"
"Sit. Down."
She obeyed.
He sat down next to her, trying to ignore the fact that he wanted to make out with Hermione on that very couch.
Ginny put her hand on Harry's knee and Harry shook it away. She raised an eyebrow. "Is everything alright?"
Harry cleared his throat, unsure of how to…break up with his best friend's sister. Harry's eyes widened suddenly. Ron. He had completely forgotten about Ron. Ron, who had gotten his heart broken by Hermione just a week ago. Harry ran his hand through his bangs. Maybe this wasn't the time.
"Harry?"
Harry raised his head and looked at Ginny. How quickly his feelings had changed. No, he couldn't do it anymore. It wasn't fair. He sighed and started his tirade. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I've tried. But it's just not working out between us. We've changed, Ginny. We've changed a lot. We don't talk. We don't understand on another. There are comfortable silences and then there are silences. We've had nothing but silence all week."
Ginny lowered her head in embarrassment.
"You know what worries me the most, Gin? I don't care. I don't care about where you go at night. I don't care if you have lunch or not. I'm not jealous when you flirt with other men. I'm…I'm completely emotion-less when it comes to you now, Gin." He looked at her, she was avoiding her gaze.
"So am I," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Harry."
"No, don't be sorry. This isn't your fault. It's no one's fault."
She sighed. "I can't help but feel guilty. I love you, Harry. I really do."
"I love you too, Ginny." He took a deep breath. "Like a sister. It's just not enough. I'm sorry." Pause. "It's always been inconsistent with us, hasn't it? In our first years at Hogwarts, you were the shy type and I barely identified you as anyone but Ron's sister. Then suddenly, in our sixth year, you were the most popular girl in school. I was completely enthralled by you. In our Second War, your innocence shined through and you couldn't take the danger at some points. My emotions have always been to the extreme. Suddenly wanting you, suddenly not caring, suddenly annoyed by you. Ginny, my feelings for you have never truly been reliable."
Ginny sighed. "My feelings for you never been reliable either," she admitted. "I love you. But…I don't really know you, Harry. I know Harry Potter. I was in love with Harry Potter. But now he's gone. And I suppose I just love Harry."
Harry grinned, happy to see this wasn't so hard. They understood one another at last. He opened his arms. "Friends?" he offered. She smiled and hugged him. Harry slowly smiled against her shoulder. "I see the way you look at him."
Ginny pulled away from him, hiding her face.
"Ned Parker? I see the way you look at him. I think that's when I first knew. When you looked at him…like that…and I didn't care. I didn't hate him. I didn't want to be him. I wasn't jealous in any way."
Ginny laughed, readjusting the pillows on the couch. "He's not interested. He's much more interested in Hermione."
Harry's eyes widened. "H-Hermione?"
"Yes, so much for the professional doctor/patient relationship."
Harry stammered. No, this wasn't happening. No, no, no. As much as he…was alright with Ned, he couldn't imagine him with Hermione. No, it's impossible.
"It's quite understandable. They're good for one another. It's a shame Hermione's with Ron."
Harry jolted up from the couch.
"Harry?"
No, not Ned. Not Hermione. No, not Ned and Hermione. It sounded so horrible. Ned and Hermione. He sneered internally. What the hell kind of name was Ned, anyways? Ned. He couldn't help but repeat it over and over again. Ned. Ned. Ned. Ned. URGH.
"Harry!"
He shook his head and brought his gaze back to Ginny.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," he whispered hoarsely. "Um…when's Ron coming home?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I don't know but I heard Smith replaced him."
Harry enlarged his eyes. "Wait…tonight's the game. Is he coming home tonight?" Before Ginny could answer, there was a ring at the door. Harry glanced at Ginny, who flew up and ran to the door.
When she opened it, Harry saw her face drop. "Ron," she said, disappointed.
Ron showed no reaction to his sister's greeting as he barged into the house. "Where is she?" he demanded, out of the breath.
"Upstairs," Ginny sighed, picking up her wand and making cleaning her way into the kitchen. Ron raced upstairs and Harry quickly casted a leg-locking charm. Ron froze, halfway up the stairs. He grunted and pulled at his stiff legs.
"Sorry," Harry apologized, and uncharmed his legs. "She's sleeping."
Ron panted, looking at his closed room door. "Oh."
"Yeah. So I suppose Smith replaced you."
Ron massaged his arm. "Yeah. I've been crap the last two games. Can't concentrate when Hermione's here."
Harry nodded. He understood completely. He couldn't even tie his shoes without a wand the last week.
"How is she?"
"She's alright. The doctor said she's been improving. Actually, he's coming by tonight to remove her bandages."
"Alone?"
"…Yes."
"Hmm. Sounds like a nice guy."
Harry tensed up. You have no idea. Harry suddenly realized. Ron. Ron didn't know Ned…had feelings for Hermione. He studied his friend closely. Ron had clearly gotten a beating from bludgers and had grey rings under his eyes. His girlfriend, who he proposed to, completely rejected him in front of his best friend, sister and restaurant full of strangers. Then she ran off with his incredible best friend and lost her sight. The next day, he had to leave and bring shame to his team. Harry sighed internally. Ron didn't need more gossip. "Yeah. He is."
"Bloke have a name?"
"Ned Parker."
"Ah, the doctor who named you Hermione's medical proxy?" Ron nearly spat out this sentence. After saying it, he regretted it. "Sorry," he sighed, "I'm being stupid. I need some sleep. I'm going to take a nap."
Harry nodded.
Ron nodded in return and walked the rest of the way up the stairs. Harry was stunned and felt fire creep up his sides when Ron opened his bedroom door. "Ron!" he called out.
Ron stilled his actions and kept his hand on the door knob. "What?"
Harry's mind went reeling. Ron couldn't get into the same room as Hermione. He just couldn't. Because then he'd lie next to her. And then he'd cuddle. And she'd cuddle. And they'd cuddle. Harry took the first excuse his mind created; "If Hermione wakes up and feels some man holding her, she might-"
"Ah, yes, well spotted. Alright, I'll sleep in your and Ginny's room. That alright?"
"Yeah, that's alright." Harry was just glad Ron was now taking steps away from Hermione. "Oh, by the way," he suddenly remembered, "We broke up."
Ron stopped walking and shook his head, certain he had heard wrong.
Harry suddenly remembered he just broke up with his best friend's sister.
"You…you and Gin, you mean?"
Harry gulped. "Yeah." There was a silence and Harry wondered if Ron was going to pick up the railing and throw it at him.
"About time," Ron said simply and walked into Harry's room, closing the door.
~*~
Harry spent the rest of the day trying to keep Ginny the basement and attic of Grimmwauld's Place.
"Ginny," he said, chasing after her, "He won't be coming into our attic!"
Ginny rolled her eyes and continued on her way up the stairs.
"Ginny, Ginny-Gin, wait!" She didn't listen.
He whipped out his wand and casted a leg-locking spell on her.
She stopped walking, growling. "Harry, let me go!"
Harry turned to face her and took her wand from her.
"Give me back my wand!"
He shook his head. "You're going absolutely bonkers for this Parker," he observed, "What do you see in him?"
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "He's not a prat like you."
Harry laughed. "Ah, Gin…"
"Seriously, Harry, let me go."
"He's not entering our attic. He's coming to check up on Hermione and then he's going to leave."
Ginny bowed her head in sadness.
Harry remembered. "Look, Gin, I think you're wrong. He doesn't like Hermione. She…He…"
"You didn't see him the times when you left the room. He was so friendly to her. He tells her things he doesn't tell us. I know he does. They talk about them all alone when they think we're asleep."
Harry felt his blood boil. "What things?" he whispered slowly.
"I don't know," Ginny shook her head, "Maybe you're right. I can't compete against Hermione."
Harry fought the urge to affirm this statement. Instead, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You forget Ron, Gin. She's not exactly single." For the first time that day, Harry was glad for Ron's existence.
Ginny brightened. "You're right," she grinned, "Hermione's not free. But Ned is."
Harry smiled, happy to see she was. He uncharmed her legs.
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to make some dinner!" She squealed and ran downstairs.
Harry smiled when he heard dishes clatter. He was so surprised by how well they were both taking the break up. He wondered about their sleeping arrangements and how and where they were going to sleep now. Surely he wouldn't sleep in the same bed as her now. He was about to make his way downstairs when he heard a mumble. Looking around the hallway, his eyesight stopped on Ron and Hermione's room. He crept in slowly and was surprised to see Hermione, sitting up in her bed. "Hermione," he whispered quickly and ran to her side.
"Harry?"
"I'm here." He took her hand in his and smiled when she squeezed it.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to *someone special* out there. I see the way you look at your friends. And it makes me hate them.