RP: Reinforcements

[rar_ginny]

Date: June 25, 1998
Characters: Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom
Location: The Burrow
Status: Private
Summary: After his chat with Percy, Neville stops by to visit.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rar_neville]

Neville had barely slept the night before, mulling over everything Eloise and Percy had said, mind racing as he tried to figure out what he could possibly say to Ginny to help her. He'd finally given it up as a lost cause and got out of bed just after sunrise, showering and changing into jeans and a t-shirt.

Percy had mentioned she still wasn't eating. Slipping downstairs and into the kitchen, he wrapped the rest of the orange-currant scones Eloise had brought yesterday in a clean cloth.

Then he'd wondered if stopping by the Burrow before breakfast might be less than a good idea. He had no idea what her parents might say if he appeared without warning.

Lunchtime might work better. It didn't make him look quite so...worried? Fearful? Desperate to see her?

It was raining again outside. Neville glared at the recalcitrant weather and made his way to the library. The latest issue of Herbological Quarterly had arrived in the post yesterday, and he hadn't had a chance to read it

[rar_ginny]

Of all the voices she thought she'd hear right now, his was one of the last. She held very still for a moment before rolling over and sitting up, not really believing that he was standing in her bedroom right now. Who'd let him up? Mum and Dad would have told him she wasn't feeling well, or else had her come down to him.

"Neville," she said, running her hand through her hair. She'd showered that morning but hadn't bothered to brush her hair out. It was still damp. "What... what are you doing here?" And that was horrifically rude. "I mean... I'm glad, but... wow, just didn't expect to see you. Come in. I may look a bit like an ogre at the moment, but I won't bite, I swear," she said, smiling wryly at him.

[rar_neville]

Neville stepped further into the room, forcing himself to hold the scones more loosely as they began to crumble beneath his fingers.

"I...Percy asked me to come. Said he thought you might appreciate company that wasn't red-haired, and I fit the bill. He let me in, told me how to find your room. I brought scones. He said you hadn't been eating, either, so if you're going to bite anything, it'll be one of them."

He sat down on the edge of the other twin bed and set down the scones, undoing the knot on the kitchen towel. Handing her a scone, he said, "They're orange-currant. They're really good."

[rar_ginny]

Ginny frowned and reached out to take the scone. "You're here cause Percy told you to come," she said, feeling a bit disappointed, though she wasn't sure why it mattered.

She broke off a piece of the scone and chewed it slowly. "They are good," she said, breaking off another small piece. "What exactly did Percy say to you?"

[rar_ginny]

She took the cup from him and cupped her hands around it, looking down at the tea. Her stomach felt off just thinking about drinking it, but she did want to make him happy.

She took a sip and lowered the cup before looking back at him. "Percy probably went to the shoppe. Someone has to look after George, god knows I'm not at the moment."

She tilted her head and settled the cup on her thigh. "How are you doing? I've not even asked properly, have I?"

[rar_neville]

"George will understand if you take a day off," Neville said briskly. "Is he still sharing the flat with all of his old teammates? He wouldn't be happy to hear you've been wearing yourself so thin. Percy can take care of him for a couple of days, and I'll take care of you. I imagine George will enjoy seeing you with a bit of color back in your cheeks

[rar_ginny]

"'s more than a day. I've not been in a week." She nodded. "Yeah, there's a lot of people there. I'm sure he won't miss me. But I still feel bad, and I do miss him. Percy's been doing a good job taking care of him, better than me. George doesn't talk to me really... I think it's harder for any of the boys to. Trying to protect me, but they don't realize that sometimes that... causes distance. It's..." She looked up and reached to touch her face. "I do look pretty rotten. I know. And you... well, you've always taken care of me. I don't deserve it, but I thank you for it

[rar_neville]

Neville looked down into his teacup when Ginny told him that if he was only patient enough things would improve between him and Harry. It sounded a lot like the advice Eloise had given him regarding his friendship with Ginny. His lips twitched, amused by the parallels. At least he wasn't in love with Harry.

Ginny was, though. "I keep hoping things even out eventually. Me and him, him and you, you and me...it all has to someday, doesn't it? And if Percy hadn't told me, I imagine someone else would've. It might have taken longer, but I still would have come to see you. I was planning to owl you, anyway."

Lifting his head, he met her eyes. "You ought to be glad. Those scones wouldn't have lasted much longer."

[rar_ginny]

Neville closed his eyes and leaned his head back. She watched as his throat worked as he swallowed and listened to his statement on things not being fair and she felt immediately horrible.

"Oh, Neville, I'm sorry," she said, upset as she pulled gently away. "I didn't mean... I'm so so sorry. I... you don't have to. It's all right, really. Will you just... stay in here with me for a while before you go?" She twisted the blankets in her hands and looked down at her lap. "Thank you. For being here. Despite it making you uncomfortable."

[rar_neville]

Ginny pulled away, and Neville's fingers curled in the empty space, clenching as he struggled to breathe, to resist.

He knew she didn't intend to tempt him like this. He knew that. But he was seventeen and only human and oh god it was hard.

"Drink your tea," he whispered tightly. "It's lukewarm, you should be able to finish the cup. I'll stay with you until you go to sleep."

[rar_ginny]

She didn't dare argue. He sounded terribly upset and she didn't have any idea what to do about it.

So she took the tea cup, her hands shaking slightly, and drank it quickly. It wasn't very warm, and that was a good thing. But she'd have drank it anyway, if for no other reason than to keep him from being more upset.

Sitting her cup to the side she laid down and rolled over facing away from him as she'd been when he came in. She could pretend to sleep, she'd been doing it for days.

"I really am sorry," she said in a small voice. "And I do love you." She closed her eyes and started working on getting her breathing to even out.

[rar_neville]

Neville covered his face, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, pressing until multi-colored stars and sparkles burst behind his eyelids as Ginny finished her tea and rolled away from him, curled on her side as she'd been when he first arrived.

"I'm sorry too," he replied, voice cracking beneath the weight of a yawn. He'd barely slept the night before, and struggling against hormonal urges was exhaustingHe waited until her breathing slowed, light and even. He should leave now, he thought. He should leave before he did anything else to upset her, or before she did anything else to strain his already fragile self-control. Slowly, he got to his feet, not wanting to disturb her. Gently, he brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, pulled the blankets higher around her shoulders

[rar_arthur]

Arthur made his way down the hallway to Ginny's room. He had taken to the habit of checking in on her at night. It had been over a month since the battle and yet even in sleep she looked troubled. He wanted to help but didn't know what to do for her

[rar_neville]

Neville's eyelids tightened as sunlight fell directly across his face. It was a rather sudden beam of sunlight. Furthermore, it was coming from the wrong direction of the windows. Lifting a hand, he rubbed his eyes and lifted his head, eyes widening.

He'd overslept. Not merely overslept, he'd slept the day away and there was someone who wasn't Percy glaring at him from the doorway, his expression thunderous. Mr. Weasley! It was all Neville could do not to leap from the bed, but Ginny was still asleep beside him.

Carefully, he extricated himself from Ginny and stood, eyes wary as Mr. Weasley made a curt motion to follow him. He swallowed hard, wondering whether or not Ginny's father would kill him before his Gran could for making her worry.

[rar_arthur]

Arthur walked out of the room careful not to disturb Ginny and waited for Neville to come into the hall before shutting the door. He paused a moment to collect his thought before he finally spoke.

"It looks like to me that you were in there to help Ginny, if that is not the case it would be in your best interest not to correct me. Now I know who you are and I admire what you did at the battle that said, if I ever see you in Ginny's bed under the covers without a ring on her finger you are dead. You have been warned so anything that happens to you is your own doing."

Arthur took a deep breath while he considered what to do about the boy. "Molly will be up soon so you can either go home or if you want to talk to Ginny I can grab you one of the boy's shirts and I can say you came over for breakfast. My daughter looked peaceful and I am not an unreasonable man. Just remember, nice boy or not you step one foot over the line and you will wish the snake had gotten you. I can promise you that. Now would you like tea or coffee?"

[rar_neville]

"There's nothing to correct," Neville replied after a moment, voice cracking from nerves. "Nothing happened. She fell asleep and I decided to take a nap and..."

He looked around, still disoriented. "Breakfast? Mr. Weasley, what time is it?"