♥ Hannah wrote "Rooftops" for elyaeru ♥
Title: Rooftops
Rating: PG-13 for language
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: none
Summary: Ginny learns the difference between fairy tales and happy endings.
Rooftops
Ginny walked quickly and quietly to the Astronomy Tower. It was just after curfew and she didn’t want to get caught. She just couldn’t stand to be around them at the moment. She didn’t want to break down in front of everyone, not now. She made it to the tower alone without seeing anyone. As soon as she got there she collapsed onto the ground. She tried to choke back the tears, but a few escaped.
Her parents, her family, the professors, her friends; they all looked down on her. They acted like it was her job to be happy. How the hell was she supposed to be happy with them constantly breathing down her back? She just couldn’t do that.
“Why me?!” she yelled at nobody, “Why me?! Why do I have to do this?!” A sob escaped. “What in this life is fucking worth it? Why should I do this? Why the hell am I still here?
“Kill me now! Just let me go! Why do you need me here? I don’t want to go through this hell! I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want to have to deal with my family! I’m sick of every one caring about me except for me! Why can’t they just leave me alone? I just want to leave and never come back!
“I don’t care anymore! I don’t give a damn what people think of me! They can say whatever the fuck they want about me! I’ve given up on being their perfect model! I can’t do what I want to do; I’m their little puppet! I’m not a house elf! I’m my own person! I can think for myself GOD DAMN IT!
“I’ve done my job! What else can I do? NOTHING! I’m sick of being ignored! I loved him for God’s sake! I still love him DAMN IT! I’m sick of it! I don’t want to love him anymore! I want to be over him! TAKE ME HOME!”
She was sick of them bugging her. She didn’t want to put on a fake “happy face” for them any more, but she knew that if she stopped the nagging would only get worse. Nobody knew her well enough to see through her grinning mask; she couldn’t trust anyone.
“Take me home,” she finally whispered through her tears. Her life was over; she had no reason to stay.
Ginny sat against the wall of the tower with her hands around her waist. She felt like she was trying to hold her guts in. It felt like her entire body was falling apart. She pulled her knees up to her chest, laid her head down on them, and continued to cry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Class dismissed.”
“Damn, already?” Ginny mumbled to herself as she quickly threw her belongings into her bag. If she didn’t hurry she would be late for Charms. She had quickly gotten bored in Transfiguration and had spaced out, getting completely absorbed in her writing. She ran out of the class room just in time.
The seventh years filed into the room almost immediately after she passed through the door. Draco Malfoy scowled and sat in his normal seat. He reached into his bag to take out his supplies and found a lone piece of parchment on the floor. He picked it up and read:
Everyone wants their life to be a fairy tale, right? But what are our chances of that ever happening? We all go through life, digging our way through the shit that gets thrown at us and, chances are, we will never get our fairy tale. Out of the millions of people in this fucking world, ten will be lucky enough to get their fairy tale. So where does that leave the rest of us? We get no fairy tales. We get forgotten for the millionth time, nobody listens to a word we say, and when we need help and there is no one there. We get trapped trying to tough it out. Drugs and Alcohol can only dull the pain for so long. When they wear off, life is still there looming over your back like a shadow. It’s there to remind you of all the bad times, and drown out the few good memories, if any exist. We spend our entire life trying to get our fairy-tale ending, the fucking fairy tale ending that doesn’t exist. We spend our lives trying to gain that perfection that doesn’t exist.
-Ginny Weasley
He quickly scribbled a quote at the bottom of the parchment and stowed it in his bag so he could send it to her later.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny laid awake in her bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain hit the roof. How could she have lost that paper? That was important writing and it wasn’t like she could just go write it again.
The rain picked up speed and got louder - except it wasn’t just the rain. There was a series of loud pecks at the window. Ginny got out of bed, and let the eagle owl in. In it’s beak it held a waterproof piece of parchment…her parchment. It was the writing she had left in potions. She opened it and glanced at the bottom. There was a tiny note scrawled messily underneath her name.
“There are no such things as fairy tales, only happy endings.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ten years later…
Ginny hung up her coat, closed her locker, and called goodbye to her boss, Erin. She had become a healer after Hogwarts, and now ran the trauma department at St. Mungos. She handled all of the really nasty injuries and spells. She was exhausted after finishing a twenty-four hour shift, apparating to her apartment, that she had shared only weeks before, for a long nap.
She dreamt of him again. Brandon had been living with her for the last three months. Their relationship had been great, at least to her, but he had decided to break up and move out. She still missed him.
After her nap, Ginny showered and dressed before running out to the store for groceries; she’d been running low for awhile. She had decided to live in a Muggle community after Hogwarts because the rent was less. After a little practice she had mastered the use of all the appliances, but still cleaned with her wand. Of course her pay was much higher now and she could really live where ever she wanted, but she had grown attached to the Muggle way of cooking.
After Brandon left her she started picking up extra shifts at the hospital. She needed to do something to get him off her mind. She was only off for twelve hours before she was scheduled to go back. Ginny had slept through ten of them, ran errands for one, and the other had been for her personal needs.
She arrived at the hospital right on time and barely had time to put on her lab coat before they brought in the first patient. A man had been cursed by his angry wife. He couldn’t feel his body; they reversed it easily enough. The patients just kept coming- a little girl who got a hold of her father’s wand, a girl badly burned by magical potion, a woman bleeding uncontrollably from a magical knife cut.
One patient stood out to her though. A woman came in who had stopped breathing. Her husband had Apparated with her and immediately Ginny’s team had taken over. They tried to resuscitate her three times. Usually that was the max before they called the death, but he asked for one more.
The man was on his knees praying that his wife would live. Tears started pouring down his face after their second try. He was on his knees crying and pleading with some unknown being that his wife would live. Ginny could hear his pleas as she worked.
“Please save her. I can’t live without her. Let her live, I need her. I love more than life. I will do anything just to save her. Please let her live…..”
After their third try they paused. The husband looked up at her and whispered, his voice trembling, “Please, one more time…. just one more time.”
She merely nodded at him, motioned to the team to try one more time. Ginny held back her tears as the woman’s gasp of life echoed through her ears. The man rushed to his wife’s side, thanking her quietly as he passed.
They were shown to a room and Ginny was left to her own thoughts in the busy hall. She was the only one standing still. Every one walked around her, nobody even taking a second glance at her.
Would Brandon have done that for her? Would he break down in public for her? Probably not.
A page sounded overhead, “Healer Weasley to room 30.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Draco played professional Quidditch for the Arrows. He decided that after Hogwarts and the war, that this was the career for him. The Ministry didn’t trust him because of his Death Eater parents, and the family business had died. It wasn’t like he needed money, but he thought he should do something.
So Quidditch it was. He started out by trying out for Puddlemore United, but then he was traded to the Arrows. The pale blue uniforms were a bit girly, but the team was awesome, and they were climbing higher in the ranks.
Unfortunately, now he was stuck in this hospital bed unable to move. The match against the Wasps had been earlier. The rivalry was harsh and he ended up in the mix. After almost catching the snitch he had been knocked off course by the other seeker, and then he was pummeled by both of the bludgers.
The beaters swore it was a complete coincidence that they both managed to hit him. He had broken his neck upon hitting the ground and knew that one of the bludgers had broken one of his legs. The other bludger had knocked him off his broom in the first place.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny burst into room 30, to see a nurse and a thoroughly pissed off Draco Malfoy who was wearing a neck brace. His leg was twisted to an odd angle, but he looked as if they had already given him pain meds for the injury.
Draco was surprised to see Ginny after all this time. As far as he knew she didn’t know it was him who sent back her writing all those years ago. She looked good after all these years. She still had her slim figure, but had filled out a bit more. She wasn’t thin as a rail, but boy did she have curves. He also noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring.
“Name is Draco Malfoy, knocked off a broom and hit with two bludgers before falling twenty feet to the ground. Supposed broken neck and a broken leg, but other injuries may exist,” said the nurse, informing Ginny of what needed to be done.
“Thank you,” Ginny replied as the nurse made her exit.
“The Wasps vs. Arrows game?” she asked Malfoy directly. He was surprised she still kept up with the Quidditch world.
“Yup, it was one hell of a game too… almost won, but this happened,” he replied. “How’d you know?”
“I knew the game was today, and every time you guys play each other there is at least one injury. I have to say though, this is the worst yet.” She smirked at him.
He only grunted in reply. Ginny took out her wand and started the exam to find out the extent of all his injuries. He didn’t say anything until she neared the joint of his leg.
“Don’t stick your wand there!” he cried, panicked.
She glared at him. “I’m not! I’m checking to see if you leg is dislocated, which it isn’t.”
“Whatever you say Weasley, just don’t stick your wand there again.”
“Make you feel uncomfortable Malfoy?”
“NO! If you remember I can’t move anything! Can’t you fix that first?” he whined.
“Not until I finish my exam,” she said curtly. Her boss did not need to find her in a fight with a patient. Draco rolled his eyes at her. They didn’t speak the rest of the time.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A week later he was healed and ready to go home. A week was a long time to sit in a bed and do nothing. The only visitors he had had was his team the day after and the team manager the day after that. He would still be able to play for the Arrows, but he could not finish the season due to the injury. If he got hurt this badly again, they might not be able to fix it and he could end up paralyzed.
He signed the release papers at the desk and walked out the door. He was about to apparate away when he heard a gasp around the corner. He walked around and found Ginny sitting on the ground, leaning on the wall, and crying.
“Weasley?” he asked, not sure what to do.
“Malfoy?” Ginny asked as she looked up at him. What could he want? She didn’t want to talk to him right now. That man and his wife had hit her hard last week and she was still having break downs from it. Why couldn’t she find a man like that? Someone who wouldn’t care what people thought of him as long as she lived, someone who couldn’t live without her because he loved her so much.
He glanced away when she looked at him. What was he thinking coming over here? “Are you okay?” he asked stupidly. Of course she wasn’t okay, she was crying by herself outside of a hospital! He wanted to smack himself in the head.
She didn’t answer him right away, just stared up at him with her amber eyes. “Do I look okay to you?” she finally spit out sourly. “If you’re just going to stare, leave.”
“I’m not. I just wanted to say thank you for healing me. You’re the best healer in Britain, and I don’t think I would be this much better with out you.” That was the most un-Malfoy thing he could say at a time like this. Ten years ago he would have taunted her mercilessly for crying, but after he found her paper in potions he thought of her a little differently. If a Weasley could feel like that, then no matter what crap people go through every one goes through about same thing, there were just different reasons.
She smiled shyly. “Thank you. That means a lot right now.” For some reason she felt like she could trust him so she continued. “My boyfriend dumped me a few weeks ago, and there was this guy last week…” She told him all about the guy and his wife, and the quote that got her through.
“There are no such things as fairy tales, only happy endings,” she said. “After that I wasn’t looking for the fairy tale guy anymore, I was just looking for my happy ending, but I’m not sure if that’s even possible now.” She sighed. Ginny had just spilled her thoughts to Draco Malfoy behind the hospital. She was officially crazy and was tempted to go inside and check herself into the psychotic resident ward.
Draco smiled to himself. Maybe he would tell her about finding that parchment and about the quote, but not yet. He invited her to dinner the next night. She accepted.
He helped her up off the ground. “Thanks for listening. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked about ready to go back to work.
“Yea, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. They were standing very close to each other and just before she turned around to leave, he kissed her. It wasn’t hard or demanding, just a short and sweet touch of the lips.
He broke away, smirked at her, then turned and yelled, “Pick you up at eight!” as he walked away.
Ginny couldn’t think about anything else but Draco’s lips on hers all day. She was looking forward to their date. Maybe he would be her happy ending. She was going to find out…..
The End
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
What would you like to receive?
The tone/mood of the fic: Something that bleeds out sarcasm. "Angst" with a happy ending, I suppose?
An element/line of dialogue/object you would like in your fic: "Don't stick your wand there!"
Preferred rating of the the fic you want: G-15+
Canon or AU? AU
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Character Death, Violent!Draco. Um.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: none
Summary: Ginny learns the difference between fairy tales and happy endings.
Rooftops
Ginny walked quickly and quietly to the Astronomy Tower. It was just after curfew and she didn’t want to get caught. She just couldn’t stand to be around them at the moment. She didn’t want to break down in front of everyone, not now. She made it to the tower alone without seeing anyone. As soon as she got there she collapsed onto the ground. She tried to choke back the tears, but a few escaped.
Her parents, her family, the professors, her friends; they all looked down on her. They acted like it was her job to be happy. How the hell was she supposed to be happy with them constantly breathing down her back? She just couldn’t do that.
“Why me?!” she yelled at nobody, “Why me?! Why do I have to do this?!” A sob escaped. “What in this life is fucking worth it? Why should I do this? Why the hell am I still here?
“Kill me now! Just let me go! Why do you need me here? I don’t want to go through this hell! I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want to have to deal with my family! I’m sick of every one caring about me except for me! Why can’t they just leave me alone? I just want to leave and never come back!
“I don’t care anymore! I don’t give a damn what people think of me! They can say whatever the fuck they want about me! I’ve given up on being their perfect model! I can’t do what I want to do; I’m their little puppet! I’m not a house elf! I’m my own person! I can think for myself GOD DAMN IT!
“I’ve done my job! What else can I do? NOTHING! I’m sick of being ignored! I loved him for God’s sake! I still love him DAMN IT! I’m sick of it! I don’t want to love him anymore! I want to be over him! TAKE ME HOME!”
She was sick of them bugging her. She didn’t want to put on a fake “happy face” for them any more, but she knew that if she stopped the nagging would only get worse. Nobody knew her well enough to see through her grinning mask; she couldn’t trust anyone.
“Take me home,” she finally whispered through her tears. Her life was over; she had no reason to stay.
Ginny sat against the wall of the tower with her hands around her waist. She felt like she was trying to hold her guts in. It felt like her entire body was falling apart. She pulled her knees up to her chest, laid her head down on them, and continued to cry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Class dismissed.”
“Damn, already?” Ginny mumbled to herself as she quickly threw her belongings into her bag. If she didn’t hurry she would be late for Charms. She had quickly gotten bored in Transfiguration and had spaced out, getting completely absorbed in her writing. She ran out of the class room just in time.
The seventh years filed into the room almost immediately after she passed through the door. Draco Malfoy scowled and sat in his normal seat. He reached into his bag to take out his supplies and found a lone piece of parchment on the floor. He picked it up and read:
Everyone wants their life to be a fairy tale, right? But what are our chances of that ever happening? We all go through life, digging our way through the shit that gets thrown at us and, chances are, we will never get our fairy tale. Out of the millions of people in this fucking world, ten will be lucky enough to get their fairy tale. So where does that leave the rest of us? We get no fairy tales. We get forgotten for the millionth time, nobody listens to a word we say, and when we need help and there is no one there. We get trapped trying to tough it out. Drugs and Alcohol can only dull the pain for so long. When they wear off, life is still there looming over your back like a shadow. It’s there to remind you of all the bad times, and drown out the few good memories, if any exist. We spend our entire life trying to get our fairy-tale ending, the fucking fairy tale ending that doesn’t exist. We spend our lives trying to gain that perfection that doesn’t exist.
-Ginny Weasley
He quickly scribbled a quote at the bottom of the parchment and stowed it in his bag so he could send it to her later.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny laid awake in her bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain hit the roof. How could she have lost that paper? That was important writing and it wasn’t like she could just go write it again.
The rain picked up speed and got louder - except it wasn’t just the rain. There was a series of loud pecks at the window. Ginny got out of bed, and let the eagle owl in. In it’s beak it held a waterproof piece of parchment…her parchment. It was the writing she had left in potions. She opened it and glanced at the bottom. There was a tiny note scrawled messily underneath her name.
“There are no such things as fairy tales, only happy endings.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ten years later…
Ginny hung up her coat, closed her locker, and called goodbye to her boss, Erin. She had become a healer after Hogwarts, and now ran the trauma department at St. Mungos. She handled all of the really nasty injuries and spells. She was exhausted after finishing a twenty-four hour shift, apparating to her apartment, that she had shared only weeks before, for a long nap.
She dreamt of him again. Brandon had been living with her for the last three months. Their relationship had been great, at least to her, but he had decided to break up and move out. She still missed him.
After her nap, Ginny showered and dressed before running out to the store for groceries; she’d been running low for awhile. She had decided to live in a Muggle community after Hogwarts because the rent was less. After a little practice she had mastered the use of all the appliances, but still cleaned with her wand. Of course her pay was much higher now and she could really live where ever she wanted, but she had grown attached to the Muggle way of cooking.
After Brandon left her she started picking up extra shifts at the hospital. She needed to do something to get him off her mind. She was only off for twelve hours before she was scheduled to go back. Ginny had slept through ten of them, ran errands for one, and the other had been for her personal needs.
She arrived at the hospital right on time and barely had time to put on her lab coat before they brought in the first patient. A man had been cursed by his angry wife. He couldn’t feel his body; they reversed it easily enough. The patients just kept coming- a little girl who got a hold of her father’s wand, a girl badly burned by magical potion, a woman bleeding uncontrollably from a magical knife cut.
One patient stood out to her though. A woman came in who had stopped breathing. Her husband had Apparated with her and immediately Ginny’s team had taken over. They tried to resuscitate her three times. Usually that was the max before they called the death, but he asked for one more.
The man was on his knees praying that his wife would live. Tears started pouring down his face after their second try. He was on his knees crying and pleading with some unknown being that his wife would live. Ginny could hear his pleas as she worked.
“Please save her. I can’t live without her. Let her live, I need her. I love more than life. I will do anything just to save her. Please let her live…..”
After their third try they paused. The husband looked up at her and whispered, his voice trembling, “Please, one more time…. just one more time.”
She merely nodded at him, motioned to the team to try one more time. Ginny held back her tears as the woman’s gasp of life echoed through her ears. The man rushed to his wife’s side, thanking her quietly as he passed.
They were shown to a room and Ginny was left to her own thoughts in the busy hall. She was the only one standing still. Every one walked around her, nobody even taking a second glance at her.
Would Brandon have done that for her? Would he break down in public for her? Probably not.
A page sounded overhead, “Healer Weasley to room 30.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Draco played professional Quidditch for the Arrows. He decided that after Hogwarts and the war, that this was the career for him. The Ministry didn’t trust him because of his Death Eater parents, and the family business had died. It wasn’t like he needed money, but he thought he should do something.
So Quidditch it was. He started out by trying out for Puddlemore United, but then he was traded to the Arrows. The pale blue uniforms were a bit girly, but the team was awesome, and they were climbing higher in the ranks.
Unfortunately, now he was stuck in this hospital bed unable to move. The match against the Wasps had been earlier. The rivalry was harsh and he ended up in the mix. After almost catching the snitch he had been knocked off course by the other seeker, and then he was pummeled by both of the bludgers.
The beaters swore it was a complete coincidence that they both managed to hit him. He had broken his neck upon hitting the ground and knew that one of the bludgers had broken one of his legs. The other bludger had knocked him off his broom in the first place.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny burst into room 30, to see a nurse and a thoroughly pissed off Draco Malfoy who was wearing a neck brace. His leg was twisted to an odd angle, but he looked as if they had already given him pain meds for the injury.
Draco was surprised to see Ginny after all this time. As far as he knew she didn’t know it was him who sent back her writing all those years ago. She looked good after all these years. She still had her slim figure, but had filled out a bit more. She wasn’t thin as a rail, but boy did she have curves. He also noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring.
“Name is Draco Malfoy, knocked off a broom and hit with two bludgers before falling twenty feet to the ground. Supposed broken neck and a broken leg, but other injuries may exist,” said the nurse, informing Ginny of what needed to be done.
“Thank you,” Ginny replied as the nurse made her exit.
“The Wasps vs. Arrows game?” she asked Malfoy directly. He was surprised she still kept up with the Quidditch world.
“Yup, it was one hell of a game too… almost won, but this happened,” he replied. “How’d you know?”
“I knew the game was today, and every time you guys play each other there is at least one injury. I have to say though, this is the worst yet.” She smirked at him.
He only grunted in reply. Ginny took out her wand and started the exam to find out the extent of all his injuries. He didn’t say anything until she neared the joint of his leg.
“Don’t stick your wand there!” he cried, panicked.
She glared at him. “I’m not! I’m checking to see if you leg is dislocated, which it isn’t.”
“Whatever you say Weasley, just don’t stick your wand there again.”
“Make you feel uncomfortable Malfoy?”
“NO! If you remember I can’t move anything! Can’t you fix that first?” he whined.
“Not until I finish my exam,” she said curtly. Her boss did not need to find her in a fight with a patient. Draco rolled his eyes at her. They didn’t speak the rest of the time.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A week later he was healed and ready to go home. A week was a long time to sit in a bed and do nothing. The only visitors he had had was his team the day after and the team manager the day after that. He would still be able to play for the Arrows, but he could not finish the season due to the injury. If he got hurt this badly again, they might not be able to fix it and he could end up paralyzed.
He signed the release papers at the desk and walked out the door. He was about to apparate away when he heard a gasp around the corner. He walked around and found Ginny sitting on the ground, leaning on the wall, and crying.
“Weasley?” he asked, not sure what to do.
“Malfoy?” Ginny asked as she looked up at him. What could he want? She didn’t want to talk to him right now. That man and his wife had hit her hard last week and she was still having break downs from it. Why couldn’t she find a man like that? Someone who wouldn’t care what people thought of him as long as she lived, someone who couldn’t live without her because he loved her so much.
He glanced away when she looked at him. What was he thinking coming over here? “Are you okay?” he asked stupidly. Of course she wasn’t okay, she was crying by herself outside of a hospital! He wanted to smack himself in the head.
She didn’t answer him right away, just stared up at him with her amber eyes. “Do I look okay to you?” she finally spit out sourly. “If you’re just going to stare, leave.”
“I’m not. I just wanted to say thank you for healing me. You’re the best healer in Britain, and I don’t think I would be this much better with out you.” That was the most un-Malfoy thing he could say at a time like this. Ten years ago he would have taunted her mercilessly for crying, but after he found her paper in potions he thought of her a little differently. If a Weasley could feel like that, then no matter what crap people go through every one goes through about same thing, there were just different reasons.
She smiled shyly. “Thank you. That means a lot right now.” For some reason she felt like she could trust him so she continued. “My boyfriend dumped me a few weeks ago, and there was this guy last week…” She told him all about the guy and his wife, and the quote that got her through.
“There are no such things as fairy tales, only happy endings,” she said. “After that I wasn’t looking for the fairy tale guy anymore, I was just looking for my happy ending, but I’m not sure if that’s even possible now.” She sighed. Ginny had just spilled her thoughts to Draco Malfoy behind the hospital. She was officially crazy and was tempted to go inside and check herself into the psychotic resident ward.
Draco smiled to himself. Maybe he would tell her about finding that parchment and about the quote, but not yet. He invited her to dinner the next night. She accepted.
He helped her up off the ground. “Thanks for listening. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked about ready to go back to work.
“Yea, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. They were standing very close to each other and just before she turned around to leave, he kissed her. It wasn’t hard or demanding, just a short and sweet touch of the lips.
He broke away, smirked at her, then turned and yelled, “Pick you up at eight!” as he walked away.
Ginny couldn’t think about anything else but Draco’s lips on hers all day. She was looking forward to their date. Maybe he would be her happy ending. She was going to find out…..
The End
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
What would you like to receive?
The tone/mood of the fic: Something that bleeds out sarcasm. "Angst" with a happy ending, I suppose?
An element/line of dialogue/object you would like in your fic: "Don't stick your wand there!"
Preferred rating of the the fic you want: G-15+
Canon or AU? AU
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Character Death, Violent!Draco. Um.