Through the mirror

Chapter 9

Thursday was the worst day of the week in Ginny's opinion. She had nothing but dull lessons, not that she thought any lesson was interesting nowadays, and she could see the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice from her window. She missed it tremendously, but knew she hardly had the energy to walk around the castle, let alone play Quidditch.

Ginny had slept longer than she ought to have, making her miss the first period. She had just enough time to sweep past the kitchens to grab herself some breakfast. The only problem was that she wasn't hungry. Come to think of it, she hadn't been hungry in weeks. Frowning, she glanced down at her now worn body. Her clothes, once seated flattering at her curves, were now hanging on her frail body.

Ginny stopped dead in the corridor and put two fingers around her wrist, gasping when she realised it had far too much space in between them. How could she have let herself get this malnourished?

Come to think of it, even her brain felt foggy, as her body felt weak and shallow. It was all signs of malnutrition. Maybe if she ate better, she'd get her strength up again.

Deciding on taking care of herself, Ginny began trudging up the halls towards the hospital wing, intending on giving herself a headstart with Madam Pomfrey's potions.

The wing was empty upon her arrival, and so she stood there awkwardly for a few minutes; hoping Madam Pomfrey would sense her presence. She did no such thing. Instead, Ginny went up to the door in the back of the room and knocked. In a heartbeat the door fell open, revealing a smiling Madam Pomfrey.

"Miss Weasley! I've been wondering if I'd see you again. How are things?" she asked as she nudged Ginny towards one of the beds, practically shoving her down in it.

"I'm alright, I guess. I've come to realise I've lost a bit of weight, and was hoping to attain some of those potions you gave me last time. They made it easier to eat."

Ginny shrugged, hoping she came off cool, calm and collected. Madam Pomfrey simply smiled knowingly and went to collect the potions.

"Would you want a few to go as well? You could have them in your room; it'd save you the trip here every week." she shouted over her shoulder from where she was rumbling through the cabinet.

"Every week?" Ginny asked dumbly.

"Yes, they work for but a week and then you'd need to refill the dosage. Isn't that why you're here now? You felt the potions wear off?" Madam Pomfrey explained and frowned upon seeing Ginny's surprised expression.

"Oh. Oh sure." she nodded eagerly, not wanting to explain that the potions had worn off the next day already. "But I... I think I'll just come here for them. No need to keep them in my room."

She didn't know how to explain them to Tom, and knew he wouldn't like her having potions in her room. He was quite nosey as well, so there would be no point in trying to hide them from him. No. It was best to not accept any, and just come back to the hospital wing when she needed to. Something told her she would get far too addicted to the potions as well, having an all too easy approach for them.

"Miss. Weasley, there's no need to feel ashamed. If anything you ought to feel empowered by harnessing the power to ask for help. It's a strong thing to do!" Madam Pomfrey tutted as she handed her the many vials.

Ginny simply smiled, but had the feeling it came out more as a grimace, before downing the potions one by one. It didn't quite have the same effect as last week, however, she felt an improvement.

"Now, let's say you meet me here every Thursday morning before breakfast. How's that?"

"That sounds doable." Ginny shrugged, feeling energy coarse through her body once more.