Real or Not Real {Harry Potter}

Fifty Three

The table cloth left creases on his cheek, and Bria would've found it cute under different circumstances. But as he awake to the world his grip on Ginny's hand tightens and Bria wants to snap at him.

He finally looks up to discover the source of who had awoken him, and she can see his heart drop behind his eyes when he realizes its Bria.

"Go on up to bed, Harry. I'll look after her now," she tells him.

"Bria, about yesterday-"

  "I know. There's nothing to explain."

"Bria-"

  "Just go to bed, okay?"

She watches him get up groggily and leave the kitchen. Bran begins to dig into his Healer bag and Bria forgot that he was even there at all. He boils water on the stove once more, and then goes over to Ginny to check on the wounds. He prods at the bandages, gently, until he carefully lifts it up to put on the fresh ones.

He takes out vials, telling Bria what each of them means and when to apply.

"You can tell Mrs. Weasley these things when she wakes up. I know you don't want to be the one to take care of Ginny."

She bites down a remark, a question why everyone has been pointing out her distaste for Ginny. Surely, she was able to keep it a secret better than that.

She's never publicly voiced her dislike towards Ginny, even though she has done it plenty of times. Under the assumption that Bria and Ginny have an ongoing feud in their fight for Harry's love.

Bria doesn't like the idea of that. It just means that Ginny is just an equal candidate as she is.

Bran leaves, already five minutes late for work, and Bria takes the seat against the wall. She doesn't want to sit in the chair Harry was residing in. She wants nothing to do with it.

Some time goes by, the sunlight finally shining through the windows. She warms the oven and places the loaves inside with a bowl of water to keep them from crisping. When the smell of fresh bread fills the house, Bria knows its time to take them out.

She carefully removes them from the oven, and onto the cooling rack. Mr. Weasley comes down the stairs a few moments after, dressed in his work clothes and his tie still undone.

"How's she doing?" He asks, coming up to Ginny to run his hand through her hair a few times.

Bria observes from the oven. She wonders what it would be like, to be comforted by a parent. It's been so long since Bria has felt that type of love.

"Bran says she'll be okay. He wants to keep her on the pain relievers until the danger of infection has passed. Have you ever had a really bad sunburn?"

Mr. Weasley chuckles. "We're Weasleys, of course we know what a sunburn is."

"It'll feel like a really bad sunburn for a while. That's the best way that Bran worded it. He says he's going to come every three days until we go back to Hogwarts. Then she'll have to do the treatments herself."

"Treatments?"

Bria shrugs. "I don't know much. But Bran says that not even magic can cure everything right away. He says the best way is to take it slow; if you try to speed the process then the skin will be too taut."

Ginny stirs and they both turn to look at her, but she settles back down.

"Bria... Will you still be staying with us the rest of break?"

She looks at him, nervous. "I understand if you wouldn't want me to, you have enough on your hands as it is-"

He shakes his head, his eyes wide in alarm. "No! No, no, that's, that's not what I meant. It's just that, I went to go check on Ginny in the middle of the night, and I saw Harry sleeping at the table-"