Love || Word Prompt Drabble
When you’re ten and you finally see the famous boy-who-lived after hearing stories your whole life about him, a part of you thinks you know what love is. Maybe these are the feelings that brought your parents together.
Then you turn eleven, you spent a whole summer hearing about that boy, and it turns out he’s just as dreamy as you thought. Adventure stories courtesy of your brother. Then it’s your turn to go to Hogwarts, but your year isn’t full of adventure. The place you waited to see your whole life turned into a nightmare that almost killed you. But the boy-who-lived suddenly becomes the boy-who-saved-you, a hero, and heroes get love all the time, so you fall deeper.
But all-too-suddenly you’re twelve and that boy has too much going on. Not that he would have noticed you anyways, so you pine for the next year or two. Until someone who is wiser in almost every way than you, tells you to focus less on him, so you do, and hopefully he’ll come around. Of course he doesn’t, not before it’s too late anyways.
You don’t want to say you regret going with Neville, he is your friend, but you spent most of the first part of the night wishing Harry had asked sooner. You feel bad for ruining Neville’s night, but it doesn’t last, the pair of you end up having a wonderful time.
Then next year the boy-you-thought-you-loved has secrets, secrets he shares among his two real best friends, and you’re left behind. So you wipe all the boys out of your mind, except as friends, friends are good. But then it happens. That moment you hadn’t expected, and approval rings through the common room, even Ron doesn’t looked pissed.
It’s short-lived, however, because this boy is always The Hero, you knew that, but you just hoped for more. Fighting Death Eaters, holding a rebellion study group, Voldemort. There was never time for you, Ginny Weasley, and you feel selfish, because he’s giving his life up to save the wizarding world, but you can’t help it. So you understand, and when he has to leave you don’t cry, you don’t get mad, because you’re not ‘that girl’ and you know he’s doing things more important than love is right now.
For a while you convince yourself that he’ll be back and it’ll all go to normal, your job is to wait. But it weighs on you.
He took Hermione, and your brother, He can’t argue that you’re weak, you’re not eleven anymore. You were at the ministry with him, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna; you’re a fighter and he should know that. So you let him go, emotionally this time, and you fight, you rebel, you do what you can. Because it’s all you can do. But love, love is gone. Harry is your brother, and you should have seen that.
Of course, you get a little bitter, you’re human after all. Everyone expects you to wait for him. Why? Because you’re his equal. His. That doesn’t fly with you. Beause Ginny Weasley doesn’t belong to anyone, Ginny Weasley isn’t a piece of property. And Equals, equals don’t ask you to wait.
Equals put aside their fear, Equals fight right along side you despite threats of punishment, Equals agree to go to a ball with you even though they know you’re pining after a hero.
Equals are sitting in front of the fire, nursing wounds so we can do it all again tomorrow. And that’s when you really know what love is.
Love is that awkward boy, who stood by you through it all, the boy who turned into a man, and you get over there and you love him, because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
