Death Eaters in Daigon Alley - 8

Ginny's heart had dropped to her shoes when she'd watched him leap across the gap between the buildings. She'd seen his face – the jump had exhilarated him. She liked flying as much as the next person – probably more – but she preferred to have a broom under her when she did it. The jump had terrified her, although she had to admit that she was proud of herself now that she'd done it.

"'m fine," Harry said, barely able to get the words out.

Ginny rolled her eyes. He was anything but fine. Honestly, what was his problem admitting something hurt, anyway? His vivid green eyes were clouded with pain, and she knew he was holding his breath to silence his groans. Letting the air out through her nose, she tried to relax.

"My brothers!" she gasped, pushing onto her feet, suddenly remembering that most of them had been involved in the fight. They'd been on the street below the collapsed building. The air was still thick from smoke, making it impossible to see the ground properly. She could hear voices, but no sign of spells, indicating the fight was over. Ginny fought her rising panic. She couldn't see any of her brothers and couldn't even distinguish which side had won.

Her chest felt tight as the fear clawed at her heart. They had to be all right. They just had to be. She didn't know what she'd do if she ever lost one of them. Overbearing or not – they were still hers.

"We've got to get back down and see what happened," Harry said, gasping as he rose to his feet.

"Harry, you're hurt. At least let me go first," Ginny said, annoyed by the few stray tears that leaked from her eyes.

Harry shook his head. "We can apparate to a spot up the street a bit to take a look," he said. "Just give me a minute."

Stumbling over to the brick wall, he took a deep breath. Before Ginny had even realized what he was going to do, he slammed his shoulder into the wall with brutal force. Ginny heard a sickening 'pop' as his shoulder was forced back into the socket. He screamed, dropping to his knees.

"That's better," he said shakily before his eyes rolled back in his head; Ginny managed to catch him before his head hit the ground.

"Oh, Harry," she said, cringing. Merlin, that had to hurt. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, shaking him gently and trying to rouse him. She knew she should go and check on the situation below, but she couldn't just leave him here like this. "Come on, love. Wake up."

She tapped the side of his face lightly, hating herself for doing this to him. He moaned, but his eyes didn't flicker.

"Okay, Harry. I'm going to go down and get some help," she said, sniffling. "I'll be right back."

Harry eyes flew open wide as if she'd doused him with cold water. "Ginny," he croaked.

"I'm here," she said, shaking her head slightly. Was there no end to that boy's stubbornness? "Can you stand?"

"Yeah," Harry replied automatically. He tried to rise, but only managed a sitting position before groaning as he cradled his arm. "Erm…maybe with a little help," he said sheepishly.

Ginny snorted and slung his left arm over her shoulder, straining to help him to his feet. He wobbled and for a brief instant Ginny thought he was going to go back down, but he managed to steady himself.

"Can you Apparate?" she asked, worried he'd end up splinching the two of them together.