"Dear Merlin," I rolled to my side and glanced at my alarm clock. In a panic, I turned and stared at the stranger sitting on the edge of my bed.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked me calmly. I jumped up quickly, to see she was wearing a black dress, were she had changed into it.
"How did you find me? How did you get in!"
She just put up her hands and shook her head. "The creature that I asked to meet me came to my apartment around noon. He was quite well placed to do as I asked. I told him that I wanted to know what your husband looks like. He told me how much he liked you, that you two were very much in love, and he went through your house looking for pictures. I picked one out and a doodle that you had left on the back of the frame."
"Did you remove any of the locks? How did you get in?"
"No, I just told him to bring me here. He found the keys in your workroom." She could see that she needed to explain everything to me. "I am a witch."
The first time she had said it, I had thought it was a sick joke. I telling her that I was a witch and that I could turn her into something. I had a lot of questions, most of which were the same, but my first one was, ""Where were you all these years?"
"I was in prison for murder. I met Callastislan there." She stood up and walked to the open window. "He told me about you and he came to me many times to help me escape, but he could never get me out of prison in time. I told him that you would be here." She pointed to me, then herself. "That's why he always knew when you were heading out of the city."
"You're going to jail. You have to be careful around me, I'll try to save you, but I have to be fast. Wait until he is looking away, then jump. I'll knock him out if I can, but I don't know if I can."
"Do you really think you can do that? If he is right and you have powers, then you should have been able to save me."
"I don't know. I don't really trust him, I know he'll do anything to get what he wants. I was a fool to think that he wouldn't have put a curse on me, just in case I left. He could have turned me into a monster, or given me powers that would have led to my darkest days."
"Why did he want to kill me?" I was trying to find out what the end game was. I couldn't give up the information.
"My article was supposed to cause a riot. If no one was harmed, he would let you and me go. He had this coded message that he would send to me." She handed me a small black envelope which read: Ginny Potter is not to be harmed; neither is my unborn child. She believed he was a common criminal-he could be caught, my child could be saved.
I couldn't believe the man had written something like that. If I had left, he could have given me this; it would have sent him straight to prison. "I have to go. Don't let him go to the hospital, he'll tell them what happened before you can make your escape. I'll try to figure out a way to get you out of here before he wakes up. I'll call you when it is safe." I walked over to her and hugged her. I had to leave her for a little bit and just go.
"I hope so."
She waited until I left to break down. I had never seen her break into tears before. She didn't cry any tears when I left.
I ran out of the house and directly to my car, which I didn't know had the house keys. I was shaking uncontrollably. I was afraid that the monster would attack her in her sleep and kill her before I could stop him. If he was here, then no one was safe from him. He was supposed to be a common criminal. How could he get so close to me?
As soon as I felt that I would be hard to tail, I drove as fast as I could to the hospital. I pounded on her door at least five times. I looked through the second floor window to see her at my bedside.
"How is it going? How is he doing?"
"He does not look great. The doctor just came in and said that I should probably call a relative. I'll give them a call." She went to the bed and kissed him on the cheek, whispered something in his ear, before walking to the other side of the room. "Try to wake up before I get back. I want to tell you what happened."
"Is he OK?"
"I'm an honest person, and I will tell you when he's not. Go, have a good time." I watched her leave and started to walk over to her. I crept over to her laptop and opened it. I waited until I heard the two of them whispering back and forth. It was obvious that he knew something was going on, and she didn't want him to know.
"It is OK, she said that I should go. He had a heart attack, and I think she was making something up. She was crying, so I just let her go. I want to know what happened, and she won't tell me. I'll find out somehow."
I had been listening to the conversation for about a half an hour. She had been telling him about her daughter and several other things before he stopped talking to her. I had to leave, I couldn't be caught listening in on them. I had to get her out of there. I wasn't sure where I was going to hide her, but I couldn't let him kill her.
I went back to work with a smile on my face. I wanted to get going on my day and see what would happen. Another day of retail no one appreciated the importance of life behind the counter. It always felt like I was waiting for something to change. If I could get a promotion or my first year of experience, I could be at peace. If I could get a pay raise or even a better car, then I could feel like a whole person. I didn't do it for the money, I did it for the acceptance of my contribution to the world.