Story: Stress
Chapter: 21
Rating of Chapter: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things I own are the plot, any characters, spells etc that you do not recognize.
Author Notes: In response to dolphingurl (hope I got the name right) you will be given a link when the story is updated, or you can keep a check on my profile page. (http://fanfiction.portkey.org/index.php?act=profile&userid=2780) there you will see any other stories that I have written. My very first fanfic is there too.
Chapter 21: Insight
The next day, Harry was in the locker room receiving anxious looks from his players. He had called them in an hour early; he was about to tell them he was going to forfeit the match. He had noticed that Ginny hadn't said a word to anyone, and she was sitting quietly in the corner. He had to wave that aside for now though, as he had to tell them the truth.
"Well, it appears that my ban is not going to be lifted, therefore I am afraid to say that we must forfeit the match. I'm sorry." The team exchanged glances with each other, they looked a little disappointed, but Harry didn't think they hated him.
"Stop! Potter, get your kit on." Harry turned around to see Draco standing in the doorway. "Your ban is lifted…I turned myself in." Harry smiled a little, but then came back to his senses.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"It was the right thing to do," answered Malfoy coolly. "Break a leg," he added, leaving.
Harry watched the rest of the team leave, apart from Ginny, who was still sitting alone in the corner. Harry slowly walked over to her; he put his hand so lightly on her shoulder that she probably couldn't feel it. He pressed down a little harder and she jumped a little.
"Harry, you made me jump."
"Sorry, are you ok?"
"Not really Harry…" she trailed off and started to cry slightly. Harry sat down next to her and put an arm over her shoulder. He was a little apprehensive, probably because this girl had a crush on him for four years, she was a girl, and he had a girlfriend.
"What's the problem?" he finally asked.
"I'm…I'm scared. I'm scared of this war; I keep having nightmares about my family being killed, and Voldemort taking over. After what happened with Ron yesterday…it just brought things to reality." She threw herself into Harry's arms and sobbed harder. Harry had no option but to hug her back.
"I won't let anything happen to you or your family Ginny, I promise," he said softly. She pulled away from him and stared deep into his eyes. "Now let me see that smile."
Ginny smiled slightly. "Thanks Harry."
*
An hour later Harry led his team onto the Quidditch Pitch, it was a cold but sunny day, and the full strength team flew high into the air. Harry looked across the pitch and noticed Cho Chang flying on her broom, she hadn't looked up at him, and he was glad. Madam Hooch released the balls and Dennis Creevey came to the microphone.
As the Quaffle was released Harry saw Ginny grab it straight away. She sped through the air like a bullet and drove the ball past the Ravenclaw keeper. "Ginny Weasley scores for Gryffindor, 10-0." The crowd roared and Harry noticed Hermione clapping furiously in the crowd. The Quaffle went backwards and forwards as Ron made a couple of easy saves, Ravenclaw caught them on the counter attack after the whole team had flown up the pitch. "It's Paul Lingleton zooming forward for Ravenclaw, he goes by Grimplehorn and leaves Seamus Finnegan for dead, 10-10." Harry had heard a little bit about Paul Lingleton, he was only a third year, and was new to the team. Ravenclaw had been bragging about their new talent, and Harry had to admit that he was good.
Harry started to panic later in the game as Ravenclaw were starting to get back into the game. The score was 60-50 to Gryffindor. But as Harry looked at the score he caught sight of the tiny speck of gold. He urged his Firebolt forward as Cho kept close behind him.
Meanwhile, Lingleton was once again zooming forward, he turned past Seamus, twisted past Ginny and was then nailed in both sides of his stomach with two Bludgers from Alex Ripper and Scott Perkins.
Back with Harry, he was now moving in on the snitch, he could almost reach it when he felt a hand grab his foot. He noticed Cho tugging at his shoe.
"Cho, get off, you'll get me killed," he yelled.
"I'm sure I can live with that," she spat back. She finally managed to remove Harry from his broom, but she obviously hadn't noticed the snitch move down. As Harry fell towards the ground he threw out a hand and enclosed it around the snitch. The Firebolt moved itself between Harry's legs as he flew high.
"Harry Potter has the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor Win! And with the news that Slytherin lost to Hufflepuff earlier today, that means that Gryffindor win the Quidditch Cup!"
*
The next few months flew by for Harry. Malfoy still appeared to be on their side, but he and Harry were far from friends. Ron was back to his usual self after his death and Ginny seemed to be coping a lot better. Harry had enjoyed a romantic Valentine's Day dinner with Hermione, and there had been no news of Voldemort going into April.
***
Draco Malfoy walked into the Astronomy Tower, he sometimes liked to go there and think about how much he hated his mum and dad. He knew that it was only taught in occasionally. When he arrived, he had some unexpected company. He stared at Ginny Weasley, who was perched in a window seat, gazing across Hogwarts grounds. She had her chin rested on her knees as they were curled up in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked.
"Draco! I was just…thinking," she answered, still now moving. Draco decided he would be safe to sit in the window seat opposite her. Ginny got up to leave but he stopped her.
"You can stay, I don't bite…often." Ginny nervously sat down.
"I appreciate what you did for Ron but I still hate you!" hissed Ginny.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "Ok, I deserve that, and I understand that you hate me but…"
"Oh shut up! I'm not in the mood to listen to a spoilt little brat wind me up with his cockiness. You have no idea what it is like to not have anything you want, you have no idea what it is like to have to work for something that you want." Ginny snapped.
"Well let me tell you something Weasley. Do you have any idea what it is like to have your mother and father beat you to a pulp every day of your life? Do you know what it is like to be forced to believe something that you don't want to? Do you know what it is like to be thrown out of your own house? You may think I hate you Weasley, but the truth is…I envy you. I would give anything to have a family that loved me, that cared about me. You should count yourself lucky, because you don't know how good you've got it."
"I'm sorry Draco…I didn't realise." Ginny said softly.
"Not many people do. But just because I'm cocky doesn't make me a bad person, that's just part of my personality."
There was a rather long silence between the two, but it was cut off when Ginny pulled her arms around Draco. It took him by surprise but he relaxed into it. "Do me a favour, call me Ginny."
"Ok…I guess," said Draco. It took Draco a while to realise that they had been hugging for about five minutes. He had never been held by somebody for so long. He suddenly noticed that Ginny's mouth had started to touch his neck, and he was…enjoying it. She moved her head away and stared deeply into his eyes.
He moved his lips onto hers and they initiated the kiss before finally kissing. It was a strong, passionate kiss and Malfoy couldn't resist her sweet taste. He continued to kiss her with fury and passion, until he realised that they were now up from their seat. He pushed her back onto a big desk at the front of the room and proceeded to push his body hard against hers. He then kissed her throat, down to her neck. He tore off her tie and unbuttoned her shirt. He looked down on the beautiful body underneath him and he moved his hands up her stomach. He was about to reach for her bra strap when she pushed him away.
"I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me," panted Malfoy.
Ginny got up slowly, her entire body shaking. She buttoned up her shirt and straightened out her clothes. "I better go," she turned, and left quickly. Malfoy stood alone, thinking about what had just happened.
Author Notes: Well there you have it, a new ship! I hope you don't mind, and I hope I didn't go too far with Draco and Ginny. I really wanted to give some insight into Draco's personal life, so hopefully I succeeded. It was nice to write about two different characters, and hopefully that has refreshed the story somewhat. If this chapter seems a little dragged out then I apologise, because I am actually suffering from big writers block. Also, I hope you're enjoying the Malfoy/Harry relationship. I like that they are friends, but are still rivals. I hope you do too, let me know your comments on everything I mentioned above and more if possible. I apologise for using "hope" so often in these comments, but I can't really think of another word.