A/N: Well here's the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for- you'll get the full story of what happened between Draco and Ginny. Please, PLEASE remember that this is a FLASHBACK chapter, I have little breaks inserted in the bits where it goes back to present time. Also, BIG thanks to VanillaPuf for reading over this and assuring me that it was good enough to post ;)
I hope you all enjoy!!
"I'm sorry Ginny," Dean Thomas was saying. "It's just… it's been fun but I don't feel like I used to around you anymore."
Ginny nodded. "I understand. I think we've been growing apart for awhile. And now that you're graduating next year…"
"That's part of it," Dean took her hand. "I don't quite know where I'm going that and even though it's a year away I don't want us to be held back. We'll stay friends though, right?"
"Right," Ginny hugged him.
She was leaving his house when Dean's half sister Sasha came out of the kitchen with a biscuit in her hand. "Hi Ginny," she said.
"Hey Sasha," she replied, briefly admiring the girl's outfit. She wore tight leather pants that practically moulded to her waist and legs and her shirt was made up of the same material, and laced up the front. "Where are you off to?"
Sasha shrugged, her long braided hair swishing over her shoulders. "Just out and about- probably' I'll hit up a club or two later." She bit into her biscuit. "Want to come?"
"Oh…" Ginny said, looking down at her jeans and jumper. "I… don't think so."
"Oh come on," Sasha replied. "I'll be fun and if you hate it you don't have to go again." she smiled at the redhead.
"I don't really have anything to wear." Ginny tried to make excuses.
"I'm sure I've got something." Sasha grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs to her bedroom.
Ten minutes later, Ginny found herself in a pair of leather pants much like the ones Sasha had on, and a shirt so tight she was almost afraid to breathe. "Take out your hair," the black girl said.
Ginny loosened her red strands from the ponytail she had them tied back in and they swung freely over her shoulders and down her back. Sasha put some makeup on her eyes and lips and then told her to look in the mirror.
"Is that really me?" Ginny was astounded at her reflection. The eye shadow and lip gloss along with the clothes made her look years older than she actually was.
"That's you," Sasha seemed pleased with her handiwork.
They left not long after that, around nine thirty. Ginny had used Dean's owl to let her parents know she wouldn't be back until late that night and off they went.
She worried when they arrived at a club in Muggle London set back in an alleyway that they would have trouble getting in. She was only fifteen after all and Sasha was only seventeen.
There was a large man standing outside, his body so wide Ginny could have put two of herself next to him and still had room on either side.
"ID," he growled as she and Sasha stepped forwards.
"Oh Max," Sasha purred, letting her hand travel down his arm. "She's with me and you know I'm good."
Max looked unyielding for a moment but stepped aside to let them in. Sasha grinned at her and seconds later Ginny was staring around a very dark yet large room. "What's this place called?" she had to shout to be overhead due to the music.
"Ummm…" Sasha shrugged. "I can't remember. The something club… " She pulled on Ginny's hand. "Come on, let's get a drink."
Ginny allowed herself to be led over to the bar where Sasha said something to a guy behind the counter and then he was pouring something clear into two glasses and Sasha thrust one in her hand.
"Drink that," she said. "It'll help loosen you up."
Ginny did as she was told, grimacing at the bitter taste. "What is it?" she asked.
"Vodka," Sasha replied.
Ginny nodded as if she knew what that was and Sasha was laughing and asked the same guy behind the bar to put some cranberry juice in it. "This will help cut the taste a bit," she said.
It did taste a lot better and soon she was drinking it with ease. Sasha seemed to know almost everyone they passed and Ginny was surprised to see a lot of the men were looking at her with approval.
"Want to dance?" one of them asked, his hand sliding over her waist. Ginny felt her head spinning as she nodded; he led her out on the dance floor by where Sasha was currently dancing (if one could call having sex with their clothes on that) with another guy.
"Just move your body like mine, like his," Sasha said in her ear.
Ginny was hesitant at first but when the guy pushed his body into hers a thrill so great shot through her that her knees almost buckled.
So nearly every night for the next few weeks Ginny would go with Sasha to the club. She grew accustomed to the clothing, the alcohol and the men she would dance with.
It was one particular night, there weren't many of the people she normally knew there; she and Sasha had taken the dance floor together, grinding up against one another. There was a new song that suddenly came over the music system and Ginny was freely moving herself around, her hair swinging behind her when a male body pressed up against her from behind.
Ginny leaned her head against the person as their hands came around her flat stomach. They were long fingers, perfectly manicured nails. His front pushed against her behind, and she felt his lips move through her hair.
Come my lady, come come my lady
You're my butterfly, sugar baby
Ginny felt him grind harder into her; she tried to turn around but his body felt so good against hers that she couldn't move aside from their dancing. His fingers crept over her bare stomach as her shirt lifted.
She let her head lean back against him and she felt his fingers travel through her hair, twisting the strands between his fingers. Ginny could feel him grow hard against her backside and the now familiar thrills shot through her. She liked this sort of power, the power that would make men beg for her attention.
The song started to fade away and Ginny pulled out of his grasp and turned around. She managed to catch a glint of silver blonde hair before the lights in the club darkened so she couldn't see anymore.
"Who are you?" she whispered as the next song started.
"Who are you?" he asked, feeling ahead to draw her close. She fitted into him neatly as they began to grind, this time the fronts of their bodies pressed together.
Ginny placed her hands on his shoulders, her fingers stroking the hair on his nape. It was fine and silky; his skin soft against hers as their foreheads touched while their lower bodies gyrated to the beats of the music.
They danced like that through several songs. Ginny thought she could catch glimpses of him in the flashing lights but they were in a dark corner so she never fully saw his features.
"Can I buy you a drink?" his lips slid along her ear.
"Sure," she replied breathily. He took her hand and led her out of the darkened area and it was at that moment she saw who she had been dancing with.
"Malfoy?" Ginny exclaimed.
"Weasel?" his disgust mirrored hers as she yanked her hand out of his.
"Ugh!!!" she stormed away, angered at her reaction to him out on the floor. If she'd known that was him she would have left right then and there.
To her chagrin, Malfoy had followed her out near the lobby. "Look at you Weaselette… you've sure grown up and know how to move,"
"Sod off Malfoy," Ginny shot back. "I don't know what you're bloody playing at but I don't want any part." She pushed past him and stormed off where Sasha was sitting with some of their friends.
The next night as she and Sasha came back, Ginny glancing apprehensively around to see if Malfoy was there again. He was- she could see the back of his head as he chatted up some blonde near the corner of the room. He turned around as if he felt her staring at him and their eyes made contact.
She turned away as if she hadn't seen him and joined her friends in the opposite of the room. Ginny had just sipped her drink when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Dance with me?" Malfoy was looking straight at her with a slight smirk playing at his lips.
"No thanks," Ginny returned coldly, brushing his fingers from her skin.
"Oh come on," Malfoy said, his hand returning to her shoulder. "You certainly enjoyed it last night."
Sasha grinned at her friend. "Go ahead Ginny; we'll save your spot."
Ginny glared at her as she pulled back on her drink, emptying the glass. She slammed it down as she got up and stalked onto the dance floor.
"What are you doing?" she demanded sharply as they began to move.
"What do you mean?" Malfoy looked amused.
"Why are you in a club full of Muggles? You hate them!" she had to lean close so no one could hear her and it meant her body was pushed up against his which sent thrills down her spine.
"I got bored sitting around the Manor. So I found this place." He shrugged.
Ginny raised an eyebrow as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "You, YOU got bored so you came to a Muggle dance club?" she laughed dryly.
"You know, you have me pegged completely wrong; Muggles mean nothing to me, plus here no one knows me. I haven't got some silly bint like Parkinson hanging off me just because of my name." Draco looked at her slyly. "I'm not really that big of a bastard as you think I am."
"Oh so that means you're just a really good actor then?" Ginny shot back. The song ended at that moment and she turned on her heel and walked away from him, Malfoy staring at her the whole time.
The next morning as Ginny showered she felt oddly confused about her encounters with Malfoy at the dance club. She hated the fact that her body wanted to fit into his like a glove. She hated the fact that he was so bloody attractive. She hated the fact that her heart wanted more while her head remained logical and told her it would never work out.
"That's as far as it's going to go," she said firmly as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair. She headed downstairs for some juice or water to drink, as her mouth was dry as cotton.
"About time you got up," Ron was saying as he gobbled his lunch down so fast Ginny couldn't see what was on his plate. Ginny glared at him as she poured herself a glass of juice.
"Are you feeling all right love?" Molly Weasley put her hand to her daughter's forehead.
"I'm fine," Ginny snapped as she brushed her mother's arm away in an exasperated fashion. "Just because I slept in doesn't mean that I'm sick!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Mum, I've got to go owl Harry and Hermione." He left his dishes on the table.
"Make sure you finally tell Hermione that you fancy her!" Ginny called snidely after him. This house, her family all of a sudden felt oppressive to her. She wanted to get out and she wanted to be on her own.
"Ginevra," Molly said disapprovingly.
"What?" Ginny asked, gulping down her juice. "Merlin, all he does is stare after her, and all she does is worry about Harry. You'd think at least one of the two of them would get it together and shag her already!"
"That's enough Ginevra!" Molly said firmly. "I don't like the way you're talking and I will not have you bothering your brother about that sort of thing."
"Fine," Ginny muttered. "I'm going back to bed."
"Don't you want any lunch?" Molly called after her.
"No I'm on a diet!" Ginny rolled her eyes as she slammed her door behind her. She flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, Malfoy's face appearing behind them.
That evening as she and Sasha came into the club, he was there, and his pale eyes sought her out immediately. Ginny turned away from him just as fast, disliking the way her heart jumped in her throat at the mere sight of him. She spent the first half of the evening trying to avoid him by dancing with the guys she and Sasha were sitting with.
Malfoy was watching her; she could see that and his eyes grew darker with each passing song. She flirted shamelessly with the guys to make him angry and finally when she looked to where he had been standing he wasn't there anymore.
Ginny let out a sigh that was a mixture of relief and disappointment. That feeling didn't last long as she was pulled from behind directly into the person she'd been trying to avoid.
"What do you want?" she snapped. "That really hurt!"
"Too bad," Malfoy answered. "You're pissing me off tonight Weaselette."
"So what?" Ginny answered. "Why should you of all people care about who I dance with?"
"Bet you wish it was Potter out there with you," Malfoy sneered.
"As a matter of fact Malfoy, no I don't wish that." She shook her head. "I've been bloody over him for ages now. Or did Pansy Parkinson forget to inform you of that particular little piece of gossip?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed as the same song they had danced to the first night he came started over the music system.
Come my lady, come come my lady
You're my butterfly, sugar baby
Before Ginny knew what was happening, she and Malfoy were pressing against one another as they were thrust together by the burgeoning crowd on the floor.
She stumbled a bit and his hands came around her slim waist. "Come on," he said, his eyes intensely boring into hers. Ginny almost felt powerless to him at that point- much like she had during her second year with that blasted diary.
"You know, that first night I saw you dancing out here… I couldn't keep my eyes off you." Malfoy's hands were working their way up her back and into her loose hair.
Ginny took a deep breath as his mouth skimmed her ear again. "Is that true?" she found herself asking.
Malfoy pulled away and nodded. "Yes, I saw your hair… it looked like firelight in a dark room." he replied so quietly she almost didn't hear him.
Ginny was knocked straight into him at that point by another dancer. She looked up to apologise and their faces were only an inch apart. The next moment was one Ginny would remember the rest of her life, for Malfoy had leaned down and a second later they were kissing.
His hands were fisted in her long hair as hers came up on his shoulders, clinging to him like he was a life raft in a raging sea. Malfoy was steering her somewhere but Ginny didn't dare open her eyes to see; she was afraid if she did she'd find this was all just a dream.
He had propelled them in a corner of the room where there were sofas set up, along with some very dim lighting. She had seen this corner and what people did back here, but hadn't thought she would wind up doing that.
Her fingers were running continuously through his hair as their tongues duelled for control. His hands were buried up her shirt, brushing against her bare breasts. Ginny felt like her insides were on fire as she kissed him back as hard as she possibly could.
Suddenly she pushed him away, breathing in heavily as she did so. "What the bloody hell was that?" she cried, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Malfoy was breathing equally as hard.
"We can't do this!" Ginny crossed her arms over her chest.
"Why not?" Malfoy asked.
"Because!" Ginny exclaimed. "Look at this- look at the way you've talked about me, talked about my family! Look at the way you treat my friends Malfoy! You act as if you're some sort of royalty and the rest of us; especially my family are scum of the bloody earth!"
"I'm sorry," he said but she brushed him off.
"No… I've got to go," she practically ran away from the sofa and searched the room for Sasha.
"What's wrong?" Sasha asked when Ginny finally found her.
"I need to get out of here," Ginny replied, hoping Malfoy wasn't trying to find her.
"Why?" Sasha looked concerned.
"I just…" Ginny felt her eyes fill up with tears. "Please can we just get out of here?"
"Sure…" Sasha grabbed her hand and they left, walking a good distance away. "What is going on Ginny?"
Ginny sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "I just think… I'm falling for someone I've hated for so long."
"Who, that blond guy?" Sasha asked.
Ginny nodded. "I don't know what to do!" she said as they began walking back towards the Thomas house.
"Well… if you really want him then go for it… it's really up to you," Sasha said gently. "You want to stay here tonight?"
"Sure," Ginny said. "I'll owl my mum."
She spent most of that night awake, thinking about Malfoy. And as the sun finally started to rise on the horizon, Ginny fell asleep knowing what she was going to do.
"One chance Malfoy," she said that night, staring at him evenly. "If you mess around with me I'll be gone before you even have time to blink."
"I knew you couldn't resist me," he boasted.
"Sod off while you're still ahead," Ginny glared.
Malfoy grinned, which startled her. "Come on then," he grabbed her hands and pulled her out onto the floor. Ginny couldn't help but get lost in the song while with him; she realised now why people enjoyed dancing this way so much.
She didn't put up a fight when he leaned down and kissed her again either- in fact her hands moved of their own volition into his hair once he moved them back into the dark spot they had occupied the night before.
*** End Flashback***
"So that's really how things got started," Ginny said, looking up at Neville, who was listening attentively. "After that, we met almost nightly. It actually wasn't until we got back to school that we started sleeping together…"
***Begin Flashback***
Ginny arched her back as Draco pushed inside her, their bodies sweaty and taut. His mouth covered hers so when she cried out it wouldn't echo in the cold Slytherin dormitory, where she'd sneaked into earlier that evening, even though he'd cast a silencing charm on the hangings around his bed.
"Merlin Draco!" she breathed as he finally spent inside her.
"I know," he said, his lips lingering on her neck. "I love the way you cry out like that."
Ginny turned red. "Stuff it you," she laughed and pushed him down so she could give him a proper kiss.
"I just did," he smirked, running his hands through her abundance of hair. She knew he loved her hair. They kissed again and Ginny snuggled into his side. It was times like this she loved being with him best, when they were both sweaty and glowing warm after making love.
The first time they'd done it had been only a few weeks into term. They both made careful sure never to meet in the same place twice, and never in the Room of Requirement, as Ginny knew Harry used that room for practising with Ron and Hermione for his upcoming battle with Voldemort. And if he wasn't in there, someone else usually was.
It hadn't taken her long to fall in love with him. He was different with her than he was normally. In the Great Hall he'd still talk snidely to Harry, Hermione and Ron but it was without the malice he'd once had in loads.
"Shouldn't you get back before you fall asleep?" Draco asked, yawning widely.
"Erm…" Ginny had almost been out. "You're right." She blearily reached out of the hangings for her clothes. Draco watched her dress before he pulled back in his arms.
"Love you," he said roughly in her ear before kissing her goodbye. The first time he'd said that Ginny had nearly jumped out of her skin.
"I love you," she whispered back, before kissing him once more and leaving the comfort of his warm bed.
***End Flashback***
"Things carried on a lot like that for most of the year," Ginny said as she and Neville dumped a new load of sheets in the washer and pulled out the now dry ones. "We met in secret all the time- we both even stayed at Christmas."
"I remember that," Neville said.
Ginny nodded. "It wasn't until right around the Easter holidays that we started hitting trouble…"
***Begin Flashback***
"I hate all this lying," Ginny was sitting cross legged on a desk in an abandoned classroom. "I don't like sneaking around all the time."
"I don't like it either!" Draco replied.
"Well then let's come out with it!" Ginny retorted. "Draco we've got no reason to keep this private! You love me and I love you!"
"Your brother would kill me," Draco snapped. "If we tell everyone we'll just be separated."
"We're adults, not five year olds," Ginny said. "I'll deal with Ron."
"You say that now," Draco crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window.
Ginny came up behind him and put her chin on his shoulder while her arms went around him. "I don't ask for much Draco. Just this."
Draco sighed. "Look… just give me some time to think about this all right?"
Ginny nodded, realising this was all she was getting out of him at the moment.
He walked her back to the corridor leading to the Gryffindor Tower. There was a small shadowy alcove there that they often would kiss goodbye in and this time was no exception. Ginny pulled him close and kissed him as hard as she could; her way of telling him she understood his hesitance. His response was the same- his way of telling her that he would figure things out.
Seeing as it was midday on a Saturday, there usually weren't many students if any in the corridors of the castle- most were tucked away in their houses or outside on a gorgeous day like such. Ginny pulled Draco out of the alcove, their mouths still fused together when a loud piercing shriek made them pull apart.
Pansy Parkinson stood there, her mouth hanging open. "Shit," Draco pushed Ginny behind him. "What the fuck do you want Parkinson?"
"What are you doing?" she said in disgust. "Draco… that's a Weasley!"
"I'm perfectly aware of who she is," Draco said coldly. "What do you want?"
"Nothing," she smiled snidely. "I just… never thought you'd stoop so low is all. Going for the likes of her."
"Get the fuck out of here," Draco snapped. She shook her head and with one last taunting smile, she disappeared in the direction of the Great Hall.
Both Draco and Ginny went to bed that night worrying about what the fallout would be with Pansy knowing about them, but to their surprise, not a word had been said seemingly. Life went on for the next few days just as it had for the whole year so far.
But on the third day after their confrontation with the nasty Slytherin all hell broke loose. Ginny went to breakfast that morning, a bit tired after staying so late with Draco. At first she didn't notice the stares and jeers in her direction.
"Good morning," she said to Harry, Hermione and Ron while helping herself to some eggs.
"I don't know what's so good about it," Ron snapped. "When the hell were you going to tell me?"
"What?" Ginny looked up and everyone except her brother and his friends turned their heads in another direction. "What are you talking about?"
"You and bloody sodding Malfoy, that's what I'm talking about!" Ron shouted. He pushed his dishes away and stalked out of the Great Hall. Ginny sat open mouthed for a moment then turned to look at Draco.
He sat at the Slytherin table, stone faced. Pansy was sitting a few spaces away, laughing and shooting her death glares. Ginny felt her face turn red and was about to get up and go over to the girl when Hermione grabbed her arm.
She pulled Ginny out of the Great Hall as a loud chatter rose behind them. "Is it true Ginny? You and Malfoy?"
Ginny looked down at her feet. "How… how did you all find out?" she asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"Well…" Hermione looked hesitant as she adjusted her Head Girl badge. "I heard it this morning from Parvati and Lavender. I've no idea who they got it from."
"Pansy," Ginny's throat constricted. "She… saw us a few days ago in the corridor together. I… she hadn't said anything so we assumed she wasn't going to…" She pressed her palm into her forehead.
Hermione looked contrite. "I… I don't know if you knew this, but Malfoy… he's not said a word to anyone about it. I don't know if that means he's denying it or what…"
"What am I going to do?" Ginny's eyes filled with tears.
"Come on," Hermione pulled on her hand again as students started to file out of the Great Hall. "Let's go around the lake so no one bothers us."
As the two girls walked, Ginny told Hermione almost everything about what had gone on. She left out some of the more intimate details but by the time they were finished she had disclosed most of the story. "I don't know what my parents are going to say… I was rather horrible when I left for school."
"Maybe they won't find out?" Hermione tried to comfort her.
Ginny sighed. "Hermione… they'll find out. This is going to be everywhere. A Weasley and a Malfoy together… our families hate one another so much that this is bound to be spread."
Hermione hugged the younger girl comfortingly. "I hope you can work it all out Ginny. I'm here to talk if you need me."
"So you're not angry?" Ginny asked.
"Well… I guess I really don't understand why but no, I'm not angry. You're a big girl," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron forgets that sometimes. Harry's probably upstairs now trying to calm him down."
"I suppose he's just as mad as Ron." Ginny thrust her hands in the pockets of her robes.
Hermione shrugged. "He's got a lot more patience than Ron but I don't think he understands it either. Malfoy's been at our backs since the first day we were on the train coming here."
"He's a lot different than people think," Ginny replied. "Really Hermione… he's not a huge git when it's just the two of us. He loves me."
"I hope so Ginny," Hermione answered. "I really hope so." She looked at her watch. "We've got to get back; classes are going to start in a few minutes."
"All right," Ginny answered. "I'll come back in a minute. I just need a little time to myself."
"Will you be okay?" Hermione asked.
Ginny nodded and the older girl hurried away. She looked out at the lake and wondered if that was true; if she would really be all right.
*** *** ***
Ginny managed to sit tall that day in class, despite the whispers around her. She would not show emotion until she saw Draco that night. She was actually astounded that several of her Gryffindor housemates were more curious about what Draco was like in bed rather than scandalised.
She waited for him that night in his bed, the hangings pulled tightly around it. Ginny buried her face in his sheets and pillow, drinking in his scent as hours ticked slowly by. She had fallen asleep around midnight and was awoken some time later as Draco finally came back to his room.
"Hey," she rubbed her eyes. "I've been waiting for you to get back here," she smiled and reached for him.
"You shouldn't have waited," Draco pushed her hands down.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, finally taking a good look at him. "Draco what's wrong?"
He sighed and pulled the hangings more tightly together before casting a freezing charm to keep them from coming apart as well as a silencing charm. "I've just gotten a letter from my father."
"Oh," Ginny replied. "Well… what did he say?"
Draco shook his head. "Ginny… we can't be together." He finally said.
Ginny shook her head, hoping she'd heard him wrong. "What?"
"We can't be together," he grabbed her shoulders. "My father is very angry with me about this."
"So?" Ginny shrugged out of his grasp. "You're seventeen years old and I'll be finished with school next year. We don't need to worry about what our parents think of us."
"Don't you see?" Draco asked angrily. "I'm NOTHING without my father's support!"
Ginny stared at him a moment. "You… you really are a coward aren't you?" tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
Draco sighed again and tried to pull her into his arms but she shoved him away. "I should have known better. I should have known you'd figure yourself a way out of this!" Ginny slapped his pale cheek and clawed at the hangings. "Let me out of here you bastard!"
Draco took the charm off and she fled the room.
*** *** ***
Ginny cried herself to sleep that night, hoping by some miracle that when she woke up she'd find that everything was one bad dream. Yet when she woke up, all the memories of the day before flooded over her again. She automatically dressed herself, throwing her hair back in a sloppy ponytail as she gathered her schoolbooks.
Breakfast that morning was even worse than it had been the day before. Ron acted as if she didn't exist. Harry mumbled a few words to her and Hermione was glaring at them both.
The worst part about it was that Draco was lording it over the Slytherin table as if nothing had ever happened. Loud bursts of laughter carried over the Great Hall and Ginny felt small as she heard him talk scornfully about the 'silly Gryffindors' and whatnot.
Not able to take any more, she grabbed her books and ran out of the Great Hall, the Slytherins' laughter trailing behind her the whole way. Tearing up to Gryffindor Tower, she threw herself on the bed and sobbed some more until her well of tears ran dry.
Ginny thought at one point she heard Hermione call for her but she couldn't be sure. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, not wanting to see anyone. After a long while she actually did fall asleep and woke up in the early afternoon.
She stumbled her way into the girl's bathroom and took a very long, hot shower. She scrubbed her body down until it was red and sore as if she were washing away Malfoy, washing away her memories of him.
Ginny got out, wrapping a towel gingerly around her raw body. "Ouch," she said; soft as the fabric was her body was chafed. She bit her lower lip and grabbed her comb, yanking it viciously through her tangled and wet waist length tresses.
"Blast this bloody hair!" Ginny cried in frustration as the comb fell to the floor. She kicked it across the room and then blindly reached into the drawer in front of her, pulling out a pair of sharp, shiny scissors.
She chopped at her hair until it fell unevenly around her chin, the cut strands lying like blood on the floor around her. She could hardly see her reflection through her tears as the coursed down her cheeks again.
Ginny had no idea how long she sat there and cried. It felt like hours, it could have been days for all she knew or cared. She wiped at her eyes as a rather nasty idea occurred to her; she gathered her shorn hair as she dressed back in her school uniform. Back in her bedroom, she shoved the locks in a large envelope and headed for the Owlery.
She knew Harry wouldn't mind if she used Hedwig. As the snowy white bird nipped at her finger she tied the heavy parcel to its leg and watched it fly away.
"Fuck you Malfoy," Ginny whispered.
She went to lunch even though she had skipped all her morning classes. Ginny wanted to see and relish the look on his face when he opened the envelope and she sat facing him just so she could.
Hermione stared in shock at her, touching the rough ends of her bob. "What did you do?" she asked softly.
"Just going for a change," Ginny replied calmly. "I rather like it."
Ron again didn't even bother to look at her but Harry nodded at her. "How are you feeling Ginny?" he asked quietly.
"I'm fine Harry. Thank you for asking," she replied. The food arrived on the table at that point and she was spared from talking to them any more.
The owls started arriving about ten minutes after that. Ginny watched with lidded eyes as Hedwig dropped the parcel in Malfoy's lap and flew back out.
She watched as he tore it open, the smirk on his face fading away as he saw what was inside. He closed it back up and snapped his head in her direction. Ginny glared at him as she got up, grabbing her books and left the Great Hall.
She was almost to the stairwell that would lead her up to her first afternoon class when she heard him call her name. "What do you want?" Ginny asked coldly.
"What the hell is this?" he held the envelope out as he came up to her.
"Don't be stupid Malfoy," she sneered. "It's what you loved best about me, remember? You always loved my hair, it was the first thing you noticed about me on the dance floor." She pushed the envelope back at him. "Now it's yours. You can stroke whatever you want with it." She turned away but he grabbed her arm.
"I am sorry," Malfoy said.
"Sod off," Ginny pulled out of his grasp. "I should have listened to my head instead of my heart. You're nothing but a spineless ferret. Do me a favour and don't bother me again." she left him standing there as she stalked up the stairs.
***End Flashback***
"That's the last time I spoke to him," Ginny said as she and Neville finished the last load of sheets. "I saw him here and there around school, and then I walked past him on the platform after we all got off the train."
"Wow," Neville shook his head.
Ginny shrugged. "I'm over it… you know… I was depressed the rest of the year but once we got here I thought about it and there's no reason for me to be upset. Malfoy's probably out living the grand life and I'm sure he doesn't care so why should I?"
"That's a good way of thinking about it," Neville said.
Ginny was quiet for a moment. "You're the first person I've told all that to, you know."
"I thought you talked to Hermione about it," Neville replied.
"Well I did, about some of it." Ginny said. "But you're the first person I've told everything to."
"I feel flattered," Neville grinned. "But I am sorry he hurt you so badly."
"He did," Ginny nodded. "But like I said, I'm over it. We all make mistakes… it's a part of life." She looked up at him as he grabbed another sheet from the dryer. "What about you Nev, what regrets do you have?"
Neville was quiet a moment. "What I regret… is that I never asked you to go to Hogsmeade with me."
Ginny was surprised. "You wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?"
"Well… now that I've graduated I really can't, can I?" he said a bit sheepishly. "I probably ruined any chance I had of that when I kept stepping on your feet at the Yule Ball."
Ginny started laughing. "You weren't that bad. I had a good time with you that night," she sat down on a stack of sheets.
"You did?" Neville was the one to look surprised now as he sat down next to her. "Really?"
"Yes," Ginny replied. "Really," she nudged his shoulder with hers.
He turned his head and looked down at her, realising how close they were sitting next to one another. Her shoulder was touching his as she looked up at him and they unconsciously moved closer until Neville was able to lean down and kiss her gently.
He pulled away almost immediately. "Oh Ginny… I'm sorry- I shouldn't have kissed you when you just told me that whole story and what would Ron think he's so protective of you now because of that!" Ginny silenced him by grabbing his face and kissing him again.
"Just because I snogged Malfoy doesn't mean everyone else pales in comparison," she said gently when she finally pulled away. "I always remembered how you blushed when you asked me to the ball in my third year. I always remembered how you protected me in the Department of Mysteries in my fourth year." She smiled at him. "You've always been around when I needed you to be."
Neville leaned in and kissed her again, this time circling his arms around her waist. Ginny returned it, her arms going about his neck. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked when they broke apart.
Ginny giggled. "What brought that on?" she asked.
"I was feeling momentarily brave," Neville answered his forehead on hers.
"Well, when I get back to Hogwarts I'll have to owl you a Hogsmeade schedule won't I?" Ginny said.
"Sounds good to me," Neville said as he kissed her again. "But for now how would you settle for a date in the town near here?"
"You're getting braver and braver Longbottom," Ginny said. "Now kiss me again."