Toast 08 A New Idea
A warm spring breeze danced across Ginny's bare toes as she sat by the lake. Her flaming hair streamed out behind her, giving her a godly appearance. A tired sigh escaped her lips, a sad gaze in her eyes.
"Why can't I get him out of my head?" she asked herself, running her fingers through her hair. Lazily she tossed a piece of toast to the giant squid, watching it speed to the surface for it.
"You all right Ginny?" Harry asked from behind her. She snapped around, a flush rising in her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip, too afraid to say anything. She slowly turned back to the lake, fixing her eyes on the still water; making sure the diary was safely tucked inside her robes.
"Virginia, talk to me... Talk to us! Do you know how worried Ron has been for the past few months? You've skirted everyone in the hallway, you don't even talk to Colin anymore!" Harry lectured, placing a hand on her shoulder, seating himself next to her on the moist grass.
"That's right, Harry, Ron has always been the only one who's truly cared about me!" she growled angrily, her cold eyes snapping to him.
"What do you want me to do Ginny? Follow you to find out what's wrong, sneak out behind you when you wander off late at night? What do you want me to say?" he huffed, turning her to him. She rotated her face in his hands, avoiding his eyes. Ginny flinched at the idea of Harry following her when she snuck up to the Astronomy tower, mostly to 'coincidentally' bump into Draco. She tightened her soft lips, signifying she would give no answer.
"You are IMPOSSIBLE Ginny! You know that? You used to be bright and witty and cheerful, but now no one can even talk to you without receiving a harsh retort. What happened? Do you still..." Harry questioned, trailing off. For the first time Ginny looked into Harry's eyes, looking past the windows of his soul.
"Gods you're beautiful when you open up," he sighed, his hand trailing to her cheek. Faintly, she recoiled from his touch. It was so warm, and inviting; not what she was used to.
"Maybe this will bring you back to us Gin," Harry murmured, tilting his head down to hers. His lips covered her own, but Ginny felt an absence with his touch. She pressed her lips against his, expecting the kiss she had been dreaming of to flood her body and soul, only blank feelings dropped into the pit of her chest. She pushed off of Harry, scooting a short distance away.
"What about Hermione?" she inquired suspiciously, suddenly afraid that she had just ruined everything for her friend.
"She told me to Gin, we're all worried about you, we wanted to help you. Ron and Hermione thought it best if I came down here and talked to you. We agreed if I could do anything to bring you back, I should do it. That's how dearly everyone wants the old Ginny, will you please just consider it?" he explained. Ginny's jaw dropped with disgust. Too stunned to say anything, her mouth flapped open and closed.
Finally thinking of something to say, she spat at Harry. "You wanted to help me? I think I'm far beyond what you may call 'help' Harry! YOU certainly didn't help by kissing me either. What would that have accomplished, ruining yours and Hermione's relationship? I don't think I could EVER bring myself to that. Wouldn't you think that I would figure it out after a while that nothing was real with you? Do you really think I'm so far off the deep end that I would hurt my friend? I may be distant, but then again I always have been, haven't I? You never let me in on your little group, I was never your friend so don't pretend to be mine now!" Ginny grumbled, standing up. She straightened her skirt, preparing to march off.
"Ginny, I have ALWAYS been your friend. I thought that, well- since you liked me... Er- we all thought that my kissing you might bring you back to us. It's like Tom did something to you down in the chamber and it's just now affecting you." Harry cooed, wrapping his hand around her wrist, preventing her from leaving. She growled under her breath.
"Well, do me a favor and DON'T look out for me anymore. I already have six brothers who look after me. Besides, I'm a big girl, I can swish my own wand and everything!" Ginny smiled sarcastically. Catching her signals, Harry let go of her wrist, looking at her quizzically, not able to understand her.
"Thanks, now I've got a lets-get-Ginny-evil meeting to attend to with Tom," she jabbered angrily, marching back to the castle. Harry sat by the lake, watching her disappearing back as she left him alone and confused.
"Who does he think he is kissing me? And then telling me it meant nothing! So much for a gentleman..." she hissed as she approached the Main Hall's doors.
"Looks like I was better, judging from the way you pushed off him," a boy sneered from behind her. Her eyes widened, a look of subdued glee spreading across her face, as she gawked up into the face of Draco Malfoy.
"I really don't have time for you right now Malfoy," Ginny growled, hiding her joy.
"Was he less than everything you dreamed, Weasley?"
"Don't see why it's any of your business. Furthermore, I'm not the pathetic excuse of a hormonal teen, you are! I should be asking you if that Ravenclaw was less than everything you dreamed... Oh wait, you never even got the chance to see, you were too scared of her!" Ginny laughed, pushing open the doors to the castle. Draco stood outside, his jaw dropping to the floor, giving him the appearance of a gaping fish.
"Come, come Malfoy, don't let your father find that I left you speechless. Or is that what you want, maybe I should tell him so you can go ruin people's lives and maybe even rape a few women with the Dark Lord!" she batted her eyelashes sweetly at him. "Oh and I don't need this anymore, I think I've actually got it memorized!" she finished, throwing his diary back at him. He stood, staring at her for a moment, looking down at her muddy feet.
"And do refrain from looking at my legs, I know they're nice but they're not for you!" she chortled walking away, leaving Draco lost for words for the first time in his life.
Feeling confident and self-assured, Ginny bounded up to her dormitory to find refuge and rest. She had had a tough day thinking about Malfoy, being kissed by Harry and then telling Malfoy off.
"Ha, bed! How nice it is to see you!" Ginny sighed happily, flopping down on her four poster bed. She kissed her pillow, resting her head on its soft, plushy cover.
"Er- you alright?" Hayley asked, peeking her head inside Ginny's curtains.
"Yes, just tired," Ginny called, her words hardly comprehendible since she was plunged headfirst into her pillow, her stuffed monkey secured safely in her arms.
"It's just that you've been so quiet lately, always sitting in your bed with your curtains closed, you know, reading something..." Hayley breathed sitting down next to Ginny. Ginny groaned, removing her head from her cold pillow and sat up, her monkey still in her hands.
"You wanna know what I was reading all that time?" Ginny asked, a sly gleam in her eyes.
"Well of course, I've only been trying to ask you since you and Colin started fighting!" Hayley replied eagerly, her sugar brown curls bouncing up and down.
"Draco Malfoy's DIARY!" Ginny whispered in Hayley's ear. Ginny watched with amusement, as Hayley's eyes grew wide.
"No... THE Draco Malfoy? Holy Cricket, how in the world did you manage to even get it?" she asked, almost too stunned to say anymore.
"Well, first I snuck into his dormitory... and then I took it and ran! That's all, it was easy as taking candy from a baby!" Ginny smirked as a pang of guilt hit her for lying. After all, it wasn't exactly all that easy stealing something from Draco Malfoy.
"I don't believe you. Did he try to do something to you again? You know, I saw him kiss you on our first day back..." Hayley giggled, watching Ginny's eyes grow wide.
"You did? Oh gods I feel embarrassed!" she whimpered, a crimson blush spreading from cheek to cheek.
"That's really not a good color for you..." Hayley huffed.
"What's not?" Ginny asked.
"The blush... You look as red as a tomato and it clashed horribly with your hair!" Hayley smiled warmly. Ginny threw a playful punch at her shoulder, rolling her eyes.
"Thanks Hayley, you got my Ginny back!" Colin laughed, pushing her bedside curtains aside. Ginny threw a confused look at Hayley.
"Alright Gin, this is how it goes... Colin was really sorry for anything he did and he wanted to apologize to you, but he was too afraid you were still mad so he had me come and talk to you. I really did enjoy our conversation, sit with us at breakfast tomorrow? You can even bring your monkey if you want to!" Hayley explained, letting a soft chuckle escape her lips as she looked at Ginny's ragged monkey.
"Oh, uh sure... But his name is Frank." Ginny replied lamely. So it had all been a plan to get Colin to talk to me again, how pathetically rude. Ginny huffed to herself turning to Colin. Hayley stood up, clearing her throat.
"Well, I think I shall leave you two alone..." and with that she pushed Colin inside, pulled the curtains closed, and walked away.
"Ginny, I'm sorry I kissed you before... It's just that I really liked you, and I still do, but I know I don't have a chance, especially when I'm being compared to Harry; and I never dreamed that it would ruin our friendship-" Colin rambled.
"Colin, do you remember what you first said to me the day we 'officially' became friends?" Ginny asked, cocking her head to the side. Colin shook his head no.
"You told me that we would be friends forever, none of that mushy stuff you see in Muggle films will ever happen. That we would do anything and everything together and nothing would split us apart,"
"And I broke two parts of that pack, I kissed you and then let you go. Gods Ginny, I'm sorry, you needed a friend and I was nowhere to be found..." Colin sighed, pulling Ginny into a warm embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, a tear leaking down her cheek.
"I missed you..." she choked out.
"I missed you too Gin," he sighed rubbing her back as she pulled tighter to him. "We'll get Malfoy back, after all he is the one that caused all this. Am I correct?" he asked her, she nodded her head, pulling away as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"Here, this is what we'll do..." Colin began, whispering in Ginny's ear.
~*~
"ZABINI!" Draco roared from his four poster bed as he flipped angrily through his diary.
"You rang, dear cousin of mine?" Blaise asked, stumbling into the Dorm room. His hair was set awry on his head, water droplets falling from free tendrils of hair; he had obviously just stepped out of the shower. Blaise plopped down on Draco's bed, looking at the book he was holding.
"Looks like you found your diary, good job mate. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to finish my shower."
"I do mind. Sit back down." Draco growled, tugging the towel, which was covering Blaise's waist. Fortunately it stayed in its place as Blaise was awkwardly jerked back onto the bed.
"You realize that Crabbe and Goyle are going to deprive me of my beloved hot water if you don't let me get back to my shower?" Blaise asked, looking sideways at Draco.
Not paying attention to a word Blaise had said, Draco began ranting to Blaise. "Do you know who had my diary? Let me give you a hint... they're a Gryffindor!"
"Was it that little redheaded dish you were snogging in the Astronomy Tower, oh, ever since the beginning of the year?" Blaise asked, a sly look plastered to his face. Draco's eyes sharpened.
"SHE was hitting on me, and yes, it was her. How did you know?" Draco mumbled, looking his cousin square in the eye. His look would have normally made anyone flinch, but Blaise was obviously used to it.
"Had a hunch it was her since it was missing. Really, the way she looked at you in the Great Hall... it gave away everything. May I get back to my shower now?" Blaise sighed; rubbing his sopping wet hair.
"No, you're going to sit here and devise a plan with me..." Draco roared shooting daggers at Blaise, actually making him shiver.
"Yes... all right. Anything for my cousin, just let me put on some clothes since I evidently won't be finishing my shower until later tonight."