AN: Hi, guys! Long wait this time, huh? Talk about having absolutely NO free time to do anything at ALL for myself lately! I've been burnt out lately what with the holidays and work and school. Honestly, I never would have gotten this chapter out this soon if I hadn't come down with a nasty cold. It gave me a day off to chill out and just do what I love for a change. I really appreciate the reviews from last chapter! You guys are so wonderful. And the recommendation to the D/G fic thread was great, too. Thanks to Gypsybaby21 for that!
I can't WAIT to hear from you all!
Ciao!
~Adrial
PS: One more chapter and it's a wrap on this fic! *sniff* L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"To be or not to be a Weasley"
Chapter 14: Fight or Flight
By: Adrial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One more kiss could be the best thing
One more lie could be the worst
And all these thoughts are never resting
And you're not something I deserve
In my head there's only you now
This world falls on me
In this world, there's real and make believe
This seems real to me
You love me, but you don't know who I am
I'm torn between this life I lead
and where I stand
You love me, but you don't know who I am
So let me go
Let me go
No matter how hard I try
I can't escape these things inside
I know, I know
But when all the pieces fall apart
You will be the only one who knows…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whispers slid into even the tiniest corners of Hogwarts the following week, clinging to wispy cobwebs that obscured the timeless gray stone walls, echoing off the tallest tower and somehow finding their way into Ginny's ears with every utterance. It was as if the entire castle was pulsating with a jumble of emotions-fear, anxiety, confusion and, worst of all, judgment.
The news of Lucius' escape coupled with a recent raid at a wizard convention in the Ministry of Magic that claimed four lives and five missing wizards cast a dark shadow over Hogwarts; even the teachers were more somber than usual, teaching classes while gazing every now and then at the doorway as if always on edge, always waiting for something to strike, someone to scream, or a spell to blaze through the eerie calm that skittered up and down their spines like mice.
One could practically draw a line down the middle of the hallways and find that one side never mingled with the other. If your house was Slytherin, the left side was for you, and if in one of the other three houses, you were either on the right side or scurrying away from the deathly smirks of the Slytherin crew. Lucius' escape had sealed the decision for nearly all-you were either for the Dark side or not.
But in all the mess of things, one person seemed to ignore it all. He showed neither emotion nor arrogance. His face was as stony as the gargoyles that gurgled from the tops of Hogwarts' highest towers. His eyes saw in only one direction-straight ahead-as if whatever or whoever might come up from behind or beside him was of no concern to him. Draco Malfoy ceased to exist in the eyes of his three rival houses. There was a blur of cloudy, gray eyes or platinum hair, but never anything more to those who passed him. It was safe to say that students feared his secretive silence and blank stares, but unwise to assume that he was not plagued by the news either. He was a man who finally understood and was ready for what was to come. Draco was waiting.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginny sighed wearily and made her way half-heartedly to the Great Hall. She'd considered skiving off meals completely, but the promise of her brother's nagging was more than she was willing to endure. She rubbed the dull gray rings around her eyes that could only be seen if one took the time to look at them pointedly and tried to make herself seem presentable. She hadn't seen or heard from Draco since the day he'd left her in the infirmary and the only indication she'd had of him even being alive was the sweep of silence that rushed over the bustling hall ways as he passed by or the screech of his eagle owl as it soared helplessly through the halls, having been rejected from Draco's world as well and too haughty to resign its glossy feathers to the owlery.
She swept open the doors, ready to face a few minutes of a (hopefully) silent breakfast and having to endure Harry and Hermione as they passed meaningful glances that ranged from "I love the way your glasses tilt when you smile" to "Do you think Ron saw when I gave you half my muffin instead of him?."
"Oy, Gin! Have you heard the news?!" Collin, who had been incapacitated for the past week after suffering from a more threatening strain of the flu bug, staggered over to her as she made her way to her seat; he was holding a large square of the Daily Prophet in one fist and a piece of toast in the other. Puffing from his short run, he held it out eagerly for her. "Lucius Malfoy has-"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Escaped. Yes, Collin. I've heard."
His bubble burst, Collin pointed at the newspaper again and exclaimed, "And look! A Ministry raid! Guess how many have gone missing! Go on, Gin, guess!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Five missing. Four dead. One very pissed of minister."
"And guess what else!" Collin grinned, not willing to stop until he got her up to speed on everything he'd missed. "Now that Lucius is out, word's spread around the entire castle that Draco's going to be meeting up with him any-"
"I KNOW!!!" Ginny roared and grabbed the paper out of Collin's hands, ignoring his look of shock as she made a great show of ripping the paper to shreds right in front of his nose.
"I bloody KNOW already, Collin! The whole damn SCHOOL knows! SO JUST SHUT
UP!!!"
Not one clink of silver could be heard over the sound of Ginny's rapid breaths. Her
heart was banging wildly in her chest and she was sure the entire hall was looking at her as if she'd just sprouted
wings, but she didn't care. Frustrated at her outburst, she flung herself away from the piercing gazes and stomped
out of the hall.
Collin remained as still as if he'd been petrified, completely wordless as the shredded image of Lucius sliced the air around him, falling in fragments of white hair, pale skin, and menacing silver eyes.
Ginny pummeled her way through the halls, battling against the oncoming traffic as if she were crawling through a stampede of rampaging animals. The imaginary meridian between houses had siphoned the majority of traffic against her, and she growled in annoyance, deciding that enough was bloody enough. Blurs of black and emerald jostled past her as she rammed through the less condensed Slytherin lane.
"Oy! Looks like an ickle little Gryffindor's decided to cross over to the Dark side, after all." A deep baritone voice sniggered from behind her, and a calloused hand roughly tugged at her robes.
"A little lost, are you, Weasley?" A fifth year girl with black eyes smirked and shoved her bodily against the wall.
Ginny took a chance to glare back at her and spat, "I can find my way fine, thank you." When she turned back around, her breath suddenly caught in her throat. This had been a very, very bad idea.
A sea of black and green robes surrounded her, snarling faces peering at her as if she were a fawn who'd ignorantly stumbled upon a pack of wolves. Ginny mustered her resolve and continued to barrel her way towards what she hoped to Merlin would be the exit. Hands pulled at her ginger hair and cloak; a well-aimed elbow nearly sent her books flying. She grunted as large feet stomped on her own, much smaller ones. Witches snickered in her ear, hissing threats through their teeth as they passed. Wizards eyed her wide hazel eyes mockingly, growling as they reveled in the sparks of panic that flickered in her pupils.
She suddenly could no longer see in front of her; everyone was much taller than she and she clutched her hand over her wand intuitively.
"Ginny! What the bloody hell-" Ron's voice called from behind her, and she fought to turn back, to find him, to find her place in the flow of traffic again.
"Get off her, you great ugly-IF YOU LAY ONE HAND ON MY SISTER AGAIN, I'LL CURSE YOU INTO THE BLOODY GROUND!"
Ron began flinging aside Slytherins like they were feathers. Hermione's voice could be heard begging him to stop and see reason before barging his way through the crowd. Ginny came to a point where she was drifting helplessly along in the sea of serpents, waiting to be swallowed completely within them.
Somewhere along the line, two other Gryffindor wizards had decided that Ron could use some help. However, their perception of help was to pound at the first sight of green robes they saw. The domino effect was instantaneous. Students jumped on each other as legs and arms, kicking and jabbing, collided through the hall. First years squealed and ran for the teachers as curses rang through the air amidst the rat's nest of bodies.
Ginny ducked someone's first and struggled to find a way to get away. Fearful for her brother, she tried desperately to find a mop of ginger in the commotion, but it was useless. Tears sprang to her eyes in frustration at the absurdity of it all. She prayed for the teachers to come faster. Any other time they were all on the tips of their toes to hand out detentions but the one time when the extinction of the student population was at stake, they were too busy having tea and crumpets to even bloody care.
Caught in the middle, Ginny gave up hope of ever getting out. She'd been kicked and punched several times, and with the taste of blood on her tongue, she let her tears drop unchecked until a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist, and she felt the ground leave from beneath her feet. She was lifted easily through the mangle of arms and legs and carried towards a familiar corridor where her savior finally stopped. It took a moment for her to even register that anything had occurred. Silently, she led the way through the door of the gazing room.
Shaking violently behind the closed door, she leaned against whoever was behind her with their arms wrapped securely around her and fought to regain her composure.
"Ron…he…he's still back there." She gasped and wrenched her body away from-
"Draco…" Ginny took two steps back from him, drawing her hand up to brush aside the last traces of her tears.
Draco leaned against the wall of the gazing room, staring blankly at her, the cloud that had fallen over his eyes leaving his thoughts completely ambiguous to her.
"What were you thinking?" He finally uttered, shaking his head at her; his emotionless voice was foreign to her, as if she were speaking to a completely different person.
Frowning at the ground, Ginny shrugged. "I-I don't know. I guess I felt like seeing what an inter-house wrestling match would look like."
"Yeah, well, perhaps you should think again before pulling a stunt like that."
"Oh, like you even care!" Ginny cried suddenly. Draco's eyes flashed, but he made no comment.
"Go back to the hole you've dug yourself into Draco. It's so much safer there, isn't it? Where you can run away from everything? That's all you Slytherins ever do anyway-run."
"And you would know, wouldn't you? Where have you been? Hiding as well, have you? Scared I might attack you like everyone else?" Draco spat and came within inches of her face.
"No, Draco! That's not it. I-How could I have done anything else? The entire bloody school has gone mad with this! My father's work was attacked AGAIN last week! Four wizards died, Draco! How do you think I feel now that-" She paused, unable to meet his gaze.
Draco backed away slowly and finished for her.
"Now that my father has escaped."
Ginny wrapped her arms around herself and shook the tears from her face. "I don't know what to do, Draco. Nothing makes sense anymore. It's all just a big load of rubbish."
Draco said nothing for a long while, then he pulled out his wand and opened his palm. With a few complicated waves, a bandage and ointment appeared.
"Your lip-it's bleeding." He muttered and shoved the stuff into her hands.
Ginny accepted the proffered items and dabbed the cooling balm onto her lip, then placed the bandage over the cut on her cheek.
A tense silence ensued before Ginny broke it suddenly.
"I…You knew that I wanted to be there for you, Draco. Didn't you? I would have done anything, but my bloody brother wouldn't let me out of his sight, and you were never around…"
"Don't kid yourself, Ginny. This-whatever we are exactly-never should have happened. We're…just…"
"Don't say that!" Ginny interrupted him abruptly, startling them both. "Don't you even bloody dare trying to make yourself believe that we were just some silly mistake! I'm not willing to believe that, Draco!" She stared at him fiercely, "And I don't believe that you are either."
"Ginny-"
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don't. Just don't. You can tell me that we can't be together because your father is going to pop into the room in the next ten seconds and kill you if he sees us. You can tell me that you're moving to bloody Antarctica and you'll never see me again. Hell, tell me whatever you bloody well like, but don't stand there and tell me, Draco, that ever since we've been together you haven't changed." She finished, feeling her emotions welling deep within her and bubbling to the surface.
Draco ran his hands through his flaxen hair. "I wish that I could tell you those things, Ginny, but I can't! The truth is-"
He stopped himself, and Ginny noticed the pallor of his skin sink in color.
"The truth…" He began forcefully, unable to meet her gaze.
Ginny approached him slowly and wrapped her hand around his forearm, the exact place she'd seen the Dark Mark pulsing on Pansy's arm.
"It's alright, Draco. Just tell me, and we'll get through it some how." She looked at him until he finally met her gaze and urged him on with her eyes.
Draco simply stared at her open eyes with an unreadable expression. Then he lifted his hands and spread his fingers across her cheeks, feeling the slippery wetness of her tears and the contours of her cheekbones. The glittering moonlight did her fiery ginger locks little justice, but her eyes were blazing with emotion for him.
He tried to speak, but his voice cracked and he tore his eyes away with a cry of frustration. Ginny cringed as he pounded the brick wall behind him with his fist and leaned his forehead against it wearily.
"Draco…all you have to do is tell me. You can tell me anything…" Ginny placed her hand on his back.
Breathing hard and ignoring the bruised bones in his right hand, Draco shook his head slowly.
"You have to understand when I say that I can't tell you, Ginny. I can't. The danger that would mean for your life is more than I am willing to risk."
"Why should you be the only one risking something, Draco? Haven't I risked things already? My relationships with my friends and my brother?"
Draco remained silently as he weighed her words.
"I'd risk anything for you, Draco."
He turned to face her again, and she was shocked to see the hurt in his eyes as he waged an inner battle right before her.
"I can't let you risk your life for me, Ginny. I'm not worth that."
"Let me decide what my heart is worth, Draco, not you."
Draco noted the determination in her eyes and felt his world slipping away faster than he could grasp it, like trying to catch steam with his bare fingers.
"I have to go away for a long time, Ginny. My…my mother-she needs me now." His tone was that of a parent who was dying of some ailment and tried to explain to his child what death meant.
Ginny hugged herself and bit back the lurch of fear that rose in her stomach. She knew why he was doing this. It was the reason she'd been avoiding him for the past week, the reason why she'd been unable to sleep ever since she'd been deemed well enough to leave the infirmary.
"This isn't fair…"
"If you haven't noticed, Ginny, we're in a war now. Nothing is fair anymore-not that it ever really was."
"But…What about you?"
"My father is coming back, Ginny, whether or not my mum and I like it. And I…I am his son."
"But you're not like him!" Ginny felt a desperate ache in her chest all of the sudden. Maybe she could convince him to run away until his father was captured. She couldn't believe in her heart that he really wanted to join the ranks with him. To hell with Pansy's warning. This was Draco's life on the line.
"I am him, Ginny!" Draco cried. "I have to be."
"No, you don't! You can run away! Dumbledore will help you! Please…don't let your father dictate your life." Ginny pleaded with him, pulling his hands into her own.
"It's no use! He is and always will be my father. I can't turn my back on him." His tone became robotic, as if someone was pulling his strings to make him say that, and Ginny saw right through.
"You're just too scared to stand up to him! You're too proud to realize that what he's doing is wrong!"
"You have no right-"
"I have every bloody right there ever was, Draco Malfoy. I know you," She held his face in her hands, "And when I look in your eyes, all I see is the person who I have grown to-"
"Stop it, damn it! You're just fooling yourself! Give it up!" Draco yanked her hands away from himself and stormed to the other side of the room.
"Oh, I'm the fool, am I? Who's the coward hiding behind his Daddy's cloaks all the time? I believe that's your role in the grand scheme of things, isn't it?"
Draco's hand paused on the doorknob. When he turned around and Ginny could barely recognize the frozen gaze he laid on her, her lungs felt as if all the air had been punched out of them.
"I know my place, Ginny…." He turned back around and opened the door. After a moment he stopped again without turning and said, "And I can assure you now. Your place is not with me."
Ginny choked on a sob, "But-"
She was interrupted as the door slammed on her face, cracking every hope in her heart. The thought that penetrated her was that might be the last time she'd ever see him again. The weight of that possibility crushed her.
"But I love you…" She sobbed, falling broken against the door. "I love you, damn it! You stupid bloody bastard! Why can't you see?! I LOVE YOU!" She banged her fists against the door, wishing that he could hear her pain. The weight of loneliness settled across her dusty heart and nestled into the middle, cushioned by the dull throb of ache.
"Why…can't that just be enough?"
Her sobs were absorbed into the sky above her as the moon reflected off of the shimmering trails of tears that cascaded down her cheeks, leaving her question hanging in its beams. And Ginny knew it then-it was over.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Double, double, toil and trouble!
Hate to burst the Gryffie's bubble!
Potter choked and they're all sad,
but now they know he's raving mad!
Raving mad! RAVING MAD!
WOTCHER-POTTER'S RAVING MAD!
Tee hee hee hee!!"
Peeves howled with laughter as he dropped water balloons on the retreating Gryffindor team. Susan Lipskel took a face full of a whipped cream-filled one and had to be held back by both beaters to keep Peeves from facing a second death.
"Keep your fat mouth shut, Peeves or I'll get Filch faster than you can say 'six feet under.'" Susan threatened through clenched teeth.
Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his cream-covered head wearily.
"Don't waste your time, Sue. Let's just get back to the common room before he drops another one." His eyes were dull and tired, and he had the forlorn look of one whom either had just lost his puppy or just seen one run over. His teammates, however, recognized the look of one who'd just lost the first game of the year against Slytherin in one of the most humiliating episodes to date.
"Right," Susan answered. She waited for Harry to turn his back before blowing Peeves a raspberry and smirking as he misjudged his aim and landed a chocolate-filled balloon on Madame Pomfrey's unsuspecting head. The language that ensued made even Ron blush as he shouldered his broom and walked sullenly behind the rest of his team. He was sporting a twisted arm from the scuffle of the previous day as were a few of his teammates. Part of their delegated punishments (apart from two weeks of detention) was to go without the magic of healing until they'd "learned their lessons."
In the common room, the atmosphere was as depressing as the rolling black clouds that were spinning lethargically around the grounds, waiting for the perfect moment to drown the rest of the already rapidly sinking day.
"I'm heading up to bed. This arm's smarting worse than ever after the match-Hey…d'you think Pomfrey would crack and slip me a healing potion if I promised to find a way to banish Peeves from the castle?" Ron quipped hopefully and was answered by a few half-hearted groans and a couple of definitive "No's."
Harry slumped into a seat next to Hermione on the softest sofa by the fire, resting his Firebolt, who even seemed to lose part of its luster in the aftermath of their loss together, beside him. Hermione softly smiled at him and Harry conjured a lop-sided smile that could have been mistaken for a grimace as she wrapped a hand around his own.
"Don't worry. There's always next term." She reassured him with a squeeze of his palm. Harry nodded vaguely and leaned back with a sigh.
The barbarity of the Slytherin team was taken up a notch that day. Draco hadn't turned up, but his replacement, Mark Cranker, was a sight worse than the usual 'all talk and no wand' Draco that Gryffindor was used to. He gave Harry a run for his galleons, nearly causing him to collide into his own team members at least twice. Crabbe and Goyle had taken up the role as beaters and pounded away at every sign of scarlet-covered flesh they saw. The crowd grimaced every time a player zoomed by and blood splattered into the air from one of their assortments of injuries.
McGonagall had wanted to call the match off the minute Cranker had walloped Harry with the backside of his broom, but Madame Hooch had been too busy to even notice the foul play going on elsewhere. She was penalizing Ron for tossing his shoe at the back of Crabbe's head after the latter had successfully managed to steal the other one.
Ginny had gotten a penalty not ten seconds afterward when she'd raced for Hooch and screamed at her for a full minute for penalizing her brother before the whistle blew for the umpteenth time that day.
The crowd moaned and Ginny cursed, but the match ensued. It took Cranker five minutes more to steal the snitch right from under Harry's nose as Crabbe and Goyle crossed their brooms right in his path after they'd seen him begin to make a move for the glittering object.
The ground welcomed back its weary players and the Gryffindor stands made a bustling bee line straight for them, knocking over Slytherins in their paths.
That night found the Gryffindor common room doused in a solemn silence, but the three occupants hardly cared. Ginny absentmindedly stroked Crookshanks as he purred affectionately in her lap, and Hermione tried to read to Harry about some ancient rune or another until his eyes finally drooped closed and they called it a night.
Ginny watched as they went to the stairway, nearly out of sight, and Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's waist, squeezing tightly. He ran his hand over her hair, dropping a kiss in its place, and they said their goodnight's. Ginny's heart ached in her chest from the sight of them, and she tore her eyes away, concentrating on the roaring fire in front of her.
Glittering silver fairies surrounded the enormous Christmas tree in the middle of the room, and Ginny watched their silent dance until her eyes began to burn with tears she hadn't noticed. With the holidays drawing near, students were beginning to pack their things to go home. The train left in seven days-December 20th.
Crookshanks nuzzled her chin and shook its fur as tear droplets began to splash against it. He gave Ginny an appraising glance before hopping down and curling up in a drier spot next to the fire.
"Sorry, Crookshanks…" Ginny said brokenly. "I'm just being silly, now, aren't I? Blubbering away like I've got nothing more to do with myself." She sniffled and stood up.
In two weeks she hadn't seen or heard anything from Draco. Not that she'd expected to, but even a glimpse of him scowling at her would have been enough. Her classes seemed to drone on as the anxiousness of everyone to get out of the tense castle halls nearly suffocated her. Her mum and dad had begged them to stay in the castle with Dumbledore to look after them, but she had failed to tell her once she had agreed that Dumbledore hadn't been at meals in weeks and only Hermione ever mentioned seeing him in passing.
Ginny shook those thoughts away and rummaged through her book bag for something to cure her insomnia. A book tumbled out with a few of her quills, and when she stooped to pick them up, a shiny, silver package caught her eye.
She picked it up gingerly and felt the glossy wrapping that she had worked so carefully to fold just right. Hidden beneath it was Draco's Christmas gift. She'd picked it up in Hogsmeade weeks before.
Ginny gripped it in her palm, feeling the hard corners dig into her skin, and bit back her tears. In a few seconds, she had the smooth, amber-wood box nestled into her palm, and she gently opened the lid.
A shimmering silver pocket watch stared back at her, nestled deeply within a velvet cushion. She'd used every last galleon and knut of her savings to buy it (with an awful lot of bargaining on her part with the stingy saleswitch).
She turned it over and fingered the inscription she'd picked out with every drop of love she had for him. French was her language of choice upon remembering the label on the medicine he'd given her so many nights ago in the infirmary. The firelight made the words difficult to decipher, but she knew them by heart anyway.
Dans votre coeur, couche la vérité de mon amour pour vous.*
"Ginny?"
Ginny's head snapped up and she shoved the watch and box back into her bag, trying to make it look as if she were packing up for the night.
Ron made his way towards her quietly, offering a lopsided smile as he took up the seat next to hers. Ginny smiled back softly.
For a long while they both simply stared into the fire together, finding comfort in each other's presence. Ginny leaned her head on her big brother's shoulder, and he shifted awkwardly beneath her, eyeing the top of her gilded hair just like the first time he'd ever held his new baby sister in his arms, nearly 16 years before.
"Ginny…" Ron whispered, wondering if she'd fallen asleep. When she stirred and mumbled, he smiled and shrugged slightly.
"Never mind…go to sleep."
She curled against him and sighed. "I'm sorry about the match, Ron."
"Oh…yeah…well, there'll be other matches." He tried to seem earnest, but Ginny heard the disappointment in his tone.
"How's your arm?"
Ron eyed his throbbing limb reproachfully and grimaced as he remembered what it would feel like when he tried to move it again.
"Quite well, actually. I'm nearly regaining the feeling in my fingers again."
Ginny laughed softly and moved for her wand on the table in front of them. Ron quirked his eyebrow at her as she tapped his shoulder softly, muttering a spell he'd never heard before under her lips.
Instantly, the pain in his arm dulled to a random throb, and he grinned at her, rumpling the hair on her head.
"Not too bad, little sis. Did Hermione teach you that one?"
Nodding, Ginny put her wand back in her bag. "She never showed you before?"
Ron tensed, and Ginny bit her lip. Perhaps now would not have been the best time to start questioning him about Hermione.
"I...eh…well, she hasn't been really speaking to me lately, actually."
Ginny scoffed. "Oh, really? And you've welcomed her with open arms every time you've seen her?"
Ron puffed out his chest defensively, but after a moment, he slowly deflated. His lips drooped into the perfect Ron Scowl, and Ginny shook her head.
"You've got to accept them some day, Ron. They're your friends. They need you."
"But what about-"
"You?" Ginny quipped. Sighing, she folded her hands in her lap. "Ron, tell me honestly right now. Do you truly love Hermione?"
"Who said anything about l-love?" Ron's ears went pink as he shifted away from her and turned in the opposite direction.
Laughing, Ginny shook her head. "Alright, I'll take that as a no. Well, then, if you don't love Hermione, then why are you acting like such a wanker about her and Harry being together?"
"I'm not a wan-"
"The point, Ronald, please."
Ron huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright. I don't l-love Hermione. But that doesn't mean that I didn't care about her."
Ginny nodded.
"But now she's got Harry, and I guess the first instinct I had was to be upset because Harry had won over the one thing that he and I had in common. She was our best friend, and now she's his girl friend."
Ginny stared at him blankly. "Are you saying that you're ruining the best relationship you'll ever have with two wonderful people because you're worried about one of them liking you less over the other?"
Ron furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of what she'd just said. When it seemed to click in his mind, he grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, right. That's it."
Ginny rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at his head.
"Hey! What was that for?" Ron scowled deeply at her and patted the hair on his head back down.
"For being an insufferable prat."
"Yeah, well, you're not too bright either." He tossed the pillow between his hands absentmindedly.
Ginny stopped smiling. "What do you mean?"
Ron shrugged, "I"ve heard Hermione and Harry talking about this bloke you're interested in lately. Mind you, I don't know who he is or else I would have already hexed him to a pulp," He glared at her warningly, "But from what I've heard, you like him, he likes you, but the both of you seem to be too caught up in your own little problems to make something of it."
Ginny's heart had screeched to a halt for a split second. Alright, Ginny. Stay calm. He doesn't know it's Draco, so we don't have to tell him, right? Right. I'll just play along for a while.
"U-um…but…what if our being together means one of us is in danger-"
"Danger?! Ginny, if this wanker's been threatening you, you had better tell me before I find Hermione and force her to spill-"
"Ron!" Ginny grabbed his arm to keep him from following through on his threat, "Stop! I meant…I meant…danger of…failing our classes."
Breathing hard, Ron looked at her to determine whether or not she was lying. Ginny nodded, encouraging him to take the bait. When his shoulders relaxed and he sat back down, she sighed.
"Forget I said anything, really. It's just a silly crush, anyway." She turned away from him, feeling her depression sinking into her chest again.
"Ginny…" Ron placed a warm hand on her shoulder. When she turned back to him, he saw moisture building up in her eyes and he knew it wasn't just some crush. "Listen to me, alright?"
Ginny nodded softly.
"Look…whoever this bloke is," He gritted his teeth to keep from snarling at the thought of some smarmy git looking at his sister like he looked at other girls, "I just hope that you don't make the same mistake I did."
Ginny stared at him curiously, "What do you mean? I thought you didn't love Hermione."
Ron rubbed his hands over his eyes and sighed loudly, "But who knows? Maybe we could have fallen in…well, started to like each other…in that way…like…boyfriends and girlfriends do-I guess-eventually?" He furrowed his brows, and Ginny giggled. Frustrated at his male incapacity to explain his feelings, Ron blurted the rest out.
"Oh, bloody hell. Look, I know that I had feelings for her…but, the point is that I never acted on them. I let her get away…" He trailed off, staring uncomfortably at his hands.
"But she's still here, Ron. She may be with Harry, but she's always going to be your best friend. Isn't that better than nothing?" Ginny covered his hands in her own.
"Yeah…maybe you're right." He shook his head and stood gingerly so as not to irritate his arm.
"But remember what I said. You'll never know what could have been, unless you forget about all that wonky girl stuff and make your move." Smiling softly, he gave her a pat on the head and yawned before walking off sleepily.
"'Night, Gin."
Ginny took a moment before mumbling a quick "G'night" underneath her breath.
The only sound left was the ticking of Draco's pocket watch inside of her bag as Ron's footsteps droned off. She leant over and retrieved it, watching the firelight flicker and dance across its surface.
"Dans votre coeur…" She read softly, weighing the watch in the palm of her hand, "…mon amour…"
The watch ticked on, letting the seconds loose from its grasp and thrusting them into infinity. Ginny bit her lip, feeling her resolve crumbling before she decided that there was only one thing she could do. For once in his life, her brother could have possibly been right.
Merlin, help me…
Crookshanks meowed questioningly as Ginny stuffed her things back into her bag and shoved them into a corner. Ignoring the sleepy murmurings of the fat lady, Ginny pushed her way through the portrait hole and sprinted rapidly through the halls with the light of her wand guiding her.
Corridors flew past her as she raced up and down stairs. Torches were golden blurs in her peripheral vision as she wound her way through the castle, praying that she hadn't forgotten where the Slytherin common room was.
The drop in temperature plummeted as she descended deeper into the castle. The dungeons were only a few steps away. As her shadow spilled out over the last stair case, she felt her heart beat so fast that it was humming in her chest.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Startled, Ginny let her wand clatter to the ground. It landed in front of two, very polished mary-janes. Breathing hard, Ginny knelt to pick it up, but another hand beat her to it.
She knew it was Pansy before the light of her wand illuminated her sunken eyes and sallow cheeks.
"I-I…" Ginny stumbled, trying to think of a good enough excuse. Pansy shook her head.
"After everything I told you, you just couldn't keep away, could you, Weasley?"
Ginny glared at her fiercely, "My actions are of no concern to you, Parkinson. I came here to see Draco."
The way in which Pansy's lips curved maliciously into a sneer caused Ginny's morale to drop an inch or two. She chuckled bemusedly, toying with Ginny's wand in her ghost-like hands.
"Oh, you did, did you?"
Ginny swallowed deeply and nodded.
Sighing dramatically, Pansy leaned against the wall and cast the light of her wand on the old grandfather clock that was in the corner of the hall, chiming resonantly.
"Well…I really do hate to break it to you, sweet little hero, but you've just missed him."
"What do you mean?" Her voice deepened as her temper flared at Pansy and the precious time she was causing her to waste.
Pansy ignored her tone and smirked as if enjoying herself immensely.
"I mean that Draco is gone."
Shaking her head, Ginny gripped the watch in her palm tightly, not caring whether or not she cracked it, as the ground beneath her feet felt as if it were caving in.
"But I thought…what happened to the twentieth?"
Pansy scowled at her. "Daddy Malfoy fetched his protégé a bit earlier than schedule. Draco's train leaves in, oh, let's see…." She glanced at the clock and snickered.
"Fifteen minutes."
Ginny's mouth dropped, and Pansy smirked, watching the color leave the younger girl's face in rivulets. Finally, she tossed Ginny's wand back at her and hissed one final time before sauntering back through the portrait hole.
"Have a happy Christmas, Weasley."
The portrait slammed shut behind her, leaving Ginny alone in the hallway, shivering uncontrollably. The drone of the clock pounded in her eardrums as she fought to form a rational thought whilst her surroundings felt as if they were caving in on her. A leak in the wall splashed nearby, echoing as a frigid current of air nearly took her breath away, successfully shaking her from her stupor. With a gasp of urgency, she stuffed her wand back into her robes.
Then, with only the pounding of her heart to guide her, Ginny ran.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Translation: "In your heart, lies the truth of my love for you."