Author Note: I want to thank swimchick1614, WriterLady1031, and the two anonymous readers who reviewed the first chapter.
I want to appologise for the mix up on the Hogwarts years during the first chapter, as one of the anonymous readers pointed out. Ginny is in her fifth year, sorry for the confusion.
As for Ginny's real name, I've read both Virginia and Ginevra, Virginia just happens to be my preferred choice.
I really hope you like this chapter, and I hope to be able to read more reviews. Soon!
Chapter 2 - Confessions
The first few weeks went by fairly quickly. Before anyone realized, September had seamlessly flowed into the first week of October. The sun had just begun to peak over the horizon on the first Saturday of the month. The rays of light fell on the grounds of Hogwarts, which were dusted with the first frost of the season, and into the windows of the castle.
One such window was shinning the rays of light onto a pale face that was surrounded by a curtain of red. Ginny opened her eyes and scowled. She muttered a few choice words under her breath as she climbed out of bed and headed towards the showers. Even if it was only 7:30 on a Saturday, she was up, there was little chance of her getting back to sleep.
A half an hour later Ginny was dressed and making her way down towards the Great Hall for breakfast. The halls were still pretty much empty, as most were using their Saturdays catching up on sleep lost during the week. Ginny stifled a yawn and went into the Hall, she momentarily glanced around noting that only a few people were scattered around the hall at their respective tables.
"Good Morning, Virginia!" a voice said from behind her. Ginny frowned slightly, not recognizing the voice at first. "Oh, Good morning, Luna." She said with a small smile as the blonde haired girl sat down next to her. Luna had taken to sitting at the Gryffindor table with Ginny, on weekends rather than her Ravenclaw table. The two girls glanced up as they heard someone enter the Great Hall. It was a familiar blonde Slytherin who was looking as low as he had on the train the month before.
Ginny sighed inwardly, he had been acting odd on the train, and he wasn't acting like himself at all. He was so quiet, not a single rude comment, gesture, and not a single taunt in her direction. Not normal Draco Malfoy behavior. But behind the mask he held so firmly in place, Ginny thought she had seen the look true hurt and confusion briefly pass into his eyes, it was gone, however, as quickly as it came.
"Virginia?" a soft voice said as she felt herself being shaken. She glanced up and saw Luna still watching her with a curious expression on her face. "Sorry Luna, my mind was--elsewhere" she finished rather lamely. Luna just chuckled and shook her head "Elsewhere is right" she muttered. The two girls laughed and turned back to their plates of food.
What they didn't notice was a pair of icy blue eyes studying them from the other end of the Great Hall. Draco had felt her eyes watching him, not that it was a big deal. They had managed to share a few civil conversations since the start of term, but a couple of times he noticed an odd sort of look she gave him. It was as though she was just given a puzzle, and she was trying her hardest to put it together. Was he that difficult to understand? He hadn't changed that much this past summer, not much at all.
Draco's eyes widened momentarily. So that's what this is all about, he thought to himself. As he shook his head he went over the summer in his mind. His father had escaped, been recaptured and thrown back into Azkaban within a month of the end of last term. After Lucius had been recaptured, Ministry officials started doing weekly raids on the Malfoy Manor, apparently suspecting that something would appear during one of those searches. As he had told Ginny on the train, his mother had been slipping further and further into depression ever since his father's recapture.
At this he could barely contain his bitterness for Lucius Malfoy. Even if the man was his father, what made him think he could do that to Narcissa? He should have at least had the decency to either stay in Azkaban, as not to let her have the pain of seeing him gaunt and dirty, or at least make sure he wasn't caught again! His poor mother, who was a petite woman to begin with, was little more than skin and bones when he had left last month. Her eyes lost all brightness that they might have held.
Draco sighed as he pushed his food around on his plate. He knew he'd be fairly lucky if his mother made it through this up coming war alive, and if she managed that, odds were she would never be the same. And for his father, he half hoped his father wouldn't make it through the war. Lousy git, Draco thought to himself. What kind of man would do that to his family? To his wife, the woman he supposedly loves? What kind of man would put everything on the line for some wreck of a wizard? What kind of wizard would do that? His mind was going into the familiar pattern of shame and bitterness as he had been doing since his father was daft enough to get caught again.
Dropping his fork onto his plate, Draco stood and quickly left the Great Hall, once again glad it was a Saturday. He made his way silently out onto the grounds. The air was a bit cool, but no worse than what the dungeons were. He sighed to himself as he lowered himself to the ground beneath a tree next to the lake. He shook his head as the memories of the summer passed through his mind.
*~*FLASHBACK*~*
Draco laid back staring at the ceiling. He sighed contently, it was the first full week of summer holidays, and he couldn't think of a single thing that could force him out of bed until at least nine o'clock. That is until he heard his mother screech down stairs in the kitchen. Draco started, he jumped out of bed. He barely managed to pull his robes on before he was out of his room and down the stairs.
"Mother?" he called looking around the kitchen, she wasn't there. Draco frowned slightly.
"In-In here Draco," he heard her voice call from the sitting room just off the kitchen. Draco hesitated then entered the room, only to stop abruptly in the doorway. He shook his head slightly then frown again...it couldn't be.
"G-Good morning, Father," Draco said, still unable to believe who was sitting in front of him.
"Draco" Lucius rasped. Rasped? Draco looked his father over, his eyes were sunken in and his usually neat blond hair was a knotted and tangled mess. His father, though he was never a heavy man, had also lost a considerable amount of weight. Draco glanced up at his mother who, once again, held a familiar spark. He just couldn't help the smile that passed across his face.
"When did you return home, Father?" He asked politely.
"Just this morning," Lucius said. "It would seem that your mother was not quite expecting me," he added with a slight smirk.
The conversation had continued on through out the day, and life went almost back to normal. That is until about two and a half weeks later.
Draco and Lucius were sitting in the study, both reading silently when they heard a rap at the front door. Draco glanced up at his father, who looked as though he was listening closely without appearing to do so. He heard a couple voices including his mothers. As he listened closely, he could hear two male voices, both seemed rather angry. Glancing back down at his book, he tried to concentrate on his reading, but he couldn't help but try to hear what was going on.
"Draco!" his father said sharply. Draco looked up, surprised to see his father on his feet. "Draco, those two gentlemen you hear are Aurors, they most likely will have charms up to keep me from aparating. You must do what you can to help your mother distract them so I may make my way through the dungeon passages."
Draco noted the slight look of panic on his father's normally calm features. "Yes Father, go quickly," he said as he, himself quickly left the study to help his mother.
"Is every thing alright here, Mother?" Draco asked mildly. Narcissa glanced at her son, making brief eye contact that told her everything she needed to know, then nodded. "Yes Draco, dear, these gentlemen say your father has escaped Azkaban, over two weeks ago."
"Really?" Draco asked with a forced hint of curiosity in his voice. He then allowed his voice to turn bitter, "If that's true it's a rather pity he didn't have the nerve to come and see how his family is fairing in his absence."
The two aurors shared a glance and one who seemed to have sonority on the job said, "Be as it may, we have a warrant to search the Manor. With no disrespect Mrs. Malfoy, we are only doing our job."
Draco glanced at his mother who let her eyes move swiftly to the clock, deciding if her husband was safe or not. Draco looked over his mother than to the two aurors. "Well, I certainly don't see any problems with that. Do you, Mother?" Draco asked.
"Oh, no. Of course not" She said with a shake of her head.
After not even an hour of searching, Draco and Narcissa heard shouting from below them and looked at each other. They both knew what had happened. Lucius Malfoy had, once again, been caught. The youngest auror walked the Elder Malfoy out of the Manor, while that other turned to the two who were standing in shock. "I will be forced to bring this up at the Ministry," he said before he and his partner left, along with Lucius Malfoy.
"I'm sorry, Mother," Draco said as he pulled his sobbing mother into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
~*~END FLASH BACK~*~
Draco bit his lower lip as he looked across the lake. He didn't realize that a petite redhead had just sat down next to him. His mind was still focused on the past summer.
"Draco?" Ginny said hesitantly "Are you alright?"
Draco shook himself from his reverie and looked around, until his eyes landed on where the voice was coming from. "Hum? Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine"
Ginny watched him for a moment then sighed as she leaned back against the tree. They both sat silently side-by-side for a while. Both in their own thoughts and memories. Ginny chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she watched Draco.
"Draco?"
"Hmm?"
"Can--Can I ask you something?"
There was a moment's pause "Of course"
Ginny was silent for a moment, as though trying to choose her words very carefully. "Ok, you've been acting--odd, this term. Not that I'm really complaining, but you're acting...well you're acting nice. I know we talked a little bit about this on the train, but I guess I just don't understand this, change." she said very hesitantly.
Draco looked over at her and gave a weak smile. He sighed and shook his head "Change? No, Ginny, there's no
change." Ginny frowned slightly
"What do you mean 'there's no change'?" she asked shaking her head "Up until this year you
were...well you were rude to anyone and everyone, you seemed so self-centered and conceited, then this year...this year
you're so quiet, you're such a gentleman...and at the same time...you seem almost ready to give up on it
all."
Draco gave another small smile, "I have been pretty rotten the last several years haven't I? That's not me Ginny, not really anyway. I do what is expected of me, and it's expected of me to carry my name with unfailing pureblood pride. For as long as I can remember, whenever father would take me to London, we'd be sitting together and talking. Whenever someone would pass, he'd tell me to find the flaw of that witch or wizard. When I brought a friend home, he'd criticized them and their families, right there in front of us. Unless of course there were wealthy purebloods.
As much as I hate him now, I didn't always. Up until this summer I wanted to be just like my father, I knew I couldn't, I don't have what it takes to be like Lucius Malfoy. I could never be so cold, so unrelenting. What I did to you and your friends was cold enough, but to become a Death Eater? No, I couldn't. Even if, my denying the Dark Lord would be a disgrace to the family name, I can't do it."
"I've always lived up to the expectation my Father had for me, but I always did it just to see if I could keep his praise, that's all I wanted. That's why I've always acted like I have. I just wanted my Father to be proud of me for once. But after this summer, he's giving me more than enough reasons to know I don't want to be like my father, and I really don't care about that prat or the name that ties me to him. I'm not Lucius Malfoy, nor would I ever want to be Lucius Malfoy. So now, rather than trying to be what I cannot be, I'm just being myself for once."
Ginny studied him for a moment, then smiled slightly and leaned back against the tree, satisfied with his answer. "Well," she said with her smile growing, "I'm certainly glad you've decided to stop being such a prat. Now if only I could get my brother to do the same." Draco chuckled and leaned back against the tree as well. So this is what it was like to have a friend who knew the "real" you, huh?
Draco closed his eyes and let a rarely seen smile slip on his face. Though it did not go unnoticed, Ginny thought it better to let him be. And so she did.
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