Chapter Three
"Blast!"
In quick succession, the soft rip of brown paper, the dull thud of groceries against pavement followed by a frustrated curse cut through the thick, muggy air of Muggle London, making the seemingly calm and relaxed summer night less peaceful.
"Bloody well figures," Ginny grumbled as she stooped to retrieve her fallen goods. "Can't just get home without any conflict. No sir…"
The dull street lamp flickered in and out of a weary existence, making seemingly feeble attempts to stay alive but not succeeding terribly well. Out shone but it's neighbours, the street lamp took on an almost characteristic aura of a forgotten child or a mistreated pet. Looking up, Ginny felt almost half sorry for the dwindling light captured inside the glass casing. Yes it might be an insane thought to normal peoples but when you walked that lonely street as much as Ginny Weasley had in the past couple of months, the smallest things seemed suddenly explosive with character, especially at such an ungodly hour after a long day at work. It was an hour walk from the Ministry office in which she worked on a good day. Then adding another half an hour to pick up the weeks worth of food and then another half hour to struggle home with her packages and, on the odd occasion, a few minutes dealing with an intrusive stalker, meant a long day for the twenty-two year old.
While reaching for an escaping cucumber, Ginny's ears were met with a startling sound. The scratch of rubber against cement as a pair of shoes scuffed along the side walk made the stillness of the night less calm. Not that Ginny hadn't already broken that calmness but that was her own doing, not someone else's.
Stuffing the cucumber in the remaining whole grocery bag (which now held twice its original weight), Ginny stood and resumed her brisk pace while letting one hand slide into her pocket. Her fingers slowly wrapped around the smooth shaft of her wand and she felt a tendril of comfort and security pass through her. No harm in being careful right?
"My my Miss Weasley, you are in a hurry tonight aren't you?"
The suddenness of the new voice behind her made Ginny almost drop her parcel once again. She fought to regain composure, balancing the bag against her hip and holding it tight in the crook of her arm. Once she was sure she wouldn't loose anything, she turned to meet the one who had addressed her and came close to gasping; 'came' and 'close' being the key words in that sentence.
"I walk at a naturally fast pace," she replied shortly. "Not that it matters much to you now would it Malfoy."
As she watched a smirk flitted over her former tormentors lips before he let his head drop into his chest. A strong smell of alcohol was in the air around him, strong enough to make a person gag if not prepared. Ginny had to fight down the lump in her throat as the musky, bittersweet scent filled her nostrils. She let her gaze wander over her in the moment he had allotted when he broke his gaze from hers.
Though only a year older than herself, Ginny noticed that age had caught up with him prematurely. Large purple bags swelled beneath his tired, blood shot eyes making him seem two times his actual age of twenty-three. His flawless pale skin was now stretched taut over his cheek bones and chin, looking close to cracking and bleeding from its thinness. His once beautiful platinum blond hair had somehow lost its glow, giving him a grungy look despite the reputation usually associated with the Malfoy heir. To top this off, he did not wear his usual classy attire of a pressed robe, crisp pants and shirt and shoes that one could see their reflection in. His robe, which was terribly wrinkled in places, hung loosely around him as if it were a second, more baggy skin. Both shirt and pants were unruly; shirt un-tucked and adorning many stains and pants ripped at the knees. His shoes were scuffed beyond repair and the shoe laces hung limply down the sides like old pieces of string. Overall, this was not the pristine Draco Malfoy Ginny remembered.
"What are you looking at weasel?" Draco asked harshly as he took a clumsy step forward. "I know I'm beautiful but I could do without the staring. Very un-ladylike if you ask me. Katie would have torn a strip out of you…"
He trailed off and smacked a hand against his forehead.
"Shit," he cursed, his eyes closing tight. "I wasn't supposed to talk about her. But you won't tell. Right Weasley?"
"Uh…All, right?" Ginny replied hesitantly. She raised an eyebrow and watched a stupid smile replace the look of frustration on Draco's face. She had known he was drunk, the smell of him alone could tell the whole block what he'd been up too, but she had never seen a Malfoy correct himself and ask, not tell, anyone to repeat what they had heard. Who was Katie? And why wasn't he supposed to talk about her?
"Well," Ginny said awkwardly, gripping her parcel closer to her chest. "I best be off. I've got to be into work early tomorrow and, well…I have to go."
"No!" Draco suddenly shouted as he stumbled towards her. "Don't go!
"I have too," Ginny replied, trying hard not to gag from the stench of his breath as he came almost too close for comfort.
"No!" Draco cried again, gripping her arm so tight that there would surely be a bruise in the morning. "You can't. I can't. Katie isn't there. She isn't there. Katie…"
There was a desperation in Draco's eyes when he stared his rant that hit something deep within Ginny. She had tried to fight off, not wanting to deal with any emotion that could cause her to feel sympathy towards the conniving git before her. That was before the tears started.
Two, only two, crystal droplets fell from Draco's stormy eyes, like rare jewels glistening in the dim lamp light. He stared at Ginny with such intensity that she felt sure that he would break something eventually.
"Katie, who?" she asked cautiously, hoping that this person would jog Draco's memory and remind him that crushing her arm wasn't nice. Oh how wrong she was.
"I'm not allowed to talk about her!" he replied in a sudden fit of rage. His other hand flew up to grab her other arm. "Blaise said I can't talk about her! I can't go see her! I promised, all right!"
"All right, Draco, all right," Ginny replied softly. "I won't ask about her again. But you have to let me go now."
Draco stared at her for a moment in a way that made it seem like she'd grown two other heads.
"Katie was a good person," he muttered. "Never did anything to no body. Never did anything…"
He stopped again and looked down at his hands that still clung to Ginny's arms. Again, he stared at them with the same confused look that he had given her face not a moment before but claws in place of new heads. Then suddenly, without warning, he let go and collapsed to the ground. His body shook with silent sobs as he drooped over his knees.
'What the hell is going on here?!' Ginny mentally screamed. 'Why the hell is Draco acting so funny? And why did he have to come to me?!'
Ginny glanced up and down the street, as if checking to make sure no one would see what she was about to do. Great Merlin's beard she felt awkward but at this point, her maternal and emotional instincts were kicking in.
Slowly, she bent down, placing her groceries carefully on the pavement before kneeing beside Draco. She hesitantly reached out and ran a hand through his hair before letting it slide over his shoulders in a comforting gesture. Quidditch worked muscles rippled beneath her fingers and Ginny fought hard to remember who this was she was comforting and how much he would hate her in the morning if he knew anything about this in the morning.
"There there," she cooed as she listened to his soft sobs. "It's all right."
"No its not," Draco said in a muffled voice before snaking his arms around Ginny's waist and pulling her close like a child would his mother. "She's gone. She's gone."
"I'm sure she'll come back," Ginny offered, again stroking his hair.
"She won't," Draco said in a gruff voice as his tears began to subside. "She can't. He killed her…"
They were silent for a moment, the pair of them, Draco lost in his drunkenness while Ginny was sent reeling over this information. Who killed this Katie girl? And why? Whatever happened had hit Draco hard and Ginny knew that there was only one thing she could do to help the sorry prat.
With a heavy sigh, she shut her eyes and gathered herself.
"Come on," she said quietly. "You're coming home with me tonight…"
Author's note: So I got past my writer's block. Hazzaa! But I have to stop it there or I won't have anything for the next chapter. I hope you all like it so far and please, please review. I really want to know what is being thought about my story. Oh, and I promise wimpy Draco won't stay if any of you are worried about that. Please R&R!!!!!! J J J