This had to be one of the worst days of his life. Well, maybe not the worst day. Hell, no where near close the worst day. He hadn't killed a man today, so he was on a roll that way. But this one wasn't a good one.
Harry Potter - defender of all, the boy (now man) wonder, the Chosen One, and so on - was wandering Diagon Alley in a horrible mood. It wasn't as if he was trying to be miserable but the feeling had sort of, hung on as it were, for that last…six years. No, make that five years, twelve months, and twenty-three days. It was a horrible feeling, not the sort that one would usually hang on to certainly. But he couldn't seem to shake it.
Looking around, he recognized the black banners hanging from the lamp posts all down the street. Store fronts displayed pictures in the corners along with their wares. News paper clippings, signs, paintings. They were everywhere and all displaying the same message of grief.
The anniversary of the wizarding world's version of Doom's Day was approaching fast. It had been nearly six years since the Dark Lord had fallen but the people that were left behind, the ones who were lucky enough to survive the battle, still mourned. In their own way, they were giving thanks. They knew what the wizards and witches who had fallen had done and they relished their freedom. But it wasn't the kind of thankful that could ease their grief, by any stretch of the imagination. They wanted their family and friends back. Who wouldn't?
As Harry made his way through the crowded street, he saw the faces that mirrored his own. Some nodded and sent a weak smile his way, recognizing him as the one who had finally taken the Dark Lord down, before returning to their business. This was still a healing community. He didn't expect any more from them.
'I've got to get out of here,' he thought anxiously, looking ahead. 'Nearly there. Good.'
Most of the Ministry of Magic had been destroyed in the fight. What was left of it had moved to Diagon Alley for safety's sake, while the old one was being rebuilt. Walking through the heavy, brass doors, Harry felt a chill sprint the length of his spine. He hadn't felt comfortable within the Ministry's walls since, well, at least his fifth year at Hogwarts. The fact that the original had been a battle ground during the war only added on to his already not so pleasant memories of the building. Now, even the change of scenery couldn't change his feelings of it. This, among other things, was a reason for his day starting on a darker note.
His footsteps echoed of the walls bare around him. The Ministry had assumed they were going to move back to their original location soon after the war and hadn't bothered with decorating the replacement. Nearly six years had passed and they still hadn't gone back. My, how time flew…
There was a woman seated at the welcoming desk, her skin drawn looking and her hair lank. When she looked up, her eyes were tired and blank looking but she managed to pull a half hearted smile as Harry approached. A typical secretary.
"Mr. Potter," she said, her voice lukewarm. "What brings you to the Ministry today?"
"Uh. Ginny Weasley, please."
"I'm sorry Mr. Potter. She called in sick this morning."
The woman gave a disapproving shake of her head before continuing. "If you see her, let her know that Mr. Hostensnout is not pleased with her absences. He told me to pass on the message that if she isn't into work tomorrow, she should start clearing off her desk. I assume that you will be in touch with her sooner than I will, so I trust you will pass this on?"
Harry winced but nodded grudgingly.
"How many this week?" he asked, not really certain that he wanted to hear the answer.
"This is the third," the woman replied. "I swear, if it wasn't for her father being Arthur Weasley, she would have been sacked months ago. But, Mr. Weasley has always been in Mr. Hostensnout favour so it's not s-"
"Thank you," Harry cut in, sensing a long winded rant. "I shall pass on the message."
The woman looked annoyed - not surprising given her position - but nodded and returned to her work while Harry made his escape. Once out on the street, he ducked into the nearest alley and let out a frustrated groan.
"She forgot," he said, closing his eyes and letting his chin fall into his chest. "Again."
Turning, he knocked his fist against the closet wall.
"I've had it," he said firmly. "No more of this. It ends today."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Weasley?"
"Good morning to you too," Ginny spat, finding herself hard pressed to keep the 'well, duh' tone from her voice. "Glad to see that you've finally decided to wake up."
Placing her hands on her hips, she waited for recognition to get its kick start in Draco's memory. Anything would have done it; a look of surprise, understanding maybe, a twitch of acknowledgement. Five seconds passed, then ten, fifteen…
"Are you just going to sit there and stare Weasel-bee or are you going to get on with telling me why you are here."
So much for recognition.
"You are in my flat, you bloody wanker!" she spat. "I knew you'd had a lot to drink - you still stink of it - but honestly! I should have never brought you home!"
A look of horror passed over Draco's features.
"You mean…you and I…"
"NO! Don't be ridiculous!" Ginny snapped, equally horrified.
"Good!"
"How could you even think something like that?!"
"It's actually not that hard!"
"Well don't!"
"Well tell me what really happened and I'll work on it! And when did this become a screaming match?!"
Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. She frowned and shook her head, suddenly registering how loud her voice had been. When had it -
Not important right now, Gin…
Taking a deep breath, she tried again.
"Last night, I found you wandering the streets of Muggle London," she began, pleased that her tone volume had come back down to a normal, more civilized level. "You were piss drunk and wouldn't let me leave. Actually, you started crying."
"Liar," Draco hissed.
"You wanted to know," Ginny replied. "And now that I'm telling you, don't interrupt me."
She frowned again, trying to remember all of what happened the night before. Now, in the day light and a completely sober Draco, it seemed almost unreal. Her gaze fell to the floor as her mind ran through the scene from the night before, her hand subconsciously rubbing her arm.
"You talked a lot about a girl, Katie," she said quietly. "And how you weren't supposed to talk about her. You also said she couldn't come back because he killed her…"
A buzz at the door pulled Ginny out of her memory.
"Shit," she said, glancing down the hall way. "If that's Ron, I'm going to be in so much trouble…"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Draco watched as the Weasley girl shuffled off towards the door, her slippers swishing along the carpet in a way that sounded like an odd, dying bug. She hadn't looked at him before she left, hadn't noticed the look of terror on his face.
"How…" he whispered. "How did she…"
'You told her! You bloody well told her!'
His head was spinning again, his vision blurring like he was drunk all over again. His heart was beating like a jack rabbit in his chest, aching as if it wanted to leap out and onto the floor. His hands came up to cover his ears as his breath began to come in short pants.
"No…no…" he stuttered.
'She wasn't supposed to know! No one was supposed to know! Blaise will be furious! They'll find me and - '
"Malfoy?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Harry? What are you doing here?"
It had been twenty minutes since Harry had left the Ministry of Magic. In those twenty minutes, his mood had gone from annoyed to angry to furious. Standing out side Ginny's door, waiting to be let in, did not help matters one bit. Her surprise however, was what did him in.
"What am I doing here?!" he snapped, his voice a few octaves higher then he had planned. "What are you doing here Ginny?! You were supposed to meet me today! We were supposed to have lunch and talk! But once again, you've blown me off! Really, Gin, what am I to you?!"
He watched the shock fill her eyes with a grim satisfaction.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she said, her voice not quite as sorry as he had hoped she would be. "I forgot."
"Well, I'm glad that I'm such an important part of your life!"
"Don't say that Harry -"
"What am I supposed to say, then? Oh, it's all right. It's not like this is out of character for you -"
Before he could continue though, a blond head at the end of the hall caught Harry's attention.
"Ginny, who is that?" he asked, his voice suddenly gone quiet.
"It's not what you think," she replied quickly, her eyes suddenly going as round as diner plates. She began to speak again but Harry pushed passed her, his heart hammering in his ears. Unfortunately, it only took a few steps though to figure out just who the blond head belong to. He was different, dirtier and skinnier, but Harry had seen his face so many times that he did not need a full inspection to recognize the man.
"Malfoy?"
The former Slytherin, looking like he had just been in a trance, slowly raised his gaze. When their eyes finally met, Harry was already starting to shake his head.
"Ginny, no," he whispered. "No, Gin, no…"
"Harry, it's not what you think!" she cried, latching onto his arm. "He was drunk last night when I was on my way home. I just took him in so he didn't kill himself. Please, you have to believe me!"
But Harry was beyond hearing and was already beginning to turn towards the door. Shaking Ginny loose was harder then he had thought, his mind dazed and his chest aching. Malfoy, of all people, Malfoy…
"Harry, listen to me!"
He stopped cold.
"Why?" was all he could say before he pushed off Ginny's grasping hands and walked out the door. He didn't want the answer, didn't want to hear her try to explain again.
'Why him? Why did it have to be him?' was all the broken hearted Harry Potter could think about as he staggered away…
~*~*~*~*~*~
"That went well…"
Author's note: So, chapter five is up! Sorry it took so long but, busy bee a.k.a. yours truly has had a difficult time finding the time and the brain power to get these up quicker. For those of you waiting on Dwarfing Draco, I apologize for the wait. Now that I've got this chapter out of my head, I'll try to update that story soon. Hope you enjoy this while you wait - though I do apologize for emotional Harry and the jumping around perspective wise. It's been a while since I have written in third person so please excuse the mess.JJJ