Johnson Normal Johnson 1 0 2003-07-22T11:59:00Z 2003-07-22T11:59:00Z 1 1896 10809 - 90 25 12680 10.2625 Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Coeur Corrompu
Chapter Seven
I can't sleep tonight
Everybody saying everything is alright
Still I can't close my eyes
I'm seeing a tunnel at the end of all these lights
Sunny days
Where have you gone?
I get the strangest feeling you belong
Why does it always rain on my?
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?
Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I can't avoid the lightning
Travis - Why does it always rain on me?
Down it poured in a swirl of psychedelic greys and blues, saturating its inevitable landing. Each single droplet was consumed in its own universe after having been rejected from the heavens above. Only occasionally would it meet another of its kind but it would never last long. Nothing ever lasted long for the pinpricks of water that plummeted down. As they fell they were oblivious to the fatal death that lay beneath them. In their thousands they cracked open on the ground leaving only the smallest, forgettable, mark. Looking up now, Ginny felt like a raindrop, insignificant and completely alone. Solidarity was all around her, yet she kept falling away from it. Maybe, she thought, if she was taller then the clouds wouldn't seem so far away.
A dark mist seemed to be settling around the streets of Diagon Ally, which suited her mood. Since her last meeting with the silver haired man, she couldn't help but think about his situation. He, like her, seemed so completely alone and it made her wonder. At first she had tried to block the intruding thoughts, but like a dam it burst open and now she couldn't do anything but think. It was starting to tire her. In an attempt to escape herself, she had decided to go visit Pansy Parkinson again and see if she could find out the location of Draco's widowed mother.
Narcissa Malfoy was renowned for having retired away to the further corners of the wizarding world when her husband had died. The pure hatred that had been aimed at her was overwhelming. Ginny remembered her father saying something about how he pitied those who had lived in Lucius' shadow. They, according to him, would receive all the pain that Lucius had given to other people. At the time Ginny had thought this was a just thing to happen. She herself hated everything that the Malfoy's represented and despised them for all the suffering brought by them. Now though, she like her father could only feel pity. Narcissa had never been known for her virtues but she had also never been known to be malicious. Meeting her wouldn't be the easiest thing Ginny would ever do. She doubted that Narcissa would be very willing to tell her all Draco's secrets.
Standing in front of the small shop now, Ginny reflected on her last visit. A worried look traced her features. Was she strong enough to face a neurotic Pansy again? Visions of Pansy locking her in the shop and forcing her to listen to tales of Draco tripped through her mind. No, she tried to convince herself, Pansy wasn't that insane…was she? Ginny gulped slightly and frowned. Maybe she should have brought Ron with her. She had called his house using the phone but he still wasn't to keen on answering it. He seemed convinced that it would suck him into some other world. A laugh built up at the memory and suddenly everything seemed so much better.
With a spring in her step she walked up into Pansy's, the robe shop. Again she felt almost consumed by the dazzling number of amazing robes that lined the walls of the small shop. They ranged from the traditional to the out of this world and each one had irresistibility about it. Ginny reached out a hand and ran her fingers along the robe nearest to her. It was deep purple with flecks of sliver woven into the material. It was beautiful in its own simplicity. Suddenly she was pulled away from her fantasies by a small pop from her left.
'Oh. It's you again.'
Ginny turned to see Pansy stood behind her. Gone was the welcoming smile that she had received on her last visit to the shop. All that was there now was a familiar smirk which brought her back to her days in Hogwarts. It was the predatory look of a Slytherin' that was baying for blood and had found it. She shivered at the raw memory. 'Hello again,' she managed to say in a half commanding voice.
'What do you want this time Weasley?' Pansy muttered viciously.
Unlike last time, Pansy seemed more back to herself. Gone was the happier robe of green, now instead she wore a plain grey robe. Ginny wondered if it had been her visit that had this affect. Somehow she suspected it probably was. No one seemed happy to see her anymore. Well…not everyone. Draco still seemed indifferent, which was more then her so called friends.
'I was wondering if I could ask you a couple more questions about Draco Malfoy,' she said stonily.
'Well wonder no further Weasley. I don't even want to hear that son of a dog's name. So no, you can't ask me a couple of more questions,' Pansy spat at Ginny. 'After everything he did to me, you expect me to help you find him!?'
'Well…yes,' Ginny said slowly, an idea forming in her head, 'See if we catch him it's almost certain he'll be sent to Azkaban…'
'Azkaban?' Pansy cut in suddenly, interest having caught her in Ginny's net.
'Of course. After all of the terrible things he's done, and not just to you. In fact I've heard serial womanising can actually be used against him when passing judgement,' she said matter-of-factly.
'It can?!' Pansy said in disbelief.
'Oh yes. See I heard this rumour that he got into bed with a relative of a very powerful wizard. Apparently he got her pregnant and then dumped her! Just like that,' Ginny snapped her fingers together, trying not to smile at her own lies.
'Oh I can believe that! It's a wonder that I wasn't in that condition the amount he wanted to…well you know…' Pansy gave a sly grin and Ginny couldn't help but giggle. She could see how Draco would be that kind of man.
'Apparently,' Ginny slipped into a whisper, 'This powerful wizard was so peeved that Draco had done this, he sent out the Dementors to get him. That's the reason my firm are trying to get a hold of him.'
'Serial Womanising… Well I think Azkaban is a fitting punishment for scum like that! I can't believe they haven't done it before! If there's one man that deserves it, it's that Malfoy scum. What is it you need to know?' Pansy gushed enthusiastically.
Ginny smiled slyly at the fact she had been able to con Pansy into thinking this. It had been a stroke of pure genius on her part. Maybe she had spent too much time around Draco. His tendencies to lie compulsively seemed to be rubbing off on her. Suddenly everything seemed so much easier. All that was left to do was find out where Narcissa was and then find where Draco was. It would all soon be over.
***
'Ginny… Ginny?'
Ginny looked up suddenly into the concerned face of Hermione Granger. She smiled reassuringly. 'Yes?'
Hermione laughed softly. 'For a second there I thought we might have lost you altogether. You have seemed a little in the clouds recently.'
'Sorry. I have a lot on my mind with this case and everything,' Ginny said gently, her eyes averting to her feet. The guilt of lying to her friends was beginning to wear her down. They were all being completely honest with her, yet she couldn't even tell them something so important. She had been reflecting on her reasons for protecting Draco when Hermione had pulled her away from her thoughts.
'Tell me about it! Ron seems to be the only person in this office that is mildly care free and that's not very much,' her friend smiled sadly, 'The Ministry are starting to build up the pressure. They sure are in a hurry to put Malfoy away.'
'Its only been a week though!' Ginny said in disgust.
'They seem to think that we should have been able to catch him by now,' Hermione sighed. 'Personally I think I'm getting nowhere. I'm actually beginning to get frustrated at the lack of action I'm getting!'
Ginny's eyes widened at her friends remark and her jaw dropped slightly. Hermione blushed profusely. 'I didn't mean it like that,' she muttered, 'I just meant I haven't been able to fight anyone except for Ron.'
'Of course you did,' Ginny said with a giggle. It was such a relief to finally have someone to gossip with again. Teasing Pansy had been fun but it wasn't as good as the time she spent with Hermione. 'Speaking of action how's that going for you? Any man on your horizon?'
'No!' Hermione shrilled with a blush. Seeing the look on Ginny's face she smiled sheepishly. 'Alright, maybe…'
'Oh who?' she said eagerly. 'Is it anyone I know?'
'Yes… But that's all I'm saying!'
'Spoil sport,' Ginny said with another giggle as she stuck her tongue out. Hermione joined in with the infectious laugh and soon the room that had seconds ago felt too big, was full to the brim. It was only interrupted by a soft knocking at the door and an unwanted face peeping round the edge of the door. Slowly the giggles were killed and were replaced by serious silence. The sort of silence that would normally have unnerved Ginny. Now though she wished it wouldn't end.
'Ginny…' Harry said softly, gazing at her with his piercing green eyes. 'Can I talk to you?'
Hermione stood up and patted Ginny's hand gently. 'I'll be in the other room if you need me,' she whispered and quickly exited the room, leaving Ginny and Harry alone again.
'What do you want Harry?'
'We need to talk.'
'We have nothing to talk about.'
'We have everything to talk about.'
Ginny reclined further into her chair. Not a smile had been cracked between the two of them and to her the conversation was too familiar. It reminded her of the night when he had ruthlessly dumped her. His reasons had seemed absurd to her then, but now they seemed almost rational. Nothing though could take away the feeling she had had when her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. Nothing could take away the nights she had spent dreaming that it was all a mistake and Harry would come running back to her. Nothing could take away the utter hurt he had caused her by simply stopping loving her. Now all that was left was the nothingness. She couldn't even bring herself to meet his eyes. It would mean having to admit the obvious. Harry was never going to come back to her and all the love she had felt for him would be wasted.
'Fine then,' she said finally, 'We can talk but I don't think there is anything you can have to say that will make me want to listen.'
Harry nodded slightly and sat down in the seat opposite Ginny. His black hair fell across his face and he quickly swiped it away. His glasses were slightly askew on his nose giving him a cute, wonky look. Yet underneath all this was a man and oh what a man he was. Being a Quidditch player had improved the already immaculate Harry in many ways. His arms were muscular and well toned and Ginny found herself craving for the lost hugs. In fact the rest of his body had been affected in pretty much the same way, but it had always been his arms that Ginny had loved. They felt so strong around her and she could almost feel the world stop when she was there. Looking at him now though she tried to hold back the surge of emotions running through her.
'Ginny,' he began, 'I've realised now that maybe I didn't handle the situation in the best way I could.' Ginny grunted and crossed her arms across her chest. 'Still… I think what I did was in the best interest of us. I don't want you to have to be in a relationship that consists of occasional visits and regular letters.'
'If you hadn't wanted any of that then you should have turned down the job in China,' Ginny whispered hoarsely.
'It was a once in a lifetime experience Gin. I couldn't exactly say no!' Harry said exasperatedly.
'No Harry,' Ginny said firmly, looking up into his eyes, 'This was a lifetime experience.'
Harry nodded slightly and sighed, slumping down into the chair. He seemed troubled by her lack of commitment to the conversation. 'Would you have come with me if I had asked Gin?'
'I would have done anything for you,' Ginny whispered.
Harry nodded again and stood up briskly. 'I need to think, but I need to talk to you again. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I'll come see you tomorrow.' And with that he stormed out of the office.
'No Harry,' Ginny said to the closed door, 'You won't.'
Looking down at her desk she stared at the piece of paper that lay there. Scrawled upon it in the neatest handwriting was an address. An address that meant a lot to Ginny at that moment in time. Instead of being where Harry could find her, she would be there.
There with Narcissa Malfoy.