Chapter 3 - Once Upon a Time
"Hey Ginny, do you want to get a compartment together?"
Once upon a time, Ginny Weasley wouldn't have been more pleased by such a request from the Boy-Who-Lived. But since that time had long passed, she had to force herself to smile instead. "Sorry, I told Dean I would meet up with him."
She barely noticed Harry's face drop before she turned away and continued heading down the corridor. She, in fact, had no plans of meeting up with her boyfriend. Or rather, ex-boyfriend, but Ginny didn't need to explain herself to Harry Potter.
As she walked briskly past the compartments, she barely acknowledged her housemates, keeping her eyes open instead for a certain tall blond Slytherin. Ever since the kiss they shared in the pantry, all she could think about was Draco. His lips on hers, the warmth that radiated from him as healed her, his hands on her skin. She had never felt anything so intense in her life. And the next morning, he was gone.
All summer she had hoped he would write or somehow contact her, let her know that he had felt something too, but she hadn't heard from him. Of course, her parents had forbidden any of them to speak of him. As far as she knew, even George didn't know what his twin was privy to. So for the ensuing weeks she wondered whether he had only wanted a quick snog or if he had been thinking about her too.
'Bloody hell,' she thought. 'I must be insane. A Malfoy.'
She was near the back of the train by now and feeling rather embarrassed about having scoured its entire length for a boy she had no claim to but had somehow claimed her without doing anything more than learning her name and kissing her breathless. Though she suppose there was something to be said about being kissed breathless.
But in a rational world, this would've never happened. She would've continued seeing Dean or some other nice bloke from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Maybe even Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake! But a Slytherin. The Prince of Slytherin, no less. No, in a rational world, she wouldn't have wanted anything to do with Draco Malfoy, she wouldn't have only wanted Draco Malfoy.
She was ready to turn back when an odd sensation arrested her. She whirled around as a compartment door slid open and Tonks tripped out. Instead of the brightly colored locks that Ginny had become accustomed to, the older witch sported long, glamorous honey curls.
Disappointment and surprise clashed to evoke a strange facial expression from Ginny but she managed to recover quickly enough to give the older witch a strained smile.
"Wotcher, Ginny! What are you doing back here?" Tonks said brightly.
"Oh, just following the trolley," Ginny replied as casually as she could manage. She unconsciously pulled at her bright red hair. "Don't know where it disappeared to."
"Well," Tonks muttered as she dug into the pockets of her robe, "lucky for you, I'm always well stashed." She pulled out a chocolate frog and handed it to the girl with an overexaggerated wink.
Ginny took the proffered frog and smiled her thanks. Without any other excuse to loiter down there any longer, Ginny turned to leave just as the panel behind Tonks slid open again and Draco Malfoy stepped out.
Draco's appearance caused a genuine smile to tug at Ginny's lips but the corners of her mouth soon drooped into a frown as she realized she had gone both unnoticed and forgotten. Draco was leaning against the doorframe, his head bent down towards Tonks but Ginny could barely see him. The other witch had completely turned her back to her and nearly covered the Gryffindor's entire view of him though a shock of white blond hair was still visible above Tonks.
She could hardly hear them either; they were speaking so low, their heads close together. But the quiet, fluid words exchanged between them were certainly not in English. French, perhaps? It frustrated Ginny to no end that she had been unceremoniously shunted to the sidelines. And she let out a huff as she kicked the wall beside Tonks.
"Uh, something wrong, Ginny?"
Of course, feeling forgotten and invisible didn't necessarily make a person so. Especially when they went about announcing it with such physical expressions as kicking. Ginny could feel the blush creep up her cheeks and she studiously ignored the mercurial eyes peering at her from behind Tonks' curious brown gaze as she responded, "Yes. Just, um, dancing and forgot my surroundings. You know how that happens." She let out a forced laugh while mentally berating herself. Dancing and forgot my surroundings? This was worse than the time she dropped porridge at the mere sight of Harry or accidently kissed Michael's teeth after their first date.
"Sure, Ginny," Tonks offered diplomatically. She patted the girl on the arm before turning to Draco. "I'll be right back."
Ginny nearly opened her mouth to protest. Granted, she had been looking for Draco but after her little sideshow, she didn't think she could face Draco one-on-one at the moment. She closed her eyes briefly while waiting for him to address her. But when he made no comment, she shyly peered at him through her lashes, expecting to see his trademark sneer, or perhaps, she hoped, a friendly smile. But all she saw was his retreating back.
"Hey!" she cried, quickly forgetting her recent humiliation. She stuck her foot in the door before he was able to close it and squeezed through after him.
"What do you want, Weasley?" The question was hard and harsh.
"Oh, back to last names now, are we, Malfoy?" Ginny said, crossing her arms angrily. She couldn't believe him. He acted as though nothing had happened between them. When he remained silent, with his back towards her, she marched up to him and grabbed his arm to turn him around and was surprised when he actually complied. But only when he fell back against the wall did she realize she had caught him off balance and was in no position to resist anyone anyway.
From up close, she could see he was rather ill. She recalled telling him in the summer that he was too thin but now, his cheekbones were prominent. She could see gray circles under his eyes and a general feeling of exhaustion seemed to emanate from him. Reaching out with tentative fingers, she brushed his blond locks from his face. His fringe was now long enough to graze his cheek.
He flinched backward but didn't say anything.
"What's wrong with you?" Ginny asked quietly.
Still he didn't say anything, just stare at her with his silver-blue eyes. Ginny couldn't look away and without realizing it, she had inched forward so that she was mere inches away from his face and she could hear and feel his shallow breathing. He didn't move away this time and Ginny stood on the tips of her feet to close the gap between them when the panel slid open.
Tonks walked in, her usual cheery smile on her face. But when she saw Ginny, it wavered until it settled into a straight line. "Um, Ginny, you're still here, aren't you." If it was meant to be a question, it came out as a statement.
Ginny had turned around when Tonks walked in but she was still very close to Draco. She could feel him behind her. "Yes."
"I think you should go."
"What?" Ginny had never seen Tonks serious before and it was almost menacing. Ginny turned to Draco in her confusion, but he was no longer looking at her. In fact, he was leaning back against the wall, his eyes half-closed, his hands rubbing his temple. It was as though she wasn't there. That no one was there except him.
Tonks walked over to Ginny and placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her out. Ginny looked up at Tonks in surprise. The older witch looked almost angry, her lips set in a tight line. "I'll see you later, Ginny." But her voice was unfriendly and she nearly pushed the younger witch out of the compartment. Tonks slammed the panel shut and Ginny heard the lock click behind her.
Ginny didn't know what was happening but she had never been so bewildered before.
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A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! The next installment will be posted within a few days but generally speaking, I need a little more time. I'm a law student and high marks are essential so I apologize if I can't post very regularly but such is the life I have chosen. Also, in the next chapter, Ginny will figure out what is happening with Draco. Don't worry, he isn't merely being terrible. Again, thanks for all the encouragement to post. I probably would have taken a day or two longer if it wasn't for the pressure. ;)