Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling, etc etc.
Authors Note: Yay! I'm so excited. Is it stupid to be excited about your own work? Ah well, I am anyway. It's time. Everything will start to come together in this chapter. So - not much left to go for this story, but I have lots of great ideas (at least I hope they are) for the sequel. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one! Thanks for the reviews!
Life sucked, plain and simple. At least, that was Ginny Weasleys latest philosophy. It had been over a month since Draco had crushed her heart and spat all over it, in front of the entire school, no less. Ginny had been in a funk ever since then, and for the most part had been left alone. Nobody, at least none of her friends and fellow housemates, had made fun of her or judged her. Only the Slytherins, all of who took great delight in calling her a slut and laughing at her at every opportunity they got.
Ginny figured she deserved it for being so stupid. She just couldn't understand how she could have fallen for his tricks. Hermione had told her not worry about it, but she just couldn't stop. Was she that gullible? How else could she have fallen for him that quickly? Or at least, thought she had fallen for him. She realised that now, after all, she had never been in love with him. He just manipulated her and made her think that.
She didn't understand him, but she didn't really think she wanted to either. Why did he go through all that? Just to humiliate her? Or was there another reason? Did he hate her that much? And if so, why did he try to beg her forgiveness?
That was another thing she just couldn't understand. Draco had approached her a few days after the incident (for that was what she called it in her head) and tried to plead forgiveness. He told her he was sorry, with tears in his eyes and everything. But Ginny wasn't that gullible, she'd seen those "tears" before and she wasn't going to fall for it again. She told him she could never love a filthy Slytherin like him and then she had run away. Behold, the brave Gryffindor Ginny Weasley.
Yeah, so brave she had been hiding in her room for almost two months now. The only time she ever went down into the public eye was when she needed to. Meaning - lessons and dinnertime. In fact, she hardly ever went at dinnertime. She just couldn't stand all the eyes on her, not to mention most of the time she felt like throwing up after she had eaten. It was safe to say she'd lost a lot of weight since the incident.
The only good thing to come out of the whole situation was the forgiveness of her friends and, most importantly, her brother. Ron had been treating her like a princess for the last few weeks. He didn't make fun of her and he didn't let anyone else make fun of her. He was like her knight in shinning armour. He hadn't even given her a snide 'I told you so', which she thought she dearly deserved. After all, he had warned her and she had ignored him and made fun of him.
Surprisingly, Ron wasn't the only knight in shinning armour she had. Neville Longbottom had also taken to guarding her whenever she went around the castle. She'd told him he didn't have to, but he had just ignored her and followed her around anyway. She really didn't mind. In fact, she really enjoyed his company and was secretly glad he hadn't broken under her assurances that she was fine all by herself.
So that was how Ginny spent her days at Hogwarts, closed up in her dormitory, snuggling her pillow. Occasionally she cried, but it was definitely not over a broken heart. She just cried over her own stupidity. That was it. Absolutely.
On this particular day, she was burrowed up in her blankets, staring at the card Draco had sent her for Christmas. The picturesque view of Hogsmeade, nestled between the mountains. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, it was tainted by memories of herself and Draco. She could hardly stand to look at it, but she just couldn't throw it away either. What was wrong with her?
The door opening drew her back to reality and Ginny looked up, over the mound of quilts around her, towards the door. It was Ellen Parker and Kate Lee, two of her dorm mates.
Ellen was probably the prettiest girl in her year, or at least that's what Ginny thought. She was the typical stereotype for perfection, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Kate was the exact opposite, with a rather large frame and frizzy red hair. Still, the two girls where inseparable, so much so that people referred to them as Parker and Lee more than their actual names.
Seeing them heading towards her, she stuffed the card under her pillow as the two girls approached and sat up, rubbing her eyes as if she'd been sleeping.
"Still moping Ginny?" Kate said teasingly, sitting her slightly chubby frame down on the bed.
"Yeah," Ellen added, standing in front of her in her mother pose, hands on hips. "You really need to get out more. You look terrible. Moping does nothing for your complexion."
Kate giggled, adding: "Neither does the lack of showering - pee-yew!"
"Hey!" Ginny protested, but couldn't help smile nonetheless.
"She's right," Ellen continued. "You stink. Come on Ginny. Go have a shower and then we'll head down to the Great Hall and stuff some food down that tiny body of yours."
"Yeah," Kate said, "we'll fatten you up like a Christmas turkey."
"I don't think I like the idea of you fattening me up Kate," Ginny said jokingly, as she climbed out of the bed. "But you guys are right, I do stink."
"So go shower," Ellen pressed, "we'll wait for you."
"I don't think I can go down," Ginny said sadly, "I just don't think I can handle all the staring and whispering today."
"Oh come on," Ellen moaned, "don't be a wimp. You're a Gryffindor, be brave!"
"I think the Sorting Hat was on drugs the day he sorted me," Ginny said, "because I'm not feeling even remotely brave right now."
Kate giggled again, which wasn't all that unusual.
"Don't be silly," Ellen admonished. "Now get in that shower and get ready. I won't take no for an answer. We're going down there even if I have to drag you."
"I…"
"Ah!" Ellen interrupted, holding a finger up in protest. "No excuses. Shower! Now!"
Kate watched with a smile on her chubby face as Ginny spluttered, then slouched, defeated, into the bathroom.
Ginny didn't want to argue with her dorm mates, who she actually liked quite a bit. They weren't her best friends; in fact, she hardly ever hung out with them, but she had always got along fine with them. She was touched that the two of them had come to cheer her up today and make her face the public eye, even if she was a little terrified at the prospect.
Ginny stripped out of her PJ's and climbed into the nearest stall, turning the freezing water on and standing under it's spray. It was harsh, but exactly what she needed to jump start her body. The cold soon turned to warmth and she started to lather her body in soap, before rinsing herself clean and repeating. Finishing with her tangled hair, she climbed out of the shower and started to dry herself off.
Once she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror and had to agree with Ellen. She did look terrible - even with the shower. She was way too thin and her eyes had large ugly bags under them, making her look more like a hag than a girl. Sighing to herself, she wrapped the towel around her petite body and left the bathroom.
"That looks better," Ellen complemented her as she entered the dorm room.
"If this is better," Ginny said, motioning down to herself, "then I'd hate to see what I looked like before."
Kate giggled. "You did look pretty bad."
"Come on Kate," Ellen said, motioning for the girl to follow her, "let's leave Ginny alone so she can get dressed. We'll wait outside and if you're not outside in five minutes I'm coming back in to get you, naked or not!"
"Yes ma'am," Ginny said sharply, saluting with a smile.
The two girls left and Ginny quickly got dressed, pulling on some underwear and plain muggle clothing with her Hogwarts robes over the top. Quickly combing her frazzled hair, she tired it back in a ponytail and made to leave the room.
It was strange, how just the simple act of someone trying to cheer her up could actually cheer her up more than anything in the world. Knowing that she had people who cared about her, like her brother Ron and her new friend Neville, and like her roommates, she just knew that she would be okay. She didn't need Malfoy, not one bit.
Ginny went back to her bed before leaving and rummaged under her pillow to find the card she had stashed there earlier. She stared at the picture of Hogsmeade for a few seconds, before tearing the card in two, and then again, before letting the torn pieces fall into the trashcan by her bed. Smiling to herself, she left he room and joined her roommates outside. It was time to face Hogwarts again.
(----)
Harry was alone in Slytherins chamber, pouring over all of the potions textbooks he could find. He was desperately searching for a cure for whatever it was that Dumbledore had been forced to drink in the cave, but so far he was having no luck. He was frustrated beyond belief, because no matter how much he looked, he found nothing. Dumbledore was out of action because of him and he couldn't do anything to help his old mentor.
"Maybe Snape is telling the truth," Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair, "maybe whatever this potion is, it isn't recorded in any books."
Sighing, he slammed his current tome shut, waving a hand to dismiss the cloud of dust that arose from the old pages. He shoved it to one side and picked up one of the already discarded books, his eyes scanning the desk for the last book he had removed form Slytherins library. Cursing his disorganised mess of a table, he started riffling through all the other books littering the desk, searching for the last book. He was sure he had brought it out.
"Where…is…it…?" he muttered, growing even more annoyed.
Moving the last book out of the way, his eyes landed on the Marauders Map, which he had activated and set out at the corner of the table (just to keep an eye on things). Of course, he'd gotten so engrossed in reading he'd completely forgot about it. Turns out that was a big mistake.
"Oh no," Harry gasped, his search for the missing book already forgotten.
(----)
The Great Hall was overrun with students, as was usual at this time of day. The loud chatter of a great many conversations filled the room, echoing, each voice trying to drown out the other. Ginny tried to ignore how everything seemed to quiet down when she entered, knowing it was all just in her mind. Surely she wasn't still on the top of the gossip food chain.
Invariably, her eyes where drawn to the Slytherin table and, not surprisingly, they found the mysterious grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. He was staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Ginny tried not to throw up when she saw Pansy Parkinson throw her arm around his shoulders and wink suggestively at her. She just turned away, not wanting to look anymore. In doing so, she completely missed Draco shrug Pansy away angrily.
Ignoring everything going on around her, she took a deep breath and joined her roommates at the Gryffindor table. She sat between the two girls, somehow feeling safer that way, and started pilling food on her plate. She only gathered a small amount of food on her plate, not feeling hungry, but Ellen began to pile more on for her. When she looked at her roommate, Ellen just gave her a smile that told her not to argue and eat up. Ginny did, forcing herself to eat the food Ellen had put on her plate.
On the way down to the Great Hall, Ginny had seen Neville and Hermione studying in the corner, heads bent over respective pieces of parchment. Ron and his friends where also in the common room, sat around the fire playing a wizards chest tournament with another Gryffindor. She didn't know him, but she thought he was a seventh year. Either way, she knew Ron would win. He always did.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Ginny felt like things were finally starting to return to normal. In fact, despite recent events, she thought they might have been getting better. She had great new friends in Hermione and Neville. Ron was being nicer to her than he ever had before. Dean Thomas had finally left her alone. Ginny felt a genuine smile appear on her face, but before it could fully form, a commotion came from outside the Great Hall.
Ginny looked up, along with most other students. Ellen and Kate, who had been talking animatedly, become quiet. In fact, the entire Great Hall, which had only seconds ago been full of the chatter of conversations, had gone deathly silent. At the staff table, Professor McGonagall had gotten to her feet. The only other Professors in the room at that time, Professor Snape and Professor Sprout, stood up as well.
"Severus, stay here, I will find out what is going on."
Due to the absolute quiet in the Great Hall, everyone heard those words, and turned to watch as Professor McGonagall started down the center isle towards the huge double doors leading to the Entrance Hall.
"What's going on?" Ginny heard a first year whisper to one of his friends, but nobody replied.
Professor McGonagall reached the double doors and placed her hand on the handle, pulling it open. Before it was even half open there was a flash of bright red light and McGonagall went flying backwards, arcing through the air, before crashing to the stone cold floor with a crunch. If it was possible for the Hall to be even more silent, it happened, but only for a second, and then chaos broke out.
Most students stood up, the chairs scraping against the floor, but hardly heard over the terrified screams of the younger years. Ginny stood with the rest of the student body, staring at Professor McGonagalls motionless form, before her eyes raised and glued themselves to the double doors. She could vaguely hear Professor Snape shouting for order over all the chaos, but she didn't care.
Ginny watched with growing dread as the first black cloaked figure entered the Great Hall, the death white skull mask covering his face. He was followed by another, and another, and another. The Death Eaters entered the Great Hall one by one, fifteen in total. The hall had gone silent again, every single soul in the room in complete shock. The last two Death Eaters stopped by the double doors, holding it open for their master.
Lord Voldemort entered the Great Hall, his snakelike visage twisted into grim pleasure, his cape floating behind him mysteriously, as if it was just another part of him. At his feet slithered a huge big snake, easily as long as Hagrid was tall.
Lord Voldemort walked right into the Great Hall, followed by his Death Eaters, straight past Professor McGonagall and right up to the staff table. He stopped, his eyes searching and finding Snape's. They stared at each other for almost ten seconds, before Voldemort turned around and looked out at the crowd of terrified, shocked students. He smiled, but it wasn't comforting. It was terrifying.
"Ah," he said, and his voice was so much like a snake's hissing Ginny felt her blood run cold, "it's good to be home."
(----)
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