Ginny woke again a few days later. This time when she came to she knew where she was and now understood why. She remembered the feud of Draco and Ron, and she remembered Harry. No, she thought shaking her head. Harry couldn't have been there, he's dead. But still she had thought he had been in the room. Ginny closed her eyes again and breathed out hard. Harry would know what to do. He would've soothed her and tried to figure out what was wrong with her. Harry would've told her she wasn't insane for hearing Tom's voice in her head when she had the pains since Harry had heard him too. Again she took a deep breath and shook her head. I need to get high. Then I wouldn't be thinking about him. Then it wouldn't hurt this bad, she thought.
"I just don't know why he wants her, Hermione. She's a Weasley, his family has hated ours for generations - it's a known fact!" Ron said forcibly, pacing the dormitory again.
"I know facts, Ron, and I know Malfoy wouldn't hurt Ginny in any way. Believe me, it took a lot for Malfoy to get me to trust him about anything. I've had to put up with a lot of shit over the years from him," Hermione insisted calmly while sitting on Ron's bed, watching the usual pacing of Ron and his avoidance of Harry's bed.
"We all have, and that's why I don't trust him one bit. He shows up trying to avenge his parents' death, and now is feeding my baby sister drugs. Probably to keep her in a stupor, the evil prat would do that."
"Maybe, Ron, but he stopped seeing her. He left Hogwarts so she couldn't depend on him. How is that keeping her in a stupor?"
"To make himself look innocent. If he left, no one could say he had a hold on her. Malfoy is bad news. He's trying to get what is Harry's, he's always been jealous of Harry."
"Ginny is not Harry's anymore, Ron. Harry is gone and Ginny is free to do what she pleases."
"The baby is Harry's though. Maybe it's a Death Eater's assignment to hurt the baby."
"He joined the Order months ago for a baby that had only a chance of being conceived? I don't think so, Ron. He didn't even know of the baby until a little before I did. I think he genuinely cares about her, and the child and is helping her not hurt so much from the loss of Harry."
Ron stopped and looked at Hermione confused. "You defending Malfoy. Never thought I'd see the day come."
Hermione stood up and walked to Ron and kissed him lightly. "I'm sticking up for what can help your sister. Everyone needs someone to lean on at this time, even stubborn ol' you."
Ron rolled his eyes and pulled Hermione close to him. "I love you, Hermione, you know that?"
"I know, Ron, I know. I love you too."
"I'm fine! Let me go home!" Ginny screeched, trying to get up from the bed.
"They need to watch you closely, honey. It's for you and the baby. Think of the baby," her mother stated firmly.
"I've been here two months! I've only had two fits and the last one was a month ago! I'm fine, I want my own bed! Plus I don't see how you're affording this, Mum."
Molly shuffled her feet and looked down awkwardly. "We aren't. Draco is helping."
"Draco? Why?"
"He wants you to get well, honey, and he knows that being under the mediwizards' care will get you better."
Ginny huffed and sat back down on her bed. "I want to see him. Bring him here."
"Draco?"
Ginny nodded silently and looked at the ground with a determined face. Molly opened her mouth to argue, but decided against upsetting her daughter more. After staring at Ginny for a little while to see if she'd move, she finally gave up to go search for Draco. He wasn't hard to find since he was always at St. Mungo's or the Manor. This time he was in the waiting room, twirling his wand with his fingers.
"She wants to talk to you, dear," Molly said, approaching the boy that she saw more than any of her sons.
"I…" Draco started, but was interrupted by Molly bringing her hand up to stop any objections. Draco huffed and sauntered to Ginny's door indignantly.
Those two are so alike it's scary, Molly thought to herself, then set off for a strong cup of tea.
"What's up, Ginny?" Draco asked walking into Ginny's room for the first time in about a month.
"Don't 'what's up' me, Malfoy! I want to leave this hellhole now! Not in a month or a week or another day. I want to leave now!" Ginny stated, having gotten up and walked over to Draco where she was poking him in his chest.
Draco yawned, looked down at the pregnant Ginny, calmly told her no and then turned to leave.
"Please don't leave again, Draco. I've missed you, and this place creeps me out with the voices at night. Why does everyone keep leaving me?" Ginny pleaded to Draco.
"I never go far, Ginny. I'm just right out of harm's reach," he stated simply, looking down at her with soft eyes. He placed a hand on her soft cheek that had finally started filling in under the mediwitches' strict watch. Draco knew that staying here was the best thing for Ginny and her unborn baby.
"How could you be harmed?" Ginny asked innocently, while putting her hand over his.
"No, so I couldn't harm you, Ginny," Draco corrected her, and leant down to kiss her. Before he could even begin the kiss she was back on the floor writhing in pain having her first attack in a month.
And my theory was correct, Draco thought while laying Ginny back in her bed. In a short time the medical staff rushed in to administer the only draughts that worked in the past to calm her.
This time Ginny didn't wake up for a few weeks. They checked her brain daily and found different parts of it changing curiously.
"Why is it changing like that, and how?" Draco asked the main mediwizard that was on Ginny's case.
"We're not quite sure, Mr Malfoy. You see, every human - magical or non - has unique brain activity. While everyone has the usual activity to work the main organs, everyone is unique in the select parts in which their brain works. Like if you're creative or artsy a different activity in the brain controls that than someone who is logical."
"So, how can someone's change, especially while unconscious?" Draco asked not having any idea what could be happening to Ginny.
"That's exactly what we're trying to figure out, Mr Malfoy. We've got our best researchers on it just like you requested, and we now have someone constantly monitoring and printing the brain changes," the old mediwizard stated. He looked exhausted as if he hadn't slept in days. His friendly blue eyes were losing their sparkle and it seemed his grey hair was getting greyer. All the staff watching Ginny looked the same since they knew if anything happened to her they had Draco to deal with, then.
"Let me see the scans, but first I need to contact someone." Draco left Ginny's room to go to the Floo contact room. He threw the Floo powder in and called out to Hermione.
"I need you to come look at these brain scans with me. Maybe we can figure something out,"
Hermione sighed at his request. While she loved Ginny and wanted her and the baby to be alright she was tired of Draco's persistence. She had to be around the uptight boy for what felt like years to her, but were only weeks trying to figure out Ginny's problem. Draco had even, to Hermione's surprise, started looking at Muggle problems that had the same symptoms, but only surfaced with things like possession and exorcism. "Alright, Malfoy, I'll be there soon," she finally said and ended the Floo connection.
Draco sighed and stood back up running a hand through his hair. His life had been turned upside down in a blink of an eye, by a Weasley no less. All of his time was spent trying to figure out what was ailing his fiery temptress. Malfoys weren't known for loving or caring gestures, but rather snide remarks and bigot insults. Draco huffed a laugh at the thought that his parents were rolling in their graves at his current life of loving a blood-traitor and working beside a Mudblood. His thoughts were interrupted by the Floo becoming active and the frizzy haired girl walking through.
"You didn't have to wait, Malfoy, you know I wouldn't let Ginny down," Hermione stated walking past him.
That's why you noticed what was happening to her, obviously, was what he thought but calmly bit his tongue. Instead he said, "I was distracted by my thoughts; the world isn't revolving around you."
Hermione wasn't as good at hiding her insults and promptly stated that it didn't revolve around him either and left the room.
Draco was taken back by the remark for only a second and then proceeded after the girl. "Her brain is changing more rapidly now. I think she needs to be conscious again, it's not as bad when she's awake." Draco said, settling on a topic they mutually cared about.
"But then she has the attacks that are in no way good for the baby, and personally I want the baby to live," Hermione said coolly, eyeing Draco with an accusing look.
Draco reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm to stop her walking. "Look, I don't know what you think you can accuse me of besides caring for Ginny. Yes, Potter was not my favourite human being walking the Earth, but he also trusted me when no one else did. Ginny still loves him even after his death and I admire that. I don't want anything to happen to that baby because he is the last of Potter's blood and I understand the importance of the continuance of blood. Not only that, but it's Ginny's child and she'd be heartbroken if she lost it. Now, you can either help me in finding what's wrong and put our childish feud behind you, or go home and back to your important life." Draco let his breath out after his speech and eyed Hermione warily, not wanting her to leave since this was a difficult puzzle to solve.
"All right, Malfoy, I'll be civil, just because you seem to care, and I want them back to full spirits."
Draco nodded and led the way back to Ginny's room. When he walked in his breath caught like it always did when he saw her lying so helplessly. He approached the bed to sit and laid a hand on Ginny's five month pregnant stomach and then her cheek. Slowly he bent down to whisper into her ear. "Ginny, please wake up. We need you back here. Wherever you are in there please fight it. Please, Ginny, wake up for your child." Draco sat up to see if her eyes would magically open again but only saw them flutter strongly behind her lids.
"Whatever is happening to her is causing big dreams in there. Eyes move drastically while dreaming," Hermione stated, having come to the other side of the bed to look at Ginny. "Where are those scans?"
Meanwhile, Ginny was trapped in her body with low hopes of getting out. When she first passed out she was greeted by a steady blackness that had engulfed her after every fit. There was always a man standing in the distance when she got her grounding, but never close enough to discern who it was. Steadily with each fit he had gotten closer and she could see he was holding his hand out, trying to pull something.
This time he was next to her with his hand on her shoulder; Ginny was who he was pulling.
"I don't need you in my life anymore, Tom," she coolly stated to the man.
"My, my Ginevra, you sure are the smart one, aren't you? You don't need me, but I need you now just like I did all those years ago."
"I'm not weak anymore, though. You can't just ask me to help you since you're my only friend anymore. I have people who love me out there, people that care," Ginny said, and smoothly turned around. In front of her stood what surely was Voldemort before his transformation into a snakelike creature. His hair was a messy mop of jet black atop a sturdy face with piercing dark eyes. For a second Harry slid through her mind. If Harry had in fact grown into a man this would almost be him, except he had green eyes. Anger coursed through her since this man was why Harry would not age anymore or be able to see his son be born or grow up.
"Ah, you do still have a weakness though, Ginevra. The same one you had when you were eleven. The weakness of love for one, Harry Potter," Tom drawled, circling Ginny and eyeing her fully. He surveyed her head to toe, examining her flaming red locks and bright brown eyes. Slowly his eyes moved to her swelling breasts and protruding stomach with a disgusted look on his face. "Love has put you in this predicament, has it not?"
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked curiously. "Surely this is just a dream from the stress and drugs."
"What drugs, Ginny? You've been sober for months now, and your stress is small since you're unconscious, or so they think."
Ginny just looked at Tom, confused, not knowing what day it was or even the month.
"Their love can't get you out of here, Ginevra, it just buries you further away. For what good has love done to you? It got you pregnant, and hurt when he left."
"You killed him," she stated, looking Tom fiercely in the eye.
"And trapped you in here because you don't trust them. Your parents and brother didn't even notice you falling apart, but I did," Tom continued, not acknowledging her interruption.
"Draco did!" she defended loudly. "He held me after you murdered Harry, and numbed my pain,"
"He drugged you for himself. You don't love him," Tom yelled back.
Ginny shifted her feet and looked at Tom with a guilty expression. "He's not Harry, but he still loves me and will help me."
Tom laughed at this. "A Malfoy loves himself above all else. Do you really think he'll sacrifice everything just for you?"
Ginny was unsure of this. For years Draco had walked by her haughtily, only noticing her to insult her obsession for Harry. He had thought she was below him; why would he now change all of his ideas for her?
"You are the only one there. Once he gets bored and distracted by a leggy seductress he will forget you."
"No!" Ginny yelled, and turned to run. Tom's laugh followed her and when she stopped she turned to find he was still right beside her. "How? How is this happening? I killed you and Harry destroyed the diary."
"Do you not know? Did you think a meagre sixteen year old girl could eliminate me? When you killed me out of love," Tom spit the word as if it stung his tongue," I attached to you. Bit by bit while you destroyed yourself, I became stronger. I will soon be rid of you and the filth you carry and will be back on the path to dominance."
"In a girl's body? Who will follow you that way?" she asked coldly at the thought of harm to her unborn child.
"My followers know my strength in any shell and will abide my wishes." Tom eyed her. Before another word could be spoken they heard a soothing voice.
"Ginny, please wake up. We need you back here. Wherever you are in there please fight it. Please, Ginny, wake up for your child." As soon as the voice broke in it ended.
Ginny blinked away tears to eye Tom determined. "I will not let a silly dream defeat my child or me! You are just that! A stupid fucking dream!"
"It won't be that easy, child. You are weak."
"I know how to love, and love will conquer!" Ginny shut her eyes hard and started whispering to herself. "I love you my child, and Harry. Give me strength!" She repeated the words over and over and slowly let herself be lifted.