A Stroll in Your Shoes

Disclaimer: I did not create any of the Harry Potter characters, etc.

A/n: Only a few chapters to go people! It’s the final countdown!! (Oh, darn I just got that song stuck in my head.)

Unravelling the Confusion

Ginny stared at her reflection with a small sigh. She was about to go on a double date with Draco and Pansy, and she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. Being surrounded by both the guys she liked could only spell disaster, though she supposed it would be a good opportunity to really figure out whom she liked. The thing was she just didn’t really want to face either of them right now. For all her Gryffindor bravery and courage, Ginny was scared of having to face Draco again. Every time they had met since the changing rooms it was very awkward. How was she ever supposed to act normal around him on a date? With Blaise it was not much better. She felt guilty for the feelings she felt for Draco, and wished that she had never entered that changing room that day.

Sighing again, she added the last few finishing touches to her hair and slipped on a scarf. She was going casual tonight in dark jeans and a bulky, green jacket, thinking it would be better to be comfortable and warm than to look pretty and freeze her butt off. It never really occurred to her to try dress sexy anyway. Besides, she wasn’t feeling very well. Her head felt heavy, and her nose seemed to be trying to rival the Niagara Falls.

Grabbing her bag, she left her dorm and entered the bustling common room still with a dispirited frown. Harry, Hermione and Ron were all sitting huddled around in their usual spot by the fire, books and parchment scattering the table near them.

Hermione spotted her and waved her over, a ready smile coming to her lips. “Ginny!”

“Hey,” Ginny responded heavily.

“What’s wrong?”

Ginny shook her head, and then wished she hadn’t. A nasty throb of pain shot behind her eyes, and her eyes started watering painfully. Maybe it would better not to go tonight, but then if she didn’t go now how would she ever find out whom she really liked? She had to do this.

“It’s nothing. I’m just not feeling so well.”

“Are you sure you want to go then? You don’t look so good.”

Ginny forced a smile, trying to appear unconcerned that her nose was tipped with her red, and her eyes seemed glassy and constantly filled with tears. “No, I’ll go.”

“Well Blaise is waiting for you at the Entrance Hall. He did try to come in, but after Ron threatening to castrate him, he decided it would be better to leave.”

Typical Ron. He always had to interfere in her business. Why couldn’t he just see that she was old enough to make her own decisions now and have her own boyfriends? The guy never gave her a break, or her boyfriends it seemed.

“Thanks. I’ll go meet him now.”

“Good luck!”

Ginny nodded her head and gave a small wave as she left the common room, privately thinking she would need all the luck she could get. Who knew what was going to happen tonight…

OOOO

Draco stared at Pansy in some surprise. “You look nice,” he commented, eyeing the sexy little number she was wearing with appreciation. Pansy had all the right curves to make a boy stare, and thanks to her height that rivalled even Draco’s, she was certainly no one to disregard.

“Thank you,” she said with a wicked smile, her eyes twinkling with the evil little plans running through her head. “I plan on making a statement tonight, and I know that Weasley will be wearing something very Eskimo-ish as she always does.”

Draco didn’t doubt it, but he personally found the ‘Eskimo’ look cute. He did wonder why Pansy felt the need to draw attention to her body so imperative though. After all, she couldn’t possibly be hoping that he would want to do anything with her. They had broken up, even if they were now pretending to still date.

He glanced away from his friend and spotted a tall figure moving towards them. “Here comes Blaise.”

Pansy’s eyes gleamed with mischief in the evening light, making Draco wonder if this was such a good idea. He recalled very vividly how Padma had been reduced to tears after she had been stood up on her date thanks to Pansy’s intervening- Blaise having been intercepted by Daphne through Pansy’s manipulation. He couldn’t actually remember why Pansy had decided to get rid of Padma, though he did remember Padma being a stupid, stuck-up girl who thought very highly of herself for dating their friend. More than likely Pansy just got sick of her coming over to them with that silly smile on her face and decided to take matters into her own capable hands. His friend was a merciless plotter, and he wondered if he and Ginny would leave this date unscathed; by her expression it seemed she was out for the kill.

“He doesn’t have Ginny with him yet.”

“No,” Draco murmured, having realised that fact too.

“Lost your girlfriend again?” Pansy asked sardonically once Blaise was in talking range of them.

“No,” Blaise muttered grumpily. “I just had her brother threaten to do goodness knows what if I stayed by her common room any longer. I decided it would be best to wait for her here.” He glared at the ground in frustration, his eyes not showing a trace of good-humour. “I don’t know how Ginny manages to have such a twit for a brother.”

“Well you’d better get used to him,” Pansy said with feigned casualness, her eyes glittering darkly. “You know if you’re with her you’re practically with the family as well. They’re all very close the Weasleys.”

Blaise didn’t look very happy at that thought, and frowned as he pondered over Pansy’s seemingly innocent words. Draco could only watch in admiration as the crease on his friend’s brow deepened, knowing that Blaise was truly disturbed at the thought that he might really have to put up with the Weasleys all the time. Pansy was a wonder!

“Oh look, here comes Ginny!”

Both boys turned to see the short redhead moving towards them, completely bundled up in her scarf, jacket, hat, and gloves. Pansy had been right; she did look like an Eskimo.

“Sorry I’m late. I had Ron trying to lock me in a cupboard.” Ginny folded her arms against her body and gave a mighty sniff, looking very woebegone. Draco was suddenly struck by the difference Pansy and Ginny made. While Pansy looked sexy and elegant in her curve-hugging dress and warm boots, Ginny looked sick and miserable, and had might as well been a bundle of clothes than a girl. Blaise too seemed to have noticed the difference, and was eyeing his girlfriend with some trepidation.

“Are you feeling alright, Ginny?” Blaise asked with a worried look. Draco knew that his friend had a great fear in getting sick, and couldn’t help the smile that crept to his lips as he watched Blaise recoiling slightly from his sniffling girlfriend. This should be interesting.

She sniffed very unattractively again and pulled out a handkerchief to blow her nose. Draco was particularly impressed by the sheer power of her nose blowing, but Blaise seemed to be trying to hide his distaste. It seemed Pansy really was a genius, and he had no doubt that she was the one who had made Ginny get sick so quickly. As much as he felt sorry for Ginny, he also knew that Blaise was going to have a hard time liking his girlfriend tonight, which was a good thing for Draco. Not only did Blaise hate being around sick people, but also it was clear he was finding this new side to Ginny very off-putting. People assumed that Blaise couldn’t care less about appearances being so laid-back himself, but he could be just as snobbish and fickle as his mother when he wanted to be. They were all Purebloods after all, and had been brought up with the finest manners and etiquette. It was only natural to expect the same from everyone else.

“Fine,” she mumbled in a stuffy voice, wiping her nose with her hand. Draco could almost see his friend trying not to shudder. “Just got a cold I think.”

Blaise gave a strained smile, obviously trying to be polite for her sake. Normally Draco too would be feeling much the same as Blaise, both of them having been brought up where girls were reared in the strictest manners and knew how to act beautifully even when sick; but he couldn’t view Ginny in any other way than adorable. Her pink tipped nose, her congested voice and grumpy expression- they only made him want to hold her close and kiss her sickness away. Blaise may be repulsed by Ginny’s less than ladylike manner and sickly appearance, but Draco only found himself more drawn to her than ever, if only to hold her and comfort her.

“Shall we go then?” Pansy asked brightly.

They all mumbled their agreement and headed off towards Hogsmeade. Draco could see Ginny looking miserable and cold as she hugged her body tight, saying something to Blaise as she walked. Blaise looked torn between wanting to comfort his girlfriend and yet also wanting to run away, and when Ginny sneezed violently, Draco couldn’t help but be amused as Blaise gave an alarmed look at the petite redhead beside him.

“What did you do to her?” Draco asked Pansy as they walked. He saw her wicked smile come into play and felt very glad that he was not on the receiving end of her plots.

“I slipped some flu inducing potion in her drink at lunch. I’ve seen Weasley with a cold before and I know that Blaise will have a hard time talking to her when she’s like this. She’s as revolting as her brother when she gets sick.”

Draco saw Ginny rub her nose again with her hand and give another loud sniff. He didn’t doubt Pansy was right, but he did have to wonder if this would really be as effective as she thought.

“Do you think this is enough to make Blaise stop liking Ginny?”

Pansy laughed softly. “Stupid, haven’t you realised what I’m doing?”

He looked at her face, noting the silent laughter in her eyes and realised that he obviously didn’t. Pansy sighed in exasperation and tugged on his arm to bring him a little more away from the other couple so they could not hear.

“I’m not trying to make Blaise not like Ginny. I’m making Ginny not like Blaise! He doesn’t know how to deal with her like this, and it’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t find her sneezing and sniffing very charming. Up until now he’s always just seen her as the fiery girl that likes to have fun because she’s been directing all her nastiness to you. He doesn’t know the real her, and now he’s going to get it all in one go, and I can tell you that he is not ready for it.”

Draco wasn’t sure if he was just feeling particularly stupid or if Pansy was just useless at explaining things, but he still didn’t quite understand his friend’s plan here. “And?”

“And so she’ll start to get irritated with him. Blaise seems perfect until you put him out of his element. He’s about to get very much out of his element.”

“This isn’t all you’re planning, is it?” Draco asked in some foreboding.

Pansy smiled angelically. “Of course not. Just sit back and enjoy the show, Draco.”

Giving a glance at Blaise and Ginny, Draco felt just the tiniest bit of guilt that he had pushed Pansy to do this. He couldn’t turn back now though, and really he was just as eager as his friend to see Blaise break up with Ginny.

They all entered the warmth of the Three Broomsticks, and Draco was relieved to see that the restaurant was not as full as it normally was. The last thing he wanted was to be squeezed like sardines at a table, while hearing the irrelevant and tedious chitchat of the other people around him.

They all sat down and chose their dinners, chatting about inconsequential things as they waited for Madam Rosmerta to come over to get their orders. Ginny didn’t look too happy, and it was no surprise since Blaise had barely spoken to her the whole time they had sat down. Draco could see Ginny getting more and more frustrated, and finally when it seemed she would crack, Pansy suddenly smiled at the sickly girl.

“Ginny, won’t you come with me to the bathroom.” 

Ginny looked a little confused, her eyebrows drawing together in a frown. “But I don’t need to go toilet,” she said bluntly.

Draco smiled to himself. It was just like Ginny to say something like that. How could he have ever hated this girl? He’d almost forgotten how adorable she was in all her artlessness. She truly was something special.

Pansy tried hard not to sigh in exasperation and instead simply took Ginny by the hand. “Yes, dear, but as girls we always go to the bathroom during dates to talk and reapply our makeup. You know?”

“Oh,” Ginny said with a snort, clearly finding the whole idea ridiculous. “Well okay then.”

Pansy smiled at the two boys, giving a subtle wink at Draco as she met his gaze. “We’ll be back soon.”

The boys nodded, and Draco watched as his friend swept the sneezing redhead off towards the bathroom. Whatever they were going to talk about he was sure Blaise would not like at all, and felt just a little uneasy himself. You just never knew with Pansy…

OOOO

Ginny stood rather awkwardly in the bathroom, not quite sure what she was supposed to be doing. Pansy was expertly redoing her lipgloss, but Ginny wasn’t wearing any anyway, nor did she need to reapply mascara, or any other type of make-up for that matter. It seemed this was a tradition many girls did, but Ginny, like her friend Hermione, was not really the typical girl. She’d much rather be playing quidditch than doing makeup, and she’d always found it easier to befriend the boys than the girls anyway.

Pansy’s dark eyes caught hers through the mirror, a rather sly smile forming on her lips Ginny didn’t know why but she felt just the smallest prickling of uneasiness creep over her body. There was something about that smile that made her go on edge.

“This must be your first date with Blaise, right?”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t going very well either. She felt and looked terrible, and Blaise seemed to not even want to talk to her. He’d barely even looked at her at all. In fact, he seemed happier to stare at Pansy Parkinson, who, Ginny realised with some jealousy and frustration, looked very nice in her sleek, black dress and boots. Perhaps she should have tried to dress up a bit more for this date, if only to feel just a little more confident around the boys. It was becoming increasingly hard to be as unconcerned as she normally was with appearances; though, with the pale, sickly tone of her skin, and the shiny red nose on her face, she thought she was allowed to feel vain just this once and wish she looked just a little more prettier.

“I’d watch out for him if I were you. He doesn’t wait long.”

Ginny’s eyebrows drew together into a frown. “What are you talking about?”

Pansy put away her lipgloss and looked at Ginny frankly. “I’m meaning that he’ll try to get you in the sack sooner or later, especially now that you’ve had your first date. I’m surprised he waited this long actually. He’s certainly not shy when it comes to having sex, and he expects all his girlfriends to put out for him.”

Ginny could feel her cheeks heating terribly, and dropped her gaze from the older girl’s face. This was a topic she did not want to talk about, especially with Pansy who she knew had slept with Draco and therefore would not understand her sentiments. She had not done anything serious like that with any of her boyfriends, and she did not want to either. She was waiting until she really loved someone, and did not want to waste something so fragile on a teenage romance. She was only fifteen for goodness sakes.

“Maybe he won’t with me,” Ginny said in a small voice, still blushing terribly. “I’ve never given him any suggestion that I would.”

Pansy moved away from the mirror and stared down at Ginny with an odd smile playing on her lips. There was something vindictive about that smile. “You don’t want to sleep with him? I heard he’s very good.”

Blushing even more, Ginny shook her head in embarrassment. “It’s not that, I just….” she swallowed and confessed more quietly, “I’m a virgin.”

“Ah… well that certainly makes things difficult. I wonder how he will take that.”

“W-what do you mean?” Ginny asked, feeling incredibly stupid in that moment. She felt small, inexperienced and terribly naïve. She hated that Pansy was looking down on her in such superiority, as if she knew so much more because she was not a virgin. Ginny felt her temper rising and clenched her fists.

“Well he is a guy, and he’s a guy that knows he can get pleasure whenever he wants. Girls flock to him, and he’s been known to cheat when he doesn’t get satisfaction.”

Now that Ginny had not heard, and felt just a little upset about too. She didn’t want to believe Pansy, but she herself had heard about the terrible flirt that Blaise was, and how he went through girls as fast Draco offended them.

“What?”

Pansy nodded, her eyes gleaming darkly. “Oh yes, didn’t you know? He was supposed to go on a date with Padma Patil, who was his girlfriend at the time, but he ended up shagging Daphne Greengrass in one of the abandoned classrooms instead. Caused quite the stir through the Slytherins I can tell you, but girls only flocked to him even more after that. They all wanted a piece of the Slytherin that was making quite the dangerous name for himself amongst the girls of Hogwarts.”

This couldn’t be right. Blaise was a good person. He was friendly, charming, witty, and loved her. She couldn’t believe this of him. She just couldn’t.

“You’re lying.”

Pansy laughed derisively, making Ginny pause in her judgment. Could Pansy be telling the truth? Was it possible that Blaise was really not as wonderful as she had thought?

“Ginny, I only tell you this because I’d hate to see you become a notch on his belt. You don’t know what he’s like. You may think that he cares about you, but give it a week or so and he’ll soon be growing tired of you. The fact that you don’t even want to sleep with him will only make that clock tick faster. Even if he does find you fascinating right now, how long do you think that will really last? Tell me honestly, Ginny, because somehow I thought you were smarter than that.”

“He loves me,” Ginny objected desperately, wishing rather than believing that it was true. “He wrote me a poem and everything.”

Pansy burst out laughing, her eyes lighting up with real amusement then, and Ginny found herself feeling very out-of-place and awkward. What could possibly be so funny about Blaise’s poem?

“You actually think he wrote that?” Pansy asked scornfully, looking down at Ginny as if she were a particularly stupid child.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Ginny asked in perplexity, feeling more and more upset and angry by the minute. Pansy was making her feel so confused and out of place, and she just hated it. She wanted it all to stop.

“Ginny,” Pansy said with a disdainful smile. “Blaise never wrote that poem. I’d hazard he’s never written a poem in his life, let alone something romantic.”

Ginny shook her head. She was suddenly feeling very close to tears, though whether that was from the sickness or the confusion swirling inside her she was not sure. “You’re lying.”

“You can think I’m lying if you want, but I’m telling you the truth. Look at me Ginny!”

Ginny raised her eyes to Pansy’s face and could see the gravity of Pansy’s expression. There was no twinkle in her eyes; no smile lurking on her mouth- she was firm and cold, not trying to be nice, but not trying to be mean either. She was just telling facts, and Ginny realised with a sudden stab of pain through her heart that she believed them. There was no possible way to deny the truth of Pansy’s expression, but she had to wonder why Blaise would lie to her. Why would he say he wrote that poem, and if he didn’t then who did?

“W-why would he lie?” Ginny asked pathetically, feeling her lips trembling as something hot trickled down her face. Was it tears? She could not know, she was just so upset and confused, and her head was throbbing so painfully so that she could barely think at all.

“Because he was desperate Ginny, and you had refused him. He only wanted you because you happened to be the object of his interest at the time. The poem was the only way he could think to get you to accept him, so he got Dr- his friend to write the poem for him.”

The words slammed into her head, echoing over and over in her brain. Pansy could not possibly be lying. She knew the girl was vindictive, but surely Pansy would not lie about something like this? She had no reason to.

Suddenly Ginny started to feel incredibly dizzy, her body swaying sickeningly as black dots floated past her eyes and a loud ringing resounded in her ears. “I… I think I need to sit down,” Ginny mumbled, and stumbled shakily out of the room with tears burning her eyes and choking her throat.

Pansy watched her leave the bathroom and stared impassively at the closed door. The deed was done, but somehow she did not feel so triumphant as she thought she might have. Ginny had been genuinely hurt; she had seen it in the younger girl’s eyes. There was no turning back now though. Blaise was only receiving his just desserts. He should never have tricked that girl into loving him by using that poem Draco had written. He would learn that his good looks and charm could not always save him from everything, and if Ginny had to suffer because of it then so be it. Blaise had had this coming for a long time, and Pansy would not regret it.

So what if she had lied about Blaise only wanting sex? So what if he did care about Ginny? It wouldn’t last anyway; she could see it. She could see that he didn’t really care deep down and only thought he did. This was the only way to break them off. It was the only way….

OOOO

Draco played with the saltshaker sitting near his hands, sighing to himself as he wondered how long the girls were going to be. Blaise was prattling on about something, but Draco wasn’t really paying attention; he was far too worried about what was going on in the bathroom.

The door to the women’s room opened, and Draco glanced up to see Ginny stumbling somewhat woozily out. She glanced about dizzily and met his gaze, tears slipping down her pale cheeks and her mouth trembling pathetically. He didn’t even think what he was doing, he just stood up and walked swiftly towards her, catching her in his arms just before she fainted.

“Is she okay?” Blaise asked worriedly, rushing over to him.

“I don’t know,” Draco said truthfully, holding Ginny’s warm body protectively against his chest.

Pansy came out of the bathroom and greeted them with a surprised look, not having expected them to both be there. Draco felt a bubble of anger rise up in him, even though he had been the one who had requested her help, but it was Blaise who got there first.

“What did you do to her, Pansy?”

“I simply told her the truth about you not having written that poem. It’s not my problem she’s too weak to handle it.”

Blaise’s eyes narrowed and he took an angry step towards her. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Why do you always have to interfere!? It’s damn-well none of your business if I wrote that poem or not, Pansy, and I’m sick of you always playing your little games and meddling in what doesn’t concern you!”

“Did you honestly think I was going to sit back and let you trick that poor girl into loving you? She’s not like your usual whores, Blaise. She actually has some decency.”

“You don’t think I didn’t know that?” Blaise demanded in exasperation. “I know Ginny’s not like the other girls; I knew that from the first moment I saw her, but you just had to go and ruin it didn’t you? You always have to ruin it!”

Pansy drew herself to her full height, looking just as furious as Blaise, with her chest heaving and her eyes glittering with raging emotion. “Don’t kid yourself, Blaise. You never really liked her. You just thought you did because she was different. Do you honestly think that you’ll still feel intrigued by her in a month’s time? I know you; I know what you’re like. You should be thanking me for ending it before it got anymore out of hand.”

“Thanking you? Are you crazy? You just ruined all hopes I had with the girl I love!”

“Love?” Pansy laughed and shook her head scornfully. “You talk of love? You don’t even know what love is! You just think that because you find someone attractive somehow it’s love. You think because someone new comes along and catches your fancy that it’s love. You have no bloody idea, Blaise, on what love is. You don’t know anything at all.”

“What do you know, Pansy?” Blaise snapped, clenching his fists so hard that the whites of his knuckles savagely burned into his tan skin. “You say you love Draco so much, but all you ever do is meddle with my love life and vindictively get rid of all my girlfriends. Oh yeah, people seem to think that I’m the one who goes through all the girls, never mind the fact that you’re always there to conveniently make them hate me! I know it was you who set Daphne on me that time, and I’m pretty sure it would be a good guess to say that you got rid of the others too!”

“I wasn’t the one who told you to shag Daphne. It’s not my fault you let her have her way with you.”

Blaise rolled his eyes. “Well gee, Pansy, next time a good-looking guy starts taking his clothes off in front of you, you tell me how well you do.”

“It’s no excuse,” Pansy retorted angrily. “You didn’t care about them anyway. If you did you would have fought for them more, but you just let them go and moved onto the next as if nothing had happened at all.”

Blaise let out a growl of frustration and turned away from them both. Draco wondered if he should go, but he found himself curious to know what would happen. He was still holding Ginny against him, but he found his eyes drawn to the two furious Slytherins.

“You know I’m right, Blaise,” Pansy said more quietly.

“Am I supposed to thank you now?” Blaise snapped bitterly, turning back around to face her, his amber eyes that had always held such dancing amusement now only glowing with anger and frustration. “You seem to delight in bringing up my faults, Pansy, but you’re far from perfect yourself. Yes, I have a weakness for girls; yes I can’t say that I am a good boyfriend, or seem to be able to stay interested in the same girl for too long, but you-” his eyes narrowed heatedly- “You actually take delight in breaking those girls’ hearts, and for what? So you can sit back and laugh and tell me how stupid I was for thinking I might have loved that girl? So you can rub it in my face that I’m not as perfect as people think me? Go on then Pansy,” he said harshly. “Laugh it up. You’ve won. You’ve got everything you wanted. You broke Ginny’s heart and ruined yet another of my relationships. Doesn’t it just make you feel absolutely sick with joy?”

Tears glistened in Pansy’s eyes and slipped down her cheeks, her very pride shattering before their eyes as she shed not the dramatic tears Draco had so often seen her cry, but the sincere tears of someone in deep pain.

“No,” she confessed softly, her eyes falling to the ground so as not to meet Blaise’s furious gaze. “I don’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t feel proud at all.” Her lips trembled slightly, and her tears continued to fall one by one down her cheeks. “I thought I would. I thought I was teaching you a real good lesson, but now I see how stupid I was… I see now that I only did it because I…”

“Yes?”

Pansy took a small breath and looked the other way in her shame. “Because I love you.”

Draco saw Blaise’s eyes widened, and even he himself felt the jolt of surprise run through him. The other day when he’d seen them arguing he’d wondered if Pansy had felt more for their friend than she had let on, and now Draco knew it was true. So he was not the only one who had tried to hide in another relationship to disguise his true feelings? He suddenly felt very sorry for Pansy, even though she had done some terrible things, and wondered how Blaise would react.

“You what?” Blaise said disbelievingly, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

“I was jealous, okay. Every time I saw you go with those girls I just couldn’t stand it. I had to do something, because seeing you with them just brought me so much pain.” She shook her head, still looking the other way. “I didn’t understand why I would get so angry to see you with girl after girl. I thought I loved Draco, and figured I was just angry because you seemed to not care about any of them. I realise now I was only jealous and just felt frustrated that you would look at all those girls, but you would never look at me…”

“Pansy I-”

“I know you probably hate me right now, and I know you have every reason to.” She finally turned to face him, tears glistening on her dark lashes. “This whole date was made to break you and Ginny up. Draco and I don’t even go out; we were just pretending…” She wiped the tears away from her eyes quickly and once more dropped her gaze. “I’m sorry Blaise. I promise I’ll never interfere again.”

She cast a despairing and apologetic look at Draco and then quickly ran from the room. Blaise looked at Draco still holding Ginny, his eyes flashing with so many emotions Draco found it hard to keep up.

“I never knew,” Blaise said quietly.

“Neither did I,” Draco said truthfully.

“I have to go after her!”

Draco only nodded his head, and watched as Blaise followed in Pansy’s footsteps, no doubt to sort out what was really going on between them. It wouldn’t surprise Draco if Blaise was not so against Pansy either. He understood how easy it was to be blind to what was right in front of you; it had taken him a long time to realise he liked Ginny after all.

He glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms and held her more securely against his chest, he too making his way out of the Three Broomsticks back towards the school.

As he walked through the snowy track, he caught a glimpse of Pansy and Blaise standing by a tree talking quietly to each other. He saw Pansy shake her dark head and mumble something as she turned away, before Blaise had taken two steps forward, turned her around to face him, and kissed her soundly on the lips. Smiling to himself, Draco kept walking with his sleeping damsel, not quite sure what would happen now, but glad that at least Blaise and Pansy had sorted out their feelings. He could only hope that Ginny would not be too hurt from it…

OOOO

Ginny opened her eyes drowsily, wincing as the throbbing in her head continued its painful pounding. She blearily glanced about the room, smelling a sickly, sweet smell that made her feel quite nauseous. Someone was leaning over a smouldering cauldron filling a vial with red liquid, and Ginny fell back weakly against the bed she had been lying on, unable to stay focussed for very long thanks to the aches and chills that attacked her body.

Memories of what had happened moments before she had fallen asleep flashed back through her mind, and she let out a pitiful sob as she remembered all she had been told through Pansy’s malicious tongue. Blaise had not written the poem; he had never loved her as she had thought he did, and though she wished with all her heart that it were not true, she knew she could not delude herself into thinking otherwise.

“You’re awake,” a soothing voice said softly near her, and Ginny turned her face weakly to see familiar grey eyes staring down at her- eyes that right now held so much tenderness and concern she felt quite ready to burst into tears- and did.

“Shh, don’t cry, Ginny.” He looped an arm around her back and helped her sit up better, letting her head rest against his chest. “Here, drink this.”  He offered the sweet smelling liquid to her, but Ginny didn’t want it. It smelt bad and made her feel sick, and why did the world have to spin like this?

She gripped his robes and buried her face into his chest, drinking in the soothing scent of his cologne and feeling his heart beating steadily against her cheek. Tears slipped from her eyes, and she had to bite her lip to stop the sobs that threatened to escape. She had been a complete fool. A complete, naïve fool. She should never have trusted Blaise; Hermione had been right...

“Ginny, you have to drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I can’t,” Ginny moaned weakly, still clutching onto his robes. “I feel too sick.”

Draco sighed and dipped her head back, forcing the liquid down her throat. It tasted as disgusting as it smelt, and Ginny gagged and choked on it, thrashing about weakly in his arms and tried to push him away. Once he forced her to swallow it, she settled down and just rested against his chest, crying pitifully to herself against the unfairness of it all.

Draco placed his other arm around her and held her close to him, stroking her hair soothingly with his hand and occasionally mumbling comforting nonsense. She wept bitterly to herself, feeling all the heartbreak of a young love shattered, and not once did he stop her. He just silently held her, while gently stroking her hair, letting her release the sadness inside her until she fell asleep in sheer exhaustion in his arms.

Silently Draco picked her up in his arms and placed her in the bed, pulling the covers tenderly up over her and smoothing the sticky hair away from her face where her sweat still layered her forehead. He smiled sadly down at her and leaned down to give her a small kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well, Ginny,” he whispered, letting his fingers caressingly trail down her pale cheek.

He sighed and pulled himself away, once more taking his seat by her bed and just watched as she slept, until he too slowly felt the pull of tiredness pulling down his eyes and dragging into him the deep slumbers of the night.

A/N: There’s not much humour in this chapter, but I’m sure most of you knew this was coming. I can’t say I’m particularly subtle, lol.