Real Love

Chapter 1: Hope For The Hopeless

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me and im only writing this for my own enjoyment. Nothing is mine.

A/N: Well, I began this story I don't really know how many years ago, and its certainly not in cannon. I believe it is through book four, but where I could I adjusted things to fit some of the others a little better, but really this one is totally AU. It's mostly finished already. I didn't want to post any until I had a significant portion done, so hopefully updates will be regular. I've been out of the fanfic game for awhile so we'll see how this goes. Enjoy! Review! Love you!

Crushed under heavy chest
Trying to catch your breath
But it always beats you by a step, all right now

Making the best of it
Playing the hand you get
You're not alone in this

There's hope for the hopeless

Hope for the Hopeless, A Fine Frenzy

Ginny shut the car door behind her and felt the warm summer breeze wash over her. Her best friend climbed out of the driver's side.

Ginny and Hermione had become friends out of convenience really, but had quickly grown close. Neither of them had ever had a lot of females in their life, and Ginny was pretty sure that was what had drawn them together, besides the obvious life and death adventures that Harry Potter had brought into their lives.

Harry and Ron weren't there though. No one was sure where they were really. Ron had been taken at the end of the last school year, and when the Order had refused to take his help, in true form Harry had gone out on his own. That had been it. Not a word had been heard from either of them all summer.

Ginny must have been frowning a the thought because Hermione smiled falsely at her, "Put on a happy face Gin."

Hermione's face quickly returned to its usual solemn expression. She never said anything, but Ginny knew that Hermione was only hanging on by a thread. Not only was she worried about Ron and Harry, but her mother had disowned her after her father had to be placed in St. Mungo's after death eaters had attacked her house, looking for her. Ginny had been able to hear Hermione's sobs at night during the summer. They, along with Hermione's irritability had been increasing exponentially as the school year had grown closer.

All summer the thought of returning to Hogwarts without Ron and Harry had seemed all but impossible, but the last few weeks it had been clear that neither of them would be beginning their seventh year alongside Hermione, and the newly named head girl was understandably struggling.

Ginny grunted and struggled to pull her school chest out of the trunk. It didn't budge. ermHer

Ron had always been there to help her and Ginny had never realized just how heavy her trunk was. All of a sudden another two strong arms reached around her and lifted it with ease. She turned to thank her helper, but nothing came out when she discovered Blaise Zabini standing behind her.

"You're welcome," he laughed. "Ladies," he nodded and strolled off and rejoined Draco Malfoy, who remarkably refrained from any comment.

Ginny gaped after the two boys strolling away trying to process the exchange that had just occurred.

"Mione…Did you?"

"Let's go Ginny." Hermione cut her off and slammed shut the cars trunk.

Ginny sighed and wished the other girl could relax enough to share the amused confusion with her. She reached down to drag her trunk and was pleasantly pleased to find it now weighed no more than a pillow.

"Fuck she got hot," Blaise spoke low. Draco didn't have to look up to know who he was referring to.

"Get a good look down her top earlier?" He intended it as an insult, but Blaise was not offended.

Blaise scrunched his mouth and shook his head disappointedly. "Next time…"

Draco glanced over at the Weasley girl. She was sitting in the corner of the large compartment, her legs tucked up beneath her on the red upholstered bench. He'd be an idiot to try and claim she wasn't attractive. Her red hair was striking against her fair skin, and the past couple of years had been kind to her petite frame. Perhaps it was that unlike the Hero Trio she didn't constantly run her mouth, or because she'd never once accused him for what his father did to her years ago, but Ginny Weasley didn't strike the chord of annoyance in him that her friends and family did. The way most people did for that matter. Draco scowled as an example of those who annoyed him caused him to look away from Weasley. Longbottom clumsily threw open the door poked his head in to the cabin.

"Hi Hermione. Er, Hi Ginny."

"Hi Neville," Weasley smiled at the fellow Gryffindor.

"Neville, you really shouldn't be in here," was all Granger managed to offer the boy.

"Oh I know…I uh. I just wanted to say hi, I'll just be on my way then," he stumbled over his words.

"See you at the sorting?" Ginny offered him, taking some of the edge of Granger's harshness.

"Yeah! I'll save you a seat!" The boy's eyes lit up.

"Thanks Neville." He stood there one more moment before awkwardly exiting the cabin.

"I saved you a seat right here Weasley." Blaise patted the bench next to him.

"Mmm. I'd rather not."

Blaise shrugged. "You're loss."

"Maybe next time," she let out a little laugh.

"Actually Ginny, if you could move, I need Draco to come over here with me so we can talk about the semester."

Draco's eyes shot up as he heard Granger use his first name. He knew that she had been assigned the head girl position, but until that very moment it hadn't crossed his mind that being head boy would mean regularly interacting with her.

He watched in dread as Weasley grudgingly stood and moved to sit beside Blaise, who was grinning like a bobcat.

"So Ginnnyyyy, how was your summer?"

"It was fine Blaise."

"Mine was pretty swell too. You know, besides the war and all."

Draco was surprised to see Ginny expose a bit of smile at the comment. Not too many people joked about the war, and an even fewer number found those people funny.

"Malfoy!" Granger's voice hurt his head already.

There were no vacant chairs, but the Gryffindor table felt empty. Ginny tried hard not to look at all of the somber people and the sympathetic look they kept giving her and Hermione. The mood of the entire hall was more sullen than Ginny could ever remember and even the sorting went by with polite claps instead of the usual roars of cheers.

The students were behaving the way the rest of the wizarding world was, as if it was wrong to have any sort of fun when there were such horrible things occurring. Ginny thought it just made things worth.

Even Dumbledore's speech lacked its usual quirk, but his message was strong.

"Before we eat I would like to say a few words. This summer, as you all know, has been a trying one, and I am sad to say that we are all facing a very difficult year. However, I assure you that if you all bond together nothing will be able to break you, and you will get through this together."

As the feast carried on countless people approached Ginny and Hermione to offer their sympathy about Ron and Harry. Ginny tried to be thankful for all of the good wishes, but what she really wanted was for everyone to just leave her alone. It was too hard to talk about it with anyone. This is why when a large group somehow formed at the end of the table, sharing their favorite Ron and Harry stories, Ginny silently agreed with Hermione that it was time to leave.

"Are you going back to the tower?" Hermione asked her once they had escaped the Great Hall.

Ginny shook her head. "I want to go for a walk."

Her walk began as just that, but Ginny quickly found herself accelerating into a jog and then a run as a sudden desperation to get away from the castle hit her and intensified. She was quickly in a full out sprint.

She shed her shoes and robe along the way, and headed for hill overlooking the lake. Instead of slowing her pace as she approached the edge, Ginny felt exhilarated found herself gaining speed. Ginny's heart raced as her toes lined up with the edge of the cliff, and she took a deep breathe as leapt into the night's cool air.

She held the air in her lungs as the icy water surrounded her body and she sunk into the shocking sensation. Her body began to come to stop and Ginny took the moment to start kicking to the surface. She gasped for air as she broke out of the water, the full moon as her spotlight. She paddled back to the bank where she laid herself down on the grassy patch of land and closed her eyes.

"I know you're trying to get away from this, but I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry about your brother and Potter."

Ginny's body shot up when she heard the voice. Draco Malfoy stood beside her.

"I'm sorry about your father." She answered. Lucius Malfoy was missing as well. She had read it in the papers over the summer.

"Thanks Weasley, but no need to taint your innocent soul with lies on my account." That sounded more like that Malfoy she knew.

"You don't have to believe me Malfoy, but I understand how you feel, and I'm sorry for it."

"Well don't be." Ginny could tell her meant it, and before she could say anything else he turned and walked away.

Ginny returned to her dormitory that night with hopes that everyone would have already called it a night. However, she was disappointed to find the lights in her bedroom still flickering as her roommates chattered away.

"Do you think we have a chance at being invited this year?" Abby Conrad was asking the two other girls she dormed with when Ginny entered. "What happened to you?" he head snapped around.

"It started raining," she lied. She stood behind her bed curtain and stripped off her wet clothes. "What are you all talking about?"

"What else?" Emme Tuft exclaimed.

"The back to school bash!" Mary Dugan finished.

'Of course! What else?' Ginny rolled her eyes, but joined in. "Who's hosting this year?" She sat down on her bed to run her brush through her knotted hair.

"Slytherin," Emme sighed.

"Which means our chances of being invited are nonexistent," Mary added mournfully, answering Abby's original question.

While the girls' distress over the situation forced Ginny to suppress a snicker, she had to admit that the annual drunken gathering of upper classmen was fun. She could easily recall the pride she had felt at the beginning of the previous year when she received an invitation to the elite party that's events were never discussed beyond that night. They weren't discussed without consequences at least. A seventh year Hufflepuff had learned the hard way last year when she gained thirty pounds in one week after telling her younger sister about the kiss she had shared with a sixth year Ravenclaw.

The secrecy clause was the reason she had never been able to ask Harry if he remembered that in a drunken moment of confidence she had told him how she felt, only to be thrown up on by the-boy-who-took-the-party-to-drink-his-cares-away. Ginny was fairly sure he didn't, but that lurking threat of thirty pounds combined with the vanity of any 16 year old girl meant she would probably never know.

"Oh why couldn't we be seventh years?" on of the girls groaned. "Then we'd have to be invited."

The only rule each year, besides secrecy, was that all seventh year students had to be invited.

"Who'd they put in charge of the plans?" she inquired. Last year, when Ravenclaw had hosted, Cho Chang had been the head planner.

All three girls let out a collective sighed and Ginny was then prepared when they all swooned and chorused, "Draco Malfoy."

As much as she hated to admit it, the knowledge gave her a slightly increased desire to receive an invitation.

"Which means nothing will be less than the best."

"And with Snape MIA and Trelawny 'watching over' Slytherin…"

"It's sure to be the most phenomenal thing ever."

"And we're going to miss it!"

"I can't take anymore. I'm going to bed."

Ginny was grateful when the lights went out and her roommates pouting faces were out of sight.

Ginny hurried down the steps into the Gryffindor common room where she found Hermione impatiently waiting for her.

"Well that took long enough," Hermione touted. "We're going to be late for breakfast."

"Sorry," Ginny yawned. "The girls kept me up late. I over slept."

Hermione didn't respond and remained quiet as they made their way through the portrait hole.

"So do you want to hear something strange?" Ginny offered. Hermione raised her eyebrows in response and Ginny continued. "Malfoy talked to me last night."

Hermione snorted. "So what are you this year? An impoverished weasel? Or just a filthy muggle-lover?"

"Actually he was sharing his condolences about Ron and Harry," Ginny replied. Hermione stopped walking for a moment.

"Ginny I think that you should keep away from Malfoy." Hermione took her by the arm so Ginny couldn't ignore her if she'd wanted.

"Me stay away from him?" she exclaimed, claiming back her appendage. "He came to me! Besides he was being sincere." Ginny truly belived Malfoy had meant everything he said to her the night before.

"Ginny trust me! Malfoy would not come to you for something like that unless he has something else in mind. I think you should avoid him until I can figure out what he's up to."

Ginny fumed. Hermione always saw the worst in everyone and was always quick to squash Ginny's hopes of change. "Hermione everyone is not always acting according to some secret agenda. I'd love to see what you'd do with your time in a world without this war. You're as bad as Harry and Ron, living for trouble. Did you ever think if you three hadn't stuck your noses in business that wasn't yours Ron would have never been taken and they'd both be here now?"

Hermione's face hardened and she quickly turned and stalked off.

Not even a day into the year and she had already managed to get Hermione to stop speaking with her. However, she was sure, things were only just beginning.