Breaking The Habit

By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter One: Memories Consume

Author's Notes:

Well, let's start with the obvious and work our way out from there, beginning with the status of this fan-fic. This fic just happens to be my first Draco/Ginny fan-fic, so be gentle with me. And let me tell you from the get go that I absolutely love reviews, so don't be greedy with them. Throw them out at me three or four at a time and let me know how much you love (or hate... but hate is such a strong word) this little (well, not so little) fan-fic of mine. It's already written many of the chapters, so the more you review, the faster I edit and upload my new chapters...

I don't know if you can classify this as a song fan-fic, but the title comes from the Linkin Park song 'Breaking the Habit' on their Meteora CD. And all the titles for the chapters come from lines in the song. I think that's pretty cool the way that works out...

Second, I need to discuss the setup of the style of this fan-fic. This entire fan-fic switches in between what is happening now and flashbacks. There is a little indicator between each switch, but during some chapters, I have three or four different time frames running, so it might be a little confusing. I've decided to write in -italics- which time frame it is. Once you get the outline of my fan-fic, you'll be able to tell even without them, but for now I think it's a good idea. I sure hope I don't confuse you too much... Also, the different time frames are in chronological order, so at least I'm nice about that part...

-present-

"Where is he?" she demanded, trying to push past all the nameless faces and figures. All the different house colors blended so well together in the madness, the frenzy they pushed her into. All she needed to do was find him. If only he would turn around and glare at her, she would know he was safe at least. They wouldn't let her through. Heavy barriers between her and her final destination, all she wanted to do was shove them all away, force her way through the crowd to the center of attention. Why wouldn't they tell her what happened?

Ron wanted to protect her, he protested while grabbing onto her arm and pulling her in the opposite direction of him. She clawed into his arm, but his grip tended to increase when she tried to escape from his grasp. Why did everyone try to keep her away from him? Her stomach fell at the idea of him being badly hurt. She shook her head furiously, telling herself that wasn't the case. If it was, Ron would be pushing her towards him, showing her how weak he was.

"Stop," she screamed, digging her heals into the concrete floor. "Ron, you're hurting my arm! Let go of me now!" she demanded, finally managing to yank her arm away from his grabbing hand. "You can't do this! I have to see him. Now!"

Ron just shook his head when she turned back around to try, once again, to shove her way through. When she smacked away his hand reaching towards her, Ron proceeded by picking her up off her feet from behind, dragging her kicking and screaming in the opposite direction.

-past-Dean-

"Do we really need to talk about this right now?" she grinned, clearly embarrassed, tucking her toes under the throw pillow at the end of the couch, next to Dean Thomas's head. He glanced from her toes to her head, pulling the blanket up to cover her bare feet.

"Yes, I think it's a very important issue that needs to be brought up before I talk to Ron again," Dean informed her, looking her straight in the eyes. "Things between us have become... serious Ginny. I want to know where this relationship leads up to before I start defending it against Ron again."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, but she was smiling. "When did you become the one to start worrying over our relationship?" she teased, poking her head over the top of the trashy magazine she read with little interest.

"Since your brother started stalking me in the halls, Gin," he responded with equal ease. "Ron isn't going to ease off of us until I sit down with him and explain our relationship to him. And I can't do that until you explain it to me."

"Dean, Ron won't stop bothering you until we split up." Ginny smiled before disappearing back behind her magazine. "Just let me handle Ron, okay? Being the only girl in the family, I know how to handle my brothers."

Dean nodded and then leaned across the length of the couch, snatching her magazine out of her hand, tossing it over the back of the couch. Ginny raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend, resting on her elbows. He crawled across her legs and pressed his mouth against hers urgently. Ginny sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and sinking down into the comfy couch in front of the fire in the common room.

-present-

Ron forced a mug of hot chocolate into Ginny's hand. She pulled the blanket closer around her body with a shaking hand. She brought the mug up to her lips, but she couldn't force them to part. Groaning, she set the mug down on the end table and stared straight into the roaring flames in front of her. "What's wrong with him?" she whispered, afraid if she spoke too loud, it would hurt him even more.

Ron ran his hand over the back of his little sister's hair. For the first time in his life, he saw the fear in her eyes and the anger in her voice. Yes, she'd never forgive him for getting them apart, but maybe one day at least she could understand. Sixteen was too young to hear what he needed to tell her. In a few years, he'd sit down with her and explain everything to her. But not now.

"You should get some sleep," he commented lightly, dodging the question for as long as possible. He continued to rub her head before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. All the recent events really had taken all her energy away. Pure shock coursed through her entire system, begging to be realized. Yet her mind froze with fear of what she wouldn't admit.

Sleep... Ginny scuffed at the idea of sleep. Right... like she would be able to sleep now, of all times. What she wanted, needed, was to feel his arms around her again, at least once, and to have his lips on her neck. Right it that spot he loved, although he would never admit it to her. He never admitted anything to her. He kept his entire life a secret from her. What do we really have? Ginny asked herself several times throughout the year, but the answers never came to her.

"You'll never accept it - us," she corrected herself slowly, "will you?" Ron always pushed himself to protect her, more than any of her other brothers. Even when she didn't want to be protected. It's for your own good, he always told her while he forced her to do something against her own will. This time had been different - she'd found her way around his grip, his force that held her back from her wants. She'd screwed up, he yelled at her over and over again, but this time it didn't matter to her. Or it hadn't until he went and got himself hurt.

"You crossed enemy lines, Gin. You know how hard I tried to prevent this from happening to you. I only wanted to help you and yet you had to be your usual stubborn self," Ron told her in the nicest way he could muster up.

Ginny shook her head, shrugging his arm off of her shoulders, "You're avoiding the questions again, Ron." She paused, looking through watered eyes at the fireplace. "I can't be around you when you act like this." With that, Ginny stood on her own two feet and walked up to the girls' dormitories, leaving her brother, her protector, sitting on the couch in confusion.

-past-Dean-

"Ohhhh..." Ginny gasped, gripping his hair harder with her hand. Dean grinned against her jaw, where he kissed a trail down to her neck. "Dean..." she begged, rubbing her body against his, causing him to grunt. He pressed her hips down into the couch, trying to still her movements while he continued.

Ginny surrendered, ceasing all motion. She let Dean snog her silly, like he usually did. So selfish... Ginny thought to herself, letting her eyes flutter open, even though he wasn't even close to being done. Releasing his hair, she propped her head up a little on one arm while she rested her other hand on her thin stomach, waiting for him to finish. Sure, she enjoyed it, but never as much as Dean. Must of the time, she just laid back and let him have his way while she thought about what she was going to wear for classes the next day.

"I love you," he whispered against her neck. Ginny's stomach fell to the floor. She hated when he did that - told her he loved her while he forced her to hold still for him. All of the times he whispered it to her, she's never once been able to answer him back. Maybe because it ruined the realization of telling him, or maybe she didn't love him back. She hoped it was the first reason, but deep down, she knew it had become the second in the past few months. She needed more than he could ever give her - mostly because he only really cared about himself.