A/N: Inspired by the saying "The apple never falls far from the tree" and by Leah's at UR's fic "Like Father, Like Son." Thanks to all my readers, and enjoy! Please review at the end – I love feedback! This will be my first chaptered fic up, by the way.
Apples and Trees
By Empress Malfoy
They say about children and their parents that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I'm here to tell you today that they are completely and entirely wrong.
This is about a mistake, the biggest mistake any of us ever made, and how we paid for it. It started on a November day of our seventh year, and, ironically, the first and last bit of it takes place under an apple tree…
The sky was a steely grey, overcast and chilly. The lake's waters, fathomless, black, and frigid, churned softly in the brisk wind. The trees were in the process of shedding the very last of their leaves. The brilliant firecracker-colored display of oranges and reds and yellows that had adorned the grounds liberally in October were fading to a mix of deep burgundies, burnt oranges, and browns, creating a crunchy crisp carpet of leaves wherever you walked, crackling under the feet of students.
We were walking up to the castle from Care of Magical Creatures, side by side, our cheeks slightly reddened from the blustery wind, our red-and-gold scarves secured snugly around our necks, arms clutching books and bags close to us, grasping our cloaks tighter around ourselves. The grounds were virtually deserted; everyone had hurried up to the castle as quickly as possible, bent nearly double against the wind.
We weren't talking much, merely enjoying an amiable silence, thinking longingly of the busy warmth of the Great Hall and the hot stew we'd be enjoying for lunch, when Hermione spotted her.
"Look, there's Ginny!" Hermione said, pointing. Ron and I looked over at the gnarled, grayish, bare boughs of the old apple tree, and saw Ginny Weasley standing under the tree, leaning against the trunk, looking thoughtful. Her scarf was drawn tightly around her neck as ours were, but she wasn't making any other efforts to shield herself from the wind. Her flaming red hair was loose, and curly tendrils were blowing across her cheeks in the gale.
"Hello, Ginny!" Hermione called, waving cheerily, as we paused.
Ginny started and looked around, coming out of her reverie, and spotted the three of us, then grinned and waved back.
"Coming up to lunch?" Ron called.
"No – er, I'm staying out here for a bit," she answered. "I'll be up in a bit, though, save me a seat."
"We will!" Hermione called, and we turned and resumed our walk back up the sloping, leaf-strewn lawns.
"What on earth does she want to stay out there for?" Ron wondered, as we stepped inside the Great Hall a few minutes later, pulling off our scarves and cloaks in the sudden rush of warmth. "It's freezing out there."
Hermione shrugged, and we went to sit down.
Ginny didn't come to lunch till half-an-hour later, looking windswept, ruffled, and very cheerful. "Hello, all!" she greeted us as she slid in next to Hermione.
"What kept you?" I asked, passing her the stew bowl.
"Oh – ran into some friends on the way back up," she said, spooning stew onto her plate.
At that moment, Malfoy entered the Great Hall, smirking and looking incredibly satisfied. He threw me the usual contemptuous look as he moved to sit at the Slytherin table next to Zabini. He didn't look quite as pristine as usual – there was color in his pale face as well, and I noticed as he unwrapped his scarf that he was looking distinctly windswept and ruffled.
Perhaps it was then we should have started to wonder.
Or perhaps by then, it was already too late.
To be continued very shortly! Reviews are greatly appreciated – like it, hate it? Let me know, please! Flames, however, will be printed out and used to line the cage of my neighbor's guinea pig! Constructive criticism only, s'il vous plait. Thanks again for reading.