Ginny Weasley had been the source of Harry's attentions nearly every second of every day since the summer. He'd been foolishly unaware of her infatuation with him, until she finally came forward and confronted him about it. An entire summer at the Burrow had given them ample opportunity to discuss the way the felt and, after an awful lot of stuttering, they'd begun a relationship.
As in any relationship, Harry and Ginny had had their fair share of petty arguments, usually the kind that end in whispered apologies and a generous amount of snogging, but this by far was the worst on record. Having been foolishly accused of secretly having feelings for one Cho Chang, someone who he'd undoubtedly forgotten long ago, Harry had defended himself to the best of his abilities, but Ginny was not to be swayed. He now sat alone in his room at the top of Gyffindor Tower, tears silently staining his cheeks.
"Why am I so /stupid?" he said angrily to no one in particular. He fell sideways onto his bed, burrowing his head into the feather-stuffed pillow. He sighed in exasperation, hopefully this would all be resolved soon.
Please just don't play with me, my paper heart will bleed.
This wait for destiny won't do.
Be with me, please, I beseech you. Simple things that make you run away.
Catch you if I can.
Ginny wasn't at all pleased with Harry's excuses. The look in his eyes when he glanced Cho's way was enough to make her hurl. She stormed down the empty hallways of Hogwarts, headed no where in particular. Her hair was disheveled, leaving her looking less than attractive, and the redness of her face and puffyness of her eyes from crying didn't help any either. Walking too swiftly to notice anything around her, thoughts raced through her mind as to exactly what she should do in this situation.
"If he loved me," she muttered to herself, "then he wouldn't be making goo-goo-eyes at that /Chang/ all the time." She spat the name as if it were poison. She continued her angry march through the corridors, but continued to slow down her pace the further she got until she was finally walking at a normal rate of speed. She continued to mutter.
"Honestly I don't understand why he even tried to pretend he was innocent, Merlin knows he's never given even me the looks he throws that Ravenclaw /slut/." Not bothering to look ahead in her deep train of thought and murderous mutterings, she stopped short when she ran into a solid figure who didn't seem to have being paying much attention either. She shot a nervous glance towards the figures face and caught site of the silvery-blonde hair. Her stomach lurched even as she heard a silky voice in her ear.
"And just what does the little Weaslette think she's doing out so /late?" he spat, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to look dignified. "Isn't it well past your bedtime, little one?" Although Ginny was known for a sharp tongue, which probably came from her Weasley temper, she just wasn't in the mood to take on a Malfoy. She quickly wiped the remains of a soft tear and sniffed, trying her hardest to be tough with him.
"Look, Malfoy, I'm really not in the mood right now." Her gaze couldn't hold his and she looked shakily at the floor, her hair hiding her face, tinged with a blush.
"Oh, has Weasley finally met her match? Tongue not quick enough to take on a big bad Malfoy like me, is it?" he laughed and tsked at her. "And I really thought there was hope in you, yet"
"Shut it, Malfoy!" she bit, eyes locking on his and staring him down. The look on her face was enough to strike a little fear in him. "I can't /deal/ with you right now.." her voice became shaky towards that end, and as ashamed as she was to appear weak in front of him, she broke down into tears, and surprisingly enough, he made no move to say anything.
She sobbed into her hands, chest heaving as she tried to calm herself down. She had expected him to laugh at her, mock her, call her an 'ickle cry baby', but what he actually did was something completely unlike a Malfoy. He opened his arms to her, and drew her into his chest, allowing the littlest Weasley to heave and sob and soak his shirt with her tears. He stroked her hair softly, and tried to calm her by whispering little 'it will be alright's' into her ear. But the most shocking thing is, she believed him. And for the moment, Harry was completely forgotten.
Tears fall down your face.
The taste is something new, something that I know.
Moving on is easiest when I am around you.
So bottle up old love, and throw it out to sea, watch it away as you cry.
A year has passed, the seasons go.
Unfortunately, all good (and strange) things must come to an end. And as soon as Ginny's torrents of tears had ceased, Draco released her. He smiled at her, something she almost took as just a trick of the light if he hadn't have looked so undeniably cute when he did that. Finding something suddenly terribly interesting about her own shoe, her eyes never met his for longer than a second or two.
"Do you want to talk about whatever it is you're so torn up over, or was I just pretending to be a tissue?" he questioned. She thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Talking might actually help, but if you don't want to listen then I'd understand.." she forced a smile.
"No, we can talk," he glanced around the corridor, "want to go some place else?" Once again, she nodded. He grinned and took her hand in his, leading her down toward the dungeons of the castle. They wound up somehow or another in what seemed to be the Head Boy's private chamber.
"Have a seat," he motioned toward a couch in front of a warm fire. She sat and glanced around, admiring the decoration in the room. He took a seat beside her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
"So, what's Potter done this time?" She was surprised how much it seemed he already knew about the situation. She sighed and sat up beside him, gazing into the fire for a moment.
"Well.." she began. "I've been noticing a bit of googly-eyedness going on between Harry and Cho Chang, and I was a little worried about it. So, I asked him. He obviously denied everything that I had to say, but there's something he's not telling me. I know there is." Draco nodded as she spoke, as if taking in all the information like a psychiatrist would.
"I can't say much in the defense of Potter or you. You could be wrong, but then again, you could be right. I don't know him or Chang very well, and seeing as how I don't pay much attention to either of them very often, googly-eyes is not something that I'd notice." It seemed as if he wanted to continue, but Ginny interrupted.
"Draco?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you doing all of this for me? Listening to my problems and all that?" He shrugged.
"I don't know, really. To tell you the honest truth.." he paused. "Well, nevermind. The truth would probably frighten you." She eyed him suspiciously, then shook her head.
"I won't be frightened. Tell me." Sighing, he continued.
"Ginny, I noticed something different about you a long time ago. My continuing taunting of you was me trying to uphold my reputation, but I'm really a different person than you see on the outside. You're like me in many ways, and I know that may frighten you a bit, but you really are. You've got a temper to freeze all Hell. And you know what you want, and you get what you want. You take it if you have to." She seemed stunned but she continued to listen intently.
"And frankly, Weasley, I've got a thing for you.."
Please just don't play with me, my paper heart will bleed.
This wait for destiny won't do.
Be with me, please, I beseech you. Simple things that make you run away.
Catch you if I can.