Drowning in My Own Puddle of Love

By: Marlise Dole

Chapter One

How it all Began

"Ginny!"

I was really getting annoyed. This familiar voice would not stop saying my name.

"Ginny? Wake up!"

Over and over….

Someone's hands pushed me over the side up the bed. I fell, still wrapped in my violet quilt, on to the ground with a soft thump!

I slowly opened my eyes. Hermione was standing over me, frowning.

"I know you don't want to hear this, Ginny," she said quietly. "You slept through Transfiguration. Professor Mcgonagal wouldn't let me get you during the class. It's passing time. You better get moving."

I jumped up and ran out of the dormitory. Ignoring the fact that I was still in my long teal-colored nightgown and my hair was a complete mess, I scurried down the stairs and across the common room. Yelling over my shoulder at Hermione to grab my bag, I ran right in to this really tall guy with dark hair. He fell back and I fell on top of him.

Great. Just Great. I squirmed off of him and stood up.

"Harry!" I cried. I fell on Harry! How embarrassing! He probably thought I still liked him…well, I know I don't, and that's enough! "I'm so sorry. I slept through Transfiguration and I was just hurrying to apologize to Professor Mcgonagal and…I am so sorry."

Harry studied me carefully, eyebrows raised.

See, I had skipped a grade for being such an amazing student. Hate to brag, but that's the truth. Anyway, Harry was seventeen and I was sixteen. I guess I was realizing that I hadn't seen Harry for a long time and right now he looked amazing. With his hair messed to one side and his shirt slightly unbuttoned. I could even see a little chest-

Eew!! What am I doing? I am through with Harry! Through fantasizing about him, through talking to him, through everything. He never liked me, and that hurts. He only rescued me from the Chamber of Secrets because Ron's his best friend. I like him only as a sort-of friend. That's how he likes me, so…I am totally done with him! Even though he does look adorable right now, just standing there looking at me…gloomily…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Uh, hi Harry," Hermione said, stepping out of the portrait hole. She stared from me to Harry and back again. "Ginny has got to go to Mcgonagal's, so let's go, Ginny."

Harry jerked his eyes away from me and looked at Hermione with a blank stare.

"Erm, right!" he said, and picked up his book-bag. "Bye, Ginny."

And then he jogged away. He didn't even say goodbye to Hermione. Just me. Just…me.

It was dinnertime and we were all in the Great Hall eating. Ron was rambling on and on about the Daily Prophet to Harry. And he was loud. I could hear my dork of a brother all the way down the table. Only thing was, I noticed that Harry wasn't really listening. He kept glancing my way. At me. Hermione was staring from me to Harry and back again. Again. It was starting to irritate me. Couldn't she mind her own business?

"Ginny," Hermione whispered. "Let's go. I need to tell you something. Er, ask you something."

I nodded across the table at her and we swiveled around and jumped off the benches in unison. Harry's eyes followed me out. I swallowed. Something weird was going on.

I jumped up the stairs two at a time. Hermione followed suit. After a couple of stair switches, we were on our floor. The portrait hole closed. Someone had gotten there before us. Strange. I hadn't seen anyone.

I stepped through the portrait hole myself and looked around. There was absolutely no one in sight. I skipped over to my favorite brown leather chair in the common room and sat down.

"So," I said slowly. "What do you want to ask me?"

Hermione hesitated. "It feels like someone's watching us," she muttered. "Oh well, it's probably no one. Okay. So what in the world is going on with Harry?"

I was afraid of this. "Nothing. What're you talking about?"

"Ever since you fell, you can't keep your eyes off each other."

"No, no, no," I exclaimed. "You've got it wrong. He's been staring at me all day. I mean, come on. I tripped. Accidentally fell on him. All of a sudden he can't keep his eyes off of me. I just look at him like, 'what a creep'! Seriously! I don't like him that way. He's hardly a friend. He's like a semi-friend! I don't even know why you asked me such a thing! It's obvious. He is freaking me out. I used to like-like him. Now I don't! He is a figure of the past. I don't care what anyone says or thinks, he means nothing!"

"All right!" Hermione said.

Something rustled behind the curtain. I yelped and jogged over to it. Counting to three, I swept the blue fabric to the side.

"Ahh!!" I screamed.

Hermione whipped out her wand and locked the portrait hole. "What happened?" she asked. She ran to my side. "Ahh!!"

I took out my own wand and pressed the tip in his shirt.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked menacingly, quietly.

"N-nothing!" Malfoy stuttered.

His heartbeat thumped so hard my wand was moving up and down.

Hermione joined me, her wand alongside mine, poking him hard in the chest. "How'd you get in?" she demanded, spitting the words in his face.

He grimaced, then smiled wickedly. "Neville," he spat back.

"Liar," I accused.

"I'm not lying, I swear!" he shouted as his smile vanished.

"Give us one good reason why we should believe you!"

Hermione nudged me with her elbow. "Wrong question," she mouthed. Turning back to Malfoy, she sunk her wand harder and deeper in to Malfoy's flesh. "Why did you come in the Gryffindor common room?"

Malfoy's smirk of a smile returned. "Why should I tell you two? You're nothing but a cheap, poor loser and a filthy mudblood."

I gritted my teeth. Hermione sniffled and flicked something off of her face. It hit my cheek. It was wet. A tear.

Before I knew what I was doing, I swung a fist up and slammed it in to Malfoy's face. Blood dripped from his mouth. A huge red bruise formed on his cheekbone and lower jaw. He opened his mouth, but Hermione had already put a silence spell on him.

Hermione flicked her wand once more and Malfoy's body froze. "Ginny, how could you?" she asked, rounding on me. "Now we have to take him to the hospital wing. What do we say? Should we lie? That's pretty much impossible in this school. Everyone finds out! It's called magic! Veritasium?! Ugh! What're we going to do?"

I backed away, because Hermione had begun to fling her wand everywhere. "Um, well. Can't we fix this ourselves?"

Hermione rolled her eyes so far back, I wouldn't be surprised if they went in a whole circle. "No, you doofus! Only if you want to risk killing him!"

I grinned. Why not? I thought evilly. I knew if I said that aloud, Hermione would be disgusted and not talk to me for a while. So I didn't.

"We could…"

"No, we couldn't!"

"Hermione, I didn't say what we could do yet. We could keep him here until he's better?"

Hermione's eyes widened. She opened and closed her mouth in disbelief. "That, Ginny Weasley, is by far the stupidest idea anyone has ever had for anything that I've ever heard!"

I furrowed my brow. It was a weird sentence, so when I pieced it together I glared at Miss Know-It-All and opened my mouth, ready with a smart comeback.

Only I never got to say my smart comeback, because just then people started banging and yelling outside the sealed portrait hole.

We hid Malfoy under my bed and let people in. I sat down in my favorite chair and thought about the unconscious Malfoy under my bed. Around nine o'clock, about an hour after Hermione and I let everyone into their common room, Harry came in.

He stepped over the edge of the portrait hole carefully, balancing his books in the crook of his right arm. I knew it would happen before it did. His books spilled out of his arm and scattered all over the ground. I hurried over to help him.

He watched me sit down and smiled.

"Hi," he said quietly. Almost…breathlessly.

"Hi," I replied cheerily.

I gathered three of his books lying around me. "Here," I said.

He placed them on top of the other books and looked up in to my eyes.

"Thanks."

"Sure." I whispered.

He stood up. I stood up next to him. Staring up at him, I realized that he was nearly a full foot taller than me.

All of a sudden he leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

My mind exploded in shock. My cheeks turned as red as my hair.

"Goodnight, Harry," I muttered. Then I turned and jogged to the stairs leading to my dormitory.

At the landing I turned back. Harry was watching me. I waved and read his lips as he said, "Good night."

And that was that. Well, that was Tuesday. What will happen tomorrow remains a mystery.

HOORAY!!! it's a CLIFFHANGER!!!

FYI- i wrote this like a year ago when writing was just fun. nowadays it's work. anyway i thought this story was amusing and decided to put it out there. so review and tell me what you think!!! anything you would go about differently?

i hope you decide to review!!! it just takes a second and when you're done u feel really good about yourself, so please!!! critisism is mandatory!!!!!! lol.

alice. [or marlise. or malice. but i prefer alice. that's my name...well it SHOULD be...nnvmnd. maybe ill explain. or just read my profiile babbles. ;)