When Ginny came to, someone was holding her. She blearily looked up to see that the arms around her belonged to none other than Harry Potter. He was looking complacently out the window and she shut her eyes again so he wouldn't know she was awake. They were in a compartment and she could hear Ron and Hermione talking. "Calm down Ron," Hermione was saying, "Just tell me what happened."
Ron got up and paced back and forth. "I don't know! I'm not sure, but that slimy bastard…" he trailed off and looked over at Ginny who was still unconscious. He sat down again and ran his hand through his hair. "He had her pinned to the floor and there was blood everywhere! Her nose was bleeding all over!" He waved his arms for good measure and then turned his head down to focus on his feet. "And her robes were all open and her clothes were ruffled…" he trailed off. Ginny blushed as she realized what her brother was thinking.
Hermione snorted at Ron's incompetence. "Seriously Ron, Malfoy is a clever little git. Do you really think he would try anything on your sister in the middle of the aisle?" She scoffed some more as she waited for his response.
Ron just shrugged.
"Furthermore," Hermione continued, "Malfoy seemed a bit out of it himself. I think we just need to wait and get the story from Ginny."
"If she ever wakes up," Ron stated.
"She's going to wake up Ron! It was just a nose bleed!" Hermione yelled with exasperation.
"Still… I want to hurt Malfoy."
Hermione put her hand on his arm. "I'm glad you didn't attack him, Ron. That could have gotten really messy."
Ron stayed silent, noting Hermione's gesture.
Ginny, feeling uncomfortable in Harry's lap, let out a little groan as she sat up. Ron rushed to her and gave her a bear hug. Ginny used the opportunity to slide away from Harry as if it were Ron's doing. She looked questioningly at Hermione over her brother's shoulder. Hermione came closer and sat next to Ginny, separating her from Harry. Ron sat on her other side and Harry stayed where he was, looking a bit uneasy.
"Ron found you in the hallway, pinned down by Malfoy and bleeding all over. He grabbed you and brought you here," Hermione told her.
Ginny only smiled at them, not wanting to talk.
Ron let out a choking noise. "Ginny, tell me what happened."
It seemed as if she would have to say something. "I ran into him on accident and we both fell over."
Ron rolled his eyes. "And you got that bad of a nose bleed?"
"We were running really fast."
Ron got up and left the room. Harry and Hermione both looked after him with concern. Ginny got to her feet, ignoring a wave of dizziness, and left the room too. She was only going to leave long enough for Harry and Hermione to go rushing after Ron and then she would go back and take a nap.
Someone was in the bathroom when she got there and she sat down outside the door to wait, wrapping her arms around her knees. She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard the lock click and someone rush out of the bathroom. Collecting herself, she stretched her legs out to get up. Bad move. The person tripped over her legs and fell with a thud to the ground. Both of them scrambled up to face the other. Draco was glaring at her with intense anger and she was staring back at him wide-eyed. His face was slightly pink looking after having been rubbed raw to get the dried blood off, but his hair was still a terrible mess. Ginny must have looked a million times worse, not having cleaned up at all. After a few deadly silent moments Ginny abruptly ran into the bathroom and locked the door, afraid for her life. She waited to hear Draco rush after her and blow the door open, but no such sound came. After a few minutes she figured he had left and exhaled in huge relief.
"I'll get you some day Weasle."
Ginny almost jumped out of her skin as she heard the low, gruff voice speak to her from the other side of the door. She sunk to the floor and listened intently for anything else he might say. A few more minutes passed until she heard footsteps retreating from the bathroom door.
Bloody hell… There goes my happiness.