Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nothing at all.
A\N: Second to the final chapter. Not bad eh? Thanks once again for the reviews. Wow, you guys inspire me to write. Thanks once again. The big question, or the question that's been asked lately, does Harry like Ginny? Hum, the answer is, or will be in the fourth and final chapter. Yup, I'll say so in there. And lots of questions will be answered then. If I forget some, just send me a review to tell me so.
Chapter Three
The Boy who Stole Ginny's Heart
She saw him in the corridors, at meals, even in her dreams. Her desires to understand him have become so strong that she's taken to following him around sometimes too. Three days after Michael was taken to the Hospital Wing, she saw Draco in the corridors and she followed him down to the boy's restrooms.
He was in there for quite some time but still she waited. Her back was leaned against the cold stone wall, red curls spilling down her shoulders. Against her chest, she held onto her books for classes and her feet were parallel to one another. The window not too far from her showed outside and she found herself trying to see out without having to move.
Fall was a beautiful season, her favorite season. She loved watching the leaves change colors, the way they seemed to light the trees on fire. Usually, on weekends she would spend her time underneath a tree just to watch the leaves fall off around her. The condition was just peaceful, serene.
The door to the lavatory opened and he stepped out, somehow knowing she would be where she was. He didn't look at her, only shaking his head and scoffing. What was so funny?
"Don't you think waiting outside of a boy's restroom would seem a bit," he paused for effect. "Odd?" His strides were even and swift. He had long legs that carried him well and she had to almost jog to keep up.
Wind howled through the windows and blew her hair, making the lit torches flicker. Although there was still light outside, the corridors were dark and needed to be lit. "Nothing's odd for you, Malfoy," she said, trying to keep up with his pace.
His strides never once slowed and he walked as though she wasn't behind him. It might have been that he forgot she was behind him until he spoke. "Why do you follow me?" he asked, still walking on as before. "Why do you speak to me?"
"Is it a crime?" she asked him sardonically though she didn't know where it had come from. "When had speaking to you become a crime here?"
He shrugged and shoved his free hands deeply into his pockets. He walked with his cloak billowing behind him like he was a god and she was his servant tagging just a little behind him. "I don't know what you're playing at here, Weasley, but this isn't a game. If you think that I'm the one committing those attacks and you're trying to get me to confess, you're wrong."
Ginny stopped in her attempt to follow him and stared at his form, wondering why he would think that. There was a reason she was following him and talking to him, but trying to pump information or maybe a confession wasn't it.
Draco seemed to have sensed her absence beside him and he stopped only to turn and face her. He looked tired like he wanted to sleep for millions of years. His brows rose quizzically at her and they seem to challenge her to prove that he was wrong.
"I have better things to do than follow you around and try to get a confession," she informed him matter-of-factly. "Actually, I'd rather be out there underneath that orange tree then be confined in these corridors with you."
He smirked and ran a hand through his fine blonde hair. His gray eyes flashed dangerously, "then why aren't you out there? I didn't ask you to follow me around like a lost puppy."
She took a step towards him to make herself seem braver. "The only reason I'm standing here in these corridors with you is because I want to under," she paused, realizing what she was doing. Her game, her mission was only for her to help him, not to ever let him find out.
Ginny clamped her mouth shut and she turned around to avoid him seeing the truth in her eyes. Too late, Malfoy was a cunning fox. "Because you want to understand me, right?" he asked. She could feel his expensive shoes making noised on concrete as he walked towards her. "Right? I mean, who wouldn't? Everyone always wants to talk to pathetic Draco because they want to understand him. Because they want to save him from the life that he leads. Because they want to save him from himself. Isn't that right, Weasley? Isn't that why you're following me around and talking to me like I'm one of your oldest friends?"
He was right behind her and she felt his warm breath on her when he scoffed. "Isn't that right?" he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper. If she hadn't known him better, she would have thought that he sounded a little wounded. "Isn't that why every girl talks to me? Because they think they can rescue me? Be the heroine in my life?"
Maybe it was his voice, maybe she just felt pity for him. Whatever it was, she turned to face him, looking into both of his intense gray eyes. She's never understood Draco and even if she tried, she never would. It was another mystery of Draco Malfoy. He just couldn't be understood.
"No," she said, the volume of her voice matching his. She shook her head but her eyes remained on Draco's all the while. Then she cast her gaze downwards in shame. "And yes," she admitted, feeling foolish. "I'm not doing this because I want to be your heroine; I'm doing it because I want to understand you. I want to prove to myself and maybe others that you aren't just cold-hearted Draco but someone else."
Silence surrounded them and Ginny thought that maybe she saw sympathy in his eyes, his understanding of why she was doing what she was doing. But cold replaced them and he turned away. "But I am just cold-hearted Draco," he said over his shoulders and then disappeared around a corner.
Ginny suppressed a sigh and walked towards Gryffindor Tower. His words echoed through her mind endlessly like a broken record that just couldn't be stopped. They tore at her and clawed like she was lost in a crowd of lost souls.
The fat lady in the portrait that would admit her into Gryffindor Tower raised her brows questioningly. "Quote?" she asked.
Strangely, the code for that year has changed from a word to a quote. It changed occasionally of course, but it was always a quote and they always meant something. The quote for the previous month had been, 'Working hard for something you want is better than wishing for it.' She never understood it, and she tried to solve it because the previous quotes had meant something to someone around her, even if it wasn't her. She came across Harry who stopped dreaming of what he wanted and went for it. Although it hadn't turned up the way he wanted, at least he knew now that he could move on.
"Just because everyone believes one thing doesn't mean you have to," she said, waiting patiently for the picture to swing open. When it didn't, Ginny frowned.
The fat lady in the pink gown nodded, a kind smile pulling on her face. "It's true, you know," she said as though she had been trying to tell Ginny something. The young Gryffindor girl only nodded and stepped inside when the portrait did swing open. She didn't give much thought that maybe the quote meant something in her future, but who knew what would happen?
Ginny made her way to her dorm, thankful that no one she knew was in the common room. The last thing she needed was to be stopped by Ron, Harry, or Hermione.
Silence welcomed her when she entered her dorm. Classes were over, but the sun was still up. The weather wasn't so bad and students could be found wondering the grounds. But not her, because she's there. Underneath a tree on a windy day would be the best thing ever, but she couldn't be out there. She didn't want to be out there just yet.
She closed the curtains around her four-poster bed and lay down, still fully clothed. She needed to think, she needed to clear her mind. What could she do now since Draco already knew half her plans.
The door creak open and someone walked in. Ginny closed her eyes tightly, almost holding her breath. She hoped that whoever it was would leave because she wanted to be alone.
"Ginny?" Hermione's voice rang through the empty dorm, reverberating off the walls. Her small delicate feet didn't make any noise on the ground. Ginny felt the presence stop just on the other side of her curtains, and she closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.
The thick red curtains that surrounded her bed were lifted and she could feel her friend standing there. Hermione stared at her for a while, before she spoke. "I know why you've been avoiding me, all of us," she said barely above a whisper.
Her words took Ginny by so much surprise that she opened her eyes, frowning. She sat up in bed to make room for her friend who gladly took it but without any emotions showing. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail behind her head and her brown eyes studied Ginny's.
"But I'm not," she tried to lie, looking at the ground to hide the dishonesty.
Hermione smiled, the first sign of friendliness after she left the Hospital Wing in tears. "Oh come on, Ginny," she said. "You don't seriously think that we haven't been catching on do you?"
She shrugged, feeling bad. Of course she hadn't thought that because she caught Harry giving her glances of concern during lunch and dinner. There was also Ron too who wouldn't stop staring at her and looking away ashamed when she caught him.
"Okay," she admitted. "Yeah, I kind of was. But Hermione, I told Ron. I was so sure you were going to be angry."
The older girl sat silent for a while, letting it all sink in. "I was," she said, looking at her twiddling fingers. "I mean, he's been my friend for so long and I wanted him to realize that maybe I liked him, not that he found out because someone else told him."
"I'm sorry," Ginny said quickly.
Hermione looked up and she let out a little laugh. "It's alright," she told the redhead. "I'm kind of glad that you did because if you hadn't, maybe Ron never would have realized it."
"I don't think so," Ginny told her. "No because Ron may act thick headed, but he knows things. He may not act like that, but it's just a way of hiding how he felt. You should have seen the way his eyes just softened when I told him. It was like he knew all along but he never really believed until someone actually said it to him."
A blush rose on Hermione's face and she looked away almost shy. "After the Hospital Wing, we didn't speak," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "But yesterday, he told me what you said and he asked me if it was true."
"Then what happened?" Ginny asked, completely losing herself in the event.
Hermione shrugged. "Nothing much," she said. "I kind of got mad at him for being such an idiot. I said some things to him that I didn't mean and I have spoken to him since then."
Ginny imagined Hermione rowing with Ron and a smile played on her lips. "What did you say to him?"
A sly smile began growing on her face and she looked half ashamed for it, but it didn't disappear. "I told him that of course it wasn't true, but I was sarcastic. He noticed this and began saying things that weren't really important, or at least I didn't think so because I wasn't listening. Then I mentioned something about three years and he's never taken notice. He went red and stalked off before I could apologize."
"What about breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You didn't speak to him then? Not even classes?" Ginny asked, knowing that it would be impossible to avoid each other when they had practically every class together.
Hermione shook her head, her pony-tail dancing behind her head. "I made sure never to make eye-contact. I stayed with Lavender and Pravarti the whole time. Ron didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything. I don't know what say either."
"Well I do," Ginny said, surprising even herself. "You can go speak to him right now and tell him you're sorry. I mean, I think he really likes you. He just doesn't want to be made a fool of."
The older girl turned the suggestion through her head. At the end, she nodded and stood up to leave. "Thanks, Gin," Hermione said once again. "I'll tell you how it goes afterwards, but I have to admit, I'm nervous."
"Just go," she told her friend, her heart more content then it had been earlier.
Hermione smiled and nodded her head towards a window that was by her. "Harry's out there if you wanted to know," she informer Ginny and then left.
The redhead walked to the window and looked out across the ground right where the Quidditch pitch was. Sitting alone on the stands was Harry, looking across the pitch where forests of yellow and orange leaves were drifting off to another place.
Ginny contemplated whether she should join him or not. They would just have another row whether she was trusting Malfoy or not. But then again, she had to apologize to Harry. She loved him as a sister would love a brother and she realized that that was true. How long had it been since she's loved him like that, even she didn't know.
* * *
Leaves crunched beneath her feet, shattering into a million pieces. The wind picked them up afterwards and carried them away, taking them to a better place. Her hair was also picked up in the middle of the draft, but it didn't go along. It twirled gracefully and blew into her face, her robe following suit. It all looked like a show and she had to hold her skirt down to keep it from revealing anything.
Her foot climbed the wooden steps that would lead her to where Harry was. He was sitting alone, his jaws perched upon his hands when she reached him. He didn't acknowledge her presence and he didn't invite her to stay, but she did so.
Ginny sat by his side, staring and across the pitch too, watching as the leaves fall. They drifted off their trees and followed the draft that blew east. She held her face up to the wind and a smile spread across her face, a peaceful one. She breathed in deeply, never minding the hair that clung to her cheeks.
"It's something isn't it?" she asked him, her eyes closed.
He didn't answer, but she didn't get discourage. Ginny opened her eyes and turned to him, a grin upon her face. She took that moment to watch him, to really look at him and see what she's never had the chance to see up close before.
Harry found it to be annoying and turned the other way. "Stop that would you?" he asked, irritation in his tone.
"Stop what?" she asked, her voice sweet and childlike.
He sighed. "You know what," he said, his back still turned.
"I'm just like your sister, Harry," she told him, her tone serious. "I'm just trying to play that part better than I have in the past."
That caught his attention and he swirled around, a frown upon him. Then it softened into a kind smile that made his emerald eyes stand out even more. "My sister?" he asked, his eyes somewhere else. "Yeah," he said, finally refocusing on her. "Yeah. I've never had a sister before."
Ginny smiled and put a hand on his arm. "Hermione's always been your sister too," she informed him. "You, me, Hermione, and the rest of the boys are just one big happy family."
The smile on Harry's face turned into a wide grin and Ginny felt good. She made Harry smiled and that was something he rarely did now-a-days. "You should do that more often," she added, looking dreamily at his smile.
"Do what?" he asked, the grin never leaving his face.
"Grin," she answered, nodding. "Things are changing," she said afterwards, shocking him.
Harry's face turned into a frown then and she wished she never said a thing. The same distance that hovered in his eyes returned. "What are you talking about?"
Ginny looked across the pitch to lose Harry's eye contact. "I was defending Draco," she admitted. "I don't know why, but I was, Harry."
"Is that what you mean by things are changing?" he asked, his eyes on her hard.
She nodded reluctantly, scared of his reaction at the same time. "I find myself wishing he would just trust me the way you do," she told Harry, catching his eyes that moment. "I find myself following him around just to understand him."
"But what's there to understand?" Harry asked, brushing the hair that fell into his eyes out of his face. "He's Malfoy, there's nothing else to it."
"Or is there?" she said mysteriously, never letting go of her hold on him. "There's a lot that we don't know, Harry."
The boy shrugged and a sheepish grin spread across his face. He reached out a hand and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ears. "True, but looks like no matter what I'm going to say, you won't listen to me. So here's all I've got: Don't get yourself hurt."
Then he stood up and disappeared from view. Ginny sighed and sat alone, wondering how she could get herself hurt over something as simple as Malfoy. The wind whistled into her ears and she didn't even hear someone approaching her until he was already by her side, staring at her thoughtfully.
Ginny shook her head and laughed lightly, turning to face him. He was amused, his blonde brows rose higher than usual. "Something amuses you, Weasley?" he asked, locking gaze with her.
She watched him silently, studying him the way she did Harry. His gray eyes were intent as ever, his blonde hair moving in the wind. His lean figure was facing her, giving her all the attention he's got.
"You," she answered, watching the way his eyes danced. "One moment you're angry that some girl's trying to win our heart and the next, you're talking to her again. I don't get it."
Draco chuckled lowly and he broke their eye contact, slightly disappointing her. He shook his head, his hands clutched together while they rested on his knees. "Isn't it just a game?" he asked her, staring somewhere off. "It's always been for everyone."
"That what made you angry?" Ginny asked, uncertain of the truth. She watched the House of Gryffindor race onto the field and began shooting off into the wind-torn sky. She spotted Harry easily and waved to him when he did. "Thought everything was just a game?"
He shrugged, following Harry with his eyes. She knew he felt angry, but his face didn't show it. One thing Ginny couldn't understand more than the others was why Draco would hate Harry out of nowhere. He's never done the blonde any harm, and yet he loathed him with everything he's got.
"Why do you hate Harry?" she asked then, trying to catch Draco's eyes but couldn't.
There was another shrug and Ginny finally understood why. How could Draco not hate Harry? He's got everything that Draco could never have, maybe except for a family, but that was why the Weasleys were there.
Draco hated Harry because Harry's got everything, or everything that Draco could ever want. He's great at quidditch, he's famous in the Wizarding world, and not only that, he's got friends. People he could trust and talk to, not like Crabbe and Goyle who were just there as bodyguards.
A sense of sympathy filled her and she felt her heart reaching out to his. She looked at him again to watch his eyes spark with jealousy when Harry caught the snitch. Draco didn't think he was good enough.
"How could a person ever think that about himself?" she asked, shaking her head at him. Draco turned to her, startle at her question.
As if knowing what she was talking about, he quickly dropped his gaze elsewhere and his shoulders twitched slightly. "How?" he asked innocently like he didn't understand her.
"Put himself down."
"Why would someone put themselves down?" he asked, putting emphasis into the word 'would'. "If you're talking about me, then you're wrong. Why would I put myself down?"
Harry was instructing people around him, but Ginny didn't see who. When she did glance over to see, she realized that Ron wasn't on the field. Actually, he was heading over in Ginny's direction. "Er, maybe you should leave," she told Draco, staring at Ron's approaching broom.
Draco smirked, but he didn't stand up. He glanced in Ron's direction too and waited as though expecting.
Ron landed right by them and he stared at them both, his face showing off no emotions. His eye balls kept moving from Ginny to Draco and back, but finally, they rested on Ginny and he shook his head in awe.
Relief washed over her, glad that there will be no trouble there. "Ron," she stood up and watched him just to be absolutely sure.
He glanced at Draco and nodded once. It wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't exactly cruel either. He returned to Ginny. "I'm not surprised by this," he answered curtly.
Ginny nodded, waiting for more.
"I can't stop it," he added, staring into Ginny's eyes. "I'm not sure I want to. I just want you happy."
She smiled thankfully at him and embraced him before he flew off onto the pitch again. Ginny turned to Draco who looked at her horrified. "Is there something going on that I don't now about?" he asked.
"We're friends," she said like it was the most obvious thing.
The look of horrify suddenly turned into confusion and then there was nothing. Draco's face was blank and emotionless. He scoffed and turned to walk away.
"What's so funny?" she asked him, running after him. His strides were long and he was carried far by the time she did reach him. "We aren't friends?"
"When were we ever friends, Weasley?" he asked, his perfect white teeth showing through his lips.
His words had hurt her and she released his arm, staring as if not believing it. It's only been a few days, but weren't they friends? He had come to apologize for earlier although he didn't say it out plainly. Didn't he?
Draco didn't look at her. He looked at the ground, glaring at it like it was the ground that had angered him. He kicked the bench with his foot hard and ran a hand through his blonde hair, gasping.
This time, it was Ginny who walked away. Did she love him? Maybe and maybe not. He was starting to grow on her though.
* * *
It was the middle of the night when Ginny was awoken by someone. They were shaking her hard, disturbing her from a peaceful dream. A boy had been in there, a handsome one. Someone was after her, trying to get her, but the boy had been there to save her. He had caught her when she fell.
Ginny rubbed her eyes to rid herself of the sleep and searched for a familiar face. The darkness blinded her, but she knew who the voice belonged to when the person spoke. "Ginny, get up. Something's happened."
"Hermione?" she asked, getting out of bed. "What's happening?"
The older girl practically dragged her out of the dorm and out into the common room. Ron was out there too, his fingers supporting his head. There were bags under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't been sleeping.
"What's wrong?" she asked again.
Hermione went to Ron's side and he stood up. They were almost the same height, but Ron stood two inches taller. "It's Harry," Ron said, his voice hoarse. "He's in the Hospital Wing."
Ginny gasped and everything around her seemed to swirl together. She clutched the sofa arm to keep from falling over. "Why is he in there?"
But she already knew why. Not only that, she knew who brought him in.
"I want to go see him," she told her brother and Hermione.
They shook their heads, their hands in one another's. Did that mean that they were together? She would have to ask later when everything wasn't so fuzzy. "Why not? I have to see him."
"Ginny, he's beat up too badly," Hermione said in what would have been a soothing voice if she hadn't been shaking so much. "He's just like Collin and Michael. No one's allowed to see any of them just yet."
She breathed out in distress, knowing she couldn't argue with them. "Okay," she said, turned towards the stairs that would lead up to her dorm. "But can we go on the very first day that we can?"
Her brother seemed somewhat relieved and exhaled as if he's been holding his breath in all this time. "Yeah, Gin."
"G' night," she told them before heading back upstairs.
They both nodded and she left. But when she was up in her dorm, she didn't sleep. Instead, she pulled on a white t-shirt and kept her flannel pajama bottom on. She pulled on slip-on shoes and waited for Hermione to go to bed before she snuck out. Of all things, she had to forget her wand.
* * *
The Hospital Wing was as dark as it had been the night she woke up in there and found Blaise with her. The candles still hovered high above in the ceiling and Ginny made sure not to make any noise because Madam Pomfrey's candle was still on.
Ginny knew which bed was Harry's because his was the next closed ward beside Collin's. She tip-toed over and lifted the veil, her hands shaking violently. She hadn't been this afraid of blood for a while, but seeing it as belonging to someone she knew, it scared her.
Harry was breathing evenly, but his brows were constricted like he was in pain. He had bruises over his face and the bandages that covered his head was red with blood. His face wasn't so bad, except for the scratches ran down one side of his face and the rip in his thin lips.
She stepped inside of the wards and closed the curtains behind her. Ginny watched him, feeling tears threatening to fall down her face. After while of contemplating, she reached up a hand and gently touched his scratched face. He winced almost as if in pain, but he stilled again.
"What's going on?" she asked the silence. The same thing happened to three people that she knew. Was someone trying to tell her something?
The door to Madam Pomfrey's office opened and Ginny panicked, searching for a place to hide. She couldn't run out because the nurse would see her. Ginny glanced down and spotted enough space beneath Harry's bed to hide. She squeezed underneath there in time before the curtains were lifted and Madam Pomfrey stepped inside.
She stood there for a while, tending to Harry's wounds. Ginny was getting tired and her legs were starting to fall asleep. She tried to hold on, but she needed to get out soon or she would fall over.
Finally, Madam Pomfrey picked up her things and left. Ginny stayed in to be sure until she heard the door to her office closed and stepped out from underneath the bed. "That was close," she whispered to the sleeping Harry.
She glanced at him one last time and then left. She wasn't going to get caught in there. It could mean a lifetime of detention for her. The thick wooden door leading into the Hospital Wing closed gently behind her and she walked down the hall, her legs shaking like crazy.
Harry's condition had unnerved her, but what did more than that was the feeling of being watched. It was the same sensation she had felt when Harry first brought her to the Hospital Wing, but not exactly the same. The feeling that day had been creepy, making her skin crawl. But this one was softer, though it did leave her pretty nervous.
Ginny turned around to make sure she wasn't being follow, but she never had the chance to. Someone threw a bag over her head and she felt someone lift her onto their shoulders before darkness took her.
A\N: Ahhhh! This chapter wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. Well, I did try though. Thanks so much for the reviews everyone. I appreciate it all, each and everyone of them. I know I said I was going to put a poem in here, but I didn't know how to put it up in ff.net without messing it up so I gave up. Hope you enjoyed this chappie and send as much reviews as you had last time. I luv you all. Bai.
A\N: Second to the final chapter. Not bad eh? Thanks once again for the reviews. Wow, you guys inspire me to write. Thanks once again. The big question, or the question that's been asked lately, does Harry like Ginny? Hum, the answer is, or will be in the fourth and final chapter. Yup, I'll say so in there. And lots of questions will be answered then. If I forget some, just send me a review to tell me so.
Chapter Three
The Boy who Stole Ginny's Heart
She saw him in the corridors, at meals, even in her dreams. Her desires to understand him have become so strong that she's taken to following him around sometimes too. Three days after Michael was taken to the Hospital Wing, she saw Draco in the corridors and she followed him down to the boy's restrooms.
He was in there for quite some time but still she waited. Her back was leaned against the cold stone wall, red curls spilling down her shoulders. Against her chest, she held onto her books for classes and her feet were parallel to one another. The window not too far from her showed outside and she found herself trying to see out without having to move.
Fall was a beautiful season, her favorite season. She loved watching the leaves change colors, the way they seemed to light the trees on fire. Usually, on weekends she would spend her time underneath a tree just to watch the leaves fall off around her. The condition was just peaceful, serene.
The door to the lavatory opened and he stepped out, somehow knowing she would be where she was. He didn't look at her, only shaking his head and scoffing. What was so funny?
"Don't you think waiting outside of a boy's restroom would seem a bit," he paused for effect. "Odd?" His strides were even and swift. He had long legs that carried him well and she had to almost jog to keep up.
Wind howled through the windows and blew her hair, making the lit torches flicker. Although there was still light outside, the corridors were dark and needed to be lit. "Nothing's odd for you, Malfoy," she said, trying to keep up with his pace.
His strides never once slowed and he walked as though she wasn't behind him. It might have been that he forgot she was behind him until he spoke. "Why do you follow me?" he asked, still walking on as before. "Why do you speak to me?"
"Is it a crime?" she asked him sardonically though she didn't know where it had come from. "When had speaking to you become a crime here?"
He shrugged and shoved his free hands deeply into his pockets. He walked with his cloak billowing behind him like he was a god and she was his servant tagging just a little behind him. "I don't know what you're playing at here, Weasley, but this isn't a game. If you think that I'm the one committing those attacks and you're trying to get me to confess, you're wrong."
Ginny stopped in her attempt to follow him and stared at his form, wondering why he would think that. There was a reason she was following him and talking to him, but trying to pump information or maybe a confession wasn't it.
Draco seemed to have sensed her absence beside him and he stopped only to turn and face her. He looked tired like he wanted to sleep for millions of years. His brows rose quizzically at her and they seem to challenge her to prove that he was wrong.
"I have better things to do than follow you around and try to get a confession," she informed him matter-of-factly. "Actually, I'd rather be out there underneath that orange tree then be confined in these corridors with you."
He smirked and ran a hand through his fine blonde hair. His gray eyes flashed dangerously, "then why aren't you out there? I didn't ask you to follow me around like a lost puppy."
She took a step towards him to make herself seem braver. "The only reason I'm standing here in these corridors with you is because I want to under," she paused, realizing what she was doing. Her game, her mission was only for her to help him, not to ever let him find out.
Ginny clamped her mouth shut and she turned around to avoid him seeing the truth in her eyes. Too late, Malfoy was a cunning fox. "Because you want to understand me, right?" he asked. She could feel his expensive shoes making noised on concrete as he walked towards her. "Right? I mean, who wouldn't? Everyone always wants to talk to pathetic Draco because they want to understand him. Because they want to save him from the life that he leads. Because they want to save him from himself. Isn't that right, Weasley? Isn't that why you're following me around and talking to me like I'm one of your oldest friends?"
He was right behind her and she felt his warm breath on her when he scoffed. "Isn't that right?" he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper. If she hadn't known him better, she would have thought that he sounded a little wounded. "Isn't that why every girl talks to me? Because they think they can rescue me? Be the heroine in my life?"
Maybe it was his voice, maybe she just felt pity for him. Whatever it was, she turned to face him, looking into both of his intense gray eyes. She's never understood Draco and even if she tried, she never would. It was another mystery of Draco Malfoy. He just couldn't be understood.
"No," she said, the volume of her voice matching his. She shook her head but her eyes remained on Draco's all the while. Then she cast her gaze downwards in shame. "And yes," she admitted, feeling foolish. "I'm not doing this because I want to be your heroine; I'm doing it because I want to understand you. I want to prove to myself and maybe others that you aren't just cold-hearted Draco but someone else."
Silence surrounded them and Ginny thought that maybe she saw sympathy in his eyes, his understanding of why she was doing what she was doing. But cold replaced them and he turned away. "But I am just cold-hearted Draco," he said over his shoulders and then disappeared around a corner.
Ginny suppressed a sigh and walked towards Gryffindor Tower. His words echoed through her mind endlessly like a broken record that just couldn't be stopped. They tore at her and clawed like she was lost in a crowd of lost souls.
The fat lady in the portrait that would admit her into Gryffindor Tower raised her brows questioningly. "Quote?" she asked.
Strangely, the code for that year has changed from a word to a quote. It changed occasionally of course, but it was always a quote and they always meant something. The quote for the previous month had been, 'Working hard for something you want is better than wishing for it.' She never understood it, and she tried to solve it because the previous quotes had meant something to someone around her, even if it wasn't her. She came across Harry who stopped dreaming of what he wanted and went for it. Although it hadn't turned up the way he wanted, at least he knew now that he could move on.
"Just because everyone believes one thing doesn't mean you have to," she said, waiting patiently for the picture to swing open. When it didn't, Ginny frowned.
The fat lady in the pink gown nodded, a kind smile pulling on her face. "It's true, you know," she said as though she had been trying to tell Ginny something. The young Gryffindor girl only nodded and stepped inside when the portrait did swing open. She didn't give much thought that maybe the quote meant something in her future, but who knew what would happen?
Ginny made her way to her dorm, thankful that no one she knew was in the common room. The last thing she needed was to be stopped by Ron, Harry, or Hermione.
Silence welcomed her when she entered her dorm. Classes were over, but the sun was still up. The weather wasn't so bad and students could be found wondering the grounds. But not her, because she's there. Underneath a tree on a windy day would be the best thing ever, but she couldn't be out there. She didn't want to be out there just yet.
She closed the curtains around her four-poster bed and lay down, still fully clothed. She needed to think, she needed to clear her mind. What could she do now since Draco already knew half her plans.
The door creak open and someone walked in. Ginny closed her eyes tightly, almost holding her breath. She hoped that whoever it was would leave because she wanted to be alone.
"Ginny?" Hermione's voice rang through the empty dorm, reverberating off the walls. Her small delicate feet didn't make any noise on the ground. Ginny felt the presence stop just on the other side of her curtains, and she closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.
The thick red curtains that surrounded her bed were lifted and she could feel her friend standing there. Hermione stared at her for a while, before she spoke. "I know why you've been avoiding me, all of us," she said barely above a whisper.
Her words took Ginny by so much surprise that she opened her eyes, frowning. She sat up in bed to make room for her friend who gladly took it but without any emotions showing. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail behind her head and her brown eyes studied Ginny's.
"But I'm not," she tried to lie, looking at the ground to hide the dishonesty.
Hermione smiled, the first sign of friendliness after she left the Hospital Wing in tears. "Oh come on, Ginny," she said. "You don't seriously think that we haven't been catching on do you?"
She shrugged, feeling bad. Of course she hadn't thought that because she caught Harry giving her glances of concern during lunch and dinner. There was also Ron too who wouldn't stop staring at her and looking away ashamed when she caught him.
"Okay," she admitted. "Yeah, I kind of was. But Hermione, I told Ron. I was so sure you were going to be angry."
The older girl sat silent for a while, letting it all sink in. "I was," she said, looking at her twiddling fingers. "I mean, he's been my friend for so long and I wanted him to realize that maybe I liked him, not that he found out because someone else told him."
"I'm sorry," Ginny said quickly.
Hermione looked up and she let out a little laugh. "It's alright," she told the redhead. "I'm kind of glad that you did because if you hadn't, maybe Ron never would have realized it."
"I don't think so," Ginny told her. "No because Ron may act thick headed, but he knows things. He may not act like that, but it's just a way of hiding how he felt. You should have seen the way his eyes just softened when I told him. It was like he knew all along but he never really believed until someone actually said it to him."
A blush rose on Hermione's face and she looked away almost shy. "After the Hospital Wing, we didn't speak," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "But yesterday, he told me what you said and he asked me if it was true."
"Then what happened?" Ginny asked, completely losing herself in the event.
Hermione shrugged. "Nothing much," she said. "I kind of got mad at him for being such an idiot. I said some things to him that I didn't mean and I have spoken to him since then."
Ginny imagined Hermione rowing with Ron and a smile played on her lips. "What did you say to him?"
A sly smile began growing on her face and she looked half ashamed for it, but it didn't disappear. "I told him that of course it wasn't true, but I was sarcastic. He noticed this and began saying things that weren't really important, or at least I didn't think so because I wasn't listening. Then I mentioned something about three years and he's never taken notice. He went red and stalked off before I could apologize."
"What about breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You didn't speak to him then? Not even classes?" Ginny asked, knowing that it would be impossible to avoid each other when they had practically every class together.
Hermione shook her head, her pony-tail dancing behind her head. "I made sure never to make eye-contact. I stayed with Lavender and Pravarti the whole time. Ron didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything. I don't know what say either."
"Well I do," Ginny said, surprising even herself. "You can go speak to him right now and tell him you're sorry. I mean, I think he really likes you. He just doesn't want to be made a fool of."
The older girl turned the suggestion through her head. At the end, she nodded and stood up to leave. "Thanks, Gin," Hermione said once again. "I'll tell you how it goes afterwards, but I have to admit, I'm nervous."
"Just go," she told her friend, her heart more content then it had been earlier.
Hermione smiled and nodded her head towards a window that was by her. "Harry's out there if you wanted to know," she informer Ginny and then left.
The redhead walked to the window and looked out across the ground right where the Quidditch pitch was. Sitting alone on the stands was Harry, looking across the pitch where forests of yellow and orange leaves were drifting off to another place.
Ginny contemplated whether she should join him or not. They would just have another row whether she was trusting Malfoy or not. But then again, she had to apologize to Harry. She loved him as a sister would love a brother and she realized that that was true. How long had it been since she's loved him like that, even she didn't know.
* * *
Leaves crunched beneath her feet, shattering into a million pieces. The wind picked them up afterwards and carried them away, taking them to a better place. Her hair was also picked up in the middle of the draft, but it didn't go along. It twirled gracefully and blew into her face, her robe following suit. It all looked like a show and she had to hold her skirt down to keep it from revealing anything.
Her foot climbed the wooden steps that would lead her to where Harry was. He was sitting alone, his jaws perched upon his hands when she reached him. He didn't acknowledge her presence and he didn't invite her to stay, but she did so.
Ginny sat by his side, staring and across the pitch too, watching as the leaves fall. They drifted off their trees and followed the draft that blew east. She held her face up to the wind and a smile spread across her face, a peaceful one. She breathed in deeply, never minding the hair that clung to her cheeks.
"It's something isn't it?" she asked him, her eyes closed.
He didn't answer, but she didn't get discourage. Ginny opened her eyes and turned to him, a grin upon her face. She took that moment to watch him, to really look at him and see what she's never had the chance to see up close before.
Harry found it to be annoying and turned the other way. "Stop that would you?" he asked, irritation in his tone.
"Stop what?" she asked, her voice sweet and childlike.
He sighed. "You know what," he said, his back still turned.
"I'm just like your sister, Harry," she told him, her tone serious. "I'm just trying to play that part better than I have in the past."
That caught his attention and he swirled around, a frown upon him. Then it softened into a kind smile that made his emerald eyes stand out even more. "My sister?" he asked, his eyes somewhere else. "Yeah," he said, finally refocusing on her. "Yeah. I've never had a sister before."
Ginny smiled and put a hand on his arm. "Hermione's always been your sister too," she informed him. "You, me, Hermione, and the rest of the boys are just one big happy family."
The smile on Harry's face turned into a wide grin and Ginny felt good. She made Harry smiled and that was something he rarely did now-a-days. "You should do that more often," she added, looking dreamily at his smile.
"Do what?" he asked, the grin never leaving his face.
"Grin," she answered, nodding. "Things are changing," she said afterwards, shocking him.
Harry's face turned into a frown then and she wished she never said a thing. The same distance that hovered in his eyes returned. "What are you talking about?"
Ginny looked across the pitch to lose Harry's eye contact. "I was defending Draco," she admitted. "I don't know why, but I was, Harry."
"Is that what you mean by things are changing?" he asked, his eyes on her hard.
She nodded reluctantly, scared of his reaction at the same time. "I find myself wishing he would just trust me the way you do," she told Harry, catching his eyes that moment. "I find myself following him around just to understand him."
"But what's there to understand?" Harry asked, brushing the hair that fell into his eyes out of his face. "He's Malfoy, there's nothing else to it."
"Or is there?" she said mysteriously, never letting go of her hold on him. "There's a lot that we don't know, Harry."
The boy shrugged and a sheepish grin spread across his face. He reached out a hand and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ears. "True, but looks like no matter what I'm going to say, you won't listen to me. So here's all I've got: Don't get yourself hurt."
Then he stood up and disappeared from view. Ginny sighed and sat alone, wondering how she could get herself hurt over something as simple as Malfoy. The wind whistled into her ears and she didn't even hear someone approaching her until he was already by her side, staring at her thoughtfully.
Ginny shook her head and laughed lightly, turning to face him. He was amused, his blonde brows rose higher than usual. "Something amuses you, Weasley?" he asked, locking gaze with her.
She watched him silently, studying him the way she did Harry. His gray eyes were intent as ever, his blonde hair moving in the wind. His lean figure was facing her, giving her all the attention he's got.
"You," she answered, watching the way his eyes danced. "One moment you're angry that some girl's trying to win our heart and the next, you're talking to her again. I don't get it."
Draco chuckled lowly and he broke their eye contact, slightly disappointing her. He shook his head, his hands clutched together while they rested on his knees. "Isn't it just a game?" he asked her, staring somewhere off. "It's always been for everyone."
"That what made you angry?" Ginny asked, uncertain of the truth. She watched the House of Gryffindor race onto the field and began shooting off into the wind-torn sky. She spotted Harry easily and waved to him when he did. "Thought everything was just a game?"
He shrugged, following Harry with his eyes. She knew he felt angry, but his face didn't show it. One thing Ginny couldn't understand more than the others was why Draco would hate Harry out of nowhere. He's never done the blonde any harm, and yet he loathed him with everything he's got.
"Why do you hate Harry?" she asked then, trying to catch Draco's eyes but couldn't.
There was another shrug and Ginny finally understood why. How could Draco not hate Harry? He's got everything that Draco could never have, maybe except for a family, but that was why the Weasleys were there.
Draco hated Harry because Harry's got everything, or everything that Draco could ever want. He's great at quidditch, he's famous in the Wizarding world, and not only that, he's got friends. People he could trust and talk to, not like Crabbe and Goyle who were just there as bodyguards.
A sense of sympathy filled her and she felt her heart reaching out to his. She looked at him again to watch his eyes spark with jealousy when Harry caught the snitch. Draco didn't think he was good enough.
"How could a person ever think that about himself?" she asked, shaking her head at him. Draco turned to her, startle at her question.
As if knowing what she was talking about, he quickly dropped his gaze elsewhere and his shoulders twitched slightly. "How?" he asked innocently like he didn't understand her.
"Put himself down."
"Why would someone put themselves down?" he asked, putting emphasis into the word 'would'. "If you're talking about me, then you're wrong. Why would I put myself down?"
Harry was instructing people around him, but Ginny didn't see who. When she did glance over to see, she realized that Ron wasn't on the field. Actually, he was heading over in Ginny's direction. "Er, maybe you should leave," she told Draco, staring at Ron's approaching broom.
Draco smirked, but he didn't stand up. He glanced in Ron's direction too and waited as though expecting.
Ron landed right by them and he stared at them both, his face showing off no emotions. His eye balls kept moving from Ginny to Draco and back, but finally, they rested on Ginny and he shook his head in awe.
Relief washed over her, glad that there will be no trouble there. "Ron," she stood up and watched him just to be absolutely sure.
He glanced at Draco and nodded once. It wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't exactly cruel either. He returned to Ginny. "I'm not surprised by this," he answered curtly.
Ginny nodded, waiting for more.
"I can't stop it," he added, staring into Ginny's eyes. "I'm not sure I want to. I just want you happy."
She smiled thankfully at him and embraced him before he flew off onto the pitch again. Ginny turned to Draco who looked at her horrified. "Is there something going on that I don't now about?" he asked.
"We're friends," she said like it was the most obvious thing.
The look of horrify suddenly turned into confusion and then there was nothing. Draco's face was blank and emotionless. He scoffed and turned to walk away.
"What's so funny?" she asked him, running after him. His strides were long and he was carried far by the time she did reach him. "We aren't friends?"
"When were we ever friends, Weasley?" he asked, his perfect white teeth showing through his lips.
His words had hurt her and she released his arm, staring as if not believing it. It's only been a few days, but weren't they friends? He had come to apologize for earlier although he didn't say it out plainly. Didn't he?
Draco didn't look at her. He looked at the ground, glaring at it like it was the ground that had angered him. He kicked the bench with his foot hard and ran a hand through his blonde hair, gasping.
This time, it was Ginny who walked away. Did she love him? Maybe and maybe not. He was starting to grow on her though.
* * *
It was the middle of the night when Ginny was awoken by someone. They were shaking her hard, disturbing her from a peaceful dream. A boy had been in there, a handsome one. Someone was after her, trying to get her, but the boy had been there to save her. He had caught her when she fell.
Ginny rubbed her eyes to rid herself of the sleep and searched for a familiar face. The darkness blinded her, but she knew who the voice belonged to when the person spoke. "Ginny, get up. Something's happened."
"Hermione?" she asked, getting out of bed. "What's happening?"
The older girl practically dragged her out of the dorm and out into the common room. Ron was out there too, his fingers supporting his head. There were bags under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't been sleeping.
"What's wrong?" she asked again.
Hermione went to Ron's side and he stood up. They were almost the same height, but Ron stood two inches taller. "It's Harry," Ron said, his voice hoarse. "He's in the Hospital Wing."
Ginny gasped and everything around her seemed to swirl together. She clutched the sofa arm to keep from falling over. "Why is he in there?"
But she already knew why. Not only that, she knew who brought him in.
"I want to go see him," she told her brother and Hermione.
They shook their heads, their hands in one another's. Did that mean that they were together? She would have to ask later when everything wasn't so fuzzy. "Why not? I have to see him."
"Ginny, he's beat up too badly," Hermione said in what would have been a soothing voice if she hadn't been shaking so much. "He's just like Collin and Michael. No one's allowed to see any of them just yet."
She breathed out in distress, knowing she couldn't argue with them. "Okay," she said, turned towards the stairs that would lead up to her dorm. "But can we go on the very first day that we can?"
Her brother seemed somewhat relieved and exhaled as if he's been holding his breath in all this time. "Yeah, Gin."
"G' night," she told them before heading back upstairs.
They both nodded and she left. But when she was up in her dorm, she didn't sleep. Instead, she pulled on a white t-shirt and kept her flannel pajama bottom on. She pulled on slip-on shoes and waited for Hermione to go to bed before she snuck out. Of all things, she had to forget her wand.
* * *
The Hospital Wing was as dark as it had been the night she woke up in there and found Blaise with her. The candles still hovered high above in the ceiling and Ginny made sure not to make any noise because Madam Pomfrey's candle was still on.
Ginny knew which bed was Harry's because his was the next closed ward beside Collin's. She tip-toed over and lifted the veil, her hands shaking violently. She hadn't been this afraid of blood for a while, but seeing it as belonging to someone she knew, it scared her.
Harry was breathing evenly, but his brows were constricted like he was in pain. He had bruises over his face and the bandages that covered his head was red with blood. His face wasn't so bad, except for the scratches ran down one side of his face and the rip in his thin lips.
She stepped inside of the wards and closed the curtains behind her. Ginny watched him, feeling tears threatening to fall down her face. After while of contemplating, she reached up a hand and gently touched his scratched face. He winced almost as if in pain, but he stilled again.
"What's going on?" she asked the silence. The same thing happened to three people that she knew. Was someone trying to tell her something?
The door to Madam Pomfrey's office opened and Ginny panicked, searching for a place to hide. She couldn't run out because the nurse would see her. Ginny glanced down and spotted enough space beneath Harry's bed to hide. She squeezed underneath there in time before the curtains were lifted and Madam Pomfrey stepped inside.
She stood there for a while, tending to Harry's wounds. Ginny was getting tired and her legs were starting to fall asleep. She tried to hold on, but she needed to get out soon or she would fall over.
Finally, Madam Pomfrey picked up her things and left. Ginny stayed in to be sure until she heard the door to her office closed and stepped out from underneath the bed. "That was close," she whispered to the sleeping Harry.
She glanced at him one last time and then left. She wasn't going to get caught in there. It could mean a lifetime of detention for her. The thick wooden door leading into the Hospital Wing closed gently behind her and she walked down the hall, her legs shaking like crazy.
Harry's condition had unnerved her, but what did more than that was the feeling of being watched. It was the same sensation she had felt when Harry first brought her to the Hospital Wing, but not exactly the same. The feeling that day had been creepy, making her skin crawl. But this one was softer, though it did leave her pretty nervous.
Ginny turned around to make sure she wasn't being follow, but she never had the chance to. Someone threw a bag over her head and she felt someone lift her onto their shoulders before darkness took her.
A\N: Ahhhh! This chapter wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. Well, I did try though. Thanks so much for the reviews everyone. I appreciate it all, each and everyone of them. I know I said I was going to put a poem in here, but I didn't know how to put it up in ff.net without messing it up so I gave up. Hope you enjoyed this chappie and send as much reviews as you had last time. I luv you all. Bai.