SIDE NOTE: I do not own any of the people, I just borrow, otherwise I would be JK Rowling, of which I am not... Thank You
Chapter 4My Name Is Weasel
Draco and Ginny finished their meal in silence, while Ginny shot odd glances of anticipation towards Draco. When Draco finally couldn't draw it out anymore he placed his napkin on his plate, and the food and dishes vanished from the table. Ginny walked around the table, and sat on the opposite side of the couch that Draco had claimed. Her back rested against the arm, and her legs stretched across Draco's lap. This slight contact made her feel safer, and helped to wane some of the nerves that were building in her stomach over what he was going to say. "Come on Draco, could it really be that bad?" Ginny had been trying all through dinner to think of what could have possibly been so bad that he couldn't just tell her.
"It's not that easy Ginny, and yes it is that bad." Draco's eyes stayed glued to his legs, he never spoke to anyone like this. He had completely dropped his pompous exterior and was going to try and come out of this with Ginny not hating him. He chanced a fleeting glance up at Ginny, to find her almost overcome by tears. "Ginny you have to promise me something, I'll tell you everything I can think of, but in the end you have to be able to accept that I'm not going to act that way anymore, alright?" Ginny's eyes cleared a little at this and she vigorously nodded her head, then shifted a bit to get more comfortable, wrapping her legs around Draco's body a little more, as he laid his hands on her calves for comfort.
"We weren't friends, not even close to being friends. How much has Madam Pomfrey told you about your family?" His eyes had become once again glued to his legs.
"Not much, just that I have a lot of brothers, one who goes here. I think his name is Roger or Roland or something." Draco couldn't help but grin when she didn't know Ron's name, that fact alone would make this marginally easier.
"Your brothers name is Ron, Ginny. Anyway your brother and his friends are referred to as The Golden Trio, it's mostly because they are inseparable. They are all in Gryffindor, and I am in Slytherin, this fact alone created animosity between us to begin with. We always make fun of each other, and basically we hate each other, people would normally refer to us as mortal enemies, though I really just dish it out for fun. That and my father had always told me that if I happened to accidentally be nice to the-boy-who-lived-to-be-a-pain then I would be severely punished." Draco hadn't actually told anyone of his father's threats before, though he had the scars on his body to prove it. "After a while the hate was all I knew, so I continued to bash him and his friends, which included your brother, and by proxy you. I don't think I ever actually called you Ginny until recently; normally I would refer to you as Weasel, or something else just as bad. I'm not going to say that I deserve to be forgiven, I've done and said a lot over the years, not that I didn't find myself at the end of a mean Bat-Boogey Hex from you at a time." Draco finally looked up to Ginny, her eyes were confused, and she wasn't looking up at him, but down at her own legs. "Ginny, please say something."
"Draco, I… I can't really be mad at you when I don't remember what you did. Though it sounds that you were really cruel if I ended up hexing you." Her voice came out a little shaky, but she seemed to be holding up at least. "I think I need to go lie down for a little while, think things through." Ginny shifter her legs off of Draco, and pulled herself into a standing position. "We'll talk later, I just want to take a quick nap alright." It wasn't a question, just a statement, so as she walked into her room Draco rested his head against the back of the couch pondering what would come next.
Two hours later:
"Ginny?!" Draco startled awake not realizing that he had fallen asleep to find Granger standing by the door with her mouth open, and Ginny sitting next to him on the couch, snuggled into his side with a book propped on her lap.
"When did you come out?" Draco ignored the shocked Granger for the moment, and focused on Ginny, he wanted to make sure that she was alright.
"About 20 minutes ago, I came out to say that everything is okay, but I found you asleep, so I just started reading."
Hermoine watched in shock as Draco's arm fell more securely around Ginny's shoulders, and she cuddled further into his side. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, this whole scene was just so weird. Even though Hermoine had come to find that Draco wasn't actually the pretentious ass that he pretended to be him and Ginny was just not right.
Draco heard someone clear their throat, and that was when he realized that Granger was still standing by the door. "Granger come sit on your couch for a second." Draco called across the room without even turning his head.
As Hermoine took a seat on the couch that she had claimed as her own as soon as they'd moved in she took in a sight that wasn't seen very often even by her. Draco Malfoy was in fact smiling, and actually looked happy. "Ginny, this is Hermoine Granger, you and she were really good friends. She is one of the people who you can trust." Ginny kept close to Draco, but she turned her attention towards Hermoine.
"Doesn't that mean she's a Gryffindor? I'm not supposed to trust any of the Gryffindor's Dumbledore said so." Draco winced when she said this, hoping that whoever had told Granger about Ginny that they had pulled her aside and told her why Ginny couldn't go back to Gryffindor.
"What is she talking about?! Are you brainwashing her Draco, because I swear if you are trying to turn her into…" Draco quickly stood, and cut her off before she could say anything that would hinder what Ginny thought of him.
"Granger, your room now!" Draco growled across the room.
"Why Draco? What could you possibly…"
"NOW!" Draco was already half way to her room when she caught up with him, and followed him in quickly. As soon as the door was closed behind them Draco muttered a silencing charm on the door, then turned towards Hermoine. His anger had shed into fear, he didn't know how to tell her that one of her own had been the one to rap Ginny.
"Draco what is this all about?" Her voice was strong and condescending, like she was reprimanding a first year.
"What did they tell you about what happened to Ginny?" He was looking straight at her, hoping that it was all some sort of sick twisted mistake.
"They told me that she had an accident, and that she couldn't remember anything. That's what Dumbledore told everyone, she feel off one of the moving staircases or something." Draco's eyes fixed on hers, as he let out an exasperated breathe.
"Sit down Granger, there's something that you should know." Draco gestured to the desk chair, but Hermoine ignored him and stayed standing. "Fine suit yourself, but I'm going to sit down." Draco claimed a seat on top of her desk, it was where he always sat when he was talking to her. "Ginny didn't fall off the stairs, Dumbledore probably just told everyone that so no one would freak out, or do anything further." Hermoine looked at Draco with the same look she had when she was working on a difficult potion, she hadn't figured it out yet. "I found Ginny in the 3rd floor corridor, by the abandoned wing. I tripped over her when I was on my rounds. She was just laying on the floor unconscious, her shirt was torn down the front, and there was blood all over the place. Her skirt was up around her waist, and she wasn't wearing any underwear." Draco glanced up at Hermoine to see that it was finally starting to sink in, her face was as pale as one of the ghosts roaming around the castle. She sank down into the desk chair then, and looked up at him with scared eyes.
"Who was it?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, holding back anger and fear.
Draco didn't know what else to do, so he continued. "I carried her to Madam Pomfrey, and while she was checking her she found a scrap of fabric in one of her hands, it was the Gryffindor emblem that is on your robes. She must have torn it off one of her attackers. That's why she's here instead of back in the tower."
"I still don't understand her attachment with you. I mean no offense, seeing as we've become almost friends in the last month or so, but you have to see my confusion." Hermoine looked honestly curious as to why.
"I don't know, maybe it was because I was the last person she saw, but to be honest I have no idea. One minute she was screaming bloody murder, and the next she was attached to my waist, and wouldn't let anyone but me come near her." Draco looked towards Hermoine searching for any hint of what she was thinking.
"So it could've been anyone, even…even…" Hermoine didn't want to think that it could've been Harry or one of her friends. "We'll have to keep her safe, but what about her classes?"
"Granger, always one to think of school." Draco gave her an amused look. "Ginny remembers her school work, as well as most of the events that have occurred in the popular wizarding world, though for some weird reason she can't remember He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Dumbledore gave her an exam the other day to test her skills, and she actually managed to pass her tests with the knowledge of a seventh year, it seems when she doesn't have the need to think of personal things she can focus almost ten fold. He placed Ginny in the seventh year courses, and made her a temporary member of the Slytherin house so that I can look after her. Though we don't have to worry about that until next week, she's not to go to class this week so she can fully recover." At this point Hermoine seemed to be taking it pretty well, there had been no outbursts yet.
"So you are in charge of taking care of her." Her voice was back to the slightly playful tone that she used when mocking him. "Well, I do suppose that if anyone was going to be protecting her from Gryffindors it would be king of the Slytherins." Hermoine giggled as she stood from the chair. "Ok come on lets go introduce me to Ginny properly, and lets just tell her that I don't converse with Gryffindors very often since I'm head girl." Draco laughed at her, but before he got to the door her remembered something.
"I know that they don't come by very often, but it would probably be best for Ginny if Ron and Harry don't come by at all. She hasn't met Ron, and he's been instructed by his parents to stay away from her for the time being. We don't need to make her any more confused than she already is." Hermoine nodded her head quickly, then pushed past him and out into the common room, where Ginny was huddled on one side of the couch the book she was reading previously back in her hands.
"Are you two done arguing now?" Draco and Hermoine laughed causing Ginny to look up from her book. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." It wasn't nothing however, the tone that Ginny had just used on them was identical to the tone that she used when Ron would argue with just about anyone.
"Fine, but can you now explain to me why I can trust her?" The looked at each other and Draco nodded slightly letting Hermoine explain to Ginny and start to get her to trust.
"I'm not really a Gryffindor anymore Ginny, it changes your perspective when you're head girl. I don't tend to hang out with Gryffindors, or anyone for that matter very often. You were actually my only really good friend who was a girl. Though I do have some good friends in Gryffindor I don't really see them that often." Ginny still didn't look completely convinced, but she at least looked placated. "Besides, I'm head girl, if I do something wrong what kind of example would I be setting for the rest of the students." Draco laughed again at this, and Hermoine was seeing yet another side of the old ice king.
"Ok, I suppose that is a good reason." Ginny put her book down on the table, and ventured a glace at Hermoine. She looked her up and down, taking in who she was. Hermoine simply stood there, assuming that Ginny was trying to place her in her mind, try to remember her. It helped ease her mind as someone else was sizing her up that at least she looked nice today. She had discarded her school robe, and her uniform for her muggle attire just before dinner. She wore her favorite faded jeans that were slightly baggy to allow easy movement, and comfort when sitting for hours at a time. She had on a v-neck tank top as it was still warm outside, and her bushy hair was falling down her back in the sleek curls she had managed with a few potions this morning. "I need your help with something." Ginny stated it then hefted herself off the couch and walked to her room. "Are you coming?" The bossy tone at which Ginny asserted herself surprised both Draco and Hermoine, maybe she wasn't completely lost.
Hermoine shrugged at Draco then followed Ginny into her room wondering what Ginny would want her for that Draco couldn't help her with.
AUTHOR NOTE: Please write something for review... I want to feel loved... :(