A/N: nothing to say really… just enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you thought in a review.
DISCLAIMER: Do I look like J.K.Rowling? She is the owner of Harry Potter, not me! Go on rub it in!
Ginny woke up in the hospital wing, hardly remembering the Quidditch game that had only recently ended. The final score being Gryffindor 280, Slytherin 90.
Ginny remembered how Oliver had, grudgingly shook the Slytherin captains' hand, Madame Hooch had blown her whistle and the heated match had begun.
Ginny had been thrown the Quaffle almost as soon as the game started, the team were eager to flaunt their secret weapon. Everyone was shocked to say the least when Ginny had stepped onto the pitch and that shocked tension in the air had escalated when Ginny had begun to play. She scored their first three goals and Slytherin were already looking stressed. The members of the Slytherin Quidditch team tried their best to distract her by shouting comments that were well below the belt or by snarling or deliberately flying right at her. But none of this bothered Ginny; she was focused on one thing and one thing alone, winning her first match.
She'd, by then, already made a massive contribution to the score that stood at 70 – 30 to Gryffindor, but it wasn't enough, she wanted people to remember her as the girl who helped them win Gryffindor the Quidditch cup.
With that thought in mind Ginny had charged off in the direction of the opposing Quidditch goal hoops, Quaffle tucked securely under her arm. She was so focused that she hadn't noticed the Bludger that had crudely been hit in her direction, until it was too late and she could do nothing but scream as her body dropped quickly from the air.
All she could remember after that was feeling the pressure ease a bit as she slowed down, no doubt landing softer than what would have been expected. Ginny thought she had a clear idea of who had, most likely, saved her life or at least a few broken bones.
Instead she lay in the clean hospital wing with only a sprained wrist and ankle and a few ugly bruises, it could, as people kept reminding her, been a hell of a lot worse.
&
Draco was in the library pretending to read whilst really going though the days events in his head. First he had received a letter from his father explaining as always what was expected of him, how he should be acting in school that included how well he was doing in classes and of course had his mother sends her love. Draco had been nervous when the letter arrived, actually that was an understatement, he had been terrified, but it was clear by the normal almost routinely way the letter had been written that his father was clueless.
Then of course the Slytherin/Gryffindor match had taken place, what a mess that had turned out! Though he supposed that match was destined to cause problems. The schools two most rivalled houses taken part in a competitive game of Quidditch screamed trouble! It really wasn't worth the fuss, Draco liked winning, oh yes he liked it a lot, especially if winning also meant beating the insufferable Gryffindors, but there were many, much easier ways of giving what Gryffindor had coming to them that didn't involve his best friend falling helplessly through the sky because one of his 'friends' had hit a bludger at her, hard.
Draco had swiftly pulled out his wand whilst still being discrete and cast a slowing charm on Ginny meaning she landed on the ground with a 'thud' instead of a 'crack'. Wands were band from Quidditch matches and now all he needed to do was hope no one had saw him.
&
"Oh my goodness! Sweet Merlin no! No, no, no. Miss Weasley needs her rest I can't have a full Quidditch team and co. Barging right threw the hospital wing!" cried an outraged Madame Pomfrey as the whole Quidditch team, Percy, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Bonnie, Taylor, Nuala, Luna and Neville tried to get inside the wing to visit Ginny and wish her well.
"Oh let them in Madame Pomfrey please, company is just what I need right now, please!" Ginny begged.
"Don't be absurd young lady what…" Madame Pomfrey did a quick head count "…fifteen! Fifteen students visiting at once, that's just crazy, I simply won't allow it, you may have only five visitors at one time Miss Weasley and you very well know that." Madame Pomfrey told her sternly.
"Well we're her brothers, we're family! We have every right to be in here!" cried Ron and Madame Pomfrey let the four in.
"Well I'm her best friend!" shouted Bonnie before grinning apologetically at Nuala, Bonnie wasn't Ginny only best friend, but Nuala told her she didn't mind and that she talk to Ginny later and so Bonnie pushed through the small crowd still gathered.
"Sorry! Thank you all for coming and I'll be out soon!" Ginny shouted to the disgruntled people left outside the door.
Her brothers barged their way over to Ginny and each pulled her into a hug, except Percy who was above such things. Bonnie, surprisingly, sat quietly as Ginny chatted with her brothers and they congratulated their baby sister on scoring so many goals, it gave Gryffindor the score boost they needed so Harry was able to catch the snitch without worrying about whether of not the team had enough points.
Once her brothers were finished talking with her they left with a promise to return if she wasn't out the next morning. This meant Ginny was alone with her friend.
"Hey Gin, that was one nasty fall, strange how you survived barely scratched eh?" Bonnie asked with an eyebrow raised. Ginny gulped and wondered how much she knew.
Ginny laughed nervously "um…yeah, I guess I got lucky?" Ginny tried.
"Not a chance." Contradicted Bonnie who looked highly amused she lowered her voice before speaking again "I saw what Draco Malfoy did, why?" she asked in a whisper.
Ginny paused thinking of ways to get herself out of this "Maybe he thought I was someone else?" Bonnie shuck her head, her arms folded across her just a questioning eyebrow still risen. "He… is am impostor! Pretending to be Malfoy?!" Bonnie sighed and laughed along.
"You two are friends aren't you? There's no way he would risk being caught with a wand in the middle of a game if he didn't think saving you was worth getting banned. So, come on… spill and I want details…lots of them." She demanded and Ginny could do nothing but oblige her, though as she recited the tails of her youth she left out lots of things, not wanting to have to share them, not even with her closest friend.
&
The next month was spent with Ginny playing Quidditch and sneaking off to visit Draco. The latter was easier now that Ginny had Bonnie to cover for her when she needed it. Ginny and Draco were as close as they had been all those years ago and Ginny found herself feeling happier each day she spent with him, he was her light, a reprieve, someone she knew she could go to with any problems, whether she wanted comfort, advice or just an ear to listen to her.
"Practice tonight Ginny, don't forget," Reminded Oliver as he passed her in the corridor as she made her way to Transfiguration.
Ginny rolled her eyes at him before responding, "How could I forget Oliver, you remind me every other hour, don't you have anything better to do then hunt down the whole Quidditch team just to remind them of something they already know?"
Oliver just scowled playfully, ruffled her hair and jogged off to catch up with Angelina. Ginny sighed in an aggravated way; Oliver was like the seventh brother that she didn't want nor need. Nuala and Bonnie laughed at the look on Ginny's face before reminding her that McGonagall will have their guts for garters if they didn't hurry up.
&
Ginny and Draco were sitting at the far end of the lake, it was just past curfew so they were alone, Ginny was humming under her breath whilst Draco sat and watched her face.
"Stop staring at me Draco, it's creepy." She whined.
Draco chuckled but looked away "I was just marvelling at how I'd managed to survive without you all those years."
Ginny turned and looked at him curiously "I'm sure your father tried to help you forget." Ginny stated, Draco had explained to her how his father had found out about them, how Lucius had forbidden Draco to even talk about Ginny and how he trained his son in the dark arts.
"I'm sure you're right, but just because he tried to force me to forget about you didn't mean I did forget about you Ginny, I never forgot I just pushed the memories to the side."
Ginny sighed they'd already talked about this and she didn't care to speak of such bleak things again but couldn't help but to reply to that comment. "That's what I did too, hid the memories and thought of other things, like what was happening in my life at that time." Draco nodded his agreement.
They both sat in silence for a while, a comfortable silence, it happened frequently when they were together, neither of them had anything to say so neither of them said anything; they were both content enough with simply being together.
Draco chuckled when he remembered Ginny as a younger girl and how she'd talk even if she didn't have anything decent to talk about, she just repeat what she'd already said or talk about something of absolutely no importance, time had matured Ginny Weasley into the girl that Draco sat beside. She was still his best friend; she hadn't changed so much that Draco could claim she was a different person, they were still many similarities between her and her old self.
"What are you wearing to the end of year feast?" Ginny asked Draco.
"What do you mean what am I wearing? I'm wearing my school robes like always."
"Oh! You didn't know? We can wear what ever we like this year, it's not exactly a ball but it's a start. I think nearly everyone is wearing dress robes, I might wear a dress what do you think?"
"A muggle dress?" Ginny nodded "Urgh no!"
"It's really pretty and all the other girls in Gryffindor will be wearing dresses, I don't see the problem." She told him sternly.
He muttered something that sounded a lot like 'stupid muggle-loving Gryffindors'.
Ginny smacked his arm lightly and announced that she was going back inside, so with a cheerful wave to Draco Ginny skipped off through the near darkness.
&
"Ohhhhh Ginny! It's beautiful!" Squealed Nuala, while Bonnie looked at Ginny's dress in disgust, her nose wrinkled.
"You don't like it? It might look better on." Ginny said to Bonnie.
"It's not just your dress Ginny it's just dresses in general. Why are all the girls wearing the hideous things? Well it doesn't matter, I don't care. I'm going in jeans and that's final." Bonnie told them nodding her head to emphasize the fact that she's already decided and can't be swayed to change her mind.
"Your funeral." Nuala stated "You're gonna look really stupid next to everyone else who'll be wearing their best."
"I don't care what anyone else is wearing and I still don't understand why you're worrying about such things already."
"The feast is in two weeks Bonnie!" Nuala cried.
"EACTLY! Two weeks, TWO whole weeks!"
Nuala sighed and settled on shaking her head at the hopeless case.
&
The rest of the week dragged by slowly for Ginny, time was mocking her because it knew she could hardly wait to see her family again. She hadn't seen them since Christmas and this was her first year at Hogwarts, they say it's always harder the first time.
Ginny was laughing at some joke Nuala had just cracked when she spotted a blonde head coming up the corridor, she grinned.
As Draco came closer she noticed an annoyed scowl on his pretty face, a boy, only a first year maybe second bumped into Draco's shoulder by accident; the corridor was crowded and people had little room to move. The boy turned to apologise, but Draco didn't wait for an apology, instead he pulled out his wand and hexed the poor boy. People carried on walking, a little faster than before but Ginny stopped dead in her tracks and stared in horror at Draco, he caught her glaring at him and had the grace to look ashamed, but Ginny had a feeling he was only ashamed that she had caught him not that he'd hexed an innocent boy, who was now getting carried away, no doubt going to see Madame Pomfrey.
Ginny jerked her head in the direction of the door and Draco nodded reluctantly.
Ginny hid behind the high bushes beside the main entrance and waited. Draco emerged from the doors and looked around for her; Ginny stuck out her arm and pulled him behind the bush with her.
He stumbled but caught himself before he feel, he was about to shout at her for nearly pulling him over but then he saw her face, tense and red with anger, she had her arms crossed and her foot tapped at the ground impatiently, waiting for an explanation.
Draco just looked down at the floor, unsure exactly why he was hiding from her gaze or why he was acting as though he was going to get given a detention from a teacher.
"Well?" she demanded still glaring.
Draco gulped and looked up "What?"
"Don't you dare 'What?' me Draco Malfoy, you know fine well 'What'." She hissed at him.
Draco sighed "I know, I shouldn't have done that it was wrong, I thought he'd done it on deliberate." Draco tried to defend himself.
"Well if you'd waited you what have saw that he was about to apologise for accidentally bumping into you!" she kept her voice low, a harsh whisper.
"I know, I said it was wrong of me but I've just had a bad day, my father wrote to me this morning."
Ginny's arms dropped and her expression softened "What did he want?"
"That doesn't matter." He mumbled.
"Yes it does."
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Tell me."
"He wrote to me saying the date off my initiation had been finalised." He said so quietly that Ginny had to strain to hear it.
"You're what." Ginny asked.
Draco looked reluctant to explain "The date that I shall become a Death eater like my father."
Ginny gasped "NO!"
"Shhhh!" Draco hushed frantically "Some one will hear you."
"Oh no, this is horrible. You won't will you Draco? You won't become one of them, promise me you won't." she demanded, she looked slightly distraught.
Draco hated lying to her, but telling the truth would cause to many unneeded problems "Of course I won't Ginny, I Promise."
Ginny sighed in relief and fell into his arms, hugging him tightly. Draco felt guilt squirm inside him as he looked down on his best friend, the one person whom he'd promised himself he wouldn't lie to; Draco hated breaking promises.
&
"Can you see where my tights are?"
"Does anyone know where my hairspray is?"
"Does this dress make me look fat?"
Ginny's dormitory was buzzing with excitement, as five girls razed to get ready, whilst the sixth lay atop her bed, donning faded blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, she was trying to read a book but the noise of her panicking roommates left Bonnie unable to concentrate. She sighed and heaved herself up off her bed. "I'll be in the common room if anyone needs me!" she yelled, not that anyone heard her anyway.
"Are you sure I shouldn't wear the pink one Ginny?" Nuala asked worriedly.
"Yes I'm positive, this one looks stunning on you and the black and silver makes you seem older." Ginny responded to her friend whilst touching up her makeup. Nuala seemed satisfied with Ginny's answer and carried on drying her hair the muggle way, she was convinced that drying ones hair with a charm would eventually make it fall out.
"Bonnie and I have a special surprise planned for you down stairs." Nuala whispered as Ginny struggled into her forest green dress, she looked up with curious eyes.
"Oh?"
"Yes but we need to be positioned at the right place at the right time if we want a perfect view." She whispered again and Ginny nodded wondering what her two best friends were up to.
Pricilla bumped Nuala out the way so she could have the whole mirror, Pricilla had spent nearly the whole day perfecting her outfit, stressing if something wasn't perfect and shouting at anyone who got in her way. Nuala didn't yell at Pricilla like Ginny would have expected, instead she simply smiled and walked away.
"Hurry up then Ginny, I'm ready, let's go pick up Bonnie and get down stairs." Ginny agreed and the two, recently primped and polished girls skipped down the stairs to meet their other friend. Bonnie was waiting for them at the bottom, receiving some curious glances from the other extravagantly dressed people in the room, of which she seemed oblivious to.
The three of them walked through the corridors arm-in-arm. Stopping several times to greet friends and compliment their attire. The three spotted Pricilla and her cronies speeding down the corridor and Ginny didn't miss the evil grins Bonnie and Nuala sent each other. She was getting very suspicious now.
Bonnie and Nuala charged down the corridor, pulling Ginny along with them until they were rounding the corner leading to the Great Hall and Ginny noticed Pricilla reach out and open the doors to the Great Hall. Nuala nudged Ginny and Ginny looked at her, then Bonnie then back to Pricilla, "NO!" Ginny shouted but it was too late Pricilla had opened the door and screamed as a bucket of green goo tipped itself on top of her head, soaking her hair, dripping down her perfectly makeup-ed face and staining her beautiful dress.
Bonnie and Nuala were rolling on the ground laughing, as was nearly everyone else in a 20 metres radius of the poor girl, sitting on the floor crying. Ginny's heart went out to her, how could her friends, the people she loved, noble Gryffindors do something that evil to a fellow student? What ever Pricilla had done in the past Ginny didn't feel she deserved to be publicly humiliated like she was being.
Ginny walked forward slowly and reached a hand out to her poor girl. Pricilla looked at the hand and then its owner. She took a sharp intake of air before grasping Ginny's hand and using it to pull herself up.
"Come on." Ginny whispered "Lets get you cleaned up."
The people who had been laughing stared in shock as the two girl passed by them, Ginny with her arm around Pricilla's shaking shoulders, the people who hadn't laughed stared in admiration of Ginny who'd been able to do what none of them had the nerve to do.
Ginny took Pricilla up to their dormitory, where Pricilla showered and dried quickly, before walking from the bathroom and sitting down on her bed, sighing.
"Thank you." She muttered and Ginny understood how hard that had been for her, being such a proud person. "I owe you one."
Ginny grinned "Now what are you gonna wear?" Ginny asked herself thoughtfully "The feast starts in ten minutes, we haven't got much time." Pricilla looked up in shock.
"I can't go!" she cried "I have nothing to wear and I don't want to be laughed at again."
"Don't be silly of course you have something to wear didn't you see Bonnie? She was just dressed in casual clothes and she looked damn good in them, now come on get your jeans and I'll get mine, we're going to show those people downstairs that we don't need stupid dresses, loads of makeup or nice hair to look good." Ginny announced her face set in determination.
"We?" Bonnie asked, doubtful.
"Of course we, now get a move on."
It turned out Pricilla looked really good in just jeans and a t-shirt. It didn't look as though she was trying too hard to look pretty, instead she looked naturally pretty. The two of them laughed and joked in an excited way as they left the common room and rushed down to the Great Hall.
They entered the through the doors, whilst everyone was still settling down and so few people noticed the girls walk in and sit down at their house table, among that few were Dumbledore who sent Ginny a knowing and grateful smile and Draco who had seen what had happened earlier and was shocked at how brave and kind Ginny had been to the girl had that deliberately tried to get Ginny into trouble, of which Draco had had to get her out of. He was proud of her.
"Welcome!" Professor Dumbledore bellowed opening his arms wide as if trying to embrace all his students. "To the end of year feast and I see you all have taken full advantage of the treat of choosing your own attire, well done! First I'd like to congratulate you all on a wonderful year at Hogwarts, you've all done your best in and outside of lessons, you are all talented young Witches and Wizards and that's the reason I am so very proud to be Headmaster of such a wonderful school. For some this is the end of your time here at Hogwarts, to those I bid farewell and all the happiness you deserve in you future years, but to others this is only the beginning and to those I'd like to thank in advance for the asset I'm sure they'll be to this school.
"And now, can we all give a round of applause to this years Quidditch Cup champions, GRYFFINDOR!" the hall erupted in cheers of victory from the Gryffindors, cheers and clapping from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table who were simply glad someone had beaten Slytherin, but the Slytherin table of course stayed silent.
Ginny barely heard Dumbledore announce that Gryffindor came in second place for the House cup and Ravenclaw received first place, she was too busy worrying about Draco, he was staring into space, not paying any attention to his surroundings and Ginny scared for him, would he be OK? Would he manage to persuade his father not to make him get the mark? Or would he give in, go against his promise and become a Death Eater just as his father before him? Only time would tell, only time could reveal the truths and for Ginny was her time of staying Blissfully Innocent running out…?
A/N: This was the last chapter but there will be an epilogue, review please, I've worked really hard on this story, don't you think I deserve a little review? Maybe? Yes? Good!
