Chapter Ten: Salvation
Ginny begrudgingly rolled out of bed at the break of dawn, just as she'd been doing every Wednesday for the past two and a half months. Defense Against the Dark Arts would begin on the Quidditch field in an hour's time, every year, first through seventh, included.
She walked toward the window, and found herself immediately blinded by the sun. It was a beautiful day, but she would be half-asleep throughout it.
Bending over to retrieve her broom from her trunk, a strange pang of an unidentified emotion arose in her, just as she caught sight of her Potions textbook lying atop an old set of robes. Nowadays, every time she saw the thing she would think of Draco Malfoy and their time together, almost as if, deep down, she missed it.
She always forced a laugh at herself when she'd catch her mind thinking such silly thoughts. It was safe to say that Malfoy didn't miss their tutoring, so she tried to lay her thoughts to rest.
--
Draco had awoken up well before dawn from a dream about Ginny Weasley, of all girls. He was not able to brush thoughts of his and Ginny's Potions sessions from his mind, and so his subconscious reminded him of it in his sleep. He grew very angry, berating himself for even deigning to think of her. He had no reason to, hadn't ever, not even when they were tutoring—and certainly not now that the only time he ever saw her was in Potions class, and the odd passing in the corridors.
Nearly every time he saw her, she was being cornered by Michael Corner. The pun made Draco sick. Couldn't the Ravenclaw bastard find a more private place for a snog? Not that the youngest Weasley had allowed Corner to kiss her. This puzzled Draco immensely, because he often thought Ginny needed a proper snog, for she always looked quite depressed about something. Probably pining away for Potter.
He was doing it again—analyzing Weasley's behavior. He considered her too often, and had much too hostile urges toward Michael Corner than any indifferent observer should have. He'd never talked to Corner in his life, and actually thought him a pretty decent Quidditch player at that.
--
Ginny now yawned as Professor McGonagall called out partners for the broom exercise, for the Gryffindors. It had been determined that combining Houses for Defense lessons was a highly dangerous idea, as more than half the Hospital Wing had been filled after the first class of the term.
Neville grimaced when he was paired with Demelza Robins, as she was much better on a broomstick than he. Ginny chuckled to herself, until…
"Weasley and Creevey," Professor McGonagall called out.
Colin smiled as he hoisted his school-borrowed broom over his shoulder and joined Ginny. It wasn't that Ginny didn't like Colin; he was very amiable. But he had very recently decided to ask Ginny to spend the next Hogsmeade weekend with him. She hoped he wasn't turning into another Michael Corner, who had persistently been trying to catch her alone after Potions, in the dim dungeon corridor. Ginny had been careful not to give Colin a direct answer yet, afraid to hurt his feelings, but putting it off to the last second possible.
He looked optimistic as they walked together down the pitch. Probably picturing us as an item, Ginny thought. She was fond of Colin--he was always kind to her. Their relationship was similar to her and Neville's in that respect. She almost considered agreeing to go to Hogsmeade, on the condition of friends, in the attempt to get Michael to lay off. But then Colin moved closer and put a possessive arm around her shoulders.
Ginny inwardly cringed. She had made too much of a reputation for herself. Now all the boys thought they could have her.
--
Draco inwardly cringed when Professor Slughorn announced that he and Pansy would be dueling partners for the lesson that day. He sped off on his Nimbus 2001, half-hoping he'd be too fast for Pansy, could hide out within the stands for the entire class, and she wouldn't even miss him. But fortune had something different in store for him.
"So," Pansy began, keeping up her pace fairly well with Draco as he made his way toward the opposite end of the Quidditch field. "How are you holding up?"
"What do you mean?" Draco's voice was bored. He couldn't even pretend to be mildly interested in what Pansy had to say.
"What I mean is," Pansy smirked, curling her lip upward, "you've seemed quite distraught since you finished tutoring with the Weaslette."
"That's ridiculous," Draco scoffed. "I'm glad it's over."
"Are you? Because you're avoiding my questions like the black plague," Pansy noted.
"Aren't we supposed to be throwing curses at each other, or something?"
Pansy's smirk widened. "I prove my point."
"Drop it, Parkinson," he snapped coldly. He'd had enough of her sly comments for one broom ride; his patience was gone.
"Ouch," she said mockingly. "You do need her in your life again, before you go completely hard-hearted. Honestly, I think you should be ashamed of such a thing. It's utterly pathetic."
"I mean it, shut up," he warned her, his grey eyes flashing with his mounting anger.
"Or what? Weasel-girl will come and get me? Please I'm not a Mud—bloody hell!"
Pansy was thrown back a few yards through the air and spun around, hit by a nonverbal curse. Draco lowered his wand.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, his face serious.
Pansy lunged forward to fight back. "Oh, you've got it coming! Expelliarmus!"
Professor Flitwick passed them at that moment. "Very good work, Miss Parkinson. Five points to Slytherin!" he squeaked, pleased at her progress.
Once the professor had passed, Pansy cast a dark look at his tiny backside.
"A measly five points. Like I care anymore about the House Cup! As if we're using this practice for our defense," she muttered so that only Draco could hear.
"You're going to join the Death Eaters?" Draco asked her, his tone urgent.
Pansy shrugged noncommittally. "Well, you did, didn't you?"
Draco could hardly believe how lightly she was taking her own words. His gaze flickered down to his clothed forearm, which was slightly stinging at the moment. "Yeah, I did," he replied quietly.
"And you're an example to us all," Pansy said in admiration, though she was still angry with him. "After all, your father and You-Know-Who were like this." She crossed her fingers in indication.
He didn't say anything for awhile. "Just promise me…you'll give it a great deal of thought, won't you? Before you decide for sure joining his ranks is what you want?"
Pansy raised her eyebrow at him. "Why?"
"It's not easy, going up before him."
She gasped. "You mean to say, you've seen him face-to-face?" She seemed impressed.
He nodded slowly, uncomfortable under Pansy's awed expression. "He knows when you're lying."
"You lied to him?" she gulped.
"I didn't dare, or else he would have—" Draco couldn't finish his sentence.
She gasped for the second time. "The…Cruciatus Curse?"
"That's the consequence for not telling the truth," he told her, his voice shaking a little. Though it hurt to tell her these things, he was glad they were frightening her. Maybe then, another life would be spared from the casualties of the war. Pansy had always been a rather annoying hanger-on, but that wasn't to say Draco didn't care the slightest bit what happened to her.
Across the field of dead grass, he saw the figures of Ginny and her partner…was it that little sixth-year fellow, with the camera? An unadulterated wave of jealousy passed through Draco. That Creevey git, with his arm around Ginny! How could she even allow--?
Draco shook it off. No, no, no…not happening. Michael Corner was one thing, but Creevey? He shouldn't be feeling these towards of emotions toward any of that lot, including the Weasley girl in question.
He turned to Pansy, who had noticed his flash of hatred toward the Gryffindor duo, and threw a Jelly-Legs Jinx at her to get his head in the game.
--
"Stupefy!"
"Tarantellegra!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Ginny and Colin had finally mounted their broomsticks and were firing curses at each other. She dodged his last one with ease--he was somewhat out of practice with his aim. Sending a Bat-Bogey Hex over her shoulder, she headed for the topmost stand around the field, figuring Colin wouldn't follow her. She simply felt she needed a minute to herself.
She looked back, and the hex--her best one!--had not struck him. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment as Colin continued to follow her, up and up. It occurred to her that having her back to her opponent wasn't the best idea. She began to fly backwards instead.
"Expelliarmus!" she cast, and finally Colin's wand flew from his hand.
Ginny pulled into a daring dive to catch it, and then something happened that had never happened before: the handle of her broom hit the Quidditch stand barrier. She toppled forward, disconnected from her broom. Her own wand flew from her hand, not that she knew a spell to fix everything.
She was falling, the ground rapidly approaching.
--
Draco sent a Stunning spell to Pansy, and it hit her in the shoulder. She shook it out, as if it had fallen asleep. "Can't we take a break?" she pouted.
He conceded, and was about to descend to the nearest row of seats, when he saw a brilliant flash of red from the spot where Ginny and Colin had been practicing. He squinted in the late morning sun and, to his horror, saw a limp, redheaded body plummeting from the highest of the stands.
Without pausing, without yelling, but only thinking "not her", he raced against time and velocity. He needed to save her, he did not know why.
He sped toward her, arms outstretched. It was mere seconds before she would have hit the ground.
He caught her. The force made his broom descend another ten feet before he could steady it again. The wind was knocked out of him; he gasped for air.
--
Ginny's eyes closed as she lost consciousness, but before she blacked out completely, she saw a brief streak of white-blonde out of the corner of her eyes. Something caught her, something solid and surprisingly warm, though she knew it was too soon to have hit the ground.
Calm washed over her. She was safe, floating slowly downward, as if on a cloud.
--
Once Draco caught his breath, he managed to touch the ground gently, still carrying Ginny's seemingly lifeless form in his arms. Crowds swarmed around him; he fell to his knees.
"Somebody get Madam Pomfrey!" yelled Neville Longbottom, rushing forward to help support Ginny's head. Colin Creevey sprinted off, guilt on his usually innocent face.
Even Luna Lovegood appeared shocked at the situation, and Pansy's expression was a blend of glowering and curiosity, as if she didn't know what to think of everything.
Nobody was paying much attention to Draco, who soon collapsed beside Ginny and let exhaustion overtake him.