Ron could hear Ginny sniffling through the walls. One of the things he had always found frustrating about his house was that, no matter how many charms were cast on the walls, it was only a matter of time before they let sound through like paper. The sniffling turned to sobs, muffled somewhat. Crying into her pillow, he assumed. Circe, if Malfoy had made her cry, he was going to go and pound the prat. After another five minutes of listening to his sister weeping, he got up and went to her door.

"Gin, can I come in?"

A loud sniff, then, "Don't worry about it. Just go to sleep."

Ron rolled his eyes and opened the door. Ginny was on her bed, curled up around her pillow. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her hair was a mess. Ron sat next to her. "What's going on?"

Ginny grimaced. "Do I need to recast my charms again?"

"Yes. Now stop stalling."

She sighed. "I… I suppose I'll tell you if you promise not to go off your tree and disown me. Ok?"

Ron frowned. "Ok," he said after a moment. This was going to be about Malfoy, he just knew it.

"From the moment I heard about this law of Hermione's I've been working to stop it," she said matter-of-factly. "I figured that I needed an ally, so I picked Pansy. We've been working on getting this law repealed for nearly a year now. We… We discussed how we were going to do it. We figured that the dissidents would need strong support from credible sources, so we matched people up. Everything was working so well… The Wizengamot are being stalled by our tactics…" she broke off into sobs again.

Ron felt rather helpless watching his sister cry, but knew better than to try and comfort her. She tended to use her elbows to gain back her personal space. "But… Doesn't that mean that your plan is working?"

"Yes, that's the problem!" she cried. "I wasn't supposed to get involved… Just keep my nose in the ministry news… There's no reason to keep writing to Draco…"

Ron was startled. "Gin… You're telling me that you want to keep talking to Malfoy?" She sniffed and nodded. "And he hasn't written to you. Hasn't communicated in any way." She nodded again, hugging her pillow. "And you want him to come after you."

"I know it's stupid…"

Ron shook his head. "The only stupid thing about it is that it's Malfoy. Seriously, Gin: anyone else?"

She sniffed loudly and pressed her face deeper into the pillow. "It's all got out of hand," she said after a long moment. "I wasn't supposed to get involved, I wasn't supposed to feel anything. I wanted the law banned out of principle, but… Now I'm kind of hoping it stays, so that he's forced to at least consider me. I hate feeling like this," she threw the pillow across the room into the window so hard that the glass rattled alarmingly. Ron was surprised that it didn't break. Ginny gave a huge sigh. "I hate feeling," she repeated blankly.

"Um, Gin… Is that normal?"

"No," she said shortly. "But the other two males I've fallen in… That I've liked," she amended, "have both showed an alarming lack of interest in my personal wellbeing. So I decided not to feel, rather than get my heart trampled on again."

"Two?" Ron repeated. "You've always been a Harry fanatic. Who's this other bloke?"

Ginny stared at him. "Well, apart from the fact that I've had a couple of other boyfriends – you remember those? – the other guy… I was eleven, Ron. What happened when I was eleven?"

Ron looked blankly at the floor as he thought hard. Ginny's first year… His second. Oh! Comprehension dawned with blinding clarity. "The diary?" Ron said stupidly.

"It wasn't a diary, Ron," she spat. "It was a horcrux. It was part of Voldemort's soul. I spent the whole year spilling my deepest secrets to Tom Riddle, giving him my heart. And nobody but me even remembers that it happened." She folded her arms tightly and her chin fell to her chest. It was classic Ginny defensiveness.

Ron was struck by the sight of his sister. He'd seen her close up like that since she was three. The time he'd stolen biscuits from the cupboard and they'd eaten them under her bed, their mum had found the crumbs and demanded to know how she'd reached the top level of shelves. She'd closed up like this and said nothing. When Fred died, everyone had come past giving condolences and after half an hour she'd stopped crying and closed up, giving each new person a cold glare that sent them skittering on their way. When he picked on her about not being old enough to start school yet, she closed up. And he could feel the guilt at her pain settling in his stomach.

"Gin," he said, reaching over to rest his hand on her shoulder, "I remember. I'm really sorry that it was so much worse for you than me… I've really got no idea what it was like. I wish I could make it better."

Ginny grabbed her brother's hand, tears running down her nose and dripping off. Ron took that as a positive sign and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her shaking, trying to hold in the sobs. Long minutes passed as Ron held her tightly, listening to her sniff and feeling her holding in by pure stubborn force the cries that ached to get out. He rocked her a little as she buried her head in his shoulder.

"Ginny, it's ok to feel," Ron said quietly into his sister's hair. "It's bloody scary and it's confusing; but it's living. And you do feel: you feel loads of stuff. You're scared of feeling for Malfoy, and that's ok. Merlin, I'm glad you're scared of feeling for Malfoy. But I want you to be happy. No, more than that I want you to be… healthy? Whole? Complete? I don't know the right word. Content, maybe. Even if it is with Malfoy. I promise I'll even try to be… polite.

"Gin," he pulled back to look into her face. Her cheeks were red, but she'd stopped crying and met his eyes. "I love you. You're the best sister ever, really. Despite unannounced shopping trips that bore me senseless. Despite dumping me in this marriage act law business up to my ears and matching me up with Pansy. And if Malfoy can't see that, then he's the one who's missing out. You're clever, you're determined and you're a real looker. If he's not begging to marry you within the month, then he must be as blind and stupid as I think he is. But I hope he's not," he said glumly, "because you seem to have your heart set on him.

"Now," he said, fetching her pillow off the ground, "get some sleep. What if he turns up at breakfast tomorrow?"

Ginny chuckled half-heartedly but took the pillow Ron gave her and flopped down on her bed. "Thanks Ron," she said hoarsely. "You're the best. And," she said, making Ron pause in the doorway, "it was Pansy's suggestion to pair the two of you up."

Ron gave her a startled smile. Ginny smiled back and waved him to bed. She didn't cry again that night.