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"Draco?"

Malfoy whipped round, surprised and yet delighted to see Hermione. He held his arms out, with an endearing look that had her giggling. She pretended to walk away, so he had to run after her. He slid his arms round her waist, whispering in to her ear, "I thought you couldn't come tonight?"

Her face clouded momentarily, and she took his hand, leading him to a nearby bench.

"I've just taken Ginny to the hospital wing,"

He had expected something along those lines, but nothing that bad.

"What's wrong with her?"

Hermione shrugged, but her eyes were sad, "She has just lost the will to carry on, or so it seems. It's like she has sunk in to depression suddenly, but nobody knows what could have caused it,"

He put his arm about her shoulder, pulling her closer. His face was bleak as he listened.

"She just sat on the window sill, for hours. She didn't speak, or eat, or sleep. She just stayed there."

She looked up at him, "I'm sorry, this is boring you,"

"No, it's fine if you want to talk,"

"Well," She shifted closer, "It's nice to have someone to listen,"

She checked that there was no one coming before whispering to him, "Does Blaise have anything to do with this?"

"How do you mean?"

"Something has happened, and that seemed to be the most logical explanation,"

"I'll ask him later,"

"Thank you,"

He lifted her chin, kissing her gently. Surprisingly, she pulled away.

"Sorry Draco, I'm just not in the mood tonight,"

"OK, it's OK,"

But, he reflected grimly, it obviously wasn't.

***

Ginny lay in between the cold white sheets, the empty, sterile room around her reflecting how she felt. Madam Pomfrey had bustled around her, with hot drinks and a thermometer until it was clear she was not going to speak.

Then she had shuffled off in her carpet slippers and dressing gown, leaving Ginny alone.

Alone.

The next morning, all of Gryffindor knew about Ginny, and the news spread quickly throughout the school. What everyone wanted to know was what had caused her sudden spiral. There were several theories, as was to have been expected, but none came even close.

When the rumours reached Blaise himself, he was surprised at the sadness that coursed through him. Shaking his head, he went down to breakfast with Malfoy, telling himself that he was being foolish. Malfoy was downhearted as well for some unfathomable reason, and Blaise wondered at the affect this girls collapse was having on everyone around him.

Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, he caught the gaze of Granger, who looked at him accusingly for a moment before ducking her curly head.

What was going on?

***

"Ginny?"

Harry peeped round the door at her, shocked at her pale appearance.

"I brought you some chocolate, and Hermione and Ron are coming up in a minute,"

There was a small sound from the bed, which he took to mean thank you.

"No problem, is it OK if I sit here for a little bit?"

She nodded her head, ever so slightly.

"Thanks," he dragged a chair over to the bedside and sitting, down, he proceeded to tell her every funny story he could think of. Like when Ron tried to stop a goal, and instead the Quaffle knocked him off his broom or the time Hermione had woken everyone up screaming because her favourite book had become infested with maggots.

She listened, glad he was not asking her to talk, and his kindness, and willingness to help her gradually dawned upon her. She studied him, noticed how tenderly he looked at her and thought how much he cared.

It warmed her frozen soul.