Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however have one thing to say to all of my readers. Don't get sick! It sucks! Wash your hands often and stop picking your nose before shaking people's hands.
Yay! Not only did I get a new chapter up so soon, but it's the longest chapter in a while. I promise I will try and keep them long from now on. I won't keep you from this chapter from much longer but I wish to thank everyone who reviewed. You give me a reason to live!
Without further ado:
Chapter 21
Ginny POV
"I-I couldn't… so horrible… they expected… a-an unforgivable… first year!" cried Dean as he stumbled into the common room late one night about two weeks into school. "I couldn't… I couldn't…"
People rushed to the incoherent Dean, leading him to the nearest chair where he collapsed. He had just been at his first detention with Amycus Carrow, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, though with him teaching it was more of just Dark Arts. People bombarded him with questions as he sat, fairly dazed, with a horrified look on his face.
"What happened?"
"What do you mean by an unforgivable?"
"You couldn't what?"
"What did he make you do?"
"What the hell did he do to you?"
Everyone seemed to talk at once. Finally though I couldn't stand it any longer. "Be quiet you guys! Can you see he's in shock? Give him room to breath." I shouted loud enough to get everybody's attention. I then knelt in front of Dean and spoke softly, asking him, "What happened Dean? What did they do?"
Somebody handed him a glass of water and he took it without a word. After taking a sip from the glass he looked at me and said, "They told me to use the Cruciatus curse on a first year who had also gotten a detention. They did it to me first and then said I had to do it to him. I couldn't put the poor kid through what I had been through. It was too horrible! So they beat me and then the kid."
He had several nasty cuts on his face and a burse forming around his right eye. His knuckles were also a bit bloody. It seemed he fought back. I couldn't help but feel anguish for my ex-boyfriend. "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" I asked softly. The common room was filled with horrified murmurs. But they let me talk, my natural leadership taking over. Mum had always said I was a born leader, but it only seemed to come out in crisis.
Dean shook his head "I'm fine," he said calmly. His voice had grown stronger and he sat up a bit more. "Just a bit of a shock. I'll be ok." He reached down and hugged me for a second before letting go and standing up. The crowd dispersed as he went upstairs, followed closely by his best friend, Seamus.
And that was what it was like for most students as weeks went by. The Carrows were put in charge of all punishments. Teachers were supposed to refer all detentions to them, but usually didn't if they could avoid it. It was hardest on Gryffindors and DA members, we were usually the ones to speak our minds and get landed in the Carrows detention. The Cruciatus curse was a common thing nowadays but somehow I always seemed to avoid it, even with all the havoc I started. The person that was punished the most was Neville. He was behind everything we did. We would do our best to make the lives of the Carrows miserable.
But inside I was a different person than I was to the eyes of the world. Sure I still had the anger towards the Carrows and Snape, but that was not what plagued my every thought. My eyes would unwillingly find Draco at mealtimes and in the halls. I still loved him, no matter how much I hated that, no matter how much he hated me. He was one of the prized people. The Carrows loved him and, as Head Boy, he landed more than a few students into their detention. It seemed to be mostly Gryffindors.
Nothing seemed to have changed in his attitude towards me now than what it had been before our relationship last year. He would taunt me in the halls like he did everyone else. His icy glare had more than once been directed towards me as he walked past with his friends in the hall.
I did my best to ignore him; it hurt too much to do much of anything else. I couldn't let him know I still loved him. But somehow I couldn't find my anger towards him. How can you hate someone when you love them so much? I cried myself to sleep still most every night.
Draco POV
Hogwarts had always been a safe haven for as long back as anyone could remember. This year, it wasn't. With Dumbledore gone, The Dark Lord had Snape become headmaster and appointed brother and sister Death Eaters as teachers. Hogwarts was a living hell and getting worse as the school year progressed. To make matters worse, my feelings for Ginny never seemed to dim. I was hopeful that being at school and around lots of other people, I would find peace from my emotions.
But it seemed that having that was more than slightly impossible. Peacefulness was the farthest thing from how this school year could be described, and this was only the beginning. The Carrows were doling out punishment without hesitation to anyone they thought deserved it, or just because they wanted to. I was safe from them, seeing as I was one of them, but I was expected to play my part too.
Being Head Boy was different for me than it should have been. I was in charge of scouting out the troublemakers. It seemed the Gryffindors decided to take a stand against the Carrows. Secretly I admired it but I was forced to send them to the Carrows. Every time though, I refused to send Ginny. I wasn't obvious about it though.
I couldn't make myself put her through that, whether it is pain caused by me or because of me. I knew what they did to those who go detentions, and I couldn't, wouldn't, put Ginny through that. But the fact she was in on most all of the pranks and stunts her friends did probably a good thing. She seemed to be back to normal almost.
Whenever I saw her, there was an unmistakable sadness in her eyes that told me she was merely hiding her true emotions from her friends. I longed to hold her, to kiss her, and make that sadness disappear. But it was constantly reminded why I couldn't do that. The Carrows would hurt her more than they already did.
But I did everything I could to keep them from hurting her. I had so far been able, if not to keep them from hurting her, at least to keep them from using the Cruciatus curse on her. I had, more than once, confounded them to make them forget. Often I just distracted them with a message from someone or simply to flatter them. When I did that they usually forgot about Ginny. As far as I knew, they didn't suspect anything. And I planned on keeping it that way. Nobody would know that I really did love Ginny Weasley.
Ginny POV
Months passed and the weather outside was frigid and Christmas decorations were started to be put up. It was the first of December and it had been so very long since I had last spoken to Draco. I grew more and more depressed as the days passed by. It was almost a year since Draco had given me the necklace, the one still around my neck. It had been almost a year since he had told me he intended to make me a Malfoy.
To alleviate my depression I put more vigor into helping Neville with his torture of the Carrows and Snape. More than once I was put into detention. Somehow, I always got really lucky though and they wouldn't hurt me as much as other. Things always seemed to come up and they would leave me be, off to do something else.
I was very bored, sitting in the library amongst the towers of books working on my History of Magic essay. It was due first thing in the morning and I still needed six inches. I sighed loudly, earning a piercing glare from the stern librarian, as I glanced back at the book and turned the page. I scanned the first page and dipped my quill in my ink and began to write again. History of Magic was the most uselessly and boring subject known to wizard kind. Worse even than Divination.
I was just starting on my final paragraph when I cold hand gripped my shoulder hard. I spun around to see Amycus Carrow sneering down at me. He pulled me out of my chair and pulled me from the library, my books and essay all but forgotten. In my attempt to finish my essay, I had forgotten about my detention with the Carrows that evening. I knew I was in trouble now. I felt a wand against my back and one of them muttered a spell before pulling me off down the corridor.
No, this couldn't be happening! I tried to scream but nothing came out, they had put a silencing charm on me. I felt silent tears run down my face as I was dragged into the chamber coming off Amycus Carrows class room. Both he and his sister were cackling evilly. I had been forced there to serve a detention but this time, but unlike the ones before, there had been no interruption to save me.
"Not going to get out of it this time you blood-traitor," Alecto said in her high annoying voice. I was thrown against the wall and before I had a chance to catch my breath, I was stuck with the most painful feeling in the world. It felt like my very bones were on fire, burning me from the inside out. My screams were gone before they could make a sound. I wished for death, it would be a relief.
As Alecto cackled, her wand pointed at me, Amycus used a silencing charm on the room. "I much prefer hearing them scream," he said to his sister as he removed the silencing charm from me. My screams filled the room as I writhed in agony on the floor. Alecto finally released the spell.
I lay crying hysterically on the floor as Amycus approached me slowly. But before he raised his wand, a knock sounded from the door of the classroom. Alecto sighed overdramatically and stocked out of the room. I heard the door open and a voice lilted in. I couldn't tell who it was but Amycus turned toward the door with an exasperatedly mad expression.
I took a deep breath, it was now or never. I quickly judged the distance to the classroom door leading to the hallway, to freedom. I jumped up quickly and dashed out the side room's door. I heard Amycus scream a curse at me and I swerved slightly to the left. It missed me by an inch and I was close to the corridor. Alecto was standing at the door though and I would have to pass her or I would be in for worse punishment then before.
She screeched and grabbed for me as I dashed closely past her. Her hand closed around the back of my robes. I heard a rip as I struggled and my clock ripped in half. I sprinted down the corridor, the very angry Carrows coming after me. I was on the third floor and my mind worked quickly to remember any hidden passages on this floor.
Up on my left was a turn in the corridor and passed that on the right of the hall was a tapestry that had hidden passage leading down to the first floor. If I could make it there, I could get to the first floor and use the secret passage behind the suit of armor to the fifth floor and from there I would probably have lost them long enough to get to up to the common room.
I skidded around the corner and dashed behind the tapestry. I paused long enough to catch my breath a bit and hear the Carrows pass my hiding place and race down the corridor. I turned and fled down the passage. I came out from behind a tapestry and rand down the first floor corridor. I was nearly to the suit of armor when I ran into someone. I sprawled on the floor, tears still flowing down my face. I was sure I still looked panicked.
I looked up, intending to apologize for running into the person in front of me before making a break for the suit of armor, but my voice died in my throat as I looked up into the confused, silvery eyes of Draco Malfoy.
Well, there you have it! What will Draco do? The Carrows are hot on Ginny's trail and will Draco risk being found out, revile is feeling for Ginny, and help her? Or will he simply turn away, and pretend he didn't see her? Or will he give her back to the Carrows?
Yay for cliffhangers! All will be answered in the next chapter. hehehe! I will try and get it up ASAP but I can't promise anything. But just know that the more reviews I get, the faster I will write and post the next chapter. *hint hint*
And remember, a happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!!!