Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my name isn't J. K. Rowling...which means that I own nothing. While you guys read, I'll go cry in a corner about the fact that I didn't create this marvelous world and these amazing characters.
"Okay team, are you ready?" I asked.
Today was our first Quidditch game and to say I was nervous was an understatement. Usually I wouldn't be nervous but with this new team, I wasn't too sure how they would hold up against the ruthless Slytherins.
Philip and Callum were nervously fiddling with their Quidditch robes while Serena looked like she was about to vomit. Peakes and Coote both looked calm while Demelza looked like this game would just be a walk in the park.
"Let's go flatten Slytherin!" laughed Demelza.
I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Let's go team!"
I led the team onto the Quidditch Pitch to a chorus of applause and boos. Madame Hooch stood in the middle of the pitch with the Slytherin team already assembled around her. As we approached the center of the pitch, I had to hide my surprise from registering on my face when I spotted the familiar forms of Draco and Blaise, both leaning on their brooms.
I hadn't heard that Draco had returned to the Slytherin Quidditch team and I hadn't even heard that Blaise had tried out for the team. Some Quidditch Captain I was. Oliver would have known they were both on the team before they even knew.
"Captains," said Madame Hooch, gesturing between me and Urquhart , the Slytherin Captain. "Shake hands."
Urquhart looked like a troll and was almost two heads taller than me but I held my back straight as I faced him and stuck out my hand. He gripped my hand tightly and it felt like he was trying to crush my fingers but I refused to let the pain flash across my face.
"Mount your brooms!" instructed Madame Hooch.
I took a few steps away from Madam Hooch, mounted my broom and leaned slightly towards Serena on my right.
"Yeah Captain?" asked Serena, keeping her focus locked onto Madam Hooch.
"Make sure you catch that Snitch before Draco Malfoy does."
Serena nodded her blonde head and gripped her broom tighter. I felt slightly bad for putting so much pressure on her when it was her first ever game but there was no way I was going to lose my first Quidditch game as Captain to Slytherin; with Draco on the Slytherin team again so less.
"On the whistle…three…two…one…"
At the sound of the shrill whistle, everyone kicked off from the hard ground and zoomed up into the air.
"And Vaisey of Slytherin immediately takes possession of the Quaffle," announced a booming male voice. I felt a small sinking in my stomach that Luna wasn't the commentator anymore. "He's flying up that pitch with Robins of Gryffindor on his tail…will she take the Quaffle…and she does! Gryffindor now in possession."
I rolled in midair to avoid a Bludger aimed at me and swerved around Vaisey as I tried to keep even with Demelza and Philip as we flew down the pitch.
"This is Ginny Weasley's first year as Captain and she's had to fill three vacated positions on her team," the commentator was saying. "And there's a nice pass from Robins to Levski, a new Chaser to the Gryffindor team."
Philip almost dropped the Quaffle as Blaise knocked into his side. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought I saw Blaise flash me a wicked smirk before moving to knock Philip again. This time, Philip fumbled the Quaffle and I dove down and scooped it up before Slytherin could take possession.
"Weasley now with the Quaffle…nice pass to Robins…oh, and the Quaffle is taken by Urquhart," the guy continued to announce. "Nice Beater work by Peakes of Gryffindor…Levski takes possession of the Quaffle again…will Harper of Slytherin block it?"
Philip was zigzagging up the pitch with Demelza and I both on either side of him to block any Slytherins from knocking into him again. Once close enough to the goal posts with only Harper in the way, Philip turned slightly and raised the Quaffle high into the air.
"And there's Philip Levski…Harper was upgraded from Seeker to Keeper this year so let's see how he does…GRYFFINDOR SCORE! Ten to zero!"
The game was fast paced and ruthless. The Slytherins had no problem with knocking into us mercilessly or aiming Bludgers at our heads. They even went so far as to aim both Bludger's at Serena while she was hovering around their goal posts and it was only by the fast reflexes of a Seeker that she was able to avoid both of them narrowly. Vaisey had thrown the Quaffle so hard that when Callum tried to catch it, the Quaffle slammed into his stomach and knocked the breath completely from Callum.
The Slytherins were ruthless but they were also good players, I had to grudgingly admit. The Slytherins scored three times in a row but both Demelza and I were able to score respectively which evened things out. Things were getting heated as I scored for a second time and Blaise was able to score twice more.
"I think Beckett, the new Gryffindor Seeker, as seen the Snitch! Yes she has and so has Malfoy of Slytherin! Who is going to get the Snitch!?"
Despite myself, I slowed down enough so I could focus on what Serena was doing. Both her and Draco were in a dive by the Gryffindor goal posts and I found myself crossing my gloved fingers. I had faith in Serena, plus, she was ahead of Draco in the dive.
"Beckett has quite a lead on Malfoy…will Malfoy catch up…and I think she's got it…YES! Serena Beckett catches the Snitch for Gryffindor! GRYFFINDOR WIN!"
I yelled in victory as I watched Serena hovering over the pitch with a wide smile on her face and the Snitch held quivering in her hand.
"We won!" Demelza yelled into my ear as she pulled me into a midair hug. I clapped her on the back and we drifted back down to the ground.
The team converged into a giant group hug on the pitch and we only let go of each other when Cootes suggested we change and go up to the castle to eat because he was starving.
"That was a good game Weasley."
After the Quidditch match, I had eaten lunch with the team and then went up to the dormitories to change. After putting on a comfy sweater and jeans, I had grabbed my bag of homework and announced to Florence and Evanna I was meeting Adrian in the library to do some homework.
I stiffened and turned towards the familiar voice. Lounging in the doorway of an empty classroom was Astoria.
"What do you want?" I asked, straightening the strap of my bag and folding my arms over my chest.
"Just to congratulate you on a well-played Quidditch game," she said, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
"Thanks," I muttered and made to turn away. I had taken three steps before Astoria spoke again.
"I'm sorry you know."
"Sorry for what?" I asked without turning around.
"For how I acted over the summer."
First Draco and now Astoria was apologizing for how she had acted over the summer. What was with those two?
"Why?" I asked.
Without turning around, I knew Astoria well enough to know that her brows were probably furrowed and she was most likely readying herself for an argument. "Why what?"
"Why are you sorry?"
"Can you just turn around Ginny and talk to me?"
I sighed and turned to face her. Without knowing why, I found that I was happy that I had guessed right that she had her eyebrows furrowed in a frown.
"What is there to talk about?" I asked. "I mean, you made it pretty clear that we aren't friends or even acquaintances."
"What I did and said over the summer…well that wasn't really me," she said slowly, like it was painful for her to say it.
Now it was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean that wasn't you? Do you have an evil twin or something?"
Astoria rolled her eyes and stepped back from the doorway. She gestured inside with a hopeful expression. "Can we just sit and talk in private? I promise I won't pull any dirty Death Eater tricks. I just want to talk."
I knew it was probably stupid and I was just setting myself up for a harder fall but I followed her into the classroom anyway. She closed the door behind and sank into an empty desk. I followed suit and picked the desk beside hers to sit on top of.
"So what do you mean, it wasn't you," I asked.
Astoria sighed and fiddled with the hem of her worn sweater. "I was drunk on power that night. A week before that, I had just been recruited into the Death Eater ranks. I felt more powerful than I ever had before."
"So you crashed my brother's wedding?" I asked, trying to keep the anger from my voice. If I wanted answers, I had to keep my temper.
"No, that was already planned before I joined the Death Eater ranks," she explained, looking up at me with eyes pleading with me to understand. "I felt like, now that I had become a Death Eater, everything I had done before that point didn't matter. The people I had met and the memories I had made didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was being a Death Eater. I mean, I was still friends with Draco because he was also a Death Eater."
It took me a few moments to process that completely honest sounding answer. I was shocked that she was opening up about this to me and despite myself, I started to think that we could maybe repair our friendship if she continued being honest.
"That doesn't make sense though," I said after a moment. "You said that your friends and memories no longer mattered yet you're still with your group of Slytherin friends."
"That's what I'm trying to explain," she said. "After that night where we destroyed the wedding, I kind of took a look at what I had done so far as a Death Eater. Seeing you had kind of shocked me. I mean, I knew it was your older brother's wedding we had crashed but I guess I wasn't really ready to see you after I had dismissed our friendship."
From my perch on top of the desk, I could look down at Astoria. From this angle, she looked a lot younger than the girl who almost towers over me when we stood side by side. She looked almost vulnerable as she tried explaining things to me.
"I realized that my friendships and memories were still important, even if I was a Death Eater. I've proven my worth to the Dark Lord and I will prove it again at a moment's notice. But I also want my friends Ginny," said Astoria.
"But you're a Death Eater," I said, shaking my head.
"That didn't seem to bother you last year," she pointed out. I could hear the underlying anger in her voice and I realized I wasn't the only one reigning in her temper.
"You're right," I whispered, more to myself than to Astoria.
I had become such a hypocrite. Here I was, ready to throw Astoria's proffered olive branch out the window just because she was a Death Eater. She had practically been a Death Eater last year and we were the best of friends then. At least if I was friends with her now, I would know not to get mixed into any of their schemes. I would be prepared and I could bolt if need be.
No one I was close with would be happy with a renewed friendship with the Slytherins. To them, they would take it as I was going over to the Dark side…which I didn't think I was doing. But I was tough. I could take any ridicule thrown at me for my choice of friends and I knew that my old Slytherin friends would try to protect me if anyone got too aggressive about it.
"You're right," I repeated louder so Astoria could hear me. "I didn't care last year and I still don't care this year."
"What? Really?" asked Astoria, perking up and smiling a true smile at me.
I smiled back and I could feel the warmth of renewed friendship settle around us. "Let's start this year over and pretend the incident over the summer never happened."
"That's the greatest idea I've heard yet," she said, bouncing up and throwing an arm over my shoulder. "I've got the funniest story to tell you about when I walked in on Blaise and Daphne."
With the return of Astoria's friendship and the first Quidditch match of the year under my belt, I felt like I was finally getting over my dark period.
Astoria told me that the Slytherin gang wanted to hang out with me again but I told her that I wasn't ready for that. So most of the time the next week, it was just Astoria and I sitting in the back of the library, attempting to do homework but mostly it was just us talking.
I wanted to see and talk to Draco again most of all but I was scared. Now that I finally realized how deep my feelings ran, I was scared that I would blurt it all out and he would run, leaving me more broken hearted than I had been over the summer. Despite all that, I enjoyed myself looking over at him in the Great Hall when I thought he wasn't looking.
I was definitely perking up and Mum, Bill and Charlie all expressed their relief that I was getting over whatever had been afflicting me. Both Florence and Evanna knew that something more must have happened to me to make me so much more cheerful but they never pressed for information.
I was very late. I had slept in after studying late into the night for a Transfiguration quiz and now I was late for Muggle Studies. I fixed my tie as I dashed down the empty corridors, my bag flapping against my back.
Once in front of the classroom door, I paused to fix my wild looking hair and then eased the door open. I had hoped to slip into the classroom unnoticed by Alecto and I probably would have except for the creaking of the door.
"Ah, Miss Weasley," drawled Alecto. She stood in front of the classroom, her arm raised like she had paused in the middle of explaining something with arm movements. "So nice of you to join us."
Every fiber of my being was screaming to look down in shame and maybe Alecto would let me off easy. But I was Ginny Weasley, not some shy little girl. So instead, I squared my shoulders and looked Alecto straight in the eyes.
"I would say sorry, but I'm not really," I said, shrugging slightly. "See, I just figured I had more important things to do than come to Muggle Studies."
From my peripheral vision I could see Evanna shaking her head while hiding her eyes behind her hand and Florence looking at me with eyes wide with panic. I could also see Zane and Daphne sitting on the opposite side of them room and they were both looking at me with a mixture of awe and fear.
Alecto's eyes—already bug like—seemed to pop out of her head even more in anger. She took a deep breath and then she smirked at me.
"I think you're in the need of detention Miss Weasley. Be at dungeon four every night for the rest of this week at seven sharp."
I could feel my face pale and Alecto's smirk grew. I had mouthed off without thinking and now I would have to endure five nights of torture. Alecto turned back to the board and I shuffled my way over to Florence and Evanna.
"You okay Ginny?" asked Evanna as I pulled out my textbook.
"I'm fine," I murmured, pulling out my parchment, ink and quill.
"That was really stupid," Florence hissed under her breath.
I refused to look at either of them as I started jotting down the notes scrawled on the board. "I know it was."
I could sense their worried looks directed at me until, mercifully, they turned back to their notes and continued writing.
My detentions with Alecto were in every way, torturous. I missed the detentions where we had to write lines or go into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Instead, Alecto took my wand and I was made to stand in the middle of the dungeon floor and let Alecto use the Cruciatus Curse on me. Thankfully, I managed to get through four nights and I only had one more to go.
"So this is your last detention tonight Miss Weasley," drawled Alecto in her wheezy voice. "Have you learned your lesson yet?"
I just stood still, my face stony.
"Apparently not," she cackled. She took a certain glee in my stubbornness. "Crucio!"
Just like the four nights before, I felt like thousands of white-hot knives were stabbing deep into my flesh. The pain built in my head as I hunched forward, attempting to stay on my feet. I was biting my lip so hard to stop the screams from ripping out of my throat that I could taste blood in my mouth.
My legs were shaking so badly that I fell forward on my hands and knees with more stabbing pains. And then the curse was lifted and I felt like I could breathe again. I was covered in sweat and I felt extremely weak. Being exposed to the Cruciatus Curse for multiple nights in a row had really weakened me, both mentally and physically.
"Had enough Miss Weasley?" taunted Alecto.
Yet, despite how weak I knew I was, I refused to let Alecto know she was winning.
I smirked up at her from my spot on the stone floor, my hair plastered to my sweaty skin. "Not even close."
"Crucio!"
This time, I wasn't able to keep the screams at bay as I hunched in on myself. My screams were bloodcurdling and they seemed to egg Alecto on even more. I felt like I was getting cut apart, one bloody piece at a time and all I could do was scream.
"You just have to tell me when Miss Weasley," said Alecto, lifting the curse to give her some time to taunt me.
I stayed hunched in on myself on the hard floor. My hands were gripping my torso and my crimson hair fell forward to hide my face from Alecto. I would not let her see how much she was getting to me.
"When will you ever learn Miss Weasley? Crucio!"
The torture continued on for what felt like days. It was probably only for an hour more but to me, I had lost all sense of time in the sea of pain I was trying to stay afloat in. Alecto's breaks to sneer at me became longer and I had a hunch it was just because she didn't want me passing out during the torture. She wanted me to be conscious for all of it.
Finally, the moment came where she dismissed me. I was laying curled on my side and she threw my wand next to me and strolled out of the dungeon room without a backwards glance.
I don't know how much time passed before I managed to sit up and slip my wand into my pocket with shaking fingers. I had to crawl over to a desk in the corner and use the desk to pull myself to my feet since I was so weak. I used the wall to keep my balance on my shaking legs as I made my way to the dungeon door.
"Weasley?"
I looked up from the floor, not in the mood to deal with any Slytherins, and met the stormy grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"Weasley? What are you doing down here?"
"I just finished detention," I said, gritting my teeth as I bent down to grab my bag I had left by the door.
"Oh god, are you okay?" Draco asked, moving forward and grabbing me under my elbows.
"Why do you care?" I asked, trying and failing to pull my weak arms out of Draco's grasp.
"Because I know what the Carrows do for detentions," he said.
"I'll be fine," I said, smiling softly at him. God, I wanted so badly for him to envelope me in his arms and tell me that everything would be okay.
And then, to my utter surprise, he did just that. He pulled me towards him and wrapped his strong arms around me. My head fit just under his chin and I let my arms snake around his waist. I pressed my nose against his school vest and breathed in his scent which I had been devoid of for too long. Draco squeezed me tighter against him and then my legs gave out but he didn't seem to care that he was holding me up.
But he wasn't just holding me up so I wouldn't fall. Draco couldn't know it but after that ordeal, I was so close to breaking down in his arms. But he just held me tight and I felt like he was also holding me together. He was preventing me from shattering.
"Draco," I mumbled into his vest. I knew then, that he needed to know everything I felt for him. He deserved to know and if he left, then I would have to deal with it.
"Ginny?" he breathed into my hair.
"I need to tell you something."
Review guys! Please, please review!
So sorry that this one took a really long time. If I'm honest, I just wasn't that into my fanfic for a while but I'm slowly getting back into it so expect more updates sooner rather than later!
Anyways, I feel like a lot happened this chapter so please review and tell me what you guys think! Feedback from my darling readers is always appreciated :)
