Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the content and material of Harry Potter. This story takes place in Harry's Sixth Year, with NO horcruxes involved, therefore the events from HBP and DH will not interfere with this plot.
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Chapter Thirty-Six – Only Ten More Days
It took all of her willpower to appear calm and panic-free as Luna linked their arms together to keep her steady as they walked to their second class, a touching gesture that left Ginny wondering how perceptive the blonde witch really was. None of the other students seemed to take exaggerated notice of her broken movements and near stumbling gait but it didn't matter - she felt as if every single one of them were watching her with bug eyes, scrutinizing and gossiping about little Ginny Weasley and the hordes of blokes after her.
Luckily her first two classes of the day were with the Ravenclaws and she had quickly become eternally grateful for Luna's friendship and constant presence. Ginny had been in a daze for most of Muggle Studies, her eyes unfocused and her body immobile as the new Professor, an Ida Stylls, pranced around the class and gave a lecture in similar fashion to Professor Trelawney. The ringing of the shrill bell at the end class jolted her from her hypnotized state and Luna was already standing at her side to move them onto Potions.
On some level she knew she should be flattered by the poem, and somewhere in the recesses of her mind she was, but she was also worried that someone had been tailing her every move for the past four and a half years and was just now finding her actions enticing enough to reach out to her. A swirling ball of irritation for her own blindness to the world and anxiousness for who the sender really was bubbled in her stomach, causing unpleasant chills to sizzle across her jumpy nerves as she glanced every which way. Luna was still vigilantly holding onto her and her weight moving forward was the only thing keeping Ginny from ditching class to hide herself away in a remote corner of the castle.
It was just a stupid poem. An unorganized grouping of elementary stanzas that could have been put together by anyone. The parchment was still burning her skin where her fingers were clutching it tightly but Ginny refused to let it go or put it away in fear that someone would see it and ask about its contents.
No - she had to guard this missive very carefully or else the newest gossip around the school would be about her teasing ways instead of her altercation with Draco.
"It's going to be alright," Luna impassively stated as she led Ginny lower into the castle's depths. "You mustn't worry about an anonymous letter."
"You haven't read it," Ginny tersely responded, her voice shaking with nervous and angry fear. "And there's so much more to it than it just being a letter," she added in a breathy whisper that was only meant for herself to hear.
"Like what?" Luna responded lightly, her ears having apparently picked up on the muttered sentence.
"Everything else that has happened," she answered, her fiery curls splashing over her shoulders as she hurriedly glanced behind her.
"Like what?" Luna replied, stressing her words while maintaining a dreamy expression that gave Ginny the hope that her friend was genuinely concerned while trying to garner the answers she needed for everything to make sense.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she responded bitterly, her tone belying her stony mask by hinting at the quiver in her voice.
"If you're not ready - you don't have to tell me," Luna stated, her words matching her slow pace as she continued to drag Ginny closer to the dungeons.
With each step they took the redheaded witch became slightly more anxious and several times her feet tripped over the uneven edges of the stone floor as she struggled to keep going.
"If I knew who it was from -" she began in a trembling voice, her words relaying the prickling fear she was working to hide.
"Does it matter? Someone sent you a love poem - doesn't that effort and bravery count for anything?"
"I suppose so," Ginny mumbled speculatively, her arms now shaking as they eased down a short stairwell closest to the Potions classroom.
After receiving such a random piece of post she really did not feel like venturing into the dungeons where her most recent problems had erupted. On the contrary, Ginny felt like entering the wet and dark lower floors could possibly hold terrifying opportunities for her to be trapped once more by Draco.
Could he be waiting for her to come onto his turf before approaching her again? Was he biding his time until she was just over his doorstep and within reach to taunt her once more?
But it was not his handwriting on the note. That didn't matter though, he could have easily had someone else write it. The wording was unlike Draco's normal speech but he also could have had someone else write the entire thing for him.
Or maybe it wasn't Draco at all.
The thought loomed at the back of her mind, hovering in uncertainty that caused her to chew on a fingernail as Luna steered her through the doorway into the surprisingly bright Potions lab. Professor Snape was standing next to his lectern with his long arms behind his back and his roving coffee eyes scanned over Ginny before looking at the other students. Though she normally sat with Colin and Luna sat with Romilda, the blonde witch took the wizard's seat at the back left table as the dark and curly haired Ravenclaw shot loathing daggers with her narrowed gaze.
She pushed the uncomfortable wooden stool back for Ginny to sit, pulling over her own seat as she unpacked both their book bags and prepared their notebooks for the lecture. Luna's movements were as light as a feather on the wind and she hummed softly while her hands worked quickly.
"You don't have to - I can do that," Ginny remarked weakly, her response a moment too late as her words lacked the confidence that usually accompanied her sense of honesty.
Luna shook her head, her hands raising softly as she smiled peacefully. "Tell me about the letter. What did it say?" She scooted her stool closer as the remaining empty seats were filled and the rumble of chatter in the classroom died down somewhat.
Ginny shrugged her shoulders, her defensive empathy showing itself as she tossed the rolled up scroll across the counter. "Read it," she hoarsely whispered and turned her attention to the front of the room where Professor Snape was now standing behind his podium and silently calling for their attention.
Luna's blue eyes scanned over the abysmally written poem and thought she should talk to Blaise about his creative skills. She was impressed with the anonymity of his wording though and smirked lightly when she read the taunting promise of more notes at the end.
"You think it's funny?" Ginny hissed with a scowl, her head hastily twisting to see if Snape had noticed their whispering during his lecture on some antidote or healing draft.
"No," Luna replied with her eyes pinned to her open textbook while her pink lips suppressed a smile. "It's sweet. Who do you think sent it?"
She had not an inkling of an idea of her relationship with Draco so there was not really a possibility of her confessing that she thought it could be from the Slytherin. That was not exactly a conversation she could have under her breath and with scattered whispers during a Potions class. Ginny trusted Luna implicitly but there are some things that you can't tell even your closest confidants. Her tete-a-tete with Draco was something that she had to hold close to her chest.
"I don't know," she said in a low whisper as she turned her head to scratch behind her ear. "Might have been Dean - or Harry - or someone else," she added as she pretended to dig through her bag for a small pot of ink that was sitting in the opening of the satchel.
"You must have a suspicion of who it is," Luna prodded, her voice barely dropping as she placed her chin in her open palm and blankly watched the Potions Master pace back and forth across the front of the narrow classroom.
"Not in the slightest," Ginny replied, her answer sounded completely sarcastic to her own ears but she knew Luna heard it differently - probably with more wariness than defeated deceit.
"Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood -" Professor Snape suddenly cut in, his lengthy shadow covering their table as both witches looked up to the pale features of their teacher. "Would you care to share your conversation with the rest of the class?" He questioned rhetorically. "No? May I continue with my lecture then - or are you both already completely aware of the material we are covering today?" His dark eyebrows rose with each silky word he uttered and without a doubt Ginny could see a small change in the Potions Master - undoubtedly from his time spent as a new father to a teenager. He was less rigid, his motions more fluid as he acted as if they would actually respond to his statements.
"As I was saying - snake's fangs are commonly used for antidotes of all ranges. . ."
Luna picked up her peacock feather quill and scribbled something on the corner of a blank piece of paper. When she shoved the notebook towards Ginny, the redhead glanced sideways at the flowy handwriting.
You know it's not a Slytherin. Hufflepuff is unlikely as well.
Picking up her own owl quill Ginny pulled the spiral overtop her textbook and scratched a reply.
Who are you suggesting then?
Professor Snape eyed their table as he slowed his speech and rubbed his spidery hands together. Luna appeared to be paying attention to his near monotone presentation and Ginny began doodling on her own notebook, after all she didn't want to act any different than she normally did in his class.
It could be from anyone I guess. In the other Houses that is.
Ginny rolled her eyes as if that was obvious and continued sketching, her fiery head down and one arm covering their notes as Snape passed by their table, eyeing both witches with open suspicion. He dismissed them from sitting a moment later with a biting command to begin brewing the potion he had scrawled on the chalkboard with the person next to them. He failed to comment on Luna's switched seat, sighing loudly at the teenagers disregard for his classroom rules, and turned back to his desk with a swoosh of his trailing black robes.
Once Ginny returned from gathering the necessary ingredients from the student's storeroom, Luna set up her large copper cauldron and began carefully slicing a row of juniper stems.
"Whoever sent you the poem - he must care about you an awful lot to voice his feelings," Luna stated offhandedly as she gently stirred the smoking liquid counterclockwise.
"He didn't even sign his name," Ginny retorted, her own hands fidgeting as she worked to grate a thick hunk of eucalyptus root. "It was an anonymous note, Lun," she added with exasperation, a bead of sweat rolling down over her temple as she leaned forward over the cauldron.
"Would you be reacting this way if he had signed his name?" Luna countered.
"Well - no," Ginny almost painfully admitted. "But I wouldn't be fretting over who it's from if he had left a name," she remarked defensively. "I wouldn't be afraid that he sent me some gushy love note to win me over," she added to herself under her breath as she dropped a handful of crushed snake fangs into the boiling concoction.
"Who?"
Ginny looked up, her chocolate eyes wide from the startling inquiry. Maybe she needed to work on speaking to herself in a softer voice - or just leaving her thoughts in her own head.
"Who what?" She asked with uncertainty, slightly hoping that Luna had said something that she had missed while she was musing to herself.
"Who's he? The one you just said could be trying to get you back?" When Ginny fumbled for an answer, the blonde witch carefully filled in a response as if the redhead had thrown out a suggestion. "I don't think it was Harry," she stated, her cerulean eyes focused on the mists of smoke rising up from the copper pot. "He wouldn't be able to rhyme so - precisely," Luna finished with a teetering giggle.
The scowl that had been ready to contort her face morphed into a tepid grin that was accompanied by a short laugh.
"You're right about that - he's one bloke you should not expect poetry from," Ginny mused with another hint of a smile as she picked up the glass stirring rod and moved it clockwise eleven times.
"Now it has to rest for fifteen minutes and it should be complete."
Nodding her flaming curls, she squirmed in the brief silence that followed as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. She kept glancing around the classroom but no one was watching her, save for Colin who had attempted to interrupt their teamwork at every turn, and no owls were swooping in to deliver another message.
"If I were you -" Luna started in the same airy voice she used to describe wrackspurts or minute needlenose faeries. "I wouldn't worry about it. You can't stop the poems from arriving for the next eleven days and when Valentine's Day comes, you can flounder some excuse if you don't like the bloke."
"Who are you and what have you done with Luna?" Ginny teased, her tentative smile returning as the blonde witch grinned smartly. Sighing heavily the redhead plopped down onto her wooden stool and let her shoulders sag as she held her small hands in her lap, her weary eyes downcast. "You have been immensely helpful today but I haven't told you what's going on - I - I can't tell you what's happened."
"It's a'ight," Luna responded with an unfazed grin. "You would do the same for me. And I may not know who you're speaking of - but if he broke your heart as badly as you have been reacting to whatever it is that happened, then he won't want you back. And if he does, he doesn't deserve you."
"Thanks," Ginny mumbled, wiping the back of her hand across her brow as she fidgeted in her seat, feeling undeserving of such a wonderful and open minded friend as Luna. "But - I'm not so sure that he's the one behind that letter." Her words faltered but as she concentrated on what she was trying to say so that she didn't speak out of line and reveal her torturer, she began rambling aloud. "It's not really his - style. And he would think that the idea of a poem every day for almost two weeks was stupid - and sappy."
"So it's not him then," Luna stated with assertive and obvious ease.
"But who else then?" Ginny lifted her head out of her open palms and looked up to meet her sapphire gaze with a needy question in her eyes. "Who would have sent them?"
If she had ruled Draco out at this point - although he would never really be crossed off in her mind - and Harry was not a viable option, then who? Dean perhaps. But he had seemed bitter, resentful of the distance she had put between them over the past few days. Valentine's Day was a big ordeal at the castle but that didn't mean that some bloke would decide that the way to her heart was through borderline lame poems. If this wizard knew her then he would know that she was not overtly romantic in the material sense.
Which, in her mind, translated to the deliverance of letters and packages.
And if Ginny was right in assuming so, every day's missive would be bigger than the last. Or she would get a simple scroll every day and have only the anonymity of the entire receiving process until the fourteenth rolled around.
"Patience is a virtue unknown to even the wisest of men," Luna recited methodically and the repetition of a phrase she had heard from the blonde many times over the years brought the barest hint of a smile to Ginny's lips, one tight corner pulling up slightly as she tilted her flaming head in a nod.
The buzzer on the small timer they had set shrilled loudly, causing both girls to jump before two peals of laughter followed their reactionary movements. Luna doused the flame underneath the cauldron and Ginny grabbed two clear vials, one with each of their names on it, and a ladle to fill each glass container with the pale green liquid. A cork stopper went in the mouth of each vial and as Luna cleaned up their mess, she walked the samples of their handiwork up to the front of the classroom where Professor Snape had empty stands for the tubes.
"Do you think I'm overreacting? Should I not be this concerned about this poem?" Ginny inquired of Luna as she bent her knee to sit atop her right leg on her small stool, her shoulders slumping forward as she tilted her fiery head back to meet her friend's ocean blue eyes.
"Maybe it's wrackspurts," Luna honestly stated, her azure orbs widening as the horrifying idea struck her. "Maybe they're making you crazy with stress," she theorized, her airy voice becoming slightly more serious as she considered those possibilities.
"I'm pretty sure we can cross that theory off the list," Ginny answered deadpan, her temper suddenly running short as the blonde witch seemed to just want to aimlessly discuss her worries. "And since he's already out of the question - that just leaves the rest of the male student body," she mused aloud but finished with an irritated sigh as she narrowed her gaze and looked back to the blonde witch who was watching her as if she were a foreign film that she was politely nodding through.
"Just let it ride and wait for Valentine's Day," Luna responded casually, her aloofness causing Ginny's teeth to grind as the blonde smiled as if her suggestion was actually helpful.
Bbbbbrrrrriiiinnnnggggg
The bell sounded loudly and not even Professor Snape's loud command for the class to copy down the homework off the chalkboard could keep the students from pausing their stampede out the door. Luna did not aide Ginny as they walked through the dungeons this time, instead trailing slowly as the redhead hurried up through the levels of the castle.
But when Ginny turned towards the main entrance to exit the school instead of the Great Hall for the midday meal, Luna continued on to the lunch feast to retrieve a handful of sandwiches that she took out to the Quidditch pitch where she found a streak of red flying across the field. She trotted underneath the stands and onto the grassy pitch, wordlessly conjuring a blanket to sit on as she lazily picked at a ham and cheese sandwich while keeping an eye on Ginny in the sky.
She had fled to the sporting arena instead of going to the Great Hall because she needed air more than she needed food. The dungeons especially had felt more claustrophobic than usual and with the combined pressure of knowing she had a possible stalker, Ginny hadn't entirely wanted to remain inside the castle if she didn't have to. She only had a short forty-five minute window to release her stress and flying, physical exertion at that, seemed like the best activity for that. The Aurors couldn't have stopped her if they tried, if they had been manning their posts at that, because she was determined to make the most of the lunch break.
Students were constantly out at the pitch during the free periods throughout the day and Madam Hooch's office was located overlooking the field with the exact intent of keeping an eye on any stray teenagers out for a thrill. Ginny had no need to worry about getting hurt - she had already had her Quidditch injury for the year, thank you - and after seeing Luna lounging on a checkered blanket, she was at first agitated. She appreciated the kindness but she also thought she had made it clear that she wanted to be alone when she had deferred from the mass going to the Great Hall.
That irritation mounted alongside her weary mistrust of the anonymous poem and who the identity of the sender belonged to. Draco's sharp and arrogantly handsome face came to the forefront of her thoughts, his platinum locks tossed about his shoulders just so. His characteristic smirk was the only look that Ginny could automatically remember and that cocky eyebrow twitching caused her anger to implode as she pushed the wooden handle of her broom down in a nose dive for the ground. He had done nothing but cause her pain and she should have learned her lesson at the Halloween dance.
Damn the Weasley and Gryffindor pride and stupid courage.
Ginny pulled up on the broom before she reached within ten feet of the grass and it only took a slow circle around the middle of the field before she was darting back up into the clouds. Luna could certainly mention to the fiery tempered witch that her flying tactics were a tad reckless but she knew her words would probably be in vain. She reasoned that if Ginny was able to ease her tensions on the pitch then it was better than her erupting in class or on another student.
"She's a wonder to watch, isn't she?"
Without haste and because she recognized his gruff voice, Luna glanced up over her shoulder where she was leaning backwards on her hands. Dean's long shadow stood behind him and with his thick arms crossed over his chest, he looked slightly imposing. His face didn't have a hard look per se but he looked tough in pretty boy way. It would have been easy for him to sneak up behind her and she mentally gave him credit for his stealthy approach.
"Would you like a sandwich?" Luna offered, nodding to the half covered plate beside her. "Did you skip lunch to come out here?"
"I ate," Dean replied shortly, leveling her with a contemptuous stare that spoke volumes for his cold behavior. "I came to bring her back inside. Classes will be starting in ten minutes."
"How very thoughtful of you," she responded with a false but cheery, wispy tone.
"Yes. Now if you don't mind -" Dean inclined his head towards the sky and with an accommodating smile, Luna leaned forward to free her hands as she placed three fingers in her mouth and blew a sharp whistle.
Ginny heard the call from one hundred meters up in the sky and with an unhurried pace she let her broom float in circles down to the ground. Her chestnut eyes focused on Luna as the blonde blur picked up and folded the large blanket. She could see someone standing behind her and for a moment the redhead felt her stomach drop as she thought that it was Blaise. He had no reason to be out there, except to talk to Luna, and his presence would be an ill-boding sign.
But as she circled closer and she narrowed her gaze further, her gut bottomed out as she was able to more clearly identify the tall, dark skinned wizard. Once she realized that she should have known it was Dean, seriously - why would Blaise be out there?, Ginny felt a rush of anxiety crawl across her skin as she quickly fretted about the other encounter she had put off for a few days.
"Sandwich?" Luna immediately stated, holding the small plate out towards her just as she was touching down. She barely had her leg swung over her broom before the odd blonde witch was standing at her side, offering sandwich halves and giving her an almost comical, wide eyed look.
Just to keep her lips from turning up in a grin despite the ominous presence behind them, Ginny picked up a peanut butter and banana sandwich and took a large bite. Not wanting to put this off any longer and make it even more awkward, she took a step around Luna and towards Dean.
"Hello," she politely stated, her velvety voice neutral as she greeted his stony demeanor.
"Classes are starting soon. Let's go," Dean commanded, his burnt umber gaze rolling up and down her frame once before he uncrossed his arms and seemed to nod.
"That's it? No 'how are you' or 'how have you been'?" Ginny rhetorically asked, knowing she was opening a can of worms by goading him.
"You've been miserable. And skittish. And avoiding me. I know how you are doing. Let's go," he repeated curtly, his angry tone calming as he turned towards the stadium exit. "We'll be late for class."
Ginny and Luna attempted to keep pace with Dean but he grew impatient after she took an extra second to stack her broom properly in the rinky shed and he bolted up to the front entrance, only to be waiting, tapping his foot when they climbed the stairs a few minutes later. She was perplexed by his odd behavior - how he was redirecting his feelings for her into protective tasks that only vaguely veiled his caring attitude with jealous anger - and the fact that he was taking her bout of manic depression as if she were merely acting out of line and it were a regular occurrence. He refused to speak to her but made sure she knew that he was going to always be around if she needed him.
Ginny found his strangeness as something else to add to the list of unusual activities happening in her life at the moment and thanked Merlin that she would have a chance to get away from Dean's brooding oppression, and to some extent, Luna's wonky comments and theories. Unfortunately she had to go to class with the Fifth year Slytherins but that was hardly anything to worry about when her head was still filled with questions and the parchment scroll still seemed to be burning a metaphorical hole in her book bag.
Charms would have been fairly uneventful if Colin hadn't been hovering next to her the whole time with a knowing look on his face. Ginny refused to acknowledge his silent demand to talk as the lecture progressed and both grew further irritated with the other as she wordlessly denied that something was going on. Professor Flitwick barely took notice of two students not paying attention when they remained quiet while doing so. The Slytherins were enough of a handful when compared to the less exuberant Gryffindors and when the emerald clad witches were not glaring daggers at her or the wizards ogling the length of her legs and shortness of her skirt, they were distracting the class with obvious distractions and causing the tiny Flitwick to stutter.
The end of the period only brought the looming threat of another class spent with Colin sitting sideways in the chair next to her as he stared silently. History of Magic was equally as boring as the class name sounded and Ginny would rather have listened to nails scratching across a chalkboard than have to ignore the large pair of blue eyes watching her from four feet away. Professor Binns released the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs a few minutes early which Colin saw the perfect opportunity to corner Ginny about the letter she received in the morning post.
But she was a breeze of flaming curls and black robes as she wiggled through the sluggish students to break free into the hallway.
"Ginny! Wait!" Colin yelled as he fought to get through the crowd of teenagers.
Glancing over her shoulder she vaguely saw his pale arm waving at her through the mass of bodies but her stomach jumped up into her throat as the desire to not have to talk about what she had been in her head all day overrode her slight guilt for dodging her friend.
"I have to tell the team about practice tomorrow!" Which was true. "I'll see you later!" Which was deniably untrue.
Colin slowed his struggle to get free of the mainstream crowd, shoving his elbow into a passing Ravenclaw who walked straight into him without acknowledgment. The blonde wizard huffed in agitation, shaking his head for his own foolishness as he jerked on the strap of his camera and turned around to follow the herd of students towards the main corridor.
Ginny was able to successfully shake any persons following her and after deciding that she needed to truly be alone, she walked up to the third floor hallway until she found the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. With her hands at her sides and her mind focused on a cozy living room with added amenities, she slowly walked in front of the portrait three times. When nothing immediately happened, she cursed under her breath and prepared to repeat the ritual. And then the tapestry disappeared and a stone door carved itself into the wall.
Once it was finished appearing she took a step forward and pulled on the brass ring. The door opened quietly and Ginny turned sideways to slip inside the Room of Requirement, a soothing warmth seeping out from the room already.
It was just has she had imagined. A large fireplace stood on one side with bookshelves surrounding the rock mantle. Two large sofas were set facing each other with a coffee table in between them and a sizable bar was tucked away in the far corner. Smelling the trays of food from across the short space, Ginny deposited her book bag and pulled off her robes before she hurriedly devoured half of the hors d'oeurves laid out for her.
With her belly full and her mind slowing to a steady lull, she ambled over to one of the couches and laid across the expanse length. Her eyes shut sleepily and as she thought it, a wool blanket appeared at her feet. Ginny pulled the thick cover over her body and laid her freckled cheek over a silky pillow as she dazedly watched the bright flames lick at the blackened hearth.
She was startled from a dream and upon jumping up, she looked around in confusion at her surroundings. The fire had died down to small flames and the room seemed to dance with thick shadows manifesting in the dark crevices of the room. Ginny rushed to her feet and gathered her things as a foreboding chill sent goose bumps across her cold skin. The Room felt like it was feeding off of her terrifying dream and with the feeling of eyes watching her, she hurried to open the heavy door and escape into the dully lit third floor corridor.
Grumbling as she awoke haphazardly in her own bed, Ginny groaned for the beginning of another day. Today was the third of February but only the second day of tormenting letters and unanswerable questions.
She could already tell from the lack of twittering gossip and annoying voices that she was probably late for the start of breakfast. The idea struck a chord with her, awakening her senses a little faster as she unconsciously sat up in bed. A large part of her wanted to lay back down and sleep for another half hour, skipping the meal entirely. A reasoning that was backed up by her unease with receiving another note from her anonymous admirer during the morning post.
And still, while Ginny was anxious to see an owl flying towards her when the mail arrived, she was almost equally curious with anticipation to read what this note would say. Without thinking about what she was doing, she tossed back the covers and quickly dressed. The short, plaid skirt gave little in way of warmth but the maroon knee high socks she wore underneath a pair of calf-covering, worn leather black boots were magically heated to keep her legs from freezing. The eager possibility of another letter had manifested into a silent desire for her to look more presentable, for whomever it was that was sending her missives.
Once she was satisfied with how she looked, which didn't even require makeup or hair charms, Ginny shrugged on her robe and grabbed her book bag before trotting out the door and down the stairs. A few stragglers were left in the common room, most waiting on a friend to walk downstairs with, and she zipped past them to hurry out the portrait and through the staircases.
She was so preoccupied with getting to the Great Hall that she didn't realize that she was nearly sprinting until she rounded a corner and barely caught herself from colliding with a pair of Hufflepuffs. Ginny slowed her pace, which was still a quick walk, but sighed in relief when she appeared in the open doorways to the Hall and saw that the students were only eating, not having yet received the post. She didn't want to seem suspicious or like she was acting strange so she evened out her breathing and paced her steps as she approached the wide section of space that Colin was taking up.
Dean was sitting next to Seamus and across from Harry and Ron with Hermione a few yards down the table but Ginny ignored his assessing stare as she wordlessly sat down opposite of Colin, though not directly across from him. She wanted to give him his space if he was inclined to give her the silent treatment because of her dodginess or if he began to pester her with questions she could easily say she had to finish reading a chapter. She knew it was horrible of her to out and out avoid him but she was slightly scared that his blunt honesty in reaction to her situation with Draco would force her to reexamine her choices as of late.
At first Colin seemed fine with not speaking despite their close proximity as he shoveled spoonfuls of syrupy pancakes into his mouth. Ginny was not going to object and compiled a plate similar looking to his, wasting no time to ingest the hot food that seemed to awaken her dulled senses even more. But as if he had timed it perfectly, or merely sat on the side of the table facing the open windows so that he could see the owls coming, he turned towards Ginny and began speaking just as the sound of dozens of pairs of wings flapping resonated throughout the Hall.
"I hope the letter from my mother gets here today," he stated almost casually, his tone laced with insinuating meaning and knowing snarkiness as a testing smirk quirked up the right corner of his thin lips.
Ginny remained unfazed, her gaze flat as she looked up to his blue eyes, even as her stomach plummeted at the sound of the approaching owls. "As long as the weather was ideal for flight," she responded coolly before tucking back into her plate of breakfast edibles. She was not going to give in to his goading and petty taunts. Even though on some level she knew that he was justified in his anger, she didn't want to face the reality of it all.
Maybe if she gave it a few more days, she would be able to say for sure that Draco had left her alone. She could tell Colin whatever he wanted to know without worry of any implications concerning the blonde Slytherin.
Colin looked peeved at her comment, probably for the fact that she went along with his bait instead of arguing it or spilling her guts. His attention was refocused as a creamy, medium sized owl with chestnut spotting swooped down to land on the open space to Ginny's right. The bird hooted soothingly and stuck out its leg as she looked from Colin to the owl with slightly widened eyes.
So this was really happening. Someone really was going to send her notes until Valentine's Day.
With obvious hesitation she untied the string and pulled the small piece of parchment off the bony leg. As with the last owl, this one hooted loudly and nipped at a piece of bacon before lifting into the air with a broad flap of its tawny wings.
Ginny steadied her trembling hands and tried to remind herself that this was her plan. She wanted Colin to see the letter so he would quit asking questions for a day or two. But she hadn't accounted for her anxiety to build so rapidly with the arrival of the scroll and forced her eyes shut for a brief moment to regain her composure only to then keep her focus downward as her fingers unrolled the parchment.
Fiery and flaming
Silken red - vibrantly bright
These hands itch to touch
Ginny reread the short poem and was puzzled at first by the variation in length. She recognized the form as a haiku and she understood the words to be describing her hair. But this was completely unlike the first poem.
She felt thrown for a loop by this small indicator of the sender's intelligence and she was baffled by the simple flow that left her heart racing a little bit faster and her breathing a tad shallower. He was showcasing his varying knowledge of literature and the art of writing and she felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought out words.
She could feel Colin's heated gaze on her and almost regretted allowing him to see her like this - so rawly exposed without the ability to hide her surprise and intrigue. Ginny was half expecting him to have grabbed the paper from her hands by now but he remained silent until she tentatively glanced up.
"What's that? Who's it from?" He immediately fire.
"I - uh - I have a secret admirer," Ginny admitted cautiously, partially relieved when his ocean eyes lit up with excited curiosity. He was sure to want to know all the juicy details - something she knew he would then turn against her to convince her that Draco was completely evil.
"Let me see!" He reached forward for the letter but she leaned backwards, clutching the twelve word poem to her chest.
She looked down both ends of the table but no one was watching or looking at them strangely. Dean seemed completely engrossed in a conversation with Hermione and Harry was gesturing loudly with Ron and Seamus about Quidditch.
"Later," Ginny suddenly blurted, acutely aware that someone was watching her as she stuffed the parchment into her bag and jumped to her feet. "I gotta talk to Professor McGonagall before class," she lamely stated and hopped over the bench as again Colin aimed to follow with no hope of catching up.
"Wait! I'll go with you!"
"I'll see you there!" She yelled over her shoulder amidst the chaos of the Great Hall and she was through the doorway before he could he get his lanky limbs out from underneath the table.
Ginny rushed up to the second floor but ducked down an empty hallway as she bent over to catch her breath. It only took her a moment to pull out the haiku and she read the short three lines over and over in the hopes of finding some clue as to who sent it. The words were written in the same scrawling handwriting but they had used a crimson ink this time that looked like blood atop the yellowed parchment.
When the first bell rang for class, Ginny hid the note away and wiped at her face. She needed to keep a closer eye out for any wizards who were ogling her so that maybe she could figure this out before she had to endure another ten full days of anxiously waiting to receive a letter that she had to immediately hide.
Taking a deep inhalation through her nose, she took a step forward and turned the corner to walk into the main hallway with a resolute determination to figure out this puzzle. Ginny had to stay focused but by the end of classes that day, she felt no closer to knowing the mystery man's identity than she had yesterday morning.
With her shoulders heavy under the burden of unknowing stress, she resolved that her fate for the remaining fortnight before Valentine's Day would include receiving a well-crafted poem. Ginny hated not knowing what she was getting involved with but somehow this mystery seemed to be just intriguing enough to distract her from the truth of why she and Draco shouldn't be together at this point in time. That was a worry that would gain attention before long just when her problems would seem to have resolved themselves.