Hm.. seems as thought the last chapter wasn't that good. Well, don't you worry, this chapter will make up for last chapter.
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"Um… Professor Snape.. I was just.." He had an almost amused look on his greasy face. It flickered away after a moment, but he still had a sly half-smile, half-sneer on his face. Draco looked pale. Well, when didn't Draco look pale? Blaise was standing up, a look of intense concentration on his face. He was obviously thinking of something.. Ginny could only hope he'd put his thoughts to good use soon.
"This is very befitting of a Gryffindor. I'll need to speak with Professor McGonagall about this, Ginerva." He turned to go, his black robes whispering against the ground with a sound that reminded Ginny horribly of death. "Miss Weasley, if you will please follow me." He gave Malfoy a look that surely meant trouble for the speechless boy, then swept out of the room, leaving the door open for Ginny to follow. She looked over her shoulder, giving Draco a last glance. He nodded grimly, then Ginny left, her head down, walking through the now crowded Slytherin common room. She heard jeers from the dark, shadowy corners of the room, and put her flaming face down, staring at the ground.
After walking this way for a while (and almost running into a wall) Snape stopped Ginny in front of Professor McGonagall's office. With a terse, "Stay here, Miss Weasley," he walked inside with a smug grin. In a matter of moments, Ginny heard raised voices, then Professor McGonagall opened her door with obvious disbelief. She stood in the door for just a moment, then swept back into her office. Snape had a wicked sneer on his face as he looked down at Ginny.
"I believe you have some explaining to do to Professor McGonagall, Miss Weasley. Now, if you'll excuse me.." He drifted past her and into the stone corridors, and Ginny took a shaky step into Professor McGonagall's office.
Minerva McGonagall's lips were set in a tight line as she watched Ginny walk slowly up to her desk. She seemed very, very angry to Ginny. Even more angry than she had ever been with Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"Miss Weasley." The Professor started out shakily, then gripped her anger and threw it back, forgetting about the violent act she had just thought of doing to this unruly student.
"From what Professor Snape tells me, you do have a lot of explaining to do. You may start now." She looked expectantly at Ginny, who was at a loss for words. What should she tell McGonagall? It obviously wasn't an accident, seeing as Draco and Zabini were perfectly fine with having her in the room when Snape walked in. She doubted that the Professor would believe her if she said something like, "I'm in love with Draco Malfoy, and he was hurt, so I was saving him." After all, Ginny was only starting to come to grips with that herself. So what could she say? As this was running wildly through her head, Ginny jumped when Blaise Zabini came up behind her, clearing his throat a little awkwardly. He always seemed more than a bit awkward around Gryffindors, professors or students alike.
"Professor McGonagall.. I.. erm… well, it was my fault that Ginny was in our dormitory. I told her to meet me outside of the dungeons, then I took her into the dormitory. I needed to talk to her about something.." This came out in a hurry, and Ginny couldn't see where he had come up with the story, but it seemed logical enough. Except, Professor McGonagall might not choose to believe it.
The Professor stared narrowly at Blaise for a moment, then nodded curtly, pushing back from her desk. "That still doesn't explain Miss Weasley's reason to meet you in the first place, but I suppose I will have to accept your story for now. It seems that I will need to turn this back over to Severus.. I don't understand the need to bring Ginerva into your common room, Mr. Zabini. This is a grave violation of one of the oldest rules in this school. You realize that there will be dire consequences?" He nodded mutely, sharing a look with Ginny. He was almost smiling; Ginny could tell by the way his eyes danced. She turned to go, trying to hide a nervous smile. This was lucky.. and as she had by now learned, luck was not a friend for long.
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When she was finally safe from McGonagall's wrath, Ginny slid into the Gryffindor common room, practically running through it and into her dormitory. She was sure she had heard someone shout at her, but she ignored it, knowing that if it was Harry, it meant trouble. Hermione and Ron were probably arguing about her outburst earlier, and it was best to leave them alone when they had a row.
Ginny changed her robes (they had a bit of Draco's blood on them) then went back downstairs, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She noticed Neville was sitting near the window, absently petting Trevor, his toad. Lavender Brown was giggling in a corner with Parvati Patil, but other than that, the room was empty. She heaved a grateful sigh, rubbing her hands together as she stepped from the fire-lit common room and into the cold halls.
Having nowhere in mind, Ginny set off into the school, walking past a suit of armor that whispered crude insults at her. She walked faster, away from Peeves (who had just come out of the suit of armor) and towards the Entry Hall, hoping that the poltergeist wouldn't bother to follow her in a crowd of people.
She was about to walk into the Great Hall (to see if she could find a bit of dinner) when she saw Cho Chang's silky black hair. Cho had Draco by the hand and was leading him towards the staircase with a seductive smile. Ginny stood, shocked, for a moment, then followed, hoping dearly that they were just going to have a regular, civilized conversation, nothing more.
Those hopes were scattered when she peered around the corner that Cho and Draco had just disappeared around. Draco was leaning against the wall, snogging Cho passionately. He was passing a hand through her voluptuous hair, then broke off to whisper something into her ear. She giggled breathily, batting her eyelids and turning a bit pink. Then they continued their snogging, oblivious to Ginny, who was watching, horrified.
Suddenly, after a gag reflex which she hastily covered up by turning away, Ginny stumbled down the halls and back towards the common room.
He was lying! The whole time, he didn't care a mite about me. He was just using me to get back at Harry! How could he do this to me?! I cant believe it.. Crushed was an understatement for Ginny. She could barely breath; she just kept picturing Draco grinning, whispering into Cho's ear, snogging her.. How couldn't she have seen that? Why didn't she see it coming? She should have known he was nothing but a selfish, lying Slytherin git. She brushed away a tear, climbing into the portrait hole wearily.
She felt so hollow, now. The once cheerful (or at least warm) common room was now cold; colder than her icy hands. She ran through the common room, probably looking like a mad-woman to Neville, who was still sitting by the fire, but she didn't care. She just ran up to her dormitory, throwing herself onto to bed.
She was screaming inside, tears falling down her cheeks. She had been betrayed. And it was her fault, for being so naïve, for actually believing that Draco Malfoy had a heart. He was just using her to get his long-awaited revenge on Harry, then he would move on to the next girl, leaving Ginny behind without a thought. Although she was shattered, she couldn't show him. Couldn't let him, or anyone, see how Draco had ruined her. She sat up, her eyes dry, her heart shattered, her mind resolute.
No one will know how much he's hurt me.. no one. She stood up slowly, waiting for the room to stop spinning, then walked out of the door, her jaw clenched.
Harry was there, waiting for her in the common room with a dark smirk. Ron and Hermione were no where in sight, and Ginny felt a sinking feeling. There was no one to save her now, not even Neville, who had disappeared. She walked up to him, standing a few meters away and staring at him suspiciously. He had his wand loosely gripped in his hand, and was still giving her that dark, evil grin. She shivered at his dark look, but squared her shoulders, remembering her promise to let no one know of her pain. I will not cry, Harry. Not even when you hurt me.. I will stand tall, independent from everyone. I will be strong.
"Hello, Harry." Her voice shook a little, but she blinked away the rush of tears, still clenching her jaw. His smile widened, and he took that fateful step towards her, his wand raising. With a familiar flash of light, Ginny fell to the ground, holding back a scream as her body was filled with stabbing, electric currents. It was longer, this time, and soon, Ginny's mind grew numb. She could feel that cold, familiar darkness closing around her, and this time it was stronger. Or was she weaker? The darkness was thicker, and strangled out any light that tried to shine in her mind. It was slowly suffocating her, and she was just going to let it win. Don't give up, Ginny. Don't give in to it! She blinked slowly, the numb disappearing. She felt like her muscles, bones, everything was on fire. Harry had disappeared, and Ginny could barely perceive someone whispering above her head. She moaned quietly, and she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep. It was too hard, too hard. The darkness was softer, this time, like a feather bed, and she just wanted to collapse into the darkness. She heard a sharp cry and her eyes snapped open, seeing Ron and Hermione's figures waver before her.
They immediately knelt down next to her, and Hermione began casting the healing spells she knew so well, numbing Ginny from the stabbing pains she felt. The haze in front of her eyes started to clear, and Hermione and Ron's faces swam quietly into focus.
"Gin, are you alright? What happened?" Ron had her head on his lap and watched her face carefully. Hermione stopped, moving next to Ron and putting a hand on his shoulder. He had turned white again, and Ginny wanted to smile. He was always either pale or bright red, wasn't he?
"Ginny, it was Harry, wasn't it? The spell he cast on you.. it was Crucio, wasn't it?" Ginny nodded slightly, slowly feeling a cold, liquid-like feeling flow through her. Then she remembered Malfoy and Cho, and closed her eyes again wearily. She struggled to sit up, with Ron and Hermione helping her over to a chair. Hermione was hovering like a mother hen, and kept peering anxiously into her face, while Ron was sitting in the chair next to her, staring into the fire. He looked so old and gray, sitting emotionlessly and staring into the fire. It scared Ginny a little, but the girl pushed the weak thought out of her head, staring at the Gryffindor crest that was hanging over the mantelpiece. She couldn't let weakness overpower her; she would be strong.
Hermione sat next to Ron, taking his hand quietly. Ginny would have smiled; they looked like an old married couple, holding hands and staring into the fire. Suddenly Ron jumped up, colour slowly returning to his face, and he strode out the door without a word. Hermione shook her head slightly, moving over to Ginny.
"Are you alright, Gin?" Again, Ginny nodded, not trusting her voice enough to speak. Hermione sighed sadly, moving over to the fire with her hands behind her back. She looked like she was about to say something, but instead just stood there for a while, staring into the crackling fire.
"Hermione, I'm sorry you.." The girl smiled, making Ginny falter.
"No, Ginny, don't be sorry. Ron and I.. We needed to see this. I couldn't, wouldn't believe what you said about Harry. Now, I know that you were telling the truth. But.. how.. how could he hide this from everyone? Who do we have to count on to defeat the Dark Lord now? Harry's almost as bad as he is.. He would more likely join his ranks than try to destroy him. Who is there now?" Ginny nodded. She had thought about it, too. She had noticed that thoughts of the Chamber of Secrets kept cropping up, and how she had had a connection with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named right from the moment she had picked up Tom Riddle's diary.
Ron rushed back in, taking Ginny's hand gingerly and leading her outside. He waved off Hermione, who moved to follow, and guided her out of the portrait hole.
"How many times has he done this to you, Gin? How many times has he used Crucio?" Ginny looked at him, startled for a moment.
"Only twice.. why?" He nodded grimly.
"Dumbledore will want to know about this.." He muttered, then left without a word. Ginny called out to him, trying to stop him, but he was already sprinting down the corridor and towards Dumbledore's office. Now that Ginny was out of the common room, she might as well go down to the Great Hall and try to eat something…
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It was a week after Harry had cast Crucio on her. Ginny had avoided Blaise, Emmy, and Draco, waking up the earliest she could manage and taking the back routes. Ron had told Dumbledore; Dumbledore had sent word to the Minister of Magic, and was holding Harry somewhere in his office. Now that Ginny didn't need to worry about Harry, she had room to think of Draco.
Not that she wanted to. She found herself sliding back to the night when she was supposed to meet Draco. That night when Harry had beat her, and Draco had saved her.. But that didn't matter now. She didn't need Draco, or anyone, for that matter.
Potions was horrible. Emmy kept trying to talk to her, but Ginny ignored the girl, scratching out Snape's notes and blocking out the girl's pleas. After Potions, she ignored Draco, who called out to her once or twice, then just sighed and turned back to Emmy.
She found herself sliding through the winter in solitude, growing colder with the weather. She barely talked to anyone, anymore. She knew the rumors flying about- Harry had raped her, it was Harry's fault she didn't talk, Harry this and Harry that. But Ginny knew. It wasn't Harry. She wasn't pregnant, she hadn't been cursed to silence, and she certainly wasn't in love with Harry. It was Draco's fault she was in this mess.
One day in the middle of February, Ginny was roaming the silent halls, staring out the windows at the snow. There were a lot of students outside, throwing snowballs and taking walks with their friends. She wasn't watching where she was going, and was startled to find herself a few feet away from the one person she couldn't see without trembling.
Draco Malfoy.
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Sorry that one took so long, mates. I've been having a bit of writer's block. Thanks for your lovely reviews, and keep writing them!