A/N: This has no humour. It is a rather depressing chapter. I may have leaked a few tears here and there, writing it… -dignified sniff- but I may not have. That's all I have to say. Thanks to reviewers, I love you! ENJOY.

Disclaimer: I am not lucky enough to be as smart enough as to invent these characters myself. They are not mine. Too bad. –pout-

The Stone Speaks

Chapter Fifty-Two: Coward

DRACO AND GINNY

And then, suddenly, a tremendous crash screamed through the church. At first, she saw no-one. Then someone staggered to his feet, out of the broken and disarrayed pew-benches. And she saw was a tall, totally sodden, bedraggled boy with pale hair so plastered to his skull that he seemed bald. Who gave a damn? He had smashed through a window, and he was Ginny's knight in shining armour.

…

"Ginny?"

It was a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard over the roaring of the storm that was now allowed in copiously, and the clinking of glass; but the redhead heard it and it made her heart turn over in her chest.

He tried to kill you. He was on Voldemort's side. Don't.

Feeling as though she might burst into tears if she had to tear her hazel eyes from his face, still searching for her in the church, Ginny looked over. Hermione and Luna were scrambling through the window, Harry was already in the church staring at her, and dear Ron was stuck, trying to get down from the high window without having to jump, as everyone else had.

LOOK AT HIM, Ginny's heart screamed, and she refused, until she realized that everyone was watching her, and, from her position on the floor, she turned her head back to him and whispered, "Draco."

His head spun so fast that Ginny feared for extreme whiplash, and then his eyes found her. "GINNY!" he shouted, and ran forwards, smashing everything in his path.

What's he doing? He's here to kill you – Draco, I'm so scared, I need you – he wanted to kill you, Ginny, how can you deny that – with the fact that I love him more than anything?

"Ginny!" Luna screeched, and the others joined in on the joyous shrieks. Then, it seemed, that they only noticed Lord Voldemort.

"How sweet," he sneered.

Draco froze in his path. His blue eyes narrowed. "Get the hell away from her," he snarled, drawing his wand. He ran forwards again, his face twisted into an ugly leer.

No, Draco, don't! – Don't say it, Ginny, he musn't know you care, or he'll kill you – he wouldn't

"Er – no," retorted Lord Voldemort, mocking consideration. Still Draco sprinted forth, and, almost lazily, the Dark Lord flicked his wand at him. "Crucio."

"NO!" It tore itself from Ginny's throat before she could remind herself that she wasn't supposed to care. She tried to scramble to her feet and run to the Slytherin, but she was too weak and her knees wouldn't support herself.

Draco's eyes suddenly collided with Ginny, and she felt him struggling to not scream. Sobs racked her small frame and tears glistened in her hazel eyes. Then he ripped his gaze away, and, against what his eyes had just been telling Ginny, he let loose a terrible scream that clawed at her heart.

"Stop it!" Ginny cried. "Please! STOP IT!" she screwed up her face, feeling his agony, the tears now flowing freely down his face. "You're hurting him!"

"No duh, Sherlock," sneered Lord Voldemort.

Harry ran forwards, yelling out. A swirl of the wand, and the Gryffindor fell.

"Harry!" Ginny gasped, her mouth gaping open. "Don't – don't – hurt them – please!" she shrieked. "Have the silly necklace, please, just don't – stop it!"

The dark-haired boy struggled to his feet and rasped for breath, leaning heavily against a pew, his glasses broken and lopsided.

Lord Voldemort slashed sideways with the piece of wood he held, and Draco collapsed in the lines of pews, disappearing from sight.

"No!" Ginny cried. "Where is he? Where is he – DRACO!"

"Shut it – crucio!" the Dark Lord snapped at her.

PAIN – PAIN – PAIN – PAIN –

Tearing at her guts –

"DON'T HURT HER!"

Bellowing Ron, screeching Luna, shrieking Hermione, shouting Harry, screaming Draco, all trying desperately to get to her –

PAIN –

"Contero!" a high voice barked.

The spell was off, and Ginny wheezed and panted on the church floor, trying to regain her breath. Pushing her red hair out of her face with trembling fingers, she looked up to see what Lord Voldemort had cast – she was unfamiliar with the spell, and she was sure that it could not bode well.

Nothing seemed to have happened.

Then Draco moved forwards and gasped out, his hands flying to his chest. There was nothing there, but he was obviously in some pain. Gritting his teeth, he moved forwards again, and yelled out.

"What's happening?" Ginny shrieked. "What are you doing to him?"

Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ron all made as if to hurry towards Ginny, but they all similarly doubled over in pain. Draco took two more steps towards her, but he fell to his knees, roaring, his voice echoing through the large church room.

"Stop it!" Ginny cried. "Stop it – whatever you're doing, just stop it! You're – you're hurting them! What are you doing?" she curled her fingers into her cloak, cutting her nails into the material tight, tears staining her face.

"This, Weasley, is the effect of the Bound-Crushing Curse," said Lord Voldemort gleefully. "The closer they get to the target – that is, you… they more the curse will contract on their chest. Eventually, all breath will be crushed out of them, and they will die, metres away from you."

Ginny cried out. "No – no, Draco, stop it! Don't come any closer! Please!"

"What's he doing to her?" Ron yelled, panicking. He jumped forwards, crashed into the pews, and disappeared from sight, shouting with pain.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Draco bellowed, inching closer. He was clutching at his sides, and his breath was loud, obviously torn and coming through his lungs with difficulty. "Don't you – dare – touch – her – or," he wheezed, and the rest of his sentence trailed away.

"Please, don't hurt him! Don't come any closer – it'll kill you!" Ginny sobbed, and then suddenly the Cruciatus curse was upon her. A wail transformed into a scream of agony.

"GINNY!" hollered Ron, and he looked as if he was considering sprinting at Lord Voldemort and snapping his neck, but Hermione grabbed his arms and together the two Gryffindors stumbled backwards.

"Hermione!" Harry said, horrified. "What are you doing – we have to save Ginny!"

"No!" Hermione cried. "We – we can't, Harry! Don't you see?" Tears flowed down her grubby cheeks. "We're cursed. If we get close to Ginny, we'll die. And then she'll have no hope!" she broke into sobs on Ron's shoulder.

"We can't do anything," Luna said quietly, tears glistening as she cried silently. "All that we can do is stand here."

Harry choked on his own breath, looking in pure despair between the two girls. Who did he choose?

Ginny? Luna?

He'll never choose me. I'm just his best friend's annoying little sister.

What am I saying? I don't WANT him to choose me. I want him to go with Luna, and be safe. Even if it means that I die.

"Go," cried Ginny. "Go, Harry! Get back – Luna's right. You can't help me! Help yourselves! Please!"

Looking as though he wanted to fall down and cry, Harry stumbled back a few steps and then grabbed onto Luna for emotional support. "I won't leave you, Ginny," he whispered. "I'm right here."

"JUST LEAVE HER!" Draco suddenly shouted. "LEAVE HER! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? SHE'S GOING TO DIE, SHE'S GOING TO – SHE'S GOING-" Words seemed to fail him. "Ginny…"

He staggered a few steps forwards, and Ginny saw true, genuine tears of pain in his blue eyes. He cried out, and staggered, before doubling over and collapsing against a chair.

"CRUCIO!" Lord Voldemort yelled.

Pain pain pain pain –

It was ripping through her, tearing out her eyes, and she could almost feel blood pouring out of her brain – except that she was whole – and she wished that she wasn't – so that she could just die and the pain would stop…

"Don't hurt her!" Draco hollered. "DON'T – TOUCH – HER!"

His words struck hard onto Ginny's last nerve.

"What do you care?" she yelled past the pain.

The Dark Lord swept his wand aside and stepped curtly backwards, looking smug as he waited for an argument to unfold.

Well, he won't be disappointed.

Draco looked shocked. The tears in his eyes, and the mouth gaping open spoke his astonishment and hurt at her words, but she had to say it.

"What do you care, if I live or die?" Ginny screeched at him. "You don't! That's what! You're – you're on his side!"

The boy started to shake, but he was still staring openly at her. "Ginny-"

"Don't even start! I don't want to hear it! You – you can't argue, can you?" she shouted. "Because it's true! It's true! You were – were going to…" she broke down into sobs, and couldn't continue.

She vaguely noticed that Draco looked like he was being torn into pieces. Well, good! He deserves it, that lowlife, I wish – I wish –

"Ginny, don't cry, I-"

"You were going to kill me!" she screamed.

Harry gasped, and Ron, his face contorted with rage, ran at him, only to be dragged back by a weeping Hermione. Luna's small jaw fell slack.

And Ginny was horrified to see that Draco had no reply for this.

Holy crap. It was true.

She had been waiting for an outraged, wounded reply, an indignant, I would never do that – but it didn't come. Draco merely stared, continuing to look at her as though his heart had been ripped out.

"So it's true,"she said, so quietly that she could barely hear herself. She averted her gaze from Draco's eyes. She hated him so much – and yet she loved him – and yet he wanted to kill her – and looking into those bottomless pits of blue would tear her apart. "That – that was why you were being tortured." She snapped her focus back to him. "Because you failed! You failed because you were a coward."

Draco

Oh god, what have I done

"Ginny…" Draco whispered. He needed to tell her the truth, tell her how much he cared, tell her everything.

"DON'T SAY ANYTHING!" she screamed. "I don't care – I thought that you would protect me, and instead it was as far from the truth as it could ever get! I hate you! Ron was right, you're just a weak, lowly Slytherin bastard doing other people's dirty work! I rescued you from that god-forsaken castle, and nearly got myself killed for it! And everything that you said, everything that you did, afterwards, was all just a big lie! I hate you!"

"I thought you were good!" Luna burst out, now officially crying, shuddering with tears. "I thought you cared about all of us!"

Even Luna's against me!

Suddenly, Draco found he couldn't take anymore in.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" he suddenly shouted. "You're right, okay, Ginny? Does that make you feel any better? Does it? Knowing that it's all true – knowing that I'm just a, so help me God, a lowly Slytherin bastard?"

Now it was Ginny's turn to look shocked. The others, too, because he was admitting that he had been trying to kill her. Draco thought vaguely in the back of his mind, no, Draco, quick, back-track, you're going to end up telling her things that you don't want to, but he ignored it.

"YES, I was supposed to kill you! YES, YES, YES – that is why I came back to Hogwarts! And that is why I was being tortured!" He was now shaking. "I failed! FAILED! I was supposed to kill you immediately! I wasn't supposed to keep putting it off! I wasn't supposed to make friends with you, Ginny, you weren't supposed to be nice to me, and you weren't supposed to ask me to Hogsmeade! I wasn't supposed to dance with you! I wasn't supposed to like dancing with you. Hell, Ginny, I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you!" he screamed at her.

Shocked silence.

Ginny was staring at him, hazel eyes wide, looking at him as though she was about to be sick.

Luna was tearful.

Harry was understanding, nodding slowly.

Ron was still trying to get to Draco to rip his head off and wedge it where the sun doesn't shine.

Hermione was positively howling.

Lord Voldemort was smug.

And Draco's heart was breaking.

He stared at her. His heart had just officially been torn out of his chest and shredded. All the happy feeling he had that she was safe and alive had long disappeared. And all that Draco wanted to do now is cry, cry, and cry, before dying quietly in the corner and retreating to a safe cloud in heaven.

But I won't go to heaven. I'll go to hell, because I'm evil. And I deserve it. Just like Ginny says.

"What do you want me to say?" Draco whispered. Tears were visible in his blue eyes, and though he was ashamed of them, he let them fall. "What – what – do you want me to say, Ginny?" his voice choked up. "That… that I love you so much it hurts?" he croaked. "Because I do. I love you. And I probably always have. And I'm sorry for all those petty times that I insulted you, or laughed at you, or… or all those other things. It doesn't matter if you don't forgive me. Jesus, I wouldn't forgive myself."

He trailed off, and another pure tear glided down his gaunt, blood-baked face. Ginny had no reply. She stared blankly at him, and Draco's heart crumbled into a tiny black pieces for the third time.

"Aw," sneered Lord Voldemort. "How sweet."

They all whipped around to look at him, glaring; they had all forgotten why they were there.

"So, we've got this all sorted out, have we?" Lord Voldemort checked quickly. "Are we good? Potter and Loony are dating, the blood-traitor boy and the Mudblood are dating despite their previous tiff, Malfoy loves Weasley, Weasley hates Malfoy… well, I think that's just about cleared up! Are we done?"

The Golden Quarter all started to yell angry retorts. Draco and Ginny were still silent.

The Dark Lord, however, did not wait to hear out the response. "Well, excellent!" he cried gleefully. He pointed his wand tip down at Ginny's heart.

NO!

"Avada kedavra!"

"NO!" Draco screamed, louder than the Golden Quarter, Lord Voldemort's laughter, and Ginny's final scream all put together.

There was no rescuing her this time. It was over. Lord Voldemort would win. Everyone on the face of the wizarding world would perish – including beautiful Ginny, who's last words ever were addressed to him, and as such: "I hate you".

The rush of speeding death echoed terribly in the church, and every bad thing, ever scream, every yell of agony that Draco had ever heard, resounded in his head a thousand times. "I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate I hate you"-

Then the green light of the Killing Curse was upon Ginny, swallowing her whole. Draco screamed with all his might until he could have sworn he felt his lungs ripping, along with his liver and kidneys and stomach and every other essential organ, and most of all his poor, battered, heart.

There was a deafening silence, when nothing happened and not a soul moved. No-one spoke. No-one moved. It was as if time itself had stopped (which it probably had, considering the Stone).

And then the Stone of Montol exploded.

A/N: O.M.G. Will Ginny die? Will she ever get to tell Draco she loves him more than anything? Will Draco commit suicide? Will Lord Voldemort apply some more 'dark matters of evil' to his poor chapped lips? Find out soon on The Stone Speaks, BBC TWO.

Don't ask why I chose BBC TWO.