Chapter 7: The Girl Who Cries

Draco woke slowly, wondering why he felt so good inside. Then he saw the red head, fast asleep in his arms. Smiling, Draco pulled Ginny's body closer to him, and she snuggled up against him.

"Good morning to you too," she mumbled groggily. He smiled watching her spin around to face him. She looked even more beautiful, with her hair disheveled and all over the place.

"You're beautiful," he murmured to her quietly, and Ginny's face lit up.

"Why thank you," she said happily and leaned forward to give him a light kiss on the lips.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked with smile.

"Yes," she answered, not being able to contain the blush that was flooding to her cheeks. Ginny knew that it didn't matter where she slept, but if she were lying next to Draco, then she'd always sleep peacefully.

"Well, are you hungry then?" Draco asked, and Ginny nodded eagerly. "Stay here," he ordered.

"Wait," she said watching him get up, about to leave the room. "Where are you going?" she asked with concern.

"Don't worry," he assured her with a grin. "I'll be right back," and he disappeared out the door. Ginny sighed and flopped back down onto the bed. Smiling into the pillow, Ginny remembered everything that happened last night. How Christian had been such a jerk and how Draco had stepped in. Then how she assured Draco that she only cared about him, not Christian. Grinning even more, she remembered Draco's last words to her: 'I love you.' Of course she wouldn't say anything. Ginny was sure that she wasn't meant to here his confession that he had mumbled last night.

"I'm back," Draco said while entering the room. Following behind him was a table that he had floating along in his wake. The table was loaded with all sorts of breakfast snacks. There were fruits, eggs, toast, pancakes, bacon, waffles, sausages, and anything else you could imagine.

"Draco!" she squealed in delight, jumping up from the comfy bed. "Where did you get all this?" she wondered.

"It just so happens," Draco said with a grin, "That the Head Boy/Head Girl room has a secret pathway to the kitchens. If you pop down there, the house elves will give you anything you want." He smiled at her as she dove into the waffles. "Convenient, eh?"

"Why would you ever even leave here?" Ginny asked, referring to the amazing room.

"Well," he said seriously, "there's one person that I would miss terribly."

Ginny blushed as he said this, and stood up to give him a sticky kiss, which left syrup all over his lips. She giggled to herself as he wiped it away with his tongue, and then she sat back down again. This time she pulled the bowl of fruit over to her. Popping some cantaloupe into her mouth she turned her attention back to Draco.

"So what do you want to do today?" she asked hesitantly. Maybe he still wasn't ready to be seen in public with her. Hell, she didn't even know if she was ready herself.

"Well," he said grinning, glad that she had been the one to ask that question. "I thought maybe we could just wander around today. You know, just walk the grounds and possibly in the school. Then we could come back here and snuggle next to the fire," he said waggling his eyebrows.

Ginny giggled and beamed at him. "Sounds great!" she replied.

Draco moved closer to Ginny, ready to kiss her, when they heard a knock on the door.

"Malfoy!" someone shouted, and Ginny froze in panic. She recognized that voice; it belonged to a certain brunette whose name just happened to be Hermione. How could she forget that Hermione was the Head Girl? Quickly, Ginny jumped up and ran to the closet. Draco just laughed. He would've loved it if Granger would've found them there together, but he knew that Ginny wouldn't be able to handle it, so he let her go.

"Malfoy! Open up!" Hermione shouted again. What's wrong with her? Ginny wondered from inside the spacious closet. Man, she thought, even his closet is nice!

"Hold on," Draco shouted right back. He stalked to the door, and it flew open, almost smacking him in the face.

"Where is she?" Hermione asked livid. From her view in the closet, Ginny could see her face was red and her hair was crazy.

"Where's who, Granger?" Draco asked, playing innocent.

"You know very well who I'm talking about!" Hermione shouted, "GINNY!"

"Ginny Weasley?" Draco asked incredulously. "And why would the littlest Weasley be in here in the first place?"

"I have no idea," Hermione said enraged, "But I could've sworn I heard her just a second ago." Hermione started moving around the room, checking under his bed and in his wardrobe.

"Maybe you were imagining things," he smirked at her, and she threw him a dirty look that was strong enough to shut him up.

"Is she in here?" a voice came from the door. Both Draco and Hermione spun around to see a disheveled Ron, standing in his pajamas but looking just as mad as Hermione.

"RONALD!" Hermione screamed. "I told you to stay in my room!"

Draco doubled over in laughter.

"No way!" he said unbelievably, and he turned his attention back to Hermione. "You and Weasley?" This just sent Draco into more fits of laughter, and both Hermione and Ron turned a bright shade of red.

Ginny, however, was nervous as hell. No way could her brother and Hermione find her in Draco's room. They would kill her. Ginny came up with an idea, but she wasn't sure it would work. Concentrating with all the strength she could muster, Ginny held her wand to herself, and whispered the incantation. She imagined herself a brunette with ocean blue eyes. She looked down.

Nothing.

"Ugh," Ginny spat in frustration as she stared at her still red hair. Bad idea. Hermione whipped around, staring at the closet, apparently having heard Ginny. Determinedly, Hermione marched across the room, and Ginny saw Draco panic.

"Come on," he said quickly. "You can't honestly believe I have Ginny in here. She's a Weasley after all!"

Ron glared at him but then continued to watch Hermione. She was only feet from Ginny's hiding place, and Ginny began to panic. Please work! She begged herself. "Don't let anyone or anything limit you," Ginny recalled Snape telling her. With a silent sigh, Ginny concentrated even harder than before and imagined the magic floating around her, forming itself over her body. She imagined it masking her red curls and her brown eyes, changing them so she wouldn't be recognizable. Ginny muttered the incantation and felt the magic swarm her at once, and not a second later, Hermione threw open the closet door.

To everyone's surprise, inside the closet stood a meek brunette, whose hair was wild and eyes wide with shock.

"Oh," Hermione mumbled in shock. Draco just gawked at the girl stepping out from the closet. It was definitely not Ginny.

"Do you mind?" Ginny said snottily. She had realized that she'd been able to successfully illusion herself, and she was about to give Hermione and Ron a piece of her mind.

"Err…I…" Hermione mumbled in confusion. She was clearly not expecting this girl to be stepping out from the place where she had been sure Ginny had been hiding.

"I…I…" Ginny said, mocking her. "You've caught us," she said with anger. "Now move along!"

Hermione gathered herself together and stormed to the door. She grabbed Ron by the arm and slammed the door as they left. Draco just stood stock-still as Ginny started shouting.

"I can't believe them!" she cried in disbelief. "They are such hypocrites! They barge in here, trying to catch me with you, when they had spent the night together anyway!"

Draco said nothing. He just stared at the brunette, not sure what to say.

Finally, Draco muttered, "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Ginny shouted, still angry at her stupid brother.

"That," Draco said, pointing at the new Ginny.

"Oh," she said more quietly. Honestly, she really didn't know. All she did was imagine the magic wrap itself around her. "Well, I…" she trailed off, not really sure how to explain.

"You did a self-illusion!" he exclaimed in amazement, "Ginny, that's amazing!"

"Shush!" Ginny warned as he said her name.

"I mean," Draco said still smiling at her. "That's amazing!" he whispered.

Ginny smiled to herself, "It is, isn't it?"

"We haven't even learned that yet, and you were able to do it! Could I have picked a more amazing woman?" he asked himself, and Ginny smiled.

"Well, who said you picked me?" she said walking up to him with raised eyebrows. "Maybe it was I who picked you," Ginny leaned forward, pressing her lips to his and kissed him happily, but he pulled away quickly.

"What?" she asked in disappointment, and he simply pointed at the illusion that was still on her. "Oh, right," she realized and raised her wand. Imagining the magic lifting off of her, unmasking her true self and floating back into the air, Ginny was able to remove the illusion.

"Much better," Draco said, staring longingly at the red head, and then he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her sweetly.

They spent the whole day wandering around anywhere and everywhere, constantly stopping behind trees and in abandoned classrooms, just so they could feel the other's lips on their own one more time. Luckily, they were never walked in on, and they were able to avoid the people that would cause the most problems. Like Ron, who happened to be near by everywhere they went, but somehow they managed to steer clear of him. Ginny considered this a sign: she was meant to be with Draco.

Like Ginny, Draco shared the same thought. How they had come together in the first place was still a mystery to him, but now that they were together, Draco knew that he never wanted to let her go.

Ginny practically skipped down the halls Monday morning. Her weekend felt like a dream, an amazing and wonderful dream that she didn't ever want to forget.

"How was your weekend?" a voice asked icily. Ginny spun around to see Christian leaning up against a wall, glaring at her.

"It was fine," she answered meekly. Something about the look in his eyes made her step back in fear.

"Did you and Malfoy," he said the name with hatred, "have a good time?"

Ginny went to open her mouth, but nothing came out.

"That is who you ditched me to be with," he asked heatedly, "isn't it?"

"No," Ginny said finding her voice. "It's not like that," she tried to explain.

"Oh really," Christian said stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. "That's what it looked like to me."

"Let go of me," Ginny whined in fear as she started to lose the feeling in her fingers.

"Or you'll what?" he said glancing around. "There's no Draco here to save you now!"

"I…" she stammered uselessly.

"You're pathetic Ginny," he scoffed as he shoved her into the wall. "Now listen to me carefully. You will never see Draco again-"

"But," she cut in. "He's in my class, and I-"

"Then you won't speak to him in there," Christian glared at her. "You'll always be partnered with me, and you won't so much as glance at him." He shook her hard. "Do you understand me?"

Ginny nodded timidly, her fear about to make her throw up. Finally, Christian released Ginny, throwing her against the wall once more. Ginny felt her head collide with the cold wall, making a dull thunk as it made contact.

"And don't tell anyone about this," he threatened, "or else..."

Ginny collapsed on the floor, watching him walk away. What was she going to do? How was she supposed to be able to just completely ignore Draco? She couldn't, not after all that had happened between them. Sadly, Ginny ran all the way back up to her room and fell onto her bed crying. She didn't care if she missed a whole day of school, she really didn't.

It was midnight, and Ginny couldn't sleep. She cried herself to sleep earlier and was now wide-awake. She sat on her bed, motionless, her mind completely devoid of thought. As if in a trance, Ginny got up and followed her familiar route down to Black Lake where she would sit and cry her worries away.

The darkness was pressing in around her, and Ginny felt as bad, if not worse, than she used to feel. She had that feeling where nothing was ever going to go right for her, that things were always going to be screwed up. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. It was cool out, much cooler than it had been the last time she had gone out at night. Oh well Ginny thought miserably, letting the tears still fall down her cheeks.

"Hello?" a voice said tentatively. Ginny sat straight up in attention, looking into the darkness where a shadow was coming closer and closer to her.

The night was calming for Draco, a little chilly, but still good. He hadn't seen Ginny all day, which had made him upset. He couldn't find her at any of the normal places she usually was at. Oh well Draco thought at least I get to see her tomorrow. Draco walked a little ways along the bank of the lake, and then sat down by his normal tree. He thought of the girl who cries only briefly. Sometimes when he came out late at night he'd half hope that she would be there, but it didn't really matter to him anymore. He had Ginny now.

Draco smiled to himself, remembering the great day they had on Sunday. It had been amazing. Man, he liked Ginny so much…loved her actually.

What was that? Draco wondered. He had heard something down the bank. It sounded kind of like…no. He was imagining things. Draco sighed and picked at the dormant grass around him. Wait a second he thought, cocking his head again. Draco could've sworn that he heard something again. He could've sworn that he heard someone crying.

Slowly, he got up and walked down the bank. Sure enough, as he kept going, the noise got louder, and Draco was sure that it was the girl who cries.

"Hello?" he said tentatively and saw her head snap up in attention.

That voice Ginny thought it sounds so familiar. Could it be…?

"Draco?" Ginny whispered to the darkness.

How does she know me? Draco wondered in confusion. He stopped, and then it hit him. The girl who cries was Ginny.

"Ginny? Is that you?" he asked, confident that it was.

"Yeah," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks, and staring at the nearing figure.

"Gin, what are you doing out here?" he asked, but what he really wanted to know was why she was crying…why she used to cry as well.

"Well," Ginny said, sniffling a little, "I could ask you the same question,"

Draco sat down next to a shivering Ginny. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking his cloak off and draping it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "It's been a while since I came out here, and it's gotten a lot colder since then."

"Ginny," Draco said seriously. "You didn't answer me. Are you okay?"

Ginny turned away. How could she tell him? How could she explain what happened? She sure as hell didn't want Christian coming after her. That guy scared the crap out of her, but she couldn't just drop Draco just like that…could she?

"Ginny?" he repeated, forcing Ginny to snap out of it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered grimly.

"Don't lie to me, Ginny," Draco said, hurt that she couldn't tell him what was really going on. "You were just crying your eyes out. Something must be wrong."

"No, really," she tried weakly. "I'm fine."

"That's bull," he said angrily. "Ginny, why can't you tell me what's going on?" Ginny couldn't bear to look at him; he looked so hurt, and it killed her to know that she did that to him.

"Is it something I did?" he asked sadly.

"No!" Ginny cried out. How was she going to explain this? "It's just…" she tried, a lie forming in her head while she spoke. "I've had a long day, and I got a lot of crap from my teachers. Plus, some other people came up to me asking about what's going on between you and me, and they wouldn't leave me alone. Apparently, people saw us together, and I don't know," she finished weakly. "It was just a long day."

He stared at her, not believing what she was saying. Why is she lying to me? He wondered. What's she hiding?

"I'm sorry, Gin," he said, not pressing her for more information. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she tensed. What's going on with her? Draco wondered again. Finally, she relaxed and leaned into him, her breathing slow and deep.

"You know," Draco said hesitantly as he broke their silence. "I love you, Ginny."

Ginny closed her eyes, new tears forming and falling silently down her cheeks. She was supposed to be ending what they had. Ginny was about to open her mouth to tell Draco that she loved him too, but a picture of Christian popped into her head. She shuddered as a new wave of tears wet her cheeks.

She doesn't love me Draco thought miserably. It was a stupid idea to tell her. He sighed and just pulled Ginny closer. She had started crying again, and it was tearing Draco apart, but he had no idea what to do. She wouldn't tell him what was wrong; she was just holding everything inside, like the old Ginny. She was acting the way she had acted when he had just met her.

They sat in silence for another hour until Ginny got abruptly up and walked away. She didn't say anything, but she just walked slowly and quietly up to the castle, tears still streaming from her eyes. Draco sat miserably for a while more wondering what he had done wrong. Sunday had been great, and now all of a sudden, Ginny was holding back. She was fading away from Draco, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Ginny had almost convinced herself to not go to charms class. She even had the idea to drop out of the class entirely, but then she realized that she was throwing away a great opportunity. It would be stupid of her to give up the amazing chance because she was having guy issues. Actually, Ginny would've been fine. If she had been given the chance to just be with Draco, then everything would've worked out…she was sure of it. But now Christian had stepped in and ruined everything.

Ginny stopped before entering the classroom, her stomach fluttering and fear racing through her body. What on earth am I going to do? She wondered sadly. Finally, she stepped through the door. Draco turned around expectantly and smiled when he saw Ginny appear. Her heart dropped to her stomach. How could she do this to him? He had finally opened up for someone, and she was about to tear his heart a part.

She glanced over to Christian. He was smirking evilly with an empty chair pulled out next to him. With dread, Ginny passed by Draco's table, watching his mouth fall open in shock and his face contort in confusion. She sat down slowly in the empty chair by Christian and put her head down. There was no way that she was going to look at Draco. She didn't want to see the hurt she knew would be on his face.

When Flitwick told them to begin their illusions, Draco sauntered over to them, not about to give up that easily.

"Hey, Gin," Draco said uneasily. "What are you doing?"

Ginny didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Christian opened his mouth right away to tell Draco off.

"Ginny's my partner from now on," Christian said icily.

"What?" Draco asked trying to mask his pain. He turned his attention to Ginny. "Is this true?" he asked her, but Ginny didn't say anything; she didn't even move. She just kept her head down, not daring to look into Draco's hurt, gray eyes.

"It's okay, Gin," Christian said, wrapping an arm around her, and Ginny shuddered. "You can tell him."

Reluctantly Ginny nodded her head. What else was she supposed to do? How can I ever explain to him what happened? She was scared to death of Christian, and she feared what would happen if she went against his will.

"Move along now, Malfoy." He smirked, and Ginny saw Draco glance one more time at her, hurt evident all over his face.

For the rest of the hour, Ginny half-heartedly did human illusions with Christian. He would laugh and smile and make it seem like they were having a grand old time, but Ginny was miserable. All she kept thinking about was how she and Draco had so much fun illusioning each other. Ginny couldn't help but glance over at Draco, and he was always looking back, not hiding how angry and confused he was. But every time Ginny looked Draco's way, Christian would glare at her, and Ginny would look away.

After class, Ginny bolted away, trying to get away from both Draco and Christian. She didn't want to be around Christian one more second, and she didn't want to confront Draco. She made her way to her room, overwrought with misery. Ginny fell asleep there and didn't wake until next morning.

Ginny made her way slowly down to the breakfast hall. Normally she would have just skipped breakfast, especially considering her situation now, but she was absolutely starving. She sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, head sunk in defeat. All of sudden, the owls came in scaring Ginny half to death. She watched as each owl eventually found its recipient. Miserably, Ginny turned her attention back to her toast when a large, barn owl landed right beside her.

She looked around in confusion. Who would be sending me something? She took the parchment from its leg, and the owl bolted off right away. It was a small bit of parchment, and Ginny's hands were shaking as she opened it. On the piece of parchment, four words were hastily scrawled:

Same time, same place.

Ginny's heart sank as she realized who it was from: Draco. Of course she couldn't meet him. It would be way too dangerous, but…Her thoughts trailed off as she thought of what could possibly happen. Christian would never know, right? With that thought, she leapt up from her seat, a bit happier than she had been only earlier.

"Draco?" Ginny whispered into the darkness. She had just stepped into the charms classroom, which was dark and deserted. Perhaps, he won't come? Ginny thought miserably.

"I'm here, Gin," a voice came from the side of the classroom. Ginny whipped around to see Draco sitting in the chair she had sat in only earlier that day, during class. She walked over to him and sat in the chair next to him, waiting for him to say something…anything.

Ginny opened her mouth to start the conversation when Draco whipped around angrily, face contorted in rage.

"What's going on with you, Ginny?" he demanded, and she shrunk back. "One minute you're happy with me, and the next, you're off with him," Draco said, referring to Christian. "Can you at least tell me what the hell is going on with you?"

Ginny stared at him in the darkness. What am I supposed to tell him? That I care about him more than I've cared about anyone in my whole life? That Christian is threatening me and forcing me to be with him? That I feel so scared and unbelievably alone?

"I don't know," Ginny whispered to him, lowering her head.

"No, Ginny," he yelled at her. "Don't give me that! Don't lie to me!" He glared at her, his heart racing. Why is she doing this to me? He thought miserably.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," she mumbled, the tears falling freely from her cheeks. This was a bad idea. "I can't see you anymore," she whispered and looked up into his hurt face. How she wished she could take away all the pain.

"What?" he asked in shock. He was no longer angry with her, but how could anyone be when they saw how miserable she was. "Why?" he asked weakly.

"I can't explain," she muttered while getting up from her chair. "I just…I have to go." She turned quickly and stumbled. Right as she was about to hit the ground, Draco caught her. He pulled her back up and then held her close to his body. Ginny just snuggled into him, enjoying what would be the last time she would ever feel his arms around her.

"Ginny," he whispered pleadingly as he moved his hand to the back of her head. "Can't you tell me-"

"Ow!" she squeaked.

Draco looked at her, but didn't move his hand from the back of her head. "Gin, you have a huge bump right here."

Ginny's hand flew to the back of her head and lightly touched the bump there. Another wave a pain seared through her head, and she pulled her hand back.

"What did you do?" he asked her.

"I…uhh…" she said, looking for a reasonable excuse. "I dropped a book in my potions class, and when I reached over to pick it up, I bumped my head on the table," she finished lamely.

Draco looked at her skeptically. It could be true, but he didn't think so. What is with all this lying? He wondered sadly. Why can't she just tell me the truth?

Ginny stared at him, hoping he'd believe her. I mean, how could she possibly tell him the truth? How could she tell him that Christian had slammed her against a wall and demanded that she never speak with Draco again?

"I have to go now," she said quickly. What on earth am I doing here? If Christian finds out…she trailed off on that thought. She didn't want to imagine what Christian would do if he found out.

"But Gin-" was all Draco got out before Ginny had rushed out the door, leaving him alone and heartbroken.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Read and review please!