Have you guys seen that tumblr post that says "i have been having. a Weird fucking time"? I find that to be very relatable right now, hence the long (for me) update time...I think I'm overcoming some writer's block I had with this story though, so fingers crossed! love y'all, xoxo
Luckily he was faster, and jumped back off the bed, slamming the lid of the box shut.
"That's the diary," she whispered, scrambling out from under the covers and pressing herself against the headboard. "You've had it the whole time."
"Yes. I took it back after it was destroyed as a Horocrux, and much later Voldemort asked after it. In his rage, he laid a heavy curse on it, and gave it back to me. As punishment."
"But now you could have gotten rid of it. You were meant to get rid of it, when the Ministry came."
"I already told you I couldn't make myself. I'm sure he knew I was weak enough to always keep it, even when he was gone. Something is wrong with me."
"Yes, it is." Ginny was out of the bed now, frantically searching for the clothes she had worn to the Manor.
"You're upset."
"I'm leaving."
He thought about fighting for her, he really did, but this way was cleaner for them both. He watched the flames in the hearth burn green, and watched her spin away.
At home, she crawled into bed, which was cool from a week of disuse. The blankets lay heavy upon her, and as she closed her burning eyes, she couldn't imagine what would happen next.
Ginny slept until it was dark outside, only waking when a car alarm went off on the street below. She was alone, just like she had been a week before, and if anything she felt worse. Starving, she managed to crawl out of bed and to the kitchen, where she stared into an empty refrigerator. She considered going back to sleep, but knew that her hunger really was too big to ignore. Back in her bedroom, she looked in the mirror, smoothing down the clothes she had slept in. They were good enough to go downstairs to the café she lived above, where she was a regular and the waitstaff had seen her looking every which-way. She pulled her hair up and splashed some water on her face, and then rummaged through her drawers for Muggle money. Cursing when she couldn't find any, she began to wonder what sort of dinner she could make out of crackers and a tablespoon of orange marmalade. As she reached up into the cupboard, groping about for some canned beans she could have sworn she had, she felt something in her bra and recoiled, thinking it was a bug. But then she grabbed at it, and found the £50 note she had hidden there what felt like 100 years before.
Disgusting, she thought, horrified that she hadn't changed underwear in so long. But then she considered all the food she could buy with £50, forgot her disgust, and rushed out the door without another thought.
The café wasn't very fancy, but it was open late, and there was a table by the big front window where she liked to sit and watch people go by. 15 minutes later she was all settled in with a big roast beef sandwich and a bowl of soup, which took her no time at all to finish.
"Anything else?" her regular waitress asked with a kind smile. She could clearly see that Ginny was having a rough time of it.
"Um, do you have some of that really luxe chocolate cake? And maybe a cup of tea?" The waitress nodded and gave another smile. She was gone only for a moment, returning with a larger than average piece of cake. Ginny eyed it, knowing exactly why it was so big.
"Do I look that bad?" she asked, laughing a little.
"No!" the waitress said, too emphatically. "That was just all we had left and it's getting late, so I figured you might as well finish it off."
"Well, thank you. That's very nice."
"Just doing my job."
Digging in, Ginny felt a little better.
As she sat and tried to make the last sips of tea last as long as possible, Ginny began to notice someone hovering outside the café. He walked back and forth slowly a few times, and then stopped to pretend and read the menu in the window. Her eyes followed him the whole time, even though he was pretending not to see her. Finally, losing patience, Ginny rapped on the glass and made eye contact with him.
"Either come in, or get lost," she said, knowing he would be able to read her lips through the glass. Looking as though he was resigned to accept the Kiss of Death, Draco Malfoy pushed the door open and walked to her table.
"Sit down then," she said, completely beyond the point of caring that he was apparently stalking her. "Just passing by?"
"I've seen you here before," he said, beckoning the waitress, who looked at him as if he were the scum of the earth. She clearly thought he was the one who had caused Ginny's strife, and she was snappish as she took his order for tea.
"What do you want to say, then?" Ginny asked.
He took a deep breath and cast his eyes around, looking at all the Muggles, particularly a large group of college aged students who were clearly meant to be studying but had abandoned their books almost completely as they laughed and teased one another.
"Nice place," he commented. "Not stuffy like some of the Muggle restaurants I've been too."
"That wasn't the question, Draco."
The waitress came by and slammed his tea down, sloshing a little down the sides.
"Thanks," he said, loaded with sarcasm. She left again, and he mopped the table up with a napkin. "She's not too keen on me, though."
"She thinks you're the reason I'm here alone in days old clothes with massive bags under my eyes."
"Ah. Close enough, I suppose."
"How do you mean?"
"Do you think I'm stupid? I know who's the reason you're here alone in days old clothes with massive bags under your eyes."
"Do you?" Her heart rate quickened.
He smirked, even though his eyes betrayed hurt.
"You need to be more careful which windows you hang out of, Weasley."
Her mind flashed back to catching Nargles, and she closed her eyes and sunk lower in her chair.
"I didn't know you were there that day. And I didn't know anyone would be on that side of the house, there's nothing over there but the hedge maze," she groaned.
"He probably didn't want to tell you about me. He hates to talk about me now. And unluckily for both of us, I was deep in the maze that day, getting some fresh air."
"What a mess," she sighed, suddenly realizing just how much pain Draco must be in. Until then, she had tried to forget he even existed, afraid of how she would feel for being with a classmate's father. "But how did you know I had gone?"
"He had been unusually happy for a while, and when I saw you I knew why. But today when I went over he was just as depressed as always, so I asked Andromeda and she told me she didn't know what had happened but that you had scarpered. And now I can tell looking at you that it was his fault somehow."
"You're right about that."
"So what happened?"
"Why don't you leave me alone?"
"Can't."
"You really want to know the sordid details of me screwing your father?" She used the word "screwing" to hopefully shock him and maybe make him leave.
"Yes."
She looked at him, and it became clear from the set expression on his face that he was feeling just as callous and reckless as she. They were two badly broken people with very little to lose.
"Fine. He showed me the diary. That whole time I had been there, I had been so open and trusting with him thinking that I was going to finally get over what Tom did to me, and then he pulled that out."
Draco crossed his arms over his chest and nodded slowly several times, looking out the window this time.
"He's a miserable, weak old man, deep down. But he can still turn the charm on," he said.
"Clearly." Ginny was scraping her plate meticulously with her fork, bound and determined to not miss even one speck of icing.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"Do?"
"You can get back at him now. You have all the ammunition you need to have him arrested."
"Is that why you're here? To convince me not to tell?"
"Quite the opposite. I think you should."
