Disclaimer: Same as the first chapter.
A\N: Wow, I'm impressed with the number of reviews. Thank you all so much. Gosh, you guys are all lovely reviewers. I'm sorry if I'm kind of taking this two fast, but I'm trying to fit a ten chapter story into just four chapters. Technically, if I do a lot of parts and describe every little thing that happens, it'll go up to ten, but I'm just writing down the main parts. Also, it wasn't mentioned in any reviews but when my sister read it, for some reason, she had an idea that at the end, Ginny was playing game with Draco's heart. If any of you thought it, that's not it. When I said she would play a game of her own and the price would be his heart, she isn't going to hurt him, never. I'll never do it, I can't. Anyway, that's all basically. Read this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it too. Bai.
Chapter Two
The next day wasn't too different from the previous one. Gray clouds still hung over the sky, clouding every student's heart like they would never see another day of sunlight. Ginny woke up with a cough and stuffy nose, her head burning with a high fever. She got out of bed and swayed before she steadied herself and made her way into the restroom.
She was deathly pale in the mirror, her long red hair flat against her back. She ran water over her face to wash off the sleep in her eyes and looked back up to look at herself, almost disgusted. She was plain with boring brown eyes unlike Harry's emerald green ones. Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, giving her a childish look and regular thin lips. The only thing she liked about herself was her hair and even that wasn't looking so good today.
Ginny huffed and left the lavatory, heading downstairs. She didn't change out of her pajamas, she didn't feel like it. Before stepping down the stairs, she held onto the banister to keep herself from falling and forced her eyes to cooperate. Everything was a blur to her, she wasn't sure she could make it downstairs without fainting.
Her head pounded like a drum went off and she held her head together as though if she let go, it would come apart. Harry saw her from where he sat on the sofa and made his way over, staring at her with concern. He helped her over to the couch and helped her sit, taking a seat himself.
No one else was up. Who would be at seven o'clock in the morning on a Sunday? Well, maybe except for her and Harry. The fire burned steadily, warming Ginny up. She hugged herself for more warmth and leaned on Harry's shoulder, closing her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, tensing at her boldness.
She shook her head and sighed, finally at peace. She breathed in Harry's intoxicating smell of shampoo and nuzzled deeper onto his shoulder. She wanted to stay there for eternity.
A hand brushed up to her forehead and Harry jumped up, letting out a yelp. He stared at her, almost accusingly. "You're burning up," he told her, staring at her as if trying to take it all in. "You need to go see Madam Pomfrey."
Ginny shook her head and leaned back on the sofa so as to cease the throbbing pain in her head. She closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths to ease the pain. "Don't worry about it," she muttered. "It'll past soon enough."
But Harry went against her and pulled her up, making the pain in her head throb even more. She held onto him and he dragged her towards the portrait hole, their destination the Hospital Wing.
He had his arm around her waist and she clung onto his neck, her eyes still closed. A picture of a beat-up Colin came to her mind and she shivered. Harry tugged her closer so as to war her, thinking the fever was causing the tremble. "Where did you go yesterday?" he asked, leading her towards the flight of staircases. "You just ran off in the middle of our conversation."
She scoffed, keeping her eyes closed. The pain in her head was only getting worse. "You mean the conversation between you and Hermione," she insisted. "We weren't having a conversation. You two spoke as if I wasn't even standing there."
Harry sighed, "careful," he told her, helping her down the staircases. "Look, I'm sorry about that. It's just that, well, what happened to Colin is awful and we weren't sure you were ready to hear about it. He was beaten up pretty badly."
Ginny enjoyed the comforts of Harry's arms and clung onto his neck for as long as she could. A part of her wished this moment would never end, but the logical part of her told her that he would never remember this after all was over it. "But I deserve to know the truth," she told him, feeling the ends of his dark hair tickle her forehead. "I deserve to know what happened to him even though he is my ex."
They reached the landing that would take them to the Hospital Wing and Harry slowly pushed the door open that would lead them into the corridors. As soon as they were through, a feeling of being watched washed over Ginny and she tensed, soon followed by Harry. "What was that?" she asked him.
"I don't know," Harry said calmly, stopping to look behind them. When nothing came out, they continued on. "Anyway, you didn't fly out of the window did you?" he asked her suspiciously, his green eyes narrowed. She could see it even when her eyes were closed. "You know it's against Hogwart's rules."
Ginny laughed bitterly, opening her eyes only to be hit by a wave of throb. She closed her them again, "rules?" she asked sourly. "What rules? You never followed them yourself."
"Yes," Harry admitted. They were only yards from the Hospital Wing now. "True, but all those rules I broke almost got me expelled, more than once," he said.
Her legs grew weak and she stumbled. Harry picked her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. Ginny didn't dare open her eyes. Her cheeks were flamed with colors identical to her hair.
Harry continued to speak as if he didn't see her flamed cheeks. "I don't want you getting expelled the year before your last year," he said truthfully. "It won't do you any good."
He pushed the door into the Hospital Wing open with his legs and carried her in. Only then did the strange sensation of being watched disappear and she sighed with relief. Harry carried her over to a bed, one near Ron's and settled her in. Ron was still asleep, his mouth hanging open slightly. Drool was coming from inside and he kept talking.
Harry grinned at her and pulled the covers over her. "You won't tell him will you?' she asked him ever so softly. "You won't tell Ron what I did will you?"
She opened her eyes and Harry shook his head, walking in the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office. He opened her door and peeked in. "I need your help," Ginny heard him tell Madam Pomfrey. "It's another case of the cold."
Ginny cringed when she heard the angry muttering of the nurse and almost wished she had never gone out into the rain. But another part was thankful because she has a mission to accomplish now.
"What were you doing out in the cold?" Madam Pomfrey asked, bringing over a steaming cup.
Ginny took it and glanced inside, almost reluctant to drink the thick liquid. "What is this?" she asked the older woman but looking past her shoulder to give Harry a silent plea.
He grinned slyly at her and waved good-bye before leaving. Ginny shot him a glare of daggers which pierced him directly in the back and she downed the cup of thick liquid never once breathing in the scent. "Ugh, this is so gross."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, taking the cup away. "Medicine isn't supposed to taste good," she said and turned to Ron's bed. She shook him hard until he woke up and practically yelled into his ears, "you're all well, Mr. Weasley. You can have a visit with your sister and then leave."
She turned and walked away, glancing momentarily in the direction of the closed curtains. That was Madam Pomfrey, a woman of control. Ginny turned to her brother who was getting out of bed, still rubbing his eyes. When his vision was focused, he stared at her and something exploded inside of him.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed almost too loud. "What are you doing in here?"
She shrugged almost shyly and looked away to avoid eye contact. What would she tell him? She couldn't say she just got sick out of nowhere, or could she? "Nothing," she told him pathetically.
Ron didn't buy it even for a second. His eyes narrowed suspiciously the way Harry's did earlier and he accused her. "You went outside didn't you?"
"N-no," she stuttered, avoiding eye contact. "I-I didn't go outside. I-I got sick f-from, er, well, er, you." She finished the last word too quickly and Ron's suspicion grew, but her explanation was logical. He nodded, handing her the box of tissue that had been his only last night.
"You'll need this," he told her. "I'll be owling mum about it. I'll return to visit you later okay?"
She nodded and then he disappeared out the door. Ginny sighed and relaxed on her bed, putting a hand to her forehead. It was burning like the flames in the hearth.
Madam Pomfrey returned with extra blankets for her. She took the opportunity to ask what has been in her head ever since yesterday, "is he going to be okay?" She nodded her head in the direction of Collin.
A thin line appeared on Madam Pomfrey's lips and she began walking away. She answered over her shoulders, "he's going to be fine, so don't you worry. Rest, Miss Weasley. You'll need it."
It was something that Madam Pomfrey said to every of her patient, by why did Ginny feel as if she really meant something else?
Even with all those blankets covering her, Ginny still shivered like a draft came through the closed window.
* * *
Later that night, Ginny awoke to muffled voices and shuffling feet. She opened her eyes a tad bit to take a peek, but not so much that someone would notice she wasn't asleep anymore.
A boy was carrying in the limp form of another boy. She couldn't make out who they were because in order for the patients to sleep, the candles have floated to the top where it would not be so bright.
Madam Pomfrey came from within her office, her face filled with worry and it didn't take light to see it. Ginny saw- no, felt it in the way she carried herself. She heard the older woman whisper, "lay him here."
A bed squeaked and a moan submerged from the new patient. "What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked, her voice hushed so as not to disturb Ginny. "The same thing?"
Ginny didn't hear an answer, but she was sure the boy who carried in the patient nodded. But her attention was soon averted when more footsteps entered the room. Swishing robes on the ground announced the newcomers as Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and to Ginny's distaste, Professor Snape.
"Who is causing all these attacks?" Professor McGonagall asked, gasping at the sight of the bloody boy. "These are not just accidents, professors," she informed the others. "This is attempted murder."
"Reminds me of the year when the basilisk roamed the." Professor Snape said, but Madam Pomfrey hushed him.
"You will speak no such thing in the presence of her," she said, motioning towards Ginny.
Ever since they arrived, Dumbledore hadn't said a thing, but he now turned to the boy who brought in the patient. "Now tell me, where exactly did you find him?"
"The corridors leading to Slytherin common room," a cold voice informed the professors, one identical to the one Ginny had heard only yesterday. "I was patrolling the dungeons as it is my duty and I came across this boy, bludgeon almost to death. If I had not arrived, perhaps he might have been killed."
They all left Madam Pomfrey to care for the boy and walked in the direction of the door, directly in Ginny's view. "Did you see the perpetrator's face?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously though she knew what the answer would be.
"I only saw a cloaked figure," he said, heading out and Ginny caught sight of his hair, knowing her suspicions earlier had been true. Draco Malfoy brought in this boy as he had brought in Collin only yesterday.
* * *
"I knew it," Ron said the following day, glaring at nothing in particular. "I knew this wasn't an accident. All bets go to Malfoy that he's the traitor, trying to murder for his dark lord. I mean, how is it possible that he found both bodies in exactly two nights?"
Hermione and Harry were in the Hospital Wing with him too, sitting on Ginny's bedside. Far in the corner, across from the closed ward of Collin's was another closed ward. No one knew who lay in there, only that he's as good as dead.
"But Malfoy's explanation is coherent," Hermione said, staring anxiously at Ginny and Harry to support her. "He is the Headboy and his duty is to patrol the dungeons whilst I and the prefects patrol the above levels. If it had been outside or anywhere else, I would have been as suspicious."
Ron glared at her, his gaze made from ice, granite, and stainless steel. Hermione looked away slightly embarrassed, but Ginny caught the pain in her eyes. She loved Ron, but he couldn't see it. She's loved him ever since last year but he's been oblivious to it all, or at least they all thought.
"Hermione's right," Ginny said, jumping in for the rescue. "If it had been anywhere else but the dungeons, Malfoy will be our suspect."
Ron's glower was now directed at her, but she didn't back down. If she had been standing, she would have stood her ground, but in this case, she laid her ground. Her sympathy went out to her friend and she lashed out at her own brother with cruelty she never knew she had. "Don't give me that look," she told him, her gaze mirroring his. "What if you had been the one who found them? Would you like it if we went around saying that you were the suspect? Malfoy's as innocent as anyone until he's proven guilty."
"But that's just it," Ron shot back, standing up now. "He isn't innocent. Of all people, he's the least innocent. His father is in league with You- Know-Who; we've already seen that in our fifth year didn't we? And as we all know the apple doesn't fall far from its tree."
Hermione stood up and left, tears brimming her eyes. Ginny would have gone after her, but she wasn't permitted to leave just yet so to help out her friend, she continued to argue with her brother. "Well you've fallen far from your tree," she told him, watching as his face grew brighter. "You're cruel, Ron Weasley! There goes the woman, maybe the only woman who will ever love you and you're causing her pain. Isn't there anything that could go through your thick head?"
Silence filled the room and Ron's glare softened. He watched Ginny carefully to see if she would shift her gaze, but she didn't once look away. Anger and truth soared through her eyes, telling Ron the truth and he turned on his heel, hopefully heading after Hermione. Boy she was going to kill Ginny later.
"Why're you protecting him?" Harry asked in the silence after the door thudded closed behind Ron and his footsteps had faded down the corridors. "Why're you siding with Malfoy?"
His question surprised her and she frowned at him, wondering why he was thinking that. "What makes you think I'm siding with Malfoy?" she asked him, holding her blanket against her so as to keep herself warm. "All I'm saying is that he shouldn't be accused of something we're not sure he did."
Harry's jaws clenched tightly, his eyes keenly on her bed. Finally, he looked into her eyes and she saw something blazed within his. Anger? Disappointment? Jealousy? All three? She didn't know.
"But you jumped to his defense so quickly that if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought there was something going on," he said truthfully, wanting to believe what Ginny was saying. If she had insisted once again that there was nothing, he would have believed it, that was how much he wanted to believe her.
Ginny didn't say anything else, her eyes averted from his. She stared at the end of her bed, guilt overcoming her because there was a reason she jumped to Draco's defense. She didn't only do it to help Hermione but because she believed that about Draco or she wanted to anyway.
A scoff came from deep within Harry's throat and he shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his face. He couldn't believe that he was hearing this; he couldn't believe that she wasn't going to tell him that he had mistaken, that she really didn't jump to Draco's defense.
Harry stood up and left the room, not looking back once. Ginny didn't understand what had just happened, why it had happened, but she didn't have time to think about it. She threw the covers off and walked towards the other side of the room, heading in the direction of the new closed ward.
No matter how bloody he might be, she would find out who he is. She had to know, she needed to know. It wasn't only for her sake, but for Draco's too. He was innocent, but would others think the same?
She slowly put her hands on the white curtains and hesitantly drew them open. The past swirled through her mind and she paused: A pool of blood began gathering by her foot, coming from underneath the door right before her. No, not her but four-year-old her. Her hand proceeded to the door, to open it.
The curtains lifted and the image before her refocused. There wasn't so much blood as she had thought, but there was still enough to make her sick. The cut and swollen face was hard for her to distinguish, and it took her a while to but at the end, she did and she fainted.
Not from the sight of blood only, but from the sight of who did lay underneath that mess. Why Michael? Her unconscious mind asked nothing and no one.
* * *
That night, Ginny woke up bathed in moonlight. She didn't know what happened, couldn't remember what had happened. She was still in the Hospital Wing, but how did she end up in the bed? She had fainted on the floor, right next to the bed that curtained Michael from the world.
Michael, a voice called deep in her heart. She had loved him and when he left her for Cho, it had hurt her. But she didn't show it to the others; she couldn't show to them her broken heart. No, she concealed it like a secret, like her heart and emotions were only a secret that no one should know. And maybe no one should know.
Tears brimmed her eyes though she tried to force them away. Why did she have to cry now? Why couldn't she cry earlier when she learned that it was Collin and Michael, the two people who had been involved with her?
The candles were once again floating too high in the ceiling, making sure she didn't get enough light. Where was Madam Pomfrey? No candle burned in her office the way it usually did each night when she was up, making medicine for the patients.
"You were unconscious," someone spoke from within the shadows, sending a cold chill down her spine. Ginny held her blanket tighter against her as if it could protect her against him and she watched him, watched his cold smirk. "No one would have found you if I hadn't come in."
The same creepy feeling she felt around him that same night he grabbed her from behind rushed through her, coursing adrenaline through her and she prepared herself for a fight if the need called. Blaise made her very uncomfortable and he knew it too.
"Don't like me very much?" he asked her, walking until he was silhouetted by the moonlight too. "Don't feel comfortable around me?"
She glared at him, wondering where Madam Pomfrey was when she was needed the most. Collin, or maybe Michael moaned and Blaise smirked again, glancing in their direction. "Pity what happened to them," he said, then he turned around with cloak billowing behind him and all and he disappeared through the door.
Ginny gave off a heavy sigh and relaxed but her heart still pounded as though she had been running. Why did he frighten her so much?
* * *
The next morning, Madam Pomfrey allowed her to leave and she did so in time for breakfast. She hadn't spoken to either her brother or Hermione and Harry ever since they left the Hospital Wing yesterday. They didn't know what happened to her and they especially didn't know that Blaise paid her a visit, but then again, when did they ever know anything that ever happened to her? She was the last at everything.
Ginny took a seat as far away from either one of them as she could, but that was impossible because they were split up. Ron inhabited one side of the table where Hermione took the middle and Harry occupied the end. The only place she had left where she would be far from Harry and nowhere near Ron was in the middle with Hermione. But Hermione would kill her for opening her mouth, so she had nowhere but, in between Ron and Hermione near none other than Neville Longbottom.
"Hi, Ginny," he greeted her, a piece of bacon in his hands and toast in his mouth. She had full view of his chewing mouth and the contents within which made her lose her appetite.
She smiled nervously at him, looking hopefully for anywhere else to sit. When she finished her search and concluded that there was none, she faced Neville again, avoiding looking into his mouth. "Beautiful morning eh?" she asked him weakly.
Neville nodded, stuffing scrambled eggs into his mouth. He gulped down orange juice first, thankfully and spoke. "Nice compared to the day before yesterday," he said, looking out at the blue clouds but windy ambiance. "Looks cold though, don't you reckon?"
She felt eyes on her and glanced to see if either Ron, Hermione, or Harry was glaring at her, but they were all too busy with something else. Ron was 2grumpily poking his toast, tossing occasional glances at Hermione. Harry was looking at something beyond the Gryffindor table and Hermione was chatting away noisily with Pravati Patil and Lavender Brown.
Ginny looked back at her food and tried to eat, but she couldn't force herself to. "You haven't touched your breakfast since you arrived," he informed her, gulping a mouthful of bacon. "Aren't you hungry? I did hear that you were sick."
A weak smile appeared on her face and she shoved his comment aside, looking behind herself to find the source of where the gaze was coming from. Her eyes locked with Draco Malfoy and a smile almost came over her, but she held herself together and didn't. He watched her intently, no emotions visible on his flawless face.
Now, to start off her game, she would speak to him. But how? Well, that's easy because Ron and Harry weren't talking to her and they would be no problem. All she needed was the right time to run into him in the corridors.
Ginny stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, holding Draco's eyes all the way through until she had to turn in order not the run into anyone or anything. Before she exited the Great Hall, she caught Harry's enticing emerald eyes and she wanted to apologize, but he looked away, pain upon him.
* * *
She waited in the corridor for quite some time before he came. The ones who passed by didn't give her one glance before continuing on. That was how unimportant she was. No one even cared to glance at her because she was the last thing they needed to worry about, the last thing they ever needed to notice. She was just another shadow in the corner, nothing that could ever rise above herself.
When he exited the Great hall, she knew it would be him. His hundred galleons shoes clacked on the stone floor and his expensive robe didn't dare touch the floor for it was too good to even be near it. His slicked back silver hair was slightly askew from the wind blowing in through the window and his gray eyes searched for her in the corner, like he knew that was where she would be unlike Harry and the others who didn't even see her.
As if reading her mind, he motioned for them outside and led the way. No words were spoken, none had to be. They could understand one another well enough.
The wind tossed Ginny's flaming hair around, spilling it over her right shoulder. She blinked rapidly to keep the wind out but it got in and tears filled her eyes. At least now he could really blame the wind for the tears in her eyes.
"You brought Michael in," she said, almost accusingly. "Also Collin too."
He skipped a rock that bounced four times before it sank to the bottom. Draco shrugged his shoulders and stared off in the distance, breathing in deeply the cold air. His face was red from the cold, not very godlike for him, but still handsome.
"So what if I did?" he said, never once meeting her eyes. "Am I not supposed to?"
She shrugged and tried to skip her own rock, but it pelted to the bottom without skipping even once. Ginny sighed, "Everyone thinks you're doing this."
Draco skipped another rock that bounced five times before dropping down to the bottom. He turned to her, a smirk upon his lips. "I don't care what they think," he said carelessly as if it really didn't matter. "All I care about is I didn't do it."
"They think you're doing it for You-Know-Who," Ginny continued again as if he hadn't said anything at all. "I don't think you're doing it either, but you have to prove them wrong otherwise."
Ginny's attempt to skip another rock failed and she picked up another one, but Draco grabbed her wrist, holding her back this time. "Otherwise what?" he asked dangerously low. "You don't just skip rocks by throwing it; you have to flick your wrist smoothly."
He demonstrated it and she watched him closely. "Otherwise they will send you to the same place your father is," she answered, trying it but failing once again. Draco sneered.
"Slowly, Weasley," he told her, coming to stand behind her. He put his arms around her, his hands holding her wrist to show her how her wrist should be flicked. "Like this," he did the movement for her several times, making sure she got it. "They might," he said to what she said earlier.
Ginny picked up another rock and sighed, stepping out of Draco's grasp. She turned to stare at him, her eyes questioning. "Why did you bring them in?"
He shrugged carelessly, sticking his hands into his pockets. He looked out across the lake again. "Because I found them and I'm supposed to."
She laughed, low but disturbing. It wasn't one ever made by her before and Draco was shocked, though he recollected himself quickly. She skipped her rock and this time it skipped twice before dropping. "You never do anything you're supposed to," she said, smirking triumphantly. "What makes you think I'll believe you?"
Draco sighed, his eyes slightly squinted against the wind. Like that, he looked like he was studying her, or maybe confused with her. "You don't have to believe me either."
"But I find myself wanting to," she answered him truthfully. It wasn't because she loved him, she just wanted to understand that he was human and not some robotic creature. The same reason why she wanted to win his heart.
Then as mysterious as before, he turned and walked away, his hands still deeply in his pockets. He paused in his strides and looked back at her, his eyes still squinted. His gray eyes studied her, looking her up and down. Finally, he scoffed and shook his head. "Then you're way in over your head," he said only to walk away.
Ginny watched him walk away, a sheepish grin on her face. True, she was in way over her head, but he just didn't know how deep.
A\N: Also, Draco isn't in love with her, not yet. Chapter one, he didn't hold Blaise back or talked to her because he loved her. He just did it because he respected women. He told Ginny that and it's true. Also, thanks to Keh13 for catching this. Yes, it's wind for the redness of your eyes when Draco speaks in the first chappie not rain for the redness of your eyes. I didn't catch that. And thanks everyone for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.
A\N: Wow, I'm impressed with the number of reviews. Thank you all so much. Gosh, you guys are all lovely reviewers. I'm sorry if I'm kind of taking this two fast, but I'm trying to fit a ten chapter story into just four chapters. Technically, if I do a lot of parts and describe every little thing that happens, it'll go up to ten, but I'm just writing down the main parts. Also, it wasn't mentioned in any reviews but when my sister read it, for some reason, she had an idea that at the end, Ginny was playing game with Draco's heart. If any of you thought it, that's not it. When I said she would play a game of her own and the price would be his heart, she isn't going to hurt him, never. I'll never do it, I can't. Anyway, that's all basically. Read this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it too. Bai.
Chapter Two
The next day wasn't too different from the previous one. Gray clouds still hung over the sky, clouding every student's heart like they would never see another day of sunlight. Ginny woke up with a cough and stuffy nose, her head burning with a high fever. She got out of bed and swayed before she steadied herself and made her way into the restroom.
She was deathly pale in the mirror, her long red hair flat against her back. She ran water over her face to wash off the sleep in her eyes and looked back up to look at herself, almost disgusted. She was plain with boring brown eyes unlike Harry's emerald green ones. Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, giving her a childish look and regular thin lips. The only thing she liked about herself was her hair and even that wasn't looking so good today.
Ginny huffed and left the lavatory, heading downstairs. She didn't change out of her pajamas, she didn't feel like it. Before stepping down the stairs, she held onto the banister to keep herself from falling and forced her eyes to cooperate. Everything was a blur to her, she wasn't sure she could make it downstairs without fainting.
Her head pounded like a drum went off and she held her head together as though if she let go, it would come apart. Harry saw her from where he sat on the sofa and made his way over, staring at her with concern. He helped her over to the couch and helped her sit, taking a seat himself.
No one else was up. Who would be at seven o'clock in the morning on a Sunday? Well, maybe except for her and Harry. The fire burned steadily, warming Ginny up. She hugged herself for more warmth and leaned on Harry's shoulder, closing her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, tensing at her boldness.
She shook her head and sighed, finally at peace. She breathed in Harry's intoxicating smell of shampoo and nuzzled deeper onto his shoulder. She wanted to stay there for eternity.
A hand brushed up to her forehead and Harry jumped up, letting out a yelp. He stared at her, almost accusingly. "You're burning up," he told her, staring at her as if trying to take it all in. "You need to go see Madam Pomfrey."
Ginny shook her head and leaned back on the sofa so as to cease the throbbing pain in her head. She closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths to ease the pain. "Don't worry about it," she muttered. "It'll past soon enough."
But Harry went against her and pulled her up, making the pain in her head throb even more. She held onto him and he dragged her towards the portrait hole, their destination the Hospital Wing.
He had his arm around her waist and she clung onto his neck, her eyes still closed. A picture of a beat-up Colin came to her mind and she shivered. Harry tugged her closer so as to war her, thinking the fever was causing the tremble. "Where did you go yesterday?" he asked, leading her towards the flight of staircases. "You just ran off in the middle of our conversation."
She scoffed, keeping her eyes closed. The pain in her head was only getting worse. "You mean the conversation between you and Hermione," she insisted. "We weren't having a conversation. You two spoke as if I wasn't even standing there."
Harry sighed, "careful," he told her, helping her down the staircases. "Look, I'm sorry about that. It's just that, well, what happened to Colin is awful and we weren't sure you were ready to hear about it. He was beaten up pretty badly."
Ginny enjoyed the comforts of Harry's arms and clung onto his neck for as long as she could. A part of her wished this moment would never end, but the logical part of her told her that he would never remember this after all was over it. "But I deserve to know the truth," she told him, feeling the ends of his dark hair tickle her forehead. "I deserve to know what happened to him even though he is my ex."
They reached the landing that would take them to the Hospital Wing and Harry slowly pushed the door open that would lead them into the corridors. As soon as they were through, a feeling of being watched washed over Ginny and she tensed, soon followed by Harry. "What was that?" she asked him.
"I don't know," Harry said calmly, stopping to look behind them. When nothing came out, they continued on. "Anyway, you didn't fly out of the window did you?" he asked her suspiciously, his green eyes narrowed. She could see it even when her eyes were closed. "You know it's against Hogwart's rules."
Ginny laughed bitterly, opening her eyes only to be hit by a wave of throb. She closed her them again, "rules?" she asked sourly. "What rules? You never followed them yourself."
"Yes," Harry admitted. They were only yards from the Hospital Wing now. "True, but all those rules I broke almost got me expelled, more than once," he said.
Her legs grew weak and she stumbled. Harry picked her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. Ginny didn't dare open her eyes. Her cheeks were flamed with colors identical to her hair.
Harry continued to speak as if he didn't see her flamed cheeks. "I don't want you getting expelled the year before your last year," he said truthfully. "It won't do you any good."
He pushed the door into the Hospital Wing open with his legs and carried her in. Only then did the strange sensation of being watched disappear and she sighed with relief. Harry carried her over to a bed, one near Ron's and settled her in. Ron was still asleep, his mouth hanging open slightly. Drool was coming from inside and he kept talking.
Harry grinned at her and pulled the covers over her. "You won't tell him will you?' she asked him ever so softly. "You won't tell Ron what I did will you?"
She opened her eyes and Harry shook his head, walking in the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office. He opened her door and peeked in. "I need your help," Ginny heard him tell Madam Pomfrey. "It's another case of the cold."
Ginny cringed when she heard the angry muttering of the nurse and almost wished she had never gone out into the rain. But another part was thankful because she has a mission to accomplish now.
"What were you doing out in the cold?" Madam Pomfrey asked, bringing over a steaming cup.
Ginny took it and glanced inside, almost reluctant to drink the thick liquid. "What is this?" she asked the older woman but looking past her shoulder to give Harry a silent plea.
He grinned slyly at her and waved good-bye before leaving. Ginny shot him a glare of daggers which pierced him directly in the back and she downed the cup of thick liquid never once breathing in the scent. "Ugh, this is so gross."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, taking the cup away. "Medicine isn't supposed to taste good," she said and turned to Ron's bed. She shook him hard until he woke up and practically yelled into his ears, "you're all well, Mr. Weasley. You can have a visit with your sister and then leave."
She turned and walked away, glancing momentarily in the direction of the closed curtains. That was Madam Pomfrey, a woman of control. Ginny turned to her brother who was getting out of bed, still rubbing his eyes. When his vision was focused, he stared at her and something exploded inside of him.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed almost too loud. "What are you doing in here?"
She shrugged almost shyly and looked away to avoid eye contact. What would she tell him? She couldn't say she just got sick out of nowhere, or could she? "Nothing," she told him pathetically.
Ron didn't buy it even for a second. His eyes narrowed suspiciously the way Harry's did earlier and he accused her. "You went outside didn't you?"
"N-no," she stuttered, avoiding eye contact. "I-I didn't go outside. I-I got sick f-from, er, well, er, you." She finished the last word too quickly and Ron's suspicion grew, but her explanation was logical. He nodded, handing her the box of tissue that had been his only last night.
"You'll need this," he told her. "I'll be owling mum about it. I'll return to visit you later okay?"
She nodded and then he disappeared out the door. Ginny sighed and relaxed on her bed, putting a hand to her forehead. It was burning like the flames in the hearth.
Madam Pomfrey returned with extra blankets for her. She took the opportunity to ask what has been in her head ever since yesterday, "is he going to be okay?" She nodded her head in the direction of Collin.
A thin line appeared on Madam Pomfrey's lips and she began walking away. She answered over her shoulders, "he's going to be fine, so don't you worry. Rest, Miss Weasley. You'll need it."
It was something that Madam Pomfrey said to every of her patient, by why did Ginny feel as if she really meant something else?
Even with all those blankets covering her, Ginny still shivered like a draft came through the closed window.
* * *
Later that night, Ginny awoke to muffled voices and shuffling feet. She opened her eyes a tad bit to take a peek, but not so much that someone would notice she wasn't asleep anymore.
A boy was carrying in the limp form of another boy. She couldn't make out who they were because in order for the patients to sleep, the candles have floated to the top where it would not be so bright.
Madam Pomfrey came from within her office, her face filled with worry and it didn't take light to see it. Ginny saw- no, felt it in the way she carried herself. She heard the older woman whisper, "lay him here."
A bed squeaked and a moan submerged from the new patient. "What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked, her voice hushed so as not to disturb Ginny. "The same thing?"
Ginny didn't hear an answer, but she was sure the boy who carried in the patient nodded. But her attention was soon averted when more footsteps entered the room. Swishing robes on the ground announced the newcomers as Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and to Ginny's distaste, Professor Snape.
"Who is causing all these attacks?" Professor McGonagall asked, gasping at the sight of the bloody boy. "These are not just accidents, professors," she informed the others. "This is attempted murder."
"Reminds me of the year when the basilisk roamed the." Professor Snape said, but Madam Pomfrey hushed him.
"You will speak no such thing in the presence of her," she said, motioning towards Ginny.
Ever since they arrived, Dumbledore hadn't said a thing, but he now turned to the boy who brought in the patient. "Now tell me, where exactly did you find him?"
"The corridors leading to Slytherin common room," a cold voice informed the professors, one identical to the one Ginny had heard only yesterday. "I was patrolling the dungeons as it is my duty and I came across this boy, bludgeon almost to death. If I had not arrived, perhaps he might have been killed."
They all left Madam Pomfrey to care for the boy and walked in the direction of the door, directly in Ginny's view. "Did you see the perpetrator's face?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously though she knew what the answer would be.
"I only saw a cloaked figure," he said, heading out and Ginny caught sight of his hair, knowing her suspicions earlier had been true. Draco Malfoy brought in this boy as he had brought in Collin only yesterday.
* * *
"I knew it," Ron said the following day, glaring at nothing in particular. "I knew this wasn't an accident. All bets go to Malfoy that he's the traitor, trying to murder for his dark lord. I mean, how is it possible that he found both bodies in exactly two nights?"
Hermione and Harry were in the Hospital Wing with him too, sitting on Ginny's bedside. Far in the corner, across from the closed ward of Collin's was another closed ward. No one knew who lay in there, only that he's as good as dead.
"But Malfoy's explanation is coherent," Hermione said, staring anxiously at Ginny and Harry to support her. "He is the Headboy and his duty is to patrol the dungeons whilst I and the prefects patrol the above levels. If it had been outside or anywhere else, I would have been as suspicious."
Ron glared at her, his gaze made from ice, granite, and stainless steel. Hermione looked away slightly embarrassed, but Ginny caught the pain in her eyes. She loved Ron, but he couldn't see it. She's loved him ever since last year but he's been oblivious to it all, or at least they all thought.
"Hermione's right," Ginny said, jumping in for the rescue. "If it had been anywhere else but the dungeons, Malfoy will be our suspect."
Ron's glower was now directed at her, but she didn't back down. If she had been standing, she would have stood her ground, but in this case, she laid her ground. Her sympathy went out to her friend and she lashed out at her own brother with cruelty she never knew she had. "Don't give me that look," she told him, her gaze mirroring his. "What if you had been the one who found them? Would you like it if we went around saying that you were the suspect? Malfoy's as innocent as anyone until he's proven guilty."
"But that's just it," Ron shot back, standing up now. "He isn't innocent. Of all people, he's the least innocent. His father is in league with You- Know-Who; we've already seen that in our fifth year didn't we? And as we all know the apple doesn't fall far from its tree."
Hermione stood up and left, tears brimming her eyes. Ginny would have gone after her, but she wasn't permitted to leave just yet so to help out her friend, she continued to argue with her brother. "Well you've fallen far from your tree," she told him, watching as his face grew brighter. "You're cruel, Ron Weasley! There goes the woman, maybe the only woman who will ever love you and you're causing her pain. Isn't there anything that could go through your thick head?"
Silence filled the room and Ron's glare softened. He watched Ginny carefully to see if she would shift her gaze, but she didn't once look away. Anger and truth soared through her eyes, telling Ron the truth and he turned on his heel, hopefully heading after Hermione. Boy she was going to kill Ginny later.
"Why're you protecting him?" Harry asked in the silence after the door thudded closed behind Ron and his footsteps had faded down the corridors. "Why're you siding with Malfoy?"
His question surprised her and she frowned at him, wondering why he was thinking that. "What makes you think I'm siding with Malfoy?" she asked him, holding her blanket against her so as to keep herself warm. "All I'm saying is that he shouldn't be accused of something we're not sure he did."
Harry's jaws clenched tightly, his eyes keenly on her bed. Finally, he looked into her eyes and she saw something blazed within his. Anger? Disappointment? Jealousy? All three? She didn't know.
"But you jumped to his defense so quickly that if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought there was something going on," he said truthfully, wanting to believe what Ginny was saying. If she had insisted once again that there was nothing, he would have believed it, that was how much he wanted to believe her.
Ginny didn't say anything else, her eyes averted from his. She stared at the end of her bed, guilt overcoming her because there was a reason she jumped to Draco's defense. She didn't only do it to help Hermione but because she believed that about Draco or she wanted to anyway.
A scoff came from deep within Harry's throat and he shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his face. He couldn't believe that he was hearing this; he couldn't believe that she wasn't going to tell him that he had mistaken, that she really didn't jump to Draco's defense.
Harry stood up and left the room, not looking back once. Ginny didn't understand what had just happened, why it had happened, but she didn't have time to think about it. She threw the covers off and walked towards the other side of the room, heading in the direction of the new closed ward.
No matter how bloody he might be, she would find out who he is. She had to know, she needed to know. It wasn't only for her sake, but for Draco's too. He was innocent, but would others think the same?
She slowly put her hands on the white curtains and hesitantly drew them open. The past swirled through her mind and she paused: A pool of blood began gathering by her foot, coming from underneath the door right before her. No, not her but four-year-old her. Her hand proceeded to the door, to open it.
The curtains lifted and the image before her refocused. There wasn't so much blood as she had thought, but there was still enough to make her sick. The cut and swollen face was hard for her to distinguish, and it took her a while to but at the end, she did and she fainted.
Not from the sight of blood only, but from the sight of who did lay underneath that mess. Why Michael? Her unconscious mind asked nothing and no one.
* * *
That night, Ginny woke up bathed in moonlight. She didn't know what happened, couldn't remember what had happened. She was still in the Hospital Wing, but how did she end up in the bed? She had fainted on the floor, right next to the bed that curtained Michael from the world.
Michael, a voice called deep in her heart. She had loved him and when he left her for Cho, it had hurt her. But she didn't show it to the others; she couldn't show to them her broken heart. No, she concealed it like a secret, like her heart and emotions were only a secret that no one should know. And maybe no one should know.
Tears brimmed her eyes though she tried to force them away. Why did she have to cry now? Why couldn't she cry earlier when she learned that it was Collin and Michael, the two people who had been involved with her?
The candles were once again floating too high in the ceiling, making sure she didn't get enough light. Where was Madam Pomfrey? No candle burned in her office the way it usually did each night when she was up, making medicine for the patients.
"You were unconscious," someone spoke from within the shadows, sending a cold chill down her spine. Ginny held her blanket tighter against her as if it could protect her against him and she watched him, watched his cold smirk. "No one would have found you if I hadn't come in."
The same creepy feeling she felt around him that same night he grabbed her from behind rushed through her, coursing adrenaline through her and she prepared herself for a fight if the need called. Blaise made her very uncomfortable and he knew it too.
"Don't like me very much?" he asked her, walking until he was silhouetted by the moonlight too. "Don't feel comfortable around me?"
She glared at him, wondering where Madam Pomfrey was when she was needed the most. Collin, or maybe Michael moaned and Blaise smirked again, glancing in their direction. "Pity what happened to them," he said, then he turned around with cloak billowing behind him and all and he disappeared through the door.
Ginny gave off a heavy sigh and relaxed but her heart still pounded as though she had been running. Why did he frighten her so much?
* * *
The next morning, Madam Pomfrey allowed her to leave and she did so in time for breakfast. She hadn't spoken to either her brother or Hermione and Harry ever since they left the Hospital Wing yesterday. They didn't know what happened to her and they especially didn't know that Blaise paid her a visit, but then again, when did they ever know anything that ever happened to her? She was the last at everything.
Ginny took a seat as far away from either one of them as she could, but that was impossible because they were split up. Ron inhabited one side of the table where Hermione took the middle and Harry occupied the end. The only place she had left where she would be far from Harry and nowhere near Ron was in the middle with Hermione. But Hermione would kill her for opening her mouth, so she had nowhere but, in between Ron and Hermione near none other than Neville Longbottom.
"Hi, Ginny," he greeted her, a piece of bacon in his hands and toast in his mouth. She had full view of his chewing mouth and the contents within which made her lose her appetite.
She smiled nervously at him, looking hopefully for anywhere else to sit. When she finished her search and concluded that there was none, she faced Neville again, avoiding looking into his mouth. "Beautiful morning eh?" she asked him weakly.
Neville nodded, stuffing scrambled eggs into his mouth. He gulped down orange juice first, thankfully and spoke. "Nice compared to the day before yesterday," he said, looking out at the blue clouds but windy ambiance. "Looks cold though, don't you reckon?"
She felt eyes on her and glanced to see if either Ron, Hermione, or Harry was glaring at her, but they were all too busy with something else. Ron was 2grumpily poking his toast, tossing occasional glances at Hermione. Harry was looking at something beyond the Gryffindor table and Hermione was chatting away noisily with Pravati Patil and Lavender Brown.
Ginny looked back at her food and tried to eat, but she couldn't force herself to. "You haven't touched your breakfast since you arrived," he informed her, gulping a mouthful of bacon. "Aren't you hungry? I did hear that you were sick."
A weak smile appeared on her face and she shoved his comment aside, looking behind herself to find the source of where the gaze was coming from. Her eyes locked with Draco Malfoy and a smile almost came over her, but she held herself together and didn't. He watched her intently, no emotions visible on his flawless face.
Now, to start off her game, she would speak to him. But how? Well, that's easy because Ron and Harry weren't talking to her and they would be no problem. All she needed was the right time to run into him in the corridors.
Ginny stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, holding Draco's eyes all the way through until she had to turn in order not the run into anyone or anything. Before she exited the Great Hall, she caught Harry's enticing emerald eyes and she wanted to apologize, but he looked away, pain upon him.
* * *
She waited in the corridor for quite some time before he came. The ones who passed by didn't give her one glance before continuing on. That was how unimportant she was. No one even cared to glance at her because she was the last thing they needed to worry about, the last thing they ever needed to notice. She was just another shadow in the corner, nothing that could ever rise above herself.
When he exited the Great hall, she knew it would be him. His hundred galleons shoes clacked on the stone floor and his expensive robe didn't dare touch the floor for it was too good to even be near it. His slicked back silver hair was slightly askew from the wind blowing in through the window and his gray eyes searched for her in the corner, like he knew that was where she would be unlike Harry and the others who didn't even see her.
As if reading her mind, he motioned for them outside and led the way. No words were spoken, none had to be. They could understand one another well enough.
The wind tossed Ginny's flaming hair around, spilling it over her right shoulder. She blinked rapidly to keep the wind out but it got in and tears filled her eyes. At least now he could really blame the wind for the tears in her eyes.
"You brought Michael in," she said, almost accusingly. "Also Collin too."
He skipped a rock that bounced four times before it sank to the bottom. Draco shrugged his shoulders and stared off in the distance, breathing in deeply the cold air. His face was red from the cold, not very godlike for him, but still handsome.
"So what if I did?" he said, never once meeting her eyes. "Am I not supposed to?"
She shrugged and tried to skip her own rock, but it pelted to the bottom without skipping even once. Ginny sighed, "Everyone thinks you're doing this."
Draco skipped another rock that bounced five times before dropping down to the bottom. He turned to her, a smirk upon his lips. "I don't care what they think," he said carelessly as if it really didn't matter. "All I care about is I didn't do it."
"They think you're doing it for You-Know-Who," Ginny continued again as if he hadn't said anything at all. "I don't think you're doing it either, but you have to prove them wrong otherwise."
Ginny's attempt to skip another rock failed and she picked up another one, but Draco grabbed her wrist, holding her back this time. "Otherwise what?" he asked dangerously low. "You don't just skip rocks by throwing it; you have to flick your wrist smoothly."
He demonstrated it and she watched him closely. "Otherwise they will send you to the same place your father is," she answered, trying it but failing once again. Draco sneered.
"Slowly, Weasley," he told her, coming to stand behind her. He put his arms around her, his hands holding her wrist to show her how her wrist should be flicked. "Like this," he did the movement for her several times, making sure she got it. "They might," he said to what she said earlier.
Ginny picked up another rock and sighed, stepping out of Draco's grasp. She turned to stare at him, her eyes questioning. "Why did you bring them in?"
He shrugged carelessly, sticking his hands into his pockets. He looked out across the lake again. "Because I found them and I'm supposed to."
She laughed, low but disturbing. It wasn't one ever made by her before and Draco was shocked, though he recollected himself quickly. She skipped her rock and this time it skipped twice before dropping. "You never do anything you're supposed to," she said, smirking triumphantly. "What makes you think I'll believe you?"
Draco sighed, his eyes slightly squinted against the wind. Like that, he looked like he was studying her, or maybe confused with her. "You don't have to believe me either."
"But I find myself wanting to," she answered him truthfully. It wasn't because she loved him, she just wanted to understand that he was human and not some robotic creature. The same reason why she wanted to win his heart.
Then as mysterious as before, he turned and walked away, his hands still deeply in his pockets. He paused in his strides and looked back at her, his eyes still squinted. His gray eyes studied her, looking her up and down. Finally, he scoffed and shook his head. "Then you're way in over your head," he said only to walk away.
Ginny watched him walk away, a sheepish grin on her face. True, she was in way over her head, but he just didn't know how deep.
A\N: Also, Draco isn't in love with her, not yet. Chapter one, he didn't hold Blaise back or talked to her because he loved her. He just did it because he respected women. He told Ginny that and it's true. Also, thanks to Keh13 for catching this. Yes, it's wind for the redness of your eyes when Draco speaks in the first chappie not rain for the redness of your eyes. I didn't catch that. And thanks everyone for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.