Disclaimer: Characters and places belong to Rowling.
Fred was playing with Angelina's hair, the black strands twisting around his fingers trapping them in the silken mass. She looked up at him adoringly and sighed contentedly. Percy was sitting on the dustbin in the corner, chattering away to her mother about dung samples from Norway.
Pen walked out of the fireplace and picked up a present from beneath the tree. It was beautifully wrapped in gold paper with tiny golden snitches embossed on the outside and was encircled by a great mass of silvery ribbon. She presented it to Percy, and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled at her, but not a sad or condescending smile like the ones that had graced his face in the past few years. This smile was genuine, one of the smiles that had made Ginny think that he wasn't so bad after all, and she could tell by the way he was looking that when he looked at Pen, everyone else disappeared.
She'd seen that look on Neville's face quite often, and was often upset by the fact that she couldn't return it, could never loved him as deeply as he loved her. Her eyes drifted to the package in Percy's hands and watched his thin fingers meticulously unwrap the package, taking hours to do what should have taken only moments. When the lid was lifted it revealed a shiny badge, much like Percy's old Head Boy Badge. It read MOM, and Percy began running about the room showing it to anyone who would look.
Neville handed her a small box, and she knew what it was. The engagement ring he'd been saving up for. He'd thought he'd kept the secret so well, but she had known. She had seen him going through her jewelry and sizing a ring of hers. She'd finally decided on an answer. She would tell him "no." He deserved better, deserved someone who would cherish him as much as he cherished her. It was wrong to lead him on any longer just because she needed to feel wanted.
Her fingers trembled as they undid the ribbon and flipped back the lid. It wasn't the diamond she'd expected. The box was longer beneath her fingers. It was a dagger, and a small diamond winked at her from the handle. She dropped it and stepped back in fear.
The hands of the clock creaked counter-clockwise to rest on mortal peril. Voldemort walked in and Death Eaters followed him.
"Play with him," Voldemort hissed. The Death Eaters surrounded her and Neville. But he wasn't Neville anymore. He was Draco. One of the Death Eaters stepped forward and pulled off his hood. Neville was the Death Eater. He reached for the dagger and was suddenly holding Percy's badge. He pinned it to Draco's chest.
"You want me to kill him," explained Neville. "It's so much easier that way."
She looked at Draco and everyone else disappeared. Blood was welling up around the badge, framing the gold in deep crimson. Neville had pushed the pin straight into his heart.
She woke up screaming.
The screaming was what woke him up. It was coming from his bedroom. He had fallen asleep on the couch in the study, as he was wont to do these days considering the general lumpiness of the mattresses in the guest rooms.
He glanced at McGonagall as he sprinted out of the room. The cat was sleeping like a log, stretched out on the hearth of the fireplace, and he wondered how she could possibly sleep through all the racket.
When he arrived in the bedroom, Ginny was sitting bolt upright in bed, her hair mussed with sleep and her eyes glittering with tears. She'd stopped screaming and when she saw him in the doorway she didn't hesitate in scrambling out of bed and running to him. The only thing that could register in his still sleepy mind at the time was that she was wearing the pajamas that he had brought her, the purple satin shirt and pant set. However, she wasn't wearing the pants. Just the knickers with the little purple hearts... Before he could thin much more about the situation she'd skidded to a stop in from of him. She was biting her lip in indecision again, still crying and only half awake.
She needs to be comforted, that's all I'm going to do, Draco reasoned. He ignored the part of him that said he was just being selfish, taking advantage of her for his own stupid reasons. While his mind warred about exactly what to do, his arms lifted of their own accord, inviting her to be held.
Ginny stopped biting her lip and stepped into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her as she latched onto him with a death grip.
Draco felt out of his element. He was getting much too involved for comfort. She'd needed rest, so he had done what he expected Neville would have wanted. Neville would have wanted him to take care of her. Neville would not have wanted him to do this though. He most assuredly would not wanted Draco to stand there with his nose buried in Ginny's hair as she stood there half-dressed, smelling of his soap. He needed to stop before the urge to kiss the ear that was only seconds away from his lips overpowered him completely.
"He killed you..." She sobbed into his shoulder. "You were dead and he killed you and I couldn't stop it."
"Hush," he quieted her. "It was just a dream. Just a dream." He murmured soft, soothing words in her ear until her sobs quieted.
She looked up at him. His silvery eyes were dark and unreadable. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off and stepped out of her arms.
"Go back to sleep," he said and his voice was trembling. She wasn't sure why. Was he angry with her for being woken up? Her sense of self-preservation told her to do as he said, to not risk asking him for more than he'd already given her.
"Stay with me," she compelled him. Self-preservation was very probably overrated, in her opinion.
"Gin... I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Please?"
Perhaps it was the please that undid him or maybe the way her eyes looked up at him, through him and right into his soul. Or perhaps it was that he couldn't deny her anything.
"Only until you fall asleep," he said. She could tell that he was angry now, but she didn't care. He was going to stay and make her feel safe, which was much more than she had expected.
She crossed back to the bed, and straightened the covers which were twisted every which way.
"You know, this is really nice for a guestroom," she told him.
"It's not."
"Don't be humble. It's perfectly wonderful,"
"That's not what I meant."
"What exactly did you mean then?"
He mumbled something.
"I didn't catch that."
"It's my room."
"Oh," Ginny replied confused. "Then where have you been sleeping."
"Around," he said obtusely. After realizing what he'd just said, he spoke again. "That didn't sound right. I meant that I've been sleeping in the guest room."
"Doesn't kind of defeat the purpose of having a guest room?"
"It's kind of run down, and you need rest, not a lumpy mattress."
"Oh." She thought about this for a moment. "Why don't you just sleep here tonight?"
At his skeptical look she expounded on the idea. "We're both adults, and we're both in all our clothes... And it is a king sized bed, there's plenty of room. It'll be like a slumber party," she cajoled.
Any normal man would have seen two clear-cut options. Go or stay. Ginny was giving him an open invitation. He could be the nice guy and leave or he could be the bad guy and do what he'd been wanting to do since she had kissed him.
Draco wasn't ordinary though and neither was she. And sometimes when she looked at him with those big brown eyes he forgot his own name, let alone what he was supposed to be doing. He scowled and crossed to the other side of the bed. He balled a pillow up under his head and turned away from her.
Fred was playing with Angelina's hair, the black strands twisting around his fingers trapping them in the silken mass. She looked up at him adoringly and sighed contentedly. Percy was sitting on the dustbin in the corner, chattering away to her mother about dung samples from Norway.
Pen walked out of the fireplace and picked up a present from beneath the tree. It was beautifully wrapped in gold paper with tiny golden snitches embossed on the outside and was encircled by a great mass of silvery ribbon. She presented it to Percy, and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled at her, but not a sad or condescending smile like the ones that had graced his face in the past few years. This smile was genuine, one of the smiles that had made Ginny think that he wasn't so bad after all, and she could tell by the way he was looking that when he looked at Pen, everyone else disappeared.
She'd seen that look on Neville's face quite often, and was often upset by the fact that she couldn't return it, could never loved him as deeply as he loved her. Her eyes drifted to the package in Percy's hands and watched his thin fingers meticulously unwrap the package, taking hours to do what should have taken only moments. When the lid was lifted it revealed a shiny badge, much like Percy's old Head Boy Badge. It read MOM, and Percy began running about the room showing it to anyone who would look.
Neville handed her a small box, and she knew what it was. The engagement ring he'd been saving up for. He'd thought he'd kept the secret so well, but she had known. She had seen him going through her jewelry and sizing a ring of hers. She'd finally decided on an answer. She would tell him "no." He deserved better, deserved someone who would cherish him as much as he cherished her. It was wrong to lead him on any longer just because she needed to feel wanted.
Her fingers trembled as they undid the ribbon and flipped back the lid. It wasn't the diamond she'd expected. The box was longer beneath her fingers. It was a dagger, and a small diamond winked at her from the handle. She dropped it and stepped back in fear.
The hands of the clock creaked counter-clockwise to rest on mortal peril. Voldemort walked in and Death Eaters followed him.
"Play with him," Voldemort hissed. The Death Eaters surrounded her and Neville. But he wasn't Neville anymore. He was Draco. One of the Death Eaters stepped forward and pulled off his hood. Neville was the Death Eater. He reached for the dagger and was suddenly holding Percy's badge. He pinned it to Draco's chest.
"You want me to kill him," explained Neville. "It's so much easier that way."
She looked at Draco and everyone else disappeared. Blood was welling up around the badge, framing the gold in deep crimson. Neville had pushed the pin straight into his heart.
She woke up screaming.
The screaming was what woke him up. It was coming from his bedroom. He had fallen asleep on the couch in the study, as he was wont to do these days considering the general lumpiness of the mattresses in the guest rooms.
He glanced at McGonagall as he sprinted out of the room. The cat was sleeping like a log, stretched out on the hearth of the fireplace, and he wondered how she could possibly sleep through all the racket.
When he arrived in the bedroom, Ginny was sitting bolt upright in bed, her hair mussed with sleep and her eyes glittering with tears. She'd stopped screaming and when she saw him in the doorway she didn't hesitate in scrambling out of bed and running to him. The only thing that could register in his still sleepy mind at the time was that she was wearing the pajamas that he had brought her, the purple satin shirt and pant set. However, she wasn't wearing the pants. Just the knickers with the little purple hearts... Before he could thin much more about the situation she'd skidded to a stop in from of him. She was biting her lip in indecision again, still crying and only half awake.
She needs to be comforted, that's all I'm going to do, Draco reasoned. He ignored the part of him that said he was just being selfish, taking advantage of her for his own stupid reasons. While his mind warred about exactly what to do, his arms lifted of their own accord, inviting her to be held.
Ginny stopped biting her lip and stepped into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her as she latched onto him with a death grip.
Draco felt out of his element. He was getting much too involved for comfort. She'd needed rest, so he had done what he expected Neville would have wanted. Neville would have wanted him to take care of her. Neville would not have wanted him to do this though. He most assuredly would not wanted Draco to stand there with his nose buried in Ginny's hair as she stood there half-dressed, smelling of his soap. He needed to stop before the urge to kiss the ear that was only seconds away from his lips overpowered him completely.
"He killed you..." She sobbed into his shoulder. "You were dead and he killed you and I couldn't stop it."
"Hush," he quieted her. "It was just a dream. Just a dream." He murmured soft, soothing words in her ear until her sobs quieted.
She looked up at him. His silvery eyes were dark and unreadable. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off and stepped out of her arms.
"Go back to sleep," he said and his voice was trembling. She wasn't sure why. Was he angry with her for being woken up? Her sense of self-preservation told her to do as he said, to not risk asking him for more than he'd already given her.
"Stay with me," she compelled him. Self-preservation was very probably overrated, in her opinion.
"Gin... I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Please?"
Perhaps it was the please that undid him or maybe the way her eyes looked up at him, through him and right into his soul. Or perhaps it was that he couldn't deny her anything.
"Only until you fall asleep," he said. She could tell that he was angry now, but she didn't care. He was going to stay and make her feel safe, which was much more than she had expected.
She crossed back to the bed, and straightened the covers which were twisted every which way.
"You know, this is really nice for a guestroom," she told him.
"It's not."
"Don't be humble. It's perfectly wonderful,"
"That's not what I meant."
"What exactly did you mean then?"
He mumbled something.
"I didn't catch that."
"It's my room."
"Oh," Ginny replied confused. "Then where have you been sleeping."
"Around," he said obtusely. After realizing what he'd just said, he spoke again. "That didn't sound right. I meant that I've been sleeping in the guest room."
"Doesn't kind of defeat the purpose of having a guest room?"
"It's kind of run down, and you need rest, not a lumpy mattress."
"Oh." She thought about this for a moment. "Why don't you just sleep here tonight?"
At his skeptical look she expounded on the idea. "We're both adults, and we're both in all our clothes... And it is a king sized bed, there's plenty of room. It'll be like a slumber party," she cajoled.
Any normal man would have seen two clear-cut options. Go or stay. Ginny was giving him an open invitation. He could be the nice guy and leave or he could be the bad guy and do what he'd been wanting to do since she had kissed him.
Draco wasn't ordinary though and neither was she. And sometimes when she looked at him with those big brown eyes he forgot his own name, let alone what he was supposed to be doing. He scowled and crossed to the other side of the bed. He balled a pillow up under his head and turned away from her.