Thanks to everyone who reviewed. And please, I encourage everybody to go through and rip me about my mistakes. I'm revising the whole series, starting with A Slight Glimmer of Hope. Eventually, I'll get to this story and I can fix whatever doesn't make sense. So, have at it, lol!



A glimmer through the darkness

Part 4: strange rumors

As Ginny walked through the classroom she felt all eyes on her. She glanced at her watch and noticed she was just on time. 'Everyone probably just wondered what was up with Pansy in the hallway,' she figured as she took her usual seat next to Kimberly. Ginny tried to push aside the strange looks she kept getting as she concentrated on the lesson.

Sometime in the middle of the class period, Colin Creevy turned around in his seat in front of her to whisper, "Ginny, I know what's going on, and I just want you to know I'll always be your friend. I'll be there for you if you need me."

"Um…okay Collin." Ginny wondered what Colin was going on about this time.

"I mean," he continued. "I understand what you're going through and…"

"Colin, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class," Professor McGonagall asked, catching on to Colin's lack of attention.

"No Professor."

"Good. Then turn around and quit disrupting the class."

Ginny was quite relieved that Colin didn't bug her again the rest of the period. She liked Colin fine as a friend, but he could get very annoying, and today he wasn't even making sense!

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

"What is wrong with everybody today," Ginny exclaimed to Kimberly before they parted to their next classes. She couldn't ignore the fact anymore that practically everyone she passed was staring right at her. Worse yet, most of them would start whispering to whomever was near them the minute Ginny walked by. "You don't think Pansy's saying anything about me, do you?"

"Don't worry Ginny. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"I hope," Ginny said as she walked off to Charms. Kimberly walked off in a different direction to get to Herbology.

As Ginny went down to lunch later that day, the staring didn't seem to be diminishing at all. In fact, it kept getting worse. Ginny was certainly glad to see Kimberly before she entered the Great Hall. Unfortunately, the look on Kimberly's face told her that Kimberly had bad news.

"What's wrong," Ginny stated outright.

"Well…there's, er, some rumors going around."

"What kind of rumors?"

"Well, I know they're not true and all, but everyone seems to actually believe them."

"And I ask again, what kind of rumors?"

"They involve you."

"Me?"

"And Harry."

"No wonder everyone's been staring at me all day! You have to tell me what they're saying, and who started it."

"Come into the library with me and I'll tell you there."

Ginny, feeling her stomach growl was about to protest. "But, what about lunch…"

"I grabbed us a couple sandwiches. Come on, let's go." Kimberly grabbed on to Ginny's hand and tugged her all the way to the library. She passed by Harry on her way through the halls and waved. He just shrugged and walked on past her. She thought it seemed a little strange, but this whole day was beginning to be one of the strangest days of her life. Kimberly took them to a corner of the library that was the most secluded and found a table to sit at. "You're going to want to sit down for this," she stated.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"People are saying that Harry's using you."

"What?"

"They say he's using you to get to Hermione."

"But why would he…"

"Wait, it gets worse," Kimberly told her. "They are also saying that you know about it, and you don't care. In fact, they're saying that Harry's paying you to pretend to go out with him."

"So, They think Harry's paying me to go out with him so he can make Hermione jealous? That doesn't make any sense!"

"I know it doesn't make sense. But They don't."

"And just who is They…er, I mean, who are They?"

"Basically the whole school. Accept me, and you."

"And Ron, and Hermione," Ginny continued.

"Well, actually…"

"Wait a minute, you're not saying Ron and Hermione actually believe…"

"Ron heard it directly from the source, and Hermione is torn between the two not knowing exactly what to believe."

"And who exactly is the source?"

"Well…"

"And what about Harry? What does he think about all of this?"

"I'm sorry Gin, but Harry is the source. As Ron, Dean, and Seamus where headed down to breakfast this morning, Harry was headed back into the common room. That was when he told them all about how he was using you, and how he was paying you to go out with him. And well, you know Dean and Seamus couldn't resist telling Parvati and Lavender, and Parvati and Lavender are two of the biggest gossips in the school."

"Why would Harry tell them that?"

"I don't know. I heard that when he went down to breakfast later, he denied everything. Ron still won't speak to him, and Hermione doesn't know what to do."

"Kimberly, something strange is defiantly going on, but I know for a fact Harry would never do that."

"Then Ron, Dean, and Seamus would all be lying."

"Ron wouldn't lie about something like that. I know; I grew up with him."

"I'm sorry Gin, but either Harry's lying, or your brother is."

"I bet neither one of them is, and I'm going to prove it." Ginny couldn't explain it all to Kimberly, but she suspected something was fishy. If Kimberly was correct, first Harry's roommates found him entering the common room, then later they saw him go down to breakfast. Where would have Harry been coming from that early in the morning if he wasn't at breakfast yet?

Lanie was getting so weak she could barely see straight. Every direction she went seemed to take her deeper into the dark spot. She thought about eating the poisonous berries of the trees just to get on with it and speed up her death. She didn't think there was any chance of getting out of the dark spot alive.

She now wished she had stayed after Sirius' trial. She could have at least told them she was sorry for all she did. Maybe then they would have left her alone. She could have gone back to the comfort of her little cabin in the safe part of the woods. It might not have been much of a life, but at least it would have been a life. There she could have at least died in peace.

She hoped her old friends were smart enough not to go into the Dark Spot after her. She didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths, that was the last thing she needed. 'No,' she told herself, 'they probably gave up by now.' She didn't know if this statement was the least bit true, but it was more comforting thinking that the people she cared about forgot about her and went about living their own lives.

With a few last steps, she stumbled over something. She didn't have the strength to put her arms out to break her fall. She just went head first, mentally preparing herself for the pain of her face smacking into the cold hard ground. However, that didn't happen. She opened her eyes to find herself above the ground, way above the ground. She was caught in a net about ten feet up in the air. It looked like an old hunter's net.

Lanie was relieved to hear what sounded like human footsteps. "Over here," she yelled, with every last once of strength she had left. "I'm stuck in the net."

As the footsteps came closer, Lanie saw a human coming towards her. Or rather, something that resembled a human. She recognized the man right away. She had never actually saw him before, but she had heard enough descriptions of him to know who he was. She knew this was it; if she ran she would die from thirst and starvation, but if she stayed she would surely be a goner.

Ginny didn't get a chance to speak to Harry all day. After watching him run out of the common room that night, after supper, she got the feeling he was avoiding her. He wasn't the only one, Ron and Hermione were also rather oblique the rest of the night.

The day didn't go easy for her either. Everywhere she went, someone was staring at her, or whispering to the person next to them. Draco started calling her 'Harry's little whore,' and the rest of the Slytherins were quick to catch on to the name. If Ginny heard one more person call her that, they had better have a body bag.

As eight o'clock came and went, Ginny debated meeting with Pansy. Ginny didn't want to go clear to the library just to hear Pansy tease her. But then again, maybe Pansy knew something. It was exactly this thought that made Ginny decide to sneak out of the common room, and trek through the halls and into the library.

Pansy was sitting there waiting.