The Girl Who Loved: Part III
Author's Note: Yes, I'm still writing this, and I'm still working
on my ability to depict love... so any advice you have on pairings/
realism/ my writing style/ anything would be much appreciated! Criticism
is welcome and in fact desired, because I know this is far from the quality
I'd like. So, read, review, and.. if at all possible... enjoy!
Disclaimer: THIS IS S-L-A-S-H! Actually it isn't yet technically,
but that's the plan, so if it offends you that I'm a lesbian who can't
imagine a 100% straight society at Hogwarts, then go read something
else. Please. Otherwise, read on, and I'd love to hear from anyone
with similar tastes :-)
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Ginny Weasley sprawled on the bed in her dorm room, her red hair flying
out in every direction over the white linen of her pillow case. She gazed
up at the cracks in the plaster of the ceiling, inwardly berating herself
for her own idiocy. If Hermione let slip Ginny's unconventional preference
in partners to *anyone*, the Weasley name would fall farther than all of
her brother's pranks and mishaps combined had managed to take it.
The simple fact of the matter was that family honor was everything in the
wizarding world, much as Gryffindors in particular denied it. Just one
look at the Malfoys confirmed that: their family name meant more to them
than life itself. Any Malfoy who was sorted into another house besides
Slytherin would kill themself out of shame, and certainly no Malfoy would
ever be caught consorting with one whose blood was at all tainted with the
mud of muggle heritage. Family expectations and honor outweighed any
personal desires or inclinations.
This last was as true, Ginny knew, for her as it was for the odious Draco
Malfoy. If word got out that the youngest- and only- daughter of the
Weasley's was a... a lesbian, well, suffice to say that the wizard
community was not as tolerant as one could have wished. Oh sure, there
were a few people even around Hogwarts that everyone knew held feelings
for members of the same sex... Remus Lupin for example. But Lupin was
poor, his family of little note in the wizarding world, and to be frank
he hurt no one but himself with his little oddities.
Ginny, on the other hand, had a family that would be mortified beyond
belief if she acted unconventionally in the slightest. Maybe Draco was
right, the Weasleys *were* poor themselves, but Ginny's father still
had a position at the ministry. And that did count for something,
whatever Draco might say.
As Ginny pondered, another girl, seperated from Ginny by only a wall of
ancient stone, was lost in musings of her own. In the 6th year dorm,
Hermione stared blankly into her Impossibly Advanced Potions book
as Ginny's words echoed through her mind. "Some people can go on for
years living normal lives, and denying what they feel, but those
people can never be truly happy." Was she happy, Hermione wondered.
Had she ever been happy?
The question was a ludicrous one, Hermione's sensible mind told her.
What was there not to be happy about? She was brilliant, at the top
of her class in almost every subject, with two best friends who also
happened to be a pair of the most promising young wizards around.
One of those friends had also been her boyfriend, and that should have
been perfect too... he was, after all, Captain of the Quidditch Team
and all around star of the school. But it hadn't been perfect.
In fact, none of it really mattered to Hermione, not even the polished
Prefect badge pinned to the front of her loose robes. When it came down
to it, none of this was important, none of it made her heart race and
her soul skip the way a moment in Anna's arms had last summer.
What was wrong with her?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+~~The Next Day~~+
The common room seemed louder than usual when a dissheveled Ginny
descended the stairs from her dorm. Her appearance was unkept, with her
hair tied back with a scarlett ribbon that clashed garishly with the red
of her hair. Her robes clung too tightly to her body, riding up
several inches from the ground with the ragged hem displayed prominently.
In short, she was hardly looking her best- but that didn't matter to
Neville, to whom she could be beautiful no matter what her garb.
Neville regarded Ginny now with no admiration in his intense gaze.
Instead, his face held a bitter longing for times past. He had been
fortunate enough, two years ago, to have Ginny for his girlfriend.
Well... perhaps "fortunate" wasn't the right word for it. Even when Neville
had dated Ginny, he'd known her attention was never really on him. If
Harry had suggested to Ginny, even in passing, that he'd grown fond of
her, that would have been it, Neville had no illusions that Ginny
would even have hesitated before dumping him to bask in the smiles
and glory of "The Boy Who Lived." Neville had only been a placeholder,
a way to get to the school dance where Harry would be.
But not any more. Neville wasn't going to let himself be the bungling
idiot of Gryffindor house any longer. Ever since he had managed to finish
just below Hermione in herbology, Neville had found himself a new friend.
Someone who appreciated his skills, and didn't laugh every time he made
a mistake in class. Well, at least he didn't laugh now that Neville
had joined him.
The clock on the wall toned 9 o clock in the morning, and Neville
hurried out of the Common Room and down the stairs, heedless of the
gossiping paintings that lined the stone walls.
Finally, Neville reached his destination- a small, out of the way
dungeon. One figure stood in the room, tapping his foot impatiently
as he waited.
Neville cleared his throat, and the figure turned. "Hello Neville."
Came the gentle voice, quiet and regal.
"Hello, Draco."
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To be Continued....
Eep! I promised myself I wouldn't let Draco enter in this fic, and
now look what I've done. Okay, I have a confession: I'm obsessed with
villians. Shocking, eh? **sigh** And just so you know, yes, I was
toying around with ideas of a Draco/Neville pairing. And don't give
me that look, I know I'm crazy, thank you very much.
Well, thanx to everyone who reviewed The Girl Who Loved Part II...
it's reviews that keep me writing at all :-) Look for the next part
within the next two days!
