Disclaimer: This verse same as the first.
A/N: Sorry I haven't posted for a long time.
Prelude to a Kiss
Ginny walked to Gryffindor Tower with silent tears streaming down her face. She wiped at the tears with the back of her hand.
"Be strong for her, she wouldn't want you to bawl, she wants you to be happy all the time," she whispered knowing she wouldn't be able to stop herself from sobbing. Why? was the thought that raced through her brain over and over again, Why?
She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady finally. She didn't even have to say the password. The Fat Lady took one look at her with the Weasley hair and tears running down her face ruining her mascara to know something awful had happened. She stepped through the portrait to see Ron with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger sitting by the fire laughing. She didn't want to have to tell them about this and ruin their whole day when they looked so content but they deserved to know and she needed a shoulder to cry on. She slumped over to where they were.
"Hey, Gin," Ron said before looking at his sister's face."God, Ginny, what happened?" Ron asked his voice full of concern for his little sister. She broke down and started crying on his shoulder as she hugged him. He patted her back awkwardly trying to comfort her. Hermione and Harry stared at her with surprise and concern. Ginny was a strong girl who usually never cried but now she was in danger of soaking her robes for good. "What is it, Gin?" Ron asked again.
"Mum..... She........She," Ginny choked out. How could she say it? "She's..... she's gone!" she broke into fresh sobs.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked looking dubious but serious.
"She was attacked last night and killed," Ginny sobbed. Ron's strength suddenly gave out. He slumped down in his chair.
"What?" he gasped. Ginny nodded still bawling as the look on her brother's face stabbed her already broken heart. His mouth was opening and closing like he was a goldfish. "What?" he gasped again, "She can't be dead. She can't be!" Ginny was crying too hard to reply as Hermione broke down in tears as she rushed to hug Ron.
"I'm sorry......I'm sorry.... God, I am so sorry," she kept whispering into his shoulder. Harry was staring into space with a dead and blank look on his face. He shook his head in disgust. He mumbled under his breath before slumping back in his chair and sighing. Ginny glanced at him. His miraculous green eyes looked so devastated.
"Harry," Ginny started but she never got to finish.
"It's my fault," he stated. They all looked at him sobs escaping their throats as they opened their mouths and gawked. "If you and Ginny weren't my friends, she wouldn't have been attacked by Voldemort," he explained.
"Harry, wait," Ginny sobbed. "Voldemort wasn't the attacker."
"How do you know that?" he asked his green eyes ablaze.
"Because Narcissa Malfoy and three other Slytherin mothers were killed. More women were attacked too and they were all pureblooded witches. So it couldn't have been Voldemort," Ginny choked out.
"Not Voldemort? Who was it then?" Ron asked furiously. Ginny shrugged as Hermione tried to calm him down. Hermione whispered something to him and his face softened a tiny bit.
"They probably don't know yet, right?" Hermione stated as a question. Ron nodded. Harry opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"All students please report to the Great Hall," she announced through tears. The four students got up and trudged to the Great Hall, Hermione and Ron hanging on each other and Ginny crying onto Harry's shoulder.
* * *
As they entered the Great Hall a wave of sadness hit them. Cries of grief were heard from every table. The Slytherin table was crying silently except for a few students who were screaming nearly in misery. As they took their seats at the Gryffindor table they looked at the devastation of the whole population. People were coming up to Ron and Ginny and bawling their apologies. The only thing they could do was cry in response.
Professor Dumbledore stood, silent tears streaming down his face. "As you all know, the mothers of some students and some past students were attacked last night. Four of these women were killed. Paprika Patil, Ruby Brown, Mya Zabini, Emily Baddock, Violet Parkinson, Celeste Chang, Gertrude Midgen, Narcissa Malfoy, and Molly Weasley were all attacked, Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Parkinson, Mrs. Weasley, and Mrs. Zabini were all killed. As some of you have probably figured out this was not an attack committed by Voldemort," he told them. Some exasperated sighs were heard from the Slytherins at the last comment.
"They all are in Voldemort's circle they already knew that," Ron explained his theory. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose as he heard the sighs.
"Why the sighing? An explanation from someone please?
"Well, you should all know we weren't sighing because, contrary to popular belief most of us are not cold-blooded, evil death eaters but because if it had been Voldemort he wouldn't have attacked old wizarding families, considering the whole world knows he hates muggles and muggle borns," Draco stood and explained not missing a beat. "Unless you forgot that tid bit of information."
"Thank you for the wonderful explanation, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore nodded. Draco was still standing surveying the hall in contempt. "Something else you wish to discuss, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes, actually Professor there is. Everyone assumes that because I am a Slytherin and a Malfoy that I am a death eater. Everyone acts like Slytherins hate everyone else when everyone else hates Slytherins. You all act like we are the bad guys who hate everyone and everything that isn't like us when it's the exact opposite. You would act cold too, if everyone hated your very essence, wouldn't you? You dislike people who dislike you so why aren't we allowed the same right? You dislike us," he explained like it was obvious. Every person in the Great Hall except for Dumbledore had their mouth open and was gawking. A singular person at the Slytherin table was clapping. Soon the whole table was applauding him.
"Stop!" he shouted, "My mother has been murdered, I am severely hacked off at the world in general, and I have a horrible migraine so please shut up with the god-damned clapping!" They all stopped immediately. Chloe's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Ginny and Essa with a surprised look. They both shrugged with mascara running down their faces.
"We are sorry Mr. Malfoy, but it was a very good speech. I would now like a moment of silence in memory of the women who lost their lives," Dumbledore said. The hall grew silent, until one voice could be heard.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. To save a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found; was blind but now I see. Was blind but know I see," the voice rang with emotional power. That one solitary voice was soon joined by others in a chorus that would have made anyone have to dry their eyes.
"Mama please stop cryin', I can't stand the sound," a voice sang, heard over every other one in the Great Hall. It was Draco's. "Your pain is painful and it's tearin' me down. I hear glasses breakin' as I sit up in my bed, I told Dad you didn't mean those nasty things you said. You fight about money-"
"'Bout me and my brother," a different, female voice cried out.
"And this I come home to, this is my shelter," Draco continued in a raw voice. Half of Slytherin house joined in for the chorus. So did many other students.
"It ain't easy growin up in World War three, never knowin' what love could, you see, I don't want love to destroy me like it has done my family. Can we work it out? Can we be a family? Promise I'll be better. Mommy, I'll do anything. Can we work it out? Can we be a family? Promise I'll be better. Daddy please don't leave." Several voices turned into sobs and the rest of the song was broke up into cries of grief and madness. Professor Dumbledore was standing once more, his hands held up to calm the crowd so he would have time to speak.
"Classes are canceled for the rest of the week, and please do not let this grief kill you, you shall all survive this horrible ordeal even if it seems you shall not at the moment. I send my condolences to all of you and hope you shall find some comfort some how today. You are free to go where ever you wish within the normal limits now," said the old, sympathetic headmaster. After this was said, it seemed there was a rush to the doors of the Great Hall. Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were the only Gryffindors still sitting at the table within a minute of the announcement. The only other student still at their dining table was a Draco Malfoy who looked like nothing would wake him from his sadness stricken state.
Before leaving the rest of their classmates had offered the Weasleys their pity. Many people had tried to tell Malfoy of their apologies but didn't even get a nod of his head so they had given up. His grey eyes that were usually ablaze with loathing were blank and empty; much like Harry's looked at the moment. Hermione suddenly looked up from her shocked staring at the woodwork of the table. She glanced over at Draco before she stood up and walked over to the Slytherin.
"Malfoy?" She asked hesitantly. He stared blankly past her for a few seconds before responding.
"What is it, Granger?" he sighed. He glanced up at her, moving so the side of his face, not his forehead, was resting against his hand.
"I'm sorry. For everything; what I've said or done to you to hurt you in the past six and a half years, but mostly I'm sorry for being prejudice against you. Just because you're a Slytherin and a Malfoy doesn't mean you can't be a good person and I'm sorry for not realizing it until now," she told him in the most sincere voice she possessed. "Dumbledore was right three years ago when he said we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Having said that," she held out her hand. "Truce." Draco stared up at her with his calculating glare to see if she was lying. She looked like she was being perfectly honest but Draco was brought up to not trust anyone and he told her so.
"You were also taught to believe that wizards with muggle parentage aren't worth the ground you walk on, but Hermione was the first one of us to attempt to apologize so that shows the utter bull of what you were taught," Harry pointed out when he reached the table where the current exchange was happening. Ginny and Ron had followed him.
"And weren't you also taught that Weasleys aren't half the wizards Malfoys are? But this morning you told me yourself in Potions that I was the second highest scorer on a recent potion, second only to you," Ginny also pointed out. Draco smirked at this comment, which surprised the other four, considering smirking is not one of the regular actions of someone who's mother has just been killed.
"Yes, but you missed the part where I scored 350% on that potion and you scored a 106%. Technically that part of my upbringing is correct," his smirk faltered at the menacing look the Gryffindors were giving him. "At least in this scenario," he amended.
Ron sighed. "You just don't quit defending your family do you, Malfoy?"
Draco smiled up at him, not smirked but actually smiled. No one at Hogwarts had ever seen him do that and something hardly anyone on the earth had seen him do. "No, Weasley, no I don't."
A/N: You like? I know the singing was a bit corny but, that song fits Draco's homelife (it did at least, until I read PriestessofAvalon's fic Nemo Me Impune Lacessit, go to www.schnoogle.com and check it out. Best Draco fic ever also check out anything by Cassandra Claire if you go there, she's the God of fanfiction *Hugs the Holy Trilogy for it's greatness* I wish I was her...) and many of the slytherin's in my mind. Now you're all probably thinking this could turn horribly cliched and they would all be great friends now; they won't be. Draco and Ron will always hate each other in my worlds. Hermione has caused Draco to much emotional stress to actually not resent her a tiny bit, so there will be that and all these changes will not be immediate. Thank you so much for reading this and if you did please tell me what you think of this...If you want to be really nice check out some of my other fics and tell me what you think. I love you all....And Eminem.....And Nelly, yep definitely Nelly *drools profusely*. I would like to note that it is so good I used spell check and I find it highly amusing that they think Draco should be Drano
A/N: Sorry I haven't posted for a long time.
Prelude to a Kiss
Ginny walked to Gryffindor Tower with silent tears streaming down her face. She wiped at the tears with the back of her hand.
"Be strong for her, she wouldn't want you to bawl, she wants you to be happy all the time," she whispered knowing she wouldn't be able to stop herself from sobbing. Why? was the thought that raced through her brain over and over again, Why?
She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady finally. She didn't even have to say the password. The Fat Lady took one look at her with the Weasley hair and tears running down her face ruining her mascara to know something awful had happened. She stepped through the portrait to see Ron with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger sitting by the fire laughing. She didn't want to have to tell them about this and ruin their whole day when they looked so content but they deserved to know and she needed a shoulder to cry on. She slumped over to where they were.
"Hey, Gin," Ron said before looking at his sister's face."God, Ginny, what happened?" Ron asked his voice full of concern for his little sister. She broke down and started crying on his shoulder as she hugged him. He patted her back awkwardly trying to comfort her. Hermione and Harry stared at her with surprise and concern. Ginny was a strong girl who usually never cried but now she was in danger of soaking her robes for good. "What is it, Gin?" Ron asked again.
"Mum..... She........She," Ginny choked out. How could she say it? "She's..... she's gone!" she broke into fresh sobs.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked looking dubious but serious.
"She was attacked last night and killed," Ginny sobbed. Ron's strength suddenly gave out. He slumped down in his chair.
"What?" he gasped. Ginny nodded still bawling as the look on her brother's face stabbed her already broken heart. His mouth was opening and closing like he was a goldfish. "What?" he gasped again, "She can't be dead. She can't be!" Ginny was crying too hard to reply as Hermione broke down in tears as she rushed to hug Ron.
"I'm sorry......I'm sorry.... God, I am so sorry," she kept whispering into his shoulder. Harry was staring into space with a dead and blank look on his face. He shook his head in disgust. He mumbled under his breath before slumping back in his chair and sighing. Ginny glanced at him. His miraculous green eyes looked so devastated.
"Harry," Ginny started but she never got to finish.
"It's my fault," he stated. They all looked at him sobs escaping their throats as they opened their mouths and gawked. "If you and Ginny weren't my friends, she wouldn't have been attacked by Voldemort," he explained.
"Harry, wait," Ginny sobbed. "Voldemort wasn't the attacker."
"How do you know that?" he asked his green eyes ablaze.
"Because Narcissa Malfoy and three other Slytherin mothers were killed. More women were attacked too and they were all pureblooded witches. So it couldn't have been Voldemort," Ginny choked out.
"Not Voldemort? Who was it then?" Ron asked furiously. Ginny shrugged as Hermione tried to calm him down. Hermione whispered something to him and his face softened a tiny bit.
"They probably don't know yet, right?" Hermione stated as a question. Ron nodded. Harry opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"All students please report to the Great Hall," she announced through tears. The four students got up and trudged to the Great Hall, Hermione and Ron hanging on each other and Ginny crying onto Harry's shoulder.
* * *
As they entered the Great Hall a wave of sadness hit them. Cries of grief were heard from every table. The Slytherin table was crying silently except for a few students who were screaming nearly in misery. As they took their seats at the Gryffindor table they looked at the devastation of the whole population. People were coming up to Ron and Ginny and bawling their apologies. The only thing they could do was cry in response.
Professor Dumbledore stood, silent tears streaming down his face. "As you all know, the mothers of some students and some past students were attacked last night. Four of these women were killed. Paprika Patil, Ruby Brown, Mya Zabini, Emily Baddock, Violet Parkinson, Celeste Chang, Gertrude Midgen, Narcissa Malfoy, and Molly Weasley were all attacked, Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Parkinson, Mrs. Weasley, and Mrs. Zabini were all killed. As some of you have probably figured out this was not an attack committed by Voldemort," he told them. Some exasperated sighs were heard from the Slytherins at the last comment.
"They all are in Voldemort's circle they already knew that," Ron explained his theory. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose as he heard the sighs.
"Why the sighing? An explanation from someone please?
"Well, you should all know we weren't sighing because, contrary to popular belief most of us are not cold-blooded, evil death eaters but because if it had been Voldemort he wouldn't have attacked old wizarding families, considering the whole world knows he hates muggles and muggle borns," Draco stood and explained not missing a beat. "Unless you forgot that tid bit of information."
"Thank you for the wonderful explanation, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore nodded. Draco was still standing surveying the hall in contempt. "Something else you wish to discuss, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes, actually Professor there is. Everyone assumes that because I am a Slytherin and a Malfoy that I am a death eater. Everyone acts like Slytherins hate everyone else when everyone else hates Slytherins. You all act like we are the bad guys who hate everyone and everything that isn't like us when it's the exact opposite. You would act cold too, if everyone hated your very essence, wouldn't you? You dislike people who dislike you so why aren't we allowed the same right? You dislike us," he explained like it was obvious. Every person in the Great Hall except for Dumbledore had their mouth open and was gawking. A singular person at the Slytherin table was clapping. Soon the whole table was applauding him.
"Stop!" he shouted, "My mother has been murdered, I am severely hacked off at the world in general, and I have a horrible migraine so please shut up with the god-damned clapping!" They all stopped immediately. Chloe's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Ginny and Essa with a surprised look. They both shrugged with mascara running down their faces.
"We are sorry Mr. Malfoy, but it was a very good speech. I would now like a moment of silence in memory of the women who lost their lives," Dumbledore said. The hall grew silent, until one voice could be heard.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. To save a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found; was blind but now I see. Was blind but know I see," the voice rang with emotional power. That one solitary voice was soon joined by others in a chorus that would have made anyone have to dry their eyes.
"Mama please stop cryin', I can't stand the sound," a voice sang, heard over every other one in the Great Hall. It was Draco's. "Your pain is painful and it's tearin' me down. I hear glasses breakin' as I sit up in my bed, I told Dad you didn't mean those nasty things you said. You fight about money-"
"'Bout me and my brother," a different, female voice cried out.
"And this I come home to, this is my shelter," Draco continued in a raw voice. Half of Slytherin house joined in for the chorus. So did many other students.
"It ain't easy growin up in World War three, never knowin' what love could, you see, I don't want love to destroy me like it has done my family. Can we work it out? Can we be a family? Promise I'll be better. Mommy, I'll do anything. Can we work it out? Can we be a family? Promise I'll be better. Daddy please don't leave." Several voices turned into sobs and the rest of the song was broke up into cries of grief and madness. Professor Dumbledore was standing once more, his hands held up to calm the crowd so he would have time to speak.
"Classes are canceled for the rest of the week, and please do not let this grief kill you, you shall all survive this horrible ordeal even if it seems you shall not at the moment. I send my condolences to all of you and hope you shall find some comfort some how today. You are free to go where ever you wish within the normal limits now," said the old, sympathetic headmaster. After this was said, it seemed there was a rush to the doors of the Great Hall. Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were the only Gryffindors still sitting at the table within a minute of the announcement. The only other student still at their dining table was a Draco Malfoy who looked like nothing would wake him from his sadness stricken state.
Before leaving the rest of their classmates had offered the Weasleys their pity. Many people had tried to tell Malfoy of their apologies but didn't even get a nod of his head so they had given up. His grey eyes that were usually ablaze with loathing were blank and empty; much like Harry's looked at the moment. Hermione suddenly looked up from her shocked staring at the woodwork of the table. She glanced over at Draco before she stood up and walked over to the Slytherin.
"Malfoy?" She asked hesitantly. He stared blankly past her for a few seconds before responding.
"What is it, Granger?" he sighed. He glanced up at her, moving so the side of his face, not his forehead, was resting against his hand.
"I'm sorry. For everything; what I've said or done to you to hurt you in the past six and a half years, but mostly I'm sorry for being prejudice against you. Just because you're a Slytherin and a Malfoy doesn't mean you can't be a good person and I'm sorry for not realizing it until now," she told him in the most sincere voice she possessed. "Dumbledore was right three years ago when he said we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Having said that," she held out her hand. "Truce." Draco stared up at her with his calculating glare to see if she was lying. She looked like she was being perfectly honest but Draco was brought up to not trust anyone and he told her so.
"You were also taught to believe that wizards with muggle parentage aren't worth the ground you walk on, but Hermione was the first one of us to attempt to apologize so that shows the utter bull of what you were taught," Harry pointed out when he reached the table where the current exchange was happening. Ginny and Ron had followed him.
"And weren't you also taught that Weasleys aren't half the wizards Malfoys are? But this morning you told me yourself in Potions that I was the second highest scorer on a recent potion, second only to you," Ginny also pointed out. Draco smirked at this comment, which surprised the other four, considering smirking is not one of the regular actions of someone who's mother has just been killed.
"Yes, but you missed the part where I scored 350% on that potion and you scored a 106%. Technically that part of my upbringing is correct," his smirk faltered at the menacing look the Gryffindors were giving him. "At least in this scenario," he amended.
Ron sighed. "You just don't quit defending your family do you, Malfoy?"
Draco smiled up at him, not smirked but actually smiled. No one at Hogwarts had ever seen him do that and something hardly anyone on the earth had seen him do. "No, Weasley, no I don't."
A/N: You like? I know the singing was a bit corny but, that song fits Draco's homelife (it did at least, until I read PriestessofAvalon's fic Nemo Me Impune Lacessit, go to www.schnoogle.com and check it out. Best Draco fic ever also check out anything by Cassandra Claire if you go there, she's the God of fanfiction *Hugs the Holy Trilogy for it's greatness* I wish I was her...) and many of the slytherin's in my mind. Now you're all probably thinking this could turn horribly cliched and they would all be great friends now; they won't be. Draco and Ron will always hate each other in my worlds. Hermione has caused Draco to much emotional stress to actually not resent her a tiny bit, so there will be that and all these changes will not be immediate. Thank you so much for reading this and if you did please tell me what you think of this...If you want to be really nice check out some of my other fics and tell me what you think. I love you all....And Eminem.....And Nelly, yep definitely Nelly *drools profusely*. I would like to note that it is so good I used spell check and I find it highly amusing that they think Draco should be Drano