Title: Happy? Me? Of course…
A/N: Hello again. Here it is, chapter 7. The next chapter will probably take me a while to write, 'cause I'm going away for a week… Sorry about that. And thanks to all reviews! I love reading them, it makes me all happy inside. Thanks again…
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters (except for Desdemona, Miranda and Christian). JKR owns everything else.
Chapter seven: Revenge
"Fuck!" Draco muttered as he kicked an innocent little tree. Right after Ginny's "little" outburst in the Great Hall, he had left her there alone with the rest of the school. He knew she would probably be running down to the lake and cry or something later, so he had gone into the Forbidden Forest. Ok, so he didn't like that place, and he would much rather be with her… but not now! He couldn't believe she had actually done that to him! Who did she think she was going around telling people about the two of them? Especially screaming it out in the Great Hall?! There goes his reputation… the Slytherins did not go very easy on those who betrayed their house, and he was pretty sure he wasn't an exception. But somehow, the Slytherins weren't what he was worried about.
He looked at his watch, 9.30. Going back inside would be like suicide, and staying outside was, well just boring. But better be bored than have to answer all questions from his lovely Housemates.
He sat down and leaned himself against a big tree. The sun had not fully risen yet, and it gave the forest a creepy feeling. The trees were black and dead, and he could hear suspicious cries from magical animals deeper in the forest. Draco shivered and tried to ignore it, and tried to think of something else.
He was too blinded by his anger at the moment to even remember the love he actually did feel for her, or how great he'd felt when she had told him that she loved him last night. The fact that he was even kind of proud of her for finally standing up for herself was not something he bothered his little mind with.
He yawned and lay down on the ground. If he was going spend the rest of the day out there, he might as well get some sleep or something…
~*~*~*~
Ginny wiped away more tears from her eyes and pulled her robes closer around her. She had been out there the whole day, and right now in the Great Hall the rest of the school was enjoying their dinner. Everyone except for Miss Weasley… and Mr. Malfoy, but of course, miss Weasley didn't know that.
She couldn't believe how the best day of her life could at the same time be the worst day of her life. She had really lost it in there… it had felt so good to just shout at Desdemona and Miranda. The looks on their faces when she told them that she hated them were priceless. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about that… and then she remember how angry Draco had looked when he walked out of the Great Hall, with everyone watching him. He was so angry with her, and she could understand why. They had never actually said it out loud that their meetings were a secret, but it had been like a silent agreement between them. No one could ever know about the two of them, and Ginny had tried to keep that. Until the sweet little Mr. Potter found out. And so he told her brother and Hermione, but they would never tell anyone. The shame Ron felt about having his sister involved with a Slytherin, and a Malfoy on top of that, was nothing he wanted spread around the school. The only feeling a Weasley should have against a Malfoy was hate, never love. That's the golden rule. And she had broken it.
She wasn't crying hysterically anymore, she was only sobbing while silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She never knew things could feel this hopeless. She wanted someone to just sit there with, hug her and tell her that everything would be all right. And worst of all, she missed Draco so much. She missed the way his lips felt against hers, how his hands sometimes would touch hers when they were just sitting there late at nights. She even missed the way he always pretended not to listen, while in fact she knew he did listen.
And Ron… oh, Ron. Knowing that your brother despises you isn't something that makes you sleep very well at night. Even though they never talked or had nothing in common, she did love her brother very much. She just wanted him to accept her for the way she was, and not the way he wanted her to be. Would he ever talk to her again after this? Would he ever give her a chance to explain? She wasn't after his forgiveness, 'cause she had meant everything she said. But maybe she shouldn't have said it like that… maybe she should've talked to him in private, and made him understand that way. But it was too late now, he already hated her and there was really nothing she could do to take everything back.
And she was all alone now, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She took her wand and looked at it. What was that curse again? Aveda Kodovra? No, that's not it… Avada Kedavra? Yes, that's it. Wow, it seemed really tempting right now… just one curse, and she wouldn't have to go through all of this…she wouldn't have to meet Desdemona and Miranda, or Ron or Harry… no one could laugh at her when they thought she couldn't hear, and she wouldn't be lonely anymore… and best of all, she wouldn't have to meet Draco in the corridors and be reminded of what she had lost…
Furiously, she threw away the wand.
I'm not even brave enough for that…
~*~*~*~
Draco left his tree and started to go back to the castle again. It was almost midnight, and he figured most students had gone to bed and were sleeping by now.
He stopped as he was almost by the big tree where he always used to meet her, and saw a small red spot sitting there. She was leaning against the tree with her knees under her chin. He felt like running down to her and just...shouting. Didn't she know what she had done to him? He'd been angry before, but never like this. He'd never felt this… betrayed before.
He took a deep breath and put his normal sneer on his face, before he walked back into the castle.
~*~*~*~
Hermione sighed as she saw Ron reaching for his wand. Ron had just seen Draco enter the classroom, and was glaring at him while searching his pockets. She took his hands and forced him to look at her.
"Please Ron, if you hurt him you're only gonna make it worse for Ginny." Ron frowned.
"No I'm not! If I kill that bastard, he can't really hurt her, now cans he?"
Hermione sighed again, "No, but then you'll be the one hurting her. C'mon Ron, let him be. And talk to Ginny. She's really upset right now."
"I wont talk to her! I haven't done anything wrong!"
Hermione shook her head. How come guys were so stupid about some things? Why didn't they see the obvious?
"I'll give you a week. Ron. If you still haven't talked to her by then, I… I… oh, I'll be really angry!"
"Really angry? That's the best you could come up with?"
Hermione snorted, "So? You don't want me to be angry at you, right?"
"No…" Ron admitted, blushing. Hermione smiled and squeezed his hands, "Good. Now promise me you'll talk to her, and leave Malfoy alone."
Ron gave up, he couldn't say no to those begging eyes, "I promise, Hermione."
~*~*~*~
The following week Draco tried his very best not to lose control. He had gotten used to always coming down and talking to Ginny at night, and now when he didn't, it almost made him sick. But he was still angry, and Malfoys never forgave anyone that easily.
To the Slytherins' questions about him and Ginny he had given them some corny excuse about only using her and that now that she was so broken-hearted, his mission was accomplished. He was really surprised when they actually accepted the excuse and everything just went back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be for the poor Slytherins.
Draco kept on walking out at night at 11 o'clock though, but he never went down to the lake. He always found her there, sitting alone and abandoned, so he sat there on the big stairs to the entrance and just watched her for hours. He had seen her in the corridors at some times. She didn't tail after Desdemona and Miranda anymore. No, she was always walking around alone, and she didn't smile anymore. She never smiled anymore, and she was always alone. Who does that remind you of Draco? How 'bout you? Stupid Weasley…
One night Draco had had enough, and he couldn't take it anymore. He really was angry, and just swallowing the anger all the time was driving him mad. When his father had told him not to show his true feelings, he had meant all his true feelings. That included both love and anger.
"You shall always stay calm and cold. That's how you win your fights," he had told him once, before he beat the little boy unconscious and left him for the house-elves to take care of.
Draco started to go down towards her and saw how she turned her head when she heard him come. Her face was streamed with tears, and she had big, dark bags under her eyes after all the nights with no sleep.
He felt his anger build up inside of him again, and couldn't control himself anymore, "Stop crying, and shut up, dammit!"
Ginny looked up at him, her eyes widening in surprise. "D-Draco?" she whispered, breathless. Was he really there? With her? She started feel some hope coming back inside of her, but
pushed it away. No, of course not… he probably just wanted to yell at her, or hit her or something.
Draco glared at her, "Yes, I believe that's my name."
Ginny shivered. The coldness in his voice was really tearing her apart. He'd always sounded cold when they spoke, but it had never sounded this honest before.
She looked up at him, and tried by just looking at him, to make him understand how much she regretted hurting him. When she didn't get any response, she tried talking instead.
"I'm… I'm really sorry Draco; I never meant to drag you into this whole mess… "
"Shut up, Weasel! I can't believe you! First, you let Potter know about us, and then you go and let the whole school know! What the hell is wrong with you?! Didn't you get a brain to think with, as everyone else? Or did it just never occur to you what may happen if you told everyone?"
"I-I… I really am sorry, Draco… I just…"
"Well, your sorrow doesn't help, Weasel! You should learn to just keep your big mouth shut!" Draco felt the regret just as the words slipped his mouth. He saw how sadness in her eyes again as she slowly turned away her eyes from him. She looked out over the lake and sighed.
"I know that… " This guy really knew how to hurt her.
Draco ran his fingers through his hair nervously. He had gone too far this time.
"I really wish I could change things, Draco. You know, so that I hadn't said all those things, and made everyone hate me so much. It did feel good to just shout for once, but look at where it got me. You hate me, Ron hates me, Desdemona and Miranda, the only friends I had, hate me… Harry hates me, although I'm not so sure I'm sorry 'bout that." Draco almost smiled when she said that, but controlled himself as she continued, "So you're right, Draco. I should just be quiet."
"No, but maybe you should think before you speak," Draco muttered.
Ginny smiled weakly, "So, are you very angry at me?" She asked him.
Draco hesitated. He was angry, of course. But the Slytherins believed him when he said he had just used Ginny so he really didn't have any reason to be this angry at her.
"I… I… oh just shut up!" he muttered and walked back into the castle.
~*~*~*~
"Ok, so I'm here now… what did you want me?" Draco looked bored as he sat down next to her on a chair in the library. They were sitting behind big bookshelves so no one could see them if they didn't go all the way to them, and the bookshelves muted the sound of their voices. Ginny had met him in the corridor a couple of hours earlier and asked him to meet her there in the library at lunchtime.
Ginny smiled shyly, "I… I just thought… oh no, this was a stupid idea… never mind." She blushed and looked down at her books.
Draco sighed and took the book away from her. "So you dragged me in here, to the library, just to say you didn't want anything?"
Ginny's cheeks turned even redder, "N-no… I'm sorry…"
"Okay, so you just wanted to see my sexy smile?"
Ginny blushed, "N-no… of course not." That was actually the reason. Well, not really to see his smile, even though it was kind of sexy, she just wanted to see him again. He wasn't angry at her; at least she thought he wasn't, so he was kind of the only person she had. And the fact that she loved him only made her long for him even more.
"What? You don't think I have a sexy smile?"
"Sexy? Well… um… I… err… you…I…" Ginny stammered. Draco yawned, "So, what did you want then? I don't have all day, you know." When she didn't answer, he decided to change the subject. After all, he did like being there with her. "What are you doing?"
Ginny looked up, "I'm just doing my homework… I have a lot to catch up on…" she muttered.
"What? Oh right… need any help?"
What? I'm offering my help now?
"You wanna help? Sure… You can start with doing my Charms homework, and then the Potions essay…and don't forget the Herbology homework… that's the worst one…" Ginny smiled when she saw Draco's face darken. "Sorry, just wanted to see how it felt to say something like that."
Draco stared at her for a few moments. She had changed a lot in the last couple of days. He liked the new confidence she seemed to have now. Without thinking he pulled her closer and kissed her. Her eyes widened in surprise before she relaxed, put her hands behind his neck and melted into the kiss. He didn't let her go for a long time, he just enjoyed the kiss and that weird feeling he had in his stomach again.
He quickly pulled away when he heard footsteps coming closer. Ginny froze and listened carefully. "It's coming closer," she whispered panicked.
Draco didn't answer. "Draco?! What are we going to do?"
Draco still didn't answer, but jumped up and hid behind a big bookshelf. He heard the footstep coming around the bookshelf that had kept them hidden, and he heard as they stopped right in front of the table.
"Ginny? Can we talk?" he heard someone ask. Cautiously, he looked behind the corner and saw Potter standing in front of Ginny.
Ginny looked up and sighed.
Not him again.
Harry sat down on the chair Draco had been sitting on just a few seconds earlier, and glanced at her seriously.
"I… I just wanted to say that… that… that I'm sorry." He mumbled quietly.
Ginny look confused. "Why?" she asked just as quietly as her him.
"I… you know I don't just care about Gryffindors reputation, Ginny. You know I was worried about you."
Ginny shook her head and blushed. "No, Harry. And honestly, I don't care."
"Why not? I think I deserve to know why you're so afraid of me!" Harry cried out.
"Haven't I told you that already?" Ginny asked and moved away as Harry sat down next to her.
"No, you haven't."
Ginny blushed. "Oh...well… you… you kind of remind me of Tom Riddle… and that diary… and… you are like him Harry...you even look like him."
Harry's jaw almost fell to the floor, "Oh come on, Ginny! Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious. Why would I lie about that?"
Harry took her hand in his, making Draco wince at the sight. "But Ginny, I would never hurt you." he whispered softly.
Ginny raised an eyebrow and gazed him suspiciously. "Okay."
"I really care for you, Ginny -"
Draco frowned.
"- And my biggest nightmare would be seeing you get hurt."
Ginny pulled back her hand. "Then I hope you have sweet dreams tonight, Harry." The black haired boy gave the little girl a warm smile before he stood up and looked down at her.
"I hope that too, Ginny" He kissed her forehead and left the library, with Ginny looking rather confused.
Draco stepped out of his hiding and sat down next to Ginny. He had his look locked on the spot Harry had just left. "What was that all about?" he asked her.
Ginny just shook her head. "I have no idea." Draco turned back to Ginny, "Was he hitting on you?"
"How should I know?"
"If he did, he looked rather stupid."
"So it's stupid to hit on me?"
"I didn't say that!"
"So what did you say? Or are you jealous?"
"Jealous? Hardly. I don't get jealous."
"So you're just bitter and angry all the time, because of…?"
"I'm not bitter!"
"Yes you are. You're always angry, and you always go around pretending you don't care about anything."
No answer.
Ginny moved closer to him, "Draco? Did I make you angry again?" Draco glared at her, but still didn't answer. She tried the Harry-tactic and put her hand over his. But unlike Ginny when Harry had done it, Draco felt a shiver down his spine at the touch. "Draco?" she whispered worried.
He was just going to answer, when they heard footsteps coming closer again and a voice calling; "Ginny? Ginny Weasley?"
Draco frowned, exasperated, "What's up with people today? Do they all have to talk to you now?!"
Ginny laughed, "Well, what can I say? I'm popular". Draco tried to hide his smile, and jumped back behind the big bookshelf.
A brown haired boy walked over to the table Ginny sat at and smiled shyly. "Hi," he said and blushed.
Ginny didn't look up. Instead she looked around to see who he was talking to.
"Ginny?" He tried again, and this time she looked up at him. "You were talking to me?" she asked surprised.
The boy blushed again, "Yes. I can't really see anyone else here."
This time Ginny blushed. "Oh. Um, who are you?" she asked quietly.
"Oh sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Christian Fisher, fifth year, Hufflepuff."
"Oh, well, hi then," Ginny mumbled.
"I just wanted to tell you… I saw you before… in the Great Hall. And I thought… I thought you were very brave," Christian said, and he blushed again.
Draco sighed deeply, but quickly stopped as he saw the boy look around confused. "Did you hear that?" he asked Ginny.
"Hear? What?" Ginny coughed to hide Draco's sigh. "N-no, I didn't hear anything… um so, you were saying?"
"Oh, right. I just wanted to ask you, wouldyouliketogooutwithmeonfriday?" he said all this very fast and saw the surprised look on Ginny's face.
"Would I like to what?" she asked.
Christian sighed, "Would you like to go out with me on Friday?" he asked again.
"Oh… OH! I… I… don't know…" Was he asking her out? Her? Ginny? The loser?! Why? Was this some kind of joke? If it was, it was really mean… This made no sense, no sense at all!
"Oh, sorry… you have someone else?"
Ginny glanced at the spot Draco was sitting, and then back to Christian. Okay, so he was kind of cute, but that wasn't really enough. She loved Draco and going out with this boy would like encouraging him, wouldn't it? But Draco didn't love her back…
"No… I don't have someone else, but…"
"Oh, good!"
"But I…"
"Just one date, please? And if you don't like it, I'll leave you alone, okay?" he asked hopeful.
Ginny hesitated. Her first date. "Um… well, okay." She said and sighed.
Christian smiled happily, "Great! So, I'll see you in the Entrance hall at 7 o'clock on Friday?"
"Yes… I'll see you then…"she mumbled and he walked away with a happy grin on his face.
Draco stumbled out from his hiding place once again and glared at the girl of his dreams. "He asked you out?!" he almost spat out.
"Yes… I guess he did…" she mumbled, still in shock.
What about us?!
"And you're going?!"
"I… should I? I mean, I've never been on a date before…"
Draco frowned, "So?"
Ginny smiled, "What's wrong, handsome?" she asked, imitating Pansy's shrill voice. "Are you jealous again?"
"I told you, I don't get jealous."
"I mean, it's not like I already have a boyfriend. I love you, but you don't want me back… so nothing is stopping me."
Draco stared at her. Was this really the same Ginny he had gotten to know just a few weeks ago? She looked the same… she talked like she used to...but… she was really different. Unfortunately, he still liked her. Fuck! Stupid Weasley… always messing with my head…
"Fine! Go out with him! And while you're at it, why don't you just go and marry him and have it over with?!" he spat out and stormed out of the library. On his way out, he almost collided with three students standing right outside the library door. He was too busy to notice that one of the students was the brown haired boy that had just asked out Ginny. And that the people who just handed him a whole lot of money were Ginny's former best friends who always was there for Ginny when she needed them. Except for when they had dates, or just didn't bother showing up. Or when they paid people to ask little Ginny out, just to get revenge….
~*~*~*~
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