'Ello 'ello! Lauren here! And this is the beginning of the end. Chapter thirty-four is right here, and this is the second to last chapter. Yes, 35 is the end, and the sequel will start up where this leads off. Don't worry, we'll be on the same schedule, so chapter one of 'still untitled' (creative, huh?) will be posted within the next couple of days, depending on when I come up with a name for the story!! Haha, if you guys have any suggestions, please let me know. At the same time, you don't really know what the them of the story, and you won't know until the last chapter of this one, so you might not be able to. Actually, since I'm posting the 35th chapter tonight, you will be able to tell me your suggestions! Okay, that was a very confusing train of thought…enjoy this chapter, though I doubt that it's enjoyable. It's rather sad really. No! not giving anything away! Read on! Power to you! and I'm so glad you guys liked the last chapter! I was worried. Thanks for all the many reviews!

Lauren

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!!!!!!

Chapter thirty-four

Void Valiance

Harry and Ron watched as Ginny disappeared. Ron's hands were shaking uncontrollably, he just didn't know what to do with himself. He was a little shocked, yes, but more so at Harry's behavior than at Ginny's. Harry had stooped as low as Malfoy himself in calling her Weasley. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how right Ginny was. They shouldn't have been spying on her. Yes, yes, it had been his idea, but it wasn't supposed to turn out this way. He had only meant it to be a joke, and then there was the fact that they meant not to be caught. And Harry got just a bit carried away with it all, really. Ginny really wasn't the kind of person to do anything Harry accused her of— or, to be accurate, implied that she did. Ron was smart enough to figure out that, now that she had been provoked, all hell could break loose at any moment. But, being the cautious friend he was, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Harry glared at the empty field in front of him. No, she had been long gone, but just the memory of her standing there was enough to cause him to glare. He couldn't understand what had just happened. He couldn't even understand why he was glaring at the thought of her. He loved her, he really did. And he trusted her. Right?… Well?

If it was taking him this long to think about it, that couldn't be a good sign. Not at all.

"Well Harry, I'm gonna, er, head back to see what Hermione's up to… you coming?" Ron asked tentatively.

Harry nodded. Yes, it doesn't do well to dwell…

They slowly headed back to the castle, and as Ron looked up at the sky, he could see rain clouds forming overhead. Ooh, what a perfect time for rain… he said, referring to the whole incident grimly.

They drudged up the stairs towards their tower and were nearly thrown backward in shock (okay so only Ron was. Harry was too angry to be shocked) when Hermione practically rammed into them at the top of the staircase. After catching her breath and picking up her books, she noticed the appearance of the two boys.

"Well, you two look like a cheery bunch…what happened?" she asked teasingly, obviously not picking up any sort of reading on the situation.

Harry was about to open his mouth and retell the whole story when Ron jumped in first. If I can tell her first, at least she'll get the unbiased view…

"Why don't we head back to the common room first…" he said hurriedly. Hermione looked at him questioningly, but followed nonetheless, with Harry in tow. They climbed through the portrait hole and made their way into an isolated corner. Ron began telling his side of the story, which, fortunately for Hermione, was the narrator's perspective. Harry, meanwhile, leaned his head against the wall and watched the ceiling, torn between frustration, anger, and sadness. He had been quite mean to Ginny, but why was she acting so defensively toward Malfoy? He felt trapped. He didn't want to talk to anybody about it except Ginny, who happened to be the last person he wanted to speak to.

Ron had just finished the story when Ginny came tumbling through the portrait hole, looking red in the face and befuddled. She gave a glance over to the three in the corner and took off for her dorm room. Hermione cast a questioning look at Ron, and when he nodded, she got up to follow her.

She knocked gently on the door and stepped in. Ginny was sitting on her bed, heand in her hands. Hermione could hear her sobbing softly. She walked over to her bed and pulled a chair over to sit in.

"Ginny, what is it?"

Ginny looked up through a curtain of tears and sighed heavily. Her eyes shifted around the room, as if she was looking for a possible eavesdropper, and she lowered her head to Hermione.

"Hermione, I've— I've done something awful…"

Hermione looked at her sympathetically.

"Ginny, you stood up for yourself! That's not awful at all! Even if Harry did get upset, he shouldn't have been spying on you!" she said while Ginny shook her head.

"No, no, you don't understand…it happened after that. It was…I can't believe I…"

Hermione looked at her confusedly, waiting for her confession.

Now Ginny lowered her voice.

"I um, well, I kissed Draco," she said finally, looking down at her bed. Hermione gasped, and Ginny felt even more ashamed than she had before. But she didn't notice that Hermione wasn't the only one who gasped.

"What? What do you mean? How did this happen? What did he say? Where was this? How could you do this?" Hermione asked frantically.

"Hermione, please!! Please, it's bad enough as it is, I don't need your scolding!" Ginny cried.

"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry. I just— I guess I'm just…shocked."

"After I left the Quidditch field, I suddenly felt my feet taking me down to the dungeons. I didn't know why, it just happened, okay? And I figured that since I was already going down there I could ask him what he wanted to tell me. It was really pestering me, I had to know. So I got down there, and I was about to ask him, until he stopped me! He wouldn't let me speak! And then he just, he just…he kissed me. And I couldn't stop him. And right then, something told me that if I stopped him, it would be giving in to Harry, and I couldn't do that. Not then, not when I was so angry. And so…I— I kissed him back," she said remorsefully.

Hermione looked at her kindly, much like Dumbledore would if she were explaining to him this situation.

"Ginny, I understand. Really, I do. Completely. But, what happened afterward? I mean, did he tell you? What he was going to say?"

Ginny nodded slowly, looking like she was bearing the weight of the world on her shoulder.

"Er, he said that…he told me that it had been him who gave you the potion. Remember? The one I figured out was supposed to be for me?" she sighed.

Hermione's eyes grew large as she drew her hand to her mouth. Ginny put her head back in her hands and began sobbing again.

Outside the door, a very shocked Ron and an immeasurably furious Harry stood at the top of the stairs. Harry turned to head down the stairs, his hands in fists.

"H—Harry?" Ron quivered.

But Harry just stomped his way down the stairs, without turning back.