Chapter Five: Sound is Defeaning
Harry had never been so angry in all his life. Well, there was that time when he'd found out that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had lied to him about his parents' death. And then there was that time in fourth year when Ron had acted completely stupid about Harry getting all the glory. But put those aside and Harry was rather enraged.
He'd lost. He had bloody lost to those no good Slytherins for the second time in a row. How could Gryffindor have lost? For Merlin's sake James and Riley claimed they had the sure fire plan to catch Slytherin cheating. Buggers.
Than Harry thought about his House and became even more angry. What had he been thinking? Pulling a bluff call on Slytherin was possibly the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. How did this make Gryffindor look? Surely Ginny hadn't been the only person to clue into the idea that the call was a fake. What did the others now think of the Gryffindor team?
The expression 'to be the pond scum on one's shoe' really applied to him right now or at least that's what Harry figured. He felt low. A - for losing to Slytherin. Twice. And b - for lying in order to beat Slytherin. Harry was stooping down to Malfoy's level. If not lower.
"Harry?" came Hermione's questioning voice. Harry looked up to see the bushy brunette now standing over him. Not far away was to be found Ron. "Are you going to sit here all afternoon? Come on, Ron and I are heading to the Hall for lunch and then spend the afternoon in Hogsmeade."
Adjusting his glasses to better sit on his nose, Harry stood from his seat in Gryffindor Tower and followed his two friends. He sat quietly at Gryffindor Table and ate little, his wonderings too astray. He looked down the table to Ron's younger sister and watched as she laughed at something a friend of hers had said. His emerald green eyes followed as she rose and, along with two others of her year, made way for the grand doors. His eyes shifted from the exiting Ginny to the entering Malfoy. A smirk was present on his pale face and he nudged Zabini. Harry cursed under his breath.
"I'll meet you both in the Three Broomsticks," Quinlan stated having spotted Colin ahead in the corridor. She went off, leaving Ginny and Lynda, to meet with him. She had some owling she had to get done, and not having an owl herself she'd have to use Post Office at the village. Colin was getting to be her lucky companion.
"Butterbeer then Gin?" Lynda looked to her friend with a wide smile on her face.
"Sounds good with me. Just let me run back to our dorm. I'll be back in a few minutes."
It didn't take Ginny long, as she said it wouldn't. She'd left Lynda at the Castle doors, went straight for her sixth year dorm and then returned. The two girls then headed off for their afternoon visit to the wizarding village, only to return later for the annual Hallowe'en Feast.
"Gin, go grab a table. I'll bring you a drink. Remember that Colin and Quin are coming along later." She went to leave, but halted and turned back. "And Ginny do try to keep yourself out of trouble this year."
Ginny chuckled as Lynda walked off. That was Lynda for you, always looking out for the better of Quin and Ginny. But then every year seemed to spring some sort of havoc on this particular outing. Last year Quin had gotten into a loud disagreement with Colin. Ginny, the year before, had run into a spat with her older brother. And the year before that she had a slight quarrel with Mister Draco Malfoy himself.
She made way for an empty table to the side of the busy room. It was a taller table and had four bar stools placed around its curves. A candle dripped melted wax onto the table's surface, forming abstract sculptures. Ginny began to play with and mold the liquid wax. Then she glanced over to the open doorway, and watched four familiar boys walk in. One, the fairest of the four, had a smirk plastered on his face and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Arrogant prat," she muttered silently at Malfoy. Her attention, as was typical, flipped to the dark figure that was Blaise.
"Ginny, do you know what homework is supposed to be done this week for Transfiguration?"
Sharply, Ginny turned her focus from Blaise to the blonde, if you could really call her that. Comparing her to Draco and you might as well say that Lynda was a brunette. Lynda slid a butterbeer across the table; some contents slopping over the side. "Just the reading, well, and the questions that accompany it. Those five paragraphs won't be due for some time."
"Did you ever notice how much essay writing we have to do this year?" Lynda asked as she took a small drink from her mug.
Ginny shrugged and gave Lynda a lopsided frown. Essays didn't really bother her, not all that much. Actually, she rather enjoyed doing them. She enjoyed writing and doing essays often got her good marks, raising her class mark just that much.
"Hey you two," Quin said, coming up smiling. She had a butterbeer in her hand and took a seat next to Lynda. Colin quietly took up the only remaining seat at the table.
"Quinlan," Lynda nodded in greeting. "Uh, Colin, I believe Rock and the others want to see you." Lynda watched the three Gryffindor boys trying to flag over Colin. He turned to look at them, than saying an extremely quick goodbye he got up and left.
"Hey, you know who I realized is not so shabby looking?"
Oh God. Ginny prayed that Blaise's name wasn't the next thing to come out of Quin's mouth. Had she not just gotten over that whole Malfoy thing? If Quin was about to start on Blaise, Ginny was going to have a heart attack.
"Your brother."
Ginny looked wide-eyed at her friend, coughing into her butterbeer. Shaking her head, Ginny laughed at Quin's comment.
"No, seriously Gin. He's cute. Mind you, I can see him and Hermione hooking up sometime soon. What with the way the two of them act around each other. It really wouldn't surprise me. They'd be a cute couple if ever I did see one. However, I still think that Ben and Lea were a good pairing. But they've been split up for a while now, haven't they? And then there's that odd pairing between Je-anne and that Ravenclaw seventh year fellow - what's his name... "
She shook her head. Ginny wasn't sure if Quin was really talking to her and Lynda or if it was more-so thinking about loud to herself. She did that quite often. Went on these rambling tangents about the social standings of the school. Always big into knowing the rest of the school's personal happenings, never quite content with her own.
"Um, all right," Lynda cut in, silencing Quin, finally. "What do you say we leave and head over to Honeydukes. I wouldn't mind picking up some sweets."
Very thankful, Ginny agreed. However much she loved Quin, sometimes her rambles just weren't something Ginny wanted to listen to. To tell you the truth, they were bloody annoying. The three Gryffindors parted the Three Broomsticks and made their way over to the very packed, very busy, Honeydukes candy shop. It took awhile, but finally they squeezed their way in. Ginny would be quick in the store and told Quin and Lynda she'd meet them outside. She knew exactly what candy she would get. She got the same thing every time. A small bag with Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in strawberry, orange and peanut butter. Ginny was fanatic when they started selling the things in individual flavours. She wasn't a jellybean fan, save for those three flavours.
After purchasing the jellybeans, Ginny slowly squeezed her way through the mass of students and exited. She made her way up the hill in direction to the Shrieking Shack, where she leaned up against the wooden fence, watching the shop door for her two friends. Ginny waited ten minutes, before getting rather bored and she sighed deeply when they had yet to come forth.
"Hello there Miss Weasley," came a sudden voice to her left. Ginny looked and came face-to-face with Blaise. She smiled as he too leaned against the fence, facing the shack, his elbows upon the highest post. "How've you been doing?"
"Quite fine," she chortled and looked back in the direction of Honeydukes. "And yourself?"
"Not bad ... Did you, by any chance, talk to anyone?"
"About?" she asked, somewhat surprised. Of course she'd talked to people, she wasn't some sort of hermit who kept to herself. Just what was he getting at? Ginny thought she had an idea.
"About what you told me?"
Ginny dropped her eyes from the shop to him. "You're kidding me? Blaise, why would I tell anyone? I'm the one here at risk for telling you, remember? I went against my House. Why would I talk to anyone about that?"
Blaise shrugged. He didn't know why she'd tell, but maybe she had. Blaise didn't really know. Draco had known, but then again he had also seen that Ginny had wanted to talk to Blaise. It probably only made sense that Draco had put two and two together to understand what Ginny had spoken to Blaise about. "I don't know, I just was wondering."
"Look, I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm not going to get myself in more shit than I need to be in. However," she took a brief pause, "you are the different question. And I'm not caring on this conversation here. I don't care if we were as quiet as can be, I won't have it here. Tomorrow, maybe." She spotted Lynda and Quin emerging from the candy shop and walked away from Blaise, down the small hill, to meet them both.
"Where have you been at?" Draco asked when Blaise came into the Great Hall and took a seat to his side. "We left when we couldn't find you at Hogsmeade."
"I just had some thinking I had to do," Blaise mumbled quietly, looking to the gold feast plates sitting in front of him.
"About?" Draco asked, running a hand through his hair, looking to his schoolmate. "There's something at you Zabini. You seem rather perplexed if you asked me."
Shaking his head, Blaise bit at his thumbnail and looked over to Draco. "Just thoughts," he answered the blonde. "I just have something I have to figure."
"And I'm guessing you won't be telling me what this 'something' is, will you?"
Blaise shook his head. Good guess, Draco. He couldn't be any more right. As if Blaise would be telling anyone about these thoughts. These things he didn't really want to be thinking. She was a Weasley and a Gryffindor. That's how Blaise had to think about her. He shouldn't be thinking about her in any other way. No, she was simply a Weasley, and a good target for some spur of the moment, crude and unnecessary comments.
Dumledore must have said something for food popped up out of no where and the Hallowe'en Feast got under way. But Blaise wasn't very hungry. Nay, just very confused and befuddled. He looked up from the table and across the room at Ginny. She pointlessly ran a hand through her hair, for the strands just feel back into her face. Blaise smiled, a hidden, shy sort of smile and looked away from her.
He was going crazy. That's what it was. How else could he explain what he was feeling for her? There wasn't. No, the best way to put was the he was losing it. Geh, but how he could resist it. He wanted to, wanted to resist it, but couldn't. He didn't want to fall for the sixth year, but if Blaise just would admit it, he'd see he already had.
The Feast had ended awhile later and the Hall slowly grew emptier and emptier as students made their way out of the room. Blaise and Draco got up, leaving Vince and Greg there.
"So, you sure you won't tell me what's eating at you?" Draco asked as the two cleared away, heading toward the dungeons.
Blaise looked over, glaring at Draco. "I'm not about to tell you bloody anything." He then stopped, dead in his tracks. "I'll be back." Blaise left the very confused Malfoy where he was, and headed off in the direction he'd just come from. Back to the Great Hall.
Draco watched, very confused, as Blaise walked briskly away. He furrowed his brow at him, than shrugged and figured he might as well give it up. He wasn't going to find out what the hell Blaise was up to now. He'd just have to give it awhile. But he'd find out. He wasn't a Malfoy for nothing. He'd soon know what was going on with his friend.
Ginny had begun to walk from the feast and hall along with Lynda and Rock. Quin had left sometime ago, with Colin by her side. Yawning, the young Weasley turned a hallway with the others, but found she was stopped by a sudden grasp on her arm.
"A word, now." It was Blaise, and he had put much force on 'now'.
With shock clearly written all over her face, Ginny let him lead her away from the two Gryffindors. They were probably just as confused as she was, if not more. Blaise, still holding her around the wrist, took her off, away from any students. He desperately need to talk with her.
"What the hell, Blaise?" she questioned angrily when he'd finally let go of her arm in some deserted, unoccupied corridor. Her golden eyes were pledged with rage as they narrowed up at him.
"We have to talk."
"I told you, I'd talk to you tomorrow."
"Well, that's not good enough for me. We need to talk to now."
Ginny glared and crossed her arms over her chest. She watched Blaise as he took a step closer to her. His dark eyes lingered for a moment on her own and than fell passed her. "Fine, as I said you are a different question Blaise. And would you like to know what that question is? How does Harry know I talked to you? You questioned me speaking up, but my question is, who have you been talking to?"
Blaise looked at her in shock and he bit nervously at the middle knuckle of his index finger. Potter knew? He knew she'd come to Slytherin? How was that possible? "I -I," he stuttered, "I swear to you I didn't speak to anyone."
"Not even Malfoy?" Ginny questioned provocatively, drawing closer to the boy. Being a fair bit shorter, she came only to his chin and had to look up to stare into his eyes. But her being the shorter of the two didn't really matter. Blaise was still uneasy with what she was accusing of him. And the manner in which she was acting.
"No," he said blankly. "I hold my word Ginny, I'm not going to say anything. Draco's been pressing me for what you said, but I won't tell him."
"And I'm supposed to believe you for that?" she quickly spoke up, interrupting his speech. What was his problem? He had come condemning her for conversing with someone about this matter, but then she was supposed to take his word that he hadn't?
Blaise shifted his balance from one foot to the other. "I didn't speak to anyone. No, not even Draco. I don't know how Potter knows anything, or maybe it's just that he suspects it. I'm not sure." He put a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm telling you, no one has heard anything from me."
She looked away, breaking his stare, and brought her hand to her forehead. Closing her eyes, Ginny sighed heavily. Her anger was slowly giving away, and was being replaced with anxiety. She looked back to Blaise. "You didn't speak to anyone?" she asked again, this time as if to double check his word to her.
"I didn't." He took his hand from her shoulder and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I'll hold my word to you. I'm not about to talk to anyone."
Looking at him, she couldn't help but believe him. That left here with the question as to where Harry was coming from. Where he'd gotten the clue that she'd said something. But she knew it wasn't from Blaise. He seemed to be to sincere to talk to even his team captain about her.
"Alright," she muttered quietly, chewing delicately on her upper lip.
"Listen, I don't know how Potter can think you came to Slytherin, but I promise you it wasn't from me where he heard it." Blaise detected something about the way in which she'd answered him. He wasn't satisfied that she believed him. There was still some skepticism that floated through her, telling her not to fully rely on him. "Ginny, I don't know what else I can do to convince you, but you have to know that I won't ever betray your word."
"I know," came her soft reply. "I don't know why I doubted you in the first place, but I have to trust that you haven't, or won't, let this out." Ginny turned to walk away, but found his hand close around her upper arm. Blaise stopped her and pulled her closer to him. She survey his eyes for a moment, as he held onto her arm. It was weird, and for a minute or so she stood there in silence, watching his eyes. Without any word he released her and Ginny slowly backed away. She eventually made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.
"What had that been about?" Lynda asked when Ginny had taken a seat up in their dormitory. She had been puzzled ever since Zabini had pulled Ginny away.
"Nothing," Ginny answered, looking into the orange of the fire.
"You're going to tell me that?" Lynda asked sarcastically. She knew something was up. How often was it that being pulled off by a seventh year Slytherin was nothing? She doubted very often. "Gin, what is it?"
"It's nothing Lynda. Really don't worry about it."
Lynda shot Ginny a very arguable look. It wasn't likely that she believed Ginny, actually she didn't believe Ginny. But, she'd give Ginny time. She respected her privacy and if Ginny didn't want to speak up, Lynda wasn't about to force her. Lynda knew if there was ever a time when Ginny did need her, Ginny would come forward. "All right. Just watch yourself. Please?"
Ginny laughed. "You're always looking out for the better of me Lynda. I'd be lost without you, you know that?"
Lynda cracked a smile. "Of course you would be."
This was one of those times when Ginny would've loved to tell Lynda what was on her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to. She trusted Lynda, and she was sure that if she did say anything, Lynda would keep her mouth shut. But there was still that edge that remained. That edge that told Ginny it was wiser for her to keep this between herself and Blaise. That's exactly what she intended to do.
Shaking his head, Blaise ambled from the corridor. This girl was going to be the end of him if he wasn't careful. Or maybe even if he was. Sure, he had told himself he was going to think of her as a Weasley and as a Gryffindor. He had said earlier that afternoon that she wasn't going to be Ginny to him, only a target. He had given up hope on that.
It was going to drive him crazy either way. So what was the point in denying her existence? He might as well admit it to himself; he liked her. That was that. Was there really anything he could do about it? No, not likely. He might as well stop running from the truth and learned to accept it. He did like her. He had fallen for Ginny Weasley. End of story.
A/n: End of another chapter of Chained to Fate. Surprisingly I wrote it in a rather short time and :unfortunately: I didn't take quite as much time to edit it as usual. (I'm a normal grammar nut, but I didn't quite feel like it this time. End of my week break from school, that's what I can blame it on) Thanks again all of you who reviewed. And thanks Ariahni. You're my masked angel sweetheart, and I think you need to know that. My world would probably crash and burn if you weren't around. So thanks Ari, you are my savior and I owe you my life. Lizi