Shadow's End
Chapter Four
Confrontation
Ginny reluctantly awoke later that night to hear Harry storming about down in the Common Room. Someone, most likely Hermione, had once again gently dressed her for bed and slipped her into it, gently, so not to disturb Ginny's escape. Ginny still ached, though this time not so badly, -Maybe I'm becoming immune to him,- she thought, but enough to keep her to her bed. She concluded her thoughts in order to listen to what Harry had to say.
"Hermione, did you hear me right? I said, she's dating a Slytherin! Even worse, the Slytherin in question is -Gregory Goyle,- Malfoy's right-hand man!" he spat out, thoroughly disgusted with Ginny.
"Harry," began Hermione gently, not wanting to wake Ginny, though that was not needed. "Harry, she's only a girl. Do you remember how disgusted and jealous Ron was when we first went out?"
"Hey-" Ron began, but was cut off by a glance from Hermione.
"Harry, my point is, when you're in love, you're in love, and you can't do anything about it." With that, she slipped her arms around Harry's waist and kissed him. "You know that, Darling. Don't you?" she asked him.
Harry nodded, but still protested. "But, he's a Slytherin! "
Hermione kissed Harry again. "I know Harry, I know. That's what makes it all the stranger, but love is love. And we're in love, too, you know." she said, kissing him once more.
"Oh, spare me and get a room," Ron muttered. Hermione just laughed and went to sit down.
Harry started pacing in front of the fireplace again. "But, she can't be in love- He's a Slytherin!"
"Love happens in funny ways, dear. Remember that."
"I know, but what if he's just using her? What if Malfoy is just telling him to use Ginny to get to me? I don't want her to be used!"
"Bullshit," Ron snapped, standing up. "You don't care if she's being used, all you care about is whether or not she's being used to get to you! All you care about is you! You don't even think of anyone else! You just want to run someone's life because yours isn't going the way you want it to, so you pick on my little sister and make her quake with fear at the very sight of you! Well I'm sick of it, Harry. You aren't going to boss my little sister around any more, not if I can help it!" With that, he made his way up to Ginny's dormitory, leaving a thunderstruck Harry behind him.
Ginny's eyes snapped shut when she heard Ron coming up the stairs. She fluttered them open when Ron came in. Ron smiled gingerly at her and came in and sat on the empty bed beside Ginny's. "What time is it?" Ginny asked cautiously- she could hardly speak, I think he hit me in the throat at one point...
Ron looked at his watch. "6:30, but the rest of the house knows better than to come up if Harry's in one of his moods."
"Do-do they all know what he does?"
Ron gravely nodded. "They're all pretty disgusted with him, and me and Hermione for not stopping him. But Ginny, I won't let him hurt you anymore, alright. I won't let him hurt you." Then Ron did a very strange thing-something he hadn't done often before. He leaned over and gave his little sister a hug- a light one, being careful of her bruises, but a hug. Ginny began to cry.
"I guess you know now. I guess the whole house-no, the whole school knows by now! They all know it, right? Right?!"
Ron sighed, and shook his head. "No, Ginny. They don't know. Just you, me, Harry, Hermione and Goyle," he cringed at the word, "know. No one else. Hermione and I are going to do our best to make sure that no one finds out, either." He took Ginny's left hand in his. "I promise Ginny- I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe from all of it. I swear." He then leaned down and kissed Ginny's cheek, and stood up to leave. "Get plenty of rest, Gin Gin, you'll be needing it." As he turned to go, Ginny stopped him.
"Ron," she said. He stopped and turned around, smiling sadly at Ginny. "Ron, I-I love you," Ginny stammered, not knowing what his reaction would be.
He just smiled and said, "I love you too, Ginny. I love you too."
Ginny sighed happily and rolled over, immediately sinking into much needed rest for her weary bones.
In the next week, Ginny concentrated more and more on avoiding Gregory Goyle than she had ever done with anyone in her entire life. She was afraid that if Harry even saw them in the same corridor together he might lose it again, and then she'd be in trouble. She ate her breakfasts early and quickly, and never went out on the lawn again, lest he might be there. Any time she wasn't eating or in a lesson she spent in her dormitory, either studying or reading Muggle books, which was a particular hobby of hers.
One morning at breakfast, a barn owl swooped down and delivered her a letter. She recognized the chickenscratch on the envelope, and her heart beat faster until she thought it would burst out of her chest. What would he say? She didn't dare to open it should Harry see it and read it, but instead she pocketed it and saved it to read when she went back to her dormitory. She finished her breakfast extra-quickly and hurried back up to her dormitory to read Gregory's letter.
She opened it and read:
-Dear Ginny,
I hope I find you well. Listen, you've been acting really strangely lately. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me, Ginny. You haven't been out on the lawn at all, and you know that that would be exactly where you could find me. Does it have anything to do with last week Harry coming up to you and yelling at you during supper? I wanted to hurt him, Ginny. He had no right to do or say what he did to you.
Ginny, I don't know what is going on between you and Harry, but whatever it is, I don't like it. I like you alot, Ginny, and I don't want you to get hurt, alright? So, if he ever does anything completely horrible to you, I want you to tell me, and I will hurt him. I won't stand for anything to hurt you. I'm always here for you to talk to.
Sincerely,
Gregory
Ginny was crying by the time she finished reading his letter. She had never meant to hurt Gregory by avoiding him, she was merely trying to keep herself out of a whole lot of big trouble. Greogory had said so himself, he didn't want her to get hurt. Yet, she had hurt him. She hadn't meant to, but lots of things happen that one doesn't mean to happen. For instance, one can tease a peer without meaning for that peer to go out and commit suicide, but that peer could be in a slump and go out and do just that. One never knows.
Of course, Gregory wasn't going to go out and commit suicide. Not yet, at least.
Anyways, Ginny got out a quill and a sheet of parchment and wrote a letter back to Gregory. Even if suicide wasn't on Gregory's mind, it very well might have been, and she didn't want anything horrible happening to him, so she wrote him just in case. Her letter was as follows:
-Dear Gregory,
Oh, Gregory, I'm so sorry I've been neglecting you lately, it's just I feel that I should be studying for exams extra-early this year, and they've been taking up so much of my time. I'll tell you what. This weekend is a Hogsmead weekend, so everyone will be in Hogsmead. If you would meet me out on the lawn at one o'clock, I will be there, and we can catch up. Send your response by owl post, and I will talk to you then.
Love,
Ginny
Ginny sighed as she rolled up the piece of parchment and handed it to her brother's owl, Pigwidgeon (whom she had named). She watched the hyperactive bird fly away hooting madly, and wondered if he'd actually make it to Gregory. She knew that she had not even mentioned Harry in her letter to Gregory, and she had done it intentionally. She didn't want Gregory attacking Harry, goodness knows it would just cause more trouble for them all. It might mean the end of her friendship with Gregory. So she kept quiet.
When Gregory recieved the letter from Ginny, he was extatic. He immediately scribbled a letter out to Ginny saying that he would be out on the lawn at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, right by their oak. He would wait impatiently for Saturday to come so he could talk to Ginny again. He gave the note to undersized hooty owl, gave it a pat on the head, then sent it out back to Ginny.
As he watched the little owl fly unsteadily back towards Gryffindor Tower, he wondered if the owl belonged to Ginny, and if so, why she picked out such an annoying little creature.
Throughout the whole of the upcoming week, Ginny walked unsteadily from class to class. She wondered why she even dared to think about being able to meet Gregory out on the lawn without Harry either finding out or holding her up. What would Gregory do if Ginny just didn't show up? Would he suspect Harry and go after him, or would he think that Ginny didn't want to spend time with him anymore and leave her? She couldn't bear the thought. She would just have to hope for the best.
When Saturday finally came, the morning hours flew by until it was finally one o'clock. As she had hoped, Harry, Hermione and Ron had headed out to Hogsmeade earlier that morning, and the common room was deserted. Just in case, Ginny grabbed a cloak and wrapped it around her, lest someone see her from a window and recognize her and tell Harry. That would be just what she needed. So she headed out onto the lawn, by their oak tree. As promised, there sat Gregory, eagerly awaiting her arrival. Ginny smiled cautiously at him as she sat down beside him.
"I- I thought you might not come," Ginny said.
"Why would you ever think that I might miss a chance to be around you?"
Gregory's gentle words soothed her. "Because of the way I have been treating you lately. I'm sorry, it's just I'm terrified of exams and I have been holing myself up in the library studying for them."
Gregory nodded, though the doubt showed on his face, he would not openly state that he did not trust her. "It's alright. I know what you mean. If you want, I can help you with the Potions, it's my best subject."
Ginny's eyes pleaded thanks and she said, "Oh, thank you. I have been particularly aware that Snape has been dropping huge hints on awful stuff that'll be in the exam. Would you mind answering some of my questions?"
And so the rest of the afternoon was spent as a study session. Ginny wished fervently that she could tell Gregory what really had been going on in her life, but she knew that he would just lose his temper and hurt Harry. That would merely get her in more trouble with him, and she knew that she was in enough trouble as it was.
At about four o'clock, Ginny knew that Harry and his friends would be returning from Hogsmeade soon, so she told Gregory that she had to get back to her dormitory. Thanking him for his help, she stood up, but he reached up and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her back down beside him.
"Ginny," he said, leaning forward and placing his lips upon hers. "Ginny, I love you." Ginny felt her heart melt at those four simple words, and she found that she was close to tears.
"I- I love you, too, Gregory," she choked out quietly, admitting the truth as he placed his hands around her waist and kissed her once more. Ginny buried her face in his shoulder as he placed his chin atop her head.
"Ginny, I need you in my life, I need you so much." He knew that this was nothing but the truth, that he could not live without her, would not live without her. "If you hadn't come into my life, I don't know what would become of me," he said, stating the simple truth.
By now the tears were rolling freely down Ginny's face. "Me, neither," she breathed. Just then she wanted to concentrate on nothing but being in Gregory's arms, feeling his breath upon her scalp as he kissed her hair. "Don't leave me, Gregory," she said once again. "Don't ever leave me here alone."
Gregory closed his eyes as he was overcome by emotions. "I promise Ginny, I will never leave you without someone to be there for you."
Suddenly, Ginny pulled away from her magnificent world, knowing that if anyone caught them like that, they would be in deep trouble. She hated to leave Gregory like that, but she had to go, otherwise they might actually get caught. She told Gregory this, and he nodded, understanding. They both stood up, and Gregory pulled her close to him, kissing her.
"I count the hours until we meet again," he whispered, and Ginny knew that if she stayed there too long, looking into his soft brown eyes that she would be lost to the world and no one would ever see her again. One last kiss passed between the two young lovers, and then Ginny hurried back to her world, and Gregory to his.
Ginny was relieved that when she headed back up to the Gryffindor Tower, she found that she had beaten Harry back to what she might call home. He would not know that she had not been in the tower that day while he was gone. Ginny hurried up to her dormitory to get her notes for her classes to bring down to a table where Harry might find her whence he returned, studying.
When Harry got back from Hogsmeade, he was obviously too tired from shopping to even notice Ginny, and it was quite alright with her. Hermione smiled at her, sitting down adjacent to her at the table.
"Have a good time studying?" she asked quietly, winking.
Ginny smiled and she knew that Hermione knew what she had done in their absence. "The best," she remarked quietly, a subtle smile spreading across her face.
Hermione stood up, speaking loudly, "Well, Ginny, I think you are going to be very well prepared for those exams in June."
Ginny thanked Hermione for caring with her eyes, and then returned to studying. Life was not so bad after all that she had been through. She had someone to live for, and though Harry could stop her heart from beating, there was no spell or attack that could start her hungry heart from loving. Not a soul would keep her away from her Gregory, not even Harry Potter.
Chapter Four
Confrontation
Ginny reluctantly awoke later that night to hear Harry storming about down in the Common Room. Someone, most likely Hermione, had once again gently dressed her for bed and slipped her into it, gently, so not to disturb Ginny's escape. Ginny still ached, though this time not so badly, -Maybe I'm becoming immune to him,- she thought, but enough to keep her to her bed. She concluded her thoughts in order to listen to what Harry had to say.
"Hermione, did you hear me right? I said, she's dating a Slytherin! Even worse, the Slytherin in question is -Gregory Goyle,- Malfoy's right-hand man!" he spat out, thoroughly disgusted with Ginny.
"Harry," began Hermione gently, not wanting to wake Ginny, though that was not needed. "Harry, she's only a girl. Do you remember how disgusted and jealous Ron was when we first went out?"
"Hey-" Ron began, but was cut off by a glance from Hermione.
"Harry, my point is, when you're in love, you're in love, and you can't do anything about it." With that, she slipped her arms around Harry's waist and kissed him. "You know that, Darling. Don't you?" she asked him.
Harry nodded, but still protested. "But, he's a Slytherin! "
Hermione kissed Harry again. "I know Harry, I know. That's what makes it all the stranger, but love is love. And we're in love, too, you know." she said, kissing him once more.
"Oh, spare me and get a room," Ron muttered. Hermione just laughed and went to sit down.
Harry started pacing in front of the fireplace again. "But, she can't be in love- He's a Slytherin!"
"Love happens in funny ways, dear. Remember that."
"I know, but what if he's just using her? What if Malfoy is just telling him to use Ginny to get to me? I don't want her to be used!"
"Bullshit," Ron snapped, standing up. "You don't care if she's being used, all you care about is whether or not she's being used to get to you! All you care about is you! You don't even think of anyone else! You just want to run someone's life because yours isn't going the way you want it to, so you pick on my little sister and make her quake with fear at the very sight of you! Well I'm sick of it, Harry. You aren't going to boss my little sister around any more, not if I can help it!" With that, he made his way up to Ginny's dormitory, leaving a thunderstruck Harry behind him.
Ginny's eyes snapped shut when she heard Ron coming up the stairs. She fluttered them open when Ron came in. Ron smiled gingerly at her and came in and sat on the empty bed beside Ginny's. "What time is it?" Ginny asked cautiously- she could hardly speak, I think he hit me in the throat at one point...
Ron looked at his watch. "6:30, but the rest of the house knows better than to come up if Harry's in one of his moods."
"Do-do they all know what he does?"
Ron gravely nodded. "They're all pretty disgusted with him, and me and Hermione for not stopping him. But Ginny, I won't let him hurt you anymore, alright. I won't let him hurt you." Then Ron did a very strange thing-something he hadn't done often before. He leaned over and gave his little sister a hug- a light one, being careful of her bruises, but a hug. Ginny began to cry.
"I guess you know now. I guess the whole house-no, the whole school knows by now! They all know it, right? Right?!"
Ron sighed, and shook his head. "No, Ginny. They don't know. Just you, me, Harry, Hermione and Goyle," he cringed at the word, "know. No one else. Hermione and I are going to do our best to make sure that no one finds out, either." He took Ginny's left hand in his. "I promise Ginny- I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe from all of it. I swear." He then leaned down and kissed Ginny's cheek, and stood up to leave. "Get plenty of rest, Gin Gin, you'll be needing it." As he turned to go, Ginny stopped him.
"Ron," she said. He stopped and turned around, smiling sadly at Ginny. "Ron, I-I love you," Ginny stammered, not knowing what his reaction would be.
He just smiled and said, "I love you too, Ginny. I love you too."
Ginny sighed happily and rolled over, immediately sinking into much needed rest for her weary bones.
In the next week, Ginny concentrated more and more on avoiding Gregory Goyle than she had ever done with anyone in her entire life. She was afraid that if Harry even saw them in the same corridor together he might lose it again, and then she'd be in trouble. She ate her breakfasts early and quickly, and never went out on the lawn again, lest he might be there. Any time she wasn't eating or in a lesson she spent in her dormitory, either studying or reading Muggle books, which was a particular hobby of hers.
One morning at breakfast, a barn owl swooped down and delivered her a letter. She recognized the chickenscratch on the envelope, and her heart beat faster until she thought it would burst out of her chest. What would he say? She didn't dare to open it should Harry see it and read it, but instead she pocketed it and saved it to read when she went back to her dormitory. She finished her breakfast extra-quickly and hurried back up to her dormitory to read Gregory's letter.
She opened it and read:
-Dear Ginny,
I hope I find you well. Listen, you've been acting really strangely lately. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me, Ginny. You haven't been out on the lawn at all, and you know that that would be exactly where you could find me. Does it have anything to do with last week Harry coming up to you and yelling at you during supper? I wanted to hurt him, Ginny. He had no right to do or say what he did to you.
Ginny, I don't know what is going on between you and Harry, but whatever it is, I don't like it. I like you alot, Ginny, and I don't want you to get hurt, alright? So, if he ever does anything completely horrible to you, I want you to tell me, and I will hurt him. I won't stand for anything to hurt you. I'm always here for you to talk to.
Sincerely,
Gregory
Ginny was crying by the time she finished reading his letter. She had never meant to hurt Gregory by avoiding him, she was merely trying to keep herself out of a whole lot of big trouble. Greogory had said so himself, he didn't want her to get hurt. Yet, she had hurt him. She hadn't meant to, but lots of things happen that one doesn't mean to happen. For instance, one can tease a peer without meaning for that peer to go out and commit suicide, but that peer could be in a slump and go out and do just that. One never knows.
Of course, Gregory wasn't going to go out and commit suicide. Not yet, at least.
Anyways, Ginny got out a quill and a sheet of parchment and wrote a letter back to Gregory. Even if suicide wasn't on Gregory's mind, it very well might have been, and she didn't want anything horrible happening to him, so she wrote him just in case. Her letter was as follows:
-Dear Gregory,
Oh, Gregory, I'm so sorry I've been neglecting you lately, it's just I feel that I should be studying for exams extra-early this year, and they've been taking up so much of my time. I'll tell you what. This weekend is a Hogsmead weekend, so everyone will be in Hogsmead. If you would meet me out on the lawn at one o'clock, I will be there, and we can catch up. Send your response by owl post, and I will talk to you then.
Love,
Ginny
Ginny sighed as she rolled up the piece of parchment and handed it to her brother's owl, Pigwidgeon (whom she had named). She watched the hyperactive bird fly away hooting madly, and wondered if he'd actually make it to Gregory. She knew that she had not even mentioned Harry in her letter to Gregory, and she had done it intentionally. She didn't want Gregory attacking Harry, goodness knows it would just cause more trouble for them all. It might mean the end of her friendship with Gregory. So she kept quiet.
When Gregory recieved the letter from Ginny, he was extatic. He immediately scribbled a letter out to Ginny saying that he would be out on the lawn at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, right by their oak. He would wait impatiently for Saturday to come so he could talk to Ginny again. He gave the note to undersized hooty owl, gave it a pat on the head, then sent it out back to Ginny.
As he watched the little owl fly unsteadily back towards Gryffindor Tower, he wondered if the owl belonged to Ginny, and if so, why she picked out such an annoying little creature.
Throughout the whole of the upcoming week, Ginny walked unsteadily from class to class. She wondered why she even dared to think about being able to meet Gregory out on the lawn without Harry either finding out or holding her up. What would Gregory do if Ginny just didn't show up? Would he suspect Harry and go after him, or would he think that Ginny didn't want to spend time with him anymore and leave her? She couldn't bear the thought. She would just have to hope for the best.
When Saturday finally came, the morning hours flew by until it was finally one o'clock. As she had hoped, Harry, Hermione and Ron had headed out to Hogsmeade earlier that morning, and the common room was deserted. Just in case, Ginny grabbed a cloak and wrapped it around her, lest someone see her from a window and recognize her and tell Harry. That would be just what she needed. So she headed out onto the lawn, by their oak tree. As promised, there sat Gregory, eagerly awaiting her arrival. Ginny smiled cautiously at him as she sat down beside him.
"I- I thought you might not come," Ginny said.
"Why would you ever think that I might miss a chance to be around you?"
Gregory's gentle words soothed her. "Because of the way I have been treating you lately. I'm sorry, it's just I'm terrified of exams and I have been holing myself up in the library studying for them."
Gregory nodded, though the doubt showed on his face, he would not openly state that he did not trust her. "It's alright. I know what you mean. If you want, I can help you with the Potions, it's my best subject."
Ginny's eyes pleaded thanks and she said, "Oh, thank you. I have been particularly aware that Snape has been dropping huge hints on awful stuff that'll be in the exam. Would you mind answering some of my questions?"
And so the rest of the afternoon was spent as a study session. Ginny wished fervently that she could tell Gregory what really had been going on in her life, but she knew that he would just lose his temper and hurt Harry. That would merely get her in more trouble with him, and she knew that she was in enough trouble as it was.
At about four o'clock, Ginny knew that Harry and his friends would be returning from Hogsmeade soon, so she told Gregory that she had to get back to her dormitory. Thanking him for his help, she stood up, but he reached up and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her back down beside him.
"Ginny," he said, leaning forward and placing his lips upon hers. "Ginny, I love you." Ginny felt her heart melt at those four simple words, and she found that she was close to tears.
"I- I love you, too, Gregory," she choked out quietly, admitting the truth as he placed his hands around her waist and kissed her once more. Ginny buried her face in his shoulder as he placed his chin atop her head.
"Ginny, I need you in my life, I need you so much." He knew that this was nothing but the truth, that he could not live without her, would not live without her. "If you hadn't come into my life, I don't know what would become of me," he said, stating the simple truth.
By now the tears were rolling freely down Ginny's face. "Me, neither," she breathed. Just then she wanted to concentrate on nothing but being in Gregory's arms, feeling his breath upon her scalp as he kissed her hair. "Don't leave me, Gregory," she said once again. "Don't ever leave me here alone."
Gregory closed his eyes as he was overcome by emotions. "I promise Ginny, I will never leave you without someone to be there for you."
Suddenly, Ginny pulled away from her magnificent world, knowing that if anyone caught them like that, they would be in deep trouble. She hated to leave Gregory like that, but she had to go, otherwise they might actually get caught. She told Gregory this, and he nodded, understanding. They both stood up, and Gregory pulled her close to him, kissing her.
"I count the hours until we meet again," he whispered, and Ginny knew that if she stayed there too long, looking into his soft brown eyes that she would be lost to the world and no one would ever see her again. One last kiss passed between the two young lovers, and then Ginny hurried back to her world, and Gregory to his.
Ginny was relieved that when she headed back up to the Gryffindor Tower, she found that she had beaten Harry back to what she might call home. He would not know that she had not been in the tower that day while he was gone. Ginny hurried up to her dormitory to get her notes for her classes to bring down to a table where Harry might find her whence he returned, studying.
When Harry got back from Hogsmeade, he was obviously too tired from shopping to even notice Ginny, and it was quite alright with her. Hermione smiled at her, sitting down adjacent to her at the table.
"Have a good time studying?" she asked quietly, winking.
Ginny smiled and she knew that Hermione knew what she had done in their absence. "The best," she remarked quietly, a subtle smile spreading across her face.
Hermione stood up, speaking loudly, "Well, Ginny, I think you are going to be very well prepared for those exams in June."
Ginny thanked Hermione for caring with her eyes, and then returned to studying. Life was not so bad after all that she had been through. She had someone to live for, and though Harry could stop her heart from beating, there was no spell or attack that could start her hungry heart from loving. Not a soul would keep her away from her Gregory, not even Harry Potter.