Chapter 13 Yelling, Boiling and Comforting
Harry walked away, as if in a trance, from the viewing gallery and down the stairways. He was in a state of shock. A Weasley and a Malfoy? The innnocent, naïve Ginny Weasley falling for the slimely git of a Malfoy? No! Ginny was in love with me! How could she? Harry thought, a mixture of shock and anger clouding his mind.
Harry had volunteered to go after Ginny, when Malfoy dragged her out of the Great Hall. Hermione wouldn't let Ron, because Ron would definitely get himself into a fight with Malfoy. Morag MacDougal has tried to stopped him at the corridors, and the two nearly got into a hex fight. When Harry found Ginny, the last thing he expect is this……
Harry didn't know what to do. He couldn't very well barge in and wrench them apart, although he was dying to do that. He couldn't beat up Malfoy……that would only make Ginny cry, and it's not the kind of behaviour you'll expect from a Gryffindor.
And Malfoy had flashed that evil, triumphant gaze at him. I win, you lose. That was what Malfoy meant. You evil, you foul……Harry growled.
"Harry, where is Ginny?" Hermione was running to him. Harry looked around. He was back at the corridor where he came from.
"Harry, what's wrong?" came Hermione's worried voice. Harry shook his head, his expression was filled with a mixture of anger and worry.
"Come on, Harry!"
"Hermione, I found Ginny, and she was……kissing Malfoy!" Harry said bitterly.
"Ginny? But why, how, I mean, they just got paired up, and it's not like……even though Malfoy is kinda cute, but he's such a…" Hermione muttered to herself, and then looked at Harry.
"Harry? Harry………what's wrong? No, Harry! You like Ginny……" Hermione said softly.
"Yes, I do, Hermione."
"I though you like Cho."
"I did before, but Cho wasn't ready for me. She……she took Cedric's death very hard, Hermione, and believe it or not, she still mourns for him, even until today. We became friends, but we never gone beyond that……and then Ginny……sort of……well, you can say I finally notice her……" confessed Harry in a broken voice.
"Harry……I'm so sorry…" Hermione said gently.
"It's my fault, Hermione……I should have told her, but I'm so ashamed because all this years I've been ignoring her……" the words came tumbling out of Harry.
"Harry, it's NOT you fault. You had nothing to do with all this. Ginny fell under the Malfoy charm……Malfoy had Veela blood in him, from one of his ancestors who married a Veela a few hundred years ago, but Veela blood is strong, it leaves its characteristics with their descendents even after a few hundred years, the ability to charm people……"
"How did you know?"
"I read about it in Famous Wizarding Families of Britain. I took it for a bit of light reading. Your family was mentioned too." Hermione said.
"I…" Harry sighed.
"Let's go and find Ginny." Hermione said determinedly.
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE ASTRONOMY TOWER
"Didn't know you were such a sweet snogger, Weasley." Draco and Ginny were sitting at the ledge of the viewing gallery.
"Weasley?" Ginny voice sounded disappointed.
Draco chuckled. She is really predictable.
"Sorry, Virginia. Is this your first kiss?"
Ginny nodded, blushing."Hm, not technically, if you can count the night at the stairways……when I crashed into you……" Ginny giggled.
Draco wanted to say "So you admit you threw yourself at me?", but that doesn't sound too great, so he swallowed it back.
Ginny giggled again. "What?" asked Draco.
"No, I was thinking how you look the other night, when I fell on you. You had a shocked expression on your face, I've never expected I would see a Malfoy looked shocked, and it's kind of funny………"
"Oh, I'm funny, am I? What about this then?" And Draco tried to tickle Ginny.
Ginny squealed. She tried to get up, but slipped and nearly fell over the ledge. Draco caught her into his arms.
"Hm, you smell nice. Like apple……"
Ginny let him hugged her. She placed her cheeks on his shoulder and smiled. This is heaven, she thought.
She pulled herself from Draco, and looked into his eyes. "Does this mean I'm his girlfriend?" Ginny thought.
"Look Virginia!" Draco pointed to the sky.
Ginny looked up. The stars were reshuffling.
"Ginny!" Ginny turned and saw Harry and Hermione, and Ron, at the entrance.
Draco had been expecting this. Unseen by all, his hand reached inside his robe and placed it on his wand.
"Oh, hi!" Ginny felt awkward but smiled at them.
"Ginny, what did this git do to you?" Ron was clenching his teeth.
"Not……nothing Ron. He was just showing me the collision of the stars."
She saw that Draco was looking at Harry and a curl was forming on Draco's lips.
"Ginny, let's go." Ron took her hand, but Ginny looked unwilling.
"Weasley, you are certainly protective of your baby sister." Draco drawled.
"Malfoy, if you did anything to her……"
"Nothing that she didn't like……" Draco looked intently at Ron. Ginny blushed. Harry tightened his fist.
"Ginny, come on……" Ron took her hand and for the second time, Ginny was dragged on unwillingly. She turned back and looked at Draco.
He stood there, giving her a look that said "Go on……" and Ginny was disappointed. Harry and Hermione followed behind, Harry's eyes blazing at Malfoy.
IN THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
"What the hell was going on?" Ron boomed.
"I……" Ginny was almost in tears.
"How did you get the ticket to the ball? And why are you wearing this!" Ron was positively yelling at Ginny, who looked frightened out of her wits.
"Ron, it's not Ginny's fault that she got paired up with Malfoy…" Hermione said exasperatedly.
"You were dancing with him……and……you were hugging him and dancing" Ron choked.
Harry and Hermione both looked at each other.
Suddenly, Ginny burst into tears.
"Ginny…" Ron was thrown off by Ginny's sudden outburst.
Ginny ran up the stairs leading to her dormitory, ball gown and all.
"Ron!" Hermione's voice came reproachfully. "You scared her!"
"I, I didn't mean to." Ron looked sad.
"Well, even if you are angry with her, you shouldn't yell at her. Why, you never gave her a chance to explain!" Hermione continued. "Please, for heaven's sake, leave her alone. I'll go up and see her later. For now, I need to get back to the ball to see to the closing of the ball. All prefects had do. Harry, you stay with Ron. I'll explain to McGonagall." Hermione said all this in a very bossy voice.
Harry sighed. So much for a wonderful evening.
Hermione walked briskly down the stairways and down the corridor. Ron was too much! Yelling at Ginny like that! Hermione fumed. He really need to get a grip on the Weasley temper.
She sensed someone coming around a bend. It was Morag MacDougal, and Gregory Goyle. And they were snickering.
Her instinct told her to duck behind a huge pillar. She was usually brave, but she didn't want to be caught confronting two Slytherins right now. Not when they nearly got into a hex fight at the dance floor.
"Here comes our future Lord Malfoy!" she heard MacDougal's voice.
"Impeccable timing, MacDougal…" Hermione froze. Draco Malfoy?
As Hermione listened to their conversation, she felt her blood beginning to boil.
IN GINNY"S DORMITORY……
"Ginny?" Hermione pushed opened the door to the dormitory. No one seems to be in the room. Hermione walked over to Ginny's bed and pulled the curtains of her four-poster bed. Ginny was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and her face was streaked with tears.
"Oh, Ginny!" Hermione came over and put a comforting hand on the younger girl.
Ginny looked up at Hermione's kindly eyes and gave a loud sob.
"Hush now, it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong." Hermione took Ginny in her arms and patted her back.
"Ron was furious with me……" Ginny choked.
"That's because he's afraid Malfoy would hurt you. You know how he detests Malfoy……" Hermione said softly.
"But Malfoy was really sweet to me, Hermione, he, he gave me that dress……and……he showed me the stars……"
"You think Malfoy likes you, Ginny?"
Ginny did not answer.
"Ginny, Malfoy is not like you and I. He's different from us, he's a true Slytherin, and worst of all, he's a true Malfoy……you know what that means?"
Ginny looked at Hermione with her tears-filled eyes.
"The name Malfoy means bad faith, in character they are selfish, ruthless and cold-hearted. They care not for anyone else, but themselves and the Malfoy clan only. Most important of all, they don't know how to love. Not that they are not capable of it, but not in the way you and I would expect."
Hermione continued. "Malfoys are not capable of true love, that's just the way they are. Generations of females have fallen to the Malfoy charm and then live to regret it. Malfoys do not love, they marry to sire heirs to ensure the Malfoy lineage. Draco Malfoy's great-grandmother, for instant, used the Avada Kedavra curse on herself, after suffering from depression due to years of neglect by Lord Malfoy. She was only twenty-nine."
"I'm not lying, Ginny. You can read all this in Famous Wizarding Families of Britain, Chapter 13, Tragic Women. Harry's mother, Lily James Potter, was mentioned too, but in a different light, of course."
"But Malfoy said he liked me at the Astronomy Tower, he wouldn't lie to me……he wouldn't hurt me……"
"I'm afraid he already did, Ginny……there's something I think you must see……" Hermione voice came sadly.
Author's Note: Do you like it? Please review……please, thank you. Also, I'm sorry if this is a cliff-hanger, but I felt this is the best point to end this chapter, as there are too many scene-changing in this chapter. I rather start a fresh chapter.
