Author's Note: I hope you like this! Sorry to keep you waiting, but as I promised before, at least one chapter a month. I'm going to stick to my word, so here goes!
Chapter 16 Hurt in Knockturn Alley
A FEW MONTHS LATER……
Ginny was studying in the library. Her term tests were coming up and she wanted to do well, so she was pouring over her books harder than ever. Ron remarked that she was as bad as Hermione.
Ginny was slowly recovering from her unhappy encounter. The recovery process had been painful, but time was a good healer. She remembered Dumbledore's words of wisdom to her at the lake and she clung on to those words for strength.
Like she promised Dumbledore, she worked hard at her lessons, and her grades improved tremendously. She was clearly the top student of her year. And she had been kept very busy helping Poppy at the Hospital Wing three times a week. Quite a few of her evenings were spent tutoring the first-years, which Ginny enjoy very much as well. She loved helping the younger ones.
She avoided Draco Malfoy as much as she could. They sometimes bumped into each other in the corridor. Ginny always managed to avoid his gaze and walked away quickly. Mercifully, he did not taunt her like he used to. It was also the same expression he gave her. Impassive. Not that it mattered. She did not feel for him anymore. It was better if they keep out of each other's path.
Life was going to be alright, she told herself.
After what seemed like a couple of hours, Ginny finally closed her books, and sighed. She was done. It was time to give herself a break. She had arranged with Colin Creevey and some of the fifth-years to go into Hogsmeade this afternoon, and she smiled as she thought of pumpkin fizz and sweets from Honeydukes.
IN HOGSMEADE
Hogsmeade was packed with people. Ginny allowed herself to be absorbed by the hustle and bustle of the town. She loved Hogsmeade, especially on a sunny Saturday afternoon like this one.
"Ginny, sweets?" Colin Creevey tilted his head in the direction of Honeydukes.
Ginny nodded, and they went inside, which was crammed full of Hogwarts' students.
"Gin!"
"Harry!" Ginny waved at him and Harry jostled his way through the crowd to her. Ginny looked at him coming over. After the night of the ball, Harry had confessed his feelings for Ginny, but Ginny knew that the timing was not right. Not after what happened with Draco Malfoy. Harry had graciously accepted her decision. And they had remain friends. But instead of just being "Ron's little sister" Harry and Ginny's friendship had gotten closer than ever before.
"What are you gettting?" he asked.
Ginny shrugged. There were so many varieties of sweets and candies in Honeydukes that Ginny always took a long time to decide.
They started to sample. Some were really delicious, others were horrible, and some just taste weird.
Ginny and Harry make their way near the window, where the new sweet samples were. Harry popped a piece of green candy in his mouth, and Ginny suddenly began to giggle.
"What's the matter, Ginny?"
"Oh, nothing, just that your face is turning green, Harry! Ginny giggled again.
"Oh!" said a dismayed Harry, and then he looked at her, beautiful Ginny, clutching her sides and chuckling at him, and he burst out laughing too.
Outside, at the Three Broomsticks, Draco Malfoy observed the pair through the Honeydukes' window, where he was having a butterbeer with Blaise and his gang of Slytherins. His face remain impassive, but his eyes narrowed intently when he saw them laughing together. He tore his gaze from the window and turned back to the Slytherins.
Blaise smiled at him knowingly, and Draco felt irritated. "What?" he mouthed out the word at her, not making a sound though. She smirked at him, then turned back to Millicent Bulstrode.
Draco sighed, and took another gulp of his butterbeer. He and the Slytherins were sitting outside today, basking in the warm afternoon sun. He looked around. It seems that the whole Hogwarts school was here, seeing that the landscape was colored with Hogwarts robes, with the red, blue, yellow and green blazers. No matter, as long as Gryffindors and Mudbloods keep out of my way, he thought.
But alas, it was not to be so. Draco saw Harry and Ginny walking out of Honeydukes towards The Three Broomsticks. They were laughing and Ginny was popping a sweet into Harry's mouth.
Somehow, Draco felt a slight sour stirring in the pits of his stomach when he saw this. It made him uncomfortable.
Apparently, Harry and Ginny were still chatting animatedly and didn't notice them. They seated themselves at a nearby empty table.
"Hi Harry!" Blaise suddenly called out deliberately to Harry. Harry turned, and Harry looked taken aback that he was suddenly faced with so many Slytherins.
By this time, Ginny too, had noticed the Slytherins. And Draco Malfoy. Draco saw her looking at him, and he purposefully lifted his arm and drapped it around Blaise's chair.
A petty gesture, but to Draco, a necessary one. He wasn't going to come out of this looking bad, he thought determindly. Damn Blaise.
As if she could hear his thoughts, Blaise turned and did a sweet smile at Draco. Her sharp eyes noticed his arm around her chair, and she smirked.
"Hi Blaise" greeted Harry, and Ginny smiled at Blaise. Unlike her other Slytherin counterparts, Blaise was more cordial to the Harry and the Dream Team, and in general, students of other houses. So it wasn't surprising that they acknowledge her politely. Not that she liked them, though. In fact, she shared the same Slytherin contempt for muggle-born and muggle-lovers. But she felt that it was far too beneath her to openly expressed animosity and taunt them like Draco, or Pansy for that matter. Blaise was a plotting, ruthless person, even if she was only seventeen, and she hide behind her carefully crafted façade, hitting out only you least unexpect it. Like what she was doing to Draco. Only now it was for pure, sadistic, Slytherin fun.
"Having a butterbeer too? You and Ginny are together?" She said in a too-friendly tone.
"Uh……" Harry and Ginny both didn't know what to say.
"Well, if it isn't Weasley, she's your girlfriend, Potter?" Crabbe sniggered. He wasn't as bad as Goyle and MacDougal, but he still couldn't help taking a dig at Gryffindors every now and then.
"I'm not surprised, from what I know, it seems that most of the female population in Hogwarts worship the ground you walk on, Potter" Draco's drawling voice came. It wasn't really an attack on Potter, of course. It sounded more like an attack on Ginny.
Ginny looked at Draco. She could hear the Slytherins sniggering. She felt her temper rising. This, this Slytherin git had toyed with her feelings and now he was insulting her! Just how much more can a girl take? I'm not the weak, vulnerable person anymore, she heard her mind saying. Hit back. Hit back at him, for toying with you, for all the insults he hurled at Ron. And your family.
"A very astute observation, Malfoy. More so when I believe no girl had, and would ever worship the ground you walked on. Especially not when you come from a family of dubious background like yours." Ginny said all these in one single breath, not even batting an eyelid.
This was an open declaration of war. Draco paled slightly, and a pink flush was coming to his cheeks. Ginny looked on boldly at him, her gaze challenging him.
Harry looked on awkwardly. Ginny had really grown up, he thought admirably. Let her fight it out with Malfoy.
"Flattered to hear your opinion of me, Weasley. Usually, you have none, or so we noticed." Draco's voice came.
"No, usually I don't bother myself with people who are associated with Death Eaters."
By this time, people from every table outside The Three Broomsticks were staring at them.
Ginny turned back to Harry. "Let's go, Harry" she said quietly.
The Slytherins looked at Draco. He returned their gazed with a nochalant look. Goyle gave a shrug.
"One day, she will pay for that remark" Draco said quietly. His grey eyes had turned stormy.
"Oh, come on, she's just a girl…" began MacDougal.
"Standing up, for her?" Draco looked at MacDougal expectantly.
"Course not…I…" MacDougal looked down on his butterbeer.
Draco turned his piercing gaze from MacDougal and took out his pocket watch to glance at the time. "I need to make a move first" he said shortly to his gang, and without waiting for a reply, he got up and walked out of The Three Broomsticks, leaving the Slytherins shouting after him.
"Hey, planning something already?" Crabbe called out. Draco ignored them all and walked on.
Ginny walked out of Hogsmeade, where she had left Harry and Colin Creevy. Her next stop was Flourish & Blotts in Diagon Alley. She had promised one of the first-years, a sweet Hufflepuff boy whom she is tutoring, a book on Quidditch Through the Ages. The boy had a book token from Flourish and Blotts given to him by his uncle as a birthday gift, but as first-years were not allowed into Hogsmeade nor Diagon Alley, he had pleaded with her get him the book.
She felt a sense of satisfaction as she remembered her run-in with Draco Malfoy earlier. All her resentment, which she thought she had got over, were packed in her statement towards him. He deserved it, he had used me cruelly, and insulted me, she thought resentfully. How could I have ever liked him, that cold-hearted beast?
Ginny felt her pocket to make sure that she had the book token. She wasn't very used to travelling by Floo powder, but she heard that there was a PortKey (in the form of an old flag-pole) from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley. Now all she had to do was to find the PortKey………
She saw a dumpy little witch coming towards her. "Madam" Ginny called out to her. The witch looked up at her. "Yes?" she cackled.
"Is this the PortKey to Diagon Alley?" and Ginny pointed to the flag-pole.
"Yes" the witch said, her eyes suddenly brightened at Ginny.
"Thank you so much" Ginny beamed at her. The witch looked at her and scurried away.
Ginny touched the flag-pole and it happened immediately. She felt as if a hook behind her navel had been suddenly jerked irresisitbly forward. Her feet had left the ground and she was speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; her forefinger was stuck to the flag-pole as though it was pullling her magnetically onwards and then –
Her feet slammed into the ground. Ginny looked up. She had arrived at what it seems to be the most unlikely-looking of all places. This was not Diagon Alley.
Ginny found herself in a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told her she was in Knockturn Alley.
Instinctively she felt frightened. None of the Weasley children were ever allowed into Knockturn Alley. It is infamous for dark wizards and witches. She tried to stay calm, while thinking how she could get out of here.
She sensed several pairs of eyes looking at her. An old evil-looking wizard was coming towards her. "Lost, little girl?" And he looked menancingly at her.
"I'm…al…alright, th..thanks!" Ginny tried her best to stay calm.
"Now let me help you……" the evil-looking wizard was coming closer.
Ginny bolted. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. But unknown to her, she was running deeper and deeper into Knockturn Alley.
Ginny didn't know where she was running to. She wanted to cry, but bit her lip. This was no time to panic. She had to stay calm. She saw a dark, forbidden building and ran inside to hide.
Inside of the building, it looked deserted. There were wooden planks all over the floor. She hid herself behind a large wooden box, about the size of a coffin, trembling.
And then, she heard people shuffling in. She peeped out. Figures in black hooded robes, about six of them, were assembling in the open space near her. She didn't know who they were.
One of the figures started to speak "Death Eaters, one year had passed since the Dark Lord was destroyed by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Without the Dark Lord, we are powerless. The ones who had been in the highest ranks of Lord Voldemort's commandment, the Clan Lords of Malfoy, Avery, Nott, and Zabini had abandoned the Dark cause after our Lord was destroyed. They had pledge their allegiance in the first place only to ride on the Dark Lord rising influence, to gain more power. And when he fell, for the second time, they relinquish their Death Eaters' status. They protect themselves from the wrath of the Aurors this time in the same way as the first time. By bribery of Ministry Officials. And through that, they had grown even more powerful, as they have many officials in important posts in the Ministry under their command, doing their dirty work."
He paused for a while, and then continued. "As for us, we have been completely abandoned. We neither had the power, money nor the connections. And so, we are continuously persecuted by the Aurors. Who will protect us?"
"Not the Clan Lords, they protect only their own Clans. They forgot that we too, have served Voldemort and thereby, them. We were under their commandment once. But after the Dark Lord fell, they completely abandoned us. Because we were not part of their Clan."
"So now we had no one to turn to. It is only a matter of time when the Aurors catch up with us. Our only fate seems to be Azkaban……who goes there?"
Ginny gasped in her breath. She cowered further, hoping she would not be found out. But it was too late. One of the hooded figures grabbed her by her robe and dragged her out.
"Now, what do we have here?"
"I know this girl, she's the daughter of Arthur Weasley, that bumbling, muggle-loving fool who works for the Ministry."
In spite of her circumstance, Ginny suddenly lost her fear. She felt the familiar Weasley temper rising inside her. "Don't you dare talk about my father like that, you pathetic EX-DEATH-EATER!."
"What shall we do with her?" one of them asked.
"Nothing. Drop her, MacNair" said an icy, commanding voice.
Ginny looked up, and saw a familiar silver-blond, still wearing his Hogwarts school robes with the Slytherin blazer, leaning at the entrance of the building.
"Well, well, well, if it is not young Master Malfoy" MacNair's voice came dangerously.
"I am glad you still remember the Malfoy name." Draco walked slowly but firmly towards MacNair and Ginny.
"I do. But I cannot say the same for your father, of the MacNair name." MacNair sneered.
"Virginia Weasley here, is a school friend of mine. And I would like to take her. Now." Draco's voice was absolute.
"I think we have other uses for her. And come to think of it, you as well, young Master Malfoy."
"You wouldn't dare, MacNair." Draco's voice sounded even more dangerous than MacNair. "You, of all people, should know the consequences of coming against a Malfoy."
Indeed, MacNair hesistated for a while. The Malfoy Clan was the most bloody, ruthless of all the Clans. And MacNair was perfectly aware of that.
"Unfortunately, I cannot let her go. As for you, young Master Malfoy, please turn your back and leave now."
"I think I have made myself very clear. I would like to take her. Now."
"Then you leave me with no choice, young Master Malfoy. There are six of us here. Do reconsider."
"Then, MacNair, you would have to pay the price, when my father and the other Clan Lords know about this."
And then, with lightning speed, Draco Malfoy pulled out his wand and casted a green, blinding light towards the deatheaters. So blinding was the light that some of the deatheaters cried out in pain. Ginny was blinded by the light as well, but she felt a strong grip on her arm, pulling her away from MacNair's hold.
"Run!"
Ginny ran as fast as she could but the deatheaters had recovered from the blinding light. "Get them!" she could hear MacNair snarled, and a hurst of hexes were casted at the fleeing pair.
Suddenly, Draco pushed Ginny down onto the floor. "Get down!" she heard his voice. Before she knew what happened, he dragged her up again and started running, the hexes still coming towards them, until they reached a bend.
"Fl…floo..powder…" Draco thrusted the grey powder into Ginny's hand. "Qu..quick!"
"Hogwarts!" Ginny shouted and in a flash, Ginny felt herself spinning and spinning until she hit a stone floor.
She looked around. They were in the grounds of Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Castle still some distance away. Ginny looked at Draco. He was standing beside her, his face ashen-white. And his hand was tightened into a fist. "Le..let's go…" he said, with some difficulty.
Ginny, still in shock over what happened, nodded mutely. They started to walk towards the Castle, but without warning, Draco fell to onto the grass. Ginny kneel down, trying to help him up, but then Ginny saw blood blossoming on his Hogwarts robe, and brought her hand up to her mouth. He was hit by the hexes.
"Malfoy!" Ginny cried. There was blood, there was a lot of blood.
His breathing coming out in short spams, and his face was cortorted with pain. His eyes were staring blankly at the sky.
"Draco……" Ginny whimpered.
"I……cannot die……" Draco voice was losing their strength.
"Draco, I'm going to try stop the bleeding……and then I go get Poppy, alright?" Ginny voice was trembling. She was trying her best to remember what Poppy taught her. She undid his robes, and shirt, which had been stained crimson by now, and gasped. There was an ugly deep slash on his pale skin.
She looked at Draco. His face and lips were so pale they look translucent. And his eyes were slowly closing. No, Ginny thought, don't close your eyes. Instinctively, she knew once he closed those grey eyes, they will never open.
"Draco, listen to me. You are not going to die." Ginny said firmly. She was taking out her wand, and she quickly muttered a spell to stop the bleeding. Ginny realised that it didn't help much, for the hexes hit him too deep. Her heart sank.
"Ginny? Whadda yer doing here?" a familiar voice said. Ginny's heart leaped.
"Hagrid! Thank Gryffindor you are here. Draco is dying." And Ginny began to cry.
"Malfoy?" And without another words, Hagrid swung Draco up, and for the second time in his life, Hagrid carried Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts castle in a state of injury.
Ginny ran beside Hagrid, trying to keep up. Her voice was filled with desperation. "Draco, can you hear me? You can't die, you hear me? You are the only heir to the Malfoy Clan, remember? Think about your Father, and Mother. And the fortune that you will inherit. What about your ancestors? What will they think……? Think about your Father, your Father, Draco……"
Hagrid stared grimly ahead as he tried to get Draco Malfoy back to Hogwarts Castle as quickly as he can. He looked at Ginny from the corner of his eye. "Merlin, she really cared for Malfoy……" Hagrid thought.
Hagrid and Ginny dashed into towards the Castle, into the Great Hall……towards the Teachers' table……
A few hundred pairs of eyes turned towards them. "Headmaster, Draco Malfoy is hurt……dying……staircase……" Ginny cried out, her breath choking her……
Dumbledore sat up in a flash.
"Ginny Weasley…" began Professor McGonagall.
"Call for Madam Pomfrey! Dumbledore boomed at Professor Flitwick. "Severus, Miranda, come with us!"
"What the……" Ron Weasley had stood up, and was trying to get to Ginny.
"Everyone, stay where you are!" Dumbledore boomed again.
Ginny, Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall got up towards Hagrid. By then, Madam Pomfrey had appeared, and she said sharply "Goodness, he's badly hurt, we must get him to the Hospital Wing now!"
His face had turned purple blue by now and his body was shaking. His breathing was getting weaker and weaker. And Ginny could tell he was in great pain. Draco Malfoy was quickly apparated to the Hospital Wing (Only the school nurse had the power to apparate in Hogwarts).
She started to run towards the direction of the Hospital Wing. "Ginny…" began Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore held up a hand. "Let her go" he said quietly. "And I must see to the boy myself."
Ginny bolted.
Author's Note: There you have it. It's my longest chapter to date! Sorry if I took some time to get this up. Please review, my self-confidence depends on it!
