Things Change
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything, but I definitely own this piece of writing! J.K Rowling owns all the characters and stuff. I do, however, own her 'friends' and some more new characters that'll appear later on, and the plot is ALL MINE!
A/N Hey people! Right, this chapter will hopefully be very entertaining for you all, as...well actually, you'll just have to read to find out, so I'll say no more! Hope nobody's mad at me for taking SO long to update on the last chapter, but at least I finally did it, and I'll try REALLY hard not to do it again!
A/N2 In case anyone's wondering, I'm not going to give Ginny some magical make over here, cause that's just unrealistic. All I'm gonna do is...well, you'll see in a bit. But there will be NO corny magical make over, so don't worry.
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Ginny woke up early on the Saturday morning of the party, fresh-faced and bright-eyed, having taken care to go to bed at what her mother would have called a 'reasonable time' the previous night. Peeling off the covers and drawing aside the hangings, she swung her legs out of the four-poster and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and taking a sip of water. She stretched, yawning, before walking over to the window and opening the heavy velvet curtains. This was met by groans from her roommates as watery morning sunlight filled the dorm, seeping through gaps in the hangings.
"Gi-in...," Ana moaned into her pillow, rolling over as Ginny pulled her drapes aside. "It's too early to get up..."
Ginny smiled wickedly.
"Honestly, Ana, if you're going to go to the party you might as well wake up in time to get ready"
She thought she heard Ana mutter something that sounded remarkably like, "Just cause you're going with Thom Walker...", but she smiled and ignored it. Grabbing some clothes, she made her way to the bathroom, pulling aside the hangings of the other girls as she did so.
Once inside the bathroom, Ginny got into the shower to wash her hair, enjoying the feeling of the hot water on her face. It was just her luck she had to get out again 20 minutes later, due to Lara banging noisily on the door and demanding to use the bathroom.
"I'll be out in ten!" Ginny yelled, wrapping a large towel around her body. She pottered around the bathroom, drying and brushing out her hair and cleaning her teeth, before pulling on a pair of loose jeans and a T-shirt. She was about to leave when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the mirror above the sink. Moving closer, she frowned, examining her freckles. It seemed like they'd doubled in amount and orangeness since the night before. She sighed, feeling a little deflated. The one day she really wanted to look *nice*, her freckles had to mess it up for her. Mind you, she thought, leaning closer. It wasn't just her freckles messing things up. She tugged at her hair limply, watching as the damp curls fell back against her neck, brushing her shoulders. It looked to her as though it was in a worse condition than it had been all term. *And* she was going to the party tonight!
"Ginny!" Lara yelled.
"Sorry!" she replied, swinging the bathroom door open to see Lara standing there with her toothbrush. "I was just..."
She pointed behind her to the shower, shrugging. Lara scowled but didn't say anything as she swept past, closing the door behind her.
Ginny headed back to her bed gloomily, her hand absently reaching up to fiddle with her hair, pulling at the curls the way she had done in the bathroom. She was just heading past Sophie's bed when she felt someone tug at her sleeve.
"Hey Gin, having a bit of trouble?" Sophie asked as Ginny turned towards her.
"Huh?" Ginny replied vaguely, slightly confused.
"With your hair, I mean". Sophie pointed towards Ginny's head and the curls falling down to her shoulders. "You look kinda...I don't know, annoyed with it"
"Oh, that. Yeah, it's nothing. I just...it looks a little...flat, don't you think?" Ginny answered, taking a look in the mirror on the far wall. "A little...lifeless"
Sophie smiled, the first friendly gesture the two had exchanged in days. Ginny smiled back, albeit a little bleakly.
"Look, Gin, not being mean here, but if you want the truth, maybe its cause you never really *do* anything with your hair, and now you want it to look special and you don't think it looks nice at all. Is that it?"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I just...this is the first party I've ever been to, and I want to look *good* for it. Is that so bad?"
"No," Sophie replied, laughing slightly. "It's perfectly normal. Hey, it's my first party too, and normally I don't really care all that much about my hair, but I do today, so don't worry, I get what you're going through. Now," she said, looking around the room. "Where are the others? Ana!"
"What...?" came the groggy reply from the next bed.
"I got you guys a test subject!"
"Ooo, really?!" Ana cried, all sleepiness forgotten as she hurriedly pushing aside her hangings. "Who?"
"Ginny"
"What?" Ginny said, looking warily at Ana as she got out of bed and sat next to Sophie on hers. "What's going on? Test subject?"
"You said you wanted to look nice. Well, the girls and I are going to make you up. Okay?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"You guys are kidding, right?"
Ana and Sophie both shook their heads. Ginny, thoroughly unconvinced, raised both her hands in front of her defensively, her expression sceptical. "Come on, guys, you really don't have to do this to make me feel better or anything..."
She trailed off as she saw the looks on their faces.
"Ginny, we aren't doing this for you to make you *feel* better. We're doing it so you can *look* better. Right girls?" Sophie asked, looking round. Lizzie, along with Lara (who had just got back from the bathroom) had now joined them, and they were nodding, grins on their faces. Ginny looked at them all dubiously, her eyebrows raised. She lifted a hand to her hair again, looking in the mirror on the far wall once more. Seeing the way her hair curled droopily around her face, she scowled.
'Damned hair' she thought, pulling at one particularly lifeless curl. Looking back at the others, she hesitated for a second, before nodding tentatively in agreement. Their faces broke out in gleeful smiles as they clapped their hands together. Ginny just glowered, put her hands in her pockets and walked out the door, dreading going back to the tower that evening.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny ascended the stairs to the Gryffindor corridor at a snail's pace, trying to take as much time as possible to reach the Fat Lady's portrait at the end. Having spent as much of the day as possible hidden away in the library doing homework ('This is what those girls drive me to - homework on a Saturday!'), she had finally packed up at 5:50 and trudged back up to the Gryffindor corridor.
She reached the Fat Lady much too quickly for her liking, and, glumly saying the password ('Pickled Snape Guts' - Ron's idea), she slipped through into the common room. The usual assortment of students were sprawled over the sofas and armchairs as she made her way to the stairs, and Colin and Dennis Creevey waved at her from across the room.
Sullenly, Ginny got to the girls stairs and started up to her dorm, her hair hanging around her face as she glowered at all beneath it. Not even half way up the staircase the sounds of her roommates giggling reached her, and her scowl deepened as she got to the top. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she turned it, wincing as the squeaking immediately silenced the room inside. The door swung open slowly, revealing her roommates spread over the room. They looked a right sight. Sophie sat on her bed with Lara, a pair of what looked like eyelash curlers clutched in her hands as she advanced on Lara with them. Her hair was in rollers, the reddish-brown tresses tucked in with hair pins, and Lara's blonde-brown curls were currently being steamed straight with smoke pouring out of Lizzie's wand. Lizzie had on a pair of baggy jeans, her nightshirt still over the top of it like an overly large t-shirt, and Ana sat between Lara and Sophie, trying to apply lipgloss to her lips even though the bed was trembling with Lara's attempt to get away from Sophie's eyelash curlers. But all this stopped when Ginny opened the door.
There was silence for a second as the girls looked at Ginny in the doorway, her glower lessening as she took in the scene before her. Then, as quickly as it had come, the silence was replaced by a deafening cacophony of sound as the girls all started squealing. Sophie jumped off the bed (along with the eyelash curlers, much to Lara's relief) and grabbed Ginny's arm, closing the door behind them and leading her over to the bed, her grip on Ginny's arm tight, so that any chance of escape was now gone. She sat her down amidst the various bags and cases of make-up and the clothes scattered everywhere, and leant back, as if examining her. The other girls quietened, all of them staring at her intently. Ginny looked round at them, her mouth forming a small questioning 'o'.
"Guys...?"
Instantaneously, noise broke out again as girls dashed this way and that, grabbing god knows what from different bags and then converging on her again, all of them tugging and jostling her around, trying to get at different parts of her face and hair. She squealed indignantly as Ana yanked her hair, her dark arms squeezed underneath Sophie's as she pulled the strands backwards. Sophie was brandishing a stick of something a yellowy-peach colour and trying to use it to cover Ginny's zits, and Lizzie and Lara were arguing over what looked like mascara. Ginny struggled slightly, trying to get away, but to no avail.
Having finished with the yellowy stick, Sophie proceeded to reach into one of the cases and pulled out a round thing with what looked like lots of different eyeshadows on it, along with a weird spongy thing and a small brush. Standing back slightly, she looked Ginny over before scanning the different eyeshadows in the case. She hesitated for a second, her brush poised over the make-up, before she dipped into one and started trying to brush it over Ginny's eyelid without getting knocked by Lizzie's elbows as she tested different lip colours on her hand. Then, after applying the shadow over her 'lid from lashes to brow, she dipped into another colour and gently swept it into the crease of Ginny's eyelid.
"There" she said, leaning back and smiling, but almost immediately she was replaced by Lara trying to apply a bit of eyeliner. Ginny sat, helpless, as Lara rubbed the stuff over her eye and Ana tugged at her hair, wondering feebly when it was going to end.
She had to endure Lizzie putting mascara on her lashes (all the while convinced that the brush was going to jab her in the eye), Sophie rubbing lip salve over her mouth before daubing something *else* on it, and Ana doing something so that she felt like clumps of her hair had been pulled out before they were even remotely finished.
But at last, they all stepped back to admire their work. Ginny looked up at them apprehensively as they grinned down at her.
"Uh...so...can I see?" she asked timidly.
"Oh, of *course*!" they all cried, practically pulling her arms from their sockets as they dragged her over to the floor-length mirror hidden away in the corner.
Ginny looked at herself in surprise. Ginny had never really worn make-up before, but now...she twirled round, inspecting her reflection in the mirror. Her curls seemed to be a lot more rounded and bouncy than before, and they gleamed slightly with freshly-washed shine. Apart from that they'd been left pretty much the same, the only difference in style being that Ana had swept back some of the hair by her left temple and secured it back from her face with a clip. The rest flowed freely down to her shoulders like before.
Her eyes had also been decorated, but it was so subtle that Ginny didn't even really notice at first, but when the evening light from the window caught a sparkle by her eye, she leaned closer to the mirror to see what it was. She had a thin silvery eyeshadow brushed over from lashes to brow, and in the crease of her eyelid was an almost (but not quite) invisible touch of blue swept into it. Her lashes had been darkened by a pale blue-black mascara. She'd also had a thin sweeping of something over her lips, so that they now looked pale pink instead of their usual colour.
Ginny leant back, surprised. Far from looking terrible like she had been convinced she would, she would even go so far as to say she looked...pretty. She brought a hand to her hair, feeling the glossy curls as they hung around her face so tamely. She smiled at herself in the mirror, and the reflection smiled back.
"So...," said Lara behind her, her voice quiet and eager. "What do you think?"
Ginny tuned round, a shy smile on her face.
"I love it"
And they all rushed at her in a many armed hug.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny sat on her bed, flicking through a magazine as the others scurried around the dorm, still trying to get ready. She checked her watch (6:45) and sighed, looking at them with her eyebrows raised. Ana was half-in half- out of a pair of black trousers, and wore black top proclaiming 'Love Not War' at them all in bright fluorescent green. A green hat sat on her dark hair and a cuddly monkey keyring protruded from her pocket. Lara was wearing a pair of blue and white jeans with a navy skinny rib, both contrasting with her hair, whilst Sophie had finally taken out her curlers (leaving her hair to bounce in attractive curls), was wearing sk8er shorts and was rummaging around in her draw for a top. Lizzie was the only one who seemed even remotely ready apart from Ginny herself. Lizzie had dressed before the rest of them, her outfit being a simple pair of loose jeans and a pink snowboarding t-shirt, set off against her dark brown corkscrew curls. She sat trying to help Sophie find a top.
Ginny looked back at her magazine, realising she was going to have to wait for at least another five minutes. It was a muggle magazine Sophie had brought back with her after spending the holidays with her muggle grandparents in Ireland. It was alright, Ginny supposed as she read an article about a girl whose mother had stolen her husband. A little weird, what with all the still muggle photographs (A/N If only Orlando would wave at me from my wall!), but still alright.
"Come on guys!" she called, closing the magazine as she took another look at her watch. "The party started twenty minutes ago!"
At these words she was satisfied to see them all go into a slight frenzy, rushing around trying to sort out last minutes blemishes and find proper clothes. Ginny watched them, her chin resting on her hand, until they all grabbed their bags and declared their readiness.
"Right then," Ginny said, grabbing her own bag and standing up. "Let's go"
///*///*///*///*///*///
"You couldn't really get much more stupid could you?" Sophie said in passing, pointing at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy as a troll tried to bludgeon his 'ballet teacher' to death.
"Nope. Now, let's see if this works...," Ginny said, lining them all up next to the man-sized vase on one of side of the blank wall. "We've got to walk past this wall three times and think about what we want from the room for, okay?" she explained.
They did so, turning at the window on the other side of the wall and then again at the vase. Ginny clenched her fists, willing the room to show itself.
'Let us get in...we want to go to this party...I want to see Thom...' she thought, silently mouthing the words under her breath.
"Ginny!" Sophie cried just as they finished their third walk, pointing at a highly polished door that had appeared in the wall. "Look!"
Walking forward, Ginny confidently placed her hand on the doorknob like she had done so many times before, and turned it. The door swung open, and, instead of the bookcases, DADA instruments and cushions that she had come to associate with the room, they found themselves looking at an enormous space filled with people. Music was playing loudly from a record-player in the corner, and there was a small stage filled with electrical muggle instruments. It was empty of people, but Ginny had a feeling a band might be playing there soon.
Ginny turned to look at the other girls. Their mouths were gaping, surprise written all over their faces. Ginny smiled, beckoning them to follow her into the party as she stepped through the door. They did so obediently, staring all around them. Ginny couldn't help staring too. Now they were inside, it looked more like a whole house then just a room. It was all interconnecting, an open plan 'lounge' and 'other lounge' all together in one big space. Ginny could see glimpses of other parts of the room/house thing through the mass of people, but not much.
"You guys go have fun, okay?" she half-shouted over the noise of Witches in Power, which was now blasting out of the record player. "I'm need to go -"
"Find Thom!" they all shouted back, finishing her sentence for her. Ginny smiled and nodded, and they girls waved her goodbye, all of them turning to explore.
Turning round herself, Ginny started to push through all the people dancing. There were people everywhere, a lot more than Ginny had expected. 'Had they all been told about the Room of Requirement?' she wondered to herself. But no, now she thought about it, hadn't Thom said that a spell had been put on the party so that only the people who knew about the room of requirement already would be able to remember where it was? (A/N Did that sentence make *any* sense? No, I thought not).
Ginny smiled to herself as she pushed past a last dancing couple to find herself in a much more airy space. There were still a lot of people around, but instead of dancing, they sat around talking, laughing and eating mostly. She looked around for a second, and her brow furrowed when she realised she couldn't see Thom. She was about to start exploring the other parts of the room/house thing when suddenly she felt somebody's arms encircle her waist and they whispered in her ear.
"Hey beautiful"
Ginny smiled and leant back against Thom, her face turned towards his. She threaded her fingers into his, smiling as he kissed the side of her neck gently.
"Hey yourself," she replied, turning in his grasp so that she was facing him. "I was looking for you"
"Well, *I* was looking for *you* too. How long've you been here?"
"About five minutes," Ginny replied. "The others took *ages* getting ready, so I had to wait for them so I could show them how to get here."
Thom looked down at her, his eyes drifting over her simple outfit of silvery-grey cords and a black t-shirt.
"Well, you look like a million galleons," he said. "Even if you did take less than a century to get ready"
Ginny smiled, but then she remembered something she'd wanted to ask Thom.
"You did say that nobody'd be able to find here unless they'd been once already, didn't you?"
Thom nodded. "Uh huh. We figured it'd be kind of dumb if practically everybody knew how to get here. Destroy the 'mystique' of the room, don't you think?"
Ginny nodded in agreement.
"Oh yeah, and the dream team are here," Thom said, jabbing a thumb behind to the packed 'lounge' thing. "Although your brother and his girlfriend have been missing for quite a while"
Ginny cuffed Thom playfully on the arm. "Yuck, don't tell me that! It's *Ron* we're talking about here!"
"Well," said Thom, kissing her nose tenderly. "I think they had the right idea..."
Ginny raised an eyebrow at Thom, a smile playing across her face. "You think so, huh?" she replied playfully. "Well, maybe they did..."
///*///*///*///*///*///
The room swam slightly in front of Ginny's eyes, the mass of dim colour making her feel sick. Then again, it could just be the six bottles of butter beer, five shots of Phoenix Vodka and all the other alcoholic infusions she'd had in the past four hours that was making her feel like her stomach was about to come out through her mouth.
She clung onto Thom's arm as he gently steered her towards a couch and sat her down, rubbing her back soothingly. She took a large gulp of water when he handed her a glass, trying to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.
"There...," he said gently, taking the glass and putting on the coffee table in front of them. He took one of her hands in his, resting them on her knee. "That's better, huh?"
Ginny nodded slightly, leaning her temple against his cheek. He snaked his arm around her waist completely, supporting her as she closed her eyes.
"Thom...?" she said gently, but before she could say any more, Thom heard her breathing become lighter and more even and her body relax against him, a sure sign that she was asleep. Gently, he removed himself from her grip and laid her down, putting some cushions under her head. He stood up, and for a second looked down at her, a tender smile on his lips. Bending down, he placed a gently kiss on her lips before standing once more and heading back to the party.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny opened her eyes to see Thom bending down over her, a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. She sat up a hand to her head as she realised it was throbbing slightly. Looking around, she saw that the room was practically empty now; all that was left were mostly seventh years sprawled over the sofas and floors. People were going around shaking them, and Ginny thought she spotted Harry and Hermione amongst the 'awake' people. She looked back up at Thom, wincing at the slight ache in her head.
"What...?"
"The party cleared out about half an hour ago," he said, gently pulling her up off the sofa and steadying her as she wobbled, slightly off balance. "It's about two-thirty, so not much chance of being caught. Even Filch has to sleep. But all the same, people are leaving in threes and twos, and Hermione's been putting those Disillusionment Charm thingies on everyone. Your friends left about and hour and a half ago, so not much chance of you leaving with them, but I'm going to take you back instead"
Ginny looked at him, her brain screaming 'information overload' at the top of its voice. She clutched onto his arm appreciatively as he walked over to where Hermione was trying to stir a sleepy looking Ron.
"Oh dear," Hermione said, looking at Ginny like a mother hen. "Ginny, I thought you knew better than your brother..."
She sighed and tapped her wand on Ginny's head before moving on to Thom. 'How about you? You came to this 'illegal' party, didn't you?' Ginny thought gloomily, as the peculiar sensation of having an egg smashed over her head ran down her body. She looked down, and for a moment wondered where the hell she'd gone, but then she saw that her body had blended in with her surroundings, like a chameleon. Thom was the same when she looked back at him.
Shooting a slightly murderous glance at Hermione for being a hypocrite, she half-followed half-leant on Thom as he made his way to the door, and before she knew it, they were out in the cool air of the corridor. Ginny smiled a little as her face immediately cooled down, and she followed Thom past the tapestry where Barnabas was attempting to teach a troll a pirouette.
They walked until they reached the place where Ravenclaws left for their common room and Gryffindors for theirs.
"Do you want me to carry on with you or are you alright on your own?" Thom asked, letting go of her waist to see if she could stand on her own. Ginny stayed upright, smiling with a slight hint of triumph.
"I'm fine," she replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Besides, you don't know where my common room is"
Thom smiled at her, his hand still on her arm as she tried to walk away. "I don't want to leave you on your own," he answered. "Your common room might be miles away"
"Yeah, but it isn't, is it?" she said, a grin on her face.
"Well," he said, letting go of her arm again. "I guess...are you sure?"
"Thom, I can look after myself" Ginny said kindly, sliding her arms around Thom's neck as she hugged him.
"I hope so" Thom replied, kissing the end of her nose before kissing her gently on the lips. They stayed that way for a few minutes, before Ginny, realising the disillusion thingy would wear off soon, pulled away. Thom grumbled in protest, but gave her one last, lingering kiss before shooing her back to her common room. Ginny giggled, blowing him kisses all the way up the corridor until he was out of sight. She heard his footsteps fade away as he headed up his own corridor and she turned around, expecting to go back to the common room. Instead, she ran right into somebody's chest.
"Ow!" she cried as she fell on her butt, the stone floor sending a wave of soreness over her that matched the throbbing pain she felt in her nose where she had smashed into the person. She looked up dazedly, little stars dancing over her vision, to see someone holding out their hand to her. She took it, dimly aware that it was probably a bad idea. Standing up, she looked at her hands, the skin grazed where she had put them out to steady herself, before looking up at the person she had bumped into. Her mouth fell open, gaping.
"Bloody hell!" she shrieked, stamping her foot on the ground in sheer frustration. "You!"
She opened her mouth to scream again, but Draco put a hand over her mouth to stop her.
"Ginny!" he said sharply. "If you carry on like this Filch'll catch us both. Do you really want that?"
Ginny paused and then, reluctantly, stopped trying to struggle and shout. Slowly, Draco let go of her mouth, stepping back when he saw that she wasn't going to go completely mental.
"Now," he said, his usual smirk reappearing on his face. "Why don't you apologize for bumping into me a third time?"
Ginny's mouth opened in shock and disgust. Slowly, she clenched her fists, her lips snarling in an animalistic fashion, hot, boiling anger rising in her chest. She stepped forward slightly, but Draco, still standing there in his usual cocky fashion, just smirked wider. That did it. A yell of fury escaping her lips, Ginny rushed at him, her small body moving faster than he would have expected. She pushed at him with her hands, leaving small stains of blood on his shirt from where her grazes were bleeding. He looked down at her in slight surprise as he stumbled backwards, his brow furrowed as he easily caught her wrists and stopped her from hitting him. She didn't give up struggling against him and trying to kick him. He made a face as one of her sneakers connected with his shin, but he kept out of the way, keeping her at arms length away from him. She snarled, trying to get at him still, but he just held her there, and eventually she gave up, her chocolate eyes looking at him with loathing as she stood, panting, in the moonlight. The disillusionment charm had by now worn off, and he watched as she stopped blending in with the walls and returned to normal.
"Ginny," he said, his voice even. "That was a waste of time"
She made a sound like "Huh" under her breath, but he ignored it, still keeping her at arms length. He looked at her clothes, taking in the now rumpled cords and t-shirt.
"My my," he said, looking down at her. "Have we been to a party?"
Ginny just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Well then, I guess that's a yes"
"Maybe I have, but even so, why the hell would you care? You Slytherin lot have parties practically 24/7" Ginny replied, finally wrenching herself from his grip and taking a step back. He sneered at her, knowing that he was infuriating her even more by 'smiling'.
"I just didn't think you were the partying type Ginny. You know, all that alcohol and such...but then again..."
He inhaled; breathing in the scent of alcohol Ginny knew would be all over her. She silently cursed ever agreeing to go to the party as his smirk widened and a glint that Ginny didn't like the look of entered his eyes.
"Well, it seems that the youngest Weasley has been drinking illegally. And you're, what, three years underage?"
"So?" she shot back angrily. "You're two years underage and it's a well known fact that you get smashed at least twice a month. Must be all the 'pressure' your dear father is putting you under to become a Death Eater"
Ginny knew her last sentence had been a mistake the minute it was out of her mouth. The glint went out of his eyes to be replaced by anger, and his whole face became full of fury. Before she knew what was going on, he had strode forward and grabbed onto her wrists.
"What did you say?"
His voice was a deadly whisper, much scarier and hurtful than all the other tones she had ever heard him use. She looked up at him, her face now holding a faint trace of fear as she looked into his face.
"I said," she replied, gulping. "Something that matches all the things you've ever said or done to me"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, glaring at her.
"All the times you said something about my family, you were hurting me" she said, her voice quiet, and odd tremble in it. She paused, seeing if he was going to say anything, but he carried on looking at her in anger. "All the times you did something to hurt me -" she swallowed, thinking of one particular thing "- you were doing what I just did to you. All those times you - kissed me - you left me feeling used and disgusted. Now you feel disgusted, and you can't take it"
Her voice had gotten stronger the more she carried on, and now she stood up straight, her face brave, if quivering a little. She swallowed again, and, feeling brave, she found the courage to ask something she had been wondering about for weeks.
"Why did you kiss me?"
His reaction was not one she had expected. He looked at her for a second, his face blank. But then, he began to laugh. Laugh! It was mirthless, the sound hollow and empty.
"Kiss you?" he said, shaking his head ever so slightly, his hair swinging in front of his eyes a little. "What, did you think there was some special reason? I kissed you because you were *there*, Ginny. You remember that first time on the train? I was going to make out with...whatever her name was, but you wouldn't move, would you? Oh no, so I did what came naturally. I used you instead. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else"
Ginny looked at him, her eyes wide. Then, she changed, her expression going from shock to disbelief to just pure disgust. Her eyes shone with revulsion as she looked at him.
"You're sick" she said, shaking her head and taking a step back. "You're really sick"
She took another step back, and another, until she turned and ran in the direction of the common room, her shoes beating down on the floor in her hurry to get away.
His mirthless laughter followed her down the corridor, her detestation and horror mixing with surprise as she realised something. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath, her body shaking uncontrollably, and she realised that, for all her hatred of him, all her loathing of the way he had *used* her, she hated him most for this. For how he had brought her to what she was doing now, and because she didn't understand why she was doing it.
Because she was crying.
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A/N Oh my god, this is eleven pages long! Wow! That's my longest chapter ever! And it turned out to be very angst-ridden, didn't it? Well, seeing as how this is an angst story, I suppose that's a good thing. And for all of you who were wondering just why he *did* kiss her, you now have your answer. Anyways, this chapter has been out pretty quickly (compared to the last one anyway, lol!), and I'm going to try and get the next one out as quick as possible. And be thankful to open days, because I have a four-day weekend this week! Alleluia!
Ash - I get what you mean with the empathetic stuff, I always get embarrassed when stuff like that happens. I have to hide behind a cushion when stuff like that's on telly, lol! And thanks for the compliment on the D/G action, although I guess there was a thorough lack-of during the last couple of chapters. Thanks for reviewing.
Writing*-*Wonder - Wow, you love my story? That is so flattering I think I'm gonna cry! Nah, I'm alright, and thanks for the compliment! And I guess that chapter eleven answered your question about Thom and Ginny, huh? And I'm glad you like Thom. Btw, all those songs are my favourites as well! Thanks for reviewing.
Forestfire - Yeah, it did, didn't it? Poor Gin, I'm so evil, lol! And yeah, hopefully Draco will one day feel guilty, but I couldn't have it as right away, because it just isn't him. Thanks for reviewing.
cashew - Don't worry, she won't commit suicide! Yet. He he he, I'm evil. And no, I haven't forgotten about the story (obviously!). I'm also thrilled that Ginny and Thom are together - they make such a cute couple! And I'm glad you like Thom - he's one of my better creations - his role may be quite big, but I'm not sure yet. And no, he won't get completely screwed over!
I've been meaning to say Happy Birthday since it *was* your birthday, but I have the memory of a sieve, so forgive me! And think less 'school', more 'prison camp'. Nah, just kidding, lol! Also, thank you for saying Happy 4th July. I might not celebrate it but I like to be all 'multinational' or whatever, so that's okay. And yes, *do* celebrate America's independence from Britain! And my rambles are just as weird, so don't worry. Later, and thanks for reviewing.
Okeanos - Hey, thanks for the 'cool' compliment, very unlike you to be so nice! Joke, joke, I would never call you nice, lol! Don't give me 'the look', please! Anyways, yes, I have granted your wish for a quick update, so be happy. Thanks for reviewing.
HiddenintheAbyss - Thanks for liking my story so much you love it! It's such a flattering compliment to be told someone loves your writing, so thank you *so* much! And yeah, the train thing was a bit weird, but I sorta like it the way it is (it's the closet I'll ever get to the dreaded NC-17 - ick!). And obviously I'd like more reviews, but I guess people just don't like my summary, lol! But maybe I'll get more in the future. Please keep reading, and thanks for reviewing!
Please go review this chapter and tell me what you think. Oh, and I've posted the first chapter of a new story, so you could always go check that out if you want. I probably won't update it until I've finished Things Change, or at least done a bit more of it, so think of it as a taster of what's to come!
Luv,
S.e.a
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything, but I definitely own this piece of writing! J.K Rowling owns all the characters and stuff. I do, however, own her 'friends' and some more new characters that'll appear later on, and the plot is ALL MINE!
A/N Hey people! Right, this chapter will hopefully be very entertaining for you all, as...well actually, you'll just have to read to find out, so I'll say no more! Hope nobody's mad at me for taking SO long to update on the last chapter, but at least I finally did it, and I'll try REALLY hard not to do it again!
A/N2 In case anyone's wondering, I'm not going to give Ginny some magical make over here, cause that's just unrealistic. All I'm gonna do is...well, you'll see in a bit. But there will be NO corny magical make over, so don't worry.
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Ginny woke up early on the Saturday morning of the party, fresh-faced and bright-eyed, having taken care to go to bed at what her mother would have called a 'reasonable time' the previous night. Peeling off the covers and drawing aside the hangings, she swung her legs out of the four-poster and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and taking a sip of water. She stretched, yawning, before walking over to the window and opening the heavy velvet curtains. This was met by groans from her roommates as watery morning sunlight filled the dorm, seeping through gaps in the hangings.
"Gi-in...," Ana moaned into her pillow, rolling over as Ginny pulled her drapes aside. "It's too early to get up..."
Ginny smiled wickedly.
"Honestly, Ana, if you're going to go to the party you might as well wake up in time to get ready"
She thought she heard Ana mutter something that sounded remarkably like, "Just cause you're going with Thom Walker...", but she smiled and ignored it. Grabbing some clothes, she made her way to the bathroom, pulling aside the hangings of the other girls as she did so.
Once inside the bathroom, Ginny got into the shower to wash her hair, enjoying the feeling of the hot water on her face. It was just her luck she had to get out again 20 minutes later, due to Lara banging noisily on the door and demanding to use the bathroom.
"I'll be out in ten!" Ginny yelled, wrapping a large towel around her body. She pottered around the bathroom, drying and brushing out her hair and cleaning her teeth, before pulling on a pair of loose jeans and a T-shirt. She was about to leave when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the mirror above the sink. Moving closer, she frowned, examining her freckles. It seemed like they'd doubled in amount and orangeness since the night before. She sighed, feeling a little deflated. The one day she really wanted to look *nice*, her freckles had to mess it up for her. Mind you, she thought, leaning closer. It wasn't just her freckles messing things up. She tugged at her hair limply, watching as the damp curls fell back against her neck, brushing her shoulders. It looked to her as though it was in a worse condition than it had been all term. *And* she was going to the party tonight!
"Ginny!" Lara yelled.
"Sorry!" she replied, swinging the bathroom door open to see Lara standing there with her toothbrush. "I was just..."
She pointed behind her to the shower, shrugging. Lara scowled but didn't say anything as she swept past, closing the door behind her.
Ginny headed back to her bed gloomily, her hand absently reaching up to fiddle with her hair, pulling at the curls the way she had done in the bathroom. She was just heading past Sophie's bed when she felt someone tug at her sleeve.
"Hey Gin, having a bit of trouble?" Sophie asked as Ginny turned towards her.
"Huh?" Ginny replied vaguely, slightly confused.
"With your hair, I mean". Sophie pointed towards Ginny's head and the curls falling down to her shoulders. "You look kinda...I don't know, annoyed with it"
"Oh, that. Yeah, it's nothing. I just...it looks a little...flat, don't you think?" Ginny answered, taking a look in the mirror on the far wall. "A little...lifeless"
Sophie smiled, the first friendly gesture the two had exchanged in days. Ginny smiled back, albeit a little bleakly.
"Look, Gin, not being mean here, but if you want the truth, maybe its cause you never really *do* anything with your hair, and now you want it to look special and you don't think it looks nice at all. Is that it?"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I just...this is the first party I've ever been to, and I want to look *good* for it. Is that so bad?"
"No," Sophie replied, laughing slightly. "It's perfectly normal. Hey, it's my first party too, and normally I don't really care all that much about my hair, but I do today, so don't worry, I get what you're going through. Now," she said, looking around the room. "Where are the others? Ana!"
"What...?" came the groggy reply from the next bed.
"I got you guys a test subject!"
"Ooo, really?!" Ana cried, all sleepiness forgotten as she hurriedly pushing aside her hangings. "Who?"
"Ginny"
"What?" Ginny said, looking warily at Ana as she got out of bed and sat next to Sophie on hers. "What's going on? Test subject?"
"You said you wanted to look nice. Well, the girls and I are going to make you up. Okay?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"You guys are kidding, right?"
Ana and Sophie both shook their heads. Ginny, thoroughly unconvinced, raised both her hands in front of her defensively, her expression sceptical. "Come on, guys, you really don't have to do this to make me feel better or anything..."
She trailed off as she saw the looks on their faces.
"Ginny, we aren't doing this for you to make you *feel* better. We're doing it so you can *look* better. Right girls?" Sophie asked, looking round. Lizzie, along with Lara (who had just got back from the bathroom) had now joined them, and they were nodding, grins on their faces. Ginny looked at them all dubiously, her eyebrows raised. She lifted a hand to her hair again, looking in the mirror on the far wall once more. Seeing the way her hair curled droopily around her face, she scowled.
'Damned hair' she thought, pulling at one particularly lifeless curl. Looking back at the others, she hesitated for a second, before nodding tentatively in agreement. Their faces broke out in gleeful smiles as they clapped their hands together. Ginny just glowered, put her hands in her pockets and walked out the door, dreading going back to the tower that evening.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny ascended the stairs to the Gryffindor corridor at a snail's pace, trying to take as much time as possible to reach the Fat Lady's portrait at the end. Having spent as much of the day as possible hidden away in the library doing homework ('This is what those girls drive me to - homework on a Saturday!'), she had finally packed up at 5:50 and trudged back up to the Gryffindor corridor.
She reached the Fat Lady much too quickly for her liking, and, glumly saying the password ('Pickled Snape Guts' - Ron's idea), she slipped through into the common room. The usual assortment of students were sprawled over the sofas and armchairs as she made her way to the stairs, and Colin and Dennis Creevey waved at her from across the room.
Sullenly, Ginny got to the girls stairs and started up to her dorm, her hair hanging around her face as she glowered at all beneath it. Not even half way up the staircase the sounds of her roommates giggling reached her, and her scowl deepened as she got to the top. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she turned it, wincing as the squeaking immediately silenced the room inside. The door swung open slowly, revealing her roommates spread over the room. They looked a right sight. Sophie sat on her bed with Lara, a pair of what looked like eyelash curlers clutched in her hands as she advanced on Lara with them. Her hair was in rollers, the reddish-brown tresses tucked in with hair pins, and Lara's blonde-brown curls were currently being steamed straight with smoke pouring out of Lizzie's wand. Lizzie had on a pair of baggy jeans, her nightshirt still over the top of it like an overly large t-shirt, and Ana sat between Lara and Sophie, trying to apply lipgloss to her lips even though the bed was trembling with Lara's attempt to get away from Sophie's eyelash curlers. But all this stopped when Ginny opened the door.
There was silence for a second as the girls looked at Ginny in the doorway, her glower lessening as she took in the scene before her. Then, as quickly as it had come, the silence was replaced by a deafening cacophony of sound as the girls all started squealing. Sophie jumped off the bed (along with the eyelash curlers, much to Lara's relief) and grabbed Ginny's arm, closing the door behind them and leading her over to the bed, her grip on Ginny's arm tight, so that any chance of escape was now gone. She sat her down amidst the various bags and cases of make-up and the clothes scattered everywhere, and leant back, as if examining her. The other girls quietened, all of them staring at her intently. Ginny looked round at them, her mouth forming a small questioning 'o'.
"Guys...?"
Instantaneously, noise broke out again as girls dashed this way and that, grabbing god knows what from different bags and then converging on her again, all of them tugging and jostling her around, trying to get at different parts of her face and hair. She squealed indignantly as Ana yanked her hair, her dark arms squeezed underneath Sophie's as she pulled the strands backwards. Sophie was brandishing a stick of something a yellowy-peach colour and trying to use it to cover Ginny's zits, and Lizzie and Lara were arguing over what looked like mascara. Ginny struggled slightly, trying to get away, but to no avail.
Having finished with the yellowy stick, Sophie proceeded to reach into one of the cases and pulled out a round thing with what looked like lots of different eyeshadows on it, along with a weird spongy thing and a small brush. Standing back slightly, she looked Ginny over before scanning the different eyeshadows in the case. She hesitated for a second, her brush poised over the make-up, before she dipped into one and started trying to brush it over Ginny's eyelid without getting knocked by Lizzie's elbows as she tested different lip colours on her hand. Then, after applying the shadow over her 'lid from lashes to brow, she dipped into another colour and gently swept it into the crease of Ginny's eyelid.
"There" she said, leaning back and smiling, but almost immediately she was replaced by Lara trying to apply a bit of eyeliner. Ginny sat, helpless, as Lara rubbed the stuff over her eye and Ana tugged at her hair, wondering feebly when it was going to end.
She had to endure Lizzie putting mascara on her lashes (all the while convinced that the brush was going to jab her in the eye), Sophie rubbing lip salve over her mouth before daubing something *else* on it, and Ana doing something so that she felt like clumps of her hair had been pulled out before they were even remotely finished.
But at last, they all stepped back to admire their work. Ginny looked up at them apprehensively as they grinned down at her.
"Uh...so...can I see?" she asked timidly.
"Oh, of *course*!" they all cried, practically pulling her arms from their sockets as they dragged her over to the floor-length mirror hidden away in the corner.
Ginny looked at herself in surprise. Ginny had never really worn make-up before, but now...she twirled round, inspecting her reflection in the mirror. Her curls seemed to be a lot more rounded and bouncy than before, and they gleamed slightly with freshly-washed shine. Apart from that they'd been left pretty much the same, the only difference in style being that Ana had swept back some of the hair by her left temple and secured it back from her face with a clip. The rest flowed freely down to her shoulders like before.
Her eyes had also been decorated, but it was so subtle that Ginny didn't even really notice at first, but when the evening light from the window caught a sparkle by her eye, she leaned closer to the mirror to see what it was. She had a thin silvery eyeshadow brushed over from lashes to brow, and in the crease of her eyelid was an almost (but not quite) invisible touch of blue swept into it. Her lashes had been darkened by a pale blue-black mascara. She'd also had a thin sweeping of something over her lips, so that they now looked pale pink instead of their usual colour.
Ginny leant back, surprised. Far from looking terrible like she had been convinced she would, she would even go so far as to say she looked...pretty. She brought a hand to her hair, feeling the glossy curls as they hung around her face so tamely. She smiled at herself in the mirror, and the reflection smiled back.
"So...," said Lara behind her, her voice quiet and eager. "What do you think?"
Ginny tuned round, a shy smile on her face.
"I love it"
And they all rushed at her in a many armed hug.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny sat on her bed, flicking through a magazine as the others scurried around the dorm, still trying to get ready. She checked her watch (6:45) and sighed, looking at them with her eyebrows raised. Ana was half-in half- out of a pair of black trousers, and wore black top proclaiming 'Love Not War' at them all in bright fluorescent green. A green hat sat on her dark hair and a cuddly monkey keyring protruded from her pocket. Lara was wearing a pair of blue and white jeans with a navy skinny rib, both contrasting with her hair, whilst Sophie had finally taken out her curlers (leaving her hair to bounce in attractive curls), was wearing sk8er shorts and was rummaging around in her draw for a top. Lizzie was the only one who seemed even remotely ready apart from Ginny herself. Lizzie had dressed before the rest of them, her outfit being a simple pair of loose jeans and a pink snowboarding t-shirt, set off against her dark brown corkscrew curls. She sat trying to help Sophie find a top.
Ginny looked back at her magazine, realising she was going to have to wait for at least another five minutes. It was a muggle magazine Sophie had brought back with her after spending the holidays with her muggle grandparents in Ireland. It was alright, Ginny supposed as she read an article about a girl whose mother had stolen her husband. A little weird, what with all the still muggle photographs (A/N If only Orlando would wave at me from my wall!), but still alright.
"Come on guys!" she called, closing the magazine as she took another look at her watch. "The party started twenty minutes ago!"
At these words she was satisfied to see them all go into a slight frenzy, rushing around trying to sort out last minutes blemishes and find proper clothes. Ginny watched them, her chin resting on her hand, until they all grabbed their bags and declared their readiness.
"Right then," Ginny said, grabbing her own bag and standing up. "Let's go"
///*///*///*///*///*///
"You couldn't really get much more stupid could you?" Sophie said in passing, pointing at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy as a troll tried to bludgeon his 'ballet teacher' to death.
"Nope. Now, let's see if this works...," Ginny said, lining them all up next to the man-sized vase on one of side of the blank wall. "We've got to walk past this wall three times and think about what we want from the room for, okay?" she explained.
They did so, turning at the window on the other side of the wall and then again at the vase. Ginny clenched her fists, willing the room to show itself.
'Let us get in...we want to go to this party...I want to see Thom...' she thought, silently mouthing the words under her breath.
"Ginny!" Sophie cried just as they finished their third walk, pointing at a highly polished door that had appeared in the wall. "Look!"
Walking forward, Ginny confidently placed her hand on the doorknob like she had done so many times before, and turned it. The door swung open, and, instead of the bookcases, DADA instruments and cushions that she had come to associate with the room, they found themselves looking at an enormous space filled with people. Music was playing loudly from a record-player in the corner, and there was a small stage filled with electrical muggle instruments. It was empty of people, but Ginny had a feeling a band might be playing there soon.
Ginny turned to look at the other girls. Their mouths were gaping, surprise written all over their faces. Ginny smiled, beckoning them to follow her into the party as she stepped through the door. They did so obediently, staring all around them. Ginny couldn't help staring too. Now they were inside, it looked more like a whole house then just a room. It was all interconnecting, an open plan 'lounge' and 'other lounge' all together in one big space. Ginny could see glimpses of other parts of the room/house thing through the mass of people, but not much.
"You guys go have fun, okay?" she half-shouted over the noise of Witches in Power, which was now blasting out of the record player. "I'm need to go -"
"Find Thom!" they all shouted back, finishing her sentence for her. Ginny smiled and nodded, and they girls waved her goodbye, all of them turning to explore.
Turning round herself, Ginny started to push through all the people dancing. There were people everywhere, a lot more than Ginny had expected. 'Had they all been told about the Room of Requirement?' she wondered to herself. But no, now she thought about it, hadn't Thom said that a spell had been put on the party so that only the people who knew about the room of requirement already would be able to remember where it was? (A/N Did that sentence make *any* sense? No, I thought not).
Ginny smiled to herself as she pushed past a last dancing couple to find herself in a much more airy space. There were still a lot of people around, but instead of dancing, they sat around talking, laughing and eating mostly. She looked around for a second, and her brow furrowed when she realised she couldn't see Thom. She was about to start exploring the other parts of the room/house thing when suddenly she felt somebody's arms encircle her waist and they whispered in her ear.
"Hey beautiful"
Ginny smiled and leant back against Thom, her face turned towards his. She threaded her fingers into his, smiling as he kissed the side of her neck gently.
"Hey yourself," she replied, turning in his grasp so that she was facing him. "I was looking for you"
"Well, *I* was looking for *you* too. How long've you been here?"
"About five minutes," Ginny replied. "The others took *ages* getting ready, so I had to wait for them so I could show them how to get here."
Thom looked down at her, his eyes drifting over her simple outfit of silvery-grey cords and a black t-shirt.
"Well, you look like a million galleons," he said. "Even if you did take less than a century to get ready"
Ginny smiled, but then she remembered something she'd wanted to ask Thom.
"You did say that nobody'd be able to find here unless they'd been once already, didn't you?"
Thom nodded. "Uh huh. We figured it'd be kind of dumb if practically everybody knew how to get here. Destroy the 'mystique' of the room, don't you think?"
Ginny nodded in agreement.
"Oh yeah, and the dream team are here," Thom said, jabbing a thumb behind to the packed 'lounge' thing. "Although your brother and his girlfriend have been missing for quite a while"
Ginny cuffed Thom playfully on the arm. "Yuck, don't tell me that! It's *Ron* we're talking about here!"
"Well," said Thom, kissing her nose tenderly. "I think they had the right idea..."
Ginny raised an eyebrow at Thom, a smile playing across her face. "You think so, huh?" she replied playfully. "Well, maybe they did..."
///*///*///*///*///*///
The room swam slightly in front of Ginny's eyes, the mass of dim colour making her feel sick. Then again, it could just be the six bottles of butter beer, five shots of Phoenix Vodka and all the other alcoholic infusions she'd had in the past four hours that was making her feel like her stomach was about to come out through her mouth.
She clung onto Thom's arm as he gently steered her towards a couch and sat her down, rubbing her back soothingly. She took a large gulp of water when he handed her a glass, trying to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.
"There...," he said gently, taking the glass and putting on the coffee table in front of them. He took one of her hands in his, resting them on her knee. "That's better, huh?"
Ginny nodded slightly, leaning her temple against his cheek. He snaked his arm around her waist completely, supporting her as she closed her eyes.
"Thom...?" she said gently, but before she could say any more, Thom heard her breathing become lighter and more even and her body relax against him, a sure sign that she was asleep. Gently, he removed himself from her grip and laid her down, putting some cushions under her head. He stood up, and for a second looked down at her, a tender smile on his lips. Bending down, he placed a gently kiss on her lips before standing once more and heading back to the party.
///*///*///*///*///*///
Ginny opened her eyes to see Thom bending down over her, a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. She sat up a hand to her head as she realised it was throbbing slightly. Looking around, she saw that the room was practically empty now; all that was left were mostly seventh years sprawled over the sofas and floors. People were going around shaking them, and Ginny thought she spotted Harry and Hermione amongst the 'awake' people. She looked back up at Thom, wincing at the slight ache in her head.
"What...?"
"The party cleared out about half an hour ago," he said, gently pulling her up off the sofa and steadying her as she wobbled, slightly off balance. "It's about two-thirty, so not much chance of being caught. Even Filch has to sleep. But all the same, people are leaving in threes and twos, and Hermione's been putting those Disillusionment Charm thingies on everyone. Your friends left about and hour and a half ago, so not much chance of you leaving with them, but I'm going to take you back instead"
Ginny looked at him, her brain screaming 'information overload' at the top of its voice. She clutched onto his arm appreciatively as he walked over to where Hermione was trying to stir a sleepy looking Ron.
"Oh dear," Hermione said, looking at Ginny like a mother hen. "Ginny, I thought you knew better than your brother..."
She sighed and tapped her wand on Ginny's head before moving on to Thom. 'How about you? You came to this 'illegal' party, didn't you?' Ginny thought gloomily, as the peculiar sensation of having an egg smashed over her head ran down her body. She looked down, and for a moment wondered where the hell she'd gone, but then she saw that her body had blended in with her surroundings, like a chameleon. Thom was the same when she looked back at him.
Shooting a slightly murderous glance at Hermione for being a hypocrite, she half-followed half-leant on Thom as he made his way to the door, and before she knew it, they were out in the cool air of the corridor. Ginny smiled a little as her face immediately cooled down, and she followed Thom past the tapestry where Barnabas was attempting to teach a troll a pirouette.
They walked until they reached the place where Ravenclaws left for their common room and Gryffindors for theirs.
"Do you want me to carry on with you or are you alright on your own?" Thom asked, letting go of her waist to see if she could stand on her own. Ginny stayed upright, smiling with a slight hint of triumph.
"I'm fine," she replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Besides, you don't know where my common room is"
Thom smiled at her, his hand still on her arm as she tried to walk away. "I don't want to leave you on your own," he answered. "Your common room might be miles away"
"Yeah, but it isn't, is it?" she said, a grin on her face.
"Well," he said, letting go of her arm again. "I guess...are you sure?"
"Thom, I can look after myself" Ginny said kindly, sliding her arms around Thom's neck as she hugged him.
"I hope so" Thom replied, kissing the end of her nose before kissing her gently on the lips. They stayed that way for a few minutes, before Ginny, realising the disillusion thingy would wear off soon, pulled away. Thom grumbled in protest, but gave her one last, lingering kiss before shooing her back to her common room. Ginny giggled, blowing him kisses all the way up the corridor until he was out of sight. She heard his footsteps fade away as he headed up his own corridor and she turned around, expecting to go back to the common room. Instead, she ran right into somebody's chest.
"Ow!" she cried as she fell on her butt, the stone floor sending a wave of soreness over her that matched the throbbing pain she felt in her nose where she had smashed into the person. She looked up dazedly, little stars dancing over her vision, to see someone holding out their hand to her. She took it, dimly aware that it was probably a bad idea. Standing up, she looked at her hands, the skin grazed where she had put them out to steady herself, before looking up at the person she had bumped into. Her mouth fell open, gaping.
"Bloody hell!" she shrieked, stamping her foot on the ground in sheer frustration. "You!"
She opened her mouth to scream again, but Draco put a hand over her mouth to stop her.
"Ginny!" he said sharply. "If you carry on like this Filch'll catch us both. Do you really want that?"
Ginny paused and then, reluctantly, stopped trying to struggle and shout. Slowly, Draco let go of her mouth, stepping back when he saw that she wasn't going to go completely mental.
"Now," he said, his usual smirk reappearing on his face. "Why don't you apologize for bumping into me a third time?"
Ginny's mouth opened in shock and disgust. Slowly, she clenched her fists, her lips snarling in an animalistic fashion, hot, boiling anger rising in her chest. She stepped forward slightly, but Draco, still standing there in his usual cocky fashion, just smirked wider. That did it. A yell of fury escaping her lips, Ginny rushed at him, her small body moving faster than he would have expected. She pushed at him with her hands, leaving small stains of blood on his shirt from where her grazes were bleeding. He looked down at her in slight surprise as he stumbled backwards, his brow furrowed as he easily caught her wrists and stopped her from hitting him. She didn't give up struggling against him and trying to kick him. He made a face as one of her sneakers connected with his shin, but he kept out of the way, keeping her at arms length away from him. She snarled, trying to get at him still, but he just held her there, and eventually she gave up, her chocolate eyes looking at him with loathing as she stood, panting, in the moonlight. The disillusionment charm had by now worn off, and he watched as she stopped blending in with the walls and returned to normal.
"Ginny," he said, his voice even. "That was a waste of time"
She made a sound like "Huh" under her breath, but he ignored it, still keeping her at arms length. He looked at her clothes, taking in the now rumpled cords and t-shirt.
"My my," he said, looking down at her. "Have we been to a party?"
Ginny just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Well then, I guess that's a yes"
"Maybe I have, but even so, why the hell would you care? You Slytherin lot have parties practically 24/7" Ginny replied, finally wrenching herself from his grip and taking a step back. He sneered at her, knowing that he was infuriating her even more by 'smiling'.
"I just didn't think you were the partying type Ginny. You know, all that alcohol and such...but then again..."
He inhaled; breathing in the scent of alcohol Ginny knew would be all over her. She silently cursed ever agreeing to go to the party as his smirk widened and a glint that Ginny didn't like the look of entered his eyes.
"Well, it seems that the youngest Weasley has been drinking illegally. And you're, what, three years underage?"
"So?" she shot back angrily. "You're two years underage and it's a well known fact that you get smashed at least twice a month. Must be all the 'pressure' your dear father is putting you under to become a Death Eater"
Ginny knew her last sentence had been a mistake the minute it was out of her mouth. The glint went out of his eyes to be replaced by anger, and his whole face became full of fury. Before she knew what was going on, he had strode forward and grabbed onto her wrists.
"What did you say?"
His voice was a deadly whisper, much scarier and hurtful than all the other tones she had ever heard him use. She looked up at him, her face now holding a faint trace of fear as she looked into his face.
"I said," she replied, gulping. "Something that matches all the things you've ever said or done to me"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, glaring at her.
"All the times you said something about my family, you were hurting me" she said, her voice quiet, and odd tremble in it. She paused, seeing if he was going to say anything, but he carried on looking at her in anger. "All the times you did something to hurt me -" she swallowed, thinking of one particular thing "- you were doing what I just did to you. All those times you - kissed me - you left me feeling used and disgusted. Now you feel disgusted, and you can't take it"
Her voice had gotten stronger the more she carried on, and now she stood up straight, her face brave, if quivering a little. She swallowed again, and, feeling brave, she found the courage to ask something she had been wondering about for weeks.
"Why did you kiss me?"
His reaction was not one she had expected. He looked at her for a second, his face blank. But then, he began to laugh. Laugh! It was mirthless, the sound hollow and empty.
"Kiss you?" he said, shaking his head ever so slightly, his hair swinging in front of his eyes a little. "What, did you think there was some special reason? I kissed you because you were *there*, Ginny. You remember that first time on the train? I was going to make out with...whatever her name was, but you wouldn't move, would you? Oh no, so I did what came naturally. I used you instead. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else"
Ginny looked at him, her eyes wide. Then, she changed, her expression going from shock to disbelief to just pure disgust. Her eyes shone with revulsion as she looked at him.
"You're sick" she said, shaking her head and taking a step back. "You're really sick"
She took another step back, and another, until she turned and ran in the direction of the common room, her shoes beating down on the floor in her hurry to get away.
His mirthless laughter followed her down the corridor, her detestation and horror mixing with surprise as she realised something. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath, her body shaking uncontrollably, and she realised that, for all her hatred of him, all her loathing of the way he had *used* her, she hated him most for this. For how he had brought her to what she was doing now, and because she didn't understand why she was doing it.
Because she was crying.
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A/N Oh my god, this is eleven pages long! Wow! That's my longest chapter ever! And it turned out to be very angst-ridden, didn't it? Well, seeing as how this is an angst story, I suppose that's a good thing. And for all of you who were wondering just why he *did* kiss her, you now have your answer. Anyways, this chapter has been out pretty quickly (compared to the last one anyway, lol!), and I'm going to try and get the next one out as quick as possible. And be thankful to open days, because I have a four-day weekend this week! Alleluia!
Ash - I get what you mean with the empathetic stuff, I always get embarrassed when stuff like that happens. I have to hide behind a cushion when stuff like that's on telly, lol! And thanks for the compliment on the D/G action, although I guess there was a thorough lack-of during the last couple of chapters. Thanks for reviewing.
Writing*-*Wonder - Wow, you love my story? That is so flattering I think I'm gonna cry! Nah, I'm alright, and thanks for the compliment! And I guess that chapter eleven answered your question about Thom and Ginny, huh? And I'm glad you like Thom. Btw, all those songs are my favourites as well! Thanks for reviewing.
Forestfire - Yeah, it did, didn't it? Poor Gin, I'm so evil, lol! And yeah, hopefully Draco will one day feel guilty, but I couldn't have it as right away, because it just isn't him. Thanks for reviewing.
cashew - Don't worry, she won't commit suicide! Yet. He he he, I'm evil. And no, I haven't forgotten about the story (obviously!). I'm also thrilled that Ginny and Thom are together - they make such a cute couple! And I'm glad you like Thom - he's one of my better creations - his role may be quite big, but I'm not sure yet. And no, he won't get completely screwed over!
I've been meaning to say Happy Birthday since it *was* your birthday, but I have the memory of a sieve, so forgive me! And think less 'school', more 'prison camp'. Nah, just kidding, lol! Also, thank you for saying Happy 4th July. I might not celebrate it but I like to be all 'multinational' or whatever, so that's okay. And yes, *do* celebrate America's independence from Britain! And my rambles are just as weird, so don't worry. Later, and thanks for reviewing.
Okeanos - Hey, thanks for the 'cool' compliment, very unlike you to be so nice! Joke, joke, I would never call you nice, lol! Don't give me 'the look', please! Anyways, yes, I have granted your wish for a quick update, so be happy. Thanks for reviewing.
HiddenintheAbyss - Thanks for liking my story so much you love it! It's such a flattering compliment to be told someone loves your writing, so thank you *so* much! And yeah, the train thing was a bit weird, but I sorta like it the way it is (it's the closet I'll ever get to the dreaded NC-17 - ick!). And obviously I'd like more reviews, but I guess people just don't like my summary, lol! But maybe I'll get more in the future. Please keep reading, and thanks for reviewing!
Please go review this chapter and tell me what you think. Oh, and I've posted the first chapter of a new story, so you could always go check that out if you want. I probably won't update it until I've finished Things Change, or at least done a bit more of it, so think of it as a taster of what's to come!
Luv,
S.e.a