Abandon
It was like this that Ginny found him later on, while she was walking upstairs with laundry, at a an urge to talk to him about the event that took place no more or less than an hour ago, and then erupting into a scream and everything escaping from the grasp of her hands. He lay facedown on the floor, half of his body rolled on the mattress, half of him on the floor. Rushing toward him, she leaned over, gently taking his lower body to the ground, and grazing his cheekbone and other features, relieved to see that his breath was still present; uneven, but present.
"Ennerverate," Ginny whispered, tapping her wand on the tip of his nose.
He flickered his eyes open, looking puzzled. Rubbing his eyes, he said in a dreamy voice, "What's going on?"
"What's going on?" Ginny repeated, aghast. "What's going on? What the hell happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" he positioned the buttons appropriately on his shirt as he said this, as his clothes were distraught, wrinkled and crumbled every which way.
"You were on the floor! You were passed out or something..." she tried to explain, but found that she couldn't. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest; fear that had once exploded within her was taking a slow progress in disappearing. What was wrong with her? Why had seeing him in such a terrible state make her feel as if she was dying herself?
"I don't know what happened," Draco replied in a feeble voice. "I just think someone attacked me."
"They couldn't have! We would've seen them," Ginny retorted automatically. Her brown eyes sank into his gray ones before he spoke.
"Just because you can't see someone...doesn't mean they're not there."
~*~
"Are you saying someone attacked you?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly. "But - wouldn't we have seen anyone that came into the Burrow?"
"I think he might have some kind of Invisibility cloak," Ginny notified her mother.
"Invisibility cloak?" Harry interrupted at once.
"Yeah, Potter," Draco drawled. "So?"
"Harry has an Invisibility cloak," Ron told him smugly, obviously annoyed as well.
"Yeah, and I couldn't find mine," Harry said, his lips parted.
"What?" Hermione asked, beside him. Harry blushed as everyone stared at him; or perhaps it was because Hermione's hand was on his shoulder, her face inches away from his, Ginny thought, amused. She rolled her eyes at herself. Like Harry would ever like Hermione more than a friend...
"Did you see anybody coming into you room?" Ginny asked, leaning forward.
"No," he replied thoughtfully. "But, I was taking a shower - maybe that's how they got it? But after a few moments I saw it was back again - I thought maybe I didn't lose it, maybe I thought I did...but maybe..." he trailed off.
Everyone looked distinctively uncomfortable.
Ron seemed to be on the verge of saying 'So what, it's just Malfoy,' when Ginny kicked him suddenly.
"Look, are you sure you lost it, Harry?" Hermione asked, hand still on his shoulder, observing him closely. Harry turned a bright red.
"Well, it wasn't there...but then a few minutes ago, it suddenly turned up."
"Well...then," Mrs. Weasley said tensely. "When Arthur comes home from work I'll tell him."
"What good will that do?" asked Ron, stubbornly, who looked abashed at the idea of having Malfoy safe and protected.
"Ron, please, you're giving me a headache," groaned Mrs. Weasley. "Have you all done your Christmas shopping?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.
"I still have some things left to buy," said Harry, still blushing. "I better go, then..."
"I'll go with you," Ginny offered, smiling. "I have one thing left to buy."
Draco, however, seemed to be fairly disgruntled at this statement. "I'll go with you guys," he said through gritted teeth.
"What?" Harry looked startled.
"But - you went with me already," said Ginny, looking confused.
"I'll go," Draco said, giving her a piercing glance.
~*~
"So, isn't this nice?" said Draco jovially, in between Ginny and Harry, making sure they kept a safe distance from each other. Harry mumbled something inaudible under his breath, which strangely sounded exactly like 'miserable bastard', but perhaps he was hearing wrong.
"Um, so I better go get that gift - will you two be okay, alone?" Ginny asked cautiously, eyeing them. Harry was looking at Draco with a loathing look on his face. Draco pretended he didn't notice or cared.
"Sure, Gin, you go ahead," Harry said, grinning at her. "Get me a nice gift, will you?"
She looked adorably flustered at being caught and hurried away, pushing past them and disappearing into the crowd.
"What the hell was that?" Harry's tone of voice had suddenly changed abruptly, and he stood, glaring at Draco with utmost disgust.
"What was what?" He blinked innocently.
"Why did you want to go with us, Malfoy?"
"Well, I haven't gotten the Weasleys any gifts yet, and I thought I'd show my appreciation," lied Draco, smiling slyly at Harry.
"Yeah, I am sure that's it. You just didn't want me and Ginny to be alone, did you?"
"Why wouldn't I want that?"
"It's so obvious, Malfoy," Harry said grimly. "You're jealous."
"Jealous of Ginny? I am sorry to say this, Potter, but you're not my type."
"You know exactly what I meant!"
"You don't have to be so hostile about it. Just be glad I haven't started on about your little 'crush'..." Draco trailed off, giving him a knowing look.
His cheeks tinted with several different shades of pink. "It's not a crush."
"Sorry, it's love, I forgot, how clumsy of me," Draco drawled lazily as he stood against the door of a nearby store.
"I am not in love!" Harry denied as he walked over to him, flushing amber and almost tripping over his feet in the process of saying this.
"Sure, Potter, sure..."
~*~
Draco looked around the several things at the store. The tiny shop was called 'Deja Vu', a misty, cynical name for it. It was covered in black and lavendar colored curtains of it's windows, with only one person inside it: the clerk. She was disjointedly dressed; with pink boots, black sweater, and a skirt that hunk high above her ankles, which imprinted the words: The Holidays. She had black hair up to her shoulders, with bangs that fashioned on top of her head, which were above her glittering blue eyes. Her creamy white skin stood out in the beaming sunlight through the only window that was open behind her.
"Hello," she whispered in a croaking voice. Draco widened his eyes, startled.
"Err...are you okay?" he asked timidly.
"I have a cold," she explained, her voice low and husky. "Welcome to Deja Vu. You're my first customer."
"First customer?" Draco exclaimed. "It says on the bottom of the shop that this was opened twelve years ago!"
"Yes, yes," she hurriedly replied. "My name is Mindy, I am here to assist you on having a lovely day here shopping."
"Err...okay," Draco retorted, shifting uncomfortably, wishing he had never entered in the first place.
"What're you shopping for today?" Mindy's voice was barely audible. "Looking at you, I'd guess...girlfriend?"
"No," he said quickly. "Not girlfriend...just a friend."
"Redhead?"
"How'd you know?" he asked, surprised.
"I have my ways," she said, smiling at him. "What's her name?"
"Ginny. Virginia. Whatever..." he trailed off.
"Ginny," repeated Mindy, nodding thoughtfully. "What a sweet name. Would you like a name-tag bracelet or necklace?"
"What?"
"It's a bracelet or necklace with her name glittering on it. All of the jewelery here is bewitched with little charms. I personally would reccomend the necklace. It's very, very beautiful..."
Draco shrugged. "Alright. But after this, could you err - reccomend another shop to me?" He hoped vaguely he was not offending her.
To his suprise, she laughed as she picked off something from one of the shelves, a wooden box. "I understand. You don't like this place, do you? I mostly sit around here every day, even Christmas, just waiting for customers. Of course, I couldn't believe that you had come in."
"You sit here? For Christmas?" Draco felt a sympathetic feeling arising. Where would he be now, if it wasn't for Ginny, after all? A forebidding feeling crossed him. He might be dead somewhere.
"Well, I don't have any other place to go...it gets lonely after a while," Mindy confided. "Here you go," she suddenly said, waving her wand with a swish agains the wooden box. Draco opened it, and widened his eyes. It was beautiful - Ginny would like this. It was a simple chain with many glimmering diamons attached to the length, and the locket was the most massive diamond of all - with neat, curly cursive read: Ginny.
He examined it from front to back, and saw another diamond in the back of the locket, which was making an odd mechanical noise. He shrugged this off, as he knew nothing about jewelery, and put it back in the box when his heart leaped in realization: he had no money.
"Oh, fuck," he groaned.
"What?" Mindy croaked, her voice reducing into squeaks now.
"I don't have any money," Draco notified her with regret. "I wish I did...I am sorry you went through all the trouble..."
"It's okay," Mindy said quickly. "You can have it for free. All I require is that you advertise my shop?"
"Oh, thanks but I can't, it's too..." Draco felt his inner-Slytherin kick in, however. "Well...if you insist."
Mindy smiled.
"But really," he said, sighing. "How can I ever repay you besides advertising?"
Mindy shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said dismissively.
Then, a devilish smile went through his face. "Hey, Mindy?"
"Yeah?" she looked up.
"I think I can repay you back..."
~*~
Eeeek! What ever does Draco mean? Well, I'll tell you one thing - Jealous!Ginny and MemoriesFlashback!Ginny will be making a special appearance. And Christmas! Review!
~*~