Chapter Ten: It's About Time
Ginny stepped through the bookcase door, hearing the boys scramble behind her. This whole love triangle thing was getting old fast. She just wanted to see her brother awake again, and maybe regain some sort of normalcy that had been completely lost these past days.
But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room and the figures in front of her came into focus, she realized that normalcy was just about the only thing that was not going on in the library this past week. She halted in the doorway, frozen at the sight of her own brother kissing Hermione.
At first she was disgusted, of course. This was her brother, and she did not want to think of him in that way. But soon a smile played on her lips. Ron and Hermione...it had been so obvious to everyone but the two of them for the past six years. The kiss looked quite awkward, it was obvious neither of them was very experienced, but that added to the sweetness of the whole ordeal. Ginny sighed softly as she wished that she would be kissed that way for once.
Suddenly, a something impacted Ginny from behind. It was Draco, who had come following after her. Unaware that she was stopped just inside the doorway, he had run into her full force. Ginny started to fall forward, but Draco reached out from behind and steadily grabbed her around the waist. "Sorry, I..." he began, but was cut short as Harry, who had been right behind him, did the exact same thing, colliding full force with Draco's back. The three of them comically fell to the floor in a pile or arms and legs.
"What the..." Ron and Hermione quickly tore apart and looked at the heap by the doorway. They burst out in laugher as the three tried to separate themselves.
"Get off me Potter."
"Watch your hand, Malfoy!"
"Draco! That's my..."
After a moment of struggling, Ginny freed herself from underneath the boys and hopped to her feet. They glared at each other and also stood. Ginny's pale cheeks rapidly turned to red as Ron and Hermione stared at her with grins on their faces. She tried to regain some dignity, stood up straight, and brushed her hair out of her face. "Uh, sorry."
Ron laughed again. "It's okay Gin, it's just good to see you," his smile rapidly disintegrated as he looked at his sister, "...what the bloody hell happened to your face?"
"Oh, that's right," Ginny's hand went up to her black eye. "Well, there was a little fight."
"A fight?" asked Hermione in a motherly voice, standing up and walking over to examine Ginny's eye. "What on earth?"
Ron struggled to get out of bed. "Which one of you two prats punched my sister?"
Everyone seemed to talk at once. Ginny was explaining how it was actually her fault, Harry and Draco were blaming each other, Ron was trying to stand up, and Hermione was desperately attempting to get him to stay in bed. Finally Ginny screamed above everyone else.
"Would you all just be quiet?" Silence filled the room as every eye focused on her. "Ron, get back in bed, you're just going to hurt yourself more. Hermione, sit next to him and calm down, I got the situation under control. And you two," she turned to Harry and Draco with an icy glare, "just shut up." Everyone obeyed.
Ginny smiled as she walked over and sat next to Hermione. "The black eye is my fault. Harry and Draco were brawling and I got in the middle of it. I should have known better. I'm not even sure who threw the punch, but I do know that it wasn't aimed at me."
"Geez, I'm sorry Gin," said Ron. He leaned over to touch her cheek. "It looks like it really hurts."
"It does," Ginny shot another glare at Harry and Draco.
"I guess it was only a matter of time before you two started fighting," mused Hermione. "You've hated each other ever since you met, and we should have known that being stuck in here together would have only lead to violence. It's just amazing that you didn't start fighting earlier."
"What provoked the fight?" asked Ron. "Just pent up hate?"
No one said a word, but both Harry's and Draco's eyes focused on Ginny, who in turn blushed even more. Hermione recognized the problem right away. "Uh, probably Ron, it was just building up all along." The last thing she needed was Ron getting upset over his sister. "We should leave you now, you need some rest."
"But I've been asleep for days!" Ron protested as Hermione stood and started to shoo the other three teens out of the room.
"No arguing," Hermione said firmly. "Now I'll check in on you from time to time, but try to relax." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before leaving.
Once she was sure that the door was closed and Ron wouldn't be able to hear them, Hermione marched right up to Draco and Harry, who were standing face to face in the middle of the library, looking like they were about to break out in another brawl any minute. "I can't believe you two. Fighting like a couple children."
"He started it," they both whined at the same time.
"Honestly...where's Ginny?" Hermione's eyes scanned the library.
"She went off in a corner somewhere," muttered Harry.
"Said something about wanting to be alone and think things over," added Draco.
"Good for her. Now I'm going to go find her, can I trust you two not to fight while I'm gone?" The boys mumbled something intelligible. "What was that?"
"Yes," they chorused.
"That's better. Now I recommend that you two stay away from each other while I'm gone, just in case. Harry, you go over in that seat by the Botts Bag. You can eat. Draco, you go way over there by that fallen bookcase. You can read. After about a half hour, switch. No complaints."
Draco scowled and Harry shook his head. "We're not five you know," he muttered.
"Well, you're acting like it, so that's how I'm going to treat you. Now get." Hermione waved her hands at them as they went to their designated places. Once she was satisfied that Harry was eating and Draco was reading, she set off to find Ginny.
Ginny pushed the books aside and sat down in a remote area of the library. The toppled bookcases made a sort of fort which was only admissible by crawling under a shelf. She was glad that she had found this cave, it allowed her to think without distraction.
But she didn't want to think about her dilemma, about the two boys who she both cared for, about the decision she'd be forced to make. Rather, she thought back to the best time of her life: last year. She had just gotten over the horror of the Tom Riddle ordeal of her first year, she was starting to actually be friends with Harry without the additional baggage of having a crush on him, and she was finally part of something (the DA) instead of just always tagging along. It had been a wonderful time, up until the drama of the summer.
"And compare that to where I am now," she thought bitterly. There she sat, hiding from everyone else in a library where they had been stuck for almost a week. She was forced to deal with her feelings for two completely different boys, and neither option seemed like it would leave her fully satisfied.
"Ginny?"
"Leave me alone."
"It's Hermione. I want to talk, but I can't see you, I can only hear your voice."
Ginny stuck her head outside the fort. "C'mon in."
Hermione frowned (she didn't like to crawl, for any reason) but followed Ginny inside the cave of bookshelves anyway. She looked around. "It's kind of nice in here. Peaceful."
Ginny scoffed. "Peaceful is just about the last word I would use to describe this past week."
"It's been an adventure, hasn't it?" Hermione grinned.
"That's not the word I'd use either," muttered Ginny as she absentmindedly flipped through a book.
"Think about it, Gin. This past week has been amazing. Sure it's been hard, but it's been sort of fun, hasn't it?" Ginny shook her head, but Hermione continued anyway. "I still remember that first night, when Draco was pursuing you and Harry and Ron were attacking me. How scared we were...and creeped out!" She reached over and put her hand on top of Ginny's. "But we bonded. We made plans. We stayed up late into the night talking and giggling. If it weren't for being stuck in here, I don't think that you and I would ever have become such close friends."
Ginny sighed, but there was a small smile playing on her lips. "I guess. Yeah, you're right, our friendship is a good thing, and it wouldn't have happened like this if we were never stuck in here. But it's the only good thing to come of this wretched experience."
"Is it?" Hermione stared off into the distance as she spoke. "Well, you made amends with Harry. That's definitely a good thing, for all of us. Ron and I finally were able to admit our feelings for one another. And we all found out that Draco Malfoy isn't such a bad guy, despite the appearance he tries to put out."
Ginny frowned once again. "Think back, way back to when we were first stuck in here. You said that the reason everyone was acting differently was because under extreme circumstances, people will act in ways that go completely against their character and personality."
"Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, I'd like to amend it. Seeing how things have progressed, I would definitely say that at first, in extreme circumstances, people do not act like themselves. But after awhile, after they go through all that pretending to be someone else, their true character comes out. We see people for what they really are, not who they pretend to be or who they want us to think they are."
"I don't buy it," said Ginny stubbornly.
"Ginny, think about Draco for a minute. Think about the times that he has talked to you and said things you never would have thought that he would say. When you looked into his eyes at those times...are you telling me that he wasn't being genuine?"
Ginny was silent, so Hermione went on. "He's a perfect example of what I'm trying to say here. On the outside he's a total git, mean to everyone, very self centered and haughty. At first when we were in here, he turned into a total Don Juan, trying to seduce you. He would have never done that on the outside, but under the extreme circumstances, he did. And then, after he had been though all that, he actually began to show who he really is. Only to you, apparently, he was actually himself, maybe for the first time in his life."
"Or he's just a really good actor," said Ginny. "I don't know, Hermione, if these things you list are actually good. Like you and Ron, that's good. But me and Harry reconciling? It may seem good, but put that against Draco showing his true self to me. Those two together are not good by any means, because it makes me more confused than I have ever been."
Ginny threw the book to the other side of the fort. "I've been through this a thousand times in my head. Harry makes the most sense. I've been in love with him for practically half my life, he's so sweet and kind, and it seems like we'd make the perfect couple."
"So you chose Harry?" asked Hermione.
"But he's so damn moody!" cried Ginny. "I never know when he's going to fly off the handle again. Yeah, I know he's been through a lot, but that's not an excuse for acting like such a prat towards me. If it weren't for us being stuck in here, I don't know if he would have ever accepted my apology, he would have probably just held a grudge for the rest of his life. What if something happens again, like what happened in Grimmauld place last summer? What if Harry flies off the handle again, and never forgives me? Where will that leave me?"
"I don't know," said Hermione softly.
"And then, as if this wasn't complicated enough, along comes Mr. Draco Malfoy himself. I have never looked at him with anything but hate. I despised him for being so mean to you and Harry and Ron, and was horrified when we were stuck in here together. And then he kept pursuing me and it was so awful! I just didn't know what to do!"
Ginny was fighting to hold back the tears, and Hermione reached into her pocket and felt her wand. Was there any way she could fix any of this with magic? Did she want to risk it.
"But then," continued Ginny, "he all of the sudden says something to me, something really deep. All of the sudden this total jerk turns into someone...someone like no one I've ever met, in a good way. Suddenly my heart is doing things I've never felt it do, like drop deep into my stomach, or beat a thousand times a second when I look at him."
"So, you pick Draco?"
"If only it were that simple. Maybe these feelings are fleeting. Maybe it's just because I'm stuck in here that I'm feeling like this. And maybe it's all an act on his part. Even if it's not an act, who's to say that he won't just go back to being the old Draco Malfoy once we finally get out of here?" Ginny abruptly tried to stand, but hit her head on a bookcase. She rubbed her head and swore as she crawled towards the exit.
Hermione followed. "Where are you going?" she asked once they were outside the cave.
"Well, I need to talk to Harry and Draco. It seems like there's nothing else to do."
"Good luck," Hermione smiled, "I'll go talk to Ron. Should I tell him about this situation? I'm afraid that he'll try to hop up and kill both Harry and Draco."
Ginny laughed. "Yeah, you probably should tell him anyway. But I know what he'll say. He's wanted me and Harry to be together for a long time. And he always has hated Draco."
"Well, I'll do my best to explain the situation to him, and I'm sure that he'll support you in whatever you decide."
"Thanks, Hermione, I don't know what I'd do without you," Ginny hugged her friend, and Hermione frowned. She decided that she would also tell Ron about the wand. He would probably want her to use it to get them all out of there, but then again, maybe that was what would be best. As Hermione held Ginny in an embrace, her frown turned to a smile. She would be sleeping in her own bed tonight.
Draco had been staring at the same page for the past twenty minutes. He wasn't reading, of course, he was doing something that he had been doing way too much this past week.
Thinking.
About the Weasley girl.
He couldn't get her off his mind. What was it? Was it just pure boredom that led him to be attracted to her? Was it scheming? Was it simply that Harry also wanted her, and he was Draco's arch rival? Or was it something more.
"I don't know what I see in that freckled faced Gryffindor," Draco muttered, throwing the book.
"What was that?" asked Harry from the table.
"I said it's time to switch," insisted Draco, "it's been a half hour. Besides, I'm starving."
"It is not time yet," said Harry with a mouthful of food, "just be patient."
For once, Draco didn't argue. He was again thinking about Ginny. He knew exactly what he saw in her. First off, she was funny. She made him smile, both with what she said and what she did. He actually had fun around her. Also, she had such a fiery little temper and doing things like kneeing him in the crotch (which was, admittedly, painful) and sending Harry to his death impressed Draco. But there was also a sense of vulnerability that hovered around her, one that she could not hide despite how much she tried. And this seemed more attractive than anything else.
Finally, there was just something about her, something he could not pin down. This quality made him say the most absurd things at the most absurd times. They made him act in ways that no Malfoy should ever act, and think in ways he never imagined himself thinking. He had no idea what it was, but it left him wanting more. It made her irresistible, freckles and all.
Harry watched Draco through suspicious eyes. He had finally managed to patch things up with Ginny only to have his nemesis burst in and try to take her. Draco was a Slytherin, the King of Slytherins, he was vicious and conniving and cruel. On top of all that, he had somehow managed to fool Ginny into thinking that she actually had feelings for him.
Draco looked up and saw Harry glaring at him. "What?" he asked in his best fake-innocent voice.
"Ginny is mine," said Harry flatly.
"Yours? I didn't know she was an object, a possession," said Draco as he got to his feet and sauntered over, commanding himself to keep his cool. "Besides, it's obvious that she likes me better."
"Obvious?" Harry scoffed, also standing, "the only thing that's obvious is that you're completely wrong for her. What are you doing, Malfoy? Playing around with her? It's not a game."
"I never said it was," growled Draco.
"Then, what, you actually think you can have a real relationship with her? A Gryffindor? A Weasley? A muggle-sympathizer? It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to point out all the problems there."
Draco frowned. Harry had a point. "Well some of us think that true feelings can conquer those things. Not that I'd expect you to know what true feelings are." He couldn't believe that he just said that, it sounded so incredibly cheesy, yet at the same time he actually believed it, in a way. Maybe that's what was so appealing about Ginny.
"Funny coming from you," Harry answered with spite. "Do you actually feel anything other than hate or greed or pride? That's what this is all about you know. Hate towards me, in that you only showed real interest in Ginny once I made up with her, so this whole thing is about getting back at me. Greed in that you want what you can't have, which is Ginny. And pride is that you can't stand the idea of any girl turning you down."
Draco spoke softly and evenly. "I have felt things around Ginny that I never knew were possible to feel. I have tried to deny it, tried to reason with myself, all in vain. There's just something about her that makes me feel not like myself, or maybe more like myself as I really am. Something that makes me see what living is really like..." he trailed off.
Harry laughed loudly, "Well, aren't you sentimental? That was the sappiest thing I've ever heard a guy say! You should go into the greeting card business!"
"Why you little..." Draco started to lunge at Harry, but Hermione screamed at them as she walked by.
"Grow up you two," she said as she walked towards the room where Ron was. "No fighting. I'll be watching." She disappeared behind the bookcase. Draco shrugged and sat down at the table, grabbing the food bag. Harry sat also, glaring at Draco.
"Now, what about you?" said Draco as he slowly munched his food.
"What about me?" echoed Harry, confused.
"Well, you come in here hating Ginny. Absolutely despising her. I've never seen such hatred, and keep in mind, I come from a family of Death Eaters. You can't stand to be around her, you're not able to say one civil word to her, you even give information about her to me-your worse enemy-so I can seduce her. Then all of the sudden everything's okay and you're in love with her again? Seems a bit suspicious to me."
"There's nothing suspicious about my feelings for Ginny!" Harry insisted. He snatched the bag away from Draco and reached into it. "But her feelings do seem a bit suspicious at times."
"Huh?" Draco's eyes darted up in surprise.
Harry's mind was working fast, overturning new thoughts that had been hidden, thoughts that now made perfect sense. "Think about it. With me, we reconciled. She apologized, she accepted my apologies, it looked like we were going to make a great couple. But then I see her practically snogging you. Did she feed you the same lines?"
Draco thought. "I guess I never thought of it like that. She does seem to be showing equal regard to both me and you, and that is a bit suspicious."
"Well then, you know what we have to do," said Harry.
Draco's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"
"Issue an ultimatum. It's either me or you, or if she can't decide, then neither of us. We can't sit around all of our lives waiting for her to make up her mind. So let's force her to do it right away."
"Yes," said Draco, "that actually sounds like a good idea, Potter. I'm in no mood to put up with her going back and forth. This is going to be settled today."
"Uh, hi guys," both boys turned to see Ginny standing at the side of the table, looking sheepish.
"Neither," insisted Ron, once again trying to get out of bed. "I don't want either of those gits messing with my sister. As far as I'm concerned, she should move to a nunnery and spend the rest of her days as far away from men as possible."
"Oh, Ron!" laughed Hermione as she pushed him back into bed. "They have good intentions."
"Not that I recall," he insisted, struggling against her. "Draco was trying to seduce her. Harry was giving him advice. Neither had real interest. It was just a game."
"Game?" Hermione grinned. "As I recall, it wasn't the only game this week. What do I recall...you and Harry chasing me around? A little bet to see who could get me to kiss them first?"
"Oh yeah," Ron lay back in bed. "I guess I won that bet, huh?"
Hermione playfully slapped him. "You're awful!" She giggled, "But in all fairness, I suppose you did win." Sitting down beside him, she ruffled his hair as she stared at the wall, deep in thought. "But poor Ginny. I would hate to have to make a decision like that."
Ron reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "And you never will have to, if I have anything to do with it."
"Well well well, look who it is," Draco sneered up at Ginny.
"Right on cue," said Harry.
"Uh, I came over her to talk..." stuttered Ginny. She didn't know what to make of the boys' behavior.
"Yes I'm sure you did," said Draco.
Harry pushed a chair out for her. "Come, sit, let's talk."
"Uh...okay..." Ginny sat down, eyeing the two warily. Now that she was here, she had no idea what to say. She had come to a decision, at least what seemed right at the time being, but she didn't know how to express it. "I..."
"You have do decide now," said Harry.
"You can't lead us on forever," said Draco.
Ginny stared at them wide-eyed. She hadn't expected to be put on the spot like this. She hopped to her feet and walked over to a wall, which she punched hard. Her hand ached, but she ignored it. "Oh like it's that simple!" she wailed. "Do you have any idea how hard this is? There's not a cut-and-dry solution! Oh, I wish this week had never happened, so I wouldn't have to go through this!"
Harry stood and walked over to her. "I'm sorry Gin, I should have been more sympathetic."
Draco followed. "Yeah, I guess this can't be really easy. You don't have to decide now if you don't want to."
"No, that's okay," Ginny waved her hands. "I've come to a decision." It was the only way, she told herself. "Guys, it's so weird to have feelings for two people at the same time, but I think I've finally worked this out. The only feasible thing I can make out of this whole thing is that I want to be with..."
Ginny never finished her sentence. A loud crash came from the wall not three feet from the teenagers, and they were flung to the floor by the impact. The air was heavy with dust that obscured the figure that stepped into the library through the hole blasted in the wall.
"Well, there you are," a voice came through the haze. "We've been looking all over for you, Harry. And the rest of you too, of course."
The voice seemed familiar to Harry, but he couldn't place it. He got to his feet and strained his eyes to see the speaker. The figure took another step forward, and the cloud of dust cleared from his face.
Harry's jaw dropped as he recognized who it was. Draco was helping Ginny to her feet, and she also recognized the figure. A smile filled her face as it dawned on her. They were finally rescued.