Chapter 3: Bad News
The rest of the day went by smoothly, much to Ginny's relief. She was already in deep trouble with two teachers. . .and probably the headmaster as well. "And it's only my first day!" Ginny mumbled in an angry tone, "Someone up there hates me. I can feel it." By the time her last class ended and dinner came rolling around, Ginny was dead tired and just wanted to sleep. But, even that wasn't possible, because the fifth years had a huge amount of homework that very night. "Oh shit. . .and I have detention with Snape," Ginny added unhappily, "Why me??"
"Ginny!" two voices screamed from across the hall, causing the young redhead to stop abruptly. The youngest Weasley turned and saw her two friends running towards her at top speed, waving at her in the process.
"Hey guys," she yelled back, giving them a wave in return, "What's up?"
"We. . .should be. . .asking you the same. . .question," Colin replied, panting slightly from the quick run. He took a moment to breath and continued on, "We heard about what happened in your transfiguration class."
Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance at the comment. "Why am I not surprised?" she asked in a sarcastic tone, "So what did you guys hear? That Malfoy and me had another argument? That my brother started screaming at me too? Or that Malfoy and I hexed Harry?"
"Whoa. . .you hexed Harry. . .with Malfoy? On purpose??" Colin asked in awe, while Katie just stood there, too surprised to even speak.
"You guys!" Ginny shot back, pouting slightly, "Course not on purpose. You two can be such dorks sometimes!"
"Okay, okay, you got us there Ginny," Katie replied with a laugh, "But you got to admit. You and Malfoy working together. . .not something you hear everyday."
"We weren't working together!" Ginny answered back, a little louder than before, "Why would I try to hex one of my friends?"
"I don't know Ginny. . ." Colin whispered slyly, a mischievous look in his eyes, "Maybe you're starting to fancy the enemy?"
"Me fancy Draco?" Ginny asked offensively, "Fat chance that's going to happen."
"Draco?" Katie inquired, quickly joining Colin's side against Ginny, "So is it first name basis now? Wow, must be something really special."
"What?" Ginny yelled, noticing the two were nowhere in sight, "Hey come back here you two! I'm not finished with you yet!"
At dinner, Ginny spotted a worried looking Ron sitting at his usual spot at the Gryffindor table. She also noticed the other members of the famous trio weren't present. In an instant, guilt washed over Ginny, as she made her way towards her brother and took a silently seat.
"How's Harry?" Ginny asked in an audible whisper, not really wanting anyone to overhear her, "He doing alright?"
Ron turned to Ginny, a saddened look in his eyes, "Well I don't really know yet. Hermoine is at the Hospital Wing right now. I was going to go, but then Quidditch practice. . ."
"Oh. . ." Ginny simply replied, unsure of what else to say.
"Well say sorry at least. It was your fault in the first place. . ." a tiny voice inside Ginny's head stated, guilt building up even more.
"Oh Ron. . .I'm so sorry!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed, catching her brother by surprise, "I didn't know this would happen. And even though you've been acting like a complete prat the whole day. . .no offense or anything. . .but I'm really sorry that Harry got hurt this badly. . ."
"It's okay Gin," Ron interrupted, a comforting smile on his lips, "I want to apologize too. I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you today. It's just. . .I'm the older brother, you're my little sister. I can't help but feel overprotective around you. Maybe. . ."
But before he could continue, someone disrupted the conversation. "Ron!! He's going to be fine!!" yelled a voice from the Great Hall entrance, as the figure of Hermoine rushed to where they were seated. Ron looked to his younger sister, as if asking for permission. Ginny laughed mentally, while giving her brother an 'I know you want to, so go already' look. She noticed him quickly mouth the word "thanks" before heading off and meeting Hermoine.
"Well that was strange. . ." Ginny thought to herself, as she met her two friends at the far end of the house table, "I think I just had a moment with my prat of a brother."
"Well at least you didn't kill him Gin," Katie stated, once Ginny sat down and grabbed a plate full of food.
"Well it was obvious you heard Hermoine back there," Ginny replied, thinking back to a few minutes ago.
"Uh huh," Colin said, before stuffing more food in his mouth, "Well, you (munch) didn't kill (munch) him like (munch) you thought (munch) you did."
"Ew Colin! How many times have I told you?!" Katie interrupted, a look of disgust on her face, "Don't talk when you eat. It's disturbing."
"Sorry Katie," Colin apologized with a sheepish grin, "Won't happen (munch) again. . ."
But before Katie could retort, a small chocolate brown owl suddenly interrupted the three by dropping a small letter on Ginny's plate. Ginny looked up in confusion, not knowing whose owl it was or where it came from in the first place. Other students around her were looking as well; it was definitely strange to receive a letter in the middle of dinner.
"Well open it," Colin pressed slightly, extremely intrigued by the mysterious letter.
Ginny looked at him, and back at the letter in suspicion. She knew it wasn't a howler from her mom. . .because howler's came in red envelopes. . .not white. And it definitely couldn't be from a student, because the owlry (can't spell. Sorry) was usually closed at this time of day. "Well we just have to see," Ginny said to herself, as she opened the letter slowly, as a means of precaution.
"Oh just open it already!" Katie whined, not liking the slow pace Ginny was going at, "I doubt it's a bomb or anything of that sort!"
"Okay!" Ginny screamed back, before roughly tearing the envelope and reading the letter. Her doe eyes scanned the message before looking at her friends with an unreadable expression. She quickly placed the letter back into the envelope and stuffed it into her pocket for safekeeping.
"Well??" Katie and Colin asked with curiosity. . .and a little fear, "Is it bad? Did someone die? Are you grounded for life? Are you expelled from Hogwarts? What is it Ginny?"
"No. . .nothing like that. . ." Ginny replied calmly, though her expression stayed the same, "I just have to replace Harry in the Gryffindor match coming next Friday. It's some form of punishment for what happened today. Doesn't do me any good though. . .I still have to serve the two weeks worth of detentions."
"Ginny? Do you know what this means??" Colin yelled, slightly shocked by the news, "Do you even know whose playing against Gryffindor in the first match?"
"No? Is it important?" Ginny questioned, unsure of where Colin was getting at.
"Slytherin Ginny! Slytherin!" Katie answered for her friend, hoping Ginny got the picture at last.
It took a moment for Ginny to figure it all out. . .and when she did. . .it hit her hard. "Oh God."
Meanwhile at the Slytherin table, Malfoy was extremely bored as he watched Crabbe and Goyle stuff food in their mouths like stupid idiotic pigs. "Yeah. . .that is definitely what they are. . ." Draco thought, slightly regretting his choice to sit by them, "Why me?"
"Hey," a familiar voice said, distracting Draco from his thoughts. Draco turned his head to the side and saw his best friend, Blaise, sitting beside him.
"What's up?" Draco asked with a genuine smile, happy to finally talk to a sane person.
"Nothing really. Finally got away from that stupid Pansy though," Blaise answsered with a sigh of relief. He, unfortunately, was Pansy's new target of the month and now she wouldn't stop pestering him.
"I feel for you really," Draco whispered, a look of concern on his face. He truly did feel sorry for Blaise and his predicament. Just last month he suffered the same ordeal and definitely didn't enjoy it.
"Heard Ginny got a mysterious letter just a few minutes ago," Blaise stated, not wanting to stick with the subject of Pansy any longer.
"Uh huh," Draco replied, pretending to sound uninterested. "What the hell is Blaise getting at?" he thought suspiciously.
"She's going to replace Potter at the match coming up," Blaise continued on, knowing this would definitely catch Draco's attention.
And he was right, because at those words, Draco looked up in complete surprise, before turning stern once again. "Why are they letting the little weaselette play again?" Draco asked coldly, glancing at the redhead sitting at the Gryffindor table, "She could get hurt again."
"What did you just say?" Blaise asked, a smirk playing on his lips, "Did you just show some concern for the little Weasley?"
"What. . .of course not you dimwit!" Draco retorted back, quickly hiding his embarrassment, "Why would I care for her?"
"I don't know Draco," Blaise responded knowingly, as he stood up from the seat, "You did seem to care those many months ago." He then walked away, leaving behind a very confused Draco.
"What did he mean by that?" Draco questioned, until realization suddenly hit.
-Flashback-
It was the sixth annual Quidditch game at Hogwarts. . .a day full of fear, anticipation, worry and rain. This time it was Slytherin and Gryffindor for the second time in the row, and everyone was excited to see the outcome. Unfortunately, Harry and the twins were out of the match courtesy of Ms. Umbridge, so a few students were to fill in the positions. . .one of them being the youngest Weasley. The match was definitely pulling towards the Slytherin's favor, especially since Malfoy discovered a new, and very cruel way, to taunt the Gryffindor's keeper, who just happened to be Ginny's brother, Ron.
As the match gradually progressed, Ginny was having extreme difficulty keeping her broom under control, especially when the rain turned to hail. She tried to keep her eyes open and search for the snitch, but the more hail fell, the more she would lose sight of it. Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, noticed this as well, but remained quiet. He was going to use this to his advantage. Suddenly, two bludgers came flying towards the oblivious Ginny and smacked her of her broom. Ginny screamed, feeling herself fall towards the hard ground, until someone flew past and caught her. Everyone looked up in shock and found a relieved Malfoy holding a fainted Ginny in his embrace. He slowly flew his broom down and gently placed the young Weasley in Madam Hooch's arms, before flying of again in search of the snitch.
-End Flashback-
Draco shuddered at the thought. "What possessed me to do that?" Draco asked himself, probably for the hundredth time in a row, "If I play against her again. . ." His silver eyes caught sight of the redhead once again. "How the hell am I supposed to get out of this one??" he cried out in slight frustration. Unbeknownst to him, Ginny was thinking along the same lines.
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blah. . .blah. . .blah. . .wow I actually moved on with my plot. . .well sortof. k read and review.
The rest of the day went by smoothly, much to Ginny's relief. She was already in deep trouble with two teachers. . .and probably the headmaster as well. "And it's only my first day!" Ginny mumbled in an angry tone, "Someone up there hates me. I can feel it." By the time her last class ended and dinner came rolling around, Ginny was dead tired and just wanted to sleep. But, even that wasn't possible, because the fifth years had a huge amount of homework that very night. "Oh shit. . .and I have detention with Snape," Ginny added unhappily, "Why me??"
"Ginny!" two voices screamed from across the hall, causing the young redhead to stop abruptly. The youngest Weasley turned and saw her two friends running towards her at top speed, waving at her in the process.
"Hey guys," she yelled back, giving them a wave in return, "What's up?"
"We. . .should be. . .asking you the same. . .question," Colin replied, panting slightly from the quick run. He took a moment to breath and continued on, "We heard about what happened in your transfiguration class."
Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance at the comment. "Why am I not surprised?" she asked in a sarcastic tone, "So what did you guys hear? That Malfoy and me had another argument? That my brother started screaming at me too? Or that Malfoy and I hexed Harry?"
"Whoa. . .you hexed Harry. . .with Malfoy? On purpose??" Colin asked in awe, while Katie just stood there, too surprised to even speak.
"You guys!" Ginny shot back, pouting slightly, "Course not on purpose. You two can be such dorks sometimes!"
"Okay, okay, you got us there Ginny," Katie replied with a laugh, "But you got to admit. You and Malfoy working together. . .not something you hear everyday."
"We weren't working together!" Ginny answered back, a little louder than before, "Why would I try to hex one of my friends?"
"I don't know Ginny. . ." Colin whispered slyly, a mischievous look in his eyes, "Maybe you're starting to fancy the enemy?"
"Me fancy Draco?" Ginny asked offensively, "Fat chance that's going to happen."
"Draco?" Katie inquired, quickly joining Colin's side against Ginny, "So is it first name basis now? Wow, must be something really special."
"What?" Ginny yelled, noticing the two were nowhere in sight, "Hey come back here you two! I'm not finished with you yet!"
At dinner, Ginny spotted a worried looking Ron sitting at his usual spot at the Gryffindor table. She also noticed the other members of the famous trio weren't present. In an instant, guilt washed over Ginny, as she made her way towards her brother and took a silently seat.
"How's Harry?" Ginny asked in an audible whisper, not really wanting anyone to overhear her, "He doing alright?"
Ron turned to Ginny, a saddened look in his eyes, "Well I don't really know yet. Hermoine is at the Hospital Wing right now. I was going to go, but then Quidditch practice. . ."
"Oh. . ." Ginny simply replied, unsure of what else to say.
"Well say sorry at least. It was your fault in the first place. . ." a tiny voice inside Ginny's head stated, guilt building up even more.
"Oh Ron. . .I'm so sorry!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed, catching her brother by surprise, "I didn't know this would happen. And even though you've been acting like a complete prat the whole day. . .no offense or anything. . .but I'm really sorry that Harry got hurt this badly. . ."
"It's okay Gin," Ron interrupted, a comforting smile on his lips, "I want to apologize too. I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you today. It's just. . .I'm the older brother, you're my little sister. I can't help but feel overprotective around you. Maybe. . ."
But before he could continue, someone disrupted the conversation. "Ron!! He's going to be fine!!" yelled a voice from the Great Hall entrance, as the figure of Hermoine rushed to where they were seated. Ron looked to his younger sister, as if asking for permission. Ginny laughed mentally, while giving her brother an 'I know you want to, so go already' look. She noticed him quickly mouth the word "thanks" before heading off and meeting Hermoine.
"Well that was strange. . ." Ginny thought to herself, as she met her two friends at the far end of the house table, "I think I just had a moment with my prat of a brother."
"Well at least you didn't kill him Gin," Katie stated, once Ginny sat down and grabbed a plate full of food.
"Well it was obvious you heard Hermoine back there," Ginny replied, thinking back to a few minutes ago.
"Uh huh," Colin said, before stuffing more food in his mouth, "Well, you (munch) didn't kill (munch) him like (munch) you thought (munch) you did."
"Ew Colin! How many times have I told you?!" Katie interrupted, a look of disgust on her face, "Don't talk when you eat. It's disturbing."
"Sorry Katie," Colin apologized with a sheepish grin, "Won't happen (munch) again. . ."
But before Katie could retort, a small chocolate brown owl suddenly interrupted the three by dropping a small letter on Ginny's plate. Ginny looked up in confusion, not knowing whose owl it was or where it came from in the first place. Other students around her were looking as well; it was definitely strange to receive a letter in the middle of dinner.
"Well open it," Colin pressed slightly, extremely intrigued by the mysterious letter.
Ginny looked at him, and back at the letter in suspicion. She knew it wasn't a howler from her mom. . .because howler's came in red envelopes. . .not white. And it definitely couldn't be from a student, because the owlry (can't spell. Sorry) was usually closed at this time of day. "Well we just have to see," Ginny said to herself, as she opened the letter slowly, as a means of precaution.
"Oh just open it already!" Katie whined, not liking the slow pace Ginny was going at, "I doubt it's a bomb or anything of that sort!"
"Okay!" Ginny screamed back, before roughly tearing the envelope and reading the letter. Her doe eyes scanned the message before looking at her friends with an unreadable expression. She quickly placed the letter back into the envelope and stuffed it into her pocket for safekeeping.
"Well??" Katie and Colin asked with curiosity. . .and a little fear, "Is it bad? Did someone die? Are you grounded for life? Are you expelled from Hogwarts? What is it Ginny?"
"No. . .nothing like that. . ." Ginny replied calmly, though her expression stayed the same, "I just have to replace Harry in the Gryffindor match coming next Friday. It's some form of punishment for what happened today. Doesn't do me any good though. . .I still have to serve the two weeks worth of detentions."
"Ginny? Do you know what this means??" Colin yelled, slightly shocked by the news, "Do you even know whose playing against Gryffindor in the first match?"
"No? Is it important?" Ginny questioned, unsure of where Colin was getting at.
"Slytherin Ginny! Slytherin!" Katie answered for her friend, hoping Ginny got the picture at last.
It took a moment for Ginny to figure it all out. . .and when she did. . .it hit her hard. "Oh God."
Meanwhile at the Slytherin table, Malfoy was extremely bored as he watched Crabbe and Goyle stuff food in their mouths like stupid idiotic pigs. "Yeah. . .that is definitely what they are. . ." Draco thought, slightly regretting his choice to sit by them, "Why me?"
"Hey," a familiar voice said, distracting Draco from his thoughts. Draco turned his head to the side and saw his best friend, Blaise, sitting beside him.
"What's up?" Draco asked with a genuine smile, happy to finally talk to a sane person.
"Nothing really. Finally got away from that stupid Pansy though," Blaise answsered with a sigh of relief. He, unfortunately, was Pansy's new target of the month and now she wouldn't stop pestering him.
"I feel for you really," Draco whispered, a look of concern on his face. He truly did feel sorry for Blaise and his predicament. Just last month he suffered the same ordeal and definitely didn't enjoy it.
"Heard Ginny got a mysterious letter just a few minutes ago," Blaise stated, not wanting to stick with the subject of Pansy any longer.
"Uh huh," Draco replied, pretending to sound uninterested. "What the hell is Blaise getting at?" he thought suspiciously.
"She's going to replace Potter at the match coming up," Blaise continued on, knowing this would definitely catch Draco's attention.
And he was right, because at those words, Draco looked up in complete surprise, before turning stern once again. "Why are they letting the little weaselette play again?" Draco asked coldly, glancing at the redhead sitting at the Gryffindor table, "She could get hurt again."
"What did you just say?" Blaise asked, a smirk playing on his lips, "Did you just show some concern for the little Weasley?"
"What. . .of course not you dimwit!" Draco retorted back, quickly hiding his embarrassment, "Why would I care for her?"
"I don't know Draco," Blaise responded knowingly, as he stood up from the seat, "You did seem to care those many months ago." He then walked away, leaving behind a very confused Draco.
"What did he mean by that?" Draco questioned, until realization suddenly hit.
-Flashback-
It was the sixth annual Quidditch game at Hogwarts. . .a day full of fear, anticipation, worry and rain. This time it was Slytherin and Gryffindor for the second time in the row, and everyone was excited to see the outcome. Unfortunately, Harry and the twins were out of the match courtesy of Ms. Umbridge, so a few students were to fill in the positions. . .one of them being the youngest Weasley. The match was definitely pulling towards the Slytherin's favor, especially since Malfoy discovered a new, and very cruel way, to taunt the Gryffindor's keeper, who just happened to be Ginny's brother, Ron.
As the match gradually progressed, Ginny was having extreme difficulty keeping her broom under control, especially when the rain turned to hail. She tried to keep her eyes open and search for the snitch, but the more hail fell, the more she would lose sight of it. Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, noticed this as well, but remained quiet. He was going to use this to his advantage. Suddenly, two bludgers came flying towards the oblivious Ginny and smacked her of her broom. Ginny screamed, feeling herself fall towards the hard ground, until someone flew past and caught her. Everyone looked up in shock and found a relieved Malfoy holding a fainted Ginny in his embrace. He slowly flew his broom down and gently placed the young Weasley in Madam Hooch's arms, before flying of again in search of the snitch.
-End Flashback-
Draco shuddered at the thought. "What possessed me to do that?" Draco asked himself, probably for the hundredth time in a row, "If I play against her again. . ." His silver eyes caught sight of the redhead once again. "How the hell am I supposed to get out of this one??" he cried out in slight frustration. Unbeknownst to him, Ginny was thinking along the same lines.
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blah. . .blah. . .blah. . .wow I actually moved on with my plot. . .well sortof. k read and review.