[A/N- Thank you to all my regular reviewers, you know who you are! I love to hear what you have to say and how you enjoy my story. This might be the last update until Thursday- I'm going to an Incubus concert and also Aerosmith so ahem I may be out of it. I've updated my profile, please stalk me and visit my Live Journal!! Enjoy!]
The answer Ginny had been searching for since the age of eleven had finally been revealed to her. All those hours she had spent silently speculating no longer mattered, because now she had heard from the man himself. It had been brief but it was for sure- Draco Malfoy was on her side.
After the event in the Owlrey, she did not see Draco right away. Sometimes when she was walking to class, she could swear that she could see someone with blonde hair out of the corner of her eye, but whenever she looked, he was gone. In the Great Hall, he always seemed consumed in some private conversation with Pansy Parkinson. It could have been easy for Ginny to feel put off, now that they had become oddly personal with one another twice and he still ignored her. Still, every time she glanced out of her greenhouse during Herbology and saw him during his Care of Magical Creatures, she couldn't help the fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach.
There had barely been a spare moment for Ginny to wonder about Malfoy any longer. To her surprise, Ron had been selected to join the Gryffindor Quiddich team. After a summers worth of flirtatious letters, Michael Corner, who had given Ginny her first kiss back in June, had asked her to go with him to Hogsmeade the first week of October. Hermione had already been telling her about some sort of meeting they were having that day, and since it was anti-Umbridge, Ginny had automatically replied positively. So, she made Michael promise to come with her to that, and then they would have the rest of the day to themselves.
The day of the Hogsmeade visit, Ginny got up early to get herself ready. Normally, her appearance didn't hold much importance, but she suddenly wanted Michael to see her looking good. Hogsmeade visits meant that they could wear whatever they wanted, but Ginny wasn't used to wearing Muggle clothes. Michael, a half-blood, would notice if she was wearing something twenty years out of style.
"Oh god," she moaned while examining the contents of her wardrobe. "This is hopeless."
A fellow Gryffindor in her year, Esmeralda, put down the copy of Witch Weekly she had been reading and walked up to Ginny. "Here, let me help," she said in a slightly pitying voice. Esmeralda went through what seemed to be every article of clothing Ginny owned before deciding on a wool black sweater, a gray skirt with stockings and black shoes with a small heel.
After dressing, Ginny and Esmeralda looked at their work in the mirror. "Perfect!" Esmeralda said. Ginny had to agree. For one of the only times in her life, she felt good about the way she looked. Not only did the outfit look great on her, but she had finally mastered a waving charm with her hair. Esmeralda had done her makeup so it looked good without being overdone.
Happily, Ginny wondered what Michael would think when he saw her. Then, all the sudden, she thought about what another guy would think.... a guy with gray eyes that she could get lost in for hours....
For the remainder of the time before she was set to meet Michael, Ginny went around trying to recruit more people to come to the meeting at the Hog's Head. But since the meeting was going to be something like the Order for kids, she was having difficulties determining who was trustworthy and who wasn't. Luckily, she found Luna, and they managed to scrape together a few Ravenclaws in their year to come.
It was almost noon, and that was the time Ginny had set with Michael. Before going, she wanted to fix her hair and makeup a little. "You go ahead, Luna, I'll meet you there," she said. The two friends turned two separate corners.
The corridor Ginny entered was empty. All of the classrooms contained there were empty and dusty, and didn't seem to have been used since before her parents had gone to school. She continued on, knowing the shortcut from Fred and George. Her steps were leaving footprints on the dust. While walking, she looked down at them, and noticed another set of footprints just as fresh as hers. Curious, she looked at them and tried to see where they led.
Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist while another hand clamped over her mouth. Terrified, Ginny struggled and tried to scream, but she was too weak for her captor and their hand concealed her shouts. The person dragged her into one of the classrooms and shut the door with a soft click.
Draco stood before her, looking stressed and worried. Ginny was relieved to see that her kidnapper was, for the second time, only him and not someone malicious. They looked at each other for a moment. Both took in deep breaths.
When Draco spoke, it was a whisper. "I need to see you soon."
"What do you mean? When?" she whispered back. Her brain was flooded with puzzled thoughts. It had been over a week since he had confessed to her, and he had ignored her up until now. What could he possibly want?
"It means that I need to see you!" A hint of annoyance tainted his whisper. "Can we meet here tonight?"
"Er, sure," Ginny replied, confused. "Draco, what's going on?"
He started slightly at the sound of his name. Then he whispered, "I don't know exactly, but something is going on. I'm meeting with my mother today. You're the only one I trust with this. Will you be here?"
Ginny's heart hammered in her chest. Feelings she didn't even know were possible began to flow through her blood. You're the only one I trust. Sure, taken into context, it meant almost nothing, but it still made Ginny feel like she was floating.
"I'm so confused, but yes, I'll definitely be here," she whispered.
A small smile appeared briefly on Draco's drawn face. It disappeared, and he continued to look at Ginny. She looked right back, unblinking. Just as they had done so long ago....
He opened his mouth and then closed it, as though he was about to say something and then thought better of it. "What?" she whispered breathlessly. He just shook his head. Ginny wished he would say anything, so she could be sure that this was real.
"I gotta go," he finally said, rushing towards the door. "Be here at midnight." Quickly, Draco left the room, once again leaving Ginny alone to figure out just what had happened between them. What exactly did he need to talk to her about, and why did he look so worried?
Leaving a considerable space of time between their departures, Ginny left the classroom eventually, now late for Michael's date. Compared to what she had just felt when she was with Draco, the mild wavy feeling Ginny got with Michael seemed trivial. Still, she went to go meet him, and made up some dumb excuse involving Peeves. After all, she had promised Hermione she would be at the meeting.
When she left the classroom at noon, Ginny thought that midnight would take forever to come. The anticipation of being alone with Draco would drive her crazy. But, with all the day's events, it came relatively quickly. She had attended the meeting at the Hog's Head, and had learned all about Dumbledore's Army, which she had become a member of. Then she had whisked Michael off to Madam Puddifoot's, having decided to show him a good time even though her heart was no longer in it. He held her hand and offered to pay for her coffee, which she had to admit, was very nice. Her mind wandered recklessly throughout their drinks.
Afterward, she had led him down the Hogsmeade path to the small bridge that led out of town. Every couple would go there to snog during their weekends. They sat close on a rock and kissed for awhile before heading back for the castle. Their kisses were no longer exciting and new for Ginny, as they had been in the spring. She had only done it so he couldn't say anything bad about her in the Quiddich locker room.
When she arrived back at the Gryffindor Tower, Hermione informed her immediately that Ron had found out about her secret romance with Michael. Deciding to let her brother cool off for awhile, Ginny had holed up in her dorm all day catching up on all the homework she had been putting off for so long.
Around 10, the other girls in her dorm went to sleep, leaving Ginny two hours to contemplate her secret meeting with Draco. They would stand close so their voices could be heard... so close that she could feel his breath on her neck...
Every time she tried to think of it, Ginny's imagination brought her to some romantic encounter with Malfoy, though in her heart she knew it was just a formal passing of information. Still, she could not stop herself from imagining what his lips would feel like...
When she arrived, he was already there, perched upon an old desk. After performing a locking charm, she sat on the one next to his.
"So?" she whispered.
Draco's face turned to hers. "So I met with my mother today." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have asked you to meet me like this, Miss Weasley. I didn't get nearly as much information out of her about the, you know. People like my father. But since I did let some... information about myself leak out to you, I felt that I should tell you everything I know." His demeanor was back to formal, no longer frantic as it had been that afternoon.
Ginny nodded, allowing him to continue.
"She told me only what she's heard. There's some elaborate plan out there, to do something with Hero Boy. Is it all right if we use code names? Anyway, it must involve the Ministry, because she has heard many of their employee's names floating around. I'm sorry I don't have more to tell you. I shouldn't have asked you to come," he said again.
"It's okay," she said gently.
"He..." Draco stammered, and then looked at Ginny meaningfully. Her heart felt like it would explode. "He's... he's worse than he was. She-my mother, she's being controlled by him. Not by an unforgivable, just physically and mentally. She says that she is barely allowed out of the manor. Most days, she just stays in her quarters all day, too afraid of him to go out."
Even in the dark, Ginny could see his cheeks going red. She could tell that he had said more than he had intended to, and was now starting to regret it. Nodding, Ginny whispered, "I understand."
Draco glanced over and they met eyes for a moment. Ginny knew that he needed to know about the new organization they were forming, now that he had been so open with her. She told him everything that had happened at the Hog's Head, and when she finished he looked at her with rapt attention.
"Wow," he began. He hesitated, and then said, "That is an amazing idea. I mean, anything you can do to try and stop them."
"Yes," Ginny replied.
Draco looked pensive for a moment. "You know, I never explained to you just why I'm on your side. It has nothing to do with your useless Gryffindor ideas- honor, bravery. It's about him. He's hurt my mother, he's hurt me, he's hurt others," he glanced at her, "and I can't let that happen. I can't let innocent victims or my mother suffer like that."
Without being able to stop herself, Ginny reached over and grabbed a hold of his hand. As if he didn't know what had occurred, he looked down at their touch. Slowly, his eyes made their way upward, over Ginny's body and her face before meeting her eyes once again. The unexplainable connection Ginny always felt between herself and Draco seemed to grow clearer with the touch of their hands. Looking at his expression, she knew that he felt it too.
"I understand," she whispered. "I understand, because I have been hurt, too. You know that. And that's why we need to be together."
Both of them leaned forward slowly, trying to bridge the small gap that existed between that. Ginny parted her lips slightly, and could see Draco doing the same. "Ginny," he whispered softly. Their lips met perfectly and the two shared a long, deep kiss. Neither one seemed to want to break their connection.
Ginny felt like she was flying, soaring above the castle, higher than any broom could ever take her. No one would ever understand who she was and what she had been through better than he could. Letting go was not a possibility for her.