Chapter 13- Harry the Triumphant

I'm completely swamped with school work, exams are on their way and what with one thing and another this chapter is another little short one but it is up amazingly fast. I'm so sorry how about you put this one and last one together to form one satisfactory size chapter? Oh and I cringe to think what kind of reviews I'm going to get, he he he!

Disclaimer: You know this already…how many different ways can I say it? Not mine, don't sue me!

Sun streamed in clear and bright the next morning. Ginny stirred as some of it hit her across the face then smiled as the previous nights activities came back to her. She reached out to feel Draco beside her. There was nothing but air where he should have been. She opened her eyes and looked around but didn't see him anywhere, she had an overwhelming sense of confusion but then she realised it must have been a little after seven. 'Such a frickin' cliché.' She thought with a sigh, 'The girl always wakes up alone the next morning!' Smiling at the image of herself as a world weary and experienced woman she got up and dressed quickly then virtually pranced down the stairs towards the great hall to get some breakfast. She took her seat at the Ravenclaw table and nodded to the few other people dotted around. As it was early on a Sunday morning the place was pretty much deserted but looking over at the Gryffindor table she saw that, surprisingly, Harry was one of the few who was up. Grabbing a piece of toast she sauntered over to talk to him.

"Hi." She said cheerfully settling herself down on a bench beside him.

"Ginny!" he exclaimed happily, "And without Malfoy, it's so good to see you like this."

Ginny experienced a momentary flash of anger but it fizzled away as quickly as it had come and she simply shrugged, expecting her friends to accept Draco as she had come to was not something she could bank on. Anyway she was in such a good mood that she didn't want to ruin it.

"How are you?" she asked, "Did Hagrid manage to fix you up alright?"

Harry groaned and rubbed his shoulder as if the very memory was physically painful.

"I should never have been so stubborn about going to Madam Pomfrey." He said with a rueful smile, "It hurt like nothing else." Catching sight of Ginny's stricken face he added, "But only for a moment and then I was right as rain."

"Yeah right." Ginny said unbelievingly but she appreciated his effort to reassure her anyway.

"So where is the cause of all my anger and resentment this morning?" Harry asked with an effort at being non-committal although Ginny knew he wanted to know how much time he had before they were interrupted.

Ginny shrugged, "Not sure." She said airily as if it didn't matter to her where he was although in actual fact she was a little bit antsy at the fact he had disappeared from their bed without so much as a by-your-leave.

"How refreshing!" Harry said eagerly then, noting her somewhat sour expression, he hastily changed the subject.

They talked for a while about things she had missed in Gryffindor and he made her laugh with his little anecdotes. It was good to talk to him properly again, she realised, without any of the angst she had experienced when she had a crush on him.

It took her a moment for the implications of that thought to sink in. When she'd had a crush on him? That sounded past tense which meant… she looked closely at Harry as he talked to her and she felt nothing but friendship albeit a very strong friendship but it was purely platonic. The other little flutterings were gone, completely vanished.

"Gin, still with me?"

She blinked in surprise and grinned at him.

"Sorry." She apologised, "I was a million miles away."

"I hope I wasn't boring you." He laughed and she shook her head.

"No that wasn't what I meant." She said quickly.

"Good, because I always thought that we got along really well." Harry said sincerely reaching out and taking her hand.

Ginny blushed and nodded unable to think of anything to say. The blush wasn't from the excitement of the touch as it would have been three weeks ago but more the embarrassment one feels when someone who has a crush on you gets too close. 'Ha, so that's what it feels like!' she thought to herself in amusement. That must have been what Harry had felt for all those years. The next minute her head shot up and her eyes widened as the tugging at her wrist started.

Harry saw her expression and looked quickly down at her wrist which was lifting without any effort on her part.

"Is the half hour up?" he asked as Ginny stood up.

"Yep." She grinned, "Well it's been good to talk to you, Harry. I'll see you around."

"Wait a minute." He also stood and clutched tightly at her hand. "Ginny I have to say something but I can't say it with Malfoy lurking in the background."

A sense of dread bubbled up in Ginny's stomach and she shook her head fiercely.

"Harry…" she began warningly, fully intending to stop him before he ruined everything but he ploughed on.

"No Gin, please let me speak…"

She was being pulled away from him but he held tight and moved with her. "I really, really like you. I know I haven't always appreciated you and I'm sorry for that."

"There's no need to apologise, really." She said looking around the hall for any sign of Draco.

"But there is, Ginny please look at me."

She reluctantly turned her head and he smiled sheepishly at her. "I tried to stop my feelings, I really did. Ron told me to protect you and I didn't think I could as long as I was with you but being away from you over these past few weeks I've realised the only way I can keep you from harm is if I stay with you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Ginny nodded, she knew but it was too late, much too late.

"Harry." She said desperately, "Stop! Whatever you're going to say just don't."

"No I have to do it this time." He said confidently, Ginny shook her head harder.

"No, honestly you don't. People are lying when they say bottling up your feelings isn't good for you. It is, I can attest to that"

"Ginny what's going on?" Harry was having to hold her back with all his might now because Ginny was aiding the pulling sensation by struggling slightly against him.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked bewildered.

"I'm so sorry Harry but I can't, we can't…" Ginny didn't know what she was saying and trailed off, continuing to search the great hall desperately for any sign of Draco.

"But we can! Go out with me, Ginny!"

Ginny spun around to face him again but the fatal words were spoken before she had a chance to stop them. The insistent pulling at her wrist stopped immediately and her right arm fell back to her side. An overwhelming sense of emptiness sank into the pit of her stomach and tears welled up within her eyes as the implications of Harry's words set in.

"Oh Harry!" she choked out.

He mistakenly took her tears as happiness and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I know I've taken years to say it. You've waited so patiently Ginny and I've been such a prat but I'm over that now and I promise I'll always be at your side. Whatever happens it'll be you and me and I….."

Ginny ceased listening to his romantic monologue and instead scanned the room over his shoulder for Draco. She saw him, as she knew she would, she had felt him enter the room, had felt his eyes on her. He was standing motionless in the door way of the great hall staring unflinchingly at her in Harry's arms. She shook her head, willing him to understand that it wasn't what he thought it was, and her tears spilled over and slid down her cheeks.

"No." she whispered, desperately trying to get him to understand, "No!"

But already his face was hardening and she saw the traces of emotion she had learnt to read so well slip away until he was as cold and unreadable as stone. Silently mouthing his name she reached for him but his eyes narrowed in hatred. Hatred at her. She hadn't seen that in his gaze for a long time and it hurt more now than it ever had before. Everything seemed to stop as they gazed at each other and Harry continued to babble away in the background. The other students in the Great Hall watched tensely, aware that something major was going on but unable to pinpoint exactly what it was.

"Don't." she sobbed, "Malfoy, don't."

Harry immediately stopped talking and released her, looking at her quizzically then following her gaze to see Draco staring back at her. Instantly another level of tension was added to the atmosphere already thick with it and both squared their shoulders slightly as if preparing for another fight.

"Don't what Virginia?" Draco asked in an attempt at his usual sneering voice, in actual fact it come out croaky and thick with defeat.

"Don't hate me, don't go, don't…just don't." she said quietly reaching out to him but he took a couple of hesitant steps backwards, away from her.

"You have no right to ask anything of me." He growled, his gaze then focussed on Harry. "Well I guess she's all yours. You're welcome to her I've had my fun."

Harry leapt forward but Ginny flung herself between the two boys.

"No more, the whole stupid thing is over. No more." She shouted through her tears. Harry held out his arms and with one last defiant look at Draco she stepped into them and allowed Harry to cradle her against his chest.

"I think you'd better go." Harry ordered Draco.

The Slytherin smirked although it lacked it's usual malice. "Oh don't worry, now that I have the option I'll be staying as far away from the silly little girl as possible." He went as if to leave but then thought of something and turned his head back.

"Oh and Harry? When you have a couple of hours to spare get your girlfriend to tell you why we became attached in the first place. It is somewhat of an amusing story."

Ginny pressed herself harder against Harry in the hopes of drowning out Malfoy's spiteful words. It didn't work, they rang loudly in her ears fixing themselves firmly into her memory.

She felt rather than heard Draco leave the room and the next moment Harry cupped her tear-stained face and looked down at her kindly.

"It's alright Ginny. It's all over." He said soothingly.

"Yes," she said dully, "it's all over."

sobs It's so sad! Blimey how dramatic was this one? Hardly any humour at all, oh well! Thank you very much to:

KawaiiRyu: Ah good, I thought you'd enjoy it. Um they don't have to stay together…in fact in this chapter it's shown they don't! Thank you very much for your review.

NiteStar: Welcome to Angstville population Draco and Ginny! Sorry but fun times are not ahead! Come on you have to admit a hot and bothered Draco is very sweet. Thank you for your review.

FNP: A little bit of a thumping heart going on over there? Ah fabulous snogging has gone away for a while now! Thank you for mentioning my chapter titles. I started off doing it and now it's just become habit. I actually prefer it when I can just freestyle but now it's tradition! So anyway the point is thank you for appreciating them :) oh and the review as a whole.

Writerofthefuture: Somebody turn the fan on, we're fogging up! Didn't have to wait long this time, ha! Thanks always for your reviews.

Francis Flute: I know it wasn't exactly R but I was just covering my behind! See one person didn't like the 'smut' so I guess it just depends on different people. At least you still thought it was awesome and you like my Draco, thank you!

Ash Night: Oh sweetie! That sounds so awful, poor you. Can't anyone help you out? I sometimes get a creepy feeling but never so much that I have a panic attack. I'm seriously freaked out for you! There must be some specialist somewhere who can help you out. Anyway my best wishes are with you and I hope you find a way to stop them soon. Right…….don't say I'm good at writing mushy scenes because it is simply not true!!! I hope you return to the library to spread joy around soon and that you enjoyed your clothes shopping :) Thanks.

Dracoluver2009: Were you surprised I was right? I am writing the story after all, lol! Although let's face it sometimes the characters just run off on their own and they are determined not to stick to the very vague plan I have in my head! Um yeah some hurting is going to go on, sorry. Thank you for your review.

KuTiExAzNxAnGeL: Sorry what was that? ducks as KuTiExAzNxAnGeL throws a book at her head oh right please update soon, love it? Okay got it now! Well as requested….

Iced Faerie: And I want to thank you for reading it! I did leave you hanging but not for long, here is another one for you. Thank you for being so appreciative about my story.

Bigreader: 9.9!!!!!! Bloody cheek! Just kidding :) Caps lock and a 9.9, cool! Thank you for reviewing so enthusiastically.

Elvencherry07: Lucius? Where did that come from? I'm not going to bring big daddy into the mix. I have done so the last two stories and this time I just wanted to keep it insulated at Hogwarts with only a few characters involved. I'm not going to bring Lucius in at this late stage. No we're stuck with the fluffy all the way! Thank you for your concerned review!
LovingFanFics: I hoped so! Don't guess my plot lines it makes me feel redundant, lol! Ah no waiting impatiently this time, I was ever so speedy! Anyway hope you liked it, I certainly liked your review as always.

Icy Lullaby: Yeah up until basically the last line the music in the background was bouncy, bouncy happy and then someone turned on the horror soundtrack and it all went wrong! Don't break down, I need you to review more, lol! Thank you as always.

Dracomio: Amazing? Puh, whatever! Let's rock together, okay?!

Ayumi-dono: choking on confetti enough, enough! Ah who am I kidding? More, more! Well now you can know what happens next, hope you liked it. Thank you.

RomanceFaerie16: Quick, quick, must get reader back onto the full of her chair! What do you mean not very fluffy? That was fluff overload in my books, lol. Ah by let her go I mean…let her go! Thank you for reviewing.

Sil3ntdeath: Oh wow!!! I'm so happy that you think I inspired you, that's fantastic. Yay we need more Draco/Ginny fics out there. Let me know when it's up :) Thank you for reviewing, you made me all happy.

Bambooanime: your review made me laugh so hard, I wasn't expecting it. I was sitting in an Info Sys tutorial and people looked at me strangely. I couldn't really explain what was funny either so I just played the whole superior card, "I know something you don't know!" Sorry to disappoint but I'm bad enough when it comes to kissing 'going all the way' would just be too hard to write! Thank you for reviewing so …enthusiastically disappointed?

Padfootedmoony: forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest, I think Draco said that earlier on at some point. Yes they are cute but what's a romance without some angst? I hope it doesn't annoy you too much, thanks for reviewing.

o0OMariaO0o: I'm glad you still love my story! You weren't being a butt, that's just your opinion. I agree that when I'm reading a story and I think they've done a nice long update and it turns out half of it is just thank yous I get annoyed but I like thanking my reviewers! I will keep my writing up, if only just for you! Thanks for reviewing.

Slytherin Queen: I liked your review, it made me laugh. Like "yes, yes Jess well done stop congratulating yourself and get on with it!" not too long a wait oh Slytherin Queen! Thank you for reviewing and saying you love my story.

Kjata: You made me giggle with the "virgins until they're 35 thing!' Well I guess it all depends on people's sensibilities, I just wanted to warn people in case they'd get offended. Draco? Stupid? Ah yeah! Yeah rock on the inevitable, we all know that everyone loves a predictable plot line, hopefully though I'm going to manage to slip a few surprises in. Oh your comment is not corny at all. I wrote it on a piece of paper and stuck it above my computer along with all my other random bits of info, pics and postcards. So thank you for your fantastic review.

...... : I'm sorry if ch12 offended or annoyed you in anyway, I did warn people at the beginning. I have to agree that there is nothing wrong with a romance story that sticks with just kissing. I made sure my characters didn't do anything all that awful. I read a fic not that long ago where some serious making out happened and I really wanted to see if I could write like that. Nothing really happened plot wise in that chapter so disregard it if you like. Thank you for saying you like the rest of it though and I'm glad you voiced your opinion and it's an utterly valid one. No more, I promise :)

Starrynight12312: Even before I read your review I liked you because you had 123 in your name but now I've read your review I like you even more! Seriously I got all choked up at how sweet you were :) You registered so you could tell me how much you liked the story?! How awesome are you? VERY! You said I'm writing one of the best D/G stories and that would be enough to reserve a spot in my heart for you but you went on and said I was talented and my characters were good and that you're addicted. Now you have yourself a frickin' penthouse apartment complete with Jacuzzi and wide-screen TV in my heart! Thank you so much for being so unbelievably sweet!

Thank you all and good night :)

Jess/star123