"I'm telling you, I haven't seen her for a week!" Tracy cried, looking at Ginny's empty bed beside hers, stacked up with all her assignments from the past few days. The bed doesn't seem to be slept in, as the sheets were stretched tautly over the mattress. It was like she had disappeared into thin air.
Hermione stood with her hands on her hips, her weight on her right leg. Looking at Tracy suspiciously, she asked again, "You sure she hasn't sneaked off to somewhere?" she looked at Tracy, who was Ginny's rather good friend intently, searching for any hint that she may be lying.
Tracy remained impassive, her face clear of any expression whatsoever. She enunciated each word clearly. "I did not see Ginny the last week. I have no idea where she went, or who she's with. Or even if she's still alive." Upon saying the last statement, her voice cracked a little, and lines of worry could be seen etched across her youthful face. "What happened to her?" she whispered, and clutched at the bedpost of her own bed tightly.
"I don't know either," Hermione sighed, looking at Ginny's untouched bed and accessories on her bedside table. Her glance skimmed across the room of the sixth years', and back onto Tracy's face. "It's time to report that she's missing to Dumbledore." She decided, her features set. "Take care of yourself, alright? We'll find her somehow," Hermione promised, and exited the room.
Walking past the courtyard of the school compound which was dotted with hornbeam trees and students who were milling about in between classes, she stalked towards the Quidditch field which was just behind the school building; hoping to find Ron and Harry practicing there. She found the both of them by the stadium, sitting on the benches having a water break. Breaking into a slightly faster pace, she jogged towards them, and told them about her decision to tell Dumbledore.
Harry's mouth was set in a grim line, and he nodded gravely. "I guess that's the best thing we could do," he said, a little discouraged that there was nothing that he could do about it. He had always been the one to save the day, and now, the feeling of helplessness was overcoming him, and he slumped his shoulders, defeated. Was he going to be of less importance now? He didn't want to be. He was the Boy Who Lived.
Ron clapped his back with a resounding thump. "C'mon Harry. She's gonna be alright. Hell, I'm her brother and I should be the one moping about, not you." He stood up and placed the plastic bottle he was holding onto the wooden bench. Grabbing his broom, he walked back to the lockers, ready to change back into his schooling robes and follow Hermione up to the Headmaster's office.
"Wait up!" they heard Harry call after them and walked together back to the changing rooms.
***
7 long days has passed since Ginny had been a 'pet' for Draco. Well, it wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be; he was a rather merciful owner and not to mention a caring one as well. She was well taken care of, which to Ginny was not an easy task, as she knew herself to be a picky eater, and someone who took cleanliness very seriously. She grooms herself, yes, but Draco had to get rid of her hairballs that she threw up pretty frequently, and she was really very grateful for him putting up with all her weird habits. It doesn't hurt either when Draco puts her on his bed at night, sometimes telling her his family stories and the relationships which he had with different people.
Draco Malfoy, from an outsider's point of view, would be the pretentious bastard, someone who sneers and looks down on people who are not as well off as himself. He can't help it, Ginny reasoned for him, He's so used to being the spoilt and the pampered one, so he can't understand why other people could live a life that is of a lower standard. That was true, he was given all the material things he needed all his life, but no one has ever given a shit about his mental well-being. He had told her hurriedly that he wasn't psycho, nor unstable. Draco said that he was used to being cast aside by his parents, who were too busy serving the Dark Lord.
Ginny remembered the starlit night when Draco had the first heart to heart talk with his pet; not like he wanted to, but he had been a little drunk from the dinner with Pansy two nights ago at Hogsmeade, the date that he had promised to take her out on. Pansy was the one who had dragged his ass back to Hogwarts, bitching all the way about how ungentlemanly Draco had been, only caring about his own problems and ignoring her the whole time. It definitely wasn't true, Draco had been the perfect gentleman, escorting her everywhere, opening and closing doors for her, putting her first instead of himself, but he got carried away during dinner and gotten himself a little tipsy that's all… Ginny wanted to shout at Pansy, she was there, had been there the whole time, watching-no, hearing the couple from Draco's coat pocket. Ginny was impressed by his behaviour that night; she knew how much he detested her. However, he put had put on a poker face and acted like all's right with the world.
Anyway, after Pansy had deposited Draco into Crabbe's arms, Crabbe brought him to his bed and laid him rather gently down on his back, much to Ginny's relief. She didn't wish to be squashed flat by Draco. Draco, the boy who had never shown his vulnerable side other than when he's asleep, was dead helpless now; lying on the bed with his limbs sprawled across the soft bed sheets.
Flashback
It was four hours later when Draco woke up in a cold sweat, his eyes open wide, pupils dilated and staring at the ceiling but not seeing anything. Ginny woke up, standing on all fours in a wary position. Her kitty instincts had hit her with the feeling that something was wrong. She crept towards Draco, to see him looking blankly at the ceiling. Craning her neck to see what's up there, she was only met with the huge chandelier hanging from the dorms, plus some cobwebs in the corner of the ceiling, but that was all.
Looking back at him, she licked the side of his face, but he did not respond. Pushing his cheek with her paw now, he turned to glare at her abruptly with his icy grey eyes, causing Ginny to jump back involuntarily. Cocking her head, she looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to say something. Instead, Draco sat up, rubbing his face roughly, and went to the window and sat by the ledge, gazing out into the lake near the Forbidden forest. She followed him at sat opposite him by his feet, looking out of the window as well. It was a pretty night, and the trees were gently swaying to the night breeze. Ginny wished that he would open the window just a little bit.
As if sensing her thoughts, Draco pushed the window out a little, and a gust of wind blew at the both of them, blowing Draco's un-gelled hair into his face. He looked like a boy of no more then 12 then. Draco drew his knees up to his chest, and rested his chin on them, all the while keeping his eyes on the forest.
Ginny purred, and neared Draco, a motion to let Draco know that she wanted to be picked up. Draco didn't even look at her; he was too busy in his own world. Just as Ginny thought that she was being ignored, he told her, "I want to be alone right now. Sorry Little Red," he whispered, clutching his knees tighter to his chest.
Although Ginny didn't understand his way of dealing with pain or scary nightmares, she obeyed his wishes, and stood by his side, watching, waiting.
They sat there like that for what must have been an hour, because Ginny had fallen asleep, snuggled against Draco's side and was awaken again by his chuckling and the feeling of being lifted up into the air. She yawned, opening her kitty jaws wide and showing her fangs. "You are not like a cat at all, Little Red," Draco said, stroking her fur, "Cats are independent, they would leave you alone if you told them to. You, on the other hand," he shook his head, grinning, "stick by me all the time," his voice dropped. "Thanks. For being there," his voice was barely audible, Ginny thought she was hallucinating. It'll be better if you could talk it out, she told him telepathically, as if that would work. "What am I saying? You're just a cat… not like you could actually understand every single thing I say," he chuckled a little bitterly.
Ginny growled low in her throat at his statement. Draco turned to look at her with a snort, brushing his blond bangs away from his face with his fingers. "Yeah, whatever. O great kitty, Your wish is my command." He bowed his head dramatically, and upon recovery, said, "If you really want to know what I was dreaming about, well, it's no biggy actually, just about my father and Lord Voldemort." He let out a bitter chuckle, and shook his head. Not sure on how to act at this sudden confession, Ginny nodded, prompting him to go on.
To her surprise, Draco burst out laughing hysterically, his head thrown back, laughter bubbling out in a waterfall of dark humour. Ginny looked on taken slightly aback and her tail shot up in alarm, balancing precariously on Draco's knee but failing as she slid down his silk pyjamas onto the window sill with a plop. Springing lightly back onto her nimble feet, she stared at Draco strangely, and looked around to see the other sixth year Slytherins still sleeping soundly. Pigs, the lot of them. She thought bitterly and turned back to Draco. Each man for himself, I guess… she felt sad for Draco, as he continued laughing haplessly.
Draco finally regained his composure, and straightened himself, wiping tears from his eyes. "Oh my gawd. I've never laughed so much before in my life," he said out aloud, shaking his head in disbelief. His expression turned sombre again, as his thoughts drifted to his nightmare. "My dream is about to come true," he whispered, mostly to himself. Ginny strained her ears as hard as she could to hear him speak. "And there's nothing I could do about it," he clenched his jaw for a second, and got up from his sitting position. Ginny watched him don his cloak and grab his broom, heading towards the window. He turned back to look at his kitten, and pointed at her, "You. Stay here." With that said, he jumped on his broom and sped off into the orangy-red glow of the rising sun.
Sighing in defeat, Ginny hopped onto Draco's now empty bed and snuggled under the covers that were strewn untidily across the bed. That's the best I can get I suppose, she mused. At least it was better than nothing. Almighty Draco has fears too. She yawned, and nestled deeper into the covers, falling asleep.
End FlashbackSo there Ginny stood now, on the dining table of the Great Hall, being ogled at by the girls in Slytherin, as they made odd cooing noises at her, occasionally reaching out to stroke her copper furs. Ginny tried to remain calm although she felt her fuse slowly burning out. Pansy had found out about Draco's secret pet, and demanded that she saw it. Not wanting to create a scene, Draco obliged, albeit reluctantly as he handed the kitten over to the obnoxious girl, warning her not to harm Little Red in any way.
"Can I hold her?" Millicent asked, her pudgy hands stretching out in eager anticipation to carry the kitten. Draco gave her a drop-dead glare, and she shrank into her seat, stuffing turkey into her mouth sulkily.
Not being able to take anymore of the torture, Ginny wailed, and jumped out of the circle of hands surrounding her. She ran towards Draco, who raised his eyebrows in amusement as she approached him. Stop looking at me like that, you idiot. She was irritated, finding the attention of the girls a little to saturating.
Draco looked at Crabbe, who nodded slightly and clapped his hands, dispersing all the girls who were crowded around where Ginny was back to their seats. Other Hogwarts students cast a few curious stares towards them, but they dismissed eventually thinking that the Slytherins were just trying another way of getting attention.
Pansy stayed behind after everyone left, with a hesitant look on her face. Ginny watched her warily, and wondered idly what she had up her sleeves this time. Draco was still seated regally on his seat, cutting his steak into bite-sized pieces before spearing them with his fork and eating them in practiced grace.
"Yes?" Draco asked, putting down his utensils to look up at her plainly.
"If you are free tonight, I would like to meet you up at the Astronomy Tower," she started, her voice surprisingly meek. "I… I've got something that I'd like to tell you," she finished, her hands playing with the front of her robes nervously.
Ginny couldn't tell whether Pansy was faking it or not. Isn't my problem anyway, she told herself and stretched lazily across the table, picking at the fish on her dish with her sharp claws.
"Alright. I'll be there," he told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief, smiling daintily as she walked off jauntily. He sighed and shook his head, when his owl flew to him, depositing a letter on his palm. "What's this?" he muttered to himself, tearing it open without further thought. His eyes scanned through the letter and his breath quickened as his temper rose, crushing the piece of parchment in his hands after his eyes fell on the last word of the letter. Pushing his chair aside, he grabbed Little Red and stuffed her into his pocket before storming off towards the Slytherin common room.
END CHAP 4.
Ok… this is kinda short and I know I took damn long to post this up but I can't help it… been going through weird phases lately. I think I'm undergoing puberty all over again… all these mood swings. Can't keep the hell up with them!! UGH. Anyway, exams are starting this Monday and I'm a goner. Byebye university. Oh whatever. I'll cya when I cya. Till then, review please!! :P