Chapter 12
"Every time I talk to you Ginny, you surprise me." Hermione said.
"I know. I even surprise myself sometimes." The blonde replied. She had been sitting on her bed while Harry was watching television in her living room. She got up and wandered over to the door and peeked out to see Harry engrossed in the sports channel. She smiled and then returned to her spot on her bed.
"That's odd that Harry would break up with you. It seemed like you two were a happy couple. Did he say why?"
Ginny hadn't even thought of that. Now that it was brought to her attention it seemed like a good question to ask. "No. I guess I was too busy thinking about other things to think to ask. It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean I was planning to break up with him."
"I suppose. So, Malfoy is not a Deatheater. That is a big shock." It was. Most likely about anyone who knew him back in Hogwarts would have guessed that he would have followed in his father's footsteps to becoming an evil Deatheater. He had already seemed to have the evil part down pat. Well, not quite, but you get the point.
"I know. Maybe he's not so evil after all." she replied. After spending some time with him she had come to the conclusion that yes, he was most of the things that she knew him as, but evil?
"You are falling for him, aren't you?" Hermione asked.
Well, the honest answer is she was. When they kissed all she had wanted to do was melt into it and completely loose herself. How had this happened? The only answer she could come up with was that he grew on you. "Unfortunately. You don't hate me for it, do you?"
"I can't believe you would ask such a thing! I'll be your friend no matter who it is that you are with."
That was a better response than she anticipated. She knew that Ron wouldn't take that well to the news. He was a protect brother enough as it is, but wanting to be with his old enemy from only a couple years ago? He would go nuts. Even Harry would probably be able to handle the information better then her brother.
"We aren't together. It would never work. Think about it, a Malfoy and a Weasley. What do you think the kids would look like?"
"Like a little Ron with blonde hair," Hermione responded. "or Malfoy with red hair and the girls would look just like you."
"You have put way too much thought into this rhetorical question. There will be no kids." Ginny said, trying to picture Draco with red hair. 'No, he is perfect the way he is; red hair would ruin him. Did I just think that?'
"Ginny? Are you listening?"
"Uh, what did you say?" she asked, trying to shake the thoughts of Draco with red hair out of her head, which was a lot harder to do than it sounds.
"I said what are you going to do about your article? Isn't it due soon?"
"Yes. I don't know. I still have to go through the papers I took from Draco's apartment." She had given up on calling him Malfoy, seeing as her subconscious would only let her think of him as Draco from now on.
"Do you think that he could have planted them there? It does seem a bit odd that the briefcase opened for you on your first try. As much as I dislike the guy, he seems smarter then that."
Hermione was right. Ginny had thought the same thing earlier. She would have to find out. Maybe he did, but for what reasons? Would she ever find out the truth behind his actions? More importantly, would she ever see him again?
"Yeah I did, but there is no way for me to be sure. I don't think I'll be able to write about him anymore though. He is not a Deatheater, which was a major part of the article, and now with everything going on it just doesn't seem right."
"Why Ginny, I think you have finally grown a conscious."
"Shut up Hermione," she replied.
"I was kidding. Anyway, I'll let you go. Let me know how it turns out."
'It' could have been many things. It could have been about the article, her and Draco, or things along those lines. That was why she needed clarification. "How what turns out?"
"The article." She was right the first time.
"I told you I don't think I'm going to write one." Even if she did write one, what would it be on? She already covered how there was nothing left to write about. No one wanted to read about how Draco Malfoy wasn't a Deatheater. Well, maybe someone would, but not enough people for the newspaper to print the article on the first page.
"We'll see. Bye."
Ginny said good-bye, heard a click, and then hung up the phone. She sauntered out into her living room and then plopped onto the couch next to Harry. She broke his attention from the television and he turned to look at her.
"Who was it?" he asked as he adjusted the black glasses he had worn for as long as she had known him. His black hair was messy, falling over his forehead and covering his scar.
"Hermione." she answered, moving her eyes from Harry over to the television. There was a re-run on that was giving the play by play analysis of the game that Ginny had gone to with Draco on their first date. If you could consider that a date even thought she went for a different reason than most people had to go on dates.
"How is she?" he asked with actual concern. At one point in Ginny's life she had been jealous at Hermione's closeness with Harry, now it didn't bother her because she was older and they were both two of her best friends.
"Good. Her and Ron are engaged." She wasn't sure if he knew about that or not, but it was the biggest thing that happened to Hermione lately. It was kind of strange that Ron would only talk to his sister about proposing and not Harry, but even if Ron had consulted him about the matter there was no way of knowing if Harry knew when it actually occurred.
"I knew that would happen sooner or later." he responded, looking back to the screen.
"Yeah, me too."
The two of them watched television for a while until Harry said he had to leave and Ginny saw him out. When he was gone she turned off the television and went over to her purse, pulling out the miscellaneous files, papers, and pictures she stole from Draco.
She spread them out over her kitchen table, and began to look at each page one by one. The first several were nothing important. The only productive thing she accomplished in the following hour was put the picture of her and Harry in a picture frame. She decided that she would keep it seeing as it was a cute picture of them.
The other pictures she set aside in a pile. Next to it sat the pile of papers she skimmed through that held worthless information. What was she going to do with this useless junk? She wasn't having any luck so far, that was apparent.
She was going to give up the whole thing all together, but then she decided to look through a couple more pages before she stopped. That was when she came across something interesting, something helpful, something newsworthy...
Ginny found that she was holding in her hands evidence of a very different sort that she was originally looking for, but these would do just fine. In fact, these were even better then what she wanted to find. These were going to get her a story.
For Ginny was holding in her hands crucial information. She read over each page excitedly, and if there was any way to describe how she felt then the best way would be to compare her to a child opening presents on Christmas morning. The joy and the excitement of it all. The reason that she was so excited and full of writing ideas was that these papers she had proved that the man the Ministry put all the conspiracy blame on was innocent.
She had been correct when she though he was innocent. She had seen it in his eyes. You could tell a lot about a person through their eyes, through the way that they saw the world. Most people's emotions shown through their eyes to be easily read if you just paid attention.
This article along with the evidence she obtained would be enough to gain her promotion, to disprove all those other articles, and to free an innocent man. Ginny would have the story of a lifetime. It would be her first front-page article. Other newspapers may even offer her jobs. Plus she would have the satisfaction of finally beating Cho. This was exactly the kind of thing Ginny needed.
Everything other thought that had been clouding her mind was cleared away. She forgot about Draco, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her conflicting emotions. She only had one goal to focus on at the current time and it was as if she was the only person in the world.
She sat down with a scroll and a quill and began writing as fast as her hand allowed her to. The words seemed to just flow and everything was fitting together like a puzzle that she had solved for the first time.
In less than three hours she was finished her story and even was able to proofread it. She could not wait to go to the office the next day to show this to Mr. Hillman. Even he would have to agree that she deserved the promotion. Yes, she would be handing it in early, but at this point she was so excited that she couldn't wait. Besides, because of last time she handed in an article it was already out in other newspapers. She would not let that happen to her again.
When she was completely finished with it she safely tucked the article into her purse. She would turn it in first thing the following morning.
12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12
A/N: I was so happy to see all of the lovely reviews! Thank you all! I don't have enough time to reply to all of them, but I will answer some questions.
PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you!
fanfare- They were in a wizarding community. And yes I do have something with her being chased by chainsaws, lol. Harry was in the living room and she was in her bedroom.
Anonymous- It was blonde hair so she wouldn't be easily recognizable.
Everyone else- Sorry I couldn't reply to you all, but thank you so much! I'm glad you like the story. :-)
"Every time I talk to you Ginny, you surprise me." Hermione said.
"I know. I even surprise myself sometimes." The blonde replied. She had been sitting on her bed while Harry was watching television in her living room. She got up and wandered over to the door and peeked out to see Harry engrossed in the sports channel. She smiled and then returned to her spot on her bed.
"That's odd that Harry would break up with you. It seemed like you two were a happy couple. Did he say why?"
Ginny hadn't even thought of that. Now that it was brought to her attention it seemed like a good question to ask. "No. I guess I was too busy thinking about other things to think to ask. It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean I was planning to break up with him."
"I suppose. So, Malfoy is not a Deatheater. That is a big shock." It was. Most likely about anyone who knew him back in Hogwarts would have guessed that he would have followed in his father's footsteps to becoming an evil Deatheater. He had already seemed to have the evil part down pat. Well, not quite, but you get the point.
"I know. Maybe he's not so evil after all." she replied. After spending some time with him she had come to the conclusion that yes, he was most of the things that she knew him as, but evil?
"You are falling for him, aren't you?" Hermione asked.
Well, the honest answer is she was. When they kissed all she had wanted to do was melt into it and completely loose herself. How had this happened? The only answer she could come up with was that he grew on you. "Unfortunately. You don't hate me for it, do you?"
"I can't believe you would ask such a thing! I'll be your friend no matter who it is that you are with."
That was a better response than she anticipated. She knew that Ron wouldn't take that well to the news. He was a protect brother enough as it is, but wanting to be with his old enemy from only a couple years ago? He would go nuts. Even Harry would probably be able to handle the information better then her brother.
"We aren't together. It would never work. Think about it, a Malfoy and a Weasley. What do you think the kids would look like?"
"Like a little Ron with blonde hair," Hermione responded. "or Malfoy with red hair and the girls would look just like you."
"You have put way too much thought into this rhetorical question. There will be no kids." Ginny said, trying to picture Draco with red hair. 'No, he is perfect the way he is; red hair would ruin him. Did I just think that?'
"Ginny? Are you listening?"
"Uh, what did you say?" she asked, trying to shake the thoughts of Draco with red hair out of her head, which was a lot harder to do than it sounds.
"I said what are you going to do about your article? Isn't it due soon?"
"Yes. I don't know. I still have to go through the papers I took from Draco's apartment." She had given up on calling him Malfoy, seeing as her subconscious would only let her think of him as Draco from now on.
"Do you think that he could have planted them there? It does seem a bit odd that the briefcase opened for you on your first try. As much as I dislike the guy, he seems smarter then that."
Hermione was right. Ginny had thought the same thing earlier. She would have to find out. Maybe he did, but for what reasons? Would she ever find out the truth behind his actions? More importantly, would she ever see him again?
"Yeah I did, but there is no way for me to be sure. I don't think I'll be able to write about him anymore though. He is not a Deatheater, which was a major part of the article, and now with everything going on it just doesn't seem right."
"Why Ginny, I think you have finally grown a conscious."
"Shut up Hermione," she replied.
"I was kidding. Anyway, I'll let you go. Let me know how it turns out."
'It' could have been many things. It could have been about the article, her and Draco, or things along those lines. That was why she needed clarification. "How what turns out?"
"The article." She was right the first time.
"I told you I don't think I'm going to write one." Even if she did write one, what would it be on? She already covered how there was nothing left to write about. No one wanted to read about how Draco Malfoy wasn't a Deatheater. Well, maybe someone would, but not enough people for the newspaper to print the article on the first page.
"We'll see. Bye."
Ginny said good-bye, heard a click, and then hung up the phone. She sauntered out into her living room and then plopped onto the couch next to Harry. She broke his attention from the television and he turned to look at her.
"Who was it?" he asked as he adjusted the black glasses he had worn for as long as she had known him. His black hair was messy, falling over his forehead and covering his scar.
"Hermione." she answered, moving her eyes from Harry over to the television. There was a re-run on that was giving the play by play analysis of the game that Ginny had gone to with Draco on their first date. If you could consider that a date even thought she went for a different reason than most people had to go on dates.
"How is she?" he asked with actual concern. At one point in Ginny's life she had been jealous at Hermione's closeness with Harry, now it didn't bother her because she was older and they were both two of her best friends.
"Good. Her and Ron are engaged." She wasn't sure if he knew about that or not, but it was the biggest thing that happened to Hermione lately. It was kind of strange that Ron would only talk to his sister about proposing and not Harry, but even if Ron had consulted him about the matter there was no way of knowing if Harry knew when it actually occurred.
"I knew that would happen sooner or later." he responded, looking back to the screen.
"Yeah, me too."
The two of them watched television for a while until Harry said he had to leave and Ginny saw him out. When he was gone she turned off the television and went over to her purse, pulling out the miscellaneous files, papers, and pictures she stole from Draco.
She spread them out over her kitchen table, and began to look at each page one by one. The first several were nothing important. The only productive thing she accomplished in the following hour was put the picture of her and Harry in a picture frame. She decided that she would keep it seeing as it was a cute picture of them.
The other pictures she set aside in a pile. Next to it sat the pile of papers she skimmed through that held worthless information. What was she going to do with this useless junk? She wasn't having any luck so far, that was apparent.
She was going to give up the whole thing all together, but then she decided to look through a couple more pages before she stopped. That was when she came across something interesting, something helpful, something newsworthy...
Ginny found that she was holding in her hands evidence of a very different sort that she was originally looking for, but these would do just fine. In fact, these were even better then what she wanted to find. These were going to get her a story.
For Ginny was holding in her hands crucial information. She read over each page excitedly, and if there was any way to describe how she felt then the best way would be to compare her to a child opening presents on Christmas morning. The joy and the excitement of it all. The reason that she was so excited and full of writing ideas was that these papers she had proved that the man the Ministry put all the conspiracy blame on was innocent.
She had been correct when she though he was innocent. She had seen it in his eyes. You could tell a lot about a person through their eyes, through the way that they saw the world. Most people's emotions shown through their eyes to be easily read if you just paid attention.
This article along with the evidence she obtained would be enough to gain her promotion, to disprove all those other articles, and to free an innocent man. Ginny would have the story of a lifetime. It would be her first front-page article. Other newspapers may even offer her jobs. Plus she would have the satisfaction of finally beating Cho. This was exactly the kind of thing Ginny needed.
Everything other thought that had been clouding her mind was cleared away. She forgot about Draco, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her conflicting emotions. She only had one goal to focus on at the current time and it was as if she was the only person in the world.
She sat down with a scroll and a quill and began writing as fast as her hand allowed her to. The words seemed to just flow and everything was fitting together like a puzzle that she had solved for the first time.
In less than three hours she was finished her story and even was able to proofread it. She could not wait to go to the office the next day to show this to Mr. Hillman. Even he would have to agree that she deserved the promotion. Yes, she would be handing it in early, but at this point she was so excited that she couldn't wait. Besides, because of last time she handed in an article it was already out in other newspapers. She would not let that happen to her again.
When she was completely finished with it she safely tucked the article into her purse. She would turn it in first thing the following morning.
12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12!12
A/N: I was so happy to see all of the lovely reviews! Thank you all! I don't have enough time to reply to all of them, but I will answer some questions.
PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you!
fanfare- They were in a wizarding community. And yes I do have something with her being chased by chainsaws, lol. Harry was in the living room and she was in her bedroom.
Anonymous- It was blonde hair so she wouldn't be easily recognizable.
Everyone else- Sorry I couldn't reply to you all, but thank you so much! I'm glad you like the story. :-)