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Chapter Nine
Ginny regretted going to Hermione for guidance. She was her friend, but sometimes there were things you couldn't tell her. She knew her true guidance rested in Luna Lovegood, her wisest and most trustworthy friend.
Luna was seated in her usual corner desk of the old musty library, which is where she spent the majority of her Saturdays. She was writing some lyrics on a scrap piece of paper, pausing occasionally to stare at her words, slightly cocking her head. Ginny slowly walked towards her, wondering how to begin.
She sunk down uneasily in a tattered green upholstered chair. "Hello, Luna," she said quietly. Luna looked up slowly, light smile spreading across her pale lips.
"Hello, Ginny. I was just writing some lyrics down..."
"Did you write them?" Ginny questioned, reading the lyrics.
Hope dangles on a string / Like slow spinning redemption / Winding in and winding out / The shine of which has caught my eye / And roped me in / So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing
"No," said Luna, smiling sweetly. It's one of the few bands I listen to. They're called Dashboard Confessional. Not to mention the lead singer is dreamy..."
"The lyrics... they're so..."
"I love the lyrics," said Luna. She sighed dreamily, staring at her parchment. "I love how one person can read these lyrics and see one thing... and then someone completely different can read the exact same lyrics and find a completely different message."
"What do they mean to you, Luna?" Ginny cocked her head, smiling at her friend.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that right now..." Luna's voice trailed off. "The question is, what they mean to you..."
"They mean—" Ginny started, but her voice trailed off, and she reread the excerpt on Luna's parchment. "Hope dangles on a string... a string holds my hope, and it must be handled gently because it can be easily broken, but it still exists, and you have to be careful with it..."
"Go on," said Luna, thinking curiously.
"Oh, I don't know. I don't see how I can relate to these, Luna..."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Ginny." Luna smiled and collected her books. "Music helped me find who I am. It helps me explore my mind. Explore your mind Ginny. What do you find?" She quietly stood up from her chair and left the library.
"For so long, my hope was winding out, and I was being hypnotized by Harry, simply because my mind never saw anyone that it could dream about or love. It never went deeper than Draco's flesh, always seeing his stereotyped, arrogant behavior."
She flipped the parchment over, and saw a continuation of the song: I am / vindicated / I am selfish / I am wrong / I am right / I swear I'm right / I swear I knew it all along / And I am flawed / But I am cleaning up so well / I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself. And suddenly, it all made sense. She saw her old self, and how she differentiated from it. How she had become less shallow and less believing of other's opinions, and how she had begun to create her own.
Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was lying down on his canopy bed, staring upward. He had spent a lot of time in the Slytherin Dormitories that weekend, not finding the bravery to even extend to the Common Room. Crabbe had attempted to bring him some dinner last night, but he finished off three-fourths of the Pumpkin Juice and consumed over half of the chicken before he reached Draco. "Sorry mate... hiking up the Grand Staircase just gives me an appetite!" Marcus Flint invited him outside for a game of Quidditch with several other Slytherin boys, but he declined the offer. He didn't feel motivated to even leave his bed.
Sunday dragged along wearily, ending the uneventful weekend for Draco. He knew he had to attend class that morning, even if he did not want to leave his bed. He set his alarm for an hour earlier than usual, allotting himself enough time to take a long, steamy shower in the Prefect Bathroom to awaken him.
The shower was somewhat emotionally purifying for Draco, allowing him to clearly collect his thoughts, and think about a good way to talk to Ginny. He wanted to tell her how that ever since he began liking her, he had become a completely different boy. He wasn't a miniature Lucius anymore... he was his own person. Much more sensitive, compassionate, and understanding. Ginny made him more devoted to finding himself. She made him be who he wanted to be.