A/N: Okay, I know that this is blatant advertising but… I've started an awards site for Harry Potter fic at: (www) . Go and have a look around, and feel free to become a judge or nominate a fic.
Disclaimer: If after all these years you still believe that you, insignificant being of the planet [insert planet of origin here], own Harry Potter, you are sadly deluded. The chapter title is a line from a song by the Lost Prophets called 'Last Train Home'.
The Final Time
Chapter Fourteen
- There's still tomorrow, forget the sorrow
Ginny gulped. There, standing fit and healthy right in front of her was Draco Malfoy, the very person she'd been thinking about for the last few hours. Oh, no. This was bad, very bad.
"Hello, Ginny," he practically purred, a blonde eyebrow quirking.
"Hello," Ginny whispered back, and promptly turned on her heel and ran back the way she came.
"Ginny!" She heard Draco call from behind her, but she didn't stop. She didn't think she would be able to stand the embarrassment of trying to talk to her crush- who, no doubt, didn't reciprocate her feelings. She turned the corner of the corridor and dashed behind a statue. A few seconds later she saw Draco rush past, still calling her name. She closed her eyes, praying he didn't see her, and soon the sounds of his footsteps had disappeared into the distance. Ginny stepped out from the statue and gave a relieved sigh. He was gone.
Ginny walked the rest of the way to Gryffindor ready to run and with her eyes peeled for any sign of a blonde-haired Slytherin.
That night Ginny dreamed.
"Th'art a braggart! Why I stooped to marry thee…" Wilfred's voice faltered, but his anger didn't seem to abate.
"I am sorry, m'lord," Virginia whispered, her eyes locked steadfastly on the floor.
"Oh, I'm sure thou art," Wilfred said with a roll of his eyes. "Thou art an ungrateful wretch. I have given to thee things beyond thy wildest imaginings, but still thou refuse to deny thine family. They are nought but scum, vile parasites whose aim is for wealth only."
"They aren't!" Virginia spoke up suddenly, her eyes flashing with anger. It seemed to Ginny as if she'd thrown off her meek image, had become a lion in seconds.
"Pardon?" Wilfred looked taken aback for a moment but had recovered quickly, his pale skin beginning to flush an ugly red with anger. "What didst thou say?"
Virginia had appeared to realise her mistake. "N-nothing," she faltered, but it was too late. Wilfred's face was creased in anger at the fact she'd dared to oppose him, and he stepped forward. Ginny gave a squeak as she saw Wilfred lift his arm back and deliver a slap across Virginia's face that made her fall back to the floor. "Mudblood," he said with a sneer, before turning and walking away as if nothing had happened.
The first thought Ginny had when she woke up that morning was that her face hurt. Then fragments of her dream came back to her and she gave a groan. She turned to look at the clock by her bedside and gave another groan. She'd slept in.
She got up out of bed and looked around for her shower things. Spotting them by the door, she walked over and picked them up before shrugging on a dressing gown and slippers. Even though she didn't sleep there anymore, Professor McGonagall still made her use the Gryffindor bathroom, which Ginny thought was a bit unfair. True, it was probably the closet bathroom to her room anyway, but that didn't mean she wanted to use it.
Scowling, Ginny slouched out of her room and walked the fifty paces to the bathroom. As she got nearer to the door she recognised some very familiar voices. Oh goodie, Ginny thought sarcastically. Her favourite people.
She whispered the password to the portrait guarding the door ("Chocolate Wafer,") and stepped inside.
Her ex-dorm mates were converged around the mirror, applying their makeup. Sabine noticed her first.
"Mon dieu!" She shrieked, and pointed at Ginny.
Vera and Liz both turned to look at her, and their mouths dropped.
"What?" Ginny asked, bewildered.
"What happened to your face?" Liz asked softly, eyes wide.
"M-my face?" Ginny rushed to the mirror. Did she have a zit? Had her skin gone green?
She was a bit relieved when she looked in the mirror to find that she only had a huge, hand-shaped bruise across her cheek. She had been imagining something far worse.
"How did you get it?" Liz asked curiously.
Ginny stiffened. What could she say? She couldn't exactly tell them someone four hundred years ago had hit her ancestor and the bruise had ended up on her. "I…I fell off the bed and landed on the floor last night," Ginny lied, hoping they'd believe her.
"I zink you are lying," Sabine said promptly, and Ginny gave her a barely concealed look of hatred. If Ginny was lying, then what was that Death Eater disguised as a student doing? "Eet looks like a 'andprint to me."
"Same here," Liz said, and the other girls looked at her suspiciously.
"Well, it isn't," Ginny said, peeved, and grabbed her shower things. Why couldn't they mind their own business?
"Whatever you say," Liz gave a shrug, and turned back to the mirror.
Ginny didn't even deign the others a look as she stormed into the nearest shower and closed the door. Why did they have to be so nosy? she thought angrily as she turned the taps of the shower on. She stepped under the hot torrent of water and adjusted the taps slightly so the water was cooler. They never took any notice of her, so why did they have to start now? The water was calming, and Ginny closed her eyes for a moment, letting the water run over her bruise and down the rest of her body. In any other situation, she supposed she would be glad that they were finally starting to notice her, but not now. Last year, she would have done anything for them to talk to her- now, she wished they'd shut up and let her be.
Reluctantly Ginny opened her eyes and took out her shampoo from the rack. As she began to wash her hair, she thought over all that had happened in the last week and came to a decision. She had to talk to Draco, she decided. She'd ignore her crush and instead get on with finding a cure for the curse. In the back of her mind she knew that time was running out; Wilfred was getting more and more violent, and it was only a matter of time before he decided to kill Virginia.
Time. It all came back to time, Ginny thought sadly. She didn't have enough; Virginia had all eternity.
As she walked down the corridor Ginny noticed that the Dream team must have waited for her, as they were still standing by the portrait of the Fat Lady. Last year she would have been overjoyed but this year she was slightly annoyed. Hermione noticed her first, and stood up to say good morning. "Hi Gin…" Hermione's voice faded away as she caught sight of Ginny's face. Harry and Ron both turned at Hermione's voice, and their eyes widened at the bruise.
"Hi guys," Ginny said, hoping they wouldn't ask. She walked past them, but stopped when she realised that they weren't following her. She turned back. "What?"
"Who did that to you, Ginny?" Ron asked, strangely calm. It was the calm before the storm, Ginny realised later.
"Forget it, Ron," Ginny replied, knowing that Ron wouldn't believe the 'falling off the bed' excuse. She exchanged a look with Hermione, willing the older girl to understand. Hermione obviously caught the clue, because she turned to face Ron and Harry. "Let's just leave it alone," she advised, "I'm sure the answer's more innocent than you think."
Ron didn't seem to have listened. "I'll kill him," he said in a monotone, his eyes locked on the bruise.
"Huh?" Harry was as clueless as usual.
Ginny, however, was quicker. "Ron, it's not what you think-"
"It's bloody well exactly what I think!" Ron pushed past her and began going down the corridor.
"Ron-"
But it was too late. Ron had already slipped through her arms and was running down the hallway.
"Ron!" Ginny yelled, following him. She knew she had next to no chance of catching up to Ron, what with his head start and the length of his legs. Nevertheless, Ginny raced behind him, mentally hoping that she'd catch up before he reached the Great Hall and decked Malfoy. Ginny had no doubt that that was who Ron had thought had hit her. Close, but no cigar, Ginny thought, remembering a muggle expression she'd heard someone say in the Ottery St Catchpole library.
Ginny had a stitch by the time the doors of the Great Hall loomed up ahead. "Ron!" she shouted one last time, hoping to stop him, but it didn't work. Ginny rushed into the Great Hall just in time to see Ron stalk up to Draco Malfoy.
Ginny didn't know what Draco said to him, but she had a feeling it wasn't complimentary. Ron went as red as his hair before recovering and punching Draco in the nose.
Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek as she watched Draco put a hand up to his nose, blood rapidly spilling down on to his jumper.
"You stupid mudblood!" She screeched, throwing herself at Ron.
The entire school had stopped to watch, and even the teachers appeared to be struck dumb at the scene, so close to a Muggle soapie, that was being played out.
Ron couldn't bring himself to hit a girl, even a Slytherin one, and so Pansy rapidly managed to get him on the floor. She was about to kick him in the ribcage, but Blaise Zabini grabbed hold of her and was pulling her back.
It would have been hilarious, Ginny thought, if she weren't so attached to both Draco and Ron. As it was, it was almost painful to watch, and Ginny wished she'd had the sense of mind to place a concealing charm over the bruise.
Professor Snape was the first teacher to regain his senses, and he hurried down to the Slytherin table. "What is the meaning of this?" He roared, black robes flowing behind him.
"Indeed, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall added as she hurried down after him.
"He attacked me!" Draco accused, his voice sounding slightly nasal.
"You hit my sister!" Ron answered back, struggling up from the floor and pointing at Draco.
Draco looked taken aback. "I would never hit your sister, Weasley," he snarled, accepting a handkerchief from Professor Snape.
"Evidence doesn't lie," Ron said darkly.
Draco looked blank.
Ginny decided to step in. "You didn't let me explain, Ron," she told him irately.
Both Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall turned at the sound of her voice. They made the now familiar sound of shock at the sight of her face, but Ginny dismissed them. "Draco Malfoy didn't touch me, Ron," she told him. "And even if he did, do you really think that I couldn't handle myself?"
Ron's gaze dropped to the ground and he didn't answer.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on a member of my house, Weasley," Professor Snape said at last. "Draco, come with me to the hospital wing."
"And fifty points from Slytherin for retaliating, Miss Parkinson," Professor McGonagall said just as quickly, not to be outdone. "And go with Professor Snape to the hospital wing please, Miss Weasley."
Ginny knew better than to argue, and so she followed behind Professor Snape, taking care not to look at Draco.
As they left she heard the students begin to talk again, probably about what they'd just seen. Ginny knew she was beginning to blush, but she couldn't help it. She hated when people talked about her.
Professor Snape must have known a short cut to the hospital wing, because they were there in next to no time. Professor Snape said nothing as he handed them over to Madam Pomfrey, but gave Draco a nod as he left.
"In here again," Madam Pomfrey said with a frown as she examined Draco's nose. "You're a magnet for trouble."
Draco rolled his eyes and shrugged out of her grip.
"I'll be back with a potion for you and a salve for Miss Weasley," she told him after a few more seconds inspection, and then bustled her way around the beds, presumably to go to the supply cupboard.
"I would never hit you, you know," Draco said at last, looking at Ginny out of the corner of his eye. "Not now, anyway."
Ginny didn't say anything. Being with Draco Malfoy, alone, at the place of her embarrassment was possibly the worst thing that could have happened today.
"Are you angry at me?"
The question was so surprising it made Ginny look up at Draco. "What?"
"I said, are you angry with me?"
"No." Ginny told him, looking away as soon as she'd met his eyes.
"Then why are you avoiding me?"
Draco looked more confused than angry, Ginny thought, chancing another look at him. "I'm not avoiding you," she told him softly, refusing to elaborate.
"Are you embarrassed about kissing me?" Draco asked, a thoughtful look on his face. "Because you shouldn't be. I'm not."
"Well, I'm not you, am I?" Ginny replied, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.
"Did the curse give you the bruise?" Draco asked, changing the subject.
Ginny nodded, and hesitated a bit before saying, "I'm sorry my brother hit you. He didn't give me any time to explain."
Draco shrugged. "It's okay."
There was another long silence as they waited for Madam Pomfrey to come back.
"Let's just forget all about what happened, yeah?" Draco asked, turning slightly so he could look right at her.
Ginny nodded, relieved. "That would be nice."
"It was only a kiss, anyway," Draco said offhandedly, and Ginny suddenly felt as if someone had doused her with cold water.
Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: skygazing maybe Dumbledore will come around; purple aurora lights; fcuking cathy; dragon dreamer; DnG4eVeR I get embarrassed just thinking about it! lilblondeiy214 thankyou! Iced Faerie; Summerkins; darkdoll912; flava0ftheweek a good idea…Cithara don't worry, she will:) KawaiiRyu; Estella Luna it was long, but it made for interesting reading, and gave me a few ideas…Angelbear; carebear11488; HappiGoLucki616; Arafel2 Ginny might still tell Hermione about the dreams, but she's smart enough to figure it out by herself; drew.