The Colors of a Girl
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related to it belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Five – Dark Red
The week passed in a blur of owls, homework, classes and friends. Ginny had made up with Harry, Hermione and her brother and they all were now on talking terms. Ginny was eager for the Quidditch season to start, seeing as she would be on the team this year; and spent many conversations talking about this years Gryffindor team with Harry and Ron. Before she even knew it, it was Friday evening and she was just on her out of the common room. She was tired from classes and eager to spend some time with David, no matter that Draco was going to be there.
"Ginny!" She heard a deep voice call from behind her as she reached the portrait hole. She turned to see Hermione behind her.
"What?" She asked quickly, trying to sound impatient.
"The guys are playing Quidditch and I'm going to go watch them, do you want to come?"
Ginny furrowed her brow and sighed inwardly. "I would love to Hermione, but I have to go finish a project with somebody." She lied sweetly, frowning as Hermione cocked her eyebrow.
"Okay…" Hermione replied hesitantly. "See you around."
Ginny turned quickly and walked away from Hermione before she could say anything. Hermione really was beginning to bug her, now that she thought about it.
Upon arriving at the door of David's room, she hesitated before knocking twice on the wooden door. She could hear some deep voices coming from inside and knew Draco was already there. The door creaked open slowly.
"Hey Gin." David whispered, opening the door so she could squeeze by him. He shut the door quietly behind them as Ginny walked a few steps, admiring his room for the year. The carpet was a deep grey, the walls a dark green, matching all the furniture in the room. She turned her focus to Draco, who was sitting in a large armchair, close by a long couch. She caught his eye and Ginny scowled as he glared at her. She sat herself at one end of the couch, crossing her legs up onto the cushiony seat.
"Now that we're all here," David began, laughing as he said this, "Let the fun begin!" He walked over to his bed and reached underneath, pulling out a shiny silver bag. He reached into this as he was walking back towards Ginny and Draco and pulled out a bottle.
"Nice." Draco drawled, nodding his head and leaning back. David looked over towards Ginny.
"You drink?" He asked. Ginny hesitated before answering. The truth was, she had never drunk before in her life, not even that night at the party. But as she felt both Draco and David's eyes on her, she felt very compelled to lie and suddenly found herself nodding.
David passed out the bottles before shoving the bag underneath the couch and sitting down on the opposite end from Ginny.
"So…" David mumbled, breaking the silent air between the three. Draco showed response by sighing as if this was the most boring thing in the world and tossed his bottle to the ground, where it rolled in a slow semi-circle. Ginny's eye was caught by the brown bottle, now swinging across the carpet, rolling slowly, its cap missing, a few drops of dark liquid dripping from the open end. She felt so out of place right now, pulled between opening up freely, and actually talking normally, or staying quiet, as to keep from embarrassing herself in front of Draco. But when did that matter? She though suddenly. She didn't care about Draco; god. She shook her head unconsciously, as if confirming the fact.
"Wait, I know," Draco said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out yet another unmarked, unlabelled bag. This one smaller and clear; filled with brown powder. Another bag filled with something, Ginny thought herself amusedly. "Nutmeg," Draco stated simply.
"What?" David asked, confused, "What the hell are we going to do with a spice?"
"Ah, never underestimate the powers of a cooking spice." Draco said so seriously that Ginny laughed quietly.
"Right…" David muttered under his breath.
"No, listen," Began Draco again, "Me and some buddies experimented with some stuff over the summer, and one of them just found out that you can actually get high, from nutmeg." He shook the bag a bit to emphasize the idea.
David looked at his warily, "Have you tried it?"
"Well, no, but that's why I brought it here now, to try." Draco said. Ginny looked back and forth between the two of them as they spoke, "All you have to do is eat it." Draco finished.
"Ew," Ginny said quickly, "What does it taste like?" Draco shrugged and passed her the bag. She opened it up and took a small sniff of the spice. She shrugged, also, and licked her finger, sticking it in the nutmeg. She touched her tongue to her finger and scrunched up her face as a bitter taste hit her taste buds. Draco and David laughed and she through the bag at David.
"Well, here goes." David said, scooping out some of the spice with his hand and dumping it in his mouth. He looked for a second like he was going to spit it out until he grabbed Ginny's bottle and washed down the substance. He made a weird face as he swallowed the last of it.
"Ew is right." He laughed grimly, throwing the bag back to Ginny. She too, shoved some in her mouth before downing a whole bottle. She stuck her tongue out, and spat on the carpet, laughing as David shot piercing looks at her. Draco last, did the same as the other two, and now done, they all sat back and waited. Ginny sat cross-legged on the couch, tapping her nails against the cushion of the couch arm.
"Uh, nothing's happening." David said blandly.
"Oh well," Draco muttered; looking at the bag with a few remaining piles of left, "I didn't know if it would work anyways." He threw his legs very guy-ishly out in front of him and rolled up the sleeves of his robe. Ginny took a second glance back at him when her eye was drawn to the odd-looking scar on his forearm. She gasped when she realized what it was, which caught Draco's attention. He looked up and pulled his arm out of view, knowing what Ginny had seen. She coughed, clearing her throat.
"I think I should get going." She said hurriedly, looking around the room for a clock. David looked at the watch snapped around his wrist and frowned.
"Already? It's only 10." He said slowly.
"Yeah, I should, I got a bit of homework and I should get it done."
"Hey, if you ever need some help with some work, I'll be glad to do it." David put in thoughtfully as Draco glared at him, looking like David had never offered him help with his homework.
"Okay, see you guys later." Ginny said quietly, taking one last; lengthily glance at David before walking from the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Once she had the common-room, she leapt onto a couch with her potion book and attempted to begin the assignment Snape had given them only the same day. Her quill was poised in her hand against the paper yet she did not begin writing. She racked her head for something to write, but could not come up with anything. Her mind was busy racing through other ideas and thoughts; thoughts not of school. She zoned out from the room and piece of parchment in front of her, jumping at the sound of the noisy voices from the guy's side of the dormitories. She shook her head and threw her homework to the side, forgetting about it for now. She then pulled off her black sweater and tossed it by her feet. She leant back and closed her eyes, falling asleep even before she knew it.
She awoke suddenly as she heard the portrait door swing noisily open. Ginny blearily opened one eye, her head pounding. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in through the door, Harry and Ron carrying their brooms. Ginny had forgotten they had gone to play Quidditch. All their cheeks were bright red and Hermione's scarf was tied up right to her eyes. Ginny tossed on the couch and sat up, suddenly feeling really dizzy.
"Shit." She muttered, holding her head in her hands. Hermione glanced her way as she heard Ginny swear.
"Are you sick, Ginny?" She asked with an air of concern in her voice. Ginny looked up, blinking furiously. The wall in front of her seemed to be melting; but that wasn't right. Walls don't melt. The floor beneath her felt like it was spinning slowly and Ginny didn't dare stand up for fear of falling over. Harry and Ron left the common room; retiring to their room. She coughed; her throat so dry and scratchy she doubled over with pain. "Ginny, are you okay?" Hermione asked again, louder this time. Ginny could hear Hermione's footsteps approaching her. Don't walk on the floor, its spinning, Ginny thought fuzzily.
"Ginny, your eyes are all red." Hermione said quickly, peering at her uncertainly. She sat down by Ginny's feet, gently throwing Ginny's sweater to the ground so she could lean back. Ginny could feel Hermione moving by her feet and moving things around. She was surprised when she heard Hermione cough slightly, the cough then turning into a disappointed sigh. Ginny lifted her head, trying to focus her blurry sight on Hermione.
"Ginny…" She heard Hermione say sharply, "Why do you have this?" She moved a hand containing something towards Ginny's face and it took her a few seconds to realize what was being held in front of her. The little plastic bag decorated with blue stars looked utterly familiar, yet she didn't have any marijuana on her when she went to David's. How did it get there? Did David or Draco put it in her pocket?
"Don't tell." Was all Ginny could say. She covered her head with her arms and closed her eyes again.
"Yeah…" Hermione muttered uncertainly, getting up from the couch and leaving the room. Her footsteps echoed in Ginny's spinning mind as she slowly fell back asleep.
She slept, and she dreamt; she dreamt of dark and deranged thoughts. She dreamt of an empty theatre; a huge curving ceiling wallpapered and dimly lit by a spotlight coming from the stage. A voice was singing over loud music, yet no one could be seen. She was dimly aware of the fact that she was sitting on a cushion seat on the second balcony, watching the stage eagerly. She could hear no sound, and seen nobody; the theatre seats folded up and out of sight. The singing continued, Ginny couldn't hear the words clearly; and therefore could understand what was being sung. She grasped a brass bar in front of her; it felt cold underneath her hand. She stood up slowly on two feet, peering over the side of the balcony, still looking for someone. She knew somebody must be there; but why was nobody there? The music suddenly stopped. She quickly withdrew from the edge, afraid of falling over, and just as suddenly, the music began again, filling her head. She leant back over the balcony and was overcome by a sudden urge to jump. But why? She asked herself. I don't want to jump, she thought angrily. Yet as her mind told her not to, she felt her body lean further and further forward….
And for the third time that night, she woke up, this time covered with an odd cold sweat and horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Somebody was watching her; she could hear somebody whispering, quietly to themselves. She lay very still, keeping her breathing consistent as a figure appeared in front of her…
Songs listened to while writing this chapter:
Circle of Life Instrumental – The Lion King on Broadway
Diamonds are Forever – Shirley Bassey
Pie Jesu – Sarah Brightman and Charlotte Church
Let Me Fall – Josh Groban
Eyes Like Yours - Shakira