Part Five of

Something To Sleep To

"Ginny Weasley."

The call rang through the hall, anger resounding from brick to brick. Everyone in direct listening path stopped and stared at the source the voice, surprised to see who would use such a tone with such a quiet young lady. Ron Weasley typically used that tone; it was a brother's prerogative. But the one calling? Never would they address a Weasley in such a manner.

"What the hell do you want, Potter?", she called back.

"I want you to talk to me!"

"Well, it's bloody too late for talking, don't you think? I saw you with her."

"With who? Hermione? She's a friend of mine, she used to be a friend of yours, too!" Harry rushed to catch up to the red head. "What is your problem, Ginny? What did I do?"

"I saw you two, Harry. I saw you together." She started yelling at him, her lungs reaching into her throat. "What do you think I am? A fucking idiot? Go to bloody hell, Harry. You two were kissing. Not talking, kissing. You betrayed me, she betrayed my brother. And that's that. I get to hate her forever. I want nothing to do with you two anymore."

"Ginny, you have it all wrong. You see-" But Ginny cut him off before he could continue. "No.", she screamed. "It's over, Potter. We're done."

Ginny shut her eyes tight, fighting off tears. Count to ten, make it better. Search deep inside herself for that level of calm she was known for, search for that shy, quiet exterior she wore for the whole world. Easy to find, easy to wear. Count to ten. Count to ten. It should come second nature…

When she opened her eyes again, everyone in the hallway was gone. Harry, the students, the teachers that had come to give her detentions for causing a ruckus, foul language, general disrespect. No one was there. It was a memory of that day so long ago. It did seem so long ago. She knew it was logically, but she couldn't help but feel like it was longer than it really was. She'd gone through so many changes that year.

How cheesy did she sound.

Ginny reached up to the shelf above her bed, pulling down books. Text books, novels, a photo album. And a leather bound book with blank pages. It was meant to be a diary, she'd bought it during one of her trips to Hogsmeade at the beginning of the year. A ribbon was sewn into the binding, to be used as a bookmark. As of now, there was only one entry.

October 12,

I will face my fears this year.

Ginny

The thing had proven to be bloody useless. Cheap. Beautiful. But useless. One entry and she wasn't possessed, and her fear didn't paralyze her from looking into it. Fear conquered? No. But nothing worth committing to paper where someone might find it.

She tossed the book aside and looked outside onto the Quidditch Mound. Smiling to herself, she charmed her things away, grabbed her cloak, and headed outside.

Harry. Fucking. Potter.

He was at it again. Showing off, and the fucking Weaslette was buying into it. Who the fuck cared?

Not. Him.

He punched the hall wall. No dent, Hogwarts was made of bricks. Instead he found himself with bloody knuckles. Just a little bit of dirt was scraped into the cuts, and the blood was dripping off of his bones. The adrenaline's level reached so high that he felt no pain, only his anger. Her marched on, towards the mound, clenching his jaw.

"Ginny Weasley!", Draco shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He watched the redhead turn to him. There wasn't any shock written in her eyes, only more anger. "What are you doing, Ginny? What are you doing?"

"Come off it, Malfoy. She wasn't doing anything to you! You're the one that came over here and started yelling." Ginny smiled at Harry's defensive side.

"Oh, like you know anything, Potter." Draco's eyes locked onto Ginny's. "I bet you don't even know what's been going on between Ginny and me."

"Nothing happened between you and me, Draco." Her eyes were stern, like her voice. If she was forceful enough, maybe he'd go along with it. She didn't want Harry to find out what had happened. She didn't want anyone to know what had happened.

"Who are you kidding, Ginny? You know you did it. I know you did it. I could put it in the pensive and display it for the whole world to see. Maybe I could even charge some money, make something out of it. I wonder, would that make you a whore?"

"Draco…", Ginny's voice pleaded. "Please."

"What, Ginny? Now you want to play nice? All "please" and "thank you" and "yes, I would love some tea." Well guess what, we're through with that game. Now we play Truth." He leaned a little closer to her face and said the next part under his breath. "And I tell the whole school what a dirty little slut you are."

You wouldn't dare…, Ginny thought.

"I would do it. I have nothing left to lose, Ginny."

Draco dashed off again, remembering his bloody hand and wrapping it in his cloak. Ginny watched him do so and thought about how he was doing that all the wrong way. He should elevate his hand, tie a tourniquet around his palm, and then wipe away the blood. Her thoughts were disrupted as Draco turned around and yelled something that she didn't quite catch. Bloody hell, who cared what he thought anyway?

"Ginny, what was that about?", Harry asked, concerned like always. "What's been going on between you two? Is he just trying to start trouble?"

She pondered what to tell him. The Truth: She and Draco had a sex fling, and now he wants everyone to know. The Truth lead to a rocky state between her and Harry, and that wasn't what she wanted just as he was about to leave. Things were good right now. Playing Innocent: Harry was bound to find out anyway, and things would just get worse. But how could she tell him what had happened so many times right in front of his eyes? And what if Draco was going to tell the whole school? What would they think of her? First crazy, possessed by the evil who's name no one dared to speak. Now a sex addict, willing to sleep with her family's sworn enemy. And her family would know… Her family would be hurt. Her life would be ruined.

"Harry… He can't tell anyone what happened between me and him. Please… I need your help with this. Even if you don't like what I have to tell you, I need your help. You have to understand." Ginny pleaded and then threw her arms around him. "You don't understand… I loved him."

Oh, of course he wasn't going to tell anyone what happened between them. He cared for her too much to ruin her life that way. But now she'd have to tell Fucking Potter, and their relationship would be ruined.

Fucking Potter.

I bet she is fucking Potter, he thought to himself.

But even if she wasn't, he'd get what he wanted. There was no way that Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, could become involved with a girl who had countless sexual experiences with Voldemort's right-hand man's son. The two of them would be over, for real, officially.

Oh what delight he found in this.

Walking to the Slytherin's dormitory, he remembered his hand again.

And what he heard her say, about keeping it elevated, tying a tourniquet, and blotting at the blood. He knew she was probably right, but he didn't bother to use the method she'd provided him. He simply took out his wand and charmed the knuckles better.

And hit the wall again.

Damn't, why did he have to go and do that? All he wanted was to hold her close to his body, have her back in his life, and just get to care for her the way Fucking Potter got to right now. Now she'd never come back to him. She would never love him.

She never did.

Fuck it.

His fist slammed against the wall again.

Several hours later, Ginny and Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room. Him sitting and staring blankly, her face stained with tears.

"So you love him.", Harry stated bluntly.

"I did love him.", Ginny answered defensively. "There's a difference."

"And you two have… fornicated?"

"Don't be so clinical, Harry."

"Made love."

"Don't be so gross, Harry."

"So then what did you two do in your opinion?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looked slightly uncomfortable, dropped her voice to a whisper. "We had a fling, Harry. It was sex. Things got complicated with emotions. For more than just him, apparently."

"Wait, you mean you broke it off because he got attached?", he asked, disbelieving what he was hearing. "No way!"

"I'm glad to see that you think I can be in control." She moved a little closer to him. He put his arm around her, she leaned into him.

"You know this means that we can't date, right. You don't have feelings for me."

"But… I do."

"But not as strong as your feelings for… Malfoy." He shuddered slightly as he said his enemy's name. "I can't be with you- or anyone- who doesn't love only me."

Ginny nodded. "I understand," she whispered. Looking up, her lips met his in an understood kiss between friends. Just then she realized that the special bond that had been pulling her towards Harry would only ever be for friendship, and her heart would only ever be Draco's.