Author's Note: Hoohah! OK, I change my mind, I really loved writing this chapter...or at least the beginning. So I've added more Ron, Harry, and Hermione action. Just so you know, Hermione and Ginny are rather close, and Hermione (though she hates Draco's guts) is willing to give them a chance. Harry is also fighting inner demons, though he's much more relenting than Ron. Understandable, since Ginny's Ron's only sister, and only younger sibling. So if Ron seems like a git, he is, but it's only because he's worried about Ginny. Um...ooh, yes. You're all going to hate me, but I love killing off characters. Not that I did so in this chapter. (Or did I?) (Smirks evilly) You'll just have to read and find out. Ejoy!
Disclaimer: (Sighs, bashes head on wall, and continues). Mine is mine, all else is J.K. Rowlings'.
Dancing Life
Chapter 11: Out of Character(s)
"Oy, mate, get yer stinking feet off my bed!"
Harry grinned and removed his green and gold-striped sock-clad feet from Ron's mattress. "Don't have to get in a tizzy. Besides, I just took a shower; they probably smell better than yours, although I don't want to find out." He smirked as Ron stuck his tongue out childishly at him.
Harry glanced down at his hands, suddenly looking contrite. "Do you reckon 'Mione was right? About Ginny, I mean?" He rubbed the back of his neck, settling back in his chair. "I feel a bit bad, I mean" he grimaced "we didn't even look at her presents."
Ron frowned and set down his box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Yeah, I do feel a bit bad about that. But we treat her good, right?"
Harry nodded. "Damn good." He agreed.
"Better than that prat Malfoy." Ron scowled just thinking of his name. "Puts a worse taste in your mouth than a bogie-flavored bean." He pulled a face.
Harry frowned. "I was thinking, though. Hasn't Malfoy been acting odd lately?"
Ron was digging through his piles of holiday treats, listening to Harry distractedly. "What d'you mean?" He asked, pulling out a Chocolate Frog and unwrapping it.
Harry shrugged. "I dunno. But like the other day in Defense Against the Dark Arts class when Professor Gillian was complimenting me on my Patronus demonstration."
Ron nodded. "Yeah, that was bloody brilliant. Wish I could pull that off." He muttered, popping the frog into his mouth.
Harry sighed in exasperation. "Exactly. And Malfoy didn't say anything."
Ron looked up, munching away on his candy. "And…?" He mumbled around his mouthful. He swallowed. "Should he have?"
Harry resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall. Ron was his best friend and all, but he could really be dense sometimes. "Whenever I do something like that in class, he makes some half-arsed comment about me; you know how he does." Harry prompted.
Ron nodded. "Oh yeah; that was a bit weird."
Harry groaned. "And in Potions, he helped Lavendar with her Strengthening Solution. And remember, he kept that bludger from hitting Hermione when we were watching his team practice. We weren't even supposed to be there, and he hates Hermione. He could have let it hit her, but he actually went out of his way to protect her. He's…changed." He said, though somewhat reluctantly.
Ron scoffed, going back to his Fizzing Whizbees. "Yeah right."
"MADAME POMFREY!"
The previously-attained peace and tranquility of the still hospital wing was blasted to smithereens as Draco flew in hurriedly.
"MADAME POMFREY, I NEED HELP!" He shouted, pulling his broom to a stop and swung a wobbly leg over the handle, trying not to drop Ginny.
He let his expensive broom clatter to the floor thoughtlessly as he heaved the seemingly lifeless body of Ginny Weasley onto the nearest empty bed, earning him several stares from the few students in the wing, ogling at him from the safety of their own beds.
The clacking of shoes against the hard stone floor announced the arrival of Madame Pomfrey. "What is it, Malfoy? Did you scratch yourself? Hmm? Bump into something? Are you dying because you stubbed your toe?"
Obviously she hadn't gotten over that whole hippogriff incident.
Draco stood aside so the nurse could see Ginny. He received a satisfying gasp.
"Merlin's beard!" She breathed, eyes growing round and sympathetic. "What's happened here?" She asked, hurrying over to check Ginny's pulse. It was weak and faint under the strong fingers of the school's nurse.
"Good heavens, this child has lost a lot of blood, hasn't she?"
Draco stared at her, half in disbelief, half in exasperation at her stupidity; both he and Ginny were covered in her blood, she had a couple of obviously deep gashes on her body, and she was unnaturally pale.
"No, she's just got a little cough; really, just give her some Pepper-Upper Potion and-OF COURSE SHE'S LOST A LOT OF BLOOD, YOU DIMWITTED DOLT! NOW ARE YOU GOING TO STAND HERE AND MAKE POINTLESS AND OBVIOUS STATEMENTS OR ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING?!"
Madame Pomfrey's jaw was hanging open most unbecomingly. "Well-I-it's just that-of course, I don't know what I was thinking." She hurried off as Draco flung himself into a chair next to Ginny's bedside. The girl two beds over cast him a wary look, and disappeared behind her curtain with a squeal as Draco snarled viciously at her.
Madame Pomfrey scurried back into the ward, her arms laden with bandages and tubes of some bright purple substance. Draco nimbly leapt to his feet, hovering over the nurse as she dumped the supplies at the foot of the hospital bed.
"So Malfoy, what happened? I haven't looked at it in depth, but it looks quite like teeth marks." She gave him a hard glance. "Animal teeth marks." She added, business-like once more.
Draco chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "I think there was a wolf or something next to her, but I didn't really look at it too hard; I was too worried- uh, busy, trying to get Virgi-Weasley back."
Madame Pomfrey nodded and wiped away the congealing blood from the shoulder wound, inspecting it, especially the edges. "Well, it's not a werewolf bite, that's certain. The edges are too jagged; a werewolf's teeth are sharper and leave cleaner cuts. Also, there's no sign of the magical effects of the werewolf's bite. Still, even though it's just a regular wolf bite, she's still lost quite a bit of blood." She made a clicking noise in the back of her throat and pulled back. She reached for the bandages.
"Can I help?" Draco asked, surprising even himself. Madame Pomfrey shot him an incredulous look, then glanced at Ginny, and back again to Draco. She stared at him long and hard, giving him a speculative, almost measuring look.
Finally she nodded, more to herself than to Draco. "Help me get these bloodied things off her; I can't work with all this matted blood, and I need to see how extensive the damage is." She explained, moving over to the other side of the cot.
As Draco moved hesitantly to her clothes, Madame Pomfrey took out her wand and began muttering to herself, speaking a simple spell to cut strips of the bandage.
Draco's hands moved to the bottom of Ginny's now-red jumper. He gently peeled the cloth, hardened with sticky blood, from her skin. Some of the blood remained, spattering her stomach with red and brown smears. Draco pulled up more and suddenly started, jumping back from the girl and dropping the cloth.
What the hell?
First of all, he was readily helping another person…no, scratch that,…he was helping two people; both of which he should hate. Madame Pomfrey was a goody-goody like the stupid Headmaster, and Ginny…she was a Weasley and a Gryffindor at that.
He shook is head. That wasn't what was bothering him; he'd long ago (as in several days ago) come to terms with his feelings for Ginny, and he couldn't deny that they were there, and powerful too.
But…he was…undressing her.
Suddenly, he felt a strange warmth rise to his cheeks, and had he been anyone other than a Malfoy, he would have thought he was blushing. Okay, so the thought of taking off another girl's clothes wasn't exactly a horrifying one.
But he actually liked this one. And she wasn't too pleased with him at the moment either. He didn't want to do anything she wouldn't want him to. But Madame Pomfrey needed his help…and he had to help Ginny…
Thankfully, Madame Pomfrey took the decision out of his hands.
"Are you going to stand here all day and do pointless and meaningless things or are you going to do something?" Madame Pomfrey mimicked, still cutting strips of gauze.
Draco rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on ridding Ginny of her clothes. If you start feeling guilty, just say that you had to help Madame Pomfrey. He thought to himself, moving back to the bedside. After all, the girl's bleeding to death; it's not like she'd regret any help you give her, even if it involves removing her clothing.
He took a deep, steadying breath, glad that none of his Slytherin classmates were here to see this. Though they probably wouldn't believe it in the first place; Draco Malfoy helping someone and scared to take off a girl's shirt? Absolutely not.
Trying not to think to hard about what he was doing, Draco quickly divested Ginny of her sordid and bloodied outfit. He felt that same unfamiliar heat in his face as he glanced down at her once he was done.
She was wearing a plain pair of green cotton knickers and a matching sports bra, for which Draco was thankful for; had she been wearing anything that showed more skin, he would have blushed, Malfoy or not.
As he'd often noticed before, she was incredibly angular, and gazing down at her near-bare frame, even for just a second, he couldn't help but admire it. It wasn't soft or curvy, but it was so beautiful all the same, Her ribs, collarbone, and hips all jutted out from her creamy skin, and Draco felt the sudden urge to run his finger along the sharp edges, to feel his skin under hers.
Madame Pomfrey broke into his thoughts just as his hand began to stray towards her on its own. "If you don't mind, I think she could do with some clothes, as she seems to have only two wounds." She broke her gaze away from Draco's as she felt a grin tugging at the corner of her lips; his soft glance had not gone unnoticed by the older observant witch.
She glanced down at Ginny and frowned. "First I need to get all this blood off her." She removed her wand from her pocket again and waved it at her body. The blood was gone and Draco was glad he hadn't had to do it by hand; it would have been far too tempting.
He walked off, though reluctantly, to grab a hospital gown from the nurse's office. When he came back, Madame Pomfrey had cleaned Ginny's shoulder wound and was sticking pads of bandage to the still-wet laceration. She glanced up as Draco came back and nodded to the chair next to the bed, where Draco had been seated earlier.
Draco tossed the paper-thin outfit onto the chair and shifted uncomfortably. "Um…d'you need any help with that?" He asked tentatively. Madame Pomfrey looked up, and arched an eyebrow, but nodded, handing him a roll of tape.
"Once I've covered the cut, I need you to wrap this around her shoulder to keep it in place." She explained, strapping more gauze to the cut.
Draco waited impatiently while Madame Pomfrey finished cleaning up the angry red gash on Ginny's shoulder before tying the bandage tightly and firmly around her cuts, the bandage trailing from her shoulder to her elbow.
As he wound the long cloth around her arm, Madame Pomfrey administered some strange, orange-colored potion to the sleeping girl. Instantly her body relaxed and her muscles loosened.
The nurse sighed regretfully. "I've done just about all I can. I was hoping she'd wake up before now…" she trailed off and turned to Draco, biting her lip. "I don't know if you care or not…" she said carefully "…but just in case…I thought I might warn you, as I'll have to tell her brother and family…" she broke off again, looking horribly upset. "…if she doesn't come back in the next day or so, the chances of her coming back at all are…slim." She swallowed and turned away, feeling tears prickling at her eyes.
Draco shook his head. "She will wake up." He said, reassuring himself more than the distraught nurse. She nodded and stepped aside to gather her things as Draco resumed fussing with the gauzy straps.
He tied it securely around her arm, patting it gently. He looked down at her, this time looking at her face. Her eyes were closed peacefully in an innocent slumber, and her cheeks were slowly getting their regular pink tint.
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "What the hell were you doing?" He asked her gently, stroking her icy cheek. "You scared the shit out of me." He whispered.
She shivered in her sleep, and Draco noticed goose-bumps rising on her bare arms. He knelt down, grabbing the hospital gown from the chair with his spare hand. He quickly pulled the dress on over her head, smoothing out the folds and fabric a bit more than necessary.
He grabbed her hand in his. It was deathly cold to the touch. He rubbed it between his own, trying to force warmth into it. He sighed, dropping her hand to the bed and standing up. He pulled his wand from his back pocket. "Tepidrous." He whispered, touching the end of his wand to her arm.
Warm heat flooded through her body and Draco exhaled in relief as her cheeks glowed a healthy rosy pink. He sat down again, taking her hand once more in his, completely oblivious to the fact that Madame Pomfrey was still on the other side of the bed, watching the proceedings with growing amusement.
"Ginny, I'm s-so-sorry." He ground out. He'd never said those two words before (in that order), much less to a Weasley, and an unconscious one as well. He knew perfectly well that she couldn't hear him; that he was wasting his breath and dignity on nothing. But somehow, it just didn't matter anymore.
Draco sighed and sat back; he was tired. He didn't want to put up with this façade any longer. This whole public image of the cold, expressionless, untouchable son of a Death Eater was just not worth it. Especially if he was to win back Ginevra.
For her, he would publicly deface and defy his father; purposefully put the Malfoy name to shame. The repercussions of his actions would be nothing compared to the sheer bliss of having Ginny again.
Madame Pomfrey looked back and forth from Draco to Ginny, first with confusion, then understanding, then finally, approval. She edged away from the bedside; the young girl was in good hands. She walked quietly back to her office, frowning again. She'd done her best, but now it was up to the girl…she'd lost a lot of blood and there wasn't much that magic could do for her now. It all depended on how much strength she had left; and how much she wanted to live.
Madame Pomfrey shook her head and turned around, heading out of the hospital wing. Though he probably already knew, she needed to tell the Headmaster directly. He would want to get in touch with the girl's parents in case…she took a turn for the worst.
Draco sat for what seemed like years, just watching her sleep; watching her eyelashes flutter occasionally; watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest; watching her face, so serene and breathtaking in sleep. He reached up and tucked a strand of red hair out of her eyes. He absentmindedly twirled the strand around his finger.
"I'm sorry, Ginny." He whispered again, dropping her hair. He sat back, staring at his hands again, wanting so badly to hit something…mostly himself; he deserved it and wished Ginny had hit him instead of running away. If Ginny died, he would kill himself.
He wasn't just being melodramatic. He really would. Without her, he had nothing to live for. Before, he'd simply coasted along through life, just taking things how they came to him, not really caring that his life was shit. But knowing that he'd had something and lost her…it would kill him. So he'd just speed the process up a bit. He knew it was the coward's way out, but he didn't care if he was a coward, he just loved Ginny; he had to be with her, even if it was just in death.
Ginny didn't move; and she was still frighteningly pale. The rosy sparks in her cheeks would alternately fade and pop back up, as if she was fighting to stay alive.
He leaned in towards her. "Don't you dare give up on me, Ginevra Teresa Weasley. You can't. I know you're stronger than this; you've got to fight. You have so much to live for, don't give up." He stared down at her sadly. She had always been the epitome of life; vibrant and energetic, she had that indefinable spark of…something…in her smile and eyes that could give off more energy and magic than a hundred wizards. To see her so close to the door of death was torture, even more so for Draco, feeling guilty that he might have caused it.
It was true; if he hadn't scared her so badly, she never would have run off and gone into The Forbidden Forest. If he had just listened to her, she would be safe, probably in the arms of Harry Potter, but safe nonetheless.
He grimaced. He was such a stupid prat. Ginny had told him so on several occasions, but he really was now.
He stood abruptly, feeling the need to just escape, get away from everything. He smirked at himself and the irony of it all; if anything happened to Ginny, he would be getting away from everything…permanently.
So when Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter entered the hospital wing looking anxious and demanding, Draco groaned and sank back down into the chair. This was definitely not his day.
Some time later Ron sat back in the chair he'd pulled up to Ginny's bed. "So, you just found her?" He asked, looking and feeling ten years older. He glanced worriedly at Ginny, still so pale and weak.
Draco nodded, for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. "Madame Pomfrey thinks that a wolf attacked her." He shrugged, purposefully leaving out the part that he'd nearly beaten up the temperamental red-head's younger sister. He'd merely explained it with "we got into an argument", shooting Harry a glance.
Harry had bitten his lip. "Hey, Malfoy." He'd said, looking both regretful and guilty. "You know, I love Ginny, just not in that way. I want her to be happy" Ron had nodded in approval "even if it means being with you."
Draco now sat back, feeling somewhat relieved. Now all he needed was for Ginny to wake up and forgive him.
Suddenly the door to the hospital wing flew open with a bang. All three boys glanced up. Hermione whirled in, her eyes blazing, hair practically crackling with the static anger she was giving off, wand raised threateningly.
Ron and Harry jumped up and blocked her from Draco, who peeked around his two unlikely bodyguards. Hermione waved her wand at Rona and Harry.
"MOVE IT, YOU TWO! I'M GOING TO HEX HIS BLOODY FACE OFF! I'LL KILL HIM, I SWEAR!" She shouted, growling at Draco over Ron's shoulder.
Harry stepped up to Hermione, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, 'Mione. Malfoy didn't hurt Gi-"
Hermione pushed past him and tried to point her wand at Draco. Ron intervened, deftly plucking the wand from her hand. She paid no attention; she advanced rapidly on Draco and before he could move, drew her fist back and slammed it into his face.
Draco's chair tipped back with the force of her rage, dumping him onto the floor, sprawled out on top of the overturned piece of furniture. "Oooohhhh." He moaned, feeling his cheek bone tenderly.
"What the hell, you fucking Mudblood bitch?!" He fumed, disentangling himself from the chair and leaping up to face Hermione. He met her balled fist again, this time tripping over the fallen chair and landing firmly on his arse. Harry and Ron were stifling laughter as Draco flailed about, his legs sticking straight up in the air, and his arms clawing at the chair.
Draco stood up, and this time, he was ready for Hermione's punch. He dodged the flying hand and grabbed it as it went by, twisting it around behind her back. Hermione struggled to free herself, but Draco had her in a firm hold.
Harry and Ron stepped forward, unsure of what to do. Draco leaned down. "Stop struggling, you silly twit. I'm going to let you go if you promise not to try to knock my head off. If you can't do that, I'll keep you like this and we can talk this way." He hissed in her ear. Hermione quit wiggling and Draco let her arm go. She spun around and backed up, standing next to Ron and Harry and facing Draco expectantly.
"Well, go on Malfoy. I promise not to kill you…for now. But you had better fucking explain why I saw you flying Ginny's body up to the castle, drenched in her goddamn blood." She put her hands on her hips, her stance defensive and dangerous. Ron and Harry were staring at Hermione, and Ron's jaw had dropped.
Draco snorted, quickly disguising it as a hacking cough. "First of all, you should be thanking me instead of using me as a punching bag. Second of all, I don't owe you anything; if you want to know what happened, talk to your two little buddies. I'm off."
Without another word, he whirled around and stormed out of the wing.
Hermione turned to Harry and Ron. "Did I miss something?" She asked.
Ron shrugged and gestured to Harry. "You tell her, I have to write mum."
As Ron walked over to Ginny's bedside, Hermione cocked her head and gazed imploringly up at Harry. He sighed. "You're going to want to sit down for this."
Draco kicked the door to his room open. Two other Slytherin boys, both in their seventh year, were in the room and gave Draco a speculative look. "What's wrong with you, Malfoy? Eat too much at breakfast?" One of them, Gregory Goyle asked, stuffing his face with more sweets from home.
Draco held back his groan and managed not to roll his eyes, though his nostrils flared in disgust. "Out." He said through gritted teeth. Goyle and his companion, Vincent Crabbe, both exchanged a glance. Draco had stopped talking to them or even hanging around with them sometime after he had escaped from the Death Eater party with Blaise and Janet.
That had been when he found out that on that same night, Crabbe and Goyle had joined their fathers among the Death Eater population. After that, Draco refused to communicate with them. Not like it had been a great pleasure to do so before they were Death Eaters, but now he'd given himself a reason not to deal with them.
Goyle opened his big mouth to say something, but at the look Draco gave him, quickly stuffed more chocolate into it. First wise decision he ever made. Draco thought grimly. The two ape-like teens quickly evacuated the room, leaving Draco to his misery.
He collapsed on his bed, feeling another pang of guilt as he saw the wrappings from his presents from earlier in the morning. He'd forgotten it was still Christmas; so much had happened, it seemed like years had gone by in the few hours since he'd woken up.
He fidgeted around with the blankets and pillows, trying to will himself into sleep, but it was in vain; he could not get into a comfortable position, though he knew perfectly well that his pillows were the softest and his blankets the warmest. It had nothing to do with his sleeping materials…
Sighing in aggravation, he stood. Glancing around, he scowled and headed out of the dorm room. He'd go read in the library, and maybe that would get his mind off…her.
Draco exited the common room, and began to ascend an old set of stairs. He usually didn't come this way, but it was quiet and less traveled. He didn't want to see or talk to anyone unless that person happened to be Ginevra Teresa Weasley.
He rounded a corner, thinking hard. She just had to wake up. He couldn't imagine any other ending to their twisted love story. Because he did love her, and it was killing him that he hadn't told her earlier. But it didn't matter…she would wake up. Then he would tell her and she would (being the wonderful Gryffindor that she was) forgive him, and…
Draco stopped in mid-step. And then what?
They weren't made to be like other couples. They couldn't be; their separate lives wouldn't allow one whole life together with each other. They were on two sides of the spectrum, from two different worlds, they were two diverse people meant to live two uncommon lives. It was impossible for them to form one life together, even if Draco loved her enough to attempt to do so.
He shook his head and continued walking. If…no, when…she woke up, he would tell her that. Not that he loved her, that wouldn't matter, and he'd only end up hating himself for it. He'd tell her that they were just too different. And after the way he'd treated her this morning, she was likely, no…sure to agree.
Draco felt his chest tightening, much as it had when he'd first seen Ginny in the pool of red outside in the snow. She would grow up and become a great person, a beautiful woman, and marry the perfect man…Harry Potter. She would live in a nice house with wonderful friends, and they would have everything. Everything she'd ever wanted. A home, love, children…everything that Draco wanted to have with her.
She would be better off like that. She'd be happier. Yet no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn't help but sit down on the deserted steps and cry, like he never had before.
He was losing her.
"Madame Pomfrey! Ooh, Madame Pomfrey! Come quick, I think she's regaining consciousness!"
Ginny groaned, not really sure of anything, including where she was, what day it was, and why her entire body ached all over, even in places she never knew she'd had. Hermione's voice had never sounded so shrill, though it might just have been the excruciating headache she'd somehow obtained. Her head felt as heavy as lead, and she couldn't budge an inch from where she was laying. Even her eyelids seemed weighted down as if by solid gold, as a light was shining from somewhere; through her closed lids and increasing the throbbing of her head.
Everything hurt so much, Ginny wasn't sure what had happened; she couldn't recall doing anything dangerous enough to cause this much pain. Concentrating on moving her body in some way or another (this state of half-awake was killing her and she wanted to find out what had happened) Ginny tensed all her muscles, glad to see they hadn't slipped into entropy.
However, all she succeeded in doing was letting out a soft moan that died far back in her throat. It was enough, though to make the people around her jump up and start making the most annoying and aggravating noises. She heard her name several times, and struggled to open her eyes.
One thing she did remember was her fight with Draco. She just had to see him again, and say how sorry she was; he'd obviously been troubled and instead of helping him, she'd goaded him on and made things worse. She had to tell him that she and Harry weren't an item. Draco had been the one person who surfaced in her fitful dreams.
Always, he was gazing at her with a warm, comforting, perhaps even loving gaze. Always, she reached out for him, to touch him, to kiss him, to lose herself in the strength and solidity of his embrace. But always, he was just out of her reach. Story of her life; everything she wanted was just beyond her attaining.
But Draco hurt so much. She knew it sounded childish and unrealistic, but she wanted him. She wanted him so badly it made her chest shrink, tightening around her heart whenever she saw him. What scared her was that she saw eternity in him. She could see herself spending the rest of time with the new Draco Malfoy. The one who treated her better than almost anyone she knew. The one who really and truly cared for her, or so she dared to hope. The one that wanted to be with her every second of every day. What scared her was that she felt the same for him, and was willing to sacrifice everything: her sound relationship with her family, her career, her dignity, perhaps even her life for the mysteriously attractive rat of a Death Eater that had made her first year hell, and the following ones uncomfortable.
It scared her so, to the point of causing her to wake with a start, flying up into a sitting position, glancing around desperately. When she couldn't find his familiar white-blonde head anywhere in the hospital wing (as she realized that was where she was), she sat back on her pillow, noticing the Golden Trio sitting near her bedside for the first time.
Ron leapt to him feet and clumsily encircled her in a big-brother hug. Ginny winced as she felt a slicing pain shoot up from the left side of her body. She looked down. Her entire left arm and shoulder was strapped up tightly with bandages.
Ron pulled away. "Thank the gods you woke up, Gins. I thought I'd have to owl mum and dad and have them come down. Everyone's been so worried about you." He shot a glance at Harry and Hermione.
Ginny followed his stare. Hermione's eyes were red, and her cheeks blotchy, as though she'd been crying. Harry hadn't been crying, but his face was pale and his hair more mussed up than usual, as it tended to do when he ran his hand through it continually.
Ginny opened her mouth and forced her vocal chords into action. "N-nice to see I-I'm cared for." She croaked wearily. Hermione shoved Ron out of the way and dove forward, sobbing something unintelligible. Ron shrugged at Ginny over Hermione's shoulder.
"O-oh-oh-Gin!" She wailed, tightening her arms around her neck. "When I saw Malfoy flying you up here, all-all covered in…b-b-blood…I thought…I thought…ohhhhhhhhh!" She wept.
Ginny wrapped her arms around the older girl's waist, giving her a comforting squeeze. Hermione pulled back.
"So, what happened, exactly?" Ginny asked, playing with her bed covers. "I mean, I remember certain things, but…" Scenes passed through her mind, flitting in and out of comprehension, so that she barely saw them. Draco, the fight, the escape, the snow, the wolf…the blood.
"So much blood." She whispered. She didn't need them to tell her anymore; she knew everything, though she was mainly guessing on a few parts.
Hermione broke down at that, flinging her arms around Ginny's neck again, sobbing uncontrollably. Ginny could make out 'poor thing', 'fucking scared', 'dead', 'bloody bastard', and 'damned beast'. Surprisingly, Hermione had quite a mouth on her. A few minutes later, Hermione disentangled herself from Ginny, looking acutely embarrassed. "Sorry, Gin. I know you're tired and all, it's just…" Her lower lip began trembling again, and Ron slid a reassuring arm around her shoulders.
Harry stepped forward and placed his hand over Ginny's. It was an affectionate gesture, but one that was completely lost on Ginny. Right now, she probably wouldn't have noticed if Harry got down on his knees and proposed.
Right now she had more important things on her mind.
Right now, she needed to find Draco. Something Hermione had said had being nagging at the back of Ginny's somewhat muddled mind, and now it resurfaced in its entirety.
"If Draco brought me up here, where is he?" She asked, unconsciously playing with the blankets on the bed.
Ron cocked his head and Harry withdrew his hand from hers, both of them sharing a glance. Ron stepped forward, kneeling by her side. "Ginny, do you like Malfoy? I mean, seriously. Is it just an infatuation that you can get over, or…" He trailed off, not really sure how else someone could be attracted to a Malfoy.
Ginny eyes glazed over and she stared at something over Ron's shoulder. "Hmmm, or…what indeed…" she mused to herself. She turned back to Ron, snapping back into the here and now. ""You know Ron, I think I love him."