Was It Something I Said?
Chapter 9 --The next day Ginny walked through the Great Hall with many eyes on her. She grinned widely as she walked, wondering if anyone would say anything. She sat down a minute later and pulled a plate of toast towards her and her thought was soon answered.
"Wow Ginny! Your hair." Seamus commented, a piece of bacon suspended on his fork. Ginny flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward.
"You like it?" she said, sneaking a lightning fast look at Lavender who was watching them with jealousy written all over her face.
"Yeah, it's great!" Seamus said conversationally, recovering himself and eating his bacon. Ginny looked around herself and saw many people still staring at her jet-black hair. She'd decided in the bathroom at the Three Broomsticks that she desperately needed a change and what better change to make than to her awful red hair? So she'd used the charm that she'd heard her mother use to cover up her…er…'greys' back at the Burrow.
She hadn't counted on such an obvious response from the Hogwart's students but she had to admit, this was nice, to have them notice her… even if she had to change her appearance. You would think that red hair would make you stand out but Ginny had discovered that this obviously wasn't the case.
Ten minutes Ginny wasn't feeling so wonderful. People were still staring, still ignoring the food sitting on their forks. She'd noticed with satisfaction that Ron had been one of those people, his mouth had hung open and he had ran a hand through his own red locks and shook his head, keeping his hand on his head. She could tell that he thought she was being stupid but she found that she really didn't care. Hermione and Harry had exchanged looks, Hermione's unreadable and Harry's one of interest though as Ron caught his eye, he shook his head in supposed dislike. Ginny grinned at him and after that he refused to look her in the face. She's shook her head, amused and continued talking to Seamus. Mostly about Quidditch and how the Quidditch Cup would be coming up soon and how they'd need to be on form to win the game. Ginny wasn't worried; she knew that they'd win. What, with Harry as a seeker and her as a Chaser, they couldn't lose.
She knew she shouldn't think of herself so highly but what did it matter, no one else thought like that, she might as well.
Ginny sat in Charms and listened intently to Professor Flitwick, hoping that maybe he would mention how you were to repair a broken camera though she mused he wasn't likely too as they were working on Shielding Charms. The only thing good that happened that lesson was that Ginny was able to shield herself against a torrent of Stink Sap sent towards her by the Professor which had earned her twenty points for Gryffindor as she was the only one paying attention as everyone else was staring at her hair.
By the end of Transfiguration, after enduring the same thing Ginny was beginning to think that the hair thing hadn't been such a good idea. She ducked into the girls' bathroom on the second floor and was greeted with Myrtle floating ominously above the hand basin.
"Shove of would you Myrtle?" Ginny asked as she whipped out her wand and tried to remember the counter charm for the Charm on her hair.
"No need to be so rude!" the ghost answered indignantly.
"I have every need. I've been goggled at all day for no apparent reason." Ginny said irritably as she remembered the counter charm and applied it to her hair.
"Couldn't be because you've got a massive green wart on your nose could it?" Myrtle asked gleefully. Ginny felt the end of her nose but found nothing and turned to the ghost questioningly.
"Well you've been acting a right witch lately haven't you? Nasty witches have warts, or so that Hermione Granger says." She said, wrinkling her nose.
"Not a big fan of Hermione's hey?" she asked grinning for Myrtle looked as though she might have been the smartest witch in her year when she'd been alive.
"No." she said as she let out a piercing squeal and dived head first into the nearest toilet.
Ginny shrugged and checked that her hair was back to normal before heading towards the library.
"When treating someone for a Crup bite, you must make sure that you have—"
Ginny was sitting across from Hermione in the Library as her former friend explained what one should do when some idiot had presented themselves for a Crup to take a chunk out of.
Honestly, if a person is that stupid, they deserve the pain they get. Ginny thought as she listened to Hermione read from the textbook.
She tapped her fingernails on the table to a steady rhythm that only she could hear and smiled gently as she saw that Hermione was getting annoyed. She soon stopped however because she knew that Hermione would leave if she got to frustrated. And having her leave wouldn't help Ginny at all.
'If the pain persists, the bitten person should be accompanied to St Mungo's Hospital of—"
"Do you still hate me, Hermione?" Ginny asked suddenly, not even sure why she was doing so. Of course Hermione still hated her.
"What? I don't hate you, I never have!" she said, clearly shocked.
"Oh." Was all that Ginny said, looking down at the table and tracing something that looked to have been written there years before.
"I just didn't like those things that you said to me, that was all. I've been wanting to talk to you for ages but Ron wouldn't let me." she said, biting her lip and looking as though she knew how stupid it sounded that she hadn't done something just because Ron had said so, since when had she obeyed his every idea?
"You didn't like the things…I…" Ginny started but soon trailed off. "You mean you haven't been talking to me because Ron didn't want you too?" she asked, her voice rising with each word.
"Well…I…you see—"
"No, I don't bloody see! How could you do this to me, how could you completely ignore me because of one stupid thing I supposedly said?" Ginny said, extremely upset now that tears were pouring down her face. She felt so hurt that Hermione had wanted to talk to her but hadn't just because her brother had said so. "What, has Ron got you wrapped around his finger now has he?" Ginny asked, frowning sadly.
"No!" Hermione said indignantly. Though she didn't say anymore.
"I can't believe—"
"Be quiet!" came a harsh voice next to their table. "If you wish to sob hysterically like this, do it outside!" Madam Pince said irritably and Ginny, having had enough of being interrupted snapped at the woman.
"Oh go snog a book you old bag!" she said and turned back to Hermione who was staring opened mouthed at a fuming Madam Pince who had stalked away but was watching them closely through narrowed eyes.
"Ginny...I think we should take this outside." Hermione said gently, placing a hand on Ginny's arm, who recoiled.
"Don't touch me! I don't want to take this outside. I've said all that I want too." She said, gathering her things and leaving the library as loudly as she could as Madam Pince was still watching her. She poked her tongue out at her for effect, slamming the heavy oak doors as she left.
Ginny stormed down to the Great Hall as it would soon be time for Dinner and she was starving. She walked through the door, slamming them open as she had done to the Library ones. People turned to look at her but went back to their conversations quickly.
Just as Ginny was about to walk passed the Slytherin table Draco Malfoy called out to her, making a rude comment about her hair and she whirled around and stalked over to him slowly, thinking about what she was about to do. He looked slightly scared and seemed to be regretting his comment as the last time he'd said something nasty to her, she'd thrown a bewitched ball at his head. She said him lift a hand to his nose in recollection and she stifled a laugh. Once she reached him, she leant down and paused in front of him before kissing him slowly but surely on the lips. He soon struggled underneath her but there was no denying that he'd kissed her back, if only for a second or two. Ginny stood and grinned at him. He jumped up so that he towered over her.
"Why you little--" he said, wiping at his mouth disgustedly, before being cut off by Ginny.
"Watch it Drakie, I'm sure Mumsie wouldn't approve of what you're about to say." Ginny said, shaking her finger in the air, as though she were scolding him.
"Don't you speak of my mother, Weasley." He said coldly, staring at her nastily though Ginny didn't' bat an eyelid.
"Why ever not?" Ginny asked, a mock surprised look on her face.
"Because I said so."
"Like that's a good enough reason…besides, you know you liked it." she said, winking seductively at him then continuing on to the Gryffindor table, leaving him to stare after her.
"What the hell are you playing at Ginny?" Ron asked her as soon as she sat down.
"Oh so of course now you talk to me, when it's important to you. Maybe I don't feel like answering your questions today." Ginny said, taking a bite of her roast potato.
"You bloody well will whether you like it or not."
"Now now Ronald. That's not the tone to take. It won't get you anywhere." Ginny said chewing slowly and deliberately.
"I thought you liked me! Why'd you go and kiss him for?" Harry interrupted, apparently unaware of the Gryffindors sitting around him… at least until he caught Ron and Hermione staring at him. He flushed and pulled at the neck of his robes. "What I mean to say is…well…er…you know what I mean."
"Deflate your head Potter! Despite what you might think, my whole world does not revolve around you." Ginny said, continuing to eat as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
Harry's face fell.
Ginny approached a lonely figure sitting on the ledge of the Astronomy Tower. "Boo." She said softly and the person jumped. When they saw who it was they scowled.
Ginny sat down on the opposite side of the ledge and faced Harry who was staring down at the grounds moodily.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she leant dangerously out over the ledge, the top half of her body hanging out of the window. Harry grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Don't do that. You're brother's would never forgive me if I let you die."
"You make it sound as though you're my keeper." Ginny said, annoyed.
"No, but if Harry Potter can't save a person, then no one can." He said bitterly.
"Oh I get it, we're having a little 'I'm-Harry-Potter-and-no-one-loves-me' day are we?'" Ginny said, swinging her legs out over the ledge. Harry made to grab her but decided against it at the last minute.
"No, I'm just…"
"Admit it, you are."
"I'm not!" he said forcibly and several Owls flew out of the rafters and out the window they were looking through.
"What crawled up your arse and died recently then?" Ginny asked him, pulling out her wand and waving it around, making purple and gold streamers fly through the air lazily. Harry didn't reply but pulled out his own wand and shot flame at her streamers, making them curl into ash and float away on the wind.
"Party pooper." She said as she made more and more streamers float through the air. "So what the hell's wrong with you?" she asked him again. He sighed and leant against the stone cobbled wall and looked at her as she drew her wand through the air, writing her name in cursive purple writing.
"You kissed Malfoy." He said, stressing the word 'Malfoy' and Ginny laughed at him.
"So what? It's no big deal. I didn't think you'd care." She said shrugging and Harry blanched.
"Wouldn't care? Why wouldn't I care?" he asked her as though it were obvious. Then after a moment's thought added, "It's Malfoy." Whilst screwing up his nose. Ginny laughed again and rolled her eyes at Harry's comments.
"It's just a kiss, Harry. Nothing more, nothing less." She said and she hopped off the ledge and walked the short distance slowly to Harry and she leant down and after a short pause, placed a hand on his cheek and looking him in the eyes, kissed him, just as she had Malfoy. As Harry realised what was going on and tried to reciprocate, Ginny pulled back and smiled.
"See? Just a kiss. I'll see you around Harry." She said, standing up and leaving the room quietly but not before winking at Harry.
Before he had a chance to call her back, she'd gone. He sighed and leant his head against the cool stonewall and resumed staring down onto the grounds, hearing her departing words echo through his head over and over. It's just a kiss… Though Harry's mind was reeling at what he'd just experienced, he shook his head and smiled slightly.
"Girls." He muttered.
A/N: Here we go!