Ginny woke up suddenly and sat straight up in bed. What had awoken her was not apparent at first until she heard the thunder outside. She felt the color drain out of her face as she looked out the window. She had been terrified of storms her whole life and this one looked really bad. She quickly got out of bed and was about to run through the door before she glanced out the window and stopped in her tracks. Lightning was striking the ground right outside the castle, trees in the forbidden forest were bending over in the furious wind, and the rain was coming down so thick that the lake wasn't visible. Without thinking, Ginny ran out the door and into the common room. There were no windows in here so she couldn't see outside, but she could still hear the thunder. She looked around the room quickly, trying to decide what to do, and saw Harry sitting at a table with books piled all around him. He was looking at her with a worried expression and she quickly tried to hide her emotions behind her mask. "What are you doing down here?" She asked him in a shaky voice. "Homework. I've got way too much to ignore! What are you doing down here." She thought the question over for a moment then said "I was cold so I came down to sit by the fire." Then she began to cross the room towards the fire, cursing herself for noticeably shaking, and sat down on the couch. She looked at the fire for a few moments then jumped when thunder shook the room. "Think of a happy place!" She begged herself as she closed her eyes. She began to think of the burrow, and a smile began to play about her lips. She was helping her mother cook in the kitchen while her brothers were outside practicing quidditch. After every one had eaten, she went upstairs to read her favorite book: The Unreal, by Fleur Donohue. As she read about John and Fleur's first kiss in the hotel room, her door opened and in walked…Ginny's eyes shot open at the sound of Harry's voice. "Ginny you all right?" She looked up at him and realized that tears were running down her cheeks. "She quickly turned away and wiped the tears off. "I'm fine." She said in a teary voice. Harry frowned and sat down beside her. "Ginny, stop lying! I know something is wrong! Ever since that one summer when me, Hermione and Lee Jordan stayed at your house, you've been eerily silent and… and… down right depressed!" Harry said as he struggled for the right words. She looked up at him and saw the confusion and worries in his eyes. "You wouldn't understand! No one would understand!" Ginny said as she tried to get up, but he grabbed her arm and said "Come on Ginny. You can tell me. I'll try my best to understand." She looked back at him and for a moment, was tempted to sit down and tell him, but she decided against it. After all, she would be in enough trouble with him already for telling Malfoy. Telling Harry would only make it worse. "No Harry. I think I'll go back up to bed." She said, but no sooner had she said it, then thunder roared loudly, causing her to jump in fright. She quickly sat back down on the couch, pulling her legs up to her body and holding them, and staring into the fire once more. Harry just watched her for a few minutes, then decided to do what he had been longing to do for a long time… he leaned forward and hugged her. Then he leaned back, pulling her with him, and tried to comfort her. At first, she did nothing, then she put her arms up around his neck and allowed him to rub her back gently. Hours passed as they sat there in each others arms, staring into the fire and not saying a word. Finally, the storm let up, and students started walking down from their rooms. Ginny quickly got up and ran up to her room to change into her clothes for the day. Harry walked over to his school books and began gathering them up. Then he too walked up to his room to get dressed.
Ginny quickly ran down the steps and towards the dungeons. She had decided to skip breakfast so that she didn't have to see Harry. Once again, Ginny cursed herself, not for shaking this time, but for letting herself hug Harry. She reached Snape's room and was surprised to find that the door was already opened and two people were already inside. At first she didn't recognize them so she stepped inside. "…I don't know…" said Luna Lovegood to… Ginny stared in shock at the scene in front of her. Her brother Ron was down on one knee, in front of Luna! "When did this happen? I didn't even know that they were together!" Ginny thought to herself. Then she began backing out of the room because she didn't want to interrupt them. She was almost out when someone put their hand over her mouth and said "Come on we need to talk." Ginny tried to get Draco's hand off of her mouth but was unsuccessful. He led her around the corner and into a different room. Then he let her go. She turned to face him and said "Draco! What is the meaning of this?" "I wanted to talk to you about what you told me last night." Draco said seriously. Ginny stared at him in horror as she noted that he was blocking the door. Then she answered "Draco! I don't want to talk about it!" She tried to walk past him to get out the door, but he moved even further in her way. "Ginny, you wouldn't have told me if you didn't need to talk about it. Come on! I can help you!" The bell rang over head and she desperately tried to get past him as she said "No one can help! Just leave me alone." Finally, she got past him and was walking out the door when he said "Ginny, I want to make sure that you know it wasn't your fault." Draco said. She stopped in her tracks and looked back at him, then she said "You just don't understand." They stared at each other for a moment before she walked back to Snape's room. Today she chose a seat at the back of the class, with Neville, Seamus and Dean. They looked terrified of the fact that she was at their table, but quickly turned their focus to the front of the room. Ginny pretended to be looking for something in her bag when Harry walked by her. He was at the table next to hers and was openly staring at her. Draco came in and scowled at her because she was at a full table. Then he chose to seat with Harry, Hermione and Ron. Harry was quite unconcerned and Hermione just ignored him. Ron however, glared at him and said "Bug off Ferret Face." Malfoy returned the glare and said "Now, now Weasel, that's no way to talk to your superiors." "Just because your head boy, doesn't mean you're my superior!" Ron said. Malfoy was just about to say something when Hermione quickly spoke up. "So how are things with Luna, Ron?" she asked. Ron turned his attention to her and Malfoy mouthed the words "Thank you" to her. He was thought that she had nodded at him, but wasn't sure and had no time to find out since Snape had just walked into the room. Harry ignored Snape and kept staring at Ginny. After a moment he tried to get her attention with little hand signals under the table, but all that did was draw Snape's attention to him. "Yes Potter?" Snape spat as he gave Harry a look that could turn the sun to ice. "Er… I was wondering about… er… line 3" Harry said lamely. "Well Potter, I believe I made it quite clear when I explained that just a moment ago! Pay attention." Snape said, then he went on explaining the potion. Harry turned his attention back to Ginny and saw her looking at him. He was about to say something to her, but she quickly turned her attention back to Snape. So he quickly wrote a note, and carried it with him when he went to get his materials. He slipped it into her pocket when she passed by him, and they made eye contact for a split second before she ran back to the table. She took the note out and read through it and groaned. "Why is everyone's focus suddenly on me? Just last week I was invisible and no one wanted to talk to me! But now…" Ginny thought to herself. After class she took the long route to lunch to avoid certain people. She was walking down a hall way when suddenly someone said "I know you told Ginerva. Didn't you remember what I said I'd do if you told." Said a voice from behind her. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes in terror. Then she felt to hands grab her and begin to lead her away.
Luna noticed that Ginny wasn't at her classes for the rest of the day again, and began to worry about her. She walked up to Ron (who had Hermione and Harry with him) and said "What's wrong with Ginny? She hasn't been to her classes for a few days" Ron just shrugged it off and began talking about one of his classes with Luna as they began to make their way towards their next class. Harry however hung behind and began looking for Ginny. When he was about to give up his search, he heard someone crying from behind a statue. He looked behind it, and there on the floor was Ginny. Her robes were torn and she was crying hysterically.
Author's note: Ooo, what has happened to Ginny? You'll just have to wait to find out! So what do you think about Hermione helping Draco out in potions? Who do you think the mysterious guy is and what do you think he did? Please Review soon!