Undivided

Chapter 4: Some Things Don't Change

Author's jibberish: New chappie! Yea! It'll answer all your questions…or at least most of them.

To SVZ: You are just too sweet! But I gotta leave cliffhangers, otherwise people won't bother to tell me what they think. And it's kinda funny receiving death-threats…"I'll hunt you down and murder you like a rabid dog" and such.

To Ang3l666: Why is Draco gonna kill Ginny? Ah, just read on. I'll spoil it if I say why now.

To Kristie: I'm very happy that you find my writing interesting enough to put my on your list! I have another fan =D

            Ginny's head spun. "Wh-What?"
            "You heard me, Virginia," he said in a low voice. "I had direct orders to come here and murder you."

            All the blood seemed to drain from her body. "But…but why?"

            "Your father. Do you remember what happened almost 3 months ago?"

            "The three Deateaters at Towne's house," she said.

            Draco nodded. "Your father stopped an important part in the Dark Lord's plan. He was going to take over that town and make it one of his many strongholds over the country. However, someone caught them transporting dark objects to one of the newly built houses. Your father was notified by that someone who was none other than Ethan Towne. He thought it was just a group of petty dark wizards, but once he ran his mouth, he signed his death."

            "But why me?" she repeated, trying to find her voice.

            "Your father helped bring down the Dark Lord's plan. So, he targeted not only him, but Towne, Crowe and Todd as well. He thought the ultimate revenge would be to kill their last borns. No parent should bury their child."

            "And he assigned you?"

            "Yes, thanks to my father. Said I needed to prove my priorities." He noticed her confused expression. "My father found out about us last year. Pansy saw you coming in and out of my room and had the balls to owl him."

            Ginny felt sick.

            Finally, he let go of her. "That's why I…" he trailed off, "…did what I did."

            Stopped talking, Ginny thought. "He would've hurt you?"

            "And you," he added.

            Her stomach flopped.

            Draco sighed heavily, pulling off his glasses. "Why didn't you heed my warnings?"

            "I thought they were a joke!" she reasoned. "You expect me to believe notes that with no true reason. For goodness sakes, you didn't sign them!"

            "And risk getting them confiscated? I think not. Well, it makes things a lot more difficult."

            "Why? You-Know-Who isn't here! Not so long as Dumbledore is around, we're both safe…" she paused. "Right?"

            "I'm not the only Deatheater in Hogwarts. You have a handful of recently initiated ones in your year. I'm not sure if they know of my assignment…" his eyes trailed off for a brief moment, and then turned back to hers. "I'm not surprised if they were informed."

            "Does Dumbledore know? That you're…" she tried to find her words.

            He guessed them. "Doesn't seem like it," he shrugged. "Once again, not surprised if he did know."

            Paranoia washed over Ginny. She watched him turn away and walk towards his desk. "So what will you do?"

            "I'll think of something," he said, putting down his eyeglasses on his desk, his back to her.

            Silence spread through the room. It seemed both feared to make a sound. Ginny's heart started to pump slightly faster and it was eventually she who gained enough courage to speak. "Why not?" she saw him tilt his head slightly towards her.  "I was vulnerable. Why didn't you just kill me like the others?"

            And then he smirked, something that was so signature, it gave her a sense of nostalgia. "You did read the sonnet, didn't you?"

            Only about 57,825 times, she told herself. "Yes, I did."

            "Did you understand it? It was in English."

            She flushed. "I understand it perfectly," she defended. "The poet cared deeply for the person even though he couldn't admit it in public." Her face heated as he stared at her.

            His gaze was locked on her. "That's why," he simply put it.

            Ginny's heart skipped a beat. "But…but…that was months ago…" she said gently.

            "Some things don't change over time," he said to her.

            What could she say to that? What was he trying to say to her?

            "You better go," Draco told her. "You have to make your last runs and then go to your tower."

            Ginny nodded. She had completely forgotten of her prefect duties to finish. "Right."

            "Until then, Red…" Draco positioned himself back behind the desk.

            "I know. No talking," she said. Did he just call her 'Red' again? She suppressed the comforting feeling beginning to bubble inside.

            She left his office.

            Ginny couldn't sleep that night. Jumbles of thoughts ran through her head. Draco Malfoy was sent to kill her? Did Dumbledore know? Draco didn't want to kill her? Why not? He cared…but how much?

            It became routine to avoid eye-contact with each other. Ginny never willingly participated in class and only answered when called upon. Draco called on her during class, but on very rare occasions. Completely ignoring her was not an option. She was a student and must be pushed to answer, especially since she was always in a state of silence during class. This time of the day was always difficult. No one realized that, to him, her voice lingered in the air when she answered, even if it was one or two words; her voice hung around him.

            They didn't know that a pair of eyes were watching them, taking mental notes.

~*to be continued*~