02 November 2005

A note from Starry: Hullo everyone! Can you believe I'm updating today? Wow! I got happy and decided to write chapter eight of this fic and share it with all of you. I'm also sad because this fic is reaching it's end! Only two more chapters and it will be over! -cries- Oh and before I forget... There will be no sequel to this fic, so please do not ask me to write a sequel! Why you ask? Well because I think a sequel will ruin this story and my writing fairy wants me to continue writing the other fics that need to be finished. There you have it, reason why there will be no sequel.

Ok, notes on this chapter... hmm... Oh yeah, I will surprise you with something that happens in chapter! -gasp- Oh no! Hehe, and everything that is happening and stuff is leading to the end. If you have been paying attention, every chapter is one day. Who noticed this? Please say if you noticed this so I can give you a cookie. Anyways this chapter and chapter nine will be one whole day, Thursday. So chapter nine is the second half of this chapter/day, I guess that's how you can call it.

Enough with the notes! On to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own characters from Potterverse.

Chapter Eight: Secrets

"Ginny?"

Opening her eyes, Ginny became aware that she was in her room with Harry standing above her. She sat up and looked down at herself. Her white pajamas were stained with dirt and a few bits of leaves were stuck to her.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Harry's emerald eyes searched her brown ones with great intensity.

"Yes, I mean, I think I'm ok. My head hurts though…" Her left hand went up and she touched her forehead lightly. "I— what happened?"

After she asked that question, her thoughts immediately raced back to Draco and her sitting at the lakes shore. She remembered running off after noticing Draco being dangerously close in discovering her secret. She scanned Harry's eyes once more and she remembered getting lost in the Forbidden Forest and screaming for her life when she heard someone speak to her.

"What were you doing in the Forbidden Forest so late last night?" The Seventh year wizard asked, expression set into a curious one.

Ginny broke eye contact and found interest in her red and gold sheets. Hmm, she never noticed that spot there…

"Answer me, Ginny. Why were you out in the Forest so late at night?" His eyes darkened and sent a shiver of fear go down her spine.

"I wanted to go out for a walk!" Anger pushed the fear aside. Why was he getting like this anyways? It's not like he cared for whatever she did, right?

Harry sighed and lifted his hand to his hair. Ginny followed his hand as he ran it through his raven colored hair making it get even messier. Suddenly she remembered.

xoxoxoxoxox

"What are you doing here?"

It didn't take a second for Ginny to hesitate when she let out a blood curling scream.

A hand was clamped over her mouth and her scream was muffled. Her eyes searched for her attacker's identity but didn't find it. Until she lifted her left foot and with all her strength, jammed it up hitting the person in between the legs.

The person fell to the floor with a grunt and she immediately recognized it as Harry. Panic rushing through her body, she kneeled down and started talking to him.

"Harry! Sorry I—" She didn't finish when she saw that they weren't alone, "Hermione?" She rose up and stared up at the Seventh year witch, who was half dressed.

Harry jumped up and stood beside Hermione, who was putting a sweater on and fixing her hair. If it hadn't been for the lack of light, Ginny would have seen them blushing.

Ginny felt a jolt of anger and sadness surge through her veins and right when she was about to say something, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the ground.

xoxoxoxoxox

"You and Hermione…" Ginny glared up at Harry and felt disgusted for some reason. She felt as the anger was taking toll once more and she clenched her hands. How could they do this to her?

Harry's expression turned into a shocked one, making it evident that he wanted the Sixth year witch to have forgotten the events of the previous night.

"Is that what you two have been doing ever since you guys stopped going out with me?" Her voice shook but her look was fierce.

Harry nodded slightly before looking away.

"But I thought you fancied Parvati! You always talked about her and—and you never mentioned or hinted anything for Hermione! And she knew my feelings for…" She shut her mouth and shook her head, making some of her red hair fall in her face. "Did you knock me out so that I could forget?"

"No! Hermione says that it was the rush of the emotions mixed with the curse that made you lose conscience. We would never hurt you, Ginny."

"Shut up! You and she have been lying to Ron and to everyone else! I—I—Is that why Hermione isn't here with you? Because she's embarrassed to look at me now, is that why?"

Harry didn't look at her and it made Ginny mad. Still sitting on her bed, she lifted her hands and placed them on his shoulder, making him look at her. With a glare, she slapped him and yelled, "Get out! Get out! And don't talk to me ever again, you—you—you traitor and liar! I hate you! GET OUT!"

Ginny covered her red face in her hands and stayed like that until she heard her door close. She decided to let a minute pass before lifting her head up to see if he had indeed gone. She felt relieved when she saw she was alone. How could Hermione do this to her? How could Harry do this to her? Didn't they know of her crush for him? They had to! It was evident and she'd told Hermione how she still fancied him.

"What about Draco? Merlin's he knows about my curse and I wish he was here holding me and telling me that Harry and Hermione are gits…" she said to no one in particular. Even though she had fallen for Draco, she still had that little feeling for Harry. It just wasn't going disappear in a blink of an eye and she hated that. She wanted to kill that little flame for Harry in her heart and make room for Draco's cold fire to burn.

Why had she called him a liar and traitor if they had never gone out? Those words were meant for Hermione and she knew it. Harry was the one to receive them because he had been present at the time but they were for Hermione. She was pulled out of her thoughts when a small 'pop' indicated that she was no longer alone.

"Melmel has brought the missus breakfast." Melmel snapped her fingers and a table filled with porridge and all sorts of morning food, appeared out of thin air.

Ginny didn't feel hungry at the moment, but she didn't want to tell Melmel that. So she just nodded and waited for the house elf to finish setting up before popping out. Relieved that she was alone again, Ginny sighed and lay back down on her bed. Draco pushed Harry and Hermione out of her mind and she found herself smiling.

How could he make her feel like this after just a short period of time? While being Echo, she had seen a little bit of his other side and she liked that. She now knew that he loved to fly and he wanted to get out of this world and be someone else that no one knew. She loved to know that she was the only one who had the knowledge that he loved to lay on the grass letting the wind blow through his blond hair.

Forgetting the incident between Harry and herself, she got up and walked to her bathroom, thinking of Draco.

xoxoxoxoxox

Draco sat glaring daggers at Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. From a bush he had seen how Harry had carried an unconscious Ginny beside Hermione. He became angrier when he heard Harry telling Hermione that he hoped Ginny forgot what she had seen and not mention it to anyone.

After he flew out of his window, he landed on the lakes shore and ran the same steps Ginny had a few minutes ago. He stopped though, when he heard someone talking and leaves rustling. He was surprised to see Hermione with her clothes backwards. It wasn't until he heard Harry say that, that he realized that the two Seventh year Gryffindors had a secret of their own. They were lovers, secret lovers. He had immediately pushed that blackmail bait when he saw Ginny in Harry's arms. He followed them until they reached Gryffindor tower, making him turn around and head back to his house.

Looking down at his breakfast, he didn't feel hungry and the biscuits looked to be hard. He moved his gaze to the big oak doors and hoped that Ginny would somehow walk in. He would follow her and tell her that he knew of her secret and that all she needed was to be kissed!

"I have a few announcements to make this morning."

Silence flooded the Great Hall and all heads swiveled towards Dumbledore, who was standing up with his arms raised.

"This might surprise all of you as this has never happened before. I've talked to your professors and we've all decided to give you the day off today."

Waves of whispers began to travel across the Hall and it wasn't until the old man raised his left hand, that everyone went silent again.

"We believe that you all need time to prepare for the Silhouette and Harlequin Ball. The even starts at eight o' clock sharp and it will not end until twelve o' clock." He looked over at the Gryffindor table before glancing at Draco's side of the Slytherin table. "Tonight, is the night to be yourselves and I mean your true selves. Show everyone who you really are and enchant everyone with it! Now you may all be excused when you are done." He lowered his arms and sat down once more. He turned his attention to Professor McGonagall who had tugged at his sleeve.

The voices in the Hall grew louder and everyone was talking on what they were going to do during the day. Girls were giggling and planning their 'beautifying' hours as well as who would have the showers at what time.

"He's really gone nutters, yes he has," Draco said to himself. Why was Dumbledore doing this? And why had he looked at him when he was saying the last part? Shaking his head, he got up and decided to just skip this pointless meal. He had more important things to do. Search for Ginny and tell her.

As he looked for Ginny, he couldn't stop thinking of everything that happened the last few days. Remembering how he had been so close in kissing her back in the owlery made him get a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. He smiled at the vicious feeling that had overcome him back there. If she wouldn't have run out, then her curse would have been lifted that day and she would be happily walking right now. Where was she?

xoxoxoxoxox

"Ginny?"

That voice made Ginny sit up on her bed and glare at her door. She knew who was behind that retched door…

"Can I come in?" asked the person outside.

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "You have two legs don't you? If you can wrap them around Harry, I see no problem in using them to walk into someone's room…"

Silence.

Ginny smiled and felt triumphant at having made the older witch leave. But her smile soon turned into a frown when she heard her door closing and Hermione walking towards her. Ginny got up form her bed and glared.

"Look, I know you must hate me but listen to me. I didn't do this with any thought of ever hurting you! I thought your crush on Harry had died when he showed you signs of pure friendship. I didn't know. Please Ginny, I'm sorry!"

Ginny was surprised when the feelings that she didn't expect rose up and began swimming around in her chest. Instead of feeling the need to yell at her and call her a Scarlet Woman, she felt the feeling of sadness and sympathy? She shook her head, closed her eyes and raised her left hand to her forehead.

"You can't command the heart…"

The redhead's eyes shot open and immediately locked with Hermione's brown ones. She knew what Hermione was talking about. It had happened to her with Draco. Feelings and emotions she had never felt for anyone else (not even for Harry) had sprouted out of nowhere with no explanation. Still, that was no reason to go around having a secret affair and not telling anyone. Sure Ginny had stronger feelings for Draco, but Harry had been her life long crush and it hurt her knowing that her best friend was the one who had always inhabited his heart.

"Does Ron know?" she asked, emotionless.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "Harry and I told him this morning during breakfast. He was surprised at first and a bit mad for keeping it from him. But then he congratulated us and said he was happy for us."

"Oh, I see." Ginny turned away from the bushy-haired girl and focused her attention on her hands.

"Are you going to the ball?" Hermione asked, moving her attention to Ginny's hand.

Good question. Was she going to attend the ball with her little disguise? What if she met with Draco and he decided to tell her secret at the ball. What about Harry? She had slapped him and said things to him that she shouldn't have. Remembering the words that were meant for Hermione, Ginny looked up at the older witch and said, "I don't know. If I do go, I won't tell you though. I don't want you to tell my brother or Harry what my plans are. I want to enjoy without being recognized because you three are hanging by my side." She looked away and felt angry again. What was happening to her? She was one emotional roller coaster at the moment.

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't inform your brother or Harry anything of what we've talked about. If you do go, don't wear a disguise. Dumbledore said, everyone should go and be themselves tonight. Their true selves." Hermione sighed and turned around towards the door. "I'm leaving now. I'll continue looking for that person with the book. There are no classes today so you don't have to worry about being late." She placed her hand on the door handle and turned it.

As soon as Hermione closed the door, Ginny fell on her bed with her back facing the ceiling. She felt tears stinging her eyes and she wondered why she had just gone from angry to sad at the moment. All these emotions were driving her crazy! She hadn't yelled at Hermione and even though she knew she should have, she felt happy knowing that she was now free to pursue Draco.

What was he doing right now? Would he treat her bad when he saw her again? She moved her gaze to the light green dress she had picked out and felt a few tears slide down her cheek. She wasn't going to enjoy the ball with a date because no one had asked her to it.

'Who cares, you won't be tied down to anyone. Then again, no one will want to dance with you… not even Malfoy. Ah, back to surname are we? Shut up! Who wants to go to some ball with a person who changes every day and night?'

"And who argues with herself in her head…"

Walking to the bathroom door, she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe with a few charms and spells she could make those nasty freckles disappear as well as make the extra fat disappear.

"He said that if he looks hard enough, he can see your beauty," she said to her reflection that had mysteriously changed into Echo.

Echo smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "Yes, he did! If only you looked like this all the time…"

Ginny nodded and turned to turn on the shower. After a while of standing there, the water finally became warm and she got in.

xoxoxoxoxox

"We're going to be late! The ball is in thirty minutes!"

Draco rolled his eyes as he walked out of the Slytherin common. He was dressed in dark green and black designer dress robes. His shiny black shoes reflected everything and made a light 'tap' noise as he walked towards the Great Hall.

In final, he had decided to go to this ball because he wanted to talk to Ginny. He doubted she was going to show up after what Corner did but something still told him to go. As he made his way, he wondered if she was going to show up as Echo or just her normal everyday self.

He stopped walking and his heart lurched. There standing at the corner was Ginevra Weasley wearing a greenish dress that went all the way down to the floor. From what he could see, he noticed that it dipped to her mid-back exposing her freckly skin. He pulled his shirt collar and with a deep breath, he started walking to her.

xoxoxoxoxox

After hours of sitting in the shower crying, being angry at Hermione, Harry and Ron, and giggling at the coming night's attraction she finally felt okay. While she put on the beautiful gown, she felt some sort of confidence begin to build inside of her. She hadn't found any spell or charm that could help her boost her appearance but that didn't stop her. The idea of walking in as Echo, and just lying and saying that the spells had indeed worked, made her happy again. She would go in after eight o' clock and impress everyone.

When the clock struck 7:30 PM she had run out of Gryffindor tower and stopped in a deserted corridor to go over her plan. She would walk in and after seeing peoples reaction (she was hoping it was good) she would walk to Draco and smile at him. Then he would push his anger of her lying to him aside and ask her to dance. They would dance all night and before she would go to bed, he'd kiss her.

Frowning she shook her head and said, "No he won't do that. He'll be too repulsed to even kiss me…"

"Who will be too disgusted to kiss you?"

Ginny turned her head in a rapid motion to the owner's voice and almost fell backwards when she noted that it was Draco Malfoy. Panic filled up inside of her, leaving her with an open-mouthed shocked expression.

"Hello, Ginny, or should I say, Echo…"

Starry: Woo! The moment we've all been waiting for, right, right? And whoa with the whole Harry/Hermione thing! Didn't see that coming, eh? I'm ivel! -insert maniac laugh in here- Yep yep, if you noticed in chapter seven how Hermione yelled out that Harry thought Ginny was pretty... a bit o' jealousy? huh? -nudge nudge- Hehe ok... Ginny needs to be angry at Hermione for Chapter ten to work and the plot too so yeah. If you don't ship this pairing, I apologize but you don't have to worry as it won't really appear.

Ron will make some more appearences so don't worry about that! And Oh my, the kiss! Hmm I'll give ya a spoiler I guess... that awaited kiss happens in the next chapter! -insert dramatic music here- YES! Chapter nine! WOO! If you're confused, please state so and in my next Authors Note thingy, I'll clarify. I hope no one gets confused though! Thanks! Please review and tell me your thoughts!