Chapter Thirteen, Another Day,
"Everywhere someone's getting older,
Everybody cries and sometimes
You can still lose even if you really try...
Talkin 'bout the dream, like the dream is over -
Talk like that won't get you nowhere,
Everybody's trusting in their hearts like their heart don't lie.
That's all that I need, yeah,
Someone else to cling to, well,
Someone I can lean on until
I don't need to,
Just stay all through the night
and in the morning let me down...
Cause that's all that I need right now..." -'All That I Need', Matchbox 20
Ginny woke up the next morning, and before she even opened her eyes, she smiled. She felt the soft satin sheets, and the heavy blankets warm her, not to mention the fact that she was still in Draco's arms.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up," he said softly. She opened her eyes to find him looking down at her, wide awake.
"Hm? How long have you been awake?"
"Just a few minutes, but I didn't want to disturb you. Breakfast is in a half an hour." Ginny's stomach dropped - she hadn't exactly thought this all through. She scrambled out of his bed, grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom, locking the door. She got changed quickly and hurried back out.
"What? What's wrong?" Draco asked, still in bed.
"I can't...oohh, this was stupid..." She muttered, he got up and went to her, grabbing her arm and forcing her to look at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"This...how am I supposed to get out? I left my stuff in the hospital wing, how am I supposed to get it? What am I going to tell my brother when he realizes I didn't come back last night!" She was frantically coming up with more and more situations, and Draco practically shook her.
"Snap out of it! Since when have you cared about what your brother thought? And I've got an invisibility cloak, haven't I?" She looked up at him, he looked so serious and reasonable, and it calmed her down a little bit. She was just scared...about everything. She borrowed his invisibility cloak and went on her way.
Once she got her things from the hospital wing, she went back to Gryffindor Tower to shower and change, hopefully in time for a short breakfast. She put Draco's cloak inside her bag and walked as fast as she could. When she got there, she found Harry, sitting on the couch, looking deshevled, but wide awake.
"Where have you been?" He asked, standing up to come over to her.
"What? Nowhere...just out." She lied.
"Out? All night? Ginny, are you crazy? What were you doing?"
"Nothing! And since when do you care where I go at night?"
"Since when...when...Ginny! We went through this last night! And by the way, I waited here for two hours for you to get back before falling asleep on the couch, only to wake up, to find you sneaking in before breakfast!"
"Harry, really, can we not do this right now? I'm feeling better today, and I'd really like to keep it that way. I'm going to go take a shower, then see if I can still get some breakfast. Maybe later on we'll talk or something."
"No, Ginny! We can talk now! --"
"No, Harry. We can't." And with that, Ginny triumphantly stormed off, proud of herself for keeping her cool.
When they got to Potions that afternoon, Harry and Ginny still weren't talking. Every once in awhile, Ginny would catch him staring at her, and blatantly look away. She hated being watched. Then she noticed her brother trying to work his way calmly to her table. She sighed, he'd told Ron.
"Gin, can we talk?"
"I don't think that's the best idea right now, Weasley. I have a potion to finish."
"Sod. Off. Malfoy." he said through gritted teeth. Ginny couldn't help but giggle.
"Give it a rest, Malfoy." Draco raised an eyebrow at her, then glared at her brother.
"Can we talk?" Ron said, concerned.
"Sure, what about?" She answered lightly.
"Erm...not here...maybe somewhere else..."
"Ron, I have a lot of work to do here, I can't exactly leave." Ron gave her a pleading glance, but she held her ground. He glared at Malfoy.
"What? You don't think I'm leaving, do you?" He drawled. Ron just kept glaring at him. Then he tossed a look over his shoulder at Harry, who seemed to reciprocate. Boys.
"Alright. Fine." Ron said through gritted teeth. "Where were you last night?" Ginny flushed.
"Ron, this is not the time, nor the place."
"I don't care about that, Gin, I want to know where you were!" He was speaking quietly, but his tone was getting more angry and frantic.
"I was out." She said stiffly. "Ron, it's none of your business."
"None of my business? What would Mum say if she heard you had stayed out all night!" Ginny looked at him, aghast.
"You wouldn't." She hissed.
"Ginny, we just want you to be safe! You could have been killed!"
"I promise you that I was in no danger whatsoever. You're just going to have to trust me."
"Trust you! You've been acting weird all year, Hermione says you've been sneaking out almost every night, and now Harry says he waited up for you, and you didn't come back! What are we supposed to trust?"
"That I know what I'm doing!" Ginny cried, placing the dagger she'd been using roughly on the table.
"Alright, alright, break it up. I don't want my potion exploding just because you decided it was time for a sibling's chat." Draco said, getting between Ginny and Ron, staring Ron down.
"Move, Malfoy." Ron spat.
"Or what, Weasley?" Ginny went back to her work, focusing on measuring out some ingredients, and trying to NOT focus on her brother.
"Or else." Just as he said that, Harry came up behind him. But then Blaise came up behind Draco, and soon enough, the whole class was watching. Professor Slughorn, however, seemed oblivious as he was reading a book. Ginny stayed at her seat, trying to push Ron's words out of her head. 'What are we supposed to trust?'
"I would advise you to leave. Right. Now." Draco hissed quietly, advancing on Ron.
"Not until you let me talk to my sister." Ron shot back. "Get out of my way, Malfoy." Ginny couldn't take it any more. Soon enough Hermione was going to realize that Draco was a little too upset to just want her to do work. Hermione had a knack for noticing those sorts of things. So Ginny did exactly what Draco had done and came between him and Ron. She pushed her brother back towards his table.
"Knock it off, Ron, we don't need this right now." She said. He was still glaring at Draco, but when Ginny turned back, she realized Draco and Harry were talking in hushed whispers. So she bolted back to them, and did the same thing to Harry. "Go back to your own table, Harry, just...ugh, just let it go!"
"I don't like you working with him," Harry said to her, quietly.
"That's lovely, but I'm afraid it doesn't matter." She said firmly. "Now go back to your work."
"No, Gin, I'm serious, he's a Death Eater, you're a Weasley...I don't like you working so closely with him. He's dangerous." Ginny snorted, and Harry looked at her in surprise.
"Please, that prat isn't any more dangerous than me."
"Ginny, do I have to remind you--"
"You don't have to remind me of anything, Harry, I know."
"Ginny, I'm just looking out for you..." He said, looking almost like he was pleading with her.
"Harry...thanks, but I really don't need it. I'm ok - everything's ok. I can handle Malfoy, it's fine."
"Gin, I just care about you, you know that, right?"
"Look...Harry..." she didn't know how she was supposed to say this without the Spanish Inquisition kicking down her door. "There's someone else." She spit out hastily. He looked stunned, like he couldn't move.
"Someone...who else? Is that where you've been going all this time? To see someone else? Who is he?" Harry was firing off questions quickly, but they were all saying the same thing.
"Harry, stop it! Stop, I have to get back to work before Malfoy comes over here." She glanced over her shoulder, to see Draco casting wayward glances in their direction, and if she didn't know any better, she might've said he was jealous.
"Gin, no...this is like last time, isn't it? Like with Michael and Dean?" Her eyes flashed furiously.
"Harry Potter, you stop it right now. This is not like that, not at all. You blew it. You had your chance and you blew it. And now I've found someone who doesn't make me half as miserable, and I'm happier. You're just going to have to deal with that. Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do." Her voice had gone from a whisper to a firm, stern tone almost instantly. He looked crushed, and she couldn't do anything but walk away. When she got back to her table, Draco was still working, but only half-heartedly.
"What's with the 'Malfoy' stuff?" He asked quietly.
"They've already yelled at me twice for calling you 'Draco'," Ginny giggled.
"Gits." Draco said under his breath, "So what made you blow up at Potter like that?" he asked casually. Ginny looked him square in the eye.
"What did you hear?" she whispered.
"Just you telling him to stop it, and that he blew it, and that you've found someone else."
"He thinks that as soon as he's done with all this crap I'm running back to him." She said flatly, glaring at the salamander's blood as though it was all its fault.
"He --" Draco was speaking louder now, so Ginny had to shush him before he blew his top,
"I'll tell you later, ok?" Draco kept on stirring the cauldron, but a little more vigourously.
Later on, when Ginny got back to the common room after her healing session, all three of them were there, waiting for her. When she walked in, they all stood up.
"Hey, Gin," Hermione said lightly, "can we talk?" Ginny sighed, she knew she couldn't put this off forever.
"What is it?"
"How about you come sit down," Harry suggested. She complied, and she sat on an armchair opposite them.
"We just wanted to talk to you about your new boyfriend." Hermione began softly. "Now, before you get upset, we do trust you," she said with a pointed glare at Ron, "and we aren't expecting much," another pointed glare, this time at Harry, "We just want to make sure you're ok." That last statement was directed at Ginny. Ginny wasn't sure if that little disclaimer had been for her or the boys, but either way, she was glad Hermione had made that clear.
"I'm ok." Ginny stated simply.
"Who have you been sneaking out to see?" Harry asked, quite directly.
"That's none of your business." Ginny spat. Hermione glared at Harry and whispered something Ginny couldn't hear, then she continued for them.
"Gin, we just want to know he'll protect you." Ginny rolled her eyes,
"Enough with the protecting! But yes, he's that annoying, too."
"Who is he?" Ron prodded,
"Why won't you tell us who he is?" Harry asked.
"Is he on our side?" Ron continued,
"Is he in your year?" Harry continued.
"Is he a good deuler?"
"Does he play Quidditch?"
"Was he in the D.A.?"
"Do you like hanging out with him more than us?" The two of the were firing off questions, both about Ginny's mysterious boy, but the two lines of questioning were going in completely different directions, and that's when it clicked in her head.
"He was right," Ginny said, amazed, shaking her head.
"He was right about what?" Harry said, snapping back to reality.
"You really are just jealous."
"What? Ginny... I..." Harry stuttered, and froze up.
"I don't need you to look out for me - any of you. I'm fine. He's sweet, and kind, and he listens to me. He's there for me when I need him, and there's nothing you can do to stop me from seeing him." Ginny began to stand up, and Hermione countered her.
"Ginny, we know that, we just want to know who he is, we want to know what's going on..." Ginny gaped at her.
"You want to know what's going on? You...you have got to be kidding." Hermione's look became defiant,
"Of course I'm not kidding! We want to make sure you're ok."
"I'm standing here, aren't I? I'm ok, Hermione! But don't you think I'd like to know what's going on sometimes? Don't you think I'd like to ask you guys that same question every single day? But you know what? I give up. This is completely not worth it." Ginny stormed off to her room and grabbed Harry's cloak. When she got back to the common room, she saw Ron and Hermione huddled in a corner, waiting for something. She got confused, so she stood for a second. Then she saw Harry nearly fly down the stairs from his dormitory, and Hermione and Ron stood up expectantly.
"It's gone!" He cried. Their eyes widened.
"Are you sure? Maybe you just misplaced it..." Hermione said worriedly,
"No, I'm sure - it's gone! Here's the map, but the cloak is gone!" Ginny froze - 'the cloak'...the cloak she was currently wearing...she should've known he'd notice sometime.
"Well you have to find it! She's going to be back any minute now, and she's going to leave!" Ron cried. Ginny thought for a second about who 'she' could be, until it hit her like a ton of bricks. They were going to spy on her. She could barely control herself, but she did. She took a deep breath and went back up to the stairs of her dormitory, took off the cloak, and waited a moment until she was calm enough to plaster a fake smile on her face.
"I know! I know!" Harry said, "but it's not anywhere! I practically dumped out my trunk - I left it right on top!"
"We need to know who Ginny's seeing!" Ginny's temper flared again, and she took that as her cue. She skipped down the stairs as loudly as possible, so they would hear her coming. Sure enough, they shut up the instant she took her first step.
"Hey guys, sorry...I just wanted to return this, Harry, I borrowed it."
"You...you what! Ginny! That was really stupid! Why would you steal my stuff!" Harry yelled angrily.
"It wasn't stealing, see? I gave it back." She shrugged. "What are you guys up to?" She added casually. Hermione looked down at her feet, while the color drained from Ron's face.
"Nothing...we were just...getting ready for bed..." Harry lied.
"You're a terrible liar." She stated flatly. He looked her in the eye,
"Well maybe if you told us some things we wouldn't have to lie to you!" He cried.
"Harry Potter don't you dare take that tone with me. I don't have to tell you a damn thing, do you hear me? Not a damn thing." She was trying desperately to hold on to her cool, and not lose it. "You do not need to watch out for me, you do not need to protect me. I'm doing just fine on my own. I'm safe, aren't I?"
"Yes, but Ginny, there are Death Eaters in the school, you know that!" Harry fought.
"STOP IT! Stop it, Harry! I don't need any more lectures from you! I don't need anything from you anymore, so just stop it!" She screamed. She'd told Draco she would meet him in the library, but she couldn't go now - not while they were ready and willing to spy on her. She didn't know what to do, she needed to vent, to yell and scream, but there was nowhere to go, no one to yell and scream at. So she went back up to her room, and took a long, hot shower, and went straight to bed without another word.
She woke up the next morning in the same mood. She didn't speak to anyone during breakfast, her morning classes or lunch. Before Potions began, though, they approached her table, where she and Draco had already started gathering their ingredients.
"Ginny..." Hermione began timidly, "Look, we're really sorry about last night..."
"You're only sorry because you got caught." Ginny said stiffly. She was kind of hoping Draco was eavesdropping, so she didn't have to find a time and place to explain to him why she stood him up last night.
"That's not true!" Harry cried, "We're just trying to look out for you!" Ginny flushed, her temper was raging. She didn't want to blow up and say something she'd regret, either to them or about Draco.
"Ginny, you're my only sister," Ron tried, with concern, "I just want to make sure you're ok."
"Do I look ok?" She asked briskly.
"No, you don't! And we want to fix it." He said, "Whoever he is, he isn't worth it."
"You...you think..." Ginny was so mad she couldn't even find the words to say. "You're more dense than I thought. You think he has anything to do with why I'm so upset? You think that my relationship has anything to do with the fact that you three are overbearing and annoying? You think that that has anything to with how awful you three have treated me all year? I don't know why you're suddenly so interested in my personal life now, but I'd appreciate it if you left me alone."
"We're interested in your personal life because we want what's best for you!" Harry said, forcefully.
"No you don't, you want nothing more than...whatever it is you want! You're concerned about my personal life now, because I suddenly have one! It's the same thing as it was last time Harry, you didn't notice me until I had someone else! Well, I'm not running back to you, Harry - forget it! I'm not breaking up with him just because you don't approve!" Ginny was yelling now, and Professor Slughorn had to come over and firmly tell them that class was starting and they needed to get to work. Ginny huffed and puffed through the potion, and Draco wouldn't let her touch the cauldron because if she stirred it, it would probably blow up.
Once everything had calmed down, and everyone was working on their potions, Draco started talking to her.
"What the bloody hell happened last night?" He asked, in awe. She had never blown up at Harry like that in public, and she guessed no one expected her to talk to him like that.
"They sat me down for a 'talk', and then when I wouldn't tell them who I'm seeing they freaked out and got out the Marauder's Map, and Harry looked for his invisibility cloak, which I had, but I had to give it back to him...they were going to spy on me."
"The Marauder's Map?" Draco asked curiously,
"It's just a thing Harry's got, shows you where everyone in the castle is...it's basically for spying on people, making sure no one's in the corridor you're about to enter when you're breaking to rules and stuff. But they were going to wait for me to show up, then follow me there, and see who I was with." Draco whistled quietly.
"That's incredible."
"I cannot believe they would do that..."
"So that's why you didn't show?"
"Can you imagine if they caught us together? They would not hesitate to kill you...and then me."
"You're a bit overdramatic, don't you think?"
"No. I don't." She huffed. And she didn't say another word for the rest of the class. She didn't speak to any of them through dinner, and she didn't speak to them when she walked into the common room that night.
"Hey Gin?" Unfortunately, that wasn't about to stop Harry from speaking to her.
"What." She said flatly, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible.
"I'm sorry. I just...I'm really sorry, Ginny. I shouldn't have expected so much from you...I just thought..." He looked really upset, and although she was mad at him, she wasn't about to try and make him cry.
"I know what you thought, Harry, but you have to understand - he doesn't treat me the way you do. Things are different now, I'm different now."
"What happened?"
"Things are just changing, Harry - people change." He sighed,
"I know...well..." He paused, "Saturday afternoon is the Gryffindor/Slytherin match."
"I know,"
"I have to leave tonight, I have...someplace to go..."
"See? That's what I'm talking about. 'Someplace to go'? What does that mean?"
"That's not the point. The point is that I won't be here for the match, and we need another Seeker." Ginny froze,
"What?"
"Think of it as a peace offering. I'm sorry, Ginny, I really am. I can't tell you where I'm going, but I won't be back for a few days. You can use my broom - you're our only hope against Malfoy." Ginny stood, rooted to her spot. She didn't know how to respond. How could she say no?
"Erm...ok, I guess..." She said, and Harry smiled.
"Great, thanks, Gin. So, we're ok?"
"Well, no, but I'd love to play..." His face fell a bit, but he nodded in understanding - it would take more than one Quidditch match to make up for everything he'd put her through in the last twenty-four hours. "You're not going to try and spy on me anymore?" She just wanted to make sure, he looked down at his shoes.
"No, of course not...I'm really sorry about that, Ginny...we were just worried..."
"Well stop worrying. I'll be fine." She made her way towards the stairs, "And Harry? Thanks..."