Chapter Nine

Ginny giggled as she and Draco looked through old photo albums.

"You sure were different," she said, pointing to a picture of him in his second year.

"Times change, people change," he answered. Ginny smiled. She and Draco had spent quite a lot of time together in the last month, and though the house wasn't at its cleanest, Draco was talking about hiring more help and Ginny felt like things were looking up for her. She was, however, finding it increasingly difficult to quench the things she was starting to feel around him…

"I'm going to go get a drink," she said. "Be right back." He nodded and she walked out. She stopped.

"Oh, and Draco?" she added, as an afterthought. "No hiding pictures when I'm gone." He laughed and she hurried off. She drained her glass of water and as she started to get back to Draco, the doorbell rang.

"Hey Gin, get the door will you?" Draco shouted, and Ginny ran and threw open the door. She staggered backwards in surprise.

"Pansy… how wonderful it is to see you again," she managed.

"That's Miss Parkinson to you," Pansy said, laughing as she gave Ginny her fox fur. "Handle that carefully, it cost a bundle. More than your life's worth."

"And probably more than yours," Ginny whispered under her breath. "DRACO! You have a visitor!" Draco walked down the stairs and embraced Pansy.

"Ginny, get us some coffee," Draco told her, as he led Pansy into the living room. Ginny stared after him, open-mouthed. She had been enjoying her break from all the tasks she had been given in the past months, and it was all over. So he's already forgotten how much I helped him that night, she thought angrily. As well as the fact that we're supposed to be friends! Making sure to put a sickeningly large amount of sugar in each cup, she returned, smiling.

They were gone. Ginny left the cups on the table and made her way upstairs, where she could already hear giggling and small cries of pleasure from next door. Sighing, and wondering why she even cared… she had Harry after all… she went into the bathroom and took a long bath. She must have dozed off, because when she opened her eyes, the giggling and movement next door had stopped, and she could very faintly make out the door in the entrance hallway closing. She got out of the bathtub and dried herself off, picking out new robes from the wardrobe and brushing her hair carefully. She looked out the window and saw Pansy kissing Draco one last time. She felt jealousy surge up inside her like an angry snake.

Then, without thinking, without knowing, but just feeling, she sat down and cried. Tears poured down her cheeks like never before, and her mind told her she was useless… that no one wanted her… no one cared about her… not Harry… not her family… not her friends… not even Draco… that she was all alone in the world… Sobbing, she searched around the bathroom until she found what she was looking for. Holding the cold, hard metal to her throat, she decided to end it all right there. Her life, to her, was over. She felt like a broken soul, and with no one to share her pain, it was too much for her. She was sick of all the disappointments… Who would notice if I'd die today? Draco has Pansy… Harry has obviously forgotten me… as have my family and friends. Sobbing hysterically, she held the knife closer to her neck.

"Goodbye," she whispered. There was knocking at the door, but she ignored it. Taking the small knife, she got ready to make the single clean cut that would end her life.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco stormed into the bathroom, knocking the knife aside. Ginny looked into his furious face, and felt afraid.

"I was just… just—"

"Just making the biggest mistake of your life, you idiot," he shouted at her, and she started crying again.

"I didn't know what to do… I-I—"

"You didn't have to attempt bloody suicide!" Draco's voice echoed through the room, and made her feel guilty, which just added to her tears.

"I thought it all for the best," she whispered. Draco was crying too now and he picked her up effortlessly and carried her into her room, where he set her down on the bed.

"Oh, Ginny, you idiot…" he said, over and over again as he held her close. "Don't do that ever again, understand?"

She nodded weakly. Draco held her even more tightly, trying to forget the fact that he had almost lost her… almost lost her forever. Draco shut his eyes and promised himself he would never, ever let anything happen to her…

A/N: Ok, a bit of a depressing chapter there… but oh well :P REVIEW