QueenThayet12990- Sorry if Ron is turning out evil; that's not my intention. I just start writing and that's what comes out. I'll try to make him a bit more, "blonde" as you put it, lol. I'll at least try to make him more like himself. Thanks for the review!
IMustNotChaseTheBoys- You're right. It doesn't matter if he's not moving. You'll just have to read to find out if he's dead or not. I'm glad you like it, and keep reviewing!
Disclaimer- Darn. I don't own any of these characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I? I'd be sitting on a beach in Hawaii, drinking one of those smoothies out of a coconut. And I'd have a little umbrella in it too.
Chapter 6: Everything Will Be Alright
Ginny stared open-mouthed at Albert, shocked that they had actually found him. Her instincts kicked in however, and she rushed to his side. Everybody crowded around watching anxiously. Checking his pulse, she found he was breathing. He merely seemed to be unconscious. She turned him over.
"He's alright," Ginny called out. Many people let out their breaths. Ron came over tentatively, looking warily down at Ginny and Albert.
"He's okay?"
"Yes, he's fine," Ginny said. She was very relieved that he wasn't hurt…or worse.
She levitated him and the entire group turned around and headed back through the tunnel. Ginny assumed they had only been underground for about an hour or so. Ron turned to a Hufflepuff boy and instructed him to run ahead and tell the professors they had found Albert. The boy took off running, and soon was lost from sight.
As Albert floated eerily behind her, she thought about what Draco had said. Watch your back. What was he going to do? Ginny tried to shove all thoughts of Draco Malfoy from her mind. If he tried anything, Ron would beat him to a pulp. She smiled as the image of Malfoy squashed into goo floated through her mind. But he had warned her brother as well. She should just have to be extra careful…that's all.
Before too long, they reached the entrance to the tunnel, which seemed to be somewhere in the dungeons. Professor Dumbledore was waiting, as well as Madame Pomfrey and the boy Ron had sent to fetch them. When they emerged, Ginny shielded her eyes from the light as Pomfrey and Dumbledore hurried over to Albert.
Madame Pomfrey quickly took control of the situation. She started walking off, Albert drifting after her, and Dumbledore was quick to follow. Before he got too far away however, he turned and came back.
"Good work…all of you. Mr. Harding will be fine, Madame Pomfrey assures me. You all have done excellent work; each of you will receive 10 points to your house for the assistance you have given. Now, you haven't missed many classes, so off you go." Then Dumbledore left, hurrying to catch up to the school nurse.
Ginny sighed and headed towards the Gryffindor common room. She was supposed to be in Herbology, and she needed to get her books.
When she had gotten her books and was heading down to her Herbology class, something glinting in the light caught her eye. Stooping over, she snatched up a beautiful silver bracelet. The bracelet had a very thin chain, and small, diaphanous stars dangled from it. The stars were attached to other chains, and they all hung at different lengths. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Ginny had ever seen. She looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of its owner, but she saw only a few students hurrying to class. Clasping it to her wrist, Ginny started off at a slight jog to Herbology. She didn't notice a pair of eyes watching her from the shadows.
Late that afternoon, Ginny was sitting in the library with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were all trying to write essays, and Ginny found it very hard to concentrate. She kept sneaking looks towards Harry, but he was always either talking to Ron or had his head in a book. Ginny sighed. She really needed to forget about him.
After about an hour or so, a girl came up to Harry. She had waist length blonde hair that was perfectly straight. Looking at her robe, Ginny noticed that she was a 7th year Ravenclaw. Ginny thought she was gorgeous. Apparently, Harry and Ron thought so too. They were staring up at her with eyes wide and jaws dropped. Ginny scowled.
"Excuse me," the girl said in a voice that flowed like music. "Harry, my name is Jenny Troustoal. I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmede with me next month. And maybe, do something before then, too?"
Harry stood up, and Ginny noticed that Jenny was much taller than she was. Jenny was almost as tall as Harry, but not quite. She looked perfect standing next to him.
"I'd love to," Harry smiled at her. Jenny smiled at him. Ginny scowled.
"Great. Well, I should be going. I'll see you around, Harry." With that, Jenny walked out of the library, where she was immediately surrounded by a group of giggling girls. Then they were lost from Ginny's sight.
"Nice one, mate!" Ron shouted at Harry, who couldn't stop smiling. Ginny felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. She was shocked. Of course she always knew Harry never liked her like that, but to see first hand that he didn't, well, it hurt. A few tears appeared in her eyes, and she hid behind her book. Hermione was smiling at Harry. Quickly though, her feelings of being betrayed left her. They were replaced by anger.
"Well, aren't you all happy for me?" Harry asked them.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Ginny interrupted her.
"No I'm not happy!" Ginny shouted at him. "Don't you know how I feel about you? I've always liked you! Bloody hell, Harry! Why couldn't you have just asked me out?"
Silence engulfed their table. Ron, with his smile frozen in place, stopped slapping Harry on the back and gawked at his sister. Harry looked taken aback and fell into his seat. With wide eyes, Hermione slowly put her book down and stared at Ginny. Ginny herself was starting to feel sick. Why did I say that? I didn't mean to say that! Oh no, what have I done?
Ginny stood up so fast that her chair tumbled to the floor. Leaving her books, quills, and three very shocked friends behind, she ran out of the library, tears streaming down her face.
When she got to her room, she slammed the door shut and locked it. She didn't care if the other girls couldn't get in. Right at that moment, she didn't care about anything except what she had just done.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Ginny kept crying to herself. "What have I done? He'll never want to speak to me again." Ginny was sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees. She rested her head on her knees, her hair falling around her face. She had been so incredibly stupid to say what she had. That had been what she was thinking, but she never planned on actually saying it.
Ginny moaned and rolled over on her side. I'm never coming out of this room, she thought. I don't care if I die in here…it would be easier than this. Like a broken faucet, tears continued streaming down her face. Soon, she fell asleep.
Ginny was awoken from her slumber when she heard pounding on her door. Just go away, she thought. Leave me alone. But the incessant knocking didn't stop, so she got up and went to the door.
"Who is it?" Ginny croaked. Her voice sounded unfamiliar to her. She was all stuffed up from crying, but a there was a certain dead tone to it.
"Hermione," a gentle voice called from the other side. "Let me in, Gin. We need to talk."
Silently, Ginny opened the door, and Hermione came in. "Talk all you want, Hermione. I'm never coming out. After what I did, Harry will never want to speak to me again." She went over and sat on the bed, her head hanging down. Hermione sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.
"Oh Ginny, it's not that bad. Harry - well, Harry just needs a little time. He'll forget all about it eventually." Tears started leaking from her eyes again. Ginny just sat and sobbed.
"I brought your books back," Hermione said. She chuckled. "When you left, Harry and Ron just sat there for like five minutes, their mouths open and everything. Believe me, they'll get over it." They were silent for a minute, and Ginny's crying subsided. She sniffed a few times and looked up.
"I thought you gave up on Harry a long time ago," Hermione said, looking at Ginny sadly.
"I tried," whispered Ginny, staring down at her hands. "I just couldn't though. I kept holding on to this tiny belief that one day he'd just say he loved me and ask me out." Her lip quivered. "I was so stupid," she said as tears again formed in her eyes, though they never fell.
"No, Ginny, no you weren't. It's just that sometimes we do and say things we don't mean. It's not your fault."
Swallowing hard, Ginny looked up and gave a tiny smile. "Thanks, Hermione. You're like the sister I always wanted but never got." Hermione smiled back and gave her a big hug.
"Do you want some food? Everyone's down at dinner." Violently, Ginny shook her head.
"No. I don't think that would be a good idea. I mean, look at me." Ginny threw her hands in the air and let them flop back down to her sides. Her eyes were red and extremely puffy, and her hair was disheveled. Hermione nodded at her.
"Well, I'll bring you something up, then. I know you're hungry." Ginny smiled again, and Hermione left. She sat down on her bed, thinking hard. Hermione was probably right; she always was. It was just going to be awkward around Harry for a while. "Everything will be alright," Ginny whispered to herself. "Everything will be alright."
The next morning, Ginny took a quick shower and erased the last traces of sleep from her eyes. It had been a rough night for her. She hadn't gotten much sleep, but she had forced herself to stop worrying over Harry. One good thing had come from her outburst though. She no longer cared for Harry. At least not in the way she always had. She still loved him; she always would. It was just brotherly love though.
Today, she was going to apologize to him, and then try to get on with her life. As she walked out the door, she shook her hair back and held her head high.
Before she got a chance to approach Harry though, he came to her. Ginny looked down at her feet, her earlier courage now gone. She could feel the heat start creeping up her neck.
"Ginny, we need to talk," Harry said, looking at her kindly. At least he's not blowing up in my face like I did to him, Ginny thought. That's always good.
"I'll see you two later," Harry called to Ron and Hermione. He started for the fat lady's portrait, Ginny following behind.
They walked for a minute or two in silence, heading towards the Great Hall. Ginny was just about to open her mouth and blurt out her apology, but Harry beat her to it.
"I'm sorry, Ginny."
Ginny stared at him a second. "What do you have to be sorry about? I'm the one who needs to be apologizing, not you. I'm the one who yelled at you."
"No, I'm sorry. I had no idea that you felt that way about me. I'm sorry I made you feel that way, and I'm sorry I hurt you. But you see, you're like a sister to me. I don't think I can like you like that. Do you understand?"
Ginny nodded. "So…you're not mad at me?"
"Mad?" Harry looked incredulously at Ginny. "Ginny, you're my best friend's sister. How could I possibly be mad at you?"
As relief washed over her, Ginny smiled wide. Everything was alright. Harry wasn't mad at her and they were still friends. She felt like singing to the world.
"I thought you'd never want to speak to me again," Ginny laughed. Harry chuckled too. "So, we're okay? I mean, we're still friends?"
Harry stopped walking and pulled her into a big hug. The familiar fluttering feeling returned to Ginny's stomach again, though not as strong. She shoved it aside and hugged Harry back.
"Of course we are, Ginny," Harry whispered into her ear. "We always will be."
They continued walking in silence. As they neared the Great Hall, they spotted Malfoy standing in a corner talking with Crabb and Goyle. He smirked openly at them, and then turned back to his bodyguards. All three burst out laughing, and looked back over at them. Ginny frowned. Watch your back, he had said. What was he planning on doing to them?
Shaking Malfoy out of her head, she sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, and Ron and Hermione soon joined them. Hermione looked questioningly at her, and Ginny smiled back. Hermione looked relieved and started buttering some toast. Ron was looking at her oddly, and she asked, "What?"
Ron shook his head, and looked over at Harry. "Uh, are you two - I mean, er - are you two alright? You're not fighting or anything, are you?" Ginny almost laughed at the worried look on her brother's face.
"We're fine, Ron." Ginny answered back; Harry nodding in agreement.
"Good," Ron sighed, looking very relieved. "Because we can't have two teammates fighting on the Quidditch team. Say, Harry? When do you think you're going to have tryouts?"
Ginny smiled to herself. Her brother was always thinking about Quidditch. But he was right. It wouldn't be good for the team if their captain, and Seeker, was fighting with one of the Chasers. Ginny had become a Chaser last year. She didn't like to brag, but she thought she was pretty good. Ron, for the most part, had gotten over his fear of playing. If he ignored the crowd, he was an excellent Keeper. This year, they were out of a Chaser and two Beaters. Hopefully, they would find someone who could play well, and their team would be even better than last year.
Sighing, Ginny tossed her books on the floor next to her bed. As she did so, she glanced at her new bracelet. It had been on her mind most of the day. Where had it come from, and whose was it? She had no thoughts of turning it in, since it was beautiful. Ginny didn't have much jewelry, and what she did have, she rarely wore. The stars were so silver that they were almost transparent. Ginny smiled, and headed down for dinner.
She hurried along the corridor. It was late; everybody was already eating. Nobody was in the halls, and Ginny sped up. As she turned a corner, she heard whispering, and she skidded to a stop. Straining her ears for the source of the noise, she turned to her left and right. She couldn't make out what was being said, so she took a few tentative steps ahead.
To her left, and door was open. Approaching it cautiously, she stuck her head in for a quick peak. Draco Malfoy was sitting on a desk, muttering to himself. His back was turned so he didn't notice her. Remaining very quiet, Ginny eavesdropped on him.
"It worked perfectly." Draco sounded gleeful. "They don't suspect a thing…nobody will ever know…"
Ginny frowned to herself, and quickly jogged away from the door. It wouldn't be good for Malfoy to find her there. What in the world was he talking about though? Was he thinking of Albert? Had he been to one to kidnap him and take him underground? Ginny didn't think it too likely. After all, Malfoy had been in their search party. Why would he volunteer to look for him if he was the one to take him? But then again…Albert Harding was a muggle-born. Everybody knew how much Draco Malfoy hated muggle-borns. Them…and blood-traitors.
Ginny walked into the Great Hall and sat down next to Ron. As she filled her plate with food and started to eat, she quickly forgot all about Malfoy. Harry, she noticed, was sitting over at the Ravenclaw table next to Jenny. Shockingly, it didn't bother Ginny too much, for which she was grateful.
Before she knew it, Ginny was laying in her bed that night. Her starry bracelet reflected the moonlight and shimmered. Smiling, Ginny fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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A/N: YAY! I finally updated. Sorry about the long wait, but I didn't have much time to get on the computer and write this. School is getting soooooo hard. I'm not sure if I like that chapter too much. But I have some really good ideas for this story. I already have something planned for around Christmastime (Christmas in the story, not in real life). So I'm really excited about that. And sorry, so far this sounds like it's going to be a Harry/Ginny story, BUT IT'S NOT. Don't worry, it will end up being Draco/Ginny.
