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Chapter 33: A New Stand
For a few moments, Draco didn't move. He just continued to lie on the floor where he had fallen, wishing the pounding in his head would stop; it felt as if a dozen Bludgers had all hit him at the same time. He could hear Ginny sobbing and Draco's heart boomed against his chest each time he breathed because he knew those cries were for him. She hadn't wanted to do this, and to be truthful, Draco had badly wanted to give in to her urgent pleas. However, he knew that if he had shown any hesitance, she would have noticed and taken advantage of it.
Well it doesn't matter now, Draco thought, closing his eyes. It didn't work.
Wincing, he sat up. "Bloody hell that hurt," muttered Draco as he rubbed his temple. He heard Ginny gasp, the sound of a wand clattering to the floor, hurried footsteps, and then Ginny's arms were around him. His arms hesitantly went about Ginny as she cried on his shoulder. Draco rested his chin on Ginny's shoulder and sighed as he stared past her, his mind thinking back to the events that had led him to sitting on the floor, holding Ginny Weasley in his arms.
The year had started out as every other had, with Draco continuing on with his bad-boy charade. And then everything had changed with the disappearances of Albert Harding and Trent Johnson. Ginny Weasley, one of the least likely people to ever align herself with Draco Malfoy, offered to help him solve the mystery to clear his name. And through it all, Draco began to see her as someone other than what he had always presumed her to be. More importantly, Draco saw himself clearly for the first time. He had always known he'd never become a Death Eater, but it had always been an empty statement then. Now Draco knew what he wanted to stand up for, what was real and true.
Lucius Malfoy and all that man stood for was neither.
Draco had been forced to kill Aidan Grant; he wished that it had been himself being killed that night other than the boy. But the deed was past and Draco couldn't do anything about it. The horror of what he had done had threatened to swallow Draco, and many times, Draco had let it consume him. He had even taken some of that anger and self-loathing out on Ginny when she had been angry at him.
But with the discovery of Draco's mother came a glimpse of something he'd never had. For the first time in his life, Draco felt wanted, needed. Narcissa had tried to save both herself and Draco, but she had been caught for Lucius. Her love for Draco had cost her seventeen years of her life. A greater sacrifice Draco had not yet come across.
Until Lucius had realized that Narcissa had been saved, that is. He had come to the school and confronted Draco, saying that he would stop at nothing to find out what had happened. Then Draco knew that he couldn't continue on with Ginny. If his father found out about Draco's acquaintance with her, both Ginny and his mother would be in more danger than Draco cared to think about. The decision to erase his own memory was a hard one for Draco to make, but he knew it had to be done. He honestly hadn't thought Ginny would take it so hard, but his heart smiled because she had. Maybe more people cared about him than he thought.
As Draco had been waiting for Ginny to arrive that evening, the thought to kiss her had come to him. At first he'd been hesitant about it, but when she had walked into the room and he had looked her over, he knew that if even for a few minutes, he wanted to pretend that he could be with her, that they could be together. Draco had never kissed anyone like her before. All of the girls he'd ever been with, Pansy included, had been all hands; their kisses had been desperate and messy and at the time, Draco hadn't cared because he'd never known anything different. But the moment his lips had met Ginny's, he realized how different she was. She was tentative, something Draco liked about her. He knew that given how protective Ron was of her, she'd only been with a few guys before and even then, he didn't think she'd gone very far with them. Knowing that it was all so new and unfamiliar to her made Draco be extra gentle and sweeter than he'd ever been with another. It had also made it much harder than he would've wished to ask her to erase his memory.
Watching almost in slow motion the charm come towards him had finally convinced Draco of what Ginny had been trying to tell him for the past half hour: that they could find another way. The thoughts that he would never again be able to hold Ginny, that he'd never remember their kiss, and that he'd go back to hating her were unbearable.
Ginny pulled away from him, sniffing. "What happened?" she asked shakily, looking into Draco's eyes.
"Well it didn't work," Draco said. Ginny smiled at him, and though her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was ruffled and knotted, and her cheeks were stained with tears, Draco thought she'd never looked more beautiful.
"Good then," Ginny said, clearing her throat. "Because we're not trying that twice." She looked at him fearfully, waiting for him to challenge her. But Draco just nodded.
"Okay," he said.
"Are you serious, Draco?" Ginny asked, not daring to believe him. "We'll find another way?"
"We?" Draco asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.
"Of course," smiled Ginny. "What, you didn't think I'd let you have all that fun by yourself, did you?"
Draco grinned at her teasing, but then became serious. "It won't be fun, Ginny," he said. "I can't promise you that nothing bad will happen."
"I don't care," Ginny said. "It's not like I've never been in danger before. I can handle myself."
Draco watched her. He knew Ginny was a smart witch; but Lucius was a powerful Death Eater. He also had no wish to try the charm again, however; his head was still pounding. "I know you can handle yourself, Ginny, but –"
"Then trust me," Ginny pleaded. "I trust that you can resist Lucius, but you have to trust that I can stand up to him too."
"Ginny –"
"No, Draco," Ginny said. "We're not trying it again."
He sighed as he stood up. "Oh believe me," said Draco, "we won't try that again." He glared at the book that he'd gotten the charm out of. "Sodding book," he muttered, walking over to the desk and looking through the book. "Why didn't this work?"
Ginny came to stand beside him. "When was this book written?"
"I don't know," shrugged Draco as he handed the book to Ginny. She flipped through a few pages near the beginning of the book. A tiny, triumphant smile appeared on her face and she turned back to the page Draco had been on. After looking for a bit longer, she looked up at Draco.
"The spell you used was an older version," Ginny said. "That's why it didn't work. The incantation was modified later on. See, look," she said, holding the book out to Draco. "If you'd have read on a few more pages, you would've seen the correction. There was more to it still."
Draco didn't know whether to slap himself or give himself a pat on the back. Overlooking something like that could've ended with a worse result than a headache, but still, he was happy that it hadn't worked. He was still worried over his mother and the girl standing before him, but Ginny seemed so confident that Draco could resist whatever his father challenged him with. Draco knew that if he was given Veritaserum, it was all over for them both, but he started to realize that if Lucius tried to give him the potion, Draco could just resist him, fight his father. Then Lucius would know that Draco had no intention of becoming a Death Eater, but Draco knew that was bound to come out sometime soon anyway. One thing killing Aidan Grant had taught Draco was that he never wanted to do it again, and now he knew he never would. It was time for him to switch sides, he realized.
Draco slammed the book shut and tossed it on the desk. "So much for the library being helpful," he snorted. He brushed his robes off and looked around with a sigh as if he'd just woken up from a refreshing nap. Everything that had happened that night suddenly seemed to dawn on Ginny and her cheeks reddened as she looked at the floor. Draco swallowed heavily as he looked at her. When he had decided to kiss her, there had been nothing holding him back. Draco had thought that in a few moments, he wouldn't remember any of it. There would have been no pressure on him, no regrets, no consequences. What now, Draco didn't know. Even though their friendship had just bloomed, could anything deeper between them ever happen? Did Draco really want to be more than friends with her?
"Well," began Ginny nervously, her voice a bit squeakier than normal, "I think that's been enough excitement for me for one night." She backed away towards the door, her cheeks going scarlet. "G-goodnight, Draco," she said. "And I meant it when I said you're better than your father," she finished quickly. She glanced at him again before dashing out of the room.
Draco sighed and sat back down at the desk. Things are going to get awkward now, he thought. What was going to happen between them? He couldn't quite blame Ginny for running away from the situation. Draco was pretty sure he'd startled her completely by kissing her, and right after that he'd shoved a huge task right in front of her. There had been no time for her to question what he'd just done, and right after he'd gotten up from the floor, they had discussed what they'd do. Once all of the complications had gone away, her mind must've been drawn back to the kiss. And instead of asking Draco about it, of going through those awkward first moments, she'd done what was easier. Draco probably would've run too if he'd had the chance.
So what now? he thought as he looked into the fire, back where he had started. Ginny was in more danger than ever now that Draco still had his memories. Lucius would be even more irate if he found out that his son was in a relationship with Ginny Weasley. Well I'm tired of playing by his rules, Draco thought angrily. He'd lost his mother for his entire life because of Lucius. Ginny was right in saying that they could find another way. Draco's face hardened determinedly.
He had survived for seventeen years. Draco wasn't about to give in to Lucius's bullying now, and he wasn't about to let his father ruin what could be one of the best things to happen to Draco in his life. Even if he got hurt in the process, Draco vowed he would never look back, never have any regrets, and never let his father rule him again.
When Ginny woke up the next morning, her thoughts were immediately draw to Draco. He kissed me, she thought dazedly, staring at the ceiling above her. He actually kissed me.
Ginny had never before been kissed, and the fact that the one kissing her had been Draco Malfoy amazed her. Last night in the Astrology Tower, she hadn't had much time to dwell on it. Right afterward, Draco had started talking about erasing her memory and Ginny was too distraught to do much else but talk him out of it. When he had fallen, she had wished with all her heart that she had found another way out of it; but Draco had been so adamant. He had been placing so much trust in her that she couldn't bare to refuse him.
And when he had sat up, cursing about how it had hurt, she'd been so astonished that she'd dropped her wand and run over to him. To explain the relief she'd felt upon hearing that the spell hadn't worked would be impossible for her. But then she had realized that she was alone up in a tower with her brother's enemy, the one who had also just kissed her. She cringed at how embarrassed she'd become. Draco probably thought her a silly baby for running away like she had. He was probably used to girls who were much more experienced, who knew what to do with him. Ginny sighed. He had probably just kissed her because he thought in a few moments he wouldn't even remember it. It probably didn't mean anything, she thought sadly. Why would he want to be with me, little Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister? He hates Ron.
But he doesn't hate you, a cunning voice inside Ginny said. She had to smile at that. No, Draco didn't hate her. But that didn't mean that he was ready to drop down and propose either.
So what did the kiss mean? Ginny puzzled, sitting up. The only way she would find out was if she asked him, and that would be too embarrassing to handle. Maybe she'd just wait to see if Draco brought the subject up, and if he did, great. If not…
Well, then Ginny would be doomed to suffer over the possibilities of "what if?" for the rest of her life. She knew she'd never pluck up the courage to talk to Draco about them ever being together. A sudden image of her and Draco sitting at a table talking over their feelings for one another popped into her head, causing Ginny to grin. She wasn't sure what Draco was capable of, but the idea of him talking about feelings was humorous.
But that doesn't mean he's incapable of it, Ginny reasoned. She had once thought Draco incapable of a lot of things, most of which he had proven wrong over the past months.
"Anything's possible," Ginny whispered, getting out of bed.
When Ginny walked down to the common room, she saw Hermione sitting on a couch working on some homework. Ginny sat down quietly next to her and Hermione looked up. Ginny glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, but when she saw Hermione looking back at her, Ginny looked down.
"I'm sorry I've been ignoring you," Hermione sighed. Ginny bit her lip for a moment before she turned and pulled Hermione into a fierce hug.
"I'm sorry I said those things," Ginny apologized.
"It's okay, Ginny," Hermione said, pulling away.
"No it's not." Ginny shook her head. "I was a real prat."
"Well…" Hermione hesitated and Ginny gave her a knowing look. "Yeah, you were," she finally admitted, and Ginny shook her head with laughter.
"Still friends?" Ginny asked, sticking out her hand.
"Always," Hermione said, shaking Ginny's hand.
"And I promise that one day I'll explain everything," Ginny said hurriedly. Hermione nodded at her.
"So long as you don't kill yourself before then," Hermione sighed, starting her homework again.
Ginny laughed. "Oh, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself," she finished quietly, thinking back on how she had kept reassuring Draco with that line.
"So." Ginny said, looking around in boredom. "Where are the boys?"
"You mean Harry and Ron?" asked Hermione. "They're already downstairs eating breakfast."
"Now why doesn't that surprise me," muttered Ginny. "And the boyfriend? How's he? And don't try to deny that he's your boyfriend, Hermione," Ginny teased when she saw Hermione open her mouth to protest. "We all know that he is."
Hermione blushed and looked up at Ginny. "Ewan's great," she said. "And Harry and Ron even seem to have taken a liking to him. Vice versa too, actually," Hermione contemplated. "It seems like Ewan was ready to be friends with them right away."
"That's a good thing, Hermione," Ginny said, sitting back. "You remember what they were like when you went out with Viktor. It's a good thing that they've got over this phobia of you being with a guy. I just wish Ron would get over it for me too," she grumbled.
Hermione looked over at Ginny. "Why…is there someone who's caught your fancy?" she asked smugly.
Ginny's thoughts immediately traveled to Draco, and she was hard put to sustain a blush. "No," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. She cleared her throat. "There's nobody. It's just, I mean, you know…if any guy so much as looks at me Ron's all over him."
Hermione laughed. "That's true."
"Yeah," continued Ginny. "It'd be nice if he got over that."
"Well maybe their being open to Ewan will help Ron see that all guys other than family and Harry aren't to be treated with suspicion when it comes to you," Hermione said.
"I hope so, Hermione," Ginny sighed. "I really hope so."
He was waiting in the girls' lavatory on the second floor, waiting for a girl to come in by herself. The plans were made and Carl was waiting back in Hogsmede, watching the boy, Neville Longbottom.
He couldn't believe that he had never thought to take a girl before. Always he had just gone with whatever student had been available at the time, but it had always been a boy. Maybe a girl would work better. He certainly hoped it would. If it didn't, he didn't know what to do.
Shifting positions, the man sighed. He'd been crouching atop a toilet in one of the stalls for nearly an hour now, but not a single girl had come in. Perhaps I should try the lavatory on the fifth floor, he thought. But just then, he heard the door open and the sound of footsteps coming across the floor. He stiffened, listening to see how many people came in. It sounded like just one. Perfect, he thought, a wide grin breaking out across his face. He needed a girl by herself, but usually they seemed to travel in packs, making it hard for him to find one on her own.
He waited to see if she was going to use one of the toilets, but she seemed to have stopped in front of the mirrors. Cautiously he stepped off of the toilet, wincing as he felt his numb knees regain some feeling, and poked his head out of the stall.
The girl was standing in front of the mirror, applying some makeup. The man shook his head slightly. One look at the girl's face told him that no matter how much makeup she put on, she'd never be very pretty. Nevertheless, the girl, who looked to be in her seventh year, didn't stop primping.
As she pulled out a comb and brought it through her short black hair, he quietly put a silencing charm on the room and another charm on the door to lock it. He stepped out from around the stalls, now in clear sight, and slowly approached the girl. He saw her eyes meet his in the mirror, and, her eyes widening, she whipped around.
"Wh-what are you doing in here?" she asked warily, her eyes darting to the door. "This is a girls' lavatory."
He didn't say anything, but continued walking towards her, his wand pointing at her. She backed away, hastily stuffing her cosmetics into her bag and pulling out her wand. "What are you going to do? You're not going to rape me are you?"
The man stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing at her blunt accusation. "No," he replied, his tone filled with annoyance. He started towards her again.
"Get away from me." She waved her wand violently at him. "I'll scream. I'll curse you."
"It won't do you any –"
"Help!" she screamed. "Help!" Ignoring the ringing in his ears from her high-pitched pleas, he moved forward at the same time that she scooted around him, heading for the door.
"Stupefy!" he cried. Before she was even able to grasp the handle, she fell to the floor in a heap, causing a tube of lipstick to roll out of her bag and across the marble floor.
Draco was tapping his quill against his desk, his head resting in his hand, as he stared up in boredom at Professor McGonagall. Draco couldn't concentrate at all on the lecture. His mind kept drifting to the Quidditch game on Saturday, the Hogsmede trip afterward, Ginny, his mother, his father, and back again. Draco felt as if his mind was constantly spinning and all the thoughts that crowded his mind were overwhelming.
"Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said sharply, rapping her wand on Draco's desk. Draco stopped tapping his quill and looked up at her. "Are you not finding my lesson entertaining?"
"No," Draco said sullenly. He could hear Harry and Ron snickering behind him and his temper flared.
"Well then, would you kindly tell me what I was just talking about?"
Draco's eyes narrowed as he looked back at McGonagall's sharp gaze. Something in her eyes told Draco that she already knew that Draco hadn't been paying attention, and the quiet giggles from the rest of the Gryffindors in the class told him that they knew as well. He opened his mouth, fighting for an answer, but none came to him.
"Five points from Slytherin," Professor McGonagall stated, turning back to the front of the class, "for not paying attention."
Draco's face turned red as he fought to control his temper. Professor McGonagall had returned to teaching but Draco was still fuming. He could hear Harry and Ron quietly laughing about him, something that only added to his anger.
Draco turned around. "Shut up," he hissed. Harry and Ron glanced at each other and then back at him.
"I don't think we will, Malfoy," Harry shot back, making sure to keep his voice low.
"Shut up or I'll make you," Draco said, pointing his wand at the two Gryffindor boys. A few other students had noticed their argument and were listening in, trying not to get in trouble themselves.
Harry glanced at the teacher, who was writing something on the blackboard. "And risk losing more of your precious points? I don't think so."
"Yeah, then there'll be no way for you to win the house championship this year," Ron added.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," exclaimed a furious Professor McGonagall as she strode over to the two boys' desks. Draco turned back around, a tiny smirk on his face. "Why do I keep finding students talking during class today?"
Harry and Ron looked nervously up at the teacher. "P-professor McGonagall," Ron started, "Mal –"
"No buts, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said. "I don't know what it is about this class, but students always see the need to talk when they ought to be silent. Ten points from Gryffindor."
"But Professor McGonagall," said an agitated Harry, and Draco stifled his laughter at the indignance he heard in the boy's voice, "we're in first place right now! If you take away points then –"
"My house will fall behind, yes, I know," Professor McGonagall interrupted him. "Frankly, your education is more important to me than some age-old house rivalry."
Harry and Ron stared at their teacher and house leader as she walked back to the front of the classroom. Once he was sure that Professor McGonagall was busy, Draco turned half-way around in his seat and sent one of his smirks at the two boys, who glared back at him. Draco then sat forward again satisfactorily, his mind already beginning to wander once more.
A few days later during dinner, Ginny was talking with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team about the game on Saturday when Albus Dumbledore stood up to address the students.
"May I have your attention please," Professor Dumbledore said loudly. The Great Hall soon fell silent as all eyes turned up. "It seems," Dumbledore sighed, "that we have had yet another disappearance." The Great Hall broke out in whispers as students craned their heads around the room as if they'd be able to see who was missing.
"Who do you reckon it is?" Ron was whispering to Hermione, but she shushed him, watching the Headmaster intently.
Professor Dumbledore let the students muse for a few more seconds before he held is hands up for silence. "Miss Pansy Parkinson, a seventh year Slytherin girl, disappeared two days ago."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ginny was fighting back a smile. The fact that Pansy was the one to disappear was hilarious considering the fact that Ginny had always disapproved of the Slytherin's flamboyant ways. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, Ginny saw Draco wearing an undeniably goofy grin as he whispered something to Blaise Zabini. Seeing Draco with that expression on his face made Ginny giggle, but she covered it up by pretending to be in a violent coughing fit.
Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "If anybody has any information about Miss Parkinson's whereabouts, please contact one of the teacher's immediately. This now brings us to a total of four students who have disappeared this year, two of which have yet to be found. The staff and I are doing all we can to find Mr. Longbottom and Miss Parkinson. We have no reason to believe that they are being harmed; merely, that they are just being kept for some reason unknown to us." Though Dumbledore sounded confident, his face was wrinkled with worry.
Ginny became sober as she looked around. Many of the Gryffindors, seventh years especially, were fighting hard to hide their mirth. Ginny was secretly on their side; the thought of Pansy being kidnapped was highly amusing. But deep down Ginny was worried. Who next? If this didn't stop soon, who else would be taken?
As Headmaster Dumbledore sat down, Ginny glanced over at Draco. He high-fived Vincent Crabbe and Ginny smiled softly at his obvious pleasure at having Pansy Parkinson finally off his back. Draco's eyes then met Ginny's from across the hall before he looked down at his plate.
That's it, thought Ginny. I don't care if Draco and I have to storm our way past the monster in the tunnel.
Bring it on.
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A/N: There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? You didn't think I'd honestly Obliviate Draco, did you? Nah, I was never going to do it. I just thought I'd freak you all out a bit. And I must say, it was quite amusing.
But don't let my teasing get you. I'm just trying to have a little fun here. For real, when I thought up the idea of Draco wanting his memories erased, I never thought I'd turn the event into a whole chapter. I was going to have it so that Ginny would talk him out of it before they tried anything, but this idea was just so much more appealing. Trust me, I was never going to take away his memories. Adalee Bishop gave me some cool ideas of what could have happened if I'd actually gone through with it,but I had to stick to the story.
Oh, and with Pansy being taken…that one's for you, emmie elizabeth. When I decided that a girl was going to be taken, my first thought was Pansy, but I had decided against it for some reason unknown to me. But then I saw your review and I just couldn't help but do it. I just loved the scene where she was taken. I was laughing the whole time I wrote it. All the things she was saying just seemed so Pansy-like.
So I hope none of you are too mad at me for that little Draco scare. This chapter was kind of slow and still not very long, but I'm trying to get things going. Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting. Thank you all for your continuous support and reviews. They are what keep me going when the writer's block gets too hard to handle.
Lauren
