One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present. -Golda Meir
"Neville's watching you again," Ginny whispered to Luna as they stepped out of the carriage and headed into Hogsmeade. Luna continued to walk, either not hearing Ginny or pretending not to have heard her. Ginny grinned and walked with her, looking around the whole time as they walked.
"Hey, Seamus. Dean," Harry greeted as the two young men approached them. Ginny frowned upon seeing Dean and her heart squeezed painfully as she watched Dean move over to her.
"You ok?" he asked.
Ginny glanced over to Harry before nodding and moving around him to where Luna was.
"I'm great," she muttered.
An hour later, her and Dean had gotten into a big fight and broken up. That's how she found herself sitting on a bench on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, watching as snow gently began to fall. She hoped that she would be left alone to sort out her feelings, but as luck would have it, Harry Potter came walking up.
"Hey, Ginny," he whispered.
Ginny looked up and offered a smile, quickly wiping away the tears that had started to form in her eyes.
"Hi, Harry," she replied, looking back out into the woods.
Harry frowned and sat down beside her. "What happened?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it," she said.
Harry nodded, understanding her need to be left alone and stood up.
Ginny closed her eyes and cursed herself. "Wait," she stopped him, standing up. When he turned around she sighed. "I didn't mean to sound rude. I… I just… never mind," she whispered after not being able to find the words. She sat back down and looked at her hands. Harry watched her for a moment then sat down next to her.
"What is it?" he asked softly.
She looked up at him and shook her head, growing increasingly uncomfortable with his green eyes on her. "Nothing."
"Ginny…"
"What?" she asked.
He stared at her for a moment then looked out at the woods, sighing. "I think about the war a lot," he whispered.
He felt her stiffen beside him and had a feeling he knew why. "I'm not afraid anymore, Ginny," he told her, looking up at her.
Everything in Ginny went into overdrive at the meaning of his words. She knew what he was talking about but… Certain things were preventing her from acting upon those words, especially the fact that she and Dean had just broken up.
Ginny stood up suddenly, feeling suffocated as she tried to think straight. Harry stood up with her, watching her carefully.
She ran her fingers through her snow covered hair and bit her lip.
"Look Harry… Dean and I…" At that moment, Harry's whole body seemed to sag. "We just broke up," she told him. With that statement, he straightened up a little, but he could still see the storm raging in Ginny's eyes. She looked around for words and took a deep breath.
"I just need some time to sort through all of this, ok," she whispered before moving off towards the Shrieking Shack…
Ginny looked up to see Draco Malfoy enter, striding over to the Potions Master's desk with the ease of a trained monkey. Ginny could feel her hands start to shake slightly at the thought of what he might do to her, but she forced herself to remain calm and not show Malfoy any fear.
"Wow, Weasley. I'm surprised you haven't said a thing since you've been here," Malfoy commented as he came to a stop at the desk.
Ginny shrugged. "I've been captured before. I know the drill," she murmured, watching him carefully.
Malfoy grinned maliciously. "You always thought you were in control of the situation," he said with a smile. He moved around the desk and behind the chair she was in. "Let me tell you something, Weasel. You are not in control," he growled into her ear.
Ginny took a deep breath and turned to him. "As long as Bellatrix is here, neither are you," she replied, glaring at him.
Before she could see the hand, it struck her face with such a force that she was knocked off the chair and onto the floor, clutching her face. Malfoy leaned down to look her in the eyes, his grey eyes blazing with undeniable loathing for her.
"Do you know how I got this scar?" he asked dangerously.
Ginny looked up at him. "Hermione gave you what you deserved," she growled.
Draco whipped out a small thin blade, his eyes wild. He ran the blade gently over her cheek and a line of blood appeared as she gasped. He grabbed her hair and dragged her to her feet and slammed her into the wall, his body pressing against hers as she struggled to get away. The blade was then against her throat, making her stop moving.
"I told Bellatrix that I would give you to her in roughly the same condition," he whispered into her ear, his hot breath teasing her neck.
Ginny could feel her heart stop and the blood drain from her face as fear coursed through her trembling body. She could feel his other hand moving beneath her robes and she closed her eyes, trying to distract herself from the cold hands that groped at her.
"Harry will come and get me," she murmured.
Draco smiled, his lips burning a hole in her neck. "I doubt that. Bellatrix will deal with him when the time comes. Who knows? Maybe you'll be alive when it happens," he jeered, the blade in his hand now on her stomach. He flicked it slightly and Ginny gasped, trying to pull away from him again as the blade cut her skin. Beneath his lips he could feel her shudder and her heart race and it made him grin.
His lips moved up her neck until they reached her cheek and then he pulled away slightly so that their eyes could meet. Frightened blue meeting violent grey. Draco smiled.
"Virgins are always easier to scare," he whispered.
Ginny whimpered.
Malfoy screamed, clutching his face as blood poured from the wound Hermione had just made.
"HERMIONE!"
She turned to see Ron standing at the entrance, eyes wide. Hermione looked back at Malfoy, who was on the floor, covered in his own blood, still screaming in agony.
"HERMIONE! They'll be here any moment!" Ron screamed, looking out the door of the manor.
Hermione nodded, backing up.
"You'll pay for this Mudblood," Malfoy growled from his spot on the floor, causing Hermione to stop. He looked up at her through blood and pain. "You'll pay."
"What are you thinking about?"
Hermione looked up from her cup of tea to see Ron standing at the kitchen doorway, watching her intently. She blushed and looked back down.
"Nothing… just Malfoy."
"Thinking about Malfoy isn't nothing… is it about that night-"
"We made a mistake going into his house," Hermione cut in quickly, standing up. "He never forgot what I did to him."
The night back at Hogsmeade flashed before Ron's eyes.
"Your little Mudblood is to blame for that," he whispered dangerously. "Do you want to know what I'm going to do with her when I find her?" Not waiting for an answer, Draco smiled and leaned into Ron's ear. "I'm going to screw her so hard until she screams. Then I'm going kill her slowly… very slowly." With that he pulled away to gaze into Ron's blazing eyes. "And you won't be able to do a thing."
He didn't notice that his fingers had balled up into a fist and his face had gone dark, but Hermione did. She walked over to him and touched his arm.
"What is it?" she asked.
Ron blinked and looked down at her, taking in her fearful eyes and mentally cursed himself for making her worry. He smiled and kissed her brow.
"Nothing," he whispered before kissing her lips. "It's nothing."
A/N: This is absolutely amazing!!!!