Chapter 6 – Helloween is Coming. Err, Halloween.

Halloween was fast approaching and Harry, Ron and Hermione had made a breakthrough with the remaining Horcruxes.

The day before Halloween, Harry had set off to find and destroy the sixth Horcrux, leaving Ron as acting coach of the Quidditch team, and Hermione to gather his schoolwork for when he would return.

Obviously Harry wouldn't feel up to doing schoolwork when he would return, but just as he had wanted to head the Gryffindor Quidditch team for a sense of normalcy, so too would he at least have his schoolwork, if he chose to do it or not.

Ginny was a little worried for the boy, but wasn't hung up on his eventual return. She knew that he was capable of looking out for himself and that if he needed help, the Order would certainly give it to him.

She had been spending her evenings talking with Malfoy and doing her homework in the library, often missing dinner and getting a snack from the kitchens when they had finished their work. They still got looks from surrounding students, but not as many as before. They had become a part of the library fixtures and it was known that if one were to step into the library in the evenings, they were bound to see the pair working on their homework and chatting away.

One afternoon, as Ginny was sitting in her DADA class listening intently to Professor Moody rattle on about vampires and the different means of killing them, there was a faint knock on the door. It was Ron, and he was looking as white as a ghost.

"Professor, might I be able to borrow my sister? It's rather urgent."

The professor could see the sadness in Ron's eyes and could tell that there was something going on.

"Miss Weasley, you are excused, you may go now." He sent her off with her brother, hoping that whatever Ron had to say would not fully break the girl.

Ginny and Ron walked down the corridor, neither of them speaking. Ron placed his arm around her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Gin, I… I have some bad news."

"It's not Harry, is it?"

"No, not Harry."

"… Well?"

"It's dad. There's been an attack at the Burrow. Luckily mum was out last night helping Fred and George settle into their new flat in Diagon Alley, but dad was home going over some files in his study. It was a surprise attack, and without our Order 'liaison' we couldn't have known of it beforehand."

"No!" She cried, "Is he alright? Is he hurt? Is he alive?"

"Shhh, Gin, let me explain. He put up a great fight; dodged the curses thrown at him, even as more death eaters kept coming. In the end, they were too much for him. He's been taken hostage, and we're pretty sure they're torturing him to get information about Harry and his search for the horcruxes…"

Ginny let out a sob, and slowly lowered herself to a crouch on the floor. She let her book bag fall off her shoulder and cradled her head in her hands. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to digest what her brother had just told her.

"How could this have happened? I though they put The Burrow under protection, there was supposed to be Aurors watching the house at all times! What the hell went wrong, Ron?"

Ron was at a loss for words. He simply bent down, and hugged his sister instead of giving her an answer. After a few moments of comforting her on the floor, he gently picked her up and walked with her to the infirmary to get a piece of chocolate and a dose of Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey.

So much for a great Halloween. Those stupid death eaters always ruin everything. I hope dad will be okay. Ginny thought to herself. She knew that she shouldn't care about the Halloween celebrations at a time like this, but it was better to focus on something else, anything else, instead of the tragedy at hand.

Ginny stayed in the infirmary long enough to rest and be given a potion to calm her down and a piece of chocolate to soothe her nerves. In the evening, as the school was gathering in the great hall for dinner, she left Madame Pomfrey, and went up to the library to drown her sorrows in her schoolwork. She decided the library was the place to be, and not the great hall full of students.

As she entered the library, she walked straight past Draco's table and found a lone table in the back of the library. She dumped her bag on the table, lowered her head into her arms, and cried. She cried for all the people that the wizarding world had lost over the years of Voldemort's terror, she cried for her father, and she cried for the loss of innocence that she had endured since her first year and the events of the Chamber of Secrets.

She was so engrossed in her crying that she didn't notice Draco had sat down next to her and was staring at her in confusion. He had never had to comfort someone who was crying before. He didn't quite know what to do, but he felt compelled to wrap his arms around her and rock her back and forth until she would stop crying.

He decided to do the right thing and put his arms around her in a comforting gesture. She lifted her head in surprise when she realized that it was Malfoy who was holding her so gently.

He didn't know what had caused her to cry like this, but he knew that it must be something big if she was crying in public. She was not one to show so much emotion, aside from anger, in a public place. He knew this, as he had been a recipient of one of her famous Bat-Bogey hexes in the previous school year when he had angered her.

"Weasley, what's got you crying so much? What happened?" He was not used to this whole caring thing, but he knew that he should do something for the girl sitting next to him.

"He's been kidnapped! And maybe he's even being tortured! It's not fair!" She wailed.

"Potter?"

"No, you dolt, my father! Death eaters attacked my house and took him captive! He never did anything wrong, why would they take him? Why would they torture him?"

She let the tears run down her face and said no more. She sniffled and accepted the handkerchief that Draco was offering her.

"Wow, Weasley, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say anything Draco, just hold me."

Draco was startled at her use of his first name, even more so then her request for him to hold her. When had they come to the point where they were using each other's first names? He didn't know, but he was hoping it wasn't just a one-time thing. He rather liked to hear his name coming from her lips.

"Come on… Ginny… I'll take you to the kitchen. We'll have some hot cocoa and you can cry as much you want. How does that sound, hm?"

They walked together to the kitchen, following their usual evening ritual. This time, however, was different. They didn't sit together as two strangers sharing a snack. They sat together as one friend comforting another.

The pair was on their way to becoming friends. Neither had realized it yet, but they would not be so opposed to the idea at this point.