Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, plain and simple.
Breaking the Silence
Chapter 4
Ginny woke Tuesday with a smile on her face. She wasn't for sure, but something told her she had gotten through to Draco to some degree; Even if he refused to acknowledge it. Her assumptions were somewhat confirmed when she spotted him that evening at Gryffindor's Quidditch tryouts. He was only there briefly; as Ginny flew around the pitch, trying out for the seeker position, she caught sight of his platinum hair for just a moment.
After tryouts, Ginny hurried to the Great Hall to find Luna and tell her she made seeker. She was full of excitement as she told Luna all about tryouts, though she didn't mention she had spotted Malfoy. She also failed to tell Luna and Colin what happened in the Room of Requirement. Though Colin continued to ask her about their very loud conversation in Potions and eventually Ginny broke down and told them what all had been said. But Ginny refused to tell them anything else; she felt the need to keep everything to herself. At least until she had something more concrete to go on.
They rest of Ginny's week was uneventful and she even managed to end her week with less homework; only had one essay to complete for professor Binns and then she was free for the weekend. Quidditch practice didn't start until Monday so she was confident she would have a relaxing weekend.
Friday ended without a hitch and she finished her essay and even went to bed rather early, although that made for an early rise on Saturday but Ginny was determined to make it a good day. So, after showering and getting dressed Ginny went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. There was hardly anyone there yet, so Ginny went to the Gryffindor table and began filling a plate. As she began eating she looked up, across the Hall to the Slytherin table. She hadn't expected Malfoy to be there, but there he was; He sat alone, no plate, arms crossed on the table and he was staring at her very intently.
Ginny gave him a half smile and looked back at her plate. For some reason, she found that his stare made her a bit nervous. Now she could swear she felt his gaze as she continued to eat and she grew uncomfortable. She set her fork down and looked up briefly to see if he was still looking. He hadn't moved. He cocked a brow at her eye contact and Ginny looked away again. With her appetite gone, Ginny got up and left the Great Hall. She sighed in relief when she was in the Entrance Hall out of line of Malfoy's intense gaze and she headed for the big, oak, double doors.
The day was warm, as fall hadn't set in yet, but there was a light breeze that Ginny decided felt nice on the skin. She took off towards the lake where she decided to walk around it while she sorted out her thoughts. She thought she had escaped Malfoy's study of her but, as she made it to the opposite side of the lake, looking further down towards the castle, she found that he was there; propped against the very oak tree she was headed for. She didn't have a reason to avoid him; it was, after all, her intention to talk to him more but the way in which he stared at her, not even trying to hide it, was simply nerve wracking.
Ginny continued toward him but looking out over the lake and trying to think of what to say to him once she reached the oak tree. The only thing she thought of was inquiring his odd behavior. Ginny stopped several feet from Draco and met his intense, gray eyes with a questioning look.
"You're excessive staring is unnerving. Is there something you want to say?"
For the first time in ages Ginny saw a slight smirk form on his face. This made her happy to finally see him emit some kind of emotion, other than grief.
He continued to stare at her, seeming to be making some sort of decision. Then he shrugged and looked out over the lake as he spoke.
"I've been considering everything you said to me the other day in the Room of Requirement, Ginny." His eyes roved over the lake as he sorted through his thoughts, putting them into words. "And I'm not going to lie; your offer is somewhat tempting. But you have to understand…" He looked at her again. "It's not going to be easy for me to just…ignore the scrutiny and criticism of others. I was raised to be proud of who I am, proud of the Malfoy name." He shook his head, baffled by his own words. "But I guess there's nothing to be proud of now. Coming to terms with that has been the hardest things I've ever had to do. That probably sounds pathetic to you, but it's the truth. I can't just change who I am and what I believe over night."
Despite the gravity of the conversation Ginny smiled and nodded. "I know Draco. I know it's going to be a struggle for you. But judging by what you've said to me, I think it's going to be simpler than you think. I'm not just saying that. And I don't think that's pathetic at all. But above all, even if you don't think you have anything to be proud of, you have yourself to be proud of. Remember that."
Draco shook his head with a smile. "You are impossible." Then he simply walked away and Ginny stared after him for a moment.
"Wait."
Draco turned around, brows cocked. "Miss me already?"
Ginny blushed. "No, but…that's it?"
"I knew this was coming." He sighed and walked back to the tree. "What do you want, Red?"
"Red?" She scrunched her nose. "Why Red?"
Draco shrugged. "It's better than Weaslette, right?"
Ginny considered this. "Definitely. Does that mean I can call you Blondie?"
Draco mock glared. "No, it does not." The he turned to leave again.
This time Ginny chose to follow him, chattering away. Draco decided her incessant chattering about pointless topics was amusing and somewhat adorable, though he'd never say that to her. He also decided over the next few days that he could get used to her presence. As the days went on and fall finally settled in and it began to get cooler, at some point, every day, Ginny appeared from nowhere in the corridors, rambling on about one thing or another. Draco began to realize that others were staring at the two and whispering as they walked through the corridors together. He tried to ignore this and even chose to avoid Ginny a couple times; this seemed to make him feel a bit guilty though. She was harmless, after all and had very good intentions. Eventually he gave in and decided that he could give this friendship thing a real try. Sure he allowed Ginny to follow him to classes and sit by him in potions; the Gryffindors and Slytherins seemed to share almost every lesson these days. But, he found that she was quite entertaining and very comical to boot and he really enjoyed her company most of the time. He hadn't had any friends this term; most of his friends didn't return to Hogwarts this term…lucky them. So maybe befriending Ginny was exactly what he needed. Though he was afraid that maybe she wanted more than friendship, even if she didn't realize it yet. This could never happen.
So, sitting in potions, waiting for Ginny to turn up, he was deep in thought, trying to come up with something that would prove he was making an honest attempt at this. Though he wasn't sure why, he didn't have anything to prove to Ginny. She seemed to be happy with the current situation. But he wasn't. He didn't feel as if he was pulling his weight, so to speak. His thoughts made him feel pretty pathetic as Ginny strolled in. When she sat down beside him she started chattering away about the new shop her brother George was opening in Hogsmeade. Apparently it wouldn't be open in time for their next Hogsmeade weekend but Ginny was overly excited about going there the first chance she got.
Draco listened to Ginny with an amused expression and finally, noticing his silence, she stopped talking and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. I'm just so excited. How are you today?"
Draco looked at the way she just smiled so big and proud. The simple pleasures she got from life. How did she do it? How was she so content to just…living? He thought about this, and mechanically answered her question.
"Splendid." He said with a sigh and went back to his thoughts.
It took a good fifteen minutes into the lesson before Draco realized he hadn't paid a bit of attention to Slughorn but spent the entire time looking at Ginny from the corner of his eye. He just watched her as she took notes, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. It was pretty adorable if you asked him. From there his eyes moved to her long, gorgeous, red hair. Yes, she had red hair like her parents and all her brothers, but hers was different. Darker, maybe? Draco didn't know, but he liked it.
"Draco."
He shook his head, coming back to reality and looked at Ginny, whose face was flushed. "What?"
Ginny pointed up front. "Professor Slughorn asked you a question."
"Oh." He sat up straight and addressed Slughorn. "Sorry sir, daydreaming." The entire class giggled at this and he was pretty sure they all saw him staring at Ginny. He mentally chided his stupid behavior.
"I was hoping you could tell me some uses of Lacewing Fly." Slughorn asked.
"Oh…uh…" He wracked his brain trying to think. He had just used this the other day in this very class and he couldn't think. Polyjuice! Yes! "The only used I can think of is in the brewing of Polyjuice potion."
"Yes." Professor Slughorn affirmed and moved on.
Draco sighed in relief and looked back at Ginny who was still blushing. She must have noticed his staring too. Damn. What has gotten into me? He sat up again as a thought crossed his mind. No. No, it couldn't be that. Or could it? He looked at Ginny who smiled shyly and then looked away, continuing to take down every word Slughorn said. As he watched her again, he began to realize his thought was correct. It wasn't her that wanted more than friendship; it was him that wanted more. I like Ginny Weasley. He let that thought bounce around in his mind a bit and looked away from Ginny so he wouldn't get caught staring again. This is strange, he thought, shaking his head in confusion. How did this happen. She certainly had a way at squirming her way into your head and staying there.
"Are you okay?" Ginny whispered.
Draco looked at her, brows furrowed. "I think."
Ginny suppressed a giggle and shrugged. "Okay." Then she turned her attention back to Slughorn.
When class let out Draco walked out in a daze, Ginny chattering away. It was time for lunch and Draco followed Ginny to the Great Hall where they usually parted but Draco grabbed Ginny's arm to stop her.
"Do you want to eat with me today?"
Ginny was surprised. "Uh…I would love that, but I promised Luna I'd sit with her and look over her essay for Devination today."
"Oh…okay." Draco said awkwardly and started to walk away. "I'll see you later then."
Ginny stared after him, feeling slightly guilty and then went to the Ravenclaw table to sit with Luna. She watched as Draco sat down alone and didn't eat, but just sat in a deep thought. She sighed and turned to greet Luna.
