Turkey Curry

Saying that Ginny had had trouble sleeping that night would be a tremendous understatement, with the result that when she staggered down the spiral staircase into the Common Room the following morning, bleary-eyed and nervous, she was surprised to find that nothing had changed.

She had thought, perhaps, that the secret of her relationship with Draco would have been spread so far around the castle now that she would have been set-upon as soon as she left the foot of the staircase. The Common Room was quiet, though. People were scattered out across the room, playing chess, working on essays, or discussing quietly how they were going to use their Saturday, and her appearance was barely registered. A few of her fellow sixth years smiled and nodded in her direction, and she acknowledged their presence but did not join them. Instead, she crossed the room and went out into the corridor.

She felt tired. She couldn't remember ever before having the power to alienate her family so completely, and the last thing she wanted to do was that. Her dreams last night had been plagued by visions of Ron, face-down in a puddle of blood, or Hermione being dragged to her knees by four or five hooded, cloaked Death Eaters by her hair. Worse of all was Harry, who was repeatedly enveloped by a thick green smog that seemed to devour him from his heart outwards.

Immersed in thoughts of her entire family being harmed grotesquely from her association with Draco Malfoy, she wandered through the corridors towards the Great Hall, occasionally bumping into suits of armour that had moved over night, and then forgetting to jump the trick step in the hidden staircase and getting her ankle stuck. Unable to move it, she sat down on the step above it and hid her face in her hands.

What if this thing she had going with Draco really did cause someone great harm? She didn't so much think that Draco would do anything deliberately, but what if somehow his defection caused anger in Voldemort and his supporters? What if they were less merciful because of it?

She dismissed this thought immediately. You-Know-Who wasn't really familiar with the concept of mercy to begin with, no matter what Draco did.

From the top of the staircase she heard a heavy rustling, and looked around to see Luna coming down the stairs towards her.

"Oh, hello, Ginny. What are you doing?"

"I'm stuck."

"Oh. That's nice."

Ginny snorted. "No, no it isn't. Could you help me?"

Luna frowned, pausing in her decent. "Yes, but why are you stuck if you don't think it's very nice? I wouldn't get myself stuck if I didn't think it was very nice."

"I didn't do it on purpose! I just... got stuck."

Luna gave her a look as if Ginny had just started spouting Mermish, but threw Ginny's arm around her shoulder all the same, and helped to pull her ankle free. Once released,

Ginny followed Luna towards the Hall.

"You're out quite early for breakfast, Luna, any particular reason?"

"Yes, my Dad's sending me the new issue of the Quibbler. It's supposed to have an article on how Inferi are actually Gollywobbles in disguise."

Ginny could not help thinking that if that was true, then Voldemort was no more dangerous than a Pigmy Puff, and a very small, very pink one at that.

"Is something the matter, Ginny? You looked upset when I first came down the staircase."

Once again Ginny was amused by Luna's propensity for having moments of startlingly clarity interspersed in her frequently ridiculous ramblings.

Ginny sighed. "I haven't exactly had the easiest time it lately, to be honest, no." Ginny glanced at Luna, whom, despite her flighty character, could keep a secret like no one else she knew. "Luna, you can't tell anyone – I know you won't anyway, but – I've been secretly seeing Draco Malfoy."

Luna nodded vaguely, her butterbeer cork necklace swinging against her T-shirt. "I know."

Ginny stopped in the track. "You know?"

Luna nodded again. "Yes. It's obvious."

Ginny blinked several times. Then furiously shook her head to try and clear her shock. After a few seconds, let out a short breath, and began again.

"Yes. Only now Ron, Harry and Hermione have found out. And they're not pleased."

"Yes, well, they wouldn't be, would they? That's an incredible betrayal, Ginny."

Ginny, who had been hoping to hear something a little more comforting, stared. Luna shrugged. "I expect the snogging makes up for that, though," Luna added.

Ginny burst out laughing. "Yes, it does, somewhat," she replied evenly. "But that doesn't change the fact that they do think I've betrayed them and everything they stand for. Harry and Draco have been enemies since they stepped foot in Hogwarts—"

"Do you not think you've betrayed them?" Luna asked.

Ginny paused. "No, not really. I like Draco, loads. I can't imagine not having him in my life, not anymore. If anything, I feel betrayed that they can't see that..."

"Well have you told them that you feel like that?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then there's your problem. A problem that is almost as big as the Inferi one Dad was talking about."

Ginny was silent. Now she thought about it, Ron, Harry and Hermione had absolutely no reason to assume that Draco had changed, aside from the death of his parents, and there was a hatred between them all that stretched back far enough to make her actions with him seem plain malignant, when coupled with the fact that she knew perfectly well about their shared history. Plus they had had no proof that said Draco was now acting against his former Master, and was aiding in the fight. She knew, of course, that he was, and that he was doing it well, but she could forgive the others for not being aware. She needed to talk to them.

Unsurprisingly, Ginny found Hermione in the library. Despite the fact that Hermione seemed to have ordered Harry and Ron to take a day off, she herself was still hard at work. Her progress was a lot more organised than theirs anyway – her books were piled neatly before her, and she had made extensive notes. When Ginny appeared, however, she only glanced up briefly before burying herself behind her work.

"What do you want, Ginny?"

"I need to explain."

"Explain what?" Hermione replied lightly. "Why you're conducting an affair with your brother's worst enemy, or why you're involved with Dumbledore's murderer?"

"Draco did not murder Dumbledore, Hermione," Ginny retorted, angered by such a low blow. "Snape—"

"Snape may have said the words, Ginny, but Draco Malfoy made it possible." Hermione glared at her.

"Are you even going to hear me out?"

Hermione looked at her, appearing to search her face. "Yes, alright. Sit down, then."

Ginny did, slipping into a seat opposite. "I understand," she began, "that you, Ron and Harry have absolutely no reason to trust Draco—"

"That's an understatement, Ginny—"

"Will you just let me speak, please?" Ginny snapped, flaring up. "Okay then, I know why you guys have every reason to distrust him, and to want to disassociate yourselves from him completely. But you don't know him in the same way I do, 'Mione. You've never seen the other side of him."

Hermione scoffed. "Draco Malfoy only has one side, Ginny, and it's full of arrogance and vindictiveness."

"You're not listening to me. You're not even prepared to consider that Draco might have changed. His parents have died, for Heaven's sake!"

"You're forgetting, Ginny. We've all suffered losses here, some more than others." Hermione stood up suddenly, leaning over the table and looking mutinous. "Since I set foot through the front doors, all I've been to Malfoy is a Mudblood – I was not fit to be scrapped from the sole of his shoe, as far as he was concerned—"

"But he knows how wrong—"

"I've learnt to trust gut reactions more, Ginny. We should have listened to Harry last year, when his gut was telling him Malfoy was up to something. We didn't, Dumbledore died, and now I'm listening to his instincts again, my own, and seven years of being called 'That Mudblood Granger' makes me think that Malfoy hasn't changed, will never change, and that the only reason you're doing this with him is that either you're too blind to see he's tricking you for his own means, or too utterly stupid!"

Ginny looked up at Hermione, who was slightly out of breath. Never before had Ginny heard such venom from Hermione's mouth, and it deeply disturbed her. It stung her, and for a moment Ginny couldn't hear anything but the word 'stupid' spinning around the inside of her head over and over again. Her neck was burning, either from anger or embarrassment.

She knew that she still trusted Draco though – her own instincts were telling her that much – and that she would trust him with her life. Standing up so that she was level with Hermione, she told her that same thing, then left, as quickly as she could.

Dinner was awful that evening. She usually ate with Harry, Ron and Hermione, but not one of them was speaking to her.

During a particularly irate serving of turkey curry, Ron accidentally splashed her with sauce, and had to mutter an apology. The stalemate temporarily broken, she turned to him.

"So if you're so against this," she hissed at him, as he reached for the rice, "why haven't you told everyone and just got it all out in the open so I can get on with disappointing everyone at once?"

Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged. Slowly, Ron placed his knife and fork down, turned to Ginny, and said, succinctly,

"We're not telling anyone, Ginny, because we're too ashamed of you to even mention your name. That and we don't want you getting lynched before the next Quidditch match." And he went back to his dinner, resuming his stubborn silence. This in itself caused a certain amount of confusion, particularly when Neville attempted to engage her, Harry and Ron in a rather heated debate about Wronski Feints that he and Seamus were having, which resulted in Harry and Ron simply eating quickly and storming away from the table as soon as possible. Hermione was not far behind, and Ginny was left with Neville and Seamus asking what was going on.

She looked up across the Hall to see Malfoy watching her, frowning.

Out in the Entrance Hall later, Ginny sat on the steps that led out to the grounds. The doors were normally open until just after dinner, but Ginny had found it hard to swallow anything much, and had finished early. As she gazed down across the grounds, she felt a warm hand land on her shoulder.

Draco looked down at her, his frown still evident in the twilight spilling in through the doors.

"Let's go somewhere else, Ginny, we can't be seen together."

The Room of Requirement had transformed itself into a disused classroom when they had asked for somewhere private to go, and now seemed the quietest, most peaceful place Ginny had been in weeks. From some hidden source, the twilight of the grounds was filtering into the room, glancing off the waxed desk tops and reflecting onto the ceiling to make shimmering patterns. Around the walls, a mixture of glass jars, books and paintings hung, watching them.

Completely refusing to cry in front of Draco, Ginny settled for frowning ferociously at the opposite wall, her fingers clinging to the edge of the desk she was leaning against. She heard the door behind her click shut. Making sure that she was in no danger of letting her emotions get the better of her, Ginny turned around. Draco was leaning on the back of the door, watching her.

"You alright?" she asked, before he could.

"Fine," he replied. "Don't think you are, though."

She shrugged. "I'm fine too."

Draco nodded. She felt angry that he hadn't been able to tell she wasn't. Or at least that he'd given up that quickly. Forcing a smile – which she suspected looked to be more a grimace – she turned back to the wall.

"Have you lied like that to all your boyfriends, Ginny?"

She felt her face break into a true smile, and she tipped her head back. "No. Just you."

From behind her, she felt Draco slip his hands around her waist and hug her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Somehow this seemed to make everything she'd had to deal with during the day fade to dim, distance memory, like a vague recollection of something that happened weeks ago, as his green jumper rested against the back of her shirt.

"You think you've got problems," Draco breathed into her hair. "I've got double Potions tomorrow."

She laughed. "Problems indeed: you'll have to face Ron and Harry and Hermione."

He looked at her, a slightly sick expression on his thin face. "I'd forgotten about that: I was going for sarcasm. Now I genuinely do have worse problems than you."

She gurgled. Then felt irritated with herself for gurgling.

"Now, shall we try that again?" Draco asked, smirking. "You alright, Ginny?" he asked, over-emphatically, knowing she was not.

"I'll be alright. I just... hadn't thought about how I was going to cope with this. I'd hoped it would be secret for a bit longer."

Draco nodded. "So did I. But at least the whole school doesn't know."

"True."

She looked up at him. He was staring at her, and it made her uncomfortable. "What?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No," she smiled, seeing a look of amusement cross his face. "What?"

"It's very hard for me to try and be the caring boyfriend who won't take advantage of you in this vulnerable state when I really, really would like to kiss you right now."

"Well, I'm not feeling that vulnerable, Draco—"

"Oh good," he replied, and he kissed her, before she was really aware of him doing so. Then he was backing her up against one of the desks and lifting her to sit on it, and leaning against it and slowing down and looking at her again, before kissing her again more gently and grinning.

"You've got to get back to the Gryffindor Common Room," he murmured.

"I really don't," she replied. "I want to know what it was Hermione said to you."

He grinned. She still wasn't used to it, but the sight of his eyes crinkled in amusement always made her shiver happily. Plus, she'd learnt that he had a dimple on his left cheek.

"Oh, she was just warning me off you, basically."

Ginny laughed. "Took her advice, then?"

"Of course. She threatened to hurt me quite gloriously if I didn't. How could I argue?"

"Because you knew if she laid a finger on you then I'd hex her so fast her hair would straighten."

Draco looked thoughtful. "I wonder why she never tried that…"

Ginny slapped him on the arm, but before she could again he'd grasped both her wrists and pulled them over her head. She found herself held pretty fast, and almost pressed flat against Draco's torso. She could feel his breath on her cheek, and could more or less count all the silver-gold stubble on his chin. Somehow she managed to notice that his mouth was open, his lips slightly parted. His bottom lip looked a dark, petal red, and seemed to be a similar texture.

"I—" he started, then had to stop because he voice didn't seem to work properly.

"Thought I was meant to be back in the Common Room, Malfoy?" she grinned softly.

"Yes, you are," he said. He pressed himself forwards and pinned her to the table top, crushing his mouth onto hers. "In a minute," he gasped.

End. For now... Review, please! Needs encouragement!