Ginny was running down the hall towards the head boy and girls private chambers. The only sound was the smacking of her shoes against the cold stone floor. Ginny was usually a ration person, running down the deserted corridors way past curfew in a frantic state wasn't rational. Yet neither was dreaming of Tom Riddle, a dream that seemed too real, when her cheek still burned from his touch.
Finally reaching the entrance to the heads dorm, Ginny frantically said the password, and the door swung open. She had expected the small common room to be deserted, but instead Hermione stood in front of her wearing a set of very short shorts and tank top PJ's. Something Ginny was sure that she had never even seen on Hermione before.
"Ginny?" Hermione asked, turning around when she saw the door open.
"I-"Ginny started but was cut off by Harry.
"Ginny?" Harry asked, stepping into the light of the fire.
Ginny turned to see Harry in nothing but boxer shorts staring at her with his mouth hanging open.
"Ginny, is that blood?" Harry asked again, walking towards her.
"Ginny?" Hermione screeched as she grabbed hold of Ginny's shoulders.
"Mionie, calm down. Ginny you're all pale what happened?" Harry asked his voice just as loud, as he approaching her.
"That's blood, Ginny you're bleeding? Harry look at her arms!" Hermione cried looking back and forth from Ginny to Harry.
"Granger I told you, if you and Potter were going to continue your late night role plays to please-"Draco stopped when he saw the sight Of Ginny.
"Malfoy can't you see-"Harry started but was cut off by Draco.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" Draco asked quietly, crossing the room in a few strides.
"Nothing that involves you Malfoy, as you can see we have it under control," Harry replied, turning to Draco.
Ginny looked down at her arms, they were indeed covered in scratches, as if she had scratched them raw in her sleep. There was no way they had caused the pools of blood in her dream, but if it had only been a dream, why was she bleeding?
Ginny froze instantly remembering Tom's voice.
"Take your hands off my girlfriend this instant and Potter move out of the way I don't want to hex you," Draco said as he pushed Hermione roughly aside and brushed the hair out of Ginny's face.
"Gin, love look at me what's wrong?" Draco whispered softly, frantically searching her face.
Ginny looked at him, as if being pulled from a dream, and instantly fell into his embrace crying. Draco effortlessly scooped Ginny up, as if she was a feather and slowly carried her off into his room.
"And where do you think you're going with her Malfoy?!" Harry roared as he followed closely behind them.
"Harry don't," Hermione said, sensing that Ginny came here for Draco and not her.
Draco placed Ginny on the safety of his bed, as he pulled the top sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her.
"Ginny, what happened?" Draco asked softly.
"I had a bad dream," Ginny answered.
She felt Draco stiffen as he pulled her closer. Draco knew her well enough to know that Ginny wouldn't have come crying in the middle of the night over just any bad dream.
Draco didn't say anything, he just held her in her arms as she cried into his chest.
After a while, Ginny pulled away slightly and mumbled something into the sheets.
"What's that?" Draco asked gently.
"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," Ginny breathed, looking up to meet his gaze.
"Ginny, don't you ever apologize for needing me," Draco said, wiping the tears from her cheeks gently.
"In my first year," Ginny, started, looking away from Draco and into the bright flames of the fire, "I- well I'm sure you know what happened. I didn't mean to open the chamber of secrets, but Tom he-"
She felt Draco's body shift and he lifted up her chin so he could look her in the eyes.
"Gin, it's okay, I understand," Draco whispered as he brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"No, nobody knows. I used to dream of him, I would feel like he's still here, I just wanted my friend back. I was devastated when the dreams stopped; it meant he was gone forever. Then I'd wake up and I'd feel so dirty, the things he made me feel – a thirst for power, I liked it, and that scares me," Ginny said as her eyes watered.
"And that's what happened tonight?" Draco pressed.
Ginny nodded, replaying her dream aloud for him.
Draco didn't say anything for a moment, and Ginny felt as if confiding in him was a mistake, and that maybe she was wrong in thinking she had found safety with him.
"Does it hurt?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.
Ginny turned to look up at him, and Draco picked up her arm, and cradled it gently in his hand.
"I scratched myself in my sleep," Ginny said biting her bottom lip in embarrassment.
"This deep?" Draco asked astonished.
"I guess," Ginny said glancing up at him.
"I didn't know you did that," Draco said quietly with a chuckle.
"I don't," Ginny said with a small frown, "well at least I never have before."
Draco pursed his lips and nodded.
"My father gave you the diary didn't he?" Draco asked, taking Ginny by surprise.
Ginny nodded, biting her lip she had never liked Mr. Malfoy, just as Mr. Malfoy had never liked her family, she had always transferred her dislike of Mr. Malfoy onto the rest of his family, and suddenly she felt guilty.
"Do you want me to fix that for you?" Draco asked.
"What?" Ginny replied looking confused.
"Your arm, do you want me to fix them?" Draco asked as he slowly ran a finger of one of her cuts.
Ginny nodded, rolling up both sleeves all of the way, and holding out her arms for him.
"Vulnera Sanentur," Draco whispered as he moved his wand over her arms.
Ginny watched as her deep gashes slowly sealed up. When they were finished, Draco carefully traced her arm where the gashes once were.
"How did you learn to heal cuts that way?" asked as she watched Draco's fingers trace her bare arms.
Her mother had tried healing scrapes on her brothers when they were younger and running off picking fights with the gnomes, but even then, her mother could never perfect the spell, and her brothers were left with faint scars.
"I've had a lot of practise," Draco said dryly, as he got up and crossed the room, pulling out a shirt from his drawer.
"You can stay here tonight, if you like," Draco said handing Ginny the shirt, and moving towards to fire to give her privacy while she changed out of her stained school robes.
Ginny cleared her throat, signaling to Draco that she was done changing.
"You can sleep in here tonight, and I'll sleep on the couch," Draco said, without meeting her eyes as he turned to leave.
"You don't have to," Ginny said, the room suddenly seeming so large.
The prospect of being alone, when Tom was waiting for her as soon as her eyes were closed, sent chills down her spine.
"Please,stay." Ginny said, not meeting her gaze, as she tightened the blankets around her.
Draco just nodded as he crawled back into bed, sitting on the other side of the bed.
"Draco-"
"I'm sorry," Draco said, turning and grabbing Ginny's hand.
"For what?" Ginny asked.
"For my father, that he gave you that diary," he sighed, "that any of this is happening to you," he said gesturing to his now bear arms.
"It's not your fault," Ginny reassured him.
"I hate him," Draco said slowly.
"Living in the huge Malfoy Manor isn't much fun when you're banned from almost every wing," Draco sighed, his hand drawing circles on Ginny's palm.
"My mother was always sad. I thought it was because my father was always out, and when he wasn't he was often locked away in his study. I just wanted to make her happy."
His hand that had been tracing small circles on Ginny's hand moments early suddenly stopped, and was nowclutching a fist full of sheets.
"One night I snuck into my father's study, I thought that I would do some of his work so he wouldn't be working so much. I was eight I thought I could do anything."
Draco refused to make eye contact with Ginny as he continued on. "When I walked in, he was torturing this boy for the whereabouts of his father. The boy wasn't that old, only fifteen at the most. My father was furious, he sent a house elf to bring me to my room. I waited for what seemed like hours until my father returned with his cane. That was the first time he had ever beat me. It most certainly wasn't the last."
Ginny didn't say anything. She just sat there in shock. Shock and disgust that Lucius Malfoy lived up to the rumours, shame that she had once judged Draco at all. And finally anger, anger that someone-especially a father could do that to someone as kind and gentle as Draco.
She shifted over on the bed, until she was pressed right against him, her hand sliding down and finding his, untangling his fist, and weaving her fingers through his.
Ginny rested her chin on his shoulder, and said nothing. There was nothing she could say that Draco didn't already know, and there was nothing she could say that would change his circumstances. Instead the two of them sat together in silence until they fell asleep.