A/N – Please review… or insult me… just SOMETHING!

Chapter Five: Troy lost

Harry pulled Ginny into the Great Hall, his arm around her protectively. He'd been acting this way all day, escorting her everywhere if he could manage it. After a few failed attempts to avoid him, she succumbed to her fate and let herself be babied.

It was dinner and the Hall was roaring with end-of-the-day banter. She was forced to sit between Ron and Harry with barely enough room to move her arms. Hermione say across from them looking unhappy.

"It's funny that you two are only paying attention to her now that Malfoy's stalking her," Hermione said bitterly.

"Hermione-" Ron started.

"She's right Ron," Harry interrupted. "Malfoy's prat-ness had made us realize what we've been missing." He looked at Ginny with a dramatic turn of his head.

Ginny looked down and rolled her eyes – how lame.

Hermione must have had the same thought since she let out a loud snort. "Don't kid yourself Harry."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Ron spoke up.

"So Harry… where were you last night?"

"What?" Harry's voice was panicked.

"I woke up and saw you weren't there," Ron answered evenly.

"Well," Harry faltered, "I went out for a fly on my broom to clear my head."

Ron only nodded, accepting the answer.

Ginny had stopped eating, sitting absolutely still. Had Harry seen her out with that boy? If he was out too – her eyes widened – maybe Harry was that boy! It made sense really. She'd heard all about Harry and his frequent nightmares. It was possible he went out to fly so he could cry over them alone.

Surprisingly, Ginny was not excited about this possibility. If it was Harry- she sighed, she didn't know what she wanted anymore.

She felt someone walk up behind her and stroke her hair. "Excuse me Potter," she heard a cold voice say. Her heart sank. "I need to speak with Ginevra."

Ron got up, red faced. "Don't call my sister that."

"It's her name, isn't it?" Draco replied snidely.

"Not to you, it isn't," Ron looked absolutely fierce.

Harry got up as well, forming a barrier next to Ron that separated Draco from Ginny. She was frozen in place.

"Ginevra…" she heard him say lowly.

All of the sudden Ginny felt ridiculous. She was a strong witch, just as Harry had told her, yet these two boys were protecting her like she was some inept damsel in distress. She crawled underneath the table so the boys wouldn't notice her leaving and Hermione let her get by. "Good luck Ginny," Hermione grinned at her good-naturedly.

Ginny nodded and stalked out of the Hall. Just as she stepped outside she heard a loud roar come from where she had departed. Loud wasn't the best word to describe the noise- it was deafening.

She opened the door a crack to peek back in. What she saw was an absolutely chaotic scene. The Slytherin boys had gotten up from their table and were now fighting with the Gryffindor boys. There was a swarm of students now in the center of the Great Hall near where Draco had stood moments before. They were mostly boys, but some girls were joining the fight or trying to break it up. She could see the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs slowly joining in as well. Some students were already lying wounded on the floor from the vicious fighting around them. The professors were staring at the students in shock. Some of them rushed forward, wands raised.

"What the bloody hell?" she whispered, entering the Hall. Before she had taken two steps in the direction of the brawl a hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her back out of the Hall roughly. It was Draco. She knew it was Draco and she hadn't even turned to see.

"Seems like you've been turned into Helen of Troy for the day," he smirked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And who are the Trojans? Gryffindor?"

"Don't be silly Ginevra," he rasped, pulling her closer to him.

She resisted the pull and tried to stand her ground.

He let go of her and eyed her coldly. "The Slytherins are the Trojans of course."

She laughed.

He pursed his lips angrily, obviously holding back a frightening amount of rage.

"And who are you, Malfoy? Paris?" she actually sneered when she said this. She saw a spark of uncertainty in his eyes and continued. "I'd think you'd fancy yourself more the Achilles type," she paused to let him speak. When he didn't respond she rolled her eyes like he was an idiot and sighed. "You don't know much about muggle history, do you?"

Tense silence.

"Troy lost Malfoy. Achilles won for Mycenae," she chuckled. "You basically made Harry the hero by making that analogy. Harry plays Achilles? An interesting notion…" she laughed, her tone laced with mockery.

"And what happened to Helen?"

"When she ran away from her husband Menelaus with Paris, he vowed to kill them both. But when Helen was brought back to Sparta, he fell in love with her again and made her queen," Ginny was speaking as though he were dumb. "I guess Harry could be Menelaus instead… What do you think?"

Draco ignored the question. "One minute you're quaking in fright before me and the next you are talking back like some insolent whore. I don't understand you."

"You're not the first."

"Ever since Tom, eh?" Draco nearly laughed when he saw her tense up. She was so easy to read, much like a book if resorting to clichés.

"Shut up," she turned her face into the shadows of the wall.

"So he hurt you then?"

The shadow of her face was quivering. She didn't answer him.

Draco waited for a few moments to let her pain grow. He had successfully asserted his dominance and now he wanted her to feel how hurt he could make her so she'd never cross him again.

"I've changed my mind Ginevra," he said, stretching his arms casually. "Gryffindor is Troy now and Slytherin is Sparta. Can you guess who Greece is?"

Ginny was still frozen, half in shadow, not looking at him. He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. He began kissing her on her neck, moving up until he reached her ear and whispered, "Tom."