Back To School

Chapter 7

Unlikely Hope

A/N: Hey all, Umm… I don't own any of the Harry Potter stuff; that would be J.K. Rowling. Of course you already know that. I hope you all are enjoying my story, if not or if you have some constructive criticism, you should definitely PM me with it. This next chapter is pretty good if I do say so myself so… you should probably read it now. See ya!

Draco grabbed my wrist once more and practically dragged me down the hallway. I watched as the other students whizzed past or stopped to stare at the odd coupling of the Slytherin King and the Gryffindor Shadow.

We flew through the halls and I had no idea where we were headed, nor did I care. I just let Malfoy drag me along like a dog on a leash. It was easy not to think of anything, not to care what was going to happen next. I didn't really care what was going on, I just felt like sinking into the hollow shell of myself.

When we finally stopped I looked around and realized we had come to the Astronomy Tower and Draco was shutting and locking the roof door… the only way out. I looked at him, obviously puzzled. He soon answered my questions.

"So no one will disturb us when you tell me what's wrong with you." He said simply as he sat down on the stone floor and patted the place beside him. I'd never seen Draco act so human; it was peculiar and a little discomforting.

"What do you mean?" I asked this even though I knew exactly what he was talking about. I refused to make this easy for him and I refused to sit beside him. I sat down across from him on the other side of the tower.

He sighed obviously detecting my mistrust of him. "I want to know so maybe…" he paused for a moment to search for the perfect word, "I could help." He finished as if he had been climbing Mount Everest. I knew this was very hard for him, actually being nice and caring and all, but I didn't really care; I was going to make this interesting, because I couldn't hand my fragile imperfections to him on a silver platter.

"That still doesn't tell me what you mean, nothing is wrong with me, my brother is hurt in the hospital and my parents aren't even coming to check in on him. But nothing is wrong… I'm perfectly fine." I finished flatly. It was hard to say, tears were welling up in my eyes but I blinked them away without turning my head to give myself away. I stared directly at him; I'd gotten good at lying to people's faces.

He sat with his knees pulled to his chest and his arms resting across them. This conversation was becoming a staring contest and I couldn't tell who was winning except that my eyes were drying out and that wasn't helping my tears stay away. I took a deep breath… "Why would you want to help me anyway? You hate me and I hate you… there is no point in either of us communicating with the other, ya know?" I crossed my legs and began to chew on a fingernail.

"Well first off, I'm not as horrible as you think I am. And second, maybe I don't hate you, maybe I've just been afraid of you because… well…" He stopped again, he was having trouble finding words today when it seemed every other day he couldn't keep them in his mouth. "Well maybe I was intimidated by you." He finished and looked away turning a bit red.

I smirked a bit while he wasn't looking. Intimidated by me? Was he joking, I couldn't be intimidating if I tried. "You're kidding right?" I asked, I couldn't hold the question in any longer. "How am I intimidating?"

"You're friends with the Golden Trio. You're fantastic at all you try… and you're really pretty." He said quietly still not looking at me.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. I walked towards the door, "No, you cannot be hitting on me at a time like this. You're ridiculous. I knew the nice act was bullshit. I can't believe you Malfoy… no wait, yes I can believe a slimy git like you would do something like this. You're a real prick." I finished with my hand on the door knob and without realizing it; Draco was there with his hand around my wrist again, keeping me from freedom.

"I'm not joking." He replied he had a fire in his eyes that told me he was serious… it was kind of scary, like I knew he was capable of hurting me if he wanted to. "I really want to help you; I want to know what's wrong. I want to know why you're eyes change like that." He gestured towards my eyes; I suppose they still weren't back to normal yet.

"Okay, okay… you're hurting me." I said quietly and he let go of my wrist leaving a deep red mark where his hand had been. "Sit down again… I'll share since you won't let me leave." I went back and sat down across the tower from him… I still didn't want to get very close to him.

"Get comfortable. What's wrong with me… ha, what's not?" He didn't share my humor so I got serious. "I'm left behind ya know? I mean, I don't fit with the Golden Trio, I can't find friends because no one seems to understand me… they find something about me that is just too horrible to stick around. I've been stuck in the same place for the past five years. I just want to be a normal teenage girl." I took a breath and looked up from my beaten up fingers that I had been picking at.

"Everyone feels that way." He said… I couldn't tell if he was trivializing my pain or if he was empathizing. Either way it kind of pissed me off, but I knew he was trying to be help so I just ignored it and moved on with my monologue.

"The reason my eyes change colors… at least that I know of, I mean I don't really come with a handbook ya know? Anyway, the reason they change I guess is because of my emotions. Whenever I feel a really intense emotion, I feel them change. That black color you saw in the carriage was jealousy. That night in the hallway, I was just really pissed off. That's another thing… that power, I don't know how to control it, and I don't know where it comes from or even what it is. All I know is that when I can't handle something it's like I become the incredible hulk or something." I felt tears reach the corners of my eyes and I was past caring whether I cried or not. It was oddly relieving to let someone know what was going on with me. I looked up at Draco and he didn't have any expression on his face really, he was just listening to what I had to say. "I just wish I could control myself." I said after a bit of silence, the tears began to flow and I didn't know why on earth I was crying.

Suddenly I felt two hands on my shoulders and then it turned into a hug. Draco Malfoy was holding me. "Ginny, it will be okay. You're brother will be okay, and we'll find a way to help you with that power you got bottled up in you." I cried for a while longer, relaxing a little into the comfort of such a strong hug. We'll find a way…

A/N: Hope yall liked it, sorry for the cliffy-ish thing. Umm, you should totally PM me with what y'all think. Umm, ya that is all, please review!!