Chapter Six
"How long?" Ginny asked, glancing up from her Charms textbook. Draco was bent over another letter from Remus, his brow furrowed in concentration as he attempted to decipher it.
"A week."
"A week?" Ginny asked in surprise. "Why so long?"
"It requires much more attention than previous assignments." Since his first mission, Draco had been called away three times for durations ranging from two to four days. Ginny had to admit that she didn't like it when he was away. She spent too much time worrying about his well-being, and it was eerily quiet around the room without him. He had had more success on those journeys than he had had on his first, which improved his mood drastically.
"When do you leave?" Ginny inquired, trying not to show him her disappointment. He fixed her with a curious look, as though he detected her change in demeanor.
"Tomorrow morning. Nine."
"Why do you always have to leave at ungodly hours of the morning and night?" Ginny complained. Draco grinned.
"To torture you," he replied.
"It's working."
"How's your Charms homework going?"
"Slowly."
"Do you need help?"
"Maybe," Ginny admitted grudgingly.
"You don't need to be ashamed to ask for my help, Weasley. This is hard material." Ginny sighed and leaned back against the head board.
"Honestly, I don't see the point anymore. I can't pull my grades out of the C range. Why should I waste my time studying?" Draco rolled his eyes, set Remus' note on fire, and climbed onto the bed with her.
"Because you're Ginny Weasley. And you know you should." Ginny groaned and rubbed her temples.
"I hate that about me."
"It's called a work ethic," Draco said with a grin. "You'll get used to it."
"I feel bad asking, Malfoy," Ginny began slowly and hesitantly.
"What? Are you going to ask me which purse I like better again, because I refuse to answer that question a second time." Ginny laughed and shook her head.
"No, I was going to ask you if you'd proofread my Potions essay. I want to make sure it's flawless this time so Snape won't be able to legitimately dock points."
"Sure. Where is it?"
"In my desk. Top right," Ginny replied, turning back to her textbook. Draco went over to the desk and opened the appropriate drawer. He found the essay on top and lifted it out. Without meaning to, he glanced at the stack of papers underneath. The page on top had the words "Dear Harry" written neatly on the top line. Draco felt something tug at his heart as his eyes scanned over the letter in Ginny's handwriting. He moved the first page aside and saw that underneath it were dozens of letters addressed the same way. The dates on the corners went all the way back to the end of August.
"Malfoy?" Draco quickly shut the drawer and turned around in an extremely guilty fashion.
"What?"
"Oh, never mind. I found it," Ginny replied, waving her hand dismissively and bending over her book. Draco, relieved that she hadn't caught him poking through her personal things, returned to her Potions essay. However, his thoughts were nowhere near focused on her paper.
He glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder at the young girl seated on the bed. From afar, she looked like a perfectly normal girl. She was slender, with fair skin and a generous sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She had a dazzling smile and a heap of red curls sprouting from her head. He thought it was adorable the way she wrinkled her nose when she didn't understand something in her textbook. Or how she twirled her hair around her finger unconsciously when she stared off into space.
But on closer inspection, it was very clear that she was always anxious about something. Her soft brown eyes consistently expressed her worries. Worries that she never spoke about to Draco. But apparently, she would talk all about them to Harry in these letters she never sent. For a moment, Draco wished that she could talk to him about the things that were always on her mind. He could always tell when her thoughts were elsewhere, and he longed to know what was wrong and how to fix it.
He glanced back over his shoulder one more time to find Ginny already looking at him. They both averted their eyes immediately, and proceeded to act as though it hadn't happened. Draco smiled to himself and began to concentrate on Ginny's essay.
-
Ginny found that she didn't sleep very well that night. When Draco was waking her up the next morning, she could hardly believe that she had slept at all. She wanted to go back to last night, before Draco had gotten his assignment. Ever since it had arrived, Ginny had developed a knot in her stomach that twisted and tightened with every second that passed.
"Do you have everything you need?" Ginny asked sleepily, managing to stagger out of bed. Draco found her appearance endearing. She was wearing navy blue and green plaid pajama shorts with a black tank top. Her hair was as unruly as ever, wild and untamed, falling down her back like lava.
"Yeah, I think so," Draco replied, glancing at the clock. They only had a few minutes left. "So, when are you coming to get me?"
"Next Saturday at 9am, sharp," Ginny answered promptly.
"Good."
Silence.
Neither of them was quite sure how to say their goodbyes anymore. A dynamic had shifted between them, and suddenly nothing they had been doing seemed appropriate anymore. Draco sighed and tried to smile comfortingly.
"It'll be all right," he said weakly.
"I know," Ginny replied, looking at the floor. Draco stepped towards her and touched her arm gently.
"Try to stay out of trouble, freckles," he teased with a crooked smile. Ginny grinned back, but her eyes didn't seem to respond. Instead, they glassed over slightly.
"I can't make any guarantees," she joked back. Draco felt the indescribable urge to take her in his arms, but he remained where he was.
"I'll be back in a week."
"Don't keep me waiting," Ginny said in an almost pleading tone.
"I won't," Draco replied. His eyes slid across the room to the clock. The second hand seemed to be moving more rapidly than usual towards the twelve.
"Good luck, Malfoy," Ginny whispered. Draco's heart felt heavy as he reached for the silver chain around his neck.
"I'll come back to you, Ginny. I promise." With that, the portkey swept Draco from the room and up into oblivion. Ginny stared at the place where he had been standing just moments before. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and she wiped it away hastily. There was no reason for her to be crying. Draco was going to be fine. He was going to come back. He had promised that he would.
--
"Harry's been gone for awhile. I think he's dead."
"I heard he gave up and fled to France to escape certain death."
"I think he's plotting his next attack. Harry Potter would never abandon us!"
"My brother saw him in the Leaky Cauldron on Saturday!"
"Don't be stupid. Harry Potter wouldn't stroll into the Leaky Cauldron in the middle of a war!"
Ginny's nerves were so over-stressed, she was sure that they would start to snap. With all of the rumors going around about Harry and his current whereabouts, she couldn't be sure which details were true. Especially since he still hadn't written her a letter.
Draco had been gone for four days, and Ginny was starting to worry about him. She wondered if his assignment was going to be affected by the incident at the ministry. She hoped it wouldn't.
"Silence," Snape commanded, entering the dungeon and moving to the front of the room. "There will be no discussion of current events in my classroom. We have too much to do, and we can't afford to waste time babbling about irrelevant things."
"Irrelevant?" Ginny spoke up indignantly. "We're in the middle of a war, professor."
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Weasley," Snape drawled. "And shut up." Ginny was fuming, but she kept her mouth shut. She knew that this was not the day to go up against Severus Snape in front of the entire class.
"I have your essays graded," Snape went on. He flicked his wand and the scrolls of parchment on his desk flew back to their original owners. Ginny held her breath as she scanned her essay for the grade. C-. Impossible, she thought angrily. Her hand shot into the air.
"Professor, I-"
"Any questions about your grades will be answered when class is over," Snape cut her off smoothly. Ginny glared harshly at him and bit her tongue. She sat through a painfully boring lecture and spent every moment of it thinking of many different ways to kill Severus Snape. Finally, Snape dismissed them, and Ginny made a beeline for his desk.
"Professor, I have a problem with this grade," Ginny said in a forced calm.
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"It's inaccurate and unfair," Ginny replied bitterly. Snape raised his eyebrows.
"Miss Weasley, I am the Potions master, and I will decide what is accurate and fair."
"This essay does not deserve a C-! I had Ma-" She broke off, realizing that she couldn't include Draco in her argument. "I had McGonagall read it, and she seemed to think that it was B material at least."
"Trying to undermine my authority, Miss Weasley? Well I hate to tell you this, but Professor McGonagall is not the Potions professor. I am. And I believe that this paper deserves a C- and nothing more."
"All right, Professor. Let's cut the crap. We both know that we're on opposite sides right now. And I know that you're trying to fail me purely because we don't agree. I just want to let you know, Professor, that I am going to do whatever I can to stay here. And I'm going to make it my personal mission to make this year as difficult for you as you're going to make it for me." Snape merely stared at her, down his long, hooked nose. Satisfied with her speech, Ginny snatched up her essay and left the dungeons.
-
"You said what?" Romilda gasped. Colin was staring at Ginny with shock and admiration. Ginny shrugged.
"I said I was going to give him hell. Not in those words, of course, but that's basically what I meant."
"He's going to get you for that, Ginny," Romilda murmured, shaking her head.
"I think it was very brave, Gin," Colin said. "If anyone was going to tell Snape off, I can't think of a better person to do it."
"Remind me again what we're doing now?" Romilda asked Ginny, who was making copies of a flyer in her hands.
"Snape cancelled our Quidditch team, but he never said that we couldn't play at all."
"So…what's your plan?" Colin asked.
"We're putting up these posters around the Gryffindor tower, inviting anyone who wants to come play Quidditch to the pitch tomorrow. We're not forming a competitive team. We're just playing the game."
"Do you really think that will work?" Romilda questioned skeptically.
"We've got to try. Don't you miss Quidditch, Romilda?"
"Well, yeah. But-"
"No buts," Ginny stopped her. "Quidditch was such a huge part of Gryffindor pride. We can't let him fully take that away from us."
"You're a fighter, Ginny," Colin remarked with appreciation. Ginny shrugged.
"I'm just not okay with sitting back and watching him destroy our rights." She placed a flyer on the bulletin board of the common room and stepped back to admire her handiwork.
"Tell anyone who's interested that we'll meet on the pitch tomorrow at three." Romilda and Colin nodded in compliance. Ginny finished distributing her flyers and went up into her room. She had been so distracted that she temporarily forgot that Draco wasn't there. Once she realized this, her heart sank a little in her chest. She sighed and sat down at her desk, wanting to talk to someone so badly. She pulled out a sheet of paper and a quill. She wrote "Dear Harry" at the top of the page, then hesitated.
After a moment, Ginny crumpled up the page and got a new one. A small smile crossed her face as she addressed the new letter to Draco. She told him all about Potions and her idea for Quidditch practice. At the end, she briefly told him she hoped he was all right and she couldn't wait for his return. Then she placed it in her drawer on top of her letters to Harry. Sighing, she glanced at her clock. Two days, fourteen hours and twenty-three minutes left.
-
Ginny was waiting on the Quidditch pitch at 2:45 the following day. Romilda and Colin were to first to show up. Gradually, more Gryffindors showed up carrying their broomsticks. Ginny was thrilled to see such a turn out.
"Hi, everyone," she addressed everyone timidly. "As you know, the purpose of this meeting is to take back our rights to play Quidditch. Snape says we can't compete, but he never said we couldn't play. I had McGonagall book this pitch for two hours, so we have until five o'clock to do whatever we want. Is there anyone who doesn't know how to play who would like to learn?"
A few smaller first year students raised their hands shyly. Ginny nodded happily, reflecting on her first days of Quidditch.
"All right, good. We'll divide the pitch in half. Everyone who wants to jump right into some practice or a scrimmage type game, stay on the east side of the pitch. Everyone who wants to learn how to play, come with me." Ginny unlocked the boxes of Quidditch balls and gave one set to Romilda for the scrimmages. Ginny took the other box and gestured for the first year students to follow her.
She had them sit down in the stadium seats for a few minutes while she explained the rules of the game and the different components. She was smitten by their wide eyes and rounded mouths. It seemed as though they had never been exposed to anything like Quidditch before, and some of them were extremely eager to get started.
"All right, have you all had your flying lessons?" Ginny asked, inviting them onto the field. They all nodded, looking adorably tiny beside their brooms. "Good," she said brightly. "So mount your brooms and let's work on handling the quaffle while in the air."
Ginny spent the entire two hours on the pitch teaching the first years how to play Quidditch. It was one of the few times when she felt truly alive since she had come back to Hogwarts. Quidditch filled a void inside of her, and it was a wonderful discovery. They wrapped things up at five o'clock and put the balls back in the case.
The first years thanked Ginny multiple times before scurrying back to the castle for dinner. Romilda and Colin came up beside her, looking sweaty and tired, but happy.
"This is the best idea you've ever had, Ginny," Romilda said honestly. "I think we all needed this."
"It definitely restored some of my Gryffindor pride," Colin added. Ginny sighed happily and put her arms around her friends' shoulders.
"Thanks for helping out, guys. I owe you one."
"Not at all," Romilda said shaking her head. "We owe you."
"Let's just go get some dinner before those little first years eat it all," Colin suggested with a grin. Ginny laughed and nodded in agreement.
"All right, let's go."
The three friends started walking up towards the castle. They talked and laughed about the scrimmages, and Ginny praised the talents of the first years.
"They're really good! I don't remember catching on that quickly when I was first starting," Ginny said enthusiastically. Suddenly, Romilda stopped walking. Colin ran into her, and Ginny ran into both of them.
"Romilda, what the-" Ginny began to say, but she stopped when she saw Snape blocking their entrance to the castle.
"Professor Snape," Colin said in a squeaky voice. He cleared his throat anxiously. "How are you tonight?" Ginny winced at Colin's attempt to be suave. He seemed to know that he had failed miserably, and he recoiled, hiding behind Romilda and Ginny.
"It appeared as though you were holding some kind of a practice on the Quidditch field, Miss Weasley," Snape said with a sneer. Ginny lifted her chin in defiance.
"No, sir."
"No?"
"We were just having some non-competitive fun. Why would we hold Quidditch practice when we're not allowed to participate in the inter-house competition?" Ginny asked politely. Snape eyed her angrily.
"You need permission to use the pitch," he said, hoping that he could corner her with the technicality.
"McGonagall signed off on it. You can ask her if you'd like. Now, if you've found out what you wanted to know, my friends and I would like to get to dinner." Snape stared at Ginny wordlessly, unable to think of another reason to detain her. When he had been silent for a several moments, Ginny nodded and moved around him. Romilda and Colin followed behind her. Once they were inside the Great Hall, Colin let out a breath he had been holding.
"Holy Merlin, that was close," he whispered.
"No, it wasn't," Ginny replied. "We weren't doing anything wrong. He couldn't possibly have punished us."
"He probably would have found some way to take points from Gryffindor if you hadn't stunned him with your cheekiness," Romilda pointed out. Ginny laughed and shrugged.
"You pick up little things like that living with Fred and George." Her heart thumped an extra time as she thought about her brothers. Poor George with his missing ear. And the two of them having to work their way through this war on their own while still supporting their business.
A loud thud interrupted her thoughts. Ginny glanced up from her plate and saw a small black owl rolling around in the bowl of creamed corn. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she fished the bird out and set it down in front of her.
"Where did you come from?" She wondered aloud, taking the parchment it offered. The bird hooted and stole a piece of bread from Ginny's plate before flying off.
"Who's it from, Ginny?" Romilda asked curiously. Ginny looked at the envelope suspiciously, wondering if she should open it or not. It was unmarked. It could very well be a trap.
"I'm not sure," she replied distantly. Romilda shrugged and went back to her dinner. Ginny glanced around, making sure that no one was close enough to read it if it turned out to be something important. Then she opened the envelope and pulled out a small scrap of paper.
Don't worry. I'm all right.
-DM
Ginny's heart soared. Draco was all right. And even more than that, he had cared enough to let her know. This was what she had been craving to receive from Harry. It wasn't much. It was only five words, but she needed to hear them. She clutched the paper tightly and was unable to keep the smile off of her face.
"Harry?" Colin asked certainly. "I know that look." Ginny's smile faltered for a moment, but she recovered quickly.
"Yeah," she lied. "He's all right."
"It's great that he checks in. I'd be so worried if my boyfriend went off to fight You-Know-Who and didn't send me letters," Romilda commented. Ginny placed the note carefully in her book bag.
"Harry's not my boyfriend," she replied quietly. Romilda and Colin exchanged looks that clearly stated they didn't believe her. They finished dinner and headed back to the Gryffindor tower together.
"Hey, Ginny. The girls are playing Truth or Dare in the common room. Want to come?" Romilda asked as they ascended into the girl's dormitory.
"I'm a little tired, Romilda. I think I'll just turn in."
"All right. Suit yourself." Ginny wished she could go play with them, but she knew how these games were played. They all took a sip of Veritaserum so they couldn't lie, and Ginny had too many valuable secrets to risk exposing.
She went inside her room and shut the door. It was so quiet without Draco around. She was surprised to find that she missed having him around. They had been living together for almost two months now. November was just beginning, and the air was becoming crisp.
They had learned to more than tolerate each other's presence. Ginny found that more often than not, they genuinely got along. Occasionally, they would have arguments about their general beliefs and morals when they conflicted, but such fights had diminished in frequency as time went on.
Ginny climbed into bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was hard for her to decide who she was more concerned about now. Two months ago, the answer was Harry. One month ago, the answer was Harry. But now…she didn't know. She had never considered the possibility of being attracted to Draco Malfoy. And even when she considered it now, it seemed unlikely. She was just learning to care about him. She was learning to miss him when he was gone. And she was learning to enjoy his company.
The idea of him being attracted to her was so ridiculous that Ginny actually chuckled out loud to herself. Then she shook her head and rolled over onto her side, where she promptly fell asleep.
-
Ginny's alarm went off at eight o'clock on Saturday morning. If she had been getting up for any other purpose, she would have immediately hit snooze and gone back to sleep. But on this particular Saturday morning, she leapt out of bed and picked up her towel. Right away she headed for the shower and took her time shampooing her hair and shaving her legs.
The Gryffindor tower was a quiet and empty place at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning, and Ginny appreciated this. She hurried back into her room and flung open her closet. Biting her lip, she tried to select an appropriate outfit. She didn't know why it mattered so much, but she wanted to look nice.
She decided on a brown sweater with multi-colored stripes below the ribbed upper bodice and a regular pair of muggle jeans. She dried her hair with a charm that Hermione had taught her and she tried to run a comb through it. It fought against her, as usual. She applied a little mascara to her eyelashes but little other make-up. Satisfied with her overall appearance, Ginny left her room and headed down to the grounds.
Like the Gryffindor tower, the rest of the castle was fairly silent. There was little movement in the hallways and very few individuals in the Great Hall eating breakfast. She didn't know how anyone could get up at eight o'clock on Saturdays as part of a regular routine. The bright sunshine nearly blinded her when she stepped outside and a brisk wind chilled her immediately. She groaned, wishing she had thought of bringing a cloak. But it was close to nine, and she wanted to be here when Draco arrived.
She wandered over to the secluded spot by the lake where Draco knew to find her when he got back. She took a seat on the grass and watched the giant squid poke its tentacles out of the water to greet her. Ginny grinned and waved back.
"We're going to have to stop meeting like this," a deep voice from behind her said. Ginny jumped to her feet and whirled around in surprise.
"Draco!" She exclaimed, using his first name by accident. He looked weary, but he grinned when she said his name.
"Did you suffer a brain injury while I was gone?" He teased. Ginny rolled her eyes and he laughed. "It's good to see you too, Ginny." She smiled and stepped forward to put her arms around him. His arms encircled her waist affectionately and he buried his face in her hair.
"You smell good," he murmured.
"You smell…like smoke," Ginny replied, pulling away. "Did you light something on fire?" Draco rolled his eyes.
"I don't want to talk about that. Now, can we go inside so I can take a shower?"
"You don't want to enjoy the outdoors?" Ginny asked, gesturing to the grounds. Draco sighed and shook his head.
"I've been outside all week. I want a shower," he replied with a grin. Ginny laughed and Draco turned into the puppy. He trotted after the redheaded girl as she headed back up to the school. When they got to the doors, he leapt into her arms and she carried him the rest of the way back up to the Gryffindor tower. She put him down on the bathroom floor and glanced around the empty common area.
"All right. I'll guard the door. Be quick," she whispered to him before shutting the door. She waited somewhat impatiently as Draco took his shower. Luckily, she didn't have to deny anyone access to the bathroom. It had happened before, and she really disliked telling girls lies about toilet clogs and flooding. Finally, she heard a bark from inside the bathroom and she opened the door.
"Feel better?" She asked. The puppy barked again and scampered across the common room to Ginny's door. She let him inside and performed the charms that she had gotten used to not utilizing for the past week.
"How did your assignment go?"
"Very well," Draco replied, kicking off his shoes. "I'm incredibly close to figuring out something huge. It has something to do with wands, but that's all I can decipher myself. I'm sure it'll mean something to Remus."
"That's great," Ginny said happily, sitting on her bed.
"Have you heard from anyone else?" Draco asked, now shirtless and poking through his box of clothes.
"Just rumors mainly."
"From who?" Draco asked.
"People around school were talking. Daily Prophet."
"No news updates from the Order?" It was suddenly clear to Ginny what he was trying to find out. She sighed.
"No letters from Harry," she said softly.
"Ah," Draco replied casually.
"But speaking of letters," Ginny continued, "I wanted to thank you for your note. It really gave me peace of mind." Draco stopped searching for a new shirt and turned to face her. Their eyes locked in a somewhat intense gaze that took Ginny's breath away.
"You're welcome," Draco replied quietly. "I just…didn't want to give you one more thing to worry about. You have enough on your mind."
"I really appreciated it," Ginny said with a smile. Draco nodded and went back to his laundry heap. Ginny watched him in silence for a few minutes, wondering what was going through his head at the moment. She felt an insatiable urge to know him, and to learn what was buzzing around in his mind.
"So, whatever did you do without me?"
"Snape gave me a C- on my Potions essay."
"What?" Draco exclaimed incredulously. "That essay was a B at the very least."
"That's what I told him! Except, I told him that McGonagall said it, not you."
"I know I kind of owe him my life, but he really is a prat."
"Insufferable," Ginny added vehemently. "He tried to get me in trouble for organizing a noncompetitive Quidditch club for Gryffindor since he took away our team."
"Did it work?"
"No. I made sure I wasn't breaking any rules."
"How was it?" Draco asked, his voice sounding a little strange.
"What?"
"Playing quidditch. I haven't played in so long."
"It was so liberating," Ginny replied softly. "It made me feel alive again, you know?" Draco nodded.
"That's always how it was for me. It was such an escape."
"I miss competing," Ginny said forlornly, touching the picture on her desk of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Draco walked over to her and looked at the picture over her shoulder.
"You look cute there," he commented. Ginny blushed and her heart raced a little faster now that he was standing in such close proximity.
"Thanks, Malfoy," Ginny replied, uncertain of which name to call him. Draco shook his head and chuckled.
"First it's Draco, now it's Malfoy. What did I do to deserve this loss of affection?"
"Nothing!" Ginny exclaimed, turning around to face him. "That's not what happened at all. I just…don't know what to call you anymore. What are we?" Draco grinned.
"What do you want us to be?" Ginny shrugged and tried to take a step back, but found herself cornered against the desk.
"I don't know. I'm a little confused now. It's strange to go from hating someone to…not hating someone." Draco burst out laughing.
"You're cute, Ginny."
"So, I take it you want to be on a first name basis."
"I've taken a liking to hearing you call me Draco."
"Well, I think I like it when you call me Ginny."
"Good, then it's settled."
"I guess so." They were both silent, but so much communication was occurring through their eyes. They watched each other curiously, trying to read the other's expression. Ginny noticed that the cold, sharp quality that Draco's eyes had always possessed was missing now, and it was replaced by soft compassion.
"Did anything else exciting happen while I was gone?" Draco asked, breaking the vaguely uncomfortable silence.
"Well…it was a lot quieter around the room," Ginny replied with a smile.
"Yes, because I make so much noise."
"Not in that way," Ginny giggled, shaking her head. "I guess I just missed having someone around to talk to."
"How is AP Charms treating you?"
"I got an assignment that I need help with, actually. I put it in one of these drawers," Ginny replied, turning around to look through her desk. "Can you check those for me?" She asked, pointing to the drawers on the right side of the desk.
"Sure," Draco said, opening the top right drawer. When he saw the stack of letters, he immediately began to shut it. But he paused when he noticed "Dear Draco" heading the first letter. He glanced sideways at Ginny to make sure she was distracted with searching for her Charms assignment. Then he picked up the letter and shoved it into his pocket to read later.
"Ah! I found it!" Ginny exclaimed triumphantly. Draco slammed the top drawer shut before she could notice the letter was missing.
"Great. Let me have a look," he took the paper from her and sat down on the bed. Ginny sat down beside him. Their hands were nearly touching. Draco estimated mere centimeters between his thumb and her pinky finger. He could smell her shampoo wafting through the air. It was one of the things he had missed most about her. The subtle scent of her.
As much as Draco would have liked to deny it, he was beginning to develop an attachment to the youngest Weasley. It was hard for him to even remember why he didn't like her in the first place. Maybe he had just never given her a proper chance. He glanced at her face. It was beautiful and angelic. She gave off this aura of innocence and purity. For some reason, he just couldn't see how a girl as virtuous as Ginny Weasley could ever want to get involved with someone as corrupt as himself.