CHAPTER 4 – GUILT

Ginny stormed down the hallway, tears streaking down her cheeks. How could he be such an idiot when he was so nice last night? Her mind scolded her actions, why would she even think he was a nice person after those six years of name calling, just generally being mean. He didn't even say sorry! Well, he said he didn't mean it, but how could she trust anything he said anymore?

"Someone's in a bad mood," The fat lady mumbled after Ginny had walked through the portrait hole. The first person she laid her eyes on was Harry Potter. She almost rolled her eyes, typical. A frown graced her features as that thought ran through her mind, she didn't usually think like that about her friends, Malfoy, she would refuse to call him Draco, must have really got her in a bad mood.

Harry smiled in welcome at her before he frowned also at her expression. "Are you okay, Ginny?" He asked, concern layered his voice. She avoided eye contact, what would he think if she still had tears in her eyes? Ginny nodded in answer to his question.

"I'm fine," But her voice broke on the last word and she saw Harry's frown increase as he put one hand on her shoulder. "Harry, I said I'm fine!" She was shocked by the tone of her own voice. Yet another tear fell down her cheek and landed by coincidence on his hand, great, now he would know she wasn't fine. Ginny pushed his hand of her shoulder with a little more force than intended and quickly walked up to her dorm.

As she walked up the stairs she heard her brother say to Harry. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing! I was just seeing if she was okay!" Murmured Harry innocently. Ginny bit down on her lip, she felt bad for Ron's assumptions and Harry taking the blame. None of this had anything to do with Harry.

Harry and Ron had probably told Hermione by now, and surely enough, as that thought entered her mind, there was a light knock on her dormitory door. Followed by a quiet voice. "Can I come in, Ginny?" She asked through the door.

"Sure," She said as loud as she could before burying her face in her pillow whilst Hermione pushed the door shut. Ginny heard her footsteps until they were close and Hermione sat next to her on her bed.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked straight, she wasn't one for small talk. Her voice sounded almost as concerned as Harry's had. Ginny remained silent and after a couple of minutes Hermione let out a sigh.

She placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder like Harry did. "Ginny, I want to help you but I can't if your not going to tell me what's happened." She bit her lip before slowly sitting up and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Hermione's eyes were wide with worry as she crossed her legs and let out a breath.

"Harry's really worried, he thinks he was the one who upset you." Hermione told Ginny, raising one of her eyebrows in question. "Was he the one who upset you?" She asked me, Ginny could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

She shook her head, how could Harry think that? Guilt hit her then, she was surprised at how bad she felt about what Harry guessed. "It wasn't Harry at all. I shouldn't have lashed out on him like that." She trailed off, biting her lip once again.

Hermione frowned and cocked her head to the side, trying to understand. "So who has upset you?"

Ginny felt her cheeks get hot, why was she blushing? She couldn't tell Hermione who had really upset her. She quickly thought of a different reason. "To be honest, this will sound stupid but, it wasn't anyone in particular, just everything right now." Ginny told the lie in a rush, Hermione nodded in a very teacher like way. She looked at Ginny through eyes suddenly full of wisdom. Ginny knew that Hermione would probably start on a huge speech about feminism and her understanding of the woman mind and stuff like that.

"Well, Ginny-" But she cut her off, she just wasn't in the mood for a speech by Hermione.

Ginny got off of her bed and thought of another excuse not to endure what she knew was coming. "I'm really sorry, Hermione. But I just remembered that I have to be somewhere." She told her, wondering where exactly she would go after this. Hermione's superior smile faltered slightly as she stood up.

"Okay, just remember Ginny. I'm always here to talk," She said in a comforting tone before smiling and swiftly walking out of her dorm room.

Ginny let out a huge sigh before grabbing a jacket and following Hermione out of her room. She knew exactly where she would go, somewhere peaceful where she could just relax and forget all her worries for just a couple of hours.

Someone caught her arm before she could walk through the portrait hole. Ginny turned around and before she even saw his face, she knew who it would be.

"Sorry if I upset you earlier," Harry muttered quietly, looking her straight in the eye. What was it with him? He had this weird thing about him which made you always feel guilty even if you said the slightest negative thing to him. It made her wonder how Malfoy had managed insulting him so much for the past six years. She shook her head a little to dismiss the thought of him and also in answer to Harry's question.

Ginny smiled apologetically at him before answering. "No, Harry. You didn't upset me, I just lashed out. Sorry." Her voice was a little louder than before, she was feeling a little better already, more herself by not thinking of him. Harry smiled in what seemed like relief and let go of her arms.

"That's good, I was worried that you would hex me or something." Harry laughed casually and Ginny grinned at his laid back behaviour. "Where are you heading to?" He asked her, seeing her jacket in her hand.

She shrugged gently, smiling naturally now. Harry deserved a medal, she didn't think anyone would be able to put her in a good mood for a while after the foul mood she recently possessed. "Just for a walk, getting some fresh air, I guess." Ginny told him truthfully, still randomly smiling.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Could I join you? It's kinda... stuffy in here." Ginny resisted the urge to laugh, Harry was never good with words. She nodded, grinning now. Harry was one of her best friends now, she had liked him for years but recently she had realised that with all the other pretty girls in this school, why should he pick her? She had given up and for good reason, especially now all the girls were interested in him because they thought he was the Chosen one. But a strange emotion overcame Ginny now, her stomach felt funny.

"Sure," Ginny answered a little too late, her thoughts had delayed her answer. He smiled in response as they both turned to walk out of the portrait hole. Her and Harry walked silently through the halls of Hogwarts, dozens of different things running through Ginny's mind. Did she like him? She wasn't sure. She had that strange feeling in her stomach but it was nothing compared to how she felt about – No, don't think the name. Sure, she knew this feeling, but Ginny knew that this was just a rebound, a harsh fall back. But she still liked Draco. Liked him more possibly now than before. How could that be after what he had said earlier?

Then she looked to Harry, wondering why she couldn't like him how she liked Draco. Harry was so much better for her, he was practically perfect. Things never went the way they should. But maybe, just maybe she liked him enough not to feel guilty about giving it a go. Sure, she liked Draco much more, but maybe, if she really tried, she could like Harry more than she liked him. That would be a much more healthy choice for her, after all, she knew Harry so well, he was already one of her best friends, what could be better? But then she found the fault in her plan; Harry didn't like her back.

The cold air hit her face and it was just as refreshing as she had imagined. She smiled a little as they walked across the grounds, heading towards the lake subconsciously.

Too soon they arrived at the lake, Ginny stopped in her tracks and leant against the big tree that was right near the bank of the lake. Harry joined her, leaning against it also.

"It's quiet, isn't it?" Harry broke the silence, looking over too her. She met his gaze and saw something new in his green eyes. A different emotion, one she didn't recognise. Ginny nodded, again, a little too late.

She looked him straight in the eye once more, trying to discover this new emotion. Harry turned a bit more towards her, this emotion in his eyes seeming to burn fresh. Ginny was so curious as to what this emotion was, it was almost bugging her, obviously she couldn't just ask.
"Can I do something?" Harry asked, his voice so quiet but not quite a whisper. Ginny was frozen, wondering exactly what he was going to do, she nodded, still staring at him, trying to figure him out.

Then he did something, she never thought he would do. Harry leaned his head closer to hers before, ever so lightly, pressing his lips against hers. Ginny didn't know quite how to react, her body made the decision for her. She placed one hand on the side of his neck while he interlaced their fingers on her other hand. She felt him smile against her lips as he deepened the kiss. Her eyes closed automatically in response. Ginny had no objection, she was happy. Right here, right now, nothing could bother her.

And then she heard the footsteps from behind Harry, Ginny broke away from the kiss quickly, looking over his shoulder as to who would be there.

She seemed to freeze as she saw the face, her blonde angel standing there, his expression broken. Ginny couldn't move, she couldn't talk, she couldn't even find the strength to push Harry away. Draco stood there, seeming to have the same affect, he stood motionless, just staring at her. Guilt crashed down and erased every other emotion in her body. Only then did Harry look round and also see him standing there. He turned his whole torso towards Draco, dropping his hands from Ginny but still holding her hand. Harry looked between Ginny and Draco then looked at his watch.

"I gotta go do Potions homework, I promised Neville. Sorry." He said to her, loud enough for Draco to hear. He kissed her parted lips once before walking away. He just walked away! Casual as ever! It made her clench her fists.

Draco didn't take his eyes of her the whole time. "I see how it is." He murmured darkly, his voice ice cold, still silk smooth, it seemed to make it hurt more. She shook her head suddenly, stepping towards him.

"No, Draco. It's not like that," She defended quickly. Then she paused. Why was she defending herself? What was Draco to her? And Harry was perfect, and he liked her obviously. What was she doing? She tried to stand up straight, chin up, but the guilt just kept her down.

But why was she feeling guilty?

Draco just kept staring at her. "Save your breath, Weasley!" He spat, struggling to keep his perfect, calm façade. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble with it. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she broke their gaze by looking down. Tears filled her eyes but Ginny refused to cry. She would not cry over Draco Malfoy again.

"Why are you even here?" She replied hotly, raising her eyebrows with more effort than it should have been. She tried not to blink in fear of the tears spilling over.

He was just silent, still staring with wide eyes at her. Ginny took a deep breath and waited for his answer. What more could she do? She couldn't walk away now. Walking away was definatly not an option.