Next chapter! Enjoy :)
After Draco leaves I head back to the Great Hall, running into Ron and Hermione on the way out.
"Harry, mate, what was it?" Ron asks, sounding annoyed, "We were just coming to make sure you were okay. Even if we don't think he's a death eater, he's still not someone you should be alone with!" I shrug nervously, and Hermione looks at me suspiciously.
"Harry, does he have something to do with you ending up in the hospital wing?"
"I told you, it was an accident with a spell." I answer evasively.
"Did Malfoy do it? Because if he did I'm gonna bloody rip his-"
"No!" I interrupt hastily, "Well, erm, he was...involved, but it wasn't his fault." Hermione looks concerned, so I'm clearly not fooling her.
"What did he do, Harry? Does Dumbledore know?"
"Yes! I told you, it was an accident. But...there's more to it than that." They look at me, confused, so I continue more slowly.
"Look, I know that Malfoy's a git, but he's not evil. He's not really a death eater."
"Harry, we know, we've been telling you that for months." Hermione responds cautiously, looking like she's considering sending me back to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey can check my head.
"No! I mean, he is a death eater, he said it and everything, but he doesn't want to be. He wants to get out of it, and... I think we should help him." Ron turns red and explodes at me.
"Why the bloody hell should we help him! If he really is a death eater, which I doubt, then it's his own blood fault!" Hermione's eyebrows draw close together, and I can practically hear her brain working.
"Ron, if Harry heard him say it... it is always a possibility, we shouldn't be close-minded. He could have no say in the matter. Perhaps it's You-Know-Who's way of punishing the Malfoy family for Lucius' mistakes in the Department of Mysteries." I grin, happy Hermione understands, but she continues talking. "However, this, while possible, is unlikely. It could be a trap, Harry." I shake my head, remembering the state I found him in.
"No, he was...upset. It wasn't fake." Ron seems to be calming down, and he gives a more level-headed response.
"Hermione's right, I reckon. It's possible but unlikely. Still, if you want to find out more, I'm behind you." I grin, grateful that they understand and support me, but then frown.
"Ron, do you know what time it is? Don't you have a Quidditch match?" That I can't participate in because of a detention with Snape. Ron pales then sprints off. I say goodbye to Hermione, and head to the dungeons.
After a grueling detention, I quietly head back up to the dormitory. I can hear shouting from down the hall, so I run to the portrait and quickly enter the room.
"Harry, we won!" Ron is holding up a huge trophy grinning like a madman. I grin back, and start heading over to him. As I'm weaving through the excited crowd, a flash of red hair is my only warning before she jumps on me and kisses me. I'm so shocked I don't kiss back, and when I process that it's Ginny, I gently push away. I'm bright red, and she looks devastated that I've rejected her.
"Ginny, I'm sorry, I just don't feel-" she breaks into tears and disappears into the crowd. I think back on the kiss. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't right either. And I just didn't have those sorts of feelings for Ginny. She was practically my sister.
I look over at Ron, who looks positively baffled over the turn of events. I decide to go to sleep now, instead of risk running into Ginny again.
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