Disclaimer: Canon characters do not belong to me.
Rhapsody
Chapter One – Preludes
Ginny Weasley was sitting at a little table in the library, pouring over some ancient text in research for a Potions essay. Her 7th year had just begun two weeks ago, and Professor Snape had already begun unloading homework on the N.E.W.T.-level Potions students. Although she would never admit to it out loud, Ginny secretly was glad for the obscene amounts of homework. It made everything normal again.
At the end of term, Harry’s 7th year, the Boy Who Lived fulfilled the prophecy that had been set down. A climactic battle took place; the world took a great hit and casualties were immense on both sides. Most families lost someone, but the loss was dearest in Ginny’s own family. After being made Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley became an even greater target. He was captured and killed, and later, George disappeared. He was never found. Fred had yet to recover from the loss; it was almost like he had lost his soul mate. Bill was also lost, fighting the good fight. Mrs. Weasley was coping as best she could – remaining strong for the sake of the rest of the Weasley clan.
Harry and Ron decided to leave the wizarding world after the defeat…too many bad memories. They struck out on their own. The last Ginny had heard, they were in France. Had she been done with school, she was very much inclined to go with them, but her mother made her promise to finish. The finishing touch was Fred’s insistence. He said he wished he had stayed for his seventh year with George to have that one last year. Ginny decided to stay, and Hermione remained behind as well. She had chosen not to go with Harry and Ron because she felt that she no longer belonged in the Muggle world. She had seen and done too much for anything other than wizarding research to be normal for her. She was currently helping to rebuild the Ministry. She wasn’t exactly happy, but she was getting there.
Of all the changes that taken place to all of them, none seemed as drastically unchanged as Malfoy did. He was still a bitter, angry, mean, typical Slytherin – at least on the outside. When he was finally discovered as a traitor in the Death Eaters’ ranks, Draco was moved to safety at Hogwarts and had remained there since the end of the war. His mother had died in December of his 7th year, and his father was somewhere with the Death Eaters that had managed to survive. Before he had disappeared, he legally disowned Draco, and since that time, Draco had been unable to access his home; not that he particularly wanted to. So he had taken to doing odd jobs around the Hogwarts campus, in exchange for room and board. It was something he had significant trouble adjusting to, but it had to be done, and Draco performed his tasks with dignity.
Ginny’s reaction to the tragedy could be considered unhealthy – she had basically repressed her emotions down into her stomach, and she only let them out when nobody was watching. Everyone knew that much of her family had been broken apart by the war, but nobody seemed willing to talk about it. Her best friends had tried, but Ginny had tried to make light of the situation with inappropriate humor, so they backed off. Now she was throwing herself into her studies and her secret hobby just to keep the bad memories out of her focus.
Ginny doodled absently on her notes. She wasn’t concentrating very hard anymore. Instead, she caught herself thinking about what had occurred earlier that week in the Room of Requirement. She had caught him playing the piano – and playing beautiful besides. Ginny smiled a little, excited to know that Hogwarts had another secret musician in its midst, although she wished it was anyone but Malfoy. But, still, the prospect was promising.
“And just what are you smiling about, Gin?” asked a voice, bringing her out of her reverie.
“Nothing,” she replied. She slid over a little to allow her friend to join her. Charlie Lovett pulled up a chair to sit next to her. Charlie was Head Boy and had been one of Ginny’s closest friends throughout school.
“Oh, come on, share,” he wheedled.
“Really, nothing. Can’t a person smile if she wants?”
“I guess so,” he conceded, laughing. Then, the two friends were joined by two others – Elizabeth Becket, forever falling in love with whoever, and Jordi Walsh, the rational balance to the group. “Hello ladies,” Charlie said.
“Ginny, please tell Elizabeth that she needs to stop obsessing about that boy,” Jordi said by way of greeting as she sat down opposite Ginny.
“Oh quiet, Jordi!” Elizabeth exclaimed, her cheeks reddening. “Honestly, he’ll hear you!” She sat down next to Jordi and elbowed her in the stomach. Jordi doubled over slightly, but came up laughing.
“Who is it this time?” Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows as she scanned the library to see who Elizabeth had set her sights on.
Elizabeth sighed and motioned for her friends to lean in. “Draco Malfoy,” she whispered, and then quickly put her finger to her lips to shush them.
Charlie looked utterly aghast. Jordi just rolled her eyes and took a book from her backpack. Ginny didn’t know how to reply.
“Well, don’t just sit there looking at me like that! What do you think? Isn’t he delicious?” Elizabeth continued, incredulous that they would have no response.
“Malfoy, Liz, really?” asked Charlie, scratching his forehead.
Ginny looked away from the group for a moment and glanced around the library until she saw him. Draco was indeed there, and was indeed not very far away. He was re-shelving a section of books. Ginny watched him for a little bit until he turned around and caught her looking. She turned back to her friends.
“I never thought I’d be attracted to a Slytherin!” Elizabeth exclaimed, and then quickly covered her mouth, hoping that Draco hadn’t heard her. Ginny rolled her eyes.
“Just because someone is or was a Slytherin, doesn’t stop them from having the right to be attractive. It’s more like ‘I never thought I’d be attracted to a Malfoy,’” Ginny said, matter-of-factly.
“Did I hear correctly, Weasley? You’re attracted to me?”
Draco’s slick voice cut into their conversation abruptly and Ginny turned in her seat to look at him. His eyebrows were raised to accompany his mocking tone. Elizabeth had gone suddenly very pale and Jordi just laughed at her.
“No, Malfoy, it’s Lizzie here with the crush,” Charlie replied for Ginny, and he stood up to be at eye level with Draco. She shook her head a little bit and bit her bottom lip. Charlie nudged her.
“I was talking to Weasley, I believe.” Draco put his hands on the back of Ginny’s chair and rocked it back so that he was looking directly at her upside down. “So, you’re attracted to a Malfoy, is it?”
“Lizzie is in fact the one with the crush. I merely noted that just because you were a Slytherin does not mean that you are any less attractive than anyone from any of the other Houses.”
“Glad to hear you are so diplomatic in your allotment of attractiveness, Weasley.” He slowly let her chair back down. “I must be getting back to my shelving.” He started to walk back around to the shelf he was working on. He paused quickly and shot a sly wink at Elizabeth, and then got back to shelving.
Elizabeth nearly swooned and Jordi had to pinch her on the arm. Ginny smiled and pulled Charlie by the arm so that he was sitting back down. “Oooh, Lizzie’s in love,” Ginny teased. Elizabeth swatted at her playfully.
“Stop it! I just think he’s cute is all.” She flushed a deep pink. Jordi poked her in the side. “Cut it out! Ugh, come on, let’s go grab some lunch.”
Jordi, Charlie, and Elizabeth stood up. They started to leave when they noticed that Ginny hadn’t gotten up with them. “Aren’t you coming, Gin?” asked Charlie, slightly concerned. He, more than the others, noticed that Ginny was still inwardly grieving.
“Yeah, go on ahead and save me a seat. I have to check this book out for my Potions essay.”
“Okay, we’ll meet you down there,” Jordi replied.
Ginny walked up to the front desk and after her friends had left, made a sharp right and sought out Draco in the shelves.
“Something I can help you with?” he asked with disdain.
Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. “I was going to give you a compliment, but you can forget it now,” she replied, meanly.
“Will do, Weasley.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned quickly on her heel to leave the library. I don’t even know why I try, she thought to herself. A little noise of frustration escaped her as she walked out to join her friends for lunch.
Ginny Weasley was sitting at a little table in the library, pouring over some ancient text in research for a Potions essay. Her 7th year had just begun two weeks ago, and Professor Snape had already begun unloading homework on the N.E.W.T.-level Potions students. Although she would never admit to it out loud, Ginny secretly was glad for the obscene amounts of homework. It made everything normal again.
At the end of term, Harry’s 7th year, the Boy Who Lived fulfilled the prophecy that had been set down. A climactic battle took place; the world took a great hit and casualties were immense on both sides. Most families lost someone, but the loss was dearest in Ginny’s own family. After being made Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley became an even greater target. He was captured and killed, and later, George disappeared. He was never found. Fred had yet to recover from the loss; it was almost like he had lost his soul mate. Bill was also lost, fighting the good fight. Mrs. Weasley was coping as best she could – remaining strong for the sake of the rest of the Weasley clan.
Harry and Ron decided to leave the wizarding world after the defeat…too many bad memories. They struck out on their own. The last Ginny had heard, they were in France. Had she been done with school, she was very much inclined to go with them, but her mother made her promise to finish. The finishing touch was Fred’s insistence. He said he wished he had stayed for his seventh year with George to have that one last year. Ginny decided to stay, and Hermione remained behind as well. She had chosen not to go with Harry and Ron because she felt that she no longer belonged in the Muggle world. She had seen and done too much for anything other than wizarding research to be normal for her. She was currently helping to rebuild the Ministry. She wasn’t exactly happy, but she was getting there.
Of all the changes that taken place to all of them, none seemed as drastically unchanged as Malfoy did. He was still a bitter, angry, mean, typical Slytherin – at least on the outside. When he was finally discovered as a traitor in the Death Eaters’ ranks, Draco was moved to safety at Hogwarts and had remained there since the end of the war. His mother had died in December of his 7th year, and his father was somewhere with the Death Eaters that had managed to survive. Before he had disappeared, he legally disowned Draco, and since that time, Draco had been unable to access his home; not that he particularly wanted to. So he had taken to doing odd jobs around the Hogwarts campus, in exchange for room and board. It was something he had significant trouble adjusting to, but it had to be done, and Draco performed his tasks with dignity.
Ginny’s reaction to the tragedy could be considered unhealthy – she had basically repressed her emotions down into her stomach, and she only let them out when nobody was watching. Everyone knew that much of her family had been broken apart by the war, but nobody seemed willing to talk about it. Her best friends had tried, but Ginny had tried to make light of the situation with inappropriate humor, so they backed off. Now she was throwing herself into her studies and her secret hobby just to keep the bad memories out of her focus.
Ginny doodled absently on her notes. She wasn’t concentrating very hard anymore. Instead, she caught herself thinking about what had occurred earlier that week in the Room of Requirement. She had caught him playing the piano – and playing beautiful besides. Ginny smiled a little, excited to know that Hogwarts had another secret musician in its midst, although she wished it was anyone but Malfoy. But, still, the prospect was promising.
“And just what are you smiling about, Gin?” asked a voice, bringing her out of her reverie.
“Nothing,” she replied. She slid over a little to allow her friend to join her. Charlie Lovett pulled up a chair to sit next to her. Charlie was Head Boy and had been one of Ginny’s closest friends throughout school.
“Oh, come on, share,” he wheedled.
“Really, nothing. Can’t a person smile if she wants?”
“I guess so,” he conceded, laughing. Then, the two friends were joined by two others – Elizabeth Becket, forever falling in love with whoever, and Jordi Walsh, the rational balance to the group. “Hello ladies,” Charlie said.
“Ginny, please tell Elizabeth that she needs to stop obsessing about that boy,” Jordi said by way of greeting as she sat down opposite Ginny.
“Oh quiet, Jordi!” Elizabeth exclaimed, her cheeks reddening. “Honestly, he’ll hear you!” She sat down next to Jordi and elbowed her in the stomach. Jordi doubled over slightly, but came up laughing.
“Who is it this time?” Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows as she scanned the library to see who Elizabeth had set her sights on.
Elizabeth sighed and motioned for her friends to lean in. “Draco Malfoy,” she whispered, and then quickly put her finger to her lips to shush them.
Charlie looked utterly aghast. Jordi just rolled her eyes and took a book from her backpack. Ginny didn’t know how to reply.
“Well, don’t just sit there looking at me like that! What do you think? Isn’t he delicious?” Elizabeth continued, incredulous that they would have no response.
“Malfoy, Liz, really?” asked Charlie, scratching his forehead.
Ginny looked away from the group for a moment and glanced around the library until she saw him. Draco was indeed there, and was indeed not very far away. He was re-shelving a section of books. Ginny watched him for a little bit until he turned around and caught her looking. She turned back to her friends.
“I never thought I’d be attracted to a Slytherin!” Elizabeth exclaimed, and then quickly covered her mouth, hoping that Draco hadn’t heard her. Ginny rolled her eyes.
“Just because someone is or was a Slytherin, doesn’t stop them from having the right to be attractive. It’s more like ‘I never thought I’d be attracted to a Malfoy,’” Ginny said, matter-of-factly.
“Did I hear correctly, Weasley? You’re attracted to me?”
Draco’s slick voice cut into their conversation abruptly and Ginny turned in her seat to look at him. His eyebrows were raised to accompany his mocking tone. Elizabeth had gone suddenly very pale and Jordi just laughed at her.
“No, Malfoy, it’s Lizzie here with the crush,” Charlie replied for Ginny, and he stood up to be at eye level with Draco. She shook her head a little bit and bit her bottom lip. Charlie nudged her.
“I was talking to Weasley, I believe.” Draco put his hands on the back of Ginny’s chair and rocked it back so that he was looking directly at her upside down. “So, you’re attracted to a Malfoy, is it?”
“Lizzie is in fact the one with the crush. I merely noted that just because you were a Slytherin does not mean that you are any less attractive than anyone from any of the other Houses.”
“Glad to hear you are so diplomatic in your allotment of attractiveness, Weasley.” He slowly let her chair back down. “I must be getting back to my shelving.” He started to walk back around to the shelf he was working on. He paused quickly and shot a sly wink at Elizabeth, and then got back to shelving.
Elizabeth nearly swooned and Jordi had to pinch her on the arm. Ginny smiled and pulled Charlie by the arm so that he was sitting back down. “Oooh, Lizzie’s in love,” Ginny teased. Elizabeth swatted at her playfully.
“Stop it! I just think he’s cute is all.” She flushed a deep pink. Jordi poked her in the side. “Cut it out! Ugh, come on, let’s go grab some lunch.”
Jordi, Charlie, and Elizabeth stood up. They started to leave when they noticed that Ginny hadn’t gotten up with them. “Aren’t you coming, Gin?” asked Charlie, slightly concerned. He, more than the others, noticed that Ginny was still inwardly grieving.
“Yeah, go on ahead and save me a seat. I have to check this book out for my Potions essay.”
“Okay, we’ll meet you down there,” Jordi replied.
Ginny walked up to the front desk and after her friends had left, made a sharp right and sought out Draco in the shelves.
“Something I can help you with?” he asked with disdain.
Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. “I was going to give you a compliment, but you can forget it now,” she replied, meanly.
“Will do, Weasley.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and turned quickly on her heel to leave the library. I don’t even know why I try, she thought to herself. A little noise of frustration escaped her as she walked out to join her friends for lunch.
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