The rest of that day time passed by very slowly. I thought I was going to die if I had to endure one more speech from Ron on how Draco Malfoy was the worst person he ever knew. I secretly knew better, or at least I thought I did. I put on some comfortable pants and one of my Weasley family sweaters.
I stepped out into the common room quietly, knowing that if I woke anyone up, I would not make it to the astronomy tower. Nobody was there, thankfully, so I swung the portrait door open and left, making my way to the astronomy tower. I walked past the statues, taking a moment to look at each them. There was a statue of a unicorn, and as I walked past it, I could have sworn there was something different about it from the previous times I’d walked past it. I knew that it was ordinary to have things change and move within, but the fact that I couldn’t figure out exactly what had changed, coupled with the fact that it had not changed since I had been at Hogwarts unnerved me. I shrugged it off, but it still nagged at me as I made my way to the astronomy tower.
When I got there, I saw Draco. He was sitting on a windowsill, looking out the window at the sky. In the dark I could still clearly see his coldly vivid gray eyes. He turned when he heard me approach and looked at me like he was trying to figure something out, but he definitely had his gaze asphyxiated directly on me. “Would you like to sit down, Ginny?” I was wary, but I sat. I was determined not to be fooled, but I did not want to be seen as young and naive.
“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Draco?” I asked tiredly.
“I wanted to talk to you about us. I know that I hurt you, and my brother has said as much. He talked to me for a long time about the fact that I was damaging you by not showing you compassion, when in truth, I do appreciate you and your kindness.” I could not meet his eyes as he spoke. I didn’t know what he would say next or how I would feel about it.
After a long pause which seemed to me an eternity, he continued. “You are the only person who has ever seen me for me, and not for my father, or my money, or what they can gain by befriending me. In truth, I am quite in love with you. You may not see it that way, but it’s true. Gin, I’ve never met anyone as incredible as you are, and I’ve never met a girl who had so much passion, yet at the same time, so much sorrow.”
I looked into his eyes at that moment, unable to keep myself from doing so, and I could see the sincerity. As I stared, we got significantly closer until our lips were almost touching. I thought that this would be our first kiss, but something outside the door made a noise. We looked toward the stairs, and there was a faint blue glow pouring in from them. Draco stepped in front of me as the glow became brighter, and I was too afraid to stop him, even if it went against my first instinct to face everything head on.
As we watched, the glowing became brighter and brighter. I thought that it would never get to where we stood because it was moving so slowly, but it emerged from the stairway.
When I saw what it was, I gasped. I was staring directly at the statue of the unicorn that I had seen earlier on my way to the tower. I was completely dumfounded as to why this unicorn was there, and for that I was grateful. If I had known why it had come, I would have screamed bloody murder.
As it got closer, I could feel warmth emitting from its body. It was then that I realized that the creature was not glowing but lit with blue flames. The fire was so mesmerisingly beautiful that Draco and I found ourselves unable to look away.
Suddenly, a spell was cast on the unicorn, and that threw us out of our trance. We looked at the stairs to see Lucifer watching in awe as the beautiful statue fell to the ground, wand still raised. None of us could believe what was happening.
“Why do you think it came to life?” Draco asked. I just stood there, still awestruck by the magical statue that had just fallen before us.
“All I know about the statue is that Dumbledore told me that it would become alive if someone came near it with the hair of one of a unicorn, but it would only be able to live if the hair was taken by force. Do you have any idea how that could have happened?” Lucifer replied breathlessly.
My eyes went to the ground, realizing that I had been the cause of the statue’s resurrection. The Unidra poison that I had contained the hairs of a unicorn. As I looked back up, they both were gazing at me.
“I… I think I know how it happened” I said. I was about to explain it to Lucifer, but Draco took control.
“I know as well. You have unicorn hair in your wand, don’t you, Ginny?” I was startled, to say the least, that he would help me hide what I had planned on doing.
“Yes, I do. That’s probably what happened, since unicorn hair wands are so rare.” Lucifer looked skeptical, let our falsification slide by.
“What are you doing here anyway? I saw that you weren’t in bed, so I came to find you in your favorite getaway. I ran to help when I saw that thing at the top of the stairs because I knew that you would be in danger if you were up here with it and I didn’t want you hurt.” Lucifer said.
At that moment I knew that I would never be able to decide whether I liked Draco or Lucifer more. Draco had this secretive lifestyle, and he was the resident bad boy, but Lucifer was so openly kind, and he was so good. There was nothing that I could see that was imperfect with him. That was one thing I liked about Draco, however. I felt I was at his level because neither of us is perfect.
Needless to say, I was completely confused. I knew that I would have to choose, and my choice was leaning toward Draco, but something was holding me back, although I could not explain it. It was something that was telling me in the back of my mind, although I could not say what, that Lucifer was better for me.
We all left the astronomy tower, and with the unspoken agreement that none of us would be able to get to sleep, we headed toward the kitchens. When asked what we wanted, we each chose butterbeer. Secretly, I enjoyed being waited on. Being one of seven kids doesn’t exactly give your parents much time to be able to do much in the way of favors to any of the children.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and then Lucifer spoke. “So, what exactly were you two doing in the astronomy tower together anyway? The only people I ever catch up there are couples who go there to make out.” He said with a mischievous grin. Draco and I looked at each other in feigned annoyance.
“Lucifer, we were only talking, nothing more. Get that through your thick skull right now.” Draco said, somewhat menacingly.
“Draco, you know that tone of voice doesn’t scare me. You should have known it years ago, and you haven’t used it on me in a long time. Trying to impress your girlfriend?” Lucifer looked my way and winked. Good gracious he was sexy!
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Draco said, and as I struggled to suppress a giggle, and I decided to play along with Lucifer’s game.
“Oh, Draco, it’s okay sweetie, I already told him about us.” Draco looked completely dumfounded, and then he smirked.
“Okay, I get it. You two are in on this together. Hah, hah, hah, you’ve both had your laughs. Now can we please start having a civilized conversation?” Draco said, and he did not look amused.
We sat there for the remainder of the night, chatting idly about students and gossiping about who did what with who in the past month. I was highly uninterested in it all, contrary to popular belief.
I discovered that Draco was still a virgin, which had greatly surprised me. It did not surprise me, however, to learn that Lucifer was not. It is not that he seems like the type who would do something like that, rather nobody who looks that perfect could be a virgin. Apparently he lost his virginity rather early in life, at age fourteen.
That was when I realized that he had lost it when he was younger than me. I knew that he was three years older than I was, but it dawned on me how sheltered and naïve I had been all my life. It was like living in a bubble, and that was something that I did not care for.
“Draco, Lucifer, I have a question to ask you guys.” I said, feeling somewhat nervous.
“Ask away, little one.” Lucifer had a way of saying something that would normally drive me mad, such as someone calling me little one, and turning it into a sweet endearment.
“I was wondering if you could help me. I have come to the realization that I have been very sheltered all of my life, and I have not experienced as much as a person should. I want to live life to the fullest, lose my innocent self, and I want you guys to show me.” There, I had said it. I braced myself for their response.
“Do you really want to change, Ginny?” It was Draco who spoke.
“I really do. In a bubble it’s nice, but it’s not reality. When you get protected from pain and sorrow, and everything harmful, you miss out on a lot of joys as well.” I had thought about this many times before, but I had convinced myself that it was the right thing for me to be in the bubble. It wasn’t until I heard them talking about their experiences that they had had in the past with other girls. Lucifer had only been with one girl, apparently, and that girl was the one he was still with.
I almost fell out of my chair with the shock that he was with someone, but then I remembered Draco. I believe that certain people, as well as certain life experiences, change people. Draco and Lucifer had changed me, and would continue to change me as long as I was around them.
Lucifer was next to speak. “Okay then. Let’s get to work.”
We all headed back to Gryffindor Tower, and they came to my room. We were careful not to wake anyone, and I led them to my clothes, which were all stowed away in my trunk. I handed the garments to them, and they started making decisions.
“Draco, what do you think. How much of this should stay, and how much should go? I know that she definitely needs some new clothes, but the question is, does she have anything that she can keep, or does it all need to be tossed?” Lucifer said, surveying the clothing with a look of distaste on his perfect features.
“Honestly, I think that the only things she can keep are the clothes that she is wearing now, and those she should only keep until she gets her new garments.” Draco replied after some thought.
“Guys, I know that you mean well, but I can’t afford to buy myself new things. You may be forgetting that I am a Weasley, after all.” Ginny said, fearing that they might decline her plea for help when they realized this.
“Gin, we know that you can’t afford it. We fully intend on buying you everything that you will need in Hogsmeade tomorrow. Don’t worry about repaying us, we’ll think of something.” Draco said with a mischievous glint. I wondered what he was up to.
They picked through all of my clothing, discarding nearly everything except for a couple of my school uniforms (the robes, of course, all discarded) and, of course, what I was wearing at the moment. They left my lingerie that I had gotten from Seamus for Christmas the previous year, which my brother incidentally pounded him for. I smirked at the thought. He was always so incredibly thick when it came to boys being anywhere near me. Anyhow, Draco muttered something about wanting to see me in it, and he blushed when he realized that I had caught his comment. This was highly amusing, really.
When they had finished with my apparel, they started on my books. They kept the books so that I could get my notes from them into my new books, but it was their plan to get me new ones for school use. I grinned as they went through my possessions, throwing out the old ratty things and just leaving me with a few sentimental things and a few nice things that I demanded to keep.
They then decided that it was getting really late, and we wanted to get a fairly early start the next day so that we could get all the shopping done. I bid them goodnight and they left for their dorms in the Slytherin dungeon.
I was in my nightgown shortly after they left, but I wasn’t so quick to fall asleep. I kept on thinking about Draco, and about that unicorn. Why exactly was it there, and why was Draco so quick to change his mind about wanting to be near me? It didn’t add up. After much deliberation on this, my mind finally shut down and allowed me to drift slowly to sleep, as Draco wove through my dreams.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke up the next morning to an owl tapping on my window. After opening the window, the owl swooped in and dropped a note on my desk, then flew away without waiting for payment. I opened up the note and smiled.
Meet us in the Great Hall at 8:00. We will sit with you for breakfast and then we’ll head into Hogsmeade. Don’t be late.
-D.M.
I chuckled at his blunt words, knowing that he would be happy when I went down and joined them. I got dressed and looked at the time, knowing that I shouldn’t be late because I didn’t want to make Draco angry. I knew that to be all too easy, and I didn’t want to start an argument when they were both being so kind to me.
I rushed downstairs, excited with the anticipation of the day. I knew that the trip would be fun, and I would be getting what I had wanted for years–a change. I know that my mother would never approve, but it’s something that I felt I had to do. I sat down beside Draco.
We ate our breakfast in silence, and I could feel Draco’s eyes on me the entire time. One can imagine the difficulty I had eating. I stated that I was finished and got up from the table to meet them outside. I didn’t suspect that they would get up and walk with me, but they did, so we left Hogwarts and went into Hogsmeade.
I stepped out into the common room quietly, knowing that if I woke anyone up, I would not make it to the astronomy tower. Nobody was there, thankfully, so I swung the portrait door open and left, making my way to the astronomy tower. I walked past the statues, taking a moment to look at each them. There was a statue of a unicorn, and as I walked past it, I could have sworn there was something different about it from the previous times I’d walked past it. I knew that it was ordinary to have things change and move within, but the fact that I couldn’t figure out exactly what had changed, coupled with the fact that it had not changed since I had been at Hogwarts unnerved me. I shrugged it off, but it still nagged at me as I made my way to the astronomy tower.
When I got there, I saw Draco. He was sitting on a windowsill, looking out the window at the sky. In the dark I could still clearly see his coldly vivid gray eyes. He turned when he heard me approach and looked at me like he was trying to figure something out, but he definitely had his gaze asphyxiated directly on me. “Would you like to sit down, Ginny?” I was wary, but I sat. I was determined not to be fooled, but I did not want to be seen as young and naive.
“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Draco?” I asked tiredly.
“I wanted to talk to you about us. I know that I hurt you, and my brother has said as much. He talked to me for a long time about the fact that I was damaging you by not showing you compassion, when in truth, I do appreciate you and your kindness.” I could not meet his eyes as he spoke. I didn’t know what he would say next or how I would feel about it.
After a long pause which seemed to me an eternity, he continued. “You are the only person who has ever seen me for me, and not for my father, or my money, or what they can gain by befriending me. In truth, I am quite in love with you. You may not see it that way, but it’s true. Gin, I’ve never met anyone as incredible as you are, and I’ve never met a girl who had so much passion, yet at the same time, so much sorrow.”
I looked into his eyes at that moment, unable to keep myself from doing so, and I could see the sincerity. As I stared, we got significantly closer until our lips were almost touching. I thought that this would be our first kiss, but something outside the door made a noise. We looked toward the stairs, and there was a faint blue glow pouring in from them. Draco stepped in front of me as the glow became brighter, and I was too afraid to stop him, even if it went against my first instinct to face everything head on.
As we watched, the glowing became brighter and brighter. I thought that it would never get to where we stood because it was moving so slowly, but it emerged from the stairway.
When I saw what it was, I gasped. I was staring directly at the statue of the unicorn that I had seen earlier on my way to the tower. I was completely dumfounded as to why this unicorn was there, and for that I was grateful. If I had known why it had come, I would have screamed bloody murder.
As it got closer, I could feel warmth emitting from its body. It was then that I realized that the creature was not glowing but lit with blue flames. The fire was so mesmerisingly beautiful that Draco and I found ourselves unable to look away.
Suddenly, a spell was cast on the unicorn, and that threw us out of our trance. We looked at the stairs to see Lucifer watching in awe as the beautiful statue fell to the ground, wand still raised. None of us could believe what was happening.
“Why do you think it came to life?” Draco asked. I just stood there, still awestruck by the magical statue that had just fallen before us.
“All I know about the statue is that Dumbledore told me that it would become alive if someone came near it with the hair of one of a unicorn, but it would only be able to live if the hair was taken by force. Do you have any idea how that could have happened?” Lucifer replied breathlessly.
My eyes went to the ground, realizing that I had been the cause of the statue’s resurrection. The Unidra poison that I had contained the hairs of a unicorn. As I looked back up, they both were gazing at me.
“I… I think I know how it happened” I said. I was about to explain it to Lucifer, but Draco took control.
“I know as well. You have unicorn hair in your wand, don’t you, Ginny?” I was startled, to say the least, that he would help me hide what I had planned on doing.
“Yes, I do. That’s probably what happened, since unicorn hair wands are so rare.” Lucifer looked skeptical, let our falsification slide by.
“What are you doing here anyway? I saw that you weren’t in bed, so I came to find you in your favorite getaway. I ran to help when I saw that thing at the top of the stairs because I knew that you would be in danger if you were up here with it and I didn’t want you hurt.” Lucifer said.
At that moment I knew that I would never be able to decide whether I liked Draco or Lucifer more. Draco had this secretive lifestyle, and he was the resident bad boy, but Lucifer was so openly kind, and he was so good. There was nothing that I could see that was imperfect with him. That was one thing I liked about Draco, however. I felt I was at his level because neither of us is perfect.
Needless to say, I was completely confused. I knew that I would have to choose, and my choice was leaning toward Draco, but something was holding me back, although I could not explain it. It was something that was telling me in the back of my mind, although I could not say what, that Lucifer was better for me.
We all left the astronomy tower, and with the unspoken agreement that none of us would be able to get to sleep, we headed toward the kitchens. When asked what we wanted, we each chose butterbeer. Secretly, I enjoyed being waited on. Being one of seven kids doesn’t exactly give your parents much time to be able to do much in the way of favors to any of the children.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and then Lucifer spoke. “So, what exactly were you two doing in the astronomy tower together anyway? The only people I ever catch up there are couples who go there to make out.” He said with a mischievous grin. Draco and I looked at each other in feigned annoyance.
“Lucifer, we were only talking, nothing more. Get that through your thick skull right now.” Draco said, somewhat menacingly.
“Draco, you know that tone of voice doesn’t scare me. You should have known it years ago, and you haven’t used it on me in a long time. Trying to impress your girlfriend?” Lucifer looked my way and winked. Good gracious he was sexy!
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Draco said, and as I struggled to suppress a giggle, and I decided to play along with Lucifer’s game.
“Oh, Draco, it’s okay sweetie, I already told him about us.” Draco looked completely dumfounded, and then he smirked.
“Okay, I get it. You two are in on this together. Hah, hah, hah, you’ve both had your laughs. Now can we please start having a civilized conversation?” Draco said, and he did not look amused.
We sat there for the remainder of the night, chatting idly about students and gossiping about who did what with who in the past month. I was highly uninterested in it all, contrary to popular belief.
I discovered that Draco was still a virgin, which had greatly surprised me. It did not surprise me, however, to learn that Lucifer was not. It is not that he seems like the type who would do something like that, rather nobody who looks that perfect could be a virgin. Apparently he lost his virginity rather early in life, at age fourteen.
That was when I realized that he had lost it when he was younger than me. I knew that he was three years older than I was, but it dawned on me how sheltered and naïve I had been all my life. It was like living in a bubble, and that was something that I did not care for.
“Draco, Lucifer, I have a question to ask you guys.” I said, feeling somewhat nervous.
“Ask away, little one.” Lucifer had a way of saying something that would normally drive me mad, such as someone calling me little one, and turning it into a sweet endearment.
“I was wondering if you could help me. I have come to the realization that I have been very sheltered all of my life, and I have not experienced as much as a person should. I want to live life to the fullest, lose my innocent self, and I want you guys to show me.” There, I had said it. I braced myself for their response.
“Do you really want to change, Ginny?” It was Draco who spoke.
“I really do. In a bubble it’s nice, but it’s not reality. When you get protected from pain and sorrow, and everything harmful, you miss out on a lot of joys as well.” I had thought about this many times before, but I had convinced myself that it was the right thing for me to be in the bubble. It wasn’t until I heard them talking about their experiences that they had had in the past with other girls. Lucifer had only been with one girl, apparently, and that girl was the one he was still with.
I almost fell out of my chair with the shock that he was with someone, but then I remembered Draco. I believe that certain people, as well as certain life experiences, change people. Draco and Lucifer had changed me, and would continue to change me as long as I was around them.
Lucifer was next to speak. “Okay then. Let’s get to work.”
We all headed back to Gryffindor Tower, and they came to my room. We were careful not to wake anyone, and I led them to my clothes, which were all stowed away in my trunk. I handed the garments to them, and they started making decisions.
“Draco, what do you think. How much of this should stay, and how much should go? I know that she definitely needs some new clothes, but the question is, does she have anything that she can keep, or does it all need to be tossed?” Lucifer said, surveying the clothing with a look of distaste on his perfect features.
“Honestly, I think that the only things she can keep are the clothes that she is wearing now, and those she should only keep until she gets her new garments.” Draco replied after some thought.
“Guys, I know that you mean well, but I can’t afford to buy myself new things. You may be forgetting that I am a Weasley, after all.” Ginny said, fearing that they might decline her plea for help when they realized this.
“Gin, we know that you can’t afford it. We fully intend on buying you everything that you will need in Hogsmeade tomorrow. Don’t worry about repaying us, we’ll think of something.” Draco said with a mischievous glint. I wondered what he was up to.
They picked through all of my clothing, discarding nearly everything except for a couple of my school uniforms (the robes, of course, all discarded) and, of course, what I was wearing at the moment. They left my lingerie that I had gotten from Seamus for Christmas the previous year, which my brother incidentally pounded him for. I smirked at the thought. He was always so incredibly thick when it came to boys being anywhere near me. Anyhow, Draco muttered something about wanting to see me in it, and he blushed when he realized that I had caught his comment. This was highly amusing, really.
When they had finished with my apparel, they started on my books. They kept the books so that I could get my notes from them into my new books, but it was their plan to get me new ones for school use. I grinned as they went through my possessions, throwing out the old ratty things and just leaving me with a few sentimental things and a few nice things that I demanded to keep.
They then decided that it was getting really late, and we wanted to get a fairly early start the next day so that we could get all the shopping done. I bid them goodnight and they left for their dorms in the Slytherin dungeon.
I was in my nightgown shortly after they left, but I wasn’t so quick to fall asleep. I kept on thinking about Draco, and about that unicorn. Why exactly was it there, and why was Draco so quick to change his mind about wanting to be near me? It didn’t add up. After much deliberation on this, my mind finally shut down and allowed me to drift slowly to sleep, as Draco wove through my dreams.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke up the next morning to an owl tapping on my window. After opening the window, the owl swooped in and dropped a note on my desk, then flew away without waiting for payment. I opened up the note and smiled.
Meet us in the Great Hall at 8:00. We will sit with you for breakfast and then we’ll head into Hogsmeade. Don’t be late.
-D.M.
I chuckled at his blunt words, knowing that he would be happy when I went down and joined them. I got dressed and looked at the time, knowing that I shouldn’t be late because I didn’t want to make Draco angry. I knew that to be all too easy, and I didn’t want to start an argument when they were both being so kind to me.
I rushed downstairs, excited with the anticipation of the day. I knew that the trip would be fun, and I would be getting what I had wanted for years–a change. I know that my mother would never approve, but it’s something that I felt I had to do. I sat down beside Draco.
We ate our breakfast in silence, and I could feel Draco’s eyes on me the entire time. One can imagine the difficulty I had eating. I stated that I was finished and got up from the table to meet them outside. I didn’t suspect that they would get up and walk with me, but they did, so we left Hogwarts and went into Hogsmeade.
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