Ginny couldn’t stop staring at her right ankle. She kept stretching it out and turning it in every direction.
“I know you have great legs.” Dean smiled at her. “You don’t need to tease me.”
They were sitting outside by the lake. Dean was leaning against a tree, a book propped up against his knees. The sun was setting and the night air was beginning to chill Ginny. She wrapped her Gryffindor scarf tightly around her head.
“I went for a jog this morning. I think I worked out my muscles good,” she said. Ginny noticed Dean’s smile beginning to falter so she quickly flashed him one in return. She moved towards him, leaning against his legs and tilting her head back so she could look at him. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
She needed to break up with him. The realization made Ginny very sad.
You still have a thing for Harry, a voice in her head nagged at her.
I do not.
“Let’s go in,” she said, staring up at the night sky. “It’s really cold.”
Dean helped her to her feet and took her gloved hand in his as they walked back towards the castle.
“What do you want to do in Hogsmeade this weekend?” Dean asked her, swinging their arms together.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said.
“I guess we’ll see when we get there,” he said. After a pause he added, “Are you okay? You’ve been a bit off lately.”
She turned to look at him, feigning confusion. “I’m fine.” Can he tell I’m not that into him anymore?
They headed towards the Great Hall where dinner was about to be served. On their way in they passed Harry. Ginny stiffened and Dean wrapped an arm around her waist protectively.
Harry stared at Dean’s hand for a fraction of a second before giving the two of them a quick nod. “Hey, Ginny. Dean.”
“Hi, Harry,” Ginny said. She’d barely managed to finish greeting him before he’d disappeared.
“You don’t need to do that, you know.” Ginny sighed, shaking Dean’s arm off of her.
Dean frowned slightly. “Do what?”
She rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Colin at the Gryffindor table. Dean had become possessive of her lately, especially when it came to Harry. He always found a way to join in conversations she had with other boys. He liked to take her hand, hug her, or simply touch her in some way whenever another boy so much as looked at her. It was quite frustrating.
I’m not his, she thought sullenly.
But you are his girlfriend, the nagging voice had returned.
“Twenty-five sickles Malfoy’s a no-show again,” Colin said, helping himself to potatoes.
Ginny was still thinking about Dean. “What?” she asked absently, staring at her empty plate.
“Our Muggle Studies assignment,” Colin explained.
Ginny groaned. “Fantastic. That’s just what I needed.” She tugged at her pigtails as Dean took a seat further down the table next to Seamus. He shot her furtive glances. She ignored them.
“You’re going to have to do something with that empty plate of yours.” Colin said. “Or I’ll fill it for you.”
“I’m not very hungry, actually,” she said quietly.
“You all right?” Colin asked.
“Sure,” she said, still staring at the empty plate. She sighed. Dean shouldn’t be getting to her like this.
You’re going to break up with him soon anyway, the voice added.
And it’s just Dean, she thought. It’s not like it’s-
Harry? the voice asked.
No! Damn you, bloody conscience! Ginny rose to her feet.
“I’ll meet you in the library,” she said to Colin. She could see Dean stare at her from the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t dare look at him. She strode out of the Great Hall with her chin raised.
She continued to mentally argue with her conscious down to the library. Ginny knew her doubts about Dean had little to do with his jealousy. He was a good guy. In fact, he was so good to her, she couldn’t believe it sometimes. Before Dean she’d felt a void inside of her that ached every part of her body. And he’d filled it for her.
Dean had been there when Ron, Hermione, and Harry hadn’t. When Dean would smile and take her into his arms, she felt wanted, needed. He’d treated her so well. But that was the problem.
Ginny didn’t want to be with someone so good and so whole when she was so...flawed. She’d easily given people the impression she was Little Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the red-haired clan. But she was tainted, at least she felt like she was.
Her experience during her first year at Hogwarts had left her feeling damaged, impure, and dare she think it, evil. With every door Dean held open for her, with every gentle kiss he placed on her hand, with every twinkle-eyed smile he gave her, she felt her heart break. She didn’t want this. He didn’t deserve this.
If she was so broken, she needed someone equally in need of repair. And that’s why she’d been drawn to Harry initially. He’d had a terrible life and had gone through at sixteen what it took most people a lifetime to experience. And yet, He’d had awful things happen to him. He knew even more awful things awaited him. But he wasn’t broken.
I should’ve been in Slytherin, she thought ruefully.
Merlin only knew she tried so hard to compensate for her weakness. She wanted to be there for her family, for the Order, and for Harry. But it didn’t do her any good if no one gave her a chance to prove her worth.
She’d witnessed everyone consoling Harry last year when You-Know-Who’s thoughts were affecting his dreams. Harry had begun to believe he was evil. Sirius, Remus, her parents, and Dumbledore had all jumped at the opportunity to reassure him that he was in fact good.
But no one had done this with Ginny, and she’d only been eleven when You-Know-Who had possessed her.
Her head was beginning to ache. There were hardly any people in the hallways. Occasionally a ghost drifted by her as she made her way to the library. Peeves tried to lift up her robes, but she aimed a nasty stinging hex at him that sent him away cursing.
There were already banners advertising the upcoming ball hung up on the school grounds.
Who will I go with? Dean?
She hoped her mother would respond to her letter soon. At least she’d have dress robes in need of repair.
Once in the library Ginny found a secluded armchair. She collapsed into it ungracefully. A short nap sounded good to her. She’d need all the rest she could get since her group would be pulling another all-nighter if Malfoy didn’t show up. Right before sleep took over her, she could make out the presence of someone hunched over a reading table about twenty feet away from her, the dim light of a charmed lantern hovering above them cast a green-grey shadow over their crown and shadows concealed their face.
****
Draco was feeling really good about himself. He hadn’t thought it was possible, what with his mental breakdown in the girls’ loo earlier, but his earlier discovery had been an uplifting experience.
This could actually work, he thought, allowing a small smile to form on his face.
After rummaging through the Room of Requirement for some time, Draco had decided that this was the place for his plan. Well, it’s not really a solid plan yet, he reminded himself.
He would’ve loved to have sifted through all the abandoned treasures in the Room, but his meeting with his Muggle Studies group was approaching. And Merlin knew he needed to perform at least fairly decently in the class if he didn’t want to attract unwarranted attention. The students were already questioning why he was in the class to begin with.
He found it insulting that they were all under the impression he’d failed a class and had been forced to take this one. But he knew otherwise. The only other person in on this was Snape.
Draco arrived at the library early and opened his Muggle Studies textbook. The library was lit poorly so he transfigured a candle into a lantern and charmed it to float above his head. They were to give a presentation over the use of Muggle weapons. He’d been oddly fascinated by the subject.
Where wizards cast varying offensive and defensive spells, Muggles had devised incredible machines for the same purpose. He knew Muggles had once used sharp blades known as swords and had gradually moved onto metal devices loaded with explosives, known as guns.
His reading had lead him to the development of Muggle war machinery in the World Wars. While the Wizarding world had few battles to discuss, Muggles had a whole history of them. Draco found it interesting how violent Muggles were.
He poured through the pages of his textbook, reading about canons, tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, and submarines.
World War I saw the use of Muggle war machinery on land, in air, on water, and under water. While the game of warfare began to change during World War I, World War II devastated Europe with the immense number of human casualties as well as the destruction of land. Roughly 72 million people died as a result of the war.
World War II began with the rise of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler in Nuremberg, Germany. Under Hitler, Germany was able to invade and defeat different parts of Europe. The Nazi party, in collaboration with its European neighbors, was able to push forth the purging of a religious group known as Jews, as well as other minorities that included some witches and wizards. This movement is known as the Holocaust, where several thousand people were persecuted and killed. It was the Nazi party’s goal to purify and create a perfect German race. There is some speculation regarding Adolf Hitler’s own “blood purity”, as he may have had a Jewish ancestor.
The war finally came to an end in 1945 after Hitler committed suicide and the German forces surrendered.
Draco stopped reading. 72 million people. He was dumbfounded. These Muggles were ridiculous. If they were capable of this much damage with their mere machines, the Gods only knew what would happen if they had access to magic. The fact that witches and wizards had been killed as well disturbed him.
He furrowed his brow in thought. 1945 sounded awfully familiar. He recalled the trophy he’d seen earlier, where a wizard from Slytherin had received an award in 1943. But something had happened in 1945 for sure.
Then it dawned on him – that was when Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald and sent him to his own prison, Nurmengard. I guess the Wizarding world was going through its own issues at the time.
Draco read the last sentence once more. There is some speculation regarding Adolf Hitler’s own “blood purity”. Blood purity? Everything Draco had just read was oddly unsettling, but the statement about blood purity made him clam up.
His hands began to shake as he refused to tear his eyes away from those two words. Isn’t that exactly what the Dark Lord is trying to do? Purify the Wizarding race…
He wasn’t sure why, but he had to know more about this Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, his Muggle Studies book offered no more information on the man; as it went on to discuss the use of atomic bombs in Japan.
He thought about searching through the library, but his group members had begun to arrive.
“Malfoy,” Olivia Summers called out, taking a seat across from him. “Glad you could join us this time.” He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement in response. Colin took a seat next to him. He expected Luna to take a seat as well, but she had wandered a few feet away to shake Ginny Weasley awake.
Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. He hadn’t even noticed her slumped over a nearby armchair the whole time he’d been in the library. The two girls joined them and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ginny’s now wrinkled robes and her tangled braids. She seemed to be embarrassed about her appearance.
“Have we decided what Muggle weapon we’re going to give our presentation over?” Colin asked, taking out his notes.
“If you lot haven’t made a decision yet, I suggest we cover nuclear bombs,” Draco said.
Whatever sleep that had been left on Ginny’s face was suddenly gone. She looked troubled. “Do you realize what those bombs have done to people?”
Draco was irritated. He leaned forward in his seat a bit. “In case you’re unaware, Weasley, we’re not doing a presentation over the most harmless weapon, it’s simply a weapon.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m aware of what the assignment calls for, Malfoy, but I cannot go through the research for something as awful as that.”
“What does everyone else think?” Draco asked, reclining back into his seat.
The other three were quiet for a moment. Draco smirked to himself, realizing that they would be afraid of irking him in any way.
Olivia stared down at her lap. “I think nuclear bombs are an interesting concept.” When she noticed Ginny’s dropped jaw, she quickly added, “Terrible, nonetheless.”
“Nuclear bombs are fine with me,” Luna said. Although she had just let her friend down, the peculiar girl said this with utmost confidence.
Ginny stared at Colin, who was now turning a shade of red that was rivaling the color of his friend’s hair. “I don’t have a preference,” he said quietly.
“Okay, it’s settled. We’re doing nuclear bombs.” Draco said this while staring at Ginny, his hands clasped together in his lap.
He could tell it was taking the girl a great effort to mask her fury. She said nothing and shrugged.
After an hour the group decided to wrap things up. They’d accomplished quite a bit. Draco decided to hang back for a while to see if he could read more on Hitler.
The two Gryffindors were the last to leave and Draco could’ve sworn he’d heard Ginny mumble to Colin, “Of course he’d pick something so atrocious. We know who he’s in league with.”
“I know you have great legs.” Dean smiled at her. “You don’t need to tease me.”
They were sitting outside by the lake. Dean was leaning against a tree, a book propped up against his knees. The sun was setting and the night air was beginning to chill Ginny. She wrapped her Gryffindor scarf tightly around her head.
“I went for a jog this morning. I think I worked out my muscles good,” she said. Ginny noticed Dean’s smile beginning to falter so she quickly flashed him one in return. She moved towards him, leaning against his legs and tilting her head back so she could look at him. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
She needed to break up with him. The realization made Ginny very sad.
You still have a thing for Harry, a voice in her head nagged at her.
I do not.
“Let’s go in,” she said, staring up at the night sky. “It’s really cold.”
Dean helped her to her feet and took her gloved hand in his as they walked back towards the castle.
“What do you want to do in Hogsmeade this weekend?” Dean asked her, swinging their arms together.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said.
“I guess we’ll see when we get there,” he said. After a pause he added, “Are you okay? You’ve been a bit off lately.”
She turned to look at him, feigning confusion. “I’m fine.” Can he tell I’m not that into him anymore?
They headed towards the Great Hall where dinner was about to be served. On their way in they passed Harry. Ginny stiffened and Dean wrapped an arm around her waist protectively.
Harry stared at Dean’s hand for a fraction of a second before giving the two of them a quick nod. “Hey, Ginny. Dean.”
“Hi, Harry,” Ginny said. She’d barely managed to finish greeting him before he’d disappeared.
“You don’t need to do that, you know.” Ginny sighed, shaking Dean’s arm off of her.
Dean frowned slightly. “Do what?”
She rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Colin at the Gryffindor table. Dean had become possessive of her lately, especially when it came to Harry. He always found a way to join in conversations she had with other boys. He liked to take her hand, hug her, or simply touch her in some way whenever another boy so much as looked at her. It was quite frustrating.
I’m not his, she thought sullenly.
But you are his girlfriend, the nagging voice had returned.
“Twenty-five sickles Malfoy’s a no-show again,” Colin said, helping himself to potatoes.
Ginny was still thinking about Dean. “What?” she asked absently, staring at her empty plate.
“Our Muggle Studies assignment,” Colin explained.
Ginny groaned. “Fantastic. That’s just what I needed.” She tugged at her pigtails as Dean took a seat further down the table next to Seamus. He shot her furtive glances. She ignored them.
“You’re going to have to do something with that empty plate of yours.” Colin said. “Or I’ll fill it for you.”
“I’m not very hungry, actually,” she said quietly.
“You all right?” Colin asked.
“Sure,” she said, still staring at the empty plate. She sighed. Dean shouldn’t be getting to her like this.
You’re going to break up with him soon anyway, the voice added.
And it’s just Dean, she thought. It’s not like it’s-
Harry? the voice asked.
No! Damn you, bloody conscience! Ginny rose to her feet.
“I’ll meet you in the library,” she said to Colin. She could see Dean stare at her from the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t dare look at him. She strode out of the Great Hall with her chin raised.
She continued to mentally argue with her conscious down to the library. Ginny knew her doubts about Dean had little to do with his jealousy. He was a good guy. In fact, he was so good to her, she couldn’t believe it sometimes. Before Dean she’d felt a void inside of her that ached every part of her body. And he’d filled it for her.
Dean had been there when Ron, Hermione, and Harry hadn’t. When Dean would smile and take her into his arms, she felt wanted, needed. He’d treated her so well. But that was the problem.
Ginny didn’t want to be with someone so good and so whole when she was so...flawed. She’d easily given people the impression she was Little Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the red-haired clan. But she was tainted, at least she felt like she was.
Her experience during her first year at Hogwarts had left her feeling damaged, impure, and dare she think it, evil. With every door Dean held open for her, with every gentle kiss he placed on her hand, with every twinkle-eyed smile he gave her, she felt her heart break. She didn’t want this. He didn’t deserve this.
If she was so broken, she needed someone equally in need of repair. And that’s why she’d been drawn to Harry initially. He’d had a terrible life and had gone through at sixteen what it took most people a lifetime to experience. And yet, He’d had awful things happen to him. He knew even more awful things awaited him. But he wasn’t broken.
I should’ve been in Slytherin, she thought ruefully.
Merlin only knew she tried so hard to compensate for her weakness. She wanted to be there for her family, for the Order, and for Harry. But it didn’t do her any good if no one gave her a chance to prove her worth.
She’d witnessed everyone consoling Harry last year when You-Know-Who’s thoughts were affecting his dreams. Harry had begun to believe he was evil. Sirius, Remus, her parents, and Dumbledore had all jumped at the opportunity to reassure him that he was in fact good.
But no one had done this with Ginny, and she’d only been eleven when You-Know-Who had possessed her.
Her head was beginning to ache. There were hardly any people in the hallways. Occasionally a ghost drifted by her as she made her way to the library. Peeves tried to lift up her robes, but she aimed a nasty stinging hex at him that sent him away cursing.
There were already banners advertising the upcoming ball hung up on the school grounds.
Who will I go with? Dean?
She hoped her mother would respond to her letter soon. At least she’d have dress robes in need of repair.
Once in the library Ginny found a secluded armchair. She collapsed into it ungracefully. A short nap sounded good to her. She’d need all the rest she could get since her group would be pulling another all-nighter if Malfoy didn’t show up. Right before sleep took over her, she could make out the presence of someone hunched over a reading table about twenty feet away from her, the dim light of a charmed lantern hovering above them cast a green-grey shadow over their crown and shadows concealed their face.
****
Draco was feeling really good about himself. He hadn’t thought it was possible, what with his mental breakdown in the girls’ loo earlier, but his earlier discovery had been an uplifting experience.
This could actually work, he thought, allowing a small smile to form on his face.
After rummaging through the Room of Requirement for some time, Draco had decided that this was the place for his plan. Well, it’s not really a solid plan yet, he reminded himself.
He would’ve loved to have sifted through all the abandoned treasures in the Room, but his meeting with his Muggle Studies group was approaching. And Merlin knew he needed to perform at least fairly decently in the class if he didn’t want to attract unwarranted attention. The students were already questioning why he was in the class to begin with.
He found it insulting that they were all under the impression he’d failed a class and had been forced to take this one. But he knew otherwise. The only other person in on this was Snape.
Draco arrived at the library early and opened his Muggle Studies textbook. The library was lit poorly so he transfigured a candle into a lantern and charmed it to float above his head. They were to give a presentation over the use of Muggle weapons. He’d been oddly fascinated by the subject.
Where wizards cast varying offensive and defensive spells, Muggles had devised incredible machines for the same purpose. He knew Muggles had once used sharp blades known as swords and had gradually moved onto metal devices loaded with explosives, known as guns.
His reading had lead him to the development of Muggle war machinery in the World Wars. While the Wizarding world had few battles to discuss, Muggles had a whole history of them. Draco found it interesting how violent Muggles were.
He poured through the pages of his textbook, reading about canons, tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, and submarines.
World War I saw the use of Muggle war machinery on land, in air, on water, and under water. While the game of warfare began to change during World War I, World War II devastated Europe with the immense number of human casualties as well as the destruction of land. Roughly 72 million people died as a result of the war.
World War II began with the rise of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler in Nuremberg, Germany. Under Hitler, Germany was able to invade and defeat different parts of Europe. The Nazi party, in collaboration with its European neighbors, was able to push forth the purging of a religious group known as Jews, as well as other minorities that included some witches and wizards. This movement is known as the Holocaust, where several thousand people were persecuted and killed. It was the Nazi party’s goal to purify and create a perfect German race. There is some speculation regarding Adolf Hitler’s own “blood purity”, as he may have had a Jewish ancestor.
The war finally came to an end in 1945 after Hitler committed suicide and the German forces surrendered.
Draco stopped reading. 72 million people. He was dumbfounded. These Muggles were ridiculous. If they were capable of this much damage with their mere machines, the Gods only knew what would happen if they had access to magic. The fact that witches and wizards had been killed as well disturbed him.
He furrowed his brow in thought. 1945 sounded awfully familiar. He recalled the trophy he’d seen earlier, where a wizard from Slytherin had received an award in 1943. But something had happened in 1945 for sure.
Then it dawned on him – that was when Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald and sent him to his own prison, Nurmengard. I guess the Wizarding world was going through its own issues at the time.
Draco read the last sentence once more. There is some speculation regarding Adolf Hitler’s own “blood purity”. Blood purity? Everything Draco had just read was oddly unsettling, but the statement about blood purity made him clam up.
His hands began to shake as he refused to tear his eyes away from those two words. Isn’t that exactly what the Dark Lord is trying to do? Purify the Wizarding race…
He wasn’t sure why, but he had to know more about this Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, his Muggle Studies book offered no more information on the man; as it went on to discuss the use of atomic bombs in Japan.
He thought about searching through the library, but his group members had begun to arrive.
“Malfoy,” Olivia Summers called out, taking a seat across from him. “Glad you could join us this time.” He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement in response. Colin took a seat next to him. He expected Luna to take a seat as well, but she had wandered a few feet away to shake Ginny Weasley awake.
Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. He hadn’t even noticed her slumped over a nearby armchair the whole time he’d been in the library. The two girls joined them and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ginny’s now wrinkled robes and her tangled braids. She seemed to be embarrassed about her appearance.
“Have we decided what Muggle weapon we’re going to give our presentation over?” Colin asked, taking out his notes.
“If you lot haven’t made a decision yet, I suggest we cover nuclear bombs,” Draco said.
Whatever sleep that had been left on Ginny’s face was suddenly gone. She looked troubled. “Do you realize what those bombs have done to people?”
Draco was irritated. He leaned forward in his seat a bit. “In case you’re unaware, Weasley, we’re not doing a presentation over the most harmless weapon, it’s simply a weapon.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m aware of what the assignment calls for, Malfoy, but I cannot go through the research for something as awful as that.”
“What does everyone else think?” Draco asked, reclining back into his seat.
The other three were quiet for a moment. Draco smirked to himself, realizing that they would be afraid of irking him in any way.
Olivia stared down at her lap. “I think nuclear bombs are an interesting concept.” When she noticed Ginny’s dropped jaw, she quickly added, “Terrible, nonetheless.”
“Nuclear bombs are fine with me,” Luna said. Although she had just let her friend down, the peculiar girl said this with utmost confidence.
Ginny stared at Colin, who was now turning a shade of red that was rivaling the color of his friend’s hair. “I don’t have a preference,” he said quietly.
“Okay, it’s settled. We’re doing nuclear bombs.” Draco said this while staring at Ginny, his hands clasped together in his lap.
He could tell it was taking the girl a great effort to mask her fury. She said nothing and shrugged.
After an hour the group decided to wrap things up. They’d accomplished quite a bit. Draco decided to hang back for a while to see if he could read more on Hitler.
The two Gryffindors were the last to leave and Draco could’ve sworn he’d heard Ginny mumble to Colin, “Of course he’d pick something so atrocious. We know who he’s in league with.”
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