Within a couple weeks, Ginny had adjusted quite nicely to dating Draco. She had learned to ignore the sneers and snide remarks by keeping herself in a sex-induced haze. Her grades suffered slightly, but she remained top in her class. Her name only appeared once more in Teen-Witch Weekly, in an article about the lost loves of Harry Potter. She didn’t mind one bit. It was only after one afternoon when she had been lazing about by the lake with Draco that she was reminded of why she ever really cared.
“Ginny, may I speak with you for a moment?”
Ginny turned her eyes toward the speaker, one hand still fingering Draco’s hair. “’Bout what, ‘Mione?”
Hermione had a look of distaste on her face as she stared down at the two of them. “It’s rather private.” She tapped her foot impatiently.
Ginny whispered an apology to Draco before lightly pushing his head from her stomach and then followed Hermione some twenty feet away before the brunette finally decided to speak.
“It’s about your brother,” Hermione finally stated, and Ginny’s stomach did a flip-flop.
Ron hadn’t spoken to her in over a month.
“What about him?” Ginny tried to hide her anguish.
“He misses you, and I think it’s utterly ridiculous that you two aren’t speaking.”
“I’m not the one mad at him, Hermione. If he wants to speak to me, he can. He knows that.” She sighed deeply.
“Yes, well, he has every right to be mad at you. I think you need to end this silliness with Malfoy. Your family loves you, Ginny. They only want what’s best for you.”
Ginny flushed. “If they love me then they will support my decisions, whatever they may be, and allow me to make my own mistakes.”
Hermione pursed her lips, obviously weighing her words before speaking. “Perhaps they feel you haven’t learned from past mistakes.”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“That is supposed to mean that it was his father that gave you that diary your first year, or have you forgotten?”
Ginny swallowed hard. She hadn’t been expecting that. “I have not forgotten, but in case you haven’t noticed, Draco is not his father.” Her hands were clenched in fists at her side.
“I knew you were cheating on Harry, Ginny, but I never could have imagined that you would have sunk this low!”
And with that, Hermione turned on her heel and stomped away.
“I never cheated on Harry!” Ginny yelled after the bushy-haired girl.
She unsuccessfully tried to blink back her tears. Draco was beside her within seconds. He reached for her, but she smacked his hand. She marched back into the school and started towards the Entrance Hall. Draco caught up to her as she tried to push open the oak doors.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “What is your problem?”
“She thinks I cheated on Harry with you!”
“You did,” Draco answered in a whisper.
This was entirely the wrong thing to say.
“She has no way of knowing that!” She struggled in his arms, attempting to get away from him.
“Calm down, Ace.”
“I will not calm down! Hermione knows me! She knows I couldn’t do that!” She was screaming, nearly everyone in the hall was staring at her now.
“Why do you care what that filthy Mudblood says about you anyway?”
Ginny struggled with more vigor now. “Don’t you dare call her 'Mudblood'!” Her voice was echoing down every corridor.
She finally freed herself of him and faced him full on with flashing eyes.
“What do you want me to say? Filthy hemoglobin?” he questioned facetiously.
She let out a shriek of indignation before stalking away from him. This time she made her way towards the Gryffindor Tower, taking two flights of stairs before Draco finally ambushed her. He clutched her wrist tightly, and in her frenzy to get away, she kicked him in the shin.
“Ouch! Would you calm down, Ace? This is not that big of a deal!”
“It’s not that big of a deal to you!" she cried in frustration. "You don’t care that everyone looks at me as if I’ve betrayed my family! You don’t care that your father has been ruining our lives for years! You don’t care about anything!” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I care about you,” he answered somewhat indignantly, but this only infuriated her further.
“No, you don’t! If you cared about me you’d at least make an attempt to try to see things from my point of view!"
"You fail to see them from mine," he countered, but she ignored his valid point.
"You’re still nothing more than a pompous, pureblooded, snobby prat!” she spat, unable to prevent herself from saying things she didn't mean. She was just so angry and upset.
“I have never pretended otherwise!” he retorted with grey eyes blazing. He couldn’t control his temper any longer.
“Just sod off, Malfoy!” She tugged her wrist from his grasp and raced up the flights of stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower.
After searching the common room to no avail, she exited the tower and stopped to think for a moment. Realization suddenly dawned on her, and she knew where they were. About twenty paces to the left of the portrait, she stopped, putting her hand on the doorknob of the empty classroom she knew the Golden Trio haunted. She paused to catch her breath, unknowingly giving Draco time to catch up with her.
“Can’t you just let this go? Who cares if Potter or anyone else thinks you cheated? You aren’t dating him any more.”
She didn’t look at him. “Just because you don’t care if my friends think you’re an unfeeling bastard doesn’t mean I don’t.”
With that, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. She heard Draco hiss behind her, and her eyes slowly began to focus in the dim lighting of the room. When she was able to see clearly, she, too, let out a similar noise.
Hermione was on her knees before Harry. His pants were unbuckled, and his head was thrown back. Ginny’s mind reeled. She couldn’t speak. She only stared, open-mouthed, as they rushed to right themselves.
Draco’s voice came from behind her. “And you believe you have the right to speak to anyone about cheating, Granger?”
This gave Ginny courage.
“Yes, Hermione, is it safe to assume that you’ve only recently forgotten what your knees are for?”
Hermione turned scarlet.
“Ginny…it’s—it’s not what it looks like…” Harry began, but Ginny held up a hand to silence him.
She didn’t care about him at the moment.
“Do either of you know where I could find my brother? I have some important news to tell him regarding his GIRLFRIEND!”
Hermione sputtered. “Ginny, please! You can’t tell Ron! You just can’t!”
“I can do as I please.”
Ginny slammed the door shut and closed the distance between herself and the portrait of the Fat Lady. She spat the password before rushing inside to search the common room then headed to the boys’ dormitories. Ron, however, was nowhere to be found. She stomped back down the stairs, through the common room, and finally out of the towers, nearly crashing into a waiting Draco. He said nothing, only followed her in her search of the castle. She didn’t find Ron until she reached the ground floor, where she spied him coming out of Room Nine with Harry and Hermione trailing after him. As he passed her, he had the audacity to glare at her. This angered her to the point that she forgot to think before she spoke.
“Did you manage to make it out of the room before she stuck the knife in your back? Or did they make you watch?” She was surprised by the acerbic tone of her voice.
He strode towards her. “You don’t talk to me. You don’t look at me. You don’t even think of me, Ginny. I don’t know how you could even think of doing anything like that to me.”
She was flabbergasted. “What on earth are you talking about, Ronald?”
His face was contorted with rage.
“They told me everything. I’ve already lost a sister. I don’t know why you’d want to take my friends from me as well.”
Understanding washed over her, and her heart sank. “What did they tell you, Ron?”
He shook his head and tried to walk away, but Ginny quickly grabbed his arm.
He threw her off before turning back to her. “Why would you want to tell me she was cheating on me, and with Harry of all people? They would never do that to me! You know that, and I know that! If you’re going to come up with stories, at least make them believable!” After he said this, Ron really did walk away.
Ginny didn’t attempt to stop him. She only gaped after him for a moment before dissolving to tears. As she sank to her knees, Draco rushed forward to catch her. He pulled her back to her feet, and she felt herself being shuffled along, having no idea where Draco was taking her. It wasn’t until they were in a dimly-lit bedroom that she had any idea of her surroundings.
By the time she could breathe again, she was lying on his bed, her head on his lap, and he was slowly stroking her hair. She wasn’t sure how, but he always knew when to let her cry.
“You okay, Ace?”
She only nodded in response.
“Good, no more tears over them. They obviously aren’t worth it.”
“I just can’t believe he’d believe them over me.” Her voice was shaky.
“I can.”
She knew he was right. Her brother would always trust them over her. Always.
She pushed this thought from her mind and surprised Draco by moving. She rose to her knees and crawled over to him. As she crashed her lips onto his, she threw one leg over him to properly straddle him, and he didn’t dare protest as she began to unbutton his shirt. She could cry about her brother and Hermione later. Right now she needed her boyfriend.
“Ginny, may I speak with you for a moment?”
Ginny turned her eyes toward the speaker, one hand still fingering Draco’s hair. “’Bout what, ‘Mione?”
Hermione had a look of distaste on her face as she stared down at the two of them. “It’s rather private.” She tapped her foot impatiently.
Ginny whispered an apology to Draco before lightly pushing his head from her stomach and then followed Hermione some twenty feet away before the brunette finally decided to speak.
“It’s about your brother,” Hermione finally stated, and Ginny’s stomach did a flip-flop.
Ron hadn’t spoken to her in over a month.
“What about him?” Ginny tried to hide her anguish.
“He misses you, and I think it’s utterly ridiculous that you two aren’t speaking.”
“I’m not the one mad at him, Hermione. If he wants to speak to me, he can. He knows that.” She sighed deeply.
“Yes, well, he has every right to be mad at you. I think you need to end this silliness with Malfoy. Your family loves you, Ginny. They only want what’s best for you.”
Ginny flushed. “If they love me then they will support my decisions, whatever they may be, and allow me to make my own mistakes.”
Hermione pursed her lips, obviously weighing her words before speaking. “Perhaps they feel you haven’t learned from past mistakes.”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“That is supposed to mean that it was his father that gave you that diary your first year, or have you forgotten?”
Ginny swallowed hard. She hadn’t been expecting that. “I have not forgotten, but in case you haven’t noticed, Draco is not his father.” Her hands were clenched in fists at her side.
“I knew you were cheating on Harry, Ginny, but I never could have imagined that you would have sunk this low!”
And with that, Hermione turned on her heel and stomped away.
“I never cheated on Harry!” Ginny yelled after the bushy-haired girl.
She unsuccessfully tried to blink back her tears. Draco was beside her within seconds. He reached for her, but she smacked his hand. She marched back into the school and started towards the Entrance Hall. Draco caught up to her as she tried to push open the oak doors.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “What is your problem?”
“She thinks I cheated on Harry with you!”
“You did,” Draco answered in a whisper.
This was entirely the wrong thing to say.
“She has no way of knowing that!” She struggled in his arms, attempting to get away from him.
“Calm down, Ace.”
“I will not calm down! Hermione knows me! She knows I couldn’t do that!” She was screaming, nearly everyone in the hall was staring at her now.
“Why do you care what that filthy Mudblood says about you anyway?”
Ginny struggled with more vigor now. “Don’t you dare call her 'Mudblood'!” Her voice was echoing down every corridor.
She finally freed herself of him and faced him full on with flashing eyes.
“What do you want me to say? Filthy hemoglobin?” he questioned facetiously.
She let out a shriek of indignation before stalking away from him. This time she made her way towards the Gryffindor Tower, taking two flights of stairs before Draco finally ambushed her. He clutched her wrist tightly, and in her frenzy to get away, she kicked him in the shin.
“Ouch! Would you calm down, Ace? This is not that big of a deal!”
“It’s not that big of a deal to you!" she cried in frustration. "You don’t care that everyone looks at me as if I’ve betrayed my family! You don’t care that your father has been ruining our lives for years! You don’t care about anything!” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I care about you,” he answered somewhat indignantly, but this only infuriated her further.
“No, you don’t! If you cared about me you’d at least make an attempt to try to see things from my point of view!"
"You fail to see them from mine," he countered, but she ignored his valid point.
"You’re still nothing more than a pompous, pureblooded, snobby prat!” she spat, unable to prevent herself from saying things she didn't mean. She was just so angry and upset.
“I have never pretended otherwise!” he retorted with grey eyes blazing. He couldn’t control his temper any longer.
“Just sod off, Malfoy!” She tugged her wrist from his grasp and raced up the flights of stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower.
After searching the common room to no avail, she exited the tower and stopped to think for a moment. Realization suddenly dawned on her, and she knew where they were. About twenty paces to the left of the portrait, she stopped, putting her hand on the doorknob of the empty classroom she knew the Golden Trio haunted. She paused to catch her breath, unknowingly giving Draco time to catch up with her.
“Can’t you just let this go? Who cares if Potter or anyone else thinks you cheated? You aren’t dating him any more.”
She didn’t look at him. “Just because you don’t care if my friends think you’re an unfeeling bastard doesn’t mean I don’t.”
With that, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. She heard Draco hiss behind her, and her eyes slowly began to focus in the dim lighting of the room. When she was able to see clearly, she, too, let out a similar noise.
Hermione was on her knees before Harry. His pants were unbuckled, and his head was thrown back. Ginny’s mind reeled. She couldn’t speak. She only stared, open-mouthed, as they rushed to right themselves.
Draco’s voice came from behind her. “And you believe you have the right to speak to anyone about cheating, Granger?”
This gave Ginny courage.
“Yes, Hermione, is it safe to assume that you’ve only recently forgotten what your knees are for?”
Hermione turned scarlet.
“Ginny…it’s—it’s not what it looks like…” Harry began, but Ginny held up a hand to silence him.
She didn’t care about him at the moment.
“Do either of you know where I could find my brother? I have some important news to tell him regarding his GIRLFRIEND!”
Hermione sputtered. “Ginny, please! You can’t tell Ron! You just can’t!”
“I can do as I please.”
Ginny slammed the door shut and closed the distance between herself and the portrait of the Fat Lady. She spat the password before rushing inside to search the common room then headed to the boys’ dormitories. Ron, however, was nowhere to be found. She stomped back down the stairs, through the common room, and finally out of the towers, nearly crashing into a waiting Draco. He said nothing, only followed her in her search of the castle. She didn’t find Ron until she reached the ground floor, where she spied him coming out of Room Nine with Harry and Hermione trailing after him. As he passed her, he had the audacity to glare at her. This angered her to the point that she forgot to think before she spoke.
“Did you manage to make it out of the room before she stuck the knife in your back? Or did they make you watch?” She was surprised by the acerbic tone of her voice.
He strode towards her. “You don’t talk to me. You don’t look at me. You don’t even think of me, Ginny. I don’t know how you could even think of doing anything like that to me.”
She was flabbergasted. “What on earth are you talking about, Ronald?”
His face was contorted with rage.
“They told me everything. I’ve already lost a sister. I don’t know why you’d want to take my friends from me as well.”
Understanding washed over her, and her heart sank. “What did they tell you, Ron?”
He shook his head and tried to walk away, but Ginny quickly grabbed his arm.
He threw her off before turning back to her. “Why would you want to tell me she was cheating on me, and with Harry of all people? They would never do that to me! You know that, and I know that! If you’re going to come up with stories, at least make them believable!” After he said this, Ron really did walk away.
Ginny didn’t attempt to stop him. She only gaped after him for a moment before dissolving to tears. As she sank to her knees, Draco rushed forward to catch her. He pulled her back to her feet, and she felt herself being shuffled along, having no idea where Draco was taking her. It wasn’t until they were in a dimly-lit bedroom that she had any idea of her surroundings.
By the time she could breathe again, she was lying on his bed, her head on his lap, and he was slowly stroking her hair. She wasn’t sure how, but he always knew when to let her cry.
“You okay, Ace?”
She only nodded in response.
“Good, no more tears over them. They obviously aren’t worth it.”
“I just can’t believe he’d believe them over me.” Her voice was shaky.
“I can.”
She knew he was right. Her brother would always trust them over her. Always.
She pushed this thought from her mind and surprised Draco by moving. She rose to her knees and crawled over to him. As she crashed her lips onto his, she threw one leg over him to properly straddle him, and he didn’t dare protest as she began to unbutton his shirt. She could cry about her brother and Hermione later. Right now she needed her boyfriend.
Author notes: It took a bit, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. A few of you have been wondering about Hermione, and there you have it. :)
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