show me how defenseless you really are
satisfied and empty inside
but that’s all right
let’s give this another try
- Breaking Benjamin
Betrayal
Ginny opened her eyes wearily. Wincing at the bright light that assailed her eyes, she muttered, “What the hell…”
“Ginny? Ginny!” someone called from a distance. Ginny’s eyes fluttered as she forced herself to wake up. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the swirling images around her. She tried to focus on two cark green point of light on a pale background. She finally realized that she was starting at a person; “Harry?” she whispered.
“Shhh, Ginny, it’s all right. I’ll help you to the infirmary.” But before she could move a muscle, Ginny lost consciousness.
She woke up again in the hospital, staring at the sterile white sheets covering her. In fact, there was so much white in the room that she began to wonder if she was in heaven. Ginny shifted her body to see if she was still alive, and realized with a shock that she was dressed in unfamiliar pajamas. Her movements caused the back of her head to sting, and she cried out in pain. At that instant, she heard someone at her side whispering, “Ginny?” Ginny stared up into blue eyes and realized that she was looking at Blaise.
“Blaise,” she gasped with surprise. “What happened to me? Why-“
“What’s this then?” cried Madame Pomfrey angrily. “Mr. Zabini! I believe I asked you to alert me when she woke up. Now, shoo,” she commanded. “I have work to do here.”
Blaise looked at Ginny apologetically and left. As Pomfrey began inspecting her, Ginny ventured, “Madame Pomfrey? What happened-“
“Not. A. Word,” the healer replied as she continued her ministrations. Ginny sighed and relaxed back into her bed. Although that old witch was quite irritating, it was nice to have someone take care of her. After a few minutes, the healer said, “Well, the fracture on your head is mending quite nicely, but I think you ought to spend the night. Now…” she turned to the bedside table and picked up a glass, “drink your potion and rest.”
Ginny grimaced as she drank the disgusting concoction. Pomfrey took the empty glass and drew the curtains around Ginny’s bed while muttering, “Foolish children… expecting everything to taste like pumpkin juice…” As she walked away, Ginny once again drifted off into a deep slumber.
The third time that Ginny awoke, she sat up with a start. The sun was shining so brightly through her closed eyelids that she had to blink owlishly a few times before she could see. Draco immediately rose from his seat and sat on her bed, holding her tightly in his arms. “Draco,” she whispered as she sank into his embrace with a satisfied sigh.
He pulled away and smiled at her tentatively. Ginny turned her head and noticed that Blaise was sitting in a seat on the other side of her bed with a smile. He sat on the other side of her bed and brushed her hair away from her face with a whispered, “How do you feel, Ginevra?”
“Like shit,” she mumbled as she relaxed back onto her bed. Draco immediately adjusted her pillows so that she could sit comfortably. He smirked at her, but wiped it off his face when he asked seriously, “Gin? What happened?”
She looked at both of them helplessly. “I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “All I remember is I was writing my Transfiguration essay. Then I got hit in the head, and I fell to the floor. This girl with blond hair was standing over me before I blacked out. I didn’t even get to see what house she was in.”
“It was a girl?” Draco asked incredulously as his voice rose. Blaise elbowed him to keep quiet; there was no sense in letting Pomfrey barge into their conversation. He then patted Ginny’s hand sympathetically. Draco lowered his voice and said with a quiet fury, “I’m going to kill that bitch if I ever find out who she is.”
Ginny shifted uncomfortably, and Blaise asked concernedly, “What is it?”
“I remember something she said,” she began. “Or maybe I was hallucinating. It sounded like ‘He’s mine, you bitch’.”
Draco stood angrily and shouted, “WHAT?” Of course, Madame Pomfrey heard him. She opened the curtains and looked at Draco with a frown.
“Again! I said NO visitors!” she shouted as she pushed both boys out of the infirmary. Ginny sighed and smiled ruefully. Draco and Ron were so similar when they were angry. Both of them never considered the consequences of their actions. Ron usually created a scene with his shouting and arm-waving, while Draco instigated a scene with his cold, brutal eyes and viciousness. But this outburst from Draco was the first that Ginny had ever seen. She wondered why he felt so strongly about those words from her attacker.
By dinnertime, Pomfrey deemed Ginny fit to leave. Ginny dressed herself quietly and slowly made her way to the Great Hall. Once again, everyone quieted the minute she stepped foot within. However, the quiet was broken this time by a tumultuous shout from the entire Gryffindor table. Everyone that knew Ginny, even if they were a remote acquaintance, mobbed her. In all the noise and confusion, she was led to a seat right next to Harry, and opposite from Ron and Hermione. Hermione was loud and anxious with concern while Ron ignored her. Harry merely sat there watching her from the corners of his eyes.
Ginny blushed with embarrassment at all of the attention she had received. Why had everyone in Gryffindor been concerned with her? Yesterday, they had simply ignored her. Eventually, everyone was able to settle down and eat, but Ginny had not touched her food because she was still peppered with questions and comments.
“What happened, Ginny?”
“-we heard it was a fight-“
“Harry found you!”
“-sent to the infirmary-“
Ginny was getting frustrated with all of these inquiries. She turned her tired eyes to the Slytherin table, where Blaise was giving her a pointed look. She nodded, indicating that she would wait for them at the doorway after dinner.
“Someone saw a Slytherin leaving the library!”
“-Pomfrey, that cow, refused to let us see you-”
“-we couldn’t find you-“
Ginny still gazed at the Slytherin table absentmindedly. Draco was preoccupied with pushing off Pansy, while Blaise had turned to one of the other boys and was whispering conspiratorially. “So, Ginny,” Ron cut into her thoughts loudly, “Did someone try to warn you away from one of those wankers?”
Ginny gaped at him in shock while Ron stared back hatefully. “Oh, shut it,” he said bitingly. “Everyone knows you’re just a slag who’s-“
He never got to finish his sentence. While he was speaking, Ginny had risen out of her seat, reached over to Ron’s head, and pushed his face into his mashed potatoes. She had pushed with so much force that his nose had broken when it contacted his plate. The entire Hall was silenced by that horrifying crack.
But Ginny paid no heed to her surroundings. Her eyes were blazing with fury, making her look like a vengeful goddess surrounded by a halo of fire. “How dare you!” she hissed before she fled the Great Hall.
Ginny continued running up until she reached the seventh floor. She paced before the Room of Requirement three times, and entered to find a cheery fire, a comfortable sofa, and a table with a large box of tissues and loads of chocolate piled on it. After muttering a locking charm on the door, she sank into the sofa with a sob.
Multiple tissues and ten Chocolate Frogs later, Ginny sighed with defeat. Why had Ron said that? He was her brother, for Merlin’s sake! Ron was supposed to be overprotective, interfering, and annoying, but he wasn’t supposed to be a hateful git on top of it! A tear trickled down her face as she remembered the disgust in his face. He had looked at her as though she was completely beneath him – the same way that Draco used to look at her before they became friends. What had happened to her brother?
When Ginny realized how late it was, she rose quickly and made her way down to the kitchens. The chocolate had helped soothe her but they did not suffice as an actual meal. She walked warily for she was out after curfew and Filch was about the castle. As Ginny moved along the shadows on the third floor, she suddenly heard a loud meow. Ahead of her, she saw two feline eyes glowing in the dark as they stared at her intently. Before Ginny fully understood that she was caught by Mrs. Norris, a hand clamped over her mouth and another one slid across her waist, pulling her into a dark corridor.
Naturally, Ginny feared that she was being abducted and began to struggle. “Don’t make a sound,” whispered a familiar voice in her ear. She stopped her movements, and the hand that covered her mouth slowly moved away.
“Harry?” she whispered. Instead of answering, Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak over both of their heads and pressed his hand to her lips to quiet her.
“What is it, my sweet?” Filch crooned sinisterly. “Did you hear someone? There was no meeting planned for tonight…” he continued as he moved away from them. When they could no longer hear him, Ginny and Harry sighed with relief.
When Harry removed his hand from her mouth, Ginny hissed, “Harry, what are you doing here?”
“I was walking about to… ah, clear my head,” he whispered back uncertainly.
“Harry,” Ginny asked suspiciously, “You weren’t trying to find me, were you?”
“Oh no, Ginny,” Harry said with a nervous grin. “I, erm, was simply reliving my memories in this castle.”
“Oh?” she replied archly.
Harry nodded eagerly, “Yes, I was. I’ll show you…” He urged her to move with him under the cloak. As they crept along the hallway, he pointed to a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch. “You see that statue over there?” he asked. Ginny nodded as he continued, “Well, that’s the entrance to a secret passageway that leads into Hogsmeade.” When Ginny turned to him in shock, he explained, “Honestly! What you have to do is tap it with your wand and say, ‘Dissendium’. It’ll open up into this passage that leads straight to the cellar of Honeydukes.”
“Really?” Ginny asked with surprise. “That’s simply corking!” she said in her best imitation of Fred and George. After a moment’s pause, they both burst into laughter. When they both finally sobered, they continued to creep along the hall in silence. After a few minutes, Ginny asked quietly, “Err, Harry? How’s Ron doing?”
Harry turned to her with dull eyes and a sorrowful expression. “Well, Ginny, he’s really upset,” he replied quietly. “He went to Madame Pomfrey to get his nose fixed and then went straight to bed. He couldn’t sleep at all – constantly tossing and turning.” Harry grabbed her hands and whispered urgently, “Ginny, you have to talk to him. I can’t go on seeing my best friend and his sister fight over two bloody Slytherins! Don’t you see that those gits aren’t worth it?”
Ginny pulled her hands from his quickly and coldly said, “He had no right to call me a slag. Of all people, my brother should know who I am! And I do not sleep around!” She was nearly shouting at this point. With a fierce expression, she calmly stated, “I’m not apologizing to him for anything.” She ducked out of the invisibility cloak, and continued on her way.
Just as Ginny was about to reach the portrait with the pear, she heard a voice behind her sneer, “Well, well. Look what we have here!” She whirled around to find Blaise and Draco watching her with amusement. Ginny smacked Draco playfully on the arm before throwing herself at him. But Draco stood as still as a statue and did not return her embrace. After realizing this, Ginny looked up at him and asked uncertainly, “Draco? What’s wrong?”
Draco simply shrugged and pushed her away silently. Confused by his reticence, Ginny turned to Blaise. Blaise just shook his head as though it were nothing and embraced her. Ginny smiled as she squeezed him tightly. When she pulled away, she whispered to both of them, “Let me get some food. Then, we have to talk.”
After Ginny had acquired a tray from an enthusiastic Dobby, all three of them ducked into an empty classroom. Draco muttered locking and silencing spells, while Blaise sat next to Ginny and watched her begin to eat. Draco stood silently by the door and seemed bored. Ginny invited him to take a seat, but he shrugged and retained his cool expression. Blaise caught her attention and urged, “Tell us, Gin!” Ginny proceeded to tell them everything that had occurred in the Great Hall and her escape to the Room of Requirement.
After she had finished that story, she said, “It’s getting dangerous for us being seen together.”
“What? Why do you say that?” Blaise asked in shocked tones.
“Oh Blaise, can’t you see that whoever attacked me was upset because I was with one of you? Bloody hell! She actually said, ‘he’s mine, you bitch!’ What more proof do you need?” Ginny was exasperated at this point.
After a pause, Draco said nonchalantly, “She was only talking about me.”
“Why? Is it that inconceivable that she may have been talking about me?” Blaise answered him playfully. Ginny laughed and resumed her meal.
“Shove it, Zabini,” Draco replied with a sneer. “Obviously, it was Pansy who attacked Gi-Weasley. I haven’t seen her following you, have I?”
Blaise and Ginny looked at him in disbelief. Draco shrugged and continued, “She was boasting about it after she had had a few drinks.”
“That little bitch!” Blaise exclaimed, clenching his fists. “What I wouldn’t like to do to her!”
Ginny watched Draco with rising concern. Why was he acting this way? This morning, he had been all smiles and hugs. Now, he was the Draco Malfoy from the train. Shaking her head with a sigh, Ginny said, “But we don’t have evidence against that fucking bint.” With another sigh she continued, “Today has been so fucking frustrating!”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Blaise mumbled. Ginny returned to her food disconsolately and found that she no longer had an appetite. Suddenly, her fork clattered to her plate and she sat up excitedly. “No it hasn’t! I’ve gotten some information about Harry!”
Both boys looked at her; Blaise was concerned and interested while Draco was bored and slightly bemused. After a swig of pumpkin juice, Ginny said excitedly, “I forgot to tell you! I met Harry on the third floor, and he helped hide me from Filch. He told me about this secret exit from the castle that leads straight to Hogsmeade. Actually, it leads straight to the cellar of Honeydukes.” After another blank look from both boys, she continued, “You gits! That’s something only his friends would know!”
Blaise grinned at her appreciatively. “Ah yes, Ginevra to the rescue!” With a more serious note, he asked, “Do you think it’s wise to tell You-Know-Who and his minions that?”
Ginny frowned thoughtfully and replied, “Well, if you just mentioned that there are secret passages that lead straight to Hogsmeade but not that particular one… I mean, even Filch has to know that there are secret passages in this damn castle.”
Draco nodded and added, “Keep it as vague as you can. If they complain about it, then just say that you’re still working on getting her to trust you.”
“Right, then,” Blaise said with an air of decision. “I’ll send the owl in the morning.”
Ginny finished her last bite and said playfully, “Yes, I need to get some beauty sleep for Hogsmeade tomorrow, so if you’ll excuse me...” Both boys smirked at her and they left the classroom. Draco walked ahead of them while Blaise stayed by Ginny and draped an arm around her shoulder. Before they reached the Gryffindor Tower, Blaise dropped a kiss on her forehead and hugged her tightly. Draco just watched silently with cold eyes.
As Ginny climbed the steps to her dormitory, she felt many conflicting emotions. Blaise had kissed her, even if it was on her forehead, but Ron had been an awful prat. She had finally found a piece of “personal” information on Harry, but Draco was suddenly acting like his old self. Ginny snuggled under her covers, uncertain if she should be starry-eyed and flushed with excitement or sullen and disconsolate. When she finally closed her eyes, she drifted to sleep with a smirk on her face.
Note: It was actually painful to write Draco as a cold, sneering bastard. But, for the sake of the story, I had to do it. Oh, and the title is indicative of future plot. I guess you could say that this is a pivotal point in the story, but the characters are completely unaware of it.
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