A/N: This chapter was actually meant to be combined with Ch. 4, but I decided to break it up to avoid cramming too much into one chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Ginny awoke slowly, pulling her blankets up to her chin and snuggling deeper into the sheets. She rolled over onto her back and stared out her window at the cloudless sky, as thoughts of the previous day’s events surfaced in her hazy mind.
What had begun as a perfectly normal day turned out to be filled with more abnormal occurrences than she would ever have thought possible. If she didn’t know better, she would have decided that it was all a dream or a figment of her imagination. As soon as she had opened her eyes, the memories had come rushing back so forcefully that she was wide awake within seconds.
Ginny threw off her blanket and jumped out of bed so quickly that it made her head spin, and she had to sit back down for a moment. Once she could see straight again, she grabbed a clean set of robes and ran into the bathroom to get ready. After a few minutes of trying to force her shoe onto the wrong foot, she managed to get all her clothes on in the proper places. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and frowned at the sight of her hair, which was in thorough disarray, no doubt due to a night of fitful tossing and turning.
Sighing in defeat, Ginny tied the vibrant red stuff into a tight bun and grabbed her wand before jogging down the stairs into the common room. She blinked at the empty chairs and the lack of homework that was usually strewn about at random. Realizing that she had neglected her alarm clock this morning and had no idea what time it was, she dashed out of the portrait hole towards the Great Hall.
Though she hated to admit it, Ginny envied Hermione’s ability to get up in the mornings with little to no difficulty. It was as if that girl had some sort of inner clock that told her exactly when it was time to get out of bed and head down to breakfast.
Ginny’s stomach rumbled loudly at the thought of food, and she glanced around to make sure no one had heard. The corridor was as empty as the common room, which only ended up making her feel worse about her lateness.
‘I’m probably missing breakfast,’ she thought. ‘Or worse, my first class!’
With the idea of a possible detention looming in her mind, Ginny broke into a sprint. Harry would kill her if she missed Quidditch practice just because she was too stupid to set her alarm clock, and what with everything she had witnessed yesterday, she didn’t think she could handle the stress.
Arriving at the oak doors that led to the Great Hall, Ginny slowed to a walk and pushed them open. The four house tables were still full of students eating and laughing, and she let out a breath of air, grateful to have escaped the dreadful fate of detention.
She walked over to the Gryffindor table, feeling much more cheerful than she had been only minutes ago. Sitting down in the last vacant chair, she greeted her friends and was met with polite “good morning”s from Harry and Hermione, along with several grunts from Ron, whose mouth was too full for him to manage anything more dignified.
“Are you excited about Hogsmeade, Ginny?” said Harry between bites of oatmeal. “I can’t wait to get into Brilliante Brooms. Ron and I want to check out some of their new Quidditch equipment.”
Ginny mentally smacked herself. ‘I forgot about Hogsmeade weekend!’ she thought. ‘No wonder everyone came down to breakfast early.’ In her hurry to get out of the dormitories, she hadn’t even glanced at her calendar, which would have informed her of why the common room was so suspiciously empty. She wondered if Malfoy had remembered, and if he would even bother going now that he had so much else to worry about. Glancing up at Harry, she noticed his eyes locked on her face and remembered that he had been talking to her.
“That sounds like fun, Harry. I’m just grateful I can go at all, really. I’ve been practically drowning in homework lately, so it’ll be nice to take a break.”
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped when a flock of owls flew over their heads, signaling the arrival of the mail.
Grateful for the distraction, Ginny grabbed a muffin and bit into it thoughtfully, scanning the room for any sign of Malfoy. She spotted him over at the Slytherin table, eating toast and laughing with his friends. Just by looking at him, no one would have been able to guess what he had been going through. Ginny alone was the only student who knew about his situation, and she had been debating with herself over whether or not to keep it that way.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had certainly kept secrets from her before, but for some reason that seemed different. The three of them had something special that Ginny would never be a part of. She had accepted that and was still good friends with them, even if she was sometimes jealous of the bond they shared. Although she was used to not being in on every one of their secrets, she still felt guilty keeping something this monumental all to herself.
There was of course, the possibility that they wouldn’t even believe her. After all, Draco had been their rival for six years, and it would be hard for them to accept that he hated his life as much as he hated them. It would be for the best if she didn’t tell them what had happened. She was under enough pressure as it were, and there was no point in alienating herself from her friends on top of everything else.
Swallowing her last bite of muffin, she gave Malfoy another quick look before joining the throng of students leaving the Great Hall.
“Bit windy, isn’t it?” said Hermione, as the four Gryffindors wandered down the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade.
‘Only Hermione could be an optimist about this,’ thought Ginny, fighting to keep moving forward as the wind insisted she walk in the opposite direction.
They had been in Hogsmeade for only a few minutes, but she was already contemplating making a quick escape back to the school. The weather had looked pleasant enough through her bedroom window, but once she got outside her opinion had changed.
Ginny usually didn’t mind the wind. The light gusts and breezes that floated around the castle on most days were quite enjoyable, really. The cold, draining blasts of air that were currently rocketing around Hogsmeade, however, were another story. Constantly being pushed off course was getting frustrating, and Ginny found herself thanking Merlin that she had decided to wear her hair up today. Judging by the strength of the wind, she would never have been able to get all the knots out if it wasn’t tucked away safely behind her head.
“Oh, look there’s Honeydukes!” cried Ron suddenly, pointing across the street. “They’ve got a new type of fudge in there. Let’s go, come on!”
He charged toward the door as the others sighed and trekked after him. There really was no keeping Ron away from food, especially when it contained mass quantities of sugar.
Warm, sweet-smelling air enveloped them when they stepped inside the shop, and bells jingled as the door closed behind them. It looked as if half of Hogwarts had taken refuge here from the bitter wind. Students of all ages stood clustered around jars and candy counters, the younger ones pressing their faces against the glass, awed by the colorful sweets and their outrageous effects on whoever was daring enough to taste them.
Ron pushed his way to the front of the store to examine the new butter pecan flavored fudge, leaving a crowd of disgruntled people in his wake. Apologizing profusely for her friend’s rude behavior, Hermione tagged along and attempted to scold him, but failed to attract his attention away from the sugary confections.
Ginny blew on her fingers to try and return some of the feeling to them. She hadn’t realized how cold it had been outside, but thanks to Honeydukes’ toasty interior, she was rapidly warming up. Deciding against trying to force her way through the crowd, she stood near the front of the shop and watched as Ron filled his bag to the brim with various sweets. Hermione had given up on her campaign to teach him some manners, and was instead helping him choose between gum drops and licorice wands.
Harry looked up from a jar of Pepper Imps he had been inspecting. “I can’t believe they haven’t realized it yet,” he said, shaking his head. “I figured it was only a matter of time after that fiasco at the Yule Ball, but they really are too stubborn for their own good.”
Ginny chuckled. “Hermione’s the only stubborn one,” she said. “Ronald is just too thick to realize what’s going on.”
“You’d think even he would have noticed it by now, though. I mean, just look at them.”
After emptying his pockets to pay for the immense amount of sugar he was purchasing, Ron opened one of the bags and dug around for a while before emerging with a handful of Chocolate Frogs. Offering one to Hermione, he was unable to detect the faint hint of a blush across her cheeks as she accepted it, due to the fact that he was already busy enjoying his chocolate.
Glancing at Harry, Ginny noticed a wistful look on his face. “It’s kind of sad, really,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to hide how they feel about each other. No one should have to.”
Harry was gazing pointedly at her, and Ginny sensed that they had entered dangerous territory. Panic welling up inside of her, she scanned the room desperately for something to distract him. Her eyes fell on a box of lollipops and she rushed over to it.
“Oh, I love these! Have you ever tried one, Harry? They’re delicious!”
She reached into the box and pulled one out, waving it in front of Harry’s face. He plucked it out of her hand and cocked his head to one side while reading the label. Wrinkling his nose, he looked back at the anxious redhead.
“Um, Ginny? I don’t really think these are meant for human consumption…I guess the owners are just trying to be inter-species friendly.”
Ginny lowered her eyes to the sign on the box of lollipops, and read:
Blood Pops
A delicious (and nutritious) candy
that is guaranteed to satisfy your
cravings for 24 hours or more!
Perfect for avoiding temptation
during close contact with the living.
Only 4 Sickles a dozen!
‘Oh, not those ghastly things again!’
She gulped and tried to laugh, but ended up sounding more unnatural than ever. “Haha! I was just kidding Harry, you know me. Always joking around, being silly, and all.”
Harry was looking at her as if he was seriously concerned for her sanity. He dropped the bizarre lollipop back into its box and wiped his hands on his cloak, opening his mouth to speak. Ginny cringed inwardly. She hoped that her diversion had made him forget about their previous conversation, even though making him think she had gone mad wasn’t exactly the effect she had been aiming for.
“Hey, Harry!” said Ron, who had suddenly appeared from behind several bulging shopping bags. “I finally got Friedrich the Funny! I’ve been looking for this one forever.”
He waved the Chocolate Frog Card in front of Harry, and for once Ginny felt grateful for her brother’s obsessive collecting. At least she could escape an awkward conversation with Harry, even if she’d most likely have to endure weeks of being forced to look at the overly cheerful wizard on Ron’s new card.
Hermione fought her way through the crowd towards them, holding a half eaten Chocolate Frog and lugging yet another shopping bag, no doubt filled with more of Ron’s beloved sugar.
She set it down heavily and brushed a stray curl out of her eyes. “I do hope you’re planning on sharing all this Ronald. No one person could eat it all and survive the ordeal.”
Ron grinned and reached into one of his bags. “Watch me,” he said, and proceeded to stuff his face with fudge.
Looking at him in disgust, Hermione turned towards Harry and Ginny. “What do you say we move on, then? I really want to check out the bookstore, and if we stay here much longer I don’t think we’ll ever be able to drag him out.” She jerked her head in Ron’s direction, and he glowered at her.
Lifting the many bags of sweets off of the floor, the four Gryffindors walked back out into the street. An icy blast of air attacked them as soon as they left the warmth of Honeydukes, and Ginny groaned as her nicely defrosted fingers began to sting with cold.
They walked past Zonko’s, Dervish and Banges, and the Owlery, before Hermione spotted what she was looking for.
“There’s Trillangers Tomes! Is it alright if I leave you guys for a while to go and look? I shouldn’t be long, but I’m not sure any of you would really enjoy coming with me.”
Harry nodded his head. “Sure. Ron and I were planning on going to Brilliante Brooms anyway. Why don’t we meet back at Honeydukes in an hour?”
Hermione agreed and ran off to the bookstore, leaving Harry, Ron, and Ginny to continue battling the wind.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you in an hour then,” said Ginny. She was not looking forward to any possible alone time with Harry, considering how uncomfortably their last conversation had ended.
Predictably, Harry frowned at this news. “Aren’t you coming with us? They’ve got a whole new line of Quidditch supplies that have only just been released. And I’d really like some company.”
“But isn’t Ron going with you?”
“Well, yeah, but he’ll probably still be too focused on proving Hermione wrong about that whole ‘you’ll never eat all that by yourself’ thing.” True enough, Ron was so intent on his fudge that he hadn’t even noticed his companion’s talking about him.
Harry sighed and looked back at Ginny. “Please, Gin?”
Biting her lip, she realized that Harry Potter was begging her to hang out with him. Harry Potter. Begging. A few years ago she would have been ecstatic. With those intense green eyes boring into hers, she would have melted at his feet in a second. ‘How ironic,’ she thought bitterly. ‘As soon as I decide I’m happy just being his friend, he decides he wants more.’
Ginny shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Harry, I’m sorry, but I really need to buy some new quills. I’ve been getting so much homework lately, and mine have gotten all worn out.” She crossed her fingers in her pocket, hoping he’d believe her story.
Harry’s unruly hair seemed to wilt in disappointment, but he didn’t question her excuse. “Oh. Alright. I’ll see you later, then?”
“Yes, definitely. Later. Bye guys!” said Ginny, before whirling around and hurrying off down the road.
Shoving her hands deeper into the pockets of her jacket, she slowed to a walk and turned off of Hogsmeade’s main street. The day was barely even half over, and she’d already had two close calls involving Harry’s newfound goal of revealing his feelings to her. Her narrow escapes were not very encouraging, considering the fact that she would sooner or later run out of luck and/or excuses. Not that she didn’t feel guilty about lying to Harry. No matter how uncomfortable she was with his obvious affection for her, he was still one of her best friends, and she loved him.
If only she were in the same situation as Ron and Hermione. Even if they didn’t realize it, the two of them really were quite lucky. Finding someone you want to be with is tricky enough, let alone someone who wants to be with you in return. All they have to do is tell each other how they feel, and then they would live happily ever after. Ginny frowned and kicked a pebble down the street. She knew things didn’t work that way in the real world, but she couldn’t stop herself from imagining it. She had always hoped to find someone who was made for her, and watching Ron and Hermione everyday only made her yearning stronger.
As Ginny continued walking, the buildings thinned out and gave way to grass-covered hills and the occasional cabin, home to one of the many inhabitants of Hogsmeade village. The stone street melted into a dirt path, and she caught a glimpse of the Shrieking Shack up ahead. People rarely visited it since the story of Professor Lupin had leaked out, so Ginny decided that it was the perfect place for an uninterrupted rest.
Bracing herself against the tireless wind, she marched up the hill leading to the shack. When she arrived at the top, she sank down onto a stone bench, panting from the climb.
It wasn’t until her breathing had returned to its normal rhythm, that she realized she was not alone on the hilltop.
A/N: Review, Review, Review!