See the prologue for the disclaimer.
Afraid of the Dark
Written by LJP
Chapter 11
"Ron, Hermione, do you know where Ginny is?" Harry asked, walking into the Gryffindor common room to find his two best friends in a compromising position on the couch near the fireplace. Both were in various states of undress.
They leapt apart to opposite ends of the couch, both blushing furiously. "Geez Harry, can’t you tell we’re a little busy?" Ron’s face matched his trademark Weasley hair.
"Ron, if you and Hermione insist on screwing each other like bunnies, then that is entirely your own problem. However, I would advise that you do it out of public eye. You’re becoming a bad influence for the first years. How would you two have liked it if, first year, you had walked in on Oliver Wood and Katie Bell in this position." Harry reprimanded.
Ron made a face. "But Wood was dating Angelina first year. It wasn’t until second that he and Katie got together." He argued.
Harry responded with a roll of his eyes. "That’s not the point, is it?" He sighed., frustrated. "Now, do either of you know where Ginny is?"
"I’m not her keeper Harry." Ron rolled his eyes, sitting up and straightening his shirt collar. "Why the sudden interest in her anyway? She’s just my kid sister."
"I like her, okay Ron? We’re going to Hogsmeade to get dinner this weekend. I sincerely you don’t have a problem with that."
His best friend made a face."As long as I don’t have to see the two of you devour each other all the time." He made a show of shuddering. "That’s foul."
"Hypocrite."
Ron narrowed his eyes at Harry, preparing to lunge forward. Hermione placed a hand on her arm to calm him. "I saw her go off in the direction of the library about a half hour ago." She explained, sending Ron a sideways glare.
Harry’s face broke out into a grin. "Thanks Hermione." He jumped forward and practically ran for the portrait hole.
"He better not hurt her in any way ‘Mione. I’ll kill him." Ron threatened.
"Ron?" He turned to look at her. "Shut up." Hermione silenced him with a kiss, pushing him back against the couch cushions, ignoring Harry’s earlier warnings.
Ginny pulled the necklace from Draco’s grasp. "Don’t touch me."
Draco reeled back. "I’m sorry." He muttered. "It’s just that...well...I don’t really know how to say this...but...did you have that on at the initiation?" Ginny flinched. "At the ceremony?"
Hesitantly, Ginny nodded. "Yes, I did. Why?"
He looked away for a moment as if contemplating his answer. "I asked Professor Snape how I was supposed to get to the ‘meetings,’ and he told me every Death Eater is given a gift. It’s basically a portkey. I was never given one." He was staring intently at her necklace. "Is that what the necklace is for? Does it take you to the place?"
She nodded. "Yes, it does. I received it shortly after I agreed to...you know."
Draco sighed. "I see."
Realization dawned on her. "Oh Merlin."
His head snapped up to look at her. "What is it?"
"It came with a note." Ginny bent down to pick up her bag. She pulled it onto her lap and began to rummage through it. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she moaned discouragingly. "I know I put it in here somewhere..."
"If it’s from the Dark Lord, it may have disappeared."
"Good point." Ginny admitted. She gave him a small smile. "I didn’t think of that. Thanks."
He shrugged. "It doesn’t matter anyway." Draco looked down at his hands. "Listen Ginny —"
She cut him off. "Hold on a sec. I can tell you what the letter said. It may be important."
He nodded.
"Basically, it said something along the lines that I may need to share it in order to attain power. He said he had his reasons for this, but he couldn’t disclose them now, and that I should just trust him. That when its powers are needed, I’ll know who to use it with and how to use it." Ginny shook her head in frustration. "It was very vague."
"He often is."
They fell into some sort of comfortable silence.
"Ginny, why are you having dinner with Potter?" Draco suddenly blurted out.
She opened her mouth to respond, thought better of it, and closed it again. After another moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth again. "I’ve had a crush on him for years. I mean, he’s Harry Potter. The ‘boy who lived,’ Quidditch champion, and all around good wizard." She let out a soft laugh, followed quickly by a sigh. "And he likes me. No one has ever liked me before."
"I like you." Draco confessed quietly, his gray eyes not quite meeting Ginny’s.
Her violet eyes widened.
When she opened her mouth to speak, Draco placed a finger on her lips to silence her. "Don’t say anything, please. This was hard for me to say. I couldn’t even tell you why I like you. But I know that when I saw you at that ceremony, in those robes, with your hair flowing down your back..." He reached out and captured a lock in between his fingers, like he had at the Quidditch shop on Diagon Alley. "You were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I couldn’t stand it, and I did everything in my power not to do this."
"Do what?" She breathed, her words almost inaudible.
Draco shushed her, and he leaned forward, his finger tipping her chin up to meet his gaze. His eyes lowered to her lips. Her tongue flicked out of her mouth to wet her lips. He groaned inwardly, moving forward to close the rest of the space between them. He rocked his chair forward for better access around the table.
(Unbeknownst to neither Ginny nor Draco, Harry stepped inside the library and gave Madame Prince a smile as he went in search of Ginny. He rounded the corner to look down the row of tables.)
Just as his lips began to touch hers, Draco lost his balance and fell forward onto Ginny. Together, the two of them careened off her chair, knocking it over, and onto the floor.
Everyone in the library looked up to see what all the commotion was — including Harry Potter.
***
"Brevity is the soul of wit." — William Shakespeare, Hamlet
| Previous Chapter | Home | Next Chapter |
Draco and Ginny belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Warner Bros and various other corporations. They are being used here without permission and/or affiliation with the above. None of the authors listed here make any profit from these stories.