Disclaimer: JKR owns it, I don’t.

 

 

Chapter Six

Anger

 

Ginny ran as fast as she possibly could.

She had only been running a few seconds before a loud boom caused her to stop and look back. Slowing, she looked up she saw smoke rising over the trees. The car had blown up.

Swallowing hard, Ginny felt rooted to the ground. If she had waited any longer both her and Draco could’ve still been in or near the car. They would both be in many pieces now.

I hope nobody got hurt, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. She took a deep breath then forced herself to keep running, and began to sprint again. 

After about ten minutes, Ginny had to stop. The smell of charred metal was no longer filling her nostrils, so she took that as a sign that she was a good distance away from the police. Doubled over, leaning on her knees, she panted, trying to catch her breath.

But she couldn’t rest. She had to tend to Draco before he bled to death.

If he wasn’t already dead.

She turned and lowered him gently onto his back on the ground with her wand. Wiping his bloody hair off his forehead, she tried to find where the exact wound was.

Instantly she found it. There was a huge gash just above his right eyebrow. It looked as if a piece of the windshield had cut him. He’s lucky it didn’t get his eye, Ginny thought. She racked her brain for a healing spell that could seal up his cut. She had been preparing to go to medical magical school before she was accused of the Unforgivable Curse, knowing that she had wanted to be some sort of doctor. Most of her last years at Hogwarts had been spent reading medical books in her spare time, so she knew a fair amount of spells that cured sicknesses and pains.

Finally she decided on the best charm and whispered a few words. Immediately the slash sealed up and she let out a whoosh of breath, relieved. Draco was still alive and no longer bleeding.

With another wave of her wand the blood vanished from his face, clothes, and hair and he just looked like he was sleeping.

Ginny got to her feet and once more levitated him into the air. She began to walk slowly deeper into the woods, still trying to shake off the fear and panic from the crash.

We got lucky, she thought with a shiver, then forced it out of her mind.

She combed her fingers through her hair, trying to get the knots out. She could only imagine what she looked like. Her hair was filthy and her body was sticky from the heat, causing her jumpsuit to stick to her skin. Overall she felt very, very dirty.

The woods were not that big, because soon Ginny came out to another road. It was busier than the one she’d been driving on and she figured it was a highway. Looking both ways she found that no other civilization was in sight – just the whizzing of cars as they sped past her assured her that she wasn’t totally alone.

She had left Draco back in the woods on the ground, knowing very well that if anyone had seen him floating in the air it would’ve caused unwanted attention. But as she stood beside the road, trying to figure out what to do, she heard him say loudly, “Weasley?”

He was awake. She hurried back to the edge of the forest and found him sitting up, looking around for her. When his eyes rested on her he smirked. “Still alive?”

“I was in much better shape than you,” she retorted, offering him her hand to help him stand.

He ignored it and got to his feet himself.

Frowning angrily, she lowered her arm. “I saved your life, Malfoy. You would’ve bled to death if I hadn’t helped you.”

“What, you think I’m supposed to be thanking you on one knee?” he sneered. “If you can’t remember back a few days ago I saved you. So we’re even now.”

He had a point. What had she expected, that he would sob out thank you after thank you in gratitude?

“So what are we going to do now?” he asked. “Pretty soon the Ministry will hear about the spotting of us and be on our trail again, and they can get us a lot easier than Muggles.”

Ginny sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t be so optimistic, Weasley,” he said, obviously pleased that she felt helpless. “First thing we have to do, though, is get me something to eat. I’m very close to resulting to cannibalism.”

Ginny tried not to look horrified at his serious expression.

After a long stretch of awkward silence, she finally spoke. “We should just follow the road until we come to a town somewhere. Then you can get yourself something to eat.”

He did not reply, but followed her back up to the side of the road.

“Which way?” she asked, looking both left and right.

He pointed to the left. Ginny hoped they weren’t heading back to the city they had just left and began to lead the way.

They had only been walking a few minutes before Draco began to complain.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into getting into that car,” he muttered. “I must’ve had a death wish –”

“Malfoy, shut up,” Ginny snapped irritably, not even bothering to turn around to look at him. “If we hadn’t done that we’d be sitting in a Muggle jail this very moment.”

“At least I would’ve been fed,” he grumbled.

“’At least I would’ve been fed,’” Ginny mimicked under her breath, rolling her eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You said something. I heard you.”

“Yes, I did say something. But I don’t want to tell you.”

“Fine, I don’t want to know.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Ginny bit her lip to keep herself from answering. Was she ever going to get along with him? Probably not, she answered herself. We should do ourselves a favor and go our separate ways.

But the thought of venturing alone made her stomach clench. As much as Draco bothered her, his company was somewhat comforting. To know that someone else along with her was on the most wanted list made the ordeal seem a lot easier. It wasn’t easy, but it could be a lot worse.

“Weasley, you know something?”

“I know a lot of things.”

“You really need a shower.”

She laughed shortly. “Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” She glanced over her shoulder at him but kept walking. “You don’t look too clean yourself,” she said, but she was half lying. His hair was a bit on the wild side, falling into his eyes much to his annoyance, but it still looked as clean and blond as it always was, and his robes were so dark it was hard to tell if they were grimy or not. But they were torn in several places, and he had a smudge of dirt on his chin. Ginny smiled as she resumed looking ahead, glad that his perfect skin could actually get dirty, though in every other place on his face his complexion was clean.

“I know exactly how I look,” he snapped.

“Wonderful for you.”

She could almost hear him frowning. Though he really was bothering her, she managed to keep it out of her tone and he was agitated that he couldn’t get a reaction from her.

Like Mum always says when Fred and George are annoying me, she thought with a grin, “just ignore them and they’ll stop.”

“How come you’re not hungry?” Draco demanded, changing the subject.

“I got food before we left the hotel,” she replied, smiling even wider. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much for asking.”

“I did not ask.”

“Yes you did. You asked –” She cut off when she noticed a car was slowing to a stop alongside her. She and Draco stopped walking, glancing at the driver of the car with interest.

It was a guy around Ginny’s age, and he was grinning up at them. “Hello there. You two need a lift?”

Lift?

At their blank expressions, he elaborated. “A ride,” he said. His grin did not diminish in the slightest. “If you take ride from strangers.”

Ginny glanced at Draco, and his silver eyes flashed. She could almost hear him thinking, Not another car. I will not get in another car.

Just to tick him off, Ginny grinned and returned her attention to the boy in the car. “We would love a ride,” she said, and got in the passenger side.

Reluctantly, Draco opened the door and got in the back seat behind her. Ginny could feel him glaring at her but refused to look back at him.

“So where are you two going?” the guy asked as he pulled back out onto the road. “I’m Kyle, by the way.”

Ginny introduced herself, and when Draco remained silent, she had to introduce him as well. “We’re going anywhere, really,” she explained. “The next town will be fine.”

Kyle smiled warmly at her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at her. “You don’t have any luggage, so you can’t be hitchhikers. My guess is that you’re runaways, but runaways normally have suitcases too. Might I ask what’s going on?”

“No you may not,” Draco said sharply from the backseat.

Kyle laughed, and Ginny found herself smiling with him. “All right. Sorry if I pried. I normally don’t give rides to strangers, but when I saw that red hair I had to stop. Something made me.”

Ginny felt herself blush and she didn’t know why. Draco sighed loudly, making his annoyance known.

“I’m sorry,” Kyle said, looking in the rearview mirror at Draco. “You two are, well, together, aren’t you?”

Ginny’s mouth dropped when she realized what he meant by together. “No!” she cried before she could stop herself. “Not at all.”

“Yeah,” Draco agreed, smirking. “We’re brother and sister.”

She glanced back at him, eyes wide, but made no attempt to contradict him.

“Oh.” Kyle actually believed him, even though Ginny and Draco resembled each other absolutely none. “Running away from the parents, are we?”

Ginny nodded, anything to get him to stop asking them questions. “Yes,” she said, sinking her seat. “We’re running from home.”

“I can’t blame you,” Kyle said, flashing her another smile. “My parents are very strict, too. But I’m such a coward – I would never run away. I don’t have any brothers to protect me.”

Ginny nearly laughed out loud. Draco, protect her? Please, she thought, turning her face towards the window and rolling her eyes.

Kyle nodded to a sign. “Ipswich is coming up soon. We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

The ride seemed to go quickly. Kyle talked nonstop about his life, what he wanted to major in from collage, and what his hobbies were. Ginny couldn’t help but notice he flirted with her the whole time, and wondered how anyone would want to get her attention with her in the state she was in – a total mess. But she rather enjoyed it, and for a little while actually forgot that she was being hunted by the Ministry and the only person she had for companionship was Draco Malfoy.

When they reached the city of Ipswich, Draco finally spoke up.

“Just let us out at the nearest restaurant,” he said tightly.

A few minutes later, Kyle pulled up to the curb in front of an Italian restaurant. Draco immediately got out but Ginny remained seated. She turned to thank Kyle when suddenly he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

Well, he sort of missed and actually ended up kissing the area under her nose and a bit of her upper lip. It was quick, and when he pulled away she had the urge to wipe it with the back of her hand.

He just grinned at her, as if he thought she had enjoyed it. Which she hadn’t.

“Thanks for the ride,” she mumbled, and hurried to get out of the car.

“Here’s my number,” he said, slipping her a piece of paper. She took it and avoided his eyes, though she didn’t plan on calling him ever. Without another word she went around the car and joined Draco in front of the restaurant’s door.

Kyle drove off with one final wave, and Draco stared at her sourly.

She was too busy trying to get the icky, slobbery feeling of Kyle’s kiss off her upper lip by wiping it with her hand to notice him at first. Finally, she looked up and met his eyes. “What?” she demanded, annoyed.

“Make friends quickly, don’t you?” His eyes were unusually dark.

He had seen. She felt her cheeks burn – it was embarrassing enough witnessing it herself, but it was utter humiliation to have Draco see it.

“I thought you were hungry,” she muttered, lowering her gaze.

He stared at her for a minute or two more before he turned and went into the restaurant. Ginny waited outside and sat on the curb, watching cars roll by and feeling depressed. She couldn’t explain why she felt so down, even though she had many reasons. Her family was ashamed of her, the Ministry and Muggle police were after her, Draco was going to rag on her about how she had kissed a guy within thirty minutes of meeting him . . .

But for some reason it wasn’t any of those things. She just felt depressed and couldn’t think of an excuse why.

Moments later Draco came outside with a huge bowl of spaghetti. If she had been in a better mood she would’ve laughed.

“How did you get that?” she asked wearily, standing up.

“I distracted the cooks and stole it,” he said bluntly, avoiding her eyes. “Let’s go somewhere where I can eat.”

They found a small park with picnic tables down the street. She sat across from him and watched him eat his food, amazed at his ability not to get the sauce all over his face. She had never been able to master that skill – she always slurped spaghetti. She remembered how her brothers used to always make fun of her for managing to get the tomato sauce all the way up on her forehead, and felt a stab of homesickness. Would she ever sit down for a stress-free meal with her family again?

Draco ate the complete bowl without offering her any. She didn’t care, though, because she wasn’t hungry.

Afterwards, they sat at the table without speaking, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Draco spoke up.

“Are we going to sit here all day?”

Ginny stared at him, then shook her head slowly. “No.”

The truth was, she had to start thinking of ways to clear her name. She had been so absorbed in everything else she had forgotten the original purpose of running from the Ministry in the first place. By the time they reached London she hoped to have figured out a way to prove her innocence.

“I’ve had my fill of cars,” Draco said as they walked out of the park. “So from now on we’re walking.”

Ginny sighed. “Look, Malfoy, I don’t think you could’ve driven any better than I did, so –”

“I wasn’t talking about that. If we hitch a ride from another Muggle I think I’m going to vomit.”

She was entitled to agree, if all Muggles were like Kyle, but she knew they weren’t. Somehow she was offended by his comment and grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

She jerked her hand back to her side. “You are such a horrible person, Malfoy,” she hissed.

For a minute an unfathomable look passed over his eyes, but then he smirked and looked amused. “Yes I am. But this horrible person is what’s keeping you out of the Ministry’s clutches.”

“I could do this without your help!” she insisted, furious. “The only time I needed you was after the bus went down – every time after that I’ve been the one to save you. When the Muggles were outside the hotel room. Driving the car. Keeping you from bleeding to death.”

His smirk evaporated and was replaced by an angry look. “Let’s recap for a minute, shall we? If I hadn’t saved you from the water, then I wouldn’t have had to steal a Muggle hotel room, therefore avoiding that incident. The Muggle police wouldn’t be after me because they wouldn’t have considered me an accomplice. I wouldn’t have been in a car if you hadn’t been with me, and thus I wouldn’t have nearly died from smashing into a tree. All of this has been caused by you. So it’s only right that you clean it up. You speak as if you expect me to be grateful when it’s you responsible for all that’s happened.”

She stood fuming, trying to think of something to say back. “I’m not responsible for it all,” she snapped finally. “If your father hadn’t lied then I wouldn’t have been on my way to Azkaban in the first place.”

“This is true,” Draco agreed, smirking once more. “But my father isn’t here, is he? I guess we’ll just have to blame you.”

“What?!” she shrieked. It made no sense.

Draco only laughed at her. “You look identical to your brother when you’re mad.”

She had an irresistible urge to smack his smug face, but spun and stalked away from him before she did. She didn’t like hitting people – one time, she’d punched Fred in the nose so hard he had stumbled backwards and struck his head on the corner of the wall. He ended up with a concussion and a broken nose. She felt terrible and had vowed never to hit anyone in the face again.

But Draco was sure testing her vow.

 

Draco was very annoyed.

He wasn’t too annoyed at Ginny. It was that Muggle Kyle who had rubbed him the wrong way.

And he didn’t know why. A part of him tried to tell him it was because he was flirting with Ginny, but why would that bother him? He didn’t care about Ginny – anyone could flirt with her. But deep down he knew that was the reason. He didn’t like the thought of someone else having all of her attention.

So what? he thought furiously, angry with himself. She’s a Weasley. I don’t care at all. Kyle can marry her for all I care.

Then he’d gotten her into a fit of angry silence because he’d started a fight with her, taking his frustrations out on her. He felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed it away. He would not feel guilty for getting her upset.

Once more she led the way through the town, her feet falling a little too heavily on the concrete to show she was stomping in anger. He laughed at her, but she ignored him.

“Do you have any clue where you are going?” he asked her lightly.

“No,” she muttered darkly. Then she stopped and turned to face him. “You know what?”

He crossed his arms and pretended to look bored. “What?”

“We don’t get along.”

“We don’t? Oh, that’s a surprise. I thought we were great friends.”

“Maybe it would be better if we just went our own way.”

He had not expected her to say that. He was used to having girls depend on him, need him to keep them safe. The last thing he had expected was for her to suggest they separate.

He must’ve let his surprise show, because Ginny’s face softened.

“I just don’t think –” she faltered, looking down.

“You never think,” he snapped, and was annoyed with himself for letting his feelings known. “I agree with you. If I spend one more minute with you I might have to strangle you. So good luck.”

Before he turned and started to stride away he saw her stricken look. It almost stopped him – almost. But he was determined to keep going, hoping that with each step he would forget how she was beginning to grow on him.

Draco half-expected her to hurry after him and say that she didn’t want to separate, that she wanted to stay with him.

But she didn’t.

 

 

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