Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to our beloved J.K. Rowling. Except for Trent of course.
Chapter Ten: In the Revelations
Ginny�s body froze as she watched Malfoy dive for the Snitch. Her heart was slowly sinking to her feet as she prayed for the Snitch to go away and appear some other time.
�Both of our Seekers are now diving towards the Snitch! If the Slytherin Seeker gets hold of the golden Snitch, a tie will occur�it�s not only a race for the Snitch but also a race for the goal posts, ladies and gentlemen!�
As soon as Finnigan uttered his last sentence, Ginny saw Trent speed towards the Quaffle which was being held currently by Montague.
Form the Hawkshead Attack one last time, Ginny thought desperately, keeping her eyes on the Slytherins, just one last time Trent, and your team wins.
Trent tucked the Quaffle in his arm and sped towards the goal post. A few metres away from the scoring area, Helen appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
Trent thought fast.
He threw the Quaffle behind him, performing the Reverse Pass they had planned before.
It would have been perfect if Montague or even Warrington caught it�but this time, neither was behind him.
Margarita was.
The sly Hufflepuff Chaser then rocketed towards her own goal post, Trent flying furiously behind her.
Ginny�s heart sped with anticipation.
�Don�t let her score, don�t let her score,� she heard her brother, Ron, chant.
Ginny looked at Malfoy and saw that his hand was reaching for the Snitch. If he catches that before Margarita scores, they might have a chance still for a replay, since it would be a tie. She watched Malfoy closely, not daring to take her eyes off him. Just a little bit closer�just a little bit�
Malfoy�s hand closed on the Snitch�
At the same time Margarita scored.
�Malfoy catches the Snitch making the Slytherin�s score a total of a whooping 180 points! However, Margarita Impel of the Hufflepuff also reached the goal just in time, a second before Malfoy grabbed the Snitch�making her goal count! The Hufflepuffs win�190 to 180!!�
Ginny closed her eyes in defeat. The thunderous clapping of the Hufflepuff house seemed so far away. She dared not look at Malfoy. Besides, she knew what she�ll find there. She knew that Malfoy�s only focus these past few months was to win the Quidditch cup. All of this was her fault. If only she didn�t give those fake plans to Malfoy, the Hufflepuffs wouldn�t have scored a lead too much. How can she do this to the Slytherins? They never did anything to her!
Ginny was just about to break down when she felt strong hands touch her shoulders gently, as if telling her to hold up.
She opened her eyes slowly and whispered, �Ron, I�m okay.�
�I have to say that was the best game I�ve ever seen the Slytherins play.�
Ginny gasped in surprise as she realized who was holding her protectively. It wasn�t her brother.
It was Harry.
�Thank you,� she replied, her voice shaking. She also felt her hands and knees trembling, the way they always did if Harry was in sight. This time, they shook double time since she was actually being held by Harry, which was a very rare occurrence.
�Listen Ginny��
She turned around to face Harry completely, feeling herself drown in his touch. (A/N: Okay, I�ll stop there�no offence, but I don�t like Harry and Ginny that much).
�The Slytherins still have a chance of winning the Quidditch Cup. We played against Ravenclaw yesterday�and Ravenclaw lost, although they won against Hufflepuff in their game last week. If the Slytherins defeat Ravenclaw on the next game, and if we beat Hufflepuff, we can still face each other for the finals.�
Ginny�s eyes filled with hope again. Ron was standing beside Harry, smiling. Colin and Neville were waiting for her response.
�Harry, oh thank you!� Ginny cried out, jumping up to him and giving him the warmest hug she can ever give to anyone, �Malfoy would be thrilled with your news!�
�Okay, okay�that�s enough!� Ron interrupted, pulling Ginny apart from Harry, �Geez Harry, taking advantage of my sister like that��
�Oh come on Ron, it was nothing like that,� said Harry, shaking his head. Ginny remained standing, rooted to the spot, blushing to the roots of her hair as she watched her brother lecture Harry about �taking advantage�.
�Tell that to someone who believes you,� Ron grunted unhappily, �Gin, aren�t you going somewhere?�
�Somewhere?� she asked, confused.
*.*
�Where�s Malfoy?� Ginny asked loudly as soon as she spotted the Slytherin team crowding around in front of the shower room.
�He�s still inside there, in the shower room,� Tracey Bale answered, pointing towards the empty bathroom, with echoes of running water all over the place, �like any other Quidditch captain when his team loses, their main goal after the game is to drown themselves in the shower.�
�Oh stop talking crap about the captain,� Trent retorted gruffly, �it�s your own fault you let that Margarita Impel girl score.�
�Well if you didn�t kill their Hufflepuff Chaser with that Bludger, they wouldn�t have gained thirty points now, would they?�
�Shut your mouth, Tracey,� Bole piped in, �if you blocked that foul Quaffle in the first place, they wouldn�t have scored thirty points now would they?�
�You�re just saying that �cause you feel guilty about giving your bat to Trent when any normal Beater knows they can�t give the bat to any other member of the team except for your fellow Beater, which means you shouldn�t have given it to anyone else but me,� Derrick argued heatedly, suddenly appearing behind Bole with a very red face.
�Hey, calm down,� Ginny interrupted, holding up her hands, �this is no one�s fault, let�s stop blaming ourselves.�
�It�s your fault too, you know,� Warrington muttered quietly, as though he didn�t want to offend her, �if you didn�t give us those phoney plans, those Hufflepuffs wouldn�t have had a chance.�
�Right, pass the blame to the one person who helped us to actually score points,� said Montague, glaring at Warrington with his killer blue eyes, �if you were behind Trent as you should have been to the last minute, you could have caught the Quaffle in Reverse Pass and we could have won by ten points!�
�Don�t blame me�you�re the one who was supposed to be behind him at all times!�
�Okay�so it�s the whole team�s entire fault!� Ginny exclaimed, feeling her blood boil with frustration, �What�s important is that everyone says it was the best game anyone has ever seen your team play and that if we beat those Ravenclaws next week, we�ll still have a chance to win.�
�Try telling that to Malfoy,� said Tracey, pointing towards the shower room, �judging by his wailing, I reckon he�s trying to kill himself.�
�I have ears Bale!� Ginny heard Malfoy scream from the stalls, �I wasn�t crying!�
Tracey shrugged as she followed the rest of the team towards the common room. Ginny entered the damp bathroom, trying hard not to slip. She followed the sounds of trickling water until it led her to the far side of the bathroom, to the last stall.
�Hey, Malfoy,� she called out in her friendliest voice.
�Weasley, I�m wet and cold and desperate,� his voice was muffled by the rushing water from the tap, �this is not the best time to be reprimanding me about how I shouldn�t have grabbed the Snitch too early.�
�If you beat Ravenclaw next week, you still have a chance to compete against Gryffindor for the Quidditch Cup,� she informed him cheerfully, ignoring his nasty remark.
�And so I heard. Sorry to disappoint you though, Weasley, because that�s never going to happen. I�m quitting.�
�What are you talking about, Malfoy?� Ginny walked closer towards the door of his stalll, trying to comfort him, though her feet felt like lead after she heard about his decision, �Without you, the team will hit rock bottom! You can�t let them down!�
�If you haven�t poked your freckled nose in our business in the first place, we wouldn�t have lost today!� Malfoy screamed hoarsely, �Stop trying to understand things you have no bloody idea about!�
�Instead of drowning yourself in that shower and shouting to the whole world about how we all don�t understand you, why don�t you come out and try to explain everything?� said Ginny angrily, crossing her arms although she knew Malfoy couldn�t see her.
�And I guess you, of all people, would understand me? Besides, I wouldn�t come out here just to explain everything to you, Weasley. By all means, I�m bare naked.�
�You�re not that different from me,� she said slowly, not believing she was here right now, telling Malfoy she�s not different from him, �once you take that ugly mask of yours, that is.�
And I thought I�d never live to see the day I�m comforting a crying Malfoy, she thought, amusing herself momentarily of the thought of Malfoy naked, right now, all wet and miserable, with his face streaked with tears.
Funny scene.
�I am who I am, I�m wearing no mask.�
�Well then, I guess all your I�m-a-big-bad-boy image isn�t an act after all? Believe it or not Malfoy, I can see right through you.�
�You won�t understand.�
�Try having six brothers coming to you for advice when their petty crushes don�t pay attention to them. Try having two boys for friends, no cut that, best friends, who spends all night telling you their problems about not fitting in. Honestly, I don�t think you�ll be any harder.�
�Try being the son of the most prominent wizard of all time. Try being the son of a narcissistic mother who drives you crazy every second of the day just because she wants everything to be perfect. Try living sixteen years of your life trying to impress your parents. Try living up to their expectations. Try living every year of your school life losing to Potter, Granger and your brother. Try convincing yourself you didn�t work hard enough every summer, though you know you did your best. Try being happy when you know that those three are not even trying to beat you�they just do. Try being the Quidditch captain, the one thing both your parents are proud of, and then try losing it all in one game. Try thinking of what will be of you after this game, what people will think of you now that you crashed and burned. Try not to think about how your parents will react�heck, try not to think about those silly Gryffindors having a party right now after your defeat,� Ginny felt Malfoy pause for breath, �beat that, Weasley.�
Ginny looked down at the wet tile floor of the bathroom, not believing all of which she was hearing.
�You know Malfoy,� she uttered softly, �even if you don�t play Quidditch, you�re still the same person to me.�
She paused, waiting for Malfoy�s reaction�but it never came. All she heard was the slow dripping of the water and her heavy breathing.
�I mean,� she began, swallowing her pride completely, �if everyone sees what I see in you�then�they�re going to love you.�
It seemed like a whole eternity passed before Malfoy answered. His voice was low and soft, as though he didn�t want anyone hearing him say it. �Fine, I�ll try not to let the team down,� and here, he cleared his throat nervously, �I mean, I�ll try not to, because I�m pretty sure I will, but�yeah, I�ll try not to.�
And if only Ginny could see right though the closed door, she would have seen Draco Malfoy smile. Only this time, it was for real.