Not Much Changed
Ginny got up and slowly started gathering her books that she would need for the day. She was hoping that if she waited long enough to go downstairs, everyone would be gone and she wouldn�t have to go to breakfast with them. As she was picking up her quills, a tapping sound on the window made her jump.
An owl was tapping its beak on the window frantically, beating its wings to stay aloft. Ginny hurried over and opened the window. The owl flew in, landing on the desk and knocked over a bottle of ink.
�School owls,� Ginny muttered. She took the letter from the owl, pulling her hand away quickly as it snapped its beak at her. She opened the letter and read it.
At first, she thought she might�ve read wrong. She shook her head and scanned it a few more times, but the words didn�t change.
For a moment she thought that it must be a joke, or maybe someone trying to take credit for something they didn�t do. She realized that the latter couldn�t be true, or the person would�ve signed their name.
Ginny reread the letter again and growled under her breath. This person had some nerve, sending her this. First off, how could they send her this, thinking they�d done her some kind of favor? And also, why did they think they could convince her not to try again when they wouldn�t even tell her who they were?
One thing was for certain. This person would be waiting for a reply. The only sure way of getting rid of them would be to give them one.
Ginny pulled out her wand and tapped the paper, muttering a spell. The paper started to turn black around the edges and curl inwards as it burned. She stopped when she�d destroyed about half of the letter and picked it up, folding it in half.
�Return to sender,� she muttered darkly, giving the letter back to the owl. It clicked its beak at her angrily before taking the letter and flying out the open window.
Ginny threw the rest of her stuff in her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and stalked out of the dormitory. When she was outside, she looked at her watch and cursed under her breath. She was late for Potions class.
* * *
�Detention Miss Weasley. Maybe that will teach you to be on time.�
�Yes Professor,� Ginny said quietly, taking her seat.
�See me after class so we can set up a time,� Professor Snape said.
�Yes Professor,� Ginny said again, wishing he�d just get on with the lesson.
�Now class,� Professor Snape said, turning his attention to the rest of the students, �as Miss Weasley has finally arrived, we can begin the lesson. I�m sure by now you�ve all heard about her�ahem�unfortunate incident. That is why the headmaster has decided it�s time to change the lesson plan. Now we will be making sleeping potions. But don�t think that doesn�t mean the poison information won�t be on the final.�
Ginny bowed her head as everyone in the class turned to look at her. She went through the rest of class, only half paying attention to what she was doing. Her potion turned out all wrong. As Professor Snape came by, he wrinkled his nose at her cauldron and wrote down something that looked like a zero.
After class was over and everyone was hurrying out, Ginny slowly collected her books and walked up to the front of the room at a snail�s pace. �What time�s detention?� she asked.
�Tomorrow night,� Snape said stiffly, �eight o�clock. You�ll be cleaning the classroom, under the supervision of one of my students.�
�Who?� Ginny asked before she could stop herself.
�If it�s any of your business, which I�m sure it�s not,� Professor Snape said, his lips curling up slightly, �it is Mr. Malfoy. Try to be here on time.�
�Yes Professor,� Ginny said and turned to leave, fighting an urge to growl. It was bad enough she had to serve detention. Now she had to clean the dungeons with Malfoy making sarcastic comments the whole time. Snape was trying to torture her wasn�t he?
~~~~~~~~~~
When Draco heard the tapping on the window and saw the owl outside the window, he jumped up immediately and hurried to let the owl in. Then, he saw the parchment that the owl had brought for him. It was half burned.
�What the�� Draco grabbed the letter and opened it. His own handwriting filled the part of the letter that wasn�t burned. This was the letter he�d sent to Ginny. She�d sent it back.
Draco sighed and folded up the letter. He didn�t know what he�d expected. After all, if he�d been in her place, he probably would�ve done the same thing. Although, he might�ve attached a curse to the burned letter just because that was how he was.
�Mr. Malfoy,� Draco jumped slightly and turned around to see Professor Snape standing just inside the common room, one hand on the open portrait to keep it from closing.
�Yes Professor?� Draco asked.
�You will be supervising detention tomorrow night at eight o�clock,� Professor Snape said.
�Yes sir,� Draco said, nodding. He wasn�t surprised. It was part of the Head Boy�s job to supervise detentions when the teachers were too busy. He didn�t know if Granger, the Head Girl, had to do any supervising, but he supposed she did.
�What�s that in your hand?� Professor Snape asked suddenly. Draco looked down at the burnt parchment he held.
�Oh, nothing,� he said lightly. He crumpled it up and tossed it over onto the table to prove his point. �I was practicing for my Charms test and accidentally burnt up my homework.�
Professor Snape narrowed his eyes for a moment and Draco knew that he didn�t believe him. But Snape didn�t say anything and left, shutting the portrait behind him.
Draco stood in place for a minute, not sure of what to do next. Ginny had all but rejected him. There was nothing else he could do without telling her who he was. And then she would reject him to his face and tell her brothers, who would probably skin him alive.
No, the only thing he could do was to stand back and let her live her life how she wanted, if she even wanted to live. Draco picked up the discarded parchment and smoothed it out, staring at it as if, by some miracle, a hidden message would be revealed, but nothing happened. Finally, he shook his head and pocketed the letter.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny looked up at the clock and sighed. It was fifteen minutes until eight o�clock and time for her to go to detention. She got up and walked toward the door of the common room. Once out in the hallway, she slowed her pace, dreading what she was sure would be a long night.
When she got to the potions classroom, Malfoy was already there, sitting at Snape�s desk. When she walked in, he immediately stood up. A look of surprise flashed through his eyes briefly before his face went blank again.
�Professor Snape has left instructions that you are to clean the room,� he said tonelessly, sitting back down. �The cleaning supplies are over there. Just don�t bother me Weasley and maybe I�ll let you out on time.�
Ginny growled under her breath and went to get the �cleaning supplies,� which consisted of a bucket of soapy water and a rag. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work, knowing that this would take forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco watched as Ginny got down on her hands and knees and proceeded to start scrubbing the floor. He knew that Snape had given her the detention knowing that it was damn near impossible to get this room clean. After all, it was a dungeon, and plus it hadn�t been cleaned in about a century.
Draco sighed and looked back down at the desk, where he had spread out the items he needed for his Charms project. The assignment was to make a tracking device of some sort. Professor Flitwick had been vague on exactly what it had to do, but Draco supposed that meant it was a creative assignment, something Flitwick seemed to emphasize.
Draco looked at his book briefly, trying to find out which items he would need for his project. He muttered the ingredients to himself as he made sure he had enough of each. �Celandine for protection, tiger�s eye for understanding and knowledge, unicorn hair to balance out any negative energies and dyed red for strength.�
Draco picked the tiger�s eye stones and started to string them onto a piece of red unicorn hair. Then, he did the same with another piece of unicorn hair, making two bracelets. Then, he sprinkled the celandine herb over both and muttered two spells, one for each bracelet. Then, he picked up his quill and wrote down the ingredients he used and what each one stood for. After he�d done this, he proceeded to write a description of what he�d made.
These bracelets are made to track someone in the sense that they warn when the person is in danger. One is given to the person while the other is kept. If the receiver is ever in danger, the bracelet worn by the giver will tighten around their wrist to warn them. It can be used to keep track of those who have a habit of getting themselves into trouble.
Draco looked back over his work and smiled. It didn�t matter to Flitwick if an explanation is very good, as long as the project is creative and successful.
Then, Draco looked at his watch and his eyes widened. It was nearly ten o�clock! He looked up and saw Ginny was still trying to get the floor clean.
�You may go,� Draco said, trying to keep his voice flat and emotionless. Ginny looked up, seeming surprised, but she left immediately, as if afraid that he�d change his mind.
Draco watched her go and had a sudden impulse. He picked up the left over items from his project and made an extra set of bracelets. He didn�t know why he did this. After all, there was no way he�d be able to give her one of them. Maybe it was just his unconscious way of telling himself that he wasn�t ready to let go yet.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny left the Potions classroom, blinking in surprise. She couldn�t believe Malfoy had just let her out of detention early. She had been sure he would keep her there until Snape came in and said she had to leave.
Ginny shook her head. She didn�t have time to worry about Malfoy�s twisted mind. This was probably just one of those sick jokes of his that nobody understood. Deciding that this was probably it, Ginny leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling very tired from all that cleaning.
A few minutes later, Malfoy came out. He looked a bit surprised to see her, but quickly blanked out his expression. �I�d go back to my common room if I were you, Weasley,� he said coldly. �People might think you�re up to something. Especially after what happened.�
�What do you know about that?� Ginny demanded.
�You�d be surprised,� Draco whispered so quietly that Ginny had to strain to hear him. He left before she could question him anymore.
Ginny wondered what he meant. Then, she decided that it didn�t matter. He didn�t know anything. He was just trying to scare her. He was sick like that.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco hurried through the hallways, not stopping until he was safely inside the Slytherin common room, which was deserted, just as it usually was. He breathed a sigh of relief and threw himself onto a couch.
He�d almost told her right then. If she�d asked him one more question, he would�ve snapped. The result would�ve been disastrous. She would hate him, and he would lose any chance of ever being able to speak to her.
But that would be good, the awful voice said. You would finally be able to move on, to forget about her. After all, you don�t really care about her. You�re only sticking around because of family honor. If she told you to go away, you would. You would because the code says to, just as it says that you should watch over her now.
Draco clutched his head, trying to block out this voice that threatened to drown out all of his other thoughts. But he couldn�t argue with the voice. He knew the family code like the back of his hand, and he followed it unconsciously. And how could he argue that he cared about Ginny, when he spent nearly all of his time trying to convince himself that he didn�t?
~~~~~~~~~~
�Ginny!�
�What?� Ginny asked, looking up from her homework to where her brother sat across from her.
�I just thought you should know that I didn�t tell Mum and Dad,� Ron said, �about what happened, I mean.�
�Are you gonna tell me why,� Ginny said, dropping her quill, �or do I have to ask?�
�You know how they are about these things,� Ron answered. �If I told them, they�d have you sent home. I knew you wouldn�t want that.�
�I appreciate the sentiment,� Ginny said. �What�s the catch?�
�I want you to promise me you won�t do this again,� Ron said, reaching across the table to grab Ginny�s hand.
�Fine, whatever,� Ginny said, �I promise.�
Ron nodded and let go of her hand, getting up to leave. Once he was gone, Ginny picked up her quill and got back to work on her homework.
You only promised not to poison yourself again, a smug voice said in Ginny�s mind.
I know, Ginny thought back at the voice. I know.
* * * * * *
Ginny walked into the library, looking around to make sure she was the only one there. This had become a daily ritual for her. Every day, she would rush through her meals so she could come here to get away from all of the people in the Great Hall.
She went to the shelf and grabbed a random book. Then, she went to sit at her normal table and opened the book up to the middle. She blushed furiously as a very embarrassing picture met her eyes and hurriedly turned the page. Even if she wasn�t going to read the book, she didn�t want to be looking at that.
A rustling sound made Ginny jump. She looked up just in time to see the robe of someone disappear behind a bookshelf. She watched for a while and could�ve sworn that she saw a pair of eyes staring at her through the books.
Ginny blinked a couple times and went back to staring at her book. She was just imagining things. After all, she had been having trouble sleeping lately. Yeah, that was it. She was just tired.
Yet, she knew that this was just an excuse. Those eyes had been there. And they had been watching her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco peered through the shelves at Ginny. She looked up once and, for a second, he thought she might�ve seen him. Then she looked back down to her book and Draco breathed a very quiet sigh of relief.
He�d been coming into the library every day since Ginny had started going there. He�d convinced himself that he did this only to keep an eye on her. He tried to ignore the fact that she couldn�t get into much trouble in the library.
Suddenly, Draco realized that Ginny was gone. Must�ve gone to class, he thought to himself. Class� He looked at his watch.
�Damn,� he said in a low voice and started toward the door. He was late for Transfiguration.
~~~~~~~~~~
�Hey Ginny.�
�Huh?� Ginny looked up from her Charms homework. �Oh, hi Colin.�
�Uh, Ginny, would you, uh�� Colin fidgeted uncomfortably, �would you like to go to the ball with me?�
�What?� Ginny asked, confused.
�You know, the Yule Ball,� Colin said, blushing red. �Remember, they decided to have it every year instead of just during the Triwizard Tournament.�
�Yeah, I know. They�ve had them the past two years,� Ginny said, �but it�s a whole month away. Why�re you asking me now?�
�Well, I know Neville asked you both times before,� Colin said quickly, �and this year I wanted to make sure��
�That you got to me first,� Ginny finished for him, smiling slightly.
�Well, no,� Colin shook his head, �it�s not that��
�Yeah, it is,� Ginny interrupted, �but even if it wasn�t, I�m sorry Colin. I�m not going anyway.�
�Why not?� Colin asked.
�I��
�Miss Weasley, Mr. Creevey,� Professor Flitwick said from where he stood on a stack of books at the front of the classroom, �I must ask that you get back to your homework and get back to your conversation after class.�
�Yes sir,� Colin said, going back to his homework.
Ginny silently thanked Professor Flitwick as she looked back down at her parchment. She hadn�t really had an answer for Colin. She just didn�t feel in the mood to go to the Yule Ball. And, even though it was a month away, she knew she wouldn�t feel any differently by then.
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