Falsely Accused
Ginny shook her head and stood up. She would just have to deal with this, no matter how impossible that might seem. Even though she knew what had happened wasn�t a dream, she still half expected to wake up at any moment.
Ginny saw something glittering on the floor and bent to see what it was. The stones from her bracelet were scattered all over the hallway, reflecting light from the torches and glowing like tiny fires. Ginny smiled to herself, glad that she�d brought her wand with her.
�Reparo,� she whispered and the stones all rushed back to the spot under her wand and returned to their place on the piece of unicorn hair that had connected them. Ginny nodded silently and put the bracelet back on without a second thought.
�Ginny!� a voice called from down the hall. Ginny groaned as she recognized it to be that of Luna Lovegood. She didn�t know if she could deal with that girl�s drama right now.
�Ginny, are you all right?� Luna asked, coming to stand right in front of her and holding out a hand to help her stand.
�Yeah, why wouldn�t I be?� Ginny said as she stood up, confused by the concern in Luna�s eyes.
�Oh, you don�t have to lie to me,� Luna said, grabbing her shoulders. �I saw you crying and Malfoy leaving. Did he hurt you? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?�
�No, Luna,� Ginny wrenched herself from Luna�s grasp, �I�m fine.�
�Okay,� Luna said reluctantly. Then, she suddenly looked very happy. �Don�t worry. I told your brother. Malfoy will get what he deserves.�
�You did what?� Ginny asked, her voice rising in anger.
�Ginny, calm down,� Luna said, touching her arm as if to reassure her. �It�s all right now. Ron�s going to take care of it.�
�Get out of my way!� Ginny yelled, pushing Luna aside and running down the hallway toward the Great Hall. When she got there, she didn�t see Ron or Draco anywhere. She spotted Harry and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and hurried over.
�Where�s Ron?� she demanded, gasping for breath.
�Ginny, what are you doing here?� Hermione asked. �Luna told us what happened. You should�ve gone straight to one of the teachers.�
�You don�t understand,� Ginny said quickly. �I need to know where Ron is.�
�He left,� Harry said. �Ginny, what�s the matter?�
But Ginny was already gone, running back out into the hallway. She didn�t know exactly where to go, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own. She kept going, praying that she would get there in time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco wasn�t really sure what happened. All he knew was one second he was walking down the hallway on his way to Transfiguration and suddenly he was slammed into the wall. A splitting pain shot through his head and his vision went dark for a few minutes as he briefly slipped out of consciousness. When his eyes finally refocused, he was staring into the very red face of Ron Weasley who had a fistful of Draco�s robes held tightly in his hand so that he couldn�t get away.
�I told you what you�d get Malfoy,� he hissed, his voice dangerously quiet.
�I don�t know what you�re talking about,� Draco said truthfully.
�The hell you don�t,� Weasley growled, shaking Draco so that his head hit the wall again and Draco had to fight to stay conscious as bright lights exploded behind his eyelids. �You thought you could hurt my sister and not suffer the consequences?�
Before Draco could answer, he felt something that he suspected was Weasley�s fist connect with his face, sending a fresh wave of pain through his head. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and it was now taking all of his strength to keep from passing out.
He heard someone yelling, but the sound was distant and he couldn�t tell who it was or what they were saying. He felt Weasley�s grip on him loosen and he collapsed onto the floor, blacking out.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny rounded the corner just in time to see Ron punching Draco. �Ron no!� she yelled. He turned, looking surprised to see her, and let go of Draco, who fell to the floor and didn�t move.
�Ginny,� Ron said. He came over to where she stood and put an arm around her shoulders. �Don�t worry, everything�s going to be all right.�
�Let me go!� Ginny screamed, pulling away from Ron and running to kneel beside Draco. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that he was still breathing and glared up at her brother. �What the hell did you do to him?�
�He deserved it,� Ron said coldly, staring at Draco�s unconscious form in disgust. �He hurt you, he got what was coming to him.�
�What�s going on here?� Hermione�s voice came from down the hallway. As she and Harry got closer and she saw Draco, she gasped. �Ron, what did you do?�
Ginny interrupted before Ron could answer. �We have to get him to the hospital wing! Somebody help me!�
The others hesitated, but it was Hermione who finally shook her head. �Oh for heaven�s sake,� she said, walking over to where Ginny knelt. Between the two of them, they managed to get Draco up off the floor, each wrapping one of his arms around their shoulders to hold him. As they carried him past Ron and Harry, who looked too stunned to speak, Hermione scolded them. �You should be ashamed of yourselves.�
When they reached the hospital wing, Ginny knocked on the door with her free hand. �Madam Pomfrey?� she called, hoping she�d hurry up. Her shoulder was starting to hurt from having to support Draco.
The door opened a few seconds later and a very tired looking Madam Pomfrey looked out at them. �Oh dear,� she gasped, throwing the door open for them and stepping aside. �Come on in. Bring him over here.� She pointed to the bed nearest the door where Ginny and Hermione quickly, but carefully lowered Draco. Once they were sure he wasn�t going to roll off the bed, Hermione sat down and started massaging her shoulder. Ginny, however, stayed standing.
�Is he going to be all right?� she asked anxiously as Madam Pomfrey examined him.
�He�ll be fine,� Madam Pomfrey said dismissively. �He�s got a nasty cut on the back of his head and he�ll need some Skele-Gro, but he�ll be all right.�
�What�s the Skele-Gro for?� Hermione asked the question Ginny was going to.
�It seems that some of his teeth have been knocked out,� Madam Pomfrey said, shaking her head. �I assume he got into a fight with someone?�
�You could say that,� Ginny said, the anger rising in her voice again. At that moment, the door burst open and Harry and Ron came in, looking a bit confused.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head again, this time in disgust. �I suppose it wouldn�t do any good to ask you all to leave so,� she waved her wand a couple of times over Draco, saying spells that Ginny didn�t quite catch, �I�ll allow you to stay if you�ll keep your voices down. Mr. Malfoy should wake up within the hour. I suspect that before he does, you four will need time to talk.� She turned and went to her office, shutting the door behind her.
There were a few moments of tense silence, as everyone seemed to search for the right words to say. It was finally Ron who spoke. �I think you owe us an explanation, Ginny,� he said, his voice sounding forcibly calm.
�What do you mean I owe you an explanation?� Ginny asked, her face flushing with anger. �You had no right to attack him.�
�Ginny,� Harry said carefully, �Luna told us what he did. He had no right to hurt you either.�
Ginny glared at each of them as she spoke her next words, not even caring that her voice was shaking. �I know Luna told you that he raped me, and you want to believe it because you want an excuse to hate him, but he didn�t do anything! Luna doesn�t know what she saw and she should�ve talked to me before running to you.�
�But Ginny,� Ron argued, �even if he didn�t, he still deserves it for how he�s treated you all these years.�
�You don�t understand,� Ginny said, feeling tears forming behind her eyes. �He�s treated me better than any of you. You�re always pushing me aside, taking me for granted, assuming that I�m always going to be there. And don�t look at me like that because you know it�s true. You think that Draco took something from me last night, well he did.� She went to stand beside Draco and reached into his pocket, taking out her own potion�s knife, which she held up for the others to see. �None of you recognized the signs that I would do something like this, but Draco did. None of you knew that I left the common room last night, but Draco did. None of you tried to stop me, but Draco did. He talked me down. He saved my life.�
�How do you know it wasn�t a coincidence?� Hermione asked gently. �How do you know he didn�t just accidentally find you?�
Ginny sighed. �Because this isn�t the first time,� she said in barely a whisper. �He was the one who brought me here after I poisoned myself. He�s the one who brought me here after I tried to drown myself and then told Madam Pomfrey that I�d only fallen in. He gave me this,� she held up her wrist where the repaired bracelet glinted in the sunlight. �He didn�t tell me that it was enchanted. It told him that I was in trouble last night. Can you honestly believe that it was just a coincidence?�
As Ginny waited for an answer, the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. She looked anxiously at Ron, because it was his opinion that mattered the most to her, even if it was the most likely to be negative. Even Harry and Hermione seemed to be waiting for him to answer.
Ron opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it again, apparently lost for words. He finally just shook his head. �I need to think,� he muttered and stood up. Hermione looked like she was going to stop him but Ginny spoke up first.
�Let him go,� she said. �This is hard for him to accept. Hell, it�s even hard for me. The Weasleys have been feuding with the Malfoys for generations. It�s been that way for as long as anyone can remember.�
�And what exactly is it that he�s accepting?� Hermione asked hesitantly.
Ginny paused, looking down at her hands to avoid Hermione�s eye. �I don�t know,� she whispered finally.
Draco suddenly stirred in his sleep and Hermione seemed to exchange a knowing look with Harry. �We�ll leave you to talk to him,� she said and they both stood to leave.
Ginny only had to wait a few minutes for Draco to wake up. When he did, he looked around for a bit before finally catching sight of her, a confused look on his face.
�I know what you�re going to say,� Ginny said, once again turning her vision downward.
�Your brother has a bony fist,� Draco said in a raspy voice. Then, he leaned over the side of the bed and spit out a few bloody teeth, landing them perfectly in the trash bin.
Ginny smiled slightly. �Okay, I didn�t know you�d say that. Look, I�d just like you to know that I told Ron off for what he did. He was way out of line.�
Draco smirked as he looked up at her, a bit of his old self shining in his eyes, though not enough to make Ginny uncomfortable. �Nice to know there�s someone who�s against my having the shit beaten out of me. It�s a nice change.�
�Very funny,� Ginny said, giving him a playful shove.
�Who�s joking?� Draco asked, his voice suddenly deathly quiet. Ginny thought she saw a look of contempt in his eyes, but as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. Ginny didn�t have time to think about this however, as Madam Pomfrey chose that moment to come out of her office.
�All right, you�ve had enough time,� she said, waving Ginny away. �Mr. Malfoy needs to take his Skele-Gro.�
Ginny looked back at Draco. �I�ll come back tomorrow?� She didn�t mean for it to be a question, but it came out as one.
�Yeah,� Draco nodded. �I�ll see you then.�
Ginny gave an inward sigh of relief as she nodded and turned to leave the hospital wing. She�d been afraid for a minute that she�d struck a nerve and that he might not want her to come back. She made a mental note to ask him about what he�d meant tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Draco finished off his Skele-Gro with a shudder of disgust and leaned back against his pillows. He found himself glad that he wouldn�t have to go to classes that day. The rumor of what had happened between him and Ginny would surely have spread beyond Potter�s little trio, and he didn�t know if he could deal with that right now. He could only imagine what the people in the other houses must think of him.
Or for that matter, what the Slytherins must think of him. Knowing them, if they�d heard what he thought Weasley heard, they would probably be congratulating him. Draco shook his head, trying to rid his mind of these thoughts.
He could feel a prickling sensation in his mouth that he guessed was the Skele-Gro starting to work. He turned over onto his side and shut his eyes, too exhausted to even fall victim to the dreams of his past that so often haunted him in the night.
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Author's note: I know, it's a bit short, but you can't say nothing happened. I particularly liked writing the little fight scene between Ron and Draco. If you can call it a fight, since Draco never even threw a punch. As for how short the chapter is, give me a break, I'm in evil!Draco mode. But I'll try to keep up on this story anyway.
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