Just Around the Corner

Just Around the Corner

She sat up, breathing heavily. Her blood pounded so loudly in her ears she thought she would wake the other girls. It was a dream. It was only a dream. Still, it had seemed so real. Her face was stained with tears, and her pajamas were sticking to her. Sometime in the middle of the night she'd kicked her covers off, and now they lay twisted on the ground beside her bed. Her body still trembling, she leaned over and gave the covers a good yank to pull them back on the bed.

Inhaling deeply, she leaned backwards, her head sinking back into her pillow. Ginny squeezed her eyes shut as if doing that could make the memory of the dream disappear. The gaunt faces of her dead father and brother peered at her through those empty eyes from behind her eyelids.

"Argh," she said, muffling her thick voice with her covers. There was no way she'd fall asleep again. And no way she wanted to, in case the dream repeated itself or continued. She shuddered at the thought. A better idea, she decided, was to take a walk and clear her mind. She'd have to avoid getting in trouble, but it was worth the risk. She was too shaken and restless to stay here.

Slipping her feet into warm slippers, she took her wand (just in case) and crept quietly out the girls' dormitory and through the Gryffindor common room into the corridor. It was almost a breath of relief that she inhaled as she stepped into the hallway. The darkness engulfed her, and its silence was comforting. She paused for a second, not moving and hardly daring to breathe as she listened for any sounds. All was still. She was alone.

Relaxing, Ginny began walking. Her steps were quiet but steady, and after a few turns, she let her mind drift and ceased to notice where her feet were taking her. She'd been walking for quite a while when something made her stop. Had she heard a sound, or was it just some kind of strange feeling she had? She didn't know; her thoughts had been wandering and she hadn't paid enough attention to know what had put her on her guard. It was instinct and intuition, now, that she was depending on. She looked about and drew a sharp breath when she realized she'd stopped in the corridor where she had seen the dead bodies of Fred and George in her dream.

She could almost see it again...Fred's corpse half-slumped against the east wall, and George's sprawled out in an unnatural position at his twin's feet... The memory brought a fresh wave of tears. Her breathing sped up, and she tried to prevent herself from hyperventilating. It was only a stupid dream! she told herself. Ginny decided the quickest way to recover was to first leave this hallway. She backtracked and turned the corner hastily--

And walked straight into another person. She gasped in surprise and her left hand found the wall to support herself before she could fall. In the darkness, it was hard to see who it was, but her adjusted quickly to the darker shadows of this corridor and she saw that it was Malfoy. Antagonistic feelings took over, pushing the panic out of her mind. She was irritated to meet him, but relieved that it wasn't a teacher or prefect.

"Lumos," he murmured quietly, and the tip of his wand lit in a dim glow.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Her annoyance was obvious in her tone.

"Weasley?" he said in a voice that sounded rather amused. He peered more closely at her and smirked. "Have you been crying?"

"No," she said forcefully, glaring up at him.

Sneering, he tilted her chin upwards mockingly. "Then what are these tears I see? Don't tell me you got something in your eye that's making them sting? Or maybe you're having a problem with your contact lenses?"

"Only Muggles wear those, you brainless dolt!" Ginny hissed at him, and pushing his fingers away.

"I'd thought that with that Muggle-loving father of yours, perhaps you'd prefer Muggle accessories," he jeered. (He obviously had read the latest Muggle article in the back of the Daily Prophet detailing contact lenses and laser eye surgery; "What a bother," Seamus had said, "when you can just magic it all.")

She hated this -- this flirting -- only not flirting -- and mockery; it made her furious. Every time she encountered Malfoy, something of the sort ensued. What bothered her the most about it was that she enjoyed it, even if she didn't want to. She hated that a part of her was beginning to really like him, even when she had every reason to hate him. Ginny turned her face away and stared at the wall. She wished he would leave; she couldn't just walk away...something to do with her pride stopped her from it.

Something suddenly brushed again Ginny's leg. She gasped and looked down. "Mrs. Norris!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

Malfoy, seeing the cat, gave her a good kick that caused her to stumble into the middle of the corridor. Mrs. Norris hissed loudly at him and ran off.

"Great, Malfoy," Ginny said, exasperated. "Now she's gone to get Filch."

He shrugged. "She would've gone anyway."

"Put your light out," she whispered. "We've got to hide."

Reluctant to be taking orders from her, he did as she said. Almost as soon as the wandlight went out, footsteps could be heard from the adjacent corridor; the sound grew louder, and a beam of light lit up the intersection of the hallways, growing brighter and brigher.

"Who's there?" asked the grouchy voice of Filch. Mrs. Norris meowed.

Oh no, Ginny panicked. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Mrs. Norris will give us away...

Draco gently reached out and grasped her elbow firmly, pulling her with him farther into the shadows behind the wall.

The footsteps shuffled closer; there was another meow. Draco pulled her even closer to him. She shut her eyes, as if by doing that she could make Filch disappear. Gradually, the footsteps grew fainter, and the beam of light traveled away. Ginny still didn't dare to move, and now she was practically leaning against Draco. They stood in complete silence for another long while.

Finally, he whispered into her ear, "I think he's gone now." His breath tickled her cheek and she blushed, realizing how close together they were. He smelled of cologne and night air. His hand was still on her elbow, but the warm touch was somehow comforting, and thoughts of Filch had already abandoned her.

Ginny raised her face, and Draco's silver-gray eyes met her own. She stared at him for a moment, unable to look away. Those silver eyes...she'd almost expected his touch to be just as cold and hard.

He moved his hand from her elbow and reached up to brush away a lock of red hair resting on her cheek. The touch sent shivers down her spine, and she closed her eyes.

"Weasley," he breathed. Before she realized it, he was kissing her. She was shocked, but a part of her was not surprised at all and had been expecting it...almost as if the kiss had been lurking just around the corner. Her lips parted almost automatically, and she leaned into the soft kiss. The kisses she had received in the past, she mused, were usually hard and...almost forced. As if by forcing the kisses, a pretense of passion could be set up to create a more romantic air. But this soft, gentle kiss, she found, was more intense and much more passionate than any kiss she'd ever had before.

Ginny knew that her kisses would never be the same again.