Everlasting

Chapter 2 - The fortune-teller

Draco entered the Great Hall and sat down between Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy and Blaise came in to the hall and sat at the Slytherin table as well, giggling inanely as they always did. Draco was wondering how he could have ever been so stupid as to go steady with a girl like Pansy? In fact, he told himself, he had never loved her. She was so stubborn and unattractive but her family was pureblooded, had been for many generations. The relationship between the Malfoy and Parkinson families had been without any faults and, in order to improve the bond, their parents had decided to marry them. Draco had been wanting to break up with her for months but his father had told him that if he ever dared to, his punishment would be unforgettable. He knew his father well enough to know that he wasn't joking.

He glanced around and his eyes stopped at the Gryffindor table on the opposite side of the hall. Ginny was sitting next to Hermione and Lavender and was chatting with them sedately. She seemed to be calm and not a bit confused, completely different to when they parted this afternoon. He didn't know whether this was something positive or negative for him, but it probably meant that she wasn't angry anymore. Draco tried to catch her eye but Ginny didn't even look in his direction. So he started eating as well, lost in thought, nodding to everything Pansy told him.

After the meal they left for the Astronomy tower, his last lesson for today. As it was meant to be, she was right in front of him.

"Hey Ginny, what's up?" he asked. Ginny turned around to him, but didn't look at him...

"I don't think there is anything we have to talk about, is there?!" she answered, turning around and leaving with Hermione.

"What's wrong with Malfoy?" Hermione wanted to know.

Ginny shrugged: 'I dunno . . .who knows what's going on in an idiots mind?!" Both girls went away chuckling.

Draco stood there like he was paralyzed. She hadn't just said that, had she? No! This was another example of the snobbish Gryffindor attitude, just like damn Potter... Why did it have to be this way? Without knowing what to do now, he climbed up the stairs to Professor Trelawnys classroom. He sat down again next to Crabbe who was discussing with Goyle about the day's dinner. Professor Trelawney appeared and told the class that they were up to something special now.

"We practised our inner-eye so much the last years that it will be rather easy for you to tell the future by looking into the magic mirror."

Draco sighed and Crabbe got up to get one of the mirrors Professor Trelawny was handing out to the class.

"You'll work in pairs. You just have to look in the mirror and concentrate on the person who is awaiting for your prophecy and pictures will appear in the mirror."

Draco wasn't in the mood to spend his time on such nonsense. He watched his own pale face in the mirror and then he told Crabbe who was curiously waiting;

"Umm . . . well Crabbe . . . I see your future very clearly. Something good is coming up to you. Tomorrow there'll be chocolate cake for dinner and you'll eat so much that the house-elves will feel honored and send you a special chocolate cake every day."

A happy look came to Crabbe's eyes.

"That's really wonderful, you are so talented, Draco!! Now it's my turn . . .!"

How dumb he is to believe me, well, it's easy to make him confident, Draco thought. I should catch one of those house-elves tonight to make sure that my prophecy will become reality...

"Yes....I can see something...!"

Draco watched Crabbe whose face was deformed, like it always was when he tried to concentrate his little amount of brain cells.

"Wow . . . it's really cool. Now it clearer . . . I see you and the red-headed Weasley girl . . .!"

"What?!" Draco shouted. When he realized that some of his classmates were already watching him he sat down again and hoped that he hadn't caught the attention of Professor Trelawny. "Um . . . this girl? Are you sure?!"

"'course I am. You are shouting at her now and she seems very frightened...hehe..probly she had done something annoying to you, this little mud-blood friend." Draco asked himself if it could be possible that this idiotic creature was one of the rare, real fortune-tellers?

They left the classroom and went to the Slytherin dungeon. Crabbe and Goyle entered the common room before him. They were discussing again- this time about chocolate cakes. He was just about to enter as well when he saw Ginny, leaving potion classroom in a hurry.

"Go ahead. I forgot something. I'll follow in a few minutes..." Draco mumbled, half on his way to Ginny.

"Hey there...would you please wait a sec.... Ginny...!"

She ignored him and started walking faster. "GINNY..."

He finally caught her arm, turned her around roughly and pressed her against the cold dungeon wall next to them.

"Hold on! Would you please listen to me now.."

Ginny didn't dare to look straight in his face "No, I won't . . .There is nothing to talk about!"

She looked down to the ground.

"Nothing to talk about?!" Draco's voice was trembling, his face was getting red. Ginny didn't recognize it. She just wanted to get out of this situation. She was so afraid of Draco right now.

"Yes. I want to forget everything about this morn . . ."

"Shut up!" He started screaming now but remembering Crabbe's words he tried to get back control. ' Sorry....Ginny, I didn't mean to scare or hurt you. What I told you this morning was the truth . . . I didn't tell you to love me back., I was just hoping for an answer . . ."

"Oh yes, of course . . .'cause you're Mr. Respect, right?! Why - Why should I believe your words?!" Ginny couldn't believe that it was really her who had said this right now.

"Look up to me!" he said angrily, "Look into my eyes and ask again!"

She stood there motionless, then closed her eyes, turned her head to him and opened them slowly. Tears were running down her cheeks. "CAN'T YOU SEE? . . . " she cried. Then she started sobbing and countinued in a whisper "Can't you see that I'm falling in love with you . . . you . . ."

Draco couldn't help but hug her. "So why are you crying now?" he asked gently

'No...I don't want this to happpen . . . I don't want to fall in love with you, don't be so cute..!" she whispered helplessly. 'Lemme go..."

She freed herself and picked up her schoolbag from the floor. Second point for Ginny, Draco thought while watching her running away. Puzzled, he entered the common room.

Ginny knew that she had acted like a little child. She was so stupid. She had sworn to herself that she would ignore him, that she would abandon her feelings - this whole thing was impossible. She would never cry again because of an unlucky love. Boys weren't worth it. And now she had broken all of these promises to herself. She told him the truth and even if she wished that she hadn't she couldn't change it now . . . she cried, not only because of the situation but also in front of Draco Malfoy. What a shame! She hoped that nobody had seen this.

After a while she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Crawling grindy-low,"she mumbled and the fat lady opened - luckily without a comment. She ignored Fred who was offering her his latest creation of 'Stink-like-a-skunk-deodorant' and slowly went up to the girls bedroom. She entered, slammed the door shut, threw her bag onto the floor and herself onto the bed. She closed the curtains 'cause she wasn't in the mood for speaking to anyone of her roomies. If someone entered she would pretend to be asleep. Her eyes were closed but the scene in the dungeon passed again and again in her mind.

Yes, she was stupid. She wanted to forget it, to save the situation by ignoring it but that wasn't the right way as she learned today. She hadn't been honest to herself and she was wondering why she had suddenly been honest with Draco. Anyway - she had definitely hurt him now, though he had acted more reasonable as she expected him to be. She had felt so safe in his arms. She couldn't explain this to herself and blushed when she remembered it. She never felt like this before - even though she didn't even know Draco and some hours ago she had been sure she would hate this Malfoy-guy. But now it was different and she knew it.

"Draco - where have you been?" Pansy asked in her sweetest, innocent voice and kissed him when he entered the Common room.

"None of your buisness. Hush, I'm tired," he snarled and sat down on the sofa. Pansy hurried to sit down on his lap.

"Oh, c'me on, darling. Don't be angry with me. We haven't seen each other for the last two weeks of the holidays and I missed you so much . . ." She started kissing him again.

Draco rememberd his father's words, but if let it happen would give him the feeling of betraying both girls: Pansy and Ginny. He knew that he wasn't the one to blame for this, it was his father's fault. Draco couldn't go on like this and he stopped Pansy.

"Sorry, I missed you too, but today I'm so tired and since I left Divination, I've had a terrible headache. I'll go upstairs now." He kissed her on the forehead. "Have nice dreams - I love you!"

Every word hurt his heart like crazy. He would never be a man of honor, he was a liar just like his damn father. Angry with the entire world and especially with himself he went up to his dorm and dressed up for the night. He wasn't sure how to react when he met her again and he wasn't sure how to handle Ginny's doubts or even his own doubts.