Everlasting

Chapter 4- Love is weak

Ginny could sense the danger. It was already late evening when she went to the third floor to look for a book she had forgotten in the History of Magic classroom. The torches at the walls were already burned down and it was nearly dark at the floor. Ginny had the feeling that someone was after her but, as often as she turned around, there was no one to be seen. She got into the classroom without having any trouble and she immediately found her book lying on the floor under her desk. She picked it up and left again, closing the door silently. As soon as she stepped outside the classroom, the scary feeling returned. She looked up and down the corridor but it was as empty as it had been before. She accelerated her steps. The more quickly she could reach the common room, the better. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and turned her around. She could hear someone breathing next to her but didn't see any one.

"Invisibility cloak, " the thought came to her like lightning. "Try to stay calm," she told her self.

"WhoÂ's there; what do you want? Show yourself . . . !" she couldn't hide that her voice was trembling in fear. Whoever it was, he must be very strong because he pressed her against the wall and held her tight with both hands so that she couldnÂ't move anymore.

"Stop it . . . lemme go . . .!" She tried her best to get rid of the unknown hands.

"Impedimenta!" She heard the person whispering in a low voice and she felt a cool shudder going all through her body. Afterwards she was completely unable to move. Then a face appeared next to her and behind this one, two other ones. All of them belonged to boys older than she. The one who kept her was brown-haired and had nearly black eyes.

"So, finally we caught the girl who spoke with Tom Riddle, indeed, you are beautiful." He grinned "This was all we were longing for... be silent girl, or we'll close your mouth forever."

Ginny closed her eyes. She had never been more scared in her life. How was this supposed to end? She suddenly felt the breath of the boy near her neck and when he started kissing her she wanted to scream, but she was too frightened. She wanted to run away or do something, but she was trapped by the curse. A wave of disgust came to her. She couldn't stand feeling his tongue licking down her neck and his hot breath so close to her.

"Good girl," he said. His hands left her shoulder and started to untie her blouse. This was enough. Ginny knew that if nobody came to help her, the boy wouldn't stop.

"No, " she cried. "Stop it . . . Help me, somebody . . . !"

Then the boy boxed her ear.

"Shut up!" he said furiously. Ginny started crying in pain but right at that moment she heard another voice from far away.

"CRUCIO!"

The boy in front of her fell down to the ground and was twitching in pain. Ginny looked up to see who dared to use the unforgivable curse. It was Draco.

"Never touch this girl again or you'll pay with your unworthy lives." He took the curse off the boy.

"President . . . why?!" one of the other boys stuttered.

"Is this your business? Leave us alone - NOW!" Draco shouted at them angrily.

The two boys gave him a confused look, picked up the third from the floor and pulled him away. Draco was more furious than Ginny had ever seen him. He took off the charm which was afflicting Ginny and she broke down in tears. Draco hurriedly kneeled down beside her.

"Hey . . . babe . . . itÂ's over now . . . ."

Ginny couldn't speak.

"Did they hurt you?!"

She shook her head.

He embraced her tenderly and she was crying helplessly in his arms. She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if Draco hadn't appeared and saved her.

"What are you doing to Ginny? Let her go immediately!!"

They suddenly heard a cold voice behind them. Ginny and Draco looked up directly into the face of Professor McGonagall.

"Let her go, I said! How could you dare?!"

Draco withdrew from Ginny.

"Professor . . . it isn't . . .!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall seemed extremely angry. She lent Ginny a hand to get up.

"Come with me darling," she said softly, "and you will follow too, Malfoy!"

They left, heading somewhere downstairs. Ginny felt like she was in a trance; like someone had given her a drug, like she had had a nightmare and was still a bit sleepy. She was pushed along gently by Professor McGonagall until they reached the hospital wing.

"Poppy, please take care of Ginny, give her something so that she will dream peacefully."

Madame Pomfrey watched them, puzzled, but didn't ask any questions and took Ginny to a bed. Ginny tried to tell them what happened but she was crying and crying and she felt like she had lost her voice. Madame Pomfrey came up to her, carrying a flacon with pink fluid in it.

"So darling," she took out a handkerchief and dried her tears "Take this and you'll have a nice sleep-through and what ever happened you can think about everything tomorrow again, right?!"

Ginny didn't want to take it . . . there was something she must say before she could fall asleep . . . something really important. But the words didn't come out. She still wasn't able to speak. Madame Pomfrey gave her the bottle and she drank the fluid which tasted a bit like strawberry ice cream and she fell asleep right away.

The next morning Ginny woke up. The sun was peering through the opened window and she took a big breath of fresh air. A shudder shook her body and then her memory came back all the sudden, with all the horrible little details. Finally she remembered that Draco had appeared but Professor McGonagall was in her mind as well. She needed a few seconds to fix her thoughts in the right order and after a while, she knew what she wanted to tell Madame Pomfrey. Draco: this wasn't Draco's fault. He had saved her but never touched her. Professor McGonagall would surely not believe Draco. They had been caught in the middle of a hug and she had been crying like a baby. The professor wouldn't see this situation right . . . and she, Ginny, had slept the whole night while Draco had to explain it. She had to go to Professor McGonagall immediately and tell her. But how to do that without telling her the truth about her relationship to Draco?!

"Later," Ginny thought "IÂ'll find the right words when I am in the situation."

She was sure that Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let her go without any advice from above, even if it was Ginny's wish. She got up silently and sneaked out of the room. Her steps were so loud in the emptiness of the hospital wing and Ginny heart was beating so fast that she was almost sure that everyone in the whole castle was going to hear it. Suddenly she heard some noise behind her. Luckily, it was only the ugly Mrs. Norris. Ginny sighed but couldn't relax until she was out on the corridor . She headed for the Common room to get her clothes first.

She was glad that it seemed to be early morning and nobody was hanging around in the corridors. She had nearly reached the Common Room when she heard footsteps running towards her from behind. She turned around and looked back the way she just came. A girl was running towards her and Ginny recognized, surprisingly, that it was Betty, her dormie and classmate. Betty didn't seem to notice her until she nearly her ran into her.

"Sorry . . ." she mumbled and was already some meters away when she stopped all the sudden. She returned to Ginny who was watching her puzzled. Betty's short, dark hair was a mess and her green eyes were so red that Ginny was sure that Betty had been crying for a long time. While she still was wondering what had happened to her friend, she realized that Betty didn't look sad anymore. She rather seemed to be angry.

"You !!! This is all your fault. I know it was you. There is nothing you must hide in front of me." Betty said in a trembling voice.

Ginny was shocked. Did Betty know about her relationship to Draco? Or had she just heard some rumors? And why was she angry at her now? This all was pretty weird.

"Erm . . . what? I dunno what you are talking about . . . sorry . . ." Ginny answered.

"SORRY? Is that all you've got to say? I thought you were my friend..." Bettymade another step towards Ginny and slapped her hard into her face. Then she wheeled around and ran away.

"Ouch . . . ." Ginny's eyes filled up with tears. Everything was so strange and her cheek was burning in pain. "Wait - tell me what I did to you?!"

Betty turned around once again furiously. "You, but YOU should know it better than me. You asked Dorian to see you. Don't ask ME what kind of love potion you gave him to make him leave me."

Ginny's mouth opened to protest, to explain it, but when she was finally able to speak again, Betty was already gone. Ginny wasn't crying anymore. The shock had stopped the tears. She was shivering in anger; she had to talk to Betty once again. She didnÂ't intend the message to be for Dorian. How could Ginny tell her this without talking about Draco? Yes, Draco! She remembered why she had come here: first, she had to see Professor McGonagall, now. She got into the common room and quickly went up to her dorm. There she pulled off the hospital-wing clothes and threw them onto the floor. Then she jumped into her skirt and sweater. She decided that there was no time for fixing up her hair or anything. Perhaps it was already too late. She ran down the stairs and at the end she bumped into Hermione.

"Hey Ginny! Hold on please!"

"Sorry, Hermione! I have no time to talk to you."

"But Professor McGonagall asked me to go looking for you in here. She wanted to see you and seemed really concerned."

"I was actually on my way to her office."

"Oh great! IÂ'll take you there!" Hermione smiled.

"No need for that . . . !" Ginny blushed.

"Well, I actually promised it." She took Ginny's hand and both went out of the common room.

"Tell me. What happened to you? Why did you stay at the Hospital wing last night? Please, talk to me Ginny. I'm your friend and you look really, erm, kinda' sad, I think."

"Thanks for caring, Hermione." Ginny whispered. She felt how concerned Hermione was about her, but she simply couldnÂ't tell her secret this time.

"IÂ'm sorry. Everything is alright. IÂ'm just a bit tired I guess." Ginny looked up to Hermione "And by the way, you don't look any better than me !"

Hermione smirked "Oh, I kept on studying last night 'cause I found something really interesting in the library, thatÂ's all." Ginny didn't believe her. She knew that Hermione was trying not to think about Harry and Cho and so kept on studying last night. Ginny felt a bit hurt that Hermione was obviously lying to her. They had been friends for so long now. A moment later she realized that this was nonsense. SHE was the one who always refused to tell Hermione her secrets and now she was complaining that Hermione didnÂ't want to talk with her about her most private feelings. Ginny felt guilty. She was the one who was to blame if she lost Hermione as a friend. Everything was going out of control, it was out of Ginny's hands and she felt helpless, so helpless.

Hermione stopped in front of McGonagall's office. She knocked at the door.

"Professor McGonagall! ItÂ's me, I found Ginny." The door burst open and McGonagall came out.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. You may go now. Come in, Ginny, come in." She pulled her in and made her sit down on a chair. "Ginny, you really scared me. Malfoy refused to tell us anything. He is in Snape's office right now, " she told her. Ginny started crying again.

"I know, it is nothing you want to talk about but as the head of our house I have to find out the truth to punish Malfoy appropriately. I don't think heÂ'll tell us the truth. Neither the teachers nor even the headmaster is allowed to give the veritaserum to a student when itÂ's against his will. So, you can be sure that Malfoy wonÂ't tell us anything. So I beg you. Please take this serum so that I know the truth for sure. Will you?"

Draco sat in Snape's office. It was dark in there, the only light came from a nearly burned down fire which was warming the slimy, purple potion in the cauldron above it. It smelled awful but Draco didn't recognize it anymore. He had been sitting there for hours. After Professor McGonagall brought him here and told Snape about what happened, he had been trapped in this room. He didnÂ't know what they were going to do. At first he wanted to tell the truth about the situation in which McGonagall found them. But he wasn't sure how to explain without risking to much of his safety. And who would believe his words? They had been caught in a situation which seemed just obvious and he knew it. A cold shiver made him tremble. He wanted to be with Ginny right now. He felt so desperate to pull his arms around her slender waist and dry her tears.

"I must have gone mad", he thought. "Seriously, I never wanted to comfort someone, I never cared about feelings like this. Why would I do it for her?!"

He remembered when his father had told him about his engagement with Pansy about a year ago.

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"Draco listen to me," Lucius announced on the last day of the summer holidays. They were sitting around the huge oak table in the grey hall which served as a dinning room and was one of the largest in the Malfoy villa. "IÂ've got some news which will really please you. I have to talk to you after dinner in my study room."

"Alright father." Draco replied politely. He had planned other things to do this evening but well, if his father told him to come into his study, there must be something really interesting to talk about. He didnÂ't allow him to come to this room very often. It was full of important treaties, and old books and his father also welcomed guests in there.

After Dinner he immediately went up the stairs to his father's room. He entered and sat down on one of the luxurious armchairs made of black leather. A fire was burning brightly in the fireplace next to him. In the shine of the dancing flames he saw a parchment lying on the desk in front of him. He picked up the paper and the envelope dropped on his lap. He took it and when he turned it around he saw the family sign of the Parkinsons. While he was still wondering if this letter was connected with the following meeting, his father entered the room. He took the armchair at the opposite side of the table. His eyes were fixed on Draco who returned the envelope to its former place.

"Will you listen to me, son?! IÂ've got to talk to you very seriously today, " he began and waited for DracoÂ's reaction. Draco silently nodded.

"You are nearly grown-up now, my son, and you turned out better than I ever expected. Today, you'll make one more step towards your life as a respectable young man. A man I can be proud of, a man who never breaks with the traditions he had learned when he was young." He paused for a moment, " IÂ'm talking about an engagement, Draco."

Draco gasped shortly, but he didnÂ't want to loose his face in front of his father.

"You have to respect, Draco, that alliances must be treated well to last and improve. We have old duties. Richard Parkinson is the head of one of the most powerful, pureblooded, dark wizarding families in our times. You must feel honored that he agreed to engage you with his only daughter Pansy."

There was a long silence between them. Lucius stared in DracoÂ's eyes and he just stared back. He wasn't sure what answer his father awaited and so he decided it would be better to say nothing. Finally Lucius continued;

"He told me about it in the letter I received this morning. You're the same age, aren't you? Of course you have to pay attention to her now. Do you understand me? It would be unforgivable if Mr. Parkinson had any complains about the way you're treating his girl."

Draco felt awful. What did his father expected him to do?

"Father, forgive me the question, but I don't know what Mr. Parkinson expects me to do? I can't fall in love with her just because he wants me to, can I ?" Draco asked in an unsure voice.

"Love ?!" His father smirked and raised an eyebrow. Draco didn't like the way he smirked and he suddenly would have given everything if he hadn't asked this question.

"Don't be silly boy. Love!! Love is invented by people who are weak. People who arenÂ't self-confident enough. People who need to share power. There is no love in the world of power. The daughter of Mr. Parkinson will be a Malfoy after your wedding. You and that girl will make sure that the blood of the Malfoys won't die out, that our traditions will be kept and that our influence won't break down. You don't need love, neither do I. Love isn't everlasting and it will never be."

Draco felt sick. He knew his father was telling him the truth. They had never had such a serious conversation like this one. But deep in his heart, he didn't know how this was supposed to be. For sure, he wanted to be powerful, to continue the work of his father and for this reason, he wouldn't accept love, wouldn't accept people who love because they are the weak ones.

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Draco was confused. He couldn't believe how long he had trust the words of his father.

"Lies, nothing but lies..." Draco muttered to himself bitterly.

In the last year he had learned that many promises his father made weren't the truth. He didn't share his father's opinions anymore. Why was this nonsense about love still in his head?! Other rules, the other advice of his father - he had broken with nearly all of them - but secretly. The appearance had always stayed the same. The family Malfoy was still untouched. But how, he asked himself, could it be possible to hide this? In fact he didn't want to hide his feelings anymore, and this was the reason he had told Ginny about them. Draco felt ashamed. His attitude towards feelings was really strange. He just wanted to have her. He didn't care about telling her anything about what happened before and he didn't think about what would happen further. And now he was in this situation and Ginny was too. He wanted to avoid any problems. Any little problem could destroy easily all that he and his organisation had been working for the last year. But how to avoid a problem in a situation like this?

"Question after question and no answer" Draco sighed.

He was sure that Ginny wouldn't like him anymore if she had know the truth about it all. The truth?! It had already affected her. Some guys, belonging to this truth, nearly violated her. A flame of anger burned in his heart when he thought about it. He felt so sorry and his only wish was to make this all unhappen, just to protect Ginny. Protect her from him and the truth. He felt torn apart. He didn't want her to pay for his faults but at the same time he didn't want to lose the chance to be happy with her. This desire grew stronger and stronger in his heart which he realized with fear.

Right at this moment the door opened and Snape came in, followed by Professor McGonagall.

Draco looked up to them, twinkling in the light coming in from the corridor.