Nothing I Have Ever Seen

Chapter 10

What on earth was going on? Draco´s mind raced, but it didn´t help. He hadn´t expected this. How he´d got back to the common room was a mystery to him. He was no longer aware of anything around him- the memory of Ginny... holding Potter´s hand so tightly and possessively... was burned into his mind. It wouldn´t go away. Why? Why was she doing this to him? Did he not mean anything to her at all? A doubt like this would never normally dare to cross his mind, but then, things were no longer normal. How had this happened? It was barely an hour since they´d fought, and now the world was upside down.

He glared intensely at the burning flames of the Slytherin fireplace. He did not see the curious glances of the other Slytherins in the room or the barely disguised whispering of Pansy and Marcus as they watched him closely. All he saw was Ginny. With Potter. His insides were aching with pain. To lose her was bad enough. But to Potter? That was almost too unfortunate. Nearly ironic. Potter can never have enough, can he, Draco thought bitterly. The damn teachers loved him, that infernal Mudblood and Weasley boy adored him, he was the Quidditch star... and now he'd got the one thing that Draco had held over him: Ginny. His hands clenched in anger as he thought of that ungrateful, undeserving scarhead. He was certainly not worthy of Ginny. He was just a pretentious git who used his so-called fame to get him what he wanted. And along with his dashing smile and charmingly good manners, who could resist him? Draco thought sourly. Well Ginny couldn´t, it seemed.

The irritation was making him restless, and he got up from his chair and exited the dungeon, slamming the door loudly behind him. Yet again, he was out in the empty corridors, under threat of being punished if he was found. Where to go now? He knew where he wanted to be; the place where he and Ginny always seemed to meet, and he knew that the only thing that was keeping him from snapping was the thought that she might be there now.

So he pushed open the heavy oak door and gazed down the steps and out onto the Hogwarts grounds. It was deserted. Descending the steps, he saw that each of the gate posts was solitary, and hid no redheaded figure within their shadows. He was completely alone. He sank onto the bottom step and dropped his head into his hands. This was, it seemed, one situation that he couldn´t talk his way out of. Ginny was apparently too indifferent to him for him to be able to influence her decision in any way. He sighed dejectedly, leaned back on his elbows and gazed at the starry night sky, that only yesterday he was gazing at with Ginny by his side.

He was so lost in thought that he didn´t see the owl until it had collapsed in a heap at his feet. Where had that come from? It looked less like an owl and more in the way of a soggy ball of feathers... he poked it with his foot, and found that it was still alive. His attention turned to a note that was attached to its foot, tied with a deep red ribbon. Hastily Draco untied it, while the bird flapped pathetically, then flew away, apparently on having found some more energy. Neat, swirling crimson text on some rose pink parchment read, `Draco, we need to talk. I´m so sorry. Meet me on the Quidditch pitch.´

Draco´s heart jumped and sank all in one moment, making him feel slightly sick. Ginny´s handwriting was distinctive. She was sorry... but what for? Was that just another way of saying, I´m sorry but I´m with Potter now? Or maybe... had she realised she´d made a mistake?

Encouraged by the second thought, he got to his feet and stalked, head held high toward the Quidditch pitch. With a flick of his wand, he blended nicely into the shadows as he walked- a nice little spell he´d learned from his father. He didn't want anyone to catch him now. His heart thumped in his chest. The Quidditch pitch was bathed in moonlight. She stood solitarily in the centre, a long black cloak pulled tightly around herself. It wasn´t snowing anymore, but it glittered on the ground as he silently made his way towards her.

A few feet away, still invisible from view he stopped and watched her for a moment. If anyone had told him a month ago that this was going to happen, he´d have laughed in their faces. Still... it had happened.

Shaking off his concealment spell as he stopped in front of her, he caught her eye. She didn't look away. She took a step closer to him, and taking him by surprise, kissed him. Her warmth shot fire through his body as he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her neck and tangling his hands through her hair. As an icy breeze swirled around them, she pulled away and looked back at him almost as if she was afraid of him. Of what he would say. Maybe she should have been, she deserved to pay for making him feel so rejected. But he couldn't. Not now she was here with him. The air seemed to be crackling with intensity, but he couldn't help grinning at her. A proper, happy smile that he never remembered feeling the need to express to anybody else.

Ginny started to laugh, relief present in her tone. "What took you so long?" she teased.

"Your owl. It nearly died on its way over." He leaned in and kissed her again, then frowned. "What..." Draco paused to think of how to phrase the multitude of questions racing through his head in some comprehensible manner. "Potter. Earlier. What were you doing with him?"

Ginny raised an exasperated eyebrow at him. "Nothing! He´s my friend."

"I saw you earlier. That wasn´t just being a friend," he spat out the word, as thoughts of Potter entered his mind.

Ginny hesitated. "Well... maybe it wasn´t entirely friendship. He... well, Ron told me..." she broke off. "But it doesn´t matter. Nothing´s happening. I didn´t know... I was upset... I needed someone who´d understand."

"Yeah, I bet Potter understood perfectly," he muttered.

Ginny ignored this. "But then I went back to my room and saw the flowers, and I felt terrible."

"You felt bad? Is that why you're here now? To stop yourself feeling guilty?" Draco spat, pulling away.

"No! No. Of course not, don't be like that," Ginny reached out and touched his arm. Was she not intimidated by him at all? "I'm here now because...I enjoy being with you. I don´t want to lose what we have. I want to be with you," she said softly.

He couldn´t help it. As soon as he thought it he knew that he shouldn´t have, but his immediate reaction to this was, I have finally beaten that damn Potter. I've won. But as they stood, surrounded by freshly falling snow in the silence of the night, he realised that it wasn't just about beating Potter. He really did love Ginny. And she was here with him saying the same back to him. He felt as if he were about to explode with triumph and happiness.

The two pairs of watching eyes glanced at each other, but remained hidden in the darkness.

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