My Thousand Wrongs

My Thousand Wrongs

Chapter Three: Betraying the Best

By; Azkaban Riddle

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"Oh no!" said Ron. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Ron! I'm just as confused as you are!" screamed Ginny. The whole Common Room turned to look at her again and some of the students took the chance to sneak looks toward Hermione, who was still crying.

"As my sister said before, nothing is going on around here!" Ron let the people at the Common Room. Some just shrugged and continued their routines, while others started whispering amongst themselves. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione paid them no heed. Well, Hermione was paying attention to no one, her gaze lost in the fire's flames at the magical fireplace. She was now sobbing worse than ever.

"Oh Hermione, please stop crying! I promise we will find a way to solve this!" whispered Ginny to Hermione, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her while said it.

"And let's not forget a way to make Harry realize how much you love him!" added Ron as an afterthought.

"Look 'Mione, you're messing up your make up. Come on, get up! I'll get you all prepared for the Ball so Harry will fall flat on his face at the look of you, both literally and figuratively alike!" Ginny muttered encouragingly. She let Hermione lead her to the Girls' Dormitory and behind her, Ginny mouthed to Ron: 'Go get ready! Meet me here at seven- thirty!'

Ron just nodded his agreement.

'''''''''''''''''

Ginny sat Hermione on her bed.

"It will be all right, Hermione; I promise." Hermione did not see Ginny crossing her fingers in her robe's pocket at this statement.

"Thank you, Gin," sobbed Hermione.

"You welcome 'Mione. What are friends for if they're not there to help each other then, huh?" Ginny assured her. Hermione just smiled. With one wave of Ginny's wand, a whole complete kit of make up appeared in front of them.

"I'll make you look very pretty!"

Hermione became lost in thought again while Ginny prepared her for the Yule Ball.

"Once again, thank you Ginny," said Hermione once Ginny was done.

"And once again, you welcome," Ginny answered. Hermione was facing Ginny's back, so she did not she the look of contempt Ginny threw her at this statement. Ginny walked to the door and without throwing one glance back at Hermione, she spoke to her.

"Be careful, Hermione. Meet you at the Yule Ball," she said cautiously. She went through the door and climbed down the spiral staircase. Ron was already awaiting her in the Common Room. He approached her at the look on her face, which was a look of sadness.

"What happened?" Ron demanded of Ginny.

"Nothing," she sighed. "Although I have a shrewd suspicion that she's going to start crying." Ron started marching up to the spiral staircase when Ginny pulled him back.

"Don't Ron. Just don't. She needs to be alone to figure out her true feelings. Please let her be," Ginny whispered pleadingly.

"All right!" Ron exhaled.

"Thank you," Ginny said, "but I have to go, Ron! Come on! Come on with me, I know where Padma is at. She told me she wasn't going to be waiting for you at the Ravenclaw Common Room, and besides, you can't go in there." She dragged Ron by his new, nice navy blue robes through the portrait hole.

This was partly true, for Ginny really knew where Padma would be, and Ginny really had to go and meet her date. But the part of Hermione and how she needed to figure out her true feelings were a lie. What did Ginny care if Hermione solved out her feelings?

Hmphr, better for Ginny if she didn't! Then Hermione would be a Hell of a lot confused, while Ginny--well, Ginny would have the path to Harry crystal clear...

Ron and Ginny were walking quickly through the corridors, skiving people already heading towards the Great Hall.

"Ron! RON! Over here!" screamed someone behind them. They both turned around and saw Padma hurrying towards them, pushing through the crowds.

"Ron!" she said, once she reached them. "You look so good in those, did you know?" She gave him a kiss on the lips and Ron flushed, remembering the event with Hermione earlier on that same day. "Where were you going?" Padma asked suddenly.

"Exactly to find you, then I would be off to find my date," answered Ginny, with a smile. Ron became serious at the latter.

"Who is your date?" he asked sternly. Padma put her arm around his shoulders as best she could, for he was too tall, and faced Ginny.

"Oh no, not you too, Padma!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Sorry, but as you are my boyfriend's," she gave Ron a little shake, "sister, I should maybe know this..." Padma's voice trailed off.

"Fine!" snapped Ginny. "Fine, but I don't want anyone to be getting into something that is none of their business! That goes for you two, as well. Got me?"

Ron and Padma just shook their heads in agreement at the same time, staring at Ginny, transfixed at her snappish manner.

"Okay, then I'll tell you, but Ron, please don't blow your top off..." said Ginny warningly.

"How bad can he be?' asked Ron. He was trying to reassure himself, but at saying this, he knew that asking had been a huge mistake.

"My date," Ginny sighed, "is Draco Malfoy."

"What!?" snarled Ron. People passing by in the corridor stopped and looked at them curiously once again. "What do you mean 'Draco Malfoy'?" Ron looked furious. His ears had gone redder than his hair; that was always a bad sign.

"Well," said Ginny slowly, "I mean 'Draco Malfoy,' Ron."

"How-wha-whe-why?" Ron was at a loss for words.

"He asked me out one month ago and I accepted, since no one had asked me yet," Ginny explained, with an almost detached look on her face. She definitely did not want to be having this conversation with her favorite brother. Ron was still fuming.

"Ron, please don't get involved in this! Let her be; she needs to learn from her mistakes like we did, and still do. How can she learn if she has no mistakes, none at all? Only because you are her brother doesn't mean you can always control her life. Let her live, Ron. Let her live her own life." Padma tried to reason with her boyfriend.

"Ron," Ginny once again took hold of Ron's hands, "listen to me. I have six brothers: you, George, Fred, Bill, Charlie, and Harry. Percy is dead to me; I don't consider him my brother anymore since he joined the Dark Lord. I think I have enough protective people to go around me already, so please don't go and add yourself to their group also. Please..." Ginny let go of his hands, turned on her heel and left, heading through a corridor on their right leading towards the Dungeons.

Ron stayed staring after her, his mouth gaping open like a goldfish without water. He was truly speechless.

"Fine," whispered Ron, awestruck, even though Ginny had long been gone.

"Come on, Ron. Let's go to the Lake," Said Padma soothingly.

"Fine," he repeated weakly. Padma smiled and led him through the corridors of Hogwarts, making their way through the pack-filled school, hand-in-hand, heading towards the oak doors to the grounds.

'''''''''''''''

Ginny marched to the now deserted Dungeons, wiping the tears from her eyes as she went. No, she couldn't cry. She couldn't show others how weak she was. No, no, no. Of course, she was wrong again! Ron would at once become protective of her, even maybe overprotective, if that was what was needed for his young sister to leave Draco Malfoy's side.

'They don't know,' Ginny smirked in the darkness. The corridors to the Dungeons and the Dungeons themselves were pitch black; no one candle had been re-ignited since the end of yesterday's last Potions Lesson.

'They don't know. They have never known... I could never leave Draco Malfoy's side; he is my ticket to a much better life than the one I'm living now. I was always on Malfoy's side, but no one ever noticed, not even the Mudblood whore. I have always been on their side, on Malfoy's side, ever since I was eleven years old... Ever since Tom...'

She needed to be strong; she needed to go through this, because the most unimaginable rewards would be in store for her and her future lover after this. She already had a plan, she already knew who her lover would be.

There was only one man she had ever been interested in, and that had been-

"Harry?" asked Ginny, the darkness down in the dungeons enveloping her. She had stopped walking in mid-corridor, to try to decipher who was striding quickly towards her.

"No. Parvati," replied a voice Ginny recognized as Parvati Patil's.

"What are you doing? Where's Harry?" Ginny demanded, a sharp tone in her voice.

"I'm going down to the--wait. I don't need to explain myself to you," she said the latter with something akin to deep-seated hatred. "As for my dearest and darling Harry, he is where he needs to be," Parvati finished simply.

Ginny scowled in the darkening and cold corridor. Parvati had said Harry's name with a tone... A tone that Ginny did not like at all... besides, Harry wasn't Parvati's darling and most beloved, Harry was her darling.

"Do you mean to say that he is you-know-where?" Ginny tried to sound her voice calm and collected, even almost distant. And she managed it, for Parvati believed her

"Yes," Parvati replied quite shortly. Ginny sneered and gave a chuckle.

"Do you think we'll have him?" Ginny's voice trailed off.

"By the end of this month, I guarantee he will be through, and our side will rejoice," Parvati reassured her. They both seemed to stay there, silent, as if agreeing to something they and only they knew about, something definitely important....

After a while, Ginny said, "I will guess I will be seeing you during the next meeting, then."

"Of course. How could you not? I am truly loyal to our cause, not like others, Weasley."

"You aren't saying that because--"

"--because what? I meant no harm, nor offense. If you take that as something of the sort, then it's your guilty conscience making the decision for you, not me. I only speak for what I believe in, and what I am loyal to," Parvati replied, rather harshly. Ginny remained silent, although she felt like throwing herself against Parvati, taking her neck in her fingers, and squeezing until Parvati left the surface of this Earth, dead.

Parvati stalked past Ginny without one word out of her mouth, literally ignoring her. She had made and both proven her point.

Ginny gave Parvati's now visible back retreating into the steps to the Entrance Hall a dirty look, while muttering, "Stupid, idiotic, selfish, fucking little bitchy bastard!" Ginny turned on her heel and continued to roam around the corridor, after seeing go the last visible part of Parvati's slender back.

Her way was stopped as she reached an unused dungeon-classroom. She opened the door and stepped inside, not sure exactly why; it had been an impulse. Once she found herself inside, Ginny tried to look around but unfortunately couldn't see anything at all; the whole room was cloaked in darkness as well as its outside surroundings.

Suddenly, she heard a swish of a cloak behind her, and before she could turn around and take her wand out, someone covered her mouth with a soft and silky hand. They made sure to prevent Ginny from letting out any sort of cry for help. That someone holding her mouth shut put their hands around her and reeled her backward against them from behind.

The person let their hands go of her mouth, but did not release their grip on her waist. Instead, both hands now pulled her closer to their body, making her feel their presence. Every inch of her body was up against theirs, and the person holding her actually dared to lean forward and kiss her neck.

"Malfoy!" Ginny gasped. "You scared me!"

"How do you always know?" Draco Malfoy asked, a tone of amusement sneaking into his voice even against his will. He leaned forward to kiss the side of her neck once again, and take in her wonderful scent.

"How do I always know? Because I always do. Your cologne and natural smell are unmistakable," she replied, a slight smile playing her features. She leaned against him, and noticed that he definitely felt good.

"Hey!" Draco drawled between the kiss he now gave to Ginny's collarbone. He had, for sure, moved downward.

"Well, it's true! But I meant it in a good way." She wheeled back and faced Malfoy, placing her hands on his lower back. "In a very good way," Ginny teased in Draco's ear. It was now she who leaned forward and straight-out kissed Malfoy on the lips passionately.

"We need some light in here," Draco muffled, Ginny nibbling at his lower lip. He snapped his fingers and instantly the room suddenly became dimly lit by candles shaped into small serpent-like figures. There were two loveseat green sofas surrounding a red, fluffy, comfortable looking rug in the middle of the dungeon.

"You meant that in a good way, then?" Draco resumed, arching his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah," Ginny whispered mischievously. At these words, Draco stopped smirking, and gave Ginny a genuine smile. He then lowered his head and their lips instantly touched, uniting each other in a soft, tender, heart-warming kiss, intensifying further and further by the second.

Driven by the rush of power, ambition, and pure need, Ginny let Draco roam over her.

'''''''''''''''

Harry was lying on a grassy field. A gleam of sunshine through the clouds reached Harry's closed eyelids. He moved a little to one side and as a snowy white owl came to land on his head, he stirred. Slowly, Harry opened his emerald-green eyes and found himself facing a partially cloudy sky. He quickly sat up, bewildered, and the owl perched on his head came to fly for a few feet and later came to rest on his side. He looked around his surroundings and saw a village that highly resembled Hogsmeade.

'I must be in the outskirts of Hogsmeade, but what in the world am I doing here?' thought Harry. And then he remembered, he remembered the awful dream. An awful dream that somehow, one part of him had enjoyed having. But had it been a dream? Not even he knew anymore. It had seem just so... real.

With great difficulty, he stood up and the snowy white owl perched himself on Harry's shoulder.

"Hi Hedwig," whispered Harry. "Do you have any idea why I was laying here?" he asked the beautiful owl. Hedwig looked at Harry with big, somber eyes, and hooted slowly, as if to say 'no.'

Harry sighed. Lately, a lot of strange things, well, stranger than usual, had been happening around him. This was about the sixth time this (finding himself lying somewhere, not knowing how he got there) had happened to him. He needed to see Dumbledore about this; just because he didn't trust nor like the man anymore, didn't mean he should keep these things from him. Maybe when he told him about this, Dumbledore would finally get the courage to talk to him, the old fool.

Harry peered once again at his surroundings, and seeing that the coast was clear, he started to heave himself toward the village of Hogsmeade, Hedwig perched nicely on his shoulder.

'''''''''''''''

Ginny put on her robes as Draco followed pursuit, black robes fitting him rather well on his shoulders.

"Do you think we'll have him?" Draco asked the same question Ginny had asked earlier.

"I certainly think so," Ginny replied hopefully. "Meet you at the Entrance Hall." With that said, she left. She was closing the dungeon's door behind her right as someone walked through the corridor, straight-out slamming into her. Ginny lost her balance and fell backwards onto the stone-cold floor.

"Sorry," said the voice of a man.

"Harry? Is that you?" Ginny asked curiously. It definitely sounded like Harry, but she had to find out who it truly was before she made a mistake that would jeopardize her mission and her friendship to Harry alike. That friendship was highly essential, especially now.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Help me up then, Harry," Ginny said jokingly. Harry took her hand in his and pulled her upward.

"Thanks," Ginny said, once she was standing and had recovered her balance.

"You welcome Gin," Harry responded, somewhat slowly.

"Harry, can you come with me? I need to speak to you," it was a request.

"Um, sure," said Harry, with his same annoying slowness. Ginny smiled and led him to another empty dungeon, never letting go of his hand after he had helped her stand up.

Harry closed the door behind him with his free hand and looked at Ginny with the most serious of faces. Ginny returned the expression and almost melted right on the spot. He was giving her his most serious look, letting her know that he truly did care about her, and she loved it. She loved everything that was him, from head to foot. She loved the way his frown turned into a smile when she made him laugh, loved the way that he said her name. She just loved all of him, his flaws and weaknesses as much as his strengths and demeanor.

After a few minutes of Ginny staring at him, he cleared his throat, but got no response from her. Knowing she would not say anything for a while unless he spoke first, then spoke first he did.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny seemed to come out of a reverie and gave Harry a puzzled look. "What was that, Harry?"

"I asked you what was wrong, Ginny," he said, while grabbing her by the elbows. His brow was furrowed.

"I'm--I'm fine, Harry. Fine as I can be. Almost as fine as I will ever be, but that's not why I asked you to come with me Harry." Ginny wrenched her arm out of Harry's comfortable and most wanted grip, and placed her hand on his cheek, caressing it with her thumb.

"I'm your friend and will always be Harry. I will always stand beside you. You are the most important person in my life and I'd give up anything for you. You know that, right?" Harry agreed with his head.

"I have seen you acting rather strange these past few weeks and I have been worried about you and your condition. I want the best for you, Harry, even if no one else in this world does. I approve of the things you do and out of all the people in this world, I am the only one who can understand you the most. Remember that this is also my war, Harry. I may not have as much responsibility as you do, but I want to see Tom Riddle dead as much as you do, for remember what he did to me. He used me, even when he knew full-out how I was starting to feel for him. But I was a girl back then, and now I know that you and only you will come out victorious, Harry. My Harry. Brave, admiring Harry. You can always confide anything to and you know that I will keep it a secret, Harry..." Ginny trailed off. Harry was flushing badly after all that Ginny had said.

"Thanks, Gin," he said, rather awkwardly. "I have been having some problems, you're right, but I don't want to talk about them right now. Sorry, I don't--"

"--It's okay. Whenever you feel ready to speak your problems with anyone who's worthy of your trust, I will be ready hear them. Really, Harry, it's okay," Ginny added, for Harry was starting to look guilty, "Just remember that I'll always be your friend, no matter what."

Harry nodded, looking thankful and relieved at the same time. "Ginny, thanks for understanding," he said in a hushed tone.

"Anytime, Harry. Anytime," Ginny murmured.

"I'll see you around, okay?" Harry said, with a smile on his face. This time, it was Ginny who silently nodded her agreement. With that, Harry opened the door wide and left Ginny alone in the dungeon.

Ginny exhaled loudly. That had gone way better than she had expected, way better.

'We have him,' she thought. 'We have him; he is falling straight into our hands and he doesn't even notice it. But then again, who could suspect poor, poor Ginny Weasley, who was fooled by Tom Riddle when she was eleven years old and then when she was fifteen years old? Only thing they don't know though. Tom never fooled me when I was fifteen. That had been my decision, not a hoodwink... When my Master hears about this, he will be very pleased...'

Ginny walked out of the dungeon by herself and continued her way to the Entrance Hall through the now dimly lit corridor. Draco and Parvati headed toward Ginny, coming from the same direction she was heading.

"I know something happened, Weasley," Parvati stated, rather aggressively. "We went past Potter in the stairs leading to this corridor and he didn't even notice me. Mind you, there was no one else climbing down those stairs except us."

There was a pause in which Ginny glared at Parvati for no obvious reason at all. After a few moments, Draco said: "Well?"

"Well what?" Ginny snapped, still glaring at Parvati Patil.

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"He's through. At least six more plays and he will be totally through," Ginny said with a sadistic tone, narrowing her eyes at Parvati. Draco and Parvati sneered at the great news.