Haunted

Haunted...A Boy´s Lament

by biggerstaffbunch

Disclaimer: Don´t own these characters...

*Harry/Ginny*

The Hall is moonlit and glowing, the jewels encrusted in the walls sparkling like stars. The enchanted ceiling is swirling madly, a mass of royal blue crushed velvet, dotted with the finest-cut diamonds I´ve ever seen. It´s wonderful. Strains of wailing violins, haunting strummed chords, tinkling piano notes are heard. I close my eyes, and try to settle my nerves. Wouldn´t do to let my walls crumble now, now would it?

Her eyes looked into his and they danced with merriment, polished amber staring up at him through a curtain of dark fringe. "Hullo, Harry."

There´s something about her. I´ll be damned if I know what. 5 years of stuttering and blushing, fading into the backround...and all of a sudden, she´s so attractive that Draco Malfoy is at her feet? Yeah, and they say my life is strange.

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" she asks, her eyebrows drawn tightly over stormy eyes. "Why am I suddenly so important?" He doesn´t know. But he does know that she is, for the first time ever, important.

Oh, she´s a nice enough girl, really quiet, I guess. It´s all I know about her and stuff, I suppose. But to hear the Malfoy ferret talk, you´d think she was the Queen of England. She´s just Ginny. Not, as you would think to hear him, the bloody most attractive woman on earth.

Her voice is like ice, stinging and soothing at the same time. "How would you know anything about me, Harry?" she asks, her hands on hips petulantly. "You´ve never known me. Never even seen me."

I may only be 17, but I´m not as stupid-or oblivious-as I make myself out to be. She´s not anything out of the ordinary. Small, slender, freckles and long hair the color of oranges about to be picked. Her eyes are earthy, tree-bark colored, almost pretty. I sound like I´ve studied her, and I have. You have a lot of time on your hands when you defeat your mortal enemy at age 15.

"Oh, Harry," she whispers, her voice soft. "I know you´ve been through so much. It´s made you change, but you can´t go around expecting people to change with you! I´m still me, Ginny, and I can´t keep up with the highs and lows of how you see me." Her voice is heartbreakingly hesitant.

Ron and Hermione have my act swallowed, I´m sure of it. Every once in a while, I see a worried or uncertain look pass, but then it´s gone. I don´t think anyone sees the battle-scarred, jaded, cynical Harry. No one sees me. Except for Ginny. Which is strange.

"You´re not a little girl anymore!" he says angrily. "You have to be mature about things. You can´t act like this for me, not for anyone. It´s not right."

She was always in the back of my mind, only. Until the day that she wasn´t. Because the inevitable happened: Draco Malfoy fell in love. The slimy, sneaky, pointed-face rodent fell in love. With Ginny Weasely. It angered me, because Draco Malfoy never loved anyone. Ever. Law of life, alright? And the day he fell in love with someone as unremarkable as Ginny Weasely is the day Hell froze over. My, it certainly is cold here at Hogwarts.

"Why is so hard for you to believe that we-we love each other? We do! We belong together-" She was cut off by a viscous slap. "You don´t belong to anyone except me," he whispered fiercely. "You know that this is who it´s all about. It´s always about me, you don´t know anyone else." He lets her go from his vise-like grip. "You´re the only one who´s changed, Ginny. Only one who´s seen me change."

I dunno. My emotions have always been tough to place. And especially now, after dealing with Voldemort, teenage lust and love are too petty for me. I don´t have time for hormones. But jealousy and wanting what´s not mine? Every man is privy to that. I mean, I´ve seen him making eyes at her since 6^th year. It´s easy to see when you know what to look for. Fear. Contempt only hides fear, and why would Malfoy fear a scrawny little red-headed girl ten times more poor than he? Because he loved her.

"Gin, we see each other for who we are. I know what you´re capable of, why you´re doing this. And you know that I´m not really sweet Harry Potter anymore. We could set this miserable place aflame."

The problem is,it wasn´t as amusing as I thought it´d be, seeing things happen from the outside. I thought it´d be a great laugh, being in on Ginny´s little plan. Seeing those two slink off solely for my benefit. Thought it´d be my little secret. But that was before...before-oh bloody hell, I cant even say it-that was before I started wanting Ginny too.

"Harry," she says, her eyes calm. "You just want me because I don´t want you anymore. That´s not a good enough reason." He knew she was playing a game. Could see it.

I can´t pinpoint when it was exactly when this happened, really. When I starting feeling my stomach clench and my palms sweat. When I felt my body turn hot. In lust. For Ginny.

"Meet me in the Great Hall tonight, then," he says, his eyes burning holes into her soul. "When it´s dark. I´ll prove my love-" here his voice deepens with sarcasm-"to you then." And then he takes her hands gently, feeling the coolness against his scorching hot skin. "Till tonight, Ginny."

I wanted her,I wanted to take her from Draco with a mad desire. Wanted to pervert little Ginny Weasely and show Ron that she wasn´t such a little girl anymore. I wanted to feel the power, the intense power, of having Ginny Weasely cry over me once more.

She stands on tiptoes to brush her lips against his, but he slides his hands around her neck and tilts her chin up to kiss her fully. She gasps against his open mouth, moaning as he presses her body against the cool glass of the window behind them. He trails soft kisses from her lips to her neck, to her nose and then forehead. Nipping her ear naughtily, he smiles. "Till tonight, Harry," she whispers raggedly.

So help me God, she´d gotten under my skin.