Betrayal

Ginny Weasley was chatting with her friends, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil in the Great Hall at lunch. The Great Hall was loud and lively, just the way she liked it. Lavender and Parvati were discussing the upcoming school dance. It was a huge event.... Dumbledore had announced it earlier that week. Ginny was very excited. This might be her very chance to date Harry Potter!

Ginny, suddenly distracted, gazed over toward where Harry and his friends sat. Harry didn't even see her, as usual. But Ginny would make sure Harry noticed her. Did Harry even know just how much Ginny had grown up over the summer? She was more than just "Ron's little sister". She felt she knew Harry better than any other girl...especially that Ravenclaw girl who graduated from Hogwarts the year before, Cho Chang. Harry had had a crush on Cho ever since third year, and Ginny had been jealous. She wanted Harry to have a crush on her. But now Cho was gone and there was no one who could stand in Ginny's way of getting Harry. And Ginny liked that.

She hated the feeling of jealousy. Her parents had taught her not to get jealous too easily, and so whenever she got jealous, she would always feel guilty about it later. But she was so in love with Harry Potter that she just couldn't help feeling jealous of someone whenever Harry had a crush on them.

Luckily Harry wasn't the type of person to get too many crushes, so she rarely had to worry about Harry falling for someone. He wasn't like Ron, after all. Ron was Harry's best friend (as well as Ginny's older brother) and Ron fell for different girls all the time. Ron's first real crush had been that half-veela student from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacoeur. But lately, Ron had his heart on Hermione Granger, his and Harry's other best friend. Ginny just wondered how long it would take Ron to fall in love with someone else.

Suddenly, as Ginny watched Harry, she saw Draco Malfoy from the Slytherin table get up and walk over to the Gryffindor table, where Ginny, Harry, and their friends were.

"Well, well, well...if it isn't the famous Potter who got detention from Snape again today during Potions," he drawled loudly, causing everybody to stare. Harry glared at him - so did Ginny.

"Only because you started the fight, Malfoy," Harry retorted. Ginny didn't know what went on in Potions, because she wasn't in Harry and Malfoy's class, but she believed Harry.

"Get out of here, you bloody git!" spat Ron, getting fired up. He hated Malfoy just as much as everybody else did - perhaps even more than anybody else did. "Nobody asked you to come over here!"

"Nobody asked you to speak, either, Weasel," Malfoy snorted at him. "Or to butt into mine and Potter's business."

"Harry's business is very much well mine," said Ron. "And I'll speak whenever I choose to."

"Then I'll come over here whenever I choose to," Malfoy replied. Ron glared at him.

Ron and Malfoy glared angrily at each other for a few minutes. Many students looked a bit nervous, watching them, probably afraid that they would start dueling at any second now.

Then Malfoy snorted again, after taking a glance at Harry, who was eyeing Malfoy in a don't-start-that-again kind of way. "What's the bloody use taunting you prats?" he muttered. "It's no fun anymore...just so boring." And he stalked back over to the Slytherin table, but not until he slipped something under the table to Harry. It was a small piece of parchment. Nobody seemed to notice it, except Ginny and Harry, who quickly snatched it before it fell to the floor and stuffed it into his pocket, without even opening it and reading it.

Ginny was curious. What did Malfoy write to Harry? Ginny figured it must be some kind of terrible note, which was why Harry ignored it and stuffed it in his pocket. It must have been something really nasty. Maybe some sort of threat.

* * * * *

After lunch was over, the students headed out of the Great Hall and to their afternoon classes. Ginny watched Harry leave. She was surprised when she saw the piece of parchment that Malfoy had given Harry fall out of his pocket and get lost until the table. Harry hadn't noticed it. Ginny stayed in the Hall until it was empty enough where she could go over to where Harry had sat and got the note.

Then, she skidded over to the paper and snatched it up before anyone else could see it. She certainly didn't want Filtch, the school's mean old caretaker to find it and sweep it up. Or worse, read it.

Ginny held it tightly in her hands. She would go up to the Gryffindor dormitory and read it. If it was something really cruel, Ginny would toss it into the fire and put a hex on Malfoy the next time she saw him.

She entered the quiet common room in the Gryffindor dormitory a half an hour later. It was practically empty, except for a Hogwarts ghost sitting by the fireplace and reading. Ginny found a comfortable arm chair and sat down in it. She opened the parchment up and gasped when she saw what was written:

Harry,

Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight tonight. Love you, baby.

Draco

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO