Scars

...

"I don't want to talk to you."

Draco was hurt. More than he ever thought that he would ever be in his entire life. His love, his life, his entire world revolved around the one person who it should have never revolved around: Ginny Weasley.

She made him whole. She showed him right from wrong. She made his life worth living. But it was all just a lie.

She had betrayed him.

I can't believe any of this ever happened,

Draco thought, his lip quivering. How could I have been so stupid?

...

"Oops, sorry," Ginny Weasley had said.

She was rushing to Herbology, her bag slung over her shoulder haphazardly, her hair sloppily pulled up into a ponytail.

As she had rounded the corner, she had succeeded in bumping into a fellow tardy student.

"Sorry," Ginny repeated hastily, looking up at the person (she had ran straight into the person's chest).

It was Malfoy. But...this person didn't seem like Malfoy. His white-blonde hair was uncharacteristically disheveled. His nose was red and his eyes were swollen, red and puffy.

Ginny gaped at him for a second in surprise, before collecting herself. "Oh, it's just you. In that case, I'm not sorry," she said coolly, walking around him to resume her path up the corridor.

She paused when she heard an odd noise. There was a thump, and then some strange muffled sounds. Ginny doubled back, and found Malfoy sitting against the wall. Crying. Well, sobbing more like it. His head was buried in his hands, and what Ginny could see of his face was red and distorted with raw emotion.

She was stunned, shocked, scared. Words did not even begin to describe the way she felt, staring at the person who had made her life a living hell, sobbing uncontrollably.

She really should just turn and walk away. Just turn, walk away, and never tell anyone of what she saw and heard.

But she didn't. She did the worst thing she could possibly do.

She stayed.

If Draco noticed her (she was standing only a few feet away from him) he did not seem to notice, or care for that matter.

What was she supposed to do? Comfort him? Make fun of him? Go and get a teacher to help him?

Finally, she decided it was best to say something, no matter how much he did not deserve compassion.

"What's wrong?" Ginny said as coldly as she could.

This made Draco, if anything, cry harder.

Ginny sighed. She was ditching Herbology to console Malfoy. This is insane, she thought. Absolutely nutters.

It was hard to muster up sympathy for him, even though he was in such obvious distress.

"Malfoy, are your ears working?"

She was tempted to add 'because your tear ducts certainly are' but resisted.

Malfoy managed to choke out, "My - m-my dad, he's-"

He broke out in a large sob.

Ginny's heart sunk. His father is...dead? Ginny hated Draco with a passion, butshe knew what it was like to lose a parent. Therefore, she kept her level of happiness concerning Lucius's death to a minimum.

"Oh," she said simply, surprised to hear her voice crack. "My dad died in the war, too."

Ginny knew that Lucius's death was from the war. Draco didn't have to tell her; so many people died from the war every day that it was inevitable.

For some odd reason, this calmed Draco down a bit. He breathed in and out slowly for a few seconds, then slowly looked up at Ginny.

"I know," he said quietly, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Ginny said softly.

Ginny stared straight into his eyes. Covered with a sheen of tears, they weren't guarded or cold anymore. They were hopeless, and let all emotion pour out of them. This is the closest Ginny could ever get to looking inside someone's very soul.

And in an instant, she understood.

He needs my help

, she thought. The cruel bastard needs my help.

Ginny's eyes teared up, thinking about how the war had reduced even the most closed-off and bitter person to a complete wreck.

And she knew then, that with this war, no petty rivalry mattered.

They all needed to be there for each other.

...

Ginny had sat down up against the wall next to Draco, setting her bag beside her. She knew that she would probably get a few detentions for skipping class, but hopefully if she explained the situation she wouldn't have to serve them.

But then again, she was not so sure she wanted to explain what had happened. She wasn't quite sure what had happened herself.

They didn't really talk, but just sat quietly together in silent comfort.

There was no need to talk, anyway.

...

After that day, Draco had become dependent on Ginny. He became insecure. He was confused about everything; what his life stood for, and what was going to become of him.

And Ginny was always there for him.

Draco had never officially asked Ginny out, but they both knew that they were dating. They just fell into it, without any real connecting glue, no rhyme or reason to it.

With every passing moment Draco spent with Ginny, he fell more in love.

And she became ever more guilty, knowing that she could not tell him she didn't feel the same.

...

"Harry, no," Ginny said, sobbing. "I can't do this now."

"Why not?" Harry said exasperatedly. "Why can't you just explain why you don't want to be with me?"

Ginny looked at Harry. Harry Potter, the man that had saved her life countless times, the man who was always there for her, and the man that loved her, and the man she knew she could never be with.

He was standing in the middle of the common room, in plaid, draw-string pajama bottoms. He looked adorable, standing there, evidently hurt, and it broke Ginny's heart to see him like this.

They were yelling at the top of their lungs, but it didn't matter.

Most of the students had left Hogwarts to go stay with their families at this time, even though during the war Hogwarts was the safest place to be. The few people who might have overheard them would understand, anyway. It was such a stressful time that everyone seemed to be at odds with each other, even though they shouldn't have been.

"He needs me," Ginny said weakly, backing up as Harry took a step toward her.

"No," said Harry, "No, I need you."

His eyes were pleading as he said, "Ginny, I don't like him, I'm not going to lie. But if you don't love him, staying with him is crueler than leaving him."

Ginny knew that Harry was right, but Draco made it so hard to break it off with him. He whispered sweet things in her ear and told her he loved her. He watched out for her even though he was the one that needed protecting. He was completely oblivious to the fact that Ginny was in love with Harry Potter.

"I can't take this. You need to let this go, please," she begged. "It's for the best."

Harry's eyes narrowed.

"Do you love him?" he asked, his voice quiet and hollow.

Ginny nodded. "Yes, Harry, I do love him. Very much. He's a good person."

Harry took another step toward her, and whispered, "But are you in love with him?"

Ginny froze. She did not answer this question. She turned and headed up the staircase toward the girl's dormitory, and then disappeared from sight as she entered her room.

Harry stared motionless at the point where she had disappeared from view, knowing that he was right.

...

Two months later, Ginny had cracked.

Harry talked to her every night, asking her to leave Draco. Then one day, right out of the blue, it happened.

She kissed Harry.

She was surprised at herself for doing that, and berated herself for it.

But it started to be a daily occurrence.

Everyday, Ginny would say, "I don't want to do this to Draco," and everyday, Harry would whisper back, "Yeah, I know," and then silence her with his lips. Everyday, Ginny would become progressively more guilty, and everyday, Draco started becoming progressively more suspicious, but never really believing anything he suspected was true.

But then he saw them.

The hurt look that had crossed his face didn't even measure up to the hurt that he was feeling inside, the emotions that he had been taught never to feel. He did not confront either of them about it, but just stared at them, wrapped in each other's embrace, and then fled.

...

"I don't want to talk to you," Draco spoke, his voice soft and quiet, not wanting to look at Ginny.

Ginny didn't say anything for a moment. She observed Draco, with tears streaking down her face.

"Draco, I'm so sorry," she said quietly, not daring to lay her hand softly on his shoulder as she longed to. "I should have told you."

Draco didn't say anything for a moment. He wasn't nearly as mad at her as he was with himself.

"My father's death turned me soft," he said quietly, coldly. "This was supposed to be a lesson for me. And I learned it; I learned my lesson. Now I know that my dad was right about everything he said."

Ginny was shocked. "Draco, no -"

He turned to face her, looking at her in disgust. "I hope he knows that he didn't die in vain. I learn from my mistakes," he said bitterly, standing up, walking toward the door.

"Draco, I'm sorry," she repeated, looking after him with a lost look on her face.

"Yeah?" he said, turning around to look at her. He turned back around, opened the door, and walked out of the room.

"So am I."

...

I tear my heart open,

I sew myself shut.

My weakness is

That I care too much.

And my scars remind me

That the past is real,

I tear my heart open

Just to feel.

~ Scars, by Papa Roach

...