A Blank Verse Romance

Chapter Three: Lost and Found Love

It seemed an age and a half before Thursday night came. The idea of Astronomy class, with the Ravenclaws (or to be more precise, Marc Davies), had given her stomach butterflies for the whole of the week preceding the event. Ginny had taken much more time than usual to prepare for their night time class in the North Tower. Ginny had used some of Hermione's Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to get the kinks out of her hair, and done her make up with extra caution. Josceline had sniffed at this, eyeing her carefully.

When finally Mona, Ginny and Colin were making their way up to their Astronomy class, a voice called out her name. Ginny turned around to see Marc, splitting off from the line of Ravenclaws to join her. He was grinning shamelessly at her, looking very nice in tailored robes. She blushed furiously.

"I've been looking for you all week. Waved at you once at breakfast, but I guess you didn't see me."

"Ooh well, I did," Ginny said, shyly, "I just couldn't think of what to say."

"Oh Colin," interrupted Mona quickly, "I forgot something in the common room. Would you come back with me to get it?" Mona winked at Colin.

"Can't you just get it yourself?" he said, confused. Mona grabbed his wrist ("Ouch!" yelped Colin) and they headed away from Ginny. Marc grinned at her friends gesture and offered her his arm. Ginny's stomach was flipping over with excitement and anticipation. They made light conversation up to the tower (strained for Ginny and light for Marc), continuing to talk until Professor Sinistra called for silence.

"Good evening and welcome back," she said, in her very stuffy, upper crust accent. Hermione always said that she sounded like the women who advertised for Weight Watchers, though Ginny had no idea who this was. Her black hair was in long, slinky curls and her robes of midnight blue shone in the moonlight. Her skin was very pale and looked as though she rarely saw sunlight. "Today, we shall be reviewing what you remember about galaxies. Who can tell me why galaxies are always seen as they were billions of years ago?" A few timid hands rose up but Ginny was the first. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"The light from galaxies takes so long to travel to Earth that by the time their light reaches us, it is old light from it's birth and early history." Marc whispered in her ear, "You may just have to tutor me Ginny." She flushed. His lips had brushed her hair slightly as he spoke.

"Excellent, take ten points," said Professor Sinistra. "Now, tonight we are going to be studying a spiral galaxy. Everyone move towards a telescope please and use the coordinates I have written on the black board to locate the galaxy." Professor Sinistra pointed her wand at a blackboard suspended in the air and directions appeared. Ginny moved towards a nearby telescope, closely followed by Marc. She looked down the row and saw Mona and Colin, the latter of which was watching her curiously. Suddenly, Colin's face screwed up in pain as Mona stepped on his foot to stop him form calling out to Ginny. Ginny grinned and turned to her telescope.

"Do not take the directions from your zenith. They are taken from the Earth's meridian!" cried Professor Sinistra, looking displeased at Josceline. Ginny smirked but was surprised to see Josceline smiling broadly right at her. Professor Sinistra was assisting Josceline in a kindly manner, pointing out that her telescope was completely off in the wrong direction. Her telescope was pointed directly at Ginny.

"What's wrong?" asked Marc, seeing Ginny's puzzled expression.

"N-nothing," she murmured, "Just puzzled at the directions, that's all."

"Here, you have it off on the left." He reached out to move her telescope, laying his hand over hers. Electric shocks went up Ginny's arm. No boy had ever been this forward with her and it surprised her. Marc continued, unfazed. "There. Now you can see it." Ginny peeped through the telescope to see the heavenly blue and white light in spiraling arms.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. Marc's hand pressed harder on hers. "Yeah, it is," he whispered in her ear. Ginny looked at him. He had the most gorgeous eyes, deep blue, mesmerizing ...

-*-*-*-

"So?" said Mona, bouncing on Ginny's bed. "Did anything happen on the stairs after I left? Did he kiss you?" Ginny sat in a kind of daze, looking at her friend through empty brown eyes. She had her hand on her right cheek.

"He -- he kissed my cheek." Mona screamed with excitement and hugged her friend.

"I knew it! I knew he liked you! Oh, you are so lucky!

"Lucky to escape," said a voice. Ginny turned to see Josceline, huffily putting away her school things.

"What do you mean?" inquired Ginny, quite honestly alarmed.

"What I mean is, this is a Davies boy. Do you even know the kind of reputation his brother had while he was here? He'd snog a girl on sight if he got the chance. No tact at all. I was honestly surprised Davies even picked you as his next target." Mona scowled at her.

"You're just jealous,"she said coldly, "Jealous that you can't get yourself such a good looking boyfriend." Ginny and Mona laughed. Josceline's last boyfriend was not on what you might call the small side, as well as having the nickname Spotty Norman.

"Flannery, I don't see you getting a boyfriend at all, unless you've been having a secret affair with Creevy and that isn't saying much. And you'll both see what I mean. Marc Davies has never been serious about any girl in his entire life."

"Please, please stop," pleaded Bonnie, eyes wide and over bright. If there was one thing Bonnie would not stand for, it was a fight, especially between her friends and room mates. "Don't start a fight this early int he morning!" And indeed, it was early, about 1:30 to be precise.

Josceline scowled and got into bed without another word. Bonnie went over to Ginny, who liked slightly downhearted, and sat next to her on her bed. "I know Marc. He won't be so cruel as Josceline says. And I think you two would make a cute couple." Ginny smiled at her. "I think we all need a break from school being back. How about when classes end tomorrow we all have a snack on the grounds? There's a good shady tree by the lake and I have a few new songs I could play." The girls all agreed (considering Josceline gave a consenting sounding grunt) and the idea was settled.

Before dropping off, Ginny avidly wrote down her little escapade in her journal, grinning like a loon as she did. Her journal had filled up quickly, considering it had only been a week since she started writing in it. Also, her folder of papers was reaching a high, beautiful little poems and narrations scribbled down in curvy writing.

-*-*-*-

Friday's classes came and went, only interrupted by lunch. Ginny found Marc at lunch, again leaving her with the warm pressure of his lips on her cheek. The last class of the day for Ginny and Colin was Muggle Studies. Usually, Ginny would be thrilled at the prospect of both beginning and ending her week with Muggle Studies. However, having it with the Slytherins made it close to unbearable. And, worst of all, Draco Malfoy sat behind her.

Now, Ginny could not understand why any of the Slytherins wanted to take Muggle Studies in the first place. Weren't they the ones who were continually shouting "Hey Mudblood!" at the muggle borns? Weren't they the ones who despised everything to do with muggles? Ginny made it up in her mind that, as there were only about seven Slytherins in the entire class, that maybe a few of them were decent folks who just got the short end of the stick when they were sorted. A few of the girls seemed almost friendly ... if they could lose their mustaches and bulging arms, they would be quite nice she thought.

However, Ginny could not and would not believe for any reason Draco Malfoy, the worst of the entire slimy lot, was there for honorable reasons. Besides, he did fairly poorly in the class and seemed less than devoted. Vaguely the idea that he was studying what he must consider "the enemy" had crossed her mind. Whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes, Malfoy would stare around, mainly at her.

The reason for his giving her a hard time in class was obvious. Wounded pride still bruised, Malfoy was trying desperately to get some scandal about her to spread. Nasty rumors weren't going to work because Ginny was too sweet. It had to be something real. Something that everyone would believe.

Ginny sat down, ignoring the flicks of paper that Draco was sending her way. He sat behind her. Miss Dilliers high voice was tight as she yelled, "Settle class, settle."

"Are we a bunch of pigeons or something?" Draco said in a very audible whisper. A few people sniggered. Professor Dilliers was a plump woman, who seemed to be a drooped flower. Her hair was in thin far apart petal-like layers, a decaying blonde with grey creeping in. She had a small smile and wrinkled, hanging skin.

"Mister Malfoy, was there something you wished to share with the class?" she inquired, eye brow raised dangerously high.

"No Professor," he said, mock innocense.

"Mister Malfoy, may I remind you that as you are already a year behind in this class. You need not give me a reason this year to fail you." Gryffindors smiled with silent laughter at this. Draco's cheeks stung slightly pink. "Now," she continued, "I hope you all are working hard on the essay I assigned on Monday. If you have read Pride & Prejudice thoroughly, there is no reason for you to fail. This is your last warning." She glared at Malfoy hard, who was looking out the window.

"Today's lesson will be devoted to Muggle fairy tales which I have no doubt you will find amusing to read. Please pull out Muggle Fairy Tales: The Mystery and the Humor.

Now, these fairy tales are a most profitable way to discover how muggles view magic. Naturally, they do not know what they are talking about most of the time, with fairy godmothers, fairies the size of people, and well, too many fairies mostly." Colin was laying with his head on the book, drooling slightly.

"Open to page twenty three. Read the tale of Beauty and the Beast. We will discuss at the end of class. Start now." Pages were flipped and then silence fell over the room. Ginny found the fairy tale quite enjoyable, even with Colin next to her muttering, "This is stupid. This is really, really stupid!" and Malfoy behind her snorting sounds of disbelief and annoyance. Quite like a winded pig, she thought, silently laughing to herself.

Then, as if in retort to her thought, Malfoy leaned forward to whisper, "You know who this story reminds me of? You and me." Ginny turned around and glared at him. "If only the story had got it right," he said, faking a saddened sigh. "You see, I'm the handsome one and you're the beast. A little red haired, foul freckled sniveling weasel. Not really frightening but a beast just the same."

"Shut up Malfoy," Ginny said quietly. Beside her, she could feel Colin beginning to tense up in anger. She put her hand on his to stop him from doing something rash. She muttered, "Don't worry about it Colin. Just ignore him."

"What's this? Is your little boyfriend going to fight me? Is he going to blind me with his camera's flash?" Malfoy began to imitate Colin taking pictures madly, cruelly reminding Ginny of their first few years at Hogwarts. Colin had since stopped carrying his camera around everywhere, but was still sensitive about the occasional tease shot his way.

"Just don't try blinding Weasley here. You may crack one of your precious lenses and we all know a milkman can't make enough to fill the table, let alone bother with cameras." Colin stood up and dived over the table at Malfoy. Ginny shrieked for them to stop, trying to pull Colin away, but the two continued to scramble, pulling Ginny into the fray as well

"Boys! Boys! Stop this unseemly behavior at once. It is most indecorous." Professor Dilliers shook in rage, wobbling around. "Fifteen points will be taken from each of you. Yes, you too Miss Weasley. Mister Creevy, go to the hospital wing and take care of that lip. The rest of you continue with your reading." Colin swung his bag onto his shoulder wildly, nearly knocking Ginny out of her seat, and left.

The rest of the class continued with tension held taut in the air. Neither Ginny or Malfoy commented for the rest of the class. When Professor Dilliers dismissed them, Ginny stalked haughtily out, not looking back at Malfoy. Ginny walked quickly up to her room, grabbing Ellipsis hastily by the scruff of her neck. Her stormy mood was still thick around her as she went out to meet Mona, Bonnie and Josceline on the grounds.

The afternoon was cloudy and cool. Mona and Josceline were playing some game on a piece of spare parchment together. Josceline scribbled something, making Mona moan in defeat. Bonnie was finishing up the last few words of a song as Ginny came up to them. Ellipsis jumped out of her hands and settled on the grass in front of Bonnie, licking her paws and looking up with disdain at her master.

"Bad day?" asked Bonnie, plucking at her guitar strings. Ginny laughed hollowly and shook her head. Writing down her feelings in her diary always helped and she could do it now, in peace and quiet. She scribbled down hateful thoughts and mean comments into her diary, munching on a few cucumber sandwiches that Bonnie had conjured up. The girls sat in silence, Bonnie strumming her guitar and humming occasionally in a disinterested air.

Ginny grinned. To see Malfoy's face if he ever saw this entry! It was a very satisfying feeling. Stuffing her diary back into her grey crocheted bag was an ordeal. The bag was over stuffed with folders and loose paper. Just as Ginny had hung it up on a knot in the nearby tree, Ellipsis hissed at something, fur standing on end.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, reaching for her cat. The small grey ball bolted and ran at top speed away from the girls. Mona and Ginny set after it."Stupid cat!" Ginny yelled, chasing after it as rain began to drop in warning from the sky. By the time the frantic cat was caught, Mona and Ginny returned to the entrance hall, soaking wet, their hair dripping in tendrils around their pale faces. Bonnie and Josceline had waited for them.

"What was wrong with your cat? I thought cats hated water." Josceline asked.

"Dunno, might have seen a mouse in the grass or was scared of the thunder. Doesn't matter, lets all get up to our rooms. I need a hot shower." Shampooing her hair in the warm water, Ginny relaxed, thinking of her beloved story. She returned to the room, toweling her hair off in a thoughtful manner. Ellipsis hopped onto her white robe, washing behind her ears and looking very pleased with herself.

"There's no need for you to look so happy," she said down at her cat. The green eyes merely glimmered amusedly back at her. Shoving the smirking cat off her lap, Ginny reached for her writing bag. It was missing. She looked under the bed. Nothing.

"Did you see my bag?" she asked Mona. Mona was drying her hair with her wand tip, hot air shooting out of the end.

"Hmm? No I didn't." Ginny thought hard and suddenly rushed to the window. It was dark and misty on the grounds, rain pouring harder than ever. She couldn't see it but she knew it must be there.

"Blast," she muttered, flopping onto her stomach. It was too late to go and get it, not to mention the pouring rain. There were spells on her bag to repel water; there was no need for her to worry. But in her stomach was a sinking feeling. The wind howled and screamed on the grounds, thunder rumbling through the rest of the night.

-*-*-*-

"It's gone."

"Are you sure? You couldn't have looked on the wrong tree?"

"Yes. I told you, I looked on all the trees and around the ground near them. It must have been blown away by the wind. You saw how windy it was last night."

"Someone will find it. Didn't you write your name in your diary or somewhere --"

"No." Ginny sat dejectedly on the steps to the girls dormitory, Mona patting her back sympathetically. Her stories. Her diary. They were gone and there was no way to get them back. Bonnie had suggested they look in the lost and found after a couple of days. Josceline had acted sorry, but teased Ginny about her writing, now that she had found out about it. Suddenly, the stairs turned into a gigantic stone slide and both girls landed at the bottom.

"Sorry about that," said Colin.

"How's your lip?" asked Ginny, brushing her robes off as the three walked out into the Common Room.

"Better. Madame Pomfrey mended it in a second. Still aches a little though. Want to get some lunch? It's almost noon." Ginny stopped dead.

"I said I'd meet Marc for lunch at noon!" She scrambled out the portrait hole, calling, "See you later!" Colin looked miffed, staring after her.

"Have you noticed we're losing our friend lately?" Mona grinned and put both her hands on Colin's arm, looking him straight in the eye.

"You're just jealous of Marc, aren't you Colin?" Mona purred. Colin fervently said no, but was so startled by Mona's touch that his answer was not near off-hand enough to be taken seriously.

"I knew it! I knew it!" she shrieked, clapping her hands together. "You do like her!"

"Wha -- No! No, I don't. I like someone else entirely." He avoided her eye as he said this.

"And who would that be?" asked Mona.

-*-*-*-

Two weeks passed before any sign of Ginny's bag came. Ron, Harry and Hermione said they would ask Hagrid if he had seen it around the grounds and Bonnie had promised her to look in the lost and found every day until they found it. So it was only a matter of time before she came shrieking up to their dormitory, bag swinging madly in her hand. Ginny looked up. She had been stroking Ellipsis in a forlorn way, thinking of a poem she wanted to finish. It had been a really long one, about white birds and death. She had just gotten to the migration of the flock.

"I found it!" Bonnie said breathlessly, handing the bag to her. Ginny shrieked and hugged Bonnie tightly.

"You're the best!" she said, opening her bag to check if all the contents were still there. Ellipsis, who had been pushed off her lap, walked off with her tail in the air in a prissy manner. She pulled out The White Bird of Death and began to scribble feverishly.

"What's this? Did the loony find her precious art?" Josceline grabbed the parchment from Ginny, who jumped madly around to get it back but Josceline was too tall. She began to read. "Low ... as the far away sun doth wend it's way t'ward westward rest. Then do the birds, the white, white birds fly to the sky. Fly up, fly on! On to --" Ginny managed to snatch it back, scarlet in the face. Josceline laughed and left the room.

"Oh don't listen to her Ginny," Bonnie said. "I thought it was really good. You know, writing poems is just like writing songs. I'd love to read over some of your stuff."

"No thanks," said Ginny quickly, turning so her hair covered her face. Bonnie smiled and left as well. Safely stowing her writing under her bed, Ginny grabbed her school bag and headed for the library. Her Pride & Prejudice essay was due first thing on Monday and she still needed a few inches. When she got there she saw Colin's head behind some shelves in the corner.

"Hey Colin," she said, tapping his shoulder. He snapped shut the book he was looking at and turned around, looking flustered. Grabbing Ginny's arm he steered her out of the section and they sat down at one of the unoccupied tables.

"What was that about?" she muttered as Madame Pince looked beadily at them through her spectacles.

"Nothing. Listen, have you finished your Pride & Prejudice essay? I wouldn't mind the help." They worked on their essays for a while until Mona spotted Colin, dragging him off to help her with Herbology, something about fertilizer samples. As they left, Ginny got up and went over to the section she had found Colin in. Picking up the book he had dropped, she read the title Eight Simple Ways to Disguise Those Pesky Love Potions. Ginny gasped audibly. Who was Colin trying to use a love potion on? If he was that desperate, she had to do something. A love potion was no answer to that sort of problem.

"Hey weasel I don't think even a book is going to help your love life. Nothing can help what isn't there already."

"Do you want to repeat that Malfoy?" said a voice behind Ginny. She turned to see Marc standing over her and felt a wave of happiness wash over her. She grabbed his hand and he squeezed hers. Malfoy took this in and sneered before skulking away.

"Thanks Marc,"said Ginny, standing on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. Marc turned his head and she met his mouth instead. Ginny pulled away.

"I thought it was about time we did that," he said, leaning in to kiss her again.