Sometimes It Be That Way

Apprehension after the Fact

*

The wind howled outside the windows of the Hospital Wing, its tune sending shivers down her spine. Ginny gathered her bags and made sure everything she had bought in Hogsmeade was still there while casting worried looks at the window. She could see a pile of snow already gathering on the window sill and the wind kept howling louder and louder. It was going to be a bad night for sleeping.

As she passed the office of the nurse, she made sure the nurse was aware that she was leaving. Madam Pomfrey added another tonic for nightmares to the bags and Ginny finally made her way out the door of the Wing into the empty corridors of Hogwarts. Many of the students had been asleep for a couple of hours already and the hall lights had been darkened to adjust to the night. Ginny crept along silently, thinking about what the teachers said to her and what would most likely be waiting for her when she got to the Tower.

Even though she had been in the Hospital Wing for several hours, none of the Famous Trio (as Draco liked to put it sometimes) had shown up to apologize or see if she was okay; not even her brother had come. That wasn't the best sign. Either they were really pissed off at her behaviour or they were planning to talk to her when she got back to the Tower. And Ginny was quite confident that it wasn't one of those friend-to-friend, what should we do, I hope you're all right talks. It would be a talk where they would patronize her for being so careless and for secluding herself from her friends. One would have to wonder what they would say if they found out that she and Draco were sort of dating.

She found herself on the main staircase and looked up it, up the usual way of going to the dormitory. The staircase was darkened, and the torches lining the wall flickered ominously. The baby suddenly kicked her stomach, causing her stomach to growl. Turning around and holding a hand to her side where the baby had kicked, she made her way down the staircase to the kitchens.

Compared to the coldness of the hallways of the castle, the kitchens were practically an oven. Ginny nearly had to shed a layer or two to keep herself from overheating. All around her, there was a tumult of activity. All of the house elves seemed to have chose that moment to make every dessert and entrée known to man. Mountains of sweets, cakes, and pastries lined two tables while another table held various meats and poultries along with assorted side dishes. The house elves were apparently preparing for Christmas dinner.

Ginny's eyes slid over to the dining table where she and Draco often ate and found it vacant. Her heart slipped down a notch more and she glumly made her way over to the table before carefully placing her shopping bags on the floor beside it. She sat down and pulled off a scarf Madam Pomfrey had insisted she wear back to Gryffindor Tower. The colours of red, orange and green caused her to stand out more brilliantly than she really wanted to and she hid it in one of her bags, lest Draco should come in and see her wearing it.

A house elf ran over to her and eagerly took her order: five cookies, some yogurt, and coffee. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be sleeping tonight anyways. The elf scampered away and Ginny looked through her bags again, this time to make sure nothing had been broken during her fall. She was happy to see that Draco's present wasn't broken. Now, if only the man in question would show up.

The house elf that took her order ran back over, but he didn't take a plate or glass with him. Instead he held out a bag and a cup-to-go with a cap. Ginny took it in surprise and looked up at the elf in askance. He hurriedly explained:

"Master Malfoy wishes that you join him in the Astronomy Tower," the elf explained, puffing out his chest in importance.

"Oh," Ginny replied, taken aback. This was new. "Did Master Malfoy say why?"

"No, ma'am," the elf answered. He suddenly bowed to her and ran off to join the others.

Putting her scarf back on and gathering her bags and coffee cup, she left the kitchen and made her way towards the Astronomy Tower, keeping watch for Filch. She shivered in the cold and wondered briefly if there were blankets in the Tower so that she wouldn't be too cold. She suddenly thought that there probably were blankets, but they probably weren't there to keep you warm.

Every step towards the Tower made her more and more anxious. She had no idea what Draco was on about. Then, the fact that Ron would probably kill her and then kill Draco if he ever found out that she had been in that Tower with a Malfoy. There was also the mysterious conversation with the teachers in the hospital wing (about the birds and the bees) to think about. Dumbledore told her to be careful, McGonagall to be wary, and even Snape was suspicious when it came to the youngest Weasley and Lucius Malfoy's son. Although, when Dumbledore told her to be careful, he seemed very... peppy, not to mention optimistic.

The entrance to the Tower came in view and she slowly climbed up its steps. On the highest landing, the door stood open, spilling candle light onto the landing. Ginny pushed the door open further and found Draco laying on a couch, his eyes closed. All around him were candles. Hundreds of candles, their light transforming the usually depressing room into a beautiful haven.

She moved into the room and laid her bags on the floor by the couch. She set her food on a side table and looked around the room for blankets, finally finding them in a cupboard amongst telescope equipment. She took one out for her and one out for Draco, but when she turned back around she discovered that he wasn't really sleeping. He looked sleepy, but his eyes were open and they were looking at her, along with a smile playing on his lips.

"I'm not sleeping, you know," he told her, matter-of-factly.

"Rats," she said, dejectedly. "I can't hog the food all to myself."

Draco sat up and rubbed his eyes as Ginny made her way back to the couch. She gave Draco a blanket and settled down, laying hers over her legs before grabbing her food bag and taking out the cookies and yogurt, neatly packaged along with a spoon for the yogurt. She took a cookie out of the wrapping and offered it to Draco, who took it, politely thanking her.

"So, what did Dumbledore and them say to you?" Draco asked.

"Oh, um..." Ginny began, swallowing a piece of her cookie. "They were just wondering why I had fainted."

"Oh?" Draco looked over at her, his eyes curious. "And why did you faint?"

Ginny swallowed another piece of cookie and looked at him sharply. "You know why," she said silently.

Draco's face became downcast. "Oh," he simply said and went back to eating. Ginny frowned and looked down at her cookie. She didn't know why, but she found his reaction to why she fainted odd, since he should have guessed it anyways.

Draco suddenly leaned over and pulled her face to his, kissing her on the lips. What they didn't know was, at that moment, Pansy Parkinson suddenly chose to walk into the room at that moment. And the thing that would most likely haunt both Draco and Ginny for a long time is what she chose to do about this information. She hid herself behind the doorframe and peered around, watching the couple kiss passionately. Draco had never treated Pansy the way she wanted to be treated, and here he was, with his family's enemy's daughter, being all gentle and nice and holding the girl the way Pansy had wanted him to hold her. She vowed that the pair would pay for this.

She snuck off, and as the couple kissed, oblivious to what was about to happen, the storm outside raged on, the howling winds washing over the castle walls and the snow piling high on rooftops and window sills.