An Addictive Solution

Chapter Six

Draco had been waiting for two hours already. He hadn't seen Ginny at lunch, but he still went to the tree to wait for her.

He was quite mad that she had done this to him. Who does that little girl think she is? She should be the one needing him, not the other way around. She should be more thoughtful and not make him wait like that for hours.

It didn't matter that yesterday was great. He was furious right now, not only with her but with himself. He had actually waited for that time when they would be together again and talk. He had even prepared his Potions lessons so he could help with hers. And still, she didn't have the decency to show up!

But thinking about it, he saw neither Ginny nor her brother at lunch. Maybe that stupid boy had locked her in a room and threatened to kill her so he could end his misery of seeing his sister with a Malfoy. The Malfoy he hated so much.

Draco laughed at the idea. The Ron Ginny had described could definitely do such a thing. And yet, she spoke of him with such a love, and such admiration, that Draco envied him. The only one speaking for him was his mother, and recently she had begun referring to him as "good, deep inside." Well, being good deep inside was not actually a compliment; it was more like an apology for her son being how he was. Ginny didn't apologize for her brother. She accepted him and loved him exactly because of what he was.

Not that Draco could understand how anyone could love that git, but anyway, that's what family was for, so it seemed.

And now, thinking about the Ginny he had seen the previous day, he knew it was stupid to think she could do such a thing to him. If she kept him waiting, she probably had a very strong motive. She was too sweet to try to hurt someone.

Not that he was hurt, he thought, while he gathered his books and decided to look for her in the castle. Of course he wasn't. She was nothing to him.

He decided to go straight to the infirmary. If anything bad had happened, then she would be there.

And she was there. He saw her laying on the bed, as white as the sheets, and she seemed to be more than asleep. She seemed dead.

He saw Ron and Harry at the bedside, talking to Madam Pomfrey while Hermione nervously played with Ginny's hair. Madam Pomfrey also seemed very disturbed. He got closer so he could hear what they said:

"I thought she would die, I really did..." the nurse said.

"Is she better now?" asked Harry, noticing how pale Ron was.

"She is stable now. That's all I can say. I don't understand what happened. I already gave her chocolate and a tonic. She responded at lunchtime; she seemed anxious. But soon she was asleep again and nothing could wake her."

"She'll be fine... don't worry," Hermione said, holding back the tears, clearly not that sure. "It's still months away from her sixteenth birthday. Nothing will happen to her now."

Months away? Was it possible she would turn sixteen that soon?

He got closer, deciding he shouldn't hide and pretend he didn't see anything.

"What did you do to her yesterday, Malfoy?" Ron asked, his voice full of rage as soon as he saw the boy.

"I took her to lunch and we talked," Draco said, sounding very relaxed, ignoring the fact that the other three were watching him now. "And she gave me a very good impression of you, so you don't want to ruin it now by being rude, do you?"

"If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you!" Ron screamed, not able to control himself, while Harry grabbed his shirt to keep him from attacking Malfoy that instant.

"Why don't you kill me now and ruin the only chance your sister has to live, huh?" Draco teased, sitting at the chair beside the bed and ignoring the others.

Hermione stood beside Ron and touched his arm, trying to calm him down. "He does have a point, Ron."

"Yeah? And what do I do? Sit here and wait for him to destroy her?" Ron shrieked, letting go of Harry and Hermione and moving closer to Draco. "Does she even have a chance? Would you be able to save her?"

Madam Pomfrey moved away from the bed, to talk to someone who had just entered the room, and nobody noticed. Draco looked to Ginny, not sure how he could answer her brother.

"Would you?" Ron insisted, his eyes full of tears. "She is my little sister, Malfoy. I hate to think you are the only one who could do anything to..."

"I don't know!" Draco said, getting up so he could look Ron in the eye. "I don't know if I can do anything! I don't even understand what happened!"

"Don't give me that rubbish, Malfoy!" Ron lost his mind again, and soon Harry and Hermione were beside him to stop him from doing something stupid. "It may work on Ginny, but I'm not that naive..."

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore's voice echoed though the infirmary, making everyone stop and look at him, embarrassed. "The situation is not easy for anyone, and I understand your rage. But it won't help your sister in any way..."

He looked at the girl laying motionless in bed and sighed. "Now, if you all could explain to me what happened..." He went to the other side of the infirmary and everyone followed.

Ron began to explain that he had found her on the floor, motionless, right in front of the Fat Lady portrait. But Draco hardly listened and just stayed there beside the bed, watching the girl breathe softly. He moved closer, feeling strange emotions pass through him.

He wasn't happy. The fact that she was here bothered him somehow. She should have been out there, sitting under the tree's shadow with him. He took a lock of her hair and brushed it aside carefully so as not to wake her.

But that was pointless. She was oblivious to anything around her and it wouldn't be him who would wake her, not after all the noise Ron made.

Or maybe it was. Maybe she was a twisted version of Sleeping Beauty and all she needed was a kiss to wake her up. He laughed at his thoughts and touched her hands softly.

He couldn't believe it when she slowly touched his hand back. She was too weak to actually hold it, and it seemed she had made a tremendous effort just to touch his hand. He smiled, looking at her. Nothing had changed. She was still asleep.

But maybe it was worth a try. Why not? If it didn't work, well, then it wasn't his fault. He looked around to certify that everyone was still talking to Dumbledore and not paying attention to him. After all, he would feel very stupid if anyone saw him doing what he was planning to do.

He took a deep breath and slowly leaned over the bed, wetting his lips. He hesitated, her pale face very close to his. But then he made his decision. That was what Prince Charmings were for, wasn't it?

He kissed her. Well, it wasn't really a kiss. He just brushed his lips against hers, feeling her breath on his cheek. And then he felt her response: a faint moan and her slowly-parting lips. That was all the encouragement he needed.

Then he really kissed her. He enveloped her mouth with his and licked her lips softly before meeting her tongue. And then, the most extraordinary thing happened.

She kissed him back. And it wasn't just any kiss; it was desperate, as if she was grasping for air. He put his arm around her head and pulled her closer, not wanting to break the kiss. She also moved closer to him, afraid he would try to let go.

But he didn't. Their kiss was deeper now, and she tasted like wine. She felt like a vampire, but instead of craving blood she craved his kiss. If they ever stopped this, she was sure she would die.

But then a strangled scream broke them apart. They looked in its direction to see a shocked group led by a furious Ron. Draco still held Ginny with his arm and he looked at her to see how she was. She was looking at him with eyes shining like diamonds, looking as happy as a girl could be.

"Hey," she muttered, her voice failing.

"Hey, there." Draco smiled back at her, relief taking over him. "You scared the hell out of us."

"Well, everything's alright now," Dumbledore said, watching all the action with playful eyes. "It seems she found a better tonic."