The Hospital Wing and the Astronomy Tower, the Sequel

Ginny had gone straight to the hospital wing. She wasn't really sick, but she made herself believe she had a stomach ache. Eventually, Ginny had believed her own lies so much, her stomach actually began to ache.Â

Or perhaps she had become sick to the stomach due to her little run-in with Draco, who looked even more still like Lucius Malfoy.

Now, Ginny lay in the hospital wing, under the constant watch of Madam Pomfrey. There was a knock at the door, which Madam Pomfrey attended to, leaving Ginny to sit up in bed, very curious.

She did not, however, have long to remain curious, as Madam Pomfrey led Draco Malfoy into the infirmary.

"Fifteen minutes, Mr. Malfoy," said Madam Pomfrey. "And not a second more; this girl needs rest." With that, she hurried off into her office.

"What the Hell do you want?" Ginny snapped, once Madam Pomfrey was well out of earshot.

Draco smirked, but didn't walk any closer to Ginny. "So are you really sick?" he said. "Or are you just pretending?"

Ginny sighed, but didn't reply.

"So Pansy Parkinson and Colin Creevey went missing," said Draco. "Do you know anything about that?"

Ginny shrugged.

"You know, we were the last people to have seen them," Draco continued. "People might start suspecting something."

"Let them suspect whatever they want," Ginny snapped.

"It might be bad for your reputation," said Draco. "And quite a reputation you've built for yourself."

"What are you on about?" Ginny grumbled.

"First of all, there was your first year," said Draco, "you got yourself into a fair bit of trouble then. And only last year, you got involved with a Malfoy, but that's over now, bringing even more shame to your name."

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest.

"And now you've aided in the disappearance of two fellow Hogwarts students," Draco went on. "You'll have no respect to your name by the time you're out of school."

"Why did you come here?" Ginny asked. "Just to make fun of me?"

"Yeah," Draco replied with great sarcasm. "I have nothing better to do than waste my time arguing with a Weasley. But I always win every argument anyway, so why do I even bother?"

"I don't want you here," said Ginny. "You're being an annoyance."

"I know you aren't really sick," said Draco. "But I don't know why you'd pretend you were."

"I am actually sick," Ginny snapped. "And you're not helping at all, so get lost."

"I can't, I know my way around," said Draco.

Ginny scowled.

"We'd be in a lot of trouble if anyone ever found out what we did last week," Draco said.

"What did we do?" Ginny asked curiously.

"That stupid gossip union thing... thing," Draco said. "You know."

"No one ever has to know," said Ginny.

"Which means you've got to keep those pictures to yourself," said Draco. "No showing anybody."

"That won't do anything," Ginny protested. "I can show those pictures to whoever I like, and everything would be just fine, no one would suspect anything."

"Dumbledore's sent out search parties," Draco said. "The Aurors are working over time, now searching for two missing students along with Voldemort. It's chaos, Weasley, and we just might be the cause of that chaos."

"We didn't cause anything."

 "I expect the gossip union's gone mad over all this," said Draco. "And what a good story you hold."

"You told me just a minute ago to keep those pictures to myself," said Ginny. "I don't understand you."

"Can you be bought by the thought of power?" Draco asked, taking a few steps toward Ginny. He stopped so that he was standing directly by her bedside.

"I don't think it's a matter of power," said Ginny. "I just want to prove myself; and it's not like it makes a difference to you anyway."

"Oh, but it is power," said Draco. "You want to prove yourself powerful."

"Honestly, what has gotten into you?" Ginny asked, cowering slightly at Draco's presence.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, a smirk playing about his lips.

"Well, first you give me that stupid coin," said Ginny. "And then you... it was... in the cupboard..."

Draco raised his eyebrow in a questioning way.

"And now you're being so..." Ginny sighed. "Oh, I don't know. You just aren't the same as you were before the summer."

"How so?"

"You just aren't," said Ginny.

Draco sneered. "I'll see you later," he said, leaving through the door.

Ginny looked up. "Wait, Draco..." But it was no use, he was already gone.

***

"Glindernut," Blaise said to a bare stretch of wall. The wall slid aside, admitting Blaise into the Slytherin common room.

Blaise stepped inside to see Draco sitting alone in a corner, looking deep in thought, or perhaps his mind was blank of any thoughts at all.

"Back already?" said Blaise, interrupting the silence of the common room.

Draco looked up, faint surprise displayed on his face. "I didn't go to dinner," he replied blankly.

Blaise raised her eyebrow. "Oh, I know that," she said. "It's only, I saw you heading to the hospital wing about five minutes ago. I thought you were going to visit Ginny, maybe apologise, like you promised."

"I've been here for the past half an hour," said Draco. "I haven't been to the hospital wing."

"But I just saw you," said Blaise, her voice almost disbelieving.

"It probably wasn't me," Draco said. "And by the way, I tried apologising to Ginny earlier, but it was no use at all."

"You are such an idiot," Blaise muttered.

Draco's eyes flashed with anger. "I'm not the idiot!" he shouted. "Ginny shouldn't have gotten so defensive!"

"She's a Gryffindor," said Blaise, almost as angry as Draco. "What were you thinking, giving her something that once belonged to Voldemort?"

"I was trying to earn back some of my father's respect."

"Your father never respected you, Draco," said Blaise. "I think you mean pride. That's all he has for you; pride."

"Well, thank you for that, Blaise," said Draco, spitting out her name in a less than friendly fashion.

"You've sacrificed far too much for that bastard you call a father," said Blaise. "He almost got you killed only last year."

"That was an accident," said Draco. "And don't talk about my father that way."

"Practising the Avada Kedavra curse on you because you forgot to kiss his feet first thing in the morning is hardly an accident," Blaise snapped. "I don't know why you put up with it."

"I do not kiss his feet first thing in the morning," said Draco. "He's my father; I have an obligation to 'put up with him' as you place it."

"You shouldn't have to," said Blaise. "You've lost far too much, and now he's in Azkaban, having ruined your life and his."

"He's not in Azkaban," Draco mumbled.

"What?"

"He's not in Azkaban," Draco said, louder this time. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a newspaper cutting.

Blaise snatched the piece of newspaper out of Draco's hand and began very quickly reading aloud: "The Dementors fail yet again: Mr. Lucius Malfoy has been said to have escaped from a high security Azkaban cell on Monday evening, just the way Sirius Black escaped only four years prior. Mr. Malfoy is certainly out of reach of the ministry by this time, and Aurors are working to the extremes, already in search of He Who Must Not Be Named and two missing Hogwarts pupils, whose names remain undisclosed due to rights of families. By this time, Aurors are also on the lookout for Mr. Malfoy, along with You Know Who and the two missing Hogwarts pupils."

Once Blaise had finished reading, she arched an eyebrow. "It's happening, Draco," she muttered. "The time has come."

"I know," said Draco. "And we've been caught on the wrong side."

"Not necessarily," said Blaise. "We can still change our ways."

"No, Blaise," said Draco. "It's too late. Especially for you."

"We can still do it," said Blaise. "Voldemort may not be forgiving, but he'd still accept us. We can just come up with a pathetic excuse. I mean to say, look at Pettigrew."

"I won't stoop to that level," said Draco.

"Even if it's a choice between life and death?" said Blaise. "We'll be some of the first to go for our betrayal."

"I choose death in any case," said Draco. "I won't make myself a smaller person in order to survive. And honestly, I didn't think you would, either. But that just goes to show how well I know you."

"You're choosing the wrong path, Draco," said Blaise. "Believe me; you'd be better off on the dark side."

"It's a choice between Potter and the death eaters," said Draco. "Take your pick, Blaise."

Blaise scowled.

"Don't want to choose, do you?" said Draco.

"I don't see why it's so hard for you," said Blaise. "It's nothing or the death eaters in your case. Yet, you choose nothing."

"It is not nothing, Blaise," said Draco. "It's everything; I have a greater chance of living here rather than under the watch of Voldemort."

"You're doing it for Ginny," said Blaise. "Admit it."

Draco said nothing.

"She doesn't even care at all," said Blaise. "Just you wait and see; tomorrow, you'll see her with someone else, your whole life will be shattered. You'll never get her back, Draco, not now."

"Is this a challenge?" said Draco.

"She didn't want you in the hospital wing to visit her," Blaise continued, taking no notice of Draco's words "and you knew it; that's why you came back here right away, without even so much as knocking on the door of that blasted infirmary."

"I thought about going," said Draco. "But I changed my mind and stayed here; I didn't even bother leaving the common room."

"But I saw you," said Blaise. "I saw you heading in the direction."

"I was here the whole time," said Draco.

"Don't lie to me, Draco Malfoy," said Blaise. "I saw you."

"You didn't see me," said Draco. "It must have been someone else."

"I know it was you," said Blaise. "You have no look alikes in this school."

"It wasn't me," said Draco. "I was here, in the common room."

"Harry was with me at the time," said Blaise. "He's a witness. He saw you; in fact, he's the one who pointed you out."

"Which brings us to the issue of Potter," said Draco. "Are you willing to get rid of Potter in order to live?"

"I may have changed my mind about that," said Blaise. "Why can't we remain neutral?"

"Your father and my mother are in Azkaban at this very minute for Lord Volde-I-can't-fend-for-myself-mort," said Draco. "My father escaped from Azkaban to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes one last time, and here you, want to remain neutral? We have two choices, Blaise, we either support him, or we fight against him."

"I'm remaining neutral," said Blaise.

"Potter's fighting," said Draco. "Are you going to remain neutral to him as well?"

"I'll support Harry in whatever he does," said Blaise. "Even if it means killing my own father."

"You'd kill your own father for a good laugh," said Draco, "or at least my Blaise would. I don't know who you are."

"Your Blaise would also put Voldemort on a pedestal and praise him for being ugly," said Blaise. "Your Blaise would never hate the dark lord. Your Blaise would pull you onto the dark side."

"All right, so you've got a point," said Draco. "We'll remain neutral until further notice."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that if Ginny forgives me we support the good side," said Draco, "but if anything happens to make me decide so, we support the dark side."

"All right with me," said Blaise. "Now, are you just lying that you didn't go to or pass by the hospital wing?"

"I was here the whole time," said Draco. "You must've seen someone else."

"Well, in that case," said Blaise, "why don't you go to the hospital wing and pay Ginny a visit?"

"All right then, I will," said Draco getting to his feet. He strode passed Blaise out of the common room, down the corridor, up a few flights of stairs, to the hospital wing.

Draco knocked three times on the hospital wing door, and only seconds later, Madam Pomfrey appeared in the doorway, looking frustrated.

"You again, Mr. Malfoy?" she said.

"What d'you mean again?" Draco asked, rather snobbishly.

"I'm afraid Miss. Weasley is indisposed," said Madam Pomfrey, scowling at Draco's unintended rudeness. "I'll tell her you dropped by again."

"I haven't come by yet," said Draco. "Could IÂ just see her?"

"She needs her rest," said Madam Pomfrey. "Come back tomorrow."

"She needs her rest?" said Draco. "You say that all the time, when really, the patient wants to see people, rather than be bored all day."

"You were just here, Mr. Malfoy," said Madam Pomfrey. "You had your chance."

"Madam Pomfrey," said Draco, exasperatedly. "Look, I don't know why you don't want me dropping by to visit a friend, but it isn't nice."

"Mr. Malfoy, you're becoming an annoyance," said Madam Pomfrey. "However, just this once I'll let you see Miss. Weasley. But I'm only giving you fifteen minutes."

Draco nodded his head, and pushed passed Madam Pomfrey, causing her to scowl.

Madam Pomfrey promptly hurried off into her office as she did so often.

"She's definitely up to something in there," Draco mused, strolling over to where Ginny was sitting up in her bed.

"Why are you here again?" said Ginny, a scowl on her face.

"Just thought you might need some company," said Draco, good-naturedly. "And what do you mean by 'again?'"

"You were here only about ten minutes ago," said Ginny. "And even then you were a complete nuisance."

"I was not," said Draco. "All you people are crazy; I've been in the common room ever since tea."

"You did come up here," said Ginny. "And you started talking about the gossip union."

Draco raised his eyebrow. "How's that going, anyway?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "As if you don't know," she muttered. "You told me to keep the pictures to myself."

"After wasting all that time?" said Draco. "I would never..."

"Oh, but you did," said Ginny. "And you weren't nice about it at all."

"I think you've invented my visit," said Draco. "And I don't know why."

"You were here," said Ginny. "And you were being really nasty."

"I was not," said Draco. "And I wouldn't blame myself for being nasty after the way you acted today in the dungeons."

"I still haven't forgiven you," said Ginny. "I don't think I ever will."

"What if I throw the coin away?" Draco asked.

"That doesn't undo anything," Ginny snapped.

Draco looked down at the ground as if expecting an answer to appear. Finally, he looked up at Ginny, or rather, he glared at her. "Fine," he said. "If you're going to act that way, maybe I don't need you."

"Blaise was wrong all the while about us," said Ginny. "I never did need you; all you've done is make life a hassle."

"You've lost me the respect of my father," said Draco. "And he's no longer proud of having a son. In fact, I'm now shameful to the Malfoy name."

"My brothers hate you," said Ginny. "And my friends too."

"My whole house hates you," said Draco. "And they have every right to."

"My whole house, the entire Ravenclaw house, and the entire Hufflepuff house hate you," said Ginny. "With good reason."

"I hate you," said Draco, without thinking before he spoke.

Ginny swallowed hard. "I've always hated you," she said, voice choked. "I don't know why I wasted my time with you."

"It's because you're stupid," said Draco, instantly realizing that these words were slightly insulting to himself.

"I was stupid to ever regret breaking up with you," said Ginny. "I can't stand you."

"You know, I wish I hadn't told you about the coin," said Draco. "And I wish it actually did have some special power, because then something terrible could've happened to you, and I wouldn't care."

"I wish I'd never met you," said Ginny. "Because then I'd be happy."

"I wish I had gone to Durmstrang," said Draco, "I wouldn't have to put up with this kind of riff raff at Durmstrang."

"You don't have to put up with it," Ginny snapped. "Your could just leave right now and put me out of my misery."

Draco didn't move and Ginny stared at him, expecting him to leave.

"Well, go on then," she said.

"Don't I get a parting kiss?" Draco asked.

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him.

"Then I'm not leaving," said Draco, sitting down on the chair beside Ginny's bed.

"Madam Pomfrey will make you leave," said Ginny.

"She'll have to chase me out of here with half a dozen blast-ended screwts to get rid of me," said Draco. "I don't think the old bird's up for it."

"You'll have to leave eventually," said Ginny. "All I have to do is ignore you until then."

"Then I'll just bother you until then," said Draco. "But I won't leave. Not until someone explains to me what's going on."

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't come up here before," said Draco. "But everyone seems to think I did."

"You did," said Ginny.

"How can you be sure it was me?" asked Draco. "The last I saw of you was in the dungeons. After that, I decided not to bother."

Ginny looked puzzled for a moment. "Why are you lying?"

"I could ask you the same thing," said Draco. "And in the end, you know I'll be the one who's right."

"Just leave," said Ginny. "I don't want you here."

"Ooh, am I bringing you down?" Draco teased. "Is little Ginny afraid? We all know how afraid of me you are; absurd if you ask me."

Ginny picked up a pillow and hit Draco with it. "I am not afraid," she snapped.

"Not right now you aren't," said Draco. "But you go through these phases."

"Fine," said Ginny. "If you really need to know the truth, you look just like your father, and I would rather not kiss your father."

"And thank the lord for that," said Draco. "But I don't look that much like him. Not enough for it to be scary at all."

"Not at the moment," said Ginny. "But in the dark, you look exactly like him."

"So would anyone else with blonde hair," said Draco. "That doesn't mean anything."

"And when you came down earlier," said Ginny, "you looked like him then."

"I didn't even come down," said Draco.

"But you don't look like him now," said Ginny. "It's your hair, I think."

Draco, however, had not been listening. "How could I be so blind?" he said. "It wasn't me at all before; it was someone else. Maybe it was my father..."

"He's in Azkaban," said Ginny.

"He escaped, last night," said Draco. "It was in the Prophet this morning."

"I didn't read the paper today," said Ginny. "In fact, I don't even think I had one delivered... That's odd."

"My father escaped from Azkaban," said Draco. "Then he came here; that's what happened."

"But it wasn't him," said Ginny. "It was you."

"But you said I looked like my father earlier," said Draco. "But I don't recall coming here, which means it was my father."

"I said you resembled him," said Ginny; "I can tell the difference between you and your father."

"He must've done something to look like me," said Draco. "Ah... Polyjuice Potion?"

Ginny's eyebrows knitted. "You really think he's here?"

"It sounds like a damn good explanation to me," said Draco.

"But hold on," said Ginny. "He knew about what we did last week. He was talking about Colin and Pansy going missing. Surely your father wouldn't know about that? You even knew about the gossip union."

"He knew," Draco corrected. "It wasn't me, it was him."

"I don't understand," said Ginny. "You don't look like your father right now, but in the dungeons you did."

"Lighting," said Draco. "It must've been the darkness."

"How do I know you're the real Draco?" said Ginny.

Draco looked pensive for a moment or two, then he swooped down and kissed Ginny. "Is that good enough?" he said, after breaking the kiss.

"Is there more?" Ginny asked. "I'm not convinced."

"If I'm not Draco, are you sure you want to go about kissing me?" said Draco.

"Just one more," said Ginny. "Just to be sure."

"I thought you hated me?" said Draco.

"I hate the other person," said Ginny. "The one who was here before."

"Oh, okay," said Draco. "But he's still running around the school and we have to find him."

"I want to come too!" said Ginny. "You can't go all by yourself."

"Tell Madam Pomfrey you're feeling better then," said Draco. "Tell her you were lying right from the start."

"Fine," said Ginny. "Wait for me."

"I'll meet you back here in five minutes," said Draco. "In the meantime, you tell Madam Pomfrey to let you go." And then he kissed her on the forehead and fled from the hospital wing.