A Sorrowful Goodbye

A Sorrowful Goodbye

...And in a hidden corner of the Great Hall, a small, red-haired girl stood wishing desperately for what she once had.

The weather on the eve of Ginny's departure from Hogwarts' was bleak and rainy. It seemed to match her mood exactly. She was standing in the Great Hall, staring out the window at the charcoal colored rooftops of Hogwarts.

She sighed, and turned around, leaning on the windowsill. The Great Hall looked very empty - everyone else had gone to bed. The long tables of the Hall that had been filled with delicious food just hours before were folded against the walls. Professor Flitwick had taken down all the decorations that usually lined the Hall. The only things left were the massive banners depicting Gryffindor's championship of house cup. Ginny smiled at the memory. She hadn't imagined that her house would have been able to win after the horrid Professor Umbridge came to Hogwarts, but they had managed to win anyway. She felt a flicker of satisfaction at having helped her house to win - she had been one of the few students to confront the evilest wizard of the magic world.

A door creaked open in the empty Hall, and Ginny jerked her head up at the sound. Someone was coming in! Was it a teacher? If it was, she would surely be in trouble; students were supposed to be in bed now - it was 11:30 at night.

Ginny quickly ducked into a crevice in the wall. The stone scratched against her bare shoulders, and she cringed at the thought of it ripping her pajamas. She waited silently for whoever was out there to come in.

The door shut quietly. Ginny heard footsteps against the stone floor of the Great Hall. A figure went to the very window that she had been peering out. The person was not a teacher; Ginny could barely make out the student robes. She wasn't sure what house the person belonged to, but she could see the person had pale hair. She squinted, trying to discern whom it was. No teacher she knew had hair that color - the light of the moon was tinting it faintly silver. She watched as the person slid a pale, pale hand out from their robes and slid it onto the windowsill. They raised their head to gaze out at the bleak sky.

As the moon fell on the upturned face, Ginny let out a little gasp: it was Draco Malfoy, nastiest, rudest, most sarcastic Slytherin in the entire school. The figure froze at her cry, and slowly turned to face her. Ginny had never wished so much that her hair hadn't been such a deep red - it would surely stand out against the gray stone of the castle.

"Who's there?" Malfoy asked sharply.

Ginny didn't speak. She could feel the pulse in her neck beating steadily in the silence of the large room.

Malfoy stormed from the window in her direction. As he drew nearer, she could see that he had noticed someone was standing in the crevice. She lowered her head, trying to hide her suddenly burning cheeks. She watched through her cascading hair as his arm shot out and yanked on it. She stifled a scream as she stumbled into the candlelight.

"Weasley? " gasped Malfoy, sounded truly shocked.

"Yes, Malfoy" snapped Ginny, finding her voice. "It's me, and I have a name!!" Her breath was ragged and quick. But not so strange as her heartbeat.

Malfoy gazed at her, a lazy smirk on his lips. "Yes, as do I."

She stood there, staring at him. She could feel her mouth hanging slightly open as she watched him. Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders. His hands were cool, a refreshing breeze on that hot day. Her eyes met his. They were a liquid silver - bright with gentle malice.

"Say it," he demanded.

"Say what?"

"My name!"

Ginny paused, unsure of where this was leading, unsure if she even wanted to know.

"Draco."

He smiled, his white teeth shining like pearls in the candlelight.

"Thank you," he said.

Then his face bent towards her. A lock of blond hair fell from his temple onto her forehead. She felt his hands reach behind her head, caressing her tense neck. She stumbled in surprise, and caught at his robes for support. As she touched him, he thrust his face to hers and kissed her.

The kiss was surprisingly gentle, for such a sharp-witted boy. His lips were cool against her own very warm ones. She was barely aware of her hair tumbling down from its bun. He grasped at it, fingering its delicacy. His mouth was soft, like his touch. Fireflies danced upon her closed eyelids like guiding stars in a lonely night. There was a rising sensation in her stomach, much like the feeling when she had chased the Snitch at the fastest speeds. She clung to him, and he to her.

She didn't want that kiss to ever end, and he seemed not to either. But at the sound of an opening door, they sprang apart, as if their passion had grown too hot to touch. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes still strangely soft from their embrace. Ginny quickly tucked her hair behind her ears, aware of how disheveled they must appear.

It was Harry. His black hair was messy, as usual. His green eyes were intense with worry. "Ginny?" he called. She cast a quick glance at Draco, who ducked into the crevice she had recently hid in.

Harry went to meet her, holding himself high and importantly. When they met, he grasped her hands in his. His eyes searched her own, sparkling in the glow. "Ginny," he breathed. Then he smiled, the dazzle in his eyes fading. "Come on, Gin, we've got to get to bed. I know the past few days have been hard, but you'll be all right now."

He grabbed her arm, as if she was too weak to support herself. Draco hadn't made her feel like that. He had made her feel strong and capable.

She pulled her arm out of Harry's. "It's okay, Harry, I can make it on my own. I'll catch up in a minute."

He gazed into her eyes. They pierced her, surprisingly sharper than Draco's had been. "No, I think that we'd better go together."

She sighed in annoyance. "Listen, Harry, I'm perfectly capable on my own. You don't need to play hero and rescue me."

Harry stared at her for a moment in shock. Then, his eyes flashed in anger, boiling like one of Snape's nasty potions. "Fine, Ginny." He scowled at her. "I'll see you later, then."

He sharply stormed to the Hall door, opened it without a backwards glance, and slammed it behind him.

Ginny couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt at the _expression on his face. She hadn't meant to hurt him; she'd only wanted him to leave her alone with Draco. She smiled to herself at that thought; if she had been told that she would one day want to be alone in a room with Draco Malfoy, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it. But now, now it didn't seem wrong at all. It seemed so right. So perfect. So... wonderful.

She turned towards the crevice that hid Draco, and was surprised to find him already striding toward her. She began to smile at him, and realized that he was not looking at her, but at the door where Harry had just left. Her eyebrows furrowed as a frown appeared on her face.

She grabbed Draco's sleeve as he strode by her, but he only turned and pushed her. She stumbled backwards, partly from the blow, but mostly from shock, and hit the hard, cold wall. She couldn't help thinking that that wall was welcoming when compared with his heart.

"Draco!" she called desperately. "What are you doing?"

He stopped, body stiff in annoyance, and yelled over his shoulder, "I'm going after Potter!"

She felt her mouth drop open. "But...why?"

He turned to face her, eyes dark in anger. "None of your business!"

With that, he left the Great Hall in the same manner that Harry had done. Only, this time, the slamming door seemed much, much more final.

And in a hidden corner of the Great Hall, a small, red-haired girl stood wishing desperately for what she once had.