Ginny left the Astronomy tower later that night feeling drained. She had been struggling a bit with the subject, and so had signed up for a weekly study session. She was the only Gryffindor to do so, so it was a little lonely. Not that that really mattered, but it made the walk back to Gryffindor tower that much longer.
As she reached the seventh floor landing, she was startled by a door slamming above her head. Choosing to ignore it, as it was more than likely Peeves causing trouble, she started down the next set of stairs. She had one more flight down, then a rather long walk through several corridors, before finally climbing up to the location of Gryffindor tower.
She had only stepped onto the first stair when she heard a loud crash behind her. Ginny spun around and gasped. Something, or someone, was tumbling down the stairs she had just descended. Ginny leaped out of the way as the thing came toward her.
It came to rest at the bottom of the stairs and groaned. It was obviously human. Ginny jumped forward and rolled the person onto their back. She pulled the tangled robes off of their head, trying not to jostle their recently acquired bruises.
The pale face and tangled, silvery-blond hair could only belong to one person. Draco Malfoy groaned again and tried to roll back over. Ginny nearly gagged on the smell of alcohol on his breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed in exasperation. She couldn’t very well leave him in the middle of the floor. There was no one else around to ditch him on, either.
Ginny heaved a disgruntled sigh and pulled Malfoy to his feet. He leaned heavily on her and hiccupped. Lifting a hand to his bruised head, he groaned for a third time.
“Thank goodness we’re on the seventh floor,” Ginny told him, even though he had no clue she was even there. “We won’t have too far to go. Which is good, because you’re pretty heavy.”
She made her unsteady way through the halls, trying to support his limp weight without falling. Finally she stopped and lowered Malfoy to the floor beneath an ugly tapestry, relieved to be free of him for a moment. She grumbled and stomped past the blank wall three times, thinking angrily, I need a place to hide this drunken idiot.
The door to the Room of Requirement appeared and Ginny bent down to retrieve Malfoy. He swiped at her, giving a grumpy grunt and mumbling something about sleeping more. She pulled him up roughly, making sure to grip him extra tight. Why bother being nice. He wouldn’t extend her the same courtesy.
He lifted his head and blinked bleary-eyed at her. “Wha’ d’you wan’?” he asked, his rancid breath washing over her cheek.
“Shut up, Malfoy,” Ginny snapped irritably. She shoved open the door and dragged him inside. It slammed shut behind them and she took a second to look around.
Two couches, both facing a raging fire, were situated in the room. Between these was a small table. A cauldron and potions component cupboard were set against one wall along with the recipe for a sobering draught. Convenient, Ginny thought dryly.
On the wall opposite the cauldron sat a linens cabinet. Ginny was sure that blankets could be found in there. The couches each had a blanket on them, but with the nights getting colder, one might not cut it.
She shifted Malfoy in her grasp to prevent him from falling as she made her way to the couches. It seemed like forever before they made it because of the slow pace she was forced to take due to Malfoy’s added weight. Panting slightly, she lowered the Slytherin boy onto one of the couches.
Dropping to the floor next to him, Ginny pulled off her school robes. Dragging Malfoy around had left her feeling too hot. Even just the t-shirt and pants she was wearing underneath her robes seemed stifling.
Malfoy moaned and raised his arm to cover his eyes. He never quite made it, however, as he lost consciousness before he’d even gotten half-way there. He really did look quite pitiful. His face had a slightly greenish tinge and his hair was tangled and sticking out every which way.
Ginny got to work loosening his robes. He had spilled Firewhisky down his front, leaving a large, wet, smelly stain. Ginny avoided this area as well as she could, but her eyes watered from the scent.
When she finished with his robes, she got a piece of cloth and some water and began bathing his face. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she growled. She wiped the sweat off of his forehead and dipped it back in the basin.
As she ran the cloth over his cheek, she noticed something clenched in his fist. Glancing at his face to make sure he was still out, Ginny pried it out and unwadded it. It was a letter.
Feeling slightly guilty, she began to read.
Ginny glanced back at Malfoy in surprise. She had not been expecting this. Had he gotten drunk because he was upset over his failure or, less likely, because he didn’t want to follow Voldemort? She couldn’t see him defying his parents in such a way. Lucius was a very avid follower of the Dark Lord and would certainly expect his son to do the same.
The object of her scrutiny began to squirm, reminding Ginny that she was supposed to be trying to make him more comfortable. She ran the cloth over his forehead again, noticing the contrast between the cool cloth and his warm skin.
She sighed, this time sadly. “Malfoy. Why did you have to tumble at my feet? I don’t want to have to deal with you.”
He moaned. Then he began to shout, “No! No! I don’t want to! I can’t do it!” His face contorted in fear and mild disgust.
Ginny jumped in fright, then, realizing that he wasn’t yelling at her, tried to calm him. She made shushing noises like her mum had done when one of the children had nightmares and smoothed her hands through his hair. She continued wiping his face with the cloth.
Malfoy seemed to settle down under her ministrations, but then he flung his arms outward, pushing Ginny away violently, and yelled, “Well kill me then! I won’t do it!”
Ginny grabbed his hands and pulled them back down. “No one’s here, Draco,” she murmured. “You’re safe. Shh!” She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, talking to him softly, hoping to keep him calm.
After about half an hour, he fell into a deep sleep. His cheeks were flushed from his yelling, but at least he’d stopped. Ginny sat back on her heels, more exhausted than ever. But she wasn’t done yet.
Heaving a sigh, she pulled herself up off the floor and headed over to the cupboard. Glancing over the directions, she pulled out the necessary components. When she had them all, she set the cauldron over the fire and began the process of making the sobering potion.
Ginny rolled up her sleeves and began cutting, smashing, and pealing each item as specified. Carefully following the instructions, she put them into the cauldron and stirred them together. As it boiled, she looked back at Malfoy and wiped the sweat off her face. You’d better make this up to me somehow, she mentally told him.
A couple of minutes later, his nightmares started up again. Once more, she found herself at his side, stroking his hair and trying to comfort him. Her voice became hoarse from whispering to him for so long, but she kept at it. He managed to knock her to the floor a couple more times, and she discovered that by sitting on the edge of his couch, she could escape that.
When she was finally able to go to her own couch and fall asleep, she swore that she would never get up. She also promised herself that she’d find someone to walk with after her Astronomy study sessions so that this couldn’t happen again. “Miserable git,” she muttered as she drifted off to sleep.
As she reached the seventh floor landing, she was startled by a door slamming above her head. Choosing to ignore it, as it was more than likely Peeves causing trouble, she started down the next set of stairs. She had one more flight down, then a rather long walk through several corridors, before finally climbing up to the location of Gryffindor tower.
She had only stepped onto the first stair when she heard a loud crash behind her. Ginny spun around and gasped. Something, or someone, was tumbling down the stairs she had just descended. Ginny leaped out of the way as the thing came toward her.
It came to rest at the bottom of the stairs and groaned. It was obviously human. Ginny jumped forward and rolled the person onto their back. She pulled the tangled robes off of their head, trying not to jostle their recently acquired bruises.
The pale face and tangled, silvery-blond hair could only belong to one person. Draco Malfoy groaned again and tried to roll back over. Ginny nearly gagged on the smell of alcohol on his breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed in exasperation. She couldn’t very well leave him in the middle of the floor. There was no one else around to ditch him on, either.
Ginny heaved a disgruntled sigh and pulled Malfoy to his feet. He leaned heavily on her and hiccupped. Lifting a hand to his bruised head, he groaned for a third time.
“Thank goodness we’re on the seventh floor,” Ginny told him, even though he had no clue she was even there. “We won’t have too far to go. Which is good, because you’re pretty heavy.”
She made her unsteady way through the halls, trying to support his limp weight without falling. Finally she stopped and lowered Malfoy to the floor beneath an ugly tapestry, relieved to be free of him for a moment. She grumbled and stomped past the blank wall three times, thinking angrily, I need a place to hide this drunken idiot.
The door to the Room of Requirement appeared and Ginny bent down to retrieve Malfoy. He swiped at her, giving a grumpy grunt and mumbling something about sleeping more. She pulled him up roughly, making sure to grip him extra tight. Why bother being nice. He wouldn’t extend her the same courtesy.
He lifted his head and blinked bleary-eyed at her. “Wha’ d’you wan’?” he asked, his rancid breath washing over her cheek.
“Shut up, Malfoy,” Ginny snapped irritably. She shoved open the door and dragged him inside. It slammed shut behind them and she took a second to look around.
Two couches, both facing a raging fire, were situated in the room. Between these was a small table. A cauldron and potions component cupboard were set against one wall along with the recipe for a sobering draught. Convenient, Ginny thought dryly.
On the wall opposite the cauldron sat a linens cabinet. Ginny was sure that blankets could be found in there. The couches each had a blanket on them, but with the nights getting colder, one might not cut it.
She shifted Malfoy in her grasp to prevent him from falling as she made her way to the couches. It seemed like forever before they made it because of the slow pace she was forced to take due to Malfoy’s added weight. Panting slightly, she lowered the Slytherin boy onto one of the couches.
Dropping to the floor next to him, Ginny pulled off her school robes. Dragging Malfoy around had left her feeling too hot. Even just the t-shirt and pants she was wearing underneath her robes seemed stifling.
Malfoy moaned and raised his arm to cover his eyes. He never quite made it, however, as he lost consciousness before he’d even gotten half-way there. He really did look quite pitiful. His face had a slightly greenish tinge and his hair was tangled and sticking out every which way.
Ginny got to work loosening his robes. He had spilled Firewhisky down his front, leaving a large, wet, smelly stain. Ginny avoided this area as well as she could, but her eyes watered from the scent.
When she finished with his robes, she got a piece of cloth and some water and began bathing his face. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she growled. She wiped the sweat off of his forehead and dipped it back in the basin.
As she ran the cloth over his cheek, she noticed something clenched in his fist. Glancing at his face to make sure he was still out, Ginny pried it out and unwadded it. It was a letter.
Feeling slightly guilty, she began to read.
Draco,
I must say, I have been disappointed at your lack of correspondence. Every one of my letters has remained unanswered. Your mother is quite anxious, and, frankly, I expected more of you. Didn’t I teach you to respect me?
If you are still upset over you failure to kill that fool, Dumbledore, last year, shutting us out will not help. The Dark Lord has offered to overlook your mistake and would like to assign you another task.
I know this will be favourable to you, so I have taken the liberty of accepting his kind offer. When you visit for Christmas, I will give you the details. Until then, keep your ears open. You never know what you will overhear
-Lucius Malfoy
Ginny glanced back at Malfoy in surprise. She had not been expecting this. Had he gotten drunk because he was upset over his failure or, less likely, because he didn’t want to follow Voldemort? She couldn’t see him defying his parents in such a way. Lucius was a very avid follower of the Dark Lord and would certainly expect his son to do the same.
The object of her scrutiny began to squirm, reminding Ginny that she was supposed to be trying to make him more comfortable. She ran the cloth over his forehead again, noticing the contrast between the cool cloth and his warm skin.
She sighed, this time sadly. “Malfoy. Why did you have to tumble at my feet? I don’t want to have to deal with you.”
He moaned. Then he began to shout, “No! No! I don’t want to! I can’t do it!” His face contorted in fear and mild disgust.
Ginny jumped in fright, then, realizing that he wasn’t yelling at her, tried to calm him. She made shushing noises like her mum had done when one of the children had nightmares and smoothed her hands through his hair. She continued wiping his face with the cloth.
Malfoy seemed to settle down under her ministrations, but then he flung his arms outward, pushing Ginny away violently, and yelled, “Well kill me then! I won’t do it!”
Ginny grabbed his hands and pulled them back down. “No one’s here, Draco,” she murmured. “You’re safe. Shh!” She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, talking to him softly, hoping to keep him calm.
After about half an hour, he fell into a deep sleep. His cheeks were flushed from his yelling, but at least he’d stopped. Ginny sat back on her heels, more exhausted than ever. But she wasn’t done yet.
Heaving a sigh, she pulled herself up off the floor and headed over to the cupboard. Glancing over the directions, she pulled out the necessary components. When she had them all, she set the cauldron over the fire and began the process of making the sobering potion.
Ginny rolled up her sleeves and began cutting, smashing, and pealing each item as specified. Carefully following the instructions, she put them into the cauldron and stirred them together. As it boiled, she looked back at Malfoy and wiped the sweat off her face. You’d better make this up to me somehow, she mentally told him.
A couple of minutes later, his nightmares started up again. Once more, she found herself at his side, stroking his hair and trying to comfort him. Her voice became hoarse from whispering to him for so long, but she kept at it. He managed to knock her to the floor a couple more times, and she discovered that by sitting on the edge of his couch, she could escape that.
When she was finally able to go to her own couch and fall asleep, she swore that she would never get up. She also promised herself that she’d find someone to walk with after her Astronomy study sessions so that this couldn’t happen again. “Miserable git,” she muttered as she drifted off to sleep.
Author notes: How's that, my pretties? I know it's short, but this is one of my favourite chapters! And do you know what would make my day?? REVIEWS!!! I love reviews. especially from you guys. Granted, you're the only people who could, conceivably, give them... but, hey! I would like to thank dancingonstars, Rosalie, and psyche for reviewing!
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