Because of you

Chapter 19

Hermione looks over at me and I give her a questioning look. She doesn't say anything, she just looks away and stares at the ground. My eyes scan her body to see what's wrong and that's when I realize that...

Hermione is holding Ron's hand. I look back up at her but she avoids my gaze. My mouth falls open and it feels like my chest is getting ready to explode. Mother grabs my hand, but I shake her off and go sprinting after Ginny. If I don't focus on Ron and Hermione maybe it won't hurt as much. Plus something's clearly wrong and Ginny might need help. Or someone to talk to at the very least.

I'm not sure where Ginny ran off to, but I keep running in the general direction she left in. It looks like she's heading to the Forbidden Forest. It wouldn't really surprise me honestly. None of the Golden Trio would bother her here. They probably wouldn't expect that this is the first place she would go. I know differently though. One night I was going for a walk and Ginny was just sitting out here. We sat together and talked and I figured out that she actually comes here a lot.

I slow down to a walk as I enter the forest. Running can sometimes be dangerous if you run across the wrong creature. The Forbidden Forest is still a very dangerous place and it probably always will be. At least the Dark Lord isn't hiding in here anymore. If he was, I wouldn't be quite so willing to walk here. He's long dead though, so the forest is safe again. Well, as safe as it can be.

"What's wrong?" I ask Ginny as I sit down beside her.

"Nothing." She lies as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

"Ginny,  I know you better than that."

"Nothing's wrong, Draco. Just leave me alone."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I told you to."

"When has that ever worked?"

Ginny turns to glare at me, but she ends up just shaking her head. I sigh and wrap an arm around shoulders and pull her closer. She sighs and relaxes a little bit. Her head falls on to my shoulder and I pull her into an awkward side hug. Ginny doesn't seem to mind though. She hugs me back and snuggles a little bit closer. We sit there for a little bit longer before I realize that she's trying to hold back her tears.

"It's okay to cry, Gin." I whisper.

"Why would I be crying?" She asks sarcastically.

"I don't know. You haven't told me what happened."

"That's because nothing happened."

"Something must have happened. You're upset, Gin."

"Nothing happened, Draco."

"Something must have happened. You usually don't just run out of buildings almost in tears for no reason."

"Maybe I do."

"I know you don't."

"Whatever."

Ginny spins out of my grasp and turns her back to me. She crosses her arms and stares at the tree in front of her. I sigh and turn to face her back. Nothing happens for a few minutes. It looks like she really isn't going to talk to me. As a few more minutes pass, I decide that maybe I don't need to know what happened. Being here for her is the best I can do right now. I kneel behind her and wrap my arms around her before placing my forehead on her shoulder.

Ginny doesn't move. She doesn't flinch, but she doesn't relax either. After a few more minutes, she finally breaks down. Her shoulders start to shake and I look up and see that she's sobbing. I sit back and pull her into my lap. She turns around and starts crying in to my chest. We sit like that for a long time. It's probably at least an hour before Ginny finally stops crying.