A Harry Potter Fanfic

Chapter 26

----------- Chapter 26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione casts a furtive glance in my direction before getting up to open the door. I glance up and the familiar red hair tells me Ginny Weasley is here.

               “What do you want?” I ask sourly from my bed.

Ginny rolls her eyes at me and turns to face Hermione instead. “What happened Hermione? Ron and Harry told me to come up and see what happened...they seem worried?” she asks uncertainly.

               “Oh...umm, nothing. Just talking to De. Why don’t you tell the guys to relax and get to class?” Hermione suggests sweetly, walking Ginny out the door and towards the stairs.

She re-emerges moments later, her face serious.

               “What do I do?” I croak quietly, blinking back the tears.

               “There’s nothing to do except to speak to Draco, De. You need to hear him out. Maybe there’s a reason he says the things he does,” she whispers, patting my back.

               “He slept with me, Hermione! And then decides he doesn’t want to be with me!” I nearly yell.

               “De! Draco is 18 and you’re 15! You can’t possibly tell me you can imagine getting married at this point, can you?! Yes, you slept with him. Do I think it was dumb? Yes, I do. But it happened. Now, before you go insane, you need to get closure. If you want to, end it! But stop mopping!” Hermione mutters, looking crossed.

               “So you’re gonna take his side?” I ask quietly, hurt that my friend would take Draco’s side over mine.

               “I’m not taking sides...but you’re acting like a child! A relationship is never a bed of roses, De! It’s time to wake up and open your eyes!” she murmurs strictly, her hand still on my shoulder.

I shrug her hand off and walk back down the stairs.

               “Deid! Thank Merlin!” Draco mumbles, jumping up from one of the overstuffed armchairs, his face weary.

               “I didn’t come down to talk to you,” I mumble meanly, turning my back to him.

               “Wait a second! What is going on?!” Harry asks incredulously.

               “It’s nothing. I just need to clear my head,” I respond, already walking towards the portrait.

I jog down the corridor and all the stairs until I’m finally in the grounds. I walk towards the shady part of the courtyard overlooking the ocean.

               “Hermione told me,” a voice calls over my shoulder, making me jump.

I turn around to see Ron staring at me intently.

               “You look cold,” he mumbles handing me his huge jacket. It wasn’t until he mentioned it that I felt cold. I gratefully took the jacket and put it on, turning back to stare at the ocean.

               “It’s so beautiful up here,” I mumble, transfixed on the calm waters.

               “I reckon the ocean is kinda like life...it changes all the time; from still and calm to choppy and dangerous,” he adds, his voice closer to me now.

I nod my head in agreement but decide not to say anything. I can tell Ron is about to begin his lecture, and to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered to try and avoid it.

               “Why did you rush it?” he asks a moment later.

               “It felt like the right thing to do,” I answer softly, deciding the truth would serve me well.

               “But you’re only 15, and you’ve only known him several months,” Ron continues, trying to keep the judgement out of his voice.

               “You know how you just know Hermione is right for you? I know Draco is right for me,” I begin, trying to word it out.

               “If it was so right, why are you crying?” he asks sharply. I can tell his patience is wearing thin.

               “Fine! I made a mistake! A huge bloody mistake! But when I admit that, it makes me sound like a desperate...slut!” I admit, my voice trembling.

               “So I’m a mistake?” Draco’s deep voice calls from further down the courtyard. I whirl around to see him. He has a pained expression on his face.

               “Yes,” I whisper, dropping my eyes to the ground.

               “Maybe you should have said that before you slept with me yesterday. It may not have meant a thing to you...but it did to me,” he murmurs, his voice cold and hard.

               “Sure didn’t seem like it meant anything to you at all this morning!” I fire back, my voice trembling with anger.

               “I do care! More than you could ever understand! If I didn’t care I would do the selfish thing and let you sacrifice everything for me! You think I don’t like the idea of spending time together?! I do! But I don’t want you to have to give up your teenage years to me because of something that may just be fleeting!” Draco shouts, his cheeks red.

               “Fleeting?! You think I would sleep with you if what we had was fleeting?! You think I’m some kind of a slut?!” I scream back.

               “Wait! What?!” A voice thunders from further back.  Oh crap! Only one person that voice could belong to! “You raped my cousin?!” Harry shouts, his face livid, his balled up into fists. He hurtles himself at Draco with a violent glint in his eyes.