Everybody's Fool (part 3/11 of the Fallen Series)
Series Title: The Fallen Series
Chapter Title: Everybody’s Fool
Rating: PG
Summary: Ginny has a secret.
**********
“No flaws when you’re pretending
But I know she never was and never will be
You don’t know how you’ve betrayed me
And somehow you’ve got everybody fooled”
-- “Everybody’s Fool” by Evanescence
********
“Checkmate!”
Harry frowned at the board, then gave the same look to his best friend. “How is it every year I get worse at this game?”
Ron grinned, setting up the board again. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Harry and Ron sat in the common room, a chessboard between them. Much to Hermione’s disapproval, they had opted to spend their Saturday afternoon lounging around rather than working on all the assignments they had due in the coming days.
Sitting in a cushy chair by the fireplace, her Transfiguration text open in her lap, Hermione gave them a disapproving huff. Ron and Harry smirked at each other in response.
“Here we go again, mate,” Ron laughed.
Hermione closed her book. “You two do realize that these classes count more now than they ever did, correct?”
“Hermione,” Ron sighed with a roll of his eyes, “You say that every year.”
“I do not,” she protested. “You know, sooner or later, you’ll *have* to do your work.”
“And at the moment, we’ve decided on later,” Ron grinned, and Harry laughed, nodding in agreement.
“You two are a lost cause,” she muttered under her breath as she reached beside her chair and grabbed her bag. She pulled out her morning copy of The Daily Prophet before dropping her bag back to the ground.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her as she unfolded the paper and began to read. “That doesn’t look like homework from where I’m sitting, Hermione.”
Not looking up from her paper, she replied, “Well, someone in this group needs to keep informed.”
Harry didn’t ask what she meant because he understood. If anything out of the ordinary happened in the wizarding world, it would automatically show up in The Daily Prophet. So if they ever wanted any hint of Voldemort, his whereabouts, or his activities, that would be the first place they would need to look.
In the back of his mind, Harry was grateful that Hermione had taken on that role. He was paranoid enough without reading the newspaper every morning and trying to see the truth written between the lines.
“Ready to give it another go?” Ron asked as he finished setting up the board.
Harry turned to him with a slight smirk. “You’re enjoying this too much, Ron.”
“Hey,” he laughed. “You’re good at Quidditch. I’m good at Wizards Chess.”
“Speaking of Quidditch,” Harry replied, making a move with his bishop, “I’m still feeling weird about this captain thing. I know you wanted it.”
When Professor McGonagall had informed him that he had been made captain of the team this year, he had been almost certain that he had heard her wrong. It took her verifying it a second time before the realness of the situation had sunk in for him.
Ron shrugged it off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Harry, mate, don’t worry about it. You’re the leader of the group, and you’re a bloody natural at the game.” He smiled happily at him. “The choice makes perfect sense.”
Harry returned the smile, a bit relieved that this wouldn’t come between them like he had feared. He made another cautious move across the board before speaking again, “As soon as I see Ginny, I’ll let her know the chaser position is hers if she wants it.”
“You know,” Ron said, looking up with a slight frown, “she *has* been missing a lot recently.” He turned to Hermione, who was still reading her paper. “Have you seen her around more than we have?”
Hermione looked up, her brow furrowed as she pondered that. “I see her at meals just like the two of you. Occasionally, I pass her in the dorms at night.” She shook her head a bit. “I’m sure she’s just busy with studying. It *is* her OWL year after all. Remember how fanatical we became about studying?”
“Um, Hermione, that was mostly you,” Harry replied.
“All you, to be exact,” Ron amended.
She narrowed her eyes at them. “Well, either way, I’m sure she’s just a bit overwhelmed with the work. Once she gets her head above water, we’ll see her around more.”
Ron frowned a bit. “You don’t know Ginny. When she gets quiet like this, it could only mean she’s starting trouble somewhere.” He added, his frown deepening, “Trouble that *I* will more than likely be blamed for.”
“How odd,” Hermione said from her chair.
Ron gave her a confused look. “That I’ll get the blame if the little brat gets in trouble?”
“No,” Hermione replied with a frown, looking up from her paper. “Seems there's been a surge in missing people reports locally.”
“Missing people?” Harry asked cautiously, feeling his insides tightening up upon themselves.
Hermione nodded, scanning the article with her finger as she paraphrased for her friends. “Apparently, there have been five recent reports of young wizards disappearing without a trace within the past month. No one seems to have any idea where they’ve gone.”
Harry frowned, standing and making his way over to Hermione’s chair. “Five people have disappeared in a month and they just *now* find it newsworthy?” he asked, irritated at what he was hearing.
Hermione nodded, handing him the paper to read for himself. “They felt the disappearances were just random events. Not worth reporting.”
“Now they don’t seem so random,” harry muttered, his eyes skimming the article.
“You don’t think it’s--” Ron hesitated, clearing his throat. “--You-Know-Who, do you?”
Hermione declared negative as Harry said the opposite. Ron looked at them nervously, bracing himself for the raging argument to come as Harry turned his gaze from the paper to Hermione.
“No?!” he asked. “You did read *this* article, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she replied with a slow nod. “But, but there’s no real proof here that he’s in any way involved. We simply have five missing people which, yes, is quite odd, but that’s all we have to go on, Harry.”
Harry simply stared at her.
“I just think we need more information before we go over-reacting,” she stopped herself before adding “again” to the end of her statement. “The names would be a good place to start. Maybe what the five people have in common. Things of that sort to make sure these *aren’t* just random events.”
Harry sighed, folding up the paper. He hated to admit it, but she was right. They had nothing to go on here. Just one vague article.
He handed the paper back with a nod. “Okay, but how are we supposed to get that information?”
“Rita Skeeter still owes me a favor or two,” Hermione replied, a look of relief on her face at his agreement. “I’m sure with her nosey ways, she’ll be able to find us all the information we need.”
Harry nodded and returned to his seat. He studied the chessboard blankly, his mind on everything but what move he needed to make.
“If it’s him….” he said under his breath.
“Then, we’ll handle it like we always do,” Ron said with a slight nod. “Me and Hermione and Ginny and all the DA members will back you up. You’ve got your friends.”
Harry smiled sadly at Ron before turning what little attention he had back to the chessboard.
***********
“You really need to lay off him.”
Ginny stood in the empty corridor, speaking quietly despite the fact that there was no one to overhear her conversation. That’s why they came here time and time again. No one at Hogwarts used this corridor anymore, with the exception of Mrs. Norris who enjoyed chasing the mice that scampered in the dark.
“And why would I do that?” Malfoy sneered, leaning against the wall and watching Ginny pace restlessly back and forth.
“Because,” she snapped, stopping her pace, “what he did to you a few weeks ago on the train? I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.”
“I’m not afraid of Potter.”
“Well, that’s your problem, not mine,” she frowned.
“Is *this* why you owled me to meet here?” he sighed as he pushed himself away from the wall. “To try to convince me to stop picking on your poor Potter?”
Ginny crossed her arms. “I was simply warning you that your little snide remarks may end up being met with more if you don’t watch your step.”
“I can watch my step just fine, Weasley.”
“Fine,” she replied with a roll of her eyes, walking away down the corridor. “It’ll be *your* funeral.”
“What?” Malfoy snickered behind her. “No goodbye kiss?”
Ginny simply frowned as she continued down the corridor, ignoring his remark. She quickly made her way to the library, where she often claimed to be when her roommates asked where she had been during certain parts of the day. She greeted Madam Pince with a small wave as she proceeded to the back of the library, where her schoolbag remained exactly where she had left it.
She sat with a sigh and pulled out her History of Magic textbook, opening to the chapter she needed to read. She frowned at the book, her mind still on Malfoy and her latest meeting with him.
They’d been meeting since the beginning of school, a few times a week. At first, the meetings consisted of setting ground rules. No talking here. No interaction there. However, at some point, the meetings had turned from setting ground rules to making out.
Ginny had begun to consider the possibility that she had lost her mind because, at this point, that was the only thing that made any remote sense. She frowned, wondering what would have happened if she had simply minded her own business this summer.
Ginny stood at the counter of Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes, going through the newest shipments that had arrived that morning. Every Thursday morning she could be found here with her two older brothers, helping them organize and catalogue all the new merchandise that arrived for the shop. Not only did it get her out of the house at least once a week, but they also paid her for her work.
And there was no way Ginny would turn down getting paid to goof off with her brothers for a few hours each week.
Ginny was counting the newest collection of Skiving Snackboxes (and debating purchasing one for herself) when she noticed a familiar blond figure passing by the storefront. She raised a curious eyebrow, her attention drawn from her task.
What was Malfoy doing in Diagon Alley? It was too early in the summer for him to be purchasing books for school, and Ginny always assumed that the Malfoys would special order anything else so that they wouldn’t have to visit the likes of Diagon Alley more than was necessary. Besides, he appeared to be alone. What could he possibly be doing?
Her curiosity getting the best of her, Ginny quickly stacked the Skiving Snackboxes and stepped from around the counter. “Fred, George, I’ll be right back!” she called towards the back room of the shop.
Ginny found herself met with the sound of a small explosion, laughter, then a unanimous “Alright!” from the twins.
Ginny walked out of the shop, catching sight of Malfoy entering Flourish and Blotts. She quickly made her way across the walk, catching the door of the shop before it even fully closed. Malfoy continued on, unaware of her shadowing his every move. She followed as he walked up the staircase to the upper level of books, turning quickly into one of the aisles. Ginny quietly walked down the aisle next to the one he had entered and stood on her tiptoes to peer over the edge of the books to get a better view.
She held her breath, trying to make as little noise as possible, as she watched Malfoy study the row of books. He finally found the one he wanted and placed a hand on it, quickly glancing around before he removed it from the shelf. He flipped through the pages for a moment before taking another look around and slipping it inside his jacket.
Ginny frowned. “The little thief!” she hissed quietly.
Malfoy started out of the aisle, and Ginny did the same. There was no way she was going to let him get away with stealing. Especially not when she had caught him red-handed.
Too busy checking over his shoulder, Malfoy nearly plowed Ginny down. “Watch it!” he growled before looking to see who he had run into. When he realized it was Ginny, his scowl only deepened. “Weasley.”
“Early school shopping?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“None of your business,” he snapped back. He made a move to step around her, and she stepped to the side, blocking his escape. “What the hell is your problem? Get out of my way.”
“You know, with all that money, it surprises me that you’d steal a book of all things.” She smirked. “What? Your Death Eater daddy stop giving you an allowance?”
Malfoy took a threatening step towards her, speaking fiercely. “Don’t stand there and act like you know my family, Weasley, because you don’t.”
“I know enough.”
“You know nothing.”
“Well, please enlighten me,” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You think you want to know about the Malfoys?” he replied with a bitter laugh. “Fine, here’s your crash course.”
He then proceeded to tell her about his father and his need to be like him. His mother and his need to impress her. And life in the Malfoy household in general. Ginny just stood and listened, shocked to silence that he was even telling her these things. As she listened, she wondered if all this pent up frustration had simply made him not care, made him forget that he was speaking to her of all people.
To a Weasley.
To the enemy.
To a girl who loathed him just as much as he loathed her.
When he finished, he frowned deeply at her. “There. Now you know.”
Ginny nodded slowly. “Now I know.”
He pointed threateningly at her as if it had just donned on him with who he had just shared these inner thoughts. “You tell anyone, Weasley, and I will make you sorry.”
Ginny frowned in response. “Hadn’t really planned on it,” she replied honestly.
Malfoy studied her for a moment before nodding. He stepped around her and made his way towards the staircase, Ginny watching.
“Hey!” she called out to him as he reached the stairs.
“Look,” Malfoy replied, turning back to her with a frown, “just because I told you those things doesn’t change things here.”
“Actually,” she said after a moment, “I was going to ask you about the book.”
“I’ll return it later,” he frowned and started down the staircase before she could say more.
Ginny simply watched him disappear.
Since that day, they had run into each other on rare occasions during her Thursday mornings at Diagon Alley. There had been no other revealing conversations, no mentions of that day in the bookstore. Just simple cautious greetings when they passed on the street, she on her way to her brothers’ shop and he on his way to Flourish and Blotts.
Ginny frowned as she closed up her book and slid it back into her bag. She much preferred the days before that morning in Flourish and Blotts. Before he was simply Malfoy. The enemy. The brat. The troll. After that, she started to see him as something else.
A very annoying and irritating human but a human nonetheless.
She definitely preferred the days when he had simply been a troll.
Ginny slowly gathered her things and made her way out of the library and back to her tower, practicing her excuse for the night in her head as she climbed the stairs.
Chapter Title: Everybody’s Fool
Rating: PG
Summary: Ginny has a secret.
**********
“No flaws when you’re pretending
But I know she never was and never will be
You don’t know how you’ve betrayed me
And somehow you’ve got everybody fooled”
-- “Everybody’s Fool” by Evanescence
********
“Checkmate!”
Harry frowned at the board, then gave the same look to his best friend. “How is it every year I get worse at this game?”
Ron grinned, setting up the board again. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Harry and Ron sat in the common room, a chessboard between them. Much to Hermione’s disapproval, they had opted to spend their Saturday afternoon lounging around rather than working on all the assignments they had due in the coming days.
Sitting in a cushy chair by the fireplace, her Transfiguration text open in her lap, Hermione gave them a disapproving huff. Ron and Harry smirked at each other in response.
“Here we go again, mate,” Ron laughed.
Hermione closed her book. “You two do realize that these classes count more now than they ever did, correct?”
“Hermione,” Ron sighed with a roll of his eyes, “You say that every year.”
“I do not,” she protested. “You know, sooner or later, you’ll *have* to do your work.”
“And at the moment, we’ve decided on later,” Ron grinned, and Harry laughed, nodding in agreement.
“You two are a lost cause,” she muttered under her breath as she reached beside her chair and grabbed her bag. She pulled out her morning copy of The Daily Prophet before dropping her bag back to the ground.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her as she unfolded the paper and began to read. “That doesn’t look like homework from where I’m sitting, Hermione.”
Not looking up from her paper, she replied, “Well, someone in this group needs to keep informed.”
Harry didn’t ask what she meant because he understood. If anything out of the ordinary happened in the wizarding world, it would automatically show up in The Daily Prophet. So if they ever wanted any hint of Voldemort, his whereabouts, or his activities, that would be the first place they would need to look.
In the back of his mind, Harry was grateful that Hermione had taken on that role. He was paranoid enough without reading the newspaper every morning and trying to see the truth written between the lines.
“Ready to give it another go?” Ron asked as he finished setting up the board.
Harry turned to him with a slight smirk. “You’re enjoying this too much, Ron.”
“Hey,” he laughed. “You’re good at Quidditch. I’m good at Wizards Chess.”
“Speaking of Quidditch,” Harry replied, making a move with his bishop, “I’m still feeling weird about this captain thing. I know you wanted it.”
When Professor McGonagall had informed him that he had been made captain of the team this year, he had been almost certain that he had heard her wrong. It took her verifying it a second time before the realness of the situation had sunk in for him.
Ron shrugged it off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Harry, mate, don’t worry about it. You’re the leader of the group, and you’re a bloody natural at the game.” He smiled happily at him. “The choice makes perfect sense.”
Harry returned the smile, a bit relieved that this wouldn’t come between them like he had feared. He made another cautious move across the board before speaking again, “As soon as I see Ginny, I’ll let her know the chaser position is hers if she wants it.”
“You know,” Ron said, looking up with a slight frown, “she *has* been missing a lot recently.” He turned to Hermione, who was still reading her paper. “Have you seen her around more than we have?”
Hermione looked up, her brow furrowed as she pondered that. “I see her at meals just like the two of you. Occasionally, I pass her in the dorms at night.” She shook her head a bit. “I’m sure she’s just busy with studying. It *is* her OWL year after all. Remember how fanatical we became about studying?”
“Um, Hermione, that was mostly you,” Harry replied.
“All you, to be exact,” Ron amended.
She narrowed her eyes at them. “Well, either way, I’m sure she’s just a bit overwhelmed with the work. Once she gets her head above water, we’ll see her around more.”
Ron frowned a bit. “You don’t know Ginny. When she gets quiet like this, it could only mean she’s starting trouble somewhere.” He added, his frown deepening, “Trouble that *I* will more than likely be blamed for.”
“How odd,” Hermione said from her chair.
Ron gave her a confused look. “That I’ll get the blame if the little brat gets in trouble?”
“No,” Hermione replied with a frown, looking up from her paper. “Seems there's been a surge in missing people reports locally.”
“Missing people?” Harry asked cautiously, feeling his insides tightening up upon themselves.
Hermione nodded, scanning the article with her finger as she paraphrased for her friends. “Apparently, there have been five recent reports of young wizards disappearing without a trace within the past month. No one seems to have any idea where they’ve gone.”
Harry frowned, standing and making his way over to Hermione’s chair. “Five people have disappeared in a month and they just *now* find it newsworthy?” he asked, irritated at what he was hearing.
Hermione nodded, handing him the paper to read for himself. “They felt the disappearances were just random events. Not worth reporting.”
“Now they don’t seem so random,” harry muttered, his eyes skimming the article.
“You don’t think it’s--” Ron hesitated, clearing his throat. “--You-Know-Who, do you?”
Hermione declared negative as Harry said the opposite. Ron looked at them nervously, bracing himself for the raging argument to come as Harry turned his gaze from the paper to Hermione.
“No?!” he asked. “You did read *this* article, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she replied with a slow nod. “But, but there’s no real proof here that he’s in any way involved. We simply have five missing people which, yes, is quite odd, but that’s all we have to go on, Harry.”
Harry simply stared at her.
“I just think we need more information before we go over-reacting,” she stopped herself before adding “again” to the end of her statement. “The names would be a good place to start. Maybe what the five people have in common. Things of that sort to make sure these *aren’t* just random events.”
Harry sighed, folding up the paper. He hated to admit it, but she was right. They had nothing to go on here. Just one vague article.
He handed the paper back with a nod. “Okay, but how are we supposed to get that information?”
“Rita Skeeter still owes me a favor or two,” Hermione replied, a look of relief on her face at his agreement. “I’m sure with her nosey ways, she’ll be able to find us all the information we need.”
Harry nodded and returned to his seat. He studied the chessboard blankly, his mind on everything but what move he needed to make.
“If it’s him….” he said under his breath.
“Then, we’ll handle it like we always do,” Ron said with a slight nod. “Me and Hermione and Ginny and all the DA members will back you up. You’ve got your friends.”
Harry smiled sadly at Ron before turning what little attention he had back to the chessboard.
***********
“You really need to lay off him.”
Ginny stood in the empty corridor, speaking quietly despite the fact that there was no one to overhear her conversation. That’s why they came here time and time again. No one at Hogwarts used this corridor anymore, with the exception of Mrs. Norris who enjoyed chasing the mice that scampered in the dark.
“And why would I do that?” Malfoy sneered, leaning against the wall and watching Ginny pace restlessly back and forth.
“Because,” she snapped, stopping her pace, “what he did to you a few weeks ago on the train? I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.”
“I’m not afraid of Potter.”
“Well, that’s your problem, not mine,” she frowned.
“Is *this* why you owled me to meet here?” he sighed as he pushed himself away from the wall. “To try to convince me to stop picking on your poor Potter?”
Ginny crossed her arms. “I was simply warning you that your little snide remarks may end up being met with more if you don’t watch your step.”
“I can watch my step just fine, Weasley.”
“Fine,” she replied with a roll of her eyes, walking away down the corridor. “It’ll be *your* funeral.”
“What?” Malfoy snickered behind her. “No goodbye kiss?”
Ginny simply frowned as she continued down the corridor, ignoring his remark. She quickly made her way to the library, where she often claimed to be when her roommates asked where she had been during certain parts of the day. She greeted Madam Pince with a small wave as she proceeded to the back of the library, where her schoolbag remained exactly where she had left it.
She sat with a sigh and pulled out her History of Magic textbook, opening to the chapter she needed to read. She frowned at the book, her mind still on Malfoy and her latest meeting with him.
They’d been meeting since the beginning of school, a few times a week. At first, the meetings consisted of setting ground rules. No talking here. No interaction there. However, at some point, the meetings had turned from setting ground rules to making out.
Ginny had begun to consider the possibility that she had lost her mind because, at this point, that was the only thing that made any remote sense. She frowned, wondering what would have happened if she had simply minded her own business this summer.
Ginny stood at the counter of Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes, going through the newest shipments that had arrived that morning. Every Thursday morning she could be found here with her two older brothers, helping them organize and catalogue all the new merchandise that arrived for the shop. Not only did it get her out of the house at least once a week, but they also paid her for her work.
And there was no way Ginny would turn down getting paid to goof off with her brothers for a few hours each week.
Ginny was counting the newest collection of Skiving Snackboxes (and debating purchasing one for herself) when she noticed a familiar blond figure passing by the storefront. She raised a curious eyebrow, her attention drawn from her task.
What was Malfoy doing in Diagon Alley? It was too early in the summer for him to be purchasing books for school, and Ginny always assumed that the Malfoys would special order anything else so that they wouldn’t have to visit the likes of Diagon Alley more than was necessary. Besides, he appeared to be alone. What could he possibly be doing?
Her curiosity getting the best of her, Ginny quickly stacked the Skiving Snackboxes and stepped from around the counter. “Fred, George, I’ll be right back!” she called towards the back room of the shop.
Ginny found herself met with the sound of a small explosion, laughter, then a unanimous “Alright!” from the twins.
Ginny walked out of the shop, catching sight of Malfoy entering Flourish and Blotts. She quickly made her way across the walk, catching the door of the shop before it even fully closed. Malfoy continued on, unaware of her shadowing his every move. She followed as he walked up the staircase to the upper level of books, turning quickly into one of the aisles. Ginny quietly walked down the aisle next to the one he had entered and stood on her tiptoes to peer over the edge of the books to get a better view.
She held her breath, trying to make as little noise as possible, as she watched Malfoy study the row of books. He finally found the one he wanted and placed a hand on it, quickly glancing around before he removed it from the shelf. He flipped through the pages for a moment before taking another look around and slipping it inside his jacket.
Ginny frowned. “The little thief!” she hissed quietly.
Malfoy started out of the aisle, and Ginny did the same. There was no way she was going to let him get away with stealing. Especially not when she had caught him red-handed.
Too busy checking over his shoulder, Malfoy nearly plowed Ginny down. “Watch it!” he growled before looking to see who he had run into. When he realized it was Ginny, his scowl only deepened. “Weasley.”
“Early school shopping?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“None of your business,” he snapped back. He made a move to step around her, and she stepped to the side, blocking his escape. “What the hell is your problem? Get out of my way.”
“You know, with all that money, it surprises me that you’d steal a book of all things.” She smirked. “What? Your Death Eater daddy stop giving you an allowance?”
Malfoy took a threatening step towards her, speaking fiercely. “Don’t stand there and act like you know my family, Weasley, because you don’t.”
“I know enough.”
“You know nothing.”
“Well, please enlighten me,” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You think you want to know about the Malfoys?” he replied with a bitter laugh. “Fine, here’s your crash course.”
He then proceeded to tell her about his father and his need to be like him. His mother and his need to impress her. And life in the Malfoy household in general. Ginny just stood and listened, shocked to silence that he was even telling her these things. As she listened, she wondered if all this pent up frustration had simply made him not care, made him forget that he was speaking to her of all people.
To a Weasley.
To the enemy.
To a girl who loathed him just as much as he loathed her.
When he finished, he frowned deeply at her. “There. Now you know.”
Ginny nodded slowly. “Now I know.”
He pointed threateningly at her as if it had just donned on him with who he had just shared these inner thoughts. “You tell anyone, Weasley, and I will make you sorry.”
Ginny frowned in response. “Hadn’t really planned on it,” she replied honestly.
Malfoy studied her for a moment before nodding. He stepped around her and made his way towards the staircase, Ginny watching.
“Hey!” she called out to him as he reached the stairs.
“Look,” Malfoy replied, turning back to her with a frown, “just because I told you those things doesn’t change things here.”
“Actually,” she said after a moment, “I was going to ask you about the book.”
“I’ll return it later,” he frowned and started down the staircase before she could say more.
Ginny simply watched him disappear.
Since that day, they had run into each other on rare occasions during her Thursday mornings at Diagon Alley. There had been no other revealing conversations, no mentions of that day in the bookstore. Just simple cautious greetings when they passed on the street, she on her way to her brothers’ shop and he on his way to Flourish and Blotts.
Ginny frowned as she closed up her book and slid it back into her bag. She much preferred the days before that morning in Flourish and Blotts. Before he was simply Malfoy. The enemy. The brat. The troll. After that, she started to see him as something else.
A very annoying and irritating human but a human nonetheless.
She definitely preferred the days when he had simply been a troll.
Ginny slowly gathered her things and made her way out of the library and back to her tower, practicing her excuse for the night in her head as she climbed the stairs.