21 August 2005
A word from Starry: I know I am not finished with the other fics, but I wanted to post this one up. I've been working all night on fics so yeah. Enjoy this one!
Summary: Ginny is cursed by being ugly during the day and beautiful at night. Draco meets Echo, a girl who can't speak... only he doesn't know that in reality Echo is Ginny. No one knows about the curse and Ginny doesn't know the solution. Will Draco be able to break it or will she live cursed forever?
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter One: Echo
The Weasley's had a secret that no one except Harry Potter and Hermione Granger knew about. That secret was that if the Weasley family had a girl as the youngest Weasley, then that person would be cursed until someone who truly cared for them kissed them while hoping for their true form to show. They didn't know this, they didn't know how to cure the curse…
Ginny hated the curse, she hated it so much that she once tried to kill herself but her mum stopped her before anything happened. You see this curse was the curse where she was an ugly girl in the day and the most beautiful girl at night. She hated this because she was very ugly and the boys at school wouldn't even bother to talk to her because she was not pretty. Here she was at the age of sixteen and still had no boyfriend and never been kissed.
"Well, well if it isn't the ugly weasel walking alone to class."
"Leave her alone Malfoy!"
Ginny thanked the moons of Venus for having Harry Potter by her side… well a few feet of her side. She hated when Malfoy called her names or did mean things to her. All because of her appearance.
"Look here Scar head, you're nobody so you don't have the honor to even speak to me. So why don't you do Ugly Weasel and me a favor and disappear."
Harry glared at the blonde Slytherin and grabbed Ginny's arm. "If I don't have the honor then why do you even bother to talk back to me?"
Harry and Ginny walked off leaving a fuming Draco thinking over what Harry had said.
"Ginny are you ok?" asked Harry after they had turned the corner.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah I'm ok. I'm already used to his insults, they're like a praise now" she said with a lopsided smile.
Harry smiled back. "Well don't listen to him, he needs someone to talk to and it looks like you're the perfect person to listen," the raven-haired boy said with a laugh.
She loved to see him like this. Now and days it was rare to see Harry laugh, since the rise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named he had been very serious and laughing was a very solemn thing for him.
"I must be going Harry, thanks once more for saving my life."
"Ah don't thank me, besides what are friends for eh?"
Friends? Ah yes the 'F' word. She hated to hear the F word out of Harry's lips, she knew that that was all they were going to be. Friends.
"Yeah… friends… bye" she whispered to him as he walked off.
Ginny felt that the crush she felt for Harry was slowly killing her, she felt like she needed air whenever he said the F word and felt like a piece of trash when he talked with his crush, Parvati. The reason she felt like that was because she was ugly at day and thought that Harry would be embarrassed to be seen with her at his side.
As she slowly walked through the hallway she stopped at the trophy case and stared at her reflection on the glass. Looking back at her was a girl with very visible freckles, raggedy maroon colored hair, dark circles surrounding sunken eyes and very ugly pale skin. That was the Ginevra of the day, that hideous looking thing. Turning away she continued to walk to the Gryffindor Common Room where she would wait for the night to come.
xoxoxoxo
Looking at the clock Draco Malfoy noticed that it read: 10:30 P.M. Smiling evilly he got up and opened his window. He knew that if he were to get caught he'd have a week's worth of detention, but that didn't stop him. Mounting his broom he quickly flew to the place he liked to sit at the most, the Quidditch Field. No one would see him since it was the farthest away from the castle and thanks to its high stands, it shielded most of the field.
Upon arriving at the field he saw four people sitting on one of the stands. He stopped where he was and leaned a bit closer to see who it was.
'Ah if it isn't Potter, Weasley and Granger out after hours talking to… wait who is that?''
The Trio was talking to some girl with shiny strawberry red hair, her skin had some translucent glow to it and even though her face was hidden from him he knew that she must be one gorgeous girl.
xoxoxoxo
"Gin are you sure you want this to be your new hiding place? I mean what if someone already comes here for night snog sessions and see you? I don't think mum will be too happy if people were to find out about your curse," said Ron to his little sister.
"Ron is right Ginny, although I doubt anyone will be out at this time. They're not stupid like us…" Hermione said while glaring at Ron and Harry.
Harry rolled his eyes and just ignored the bushy haired girls comment. "Look guys it's ok besides no one will know it's Ginny. She doesn't look like she does during the day, she looks like an older more matured girl."
Ginny felt her heart flutter at the things Harry had just said. He was probably going to say she was beautiful but decided not to so that Ron wouldn't get angry. She smiled in her mind and hoped for the moons of Venus to grant her her wish, to marry Harry Potter when she got older.
"Thanks guys but I think I'll be ok here" she said.
Draco was still a distance away from them so they couldn't see him smiling like a mad scientist. He wasn't going to interrupt whatever they were doing, he was going to tell them about his discovery the next day.
The next day Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were walking to the library when a particular Slytherin stopped them.
"Hello there" he said with a smirk.
"Malfoy, what do you want?" asked Ron with his hands clenching into fists.
"Oh nothing just here… I saw you guys last night…" The Trio and Ginny's faces all went pale, Draco laughed. "Ah yes, I saw you guys talking to some woman on the stands. I didn't see Pudgy Weaslette but I saw the three of you. I might just go and tell Snape about this and see if he gets you expelled."
"What? You can't do that! You have no proof that we were outside last night! Besides Malfoy if you tell on us we'll tell on you too," Draco's expression changed into a serious one. "Ha! So we'd both get in trouble…" Hermione said with a satisfactory tone.
Draco hadn't thought of this and this was unexpected. He couldn't tell on them because then they'd ask him what he was doing and he'd get into trouble. Well there goes a good 'getting the Gryffs into trouble' plan. Without admitting to a Mudblood that she was right, he just left with a sour expression plastered on his face.
After Malfoy left Ron quickly grabbed Ginny by the arm and pulled her aside with Harry and Hermione following.
"Ginny! He knows! Oh Merlin he knows about the curse!"
"Calm down Ron! He doesn't know about it. Didn't you hear him? He said, "I didn't see Pudgy Weaslette but I saw the three of you" because he didn't see me! He doesn't now that that's me!" said Ginny trying to calm her brother. "He doesn't know, don't worry."
Ron looked at Ginny with a worried look. "Gin you can't go out anymore, you'll just have to stay in your room for now on," seeing the expression on Ginny's face he continued, "just put a spell on your curtains to lock them and don't open it to anyone."
She was about to protest but Harry spoke.
"Ron's right Gin, just put a spell on them and act like you're sleeping if your roommates try to talk to you. We can't risk going out anymore, Malfoy already knows we go out at night. Next he might discover your secret and tell it to everyone."
Ginny felt the tears starting to form in her eyes, she turned and looked at Hermione waiting for her to say something.
"I'm sorry Ginny but I agree with Harry and Ron. It's better if you just stay in your room the whole night. We can't risk being found out," she said with a sad smile.
Feeling beaten she nodded and looked at the floor. "Yeah you guys are right… I guess tonight I'll stay in my room…"
As the Trio walked off to their classes Ginny turned around and began to walk the other way she said to herself, "No I won't stay in my room… I'm going out with or without them."
xoxoxoxo
It was exactly 10:30 P.M. on the small clock above Draco's bed before he opened the window and mounted his broom. He was going to surprise the Trio tonight and bother them. He flew all the way to the field and disappointment dawned on his face as he saw the stands empty.
'Well they will eventually be here…' he thought to himself.
Ginny was in her bed listening to see if her roommates were asleep. She peeked out and felt confident to go out. Her transformation would take place exactly at 8:00 P.M. and she wouldn't transform back into her ugly self until 6:00 A.M. She'd go into her bed at 7:55 P.M. and wait for the girls to go to sleep before sneaking out to meet the Trio outside. Tonight was different though, because her brother and friends weren't waiting for her. She needed to go out! She just couldn't stay up in her bed hiding her beauty from the night, sure she did hide it from society but not the beautiful night. She hated being indoors all the time she needed to go out!
Tiptoeing to the window she grabbed her broom and opened the window slowly, looking back she smiled as she saw the sleeping girls and got on her broom. Being outside she felt free! She smiled and felt the sense of flying go through her body. It felt wonderful riding a broom at night with nothing to worry about, well only getting caught and getting a week's worth of detention, but that didn't matter to her right now. She saw the Quidditch field stands and leaned in to arrive faster at her destination.
Stopping at the top of the Gryffindor stand she put her broom on the bench in front of her and sat down staring up at the sky. It was such a beautiful night. Her happy face soon changed into a frightened one as she saw Malfoy coming out from under the bench.
xoxoxoxo
Draco had never seen anyone so beautiful as this girl in front of him. She had beautiful strawberry red hair, her skin had a very fair translucent glow, her eyes were a glossy chocolate brown, curves like that of a sculptured goddess and her face was gorgeous! Did she come here? No he had never seen her, if he had he probably would have asked her out already.
"No don't be scared! I'm not going to hurt you… I just want to talk to you…" he said when he noticed her about to get on her broom and fly off.
Ginny felt her heartbeat accelerate. 'Oh god! He saw me! Ginny he saw you! He knows about my curse and he'll tell everybody about it!' she said in her mind.
When not hearing a response from her he decided to talk again. "Well what's your name and what are you doing here?" he asked.
'Oh Merlin! If I talk he'll know it's me… I won't answer I'll just stay quiet until he leaves…'
"Don't be shy. Come on talk, here maybe this will help. My name is Draco Malfoy and I am a seventh year here at Hogwarts. What about you?" he asked once more.
'I know who you are! Wait… he doesn't know who I am! What a relief… but still if I talk he'll know it's me. I'll just act like I can't talk…' Ginny shook her head and pointed at her mouth while making a sad face. 'Hopefully he understands that I can't talk…'
Draco felt disappointed that this beautiful creature was showing him that she couldn't talk. He wanted to hear the voice that belonged to her, wanted to know her name.
"Well that's a shame, I bet you would have a beautiful voice if you could. So what is your name?"
Ginny just shrugged and looked at the floor.
Draco gazed at her intently and after a few moments of silence he spoke. "Well since you can't talk and you are very beautiful I'll call you Echo. You know like that one Mythological story? The one where the girl can only repeat the last word people say and runs off to a cave after the love of her life shoo's her?"
She nodded.
"Well Echo it's going to be really hard for us to communicate but we'll make it. I know we will."
'Wow he really sounds so sure. I wonder what he is thinking right now…' Ginny thought to herself. She was nervous as hell and feared that something would lead him to discover that she was Ginevra Weasley.
"So you don't come to Hogwarts right Echo?" he asked as he turned to face her.
Ginny tensed a bit before shaking her head no.
"So then why do you come here? And why do you talk to Potter, Granger and Weasley?" His face had changed to a disgusted expression as he said the names.
'Because they accompany me every night so that I don't feel alone with this retched curse!' Ginny shook her head and then pointed at the star and then at the broom.
"So you like to fly eh? Wicked! I love to fly too. People don't know that… no one knows that. Everyone thinks they know me but no one knows me, they don't know that I love to fly and I love to lay on the grass letting the wind blow my hair." His expression had changed into a calm and peaceful smile, he leaned back on the bench and stared at the sky. "So Echo do you like the sky?"
Nodding she leaned back too and began to think. 'Wow Malfoy is so different than the Day Malfoy… it's like he's under a curse too. At day be a pompous prick and at night be a real human being.'
"Flying is freedom. Flying at night is liberty. Hey where are you going?" He looked up as he noticed Echo getting up and getting ready to get on her broom.
Ginny's fear had returned and she quickly pointed at her broom and then at the moon. 'Oh Merlin please don't have him follow me! I'm going to have to fly off and hide behind a tree by the lake until he goes in… Hopefully he doesn't stay long out here…'
"Oh you have to go…" Disappointment showed throughout his face. "Well I hope to see you tomorrow night ok Echo?"
Ginny nodded and mounted her broom. With one final look at Draco she waved and flew off towards the lake.
Draco stared at the girl fly off and before he could see where she went he turned to his broom and got on. He needed to get back to his dorm or else he was going to get in trouble and he didn't want detention. He didn't want to miss tomorrow night because he got caught and got detention, he wanted to talk to her again. Deep down he felt as though he knew her and that feeling kept gnawing at him even when he was in bed staring at the ceiling thinking of Echo.
Ginny watched as Draco flew towards the castle in a hurry. She sighed and feeling relieved she got on her broom and she too hurried to her dorm window. Once in bed she couldn't sleep, her encounter with Draco kept repeating in her head. Draco had been different, very different to her, no to Echo, and it was nice. Yes it was nice to see the nicer side of Draco Malfoy. She felt a jolt in her stomach as she remembered that he wanted to see her again the next night. Once more fear made it's way into her and she shook her head.
'I can't see him tomorrow and I won't… I mustn't or else he'll find out about my curse.'
Starry: So how was the first chapter? Please review, thanks!