-x-

Shades of Green

Chapter Thirty Eight: Hanging by a moment

-x-

"I don't trust it." Kennedy announced from her bed, where she was supposed to be studying and allowing Ginny to do the same.

But Kennedy had never been very good at studying.

"Trust what, exactly?" The redhead asked, without looking up from her parchment.

"Well, more of a who. And that who being Granger." She elaborated. "I mean, don't you find it a little suspicious that all of a sudden she's all Team Draco when just five seconds ago she was Team Hang-the-Sodding-Death-Eater." She sat up.

Ginny sighed, "Well, I'm guessing she's had a change of heart, Rose." She said with a shrug. "People do that sometimes, you know."

"Yeah, or she's playing double agent." Kennedy snorted. "I mean come on, are we really supposed to believe that she isn't working an angle? Something's got to be in it for her." She said with furrowed brows.

"Look, Hermione's not like that." Ginny said with surety. "I've known her almost my whole life, if she says she wants to help then I believe her."

Kennedy was unconvinced. "Okaaaay. But you're not curious to know why." She prodded.

Ginny shook her head, "No, not really." She told her. "Mostly because I'm sure she's doing it for me. At the end of the day, I know how much Hermione cares about me, how much she always has. She's always treated me like an equal, when I tell her something she believes me."

"But as much as she loves you, she hates Draco, Gin. Doesn't that make you the least bit wary?" The blonde persisted.

Ginny tugged her hair into a ponytail. "I trust Hermione." She said firmly. "I trust her the way I trust you, Rosie. I know she wouldn't stab me in the back."

Kennedy was silent.

"Look, I get you don't know her all that well so I understand your feelings. But having Hermione on our side is a big thing, she has Harry's ear and if there's anyone who can drill something in my brother's thick skull—it's her." Ginny continued. "So what's this about? I thought you and Hermione were getting along since the wedding and all?"

"I don't hate her or anything." Kennedy mumbled. "I'm just confused by the sudden willfulness to help, is all. Guess i'm just not used to people doing things without some ulterior motive." She admitted.

Being in Slytherin meant having a tough skin, it meant shedding that skin when necessary. It meant making alliances with the right people, it meant being more ruthless than the wrong people. It was about competition more than comradery and taught its students at an early age to keep friends minimal.

Trust was not given until proven.

"I don't know, I just don't wanna see this blow up in your face. Or Draco's. I mean, you think you know someone so well until one day you finally wake up and realize you never really knew them at all." She finished.

Ginny set her parchment to the side, "Why do i get the feeling we're not talking about Hermione anymore." She went over to Kennedy's bed.

The blonde moved over. "Because we're not." She stared at the ceiling, hands folded across her stomach.

Ginny sat down beside the blonde. "Daph?" She asked.

Kennedy nodded.

"Yeah, I noticed a cold front moving in. What's going on with you guys anyway? These days it's like you guys can't even be in the same room together." Which was entirely true, when Daphne was here, Kennedy made sure she wasn't and vice versa; the only time the two were ever in the presence of one another was to sleep and for that, no words or even glances needed to be exchanged.

"She's a horrible, bitter, jealous bitch." Kennedy said coldly. "That's what's going on. She'll never be able to be happy for me because she wants everything I have."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think? I mean, sure there's always been a bit of competition with you two but come on, you know how she is." Ginny said patiently. "Daphne's been the same since we met her, it's not like her moodiness or overall icy demeanor should be a shock."

"It's more than that though and you know it." Kennedy argued. "She really hates me, like right down to her soul. And it took me way too long to see it."

"Kenny, that's not true. You know it's not." Ginny said gently.

Kennedy turned her gaze on the redhead. "It is." She said with vehemence.

"But what happened? Surely something must've brought this on, what did I miss?" She implored.

The blonde opened her mouth, before closing it again, the look in her eyes clearly conflicted.

Ginny put a hand on her shoulder, "Rosie, it's me. You know you can tell me anything, you know I will always love you." She told her.

Kennedy let out a small laugh, "Kinda like how you trusted me with this huge secret that almost killed you?" She didn't sound angry, not in her usual way, for once she let herself sound hurt. Because that's exactly what she was.

She could take things like this when they came from Daphne, even Terence, anyone but Ginny.

"God, Gin. You trusted Zabini but not me?"

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut, "Rosie, you have to know how hard it was to keep this from you. To keep anything from you. He told Zab himself and the time I tried to tell you, over, over winter break, Zab somehow found out and Draco was livid with me." She explained with earnest and vulnerability. "You know how much I care about you and how much I trust you, I trust you with my life."

Minutes passed, neither girl said anything.

"You have to know that I would never willingly keep something from you, right?" Ginny nudged her gently. "Me and you—we're forever. Nothing is ever going to change that."

Finally Kennedy let out a sigh, "I was never angry with you, I was too busy crying for that." She gave a soft chuckle. "But I just couldn't not say something either, it was killing me."

"I know." Ginny laughed, "You're not one to bite your tongue." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes well, better a sharp tongue than a knife in the back."

Ginny shook her head, "Wanna fill me in now? What is the deal with you two?" She asked.

"I… well, I feel like you know by now that Terence and I broke up?"

"Yes, which is another conversation, entirely."

"Right, a lot can happen when you're knocked out for week."

"Only in the dating life of Kennedy Rosier."

"Touche. Anyway, Daph she kinda lost it. Said all this nasty stuff about me to Ron and was just totally out of line. I mean, I was no peach. But she had no regard for our friendship, if she did, she never would've said half those things. And it wasn't as if she was just saying them to be mean, she meant them. I could tell." Kennedy answered. "I know what I did to Terence was wrong, okay? And don't you think I feel terrible about it? Because I do, I know he deserved so much better than me and I know I screwed him over when all he's ever done is love me. But I…" Tears welled up behind bright cerulean eyes.

Ginny pulled Kennedy in for a hug. "I know, Rosie." She rubbed her arms. "I know."

You don't choose who you love.

-x-

Ginny was hardly surprised when she spotted Daphne at their usual table near the window at the library. If the auburn haired girl wasn't in the common room than she was at the library, and these days she was spending a lot of time away from the dungeons.

She couldn't blame her though, the general dynamic in their usual (rather unusual, really) group of friends was tense at best with Draco and Blaise still in the hospital. And now with this added cold war of Antarctic proportions brewing between Kennedy and Daphne, it seemed as if staying in neutral corners was the safest option.

It was actually a relief that the two had taken it upon themselves to create some space in their relationship, it made it easier for everyone else not to pick sides.

All though, with both Terence and Daphne considering Kennedy to be persona non grata, it was hardly fair that Daphne felt the need to be ostracized always. And even though Ginny only knew one side of the story, and Kennedy was her de facto best friend and therefore would always have her undivided loyalty, she knew Daphne had her reasons as well.

"Hey Daph." Ginny smiled, setting her books down at the table.

"Hello." She said breezily, not uncommon for her though. "Transfiguration?" She quirked a brow.

Ginny nodded miserably, "You would think being my brother and knowing I'd been hospitalized, he'd take pity on me. But nope." She sighed.

Daphne gave her half a grin, "Well, you're not alone." She lifted her book to show the redhead a familiar cover.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Ginny said with relief.

"Surprised you're here today, It's been weeks since I've seen you in the library." Daphne mentioned.

"Yeah, I know. I usually try to get my work done at the hospital, or between visits when I come back for a change of clothes or to attend class."

"It's tough, but I'm glad he has you. I don't know a lot of girls that would be willing to stick through it." She admitted. "I'm not sure if I even would, given your position."

Ginny gave an appreciative smile, "Thanks, Daph. But I don't really have a choice, I love him, you know? And honestly, it's hasn't been hard as I thought it would be." All though, she wasn't sure how long that sentiment would last given that her family had not openly discussed anything that had happened with her since she had woken up, what with their tendency to sweep all her traumas under the rug and all. But she knew the fall out was coming, it was bound to. They were probably giving her time to heal, but the onslaught of questions and lectures was impending.

She had a feeling it would coincide with Draco regaining consciousness and it would likely be ugly. But with each passing day and all her thoughts and hopes and wishes tied to his being, she knew she would be able to handle whatever her family decided to throw at her.

She knew they wouldn't take her word for his innocent and she just didn't care anymore. She had once been so terrified of them finding out but now all she cared about was Draco coming back to her.

Everything else be damned.

"Must be nice." She muttered.

"Daphne, I know I don't need to say this but I feel like you should know—

"Don't get all heart to heart with me, Weasley. I'll throw up my lunch."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Okay...sorry, then. Guess I won't." She said with a shrug.

Hours passed and they didn't talk much after that, only exchanging information that would be useful for their assignment but nothing superfluous.

"You know, I've loved Terence from the moment I saw him."

It was an emission Ginny was hardly prepared, not now and maybe not even in a million years.

She had always considered Daphne one of her best friends, but in the way that they all did—because it was almost default. The four of them had been friends for so long that there was no way around it. And while Daphne was moody and sometimes uptight and unknowingly stuck up, she was caring and loyal too.

But that didn't mean Ginny knew her all that well, not the way she knew Kennedy or even Romilda, at least.

Daphne was guarded, in the same way Draco was and Blaise was. It was in their blood and ingrained in them from the society they were brought up in. She wasn't at all emotional and until five seconds ago, Ginny had no inkling that the auburn haired beauty even believed in love.

She had always just thought that Daphne saw relationships and marriage as obligatory, something like a business contract between two people—except for life, the terms involving mutual funds and sharing children.

It was the pureblood way, after all.

And the Greengrasses were a stickler for that sort of thing—breeding and pedigree and old money.

"I had no idea." Ginny said honestly.

She avoided eye contact, "Maybe at the beginning it was a crush, I'm sure." She began touching the ends of her hair and Ginny knew she was uncomfortable. "He's hardly suitable for marriage, I mean, I'm not even sure if he's thoroughly pureblood, so this idea of it becoming something more was just so irrational to begin with, right?" A mirthless, disappointed chuckle escaped her. "But isn't that just the disgusting thing about love. It's never quite rational."

"I probably don't get the whole marriage pressure thing, it's not how I was raised." Ginny said honestly. "But one thing I do know for a fact, Terence is a really great guy. And whoever he ends up with, whether it's you or Rosie or the next girl off the Hogwarts Express, they'll be one lucky person." He was certainly easy to love.

"I'd risk it for him, I really would. I've never ever thought of rebelling against my parents, i've always done everything i could to make them proud and adhere to their every wish. I've prided myself on being a model daughter. Astoria was always the spoiled brat in our house, pouting and throwing tantrums until she got her way. That was never my style." She played with the edge of her parchment roll. "But the more I get to know him, the closer I get—it's like I just get deeper and deeper in. I…"

Ginny was more than surprised to be on the receiving end of such personal confessions, especially from Daphne Greengrass. In fact, it was so unlike her that Ginny felt bad for how suspicious she was of her reasoning.

The redhead chuckled lowly, "Those kind of things have a way of sneaking up on you." She commented. "But I think if Ter knew...it would be different." She offered.

"I've tried getting his attention, you know. Not in a 'meet me in the broom closet in twenty minutes' sort of way, but in subtle ways that a the very least express interest." She has a soft, sad smile on her face and for the first time in a really long time, Ginny felt like she could relate to Daphne.

As if she were actually human. Something more than the ice queen façade she'd cultivated over the years.

"But I felt like a big idiot once I was old enough to realize that it was no use." She let out a small laugh, and it actually hurt Ginny a little to hear how hollow it sounded. "That it really didn't matter how much lip gloss I wore or how many times I did his potions homework. He looked at Kennedy Rosier as if she'd hung the moon and nothing I could do would ever make him look at me like that."

Ginny just nodded, at a loss for what to say, but also innately knowing that right now, maybe all Daphne needed was for someone to listen.

"You know it's funny, everyone thinks that Kennedy and I don't get along because we're so similar. Our personalities—I mean." She lifted her forest green eyes to meet Ginny's. "But it's not true, we don't get along because I've always been jealous of her." And while Daphne might have thought that was news to the redhead, it really wasn't.

"It's all so easy for her, isn't it? I mean she doesn't even try." A bitter chuckle escaped her. "She's tall and thin and talented and so freaking beautiful—I mean, God, I wouldn't be surprised if she were part Veela at this point. But the worst part of all of it is that she doesn't care about any of it."

"Daphne…" Ginny tried reproachfully.

"No I mean, really. I've tried my whole life to be the perfect example for how a pureblooded girl of noble birth should look like, should be like. I've done everything my mother told me to and thensome but it was never good enough, not when she's in the room. She gets every single thing I want and she doesn't even try." She pushed her hair out of her face, "Because at least if it was a competition I could feel a little less slighted when I lost, none of this matters to her and she gets it anyway." There was something so forlorn about her voice that it made Ginny wonder how long this had been eating away at her.

All of sudden, everything she had ever wondered about Daphne, why she was such a bitch at the most random times—kind of just made sense.

Before Ginny could get a word in, Daphne cut her off "Don't give me that look." She warned. "This isn't an insecurity thing, Weasley." She said assuredly.

But Ginny decided to give her a run down anyway, "You are so gorgeous, Daph. But beyond that, you're fucking brilliant. And as much as I love Ken, she's not exactly a scholar. You've got both, you're literally one of the most smart and hardest working people I know." And that was a high compliment because she had grown up with Hermione who had memorized Hogwarts: A History before her first year had begun.

"Yeah, well. Apparently, boys prefer manic pixie dream girls." She muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Ginny let out a laugh, "She does have that effect sometimes, huh." She quipped lightly.

Daphne allowed a grudging smile to grace her features.

But it didn't last long, "But you know what makes me the angriest—the fact that Kennedy had him, Terence. And she broke his heart." It didn't sound malicious, just what she had said—angry. "He would have done anything for her, you know. And she just kind of used him up and threw him away. Played with his damn feelings for the better part of a year just to decide she loved someone else. And it just irritates me to no end that everyone let her get away with it."

She'd never really thought of it like that, but she knew Daphne was right. It was never fair, any of it, and Kennedy had been selfish through and through.

Terribly selfish.

She had been so scared of rejection, so scared of winding up alone that she continued to be in a relationship with a boy whom she knew loved her and cherished her to death—who had waited six years to be with her. Just to have someone to depend on while she made up her mind.

And in that way, Kennedy's greatest flaws had always been her lack of confidence in being alone. For someone who was so beautiful and so talented, she needed constant validation in the form of a boyfriend to feel like she was worth anything. And when it came down to it, that was terribly sad.

"But no one's said a word about it, not even the boys, because she's Kennedy freaking Rosier, the anointed Queen of absolutely everything." Daphne scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Daphne cut her off with a shake of her head. "I'm not telling you this for sympathy, Weasley. Trust me, I could've gotten that from anyone." Her voice was controlled again. "It's more because I want you to know I'm disappointed in you."

"In me?" Ginny looked at her as if she'd grown two heads.

"Yes." She said, almost contritely. "You're supposed to be the one that's better than all of us, the Gryffindor who wasn't. So where is all that? Why don't you ever call her out on her shit?"

And Ginny could tell he auburn haired girl was serious, "I…" She had no way of answering that, she hadn't even thought about.

"If it were me or my sister or even Rem, everyone would be talking about it for days. Astoria cheated on Jax Avery and I'm not saying it was right but the entire house—school, actually, labeled her a whore for it." She said levelly. "It happened over a year ago and people still mention it, Jax is in a whole new relationship but Stor's still got a big ugly scarlet letter branded on her. Kennedy Rosier literally ripped out Terence's heart, used it for quaffle practice and yet no one some much as batted an eyelash."

Ginny had opened her mouth to refute but Daphne cut her off.

"Even you, Ginny. You can't tell me you don't hear all the whispers about you and Draco floating around this school for weeks. All the houses gossiping about how you're sleeping with the guy who potentially murdered your brother." She said scathingly. "Of course they wouldn't dare say it to your face, Draco would actually murder them—but you get the gist."

Ginny glared at Daphne, "You're out of line." She said warningly.

Daphne gave a curt nod, "That was uncalled for, my apologies." She said immediately. "I wasn't trying to turn this into that, I just meant that no one is immune to this bullshit drama but her, and I'm so sick of it, Gin." She relented.

Ginny heaved a heavy sigh, "You're right." She said finally. "About all of it, really. And it's not okay, Rosie could have handled it a lot better and someone should've said that."

"You, Ginny. You should've said it. Because it would sound hollow coming from anyone else."

"That's hardly fair, since when did the whole of Hogwarts decide my moral compass was the one true north." She said with a bit of a annoyance.

"Not the entire school, no. But certainly in this group of friends, you are the moral high ground. And had it been anyone but Kennedy, I know you would have had a much stronger opinion." She continued. "I'm not saying she needs to be tarred and feathered, but a little accountability would be nice for a change."

Ginny ran a hand over face, "I hear you, Daph. And I get it. But you realize I've had a lot going on? Reprimanding Kennedy over her poor romantic choices hasn't been the top of my to do list." She said tiredly.

"Yeah, no. I get that, alright?" She acknowledged. "It's just, in general she gets away with everything and I can't stand it, that's all."

"But if I may, isn't there kind of a silver lining in all this? I mean, with Rosie and Terence over...well, it kind of leaves room for you and Ter to…" She gestured forward motions with her hands.

Daphne let out a gargled laugh, "I don't want him like this." She shook her head. "I care about him, more than anything i want him to be happy. I reconciled that it wouldn't be with me a long time ago."

"But who says it can't be? I mean, any guy would be lucky to have you."

"I know that, I also know I deserve better than a broken boy I have to put back together again in order for him to love me." She answered. "He could have chosen me, he didn't. He doesn't get to have me as some second place consolation prize."

Ginny put a hand over her arm, "For what it's worth, I think you deserved Terence a lot more than Kennedy ever did." She said honestly. "I'm not sure she ever really knew what to do with someone who loved her that much, in some ways, it was too much for her. But I also know better than anyone else that you can't help who you love, no matter how right or wrong it seems."

-x-

Ginny walked into the private wing of St. Mungo's, same as usual, no longer bothering to conceal her identity or keep up any rouses. Her family was not happy about her relationship with Draco, but at least they knew.

Rounding the corner toward Draco's room, she was met with a mass of dark curls before being enveloped by familiar skinny arms. "He's awake." She whispered. "Blaise is awake, he's up and he...he might be okay."

Ginny felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Are, are we allowed to see him?" She asked hurriedly.

Romilda let her go, "I'm not sure yet, his mother is in there right now." She said with exasperation. "But Cass said he's going to try to distract so I can sneak in." She pushed her hair out of her face.

"Well if anyone could, it would be him."

"Come with me, i think… I think he'd want to see you, Gin." Romilda wrapped a hand around her wrist.

Ginny nodded, trying to keep up with Romilda's long strides.

"I'm going to tell him, you know. How I feel." She said breathlessly. "I mean, I have to, right?" She continued quickly.

"I...yeah. Of course." She said distractedly.

"You don't sound sure."

"It's been a weird day for romantic revelations, Rem." She shook her head. "I… I wouldn't overload Zab just yet."

"Do you think he doesn't feel the same way?" She asked, trying to keep her voice neutral but failing immensely.

"I, no. Of course not!" Ginny backtracked quickly. "But I just feel like, he just woke up. Maybe give him a minute to acclimate before you…"

Romilda looked crestfallen and Ginny felt like the Grinch.

"Rem, you know that—

"I get it, you're right. I'm getting ahead of myself. I mean, he almost died. I'm being selfish, and silly." She admitted. "You're right, Gin. You are. It's not fair of me to just dump my feelings in his lap like this."

Ginny just let out a sigh, she was getting really tired of being everyone's love guru. It wasn't as if her love life was so perfect that she had this wealth of information on how to make a relationship work.

Hell, her boyfriend wasn't even conscious.

They found Blaise's with the lights off, and the door shut. Romilda looked both ways a few times, before turning the doorknob and gesturing for GInny to follow behind her. They slipped into his room silently, making sure the door made no noise as they shut it.

Blaise opened an eye and a smile spread across Ginny's face. Before she could stop herself, she had her arms around him and suddenly everything felt like it was too much. All she could do was cry into his shirt, her entire body racking with sobs as she felt a hand on her back. "You're okay. Thank God, you're okay." She hiccuped.

And for once, there was no snarky remark or sarcastic answer. "It's nice to see you too, Weasley." He smoothed a hand over her hair.

She lifted herself up and saw him wince, realizing he was still far too weak for any sudden movements. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She apologized.

"I've been hurt worse." He said hoarsely.

"How are you?" She blurted out, "I guess that's a pretty stupid question, considering… but I…" She twisted her hands around each other.

"I'm alive." He said with the slightest shrug, "Guess that's better than expected." Finally, he raised his gaze to the other girl in room.

Romilda held in her tears.

"It's good to see you." He met her eyes.

She nodded, suddenly looking cagey and panicked. "I...I need air." She squeaked and without another word she hurried out of the door.

Ginny stared at the spot her friend had just been standing with disbelief. "I...yeah, nevermind." She shook her head.

She didn't have the mental capacity to deal with that right now.

"It's okay." He said easily. "How is he?"

Ginny sighed, "Comatose." She answered. "Everything is worse than ever, Zab. My family is talking about pushing up the trial and we didn't get what we were looking for and even though everyone keeps telling me it'll be fine, it doesn't seem like anyone thinks he's going to make it out of this." It all came up and out, everything she had been keeping to herself. "It feels like I'm the only one who actually believes in him, and I'm starting to go crazy. I don't know what to do, I don't know who to talk to. How do I help him, Zab?" She felt her throat closing, her ribs constricting, her heart hammering against her chest.

"And ugh, God. I'm sorry I'm piling this on you. I shouldn't even be telling you all this because you need to get better and this isn't going to help you get better—

"Weasley." He interrupted sharply. "Stop your incessant rambling for a second, would you? I can't hear myself think." He pressed two fingers against his temples with marked annoyance.

And there he was, the Blaise Zabini she knew and loathed.

"Nice to have you back."

-x-

There was only a few minutes before Dahlia Zabini had come in, commanding and terrifying, and swept Ginny out of the room with her withering stare. The woman made Narcissa Malfoy look like mother dearest.

Still, she definitely loved Blaise, she had barely left his side since the incident.

When Ginny walked into Draco's room, the first thing she spotted was Narcissa perusing a catalog beside his bed. She looked like she was paying attention to it, but Ginny knew better than to believe the reuse of easiness. The Malfoy matron hadn't slept properly in weeks, and forget about having a decent meal. She was ragged.

Well, as ragged as Narcissa Malfoy could be.

Her icy gaze snapped up, "Ginevra. I was wondering when you would show up." She said breezily.

Ginny felt a sense of nervousness overcome her, as it often did when she was in the presence of Narcissa. It would abate eventually, but the beginning was always rough. She was intimidated by Narcissa, even when the woman was bloody reading a home decor magazine.

Still, she smiled. "I came just after my potions class, but then I found out Blaise had woken up so I was visiting with him." She informed her brightly.

"Yes, I've heard. Dahlia was very vocal about berating the medical staff for not immediately notifying her." She mentioned. "Was he alright, then?"

"Yeah, considering." She shrugged a shoulder. "How is…?" Her eyes wandered over to Draco.

Narcissa thumbed the catalog, "The same." No emotion had seeped into the words.

Nothing.

But Ginny could tell under that steely facade, she was worried sick.

The redhead nodded, padding further into the room. "Have you eaten? I could…" She stood over Draco.

Narcissa shook her head before Ginny finished. "I'm quite alright. Are you staying?" She asked.

"For a while." She touched the ends of Draco's hair, where his bangs met his forehead. "It's getting long, isn't it?" She noticed.

Draco never kept his hair long.

Narcissa nodded, "Makes him look a bit more...debonair, doesn't it?" She said fondly.

"That's one way of looking at it." Ginny muttered, though it was a bit too reminiscent of Lucius Malfoy for her liking.

But who was she kidding, Draco could have been bald and she would still have found him every bit as attractive. He commanded that kind of attention, from just about everyone.

Narcissa didn't say anything, not until Ginny had settled in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, her brown eyes tracing Draco's features over and over again like a pattern.

"Do you knit?"

Her eyebrows shot up, "What?" It came out undignified at best.

Narcissa stuck her with an unimpressed stare, "Knit?" She conjured two needles and a spool of yarn. "Well, do you?"

Ginny swallowed, "Uhm, Mum tried teaching me once." She said a little nervously.

Narcissa gave her a knowing glance, "And I'm assuming you were a natural?" She asked dryly.

"Ah, well...not really. I…" She grew up in a house full of brothers, things like knitting needles and sewing circles bored her to tears. "I think mum said I tried to garotte Ron with the yarn." She chuckled.

Narcissa held the barest of smiles, "Ah, I think a similar incident occurred in the Black household." She said.

"Bellatrix?" Ginny raised a brow.

"Me." Narcissa said, a glint of mischief in her eye.

Ginny didn't hold back her laughter and Narcissa gave a low chuckle at her amusement.

"I was never one for baking and cooking and sewing." Ginny said as her laughter abated. "I was always more fascinated with fast brooms and enchanted cars and everything dangerous." In that way, she was the same as she had always been.

Fearless.

"First girl in generations, did your mother expect any different?" Narcissa smirked.

"Seven."

"Hm?"

"Seven generations of Weasley's, and I was the first girl." She grinned.

Narcissa looked a bit amused, "How your parents must have been proud." And there wasn't a lick of sarcasm in her normally stoic voice.

Ginny lifted a shoulder, "I think so." She said. "My grandmother Weasley sure had been, she wanted me to be this...perfect little lady." The thought was laughable, seeing as how she had run from dresses and frills and crossing her legs at tea.

"And was she disappointed?" Narcissa asked frankly.

"Probably." Ginny answered, just as frank. "But that's not me." She said simply.

"Of course not." If Ginny wasn't mistaken (though she probably was) she thought she heard a hint of pride in the older woman's voice.

"Did you ever want a girl? A daughter?" Ginny ventured further to ask.

Initially, Narcissa looked confused by the question, as if no one had ever asked her something like that before.

And they must not have, because she didn't know how to answer it.

"No, I don't think so." Narcissa decided finally.

The answer surprised her, because for as long as she could remember her parents had always been so excited about finally having a daughter, how badly they had wanted one. And for some reason she had always just assumed all parents felt that way.

She may not have been the pretty pink princess they had wished for, but they never loved her any less for it.

Narcissa must have sensed her bewilderment, because she continued. "I always wanted a son, a strong boy in the likeness of my husband." She said assuredly.

Ginny was quiet, wondering if she should hazard to ask why.

But Narcissa read her like a book. "It wasn't because I'd grown up with only sisters and saw the constant disappointment in my father's eyes because of that." She scoffed.

"Then...why?" Ginny asked earnestly.

"Because, this world has never been kind to little girls, Ginevra."

-x-

A week had passed since Blaise had woken up and still there was no change with Draco. The good news was, however, that Blaise was recovering rather miraculously. The medi-witches were all marveling at his body's ability to heal so rapidly after taking so long to start.

Ginny sat in the small waiting area between wings, looking over her Arithmancy notes, trying to make heads or tails of the last lecture. She picked her head up from her books just in time to see Romilda's familiar dark curls turning the corridor that led to Blaise's room. A small smile touched her lips, at least someone was going to get somewhat of a happy ending.

Romilda deserved this and after recent events, she figured so did Zab.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the glint of blonde hair heading towards her. At first glance, she assumed it to Kennedy out of sheer reflex, but as her eyes refocus, she realized it wasn't Kennedy at all.

Her hair was more straw colored than golden and her waifish figure was much more delicate in comparison to Kennedy's mile long legs and svelte body.

Luna.

It was strange to see her here, but there was a perturbed look on her face.

For the first time, she looked a little...worried.

Which made Ginny worry because she had known Luna a long time, it was the first time she had seen any expression that didn't resemble a serene calmness.

She looked disorganized and disheveled, her eyes bloodshot as if she hadn't slept in days, dark bags sticking out against pale skin.

"What's wrong?" She asked the blonde immediately.

Luna's hair looked windswept and wilder than usual, "I...nothing." Her tone wasn't all misty and far away, she was clutching something to her chest. "I have to ask you something but don't ask me why, please?" She requested.

And Ginny nodded mostly because she wasn't used to Luna speaking to her without riddles and rhymes.

"Blaise Zabini, he's awake?" Her voice trembled a little, her blue eyes darting around the room cagily.

Ginny's brows furrowed, "Y-yeah, he is. But why—" She cut herself off. "You look like you need to sit, why don't you take a second to talk to me."

Luna eyed the chair nervously.

"It's me, Luna. You know you can trust me."

She chewed her bottom lip contemplatively, "Fine." She decided, dropping into the seat beside the redhead.

Ginny waited patiently, not wanting to push the blonde so much that she scared her.

She had never known Luna to be skittish or fidgety, it was a little alarming to see her so out of character.

"Luna… do you know something about Blaise?" Dread filled her up like a Dementor.

Was Blaise going to die?

Was that what had Luna so on edge?

Luna swallowed thickly, she turned her face and held out the book she had been holding against her chest.

She could see the blonde turning red as she held it out towards her with shaky fingers.

It was a sketchpad.

Ginny eyed it warily, looking between it and Luna.

"It's, it's not cursed, I know you have a history with unknown books and such. But I swear, it's not a journal."

Ginny let out a small snort, taking the sketchbook from her.

What she found inside astounded her.

Parchments upon parchments of drawings and they were all of…

Blaise Zabini.

The first few pages held ambiguous faces and innocuous settings, anyone at any time.

But as she delved deeper into the sketches, they became more pronounced.

They started out vague enough, Blaise and Terence drinking in the common room.

Blaise in the midst of a beautiful block as keeper.

Blaise talking to Draco in Paul Revere's Tavern.

Blaise and Kennedy's big blow out break up in their fourth year potions class, a debacle that is still referred to as a drama of Shakespearean proportions.

But suddenly, they began to get darker, more sinister.

Harsh lines and quick scrapes and so much black.

Blaise getting branded by the Dark Lord.

Blaise in a Death Eater mask and the Dark Mark glinting against moonlight.

Blaise standing beside a hooded wizard as another one writhed on the floor.

Ginny let out a gasp.

"Luna...what is all this."

She felt her head spinning, all this stuff it felt like a different life and when she was reminded so harshly of the person he used to be, it forced her to remember who Draco was as well. And it made her sick to her stomach every time.

The drawings got less understandable, as she flipped through the book.

She stopped at a landscape of ruin.

It was the three of them, herself, Draco and Blaise standing at the mouth of a dilapidated mansion.

She raised trembling fingers over her open mouth.

She was confused and horrified at the same time, but she couldn't stop.

Blaise in the hospital, in a coma.

And then, there were the last few pages.

And what was in them gave Ginny the biggest shock of it all.

"What is this." She whispered.

"My visions." Luna rasped. "I've had them all my life but they've never...meant anything. Just things and places and people I've never met before. But then this year…" She shifted her eyes away from the book and Ginny.

"Your whole life, this whole year?" Ginny gasped. "How? When?"

How could she have been having these 'visions' as she liked to call them and had never told a single soul?

"Since I was a little girl." She shrugged a shoulder. "They've always come to me in my sleep so for the longest time I thought they were just dreams. But with these ones, Gin...I haven't slept in weeks."

And she looked like she hadn't.

Ginny stared at her through wide brown eyes and disbelief. "What are you talking about." Luna's "prophecies" and "fortune telling" had always just been something that Ginny had taken as a part of her off brand humor.

A quirk in her personality.

Nothing to take seriously.

But this was too obvious to deny.

"You saw all this? What else have you seen?" Ginny demanded.

Luna shook her head, "Only what They allow me to see, I don't have any control over it, Ginny. I never have." She admitted. "I don't know what it is, whether it's divination or future seeing—I don't know. I've never cared enough to find out but…"

"You never said anything, Luna." Ginny almost felt betrayed.

She'd known Luna almost all her life, they'd been friends from the start. And she kept such a big secret from her. She knew Luna didn't owe it to her to tell her, but she felt stung all the same.

Still, something more pressing forced her to get over her feelings. "Have you...have you seen anything to do with Draco. With Fred and the trial?" She was grasping at straws, throwing anything against the wall and hoping it would stick.

Luna was a long shot, but she was willing to try anything.

She shook her head, "I wish I did." She said sincerely.

Ginny sighed, it wasn't something she had been betting on anyway.

"Not like any Wizengamot would take my testimony seriously anyway." Luna added.

"How come you never...you never told me?" She wondered.

Luna shrugged a shoulder, "Your belief in the inner eye has always been weak at best, Ginny." She said indifferently.

Ginny looked a little surprised that Luna had picked up on that.

"I'm not immune to what people are thinking or feeling." She said at the redhead's reaction. "Actually, I'm pretty attuned to it, but I just don't really care."

Ginny nodded slowly, "But I mean… Luna, you're a seer." She was still having a little trouble wrapping her mind around it.

She didn't usually believe in this sort of stuff, like Luna had said, but there was no denying this.

She shook her head, "I'm not, I don't understand my visions most of the time. And oneiromancy is a branch of divination that takes years, even lifetimes, to master. I don't think I'll ever be gifted enough to ever be able to call myself a seer." She didn't sound self deprecating in any way, just resigned.

"Luna, this is all true. Everything you have here—it's from the past...well, most of it anyway, but as far as I can tell, it's very precise."

She swallowed thickly, "It's what I was afraid of." She whispered.

"Why?"

"Because, don't you see!" She gestured to the sketchbook. "Don't you know what this means!"

She had never heard Luna raise her voice, she had never seen her so freaked.

Ginny pushed her hair back, "Okay, so those last few were a little…" She couldn't make heads or tails of what she had seen.

And she was so mentally exhausted these days that she didn't even have the capacity to try to understand.

SHe had her own problems, and normally she wasn't selfish, but right now it was all she could do from falling apart over Draco and the trial and what seemed like the inevitability of losing him.

-x-

The shock hadn't even slightly worn off but Ginny had sprung into action anyway. She had always been a doer, sitting around and mulling over the what if's in life had never suited her.

So after this information that had been kindly dumped in her lap (as if she didn't have enough to deal with already), Ginny decided they were going to go straight to the source. Clearly, these...visions, or whatever they were were really affecting Luna and judging by how factual they were, the redhead had no choice but to take them seriously as well. There was really only one person she could involve in this (even if he had just gotten out of a very long coma and was still healing from pretty grotesque dark magic wounds) and it had to be Blaise.

He was the person they were about after all.

But that didn't mean that Luna was being a good sport about it, Ginny had to practically drag her down the hallway kicking and screaming.

"Oh come off it, Luna. Don't you want to resolve this?" Ginny snapped.

Luna shook her head. "No, not really." She said honestly. "I've been ignoring this for months, can't say I didn't think I couldn't do it my whole life."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Stop it, you look like you haven't slept in said months." She said. "Look, it'll be better once we sort all this out, okay?" She assured the blonde.

But Luna was anything but convinced.

As they rounded the corner for Blaise's room, a rather pallored looking Cassius was coming out of it.

"Oh...I wouldn't if I were you." He said warningly.

"I can handle Dahlia Zabini." She said with a wave of her hand.

Cassius opened his mouth, then closed it. "You know what, go ahead. Just don't say I didn't warn ya." He said with a suspiciously amused grin.

Ginny looked after him with a strange look before shaking her head, briefly wondering what he meant by that.

But she didn't have to wonder for long.

When she and Luna entered the room, she was expecting to see Mrs. Zabini watching over her son as usual. But, instead she saw five figures looming over the bed.

All five female, judging by the looks of it.

Ginny blinked her eyes staring around the room to make sure she was in the right place, after all, the bed was being blocked so she couldn't even tell if Blaise was even in it.

"Who are these people?" Luna whispered.

But Ginny didn't have time to answer.

A cascade of dark blonde waves turned around first, "And just who might you two be?" Sapphire eyes trailed over the pair slowly, an unreadable expression on her face.

She was beautiful, and this was coming from someone whose sister-in-law was part veela. Bow shaped lips, a sharp upturned nose and rosy cheeks.

"Ginny...Weasley." She announced.

A second figure, a tall, waifish curly haired brunette whirled around. "You." She pointed a long finger at Ginny. "How dare you show your traitorous face in here as if you aren't the reason our beloved Blaisius isn't in such a fragile state!" She narrowed her amethyst eyes, a dangerous glint in them.

"W-what?" Ginny stuttered at the accusation, cursing herself for not being better prepared.

She also wished she had someone other than Luna with her, like Kennedy, for example. That blonde would've been able to hold her own.

"I should have you killed for this." She continued. "In fact, I might just do it myself now."

"Take it easy, Genevieve. They're just little girls." The blonde said with a smirk.

A redhead put her hands on her hips. "Gen's got a point, Is. I mean, you saw him." She said with desperation. "Cuts all over him, bruises covering his gorgeous face and only Merlin knows what else he went through. And she was at least partly responsible! Why should we let her get away with this?" She positioned her vexed emerald eyes on to Ginny and then Luna.

"Well what would you have us do, Bek?" The blonde rolled her eyes.

"I just told you what we should do." The dark haired one spoke again, her eyes flashing murderously towards them.

"Yes and you've always had such spot on judgement, haven't you, Gen?" The fourth woman had short platinum waves which she had swept over her shoulder.. She looked similar to the other blonde but there was something about her that reminded her more of…

Mrs. Zabini.

What with her angular jaw and almond shaped aquamarine eyes and pinched mouth.

"Ah, yes. Like the time she fell in love with that guy on WitchMeetWizard and he turned out to be part goblin." The redhead laughed loudly, momentarily forgetting her ire towards Ginny.

"Or how about the time Gen—

"Shut up, Meg." The brunette growled.

"Now, now, is this any way to behave around Blaise's friends?" The first blonde chided.

"Friends, Isabella?" The redhead scoffed. "Judging by their clothes, they look more homeless to me."

"Oh come now, Bekah, we mustn't be crude. What would miss manners think?" The blonde kinked a brow.

"You tell us, Is. You're the only one of us that finished those pureblood grooming classes." The other blonde laughed.

"If you two are quite finished, shouldn't we get on with punishing the parties responsible for the current condition our dear Blaise is in?" The brunette interjected. "He's meant to be finishing out his year at Hogwarts, not like—

A sharp laugh interrupted her, "Right, as if this isn't a vacation compared to year end exams at Hogwarts." The last one in the room jested.

She was quite possibly the most striking of all five and that was a hard decision because as dangerous as they looked, all five girls were undeniably beautiful.

She hard dark textured hair in beautiful hues of black and brown, with a rich olive undertone to her smooth caramel skin and liquid topaz eyes that seemed to look right through you.

She looked so much like...Blaise.

"Lexa has a point, dearies." The original blonde spoke up.

"Enough of this, what are we going to do with them." The brunette spat, teeth bared.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Well, first things first, i believe introductions are in order. I mean, I think they might be more inclined to speak with us once we get properly acquainted." She said primly.

"Or I can torture them into talking." The brunette threatened.

There was something about the wild eyed look she had that reminded Ginny of someone sinister…

"Enough with the theatrics, Gen. We get it." The redhead said with exasperation. "You're bat-shit crazy."

Ginny couldn't hold back her laugh.

"Think that's funny, do you? I should—

The brunette almost withdrew her wand, when the blonde put a forceful hand on her arm. "There won't be any of that, Genevieve, Or you'll have me to deal with." Something in the way she said it, made the other girls shrink back a little.

Even the brunette put her wand away.

"Now." The smile was back in place, as if none of that had transpired. "My name is Isabella Zabini, I'm Blaise's sister. How do you do?"

"Sister?" Ginny's mouth dropped open.

In hindsight, she should have guessed it. They all looked enough alike to be related on some level.

"Well what did you think we were? Prostitutes?" The other blonde said dryly.

Ginny ignored the comment. "As I stated before, my name is Ginny Weasley and contrary to what you might think based off my wardrobe, I certainly am Blaise's friend." She said, a hard gaze on the redhead.

But the girl didn't even flinch.

"Ginny…" Isabella rolled it on her tongue as if it were something distasteful. "Surely that cute little name must be short for something?"

"Ginevra." She said, tight lipped.

"And you, little dove?" Isabella gave Luna a curious smile.

"Luna Lovegood." She said stoically. "And I really should get going as I'm not actually friends with Blaise or anything-

"You'll be staying right here, at least until we've been properly acquainted." Isabella said firmly.

Ginny felt a pit of dread beginning to coil in her stomach.

She should've listened to Cass.

"Right, well, Shall I proceed?" Isabella asked, with a sickeningly sweet smile.

Neither of them said a word.

"This is my sister Genevieve. You'll have to excuse her bad behavior, she's rather protective of our baby brother if you haven't been able to tell already." The jabbed a thumb at the brunette next to her, who all but snarled in Ginny's direction.

"The one beside her is Rebekah. She can be a bit of an elitist, but don't let that bother you." The redhead rolled her eyes.

Isabella opened her mouth to introduce the other blonde, but she beat her to it. "I'm Margaret, Is will talk you to your grave if you let her." She said with a grin.

Isabella gave her a gracious smile. "What can I say? I have many gifts." She drawled. "And lastly, is our youngest sister Alexandra. As you can probably tell, she and Blaise are the closest in age."

The young girl looked more receptive than the others, but that didn't mean she wasn't guarded.

Genevieve let out a long sigh, "Well, now that the proprieties have been examined, can we get on with this?" She growled.

"Get on with...what? Exactly?" Ginny questioned. "Because up until five seconds ago, I didn't even know Blaise had any sisters, so are any of you really in any position to be demanding answers?"

Rebekah moved forward, but Isabella put a hand out to stop her. "Girls, Ginevra has a point. We musn't be hasty." She warned.

"Yeah, besides. Shouldn't we be offended that Blaise never talks about us?" Alexandra hopped up on the desk by the bed.

"Are you incapable of ever being serious, Lexa?" Genevieve snapped.

"You're serious enough for the lot of us, Gen." Margaret jested.

"Ginevra, ignore them. They're children, truly." Isabella stated. "We just wanted to know what happened, why is our baby brother here and what was your involvement in it?" Her voice went from sweet to dangerous in a matter of seconds.

Ginny shook her head, "Look, I don't have to answer any questions to any of you. Now I only came here to see Blaise, so if you lot could kindly move—

Margaret's sharp laugh cut her off, "Oh you are daft, aren't you?" She trilled. "Our dear brother has been pacing the wing since he got up, he was never in this bed."

In that moment, even being stuck in a haunted mansion full of horrors was better than being here. "Well, as pleasant as it was meeting you all. I think we'll get going." Ginny elbowed Luna to start inching toward the door.

"Yes, it was. As fate would have it, we may be seeing each other much more often. While the planes of destiny are constantly moving, it may—

"Luna." Ginny whispered harshly.

"Goodbye." The blonde bowed.

Isabella's smile stretched sinisterly. "Not so fast. See, I think maybe my tone was a little misleading." She started slowly. "None of these were requests, Ginevra. You will tell me everything you know, or you will regret it." She said in a tone so neutral they could have been discussing weather patterns.

Ginny looked around, five armed witches, five identical threatening gazes.

Suddenly, the room went cold and all she could see was ten eyes staring at her undoubtedly, waiting for her to flinch.

Her grip tightened on the wand in her pocket, she had faced down worse. Even Luna had stiffened beside her, bracing herself for what could be a duel.

Could five on two be classified as a duel?

Genevieve traded looks with Isabella who gave an almost imperceptible nod, which Ginny had no idea what it was meant to signify, but the brunette began to smile malevolently so she guessed it was nothing good.

Rebekah stepped forward half a step, revealing a long oak wood wand gripped in her hand, her forest green eyes staring down the pair.

Alexandra hopped off the desk, "Oh stop it." She broke the silence with a huff. "You harpies know we aren't going to lay a spell on Draco Malfoy's girlfriend, so let's just put the act to rest, shall we?" She said with exasperation.

"Draco's never scared me much, Lexa." Genevieve hissed, stepping forward with her wand bared.

Neither of the four sisters made a move to stop her.

"Perhaps not, but Narcissa Malfoy certainly should."

Ginny had only just pulled the wand out of her robe when the door flew open. When the one and only Narcissa Malfoy swept in, her eyes widening momentarily at the scene.

If Ginny hadn't known better, she could have sworn she saw Narcissa flinch protectively for her own wand, but it was just a second because all the wands in the room had immediately lowered.

Then she turned to Ginny, glacier like eyes boring into her own. "He's awake, Ginevra." She breathed out.

"Draco is awake."

-x-

A/N: Hello good people who still read this story and could be waiting for an update for it. I'll save you the excuses, I suck. Plain and simple. IM SORRY I MADE YOU GUYS WAIT A YEAR, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

Did I mention I got married? That was an adjustment, a year long one. Life comes at ya fast, kids.

Anyway, I write this for you with my deepest and humblest apologies, this will get an ending, i will not leave you in the lurch, and it is coming soon. TRUST ME.

All right, that's all I really got for now, please drop me a line, let me know what you thought! There was a lot of revising and cutting and editing that went into this. I'm still not 100% satisfied, but I'm gonna deal with it.

I also put up a chapter in Extras, mostly detailing the week that Ginny was out of commission and what happened during. So feel free to check that out, it might clear up any ambiguities. The chapter is majority Ron and Kennedy, so if you're not into that side romance you don't have to read most of it BUT I WOULD READ THE SECTION THAT STARTS WITH THE BOLD MONDAY AT THE TOP-it's kind of important to the main plot, it's a conversation between bill and Mrs. Weasley. I'm thinking about doing the next Extras on the Zabini Family, if you guys are interested and take a liking to my version of Blaise's sisters. Here are the character references for them, if you want to look the girls up in google images.

Isabella (Is): Jessica Lowndes (search Jessica Lowndes blonde)
Genevieve (Gen): Leighton Meester (more specifically if you search up Blair Waldorf Season1)
Margaret (Meg): Natalie Dormer
Rebekah (Bekah): Holland Roden
Alexandra (Lexa): Zendaya

Alright, I'll see you guys soon, I swear!

Take care and Happy Reading!