Understanding

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any other related materials.

Author's Note: Lots of stuff from OoTP from Ginny's POV. Oh yeah, and there isn't a pentagon anymore. I find it would be too confusing to write, so the plot is a little changed. Well, sorry for taking a while to update. School started, and I went all crazy.

Chapter 6: Pieces

Ginny stepped into the kitchens with Draco by her side. She had no idea what she was doing. Why was she here, in the kitchens, with a Malfoy? Had she gone out of her mind? If Ron catches them, he would go insane—thinking they were up to something that Ginny was disgusted to even think about. But, Ginny had to admit, he really wasn't all that bad.

Of course, he was horrible in Ginny's fourth year, when she was helping Harry. She was caught by Umbridge and a few of the Slytherins who joined her little army. That, obviously, included Draco.

"You can't come down here!" I called to the crowd that was making their way towards the corridor. "No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swiveling staircase, someone's let off Garroting Gas just along here---."

Immediately, several people started complaining. I rolled my eyes at them and kept telling them that they could not go through. One boy from Ravenclaw spoke up, looking a bit sour.

"I can't see no gas…"he said, looking around the corridor.

"That's because it's colorless," I said convincingly exasperated, "but if you want to walk through it, carry on, then we'll have your body as proof for the next idiot who didn't believe us…"

The boy glared at me and turned to leave. Slowly, the crowd followed suit. I sighed with relief and glanced over at Luna. She was dreamily humming "Weasley is Our King", not paying the least bit of attention to what was going on. Several minutes passed by, and people continued to believe our story of the Garroting Gas. The corridor was nearly deserted. Suddenly, I saw Umbridge coming, dragging Ron along by his right ear.

Quickly, I bellowed the chorus of "Weasley is Our King", praying that Harry or Hermione could hear me. Luna did the same. However, we were quickly cut off by huge Slytherins, who nearly gagged us to death from behind. Ron was taken by another Slytherin, while Umbridge stepped into the office.

I tried to break free of the Slytherin's grip, but it was no use. Neville, coming out of nowhere, suddenly tried to get the Slytherin off me, yelling furiously. He was quickly taken by Crabbe. We were shoved roughly into the room. Warrington, the Slytherin who grabbed me, explained to Umbridge why Neville was there. Meanwhile, I tried to kick the shins of a large Slytherin girl, who was pinning me to the wall.

"Good, good," said Umbridge, in her disgusting voice. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

Draco laughed loudly, which made me glare at him. A whole interrogation went on about why Harry was in Umbridge's office. She called in Snape, a few minutes later, for Veritaserum. After that didn't work, Umbridge decided to put the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. That was when Hermione panicked and said she would tell Umbridge what we were really up to. At first, I thought Hermione was really going to tell her, but when she began telling her story, I knew she was playing a trick. Shortly afterward, Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge left to show "the weapon".

"Did you hear that, Weasleys?" drawled Draco, after she left. "You're going to be expelled. What a great day that would be, no more of you poor filth lingering about."

Ron tried to yell at him, but his gag became tighter. Draco smirked and began twirling his wand. The other Slytherins laughed.

"You are so pathetic, Weasley," said Draco, lazily glancing over at Ron. "You and your sister…"

I endlessly tried to get out of the grip of the Slytherin girl, but she wouldn't budge. For a while, no one moved. I could see they were all eyeing the wands sticking out of the Slytherins' pockets. Realization dawned on me. We glanced at each other and nodded. In a swift movement, I grabbed the girl's wand and instantly stunned her.

Out of the confusion, the other Slytherins loosened their grip on the others, and they made a grab for their wands. They flew a bunch of curses and punches at us. One of the girls scratched me on the cheek, which began to bleed.

"Stupefy!" I shouted at her, which made her fall to the ground, stunned.

Suddenly, someone knocked me to the ground. It was Draco. He stood over me and pointed his wand at me. He opened his mouth to say a curse, but I was too quick for him. I immediately set the Bat Bogey Hex on him. Soon, his face was covered with flapping things. Ron helped me up.

"That was amazing!" he said, in awe. He stared at Draco and laughed.

"Thanks," I said, very pleased at what I had done.

"Come on, we have to help Harry and Hermione." said Ron, beckoning everyone to follow him.

They were greeted by many house-elves, who were squeaking eagerly at them. Draco asked for some left-overs from dinner, and Ginny didn't ask for anything. Truth be told, she actually wasn't that hungry. Draco sat down at the wooden table, and Ginny followed suit. In the mean time, the house-elves already brought Draco his food, which he started eating quickly.

"I thought you were hungry?" he said, after swallowing his food.

Ginny shook her head. "I just wanted to get away from them." she explained.

"Yeah, so did I."

After Draco finished his dinner, the house elves quickly took the empty plate away from him. They looked eager to serve, but he shook his head, indicating that he didn't want anything else. Dobby, one of the house elves, came from the back of the kitchens. He, obviously, had been asleep. At the sight of Draco, he squeaked in shock.

"Young Master Malfoy, sir!" he said, nervously walking up to him.

"Hello, Dobby," he said, dully.

"You know Dobby?" asked Ginny, a bit surprised at this.

"Dobby used to work for the Malfoys, miss, until Harry Potter help free Dobby!" the house-elf squeaked, excitedly.

"Oh," said Ginny.

"Well, we don't need anything else, so you can go to sleep or something." said Draco, obviously irritated by the mention of Harry.

All the house-elves, including Dobby, bowed and scurried away to the back of the kitchen. Ginny could see that there was a small door, probably leading to where all the house-elves slept.

"You've changed." said Ginny.

Draco looked at her and laughed hollowly. "You told me that already." he said.

"I know, but you really have." insisted Ginny. "Do you realize you're having a civilized conversation with a Weasley? I mean, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd be sitting here with a Malfoy, talking like we're friends."

"Never even in my nightmares," added Draco.

Ginny shot Draco a reproachful look. He chuckled and added that he was kidding. Ginny began to grow comfortable of Draco's presence, unlike before where she hated to be near him. Now, she felt as if they were, well, friends. However, a voice of worry lingered in Ginny's mind. What if he tells everyone about Tom? What would I do then?

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" asked Ginny, anxiously.

"No, I won't tell anyone of your crush on the Dark Lord." said Draco, lazily.

Ginny glared at Draco and opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"Calm down, I was kidding." he said.

Ginny sighed and said, coldly, "You have a very strange sense of humor then."

"I know, it's great, isn't it?" said Draco, smirking.

She shook her head, but she couldn't suppress a small smile from her face.

"Do you remember when I set the Bat Bogey Hex on you?" she asked, a bit amused by the subject and by look of Draco's face. Ginny began giggling, which made Draco scowl even more.

"That was not funny." he said, defensively. But Ginny could have sworn she saw him grin for a second.

"God, you were so horrible." said Ginny, remembering how much she hated him.

"Oh, I wasn't that bad, Weasley."

Ginny snorted and shook her head again. "You were very bad," she said.

For a while, they sat in silence once again. Occasionally, Ginny would giggle quietly at the memory of Draco being hit by the Bat Bogey Hex. Whenever Ginny did giggle, Draco would shoot her a glare. Deciding it was time to change the subject, she started another conversation.

"So what do you plan on doing after Hogwarts?" asked Ginny, "It's your last year."

Draco shrugged and said, "Dunno."

"You don't have any clue what you're going to do?" asked Ginny, earnestly.

"I have a clue, but I don't want to tell you."

Ginny nodded and said quietly, "Death Eater?"

Strange how two simple words can change an atmosphere. I wonder if he even wants to become a Death Eater. By the looks of it, he dreads every letter of those two words. But you can never be so sure, in a time of war. There are many disguises that people wear to hide who they truly are. For all I know, this could be a mask.

Just like the mask I wear everyday.

"You shouldn't assume about things you know nothing about." he said in a quiet, yet dangerous tone.

Abruptly he stood up, causing Ginny to become a bit startled. However, she was also a bit angry at what he had said. She couldn't help but to open her mouth in her defense.

"And you shouldn't meddle in other people's business." Ginny said, standing up as well.

Draco glared at her, and she returned it coldly.

"Weasley, you're just getting on my nerves."

"Malfoy, you're just being stupid, which is getting on my nerves."

"I don't understand why you care so much if I'm going to be a Death Eater or not."

"Because this is war, Malfoy, in case you haven't notice. What else do you call it when there are battles against each side? And if you choose to be a Death Eater, you're on the wrong side!"

"The wrong side in your opinion!"

"Damn it, Malfoy! You know very well it's the wrong side!"

"Well, your damn Tom Riddle would've been on this side."

At the sound of his name, Ginny stopped. She couldn't take it. She had told Draco about Tom. Her secret was kept for so long, yet it was given away so quickly and carelessly. Now, Draco was about to talk about Tom again.

"I'm leaving," said Ginny, curtly.

Before Draco could say anything, Ginny quickly walked to the portrait and ran down the corridor. She only ran a short distance in the darkness, and it was completely deserted. She slowly came to a stop and took a gasp of air that was choked by a sob. Leaning against the cold, stone wall, she began to cry. Ginny slid down onto the ground, stifling her sobs by firmly pressing her hands over her mouth.

Now, even the sound of his name pains my heart so. Why can't I just move on and get over him. But he promised he'd come back for me, and that my love would not be a waste of my time. I believed his promise, and I still do. However, my faith in his promise is not as strong as it was before.

When I told Draco of Tom, something inside of me broke away. I don't know what it is, or why it did that. It was a mix between a sigh of relief in my heart and a stab of hurt. I guess a part of me is missing, now. When I began talking to Draco in a civilized manner, I could feel that sense of relief inside of me; the stab of pain was gone. But once Draco mentioned Tom, it came back to me. It was like the piece of pain came back to its puzzle, making my heart hurt even more.

When Ginny had her sobs under control, she sat on the stone ground for a while. There wasn't a single sound in the dark corridor she was in. A few seconds passed, and she started hearing footsteps. Someone must have heard her sobs that were not quite stifled in her hands. For a while, Ginny could not decide whether to leave or stay where she was. She felt weary and did not want to get up

She leaned her head back on the wall and closed her eyes, slowly breathing. Suddenly, she felt someone beside her and quickly opened her eyes. It was Draco, and he was looking down on her. Eventually, he sat down beside her and put his arm around her. As angry as she was at him, she did not push him away. She felt a bit comforted and warmed with his arm around her.

Draco sighed and said, "We're back to where we started. We talk, we argue, someone says something offensive, you leave, you cry, I find you sitting on the ground, I sit next to you, and I comfort you. Sometimes, I think I'm getting too soft."

Ginny smiled weakly and said jokingly, "You'll make a horrible Death Eater, comforting a 'muggle-loving Weasley'."

Draco chuckled and leaned his head on top of Ginny's, to her surprise. Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder. For a moment, it just felt so right and neither of them could object it. Reality didn't matter at the moment. Ginny felt something leave inside of her, but something warm replaced it. She couldn't quite explain the feeling, but she didn't worry much about it.

"We're friends, right?" asked Ginny, looking at Draco.

Draco shrugged and said, "I guess we are. But I don't think everyone else would be happy about this friendship."

"But I have no reputation to ruin from the start. Only you have to worry about that." said Ginny, smiling at the memory of that morning.

"Too true."

Draco stood up. He then held out a hand for Ginny. She grabbed his hand, and he easily pulled her off the ground.

"Well, then—" Ginny began.

"I'll see you around."

"Er—yeah—g'night."

" 'Night."

For a few seconds, neither of them moved. It was a very awkward moment, as if both were waiting for the other to make the first move to leave. Finally, Draco nodded and walked the other direction. Ginny went the opposite direction.

(A/N: Am I going too fast with the relationship? Oh well. It's okay. Sorry for taking years to update. Review, please.)