Chapter Text
Draco Malfoy wandered the deserted halls of Hogwarts, looking for some inner peace. Being harassed my Pansy Parkinson whenever she gets the chance — which was unfortunately a lot — made his blood boil with fury sometimes.
Too busy with his train of thoughts, he almost didn’t notice the soft cries and whimpers coming from a corner.
Draco froze on his tracks, unsure what to do. Should he flee? Leave immediately before the person realized that someone was listening to them.
He decided on leaving, but before he could even move a foot, he realized that he knew this person. There was no mistaking that voice. It was bloody Ginny Weasley!
Draco felt his body tense at the realization. What on earth would the Weaslette be crying about? From what he knew about her, she was stubborn as hell and very feisty. He didn’t take her as a person what would easily break down, but then again, that was a very strong judgment. Everyone cries, don’t they?
He poked his head through the wall to see the redhead crouched on the floor, her back on the wall. Tears were falling down her pale face, and her eyes and nose were red. He nearly jumped when he heard her sob, her breath hitching as she cried.
He couldn’t help but wonder; what had happened that made the Weaselette cry that hard? He didn’t think he’d seen anyone cry that much before.
”This isn’t — isn’t fair!” He heard her hiccup as she struggled to speak. “It hurts,” she whimpered in a low voice as she clutched her chest, her eyes squeezed shut.
Draco decided what he had seen too much, and decided to flee the scene as soon as possible before the redhead saw him, but to his dismay, when he turned around to leave, he accidentally stumbled, making a lot of noise.
He heard Ginny gasp, which made him curse under his breath. She had bloody heard him.
”Who’s there?” He heard her squeak. Draco didn’t move for a few seconds, hoping that she’d think she imagined it in her head, making it unlikely to get caught.
”I know someone is there!” She cried again, this time stronger. Run, you fool! Draco thought, but he didn’t bulge from his place.
Before he even knew it, there was a flash of red hair in front of him. She let out an audible gasp, and immediately turned around to cover her face.
”Malfoy! What—“ her lips trembled. “What are you doing here!” She yelped at the sight of the fair haired Slytherin.
Draco felt his cheeks burn, unsure what to say. This was a very uncomfortable situation to walk into, and he didn’t know how to respond.
“I, ehm,” he began, clearing his throat. “I walked in here by accident. I didn’t mean to pry.” He said awkwardly, hoping that she wouldn’t leash out on him. It was an accident after all. He could only imagine how embarrassed she is.
“How much did you hear?” She asked hesitantly, wiping fallen tears with her sleeve.
Draco shifted uncomfortably at her words. He hadn’t really heard much, right?
“Not much,“ he said. The Weaslette turned around, her face flushed with embarrassment as she glared at him, obviously not believing him. She crossed her arms and sniffled.
”Oh, don’t bother lying. I know you heard at least something. Just come out with it.” She said in a low voice. She tilted her head so that she was looking elsewhere, refusing to meet his eyes.
”Fine. I only heard you say something about how it isn’t fair.” He mumbled. She growled and starting to stomp towards him, stopping when she was only inches away.
“If you tell anyone about his Malfoy, I swear to you, I will kill you.”
Draco raised his eyebrows at the sudden outburst. “I wasn’t planning on, Weasley.” He sneered.
Ginny nodded and stepped back a little, her arms still crossed.
Draco stared at her for a few moments, unsure on what to do. He decided to leave, let Weasley be alone, but he was interrupted by her burst of tears. Draco looked at Ginny, dumbfounded. There she was in front of him, breaking into tears again. Now this, this was really awkward. She was covering her face with her small hands, her shoulders moving with her every sob. He didn’t really hate Ginny, but he did dislike her, being associated with Potter and his friends and all. He really wanted to leave, but what kind of man would he be to leave a girl crying? Even if that girl was Weaslette.
He slowly moved towards her, abruptly stopping when he was inches away from her, and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her into an embrace. He didn’t know why he did this. But he felt guilty not doing anything as he watched the redhead cry.
He felt her stiffen under him, unmoving. “Don’t touch me,” She said in a weak voice, but didn’t attempt to pull her away in any sorts.
Draco took this as an approval to comfort her, and tightened his grip on her. She buried her face in his chest, her tears streaming down her face and onto his shirt. She slowly moved her arms to grip the corner of his waist, her sobs getting quieter by the second.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, both still starstruck on how they ended up in this situation; Ginny in Draco’s arms, and him holding her as she cried on his shirt.
They pulled away a while after. Ginny looked more calm than the first time Draco saw her. She wiped her cheeks with her sleeves once more, her cheeks still red, looking flustered.
”Care to tell me why you’ve been crying like this?” He asked softly. Ginny leaned against a wall and nodded.
”I guess I kind of have to now that you’ve witnessed me crying, twice.” She sighed.
Draco leaned next to her, waiting for her to speak.
”I know it’s going to sound incredibly stupid, and well, I mean it is,” She rambled. “But it just hurt me so much, probably more than it should.” She paused.
“Listen if you don’t want to tell me, that fine. I mean, you don’t have to, I’m not edging you on or anything.” Draco mumbled, feeling his cheeks burn.
Ginny shook her head, “No, no it’s fine, I suppose. It’s only fair,”
She looked at Draco’s gray eyes, and sighed. “Harry just broke up with me, saying that he doesn’t love me anymore,” she said, feeling tears burning in the corner of her eyes.
Draco couldn’t hide the surprisement in his eyes. “Potter broke up with you?”
Ginny blushed, and looked away. “Is that such a hard thing to comprehend?” She whispered.
Draco gave a curt nod, and tilted his head back to the wall. “It’s just that I figured if there was a breakup to happen, it would be you that breaks up with him. He never deserved someone like you anyway,” he said before he could stop himself, and immediately regretting it.
He felt Ginny stiffen next to him, obviously surprised at his words.
Draco cursed under his breath and stared at the wall in front of him. “I meant, um,” he trailed off, not knowing what to say.
They stood like that for a few moments, not speaking and just taking in the silence that coated them.
Draco cleared his throat and stepped away from the wall. “I should go. You should go too. A piece of advice: don’t let that prat of a Potter upset you. He isn’t worth anyone’s time.” He said cooly, and walked away, leaving Ginny behind to take in his words.