Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [124]
“But…” said Draco, “I… I love Ginny, father,” said Draco. This was too much for Mr. Malfoy. He slapped his son across the face, and pointed a finger at him. Draco stood perfectly still, as though he were used to this treatment.
“Now you listen to me, son,” said Mr. Malfoy. “After all Lord Voldemort has done for us… for you… this is NOT a good way to pay him back! Dating a Weasley, my god! What is wrong with you!? I expect that you will not warn her… will you? And by the time the rooster crows tomorrow, I want her crying because you broke up with her! Is that understood?”
“Yes… father,” said Draco, his head down. His father put his hand on his shoulder.
“It’s for your own good,” he said as he walked off to another corner of the room.
What was going on? What could Malfoy warn Ginny about? How did Voldemort help Malfoy and his family? Just as all these thoughts were going through Harry’s head, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Ginny. She was looking even better than Harry remembered. She had a yellow dress on that shone like the sun. She had her hair down differently, it came down far past her shoulders, looking very slick and shiny as well. In fact, the only thing bad about her was her expression. She looked as though she was going to yell at Harry.
“Oh, hello Ginny,” stuttered Harry.
“What are you doing?” she asked, putting her hands to her sides.
“I- I- I- I… nothing,” stammered Harry.
“Why were you watching us?” said Ginny.
“You… you saw me?” asked Harry. Ginny rolled her eyes.
“Me and half of the students here! With that dazed expression on your face and you staring straight at us, how could I have not noticed?”
“I… I’m sorry Ginny,” said Harry. “I just saw you… and Malfoy… and just wondered what was going on.” Ginny sighed.
“I know, it’s kind of strange right now, but… I really like him,” she said. And with that, she walked back to the Malfoys.
By now, the song had ended, and Harry quickly ran to get some drinks, so Cho would not ask him about what he was really doing. He ran back to the table, trying not to spill the two glasses, and sat down next to Cho, Ron, and Hermione. Cho gladly took one, and started drinking it. Harry had to tell Ron what Ginny was doing.
“Um… Ron…” said Harry.
“Yeah, Harry?’ asked Ron.
“Do you… well… do you know who Ginny’s date is?”
“No, why?” he said. How could he say it nicely? Then, there was nothing nice about Malfoy, so Harry just said it blatantly.
“She’s here with… Malfoy.” Ron’s eyes grew twice their size and he turned red. He sat up, looking like a robot, and started walking in the direction of where Ginny was. Harry ran up to him, to stop him before he killed someone.
“Ron!” yelled Harry, pressing against him so that he couldn’t move. “Ron! I think it’s okay!” He couldn’t bring himself to say that Malfoy was planning to dump her later tonight.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Ron, continuing to move.
“Ron!” yelled Harry. “You don’t want to embarrass her? Do you?” Ron stopped in his tracks, and turned backwards, facing Harry.
“No, I want to protect her,” said Ron.
“You killing Malfoy will not protect her,” said Harry. “It will only make her hate you, and feel embarrassed.” Ron stopped where he was.
“You’re right,” he said.
“Don’t worry,” said Harry, leading him back to their table, “if anything happens to her, I’ll help you kill Malfoy.”
“I don’t want to wait until he does something,” said Ron. Harry gritted his teeth. He had to try and change the subject for a while.
“So… have you seen Neville around here anywhere?” asked Harry.
“No,” said Ron, “Come to think of it… I haven’t seen him since he left the common room. I wonder where he is.”
Any thought of Neville, however, quickly faded away as the band started a new song. Cho and Hermione came running out to Harry and Ron, and they danced again.
Hour passed quickly, and the Yule Ball was coming to an end.