** I don't own the characters or some of the places. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I am simply borrowing them but the ideas are purely mine. Comment & Voted please. Now, Enjoy! ES <3 **

9. Playing the Audience

Harry Potter, the-Boy-Who-Was-Now-Going-to-Die, stood right in front of her; his emerald green eyes staring worriedly into her own. Instead of feeling the excitement and nervousness she’d usually feel inside; now, oh now, all she felt immense anger.

Body consuming fury.

The reporters from the Daily Prophet and Witches Weekly continued to hammer them with questions, over and over. The same mundane questions and Ginny was slowly but surely being overtaken by her overpowering emotions.

Harry’s hair was messier and a tad bit longer than she remembered; he also seemed more haggard and worn out then before. He looked like a downright mess.

“Ginny,” Harry took a step towards her and she took a step back.

“Get away from me.” she whispered back.

Truly, Ginny was torn inside. She was so upset and hurt but also angry, deathly and unforgivably angry. And the longer she stood there, those emotions were battling inside her, one trying to reach the top and overpower her common sense.

He’d be lucky if it was only the former.

He took another step towards her, his arms reaching out to her and she retreated again. Merlin, if he touched her…

“Ginny, love, I’m sorry. Please – please.” he whispered to her.

“Go away, Harry.” she whispered back.

“Ginny, please, just listen to me. I’m begging you.”

Neville stepped in front of Harry and looked into his eyes.

“Leave, Harry. This is no place to have this discussion.” Neville said forcefully.

Luna walked around the two and came up to Ginny. She grabbed Ginny’s hand and Ginny squeezed it tightly.

“Don’t worry,” Luna whispered in Ginny’s ear and Ginny was able to relax a little bit.

“But Neville – Neville I need her!” Harry cried.

Ginny’s eyes widened at his words. What a load of pixie dung, she thought angrily.

“Harry, go away.” Luna’s voice was deeper.

The blond girl was angry and everyone was shocked by her tone towards Harry Potter, who was a friend back at their Hogwarts days.

“I need her! I need you, Ginny!” Harry explained.

Ginny then looked into his eyes again and she saw the truth. This remorse and helplessness he was showing to the public, to the reporters, was all an act.

Harry Potter was playing the audience like a cheap muggle television show.

And with that, the anger inside of her overtook the other emotions, triumphing and rose to the top. The anger consumed her common sense and now only Merlin knew what Ginny would do.

~.~.~

Draco Malfoy left Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes later than usual. He had arrived late and needed to make up hours; not that he needed the money, really. The costumers were all gone and now he was finally free. He enjoyed working there but he preferred his other job to this one. He only went to work every day because of a certain fiery redhead.

“Goodnight, Draco.” George called out.

“Night,” he called back.

Stretched as the door shut behind him, he grinned. As he turned the corner, he saw a huge crowd by the entrance to Diagon Alley. Since he was an Auror, he knew he should head over and try to stop whatever was going on over there but he was curious to see what the uproar was about.

He yawned as he made his way towards the crowd. He just wanted this to be over so he could get to his office, he was sure he had a new assignment. He wanted to get that done and then go home to the blissfully empty Malfoy Manor.

A nice, quiet night by himself was just what he needed.

Draco knew people believed that he was always with a different girl; usually he did but not lately. Lately his mind has been consumed by Ginny Weasley and he couldn’t do a bloody thing about it. But he would fight it, like death, he would fight this thing.

He couldn’t…

They couldn’t...

Maybe he should take that blonde beauty that had left her floo address with the money she had paid for the WonderWitch product line. The woman was young and looked as if she had good stamina. One entire night of shagging would definitely take his mind of that redheaded minx; Draco thought, running his fingers through his hair as he heard the heightening voices of an argument within the crowd by the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron.

A lot of flashes filled the area followed by a lot of voices screaming questions that he couldn’t hear over the noise. As he edged closer he saw the top of Neville Longbottom’s head. Then Draco heard his voice loud and clear above all the others.

“I need her! I need you, Ginny!”

Draco’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he heard that man’s voice and then the words connected to his brain.

Harry Potter was there.

Harry Potter was talking to Ginny.

And Harry Potter was lying in front of all those people.

Draco growled furiously as he pushed people out of his way. As he rushed forward and finally pushed the last person, he smirked at the sight in front of him.

There she was, his redheaded minx, chocolate brown eyes wide in anger and wand extended towards Potter’s scar-headed forehead. When he took a step forward he heard her mutter “Muffliato!”

An unidentifiable buzzing clouded his hearing but he watched Ginny’s lips as she spoke to Harry Potter alone.

“How dare you! Don’t try that pity act right here, right now! You know why I broke up with you. You know why I left you. All because you couldn’t keep your hands off of another woman. You were unfaithful. You are the reason we broke up! I may have said the words but you did the act that set that occurrence in motion. So don’t you dare, not even for a moment, play that ‘I’m innocent and I’ll do anything to get you back’ because I promise you, Harry Potter, that those will be the last words you ever say.”

Harry flinched under Ginny’s words.

“Yes, okay, that was all an act. I have someone better than you. I don’t need you anymore. I haven’t for a long time, Ginny. And don’t tell Ron, he’s my best mate and if someone is going to tell him, it should be me. Not that I will… why would I want him to kill me.”

Ginny’s eyes narrowed dangerously and that’s when Draco knew that it was time for her to go. Yes, Harry was a bastard and an idiot but Ginny couldn’t publically hex, curse or kill him. She’d go away for a long time and Draco couldn’t have that. She was a great friend of his. He’d do the same for Blaise or Pansy, of course.

“He already knows, you good-for-nothing slimy git!” Ginny informed him.

Harry paled visibly and Draco intervened.

“Remove the spell, Ginny.” Draco said over the buzzing in his ears.

Her eyes immediately jumped to Draco’s face and he noticed her relax a bit. She sighed then muttered the counter-spell.

He smirked when the buzzing disappeared followed by the angry voices of the mob of reporters.

“How dare you –”

“What kind of –”

“You can’t just treat –”

Draco looked at both Neville and Luna and whispered only for their ears, “Ginny’s flat,” then wrapped his arms around her. Before they side-apparated, he felt her sigh, lean into him and wrap her arms around his waist.