The Titans of Secrets

─Chapter Twenty Five

Story: The Titans of Secrets
Chapter Twenty Five: The Change of Heart

The next night, Ginny met up with Shade yet again.

"Hey Ginny," he greeted her warmly. She smiled and took her seat on the brick rooftop.

"Can't we find a better place than sitting in rooftops in this freezing cold weather? Besides, I don't have a parchment and a quill to discuss tactics," Ginny complained. He chuckled.

"My apologies for that but I can't see a place where we can't get caught but if you. . ." he paused, scratching the back of his robed neck. Ginny partially wondered if the robe would fall off to reveal his masked face but then striked off her doubt because she knew that as long as you had your Unspeakable accessory on, the robe will not come off.

"But what?" she urged.

"I was wondering if you would go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow. . . you know as more than friends." He quickly turned away after the completion of his sentence, leaving Ginny astounded for a moment. Shade was asking her out?

"But what about Dragonfly? And your identity?"

Shade sighed. "Dragonfly will never fancy me and I think it's high time I move on as well. As for the identity, we can meet up near the Shrieking Shack. It's a really secluded place, my friend told. Apparently, people are afraid some horrifying creature exists there. And I have to show you something tomorrow. . . But that's only if you err agree," he stammered.

"Yes Shade. I'll go with you," she answered, a small smile tugging at her lips. He was right. It was high time she moved on too: Harry would probably never see her that way.

"That's great, Ginny!" Shade exclaimed, a smile gracing whatever was visible of his face under the hood. "I must get going. I have a job due tonight." He stood up. Ginny nodded and got up as well. Without any warning, he hugged her, leaving her shocked not for the first time that night. He made to back away when she did not reciprocate the gesture so she wrapped her arms around his robed figure.

When they backed away, the wind hit Ginny; she already missed the warmth. With another smile and a round of 'good night's' he left.

It was only natural that Hermione was left confused as to why her best friend was acting more like Luna on their way to the common room.

"You wouldn't tell me what happened!" she exclaimed in disbelief midway.

"He asked me if I could accompany him to Hogsmeade, Hermione and I said yes!"

"Oh!" Hermione gasped. "That's great to hear. . . but –"

"If you are thinking about Harry, let it go Hermione. He will never like me and I should move on. I know that," Ginny retorted.

"What about Dragonfly then?"

"I don't think she will be much of an hindrance," Ginny replied. Hermione nodded and bade goodnight to her; she had to patrol the corridors.

Just as Ginny entered the portrait hole, another invisible force knocked into her, causing her to fall. The portrait swung close and she could vaguely make out a horde of apologies; her head was spinning from the crash. She finally looked up, holding her head, only to see that there was no one in front of her. "Who's there?" she asked, immediately reaching for her wand.

"Oops!" the air in front of her exclaimed before a mass of black hair appeared out of thin air. The space peeled off to reveal a goofy looking Harry Potter. "Must have forgotten that I was invisible."

"Harry?!" Ginny shrieked. "How –?"

"This is an invisibility cloak. My father passed it to me when I left for Quidditch training," he explained, holding up a transparent cloak.

"Oh, that sounds nice," Ginny marvelled.

"I'm sorry!" Harry apologized again before holding his hand out for her to grab. She politely declined it and got up.

"It's okay. Good night, Harry," she said and left without another word. She did not want her dissipating feelings to resurface again. With an happy sigh, she fell asleep on her welcoming pillow.

___________

The sun's early rays greeted Ginny by gently nudging her awake. Stretching and yawning, she got up lazily. The events of the last night came to hit her like a speeding broom and all her laziness was sent out in a shot.

"Hermione!" she shrieked. Grumbling was heard from the surrounding beds. The curtain of Hermione's bed swung open and Hermione jumped out, a book still in her hand; she had probably been reading.

"What happened?!" the bushy haired witch whisper-shouted.

"Today is Hogsmeade visit!"

Hermione visibly relaxed and sat down on her bed. "You scared me for a second, girl!"

Ginny chuckled before sobering up. "What if he doesn't show up?" she started. "What if he finds out that his feelings for Dragonfly are more than for me?"

"Oh, can you shut up? You both are the same anyways!"

"He doesn't know it!"

"So what? Be yourself, Ginny. That's the best way of leading life."

"And that's how Ron fell for you, I suppose, and asked you out to get chickens in Hogsmeade."

Hermione reddened. "How would you know that?!" she demanded. Parvati opened her curtains and shouted incoherently at them before falling asleep again.

"Nah-uh! I'm not telling you!"

"Ginny!"

"Enjoy getting chickens with my brother, Hermione! I'm going to get dressed," Ginny declared before running into the washroom, leaving a flushed looking Hermione sitting on her bed.

Chuckling, Ginny took a quick shower and found a wonderful wine red witch robes for her date. She knew, for a fact that Shade would not be dressed extravagantly and so a simple robe along with sweaters and scarves would suffice.

With a smile present on her face, she left for the grounds for some alone time, not even bothering to grab anything to eat for breakfast. Her bubbling excitement appeased all the appetite she had. The curiosity of what Shade told her that he would show her was building by each second and she could not wait to see him at the Shrieking Shack.

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Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x