Harry Potter: Go To Hell

A trip to the library with Hermione and her grumbling brother had let her check a runes reference book. That had told her the Professor had told her the truth. The rune simply labeled her as an adulteress and a thief because even kept women were supposed to be faithful to their patron. And taking money while not being faithful to your patron is stealing from him unless he agrees to it beforehand. Much like a wife couldn't step out on her husband and their vows, neither could a mistress step out on her patron. And whether she liked it or not now, she knew she had agreed to be Harry's kept woman. The Headmaster had never really tried to lie about what he was asking her to agree to. Oh, he had prettied it up but he'd never actually lied.

He had offered her pay if she would agree and her Mum had been ecstatic at the mere idea that one day Ginny would marry Harry. But the Headmaster had never actually said that. Headmaster Dumbledore had paid her to be his girlfriend and future wife with the full approval of her parents and herself. But he had never actually said Harry would ask her to be his girl. Just as he hadn't actually said she would be Harry's wife.

As the Professor had explained. She was paid to be available for him in that capacity but that didn't ensure it would happen. And she had nothing in writing to back up the Headmaster's promise. Which meant in this world she had no legal recourse should he fail to follow through and offer her respectability.

Harry had never once intimated he desired her in either of those roles which was why she hadn't seen a problem in dating Michael or Dean. All of them had been perfectly happy to brush aside Harry's wishes in the matter. Now she would pay for it. Nor could she be upset that Michael and Dean weren't also paying for betraying Harry. They hadn't had an agreement with him or taken coin from him. Nor had they been dishonest in why they wanted to date her. So really, they weren't in the wrong as she had been free to turn them both down. She could've even explained to them that she was under contract and both would've stepped aside. She knew that. But she'd wanted to be desired. She'd wanted a real boyfriend she could be seen on the arm of.

It took the entire month of October for her to come to terms with her isolation and the ruination of her face. But by November first, when once again the Headmaster was missing from the Castle, and unlike her brother and Hermione, Ginerva was no longer ranting and raving over the disfigurement. Nor was she acting out in her classes. It wasn't actually necessary to draw the attention to herself in that manner. Now that everything had come out of the shadows and everyone knew how the three of them had taken advantage of Harry and stabbed him in the back multiple times, she was all too easily noticeable as it was. For once, she found herself wishing she wasn't.

But she was surprised to note it wasn't actually her betrayal of Harry that brought her the most vicious and hurtful retribution. It was the simple fact she had been the one opening the chamber during her first year here. Too many students had been petrified while she was doing that. And Colin had actually died which made her a favorite target for Denis, his little brother and number one fan.

Denis had adored Colin and it really hurt him when he had died. He'd been vicious in his grief towards Harry because Ron and Hermione had told everyone it was Harry opening the Chamber. It was one of the first rumors he had heard when he came to school here. 'Harry was using his parcelmouth ability to open the Chamber.' 'No one else could open it because Harry was the only parcelmouth in the school.' And yet, that was nothing but a lie. A lie spread by her brother to protect her reputation while tarnishing Harry's. And she knew it was a lie.

But she had let it stand. Because she'd always felt relieved Denis was targeting Harry over the death of his brother. She had never apologized to Harry for the attacks he was undergoing for her actions. Nor had she ever apologized to Denis for her role in his brother's death. Because that would be admitting she'd done wrong. Wrong that had harmed and was harming others. Because she could see, even back then, her bad act was hurting Denis. A boy she hadn't even known at the time she was committing said bad act.

Now he knew better. Now he knew she'd been the cause of his brothers death. And the memory of the things he'd done to Harry spurred Denis on to make certain her life was no easier now than Harry's had been then. He wouldn't physically attack her because she was a girl and Colin wouldn't want him beating up a girl. But he still found ways to make her miserable. Oil in her shampoo bottle. Water in her ink well. Salt on her stash of sweets. Anything he could think of, he did. He'd even found a way to plant fiber eating bugs in her wardrobe so her clothing was full of small holes now.

For Ginny, it just made nowhere in the Castle a safe place for her to be as Denis, like Colin, was a Gryffindor. And Colin's ghost followed her through the halls making it obvious to everyone exactly where she was at all times. In death, Colin was no less of a pest than he had been in life but now he was determined to make her pay for her sins. Because in life, Harry had been Colin's hero much as Colin had been for Denis. And both the ghost boy and the live boy wanted to make her paying for hurting their hero. And there was nothing she could do about it. Because they were right. She had gotten the one killed and hurt the other. But worse she'd let an other innocent take the blame for it.

But the teachers had noticed Ginny's apparent change of heart. They'd noticed she was no longer trying to tell tall tales or claiming she would marry Harry when she grew up. They even noticed her focusing more on her studies and gathering less often with Ron and Hermione. They were watching her but they also lightened up on her detentions. So she was getting a bit more breathing room and had more time for her homework as a result. She still had a lot of ground to make up but there was light at the end of the tunnel for her. If she stayed the course she was currently treading, that is.