A/N: Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback. Sorry it took so long for me to update. :) Cheers.
Disclaimer: Everyone wishes they could own Draco and the wonderful Harry Potter series, and they could, if their name was J. K. Rowling. It just so happens that I am not at all J.K. Rowling. The title of the story belongs to Natalie Babbit.
THE SEARCH FOR DELICIOUS
Chapter Two: Spinning for the Answer.
By Quixotism
Ginny was sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of herbal tea steaming in front of her. Her head was bent, tendrils of hair springing out of the bun on top of her head sporadically. She was studying piles of paper in front of her, biting at the end of a quill in her mouth.
Colin traipsed into her kitchen and set down a bag of groceries on the counter top. "What's up, Gin?" he said, looking over at her. "Work?"
Ginny rubbed a hand over her face. "Not really." She set down her quill and took a sip of her tea. "I'm working on looking for some legal clause that would prevent Malfoy from building his complex on that land."
Colin frowned. "Still? I mean, even if you find something, there's no guarantee that you could stop him. He has a lot of pull with the Ministry."
"It doesn't matter. The Ministry shouldn't be bending the rules for anyone," Ginny said with a glare. "Besides, there's got to be something that would prevent him from building that stupid complex. I don't even see the big deal about it. I mean, we've got Diagon Alley, do we really need somewhere else?"
Colin looked at her. "Have you been to Diagon Alley? It seems that the wizarding population has jumped as of late. It's crowded beyond belief."
Ginny averted her eyes and took another sip of her tea. "They could at least build it somewhere it belonged…" she muttered into her cup.
"Where does a magical community complex really belong, Gin?"
Ginny glared at him. "In the places I marked for him on the map!"
"Wouldn't there be magical creatures living in those areas too?" Colin questioned.
"Not as many!"
"Yeah," said Colin dubiously. "I think you just want a reason to go up to Malfoy's office and pick a fight with him."
Ginny shot him an incredeculous look. "You've got to be kidding."
Colin smirked triumphantly. "My sources say I'm right."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "And what sources would these be? The little voices in your head?"
Colin looked away. "Well… you know. You do keep your journal in a rather…non-private place. How am I, as a guy, supposed to resist the temptation of reading it from time to time?"
Ginny's eyes widened, then she blinked, slowly. Her face started turning red as she stared at Colin, and her quill snapped in her hand. "Uh oh," said Colin nervously, beginning to back up to the door. "Actually… I only read like…one page…"
"CREEVEY! OUT! OUT!"
Her large tea mug hit the door beside his face, splashing hot tea all over him.
"Ow, ow, okay," Colin mumbled, darting out the door.
Ginny heaved a sigh and flopped back down in her chair, and then resumed looking over her papers.
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A knock sounded on Draco's door and was opened by Blaise, who closed it behind him quietly. Blaise treaded lightly across the thick carpeting while Draco watched him curiously.
Blaise sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of Draco's desk.
Draco leaned back in his chair and looked at him expectantly. "Yes?"
"What bar was it that you got smashed in?" asked Blaise casually, studying a painting on the wall behind Draco.
Draco creased his eyebrows momentarily. "It was The Lounge, I think."
Blaise nodded. "I thought it might be."
"What are you getting at, Zabini?" Draco said darkly, eyes narrowing.
Blaise smirked. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you?"
Draco smirked right back at him. "And you'd like to keep your job, wouldn't you?"
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Touché." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on Draco's desk. "What I know is: the owner."
Draco scowled, miffed at the lack of information Blaise had. "So?"
"He cards everyone that goes in there," Blaise said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"Continue," prompted Draco.
Blaise grinned widely. "And he keeps a list."
"Do you think it's time for your raise?"
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Ginny stomped into her kitchen and looked at Colin, who was sitting at the table reading The Daily Prophet. "Didn't I tell you to leave not long ago?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
Colin looked up from the paper. "Huh? Oh yeah. But I came back."
Nodding, Ginny walked over to the refrigerator and peered inside, moving a few things around before shutting the door again. "Well," she said, coming to sit at the table beside Colin. "Since you're here and all, do you want to make us some lunch?"
Colin gave her a dour look that told her exactly what he thought of that idea. Ginny stuck out her bottom lip and blinked her eyes at him. "Please, Colin? Pretty please with sugar on top? You're really the best cook you know, and one of your lovely lunches is exactly what my stomach needs right about this time of day."
Groaning, Colin got out of his chair and got things he needed out of the refrigerator and pantry. "You owe me," he said petulantly. "I've made you lunch everyday this week."
"Because you love me," Ginny told him, picking up his discarded newspaper. "Urg," she said, upon seeing the front page. "Why can't Malfoy keep his ugly face off the front of my newspaper."
"That's not your newspaper, Gin," said Colin. "It's mine. And even saying that it's mine isn't true, because I don't own the Prophet, I just own that issue."
"Don't get technical with me, Colin."
"Do you want lunch?"
"Sorry," Ginny said, looking back down the newspaper, glaring at Draco's smirking face. She folded it, making sure to crease Draco's face, smiling triumphantly when the picture Draco looked out at her angrily.
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"Okay," said Blaise, stepping into Draco's office, list in hand. "I got the list of all the women that were in the bar." He walked up to Draco's desk and set it down in front of him.
Draco picked it up, looking to Blaise gratefully. "Thank you." His eyes scanned the names on the list, leading him to frown and have his eyebrows knit together closely. "She couldn't have been any of these women," he said, still scanning it. "Pansy? Definitely wasn't her, I would have noticed. Wouldn't have even walked out with her. Lavender Brown? She's too tall. Millicent? Too thick." He set the list down. "Are you sure that this is the list from the right night?"
Blaise picked up the list. "The night before last, right?" Draco nodded. "Then yeah, it's the right list. Here, let's go over some of the other women on the list." He sat down in one of Draco's leather chairs, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on Draco's desk. "Alright, there's Hannah Abbott."
"Eh, she's too…round."
"Cho Chang?"
"Too sharp."
Blaise lifted his eyebrows and continued on. "Both of the Patil sisters."
"No."
"Leena Dotty," said Blaise. "Wasn't she a year under us? Hufflepuff?"
Draco nodded. "Yeah. But, it wasn't her. She's too dark." They went on with the list for another five minutes, Draco saying no to every name that Blaise had.
"What about Ginny Wealsey?" Blaise asked after awhile.
Draco blinked. "Did I not tell you about what happened in my office yesterday? She hates me. Besides, she's a Weasley. I wouldn't sleep with a Weasley even if I was smashed."
Blaise sighed. "Alright then. Well, there's only one more name left."
"Let's hear it."
"Tracey Davis," said Blaise, looking up at Draco expectantly. If this wasn't the one, then he was thinking that maybe Draco had hallucinated the whole experience. As to where the panties came from, he didn't even want to think about it.
"Hmmm," murmured Draco, tapping a finger on his desk. "Might have been her. She was in our house, wasn't she?"
"Yes," said Blaise, thanking Merlin. "She was friends with Daphne Greengrass. They were a quiet lot. I think she had brown hair… I think she might have even been a reserve Chaser at one point."
"It must be her," Draco said slowly. "There's no one else on the list that it could be. And I don't see any reason that it couldn't have been her."
Blaise let out a sigh of relief. "Do you want me to contact her for you?"
Draco looked at him sharply. "No, certainly not." He got up from his desk and paced around the room. "This is something that must be approached carefully. After all, she was the most incredible…"
"Yes, yes, thank you," Blaise said quickly. "I think I may have heard about this more times than necessary."
Draco smirked at him. "You're just jealous."
"Or disgusted at how obsessed you are with this," Blaise shot back at him.
"I am most certainly not obsessed with this," Draco said indignantly, glaring over at Blaise.
"Right, well, while you're figuring this out, I'm going to go see if I can get Nott's secretary to go to lunch with me," Blaise said, getting up and heading towards the door. "Good luck."
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Ginny came out of her studio and found Colin in the kitchen, still working on lunch. "Colin?" she said, coming up behind him.
"Huh?" he said, stirring the contents of a small pot with a wooden spoon, not even turning to look at her.
"Am I pretty?" she asked, fidgeting.
"You aren't ugly," Colin said, after some time. "I think you're more along the lines of cute."
Ginny made a face and began to walk around the kitchen in circles, very small circles. "Would you marry me?" she asked, feeling herself begin to get dizzy.
At that question, Colin turned from the pot to stare at her. "What?" He was holding the spoon out and tomato sauce was dripping from it onto the kitchen floor.
"Relax, you're making a mess," said Ginny, her brains starting to feel like they were slipping around in her head. "Besides, it's only a hypothetical question."
Colin tilted his head, watching her. "Uhm…" he stalled, turning back to his sauce. "You know, you should stop spinning. You're going to have a headache."
"No, I'm not," Ginny said, stopping anyways. She felt like she was going to fall over. "You didn't answer my question."
Colin shrugged. "I wouldn't marry you."
Ginny stopped feeling dizzy and looked up at him. "Why not?" she asked, walking back towards him. "Is there something wrong with me?" Wait, no, she was still dizzy. She ran into the counter, hitting her elbow, hard. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing her injured elbow tenderly.
Colin turned off the stove and rolled his eyes. "What's with the random questions?"
"Nothing," said Ginny, slowly. "Just wondering."
"Do you think I believe that?"
"No," said Ginny. "But, you're going to pretend you do because you don't want to hear my explanation."
Colin laughed. "If you know me so well, then why did you even bother asking me any questions?"
"You're no fun," Ginny said, looking at him sullenly.
"You love me anyways."
Ginny muttered under her breath and shuffled out of the kitchen, plopping herself on a couch in the living room. "Do you think I should go back to Malfoy's tomorrow?" she yelled, knowing Colin could hear her from the kitchen.
"Why do you need to go back?" Colin asked, poking his head through the door. He looked at her. "You're pale."
"I know. And I want to go back because he shouldn't be building his stupid complex on that land! I need to stop him before he gets started," Ginny said, picking at loose thread on the couch.
"Did you have too much sugar?" Colin asked, walking back into the kitchen. "Are you sure that's the only reason you want to go back?" he teased.
"Shut up," Ginny said grumpily. "I still haven't forgiven you for reading my journal, stupid prat. You're worse than my brothers."
"Ow, you've hurt my feelings," said Colin.
"My lunch better be good."
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The next morning, there was a knock at Draco's office door. Thinking that it was probably Blaise, he said, "Come in."
But the person that walked in was most certainly not Blaise. It was Weasley. Draco stifled a groan as she marched up to his desk, her long auburn hair trailing behind her.
"Why didn't my secretary tell me you were coming?" Draco grumbled, leaning back in his chair. "I don't have time for you this morning."
"She didn't tell you," said Ginny, "because she wasn't at her desk."
"What do you want?" snapped Draco, getting up and walking towards her.
Ginny glared at him for a moment after he stopped in front of her. "You know what I want."
Draco raised a suggestive eyebrow.
Rolling her eyes, Ginny continued. "I want you to find somewhere else to put your complex!"
"No," said Draco, simply.
"You have to!" Ginny said hotly. "You'll be killing magical creatures and forcing them out of their natural habitats!"
"It's too late, anyways, Weasley," said Draco. "I've bought that land and my construction workers are going to site tomorrow."
"So call back your workers and sell the land," said Ginny, setting her jaw stubbornly.
Draco scoffed. "Sell it to who?"
"You could keep it," suggested Ginny. "And keep it as protected land."
"That's a waste of money," said Draco.
"Your complex is a wasting precious magical creatures' lives," countered Ginny.
"I've listened to you enough," Draco said irritably. "Leave."
"You aren't going to build that complex," Ginny said in a low voice, turning quickly and striding out of his office. As she turned, the smell of cinnamon crept up Draco's nose, setting off little triggers in his brain.
He stared at the door that she'd slammed shut.
It wasn't Weasley, was it? he thought to himself. No, no, it couldn't be.
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