Chapter 13 - The Bird and the Bet
As Draco walked outside, he opened the sealed envelope. In it, he found a fancy piece of parchment, as well as a great deal of money. Draco opened the letter.
Son,
Congratulations on your graduation! Your father and I are so proud of you. I hope things have gone as planned with your end of the year testing. I know your father is set on your helping his business in Belgium, but if you can find something better for you here, you'll be a lot happier. I enclosed some money to help your travels. As I told you when I gave you my amulet, it's your turn to find your future. Good luck!
Mother
PS: If your father asks you, this letter is reminding you of your obligations. That's what I told him when I had him drop it off at the Wooden Duck for me.
Draco folded the letter into his pocket and dropped the money in a pouch. After looking around, he found Ginny sitting on a white iron park bench just outside the tavern. She hadn't seemed to notice that Draco had left the tavern yet. Ginny seemed to be studying a little grey bird in the street. Draco walked up behind her. "Is this what you always-"
Ginny put her hand over his mouth, shushing him. "Watch it," she whispered. She stared at the bird until it looked her in the eyes. It was an odd bird, its eyes holding much more knowledge than a normal wildlife creature's would. Cocking its head to the side, it seemed to be studying Ginny as well. Unlike any undomesticated bird Draco had ever seen, the little bird was getting closer, walking instead of flying toward Ginny. It was then that Draco noticed its blue underside...
He knew what it was! Draco remembered hearing about this from Hagrid. Although he hated to admit he'd ever learned anything from that oaf, he did remember this. That little bird could turn her into a pile of dust. The bird would challenge her and if she failed...dust. Draco's thoughts raced through his head. Didn't she know? If she did know why would she take the risk? Then Draco thought about the worst that could happen. She'd turn to dust, he'd be on his own, no more Ginny. No more silly laughter and running to catch up. Yes, that would be lovely. Draco crossed his arms, walked a couple paces backward and watched.
The bird was only a couple feet from Ginny and coming closer. Draco's thoughts whirred through his head again. No more Ginny. Yes, on his own. Mhm. The bird was only a foot away. Suddenly, Draco changed his mind. No more Ginny. He'd be on his own with no more silly laughter or running after her. As much as he hated thinking it, he couldn't bear the thought of being here on by himself.
The bird took flight to land on her hand. Draco couldn't let this happen. "Ginny!" Draco shouted as he dove at her, pushing her from the bench to the ground. Ginny had let out a surprised shout as Draco's body toppled onto hers. The two of them landed on the stone pathway with a thud.
Any normal bird would have flown away in that commotion, but the little grey bird perched on the back of the iron bench. Draco looked up at it. It smiled, catching Draco off guard. As far as he knew, birds didn't smile, but at this point, nothing would really surprise him. In a deep female voice that seemed rather familiar, the little bird spoke to Draco. "Smart boy."
Winking at Draco, the bird flew a couple feet into the air before exploding into a shower of silver sparkles. Ginny gasped as the sparkles fell into her hair and coated Draco's back. It had been a Periclitari. She hadn't recognized it, but she saw it now. It had challenged her, but Draco had taken the challenge for her. Not only had he not let her turn to dust, he'd taken the risk himself for her.
Draco was propped up by his arms on either side of her, looking at where the bird had been sitting. When he looked back at her, Ginny felt a spark shoot through her body. When he had shouted for her... He called me Ginny...
"Are you okay?" Draco asked her.
Flustered, Ginny nodded furiously.
When they stood up, Draco noticed a necklace on the bench where the bird had been. It was a delicate, silver necklace with diamond and crystal pendants hanging in a triangular shape from its circular chain. They both gasped - Ginny because it was so beautiful, but Draco because he knew this necklace. Attached to its chain was a little parchment note. He picked it up. It read, simply, "Your turn." Quickly, he shoved it into his pocket before Ginny could read it. Ginny looked perplexed, but followed Draco as he directed her attention away from the necklace and toward a nearby dress shop.
The shop was clean and white walled, with a comfortable sitting area as well as racks upon racks of clothing. Draco had his hands on his hips inspecting the shop. "This'll have to do," he said, taking a few steps into the store. Draco noticed he was several steps ahead of Ginny because she was still standing in the doorway in shock. "Problem?" he asked her, grabbing her hand and leading her to a nearby rack.
"What are we doing in here?" Ginny asked as she was pulled toward a rack filled with lots of expensive dresses.
Draco didn't answer at first, but inspected a sunshine yellow dress with a flowing skirt before throwing it over his arm. "I'm finding you some clothing. Unless you'd rather wear your shreds of an awful sweater and skirt. Besides," he said looking her up and down, "I want my cloak back."
Ginny followed Draco as he picked up increasingly gorgeous dresses. She tried not to look at price tags, feeling everything here must cost nearly as much as her family spent on her in a year. However, with each dress Draco picked up, Ginny fell more into the shopping spirit. Occasionally, he'd hold a dress up to Ginny to judge if he liked it or not, then throw it over his arm.
Laying the dresses over a dressing room door, Draco gestured for Ginny to go inside. "Go try those on. I'll wait here." Draco went to sit on a couch near the dressing area. Ginny went into the little room and locked the door. Holding up the first dress, the yellow one, she unzipped the back. Stepping into it, she noticed how silky it was. Zipping it up, Ginny walked out to show Draco.
The dress had almost off the shoulder, flowing yellow sleeves and a curved V neck that complemented her collarbone nicely. It just barely clung at her waist, flowing into a loose skirt, which Draco thought suited her as well. He smiled to himself. She could still run in that one. He walked up behind her and adjusted the back, then let down her hair. Walking back, he took a final look.
Ginny tilted her head and smiled. "So?" She twirled, and the skirt spun around her.
Draco nodded. "Good. Try the next one."
He soon didn't like the fact that every dress Ginny tried made her look more beautiful than the last. The purple dress with the spaghetti straps was nice, the red one was nicer, but the green one made him want to touch her, hold her.
"What do you think of this one?" she asked him. She wore an emerald green silk dress with bell sleeves and a silver scooped collar. He marveled at her. She looked amazing in Slytherin colors... He'd always thought Ginny to be pretty, but out of those baggy sweaters she could have been the cover girl for Witch Weekly.
"Mhm. Yeah. Okay. We can go now." He turned quickly, threw a pile of clothing over his arm and motioned Ginny to the check-out counter. After paying for a robe and four dresses, Draco and Ginny left the dress shop.
The streets were becoming more vacant as night overcame the town. A couple blocks from the dress shop stood an inn with a black shingled roof and dark blue shutters. An old woman with sparkling eyes sat at the counter inside, knitting white woolen socks. She smiled when her visitors approached the desk. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Draco grabbed his money pouch. "How much will a double room be?"
The old woman looked hospitably at the two young people. "A double room?"
Draco wrinkled his brow. "Yes, a room with two beds in it?"
"Oh," the woman said, "we've already reserved our family room for the Mullins family. They're a family of six, you know." The lady went back to knitting her socks.
Draco looked a little irritable. "What do you have open then?"
In the end, Draco and Ginny ended up with room 16 on the second floor. It had a dresser, a queen sized bed, a couch, a cooler and a small rack of wizarding magazines in the main room. To the right of the front door there was a bathroom with a shower, and a closet opened on the left-hand side. Draco pulled some butterbeer out of the cooler and handed one to Ginny. Sitting on the couch, the two of them each took a magazine from the rack and started to read.
Ginny's vision began to blur the words on the pages. It was nearly two hours past her usual bedtime, and Ginny was tired. Yawning and standing up, she told Draco she was going to bed. He agreed, and by the time Ginny came back form washing her face, he was under the covers in the bed.
Ginny worked on braiding her hair for bed. "What do you think you're doing?"
Draco fluffed the pillow under him and smirked. "Going to bed."
"Not there, you're not."
"Oh really?" Draco put his hands behind his head. "Why not? I paid for this room, I should have a right to take the bed."
Ginny sulked a little. Finishing her hair and grabbing a pillow from the bed, she headed for the couch.
"You know, you could just sleep next to me."
She noticed he was shirtless as he sat up in bed. She continued to prepare her bed. "I don't think so." She threw herself onto the couch. The force of her jump knocked the piece of furniture backward. Standing up and tipping the couch back to a standing position, Ginny began to reassemble her bed.
"You know what." He stood up. "I'll offer you a deal."
Ginny turned, putting the pillow case back on her pillow. "What?"
"If I kiss you and you feel nothing, you can have the bed and I'll take the couch. But if you do feel something between us, you share the bed with me."
Ginny blinked in shock. Then she narrowed her eyes. He was joking. He had to be. She was about to open her mouth to reject his proposal when she noticed he was already moving closer.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Draco's arm held her around her waist and his body pressed against hers. Her chest was so close against his, she knew he could feel how fast her heart was beating, and his rich scent filled her. For a moment, her head had been lying against his shoulder, until he cupped her face with his hand, moving it upward.
From under her fringe of eyelashes, she looked up at him. There was a look in his eyes she'd never seen, a steady, strong, longing sort of look that made her melt inside. It was then that his lips pressed against hers. It was more gentle than she would've thought him capable of. A strong electric feeling moved through Ginny's body, from her fingertips to her toes. She had never felt anything as strongly as she did that moment. Not with Seamus, not with Dean, nor for Harry. The world, in that moment, was Draco.
Ginny melted into the kiss. Her fingers went through his hair and her other arm folded around his neck. All the while, Draco held her cheek, cradling her through the greatest kiss she'd ever had. He pulled her closer, savoring the feeling of his lips against hers, his body against hers. Finally, slowly, he pulled away. "So?"
Ginny was still dizzy. She didn't know how to respond. "Nothing," was the first thing out of her mouth.
Draco looked into her eyes. She looked as if she were longing to be kissed again, to be held and caressed. He knew she had felt the connection he had. The way she had responded to him...but she had said no. She said she didn't feel anything. Even if that wasn't true, she still wouldn't let him win the bet. "Okay," he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He picked up his pillow, threw a blanket on the couch and followed it himself.
Draco listened to her breathing until he was sure she was asleep. Looking at her one last time for the night, he whispered to her, so softly that had she been awake she might not have heard it. "Goodnight, Ginny."
*Periclitari - Latin [to try, make a trial, to test, to prove, venture; to take a risk, be in danger]