Chapter Six
Ginny started her day just like every other student in Hogwarts. Mondays were the days where the world swirled in slow motion, and Tuesday just couldn't come fast enough. Her clock buzzed at 5:30 a.m., and she knew she had to get up before its automatic sprinkler setting kicked in. Groaning, Ginny got up, took a shower and combed her hair.
Grabbing her wand, she performed a drying charm on it, making it cascade over her shoulders in an almost elegant way. Leaving the wand in her pocket, she put her hair into a braid, tying it with her customary satin ribbon. The color of it varied from day to day, and gave her something different to wear with her identical robes. Today she wore violet.
Ginny put on her standard black flats and pulled anything she could find out of yesterday's robe pockets. 'A quill, a galleon, and this...' Ginny held the pendant in her hand, looking at it. It wasn't swirling now, and wasn't it purple before? Ginny rubbed the stone, as if hoping to change its color back. Oddly, Ginny's touch did change the stone.It resumed its swirling, but remained a deep blue.Surprised, she set it down on her bed stand and went to look for a chain for it.
Unable to find a necklace chain, Ginny took the chain off Bill's old pocket watch, which he'd given Ginny when she'd left for Hogwarts last year."Don't worry, Bill," Ginny whispered to the window, as if he would hear her this way."It's only temporary.I just don't want to lose it." Attaching the chain to the belt of her robes, tucked away from sight, Ginny gathered her things and left for breakfast.
The current breakfast seating had become typical.Ginny sat with Seamus, Dean and Lavender, half listening to the conversation while buttering her toast.Ginny felt two pairs of eyes on her - Lavender's jealous and Malfoy's anxious.However, Ginny didn't want anything to do with either of them today.If Ginny was going to execute her plan, she didn't want Lavender butting in or Malfoy distracting her. Today was about Seamus.
Ginny ate breakfast as usual, and ran to catch Seamus walking with Dean on their way to their first class. She tapped Seamus on the shoulder, and he turned to face her. "Did you want to meet me after my Herbology class for lunch?" she asked. "We could eat in the common room instead of the hall."
He smiled. "Sure, we could do that. Your class ends after my Arithmancy class, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
"All right, I'll just make sure I get out on time today!" Seamus grinned at her and went back to talking with Dean about some Quidditch team.
Ginny hugged her books to her chest and nearly skipped down the hall.'Good,' she smiled.'The date's settled, and I don't really need to worry about Lavender getting in the way since he's meeting me at my class instead of me at his.'
Soon reaching the greenhouse, Ginny took her seat and reached in her bag for a quill. Finding one, she held it between her teeth while she ran her fingers through her hair and smiled in satisfaction. 'Nothing can go wrong,' she thought.
Draco didn't know what to do when Ginny left the breakfast hall this morning.He'd tried to catch her, but she'd been at the side of that Irish kid again, grinning at him like an idiot. Draco ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Draco was sure if he tried to approach her while she was with that bloke, he'd never get a word with her.
Draco looked at his watch and swore to himself. He didn't have much time left to get to Charms. Draco raced down the hallways, trying to make it to the flying staircase upstairs from the ground floor before it left.Jumping over a gap to the staircase, which would have left Draco in lots of pain if he'd missed his mark, he caught it, but still arrived late to his class.
"... and you need to accent your N's more, Mr. Zabini. Ah, Mr. Malfoy, decided to make it to my class today, have you?" Professor Flitwick tapped his wand on his hand impatiently. Draco looked down at him impassively. "Sixth time this term," Flitwick continued as he scuttled to close the door.
He summoned a piece of paper from his desk, and, with a wave of his wand, a check mark appeared next to Draco's name. The paper returned to the professor's desk. Flitwick spoke, his squeaky voice taking its most scolding tone, which wasn't really very intimidating.He did, however, look disappointed.
"I'm going to have to require another detention from you, Mr. Malfoy."Flitwick didn't like punishing people any more than Hagrid did. "Perhaps some more time helping Madam Pince will convince you to be more punctual? Should you be late again, we will have to come up with a more suitable punishment." Flitwick noticed Draco's dwindling attention."Don't you agree, Mr. Malfoy?" Flitwick looked up at Draco, his hands on his hips, frowning at him while Draco stifled a laugh. Flitwick was just so funny when he was mad.
Finally Draco shrugged, taking his seat. Taking one last look at him, Flitwick uttered a quick "See me after class," and returned to teaching.
Draco paid a bit of attention, finding this lesson particularly interesting, but mostly focused on a plan to saving himself and getting that amulet back. He didn't know Weasley's schedule, he realized. He wouldn't have even known where she would be next, today, had he not overheard her talking about Herbology earlier.
Draco realized he didn't have a game plan for how he'd be getting the amulet back.He could just ask for it, but then Ginny would ask questions.Any other way, however, might take too much time, and if she put it on... oh, Draco didn't even want to think about what could happen.When Charms ended, Draco arranged his detention, and set off to find Ginny.
Ginny glowed.She'd scored well on her Herbology exam, she hadn't been forced to sit next to Patrick, the only 6th year Gryffindor who still hadn't learned where the shower was, and she was going to meet Seamus in only a few minutes.Ginny held her books slung low in her arms, standing outside the greenhouse door.She rocked back and forth, watching in the direction Seamus would be coming.Feeling a tap on her back, Ginny turned around quickly to give Seamus a bright smile.
"Seamus!I'm so glad you -"
Ginny's voice halted quickly from its chattering pace to a dead stop. Seamus did not have silvery blond hair. Leaning against the greenhouse, Draco was at Ginny's right, one hand in his pocket, the other hidden by his cloak."I'm really glad to see you too, Weasley,"he said, smirking knowingly at her.
"Malfoy! What do you want? I'm busy. Seamus is going to meet me soon and -"
"I don't know about that, Weasley. Lavender Brown and that black guy he's always with were heading down to lunch a few minutes ago. I don't think they're planning on meeting you any time soon."
Ginny looked downcast for a moment, but her face hardened just as quickly. "Seamus is coming to meet me.He said he would. There's no reason I should trust a word you say." She crossed her arms, sat on one of the greenhouse benches, and stared determinedly at the castle entrance.
Draco sat next to her, stretching out on the bench leisurely. He tried to contain a smirk. "I'm sorry to say it, Weasley, but I really don't think he's coming."
"And just why would you be sorry if he stood me up?Don't you get some malicious pleasure out of things like this happening to people like me?"
"Sometimes.This actually is quite amusing."
Ginny left her books on the bench and stood up to face him, her hands on her hips. "You really are a prat!You're right, and I'm wrong. Is that what you want to hear, Malfoy? Would that make you happy?!"
Draco lost his smirk and looked a bit tired, a bit stern. He hunched forward, his arms laying casually over his lap, his wrists on his knees.Draco said nothing and just watched Ginny with calculating eyes. Ginny studied him for a moment, then asked, "Why are you here, Malfoy?"
"Why do you think I'm here?"
"I'm not going to play stupid games with you, Malfoy.I don't have time for this!"Ginny turned to leave but was stopped by a firm hand on her arm.She was turned by the force of his hand, ending up against his chest. She had put her hands up to push him away, but now Ginny found herself unable to move them from him. She cursed herself and looked up at him, still shocked by her reaction.
Draco tilted his head down to look at her. "Weasley..."
Ginny hoped she didn't looked as dazed as she felt, and though her mind yelled at her to push him away and storm off, her hands still rested on his shirt. Disgusted with herself, she snapped out of her reverie.
"What?" she asked, sounding obviously annoyed. She pushed her hands harshly from his chest, glaring at him. Her head tilted upwards, waiting for his response.
Draco realized he'd lose her interest rather soon if he didn't cut to the chase. "I think you have something of mine."
She looked skeptically at him, confused. Draco grinned to himself. 'She obviously didn't expect that,' he thought.
"A pendant from a necklace. It's purple.I'd like it back."
"A pendant?Is that what this is all about?" She backed away and started walking towards the castle, calling out to him, "Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but I don't have a purple pendant -" She reached inside her cloak and pulled out the pendant with a triumphant smile. She held it up so he could see it."- I have a blue one!"
Draco scowled. "Damn it!" He paced in front of the greenhouse. His plan was only partially succeeding, and he still didn't have the pendant.Draco had promised himself he'd keep Ginny from Seamus. That was his payback for Seamus' stunt last year. No, his plan wasn't to date Ginny, just to make her fall for him enough to dump Seamus.
Today Ginny had looked all flustered, and he'd thought he might be getting to her, but there she went, getting angry at him again.Draco wasn't going to get anywhere with her if she kept running off like that. He'd need to plan a way to see her more often if he was going to have any effect on her.
'I'm sure I'll think of something.' And then there was the issue of the pendant. She had it, and now she was probably going to keep it to spite him.Even worse, it was activated.If it had changed from purple to blue in only a day, he didn't have time to waste before it ended up white.
'I don't know how long the change would take, but I'm not ready to find out any time soon.' He had to see her again. With that thought, he went back to the castle.
Ginny stormed through the hallway.She was furious, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why. 'That manipulative rat!' Ginny tucked the pendant back into her robes.'I can't believe I fell for something like that again! Well, he's not getting this thing back if my life depends on it! Anyone who tries to -' She searched for a word that would justify how much of an ass he was- 'seduce me into giving them something they want is not going to get it.Yes, Malfoy has definitely picked the wrong girl to coerce today.I'll bet he even sent Seamus off somewhere, and that's why he didn't come. I'll just bet...'
Suddenly, Ginny was pulled from her thoughts. "Seamus!" She ran to hug him when she spotted him in the hallway.
Seamus turned from talking to Dean and Lavender, taken off guard as Ginny threw her arms around his neck. She hadn't done this before! "Ginny?"
Ginny's eyes lighted in adoration and forgiveness. "Oh, Seamus, I was so upset when you didn't come, but I completely understand now!" She hugged his neck tightly.
"You do?" Seamus was confused and amazed.
"Yes, I do, and I know it's not your fault -"
Seamus was even more surprised. "It isn't?"
She looked up at him with the most forgiving face he'd ever seen. "No, and I'm not going to let Malfoy come between us. All right?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Malfoy?" Seamus looked almost as confused as he had during this morning's Arithmancy lesson."Ginny?" he said, hoping it might clarify her reaction.
She beamed at him, feeling a sudden surge of courage. She stood on her toes, tilted her head and kissed him.Seamus never lost his look of surprise, and he didn't even think to move his lips for the first couple seconds.
It was short, chaste, and unemotional.Seamus was happy, yet shocked. Ginny had never been the type of girl to make a move like that, nor was she normally inclined to take being stood up as well as she had. Seamus took her arms off his neck and said goodbye, walking with Dean and Lavender to his next class.
Ginny had assumed kissing Seamus would be special. Surely, it hadn't been Seamus' fault he'd stood her up, and he must have just been surprised when she kissed him. He'd shown that he liked her, so that couldn't have been why it wasn't as wonderful as she'd dreamed. Ginny sighed and walked to her next class.