I Wish...
Chapter One:
On A Red-Headed Rampage
Virginia Weasley was furious.
She stormed towards the library, scowling. Her brother, Ron Weasley, had done it again. Ginny was fifteen years old and in her fifth year, but had she ever had a date? No! And whose fault was it? Ron's! She'd just been in the Great Hall talking to Collin Creevy, when Ron had come strutting out, yelling his head off about being unworthy to touch his baby sister and dragging Collin off down the hallway, most likely to hex him to death.
Ginny was sick of it. Collin was the ninth boy Ron had chased off since the school year began. At this rate, she'd be an old maid by the time she turned nineteen!
Ginny sat down at the table near the window, running a hand through her bright red hair. No matter how many times she'd talked to Ron about toning down the whole "overprotective brother" routine, he still didn't get it. It was like any boy who'd name wasn't Harry Potter had no business being within fifty feet of her. Harry probably because he had a girlfriend.
Flipping open her Charms textbook, Ginny sighed and let her eyes run across the page as she pretended to read it, giving herself a reason to ignore Ron if he came in looking for her. Which he was likely to do any moment. She wished there was some way she could get back at him for treating her like she was three years old. Ginny sighed at the thought. She wasn't the vindictive type.
"Ginny! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" Ginny hid her head in her Charms book, glaring at the pages as Ron took a seat next to her, smiling as if he wasn't trying to ruin her life. "Gin? Hey, I'm talking to you."
"So?" She asked, hotly. "That doesn't mean I'm talking to you."
"Huh?" Ron asked, dumbly. Ginny slammed her book shut, ignoring the scattered 'Shh's she received from the other parties in the library.
"You heard me, Ron! I'm not talking to you! I can't believe you!" She gave him her worst glare, but he continued looking clueless.
"What did I do?"
"What did you do? You've been scaring off any boy who comes anywhere near me! I'm fifteen, Ron! I can make my own choices and date whoever I want to!" At this, Ron snapped to attention, standing and glaring at her.
"Date?! You're too young to date!" He shouted.
"I'm fifteen. I should have started dating ages ago, but you're always in the way!" Ginny retorted. "Collin was going to ask me to go to Hogsmeade with him before you dragged him off! I'd really wanted to go!"
"Ginny, listen to me." Ron said, gently. "Boys have really dirty minds. I should know. I'm just trying to protect you."
"More like smothering me." She muttered. Ginny grabbed her bag, stuffed her Charms book into it, and slung it over her shoulder. "Just leave me alone for once, Ron. I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need protecting!"
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the library, in much the same mood as she had been when she'd stormed in. Except now she wasn't furious.
She was pissed.
~*~
Draco stared, annoyed, at the letter in his hand.
It was from his father. Nothing unusual there. Draco always got letters from his father, ranging from threats to this-is-what-you're-going-to-do's, and they always served to give him a reason to be irritated for the rest of the day. But this letter was different. This one got him almost mad.
Dear Draco,
It's very close, my boy. No, not the rising of the Dark Lord. We can speak about that later. I'm talking about your next meeting with her. Yes, you know which 'her' I'm talking about. You'd be a great match and she's of very high standing in the Wizarding World. She'll be at the mansion next time Hogwarts has holiday. Be sure to send her an owl to tell her you'll be there. And, Draco, you'd better be there.
Or else.
Good day,
Lucius
Who did his father think he was? Who said Draco wanted to meet this girl, whoever she was. Draco didn't
want to meet any girl his father chose for him. Draco scowled. His father seemed to be taking a rather large role in
his life, lately. Something was up.
Draco gritted his teeth in frustration. Coming into his bedroom every ten minutes to 'look around', intercepting all his letters, choosing what he ate and what he wore? Yes, something was definitely wrong. It frustrated Draco to no end to be in the dark to his father's plans.
Mostly because those plans usually involved him being miserable.
"I'm going out." Draco shouted to Crabbe and Goyle. He crumpled up the paper and stuffed it into his pocket before turning and exiting the Slytherin Common Room. "Damn my father and his bloody letters! He's stark raving mad if he thinks I'm hooking up with some slime ball girl he probably found in the alleys. They're never good for a snog."
He hadn't gone very far before he collided with someone, and his vision became filled with a mess of red
hair.
"Weasley." Draco sneered.
"Malfoy." The Weasley looked up. Draco hid his surprise at seeing the youngest Weasley (Georgette... Giana... Ginny!) Standing before him, glaring at him like he'd just committed some horrible crime. Something obviously had her very angry and lucky, lucky him had had the pleasure of bumping into her.
Could the day get any better?
"What are you doing wandering the corridors by yourself, Weasley?" He drawled, eyeing the girl suspiciously. She continued glaring at him, clutching the strap of her second-hand backpack tightly.
"What are you doing complaining about your father in the middle of the hallway, Malfoy?" Draco stared at her evenly. She'd certainly gained a spine over the some. It was a bit unnerving, and for a moment, surprise flashed across Draco's face, but then it was quickly replaced by his usual stoic expression.
"That's none of your business."
"Then my wandering the corridors is none of your business, either." She finished. A mischievous smile crept onto her face. "So, Draco... You're having problems with you're father?"
"I said that it's none of your--"
"How'd you like to get back at him?" Draco blinked, confused. Was the little Weasley actually suggesting some kind of revenge plot? Why did she want to help him? What was in it for her?
"What's going on in that empty little head of yours, Weasel?" He said, suspiciously. Ginny apparently didn't want to waste any time.
"Well, see, I got into this fight with Ron. He treats me like a baby and I heard you complaining about your father so I figure you're in a fight with him, too. I just thought maybe we could help each other. I know something we can do that will make them both really angry! Perfect revenge. Think of how many people we can piss off in one go!" Draco raised an interested eyebrow and she looked at him hopefully.
"And what's this something we can do?" Ginny looked down at her feet, and then stared at him defiantly in a small burst of courage.
"Well, you and I could pretend that we were dating..."
"Are you off your rocker, Weasley?!" Ginny shuffled her feet, but continued to look at him, a determined look in her eye.
"Just think about it. If you and I were 'going out', you'd be getting back at your father for trying to set you up with that girl, and he wouldn't be able to since he'd think you were dating me. And you'd get to see the looks on Ron, Hermione, and Harry's faces. I know you'll love that!" Draco grinned, mischievously.
"Hey, I think you've got something there, Weasley. We may just be able to pull this off."
"If we are going to do this, you can't call me 'Weasley'. I'll call you Draco if you call me Ginny. And we can't be mean to each other in public." Draco smirked.
"How do I know this isn't just some clever ploy to get me to snog you... Virginia?" Ginny winced as he referred to her by her full name, and then glared at him.
"And how do I know that you don't want me to snog you, Draconis?" Draco returned her glare. The two stared at each other before Ginny bit her lower lip. "This might be harder than I thought."
"It sounds worth it to me." Smirking, Draco stepped past her to continue on his walk, and then turned back and winked. "See you in the Great Hall tomorrow morning, Ginny."
Ginny smiled. "I'll be there."
Draco shook his head as he continued to walk. That girl was crazy, but something about her... Draco shook his head again. Well. This year would certainly be interesting.