"To be or not to be a Weasley"
By: Adrial
Chapter 7: Pages of Draco
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'Time goes on, like a soldier in the rain
Now you've been around the world and now you're goin' back again
Tell yourself that there's somethin' more to gain
When you step into the fire you can never be the same
I see you movin'-you can't go home and you don't know why
You look for somethin'-you feel that somethin'
Will pull ya through, now wrong or right
I put a spell on you
I watch you walk, you won't get far
I put a spell on you
It keeps you movin'
What will you do when your time is right
You take that somethin'
I'll give ya somethin'
Don'tcha know?
I think you might
I put a spell on you'
'I Put a Spell on You'-Billy Squier
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"Mum! Mum! Come look! QUICK!!" Ginny squealed, ignoring Harry as he clamped his hands over his ears to drown out a few decibels. Crookshanks' cinnamon eyes widened to the size of tea cups as Ginny swooped over him and had him spinning around in circles before he could even think about scurrying away, a look of utter glee plastered upon her face.
Hermione laughed at the younger girl's antics, though she did step in to save Mrs. Weasley's spotless kitchen floor from being redecorated with Crookshanks' breakfast by gently removing him from Ginny's clutches.
Molly Weasley came bounding into the kitchen then, panting slightly and wiping a soiled hand over her brow. She'd been tending to the flowerbeds in the yard when she'd heard Ginny screaming for her as if she'd been set on fire.
"What? What've they done? FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY, YOU GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!" She bellowed, flashing her eyes to the ceiling as if she knew exactly where Fred and George would be hiding.
"Mum! It's not-"
"I'VE TOLD YOU TWO NEANDERTHALS NOT ONE MORE JOKE UNDER THIS ROOF UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE BOOTED OUT OF HERE AS WELL!!"
Ginny grabbed her mother's shaking arms to get her attention, "Mum! It's not Fred and-"
"That's it! I've had it! They can live over that shop of theirs for all I care. They'll not be wreaking anymore havoc on this household, not one more moment!" Molly's face was red and had swollen to the size of a balloon in her rage as she heatedly shook a fist in the air.
Harry and Hermione were talking now, trying to get Mrs. Weasley to calm down. However, before any sense could be spoken, Fred's head popped into the room, followed closely by its counterpart.
"Oy! What's going on? George!" He glared accusingly at his twin, "I told you not to test the Blazing Pixie Wings on humans yet! You saw what happened to the toad!" He promptly thwacked his twin's head with his hand.
George turned scarlet and returned the favor. "What're you blathering on about? I didn't test them on anyone! It was you who decided to be cheeky and stick a handful of Shrinking Shoes in that old hag's pumpkin juice last week! We nearly got ourselves an interview with the entire Wizengamot!"
Fred punched George in the chest, "But it's alright if you turned that old witch's hair blue the day before?!"
They promptly engaged themselves in a brotherly wrestling match.
"YOU'VE GOT THREE SECONDS TO PACK YOUR THINGS-"
"WHAT?!" Fred and George both loosened their neck-holds on each other to gawk at their mother with frantic glows in their eyes.
"Mum! Would you just listen to me?!" Ginny waved her hands into front of her mother's face, but Molly merely stepped around her to get closer in the twin's faces.
"You heard me! Three seconds! I've had it with your nonsense!"
"Mum! What are you going on about? We haven't done anything in weeks!"
"Oy! Fred's right! We even fixed the roof-"
"-and the stairs!"
Ginny was bouncing on the balls of her feet now. "Mum! Look at this!"
"Not one more word! You've tried my nerves long enough!"
"Mrs. Weasley! Ginny's trying to show-"
"Harry, don't get into this!"
"I'm trying to help, Gin!"
"Lot of fat good that's doing!" She spat back at him.
Ginny growled loudly. This just bloody figures! The one time she deserved to have a bit of attention on her for a moment and the entire bloody household was ignoring her! She glared crossly at her bickering brothers and scarlet-faced mother before storming out of the room in a furious huff.
On her way, she flung a glittering gold badge on to the kitchen floor. It spun around in a gilded scarlet blur, clattering against the tile loudly and drawing the attention of pair of deep brown eyes-eyes that immediately softened into silent pools of understanding.
Draco Malfoy panted deeply, struggling as currents of wind fought to knock him backwards off of his newly arrived Firebolt II. The blanket of fast approaching emerald earth beneath him suddenly rocked sideways to reveal the edge of a thickly wooded forest as he came skillfully out of his dive.
Smirking to himself, he imagined he'd just stolen the snitch right from underneath Potter's nose; he rose higher into the air, filled with the thrill of his imaginary victory. He couldn't wait until the season started. Just the thought of that sodding St. Harry Potter's face, shadowed with disbelief at having been knocked off of his Gryffindor pedestal by none other than a slytherin-by none other than himself, Draco Malfoy-made him sneer with triumph.
Just as Draco completed a complicated figure eight over the tree tops, a blur of red caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Squinting, he could just barely make out a small body that appeared to be running as if the bats of hell where on its tail across the back yard of the Burrow. The curtain of red hair gave away its identity and Draco felt the hands of curiosity tug at his broom stick, bringing him closer to the ground and to Ginny rapidly.
Ginny stomped through her backyard, glaring at the ground as another round of hapless greenery became victim to the soles of her shoes.
A rush of air suddenly tousled hair and robes, and she gasped. Quickly swatting away the auburn curls blocking her vision, she was finally able to see Draco hovering a few feet in front of her, an unreadable expression on his pale face.
Draco didn't fail to notice as sunlight reflected off of shiny pools in her eyes, then glittered onto her cheeks in thin, gilded rivers.
"Are-are you crying, Weasel?" He furrowed his brows at the girl. He'd never expected this. Not from her. Though he knew hardly anything about the girl, he didn't take her for one of those whimpering nonsense girls who cried over a hair potion gone awry or blind sighted boys who wouldn't give them the time of day. Something horrible had to have happened to bring her to this.
Ginny glared at him and curtly spat, "NO."
Malfoy sneered back, though silently grateful that she was showing him a glimpse of the Ginny he'd been formerly introduced to.
"Well then, I suppose you wouldn't happen to have been hit with a weeping jinx?"
Ginny shook her head, feeling angered at being caught in such a vulnerable position. No one as long as she could remember had ever seen her cry before. She lashed the back of her hand across her face and stormed past him, growing furious all over again.
"Where do you think you're going, Weasel?" Draco glided over to her, hovering along as she tried to force her feet to move faster than his broom, though knowing it was impossible.
"What do you care, Malfoy?" She turned to give him a healthy glare, noting the flash in his eyes.
"Back to a last name only basis, are we?" He smirked.
Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "Back to being an obnoxious prat, are we? Oh, wait, I seemed to have forgotten. You never stopped." She lifted a hand to shove him off of his broom, but he caught it in his own, and in one fluid movement she was straddling his broom in front of him, a look of shock evident upon her tear-stained face.
"Violent little thing, aren't you?" He sneered, tightening his grip on her wrist until blood had to fight to circulate to her fingers.
"Let me go, Malfoy!" She struggled against him.
"Not until I've taught you a lesson…" His voice trailed off and Ginny's heart dropped at the glint of amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Don't you dar-MALFOOOOYY!!" She squealed as they shot off of the ground like a bolt of lightening. She'd never dreamed of flying so fast before. The world was a blur around her as the wind lashed at her clothing and hair with a vengeance, forcing her to bury her head in Draco's robes to prevent her face from whip-lash.
After a few moments, Draco shifted underneath her, yelling her ear so she could hear him over the deafening roar of rushing air.
"It's alright! Have a look!" He nudged his shoulder a little so her head would roll over to the side. When she was able to force her tightly shut eyes to open, Ginny's mouth flew open in silent awe. He'd flown them over the reservoir, and she marveled at the glittering ripples dancing before her. A flock of geese flapped gracefully below them, and Ginny craned her head to watch them glide skillfully over the water's surface, darting their heads beneath occasionally and coming out with a mouthful of breakfast.
"Wow…"
She felt a sudden jolt as Draco steered them higher into the clouds, forcing her to clutch his chest once again or slip off of the broom.
"Hold on to me!"
Ginny obliged, not willing to let the wave of embarrassment that washed over her stop her from wrapping her arms around his waist as tightly as she could.
The broom seemed to move with Draco's mind instead of his body, and Ginny was content to feel the moist morning clouds dampen her cheeks as they zoomed higher. The familiar sense of security flooded through her with the thrill of flight, but somewhere along the lines, a deeper feeling aroused inside of her as she leaned against Draco's chest.
Before she had time to dwell on any such feelings, however, Draco pointed the broom towards the ground, though keeping the angle of depression slightly greater so as not to scare the wits out of his companion and cause him to lose control of the broom.
A few seconds later, they landed softly on a grassy knoll in the middle of a spacious pasture Ginny had never seen before. A few cows were specks in the distant, bending over the thick grass to eat.
Ginny shivered; her jeans and shirt were both damp from being submerged within the clouds for so long, and she loosened her arms on Draco's waist to wrap them around herself.
Draco lifted himself off of his broom and offered her his cloak. Ginny silently took the proffered warmth and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Smells like…flying… She silently observed as she dismounted the broom with the aid of Draco's hand and took up a seat next to him on the ground. The Firebolt was humming next to its owner dutifully, and Draco ran a slender hand over its handle absently.
Ginny's hair was a little wet and stuck to her face defiantly as she tried to swat it away. Giving up, she let it stick to her neck in curls and focused on the countryside around her.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Draco leaned back on the palms of his hands, staring off into space as Ginny sat wrapped up in his cloak, feeling as if this was exactly the place she wanted to be for once.
"Why did you bring me here?" She chose to break the silence when she could take it no longer, though she silently feared that if Draco began talking, it would ruin the tranquility that had surfaced upon them.
Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Just thought you could use a quick exit. Why? Would you have rather been whisked off to Rome or something?" He smirked, "Like in some fairy tale?"
Ginny smiled reluctantly and rolled her eyes, "No…I just…well, thank you. I really needed to get away from that place." She smiled at him warmly, and Draco shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't mention it, Weasel. I thought you'd gotten sick of seeing those cows you like to call brothers. Thought I'd show you the real thing for a change." He gestured towards a family of mooing animals grazing several kilometers in front of them.
Ginny playfully hit him across his chest, though she didn't choose to retort. A grin slid across her face and she decided to share with him what she'd tried so desperately to share with her mother before.
"I got a letter this morning…" She began. Draco shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
"So? What'd it say? Did your family finally win the lottery or something?"
Ginny ignored his comment. "I've been made a prefect."
Draco let it sink in for a moment before nodding briefly, "Excellent. Another do-gooder Gryffindor to save the corridors of Hogwarts from any wicked little witches and wizards."
Ginny's smile faded. "You're a prefect, too!" And as the thought settled upon her mind, she was suddenly bombarded by a torrential wave of memories of the previous year as they flooded back to her. Memories of a sneering Draco in Umbridge's office, memories of his dark face glaring at her friends and herself as he and his followers held them captive. She suddenly felt as if she were the biggest idiot in the world.
Draco scoffed, ignoring her sudden silence, "How soon do you think it'll take before that old bag Dumbledore decides that any member of the 'Inquisitorial Staff' doesn't deserve that title?" He snorted but didn't meet her gaze.
"You were awful, you know," Ginny said softly.
"What else is new?"
"You helped that woman torture everyone! You were one of her…her minions-"
"Shut it, Weasel!" He suddenly spat, nearly knocking her over with the force of his glare. Ginny swallowed, unnerved at his outburst.
"You don't know a damned thing about me," He spat, tearing enraged gray eyes from her own fearful ones.
"Well, what would you have called it then? You went around terrorizing students as if you were her right-hand man or something!" Ginny retorted, though with less fervor.
Draco whipped around again, fire emblazoned in his gaze.
"I said SHUT UP!" He roared in her face. Ginny jumped in shock, her hazel eyes locked with his own, trying to read into them, to see past the raging anger…
"It hurts you…doesn't it, Draco?" She found herself saying, unsure of where she'd dredged up the courage to do so.
Draco's face was inches from hers, smoldering, but he slowly backed off, facing the field once again.
"If you're going to start getting all philosophical, Weasel, you can take your bloody nonsense and shove it up your arse for all I care."
Ginny ignored him. "It hurts that your father is one of the Dark Lord's henchmen, doesn't it?"
Draco's gaze remained fixated on some point in the distance, but the malicious cold in his voice betrayed his thoughtful demeanor.
"You know nothing about me."
"Oh, yeah?" Ginny glared at his profile, "What if I said that I could read you like a book?"
Draco turned to look at her, traces of his earlier rage crackling back to life, "Right. Page one: Poor little Draco Malfoy-he's so misunderstood!" His scornful tone kindled the growing fire in his eyes.
Ginny hastily spat back, "Page One: Spoiled little rich boy-desperately ashamed of his father!"
"Weasley…" Draco began warningly.
Ginny stood up furiously, "Page two: Draco Malfoy-afraid of becoming exactly what his father wants him to be!"
Draco was standing now, as well. "If you don't shut that bloody mouth of-"
"Page three!" Ginny continued, "Evil little slytherin biding his time until he gets his own pretty little tattoo! Page four! Draco Malfoy is a cowardly git who is too afraid to stand up for what he thinks is right because he's too bloody scared of disappointing Daddy!"
Draco lunged at her, pinning her to the ground with his entire body, a vicious snarl smeared across his face.
"Would you like me to turn to page five, Malfoy?" Ginny stared fixedly into his gaze, not wavering in her demeanor for a moment.
Their staring contest went on for several tension-thick moments. Ginny's steel-edged glare butted heads with Draco's hate-laced irises until she could take it no longer…until she could no longer bear to watch his eyes fight back tears of silent fury.
"Draco…" She finally said, feeling her arms numbing beneath his vise-like grip. He glared more heatedly at her, his entire face shaking with rage, but eventually his cold fingertips were gone from her forearms, and she sat up, rubbing them gingerly.
Ginny looked at him cautiously, her stomach tied in knots. Her throat was dry and her shoulders were throbbing, but she refused to let him know that. When he shot up suddenly and began to descend the hill with his hands clenched into fists, Ginny quickly scrambled to her feet.
"Draco!" She called after him, but he didn't turn around. She flung off the heavy cloak and clumsily ran after him while trying to juggle it in her hands, slipping on the morning dew that sparkled on the grass beneath her feet.
"Draco!" She sped up as his long strides quickened. Finally, she was able to lay a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping him so he could shove it away. He turned on her, a look of evident hate piercing his eyes. Ginny felt her stomach drop.
"I-I'm sorry, Draco." Her voice barely resembled a whisper. When he didn't respond or move, Ginny swallowed over the lump in her throat, "I shouldn't have said those things. You were right…I-I don't know you."
She stared at the toes of her shoes, suddenly feeling about the size of a small mouse.
"No. You-don't-know-me." He spat each word as if trying to engrave it into her skull with a chisel.
Ginny nodded silently, gathering her courage to meet his gaze. "But…I want to." She found herself muttering, wondering if she was crazy for even speaking further.
Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you really this thick all the time, Weasel?" He shook his head in disbelief, "If you've forgotten, my father is a death eater and just in case it might have slipped your bloody mind, I am a Slytherin and you are Weasley Gryffindor."
Ginny shifted uncomfortably in front of him. "I…I don't care about all that."
Draco's piercing gray eyes suddenly lost a bit of their edge. "What are you saying, Weasley? That you bloody care about me?" He laughed bitterly. "Save it for St. Potter and his groupies. I don't need your pity."
Ginny's eyes sparked into annoyance. "I'm not saying that! All I'm trying to do is…is…." She trailed off, not wanting him to know that she'd been following him around trying to make friends like some naïve pre-school child who didn't know any better. He'd laugh right in her face.
"I just…I know what it's like to feel as if no one in the world could give a damn about what you've got to say," She finally said, watching nameless emotions flicker through Draco's gaze.
He scoffed, "Right. With all that bloody nonsense you were going on about the other day? About faithful friends and sodding family morals? How could you possibly have any idea-"
"Would you stop being such a-a PRAT?!" She screamed in his face, frustration evident in her eyes. "I'm just trying to listen to you! To understand!"
"You'll never understand!"
"Because you're too afraid that I just might!"
"Why are you being so bloody difficult, Weasel?!"
"Why are you ignoring the fact that I am trying to be your friend?!"
Draco rolled his eyes skyward and threw his hands in the air. "I give up, then! Have it your own damn way, Weasel!" He stared at her intensely for a moment. "But the minute you decide to chicken out and run, you can't say that I didn't warn you."
Ginny's eyes sparkled suddenly as if she'd won some silent victory with is words, and she shoved the cloak she'd been holding in her hands into his chest roughly enough to make him stumble a little.
"It's just your luck, Draco Malfoy. I do so love a challenge." She smiled coyly and decided it would be pushing her luck to laugh at the utter surprise written across his face. With a flip of her hair, she turned around and began walking back to the hovering Firebolt.
"Shall we then?"
Draco took a moment to realize what had just occurred before shaking his head, ignoring the sudden impulse to hit himself.
Excellent job, Malfoy. Try getting rid of her now.
"Goodness, Draco-are you going to stand there and gawk all day or are you going to take me home? I'm starting to get hungry." Ginny tapped her foot impatiently.
Draco shook himself slightly and stalked over to her. Before he swung his leg over the Firebolt, he flung his cloak back in her face.
After they'd mounted the broom, Ginny smiled to herself against Draco's back. It was undoubtedly the rockiest ride she'd ever had on a broom, compliments of Draco's muddled mind and obvious frustrations, but all Ginny did was hold on tighter, squealing at every jolt and loop they took, realizing that as long as she continued to force her way into Draco Malfoy's life, there'd be plenty more to come.
------------------------------------------------
"Ow! That's my foot, Ron!"
"Well, you're stepping on my foot, Hermione!"
"Ssssh! Would you shut your bloody mouth?! I hear her!"
"Get ready…George stop fidgeting!"
"I'm not fidgeting, Mum!"
"Fred, stop fidgeting!"
"Well I would if Harry would kindly stop trying to feel me up!"
"I am not!"
"Well then take your bloody hand off my ar-"
"Quiet! She's about to come in!"
Ginny dismounted Draco's Firebolt carefully, feeling slightly dizzy from their bumpy ride home, but couldn't help giggling excitedly.
"That was excellent!" She handed him back his cloak. "I mean, you did nearly kill us both when you tried to dive into that flock of geese," She took a moment to glare at him, and he merely shrugged, smirking.
"I was just making sure you hadn't fallen asleep on me. Wouldn't want your disgusting drool all over my cloak."
Ginny rolled her eyes, leading the way back to the house. All of the windows were dark, and Ginny suddenly wished she hadn't come back at all.
"What's the matter? Not feeling so at-home?" Draco sneered at her. She glared at him and pushed open the back door, revealing the dark kitchen.
"Where is everyone?" She muttered silently to herself.
She and Draco stepped into the living room; it was dark as well, and Ginny's brow furrowed.
"This isn't like-"
"SURPRISE!!!!"
"ACK!" Ginny squealed, grabbing onto Draco's arm in her shock. Hundreds of tiny golden lights suddenly appeared, revealing her smiling family. The lights suddenly shifted, moving on their own accord higher until they formed the words CONGRATULATIONS GINNY!
"Oh my word…" She uttered, shocked senseless. Immediately, people began rushing towards her, congratulating her and clapping her on the back. Even Pig flitted over to buzz around her head gleefully.
"This is so…so…" Ginny giggled giddily, placing a hand over her mouth. Words wouldn't come.
"Oy! Gin's acthually speefless! Somebody call thuh prwess!" Ron bellowed, having already begun stuffing his face with the two tier white-iced cake sitting in a corner on a gold and scarlet decorated table.
"We're so proud of you, Ginny! Our fifth prefect!" Molly Weasley enveloped her daughter in her arms, squeezing until Ginny's head felt as if it would pop off. When she'd been released, Arthur ruffled the hair on his only daughter's head and smiled warmly at her, "Well done, dear!" He kissed her lightly on her forehead.
"Thanks, Dad."
Ginny laughed as one of the tiny lights began zooming affectionately around her.
"Fairies!" She exclaimed, taking in the golden beauty before her. "But mum…they're so hard to come by and so expen-"
"Oy, Gin! Aren't you supposed to be celebrating?" Bill walked forward, gathering her in a brotherly hug.
Ginny squealed, "Oh! This is so wonderful!" She returned every hug she was given and the overfilling jug of sparkling pumpkin juice George handed to her, raising his own in cheer.
Ginny tipped her glass to his, knowing that deep down he was regretting losing another sibling to the clutches of good-willed authority.
"We're gonna miss you, kid. You had great potential," George downed his glass and grinned cheekily at her. "If you ever decide that prefect-hood isn't all it's cracked up to be, there'll be a spot at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes open just for you." He winked at her and went off to join Ron before he devoured everything.
Ginny could barely suppress the joy she felt at that moment. It was perfect. After Hermione had run up to congratulate her with Harry in tow, she turned around suddenly, wondering where Draco had disappeared to.
"Erm…Mum, I'm just going to dash to the loo for a moment. Be right back!" She kissed her mother's cheek quickly and bounded out of the room and up the stairs. In the hallway where he parent's bedroom was situated, she passed by a dark figure and backtracked quickly after she realized who it was.
"Draco! What are you doing up here? Come downstairs." Ginny smiled at him warmly, tugging on his sleeve.
He gently tugged back, remaining where he was. "I'd rather not ruin all the fun, Weasley."
"Don't be silly! It's my party and I'm inviting you!" She tried to grab his sleeve again, but he yanked it back more forcefully.
"I said no, Weasley," He stated firmly.
Ginny was about to lash back at him and physically drag him downstairs if she had to, but something caught her off guard suddenly. A whimpering sound echoed down the hall.
"Is that…" She furrowed her brow, "Is someone crying?"
Draco immediately shoved her back towards the stairs, "No. Now go back to your lovely party and leave me alone."
Ginny dug her feet into the carpet and shoved back. "What's the matter with you? Who's that crying, Draco?" She pushed her hands against his chest.
They struggled a bit more until Ginny finally stomped down hard on his foot and he was forced to release her. She took her chance and bounded down to the end of the hallway. Sniffling could be heard just behind her parent's bedroom door. It was cracked slightly, and Ginny calmed her breathing, leaning lower to be able to see through the slit.
Narcissa Malfoy was on her knees at the foot of the canopied bed, hands clasped in front of her as her body shook with sobs. Her usually glossy and meticulously styled hair was matted to her back in tangled wisps of platinum, and Ginny's breath caught in her throat.
Suddenly, she felt herself being thrown aside and dragged down the hallway. Malfoy let go of her arm once they'd reached the stairs again and leaned close enough to feel her small nose brush against his.
"There. Are you happy now, Weasel?" He spat in whisper, silently praying his mother hadn't heard them.
Ginny's eyes widened, and she looked at him helplessly. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't know."
"Draco?" A meek voice filled the hallway. Draco whipped around after giving Ginny another harsh glare.
"Mother, go back to sleep." She heard him mutter to the shaking Narcissa. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, trying to steer her back into her room. She caught sight of Ginny and immediately her eyes hardened to steel.
"You!" She cried, "You took him! You and…and that BOY!" She struggled against her son's arms, "You wretch! You filth! You and your family won't live to see the day that my husband returns! Let me go, Draco!" She struggled weakly against her son's much more powerful arms.
"No, Mother! Go back in there!" He shoved her as gently and forcefully as he could back into her room. She left Ginny with another piercing, hateful glare before willingly being led back into the room.
Draco emerged a few seconds later, shutting the door softly behind himself.
Slight tremors were humming through Ginny's body as she shakily grabbed onto the banister for support. Tears were brimming in her eyes, and she stared at Draco, waiting for him to explain, to sneer, to do anything. But he only leaned his back against the wall next to her, closing his eyes silently.
Ginny found herself walking towards him, placing her hand gently around his own.
"Draco…" She started.
He turned to her, unreadable expressions in his eyes. "Sorry if I failed to introduce you to my mother properly, Weasley. She's not exactly feeling very cordial at the moment. You must forgive me."
Ginny shook her head silently, pained to no end by the sheer hate she'd witnessed with one glance in Narcissa Malfoy's cold eyes.
"Go back to your family, Ginny." Draco muttered in half-whisper.
"I want to stay with you." Ginny answered. Draco stared at her, deeply surprised by her sincerity.
"You don't belong here. Leave."
Ginny took Draco's hand more firmly in her own. "You seem to have forgotten our conversation earlier, Draco. I'm not letting you push me away so easily. I want to be your…" She tightened her grip on his hand when he tried to loosen it, "Your friend."
Draco stared at her deeply, willing her to turn her back on her word and leave when he refused to respond, but she didn't. She stayed there, holding his hand, eyes wide and determined.
"She hates you." He suddenly said.
"I don't blame her. She was right…we did get Lucius sent to Azkaban." Ginny responded.
Draco stared at the floor, "Today's their anniversary…he's supposed to be home, showering her with jewels and bouquets of flowers, but…" He nodded towards the end of the hall, "Guess he won't."
Ginny swallowed. "You…you miss him?" She tried to force herself to think of Lucius Malfoy smiling lovingly at his wife and son, home after a hard day of embezzling in the Ministry of Magic and shining the Dark Lord's shoes. She muffled her scoff, shaken from her reverie when Draco spoke suddenly.
"He'll be out soon enough." He sounded so convinced of his statement himself that Ginny felt a drop of fear settle in her stomach. "All of the death eaters will be."
"I wish things were different…"
"Well they can't be, can they? " Draco snapped at her, and she bit her lip.
"They will be. I know they will. One day…" She trailed off, subconsciously running her thumb over Draco's knuckles.
"Please, Weasley. Your optimism repulses me."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Draco! If you're going to insist upon insulting me every time you speak to me, you could at least say my name."
Draco smirked. "What? And ruin all the fun?"
"You, Draco Malfoy, have a very different idea of fun than I do."
"So it seems…Weasel."
"You're impossible, did you know that?" Ginny laughed slightly, leaning beside him, afraid to uncoil her fingers from around his for fear of him realizing that she was, in fact, holding his hand in the first place. She wondered if he wasn't saying anything about it because it felt so…so natural. At least for her it did. She swallowed, wondering if friends were supposed to hold hands in darkened corridors.
"I did warn you." He shrugged, and in doing so glanced down at their intertwined hands curiously.
"Are you trying to warm up to me, Weasley?" He smirked mischievously at her, and Ginny's cheeks reddened, and she quickly released her hand from around his.
"I-I..no…I mean…--"
"Is that what you'd call friendly behavior? What's next? Are you going to try to snog me as well?" He laughed outright.
Ginny glared at him. "I believe it was you who was doing the snogging the other night, Draco."
She smiled winsomely at the horror that fell over his face. "Oh, honestly, Draco. Are you going to get all bashful now?"
Draco swallowed. He'd really hoped she'd forgotten about that…erm…lack of judgment on his part. "Shut up, Weasley," was the best he could come up with as he willed away the humility ebbing at his conscience.
"Well isn't that how it all started in the first place? You 'shutting me up'?" She laughed, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "I do believe it was quite effective, though I wouldn't recommend it to pompous boys trying to prove to world how bloody refined and regal they are." She wriggled her eyebrows mischievously at him. "It might ruin their reputation."
Draco sneered, "Well, you should feel privileged. Do you realize how many girls would have died to be put in that position?" He sniffed at the air, obviously convinced that he was Merlin's gift to all witches and should thus be honored as such.
Ginny's outburst of laughter knocked him off guard as she took his hand in her own again, toying with his slender fingers with her own. Draco narrowed his eyes questioningly.
"What are you-"
Ginny grabbed his other hand and had him pinned against the wall before he could finish his sentence. She had no idea what she was doing, but it seemed as if her body was moving on its own accord, instructed by her racing heart.
She smiled coyly, letting her hands slide down his arms ever so slowly before ending up at his shoulders and then his neck, where she commenced to trail shapeless figures across his Adam's apple.
"Doing?" She finished for him, licking her lips playfully and taking on a thoughtful expression, "I don't know, Draco. What could I possibly be thinking?" She laughed lightly, "Me? A poor, defenseless Weasley, alone in a dark hallway with the Draco Malfoy?"
Draco gulped. He knew he should be fleeing to the ends of the earth at that moment, but there was something in her voice that kept him pinned to the wall. Her eyes were bright in the dark corner they were in, shinning with some inner light that he found himself mesmerized by for some reason. He caught himself admiring her symmetrical features, the almond shape of her eyes, and the pout of her lips-
What're you just standing there for, idiot?! You're Draco sodding Malfoy! Sneer at her! Insult her! Oh, Merlin…where is that damn cloak when I need it? He swallowed, unsure as to exactly what spell Ginny Weasley was casting over him, but the minute he found out, he'd have her booted out of Hogwarts for using magic outside of school. Perhaps he'd get the recipe first; something that useful could come in handy later…
Ginny leaned closer to his face, her lips parted slightly at his chin; she was daring him with her gaze to stop her, to push her away, but he didn't. He stood there. Like an idiot.
Ginny couldn't have been more pleased. She drew her lips higher, centimeter by centimeter, before she could practically feel the heat from her his own upon hers.
And suddenly, she drew away, crinkling up her nose with the same sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
"Wow, Malfoy. Do you think you could gob on a bit more cologne next time? I don't think the people in Scotland can quite smell you yet." She giggled playfully, patting his cheek with her hand before bouncing off, leaving him pressed against the wall breathing deeply, and trying to string together a coherent thought other than-I almost kissed a Weasley. I almost kissed a Weasley. I almost liked the thought of almost kissing a Weasley.
With a dignified sniff, he shook himself and straightened his shirt, watching her skip away like she hadn't just made Draco Malfoy-well, like she hadn't unnerved him.
That's right, Draco. Unnerving. That's what you'll call it.
With a shake of his head and one more glance down the hallway at his mother's room, he ascended the stairs to his own room to think.
Yes, that girl would definitely be the end of him yet.
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AN: Another chapter! I hope you liked it. I've been working on it whenever I have free time. The next one will definitely be out a bit later because I've got school in a week and SO MUCH work to do yet. I hope to hear from you all! Keep me going while I'm trying to get all my work in order. I'm an awful procrastinator…but oh well! review please and make my day!
Ciao!