Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.
A/N: Thanks to my beta, Aliya.
Chapter 7
The next few weeks showed improvement for both Draco and Ginny. Everyday they seemed to talk a little longer than the day before. They had an almost friendship. By this time, it was the beginning of February, and Valentine's Day was just around the corner. This year, Dumbledore announced that there would be a Valentine's Day Ball to take everyone's minds off of the war. Ginny was secretly hoping that Draco would ask her, even if they just went as friends.
Currently, Ginny's last class had just let out, and she was heading to the library to do her homework. She met Draco there every afternoon so they could study together. Ron hadn't been very happy when he found out, but he didn't say much. He knew that they used to be friends and decided not to fight it.
When she arrived in the library, Ginny didn't see Draco anywhere so she sat down at an empty table and started her homework. As she was working on any essay for Charms class, she felt someone sit down next to her. Assuming that it was Draco, she didn't look up. It wasn't Draco. "Hi, Ginny," came the superior drawl of, not Draco, but Bryant.
"Hi," she replied uncertainly.
"So, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Valentine's Day Ball with me?" Bryant asked, not wasting any time.
Ginny was taken aback. Why was he asking her out? "Sure," she answered. She didn't really want to go with him, but she didn't want to say no and hurt his feelings either. She was just that kind of person.
"Great, see you then," he said. Then he got up and left a confused Ginny in his wake.
*~*~*~*
When Draco arrived in the library, he saw Ginny sitting at one of the tables, working on her homework. He walked over to the table and sat down across from her. She looked up at him and relief flooded her face. "Hey," she greeted.
"Hi. What's up?" he asked conversationally.
"Bryant asked me to the Valentine's Day Ball," she blurted out. She hadn't meant to tell him that. They never really talked about anything personal when they were with each other. The whole situation was just too new to them both.
"What did you say?" Draco inquired.
"I agreed to go with him. I'm not good at turning people down," she admitted sheepishly.
"So, you don't want to go with him?" he clarified.
"Well, I don't really know him," Ginny replied.
"He's a jerk. That's all you have to know. Go find him and tell him that you've changed your mind. You're going with me instead," Draco commanded.
"No! Why should I listen to what you say?" she demanded.
"Maybe because I know Bryant better than you do, and I know he's bad news," Draco shot back.
"Why do you care what happens to me?" she asked fiercely.
"I don't, but since we've sort of become friends, I thought I could warn you," he growled.
"If we're such great friends' you wouldn't be commanding me around like I'm a house elf," Ginny snapped back. "I don't know how I thought we could ever be friends again. You treat me like I'm some sort of lower life form!"
With that, Ginny whipped around and stalked out of the library. The closer she got to Gryffindor Tower, the blurrier her vision became from her unshed tears. She didn't know why the fight upset her so much. They hadn't even been that great of friends, barely even friends, but their fight pretty much crushed any hope of them ever becoming friends again. That thought saddened her, and, as she stepped into her dormitory, her unshed tears soon began to fall.
*~*~*~*
Draco sat in his dormitory and thought about his fight with Ginny. He knew it shouldn't bother him as much as it did. They hadn't even been that close, but they had been civil, and maybe even a little friendly. Then she had to ruin it by agreeing to go to the ball with Bryant. He sneered at the thought. What an idiot! Ginny would never like him. Although, that's what Draco had thought about himself, and look what happened there.
Draco sighed and walked over to his desk where there was a picture of him and Ginny when they were little. They looked so happy together. They were even holding hands. It was all so surreal. Draco had been planning to ask Ginny to the ball. He thought that that would be the perfect time to try and really start their friendship up again. Maybe it would even lead to more. That had been his plan until Bryant had interfered. He probably didn't even like Ginny, he just wanted to spite Draco. Draco glared at the wall at that thought. Bryant had slowly begun to ruin Draco's life, and there wasn't much Draco could do about it.
"Hey, Malfoy, looking at your lost love again?" Bryant sneered from the doorway of the dormitory.
"What do you want, Parkinson?" Draco snapped.
"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Bryant teased.
"No, you just happen to get on my nerves," Draco explained calmly, turning to face his nemesis.
"So, what do you think about my date to the Valentine's Day ball?" Bryant asked casually.
"I think the only reason that you're going out with her is to get to me," Draco answered, glaring at the other boy.
"You're smarter than you look," Bryant said with a smirk. Hey! That's my smirk, Draco thought indignantly.
"That must be pretty smart if I'm smarter than I look. Thanks for the compliment," Draco shot back.
Bryant glared at Draco. "You may be smart, but I got the girl," he reminded nastily before turning and leaving.
"Will have to see about that," Draco whispered, determination in his voice. Bryant was already gone.
*~*~*~*
When Ginny had stopped her tears, she sat up and looked around her dormitory. That's when she saw the owl hovering outside her window. It began to peck on the window. Ginny had a feeling it wasn't for the first time. She jumped off her bed and opened the window. It held out its leg. She took off the letter and the owl flew back out the window.
Ginny saw that the letter was addressed to her and wondered who it was from. She hadn't recognized the owl. The letter said:
Dear Ginny,
How is school going? I hope it's going well. I haven't gotten any pleas for help or complaints so I
assume you're not miserable. How are things with Draco? Have you talked to him yet? You better have. You better be
his best friend by this time. I'm just kidding, but I do hope you talked to him. If you have, tell me how it
went!
Anyway, I'm doing okay. I'm four months into my pregnancy, and I can't wait to have the baby. Write back
soon! Bill says hi too.
Love,
Kiara
Ginny smiled as she read the letter from Kiara. It was reassuring to know that there was someone she could confide in about Draco. She found a piece of parchment and a quill, and she began to write a letter back to her sister-in-law.
Dear Kiara,
I'm so glad you wrote me! I was feeling kind of down before I read your letter. I was crying, actually. More about
that in a minute.
I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that I did talk to Draco. We slowly became almost friends, until today.
That's what got me so upset. See, there's this Valentine's Day Ball coming up. I wanted Draco to ask me,
even if we didn't go on a date. It would be cool to go together. Anyway, one of the other Slytherin guys asked me
to go with him. I didn't really want to, but I agreed to go with him anyway. I didn't want to be mean and say
no. When I told Draco who had asked me to the dance, he freaked out and told me not to go with him. We got into a big
fight, and I ended up stomping away. I feel bad now because I think our friendship is ruined. I now realize that Draco
was just trying to be helpful, but was a little more forceful than most people.
Right, enough about me. You're four months along! Only five more months to go! Hope you and Bill aren't
fighting anymore. Tell Bill I said hi. That's all for now.
Love,
Ginny
Once Ginny had finished writing her letter, she went in search of her brother in see if she could borrow his owl, Pig. She found him in the Common Room, playing Exploding Snap with Dean Thomas. "Hey, Ron," she greeted.
"Hi, Gin. What's up?" Ron asked.
"I was wondering if I could borrow Pig to send a letter to Kiara," she replied.
"Sure, go ahead," Ron told her.
"Thanks. By the way, where are Harry and Hermione?" Ginny inquired curiously.
Ron shrugged. "Off snogging somewhere," he answered, a tiny bit bitter.
Ginny held back laughter at the bitterness in his voice. She then headed to Ron's dormitory to get Pig. He was, as always, flittering around his cage excitedly. She quickly tied the letter on to the little owl's leg and sent him out the window. He sped away, happy to be helping once again.
Ginny shook her head at the owl's energy. He never seemed to stay in one spot very long. She then headed down to the Common Room and out of Gryffindor Tower. She soon arrived at the Great Hall and entered for dinner.
*~*~*~*
The next day, Ginny woke up and dreaded going down for breakfast. She knew that Draco would be there, and she didn't want to see him happy while she was miserable. She had worried about it at dinner the night before, but half way through dinner, Ginny had realized he wasn't coming.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ginny got out of bed and got ready. She got ready for the day and headed down to the Great Hall. When she arrived, she scanned the Gryffindor table and spotted Colin sitting alone. She went to sit across from him. Not a good idea. Now she was sitting facing the Slytherin table, but it was too late now. Colin would think that she was odd if she suddenly stood up and sat down next to him. "Hey, Colin," she greeted instead, all the while scanning the Slytherin table for Draco's blonde hair. She spotted it sitting between Pansy and Blaise. Pansy had her head on Draco's shoulder, and he pushed her off, annoyed.
Ginny smiled slightly and then turned her attention back to Colin. "... are you looking for?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," she mumbled before looking back up at the Slytherin table. Her gaze soon collided with the grey eyes of Draco. He had been staring at her, and she had caught him.
Smirking once again, Ginny looked down at her plate. Draco wasn't as unfeeling as he tried to act. He obviously had some feelings about their fight, or he wouldn't be staring at her. Most likely they were feelings of hatred, but it was a start.
"Ginny? Hello? Anyone there?" Colin asked, waving his hand in front of her face and turning around to see what she had been looking at.
"Oh, sorry Colin," she apologized. "What were you saying?"
"I was asking you if you were okay. Yesterday at dinner you seemed a little upset about something," Colin repeated.
"Oh, it was nothing," Ginny lied. "Hey, I forgot to tell you! Bryant Parkinson asked me to the Valentine's Day Ball."
"Really? What did you say?" he questioned.
"I said yes," she replied nonchalantly.
"What? You're going with that jerk?" Colin exclaimed in surprise. "Why?"
"I didn't want to just say no. It would have been mean," Ginny explained.
"You shouldn't go with him, Ginny. He's bad news," Colin advised.
"What would you know?" Ginny snapped, frustrated, before standing up and stalking out of the Great Hall. Why was everyone so against her going with Bryant to the Ball?
*~*~*~*
Draco arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast and took a seat at the Slytherin table, facing the Gryffindors. Ginny wasn't there yet, but he wanted to be able to watch her when she did arrive. He had begun to feel slightly guilty about telling her who she could go to the Ball with. He knew he probably sounded cold and unfeeling, but in reality, he had been disappointed. He had wanted to go to the Ball with her. In fact, he had been preparing to ask her that day. Then she had to go and tell him that Bryant had asked her. Stupid git.
At that moment, the subject of Draco's thoughts strode through the doors of the Great Hall and took a seat at her house table. She sat facing the Slytherin table, he noted happily. Maybe she feels bad too. Pansy must have noticed that his attention had drifted somewhere other than her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, but Draco instantly pushed her away. "Get off," he snapped.
Pansy looked indignant, but didn't say anything. At that moment, Draco looked up to see Ginny smile slightly. He had a feeling she had seen what had happened with Pansy. That's when Ginny's beautiful chocolate eyes met his. Wait. Where had that come from? He stared dazedly as Ginny looked away and smiled again.
A few minutes later, Draco was still staring at the Gryffindor table when he sat Ginny get mad. She then stood up and stomped out of the Great Hall. He wondered curiously what Creevey had said to make her upset. Shrugging mentally, Draco turned back to his breakfast and then headed to his first class.
*~*~*~*
Unbeknownst to either Draco or Ginny, Bryant had witnessed their "exchange" during breakfast, and he didn't like it. He would put a stop to it instantly. She was his date to the Ball, not that twit, Draco's. As soon as Bryant saw Ginny get up, he got up also and went out the doors behind her.
Ginny must have heard his footsteps, because she turned around to see who was there. "Hi, Ginny," Bryant greeted.
"Hi, Bryant," she replied with, what looked like, a genuine smile. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You looked upset when you left the Great Hall," Bryant charmed.
"Oh, I'm fine. It was nothing. My friends just said something to upset me a little, but I'm fine. I just overreacted is all," she answered with another smile. "It's really sweet of you to ask though."
"It was nothing," he bragged. "I really like you , and I wouldn't want to see you sad." Ginny accepted this as truth and walked away with one last smile.
Inwardly, Bryant gloated. She was actually stupid enough to believe me, he scoffed mentally. Like I'd actually like her. Please, I only asked her out because I knew Draco would be mad if I did. I stole the girl right from under his nose, and he couldn't do anything without making Ginny hate him even more than she already did.
Bryant smirked to himself. His plan was perfect. He got to show up Draco, and he might get a nice lay out of it too. He was a genius.
*~*~*~*
Ginny walked to her next class with a smile on her face. Bryant was so sweet! What did Colin and Draco know, anyway? Nothing was going to happen to her. They were probably just jealous, she added mentally with a snigger, but she didn't believe it. She didn't even think Draco had any interest in being her friend, let alone her boyfriend. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and shoved them to the back of her mind. She could think about this later, but now she had class to concentrate on.
*~*~*~*
After all of the day's classes, Ginny headed back to her dormitory. She was surprised to see a letter from Kiara. That was fast, she thought, not bothering to wonder how the letter had gotten there or why it had come so fast. She was just excited to see what Kiara had to say about her situation. She unfolded the letter and read it.
Dear Ginny,
I'm glad my letter cheered you up. I'm also glad to hear that you talked to Draco! Don't worry about the
falling out. It sounds like he was just trying to stop you from getting hurt, and he might even be a little jealous!
You never know. Just wait it out a little and then talk to him. I'm sure he'll come around.
I'm glad (I seem to be saying that a lot) that you've put your family's prejudices behind you. I would have
hated to see you lose a friend because you were taught to hate him. I'm happy for you. I'm sure he's not as
bad as he seems. Well, that's it for now. See you soon.
Love,
Kiara
Once she had finished reading Kiara's letter, Ginny began contemplating how she had written back so quickly. Ginny wasn't even sure if her letter would have made it all the way Egypt in that time. In fact, she was almost certain it couldn't have made it. So, how had Kiara gotten her letter?
*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, in the dungeons, Draco had a different perplexing problem. When he had walked into his dormitory, he'd found a note on his pillow.
Draco-
Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at eight o'clock tonight. I
want to talk to you.
It was signed simply, an old friend. Draco immediately ran the candidates through his head. Blaise? Probably not, he'd talk in person. Pansy? Improbably for the same reason as Blaise. Ginny? Maybe. She was probably the most likely person in all of Hogwarts.
Now all Draco had to do was decide if he should meet the mystery person or not. He had to admit that he was curious to know who it was. He also had to admit that if he found out it was Ginny, he probably wouldn't go. As much as he regretted their fight, he wasn't sure what he would say if she confronted him about it. There were two reasons he didn't want her to go to the Ball with Bryant. One was that he didn't want to see her hurt. The other was that he was jealous and wanted her to go with him, but he couldn't very well tell her either of those reasons. She would run away in disgust. There was no way she would be okay with either of those reasons. He was, after all, the person who had tormented her for the past six years that she had been at Hogwarts.
At that moment, Bryant walked into the dormitory. "Parkinson," Draco greeted.
"Hell, Draco. Who's the letter from? Is it a love note from your beloved Pansy?" Bryant taunted.
"Shut it. You know very well that I hate your cousin," Draco snapped.
"Yes, but she doesn't," Bryant shot back. "I should have been more careful at Durmstrang, then I wouldn't have to be stuck here."
"What do you mean you should have been more careful?" Draco asked suspiciously.
"Well, I, I, I don't see why that's any of your business," Bryant said, trying to regain his composure. He then turned on his heel and raced out of the room. There was something odd about Bryant, and Draco was going to get to the bottom of it.
*~*~*~*
Later that night, Draco sat in his dormitory, contemplating the note he had gotten. It was almost eight o'clock, and he still hadn't decided if he should go or not.
At ten to eight, his curiosity got the better of him, and Draco headed towards the Astronomy Tower. If he didn't like who it was, he could always make a break for it. As long as it wasn't a group of Death Eaters, his father, or both, he would be okay. That was a big if.
Throwing caution to the wind, he made his way up to the Astronomy Tower. He arrived there with a minute to spare, but no one was there. If they weren't there by ten after, he intended to leave, but, for now, he would stay.
At that moment, someone opened the door. Draco couldn't see who it was, but they had their wand out. It was Death Eaters. He was in trouble now.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter should be out soon! I'm trying to get them out as fast as possible. Don't forget to review!