Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)
Yup, I'm back! What took me so long? Blame writer's block and bubbletea. I swear, bubbletea is EVIL...well, that or I'm allergic to the stuff, which is kind of ironic in a sense...
Yes, I know I said that Part II would come out in early April, but Part II is way longer than what I usually write so I hope that makes up a bit for my lateness...
Chapter 3: Part II
Ginny grinned as she attached the piece of paper to the leg of one of the school owls. "Send this to Mr. Filch, okay?"
The brown owl gave her a hoot before it spread it wings and flew off.
The smile lingered on Ginny's lips as she slowly made her way down from the Owlery. Now if she could somehow convince Peeves to do the honors of dumping the water on the unsuspecting victims without ratting on her, it would be perfect!
A giggle escaped her lips - she couldn't wait to see the look on Draco Malfoy's face when Filch got ahold of him! "That'll teach the smarmy prat not to flirt with that giggling airhead in front of me." she thought.
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Sometime later in Argus Filch's office
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Argus Filch spoke to Mrs. Norris as he looked at the piece of parchment that had just arrived. "It seems that the troublemakers in the castle are getting even stupider!"
The parchment was a note from "Dragon" telling "Blue-Eyes" to meet him at the Astronomy Tower at midnight.
"Well, then we won't disappoint them now, will we?" He continued, "Now, to think of a suitable punishment...Hmm, I believe the trophy room needs some scrubbing..."
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Later that night...
"What took you so long?" demanded Draco.
The dark-haired Ravenclaw in front of him just pouted, "I needed some time to get ready and Jacie took my mascara again."
Half of Draco's face was obscured by the shadow so she couldn't see the raised eyebrow he had.
Meanwhile, from her hiding place nearby, under the invisibility cloak she'd borrowed from Harry, Ginny rolled her eyes. It was midnight for crying out loud and nevermind the fact that it was practically too dark to see anything clearly in here except it you were standing right next to the window... Besides, she had a feeling that Draco didn't really care whether or not Rana had fixed her makeup before their rendezvous.
"Oh Draco," Rana was saying, "It's so romantic!
"Yes," Draco wrapped an arm around her waist, "But I have other things I'd rather do."
Ginny made a face as the people in front of her began snogging. "For the love of Merlin," thought Ginny with disgust, "If Peeves doesn't get here soon, I'm going to do it myself."
A few seconds later, a bucket of cold water suddenly appeared above the couple. The redhead watched as the bucket wobbled precariously in the air above Rana's head for awhile before it finally tipped over.
Draco and Rana both jumped apart with a gasp as the water came pouring down on their heads. Ginny's hands immediately flew up to muffle the laughter that was threatening to erupt from her mouth.
"What the bloody-" Draco spluttered as Peeves finally appeared in front of them.
"Naughty, naughty children!" The ghost cackled before zooming off.
"I'm all wet!" wailed Rana as she looked at her soaked robes, "And my new shoes are ruined!"
"It's nothing a simple charm won't take care of," said Draco irritably, which just caused Rana to wail even more.
The blond just sighed before he performed the drying charms on them both. "There, good as new."
Rana stopped her wailing and looked at Draco admiringly, "Oh Draco," she gushed, "You're so clever."
Ginny resisted the urge to make a gagging noise.
Once Draco and Rana resumed what they had been doing before Peeves interrupted them, Ginny slowly made her way to the other side until she was right beside the door. Slowly opening the door a crack, she smiled when she heard a mewing sound. Mrs. Norris, no doubt. So Filch had received her note after all.
A short time later, the door to the Astronomy Tower flew open and the light from Filch's lantern shone directly onto the still-unaware couple.
When Draco realized that they had an audience, he pushed the Ravenclaw away from him so abruptly that she fell backwards and landed with a smack.
"OW! Draco! That hurt!!" screamed Rana.
"Indecent behaviour and sneaking out after hours." declared Filch with a satisfied smile, "30 points from Slytherin and Ravenclaw and detention for both of you!"
The look on Draco and Rana's faces were priceless.
Ginny chuckled to herself as she slipped out behind Filch's back, taking care to avoid tripping over Mrs. Norris.
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"I heard that someone got caught in the Astronomy Tower by Mr. Filch," Ginny smirked the next day, "Did you hear about that incident, Malfoy?"
"With the Dream Team rubbing it in my face all morning now, what do you think?!"
"So how is darling Raaana" Ginny deliberately drew out the other girl's name, "I hope she wasn't too traumatized."
"Why would she be?" Draco thought back irritably, "Students get caught by Filch all the time."
"Oh, my mistake," the redhead said in a sickingly sweet voice, "I always thought you were so clever. I assume that's why you didn't even notice the bucket of cold water that was floating above your head for an entire minute!"
"I was busy, alright!" snapped Draco before a something in her words occurred to him. "Wait a minute," he demanded, "How did you know about that bucket?!"
"Opps," thought Ginny to herself.
"You were the one that sent Filch up there." Draco's voice had gone dangerously soft.
"Who me?"
"Yes, you twit," growled Draco, "It's your fault I have to clean out the trophy room again!"
Ginny brightened, "And it really helps that half of those trophies have either Harry, Hermione or Ron's name on there, doesn't it?" she said cheekily.
"You exist for the sole purpose of making my life miserable, don't you?"
"Well, you should have seen the look on your face, Malfoy!" Ginny laughed as she recalled Draco's expression when Filch came in, "The deer-in-headlights look really doesn't suit you."
"What was the point of this anyways?" Draco suddenly asked, "Look, considering that I haven't hexed you into next year already for this cheap trick-"
"How?" interjected Ginny, "You don't even know who I am!"
Draco ignored her, "-so why does it seem like you have it out for me? I didn't do anything to you!"
"Nothing?! You're the one that subjected me to an entire hour of how, urgh, hot Rana is supposed to be! An entire hour of nothing but your perverted thoughts about a Ravenclaw who freaks out when her shoes get a bit wet!" Ginny huffed, "And now you're yelling at me for doing something about it?"
Draco's lips finally curved into a smirk, "I get it now. Someone's jealous. Well, if you wanted to snog, all you had to do was ask."
"You're the last person in this school I would want to snog," sniffed Ginny, "But the next time you're feeding a girl all that bullshit about her eye color, can you at least have the courtesy to stop thinking so damn loudly about her T and A?!"
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Ginny raised an eyebrow as a stream of curses flowed over from Draco's end of the bond.
"Well, someone sure isn't a morning person," she commented mentally as she grabbed her book bag.
"Shut up you." snarled Draco, "The last thing I need right now is an annoying bint who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut."
It only took a few more thoughts from Draco before Ginny managed to deduct what tragedy had befallen the mighty Draco Malfoy and when she did, she couldn't hold back a few giggles.
Draco Malfoy was freaking out because he had a pimple!
Draco must have sensed her amusement through their bond because it only served to make him even angrier than before.
"Is there something you find particularly amusing about my predicament?" he asked coldly.
"To be honest," Ginny giggled, "YES!"
"Bloody wonderful." thought Draco sourly, "Not only is the bint in my head annoying, but now I find out that she's a mental sadist as well."
"Only when it comes to you, darling." smirked Ginny and then she burst out laughing again, "I can't believe this! You act more like a girl than some of the girls in my dorm!"
"Being concerned with one's appearance is not the same as acting like a girl." sniffed Draco, "I assume that's the reason why you insist on annoying me night and day."
"Why? So I can ask you for beauty tips?" said Ginny sarcastically.
"No. Obviously no guy is willing to talk to you and that's why you've decided to make my life a living hell!" stormed Draco.
The voice in his brain fell silent and Draco suddenly felt a pang of regret for his outburst, but only for a moment.
"You really do have a bloated ego, don't you?" Ginny finally spoke after some time.
"I prefer to think of it as self-confidence."
"Oh really?" the voice took on a mischievous tinge, "Is it still possible with that huge zit smack in the middle of your forehead?"
"Shut up!"
Luckily, he discovered that the offending pimple could be covered if he brushed a lock of hair over his forehead the right way. However, his conscience was having a field day with this.
"I can't believe this!" Ginny burst out into another fit of giggles.
Draco scowled; he could almost envision his conscience rolling around on the floor, laughing.
In fact, Draco was so preoccupied with finding a way to get his conscience to shut up that he didn't even realize that said conscience had already disappeared a few minutes ago.
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"Waiting for Potter again, Weasley?" Ginny looked up in surprise as a familiar voice whispered into her ear. She immediately jerked away when she saw Draco's smirking face inches away from hers.
"Malfoy, don't you have anything better to do?" Ginny asked him with a tinge of annoyance, "I heard that cliff-jumping is very popular sport these days. You should try it."
"I'm hurt," drawled Draco, "Truly."
"That was the intention. So, what do you want, Malfoy?"
"Why?" Draco placed a hand on the wall beside her head, "Can't a guy talk to a pretty girl without her biting his head off?"
She stared at him.
"So," continued the blond, "Are you free tonight?"
Suddenly Ginny grinned and moved her face closer to his. When their lips were almost touching, she finally replied. "No."
The smirk on Draco's face fell away and was quickly replaced by a scowl.
"Do you honestly think that I'm going to fall for that a second time?" Ginny rolled her eyes, "And for your information, I'm waiting for Luna."
"What?"
"You asked me who I was waiting for," Ginny said slowly, as if she were talking to a five-year-old, "And I do believe there's a girl behind you trying to get your attention."
Draco looked behind, but there were only two first-years walking pass. When he turned back, Ginny was already walking away with Luna.
"By the way," Ginny called down the hallway with an evil grin, "Nice pimple, Malfoy!"
A pink flush appeared on his cheeks, but his sneer remained in place. "At least my hair isn't the color of rotten carrots," he finally managed to retort, but the redhead had already moved out of sight.
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This continued over the next while and bit by bit, Ginny could feel their bond strengthening as she had started sensing a bit of his emotions in addition to his thoughts. However, she had a wary feeling that Draco might be sensing hers as well.
One day, she arrived at breakfast to see Harry, Hermione and Ron huddled over the Daily Prophet.
Peeking over Hermione's shoulder, she saw the flashing headline: DEATH EATER ATTACK IN DIAGON ALLEY: 2 DEAD, 7 INJURED.
"It's dreadful," the brown-haired witch was saying, "These Death Eaters aren't even human. They used perfectly innocent people as human shields! Can you believe it?"
"Well, Death Eaters were never known for their humanitarian efforts." said Harry dryly.
At that precise moment, a flurry of owls arrived in the Great Hall and Ginny watched as Draco's eagle flew over to its smirking owner.
Surprisingly, instead of the usual boasts and taunts that followed a Death Eater attack, she watched as Draco's expression rapidly darkened and without a word, he stood up abruptly and stormed out of the hall.
As if that weren't strange enough, Draco was nowhere to be seen for the whole day.
When she finally reached out for him through their bond later that afternoon, she was surprised to find that he seemed to be unusually subduced.
"Draco, what's wrong?" Ginny asked softly through their link.
"Leave me alone!"
She was a bit shocked when she heard his voice in her mind. He sounded so...lost.
"I just want to help you," she said gently.
"You can do that by getting the hell out of my mind so I can have some peace and quiet."
Ginny bit back a retort, but she wisely remained silent as she continued peering out the windows in the hallway for any sign of the blond Slytherin.
Draco must have sensed that she was there, because he growled, "Fine. My mother got injured in the Death Eater attack, you happy now?"
For once, Ginny couldn't think of a quick reply.
"Your mom? But how-"
"How would someone manage to attack Lucius Malfoy's wife?" Draco finished dryly, "Simple. She was shopping in Diagon Alley when the attack occurred and when the aurors showed up, some newbie Death Eater decides to grab her to use as a human shield"
That was only a tiny gasp before Ginny finally spoke up. "That's horrible."
"Father blasted that idiot into pieces on the spot." he said in a toneless voice, "Too bad he couldn't have done that before he grabbed her."
"So how is she right now?"
Draco looked gloomily across the field from his spot high up in one of the trees near the Forbidden Forest where the foliage provided shade from the scorching afternoon sun. "She's in St. Mungo's right now with a coma."
There was a moment of silence before Ginny finally spoke again. "Draco, I'm so sorry."
"There's no need to feel something you're not." Draco said sardonically, "I know you'll probably want to celebrate, so now that you've found out, can you go away already?"
"Quit pushing me away!" Ginny said exasperatingly, "Look, I meant what I said. I don't like innocent people getting hurt, no matter who they're related to."
Draco snorted, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
"There's something else bothering you, isn't there?" Ginny said gently.
The blond remained silent for so long that she thought that she may have gone further than he was willing to talk about.
"You could say that," he finally said, "My father has always wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but I'm starting to think that maybe I don't really want to." Here he gave a mirthless chuckle, "In fact, I've been getting that feeling that even Father is a bit fed up with the Dark Lord these days."
"Then this incident happens," he continued, "And I guess it's forced me to see things in a new light."
"That perhaps being a Death Eater isn't all it's cut out to be?" Ginny couldn't resist saying a bit wryly.
"I knew that it wasn't going be a vacation," Draco shot back as he adjusted his position - he could sense his right leg starting to fall asleep, "Just because Voldemort is a delusional freak doesn't mean that eveyone else is as well."
"Why don't you leave them?" she exclaimed, "It's not as though you're being forced to become one."
"How naive can you get?" Draco stared hatefully into the distance, "Do you honestly think I have a choice?!"
The voice in his head paused. "Don't you?"
He was silent for a long time. "You realize that everyone in my house is going to make my life miserable for this when they find out?" He finally said.
"If they can't respect your choice in life, then I don't think that they're very good friends," sniffed Ginny.
"That's what everyone bloody says," he muttered darkly.
"They don't have to know about your, um, change in career plans," Ginny smiled, "It'll be our secret!"
Draco snorted, "And it'll be all over the school in a week."
"Malfoy! Are you saying that I can't keep a secret to myself?!" huffed the redhead.
"Yes."
"Well, I guess that's the reason why nobody knows about the time you shrieked like a girl because some first year accidently left their rubber snake on the couch in the common room last Christmas or the time when you were seven and you cried for hours because you accidently locked yourself in the undergroud storage room of Malfoy Manor for 15 minutes or-"
"I get the point." conceded Draco grudgingly, "Although I really don't know what I did to deserve this violation of my mind."
Ginny rolled her eyes impatiently, "Well, you could always stop thinking...or you can get someone to knock you out cold in case you can't. I'm sure I can find someone, no, scratch that, a whole lineup of people in this school who'll willing to punch you."
"You're exasperating, you know that?" However, a hint of a smile appeared on Draco's face.
"I try." Ginny grinned evilly, "However, I must admit that you've been my most interesting victim as of yet."
Draco just groaned.
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No cliffhanger! :)
Also, some suggestions for what Draco calls Ginny when they're speaking through the mind bond?