A/N: Hey, Llama here! Told you we would update sooner than you thought! Not that you deserved it, only giving us how many comments on the last chapter? ROFL just keeding! There is an occasion! Today is Dolly's birthday! Yes! Happy birthday, my dear! Yes! It's your day of birth, your first day on earth! Happy bir-ir-irth-daaayy! J So, in honor of my best friend's birthday, I decided to type up this chapter early, as a present for her and a little bonus for all of you! And here's something special: We've decided to have a little… contest, if you will. Our 200th reviewer will receive one of our chapters a full WEEK before we post it on Portkey.org or Fanfiction.net! So, when you review, be SURE to leave an email address so we can email it to you… IF you win! So, get to reviewing and enjoy Dolly's birthday bonus!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"TALKING" ((THINKING))
Ginny couldn't believe that she actually had a date for this New Year's masquerade ball. She stared up at Neville and smiled.
Tonight they were going to surprise everybody. No one had seen Neville since he first left in early October.
((So, at the end of this dance, everybody'll see me and my handsome date! Finally!))
Neville looked down and caught Ginny staring up at him. Ginny blushed and looked ahead.
"I guess we're here," said Neville as he tore his eyes off of her and looked over to the Great Hall entrance. "Are you ready?" he asked nervously.
Ginny nodded and lifted up her sparkly green mask against her face, as well as Neville with his blue one. She tightened her grip on his elbow and opened the double doors to the party of the year.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Draco ran to his dorm room after he took a glimpse of Ginny's squib date.
"Humph. I can do better than that."
When he reached his room he immediately ran to his trunk. He rummaged for a moment until he found his most formal, expensive, and sexiest robe he owned. His eyes glinted mischievously and rummaged once more to find a metallic silver mask.
When he was done changing he examined himself in his mirror.
"Not bad. Actually, I look fabulous!" Draco said aloud.
His robe was of a soft fabric, green with a silver lining. His mask covered half of his face, his forehead down until the tip of his pointy nose.
After he gelled his hair back, he left his room and took his time going down to the Great Hall.
((No harm in being late, it's not like he'll do anything drastic. Plus, there's no need to get all sweaty, running,)) Draco thought as he whistled down the hall.
When he finally got to the doors, his hand instinctively patted his hair.
((No need for flyaways,)) he smirked as he secured his mask against his face one last time.
When he entered he was immediately bombarded with murmurs and whispers, seemingly directed towards a group of people, mainly girls, in the middle of the vast room. Draco was grateful for his height at that moment, for he was able to look over all the heads to find a couple in the center of the crowd.
He caught a glimpse of a tinge of red. ((Weasley, no doubt,)) he smirked. He drifted toward the group and gently made his way to the center. It only took him a second or two to confirm his thoughts when he reached over and tapped Ginny on the shoulder.
She tore her eyes off her date and placed them on the stranger.
"Would you like to dance… Ginny?" he asked swiftly.
"Dra-" she whispered as Neville interrupted, "Um, I'm sorry, sir, um, she's my date and I haven't danced with her yet."
Ginny smiled up at him and Neville found the courage to ask, "Would you like to dance with me…my date?" Ginny looked up dreamily into his blue eyes and said, "Uh…"
Draco smirked. "I think she wants to dance with me, after all I asked first."
"I didn't say anything of the sort!" Ginny retorted.
But, Draco didn't pay attention to her and said, "I think I have a right to dance with anyone I want… and right now I want to dance with the weas… the Ginny?"
"The Ginny?" Neville snorted.
"Yes, the Ginny," Draco answered matter-of-factly.
Ginny jumped in the middle, "Hello? I'm right here!" She waved a hand in each of their faces. "And I also think I have that same right to dance with whom I want!" she said as she stared straight at Draco. He huffed and turned away. She took a deep breath and…
Neville interrupted her. "It's not like she's just some kind of rag doll you can throw around! She's a person, too!"
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Neville, but-"
Draco snorted, "Oh, yeah, and you're not treating her like one now!"
"Well, you are too, from what I see!"
"Guys-" Ginny started.
"Oh, so now you admit it? You are treating her like a rag doll!"
"Hey, you tricked me! Ginny, I didn't mean it!"
"Sure, sure. You're just saying that so you can get some tonight. Ginny, I would never do that to you."
"Get what? What are you talking abou-"
"STOP IT, YOU GUYS! Would you please just-"
"Why don't you pick one of us, then?!" both boys snapped as they each grabbed an arm and started to pull.
Ginny screamed when suddenly someone from the audience spoke up.
"Who exactly are you guys?" Show us your faces!" Hermione swayed and Ron and Harry held her by each of her arms. She was obviously wasted.
Harry whispered, "Quiet, Hermione, maybe you had too much to drink, we should probably go…"
"No Haaarry! I'm alllrighty now!"
"Bloody Hell, Hermione. You're mental!" Ron mused with an impressed grin on his face.
Draco was the first to oblige and reached over and yanked Neville's mask off.
From the audience came a series of "awws" and "ooohs" and a couple "Neville? Is that Neville?" or "Ohh, Neville! Hey there, Neville!"
"Hey! You were supposed to take off your own mask!" Neville cried.
Draco shrugged and continued to pull on Ginny's arm. Neville suddenly reached over and yanked Draco's mask off of his face, causing a few tendrils of flaxen hair to break free from the bucket of gel holding them in place. The audience gasped as his hair fell over his cold eyes. He glared at Neville from under his bands and before he could reach his wand and hex him into oblivion, Hermione spoke up again.
"Pssht! Draco? Is that Draco Malfoy fighting Neville Longbottom for Ginny?" she slurred as she swayed dangerously.
Draco didn't hear her, all his attention was now on Ginny.
"Pick one of us, Ginny," he whispered darkly as he tightened his grip on her small arm.
"…" Ginny was at a loss for words. She just stared blankly at Draco.
"Who do you pick, Ginny?" he demanded quietly with a hint of a plea in his voice.
At that moment it seemed that only the three of them were in the room. Neville stared darkly at Draco, but Draco didn't care.
"Ginny, choose. Now."
She continued to stare at Draco with no sign of any expression on her face. She turned and looked at Neville. Turning back to face Draco, she sighed.
Before she could say anything, Draco opened his mouth.
"Oh, so it's like that is it?" he snarled. "Okay, that's fine. I see."
He dropped Ginny's arm, turned on his heel, and stomped out of the Great Hall.
Ginny bit her bottom lip and turned to face Neville, but she couldn't even see him. All the girls in the Great Hall were crowded around him, oohing and awing, poking and prodding, and smothering him with questions. Even Pansy Parkinson was seemingly interested.
"Ever been to the Slytherin common room?" she batted her eyelashes. Ginny was disgusted.
She took as step back and heard a snap. She lifted her foot and looked at what she had stepped on. It was the stem of a red rose. The petals were strewn all about her feet.
"Draco," she breathed as she turned to run out of the Great Hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny didn't find Draco that night. She looked, mind you, but he was nowhere to be found. For the next two days, she hardly even saw him, but when she did, he either ignored her completely or disappeared before she had the chance to catch up with him and talk.
Lately, though, she'd been surrounded by boys, mainly Slytherin, while Neville was bombarded with girls from various housed. All the girls were crazy about him, so they stole him away from her every chance they got to flirt with him in vain. It was common knowledge that he had had a crush on Ginny for… well, probably forever.
The boys, on the other hand, assumed that Ginny was a special kind of girl, based on the fact that two boys were causing such a big scene over her at the New Years Ball and the fact that one of them was Draco (who was known for his pickiness). In other words, "She's probably good in bed," Blaise had once announced.
Ginny couldn't help but develop feelings for Neville, and why deny it, they were already considered an item.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Happy birthday, Dolly! WE LOVE YOU!! <33 This is Llama saying I hope it's a good one! I wish I could give you Draco, Blaise, or even both!, but-they-like-me-better-than-you-so-I-can't! … Okay, fine. I'll let you borrow them… But, JUST for today! Happy birthday! *breaks piñata (shaped like Ginny because she gets Draco when WE should)*