TABANCA
CHAPTER ONE
BUTTERBEER AND MALFOY
BY: J
DISCLAIMER - This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
CHAPTER SUMMARY - In which Ginny gets smashed.
Author's note - Tabanca is a Trinidadian word for unrequited love. It is how this story is generally supposed to go.
--
Ginny stared moodily into the fire. She took a sip of the butterbeer and made a face at the bitter taste. It was definitely tampered with no matter what Ron and Harry said. She smiled wryly as she thought of their attempts to cheer her out of her foul mood. A guy's answer to everything is either getting smashed or sex, she thought miserably.
Well, bottoms up.
Holding her drink above her head, Ginny stood up and wavered on her feet for a moment before catching her balance. Raising her bottle to the empty kitchen she stared at the wall in defiance.
"I'd like to proclaim that I am the biggest idiot in the wizarding world for falling for an even bigger idiot."
With a quick gulp, Ginny swallowed the rest of the butterbeer down and grimaced as it burnt its way down her throat. Staring into the cup, she wondered what exactly those two had done to it.
"Should have figured it would be a Weasley talking to themselves."
Ginny looked up into a pair of amused gray eyes accentuated by a sneer. Looking down his body, she scowled at his impeccable dress and fumbled for a new bottle of butterbeer. Triumphantly she grasped the bottle before turning back to the bastard behind her.
"Shod off, Maf-loy."
Crying out in frustration as she tried to open the bottle, she didn't notice Malfoy sit beside her.
"Need some help?"
In defeat Ginny handed him the bottle, not daring to look at him as she did so. Even in her drunken state, she knew she must look a mess. Her face was tear-stained and red from drinking into the night. A right blotchy mess I am, she thought, self-consciously rubbing her cheeks of the tears.
Malfoy handed her the open bottle and decided to hold on to the cork, fiddling with it in his hands. "So why is the littlest Weasley getting drunk by herself?"
Ginny took another swig before sprawling on the chair. Unfortunately it was mostly a result of her inability to properly move her body rather than being laidback. She attempted to lift her right arm, and watched in amusement as her left leg rose instead.
Ginny giggled and turned to Malfoy. "Look." She repeated the process and stared back into Malfoy's impassive face.
"Yes…you're raising your leg…"
Ginny frowned. "Look!"
"Alright Weasley, that's all very interesting…"
Sighing Ginny leaned back on her chair. Stupid pretty boy.
"Comfy, aren't I?" came an even more amused voice next to her ear.
Ginny shot off the chair and tried to stand until her feet collapsed and she fell in a heap to the ground. She stared at her feet in disbelief. What was wrong with them?
"You're drunk."
Ginny glared at the Slytherin and crawled to the other chair before hauling herself into it. Nursing her drink, she tried to remember what was wrong.
"You okay Weasley?"
"Boy."
Draco blinked at her.
"What?"
"Boy did this."
"Do you mean a boy is the cause of your troubles?" Malfoy said slowly as if speaking to a child.
"Yes." Ginny got off her chair and held onto it as she tried to stand. She walked towards Malfoy unsteadily, glaring at him.
"S'your fault, stupid boy…stupid, stupid…"
"Because I'm a boy?"
"Yes."
Ginny spun around at Draco's laugh and as a result of her inebriated state, promptly fell flat on her face. At this she began to sob into the cold stone, finally remembering what was wrong. She'd found out the boy she'd begun to like after finally getting over her crush on Harry Potter now liked someone else. She'd seen him looking at his own interest with that lovesick expression.
Ginny felt hands gently scoop her up and try to deposit her onto the couch. Instead of letting go, she clung to them, burying her face into Malfoy's shirt with a sob before finally settling down.
Malfoy gave a suffering sigh and tried to pry her off his body.
"Are you quite done using me as a hankie Weasley?"
Ginny mumbled no into his shirt and wiped her eyes quite rudely into the collar.
"You smell nice."
She looked up at Draco, whose mouth was tugging at the corners into a mutation of a strained smile and grimace. She plopped her head onto his shoulder and touched his face curiously. Ginny felt him tense at her touch and she hastily withdrew her hand.
"Sorry."
"Get off, Weasley," Malfoy said gruffly.
"No."
"No?"
"No!" she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and buried her head into his stomach. The material was incredibly soft and Ginny rubbed her face on it, inhaling a musky scent…almost woodsy.She mumbled into his stomach and heard him groan in frustration as he unsuccessfully tried to unwrap her from around his body.
"What was that?"
"You love Harry Potter."
Ginny pulled away from Draco and curled up in a ball at the other end of the sofa, resting her head on the cushy arm. She could feel Draco's gaze on her, but she refused to look at him. It hurt her even to say it and she didn't want to look into his face and see the pain he masked each day.
"How do you know that, Weasley?" he finally said after a few minutes of silence and her muffled cries.
"I see you."
"Can anyone else?"
"No. Only me."
"Why?"
Draco waited expectantly, his mind awhirl with thoughts and muddled emotions. How this little girl had found out his secret was beyond him. He'd been hiding it so carefully and Draco worried that he might have given himself away to others as well. He focused a glare on the insolent girl.
"Weasley?"
Draco stared into her tear-stained face. Her eyes were tightly shut and he could see the pain etched into her face. She wasn't asleep but she certainly was blatantly ignoring him. Shaking her shoulder Draco asked again, "How come you know?"
"Sleepy. Go away." She pulled away from his grasp and turned into the sofa. Draco could plainly hear her soft cries. He idly wondered who'd hurt her this badly that she was drinking alone. Sighing, he decided she wouldn't be able to answer his questions anyway considering she was speaking in short phrases like a child.
Draco sat on the other sofa and gazed at the small redhead as she tried to muffle her sobs. Finally they ceased and Draco rubbed his eyes wearily wondering why on earth he was still here. His infatuation with Potter only went so far as to frustrating sex dreams and cold morning showers. But he hadn't thought anyone guessed his secret. It bothered him how easily this chit had him under her thumb.
Glancing at the clock, Draco decided to go back to bed. He'd come down for a snack only to find the Weaslette. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and his obsession with Potter…any detail of the boy's life interested him. It was all very pitiful really. Sighing, Draco took off his robe and draped it over the sleeping girl. Without looking back he made his way back to the Slytherin dormitories, mentally exhausted from his half-conversation with Weasley.
--
Ginny groaned as she awoke on Saturday to an earsplitting headache. She held her head as she got up, causing garment that rested on her to fall to the floor. She stared at it blearily through her fingers. It was black with green tassels. With a yelp Ginny recognized the robe as Slytherin and to her utter dismay the night's events came flooding back with painful clarity.
You'd think that getting drunk off your arse would get rid of the memory…somebody definitely hates me up there. Ginny gingerly picked up the robe, fingering its expensive feel. It smelt like him. Folding it neatly she placed it on the sofa beside her, wondering at the small act of kindness.
"Good, you're awake."
Ginny cringed at the cold drawl that came from behind her and found herself shrinking away.
"Now," Draco began as he made his way to the sofa, "you are going to tell me what you want in order for you to keep your silence."
Ginny gazed at Draco as he sat in the sofa. His eyes had dark shadows beneath them even though his hair was immaculately combed and his clothes clean and pressed. Ginny fingered her own tatty robes and looked away from his probing gaze stubbornly.
"I don't want anything."
She heard him sigh and bristled in annoyance as he did so.
"Come now Weasley, you must want something. Money? Sex?" he paused, and suggested, "Booze?"
Ginny grimaced, ignoring the smirk on Malfoy's face. She was touching alcohol again. The excruciating pain she was experiencing at the moment protested any thought of alcohol. Rubbing her unhappy stomach she shifted uncomfortably under Malfoy's gaze. Gods she desperately needed a hangover potion.
"A hangover potion."
"Is that it?"
Ginny nodded and Draco looked confused at her easy bargain for silence. His surprise was quickly concealed as he withdrew a vial from his pocket staring at her thoughtfully.
"Well, I was going to give it to you anyway, but here you are."
Catching the potion with an average Seeker ease, Ginny drank the potion quickly and sighed as she fell back onto the chair. She could feel it working already. The numbing element made its way to her head, relaxing her frazzled nerves. As her mind grew clearer she began to take in the previous events in a clearer light.
"You are rather amusing when drunk."
Ginny glared halfheartedly at Draco and quickly looked away as he watched her carefully. Swallowing the lump in her throat she could feel tears pricking at her eyes. A part of her had wanted Draco to deny his feelings for Harry but it was quite obvious they were very real.
"So how do you know?"
"Just the way you look at him." Ginny gave him time to ponder this then added, "I just notice these things; you weren't obvious."
She could see the relief flood his face.
He gave her a calculating look. "Why do you watch me?"
Ginny shrugged, carefully avoiding his gaze. She'd never tell him now as it was obvious she really had no chance.
"I watch everyone."
"You're lying."
Ginny met his gaze and smiled for the first time.
"Perhaps."
--
Completed 05/06/03