A/N- I realise that this is one of, if not the cheesiest chapter this story will have. It had to be done though. I also tried not writing it exclusively in my ASotM notebook and just typed up the whole thing on the computer instead of transferring it over like I normally do.
Chapter 11- Get Together
Tuesday, 25 January 2004
Knock. Knock.
"You may enter."
"Professor?"
Professor Glinda Upland, now Chuffery, turned around in her office chair to see who entered.
"Ginny!"
"Hello, Professor Chuffery," Ginny said with a shy smile and a wave. "How are you?"
"I'm doing wonderfully. The marriage is simply marvellous," the now slightly plump woman replied as she leaped out of her chair and wrapped Ginny in a hug.
"That's lovely," Ginny stated with a pat on the older woman's back.
Professor Chuffery stepped back with a smile. "But enough about me, dear. How are you these days?"
"Well, not much has happened in the time since I graduated. I mean, you already know about Draco, Professor Chuffery."
"Please, call me 'Glinda'. You're no longer a student of mine, Ginny."
"Yes, of course. As you wish…Glinda," Ginny said with a smile.
"There. So much better, don't you think? Now, remind me why you are here."
"Oh, yes. Well, if you remember correctly, I had written you a letter regarding one of your past students, Lily Collinsworth. I had requested a copy of her final paper since she used Draco as her patient. You said in one of your responses that you would have it for me today."
Ginny stared at Glinda with what she assumed was a hopeful look as the other woman seemed to have a bit of a blank stare.
Fifteen seconds passed with no recognition whatsoever from the professor.
"Glinda? The paper?"
Glinda snapped back to reality. "Right! I'm terribly sorry. I was just trying to remember the letter in particular. You know how busy we professors can get," she replied with a laugh.
"Of course."
Glinda turned back to her desk, sifting through the papers, before realizing that Lily's paper was not amongst the many scattered documents. Turning to Ginny once more, she beckoned the red head with a wave of her hand to follow her to the back room within her office.
Glinda opened the door to the rarely used room, flicking on the light. The back room was mostly used as a storage space and contained papers from students past; Ginny's papers filed within one of the many file cabinets. Luckily, Glinda did not have to search long for Lily's paper, seeing as Lily graduated about one or two years before Ginny and all files were sorted in chronological order.
Ginny followed Glinda to the fourth file cabinet from the right, watching the blonde woman wave her hand over the cabinet, whispering an incantation to open it. The top drawer slid open soundlessly, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Ginny. Glinda stepped around Ginny to reach the left side of the drawer and immediately began flipping through the dozens of files. About five minutes later, Glinda stepped back from the file cabinet, sliding the drawer back into place as she did so. The elder woman turned to Ginny and handed her the three inch thick folder with a flourish and a grin.
"Here you go, Ginny. Lily Collinsworth's final paper along with a couple of others that you might find interesting," Glinda said with a sigh. "Just remember to return them to me when you are done."
"Absolutely, Glinda. Thanks again for all of your help," Ginny replied with a toothy grin.
"No problem," Glinda stated, glancing at the clock inside the back room. "Oh dear! I completely lost track of the time!" She suddenly turned to Ginny. "I'm sorry, dearie, but I have to get to my class or else I shall be late. You can find your way out, can't you, Ginny?" To which Ginny nodded. "Good. Good. Well, it was nice seeing you again. Don't be afraid to owl me with any questions you have regarding Lily's paper," Glinda finished with a smile as she rushed out of the back room.
Ginny stood next to the fourth file cabinet from the right, staring at the open door in front of her. She took the file that was sitting limply in her left hand and shrunk it before placing it in her handbag.
Closing the door to the back room behind her, Ginny looked around Glinda's office before Apparating back to her flat.
* * * * * * * *
Friday, 28 January 2004
"Ginny! Where the hell are you? We're going to be late!"
Ginny slid out of her bedroom onto the wood panelling of the hallway upon Alise's frantic screaming. Currently, she only had on one out of her two black, stiletto-heeled boots, a pair of dark denim jeans, a white fitted tank, and a black, men's vest with round, gold buttons. Her hair had yet to be done and her make-up was halfway done. And she thought that she planned everything out to a tee.
So much for planning.
Ginny ran into the living room, to see Alise lounging on the couch, reading a copy of Wizarding Vogue, a picture of a brooding Gabrielle Delacour on the cover, completely ready for the big date.
"Didn't you plan out how much time you had?" Alise asked, not looking up once from the magazine in front of her.
"Yes," Ginny ground out through gritted teeth.
If it weren't the fact that Alise was like a sister to Ginny, she would've ripped the magazine out of Alise's snarky little hands and given the petite Asian girl a piece of her mind.
Ginny glanced at the clock in the living room to see that it was 7:30. She still had a good thirty minutes. Damn Alise.
"Alise, you do realise that was have at least thirty minutes before we have to leave for Body 21, right?"
"Huh?" Alise asked, finally looking up at Ginny. "Oh, that. I just wanted to make sure that you were ready so we could get there on time."
"But I still have thirty minutes!"
"Your point being?"
"My point is…oh just forget it!" Ginny fumed, tossing up her arms in defeat before stalking back to her room to finish her preparations.
* * * * * * * *
About twenty-five minutes later, Ginny re-entered the living room coming upon a very familiar situation: Alise lounging on her couch, reading Wizarding Vogue, with a brooding Gabrielle Delacour on the cover.
This time, though, she was fully dressed, the other boot firmly in place on her left foot, and she had both her hair and make-up done. Her make-up consisted of a slight smoky eye that was dark, but not overly so. Her hair was a design of her own. Parted to the side, with her fringe twisted and pinned back into the high ponytail her straight hair was in.
She cleared her throat, causing Alise to look up from her magazine.
"Very nice, Gin," the Asian girl replied with a smirk.
"I do try," Ginny said with a grin.
"Well, now that it seems like you are ready for our little outing, shall we head over to the club?"
"Might as well."
With that, the two women Apparated to London's Wizarding underground with a resounding pop.
* * * * * * * *
Ginny and Alise landed in front of the bustling nightclub, Body 21, glancing around for their respective dates.
"Alise!"
Alise turned around upon hearing her name, only to see Blaise giving her a huge smile. Alise in turn ran up to Blaise and smothered him in a hug before pulling back to give him a smile of her own.
"How are you, Alise? You look wonderful."
And Alise did indeed look as Blaise so eloquently put it, 'wonderful'. She was wearing a powder blue, v-neck, silk dress that had a small trail of buttons that ended near her belly button. She had parted her layered hair to the right, pulling it back to form a ponytail at the nape of her neck. All of this was complimented by some icy blue eyeliner and a pair of peep-toed powder blue pumps.
"I'm doing great," Alise replied with a slight blush.
Blaise grabbed Alise's left hand and pulled it to his mouth, planting a small kiss on it, causing Alise to redden even more.
Ginny watched all of this with passive interest. If those two aren't smitten with each other, then I'm Rowena Ravenclaw, Ginny thought with an eye roll.
Blaise released Alise's hand, looking up to see Ginny.
"Hello, Ginny. Long time, no see, eh?" he asked with a smirk.
"Long time, indeed. The last time I saw you was at Slughorn's Christmas party, right?"
"Slughorn's Christmas party…? Ah, yes. That little get together back during my sixth year. I seem to remember that party with such fondness."
"Really?" Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know someone who didn't particularly enjoy your company."
"Weasley, you wound me," Blaise replied, placing his hand on his heart. "I did nothing to ruin your precious Lovegood's night."
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it."
"Ginny! Blaise! Please! That's quite enough. You're about to cause a scene outside the club," Alise yelled over the two. "This is not the time, nor the place to be discussing whatever may have happened between Luna and Blaise at Hogwarts," the last part directed at Ginny with a glare.
Ginny scowled at Blaise before plastering a goofy grin on her face.
"What's with the smile, Gin?" Alise asked.
Ginny just looked past her at the man now standing directly behind Alise.
"I believe that I would be the one that Ginny is smiling at," Antonio whispered into Alise's ear, causing her to jump a good two inches off of the ground.
Alise turned around, hand over her heaving heart to see Antonio smiling at her.
"I'm terribly sorry for frightening you. Here, let me introduce myself: my name is Antonio de Medici, Ginny's date," Antonio said with an extravagant bow.
While Ginny started to giggle uncontrollably, Alise just stared on in shock.
Antonio was still in a bow for another minute before looking up with a, "What? No reply?"
"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Alise Martin," sputtered Alise.
Antonio quickly stood back up, taking Alise's hand in the process and planting a quick peck on it.
"It's a pleasure, Miss Martin," he replied, watching Alise develop a slightly splotchy blush.
He quickly let go, heading over to Ginny to give her a peck on the cheek. He wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her towards him.
"And how are you doing on this lovely night, Miss Weasley?"
"As well as can be expected," Ginny replied with a grin. "And you?"
"I was feeling a little sour this morning, but seeing you has immediately brightened my day."
Blaise rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "What woman in their right mind would fall for that old line."
Antonio turned to Blaise with a look of mild interest. "Did you have something to add, Blaise?"
"No. Nothing at all. But can we at least move it along. I'd actually like to get into the club, not just stand outside, making lovey-dovey eyes with our dates."
"As you wish," Antonio stated, leading Ginny into the packed club.
* * * * * * * *
The two couples entered Body 21, the fast-paced, DJ-driven music immediately taking hold.
Everywhere you looked there were bodies pulsating and gyrating to the techno music; each body moving in accordance with the strobe lighting and the different coloured lasers shooting bars of colour on the dance floor.
Ginny leaned against the balcony railing, inhaling the scent of alcohol mixed with sweat, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through her. In the blink of an eye, she ran down the steps, making her way to the middle of the dance floor.
"Ginny, would you like…?" Antonio began until he saw that she had left the balcony. "Shit. Now where did she run off to?" His eyes began scanning the crowd below him, when he saw a flash of red hair, compliments of the strobe lights.
He made his way down the stairs, craning his neck out in hopes of spotting Ginny. About five minutes later, he found her near the DJ booth, trying to request a song.
"I said, can you please play-" Ginny was becoming quite frustrated at the DJ's apparent lack of attention to her request. That is until Antonio found her.
"Sorry for running off on you," she muttered.
"Quite alright; I was just hoping that I wouldn't find you with some other guy," he replied, extending a hand.
"Not a chance," Ginny said, grabbing her hand, forgetting all about that annoying DJ and focusing on Antonio.
He led her back to the middle of the dance floor, his eyes on her the entire time. By the time they got to the centre, the music had gone from your typical synthesizer techno, to a very pre-processed, all studio made techno. It was lightning fast and quite hypnotic, making everyone in the club make their way onto the floor. And there were Ginny and Antonio, caught in the middle of it all, gyrating against one another like the other participants.
* * * * * * * *
Upon entering, Blaise took Alise over to the nearest table he could find, ordering up a couple of drinks for the two of them.
Blaise flashed a smile at Alise, to which she returned, but even Blaise's smile couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Something Ginny had said had triggered Blaise and it revolved around Luna. And based on what eventually ensued, she could tell it wasn't very pleasant.
She wanted to ask him what it was, but she also had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that it would ruin her entire night. And that was the last thing she wanted. Because she liked Blaise; she really did. He was courteous, ever the gentleman, sweet, funny, charming, and extremely handsome (a bonus if she really thought about it). She'd be damned if she was going to let him get away.
Besides, she was sure that whatever happened between Blaise and Luna was no big deal since Ginny had a tendency of overreacting. Or at least she hoped that was the case.
"Alise?"
"Huh?"
Blaise grinned. "Would you like to dance?"
"Um, yeah, sure, I guess so."
"Great," he stated, smiling again, offering his hand which Alise readily took.
Blaise brought her downstairs, twirling her as he led her onto the floor. They stayed near the edge, choosing not to get into the midst of all the sweaty bodies, opting for the relative peacefulness of dance floor's edge.
They were close together, feeling each other's body heat, driving the other against their partner. Blaise leaned down, his hands on Alise's waist, and brushed his lips against Alise's. Alise leaned into him, snagging his lips with her own, entangling her hands in his hair. Blaise fought for entrance into Alise's mouth with his tongue, gently prodding until he gained entrance. He deepened the kiss, visibly shivering when he felt Alise's tongue graze the roof of his mouth. He brought her closer to him, hearing her moan when he gave her a taste of her own medicine.
Gasping for breath, they pulled away, Alise about ten different shades of red, Blaise just staring at her in wonder.
Alise lightly touched her swollen lips, outlining them with her index finger.
"If you keep doing that, I think I'm going to need a repeat of the past five minutes," Blaise said, pulling Alise close to him again.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck.
* * * * * * * *
Ginny and Antonio watched on in rapture at the events unfolding in front of them.
Blaise and Alise full-on snogging. Huh.
After about five minutes, they were wondering if they were going to come up for air. Thankfully, their fears were put to rest when the two broke off.
"Did that really just happen?" Ginny asked, standing with Antonio near the stairs.
"Yeah, I think it did," he replied with a nod.
"And was it just me, or did it look like they were about Apparate back to Blaise's place for some more naughty affairs?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think so," Antonio said, laughing at Ginny's interesting choice of words.
"Some night this has turned out to be," Ginny said with a sigh.
"Some night, indeed," Antonio replied, taking Ginny by the waist and leading her up the stairs.
She only hoped that she wouldn't witness a repeat of her sixth year.
A/N- I told you it was cheesy, but alas, like I said before, it had to be done. Thanks to Angel for her quick and fab beta.
ALSO, I have created a LiveJournal where I will be posting updates to this story, one-shots, and the beginnings of other stories before I post them here or on dracoandginny.com. Here's the link: http://xalexandriam.livejournal.com
Next Chapter: The aftermath of the date, Alise asks Ginny about what happened between Blaise and Luna,
and Ginny starts following up on her leads. It shall be fun.