Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter Seven:

"I thought you despised Muggles." Ginny spoke once he finally got in the car and sat down.

Malfoy didn't answer right away as he warmed his hands in front of the heater. It was almost as if he were deciding how to word things. "I don't despise them; some of them are very brilliant. Michelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost…Dolly Parton." He seemed to add as an afterthought, giving her a slightly bemused look. "I just disagree with mixing our DNA."

"I'm not totally Muggle illiterate. Dolly Parton is a country singer. What's so great about her other than her songs are good? I'm not completely ignorant on Muggle culture."

"She said something, once upon a time, that really stuck with me."

"Oh?" Ginny prompted wanting him to continue more than she'd liked to have admitted.

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose. It's so simple really, but I'd heard it at a time where I just wasn't myself. Father was telling me what to do, who to be," he paused, his expression darkening as he turned towards her, "who to stay away from."

"Was that your sixth year?"

He gave a tight nod, but it was clear he didn't want to talk about it and normally that wouldn't have mattered to her. She didn't do what he wanted, not ever, but this was a topic even she didn't want to discuss. She knew very well what had happened.

"You're right. It is a good saying, but I have a better one," she said with a smile as she wiggled in her seat and reached for the seatbelt.

He turned towards her with a smooth smile washing over his features. "Naturally!"

"Love is always patient and kind." He raised an eyebrow and the smile he'd been sporting vanished. "It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and it is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end."

That atmosphere changed and the minimal air in the vehicle seemed to thicken as his eyes darted back and forth over her face. She didn't know what she'd said, but clearly it had done something. "It's from the Bible." She offered, with a light laugh. The seriousness was getting to her. "Corinthians if I remember."

He cleared his throat. "And why were you reading the Bible?"

"It was Hermione's when she was little. Before she found out she was a witch, she'd read it all the time, but after a while she felt like she was doing blasphemy or something-I can't quite remember how she worded it-so she stopped. I was helping her pack a few things one day and the gold lettering on the cover just caught my eye. I opened it to that very page. It made me realize how badly I want to love and be loved in return. Not right now, of course, but soon.d"

"Hmm." His noncommittal noise followed the most uncomfortable silence yet.

She needed to itch. Itch everywhere. No. She needed to get out of dodge. This was all too intense. And it was with Malfoy. Where had her quick sarcastic retorts gone? Oh right, Michael had stolen them all with his spiel on vintage porn and robots.

"I asked Hermione who God was." It was the only thing she could think to say to stop this awkwardness.

"What did she say?"

"She said God can do anything, that God was everywhere, knew everything, and was kind, but stern. I said God reminded me a lot of Dumbledore and then…" Ginny stopped as she noticed Malfoy's grip on the steering wheel tighten to the point that his knuckles turned white.

She'd even tried avoiding that subject early, but there she was, successfully placing her foot in her mouth. "I-um-I'm sorry." She surprised herself by saying.

He shrugged nonchalantly and finally shifted the gear into reverse. "You don't have to apologize."

They didn't say or do anything else until he'd left the parking lot and was zooming at high speeds down a dimly lit street. She decided she needed something to do before she ended up screaming from the uncomfortable silence.

She leaned down, grabbing her bag. She scrounged around looking for something, anything to get her mind off of this weird atmosphere between them, but she noticed too late that inside that' little piece of fortune' aka the clutch she shouldn't have bought, was the newspaper ad Harry had given her. And in big, black bold letters were the words "female wanting female."

Originally, she'd thought it was a perfect place to put it. She had to put the mini-clutch to good use after all. Ginny shifted the piece of paper, hoping he hadn't happened to glance over when the ad was so clearly readable. But the slight movements coming from where Malfoy was driving let her know he'd seen some of it.

"Hey…" Malfoy started.

Ginny jerked her eyes up, seeing him looking down at the obscurely hidden ad that she'd wanted to keep secret from everyone. "Did I say you could look at it?" She was down right outraged and horribly embarrassed… once again, in two nights, right in front of Draco bleedin' Malfoy.

He lifted his fingers, balancing his palms against the steering wheel. "Okay, okay I surrender!" he said, but not before trying to sneak another peek.

Ginny slapped her thigh with irritation. "Why won't you do what I say?"

Malfoy paused to give her that slow smile that always made her feel weird, especially tonight. "Where's the fun in that?"

Ginny growled and folded her arms across her chest. Though she acted angry she was slightly relieved to be back on familiar ground with him. "Fine, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"O-okay." He frowned glancing quickly back and forth between her and the road.

"Don't 'o-okay' me mister!" She scolded, hoping he would try and say something snide or equally annoying.

His eyes widened. "I thought you weren't talking to me anymore?" he asked.

"I'm not!"

"Then what was that?"

"Shut up!"

"I didn't do anything!" Malfoy growled, getting irritated with his confusion and her psychotic personality.

"Oh-oh-oh just… like…you know…just being you is enough." She cringed as she stumbled over her words.

"Why do you hate me so much? Haven't we gotten past that 'I was a bastard to you and yours at Hogwarts' deal?" he asked, appearing honestly curious.

No. What had he done? They'd been getting back on track, back to the normalcy of bantering and being overly mean to each other. Why did he have to change things?

Ginny shrugged and folded her arms over her chest. "Do you really want me to run down the list?"

"Yes."

Stop it! She wanted to scream it at him, but the honesty in his voice, on his face, made her resolve crumple. "Malfoy," she said, speaking a little softer than intended, "it's not that I hate you. You just know how to push my buttons I guess. I mean sometimes just looking at you ticks me off. And it's not only that." Her voice caught in her throat. Was she going to tell him that she liked their bantering?

Malfoy smirked. "One of these days, I'm going to push the right buttons and you'll be…" He stopped, seeming to catch himself, like he hadn't wanted to say too much.

"And I'll be what?"

He shook his head, "Never mind."

"See," she said, gasping with exasperation, "that pisses me off! You just piss me off! So let's just stop talking, is that alright with you?"

"Fine," Malfoy agreed, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"Merlin, you really burn me up!" Ginny growled.

Malfoy choked.

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"You really burn me up." - Happily Ever After (Snow White Continuation)

The other quotes that I name in the text were in the movie A Walk to Remember.

"A good piece of real estate," Shania Twain - Gonna Getcha Good (a quote I may have taken out with the revisions, but I'll keep it in here to be safe).

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