Summer Nights Mei Queen
-
Authoress' Note: This chapter is devoted to my boyfriend, Adam, who will be leaving for war in a few months…and Ginny's going through what I'm going to. I'll miss you more than you know.
-
Chapter 3: Astronomy Tower Sighting
-
Dear Danny,
"Ugh, that's too… I don't know. Boring," Ginny protested, balling up the parchment she had been using to write the letter. "I would use that on a letter to Mum. It needs to be more friendly, I think…"
Heya Danny!
"Hmm," the redhead muttered, cocking her head to the side and tapping her finger to her chin. "Perhaps too perky a tone for having just broken up never to see each other again."
Sighing, Ginny got up from her desk and began pacing the dorm. None of her dorm-mates were up here yet, they were all still down at the feast. Ginny Weasley wasn't hungry-- unusual for her, actually. But she wasn't.
She felt like there was an empty hole in her heart, a hole so large it took over any appetite she had. She missed Danny, with every fiber of her being. It was a constant ache, and she'd felt it grow larger and larger since she had said goodbye to him. Once the carriage arrived at Hogwarts, she was the first one out and resolutely took a seat at the Gryffindor table. After Dumbledore's announcements, she'd begged off, saying she had a stomachache.
Which wasn't a lie, technically. But it wasn't an ache from food poisoning, she'd testify to that.
Looking out the window, her eyes scanned the grounds, noticing how dark it was outside. Full moon. I love full moons…they illuminate everything. Nobody has anything to hide on nights like these…
Leaning against the wall, she allowed herself to slowly slip down until she was sitting on the cold hardwood. She absentmindedly felt a tear slip down her cheek. I miss him. So much.
-
Draco Malfoy had been having a bad day. Blaise Zabini, his best mate, simply would not shut up. Pansy Parkinson wasn't helping things, either. She was continually simpering in his ear, grabbing his hand, looking at him with those big glassy eyes that reminded him of Muggle wading pools…
It was about halfway through the feast when he just lost it altogether.
Blaise was chewing on a bit of roasted chicken, rudely speaking at the same time. "So, mate, I was thinking. That Weasley bird isn't too bad, she seems to have a backbone, yeah? So different from her freckled relatives-"
Pansy, meanwhile, was attempting to grab Draco's hand anytime it wasn't clasped around a utensil. He noted this, and began to keep a firm hold on his knife and fork, even when there was no food left on his plate. Undeterred, Pansy continued babbling. "So, I was thinking that I want pink dresses for my bridesmaids someday. Wouldn't that color look lovely against my skin? It would look great against you, too, Drakie!"
"Okay, that's it," he growled, throwing his utensils down on the table. Getting up, he looked from Blaise to Pansy and back again. "I'm not in a mood to talk about the Weasel, and I certainly don't want to talk about weddings. And, someday, if I suffer a moment of momentary insanity and do talk about weddings, it most certainly won't be with you, Pansy, because I never want to marry you!"
Pansy looked close to tears, but Draco didn't care. Turning sharply on his heel, he strode out of the Great Hall, attempting to ignore the stares of everyone there.
-
Ginny was just letting the tears come freely now. She was aware of how pathetic she must look, make no mistake, but she could not find the energy to care. She lay in a crumpled mess on her dorm floor, knowing that her dorm-mates would be up in any moment, but having nothing to say to them.
Gaze trailing to her trunk (still packed, of course), she had an idea. If it makes me feel closer to him, I'll do anything, she thought resolutely.
Flipping open the latches, she began to rummage in her trunk, all for one special item.
-
Draco decided to take a walk. He wasn't ready to go back to his dorm and face all of the Slytherins; they were no doubt reeling from his outburst at Blaise and Pansy. Well, the one at Blaise was no real surprise, Draco was never in a mood to talk about Weasleys, but Pansy…oh, that was a mistake, and he knew it now.
All of the time he had been at Hogwarts, it had been an unspoken agreement that if he never found someone better, he would marry Pansy. Someday it would be Mrs. Pansy Malfoy, and the thought made him slightly ill. The idea of having her simper about his manor, replacing family heirlooms with her tacky pink knick-knacks, ugh- it forced an icy shudder down his spine. He couldn't stand the woman, but she was pureblood Slytherin…and in today's world, there was simply no higher person to marry. Most families had already polluted their lineages, and he couldn't stand the thought of those halfbloods. That's really all Pansy had going for her, her family's decision to stay pureblood.
But he knew that there was more out there to look for in a relationship. He found that out this summer. Minnie taught him that. He never thought he would learn anything from a Muggle. He thought it would be a summer of harmless fun, and that by the end of it she would be out of his life forever: goodbye, so long. Well, he was right on one thing: she was out of his life. But he hadn't expected to miss her.
Sighing, he realized he had walked himself to the Astronomy Tower. Might as well look at the sky while I'm here, nothing better to do, he thought half-heartedly, turning the door to the Tower.
His heart stopped.
There, in the clear moonlight, was Minnie Wellsford.
-
"Oh, bugger," Ginny muttered, her breath catching in her throat and touching her hand to her necklace. She knew the door was opening, but for some reason, the thought to take off the necklace never entered her mind. She just wanted to feel like Minnie again, anything to be closer to last summer and Danny. Besides, she thought offhandedly, people won't recognize Minnie. They'll probably think she's some lost exchange student or summat. I'm actually probably safer as Minnie at the moment.
Her eyes widened when she recognized the pale skin reflecting the moonlight, the platinum blonde she would know anywhere. "Malfoy," she muttered.
Draco's eyes widened further. "You know who I am?"
Ginny's heart stopped momentarily. Oh, shit. Lie, Ginny, lie! Um… "Doesn't everyone? You're a legend around here, it seems."
Draco felt his hopes beginning to fly. What if she was actually a witch? She would have to be, in order to see or be inside the castle…was he hallucinating? The idea of Minnie being a witch was too good to be true! What if she was a pureblood? All his worries would be gone if she was! "Why are you here?"
Ginny processed the question slowly. "I go here."
"I've never seen you before."
"First day," she quipped softly, looking Malfoy up and down to see if he believed her. Was she gravely mistaken, or did she notice hope flashing in those cold gray eyes? Maybe it was just a trick of the light.
"Do you mind if I'm up here with you?" Draco drawled. "I'm just not in a mood to go back to my dorm right now."
"Oh," Ginny muttered, bewildered. He could see that she was in Gryffindor robes, why was he even speaking to her? Draco Malfoy hated Gryffindors. "Um, not at all. Yeah."
Draco nodded, taking a seat on one of the stone benches. "Where are you from?"
"Oh, you know, here and there. My family moves a lot."
He nodded again. "Well, are you an exchange student? Were you at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang? You don't have much of an accent, so I'm guessing you're not American or French…"
"No, I'm English. I've just been at a few different schools over the past few years."
"Ah," he replied with a nod. Merlin, I wish I could be closer to her…I wonder if it's really her. Maybe I am hallucinating…but it looks exactly like her. I suppose there's only one way to find out who she is… "This may seem like a silly question, now that we've been talking for a few minutes, but…do you mind me asking your name?"
Ginny's eyes widened, but she answered anyway. "It's Minnie."
Draco's jaw dropped in response. "Oh."
Ginny raised an eyebrow at the Malfoy's peculiar behavior, but decided that someone new shouldn't be judging someone they just met, especially since Draco had been unusually friendly with her. Getting up from her bench, she said softly, "I should go, it's late."
"Oh, okay," Draco answered, getting up himself. "Yeah, I'm going down too. Mind if I walk you?"
"I don't know the full layout of the castle yet, but I'm pretty sure that's a bit out of your way, isn't it?" Ginny replied teasingly. What am I doing? Am I actually being friendly with a Malfoy? I must be completely mad…
"I don't mind," he murmured, holding open the door for the petite brunette.
-
The two stopped in front of the painting of the Fat Lady. "This is me," Ginny muttered hesitantly. "Thanks for walking me. It was really nice talking to you."
"You too," Draco replied with a nod. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Are you kidding?" Ginny asked uncertainly.
"No," he muttered, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes. Minnie will never want me…just as me, he thought despairingly. "Why do you say that?"
"Well," Ginny began quietly, "I've just heard you don't like Gryffindors much."
"Correction: I don't like idiotic Gryffindors much. Unfortunately for you, that comprises the majority of your house."
"I could say the same about yours," Ginny shot back in irritation.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked, shocked. "How many Slytherins have you met today?"
Oh…oops. Think, Ginny, think! "Well, they can't be that great if you're trying to avoid them, can they?"
"Oh," he murmured, features softening. "You're right about that. They've been right prats lately…but they're not bad mates, when it comes down to it."
"I hope," Ginny whispered, "that for your sake, you're right about that. I'll see you later."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
-
Ginny Weasley was exhausted. She hadn't gotten to bed until well after curfew; she was trying to mentally process the interaction with Malfoy. In all her life, he had never been civil to her, and he certainly had no reason to be so kind to a Gryffindor exchange student! What was his motive? What was he hoping to get out of being kind to her? She had no idea, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to meet with him again. But another part was curious- Blaise had said that Malfoy wasn't a bad person when you got to know him…what if Blaise was right? He would open up to Minnie- it could be interesting to get to know him. Besides, it had, if only for a few minutes, taken her mind off of Danny, and she could not be more thankful for that.
"Hey there, Ginger!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. How many silly nicknames can people make for redheads? It's absolutely ridiculous. You don't see people walking up to brunettes saying, "Hey there, cocoa bean!" People don't call blondes bananas or lemons…so why do I get all of the produce names? Ginger, carrot, tomato… (which, I'd like to point out, is not the color of my hair…my hair is a reddish orange, thank you very much)
She stopped her mental rant when she noticed who had fallen into step beside her. Blaise Zabini.
"What do you want, Blaise?"
"Obviously someone's in a cheery mood this morning. Not had your morning coffee, then?" he replied merrily, ruffling Ginny's hair affectionately.
Shooting him a death glare, she didn't reply.
"Have I told you how lovely you look in the mornings, there, Weasel?" he asked brightly.
"Why are you so bloody cheery? It's before seven. The sun's not bloody out yet!"
"So? Doesn't mean I can't be out causing mischief. I like to start while the day is young, you never know who you might find out in the corridors…like yourself, for instance. Just think. If I hadn't gotten up bright and early this morning, you wouldn't be having this lovely conversation with me!"
"And what a pity that would be," Ginny deadpanned.
"Well, isn't this just cozy?" a voice called sarcastically down the corridor.
She turned around, but she didn't need to. She knew that voice anywhere: Draco Malfoy.
To her surprise, when she looked at Blaise, his cheerful dark eyes had turned cold. "What, you're speaking to me now?"
"Of course I'm speaking to you, Zabini," he muttered snidely. "You think I'd rather be having an in-depth with the Weasley?"
"Thanks," Ginny spat. "Really."
Draco turned to her icily. "You're welcome. It's the most acknowledgement someone like you would ever get from someone like me, I'm sure."
Ginny cocked her head to the side incredulously, placing a hand on her jutted hip. "You mean, all a chauvinist prat would say to a normal human being? I agree."
Blaise snorted. Draco eyes narrowed at him furiously.
"Can I talk to you? Now?" Draco snapped, turning to Blaise.
"Sure," Blaise replied, throwing his hands up in surrender and turning to follow Draco. "See you later, Gin," he said softly, giving her a playful wink.
"Later," Ginny said with a smile. Blaise wasn't too bad…but why he was a friend of Malfoy's, well, that she would never understand. Or at least she would never understand it until she got to know him better…as Minnie.
-
"So…you're telling me your Muggle girlfriend is here."
"Well," Draco said with a sigh. "She's actually my ex-girlfriend. And I guess she isn't Muggle, if she's inside Hogwarts."
"And that she was up in the Astronomy Tower after curfew, is a Gryffindor, and moves around a lot."
"That's what she said."
Blaise sighed, watching his best mate pace back and forth across the room. "Look, mate, there's no easy way to tell you this…but…I don't think it's her. Even if she is a witch, which is unlikely," he reasoned carefully, "she probably wouldn't go here. And as to the chances of her being up in the Tower when you were? Infinitesimal."
Draco stopped pacing. "So what are you suggesting?"
"I'm saying," Blaise murmured, weighing what he was about to say very carefully, "that if Minnie is here, it's probably not the girl you met in Majorca. People know things. People want you dead, Draco. You betrayed the most powerful wizard in the world. If there's a way to get close to you with no consequences, I'm sure he's not afraid to capitalize on it. There are cloaking charms. Thanks to the bloody Weasleys and their new necklace contraption, it only takes a couple Galleons to become…anybody! I just don't want to see you hurt, Draco. And if Minnie is Minnie, then…well, I couldn't be happier for you, mate. But if she or whoever is pretending to be her is working for him, you might not live to see tomorrow."
-
Authoress' Note: Sorry for the hiatus on this story…I hope you enjoyed this chapter…don't forget, reviews are good for the soul!