Mystery of the Magic 8 Ball

Disclaimer: Did not create any of HP characters, etc etc.

A/N: Did this for the 7 for 7 challenge at portkey.org Enjoy.

Mystery of the Magic 8 Ball

Draco Malfoy had always been a curious boy. He loved finding out new things and nosing into other people’s business, and for the first time his meddlesome behaviour was about to lead to something that would change his perspective forever; for you see, Draco Malfoy was about to discover something very enlightening indeed.

Draco walked down the crowded corridor, his head held high as he sneered at the scuttling first years, his cold, grey eyes glaring at the ridiculous Gryffindors strolling by. Why did they have to be so darn cheerful all the time anyway? Bunch of prancing pansies. He stopped in mid-walk, his eyes focusing on the redheaded girl now walking hurriedly out of the doors to the courtyard, her chestnut eyes darting around nervously. Draco noticed the bundle tucked under her arms and a small smirk graced his rather pointy features. The littlest weasel was hiding something, and he was going to make sure he found out what.

Draco smoothed down his robes, for Merlin knows why, and followed the petite redhead out the door. He watched her walking speedily towards the old tree by the lake and followed, his mind eagerly seizing on visions of the weasel-girl being expelled or put in detention by an irate McGonagall. Oh yes, this day was proving to be a very exciting day indeed for someone as nosy as Draco Malfoy.

Draco paused and watched as the weasel-girl sat down under the tree and pulled out what looked like a small black ball. He frowned to himself suddenly. What was her name again? Was it Binny? Whinny? No, surely it was Minnie? He shook his head slightly, realising that either way her name was horridly common and not worth remembering anyway. Mustering up his courage- for he had still not forgotten the bat-bogey-hex in fifth year- Draco walked over to the redhead, who seemed absorbed with the little, black ball. He paused again when her voice drifted to his ears, a somewhat desperate tone creeping into it.

“Will Harry Potter marry me?” Ginny muttered. Draco watched curiously as she shook the black ball and then stared at something on it. Suddenly she gave a loud, disgruntled shriek. “What do you mean ‘don’t count on it??’” Ginny practically screamed and threw the black ball furiously, which, unfortunately for Draco, hit him hard in the head.

“Ow!” Draco moaned, rubbing his head, which was now throbbing rather painfully. He glared down at the black ball and picked it up, noticing the small triangle where the words ‘don’t count on it’ still glowed. “What the heck is wrong with you, Weasley?” Draco demanded, walking towards her with a very dark scowl on his face. Weasel-girl glared at him, looking not in the least apologetic that she had almost knocked him out with the stupid ball.

“I do have a name you know, it’s Ginny, and nothing is wrong with me.”

Draco almost laughed. At least he had been close with her name, but he was right after all; it was horribly common. Curbing his rather natural desire to laugh at her, Draco instead looked at the black ball in his hand.

“Sure nothing is wrong with you; that’s why you were talking to this ball and asking it whether Potter was going to marry you.” Draco said sarcastically. “Of course only sane people do things like that.”

Ginny glared at him and stood up, her long red hair tangling in her face from the wind. Draco watched with one raised eyebrow as she irritably moved the masses of red from her face and finally managed to scowl at him. He came to the conclusion that she was definitely insane.

“That is none of your business, you- you-” Ginny paused and frowned to herself. Suddenly she grinned and looked at him triumphantly. “You blithering bigot!”

“You couldn’t think of anything better than that?” Draco asked contemptuously.

“I thought it was quite good actually.” Ginny said seriously. “Getting the whole alliteration going and-”

Draco burst out laughing before he could stop himself. He could see her shocked expression and mentally tried to force himself to stop laughing, but that only succeeded in making his laugh sound almost like a donkey gasping for breath; something Malfoy’s were not allowed to sound like. Finally he managed to get a control on himself and took a few calming breaths.

“You really are insane.” Draco said with another small chuckle. Ginny only glared at him, her lips pursing into a not-at-all-amused expression.

“Right, well if you give me my magic ball back, I’ll be on my way.” Ginny said loftily, clearly showing she was not in the mood to be talking to him anymore. Draco ignored her and glanced at the small, black ball in his hand. This was magic? But it didn’t feel magic.

“What? This is a magic ball?” Draco asked curiously. Ginny huffed and tried to snatch it from him, but Draco pulled his arm away.

“I found it at King’s Cross. It said ‘Magic Ball’ on the cover, so I guess it is magic. It’s supposed to tell you the truth and sometimes your fortune, but-” Ginny scowled suddenly- “I think it lies.”

“Why, because it said Potter wasn’t going to marry you?” Draco asked with a small smirk. Ginny glared at him but didn’t say anything. Draco wasn’t sure why he wasn’t leaving or telling McGonagall about this little episode, but he always had been curious about things; plus, it wasn’t every day he came across a magic ball that told him his fortune.

“How does this thing work anyway?” Draco asked, his grey eyes examining the little ball. The words that had been glowing before had vanished. Maybe it really was magic?

Ginny sighed, clearly having given up on getting the ball off him. “All you do is ask your question and then shake the ball. It will come up with your answer in the triangle.”

Draco frowned and gave a small smirk as he thought of a question. “Is Ginny Weasley insane?” He shook the ball and gave a loud laugh as the words ‘it seems likely’ showed up in the triangle.

“What does it say?” Ginny asked. Draco showed her the ball, watching as her face twisted into a furious expression. It really was quite amusing to see her getting so angry. It was not so amusing, however, when she gave him a sharp kick in the leg, making him drop the ball.

“This is just ridiculous.” Ginny said irritably, ignoring his glare. “It is obviously faulty.”

“Just face it, Weasley,” Draco said, while rubbing his leg. “You’re insane; even the weird ball agrees with me.”

Ginny shook her head, a determined expression on her face. Draco reached down and picked up the ball. “Look,” he began. “I can even prove that it is not faulty. I don’t like you at all, so I know when I ask this ball if I love you that it will say ‘it is virtually impossible’ or something like that.”

“Do it then.” Ginny said in a tired voice and sat back down on the grass, gazing at him expectantly. Draco ignored her and stared at the ball in his hand.

“Does Draco Malfoy love Ginny Weasley?” Draco asked clearly, as he shook the ball. He watched as the glowing words started to form in the triangle, and almost dropped it in horror when he read the words.

“What? What did it say?” Ginny asked. Draco shook his head slightly and dropped the ball.

“You’re right, Weasley, it is obviously faulty.” Draco said quickly, his mind in turmoil at what he had read. There was no way he could love Ginny Weasley. Just no way! That stupid ball was lying! He couldn’t love something as ridiculous as that insane, freckled redhead!

Ginny reached over and picked up the ball, frowning as she stared at the words. “Without a doubt.” She read out loud and then stared at him, dropping the ball back on the grass. “I told you it was faulty.”

“Right.” Draco said a little too quickly, and then cursed himself mentally. Of course the ball was just faulty. He stared at Ginny, noticing the disgruntled expression on her face as her hair once more tangled itself in her mouth. He watched as she spat out bits of hair, and inwardly cringed. There was just no way he could love something as awkward and unrefined as that bizarre girl.

Ginny stood up again, dusting the dirt off the back of her robes. She glared at him and was about to stalk away when she slipped on the black ball and fell straight into Draco. He instinctively placed his arms around her to keep her steady. Their eyes met, and for some reason Draco found himself forgetting all about her common name and her crazy behaviour. All he could think about was how strange it was that he had never noticed the almost golden glow in her brown eyes, or the fullness of her glossy lips, which he was sure were deliciously soft. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to see if his musings were true, and before he could even think about what he was doing, Draco soon had his lips pressed against hers. He felt Ginny stiffen against him, but she slowly responded to the kiss. Draco inwardly smirked that he had been right; her lips were deliciously soft.

Ginny pulled away, her eyes no longer flashing with anger. “Maybe that ball wasn’t faulty after all?” She said with a small grin. Draco couldn’t help it; he grinned back.