Chapter 3
Very quickly, the unlikely friends fell into a pattern. Every day, they would study after dinner in the library. Then one of them would leave to the secret room, this being the signal for the other to sneak out after them a few minutes later. They would then pass the time talking. Ginny learned a lot about Draco. He was actually much more sensitive than most people gave him credit for, though she would never have admitted it to her brothers.
One sunlit afternoon, when most of the school was in Hogsmeade and the younger students were walled in with homework, they were in their typical situation. Ginny stared into Draco's deep blue eyes as he held her hand. (BAD GINNY!!!!) She always felt special around Draco, like she was the only one in the whole world.
"When I was little, I wanted a sister," he said suddenly, startling Ginny out of her pondering. "I know, I know, weird. How many six-year-old boys want a sister? But I did. I can't really remember why exactly, only that I wanted a baby sister more than anything. My parents tried to have another baby. Miscarriage. That was when they stopped loving each other. That was when my father stopped loving me."
She stared at him for a bit, pondering his confession. She had always been surrounded by brothers, but she didn't think it had done her much good. When Ginny told him so, he laughed. "At least they cared. At least there was somebody there."
"I care. I'm here," she pointed out obstinately.
He smiled luminously, like he had borrowed the afternoon sun's radiance. Leaning closer so that she could smell his breath, which smelled of mint and lemons, he whispered, "I know."
She felt faint again, as she often did around Draco. She wanted to kiss him so badly…but no. That would ruin their friendship. Being Draco's friend sometimes felt like a dream to Ginny. It felt like she would wake up and go back to hating him openly, as he had once pretended to hate her.
But now, in a surprising reversal, she was his friend. His best friend. They talked to each other about everything: Divination, house-elf rights (Draco had always felt horrible about how his parents treated Dobby), passing Arithmancy. She ached to be able to talk in public, to be able to be his friend for real, instead of behind locked doors and at night.
The next morning at breakfast, she sat next to Hermione for the first time in weeks. Hermione looked surprised, like she was about to say something, but then she closed her mouth. Hermione did not want to be on the receiving end of one of Ginny's wicked Bat-Bogey Hexes.
Ginny was forced to break the ice. "Has Professor Snape always been such a hardass, or does he just hate my class?"
Hermione looked startled, either at the fact that Ginny had called a teacher a hardass or that Ginny was talking to her. Probably both. "Um, he never really liked anybody except Draco Malfoy in our year, so yeah, I'd say he's a, uh, hardass." Hermione and swear words had never gone well together.
Ginny dug into her scrambled eggs. The house-elves always made them a bit runny, but she liked them that way. Little did Hermione know that Ginny was eating to cover up the huge smile that had come on to her face at the mention of Draco's name (Bad bad bad bad BAD GINNY!).
They had a pleasant conversation. Harry looked a bit shocked at the sight of his ex and current girlfriend having an animated conversation about Potions homework when they hadn't communicated for weeks. He didn't comment. He didn't want to get hexed either.
In fact, Ginny wasn't entirely sure why she didn't feel any enmity towards Hermione anymore. All of a sudden, her desire to get Harry back had evaporated. Thus, there was no reason to hate his new girlfriend anymore.
As Hermione left the Great Hall, Ginny yelled after her, "I'll see you in the Common Room during free period. You have third off, right?" Hermione nodded, then passed through the oak front doors to the lobby.
When Ginny finally left after a ridiculous amount of dawdling over her bacon, she was cornered in an empty niche. "So you finally patched things up with Granger," Draco said softly. His eyes looked luminous in the dark. She bravely resisted the positively evil thoughts she was having about her friend.
"I'm talking to Hermione, yes," she said, bravely resisting him. She couldn't go to class all Draco-drunk. She'd never pass her Arithmancy test.
"Good." He was staring at her, eyes lidded. She often caught him doing this.
"Why do you care what goes on between Hermione and me?" she asked curiously. "I thought you hated her."
"I do."
"Then-"
"I just don't like seeing you unhappy." He kissed her cheek. He did this a lot. She didn't like it; it made her think bad thoughts.
She floated through her lessons all day long, even more so than usual. Colin Creevy saved her neck during Charms. She had been daydreaming about Draco (BAD!) so she hadn't even noticed when Flitwick called on her. Luckily, Colin answered her question for her. Flitwick was so dotty he didn't even remember whom he had called upon.
She was so out of it that she didn't even notice when Hermione sat down next to her during free period in the common room. Hermione had to wave her hand in front of Ginny's face before she even acknowledged the older girl's presence.
"Oh! Hermione, it's you. I didn't notice, I was-"
"-Daydreaming," Hermione finished for her with a smile. "About someone in particular?" She waggled her eyebrows.
"NO!" The word came out of Ginny much louder than she had anticipated. "No," she repeated in a quieter tone.
Hermione's eyebrows knit together. "If it's about Harry, I'm not offended."
"No, not Harry," Ginny sighed. She had to keep her thoughts in check.
"Is there someone else then?" Hermione asked inquisitively.
Ginny shook her head; she couldn't afford any more giveaways about her secret relationship. "Let's talk about Potions. So, I always screw up the Draught of Living Death. Any pointers?"
Hermione sighed. "Actually, if it's Potions help you want, ask Harry. He had a book last year with cheats in it."
"I remember," recalled Ginny. "Half-Blood King, was it?"
"Prince," corrected Hermione absently.
"Does Harry have off now?" she asked, closing Advanced Potion-Making.
"Um, no. Why?" Hermione said abruptly, coming out of her reverie.
"So I can get Potions help," Ginny said slowly. "Are you feeling all right, Mione?"
"Just…daydreaming."
They giggled together at the irony.
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Ginny glared over at Pansy Parkinson. That slut had glommed on to Draco all through dinner, and now she was trying to flirt. Rather ineptly, Ginny noticed smugly. She could tell, even from this distance. Suddenly Pansy's voice rang out, shrill in the huge hall. "I thought you loved me!"
Every head in the Great Hall, including the teachers', snapped towards the Slytherin table. Pansy looked momentarily abashed, then continued. "I know you said you loved me!"
"Er, Pansy, I don't really know who you heard say that, because it sure as hell wasn't me," Draco said disgustedly, evading the sallow-skinned girl's embrace.
"We're through!" Pansy yelled dramatically, storming off. "I never want to see you again, Draco Malfoy!"
The Great Hall looked at Draco for his response. He blushed a little, rubbing his hair. "Not entirely sure how she's going to go about never seeing me again. She's in all my classes."
Ginny caught his eye as she tried to stifle her laugh. He too was trying not to chuckle. Once they looked at each other it was all over. The two of them were in full blown hysterics, not minding the younger Gryffindors and Slytherins that looked at them like they were crazy. Eyes streaming, they laughed until the chatter of dinner had started again and there was nothing more to laugh about.
She knew it wasn't safe, but she had to talk to him. She was crouching in a shadowy corner, next to the statue of Jeremy the Jolly that had been vandalized by first-years. Ginny was right near the entrance to the dungeon common rooms that were the heart of Slytherin. She had to talk to Draco, right now. No matter the cost.
Waiting was difficult when you had eaten too much. She felt herself getting sleepier and sleepier, until she was practically snoring on her feet. But then she saw him, and she was more awake than she had ever been.
Because when she was near Draco Malfoy, every nerve in her body tingled.
When she touched him, her heart swelled and symphonies played in her brain like angel song. (What's the point? I know I'm in love with him by now, but still-BAD GINNY!)
He was with those idiots Crabbe and Goyle, but she didn't mind because it was him. Him laughing at some stupid thing they had said, him with his sweater over his shoulder and that tie loose and the lovely eyes laughing along with his mouth.
But if he was with his two goonies, how was she to get him alone? Ginny glanced around desperately for something, anything, that could help her get alone with Draco. Of course! There were pebbles and bits of rubble from the vandalized statue lying about. She picked up a smallish one and threw it at the back of his head as he turned to enter the common room.
Her Chaser's aim was true, and the pebble hit its mark. Draco looked around and spied her. Alarm crossed his lovely features. "I-I've got to go to the loo. You two go on. He pushed Crabbe and Goyle through the entrance and quickly retreated to the corner where Ginny was standing, inspecting the statue.
"I love how these things are just lying around the castle. Dead useful."
"What the hell are you doing here, Gin?" he whispered worriedly to her. "Any of them could spot you." Draco gestured towards the wall where the Slytherin common room was concealed.
"I don't know, I just thought I'd get a front row seat to watch you SNOGGING PANSY PARKINSON," she said acidly.
His mouth fell open in surprise. "What are you going on about?"
"You and your girlfriend," she spat out.
"Last I checked, we were talking about Pansy, and she sure as hell is not my girlfriend."
"But what was all that `you said you loved me!' at dinner then?" she glared at him, accusing him with her eyes.
"Just what it sounded like. Complete bollocks!" he shouted back.
"You say that." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You were laughing! You saw how ridiculous that was!"
"Yes, well, then I got worried. Didn't you two used to go out?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Ages ago. And that was to make you jealous."
Her jealousy and anger stopped short. "Well, then, it worked."
Draco's mouth fell open in mock surprise. "Ginny Weasley, jealous of a Slytherin? Preposterous!"
"You must know how I feel about you by now," Ginny murmured. Tears leaked from her eyes. He pulled her in for a hug. She cried even harder, because the gesture was just so-so friendly. He pushed her away from him gently, still holding onto her shoulders.
She looked up into his face. He was beaming like he had just won the lottery. "You idiot."
And before she could say a word to protest, before she could do anything about it, he was kissing her with his mint-lemonade mouth until she couldn't remember her name, much less walk in a straight line back to Gryffindor Tower.
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