Bonjour, mes petits croissants!
Sorry, thought I'd shake up the greeting a bit this time.
So, lovelies, enjoy Chapter 3 of Fanfic #2 from Loveedoo!
Obligatory disclaimer the third: No, I don't own JKR (that would be human trafficking, wouldn't it?). And I don't think this is illegal, because if it was, I would be in jail right now. So remind me again why I need a disclaimer? Other than the fact that it's cute.
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Chapter Three: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day…
Ginny woke up tired. Not good, she thought. I have a Transfiguration test today. Not to mention that essay for Flitwick that I'm going to have to finish during lunch. Then she remembered last night, and realized that failing Transfiguration was the least of her problems. Why had she almost kissed Draco Malfoy?
Much worse, she had forgiven him.
And somewhere along the way, she might have fallen for him.
She fell back on to her pillow with a thud and a groan. Today was already crappy, and she hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Demelza's head appeared over the railing of Ginny's bunk. Melza slept on the bottom.
"Everything okay, Gin?"
"I just forgot to study for Transfiguration, okay?" Ginny didn't think that she could get into the whole Draco/prank/kiss thing with a fellow Gryffindor. She didn't want to get ostracized.
"Oh, shit. Transfiguration," Demelza groaned. "I forgot too."
"And it's first period," Ginny said, pretending to be much more upset than she actually was. She had learned this trick from Fred and George: play along with what other people are talking about, and you can get some time to think for yourself. This was an easy one for Ginny because she was a natural multitasker.
It couldn't be anything real, the feeling she had felt for Malfoy last night. Draco, she corrected herself mentally. She had promised him that much.
She didn't owe him anything!
Still, Ginny was prepared to be the better person. It wouldn't be hard. Many people were better than Draco Malfoy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand waving in front of her face. She started. How long had she been zoning
out?
"Gin? Ginny?" Demelza said cautiously.
"Sorry, 'Melza. I was going over Transfiguration material in my head," Ginny said, flashing a cheesy smile.
Demelza rolled her eyes at her roommate, and commenced to pull a uniform shirt over her head. The dark-skinned girl knotted her tie quickly and efficiently, gave herself a quick once-over in the communal mirror, and started down for breakfast. Slowly, Ginny dressed herself for the day and started for breakfast.
Luna was sitting on the bottom step when Ginny approached the Great Hall with a hankering for sausages.
"Hello, Luna," Ginny said, trying to pass the blonde girl to get to the food.
Luna blocked her. "Ginny, you have to talk to him," she said in her soft, musical voice.
"Er…what?" Ginny said rather too loudly. She couldn't remember mentioning her encounter with Draco to anyone.
"You must talk with Draco."
"Luna, I want my breakfast," Ginny groaned, aggravated. "I'm hungry."
"You must talk to him."
Ginny sighed, sitting down on the stairs next to her Ravenclaw friend. "All right, you have my attention. Why do I need to talk to Draco?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Goddammit, Draco, if you don't get out of the bed I'll flatten you," Blaise threatened the Slytherin.
"I'm up, I'm up," Draco insisted groggily, sitting up in bed. He rubbed his eyes, looking around the green-furnished room blearily. "Aren't you supposed to be ignoring me?" he asked his roommate.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "That's what you think. Now get out of bed, or I'm going to overturn the whole bunk."
"You couldn't do that," Draco said, looking for his shirt on the floor, "could you?"
"Very few know what I am capable of." Blaise glanced at the Dark Mark tattoo on Draco's left arm as he rolled up the sleeve of his uniform shirt. It wasn't as dark as it usually was, meaning that this was going to be a good day. Maybe.
The blond boy brushed his hair quickly (it fell into place neatly, unlike Harry's) and turned around just in time to catch Blaise staring at the Mark.
Misinterpreting the look, Draco made a face and rolled his sleeves down. "I always forget about that stupid thing. Can't make the whole school think I'm a Death Eater, now can I?"
Blaise smirked ironically. "No. Of course not. Because nobody thinks that after you attempt to murder the headmaster and bring in about twelve Death Eaters from Nocturn Alley. Nope, nobody knows you're a Death Eater. Nobody at all."
"Jesus, Blaise, do you ever shut up?" Draco snapped, tying his tie.
"Only when I'm in love, as you seem to be," replied the other Slytherin. The Death Eater narrowed his eyes at Blaise.
"I always forget you freaking perceptive you are, Blaise."
"It's one of my many talents." The dark-skinned Slytherin leaned against a rough stone wall, still staring pointedly at the now covered-up tattoo.
"So are you going to disown me yet?"
"Give me a little more credit than that, Draco."
"You haven't earned it yet."
"Who cares if she's a Gryffindor? You could date the freaking giant squid for all I care. C'mere, you," Blaise said, pulling Draco into an awkward hug. The blond boy raised his eyebrows when the other pulled away. He shrugged. "I'm working on being a more affectionate and less standoffish as a person."
"Did you really mean that about the giant squid?" Draco said as they walked up
the many flights of stairs to the Great Hall.
"Of course, you prat. Now hurry up. I'm hungry."
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Ginny had just started to the Great Hall and breakfast when he came toward her. She froze like a deer in the headlights. Even though she knew she was going to have to acknowledge him sometime, but she just didn't want to do it so publicly.
So she was half disappointed, half relieved when he brushed past her with a "Stop sitting around and waiting for Potter" and a sneer.
Luna raised her eyebrows at Ginny when he and Blaise had passed through the oak doors.
"I will talk to him, just not so publicly," the redhead promised as they headed for their House tables.
"I'll hold you to that," Luna replied distractedly, as Ron walked up to her and planted a good-morning kiss on her lips.
"Morning, Gin," he greeted his sister without so much as a glance in her direction.
"Hello, Ron," she said, scanning the table for a seat. Demelza was surrounded by her usual posse of admiring Quidditch wannabes, and there was no way that she could sit with Harry and Hermione.
There was a spot open next to Neville and Seamus. Perfect.
"Hello, boys," Ginny said breezily as she slid into the open seat next to Neville.
"Hey, Gin, I haven't seen you in forever," Neville greeted her warmly. He kissed her on the cheek, which made her smile. Neville was so sweet.
"Hi, Ginny!" Seamus called from Neville's other side. Ginny could see that the couple was holding hands discreetly. Aww, how sweet, she thought.
"I've been kind of swamped," Ginny said, digging into her egg and sausage.
"I remember that. Sixth year is a killer, isn't it Seamus?" said Neville sympathetically. His boyfriend nodded in agreement.
"Is Flitwick still making you do those stupid essays?" Seamus said, looking at her over Neville's plate of food.
"Uh-huh," Ginny replied, her mouth full of food.
"Ah, to be young again," Neville said nostalgically. Ginny laughed and whacked him on the shoulder.
"I'm only a year younger than you, you git!"
"Ow," winced Neville. "You should be a Beater, not a Chaser, Gin."
"That's what you learn when you grow up in a house of brothers," Ginny said smugly as she returned to her sausage.
Suddenly, she caught Draco Malfoy's eye over her plate of egg. It looked like he had been staring at her for a while. He held her gaze for a few seconds, but then Pansy Parkinson tugged on his sleeve and he turned his face towards her to continue their animated discussion.
"I wonder what they could be talking about," Ginny said out loud.
Neville stopped giggling with Seamus to look at her. "Who?"
She pointed and the boys stared at the two Slytherins for a few seconds. They appeared to be arguing. "Since when do you care what goes on with the snake people?" Seamus said, picking at his toast.
"Since never," mumbled Ginny.
But she really did wonder what they could be talking about.
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Pansy had been waiting for a while to ask the questions she needed to ask Draco. As he and Blaise sat down, Pansy leaned over and said, "Have you talked to her yet?"
Draco glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Ginny was sitting next to her gay friends. He pulled his gaze away from the redheaded Gryffindor and back to the girl next to him. "N-no. Not yet, anyway."
The short girl glared at him. "You didn't cop out with one of your oh-so-clever snide comments, did you?"
"Uh…" The pause was all Pansy needed to know.
She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. "What did you say? Exactly. To the letter."
"I think it was something like `stop sitting around waiting for Potter, he's not coming back.' I couldn't help it, Pans! Six years of dealing with it one way has become an impulse." He stared down at his plate and said mutinously, "Two eggs, sunny-side up, and four sausages." The requested food appeared.
Blaise noted that Ginny's food and Draco's food were exactly the same, but tactfully refrained from commenting.
The Headmistress sat down next to Professor Slughorn.
"Are you still keeping an eye on the boy?" Minerva McGonnagle murmured to him.
"Two eyes, actually Minerva," Slughorn said through a mouthful of muffin.
Draco kept catching himself staring at Ginny. It wasn't a voluntary action. His eyes were drawn to her inexplicably, no matter how many times he tried to stop them from looking.
She was so beautiful as she tilted her head back to laugh, hair shining in the sunlight streaming from the magical ceiling. White teeth flashed in her mouth as she talked to her friends.
Then Ginny caught his eye. Shit. She had seen him staring. She gazed at him weirdly for a minute.
Pansy pulled his sleeve with a force he thought no girl was capable of. "Jesus, Malfoy, she's going to think you're a pervert or something," she hissed.
"She's fully clothed. I'm not worried." Pansy rolled her eyes. "Besides, you keep staring at Theo, so we're even."
"Don't talk so effing loud!" she whispered. Theodore had looked around at the sound of his name, but he shook his head when he realized that nobody had called him.
"He has to realize that you're in love with him by now! Even I could tell!" Draco replied in an undertone.
"Don't you dare change the subject!"
"I didn't even realize we had a subject!"
"What are you going on about?"
"You told me not to do something, and I stopped, and then I started talking about a related topic!" Draco said, almost shouting. Heads turned to see the source of the commotion.
"You are such an idiot," Pansy mumbled, taking a bite of her croissant and shaking her head.
"I already knew that," Draco said, sneaking a peek at his redheaded crush. He sighed. "What are the odds of me winning the affections of the lovely Miss Weasley?"
Pansy considered him, tilting her head to one side. "Hmm…I'd say about the same odds of the Chudley Cannons winning the Quidditch World Cup this year," she said after awhile.
Draco grimaced. "Slim to none, you mean."
She grinned. "No, it means that it's not likely but that stranger things have happened. And you, my friend, will make it happen. Luck has nothing to do with it."
A red-faced Theodore Nott approached them from down the table. Draco could see that his hand was shaking a bit, and turned back to his breakfast, smirking. Pansy turned red as he turned to her.
"Er, I was wondering, Pansy, if you would, um, maybe go to Hogsmeade sometime, with, you know, me…" His voice trailed away and he looked embarrassed.
Pansy bit her lip to stop herself from grinning like a mindless simpleton. "Of course I will, Theo. All you had to do was ask."
The seventh-year boy bent down and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you outside the Great Hall a week from Saturday then."
Both of them turned a bit pink as he walked away.
"Did you see that?" Pansy squealed once he was out of earshot. "He kissed me! We haven't even been on a date yet!"
Pansy's voice faded into the background as Draco zoned out. Girls could be so incredibly inane. Sometimes he had to wonder why anyone bothered with them anyway.
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Hmm…that chapter ended up being mostly fluff, didn't it?
Well, it's that time again. Time for thank yous!
My loyal fans (love yas!)
JKR for the idea, which means that I don't have to go through the tedious process of creating a whole world.
I've kind of run out of people to thank.
Keep on reading, tell me if it's crap! You know the drill.
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