Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N- I know that I haven't updated this story in a really long time, and I am so sorry. I've been super busy with the last round of the D/G Fic Exchange on Live Journal; my latest fic, Through a Long and Sleepless Night; as well as school related stuff. This is the shortest chapter to date, I think, but I plan on making the future chapters a lot longer. I just felt that it wasn't necessary to make this chapter incredibly long. Enjoy!

Theories on How Danger Finds Us - Chapter 7

I awoke the next morning rather - how shall I put this? - abruptly.

There was no soft, gentle nudging of my person, no whispered demand for me to wake, just my right ear becoming very familiar with luxuriously carpeted floor in all of about five seconds.

And it hurt. A lot. It was like I had gotten my ears boxed, but the feeling was only present in my right ear -- that awkward, stinging, ringing pain of a vortex of air rushing to my ear drum. Not to mention the fact that the entire right side of my upper body was now cursing my stubborn, insolent ways as my head bounced off of said carpet and my shoulder collided with the floor. For although I had landed on carpet, rather than solid wood, there's only so much padding carpet can provide. So, keeping that thought in mind, I was ready and willing to bring swift and painful retribution to whoever decided to make me suffer.

"Fucking hell!" I shouted once the pain on the right side of my body had been reduced to nothing more but a low throb.

Still lying on the floor, I looked up, expecting to find my Draco-sized pillow, only to find my pillow looming over me, eyes widened in shock, before morphing to an expression of absolute disgust. So much for Blaise's theory of Draco being "in love" with me.

"What the hell were you thinking last night, Weasley?"

"Oh, so it's back to 'Weasley' now, is it? Whatever happened to 'Ginny' and 'being nice' to me?"

"The crick in my neck and my sore bum are speaking for me right now," he replied, leaning his head to the side, massaging his neck with his right hand.

"Aw, poor little Malfoy didn't get his beauty sleep. However is he going to be able to face the world now? Should we warn the media that there's a slight chance of you looking positively hideous today, or should I hold the press release?"

"Your cheek is very unattractive, Weasley."

"Good thing I'm not attracted to you then - I have nothing to worry about."

"All in good time, Weasley. All in good time," Draco replied with a knowing smirk.

"And when I still remain out of your fan club, don't be surprised when I say, 'I told you so'."

"Don't delude yourself, Weasley dear. How could you not appreciate what I have?"

"But, Malfoy darling, you have nothing to appreciate," I retorted with a guileless smile, stepping into my room and closing the door before Draco got his bit in. I love getting in the last word.

I was still smiling as I leaned against the door, replaying the last few minutes over again in my mind, before I began laughing at how easy talking to Draco was. It was banter, sure, but it just seemed to flow so easily from him, from all of the Slytherins I encountered thus far at the Lufkin School.

A knock on the door prevented anymore thoughts from trailing off further in that particular thread.

"Ginny. It's Pansy. We're going to leave in an hour or two, so make sure that you're ready."

I opened the door to find Pansy leaning back after having her face pressed against the door to ensure that I heard her. "How did you know that I was awake?"

"Blaise and I can hear Draco grumbling about you in his room. I say we might leave in an hour or two because at this rate, Draco might be sulking in his room for quite a bit. He always likes to get in the last word. Blaise and I are amused as all hell because it's wonderful knowing that someone beat Draco to it. So thank you for making my morning that much brighter," she finished with a smile.

"You all have a very strange relationship," I announced in incredulity.

"I guess you could say that. We just show affection in a very different manner, is all. When we poke fun at each other, we do it out of love. Slytherins aren't all that great at mushy displays of affection. We may try, but there's always some point when we cock it all up."

"I suppose I should get used to this then."

"It doesn't hurt. We try to act as such around non-Slytherins, but, as I'm sure you've noticed, we don't take a shine to those who aren't in the Slytherin House. So you should consider yourself lucky. You've got three Slytherins who enjoy your company. I was right to call you an anomaly earlier; I think that's the highest amount of Slytherins anyone outside of my house has ever befriended, if that made any sense," Pansy finished shaking her head slightly.

"Oh, no; it did. I understand what you mean. I'm still rather perplexed as to how it came to this, but I'm not upset. It's a nice change of pace from the people I'm used to associating with." I added a smile just in case Pansy still questioned my response, and she seemed satisfied enough, returning my smile.

"I'll leave you to go get ready. We're all meeting in the sitting room when we're done. And, again, maybe in an hour or so, depending on Princess Draco's mood. I think Blaise is calming him down, so he shouldn't be all that surly the next time you see him."

Pansy turned to leave, but there was something about Draco that was nagging at me. I chewed on my bottom lip, wondering if I should ask the brunette about it.

"Pansy?" I might as well get on with it then, I thought. Otherwise, I'd be thinking about it for Merlin knows how long, and it'd just bug the ever-loving shit out of me until I talked about it with someone, and Pansy was right there, and she's a good listener, and I'll just shut up now. Sorry. On with some actual dialogue.

She turned around at the threshold to my room, placing a hand on the doorframe. "Yeah, Ginny?"

"I - I wanted to ask you something. Something about Draco."

"Oh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell." She began to walk towards me, closing the door behind her.

"I'm probably going to sound really silly for asking this, but Draco's changed a lot since he graduated, hasn't he?"

Pansy snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You just noticed? Of course he has."

"Oh, I know that. I guess I just, I don't know. It's strange because I feel like he mellows out around you and Blaise, but when I'm there it's a slow revert back to the Draco I'm used to. And what's even stranger is that I kind of like the 'old' Draco more."

"Well, of course you would. It's habit. You know how to respond. He's confusing you, and you don't like it."

"But why then?"

"I'm sure he's not doing on purpose. I don't think he would purposefully confuse you unless you royally pissed him off. You haven't done that, have you?"

I shrugged. "Not that I know of."

"Then I don't really know what to tell you. I guess you'll just have to warm up to the idea of him not being a total wanker." I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off with a hand. "No. No protesting. You'll be fine. He's just a boy. Don't try to gain his acceptance. If he doesn't like you, then it's his loss."

"Why have you accepted me so easily then?"

"Two reasons. One, I'm going to be living with you for the next year. It would be stupid of me not to. And two, I think everyone deserves a second chance."

"That's very Gryffindor of you," I replied, rather shocked at her honest response.

"Yes, well, don't tell the others. I would hate to hear what they had to say on the subject."

"Of course. My lips are sealed," I assured her.

She gave me a brief smile, turning around to head back towards the door.

"I'll see you in an hour, Ginny."

"Yes. An hour. I'll be ready."

Pansy closed the door behind her, pressing a hand against the smooth wooden surface as though she didn't want the sound to bother me.

I turned to walk toward the heap of bags waiting near the small desk in the room, but my bed looked so tempting at that moment, and the last thing I wanted to do was spend another day scouring a city I had never been to, playing guinea pig to Pansy's fashion whimsy. Her gesture was generous and, once I stopped worrying about it so much, greatly appreciated, but considering the fact that I spent the entire night sleeping on the floor, a bed would have felt heavenly in that moment.

My eyes flicked back to the pristinely made bed, my body just itching to plop down on it, messing it up.

I took a step in the direction of the bed when I heard a sharp knock on the door.

"Don't even think about crawling into that bed, Weasley! If I have to suffer, then you do, too!"

My eyebrows furrowed as I took a step back. Draco?

"Draco?" I voiced aloud. "How did you know that I was planning on crawling into bed?"

"Because you're predicable. And Pansy just harped on me for it," he replied on the other side of the door. "So get your arse in the shower before I sic Pansy on you."

I huffed, plopping down on the bed out of spite, even though Draco wasn't there to see it.

"Stop being childish, Weasley. I'm serious about getting Pansy. I know you're on that bed right now."

How is he doing all of this? I mentally shrieked, furrowing my eyebrows even more.

Not wanting to take my chances with the wrath of Pansy, I hopped off the bed, walking over to the bathroom.

It seemed like Draco realized that I was heading towards the bathroom for once I entered, his comments stopped.

I hopped into the shower, washing my hair and body as the steam enveloped the entire bathroom, fogging the glass surrounding me and the mirror right next to me.

Satisfied, I turned off the water, stepping out into the sauna I had created, grabbing a towel lying on the counter next to me.

About ten minutes later, I opened the door to the bathroom, letting the steam seep into my room. I made to go to the heaps of bags near the wardrobe, when I noticed an outfit already laid out for me on my bed, probably by Pansy. Who am I kidding? Of course it was picked out for me by Pansy.

She had laid out a pair of two-toned tights by Chanel, an almost knee-length black dress by Fendi, a shrunken trench coat by Stella McCartney, and black heels by Miu Miu. All the black made me feel like I was going to a funeral, but Pansy is and was more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to how to dress, so I grabbed a pair of underwear and proceeded to put on the designer duds.

I also saw a note on my bed, and picked it up, recognizing my roommate's handwriting.

Ginny,

- Pansy

I sighed, but couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth.

I slipped my feet into the shoes, walking (rather tentatively, mind you. I really didn't wear heels that often) over to the full length mirror propped next to the wardrobe. I gave myself the once over, assessing that which Pansy had picked out for me.

It was strange.

I thought for certain that I wouldn't feel comfortable in what Pansy insisted she purchase for me. I guess I was under the impression that the designer tag meant that it wouldn't be comfortable, or that it wouldn't suit what little style I had, but I was wrong. What I had on then looked like something I would wear, only it was cut better and fit my body better.

I turned, doing the requisite bum check; ensuring that my arse did not in all actuality look enormous in the dress that I was wearing. I bounced on my toes, noting how fabulous my calves and, subsequently, the rest of my legs looked by doing the simple movement in heels. I smiled, slowly nodding my head appreciatively.

I snuck a peek at the door, smirking when I saw that it was closed. I puckered my lips and placed a hand on my hip, jutting my hips out like the models splattered all over the pages of Witch Weekly and Page Six of the Daily Prophet's gossip pages.

"I hope you realize how ridiculous you look right now."

I gasped, looking up at the mirror's reflection.

I huffed at the intrusion, turning around to face him. "I was joking around, Malfoy. It was meant to look ridiculous. And, besides, I would like to think that you've heard of knocking. It's very impolite to just barge into someone else's room without their permission."

He pushed himself away from the door frame with his shoulder before knocking on the now open door. Two sharp raps against the white wood.

"There. I knocked. Happy now?"

"Cheeky bastard." I spun back around to look at the mirror once more, nodding in satisfaction. "What are you even doing here?" I asked, talking to Draco's reflection. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? Or was Pansy wrong when she mentioned last week how much of a girl you are when it comes to getting ready?"

He huffed, walking toward me. "I'm loathe to admit how right Pansy is, but given the fact that I only had an hour, I rushed through my normal routine."

I pouted, stiffening slightly as he stood behind me. "You poor baby. However did you manage? And you never answered my first question."

He raised an eyebrow, the motion leaving as quickly as it came. "Yes, well, if you read Pansy's note, then you would know that either Blaise or myself were to drag you to her room so she could tame your hair and make an attempt to make you look attractive." He placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it and pulling it back toward him slightly. "I sincerely hope that I'm not going to have to manhandle you."

I glanced down at the hand digging into my shoulder. "I would think that you would be into to something like that." My voice was low and, for a moment, I was afraid that he would drag me to Pansy's room whether I wanted him to or not.

He gave it another squeeze before letting go and replying. "No, Weasley. I'm not; at least not with you. Besides, I would hate to ruin such lovely wrapping paper."

My breath hitched and I looked up in the mirror to see that he was gone.

"I will never understand him," I announced with sigh, leaning my forehead onto the mirror.

After a few moments, I stood back, giving myself another quick looksie. With a resolute nod, I left the room in search of Pansy's, steeling myself for the upcoming day.

A/N- Thanks for reading! Please review. :D