Disclaimer: JK owns them all!
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Draco saw it coming and slowly lowered his toast, dropping it back on the plate in front of him. His heartbeat picked up to an alarming rate, how could he do this? He thought frantically, trying to think coherently through his fear. People thought regular howlers were bad, but the deep black of the envelope that headed towards him was much more sinister with its subtle sheen of green.
The owl dropped the envelope in front of him, and a few of the Slytherins around him looked up as he snatched it out of the air before it reached the table. None of them knew either though; none of them had experienced this before. It was a mercy that they hadn't, as they quickly looked away from the youngest Malfoy, unwilling to feel his wrath for prying.
His fingers were already starting to burn where they held the letter, and he stood to quickly exit the Great Hall. It wasn't quick enough - he couldn't go quickly enough without risking raising the alarm. He couldn't afford for the teachers to realise what his own father had sent him. Once he'd made it out of the hall he began to run. The fire was spreading into his whole hand now, and though there were no visible flames the pain he endured was equal to if there were. He set his jaw to keep from screaming in agony and ran faster, flying into his dormitory and through to the adjoining bathroom. He turned the cold tap on full power and plunged his hand beneath it, but he didn't dare release the letter. He screamed in agony as the first wave of water only seemed to intensify the pain, and bit down on his other forearm to try to keep the sound inside of him. The water provided only minimal relief but after a few minutes he began to bear the pain a little better and forced his breathing to deepen from the shallow pants it had become. The letter was beginning to curl around the edges but Draco nearly wept at the sight of how little they had frayed. He had much more to endure, and he leaned heavily on the sink with his left hand still positioned under the tap, riding out the storm.
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Malfoy looked awful. Not that Ginny would say this aloud as it would make it quite clear how unawful she thought he usually looked, and she really wasn't trying to acknowledge that thought any more than necessary. But she couldn't help but notice his skin, usually a translucent paleness, now looked grey, and a slight sheen of sweat clung to him. His eyes looked wild - she had jumped back in fright when she had opened the library door earlier to find them boring straight into her. His face was tense and his whole body stiff, it looked painful to even hold that position and she wondered now if pain was indeed what he was experiencing: it would explain his pallor and his slightly laboured breathing.
Much as she wanted to know, he still wasn't talking to her. She hadn't exactly known how to initiate conversation either as she didn't know why he wasn't talking to her, and furthermore she still felt awkward about how she had felt when he'd touched her yesterday. Trying not to ddwell on it, she concentrated on the work in front of her. Malfoy's notes, however, had become vaguer when detailing the error with the quills he laid out between them, and his script was slightly shaky. She had also noticed a small pile beginning to build next to him, and she had her suspicions about the issues with these quills, fearing they may be the more complex ones he couldn't fathom alone. As he reached to move yet another quill to this unlabelled pile she had enough. Her had reached out and grabbed his, and she opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing, and didn't he realise they couldn't do this task without at least discussing solutions?
Her words died unuttered on her lips as when she touched his hand she felt a terrible heat and snatched her hand away. She stared at him in confusion as she cradled her hand and wondered at his sudden gasp at her touch and the further lack of colour in his cheeks.
What the hell was that? She thought. "Malfoy?" she tried, "Malfoy what the…" he looked away from her, avoiding her gaze, and she was alarmed further by his laboured breathing escalating to a near pant. He seemed to notice her scrutiny and he clenched his eyes shut and tried to forcibly slow his breathing. "Draco?" she questioned, now really worried, and his eyes shot open to catch with hers. She forgot the now receding pain in her hand as she took in bloodshot sight of his eyes and she swiftly moved into action. Standing, she moved around to his side of the table and knelt beside him. He was still somewhat bent over the table and she took hold of his shoulders and turned him towards her, guessing that force was necessary in this situation.
"Hold out your hand." she commanded, and mercifully the tone she had inherited from Molly Weasley stood her in good stead as he automatically obeyed. Holding her wand out she circled his hand with it carefully, and muttered "Glacio." Draco's panting stopped abruptly but Ginny knew she needed to continue working on his hand before the freezing charm became painful in place of the intense heat he had been feeling. She was therefore dismayed when, what seemed to be only a few seconds later, Malfoy groaned again. Glancing sharply at his face and seeing the dismay etched there also, she carefully reached out to touch his hand. She was upset though not altogether surprised to be met with searing heat and she snatched her hand away. As he went to draw his own hand back she grabbed him by the wrist (which seemed to be a normal temperature). "Don't move, Draco. Just give me a second." She considered her options quickly as she held him in place before another spell came to mind. "Sano Estus," she muttered this time, and again Draco's face cleared for a moment. This time she touched his hand immediately and felt only the normal warmth you would expect. Pleased that she had healed the heated hand she was about to draw away when the intense heat flooded back suddenly. Ginny was shocked at the swift rate it had returned; whatever spell it was that he was suffering from it wouldn't be healed with a simple cooling charm, it was somehow still linked to him… That's it! Ginny thought triumphantly, I need to break the connection. "Aufero Iunctio," she enunciated clearly circling his hand with her wand once more and then flicking her spell towards it. "Tepesco" she added for good measure, and this time when she felt Draco's hand it was freshly cooled. She left her hand there for a moment or two, and both of the students watched their hands, anxiously awaiting the return of the spell.
After a few moments, Draco let out a relieved breath, and Ginny looked up at him with an answering smile on her face.
"You…" Draco swallowed nervously. "You stopped it."
Ginny's smile grew. "Yeah. I guess I did!" she agreed, feeling slightly giddy from relief.
Suddenly Draco stood, and pulled Ginny up with him by the hand that was still in his. "Thank you," he said emphatically as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Ginny's arms automatically circled his waist, and she closed her eyes as he held her tightly. After a few moments he pulled back slightly and bought his arms from around her back to rest on her shoulders as he looked down on her. "I can't thank you enough," he said softly, and the sincerity shining in his eyes made their silver depths even more beautiful to Ginny. "I could…" he began, then stopped, pulling his eyes away from hers.
"What?" she asked quickly, unwilling to let him move away as she knew he would if she didn't distract him first. His eyes flicked back to hers and seemed to harden slightly, as if he had resolved to do something.
"I was going to say, I could kiss you." He said boldly, his eyes never leaving hers.
Her breath hitched a little, causing her chest to press closer against his, and as she carefully breathed out again her tongue flicked out to wet her lips slightly. Draco seemed surprised by her reaction and she watched as his eyes melted again and flicked to her lips, watching her tongue. He ran his left hand across from her shoulder where it still rested towards her neck and then up behind to cup the base of her head, his fingers tangling into her hair. Ginny was filled with desire as he glanced back up to her eyes, and slowly began to lower his head to hers. As she closed her eyes and titled her head towards him Draco needed to more assent. Their lips met, and Ginny was surprised by how gentle his were on hers as they softly met, then parted slightly only to meet again. When Ginny felt Draco's tongue touch her lips she parted her own willingly, and their kisses quickly became more passionate and heated. Ginny had the notion that he had been careful at first as he was unsure whether she wanted this, but the thought only made her more enthusiastic to show him she did want it, she wanted him. She took her arms from around his waist and moved them to circle his neck, and felt rewarded when he responded by running his right arm down her back to settle in the small of it and tug her towards him, causing her to moan slightly into his mouth. His other hand became more tangled in her hair and she practically shivered with desire.
Suddenly, he broke from her. She snapped her eyes open to see him glaring to a bookshelf, and in a second she heard what had alerted him too - footsteps. She dropped her arms from him quickly and pushed herself away just as Madam Pince rounded the corner.
"Miss Weasley, Mister Malfoy, what on earth is going on here? I sent your note of dismissal nearly 15 minutes ago and now find you still here, looking as if you've just landed from a game of Quidditch." There was a tense pause. "Would either of you care to explain?"
Ginny glanced awkwardly at Draco. He was smoothing his hair back and casually straightened his tie as he answered the librarian, looking every bit the unfazed Slytherin. "Rogue quill. Kept flying out of our hands and shooting around the place. We only just caught it now," he drawled in a bored manner.
Madam Pince's face cleared of any suspicion instantly. "I see. Well, come along now!"
Ginny watched as Malfoy stalked back to the table and swung his satchel bag over one shoulder.
"Miss Weasley?" the librarian prompted, and Draco glanced up at her, only to look quickly away.
"Sorry," Ginny mumbled, and grabbed her own bag. The students led the way out to the front of the library with the older witch following behind. No one said a word. As Madam Pince retreated behind her desk, Malfoy led the way to the exit. As usual, he opened the door and stepped back with it to let Ginny pass first. As she stepped past Draco she looked up and was suddenly met with the sight of -
"Harry!" He looked up and grinned at her.
"Hey Gin! Thought I'd come and meet you here, so we could, ah, spend a little time together?" he asked in a slightly nervous way, his cheeks pinkening slightly and a hopeful look entering his eyes.
"I…" Ginny glanced back and saw that from Draco's position he was stood out of Harry's line of sight, lurking behind the door. He was facing away from her, apparently completely disinterested in the exchange. She wanted to know what he was thinking, had been hoping that they could at least exchange a few words after what had happened but with Harry there… she waited for Draco to turn to look at her…
"Gin?" the moments had dragged by and he hadn't looked.
"Sure, Harry," the redhead replied, slight disappoint in her tone. "I'm coming now," and with that, she left. She glanced round once, after a few moments, and saw the retreating back of a Slytherin, and her thoughts were consumed with what was in his mind rather than focussing on the raven haired boy beside her.
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