Disclaimer: JK owns them all!
I'm a little nervous about how this chapter will go down, so I will try to hurry up with the next one to appease everyone!
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Ginny tentatively opened the door to the library. She had been hovering outside for what had probably stretched into several minutes, trying to quell the feelings in her stomach. She was excited - she had practically run the whole way from Griffindor common room - but she was equally nervous, and when she actually reached her destination the apprehension had doubled, hence her pause. Slowly pushing the door open, her heart pounded loudly as she waited to catch sight of his face, as he stood opposite waiting for her.
She let out a large breath she hadn't realise she had been holding when he wasn't there. He wasn't there? Why not? He was always there, even when she hadn't wanted him to be. And now that she… what? She did want him there? She wanted him everywhere? She'd been looking out for him all day… and now, he was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around her, and even stepped back out into the corridor to look up and down to search for him. It was all to no avail. Sighing heavily she wandered over to the librarian, hoping that perhaps Malfoy had arrived early and gone on ahead…
"Ah, Miss Weasley. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to arrive." The witch admonished with a stern look.
"Sorry, Madam Pince." Ginny mumbled.
"Hmm, well you had better get on, Mister Malfoy informed me he is serving detention this evening and therefore won't be joining you. Whilst I understand this will impede your progress somewhat I would still like you to continue your attempts with the old quills."
Ginny nodded mutely and set off towards the work station. So. He wasn't coming. Ginny supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. But she couldn't help but wonder, was his absence caused by a desire to avoid her following their kiss, or because he knew she would have a million questions lined up to ask about his hand? One thing Ginny was sure of: that detention was no coincidence.
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Detention, yeah right. Draco thought to himself as he lurked around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't yet dark and he had no desire to be spotted by, well, by anyone really. Let alone anyone who might run into the librarian. He was surprised she had accepted his excuse without pressing him for further information, but he had chosen a good time at the end of lunch when people were hurriedly rushing in and out to pick up books for various assignments they had forgotten about.
Huffing slightly, the Slytherin lowered himself to the floor, leaning his back against one of the large dark trunks which surrounded him.
He couldn't face her today, he just couldn't. His thoughts had swirled since the previous night, continually considering what she was thinking, and he had come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be anything good. Even if she hadn't told Potter about the incident with his hand by now (and that was a big if) surely she would only demand to know more information first before she passed it on. But who was he kidding anyway - of course she would have told. Potter's timely arrival was so perfect it might as well have been pre-arranged. A twinge ran through Draco's chest but he quenched it quickly. He was sure it hadn't been pre-arranged - Ginny had seemed entirely surprised to see the boy. She hadn't seemed overly enthusiastic either, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking.
Speaking of wishful thinking… Draco hadn't allowed himself to linger on the memory of their kiss. Not that he didn't want to - Merlin knew he wanted to very badly, and the youngest Weasley had featured in his dreams last night even more graphically than she had previously.
Considering it now though, Draco thought Ginny had seemed to enjoy the kiss at the time. Scratch that - Draco was certain she had enjoyed it at the time. Her arms running up his body as they moved to circle his neck, the light moan that had escaped her lips between her tongue dancing with his… she had enjoyed it. Maybe as much as Draco himself had. The problem was that with the arrival of Potter, Draco was sure everything would have once again been put in perspective for the redhead. Potter was the man of her dreams, the one she had so obviously pined after for years. He was the good one, the pillar of light and hope for the wizarding world. Compared to that, what would a Weasley see in a Malfoy? A name which meant darkness, and evil. And Draco couldn't even disagree.
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Ginny had not been spending the evening alone in what Madam Pince would have thought to be a very appropriate way. She had fiddled with a few quills half heartedly for a short time, before giving up entirely and instead finding some choice volumes on curses which formed a bond with their host victim. She'd been lucky, the day before, that she had been aware such spells existed, and it had actually been down to her brother Bill that she had known. His work as a curse breaker led to many stories come Christmas time, and Ginny always paid fierce attention. Encouraged by his little sister's attention, Bill made sure to send her detailed accounts of the new curses they discovered, as well as the spells they discovered to break them. Ginny was unsure what career to embark upon after leaving Hogwarts but her interest had not been feigned in Bill's work, though she considered that quite a lot of the appeal was in the exotic locations they got to work in.
She was trying to search for the particular curse that had been laid on Draco as she flicked through the books, but Ginny knew it was a wasted effort. Without any information from Draco, she didn't stand a chance. All she knew was that it had caused a burning sensation which even a freezing charm wouldn't completely dispel. Sighing, Ginny flicked the tome shut. The truth was, Ginny was concentrating on the curse because she didn't want to deal with the kiss.
The best kiss she'd ever had, if you wanted to be specific. The whole walk back to Griffindor Tower the previous night Ginny had still felt her blood pumping loudly through her veins. Her lips had tingled and every time Harry had looked at her (which had been often) she'd thought it must be written all over her face. They'd paused when they'd reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Ginny finally met Harry's eyes. He'd looked as though he were about to say something, and before he got the chance Ginny smiled brightly and delivered the password, clambering into the relative safety of the crowded common room.
It wasn't long before she had escaped to her dormitory, and tugging the curtains closed around her four poster she had immediately closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her head. The sheer force of the desire behind that kiss from Draco had taken Ginny completely by surprise. It had been months since her last kiss with Harry, but even with him she had never felt so utterly turned on as she had with Draco. She had wanted his hands on her, when he had pulled her into him she had only wanted to get closer. The thought scared her as much as it excited her.
Now, reflecting on her nervous excitement as she had hurried to the library earlier, Ginny couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed. What did she want, or expect from him? And what would it do to everyone she knew if she were to pursue something with Draco? What would it do to her? She was better off just focussing on that curse, and forgetting the kiss. Forgetting the heat between them, forgetting how he had looked at her and made her feel that he was really seeing her.
Well, Ginny thought to herself as the note of dismissal from the librarian arrived in front of her, it works in theory.
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