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*******
Draco strode away from the library as quickly as he could without seeming to run. There weren't many people around at this time of the evening, but those who saw him shrank back slightly and averted their eyes from his burning gaze.
It was only when he reached the dungeons that Draco stopped abruptly, realising he had no desire what so ever to enter the Slytherin common room. He turned angrily on his heel and stalked to a nearby classroom. Finding it deserted he entered and shut the door.
The boy leaned against it, and closed his eyes. His heart was pounding, and when it refused to slow he furiously pulled his bag off his shoulder and threw it against the opposite wall in frustration. He marched up to the other end of the classroom and finally seated himself on one of the desks, swinging his legs on to the chair in front of it.
The way that girl had reacted to him… he huffed again in frustration. It made him sick. Draco wasn't blind to his flaws, not anymore. He knew he was arrogant and selfish and… he shook his head to dispel the thoughts. Getting into a slagging match with himself wasn't going to help; besides, it would take too long. But he wasn't the only one with flaws. No one was perfect, and he'd done nothing to hurt the Weasley girl. Well… at least, nothing this school year. Even if that was only a few days, it should still count for something shouldn't it? But no, she had flinched from him as if she'd been burned. He absent mindedly rubbed his arm which she had grazed with hers as she got up. It was a harmless touch… or it would have been between two normal students. But not between a Griffindor and a Slytherin. Not between a Weasley and a Malfoy.
Draco scoffed aloud. He was getting sick of everyone's preconceived ideas. He was getting sick of being classed with the same stereotype as the half wits who cluttered Slytherin house. He didn't want to be what everyone expected him to be anymore. He just wanted to be himself.
He sighed once more as he stood and walked over to his bag, regretting his immature behaviour. It was a shame, he reflected, that the one thing he wanted was sure to be the hardest to achieve.
*******
That night Ginny thought of Draco before she slept. She thought of her flinch, and his reaction. His clenched jaw and hard eyes seemed burned into her vision. She fell asleep remembering his hasty departure, and in her dreams, she considered stopping him go.
*******
7th year was already proving to be a difficult time for Draco. He had distanced himself from Crabbe and Goyle, and whilst he in no way missed their presence, it was odd to not have them flanking his sides as they had done for 6 years. Whilst there were plenty of other Slytherins who would have happily welcomed him into their group, Draco was tired of pretences. What was the point of socialising with people who would expect him to live up to his Malfoy brat reputation? Subsequently, the blond was spending a lot more time alone. He didn't mind the solitude: Draco had every intention of achieving the best possible NEWT levels he could - he needed them to excel in his chosen career. If only he knew what that career would be.
Either way, when considering his options for the extra responsibilities this term he had figured that he'd rather be many places but the Slytherin common room. As he'd be studying long and hard in the library in any case he may as well have another reason to be there.
The task did not seem to be too bad so far in any case. The Weasley's presence was an unexpected… glitch? He frowned as he thought of her again. He wouldn't care to admit it but her reaction to him yesterday still stung. He dragged his mind away from the incident as thoughts of the girl made him realise she would be arriving soon. He gathered his things from the secluded desk he was working at in the library. Keeping one book clutched in his hands as if in self defence; he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and wound his way through the bookshelves to lurk behind the one directly opposite the door. He had seen the surprised, almost suspicious look, which Weasley had given him the previous day as she had encountered him waiting there. Draco didn't care: he certainly didn't fancy standing at the librarian's desk waiting for the Griffindor, and he was sure Madam Pince wouldn't enjoy it either. He also suspected that the red head wouldn't appreciate it if he were set to a task before she arrived and was given the duty of telling her what to do - he smirked at the thought.
He had just come to the end of the bookshelf when the library door opened and the out of breath girl stumbled in. She'd obviously been close to be running late and not wished to provoke the wrath of "The Pincer" as some had nicknamed the witch. Seeing her in this state Draco couldn't completely suppress his natural male urges - in her rush it appeared that Ginnys skirt had hiked a little further up her legs than usual, her tie was only loosely done up and her hair was in slight disarray. The overall appearance was actually quite… appealing.
Draco cleared his throat in denial of the thought, causing Ginny to snap her eyes to him at once, and narrow slightly as she closed the door behind her.
"What are you looking at?" she questioned in hushed, annoyed tones. As he raised his eyebrows at her and ran his eyes over her in an explanatory manner she flushed, her heated face adding to her pleasing appearance. Draco looked away, glancing at Madam Pince's desk and then raising his cuff slightly to check the time.
"We're not late yet if you want to… sort yourself out." He muttered, rearranging his bag on his shoulder and trying to keep his eyes from the Griffindor. What had gotten into him? It had obviously been too long if even the sight of a Weasley looking a bit like she'd fallen out of a session in a broom closet caught his attention.
She cleared her throat slightly and as he looked back up he noted she had successfully rearranged herself. And after seeing the approval on his face she led the way to the desk.
"Ah, you're both here. Excellent." The librarian greeted them. "Today I would like you to carry on with your task, however I have realised the inequalities in the work that you are doing, and therefore suggest that you take it in turns to copy out text and to dictate. As I have no desire for a book which switches from one persons script to another you will also have to swap texts. One day one of you can write the text for The Originals and Origins of Muggle Stories Concerning Magical Creatures, and the next day the other can take a turn with the writing. The other book will be from a series of The Annotated Works of Shakespeare - a much celebrated Muggle playwright. We are lucky enough to boast a selection of his works which have been annotated by the man himself, who was in fact a wizard." Draco nodded at the sense of taking turns - he had not been looking forward to how the extra hours of non-stop writing would cramp his hand, and it would nice to be able to use his voice occasionally. "Off you go then," the librarian dismissed them, "the new books are on the table you were at yesterday waiting for you."
*******
As they took their seats at the desk, Ginny pulled the blank book towards her, content to have a turn at the writing. Something was troubling her though, and as Malfoy flicked through the beginning pages of the book to first the start she couldn't help but say:
"You have a watch." He paused and looked at her, somewhat surprised by her instigation of unnecessary conversation.
"I'm sorry?" he finally responded.
"On your wrist. A watch. A muggle watch." She looked at the boy next to her, trying to gauge his reaction. She was unsatisfied however, when he simply shrugged, and turned back to the book in front of him.
"The Annotated Works of-"
"Is that it?" Ginny asked, mimicking his shrug. He looked up at her again, frowning slightly.
"What do you expect me to say?" he asked.
"I don't know," she spluttered, "something that would explain what you, a pro-pureblood anti -Muggle elitist is doing with a ticking wristwatch!"
"You'd be disappointed if I told you," he said, smiling slightly.
"What do you mean disappointed? Any explanation is better than none." Ginny pointed out, stubbornly curious. She literally had no idea what could have possessed the boy to wear the sleek black and silver device, even if he did keep it hidden up his sleeve.
Seeing the look on her face Malfoy obviously realised she wasn't going to let it go without an answer. He hesitated slightly before saying:
"I don't know why. I just got it over the summer."
"Where from?"
"London." He replied succinctly.
"You mean to tell me you got that from Diagon Alley?" Ginny scoffed.
"No," Malfoy sighed, "I didn't say anything about Diagon Alley."
"Then-" realisation dawned slowly for Ginny, "You got it from Muggle London?" she asked, incredulity in her voice.
"Are we going to get started or what?" Malfoy asked, annoyance suddenly colouring his voice.
*******
It had been uncomfortably tense in the air for some time after Ginny's watch questions, but before too long they were both too engrossed in their work to pay it much heed. After some sharp and clipped discussion they had decided to write the story first, and go back to the annotations after, to save time. Draco had begun reading Measure for Measure, and Ginny had soon forgotten the mystery of the watch and was listening to the story. She copied it all down diligently, but was impressed by Draco's telling of the tale. His voice, which she had hardly heard over the past few days, shaped the words beautifully, and it was a surprise to her how nice his voice was when it didn't twist words with malice as it always had done when she'd encountered the Slytherin in previously years.
When the note landed in front of Draco to dismiss them for the evening, Ginny was almost disappointed - she had been enjoying the tale. She was tempted to reach over and scan ahead in the book, but before she could Malfoy closed the large tome. She quickly cleaned the quill she had been using, realising how quiet it had suddenly become, and starting to feel uncomfortable. Draco swept up his things and stood, before glancing at her quickly, and walking away.
The area suddenly seemed too quiet, cold and lonely, and Ginny hastened from the library, trying not to think about the sound of Draco's voice.