Disclaimer: JK owns them all!
I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, I feel very bad for those few loyal readers who I have left hanging! All I can say is that unfortunately I'm very busy at the moment so I can't promise when the next update will be, but that I haven't given up on this story. It would be great to hear what you think of this chapter, thanks for reading!
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Ginny stormed into the library, on the brink of being late, and didn't even spare a glance at the blond opposite her who was so obviously awaiting her arrival. She swept toward Madam Pince and as she arrived at the librarian's desk was only vaguely aware of the casually unaffected stroll of Malfoy languidly following her. When Malfoy reached the desk Madam Pince wasted no time in instructing them that they were to spend the week testing the quills which had been collected from all over the castle.
"Manually?" Ginny cried, nearly rolling her eyes. Madam Pince's response was a raise in her own eyebrows as she informed the Griffindor that many of the quills had been charmed in one way or another and it would therefore take as long to check them with magic as without, as so many counter charms would need to be put in place and would still not guarantee blanket fixtures.
With a stern nod Madam Pince dismissed them and Ginny stalked off again leaving Malfoy trailing lazily behind. Coming
to the place where they had dumped the quills they had collected the previous Friday, Ginny noticed the new edition of
another table next to the pile, with two chairs facing each other and parchment and ink laid out in front of the
spaces. In addition there was a large tome entitled "Chaos Causing Charms and their Counters". It took a
moment for Ginny to realise it but the book had the air of a journal about it, and she realised it was hand written by
Hogwarts librarians throughout the years. Opening the cover she found there was a section entitled quills, and she
quickly turned to that. Glancing over the subheadings Ginny was dismayed to see the list was rather long and it
wouldn't just be a simple case of a quill being either in perfect condition or broken beyond repair - there were
many possibilities. She frowned miserably, taking in the various problems they might encounter in their task.
*******
Draco strolled around the corner to find a very frustrated looking Weasley inspecting the book before her. He was
surprised at the sight of her in such a mood. He frowned in imitation of her, wondering what could be wrong. Recalling
himself, he looked quickly away and at the pile of quills that lay in wait. Approaching the desk he sat opposite Ginny
and cautiously extracted the first quill from the pile. After a moment inspecting it he decided to hell with it, and
lowered the nib into the inkwell and then to the stack of blank parchment before him. He was surprised to find nothing
immediately apparently wrong with the quill as he wrote his full name, however, as soon as he had lifted the quill
again he frowned to see the letters rearrange themselves.
"What the -" he began haughtily, causing the hot tempered red head opposite him to glare across.
"What is it?" She almost snapped, and he frowned in response.
"I was testing this quill. I wrote my name and it now it looks like this," he responded curtly, and held the parchment up for her to read the words "Cod fly aroma" written there. He braced himself for her laugh, but instead she quirked a delicate brow at him, and after a moment she reached over and swiftly pulled the quill from his loose grasp. Settling it upon her own parchment she began to write. Draco waited patiently and watched her face as she finished writing. She looked at the parchment expectantly and frowned slightly before rolling her eyes and lightly throwing the quill back towards him.
"What does it say?"
" "Weasel Vinegary". It's an anagram, that's obviously what the quill does. I'll look up the spell to fix it in here." She said and turned back to the book in front of her. Despite having shared a few words with him her general demeanour did not seem much improved, and Draco noticed she was more slumped than usual. He frowned again, and just then she looked up at him, and caught his eye. Expecting her anger he looked swiftly away, and was unsurprised when she snapped at him again:
"What?"
"Nothing." He replied quietly, and proceeded to inspect his surroundings in what could only be described as acute boredom. At least, that was how it would appear outwardly. Inside the Malfoy was struggling to berate himself for wondering if the Weasley girl was angry… whilst equally wondering was she angry? He leaned away from the table in a lazy manner, concealing any sign of the interest he felt in the girl opposite him.
"Vasta Anagrammi!" Ginny suddenly declared waving her wand at the quill in front of him. He eyed the object as it turned briefly blue, then looked at the girl across from him. She stared back in silence for a few seconds before clenching her jaw and saying, "try it then" between her teeth. He sat up and slowly took up the quill. Smiling slightly, he wrote two words, and when they did not rearrange themselves he held the piece of parchment up for her to see with a larger smile.
Ginny blushed slightly, and turned back to the book in front of her, as he reached for the next quill.
The parchment read: thank you.
*******
Ginny had been so caught up in her own frustrated thoughts until Draco's note, but when he held up that parchment to her she couldn't help but feel pleased. At least he treated her like an equal she thought angrily, then smirked to herself at the absurdity of the thought. She could feel Draco eyeing her from across the table, probably wondering at the sound which escaped her, but she refused to meet his gaze and angrily flipped over a few more pages in the book. She contented herself with pretending to read an entry until Draco told her what the problem with the next quill was - then she would focus. But right now all she could do was fume internally. The cheek of the "Golden Trio" - a twisted smile adorned her face at the thought of the phrase - they acted like she was a child. As if she knew nothing! As if she had never had to face dangers -
"Ginevra!"
The sound of her Christian name cut through her thoughts and she looked across at Malfoy with some surprise - and not a little irritation.
"Yes, Draco?" she asked sardonically, before remembering how she had called him Draco the day before, and realising that this wasn't the first time after all.
"I've been trying to get your attention for about a minute." The blond huffed slightly, and she turned her eyes away from him. She'd obviously been completely lost in her thoughts.
"Look I'm not particularly in the mood for this, ok Malfoy?" she said, and it came out much more tired sounding than the acidity she was aiming for. She stood from the desk, and walked to the bookshelf behind her, idly running her finger over their spines reading their titles. After a moment she heard Draco sigh quietly, and the sound of something sliding over the table. Harry acted like he still wanted a future with her some day, but his babying of her made it seem impossible. She was sure she was over him, as she had told Luna. The problem was, how to tell him that. Bizarrely he still seemed under the impression that even though he wasn't with her, she was in some way his. She frowned at the thought, then quickly smoothed her features, remembering her mother telling her how wrinkled she would be when she was older.
Curious, she turned her head slightly to peek over her shoulder to see what Malfoy was doing. She was surprised to find him bent over the librarian's manual, apparently attempting to fix the next quill alone. She turned back to the bookshelf, a slight smile on her lips. It soon sank as thoughts of Harry filled her mind once more, and thoughts of all the people who would be so disappointed in her if she were to turn him down. She shouldn't have to be with him to please anyone else, she knew that, the problem was that she couldn't imagine anyone else understanding her objections to him. They would think what he was doing was chivalrous and noble, showing how dearly he cared for her that he wanted her safe and untroubled by his problems. Ginny, however, did not share those views. After talking with Luna she had only become more certain that what she had expressed at the lake were her true feelings. But if Harry did want to get back together with her ever, she knew how happy her mother and father would be, not to mention Ron. Harry was a great guy, and exactly what anyone would want for their daughter. She knew her parents would never dream of forcing her into anything, and they would try harder than anyone to understand how she felt, and not contradict her in any way. But she could almost see the disappointment in their faces already.
*******
When they left the library later on, Draco was surprised that Ginny waited with him whilst he gathered his things, and walked by his side to the entrance. She hadn't attempted any further work with the quills after her little outburst, and he had struggled doggedly on without her. In truth, almost as much as the absence of her help what hindered him was the constant nagging question of what was wrong. Now, having closed the library door behind them he considered the girl next to him. She had lost the anger which had initially hung like a cloud around her, and now her face was full of such melancholy that Draco felt moved in a way he had not felt before, moved to rescue her from her misery.
He lingered outside the library door, eyes probing her face, and he was surprised when she hung back too. After an awkward moment she took a breath and looked up at him.
"Thank- you. Draco." She said quietly, her voice breaking a little on the words. She looked away again and unwilling to make her uncomfortable he looked away too, breaking the penetrating gaze he had fixed her with.
He shrugged casually, and hooked his thumb through the strap of his shoulder bag.
"Sure." He said awkwardly, then added: "Gives me an excuse to do fuck all tomorrow, right?" at that she looked back at him with a shocked and amused look in her eye, and smacked him lightly on the arm. He grinned and she responded by saying:
"Fuck off, Malfoy," the sting of which was entirely removed by the grin which spread over her face, just before she turned towards the towers.
Draco smiled a little in return, and began his descent to the dungeons, his thoughts turning suddenly sour at the thought of what awaited him there.