Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/n: Hello my dear reviewers! I am so sorry for taking absolutely too long to write this story. The thing is I'm currently having my national exams and it really sucks because I've been preparing like mad for the past couple of months and I had absolutely no time to type my story out. I'm so sorry for delaying it so badly. Another thing, I have been overseas for 2 months so, I'm sorry for taking so long off. I thank you so much to those people who reviewed my stony. I really appreciate it. Thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy writing it.
~*~
Knock Knock!
"Ginny, it's Harry", the voice from outside said.
Ginny's eyes widened at the voice. Draco had a smirk on his face and still had his hands all over her. Ginny got off Draco and pushed him into her wardrobe.
Knock Knock!
"Gin, are you in there?" Harry asked.
"Give me a sec", Ginny said, straightening her robes.
Ginny opened the door and smiled at Harry who was standing outside with a bunch of parchments in his hand.
"What is with the parchments?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, Hermione's choice for the next person to be eliminated", Harry said, passing one with her name on it to her.
"Hermione's choice? What, we do not have the freedom to make our own choices?" Ginny asked, in amusement.
"Well, you know Hermione. It is either her way or the highway", Harry said.
"Her way or the highway?" Ginny raised an eyebrow on Harry.
"Don't worry, it's a muggle thing", Harry joked.
Ginny smiled at Harry. He returned the favor.
"Look, I better go and hand this to Eversfield. We don't want to have a pissed off Hermione to deal with", Harry said.
"See you around, Harry", Ginny said, smilling.
Then, Harry leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. Ginny stood there, calm as ever. Harry was obviously waiting for a respond but Ginny did not give it to him. She smiled and waved him off, reminding him that his girlfriend is going to be pissed if he does not make a move. Harry smiled at the redhead and left. Ginny watched as the 'Boy who lived' walked away. Her expression turned cold as she opened the parchment.
The Second person to be voted out will be Anthony Copperfield.
"Doesn't Potter have a girlfriend already?" An icy cold voice drawled out.
Ginny folded the parchment and slid it into her pocket; she will have to talk to Sidney later about this. She closed the door.
"Yes, he does. Granger to be exact", Ginny answered, unconcerned.
Draco walked towards her, not looking particularly happy.
"Was that little gesture of his, a friendly one?" Draco asked, his voice had a tinge of jealousy.
Ginny mirrored his smirk at him.
"What is to you, Malfoy? Jealous of Potter, again?" Ginny said, amused.
Draco's silver eyes forced her to look at him. She glared back into his eyes, not showing any fear that would have existed in her. He pulled her towards him, arms snaking around her waist. She remained calm and collected. His eyes seem to ravish every feature that stood out on her face, specifically the high cheekbones, prominent nose and dark chocolate brown eyes. She felt his finger tipping her chin before he leaned in, claiming her lips in a brief touch. It was soft and sweet, just the way she liked it. Then, he took her right hand and placed a featherlike kiss on her knuckles.
" Do not go back to being Potter's whore. It is far from worth it", he said, in his normal cold tone.
"Malfoy, I believe it is none of your concern whose whore I become. Although I'm slightly confused, here you are telling me that me being Potter's whore is not worth it. Are you trying to imply that being one of your whores is more exclusive? What are you trying to say?" Ginny asked, in an innocent voice.
Ginny stepped back from Draco and sat on top of her study table, crossing her legs. Draco walked up to her and traced her chin with his fingers.
"I assure you, Virginia. If you are mine, you will be anything but a whore", Draco said, in a softer tone.
Ginny 's hands found their way up to his chest and slowly, around his neck before playing with his hair. He caught one of her hands and kissed her wrist.
"Is that an offer, Malfoy? Is this what all this alliance business is about?" Ginny asked.
Draco looked her in the eye before leaning in to kiss the nape of her neck.
"I can offer you the world and more if you become mine", Draco whispered into her ears.
Ginny stopped him and walked away from him. Her eyes showed nothing but hatred.
"You should go, Malfoy. I have got things to do", Ginny said, sternly.
Draco looked at her and nodded.
"Very well, I shall see you around, Virginia", Draco said, walking out of the door.
Ginny looked out the window and sighed.
What have I gotten myself into?
~*~
"He said that I would be anything but a whore if I was his. What does that mean?" Ginny asked, clearly freaking out.
It was Hogsmeade weekend and Ginny was with Sidney, walking the streets of Hogsmeade. Ginny was just telling Sidney about the night before with Malfoy and Harry. Sidney listened and commented what he thought. It was an input and output conversation between the two. As the two walked to the shops and looked around, they continued their conversation.
"It seems to me that Malfoy is trying to make you his new quest", Sidney said, looking at the items placed on the stands.
"What quest?" Ginny asked.
Sidney picked up a lightning globe and shook it. Lightning struck within the globe spelling out his name one letter at a time. Ginny looked at it, simply amused.
"All the male habitants of Hogwarts knows that Malfoy have a specific quest each year. What he does is to our discretion and of course, telling you would be dishonorable", Sidney said, smilling innocently.
"Let me guess, its one of those quests where he has to find a girl to screw and put his name on her", Ginny spat.
Sidney continued looking at the other items on the stand and his hands fell on a musical box. He opened it and listened to the tune as the ballet dancer spun around. He could feel Ginny getting rather agitated and impatient. That was how his best friend had been for the past years. Anyone who knew Ginny inside out would have known that she was one with the brains and agility. Her feisty attitude and her bitchy character was not a smokescreen, it was truly who she was.
"I don't get it why you are letting this get to you so much. I mean, it's just Malfoy", Sidney reasoned with Ginny, still looking at the musical box.
"That guy who keeps on making out with me is ANYONE but Malfoy. That guy who practices his tonsil skills with me is ANYONE but Malfoy. That guy actually seems human and we all know that Malfoy is anything but human", Ginny exclaimed.
Sidney chuckled.
"For some reason, I think you have some 'feelings' for Malfoy", Sidney said, raising his eyebrow at Ginny.
Ginny's eyes widened and she turned around, trying to hide the sudden warmth on her cheeks.
"It is rather obvious, Ginny. That would explain your whole bitchy attitude the other day with Colin and Kathleen when we caught you staring at Malfoy. You know how you feel about him although I think it is still a bit to early for you to realize it. It might be infatuation or it might be lust, who knows?" Sidney continued.
Ginny pretended to look interested with the other items on the stand. Her fingers touched every single item and felt the cold metal textures under her fingers. She knew Sidney was reading her like a book. After all, he is her best friend and he is the only one in the world who knows her to the core. She knew that he was right about Malfoy. She was caught in lust with the Sex God, as every one of the other girls calls him whenever they talk in the common room. She also knew about his reputation with girls. He had a thing of screwing girls and leaving them completely heartbroken. She saw the effects on the girls that he had gone through. For some reason, he leaves them lusting for more. Then again, with a mouth like Malfoy's, who can say anything?
"Although if you don't mind, I'd like to leave you with an advice whether you want to take it or not is your choice. Malfoy is not your average screw, Ginny. He is not one to be messed with and if you get into a serious thing with him, only bad things can happen. Do not forget, he is the sole heir of the Malfoy clan and in the future, he is to do things that no one would have expected him to do. Malfoys are bred with cruel and icy hearts. They cannot love and they cannot feel even if their lives depended on it. They only go for the challenge, once they have conquered it, they will destroy it", Sidney said, looking at Ginny in the eye.
"I know, why do you think I didn't accept his offer of being his whore?" Ginny said, silently.
Sidney pulled Ginny into his arms and gave her a tight hug.
"I'm only looking out for you, love", Sidney said, kissing her forehead.
Ginny replied the hug and smiled.
"Thanks Sid, I needed that", Ginny said, smilling.
"Of course you did, why else would you drag me to bloody Hogsmeade and do nothing here but talk?" Sidney said, with hand gestures to make Ginny laugh.
"Well, there is this thing about Hermione's note of who gets eliminated next. I'm not really happy with how Hermione thinks that she is controlling the game. I propose that we find Anthony and get him on our side and make it a draw. If that happens, only one person can be voted out and that would be Ron because he was voted before", Ginny said.
Sidney nodded his head and the both of them went looking for Anthony.
~*~
Dear HADCOT contestant,
You are to assemble at your own common room at 6 o'clock in the morning, tomorrow for your 2nd individual task. Do not forget to dress for the weathers and do not forget to bring your wand. After the task, is also an elimination round. If you should succeed in your individual task, you shall be spared from elimination. So, good luck.
-Professor Dumbledore
~*~
Maybe Sid is right.
Maybe I have been a bitch lately.
He is right about me changing.
I have been changing but can he really blame me after what happened?
Ginny walked down the halls of Hogwarts towards the lake, the one place that she could be alone. Sure, couples are always making out there like it was a normal thing to do but that was her personal sanctuary. It was the one place where she could be her own person. She had always loved the calm and soothing feeling of the lake especially when it had just rained and the cool particles fills the air with some sort of a refreshing feeling. With so much in her mind, Ginny felt as though as she needed this 'time alone' desperately. HADCOT was beginning to get to her with all the competition and the fact that she could be voted off any time if she doesn't play the game right. She knew that she could count on Sid to stay on her side because he wasn't interested in the game; he had only wanted the participation points so that it would look good in his reports. No one else in the team worried her but Hermione Granger.
It may have not seemed like it but Ginny was by far the only person who knew who Hermione Granger was really capable of. Not only was Hermione beautiful and intelligent but she was also a very good athlete. She may not be in the Quidditch team but she was in another wizardry sport that was by far much more challenging than Quidditch. The game is called Vertikale It was a game that required a lot of physical stamina and a very strong mind as 4 contestants are left deserted on an island and they are to find their way around the island while looking for clues to a treasure. It usually lasts for a week and in the game, the contestants were to survive on their own, looking for their own food and finding their own shelter while protecting themselves from strange creatures that might be lurking around the island. Hermione was ranking 5th in the game internationally alongside with 2,500 other wizards and witches who were older than her.
"Is this seat taken?" a voice asked.
Ginny turned around just to see Hermione standing.
"No unless you're last name is Malfoy", Ginny joked.
The bushy brunette sat down on the grass next to her. Ginny's eyes wandered to the calm ripples of the lake.
"So how's life?" Ginny asked.
Hermione laughed, bitterly.
"Same old, same old. Nothing's different. Books, brains, assignments and you know the rest", Hermione answered.
For some reason, Ginny could just read Hermione's mind. She knew how deeply she had felt for Harry. It wasn't that she was jealous but at times, the couple was a bit too self absorbed and they tend to annoy a lot of people. Ginny had also known for fact that Harry may not have felt as strong as Hermione did for him.
"No change in the love department, I'm assuming?" Ginny asked.
"There are times that things are perfect and at others, it seems surreal. I believe that he will never hurt me, intentionally. He made that promise to me a real long time ago but it's what our relationship is based on. You might not get it but I really can't lose him. He's my sanity. He is all that I have", Hermione admitted.
"For that, you are willing to let go the fact that he's probably screwing another girl, right now?" Ginny asked.
Hermione looked sadly at the reflection of the moon on the lake.
'Yes, I do admit that it is stupid for someone as rational as I am but love can do that to you. Fin, when you fall in love with someone, you can never control what you feel. I'm not blind or deaf but I know that I can't lose him", Hermione confided.
Ginny gasped as she saw a teardrop rolling down Hermione's cheek. For a moment, there was silence. Ginny gave Hermione a hug before leaving her alone. She knew that Hermione needed time alone to think. She went up to her room just to find a single dark red rose on her pillow with a note. She picked it up and smiled.
Such a charmer…
She loved the attention that she was getting from Malfoy especially with how protective he was over her.
Don't go back to being Potter's whore…
It is not worth it…
I assure you that if you are mine, you will be anything but a whore…
Who would have thought that Malfoy would even pay attention to a Weasley? Ginny smiled again as she put the rose in a vase where the other roses that Malfoy has sent to her were.
For a Malfoy, he is pretty sweet…
~*~
It was 6 in the morning when the Gryffindor common room was occupied by the HADCOT contestants. Ron was looking sleepy as ever while Harry was stretching. Anthony stood alone while Sidney and Ginny were silently sitting on the arm chairs. They waited for Professor McGonagall to appear and she did, looking rather sleepy herself. She was holding a roll of parchment which was obviously the instructions to the 2nd HADCOT individual task. Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment and read the instructions.
"Good morning. Today you will be facing each other in your individual task. The theme for today will be the muggle's term of geography. You will be sent to several locations around the world in the muggle realm, all of you will be in different places at the same time. Here, you will be tested on your general knowledge of the muggle realm's world. You will each be given an envelope which will contain your Portkey to the start of where you will begin your task. You will also have to retrieve little teardrop crystals with the names of the places that you have been to back. The first person to come back with all the teardrop crystals will be spared from elimination", Professor McGonagall read out.
After reading it out, Professor McGonagall handed out the envelopes with the contestant's names on it. Each of the students prepared themselves as they waited for Professor McGonagall's signal to open the envelopes.
"I wish you all the best of luck. You may now open your envelopes", Professor McGonagall said, waving her hand.
All the contestants opened the envelopes and one by one, they were all transported to their specific locations. Each and every one of the contestants was transported to different places. Harry ended up in Vietnam while Ron was in Venezuela. Hermione's start point was in Kazakhstan and Anthony Copperfield was in Australia. Sidney was in Japan while Ginny somehow ended up in Mozambique. At their starting point, there was another envelope and in it was a piece of paper with instructions and the first teardrop crystal with the name of the countries that they were in on it.
In this task, you are to name the capital of each country you are in.
Retrieve all 17 teardrop crystals and it will lead you back to Hogwarts.
Good Luck.
Ginny almost screamed when she saw that her teardrop crystal had 'Mozambique' on it. Muggle geography was not exactly her strong point but she knew that it was Sidney, Harry and Hermione's. After all, they were brought up in the muggle world. She saw the people around her and was slightly frightened. She got her wand and silently whispered a multilingual translation spell so that she could understand what the people were saying. The first thing she did was ask the people around her what the capital was. They found her queer but answered her question anyway. The moment she found out, she went back to the stop and said out loud the name of the capital.
"Maputo!"
Another envelope appeared and Ginny opened it immediately as she was transported to another location. This time, it was China. It was just her luck that the pit stop was in a village with hardly any people in it. She began to look for the villagers but she could not find any. She went around the village and continued looking but it seemed empty. That got Ginny slightly worried.
"How is it possible that there is no one here when it is a blood village!" Ginny yelled.
"Maybe it's because they have some sort of festivities going on", a voice said.
Ginny nearly jumped when she heard the voice but when she turned around, she was surprised to see the one and only, Draco Malfoy. He was standing in all of his Malfoy darkness. He was smirking at her, obviously taunting her level of intelligence. Ginny hated that smirk of his. She turned her back on him and walked to find what she needed to find.
"The capital of China is Beijing", Malfoy yelled at her.
Ginny looked around to thank him but he was already gone. She hated him. He always had this stupid thing of disappearing and reappearing out of nowhere. Ginny cursed as she made her way around to finding the checkpoints. She moved as fast as she could and got to the checkpoint and disappeared to another country.
By the end of the 17 crystal teardrops, Ginny was finally portkeyed back to the Gryffindor common room in Hogwarts. When she got there, there were only 2 people standing in the room and they were Sid and Hermione. Ginny waited with the two in complete silence. Ginny had completed the task within 3 hours. It took the rest about 3 more hours to get back. The last one to arrive was Ron and he didn't look very happy. Professor McGonagall appeared the moment Ron did.
"Now, we will vote", Professor McGonagall said.
~*~ to be continued ~*~
A/n: Thank you for reading and oh people, please do check out my little forum site. I'll try to update it weekly and I shall actually start updating that from the 11th of February. So feel free to go to my personal profile page where my homepage is. Thank you again and I shall continue this soon. Don't forget to review!