A/N: Okay, here's another distraction from my distraction. So, let me know if this one is worth continuing, I think I like it. It's a change from what I usually do. And um… REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. All characters and places are J.K. Rowling's. I use Stephen King's animal, called the billy-bumbler. This is his, and only his, from the third Dark Tower book, The Wastelands. I didn't steal it, just borrowed it, so DON'T SUE! (You wouldn't get much anything.)
Chapter One: AND THEY CHANGED!
"Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games. We got everything you want, honey we know the name. We are the people that can find, whatever you may need, and if you've got no money, honey, we've got your disease" Guns `n Roses, Welcome to the Jungle.
Ginny sat one her bed, a picture of grace and peace with her head resting gently on her chest. It was extremely rare to gain even an ounce of silence in the Burrow, but today, she was nearly drowning in the nothingness.
Bill and Charlie were over from Egypt and Romania respectively, not to mention Harry and Hermione. That brought the toll of lives within a single house up to the high number of eleven. The house was crammed to the seams, but strangely comfortable.
Right now, however, Ginny was alone. Her parents, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George had all gone to Diagon Alley for a strange reason that no one had made clear. The Dream Team had gone off on one of their many secretive adventures that she was still `too young for', even though she was almost sixteen and only one year younger than them. Oh well. At least she was left to herself.
School started the next day and she was taking a well-deserved break from packing. School. That's where Ginny was really ambivalent. She was still on the `outside', so to speak, but she really didn't mind. Rather than taking part in mindless words, she spent time bettering herself. Though it would be nice to laugh once in a while. The only person that made her laugh nowadays was Draco Malfoy, no matter how improbable that sounded.
She thought back to that day two years ago.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Ginny who had been reading a book looked up and met the cold eyes of Draco Malfoy.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
"I want my chair." Something had been different about him. His smirk is gone. She thought, and then Damn, he looks hot.
"I don't exactly see a name on it? Why should I give you this chair when I'm perfectly comfortable?"
"Because I'll sit on you if you don't."
"Go ahead and do it then! See if I bloody care."
Ginny's eyes widened in horror as he actually sat horizontally in her lap, head facing toward her.
"Comfortable?" she asked.
"Not yet." He reached one arm around her neck and kissed her thoroughly.
Ginny had never known Malfoy before then, had never had any run-ins with him, and so was open to the kiss. Two years now they had been together, in secret, though, always in secret.
She heard the low chuckling of Fred and George outside her door. Damn it! Why the hell are they back so soon?
"Ginny!"
"Yes, mother?" this was so tiresome. Couldn't they leave her be?
"Will you please come down her a moment?"
"Yes, mother."
Gingerly stepping down from the bed, she crossed the room and opened the door. The sight that greeted her was ghastly. George was holding the most horrid creature she had ever laid eyes on, while Fred was nowhere to be seen.
"Disgusting! What in bloody hell is that?" Ginny exclaimed.
"This, my dear sister, is what is called a billy-bumbler." She looked at the animal once more, appraisingly. It looked like some kind of mix between a badger and a raccoon with its large gold-rimmed eyes and sharp, whiskery snout. It had a long, closely coiled tail, somewhat like a fur-covered bedspring.
The billy-bumbler opened its mouth and began to speak with a voice surprisingly like Fred's. "That's right, I'm a billy-bumbler. Now get down stairs, mum wants you!"
Ginny shook her head. Even though they had graduated and were now working full time, they still had their trademark childish antics. That's what you get when you own a joke-shop, she thought as she went down the stairs, Fred and George's laughter shadowing her every step.
"Hello mum, how was shopping?" Molly Weasley was busy putting everything where they went, stopping only to talk to her daughter.
"Oh, just wonderful. We can't afford anything we bought, but that doesn't matter." She remarked cheerfully.
"Ahem, what, may I ask, is with the effervescent attitude after spending more than we can afford?" Ginny asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. We just-" a knock came at the door just that moment. "Will you get that dear?" Ginny looked once more through narrowed eyes at her mother, who had returned to putting the groceries away.
"Just what?" futile, yes, but she was unable to resist.
"Open the door, dear."
"Fine." She mumbled under he breath, getting down off the counter she was sitting at.
The person at the door must have been really impatient. By the time she had been halfway across the sitting room, they had knocked thrice more. She blamed impatience. It could not have been because she was so bored, it took seven minutes just to reach the door, not to mention open the three locks and the actual act of dragging open the piece of wood.
Her eyes were half closed when she first looked at the visitor, but they immediately snapped open. A boy of about seventeen, 6'2 with blonde hair and silvery gray eyes stood before her.
"Draco!" she leapt forward, throwing her hands about his neck before realizing the entire family plus the Dream Team were behind her. She looked sheepishly up at him, surprised to see him smiling. He was not in the least disoriented by their mysterious appearance. She slowly turned to face everyone full front.
"Um…. I'm sure you want an explanation…." She racked her brain for something to say, but found nothing. It was Harry that spoke next. Ron was standing between Harry and Hermione, not looking particularly pleased at his sister. Hermione was just looking thoughtful.
"Don't worry about it Gin, we know."
"Yes, they know alright." Draco whispered next to her ear, making her jump.
She whirled to look at him for more explanation, but only found that beautiful, chilling smile. By the time she turned around again, everyone was gone.
"I have a feeling that you planned this… somehow. And even went far enough as to gain the good graces of all my
family plus the Dream Team."
"And you thought it couldn't be done. Mind if I say `I told you so'?"
"Not at all."
"I think this covers it." His mouth came down on hers as his hand came to rest on the small of her back. She arched into him at his touch. Ginny's tongue darted out to his lips, tasting and caressing. His lips parted for her tongue, but instead his tongue came into her mouth. Reluctantly, Ginny pulled away from Draco.
"Completely." When she looked around the room she thought was empty, she saw the billy-bumbler, a.k.a. Fred, lurking in the corner, and a wide dumb grin on his face. "Come, on. We have an audience." She said, nodding in the bumbler-Fred's direction.
"I'm not even going ask." Draco said, ever-present smirk playing on his lips.
As they retreated to her room, Ginny distinctly heard Fred say `I thought this would come in handy,' and George respond `I am a genius, aren't I?'
***
Ginny's room looked like a small shack that a tornado had blown through, touching the contents, but leaving the outside alone. With the simple wave of her wand, however, all things were righted. Draco stood leaning against the doorway, one arm casually draped across his chest, watching as his favorite redhead readied the room.
When she finally finished, she turned and looked at him.
Her velvety brown eyes spoke more than her soft pink lips did. Her hair had darkened slightly, and was no longer the horrid shade of her brother's. Everything about her was perfect for him. Not his father, though. That evil man had made it perfectly clear that nothing was good enough for him. In fact, waiting one more year for the Dark Mark wasn't good enough either.
In all truth, that is why he had told the Weasley's about him and Ginny. It just seemed as if the truth would come out, then he would be untouchable by Voldemort. The whole thing, actually, seemed somewhat surreal. The day was drawing ever nearer, and yet it seemed infinitely far away, winter break to be exact. Life at the mansion was unbearable. Every time he saw Lucius he was reminded that the scaly Dark Lord was going to touch him. Draco was too vain to want his fine skin contaminated by that disgusting piece of filth.
But now was not the time to be thinking of such things, though he seemed unable to keep them from flowing through his head.
Draco was not the same person around Ginny. He seemed to be happy all the time, even when she was taunting him or when she was sad. Happiness. `Twas an emotion he had never felt until he met the little weasel.
"Draco, come over here." The Weaselette called from across the room, lying back on her bed. Draco was more than happy to oblige, taking his place just on top of her.
"Comfortable?" She asked, laughing.
"Not yet." Draco spoke, immediately placing a gentile kiss on her lips.
"Get a sense of déjà vu just now?" Ginny said after they had broken apart.
"No, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Such feigned innocence. But it does seem you have a fetish for sitting on people."
"Oh, but of course. Where else is there to sit?" His eyes were locked with hers. Over the last year a sense of understanding had developed between them. There was something she wanted to tell him. Draco knew this. But she was reluctant. "So, how has your summer been?"
"Does living hell please you?"
"Care to elaborate?"
"Do you really want me to?"
"Will you stop answering my questions with questions?"
"Will you stop asking me questions?"
"I see how it is. Well, since I am the elder, you are forced to tell me why your summer has been a living hell. Now."
Ginny heaved a sigh of defeat. "Fine. Evil, evil person."
"I'm not evil!" Draco put on a show of running around the room, lifting clutched hands and screaming, "I am not evil!" Ginny could do nothing but laugh.
"Hm." Draco huffed, finally slowing his pace and joining Ginny on the bed, sitting cross-legged in front of her. "Now that we have established that I am not evil, and don't you go thinking I'm strange, because I'm not, go on with your story."
"Fine. Well, the biggest thing is that everyone is here an-"
"Oh, what, so now you want me to leave!?" Draco said incredulously, drawing a light laugh from Ginny.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want. But, no, the thing is, Bill has Charlie, and in with the worst, they both have mum and dad. Fred and George have each other, no one can seem to join in the fun. With Harry and Hermione here, Ron also has someone, two someones. And I'm always on the outside, as if I'm not a person. Its not like they go out of their way to include me in things, because they don't. I doubt that I would say yes to any offer, but still, you know what I mean?"
"No, actually I don't know first-hand. But I can fathom."
"Mhmm, and it's as if I'm not here, as if I'm not human. Sometimes… I don't know. Sometimes it hurts." Tears were rolling down her flaming cheeks as Draco pulled her into the warm circle of his arms.
"Does it make you feel better that my life had been hell up until I saw you today?"
"Yes and no." Ginny opened her eyes and looked up at Draco. "So what is going on at your house?"
"Nothing you want to know."
"The Dark Mark again?" She knew him all too well.
"Yes."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I don't want to have that slime touch me. And I can't just walk up to Lucius and say `you know what, father, I don't really care for that disgusting shell of an animal touch me, so I don't think the whole `dark wizard' life is for me, alright?' and walk away alive. It doesn't work that way."
"I know."
"I know you know."
"I know you know I know."
"I know you know I know you know."
"Enough?"
"I think so." Draco sighed into her hair, readjusting his head to be a tad bit more comfortable. "Well, what is there to do around here? Or do you all just cry all day?"
"Evil, evil person."
"Argh, I thought we had decided that I was not evil!"
"It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind." Draco laughed softly at this. "Well, do you want to go to the river?"
"What is there to see at the river?"
"Um… me, I guess. Nothing else I can really think of."
"Then let's go!" Draco said near her ear, sending a pleasant chill down her spine.
"You'll have to let go of me first."
"Then let's stay!" he spoke in the same manner as earlier.
"Draco-"
"GINNY! FERRET-BOY! COME DOWN AND EAT DINNER!"
"That brother of yours is really tiring, did you know that?" For the umpteenth time that day, Ginny laughed.
"Yes, I know, now let's go."
"If we must."
***
Everyone sat in the living room after dinner. The topic of discussion stayed gratefully away from Draco and Ginny, though Ron kept shooting Draco disgusted glares from across the room.
"So, Charlie, how is everything going in Romania?" Draco asked.
"Everything is great. We just got a new dragon in. It's an Antipodean Opaleye, a real beauty. She doesn't seem to be to keen on anyone except Jonathan, but she's warming to me little by little. The thing is, she seems to think everyone's out to steal her eggs, though she doesn't have anything. We blame Bill." Charlie finished by throwing an accusatory glance at his brother.
"What do you mean, `we blame Bill'? What have I done?"
"It came from Egypt, bro, you're backyard."
"Oh well. At Gringotts, it's become a custom to blame everything on Fred and George, so I guess the cycle continues."
Laughter sounded from every corner of the room but one.
Ginny sat curled on the chair before the hearth, watching as the laughing faces of her family and friends slowly changed into hideous shadows of what they once were. Their smiles were no longer innocent, but full of knowledge.
They knew what she was thinking of, who she was thinking of. They knew that sometimes at night Tom came to her, talked to her, and they knew that she wanted to join him.
That what was hidden behind those smiles and grimaces. Knowledge-the most terrible of all things.