Her Fleeting Fancy
Tangled up and tongue-tied
What have I become?
Always got you on my mind
Got me feeling dumb
And I'm tripping over my own feet
And I'm mad you got the best of me
Falling for you slowly
From a distance
"Invisible," by Anna Clendening
Ginny Weasley liked a good challenge.
She supposed it might have something to do with the fact that she had grown up with six brothers. Eager to stand out, and desperate to prove herself as the only girl, she had learned early on to not back down. Despite being the youngest and the smallest, she refused to let herself be walked over, and welcomed every test that came her way. When she was not allowed to play Quidditch with her siblings, she merely waited until they weren't around to open the broom shed and practice on their brooms. When her mother had insisted that she wear some of Ron's old robes to save money, she had the garments altered to fit her better. Ginny could even recall spending hours pouring over books - a more Hermione-like endeavor, if she was being honest - to figure out the best way to beat Ron at Gobstones.
Perhaps, she reflected as she sat in the Great Hall at lunch one crisp September day, this love of challenges explained her current turmoil. She had noticed some weeks back that she behaved differently in the presence of a certain blond-haired Slytherin. It wasn't voluntary, she was sure of that. But she wasn't sure about much else.
"Earth to Ginny," Ron said, waving a hand in her face.
She started and looked over at her brother. "Sorry, were you saying something important?"
Ron looked highly offended. "I was trying to tell you about Malfoy."
Ginny fought to keep the blush from her cheeks and failed miserably. If Ron said anything, though, she could always hex him. She tried for a casual voice. "What about him?"
"He's planning something," Harry cut in.
Ginny raised her eyebrows at this. When was Draco Malfoy not planning something? He was always skulking around with that Crabbe and Goyle, whispering about Merlin knows what. Probably another scheme to embarrass Harry, or her brother, or even herself...
She almost wished he would pick on her more often. So that she could prove herself, of course. There wasn't anything more to it than that.
"I'm sure he is. I hope you're able to figure out what it is," she said. "Sorry, but I'd better go. I've got Care of Magical Creatures next and I have to grab my assignment from my desk."
This was a lie - she had the assignment tucked away in her bag - but it gave her an excuse to exit the conversation. She made a mental note to sit with Fred and George at dinner as she hurried out of the hall.
At dinner, Ginny's mind wandered to the mysterious Slytherin that was the subject of so much hatred in the Weasley household. She peeked over at where he sat, surrounded by his cronies. It appeared he was regaling them with a story of some kind, if his theatrical gestures and animated expressions were any indication.
Plop.
She looked down at her lap to find that she had been so engrossed in watching Malfoy that she had let a piece of melon slide off her fork. Blushing, she plucked the piece of fruit from her robes and popped it into her mouth.
"Atta girl, Gin," Lee Jordan laughed, and her face burned even more.
"Shut up, Jordan," she muttered.
The next morning, on her way to Charms, Ginny spotted Malfoy coming towards her in the corridor. She found herself hoping he would have a nasty insult prepared for her. She wanted nothing more than to spar verbally with him for a few minutes. There was no greater thrill than riling him up and then getting in a good jab so that he would be sure to keep thinking about her long after their conversation was over.
She shook her head, but having been more focused on possible retorts to Malfoy's jeers than on where she was walking, she ended up running into a first-year Ravenclaw girl. Ginny threw out her arm to catch the younger girl and stabilize herself.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
The Ravenclaw scurried away without so much as a thanks. Ginny didn't blame her.
She looked around for Malfoy and was disappointed to see that he had passed her by without comment. Well, Hogwarts was small enough that she was likely to cross paths with him again soon. Cheered by that thought, she walked the rest of the way to Charms humming to herself.
At lunch, Ginny again sat with the twins and their friends. This time, however, her back was to the Slytherin table so she couldn't sneak glances over at Malfoy. She supposed she should be relieved by this, especially since her tablemates were discussing Quidditch, a topic that she normally felt quite passionate about. She was finding it hard to focus, however. She wondered what Malfoy was up to. She wondered if he had his arm around Pansy Parkinson. She wondered why she even cared.
"Oi, Weaselette."
Ginny looked up to find Malfoy leering down at her. She nearly choked on the piece of crusty bread she had stuffed into her mouth a moment ago. What could he possibly be here to insult her about?
"Problem, Malfoy?" George asked. He and Fred were both glaring at the Slytherin.
"I wasn't talking to you, now, was I?" Malfoy said with a smirk. "Your sister here, however..."
Ginny swallowed the bread and stood so that she was facing him. She was shorter than Malfoy by a good six inches but she held her head high anyway. "What do you want?"
His smirk grew wider. "It's nice to see you can at least stand still without any issues, Weaselette."
"What are you-" Ginny cut herself off abruptly and gasped. "This morning...you saw me run into that Ravenclaw?"
He leaned over and whispered, "I see more than you think."
Goosebumps broke out on Ginny's arms and she shivered slightly.
"I'm surprised you didn't say anything at the time," she said, eyebrow raised. "I didn't think you'd miss out on an opportunity to humiliate me."
"Let's just say I like this audience better," Malfoy drawled.
She blinked. "What-what's that supposed to mean?" His words, his scent, his everything was throwing her off. Damn him.
She could feel the eyes of her twin brothers on her. She hoped they weren't going to try and come to her rescue. That was more of a Ron thing, but she wasn't holding her own as well as she would have liked. As well as she usually would have.
"It's more fun to taunt you in front of your pathetic brothers," Malfoy shrugged. He was clearly enjoying himself. Ginny struggled to think clearly. His eyes were so mesmerizing...only because she had never met anyone with silver-grey eyes before.
"Well-"
"Malfoy, you prat, leave my sister alone!"
Ginny had been spared by Ron's arrival, and she would have felt bitter about it had she been able to formulate a clever response.
"Ron's going to regret that," Fred whispered with a grin.
Ginny couldn't quite bring herself to smile at this.
Ginny paced her dorm that evening, frustrated. Dinner had been a quiet affair; she avoided all concerned parties by sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Luna Lovegood. Luna had seemed pleasantly surprised to see her, but thankfully she did not ask why Ginny had chosen to sit with her instead of at the Gryffindor table.
Ginny was grateful for the change of company. Though she normally found "Loony Lovegood" rather barmy, she quite enjoyed listening to the Ravenclaw chatter on about her father's upcoming Quibbler articles and some creature called an orfle. Luna didn't expect her to contribute much, perhaps understanding that she didn't want to talk, and Ginny liked it that way. She wouldn't mind spending a bit more time with Luna if it meant she would spend less time thinking about the enigma that was Draco Malfoy.
Ginny was more than a little embarrassed at the amount of time she had spent replaying their lunchtime conversation. If one could even call it a conversation. All it had served to do was mortify her in front of her older brothers and their friends. And him.
So she was pacing.
Malfoy had never flustered her before. She had stood up to him countless times and come out victorious. That afternoon, however, something had felt different. She had been...excited to see him at the Gryffindor table. And when she had caught a whiff of him as he leaned in to her, she had been pleasantly surprised by his musk.
Draco Malfoy smelled like vanilla.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Ginny?" It was Hermione. "Did you still want me to quiz you for History of Magic?"
"I think I'm good, thanks," Ginny called back.
The brief interruption afforded her a respite from her swirling thoughts. She crossed to her desk, pulling her History of Magic textbook out of one of the drawers. She smoothed the chestnut cover down - the book had been Ron's previously, and he was not known for being careful with his possessions - and sighed.
She needed to study, not think about Malfoy.
Three miraculously Malfoy-free days passed. During that time, Ginny had tried her hardest to avoid any thoughts of the pale, grey-eyed boy. She had not been entirely successful - the more she tried not to think about him, the harder it was to stop thinking about him. Still, it had somewhat worked, and she was glad for that.
On the fourth day, she was heading to Care of Magical Creatures when she spotted Malfoy near the lake with a group of his friends. Startled, she tripped and fell, catching herself with her hands. She swung her long, tomato red hair in front of her equally-red face, hoping he had not seen her faux pas. Wiping her hands on her robes, she assured Luna she was alright and marched the rest of the way to class without looking back over at the lake.
Malfoy did not confront Ginny about her clumsiness. In fact, he did not speak to her for several more weeks. She supposed she should be glad, but she rather missed his barbs.
It was around this time that she figured out why she was so drawn to the arrogant Slytherin: because he was a challenge for her. The realization made her groan. Boys were not supposed to be a challenge for her. If she was being honest, most boys were fairly taken with her after a while.
But Malfoy was different.
She hated that she craved his attention, if not his approval. She hated that he was the biggest prat she knew, bar none. And above all, she hated - no, loathed - his Pureblood ideology.
She spent the days leading up to the end of term studying, preferring to hide out in her dorm when possible. She even convinced Hermione to sneak food out from the Great Hall, telling the book-minded girl that she needed to focus on her schoolwork and not on socializing. Hermione was so delighted to hear this that she didn't question it, although Ginny did overhear her remarking to Ron that she was surprised that Ginny could be so studious.
Ginny was beginning to see that there was a lot people didn't know about her.
The day before the start of the winter holidays, Ginny was feeling restless.
"I'm going to take a walk, clear my head," she told Fred and George, rolling her eyes when they ignored her.
She began the trek down to the Great Hall, hoping she might be able to say goodbye to Luna. She wondered what plans her dreamy friend had for the break. She hadn't thought to ask before, and guilt gnawed at her conscience a little.
She wondered what Malfoy would do during the break, too. She knew he went home, but realized that aside from that, she knew nothing. Did his family throw an elaborate Christmas party? This seemed quite likely. Did he have to spend time making sure the house was presentable, as Ginny and her siblings did when they were expecting company? She supposed not. The Malfoys had enough money to hire help. Would he have Pansy Parkinson over to celebrate? Probably. The two were joined at the hip more often than not.
Ginny sighed. She knew now that she fancied Malfoy - and that she couldn't tell a soul, except perhaps Luna.
Luna was sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table, staring up at the enchanted ceiling. Ginny ran up to her and gave her a hug.
"Happy Christmas, Luna."
"Oh, yes, happy Christmas to you too, Ginny Weasley," Luna said brightly. "Did you know," she resumed her contemplation of the ceiling, "if you touch a three-snouted Sporgle's middle nose, it will relax immediately?"
"Er, no. That's... fascinating." Ginny glanced over at the Slytherin table, then looked away just as quickly when she saw Malfoy sitting there.
"How come your face is red?" Luna inquired, slanting her eyes towards Ginny for a moment.
"I-I was just thinking about how cool it would be to, erm, meet a three-snouted Sporgle, but then I... remembered my family is too poor to go see them! They live in South America, don't they?" Ginny hoped she had recalled the right details from Luna's ramblings.
Luna nodded. "They're native to Ecuador, yes. Has Draco Malfoy seen one?"
Ginny's face heated up again. "What does he have to do with anything?"
Luna smiled serenely. "I saw you peek over at him after I told you about the Sporgle. I thought maybe it reminded you that he's seen one."
"Well, I'm sure he has the money to go and see one, if they even exist," Ginny muttered. Louder, she said, "I wouldn't know. I don't talk to the git."
"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Luna agreed. "He certainly likes to insult people, doesn't he?"
A lump formed in Ginny's throat. "Yes," she whispered.
Luna peered at her. "Are you alright, Ginny? You look very anguished all of a sudden."
Ginny sat down heavily on the bench across from Luna. Earlier, she had considered telling Luna about her crush, but now it seemed like a bad idea. Luna was fair and unlikely to judge, and yet...her feelings were so unbelievably stupid. It had turned Ginny's whole world upside down and as much as she liked a good challenge, she knew she needed to let this one go.
"I'm fine, Luna. I just started thinking a bit too much about my Transfiguration exam."
"I see." The other girl didn't look convinced, but she didn't press the matter. "Well, I'd better go see if any of my belongings have been returned yet. I put up notices last week but people seem to like to wait until the last minute to bring things back. Oh well...see you soon, Ginny."
"I hope you get your things back, Luna."
A few weeks away from Hogwarts ended up being the perfect cure for Ginny's crush. Spending time with her family, cleaning and laughing and pulling pranks, reminded her of what was really important: her wonderful family and friends. It probably helped that she steadfastly avoided the kitchen when Mrs. Weasley made her beloved vanilla bean fizz as well.
She was continually bombarded with dares from her brothers, which kept her on her toes. First, Ron told her that she wouldn't be able to hang out with him and Harry unless she de-gnomed the garden by herself, so she got up early on the first day of break and spent several hours pretending each gnome was Ron. Next, Bill made the mistake of saying he didn't think Ginny could answer a riddle he had come up with. Ginny stayed up late that night and searched through some of Hermione's books to come up with the correct answer. Fred and George engaged her in their usual banter throughout the entire break, too - she was constantly having to think of clever, snarky comebacks in order to keep up with them.
She didn't need the challenge that a certain fair-haired Slytherin provided.
Ginny returned to school with one goal in mind: find Draco Malfoy and prove to herself once and for all that she was over him. She wasn't sure how she was going to prove this yet, but she didn't see the point in trying to make a plan. Malfoy was unpredictable, as she had discovered many times, and he was unlikely to behave the way she wanted. Therefore, she thought it best to just wing it.
At the welcome back feast, Ginny spotted Malfoy right away. She studied him sporadically, noting that he seemed more subdued than usual. A little paler, too.
She wondered if his holidays hadn't gone so well, and almost felt guilty about how spectacular hers had been.
Almost.
As Ginny joined the throngs of students making their way out of the Great Hall, she felt someone bump her in an attempt to push by.
"Hey!" She turned to see who it was and faltered. Malfoy sneered at her.
"Watch where you're going, Weaselette."
Ginny's temper flared. "You're the one who bumped into me, you arse!" Her fingers reached instinctively for her wand.
A moment later, she shrieked; Malfoy had grabbed her arm and was dragging her behind him. He glanced back at her, his eyes stormy.
"Hurry up, would you?"
Ginny tried to pull herself free from his grasp, to no avail.
"Where are we going? Malfoy!"
They moved through the doors to the Great Hall with the rest of the students, then Malfoy jerked her off to the side. They went down a narrow corridor, past a marble statue that Ginny had never seen before. He finally let go of her and she began to massage the spot where his fingers had clamped onto her.
"What the hell are you playing at, Malfoy? If my brothers come looking for me-"
"Shut it, Weaselette. What the hell are you playing at, looking at me all the time? It was happening before the break and now it's happening again! Did your precious brothers put you up to it?"
Ginny laughed humorlessly. "The great Draco Malfoy couldn't figure that out, eh?"
"This isn't funny!" Malfoy snapped.
"I thought you were bright," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. He was doing it again - he was challenging her, after she had set her mind against it. But it wasn't as fun as she remembered.
"Feel free to explain any time," Malfoy said coldly. "Preferably before the other Weasels come sniffing around."
"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. That would ruin all the fun." Ginny smirked, enjoying being in control again. This was what she really wanted, she realized. She wanted to have power over him for once, not vie for his attention like a lovesick schoolgirl.
"Weasley!" Malfoy all but shouted. Ginny could see that his patience was wearing thin, and that the mask he usually wore to hide his feelings was slipping. Well, the tables certainly had turned.
"Yes, Draco?" She batted her eyelashes at him with a most un-Ginny-like giggle, then laughed outright at the revolted look on his face. "Oh, Drakie-poo, you're cute when you're angry!"
She made to reach for him and he jumped out of the way. "Ergh, are you mental? Get away from me, you-you Mudblood-lover!"
Yes, she was, and proud of it. What had she been thinking? It would never work out between her and Malfoy unless he underwent some serious personality changes.
"I thought you wanted me to explain why I keep looking at you, sweetums," Ginny pouted.
Malfoy gagged. "This is disgusting. I'll bet your stupid brothers put you up to this. Well, you've had your fun. See if I ever talk to you again." He straightened his shoulders and stalked off with a huff.
Ginny smiled, triumphant. It appeared her crush was over. On to the next challenge.
FIN
My first (sort of) Drinny fic (I promise I do ship them together but more so post-Hogwarts) as well as the first fic that's been inspired by a song AND includes two prompts!
HPFFC Crayola Color Challenge - chestnut
Hogwarts Seasonal Challenge, Colours - tomato red
Also, if you're wondering what an orfle is, read my story "Kissing Luna Lovegood" to find out. ;)
I'm not super happy with the ending, it feels too abrupt to me but I don't know how to fix it. Let me know what you think! This is another style that I'm sort of trying out and I don't know how successful it was.