Title: The Dusty Magical Closet
Pairing: Ginny/Draco
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: implied sexual references, and snogging!
Ginny couldn't believe her luck. She had slept through her herbology class and no one in her dorm room had bothered to wake her. That was just the beginning though… At lunch her brother Ron had spilled a goblet of grape juice all over her new white sweater, and Professor Snape had embarrassed her in front of her whole potions class by forcing her to test her own preparation of Blemish Disappearing potion. She had botched the recipe so badly that she wound up leaving the classroom with large pimples and scars all over her face and body. The class had thought it hilarious and had laughed her straight out of the room. Now she was trudging hopelessly and as slowly as possible back to the Gryffindor common room. This had definitely been the day of all days! Before she had the opportunity to drown herself in self-pity, she realized that she had left all of her books back in the potions room. She had spent nearly the whole of the day with Madame Pomfrey and had missed the rest of her classes.
The darkness settled uneasily through the large pained windows as she rushed down to the dungeons. She timidly opened Snape's classroom door and to her avid relief, Snape was nowhere in sight. She spotted her book bag in a corner of the room and was ready to grab it and leave when something else caught her attention. Snape's private closet lay wide open and she noticed some broken glass in its doorway. She raised a curious eyebrow. A voice from the closet began blurting out a medley of curses. She knew for certain that this was not Snape. A curious girl by nature, she forgot about her bag for a moment and tip-toed into the dark closet. It seemed quite small, but might have afforded more room if it weren't for the large shelves full of class supplies inside.
"Hey!"
Ginny practically screamed at the voice and stumbled back in a fright. Her back fell against the closet door snapping it shut.
"No!" the voice screamed. Ginny suddenly noticed a body next to hers, which began frantically fumbling to open the large door. In the midst of all this pulling and tugging, she was pushed coarsely out of the way. She blinked a few times before registering the fact that Draco Malfoy was indeed standing next to her.
"What?" Ginny said, finally recovering from her shock.
"You locked us in!" Draco said in disbelief shaking his head. "You bloody locked us in, Weasley! Good going!" His eyes penetrated her angrily.
This was the first time she had ever seen Draco lose his cool, and she doubted that it happened very often. But she still didn't see why he was so upset. "Don't get jumpy. I'll just use my wand and—" She reached for her wand in its usual pocket but much to her chagrin, it seemed to be missing. "Oh crap."
"Oh crap? Let me guess… You don't have your wand." Draco sneered.
Ginny shook her head slowly, patting at her robes in disbelief. Her eyes were only just beginning to adjust to the dark, musty room and she searched herself frantically. She realized she had left it in her book bag right outside the door and explained. "That's great! Just bloody great! That door is broken, you idiot! You just locked us in here! Snape won't be back until tomorrow morning!"
"Well what about your wand? We can just—"
"NO. My wand is on Snape's desk. I was doing some extra credit work and was grabbing some supplies when you came in and got us locked in here. What the hell are you doing here, Weasley?" He threw his hands up in the air hopelessly. "And why am I even speaking to you? What a waste of time…" He folded his arms and sat back against the stone wall.
It took Ginny a few moments to calm down. She snapped out of her daze and the look in her bright blue eyes changed from surprise to that of annoyance. "How could you accuse me of causing this whole mess? I didn't know the door was broken."
"You shouldn't have been in here in the first place! Thanks to you I'm stuck in here until morning. And of all people to get stuck with, I have to get stuck with a Weasley!" He said her name with such hatred that it she almost felt as if he had physically hit her.
She wanted to say something in her defense but couldn't think of anything. All she knew was that she had just hit rock bottom. She could cope with pimples and scars, but with a Malfoy… "What do we do now?" She knew she'd be better off silent, but she was scared. What would Ron say if she never made it back to the common room? Not to mention she was swamped with homework. Would she really have to sit in here all night with Malfoy? She didn't want to admit it to herself, but Draco had always intimidated her. Even now that she was a sixth year – all grown up – he still looked threatening; like a snake ready to strike if you got too close. Come to think of it, she realized this was the closest she had ever been to him. Anytime she'd see him in the halls or at Hogsmeade she'd scamper away. Only the brave and stupid would be willing to face Draco Malfoy. That included her brother and his friends.
"What do you mean 'what do we do now?' What does it look like we do? We sit here and wait."
"B-but! I can't! I'm supposed to meet Ron in the common room! I've got homework coming out of my ears! I'm…" She scanned the room, which looked a lot smaller with her and Draco taking up the last of its space. "I'm claustrophobic!" she gasped, placing a hand on her chest where she could feel her heart pounding rapidly.
"Geez, calm down Weasley," Draco said rolling his eyes. But his voice suddenly seemed very far away.
Thump… Thump… The sound of her raging pulse beat loudly in her ears. Soon she felt the sweat pouring from her brow and then her legs gave out. Collapsing, she struggled to breathe. This alarmed Draco. "Weasley?" he said softly, moving from his spot against the wall and taking a few steps towards the crumpled girl.
"Don't do this to me. I can't be stuck in here with a crazed little girl..."
She didn't seem to hear him. Then it dawned on him that she was really freaking out. "Hey Weasley, snap out of it!" he said sternly, kicking her in the gut rashly.
She gasped for air. "Ow!" She wrapped dainty hands around her leg and whined, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"Oh come off it, now. I didn't kick you that hard."
"Yes you did, you big jerk!" she shrieked before revealing the still-forming purple bruise on her pale, freckled leg. Draco blinked rapidly. It was a curious sight, the youngest Weasley exposing the clandestine flesh of her delicate leg well past her thigh. For coming from a Muggle-loving family, she certainly had a pair of killer legs. He couldn't recall ever conceiving of the "weasel" baring a pair of legs like that.
"I'm starting to bleed. Thanks a lot, Malfoy." She mumbled on about something regarding her wand, while Draco fought to tear his eyes away from the redhead on the floor. If he had been anyone but a Malfoy at that moment he was sure he would have blushed.
"Got you to stop freaking about being locked in here though, didn't I?" Draco said triumphantly.
He had resumed his regal position against the wall, his arms folded and his head held high over the top of his black turtleneck. "Don't you ever wear anything other than black?" Ginny found herself saying without a second thought.
Draco looked amused. "What's it to you what I wear?"
Getting to her feet she shrugged. The closet had to be at the most 40 inches wide on every side leaving the both of them very little room. They couldn't help but remain only a few feet apart. She cringed at the thought of her prison's confined dimensions. "Just curious," she finally answered.
"Curiosity killed the cat." Draco narrowed his gray eyes which peeked out from between his loose strands of platinum white hair. Ginny couldn't describe what it felt like to be looked at like that. No one had ever looked at her like that before. He studied her figure, as if trying to peer inside, to read her soul. It was unnerving.
"Don't look at me like that," she snapped.
"Like what?" Draco asked innocently.
"Like that. Like you're undressing me with your eyes."
He scoffed. "No Weasley, if I was doing that, I'd look like this." He let his eyes trail lazily up her body before finding her eyes once again.
"No, not like that," she said with disgust. "You look like you're searching for something…"
"Maybe I am."
"Stop it. I don't want you looking at me, talking to me, ANYTHING." Turning her head away from him, she found herself facing a shelf full of magical ingredients.
"Ahh… well aren't you the little fireball! I'll bet you'd be unbeatable in the sack."
At that, Ginny choked in a revolted stupor. "That is so disgusting! How could you—presume… I—" She trailed off.
Draco laughed; not a booming, happy laugh but an amused little chuckle and his gray eyes suddenly lit up with mischief. "You're a virgin, aren't you?"
"What!" she shouted, this time unable to believe where this conversation had gone.
"Are you a virgin?" he repeated.
"I…I'm not going to answer that!"
"Why not?"
"Well what about you! Are you a virgin?" she shot at him.
"No," he answered simply as if it were the most well-known fact in the world.
She didn't know how to handle his question. Stumped and embarrassed, she felt vulnerable under the older boy's glare.
"You are, aren't you?" He smiled as if he had just been given a special treat.
"So what!?" she demanded in defense.
"Hey, it's not a bad thing." She didn't respond to this and instead sighed loudly and slid herself back down onto the dusty floor. She could feel his eyes on her but didn't want to look up. She was becoming very annoyed. She felt sure that if she had to look at him again, she'd scream.
"So why are you still… you know? Potter not putting out?"
"Harry's not my boyfriend," she replied quietly, refusing to meet his gaze as she pulled her legs up to her chin.
"Of course he isn't," he said simply. "Potter wouldn't be able to keep up with the likes of you anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she said, resolutely fixing her gaze on the bottom of a dusty shelf.
"Well, you know what they say about redheads…"
"God! Does everything you say revolve around sex?" Ginny inquired furiously.
"Not all the time."
"Look, I want to get through this horrible dilemma without scratching your face off okay? So don't talk to me."
"But I'll get boooored," he drawled as he spun around in a circle nonchalantly.
She looked at him queerly and shook her head. "You know, you're not so scary when you whine like that."
He stopped. "I don't whine. And you think I'm scary?"
Ginny realized what she had said, shrugged, and looked away again.
"I think the words you're looking for are, 'Strikingly Intimidating'."
"More like 'Strikingly Arrogant'."
"Nothing's wrong with loving yourself," Draco defended.
"You don't love yourself. You obsess with yourself! I'd swear you were a female."
"I don't need to bother with the things females use for beautification. I wake up looking this good naturally."
It was Ginny's turn to laugh.
"Do I amuse you, Weasley?" Draco asked.
"Sometimes." She said through tiny giggles.
"Good."
"Hey –" Ginny started. Draco met her gaze. "Why do you have it in for my family? Why do you rag on Ron so much?" Ginny couldn't help herself. She just had to ask him.
This question left the blonde's eyes unreadable. He seemed to be contemplating his response deeply. After a while, he explained, "Because I see you for what you are – a lousy, good-for-nothing poor family. Who loves Muggles?"
"That's no excuse, Draco," Ginny protested, and stood right up next to him.
"What did you just call me?"
"What?"
"You just called me Draco."
"Well duh. That is your name isn't it? Now who's the loony?"
Unsettled, Draco grabbed Ginny's arm and held his hand there. He took a tentative step towards her thereby closing the gap between the two of them. With a stern look on his face, he exclaimed angrily, "Don't call me that!"
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Again, lame excuses, Draco." She emphasized his name knowing that for unknown reasons it got to him. Before Draco knew what he was doing he grabbed her other arm and shook her madly to vent his frustrations. He shook her until she became dizzy, and finally lost himself in a sea of blue.
She was looking at him, her eyes shining brightly, beholding a look he usually held when he was teasing her. His eyes sunk into her features; her pale skin with scattered freckles trailing across her button nose. Her lips were full and red, but not red as her flame-colored hair which shone intensely under the light of a single small lamp. It reached from back behind her soft face down in long tresses cascading maniacally across her back. He felt a sudden compelling urge to caress his long fingers through it. It looked so soft. Neither of them moved as if they were studying one another, milking and relishing in one another for as long as they could hold it. Ginny couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the few loose strands of hair that fell freely over his eyes. His hair was usually slicked back, but these rogue strands…both irritated her and made him look… well… sexy. His eyes were fighting with her own and as if against her will, she lifted a hand and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes and tucked it gently behind his ear. She felt him shudder profusely and once again his eyes traveled. He found his destination… bent his head and pressed his lips on the young Gryffindor's, being as gentle as possible. He couldn't ignore the gasp of surprise and pulled away. Ginny's eyes were so wide they were bulging. For a moment he thought she was going to hit him, but instead she whispered. "Do that again."
Unclear of his actions, he kissed her again; harder this time fully capturing her lips in his mouth. He tasted victory when she whimpered softly. But he knew of course, that most of that victory belonged to her. For kissing her was like kissing fire. His lips burned… burned with hot desire as the kiss intensified. Draco Malfoy was locked in a closet with Ginny Weasley and he was snogging her. And it was by no means your everyday, run-of-the-mill snogging either... It had quickly turned into a race to see who could get the upper hand. Without knowing what had happened Draco found himself pressed tightly against the wall, Ginny's legs wrapped tightly and securely around his waist. A second later they both pulled away for air. "Ginny, what—"
But the redhead silenced him with a shake of her head and another kiss. It wasn't until the choked gasp of surprise when the closet door opened abruptly (smacking Ginny swiftly in the butt) that they were at last and once again able to think clearly. There stood Snape, his usual coolness this time replaced with a trembling, red face. It must have been a wild sight to see: Draco Malfoy pressed painfully against a wall holding a young, innocent Ginny Weasley in a position that would have made any mother faint. "Mr. Malfoy – explain yourself!" Snape barked angrily.
Ginny's face turned past the color of her hair as she slid out of Draco's arms and back onto the floor. But Draco looked completely controlled and measured, though his once-perfect hair was now falling in all directions and his usually-thin lips now appeared visibly-bruised and bright red. "Ginny came in while I was getting supplies, Sir. She closed the door unaware that it was broken and locked us in." He shrugged as if it was only obvious.
"May I ask why I found you and Ms. Weasley in such an incredulous position? Because, Mr. Malfoy – this looks to me as if perhaps you are using my closet as your own private bedroom..."
"Puh-lease Professor. As if I would ever purposely kiss a Weasley."
Ginny glowered at those words knowing the tips of her ears were red with fury.
"Now if you'll excuse me, Professor… since this horrible predicament is finally all over with, I'd very much like to get some sleep. It's obviously too late to finish my extra credit. I'll have to continue tomorrow evening." And with a curt nod he left the closet without a goodbye to either of them.
Fuming, Snape ordered the Gryffindor out of the closet and his room taking twenty points from her house and giving her two detentions. She knew if she complained she'd only worsen the punishment. So instead, she ran out of the room and all the way back to the common room. One thing was for certain: she'd never be able to look at Snape the same way again.