Disclaimer/Author's Note: The song 'Not Pretty Enough' belongs to Kasey Chambers and not me. I also don't own anything that has to do with Harry Potter. I do however, own Draco Malfoy, well no, I just wish I did. He belongs to J.K. Rowling too.
This may seem a little out of character for Draco, because he's so nice at the end, but it's Christmas so poo on you!
Am I not pretty enough
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?
Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right through me?
Ginny Weasley stared at him as he passed by her once again. She dropped her books on the floor as she watched him walk away with his goon friends.
"Hey Ginny." Harry said. She smiled as he handed her the notebook.
"Uhm, yeah, I'll see you around Ginny." Harry said and Ginny rolled her eyes. She took a deep breath and set off in the direction of Draco Malfoy. Around her the snow lazily floated down in fluffy white flakes.
Winter had become her favorite season because it reminded her of Draco. He was always cold and pretty to look at but there was more there, more that Ginny couldn't see. That was Ginny, always classifying people by seasons.
"Draco, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked catching up to him. He turned towards her and glanced around, as though checking to see if there were any other Slytherins in the area. Crabbe and Goyle had walked too far ahead.
"You've got your minute." He said coldly and Ginny felt her stomach drop.
"I just wanted to say hi was all."
"Okay, you said it." Draco's voice was toneless and he had a look on his face that made Ginny melt with the embarrassment of defeat rather than the schoolgirl feeling she always got. She turned away from him, her red hair hanging in her face like the veil of a dancer.
I live, I breathe, I let it rain on me,
I sleep, I wake, I try hard not to break,
I crave, I love, I've waited long enough,
I try as hard as I can.
Ginny let herself slide down the wall in the Astronomy Tower. Surprisingly enough there were no couples in there to occupy it. The sky was darkening, turning into a black blanket with sequence stars, the snow still falling.
Slowly she lifted her hand to wipe away the tears that poured down her face. She buried her head in her knees and took a shaky breath. A low breeze blew in and she pulled her sweater tighter around herself.
'Why doesn't he like me? Because I'm a Weasley?' These thoughts repeated over and over in her head, each one a slight variation of the one before.
The door creaked open and a head poked in.
"Gin, is that you?" Hermione Granger asked, sitting down next to one of her best girl friends.
"No, it's the bearded lady from that circus the muggles like so much." Ginny sniffled raising her head a little. Hermione offered a small laugh.
"What's wrong? Anything you'd like to tell me?"
"No… well, I know you can keep a secret so it'd be pretty stupid to ask that, but can I trust you?"
"Of course." Hermione answered. Ginny nodded, hoping that she hadn't offended the one person she could never be mad at.
"I like- Draco, a lot. I- we've been 'seeing' each other for a while now, just as friends. But now he's ignoring me and he never talks to me anymore. Lately we've just been owling each other at night. It's not like anyone in my dorm room notices and the only person in Draco's dorm who even suspects it's a girl is Blaise."
Hermione was speechless. She carefully chose her words before speaking, not wanting to get Ginny even more riled up then she already was.
"How'd this happen?" Hermione hoped she wasn't being to straightforward, but to give Ginny advice she'd need to get to the source of the problem. The problem being her worst enemy.
"Well, I go to the library every Saturday to do my homework and then he started showing up. At first he kept to himself, but then I got tired of seeing him all by himself every day so I went over to try and make conversation. He was pretty mean about it at first, calling me 'the smallest weasel' all the time, but I didn't give up. Finally he warmed up and we got to be kind of close. Mind you, this took place at the beginning of the year."
"I think maybe he needs more time. You know how guys are, especially ones like Draco. And think, Christmas is two days away. Maybe something good will come out of it." Hermione bit her lower lip, hoping that she'd given good advice. Ginny brightened up a little.
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the advice Hermione."
"Don't worry about it. It's loads more fun to do this with other girls than it is boys. Sometimes I wish that Harry and Ron would pull their heads out of their arses and that Ron would realize I like him."
"Yeah me too," Ginny agreed. The rest of the time they sat there in a complete and comfortable silence.
Am I not pretty enough?
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?
Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right through me?
Ginny waited for him outside of Charms, busily sketching a fifth year girl and a seventh year boy locked in a serious discussion. The girl looked near tears and on the losing end. The boy gave her a cocky smile and strode off. Ginny felt a chill go down her spine at the déjà vu feeling that had crept up on her.
"Whatcha drawing?" That familiar sneering voice asked her. Ginny turned her head. Draco gave her a half smile, but she turned her nose up at him.
"I'm not talking to you." She said indignantly. Draco grinned although he knew she couldn't see it. Ginny was one of the only people who could make him smile that much. Aside from his mother of course.
"You know Weasley, you're very feisty right now and you don't make it look half bad either."
"Draco Malfoy I do believe you just hit on me." Ginny said turning around and blushing.
"No, don't feel special. I just looked on my list and you happened to be the one I was supposed to be nice to today. You never answered my question though, what are you drawing?" Draco asked leaning over.
"Just people. I like to get emotions in the drawings but I'm not very good." She said holding up her current masterpiece. Draco took it from her and studied it and when he was done with that one he flipped through the rest of the book.
"Not good at drawing? Whoever told you that must've been on drugs or something because I swear these are some of the best sketches I've ever seen. You're really good." He handed the book back.
"Thanks." Ginny said feeling the color rush back to her warm face.
"There's a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. What are you buying me?" He asked sitting down next to her.
"Who said I was buying you anything you ungrateful prat." She said with a small giggle. Draco crossed his arms and stuck out his lower lip playfully.
"I've been a good boy all year, I promise." Draco grinned. Ginny rolled her eyes and tucked her sketchpad carefully into her backpack.
"Oh, I dunno, maybe I got you something. But you won't find out until tomorrow will you?" Ginny asked wrapping her scarf around her neck and standing up.
"Tomorrow?" Draco asked as though something just hit him full force. Ginny nodded.
"Tomorrow's Christmas after all. Hopefully I'll see you around." She said, running to catch up with Hermione, leaving Draco alone in the snow.
I laugh, I feel, I make believe it's real,
I fall, I freeze, I pray down on my knees,
I hope, I stand, I take it like a man,
I try as hard as I can.
Christmas morning started with a bang, literally. Ginny was awoken by the sounds of Harry and Ron making loud noises in the Common Room. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and not bothering to change out of her pajamas, Ginny stumbled down the stairs.
"Happy Christmas!" Ron exclaimed happily, digging through a pile of candy. Ginny's face lit up at the sight of the presents under the tree. She plopped herself between Hermione and Harry and grabbed the nearest present.
"Who's that one from Gin?" Hermione asked, peering over curiously. Ginny looked at the tag and sighed.
"Mum." Ginny replied, ripping the paper to reveal a purple sweatshirt and a load of chocolate frogs.
For the next twenty minutes Ginny unwrapped presents from Hermione (a quill that remembered homework from your classes), Harry (a new scarf), Ron (Assorted candies from Honeydukes), Fred and George (Pranks from their new joke shop), and Luna (a pair of radish earrings). Nothing in her pile from Draco.
She continued unwrapping presents and sighed, disappointed. She glanced at Hermione, who gave her a pity look. Ginny shrugged it off and stood up.
"Right, I'm going to change and go for a walk."
"Are you okay Gin?" Ron asked through a mouthful of Chocolate Frogs. Ginny nodded and gave Ron a big hug before going off. Ron shrugged and unwrapped another Frog.
As she changed, Ginny wondered why Draco would just ignore her. After all, he had made such a big deal about it yesterday.
Am I not pretty enough?
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?
Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right through me?
Silently Ginny wandered the grounds, enjoying the snowflakes that hadn't ceased falling over the night. She stuck out her tongue and tried to unsuccessfully catch a few.
"Weasel, I didn't expect you to be out here." Came the cold drawl and Ginny spun around.
"Oh, it's you." She said nonchalantly and Draco gave a snort. He was holding something behind his back.
"Yes, it's me. But I have something for you and by the way I like the dragon. Blaise said it was the spitting image of me." Draco grinned and Ginny couldn't help but smile. She was still mad, but somehow it wasn't the same.
"Well, he wasn't lying."
"Ooh, you pay for that one." Draco said, putting the box down and running after her. Ginny gave a shriek and began ran down the hill. Draco was faster though, and caught up to her. Putting his arms around her he tackled her to the ground.
"Get off." Ginny laughed, the snow crunching beneath them as she squirmed out of his grip.
"Want to see what I brought you?" Draco asked excitedly and Ginny was amazed at how his whole attitude seemed to have changed. He was no longer moody and sullen, but cheerful and in the Christmas spirit.
"Yes." Ginny answered and followed him to the spot where he'd left the box. She took it from him and smiled at the shiny gold and the beautiful maroon wrapping paper.
Inside the box was a silky black box and a silver rose. Draco smiled at the look on her face.
"My mum grows them in her garden. No spell, I think. She told me they're very rare though."
"It's beautiful."
"Look in the box."
Ginny took the box and lifted the lid. There sat a golden chained necklace and on it were two delicate creatures. One was a lion colored only in the Gryffindor colors, except it's eyes that were two beautiful sapphires. The other was a serpent decked out in green and silver for Slytherin.
Without making a sound, Ginny flung her arms around Draco. He pulled away and pulled her into a warm kiss.
"Happy Christmas Ginny." Draco whispered in her ear.
Why do you see, why do you see, why do you see right through me?