It started with a much-read column in the The Daily Hogwarts, Hogwarts', er, daily newspaper, written by students for students.
Dear Draco,
I think my girl wants to break up with me to be with you. Meet me in the trophy room at midnight. We're dueling this out.
Signed,
The Boy Who Always Wins
Potter—
If I really wanted your girl, she'd have left you long before now. Have fun playing with yourself in the drafty trophy room. I've got better things to do. (Like your girlfriend.)
DM
x
Dear Ginny,
We heard you were dating Draco Malfoy. IS IT TRUE?
—Broken Hearted Girls of Hogwarts
Girls,
These accusations are ludicrous, and I do not feel comfortable talking about my personal life in such a public forum. Please go back to sending me questions about fashion faux-pas and crushes on the faculty.
Ginny
x
Draco hadn't meant for the lie to get so out of control, and Ginny hadn't meant to fuel the flames of liardom by dodging the questions.
It was true that Ginny had dumped Harry—he was just too much of a liability. Every year, something new and dangerous haunted Hogwarts's halls, and it was basically all thanks to him. Ginny, having grown up in poverty, knew a thing or two about self-preservation, and being Harry Potter's girlfriend seemed like the complete opposite of preserving her self. It didn't matter how much her mum loved Harry as a son. If they continued on much longer, surely the Weasleys would lose a daughter. The way Mrs. Weasley had taken the news of Ginny's breakup, it almost seemed as though her family would welcome the trade for a seventh son, but Ginny wasn't taking any chances.
Where Harry had got the idea that she wanted to be with Draco Malfoy, she had no clue. But after seeing the newest edition of the Daily Hogwarts, she had a bone to pick with her column partner.
Draco, on the other hand, found all the fuss amusing. He knew the rumors weren't true, so what did he care what anyone else thought? It pleased him just fine to rattle Potter's cage and be the center of attention everywhere he went. There was nothing he liked more than a little controversy on his behalf.
Until the letters started pouring in, that is.
He became bogged with questions for the Dear Draco and Ginny column about his relationship with one Ginny Weasley, and none of them made sense.
Dear Draco,
Are you more likely to snog Ginny Weasley with the lights on or off?
Questionably,
For Science
x
Draco,
I must know, what is your favorite color? Silk robes or polyester? Do you eat dessert? Is Ginny the jealous type? Does her face really turn red whenever she's angry or embarrassed?
Need the Deets
x
Dracooooo, dawg, dude, yo, man!
How did you manage to snag Ginny Weasley? I need every detail! Potion? Charm? Curse? Is she deranged? Does she think you're a challenge? Are you a reformed bad boy now? Help me out!
ANSWER MY QUESTIONS
x
The questions were highly personal and invasive, and, most of all, Draco had no answer for most of them because his relationship with Ginny was a complete lie! The things he did just to get under Potter's skin!
For Science,
I prefer snogging with the lights on. After a bad experience with a Polyjuiced partner, I must know who I'm snogging at all times.
x
Need the Deets,
Deets isn't a word. My favorite color is lilac. I have highly sensitive skin, so all my clothing is made of silk. I do not eat dessert. Ever. The rest is for me to know and you to never find out.
x
ANSWER,
STOP YELLING. I 'snagged' her with my natural charm, of course. It's a magic all its own, and, no, it can't be taught. Yes, I do think she is a little deranged. I resent the idea of reforming bad boys and anyone dense enough to try it.
x
If Draco had only bothered to read the newspaper that he wrote for, he would have seen that Hogwarts suddenly had Draco and Ginny fever. It wasn't enough to send in questions and hope that one of the pair would answer them. The Patil twins, editors-in-chief of the Daily Hogwarts, saw where there was a demand, and they supplied, devoting two whole pages of the paper to gossip about Draco and Ginny's supposed relationship.
The gossip turned into speculation. The speculation turned into fantasy. Soon, what was published in the school newspaper could not be called news by any bastardization of the term. It had devolved into pure fiction. Fan fiction, that is. And Draco had been completely unaware of it until Ginny Weasley cornered him in the fifth floor corridor, between a painting of a unicorn prancing under a rainbow and a portrait of a pair of witches that looked suspiciously like Parvati and Padma Patil. The unicorn continued to whinny and neigh oblivious to Ginny's murderous rage, while the Patil twin-lookalikes gathered at the edge of their frame, their eyes bugged out, not attempting subtlety at all.
"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST DENY ANY ALLEGATIONS ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP, MALFOY?" Ginny screamed, though there must have been a better word than "scream" to describe the quality and volume of the noise she made.
"That's not any fun," Draco replied, unmoved by her anger.
"FUN? FUN? YOU THINK LIBEL IS FUN?"
Draco thought for a moment. "I'm usually more prone to slander, but so far libel has been quite exciting."
Weasley sighed, and the rage of moments ago seemed to seep out of her body with her breath. "Have you seen the paper lately?"
"Why would I read that garbage?"
Instead of answering, she shoved the newest edition of the paper at Malfoy. The name had been changed from The Daily Hogwarts to The DG Forum, and the headline read: "The Draco and Ginny Fan Fiction Exchange Extravaganza: Vote for Your Favorites!"
It appeared the paper had been redesigned to fit the high demand. Draco and Ginny's column now resided in the bottom left-hand corner of the last page of the paper. The rest was absolute drivel written by the students of Hogwarts about Draco and Ginny.
Draco quickly perused the paper, only catching snippets of stories that went so far as to describe their sex life and articles that analyzed their relationship. There was a whole page dedicated to fan art of the couple, and some of it was quite impressive.
As for the voting, apparently while Draco had been studiously ignoring the new school paper, there had been a fan fiction contest, in which students wrote stories about Draco and Ginny anonymously for each other. Now it was time to vote for the best stories in categories such as "Best Characterization of Draco" and "Best Response to the Prompt," which sounded to Draco like one of his conquests. That award would definitely go to Millicent Bulstrode for her excellent work with a potted plant in Greenhouse One.
When Draco finally looked back up at Ginny, she watched him expectantly, her lips in a tight, disapproving line.
He wasn't sure what she expected him to say, so he said, "I should have entered this contest. No one can write a better Draco Malfoy than me!"
It started with a column, but it ended with a vote.
It's time to vote for the best fics in The DG Forum Fic Exchange - Summer 2013!
You've probably seen the stories around, and if you click on our profile you can see the full list of submitted fics. Our profile page also has a link to the voting forum - check under "Newsfeed". You don't need to be a member of our forum to vote—we'd love to have as many people vote as possible!
Once the votes are tallied and the winners are announced, there will be a Big Reveal: you'll finally learn the identities of the mystery writers who have produced this year's batch of fics.
Thanks for participating! We hope you've enjoyed reading our stories.
The DG Forum
