This is a sequel, of sorts, to my Christmas fic 'The Stocking' but I believe should be perfectly understandable without it.
Happy Easter, everyone!
It was pink, about as wide as her waist, as long as her forearm, it sang, and it was sitting in a corner of her living room. It was, in short, the perfect means of revenge. More specifically, it was an Easter egg. An overlarge and garish Easter egg.
And it was perfect.
It just so happened that one Draco Malfoy had subjected her, Ginny Weasley, to extreme embarrassment on Christmas, and she was planning her vengeance.
Garish, pink vengeance.
She had spent the better part of four months on planning, and tonight she would execute her perfect, infallible plan. The only thing she had left to do was buy chocolate – less as part of her revenge than to satisfy her desire for chocolate.
With a last, pleased look at the Easter egg, she grabbed her wand from the kitchen table, took the lift downstairs and, once outside the anti-Apparation barrier, Disapparated with a sharp pop.
Diagon Alley on Easter was mostly empty, which made her quest for chocolate all the easier. It only took a few minutes and a handful of Sickles to get the chocolate she desired and return to her flat for an early lunch.
The rapping sound of a beak against glass interrupted her in the midst of preparing a tuna sandwich. She put down the bread, wiped her hands on a dish towel and cracked open the window.
George's new owl, tawny with curious eyes, landed on the kitchen table and extended a leg for Ginny. She pulled the parchment off and rummaged through her cabinets for owl treats which she handed absently to the bird as she read.
Ginny,
Mum sent me an owl just a few minutes ago. She says she wants us over an hour early – no clue why she couldn't owl us separately.
She also says she's going to make Easter Surprise for dessert.
-George!
Ginny snorted at the exclamation mark he put at the end of his name. Pulling a quill and ink bottle out of a drawer, she hastily scribbled a reply.
She's probably too busy making the Surprise to send six owls.
Don't know why she chose you though. (Kidding)
Gin.
She tied the parchment back onto the owl's leg, gave her another treat and sent her on her way. Washing her hands quickly, she returned to making her sandwich and modifying her plans for revenge now that she had less time for exaction.
Shutting the window behind George's owl, she slid her sandwich onto a plate, moved to the table and spent her lunch in deep concentration. Everything had to be perfect. Revenge was something no Weasley took lightly. Ginny frowned through her sandwich. Plotting was, after all, hard work.
By the time she'd finished eating and had cleaned her plate, her Final and Infallible Plan was complete, and with a darkly pleased look at the Easter egg, she did something rather uncharacteristic – she cackled.
It was a complete accident, she told herself later. Some of the joy had simply slipped out in the form of a laugh, and the angle of her neck had made it sound cackle-y. There was nothing evil about it at all. Nothing at all wrong with having spent so much time in preparation for revenge.
With a flick of her wand, she shrunk the egg and put it in her purse, heels snapping against the wood floor as she moved to the door.
'Yes,' she thought, 'revenge will be excellent.'
•••
The slightly chilly April breeze nibbled at her neck and toyed with her hair like an impatient lover. She stood outside her apartment building, shifting from foot to foot and waiting for the subject of her vengeance's appearance.
She had had to modify her plans and was a bit antsy as a result. If things didn't go properly, she'd be even more embarrassed than before.
A loud pop a few feet away alerted her of another presence. 'Malfoy,' she assumed, looking over at the figure in the distance.
But the figure was not Malfoy – a fact that would unfortunately prove disastrous for her plans.
"Weasley?"
She looked up into the face of none other than Blaise Zabini, and wondered what exactly he was doing there.
She grinned weakly. "Yeah. Hi, Zabini."
His grin was wider. "Haven't seen you in a while, little Weasley. What're you doing here, anyway?"
"Oh, I was just, uh…" she trailed off as another, softer pop signalled another's arrival. Unfortunately, Zabini was blocking her view of who that person may be.
"Yes?" he prompted.
"Sorry," she laughed nervously. "I was just leaving actually. I've got Easter dinner at my mum's place in a few hours."
"A few hours?" he was leaning in very close. Too close, really. Was there enough air between the two of them? "Well there's no reason to leave so early then, why don't you come up?"
"Come up?" she repeated blankly.
"Nott's having a few of us over, you know. I'm sure he'd love it if a neighbour dropped by for a bit."
"Oh, no, I really cou—"
"Zabini? Why are you leaning up against the door like that?" It was Malfoy. And apparently he couldn't see her.
Zabini stepped back, and Ginny saw the smug and conceited face of Draco Malfoy for the first time since Christmas.
"Oh," he said dully, looking at her in bland boredom. "No use standing outside, Zabini, Nott's waiting."
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. With Zabini there and Malfoy more than ready to leave, Ginny had no way of exacting her revenge. Her sweet and beautiful revenge.
"Go on up, then," Zabini said, motioning to the door while simultaneously stepping closer to Ginny. Again.
Malfoy looked at the two of them for a moment before rolling his eyes and doing just that.
And there went her Infallible Plan.
"So, Weasley, what do you say? Come up for a bit?"
She was about to say 'no' when she realized that perhaps this would save her revenge. She didn't hesitate in saying, "Sure, why not?" and grinning up at him.
She wondered briefly when Zabini had become so charitably nice, but the thought was pushed away quickly by musings about her revenge.
Zabini ushered her into the lift and they rode up in pleasant silence, getting off on Ginny's floor.
"So, do you and Nott see a lot of each other?" he asked pleasantly as they walked down the corridor.
"Oh, a bit" she lied. In truth, she hadn't even known Nott lived in her building.
He gave no response, instead stopping in front of a door she presumed to be Nott's and knocking.
The door opened a moment later and Nott, tall and wiry, greeted them pleasantly, if slightly uncertainly.
Zabini had the good sense to explain. "I knew you wouldn't mind if I brought your neighbour up for some festivities," he said.
By the flicker of confusion on Nott's face, Ginny assumed he hadn't known she lived there, either. Nevertheless, he quite politely offered her a drink, which she quite politely declined, and scanned the room for Malfoy.
She noticed in the process that the room was tastefully decorated and that the layout was the mirror image of her own flat. She was certain Nott wouldn't mind if she took a few decorating tips from him.
She was contemplating the benefits of a large painting over the fireplace when she spotted Malfoy, standing alone over a bowl of punch and smirking at nobody in particular.
She wondered if his face had frozen that way from overuse.
She had little time to consider this option, though, as he met her eye across the room and raised an eyebrow. As Nott and Zabini were otherwise occupied, she decided the time for her revenge was now or never and, steeling herself, crossed the room.
"Hello, Malfoy," she said pleasantly.
"Weasley," he nodded. "Drink?"
She shook her head. "Happy Easter," she said.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Yes, happy Easter to you too."
She took a deep breath – this was it. "I got Easter eggs for every—"
"Weasley!" Zabini cut across her from the other side of the room. "Come here and have some ice cream cake."
Malfoy's mouth curled upwards in a smirk and he motioned towards the kitchen. "You heard him."
She sighed and dragged herself away. A minor blip in the latest plan, but at least there was ice cream cake.
Nott cut her a liberal slice and handed it to her with a fork. "Happy Easter, neighbour."
She smiled at him. "Happy Easter."
As she ate the cake, she noticed Malfoy was still smirking. And most infuriatingly, he seemed to be smirking at her. She made small talk with Nott, who was polite, and Zabini, who continued to lean in very close, but revenge remained close to the surface.
When Zabini excused himself to set up a game of cards and Nott, seemingly having run out of things to say, turned to fiddle with a collection of Easter eggs on the counter, Ginny had her second chance.
She tried her hand at a charming, disarming smile that didn't quite seem to hit the mark. She remained unfazed by his continued smirking, however, and said, "I got you an Easter present."
There was a moment of palpable and nearly painful silence before he, infuriatingly, arched an eyebrow and said, "And why did you do that, exactly?"
She had rehearsed this moment. "Easter benevolence, of course," she said, smiling again.
"I see," he said, his voice dry.
She pulled the shrunken egg out of her purse and handed it to him. "Happy Easter, Draco."
She moved away and said to Nott and Zabini, who were now speaking over a plate of cookies, "I'm sorry, but I've got to go. It's been lovely though, and happy Easter."
Nott nodded and said, "Happy Easter," while Zabini leaned in – again – and wished her similar such sentiments.
She smiled as she left, not wanting to wait too long.
•••
"Zabini, why exactly did you invite Weasley up? I mean, I know she's got a nice arse, but…" he trailed off, his friend fully understanding what he meant.
He shrugged. "She was just standing there, and you said it yourself – she's got a nice arse."
Nott snorted and handed his friend a shot of Firewhisky. "Malfoy, quite brooding over there and have a drink with us."
With a sigh, he put the little garish egg down on the dining table and took a drink from Nott.
They were on their second round of drinks when the egg on the table began expanding. And as it expanded, it began to hum; quietly at first, but amplifying as its size increased.
Easter time is time for fun
Time to kiss a bunn-
y! Oh, time for eggs
And time to drink the dregs
Of fancy Easter drinks!
Malfoy, horrified, turned around to face the offensive object. "What," he ground out, "in the name of Merlin is that…thing?"
Nott shook his head. "I have no idea where that came from."
"Well? Get rid of it," Malfoy snapped. "That thing is hideous."
Zabini shook with silent laughter. "Oh," he gasped, "Oh that's too ugly!"
Suddenly, Malfoy froze. "Weasley," he hissed. "That's the stupid present she gave me!"
Zabini only laughed harder.
Thoughts? I'd love to hear them!