Shades of Green

Chapter Three: The Looking Glass

-x-

Her first class of the day was Transfiguration, which Ginny walked to with Daphne. To her surprise, there were a bounty of familiar faces.

On the Gryffindor end, especially.

Notably, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Hermione beamed in her direction, waving her over.

Daphne gave her a look of judgment, before sending her a shrug as if to say "Do what you want, it's your funeral."

But class hadn't started yet, the professor (apparently her brother) wasn't even here yet. What was the harm?

She walked over to them timidly, watching the smile on Hermione's face grow as she came closer.

"Gin! How are you." The older girl grabbed the redhead for a hug.

"I've been alright. Already exhausted." She grinned.

Harry gave her a one armed side hug as well.

Ron just gave her a nod of recognition.

"Are you as creeped out by the fact that Percy is supposedly teaching this class as I am?" She asked Ron.

Ron nodded. "Wonder who's arse he had to kiss to get the gig." He scoffed.

Hermione looked at him disapprovingly. "Ronald, he is going to be our professor. Surely you can not speak about him with such blatant disregard!" She chastised.

Both boys smirked at each other.

"We've said more horrible things about Snape and Umbridge, Hermione." Harry pointed out with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you certainly didn't have a problem with that." Ron chimed in. "Maybe she's got a thing for Percy." He ribbed.

"You always did admire his intelligence and leadership qualities." Harry joined it, raising his eyebrows up and down at Hermione. "Should I be worried?" He feigned concern.

Hermione blushed. "Honestly." She huffed. "You mustn't take them seriously." She implored.

Ginny laughed. "I would never believe you could have a crush on a pompous jerk like Percy, Hermione. Don't worry." She assured.

"Pompous jerk?" Someone cleared their throat behind Ginny. "Wonderful way to refer to your brother and more importantly, professor." He said dryly, emphasis on the last word.

Ginny whirled around, tendrils of her long red hair whipping poor Harry in the process. "P-Percy." She stuttered.

It would be her luck.

"That's Professor Weasley to you, Ginevra." He said, tight lipped and poised. "I should dock points from Slytherin for such terms of…endearment." He said sarcastically. "But as it's the first day of classes and I'm in a good mood, I won't. You can thank me by taking a seat." He gave a pointed glance to the opposite side of the classroom.

Everyone watched her sulk back to the Slytherin side, arms crossed over her chest and murmuring under her breath.

As she walked to the seat Daphne had saved beside her, Ginny was more than baffled to see who inhabited the one next to her.

None other than Draco Malfoy.

Beside him sat a leering Blaise Zabini, who all but glared at her as she passed him.

"Why are you sitting next to me, Malfoy." She hissed under her breath, as soon as she sat beside the beautifully blonde boy.

Malfoy just smirked, keeping his gaze forward. "I do believe the seat next to me was vacant when I sat down." His voice was gravelly because of his low tone.

She resisted the urge to elbow him, he knew damn well she would be sitting here. Daphne was one of her best friends, one of her only friends, really, where the hell else would she sit!

She rolled her eyes.

Daphne passed her their bewitched parchment that the four of them would usually pass notes on. It was fashioned a lot like the Marauder's map, it only revealed the contents to the four of them, recognizing their fingerprints.

Ginny pushed her thumb against it.

What the hell were you going on about with Granger?

Ginny set her Quick Quotes Quill to take the notes Percy had already begun putting up.

I was talking to my brother, about Percy teaching this class. Besides, shouldn't you get over hating her? She did help save the world and all…

She waited until Percy turned towards the board, before folding up the parchment. Again, the words disappeared.

A moment later, the parchment landed back in her lap. Again, she pressed her thumb against the page.

I don't hate her! It's just strange. Gryffindors and Slytherin don't get on…

Ginny sighed inwardly, taking her quill.

I've known Harry since I was ten, he's spend Christmases at my house, he was at my brother Bill's wedding. Same goes for Hermione and Ron is my brother. These aren't just ordinary circumstances.

Lately, Ginny felt like she was always explaining herself to just about everyone and it was getting really annoying.

I suppose.

On a side note, what's with the awkward sexual tension between you and Draco?

On one hand, Ginny was happy Daphne had dropped the previous subject. On the other, she hated the topic of this new one.

Sexual tension…absolutely not! I was just wondering why the hell he decided to sit next to me, there are rows of extra seats.

Draco was a beautiful creature, he was flawless, he was gorgeous, he was practically God like. Veelan, really. But it was all she would admit to, everything that any ordinary person couldn't deny. Everything that was visible to the naked eye.

The word naked just send a barrage of imagined images into the forefront of Ginny's mind, all of which involved Draco in various states of undress.

She shut her eyes and pushed the images out of her head.

Parchment landed in her lap again.

Whatever you say, Gin. But I guess then it wouldn't interest you to know that he hasn't stopped looking at you since he's walked in.

Ginny looked up instinctually, her gaze falling on the boy next to her. Who didn't even seem to register her presence next to him let alone staring at her.

She looked at Daphne, who had clearly set her up, she merely smirked triumphantly.

She swiped the parchment away from Ginny before the redhead had the chance to write back.

No interest at all, huh Gin? Whatever you say.

The look on Daphne's face made Ginny want to strangle her.

-x-

Ginny's next two classes had been abhorrently difficult and excruciatingly boring. The one after Tranfiguration had been Alchemy, with Dr. Helbert Spleen. She had expected it to be interesting, but it was practically dreadful. The only good thing was that it was an extremely selective class, only twenty seventh year students, from all four houses.

No one from her House was taking it, in fact the only other person she knew was Hermione. It was a small comfort.

After Alchemy had been her hardest class, Advanced Magical Theory: Muggle and Wizard Medicine. It was taught by the head MediWizard at St. Mungo's, Augustus Pye. Who also happened to be her Mentor, so the pressure was intensified. She had to make sure to be in his good books, always. He would be the one giving her a recommendation, it decided whether or not she was fit to pursue a career in magical medicine.

The stress was practically suffocating her.

By the time it was mid-day, Ginny was more than relieved about Quidditch practice, just because it would allow her a few hours away from everything school related.

It was a small blessing.

She went into the Slytherin change rooms, where Kennedy was already in her glittering emerald uniform. She was pulling on her pads when Ginny approached. "You look ghastly." She commented, her blue eyes wide. "You feeling okay?" Kennedy asked, as she pulled on her elbow pad.

Ginny gave her a withering stare, "Thanks, Rosie." She said dryly. "Just what every girl loves to hear from her best friend."

"You know what I mean, Gin." Kennedy said from behind her, "You're always effervescent and unfairly beautiful. You just look tired." She clarified.

Ginny began taking off her robes. "Well, that's because I have an absolutely hellish schedule." She was beginning to regret her course specialization more and more by the minute.

But her parents had been so proud when she'd announced she was going to be a Healer. She couldn't disappoint them now. Not when her mother bragged about it for weeks to her aunts.

She wouldn't be the reason why her parents lost one more thing.

"That's the life being Pre-Mediwitch, I suppose." Kennedy said with a small smile. "You'll have the last laugh though, when you're make hundreds of thousands of galleons a year and the rest of us are scraping by." She winked encouragingly.

Ginny gave the blonde an appreciative smile over her shoulder, as she pulled on her brand new uniform.

The two girls walked on to the pitch, both holding Firebolts in one hand and their helmets under the free arm. Draco Malfoy was already surveying the sky, arms crossed across his chest, broom at his feet. Blaise Zabini at his right, mimicking his stance

Ginny inwardly gagged, she forgot she would have to be on the team with him again. What was worst, was that he had been voted team captain.

It incensed her.

"Hello." He turned around to face them.

Kennedy smiled at him, "Hi." She said demurely, fluttering her eyelashes.

Ginny just muttered under her breath before turning her cheek.

"Right, well." Draco scratched the back of his neck. "We have two positions to fill—

"Shouldn't we have one?" Ginny interrupted.

"Adrian is not going to be playing on the team this year." Blaise informed her.

Ginny was just surprised he addressed her question at all, Blaise could be downright rude when he wanted to be.

Draco nodded in acknowledgment. "Just as well, Pucey was looking tired. We need fresh blood on this team." He said definitely.

"What positions need to be filled, Draco?" Kennedy asked, using that sultry voice she had practically patented.

For some reason, Ginny felt the urge to shake her. Probably because she wanted to snap Kennedy out of it, she needed to stop drooling over Draco. It was unbecoming.

"Beater and Chaser." He answered, without so much as looking at her.

His grey eyes were elsewhere, on a certain redheaded beauty who was doing her best to ignore him.

It was hard though, not to look at him. Draco had a presence that commanded attention.

A tall figure approached the Quidditch pitch. As the form began to come closer, Ginny recognized it to be their Beater, Terrence Higgs.

Instantly, Kennedy's blue eyes all but lit up. This was the boy she had her eye on.

For some reason, Ginny felt a wave of relief run through her.

It was certainly odd.

Terrence gave both boys handshakes, before giving the girls a courteous bow.

She could see why Kennedy was taken by the boy. He was tall, even taller than six foot two Draco, he had the build of a beater, strong and lean. She could see his muscles outlining the inside of his Quidditch armor. He had soulful blue eyes, and a shy smile.

All in all, Terence was easy to look at.

"Any prospects. Draco?" Terence asked.

"No one that I've heard of being spectacular, though the Dolohov boy has shown some promise." Draco answered.

At the name, Ginny's ears perked up. "Dolohov, like Antonin?" She all but demanded.

Draco just nodded lazily. "Yes, his son. So?"

His father killed Lupin! She wanted to shout, but as her team looked at her expectantly, she realized she was the one that was outnumbered. They all had parents, relatives, or at least someone they knew that had fought on the losing end of the war.

Kennedy and Draco's fathers had died for it.

Most of the people she shared a common room with had loved ones rotting in Azkaban this very moment.

This was not the place or the time to be righteous.

It was touchy territory, and for better or worse, these were her Housemates. They were her family

Ginny swallowed back her words. "I didn't know he had a son." She cleared her throat.

They all looked satisfied with her answer, though Draco's gaze lingered longer than the rest of theirs.

"Regardless." He dismissed her statement. "He might just be the youth we need." Draco said pensively.

"I've seen him fly, he's pretty impressive." Blaise said.

Draco just shrugged.

"I ran into Flint's brother in the common room, he's grown since last term. Quite the beater's build." Terrence shuddered.

Ginny inwardly shuddered too, if he was anything like his older brother Marcus, he would be downright nasty and troll-like. Not something she was looking forward to having on her team.

As try outs commenced, Ginny soon remembered why she hated beginning of term. Everything was so monotonous and boring. It was always the same. Sorting, first week of classes, Quidditch try outs.

The majority of the kids that came to try out were eager second and third years, who had barely any practice on a broom aside from the supplementary flying course taught in first year. It was almost painful to watch.

However, there were a few that stood out to her.

Astoria Greengrass, for one. Daphne's younger sister, who was in her fifth year. She had the finesse for a broom that her older sister sorely lacked. She was small though, quick, graceful and talented. But small, barely five feet tall, hardly even a hundred pounds with practically no muscle tone. As much as Ginny would have loved to have her on the team, she knew the boys would never agree.

They didn't value nimble and quickness as much as she did, did not consider it useful. They would take brute strength and intimidating force over ability and competency. A rather foolish strategy, but boys would be boys.

Grudgingly, she was left somewhat impressed by Cassius Dolohov. Who, from the looks of it, was a fab flyer.

Draco motioned for Cassius to come down to the pitch.

The boy, who did not resemble Dolohov Sr. as much as Ginny had been expecting, touched down in front of them.

He wasn't in her year, but he couldn't have been too much younger. Maybe a fifth or sixth year. He looked eager, there was a look in his hazel eyes. Determination and ambition. He wanted this, she could tell.

Ginny had to respect as much.

"I want you to play Keeper." Draco instructed.

Cassius looked surprised, the request caught him off guard.

Blaise was downright flabbergasted, the look on his face was murderous. "You can't be serious." He seethed at Draco.

Malfoy didn't budge, "What say you, Cassius. Will you give keeping a go?" He blatantly ignored Blaise, who was left fuming beside his Captain.

The dark haired boy nodded. "You're the boss." He said with a shrug, before taking to the sky again.

Whatever Ginny had against Draco, she had to admit he had an eye for Quidditch. The boy was a brilliant Keeper! Much better than he was a Chaser and far better than Blaise, quicker, more agile and a lot more perceptive.

Blaise was known to be flighty, he played fast and loose, relied on the wrong instincts far too often. He let easy Quaffles by him in exchange of showing off on harder plays. He was a hot streak kind of player, who was great when he was on top of his game but absolutely horrid when his streak would run cold.

It would lose them games, but he had always been the best they had.

But Cassius… he left Ginny speechless and everyone else watching as well.

He was a natural.

"Sorry, Zab. But it looks like Cass got you beat." Terrence grinned towards an angry Blaise.

Blaise didn't say a word, just kept his glare on Cassius.

Draco couldn't have looked more smug if he tried, the look on his face made him look every bit as aristocratic as his family actually was. As much as Ginny hated that look, she couldn't be mad about it. Draco had just made an incredible call.

Again, Draco motioned for Cassius to come down. "Dolohov. You've got the spot." He announced, extending his hand to the dark haired lad.

Cassius grinned at his captain. "Keeper?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

Drao nodded. "Welcome to the team." He said, as they shook hands.

"Blaise. You'll be fine playing chaser. You're better suited for it." Draco stated as an afterthought.

But it did little to pacify Blaise, he just stalked off the field.

Cassius looked concerned. "Don't mind him." Ginny smiled, "He's got his moods." She rolled her eyes.

The younger boy looked a bit more reassured, sending a grateful smile in her direction. "Thanks, Ginny." He said shyly, a slight blush creeping up his neck.

Ginny felt flattered, he was practically adorable.

"Take note of your boundaries, Dolohov." Draco broke up the moment with an icy warning. "The goal posts can be tricky, easy to overstep." He added, his eyes squarely on the younger boy.

The implication was clear, Ginny was off limits.

Immediately, Cassius took a few steps back. "Of course." He nodded compliantly.

Draco smirked.

Ginny just blanched inwardly, who did Draco Malfoy think he was anyway.

An annoying voice in her head that sounded a lot like Kennedy answered that question.

Well he thinks he's Draco Malfoy… obviously.

If nothing else, the name alone meant something.

The most boring part of try outs was when Beaters got called up. While the blokes tended to enjoy a little bit of violence and roughness, Kennedy and Ginny opted to sit out. It wasn't as if they had any great insight this matter anyway, bludgers and bats were out of their realm of expertise, as well as the men who should be holding them.

They were sitting a ways away from the boys, Ginny with her back against the grass, arms folded under her head, and Kennedy on her stomach, head propped up on her hands, with her elbows in the ground.

"How do you think of Terry?" Kennedy asked, her gaze on the faint outline of the two boys standing down the pitch.

Ginny shrugged a shoulder. "I've had very limited interaction with him." She closed her eyes, the sun was perfect today. "He seems nice enough though."

"Not in that sense. I mean, do you think he's hot?" She asked, rolling her eyes at Ginny's naiveté.

"Sure, he's hot." She answered truthfully. "He's got a great build." She sighed.

"Oh that he does." Kennedy said wistfully. "You think I have a chance?" She asked seriously.

"Obviously, Rosie. You're the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. If you didn't have a chance none of us would." She assured the blonde beauty. "Just keep him away from that loud mouth of Blaise, you know how much he likes to talk."

"They're buddies, if Blaise had anything to say about me, he would have said it by now." Blaise and Kennedy used to date through most of fifth year, but it ended because Blaise was just too moody and couldn't deal with how outgoing Kennedy was.

"Besides, it's all ancient history by now. I mean we've given O.W.L's, NEWT's and had an entire Wizarding War come to a close since then."

Ginny laughed at how easily Kennedy mentioned things. It was truly a gift.

"You're right, Ken. Much of consequence has happened since."

By the time the girls had finished gigging and gossiping, the two boys were headed in their direction.

"We need a vote on the final decision." Terrence informed them.

It was all for sportsmanship and formality, the boys had chosen who they wanted, nothing the girls said would really change it. Not that the two of them would contest the decision anyway.

"Obviously Cassius Dolohov at Keeper." Kennedy sat up. "No questions." She looked at Ginny, who nodded in agreement.

"And Curtis Flint at Beater." Draco drawled.

Ginny made a face of disgust.

"Yes, the troll genes are rather strong in that family." Draco noticed her look of disapproval. "But he's big, he's ruthless and has an alarming lust for pain. It makes for a good Beater."

"None of that made me feel any better, Malfoy."

"I never said it would, Ginevra."

"Well." Terrence looked between Ginny and Draco who were locked in in an intense staring match, then down to Kennedy who felt every bit as awkward as he did. "Since the grueling part of this day is over, what do you ladies say we go down to the Three Broomsticks and unwind?" He suggested.

Ginny was immediately going to decline, the last thing she wanted was to have drinks with Draco Malfoy. It was bad enough she had to see him in class and during practice.

But Kennedy was a whole different story.

"Absolutely no—

"Yes! That sounds like a great idea." She spoke over Ginny, completely drowning out her no.

Draco just looked amused, the look on Ginny's face was priceless.

Terrence grinned in the blonde's direction. "Great, firewhiskey shots. On Draco." He winked.

Kennedy laughed, Ginny forced a smile and Draco just rolled his eyes.

-x-

It turned out that the Three Broomsticks was still undergoing construction, a lot of Hogsmeade had been annihilated during and after the Battle of Hogwarts. Death Eaters who had fates that were sealed, (either in Azkaban or death) after the fall of Voldemort, had taken it upon themselves to wreak as much havoc and destruction as was wizardly possible.

Though most of the shops had been rebuilt over the summer, the Three Broomsticks had been particularly slow to start. Madame Rosmerta was badly shaken by the entire affair, it took her a long time to recover.

Instead of venturing to the seedy Hog's Head Inn (where they might not have gotten served anyway because Kennedy had left proper identification at school), Draco and Terrence decided to make a detour into Knockturn Alley. The girls opted to stay behind, it wasn't safe there. It never had been.

Ginny hated Knockturn alley, it was full of the wrong kind of crowd.

They returned five minutes later, brown bag hidden under Terrence's arm. He lifted the contents out and smirked, the label on the bottle read "Ogden's Old Firewhiskey" Ginny shuddered at the thought of it.

She wasn't the type to get intoxicated often, though most of her house were big partyers, especially before the Dark times, she was known to stay in and study.

Kennedy's charming laugh broke through her reverie. "You guys are trying to get mortal tonight?" She kinked an eyebrow playfully.

"It's seventh year, Ken. We're going to be getting mortal every night." Terrence smirked.

"Here, here!" Kennedy cheered excitedly.

But Draco, like Ginny, did not seem as enthusiastic as the other two.

"Draco's giving four NEWT's, he probably will not be partaking in the festivities." Terrence mentioned, as they walked back. "God only knows why." He added as an afterthought.

"Same with Ginny! She's taking five actually!" Kennedy jabbed a thumb at her best friend. "Absolute over achievers they are!"

Ginny drowned out the rest of their conversation because she could hardly believe that Draco Malfoy of all people was taking four NEWT's this year. He had more money than half of Britain, what the hell did he need to work so hard for? It wasn't as if his name still wouldn't get him any job he wanted, his Grandfather Abraxas Malfoy was nominated to be Minister of Magic three separate times, there was no way anyone would turn down Draco for a job.

Regardless, of his family's previous affiliations.

She just stared at him in confusion, even Daphne wasn't taking four NEWT classes. She wondered what he could possibly be doing.

She hadn't noticed, but Terrence and Kennedy were a few steps ahead of her, furiously involved in a mixture of flirty banter and seemingly deep conversation.

"You look surprised, Ginevra." Draco mentioned, his voice deep and silky.

She hated the involuntary tingle that traced up her spine at the sound of his voice.

"Just didn't think you'd be taking such a hard course load is all." She said neutrally.

"Why's that?" He asked, "It isn't as if you know me."

She wanted to say she did, she knew he was bad and he was arrogant and a pureblood supremacist. But she couldn't, because she didn't know that. She just assumed it, because of the way he treated her brother and who is family was.

Because when she looked at him, she saw all the dead faces of her friends and loved ones. She saw Remus and Tonks, lying lifeless on the floor of the Great Hall.

She saw George, stumbling into their house, bloody, mangled and earless.

She remembered Dumbledore, MadEye and even Snape.

Her brother.

Forcing back tears at the images of Fred flooding into her mind, she just shook her head. "You've got money. What do you need a degree for." She shrugged a shoulder.

She hated him in that moment.

Really hated him.

"Potter's got money too, I don't see you surprised that he's back at school—

"Harry's good! He's the reason we're all here!" She didn't realize the words coming out of her mouth until they had already tumbled out. "He belongs here! After everything he's done, he should be allowed whatever he wants!" She defended fiercely.

Draco was hardly ever caught off guard, but something in his grey eyes shifted. "Oh yes and I'm just the most terrible thing to ever happen to wizard-kind, right?" He sneered at her.

"Well, yes!" Ginny didn't want to say it, but that's how she felt. "My brother is dead, Malfoy. He didn't deserve it and my family is never going to be the same. Bill is disfigured and George doesn't have an ear and—

He grabbed her elbow, yanking her to a full stop and cutting off midspeech. "All very tragic, but none of that is my fault. And I don't take kindly to you making me responsible for acts I did not commit." His voice was leveled, controlled, but is tone was frightening.

Ginny stared at him, wide-eyed and shocked.

"You can blame me for it all you want, but the fact is that it was a war. People die." He said emotionlessly. "The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move the fuck on." He let go of her with a slight push.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Voldemort." He said, as he started walking away from her. "He's the one that killed your brother, not me." It was the last words he spoke over her shoulder, before disappearing behind his black cloak.

Leaving Ginny stunned and speechless.

-x-

A/N: This update was a later than I had planned but things just get so hectic sometimes. Anyway, I should update with the next chapter soon, hopefully within the next two weeks.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I really appreciate all your reviews and reads. I would love to know what you guys thought of this chapter, so let me know!

Again, the link to the livejournal page for this story is in my bio, if anyone wants to check it out!

Thanks so much everyone!