Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the plot.

Chapter 4: Fraternizing with the Enemy

Ginny spent most of Thursday dreading the evening to come. Every ounce of her that wasn't worrying about the study session with Draco that night was concentrating fiercely on avoiding Draco himself, because Ginny felt sure that Snape would have told him by now of the Potions incident the previous day, and was equally positive that he had every intention of seeking her out and start using Merlin knows what sort of dreadfully long lectures on her to explain (in excruciating details) the unmatched importance of maintaining passing grades in Snape's classes. She also wondered (with a twinge of mild indignity) what sort of horrid lies that Snape had managed to tack on to the story to make Ginny's potion mishap into some sort of juvenile delinquent tall tale to goad Draco into lecturing her even more.

However, she saw no sign of Draco, or of any possible attempt of his to find her and tell her off, even during their breaks. In fact, he seemed to be quite his arrogant, bullying, show-offy self that he usually was to everyone in general, which made Ginny suspect that he may save any tellings-off for when he could criticize her Potions grades at the same time; this seemed more likely, saving a really nice rant until later when she knew she wouldn't be able to stand it.

Time seemed to employ that annoying habit of speeding up when you didn't want it to that day. It felt as though Ginny had only just walked into Transfiguration in the morning and then suddenly found herself in the courtyard for the break period; then as soon as she was taking notes in Charms she had sat down at the dinner table feeling rather fond of the idea of attempting to drown herself in a nearby glass of pumpkin juice.

"You feeling okay, Ginny?" Myra asked her, and Ginny seemed to awaken from her reverie. "You've been pretty out of it for the past few days. Freda says she's caught you staring up at the staff table during meals…" Ginny threw a disgusted look at Freda, who had the decency to look guiltily back at her.

"I'm fine," Ginny replied in a low voice. "I just can't stand the way Snape and Malfoy treat me. And," she added with a dark look over at the Slytherin table, "I don't think tonight is going to be any different."

Okay, so Ginny hadn't been entirely truthful in that statement. Although it was completely true in that she was entirely sick of both Snape and Draco's attitude towards her (Snape was even fouler to her than most of the other Gryffindors she knew, with the possible exception of Harry Potter), she was really bothered by how much they seemed to be working together to piss her off. Really, it was annoying when she just got Snape during classes, and Draco occasionally in the hallways, but it seemed lately that they were really putting forth both their efforts to assure Ginny a year of pure irritating assholery (a word that Ginny herself had invented and used for the sole purpose of describing both Draco and Snape in her most affectionate terms).

Still, she thought glumly as she dragged her feet down the corridor and towards the library as slowly as she dared, I'm stuck with him anyway… he'd at least better get me past my exams all right, seeing as he's one of Snape's favourite students…

And Ginny felt the sinking feeling that she had begun to associate with the mention of the O.W.L.s in June of next year. She wondered what it would feel like to thank Draco Malfoy for helping her pass her exams, and immediately resolved to work harder in all of her classes from now on, though she knew it would do nothing to prevent Draco from "helping" her with her schoolwork; if you could even call what he was doing helping.

"More like discouraging," Ginny muttered under her breath as the library doors came into view. Resigning herself to the very worst of Draco's attitude, she opened the door and dragged herself inside.

The usual dusty silence was penetrated by the many whispers of no less than two dozen students, all of them either milling around the many circular tables, murmuring to their neighbors, or lurking behind the very back shelves and doing only Merlin knows what. Avoiding these sections in earnest, Ginny took her seat at the last empty table, her stomach feeling empty although she had just eaten and her mouth going suddenly dry. Ginny sighed, and pushed her chair back, about to go search out a water jug and tumbler, when something behind her grunted slightly and her chair ran into something solid. She whipped around, a full apology already on her lips, when a familiar pointed face met her eyes. Ginny changed track at the speed of light.

"I'm really sor – oh, it's you."

"Nice to see you too, Weasley," Draco said coldly, rubbing his leg where the chair had hit him, and Ginny could tell immediately that he was in some sort of terrible temper. As he sat down across from her, Ginny was sure that she saw a muscle twitch in his cheek; I didn't even know Slytherins twitched, she thought in mild surprise. But then, Draco was a ferret at heart, and she was positive that ferrets twitched. Still it made her wonder whether or not she was reckless enough to chance asking what it was that had his boxers in a bunch this time.

"What the hell are you staring at, Weasley?" Draco asked sharply, and Ginny blinked, only just realizing that she had been staring blankly at Draco for several seconds. She managed to shrug.

"Just thinking," she answered, and hitched a fake, sugary-sweet smile on her face. If Draco was in a bad mood, why not make the best of it?

Draco glared at her suspiciously until Ginny ducked below the table to get her books, face cracking into an evil grin. Maybe her day wasn't ruined after all, she thought as she pulled her Potions book out of her bag and, fixing the annoyingly nice smile back on her face, resurfaced to find Draco tapping his fingers irritably on the tabletop.

"I heard about your 'accident' in Potions the other day," he growled before she could speak. "Honestly, Weasel, that is entirely pathetic, and dirt low even for your already poor standards; even so, I must say I'm rather appalled."

Ginny was stung bitterly, but didn't let it show on her face. Instead, she kept smiling at him, making sure that she had acquired an annoyingly detached expression of dreamy blissfulness that was sure to infuriate the Slytherin. Sure enough, she could almost see his temper rising as his face flushed a dull pink, but he, like her, otherwise refused to let his fury show.

"Professor Snape has asked me to assist you in writing the Wolf's Bane essay, Weasel," Draco went on in an attempt to show that he was not affected by her pleasant expression, though Ginny could see (much to her satisfaction), that he was completely incensed and slightly unnerved by her persisting cheeriness.

"Okay," she replied in a vaguely interested voice that rivaled Luna Lovegood's tone surprisingly well. Draco glared at her, but Ginny didn't flinch and instead let her smile widen slightly as though she found him to be a faintly amusing object on display on a shelf.

"That's it, is it," Draco said, his voice lowered to keep people from overhearing; his voice was shaking with subdued anger. "That's all you have to say? 'Okay'? No sarcastic remarks or insulting jokes?"

"Nope," Ginny answered in an airy voice, allowing her gaze to drift to the bookcase behind him and stare happily at it, causing Draco to turn around suspiciously and then refocus on Ginny.

"You're a strange one, Weasley," he muttered, shaking his head and pulling his Potions book out of his bag. "And you have the most disturbing smile I've ever seen in my entire life."

"The better to perplex you with, Mr. Malfoy," Ginny replied sweetly, earning herself a murderous glare from the already infuriated Slytherin, who looked as though he would like nothing better than to hex her into next week. Draco, however, worked furiously to control himself, and managed to exhale sharply before opening the book and turning to the correct page.

"Page sixteen, Weasley," Draco said sharply, and Ginny pulled her book closer to her seat and slowly flicked through the pages until she found one labeled "Wolf's Bane Solution" and set the book down, returning her attention to Draco, whose lips twitched into a small but ugly sneer. He seemed to be growing even more annoyed by her blankly smiling face with every passing moment. This is too easy, Ginny thought gleefully as Draco turned back to his book, his expression mulish as he began explaining the ingredients and composition, all the time averting his eyes from her face. Ginny, however, was staring down at her book as well, listening to his words but not really understanding them.

"So, Weasel," Draco said, and her head snapped upwards to look at him properly; he was glaring again. "Judging by your vacant expression, I suppose that I can safely say that you haven't been listening to a single word I said, correct?"

"Possibly," Ginny said with an unperturbed expression. "I kept hearing a few disjointed words like 'potion' and 'cauldron', but otherwise, no, I haven't been listening. Perhaps," she added, knowing that she was about to push the limit further than many people had ever thought of. "If you decide to read it not as though it were a dictionary, but as something actually worth spewing with that condescending Slytherin tone of yours."

Draco was angrier than Ginny had ever seen him before, yet she did not flinch, even when he leaned across the table to push his livid face up close to hers.

"I'll make this much clear, then," he said, his voice dripping with venomous fury. "If you do not pass your Potions exam next spring, make no mistake that I will notify Professor Snape, and you will not graduate to your sixth year of Hogwarts. I will not tolerate your making a fool of me during our lessons together. Do I make myself absolutely plain?"

"As plain as a Crumple-Horned Snorkak in a broom cupboard," Ginny replied indifferently, and Draco gave her a look that would have sent a Hungarian Horntail running as fast as possible in the opposite direction; Ginny did not even bat an eyelash.

"Weasley," he said through gritted teeth. "Go fetch me 'An Advanced Dictionary for Potion Brewers' before I am forced to give you a third nose." Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him.

"In case you can't count, Draco," she said coolly, pointing at her face. "I only have one nose."

"You'd better hope you've only got that one when I'm finished with you!" Draco roared, and Ginny rolled her eyes, startled by his outburst, but keeping an attitude of determined coolness even as people turned around to stare at them, looking alarmed.

"Fine," she said lazily, standing up. "One Potions Dictionary for the spoilt little Slytherin Prince coming up. Oh, and Draco," Ginny added, casting him an amused look. "I'd keep your voice down in here if I were you. I don't think Madame Pince will appreciate you yelling in her library."

"Oh damn," he muttered, looking sharply from side to side before jumping to his feet. "Come on."

And without another word he skirted around the table, grabbed Ginny roughly by the hand, and dragged her off down one of the aisles of books, stopped, and flattened his back against the end of the shelf, still gripping her tightly at her wrist.

"Draco Malfoy," Ginny hissed, now feeling furious as well as faintly horrified; what if someone saw them back here? "If you don't let go of me this instant, I'll give you worse than a third nose…"

"Shut up," Draco snarled. "If I hear one more idle threat out of you –"

Ginny almost laughed out loud, and would have if it hadn't been so dangerous right then. So she made idle threats, did she? The thought actually was quite laughable.

"One more word out of you, Malfoy," she said in a dangerously sweet voice, poking him in the chest with her finger. "And I daresay you'll find out exactly how idle my threats are."

He sneered.

"I'd like to see you try."

Before he could blink, Ginny's wand was in her hand and pointed directly at him, and as Ginny breathed the words "Cheeriosa Serpenta" she reasoned that it wasn't at all her fault. Draco had said that he wanted to see her try to hex him, after all, and so according to him he had actually asked her to jinx him. Unluckily enough for Draco, remaining silent would have been a much wiser alternative rather than force Ginny to cast that particular spell on him. As she stepped back from him to admire her work, face splitting in an enormous evil grin, Draco looked down at himself in a kind of shocked horror.

"A cheerleader?" he said hoarsely, plucking at a white skirt with a dark green hem. "You turned me into a cheerleader?"

"Yes, it's good, isn't it?" Ginny asked cheerfully, trying not to burst out laughing as Draco examined his outfit in increasing revulsion. Admittedly, she had been trying to grow his hair out so that it could be secured into pigtails with emerald green bows, but she was enjoying the effect as much without the bows as she would have had with them. A large, blocky "S" was fixed on his chest, covered with glittery green sequins and reflecting the dim candlelight with a shiny brilliance among the dark bookshelves. There was a green and silver pompom in one of his hands, which had been magically glued to his new white gloves by Ginny's spell, and large, silvery green earrings gleaming in his earlobes. A thin layer of lip gloss had been smeared onto his lips, and copious amounts of eye makeup and blush had appeared as suddenly as his outfit had, plastered heavily onto his face. Draco stared at Ginny through a face of contorted rage.

"Weasley!" he growled. "Take the spell off me! Now!"

"Now, why would I do that?" Ginny asked, now giggling madly between words, hardly trusting herself to speak. "You look so much better like this, I think…"

"If you don't take the curse away right now –"

"What're you going to do?" Ginny asked, smirking slightly. "Shake your pompom at me? Do some back flips?"

"I'm going to –"

But at that moment, Draco's sentence was cut off, and before he could stop himself, new words spilled out of his mouth, unbidden, apparently, because they could not have been his.

"We will win! We will win! Who's the team that can't be beat? It's Slytherin, it's Slytherin!"

Draco looked utterly appalled, and clapped a hand to his mouth in horror.

"Don't tell me," he whispered. "I've got to act like a cheerleader, too?"

"Yeah," Ginny squeaked, shoving her fist in her mouth to keep herself from giggling too loud. "Until I take the spell off, that is."

"Weasley…"

"Oh, fine," Ginny gasped, side aching from holding in her laughter for so long. "I'll take it off. But I want to see some cartwheels first."

Draco gaped at her, lost for words.

"You're out of your mind!" he said finally, still staring at her in disbelief.

"And you're out of luck," Ginny said stubbornly. "I want to see some cartwheels, or you're stuck like that forever. No one except me can remove the curse, I invented it myself."

"Why you –"

"Draco," she said tensely. "As much as we'd both love to hear another one of your cheerleader chants, I happen to have better ways that I'd rather spend my time. Three cartwheels, please."

Draco swallowed, still furious but now looking slightly exasperated.

"I can't," he mumbled. "I've never done a cartwheel before in my life."

"The curse will help you," Ginny said impatiently. "Now give me three cartwheels or I'm leaving you here over the weekend."

Draco gave her a look of deepest loathing (a look, perhaps, rivaled only by Snape), and spread his arms apart, looking foolish as he did so, and tumbled over sideways. Luckily, the curse had, as Ginny assured him it would, allowed him to do gymnastics that any cheerleader could do, and after he had successfully cartwheeled down an empty aisle, he stormed back to her looking humiliated and angry.

"Now change me back," he snapped, and Ginny shrugged, still grinning, as she uttered the countercurse and returned Draco to his normal school uniform and an even more disgruntled attitude.

"I swear, Weasley," he breathed dangerously, towering over her and glaring. "If you tell anyone what you just did…"

"Of course I won't," Ginny answered, and Draco was taken aback to see her looking exasperatedly at him. "D'you think anyone would believe me even if I told them? I'll tell you what," she added, smirking again and patting the startled Slytherin on the shoulder. "It is a pretty good story… I'll save it for parties, okay? See you, Cheerleader Boy…"

And she walked away, leaving a very stunned Draco behind her, and only allowing herself to burst into a fit of laughter when she was safely out of the library and a good distance away from Madame Pince's deeply disapproving looks. At the same time, she pushed a troubled thought to the back of her mind as she made her way up to Gryffindor tower, her sniggers dying away…

She and Draco hadn't just been flirting, had they?

Ginny shuddered at the thought of what Ron would say… undoubtedly something about "fraternizing with the enemy", as he had shouted about at Hermione in his fourth year when she had gone to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. This would be very much worse by in his eyes… what would he say if he found out about the private lessons he was giving Ginny in the evenings after classes? Nothing, Ginny decided firmly, because I'm not going to tell him. What he won't know won't hurt him, I'm sure, and besides, it's never stopped him before…

Still feeling slightly uneasy, Ginny continued to dwell on the matter until she climbed into her four-poster bed, turned over under the blankets, and eventually shut her eyes and fell asleep.

AN: Not much to say, except I apologize for not posting this chapter earlier; I've just finished the last Harry Potter book. (Finally!) More reviews:

Rismonstar: Thanks... believe it or not, I do actually have a plot in mind. Also I will post some of my other fics on here... eventually. Thanks for the review!
Hana the dragon: haha that's okay, I'm random most of the time anyway. Yes I did see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I recommend all the Johnny Depp fans out there to go see it NOW if they haven't already... very funny movie! By the way, I mentioned that I was away at camp at the beginning of the last chapter... don't worry, I didn't forget about you guys.
Pamie884: lol glad you thought the soup scene was funny. I hope you're pleased that Draco made an appearance this chapter!
Phaerie: yeah Ginny tends to have a rough time. more cheese in coming chapters! lol
gnat101: thanks, and glad you like the story!

Chapter five coming soon. :-)