Cast Away
Chapter 8 ~ Hogsmeade Trip
The weekend came really fast, first weekend of the school year. Luckily, it was an organised Hogsmeade trip, and the third years through to seventh years were getting excited about going back to the best Wizard shopping place in England.
Ginny had lost Sigma in the crowd, and was walking nervously by herself along the streets of Hogsmeade.
'Ginny Weasley, famous Ginny Weasley.' A voice drawled. Ginny turned around to see Leanne Brayshaw heading towards her.
'Hi Leanne.' Ginny said nervously, not wanting to be alone facing Leanne.
'So tell me,' Leanne said, circling Ginny, 'How does it feel to be known as She-Who-Beat-The-Slytherin-Prince?' Ginny's eyes followed Leanne as the Slytherin girl walked around her. Leanne finally stopped in front of Ginny, awaiting an answer.
'It was his fault for not getting that drink down sooner.' Ginny said bravely. Leanne narrowed her eyes.
'Pinning the blame on someone else now are we?'
'No, I was just saying, I couldn't help it, you did ask for a challenger, challengers aren't supposed to let the other person win.' Ginny said quickly.
'Who said anything about letting Draco win? He could beat you in an instant, I have organised a re-match.' Leanne said smugly.
'A re-match? Why? I beat him fair and square.' Ginny was shocked, this could mean her losing respect, and that twenty points from Gryffindor would have been a total waste.
'Don't argue, you should be up for anything after drinking that awful mixture,' Leanne scoffed.
'I don't agree to a re-match,' Ginny told her firmly. If looks could kill, Ginny would be dead from the nasty look that Leanne was giving her.
'You will do that re-match, or the whole school will know what a loser you are,' Leanne threatened.
'The whole school will know what a sore loser Malfoy is when they find out about this re-match.' Ginny challenged.
'You'll use any excuse to get out of this, won't you Ginny?' Leanne snapped. 'Be at the Great Hall two hours before dinner starts tonight. If you don't show up, you will be ridiculed for the rest of the year.' With that, Leanne pushed past Ginny and stalked off. Ginny was just about to turn and walk in the opposite direction, when a hand clasped her shoulder, and another around her mouth to prevent a scream. The attacker pulled her into a dark alley way, and Ginny was terrified. The person spun Ginny around to face him, and she saw immediately who it was, Blaise Zabini.
'If I let go of your mouth, you're not allowed to scream,' Blaise said in a hushed tone, obviously not wanting anyone to see him talking to a Weasley. Ginny nodded slowly, and Blaise removed his hand from her mouth.
'Why are you talking to me?' Ginny asked quietly.
'I overheard you and Leanne talking back there, and I have to say, you have to go through with it.'
'Why? I don't want Draco to beat me,' Ginny replied.
'He won't, you'll beat him again, and then you will be famous, the whole school will want to be your friend,' Blaise said sincerely.
'You're a Slytherin, you should be supporting your Slytherin friend,' Ginny questioned.
'I know I am a Slytherin, but I have my issues with Draco,' Blaise trailed off, obviously not wanting to tell Ginny of his problems with Draco.
'Malfoy is a prat, everyone has issues with him.' Ginny said.
'True, but you have to accept this re-match, and you have to beat him,' Blaise looked into Ginny's eyes, he was being serious. Ginny didn't know what to say to him, so she stared back into his eyes.
'Yes,'
'Good, I look forward to seeing you at the Great Hall, four PM sharp, two hours before dinner.' Blaise said, and with that, he disappeared down another side alley.
Ginny soon found her way out of the twisting alleys, and back into the streets of Hogsmeade, where she saw Phillip Cassady and Maria Brently, walking to Honeydukes, hand in hand.
'Maria, Phillip,' The two fifth year Gryffindors turned to see Ginny rushing towards them,' Have you two seen Sigma anywhere?'
'No, why would we want to see her?' Phillip asked. Ginny frowned.
'I used to think you two were nice people, you should be in Slytherin with the way you are treating myself and Sigma.' Ginny scowled. Maria looked quite taken aback.
'That is an insult, who would want to be in Slytherin?' Maria said shrilly.
'I never said you wanted to be in Slytherin, I said that you should be in Slytherin, there is a difference.' Ginny told her.
'We shouldn't be in Slytherin, we're Gryffindors.' Phillip said shortly.
'Well start acting like Gryffindors, and support your fellow housemates.' Ginny said.
'Sigma shouldn't be in Gryffindor, she has no Gryffindor Pride.' Maria flipped her hair as she spoke.
'Leave Sigma alone! Just because she's not like you two, and your other friends, Drew, Cassandra and Julia, that doesn't give you the right to judge her like that, she's a really nice person!' Ginny yelled.
'So says you,' Phillip scoffed, and he lead Maria away.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Ginny called after them, but they didn't even flinch in reply.
'Ginny, leave them,' Ginny turned to see Sigma standing behind her. 'They're nothing to me, it's okay.'
'Sorry Sigma,' Ginny said softly, she didn't like seeing her friend being outcasted, but then, Ginny herself was also being outcasted. 'We can be outcasts together.' Ginny said. Sigma nodded and smiled, and the pair of them walked off.
~***~
Ginny headed back into the Gryffindor common room, the incident with Blaise still strong in her mind. What has Draco done to Blaise which would make him want Draco to lose again? Ginny thought, she couldn't stop thinking about it.
'Ginny, what's on your mind?' Harry asked, shuffling next to her on the sofa. Ginny shifted uncomfortably as his leg touched hers, this is totally innocent, he doesn't like you, Ginny told herself.
'Did you hear about how I beat Malfoy in the eating contest?' Ginny asked.
'Did I ever! That was awesome Ginny, Gryffindor couldn't be prouder.' Harry replied with a grin.
'Tell that to Phillip, Maria, Julia, Drew and Cassandra,' Ginny sighed.
'What's wrong with them?' Harry asked.
'Nothing, they just don't like me and Sigma for some reason,' Ginny told him.
'Sigma is weird,' Harry said thoughtfully.
'Why does everyone say that? She's a really nice person!' Ginny protested.
'Sorry Ginny, she just doesn't seem like a people person, that's all.'
'Anyway, Leanne Brayshaw is organising a re-match, and I have to be at the Great Hall in fifteen minutes to compete, or else the school will think I'm a wimp.' Ginny sighed. Harry stood up and offered her his hand, which Ginny took, and he helped her up.
'Let's get you down there then,' Harry said with a smile, and Ginny let him drag her out of the Gryffindor common room and down all the stairs into the Entrance Hall.
'This is it,' Ginny took a deep breath and walked into the Great Hall.
'There she is!' Someone yelled out from the large crowd, once again around the Slytherin table. Leanne grinned evilly.
'What's she up to?' Harry whispered to Ginny.
'I don't know.' Ginny replied.
'Here she is, Ginny Weasley, the competitor for dignity once and for all, versing Draco Malfoy, pride of Slytherin.' Leanne yelled out.
'More like the Slump of Slytherin!' A Ravenclaw fourth year called out.
'Yeah, he can't even beat a girl!' The Ravenclaw's friend added. Draco scowled at the two boys, who immediately shut their mouths.
'Now that everyone's here,' Leanne shot a glance at Ginny, who had nervously climbed onto the Slytherin table, 'We can get started!' She clapped her hands twice, and the same elf which had come in last time, came in once again, this time carrying two large glasses filled with a runny orange paste. On the side of each glass was a ten inch long, dead Grindylow.
'What? No one said anything about eating a Grindylow?' Ginny cried, outraged.
'I researched it, and Grindylows are edible, not being poisonous or anything, they just don't taste too flash hot.' Leanne said smugly. Draco shot a look at Leanne, who winked her right eye. Draco nodded, and the elf handed the tray to Leanne, who turned back to the audience.
'Ladies and gentlemen, I will let the contestants choose which glass they will drink from, Draco, call heads or tails,' Leanne flipped a silver sickle into the air.
'Heads,' Draco said, and every eye was watching the silver sickle spin through the air. It landed somewhere amidst the crowd, which parted around where the sickle lay.
'It's heads!' A Huflepuff girl called out, holding up the sickle. Ginny sighed, that wasn't half rigged, she thought sarcastically. Leanne walked over to Draco, winked with her right eye again, and offered Draco the tray. Draco looked from the left glass, to the right glass, and back to the left glass. After a few moments, he settled on the right glass, and plucked it from the tray. Leanne walked over to Ginny, and stuck out the remaining glass which Ginny took.
'Get ready, for the most exciting of contests yet, Malfoy versus Weasley, same rules apply as last time! You must drink your drink, then eat the Grindylow to win, no throwing up!' Leanne said.
'What's in the drink?' Someone asked from the crowd.
'I can answer that!' Hermione yelled out, red faced as if she'd been running to get there on time. Leanne looked at her wide eyed.
'We saw the elves make the drinks in the kitchens!' Ron called out, he had come in with Hermione.
'In Ginny's glass, there is seaweed, pumpkin skin, decayed mothballs, billywig juice, spiders legs, bleeding clams, and mandrake skin, all blended together.' Hermione said, a few people turned their eyes over and looked quite sick.
'And in Malfoy's glass, there is pumpkin juice!' Ron yelled. 'This contest is rigged!' A lot of murmurs could be heard from the people crowded around the Slytherin table. A Ravenclaw girl named Georgina Taylor jumped up and grabbed Draco's glass, taking a mouthful.
'They're right! This is pumpkin juice!' Georgina informed everyone.
'I don't believe it, wait, yes I do, this seems like a Slytherin thing to do,' Ginny said, and she looked thankfully at Hermione and Ron.
'Were the other contests rigged too? Was Draco's coleslaw not expired? Did his brown drink have less gross things than mine?' Ginny accused Leanne, who narrowed her eyes.
'Don't you dare accuse me!'
'Well you had the elf make different drinks so that Ginny wouldn't be able to finish hers, and Malfoy would win,' Ron said.
'That's right, did Malfoy have anything to do with this?' Hermione looked at Draco.
'No, I'm just as surprised as you are, I could take on this Weasley,' He motioned to Ginny, 'Anyday.'
'That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!' Ginny spat.
'Are you calling me a lier, Weasley?' Draco said in a quiet, angry voice.
'That's right, because you are a lier.' Ginny challenged. Draco lunged at her.
'Wingardium Leviosa!' Ron yelled out, wand pointed at Draco, and he floated up into the air, away from Ginny. Ron set him down roughly on the table, and Ginny walked over to him.
'Stand up you dirty cheater,' Ginny said, and Draco stood to face her. Ginny lifted her hand and flicked Draco on the nose. Draco looked quite taken aback by this, and he was too shocked to move or say anything. 'I should have known.' Ginny said. She jumped down from the Slytherin table, and walked through the crowd, out of the Great Hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
purfectchild
~ I made a re-match, I didn't think it would be like Slytherins to accept defeat like that! I hope you enjoyed it! There will be more of Draco to come, Ginny still hates him though, there's a lot of work to do! Thank you for reading and reviewing!atrueslytherin
~ Thank you for your kind words, I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing.HarryzBabe
~ No, Malfoy definitely is not happy with Ginny! Did you like the way that I made the re-match turn out? This chapter was longer than the last one, I hope you liked it! I shall try not to have too many short chapters, but if I need to have a little one in there somewhere, I will put it in.Darcy16
~ Thank you for your review, I was a bit worried about that last chapter! Did you like this one? Yes, Draco did take his time showing up, didn't he! I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing.Tylah
~ Did you like this chapter better than the last one? Although I liked writing the last one, this one was much better, I think! I hope you liked it, thank you for all your support!Slytherin Heir
~ I'm glad you like this story, did you like how I did this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm getting these chapters out so quickly that I don't even give people time to read & review! Lol.rose petel
~ Thank you for your review, I'm not sure about Harry & Ginny, but this definitely is a Draco/Ginny fiction, there may be some other people as obsticles however. I hope you liked this chapter!