This was written for a challenge at the DG Forum. The guidelines were that it must be 300-700 words in length, and must include the line: "I don't share, Weasley." Naturally, it must also be DG.
The Black Umbrella
Ginny squinted up at the heavens as fat droplets of rain attacked her like watery catapults. The sky, which had previously been a dull grey, was now painted an ominous black and seemed ready to start a full-scale battle with the earth – and, it seemed, her perfectly coiffed hair.
She groaned and turned to the handsome blond next to her, who was looking very smug as he stood under the shelter of his black umbrella.
"Malfoy," Ginny whined. "I'm getting soaked here."
"I don't share, Weasley."
"Oh, come on. It won't kill you to let me share your umbrella."
"I think it would."
She rolled her eyes. "You're such a jerk, Malfoy."
He smirked. "Ah, but I'm a dry jerk."
Ginny let out a huff of frustration and actually stamped her foot. "Why won't you let me share your umbrella?"
"Did you just stamp your foot?" Draco asked, clearly amused.
"So what if I did? I'm cold, I'm wet, my hair is ruined, and you won't let me share your umbrella."
Draco smirked at her. "It's not my fault you lost your wand and can't conjure your own umbrella."
"I didn't lose it on purpose, you idiot."
"Of course you didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that you still lost it."
"Thank you for reminding me," Ginny replied dryly.
Draco merely smirked.
She sighed and folded her arms while trying to ignore how cold and uncomfortable she felt. Her dress was beginning to stick to her like a second layer of skin, and she once more cast a wistful look at the black umbrella in her companion's hand. If only he would stop being such a prat.
That's it, Ginny thought. I don't care what he says. I'm sharing that umbrella with him.
She shuffled closer to him and stepped under the shelter of the umbrella, letting out a sigh of relief as she did so.
"What do you think you're doing?" Draco demanded, glaring down at her.
"Sharing your umbrella."
"You can't just invite yourself under my umbrella," Draco retorted irritably. "Besides, there's not enough room for the both of us."
"Draco Malfoy, I am sharing this umbrella with you whether you like it or not. Now you can stand here and argue with me until the train arrives, or you can actually be nice for once and accept the situation – either way, I'm staying with you under this umbrella."
He looked at her through narrowed eyes, and then he let out a small sigh. "Fine."
Ginny grinned, satisfied that she had got her way. She leaned in closer to him to get away from the raindrops still splashing against her back and accidentally brushed against him as she did so.
"Dammit, Weasley, now you're going to make me wet!" Draco grumbled.
"Well, whose fault is that?" Ginny snapped. "You're the one who made me stand out in the pouring rain for ages."
"Yeah, well…" He trailed off, clearly having no defence against this accusation.
Ginny snorted. "That's what I thought."
They were silent for a moment, and Ginny had to repress a sigh. She was still getting wet. Apparently, Draco was quite right when he said that the umbrella was not large enough for the both of them. Just perfect.
She shivered and rubbed her arms in a fruitless attempt to fight off the chill that was settling in. An arm encircled her waist, and Ginny suddenly found herself being pulled up against a warm, toned body. She glanced up at the blond in surprise, a questioning look in her eyes.
"You look cold," Draco explained with a shrug that was a little too nonchalant to be natural.
"I never pegged you for the chivalrous type, Malfoy."
"Yeah, well, I have no wish to be hunted by your twenty-seven brothers if you suddenly die of pneumonia because I made you stand in the rain."
"Aw, and here I thought you actually cared," she teased.
"Hardly."
She smiled to herself and huddled closer to him. "Thank you, Malfoy."
"Yeah, yeah," he responded dismissively as he shifted the umbrella to cover them both more effectively.
Ginny could only shake her head. Some people never changed.
Author Note:
To the reviewer -3-,
Since I could not reply to your review because it was unsigned, I'm going to respond to it here. You're right that I have not updated the Through the Keyhole collection in a while, but it's also not something I do intend to update all the time. As I said right at the beginning, I'm only using this for the drabbles and one-shots that I feel are too small to be stand-alone stories, and I very rarely write fanfic pieces that short unless I am responding to a challenge made at The DG Forum. It therefore puzzles me when you ask me to write more or ask why I have stopped writing, since I am constantly uploading new fanfiction to my account…
I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're expecting from me. You do understand that these one-shots are completely unrelated, right? I figured from your comment about 'Sneers and Spills' that you're assuming the stories are somehow linked. They're not. Each story is part of its own universe and has absolutely no relation with the others. That is why it doesn't make much sense for me to be updating this particular collection of one-shots all the time. It's not really in progress; I just add to it when I have something to add.
In regards to your other question. No, The DG Forum has not stopped. In fact, it is very much alive and we are just getting ready to start the spring Fic Exchange. I'm not sure why you would think the forum has been abandoned, but you can find a link to the site on my profile if you're still interested in joining.
Unfortunately, I can't help you with your other problem. I have no idea why FFnet goes mental and decides to jump back to the top of the review box or flicker when you write a longish review. I'm sure everyone who knows what I'm talking about will agree that it is incredibly frustrating, though.
Sorry if this doesn't help you, -3-. I'm afraid you just confused me, but I'll be more than happy to answer your questions if you PM me or get in contact with me in a way that will allow me to respond to you more privately. :)