Author Note: For those who have read my original, this chapter 10 is just a little bit more darker then the original chapter 10.
Also a thanks to Becky for the names that she helped me come up with!
Chapter 10 - Beauty and the Beast
Draco woke up in complete darkness. He could not remember where he was, though, as he felt something tickle his chest, he remembered exactly where he was, and smiled. Actually, he was right where he wanted to be; holding Ginerva Weasley. As Draco looked down at her he took in the sight of the two of them together. His arms were wound tightly around her, holding on to her as though never wanting to let go. Her head was on his chest, her arm draped over the side of him, and their legs intertwined with each other.
He slowly moved to untangle them, as to not wake her up. If he could he would stay there till she woke up, but he couldn't. If Snape found him gone he was going to have his head. Sure Professor Snape loved the boy, never gave him detention or removed points, and Snape always seemed to turn his head the other way when Draco was doing something evil, but Snape always found out where Draco was if he wasn't in bed. So he hoped it wasn't that late at night.
As he parted the curtains he noticed that it was still quite dark out. He saw the other curtains drawn around the beds, signaling him that the other girls were fast asleep. He grabbed Ginny's watch from the dresser and it read 5:30!
"Oh shit!" Draco mentally said to himself. He jumped out of the bed and pulled his robes on. He was pretty happy that he shoved his clothes under the bed, no need to have one of the other girls finding them and then spreading rumors. He "poofed" out a pink rose and placed it on her pillow. He then quickly scribbled a letter out and placed it next to the rose. He kneeled back onto the bed to take one last look at Ginny's sleeping form. He leaned down and whispered, "I think I love you, Ginerva Weasley."
"Do you really?" came a voice.
Draco eyes shot opened as he looked down and say that Ginny was awake. He laughed a little and said, "Of course you're awake."
Ginny sat up in bed and said, "Draco, you were my heat source in this drafty castle. Of course I'm going to notice it missing."
"You could have said something so I don't go saying something, and wind up making a fool out of myself."
"Do you wish to take it back?" Ginny said with a sad tone in her voice.
"Absolutely not, it's just…" Draco sat back on the bed next to her, "how am I suppose to know if you feel the same way?"
"Are you serious? Do you really have to ask?" Ginny asked.
"Well, a boy would like to hear it at least once in his life," Draco said the same thing that Ginny did when she asked Draco if he thought that she was pretty.
Ginny smiled and said, "I love you too, Draco Malfoy."
He lent down and said, "I've never heard anything so good before in my life," and he bent down the last few inches to kiss Ginny.
When they parted Ginny said, "Does this mean we're going out now?"
"Uh… yeah, isn't that what we've been doing?" Draco said teasing her. Draco opened his mouth to say something else when Ginny said something first.
"Though, I don't think we should tell anyone right now, especially not my brother. After what happened in the tower he hates you more now then ever before."
"Great. Well, angel, it's really late, and if I don't get going Snape will find out where I went." He kissed her one last time and said, "Are you feeling better now?"
"Much."
"Good. Glad I could help." He said with a smile. He handed her the rose and left quietly.
She held the flower up to her nose to smell it, and smiled. "He loves me," she said with a happy sigh as her head hit her pillow and she heard something crimple. She grabbed it; he left her a note. She grabbed her wand and lit it so she could read the note.
"Dearest Angel,
I regret that I could not be there when you woke up, but I overslept, and hope that Snape doesn't notice me missing. Next time, I promise to be there in the morning.
Yours,
Draco.
P.S. Are you going to the Quidditch match tonight? I could really use someone cheering me on. It just may give me the motivation to defeat Potter."
As Draco was leaving Ginny's room Harry was just coming out of Hermione's room. Draco saw this and stood as close to the door as he could, hoping that Harry wouldn't see him. Harry walked right by him and did a double take. "Malfoy?"
"Damn, you saw me."
"Are you just coming out of Ginny's room?" Harry asked.
"Well, are you just coming out of Hermione's room?"
Harry opened his mouth to say something when he was taking aback when he heard Draco use Hermione's name instead of referring to her as 'that mud-blood' or 'Granger'. Harry got over it and said, "That's none of your bloody business."
"Well, it's none of yours either."
Harry gave him an evil glare and walked down the stairs. Draco had a funny feeling that he was supposed to follow so that the two wouldn't wake up the Gryffindor females.
When they entered the common room Harry turned towards Draco and said, "She's my best friends' little sister."
"How many times do I have to tell you that she's not little anymore? She can make her own decisions and just to tell you, so you can sleep better at night, nothing happened." Draco said, not believing that he was explaining himself to Harry.
"Then what were you doing up there?"
"She was sick. So I took care of her, I mean isn't that what a boyfriend's supposed to do?" Harry looked at him with disbelieving eyes. Draco sighed and said, "Did you see her at breakfast? Did you see her in any classes today?" Harry shook his head. "Yeah, didn't think so. You, and Weasley act like you want to care about her, but you really don't."
"That's not true." Harry protested. "And I'm sure that as soon as Ron finds out he'll be caring." Then Harry realized that he said something about 'boyfriend', "Boyfriend? Did you say boyfriend?"
"Yeah. But you go right ahead and tell Ron. This way the sooner he knows about it the sooner everyone will hear about it. It'll spread faster then a fire in the forest. Not that I mind, Potter, the sooner everyone knows about us the sooner we don't have to walk on eggshells around Weasley!" On that note Draco turned swiftly on his heal and walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room.
A little later that morning in the Gryffindor Common Room…
Ginny came walking down the stairs as she heard Hermione and Lavender talking about something.
"And what did he do?" Lavender asked.
"He smiled, put his finger to his mouth, and shushed me."
"So what does that mean?"
"What does what mean?" Ginny asked, making herself known.
The two girls jumped when they heard Ginny.
"Good morning, Ginny."
"Good morning, Lavender." Ginny replied, while glaring at Hermione.
Hermione looked up at Ginny, jumped up, and walked away from her as though Ginny had a sharp object in her hand. "How you feeling, Ginny?"
"Fine, but you know something interesting happened yesterday."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Surprisingly enough Draco Malfoy somehow got into the tower and came to my room."
Hermione gulped and said, "Well... I... well you see... HE MADE ME, GIN! He made me tell him EVERYTHING!" Hermione said as a last resort.
Ginny started laughing. The two girls stared at her in shock.
"You aren't mad?" Lavender asked.
"Me, mad? Are you crazy? How could I possibly be mad when I slept all day and night in the arms of Draco Malfoy?" she asked.
"You didn't!" Hermione stated out of shock.
Ginny nodded, lowered her voice, and said, "And then woke up to him telling me that he loves me." Ginny said with a smile. Lavender and Hermione squealed with delight and hugged their friend. "Come on guys, let's go, I am starving.
In the Great Hall for breakfast...
Draco sat at the Slytherin table, next to Tom, and noticed that Ginny wasn't at her table yet.
Tom has already interrogated Draco that morning. The little kid covered for him last night telling Snape that Draco was really sick and didn't want to see anyone. Snape let it fly by, but by the look he gave Tom, Tom knew he wasn't happy with the answer.
A few moments later Draco heard the door to the Great Hall open. His head shot up and he saw Ginny, Hermione, and Lavender walking in. It seemed as though Ginny was telling the other two something, and they all started giggling. Draco smiled. He knew what Ginny was telling them, and strangely enough, he didn't mind. He followed the three with his eyes and watched as they took their seats. He watched as Potter and Weasley greeted their girlfriends, and as Ginny took a seat and smiled at him. He winked at her and went back to eating.
The day went surprisingly fast for Ginny and Draco and soon it was time for everyone to make their way to the Quidditch Pitch. Though as Draco was making his way to the castle doors, someone took a hold of his tie and dragged him into one the broom closets and kissed him. Draco not knowing whom it was tried to push away, but as soon as he saw the Weasley red hair, he smiled and kissed her back.
Soon Draco pulled away and said, "What was that for?"
"For luck." Ginny said with a wink.
"For luck, eh? Pray tell, what do I get if I win tonight?"
Ginny stood on her toes and whispered into his ear, "Another study date in the Astronomy tower and this time we'll lock the door." She wiggled her eyes at him and left the closet.
Ginny made her way to the pitch. She climbed up the stairs to one of the Gryffindor stands and sat in between Hermione and Lavender, and her legs started to bounce wildly.
Hermione noticed that the girl was nervous and questioned her about it, "Ginny, what's wrong?"
"It's just that... well you know... my house is playing against my boyfriend. What am I supposed to do? Whom am I supposed to cheer for?"
Hermione and Lavender looked at each other and then turned to Ginny saying, "Both."
Not another word was said because they heard Madam Hooch blow her whistle and heard Paige Dawson say, "And they're off! Slytherin team has taken the Quaffle and is after the goal. Good save by Ron Weasley!" The Gryffindors went wild.
"Here comes Jocelyn Rowell new beater for the Gryffindor team. He has the ball! He's going towards the posts. Uh-oh looks like Michael Rosenburg is right on his tale!" The Slytherin reached out with his beater and hit the end of the boys broomstick making him do summersaults, "Bloody Slytherins just took out Richard Rivers but it looks as though he's all right he lost the ball, but…" suddenly there was the sound that the ball went through the post goal, "He lost the ball, but it still went in! 10 points for Gryffindor." With that said and done the crowd went even more wild.
The game went on for another 15 minutes. The score was tied 30 to 30.
"Still neither of the seekers have caught sight of the... uh-oh, looks as though Draco Malfoy of Slytherin has seen the Golden Snitch and is flying after it and Harry Potter is right on his tail."
Ginny screamed wildly along with the other Gryffindors, but under her breath she was saying, "Come on, Draco!"
Harry flew up right beside Draco and knocked into him pretty hard. Draco held his position and knocked back into Harry.
"The two boys are really going at one another," Paige said. "Here comes Damien Howell from Slytherin. He's on the other side of Harry! They got him covered. If Harry doesn't get out of this box soon he'll run into the stand.." Draco didn't mind that he got a little help with Potter. He realized that with Potter out of the way he could finally win, but then guilt took over. Ginny was watching, what if she thought it was all a ploy, a plan, what would she think? He took a look at the Gryffindor and found the familiar red hair, he was sure that the look she was giving him was a sad one. He made up his decision.
"Wait what's this? Draco is moving away from the other two, what is this guy doing?" Everyone watched as Draco strode back and then flew on the other side next to Damien, "Draco has now formed another box and put his own teammate in it." As that was done he flew into Damien and Damien flew into one of the podiums and to the ground, "Draco Malfoy just took out one of his own men. I'm sure the rest of the Slytherin team are not going to be happy about this move."
Meanwhile back at the Gryffindor stand…
"What are they doing?" Hermione cried out. "Harry get out of that!" She screamed wildly knowing that he wasn't going to hear her.
Ginny look awfully mad at Draco and couldn't believe that he was doing this. Then as the girls saw what Draco was up to, they too, were very baffled at his actions.
"Wh… what was that all about, Ginny?" Hermione asked as they saw Draco take out one of his own teammates.
"I have no idea, but before the night is over with I'll find out."
Back to Draco and Harry…
The two boys were still neck at neck. "What the hell was up with that, Malfoy? Couldn't take me out so you had to take your own man out?"
Draco rammed hard into Harry and said, "When I beat you, Potter, I want you conscience to see it." Draco rammed once again into Harry, and this time Harry practically lost his balance and Draco took the lead. He was getting closer to the snitch, and all the while he was hearing, "Come on, Draco!" over and over in his head. He knew it was Ginny. He flew a little faster, and that moment he felt the cool metal of the snitch in his fingers as he grabbed it and held it.
"And Slytherin wins!"
All the Slytherins--and Ginny--were screaming with joy. Draco held the snitch high above his head and the Slytherins screamed louder. He looked up to were Ginny was sitting and saw her cheering him on, clapping her hands.
At the Gryffindor stand...
Ginny was watching as she saw Draco ram Harry out of the way. She gasped as she thought that Harry was going to fall off his broom, but he didn't. She saw Harry go back after Draco, but Draco was already too far ahead. As Ginny saw Draco getting closer and closer to the snitch, she kept saying over and over under her breath, "Come on, Draco!" She knew there was no way he'd hear her, but she thought she'd do it just the same.
As she saw him grasp the snitch, she flew out of her chair and started to cheer him on as the others booed and hissed at him.
A moment later the other Gryffindor noticed that one of their fellow Gryffindors was cheering the Slytherin on.
Lavender and Hermione both nudged her in the side and said, "What are you doing, Ginny?"
Ginny stopped and noticed that all the Gryffindors were looking at her. She blushed really badly and shrugged her shoulders, "Oops! That's not Harry. Uh..." she turned back around and screamed, "You suck, Malfoy!" not loud enough for anyone but the people in her sitting area to hear her. "Boo!" she said and started to hiss without any emotions. The others just let her be and went back to scowling at Malfoy.
A little while later…
Hermione, Lavender, and Ginny were walking together talking about the match when they heard, "Oy, Lavender!" It was Ron.
Ginny whispered to the girls, "I'll see you guys later. I have to go congratulate my boyfriend," she said with a smile and ran off.
Ginny ran towards the Slytherin locker room, but before she could get there she saw the whole Slytherin team standing in the hallway. She slinked into the shadows so that no one could see her.
"God damn you, Malfoy, what the hell do you think you were doing out there?" Screamed one of the boys.
"Are you questioning my actions out there, Rosenburg?" Draco said pushing him into the wall.
"N..no," said Rosenburg.
"Just your loyalty to your team, Malfoy." Said another boy.
"Listen to me you bastards, cause I am only going to say this once." Ginny gasped in fear, she has never seen him this mad before. " I am seeker, I take on the opposing seeker. I don't want anyone to go after him when I am already after them. Got it?" All the boys nodded their heads. "Now get the hell out of here before I make you do 20 laps… that's without the brooms!" Draco screamed.
All the boys ran out of the hallway and into the locker rooms. Draco sighed, ran his fingers through his hair, and leaned against the wall.
Ginny came out of the shadows and ran over to him, "Draco?" she said cautiously, still backed away, for fear that he was still upset.
Draco opened his eyes and saw Ginny standing there, "Ginerva, what are you doing here? Did… did you just hear everything?" Ginny nodded, "Oh, angel, I'm so sorry you saw that."
"Why did you save Harry? Was it to make sure that he didn't get hurt?"
"Hell no." Draco laughed. When he saw that Ginny was still cross with him he stood up and said, "I wish I could say that, but it was really out of guilt. Thinking about how you would feel if I let that happen. I didn't plan it, believe me, I didn't plan for that to happen."
"Oh, I know, or you wouldn't of screamed at your teammates like that." She said.
"Besides, if I was going to win against Potter, I wanted to do it because I did it, not because he was taken out and there was no other choice." Ginny just smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Now, about that study date?" Draco said.
Ginny moved away and said, "Uh-huh, not smelling like this!"
Draco lent down and kissed her. She tried to push him away, but it was inevitable; she kissed him back.
Throughout the next month, Ginny and Draco would meet a few times a week to "study," and every time they went to Hogsmeade they'd go for lunch.
In mid October...
Ginny and Draco met at Honeydukes for lunch, again. She was accustomed to sitting on the same side as he did. They'd talk. You'd think with them meeting several times a day, that they wouldn't have much to talk about, but they did. She'd sit up against him with his arms around her. She was so happy that he really didn't care if someone found them like that. It made her feel like he really did love her. She knew that he did, but he never said it again since the first time he said it to her.
When their food came they'd eat in silence and then order some ice cream. She usually did a good job of keeping herself clean when it came to the ice cream, but that day she somehow got ice cream on the tip of her nose.
Draco turned to her and smiled, "You got some ice cream on your face."
Ginny looked terribly horrified. "I do!" she said and grabbed for the napkin.
He placed his hand on top of hers to stop her movement and said, "Let me get it." He leaned down and placed a small kiss on the top of her nose and slowly licked the ice cream off and she laughed. He placed kisses all over her face and Ginny started to giggle. As he started to apply kisses to her neck Ginny went stiff. Draco pulled away and Ginny looked a little scared.
"Potter and Weasley are standing right behind me, aren't they?" Draco asked.
"No, just the one."
Draco turned around and saw Harry, "Hey, you want to join us?"
"No thanks, I think I lost my appetite," Harry said.
Ginny blushed and slid further into the bench.
"Yeah, well, I think it's time we get going," Draco put some money on the table and climbed out of the bench. He gently grabbed Ginny's arm and helped her out of the table bench.
"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Harry asked.
"Harry, if I wanted him to leave me alone then I'd ask him to leave me alone," Ginny said. "Come on, Draco, let's go,"
"Have a good afternoon," he smirked at Harry and followed Ginny.
October 31...
It was the day of the Halloween dance. Hermione, Lavender, and Ginny were all in Hermione's room getting ready for the dance.
Ginny came out of the bathroom and looked at the two girls. Lavender was "Tinkerbell". She was wearing the green outfit that Tinkerbell wears, heeled shoes on her feet, making her taller than she was, and she charmed her hair to be short and blond. Hermione, on the other hand, was Dorothy from her favorite Muggle movie, "The Wizard of Oz". She had the blue and white-checkered dress on; her hair in loose pigtails, and had the ruby slippers on her feet.
"You two look really great," Ginny said.
"No, you're the one who looks great, Ginny." Lavender said. Ginny blushed slightly.
"It's true, Ginny. I wish I thought of that. Is Draco going as the other part of your couple?" Hermione asked.
"No, I never told him what I was going as and he never told me. Still don't need people thinking that we're together yet." The two girls only nodded in response. Ginny turned to Hermione. "Could you help me with my hair and make-up?"
"Sure. Come on, Lavender."
"You guys start without me. I'm going to see how the guys are doing."
"Or in other words, making sure that Ron wears his whole costume," Ginny said and she and Hermione laughed.
"Yeah. I'll see you guys in a little," and with that she left the room.
Lavender made her way to the boys' dormitories and received a few catcalls on her way over. She ignored them and quickly reached her destination.
She knocked on the door and Harry called her in.
Ron, not aware that Lavender was there, waddled out of the bathroom with tights half way up his legs, "I am not wearing these bloody tights!"
"Oh yes you are, Ronald Weasley!" Lavender yelled at him.
"Oh hey, Lavender," he took a second glance at her and his mouth fell open. His eyes fell to her long, slender legs. As he moved his gaze upward, he noticed how nicely her costume fit her and showed off all her womanly curves. "Wow, Lavender, you look great."
"Thanks, Ronnie," she said and gave him a quick kiss. She turned him around, smacked him on the butt, and said, "Now get back in there and put those tights on. Or you can forget about our little date later on tonight!"
Ron reluctantly waddled back into the bathroom.
Lavender took a look at Harry and said, "You look cute, Harry. Though I think you need a little more stuffing."
"Oh thanks," he said as he stuffed some more hay into his costume. He was the scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz."
"Well, we'll meet you and Ron in the common room."
"Okay, thanks, Lavender."
Lavender left the room and was on her way back to Hermione's room when she met up with Hermione in the hallway.
"Where's Ginny?"
"She said that because she didn't have a date to the dance tonight that she didn't want to show up with us. She's going to use the 'fashionably late' tactic."
Lavender sighed in disgust, "She has a boyfriend too. Why can't she just go with him? It's not fair."
"Well, our boyfriends are stupid prats, and Draco knows that Ginny and her brother have a strong relationship. He just doesn't want to be the one to break that relationship up."
"Oh," was all Lavender said. They slowly made their way down to the common room. "Have you tried speaking to Harry about it?"
"I tried, but there's no making him see Draco in a different light, especially after he won that match last month. You?"
"Ron's worse than Harry is."
"What are you girls talking about?" Ron said as he and Harry came down the stairs.
"Nothing. Come on, let's get to the dance!" Hermione said and grabbed Harry's hand.
Meanwhile... At the Dance...
Draco was already at the dance. He sighed and went to the punch bowl to go grab some punch. He wanted to know where Ginny was. She and "The Dream Team" were late. He heard the door to the Great Hall open and he looked up. It was only Hermione, Lavender, and their boyfriends. "Where's Ginny?" he said to himself.
When Draco turned around he saw Pansy Parkinson "Hi, Drakie!" she said sliding her hands up his arms.
Draco kindly removed her hands off of him and said, "What do you want, Pansy?"
"Well, don't you look cute?" Pansy said eyeing him up and down, "What are you supposed to be?"
"Count Dracula." Draco said.
"Oh, Drakie," she said slapping him on the arm, "You're such a tease."
"What will it take to get you to go away?"
"Just one dance."
"I don't dance." Draco responded
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Making an appearance."
"Liar! You came here to meet someone, didn't you?" Pansy whined.
"What's it to you?"
"If it's the Weasley girl..."
"Weasley girl?"
"Yes, there seems to be a rumor that you softened up towards Harry Potter and his friends, especially the Weasley girl." Draco remained quiet. "What's that little bitch got that I don't got?"
Draco was seeing red. He couldn't stand for someone to say bad things about his Ginerva. And without really thinking said, "Do you really want me to name them off?" Without waiting for a response he said, "She's pretty, pure, innocent, not a bitch or a slut like you, and she can use correct English!"
Pansy had him just where she wanted him. She had him partly confessing that he felt something towards the Weasley girl. Pansy mentally smiled to herself, and as Draco was being distracted, she saw that Kristin put some potion into his cup.
"Fine, Draco, I can take a hint!" and she huffed off. Draco picked up his glass of punch and took a sip.
Pansy walked over to a group of other Slytherins.
"Well, what happened?" Kayla, Draco's ex-girlfriend asked.
"He totally admitted that he has feelings for that stupid Weasley girl! Good job with putting that potion into his cup, Kristin."
"What does it do again?" Cindy asked. She was part of the "We Love Draco" Fan Club.
"It makes him act like he's had too much to drink."
"So basically, he'll act like a drunk," Cindy said.
"Yup, and a drunk Draco is not a very nice Draco," Pansy said from experience. It happened once, and once Draco found out what he did he swore never get drunk again. "It'll take about 20 minutes for it to fully kick in."
"Oooo! This is totally prime evil," Kristi said.
"Well, that Weasley girl deserves it. Trying to take my Draco away from me!"
Draco had a few more sips of his punch when he saw the Great Halls' doors open again. He stared at the person who was standing in the doorway. He knew that all of the single male population was staring at her right then, and about half of the non-single male population were looking too, but he paid no never mind to them. Draco saw her look around the room, looking for someone. He smiled when he knew that Ginny was looking for him.
Draco walked up to the doors and that's when she saw him. Ginny started to walk towards him too.
She was wearing a beautiful ice blue long dress. It hung off her shoulders and was very low cut. The dress had a beautiful design of beads that twinkled when it was hit by the light. Her hair was braided and circled around her head; she had jewels all over her face making her sparkle, and attached to her back were rather large Angel wings.
Standing a few feet apart Draco said, "You look wonderful, Ginerva."
Ginny smiled and blushed, "Thank you. And you look good too, Count."
Draco was dressed up as Count Dracula. He was wearing a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and a cape. He also charmed a few of his teeth to look like fangs and his hair was greased back again.
Draco raised his arms, showed off his fangs, and hissed at her. He wrapped his arms carefully around her and said, "You best be careful, my dear, we Vampires like to suck the blood out of those Virgins," he said and nipped at her neck.
Ginny smiled and whispered in his ear, "If I see any, I'll let you know," Dracos eyes widened and she winked at him.
Someone appeared behind them and cleared his throat. Draco released Ginny and said in a Transylvanian accent, "And this is Igor, my most faithful servant."
Ginny saw Tom in a ragged old shirt, black pants that ended a little below his kneecaps, and had a hunched back. Tom tried to act scary, but Ginny ruffled his hair and said, "You look cute."
"Ginny, I'm not supposed to look cute!"
"Then you make for a scary monster!" Ginny said.
Tom only sighed and said, "Thank you. Are you an angel?" Tom asked.
"Uh...sort of, but no. I'm Danielle De Barbarac." Tom and Draco looked at each other and then at Ginny and shrugged their shoulders, "You guys never watched "Ever After"?"
"Ohh!" The two boys said at the same time. "We don't watch Chick Flicks!"
Ginny giggled and said, "Draco, you're sounding more muggle ever day."
"I know, you're rubbing off on me," he said disgustedly, but smiled at her.
Tom saw Helen Creevy, who was dressed up as a witch run by him. "I must go," Tom said in a Transylvania accent, "The witch is on the loose!" With that the young boy run from the couple.
A song started up and people around the two started to dance.
Draco's head started to hurt and he grabbed at it.
"Draco, are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, fine."
"Come on, maybe we should sit down."
"Angel, I think we should dance. If I'm not mistaken this is your favorite song."
Ginny started to listen to the words.
"Tale as old as time. True as it can be,"
Ginny smiled and Draco smiled back at her. Draco gently took her arms and led her to the dance floor.
"Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly"
Draco pulled her into his arms and it never ceased to amaze him how perfectly she fit in his arms.
"You know, this song always reminded me of us," Draco said to the Angel in his arms.
"Draco, you're no Beast." Ginny laughed.
"Oh, I know, I was thinking of me being the Beauty."
Ginny laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast"
Harry saw the two dancing closely together and he was getting a little upset.
He stopped dancing and Hermione said, "Harry, leave them alone."
"I can't. This just isn't right."
Harry made his way over to the two and tapped Draco on the shoulder.
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
"What's up, Potter?" Draco said after reluctantly letting Ginny go.
"Do you mind if I cut in?" Harry asked.
Draco smiled smugly and said, "Sure. Boy, I tell you, everyone wants to dance with me tonight." Ginny laughed, but Harry just glared. "It's a joke, Potter."
"It wasn't funny," and Harry resumed the dance with Ginny.
Draco stood there staring at the two when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Hermione there.
"Come on, Count, let's dance."
"Sure," he said with a weak smile.
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
"What's wrong, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"You two look a little chummy."
Ginny sighed and said, "Harry, let it go!"
"I can't now."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw him come out of your room that one night last month. You guys didn't have..."
Before he could finish his sentence Ginny said, "How dare you? That's none of your bloody business, Harry Potter!"
Draco looked over at Ginny and Harry, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast
"I hate sounding like a brother, 'cause I know I'm not, but seriously, Ginny, do you
think that he can change? For you, even?"
Ginny took his words the wrong way. She stood back and slapped him so hard across the face that his glasses hit the ground.
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast
Draco saw what happened and then saw Ginny run from the room crying. His head hurt worse this time, but refused to grab it. He walked over to Harry and picked up his glasses. He handed them to Harry and then without another word he started on his way, but not before Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Before Harry could say another word, Draco said, "You better let go of me... Harry."
Harry, being in a shocked state because he called him by his first name, released his arm.
Draco ran after Ginny. After a few moments his head started spinning and he started to feel a little dizzy; his 20 minutes were almost up. He continued on looking for her, despite his headache.
He very soon came upon Ginny, and that's when everything went blurry.
"Hey, Baby," Ginny heard from above her.
She stood up and said, "What..." before she could say another word his lips crashed down on top of hers.
When they parted a few moments later, Ginny asked, "What was that for?"
"Does a boy need a reason to kiss his girlfriend?" Draco said nuzzling his face into her neck.
"No, I guess not, but…" Ginny didn't get to finish what she was going to say for Draco bit into her neck, and by the pain he inflicted on her, she knew he broke the flesh. "Ow!" Ginny said, pushing him away, "What the hell, Draco? That really hurt." She lifted her hand up to her neck and when she looked at her hand there was a trace of blood.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Draco slurred as he kicked the wall.
Ginny noticed that he was indeed slurring all his words, "Draco, are you… are you drunk?"
"What?" Draco turned to her, "No baby!" He called her yet again.
"Draco, I think we should…"
Draco grabbed the upper portion of her arms and, not so gently, leaned her up against the wall, "I think you need to stop talking." Draco said as he kissed her yet again. The longer he kissed her the harder he squeezed her arms. Ginny was about to do whatever she needed to do to get him away when he moved his arms to her abdomen.
As soon as he did that Ginny's arms where free to push him away, "Draco, someone could come down the hallway and see us!"
"So that's it is it!" He said angrily. "You're afraid to be seen with me!"
Ginny knew that she upset him and that there was something wrong with him. She was never so scared in his presence before then this very moment. "No," she cried out, "Not that at all. I don't want this the way to let Ron know that we're together that's all. I don't want some fourth year to go running to him and telling him…"
"You don't want him to know period!" Draco yelled so loud, that she could hear his echo. "If you wanted him to know you would have told him by now, something, anything of us!"
"That's not fair, Draco," Ginny had no idea why she was fighting him. She knew she had to get him to the infirmary and soon before he got any worse.
In a split second Draco raised his hand and used the back of it to hit Ginny across the face. Ginny felt the cool metal of his ring along with the sharp sting hit her skin. Ginny cradled her face in her hand, feeling the blood trickle off where the ring on his hand made contact with her face. With tears streaming down her face she heard Draco whisper, "Not fair, Weasel? Not bloody fair?"
Before Draco could say another word she took out her wand, pointed it at him and screamed, "Stupefy!" Draco instantly froze up and fell backwards on the hard ground. Ginny wanted to just leave him there and run away as fast and as far as possible, but then she remembered that there was something wrong with him. There was no way he could have been drunk. She danced with him just not even 10 minutes ago; she would have smelled something on his breath. She did a levitating charm on him and as he was hanging there she took off her wings and slipped his cape on over her in hopes that it would cover her marks up.
Ginny quickly made it to the hospital wing and shouted out, "Madam Pomfrey!"
Madam Pomfrey came running to see who was screaming. "What is it child?"
"It's Draco Malfoy!"
Madam Pomfrey saw the floating Slytherin and said, "Follow me." She led Ginny to a place where she could put Draco down. Once Draco was down in the bed Pomfrey asked, "So what happened?"
"I... I... don't know. We were just talking, he started to act like he was drunk and then he passed out."
"Draco Malfoy was drunk! I'll have to report him to Albus Dumbledore."
"No wait!" Ginny said stopping the nurse. "But he's NOT drunk! He didn't drink any alcohol." Pomfrey just stared down at the girl, "I'm serious, smell his breath! I know he didn't drink any alcohol!"
"Okay, calm down, Ginny dear." As Madam Pomfrey took a good look at the girl she noticed the long cut along Ginny's cheek. "What happened to you?"
"What?" Then Ginny realized that Pomfrey could still see her face. "Oh this?" Ginny lifted her hand up to her face. "Well, while I was levitating Draco here, I accidentally walked hard into one of the stone walls, and it starched my face up." Ginny said hoping that the lady would buy it.
"Oh, do you wish for me to take care of it?" Pomfrey said, apparently buying Ginny's story.
"Uh, no. I just really wish to go." Ginny said.
"What about your friend here?"
"Can I come back in the early morning to check up on him?"
"Of course you can." Pomfrey said and with a flick of her wand produced a pass for Ginny. "Don't need you getting caught on the way back here tomorrow. Now off with you, back to your dormitory."
"Yes, ma'am," Ginny said only half heartily. She took one last look at the unconscious boy on the table and left.
As Ginny was walking down one of the deserted hallways, due to the fact that everyone was still at the Halloween dance, she really couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to shed a single tear until she was in the privacy of her own room, but she couldn't wait any longer. She slid to the floor, hugged her knees to her chest and cried. She left up her head for a moment, for she thought she heard someone coming, when she saw a door magically appear. She stopped crying, got up, and went to the door. The Room of Requirement; how could she of forgotten? She was in their several times in her 5th year when Harry came up with the DA. She opened the door and saw a nice comfy bed while the room was lit only with candles. This is what she wanted, a room to herself, somewhere were no one would find her and ask her repeatedly what's wrong. She closed the door, flew herself on the bed, and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning...
Ginny woke up very early the next morning still in the Room of Requirement, feeling sore and stiff. The room was still lit by the candles, giving her more then enough light to be able to look at herself in the mirror. What she saw in the mirror made her gasp and want to cry all over again. On her cheek was a long gash, made by Draco's ring, the skin around it was bruised. Her hand went up and touched it gently and she flinched back in pain. That's when she saw everything else. On her neck was the bite mark that Draco left with his teeth; it was a large purple circle with two dark red spots from where his teeth broke the skin. A cold draft ran through her body, making herself rub her arms to stay warm, when she felt pain. She lifted the sleeves of her dress up her arms and saw finger print bruises on her arms from where Draco held her too tightly. "What am I going to do?" She knew she was nowhere good at healing charms, but Hermione did teach her how to do a cover up charm if she ever needed to. She took out her wand and pointed to the three wounds, magically they disappeared, but as she touched her face, she knew that the pain was still there. She sighed deeply and made her way out the door.
Ginny got to the infirmary with no problems from Filch or his stupid cat and was greeted with a cheery, "Good morning, dearie," from Madam Promfrey.
"So, did you find anything?" Ginny asked not responding to the older ladies' cheery greeting.
Suddenly her face dropped and said, "Yes, I did."
"Well, what was it?" Ginny asked getting impatient.
"It's a drinking potion." Ginny looked confused, "It has the same affects as if someone gave him a Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate!"
"Madam Promfrey," Ginny said irritated, "I still don't know what you're talking about."
Promfrey sighed and said, "It's like a date rape drug," Ginny gasped, "It makes him act like he had too much to drink. I've already reported it to Dumbledore. They are looking for the culprits as we speak."
Ginny only nodded and asked, "Has he woken yet?"
"The poor boy had a rough night, getting up every hour only to be sick. I tried to ask him questions, but he didn't seem coherent."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Oh sure. As soon as the potion has fully left his body he'll be back to his old self." Madam Promfrey looked at the clock on the wall and said, "Well, you better be off dearie breakfast is already being served."
"Yes, ma'am, and thank you." Ginny said with a small smile and noticed that it also hurt her to smile.
Ginny was glad that it was breakfast, that meant that she could have the whole girls bathroom to herself.
As Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room she saw two familiar faces sitting on the couch.
"Ginny, there you are!" Lavender said.
"Just getting in?" Hermione asked.
"Bugger off, both of you!" Ginny said as she passed the two girls and ran up the stairs.
Hermione and Lavender went after her, "Ginny!" they screamed after her.
"What?" Ginny yelled back not even bothering to turn around.
"What's wrong?" The two girls said as they walked into Ginny's room.
"Nothing! I just had a bad night, that's all."
"You didn't come back to the dormitory last night," Lavender said point blankly.
Ginny sighed in frustration and said, "Somebody drugged Draco last night with some 'Grammar Hydro Brutus' or whatever," Ginny said as she went around her room collecting some clothes to wear for the day.
Hermione gasped and said, "Do you mean a Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate?"
"Yes."
"What's that?" Lavender asked.
"It's an illegal drug which makes you act as though you've had too much to drink." Hermione answered.
"Did he hurt you, Ginny?" Lavender asked.
"No," Ginny lied through her teeth, "We had a really bad fight, though."
"About what?"
"About me not telling Ron about us," Ginny felt like she was ready to cry again, "That he thinks that I don't want anyone to know about us. He thinks I'm ashamed to be with him."
"Ginny, he was drugged, I'm sure he was speaking nonsense." Lavender said trying to sooth Ginny.
"But when people are drunk their subconscious drops and they say what's on their mind not knowing that they actually say it, doesn't it?" Ginny asked with tears in her eyes.
The two girls didn't know what to say and they just hugged their friend.
Meanwhile at the infirmary…
Draco finally woke up. He raised his head off his pillow and it hurt, "Shit." He said allowed as he grabbed his head.
"Mr. Malfoy, I will not have any curse words in here."
Draco opened his eyes even wider and said, "Madam Promfrey? What… what am I doing in here?"
She handed Draco a cup and he drank it as she told him, "Miss Weasley brought you up here last night during the Halloween dance."
"She did?" Draco asked taking another sip and feeling loads better.
"You were drugged last night."
"I… what?"
"Someone slipped you a high toxic potion. Very nasty of them to do so. What's the last thing you remember?"
"What kind of potion was it?" Draco asked. Madam Promfrey went on to tell him what happened from the moment that Ginny brought him in to just now.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was dancing with Ginny and the she had a fight with Harry and ran from the room. I just ran after her and that's all." Draco went to run his fingers through his hair when he realized his hand was stiff and bruised. "What happened to my hand?"
"Miss Weasley didn't tell me about that." Draco's eyes went wide. "Do you wish for me to take care of it?"
"No. No. I need to go talk to Ginny. Madam Promfrey, can I leave?" Draco asked.
"Well, I don't know you just did wake up."
"Thanks," Draco said as he got up and fell back onto the bed.
"Mr. Malfoy, you must take it easy. Here drink the rest of this." Draco did so and stood up yet again and this time he didn't fall over, "Take it easy. Go back to your dormitory and get some rest."
Draco gave her a small smile, a nod, and was off.
Later that day after classes…
Ginny was on her way to her tower. She was slightly happy that she didn't see Draco that day. She didn't know what to tell him, or even if she should tell him what happened. Ginny had a very uncomfortable day, all she wanted to do was run to her room and soak in a nice warm bath, but, apparently, someone else had a different idea in mind. Before Ginny knew what was going on someone grabbed her arm.
This person dragged her all the way up to an empty tower. When she saw who it was, she let out a sigh of relief. "It's you. You had me nervous for a moment."
"Ginny," Draco said turning him towards her with his hands gently holding her arms. What happened last night?"
"Let go, Draco," Ginny said.
"Sorry." He removed his hands from her arms and said," Ginny, I don't remember what I said or what I did."
"We… we had a fight." Ginny said nervously.
"About?"
"Well, you were angry because I never told Ron about us." Ginny paused for a moment and continued; "You said that you felt that I was ashamed of you because of that."
"Oh, angel, I'm so sorry," he said as he hugged her tightly to him. Ginny quickly pushed him away, "What's wrong?" Draco asked, "Did I hurt you?"
"No, no, of course not," Ginny answered.
"Then what is it?" Draco asked as he cupped her cheek in his hand. Ginny pulled back quickly. "Why are you so afraid of me? What aren't you telling me?"
"It's nothing."
"Lift your sleeves up."
"What?" Ginny asked surprised.
"Why?"
"Just do it." Draco said getting impatient. Ginny did so, she lifted them as high as she could and with the help of the spell that covered her bruises he didn't see anything. Draco just shook his head, "You're hiding something from me Ginerva. You aren't good at telling lies. Now tell me, what aren't you telling me?"
"Draco, it's nothing, really."
Before Ginny could mutter another word, Draco had his wand pointed at her. Ginny was beside herself, she had no idea what he was doing. She backed up against the door in fright. Draco said a few words that she didn't know what they did and suddenly she saw the bruises on her arms reappear. Draco did a spell remover charm on her. Ginny could barely move her head to look into Draco's eyes, though, when she did she saw a mix of anger, sadness, and compassion embedded on his face.
He ran over to her and slowly inspected all the wounds. First the bruises on her arms, then the deep purple mark on her neck, and then the face. When he saw the deep gash and the dark bruise surrounding it, he lifted his hand to gently caress it. Even with the most gentle of touches, Ginny still gasped in pain and flinched away from him.
Draco was about to lose it, "What happened?" Draco asked first, "Who… who did this!" He yelled at her. Ginny looked at him as though he was crazy. Then she remembered that he didn't remember anything. "I swear when I…" he balled his hand into a fist and remembered the bruise on it. He looked down at his hand and then looked up at Ginny's face. Ginny's eyes strayed down towards the floor. "Ginny, did I do this to you?" Ginny didn't answer him, "Ginny answer me!" Draco said starting to get a little angry.
Ginny, with tears in her eyes, looked up at him, and said, "Draco, someone drugged you… you weren't acting like yourself!"
"You're making excuses for me?" Draco asked confused, "I beat you up, and you make excuses for me?" Draco said moving away from her and getting even more upset.
"Draco, you were angry, and we…"
Draco didn't allow her to finish. He knew what he had to do. It was inevitable, he knew that because of his father and other Slytherins he would never be able to have a normal relationship with her. Oh he knew that she would stand by his side and together they'd get through anything that was thrown their way, but he really didn't want to put her through anymore pain. First his father tries to kill her in her first year and now this. It had to be a Slytherin who added the potion to his drink. He knew what he was about to do was best for her, "I'm disgusted with you."
"I… you're what?"
"You stand there with my bruises on you and tell me that it was okay to hit you because I was angry?"
Ginny's eyes dried up and she stood straight up looking Draco in the eyes, "Now, listen up! I never said it was okay, I just said that you would of never of done it if someone didn't drug you."
Draco only shook his head, "Ginny, we can't do this anymore."
Ginny sighed a sigh of relief, "Good, cause I'm getting really tired of this conversation."
"No," Draco said, "I mean, us. We can't do it anymore."
"What? Draco, are you breaking up with me?"
"Yeah. I am."
"But, you told me you loved me. You can't just stop talking to me. You can't go back to calling me Weasley, because I am not going back to calling you Malfoy. You can't go back to making fun of me."
"Well, apparently I didn't love you as much as I thought I did." Draco said. "And I won't do any of that stuff, you know I won't and can't do any of that, not now." Draco walked to the door, "I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you, and I won't blame you if you decide to tell your brother what I did." With that Draco closed the door and Ginny fell to the ground crying.
To be continued…