-Chapter Twelve-
Draco focused on cutting the sausage on his plate calmly and tried not to stab the knife through an ever annoying fellow seventh year. Using his ever so helpful skill of ignoring people, Draco blocked out the Slytherin's stinging remarks on not getting the snitch before Potter.
'Murder, bad,' thought Draco and he grit his teeth.
Eventually, the guy shut up and Draco could finally relax. He looked up from his breakfast and scanned the Gryffindor table for Ginny. He didn't have to look very hard, Ginny's eyes were already locked onto his. He gave her a non-smiling smile, the ones only Ginny could understand.
Suddenly, the eye contact was broken due to loud flapping and squawking. 'Post time,' thought Draco indifferently. He didn't bother looking up for his parent's handsome tawny owl by the name of Agrumi. However, Draco did get a surprise when an obvious school owl swooped down and perched on his shoulder, taking a nip out of the piece of sausage Draco had ready on his fork.
His eyes flicked upwards back at Ginny and she gave him a quick sweet smile before turning back to Colin. Sighing, Draco dropped his fork back onto the plate which was lost amidst the clatter of other cutlery dancing with food and he quickly untied the note from the owl's leg, giving it an affectionate little scratch beneath the beak.
Then, he quickly and inconspicuously checked the table and hoped no one saw him do that. Ginny was making him waaaay to soft. But then again, Draco realized he just didn't care. Then again, maybe he did. Then he just mentally slapped himself and realized Ginny was undoing him at the seams since he had that thought in the first place.
So instead to distract himself from pleasant thoughts of Ginny, Draco unfurled the note and surmised the message.
Mr Malfoy,
You are required at the Headmistress's office tonight after dinner.
Headmistress McGonagal.
'That woman is very brief,' thought Draco, tucking the note away in his pocket. Draco finished his breakfast and headed off to class, but not before taking one last look at his girlfriend. Ginny was having a thumb war with Colin and they had just knocked over a pitcher of pumpkin juice all over the breakfast dishes. The two could be seen looking shocked and apologetic, cringing away from the dirty looks their fellow Gryffindors were giving them.
Draco turned back and smiled to himself. 'Things are okay.'
That evening, Draco made his way to the Headmistress's office, undeniably curious. He knocked on the door and waited for the request to enter. He soon did and he turned the handle to enter the room.
He found McGonagal standing beside her desk, looking like she had something painfully wedged up her rear as per usual.
"Good evening Mr Malfoy," said Minerva primly and she motioned Draco to sit down.
"Evening," replied Draco evenly.
"We're here tonight to discuss your future." Draco simply raised one fine eyebrow in response. "I've spoken to Miss Weasley, and she seems to think very highly of you," pressed on Minerva.
"Does she now?" said Draco still in that even tone. However, Minerva could detect the knowingness behind those words.
"Yes." The Headmistress's lips were twitching to press into thin lines. "Back on topic, your future career. Do you have anything in mind?"
Ideas raced through Draco's mind. 'Wand maker? Professor? Professional quidditcher? Dragon keeper? Nah, Ginny's husband.'
"No, I don't have anything in mind."
"I'm going to be very direct Malfoy," warned the Headmistress, looking seriously into Draco's eyes.
"Indeed."
"Do you still support Voldemort?" Minerva observed as Draco's indifferent facial expression turned into a hardened one. She swore she saw his grey/blue eyes darken and turn stormy.
There was a stifling pause in which Minerva felt as if she was skating on thin ice. Finally, Draco said "no." Minerva looked long and hard at Draco, trying to decipher his truthfulness.
"What are your views on the current situation in the Wizarding world?" prompted Minerva. It was fairly obvious she was referring to the light or dark side.
"I don't want to follow anyone. I don't want to support anyone. I just want to be free," said Draco quietly, still looking the Headmistress in the eye. 'I just want to be with Ginny,' he thought still.
"I can see you care a lot about her," said McGonagal knowingly, being more blunt than ever.
"I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing that it's so obvious," came Draco's emotionless voice.
"I'm offering you an Aurorship. Finding any employment will be especially difficult for you once you leave school, and with my status I can give a very convincing recommendation."
Draco only kept looking at his Headmistress, but his brain was already ticking.
"I can give you time to think. When can you make a decision by?"
"Tomorrow evening," was Draco's reply. After that, the only sound that could be heard was the merry crackling of a fire and the scratching of Minerva's quill as she jotted Draco down for an appointment the following evening.
"Have a good night Mr Malfoy, I'll see you tomorrow," dismissed the Headmistress, whilst not smiling at Draco, but giving him a not-so stern look.
Ginny sighed for the tenth time and dipped her quill in and out of her ink bottle continuously. Sighing again, she started drawing dots on the margin of her notes. The reason for Ginny's continuous exaggerated exhales was that studying without Draco was pretty damn boring.
She was in the library with best friend and best friend's girlfriend. Ginny definitely felt like a third wheel on a bike whenever she was around Colin and Luna. Normally their besotted behaviour wouldn't bother Ginny, but since she had Draco every moment with the two made Ginny miss Draco tenfold.
It could really be quite annoying and frustrating! Not that Ginny would exchange these feelings for not knowing Draco at all.
So just as Ginny was beginning to bore a hole through her charms notes, salvation walked through the library doors in the form of blonde hair, expensive flowing robes, blue grey eyes and a regal disposition.
In other words, Draco Malfoy.
And for once, Ginny's breath caught (quite loudly) instead of sighing. Colin shot Ginny a look but it went unnoticed for she was too distracted. Ginny's eyes followed Draco as he maneuvered from table to table, finally seating himself at the table he and Ginny usually sat at.
Ginny decided officially, she couldn't concentrate even if she wanted to. Just the mere thought of having Draco being in the same room as her set her heart beating wildly and concentration on anything other than him dropping dramatically.
On the other side of the room, Draco ducked down in the motion of putting his bag down, secretly smirking to himself. He could practically feel Ginny's sight brushing up on his skin and he loved the fact he was making her distracted. The bad thing however was he himself was getting distracted.
You can never win.
But some how, he (gently) (he could never imagine being rough) pushed Ginny to the back of his mind and settled down to transform his potions notes into an essay.
Half an hour later, the two teens had managed to write scrollful of crap. Both decided they didn't really care and left the work to be finished at the last minute.
Draco eyed the library and its occupants with distaste until his eyes fell onto Ginny. Immediately, he felt himself heat up and get that indescribable fuzzy warm feeling. He could feel himself relax and his lips itched to smile. 'I really must love her,' commented Draco to himself. Never, did he ever lose control of his emotions, it was only Ginny who undid him.
Unable to deny Ginny's closeness any longer, Draco shut his book with a snap which drew Ginny's eyes to him again. He was extremely lucky his professors were feeling lazy and didn't assign him a lot of home work because he left the library early. As he was walking past Ginny's table with Colin and Luna pashing underneath the table, he gave Ginny the slightest of slight nods and continued his way out of the room.
A sudden bolt of excitement which felt a bit like electricity shot through Ginny as she saw that almost imperceptible nod from Draco. Quickly, she shoved all her gear into her book bag, nearly knocking over Colin's ink bottle in her haste. She then proceeded to make her way out of the library, hoping Draco hadn't gone too far.
Only a few seats away, Ron was sitting with is arms wrapped around Hermione, who was writing furiously with a quill and softly muttering formulae. Ron's eyes followed Ginny out of the room and the continuously torturous question spoke through them.
'Is Malfoy right for her?'
Ginny walked carefully into the dimly lit hallway beside the library and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, she couldn't immediately locate Draco, but she could sense he was there. Just when she was going to call out his name, Draco wrapped a gentle hand around her mouth and pulled her into a shadowy corner.
Draco knew Ginny wouldn't scream when he let go of her, instead, she pushed him right into the wall and began kissing him furiously. Seeing Luna and Colin together for the past hour or so had been giving Ginny ideas.
Smirking slightly through his kisses, Draco slowly toned down the kissing and calmed Ginny down. Finally, he broke off. "Gee, I love you too Ginger," he laughed, gasping slightly.
"Who said I love you?" whispered Ginny, her chest was heaving too. She was running her hands up and down Draco's robed chest and now she was tugging on his silver and green tie in a playful affectionate way.
"You did," said Draco in answer before he captured Ginny's lips again. Her ministrations to put frankly; were driving him crazy. Ginny deepened the kiss and was doing that thing again where she was pressing Draco into the wall. Draco decided it was his turn and he flipped her suddenly, so now Ginny's backside was up against the wall. "You don't want to do what you want to do against the wall," whispered Draco in Ginny's ear after he had torn his lips from hers.
"How do you know what I want?" whined Ginny, burying her face in Draco's neck.
Draco sighed and said, "you know you're not ready for this. Don't deny it."
"I bet you've done it all," muttered Ginny, dropping her arms from Draco.
Draco was immediately concerned and wrapped his arms around Ginny. "Does it bother you?" he asked deploringly. He really was concerned about how she felt about his past relations. Draco knew he wouldn't be able to bear it if Ginny harboured animosity to the fact Draco wasn't a virgin. (When Draco thought about it, his past experiences told him he really really wasn't a virgin.)
"I don't know," whispered Ginny.
"Hey, we should talk. How does the room of requirement sound?" asked Draco softly, stroking Ginny's face ever-so softly.
"Sounds good," was Ginny's reply. "You go ahead first, I'll follow." Draco responded with a nod.
And so, ten minutes of their time was spent walking through the vast castle to the room of requirement. As the pair neared it, the people thinned out. Isolated areas of the castle do that. Whilst the people thinned out, so did the lighting. Ginny gave an involuntary shudder and cursed herself for being so scared. But ever since Ginny's first year, dark corridors always held something ominous in store.
Draco noticed Ginny's cautiousness and guessed the reason. Without a word, he paused for a moment and let Ginny catch up before he wrapped a protective arm around her waist. The relief was immediate in Ginny and it looked like things were starting to be okay again.
When they reached the door, Draco let go of Ginny and closed his eyes whilst walking in front of the door continuously. His brow was frowned in deep thought but the rest of his features stayed the same. Suddenly he stopped. Ginny figured Draco had done this a lot, but she tried not to think about it.
Draco took Ginny by the hand and turned the door handle.
Once inside, Ginny gasped and her grip of Draco's hand went slack. She was in her dream room. Deep forest green walls with sky blue trims, dark cherry wood timber flooring, a merry crackling fire in the corner and a rustic iron day bed. Best of all, the room was cosy, what Ginny loved best.
"How did you know I love a room like this?" babbled Ginny in amazement.
"I'm just too damn good," smirked Draco, dumping his bag beside the bed. "The truth though, is when I think of you, this type of furniture comes to mind."
Ginny simply sighed with happiness. Whilst she was standing around, admiring the wall colour, Draco seated himself on the furniture and performed a secure locking spell on the door. It was only then Ginny hit reality.
"We came here to talk," murmured Ginny, almost reluctantly.
"Yeah, we did. I want to sort this out Gin. I can't leave this hanging," said Draco, earnestly. Ginny still stood there, with her head down. Her previously excited body had now slumped and she looked like a young lonely girl. "Here," Draco whispered, opening his arms up as an invitation for a hug. Ginny took slow steps forward, and fell into his arms as she neared. The close contact felt good, but Ginny still felt a bit off, knowing Draco had slept with other girls.
"Do you see the way other boys look at you Gin?" questioned Draco softly but directly.
"No," replied Ginny, surprised by the question.
"Do you know how I want to break their faces? Even though I know they can't help but look at you as if they're something they want to wank with?"
"No!" gasped Ginny, even more surprised.
"Well that's my problem I guess. I just hold it in, like I always do. There, I've set a precedent. Now it's your turn to tell me how you feel." Draco's face was perfectly serious. Now that they were alone, Draco's cold disposition had melted a bit and it revealed the beautiful Draco Ginny knew.
"I-I I just, don't like the fact other girls have seen you naked, when I haven't," stuttered Ginny, blushing slightly.
"Well," surmised Draco, his tone becoming teasing and his face began crinkling into laugh lines. "I can show myself, in all my glory, but then you'd have to return the favour, and lord knows if I can control myself then." Draco's voice had dropped to a husky whisper.
Ginny blushed even harder.
"Ginny, I was a cold heartless bastard before I met you. Those girls, well to put it plainly, were merely a fuck to me. You have older brothers, I think you know how we XY's feel. I've fallen in love with you Ginny. And not just fallen, I love you. Now I'm just a bastard. There will never, ever, be anybody else but you."
Draco had been looking Ginny right in the eye as he said this, and now he could see the orbs of hazel and brown almost melt.
"You know," Ginny whispered, "I can't imagine you ever saying anything like that to anyone anymore. You've really changed. But your reason for not taking me is?... I haven't said no, you know. This sounds cliché too, but I'd do anything for you." Ginny's blush stayed in place and her face had dropped to Draco's chest level.
Draco's eyes hardened a bit and he lifted up Ginny's chin gently. "Where's that Weasley dignity I've come to love eh?" Ginny's eyes widened slightly. "I appreciate it though, no one has ever made such a sacrifice to me. But no, I'm not going to take your virginity now. Not at school anyway. It's obvious it means a lot to you… and I don't care how much you want it now. I don't care how much I want it now, but it's not what you truly want."
"Draco. I don't think it's possible to love you anymore than I do now," whispered Ginny feverently, wrapping Draco in the warmest hug ever.
The two stayed that way for a while, content with being in each other's arms in the ultra-cool day bed and listening to the fire crackle away.
"How are we going to sort out this Hogsmeade weekend?" asked Ginny finally.
"Not too sure. I am definitely taking you out on a date though. It's about time," softly smiled Draco. Ginny was glad she was leaning on Draco, because now her legs had the strength of pumpkin juice.
"Well," after Ginny had gained some coherent thinking. "How about we wear hoods? And whenever we're alone, we can drop them. It might be snowing, everyone will have their hoods up, plus no one cares about little old me, so I don't think they will notice me."
"Hey," said Draco indignantly, "I care about you! Gee I think your brother does too. But okay. Hoods sound promising. However, if something comes up we're going to go our separate ways immediately."
"Yep." Ginny sighed contentedly and her fingers traced the delicate patterns of the day bed.
The two lay there for a while longer before Draco asked, "don't you have homework?"
"Nope," said Ginny slyly, hoping to get out of the work.
"C'mon, get your bag out. I'll help you with it," said Draco knowingly, ignoring Ginny's outright lie.
"Oh you suck," pouted Ginny.
Draco merely quirked his eyebrow and commented, "oh do I now?" A blush was imminent on Ginny's face.
After a moment, Ginny regained composure and said dryly, "we don't have any tables!"
"Close your eyes for a moment," said Draco softly. He closed his own eyes and thought 'I need a desk.' Sure enough, when the pair opened their eyes, a reasonable sized desk was slotted into one of the corners.
"Room of requirement," sighed Ginny.
"By the way, McGonagal spoke to me and she offered me an Aurorship. I'm going to take it," said Draco as he was helping unload Ginny's bag.
"Really?" asked Ginny pretending to be surprised. Draco immediately saw through her coy. "That's great!" Ginny continued, though this time she meant it.
"You already knew about this didn't you?" asked Draco flatly. Ginny nodded. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. This Aurorship sounds great."
"Liar," was the one word Ginny uttered. Strangely enough, Draco simply looked up and smiled at her. "You don't want to work with a bunch of hero airheads fighting against some stupid Lord. I can tell you want to be a tycoon, just like your father. It's in your pureblood blood," continued Ginny, giving Draco a stroke along his neck.
"Do you know why I am going to do it anyway?"
"Well, I just thought you'd want to vent your frustration by legally killing death eaters and such. But apart from that, no. Oh wait, also you probably wouldn't be able to get a job with a good rep, which most probably will come from being an ex-Auror."
"Close. I want to get a good rep from being an Auror so I can be with you," said Draco as he seated himself one of the two chairs that came complimentary with the table.
"But you're already with me!" said Ginny astonished.
"It will be hard because everyone still doubts me. Thinks I am the bad guy. Maybe I still am, but hey, I don't know. Being an Auror and finishing a couple of death eaters won't be too bad for my image and maybe, they will accept me. Then, people will stop harassing us. We can be together without having to hide."
"Is it a very large sacrifice on your part?" questioned Ginny uncertainly.
"No sacrifice is too large Ginger, since I met you."
Ginny smiled and blushed. She never received as many good compliments. The majority of the ones given to her by the male population were, "damn, you're hot."
However with Draco, his compliments weren't superficial. They were original and came from the heart. And damn, if he cared about anyone else.
That night, after Ginny had some how completed all her homework in advance with Draco's hands softly caressing her neck and whispering educational anecdotes in her ear, she had made it back to her dorm just before curfew. After promising to meet Draco at the post office in Hogsmeade (the Three Broomsticks seemed a bit typical) Ginny entered the common room, dodged Ron's calculated stare and got ready for bed.
It wasn't until Ginny was completely comfortable in bed and could let her mind wander without Draco's wonderfully intoxicating presence that she realized Aurorship held no guarantee for Draco's safety.
The two days before Saturday (thankfully) flew by quickly for Ginny. She was glad she had gotten ahead on her homework because suddenly the classes decided to get extremely complicated. The majority of Ginny's time was spent at Hermione's (and Ron's) side, getting her to help revise.
For Draco however, time went unbelievably slowly. 'The teachers are all senile!' thought Draco outrageously, slouching in his potions chair since he had done all the work. Now for some reason, class seemed so easy. It was so stupid. Life, seemed so boring, except for one thing. Ginny.
But no! Ginny had to be a year younger than Draco so he couldn't send her inconspicuous glances during class. No. It had to be Potter, who kept scratching his scar like it had fleas. It had to be the Weasel, whose red hair reminded Draco painfully of Ginny and how he wasn't with her at that exact moment. Finally, there was Granger. The know it all that Draco didn't know how he tolerated for seven years.
Draco still thought of her as a mudblood, but no matter how hard his hate fell on her, he still respected her and her unusual intelligence. 'We could have been friends,' thought Draco as his eyes scanned the potions classroom. 'But she's too, Gryffindor-ish.'
Slughorn's genial voice filtered through into Draco's mind so he effortlessly blocked that out. 'Ginny's Gryffindor-ish,' Draco's self talk reminded him. 'Yeah, but, Ginny's different,' was all Draco had to say to himself (in his head.) Draco was a smooth talker, and he could be very manipulative. It was only arguments with himself that broke him down.
'You suck,' taunted Draco's mind-of-its-own.
'Fuck off.'
'Smart.'
'I need to get out of this class.'
'You need Ginny.'
'Thankyou! Something we both agree on!'
Finally, the bell called and Slughorn had just announced that if everyone had finished their work in class, they didn't have homework.
'Yay.'
Somehow, Draco picked up his feet and let them lead him to class, all the while anticipating seeing Ginny on Saturday. When that morning finally arrived, he attended breakfast early, hoping Ginny would do the same.
Some how, she did. She was already there in all her red-haired, pale-skinned glory, buttering her toast and sipping her milo. Draco made a point of using his cutlery quite loudly to gain Ginny's attention. She immediately looked up and a warm smile graced her lips.
How very badly then did Draco not care about what house he was in. He didn't care if he had to be a Gryffindor, he would be in the same house as Ginny. Maybe all this prejudice wouldn't matter and he would be able to hold her right the and there, regardless of the Great Hall filling in with hungry people.
In the next half hour, Colin traipsed down to the Great Hall and seated himself next to Ginny, with his hair surprisingly combed. "Got a date?" asked Ginny.
"Yup," said Colin cheerily, digging into his bacon and eggs.
"You don't look so bad yourself," noted Colin through a mouthful of bacon.
"Thankyou," replied Ginny after taking a bite of her toast and talking through that. She swallowed and continued, "I decided to do something different and wear the school uniform cloak, since its going to be freezing. Daring huh?"
"You continuously amaze me," said Colin flatly before smiling and shaking his head. "So you're going to be with Draco?"
"Mmm, I am. Obviously you're with Luna." Colin nodded dreamily and gazed in the direction of the Ravenclaw table, where Luna had her standard upside down copy of Quibbler and was drinking pumpkin juice through a crazy straw.
The two ate steadily for another few minutes in silence when Colin broke it by asking where Ginny was going to meet up with Draco.
"The post office. No body but third years go there, so it should be pretty safe," answered Ginny.
"Haha, okay. You have fun Gin, if you need to bail with Draco, look for me and Luna," smiled Colin warmly. Ginny winked and gave him a corny thumbs up in response. Then, inevitably time passed and soon Ginny was lining up behind others who were waiting for Filch to let them pass into the little snowy/blustery village.
She could spot Draco's tall form a few spaces in front of her and her heart beat was set off racing. Before she knew it, she had bypassed Filch's leering gaze and dark magic detector and was on her way through the township.
Following Draco steadily, Ginny pulled her hood up against the blasting cold wind and shivered. She couldn't wait until she was in Draco's warm embrace and to inhale his comforting scent. Flicking her eyes upwards, Ginny saw that Draco had disappeared into a building which was emitting and intaking many owls. Speeding up, Ginny did the same.
Once inside the establishment, Ginny scanned her eyes across the room and stopped when she saw a tall figure with his hood up. His platinum and somehow golden blonde hair fell in front of his eyes in his customary hair-do and his fine nose protruded from beneath the hem of the hood ever so artistically. Time seemed to freeze for Ginny; Draco was true form of perfection. However her moment was ruined when a portly man politely said, "excuse me miss."
Ginny apologized in a breathless tone and quickly stepped aside. And then taking one last worried scan around the post office, Ginny made her way to Draco's side. She was glad that it was freezing cold for everyone else had hoods and thick scarves on. Interlocking her slender arm around Draco's more muscular one, Ginny grinned like she had just received 100 per cent in an transfiguration test and walked out of the building comfortably, finally feeling Draco's warmth.
"Where would you like to go?" said Draco, his eyes light with happiness.
"Where else?" smiled Ginny. "Honeydukes!"
"My treat," said Draco, smiling back at her.
"Okay," replied Ginny lightly, leading the way with a skip in her step. No one noticed the couple, as there were many around, linked in arms exactly the same way Ginny and Draco were. However one person did recognize them. Harry.
He didn't feel angry, he didn't feel betrayed. He simply felt sad he had let go of her. However the voice in his head kept saying, 'it's your own fault you let her go. It's your own fault you kept treating her like a child. No one else to blame but you.'
Ginny and Draco walked around some more, nibbling on the sweets they had purchased from Honeydukes. They didn't want to go into any shops that demanded they take off their hoods for a long period of time because the risk was too high.
But eventually, as Draco leant down to kiss Ginny, he couldn't stand the way her lips were starting to gain a blue tinge and he insisted they go to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer before returning out to shop some more. Of course Ginny quarreled with the decision, but her mind was made up when Draco administered the most mind-numbingly shockingly good feeling kiss to Ginny. After the two broke away all Ginny could do was nod dumbly and let Draco hold her so she wouldn't fall to the ground.
However as they neared the pub, they had to think up a plan. Ginny decided that she would enter the pub first, see if Colin was in there and then see if there were any discrete tables which no prying eyes would bother searching.
She quickly left Draco's side and was elated when she found Colin to be whispering sweet nothings into Luna's ear. She quickly took down her hood and released her scarf a bit whilst walking quickly to the couple. Colin and Luna looked up when they heard Ginny approaching and both smiled.
"Hey Gin, you look cold. Where's Draco?" asked Colin as Luna settled on his shoulder.
"He's outside. He reckons I should be inside, drinking butterbeer so my lips don't go so blue," said Ginny in a bit of a defeated tone. "So I was wondering, if there are any private tables around. Maybe you guys can give us some cover? Draco says he still has one last thing to buy before we head out to the castle but we need a drink first."
"Sure," replied Colin. Luna however had already picked up their existing mugs and was walking towards a very privately looking booth, just enough for four people. It was screened by a large Christmas tree that Madam Rosmerta had put up early out of sheer excitement.
"Wicked," exhaled Ginny. She dug around in her pockets and withdrew a couple of sickles. "That should cover the drinks. You guys can get another two mugs if you like," smiled Ginny. It was so obvious to Colin she was over the moon about this date.
"No problem, they'll be here by the time you get back."
"That's fast," Ginny said skeptically, pulling her hood back up.
"Eh, Rosmerta loves seeing how fast she can serve," replied Colin, making his way towards the bar.
Ginny smiled once more before going outside and fighting the blasting cold. She immediately saw Draco and took his hand, making their way inside. Once in the warm toasted pub again, Ginny leaned up and whispered in Draco's ear, "I'm going to the loo, so this won't be so sus. You see Luna? Go sit next to her. I'll be back soon." Draco nodded once, his expression emotionless and he acted on Ginny's instructions whilst Ginny did indeed go to the toilet.
Draco immediately picked out Luna because she had her nose buried in a new edition of Quibbler.
"Hey," said Draco softly, rousing Luna's attention. He was expecting her to be cold, or a little afraid but instead Luna smiled warmly and greeted him in return, putting down her magazine.
"Sit down," continued Luna. "Behind the tree. It's inconspicuous."
"Yeah. It's great," commented Draco as he eyed the tree.
In the moments which lapsed in between Colin and Ginny returning, both Draco and Luna shot each other calculating gazes. Eventually, Colin returned with three steaming tankards of butterbeer and one gillywater on a tray.
He paused when he reached the table and cleared his throat. Immediately, the two flicked their eyes up at him. "Hey Draco," said Colin casually, placing the tray down and sliding up next to Luna, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"Hey," was Draco's reply back. He was internally battling whether he should try to make conversation with the two or to just leave it. He was saved from making the decision when Ginny came back with the rosiness on her cheeks again.
"Hi guys!" chirped Ginny, placing herself in the seat next to Draco. The two said their greetings whilst Draco simply gazed at her. She turned to face Draco and said, "isn't the tree great?"
Draco looked deeply into her eyes for a moment and Ginny had that sensation she was falling again. "Yeah, it's great." Although to Ginny, it didn't sound like he thought it was great. Suddenly she couldn't really think at all when Draco's warm lips met hers.
And for once, it was Luna and Colin who were left feeling awkward.
Draco suddenly broke away, eliciting a soft "aww," of disappointment from Ginny. He smiled wickedly in return. Ginny simply sighed and grabbed a tankard of butterbeer and handed it to Draco and then grabbed one for herself.
"So tell me," said Ginny after taking a sip. "What else do you need to get?"
"You'll see," was Draco's cryptic reply.
"Well, it better not be for me. You bought me chocolates, a new novel, earrings, a new jacket, and dozens of kisses which I am yet to return."
"My bank balance is seriously deprived now," said Draco in his dry voice which Ginny really loved for some reason.
"Haha," adopted Ginny in his dry tone.
The couple chatted for a while longer, letting the butterbeer warm them as they did. But as Ginny and Draco were about to leave, Draco couldn't help but share one more kiss with Ginny. So as he did so, Colin whipped out his muggle camera and took a still shot of the pair with locked lips. Colin decided he would give the photo back to Ginny at a later date, if she ever needed the consolation from a photo of them kissing.
Then Ginny and Draco said their goodbyes to Luna and Colin and faced yet again, the biting cold, and this time, snow threatened. Again they linked arms and huddled close to try to keep the warmth in. As they passed the twin's joke shop, Draco suddenly paused.
"Ginny, I have to buy this next thing alone. You want to hang out at your brother's place while I get it?" said Draco quietly, leaning his face close to Ginny's. Of course Ginny was dying of curiosity, but respected Draco enough to stop the questions. Draco realized what Ginny was doing and he appreciated it, a lot.
"Sure," said Ginny a bit dolefully. "How long will you be gone?"
"Half an hour, tops," repeated Draco assuredly. With that he gave Ginny's hands a squeeze and placed a kiss on her lips. Then, he was gone.
Ginny sighed and turned around to enter the Weasley Wizarding Wheazes. Inside, she was swarmed by a number of Hogwarts students all jostling for products. Immediately, she sought out Fred and George's crimson red hair.
As soon as Ginny put her hood down, they recognized her.
"Gin-bug!" bellowed George at the top of his lungs as he barreled his way through students to give his sister a hug.
"How bloody brilliant to see you," arrived George's partner in crime Fred, who also gave Ginny an air squeezing hug. Ginny only gasped in response and Fred gave her a noogie which did not help at all.
"Oh you guys are tools!" cried Ginny over the noise, knocking their two heads together. Hard.
"Hey! Be nice!" yelled the twins at the same time, both rubbing their heads in the same way. "Come to the back," said George, pulling Ginny gently along. "It's been a while and we've really missed you."
"Yeah," replied Ginny, the familiarity of her twin brother's coming back. Once inside the back store room, Ginny got a good look at the two. "You guys have lost weight," said Ginny worriedly. "Is everything okay?"
"Merlin, you sound like mum," said Fred.
"Everything's fine. We're just too busy working on new products, so we don't really stuff ourselves as much as we used to," added George, straightening those horrible maroon staff robes.
"Anyways, who are you here with?" asked Fred casually.
"Umm," stalled Ginny, her eyes darting around the room to try to decide whether to lie or not.
"Hey, you're not here on a date are you? If so, where is he?" accused George suspiciously, whilst playfully roughing up Ginny's hair.
"Umm," said Ginny again. But it was too late, her twin brothers had figured out she had something to hide.
"Ginny, you're going to tell us or we'll torture it out of us," threatened Fred, snatching an extremely ticklish looking feather off the shelf.
"You guys will be angry at me," said Ginny finally, her eyes downcast, although she was hoping the twins wouldn't blow their top off at her.
"Naw, come on. You've been angry at us plenty-a-times, whatever it is it can't be as bad as us," said one of the twins.
Taking a deep breath and wondering if she would regret telling them, Ginny said quietly, "Draco Malfoy."
Ginny quickly glanced upwards when she heard no response. She saw that Fred and George both had their mouths hanging open and were gasping.
"What?" yelled the two in unison.
"Are you out of your mind Ginny?" said George, grabbing Ginny by the shoulders and shaking her about a bit.
"N-no I a-a-am n-n-ot," said Ginny shakily.
"Why the fuck are you with that piece of shit?" demanded Fred, pushing George aside and shaking Ginny himself.
"B-because I'm g-g-going o-out with h-him," answered Ginny angrily, unable to free herself from Fred's grasp.
"Right that's it, the ferret has slipped her something. It's time to charge around here and kill him," said George angrily, making a move towards the door.
"No wait!" yelled Ginny, rushing to the door and leaning her body against it. "Please don't do anything rash. I love him. It sounds crazy, but I love him. I thought you guys would understand. He's changed."
"He bloody murdered Dumbledore!" yelled Fred back in an outrage.
"No! He didn't! Snape did, and he had no choice. Look, you don't understand, but please, calm down and try to! I'm not drugged either," said Ginny, anger stirring within her.
"He's caused us nothing but pain," hissed George.
"Then why is he giving me nothing but happiness?" shot Ginny back. Tears of anger were threatening to fall. "I told you guys this because I thought you might listen to me," she continued in a dejected voice.
This finally softened the twins up a bit. Both gave each other a look and gazed back to their sister who was blinking rapidly. "Okay," they said in unison.
"Why though?" questioned Fred. "Why Malfoy? I thought Harry was good for you."
"Hah," said Ginny sarcastically. "Potter and I are over. Way over. I don't know why, Draco. No, actually I do know why. I love him. Crazy huh?"
"Does Ron know?"
"Yeah."
"And he hasn't stopped this?"
"God George! I'm not a kid! You don't need to stop me just because I do something you're not a 100 per cent perky with. Besides, Ron can't tell me what to do. Oh and didn't you hear, Draco saved me from this psycho Slytherin quidditch captain who was trying strangle me in mid-air," said Ginny pointedly. And then she realized that didn't sound too great.
"SOMEONE TRIED TO STRANGLE YOU IN THE AIR!" bellowed the twins, hurting Ginny's ears.
"And Draco saved me," replied Ginny meekly.
"What the bloody fuck?" muttered the two of them at the same time again. "Want us to go kill him?"
"Forget it, he's expelled."
"Ginny, mum and dad have to know."
Ginny let out a gasp and repeated 'no' many times. "No! No! They can't know! Not yet! I don't know how to break it to them. But I have to do it. I will do it, just not now."
Fred and George gave each other a skeptical look and back at Ginny again. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" George asked.
"Because if hasn't changed, he'll be having morning tea with a knuckle sandwich," growled Fred. George grunted in agreement, a scowl marring his cheeky face.
"I'm sure! I know what's going on. I trust Draco, completely. Trust me," said Ginny earnestly, trying to win their approval. The twins just gazed at Ginny with sad and confused eyes.
"Alright. Well… I don't want to think about this any longer so let's show Ginny some new stuff we've created," said George. A smile graced Ginny's lips.
About fifteen minutes later, Ginny saw Draco enter the shop in her peripheral vision. As she focused her eyes properly on him, she saw his sparkle. Smiling, Ginny nodded slightly to let him know 'come on.'
Draco came alright, but he stayed a few centimeters away from Ginny so it wouldn't be so suspicious. "Did you get it?" said Ginny under the pretense of looking at a product.
"Yeah, I did. Do you want to go back to the castle? It's getting boring around here," replied Draco, casting an eye around the room full of excited teenagers.
"Sure," smiled Ginny. "It's getting kind of cold around here too." Out of her other peripheral vision, she saw Fred and George clenching and unclenching their fists and turning red. Ginny sighed. 'Silly, overprotective brothers,' Ginny thought to herself and she led the way out of the joke shop.
As sure as day, Draco followed her out and pulled his hood up and re-arranged his scarf. The rest of the time spent walking back to the school was chatting light-heartedly. As they neared the front door which had an adjoining courtyard, Draco pulled Ginny underneath a isolated stone archway covered in vines.
Draco kissed Ginny's startled lips and held her close, transferring body heat since Ginny was absolutely shivering. Happy that Ginny had gained some warmth, Draco smiled brightly.
A bit stunned, Ginny softly said, "what?"
"I have something for you," whispered Draco. His nearness sent even more shivers down Ginny's spine, except this time they were pleasant ones. Not the, 'I am cold,' ones.
"Something else?" said Ginny, a bit disbelieving.
"Yes," whispered Draco back "something else." Then as smooth as water, Draco slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a small velvety box. He swiftly opened it and revealed one of the most stunning pieces of jewelry Ginny had ever seen.
It was a silver pendant with a small dragon with an emerald eye wrapping its body protectively around a small but finely shaped ruby-red heart. The total size of the pendant was no larger than the top third of Ginny's index finger and it was complete with a fine but strong looking silver chain which complemented the craftsmanship beautifully.
"Oh my lord," murmured Ginny breathlessly. "This is beautiful beyond imagination. I love it."
"Glad to hear it," came Draco's silky but appreciative voice. "Do you know what it represents?"
"I think so," replied Ginny. "The dragon is you, always, protecting me, the heart."
"Clever," complimented Draco with a smirk. For some reason now, Ginny kept falling for that smirk. "I'll help you put it on," said Draco. His coordinated fingers slipped the chain gently from the box and he carefully fastened it around Ginny's neck. "Perfect for you, just as I thought."
"Draco, I love it. You are very wicked too, buying me all these things that you know I can't repay," sighed Ginny, wrapping her arms around Draco, feeling the cool metal after she had put the pendant underneath her clothing. "I'll never take it off," added Ginny breathlessly.
"What repay? You repay me enough by just being with me," murmured Draco, savouring the few moments he had with Ginny close. Ginny tilted her head up and looked at Draco from underneath her long lashes. To Draco she looked like some exotic angel that was out of this world. Her soft sweet-smelling breath drove his senses wild and the sight of Ginny's clear, pale skin dusted with freckles dazed Draco to no end.
Finally, Ginny initiated the kiss to make Draco's knees weak.
Whoo-boy! That was one long-arse chapter! pants took some effort to write, but it's all good cause I love it!
I hope you like this chapter too.
I'm not sure if F&G's shop is called Weasley Wizarding Wheazes since my memory likes to let me down. So my apologies if it isn't.
Btw, review :D
It'll be great to hear your opinion after an exhausting chapter like this.
Also, many thanks have to go to my friend and fellow author MadderThanHens, because she gave up her time to edit this chapter, which was good since I made really really crazy mistakes :S
Thanks Jess!
lotsa luv,
Jessica/yourbeautifulnightmare
P.S Milo is this drink we have in Australia. It's like, chocolate powdery stuff that you have with milk. Or you can make it with hot water and then add milk. Like coffee, cept you don't need sugar.
Cause milo is sure damn sweet! (Like Ginny/Draco's!)
