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For detention, Professor Sprout handed Draco and Ginny off to Trelawney, who delegated them to cleaning her crystal ball collection for two and a half hours. The first sixty minutes they grumbled about the "batty old fruitcake," as Draco dubbed her. However, their protests soon died down as the mind-numbing work took effect.
Every few minutes Draco's eyes would dart over to Ginny. The urge to speak welled up inside him, and he debated on whether to indulge it or not. If he simply asked her what happened at lunch, she would either ignore him or hex him, depending on her current mood. Draco had been on the receiving end of her Bat-Boogey Hexes often enough that he had no wish to get hit by another one.
His curiosity battled his self-preservation. Finally, he decided to draw the answer out of her without ever having to ask the question in the first place. To avoid suspicion, he began with a complaint.
"Well, this is utterly mind-numbing," Draco drawled, inspecting the shelves of crystal balls left to clean.
"Yep."
"Somebody should really curse Trelawney's head off."
"Hmm."
"My hands will be permanently wrinkly now."
"That's nice," Ginny murmured.
"She could have at least let us use magic."
"Uh huh."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Of course."
Draco exhaled in frustration. Well, if I can't get her attention with small-talk, I guess I'll have to resort to more drastic measures.
On the other side of Trelawney's classroom, Ginny scrubbed the already clean crystal ball in her hands. When she saw her drawn reflection, she scowled. All afternoon her thoughts had been on the envelope stuffed in her pocket, and even her professors had commented on her absentmindedness. It seemed nothing could distract her from the anxiety creeping over her. She both longed to and dreaded opening the letter. Ever since she came back to Hogwarts, her world had been slowly returning to normal—or what she now thought of as normal. Depending on what it said, this letter could change everything.
Where was her courage, her perseverance? Had Harry not said that her feisty spirit was what had initially attracted him to her? How did one boy hold so much power over her? Was she so dependent on him that without him she was nothing?
"I never thought I'd see the day where Ginevra Weasley was brought to her knees by a boy."
Startled, Ginny jerked up and looked across the room to meet Draco's contemptuous gaze. "Excuse me?" she gasped. It was scary how easily he read her mind.
"You heard me. I know all about Potter's letter, thanks to the Hogwarts grapevine. It's all over the school, big stuff really. So I'm curious. What did it say? Did he promise you the moon and stars if you would come back to him? Did he sweep you off your feet with romantic poetry? Did he propose to you? That sounds more like him. He's too much of a coward to ask you to your face," Draco sneered. He stared at her unblinkingly, daring her to contradict him. The hatred burning in his voice cleared her head and loosened her tongue.
"What is with you? You go from laughing with me to laughing at me, from reaching out to me to pushing me away. What do you want from me?" she snarled, setting the crystal ball aside. It was best if she did not have anything breakable in her hands while talking to him. She might be tempted to throw it at him.
Draco raised an eyebrow in that infuriating way of his. "Finally, you show some backbone! I was getting worried. Now let's get this straight, Weasley. I have no interest in seeing Potter win you too. You're good enough without him. In fact, you're better." His voice dropped to a puzzled whisper, as if his words confused even him. "Your eyes shine more when you're not thinking about him."
A frown twisted his mouth as he continued. "I won't pretend to be one of your girl friends whose shoulders you can cry on, but I hate Potter enough that I'll listen to your pitiful sob story if you need to talk. Right now, you're the only person who actually looks me in the eye without fear or disgust. I will not let Potter take that away from me."
Undisguised emotion rang in his voice, and Ginny found herself unable to look away. The jealousy and bitterness he had for Harry was suddenly thrown into new light. Was it just anger that made him possessive of her, or did he actually care? He never would have before. There had been signs, to be sure, that he had changed. Each time she attempted to drawn him out, however, he figuratively slapped her in the face.
Sensing her confusion and wariness, the Slytherin sighed. What had he expected? After everything he had done, he should have known she would not take him at his word. This would be harder than he first thought.
"Look, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up Weasley."
"It's Ginny, actually."
He paused. The cautious awareness in her eyes threw his off guard, and he scrambled for a foothold in his thoughts. Calling her by her first name was a big leap, one he was not sure he was ready to make. It was easy for others to call her that. With him, though, it was different. First names were reserved for friends only, people he knew and trusted. Did he trust her? Was he ready to grasp her offered hand of friendship?
Breathing deeply through flared nostrils, Draco blinked his eyes to clear them of any rosy tint.
"Ginny," he began, savoring the way it rolled off his tongue. Secretly, he preferred Ginevra. It seemed more familiar, more intimate in a safe way. Nobody else called her Ginevra.
"Ginny, I'll be frank with you. I don't have many friends. In fact, Zabini is the closest I've ever come to one. And right now, he and I aren't on the best of terms. If you're serious about this, about being my friend, I want you to say so. I'm warning you now, though. I don't have much experience being nice. You'll have to be patient with me, and I with you."
The solemnity in his voice brought a smile to Ginny's lips. This was the most somber friendship offering she had ever experienced. He noticed the quirk and shook his head. "I'm not kidding," he stressed, exasperation thinning his voice.
Tossing her cleaning rag aside, Ginny stood up and crossed the room. When she reached him, she stuck out her hand. He stared at it dubiously, wondering what she had in mind.
"It's called a handshake, Draco. Friends shake hands, right?" she teased lightly. The understanding glow in her features eased his worries. Curving his lips into a half smile, half smirk, Draco gently took her hand and shook it. If he held on longer than necessary, she did not comment.
Draco frowned as an idea suddenly occurred to him. What would it hurt? Just this morning, he had resolved to prove the world wrong and show that he could act civil. This would be an excellent opportunity for an experiment. If she took him up on the offer, then he would be a step closer to his goal. Sacrifices—which this most definitely counted as—had to be made. Moreover, a Slytherin was nothing if not cunning enough to turn those sacrifices into advantages once more. That decision made, he was left with the choice of how to put his offer on the table. After mulling it over in his head, he finally settled on an approach.
"Open your ears, Ginny. And do be sure not to drop dead from shock. I'd rather not have to go through McGonagall's interrogation again."
The Gryffindor inclined her head, indicating for him to continue.
"When I was little Mother would stay up late telling me about her day. She talked for hours, and while much of it was about tedious stuff like how the house-elves ruined her new robe by washing it with Father's shirt, I sat there and nodded in all the right places. Sometimes I even talked back; mind you, it was my mother. Now, I'm not offering to be some kind of bloody diary or anything of that sort, but...Well, Mother always said I was a good listener. There, I said it, now talk or stop moping. It's annoying."
"Oh? I'm annoying?" Ginny teased. He gave her a long-suffering look, miffed that she was not taking his "groundbreaking offer" seriously enough. Noticing his expression, she sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Fine. I'm talking, happy? Ugh, you're like my mother," she grumbled in mock irritation, peeking at him out of the corner of her eye.
Draco allowed himself a grimace. Somehow, I don't think that was a compliment.
"Now, what's this about Potter's letter?" he asked after a few seconds. It was clear to him that they would be getting no more cleaning done tonight.
Apparently reaching the same conclusion, Ginny slumped down onto the floor beside him. "Well, I haven't actually read it yet," she confessed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hermione told me to wait, and so I am. I'm going to read it with her tonight. We're having a sleepover," she added when she saw his confused expression.
"Hmm, I never took you for needing anyone to hold your hand. Pity. I guess I'm not needed after all then."
Chuckling at his dramatic huff, she punched him on the arm. "Shut it, Ferret. I can take you even without a wand. Remember, I grew up with six older brothers."
Draco smirked over at her and tried to ignore the painful twinge in his arm. Salazar, she was strong! Where did she hide all those muscles? "I can't image how you survived. It must have been torture. I'd have hexed their heads off as soon as I was old enough to talk," he replied.
They shared a laugh before settling into comfortable silence. Pursing her lips, Ginny pondered how to put her thoughts into words. After struggling for a few more moments, she finally decided to just "spit it out" as Ron would say.
"I like you."
Before he could misconstrue her words, Ginny hastily explained herself. "This new you, I mean. You're different than before, more..."
Seeing her struggle for the right adjective, Draco offered, "Brilliant? Supportive? Helpful? Cunning? Ambitious? Talented? Handsome? Please, tell me. I'm getting all warm and fuzzy inside already."
Laughter sprang from Ginny's mouth as she waved off his words. "Enough! I was going to say that you're more... More open. Yes, that's it." She nodded in satisfaction, pleased with the word.
He incredulously inquired, "Open? Really? That's your big compliment? And there go the fuzzy feelings."
"Open-minded," she corrected, holding back a smile. "You don't let others dictate your reactions and thoughts like before. Instead, you're beginning to think for yourself. Just look at us! Before, you would have never sat down and talked to me like this. It shows how much you've changed," she finished, searching his eyes for something.
"Well, I hate to break it to you," he replied, attempting to redirect her attention through humor, "but I'm still going to take a nice, long shower tonight and wash off all your Weasley germs. I'm not taking any chances. Who knows, I might wake up with red hair, freckles, and too-small clothes if I don't."
Before Ginny could respond, Professor Trelawney burst in the door and announced that it was time for them to go. "The position of Mars suggests that staying any longer will result in grave consequences for us all," she rasped. After peering around the room suspiciously, Trelawney turned and shuffled back out.
With nothing else left to say, Draco decided to cut his losses and get out while he was still ahead. A polite, "Weasley," was his only goodbye. After debating internally, he added a nod. Why not? He was feeling generous tonight.
When she raised her eyebrows, he hurriedly corrected himself. There went his amusement, taking his sense of superiority along with it. She had a talent for stripping him of his dignity. Oddly, that did not bother as much as it should.
"Ginny. Whatever."
For some reason, Ginny felt better than she had before. What was it about talking with Draco that relaxed her so much? It almost felt like she was fooling around with one of her brothers again—an odd comparison, to be sure. Inclining her head, Ginny similarly bid him goodnight.
"Draco."
Seeing his smirk on her face irked him. When had she become so bloody good at it? Even he felt irritation kindle in his chest at the sight of it, though that might have more to do with her than the smirk.
Ginny snickered under her breath when he made a show of holding the door open for her. "Ladies first," Draco murmured with an air of aristocracy. The Gryffindor swept past him, deliberately bumping into his arm. "Shut it, Ferret. I can beat you up without a wand."
With a chuckle, he replied, "I'm taller and have a longer reach, so I'm not too worried. And quite hitting me! My arm already aches from cleaning all those bloody crystal balls. I don't need you damaging me any more than I already am."
"Baby," she muttered under her breath.
"Brute," he retorted.
"Git."
"Prat."
"Pretty Boy," she hissed without thinking.
"Oh, so you think I'm good-looking?" he asked with a smirk, leaning forward.
"Sod off Malfoy."
"My, my. Aren't we touchy. So you do think I'm handsome."
"Good night Draco," the Gryffindor stressed through gritted teeth.
"Don't run away now, Ginny. It's just getting interesting."
"I said, 'goodnight Draco.'"
"Just admit it. You think me handsome."
"I hate you."
"You really have a way with words. Those warm, fuzzy feelings are back."
"That's called gas. Now goodnight."
"Malfoys don't get gas. It's our pure blood, you know."
"I'm sure. Now move out of my way!"
"Don't be like that."
"Malfoy, I'm warning you!"
"Of what? Are you going to kiss me?"
"What? No!"
"Just wondering, because you're awfully close," he whispered, smirking as his breath fanned her blushing cheeks.
"Then step back."
"I don't think I will."
"You're dead to me."
"Ginny! You wound me, you really do."
"Agh!" she screeched, tugging at the roots of her hair. No. She was not going to pull out her wand and hex him. Seeing how easily he got under her skin would only give him more satisfaction. After all, she had grown up with six older brothers, so surely she knew how to handle one measly Slytherin. Composure now secured, she tilted her chin up and continued walking.
"You should really go to bed, Ginevra. You don't look so good."
Eh, I still think this one lacks something. Anyways, a big, big, big, big, big, big shout out to my beta reader, marinka. Gigantic cookie! Without your help, this entire story would be the pits ;)
So, how was it? Too dramatic? Too OOC? I love hearing what ya'll think :))