CHAPTER TWO - In Which They Arrive Hogwarts; Ginny Gets Detention
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Ginny didn't bother to look at the boy sitting next to her. She knew who he was.
"Just try and be nice to him," her father had said. At the end of summer, Arthur Weasley mysteriously instructed her to befriend Draco Malfoy. She complained to Percy and he too tried to convince her to do so.
"Why, Percy? I don't get it. He's Malfoy," Ginny whined.
Percy sighed. "Sometimes, you just have to do certain things in life, even when you don't want to."
"Don't patronize me," she snapped.
"Ginny. I want you to know that we, your family, all love you very much. You are very important to us, but Lucius Malfoy and Dad have agreed. You and Draco should start to get to know each other. Please, Ginny. Do it for us."
Ginny had shrieked in frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut. No one wanted to explain to her why she had to be friends with Draco Malfoy. After days of pleading from her family, and days of frustrated shrieks from Ginny, she agreed to try to be civil to him.
********
And here she was being civil to him. "Look at my civility!" she shrieked silently to her father. Draco Malfoy was sitting right next to her in Yvette's seat and she hadn't made one rude remark.
The soft pitter-patter of raindrops dribbled on. Draco and Ginny sat side by side, trying to ignore one another. Ginny was glaring at an invisible Yvette. What kind of best friend was she? She had to hurry back and force Malfoy to leave. Even with her head turned to the side, Ginny could see his face reflected in the train window staring at her in an odd manner.
She then tried to block out the sight of him the only way possible: firmly clenching her eyes shut. Try as she might, she could not keep her mind awake with her eyes closed and continuous raindrops droning in her ears. Ginny resigned herself to sleep.
Draco tallied the awkward moments of his life. This definitely ranked somewhere in the top ten. He had been humiliated, disparaged, and defeated numerous times, but having a loss of words was new.
As soon as he thought it couldn't get any worse, he noticed a weight on his arm. Draco looked down at the red head that was burrowing into his side. Draco shifted his weight uneasily, glancing around hoping that no one would see Ginny Weasley sleeping comfortably on his shoulder. He moved his arm, lightly pushing her away. She swayed from him and fell into his lap. She stirred, only to rearrange herself in a more comfortable position. Her head snuggled onto Draco's lap and she curled up close to him with one arm secured around his waist.
Deciding the situation had gone to far, he prodded at Ginny in hopes that she'd wake up. She only nestled closer to him. Cautiously, he lifted her upper body up so that she no longer lay in his lap and set her back against his arm. He sighed. This would be one long ride to Hogwarts.
Draco glared at Ginny's sleeping face but his cold eyes softened as noticed her unique beauty for the first time. He'd seen her of course in the past, but she was only Weasley's little sister, the pathetic girl who pined after Harry Potter. But now, he really saw her, the sweet innocent face of a sleeping angel framed by locks of red hair. Long eyelashes brushed against her cheeks and a few freckles were sprinkled across her chiseled nose. Her porcelain face was completed with luscious lips that begged for a kiss.
At least she was pretty. Then again so was Pansy who he honestly could not stand.
He couldn't help but flinch at every noise coming from outside the compartment. This was ridiculous. Why was Ginny Weasley sleeping on him? He slowly extracted himself, gently lowering her to the train seat. She stirred again. Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she grabbed at his shirt, pulling him down upon her.
"What are you doing, Malfoy?" she hissed. Draco glanced at their precarious position: his body was leaned entirely over hers. If he had bent a little lower, he would have been on her. A normal boy might have blushed, but Draco Malfoy was not a normal boy.
"I was setting you on the seat after you feel asleep on me, Weasley. What were you doing?"
Ginny blushed and opened her mouth to unleash an angry retort but stopped herself. "Sorry," she mumbled out. Draco was taken back. Sorry? That was unexpected.
"Well, you should be Weasley," he replied. "Do you want to let go of my robes now? I mean, we could take this a step further…"
Ginny blushed even redder and quickly released her hold on his designer robes. Draco couldn't help but notice how much the blush complimented her face. He sat down in the seat facing her and looked out the window. All signs of rain had disappeared and they were fast approaching Hogwarts. He sighed. What kind of name was Hogwarts? There was no elegance or grace in it. In fact, it sounded like a word from the imagination of a four-year-old. Hoggy. Warty. Hogwarts. But try as he may to hide it, there was strong school spirit buried in Draco. When Death Eaters compared it to Durmstrang, his anger boiled. He guessed Lucius shared the same pride, at least enough to not send him to another wizarding academy.
Draco was yanked rudely out of his thoughts by the sounds of giggling and yelling from idiotic first years running though the corridors. Definitely not Slytherins, he decided. He looked at Ginny, who was busy heaving her bags from the various compartments. He secretly chuckled as the petite girl jumped, reaching for her bag.
"Jump Weasel! Higher!" he teased, a snide smile playing across his face.
Ginny glared at him and jumped higher, still unable to reach her bag. He knew, according to proper etiquette, he should help her but she was just too amusing to watch.
"Enjoying the view, Malfoy?" she gritted out finally.
Draco reached up easily and grabbed her trunk. "More than you imagine," he whispered, leaning over so his lips gently grazed her ear. He left her compartment and strode down the corridor, whistling softly to himself.
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The first years crowded nervously before the sorting hat at the front of the Great Hall. Candles hovered in the air, and the charmed ceiling revealed the dazzling stars of the night sky.
Ginny absentmindedly sorted the children herself. "Hmm…not a Gryffindor, oh she'd make a great Keeper in quidditch…Slytherin definitely. He looks sweet, but smart. Hmmm…Ravenclaw, maybe a Gryffindor." She glanced at the Slytherin table. Draco sat opposite of Crabbe and Goyle, staring straight at her. Their eyes clashed. Ginny refused to blush: he was the one staring at her. She prepared herself for a brutal starring contest with Slytherin's most prominent future death eater. Except the icy, prominent future death eater winked jokingly, bringing a smile to her lips. She couldn't help it. Draco Malfoy winked; the whole idea was simply ludicrous. Their contact was broken as Pansy Parkinson threw herself at Draco's back, resting her head on the crane of his neck.
Ginny sniffed and looked down at her plate.
*********
"The first banquet of the year is always so dull," Draco complained. Crabbe and Goyle agreed clumsily. He turned his eyes to the first years. Most looked like they were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Arriving at the conclusion that they were all cowards, he then turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. Harry Potter and the Granger girl were talking, giving each other lovesick looks. Potter's redheaded sidekick was trying to get the attention of Yvette Delacour.
Next to her, was Ginny. She played around with a strand of her soft, gold-streaked red hair, looking dejected. Draco saw her lift her head and watch the first years with mild interest. She turned to his direction. For a moment her eyes searched the Slytherin table, finally locking her gaze with him. Grey met brown like the foggy sky would falling leaves on a crisp autumn day. The few seconds that their eyes shared lasted forever. All around him, Slytherins cheered as another first year joined the table, but he didn't move. Her eyes presented a challenge, refusing to back down and break her gaze.
He winked and thought he saw the corners of her mouth tugging up. He realized that the normally cheerful Ginny hadn't smiled since their arrival at Hogwarts. Draco found himself almost eager to see her cheerful grin when a heavily perfumed girl threw herself at him.
"Hello, Draco honey," she purred into his ear.
He was hardly able to suppress his groan. Pansy was probably one of the most attractive girls in school with her strawberry blonde hair and deep green eyes that were framed with thick lashes. Her pouty lips and perky nose completed her perfect complexion. Despite her good looks and slim, curvy body, Draco despised her. Ever since the Yule ball in fourth year, Pansy had made it clear that Draco was her man. Well it sure had been news to his ears. He had explained to her that he simply wasn't interested. She had either ignored his protests completely or said, "Oh, Draco. I know you love me," or," Draco, you don't know what you're saying. How come you haven't gotten any flowers for me? All the other girls get them." Finally he gave up, resorting to avoiding her as much as possible. He nodded along as she described her inane activities of the day.
Pansy chatted away incessantly, relieved to have averted his attention from the Gryffindor table. It seemed that he and Ginny Weasley were making deep eye contact, something that she couldn't afford.
***************
"Hey, Yvette," said Ron, tapping on her shoulder. "That girl looks part veela."
"Who?" she asked, lazily.
"The girl next to Padma at the Ravenclaw table."
"No, she isn't blonde enough."
"Are you sure?" Ron questioned.
She glanced condescendingly at him.
"We veela have a sixth sense about these things," she explained with an air of superiority. She opened her mouth to say more, but before she could, Dumbledore began to speak. It was time for the beginning of the year speech and song. Afterwards, when Ron turned to Yvette once more, she was already engrossed in conversation with Dean Thomas.
He sighed and turned to his two best friends who seemed to be having way too much fun for just eating spaghetti. Ron then looked at his little sister, expecting her to be giving disappointed looks to Harry. He started at the sight of the empty space that Ginny occupied only a moment ago.
*********
Ginny groaned. She was usually excited by the prospect of new first years but today was not her day. Not only were Harry and Hermione giggling far too much for sixth years, but Ron had sat between her and Yvette. She pushed away her untouched plate and walked towards the banquet doors. Who would notice? Yvette was caught up with Dean Thomas, Ron was caught up with Yvette, and Harry and Hermione were caught up with each other. As she passed by the tables, she noticed many more couples than years before. Perhaps it was just her imagination. Passing the Slytherin table, she scanned it for Draco. Surprisingly, he was nowhere to be found. Ah well, he's probably making out with Pansy Parkinson in a hall closet, she thought. Ginny opened the Great Hall doors and stepped into the familiar halls.
She picked up her pace as she headed for the Gryffindor Tower, stopping in front of the fat lady's portrait. What was the password? She groaned, coming to the realization that they hadn't been given the new password yet.
"Need some help Weasley?" came a voice, drifting towards her. Ginny mentally pounded her head against the wall. Today was definitely not a good day.
"Well, Malfoy. You certainly have a knack for showing up where you're not wanted."
"Not wanted? I think not, you were crying out for the attention of a good looking Slytherin."
"Really, who would that be?" she drawled.
"Surely, you know the answer to that," he said coming closer. "Even Weasley's aren't that thick."
Ginny growled in response.
He continued with a smirk, "If you want a place to sleep, my door is always open." With that, he walked away.
Ginny growled again. Malfoy always needed the last word, didn't he? What was with him today? Maybe it was that thing her father and Lucius Malfoy had agreed upon. Or maybe it was just another one of Draco's sick jokes.
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That first day was a definite omen. To Ginny, the idea of a guy following her around wasn't completely unappealing. What was unappealing was the fact that the guy was Malfoy, the boy that made fun of her and her family for being poor, for being "muggle-lovers". Her father had asked her to be civil to him. Why? Now, all of a sudden, Malfoy was everywhere. She saw him between her classes, after classes, on Hogsmeade trips. He would make fun of her or tease her, making her fume with anger, or blush with embarrassment. She had not always remained civil. No matter how hard she tried to avoid him, she couldn't manage it. Today, she had even tried a different, longer route to Transfiguration and arrived late. And now she had detention.
Ginny cautiously opened the door and peered inside. The sun had gone down, leaving the empty classroom lit only by candlelight. She slipped into a seat in the front row and waited for a few minutes before McGonagall entered.
"Good evening, Ms. Weasley," she greeted her.
"Good evening, Professor McGonagall."
"You are the only one with detention today. Apparently, your fellow students have a greater respect for punctuality."
"Yes, ma'am," she replied. McGonagall was certainly on the warpath tonight.
"I have a teacher's meeting to attend. I planned on leaving you in the supervision of my top student."
Ginny brightened up a bit. She would at least be with Hermione.
"However, Ms. Granger already had plans for this afternoon."
"Snogging Harry, no doubt," Ginny thought with a touch bitterness.
"So, I'll leave you in the care of my second best student. Behave during your detention, Ginny," she said and strolled out as briskly as she came in. In walked Draco Malfoy.
"Hi Weasel," he said. Ginny gaped at him.
"You're the second best student?"
"Yeah, so?" he snapped.
"So, tell me how much did it take to bribe McGonagall for high marks?" she questioned innocently. She knew that by asking that, she wasn't being "civil" but she couldn't help herself.
"I didn't. A hypnotic curse works the same way," he replied.
Ginny briefly wondered if he was joking.
"Follow me." He turned and left the room. She stood up and hurried to catch up with him. They walked in silence: Draco with long, strong strides and Ginny with quick, scampering steps. He led her to the north lawn. The grass was long and scattered with weeds.
"What happened?" Ginny asked. The grass was usually perfectly kept.
"Sprout tried out some new charms for the lawn. There were a few glitches," he explained.
"Just a few?"
"Fine, they didn't work at all. This week, starting on Tuesday, all students with detention were sent to one of the lawns. Today is Friday, so this is the last portion to fix up."
"Well, am I the only one with detention today?"
"It seems so."
Ginny looked at the large expanse of messy green grass and groaned.
"Don't just stand there! Get to work," Draco snapped.
"I'm supposed to mow the lawn in the dark?"
"Lumos," he said airily with a wave of his wand. "Now, start weeding."
Grudgingly, Ginny got on her knees and started pulling out the first patch of weeds she saw.
Draco leaned against a nearby tree and started to read a book, while Ginny weeded of what she estimated to be a fifth of the north lawn. Then she degnomed, tossing the garden gnomes as far as possible. Most hit the tree the Draco was resting by. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to actually hit him. When finished, she was covered with dirt, sweat, and bite marks from the gnomes. Sighing, she trudged towards the lawn mower.
All this work just for being late to class, she thought. She would have been content with five points from Gryffindor or even ten. All this work because of him. Ginny glared in Draco's direction. He had charmed his lighted want to float around her as she worked. She felt a strong urge to grab the wand and snap it in half, but decided against the notion only because she would have to pay for it afterwards. She sighed again and began to cut the grass.
Half an hour later, she completed the task. She collapsed on the neatly trimmed expanse of green and stared up at the sky. Her neck was sticky with sweat. Her robes had grass stains and her hands were covered with dirt and bite marks. Weeds were caught in her wavy red locks, but she was happy. Happy that her work was done and she could return to Gryffindor tower for a good night's sleep.
"Missed a spot." A shadow stood over her, offering her unwanted shade from the mellow moonlight.
Ginny sat up and faced Draco with as much anger and aggression she could muster.
"See, over there, that big patch of weeds."
Ginny looked over at where he was pointing. Sure enough, there was a miniscule weed on the opposite end of the lawn. The illuminated wand danced towards the forlorn looking plant. Ginny heaved herself off the ground. She stood shakily and started towards the wand's lighted trail. Why was everything blurring? She tried to focus on Draco's wand, but one wand became four in her dizzying vision.
Draco glanced up in time to see Ginny hit the ground. "Weasley?" he queried. "Need help walking now?"
There was no response.
"Weasley?" he questioned again worriedly. "Ginny?" he whispered as he got down on his knees. He slid his hands under Ginny's back and slowly lifted her up into his arms. He looked down at her pale face. Her breathing was shallow and she lay dangerously still. Draco quickened his strides to reach the infirmary. He pushed open the door with his back and as he turned, an outraged voice boomed in his ears.
"What have you done to my sister!?"
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END OF CHAPTER TWO
Dorthey Star - You were our first review! Thank you sooooo much.
mereschino - okay, second chapter is posted. ^_^
witchy_grrl - yup, Ginny got the news. We actually have another version of the "Arthur tells Ginny" scene, but we decided on this one. Here's the other one.
~ Arthur Weasley had sat Ginny down looking guilty and apologetic, almost like Ron had after Pigwidgeon had ripped apart her teddy bear. She sighed sadly then forced herself out of her daydreams. She hadn't heard a word her father said.
"…so could you just try to be nice to him?" her father mumbled.
"Who?" Ginny replied, confused.
"Draco Malfoy, Ginny," Mr. Weasley said, looking exasperated. "And please don't mention this to your brothers, especially Ron. They would be outraged." He again, looked worried.
"Yes, father. I'll try," Ginny replied, trying to sooth him. Afterwards, Ginny wondered about the motivation behind her father's request, but decided it was just another one of his eccentric ideas. ~
Amyza - Glad you like our story. I don't think it's that much like yours. To tell the truth, we started writing this back in July or August of 2001. Other "Ginny must marry Draco" stories popped up and we got nervous, so we decided to post. It took us so long cuz we wanted to perfect and stuff. Yeah, okay. Anyway… The writing in our first few chapters is still shaky. It'll get better later.
THANX TO ALL ANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT DECIDE TO REVIEW US LATER!!! WE LOVE YOU! ^_^
Thanks to all the people that reviewed for us! (Yeah, I know. I'm getting repetitive.) We can't express the joy that you filled our hearts with. You know what's sad? We thought we would have to review for ourselves and we didn't! Yeah, okay. Anyway, chapter three is done. It's the same deal as before: review and we'll post. Once again, we thank you in advance cuz we know you will! ^_^
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~ Sellene and Mignonne