"Are we there yet?" Harry whined, finally speaking up from his isolated corner of the car-where he had been moping till now.
"No!" Hermione shrieked, "Can't you people see that we aren't there yet, we're probably lost! Plus you're distracting poor Ronnikins!" Hermione's tone had changed from a really bitchy one to a syrupy one as she cooed over Ron. Ron had gone through all the shades of red known to man by now, and did another rotation with the wide world of red as Hermione gushed and planted wet kisses on his face. *God, dogs have less slobber then her.... but at least she's not like most girls-"Tonsil inspection straight away!"*
"Um.. yeah I'm being distracted," Ron said in a not-so-confident voice, "we're not lost, and Hermione you seem to have smeared your lipstick on your face."
"I do, O my god!" Hermione quickly searched around in her bag for a mirror, sending notebooks pens and various unidentifiable objects
flying in all directions.
"Where are we then Mr. I-know-where-we-are?" Ginny inquired, lifting her head from Draco's chest.
"Um...right here."
"Sure....move it bro!" Ginny tried to push her brother out of the driver's seat as Hermione screamed to not hurt Ron as she pulled Ginny's mass of flaming red hair, while Draco laughed and Harry sulked. "You better move your butt out of that seat Ron. Otherwise," She reached into her purse, smirking, "You'll be forced to wear this for a month!" She smiled as she pulled out a feathery undergarment. Ron tried not to look frightened, but it wasn't working.
"Which one is it," Ron said, his voice barely audible, just squeaks, "the thong or bikini?"
"Thong." Ron looked as if he had just found a mass murder straddling him, getting ready to brutally murder him. With a knife inches away from his chest, and an expression of pure experience in killing boys who hate feathery Victoria's Secret underwear on the said murder's face. He gulped, trying to get rid of the large lump that had been forming in his throat since the unveiling of the underwear. Ron quickly clambered into the back, dragging prissy Hermione with him before anything dealing with thongs, strip bars and blackmail, was unleashed by his sister. Draco slid into shotgun as Ginny gently applied pressure to the gas pedal, getting ready to sped things up and get home. After all she had a pedicure at Fabio's Nails, Nails and more Nails at 10 in the morning in a day and if she missed it because if her stupid brother and anybody else they would all be in hell, paying for her torture of not having her crusty nails fixed into works of art.
*************************************************************
As Ginny turned on the shower, setting the water for blisteringly hot, she was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "What?" She didn't bother to hide the hostility in her voice. If he valued his skin at all, he'd leave her alone. Sighing, she grabbed a towel, stepping out of the shower-as to better hear Draco at the door, the running water almost blocked out his voice. Since arriving at the Malfoy Manor, (due to Ginny's wonderful driving.) Draco had been acting like a jerk; he had been treating everybody like they were his servants. Which she expected him to do with everybody else, but not her.
"Never mind." Draco replied quickly when hearing her tone. Her thoughts were uncharitable as she turned back to the shower, discarding the towel on the floor in Draco's personal bathroom as she stepped under the hot spray.
"Wall-eyed, pig-headed, rankle-assed imbecile, just who the hell does he think he is?" Using some of the more colorful oaths she'd picked up over the years from various muggle-borns in her year, Ginny continued to mutter angrily to herself as she stood under the spray, allowing the furious beat of the water to work some of the tension out of her shoulders and neck. "Stupid son of a bitch made me do everything, as if I don't do enough of that shit on a regular basis." *Though he is amazingly cute when tells me what to do, putting on that really sexy expression and all...in leather.* A slight tremor ran through her at the mental image, she shoved it away, using her anger to rid the thought from her mind. With a disgruntled sigh, she returned to her rant, though this time keeping the words inside her head instead of mumbling them aloud. *But no, heaven forbid Draco Malfoy actually put his own little life on hold for a few hours and act as if anything that happened when he isn't around his luxurious life actually happened.* "Bastard." She scrubbed her soapy hands over her face before shoving her head under the spray of water, dislodging the last stubborn traces of living in a car for days. After making sure her hair was completely saturated, she picked up a bottle of shampoo, taking a moment to read the label before squirting a large amount into her hand. Pantene Pro-V, balanced for normal hair. She couldn't stop the small snicker that slipped past her lips; somehow she hadn't pictured Draco using what she'd always considered to be a woman's shampoo. *Explains why his hair always looks so silky soft...'* With a smirk still on her face, she lathered up her hair and stuck her head under the nozzle again to rinse. Her amusing thoughts didn't distract her for long, and as she distributed conditioner through her tangled hair her mind leaped back to its original path. *I'm sick of this, obviously he doesn't really care about me. All he cares about are his damn thoughts and opinions, saving the world from itself, protecting the downtrodden from anything that will give them the least bit of self confidence, blah, blah. Bite me.* She groaned in frustration as an unwanted image of Draco nibbling gently on her neck popped into her head. "Fuck." *Stop it girl, he just did a damn good job of proving where his loyalties really lie. I'm just his legs, remember?* She ran her hands through her hair, fisting them in the slick strands as she scrunched her eyes shut and allowed the fury to build, washing the pain and hurt away in the tide of anger. *If he's too damn blind to see what's right in front of his fucking nose, well then, it's his own problem, not mine.* She honestly had no clue what type of relationship she wanted from Draco, but still, the thought that he had been more interested in pissing her off than in spending a slightly romantic evening with her, baffled Ginny. She didn't know what she had been offering this past couple of days, but if he didn't have the sense to take it while it was offered, well then, he didn't deserve her, now did he? As she snapped off the water and dried herself with a large, fluffy towel, her eyes shot sparks. *No one treats me like a commodity and gets away with it.* Standing naked in front of the mirror, she searched through the drawers until she found a comb. As she yanked it through her hair, unknotting the silky strands, thinking, *Not a chance. Screw him, and screw his high-minded ideals. I'm outta here.* That last thought rung in her head as she wrapped the towel tightly around her body, tucking the end between her breasts to secure her makeshift garment.
*************************************************************
"Ron, can't you walk straight?" Hermione said as Ron stumbled into the fifth marble statue in the hall. "If this is how you're going to carry me into our house after we get married, you can forget everything on our wedding night!" From your weight I couldn't possible, you big cow! Ron muttered to himself aimlessly. "What was that, honey?" Hermione asked, digging her new manicure (courtesy of one of the scary troll hedges Lucius had planted in the backyard.), into Ron's neck. This is going to be a LONG night, thought Ron as he tried to find the jacuzzi filled with pudding Hermione had nagged him about since their arrival at the Malfoy Mansion.
************************************************************
Ginny stuck her tongue out at the retreating back and focused on her....food. Well, she assumed it was food, but it could be just a clever disguise.."You guys owe me big time!" She muttered, poking her spoon into the brownish gruel on her plate. She tried to block out the sounds of Sirus rambling on about the road trips he went on back in his day. 'God! He can sure talk a lot! I don't care about his hippie days, love, peace, afros, harmony..that's bull! Bet he was ready to commit suicide after being stuck in the car for days with assholes!' She tried in vain to wrap her mind around the recent occurrences during breakfast. But, when she couldn't stand it any longer..she managed to push down the gruel down her throat (and it still amazed her that the Malfoy's were supposed to be really rich and yet they served gruel for breakfast.) She got up quickly, excusing herself politely and ran to her room- to get some sleep she was in great need of.
************************************************************
Now dressed and ready to go, he sat upon his bed, swinging his feet listlessly. Ginny was wound up tighter than a spring, so said just about everybody...especially him and the rest of the guys. A spiraling light that entwined itself into his mind like a cancer. He had hurt her...physically, emotionally...god, what had he done? All of the quick-to-be-denied jealousy and resentment he had harbored were put out..to where? Out into the open..out of his mind..into others....today was not a good day he thought sadly.
He walked into her room. Looking at her seeming lifeless sleeping form, she resembled a tattered marionette. And I'm here to hold tight to your strings, he thought silently. He watched her face brushed with pain, dabs of what had happened before-or at least his mistake Ned thoughts. He closed his eyes, trying to find it. It was coruscating, the way everything was, and gossamer thin. But it was there. It...could it be love or perhaps it was a hate-roaring like a fire around her form. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus on something..her. He saw her..he almost smiled despite the emotional pain coursing through every inch of his body.
"Tired?" She asked, her voice showing the signs of a stifled yawn. Why was he here? To be more a bastard than he already had been? To hurt her more, if possible? She didn't know what to expect from him. She couldn't believe that she'd actually managed to eat that...gruel they'd given her. It wasn't her fault that it came right back up. What else did he want from her know, all she did was give and receive nothing in return. She had always believed in the power of democracy, so when even a small part of her wanted to tell him off, throwing a mad fit, she decided to take a vote. Her hands signaled their opinion on the matter by pulling the sheets away from the corner of the bed. Her legs cast their ballot by pushing herself up, trying to look slightly composed-as if she hadn't cried herself to sleep. When her entire body, soul and heart wanted to kiss and make up-tell him that she loved him. It outvoted her rebellious mind, took up office, and promptly declared itself dictator. "Come here," she said motioning to the mussed pale sheets, which could be barely identified as a bed. "Come sleep." If the horrid dark circles under his eyes were any indication, the sleep would be a welcome holiday. She could read him like a book; with all the good and bad parts dog-eared for future reference. She studied his features, seeing just thoughts of wanting relaxation...with her....he took small strides, stopping by the bed.
"I'm sorry. I love you." He said with the somber conviction of a priest talking of God. With the certainty of a scientist proclaiming the Earth round. With the yearning of a boy who wants to touch the sky. With the misery of a man who understands that he has lost his heart and will never get it back. A gust of wind blew in through the open window, closing the door. And though the lovers couldn't truly hear it, the door seemed to slam shut with an echoing finality. The howling wind, and protesting groans of the house receded, as did everything else, until only the sounds they could hear were the ragged music of their breath and the rapid tempo their hearts.
He loves me..god...he loves me. Ginny tried to get this to register in her brain (or should I say-heart, soul and body) but it stayed-tempting her to do something about it. She pulled herself out of the bed, her small feet making contact with the cold marble floor. She looked up into his eyes, saying rather straight forward manner-"Me too. I love you too." Smiling, they kissed and walked out, hand-in-hand towards the bustle of life outside their temporary haven.
By now that gang was back at Hogwarts-Ron and Hermione gushing at each other's every move and word, Ginny and Draco trying to make more sense of their relationship (which usually ending in snogging and whatnot) and then there was Harry............
*************************************************************
Harry sat on the ledge of one of the Astronomy Tower's windows. *Damn it, I'm Harry Potter, the boy who lived-and I can't get no lovin'! You know what...maybe I should just jump and save myself the embarrassment of being single!* Harry stood up on the ledge, looking down at the landscape-the green of the Forbidden Forest, the warm glow of Hargrid's hut, the sparkling of the lake in the moonlight. Harry braced himself for the jump, but before another thought about jumping could escape him, a small, spotted, reddish owl flew into view. It landed gracefully on Harry's shoulders, stretching out its leg for Harry to untie the letter attached to it.
You can't control love, Harry. It isn't something that you learn to do, or plan to do, or try to do. Love just is. If it is love, you don't have to think about it. When it's love, it consumes you. You can't breathe or think or feel anything else. And that's how I feel about you, Harry. Love, Viktor
Harry wiped a crystal tear from his eye as he saw the shadow of a tall, uni-brow figure outside. (Shit, I thought that Harry's daily 5 o clock pm therapist had got rid of those 'special' thoughts of his...) He quickly ran outside into the darkness (now imagine one of those cheesy romance flicks where to star-struck lovers run from opposite ends of the screen, arms open, towards each other. Now see them running past each other about 5 times before finally ending up in each other's arms...that is before Viktor stumbled on something, almost breaking his 'perfect' nose. :-)
*Maybe this year won't be so bad after all* the gang thought as the clock struck 12. The 'reunited lovers' were having fun in the Perfect's Bathroom with champagne, bubble bath, butterscotch pudding and the occasional French kiss- "Draco, don't you love getting drunk in tubs of butterscotch pudding...it's so much fun!" The 'odd couple' were rolling around in the mud by the lake-"Viktor watch out, we're going to fall into the lakeeeeeee!" The 'best friends' were playing around with the forgotten feather thong and high-heels-"Ron, you look so handsome in that thong...oh I have the perfect pair of heels to go with it!" Herminoe's shriek the fun she was having with her high (trashy) sense of taste in clothes on Ron. *Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.*
Thank you! Everybody who has reviewed all the other parts of this series, I hope you liked this! Thanx, r/r! A BIG thanx goes to my buddy Louise for being the best betta reader ever! Love ya girl!
Huggles
~Snow Angel~