Hello! I know that I had promised this chapter would be up soon (and that that was several months ago...) but as you may have noticed, I have been working on a new fic, called The Messenger and the Dragon...a Dr/Hr romance...anyways, I was struck by sudden inspiration to write another chapter in this fic...and I have a great new plan for it!!! This is a short chapter, and Draco is evil, sexy, and conniving...but, what's a girl to do?! Anyways, you may not be able to see where this is going from this chapter...but I guess I'll keep you on your toes! Also, for all of you out there who are in favor of Draco and Lily, don't fear, it will happen eventually, but only after Draco gets over certain darker aspects of his personality and realizes that it just isn't very cool to be manipulative...anyways, enjoy!!
The Conquering of Hate
Chapter Eight: The Abuse of Ginny Weasley
*Draco's POV*
Well, it had finally come to him. He had decided that it was too risky to try to persuade Lily to come with him to the ski resort. She would ask Dumbledore all about it, probably already had, and that would bungle the entire Plan. But there was a certain little red-headed Weasley girl who could be a very useful tool...since Pansy was suddenly being a complete bitch and refusing to do a thing to help him.
He kept running into the girl, as it was. And she had suggested he go visit Madame Pompfrey...so all he had to do was get in front of her again, pretend to fall asleep in the hall again, trip, make her trip, or not, she could just help him up...then, surely, she would tell him to go to the hospital, he would solemnly nod his head and ask her if she would be kind enough to escort him there, since he was having trouble staying awake. Then, once there, he would figure out a way to make her stay, for a little while. Throw in something about her beautiful hair, or, well, anything, really. Wrap her around his little finger...yes, yes, she would be perfect...
*Ginny's POV*
Ginny glared at her sloppy morning porridge. Harry was actually over at the Ravenclaw table this morning, talking with, surprise, surprise, Cho. Ron was off in la-la land, which confused her, because he seemed to be in a la-la land focused primarily around the Slytherins...and Hermione had eaten her toast very quickly and was now running towards the Library at a manic speed.
She couldn't believe that Harry and Hermione had actually had detention with Snape last night. And they had seemed happy about it, telling Ron all about something terribly secret that of course little Ginny Weasley would be left out of. Damn it, now Cho was literally batting her extra thick, dark, and long, lustrous eyelashes at Harry Potter. She could see it from here. How pathetic. Ugh.
Ginny gave up on the porridge. She just wasn't hungry. She might as well go to Divination. While her brother hated the subject, she generally found it very enlightening. Mind you, she didn't believe half of what Professor Trelawny said, but the other 50 percent was always helpful and she was becoming really good at seeing the future. Ok, not really, but she was much more attuned to people. She could pick up on things much more quickly, and her tea leave reading had saved her on numerous occasions.
Funny. Malfoy was in front of her, again. The poor boy (wait a second, what an oxymoron!) was having trouble staying awake again, it seemed. He just managed to push the great big wooden door out of the Entrance hall open and walk through it, before his shoulders sagged even more and he could no longer walk in a straight line. He hadn't gone to Madame Pompfrey, obviously. Ginny's brow furrowed in worry. Maybe she should try to wake him up...before he fell.
Oh, well. Too late for that. She bent down next to him, and gently shook his shoulder. He didn't seem like the same cold, menacing Draco Malfoy she had heard of her whole life. He seemed much weaker, and seemed to be at a loss for harsh words.
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy...you need to wake up...c'mon...Draco..." She was bent down next to him and more insistently shaking his shoulder. He came to with a start, and seemed pleased to see her. Ginny felt herself blushing a little bit.
*Draco's POV*
Even easier than he had imagined. He had paid close attention to the little Weasley girl all through breakfast, and been able to note around what time she would decide to get up. She hadn't noticed because she was too busy staring at Potter, of course. And none of the Slytherins had noticed because he had said he was just really tired and didn't feel like talking and so Lily and Pansy had been talking, at the other end of the table, and everyone just sort of talked around him.
He got up about twenty seconds before she did, mumbling something about going back to bed. It was perfect. And she was being so gentle, and so sweet, and innocent...brushing away her flaming hair and chewing on her lower lip in worry, trying to no avail to keep the blush from creeping into her cheeks as she helped a feigning Malfoy up off of the floor...
*Ginny's POV*
"Um, Draco, have you been sleeping much lately?" Ginny tried to hold a conversation as she helped him up. She was feeling a little embarrassed.
"Wha-oh...no, not really...I've...I've been having horrible nightmares, Ginny..." He momentarily looked frightened, haunted, just as Harry sometimes did...
He knew her name. He looked her in the eye. HE didn't think of her as Ron's little sister...
"I think you really should go see Madame Pompfrey. Obviously you didn't listen to me last time. She can give you medicine to induce sleep, and then you won't be tired like this. Really, what will your teachers say if you fall asleep in the middle of class? Surely your grades are plummeting..."
"I guess I should...I just though I could, you know, handle it...but, well..."
"Why don't you go there now?"
"I will. Could you help me? I'm terribly drowsy...I'm just so..."
She felt so sorry for him. The circles under his eyes were darker than she had ever seen before. She didn't have a lot of time before class started, but, well...even if he WAS Draco Malfoy, surely Professor Trelawny would understand if she was a little late...she had been talking about karma only yesterday...yes, she would understand.
"Of course I will." She smiled up at him, to reassure him that she was there.
He placed his arm around her shoulder and whispered 'thanks'. She wasn't sure she could deal with him being this close to her. Her heart belonged to Harry, always...but Draco Malfoy was very pleasing to look at...and he was being so unbelievably sweet...
*Draco's POV*
God, the girl was so naive...she lapped up his every word. He could tell that she was already falling for him, even though, of course, her heart would probably always belong to Potter. That was ok. He didn't want her heart. He wanted her soul. To use, and discard. Oh, yes, he was an evil one...
*Ginny's POV*
He was leaning on her more and more. His eyes kept opening and closing, and his breathing kept slowing down. Every once in awhile she would have to stop and shake his shoulder because he was just to heavy for her to carry...his head kept landing on her shoulder, and occasionally she felt his breath blowing stray wisps of hair around on her neck...
She hadn't ever really been this close to someone before. When Harry had rescued her from the Chamber she had been too drained to appreciate it...she had also been a lot younger, more immature...then she just liked Harry because he was Harry...now, it was so much more...but Cho seemed to have him. He seemed to actually have a pretty good grip on Cho.
Ginny reminded herself to look where she was going, because she was back to practically carry Draco Malfoy. She wanted to get there before the other students started heading towards class...her brothers would have a fit if they saw her with Malfoy, even if he was being nice and even if he was completely helpless...
They had come to the twisting staircase that led to the Hospital Wing. Why was it so difficult to reach? What if he hadn't had her help? He wouldn't have made it here. He would've been asleep in the corridor, is what he would've been.
Good God, he was heavy. They were on the staircase, out of sight of anyone at the moment. Suddenly he had really, apparently for the first time, fallen asleep. If she didn't keep a hold of him and get him seated before even trying to wake him up, he would fall all the way down the long staircase. His arm was resting on one shoulder, and his hand was actually tangled in her hair. His head was lolled back and his mouth was wide open. He wasn't very attractive like that. He really must have had a lot of experience with girls to be comfortable falling asleep in a random girls' arms AND getting his hand tangled in her hair. Ginny suddenly felt very, very young. And also very, very used. Why couldn't he just wake up and get up the bloody staircase? Why did it have to be her, and why did she have to decide to be nice and get good karma? Would he at least close his mouth and look cute?
With some effort she got him into a sitting position and began shaking his shoulder, really hard. She was shaking his whole body. He woke with a start.
"Oh, God, damn sorry about that, Ginny...Listen, you're gonna be late for class, aren't you? I think I can make it by myself...thank you..." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Are you...are you sure?"
"Well, the worst that can happen is that I'll fall down the staircase and make a fool out of myself..." He grinned sweetly, sleepily, at her.
"It would hurt for you to fall down that staircase. The steps are stone. I'm sure Madame Pompfrey will give me a pass to class. I can help you..."
"Thanks, Ginny..."
*Draco's POV*
Wasn't she gullible? It was sort of sweet...he knew he had an affect on women, but he thought to himself, this time it was perfectly executed. And perfectly received. At one point he lolled his head onto her shoulder and gently touched her neck with his lips. He felt her body tense, and she even paused in the hallway. He let his breath tickle her neck, and then topped it all off by kissing her on the cheek at the perfect moment. Hell, Ginny Weasley wanted him. Bad.
*Ginny's POV*
Draco Malfoy had just kissed her. Draco Malfoy had just kissed her! Never mind that it was just on the cheek. His icy lips had touched her burning cheeks. She found herself completely absorbed in thoughts of him kissing her. It would feel wonderful...oh, he was saying something...
"What class do you have?"
"Divination with Trelawny."
"Oh, I'm sure that she won't mind if you're late. You just have to talk about good karma a lot. I'm a master at getting out of her class..." He gave her a little wink. He still looked really sleepy, but like he was making an effort to stay awake, for her.
"That's what I was planning on doing. She was talking to us about karma yesterday, actually. Oh, look, here's the Hospital Wing..."
Draco withdrew his arm from around her neck, and followed her in.
"Madame Pompfrey? Poppy? It's Ginny..."
"Hello, dear...oh, hello, Draco..."
"Um, Madame Pompfrey, I brought Draco here because he needs a sleeping concoction...he's been having a lot of really bad nightmares, and I happened to come upon him falling asleep in the hall, and, well..."
"Oh, dear. What are the nightmares about, Draco?"
"Well...they...vary. But I think I will talk to Dumbledore about them maybe later on today or tomorrow..."
"Or the day after that, dear, because I'm going to make you stay here for at least 40 hours of sleep. You need it. I'll be right back with the medicine, dear."
"40 hours? Shit, Ginny! That's an awful lot of sleep..."
"Draco, you really do need it...you couldn't even stay awake on your way up here!"
"Yeah. Thanks again..." he kissed her again on the cheek, this time for a little bit longer. "I couldn't help noticing, that, well, you like Potter. Try to forget about him and that Chang girl, if anything goes on. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm open to it...and don't let Potter make you think you aren't pretty or anything. Because, Ginny Weasley, you're definitely one of the most beautiful and exotic looking girls in this school. And damn nice, to boot." He gave her a kiss on the other cheek, then went over to his hospital bed.
'Draco Malfoy thinks I'm beautiful!' Ginny was beyond ecstatic. She couldn't refrain from a big grin and very rosy cheeks.
"Dear, are you alright? And what happened to Draco?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Poppy! He's over in one of the beds..."
"You look awfully flushed, Ginny. Let me take your temperature..."
"I'm really fine, Madame Pompfrey! Honest!"
"Have you eaten anything today?"
"Um...well...not really..."
"That stomach of yours is caving in so much that before long you're going to have a hole through your middle, and let me tell you, boys don't find THAT very attractive!"
Madame Pompfrey bustled around, and found a large bar of chocolate. "Here, have this. It's Honeyduke's Finest. Now, if you still are this flushed and feverish looking in a few minutes, I WILL take your temperature, and you may also have to stay here for a few days, dear..." She waddled off to give Draco his sleeping potion, which was scheduled to make him sleep for ten hours straight.
By this point Ginny was blushing out of sheer embarrassment. Poppy would've had to lecture her in front of Draco...Ginny twisted her fingers nervously at the thought of him. She had heard so many bad things about him...about all the girls he had used, about how he didn't love anyone but himself, about his father, about how he treated her family, especially Ron. And yet, he was so nice to her...
The Conquering of Hate
Chapter Eight: The Abuse of Ginny Weasley
*Draco's POV*
Well, it had finally come to him. He had decided that it was too risky to try to persuade Lily to come with him to the ski resort. She would ask Dumbledore all about it, probably already had, and that would bungle the entire Plan. But there was a certain little red-headed Weasley girl who could be a very useful tool...since Pansy was suddenly being a complete bitch and refusing to do a thing to help him.
He kept running into the girl, as it was. And she had suggested he go visit Madame Pompfrey...so all he had to do was get in front of her again, pretend to fall asleep in the hall again, trip, make her trip, or not, she could just help him up...then, surely, she would tell him to go to the hospital, he would solemnly nod his head and ask her if she would be kind enough to escort him there, since he was having trouble staying awake. Then, once there, he would figure out a way to make her stay, for a little while. Throw in something about her beautiful hair, or, well, anything, really. Wrap her around his little finger...yes, yes, she would be perfect...
*Ginny's POV*
Ginny glared at her sloppy morning porridge. Harry was actually over at the Ravenclaw table this morning, talking with, surprise, surprise, Cho. Ron was off in la-la land, which confused her, because he seemed to be in a la-la land focused primarily around the Slytherins...and Hermione had eaten her toast very quickly and was now running towards the Library at a manic speed.
She couldn't believe that Harry and Hermione had actually had detention with Snape last night. And they had seemed happy about it, telling Ron all about something terribly secret that of course little Ginny Weasley would be left out of. Damn it, now Cho was literally batting her extra thick, dark, and long, lustrous eyelashes at Harry Potter. She could see it from here. How pathetic. Ugh.
Ginny gave up on the porridge. She just wasn't hungry. She might as well go to Divination. While her brother hated the subject, she generally found it very enlightening. Mind you, she didn't believe half of what Professor Trelawny said, but the other 50 percent was always helpful and she was becoming really good at seeing the future. Ok, not really, but she was much more attuned to people. She could pick up on things much more quickly, and her tea leave reading had saved her on numerous occasions.
Funny. Malfoy was in front of her, again. The poor boy (wait a second, what an oxymoron!) was having trouble staying awake again, it seemed. He just managed to push the great big wooden door out of the Entrance hall open and walk through it, before his shoulders sagged even more and he could no longer walk in a straight line. He hadn't gone to Madame Pompfrey, obviously. Ginny's brow furrowed in worry. Maybe she should try to wake him up...before he fell.
Oh, well. Too late for that. She bent down next to him, and gently shook his shoulder. He didn't seem like the same cold, menacing Draco Malfoy she had heard of her whole life. He seemed much weaker, and seemed to be at a loss for harsh words.
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy...you need to wake up...c'mon...Draco..." She was bent down next to him and more insistently shaking his shoulder. He came to with a start, and seemed pleased to see her. Ginny felt herself blushing a little bit.
*Draco's POV*
Even easier than he had imagined. He had paid close attention to the little Weasley girl all through breakfast, and been able to note around what time she would decide to get up. She hadn't noticed because she was too busy staring at Potter, of course. And none of the Slytherins had noticed because he had said he was just really tired and didn't feel like talking and so Lily and Pansy had been talking, at the other end of the table, and everyone just sort of talked around him.
He got up about twenty seconds before she did, mumbling something about going back to bed. It was perfect. And she was being so gentle, and so sweet, and innocent...brushing away her flaming hair and chewing on her lower lip in worry, trying to no avail to keep the blush from creeping into her cheeks as she helped a feigning Malfoy up off of the floor...
*Ginny's POV*
"Um, Draco, have you been sleeping much lately?" Ginny tried to hold a conversation as she helped him up. She was feeling a little embarrassed.
"Wha-oh...no, not really...I've...I've been having horrible nightmares, Ginny..." He momentarily looked frightened, haunted, just as Harry sometimes did...
He knew her name. He looked her in the eye. HE didn't think of her as Ron's little sister...
"I think you really should go see Madame Pompfrey. Obviously you didn't listen to me last time. She can give you medicine to induce sleep, and then you won't be tired like this. Really, what will your teachers say if you fall asleep in the middle of class? Surely your grades are plummeting..."
"I guess I should...I just though I could, you know, handle it...but, well..."
"Why don't you go there now?"
"I will. Could you help me? I'm terribly drowsy...I'm just so..."
She felt so sorry for him. The circles under his eyes were darker than she had ever seen before. She didn't have a lot of time before class started, but, well...even if he WAS Draco Malfoy, surely Professor Trelawny would understand if she was a little late...she had been talking about karma only yesterday...yes, she would understand.
"Of course I will." She smiled up at him, to reassure him that she was there.
He placed his arm around her shoulder and whispered 'thanks'. She wasn't sure she could deal with him being this close to her. Her heart belonged to Harry, always...but Draco Malfoy was very pleasing to look at...and he was being so unbelievably sweet...
*Draco's POV*
God, the girl was so naive...she lapped up his every word. He could tell that she was already falling for him, even though, of course, her heart would probably always belong to Potter. That was ok. He didn't want her heart. He wanted her soul. To use, and discard. Oh, yes, he was an evil one...
*Ginny's POV*
He was leaning on her more and more. His eyes kept opening and closing, and his breathing kept slowing down. Every once in awhile she would have to stop and shake his shoulder because he was just to heavy for her to carry...his head kept landing on her shoulder, and occasionally she felt his breath blowing stray wisps of hair around on her neck...
She hadn't ever really been this close to someone before. When Harry had rescued her from the Chamber she had been too drained to appreciate it...she had also been a lot younger, more immature...then she just liked Harry because he was Harry...now, it was so much more...but Cho seemed to have him. He seemed to actually have a pretty good grip on Cho.
Ginny reminded herself to look where she was going, because she was back to practically carry Draco Malfoy. She wanted to get there before the other students started heading towards class...her brothers would have a fit if they saw her with Malfoy, even if he was being nice and even if he was completely helpless...
They had come to the twisting staircase that led to the Hospital Wing. Why was it so difficult to reach? What if he hadn't had her help? He wouldn't have made it here. He would've been asleep in the corridor, is what he would've been.
Good God, he was heavy. They were on the staircase, out of sight of anyone at the moment. Suddenly he had really, apparently for the first time, fallen asleep. If she didn't keep a hold of him and get him seated before even trying to wake him up, he would fall all the way down the long staircase. His arm was resting on one shoulder, and his hand was actually tangled in her hair. His head was lolled back and his mouth was wide open. He wasn't very attractive like that. He really must have had a lot of experience with girls to be comfortable falling asleep in a random girls' arms AND getting his hand tangled in her hair. Ginny suddenly felt very, very young. And also very, very used. Why couldn't he just wake up and get up the bloody staircase? Why did it have to be her, and why did she have to decide to be nice and get good karma? Would he at least close his mouth and look cute?
With some effort she got him into a sitting position and began shaking his shoulder, really hard. She was shaking his whole body. He woke with a start.
"Oh, God, damn sorry about that, Ginny...Listen, you're gonna be late for class, aren't you? I think I can make it by myself...thank you..." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Are you...are you sure?"
"Well, the worst that can happen is that I'll fall down the staircase and make a fool out of myself..." He grinned sweetly, sleepily, at her.
"It would hurt for you to fall down that staircase. The steps are stone. I'm sure Madame Pompfrey will give me a pass to class. I can help you..."
"Thanks, Ginny..."
*Draco's POV*
Wasn't she gullible? It was sort of sweet...he knew he had an affect on women, but he thought to himself, this time it was perfectly executed. And perfectly received. At one point he lolled his head onto her shoulder and gently touched her neck with his lips. He felt her body tense, and she even paused in the hallway. He let his breath tickle her neck, and then topped it all off by kissing her on the cheek at the perfect moment. Hell, Ginny Weasley wanted him. Bad.
*Ginny's POV*
Draco Malfoy had just kissed her. Draco Malfoy had just kissed her! Never mind that it was just on the cheek. His icy lips had touched her burning cheeks. She found herself completely absorbed in thoughts of him kissing her. It would feel wonderful...oh, he was saying something...
"What class do you have?"
"Divination with Trelawny."
"Oh, I'm sure that she won't mind if you're late. You just have to talk about good karma a lot. I'm a master at getting out of her class..." He gave her a little wink. He still looked really sleepy, but like he was making an effort to stay awake, for her.
"That's what I was planning on doing. She was talking to us about karma yesterday, actually. Oh, look, here's the Hospital Wing..."
Draco withdrew his arm from around her neck, and followed her in.
"Madame Pompfrey? Poppy? It's Ginny..."
"Hello, dear...oh, hello, Draco..."
"Um, Madame Pompfrey, I brought Draco here because he needs a sleeping concoction...he's been having a lot of really bad nightmares, and I happened to come upon him falling asleep in the hall, and, well..."
"Oh, dear. What are the nightmares about, Draco?"
"Well...they...vary. But I think I will talk to Dumbledore about them maybe later on today or tomorrow..."
"Or the day after that, dear, because I'm going to make you stay here for at least 40 hours of sleep. You need it. I'll be right back with the medicine, dear."
"40 hours? Shit, Ginny! That's an awful lot of sleep..."
"Draco, you really do need it...you couldn't even stay awake on your way up here!"
"Yeah. Thanks again..." he kissed her again on the cheek, this time for a little bit longer. "I couldn't help noticing, that, well, you like Potter. Try to forget about him and that Chang girl, if anything goes on. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm open to it...and don't let Potter make you think you aren't pretty or anything. Because, Ginny Weasley, you're definitely one of the most beautiful and exotic looking girls in this school. And damn nice, to boot." He gave her a kiss on the other cheek, then went over to his hospital bed.
'Draco Malfoy thinks I'm beautiful!' Ginny was beyond ecstatic. She couldn't refrain from a big grin and very rosy cheeks.
"Dear, are you alright? And what happened to Draco?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Poppy! He's over in one of the beds..."
"You look awfully flushed, Ginny. Let me take your temperature..."
"I'm really fine, Madame Pompfrey! Honest!"
"Have you eaten anything today?"
"Um...well...not really..."
"That stomach of yours is caving in so much that before long you're going to have a hole through your middle, and let me tell you, boys don't find THAT very attractive!"
Madame Pompfrey bustled around, and found a large bar of chocolate. "Here, have this. It's Honeyduke's Finest. Now, if you still are this flushed and feverish looking in a few minutes, I WILL take your temperature, and you may also have to stay here for a few days, dear..." She waddled off to give Draco his sleeping potion, which was scheduled to make him sleep for ten hours straight.
By this point Ginny was blushing out of sheer embarrassment. Poppy would've had to lecture her in front of Draco...Ginny twisted her fingers nervously at the thought of him. She had heard so many bad things about him...about all the girls he had used, about how he didn't love anyone but himself, about his father, about how he treated her family, especially Ron. And yet, he was so nice to her...