Title: Falling in to You 2/?
Author: Allison
Email: Alibaba4343@aol.com
Rating: PG
Summary: Draco ponders the events in the hallway and acts like a git
Disclaimer: Lets sing a song! o/`Its not mine its not mine, I own nothing be cause no th ings minnnnnne!!!! o/` thank you thank you I'll be here all week
Archive: All the usual suspects
Author's Notes: This took far to long but now its up and ready thanks to my most splendifurous betas MMI and Kimmy *eg* ducks tomatoes, or would they be Paneokes(???) from Nightfall

He had been walking slowly through the halls doing his best to avoid the many living, and not-so living, creatures of the castle and was actually quite successful at his task until he found himself flat on his back with an auburn haired girl on his chest. Under normal circumstances he would've found this to be a favorable position, but seeing as he was getting jabbed and kicked as the girl swore trying to free herself.

"Are you alright?" he asked, remembering why they were on the floor in the middle of the corridor.

"Absolutely," she muttered, distractedly, pulling free from the tangle of limbs.

He watched in wonderment as the slim figure snatched up its books and flew down the corridor only stopping to shout a quick apology.

"All right, what just happened here?" he asked himself. You know Draco questions tend to get answered when you ask them of people who can answer, a condescending voice in his head replied.

Draco ignored the voice and stood up, wiping the dust off of his robes. Taking one last glance down the corridors, he hoped the girl would make herself known once more. When she didn't, he turned and continued down the hall. He was only able to take a single step before his foot hit a large object. Looking down, he saw a worn copy of The Art of Stars by Glynis Armanthea. It wasn't required reading for any astronomy class he knew of, so he picked it up and tucked into his robes before heading towards the Slytherin dorm.

Draco knew it had to belong to the girl who had crashed into him - most of what he had seen was her hair. The strands weren't very long at all but the jagged ends caught what little light was in the hall, causing it to shine a thousand shades of red and gold. He shook his head, this was pathetic, he was sixteen and not eleven. He could handle gorgeous girls running into him and leaving little mementos behind for him to attempt to track her down with. It happens all the time.

Tuesdays mostly.

"Affolter," he muttered, the stone wall sliding open into the long, dreary common room. It was abandoned with the exception of a small group of second years playing Exploding Snap by the third fireplace. He did his best to tune out their twittering remarks as he climbed up the stairway to his dorm. He walked quietly over to his bed by the foggy window, and slid through the emerald curtains onto his bed.

He lit a candle next to the bed and enhanced the flame so its soft light touched his entire bed. He reached into his robes and pulled out the purple book he had pocketed earlier. He placed it on the bed and flipped it open. Notes were scribbled all over the margins and in any blank space; none of them being astronomy related. Aha! I can find out more about this girl, he thought as his eyes fell on a 'conversation' between two people.

Come on! Why won't you tell me?!

Because! It's your CHRISTMAS present and its supposed to be a surprise

I converted I'm Jewish now!

Hanukah isn't for another week either, Colin, so don't even try

Come on, you know I love you, doesn't that count for anything?

The word 'love' stood out like a beacon; did she already have a boyfriend? Was that who this 'Colin' was?

A present ON Christmas, nothing more

Oh come on! I'll give you a hug!

Get your stinky hands away from me!

Now that's just rude L

It didn't sound like it, so Draco began to breathe easier. He scanned a few other conversations but he couldn't seem find another name that would tell him who the owner of the book was. He turned several pages but still didn't see anything that represented a name. He threw the book against his pillow in frustration, and watched the front cover fall open and reveal a name- Virginia Weasley. Weasley? No, no, no, this had to be a mistake! Girl Weasley was a short little first year that made kissy faces at Potter. She was most definitely NOT the feminine figure who had knocked him over in the hallway!

He crawled into bed grumbling over the turn of events. For more than an hour he tossed and turned, coming up with explanation, after explanation for why Weasley's name being in her book. Finally he decided that it wasn't *her* book at all, the youngest Weasley must have dropped it earlier, and that's why he found it. Besides it isn't like every red head in the school was a Weasley, no there was that good looking Ravenclaw seventh year, Stephanie something or other. Yes it must have been Stephanie in the hallway tonight. With that thought to appease his mind Draco Malfoy drifted off to sleep.

*

Over the next few days he tried his best to catch the Ravenclaw's eye and chat her up a bit, but every time he got near her, she shot him a disgusted look and walked off. As if that wasn't frustrating enough, Ginny Weasley kept shooting him strange looks and he would hear snippets of her conversations with that boy she was always with - the annoying Muggle born with the camera.

"I can't think of anywhere it might be! I know I had the other week and I always carry it with the rest of my books."

When Draco heard that he almost walked into a suit of armor. He still had her book; actually it was resting under his pillow at the moment. Not that he was about to share this information with her, his cheeks colored at the thought. Stop acting like a prat and owl it back to her, his wise inner voice told him.

Deciding to follow the advice of the voice in his head, Draco pounded down the stairs back to his dormitory, snatched up the book and made his way up to the owlery with it safely tucked under his arm. He wound his way through the hallways, thinking of different ways he could catch the attractive Ravenclaw's attention.

He walked rapidly down a seemingly deserted corridor, staring blankly at the cover of The Art of the Stars. He wondered to himself how he ever could have thought it was Baby Weasley who had smashed into him the other day. No, the girl he had ran into was much too pretty and forgiving, to be a Weasley... It must have been the redhead from Ravenclaw. Again, his thoughts drifted back to how he could pick her up sometime. It couldn't be that hard, he concluded, after all...

I am Draco Malfoy.

A small smile formed on his lips. He soon became so wrapped up in his own little warped scenarios; he didn't even notice another figure also make her distracted way down the hall. Had he looked up he would have noticed it was Ginny Weasley fresh from a shower making her way down the hallway brushing her ridiculously short wet hair and gazing off into the distance. As the Fates (or whomever it is who has that warped sense of humor we all know and love) would have it the two inattentive figures were once again on a collision course. With a very sound THUNK their bodies met. This time though both parties managed to stay upright as the force of impact was very low.

"What the h-ello," Ginny began, as she looked up in to his eyes.

Draco was flustered for just a moment, but soon regained his composure and looked coolly back down at the young girl, brushing his robes off. "Weasel's never were known for their keen eyesight, were they?" he asked, glowering down at her.

"Actually they have rather keen eyesight, and what is a Malfoy known for? Substandard research skills?" she replied, shocked by his words. This was NOT the sweet boy who had been her landing pad on a previous night. No this was the Draco Malfoy, which she despised.

"Substandard research skills happen to be our specialty," Draco muttered as a bit of a lame comeback, shifting the book he cradled in his arms from one to the other uncomfortably. How was he letting her get to him like this? Ginny peered down at the movement and saw the purple book.

"You know most _men_ prefer a little black book to keep girls' names in, but then again maybe they aren't girls that you have in there...it would explain the color..." she teased.

Draco sputtered, "I'll have you know-" he began to wave his arms in the air.

Ginny caught sight of the cover and grabbed his wrist, "Hey! This is _my_ book! How on earth did you get it?"

Draco, highly aware of the heat pulsating from her hand, did his best to sound aloof as he said, "I found it in the hallway. You'd think that someone like you would take better care of their possessions."

Confusion passed through Ginny's eyes before she backhanded him across the chest; "Bastard!" and walked off down the hall.

Draco turned to do the same before he realized he was still holding her book. Sighing, he turned back around and followed her, "You forgot this."

She wheeled around, "I suppose I did," snatching the book away she gave him a peculiar look, "Well go on now...get."

Draco complied, in utter disbelief that someone had told him to 'get'. His jaw dropped and his eyes narrowed at her retreating back and for once in his life he was speechless. He spun around on his heel and stormed off in the opposite direction, until rather ungracefully realizing that he was headed east, while the Slytherin common room was rather West of his current position point and swung around once more, stomping down the marble staircase, glad that the girl was long gone.

*

Draco stared up at the black canopy of his four-poster, the velvet hangings pulled tight around him, the light at the tip of his wand serving as his only light source. He lay sprawled out over his deep green coverlet, attempting to rid himself of a bothersome headache that had coincidentally developed directly after his brief encounter with Girl Weasley.

He suspected that the true cause of his pain was actually the fact that he couldn't shake the thought of her pale blue pajamas (complete with the flying cows with silver wings). They had been partially hidden under her flowy, green robe, a bath version of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch robes (which was very adorably girly, in his unwelcome opinion). There was also her sopping wet hair, only coming down just past her ears. Hell, he tried to shake the thought of her. But he couldn't.

Even as he lay there, the sharp pain between his eyes shooting deeper and deeper, Girl Weasley's face danced in front of his eyes. At one point, he even had allowed a small smile creep onto his lips in private while telling himself that she really was sort of cute. But the bigger portion of his mind - the one that was rather disgusted with him right now - slapped that thought down and told him to 'Go to sleep before he hurt himself.'

And after another half-hour or so of tossing, he did, falling into an uncomfortable rest; the conversation with Ginny Weasley still swirling around in his mind.

Why are you doing this to yourself, Draco? He wondered in the darkness. She's a Weasley, repeat that, she's a Weasley, she's a Weasley, and she's a very pretty Weasley…NO! That defeats the purpose of this exercise. No thoughts about her, no thoughts about her, you know those pajamas she was wearing were awfully clingy…Dammit, Draco why won't you listen to me? You know what I give up go ahead fantasize about the unattainable girl whom you shouldn't even honor with a second glance much less your precious fantasy time!

Draco all but grinned into his own mind as he placed his hands behind his head and let him mind wander over smooth curves hidden under a veil of fuzzy green.

------- Nightfall Notes --------

1. Just to let you know (and this is only a typing pointer) you should put 2 spaces after a period instead of one.

Nuh uh! People help me with this one….

_Allison