Ginger Chap 5

By Ice Queen (ice_queen_5@hotmail.com)

Category: Romance/humor

Keywords: Draco, Ginny, Weasley,

Rating: G

Spoilers: All four Books, but not really.

Summary: Draco keeps having these dreams, and they're throwing off his bad boy groove. But they aren't scary... Cept for him, that is. D/G

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Hehee, hey guys. Wm, they speak that way to piss their father off, plus, they're only eight. Midnight, I love that part too, it was hard to write cuz I was laughing so hard. Kat, well, the tattoos will have a big part, but... you'll see^_^ For the rest of you wonderful people, you, keep readin! It just gets weirder. Is that a good thing though? BTW lil' hint... *Gets on knees* Reviews are boo-ti-ful things, see? I like hearing what you say! Flames are fine as well^_^ As long as.... I'm rambling aren't I? Go read!

Chapter 5: All The Small Things

"We don't like it, Gin! No one should have to deal with that condescending prat! Especially not our little sister!" Fred slammed his fist down on the table, his normally smiling eyes flaming.

"What, did he insult your spelling?" Gin asked, smirking at her brother's forehead. George snorted, then wiped his grin off before his twin saw.

"He... Let's just say he should be weary of going to bed at night." Fred stated, his eyes already dancing with possible ideas.

"He already... Well, it's probably because you let his entire table see him talking to a Weasley. He's not... really..." She stopped, seeing all the incredulous stares directed at her. In fact, every Gryffindor within hearing was looking as though she had grown another head. As the twins began to laugh she turned bright red, playing with her food rather than eating it.

"Malfoy? Spawn of Hell, NOT THAT BAD?! BWAHAHAHAHAA!!!" Ron gasped. He stopped, a horrified look on his face. "You were joking, weren't you? Because if not I really think we ought to visit Madam Pomfrey." Fred nodded in agreement, raising one hand to her forehead to see if she had a temperature. George grasped her hand in his, as though she would croak at any minute.

"I am feeling just fine, thank you. Now if you don't mind, I have a Magical Healing class to get to, and you two have a shop to run." She glared at the sheepishly grinning twins. They shrugged, walking off to say goodbye to some of their other friends and left. She could have sworn she saw Draco give a sigh of relief out of the corner of her eye, and was still smirking as she headed for her first class. Sometimes it's good to have goofball older brothers. Not often, but sometimes.

She never even had a clue that the large group of teachers she passed by were taking bets. And that it would haunt Draco for years to come.

"I'll take ten on Parvati!"

"No no, he'd never be that shallow! Gimme Chang for fifteen."

"I thought that she and Potter... Well, I take Zarbini for fifteen, they have much more in common."

Madam Pomfrey stepped forward slowly, ever the romantic at heart. "I think... Ginny Weasley." The entire group (Since both Dumbledore and Snape had left to go discuss something) stared at her blankly then burst into gales of laughter.

"D-Draco Malfoy... BWAHAHAHAA!!! And... A WEASLEY?!! BWAHAHAHAHAA!!" Pomfrey scowled, dropping her money into the sorting hat, which, strangely enough, had refused to comment. For the rest of the day the big question was why all the teachers seemed so... cheery. Many started praying for their upcoming NEWTS, and Neville, seeing McGonagall smile at him, took to hiding under his desk every time his name was called.

But this was the mildest part of Draco's problem, for you see, teachers hate to be wrong. Especially when their small paychecks were on the line. So it came as no surprise to see many of them going out of their way to see he and his *cough* great love were together at some point of time. In other words he had girls practically thrown at him every time he turned the corner.

"M-Malfoy... I-I... I'msosorry..." The Parvati girl stammered, after having been shoved *Accidentally* into the tall scowling blonde. "Havetagonow, byebye." And with one last glance at his forbidding scowl the girl ran as though a raging hippogriff were on her heels. Needless to say her name was crossed off the list. (Although one suggested that he was being very loving by not hexing her. But even he knew he was pushing it.)

It quickly came to the point where he had to look around the corner before turning, just in case. Crabbe and Goyle weren't talking to him because their girlfriends (Yes, even Millicent was on the list) kept being shoved on him. It wasn't his bloody fault! But try explaining that to two Neanderthals. And of course, Pansy wasn't making it any easier.

"Oh! Draco! I didn't see you there!" She said, batting her overly done eyelashes at him as though she had something stuck in her eye. "I don't know how I could miss such a fine example of manhood though. Perhaps I should walk you to class. Protect you from all those... shameless girls throwing themselves at you." And of course, somehow the little Weasley was in the same hall at that time, trying not to laugh at his horrified expression.

Draco glared at the redhead, mouthing silent threats for their afternoon meeting, but that just made her laugh out loud, earning a scathing glare from the pug nosed wonderbr-er, wonder.

No one was more grateful than he when lunch let out. Even if it was only so he could tell the little red head off, at least he knew she wouldn't be throwing herself into his arms the moment she saw him. Pity, that. He was so gone he almost slapped himself for that thought. Thankfully he caught himself in time.

Draco raced to the library before the rest of the students had even finished talking, finding a darkened corner to sit in until the brat got there. For the first time in his life he wished he weren't so... visible in dark areas. Being tall, blonde and pale wasn't very helpful to keeping a low profile, unless one was in the middle of the North Pole, that is. He hid behind a large book, hoping that no one would find him.

A soft, silky voice crept through his brain, making him jump. "Well, there you are! We can't leave our poor, helpless Draco alone, can we? What with all those... Shameless girls throwing themselves at him!" He dropped the book as his eyes shut tight, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth as he waited for the other shoe to drop. Then he heard laughter.

"You should.. BWAHAHAHAA... Just see your face!! MWAHAHAA!! I swear you're even paler than before!!" He blushed, finally looking up to see the hysterical Weasley laughing her tail off at his suffering.

"Shuddup Weasley, before you get us kicked out again." She dropped down beside him, a laughing grin on her lips.

"So, what made you so popular all of a sudden? I mean, other than an attempt at the beginning of each year, the girls around here leave you alone." He cringed, hating the reminder of first day. For the last four years they had all attacked him as though expecting him to have turned... good... after a summer away. As though that would happen.

"You know about that, huh? Well, if you're so versed in idiotic females maybe you could tell them I'm not going to become a good-looking version of Potter, no matter how they think I just need a little... Love."

"Oh, but deep down, isn't it love that will save us all?" She sounded so serious that Draco almost gaped.

"You really believe that?"

"Nope! Not a bit. At least not for you." Ginny grinned. "But it sounded really good, didn't it?"

"Why not for me?" He asked curiously.

"Well, duh! You Slytherins prefer cold, hard, logic instead of the good feelings that we Gryffindors value so highly. If you didn't then you wouldn't be the Draco Malfoy we all love to hate."

"In other words, we Slytherins have brains instead of hearts, and you Gryffindors have hearts instead of brains." He smirked, waiting for the inevitable temper.

"Why... you..."

"Can't think of a comeback? It's only to be expected from a brainless Gryffindor." Ginny glared at him, punching him lightly in the arm. "And to resort of violence! The most pure form of Gryffindor there is!" He started to laugh. For a second she just watched him, a slight smile pulling on the side of her mouth.

"Ya know... You'd almost be cute if you weren't such an Arse." She stated softly, earning a glare. "Oh, yeah. I uh... wanted to tell you to check your sheets before going to bed for the next... oh, year or so. You seem to have pissed the twins off." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "In fact, you might want to hire a food tester while you're at it. They do enjoy baking and such... And while you're at it..." He raised one hand, showing that he got the point.

"All right already, I get the point. As if I would be scared of a Weasley!" He snorted, earning yet another glare from the redhead. Draco could honestly say he had gotten more dirty looks from this girl than anyone, other than possibly her older brothers combined.

"And I was even going to give you something for helping me out, but noooo, you had to go be a prat. I shouldn't be surprised."

"Wha'd you get me?" He asked, completely ignoring the rest of her rant. She smirked, holding a small scrap of paper just out of his reach. "Give it!"

"Why would I want to? And you probably wouldn't want it anyways, seeing as it's a muggle thing." He glared at her, reaching up and tugging it out of her grasp. On the piece of paper a long, bright green and silver snake-like thing with the face of a dragon and four legs lay sleeping. Small puffs of smoke were coming from its nostrils and he could almost swear he heard it snore.

"Charlie told me that the dragons over in the east looked more like snakes... So I thought..." She blushed, reaching for it. "You don't have to put it on if you don't wan-" He yanked it out of her reach, almost glaring at her.

"Mine." He snarled. Ginny grinned, grateful that he seemed to like it. "I mean, who else would put up with an ugly, stupid looking thing like this?" He asked, not looking up in time to see the way her smile dropped. She stood, turning on her heel and leaving him without a word. He never even noticed until too late.

He... didn't like it, he was just... trying to be nice... I should have seen it before. He's Draco Malfoy, he wasn't flirting with me when he said those things... he was just...

She sniffed, holding back the single tear that threatened. He was just tormenting me because he knew I... Bloody bastard. 'Stupid... Weasley... wouldn't know an insult if it hit her in the face...' Never mind the fact I spent four freaking HOURS working on that stupid wanna-be dragon for him. Not to mention the time it took to find...

As she was storming through the Library door she saw Pansy looking around hopelessly. "He's back there, can't miss him. He's the only Arse in the room." Ginny told her, pointing out Draco's hiding spot without the least twinge of guilt. Pansy almost smiled as she ran towards the back.

Ginny almost laughed as she heard him bellow in alarm, but was too busy running out before he saw her. Not gonna do that... ever again. Males are just too much trouble. And with that Ginny Weasley, cutest girl at Hogwarts, gave up men. *Heh... wonder how long it will last? I know some teachers willing to bet you! Ah, and the moral of this? Sometimes little things count the most. Looks like Draco's about to learn that the hard way.*

******************

She gives me this thing and never even tells me how to put it on... What's with that girl, anyways? Draco ran his hand through his hair, grateful that he had lost Pansy a few minutes ago. It's not as though I can go up to another Gryffindor and say, yeah, well, one of you're cutest girls gave me this... thing… and I frankly have no idea how to put it on. Right, as if that wouldn't get me a black eye. And any girl I would approach would try to... hit on me instead of just hitting. I bet I can catch someone in the prefects' bathroom and bully them into telling me. Maybe Granger, or better yet, that Creevy prat.

When he walked in the restroom he heard voices coming from the girls side. He stopped, recognizing them as Granger and the Ravenclaw that Potter was so obsessed with. It would be the perfect opportunity to get blackmail material. He decided to stay put.

"Har-I mean, Ginny wanted you to have this, Cho. She thought it might cheer you up a little." The bushy haired girl was saying. He sneaked a little closer so that he could see their reflections in the mirror. Granger was holding out a scrap of paper much like the one clenched in his hand.

"Oh! Is that a baby Unicorn? He's so pretty!" Cho cooed. Draco smirked, glancing down at his dragon, which had woken up and was making faces at him. "How do I put it on?"

"Oh, well muggles usually use water, but Ginny figured that it would be easier to just put it face down in the general area you want it, tap it twice with your wand and say 'Transendio.' And there you have it! Cool, huh?" Granger had been acting it out as she talked, leaving a sleepy little golden unicorn on the other girl's shoulder. Draco followed the steps as quietly as possible, leaving the small dragon sitting right under his collarbone. (He had to move his robes out of the way, and pull his sweater off.)

"The more advanced the tattoo is the more it will move around. Yours should just change positions every once in a while. But Ginny was working on this one last night that she literally had to put a binding spell on it to keep it on the paper!"

"Wow! Who was it for?"

"She wouldn't tell me. But it was some form of eastern dragon. It took her over four hours to finish that thing! She said it was some sort of thank you gift..." The words seemed to melt in the background as Draco started to think. He looked down, watching as the now fully awake dragon started pacing across his chest, muttering silent roars as though protecting his territory. She spent four hours on this? I guess she would have to, it's really well charmed. He poked it with his finger, grinning as the small mouth attempted to bite him.

His name is Vodka, Daddy! You still have 'im when you're old and stuff.

Yeah! I've got one, too. 'is name is Tonic, but mine's red and gold like Mums house colors.

Mine's pink! Her name's Cherry!

When'd you two demon spawns get back? And I thought these things wore off.

We ain't tellin, and there's a 'pecial spell what can make it stay. Mommy showed us 'ow.

Huh... Well, I don't care what or what not your... mother... showed you, I'm still not going to fall in love with a Gryffindor. Besides, she skipped out on me earlier.

That's cuz you called Vodka stupid.

And ugly! But's he's boo-ti-full, isn't he, Anton'y?

Well... he's cool, all right. Almost as cool as Tonic. The voices were cut off as someone clearing her throat stood above her.

"What do you think you're doing, Malfoy? Spying?" Hermione's eyes grew wide as she caught sight of the small dragon climbing up his throat. "Where'd you get that? That's Ginny's!"

Draco stood, not even wondering how he had ended up sitting against the wall, and pulled his robes over the wayward dragon. "Sod off, Granger. It's none of your business." He turned, grabbing his sweater and sauntering away as she shouted at his back.

"This isn't the end of this, Malfoy!! I'm telling Ron!"

Great, now I'll have to deal with the redhead squad... Lovely. Just bloody Lovely. As though I haven't had enough red hair for the day.

************

The problem with having a well-charmed tattoo was the fact that it got bored easily. In fact, it seemed that the small dragon reacted to both touch and light, so more often than not Draco was pulling up his collar or pulling down his sleeves at odd times. He would never have heard the end of it had the other Slytherins seen he had one of the Gryffindor's toys. Not to mention Crabbe was jealous enough already over Millicent being paired up with him during Charms. The big lug had secretly been coveting the tattoos since they had first shown up at breakfast, and the thought of Crabbe pouting was enough to turn Draco's stomach.

He got through the rest of the day without an encounter of the redheaded kind, and was feeling rather cocky by the next morning. It helped that the small dragon seemed to pick up on his moods easily, throwing intimidating puffs of fire and trying to glare at strangers before being covered up. When Vodka stuck his tongue out at an overly enthusiastic Pansy, Draco had a hard time muffling his laughter. He might only be two inches long, but he has remarkable taste. *A/N: I'm an American, can't translate inches to meters or what not. And am too lazy to try.*

He almost made it out of the dining hall, too, but at the last moment he found himself face to face with an irate Ron Weasley. "I don't know how you got it, Malfoy, but you bloody well better give it back!" Ron snarled. Draco found himself being pulled off the ground, his eyes looking directly into Ron's. He did what he always did when a Weasley threatened his life. He smirked.

"Have you asked you little sister about it? Because I think she might have something to tell you." He almost laughed with his next thought. "Or did you forget who made it in the first place?" Ginny was tugging at the back of Ron's robes, trying to desperately get her older brother's attention.

"Ron! Ron!! I gave him the bloody thing so let him go!" Ginny snarled, trying to keep the scene from getting any further out of hand. "It was stupid of me, but he did help get the first one working. And I thought... Well, it doesn't matter what I thought. What's done can't be undone." Ron scowled, dropping the arrogant prat on the floor with a warning glare.

"You stay away from my sister." And with that the dream team started to walk away, but something odd happened. Potter, who had strangely remained silent, reached down and pulled Draco to his feet, then left without a word.

What did she mean... stupid?

************