Ginger Chap 8
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: Man! You guys are almost as crazy as I am!! I love that in an audience^_^ But, please, no head exploding, it's too messy. Le sigh, I'm not feeling up to par right now, which really bites since this is my Spring Break (Which is why you get an early addition), but that's all right. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing! Actually... it more or less forces me to write at night... this story is a slave driver!! Somebody please save-*UMMPH!! Sounds of struggling and maniacal laughter come from keyboard.* Read... story... now... @-@
Chapter 8: Chapter Which Must Not be Named
It wasn't exactly hell (Though Harry had high hopes) that Draco wound up at. In fact, he was more surprised to find himself once again staring at the Hospital door than Madam Pomfrey. She smiled, welcoming him as though she had expected him. He had no way of knowing that he had indirectly purchased her next vacation to Paris.
"I... uh... have another headache." He stated gruffly, sitting in one of the chairs.
"Then you might want to lie down for a while, Mr. Malfoy." She motioned him to follow her and soon found himself on the bunk next to Ginny's. Ron glared at him, not trusting himself to talk without yelling.
"Is... She going to be all right?" Draco couldn't help but ask, trying to sound as if he couldn't care less.
"What do you care? Trying to learn if we'll be short a player?" Ron spat out, his hold on Ginny's limp hand tightening slightly. The contrast between his pale skin and her almost translucent flesh made Draco want to wince.
"It doesn't matter does it? What with such lazy beaters as your own, you haven't a chance against us." Draco drawled out, dragging his eyes away from Ginny and looking around the room. They sat in silence for a while, Ron staring grimly at his still unconscious sister, Draco sneaking glimpses of the small redhead when he thought her brother wasn't looking.
"What's your game, Malfoy? You've even gotten Harry thinking you aren't the spawn of evil, lately. What are you planning on doing?" Ron asked a few minutes later, cynicism in his usually blunt voice.
"I'll have you know, I am so the spawn of evil, and you'd best not forget it. It's merely that not everything revolves around scarhead like you'd have me believe. Or have you gotten so caught up in the image of being the hero's best friend that you forget that?" Said Draco. Ron stood, glaring over at the smirking blonde with a scowl. He stopped though, fearful of waking his little sister with shouting.
Silence reigned again.
"I don't like how you've been treating my little sister." Ron said a while later.
"What, would you have rather it been Potter that saved her? Or perhaps you wanted to be the one that fixed her tattoo for her."
"You bloody well know that you're the reason she's gotten these crazy ideas about giving up boys. She was just fine until you started messing with her head!" Ron replied.
"Me! Messing with her head? She's the one driving me-" Draco stopped, remembering who he was talking to, but Ron had already caught on, sympathizing against his will.
"She's being a girl isn't she? I don't know why they have to be so bloody complicated all the time. I swear she and Hermione wake up an hour early just to plan new ways of..." He stopped, also remembering whom he was talking to. They lapsed into silence YET again, but this time there was a slight touch of acceptance. Anyone that couldn't understand females had some sort of connection, no matter how they might hate each other.
Ginny whimpered slightly, making both boys jump. Her big brown eyes opened slowly, focusing first on her brother with a pained frown. "Bloody 'ell those things 'urt." She whispered, making Ron grin in spite of himself. "Who saved me?"
"I did, little sister. Mum woulda killed me had I let you fall." They smirked at each other, both knowing that wasn't why. "How much do you remember?"
"There was a shout so I turned… Than it all went black. I guess I ought to be more careful, huh? Wouldn't want those lousy Slytherins beating us cuz of some stupid mistake." She stated, her face already gaining some of its color. Draco cleared his throat, giving her his most intimidating glare.
"We… Lousy Slytherins… Don't need your stupid mistakes to beat you idiotic Gryffindors."
"No, you just need a miracle."
Ron raised one eyebrow as the two looked about ready to duke it out. Not even he had had this much trouble from Malfoy lately, it rather explained a lot. Ginny sighed, leaning back again. "Go away Dr-Malfoy, I've given up speaking to boys. I'm not going to break my record on a lousy git like you."
"Umm… Gin? You already have." Ron said cautiously. Ginny growled at Draco's smirk. "But we aren't sure he's human… so I suppose it shouldn't count."
"Hey! I resent that Weasley!"
"Good point! I hadn't thought of that…" Ginny started laughing at Draco's offended look, especially as it changed to completely irate as Ron joined in. Madam Pomfrey waltzed in around that time, a slight smile on her face as she handed a potion to Draco and walked over to Ginny.
"I see our patient has finally waken. There's much to be said of the healing factors of laughter. You look much better, my dear." She patted Ginny's hand, checking for a temperature with the other, and nodding to herself. "Yes, I believe you shall be fine for the trip to Hogsmeade this afternoon. You Weasleys have such…"
"Hard heads?" Draco offered, earning three scowls.
"No, such stamina. Your family is one of the fastest healing groups I have ever seen."
"That's because of the twins." Ginny stated simply, even Draco nodded in understanding.
"You have some visitors, my dear. They've been waiting for a while." Soon the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team stumbled in, still sweaty from their time on the pitch. They glared at the still present Draco, Several of them stepping forward as though to go for his throat.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Making sure that you 'won't have any trouble wiping the pitch with our pathetic corpses?'" Harry asked coldly. Draco smirked, ignoring the way Ron was glaring daggers at him.
"Of course, Potter. Why else would I be sitting in the room with two weasels?" He stood, strolling through the group of Gryffindors as though they weren't even there. The only thing that got to him about the setting was how Ginny looked as though she had expected no less from him. And she was disgusted.
Yeah, as though I would come out and tell Potter that I was worried about the redheaded brat. Not that I was, that is…
……
What? No comments from the peanut gallery?
……
That just bloody well ties it, even my imaginary kids have deserted me. I might as well go hang myself from the dungeons lowest tower.
But… how can a dungeon have towers?
Heh… that could be a problem, couldn't it?
**********
As soon as Malfoy left Seamus and Dean apologized, and the rest of the team told her how practice had went. Ginny smiled slightly, but wasn't all there. Even though I knew he was a first class Arse, I hadn't thought he would… I should quit trying to convince myself he isn't evil. It's a waste of time and effort.
They trudged out slowly, Harry leaving last with a worried look. There was something that Ron was hiding from him, he had known it as soon as Malfoy had left… without being physically assaulted by the taller boy. It just wasn't like Ron to let Malfoy get away with a comment like that.
Harry shrugged. There was always tonight. If he couldn't get it out of him, Hermione surely could.
Nobody but Madam Pomfrey noticed that Draco's potion had been left untouched.
*************
Ginny didn't make it to lunch that day, and Draco almost got caught several times for looking up at her empty seat. Crabbe noticed it first thing, but if anything he merely sympathized, being in love himself. Pansy was irritated but couldn't say anything since she had been caught snogging Goyle in the common room yesterday. He was big, ugly, and dumb as an ox, but the boy knew how to kiss. *Author gives time for audience to shudder*
Ron noticed his staring, but since Ginny wasn't there he merely shrugged it off, once again trying to piss off Hermione so she did that cute little nose scrunch thing. Then he would tease her about that. Harry was busy watching Cho from across the hall as usual. The thought of a guy chasing the little Ravenclaw when Ginny was practically throwing herself at him was ridiculous in Draco's opinion, but who was he to talk? He was in lo- er... obsessed with a bloody Weasley for Merlin's sake.
Draco shoved his plate away, storming from the table early. He couldn't take much more of this. He was near enough to the breaking point as it was without the constant reminder that he wouldn't have been able to save her, and that for once... he owed something to that overly-tall redheaded bastard that Ginny called brother. The mere thought was enough to make his teeth grind.
He found himself lurking outside the hospital wing once more, berating himself for being an idiot and a disgrace to the Malfoy name... Of course with his father as a role model that wasn't hard to be. He growled, turning away, only to be called back by Madam Pomfrey.
"Oh! Mr. Malfoy! I suppose your... headache has returned?" She smiled, and the next thing Draco knew he was sitting next to the little Weasley once again. But this time there wasn't any big brother to protect hi-er... her, yes, Ron had been protecting Ginny from Draco... Right.
"What are you doing here, ferret boy? Come to poison my food? Or are you just here to play with my emotions so I wind up loosing the match?" He hadn't heard a voice that cold since he had been at home last summer. It wasn't very welcoming, to say the least.
"As if I would stoop so low as to play with anything of a Weasleys." He drawled.
"Oh... right." She turned, facing a plate of sandwiches again, keeping her back towards him. "I should have remembered."
"Look Weasley, I didn't want you to get hurt, and it bloody well isn't my fault you're insane so... I guess..."
"What are you talking about Malfoy?"
"You know... I... I... Well, this is the last day of the week, and we might as well get this dream thing taken care of so I don't have to deal with you again. I mean, you can go back to chasing Potter in your spare time and I can..."
"You can what? Go back to making fun of Gryffindors? Go back to being an Arse? Wait... there's no going back in that case. I don't know what you want from me, Malfoy, but unless your dreams concern a super villain incarnate and a Basilisk, I bloody well can't help you."
"Tha-That's what you dream about?" Draco asked, slightly stunned. "I mean... It isn't Potter dumping you, or failing your NEWTS or going to Potions naked?"
"Would you quit making fun of me, all ready? You should bloody well know what I dream about, it's your father's fault in the first place!" She turned, glaring up at him with her big brown eyes. "It took me three years to get over those dreams. I woke up in the middle of the night, screaming my head off, for months. Are you happy now, Malfoy? Now you have something to hold over my head." Ginny seemed to curl into herself, as though she were reliving it.
"How do you think I felt when I found out Hermione could have died because of me? Or Harry? Waking up splattered in blood and chicken feathers isn't that fun, trust me, but it could have easily been..." She shuddered, her face turning a waxy shade of white.
His mouth tried to open, but the words refused to come out. What was one to say in a situation like that? Without thinking he dropped down on the bed beside her, reaching out as though to comfort. She shrugged away, pulling even deeper into the fragile shell she had built around herself.
It didn't stop him, in fact that very action pushed him into doing something he would have never done before. He wrapped his arms around her, shoving her head onto his chest as she heaved with silent sobs. They sat there for what seemed like eternity, holding onto what little comfort they could get.
Or at least that's what should have happened. What really happened was this:
Without thinking he dropped down on the bed beside her, reaching out as though to comfort. She shrugged away, pulling even deeper into the fragile shell she had built around herself. He growled, rejection was not something he dealt with on a regular basis.
"Fine, deal with it yourself, why should I care whether a Weasley is all right or not?"
"You are such an arse, you know? I don't ever want to see you again Malfoy, and the sooner you're out of my face the better. Go back to your mirror, pretty boy."
"You have a point, at least it isn't a redheaded Muggle-lover." He smirked at her gasp, turning away.
"Hey, Malfoy, if that's how you feel then keep away from Hogsmeade tonight. Stay with your precious mirror. We wouldn't want it to get lonely." He stopped, turning around again. He had no idea that Vodka had crawled up his neck again and was blowing raspberries at Ginny, and thought she started laughing at him.
"Don't you dare threaten me! Why are you laughing? Answer me!" He stepped closer, giving her his worse glare. The small dragon turned so that it's back was to her and began waving its tail in the air. Ginny snickered.
"Y-Your... Dragon... he's... MOONING ME!" She collapsed on the bed, rocking with tears of laughter at the sight of Draco tugging at his collar and the dragon attempting to bite him.
"Quit it Vodka!" He mumbled to the small dragon, tapping his neck lightly. "You're a Slytherin! Slytherin's don't act like idiots!"
"Yeah... BWAHAHAHAA... Yeah they do!" Ginny gasped. "You... WAHAHAHAAA... do it every.... day!" Draco turned, tugging at the collar of his robe and hiding his slight smile. He might not have done exactly what he had set out to do, but somehow the knowledge she wasn't depressed anymore made him feel better... even if it was at the behalf of his dignity.
"Wait... before I go, how do I keep him around longer?"
"What?"
"How do I keep Vodka around? I've... gotten... accustomed to having him." He started to flush as she grinned.
"Vodka, huh? So that's who you were talking... well, never mind. All you have to do is a Repedio spell. He should stay around for a few more weeks. Fred and George got rid of that option on the ones they sell- Why am I telling you this, anyways? Just... get out, Malfoy." She turned, but not before he saw the slight smile on her face. Draco grinned, walking out the door whistling something that sounded suspiciously like a Monty Python song. But that can't be possible, Monty Python is Muggle... Ginny shrugged, forgetting about it as she got her stuff ready to leave. She had a trip to Hogsmeade to prepare for.
***********