Ginger Chap 9
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: Oye! I thank you for all the nice comments, but there's a couple of questions I would like to address. I've gotten a few comments saying that the romance part is moving too slow, and a few that say it might be a little fast... Well... this is as slow and as thorough as I get, but if it seems too slow to you click on my moniker up there and go read one of my shorts! WD&D, Draco's Willow, or Drastic Measures! Yes, that was a blatant plug, and be thankful I waited this long to toss it in=P As for LilyAyl's question: There are a few reasons for Ginny taking Draco's words so seriously, especially in last chapter. She had just been hit in the head with a bludger, she wasn't feeling very good, and he was being an Arse. It doesn't balance out well. And when fighting feelings for a guy that your family hates, well... take advantage of what faults he has.
Chapter 9: Machiavellian Nights
Draco wore his best robes that night, and for the life of him he didn't know why. Or was willing to admit, at least. After cautiously avoiding Pansy and company he hopped on the first carriages to Hogsmeade, intent on... something. He wasn't exactly sure on what he was planning, but anything had to be better than staying at Hogswart.
He strolled down the main part of Hogsmeade, for once in rather a long time he was conscious of the fact he didn't have Crabbe and Goyle flanking his every move. It was rather startling to find himself weaving through the crowds rather than having a path cut out for him. He wandered over to The Three Broomsticks, intent on finding another Slytherin to hang out with. This whole alone thing wasn't for him.
Soon he was hanging out with a few of his Quidditch team members, drinking butterbeer and swapping lies. It was just like old times, until a familiar red head walked in.
"Blimey the little Weasley is fine!" One of his teammates stated, missing Draco's unconscious glare.
"I heard Malfoy has somethin' goin' with her, didn't you, mate?" Another asked slyly.
"Heh, as if I would go after a Muggle-loving..." He stopped, not even noticing, as Ginny turned, grinning at something her little friend had said.
"Yup, he's got it bad. Too bad she's a Gryffindor. His father's likely to kill them both."
"At least she's pure blood."
"Too true, too true. Oye, Malfoy! Where you goin?" By that time Malfoy was already gone. The remaining Slytherins burst out laughing. "S'pose I needn't have asked."
Draco wasn't thinking, he was merely acting on impulse, something that he would have never done before. Just as he was within grasp of the beguiling redhead he saw what he had missed before.
"Creevey." It came out sounding more like Mudblood, or Bastard, or, well... I'm not allowed to go on, I'm keeping the rating down. He jerked to a stop, his eyes slitting in rage as he glared down at the Gryffindor male. "What did I tell you before, you little mudblood?"
Colin stiffened, resolving not to give in. He was about to say something when Ginny stepped between him and the blonde from HFIL. *A/N: Inside DBZ joke, no mind.*
"What do you want, Malfoy? I thought I told you to stay home with your mirror." Ginny stated, ignoring the way Draco was staring at Colin over her head.
"What, is the little boy going to hide behind his girlfriend? I should have known he was a coward!" Draco growled, not noticing that while Colin was behind Ginny, another girl was hiding behind Colin. He was a little... preoccupied at the moment to notice paltry things like that.
"Bloody Hell, I would be lucky to have a nice guy like Colin, but as it is, he's spoken for. Now why don't you go back to your little friends and do something... intelligent for a change. Oh, wait, I forgot you were a Slytherin. We wouldn't want to hurt your little brains." The thing is, Draco's brain had stopped listening when she said 'He's spoken for.' So it was no wonder why he had a slight little, unknowingly malicious smile on his classic face. Malicious, because he knew that the Creevey prat hadn't stood a chance in hell with a girl like his...er... the Weasley, unknowing because he was still in the midst of lying to himself. Slytherins are good liars, and Draco was a good Slytherin, see the logic?
Ginny waited for the put down the smile foretold... and waited... and waited, till finally she gave up and walked away, leaving Draco there, smiling.
"What's wrong with him?" Colin couldn't help but ask, a sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind. You see, males understand males much better than they understand females, and underneath all the social or mental differences, they all have something in common. What that is, well, frankly I'm not quite sure, being female myself. But the fact was, Colin had a good idea what was happening, better, in fact, than Draco himself.
But Ginny, having no idea of this fact, took the question at face value. "I think all the bleach has finally gotten to his brain." She stated obscurely, making her Muggle-born friends laugh hysterically and the rest of the listeners look confused. *A/N: Whoo!! Finally got in the obligatory bleach joke!*
"Hey, I promised my brothers I would go over to their place tonight, you wanna come?" The two grinned, holding hands as they followed the redhead out the door. I shouldn't be jealous, I should be happy for them, right? My two best friends together... It was meant to be or something... I just wish... A bittersweet smile crossed the small redhead's face. She was completely unaware of the fact it was seen.
***********
Please... Don't make me have to deal with the twins of terror again... damme... she is... I shouldn't care where she's going, she's just a bloody Weasley...
Hey, Da, are you goin to see Unka George and Unka Fred?
Whoa! We get to see them when they's young!
This is sooo cool!
Shuddup.
Why's you not walkin wif mum? She looks lon'ly, and you ARE right behind her.
I... bloody... I'm not following your 'Mother' I just need to get some pranks to pull on Potter.
Ohh... you's a bad liar. You need practice.
I do not! I'm a great liar... I mean, I'm not lying, so shut it you annoying little rugrats from hell.
I know! Mum's not happy wif you cuz you made fun of her boyfriend.
Creevey is not her boy- Shut it, Antonia.
Hehee, I wuv you daddy.
You'll make an excellent Slytherin one day, you irritating little brat.
We're gonna be Gryffindors! Not Slytherins, tha's what Erick's gonna be.
At least one of you got something right.
Draco slipped into the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with relative ease, since there were so many Hogwarts students milling around. He stood in a darker corner, watching as Ginny and her friends talked to one of the twins. The twin still had Gred written across his forehead, and was showing it off to anyone willing to listen. For a second Draco wondered where the other one had gotten to, until a large arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"So Malfoy! Fred and I were wondering when you would show your ugly mug." Draco suppressed a shudder, looking up slowly into the grinning face of what could only be the 'George' twin.
"What do you want, Weasley?"
"No, no! That's my line! You are in my shop, after all. How can we help you on this beautiful day?" His overly cheerful voice was enough to make Draco start to worry. The evil grin wasn't much help.
Draco shoved George's arm off of him, and started to walk around as though he weren't staring at the littlest Weasley. The redhead just followed, chattering as though he were his best friend. After a while he started asking questions.
"So... Malfoy... Whose your daddy?"
"I don't know why you would be asking, Weasley, but my Father is perfectly fine. And rich, unlike yours."
"No, I know exactly how evil your father is, but that isn't what I asked. What I asked was WHO IS your daddy?" All of a sudden they were surrounded by on lookers, Fred was in the background laughing his head off and Ginny was rolling her eyes. *A/N: Don't ask me, I have too many older brothers.*
"Stop it, you guys. If mum knew you were doing that she would beat you with your own brooms." She stepped in, knowing that no one else was brave (or stupid) enough to save him, and grabbed Draco by the arm. "Don't say another word, Malfoy, or I'll leave you here."
For some reason he actually took her advice. And soon everyone was talking about the little Weasel that dragged the Malfoy boy around like a puppy. Rumor has it she was a succubus in disguise, but nobody knows for sure.
***********
"I can't believe you were led so easily! I mean, really, you Slytherins don't live up to your name." She had been harping on him since they had gotten out of the WWW, and the strange thing was... he didn't mind. At least she wasn't crying.
"How exactly was I led into anything? What he asked made no sense whatsoever!" Draco demanded, sounding slightly surly. Ginny hid her smile. You know... he's kinda cute when he's out of his element...
"You really need to take Muggle studies, don't you? Oh wait, you're too good to study Muggles, but obviously you aren't too good to be insulted by one of their put downs! It serves you right! And had I been in my right mind I would have left you there to be-"
"I get the picture already, Weasel. You can stop harassing me now." He tugged lightly on his still trapped arm, not really trying to break free, just making a point.
"Oh, come on! If I let you loose now you'd be a Canary till you're eighteen. And who knows what else?! I told you not to come tonight! The twins have your picture on their dartboard in the back and it screams every time they hit it. They're even thinking about having it patented for Merlin's sake!" She tugged him into Zonko's joke shop, confident the twins wouldn't chase them there.
"I... Huh. I hope it's a good picture of me." He stated, slightly lost for words, not to mention vain.
"Nope! You were eleven and looked slightly like a... ferret." Ginny grinned, shoving him down one of the aisles. "Now, we're going to have to keep you away from the twins until it's time to go... I think this is just the place to find a disguise, don't you?"
"D-Disguise?"
"Ohhh yeah, the hair color has GOT to go."
"W-what?! No!! No no nononononononono!! The hair stays!"
Within twenty minutes a brown haired boy wearing a blindingly shiny shirt with leather pants came out. All signs of House Affiliation were gone. "I'm going to kill you, Weasley." He... it... The ex-hottest guy at Hogwarts said, glaring.
"Aww! But you look soooo cute!" She fingered his shiny red shirt with an evil grin. "It's a little like... A Muggle boyband singer!"
Draco paled at the thought, tugging at his shirt as though to rip it off. The sight of Vodka laughing silently up at him was enough to make him wish he hadn't been born. "A... what?"
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing." She grinned, hiding her laughter for later and dragging him out the front door. She'd save the fact that his scowl was recognizable from a mile away for when he was blonde again.
"One question... Did the shirt really have to be red?" He grimaced, hating the color even more at the moment, as long as it wasn't hair.
"Well... they did have a very stylin' pink...."
"Red it is, then."
***********
"You could tell who that is from miles around… I s'pose we ought to point that out, dontcha think, brother dear?"
"Ah, for once, tempting as it is, I think we'll just watch. You don't really think he went to all that trouble to hide from a pair of Weasleys, do you?"
"Good point. Well, we might as well give them a hand." With a few muttered words the twins left, leaving a spell that would make Draco's own mother have a hard time recognizing him. Ginny never even noticed. *Says something, no?*
"It'll be your fault if we wind up eating Thanksgiving dinner with the prat."
"Aye, but think of all the pranks we could try out!"
"Good point, brother dear, good point!"
**********
I can't believe I'm doing this… She had better appreciate this, the annoying little git…
Lookie! Mum and Da are holding hands!
Yuck! Anton'a didja really haveta point that out?
I think it's sweet!
You would.
Shut it you two, I'm trying to concentrate here. If any other Slytherin sees me looking like this, my rep will be shot. Speaking of which…
"G-Weasley? Why'd I have to do this, anyway?"
"Well, duh! If any Gryffindor saw me walking around with a Malfoy I'd never hear the end of it."
"……" He shrugged away, offended.
"I mean, there isn't a girl in the dorm other than Hermione that won't physically attack me for talking to 'Hottie of the Year.' That thought's just… Scary." She shuddered, a feigned look of terror on her face.
Draco started to smirk. "Is the widdle Weasley… Jealous?"
"Well now, if they recognize you in those pants, I won't be the only one being attacked, now would I?" Ginny snickered, seeing Draco's face pale at the thought of being mobbed by a bunch of Gryffindor girls. "And with you wearing red, well it just makes it all the better!"
"That's it! The shirt has GOT TO GO!" He reached down, grabbing the bottom of the shirt, much to her laughing protests.
"Stop it Draco! They're really going to notice a shirtless, leather pants wearing guy, even if you don't look like yourself!"
"You!! The brunette! You're perfect!!" A strange voice came from their right, making both teens look up in shock. "You're more than perfect! You're positively… Yummy!!" The face that could only belong to one Rita Skeeter made chills of terror race down the temporarily not blonde's spine. "You'll look positively luscious on the cover of my new Calendar! Teen Wizards! All we need are a few Merlin Speedos and a pair of sunglasses! And that atrocious hair color simply must go! Perhaps blonde?"
"Sp-Speedos?" Draco choked out, looking as though he would faint at any moment.
"You know, you might just have some-" Ginny started out, only to be dragged away by a very terrified looking Slytherin. She snickered all the way back to Hogwarts.
************
Now, as for the teachers, well... Most of them were finding this relationship quite entertaining. Because no matter how hard a so called couple tried to cover the fact that they liked each other the teachers usually knew, they had had lots of practice watching romances among the younger generations, and not so younger. There was one who still had a problem with it though, and not even Dumbledore's reassurance could make him think it was a good thing.
"Really, Albus! They have nothing in common! I know how you said we should wait and see, but I'm tired of waiting!"
"Now Severus, I know how much you care for Draco, but he's a big boy now. He can take care of himself." The slight amusement in the older man's voice was enough to make Professor Snape growl. "Besides, the young Ginny is nothing if not compassionate. I'm sure that if she is, as you're so certain, not interested, she will let him down easily."
"She's a WEASLEY! She'll take advantage of it just to avenge all of her brothers' little... disputes with Draco."
"I'm sure the Weasley males are perfectly capable of avenging themselves, thank you very much. You seem to forget that they are Gryffindors, not Slytherins, Severus. They would not use Machiavellian methods." The rebuke was gentle, but it still made the younger man smirk.
"True, she wouldn't have the brains to come up with that type of plan."
"No, she would not have the heart to hurt someone so." Was the soft-spoken reply. Snape looked as though he would disagree, but restrained himself. "But things work in a mysterious way, Severus. You of all people should realize that. Perhaps this is the start of ending a feud that came long before their time."
"I doubt it, Albus, I truly doubt it." Severus turned, stalking out of the door with a dramatic bellow of his long black robe. Albus merely smiled, pulling out a piece of Weasley candy from his pocket with a look of pleasure.
*********
Draco crept into the Slytherin dungeon, heading straight for the shower before anyone got the chance to see him. He jumped into the common room shower (Rather than risk going to the Prefect's) as soon as he got a glimpse of his hair in the mirror.
"Positively horrendous, darling. Please do go back to blonde." It stated cheerfully. He never noticed the glamour spell had worn off as soon as he reached Hogwarts... Course he hadn't known it had been placed on him in the first place.
"Thanks, about to." Mumbled Draco. Soon his hair was sopping wet, but back to it's silver blonde. He grinned, it was good to be blonde again.
He walked back to his room, startled to see Professor Snape sitting in wait. "Profess-"
"No, Draco, I just needed to talk to you." Said the forbidding looking Professor. "It's come to my attention that you have been... fraternizing with the youngest Weasley. I hope you aren't getting too... Serious?"
"Uh... I..."
"Perhaps I shouldn't ask. I would just like to remind you of one thing... If you must... fraternize... I suggest you refrain from falling... in love with the child." Draco turned away, unknowingly confirming Severus' fears.
"I suppose one cannot help whom the heart chooses. But Draco... Try not to let your father know." With that said Snape walked out, feeling as though a small part of his heart had been pried open. The boy still had yet to choose what side he would be on. If he chose to side with Voldermort his relationship with the little Weasley would cause him more pain than he knew.
"I... know, Professor, I know."
***********