Author: Lee Velviet
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)
(I have three words-Big Fat Liar. I know I promised to have this updated yesterday-but I have a really valid reason-1. I fell asleep before I finished, and 2. I'm glad I did, because it was two pages of dull, boring crap! Of course, some people may think the rest of my stuff is dull; boring crap-but was I making a point here somewhere? Oh, yeah-I couldn't believe I'd written it-it sucked monkey balls, to quote Ginny. So forgive me for this being late-and I sincerely hope you guys like this. P.S. To The Reviewer- Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named; I love the name! ^-^ Sorry about the cliffie!)
7. Rumors
Draco rolled his eyes in disgust at her clumsiness but found himself on his knees next to the girl in an instant-he winced as he pulled her across his knees, feeling her scalp gingerly-there it was, an egg sized lump rising behind her right ear. He pulled his fingers back, noticing with relief that there was no blood on them; further investigation revealed that was breathing normally, and he pulled his hands away from her, dismissing the fact that they were shaking quite badly.
He looked into her pale face, feeling both annoyed that she'd dragged him into all of this-and positively ill to his stomach. What the hell was he supposed to do?
He sighed and looked at the door longingly. If it had been Potter, he'd have gone without a second thought, and would probably have been sleeping in his bed quite peacefully by now.
"Why'd you have to be a girl?" He grouched hatefully at her closed eyelids. "I'd have snuck a potion that would have turned you into a warty toad into your juice that morning after the scene in the library and would have been done with it." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hell, I should have done that anyway."
She remained stubbornly silent. "Leave it to a girl to be so damned inconvenient. And here I had a lovely curse in mind that would have turned your hair into snakes." He sighed regretfully. He'd been dying to try that one out, too…oh, well, the next time Pansy got annoying it would be handy. He figured he'd see how well it worked by the end of the week…
"I sincerely hope this sudden stupid tendency of mine to act brainless around you is just a stage." Draco pocketed their wands and lifted her into his arms, shaking his head, wondering why the hell he was talking to an unconscious person. He really ought to just leave her-it wasn't his fault she'd knocked herself silly. Try as he might, though, he couldn't talk himself into abandoning her.
"Madame Pomfrey may as well make the place our personal flat as often as we end up there." The cold calmness of his voice was belied by the haste in his footsteps as he carried her down to the Infirmary. He pushed away the odd vision of the two of them living together-it didn't even make him nauseous, and that discomfited him.
"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey shook her head as she examined the swelling on the side of Ginny's head.
"I found her on the stairs-I was coming down to the kitchens for a snack-" he said this guiltily, as if he were very embarrassed at having been caught. He knew Pomfrey thought he was a sickly looking fellow-she'd constantly been trying to make him eat one thing or another last year, before he'd finally hit a growth spurt-at any other time he would have been very insulted-but he was glad of it at the moment.
"I think she might have slipped and fell or something."
The older woman looked at him appraisingly. Finally she smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to see you're finally trying to eat more than usual." She turned away to collect her wand, Draco allowed his charming facade to slip in his relief, and he rolled his eyes behind her back. Gullible cow, he mentally sneered.
Draco looked down at the girl, finding himself staring at the shape of her eyes, their velvety golden brown color-had they always been that striking, he wondered, as she groaned and her long eyelashes fluttered.
He stepped away from her, frowning in displeasure. Striking? Right, Weasley had striking eyes, now-he needed to go knock himself over the head and go the hell to sleep. He rubbed his temple and bit back the curse of impatience on his tongue.
"She's waking up, Madame Pomfrey," he growled at the woman's ample backside.
The witch turned around and smiled down at the girl.
"Ginny? Can you hear me?"
Ginny opened her eyes, flinching away from the light. "W-what happened?" She tried to move her head and squinted in pain. "Where am I?"
"The Infirmary, dear. Mr. Malfoy brought you-said he found you on the stairs-do you remember what happened?"
Ginny's eyes shot over to meet his. He looked back at her coolly, then pointedly looked away and began boredly examining his perfect fingernails.
"Er-I-it was stupid of me, really-I'd realized I'd left a book down in the Charms classroom, and went to get it-I must have tripped-or fallen or something." She saw Malfoy begin to make nasty faces over Pomfrey's shoulder, and sighed, beating back an insane urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey-I just didn't want to have to post my parents about having lost a book." She saw Draco roll his pale eyes expressively and wanted to pound his face again.
"Don't fret dear-I think we can take care of this nasty lump in just a moment. Mr. Malfoy, I think you should head on to bed-Miss Weasley will have to stay here for the night for observation."
Draco nodded, his face earnest. He looked at Ginny and stepped forward to pat her hand. "I'm glad you'll be all right-you scared me back there." His eyes said something entirely different.
Lying little snake, Ginny thought through the pounding of her head. "Thanks for helping me, Draco," she used his first name deliberately, watching his eyes cloud. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble." The sickly sweetness of her tone had him clenching his fists.
He smirked at her, his lips curling unpleasantly. "No trouble at all-I barely even noticed you were there. It's a good thing your hair is such a bright shade of red-I may have passed you by completely."
Ginny smiled, showing far too many teeth, her eyes fiery.
Draco looked at her, on the verge of laughing, and finally left the room.
Ginny's eyes actually hurt from the look of vehemence she sent after him. She closed them, and then looked up to watch Madame Pomfrey nervously- had she really believed all that?
It appeared that she had-Malfoy was obviously an accomplished liar. Big surprise.
A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey left her to sleep, and Ginny rubbed the area where the lump had been behind her ear, relieved that the throbbing ache had disappeared.
She wondered why Malfoy had bothered to help her.
She wondered what she'd hit her head on.
Ginny groaned abruptly and rolled her head on the pillow.
She wondered if she could survive slapping herself silly right now-because she'd just had the thought that it was too bad Malfoy was such an ass-her hand had tingled like mad when he'd touched it.
Ginny rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow-brain damage. It had to be brain damage.
Classes the next day were a blur-Ginny kept seeing Malfoy wherever she went, and she wondered why she kept looking out for him. She supposed she was waiting for the taunts to begin-she'd wielded her wand with the finesse of a Garden Gnome the night before, and Draco Malfoy wasn't the type to let her live it down.
Ginny dragged herself into her bed that night with the full intention of sending Malfoy an owl, demanding a rematch.
Ginny dragged herself out of bed the next morning with the full intention of hiding in a closet and not showing her face until that sodding prat Malfoy had graduated.
"It has to be brain damage-temporary insanity," she moaned, straggling along into the bathroom.
She'd dreamed of Malfoy all night long, and it had been unreal, the things he'd said to her, the way he'd looked at her-he'd called her 'Gin'. It still gave her a peculiar tingle.
She caught herself sighing and she abruptly washed her face with cold water- the shock of it still didn't send the warm, fuzzy images away.
She brushed her teeth slowly, squinting sleepily at herself in the mirror. She finally decided she was either sick from the blow to her head, or very disturbed.
"Good Morning, Ginny," Hermione entered the door behind her, yawning through her hand. She put her things on the sink next to Ginny and smiled apologetically. "I hope you girls don't mind sharing-the bathroom in the seventh years dorm wasn't working properly this morning."
Ginny rinsed her mouth. "I don't think it will matter much-the others have already gotten up-they were gone when I woke."
"Oh." The older girl disappeared into the showers.
Ginny was brushing her curls into a loose ponytail when Hermione returned.
"So…what happened with you and Malfoy the other night?"
Ginny looked at her sharply, almost losing her hold on her brush. "What are you talking about?"
"I-er…Ginny, everyone's been talking about it." Hermione looked at her with a wince. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything-you know I don't gossip-I was just concerned-"
A cold hand wrapped around Ginny's heart-"What? What has everyone been talking about?"
"You know-about how you and Malfoy have started seeing each other?" Hermione looked at her glumly.
Her mouth fell open so wide it her chin brushed her chest. She tried to speak but all that came out was a dry croak.
"Oh." Hermione said again, looking embarrassed. "So you didn't know."
Ginny's eventual outraged shriek could be heard for several floors.
Draco laughed out loud when he heard the rumors-it had only been a matter of time, after all, after what had happened the other night.
He stopped laughing when he realized how many people had begun to embellish and embroider the tale of how he'd taken her to the Infirmary.
He'd listened to two Hufflepuff girls gossiping in the library about it-and had been horrified to hear that instead of simply having taken the Weasel to Pomfrey for care, he'd been on the verge of proposing to her on the stairs when she'd lost her footing and been knocked unconscious.
Another popular myth flying about was that he'd been seeing her secretly for months, and they'd had a lover's spat, and he'd tried to murder her on the stairs.
Draco had stopped laughing by the end of the third day of this. He was almost ready to march himself straight to Dumbledore and tell the man exactly what had been going on, just to set the record straight.
A lover's spat, he thought with a disgusted snarl. As if he'd ever love Ginny Weasley, the contrary little wretch, not to mention the fact that his Father would have his rocks in a box on his desk.
Ginny passed Malfoy in the halls right after lunch on the fourth day and received a look so full of loathing that she stopped in her tracks and simply stared after him. This had gone too far-she dropped her book bag and raced after him, jumping in front of him.
"So-from the look I just received, I'm assuming you heard all the rumors." She almost giggled for some unknown reason at the look of disgust on his handsome face.
Draco eyed her disdainfully, and then looked around as the corridor began to empty as students disappeared into their classes. "I heard," he muttered grimly. He glared at her as if it were all her fault. It really was, he thought, peeved.
"Hey, I'm just as unhappy about this as you are," Ginny put her hands on her hips, her displeasure evident in her eyes. "I mean, jut the thought of you touching me-" she shivered as if in disgust, but she had to fake it. "The whole idea is just completely preposterous." But not as preposterous as she'd once thought, to her complete and utter dismay.
"Nice to know-now if you'll excuse me-I have a class I'm already late for." He made as if to walk past her.
Ginny shook her head. "We have to work something out-I can't go around with my name attached to yours, for God's sake. Do you have any idea how angry my father would be if he heard some of this ridiculous stuff?"
"Not as angry as mine, Weasley, I can guarantee," he murmured, his eyes sharp.
"So-what are we going to do about it?" Ginny pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and stared at the floor.
"A re you actually proposing that we-you, and I-a Weasley and a Malfoy, work together on something-willingly?"
She frowned up at him, her eyebrows lowering. "You don't have to put it that way-I'm just trying to save my ass."
"Good luck," he snorted, "Bad luck seems to follow in your wake like the bloody bubonic plague."
"Really? It's too bad the bubonic plague decided to settle on your face!"
"That was weak, Weasley-I know you happen think I'm extremely good looking."
"About as good looking as the business end of a Blast-Ended Skrewt!"
"Oh, come off it-look into my eyes and tell me you wouldn't come running if I bothered crooking a finger your way." Draco looked at her from beneath hooded lids, crossing his arms.
A breathless feeling came into her chest as that particular visualization crossed her mind.
"Well?"
Ginny swallowed and forced herself to glare at him. "Not in a million years!"
His expression hardened. "That's a load-I can get any woman I want."
"Not this one!"
"I said 'woman', Weasel-not 'scrawny, bloody annoying brat'. I also said 'want'. That's the key word, here."
Hurt passed through her briefly and she stomped on it. "You're a total asshole."
He looked un-phased. "Your point being-?"
Ginny almost caught herself stomping her foot in frustration. She didn't know what else to say, he had her so wound up, and she turned and walked away before she grabbed his irritatingly handsome head and kissed him just to make him absolutely horrified.
Draco let out a shaky breath when she disappeared around a corner, and he let his arms fall to his sides.
He walked on to his class, trying to rid himself of the unsettling thought that he'd almost grabbed her and snogged her like mad just to shut her up.
She was an infuriating little rodent-and she was fast becoming a problem, he realized later, when he received a very short and to the point note from his Father.
He threw it into the fire in the Slytherin common room-mostly it had reminded him that he was a Malfoy, and the Weasley girl was not up to their standards, and if the rumors Lucius had been hearing turned out to be true, being disowned would be the least of his worries.
Draco settled down to do his homework, or at least try to, with all the madness running about in his head-he hadn't bothered responding to his father's note-Lucius Malfoy wanted actions, not excuses, not explanations.
He decided that no matter how much he liked to watch her face go as red as her hair when he insulted her, he just have to start ignoring her-if he just cut her dead whenever she was around, it would soon quash the rumors, and get his Father off his ruddy back.
He had to admit, though, life at Hogwarts without the little Weasley dragging on his robes in her customarily troublesome way would be a little boring.
Ginny, along with half-a dozen other students, watched Draco walk past her without a second glance-usually he had at least a smirk or a glare handy whenever he saw her, but he'd passed her by without so much as a snort. She moved down the corridor to Charms class, wondering why she felt so miffed.
After a full month of Malfoy completely ignoring her, Ginny decided she was crazy and sent him a note.
She watched him open it at Breakfast, read it boredly, and stuff it up his sleeve before returning to a discussion with Pansy Parkinson.
Ginny made a face and watched him closely. He didn't glance her way once.
She decided she didn't like being ignored.
Draco re-read Ginny's note later in the library where he'd gone to study-he had his O.W.L.'s coming up, after all, and would no doubt be skinned alive by his Father if he scored badly.
Malfoy-
A re you all right? Not that I really care-but why are you acting so nice?
Ginny
"Nice?" Draco shook his head and tucked the note into his Potions book. What the hell was she talking about? He'd ignored her completely-Ahh. He chuckled. She was insinuating that he was being nice by ignoring her. He would have loved to straighten her out on that, but he had the feeling his Father was still suspicious of his activities.
He sighed regretfully, and picked up his quill-he'd love nothing more than to prove to her he was anything but nice!
Ginny walked into the library to return a book, and caught sight of Malfoy sitting alone at a table, scratching at a piece of parchment.
She grinned-it was almost like the first time she'd come to screech at him about picking on Harry and Ron.
She walked up to stand at his elbow and waited for him to look at her.
He didn't even glance her way.
Ginny cleared her throat.
His eyes flicked her way momentarily before they went back to his work.
Ginny scowled and jabbed him in the arm with her finger.
A muscle in his jaw drew tight but he still didn't acknowledge her.
"Mal-Ferret?" Ginny's taunting whisper made his shoulders stiffen.
"Maaalfooooy," the singsong whisper grated on his nerves. He narrowed his eyes and focused on his paper.
A tickle of her finger on the edge of his ear made him grip his quill so hard it snapped in two in his hand.
"Oh, come on! You know you want to snap at me."
Draco bit his tongue.
"You want to glare at me and tell me to shove off, don't you? You want to call me an annoying little rodent and make nasty comments about the color of my hair, you know you do."
He closed his eyes briefly and decided she'd finally taken complete leave of her senses.
Ginny grinned at his profile. It was fun taunting him and not hearing a word back from it. She could stand there all night and do it.
She reached out and ruffled his perfect hair, something she knew he'd absolutely hate-and abruptly found herself on his lap, staring up at him wide eyed.
Draco had her tiny wrists in his hands before he knew he'd even moved- somehow she was on his lap, and he glared down at her, his breathing heavy. The feel of her warm fingertips on his scalp had completely undone him.
"Why can't you take the hint and leave me alone?" He rasped, noting the fear shimmering in her wide eyes.
She blinked, and shook her head. "Beats the hell out of me," she said truthfully.
He looked at her closely for the first time, and noticed the light sprinkling of freckles across her small nose, the soft pink fullness of her lips, and the flecks of gold in her soft brown eyes. Her skin was fair and smooth looking, not a blemish in sight. He tightened his hold on her wrists as the tantalizing scent of warm vanilla reached his nose.
She shook a long red tendril out of her eyes; he noticed how many different shades of red and gold sparkled in her hair, how long and heavy and thick the fall of it was as it spilled over her shoulders and down her back-he felt it brushing against his knees.
Draco stared at her for a long minute, and then did the unthinkable-he bent his head and kissed her.
TBC
E-Mail: Vampslay@Bellsouth.net
Disclaimer: You know who this stuff belongs to-J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc-I own absolutely nothing! ::Sob::
Summary: Ginny Weasley has had it with Draco Malfoy and his 'evil' ways-so she decides to have it out with him-what will Draco do when she challenges him to a secret Wizard's Duel? (Laugh hysterically, probably…)
(A/N: Reviews would rock, flames are welcome, but constructive criticism would be better! As always, please let me know if I get facts wrong! Thanks for reading!)
(I have three words-Big Fat Liar. I know I promised to have this updated yesterday-but I have a really valid reason-1. I fell asleep before I finished, and 2. I'm glad I did, because it was two pages of dull, boring crap! Of course, some people may think the rest of my stuff is dull; boring crap-but was I making a point here somewhere? Oh, yeah-I couldn't believe I'd written it-it sucked monkey balls, to quote Ginny. So forgive me for this being late-and I sincerely hope you guys like this. P.S. To The Reviewer- Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named; I love the name! ^-^ Sorry about the cliffie!)
7. Rumors
Draco rolled his eyes in disgust at her clumsiness but found himself on his knees next to the girl in an instant-he winced as he pulled her across his knees, feeling her scalp gingerly-there it was, an egg sized lump rising behind her right ear. He pulled his fingers back, noticing with relief that there was no blood on them; further investigation revealed that was breathing normally, and he pulled his hands away from her, dismissing the fact that they were shaking quite badly.
He looked into her pale face, feeling both annoyed that she'd dragged him into all of this-and positively ill to his stomach. What the hell was he supposed to do?
He sighed and looked at the door longingly. If it had been Potter, he'd have gone without a second thought, and would probably have been sleeping in his bed quite peacefully by now.
"Why'd you have to be a girl?" He grouched hatefully at her closed eyelids. "I'd have snuck a potion that would have turned you into a warty toad into your juice that morning after the scene in the library and would have been done with it." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hell, I should have done that anyway."
She remained stubbornly silent. "Leave it to a girl to be so damned inconvenient. And here I had a lovely curse in mind that would have turned your hair into snakes." He sighed regretfully. He'd been dying to try that one out, too…oh, well, the next time Pansy got annoying it would be handy. He figured he'd see how well it worked by the end of the week…
"I sincerely hope this sudden stupid tendency of mine to act brainless around you is just a stage." Draco pocketed their wands and lifted her into his arms, shaking his head, wondering why the hell he was talking to an unconscious person. He really ought to just leave her-it wasn't his fault she'd knocked herself silly. Try as he might, though, he couldn't talk himself into abandoning her.
"Madame Pomfrey may as well make the place our personal flat as often as we end up there." The cold calmness of his voice was belied by the haste in his footsteps as he carried her down to the Infirmary. He pushed away the odd vision of the two of them living together-it didn't even make him nauseous, and that discomfited him.
"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey shook her head as she examined the swelling on the side of Ginny's head.
"I found her on the stairs-I was coming down to the kitchens for a snack-" he said this guiltily, as if he were very embarrassed at having been caught. He knew Pomfrey thought he was a sickly looking fellow-she'd constantly been trying to make him eat one thing or another last year, before he'd finally hit a growth spurt-at any other time he would have been very insulted-but he was glad of it at the moment.
"I think she might have slipped and fell or something."
The older woman looked at him appraisingly. Finally she smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to see you're finally trying to eat more than usual." She turned away to collect her wand, Draco allowed his charming facade to slip in his relief, and he rolled his eyes behind her back. Gullible cow, he mentally sneered.
Draco looked down at the girl, finding himself staring at the shape of her eyes, their velvety golden brown color-had they always been that striking, he wondered, as she groaned and her long eyelashes fluttered.
He stepped away from her, frowning in displeasure. Striking? Right, Weasley had striking eyes, now-he needed to go knock himself over the head and go the hell to sleep. He rubbed his temple and bit back the curse of impatience on his tongue.
"She's waking up, Madame Pomfrey," he growled at the woman's ample backside.
The witch turned around and smiled down at the girl.
"Ginny? Can you hear me?"
Ginny opened her eyes, flinching away from the light. "W-what happened?" She tried to move her head and squinted in pain. "Where am I?"
"The Infirmary, dear. Mr. Malfoy brought you-said he found you on the stairs-do you remember what happened?"
Ginny's eyes shot over to meet his. He looked back at her coolly, then pointedly looked away and began boredly examining his perfect fingernails.
"Er-I-it was stupid of me, really-I'd realized I'd left a book down in the Charms classroom, and went to get it-I must have tripped-or fallen or something." She saw Malfoy begin to make nasty faces over Pomfrey's shoulder, and sighed, beating back an insane urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey-I just didn't want to have to post my parents about having lost a book." She saw Draco roll his pale eyes expressively and wanted to pound his face again.
"Don't fret dear-I think we can take care of this nasty lump in just a moment. Mr. Malfoy, I think you should head on to bed-Miss Weasley will have to stay here for the night for observation."
Draco nodded, his face earnest. He looked at Ginny and stepped forward to pat her hand. "I'm glad you'll be all right-you scared me back there." His eyes said something entirely different.
Lying little snake, Ginny thought through the pounding of her head. "Thanks for helping me, Draco," she used his first name deliberately, watching his eyes cloud. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble." The sickly sweetness of her tone had him clenching his fists.
He smirked at her, his lips curling unpleasantly. "No trouble at all-I barely even noticed you were there. It's a good thing your hair is such a bright shade of red-I may have passed you by completely."
Ginny smiled, showing far too many teeth, her eyes fiery.
Draco looked at her, on the verge of laughing, and finally left the room.
Ginny's eyes actually hurt from the look of vehemence she sent after him. She closed them, and then looked up to watch Madame Pomfrey nervously- had she really believed all that?
It appeared that she had-Malfoy was obviously an accomplished liar. Big surprise.
A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey left her to sleep, and Ginny rubbed the area where the lump had been behind her ear, relieved that the throbbing ache had disappeared.
She wondered why Malfoy had bothered to help her.
She wondered what she'd hit her head on.
Ginny groaned abruptly and rolled her head on the pillow.
She wondered if she could survive slapping herself silly right now-because she'd just had the thought that it was too bad Malfoy was such an ass-her hand had tingled like mad when he'd touched it.
Ginny rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow-brain damage. It had to be brain damage.
Classes the next day were a blur-Ginny kept seeing Malfoy wherever she went, and she wondered why she kept looking out for him. She supposed she was waiting for the taunts to begin-she'd wielded her wand with the finesse of a Garden Gnome the night before, and Draco Malfoy wasn't the type to let her live it down.
Ginny dragged herself into her bed that night with the full intention of sending Malfoy an owl, demanding a rematch.
Ginny dragged herself out of bed the next morning with the full intention of hiding in a closet and not showing her face until that sodding prat Malfoy had graduated.
"It has to be brain damage-temporary insanity," she moaned, straggling along into the bathroom.
She'd dreamed of Malfoy all night long, and it had been unreal, the things he'd said to her, the way he'd looked at her-he'd called her 'Gin'. It still gave her a peculiar tingle.
She caught herself sighing and she abruptly washed her face with cold water- the shock of it still didn't send the warm, fuzzy images away.
She brushed her teeth slowly, squinting sleepily at herself in the mirror. She finally decided she was either sick from the blow to her head, or very disturbed.
"Good Morning, Ginny," Hermione entered the door behind her, yawning through her hand. She put her things on the sink next to Ginny and smiled apologetically. "I hope you girls don't mind sharing-the bathroom in the seventh years dorm wasn't working properly this morning."
Ginny rinsed her mouth. "I don't think it will matter much-the others have already gotten up-they were gone when I woke."
"Oh." The older girl disappeared into the showers.
Ginny was brushing her curls into a loose ponytail when Hermione returned.
"So…what happened with you and Malfoy the other night?"
Ginny looked at her sharply, almost losing her hold on her brush. "What are you talking about?"
"I-er…Ginny, everyone's been talking about it." Hermione looked at her with a wince. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything-you know I don't gossip-I was just concerned-"
A cold hand wrapped around Ginny's heart-"What? What has everyone been talking about?"
"You know-about how you and Malfoy have started seeing each other?" Hermione looked at her glumly.
Her mouth fell open so wide it her chin brushed her chest. She tried to speak but all that came out was a dry croak.
"Oh." Hermione said again, looking embarrassed. "So you didn't know."
Ginny's eventual outraged shriek could be heard for several floors.
Draco laughed out loud when he heard the rumors-it had only been a matter of time, after all, after what had happened the other night.
He stopped laughing when he realized how many people had begun to embellish and embroider the tale of how he'd taken her to the Infirmary.
He'd listened to two Hufflepuff girls gossiping in the library about it-and had been horrified to hear that instead of simply having taken the Weasel to Pomfrey for care, he'd been on the verge of proposing to her on the stairs when she'd lost her footing and been knocked unconscious.
Another popular myth flying about was that he'd been seeing her secretly for months, and they'd had a lover's spat, and he'd tried to murder her on the stairs.
Draco had stopped laughing by the end of the third day of this. He was almost ready to march himself straight to Dumbledore and tell the man exactly what had been going on, just to set the record straight.
A lover's spat, he thought with a disgusted snarl. As if he'd ever love Ginny Weasley, the contrary little wretch, not to mention the fact that his Father would have his rocks in a box on his desk.
Ginny passed Malfoy in the halls right after lunch on the fourth day and received a look so full of loathing that she stopped in her tracks and simply stared after him. This had gone too far-she dropped her book bag and raced after him, jumping in front of him.
"So-from the look I just received, I'm assuming you heard all the rumors." She almost giggled for some unknown reason at the look of disgust on his handsome face.
Draco eyed her disdainfully, and then looked around as the corridor began to empty as students disappeared into their classes. "I heard," he muttered grimly. He glared at her as if it were all her fault. It really was, he thought, peeved.
"Hey, I'm just as unhappy about this as you are," Ginny put her hands on her hips, her displeasure evident in her eyes. "I mean, jut the thought of you touching me-" she shivered as if in disgust, but she had to fake it. "The whole idea is just completely preposterous." But not as preposterous as she'd once thought, to her complete and utter dismay.
"Nice to know-now if you'll excuse me-I have a class I'm already late for." He made as if to walk past her.
Ginny shook her head. "We have to work something out-I can't go around with my name attached to yours, for God's sake. Do you have any idea how angry my father would be if he heard some of this ridiculous stuff?"
"Not as angry as mine, Weasley, I can guarantee," he murmured, his eyes sharp.
"So-what are we going to do about it?" Ginny pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and stared at the floor.
"A re you actually proposing that we-you, and I-a Weasley and a Malfoy, work together on something-willingly?"
She frowned up at him, her eyebrows lowering. "You don't have to put it that way-I'm just trying to save my ass."
"Good luck," he snorted, "Bad luck seems to follow in your wake like the bloody bubonic plague."
"Really? It's too bad the bubonic plague decided to settle on your face!"
"That was weak, Weasley-I know you happen think I'm extremely good looking."
"About as good looking as the business end of a Blast-Ended Skrewt!"
"Oh, come off it-look into my eyes and tell me you wouldn't come running if I bothered crooking a finger your way." Draco looked at her from beneath hooded lids, crossing his arms.
A breathless feeling came into her chest as that particular visualization crossed her mind.
"Well?"
Ginny swallowed and forced herself to glare at him. "Not in a million years!"
His expression hardened. "That's a load-I can get any woman I want."
"Not this one!"
"I said 'woman', Weasel-not 'scrawny, bloody annoying brat'. I also said 'want'. That's the key word, here."
Hurt passed through her briefly and she stomped on it. "You're a total asshole."
He looked un-phased. "Your point being-?"
Ginny almost caught herself stomping her foot in frustration. She didn't know what else to say, he had her so wound up, and she turned and walked away before she grabbed his irritatingly handsome head and kissed him just to make him absolutely horrified.
Draco let out a shaky breath when she disappeared around a corner, and he let his arms fall to his sides.
He walked on to his class, trying to rid himself of the unsettling thought that he'd almost grabbed her and snogged her like mad just to shut her up.
She was an infuriating little rodent-and she was fast becoming a problem, he realized later, when he received a very short and to the point note from his Father.
He threw it into the fire in the Slytherin common room-mostly it had reminded him that he was a Malfoy, and the Weasley girl was not up to their standards, and if the rumors Lucius had been hearing turned out to be true, being disowned would be the least of his worries.
Draco settled down to do his homework, or at least try to, with all the madness running about in his head-he hadn't bothered responding to his father's note-Lucius Malfoy wanted actions, not excuses, not explanations.
He decided that no matter how much he liked to watch her face go as red as her hair when he insulted her, he just have to start ignoring her-if he just cut her dead whenever she was around, it would soon quash the rumors, and get his Father off his ruddy back.
He had to admit, though, life at Hogwarts without the little Weasley dragging on his robes in her customarily troublesome way would be a little boring.
Ginny, along with half-a dozen other students, watched Draco walk past her without a second glance-usually he had at least a smirk or a glare handy whenever he saw her, but he'd passed her by without so much as a snort. She moved down the corridor to Charms class, wondering why she felt so miffed.
After a full month of Malfoy completely ignoring her, Ginny decided she was crazy and sent him a note.
She watched him open it at Breakfast, read it boredly, and stuff it up his sleeve before returning to a discussion with Pansy Parkinson.
Ginny made a face and watched him closely. He didn't glance her way once.
She decided she didn't like being ignored.
Draco re-read Ginny's note later in the library where he'd gone to study-he had his O.W.L.'s coming up, after all, and would no doubt be skinned alive by his Father if he scored badly.
Malfoy-
A re you all right? Not that I really care-but why are you acting so nice?
Ginny
"Nice?" Draco shook his head and tucked the note into his Potions book. What the hell was she talking about? He'd ignored her completely-Ahh. He chuckled. She was insinuating that he was being nice by ignoring her. He would have loved to straighten her out on that, but he had the feeling his Father was still suspicious of his activities.
He sighed regretfully, and picked up his quill-he'd love nothing more than to prove to her he was anything but nice!
Ginny walked into the library to return a book, and caught sight of Malfoy sitting alone at a table, scratching at a piece of parchment.
She grinned-it was almost like the first time she'd come to screech at him about picking on Harry and Ron.
She walked up to stand at his elbow and waited for him to look at her.
He didn't even glance her way.
Ginny cleared her throat.
His eyes flicked her way momentarily before they went back to his work.
Ginny scowled and jabbed him in the arm with her finger.
A muscle in his jaw drew tight but he still didn't acknowledge her.
"Mal-Ferret?" Ginny's taunting whisper made his shoulders stiffen.
"Maaalfooooy," the singsong whisper grated on his nerves. He narrowed his eyes and focused on his paper.
A tickle of her finger on the edge of his ear made him grip his quill so hard it snapped in two in his hand.
"Oh, come on! You know you want to snap at me."
Draco bit his tongue.
"You want to glare at me and tell me to shove off, don't you? You want to call me an annoying little rodent and make nasty comments about the color of my hair, you know you do."
He closed his eyes briefly and decided she'd finally taken complete leave of her senses.
Ginny grinned at his profile. It was fun taunting him and not hearing a word back from it. She could stand there all night and do it.
She reached out and ruffled his perfect hair, something she knew he'd absolutely hate-and abruptly found herself on his lap, staring up at him wide eyed.
Draco had her tiny wrists in his hands before he knew he'd even moved- somehow she was on his lap, and he glared down at her, his breathing heavy. The feel of her warm fingertips on his scalp had completely undone him.
"Why can't you take the hint and leave me alone?" He rasped, noting the fear shimmering in her wide eyes.
She blinked, and shook her head. "Beats the hell out of me," she said truthfully.
He looked at her closely for the first time, and noticed the light sprinkling of freckles across her small nose, the soft pink fullness of her lips, and the flecks of gold in her soft brown eyes. Her skin was fair and smooth looking, not a blemish in sight. He tightened his hold on her wrists as the tantalizing scent of warm vanilla reached his nose.
She shook a long red tendril out of her eyes; he noticed how many different shades of red and gold sparkled in her hair, how long and heavy and thick the fall of it was as it spilled over her shoulders and down her back-he felt it brushing against his knees.
Draco stared at her for a long minute, and then did the unthinkable-he bent his head and kissed her.
TBC