Legend
Chapter X: Caught
by Marie McKinnon
Later in the week, he still hadn't told Ron what had happened on the lake. The snow
hadn't melted, nor had the ice, but Harry still pondered the different ways to alert Ron about the
danger Ginny could be in. No matter what Malfoy said, he was a Slytherin, and wouldn't stop at
hurting a little Gryffindor to get what he wanted, even if what he wanted *was* the little
Gryffindor. Ron hadn't seen the ice skaters during their routine. If he had, he would have
reacted. It was up to Harry to tell an already suspicious friend about something he'd seen
another do, while it was up to Ron to decide whether or not to believe him.
A tousled mop of red hair was bent over a Potions book in the common room. Hermione
was apparently trying to help, but wasn't managing very well. He slid into a chair on Ron's
other side and cleared his throat. The mop shook once, then raised with the rest of the head.
"Oh, hullo. What's happening? That git Snape gave so much homework I haven't been
able to finish."
"You didn't start until ten minutes ago," Hermione pointed out. Her friend glared. "Did
you want to say something?"
"Erm, yeah, I did, actually. Remember the snowball fight?"
Ron nodded and smiled blearily. "You got soaked. Then you left in a huff."
"Well, I went to get my sweater from the lake where I'd left it, and--"
Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "Ginny was skating, wasn't she? Harry, you didn't,
did you?"
"He didn't, because if he did, he would die." Ron glared. "Right, Harry?"
A frustrated sigh escaped him. "No, I didn't. May I get on with it?" His friends nodded.
"Thank you. I didn't do anything to Ginny, but I saw her. She was skating with Malfoy!"
"Just skating around the edge of the lake with him? What's so upsetting about that?"
"That's the problem. It *wasn't* just around the edge of the lake. They were doing a
routine or something." He explained.
"Enh?"
It was Hermione's turn to sigh in frustration. "Ron, come over here. Look out the
window. You can see the lake, right?"
"Yes," he replied, "but what does that have to do with--"
"I'm going to fix your eyesight so you can see the individual people. Now look at those
two right there-- he's helping her turn and jump and so on. That's what Malfoy and Gin were
doing, right?" Harry nodded emphatically. "Just for fun, can you tell me who those two are?"
"I believe you now, Harry," Ron said, not answering Hermione's question.
"What does that have to do with the people skating?"
"Plenty. It's Ginny and Malfoy!"
*
His heart soared. She'd been willing to practise some more, to skate with him again.
They were trying some of the more complicated moves, like holds and lifts, and she didn't seem
to be on her guard at all. That overwhelmed him. No one trusted him. No one in their right
mind, at any rate. The cold air whistled in his ears as he followed her around the rim of the lake
again. He blinked, and she had swiveled to face him, gliding in the opposite direction with her
leg extended backwards. Her smile was confident and most definitely inviting. Still not
believing that such a confident, powerful girl could be flirting with him, he grinned and sped
around behind her. As he gripped her ankle she turned to face him and extended her arms. They
came to rest on his shoulders.
"Is that the best you can do?" He scoffed, pretending not to be impressed. That was the
Draco Malfoy everyone knew. The one who wouldn't be caught dead ice skating with a
Gryffindor.
"Not quite." Still letting him hold her ankle, Ginny put on a domineering smile and
hopped onto the tip of her skate, just long enough to look him in the eye properly. Once landed
safely, she prepared to jump. He caught her other leg as she leapt upwards. One arm supported
her back and neck while the other was looped under her knees, the same position as that in which
most newlyweds enter the honeymoon suite. Her arms went around his neck as she grinned
impishly. His heart almost exploded, it was beating so fast.
Draco wouldn't have put her down if someone had offered him ten million Galleons and
Voldemort's head on a platter. He started a large spiral, slowly skating in a wide circle. The
speed increased as the diameter became smaller and smaller. Not once did his eyes move from
hers. Finally, whipping around in place, he let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.
It puffed into the air, becoming a miniature tornado with the speed of his turn.
His speed slowly decreased until he was standing stock still, eyes remaining focused on
the brown pair looking into his with equal intensity. Well? They asked him. Is that all? I know
you've got more than that. It took him a milisecond to recognize his cue, his chance. Deliberate
to the last, he bent his head, about to taste those delicate lips when, as he knew it would, a
furious scream rent the air.
"MALFOY! PUT HER DOWN *NOW*!" Ron bellowed.
Draco sighed. "D***." She slid out of his arms and onto her feet elegantly, looking as
little like a guilty toddler caught with her hand in the cooky jar as a willow tree looked like a
stump. "What d'you want, Weasley?"
"I want you to LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!"
She was still standing next to him, a silent reminder that she didn't feel obligated to
dignify the demand with a response. "Why?" He responded, controlling his temper with an iron
grip.
None of the Trio had been expecting an almost monosyllabic answer. They all had been
waiting for a drawling chain of insults expressed in such impressive vocabulary that only
Hermione would be able to translate. Just 'why?' That was the answer to such an obviously
explained order. He knew what they were going to say, but he asked them why? It didn't make
sense. It was Malfoy, for Heaven's sake! He took every opportunity to insult them, so this one
shouldn't have been any different. They could tell this *was* different, somehow.
"Uhhh..." Ron, so outgoing when it came to defending his sister, couldn't begin to phrase
his reason for doing so.
"We don't trust you, Malfoy," Hermione said, coming to her friend's rescue. "Especially
not when it comes to someone we all care about. So just let go of her and forget about it."
He hadn't realized that his arm was still around her waist. "You said you all care about
her? I can understand the Weasel caring about her, and maybe you, Mudblood, but him? He just
wants what about a hundred other guys want. To get her in the bedroom. He doesn't care, really.
He can't stand the thought that I can find it in my icy heart to do something more than all his
hormones can." His tone of voice made it crystal clear that he knew exactly what he was talking
about.
Harry trembled with rage, emerald eyes narrowed in fury. "What," he asked, voice
shaking, "is that?" The domineering b******, he thought. That bedroom comment would earn
him several broken ribs.
"If you can't figure it out, Potter," he said smugly, "you should consult with your little
friends. They seem to be aware of my implications."
That was true. Ron was probably more infuriated than Harry. Hermione's jaw was
clenched and her hands worked into claws and fists as she struggled to keep from doing
something she'd regret.
"Don't you dare to suggest that you actually care," Harry continued. "We know better
than that. You're as manipulative and sneaky as they come, and any way you can think of to get
her in your room, any way at all, and you'll be satisfied. You yourself said you had an icy heart,
but I don't think you have any heart at all. Just a pair of eyes and a machine somewhere in the
void that is your mind that urges you to take advantage of innocence."
Ginny cleared her throat, and everyone looked at her. "Thank you," she said in response
to their attention. "I believe I've not said anything yet. This includes me as well, difficult
though it may be to comprehend." Her companions looked sheepish. "As long as I retain my
free will, which I guarantee has not been taken away, I am capable of making my own decisions.
I will continue to do so for a very long time, and none of you, not even Ron, have the
authorization to make choices for me. Therefore, if there were any problem with the recent
occurrence, I would have acted in some way. There wasn't a problem, though if there ever is it
will be discussed in a civil fashion. As none of you seem capable of that," she looked pointedly
at Ron and Harry, "I will conduct the debate with Draco myself if the need arises. Understood?"
"But Ginny, he was going to kiss you!" Ron argued.
"Was he really?" She asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed. He was only carrying me
and looking me right in the eye!" In a few moments her housemates had returned to the
Gryffindor common room and she was untying her laces. Once finished, she pecked Draco on
the cheek and strode back to the castle.
He stood there, stunned, and clapped a hand to the place she'd kissed him. At least they
hadn't been caught that time, or he would have gotten it from Potter. Well, rules don't exist if
you don't get caught, he thought. And I don't intend to get caught.
Disclaimer: Hee hee! Draco has fallen farther, but we may forget about air resistance,
so it'll be a while before he hits the ground. I'm posting again tomorrow because I'm going on
vacation (look out, Florida, here I come) and won't be home until next Wednesday. Tune in next
time for Ginny's conversation with a portrait and what it reveals.
Chapter X: Caught
by Marie McKinnon
Later in the week, he still hadn't told Ron what had happened on the lake. The snow
hadn't melted, nor had the ice, but Harry still pondered the different ways to alert Ron about the
danger Ginny could be in. No matter what Malfoy said, he was a Slytherin, and wouldn't stop at
hurting a little Gryffindor to get what he wanted, even if what he wanted *was* the little
Gryffindor. Ron hadn't seen the ice skaters during their routine. If he had, he would have
reacted. It was up to Harry to tell an already suspicious friend about something he'd seen
another do, while it was up to Ron to decide whether or not to believe him.
A tousled mop of red hair was bent over a Potions book in the common room. Hermione
was apparently trying to help, but wasn't managing very well. He slid into a chair on Ron's
other side and cleared his throat. The mop shook once, then raised with the rest of the head.
"Oh, hullo. What's happening? That git Snape gave so much homework I haven't been
able to finish."
"You didn't start until ten minutes ago," Hermione pointed out. Her friend glared. "Did
you want to say something?"
"Erm, yeah, I did, actually. Remember the snowball fight?"
Ron nodded and smiled blearily. "You got soaked. Then you left in a huff."
"Well, I went to get my sweater from the lake where I'd left it, and--"
Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "Ginny was skating, wasn't she? Harry, you didn't,
did you?"
"He didn't, because if he did, he would die." Ron glared. "Right, Harry?"
A frustrated sigh escaped him. "No, I didn't. May I get on with it?" His friends nodded.
"Thank you. I didn't do anything to Ginny, but I saw her. She was skating with Malfoy!"
"Just skating around the edge of the lake with him? What's so upsetting about that?"
"That's the problem. It *wasn't* just around the edge of the lake. They were doing a
routine or something." He explained.
"Enh?"
It was Hermione's turn to sigh in frustration. "Ron, come over here. Look out the
window. You can see the lake, right?"
"Yes," he replied, "but what does that have to do with--"
"I'm going to fix your eyesight so you can see the individual people. Now look at those
two right there-- he's helping her turn and jump and so on. That's what Malfoy and Gin were
doing, right?" Harry nodded emphatically. "Just for fun, can you tell me who those two are?"
"I believe you now, Harry," Ron said, not answering Hermione's question.
"What does that have to do with the people skating?"
"Plenty. It's Ginny and Malfoy!"
*
His heart soared. She'd been willing to practise some more, to skate with him again.
They were trying some of the more complicated moves, like holds and lifts, and she didn't seem
to be on her guard at all. That overwhelmed him. No one trusted him. No one in their right
mind, at any rate. The cold air whistled in his ears as he followed her around the rim of the lake
again. He blinked, and she had swiveled to face him, gliding in the opposite direction with her
leg extended backwards. Her smile was confident and most definitely inviting. Still not
believing that such a confident, powerful girl could be flirting with him, he grinned and sped
around behind her. As he gripped her ankle she turned to face him and extended her arms. They
came to rest on his shoulders.
"Is that the best you can do?" He scoffed, pretending not to be impressed. That was the
Draco Malfoy everyone knew. The one who wouldn't be caught dead ice skating with a
Gryffindor.
"Not quite." Still letting him hold her ankle, Ginny put on a domineering smile and
hopped onto the tip of her skate, just long enough to look him in the eye properly. Once landed
safely, she prepared to jump. He caught her other leg as she leapt upwards. One arm supported
her back and neck while the other was looped under her knees, the same position as that in which
most newlyweds enter the honeymoon suite. Her arms went around his neck as she grinned
impishly. His heart almost exploded, it was beating so fast.
Draco wouldn't have put her down if someone had offered him ten million Galleons and
Voldemort's head on a platter. He started a large spiral, slowly skating in a wide circle. The
speed increased as the diameter became smaller and smaller. Not once did his eyes move from
hers. Finally, whipping around in place, he let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.
It puffed into the air, becoming a miniature tornado with the speed of his turn.
His speed slowly decreased until he was standing stock still, eyes remaining focused on
the brown pair looking into his with equal intensity. Well? They asked him. Is that all? I know
you've got more than that. It took him a milisecond to recognize his cue, his chance. Deliberate
to the last, he bent his head, about to taste those delicate lips when, as he knew it would, a
furious scream rent the air.
"MALFOY! PUT HER DOWN *NOW*!" Ron bellowed.
Draco sighed. "D***." She slid out of his arms and onto her feet elegantly, looking as
little like a guilty toddler caught with her hand in the cooky jar as a willow tree looked like a
stump. "What d'you want, Weasley?"
"I want you to LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!"
She was still standing next to him, a silent reminder that she didn't feel obligated to
dignify the demand with a response. "Why?" He responded, controlling his temper with an iron
grip.
None of the Trio had been expecting an almost monosyllabic answer. They all had been
waiting for a drawling chain of insults expressed in such impressive vocabulary that only
Hermione would be able to translate. Just 'why?' That was the answer to such an obviously
explained order. He knew what they were going to say, but he asked them why? It didn't make
sense. It was Malfoy, for Heaven's sake! He took every opportunity to insult them, so this one
shouldn't have been any different. They could tell this *was* different, somehow.
"Uhhh..." Ron, so outgoing when it came to defending his sister, couldn't begin to phrase
his reason for doing so.
"We don't trust you, Malfoy," Hermione said, coming to her friend's rescue. "Especially
not when it comes to someone we all care about. So just let go of her and forget about it."
He hadn't realized that his arm was still around her waist. "You said you all care about
her? I can understand the Weasel caring about her, and maybe you, Mudblood, but him? He just
wants what about a hundred other guys want. To get her in the bedroom. He doesn't care, really.
He can't stand the thought that I can find it in my icy heart to do something more than all his
hormones can." His tone of voice made it crystal clear that he knew exactly what he was talking
about.
Harry trembled with rage, emerald eyes narrowed in fury. "What," he asked, voice
shaking, "is that?" The domineering b******, he thought. That bedroom comment would earn
him several broken ribs.
"If you can't figure it out, Potter," he said smugly, "you should consult with your little
friends. They seem to be aware of my implications."
That was true. Ron was probably more infuriated than Harry. Hermione's jaw was
clenched and her hands worked into claws and fists as she struggled to keep from doing
something she'd regret.
"Don't you dare to suggest that you actually care," Harry continued. "We know better
than that. You're as manipulative and sneaky as they come, and any way you can think of to get
her in your room, any way at all, and you'll be satisfied. You yourself said you had an icy heart,
but I don't think you have any heart at all. Just a pair of eyes and a machine somewhere in the
void that is your mind that urges you to take advantage of innocence."
Ginny cleared her throat, and everyone looked at her. "Thank you," she said in response
to their attention. "I believe I've not said anything yet. This includes me as well, difficult
though it may be to comprehend." Her companions looked sheepish. "As long as I retain my
free will, which I guarantee has not been taken away, I am capable of making my own decisions.
I will continue to do so for a very long time, and none of you, not even Ron, have the
authorization to make choices for me. Therefore, if there were any problem with the recent
occurrence, I would have acted in some way. There wasn't a problem, though if there ever is it
will be discussed in a civil fashion. As none of you seem capable of that," she looked pointedly
at Ron and Harry, "I will conduct the debate with Draco myself if the need arises. Understood?"
"But Ginny, he was going to kiss you!" Ron argued.
"Was he really?" She asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed. He was only carrying me
and looking me right in the eye!" In a few moments her housemates had returned to the
Gryffindor common room and she was untying her laces. Once finished, she pecked Draco on
the cheek and strode back to the castle.
He stood there, stunned, and clapped a hand to the place she'd kissed him. At least they
hadn't been caught that time, or he would have gotten it from Potter. Well, rules don't exist if
you don't get caught, he thought. And I don't intend to get caught.
Disclaimer: Hee hee! Draco has fallen farther, but we may forget about air resistance,
so it'll be a while before he hits the ground. I'm posting again tomorrow because I'm going on
vacation (look out, Florida, here I come) and won't be home until next Wednesday. Tune in next
time for Ginny's conversation with a portrait and what it reveals.