Legend
Chapter XVII: Torture
by Marie McKinnon
Draco made his appearance in the Slytherin common room at just before dinner time. His hair had never calmed down after Ginny's hands had run through it and his robes were crumpled from her proximity. Pansy had tears in her eyes when she saw him. She could tell that there was another girl, another girl who must have kept her Draco very busy in their unbearably long separation of forty minutes.
"How was she?" Thomas asked.
A smile played around the edges of his mouth. "Amaz--hey, hold it, how did you...?"
Nott grinned. "Unless you've started wearing makeup, Ginny had on some lipstick when you made your attempt. Your clothes aren't quite immaculate, either."
Realizing how he looked, a smug expression on his face became more pronounced. "I think I'll stay like this," he said. "Potter won't be able to prevent himself from questioning what happened during his absence, and when he finds out, I'll make myself scarce."
"You're not afraid of him, are you?"
That comment stuck like a barb under his skin. "No one calls me a coward," he said coolly. "No one who wants to live, that is. Would you like to rephrase that?"
"No," the other answered. "If you plan on making yourself scarce, you don't want to confront him when he's angry. That would imply that you're afraid of him when he's furious."
"Is that a challenge?" Cold grey eyes glittered. "Are you daring me to let him see me with her?"
"I must admit, it would be an interesting scene to watch. Imagine the look on his face! It would be hilarious to see."
The razor-sharp edge left Draco's voice. "You have a point. A good one, for what it's worth. I accept your challenge with pleasure, Nott."
*
Hair in her eyes and tumbling all over her shoulders, Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room to the bemused glances of her peers. She didn't stop for questions, just sashayed her way up to the stairs separating the girls' dormitories from the warm, comfortable cavern.
"Who's the lucky fella, Gin?" Seamus called loudly, having realized that her beauty would never belong to him. Dean gave her a wistful look and went back to his daydreams, not expecting an answer.
She gave one, however. "Wouldn't you like to know," she laughed, almost tossing the words into the room as she exited. In a moment the room was silent again, but only because the inseparable friends were puzzling over the identity of the mystery man who had been lucky enough to get the youngest Weasley.
Her friends' reactions were slightly different. "What happened?" Frances asked in response to the redhead's entrance and flop onto her bed.
"My first kiss happened," she grinned, displaying straight white teeth. Holding her pillow in her arms and using to cushion her head, she recounted the events in her head. Draco was amazing. Nothing more, nothing less. He was enough to make even Morgan Le Fay come crawling. Then again, he probably thought the same of her, but she was enough to make the emotionless, stony Slytherin beg on his knees. He would be allowed to stand up as long as he initiated a repeat performance. Not rough, but not gentle, not perverted, but not uninterested in her figure. He was perfect.
"I thought Harry had--" Ingrid started, unwilling to finish her sentence.
A powerful glare came out of the formerly innocent eyes. "He did, but I meant the first kiss in which I was a voluntary participant. Potter grabbed me and nearly shoved me off the balcony, but Draco warned me before backing me into a tree."
"Hold it," Frances said. "You didn't say Draco, did you? Tell me you didn't just say Draco."
"I would, but that would be a lie." She grinned evilly, rolling over onto her back and stretching her arms out to the sides.
"M-M-Malfoy?" Ingrid sputtered in disbelief. "Draco *Malfoy?*"
Gin rolled her eyes. "How many Dracos are there? Yes, Draco Malfoy!"
Her two friends sat down hard, Ingrid on her bed and Frances on the floor, gaping at the redhead. Malfoy was unattainable for everyone. He was gorgeous, they couldn't deny it, but he was so cold, so superior. No one could get him to look at them twice. Apparently Ginny had melted his icy facade. Somehow, neither one was surprised. They had noticed her sneaking looks at the Slytherin table before, but that was explained away with her coaching duties.
Frances finally spoke. "Let me get this straight," she said flatly. "Draco Malfoy--*the* Draco Malfoy-- kissed you?"
"Malfoy kissed whom?" Hermione asked, poking her head inside the door. Her eyebrows knitted together in concern when a smugly smiling Ginny sat up.
"He's very good at it," she said without remorse. "And easier to deal with than Harry."
It was Hermione's turn to sit down. She conjured herself a chair and plopped into it, staring. What was she going to tell Ron? More importantly, what was she going to tell Harry?!
Ingrid got to the point before Hermione could find her voice. "Are you going to tell him?"
"Tell whom? Harry?" She snorted in disdain. "Why should I tell Potter?"
"Well, you're going out with him, aren't you?" Her friend said.
She shot upwards in fury, but her voice was calm. "Where did you get that idea? I guarantee you, it isn't true. I have a mind to let him find out for himself."
Hermione smiled inwardly. As much as she liked Harry, he had been uncontrollable when it came to Ginny, and her method of demonstration was just what he needed. It would be quite funny to see the expression on the Boy Who Lived's face when he caught his arch-nemesis with his best friend's sister. As long as she wasn't there for the aftermath, it would be worth it.
*
Draco couldn't keep his eyes off her. The candles floating above the table sent a soft, glittering light onto the objects below, adding a golden tinge to the russet curls and putting an iridescent sparkle in her eyes as she argued good-naturedly with her friends. Little did he know that he was being observed as well. She was sneaking looks at Draco, her Draco, when she wasn't shivering from his stares. Those metallic eyes were unwavering in the strong, handsome face framed by silvery hair. A sigh of pleasure bubbled up in her mind. Perfect.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Thomas urged for the umpteenth time that evening.
He was fed up. "I'll do it when I'm ready, and not before." With that, he stood up and stalked towards the doorway. Had he been paying more attention, he would have seen Ginny before he walked into her.
"Exc- oh," she said, smiling. Her arms went around his neck in a hug, but he had different ideas. Before she could completely release him, he kissed her for the second time that day.
He felt her go completely stiff in his arms at the first brush of his mouth, but relax instantaneously. Heat, glorious heat, spread all over him, starting from his neck, hands, and lips. She let him pull her in closer, keeping a tight hold around his neck. The first few minutes were completely his, savoring the fire stemming from her skin and leaving the imprint of his mouth over hers.
At the High Table, Professor McGonagall saw a confident Slytherin draw the youngest Weasley into his hold and place his lips over hers. "Snape," she snapped. "Your student is harrassing Weasley!"
"Well that's--" he had been about to reply that Draco always bothered Ron, that it was just something he did, but changed his words when he realized which Weasley McGonagall had been indicating. "--unusual," he finished weakly. He had no complaints. Draco didn't seem to either.
"Minerva, I wouldn't worry about those two," Dumbledore added, smiling. "They seem quite content. I would, however, keep an eye on Mr. Potter whenever Mr. Malfoy is nearby. He may attempt to murder him."
Looking at his least favourite student, Snape had to admit that Dumbledore seemed to be correct. There was a murderous look in the Gryffindor's eyes. It registered in Snape's mind, and he winced inwardly. This was an almost complete repeat of what had happened in his sixth year, except it had been James Potter, God d*** the b*****, stealing his girl. And he'd never gotten her back. Lily. The name still made him shiver in ecstasy. She had been gorgeous, in the same way that the youngest Weasley was gorgeous, and had captured his attention the way Ginny seemed to have captured everyone's attention. But Potter had gotten her, and he'd been left out, gaping in fury whenever he saw her with Potter's arm around her waist.
Dumbledore looked at his Potions Master. "Does this look familiar to you, Severus?"
"Yes, only Potter's on the outside of it now," he said quietly, trying not to voice the satisfaction that struggled to escape.
"Have a talk with Mr. Malfoy, would you? Ask him to try not to rub it in too much."
Snape shook his head. "I think it's too late for that, Headmaster."
It had been a quick kiss, but Draco was content. He peeled himself away reluctantly, smiling at her expression of catlike smugness. Nott, too, would be grinning. Potter had had his comeuppance.
Hand still around Ginny's waist, he steered her towards the door. "I want to go to the library," he whispered into her ear. "We need to do research."
"MALFOY!"
Harry's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. Those few who hadn't already looked up in amazement did so, shocked to see the tall, slender Gryff visibly shaking with fury.
"Let go of her," he said. "*NOW.*" Emerald eyes smouldered in fury behind glasses that couldn't block a death-glare.
"Jealous?" The words leapt out of his mouth.
You have no idea how much, Harry's mind screamed. She was mine! She didn't consent to that, she didn't. You forced her. You and your evil ways, making her submit to you. Don't touch her! Don't spoil her perfection with your filth! The mental screams died down, giving way to a sob of anguish. He knew Ginny had enjoyed showing him up. It tore at him, but not in a way that hurt his mind or heart. He hadn't loved her, not really. He had wanted her, true, but nothing more than that. It still ripped him up, because he'd actually made himself believe she was falling for him.
"Harry, what are you yelling about?" Ron asked, having just recently come downstairs. He noticed, a bit belatedly, that his worst enemy was holding his sister around the waist. "What the Hell is this?"
"Ron," Ginny said clearly, "meet my boyfriend. Draco, this is Ron. I think you two know each other, but be civil, all right?"
"We d*** well know each other! Not one day has gone by when he hasn't said something about our having no money or being shabby and unworthy of magic. Not one day!"
Harry looked at Ron. "Now you see why I was yelling!"
"You still are," Ginny muttered. She felt Draco chuckle and hold her more tightly, fingers splayed across the side of her stomach.
"I was yelling more, though, because that b****** just grabbed her and kissed her!" He continued furiously.
"Liar," she said loudly. "I hugged him first. If you leave out those details, yeah, he did something wrong. If you don't, it makes more sense. Of course, you haven't any sense, so I shouldn't have been talking about that."
"Am I not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?" Draco drawled. "That's what I did, and it seems to be quite within the rules to do so."
Harry almost exploded. "It's the principle of the thing! She was mine!" All of his opponent's arguments were good, and he had nothing. It just couldn't be right, though. A Slytherin couldn't have her! It went against everything he knew. She was too sexy to belong to a Slyth, so Malfoy couldn't have her.
He felt Ginny stiffen. "Excuse me," she said, voice icy. "I was never yours. I never will be yours. Get used to it, Potter. You can't always have everything you want. For example, at the moment I'd dearly love to knock your head off. Considering that all the teachers are watching us, I don't think that'd be such a good idea. I won't, but I will do something else to show you how yours I'm not."
She whipped around and kissed Draco hard. His hands fell to her waist and back, burning with her heat. Her tongue seared the inside of his mouth, teasing a moan from somewhere deep inside his throat. It was the first time she'd been the one to kiss him, not the other way around, and she wanted to make it memorable. Her upper body was flat against his. She stood flat-footed, head turned up to make her mouth more within reach. Ice trickled down her spine from his fingers and she shivered with ecstasy, burying herself in his hold. When he finally decided he could live with parting from her, it was deliberate, to hurt those watching who might not approve.
"If you've quite finished," Dumbledore said laughingly. At least, they thought he wasn't angry. A sparkle in the corner of his eye gave away his amusement.
Bending his head until it was right near Ginny's ear, Draco whispered huskily "I haven't even gotten started." His slim digits crept up the small of her back to her neck, where they rested lightly, a reminder that he was there to back her up.
She didn't need his support. "I think you get the message, Harry."
Harry Potter, Hogwarts' Golden Boy, watched what he had wished was his walk away enticingly, hips swinging, with his worst enemy. That enemy grinned smugly, knowing that he had caused the Gryffindor the ultimate torture.
Disclaimer: Ha! Ha Ha Ha! I love D/G! JKR owns the characters and the places they talk and do things (not *those* things, BloodRedInk), but I own their conversations, actions, and romances. If someone wants that last one, be my guest. The real plot has yet to be unveiled, though you all get the idea. I hope. Next chapter: Ginny has a chat with Harry about his new identity. REVIEW OR I'LL DO SOMETHING THAT I'M TOO TIRED TO THINK OF RIGHT NOW!
Chapter XVII: Torture
by Marie McKinnon
Draco made his appearance in the Slytherin common room at just before dinner time. His hair had never calmed down after Ginny's hands had run through it and his robes were crumpled from her proximity. Pansy had tears in her eyes when she saw him. She could tell that there was another girl, another girl who must have kept her Draco very busy in their unbearably long separation of forty minutes.
"How was she?" Thomas asked.
A smile played around the edges of his mouth. "Amaz--hey, hold it, how did you...?"
Nott grinned. "Unless you've started wearing makeup, Ginny had on some lipstick when you made your attempt. Your clothes aren't quite immaculate, either."
Realizing how he looked, a smug expression on his face became more pronounced. "I think I'll stay like this," he said. "Potter won't be able to prevent himself from questioning what happened during his absence, and when he finds out, I'll make myself scarce."
"You're not afraid of him, are you?"
That comment stuck like a barb under his skin. "No one calls me a coward," he said coolly. "No one who wants to live, that is. Would you like to rephrase that?"
"No," the other answered. "If you plan on making yourself scarce, you don't want to confront him when he's angry. That would imply that you're afraid of him when he's furious."
"Is that a challenge?" Cold grey eyes glittered. "Are you daring me to let him see me with her?"
"I must admit, it would be an interesting scene to watch. Imagine the look on his face! It would be hilarious to see."
The razor-sharp edge left Draco's voice. "You have a point. A good one, for what it's worth. I accept your challenge with pleasure, Nott."
*
Hair in her eyes and tumbling all over her shoulders, Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room to the bemused glances of her peers. She didn't stop for questions, just sashayed her way up to the stairs separating the girls' dormitories from the warm, comfortable cavern.
"Who's the lucky fella, Gin?" Seamus called loudly, having realized that her beauty would never belong to him. Dean gave her a wistful look and went back to his daydreams, not expecting an answer.
She gave one, however. "Wouldn't you like to know," she laughed, almost tossing the words into the room as she exited. In a moment the room was silent again, but only because the inseparable friends were puzzling over the identity of the mystery man who had been lucky enough to get the youngest Weasley.
Her friends' reactions were slightly different. "What happened?" Frances asked in response to the redhead's entrance and flop onto her bed.
"My first kiss happened," she grinned, displaying straight white teeth. Holding her pillow in her arms and using to cushion her head, she recounted the events in her head. Draco was amazing. Nothing more, nothing less. He was enough to make even Morgan Le Fay come crawling. Then again, he probably thought the same of her, but she was enough to make the emotionless, stony Slytherin beg on his knees. He would be allowed to stand up as long as he initiated a repeat performance. Not rough, but not gentle, not perverted, but not uninterested in her figure. He was perfect.
"I thought Harry had--" Ingrid started, unwilling to finish her sentence.
A powerful glare came out of the formerly innocent eyes. "He did, but I meant the first kiss in which I was a voluntary participant. Potter grabbed me and nearly shoved me off the balcony, but Draco warned me before backing me into a tree."
"Hold it," Frances said. "You didn't say Draco, did you? Tell me you didn't just say Draco."
"I would, but that would be a lie." She grinned evilly, rolling over onto her back and stretching her arms out to the sides.
"M-M-Malfoy?" Ingrid sputtered in disbelief. "Draco *Malfoy?*"
Gin rolled her eyes. "How many Dracos are there? Yes, Draco Malfoy!"
Her two friends sat down hard, Ingrid on her bed and Frances on the floor, gaping at the redhead. Malfoy was unattainable for everyone. He was gorgeous, they couldn't deny it, but he was so cold, so superior. No one could get him to look at them twice. Apparently Ginny had melted his icy facade. Somehow, neither one was surprised. They had noticed her sneaking looks at the Slytherin table before, but that was explained away with her coaching duties.
Frances finally spoke. "Let me get this straight," she said flatly. "Draco Malfoy--*the* Draco Malfoy-- kissed you?"
"Malfoy kissed whom?" Hermione asked, poking her head inside the door. Her eyebrows knitted together in concern when a smugly smiling Ginny sat up.
"He's very good at it," she said without remorse. "And easier to deal with than Harry."
It was Hermione's turn to sit down. She conjured herself a chair and plopped into it, staring. What was she going to tell Ron? More importantly, what was she going to tell Harry?!
Ingrid got to the point before Hermione could find her voice. "Are you going to tell him?"
"Tell whom? Harry?" She snorted in disdain. "Why should I tell Potter?"
"Well, you're going out with him, aren't you?" Her friend said.
She shot upwards in fury, but her voice was calm. "Where did you get that idea? I guarantee you, it isn't true. I have a mind to let him find out for himself."
Hermione smiled inwardly. As much as she liked Harry, he had been uncontrollable when it came to Ginny, and her method of demonstration was just what he needed. It would be quite funny to see the expression on the Boy Who Lived's face when he caught his arch-nemesis with his best friend's sister. As long as she wasn't there for the aftermath, it would be worth it.
*
Draco couldn't keep his eyes off her. The candles floating above the table sent a soft, glittering light onto the objects below, adding a golden tinge to the russet curls and putting an iridescent sparkle in her eyes as she argued good-naturedly with her friends. Little did he know that he was being observed as well. She was sneaking looks at Draco, her Draco, when she wasn't shivering from his stares. Those metallic eyes were unwavering in the strong, handsome face framed by silvery hair. A sigh of pleasure bubbled up in her mind. Perfect.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Thomas urged for the umpteenth time that evening.
He was fed up. "I'll do it when I'm ready, and not before." With that, he stood up and stalked towards the doorway. Had he been paying more attention, he would have seen Ginny before he walked into her.
"Exc- oh," she said, smiling. Her arms went around his neck in a hug, but he had different ideas. Before she could completely release him, he kissed her for the second time that day.
He felt her go completely stiff in his arms at the first brush of his mouth, but relax instantaneously. Heat, glorious heat, spread all over him, starting from his neck, hands, and lips. She let him pull her in closer, keeping a tight hold around his neck. The first few minutes were completely his, savoring the fire stemming from her skin and leaving the imprint of his mouth over hers.
At the High Table, Professor McGonagall saw a confident Slytherin draw the youngest Weasley into his hold and place his lips over hers. "Snape," she snapped. "Your student is harrassing Weasley!"
"Well that's--" he had been about to reply that Draco always bothered Ron, that it was just something he did, but changed his words when he realized which Weasley McGonagall had been indicating. "--unusual," he finished weakly. He had no complaints. Draco didn't seem to either.
"Minerva, I wouldn't worry about those two," Dumbledore added, smiling. "They seem quite content. I would, however, keep an eye on Mr. Potter whenever Mr. Malfoy is nearby. He may attempt to murder him."
Looking at his least favourite student, Snape had to admit that Dumbledore seemed to be correct. There was a murderous look in the Gryffindor's eyes. It registered in Snape's mind, and he winced inwardly. This was an almost complete repeat of what had happened in his sixth year, except it had been James Potter, God d*** the b*****, stealing his girl. And he'd never gotten her back. Lily. The name still made him shiver in ecstasy. She had been gorgeous, in the same way that the youngest Weasley was gorgeous, and had captured his attention the way Ginny seemed to have captured everyone's attention. But Potter had gotten her, and he'd been left out, gaping in fury whenever he saw her with Potter's arm around her waist.
Dumbledore looked at his Potions Master. "Does this look familiar to you, Severus?"
"Yes, only Potter's on the outside of it now," he said quietly, trying not to voice the satisfaction that struggled to escape.
"Have a talk with Mr. Malfoy, would you? Ask him to try not to rub it in too much."
Snape shook his head. "I think it's too late for that, Headmaster."
It had been a quick kiss, but Draco was content. He peeled himself away reluctantly, smiling at her expression of catlike smugness. Nott, too, would be grinning. Potter had had his comeuppance.
Hand still around Ginny's waist, he steered her towards the door. "I want to go to the library," he whispered into her ear. "We need to do research."
"MALFOY!"
Harry's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. Those few who hadn't already looked up in amazement did so, shocked to see the tall, slender Gryff visibly shaking with fury.
"Let go of her," he said. "*NOW.*" Emerald eyes smouldered in fury behind glasses that couldn't block a death-glare.
"Jealous?" The words leapt out of his mouth.
You have no idea how much, Harry's mind screamed. She was mine! She didn't consent to that, she didn't. You forced her. You and your evil ways, making her submit to you. Don't touch her! Don't spoil her perfection with your filth! The mental screams died down, giving way to a sob of anguish. He knew Ginny had enjoyed showing him up. It tore at him, but not in a way that hurt his mind or heart. He hadn't loved her, not really. He had wanted her, true, but nothing more than that. It still ripped him up, because he'd actually made himself believe she was falling for him.
"Harry, what are you yelling about?" Ron asked, having just recently come downstairs. He noticed, a bit belatedly, that his worst enemy was holding his sister around the waist. "What the Hell is this?"
"Ron," Ginny said clearly, "meet my boyfriend. Draco, this is Ron. I think you two know each other, but be civil, all right?"
"We d*** well know each other! Not one day has gone by when he hasn't said something about our having no money or being shabby and unworthy of magic. Not one day!"
Harry looked at Ron. "Now you see why I was yelling!"
"You still are," Ginny muttered. She felt Draco chuckle and hold her more tightly, fingers splayed across the side of her stomach.
"I was yelling more, though, because that b****** just grabbed her and kissed her!" He continued furiously.
"Liar," she said loudly. "I hugged him first. If you leave out those details, yeah, he did something wrong. If you don't, it makes more sense. Of course, you haven't any sense, so I shouldn't have been talking about that."
"Am I not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?" Draco drawled. "That's what I did, and it seems to be quite within the rules to do so."
Harry almost exploded. "It's the principle of the thing! She was mine!" All of his opponent's arguments were good, and he had nothing. It just couldn't be right, though. A Slytherin couldn't have her! It went against everything he knew. She was too sexy to belong to a Slyth, so Malfoy couldn't have her.
He felt Ginny stiffen. "Excuse me," she said, voice icy. "I was never yours. I never will be yours. Get used to it, Potter. You can't always have everything you want. For example, at the moment I'd dearly love to knock your head off. Considering that all the teachers are watching us, I don't think that'd be such a good idea. I won't, but I will do something else to show you how yours I'm not."
She whipped around and kissed Draco hard. His hands fell to her waist and back, burning with her heat. Her tongue seared the inside of his mouth, teasing a moan from somewhere deep inside his throat. It was the first time she'd been the one to kiss him, not the other way around, and she wanted to make it memorable. Her upper body was flat against his. She stood flat-footed, head turned up to make her mouth more within reach. Ice trickled down her spine from his fingers and she shivered with ecstasy, burying herself in his hold. When he finally decided he could live with parting from her, it was deliberate, to hurt those watching who might not approve.
"If you've quite finished," Dumbledore said laughingly. At least, they thought he wasn't angry. A sparkle in the corner of his eye gave away his amusement.
Bending his head until it was right near Ginny's ear, Draco whispered huskily "I haven't even gotten started." His slim digits crept up the small of her back to her neck, where they rested lightly, a reminder that he was there to back her up.
She didn't need his support. "I think you get the message, Harry."
Harry Potter, Hogwarts' Golden Boy, watched what he had wished was his walk away enticingly, hips swinging, with his worst enemy. That enemy grinned smugly, knowing that he had caused the Gryffindor the ultimate torture.
Disclaimer: Ha! Ha Ha Ha! I love D/G! JKR owns the characters and the places they talk and do things (not *those* things, BloodRedInk), but I own their conversations, actions, and romances. If someone wants that last one, be my guest. The real plot has yet to be unveiled, though you all get the idea. I hope. Next chapter: Ginny has a chat with Harry about his new identity. REVIEW OR I'LL DO SOMETHING THAT I'M TOO TIRED TO THINK OF RIGHT NOW!