A/N: Yea. Something sorta big happens in this chappie. R/R
Ginny was sad. Her crush on Harry was as strong as ever, but Harry was still oblivious. She glanced at her watch, and nearly fell out of her chair. She was going to be late for potions! Grabbing her bag, she ran out of the Great Hall, and ran down the corridors that headed toward the dungeons. As she was climbing down the stairs, she bumped into a tall figure, which sent her flying down the stairs.
" OW!" she yelped. Rubbing her knee, she looked up at the person she had run into. She didn't know who he was, although he looked familiar. The boy smiled a crooked sort of smile, which looked very sexy, and bent down to help her up. After she brushed herself off, she looked up at him and smiled. He was very handsome.
" Hello little lady. My name's Jeff Williams." He smiled. Ginny mentally smacked herself. So that's who he was! She smiled shyly back at him and said, " My name's—"
" Ginny Weasley, right?" he finished for her. Ginny was surprised. She wasn't popular or anything, how in the world did a popular 7th year know a measly 6th year Gryffindor's name? Jeff saw the surprised look on her face and chuckled. He could sort of see why Draco loved this girl. There was something about her that made her attractive.
She looked very cute when she smiled, and she sort of resembled an angel, with her pale skin and her flaming red hair. Jeff kept staring at her, piercing through her eyes with his own. Ginny couldn't break eye contact with him; there was something hypnotizing about his gaze. Jeff broke contact first, and smiled at her warmly.
" I'll see you later Ginny." He called over his shoulder, as he walked up the stairs.
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That night, Ginny couldn't help but think of Jeff. He was so nice! They had taken a walk together after dinner, and it was wonderful. No one had ever looked at her the way he had. He seemed like a very nice boy. This made her wonder about her feelings for Harry. Did she love him? She certainly liked Jeff…
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" Miss Weasley! Are you paying attention?"
Ginny snapped back to reality, as she saw Snape's face looming above her. She shook her head meekly, knowing what was coming next.
" Detention!" he barked. " And see me after class."
Ginny hung her head and paid attention for the rest of the class, not wanting to lose house points. The truth was, Jeff was distracting her. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head. After what seemed like hours, the class ended, and Ginny packed her bags. She waited until everyone had gone to their next class, before getting up and walking over to Snape's desk. He looked up from grading papers, and frowned.
" Miss Weasley, your marks in potions are absolutely appalling!"
Ginny cringed at the thought of what he would do. Snape sighed before continuing,
" I have decided, that you need a tutor. Everyday after dinner, you will come down to the dungeons and have a 1 hour tutoring session. Bear in mind that this will not excuse you from assignments!"
Ginny groaned inwardly at the thought. Great. As if she wasn't always in a hurry to finish her homework, now she had lost 1 hour of her precious time! Slightly grumbling, Ginny trudged out of the dungeons, her boots squeaking on the wet floor.
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" Hey Ginny!" Jeff greeted her. Ginny gave him an unconvincing smile, before scurrying off. But before she could get far, Jeff grabbed her, his face set in a confused, yet stubborn expression.
" Where are you going, beautiful?"
Ginny flushed a brilliant shade of red before murmuring, " I have a tutor."
Jeff nodded at her as if she needed his permission, before letting her go. Ginny ran down the halls, and down the stairs with surprising speed. She slowed down to a casual stride as she neared the dungeons.
She peeped her head in the door, and saw Draco Malfoy sitting on a desk, his head buried in a book. She squeaked slightly, before glumly walking in, and sitting herself down at a desk. Draco looked up and chuckled. For some odd reason, he looked older and bigger than he was; more mature. Ginny remembered their last encounter, and how nice he had been.
" Alright then Miss Weasley, please turn your book to page 120, and kindly read the first paragraph." Ginny blinked stupidly. She had thought that he would be rude and snide towards her, but he was acting like a gentleman, no hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Pursing her lips, she flipped her book toward to the right page, and began reading to herself. Meanwhile, Draco stared at the hunched over form of Ginny, noting how cute she looked as she bit her lip in frustration. A few minutes later, she declared that she was finished, so Draco jumped off the desk, and sat down in the seat next to her. He explained the potion they were to make today, which happened to be a truth potion.
Ginny set off to work, perspiring slightly from the concentration of measuring each ingredient correctly. Draco's gaze upon her as she worked did not help her either. He just kept staring, his silver orbs penetrating into her. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but it was not a cold gaze. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes, and something else—though she could not put a finger on it.
Thankfully, something soon distracted Draco, for he looked away. Even so, Ginny could not get her potion right. No matter how many times she measured, and re-measured, she measured the wrong amount. Throwing her hands up in frustration, she slammed her book shut. Draco looked up from whatever he had been doing, and strode over to her.
Gently, he patted Ginny's back, to comfort her in a way, and whispered for her to sit down. Ginny did as she was told.
Licking his lips, he slowly explained a good way to measure correctly the first time, and to remember the certain way to prepare ingredients. He explained all this without ever breaking eye contact with Ginny. Ginny suddenly figured out that the emotion in his eye when he looked at her, was adoration. Amusement was gone from his beautiful eyes, and instead there was sadness, longing, and love.
Ginny was startled that such a person could feel this way. Her brothers had always told her that he was an evil git, but from what she had seen, he was a gentle dragon. Ginny felt confused, the way she had felt when they had walked. Suddenly, he didn't look like a small pale boy; he looked like a strong, gentle, man, who would protect her.
Draco must have noticed the awe in which Ginny looked at him, because he stopped talking. He wanted to lean in toward Ginny, and capture her sweet lips on his. Hesitating, he slowly leaned over, still staring at her deep brown eyes.
' No, you can't do this!' his mind cried.
' But you love her!' his heart reminded him. In the end, his mind won. He pulled back, breaking eye contact, therefore destroying the moment. Ginny and Draco both blushed. Draco cleared his throat and continued teaching, as if nothing had happened.
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Jeff sat on his bed, thinking about a girl. Not just any girl. Ginny Weasley. There was something about her that he liked. He had never felt this way about a girl before. He wasn't sure if it was love, but he was sure that he wanted her. And what he wanted, he got.
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" Ginny! Wait!" Jeff called, his deep voice echoing through the empty corridors. Ginny halted to a stop. She stared into the handsome face of Jeff. He smiled at Ginny, before draping his arm around her. It was nice having a boy pay so much attention to her. Already, thoughts of Harry were pushed far behind.
She began to think that what she felt for Harry was merely a crush. Jeff was replacing her feelings for Harry. She couldn't believe that her feelings for someone could change this easily. A few days ago, she was sure that she loved Harry, but now, she wasn't even sure if she liked him. It made her uneasy. It made her not trust her self, her own feelings.
As Jeff walked Ginny to her next class, she felt so protected. His tall form wrapped around her. She didn't catch anything he was saying, she merely looked upon his face, and sighed happily. When they reached the charms classroom, Jeff let go of her, and said good-bye, a wistful look on his face.
All through charms, Ginny could not concentrate. She was so damn frustrated! Why was her mind constantly on boys? She couldn't help but think about Jeff, Harry and—even Draco. She had to admit, she did have a crush on Jeff. He was handsome, sweet, popular, and no other boy had given her this much attention.
'What about Draco? He gave you a lot of attention.' A small voice inside her head reminded her.
' He doesn't count!' Ginny grumbled.
' Oh, why not dear?' it asked innocently.
Ginny pondered this. Why didn't he count?
'Because—Be—Oh shut up!' Ginny spat to her conscience.
'Think about it, dear… And whatever you do, listen to your heart…' Ginny cringed at what her conscience had said. 'Listen to your heart'? Please! Even so, Ginny frowned.
Why didn't Draco count?
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As the days went on, Ginny found herself spending more and more time with Jeff, and thinking less about Harry. Her evenings with Draco were very boring and uneventful, both still tense about what had happened—or almost happened on the first night.
This particular day was a dark, cloudy day, even though Ginny was feeling very happy. It was the usual walk to her classes, always accompanied by Jeff. As they neared Ginny's class, the familiar feeling of sadness came. She always hated it when she had to part with Jeff. He had become very close to her.
" Gin." Jeff started. Ginny turned to look at him.
" D'you want to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" Jeff asked. His face was smiling, and his eyes were sparkling with hope.
Ginny agreed to go with him. Before Ginny could go in, Jeff grabbed something out of his pocket. It was a single, red, rose. Ginny gasped at the beauty of the blooming flower. Ginny gave Jeff a quick, but firm hug, before prancing into the classroom, happier than she had been for days.
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After twirling around in the mirror one last time, Ginny ran out of the Gryffindor common room, to meet Jeff at Hogwarts. She caught up with him at the entrance of the Hogwarts gates, looking as handsome as ever.
" Hey Ginny, you look beautiful!" Jeff commented. Ginny blushed furiously, and then mumbled meekly, " Thank you."
They arrived in Hogsmeade quickly, greeted by a buzz of boys and girls, faces glowing with happiness. Ginny couldn't help but squeal excitedly. She turned toward Jeff to see his reaction; he was looking quite smug.
Jeff nodded at a few of his fellow Slytherins, and they linked arms and went arm in arm into the Three Broomsticks. They sat down at an empty table in the middle of the room. Ginny took off her cloak, as Jeff placed orders. Since it was spring, it was too warm for steaming butterbeers; instead they got something called smoothies.
As Ginny sipped her strawberry banana smoothie, there was an awkward silence between them. Finally Jeff spoke. He got up abruptly, knocking over his chair, and he kneeled on one knee. He pulled a velvet box out of his robes. Trying his best to look passionate, he bellowed, " Ginny Weasley, you are a beautiful girl. Say you'll be my girlfriend!" He opened the box, which revealed an exquisite ring with a sapphire squeezed in between rubies. Ginny gasped at the expensive ring.
" Oh Jeff! Oh—this must have been expensive!" Ginny stuttered. Jeff's smile dropped. He nodded, almost suspiciously. There was a threatening look in his eyes. They were telling her that she had better agree.
" Yes, it was." he whispered darkly. Ginny giggled nervously, trying to hide her confusion. What had happened to the sweet Jeff? He suddenly seemed…dangerous.
She didn't know what to say. She liked Jeff a lot, maybe even loved, but she wasn't sure. And she thought that maybe he was going a little too fast. Ginny glanced at his cold face once more.'What the heck?' she thought. ' You only live once!'
Without further ado, she smiled warmly and answered loudly, " Yes. Jeff Williams, I will be your girlfriend." Jeff half smirked, as if satisfied that he had won another girl, and he slipped the ring on Ginny's finger. Ginny tried to push the uneasiness that was nagging at her away, and tried to enjoy the time she had with Jeff. A short, hooded stranger got up and left the pub, a feeling of hurt in his heart.
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A/N: Hmmm…. Seems like things don't improve much for Draco. Sorry about when I said it would get fluffier! It's not! It might in the next chappie though. Please reassure me that it doesn't completely stink by reviewing!
